HR 1 'will make it easier to cheat, easier to manipulate election results': Voter fraud expert Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The United States House of Representatives passed a controversial bill last week that one election expert warns will make it easier to cheat and easier to manipulate election results. The House passed H.R. 1, also known as the For the People Act of 2021 last Wednesday on almost an entirely party-line vote. Not one Republican voted for the measure, while just one Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, broke with his party in opposing the legislation. Billed as a necessary measure to expand Americans access to the ballot box and reduce the influence of big money in politics, the sweeping legislative initiative, which stands at nearly 800 pages, has become a target of criticism from conservatives. Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, who testified before the House Judiciary Committee as it considered the Act in 2019, elaborated on the bills deficiencies in an interview with The Christian Post. Describing H.R. 1 as a federal takeover of the administration of elections, which have been run by the states, von Spakovsky concluded that there are parts of the bill that are unconstitutional. The mandate and the prohibitions that it puts on the states, I think, are extremely dangerous, and they basically get rid of any and all of the safety and security protocols that the states have in place, he warned. H.R. 1 would eviscerate state voter ID laws because it tells states they have to allow someone to vote by just simply signing a form in which he swears that he is who he says he is which is worthless for proving identity, von Spakovsky stressed. On absentee ballots, it tells states they cant enforce their witness signature requirement, which again, is just a basic security provision for absentee ballots in a state that has been in place for years. All of the rules being put in will make it easier to cheat and easier to manipulate election results, and all of that will be extremely damaging to our democratic process of running our elections, von Spakovsky added. Citing the widespread distrust in the outcome of the two most recent presidential elections (2020 and 2016), he predicted that kind of loss in public confidence, in the integrity of the election process, is something that will further increase if H.R. 1 is passed. Von Spakovsky also explained that another section of the bill is dedicated to making changes in federal campaign rules, which he contended will restrict and chill First Amendment-protected political activity and political speech. As an example, he mentioned the requirement for nonprofit organizations to reveal who their donors are. There is no purpose for that disclosure other than to subject the donors of disfavored organizations to harassment and intimidation, he added. I think its the most dangerous, reckless bill Ive seen introduced in Congress in my 20 years in Washington. Additionally, 20 state attorneys general across the U.S., all Republicans, signed a scathing letter addressed to the House and Senate leadership of both parties outlining a series of concerns and vowing to seek legal remedies to protect the Constitution, the sovereignty of all states, our elections, and the rights of our citizens if it becomes law. As introduced, the Act betrays several constitutional deficiencies and alarming mandates that, if passed, would federalize state elections and impose burdensome costs and regulations on state and local officials, they wrote. The letter outlined the constitutional requirements for the administration of presidential elections, specifically that States have principaland with presidential elections, exclusiveresponsibility to safeguard the manner of holding elections. The attorneys general also expressed concern about the Acts regulation of congressional elections, including by mandating mail-in voting, requiring states to accept late ballots, overriding state voter identification ('ID') laws, and mandating that states conduct redistricting through unelected commissions. After contending that it is difficult to imagine a legislative proposal more threatening to election integrity and voter confidence than the so-called For the People Act, the signatories described the Acts limitations on voter ID laws as the most egregious provision in the legislation. They warned that should the For the People Act become law, it would dismantle meaningful voter ID laws by allowing a statement, as a substitute for prior-issued, document-backed identification to attest to the individuals identity and that the individual is eligible to vote in the election. Adding to the threat of increased voter fraud, the Act would mandate nationwide automatic voter registration and Election Day voter registration. Such systems would provide too many opportunities for non-citizens and others ineligible to vote, to register, and cast fraudulent ballots before officials can take preventive action. States should determine appropriate methods for voter registration based on their experiences with voter access and voter fraud. In addition to characterizing H.R. 1s limits on how states maintain voter registration rolls as an attack on reliable methods that states have been using to maintain voter lists without specifying any reasonable permissible alternatives, the attorneys general concluded that the purpose of the bill seems to be to prevent meaningful voter list maintenance altogether. While he lauded the effort of the multi-state coalition of attorneys general, von Spakovsky warned that the authors of the For the People Act made it deliberately difficult to challenge the law in court. Part of the problem with the attorneys general of the states is another provision in the law that I find unprecedented and which to me is clearly intended to try to deny due process rights because the bill says that any lawsuit filed by those 20 attorneys general can only be filed in one federal court and thats the federal court of the District of Columbia, he asserted. Not only that, it says the judges can order anyone challenging the law to be represented by only one lawyer at oral arguments and to have to file joint pleadings. So in other words, theyre saying that no matter how many states sue, they may be only allowed one lawyer in court and they cant file potentially more than one brief in the court. I have never seen a provision like that; its clearly intended to deny due process rights and to make it hard for states or anyone else to challenge it. ... Thats what they would have to do. The letter was signed by the Attorneys General of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Concerns about the For the People Act extend beyond the aforementioned provisions of the legislation regarding election integrity and the First Amendment. The legislation contains a provision featuring findings related to District of Columbia Statehood, asserting that the 705,000 District of Columbia residents deserve voting representation in Congress and local self-government, which only statehood can provide. The rest of that particular provision of the bill goes on to argue for reasons why the nations capital should become a state before noting that Congress has the power to admit new states and reduce the size of the seat of the government to the area surrounding the Capitol, the National Mall and the White House. H.R. 1 also calls for the creation of a Congressional task force on voting rights of United States citizen residents of territories of the United States, as part of an effort to grant voting rights to those living in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam. While the For the People Act narrowly passed the House, its future remains uncertain in the Senate, where most legislation requires 60 votes to pass. Democrats have a 50-50 majority in the upper chamber, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Under current Senate rules, Democrats would need to secure the support of 10 Republicans for the bill to pass. Democratic leadership has repeatedly promised to invoke the so-called nuclear option that would abolish the filibuster and enable legislation to pass with a simple majority, but last weekend Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., doubled down on his commitment to keeping the filibuster in place. The abolition of the filibuster is likely not possible without Manchins support. President Joe Biden, who has put his support behind H.R. 1, signed an executive order to promote voting access on Sunday, the 56th anniversary of the tear-gassing of civil rights protesters in Selma, Alabama. Von Spakovsky described the executive order as mostly for show, adding, all it does is tell federal agencies really to do everything they can to essentially help people register to vote. In addition to directing federal agencies to improve and modernize Vote.gov, increase federal employees access to voting, analyze barriers to voting for people with disabilities, increase voting access for active duty military and other overseas voters and establish a Native American voting rights steering group, the executive order has a provision calling on the U.S. Attorney General to provide voting access and education to citizens in federal custody. Von Spakovsky found this portion of the executive order revealing. So the Biden administration, apparently their chief interest is making sure that dangerous felons who are held in the federal prison system are able to register and vote as soon as they are able. I think that would concern me a lot and should concern the American public that would be his chief focus. San Francisco schools should start reopening in one month, but frustration and bickering continue to plague the process. The school board was expected to vote on the reopening agreement Thursday evening and the teachers union through Saturday, dictating what the school day would look like for educators and students when in-person learning resumes. While both sides agreed to a deal at the bargaining table, many teachers have lambasted what the agreement will mean in terms of an average workday. Teachers will be crunched for time, juggling both online and in-person students separately, with little time for a bathroom break or planning lessons. The union is organizing a car caravan for Sunday, a show of force to demand changes to the daily schedule, which would require teachers in reopened schools to do both online and in-person instruction each day. There would be little time for them to do prep work or conduct evaluations for students with special needs, teachers said. The union rally is the latest demonstration in a months-long battle over when and how schools would reopen in San Francisco, a drama that has included parent protests, a threatened school board recall and a city-led lawsuit. Yet even with long-sought tentative agreements in place on health and safety, as well as educational aspects of in-person pandemic instruction agreed on, friction between the district and some of its employees remains. Elementary students attending in person would be in school for 4.75 hours four days a week, and three hours on Wednesdays. Online students would be with teachers for live instruction two hours per day, the minimum required by the district for distance learning. In total, teachers would be instructing online or in person 5.75 hours per day, not including lunch, recess and planning time, with teachers on the clock for 7.5 hours. The instructional schedule leaves no time to grade, call parents, or address individual needs of students, said Shona Mitchell, an elementary dance teacher, who works with 40 classes each week. A lot of teachers felt a little bit blindsided, she said. There are no perfect solutions, but Im just worried this is an incredibly imperfect solution. She suggested reducing the amount of in-person instruction to help balance out the day, giving more time for teachers to be with online students and perform other necessary tasks. West Portal kindergarten teacher David Moisl, however, cant wait to get back to class to focus on the social and emotional side of learning, including games and art projects, no matter what the schedule is. I am frustrated that schools have been closed for this long, he said. This is a maximum of seven weeks that you will be working under this schedule. I think this is a small sacrifice to make by teachers. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. District officials said they consulted with the union in negotiations. The schedule is a compromise, district officials said, based on 40 hours of conversations, and on teachers wanting to remain with their students. That resulted in each teacher doing both online and in-person classes each day, district officials said. At the end of the day were all in this boat together, said Superintendent Vince Matthews. Its going to be a bumpy ride from this day forward. Were trying to bring students back to in-person learning coming out of a pandemic, Matthews said. The important aspect is that I hope people keep in mind were all doing this together. Union officials, however, said that the district had complete control over the daily schedule, and while they were consulted, they could not dictate any aspect of it. Many teachers are concerned about insufficient planning time and shortchanging those who remain in distance learning, Susan Solomon, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, told The Chronicle Thursday. We discussed schedules for hours, and advised them as best we could, she said. Teachers and support staff UESF members are the experts in what is needed to plan for and deliver quality instruction. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker A man who allegedly broke into a Brisbane adult store and stole an array of sex toys has also been accused of putting a police dog in a chokehold before he was arrested and put in front of a magistrate. Sergeant Stuart Ellison and Police Dog Rocco confronted the alleged sex-toy thief in Aspley. Credit:Queensland Police Service In a separate incident, the same man is charged with assaulting a boy in a wheelchair at Westfield Chermside Shopping Centre on October 17 last year. Carl Vincent Carsburg, 46, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday via videolink from Brisbane Correctional Centre, with several charges to his name. He is unemployed and lived in Bray Park before he was incarcerated. In relation to the police dog, he is charged with one count each of entering premises and committing an indictable offence, obstructing police, and trying to kill or injure a police dog. By Kevin Coombs LONDON (Reuters) - As a news photographer, it's not often that you stumble across someone who has appeared in one of your pictures, least of all in a crowd scene. But that's exactly what happened to me recently, and the impact was overwhelming. After spending the best part of a year taking and editing pictures of different aspects of the coronavirus pandemic in Britain for Reuters, I contracted COVID-19 about a month ago and was taken to a London hospital in an ambulance for tests. In a cubicle set up for suspected COVID-19 cases in the Accident & Emergency ward, I struck up a conversation the nurse treating me and told her what I did for a living. We chatted about "Clap for Carers", a phenomenon in Britain early in the pandemic where people would stand in doorsteps, on streets and outside hospitals every Thursday night to clap and cheer the health workers battling hard to contain the crisis. For me, photographing those scenes had been both rewarding and immensely frustrating. On the one hand, newspapers and broadcasters loved the images we and others provided of an uplifting moment each week amid the pandemic gloom. On the other, I always wanted to know more about what was going on inside the wards and hear medics' personal stories. But with media access limited at the time, they simply became "the anonymous nurse" in my mind. For the nurse running tests on me that night, the public displays of support had been a major boost to morale. At one point during our conversation, she showed me on old photograph on her phone of a newspaper front page featuring nurses hugging and smiling one Thursday evening months before. "Did you take this?" she asked. "Ha! Yes," I replied sheepishly, recognising my own picture. "That's me on the left," she said, her eyes lighting up. I laughed and then I cried. I really cried, and I don't know why. It was probably the real-world contact with an "anonymous nurse" going about her business inside a ward. Possibly it was also because I was lying in a hospital bed, with tubes running out of me, not knowing what would come next. Story continues The nurse went off down the corridor to fetch a friend and colleague who was also in the picture. The colleague said her mother had framed it and put it on her mantelpiece - pride of place in her family home. Hearing that was as good as getting a picture on the front page of a newspaper. She also joked that I hadn't caught her best side. I was discharged a few hours later. As I walked out of the ward to recuperate at home, I put my hand on my heart and thanked the first nurse. She wishes to remain anonymous. (Editing by Mike Collett-White) As the first month after the passing of radio icon Rush Limbaugh is approaching, here are some personal words and memories about Rush. Back in 2006, John Murtha was trying to become House majority leader. I had uncovered the infamous Murtha Abscam videotape of 1980 and discussed it with Rush. Murtha had wanted to make his own deal to assist the fictitious FBI "Sheiks" to immigrate to America, which was part of the sting. He would eventually be named an unindicted co-conspirator and testify against two fellow congressmen who were later convicted. The full tape had been made public in September 2006, a month before the midterms, but the mainstream press was ignoring the damning video. After the Democrats took the House, Murtha was on course to become majority leader. But the tape had wounded him. Murtha implored incoming speaker Nancy Pelosi to endorse him, which she did. The next morning, Rush was talking about the endorsement, and I was able to get through. I touched on Murtha's role in Abscam, which Rush was unaware of, and noted that Pelosi had wanted the most ethical and honest Congress in history, yet she wanted Murtha as her number two. After my segment was done, Rush kept talking about the tape, and he began playing highlights from it. That evening, the tape was featured on all the cable news networks, and the next morning on the broadcast news shows. Murtha was soon defeated by longtime Pelosi nemesis Steny Hoyer in a landslide. Four years later in 2010, I talked to Rush about efforts of unrepentant FALN terrorist Oscar Lopez to receive parole. I had sent a draft of an article to the American Spectator that had not yet been published. Lopez was a cofounder of the small but deadly terrorist group who wanted independence for Puerto Rico but had little support on the Island. In the 1970s and 1980s, they had set off bombs around America, killing six and injuring dozens more. In 1999, Bill Clinton stunned the world and offered clemency to twelve of them, including Lopez, who would still have to wait because of sentences added for two prior escape attempts, but he rejected the offer regardless. The other 11 were released from numerous federal prisons in 1999. It was later discovered that Hillary and her staff had been involved, thinking it would help her win the Puerto Rican vote in New York in her run for the U.S. Senate. But in 2010, Lopez petitioned the Federal Parole Board for release. My draft had not yet been published, but I called Rush in late 2010 and said Lopez should never be released. Limbaugh then continued to talk about Lopez. The Spectator had heard me with Rush and told me it would publish the draft. I soon found out that the entire Commission had seen the article. At the hearing in early 2011 at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Lopez faced Joe and Tom Connor, whose father Frank had been murdered by FALN; a widow of another victim; a man who had been grievously injured; and an FBI agent who had helped capture the terrorists. Lopez had no apologies or remorse, and the parole examiner recommended he remain in prison. The next month, the Commission denied Lopez freedom, taking into account the horror he had caused the victims, and even used some of the words from my article. However, sadly, Obama ordered his release in his final week in 2017. If it had not been for Limbaugh, Murtha would have likely won the majority leader race, which might have changed the course of the Iraq war, which Murtha had been daily undermining. As for the unrepentant Lopez, the article as well as the emotional testimony of his victims kept him in prison for an extra six years. Rush Limbaugh was a true American hero, and I am far from alone in mourning his passing. Image via Public Domain Pictures. It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The Department of the Interior and Local Government is not keen on bringing back quarantine and documentary requirements for local travel despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing told lawmakers on Wednesday that local government units have the option of requiring inbound travelers to undergo an RT-PCR test. What's more important, Densing said, is ensuring that travelers strictly observe minimum health standards, such as wearing face masks and face shields, and observing physical distancing. "The traveler practices minimum health standards and this I emphasize with our local officials, there's 95% chance of less transmissibility," he said at the hearing of the House committee on transportation. The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases released a resolution in February approving uniform travel protocols across all LGUs. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/2/27/iatf-uniform-travel-protocols-covid-19.html Under IATF Resolution No. 101, travelers still have to undergo COVID-19 testing if required by the LGU of their destination -- the provincial government, and authorities of highly urbanized cities and independent component cities. In which case, only an RT-PCR test will be honored. Travelers, however, are no longer required to go on quarantine unless they exhibit symptoms upon arriving at their destination. They also don't need to secure a travel authority from the police's Joint Task Force COVID Shield, or even health certificates prior to their trip. Meanwhile, Densing said the DILG approved the request of Ilocos Norte, Sarangani and Baguio City to use antigen test results as basis for allowing the entry of travelers instead of an RT-PCR test. The corresponding executive orders will be issued by the LGUs, he added. The country's COVID-19 daily case count has been rapidly increasing, with the number of active cases or currently ill patients at over 44,000 -- the highest since October. Expands Tansim Project as Lithium Demand Accelerates Brisbane, Mar 11, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging lithium miner Sayona Mining Limited ( ASX:SYA ) ( FRA:DML ) ( OTCMKTS:DMNXF ) continues to advance its Quebec lithium projects, acquiring an additional 90 claims surrounding the emerging Tansim Lithium Project amid accelerating demand for the key battery metal.Highlights- Sayona expands Tansim Lithium Project, Quebec following acquisition of 90 additional claims, increasing project size to 15,907 ha, a 44% increase in lithium acreage- Ex-North American Lithium (NAL) COO Yves Desrosiers appointed director of Authier Lithium Project, including responsibility for the 'BAPE' process, as Sayona Quebec advances project approvals.Located 82 kilometres south-west of the Company's flagship Authier Lithium Project, the Tansim project now encompasses 275 claims spanning 15,907 ha of prospective lithium acreage, up 44% on the previous holding. A drilling program set to commence comprising 26 drill holes for 4,200m aims to expand the lithium mineralisation following previous diamond core drilling and complete a JORC-compliant resource estimate (refer ASX release 26 January 2021).Drilling conducted in 2019 comprising 11 holes for 1,129m resulted in an Exploration Target (refer note below) for the Viau-Dallaire prospect of between 5 million and 25 million tonnes, at an estimated grade of 1.2 - 1.3% Li2O (refer ASX release 19 November 2019).Note: The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and is therefore an approximation. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.Meanwhile, Sayona Quebec has expanded its management team with the appointment of highly experienced mining executive Yves Desrosiers, P.Eng as director of the Authier Lithium Project.Mr Desrosiers will be responsible for advancing the necessary approvals for the project, including managing the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) public hearings and ensuring Sayona earns a social licence to operate.His recent experience includes Vice President of Mining Operations for BlackRock Metals from 2018, together with serving as COO and General Manager at NAL (currently subject to a bid from Sayona) and various managerial roles at Nyrstar Langlois Mine, Quebec Lithium, ArcelorMittal and others. He has worked for nearly 20 years in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region, home to Sayona's lithium projects, and has made an active contribution to the community.Commenting on his appointment, Sayona Quebec CEO Guy Laliberte said: "Sayona Quebec is delighted to have Yves onboard as part of the team. His expertise will be crucial in ensuring a successful outcome from the BAPE process for our Authier project, while his former senior position at NAL strengthens our already world-class bid advisory team."We are now in an excellent position to advance from exploration to development and ultimately downstream processing. Abitibi-Temiscamingue and all of Quebec are counting on the lithium industry to lead us into an electrified future."Concerning Authier's EIS, Sayona has received further feedback from Quebec's Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC). The follow-up questions cover such areas as road access, flora and fauna and air quality, as per normal for a project of this nature.Yanick Plourde, biologist and Sayona Quebec's Environment Director commented: "These follow-up and shorter set of questions are part of the normal process provided for by the Environment Quality Act and under the responsibility of the MELCC. All mining projects in Quebec to date have involved at least two rounds of questions before their environmental impact statement has been considered admissible."Sayona has already mandated several expert firms to produce the appropriate answers as soon as possible.The approval process for Authier remains on track and we look forward to progressing this towards a favourable conclusion."Sayona anticipates the next series of BAPE public hearings will be held during Quebec's autumn, with regulatory approval expected by year-end.The Company has also received notification from Raymond Chabot Inc, the monitor (administrator) of NAL, that the bidding process has been extended to 6 April 2021 to allow for revised bids, with such bids remaining open to acceptance through to 28 April 2021.Sayona's Managing Director, Brett Lynch commented: "We can clearly see the finishing line ahead for NAL.Sayona remains confident our bid offers the best prospects for delivering a successful turnaround, based on our unique competitive advantages and backed by our strategic partnership with Piedmont Lithium. While the NAL process finalises, our acquisition of additional acreage at Tansim will significantly expand our lithium hub in the Abitibi region as we progress towards becoming a world-scale producer."To view tables and figures, please visit:About Sayona Mining Ltd Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:DMNXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia. Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au Immunohistochemistry for alpha-synuclein showing positive staining (brown) of an intraneural Lewy-body in the Substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Credit: Wikipedia Results published today show it is possible to identify Parkinson's based on compounds found on the surface of skin. The findings offer hope that a pioneering new test could be developed to diagnose the degenerative condition through a simple and painless skin swab. Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a technique which works by analysing compounds found in sebumthe oily substance that coats and protects the skinand identifying changes in people with Parkinson's Disease. Sebum is rich in lipid-like molecules and is one of the lesser studied biological fluids in the diagnosis of the condition. People with Parkinson's may produce more sebum than normala condition known as seborrhoea. The research has been funded by charities Parkinson's UK and the Michael J. Fox Foundation as well as The University of Manchester Innovation Factory. The work was originally funded following an observation by Joy Milne, whose husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 45. Working with Dr. Tilo Kunath at the University of Edinburgh, Joy demonstrated an incredible ability to distinguish a distinctive Parkinson's odour in individuals using her sense of smell, even before symptoms emerge in those affected. The team, led by Professor Perdita Barran, The University of Manchester, and the clinical lead Professor Monty Silverdale at Salford Royal Foundation Trust, recruited 500 people with and without Parkinson's. Samples of sebum were taken from their upper backs for analysis. Using different mass spectrometry methods, 10 chemical compounds in sebum were identified which are elevated or reduced in people with Parkinson's. This allows scientists to distinguish people with Parkinson's with 85 percent accuracy. The team confirmed their earlier findings published in ACS Central Science that the volatile compounds on skin can be used to diagnose the condition, increasing the number of people sampled and including participants from the Netherlands, as well as the UK. In a new study published today in Nature Communications, high resolution mass spectrometry was used to profile the complex chemical signature in sebum of people with Parkinson's and show subtle but fundamental changes as the condition progresses. Detailed analysis showed changes in people with Parkinson's in lipid (fat) processing and mitochondria. Problems with mitochondriathe tiny energy-producing batteries that power cellsare one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's. This means this 'world first' testing strategy is not only useful in diagnosing Parkinson's but also in monitoring the development of the condition. The skin swab could provide an incredibly important new tool in clinical trials helping researchers measure whether new, experimental treatments are able to slow, stop or reverse the progression of Parkinson's. The study unveiled novel diagnostic sebum-based biomarkers for Parkinson's, provides insight into understanding of how the condition develops, and links lipid dysregulation to altered mitochondrial function. These promising results published today could lead to a definitive test to diagnose Parkinson's accurately, speedily and cost effectively. The team is now seeking funding to further develop the test and explore the potential for using the test to 'stratify' patients. Working with the University of Manchester Innovation Factory, the team has patents filed for their diagnostic techniques and are planning to create a spin-out company to commercialise the new tests. They are also working to use this approach to develop tests for COVID-19 as shown in research last week in EClinical Medicine as well as other conditions and are actively seeking investors interested in supporting the drive to bring this technology to market. Professor Perdita Barran, Professor of Mass Spectrometry at The University of Manchester, said:"We believe that our results are an extremely encouraging step towards tests that could be used to help diagnose and monitor Parkinson's. "Not only is the test quick, simple and painless but it should also be extremely cost-effective because it uses existing technology that is already widely available. "We are now looking to take our findings forwards to refine the test to improve accuracy even further and to take steps towards making this a test that can be used in the NHS and to develop more precise diagnostics and better treatment for this debilitating condition." Parkinson's tends to develop gradually and it may be many months, even years, before the symptoms become obvious enough for an individual to visit their GP. A DaTscan is regularly used to help specialists confirm the loss of dopamine-producing cells that cause the development of Parkinson's. However, similar loss may also occur in some other rarer neurological conditions. With no molecular test for the condition, diagnosis is made by a neurologist based on a combination of symptoms such as tremor, slowness, stiffness and balance issues. However, many of the symptoms of Parkinson's can overlap with other conditions, especially in the early stages when progression is gradual and symptoms are more subtle. In a recent survey of more than 2,000 people with Parkinson's carried out by Parkinson's UK, more than a quarter (26 percent) reported they were misdiagnosed with a different condition before receiving the correct Parkinson's diagnosis. Professor David Dexter, Associate Director of Research at Parkinson's UK, said: "We are proud to have part-funded this groundbreaking research which marks a significant step towards developing a quick and accurate test that can not only revolutionise the way we diagnose Parkinson's, but also allow us to monitor how this debilitating condition progresses. "Every hour, two more people in the UK are diagnosed with Parkinson's and a significant portion of these people may well have been misdiagnosed with, and treated for, another condition before receiving their correct diagnosis. This has been compounded in the COVID-19 pandemic where people have been left waiting and have faced months of anxiety to confirm their diagnosis by a health professional. However, with this innovative test, we could see people being diagnosed quickly and accurately enabling them to access vital treatment and support to manage their Parkinson's symptoms sooner." 56-year-old Daxa Kalayci lives in Leicester and was diagnosed with Parkinson's in September 2019. She was misdiagnosed several times over four years before finally finding out she had the condition. "I was misdiagnosed with anxiety, stress-related tremors and told that my problems stemmed from going through the menopause. I embarked on a 4-month cruise across the globe not knowing I had Parkinson's. Just two weeks into the trip, my symptoms worsened and my dream holiday turned into a nightmare. Without confirmation that it was Parkinson's, which I had suspected for a long time, I was left with unpleasant side-effects caused by different medications prescribed to manage my symptoms. "Despite my diagnosis eventually being confirmed by a DaTscan, a quick and simple diagnostic test for Parkinson's would have given me the chance to start my treatment earlier and enjoy life a lot more. But instead, I lost so many years not being able to pursue a career as a paramedic or go back to Nursing. "This test could be a game-changer for people living with Parkinson's and searching for answers like I was. I am so happy with this news because it will mean that in future people won't have to experience the anxiety of multiple appointments, long waiting times and sleepless nights. The sooner this test is available, the better. Anything that can help people looking for a diagnosis is a bonus." Explore further Sniffing out Parkinson's disease More information: "Validating differential volatilome profiles in Parkinson's disease" Eleanor Sinclair, Caitlin Walton-Doyle, Depanjan Sarkar, Katherine Hollywood, Joy Milne, Sze Lim, Tilo Kunath, Anouk Rijs, Rob DeBie, Monty Silverdale, Drupad Trivedi, Perdita Barran (2021) - published in ACS Central Science, DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c01028 "Validating differential volatilome profiles in Parkinson's disease" Eleanor Sinclair, Caitlin Walton-Doyle, Depanjan Sarkar, Katherine Hollywood, Joy Milne, Sze Lim, Tilo Kunath, Anouk Rijs, Rob DeBie, Monty Silverdale, Drupad Trivedi, Perdita Barran (2021) - published in "Metabolomics of sebum reveals lipid dysregulation in Parkinson's disease" Eleanor Sinclair, Drupad Trivedi, Depanjan Sarkar, Caitlin Walton-Doyle, Joy Milne, Tilo Kunath, Anouk Rijs, Rob Debie, Royston Goodacre, Monty Silverdale, Perdita Barran (2021) - published in Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21669-4 Journal information: ACS Central Science , Nature Communications Chicago, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NCSBN is offering eligible vaccinators, such as nurses and physicians, the opportunity to volunteer to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in one convenient location. Volunteers can access the most up-to-date national list of state registries for vaccine provider enrollment at https://www.ncsbn.org/vaccination-volunteers.htm Recognizing that the supply of COVID-19 vaccines will exponentially increase in the coming weeks and there will be a vital need for qualified health care provider vaccinators, NCSBN compiled a list of state registries for provider enrollment. Individuals wishing to volunteer can directly access their state registry on the NCSBN website. NCSBN CEO David C. Benton, RGN, PhD, FFNF, FRCN, FAAN, comments, We are extremely fortunate to now have the greatest weapon available to combat one of the most serious health care crises of our time. This invaluable resource offers health care providers the chance to register to administer the vaccines that will help bring about the end to the pandemic. About NCSBN Founded March 15, 1978, as an independent not-for-profit organization, NCSBN was initially created to lessen the burdens of state governments and bring together nursing regulatory bodies (NRBs) to act and counsel together on matters of common interest. It has evolved into one of the leading voices of regulation across the world. NCSBNs membership is comprised of the NRBs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. There are three exam user members. There are also 27 associate members that are either NRBs or empowered regulatory authorities from other countries or territories. Mission: NCSBN empowers and supports nursing regulators in their mandate to protect the public. The statements and opinions expressed are those of NCSBN and not individual members.### If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 23:17:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Three Tanzanian nationals have been arrested in connection with the smuggling of 74 chameleons that were seized in Austria in January, a minister said on Thursday. Damas Ndumbaro, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said local law enforcement agencies in collaboration with their international counterparts were still hunting down an accomplice from the Czech Republic. "The Czech national is believed to be the leader of the gang smuggling the chameleons," Ndumbaro told a press conference in the southern highlands municipality of Iringa. He said the three Tanzanian nationals will be charged in court with economic sabotage very soon. The minister said police and other security organs were investigating to establish how the chameleons were transported through the Julius Nyerere International Airport without detection. Last week, the deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Allan Kijazi, said the government has started a process to bring back the smuggled chameleons. He said the government has started applying for permits from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to bring them back. According to local media reports, Austrian authorities stopped a man at Vienna airport in January as he tried to smuggle the protected chameleons from Tanzania into the country. The reports said the 56-year-old man, who was not further identified, had hidden the animals in socks and boxes when he was caught at the customs checkpoint in Vienna. He had traveled to Austria from Tanzania via Ethiopia. Enditem The Young and the Restless star Melody Thomas Scott has played Nikki Newman for years on the show, becoming one of the most notable figures in all of daytime television. In a new interview, Scott looked back at her time on the show, including the fact that she was a recast. Melody Thomas Scott | Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic Melody Thomas Scott plays Nikki Newman on The Young and the Restless Scott debuted as the character of Nicole Nikki Reed Newman on The Young and the Restless in 1979. She was the second actress to portray the character. Scottt came after Erica Hope, who was in the role for a short period of time from 1978 to 1979. RELATED: The Young and the Restless Stars Who Admitted to Getting Plastic Surgery and Treatments Nikki is an iconic character on the show known for many things, but she is definitely best known for being one-half of a supercouple with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). Nikkis overall story arc is thought to be one of the best in soaps, as the character going from a prostitute to a prominent businesswoman in Genoa City. Melody Thomas Scott on being an emergency recast as Nikki In a interview with Soap Opera Digest, Scott revisited all of the years shes played Nikki and some of her fondest memories. My start at Y&R was such a whirlwind, she said. I was an emergency recast and the process happened very quickly. The show was only 30 minutes back then, so we shot it as if it was live, but on tape. I have such fond memories of those times and of forming relationships with some of the cast and crew that have lasted a lifetime. Melody Thomas Scott on memories of playing Nikki and about her on-screen kids On said memories, Scott talked about her favorite thing about playing Nikki, as well as some of her favorite co-stars. Playing Nikki changed my life in ways I could never have imagined, she said. She and Y&R have given me a home and a second family for 42 years, and the opportunity to do what I love on a regular, consistent basis, which is an actors dream. Scott also talked about some of her favorite fellow cast members, such as Amelia Heinle and Joshua Morrow, who play her on-screen children, Victoria and Nicholas. I remember when he first joined the show. He was just 20 years old and still living at home, she said of Morrow. Such a baby! He is now a husband, a father and such an integral part of Y&R. Ive loved him since that first day. Im so proud of the work he has done on the show and the man he has become. The actress recalled the first time that Heinle was Victoria on set and said that she remembered where the set was standing. At the time, Victoria was living in Florence, Italy, and Victor and Nikki came to visit her, she explained. She radiates a warmth that is intoxicating, which quickly endeared her to her new Newman family. Weve played mother and daughter for so long that its hard not to look at her as one of my real-life daughters. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. After more than a week of planning and debating, Southeast Texas businesses and public places opened Wednesday to a partially maskless world. Gov. Greg Abbotts announcement on March 2 gave local governments and businesses across the state about nine days to decide whether COVID-19 restrictions would remain policy and how it might be enforced. Residents also had their own choices to make, and those decisions seemed to be mixed on the first day without state-ordered mask requirements or occupancy rules. Outside the Dowlen Road H-E-B in Beaumont on Wednesday morning, shoppers were still heading to their cars to load groceries like any other day. Related: Jefferson Co., Beaumont differ on mask requirements in public buildings Penny Penisson of Silsbee was wearing her mask after exiting the store, but said she noticeably fewer people inside had decided to join her after the public mandate expired. She said she still wears her mask inside of any place with a considerable amount of people, mostly out of courtesy for others, but she felt like people have a right to decide if they will or not. Penisson recently lost a brother, a health-care worker, to COVID-19. The loss reminds her why she should keep the mask on. Its still important to me, even though Im vaccinated, she said. I also have family members that refuse to, and thats their choice to make." Patrons were mostly masked inside Beaumonts Parkdale Mall Wednesday afternoon. They went about their shopping in storefronts mostly still spaced out for social distancing. National retail chains like Kays Jewelers or 2nd & Charles displayed signage declaring masks were still required inside, but they no longer held the seal of the state or referenced Abbotts previous executive orders. Some smaller and independent retailers also had signs asking for patience and courtesy while shopping, noting requirements to wear masks helped increase safety for customers and staff. Other businesses went about the day like any other, mostly due to an increasingly familiar instinct to roll with the punches of another COVID-19 policy change. All was fairly quiet at the Market Basket in Port Neches, typical for midweek. The store still had its mask signage posted on both of its entrances and throughout the store urging all customers to continue wearing masks when shopping. Related: Without mask mandate, SE Texas stores settle for suggestions A handful of shoppers filled the Magnolia Avenue location Wednesday morning, and all but one shopper wore a mask. For store manager Mathew Hosstpauir, the Wednesday was fairly slow and most people he noticed were doing so. Theres been a few people without masks, Hosstpauir said. Its something that we expected. Hosstpauir admitted he wouldnt be able to fully gauge until later how customers would react going to policy changes. All Market Basket employees and vendors wore masks on Wednesday and will continue to do so for undetermined time, according to the company. Hosstpauir added they are going to strongly suggest mask-less patrons to wear a mask when shopping at Market Basket. A big question entering Wednesday regarding the end of the statewide mask mandate was how law enforcement would handle any potential incidents of businesses refusing to allow customers without a mask into their businesses. Related: Check out our interactive Texas COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker As a result of the governors executive order, local law enforcement agencies are unable to jail people who refuse to follow coronavirus guidelines in businesses of all types. While local law enforcement hands are tied to some degree, Jefferson County sheriffs Capt. Crystal Holmes said if an altercation were to arise, a business could call law enforcement and it would be treated as a trespassing warning. As of midafternoon, dispatchers had not received any calls regarding mask-related incidents, Holmes said. The Sheriffs Office mostly deals with more rural areas, Holmes said. Its more convenience stores and gas stations rather than grocery stores. Holmes said deputies will continue to wear masks. Instead of focusing on whether to ask customers to change their behavior, Dorie Stafford, manager of the 183HEX gym on Meula Creek Road, said staff stuck to what has worked in the gym to eliminate potential problems. The gym features six different class periods and two free gym periods a day, making it easy to predict what spaces users will be in at the same time. Workout spaces for classes are blocked off to allow 10 feet between each person, Stafford said, and the large garage-like doors on each side are opened to allow ventilation. Each participant is also given a bucket with a roll of shop paper towels and bleach water so they can sanitize their space afterward. The latest addition to the policy was the requirement of bringing personal items to the workout square so staff can guarantee there wont be parts of the floor with multiple people gathering at once. Things really wont change that much at all, I think, Stafford said. I think this will be the new normal for us, at least for awhile. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com jorge.ramos@beaumontenterprise.com "TENT reflects the spirit of adventure that our Rebel at heart jewellery symbolises. We want to make a contribution to supporting long-term and sustainable nature protection projects," says Thomas Sabo, chairman of the company. Paul Lister, founder of TENT: "Together with THOMAS SABO, we get a lot of people interested in our projects. Among other things, TENT offers trips to wild areas of Europe and is a pioneer in terms of sustainable travel." The Elements of Nature Collection will be available worldwide from 15th March 2021 in all THOMAS SABO stores, shop-in-shops and in the online store at www.thomassabo.com. Pictures for editorial use: https://nextcloud.thomassabo.com/s/937SaED8CzdBanb @thomassabo_rebelatheart #thomassabo #rebelatheartbyTS About THOMAS SABO THOMAS SABO is one of the leading international jewellery companies. Its core segment is elaborately handcrafted jewellery in 925 Sterling silver. Founded in 1984 by Thomas Sabo in Lauf an der Pegnitz, the company is represented in more than 70 countries worldwide, through its own flagship stores, points of sale, wholesale partners and the global online store at www.thomassabo.com. About TENT TENT is an independent charity, registration number 1091283. It is registered in England and regulated by The Charity Commission. Our registered office: 44 Welbeck Street, W1G 8DY, London. The European Nature Trust (TENT), creates unique travel experiences which connect people to wild nature and raise funds for conservation and wildlife projects across the continent. Press contact THOMAS SABO GmbH & Co. KG +49912397150 [email protected] http://facebook.com/ThomasSabo http://instagram.com/thomassabo Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1454503/THOMAS_SABO.jpg SOURCE THOMAS SABO GmbH & Co.KG Twitter logo and a Russian flag are displayed in this illustration picture taken (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration) Russia said on Wednesday it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content, threatening to block the U.S. platform outright if it did not comply with its deletion demands. The move escalates a growing stand-off between Moscow and U.S. social media firms. It comes weeks after Russian authorities accused Twitter and others of failing to delete posts that Moscow said illegally urged children to take part in anti-Kremlin protests. Advertisement In Wednesday's announcement, Russia's Roskomnadzor communications regulator referred to what it said was illegal content on Twitter containing child pornography, information about drug abuse and calls for minors to commit suicide. Twitter said it was worried about the impact on free speech of the Russian action, and denied that it allowed its platform to be used to promote illegal behaviour. "We remain committed to advocating for the Open Internet around the world and are deeply concerned by increased attempts to block and throttle online public conversation," a Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "Let us be clear - we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual exploitation, it is against the Twitter Rules to promote, glorify or encourage suicide and self harm, and we do not allow the use of Twitter for any unlawful behaviour or to further illegal activities, including the buying and selling of drugs." Russia has traditionally taken a more hands-off role in policing the internet than neighbouring China. But as domestic political tensions have risen this year over the arrest and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny - which triggered nationwide protests - it has signalled a tougher line. Roskomnadzor said that as of Wednesday there were more than 3,000 posts containing illegal content on Twitter, which it accused of ignoring its deletion requests for years. "The slowing down will be applied to 100% of mobile devices and on 50% of non-mobile devices," the regulator said. "If (Twitter) continues to ignore the requirements of the law, the enforcement measures will be continued... (right up to blocking it)," the regulator said. Twitter was already under pressure in Russia after it was named as one of five social media platforms being sued for allegedly failing to delete posts urging children to take part in illegal protests, the Interfax news agency cited a Moscow court as saying on Tuesday. 'CONTROL THE INFORMATION SPACE' The Kremlin said there was no desire to block content but that companies had to abide by the law. Some activists, however, said they believed the curbs were linked to recent protests. "Of course the main motive is the increase in street protest action," said Sarkis Darbinyan, an internet freedom advocate with the Roskomsvoboda group. "It's 10 years since the Arab spring this year... they've understood the internet is a driving force. Any desire to control the Russian internet is connected to the desire to control the information space." Navalny's allies say they plan new protests in coming months. Some government websites were unavailable for some Russian internet users shortly after the announcement about Twitter. Telecoms operator Rostelecom said the disruption to several government websites, including those of the Kremlin and parliament, was not caused by new restrictions imposed on Twitter but by an equipment malfunction. Vadim Subbotin, an official at Roskomnadzor, said it was possible that the authorities could target and slow down other internet platforms if they failed to comply with the law, the Interfax news agency reported. Moscow has gradually introduced tougher internet laws in recent years, requiring search engines to delete some search results, messaging services to share encryption keys with security services and platforms to store user data on servers in Russia. Journalist and television presenter Piers Morgan smiles in front of members of the media as he takes his daughter Elise to school, (Photo : REUTERS/Toby Melville) Piers Morgan, the pugnacious British TV presenter who lost his job over his attacks on Prince Harry's wife Meghan, said on Wednesday he still did not believe what she had said during her Oprah Winfrey interview. Morgan, 55, left ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday after a backlash against his comments on Meghan's interview with Winfrey, in which she revealed she had felt suicidal while living as a royal in Britain. Advertisement "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. If you did, OK," Morgan said in a characteristically combative Tweet on Wednesday morning. "Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I'm off to spend more time with my opinions," he told his 7.8 million Twitter followers. He added a photo of Winston Churchill with a quote on free speech. In an interview that has embarrassed Britain's tradition-bound monarchy, Meghan, who married Prince Harry in 2018, said the royal family had rejected her pleas for mental health support. The American actress, who is mixed race, also said that someone in the royal household had raised questions about the colour of her unborn son's skin. The morning after the interview was aired on U.S. television, Morgan said on Good Morning Britain, among a torrent of other criticisms, that he did not believe a word Meghan had said. In a Tweet, he called her "Princess Pinocchio". The following morning, he stormed off the set of the live programme when challenged by a co-presenter about his stance. Later that day, ITV said he was leaving. Monday's programme attracted more than 41,000 complaints to Britain's media regulator, the second highest in its history, which announced an investigation. Morgan first made his name in the cut-throat world of the British tabloid press, culminating in stints editing the now-defunct News of the World, then the Daily Mirror. He later went into television, appearing as a judge on the reality shows America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent. For three years he hosted a chat show on CNN. Morgan's detractors said his attitude towards Meghan seemed to be partly driven by personal animus because, by his own account, he had got on "brilliantly" with her when he had first met her but she had later dropped contact with him. Susanna Reid, who co-presented Good Morning Britain with Morgan and frequently disagreed with him on air, described him on Wednesday's programme as "outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive". Morgan told reporters on Tuesday he thought Meghan's interview had damaged the monarchy and Queen Elizabeth at a time when her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip was in hospital, which he said was "contemptible". "If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it," he said. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have decided to join hands to take up activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data. A bilateral meeting between and JAXA was held today on virtual mode. Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO/ Secretary, Department of Space and Dr. Hiroshi YAMAKAWA, President, JAXA led their respective delegations. Apart from reviewing on-going cooperation in earth observation, lunar cooperation and satellite navigation, both sides have agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in space situational awareness and professional exchange programme. Both agencies signed an Implementing arrangement for collaborative activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data. Recent news reports state that an astounding one-third of U.S. servicemembers are refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine. While many Americans say they do not want the vaccine these particular numbers about our military women and men are troubling for many reasons. First, those who raise their right hand to defend this great nation must also lead by example and demonstrate to their brothers and sisters in arms as well as their families, friends, and countrymen that we are fighting this global pandemic together. Furthermore, like many Americans our servicemembers need to better understand the facts and history about how these vaccines were created. In this instance we are benefiting from decades of research and development, billions of dollars in funding, and tremendous teaming across the public, private, and academic sectors both here on American soil and abroad. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are unique citizens in our society. They have individually chosen to serve their fellow Americans by voluntarily defending them in foreign wars, supporting domestic emergencies, and assisting partners and allies around the world when natural disasters or other global exigencies wreak havoc on their residents. When servicemembers sign up and report to initial training, they get various inoculations to ensure health readiness and, ultimately enable their ability to deploy globally. So long as individuals continue to serve, they will continue to received updates to these and other immunizations. Yet because the current vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) are being administered under the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) military members are not currently required to take these vaccines. Upon final approval, likely later this year, they would then be required to received the inoculation. The implication that the creation, testing, and validation of efficacy for the various COVID-19 vaccines in use under the FDAs EUA occurred only during the year 2020 is inaccurate and misleading. The moniker Operation Warp Speed, while valid for its rapidly efficient process, unfortunately gave credence to the inaccuracy that these vaccinations were rushed. It is this mistakenness regarding the alleged hurried, untested vaccination process that has seeded doubt and created fear in individuals about receiving an inoculation and, unfortunately, runs the risk of prolonging a pandemic that could be soon running its course. The facts are strikingly different. Decades of research and work by multi-discipline professionals and funding by the U.S. and international governments as well as private sources provided a warm (maybe hot) start for the COVID-19 vaccine. The building blocks necessary to rapidly develop effective vaccines for this easily transmissible and deadly coronavirus already existed in January of last year when the virus is believed to have reached our shores. What were these building blocks? One was the study, research, and learning over many years on HIV. Another was the international collective work on SARS emerging from China in 2002 and MERS coming out of the Middle East in 2012. And lets not forget the annual research and study done in order to combat seasonal influenzas. All of these real-world deadly viruses, among other things, have provided epidemiologists, scientists, and medical professionals with significant learning opportunities and have helped them develop the expertise necessary to work with federal government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Center for Disease Control (CDC), and FDA among others, to rapidly develop the vaccines that are now inoculating millions of Americans and others around the globe. It was years of tireless dedication by these professionals and the gargantuan effort by our pharmaceutical industry that enabled the successful COVID-19 vaccination production timeline. Back to our troops and the refusal by a third of them to not take the vaccine. Three things need to occur. First, their leaders need to better explain the development history of these vaccines. Perhaps this will require the venerable Defense Health Agency and the individual military services to better clarify the effectiveness of these vaccines. We cannot allow misinformation and in some cases disinformation to mislead our women and men uniform. The CDCs recent announcement that fully vaccinated individuals can safely socialize among themselves without masking or distancing should be enough of a motivator. Nonetheless, commissioned and senior enlisted leaders must know the facts and it is incumbent that they clearly inform their subordinates. Second, our national leaders must be united in their support for these vaccinations. Partisan bickering is not helpful to the broader need to vaccinate our way to herd immunity. Moreover, it is essential that military women and men understand that they are taking the vaccine to protect not just themselves, but others, just as they do in uniform. Finally, as I stated at the outset our men and women in uniform must lead as they did by swearing an oath to serve and protect. The special place they occupy in the hears and minds of Americans is well deserved. These brave Patriots have signed up to support and defend America while also coming to aid of so many around the world. When they lead, I am certain many other American citizens will follow. David F. Lasseter is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction and the founder of Horizons Global Solutions. Our hope is that Holmans expertise in both the B2C and B2B automotive landscape will provide listeners a unique perspective on the industry while also delivering some practical advice and memorable conversations along the way, said Nogalo. Holman Enterprises, a global automotive services organization, announced today the launch of an all-new, automotive, fleet, and mobility podcast, MOTIVE powered by Holman. The monthly podcast will examine the latest news and trends from across the automotive sector while also providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the industry, highlighting everything from the newest vehicles and ultra-luxury exotic cars to cutting-edge technology and fleet best practices. With the launch of MOTIVE, our goal is to explore the major topics and emerging trends relevant to the movement of people and goods, said Peter Nogalo, host of MOTIVE powered by Holman and Marketing Manager, Holman Enterprises. The automotive industry as a whole is in the midst of remarkable innovation and along with that comes significant opportunity as well as a number of challenges both for businesses and consumers. Were looking forward to delving deeper into a wide-range of important themes and discussing how they will impact the future of mobility. Each month, MOTIVE powered by Holman will feature the organizations automotive, fleet, and mobility experts along with special guests from across the industry sharing their perspective on key topics such as electrification, connectivity, and shared mobility to name just a few. The podcast will also recap recent automotive news, cover new model launches, and offer advice for navigating the rapidly evolving car buying experience, particularly as the process becomes increasingly digital. Our hope is that Holmans expertise in both the B2C and B2B automotive landscape will provide listeners a unique perspective on the industry while also delivering some practical advice and memorable conversations along the way, said Nogalo. Listeners can subscribe to MOTIVE powered by Holman and the podcast is also available via Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify as well as many other leading podcast directories. For additional information about Holman Enterprises, please visit HolmanEnterprises.com. About Holman Enterprises Holman Enterprises is a global automotive leader that serves both commercial and consumer clients The Holman Way by always doing the right thing for our people, our customers, and the community since 1924. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, our automotive-centric businesses include Holman Automotive, one of the largest privately owned dealership groups in the U.S. with 40 dealership franchises representing 20 brands; Holman Insurance Services, a commercial and consumer insurance services company; Holman Parts Distribution, a national distributor of OEM powertrain solutions and logistics leader; Auto Truck Group, a vehicle fabrication and upfitting business; Kargo Master, a manufacturer of truck and van productivity solutions; ARI, the largest privately-owned fleet leasing and management company in North America; and Holman Strategic Ventures, Holmans corporate venture capital and innovation team. For additional information, please visit HolmanEnterprises.com. Albany, N.Y. As hes reeled from twin scandals over his treatment of women and Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has had to confront a once-unthinkable question: Could enough rogue Democrats combine with Republicans to force him out of office? A vocal group of mostly progressive Democrats has called for the governor to resign or be impeached as the crisis has deepened, joining with a core of Republicans who on Monday said they would propose articles of impeachment. Defections in the state Assembly, which has the authority to begin impeachment proceedings, had already been substantial Tuesday before a report late Wednesday about an aide who claimed she was groped in the governors residence. At least 27 Democrats and 12 Republicans in the chamber had called for Cuomo to resign, according to an Associated Press tally. A smaller number, 28 lawmakers from both parties, had said publicly that they want to impeach Cuomo. Thats well short of the 76 Assembly votes that would be needed to to send the case to an impeachment court, made up of senators and state appeals court judges. The tally was made before The Times Union of Albany reported Wednesday that an unidentified aide had claimed Cuomo reached under her shirt and fondled her in the Executive Mansion. The newspapers reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the womans accusation. Cuomo said through a spokesperson that he has never done anything like this. At least 33 Democrats would have to combine with every Republican in the Assembly to hit that number. But even some Republicans were saying it was too early to judge Cuomo. Republican Michael Fitzpatrick, of Long Island, said he would wait for state Attorney General Letitia James to complete an investigation of Cuomos workplace conduct before deciding whether he should go. I will wait for the investigations. I believe in due process, he said. Theres bloodlust for this guy at this point. He has very few if any friends (but) I do believe in due process. The Assemblys no. 2 Democrat, Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, said she doesnt anticipate a group of Assembly Democrats joining with Republicans to create a majority for impeachment. Im not contemplating that at all, Peoples-Stokes said. Why would I? It hasnt been a full process yet. Cuomo has repeatedly said he wont resign. He has urged the public and lawmakers to refrain from judgment until the attorney generals investigation is complete. Federal investigators are also scrutinizing how his administration handled data concerning COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes. The allegations against Cuomo include a combination of claims that he made the workplace an uncomfortable place for young women. At least two former aides have said they believed the governor was hitting on them. One said he gave her an unwanted kiss on the lips. Another said he asked her whether she would be interested in a relationship with an older man. Other women have complained about uncomfortable hugs or touches, or flirtatious comments inappropriate in the workplace. Cuomo has denied inappropriately touching anyone, but said he is sorry if he made anyone uncomfortable and didnt intend to do so. New York has only impeached a governor once, in 1913. Some members of the Assembly want to see it happen again. Bronx Assembly member Amanda Septimo, who has called for the governors resignation, estimated that lawmakers have spent more than 15 hours in meetings in recent days discussing the allegations. Talking questions of abuses of power, questions of leadership, question of leadership style, now questions of sexual harassment, and what that means and what it says, Septimo said Monday on an online stream she posted on Twitter. And whats the message were sending to women in our state if we dont stand up and say this isnt okay? The debate is unfolding at a tricky time as lawmakers and the governors office are negotiating on a new state budget, due by April 1. That alone is causing some lawmakers to ask that judgment be deferred, at least for a while. Were days away from doing a state budget and that is, from my point of view, the most important thing that is in front of us at the moment because it impacts the lives of people all over the state, said Jeff Aubry, an Assembly Democrat from Queens. The budget negotiations also raise the possibility that Cuomo or some lawmakers might try to use the scandal as a horse-trading opportunity, buying support or opposition with promises of favors or concessions. Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, whose district includes Westchester County, called the governor distracted and a distraction. I think the governors strategy is foolish because hes basically daring for us to impeach him, the Democrat said. And there may come a time when we do it, but thats not in his interest or the interest of the people in the state of New York. Western Australia is navigating the COVID-19 pandemic far better than most places globally. Credit to those responsible for guiding us through these challenging times. However, as vaccinations roll out and we transition from COVID relief to recovery, a next normal emerges, including possible accelerations of trends that may have otherwise taken years to achieve. Extending home solar subsidies is one of many opportunities WA could embrace in taking action on climate change. Credit:Glenn Hunt Examples abound, from greater flexibility in working from home through to the growth of online shopping. But one trend which does not appear to be accelerating in Western Australia at a pace commensurate with global progress is action on climate change. New Delhi: Rodents allegedly drank 9 lakh litres of liquor in Bihar and now rats in Jharkhand ate away at least 45 kilograms of marijuana in Jharkhands coal town Dhanbad, around 170 kilometers from Ranchi. The incident came to surface after Dhanbad police told the court that rats ate around 45 kilograms of marijuana confesticated from a man smuggling the narcotic to West Bengal from Bihar. The Dhanbad police had seized the narcotic from the inter-state GT Road (NH-2) under Barwadda police station jurisdiction in 2016. The arrested was identified as Shivaji Kumar, a resident of Bihars Bhojpur district. Police had recovered around 145 kilograms of marijuana from the arrested. The seized narcotic was deposited in Barwadda police stations storeroom. Police had booked Kumar under Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985 and chargesheet was filed in a Dhanbad court last month. Dhanbad Police produced around 100 kilograms of marijuana in front of the court on being directed. On being questioned on the missing marijuana, Barwadda police station officer-in-charge in a report submitted to the court said rats finished the marijuana kept in plastic sacks in police station storeroom. This year in May Bihar police had blamed rats for drinking around 9 lakh litres of alcohol seized from people trying to mock prohibition law in the state. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale Contribute: Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it. Flag as inappropriate. Mark as helpful or interesting. Send your own user report! Kisii University / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Was just on and felt my house ceiling shaking and my windows vibrating then suddenly my bed was shaking too I alsmost thought it's the d-day for us to leave the world | 19 users found this interesting. I felt it in Homabay county-Oyugis town.It occurred at 4:51am for 15 seconds / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Migori town near equity bank / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : 4:47 Am | 9 users found this interesting. Ranen (83.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s : It's scary and confusing when you're awakened by the roof rattling, then the house starts shaking. You fear it would get worse but the shake fades off. | 5 users found this interesting. Bomet ,siongiroi / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : There was rat in my house, when felt trembling then I though may it is huge mouse escaping its no longer a rat because shaking until my bed I woke and sit I didn't sleep anymore | 2 users found this interesting. / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s Tenwek Hospital (Bomet/Silibwet) / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s : We were wakened by the shaking of the bed and a light rumbling sound outside. The shaking lasted for about 7-10 seconds and tapered off for about 10 more. It was the longest and strongest Ive felt from this location in the past 23 years. | 4 users found this interesting. bomet kenya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : We've live here for 5 years and first earthquake we've felt. We were up early and my wife and I said "I think that's an earthquake" Make some noise as if the doors were slightly knocking against the wall like when the wind blows through the house. At first I thought it was our dog waking up and pounding on the floor like he does when he's scrathing. | 4 users found this interesting. Kericho, Kenya (180.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s : Bed was shaking and everything hanging on the walls was heard and seen swinging against the wall. I panicked and if it had continued for another 30 seconds, i was going to wake up my kids and wife and rush them outside to safety for we live in 2nd floor of our residential building | 3 users found this interesting. Awendo (41.8 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Scaaary, I thought the world was ending. It's not every night you wake up to the house shaking, cupboards sliding and a lot of noise | 3 users found this interesting. Nyamongo - Tarime / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : House was shaking, the car alarms were sounding as the result of quake. Strong shaking was then followed by two after shocks in a range of appro.15minutes from the major shock. | 3 users found this interesting. Kisii (111.9 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Kenyans wake up in fear as the land is hit by an earthquake. The mild tremors shook the land at exactly 4:49am in Thursday morning and may have lasted between 20-30 seconds. The 4.7 magnitude quake was felt in many parts of the country including Kisii county. It shook houses and made the the roof to make vibrating noises | 3 users found this interesting. taboino / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s : I felt it while asleep on bed but was awaken by the shaking. it was at 4:50 AM east African time and didn't last long though it's my first that lasted for long. | 3 users found this interesting. Mwanza.. (269 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : It was a time a felt the earthquake when l was about to wake up for dawns to prepare myself for early morning activities..it was around 4:48 am in the morning when l realised that my house is almost cracking and felling on me...but depending on the world of Geography according the knowledge l got in high school..l realised that it might be a shallow earthquake with less magnitude...it took me time but all in all its a fine moment , nothing spoiled up... Thank you. | 2 users found this interesting. Kisii, Kenya (115.2 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : It is what woke me up. I was shocked that I almost ran outside. I thought the end of the world has come. Here in Kisii Kenya at Gusii Highlights | 2 users found this interesting. APLine migori.opposite Red Cross / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 20-30 s : Animals alarmed .Difficulty experienced in walking steadily. | 4 users found this interesting. Migori, Kenya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : woken up by shake | 4 users found this interesting. NDANAI - SOTIK (121.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) : My clothes on the floor bed shaking | 3 users found this interesting. Migori county / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : At first it felt like a heavy vehicle was passing since we are near the highway, after a few seconds windows were vibrating, objects on the table moving and the ground shook slightly. | 2 users found this interesting. Kericho / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 1-2 s : You should have seen me waking up my 2 babies (4 years and 5 months olds) thinking that the house was collapsing while we were still sleeping in it. | 2 users found this interesting. Sotik, Bomet, Kenya (137.5 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vibration and rolling / 10-15 s : The shaking woke me up early in the morning. I have never experienced a quake before, and light as it was, it surely made me a bit scared. I felt the ground beneath me vibrate as I slept on my bed and the window panes shake a little. | One user found this interesting. Rongo, Kisii County (96.3 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Woke up with the bed shaking,also hearing some noise, mostly from things rattling or moving slightly. | One user found this interesting. Kenya Kisii County Bogiakumu Location (111.3 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : I was woken up to a serious tremor never had of it before. I heard like a huge wide Rock was moving with speed underneath the soil. It took around 12seconds...Am yet to ascertain the full damaged it may have caused in my region.moturimoturigo@gmail.com | One user found this interesting. Lolgorien Kenya / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : The whole house was shaking as if it was being pushed by the bulldozer and difficulty in walking . | 3 users found this interesting. Iganga, Uganda / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Woke me up from sleep | 3 users found this interesting. Ukwala, siaya county / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling : I felt like swinging in bed | 3 users found this interesting. Kericho / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : Shocking and terrible | 3 users found this interesting. I work in West pokot county and I felt earthquake / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I livebin West pokot county and I felt earthquake at 0452am | 3 users found this interesting. Eldoret (255.4 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s : Apartment building shaking.Rattling of bottles near my bedroom mirror. A bit scary. | 2 users found this interesting. Kiptagich, Olenguruone (512 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Windows rattle, swaying clothe line inside the house. | 2 users found this interesting. Kisii town (112.5 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Woken up by strong shaking and sounds of rattling sounds from the roof | 2 users found this interesting. Kisii, Kenya. / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating : It was strong and never experienced before. It was between 4.47 to 4.49 when i heard a terrible tremblling and everything was shacking all over. Realy disturbing ,and we taught the end of the world has come. | One user found this interesting. Bomet, Makimeny / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I was awake,everything was vibrating i thou there was someone pushing the door. Dogs were barking ,and hens were making noise. | One user found this interesting. Kisii, Sengera / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : I was asleep at that time when i heard my bed shaking. I woke up and felt the vibrations from the ground. | One user found this interesting. Migori / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 10-15 s : The quake started off mild then a slightly strong shaking before it finally died out...it lasted not more than 30 seconds | One user found this interesting. Kisii Town / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : was around 4:48 EAT during the quake.... I was asleep and never got back to bed again.... it was horrible. | One user found this interesting. Kisii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : At around 4.50am I was awakened by a vibration and rattling sound. I felt as if a large road construction tractor was passing by slowly. | One user found this interesting. Kenya ,Bomet / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : The earthquake lasted for almost 10s am in bomet in kenya it happened around 4ish in the morning.even the dogs started baking. | One user found this interesting. Parklands Nairobi / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Was woken up by the shaking. Thought it was a dream till I heard furniture and equipment rattle in the next room. | One user found this interesting. Kisii, kenya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating : Felt sensation of strong wind outside coupled with shaking of the building. The iron sheets on the roof crackled alot. | One user found this interesting. Migori (345.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : I got scared becouse I had not experience it before,i even sat on my bed and starts to say my last prayer. Ranen (83.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s : It's scary and confusing when you're awakened by the roof rattling, then the house starts shaking. You fear it would get worse but the shake fades off. Mwanza.. (269 km S of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : It was a time a felt the earthquake when l was about to wake up for dawns to prepare myself for early morning activities..it was around 4:48 am in the morning when l realised that my house is almost cracking and felling on me...but depending on the world of Geography according the knowledge l got in high school..l realised that it might be a shallow earthquake with less magnitude...it took me time but all in all its a fine moment , nothing spoiled up... Thank you. Kisii county. Location CBD (113.6 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : Felt it at around 5am. And could actually hear a roaring sound my bed too shook as well as could see the walls shaking despite being in a non storeyed building Nyamira County kenya / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : It shook my bed. It was strong | 2 users found this interesting. Olenguruone, Kuresoi South, Nakuru County / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Felt the vibrations it was like a passing heavy truck. | 2 users found this interesting. Maasai mara Aitong (116.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Was exercising, then felt slight ground shaking, felt fear, sat on the bed and it was shaking. And roofing crackling for about 10 seconds with windows and doors rattling audibly. It was 4:48 am when it stopped | 2 users found this interesting. Kisii / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Very worried and afraid | 2 users found this interesting. Sotik / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Light Shaking, it was strong enough to wake me up | 2 users found this interesting. Kisii (112.2 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s : Shaking of the building and things falling from shelves in Homabay Kenya | One user found this interesting. 194.8 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Ground shaking, ratling of iron roof for about 5 minutes | One user found this interesting. Litein (148.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : I was a sleep but woken up by earthquake | One user found this interesting. Nairobi (280.6 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt : Not felt | One user found this interesting. Tenwek, Bomet, kenya (503.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : It will me me up. Bed rocking east to west it seemed. Windows creaking and cupboard doors knocking | One user found this interesting. Kisii (111.9 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : The quake shook the house for at least 30 seconds | One user found this interesting. Kisii (111.6 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Frightening for first experiencers but a common thing to cause I had experienced it earlier | One user found this interesting. Kirindon, Kenya (98 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s : Light tremor | One user found this interesting. Bomet (109.6 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s : It was at 4:48am and I was awakened by tremors that lasted for about 20seconds. | One user found this interesting. Kisii (494.2 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : Goodness! This has never been felt in this region recently! | One user found this interesting. 187.1 km N of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I was awakened from my sleep by the house shaking | One user found this interesting. Nandi hills (209.8 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Beds shaking | One user found this interesting. Tenwek Hospital (Bomet/Silibwet) / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 15-20 s : We were wakened by the shaking of the bed and a light rumbling sound outside. The shaking lasted for about 7-10 seconds and tapered off for about 10 more. It was the longest and strongest Ive felt from this location in the past 23 years. Bunda / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : The shaking was moderate, the house shaken and the items inside shaked, but they didn't fall down. Nothing was destroyed or damaged. Kisii - Etago Sub County / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating : Had just woken up when I heart the roof and the iron sheets rattling and the bed... I felt frightened and couldn't sleep afterwards. Kisumu / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Utensils from my kitchen shelf fell down and woke me up, I thought someone was messing with my things until I saw someone from my location post that he had experienced some light shaking Kericho County, Bureti Sub-county, Kipwastuiyo Cen / Light shaking (MMI IV) : It's really really scary after awaken by enormous trembling and rattling my house and everything in it. And since I was a Geography student in secondary school, I knew it's a tumor(a weak earthquake. Nakuru bahati constituency / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s : IAM used to such kind of shaking since I live near a big quarry and so it didn't occur to me that it could be an earthquake though it was in the early morning hours and usually the quarry doesn't work that early so it could be true an earthquake was there. KISII TOWN / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s : I was asleep facing upwards and in a dream. suddenly i woke up due to vigorous shaking. at first i didn't understand what was happening but i later realized that the whole house in second floor was shaking. i immediately ran to my daughters room and posted a question if anyone had experienced the tremor in Kisii. litein tebesonik / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : we enjoyed the experience. we are eagerly waiting for another one | One user found this interesting. Migori (46.4 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 2-5 s : It was a kind of rattling | One user found this interesting. Litein 23 / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Felt the ground shaking but it was light shaking | One user found this interesting. Sirare-Isebania town / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : It was scary | One user found this interesting. West pokot county,kapenguria police station / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : I felt like my bed is jumping up and down | One user found this interesting. Kericho uniliver tea kericho / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : At fist i just felt like someone is shaking my bed then lol it continued for about five seconds | One user found this interesting. Nairobi / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : I felt like the bed is moving. I was lying on my back then there we movement noise in wardrobe | One user found this interesting. rongo / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : At first i thought it was a trailer because we are near the roadside then its longer than expected | One user found this interesting. Kisii in Mosocho / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : There was a little vibration that lasted around 4-10 seconds and could leterally shake me in bed | One user found this interesting. Kiamokama / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : I woke and got stuck in bed I could not move.its a long time experience | One user found this interesting. Kisii kisii university / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Scary | One user found this interesting. Langata Nairobi. / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I felt my bed shake foe 2 to 5 secs | One user found this interesting. Kisii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 20-30 s : Very scarery I was very tensed | One user found this interesting. Kapsabet / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : Bed was shaking | One user found this interesting. Kiaii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Felt in Kisii, Bomet, Kericho and Lake Victoria region | One user found this interesting. Kericho / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I was woken by my bed shaking! | One user found this interesting. Kisii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : The roof (especially my iron sheet tucked house) was rattling... It was strange... | One user found this interesting. It was a strong earthquake, it shook my bed stronger / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Nairobi / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Felt bed shaking. | One user found this interesting. Nairobi Ruaka area / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : The bed shook lightly and it woke me up i could also hear the wardrobe doors rattling | One user found this interesting. Iganga, Uganda / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Woke me up from sleep | One user found this interesting. NYAMIRA,TOMBE / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Waken up by rattling walls,beds Windows at 4.48am ,11//2021.This lasted for about 5 to 10 secods | One user found this interesting. Migori / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : I was feel bed vibrating in early morning | One user found this interesting. siaya .bondo sub caunty / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vertical swinging (up and down) : afraid | One user found this interesting. Bomet County / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : It was around 4:48 am Kenya time all southern Riftvalley felt it | One user found this interesting. BIMET,KENYA / not felt / 5-10 s : There was shaking and utensils trembling for over 8 seconds | One user found this interesting. Kericho / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s : Felt vibration door swinging and bed shaking | One user found this interesting. Migori / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : Got up frm sleep n called others to confirm d same | One user found this interesting. kisii / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 20-30 s : it was so shaky and alarmed all of us so bad | One user found this interesting. Kericho / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging : It was moderate shaking,I got woken up due to movements and got tensed | One user found this interesting. Migori Kenya / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : i was reading on my bed ,the roof shaked the floor felt had some motions | One user found this interesting. Kehancha migori county / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating : It woke us from sleep.afraid the house would collapse happened at 4:47 am in the wee hours | One user found this interesting. In migori next to kenya tanzania border / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : Scared | One user found this interesting. Strong shaking in migori I thought it was a dream / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 271.7 km NW of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Tombe (120.8 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Sarura (436.4 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s : Scary,bed was shaking 111.4 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging Awendo (65.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 15-20 s Awendo (54.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating 51.1 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s Kiambu (341.4 km ESE of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt 75.2 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Iron sheets of houses rattling. Woken up by the noise and shaking of bed. Kisii kenya (118.7 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Scary Kisii town (139.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Kericho County (98.9 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : I have never experienced but I experienced today and it's so scary Tarime mara (2.4 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Severe shaking (MMI VIII) Kisii (111.5 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : So shocked, how can we get notified earlier of a possible earthquake? Kisii town (66.8 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Director (99.3 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Mabera..it's btn sirare & migori (1248.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : The whole house shakes,bed...it's was just horrible...waah 74.9 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Happened at 4:47am East Africa time most people waken up Eldoret (213.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Kilgoris (93.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Kiamunyi (249 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 135.9 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt kisii (112.8 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating 57.5 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating 285.4 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s : I felt it 149 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) KERICHO (285.4 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 185.5 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s 58.2 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s 42.9 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s 341 km SE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s 58.1 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s Bomet (505.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Narok (187.9 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s 92.2 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Homabay (114.2 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Rongo university (90.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating 185.7 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) 119.3 km ENE of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s 191.1 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s Nakuru (241.4 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s 289.1 km NNE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Nairobi (276.2 km E of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt Kericho (200 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 5-10 s 185.6 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Kisii town (110.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) KISII (110.5 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) Migori County Masaba location (54.6 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling Rongo (632.9 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Kisii,Kenya (104.3 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s 88.9 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) RONGO (95.9 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating 133.1 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s Kisii town (110.1 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) 150 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s Kisii (1060.3 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s kilgoris (89.1 km NE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s 156.8 km NE of epicenter [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Migori-Rongo University (473.7 km ENE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) 270.5 km E of epicenter [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) Kericho / not felt Kisii / not felt : I didn't feel anything Nairobi / not felt Menengai Crater, Nakuru / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s Kericho / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 20-30 s : Scaring in the middle of the night! Kadongo / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) kisii-kenya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s Nairobi / not felt Nyamongo, Tarime district / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Musoma / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s : Long standing. Bomet district (chebunyo) / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : The house shook heavily Kericho / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s HOMABAY TOWN / Weak shaking (MMI III) / very short KISII / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating Mbita / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating Naguru, Kampala / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Kitui / not felt : I didn't feel it kenya, keroka / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 15-20 s Migori / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating Mwanza / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s : The earthquake I heard by far at around 4:50. Nsnfi / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Nandi keroka / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s Musoma / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s Kabianga, Kericho / Light shaking (MMI IV) Migori / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Felt some vibration on the ceiling that lasted for some seconds Maasai mara / Light shaking (MMI IV) : I felt it when I was in my bed 4:48am. A big vibration. Isibania / Light shaking (MMI IV) isibania / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Rodi Kopany / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s : Just light tremor Ololulunga / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / rattling, vibrating : I was shocked and I had to wake up and walk out of the house Nyanturago / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Very disturbing experience Kisii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s Chepterwo dispensary / Moderate shaking (MMI V) : Felt birds chirping and the house shaking. NAIROBI - LOWER KABETE / Light shaking (MMI IV) KISII / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Kisii / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Nakuru Freehold / not felt Koiwa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 10-15 s Malava , kenya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Kisii / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s Migori / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating Kisii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) kericho,kabianga i felt it until i open the phone / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 10-15 s Isibania / Moderate shaking (MMI V) kisii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Kisii / Light shaking (MMI IV) Musoma / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Nakuru / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 15-20 s Rongo migori / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Nandi Hills / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating Nakuru / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / very short Kileleshwa Nairobi / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Nairobi / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / very short Nairobi / not felt Nairobi, westlands / not felt Nairobi / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s Town... ATC / Light shaking (MMI IV) mosocho kisii county / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s Kisii,chepilat town / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 2-5 s Kehancha migori / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 15-20 s Karungu / Light shaking (MMI IV) Naitobi, Ruaka town / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Kericho / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s Ruaka / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating Mwanza / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s Nyamira / Light shaking (MMI IV) Kenya-Kitale in Trans-Nzoia county / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating kisii / Strong shaking (MMI VI) Chavaksli / Light shaking (MMI IV) Chebole / Weak shaking (MMI III) Rongo / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating Nairobi / Light shaking (MMI IV) Nairobi / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 2-5 s Kisii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 s Nairobi / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating Nairobi / Very weak shaking (MMI II) APLine migori.opposite Red Cross / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / 20-30 s Bomet..sotik / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s Nyamira / Light shaking (MMI IV) Bondo, Kenya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating Kisii county,Kisii town,Jogoo estate / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 10-15 s Kisii / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s Mwanza / Light shaking (MMI IV) Kampala / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / very short Mbale, Vihiga, Kenya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Kericho / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s Kericho / Light shaking (MMI IV) Sirari-Tarime, Mara Region, Tanzania / Light shaking (MMI IV) Olenguruone / Moderate shaking (MMI V) Bomet Kenya / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s Rongo / Light shaking (MMI IV) Kisii Town Kenya / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s Kisii / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s Mwanza / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s Homa Bay / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) Ngong town. Kajiado county / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Mwanza Tanzania / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s Kampala / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s CLEVELAND, Ohio Famed conservative radio and television commentator Geraldo Rivera is exploring a run for U.S. Senate in Ohio as a Republican, telling cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer that he thought he could run a campaign outside the normal bounds of politics. Rivera, 77, has been a staple on television and radio since the 1970s as both a correspondent and conservative political pundit. Rivera, who lives in Shaker Heights, tweeted Wednesday afternoon he was mulling running for Republican Sen. Rob Portmans seat after Portman announced he would not seek re-election. In an interview with cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer, Rivera said he was serious about the endeavor and planned on traveling the state on a listening tour in the coming weeks to solicit feedback about his potential candidacy. He said he and his wife, Erica Levy, a Democrat, would talk it over in the coming weeks as they decide. I think thats a crucial seat, Rivera said. Were very concerned about the future of Ohio and the nation and we think we have a role to play. Rivera said he would self-fund at least the first part of his campaign to get it off the ground. He said he viewed himself as a Republican in the mold of Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a Rocky River Republican whos come under attack for his vote to impeach Republican President Donald Trump for the presidents role in the deadly riot that engulfed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Rivera, who said he considered Trump a friend, has interviewed Trump numerous times throughout the years, offering both praise and criticism. He did not vote for Trump in 2016. Rivera said he disapproved of Trumps post-election actions, but thought he could run a campaign focused on unifying the Republican Party as well as attracting new voters. Hes been a friend of mine forever. I have been very public in my disapproval of his actions post-election and certainly condemn in the most vigorous way what happened on Jan. 6, Rivera said. However, I think President Trump is not only redeemable, but hes a force of nature who has been a lifelong friend in my adult life. I would expect he would approve of this. We can resolve our issues and help heal the Republican Party. Rivera said he and his wife admired Portman, but was also complimentary of Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and GOP former Gov. John Kasich. The latter two are often the focus of scorn by Republicans in the state, but Rivera said, should he decide to run, he would focus on pulling ideas from all wings of Ohio politics. Itd scare the bejesus out of the Democrats and the far-right wing of the Republican Party, he said. That would include a platform attractive to minority voters, a population the Republican Party until recently hasnt focused on heavily. Black and brown people are hungry for a voice that encourages responsibility and entrepreneurship and participation in the great American dream, Rivera said. I think Ohio deserves more than, how can I say this, the traditional politicians who are trudging their way saying its their turn to run for this. Rivera, should he enter, would be the third Republican aiming to succeed Portman, who surprised many in January when he announced he would not seek re-election in 2022. Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken and former Treasurer Josh Mandel both announced in February, with both focusing almost exclusively on promoting their closeness and loyalty to Trump. So far, no Democrats have entered the race, though Rep. Tim Ryan, a Niles Democrat, and former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton are considering running. Rivera, a New York native, is widely known for his distinctive mustache and five decades in journalism. Over the years, hes reported for news magazine programs, including ABCs 20/20. In 2001, he joined Fox News, becoming one of the conservative networks most widely known anchors, including hosting his own show, Geraldo at Large. He currently broadcasts his syndicated radio show, Geraldo in Cleveland, out of WTAM 1100s station in Cleveland. Rivera has flirted with the idea of entering politics in the past. In 2013, he considered a bid for U.S. Senate from New Jersey, though ultimately declined to run. (Newser) The federal government now has orders in place for almost enough coronavirus vaccine doses to fully vaccinate every eligible American adulttwice. President Biden announced Wednesday that the government has ordered another 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose coronavirus vaccine, bringing the total orders for that vaccine to 200 million, the Washington Post reports. Orders are also in for 600 million doses of the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Together, the orders from the three companies will give the US enough vaccine for 500 million people, when around 260 million adults are eligible. Biden said the extra vaccine was needed for "maximum flexibility." "There is always a chance we will encounter unexpected challenges," he said. story continues below "There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of this past year, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume victory is inevitable," Biden said Wednesday, per CNN. "Together we're going to get through this pandemic and usher in a healthier and more hopeful future." He spoke alongside the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and rival firm Merck, which is helping manufacture the doses under a deal brokered by the White House. Biden said that if the US ends up having a surplus, it will share vaccine doses with other countries, but "we're going to start off making sure Americans are taken care of first." (Read more coronavirus vaccine stories.) 'I hope he did not do it,' Monica Perry said to METCAD worker Ryan Fleck during a call for help at 4:15 a.m. March 29, 2020, after her son, Jonathon Perry, had shown up at her house and was 'talking crazy stuff.' INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI) - COVID-19 vaccine eligibility has opened up once again. This time the state has expanded vaccine eligibility to more Hoosiers with pre-existing conditions. Indiana has been taking an age-based approach when it comes to distributing the vaccine. Recently, they opened up eligibility to people with certain co-morbidities. "We started by vaccinating people who are currently undergoing dialysis and so far more than 4,000 have received a vaccine and more will receive theirs in coming weeks, "Dr. Lindsay Weaver the Chief Medical Officers for the Indiana Department of Health. Now the state has added all Hoosiers with an intellectual or developmental disability. That includes early childhood conditions carried into adulthood. The co-morbidities are as follows: Active dialysis patients Sickle cell disease patients Down syndrome Post-solid organ transplant People who are actively in treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) for cancer now or in the last three months, or with active primary lung cancer or active hematologic cancers (lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma) Early childhood conditions that are carried into adulthood: o Cystic fibrosis o Muscular dystrophy o People born with severe heart defects, requiring specialized medical care. o People with severe type 1 diabetes, who have been hospitalized in the past year. o Phenylketonuria (PKU), Tay-Sachs, and other rare inherited metabolic disorders. o Epilepsy with continuing seizures, hydrocephaly, microcephaly, and other severe neurologic disorders o People with severe asthma who have been hospitalized for this in the past year o Alpha and beta-thalassemia o Spina bifida o Cerebral palsy People who require supplemental oxygen and/or tracheostomy Pulmonary fibrosis, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, combined primary immunodeficiency disorder, HIV, daily use of corticosteroids, use of other immune weakening medicines, receiving tumor necrosis factor alpha-blocker or rituximab. Intellectual and Developmentally Disabled individuals receiving home/community-based services. (Family and Social Services Administration will provide patient information for this community.) Dr. Lindsay Weaver says people with any of these conditions will only be vaccinated if their health care provider approves it. "It is appropriate to reach out to your provider to ensure that they are submitting your information, said Dr. Weaver. After the information is submitted it does take 24 to 48 hours before you are notified. Please be patient as providers across the state work to identify their appropriate patients." Initial groups of patients identified by their healthcare provider as the highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19. These individuals will receive a unique registration link or may call 211 after receiving the notification. So far, people in the age group of 50-59 years of age are getting vaccinated at a lower rate, which Governor Eric Holcomb has a message for. "I'll just make an appeal to those folks who are 50 to 59 step up you are going to help us all get through this sooner," said Governor Holcomb. As for people with these co-morbidities, infectious disease experts say they should get vaccinated as soon as possible. "None of those listed conditions would put someone at more risk of complications and we have a great track record with these vaccines," said Dr. Thomas Meyer an Infectious Disease Physician at IU Health in Lafayette. Meyer says the benefits of getting the COVID-19 vaccine for people with pre-existing conditions can be lifesaving. "There's not any long term risk to getting the vaccine but there are huge long term benefits for being able to be protected against a lethal virus that's been wreaking havoc," said Dr. Meyer. It was also announced on Wednesday that all teachers and support staff workers at K-12 schools will be able to get vaccinated at any site in the state of Indiana starting on Monday. This change is due to orders from the Federal government. Previously, teachers and support staff were only able to get vaccinated at federal vaccine sites. For more information on the vaccine, eligibility click here. Recap: Is history set to repeat itself? Mobile World Congress was one of the first major conferences to be canceled last year after an increasing number of companies pulled out over Covid-19 fears. The event returns to Barcelona this year, but despite plenty of protections in place, more big names have announced they won't be attending. We heard earlier this year that MWC Barcelona would be an in-person event this year when it takes place in June instead of the usual February date. Organizer GSMA has pointed to last month's MWC Shanghai, which saw around 17,000 attendees, as an example to follow. But it seems the tech firms don't share GSMA's optimism. Nokia has just joined Ericsson, Sony, Oracle, and Facebook in confirming it won't have a physical presence at the show. "After careful consideration, Nokia has decided not to have a physical presence at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2021. The health of our employees, customers, and partners is of paramount importance to us. Given the international nature of the event and with the global vaccine rollout still in its early phases, we have made the considered decision to instead participate in only the virtual event," the company wrote in a statement. Fellow telecoms giant Ericsson was the first to confirm it wouldn't be attending MWC due to the continuing impact of Covid-19. Sony Mobile and Oracle later said they wouldn't be at the event for similar reasons. Facebook had already confirmed it wouldn't be attending any in-person events through the end of June 2021 because of the pandemic, so it seems MWC just missed the cut-off point. Despite the dropouts and just half the usual 100,000 attendees expected, it seems highly unlikely that MWC will once again be canceled. "We appreciate that it will not be possible for everyone to attend MWC Barcelona 2021," GSMA said Tuesday. "This is why we have developed an industry-leading virtual event platform that will ensure everyone can enjoy the unique MWC experience." Benjamin Netanyahu called off his Thursday plans to visit the United Arab Emirates with the Israeli leader's office claiming a spat with the Jordanian government brought up issues with him flying over their airspace. Netanyahu, 71, was supposed to visit with leaders in UAE after in August it became the third Arab nation, following Egypt and Jordan, to establish formal diplomatic ties with the Jewish nation. The prime minister's office said in a statement that 'because of difficulties in coordinating his flight in Jordanian airspace the visit was postponed' and the office did not give a new date for the visit. Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II was supposed to visit the Temple Mount holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem on Wednesday, but the trip was abruptly canceled 'due to a disagreement over the security and protection arrangements at the site.' Israel's government now says Jordan is preventing Netanyahu from visiting UAE by restricting its airspace. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled Thursday his historic trip to the United Arab Emirates after a spat with Jordanian government, which is now restricting its airspace Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II was supposed to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque in he Old City of Jerusalem Wednesday, but Israel said he was turned away at the border when he tried to bring more security personnel than was previously agreed Jordan serves as the custodian of Jerusalem's holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, which is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque Netanyahu's visit would be the first by an Israeli prime minister since the establishment of bilateral relations last year. Bibi, a common nickname for Netanyahu, will reschedule the trip with Emirati authorities, his office revealed. Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who also served as the then-president's senior adviser and is Jewish helped establish talks between the two nations. The trip planned for Thursday was meant to cement new diplomatic ties between the Middle East nations and boost the embattled Israeli leader's re-election hopes just 12 days before voters head to the polls. Jordan serves as the custodian of Jerusalem's holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, which is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. During the trip Wednesday, the crown prince had to turn back at the King Hussein Bridge border crossing, according to Israeli media, due to a disagreement with Israeli authorities over the number of armed escorts that could accompany him. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Abdullah II had planned a private visit to join night prayers for the Muslim holy day marking Muhammad's ascension to heaven. He claims Israel changed previously agreed-upon arrangements 'at the last minute,' forcing the crown prince to call off the visit. 'His highness decided he did not wish to disrupt this peaceful night of prayer and decided to cancel his visit,' he said, speaking through a translator at a Paris summit. 'We cannot accept Israeli interference in the affairs of Al-Aqsa.' Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to Jordan, said the latest rift between Israel and Jordan reflected a deeper deterioration in relations in recent years. 'The major problem is there is no dialogue between the No. 1's in Jordan and Israel. That is to say between the prime minister and the king of Jordan,' he said, saying the two leaders are not known to have met or spoken for at least three years. Eran also said there is a lack of trust, highlighted by Israel's plans last year to annex parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel suspended the annexation plan as part of its agreement to establish ties with the UAE, but Eran said the Jordanians remain deeply suspicious that Israel has not abandoned its intentions to annex the area. Jordan, which is home to a large Palestinian population, considers the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the neighboring West Bank to be a key interest, and Israel's annexation of parts of the area would make Palestinian independence all but impossible. Israel and the Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks in over a decade. 'At the least, they need a political process and movement toward a solution,' said Eran, now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank. 'The process itself is very important to the Jordanians and when it is not there, there are certainly concerns with regard to the situation.' Netanyahu's visit to UAE (PresidentSheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan pictured) would be the first by an Israeli prime minister since bilateral relations were created in August making the UAE the third Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israeli Earlier in the day Netanyahu's wife's hospitalization cast doubt on whether the UAE trip would take place. Sara Netanyahu was hospitalized Thursday with an appendix infection at Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center, the hospital said. An official in Netanyahu's office said she had felt unwell and was taken to the Hadassah Medical Center, where she will remain hospitalized for several days. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Netanyahu is locked in a tight race against a field of challengers in Israel's fourth election in two years, and would have been sure to use the UAE trip less than two weeks before he tries to secure reelection to his own political advantage. Netanyahu has cast himself as a seasoned statesman uniquely qualified to lead the nation through turbulent times. Thursday's visit, which has been delayed several times due to coronavirus restrictions, would have possibly helped him divert attention from his upcoming corruption trial and anger over the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. A further 47 Covid-related deaths have been confirmed this evening by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. 14 of these deaths occurred in March, 18 occurred in February and 15 occurred in January. The median age of those who died was 83 years and the age range was 60 to 95 years. In addition, 631 cases of coronavirus have been reported. This brings the total number of cases since the pandemic began to 224,588. The death toll from the virus has risen to 4,499. Data for the latest Covid cases show: 317 are men 308 are women 74% are under 45 years of age The median age is 29 years old Some 247 of these cases were confirmed in Dublin, 50 in Kildare, 44 in Meath, 41 in Cork, 32 in Limerick and the remaining 217 cases are spread across 20 other counties. As of 8am today, 370 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 92 are in ICU. There have been 31 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. Vaccines Nphet confirmed that as of March 7, 525,768 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered. 375,521 people have received their first dose, while 150,247 people have received their second. The Department of Health has said it will continue to "distribute all available vaccines as quickly as is operationally possible" and that Ireland's vaccine rollout programme is only limited by supply. It has confirmed that 95% of available vaccines are being administered within seven days of arriving in the country. The Department of Health has cautioned against people being offered "private vaccines" warning that they may be counterfeit. The Taoiseach has rejected claims saying the vaccine rollout is in trouble, saying the system is working, as 46,000 extra vaccines for Ireland were confirmed. Taoiseach Micheal Martin confirmed this, saying the doses will arrive in Ireland before the end of the month. He said: Pleased this morning to have confirmation from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Ireland will secure an additional 46,500 Pfizer BioNTech vaccines before the end of March. When they get here, they will be administered quickly. Efforts ongoing to increase production. The biggest delay for the vaccine roll-out has been blamed on delivery delays. HSE chief Paul Reid said that it was likely that the country will have 1.1m vaccines by the end of the month. Mr Reid said that a revised target of 1.24m could also be missed if erratic supplies continue from vaccine manufacturers. AMPLIFYING the voices of Indigenous women will be a priority for the new executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. AMPLIFYING the voices of Indigenous women will be a priority for the new executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. For the first time, the centre named an Indigenous woman to the top post. Stephanie Scott, who was director of operations and has been involved with the Winnipeg-based centre since 2010, called the promotion a "gift." "Its a lot of very important work, and we need to do it on behalf of survivors, and I dont do this work alone," she said. Scott said she hopes to highlight the voices of Indigenous women. "Women are taking back some power as matriarchs in the community, as knowledge-keepers, providing wisdom," she said. "Being an Indigenous woman, Ive worked very, very hard over the past 20, 30 years." The centre is on the University of Manitoba campus, which has faced its own hurdles in advancing Indigenous leadership two Indigenous administrators at the university have left since 2018, both citing systemic racism. Scott said working on behalf of students entering the institution is one of her priorities. She credited the work of vice-president (Indigenous) Catherine Cook. "Im a brown-skinned Indigenous woman, you know. I still go into stores and get followed, it doesnt matter what Ive achieved in this society I think the university has made great strides," Scott said. "Not a perfect world, but with Dr. Cook as vice-president, I think were absolutely going to go places and make changes for the students." Scott has worn many hats throughout her career, including working at CBC, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, the National Film Board and doing community outreach work. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, but her family is from Roseau River First Nation. She was adopted by a non-Indigenous family during the Sixties Scoop and said she was surrounded by racism as she grew up away from her culture. She said she gained perspective on her "tumultuous" upbringing when she had twin daughters. "It really, really made me wake up. The lifestyle I was engaging in changed because it was no longer just me, I had two little children to raise. (It) was super important to give them a good life and make change," she said. She credits the love of her daughters and four grandchildren as the driving force behind her work. In her new job, Scott said she will work on a review of the records the NCTR has on missing Indigenous children who didnt return home from residential schools. The centre recently received funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to develop a database to make its archives more accessible to the public. For other Indigenous women in Winnipeg who may look to her as an inspiration, Scott said hard work and collaboration are key. "Learn from others, look for mentors. There are so many gifted elders, survivors, knowledge-keepers," she said. "We have professors, teachers, judges, lawyers. Theres a movement happening right now." malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: malakabas_ 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. James MacDonalds son launches church near Harvest Bible Chapel following claims he's unfit to lead Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Luke MacDonald, son of the controversial founder of Harvest Bible Chapel in greater Chicago, James MacDonald, launched a new evangelical church on Sunday, following claims by some that he's unfit to lead. James MacDonald, who was ousted from Harvest Bible Chapel for "highly inappropriate recorded comments" he made on a radio program as well as "other conduct" on Feb. 12, 2019, touted the first service of his sons Good News in the Neighborhood church on Instagram last Friday. The service was held at the Chez Hotel in Arlington Heights which is about 5 miles from Harvest Bible Chapels Rolling Meadows campus. My son Luke MacDonald, his wife and 4 children are starting a new church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago Good News in the Neighborhood. They are working hard to do what good ministry is in every generation: Holding fast to the Word of God and pioneering fresh ways of reaching people, James MacDonald wrote in his Instagram post. If you have been out of church or are looking for a new church, Kathy and I highly recommend you to check it out in-person or online THIS SUNDAY, March 7, 2021. Luke MacDonald noted on the churchs website that we are an evangelical church in the sense that we believe the things the evangelical church believes, but not in the sense of having a fixed political ideology. He also noted that before starting Good News in the Neighborhood, he served as an associate pastor at Faithful Central Bible Church, a historic African American congregation in Los Angeles. He also served at Harvest Bible Chapel for 13 years as a pastor leading a number of youth initiatives as well as being an executive pastor. A report by independent journalist Julie Roys published last November painted Luke MacDonald as an unfit leader who has an aggressive leadership style. The report cited accusations that he exhibited bullying behavior, urinated during a meeting, threw chairs in a rage, and failed to report the alleged abuse of a minor in the megachurchs youth ministry. The Christian Post reached out to Luke MacDonald for comment on the allegations on Wednesday but he was not immediately available to respond. Roys reported that Alex George whose father, Dan George, was an elder at Harvest told her that Luke MacDonald urinated into a cup while interviewing him for a job at the church in December 2012. George, who was a part-time youth worker with the church at the time, was seeking a full-time position with Harvests junior high ministry. While interviewing with Luke MacDonald in his office, he said the former megachurch pastors son removed a cup from his desk, then he heard what sounded like Luke MacDonald urinating into the cup. I asked him, Are you peeing in that cup? To which he said, Yeah, pretty nonchalantly, and moved on as if it wasnt an issue, George told Roys. Luke MacDonald allegedly then placed the cup of urine on his desk and told George he could make him do anything he wanted. George responded no, and he was fired from his part-time job shortly after that. Kevin Rowan, who first started attending Harvest around 2004, when he was 16, and volunteered as a musician, told Roys that Luke MacDonald regularly bullied him, telling him, for example, that he had a s--- voice, and would never lead worship on the main stage. The big thing is just the way they talked about people, Rowan said, the way they treated people even in just conversations. ... Its like playing a game: We can get whoever we want to do whatever we want. No one has value unless we assign it. Rowan recounted once challenging Luke MacDonald and his brother, Landon, about the abuse, and the former became enraged and started swearing and taking the chairs and throwing them. His experience, he said, left him suffering from something his counselor likened to PTSD. When youre a 16-year-old and trying to find your identity and you have all this s--- youre dealing with from a church ... that stuff messes with you at your core, Rowan said. LUXEMBOURG, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VERSO Capital, the Luxembourg-based boutique merchant banking and financial services firm, has announced the successful closing of a series seed in Nitro Beverage Inc. The extra capital will allow the New Jersey-based producer of fair trade, nitrogen-infused organic cold brew coffees, to expand its product lines and increase retail capabilities across the United States. VERSO Capital has a history of investing in visionary and disruptive companies. Over the past four years, it has invested over $245 million in tech start-ups ranging from climatech to foodtech and biotech. It led the seed investment rounds resulting in a new capital injection into Nitro Beverage Inc., the innovate beverage platform and creators of NITRO cold brew coffee. Founded in 1958, VERSO Capital is a boutique merchant banking and global financial services firm based in Luxembourg and operating out of Geneva, Fribourg, Vaduz and Dubai. Led by Julien Machot, it works with clients worldwide and is known for being highly selective in its investments, investing in just three to five companies a year. VERSO Capital isn't just about the returns; it gets involved with impactful projects that positively affect society and the environment. Consequently, the firm was proud to provide support for NITRO, who only source the highest-quality organic and fair-trade ingredients. The equity financing provided NITRO, based in New Jersey, with the means to continue its expansion. The beverage company was founded by two brothers and two of their friends. It began as a hand-built coffee cart in Asbury Park in 2016, providing drinks that are free from sugar, calories and preservatives. In 2018, they started selling their coffee products in cans as well as kegs. Their operations have since grown dramatically, and they now deliver kegs of organic nitro-infused coffee to leading offices and products to over a thousand retail outlets across the USA. VERSO has worked with NITRO since early 2019 and helped guide the beverage company through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Manhattan lockdown. The series seed began on the mid 2020 and has now been successfully closed. It will allow Nitro to increase production and launch a new three-SKU line of oat milk lattes in the second quarter of 2021. The company's growth will soon take it to another level, guided and helped by VERSO Capital. Julien Machot, the founder of VERSO, said: "We believe the company will be very appealing to larger groups in the future, such as Pepsico, who are coming into the RTD coffee segment." About VERSO Capital VERSO Capital is a global Merchant Banking firm founded in 1958 and headquartered in Luxembourg. The firm focuses on alternative assets including private equity, venture capital, real estate and proprietary capital investments. The VERSO model is built on three pillars: equity partnership, off-market transactions and technology. We advise, we invest, we execute. www.versocapital.co For more information on VERSO Capital: https://www.versocapital.co For more information on NITRO: https://drinknitro.com SOURCE VERSO Capital Related Links http://versocapital.co RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Brazils hospitals are faltering as a highly contagious coronavirus variant tears through the country, the president insists on unproven treatments and the only attempt to create a national plan to contain COVID-19 has just fallen short. For the last week, Brazilian governors sought to do something President Jair Bolsonaro obstinately rejects: cobble together a proposal for states to help curb the nations deadliest COVID-19 outbreak yet. The effort was expected to include a curfew, prohibition of crowded events and limits on the hours non-essential services can operate. The final product, presented Wednesday, was a one-page document that included general support for restricting activity but without any specific measures. Six governors, evidently still wary of antagonizing Bolsonaro, declined to sign on. Piaui state's Gov. Wellington Dias told The Associated Press that, unless pressure on hospitals is eased, growing numbers of patients will have to endure the disease without a hospital bed or any hope of treatment in an intensive care unit. We have reached the limit across Brazil; rare are the exceptions, Dias, who leads the governors forum, said. The chance of dying without assistance is real. Those deaths have already started. In Brazils wealthiest state, Sao Paulo, at least 30 patients died this month while waiting for ICU beds, according to a tally published Wednesday by the news site G1. In southern Santa Catarina state, 419 people are waiting for transfer to ICU beds. In neighboring Rio Grande do Sul, ICU capacity is at 106%. Alexandre Zavascki, a doctor in Rio Grande do Suls capital Porto Alegre, described a constant arrival of hospital patients who struggle to breathe. I have a lot of colleagues who, at times, stop to cry. This isnt medicine were used to performing routinely. This is medicine adapted for a war scenario, said Zavascki, who oversees infectious disease treatment at a private hospital. We see a good part of the population refusing to see whats happening, resisting the facts. Those people could be next to step inside the hospital and will want beds. But there wont be one. Story continues The country, he added, needs more rigid measures from local authorities. Watch: All-female Brazilian firefighting crew proud to 'be what we want to be' Over the presidents objections, the Supreme Court last year upheld cities' and states' jurisdiction to impose restrictions on activity. Even so, Bolsonaro consistently condemned their moves, saying the economy needed to keep churning and that isolation would cause depression. Measures were relaxed toward the end of 2020, as COVID-19 cases and deaths ebbed, municipal election campaigns kicked off and home-bound Brazilians grew fatigued by quarantine. The most recent surge is driven by the P1 variant, which Brazils health minister said last month is three times as transmissible as the original strain. It first became dominant in the Amazonian city Manaus and in January forced the airlift of hundreds of patients to other states. Brazils failure to arrest the virus' spread since then is increasingly seen as a concern not just for Latin American neighbors, but also as a warning to the world, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization, said in a March 5 press briefing. In the whole country, aggressive use of the public health measures, social measures, will be very, very crucial, he said. Without doing things to impact transmission or suppress the virus, I dont think we will be able in Brazil to have the declining trend. Last weeks tally of more than 10,000 deaths was Brazils highest since the pandemic began, and this week's toll is on track to be even greater after the country posted nearly 2,300 deaths on Wednesday blowing away the prior day's total that was also a record. Governors, like a lot of the population, are getting fed up with all this inaction, said Margareth Dalcolmo, a prominent pulmonologist at the state-run Fiocruz Institute. She added that their proposed pact is vague and will remain symbolic unless it becomes far-reaching and confronts the federal government. Brazils national council of state health secretaries last week called for the establishment of a national curfew and lockdown in regions that are approaching maximum hospital capacity. Bolsonaro again demurred. I wont decree it, Bolsonaro said Monday at an event. And you can be sure of one thing: My army will not go to the street to oblige the people to stay home. Restrictions can already be found just outside the presidential palace after the Federal District's governor, Ibaneis Rocha, implemented a curfew and partial lockdown. Rocha warned Tuesday that he could clamp down harder, sparing only pharmacies and hospitals, if people keep disregarding rules. Currently, 213 people in the district are on the wait list for an ICU bed. Bolsonaro told reporters Monday that the curfew is an affront, inadmissible, and said that even the WHO believes lockdowns are inadequate because they disproportionately hurt the poor. While the WHO acknowledges profound negative effects, it says some countries have had no choice but to impose heavy-handed measures to slow transmission, and that governments must make the most of the extra time provided to test and trace cases, while caring for patients. Such nuance was lost on Bolsonaro. His government continues its search for silver-bullet solutions that so far has served only to stoke false hopes. Any idea appears to warrant consideration, except the ones from public health experts. Bolsonaro's government spent millions producing and distributing malaria pills, which have shown no benefit in rigorous studies. Still, Bolsonaro endorsed the drugs. He has also supported treatment with two drugs for fighting parasites, neither of which have shown effectiveness. He again touted their capacity to prevent hospitalizations during a Wednesday event in the presidential palace. Bolsonaro also dispatched a committee to Israel this week to assess an unproven nasal spray that he has called a miraculous product. Fiocruz's Dalcolmo, whose younger sister is currently in an ICU, called the trip really pathetic. Camila Romano, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulos Institute of Tropical Medicine, hopes a test her lab developed to identify worrisome variants, including P1, will help monitor and control their spread. She also wants to see stricter government measures, and citizens doing their part. Every day is a new surprise, a new variant, a city whose health system enters collapse, Romano said. We're now in the worst phase. Whether this will be the worst phase of all, unfortunately we dont know what's yet to come. ___ Alvares reported from Brasilia. Associated Press videojournalist Tatiana Pollastri contributed from Sao Paulo. Watch: Vaccine hope, but enduring fear one year after pandemic declared Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Atiq Rehman, Head of EMEA Emerging Markets (EM) Cluster, will retire from Citi after after 37 years with bank. Rehman has made immense contributions to Citi, including playing a pivotal role in the evolution of Citis leading emerging markets franchise, a statement said. Rehman joined Citi graduate trainee programme in Pakistan in 1984, moving to London in 1993 to take up a role in investment banking. He then held a variety of regional and global roles in Citi capital markets, loans, and leveraged finance businesses. In 2009, he relocated to Dubai to lead the Citi franchise in the Middle East, and his role subsequently expanded to include North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, he assumed leadership of the newly created EMEA EM Cluster, covering activities in 29 of 55 presence countries in the region. Rehman has managed several of Citis most important client relationships in the region, while leading a number of franchise-defining transactions. He is departing an EMEA EM franchise that is ideally positioned to bring EM investment opportunities to global clients, and to help EM clients access capital and new customers, said the statement. The evolution in these markets over the past decade has created a host of new opportunities for Citis clients, and the EMEA EM Cluster was created to harness the significant potential inherent in this business, it said. A process will begin immediately to identify Rehmans successor as Head of the EMEA EM Cluster, it added. TradeArabia News Service .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE New Mexico lost a titan of the airwaves Monday night, the sad end to decades of thoughtful reporting on the Land of Enchantment. Award-winning radio journalist Tom Trowbridge died in his sleep of a suspected heart attack Monday at age 62, although the official cause remains unknown. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ His storied career took him to radio stations across the nation, although he spent the bulk of his career reporting in New Mexico, including at KUNM in Albuquerque. Recently, he directed the news team at KSFR in Santa Fe, a position he held from 2017 until he left nearly a month ago to provide state politics coverage for New Mexico News Network. Those who worked alongside Trowbridge say theyll remember him for his deep knowledge of the state, his welcoming demeanor and, of course, his voice. It was that warm, deep tone that informed listeners in the state for decades about myriad topics. There was his voice and, in his delivery, a real sense of who he was, said Lorene Mills, a host for PBS Report From Santa Fe, who worked with Trowbridge. There was a real person with real experience and real knowledge behind that voice. Andy Lyman, who covers state politics for the New Mexico Political Report, recently co-hosted a program on KSFR with Trowbridge, where the two would discuss updates on New Mexico politics. To Lyman, Trowbridge was an old-school radio journalist. He always had stories about having to cut tape, Lyman said. He had a passion for doing good journalism. Many have honored Trowbridges memory and his journalism in the days after the news of his death. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., posted a message Tuesday on Twitter about his memories of the late journalist. I hear Tom Trowbridges voice so clearly, Heinrich wrote. He was one of the best journalists in our state and always asked probing questions. Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, led a moment of silence on the Senate floor for Trowbridge on Wednesday. Trowbridge is survived by his partner and two children. WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fragrance Creators Association announced today the recertification of the Congressional Fragrance Caucus for the 117th Congress. Chaired once again by Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12) and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11), the Fragrance Caucus serves as a bipartisan platform for engagement on priority issues affecting fragrance, including its critical presence in products for cleaning, disinfecting, and personal hygiene that are essential in protecting public health in the face of COVID-19. Fragrance Creators Association "Fragranced products bring comfort, confidence, and joy to so many," said Congresswoman Watson Coleman. "The industry contributes to almost 200,000 jobs nation-wide and directly employs over 10,000 in New Jersey alone. I'm happy to continue to lead the bipartisan Fragrance Caucus as a platform to advance the creation of well-paying jobs, product safety and affordability, and the many other benefits of fragrance to our well-being." "The fragrance industry both supports and is dependent upon a strong U.S. economy," said Congressman Loudermilk. "I'm grateful to continue to serve as Co-Chair of the Congressional Fragrance Caucus, and look forward to working with this innovative industry as we advance solutions that improve the lives of the American people." First introduced in 2018 in the 115th Congress, the Fragrance Caucus has grown as the fragrance industry continues to expand its footprint while Congress works to address federal ingredient communication bills, including legislation focused on cosmetics and cleaning products, Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act implementation, trade, and more. During the 116th Congress, Fragrance Creators worked closely with the Caucus to ensure fragrance manufacturing was designated as an "essential business" by the Department of Homeland Security, allowing continued production of critical fragrance inputs for cleaning and sanitizing products; to advance improvements to the Paycheck Protection Program; and to provide examples of how the fragrance industry's response is delivering positive impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Caucus, Fragrance Creators has achieved better representation of constituent interests through meaningful direct access to Members of Congress and staff who oversee key federal agencies and support legislation and policies that affect the fragrance industry. "The Congressional Fragrance Caucus exemplifies how leaders can work together across the aisle to advance policies based on sound science and that reflect the benefits of fragrance to public health, emotion and wellness, green chemistry, the economy, and more," said Farah K. Ahmed, President & CEO of Fragrance Creators. "For our members, being responsible industry stewards means showing up and doing what's right, and we are eager to continue our engagement with our representatives in Congress to advance policies that are good for people, perfume, and the planet." The fragrance industry contributes over $22.4 billion to the U.S. economy, invests heavily in sustainable R&D and innovation, and is a strong driver of more than 200,000 well-paying jobs. Fragrance Creators' diverse membership of 60 member companies reflects the majority of fragrance manufacturing in the U.S. The association's dynamic fragrance value chain spans from small, family-owned businesses to multinational corporations, with all companies having an equal opportunity to shape the industry's policy positions. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness about the importance of fragrance in protecting public health and promoting wellness has grown. Fragrance is a critical input for products essential to effectively combating COVID-19, including cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, and personal hygiene products. Fragrance not only smells nice, but it also masks unpleasant odors in cleaning products that would otherwise render products unusable, encourages the safe and proper use of cleaning and sanitizing products, and helps fight malodors that can reduce quality of life. 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 established and administers the Congressional Fragrance Caucus, ensuring ongoing dialogue with members of Congress and staff. It also 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] +1 571 317 1504 Related Images image1.jpg Related Links Fragrance Creators Association SOURCE Fragrance Creators Association Drilling has now commenced at Merlin-1, with results expected within the next 4 weeks, said managing director Dave Wall ( ) told investors that drilling has now begun on the Merlin-1 exploration well in the North Slope area of Alaska. The drill rig began drilling the well at 03:38 on March 10, it said. It detailed that initially the well will be drilled to 1,500 feet at which point surface casing and blow-out preventer will be installed. This is due to take a week, before drilling then resumes down to a maximum target depth of around 6,000 feet. That phase of drilling will last for three to five days. The well will subsequently be flow tested, subject to the initial results from wireline logging. Drilling has now commenced at Merlin-1, with results expected within the next 4 weeks, said Dave Wall, managing director. This is an exciting and pivotal time for the company and our shareholders. 88 Energy noted that its contribution to Merlins costs is expected to rise to around US$4mln, from prior estimates of US$1.4mln, with the company putting the blame on delays associated with US President Bidens Executive Order, which impacted permitting, along with adverse weather. It meanwhile highlighted that its cash position stands at around US$13mln, which more than covers its share of the drilling costs. The company also noted that, given the operational delays, it is now considered unlikely that the proposed next well, Harrier-1, will be drilled this season. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) The Palace made a plea to the European Union after it reminded the Philippines of its commitment to hold all those who violate and abuse human rights accountable. "I ask the European Union, please give the Philippines a chance to discharge its obligation to investigate, punish, and prosecute those who may have breached our domestic laws," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said during a briefing Thursday. Roque made the remarks after the EU recalled Manila's commitment to ensure liability for human rights violators in an earlier statement, where it also welcomed the government's move to investigate the recent deaths of nine activists during simultaneous police operations in Calabarzon. In his Monday briefing, Roque assured the public a probe was underway, noting the state is mandated to investigate the killings. The UN Commission on Human Rights has also expressed alarm over the incident, saying the violent crackdown can promote further "red-tagging" of activists. "Sa UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at iba pang human rights groups, walang lugar ang impunity sa administrasyong Duterte. Mananagot ang sinuman na lumabag sa batas at mapaparusahan sa ilalim ng ating batas," Roque said. [Translation: To the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other human rights groups, (I assure you) impunity has no place in the Duterte administration. Anyone who breaks the law will be punished under it.] She never fails to turn heads with her daring sense of style. And Caprice Bourret put on an eye-popping display in a skintight midi dress as she departed a meeting in London on Thursday. The model, 49, displayed her jaw-dropping figure in the red garment which featured a plunging neckline and a black strap detail. Looking good: Caprice Bourret put on an eye-popping display in a skintight midi dress as she departed a meeting in London on Thursday The reality star added height to her frame with a pair of black boots and further highlighted her toned pins with a daring leg split. Caprice let her platinum blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders for the outing while she added to her outfit with a black handbag. The model appeared to almost loose her hat in the wind on the outing, while she completed her look with a light pallet of makeup. It comes after Caprice recently opened up about how people wrongly assumed she had a sex change when her modelling career took off in the nineties. Wow: The model, 49, displayed her jaw-dropping figure in the red garment which featured a plunging neckline and a black strap detail Stunning: The reality star added height to her frame with a pair of black boots and further highlighted her toned pins with a daring leg split She discussed how people were convinced she had undergone gender reassignment surgery before enterting the modelling world. During a chat on The Disruptive Entrepreneur podcast, Caprice revealed that people were also convinced her name was fake and dished on her worst celebrity date. She said: 'The newspapers would say I was a man, literally, and that I had a sex change. I thought it was a joke but they said the craziest things about me. Don't always believe the rumours until you hear it from the horse's mouth.' She continued: 'Everyone thinks (my name) was fake, that I made it up and they were trying to find out my real name.. My name is real. Out and about: The model appeared to almost loose her hat in the wind on the outing, while she completed her look with a light pallet of makeup Glamour: Caprice let her platinum blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders for the outing while she added to her outfit with a black handbag Honest: It comes after Caprice recently opened up about how people wrongly assumed she had a sex change when her modelling career took off in the nineties 'It was from an old Doris Day movie called Caprice. My mom said if I ever had a Daughter I will call her Caprice. And then I popped out.' Elsewhere during the chat, Caprice discussed her bad experience with Fred Durst, who she revealed offered her a first class plane ticket to New York in order to join him for lunch. Detailing how they first met, she said: 'I did the MTV Music Awards and I met Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit. 'We were both flirting and Fred didn't want me to leave. He then told me he wanted to buy me a first class plane ticket to New York and take me for lunch. 'I initially said "What, are you joking?" Then eventually I gave in and said "ok why not" in retrospect what an idiotic move just for lunch! That is crazy but ok..'. At lunch there were paps packed everywhere.' Moniker: Caprice revealed that people were also convinced her name was fake and dished on her worst celebrity date 'We were only there for 20 minutes, he got a call from the studio and he had to go! I asked him if he was serious and he said we can meet up later for a drink, "Are you joking I have just shlepped all this way."' Revealing that she ditched his offer for another meeting, Caprice said: 'He then went out one way, I went out the other and I called up his assistant and I told him I am not meeting up with him later and he can take back his plane ticket 'His assistant called me back after and said "nobody flakes out on Fred". Well, I said I just did.. bye! It was battle of the egos!' She said: 'The newspapers would say I was a man, literally, and that I had a sex change. I thought it was a joke but they said the craziest things about me' Caprice also discussed whether or not she will be receiving the Covid-19 vaccination, after initially being completely against it. She said: 'I thought at first, there is no way I was going to get the vaccine. I thought, the cases will go down and then it will be fine but now with so many people having it, I probably would now get it'. Caprice is married to husband Ty Comfort and they share sons Jett and Jax. Eastern Red Wolf. Credit: LaggedOnUser, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Only one red wolf female experienced at having puppies remains in the wildand she's been canoodling with a coyote. She hardly has a choice since just nine others of her kind are known to roam eastern North Carolina. "This population is extremely vulnerable to simply winking out of existence in the short, near term," said Ron Sutherland, chief scientist of the Wildland Network. The 10 confirmed red wolves in North Carolina are the only wild population in the world. There could be other wolves out there that haven't been tracked. No litters were born in 2019 for the first time in 30 years. None were born last year either. About 250 live in captive populations in zoos. A wild pair that lives within the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge, located in Florida, also produces litters. Following a lawsuit by environmental groups, a federal court ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January to release captive-bred red wolves into the wild in an attempt to preserve the species. The agency released in February two males onto federal lands that span nearly 2 million rural acres in five eastern North Carolina counties. The males were paired with two wild females in acclimation pens before all four were collared and set loose in hopes they would mate. One pair still roams the same territory with a chance to breed. The other male was struck and killed by a vehicle less than two weeks after he was released, according to the federal plan. The other female remains in the wild. At least one other pair of red wolves will be released this summer when food and shelter are plentiful, the plan said. Federal biologists hope to add captive-born puppies to any new wild litters the wolves produce, a method called "pup fostering." Adding captive puppies to a litter born in the wild has a better chance of success than introducing adult pairs, the plan said. The FWS released a captive male and tried to pair him with a wild female last year, but the male disappeared even though he wore a collar. Sutherland, the chief scientist with the Wildland Network, said the feds' effort to rebuild the wolf population falls woefully short, Sutherland said. The FWS should release eight pairs into the wild, he said; that's the only way for the species to recover with its death rate so high, he said. "There is a desperate need to save the world's only wild population of red wolves by releasing a large number of fresh animals from captivity, and the captive population can easily support such an effort," Sutherland said. "There are far too many wolves that are just taking up pen space." The FWS maintains the captive population can not sustain releasing that many wolves each year. Sutherland proposes releasing of captive wolves annually with bright orange collars attached. Penalties for shooting them should be increased. Landowners could receive payments for wolf management on their property. Red wolves were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. Biologists placed four captive-bred pairs in eastern North Carolina in 1987 to reintroduce wolves to eastern North Carolina. The wild wolves grew to a peak of roughly 130 about 10 years ago, with additions of more captive wolves over the years. Since then, wolves have bred with coyotes, been shot by hunters and landowners and killed on highways. The agency stopped releasing wolves into the wild and pup fostering in 2014, Sutherland said. The FWS would not comment because of the ongoing litigation. Explore further Wildlife managers use pup fostering to boost wolf genetics 2021 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Advertisement Gladys Berejiklian has lashed Scott Morrison's half-price airline tickets policy, saying it favours Queensland. The NSW premier said she was 'a bit disappointed' that only one area of New South Wales - Merimbula on the south coast - was included in the plan, compared with four Queensland regions. 'That is frustrating. Especially because I think the tourism problems in Queensland are completely self-inflicted,' she said in reference to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's state border closures. 'I am a bit disappointed. It's fair to say that Sydney, in particular, has been smashed by Covid,' she told radio 2GB. These are the 13 places that Australians can fly to and from on half-price tickets from April 1. But they must fly interstate Gladys Berejiklian (right) has lashed Scott Morrison's half-price airline tickets policy, saying it favours Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) Over the past year Ms Berejiklian has been critical of Ms Palaszczuk's policy to shut her borders at the first sign of a Covid outbreak in another state. Qantas boss Alan Joyce said he had to cancel 1,500 flights into Queensland in January when borders were closed due to a handful of cases on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Premier Palaszczuk said she 'welcomes the new support' but demanded 'more direct support' for tourism once JobKeeper ends on March 28 and also called for Brisbane-Cairns flights to be included. Federal Home Affairs Minister hit back, telling the Today show on Friday morning: 'There are lots of people that will take any dollar that you give them, and if you give them one dollar they ask for a second.' Victoria's acting premier James Merlino blasted the plan for only including one Victorian destination - Avalon near Melbourne. 'It's like they are looking at the Melbourne and Sydney markets and using them as the source for markets across the rest of the country. It is not fair, and we are disappointed,' he said. 'You only have to look at the numbers. Five in Queensland, three in Tassie, two in the Northern Territory, just one in Victoria. This is not a great outcome for tourism operators, other than those who will be serviced by flights to Avalon.' The scheme has also been slammed by regional airline Rex who say 70 per cent of the routes are dominated by Qantas and Jetstar. Rex deputy chairman John Sharp branded the scheme QantasKeeper, telling NCA NewsWire: 'It's really a Qantas package. 'They'll get 70 per cent of all the money and we'll get the scraps.' Under Mr Morrison's plan, interstate tickets to and from 13 holiday hotspots will be subsidised by the federal government until July 31 and airlines will ramp up their flight schedules to deal with an expected surge in demand over the next three months. The locations on offer are the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (including Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island. Some 57 routes will be covered on the Qantas and Jetstar network, CEO Alan Joyce said on Thursday morning. The discount means a return ticket from Sydney to Cairns which currently costs $233 could be as little as $116.50. A return between Melbourne and the Gold Coast, which is now on sale from $130, could cost just $65. To get their half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. The discount only applies to inter-state travel, not intra-state flights - providing an incentive to premiers to keep their state borders open. There will be no limit on the number of tickets available but the government expects an average of 46,000 people per week - a total of about 800,000 - will fly on the subsidised flights. The areas involved have been chosen because they rely on tourism for their wealth and are particularly dependent on aviation for their visitor numbers. Almost a million airline tickets will be go on sale at half price on April 1 under a $1.2billion package to boost the ailing the tourism sector. Flights to the Gold Coast (pictured) could be as cheap as $49 The scheme is part of a huge bail-out package for the tourism sector which employs 611,000 Australians and has been crippled by the Covid-induced international border shutdown. Amid a stark warning that 100,000 people could be fired when JobKeeper ends, the government will also give monthly payments to airlines to retain 8,600 international workers such as pilots and cabin crew until October 31 when the border is expected to re-open with every Australian vaccinated. Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka and Qantas boss Mr Joyce welcomed the package. 'This is great news for Australian aviation. This is great news for Australian tourism. This is great news for Qantas, but particularly for Qantas employees,' Mr Joyce said. 'I think it also is an incentive for the states to keep their borders open. And that's important, because we can't keep on going through the yoyo of the ups and downs of that,' he added. Mr Joyce said he expects 22 of 25 Qantas international routes to restart in October alongside all 13 Jetstar routes -but he's prepared to start earlier or wait longer depending on the Covid-19 situation. Some of the discounted routes Aussies can fly on Far North Queensland Melbourne Cairns Sydney Cairns Darwin Cairns New South Wales Melbourne - Merimbula Gold Coast Adelaide Gold Coast Melbourne Gold Coast Sydney Gold Coast Canberra Gold Coast Avalon Gold Coast Tasmania Melbourne Launceston Sydney Launceston Brisbane Launceston Melbourne Devonport Melbourne Burnie Western Australia Darwin Broome Sydney Broome Melbourne Broome Whitsundays and Mackay Sydney Proserpine Sydney Hamilton Island Sunshine Coast (Queensland) Sydney Maroochydore Melbourne Maroochydore Adelaide Maroochydore Alice Springs Adelaide Alice Springs Sydney Uluru Brisbane Alice Springs Melbourne Alice Springs Perth Alice Springs Sydney Alice Springs Brisbane Uluru Melbourne Uluru Melbourne (Avalon Airport) Gold Coast Avalon Sydney Avalon Kangaroo Island Adelaide - Kingscote Flights, routes and the total number of tickets will be driven by demand and are subject to final discussions with the airlines Advertisement Also in the package, companies getting JobKeeper payments will be offered a government-backed 10-year loan of up to $5million, with no repayments due for two years. Some 350,000 employees now on JobKeeper could have their wages subsidised by the loans if their company decides to take one. The prime minster said the package was Australia's 'ticket to recovery'. Tourism Minister Dan Tehan urged Aussies to support fellow countrymen by booking a holiday. 'The thing our tourism operators want more than anything is tourists so we need Australians to do their patriotic duty and book a holiday this year because every dollar spent on an Australian holiday is a dollar that supports a local job and a local business,' he said. The minister also warned state premiers not to close their borders at the first sign of a Covid-19 outbreak after they failed to agree on when borders should be slammed shut. Tickets to and from 13 holiday hotspots such as Alice Springs (pictured) will be subsidised by the federal government until July 31 and airlines will ramp up their flight schedules to deal with an expected surge in demand 'We need states and territories to do their part by agreeing to a nationally consistent approach to using border closures and lockdowns as a last resort on medical advice,' he said. The government is also extending a range of existing support policies to help the economy recover after its first recession since the early 1990s. The $50million Business Events Grants Program will be extended by three months to help companies hold multi-day business events by covering up to 50 per cent of costs. The $94.6million Zoos and Aquarium program will be extended by six months to support zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks to maintain their animal populations where their tourism revenue has been affected by travel and social distancing restrictions. And the Covid-19 Consumer Travel Support Program will also be extended for three months beyond March 13. The policies are designed to assist businesses when the JobKeeper subsidy ends almost a full year after it began. Labor says the scheme is being taken away too soon, but the government says it distorts the economy by stopping workers filling available jobs and keeping businesses afloat that would ordinarily go under. The prime minister expressed his frustration earlier this week that 54,000 jobs in regional Australia - including at pubs cafes and farms - are going begging. Prime Minster Scott Morrison said the package was Australia's 'ticket to recovery'. Pictured: A tourist at the Whitsundays How does the new loan system work? The loans will be granted under an expansion of the existing SME Loan Guarantee scheme to companies that come off JobKeeper between January and March this year. Maximum loan terms will be increased from five to 10 years, with a repayment holiday of two years. Size of eligible loans increasing from $1 million to $5 million. Maximum eligible turnover increased from $50 million to $250 million. The government guarantee will increase from the current 50/50 split between the Government and the banks to an 80/20 split. The scheme can be used to refinance existing loans. Loans must be approved between 1 April 2021 and 31 December 2021 Advertisement To get their half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. Pictured: Kangaroo Island Some 85 per cent of jobs taken away by the Covid recession have returned and around 2.7million people at 650,000 businesses have come off JobKeeper. Around 20 per cent of the companies still heavily relying on the payment are in the sectors of Cafes and Restaurants, Travel Agencies and Tour Arrangement Services, Accommodation, and Air and Space Transport. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said this latest package of measures will tide companies over until the economy fully recovers. 'We know there are sectors and regions across the country that are continuing to do it tough, which is why we will continue to support the economy with proportionate, timely, scaleable and targeted assistance,' he said. 'Our support for the aviation sector will not just keep planes in the air but will also provide a boost to domestic tourism while our international borders remain closed. He added: 'The SME Recovery Scheme is part of the next step in our plan to help small businesses stand on their own two feet as the economy recovers from Covid-19. 'The expansion and extension of the loans will back businesses that back themselves and will help businesses who continue to do it tough build a bridge to the other side of the crisis and keep their staff employed.' What measures is the government taking to support the economy after JobKeeper ends? TOURISM AVIATION NETWORK SUPPORT o Half-price flights from April to July 31 to at least 13 locations SME RECOVERY LOAN SCHEME o Up to $5m 10 year loans with 24 month repayment holidays eligible to businesses that have graduated off JobKeeper between 4 January and 28 March INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SUPPORT o Financial support from 1 April to 31 October (when international flights are expected to resume) to help airlines to maintain an agreed core international capability (crew and aircraft) based on pre-COVID international passenger services AVIATION SERVICES ACCREDITION SUPPORT PROGRAM o To run from 29 March to 30 September and cover the cost of ground handlers maintaining their mandatory training, certification, and accreditation The following schemes are also being extended: DOMESTIC AND REGIONAL AVIATION NETWORK SUPPORTS DOMESTIC AIRPORTS SECURITY CHARGES SUPPORT AIRSERVICES FEE WAIVER INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT ASSISTANCE MECHANISM BUSINESS EVENTS GRANTS PROGRAM ZOOS AND AQUARIUM PROGRAM CONSUMER TRAVEL SUPPORT PROGRAM Advertisement It comes after an ongoing dispute between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over support for tourism. In January Ms Palaszczuk visited struggling tourism businesses in Cairns and asked the federal government to extend the $100billion JobKeeper scheme beyond March 28. But she was rebuked by Mr Morrison and criticised for crippling small companies with her sudden border shutdowns throughout the pandemic. Mr Frydenberg said the federal government has done the 'bulk of the heavy lifting' to support Queenslanders and Ms Palaszczuk should open her own wallet. He said the federal government has given $28.5billion to Queenslanders in the past year, while the premier has only committed $8.8billion across the next four years. Mr Frydenberg also accused the premier of 'grandstanding and petty politicking' before Ms Palaszczuk hit back and said he should visit Cairns. On Monday the treasurer flew up to the north Queensland town and met with business owners, telling a press conference that he would announce support measures later in the week. He explained that JobKeeper cannot continue because it stops workers moving to more productive roles and keeps businesses afloat that would otherwise go under even without coronavirus. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) An independent research group that has been studying the countrys coronavirus situation is recommending stricter mobility restrictions particularly for Metro Manila, saying compliance with minimum public health standards alone is no longer enough at this point due to the dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases. OCTA Research fellow Ranjit Rye told CNN Philippines Balitaan on Thursday that Metro Manila, epicenter of the local coronavirus outbreak, now has a reproduction rate of around 1.5. This means that a patient sickened with COVID-19 could infect up to two other people. Starting February 25, the country has been seeing around 2,000 to more than 3,000 infections daily, majority of which were being recorded in the capital region. If the trend continues, the country could record as many as 6,000 COVID-19 cases daily by the end of March, with Metro Manila contributing to up to 3,000 of these infections, according to the latest OCTA projections. Its so much faster than the last surge we had last year, Rye said, referring to the rise in infections in August 2020. During the second half of that month, Metro Manila eased to the more relaxed general community quarantine. READ: Metro Manila, nine other areas remain under GCQ in March In reopening the economy, government officials have repeatedly called on the public to wear face masks and face shields and practice social distancing, but OCTA Research said much more needs to be done now. Rye said some of the restrictions may have to be reinstated but refused to specify which ones, saying the group leaves it to economic managers and government health experts. The one thing that OCTA is trying to say here is that subscribing o pagsusunod sa minimum public health standards is not enough, kailangan po meron tayong (we need to have) mobility restrictions, Rye said. For the next two to three weeks or month, we need to have a hard GCQ. Thats the position of OCTA. We need to impose a strict compliance with the GCQ the way we understand the GCQ for it to have an impact on the R (reproduction rate), Rye said. He said OCTA Research will provide some insights during the Metro Manila mayors' meeting Thursday night. The local chief executives are expected to come up with unified policies on curfew hours and border control to curb the spread of COVID-19. Rockefeller Capital Management Expands Private Wealth Business in Southwest Division, Adds Team in Los Angeles Rockefeller Capital Management ("Rockefeller" or the "Firm") today announced that Maentz Machlovitch Group has joined in Los Angeles, deepening the Firm's presence in the Southwest Division under Managing Director Nathan Crair. Maentz Machlovitch Group is led by Hans Maentz, Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor, and Bern A. Machlovitch, Managing Director, Private Wealth Advisor. Supported by Ben Helvey, CFA, SVP, Team Portfolio Manager, the trio joins from Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. The team will continue to work with high net worth and ultra-high net worth families, with a specialization in providing institutional investment services to Native American Tribes and Alaskan Native Corporations. "Building on the continued growth of our private wealth business, we are excited to welcome Maentz Machlovitch Group to our team in California," said Crair. "The group's deep experience in serving wealthy individuals and families, and their expertise in providing solutions to the unique financial services needs of Native American Tribes, will help provide a differentiated wealth management experience to current and prospective clients throughout this region." Rockefeller has pursued consistent and competitive expansions across the United States, most ecently in markets including San Antonio, Texas, Newport Beach, California and Denver, Colorado. More about the new team can be found at: rcm.rockco.com/maentzmachlovitchgroup/ About Rockefeller Capital Management Rockefeller Capital Management is a leading independent, privately-owned financial services firm offering global family office, asset management and strategic advisory services to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, and corporations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005720/en/ LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it has donated $50,000 to the Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) to support two Feeding Frontliners campaign events and the nonprofit's new Restaurant Recovery Educational Boot Camp, which will provide free business education to approximately 100 minority restaurant business owners. The first Feeding Frontliners campaign event funded under the utility's donation was held today at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital. More than 550 healthcare workers received warm meals from three local restaurants. For photos of the event, please click here. "We are proud to show our continued appreciation to our community heroes while supporting local restaurants through our partnership with LRA," said Andy Carrasco, vice president of communications, local government, and community affairs at SoCalGas. "We are also proud to sponsor LRA's Educational Bootcamp program to help restaurant owners weather this storm. The past year has been challenging for so many and we want to thank those who play an important role in serving our communities." "We launched our Feeding Frontliners campaign as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support minority-owned restaurants and bring a little joy to frontline workers," said Lilly Rocha, co-founder of the Latino Restaurant Association. "Through the generosity of community partners like SoCalGas, we have been able to expand our support to minority business owners." "We express our gratitude to the Latino Restaurant Association and SoCalGas for bringing some comfort and cheer to our frontliners. We also appreciate their support of local restaurants in the community. We are stronger together," said Dyan Sublett, MLK Community Health Foundation president. Since March of 2020, SoCalGas and LRA have provided more than 2,700 meals to healthcare workers in 10 medical centers and have supported nine minority-owned restaurants across Southern California through the Feeding Frontliners campaign. This week, LRA began accepting applications for its free Restaurant Recovery Educational Boot Camp. The six-week virtual program will provide restaurant owners with tools and resources to grow their business. Sessions will be hosted in English and Spanish. To learn more or to apply to the Restaurant Recovery Educational Boot Camp click here. SoCalGas is dedicated to supporting the health, safety, and wellness of our community. In addition to supporting the LRA's Feeding Frontliners campaign and Restaurant Recovery Educational Boot Camp, the utility has donated more than $3.5 million to nonprofit organizations for COVID-19 recovery efforts, which include providing educational resources to students, supporting the region's workforce, feeding the hungry, providing bill assistance to customers, and more. For more information about SoCalGas' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus. About SoCalGas Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants. SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook. About the Latino Restaurant Association The Latino Restaurant Association promotes, supports and educates restaurateurs and small business owners to ensure the equitable economic growth of the Latino restaurant sector. As a member association we work to bring our member community together to advocate for the critical issues impacting our industry and provide resources and educational opportunities to support efficient business practices. The LRA strives to create an all-inclusive Latino restaurant platform for the country. About Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital MLKCH is an award-winning, all-digital community hospital in one of the most medically-underserved areas in the nation. Opened in 2015, its mission is to provide high-quality and compassionate care to improve the health of South Los Angeles. www.mlkch.org SOURCE Southern California Gas Co. Related Links https://www.socalgas.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. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children St. Ann Parish and School in Lansing, St. James Parish in Sauk Village and St. John Parish in Glenwood will be united to form one parish with two worship sites and one pastoral team, the archdiocese said in a news release. The Rev. Mark Kalema will be pastor of the newly united parish, which will hold regular Mass only at St. Ann and St. James, with the schedule to be determined. Since before the November 2020 event masquerading as an election, conservative pundits have been theorizing that mentally deficient and rapidly declining Joe Biden is merely a placeholder for the eventual rise to power of Kamala Harris, the shrill Hillary Clinton wannabe who accrued political power on her back and was so unlikable that she was forced to drop out of the Democrat party primaries two months before the Iowa caucuses without garnering a single delegate. The most popular theory is that the powers that be chose Biden as a safe, likable candidate as a contrast to the larger-than-life bombastic personality of President Donald J. Trump, hoping to ease Biden across the finish line by hook or by crook as an easily controlled puppet. Kamala, so the thinking goes, was the designated minority who filled an intersectionality checkbox of being black (more or less) and female (if we can still say that). Now that the Biden/Harris regime has been installed, the left has only to wait a decent, or indecent, amount of time for Ole Joe's decline to become too obvious to cover up, then gently ease him out the door by inducing him to resign or using the 25th Amendment if he refuses to do so or can't understand what they're asking him to do. At that point, Kamala can be installed in his place, and the self-indulgent party can continue without letup or hindrance. Some pundits differ on the amount of time the left will wait before putting Biden out to pasture. I've heard everything from a few months to two years, the only constant being its inevitability. There's a certain amount of logic to it. Like Biden, Kamala never met a standard she could keep or a moral she agreed with for anything other than cynical, self-aggrandizing motives. She wouldn't recognize the commandment against lying if it bit her in the fundament, and she is (with apologies to Fedex) absolutely, positively a godless communist who hates America and everything that's good and decent in the world. Admittedly, Sleepy Joe may not be an out-and-out communist, but as a good socialist, he's right next door to communism, making him and Kamala two peas in a pod. They agree on 99.9% of everything, differing mainly on how fast their left-wing policies should be implemented. The only noticeable difference between them is that Kamala can string together a dozen or more sentences without losing her place, forgetting important names and dates, or sucking on someone's fingers. I've got a slightly different theory, one more in line with the internal workings of leftists. As the designated vice president, Kamala Harris currently enjoys the best of both worlds; behind the scenes, she exercises all the powers of the presidency without having to publicly carry any responsibility for the results. If any of Biden's policies backfires in the real world and has to be changed or removed, she can do it when she ascends to the Oval Office with the "plausible deniability" that Grandpa Gropes was responsible for the debacle, not she. I put the phrase "plausible deniability" in quotes because the only people who'll believe it, or pretend to, will be the very people on the inside who know it's bogus to begin with. The longer Biden stands point at the tip of the spear, the longer she can enjoy being the power behind the throne without any of the dangers of being out front. There may be, and probably is, a great deal of tension and jockeying for power behind the scenes between her and "Doctor" Jill, but Kamala has the trump card of the Constitution to pull out, which denies Jill any real power. The fact that neither of them gives a rip about the Constitution or that Joe and Kamala are in power in violation of the Constitution is entirely beside the point. Remember: leftists freely adopt and discard standards, such as the Constitution, based solely on their momentary utility. Jill is every bit the leftist Kamala is and understands leftists' innate flexibility on standards. She also knows that the only way she can fight Kamala's use of the Constitution is to expose Kamala's shredding of it on the way to the White House. They both know she won't do it because it would endanger their power, which leaves Kamala in the catbird seat. The observable fact that both of them attend nearly every public appearance Biden makes is a testament to this behind-the-scenes maneuvering and armistice. Kamala can "graciously" leave Jill in the position of first lady, with all the attendant trappings and privileges, while she rules the roost from the shadows. The longer they can prop up Ole Joe, the longer their little arrangement can endure: Jill enjoying being first lady and Kamala exercising the powers of office while fobbing off the responsibility on a doddering old man who should have been sent to a nursing home instead of the White House. The flip-side of the coin is a bit more iffy, especially for "Doctor" Jill. When Joe finally succumbs to his advancing dementia and Kamala takes his place in the Oval Office, Jill will have to leave the White House with him. At that point, she becomes a liability for Kamala. Regardless of how obvious Joe's mental problems are and how pressing the need to remove him from power, she'll be embittered at losing her position at the center of the universe. "Former first lady" doesn't have the same ring to it, not to mention power and lifestyle. If she feels slighted by Kamala (a near certainty), she could decide to bring down the whole house of cards by going public with what she knows about how the election was stolen. Ultimately, leftists have no loyalty to anyone but themselves, and unless Kamala meets every one of Jill's demands for leaving the White House, she could easily turn vindictive. Leftists know this about each other, which is why there were so many purges in the Kremlin. Since leftists understand each other, it's in Jill's best interest (and personal safety) to keep Sleepy Joe propped up for as long as humanly possible and perhaps even beyond, while Kamala plays puppetmaster from the shadows. I predict that Biden will be kept around, playing hide-and-seek with his mental faculties in the Oval Office, a lot longer than the pundits expect. Michael V. Wilson is an author, freelance writer, curmudgeon, and husband who writes for the joy of it at Scribe of Texas. Image: Mobilus In Mobili via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. 2021 Drill Program Underway Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) -Rockcliff Metals Corporation (CSE: RCLF) (FSE: RO0, WKN: A2H60G) ("Rockcliff" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that an affiliate of Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross") has earned a 70% interest in the Laguna/Lucky Jack/Puella Bay properties ("Laguna") in Snow Lake, Manitoba. Rockcliff retains a 30% participating interest in Laguna. Pursuant to the July 2018 option agreement, Kinross has earned a 70% interest in Laguna by completing expenditures in excess of the required C$5,500,000 ahead of the third year anniversary of the six year option agreement. "Having Kinross earn in so early on their option to the level of forming a Joint Venture on the Laguna Property confirms our belief of the high gold prospectivity of this land package. We look forward to seeing more encouraging results from this year's program currently underway." said Alistair Ross, President and CEO of Rockcliff. Laguna is located in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Greenstone Belt which is host to volcanogenic massive sulphide (copper-zinc) and primary gold mines and deposits. Laguna hosts the historic Rex-Laguna gold mine, Manitoba's first and highest-grade former gold mine. Discovered in 1914, periodic gold mining up to 1940 produced over 60,000 ounces of gold with an average grade of 16.7 g/t. Since 2018, Kinross has completed 48 holes totaling approximately 16,470 metres. Some of the higher-grade drill holes previously press released include: LG18-002: 15.00 m grading 0.54 g/t including 1.28 m grading 2.08 g/t and 6.00 m grading 1.00 g/t including 0.90 m grading 4.18 g/t LG18-003: 1.62 m grading 9.62 g/t including 0.50 m grading 18.75 g/t LG19-001: 1.40 m grading 10.20 g/t LG19-014: 2.80 m grading 7.30 g/t LG20-001: 4.51 m grading 1.00 g/t LG20-002: 2.00 m grading 3.53 g/t including 1.00 m grading 6.42 g/t and 3.10 m grading 1.72 g/t including 0.55 m grading 6.38 g/t LG20-010: 2.00 m grading 5.60 g/t including 1.00 m grading 11.10 g/t LG20-012: 2.59 m grading 8.90 g/t including 1.00 m grading 20.10 g/t and 4.10 m grading 2.18 g/t including 0.59 m grading 13.50 g/t LG20-013: 3.99 m grading 2.31 g/t including 1.00 m grading 8.40 g/t LG20-020: 11.00 m grading 0.77 g/t including 1.00 m grading 5.00 g/t LG20-021: 3.00 m grading 2.69 g/t including 1.00 m grading 7.68 g/t 22.00 m grading 2.18 g/t including 4.64 m grading 6.70 g/t 2021 Exploration Program in Progress For the 2021 season, Kinross will continue to follow up on the success of the previous programs while also identifying the potential of other targets. The program will focus primarily on all three claim blocks; Laguna, Lucky Jack and Puella Bay (see Figure 1): Figure 1: Property Claim Map, Snow Lake, Manitoba To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3071/76853_c82e58451414aba8_001full.jpg Winter Drill Program: Zona and North Kiski targets (13 holes in ~2,500 m) Mapping and Sampling Program at Lucky Jack, Laguna South and Puella Bay Summer Drill Program: follow-up on any targets in Laguna claim block (estimate ~1,500-2,000 m) Option Grant and Terms of Engagement with Oak Hill Financial As disclosed on February 2, 2021, the Company engaged Oak Hill Financial Inc. to provide investor relations services to the Company in compliance with regulatory guidelines. The consideration for services if $8,500/month plus applicable taxes as well as the grant of 200,000 stock options. The options carry a $0.15 strike price and an 18-month term. The minimum term of the engagement is a 2-month commitment, renewable monthly thereafter. T3 Drilling Results One hole was completed on the T3 Anomaly totalling 1,010 m. The hole intersected semi-massive to massive sulphides that explained the conductive source of the anomaly. The massive sulphides consisted of pyrrhotite and did not have any appreciable copper-bearing sulphides. Assays have been received and no further drilling is warranted. QP Ken Lapierre P.Geo., VP Exploration of Rockcliff, a Qualified Person in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101, has read and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this press release. About Rockcliff Metals Corporation Rockcliff is a Canadian resource development and exploration company, with a +1,000 tonne per day leased processing and tailings facility as well as several advanced-stage, high-grade copper and zinc dominant VMS deposits in the Snow Lake area of central Manitoba, Canada. The Company is the largest junior landholder in the largest Paleoproterozoic VMS district in the world, hosting high grade mines and deposits containing copper, zinc, gold and silver. The Company's extensive portfolio of properties totals approximately 4,500 square kilometres and includes seven of the highest-grade, undeveloped VMS deposits and five gold properties in the Flin Flon -Snow Lake Greenstone Belt. Rockcliff has over 71% insider/institutional ownership and two separate joint ventures with Hudbay and with Kinross. For more information, please visit http://rockcliffmetals.com Youtube: Rockcliff Metals Corporation Twitter: @RockcliffMetals LinkedIn: Rockcliff Metals Corp Instagram: Rockcliff_Metals For further information, please contact: Rockcliff Metals Corporation Alistair Ross President & CEO Cell: (249) 805-9020 contact@rockcliffmetals.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking. Although Rockcliff believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76853 A patrol car of the police is parked in Kiel with the blue light switched on. Carsten Rehder/picture alliance via Getty Images Police in California is searching for a man who was mistakenly released from jail. The man is identified as Steven Manzo, NBC Los Angeles reported. Manzo was in custody for a murder charge and a computer error led to his release, the report said. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Law enforcement is actively searching for a man who was mistakenly released from custody in Los Angeles, California, according to multiple reports. The man was identified as 24-year-old Steven Manzo, according to CBS Los Angeles. Manzo was charged with murder in connection to the 2018 shooting, the report said. "He should not have been released," a spokesperson for the Long Beach Police Department told the LA Times. According to NBC Los Angeles, an error in the computer system that said Manzo's case was dismissed resulted in his release on Tuesday afternoon at 2:12 p.m. The report said that Manzo was seen by local deputies on the 101 Freeway shortly after he was released. NBC Los Angeles investigative reporter Eric Leonard tweeted a photo of Manzo on Tuesday. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. "Yesterday, we were notified by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office that suspect Steven Manzo was released from custody after our Department has already filed criminal charges," a Long Beach Police Department told Insider in a statement Wednesday."Upon further review, it was determined he should not have been released. We contacted LASD to assist with his apprehension. LASD set up a containment perimeter, but they were not able to take him into custody." The statement continued: "Our department will work with local agencies to make every effort to locate suspect Manzo to take him safely into custody." The spokesperson added that the department "had no involvement in the erroneous release of the suspect." Read the original article on Insider ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation marks the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Salvation Army continues to address the longstanding issues of homelessness, poverty, and hunger which have intensified and become more complex due to COVID-19. As a record number of families face the ongoing threats of "pandemic poverty," The Salvation Army remains committed, despite operational and fundraising challenges for charities. With a global network of local service units, they are uniquely positioned to respond to the ongoing crisis and offer assistance from 7,600 centers of operation across the country. People living in poverty felt the effects of COVID-19 more quickly and acutely because they experienced a pandemic on top of already-existing epidemics of need. COVID-19 forced a record number of Americans to seek assistance from The Salvation Army, including many people who had previously supported the organization as donors. The most requested service was food assistance, and due to its grassroots structure, The Salvation Army was able to modify operations to meet urgent need in creative and localized ways. In 2020, more than 225 million meals were served through food distribution programs that included safe drive-through and home drop-off options, compared to 146 million meals in 2019. "The Salvation Army has always dedicated itself to responding to crisis in nimble, inventive ways, but no one could have predicted the tsunami of need caused by COVID-19," said Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder, the National Commander of The Salvation Army in the United States. "We are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of public support that enables us to maintain our services, and we will remain on the front lines for the duration of this crisis to provide comfort and relief to Americans living in poverty." While The Salvation Army's mission never changes, evolving approaches to meeting need did reflect the profound impact the pandemic had on Americans everywhere: Many Family and Thrift retail stores were forced to close due to local health precautions, and some were converted to shelters to house vulnerable homeless individuals and families. Canteens typically used to respond to natural disasters delivered food and hydration to first responders and frontline healthcare workers. Additionally, the Army hosted PPE drives and provided free childcare so first responders could better focus on the fight against the pandemic. The Salvation Army launched a national phone hotline (the Hope Hotline) to provide people with emotional and spiritual care. This virtual service, in addition to onsite ministries, meant that almost 1 million people impacted by the pandemic received compassionate support. COVID-19 also created unique challenges for charities responding to the crisis. The Salvation Army provided more than 1 million nights of shelter specifically related to COVID-19, but supply was lower than demand due to social distancing and safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus. Many of these constraints remain and will continue to impact the ability to serve as long as the pandemic persists. COVID-19 specific response, along with continued services that combat job loss, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, human trafficking, natural disasters, and more, were able to continue daily thanks to the help of generous donors, corporations, and foundation partners. Additionally, The Salvation Army took the historic step of starting its 2020 holiday fundraising campaign early to ensure struggling Americans had a bright Christmas. More than $557 million was raised, which will help power 2021 services, but demand is expected to far outpace resources to combat the largest jump in poverty since the government began tracking it 60 years ago.i As people face weekly threats of eviction and financial loss, the majority of clients are characterized to be families who live paycheck-to-paycheck. In response, Salvation Army sheltering resources will remain focused on vulnerable homeless families, and financial resources will focus on keeping people in their homes through rent and utility assistance. The Salvation Army will continue to meet the rising tide of pandemic poverty during the current crisis and beyond, but to do so, they are asking for the support of the public. Just $25 a month could be the difference between a family paying their light bill or being left in the dark, or receiving a hot meal or going hungry. To help, visit salvationarmyusa.org. About The Salvation Army The Salvation Army annually helps more than 30 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at 7,600 centers of operation around the country. In the first-ever listing of "America's Favorite Charities" by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Salvation Army ranked as the country's largest privately funded, direct-service nonprofit. For more information, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org. Follow us on Twitter @SalvationArmyUS and #DoingTheMostGood. i B. Meyer, University of Chicago; J. Sullivan, University of Notre Dame; J. Hann, Zhejiang University Media Contact: [email protected] 214.681.2514 SOURCE The Salvation Army Related Links https://www.salvationarmyusa.org Capital market regulator has formed a group of experts to examine the feasibility of introducing Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) like structures in India, sources said on Thursday. The group, formed under Sebi's Primary Market Advisory Committee (PMAC), has been asked to submit its report at the earliest, the sources added. " wants to explore the potential of SPACs while at the same time building adequate checks and balances in regulatory framework to take care of the associated risks," said a source privy to the development. SPACs are formed to raise capital in an with the purpose of using the proceeds to identify and merge with a target company. SPACs are usually formed by private equity funds or financial institutions, with expertise in a particular industry or business sector, with investment for initial working capital and issue related expenses. Such companies have recently become popular in the US. There has been increasing demand that SPACs should be allowed in India as well. According to market experts, while SPACs have several advantages, they also raise various regulatory concerns. For public shareholders, SPACs give the advantage of investing along with the sponsors in the SPAC like private equity type transactions. The advantage for the sponsor is that it allows rapid deployment of capital to take advantage of opportunities. It also helps the target company acquired by the SPAC going public during periods of market instability or volatility in traditional IPO SPACs also face several challenges. According to experts, SPACs have distinct trading cycles unlike an IPO.They also need to deal with uncertainty risk like divergent interests of sponsors, investors and the target company. In the Indian context, some of the challenges are that merger through scheme of arrangement could be time consuming. Similarly, the process of liquidation could take considerable time, which might reduce the attractiveness of SPAC over IPO. There are regulatory concerns and issues as well in the SPAC proposal. "As per the Companies Act, 2013, a company is required to commence business within one year of incorporation. This may not suit a SPAC which may not have business for nearly two years," said a company secretary. Other regulatory concerns could be the stage at which retail participation should be allowed. regulations also would need amendment to allow listing of a SPAC which could initially be a non-operating company. The other concern is regarding change in control post amalgamation, which again might require amendments to takeover regulations, said a market expert. (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.) 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. Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong walks to a prison van to head to court with other activists, over a national security law charge, in Hong Kong, China, on March 4, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) Silence for Hong Kong Commentary On Jan. 7 in the early morning, Hong Kong National Security Department dispatched more than 1,000 police to raid multiple homes and offices, and arrested 53 Hong Kong pan-democratic political activists. In March, the Hong Kong Department of Justice prosecuted 47 of them, accusing them of subverting state power, a charge based on the latest Hong Kong National Security Law. Among those indicted are Martin Lee Chu-ming, Hong Kongs retired senior counsel, the founder of the United Democrats of Hong Kong, a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo), and a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee; Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, the owner of the Hong Kong liberal media Apple Daily; Lee Cheuk-yan, a famous Hong Kong trade union organizer, former Legislative Council member, and one of the Hong Kong Labour Party founders; Benny Tai Yiu-ting, former associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong; and young political activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung who emerged from the Umbrella Movement. Joshua was already detained in prison for another case; he was arrested again in prison. It all started before 2014, but lets start with 2014. The Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulates that the Legislative Council and chief executive of Hong Kong will eventually be elected by universal suffrage. From 1997 to 2014, 17 years after China reclaimed Hong Kong, there was no progress in universal suffrage. Half of the 70-member Legislative Council was elected by universal suffrage, while the chief executive was elected by a so-called election committee with 1,200 people. The Hong Kong Democrats laid out a political reform timetable for Beijing to confirm when Hong Kong could implement dual universal suffrage. In 2014, the Standing Committee of the Chinese Peoples Congress in Beijing (the permanent body of the highest legislative body of communist China) passed a so-called political reform plan, insisting that candidates for chief executive must be confirmed by an election committee of 1,200 before they can stand. The citizen nomination plan proposed by the Democrats is a clause in universal suffrage in all countries, or an option of other in the ballot for the public. However, the committee rejected all suggestions. In other words, Beijing will put forward bad guy A and bad guy B through the Hong Kong Election Commission under its control, and Hong Kong people choose one of them. This is the reason why the 2014 Umbrella Movement broke out in Hong Kong. In 2019, Carrie Lam, the Hong Kong chief executive, proposed amending the extradition law to allow any alleged criminals accused by China to be sent to mainland China for trial and imprisonment without going through the Hong Kong courts. This ignited the Hong Kong resistance movement in 2019. In November that year, in the election of Hong Kong District Councils, the pan-democrats won more than 80 percent of the seats. In the past, the pro-communist groups controlled the district councils, having invested and developed in grassroots communities for years. But this time they were defeated by a landslide, and Beijing was shocked. On June 30, 2020, the committee passed the Hong Kong National Security Law, which was incorporated into the Basic Law as a subsidiary document. The provisions of this law are completely different from the previous Anglo-American laws. The law stipulates that Beijing can establish a state security agency in Hong Kong. Cases under its jurisdiction are directly prosecuted and tried by courts in mainland China. At the same time, the law also stipulates that the Hong Kong police establishes a national security department, and cases under its jurisdiction will be tried by designated special judges. Hong Kong was originally scheduled to hold the seventh LegCo election in September 2020. The Democrats held a pan-democratic primary election in July, hoping that citizens would decide who will run for seats in the relevant LegCo. This kind of primary election is somewhat similar to the inner-party primary election of American political parties and is not legally binding. On that day, the number of votes for the primary election reached 610,000. The Hong Kong government subsequently announced that it would cancel the LegCo elections originally scheduled for September because of the severe epidemic. After September, Beijing appointed the original LegCo to extend its term by one year. Several Democratic members who opposed the Hong Kong governments cancellation of the LegCo election resigned in protest, but most of the pan-democratic members stayed. By November, Beijing bypassed the Hong Kong court, and the committee directly announced the disqualification of four opposition legislators. This approach overrode the Department of Justice to file an arbitration application of the qualification of the legislator, and made the judgment on behalf of the court. This bypasses Hong Kongs Basic Law. Under the Basic Law, the Standing Committee of the Peoples Congress of China cannot legislate for Hong Kong, but can only interpret the Basic Law. Subsequently, the remaining 15 pan-democratic parliamentarians expressed their protest by collective resignation. Hong Kongs LegCo is left with completely pro-Beijing members. According to the law, the remaining LegCo isnt qualified to pass any resolutions, because there are less than two-thirds of its members left out of the total number of 70 members. Then there was a mass arrest on Jan. 6 this year. Of course, its not finished yet. At the March 5 meeting, the National Peoples Congress of China reviewed the draft decision that will change the Hong Kong electoral system. The National Peoples Congress is going to carry out direct legislation for Hong Kongs political system. Wang Chen, vice chairman of the committee said at the meeting that the key is to ensure that Hong Kong is governed by patriots, that is, Hong Kong is governed by those who love the Chinese Communist Party. Beijing wants to restructure the Hong Kong Election Commission, change its size and composition and its method of formation. Not only will the Election Commission continue to elect the chief executive, it will also entitle 1,200 members of the commission to elect a larger percentage of LegCo members. In addition, the Election Commission will have the new function of directly participating in and nominating all candidates for the LegCo, as well as their qualification review. To put it simply, Hong Kong has been deprived of the legislative power of local elections. Fundamentally speaking, Hong Kong is now deprived of its independent legislative power, because in the future, according to the CCP, LegCo members will be generated in a large percentage by the 1,200 members of the Election Commission instead of in a one-person-one-vote election. When things have reached this point, we can conclude that Hong Kong, known as the Pearl of the Orient, the largest free port in East Asia, and which topped the world in the World Economic Freedom Index for many years, has officially died. The future of Hong Kong will not be much different from Shenzhen and Shanghai. Hong Kong is dead. I really like this city where I lived for many years, but she is dead. During the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine in China in the 1960s, how many lives did Hong Kong people save by mailing large quantities of food to the mainland? When China began to reform and open up in the 1980s, how much money did Hong Kong people bring in? How many companies were built? How many products from mainland China were brought to the international market? Hong Kong was the most important facilitator of economic growth in the early stage of reform and opening up in mainland China, and was once vital to the Chinese economy. In the past, many people in Hong Kong believed Deng Xiaopings internal instruction which claimed, well water does not offend river water (meaning that the two sides do not interfere with each others internal affairs). Now they are fully awake. For the past 20 years, Hong Kong people have been at war, but few people realize that their enemy is not the Hong Kong government, not the so-called establishment, but the CCP. On the other hand, as long as the CCPs one-party dictatorship exists, theres no peace for the surrounding regions and countries. The same goes for the United States. Alexander Liao is a journalist who covers international affairs, focused on the United States, China, and Southeast Asia. His work has been published in newspapers and financial magazines in the United States and Hong Kong. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. German environment minister Svenja Schulze said Thursday the Fukushima disaster was a "turning point" and called for consistent steps towards a global nuclear phase-out. Japan on Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit its northeastern region, where many survivors' lives are still on hold. "Nuclear risks remained that require consistent steps to be taken in Germany, in Europe and of course worldwide, that is the message of today's anniversary, the work is not finished with the German nuclear phase-out in 2022," Schulze told reporters in Berlin. Schulze said that the nuclear disasters of Fukushima and Chernobyl showed "in a dramatic way that an accident previously considered very unlikely can become reality, and even in a high-tech country like Japan." A magnitude 9.0 quake that struck on March 11, 2011, was one of the biggest on record and set off a massive tsunami that swept far inland, destroying towns and causing meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. More than 18,000 people died, mostly in the tsunami, and nearly half a million people were displaced. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) News Around the Republic of Mexico Mexico Won't 'Spring Forward' Until April 4, 2021 While Americans will be turning their clocks ahead for daylight-saving time on Sunday, March 14, in Mexico we won't be setting our clocks forward until the first Sunday of April. (Current Time Around the World) Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - While Americans will be turning their clocks ahead for daylight-saving time on Sunday, March 14, 2021, for most of Mexico, daylight saving time does not begin until 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, April 4th. So make a note if you'll be traveling to Puerto Vallarta this month - there will be an extra hour difference in time. Daylight Saving Time in the United States Daylight Savings Time (DST) begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. So this Sunday, March 14, 2021, US clocks will be set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time, which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time. Daylight Saving Time in Mexico For most of Mexico, daylight saving time doesn't begin until the first Sunday of April, and won't end until the last Sunday of October. It is usually referred to as the Horario de Verano (Summer Schedule). Mexico adopted DST nationwide in 1996, even in its tropical regions, because of its increasing economic ties to the United States. Although the United States changed the schedule for DST beginning in 2007, most of Mexico did not go along with it. But in 2010, the ten Mexican municipalities which share a border with the United States started to observe daylight saving time three weeks earlier, on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. This change in daylight saving time observance was requested by local governments and political leaders to help facilitate commerce with the US. ( Daylight Saving Time Around Banderas Bay Until Therefore, in both states clocks will be turned forward 1 hour from 2:00 am to 3:00 am on April 4, 2021. Daylight Saving Time will end in Mexico on Sunday, October 31, 2021. - While Americans will be turning their clocks ahead for daylight-saving time on Sunday, March 14, 2021, for most of Mexico, daylight saving time does not begin until 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, April 4th. So make a note if you'll be traveling to Puerto Vallarta this month - there will be an extra hour difference in time.Daylight Savings Time (DST) begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. So this Sunday, March 14, 2021, US clocks will be set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time, which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time.For most of Mexico, daylight saving time doesn't begin until the first Sunday of April, and won't end until the last Sunday of October. It is usually referred to as the(Summer Schedule).Mexico adopted DST nationwide in 1996, even in its tropical regions, because of its increasing economic ties to the United States. Although the United States changed the schedule for DST beginning in 2007, most of Mexico did not go along with it.But in 2010, the ten Mexican municipalities which share a border with the United States started to observe daylight saving time three weeks earlier, on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. This change in daylight saving time observance was requested by local governments and political leaders to help facilitate commerce with the US. ( For more information, click HERE. Until April of 2010, Nuevo Vallarta and the state of Nayarit were one hour earlier than Puerto Vallarta and the state of Jalisco. Before that, many tourist related businesses around Banderas Bay would set their clocks to Puerto Vallarta time to prevent confusion. On April 4, 2010, Nayarit initiated a 2 hour time change to coincide with Jalisco.Therefore, in both states clocks will be turned forward 1 hour from 2:00 am to 3:00 am on April 4, 2021. Daylight Saving Time will end in Mexico on Sunday, October 31, 2021. Site Map Print this Page Email Us Top FALLS CHURCH, Va., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF), the United States' largest charity devoted exclusively to advocacy and support for Iraq's children, announced today the selection of Grant Felgenhauer, Managing Partner at Euphrates Advisors, as the new Chairman of the Board. Grant Felgenhauer In a public letter, Felgenhauer praised outgoing ICF Chairman Mohammed Khudairi, Managing Partner of the Khudairi Group, under whose leadership ICF's initiatives for Iraqi children grew dramatically. Felgenhauer said, "Our two Hope Buses in Baghdad provide early childhood education, psychosocial care and a nutritious meal to over 100 youth in Iraq's capital city on a daily basis. The Street Lawyers program delivers legal representation within the juvenile justice system to Iraqi orphans and street children, including obtaining the official state identification papers that are required to access the Iraqi public health and school systems. (O)ur social workers provide critical support for children and families; mediation, mental healthcare and connections to opportunities to work and go to school. Finally, we are particularly excited by the early traction of additional programs launched during 2020, notably a child anti-trafficking program within the Street Lawyers project. We believe each of our programs represents meaningful local action that will pay nationwide dividends over time." According to ICF statistics, the Street Lawyers have provided legal protection to 1,391 children and legal identity documents for 1,478. Social workers have delivered services to 1,136 children. ICF has helped more than 500 stop child labor. In 2021, ICF will add to its portfolio the refurbishment of a school for Yazidi children in Sinjar, support for a safe place for vulnerable, adolescent girls in post-conflict Mosul, and school bus service for Hope Bus graduates moving on to public school. In his role at Euphrates Advisors, one of the largest investors on the Iraq Stock Exchange, Felgenhauer travels frequently to Iraq. Prior to Euphrates, Felgenhauer was a partner at Hermitage Capital Management in Moscow and London. He received a BA in Economics and Russian Studies, with honors, from Yale, and a JD from Columbia Law School. ICF is a non-partisan, non-sectarian tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity, rated Platinum on Guidestar and listed on the US Government's Combined Federal Campaign (#95191). To learn more, visit www.iraqichildren.org, email Executive Director McRae at [email protected], or call 703.635.7990 Media Contact Cindy Fogleman 703-635-7990 [email protected] SOURCE Iraqi Children Foundation 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. People plant trees in Binhu National Forest Park in Hefei, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 10, 2021. Nearly 300 citizens participated in the voluntary tree-planting activity in celebration of the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). (Photo by Liu Yucai) People plant trees in Binhu National Forest Park in Hefei, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 10, 2021. Nearly 300 citizens participated in the voluntary tree-planting activity in celebration of the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). (Photo by Liu Yucai) People plant trees in Binhu National Forest Park in Hefei, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 10, 2021. Nearly 300 citizens participated in the voluntary tree-planting activity in celebration of the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). (Photo by Liu Yucai) People plant trees in Binhu National Forest Park in Hefei, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 10, 2021. Nearly 300 citizens participated in the voluntary tree-planting activity in celebration of the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). (Photo by Liu Yucai) People plant trees in Binhu National Forest Park in Hefei, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 10, 2021. Nearly 300 citizens participated in the voluntary tree-planting activity in celebration of the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). (Photo by Liu Yucai) People plant trees in Binhu National Forest Park in Hefei, East Chinas Anhui province, on March 10, 2021. Nearly 300 citizens participated in the voluntary tree-planting activity in celebration of the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). (Photo by Liu Yucai) Hundreds of so-called Discipline Committees set up by Chinese authorities are imposing tightened security measures across Tibet, with almost 2,000 inspectors deployed in rural areas to oversee the functioning of villages and towns, Tibetan sources say. Authorities in March announced the establishment of 697 committees staffed by 1,960 inspectors, state media sources said, adding that the groups have tightened surveillance especially in and near villages on the border, demanding that travel documents be shown by Tibetans traveling in those areas. Large numbers of blue-uniformed security troops have now been deployed in Tibets Lhodrag (Chinese, Luozha) and Nyalam (Nielamu) counties, a Tibetan resident of the regional capital Lhasa told RFAs Tibetan Service this week. And any Tibetans traveling there from outside these regions have to show a document stamped with a travel permit, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. There has been a surge in crackdowns by Chinese authorities on villages in Tibet in recent years, though this used to happen more in the cities and towns before, he said. Following [Chinese President] Xi Jinpings declaration that in administering the border regions, 'We must first of all stabilize Tibet,' we have seen an intensified crackdown on Tibetans living inside Tibet, a second source said, also declining to be named for reasons of security. Chinese authorities recently carried out a wave of arrests in Lhasa and along Tibets border with Nepal in the run-up to a month of politically sensitive anniversaries beginning in March, including the March 10 anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan national uprising against Chinese rule, sources said in earlier reports. Among those taken into custody were Tibetans suspected of sharing information on the deaths of Chinese soldiers killed in a border clash with India last June in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh, one source in Lhasa told RFA on March 1. Chinese authorities in Tibet maintain tight controls over information flows in the region, arresting Tibetans for sharing news and opinions on social media and for contacting relatives living in exile, sometimes with news of anti-China protests, according to rights groups and other experts. Since Xi Jinping assumed power, the crackdown and policies aimed at destroying Tibetan culture and identity have intensified more than ever, Tsering Tsomo, director of the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, told RFA. We usually consider human rights to be an issue of an individuals own rights and freedoms, but in the case of Tibet, this has come to involve the survival of the Tibetan people themselves, Tsomo said, adding, This is about protecting the human rights of an entire race. 'A tool of the Party' A report released Wednesday by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) says heavy surveillance and control risk turning the Tibetan Buddhist monastic community into a tool of the Chinese Communist Party. The report, Party Above Buddhism: Chinas Surveillance and Control of Tibetan Monasteries and Nunneries, details a campaign of direct oversight of monasteries and nunneries; stationing police and party cadres inside religious institutions; and pressuring monks and nuns to denounce the Dalai Lama. The report notes that the United Front Work Department, the agency that has direct oversight of all religions, saw its budget for the Tibet Autonomous Region shoot up from from 23.9 million yuan in 2016 to 62 million yuan last year, and cites state media figures showing that in 2015 as many as 6,575 cadres from the party and government work in the 1,787 monasteries in the TAR. Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism requires Tibetan Buddhist institutions, canon and the clergy to be subservient to the Communist Partys leadership and its core values. The policy aims to curb the clergys moral visions and conform it to the state ideology, said the ICT report. Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force nearly 70 years ago, and the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India and other countries around the world following the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings. Reported by Lobsang Gelek for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Richard Finney. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Flat Glass market will register an incremental spend of about USD 43.75 billion, growing at a CAGR of 6.77% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Flat Glass sourcing can unlock several opportunities for buyers. This report also offers market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Download free sample report Key Highlights Offered in the Report: Flat Glass Sourcing and Procurement Report Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices. Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation on pros and cons of prevalent pricing models. Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers. Get a free sample report for more information Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers: Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Flat Glass market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Flat Glass pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives. For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers, Click here. Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth: The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers. Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 2%-4%. Identify favorable opportunities in Flat Glass TCO (total cost of ownership). Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes. Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities. Some of the top Flat Glass suppliers listed in this report: This Flat Glass procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies. AGC Inc. Saint-Gobain SA Central Glass Co. Ltd. Guardian Industries Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd. Sisecam Group CSG Holding Co. Ltd. Vitro SAB de CV Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. Ltd. Schott AG To get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment, Subscribe Now for Free. Table of Content Executive Summary Market Insights Category Pricing Insights Cost-saving Opportunities Best Practices Category Ecosystem Category Management Strategy Category Management Enablers Suppliers Selection Suppliers under Coverage US Market Insights Category scope Appendix Get access to regular sourcing and procurement insights to our digital procurement platform- Contact Us. About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more: https://www.spendedge.com/request-for-demo Contacts SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge Related Links https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for European Integration Anatoliy Petrenko and NATO Allied Land Command Commander, Army Lieutenant General (Izmir, Turkey) Roger Cloutier met on Wednesday. According to the website of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the head of the foreign delegation noted the unique experience of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in countering hybrid threats and expressed interest in studying it in detail, for which he invited representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular the Ground Forces, to take part in relevant conferences. Petrenko told the head of the highest military echelon of the Alliance about the achievements of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in conducting defense reform according to NATO standards in order to acquire the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the necessary capabilities to repel Russian aggression and implement the state's strategic course towards acquiring full membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Cloutier praised the contribution of the Armed Forces to NATO's efforts to maintain peace and stability through participation in NATO-led crisis management operations and the constant allocation of forces and assets by the Armed Forces to the NATO Response Force, and also assured of continued support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Good morning, its Thursday, March 11, 2021. One year ago today, as part of a Womens History Month series curated by Dana Rubin, RCP readers were treated to the wisdom of journalist and author Lillie Devereux Blake. Titled A Woman Spoke Today, the series featured a cross section of addresses made by women at pivotal historical points. Ms. Blakes came in the spring of 1883 in response to lectures by Morgan Dix, rector of Trinity Church in Manhattan and a trustee of Columbia University. Dixs weekly homilies imparted his vision of Christian womanhood. Finding this view of womens roles far too constricting, Blake rented her own meeting hall and on four consecutive Sunday evenings she gave a rebuttal to the haughty rector of Trinity. In the March 11, speech, Blake took aim at the injustice of divorce laws then on the books as well as the Bible-based notion of headship -- that a wife belonged to her husband. These dueling themes present two poles of the ongoing debate about women in society, Dana Rubin noted in her introduction. Dix believed maternity was womans highest role and opposed letting women enroll at Columbia. Blake was one of the most vocal and determined advocates for womens admittance to the university. Her vision was the more persuasive. Or, as we would say today, she had history on her side: Six years after her speeches, Barnard College opened its doors as a womens liberal arts college. The prestigious school it was affiliated with? Columbia University. With that, Id direct you to our front page, which aggregates, as it does each day, an array of columns and stories spanning the political spectrum. Todays include Doreen St. Felix writing about Oprah Winfreys recent interview with two ex-royals I need not name (The New Yorker); Josh Rogin on early warnings of problems in an infamous Wuhan research lab (Politico); and Justin Sink and Jenny Leonard writing about President Bidens planned victory lap over Democrats $1.9 trillion stimulus package (Bloomberg News). We also offer a complement of original material from RCPs reporters and contributors, including the following: * * * For Biden, a Prime-Time Address (But No Press Conferences). Phil Wegmann previews the presidents speech tonight, and explores his reluctance to meet the press. Predictable Train Wrecks on Crime and Immigration. Charles Lipson outlines the problems arising as social justice Democrats turn a blind to mounting crises. AARPs Entangling Alliances. At RealClearMarkets, Jonathan Decker asserts that the organization acts as a marketing and advocacy arm of the UnitedHealth Group. Dont Make the Postal Service an Energy Policy Guinea Pig. In RealClearEnergy, Paul Steidler opposes congressional efforts to micro-manage USPSs vehicle fleet when more holistic reforms are needed. Future Is Bright for Indo-Pacific Alliance. At RealClearWorld, Jeff M. Smith hails the so-called Quad of Australia, Japan, India, and the United States, formed in response to Chinas aggressive foreign policy. U.S. Territories: The Front Lines in Countering China. At RealClearDefense, Alexander B. Gray and Douglas W. Domenech warn that policymakers have barely recognized the threat to vital interests on our own territory or in adjacent waters. Break the Link Between Housing and Education. At RealClearEducation, Anna Tyger assails the cause of persistent school segregation. Youre Related to Egypts Queen Nefertiti. And so is everyone else, reports RealClearScience editor Ross Pomeroy. * * * Carl M. Cannon Washington Bureau chief, RealClearPolitics @CarlCannon (Twitter) ccannon@realclearpolitics.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. They Should Have Walked Him: Kale Stevenson's clutch homers spark Post 17 to doubleheader sweep Privileged Identity Management Market Overview, Dynamics, Key Players, Opportunities and Forecast to 2023 Posted by Publisher Internet Overview As per Market Research Future (MRFR) analysis, the Global Privileged Identity Management Market is expected to grow at approximately USD 6,200 million with a CAGR of 32% from 2017 to 2023 (forecast period). The research report provides a brief summary of the effects of COVID-19 on current/future market situations. The report describes some of the significant market factors that will affect the growth of this sector, such as market share, major region, and key players. Privileged identity management is characterized as a sub-domain within identity management. It provides service to the special requirements of privileged accounts within the IT department of the company. It allows government and private entities to prevent sensitive information from hacking and malware that could damage the network. Market Dynamics Protection from increased cyber-attacks and malware is fuelling the growth of the privileged identity management market. As per the study, identity management solutions represent the largest market share in the privileged identity management market. The market for PIM is being fuelled by the increased acceptance of bring your own device (BYOD) in enterprises and managing the identities associated with a privileged account. BFSI and insurance vertical contribute to the largest market share in the PIM market. The study also indicates that session monitoring and management will play a vital role in the PIM industry. Get a Free Sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3233 Market Segmentation The global privileged identity management market has been segmented into component, installation type, deployment type, organization size, and vertical. Based on the component, the global privileged identity management market has been divided into solution and service. The solution segment has been further segregated into identity management, access management, session monitoring, and management. Service segment has been further segregated into professional services, implementation and integration, consulting, education and training, support and maintenance, and managed services. Based on the installation type, the global privileged identity management market has been segmented into agent-based and appliance based. Based on the deployment type, the global privileged identity management market has been segmented into cloud and on-premise. The cloud solution is expected to gain the largest market share by the deployment category. Based on organization size, the global privileged identity management market has been segmented into small & medium enterprises and large enterprises. Based on vertical, the global privileged identity management market has been segmented into government & defense, healthcare, manufacturing, energy & utilities, IT & telecommunication, retail, and others. Regional Analysis The regional analysis of the global privileged identity management market is being studied for regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Rest of the World. North American region is projected to account for the largest share of the privileged identity management market due to higher adoption of bring your own device (BYOD) technology and malicious software that can easily hack sensitive information. There is an increased acceptance of technologies, such as session monitoring and identity management. The Asia Pacific region is projected to account for the highest CAGR in the PIM market due to an improvement in IT infrastructure and an increase in cyber-attacks. Key Players The prominent players in the privileged identity management market are ARCON (India), Balabit (Hungary), BeyondTrust (U.S.), Bomgar Corporation (U.S.), CA, Inc. (U.S.), Centrify (U.S.), Core Security (U.S.), Cyberark (U.S.), Hitachi-ID (Canada), IBM Corporation (U.S.), among others. Browse Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/privileged-identity-management-market-3233 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Residents opposed to the big electricity substation planned by ESB have expressed their dismay at the advancement of a study into the risk to the water supply for some 10,000 people in Laois. The Ratheniska Timahoe Spink Action (RTS) Group has insisted that the project poses a big risk to the underground water supply upon which many Laois people depend. They also contend that they were promised that they would be consulted if a safety study was commissioned. We in RTS group and our local community are shocked at the latest developments in the Laois-Kilkenny reinforcement project. Irish Rural Link on behalf of ESB/Eirgrid have ploughed ahead and commissioned a Hydrogeological and Hydrological Report on the site of the proposed substation at Coolnabacky in a bid to force through a process and fully ignore our community. Agreements were made between RTS, the CEOs of both Eirgrid and ESB and our three TDs in a meeting held in the (then) Minister for Justice's office (Charlie Flanagan TD) in January 2020, the said. The RTS Group set out the commitments made in a statement to the Leinster Express. 1. There would be no progress with the project until the future plans for the substation were shown clearly to RTS and our community. Eirgrid/ESB have refused to supply this information. 2. If we got to the stage within the participation process of a Hydraecological and Hydrological report being completed, it would have to be done by an independent company agreed by RTS on behalf of our local community and at the suggestion of our TDs this company would have to be from outside of Ireland to be truly independent. Irish Rural Link employed a company from Carlow without any consultation. 3. The scope of any such reports were to be agreed between the parties concerned. At a minimum, this report would have to be a full site investigation rather than a desktop study of the information supplied to an Bord Pleanala which has no mention of the number of people who depend on this highly important water source and also the staggering tonnage of oil we now know will be stored on site making this facility a clear and present danger to the future of our water supply. The residents, who have opposed the project for a decade, believe that the State-owened electricity provider is behaving as it has always done during the dispute development. The behaviour of ESB/Eirgrid in getting Irish Rural Link to organise this report clearly shows that nothing has changed in the manner in which they have treated our community for the last 11 years. We will not be walked over; we will not be bullied, and serious questions must now be asked of the behaviour of Irish Rural Link. Both Eirgrid/ESB and Irish Rural Link should take note that the community's resolve to make sure this project doesn't proceed is as strong as ever, our area will be destroyed for generations to come, we simply cannot allow that to happen, said the statement. The RTS group has already warned that the substation will be a giant socket, the hub for connection. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is undergoing treatment at a state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata following the alleged attack on her in Nandigram, issued a video statement from the hospital on Thursday (March 11). In the video message, West Bengal CM can be seen urging people, party workers to be calm and exercise restraint. She also said she will not be affecting her election work for the injury but will have to remain wheel-chair-bound for some time. She said, "I request everybody to maintain peace and refrain from doing anything that can cause inconvenience to anybody. I will resume work in the next 2-3 days"." "I sustained injuries in hand, leg, and ligament. I was standing near the car when I was pushed against it, yesterday. I am on medication and will soon leave from Kolkata," she added. Earlier, the doctors said that the TMC leader is "stable" now. They are planning to conduct a series of medical tests, including a CT scan, to assess the degree of her injury, sources at the facility said citing the doctors on Thursday. Preliminary medical tests conducted on Mamata Banerjee late on Wednesday night detected severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in her right shoulder, forearm and neck, they said. "A temporary plaster was done on her left ankle and she will undergo several blood tests this morning. Her ECG report was fine. "Banerjee is stable now. She will be under observation for the next 48 hours. A CT scan may be conducted during the day. We will again examine her and decide on our next course of treatment. Her fever subsided," a doctor of the SSKM Hospital was quoted as saying by PTI. Additionally, on Thursday afternoon TMC delegation consisting of MP Derek O'Brien, state ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee reached the Election Commission office in Kolkata to file a complaint in the case of the alleged attack on Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram. Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has also deferred its manifesto release scheduled for today following the alleged attack on party chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray. Piro.'s signature 500ml bottle In 2020, Piro. has won gold medals at the New York, Tokyo, London and Dubai competitions. These awards have made us understand that our product is much loved abroad. In this complicated and difficult year, winning the prestigious nomination at Flos Olei fills us with joy." Extra Virgin Olive Oil Piro. was recently awarded the highest distinction in the prestigious international extra virgin olive oil guide Flos Olei (http://www.flosolei.com) considered the most respected authority in premium extra-virgin olive oils around the globe. The 2021 edition of Flos Olei, which covers 500 best extra-virgin olive oils from 54 countries on the ve continents, listed the high antioxidant extra virgin olive oil Piro. as "Best of" the category blended, medium-fruity, extra virgin olive oil. "In three years we have received 17 international awards"- explain Piro.s producers Daniele Lepori and Romain Piro. In 2020, our premium brand Olio Piro. has won gold medals at the New York, Tokyo, London and Dubai competitions. These awards have made us understand that our products are much loved abroad". Piro. is produced in South West Tuscany, on the volcanic soil of Monte Amiata, in the uncontaminated region of Maremma. Created in 2018, the premium blend Piro has received numerous international awards, conquering the palates of the most famous judges and olive oil sommeliers around the world. "In this complicated and difficult year, adds Daniele winning this award at Flos Olei fills us with joy. We are passionate about quality, and this award crowns a lot of efforts. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Piro, Harvest 2020 Taster's Notes: Piro.'s aroma is redolent of fresh herbs followed by the scent of green almond. On the palate, notes of grass and tomato leaf with hints of black pepper. This year, our very talented producers crafted a magnificent, robust oil, both complex and balanced- Marie-Charlotte Piro, Piro.s distributor. Due to its exceptional phenolic content, Piro. is perfectly adapted for cooking at medium and medium/high temperatures, and for poaching and roasting, as recently featured and chosen by the Wall Street Journal as the best cooking olive oil. Piro. also is widely appreciated as a finishing oil on soups and stews, grilled vegetables, meats and fish, and crudites Piro. is imported fresh from Tuscany; each bottle is best before 18 months after harvest date, which is always handwritten on each bottle. About Piro. http://www.olio-piro.com Produced by Romain Piro and Daniele Lepori at the award winning oil mill Anteata Frantoio of Montegiovi, in the municipality of Castel del Piano, Piro. is a premium 100% Italian blend coming from the 2,000 Olivastra Seggianese trees of Podere Anteata and from other local tree varieties including Leccino, Moraiolo and Frantoiano. For inquires and tasting samples, contact Marie Charlotte Piro, mcpiro@olio-piro.com PR inquiries should be directed to Matt Hege matth@mhcpcolab.com Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Sam Eldessouky Will Succeed Paul S. Herendeen as Chief Financial Officer, Effective June 1, 2021 Herendeen Will Remain at Bausch Health as Advisor to the Chairman and CEO LAVAL, Quebec, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) ("Bausch Health" or the "Company") today announced that Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Paul S. Herendeen will be appointed to the newly created role of Advisor to the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bausch Health, effective June 1, 2021. Mr. Herendeen will be succeeded as CFO by Sam Eldessouky, senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer of Bausch Health. Mr. Herendeen will remain an executive vice president (EVP) and Section 16 officer of Bausch Health. "Since joining the Company in 2016, Paul has had a profound impact on Bausch Health," said Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO, Bausch Health. "When Paul began his tenure as CFO, the Company faced significant operating and financial challenges, the most pressing of which was a daunting amount of debt, much of which was maturing near-term. His disciplined financial approach and strong operational focus were invaluable to the Company as he developed and executed a plan to reduce our debt and extend the length of our maturities, giving the businesses freedom to operate. I am grateful to Paul for all of his contributions as CFO, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role." "It has been an honor to lead such a talented team at Bausch Health, particularly during the last year in which my colleagues displayed tremendous resilience as we navigated the unprecedented issues and challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic," said Mr. Herendeen. "As I transition to a less operational, more strategic role at Bausch Health, I am delighted that Sam Eldessouky will assume the role of CFO. Together we accomplished a lot over these past four years, and I am confident there is no one better suited to serve as the next CFO of Bausch Health than Sam." Sam Eldessouky Will Become Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bausch Health Effective June 1, 2021, Mr. Eldessouky will assume the role of CFO and join the Company's executive committee. He will report directly to Mr. Papa. "I am pleased to announce the promotion of Sam Eldessouky to chief financial officer of Bausch Health and welcome him to the executive team," said Mr. Papa. "Sam has been a leading force in executing the planned spinoff of our eye health business with his unique wealth of knowledge having successfully spun out several companies in a prior position. Additionally, over the past five years, his deep financial knowledge and strategic vision have helped to establish efficient and effective global financial policies at Bausch Health. As we look toward the future of our organization, I am confident that Sam's expertise and insights will play a crucial role in unlocking long-term value for our shareholders." "It is an exciting time at Bausch Health, and I am very enthusiastic for the opportunity to contribute to the company's future success," said Mr. Eldessouky. "I would like to thank Paul for establishing a strong finance function at Bausch Health, and I'm proud to lead the finance organization as we work to separate into two successful, independent companies." Mr. Eldessouky joined Bausch Health in 2016 as senior vice president and corporate controller. In his current role, he is responsible for overseeing the global controllership functions, including financial reporting, regional finance and global policies. Previously, he served as senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer for Tyco International plc. During his tenure at Tyco, Mr. Eldessouky led the efforts to redesign the controller's organization and the implementation of Enterprise Performance Management framework, and he played a significant role in the wholesale turnaround of Tyco's business. He also played a key role in executing the spinoffs of Covidien and Tyco Electronics in 2006 and ADT NA and Flow Control in 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Eldessouky spent ten years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he held several roles of increasing responsibility and served in PwC's National Office providing technical accounting guidance on complex accounting matters. Mr. Eldessouky holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Ain Shams University and a master's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Liverpool. He is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Financial Executives Research Foundation and Financial Executives International. Additionally, Mr. Eldessouky served as a member of the Global Preparers Forum, an external advisory body to the International Accounting Standards Board, from 2007 to 2013. A successor for Mr. Eldessouky in his current role as senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer is under review by leadership and is expected to be announced shortly. Update on Planned Spinoff of Bausch Health's Leading Eye Health Business As previously announced, Bausch Health intends to spin off its leading eye health business, Bausch + Lomb, into an independent publicly traded company. The Company has continued to make progress on its plans to expedite the spinoff and will announce executive leadership when it reports its first-quarter 2021 financials in early May. About Bausch Health Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: BHC) is a global company whose mission is to improve people's lives with our health care products. We develop, manufacture and market a range of pharmaceutical, medical device and over-the-counter products, primarily in the therapeutic areas of eye health, gastroenterology and dermatology. We are delivering on our commitments as we build an innovative company dedicated to advancing global health. More information can be found at www.bauschhealth.com. Forward-looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements, which may generally be identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "target," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties discussed in Bausch Health's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and detailed from time to time in Bausch Health's other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities Administrators, which factors are incorporated herein by reference. They also include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties caused by or relating to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, and the fear of that pandemic and its potential effects, the severity, duration and future impact of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, and which may have a material adverse impact on Bausch Health, including but not limited to its project development timelines, and costs (which may increase). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Bausch Health undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect actual outcomes, unless required by law. SOURCE Bausch Health Companies Inc. Related Links https://www.bauschhealth.com Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Seven decades after industrial-scale coal mining petered out in Northeast Pennsylvania, much environmental damage remains unresolved. Serious land and water pollution caused by mining continues to affect more than 300 specific sites in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. According to U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Lackawanna County Democrat, the price for reclaiming mine-damaged land and water nationwide is at least $10 billion. He and Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson, whose district in West-Central Pennsylvania contains more mine-damaged sites than any other in the nation, have introduced two bills to help speed mine reclamation projects. Historically, mining companies were allowed to pollute land and water with impunity and to walk away when coal seams played out, going bankrupt and dissolving to avoid liability. In 1977, Congress passed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, which created a trust fund to pay for reclamation projects with an assessment on each ton of coal mined nationwide. That fund is scheduled to expire in September. Cartwright, Thompson and other cosponsors, including Republican Rep. Dan Meuser of Luzerne County, have introduced the Abandoned Mine Land Reauthorization Act to maintain the trust fund for another 15 years. Cartwright, with Republican Rep. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, also introduced the Revitalizing the Economy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities and Investing More Act, the RECLAIM Act. That bill aims to repair mine-damaged land for productive use. It would hasten the release of more than $1 billion already in the reclamation trust fund, of which Pennsylvania projects would receive about $300 million. Given the momentum in moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, the bills provide the opportunity to convert vast tracts of mining-damaged lands for renewable energy projects. One wind farm at an abandoned mine site in Somerset County, for example, generates enough electricity to power about 2,500 homes. Congress should pass the bills for the sake of environmental remediation and economic development. Meanwhile, modern regulators pondering drilling, landfills and other polluting enterprises should take note of Northeast Pennsylvanias struggle to clean up after the coal industry 70 years after its collapse here. The Bitcoin boom during 2020 and so far this year has caused many to be dazzled by the potential gains, ignoring its downside. That is not the case of Bill Gates, who, during a talk, explained why cryptocurrency, even being virtual, is a harmful product for the planet. During a recent interview, the Microsoft co-founder highlighted the negative impact that Bitcoin has on the environment. "Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind," Gates told The New York Times, adding that "it's not a big climate thing." The billionaire clarified that if electronic currency were generated from environmentally friendly energy sources, he would change his mind. "If it's green electricity and it doesn't displace other uses, eventually, you know, maybe that's okay," Gates said. To avoid a climate disaster, we need to eliminate emissions from the ways we create electricity, grow food, make things, move around, and heat and cool our buildings. It won't be easy, but I believe we can do it. This book is about what it will take. https://t.co/xyzs0x6CwB - Bill Gates (@BillGates)February 15, 2021 The philanthropist is also one of the great promoters of the climate agenda. During a chat on the Clubhouse social network, he revealed his plans to create a more "ecofriendly" digital financial instrument. There are other ways of making digital currency, in which our foundation is involved [...] transactions [of this currency] are not secret, they are reversible. You can't use it to get a ransom or something like that, and [...] the transaction fees are so low that they are empowering the poorest, he said. How harmful is Bitcoin? Studies indicate that the annual carbon emissions from the electricity generated to extract and process Bitcoin are equivalent to the amount emitted by New Zealand or Argentina. The publication indicated that there are still disagreements about how big the carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies is, "but nobody disputes that it is big." Also, because of the way the industry works, the more popular Bitcoin becomes, the higher its carbon footprint. Other actions against the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies Right now, the price of Bitcoin is hovering around $ 56,000 per unit and has a market capital of $1.06 trillion. Therefore, it is not surprising that more and more companies and financial institutions are investing directly in cryptocurrency or accepting transactions with it. On the other hand, there is growing international concern about stopping climate change and the need to implement actions in favor of the environment. Given this, some shareholders are pressuring companies to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, promised to invest $ 10 million in developing cleaner technologies for the production of the cryptocurrency. In turn, Aker Solutions, an international engineering company based in Oslo (Norway), will build Bitcoin mining facilities that use renewable energy. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Aspirin is an established, safe, and low-cost medication in long-standing common use in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and in the past a pain relief and fever reducing medication. The use of aspirin was very popular during the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic, several decades before in-vitro confirmation of its activity against RNA viruses. Studies showed that aspirin, in addition to its well-known anti-inflammatory effects, could modulate the innate and adaptive immune responses helping the human immune system battle some viral infections. With this information in mind Israeli researchers hypothesized that pre-infection treatment with low-dose aspirin (75mg) use might have a potential beneficial effect on COVID-19 susceptibility and disease duration. A joint team from Leumit Health Services, Bar-Ilan University, and Barzilai Medical Center conducted an observational epidemiological study, utilizing data from Leumit Health Services, a national health maintenance organization in Israel. Their findings were recently published in The FEBS Journal. The researchers analyzed data of 10,477 persons who had been tested for COVID-19 during the first COVID-19 wave in Israel from February 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. Aspirin use to avoid the development of cardiovascular diseases in healthy individuals was associated with a 29% lower likelihood of COVID-19 infection, as compared to aspirin non-users. The proportion of patients treated with aspirin was significantly lower among the COVID-19-positive individuals, as compared to the COVID-19-negative ones. And those subjects who had been treated with aspirin were less associated with the likelihood of COVID-19 infection than those who were not. Moreover, the group observed that the conversion time of SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results from positive to negative among aspirin-using COVID-positive patients was significantly shorter, and the disease duration was two-three days shorter, depending upon the patients' pre-existing conditions. This observation of the possible beneficial effect of low doses of aspirin on COVID-19 infection is preliminary but seems very promising." Prof. Eli Magen, Study Leader, Barzilai Medical Center Study principal investigator Dr. Eugene Merzon, from Leumit Health Services, emphasizes the importance of repeating the study results using larger samples, and including patients from other hospitals and countries, to verify the results. Dr. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern, of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University: "The present study sought to better understand the potential favorable effects of aspirin in aiding the human immune system battle COVID-19. We intend to investigate a larger cohort of patients and in randomized clinical trials." A source with knowledge of the case, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said part of the delay in notifying the public about the death was due to difficulty contacting the mans family. Two Indigenous people have died in custody in NSW in the past week: a man in his mid-30s and a woman in her mid-50s. The deaths were revealed during questioning at budget estimates in the NSW Parliament. Victorian Greens senator Lidia Thorpe said her thoughts were with the grieving families and communities after three Aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia in a week. Lidia Thorpe, Greens senator for Victoria. Credit:Justin McManus This is relentless and traumatising for our people, she said. The system is broken. Thirty years on since the Royal Commission, how is it possible that our people are still dying in custody and not a single person or institution has been held to account? When will we have peace? At this point you have to say, the system is deeply racist. We have the solutions in the Royal Commissions recommendations but theres no political will to do anything with them. The chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Nerita Waight, said her thoughts were with the family and community of the man. This is a trauma that will have a lasting impact, she said. This death highlights the urgent need for sweeping reforms to the justice system. Our people are grossly overrepresented in the criminal legal system and in prisons. We have the solutions ready for government. We just need them to listen and act. The legal service said the death would be dealt with under new protocols in the Coroners Court of Victoria which require an initial hearing to happen within 28 days of the death. However, they also raised concerns they did not have the appropriate level of government funding to fulfil the roles they have been given to carry out this process. The co-chair of the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria Geraldine Atkinson also expressed her devastation at the death. She said in Victoria, Aboriginal people are imprisoned at rates 12 times higher than the rest of the population. My thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones, and with all of our community who have been impacted by deaths in custody, she said. I stand with our community in grief and solidarity, and will continue to fight for safety and justice for our people. Successive reports over decades have consistently shown troubling rates of incarceration among Indigenous people. A Productivity Commission report on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing released in December found that while most Indigenous people had never been in jail, they faced more risk factors that made it more likely, including unemployment, low socioeconomic status and poor mental health. Loading Last year, federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt announced new justice targets to reduce incarceration rates as part of the Close the Gap policy, pledging to reduce the Indigenous adult incarceration rate by at least 15 per cent among adults and at least 30 per cent among juveniles by 2031. The Productivity Commissions Report on Government Services released in January found young people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds in Victoria are nine times more likely to be in custody than their non-Indigenous peers. Washington, March 11 : The US Department of Treasury on Wednesday announced sanctions against two adult children of Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing and their six companies. The Treasury said in a statement that two adult children of Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing "have a variety of business holdings, which have directly benefitted from their father's position and malign influence." The US Department of Commerce last week added that Myanmar's Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Home Affairs, and two commercial entities to its trade blacklist. It also announced more restrictive export control measures against Myanmar. Multiple Myanmar military leaders, including Min Aung Hlaing and several entities related to the military or security forces of Myanmar were designated by the United States in February. A one-year state of emergency was declared in Myanmar after President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, along with other officials from the National League for Democracy (NLD), were detained by the military on February 1. The military had alleged that there was massive voting fraud in the country's November 2020 General Elections, which saw the NLD win a majority of seats in both houses of Parliament. Myanmar's Union Election Commission dismissed the allegation. 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. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Simon Bridges National Party MP simonbridges.co.nz In the life of a bustling city, theres always a huge amount happening the good, bad, ugly and indifferent. This week I want to go through a few of the things Im seeing that fit all those descriptions. The good. Last week I enjoyed having a stand at the Mount Market. Its a great wee market and Mounties really support it. This Saturday Im looking forward to going to the opening of Abundant Life Churchs new building on Sutherland Road, Judea. Its a magnificent building that shows what our community can do with hard work and dedication. Itll be a great asset for this part of Tauranga. The bad. You may remember me writing a column at the end of last year asking Labour Party Minister Kiritapu Allan to reverse Green MP and former Minister Eugene Sages decision to refuse permission for a Marine Research Centre in conjunction with Waikato University to happen down on Reserve Land at Sulphur Point. Regrettably and despite all local MPs, red as well as blue, saying it should happen Minister Allan has followed Sages barmy decision and declined permission again. If Labour cant even let this happen, forget about the development of significant new roads and housing. The ugly. In helping constituents Ive been helping a number of longstanding WOF stations around our city where the governments NZ Transport Agency has come in and suspended their licences to operate. I fully understand safety is paramount but, as I have said to the NZTA in support of these hard working small businesses, the approach being taken in the Bay is much harsher than elsewhere in New Zealand, and in the way its been done its overbearing and bully-like behaviour. Finally, the indifferent well, actually there is nothing in this category. I care too much for Tauranga to ever be indifferent about it. Sylvan Learning, a leading provider of supplemental and enrichment education for students in grades K-12 with more than 750 points of presence worldwide, is now expanding its footprint to Cheektowaga, New York with the signing of seasoned educator Sabrina Ghorta. This new signing brings the leading technology and education franchise statewide count to 17, with an opportunity to add locations in 32 additional markets across the Empire State. Ghotras passion stems back to her teacher apprenticeship program in the 11th grade. Even at a young age, she pursued her interest and love for education and has now worked with all grade levels in the elementary division, from Kindergarten through the eighth grade. As Sabrina continued with her development as a teacher, she began to present at school board conferences. She later earned her Masters degree with the intention to make a difference and foster student success as an administrator, deciding to ultimately pursue her passion to help children succeed on the frontline. Ghorta chose to bring Sylvan Learning to her community in Cheektowaga to help local families ensure their children are succeeding throughout the challenges presented by COVID-19. With COVID-19, families are struggling, Ghorta said. Parents have all these different responsibilities. I am opening my Sylvan Learning Center during the pandemic and we want to provide that School Support. Most schools around here are shifting to a hybrid model where there are two days in person and three days online. Every kid learns so differently. We want to help these kids out. For more than 40 years, Sylvan Learning has been focused on building academic confidence, igniting intellectual curiosity and inspiring a love for learning all of which make a big impact in school and in life. Since its founding in 1979, Sylvan Learning has become the leading supplemental and enrichment education franchise in North America thanks to its mission-driven philosophy, educational technology, community-oriented approach and strong franchisee support infrastructure. Because of its ongoing investment in technology solutions and breadth of content and delivery options provided in-center, in-home and online, Sylvan has been uniquely positioned to respond to parents needs in these challenging times. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sylvan Learning has worked hard to support parents. First, in March, Sylvan Learning introduced a virtual tutoring option as school districts transitioned to remote learning. The company is also continuing to utilize its proprietary software, SylvanSync, which provides teachers and students with adaptive practice sessions. As the school year approached, the brand announced the launch of School Support, a program that provides a variety of services to help children stay on track and parents manage the complexities of this current school year. As a result of its flexible and innovative offering, the industry-leading learning franchise is continuing to grow. Those who are interested in franchising with Sylvan Learning have the option to provide services completely virtually or offer in-person support to students during their regular virtual school days. By offering a much-needed service during COVID-19, Sylvan Learning franchisees have the opportunity to help families across America during this difficult time. Sabrina Ghorta will be able to make a difference in their community by bringing Sylvan Learning to the families of Cheektowaga, said CEO John McAuliffe. The Sylvan Learning system is stronger, more nimble and more united than ever. We have ramped up our already-strong training for instruction, local marketing and technology for our franchise owners and expanded our reach for families and students. There is more demand for our services than ever, and we are excited to continue partnering with qualified franchisees to bring Sylvan Learning to new areas across the country. To learn more about Sylvan franchise opportunities, visit http://www.sylvanfranchise.com. ABOUT SYLVAN LEARNING LLC With more than 40 years of experience and more than 750 points of presence throughout North America, Sylvan Learning is the leading provider of personal learning for students in grades K-12. Sylvan is transforming how students learn, inspiring them to succeed in school and in life. Sylvans proven tutoring approach blends amazing teachers with SylvanSync technology on the iPad for an engaging learning experience. Sylvan also leads the way with Sylvan EDGE STEM and accelerated courses and Sylvan Prep college and test prep courses. Sylvan supports families through every stage of the academic journey. For more information, visit http://www.SylvanLearning.com or SylvanLearning.com/blog. MONCKS CORNER Berkeley County School District will begin administering COVD-19 vaccines to its more than 6,000 employees, starting March 11. Teachers and staff can begin receiving their COVID-19 vaccine shots March 11 and 12 at the districts offices in Moncks Corner, 107 East Main St. The District will use the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine. We should have lots of opportunities for shots to go into arms over the next two weeks, Berkeley County Superintendent Eddie Ingram said. BCSD teachers will be able to get their vaccines during school hours, Ingram said. District employees who were unable to sign up for vaccines March 11 and 12 will be able to get shots on March 18 and 19. Principals will work with teachers to cover duties for appointment times if they conflict with work schedules, Ingram said. We want to be as accommodating as possible to allow our employees to get vaccinated. Dorchester School District 2 began vaccinating its teachers March 8 and plans to give most of its more than 2,500 employees their first doses of the vaccination by March 12. Fetter Health Care Network will be at Cane Bay High School on March 17, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to administer the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine. Liberty Doctors will host a drive-thru vaccination clinic for BCSD employees on March 20 beginning at 9 a.m. They will administer the first shot of the Pfizer two-shot vaccine. DD2, in partnership with the Fetter Health Care Network, organized vaccine clinics for all its employees, from custodians to teachers and administrators. The district is expecting between 2,300 and 2,500 employees to receive the vaccine. Charleston County district teachers were administered the first of two shots developed by Pfizer, beginning March 9. The district has allowed for up to 800 inoculations a day and expects to administer 2,000 a week over at least two weeks. Meanwhile, Berkeley school officials gave second approval to the 2021-22 academic calendar during its meeting on March 9, with the school year for students, beginning Aug. 16. The final day of school, which will be a half-day for students, is May 31, 2022. The academic calendar was approved 3-0 for a second time by the Academic and Innovations Committee at the board's March 9 meeting. The calendar wont be finalized until it receives full board approval. The final vote is expected to take place at the board's next full meeting March 23. The calendar features a three-day break at Thanksgiving, from Nov. 24-26, and a two-week break for the Christmas holidays, from Dec. 20-31. Students would report back to school for the second semester on Jan. 4, 2022. Ending the first semester before winter break is a big deal, said board member Sally Wofford. Thats not a high priority a lot of times for elementary or middle school teachers, but for kids in high school that are trying to graduate early or doing dual-credit at a place like Trident Tech, thats important. Spring break would fall from April 11-15, 2022. The inclement weather makeup dates are set for Oct. 15, March 11 and April 18. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Buc-ee's, home of the world's cleanest bathrooms, freshest food and friendliest beaver, will unveil its newest travel center in Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 22, 2021. Doors will open at 6 a.m. EST, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony co-hosted by the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce will follow at 11 a.m. EST. The celebration will be attended by local leaders and community members including Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Nancy Keefer and Chairman of the Board Leonard Marinaccio III. Located at 2330 Gateway North Drive on the corner of I-95 and LPGA Boulevard, Buc-ee's Daytona Beach will bring the same award-winning restrooms, cheap gas, quality products and excellent service that have won the hearts, trust and business of millions in the South for nearly 40 years to one of the most beloved coastal cities in the country. Buc-ee's Daytona Beach marks the second Buc-ee's travel center in Florida, joining Buc-ee's St. Augustine, which opened last month. The two Florida outposts continue Buc-ee's multi-state expansion across the South, adding to stores in Georgia and Alabama. Buc-ee's first travel center in South Carolina is also currently under construction and is slated for opening in 2022. Buc-ee's continues to operate 38 locations in Texas, where it was founded. Buc-ee's Daytona Beach will occupy 53,000 square feet and offer 104 fueling positions just outside its store with thousands of snack, meal and drink options for travelers on the go. Buc-ee's favorites including Texas barbeque, homemade fudge, kolaches, Beaver nuggets, jerky and fresh pastries will all be available, ideal for beach days and long car rides alike. "We are excited to become part of the iconic Daytona Beach culture," said Stan Beard of Buc-ee's. "From the Speedway to Bike Week to the Art Festival, Buc-ee's will fit right in. We have been so impressed by the efforts of both Volusia County and City of Daytona Beach's staff, and we can't thank them enough for their support during the construction and opening process. This is a great place to do business." Buc-ee's remains committed to providing a friendly, safe and fun stop for travelers everywhere. Buc-ee's Daytona Beach will bring more than 200 new, permanent, full-time jobs to the area with great pay, full benefits, 401k and three weeks of vacation. About Buc-ee's Buc-ee's is the world's most-loved travel center. Founded in 1982, Buc-ee's now has 38 stores across Texas, including the world's largest convenience store. Buc-ee's began its multi-state expansion in 2019 and has since opened two travel centers in Alabama and one in Georgia. Buc-ee's broke ground on their first location in South Carolina in 2020 and opened two locations in Florida in 2021. Buc-ee's is known for pristine bathrooms, a large amount of fueling positions, friendly service, Buc-ee's apparel and fresh, delicious food. Originally launched and still headquartered in Texas, Buc-ee's has combined traditional quality and modern efficiency to redefine traveling for their customers. For more information, visit www.buc-ees.com. For High Resolution Photos: CLICK HERE ON-SITE MEDIA CONTACT: Rachel Austin [email protected] 713-305-0419 Related Files DAYTONA_Buc-ees_final.pdf Related Images image1.jpg SOURCE Buc-ee's A Jersey City Council resolution promoting the elimination of the county line on primary election ballots passed Wednesday, despite garnering the support of only two council members. Councilman at large Rolando Lavarro and Ward E Councilman James Solomon voted for the resolution condemning the current endorsement process. The non-binding resolution, passed in a 2-0-4 vote, endorses the elimination of rows, columns, and lines from the primary election ballots. Ward B Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey, Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano, Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh and Councilman at large Daniel Rivera all abstained from the vote. Council President Joyce Watterman, Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley and Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson were absent from Wednesdays meeting. Critics say the county line the official endorsements of the Hudson County Democratic Organization gives mayors and other party bosses outsized power in the selection of Democratic nominees for state and county office. Candidates for Hudson Countys state Assembly seats, for example, are selected by the mayors in their respective legislative districts. Solomon, who sponsored the resolution, said Wednesday the county line provides such a strong advantage to the party machine across the whole state that it really undermines the sort of core idea of democracy that the voters pick their representatives. It is crucial because, at the end of the day, voters should pick their representatives not the other way around, Solomon said. Boggiano said he would prefer if the measure was tabled until the next meeting as he was waiting for further information on the resolution. Prinz-Arey warned of possible consequences in changing the format of the ballots but did not explain what the consequences may be. She said there needs to be a conversation about the county line. We should be advocating for something, what is the line going to be replaced with? Saleh said. Even though this isnt our jurisdiction even, this is within the county jurisdiction, we as a community can have these conversations. Solomon noted Thursday that Jersey City municipal elections are nonpartisan and are unaffected by the county line. This resolution came on the heels of Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis pulling his support of state Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti, D-Bayonne, and replacing him on the Hudson County Democratic ticket with a new candidate, William Sampson. In a letter addressed to Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Amy DeGise, more than 40 Hudson County residents requested that she hold a special meeting before March 22 to propose changes that would allow rank and file committee members to screen and endorse party candidates for primary elections. Members of the Hudson County Progressive Alliance called on the HCDO to end the county line endorsement process, which they say disenfranchises voters and strips committee members of power within the party. Solomon and Lavarro both signed the letter. Marc Devens, a member of the group, said during the meetings public comment portion that Hudson Countys anti-democratic ballot design doesnt exist outside of New Jersey. For 20 years, we have been apparently operating in a system where mayors get to handpick assembly members, Devens said. Meanwhile, the City Council adopted an amending ordinance that extends a moratorium on rent hikes in rent-controlled buildings until Gov. Phil Murphys state health emergency is over or six months after the passage of the amendments. Boggiano said the council needs to start considering those who own homes in the city and start helping other people as well. He said he is getting calls from property owners who have renters leaving without paying nine months of back rent. The legislation would also continue to bar landlords from collecting any interest on late payments. The ordinance is retroactive to March 15, 2020. This has to end, Boggiano said. I will vote for it this time but thats it. The tourism ministry is trying to work out an agreement with Lupita Nyongo for a role as Magical Kenya ambassador, CS Najib Balala has said. The tourism minister spoke Wednesday during a virtual interview with KTN News. He said the Academy winner will be appointed once both parties have agreed on the terms and conditions. Balala said the ministry had earlier tried to reach out to Lupita but they could not access her due to complications. Unfortunately, we could not reach her in terms of complications of how do we engage her, how much it is going to cost to bring her on boardthose are the things that we are ready to engage with her team, and then we are ready to appoint her as well, Balala said. The CS noted they are not discriminating against anybody as they are open to both local and international celebrities. This follows backlash from Kenyans who criticised the appointment of British Supermodel Naomi Campbell as the international ambassador for Magical Kenya. We are open to many others who will be interested and I am glad that Naomi Campbell has done this for free because of her love for Kenya. Read: Lupita Responds To Balala, Accuses Him of Lying MILWAUKEE, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Otologic Technologies, Inc., a Wisconsin-based health-tech startup developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system to improve treatment of ear disease, today announced the issuance of US Patent No. 10,932,662, "System and Method of Otoscopy Image Analysis to Diagnose Ear Pathology." The patent explains a novel artificial intelligence system to help doctors better diagnose ear disease. "One of the biggest challenges in diagnosing ear disease is the difficult nature of an ear exam," said Aaron Moberly, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology at The Ohio State University and one of the inventors of the technology. "Even experienced doctors can have trouble with a live ear exam, as patients are usually uncomfortable and the view can be obstructed. Today's ear exam process doesn't scale well into the modern world of telemedicine and remote diagnosis." In 2015, Dr. Moberly began an ongoing collaboration with Metin Gurcan, PhD, an artificial intelligence (AI) expert at The Ohio State University. Together and with the support of a National Institutes of Health Award, their teams developed an AI system that processes multiple frames from an ear exam video into a still image with improved lighting, improved focus, and digitally removed obstructions. Their work resulted in nine academic papers and the US patent application, which was issued on March 2, 2021. International versions of the patent application are currently undergoing examination. "Our approach is to apply artificial intelligence techniques to otoscopy and help primary care providers and advance care practitioners," said Dr. Gurcan. Advanced care practitioners such as physician's assistants and nurse practitioners are increasingly relied on to diagnose ear disease in primary care offices and rural health clinics. Otologic Technologies holds an exclusive license to the technology worldwide. Dr. Moberly serves as the company's chief medical officer, and Dr. Gurcan, currently Director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics at Wake Forest School of Medicine, serves as the company's chief consulting scientist. The company is also announcing a seed funding round, seeking to raise $500,000 to integrate the technology into a telemedicine-oriented clinical decision support system. Otologic Technologies is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. The company is a past Life Sciences category winner in the Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Competition, was a finalist in the 2019 Summerfest Tech pitch competition, and was named by Wisconsin Inno as one of their 20 startups to watch in 2020. For more information, visit www.otologictech.com. SOURCE Otologic Technologies Related Links https://otologictech.com * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! New Delhi: Aadhaar issuing body Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) allows the Aadhaar card holder to use their VID if they do not wish to disclose their Aadhaar number. However, for the purpose, your mobile number must be registered with Aadhaar, so that you can Generate/Retrieve Virtual ID. UIDAI has tweeted: #UpdateMobileInAadhaar You can use your VID if you do not wish to disclose your Aadhaar number, it is verifiable. If you have your mobile number registered with Aadhaar, you can Generate / Retrieve Virtual ID using this link https://t.co/OuNjRBPIhi #Aadhaar #AddMobileToAadhaar pic.twitter.com/mSqwcIh3zW Aadhaar (@UIDAI) March 3, 2021 What is Aadhaar VID or Virtual ID? In a bid to address privacy concerns, UIDAI had in April 2018 introduced a new concept of 'Virtual ID' which Aadhaar-card holder can generate from its website and give for various purposes, including SIM verification, instead of sharing the actual 12-digit biometric ID. The move aims to strengthen the privacy and security of Aadhaar data and comes amid heightened concerns around the collection and storage of personal and demographic data of individuals. Here is how you can generate Aadhaar Virtual ID online The Virtual ID, which would be a random 16-digit number, together with biometrics of the user would give any authorised agency like a mobile company, limited details like name, address and photograph, which are enough for any verification. For generating the virtual ID you will have to log on to UIDAI website: https://www.uidai.gov.in. After logging in, you can go to Aadhaar Services and go to Virtual ID (VID Generator). You will be taken to another page. Here you will have to punch in your 16 digit Aadhaar number, enter security code and generate OTP. The OTP will be sent to your registered Aadhaar number. Now come back to the same page and enter your OTP number and select Generate VID. You will get succesfull verification message when your VID has been generated. A user can generate as many Virtual IDs as he or she wants. The older ID gets automatically cancelled once a fresh one is generated. Live TV #mute The Virtual ID will be valid for a defined period of time, or till the you decided to change it. You can give this Virtual ID to service agencies along with the fingerprint at the time of authentication. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Watch: Dominique Fishback discusses playing Deborah Johnson in Judas and the Black Messiah Dominique Fishback says it was 'extremely important' to her that her portrayal of Deborah Johnson in Judas and the Black Messiah was more than just a generic 'wife' role. Fishback plays Johnson, who was engaged to Fred Hampton at the time of his death, in the movie, which stars Daniel Kaluuya as the Black Panther Party leader and Lakeith Stanfield as FBI informant William O'Neal. The 29-year-old star, who has earned a Bafta nomination for her performance, tells Yahoo Entertainment UK that she credits writer-director Shaka King for collaborating with her throughout the process, having written the role with her in mind. "I read the script and I emailed him all of the things that I loved and said I had two thoughts, but I don't want to overstep. He said: 'You'll be playing her, you can't overstep'. Read more: Daniel Kaluuya discusses challenge of playing Fred Hampton "I said that one of the first things she says is 'do you like poetry?', and we don't hear a poem so I think we miss an opportunity. The poem in the movie that she says is a poem that I was actually able to write. Dominique Fishback as Deborah Johnson in 'Judas and the Black Messiah'. (Credit: Warner Bros) "The second note was that a lot of times with Black women in love, in particular, in TV and film, we always have to prove ourselves worthy of love. "We have to stand by somebody through jail, or we get pregnant. It's not like The Notebook, when Noah sees Allie and he just wants to climb on a Ferris Wheel for her. "I wanted to make sure that we knew that he loved her for her mind and for her essence. She was worthy before she covered his body, before she made any type of warrior gesture that we could see." Read more: Shaka King defends casting Kaluuya as Hampton Fishback says she and Shaka King continued to collaborate throughout pre-production, frequently meeting at cafes in Brooklyn to discuss the character and the movie. Story continues "The level of care and consideration he has for all his artists and for my voice was really felt and we really appreciated him for that," she says. Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton and Dominique Fishback as Deborah Johnson in 'Judas and the Black Messiah'. (Credit: Warner Bros) Fishback shares most of her scenes in the movie with Kaluuya, who she describes as a "great collaborator", who helped to allay her concerns ahead of their romantic sequences. "He sees people for who they are, and he always meets them where they are. That is such a revolutionary thing in itself," she says. "Hearing him speak and hearing him take up space influenced me. It galvanised me and it left me open to listen and receive. We were able to ebb and flow. "We talked about [the kissing scenes] and he was such a great collaborator. Charismatic in himself and super funny." Read more: Project Power directors reveal how Fishback stole the show The film also stars Jesse Plemons as O'Neal's FBI handler and Martin Sheen under heavy make-up and prosthetics as the notorious FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Judas and the Black Messiah is due to be released via VOD platforms in the UK on 11 March. Watch: Trailer for Judas and the Black Messiah Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The main website of the Philippine government could not be accessed by users for several hours on Wednesday, with a group claiming to have launched a political cyber-attack to protest the killings of nine activists and other alleged human rights violations. The group Cyber PH for Human Rights sent an e-mail to the media at 4:40 p.m. that it launched a distributed denial-of-service attack on www.gov.ph at 4 p.m. This means it managed to overwhelm the site with traffic so much that it crashed. Any attempt to access the website now shows either an Internal Server Error or Bad Gateway page. At one point past 5 p.m., CNN Philippines was able to reach the site which was slow to load, but it became inaccessible soon after. As of 7pm today, Gov.PH remains down, the group said. For the last three hours, this will have been the first and longest cyberattack on government cyber assets, exposing the weaknesses of the government's IT system. CNN Philippines has asked the Presidential Communications Operations Office for comment, but it has not immediately responded. In its statement, the Cyber PH for Human Rights identified itself as a group of ordinary Filipinos united to defend human rights in the Philippines through cyberspace. We come before the public today to stand in solidarity against the worsening human rights situation in the country, and to call for justice for the massacre of nine activists, and for countless more unarmed civilians who had lost their lives under this regime, the group said. The cyberattack aims to send a message to President [Rodrigo] Duterte and his government, to stop the killing of unarmed civilians, it added. The group said it plans to make another round of attacks on other government websites and even the pages of non-state agents who spread fake news. It was apparently referring to the so-called Bloody Sunday, which saw members of activist and indigenous groups killed in separate operations in the provinces of Rizal, Batangas, and Laguna. The Philippine National Police said these were part of 24 search warrant operations over the weekend, maintaining that all of them were legitimate. Malacanang said these will be investigated. READ: SC urged to review rules on search warrants after killings of 9 Calabarzon activists The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights sounded the alarm over what it called an apparently arbitrary killing" and expressed concern it could mark an increase in attacks and red-tagging of human rights defenders. Activist groups slammed the crackdown, calling them a result of Duterte's statements, particularly his recent order to the military "to shoot and kill right away if they (communist rebels) see you holding a gun." Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque defended Duterte's pronouncement, saying it was "legal" amid the ongoing conflict. The Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People's Amy have waged a five-decade insurgency and have now been designated as terrorist organizations by the executive Anti-Terrorism Council. Announces early redemption of 10%, equivalent to CA$2,000,000, of its 8% Convertible Unsecured Debentures due 2024 to take place on April 5, 2021 Announces early redemption of approximately 33.6%, equivalent to US$10,000,000, of its 8.25% Senior Secured Gold Notes due 2024 to take place on May 3, 2021 TORONTO, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (TSX: GCM; OTCQX: TPRFF) (Gran Colombia) announced today that it will be taking steps to continue strengthening its balance sheet through permitted partial early redemptions of its long-term debt. 8.00% Convertible Unsecured Debentures due 2024 (Convertible Debentures) Gran Colombia announced today that it has given notice to the holders of the Convertible Debentures that, pursuant to the provisions of the Trust Indenture dated as of April 4, 2019, it will redeem CA$2,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Debentures (the Redemption Amount) in cash on April 5, 2021 (the Redemption Date). The Redemption Amount is equal to 10% of the aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Debentures which are currently outstanding. The redemption price (the Redemption Price) will be CA$1,000.876712 for each CA$1,000 principal amount outstanding to holders of record as of February 28, 2021. The Redemption Price is equal to the Redemption Amount plus accrued and unpaid interest. In accordance with the Trust Indenture, holders of the Convertible Debentures, instead of receiving the Redemption Price in cash, may choose to convert any or all of the Convertible Debentures being redeemed into common shares at the conversion price of CA$4.75 per share at any time prior to the Redemption Date. Insiders of the Company, who in total own 9.5% of the aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Debentures outstanding, have indicated their intention to elect to convert their portion of the Redemption Amount into common shares. If the full Redemption Amount is settled with shares, the Company will issue a total of 421,052 common shares to holders of the Convertible Debentures. Following the redemption, there will be CA$18,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Convertible Debentures issued and outstanding. 8.25% Senior Secured Gold-Linked Notes due 2024 (Gold Notes) (TSX: GCM.NT.U) Currently, the aggregate principal amount of Gold Notes issued and outstanding is US$32,637,500. The next regularly scheduled Amortizing Payment of the Gold Notes, amounting to US$2,887,500, will take place on April 30, 2021, reducing the outstanding amount to US$29,750,000. The Amortizing Payment will include a Gold Premium, as applicable, based on the London P.M. Fix as of April 15, 2021. Gran Colombia also announced today that pursuant to the Gold Notes Indenture, it will complete an early optional redemption on May 3, 2021 of an additional US$10,000,000, equivalent to approximately 33.6% of the aggregate principal amount of its Gold Notes outstanding, following the scheduled Amortizing Payment on April 30, 2021. In accordance with the Gold Notes Indenture, the early redemption price will be 104.13% of the aggregate principal amount of the Gold Notes being redeemed plus accrued interest. Following the Amortizing Payment and the early optional redemption, there will be US$19,750,000 aggregate principal amount of Gold Notes issued and outstanding. Full details of the cash amounts to be paid in connection with the Amortizing Payment and the early redemption will be announced on or about April 15, 2021. 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. (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 early redemption of its Gold Notes and Convertible Debentures, 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 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Two Staten Island councilmen are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city Department of Education (DOE) to provide traditional live classroom instruction for high school students returning to campus later this month, after finding out that many would still learn virtually on campus. De Blasio announced Monday that about 55,000 high school students citywide who opted for in-person learning will be able to return to their classrooms on March 22 after buildings shut down in mid-November due to rising coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. Prior to the mayors high school reopening announcement, Councilmen Steve Matteo (R-Mid-Island) and Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) held a press conference asking that the DOE and mayor clarify that in-person learning means actual live instruction for all students who opted into in-person learning. But after a discussion with many Staten Island principals, the councilmen said they learned this wasnt the case in some schools. Instead, most students will still be learning virtually when they returned to campus. The pair sent a letter to the mayor and DOE on Tuesday asking for students to get actual live instruction. It is inexcusable that it took this long for our high schools to finally reopen in the first place, but now the mayor and DOE are playing this shell game by telling the public there will be in-person learning for all students, said Matteo. Without actual teachers in a classroom, many students will still be learning remotely -- inside a classroom rather than their home. This arrangement was unworkable when the DOE tried it earlier this year, and it will be unworkable -- and absolutely unacceptable -- if it is done again. Students and parents in this city deserve better, and our city has a responsibility to do better. In-person learning this spring will be similar to what some Staten Island high schoolers experienced including Tottenville High School and Susan E. Wagner High School when buildings first opened for the 2020-2021 school year in October. Students will be seated in a classroom, but tune into their lessons via a device. Students will still be able to receive in-person supports, like counseling, social work, and occupational and physical therapies. Parents are outraged that they were lied to, Borelli said. School is not open if teachers are not in front of their classes, in person, despite the fact that the students, principals, administrators, safety agents, crossing guards, custodians, and the lunch lady will all be present in a building -- which the science has already confirmed is safe for in-person instruction. This is an embarrassment. In the letter, the councilmen stated that a pandemic doesnt absolve the city of its obligation to provide schoolchildren with a quality education. They added that learning from teachers on screens doesnt work for many students whether they are logged on in their living rooms or in a teacher-less classroom. When high schools first reopened in October, Tottenville High School PTA President Jaycee Nicholas told the Advance/SILive.com that students signed up for live instruction and that virtual learning is simply the same thing as remote, but with a different location. I do not need to send my daughter, who is a senior, to Tottenville High School to sit in the classroom for five-and-a-half hours to still only login and see her teachers via Google Meet, Nicholas said at the time. One Tottenville High School junior, Anthony Sorrentino, said on his first day back in October that he came back to school for blended learning because its easier and he likes it better. Learning virtually from his teachers on a device while in a classroom doesnt bother him, he said. As long as someones there, it shouldnt be a problem, he added. The councilmen also asked the city to end a policy that requires school buildings to close for 10 days if there are two unrelated COVID-19 cases stating it has caused many unnecessary school closures. About half of all high schools citywide will provide in-person instruction five days a week, the DOE stated. Some high schools provide their in-person students with virtual instruction but this is not fully virtual, the DOE said. Students attending in-person will be provided educational support by qualified in-person staff in addition to virtual instruction from teachers. The DOE said this provides a continuity of instruction for students while providing critical in-person services, supports, resources, and instructional opportunities. From the beginning weve emphasized that schools must have the flexibility to meet the unique needs of their communities while continually providing a high-quality education and on March 22nd, said Nathaniel Styer, spokesman for the DOE. Every student attending in-person is being provided with support and we are working with high schools as they plan their programming and welcome students back in-person on the 22nd. School Zone: A new newsletter with the updates you need as our schools try to get back to normal. Enter your email address here and hit "subscribe" to receive this weekly newsletter: FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. 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. "We are grateful for the relationships we established over the past 35 years with Pet Parents in NE Wisconsin." Said Troy and Tera Fox, owners of Golrusk Pet Care Center. "As we transition our Invisible Fence dealership to Invisible Fence of Wisconsin, we are confident you [our customers] will continue to receive top-notch service like you have become accustomed to. When it comes to pet care services, Golrusk Pet Care Center will remain your trusted provider in Green Bay." As Golrusk Pet Care Center separates their Pet Care Center business from the Invisible Fence Dealership, Invisible Fence of Wisconsin will add Brown, Calumet, Door, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Manitowoc, Marinette, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Washington, Waupaca and Winnebago counties into their existing service area in Madison and Milwaukee. Invisible Fence of Wisconsin has been an authorized, full-service dealership of genuine Invisible Fence products and services since 1996. With the addition of cities in Green Bay and surrounding suburbs, Invisible Fence of Wisconsin will now serve more than 17,000 satisfied customers. "For over 39 years, Invisible Fence by Golrusk has done a tremendous job changing the lives of pets and their parents." Said Ed Hoyt, Senior Director of Invisible Fence. "Expanding our footprint allows us to extend our customer service hours and offer new and innovative solutions that will help customers enjoy their pets even more all while providing the same high-level of attention customers have come to expect." Acquiring Invisible Fence by Golrusk is the company's third acquisition of the year, followed by five acquisitions in 2020; the most recent being the merger of Invisible Fence of Upstate NY. With over 240 authorized dealers, Invisible Fence contains pets in the US and Canada. "We're excited for the opportunity to directly serve more pet owners in Eastern Wisconsin as we continue to provide a premium experience to our customers and their beloved pets," said Hoyt. Invisible Fence offers the premier dog fence on the market including professional installation, Perfect Start Plus Training and exclusive Boundary Plus Technology. Highly recommended by veterinarians, dog trainers, animal behaviorists and other pet experts, Invisible Fence offers pet fences that can be customized for clients' unique needs. Merging dealerships allows Invisible Fence to continue to support and be involved in their communities. Local animal shelter donations, adoption events and the Project Breathe Program are among some of the ways Invisible Fence of Wisconsin will continue to contribute to local pet welfare under new management. For additional information or questions, customers can call 1-800-578-3647, visit InvisibleFence.com, and follow Invisible Fence of Wisconsin on Facebook. About Invisible Fence Brand Invisible Fence pioneered the pet containment industry in 1973, making it their mission to provide safe boundaries inside and outside of the home. The Radio Systems Corporation owned company predominantly sells pet containment, avoidance and access solutions across the U.S. and Canada. In addition to offering award-winning products like Boundary Plus Technology, Authorized Dealers provide professional installation, Perfect Start Plus Training and integrated solutions that have protected more than three million pets to date. Invisible Fence also founded the Project Breathe Program in 2006, donating more than 32,000 pet oxygen masks to fire departments and first responders. For more information on Invisible Fence or to find a local dealer, visit InvisibleFence.com or follow the company on Facebook . Contact: Tricia Everett (865) 235-8791 SOURCE Invisible Fence Brand Related Links http://www.InvisibleFence.com The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. NSU swim coach Monanian moving on after four seasons Monanian moves on to Purdue after accepting an assistant position at their program. By Troy Stangarone In October last year, President Moon Jae-in pledged that Korea would become carbon neutral by 2050. The question is how to achieve that goal. Over his time in office, the Moon administration has taken a series of initiatives to change Korea's energy mix and reduce emissions. These have included efforts to support the development of hydrogen as a fuel source, a commitment to achieve 39 percent power generation from renewables by 2040, and the introduction of the Green New Deal. But more will need to be done to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The transportation sector is one area to target. According to South Korea's 2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy, the transportation sector was responsible for 14 percent of South Korea's greenhouse gas emissions and 32 percent of petroleum consumption as of 2017. The 2050 strategy envisions moving toward greener transportation through an increase in low-carbon fuels, the development of eco-friendly vehicles and a combination of better management of transportation demand and green logistics. Under a recent update to Korea's electric vehicle (EV) strategy the government will also work with industry to bring down the cost of EVs by 10 million won. The aim is to speed up the adoption of EVs. However, the 2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy and the new plan to reduce EV costs do not call for the phase-out of the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines. It's time for Korea to take that step. In a recent op-ed, Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), noted that if the world is to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century, countries will need short-term goals to reduce emissions. In the transportation sector he estimates that EVs need to rise to more than 50 percent of new vehicle sales by 2030. In Korea's current 2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy, sales of vehicles with internal combustion engines are expected to still account for 66.7 percent of sales in 2030. While the new plan to reduce EV costs may help increase the sales of EVs, committing to phasing out the sale of new internal combustion engines would have benefits for Korea. In addition to putting Korea on pace for the IEA's projected transportation sector emissions reductions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, it would also begin to align Korea's policy with other major automotive markets and meet changing international standards. The United Kingdom will phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, as will Belgium, Demark and Sweden. By 2035, 50 percent of vehicles sold in China will be required to be hybrids, while the remaining 50 percent will need to be powered by electric batteries, hydrogen or some other new type of energy source. Petroleum-powered vehicles will no longer be part of the mix. If slower, other countries are planning to transition as well. France and Canada have targeted 2040. For the moment, Germany is resisting an EU-wide target, but as more automotive companies pledge to end the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines that will likely change. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are among the top five export markets for automobiles from South Korea. While it is unclear if the Biden administration will follow its European allies and China in banning the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines, California, the most important market for automotive emission standards in the United States, will by 2035. While Hyundai and Kia are putting significant resources into the development and sale of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, phasing out the sale of new internal combustion engines could strengthen both companies as they face increasing competition. General Motors has pledged to sell only EVs by 2035, while Ford has announced that it will only sell EVs in Europe and the United Kingdom by 2030. Jaguar will also go all electric, and Volkswagen plans on introducing 70 new electric vehicles over the next decade. While Hyundai and Kia will build electric vehicles on a common platform, both have less ambitious electric vehicle plans. Competition is another factor. In 2020, the EU passed China as the second-largest market for electric vehicles, but Beijing has designs on becoming the dominant manufacturer as the world transitions to electric vehicles. Outside of Tesla, domestic brands dominate the Chinese market for EVs. The time of the internal combustion engine is coming to an end, but countries are competing to become the dominate players in the future of transportation. Korea is well-placed to be competitive in EVs and hydrogen vehicles, but needs to transition its domestic market to meet the challenge. Setting a date for the end of new vehicle sales with internal combustion engines is an important step in securing that transition and putting Korea on a path to become carbon neutral by 2050. Troy Stangarone (ts@keia.org) is senior director and fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America. 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. University of Texas at Dallas chemist Dr. Jie Zheng has spent much of his career investigating gold nanoparticles for their potential impact in the field of nanomedicine. In new research, he and his colleagues show how these nanoparticles could play a key role in a simple blood test to detect acute liver damage earlier than current methods. The study, published online Feb. 19 in the journal Science Advances, expands on corresponding author Zheng's work, which has previously demonstrated the use of nanoparticles for targeted delivery of cancer drugs and better understanding of kidney disease. "Our goal is to make it simple for family doctors to easily catch liver injury earlier. If they can detect and treat such injury earlier, the patient has a better chance of faster recovery," said Zheng, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The gold standard for monitoring and diagnosing liver disease is a liver biopsy, which is invasive and can be painful or cause complications. In a clinical setting, physicians also can monitor liver function noninvasively with tests that record levels of certain enzymes and proteins in the blood, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), which are released by liver cells, or hepatocytes, when the organ is damaged. "Conventional blood biomarkers like ALT and AST are released when hepatocytes die -- the damage has already been done," Zheng said. "Another drawback to these tests is that other factors, such as inflammation, can cause these biomarkers to be abnormally high. Because of this, in many cases, clinicians may not intervene right away. That creates a problem because it can delay detection and treatment of liver injury." Targeting key antioxidant In the study, which was conducted in mice, Zheng and his colleagues focused on a chemical called glutathione, which is the master antioxidant produced by the liver. The constant release, or efflux, of glutathione by hepatocytes helps maintain the detoxification function of a healthy liver. When the liver is damaged, however, glutathione production is blocked. "Glutathione depletion has been found to strongly correlate with an increased risk of many liver diseases, including drug-induced liver injury, alcohol-related and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis," Zheng said. "People have been studying glutathione for decades, but it's not easy to monitor noninvasively." Noninvasive monitoring of glutathione has proved difficult because the biomolecule is diluted nearly three orders of magnitude once it enters the bloodstream, and it is rapidly consumed by other organs and cleared quickly by the kidneys. Zheng and his colleagues combined their expertise with gold nanoparticles with the behavior of glutathione to develop their nanoprobe for acute liver injury, which they then tested in mice. They began by chemically connecting -- or conjugating -- onto gold nanoparticles an organic fluorescent dye called indocyanine green (ICG), which has widespread clinical use. "Because of this conjugation, the ICG molecules do not fluoresce. The gold nanoparticles carry the dye specifically to the liver. The beauty of this work is that the probe can be selectively activated in the liver at high specificity," Zheng said. The researchers injected conjugated gold nanoparticles into mice that had been given an excessive dose of acetaminophen (APAP). Overdose of acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol, is one of the most common causes of drug-induced liver injury and the most common cause of acute liver failure in the U.S. Tracking toxicity Once the nanoparticles reached a part of the liver called the sinusoid, glutathione molecules knocked ICG molecules off the gold nanoparticles and took their place. "Remember, when liver cells are injured, glutathione efflux is significantly reduced; therefore, you have fewer glutathione and more ICG molecules remaining on the gold particles' surfaces," Zheng said. The gold nanoparticles returned to the bloodstream fairly quickly. Within about half an hour, the researchers were able to detect glutathione depletion in a small amount of blood. "A simple blood test shows how much ICG is left on the surface of the gold particles," Zheng said. "The more ICG that remains, the less glutathione in the liver, which directly correlates to liver damage. Our particle was able to detect APAP overdose with 93% accuracy, which is very high. And it's at a stage that is much earlier than traditional biomarkers can detect." Dr. William Lee, professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is a co-author of the study and one of the world's leading experts on acute liver failure and acetaminophen toxicity in the liver. Lee has been site investigator for four networks sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial, the Acute Liver Failure Study Group, the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network and the Hepatitis B Research Network. "Glutathione flux is at the heart of acetaminophen metabolism, and Dr. Zheng's new method of tracking glutathione is a big step forward in our ability to understand and prevent acetaminophen toxicity," Lee said. Dr. Neil Kaplowitz, professor of medicine and chief of the gastroenterology and liver diseases at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, who was not involved in the study, said: "The study authors developed a novel approach to dynamic assessment of the status of glutathione in the liver sinusoids. Their technological advance shows that they can image sinusoidal blood glutathione or measure this indicator of sinusoidal plasma glutathione specifically in collected peripheral blood, which accurately reflects the amount of glutathione in liver cells." While the current study was focused on drug-induced, acute liver injury, Zheng said future work will further deepen fundamental understanding of liver-nanoparticle interactions, continue improving the test's sensitivity and accuracy, and extend the technology to help detect chronic liver injury as well. He said the research is an exciting extension of his previous efforts to develop nanomedicines that are easily cleared from the body. "I spent much of my career developing clearable nanomedicines for treating conditions like cancer or kidney disease, and this new research is a big breakthrough," Zheng said. "We think our new work could lead to a clearable nanomedicine that can help detect liver injury much earlier with a simple blood test, and that could help a lot of people." Postal services provider TTPost yesterday shut its branches in Port of Spain and San Fernando after dozens of people rushed to collect senior citizen pension and public assistance grants and would not adhere to physical distancing rules. Eventually, police were called to disperse the crowds. Several elderly people at the St Vincent Street branch in Port of Spain complained about not being able to collect their pension cheques because other unruly ones refused to socially distance and abide by the law amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Stella Griffith, 68, of Diego Martin, said she was adhering to rules of social distancing, but there were other people who came for their public assistance and disability grants and were refusing to listen. WORCESTER, Mass., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 800 striking nurses of St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester will receive a boost on Friday, March 12 as they will be joined by Massachusetts Senior Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Jim McGovern on their strike line outside the hospital at 3 p.m., which will help mark their fifth day of an open-ended strike for safer patient care against Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare. Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III, whose uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, helped settled the St. Vincent nurses' historic 49-day strike in 2000, will also be paying the nurses a visit earlier in the day at 11 a.m. Senator Warren, along with Senator Markey and Congressman McGovern have shown strong interest in the patient safety crisis at St. Vincent Hospital for the last several weeks, having sent one letter to Tenet's CEO in Dallas urging them to negotiate with the nurses to address the nurses concerns over needed staffing improvements to ensure safe care, and as the strike began, they issued a statement in support of the nurses. "We urge Tenet to listen to and act on the concerns of St. Vincent nurses," the lawmakers said in a joint statement Sunday. "This is a patient safety issue, but it's also about our values. We respect our nurses, we deeply appreciate everything they have done for our community during this challenging year, and we stand unequivocally with them in their fight for patient safety and fairness. We remain ready and willing to help in any way we can to resolve this situation in a fair and equitable way." In announcing his visit former Congressman Kennedy stated, "I'm proud to stand with St. Vincent's nurses. It's hard to imagine where we would be right now without the heroism of these men and women who show up every single day to save lives, pandemic or not. They are brave, dedicated, and selfless. The least they deserve is the safe conditions to do their job. Nearly 25 years ago my uncle was proud to fight with the nurses of St. Vincent's for basic economic justice. I am proud to fight with them today." Former Congressman Joe Kennedy Visits the Strike Line When: Friday, March 12 at 11 a.m. Where: Outside the Summer Street Entrance to St. Vincent Hospital Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Jim McGovern Visit the Strike Line When: Friday, March 12 at 3 p.m. Where: Outside the Summer Street Entrance to St. Vincent Hospital "We are thrilled that Senator Warren and Congressman McGovern are taking the time to join us on Friday as we continue our strike to convince our employer to finally put a concern for our patients and community over Tenet's concern for profits," said Marlena Pellegrino, RN, a frontline nurse at the hospital and co-chair of the nurses local bargaining unit with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA). "Our nurses are putting everything on the line to ensure the safety of our patients and our community, and it means so much to receive the support from these great leaders, and so many others who are showing up to champion our cause." Pellegrino, who was one of the nurses on strike in 2000 who flew down to Senator Kennedy's office in Washington, D.C., where the final negotiation for a settlement to that strike was reached, commented on the significance of Joe Kennedy's visit to the line. "The former congressman has always been supportive of nursing and patient safety and it brings it full circle to have him stand with us, like his uncle did 20 years ago, for the safety of patients in Worcester." The 800 SVH nurses, who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), voted overwhelmingly on Feb. 10 to authorize the strike, and last week issued the required notice to conduct an open-ended strike beginning at 6 a.m. on March 8. The decision to strike followed a concerted effort over the last two years by the nurses to convince Tenet to improve the patient care conditions at the facility, poor conditions that have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Adding insult to injury, the same day nurses voted to authorize the strike, Tenet announced annual profits of more than $400 million. In the last year alone, nurses have filed more than 600 official "unsafe staffing" reports (more than 110 such reports have been filed since Jan. 1, 2021) in which nurses informed management in real time that patient care conditions jeopardized the safety of their patients. The nurses also report their patients in Worcester are experiencing an increase in patient falls, an increase in patients suffering from preventable bed sores, potentially dangerous delays in patients receiving needed medications and other treatments all due to lack of appropriate staffing, excessive patient assignments, and cuts to valuable support staff. While Tenet has refused to ensure safe care to patients in Worcester, adding insult to injury, that same day Tenet announced annual profits of more than $400 million. For a more detailed review of the staffing crisis, efforts by nurses to convince Tenet to address the crisis, as well as proposals nurses are seeking to improve patient care, click here to view a previous press release on the matter. MassNurses.org Facebook.com/MassNurses Twitter.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 Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 04:43:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ALGIERS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday signed a decree that sets the date of the parliamentary elections at June 12, official APS news agency reported, citing a statement of the Presidential Office. Tebboune also signed the new election law that guarantees "fair and fair polls," APS said. On Feb. 18, Tebboune dissolved the National People's Assembly (the lower house of the Algerian parliament), noting an early election will be held in three months. The upcoming parliamentary election will be the third to be organized under Tebboune's rule since he won the presidential elections on Dec. 12, 2019. Algeria held a referendum on the new constitution on Nov. 1, 2020. Enditem Boris Johnson is resisting calls to correct a false claim after misleading MPs about Labours record on NHS pay, in a possible breach of his own ministerial code of conduct. At Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson twice accused Labour of voting against an NHS funding document containing proposals for a 2.1 per cent pay rise for NHS staff. But the issue did not in fact go to a vote, but was passed on the nod with Labour offering no formal opposition. It is the third time in as many weeks that Mr Johnson has been accused of misleading the Commons, after he wrongly said there were no cuts to a northern transport body and wrongly suggested all outstanding Covid contracts had been published. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, immediately seized on the PMs comment and called for Mr Johnson to correct it. And he later accused the PM of lying to MPs, adding: Labour did not vote against the 2.1 per cent uplift for NHS pay. Boris Johnson is now breaking his promise to NHS staff and cutting their pay in real terms. He should now have the courage to put his nurses pay cut to a vote. The ministerial code of conduct states that it is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the prime minister, the code states. But Downing Street made clear that Mr Johnson is not planning either to apologise or to return to the Commons to correct his false statement. In a media briefing following PMQs, the PMs press secretary Allegra Stratton did not contest Mr Ashworths position that Mr Johnsons statement to MPs was incorrect. But she ducked a question on whether the PM himself accepted that his claim was wrong. And she insisted that the matter had been settled by Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who accepted Mr Ashworths objection as a point of clarification. There is no reference in the ministerial code of any role for the speaker in correcting a misleading statement made to MPs by a member of the government. The row came on the day when Mr Johnsons former standards adviser called for Downing Streets systems to be changed so the prime minister is no longer the only person who can order an investigation of alleged breaches of the ministerial code. Sir Alex Allan who quit last year after Mr Johnson rejected his finding that Priti Patel bullied staff said that giving the independent standards adviser the power to initiate investigations would remove the anomaly of a PM deciding whether there should be an inquiry into his own conduct. If the PM refuses to correct the record, it would stand in stark contrast to Sir Keir Starmers action last month when he issued a prompt apology after giving an incorrect response during PMQs. Asked why Mr Johnson was not following the Labour leaders example, Ms Stratton said: Within minutes in this instance, this issue was raised in the proper place, which is the House of Commons chamber. The speaker listened to the shadow health secretary and accepted a point of clarification, and he regarded the matter as having been dealt with. The PMs press secretary dodged a question on whether Mr Johnson now accepted that his comments to MPs were inaccurate, instead replying: The matter was dealt with incredibly swiftly. The shadow health secretary was on his feet without a pause or breath after PMQs was wound up, and the issue was dealt with immediately by the House of Commons speaker, who regarded a point of clarification as having been made and the matter as having been dealt with. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. With a little over a week until the state begins a rollback in pandemic restrictions, Connecticuts COVID positivity rate surpassed 3 percent for the second straight day on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate Wednesday sat at 3.07 percent, down slightly from the 3.86 percent reported the previous day, but still among the highest registered in the past two weeks. The bump in new infections comes as the state readies to ease many of its COVID-19 restrictions starting March 19 when capacity limits will be lifted at restaurants, houses of worship, gyms and other businesses while gathering sizes will also be allowed to increase. People will still need to wear masks and maintain social distancing under the eased restrictions, leading some business and religious leaders to say the new guidelines likely wont allow them to greatly increase the number of people allowed inside. While state officials say they are confident it is safe to lift restrictions, some are concerned it may be coming too quickly. Dr. Luke Davis, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health, said that while its too early to make predictions based on the short-term metrics, he is worried that opening restaurants and other indoor venues too soon could lead to another spike in cases. Even among older adults, we are nowhere near herd immunity, especially in socially vulnerable communities, Davis said Wednesday. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said fully vaccinated people can safely gather in small groups without masks or social-distancing, Davis said that cant yet be extended to the general population. I would prefer to see the state and the private sector using proof of vaccination as an incentive to be allowed to gather in public instead of just granting the right to gather as a blank check to everyone, Davis said. This comes as Connecticut reported its first known COVID-related death involving the B.1.1.7 variant, a strain originally identified in the UK and thought to be more contagious. Research has shown the variant could be between 30 and 70 percent more deadly, Forbes reported last month. Weve already seen elsewhere that these variants can mutate rapidly when transmission gets out of control, Davis warned. If that happens before a large proportion of individuals attain the full immunity that comes with two shots, we could definitely see vaccine-resistant mutations, and that would be a terrible setback. Health officials recorded 512 new COVID cases statewide on Wednesday. The new cases were found in 16,696 new tests, lower than the daily average of tests Connecticut health officials have recorded in recent weeks. Connecticut is seeing a similar trend as other states with some reductions in total numbers of tests administered, said Max Reiss, a spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamonts office. With tens of thousands of people getting vaccinated each day, our state is moving very quickly to ensure as many people are protected from COVID-19 as we can. Davis said the decreased testing numbers could impact the positivity rate. That may lead to an increase in test positivity, because those who test positive are likely to continue to test at the same rates, even as those who would have tested negative (e.g. asymptomatic testers, vaccinated individuals) do less testing, Davis said. The number of patients hospitalized Wednesday with the virus in Connecticut fell to 390, after a slight increase the previous day. The hospitalizations are now the lowest since Nov. 3, according to state data. Thirteen more deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported Wednesday, bringing Connecticuts official death toll to 7,752. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package Wednesday, clearing the measure to go to President Joe Bidens desk this week. The package includes $1,400 checks for most Americans, expanded unemployment benefits of $300 a week through early September, as well as money for state and local government. The stimulus package also earmarks billions of dollars for vaccine production and distribution, funding seen as key to the continued effort to inoculate adults in Connecticut and elsewhere. Lamont called the measure a game-changer for the state and nation in a statement released shortly after it cleared the House. President Biden pledged to all Americans that his administration would meet the challenge of this pandemic head-on using every tool at the U.S. governments disposal, Lamont said in the statement. This legislation is a tremendous step in fulfilling that promise. PARLAMENTUL REPUBLICII MOLDOVA 2010 The Moldovan Parliaments website design was supported by the Democracy Support Programme in Moldova" an initiative financed by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe By Aislinn Laing SANTIAGO (Reuters) - General Manuel Baquedano Gonzalez, a 19th century hero of Chile's War of the Pacific, is caught in a new battle: his statue drenched in blood-red paint and set on fire as protests reignite in the Andean country's capital. Positioned in Santiago's iconic Plaza Italia, the center of protests that began in October 2019, it has become a lightning rod for anger at the establishment. It has been drenched in paint, repainted custard yellow by the authorities, daubed in graffiti, bashed with sledgehammers and set alight during protests that started in October 2019 over the high cost of living in Chile and inequality. On Wednesday night, with fears mounting that protesters could topple it entirely, Chile's National Monuments Council announced it would remove the statue for repairs. On Thursday though, with protesters expected to gather in large numbers to mark the third and final year of unpopular President Sebastian Pinera in office, the bronze militaryman remained conspicuously on his plinth, guarded by armed police. Critics of the statue say Baquedano represents a Chilean elite that repressed indigenous people. Last week, the army issued a furious statement after it was doused with fuel and set alight, accusing the perpetrators of being "ignorant", "anti-Chilean" and "cowards." Daniel Jadue, the Communist Party's candidate in this year's presidential election, responded by calling for the army chief's resignation and recalled the military's role in Chile's 1973-1990 dictatorship, saying: "This reinforces the nefarious idea of an enemy in our midst that led that institution to commit the worst crimes in our history." The episode underscores how deeply polarised Chile remains despite more than a year of battling a pandemic from which it is slowly emerging thanks to one of the world's most rapid vaccination campaigns. The vaccine drive has bolstered the beleaguered governments approval ratings significantly but Pinera`s only minimally. Story continues Protests still simmer despite movement restrictions, with several hundreds of people gathering each Friday and more on prominent dates calling for Pinera's resignation, firmer sanctions against police for rights abuses committed against protesters and better treatment of indigenous people. Victor Herrero, founder of independent Chilean news website Interferencia, said despite the drafting of a new constitution underway and Pineras term ending, fury over systemic inequality heightened by the pandemic would continue to bubble up. "The pandemic uncovered the failings of Chiles neoliberal economic model," he said. "There is too much uncertainty in our path. I think we have a decade of instability ahead." (Reporting by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Alistair Bell and Chizu Nomiyama) 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. In North Carolina USA, male blue ghost fireflies (Phausis reticulata) glow while searching for mates. Their flightless females are highly vulnerable to trampling, as they remain hidden on the forest floor. Credit: Spencer Black Firefly beetles rank among the world's most charismatic creatures, with luminous courtship displays that have now turned them into a popular attraction for wildlife tourists. In the first comprehensive review of firefly tourism, published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, an international team of biologists led by a Tufts University researcher, reveal that an estimated 1 million people now travel each year to witness bioluminescent performances starring some two dozen firefly species around the world. But the authors also point out that while this unique, insect-based tourism can bring economic, social, and psychological benefits to local communities and tourists alike, it also threatens to extinguish some local firefly populations unless adequate protections are put in place. "With this review of the current state of firefly tourism and the declining health of their habitats, we are putting out a call to action to engage local communities and governments, as well as the tourists themselves, to act as guardians of the fireflies," said lead author Sara Lewis, professor of biology at Tufts University and co-chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Firefly Specialist Group, which conducted the review. The IUCN firefly group works to identify key threats and conservation issues facing fireflies in different geographic regions, and advocates for the most threatened species at national and global levels. Lewis' earlier work on fireflies with the IUCN has drawn considerable attention and fascination among the public and other researchers, with media coverage including CNN and The Washington Post. In recent years, the number of tourists has skyrocketed at several sites in Mexico, India, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United States. "In Mexico, the rapid growth of firefly tourism over the past decade is thrilling but also alarming," said Tania Lopez-Palafox, graduate student at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and co-author of the review. "The COVID pandemic gave them a momentary respite, but we have witnessed the harm that too much tourism can do." Females of many firefly species lack functional wings, making them especially vulnerable to accidental trampling in areas of heavy foot traffic. Credit: Radim Schreiber Aimed at site managers, tour guides, and tourists, the report highlights the need to recognize ecological requirements across all firefly life stages. To promote the breeding success of firefly adults, sites should minimize light pollution: bright lights from buildings, vehicles, flashlights, and even cell phonesall of which can disrupt firefly courtship rituals. Protection of nearby habitats also plays an essential role. Fireflies spend most of their life cycle in a juvenile, larval stage. These juveniles require several months or even years to develop into their adult form and, depending on the species, spend this time living below ground, in leaf litter or sometimes underwater. The authors describe former firefly sites along mangrove rivers where commercial development and excessive motorboat traffic have degraded riverbank habitat that had been essential for supporting firefly larvae. At some sites, the reproductive cycle of firefly populations is threatened by tourists inadvertently trampling female fireflies and degrading larval habitats. Females in many species can't fly, and so are particularly susceptible to tourist foot traffic. Learn more about the mating rituals of fireflies studied by the Tufts research team in this video. The report noted the popularity of displays created by several kinds of synchronous fireflies found in Southeast Asia and North America, where hundreds or thousands of firefly males captivate femalesand tourists, tooby flashing their lights together in unison. According to co-author Anchana Thancharoen, lecturer at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, "With such mesmerizing lights, the firefly display trees make tourists fall in love at first sight. Our aim with this call to action is to channel that love into support for conservation efforts." More information: Conservation Science and Practice, DOI: 10.1111/csp2.391 Officers must make life and death decisions in a split second, relying on their training. When an armed robbery suspect did not obey police commands, five officers perceived the same threat and simultaneously fired their weapons, he said. A loss of life is always a tragedy and we know these officers did not take firing their weapons lightly. The OKC FOP stands by these officers and maintains they acted within the law. A pickup drives through a group of protesters who shut down Interstate 244 during a rally May 31 in Tulsa, Okla. The march was to mark the anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre in 1921 and to protest the death of George Floyd, who was pinned at the neck by a Minneapolis police officer. OKLAHOMA CITY In a rare early morning vote, Republican lawmakers in the state House of Representatives approved legislation that would grant immunity to drivers who hit protesters. On a party-line vote Wednesday, the House passed a bill that would grant civil and criminal immunity to drivers who unintentionally injured or killed protesters while fleeing from a riot. House Bill 1674 from Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, is one of a handful of GOP-sponsored bills in the Oklahoma Legislature this year designed to crack down on protests. The bill came under fire from legislative Democrats who said the Republican majority was looking to lash out at protesters instead of taking steps to address systemic racism and police misconduct that spurred widespread Black Lives Matter protests. GOP House member: Bill promotes peaceful protests Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, called the bill draconian and accused Republicans of intentionally bringing the measure up for the vote around 12:30 a.m., after more than 14 hours of voting on legislation, to avoid public scrutiny. Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, who presented the bill on the House floor, said he supports the rights of Oklahomans to protest peacefully, but riots are unacceptable. This bill simply says, Please stay to the peaceful protests, he said. Dont block roads. Dont impede on the freedoms of others. In a heated floor debate, McDugle referred to an incident in Tulsa where a pickup pulling a horse trailer drove through a group of Black Lives Matter protesters on a highway. Several protesters were seriously injured, including a man who was paralyzed from the waist down after falling from an overpass. The driver acted out of fear, McDugle said. Related: Scathing watchdog report finds Chicago police 'ill-equipped' to handle summer protests, unrest Saying several protesters attacked the pickup in which a man was driving his children, the Tulsa County district attorney did not file charges against the driver. Story continues Maybe the way to prevent something like this from ever happening again is to make reforms on the broader systemic issue, Rep. Monroe Nichols said, alluding to criminal justice and police changes to address systemic racism. Nichols, D-Tulsa, who is Black, said he dreads having to tell his 12-year-old son that instead of addressing police reform, the Oklahoma House made it so that folks who may advocate for people who look like him can be run over with immunity. Republican legislators repeatedly emphasized they were trying to protect drivers from riots or violent protests. West praised Black Lives Matter protesters in Oklahoma City for demonstrating in a series of largely peaceful protests over the summer. 'Anticipation and anxiety': Derek Chauvin trial highlights America's racial divide after George Floyd's death A large part of our duty as legislators is to protect our citizens, he said. This is something that gives them protection. West said the bill is a well thought-out measure, not a knee-jerk reaction to protests. Democrats say 'real issues' need to be addressed House Democrats said larger, more complicated, issues have driven minorities to protest. Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, questioned whether the Oklahoma Legislature cares about what she called the real issues that led people of color to speak out. Something happened over the summer, she said, referring to national protests. If we were honest with ourselves, stuff didnt just happen over the summer. Stuff has been happening for centuries. Could we be reasonable? Could we try to get to the root cause of why people are in the streets in the first place? H.B. 1674, which heads to the state Senate, would allow prosecutors to charge with a misdemeanor protesters who "unlawfully obstruct" streets or highways to a point that it hinders traffic. The legislation outlines punishments and fines for organizations involved in the planning of a riot. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Republicans pass bill to protect drivers who hit protesters Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Brett John Callaghan faces up to 20 years jail time for the horrific attack on the 12-year-old A predator has admitted responsibility for a nightmarish assault on a 12-year-old schoolgirl - giving her the drug ice and raping her after luring the child into his car during the school holidays. Brett James Callaghan, 38, faces up to 20 years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault and supplying a prohibited drug to a child at a western Sydney court on Thursday. Callaghan drove the schoolgirl from a Thornleigh park, in the city's north-west, to his parents' acreage in Dural about 3.30pm on April 28 last year. The child was reported missing to police about 5.30pm that day after she failed to meet her parents outside a Westfield shopping centre as they had planned. The court has been told that the girl's phone was off at the time of her disappearance. Meanwhile, a friend she spent much of the day with had left her on her own in the knowledge that she had a second friend coming to meet her. The 12-year-old girl was found at Callaghan's granny flat in Dural at the back of his parent's property The court has heard the victim was then subjected to a horrendous nine-and-a-half hour ordeal where Callaghan sexually assaulted her and gave her an ice pipe to smoke. The horrific incident only came to an end when police arrested Callaghan at his granny flat, located behind his parents' home, just after 1.15am the next day, following an extensive search. Callaghan appeared before Parramatta Local Court Magistrate Peter Feather via video link on Thursday. He was dressed in prison greens and cradled his arms, as a lawyer entered pleas on his behalf. 'Thank you Your Honour, thank you,' he said. Five of the 12 charges against Callaghan were withdrawn, including a charge of taking and detaining the girl. He admitted three further charges on a 'form one' basis meaning they will add to the length of the total sentence he serves. The schoolgirl went missing after attending a park at Thornleigh on April 28 It has taken almost a year to get to this point due to negotiations between prosecutors and his lawyers over the agreed facts of the case. A police officer told the court last year that the girl was embarrassed and traumatised by her awful ordeal. 'When I first met her she was traumatised by what had occurred,' Detective Lauren Seretis said. 'Since that time she has still been upset and traumatised from the events of that date.' Her parents had banned her from watching TV as a result, the court was told at the time. Callaghan has been bail refused since his arrest. His case will come before the District Court for sentencing next month. Houston and Harris County are expected to receive more than $1.5 billion through the stimulus bill approved by Congress Wednesday, providing a massive cash injection that city officials say will help close a budget shortfall widened by the pandemic for the second year in a row. The measure provides local governments with their most generous round of COVID-related funding yet, and it comes with fewer spending restrictions than last years aid. Houston will receive an estimated $615 million, putting the city at more than $1 billion in direct federal relief during the pandemic, while Harris County is projected to receive $914 million more than double its allotment from the first round of local aid last March. I'm hopeful and optimistic that we will be able to use this money to, essentially, bail the city out of a very dire financial situation, said City Controller Chris Brown, who monitors the spending of Houstons more than $5 billion city budget. Many local governments, including Houston, have seen their sales tax revenues plummet as the pandemic slowed consumer spending on dining, tourism and other leisure activity. And while rising appraisal values mean the city is projected to take in more money from property taxes this year than last, officials say the pandemics true toll on property tax revenue may not be felt until early 2022, when homeowners make payments for this years not-yet-certified tax rolls. Much to the relief of local officials, the latest round of federal aid allows cities and counties to spend the funds to replace revenue lost due to the pandemic. Trump administration rules barred local governments from using the first round of local COVID relief to plug budget holes, stipulating it could only cover expenses tied directly to the pandemic, though Mayor Sylvester Turners administration still was able to use the funds to avoid furloughing city employees. Marvin Odum, the former Shell executive appointed by the mayor to oversee the citys COVID recovery, said Wednesday he is "very optimistic the funds will be able to be used to mitigate the city's budget shortfalls resulting from COVID-19." Still, he noted that beyond the broad language in the bill, federal officials have yet to release specific rules for how local governments can spend the funds. Ill just caution that clarity on the guidelines for these programs tends to come over time. Its not always available immediately, Odum said. Republican lawmakers bitterly opposed the local aid, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who accused Democrats of sending wheelbarrows of cash to state and local bureaucrats to bail out mismanagement from before the pandemic. Meanwhile, local officials across the country have warned they would have to enact deep cuts to city services, such as fire, police and trash collection, without federal aid to offset their revenue losses. "Every mayor, every county judge, every local official that I visited with since before December, they all need help, said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, a former Houston controller and county commissioner. Every city in America will get dollars to help with their revenue shortfalls. And thats huge, because they can keep the firefighters working, they can keep police departments open, they can get the garbage picked up." Even before the pandemic, Houston officials in recent years have scrambled to close major city budget gaps, often dipping into reserves to balance spending and revenue. The citys public safety costs, which make up more than half of spending on core services, have steadily increased as the budget remains capped by a limit on how much property tax revenue the city can take in each year. It's going to solve, in the short term, some of these problems, but the real challenge is, you cannot solve a structural problem with one-time financing sources, Brown said. You actually have to do the hard work to cut recurring expenses. And that's the only way you can narrow that budget gap over time. Local governments will receive half their federal aid within 60 days of Friday, when President Joe Biden will sign the bill into law, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki. They will receive the second half of the funds at least a year later. That means Houston will receive more than $300 million to offset its revenue losses next fiscal year, along with any potential shortfall before the current fiscal year ends June 30. Odum said the city finance department is projecting a budget gap of between $160 and $200 million next year, while Brown whose office generates its own estimates separate from Turners administration said he expects the shortfall to be even higher. Brown noted that while finance department projections assume the city will see a less-than-1 percent reduction in sales tax revenue this year, the actual decrease has been 7 percent. The (Turner) administration, I don't think, has properly evaluated the reductions in sales and property tax, Brown said. There's a $40 million variance between us and (the) finance (department) in sales tax alone. Brown estimated city officials will have to lay off about a dozen city employees for every $1 million trimmed from the budget, meaning Houston could have been looking at more than 2,000 layoffs without any federal aid. Instead, Houstons relief will far exceed its budget deficit. The city also is expected to devote a chunk of the aid to direct COVID relief, such as testing and vaccinations. Turners administration exhausted the previous round of aid, totaling $405 million, in December. Those funds covered contact tracing efforts, city workers whose jobs were consumed by COVID, and relief to renters and small businesses, among other areas. Turner, who proposes the annual budget to city council each year, did not respond to questions Wednesday about how he intends to spend the new round of relief aid. jasper.scherer@chron.com * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! DANBURY School district officials hope to open schools five days a week in April, but not all students may be allowed to return. Some kids could get a new teacher and current full-time distance learners could be forced to stay home. Thats the only way that we can operate and start planning mindfully about opening up five days a week, Superintendent Sal Pascarella told the school board on Wednesday. The roughly 12,000 Danbury students could not all return to school and maintain the required three-foot separation per American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines between desks in classrooms that had been overcrowded before COVID-19. So, the about one-third of students who opted to stay on distance learning may need to wait for an in-person seat. New families enrolling in the district could be forced to learn remotely. Its very likely that a lot of our new registrants that are coming in, they could be moved to [distance learning] without any parent choice at all, Assistant Superintendent Kevin Walston said. In some schools, only 16 to 17 students can fit safely in a room, while in others, 22 to 23 students can be accommodated, he said. Joe DaSilva, a school board member, criticized the plan. He pointed out that many families his included until recently chose distance learning because their children would get more consistent time with teachers. Im really disconcerted to learn that we may not be letting them come back, said DaSilva, who added he understood the districts challenges. He questioned whether doing so was legal, but Pascarella said the state told him districts can decide how to bring back full-time distance learners. Some students may need to switch teachers due to the class size restrictions. To involuntarily do that to someone in an elementary grade in April is an outstandingly bad idea, DaSilva said. I cannot imagine how angry I would be as a parent to have that happen. In cases where students already switched to teachers when models changed this year, principals would try to assign those children to the original teacher, Walston said. The district will need to purchase more personal protective equipment and furniture, particularly at the elementary schools, which have the tightest class size restrictions. Lunch would remain grab-and-go for the middle and high schools. The K-5 challenges are much greater, Pascarella said. They range from the spacing issue to personnel issues. Under their contact, elementary teachers should have no more than 25 students and middle and high school teachers should have 30 or less, said Erin Daly, president of the teachers union. Many classes are over these limits, she said. If we dont have that in check right now, moving to additional or future phases of opening is going to be a real road block for us, as well, she said. And it certainly will be a road block for space issues, for mitigation and social distancing. But it helps that the majority of educators who want the vaccine have their first dose, with some additional staff set to get their shots through this Saturday, administrators said. The human resources department department is checking with about 100 staff members with health accommodations to see who is able to return to the building, said Kim Thompson, human resources director. For some, the vaccine is magic, but others have health providers who advised against getting the shot, she said. Daly, a third-grade teacher at Pembroke Elementary School, said getting her first dose last Saturday was like a celebration. Many, many teachers told me they were brought to tears to receive their vaccines, she said. COVID cases have declined in the city, which was once a hot spot for the virus. The city has averaged 27 new daily cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, said Kara Prunty, acting health director. The positivity rate has been at around 4 percent, which is slightly more than the states 3.07 percent on Wednesday. A date for a five-day return has not been set, but Pascarella said he is targeting sometime next month. Phasing in the return Preschool students and special education students with the highest needs have already returned to the classroom four days a week. Im happy to report that it has gone smoothly so far, said Kelly Truchsess, director of pupil personnel services. I do think weve made a step in the right direction to have our youngest and some of our most needy students back in school more often. Starting next week, the two hybrid cohorts will take turns going to school on Wednesdays. The in-person day will also be extended for elementary students each day but Wednesday. These changes mean elementary students will be in the classroom for more than 31 hours over two weeks, compared to 20 hours now, administrators said. Secondary students will be in the building for an additional five hours over two weeks. Teachers will more often simultaneously teach the students at home and those in the classroom. Daly said the district needs to address the technology inadequacies that make this challenging. For example, many teachers have Chromebooks or outdated MacBooks that are not being replaced, she said. Chromebooks are woefully inadequate to run a lot of the software and programs and the high-tech apps that we are now so accustomed to use, Daly said. They dont do it. They crash. They cant handle it. Bengaluru, March 11 : Marking the World Kidney Day (WKD), about 50 dialysis patients received the first dose of anti-Covid vaccine free at a private hospital in the city, an official said on Thursday. "The 50 patients, undergoing dialysis at our 3 centres in the city, received the vaccination free. Of them, 36 are men and 14 women in the above 50 years age group," a Manipal Hospitals spokesman told IANS. As kidney patients face the risk of being infected by Coronavirus due to their medical condition and low immunity, they were given the jab for protection and spread awareness on the importance of getting vaccinated early. The patients did not have side-effects after the first dose. "With the pandemic outbreak, kidney patients faced the fear and burden of contracting Covid-19 while balancing their treatment plans. We hope to ease their lives by taking the first step to protect them from the virus," said Manipal Hospitals chairman Sudarshan Ballal on the occasion. The 'World Kidney Day' is celebrated every year on the second Thursday of March as a health awareness campaign jointly by the International Society of Nephrology and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations. The first WKD was observed in 2006, with 66 countries participating and their number has gone up to 88 till 2020. "The WKD is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of kidneys and kidney-related diseases to reduce the frequency and impact of such ailments worldwide," said the world kidney day organisation. As each year a theme is decided for the day to focus on various aspects of the organ, the theme for this year is 'Living Well with Kidney Disease'. This year's theme empowers kidney patients and their families to help them deal with the trauma. According to the National Health Portal of India, one in 10 people is affected by a kidney disease, taking their tally to 850 million the world over. Around 1.7 million people are estimated to die every year due to acute kidney injury (AKI) globally. "Chronic kidney diseases are silent killers. Under the PM National Dialysis Programme, we are ensuring accessible and affordable dialysis services for everyone," tweeted Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. A Russian cargo ship with 13 sailors on board sank on Thursday in the Black Sea, at a distance of 70 nautical miles from the port of Constanta, actions being currently underway to rescue crew members, according to AGERPRES. According to the Romanian Sea Rescue Agency (ARSVOM), the institution's Artemis ship was sent to the site. The rescue operation of the sailors on board the cargo is ongoing and it seems that one of them, in serious condition, would have died. Port authorities said several rescue crews are intervening in the area. [March 11, 2021] CG Railway Launches New Rail Ferry CG Railway (CGR) today announced the launch of the first of two new rail ferries. Part of a joint venture between subsidiaries of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) and SEACOR Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CKH), CGR operates a U.S. Class III freight railroad transporting approximately 10,000 annual carloads of diversified commodities across the Gulf of Mexico. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005139/en/ The newly launched vessel is expected to begin operations in the second quarter of 2021, with the second new vessel expected in the third quarter. They will replace CGR's two existing vessels, which have transported over 200,000 railcars in more than 1,400 sailings between Mobile, Alabama, and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, since 2001. The trip across the Gulf currently takes approximately five days, or half the time required for the overland route. The new, 590-foot-long ferries are designed to carry 135 railcars each, up from 115 railcars on the existing ferries, with an expected top speed of 14 knots, up from seven knots. With their additional capacity, and faster speed enabling more sailings per month, the new vessels increase CGR's potential annual carload capacity by 40 percent. "These innovative new vessels are purpose-built to provide increased reliability, speed and fuel efficiency and will materially expand the number of annual railcar spaces we can offer customers," says CGR President Hoffman (News - Alert) Lijeron. "Their capacity, efficient hull design, articulated rudders and modern, slow-speed engines will significantly reduce the vessels' environmental footprint. In fact, compared with a traditional all-rail route from Mobile to Mexico City, shipping via the new CGR vessels and Ferromex is expected to provide a 44% reduction in CO 2 emissions per ton/mile versus the all-rail route." After launch from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company in China, the vessels will be thoroughly tested, including undergoing sea trials to ensure all systems are operating as designed, before departing for the United States. The new ships are likely the first built with features desiged to cope with a pandemic, including segregated passageways for local pilots and other visitors, as well as spaces with separate HVAC systems to quarantine crew. "We're trying to anticipate all the potential scenarios we could have in the next 20 to 30 years," Lijeron explains. "If there is anything we've learned from the past year, it's the value of protecting our customers' supply chains from potential disruptions. "CGR offers tremendous potential for customers - connecting five Class I railroads and a G&W short line in Mobile to Ferromex in Coatzacoalcos - and I'm excited to lead its growth as a much faster alternative to the traditional land route," Lijeron continues. "Our investment in constructing these two state-of-the-art vessels is a clear indication of our commitment to becoming the premium freight transportation provider between the United States, Canada and central and southern Mexico." About CGR Established in 2000, CG Railway operates a U.S. Class III freight railroad that currently transports approximately 10,000 carloads of diversified commodities annually across the Gulf of Mexico, with long-term agreements to operate purpose-built rail-ferry terminals in the ports of Mobile, Alabama, and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. G&W and SEACOR Holdings formed the rail-ferry joint venture that includes CG Railway LLC in 2017, combining the two companies' unmatched experience in rail and marine transportation and logistics services. For additional information, visit www.cgrailway.com. About Genesee & Wyoming G&W owns or leases 116 freight railroads organized in locally managed operating regions with 7,300 employees serving 3,000 customers. G&W's four North American regions serve 42 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces and include 113 short line and regional freight railroads with more than 13,000 track-miles. G&W's UK/Europe Region includes the U.K.'s largest rail maritime intermodal operator and second-largest freight rail provider, as well as regional rail services in Continental Europe. G&W subsidiaries and joint ventures also provide rail service at more than 30 major ports, rail-ferry service between the U.S. Southeast and Mexico, transload services, and industrial railcar switching and repair. About SEACOR Holdings SEACOR Holdings Inc. is a diversified holding company with interests in domestic and international transportation and logistics, crisis and emergency management, and clean fuel and power solutions. SEACOR is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CKH. Certain statements discussed in this release concerning SEACOR Holdings constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "plan," "target," "forecast" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected by management of the Company. Actual events or results are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, including, but not limited to, the risks discussed in Item 1A. (Risk Factors) of the Company's Annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) "). Given these risk factors, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005139/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Alejandro Fuertes-Saiz, fourth-year Psychiatry intern at the Hospital Provincial de Castellon and doctoral candidate at the CEU Cardenal Herrera (CEU UCH) University of Valencia, along with his thesis directors, Gonzalo Haro and Ana Benito, have just published in journal Brain Science the final results of three year-long research where they have studied the effects of cocaine on patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or antisocial personality disorder. These results are the continuation of the ones presented in 2019 by the same authors in the Journal of Dual Diagnosis, where they identified an alteration shared between the two groups of patients in the ability to filter the sensory information of their surroundings. This brain disorder leads them to make false interpretations of reality and predisposes them to consume toxic substances. This time, the results have been published in high-impact Swiss journal Brain Sciences. In it, the researchers explain how cocaine, unlike the treatment with antipsychotic medicines, is unable to reverse the sensory filtering o patients with schizophrenia or antisocial personality disorder. IPP, new experimental technique The study was conducted on a sample of 74 individuals, divided into four groups. The first was comprised by healthy people, the second by patients with a disorder from consuming cocaine without another associated mental disorder, the third by patients who consumed cocaine and had schizophrenia, and the last, by patients who consumed cocaine and had antisocial personality disorder. They were all studied with a tool, financed by the Research Foundation of the Hospital Provincial de Castellon, specifically designed to measure this ability to filter the sensory stimuli of their surroundings called "Prepulse Inhibition of the Blink Reflex" (PPI). According to doctor Gonzalo Haro, psychiatrist in charge of the Severe Dual Pathology Programme of the Hospital Provincial and lecturer at the CEU UCH in Castellon, "we know that consuming toxic substances such as cocaine can trigger severe mental disorders. PPI is an experimental technique, whose health results obtained in this study help identify people who are especially vulnerable to developing these disorders, giving us the opportunity to design specific prevention programmes for cocaine consumers." Stimuli and blinking PPI is an operational measurement of filtering out sensory information. In other words, it measures people's ability to give importance to truly relevant stimuli and discard irrelevant stimuli. This is important because "aberrant salience", or assigning relevance to irrelevant stimuli, is the basis of developing delusional ideas such as paranoia. The technique is performed by placing electrodes on the blinking muscle: these record its contraction when the individual receives a sonic stimulus (pulse) through earphones. When applying a stimulus with lower intensity (prepulse), which does not trigger the blink reflex, and separating it mere milliseconds from the pulse, patients with schizophrenia or the antisocial personality disorder have a common limitation in the inhibition of the blinking reflex, unlike the control group. However, in the group of patients with cocaine consumption disorder without other mental disorders, this sensory filtering is heightened compared to the control group. One of the classic hypotheses on why people consume drugs is attributed to the search for a substance that helps them alleviate symptoms such as sadness, a lack of energy or motivation, or the feeling of sensory overload. The researchers explain that one of the most interesting results of the study is that it reflects the importance of pharmacotherapy compared to the self-medication attributed to consuming toxic substances, as it shows the inability that a psychoactive substance such as cocaine has to revert this lack of filtering, in contrast with the efficiency proven by antipsychotic medicines. As the dysfunctional neural circuits of different mental disorders are identified, science progresses towards specific customised and non-invasive techniques of cerebral neuromodulation, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation. These are very safe techniques with barely any secondary effects that can be truly effective." Alejandro Fuertes-Saiz, Fourth-Year Psychiatry Intern, Hospital Provincial de Castellon and Doctoral Candidate, CEU Cardenal Herrera (CEU UCH) University of Valencia Research group The research group that has published the results of this project is comprised by Alejandro Fuertes-Saiz, doctor Isis Gil-Miravet from the TXP research group, doctor Ana Benito, clinical psychologist at the Mental Health department of Torrent and co-director of the doctoral thesis, doctor Isabel Almodovar, Nursery lecturer at the CEU UCH and doctor Enrique Ochoa, head of the Molecular Biopathology Department of the Hospital Provincial de Castellon, all under the guidance of doctor Gonzalo Haro. Maria Luisa Grana and Vicente Manes, from the Addictive Behaviour Department of the Hospital Provincial also took part. The research was conducted with funding from the Research Foundation of the Hospital Provincial de Castellon, which for the authors of the study "was vital to suitably perform the project and ensure its viability." "We are now executing a robust, cash generative business plan which is focused on our most productive assets, said Rahul Dhir ( ) reported a US$1.22bn loss for the 2020 financial year, as it made US$1.23bn of non-cash write offs and impairments against its exploration assets. The company, which previously built its reputation in exploration, last year exited operations in Jamaica and the Comoros Islands and significantly reduced its footprint in Cote d'Ivoire and Peru. It meanwhile retains ambitions in Suriname, Guyana, Argentina, and Namibia. Tullow produced 74,900 barrels of oil per day, in line with expectations, and generated some US$1.39bn of revenue. Gross profit was marked at US$403mln. The company highlighted some US$598mln of underlying operating cashflow. "After a year of significant change for Tullow, we are now executing a robust, cash generative business plan which is focused on our most productive assets, said chief executive Rahul Dhir. We have transformed our cost base, implemented rigorous capital discipline and are well placed to benefit from higher oil prices. Tullows debt pile remained at US$2.4bn at the end of the year. It noted that it has been reviewing its business plan and operating strategy with its creditors and their advisers, as debt refinancing is pursed. It noted that it recently received approval for a new US$1.7bn debt capacity under its reserve based lending facility, and it subsequently has liquidity headroom and free cash of US$0.9bn. Tullow added that it is confident that a mutually satisfactory agreement on debt refinancing can be reached in the first half of this year. Looking to 2021, the company said production in the present financial year is in line with expectations, and repeated guidance of 60,000 to 66,000 bopd. Noting higher crude prices the company highlighted that each US$10 increment in the crude oil price delivers Tullow around US$100mln of additional cash flow. Pointing to catalysts, Rahul Dhir said: We will start a multi-year, multi-well drilling programme in Ghana next month to deliver sustainable and profitable production growth. Our self-help initiatives will deliver c.US$1bn, including over US$700mln from asset sales in the past year. Strong business delivery, increased liquidity and improving commodity prices support constructive refinancing discussions. LONDON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Datar Cancer Genetics, a global leader in non-invasive cancer diagnostics, has received Conformite Europeenne (CE) Mark for its innovative TruBlood solution, a new paradigm in cancer detection, diagnosis and management. TruBlood is a blood-based, non-invasive test for diagnostic evaluation of suspected cases of cancer who have been recommended a biopsy. The CE marking confirms that TruBlood meets the requirements of the European Medical Devices Directive. The Datar Group proposes to commercialize the solution across the United Kingdom, European Union and other CE Mark recognising geographies. The TruBlood solution evaluates the presence of circulating, tiny clusters of tumor cells (C-ETACS) which are shown to be highly prevalent in the blood of cancer patients and undetectable in individuals without cancer. The test will greatly help individuals presenting to their doctors with suspicious growths in the breast, lung, prostate, colon, brain, possibly suggestive of malignancies. A large proportion of such suspected cases often have only benign tumors and thus can be spared risky, often painful, and resource intensive, invasive conventional biopsies. The innovative blood test can also help in the diagnosis of cases where invasive biopsies are unviable for various reasons such as proximity of the tumor to a vital organ or blood vessel or in patients with co-morbidities. The Datar Group intends to offer TruBlood as a low risk, patient friendly diagnostic assessment for clinical care pathways for prioritising patients with detectable C-ETACs for biopsies and those negative for C-ETACs can be considered for a later evaluation or alternative diagnostic measures. TruBlood marks a quantum leap forward in cancer diagnostics, and the Datar Group foresees this non-invasive test to benefit both healthcare providers and patients by incorporating the latest advances in cancer biology and genomic technology for increased safety and efficacy. The principal advantages of TruBlood are that it is non-invasive, does not require hospitalisation and has excellent specificity and sensitivity. Commenting upon the announcement, Dr Tim Crook, Medical Oncologist at Mid Essex Health Trust said that, "TruBlood is an innovative investigation, which facilitates diagnosis of multiple types of cancer from a simple blood sample. It uses cutting-edge genomic analysis to identify cancers with a high degree of accuracy. TruBlood represents an exciting advance with numerous future applications in cancer diagnosis." Dr Nick Plowman, Medical Oncologist at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London said that, "Harvesting tumor clusters from peripheral blood is akin to a non-invasive micro-biopsy of the tumor. Somewhat surprisingly, such circulating tumour cell (CTC) clusters occur even in the early stages of cancer and the enrichment technology developed by Datar Cancer Genetics has improved the detection rates and yields. Evaluation of these cancer cell clusters can facilitate cytopathological (tissue origin) diagnosis. The test is not only patient friendly, but it can also follow the cancer's genomic evolution (as well as its persistence) during therapy." Initial data published for the TruBlood test in the International Journal of Cancer (2019), evaluated blood samples from over 16,000 individuals, including 5,000 cancer patients and more than 10,000 individuals with no symptoms of cancer, to demonstrate C-ETACs as a functional hallmark of solid organ cancers. A subsequent study with landmark data published in 2020 in the American Cancer Society's journal 'Cancer Cytopathology' shows how a non-invasive blood test (liquid biopsy) can accurately differentiate between non-cancerous tumors and cancerous growths; the study was based on a multi-institutional, international collaborative project involving more than 30,000 participants, including ~9,000 known cases of cancer. Overall, the development of the TruBlood technology is based on evaluation of over 40,000 blood and tumor samples evaluated from ~22,000 cancer patients. About Datar Cancer Genetics Datar Cancer Genetics is a leading cancer research corporation specialising in non-invasive techniques for better diagnosis, treatment decisions, and management of cancer. The Company's state-of-the-art cancer research centre is ISO15189, CAP and CLIA accredited. Publications Title: Circulating ensembles of tumor-associated cells: A redoubtable new systemic hallmark of cancer. Journal: International Journal of Cancer; 146(12): 3485-3494. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.32815 Title: Evaluation of circulating tumor cell clusters for pan-cancer non-invasive diagnostic triaging. Journal: Cancer Cytopathol. 2020 Sep 30. DOI: 10.1002/cncy.22366 Website Publications link: - https://datarpgx.com/publications/ Website datarpgx.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1086492/Datar_Cancer_Genetics_Logo.jpg SOURCE Datar Cancer Genetics CZECH-HEALTH-VIRUS-HOSPITAL Nurses push a COVID-19 patient in his bed in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Stod, Czech Republic, on Feb. 25, 2021 Credit - Michal Cizek/AFPGetty Images Europe was one of the first regions to be hit hard by COVID-19 last spring. In mid-May 2020, the World Health Organization declared it the epicenter of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined. From there, in many ways, the European experience of COVID-19 mirrored the U.S. and its neighbor the U.K., two of the other worst-hit parts of the globe: In the summer, many bars, restaurants and clubs reopened their doors, and international visitors were welcomed back. Then cases began to surge again in the autumn and winter, in large part thanks to the holidays, and lockdowns returned. But now, the European experience of the pandemic is diverging from the U.K. and U.S., which have rolled out effective vaccination programs and are seeing case rates fall, while countries throughout Europe, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Slovakia, Italy, France, Poland and Sweden have seen significant rises in average new daily cases in the recent weeks. Overall, the European Union has recorded over 800,000 new coronavirus cases over the past seven days, an increase of about 5.8% from the seven days prior. The vaccine rollouts in the U.K. and the U.S. are expected to help these countries reopen and start rebuilding their economies this year. But the E.U.s slow and chaotic deployment of vaccines threatens to keep countries across the bloc in lockdown and businesses closed for months to come. The majority of struggling countries are in central and eastern Europe. The worst situation at the moment can be found in the Czech Republic, a central European country of 10.7 million, where cases have risen sharply in the past few weeks; it currently has the highest infection rates in Europe (other than tiny San Marino), with about 110 new cases each day per 100,000 people last week, compared to about 27 per 100,000 for the E.U overall, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Story continues The Czech Republic isnt the only E.U. member strugglingEstonia in particular is also in the midst of a surge, reporting about 100 daily cases per 100,000 population last week compared to 40 in early February. To a lesser extent, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, and Sweden have also seen spikes in early March. But the Czech Republic is, by a meaningful margin, suffering the mostespecially if you consider the fact that Estonia, its closest E.U. comparison in terms of per capita case rates, has a GDP one-fifth its size. The countrys case rates have put a massive strain on its public health system; on March 5, the Czech government announced publicly that it had asked Germany, Switzerland and Poland to take in dozens of COVID-19 patients, in order to ease the burden on Czech hospitals that were running out of bed space. What happened to put parts of Europe so far behind? The most likely explanation for the rise in cases is the spread of a new variant, first identified in South East England in December, says Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The new variant, technically referred to as B.1.1.7., is believed to be about 50% more transmissible than the earlier forms of SARS-CoV-2, he says. In the Czech Republic, lack of mass sequencing of the virus in December and January has meant scientists were unable to identify if and where the B.1.1.7 variant had spread in the country, says Rastislav Madar, Head of the Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ostrava and a former advisor to the government. It remains unclear how widespread the variant is. A Feb. 12 Reuters report cites data from January showing between 45% and 60% of new patients were infected with the U.K. variant, and according to Madar, in February, the variant accounted for 60% to 80% of cases in some parts of the country, says Madar. It was so dominant that it was really unstoppable, he adds. Read more: The Key to Building Resilience in a Crisis Lockdown measures imposed to keep previous iterations of SARS-CoV-2 under control have generally not been effective enough at containing the B.1.1.7 variant, says McKee. Many countries are struggling with two parallel epidemics of the old and new variants. He argues that E.U. countries should have reviewed their COVID-19 strategies in early December when the variant was first found to be spreading in the U.K. Countries almost needed to put their restrictions up a tier at that point to control the new variant, says McKee. But many did not. Indeed, on Dec. 3, the Czech government reopened most stores and restaurants, and lifted the night-time curfew (11 p.m. to 5 a.m.), measures that had been in place since October. The national case rate rapidly tripled, from about 35 new daily cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 3 to about 100 per 100,000 on Jan. 3. On Jan. 4, all stores were forced to close. But it was largely too late. Since then, the Czech government has made efforts to get the countrys outbreak under control. For example, on Feb. 14, it extended a state of emergency to keep bars, restaurants and most stores closed. Additional measures were introduced on March 1, including forced closures of kindergartens and schools for younger children and a ban on travel between districts. On March 3, the government made weekly COVID-19 tests mandatory for companies and factories that were allowed to stay open. These measures will be in place until at least March 28. But Madar says that the country is better off keeping those mandates in place well beyond that timeline. If we lift lockdown only to reimpose it later, people will lose total confidence in the authorities and stop caring about the rules, he says. The vaccination rollout and the future of the European economy Huge financial concerns loom for the E.U., whose economy contracted by 6.4% last year, according to Eurostat, the E.Us statistical office. The future very much depends on the speed and effectiveness of the vaccination rollout, says Carsten Brzeski, an economist at global financial-services company ING. Based on the trajectory right now, Brzeski estimates that Europes economy wont regain pre-crisis levels until late 2022 or early 2023. Europe is probably one year behind the U.S., he says. In the U.S. 18.9% of people have been given at least an initial dose and 9.9% of people have been fully vaccinated as of March 10, according to TIMEs Covid-19 vaccine tracker. In the U.K 34.2% of the population have received a first dose and 1.9% have been fully vaccinated as of March 10, according to a vaccine tracker by news site Politico. (The U.K. has pursued a strategy that prioritizes getting first doses to as many citizens as possible.) The E.U., meanwhile, has administered a first dose to only 7% of the population, and has fully vaccinated 3.09% as of March 10, according to Politico. The slowness of the rollout in the E.U. has been attributed to a number of reasons: late approval of the vaccines, bureaucratic procurement processes and delays in productionbut the bottom line is it has lagged in comparison to other wealthy regions like the U.S. and U.K. The European Commission has pledged that everyone in the E.U. will be offered a vaccine by the end of September. But it would have to significantly accelerate its rollout to reach this goal. Politico estimates that unless the bloc picks up the pace, about 38% of its E.U. residents will be vaccinated by Sept. 22. Read more: Breaking Down What COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Means Within the E.U., the economic-recovery picture varies by country. Some, like Germany and the Netherlands, are expected to reach pre-crisis levels at the end of 2021 or early next year, while others, like Spain, Italy and Greece whose tourism-dependent economies have suffered from a fall in travel, will probably reach this level at the end of 2023, says Carsten. Italy is in a particularly difficult position. It was subject to one of the largest economic contractions last year, having not only experienced one of the worst coronavirus caseloads, but also having lost out from the summer tourist season, says Sam Miley, an economist at the London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research. A second consecutive summer with limited visitors to Europes travel destinations, like France, Spain and Italy, would cause considerable economic damage, to these countries, he adds. Countries throughout the E.U. have severely restricted travel to and within the bloc since January. The E.U. as a whole has discouraged non-essential international travel from red (high risk) and dark red (very high risk) zones in E.U. and said member states should require travelers from these zones to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure. The bloc has also advised its members to restrict all travel from non-E.U. countries except for seven countries (including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea) as of Jan. 28. France banned all non-essential travel from outside the E.U. and discouraged travel to and from other parts of the European continent. Countries including Spain, Finland and Turkey have banned flights from the U.K. because of the new variant that has become widespread there. Keen to bring back visitors, travel destinations like Spain and Italy have supported introducing digital health passes that would allow E.U. citizens who have received a COVID-19 vaccine to travel for work or tourism. But the system, which would not be introduced for at least two months, is not without risks. Experts warn that because its unclear how effective vaccines are at preventing actual infection and transmission with the virusthe shots have been approved on the basis of their ability to prevent disease, not infectiona disparity in vaccination rates between member states could lead to new outbreaks. Immunized tourists could unknowingly spread the virus to local communities that have not been protected by a vaccine. Read more: Europe Is Considering COVID-19 Vaccine Passports. Should the Rest of the World Catch Up? The E.U. is also discussing creating a new designation to ease movement around the bloc: travelers from green zones, areas identified as having low infection rates, would not be subject to restrictions, such as quarantine or testing on arrival. The strategy has already been successfully used by countries including Australia and China. But at the moment in Europe, its difficult to see where these zones will be apart from Norway and Finland. Rates are pretty high everywhere, says McKee. The ideas are there, but theyre maybe premature. Digital health passes and green zones can help travel to resume this summer, but the vacation period will not be normal and free from COVID-19 rules, experts say. It will be hampered by restrictions, vaccinations, tests, but also by fear, says Carsten. For the return of the real new normal, he says, Europe will have to wait until the spring and summer vacations in 2022. By David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prominent attorneys Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros have been named to oversee a $500 million victim compensation fund for the relatives of 346 people killed in two fatal 737 MAX crashes, a spokeswoman for Feinberg confirmed on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the second crash. The fund is part of a high-profile gesture by Co under a $2.5 billion Justice Department settlement reached in January about the 737 MAX following a Lion Air crash on Oct. 29, 2019 and an Ethiopian Airlines disaster on March 10, 2019. and the Justice Department (DOJ) declined to comment. The settlement allowed Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution but permits civil litigation against the planemaker by victims' relatives to continue. While Boeing has mostly settled Lion Air lawsuits, it still face more than 100 lawsuits in Chicago federal court by families of the Ethiopian crash asking why the MAX continued flying after the first disaster. Some relatives were commemorating the second anniversary on Wednesday with protests and vigils in Washington, D.C., and Toronto, where they have asked regulators to reconsider their decision to let the 737 MAX fly again after a nearly two-year safety ban. The DOJ settlement includes a fine of $243.6 million and compensation to airlines of $1.77 billion over fraud conspiracy charges related to the plane's flawed design. Chris Moore, who lost his daughter in the Ethiopian crash, noted that the fine is only 10% of the total settlement, or the cost of about two 737 MAX planes. "If this isn't a slap in the face for - I don't know what is. It definitely is only a slap on their wrist," he said. The Justice Department said in January, "Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception." Under the DOJ deal, Boeing was required to propose three candidates to administer the fund. Feinberg, who has administered many compensation funds including for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, General Motors ignition switch crashes and numerous school shootings, was a natural choice. In July 2019, Boeing named Feinberg and Biros to oversee the distribution of a separate $50 million to the families of those killed in the crashes. In this role, they will make recommendations about payments but the Justice Department will make final decisions on all payments. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Alistair Bell) (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 National Guard's extended mission guarding Congress will give the beleaguered Capitol Police more time to adjust to their "new reality," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Wednesday. The Pentagon announced Tuesday night that nearly half of the approximately 5,000 Guard troops currently deployed to Washington will remain until at least May 23. They had been scheduled to return home this month. Kirby told reporters Wednesday that the remaining force will total roughly 2,280 Guardsmen. Over the next two months, he said, the Defense Department will work with the Capitol Police to gradually bring the Guard's footprint down as conditions allow. Read Next: Pentagon Approves Two-Month Extension for National Guard Deployment to DC The Guard presence will not be just "free labor" for Capitol Police on the Pentagon's dime, Kirby said. He would not detail whether any specific threats led to the extension of the Guard mission, but said the Capitol Police need a hand while they adjust to an environment in which they must provide more robust security for lawmakers. "They have a legitimate need for some capacity assistance, in a time which is very uncertain right now," Kirby said. "It's not just about the threat environment, in a highly polarized, hyper-charged environment that we're in right now. It is very much about a capacity assistance to the Capitol Police, as they begin to flesh out and develop what they're going to need, long term, to deal with a new reality on Capitol Hill." However, he said, "The Department of Defense has had visibility into the threat environment that has governed the presence of some of the troops in the Capitol complex." Kirby could not say whether a further extension after May 23 might be required, or why that specific date was chosen, though he said the Pentagon felt two more months was reasonable. "Everybody wants to make sure that our lawmakers have a safe and secure environment to work in," he said. "And we rely on the Capitol Police's judgment, because that's their job up there, to tell us what that need is." Kirby acknowledged the strain the deployment has placed on the Guardsmen and their families, and said the military will be mindful of that with the next group that rotates in for the next two months. Military leaders will stay in contact with Guard troops, Kirby said. He highlighted National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson's habit of eating with Guardsmen several times a week, walking the line with them, listening to their concerns and answering their questions as much as possible. "They had to leave jobs and homes, and to do it on short notice, and they're still out there in what has been a pretty wet, nasty, cold winter," Kirby said. "It's been a long winter, and we all recognize that." -- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey. Related: This Salty Former Marine Corporal Now Grills Generals on Capitol Hill President Joe Biden will double the U.S. order of Johnson & Johnsons one-shot vaccine -- seeking another 100 million doses -- bringing the countrys total vaccine supply to enough for 500 million people. Biden made the announcement during an event at the White House on Wednesday with J&J Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky and Merck & Co. Chairman and CEO Ken Frazier. The companies last week struck a collaboration to boost production of J&Js recently authorized COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. had previously ordered 100 million doses, which the company has said will be delivered before the end of June. J&J and the government will finalize the new order in coming weeks, officials said. Im doing this because during this wartime effort we need maximum flexibility, Biden said at the White House event, explaining the need for the vaccine supply. A lot can happen, a lot can change, and we need to be prepared. The order is a sign that the U.S. is continuing to stockpile doses as questions arise about which vaccine will be best for children. No shots are authorized for use in people younger than 16, with studies underway on efficacy in older children and others expected to follow on younger ones. J&J will launch adolescent-focused clinical trials in coming weeks. Health officials also are sounding the alarm over emerging, more-contagious variants of the virus, which could blunt the impact of some inoculations or further spur the need for new rounds of shots. The initial J&J order, signed in August 2020 under the Trump administration, included an option for as many as an additional 200 million doses. A J&J spokesman said the company remains on track to deliver its first 100 million doses though it hasnt publicly committed to delivering all or nearly all of them by May, as Biden has said. J&J has promised them by the end of June. The U.S. government has the option to purchase additional doses under a subsequent agreement. We look forward to any future discussions with the U.S. government and to participating in the event at the White House later today, J&J spokesman Jake Sargent said. Even as U.S. vaccinations speed up, uncertainty remains. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a briefing Wednesday that health officials are still unsure how long vaccine protection lasts. Anthony Fauci, a Biden COVID-19 adviser who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday he expects high school students to be able to be vaccinated this fall, but said studies on safety for several groups are ongoing. The new J&J doses will be available in the second half of the year, though specific timing will be part of negotiations to finalize the deal, said Biden coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt. The order follows last weeks announcement of the historic Merck and J&J partnership, which was facilitated by the Biden administration and will materially affect production of the single-shot, easily stored vaccine in the second half of the year. Hes doing this because in a wartime effort, which is what we consider this, we need maximum flexibility, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The uncertainties include which vaccine will be best for kids, as well as whether booster shots will be recommended or if variants will require new rounds of inoculations, she said. We want to be oversupplied and over-prepared, she said at Wednesdays press briefing. Theres also a chance that well encounter an unexpected challenge on new need in our vaccination efforts, and we are preparing for just that. The order was previewed by other moves the agreement between the companies, and a side deal between Merck and the U.S. government under which it will overhaul some plants to boost vaccine production, including for J&J, and other medicines. While Biden has credited his administration for facilitating the deal, the companies had been in talks before his inauguration, and those talks accelerated after Jan. 25 when Merck abandoned its own vaccine program. J&Js shot was authorized about a month later, and the companies deal was announced by Biden days after that. The U.S. is aiding the partnership by investing in Mercks facilities and using the Defense Production Act, a wartime power, to secure equipment, the official said. The production will eventually be distributed globally and boost global supply, the official said. With the order, the U.S. is expecting 200 million doses from J&J, which is enough for 200 million people. Thats on top of 300 million doses each from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., both of which have a two-shot vaccine. Altogether, its enough for 500 million people. There are currently about 330 million Americans. Michigan reported 2,316 new coronavirus cases and seven new deaths on Wednesday, March 10. The state has now crossed the 600,000 mark for cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state is averaging 1,362 new COVID-19 cases per day and 20 new deaths per day over the last week. Since the start of the pandemic, Michigan has reported 601,284 confirmed cases and 15,706 deaths related to COVID-19. Additionally, the state has reported 61,288 probable cases and 993 probable deaths, in which a physician and/or antigen test ruled it COVID-19 but no confirmatory PCR test was done. (The above chart shows Michigans 7-day rolling average of new confirmed coronavirus cases. You can put your cursor over a bar to see the number. You also can click on the option just below the headline to see the actual number of new cases reported by day.) Sixty-seven of Michigans 83 counties reported new cases on Wednesday. Wayne County led in new cases with 401, with the next closest being Chippewa with 312. High case numbers for Chippewa County in the past have been associated with conflating prison numbers from the MDOC facility in the county with the general population. Other top reporting counties included Macomb with 289, Oakland with 248, Kent with 119, Ingham with 88, Genesee with 78, Ottawa with 64, Calhoun with 63 and St. Clair with 57. Six counties each reported a new death with Wayne leading the way with three. Macomb, Kent, St. Joseph, Mecosta and Montmorency counties each reported one, while one death was removed from Chippewa County. (The above chart shows Michigans 7-day rolling average of deaths involving confirmed coronavirus cases. You can put your cursor over a bar to see the number. You also can click on the option just below the headline to see the actual number of new deaths reported by day.) Hospitals statewide were treating 929 patients with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, including 220 patients in the ICU. These totals are a jump from 872 hospitalizations, but about the same ICU patients (217), as last Wednesday, March 3. Of the 34,565 diagnostic tests processed on Monday, 4.69% came back positive for SARS-CoV-2. The average positivity rate over the last seven days is 4.53%. As of Wednesday, Michigan had administered more than 2.83 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data. The statewide database updated on Monday shows about 1.72 million first doses and 963,354 second doses. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines recommend two doses administered weeks apart. Case reporting First is a chart showing new cases reported to the state each day for the past 30 days. This is based on when a confirmed coronavirus test is reported to the state, which means the patient first became sick days before. You can call up a chart for any county, and you can put your cursor over a bar to see the date and number of cases. (In a few instances, a county reported a negative number (decline) in daily new cases, following a retroactive reclassification by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In those instances, we subtracted cases from the prior date and put 0 in the reported date.) The next chart below shows new cases for the past 30 days based on onset of symptoms. In this chart, numbers for the most recent days are incomplete because of the lag time between people getting sick and getting a confirmed coronavirus test result, which can take up to a week or more. You can call up a chart for any county, and you can put your cursor over a bar to see the date and number of cases. For more statewide data, visit MLives coronavirus data page, here. To find a testing site near you, check out the states online test finder, here, send an email to COVID19@michigan.gov, or call 888-535-6136 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Read more on MLive: Tracking a year of coronavirus in Michigan COVID-19 one year later: This is our life now Wednesday, March 10, coronavirus data by Michigan county: Positivity rates for Wayne, Macomb, Genesee, Ingham back over 5% YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian spoke over the phone with the President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid at the latters initiatve, the Armenian presidency said in a news release. Kaljulaid inquired on Sarkissians state of health and wished him full recovery. The presidents exchanged views around prospects of bilateral cooperation, and spoke about the COVID-19 response in their countries. They also addressed the new challenges, humanitarian and other issues that emerged after the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war. Sarkissian said that the return of Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijani captivity is crucial, as well as revealing the fates of those missing. Sarkissian stressed that Armenia expects its international partners support in solving these highly important issues. At the same time, Sarkissian expressed his concern regarding the positions of the European Union and NATO during the war and in the post-war period. Editing and Translatng by Stepan Kocharyan Police in An Giang Province in Vietnams Mekong Delta region have arrested a group of people who they say conspired to topple a local public security chief. The deal was uncovered following a forgery case involving Tran Tri Manh, the 42-year-old director of Gia Thinh Production and Trading Co. Ltd. in Chau Phu B Ward, Chau Doc City, An Giang. A raid on Manhs residence and workplace on March 2 resulted in the discovery of evidence proving Gia Thinh had been producing and trading counterfeit products, including motorcycle parts mimicking Honda and Yamaha brands, as well as lubricants they tried to pass off as Kubota and Castrol. At the provincial police station, where Manh was temporarily detained for the investigation into his counterfeiting violations, the man disclosed another case of fraud he had been involved in. This photo supplied by the An Giang Department of Public Security shows Tran Tri Manh at the provincial police station. According to Manh, a group of local businessmen had considered the director of the An Giang Department of Public Security Dinh Van Noi as a bete noire for beefing up fights against social evils, drugs, crime, and other illegal rackets, including smuggling and counterfeiting. The group suggested Manh bribe Nois superiors into transferring him to another locality so that they could continue conducting their illicit business activities. Manh then contacted Dao Ngoc Canh, 73, a resident of Xuan Ha Ward in Thanh Khe District, Da Nang, who helped him connect with Ngo Van Trong, 48, from Khue Trung Ward in Cam Le District in the same central city, Vu Van Quy, 30, from Ho Chi Minh City, and Hoang Thi Tam, 54, from Hanoi. In mid-January, Canh, Trong, Quy, and Tam visited Manh in An Giang and agreed to allocate VND20 billion (US$868,000) toward the so-called ouster of Noi. From left to right, downward: Dao Ngoc Canh, Ngo Van Trong, Vu Van Quy, and Hoang Thi Tam are pictured at the An Giang police station. Photo: An Giang Department of Public Security/Handout via Tuoi Tre The group of four demanded Manh transfer half of the VND20-billion amount to Tams bank account under a guarantee that a decision of job transfer would be issued for Noi within the next three days. No progress was made after three days and the trio refunded Manh VND7.4 billion ($321,000), claiming that the other VND2.6-billion ($113,000) had already been spent on lobbying for the transfer. In truth, Trong took VND400 million ($17,368), Quy pocketed VND2.1 billion ($91,169), and Tam appropriated VND100 million ($4,341) of the VND2.6 billion. After launching the investigation into Manhs report, police in An Giang temporarily detained Quy, Trong, Tam, and Canh. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Birmingham native Marshall Latimore, executive editor of the Atlanta Voice, a historic Black-owned newspaper, has died. He was 36. His mother, Mary Latimore of Birmingham, said she was unable to reach him Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and asked for a wellness check. He was found dead at his home by Atlanta Police just after noon on Wednesday. Mrs. Latimore said her son suffered from congestive heart failure. He had been hospitalized several times, she said. I assume his heart just gave out on him. She said he was salutatorian at Woodlawn High School, where he graduated in 2002. He earned his bachelors degree in communications from Tennessee State University. He worked at several jobs in journalism, including as a page designer for Alabama Media Group, publisher of AL.com, The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and the Mobile Press-Register, from 2012-2014. He loved his work, Mrs. Latimore said. Atlanta Voice Publisher Janis Ware, whose father J. Lowell Ware started the newspaper in 1966, cried as she spoke of Latimores death. He was like a son to me, she said. Im excited and thrilled that he came our way for four years. He was the one helping us spearhead our digital transformation. That was critical. Atlanta Voice President Jim Washington said he last spoke with Latimore on Tuesday during a video conference call meeting. Marshall was a good, good human being; he had a good heart, Washington said. He was somebody we loved. He made us a family. Latimore excelled as an editor in difficult times, covering social unrest and the COVID-19 epidemic in the Black community, Washington said. He was respected by everybody in Atlanta, Washington said. Marshall had ears on the ground, boots to the ground, making sure we were where we needed to be. Latimore was also generous in mentoring young journalists, friends say. Were getting accolades from around the country, from people who knew Marshall, worked with him and respected him, Washington said. We were lucky to have him here for four years. Latimore was proud of a project on homelessness he oversaw for the Atlanta Voice. He wanted to make sure it was top-notch, Washington said. He was one of the most broadly based, intelligent people I knew. The staff at the Atlanta Voice are emotional about the loss of Latimore, he said. Right now, people are doing their jobs, breaking down, Washington said. People are so stunned. We at #TheAtlantaVoice are coming to grips with the sudden and unexpected loss of our Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer, Marshall A. Latimore. His leadership cannot be replaced but his direction will be followed as our mission continues to be a voice for the voiceless. pic.twitter.com/coI6ZbBJmO The Atlanta Voice (@theatlantavoice) March 10, 2021 Rest in peace to Marshall Latimore. Im going to miss seeing him at @NABJ conventions. He was an advocate for young journos and volunteered countless times to make sure those coming up behind him had opportunities. https://t.co/Ddaakdj417 Walter Smith-Randolph (@WalterReports) March 10, 2021 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. Press Release March 10, 2021 GORDON COMMENDS THIS YEAR'S TOYM AWARDEES Senator Richard J. Gordon on Tuesday voted to adopt a resolution commending the seven recipients this year of the Ten Outstanding Young Men award. Gordon noted that despair and desperation can easily set in with the country facing disasters and disease, hence, the TOYM award is a beacon of hope and inspiration for the people to give their best to make a difference in the country or in their communities. "I am privileged to congratulate the seven awardees of the TOYM. In a country that is beset by disasters and disease today, despair and desperation can easily set in that is why the TYOP is a beacon of hope and inspiration to make sure that we are able to realize that in having a work ethic, in having an ambition and making sure that we have values, some of us will be recognized," he said in voting to adopt Senate Resolution No, 621. Gordon further said this year's awardees, as well as all past recipients, are not just watchers or spectators, but they are leaders whose efforts in their various fields made distinguished contributions to the country and fellow Filipino countrymen; "Hindi lang po qualifications 'yan, 'yan po ay kakayahan at pinakitang gilas o yabang - na pinakitang they are not cogs in the wheel, they are really not just watchers or spectators. The TOYP shows these awardees are leaders, not watchers. They make a difference. And that is all that matters. In altum vola - Fly high Philippines!" he commended. This year's awardees include: Hon. Victor Ma. Regis Nubia Sotto, City Mayor, Pasig City Government (Government Service); Capt. Ron Tendido Villarosa Jr., Special Forces Regiment (Airborne), Armed Forces of the Philippines (Community Development/Military Service); Edgar Tolentino Elago, Master Teacher 1, Department of Education (Community Development/Education). The other recipients were: lawyer Lesley Jeanne Yu Cordero, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist, The World Bank (Political And Social Sciences); Dr. Raymond Francis Rapal Sarmiento, Director, National Telehealth Center, UP Manila-NIH (Medicine); David Lopez Almirol Jr., Founder and CEO, Multiysis Technologies Corp. (Science Technology And Engineering); and George Hagan Royeca, Co-Founder, DBDYC Inc. ANGKAS (Business Entrepreneurship In Pioneering Industries). Beijing, March 11 : China's top diplomats will hold a high-level strategic dialogue with their US counterparts in Alaska on March 18 and 19 at the invitation of the US side, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian confirmed on Thursday. 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, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will attend the meeting scheduled to be held in Anchorage, the Xinhua news agency reported. 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. Alabamas environmental regulator has ordered an out-of-state company to stop spreading poultry processing waste as fertilizer at an old coal mine north of Birmingham. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management issued a cease and desist order Wednesday night to Arkansas-based Denali Water Solutions, requiring the company to stop depositing poultry waste at the old Knob No. 1 mine site off Mt. Olive Road in northern Jefferson County. Nearby residents complained of offensive odors coming from the site, and environmental groups were concerned about the waste reaching the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River as reported previously by AL.com. Spreading wastewater sludge as fertilizer is legal in Alabama, though it often generates complaints. But the department says in this case, Denali did not file the required paperwork before beginning its operations, and did not employ best practices in spreading the material at the site. These are very serious violations, and we certainly empathize with residents in the nearby communities, ADEM Director Lance LeFleur said in a news release. We ordered the company to cease its operations after our inspectors visited the site and our investigation determined the company was not operating in compliance with regulations. ADEM said inspectors visited the site twice last week and found multiple violations, including applying the sludge via spraying at the surface (as seen in video below). ADEM said the companys operations plan was that the residuals be spliced into the ground at a depth of 6-12 inches. ADEM said it found no evidence that any of the poultry byproducts contaminated nearby streams. This could have been avoided had the company submitted its plans to ADEM for review as required and took the necessary steps to control odors and lessen the chance of other potential environmental harms, LeFleur said. ADEM said the order means Denali must stop applying the byproduct material to land until the company has approval from ADEM of a corrective plan that addresses the violations. Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke -- who said he received multiple complaints about the site and visited it last week -- said the cease and desist was good news for nearby residents, though not a permanent solution. That is an unexpected move by ADEM, but certainly a welcome one for all affected, Brooke said Wednesday night. Unfortunately, this is just an interim measure until Denali submits updated paperwork, so it is likely they could resume poultry wastewater sludge application there. ADEM said the order is a preliminary measure that does not include penalties, but that its investigation in the matter is ongoing. Alabama enacted a new set of regulations last year on the use of materials like the solid waste from sewage treatment plants or industrial wastewater plants as fertilizer rather than sending it to a landfill, but nearby residents have often complained when neighbors apply these odorous materials on fields. Denali distributes such wastes at numerous locations throughout Alabama, mostly in the northern part of the state. Before this cease and desist order, Denali had already been issued a warning letter and two notices of violations for its sludge operations in Marshall, Lawrence and Colbert Counties, according to ADEM records. ADEM is keenly aware that the improper application of some materials from agricultural and byproduct processing operations can have a significant adverse effect on the quality of life for those nearby who are subjected to the offensive odors, LeFleur said. It was with that in mind that ADEM adopted regulations to obtain regulatory authority over such applications, which previously was solely under the control of the EPA. ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- XanEdu, a unique publishing company that partners with states and K-12 districts to support the creation of customized materials as an alternative to traditional textbooks, today announced the appointment of John Carroll as the company's Senior Vice President of Product Management & Strategy. Carroll joins the custom publisher at a time when schools and districts continue to demand more relevant materials to traditional curriculum options to address the needs of local teachers and students. "Traditional K-12 curriculum publishing has witnessed significant upheaval over the past 20 years and administrators desperately want better materials that address particular issues of relevance and quality. Consequently, there is growing interest in budget-conscious solutions that help districts craft custom content solutions aligned to their unique needs," said XanEdu COO Brett Costello. "John's extensive knowledge of the K-12 curriculum and edtech market and his experience developing and shepherding to market world-class print and digital solutions will enable him to immediately contribute to the XanEdu K-12 team's efforts to meet the growing demand for custom publishing solutions." Carroll most recently worked as the Senior Vice President for Product Management and Strategy at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where he managed the company's core math, reading, science and social studies product lines. Carroll brings nearly 20 years of experience of K-12 curriculum product experience to XanEdu having launched and grown products at McGraw Hill, Pearson, Scholastic and Riverdeep in addition to his work for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. "The K-12 curriculum market is at an important inflection point, as educators and administrators seek to update their curriculum to better reflect their state and district needs - including, among other things, incorporating more culturally responsive content," said Carroll. "As the market leader in custom publishing in higher education and corporate education, XanEdu is well-positioned for impact in K-12 education and I'm excited to join the team as we help educators and administrators build better curriculum for students." Founded in 1999 as a custom publishing solution for higher education institutions, XanEdu has since expanded into other markets, most recently entering the K-12 space in 2016 through its work with the Louisiana Department of Education as its custom publisher for the ELA Guidebooks 2.0 curriculum . Since that time, XanEdu has partnered with the Texas Department of Education along with other districts, including Baltimore Public Schools, DC Public Schools and Pinellas County Schools on their creation of custom published content. As an integral member of XanEdu's management team, Carroll will directly impact XanEdu's K-12 growth efforts by developing and managing the company's immediate and long-term product strategy and roadmap, and identifying strategic partnership and acquisition opportunities. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics from Tufts and a Master's in Business Administration from Northeastern University. ABOUT XANEDU XanEdu has been increasing student engagement and enhancing learning outcomes since 1999 by delivering innovative solutions across the education spectrum. We are committed to advancing the education tools for tomorrow through innovative products and services that meet students' evolving learning styles and incorporate cutting edge technology while maintaining our commitment to affordability and accessibility. XanEdu is a privately held company headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI. More information can be found at www.xanedu.com. Media contact: Chris Posa, Director of Marketing, K-12 [email protected] SOURCE XanEdu Related Links http://www.xanedu.com A house in Hai Phong is locked down after a woman and her son leaving there tested positive for the coronavirus upon arriving in Australia, March 10, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Chinh. A Vietnamese woman from the northern port city of Hai Phong and her son who arrived in Australia last week were found to have Covid-19. On February 26 the 42-year-old woman and her 18-year-old son had tested negative in Hanoi, and two days later boarded a plane to Australia through Singapore. They landed on March 1, and the boy and woman were diagnosed with Covid-19 on March 3 and 6, the Hanoi Center for Disease Control, which was informed by Australian authorities, said. The source of their infection is not known yet. Hai Phong authorities on Wednesday night locked down their house on Nguyen Cong Tru Street in Le Chan District, and medical authorities have begun tracing people who had come into contact with the duo. So far 49 who had close contact with them have tested negative for the virus. Hai Phong is one of the 13 localities where cases have been found in the latest wave that began in late January after a two-month hiatus. Like many of the other 13, the outbreak has been quelled in the northern port city and many non-essential businesses have been allowed to reopen. 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. 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. EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021 The U.S. and ChinaCooperation for Development, or Global Destruction March 10 , 2021 (EIRNS)It was announced today that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with Chinas two leading foreign policy spokesman, Yang Jiechi, the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on March 18 in Anchorage, Alaska. The meeting will follow a visit to Japan and South Korea next week by Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The importance of this U.S.-China meeting can not be exaggerated, although the outcome is totally unpredictable. It could be a promising step toward world peace and development, or the exact opposite, a carving in stone of the extreme racist and xenophobic hysteria against all things Chinese which dominated the last year of the Trump Administration under Mike Pompeo, and which has been fully endorsed by Blinken and Sullivan in their Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, released by the White House on March 3. President Biden himself expressed one of the few cogent concepts of his Presidency following his two-hour phone call with President Xi Jinping on Feb. 10, when he addressed U.S.-China relations during his speech to the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19: It is not about pitting East against West. Its not about, we want a conflict. We want a future where all nations are able to freely determine their own path without a threat of violence or coercion. We cannot and must not return to the reflexive opposition and rigid blocs of the Cold War. The danger is that Blinken and Sullivan have pledged to hold countries like China to account, and ensure that America, not China, sets the international agenda, Such British imperial thinking, geopolitics at its worst, comes from a mindset which rejects any thought that nations have the right to freely determine their own path without a threat of violence or coercion, as Biden had expressed. Worse, the Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Philip Davidson, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee March 9, demonstrated the now common practice of projection, ascribing to China (as also to Russia) precisely the unilateral actions taken by themselves: The Communist Party of China promotes a closed and an authoritarian system through internal oppression and external aggression, Davidson said. Chinas pernicious approach to the region includes a whole-of-party effort to coerce, corrupt, and collapse governments, businesses, organizations and the people of the Indo-Pacific. This comes from a military leader of a country which has militarily overthrown governments, destroyed their economies, placed puppet regimes in place, leaving their economies in ruins, across the Middle East, while imposing unilateral sanctions on dozens of countries around the world. It is certainly the case that China and Russia are building up their military capacities, and have pledged cooperation with each other if they are attacked. Is it not obvious to all, however, that they are mobilizing within their own borders, while the Anglo-American war party has military bases in 80 countries around the world, while moving NATO up to the Russian border and even into Asia? Most of the worlds nations refuse to take sides against China, and in fact most look to China and Russia as the only source for the required human support in this moment of existential crisis for mankindaccess to the Russian and Chinese vaccines while the West has hoarded their plentiful supplies; infrastructure development through the Belt and Road Initiative while the West not only denies large-scale infrastructure to the nations of the South, but even acts to sabotage Chinese and Russian efforts to offer such development. Americans are now confronting a collapse of their historical characterthe economy is unraveling; the financial system is a massive bubble ready to explode; the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech are being openly flaunted as censorship of speech and even of ideas has become the rule of the day; the drug-infested inner-cities are over-run with desperate homeless people; and, most important, the promise of a future of progress and development is being openly destroyed under the fake Green New Deal. These Green fascists no longer espouse the Biblical concept of mankinds dominion over nature, but rather the forced imposition of de-industrialization and de-population by the bankrupt financial institutions of the Great Reset. The situation is dire, but it is precisely such conditions in which people can finally see the urgency of throwing away their prejudices and their failed axioms, to look for the truth outside of the blatantly lying media, and to take personal responsibility for the fate of mankind. The Schiller Institute and The LaRouche Organization are calling on all patriots and all citizens of the world to join a conference on March 20-21, with speakers from around the world, under the theme World at a Crossroad: Two Months into the New U.S. Administration. Register for the conference, and invite others to join. Face the threat of a new Dark Age with courage and optimism that a new Renaissance for all mankind is both necessary and possible. A group opposed to basing F-35 fighter jets in Madison has filed a second lawsuit challenging the military's environmental review. In a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court, Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin says the Air Force and National Guard Bureau failed to follow the law when it considered the impacts of its basing decision. The Air Force last year selected the 115th Fighter Wing as one of two units to get the next batch of F-35s, which will replace the current fleet of 33-year-old F-16s. The first planes are scheduled to arrive in 2023. The nonprofit group says the military didn't adequately consider the impact of noise, air and groundwater pollution that could result. "Truax is the worst location for these fighter jets," said Steven Klafka, an environmental engineer and member of Safe Skies. According to the environmental assessment, the F-35 jets will be louder and at least initially fly more frequently than the current F-16s, which the group says cause detrimental personal, physical, mental health, educational, and economic impacts. Safe Skies says its members will suffer from toxic "forever chemicals" linked to the use of firefighting foam that could be further spread into groundwater, Starkweather Creek and Lake Monona as a result of construction needed to prepare for the jets. According to the complaint, the military failed to follow federal environmental law because the environmental review did not explore alternatives to replacing the aging F-16s nor did it "take a hard look" at the impact on some 60,000 people who live within three miles of the base, including minority and low-income residents who will be disproportionately affected. The complaint also alleges the military chose the sites Madison and Montgomery, Ala. with the greatest adverse impact to people, making the decision "arbitrary and capricious." "This is not acceptable," said Kathleen Henry, an attorney representing Safe Skies. The suit asks the court to block any additional permitting or construction activity until the military completes a supplemental environmental review. Spokespeople for the Air Force and National Guard Bureau declined to comment on the litigation. Safe Skies Clean Water sued the National Guard Bureau in December over its separate environmental review of the construction projects. The group has asked the U.S. District Court for Western Wisconsin to block construction until the National Guard does a more thorough review of those projects, which include a flight simulator building and new aircraft shelters and are expected to cost up to $60 million. In that case, the group alleged the military disregarded the potential impact the projects will have on harmful chemicals known as PFAS, which have been found in soil and groundwater under the base and are believed to be connected to contamination of Starkweather Creek, Lake Monona and at least one Madison municipal well. They also argued those impacts should have been considered as part of the overall analysis the Air Force conducted for the F-35 basing decision. The court has scheduled a preliminary conference call next week in that case. The five construction projects are expected to result in the disturbance of about 25 acres, which the groups say could further distribute PFAS, which have been linked to cancer, liver disease and reproductive problems. Maj. Joe Trovato, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Air National Guard, said the construction is expected to begin sometime this year but declined to provide a date for groundbreaking. In 2018, the state Department of Natural Resources informed the 115th Fighter Wing, along with the Dane County Regional Airport and the city of Madison, that they were responsible for PFAS contamination at former firefighter training sites known as burn pits near the base. The National Guard agreed to take the lead on the required investigation, but the Pentagon has not provided funding or authorization. Last month Dane County's environmental committee approved changes to a resolution opposing the F-35s which includes language intended to prevent the National Guard from starting any demolition or construction projects until PFAS remediation plans are in place. The resolution has yet to be considered by the full County Board. "We want them funded and we want them begun," said Sup. Yogesh Chawla, who authored the amendment. While the pending court cases will not delay construction, Safe Skies members say they hope recent developments including a Pentagon review of the F-35 program, the potential for Congress to cut the defense budget and the Federal Aviation Administration's new research on how airplane noise affects communities could result in a change of plans for the Truax mission. "We haven't given up," said Vicki Berenson. This article is written by Chris Hubbuch from The Wisconsin State Journal and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com. New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government granted parole of 30 days to AG Perarivalan, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case on Thursday. Perarivalan for the first time got parole in the last 26 years after orders from the state government were sent to Vellore prison. His death sentence, along with fellow convicts Santhan and Murugan, was commuted to life imprisonment in 2014. He was arrested at the age of 19 in connection to assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. A letter dated August 24 by Additional Chief Secretary to Government Niranjan Mardi to the Vellore Deputy Inspector General of Prisons cited health condition of the convicts father and instructed that he should be provided with strong police escort during the period of leave. The ordinary leave has been granted to Perarivalan as per rule 19 of the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules 1982. The parole has been granted to Perarivalan on request of his mother, Arputham Ammal. She had filed petition with the Chief Minister's special cell seeking the release of their son on parole to meet his bedridden aged father. According to his mother this is the first time that the convict was seeking parole since his imprisonment in 1991. Her husband Gnanasekaran, 74, is suffering from different ailments, including hypertension and asthma. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Damian Lewis and Dame Helen Mirren are joining forces to record an album for Her Majesty's 95th birthday next month - according to new reports. The actor, 50, and actress, 75, who have both portrayed royalty on screen, are said to share 'a mutual love and respect for the Queen' and wanted to mark the 'significant birthday'. Following a difficult few weeks for the monarchy, with Prince Philip in hospital and Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah, they are 'hoping it will bring a smile to her face'. Surprise! Damian Lewis and Dame Helen Mirren are joining forces to record an album for Her Majesty's 95th birthday next month. (Pictured together in 2013) According to The Sun, an industry insider said: 'Helen and Damian are quite good pals and have a mutual love and respect for the Queen. 'They felt it was a very significant birthday and achievement for her to reach 95, so they wanted to do it in a special way. 'Its come at a good time and they are hoping it will bring a smile to her face.' Significant birthday: Following a difficult few weeks for the monarchy, with Prince Philip in hospital, they are 'hoping it will bring a smile to [the Queen's] face' (pictured in October 2020) They said to be making the record with the help of with composer Debbie Wiseman, Classic FM's Composer in Residence, with narration by Dame Helen and Damian. The record is set to be titled 'The Music Of Kings and Queens' and will be released on June 11, though the British record label, Decca Records. Mailonline has contacted representatives for Helen and Damian for comment. The Queen, who turns 95 on April 21, usually spends her birthday privately, but the special occasion is marked publicly by gun salutes in London. Though the pair are better known for their acting abilities, and not for their musical prowess, Damian showcased his musical side to perform at his friends' wedding last September. Respect: The actor, 50, and actress, 75, reportedly share 'a mutual love and respect for the Queen' and wanted to mark the 'significant birthday' The Band of Brothers star was pictured strumming a guitar alongside his actress wife Helen McCrory, 52, as they sang along to a series of classic Irish tracks outside the Kensington and Chelsea Register Office in London. Meanwhile Helen Mirren has previously claimed to have 'no musical talent' but she still loves classical music. In an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, she revealed she she studied piano, albeit briefly, saying: 'It was a disaster. It must have been heartbreaking for my poor father to realize that his only daughter had no musical talent.' However, both have experience playing royalty on-screen with Damian starring as King Henry VIII in the BBC drama Wolf Hall in 2015. Dame Helen won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2007 for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in the film The Queen. Drama: Both have experience playing royalty on-screen with Damian starring as King Henry VIII in the BBC drama Wolf Hall in 2015 Oscar-winning: Dame Helen won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2007 for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in the film The Queen She is the only actor to have portrayed both Queens Elizabeth on the screen, having also played Elizabeth I in the 2005 television series of the same name. This comes as Helen recently revealed her marriage has been made 'normal' amid the pandemic and it's been 'great' to spend lots of time 'bonding' with her husband Taylor Hackford. The Oscar-winning actress explained how she and her director partner, 76, usually jet around the world for work but have stayed home for much of the last year. Reflecting on how their relationship has changed because of travel restrictions in a new interview with The Telegraphs Stella Magazine, the star said they've enjoyed getting to experience have 'what most people have'. Soaking it up: Dame Helen has said her marriage has become 'normal' after Covid travel rules meant she couldn't travel much for work amid the pandemic (pictured in 2020) Helen explained that despite being married for '30-something years', they've not really had the chance to spend such a long period of time together. She said: 'In all that time [their marriage] because of the nature of both of our work weve always been looking at suitcases, at packing. 'We have literally never spent this amount of time together. [The year] could have been disastrous but has actually been fantastic. 'Its been really great to just sort of have what most people have. You know, normal, regular, repetitive lives, but comfortable lives.' Couple: The actress explained how she and her director partner, 76, have spent much of their married life jetting around the world for work (pictured together in January 2020) The star added that she and Taylor, who live in Lake Tahoe, have been able to grow closer during the pandemic, saying it's been a great 'bonding experience. Helen and Taylor have been married for 24 years, after tying the knot in 1997. He has been wed twice before and has two children. The actress and director were together for 11 years before saying I do. Syracuse, N.Y. The New York State Fairgrounds is one of the nations busiest Covid-19 vaccination clinics. But, so far, farmers and farm workers cant get a shot there or anywhere else in New York. That contrast rankles some in the agriculture industry, especially after Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the fairgrounds this week and opened up vaccine eligibility to others based on age and occupations. To not be included was frustrating, said Danielle Volles, who owns a dairy farm in southern Onondaga County that milks about 1,550 cows a day. I think it would have been a good opportunity for the governor to reach out to the food community. It was shame that didnt happen. Agriculture workers and advocates have been arguing for weeks that they should get early protection from the vaccine. Its becoming more urgent, they say, as the growing season begins and thousands of migrant workers head north to New York. Already, California has put farm workers ahead of people with underlying health conditions, whove been getting vaccinated in New York for about a month. I think this is something that New York is behind in, said Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, an associate professor of food studies and nutrition at Syracuse University. Theres really no job that could be more essential than farm workers. But prioritizing workers in the vaccine line is about more than the necessity of vegetables and meat. Its also about keeping the virus from exponentially spreading beyond farms and into surrounding communities, according to David Larsen, an environmental epidemiologist at Syracuse University. Most jobs at farms put employees in close working and living conditions with each other. That can create a bubble or cluster of cases, such as the large outbreak last spring at Green Empire Farm in Madison County. But few farm workers have steady interaction with customers, like at restaurants or hotels. That kind of interaction -- spending a lot of time with a lot of strangers -- can lead to a super-spreader event thats more like a spider web growing in many directions. That means the virus can spread quickly among many different people who take it home or to work in many different areas, Larsen said. In my opinion, food service, hotel workers are some of the highest risk for creating large-scale viral transmissions in the community, Larsen said. If you are meeting new people every day, then thats going to be higher risk than if youre seeing the same people every day. That risk assessment will change in coming weeks as the growing season begins, Larsen and others said. Thats because about 8,000 migrant workers are headed to New York from other states and even other countries, according to the New York Farm Bureau. That changes a lot of things, Larsen said. That could bring cases into vulnerable communities. Those risks can be mitigated, Larsen added, with testing, quarantining and following Covid-19 protocols such as wearing a mask. Thats what Brian Reeves did last year. He owns Reeves Farm in Baldwinsville and relies on migrant workers for his familys dairy and produce operation. Last year, he tested some migrant workers as they came in. Masks and sanitizer became normal in indoor packing areas and other work stations. In the end, only two of Reevess workers got Covid-19 in 2020. He said they contracted it in the off-season, after the farm production shut down in the late fall. Still Reeves is a strong proponent of getting the vaccine to farm workers sooner rather than later. Even one case, he said, can shut down work for days. Volles agrees. Missed time on farms cant be made up. The farm has to operate, Volles said. The cows have to be milked. The seeds have to be planted. All of these things are time sensitive. The states Department of Health did not respond to questions Wednesday about its reasoning for keeping farm workers off the vaccine eligibility list. Reeves and others said farm workers have been keeping food production going throughout the pandemic. They deserve some appreciation in the form of vaccinations, he said. We need our workers to be healthy, he said. Its about time they get treated with the respect they deserve. Farmers and worker advocates are also worried about getting the vaccine to farm workers especially migrant workers -- once it is available. Some dont have cars. Some speak languages other than English. Reeves said he and other area farmers are talking with Onondaga County leaders about bringing mobile vaccine clinics out to the farms. He said officials are receptive but theres no plan yet. Minkoff-Zern, the SU professor who studies food and migrant workers, said she also thought the state should prioritize farm workers because its not that big a group compared to the millions already eligible for the vaccine. The full food production industry in New York has about 200,000 workers, according to the farm bureau. Larsen, the epidemiologist, said the waiting game for farm workers and others not yet eligible is likely to get shorter as more vaccine arrives from three manufacturers. Its a matter of weeks before theyll have access, he said. Its not a matter of months. But getting onto the eligibility list is just the first step. On Wednesday, the state began allowing people 60 and older to get shots. Some got appointments this week at local drug stores. Others could sign up for appointments at state-run sites. Those bookings were weeks away, in April and May. 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. Views sought on new Animal Welfare Bill Public views are being sought on the proposed Animal Welfare Bill 2021 that aims to protect animals such as cats, dogs and horses from harm and mistreatment. The Bill was drafted following recommendations by a Tynwald Select Committee that in line with the UK regulation was needed to protect companion animals. Currently the Island has laws that protect the welfare of farm livestock and criminalise animal cruelty, but the Committee concluded the welfare of companion animals is not adequately protected. The Bill would also provide greater legal protections to mountain hares. People are encouraged to submit their views during the four week consultation that will close on 5 April 2021. An 85-year-old former doctor has been convicted on sex abuse and child porn charges. Shelby County District Attorney Jill Lee said Ruepert Don Bryan, a former ear, nose and throat physician in Alabaster, was convicted Wednesday after a three-day trial on charges of first-degree sex abuse and three counts of producing child pornography. Shelby County sheriffs officials in June 2016 issued a plea for information upon release photos of a then-unidentified man, saying he was a suspect in a crime that would shock any member of our community. If this person is still alive, he is a threat to our communities, the sheriffs office stated in a release on that day. Authorities later said Bryan, who lived in Calera at the time of his arrest, was developed as a suspect after a member of the community came forward with an abandoned videotape. Authorities in 2016 released this image of a then-unidentified man sought in a child pornography and child sex abuse case. Ruepert Don Bryan, now 85, was convicted March 10, 2021. (Contributed) According to court records in the case, the videotape contained images of at least one juvenile engaging in sexual activity. The video was produced sometime in 2002. Bryan was also accused of sexually abusing at least one juvenile between May and August 2003, his arrest warrant stated. During trial, Lee said, prosecutors presented evidence that included numerous recordings Bryan made of his child sexual abuse. The jury also heard from multiple witnesses who were victimized by Bryan when they were children before the allegations came to light and he was brought to justice,' Lee said. Sheriffs investigators Robert Rodriguez and Heather Parramore led the investigation. Assistant district attorneys Daniel McBrayer and Ben Fuller prosecuted the case. Were grateful for the victims who stepped forward to share their stories of abuse. Its only through them that this day has finally arrived,' McBrayer said. We also appreciate the members of the public who answered the sheriffs call to help identify this abuser who was only a face on a video when the investigation first began. Following the conviction, Circuit Judge Bill Bostick accepted the jurys verdict and ordered that Bryan be held without bond. Bryan has been in the Shelby County Jail on $500,000 bond since his 2016 arrest. Bostick scheduled sentencing for Monday, April 5. WASHINGTON Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Jake Sullivan, President Bidens national security adviser, will meet next week with two senior Chinese government officials, the Biden administrations first in-person diplomatic encounter with its chief foreign rival. In a statement on Wednesday, a State Department spokesman said that Mr. Blinken and Mr. Sullivan would meet in Anchorage next Thursday with Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, and its top diplomat, Yang Jiechi. The meetings will follow visits next week by Mr. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to Japan and South Korea, two core U.S. allies that have fraught relations with China and that would expect to be consulted before an engagement like the one planned with Beijing. It was important to us that this administrations first meeting with Chinese officials be held on American soil, and occur after we have met and consulted closely with partners and allies in both Asia and Europe, said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary. The company is based upon a fractional ownership model in which club members purchase a share of the jet in return for a certain number of days and not hours, which is a unique innovation in this space. JetClub aims to make business aviation more accessible at a lower cost, superior customer service and no administrative effort on the part of the owner. "We have designed JetClub to be easy-to-access, intelligent, safe, and financially savvy. Owners pay only 2500 per hour including handling and landing fees with no positioning fees. Launching in a pandemic is an opportunity to get businesses back to work, providing a mechanism that empowers industry to rebuild some of the economic losses caused by the pandemic. Providing access from separate terminals, away from crowded airports along with our advanced COVID precautions and adherence to local guidelines, we are confident that our solution is a good fit for Europe at this time and well into the future," Vishal Hiremath, Co-Founder and CEO, JetClub Group and co-founder of Jet It. Demand for safe, responsible, practical travel has soared through the pandemic as reflected in the demand for private flights globally, evidenced in our US business experiencing a growth of 400% year over year. European businesses and individuals understand the value proposition of business aviation while having expectations for sustainable, well-priced, and transparent choices. The HondaJet is one of the lightest, quietest, and most fuel-efficient in its category, burning four-times less fuel than a larger jet. With 70% of all private flights being less than 3 hours in duration with less than 4 passengers, it is a more sustainable, economical, hygienic, safe, and comfortable way to fly. The aircraft will be based at various sites across mainland Europe for commercial operation. With a Maltese Air Operating Certificate and license, a highly experienced, locally based team and experienced HondaJet pilots. More aircraft will join the fleet this year. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1453967/JetClub2.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1453968/JetClub6.jpg SOURCE JetClub A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Murray Gardiner, managing director of Bluecode Africa Limitations of foreign card tech, dependency Digital payments holds the power to Africa's development The statistics that hover uncertainly around Africa are not ones that should make the continent proud. However, a young population, a growing consumption market, and the rapid movement towards mobile inclusion and connectivity are shifting the conversation... Slow transaction processes, high costs While nothing about the domestic card scheme, including the ownership and technical structure, has been decided, Gardiner believes its a step in the right direction. We should celebrate any merchant payment system that removes the dependency on foreign card schemes and accelerates South Africas transition to the digital economy while aligning the country with the global trend to digital mobile payments.More people and more businesses need to be brought out of the shadow economy and included in the formal economy with affordable and valuable financial services, says Gardiner.But this will not happen on the back of a card scheme with off-shore rules and all of the associated costs of foreign card technology and dependency. Frankly, it makes no sense to pay a commission in dollars on a rand-based transaction. Properly implemented, a domestic payment scheme could tick all of those boxes.At present, South African banks issue credit and debit cards under the Visa and Mastercard brands. The value of the ubiquity of merchant acceptance of these brands is undisputed, but this is mostly for people travelling internationally or offshore e-commerce. The costs and security requirements of foreign cards and virtual cards tied to foreign schemes limit their reach and have even fostered a shadow industry in the shape of screen scraping instant EFT.Current card-based services, especially from an e-commerce perspective, require interactions that slow the transaction process down and increase costs and points of failure in transaction processing, Gardiner points out.The costs and limitations of card-based payments place a burden on retail businesses and limit who can have a card and who can accept card payments. A far more progressive, less expensive and more efficient solution would be a digital mobile open-loop merchant payment on bank account rails, with bank support and buy-in, rather than a card or a siloed bank QR payment.According to Gardiner, whatever system the reserve bank settles on, it should be built on a domestic account rail, and be mobile.A low-fee, instant, secure, anonymous, account-based payment, operated either in partnership with the banks or as a cooperative venture, could be an ideal alternative when it comes to empowering merchants and consumers, he says.The small shop, the artisan, the small farmer or trader, who can accept a digital payment and provide a bank or an aggregator sufficient digital transparency to build out much needed affordable and relevant financial products and services, will open the economy to the unserved and underbanked informal productive economy. Parbhani/Mumbai, March 11 : The dream of the late Minister of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help a deaf-mute girl -- who had strayed into Pakistan some 20 years ago -- reunite with her family, was finally fulfilled here last week. The girl, named as 'Geeta', 29, returned to her home in Parbhani, after a frantic search of over five years since Sushma Swaraj ensured her repatriation to India in 2015, and reunited with family, feeling safe, sound and smiling with joy. This is the second such reunion witnessed in two different districts of Maharashtra in the past two months which moved the people of the state. On January 26, Hasina Begum, who was wrongly dumped in a Pakistani jail for 18 years, was finally sent back to her home in Rashidpura, Aurangabad. Unfortunately, barely savouring freedom for two weeks and struggling to salvage her life-strings snapped in the past 18 years, Hasina Begum, 65, died of a sudden heart attack on February 9, stunning the people of the city. The second girl, Geeta, was luckier as she was not in jail, but found succour in the magnanimity of the Edhi Foundation, Karachi in Pakistan, which looked after her for years till she was sent back to India with Sushma Swaraj's efforts in 2015. After she landed in India over six years ago, a massive nationwide search was launched by the government, semi-government agencies, NGOs like the Anand Service Society (ASS) of Indore, which was handed Geeta's custody in July 2020. After a series of all-India travails to track her family, an NGO, Pahal Foundation (Parbhani) founder-directors Aniket Selgaonkar and Pradeep More helped the ASS find Geeta's kin in a village, Naigaon and handed her over to her mother on March 2 -- over 20 years after she was 'lost'. Soon after Geeta arrived in India, the late Sushma Swaraj, (who passed away in August 2019) had given her custody to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who had promised to not only locate her family, but like a father figure, even performed her 'kanyadaan' if the pursuit failed. The Madhya Pradesh government entrusted the Indore Deaf Bilingual Academy which tried for nearly five years to locate her family before handing her over to the Anand Service Society (ASS). Though reported missing from Jintur when she was 9 years old, hopped onto several trains before landing in Pakistan in 2000, the Edhi Foundation's records start from 2003. ASS's Gyanendra Purohit's chanced upon a tiny clue -- Geeta's nose was pierced on the right side, common in the Marathwada region, instead of the usual left practiced all over -- and launched the search which ended in Parbhani. "Other clues also clinched -- a maternity hospital outside the railway station surrounded by sugarcane fields, a childhood burn-mark on her tummy. Now, only the final DNA test remains," More told IANS. Her overjoyed mother, Meena Waghmare, now Meena Pandhare, revealed that Geeta was actually 'Radha Waghmare' and has siblings -- a sister Pooja Bansode, and a brother, suffering from a mental illness. Selgaonkar said that Geeta loves Marathi cuisine which she missed during her long years in Pakistan and then in Madhya Pradesh, but is still reluctant to move in with her new-found family, now living in Naigaon. "She is taking basic lessons in English, Hindi, Marathi and computers at the Pahal Foundation, and mostly clad in 'salwar-kameez' all these years, learning to drape the 'sari', too," he added. More and Selgaonkar say Geeta is independent-minded, and wants to stand on her own feet, earn a living before joining her mom and maybe even "settle down" in life..! (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in) OnSceneTV A man was stabbed to death Wednesday night at a gas station in the Alief area, officials said. The victim was hanging out with a group of people around 9 p.m. when some type of fight broke out, said Lt. R. Willkens of the Houston Police Department. He left the residence to fill his truck tires with air at a nearby gas station. Another man involved in the fight ran up to the gas station and attacked the victim, stabbing him, Willkens said. Ximen Mining 2020 Prospecting Samples Up To 13.1 g/t Gold Historic Nelson Mining Camp Posted by Publisher Internet Ximen Mining Corp. (TSX.v: XIM) (FRA: 1XMA) (OTCQB: XXMMF) (the ?Company? or ?Ximen? https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/ximen-mining-corp/) is pleased to announce results from prospecting samples collected its properties at Nelson in southern British Columbia.? Analytical results were received for the remainder of rock samples collected last season on claims surrounding the company?s Kenville Mine near Nelson, BC.? A total of 16 rock chip samples were collected of which 8 samples returned significant values for precious metals.? Four samples returned significant results from the first 9 samples analyzed (as announced in a news release dated February 12).? Four additional significant results were obtained from the remaining samples (see table below).? The highest precious metal values were obtained from a sample of the Ymir-Protection mine dump (13.1 grams per tonne gold and 145 grams per tonne silver).? This historic mine was operated intermittently between 1899 and 1973 and produced 10,719 ounces of gold, 82,824 ounces of silver and significant lead and zinc from 14,788 tonnes mined.? The deposit consists of shear-hosted quartz veins mineralized with gold, pyrite, galena and sphalerite. Two samples containing high gold values were collected from the California mine (8.4 and 3.8 grams per tonne gold).? This historic mine operated intermittently between 1910 and 1947 and produced 2,258 ounces of gold, 3,942 ounces of silver and significant lead and zinc from 1,454 tonnes mined.? Mineralization consists of multiple quartz veins containing free gold, pyrite, galena and sphalerite. At the west end of the No. 3 level, a potential tonnage was identified in a block measuring 91 metres long and 1.1 to 1.5 metres in width, with an average grade reported from historic samples as 29.0 grams per tonne gold (BC Assessment report 11027). The Good Hope historic mine was developed as early as 1911 and produced 90 ounces of gold and 80 ounces of silver from 48 tonnes reported mined.? Mineralization consists of bands and lenses of quartz that locally contain pyrite and chalcopyrite with free gold in oxidized portions of the mineralized zones. Ximen is now submitting applications for exploration permits for the California and other areas surrounding the Kenville mine property.? At the Kenville mine project, Ximen expects that permitting of new underground mine development will be finalized this spring. Analyses disclosed in this release were conducted by ALS Global ? Geochemistry Analytical Lab in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. ALS is an independent, fully accredited commercial laboratory. Gold was determined by the fire assay method using a 50-gram sample weight and ICP finish, with over-limits checked using a 50-gram sample weight and gravimetric finish. Other metals were analyzed as part of a 48-element package using a four-acid digestion and determination by ICP-MS.? Over-limits for silver were determined by the fire assay method using a 50-gram sample weight and ICP finish, and over limits for silver, lead, zinc and copper by specific four-acid digestions with ICP-AES finish for high grade materials. Readers are cautioned that historical information including the assay and production results referred to in this News Release have been examined but not verified by a Qualified Person. Further work is required to verify that historical records referred to in this News Release are accurate. Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp. and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, approved the technical information contained in this News Release.? About Ximen Mining Corp. Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC.? Ximen`s two Gold projects The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine.? Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under a option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has recently acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment. Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL. On behalf of the Board of Directors, ?Christopher R. Anderson? Christopher R. Anderson, President, CEO and Director Investor Relations: Sophy Cesar, 604-488-3900, ir@XimenMiningCorp.com This press release contains certain \forward-looking statements\ within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain \forward-looking statements\ within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words \expects,\ \plans,\ \anticipates,\ \believes,\ \intends,\ \estimates,\ \projects,\ \aims,\ \potential,\ \goal,\ \objective,\ \prospective,\ and similar expressions, or that events or conditions \will,\ \would,\ \may,\ \can,\ \could\ or \should\ occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company\-\-s management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management\-\-s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company\-\-s reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators\-\- System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Ximen Mining Corp 888 Dunsmuir Street Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4 Tel: 604-488-3900 Chennai: Ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly election, popular actor and veteran comedian Senthil joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was inducted into the party in presence of state President L Murugan and National general secretary CT Ravi among others at the state party headquarters. Senthil has acted with all major Tamil stars and is known across generations for his comedy roles as a part of the hit duo Goundamani-Senthil. He, however, hasn't been very active in the cinema industry in recent years. The senior actor was earlier with the AIADMK and later with the TTV Dinakaran-led AMMK. In recent years, several popular actors have joined the saffron party in Tamil Nadu. Gautami, Kushboo Sundar, Radha Ravi, Namitha, Gangai Amaren, S Ve Shekhar are among the names from the cine industry. A few months back, producer and actor Ramkumar, son of the late Sivaji Ganesan, too had joined the party. As a part of the AIADMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu, the BJP is contesting in 20 assembly constituencies, in the polls that are scheduled for April 6th. Live TV Currently, BJP doesn't have any MLA in Tamil Nadu and is making serious attempts to foray into Tamil Nadu's electoral landscape by securing wins in assembly constituencies. WASHINGTON (AP) - Emboldened by their majorities in the House and Senate, Democrats are making a new push to enact the first major new gun control laws in more than two decades and they're starting with stricter background checks. The House passed two bills Thursday to require background checks on all firearms sales and transfers and to allow an expanded 10-day review for gun purchases. Similar bills were passed by the House in 2019, shortly after Democrats won the majority, but languished in the GOP-controlled Senate for the next two years. Democrats now hold the Senate, as well, but the bills would need significant bipartisan support to pass. Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, R-22, voted 'no' on both measures. The legislation proposed today would create arbitrary delays on background checks for law-abiding Americans, weakening their constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, said Tenney. These bills are poorly written and could open the door for sportsmen and hunters to be treated the same as violent criminals. A sportsman could potentially face charges for simply storing a gun with a fellow hunter while a farmer could similarly run afoul by simply lending a firearm to a fellow farmer. These progressive gun bills are out of touch with rural America and treat honest gun owners like criminals." Tenney is co-sponsoring the Second Amendment Guarantee Act, which was introduced by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-21. According to Stefanik, the bill would override parts of the SAFE Act that "prohibit law-abiding New Yorkers from purchasing, transferring, and owning legal firearms," and prevent states from banning "the manufacture, sale, importation, or possession of any rifle or shotgun lawfully available under federal law." U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-19, voted to pass the legislation. Gun violence is a public health and safety crisis that has plagued our communities for far too long, said Delgado. Over 90% of Americans agree -- we need expanded background checks. Today, I voted to pass gun violence prevention legislation to strengthen background checks and close dangerous firearm loopholes, while protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun-owners. U.S. Rep. John Katko has authored a resolution urging President Joe Biden to declare a one-time federal holiday with the goal of increasing the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The holiday would be known as National COVID-19 Vaccination Awareness Day. According to the text of the resolution, the purpose of the temporary holiday is to "act as a galvanizing moment to promote the more rapid distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to all areas of the country," to recognize health care entities and the government for their partnership in developing the vaccinations and to raise awareness about how the vaccine can allow for a return to normalcy. The resolution also "encourages Americans to take advantage of the rapidly increasing supply of COVID-19 vaccines" and acknowledges the efficacy of the inoculations. Katko's resolution has two Democratic cosponsors U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Abigal Spanberger. WHO declared a coronavirus pandemic on this day a year ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced that the vaccination for COVID-19 and compliance with quarantine rules will help citizens sooner return to their normal way of life. "WHO declared a coronavirus pandemic on this day a year ago. Over this time, humankind has gained colossal common experience and become stronger," the president wrote on Twitter. "[WHO Director General] Dr. Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus] is confident that vaccination and compliance with quarantine rules will help all of us return to normal life," the Ukrainian president tweeted. Read alsoCOVID in Ukraine: Daily cases, deaths continue dramatic riseCOVID-19 in Ukraine: Latest developments Ukraine reported a sharp increase in the number of new active COVID-19 cases across the country in the past 24 hours as of March 11, 2020, that is, 9,084 against 6,377 registered a day earlier, and 3,261 reported a day before that. The total number of confirmed cases grew to 1,425,522. Reporting by UNIAN New Delhi: The Centre has accorded 'Y+' VIP security cover to veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty who recently joined the BJP, official sources said on Wednesday. They said the security cover will be provided by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that has a dedicated wing for this task, called the special security group (SSG). Mithun Chakraborty The 70-year-old actor had joined the BJP on Sunday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mega rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. "Chakraborty has been given a 'Y+' cover and armed CISF commandos will accompany him during poll campaign in West Bengal," a senior officer said. Mithun Chakraborty Election to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases between March 27 and April 29. BJP MP from Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey will also be accorded with a similar cover that involves about 4-5 armed commandos protecting the person. (Newser) An Oklahoma police chief drove seven hours to attend the Wednesday funeral for a 17-year-old runaway killed by his officers. Muskogee Police Chief Johnny Teehee says he was surprised but "humbled and honored" to be asked to attend the memorial of Farrah Rauch in Blair, Nebraska, where he spoke to mourners, per the Omaha World-Herald. In 35 years, "I've never had an [invitation] like that before," says Teehee. "It's a unique thing for law enforcement, especially at this time in the world." Farrah's father, Steven, had even asked "the officers who took the life of his child to attend the service," says Teehee, though they "just weren't quite ready." Farrah was killed Feb. 28 in the department's first shootout in 25 years, KJRH reports. "It's hard to take a life anyway, then when you find out it was a 17-year-old female it just compounds that," says Teehee. story continues below Farrah and boyfriend Joseph Dugan, 17, had fled probation, traveling from state to state in Joseph's father's car until it broke down on Feb. 28. That's when they "must have discovered there were guns in the back," Steven Rauch tells the World-Herald. Police responding to a carjacking in Muskogee pursued the teens in a stolen pickup until it crashed. That prompted a foot chase, during which Farrah shot at officers, according to police. She was shot and killed when officers returned fire. Joseph killed himself as officers closed in. Steven Rauch says Farrah had issues with authority and self-harm and officers were just "doing their jobs." "They had no idea that they were even teens," he tells the World-Herald. But "it's all about forgiveness," he tells KETV. Teehee told mourners he would "carry this message of forgiveness for Farrah and I'm going to use that." (Read more police shooting stories.) Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Showers this morning then scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon hours. High 79F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. New Delhi: Newly-appointed Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Tirath Singh Rawat is set to expand its Cabinet soon. Sources in the party informed that there are three Cabinet posts up for grabs and will be filled soon. Confirming this, Dushyant Gautam, in charge of Uttrakhand said that the Cabinet expansion will take place soon. There would soon be a Cabinet expansion," said Gautam when asked about the expansion of Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat`s Cabinet. Amid this talk of the impending expansion, Madan Kaushik, State Minister for Urban Development, too had met Gautam on Thursday (March 11) in the national Capital. While leaders refused to divulge any further details, senior leaders in the party`s State unit informed that three more ministers can be sworn in during the expansion. Sources stated that the state can have eleven ministers. Cabinet expansion would also mean that the party will get a chance to woo the dissidents back. More changes are in offing in-state organisation with its state executive scheduled for March 12 to March 14 in which BL Santhosh will be present on one of the days. There have been several leaders in the party who wanted their voices to be heard but because of the troubles with former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, this couldn't be done. It is a time to woo them back and make them feel belonged," a senior party leader stated. Trivendra Singh`s resignation had come after BJP general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand Dushyant Kumar Gautam and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, submitted a report to the BJP`s central leadership, detailing the rebellion in the state unit of the party, as per sources. Assembly polls in the state are scheduled to take place in 2022. The BJP had swept the elections in 2017, winning 57 seats in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly. Congress, on the other hand, were able to win just 11 seats. Live TV Spain has not registered any cases of blood clots related to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine so far and will continue administering the shots, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Thursday. She said she had been informed of cases of blood clots among recently vaccinated people in Austria, but added that "so far, no causal relation between the vaccine and the blood clot events has been established", and the European regulator EMA was evaluating the situation. Danish health authorities on Thursday temporarily stopped using the COVID-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca after several cases of blood clots. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin now faces an additional murder charge in the death of George Floyd after a Hennepin County judge reinstated a count of third-degree murder on Thursday. Chauvin already faced charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges. The added charge provides prosecutors a third potential pathway to conviction in the closely watched case, which began Tuesday with jury selection at the heavily fortified Hennepin County Government Center. 'The charge of 3rd-degree murder, in addition to manslaughter and felony murder, reflects the gravity of the allegations against Mr. Chauvin,' Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. 'We look forward to presenting all three charges to the jury.' Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci said in a statement Thursday night that they are 'gratified' the judge has included a third-degree murder charge. 'The trial is very painful and the family needs closure. We're pleased that all judicial avenues are being explored and that the trial will move forward,' the statement read. Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder in the days after Floyd's May 2020 death, but Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the count in October, saying it did not apply to this case. However, an appeals court ruling in February in the case against former Minneapolis Police officer Mohamed Noor opened the door to reinstating the charge against Chauvin, and the state subsequently filed an appeal of Cahill's ruling. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered Cahill to reconsider the motion to reinstate the charge last week. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court refused a request by Chauvin's attorney to block the appellate court's decision, clearing the way for Cahill to reinstate the charge. In court on Thursday, Chauvin's defense attorney Eric Nelson argued that Noor's case was factually and procedurally different than Chauvin's interactions with Floyd, in which he knelt on Floyd's head and neck area for an extended period. However, prosecutors argued that the judge was bound to follow the appeals court's precedent in Noor. Judge Cahill ruled Thursday morning that he accepted the appeals court's ruling that the opinion in Noor's case immediately set a precedent, and he ruled to reinstate the charge. He added that the third-degree murder charge only applied to Chauvin and that the potential to reinstate the charge for the three other officers charged in Floyd's death will be addressed at a later date. What the charges mean Third-degree murder, sometimes known as 'depraved mind' or 'depraved heart' murder, generally applies to a case in which a person does something eminently dangerous to others without regard for human life, such as randomly firing into a crowd or driving on the wrong side of the road. The second-degree murder charge alleges that Chauvin unintentionally caused Floyd's death while committing third-degree assault, and the second-degree manslaughter charge alleges that Chauvin caused Floyd's death by his 'culpable negligence.' If convicted, Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder, and up to 10 years for second-degree manslaughter. The charges are to be considered separate, so Chauvin could be convicted of all, some or none of them. David Weinstein, a former prosecutor who has closely followed the case, said that the charges each represent a different level of intent, so jurors will have more options to consider during deliberations. 'Choices like this can also allow for a compromise verdict by the jury,' he said. 'The defense would have preferred an all or nothing choice for jurors.' How we got here Floyd's final moments were captured on disturbing police and bystander video, and his death led to unrest and fires in the city as well as worldwide protests against police brutality and racism. All four officers involved were fired and charged in Floyd's death. Chauvin is being tried separately due to coronavirus-related limits on courtroom space. The charge of third-degree murder was most recently used in the murder trial of former officer Noor. He was convicted of the charge after prosecutors said he fired his gun at a person outside of his squad car's window, killing Justine Ruszczyk and endangering his own partner. In October, Judge Cahill dropped the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin, ruling the charge can 'be sustained only in situations in which the defendant's actions were 'eminently dangerous to other persons' and were not specifically directed at the particular person whose death occurred.' The evidence presented by the state does not show that Chauvin's actions were 'eminently dangerous' to anyone but Floyd, he wrote at the time. In Noor's case, though, an appeals court ruled that third-degree murder can be applied to instances in which a person applies force to a single person. Given that ruling, Ellison filed a motion last month asking a district court judge to reinstate the charge, saying that Noor's sentencing set a new precedent. Appellate court Judge Michelle Larkin agreed, writing that the district court 'erred' in denying the state's motion to reinstate the charge in light of the Noor opinion. DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- As integral members of stroke treatment teams, nurses coordinate patient assessment and collaborate care among multiple health care professionals to facilitate the best possible outcomes for patients with acute ischemic stroke. Nurses also advocate for patients and their caregivers to ensure they receive appropriate information and education to successfully navigate phases of treatment in the hospital and after discharge. A series of three new Scientific Statements, "Care of the Patient With Acute Ischemic Stroke," from the American Heart Association, published today in Stroke, a journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, provide the latest evidence-based guidance for nurses working in a variety of stroke care settings, including hyperacute settings, emergency departments, intensive care units and stroke care units. Ischemic stroke occurs when a clot forms in a vessel supplying blood flow to the brain. On average, someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, and ischemic stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. As assessment tools, treatment protocols and overall care for acute ischemic stroke have evolved in recent years, best practice in nursing for care of the patient with a stroke continue to be revised and updated. Stroke care is increasingly complex, and nurses who care for stroke patients are expected to maintain levels of competency in both the acute and recovery care phases of patient care. Nursing during emergency medical services/emergency care (Prehospital and Acute Phase of Care), Susan Ashcraft et al. Emergency care for a patient with a suspected stroke centers around the "time is brain" principle due to the importance of quickly identifying patients with a suspected ischemic stroke to prevent potentially irreversible damage to brain tissue. This scientific statement recognizes the importance of the nurse's role in recognition of typical and atypical symptoms of stroke and prompt activation of the stroke response system. The "D's of Stroke Care" are identified as significant steps in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke. The steps outlining fundamental points where nurses facilitate time-sensitive care are: Detection - Nurses are key to community education programs that teach risk factor awareness and recognition of early stroke warning signs. Events that target high-risk groups are especially important. Dispatch - Emergency dispatch personnel are often the first point of contact for someone having a stroke or someone witnessing the stroke. Appropriate training will include recommended prehospital triage, including asking when the patient's "last known normal (LKN)" was. This critical variable indicates when the person was last known to be well and can help determine appropriate routing of the patient for urgent treatment. Delivery - Comprehensive assessment of a suspected stroke patient by emergency services personnel, including vital signs, current medications list, family and witness contact information, enable emergency department staff to make treatment decisions more efficiently. Door - Nurses are often the link between the prehospital personnel and the emergency department team. Communication is critical to establish appropriate triage and reduce the time it takes for a patient to receive treatment. Mobile stroke units, ambulances equipped with specially trained staff and tools to provide care while en route to the hospital, can improve patient outcomes due to the ability to perform prehospital imaging, diagnosis and treatment. Data - The arrival time of a patient at the emergency department or the documented time of arrival of a mobile stroke unit is an important data point for tracking time-sensitive metrics to determine processes and options to treat a patient with ischemic stroke. Stroke screening and triage scoring systems conducted by triage nurses help quickly determine the severity of a patient's condition and the appropriate resources needed. Decision - Updated AHA recommendations reflect a quicker patient evaluation timeframe; the goal is to begin stroke treatment within 30 minutes after arrival at the hospital. To facilitate such timing, activation of a stroke response team can be initiated by ambulance personnel or immediately after the triage assessment at the time of patient arrival. Drug/Device - Treatment with clot dissolving medications, as well as appropriate patient monitoring during administering of the medications, are detailed. Disposition - Nursing interventions during transitions, such as when a patient leaves the emergency department to be transferred to an intensive care unit or stroke care unit, can successfully improve stroke outcomes. An emergency department code stroke pathway chart illustrates the key nursing responsibilities and sequence of care during this acute phase. "Stroke care has become increasingly complex as reperfusion dominates our treatment protocols, demonstrating the intensity of nursing responsibility and the expanded and critical role for nurses in providing stroke care," said Chair of the writing committee Susan Ashcraft, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., FAHA, a neurocritical care clinical nurse specialist at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Nurses are empowered leaders, facilitating change through designing and implementing improvements in the delivery of stroke care. In addition, our communities continue to demonstrate disparities affecting access to emergency stroke care, requiring nurses to take an active role at the local, state and regional levels to address these needs. Statement co-authors are Susan E. Wilson, D.N.P., A.P.R.N.; Karin V. Nystrom, M.S.N., A.P.R.N., FAHA; Wendy Dusenbury, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., FAHA; Charles R. Wira, M.D., FAHA; and Tamika M. Burrus, M.D. Author disclosures are listed in the manuscript. Nursing care throughout endovascular and intensive care unit treatment (Endovascular/Intensive Care Unit-Postinterventional Therapy), Mary L. Rodgers, et al. Nurses serve in a critical role during a patients' stroke treatment by providing communication and care prior to, during and after medical procedures. As stroke treatments and research have evolved, updated nursing procedures in this statement address current evidence, potential complications and clinical practice strategies to ensure positive patient outcomes during the procedural phase of care. "Acute ischemic stroke patients are vulnerable, and communication among various disciplines in the treatment and care of this population is critical," said Mary L. Rodgers, D.H.A., A.N.P., C.N.S., R.N., chair of the statement writing committee, quality manager for the VA Western New York Healthcare System in Buffalo, New York, and a reviewer for The Joint Commission. "Critical assessments must be done to care for and intervene for this at-risk patient population. These can help to safeguard the patient and improve patient outcomes, thus increasing the opportunity to maintain quality of life after a stroke." Treatment for ischemic stroke is clot removal so that blood flow may return to the section of the brain affected. Intravenous thrombolysis--administering medication through an IV to dissolve the clot--is the standard treatment, and in 2015, mechanical thrombectomy became an additional standard of care in the U.S. for some patients with strokes caused by large blood clots. During mechanical thrombectomy, which may or may not follow intravenous thrombolysis treatment, a stent retriever device is inserted via a catheter through an artery in the groin up to the blocked artery in the brain. Once in place, the stent opens and retrieves the clot. "During treatment, the intradisciplinary team needs to know if the patient is improving, staying the same or decompensating," added Rodgers. "Nursing care and identification of patient changes is key during this time. Nursing assessments and interventions assist the team in critical decisions related to treatment efficacy and the needs of the patient." Throughout stroke procedures, interventional nurses anticipate patient needs, identify any potential complications and maintain patient safety. Their responsibilities encompass all phases of treatment care: * Prior to the procedure - While no standard currently exists for how frequently nurses should repeat vital sign and neurological assessments, it is reasonable to do so at least every 30 to 60 minutes prior to mechanical thrombectomy procedures, and more often when intravenous clot dissolving medication has been administered. Patient evaluation using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, a systematic assessment tool that measures stroke-related neurologic deficit, is indicated. Patients with a high score, decreased mental status, a stroke in the back area of the brain, and/or existing heart or lung disease are more likely to require extra support and intubation during the procedure. * During the procedure - Using universal protocol, nurses monitor patients by assessing vital signs, pain and anxiety, and levels of consciousness. The statement authors note that goals for blood pressure levels during mechanical thrombectomy and the optimal range for good patient outcomes are topics of ongoing research. * Post procedure - Upon completion of a mechanical thrombectomy procedure, nurses will closely monitor patients for any immediate concerns at the site of the catheter. Current evidence also supports nurses completing a repeat neurological assessment on a patient immediately following the procedure, and to repeat the assessment every 15 minutes for the first two hours; every 30 minutes for the following six hours; and every hour for the next 16 hours. When a patient with an acute ischemic stroke is treated with intravenous clot dissolving medication, with or without mechanical thrombectomy, they are vulnerable to developing complications that could lead to secondary brain injury and therefore typically require intensive monitoring in an intensive care unit (ICU). Recognition of post-procedure complications is necessary, as are timely and continuing neurological assessments, cardiac monitoring, vital sign checks, blood sugar monitoring and swallowing tests. Statement co-authors are Elizabeth Fox, M.S.N., A.C.N.S, A.G.-A.C.N.P., C.C.R.N., FAHA, co-chair; Tamer Abdelhak, M.D.; Lauren M. Franker, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., A.C.N.P.- B.C.; Brenda Joyce Johnson, D.N.P., C.R.N.P.-B.C., A.N.V.P., FAHA; Christina Kirchner-Sullivan, D.N.P., A.C.N.P.-B.C., A.N.P.-B.C., S.C.R.N.; Sarah L. Livesay, D.N.P., R.N., A.C.N.P.- B.C., FAHA; and Franklin A. Marden, M.D., FAHA. Author disclosures are listed in the manuscript. Nursing care for the patient after the acute care phase (Posthyperacute and Prehospital Discharge), Theresa L. Green et al. Through evidence-based best practices, nurses can positively impact patient outcomes, decrease patient length of stay, costs and the likelihood of additional strokes. "We know that what we do as nurses is important and crucial to the care of patients and families living with stroke, and this statement strengthens and supports the knowledge and provision of evidence-informed nursing care that will enhance and promote recovery and reintegration for patients transitioning across care environments to home and within their community," said writing committee Chair Theresa L. Green, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA, professor of rehabilitation nursing research at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Research confirms stroke patients have better outcomes and lower mortality rates when the medical facility has a specialized stroke unit. Of note, however, is that the research has not used consistent methodology and follow-up measures to assess outcomes, so more studies are needed. In the absence of a stroke unit, patients care consistent with best practice is important. Necessary stroke care assessments, screening tools and interventions outlined in the statement integrate evidence-based guidance from international organizations. Highlights of key guidance include: It is important to assess the swallowing ability, temperature and blood glucose levels of a stroke patient as early after a stroke as possible. Between 40% and 78% of patients with stroke experience swallowing difficulties. Glucose monitoring is necessary for patients who also have Type 2 diabetes, yet glucose monitoring is also important for patients who do not have Type 2 diabetes because patients with high blood sugar following a stroke have a three-fold higher risk of death. Better patient outcomes result when strategies are in place for early recognition and management of potential complications, including swallowing difficulties, pneumonia, cardiac complications, falls, psychological and neurological issues. One large study indicated one fourth of patients with stroke experienced at least one medical complication while hospitalized, leading to higher risk of adverse outcomes. Formal rehabilitation assessment by an expert is critical, and mobility rehabilitation is most beneficial at a level that considers the patient's anticipated benefits and tolerance. The rehabilitation needs of a patient transitioning out of the hospital are best determined based upon neurological, cognitive and physical assessments, in tandem with family/caregiver support and capacity. "There remains a lack of definition internationally about what specialized stroke nursing care entails," added Green. "There is also a lack of well-planned nursing research detailing the specific contribution nursing makes to patient and family outcomes following stroke, and whether it makes a difference to patient care and outcomes if nurses are certified in a subspecialty area such as stroke nursing. This statement provides much-needed guidance that can contribute to improved patient outcomes." ### Statement co-authors are Norma D. McNair, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA, vice chair; Janice L. Hinkle, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA; Sandy Middleton, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA; Elaine T. Miller, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA; Stacy Perrin, Ph.D., R.N.; Martha Power, M.S.N., A.P.R.N., FAHA; Andrew M. Southerland, M.D., M.Sc., FAHA; and Debbie V. Summers, M.S.N., R.N., A.H.C.N.S.-B.C., FAHA. Author disclosures are listed in the manuscript. All three scientific statements were prepared by volunteer writing groups on behalf of the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing and the Stroke Council, and they are endorsed by the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses. The statements reflect the most current updates to the American Heart Association's 2009 Scientific Statement, "Comprehensive Overview of Nursing and Interdisciplinary Care of the Acute Ischemic Stroke Patient." Additional Resources: Available multimedia is on right column of release link - https:/ / newsroom. heart. org/ news/ updated-guidance-confirms-crucial-role-of-nurses-for-patients-with-acute-ischemic-stroke?preview= 79469d26e839a6ea79aabe4fbb274f53 The Association receives funding primarily from individuals. Foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers are available here, and the Association's overall financial information is available here. About the American Heart Association The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public's health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1. Arlene Foster has said the different pace of vaccine programmes on either side of the Irish border must be addressed. The First Minister said the UK should be prepared to share surplus vaccinations with the Republic if necessary. "This is something that we're going to have to discuss, because if you look at our vaccination rate I think (around) 40% of adults in the last week had their first dose, and in the Republic of Ireland it's somewhere around 6%," she told Belfast Live. "If people come up to Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland and they're not vaccinated then they can carry the Covid with them... that is a concern and it's something we will take advice on." The DUP leader said such a move would also bring greater protection as more people cross the border. Yesterday Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he had been told by Boris Johnson the UK was not in a position to offer give surplus vaccines. Mr Martin said the Prime Minister's first priority was to vaccinate people living in the UK. "Until then he won't be in a position to give vaccines to anybody and he has made that point to me, which I thought was fairly obvious at the outset," he said. However, the Taoiseach said later the Republic was to receive an extra 46,500 vaccines by the end of the month. It comes following a deal reached by the European Union to secure an additional 4m doses of the Pfizer jab, which will be supplied across EU countries. Mrs Foster also said she wished to "move a little faster" in easing lockdown restrictions. Education Minister Peter Weir has tabled proposals to accelerate the return of children to classes. Those are due to be discussed by his counterparts at Stormont today. The First Minister said "we are in a very good place" and the vaccine was having an impact. "There is always a pressure on us when we are in a good place to move faster," she said. "I would like to move a little faster but we cannot move so fast that we lose the advantage we have and then we have to take a step backwards." She said the pandemic had been hard on people. "We just want to keep moving forward in the right direction so we can leave this in the rearview mirror," she added. She expressed optimism about the summer. "I think we are in a very good place at the moment," she said. "Over the last seven days, the rolling average, we have the lowest death rate across the British Isles per head of population. "That is a good indicator that the vaccine is having an impact on numbers in hospital, numbers in intensive care and then unfortunately passing away with Covid-19." Mr Weir wants all primary school children to be in classes by March 22 and all secondary pupils back at school after the Easter holidays on April 12. Stormont health advisers have previously stressed the need to stagger the resumption of face-to-face learning to provide sufficient time to analyse the impact of each phase on Covid-19 infection rates in the community. Thousands of P1-P3 pupils returned to classes for the first time since December on Monday. Pre-school and nursery children also returned. Under Stormont's current phased plan for school return, the next pupils to resume face-to-face learning are secondary school pupils in key exam years, year groups 12-14, on March 22. Mrs Foster previously said she hoped the Executive can have a "good discussion" today around the wider return to schools. Antigua, March 11 : Opener Shai Hope scored 110 to lead West Indies to an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Hope's 10th ODI century helped West Indies chase down a target of 233 with three overs remaining. The Sri Lankan innings was marked by the dismissal of opener Danushka Gunathilaka, who was sent back after West Indies captain Kieron Pollard appealed against him for obstructing the field on Wednesday. The on-field umpire referred the decision to the third umpire with a soft signal of out and the latter wasted little time in confirming the call. Earlier, Gunathilaka and captain Dimuth Karunaratne's opening partnership of 105 runs was broken after the latter was dismissed by Pollard in the 20th over on 52. Sri Lanka completely lost the momentum they had gained from the opening stand after Gunathilaka's dismissal two overs later and they were eventually all out for 232. West Indies also had a big opening stand but they hardly ever looked back after that. Hope and Evin Lewis put up a partnership of 143 runs before the latter was dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera in the 29th over. Hope then put up 72 for the second wicket with Darren Bravo that brought West Indies on the cusp of victory and Jason Mohammed then saw them through. Brief scores: Sri Lanka 232 all out in 49 overs (Danushka Gunathilaka 55, Dimuth Karunaratne 52; Jason Mohammed 2/12, Jason Holder 2/39) lost to West Indies 236/2 in 47 overs (Shai Hope 110, Evin Lewis 65; Dushmantha Chameera 2/50) (Natural News) For the first time since 2019, fish contaminated with high levels of radioactive cesium have been caught off the coast of the Fukushima Prefecture in Japan on Feb. 22, according to local public broadcaster NHK. Laboratory tests revealed that black rockfish caught at a depth of 24 meters (m) nearly 8.8 kilometers (km) off the coastal town of Shinchi were contaminated with up to 500 becquerels (Bq) of radioactive cesium per kilogram. The permitted standard level is 100 Bq of radioactive cesium per kilogram. Fishermen in affected coastal towns have since suspended fishing for the species, citing potential health issues. In addition, the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations has also halted the distribution of black rockfish until local authorities can declare it safe to do so. On Feb. 19, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said cooling water levels have fallen in two reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant since a powerful earthquake hit the area over the weekend. The earthquake might have caused damage to the plant and caused water to leak. In 2011, an earthquake had damaged the plants cooling system, causing three reactor cores to melt. Moreover, nuclear fuel fell to the bottom of its containment vessels. Since then, cooling water in the plant has been escaping from the damaged vessels into the basements of the buildings holding the reactors. To make up for the loss, operators had tried to pump more cooling water into the reactors to cool the fuel. But the recent decline in cooling water levels would suggest that more water is leaking out than before. A spokesman with TEPCO said the operator will monitor water and temperature levels at the bottom of the containment vessels. Local officials could use information from this surveillance to determine whether the leakage from the plant led to the irradiation of black rockfish in Fukushima. Not the first time Japan has seen irradiated fish The Fukushima power plant was disabled after the 2011 disaster. But the leakage from the plant led to roughly 320,000 gallons of radioactive water. This water is set to be released into the ocean based on the recommendation of the governments advisory panel. Since the plant was disabled, that water was used to cool the damaged reactors to prevent meltdowns. Officials had it stored in large tanks, but those are expected to be full by 2022. If released, radiation in the sea off Fukushima might rise to dangerous levels and poison fish and other marine animals. Radiation levels in that area are already millions of times higher than permitted levels. In fact, reports of irradiated fish being caught in Fukushima are not new. In October 2019, the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations also voluntarily suspended seafood shipments after white perch were found to contain 53 Bq of radioactive cesium per kilogram. The permitted level is only 50 Bq of radioactive cesium per kilogram of white perch. And in 2012, researchers from Stanford University in California and the State University of New York at Stony Brook found that tuna caught off the coast of San Diego carried radioactive cesium. They studied the element to understand the origin and timing of the tunas migration across the Pacific Ocean. They traced the contamination to the Fukushima Daiichi power plant disaster. (Related: Fukushima: Radiation now reported in West Coast Tuna.) The levels of radioactive cesium in the fish were not considered a threat to human health. But the study shows the extent of the impact of the disaster. And with the Japanese government poised to release the radioactive water from the plant into the sea, experts might soon be faced with more irradiated tuna and other marine animals. Go to Fukushima.news to read more about the environmental impact of radiation in Fukushima. Sources include: StrangeSounds.org APNews.com DW.com News.Stanford.edu New Delhi, March 11 : Smartphone brand OPPO on Thursday unveiled its 2021 flagship Find X3 Pro with two 50MP cameras, 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage and latest Snapdragon 888 chipset for 1,149 euros. The smartphone in either Gloss Black or anti-glare Blue Matte colours will be available from March 30, according to media reports. The device carries a camera bump that seamlessly rises from the same piece of back panel glass. The 6.7-inch phone with QHD+ allows the refresh rate to go between 5Hz and 120Hz. The Find X3 Pro also offers a 240Hz touch-sampling rate. The 4,500mAh battery can be fast-charged at up to 65W fast-charging. The company said the battery can go from zero to 100 per cent in just 80 minutes. OPPO, which became the top player in the Chinese smartphone market for the first time in January, is also offering wireless charging on the device with a 30W system. The quad-camera setup on the back features two 50MP Sony IMX766 sensors, one for the main wide-angle camera and the other for the ultra-wide-angle sensor. There is also a 13MP telephoto camera that offers a 5 times hybrid zoom. A 3MP macro camera completes the rear system. The front camera has a 32MP sensor. The Find X3 Pro comes with ColorOS 11.2, based on Android 11. Not since the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis has an adversarial foreign power posed a direct military threat in close proximity to the U.S. mainland. Yet as the United States and the People's Republic of China deepen their long-term competition, U.S. territories and possessions in the Pacific and the Caribbean find themselves on the front lines of Beijing's malign influence, economic predation, and military ambitions. Washington policymakers have thus far barely recognized the growing threat to vital American interests on our own territory or in adjacent waters. U.S. territorial equities around the world represent a patchwork of different administrative models and governing arrangements, reflecting the varied histories of American territories and possessions. In the Pacific are the territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and American Samoa. In the Caribbean are Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Additionally, the U.S. administers nine possessions in the Pacific (Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island) and one disputed possession in the Caribbean (Navassa Island). STRATEGIC GEOGRAPHY Roughly 3.5 million Americans live in the five U.S. Territories as citizens or nationals. U.S. Census data indicates that the population of Puerto Rico alone (estimated at 3.2 million as of 2019) is larger than that of 20 states. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of all U.S. territories and possessions totals over 1.3 million square miles, with the U.S. possessions in the Pacific totaling over 750,000 square miles by themselves. U.S. territories and possessions remain as strategically significant as they were when originally obtained. Puerto Rico and the USVI sit astride two critical sea lanes: the Mona Passage connecting the Continental United States to South America and the principal container route from the Middle East and Europe through the Panama Canal. Navassa Island, long disputed with Haiti, sits at the Windward Passage's southern approach between Cuba and Hispaniola, roughly 100 miles from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. Americas Pacific possessions were acquired between the 1850s and the early 1900s to safeguard the sea lanes between Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast and East Asia. They play the same strategic role today as they did in the time of President John Quincy Adams, who prophetically wrote in the 1820s that the furnishing of commerce and fishery extending to the islands of the Pacific still require that the protecting power of the Union should be displayed under its flag. Guam and the CNMI are located in the North Pacific, part of the Micronesian island group that also includes the independent countries of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia, with whom the United States have Compacts of Free Association providing guaranteed military access and the right of denial for their use by a foreign power. Guam, only about 1,500 miles from Japan, is home to roughly 7,000 U.S. military personnel, including a U.S. Navy attack submarine squadron and ship repair facility, a major U.S. Air Force base, multiple U.S. Coast Guard cutters, and, over the next decade, 5,000 relocated Marines from Okinawa. Tinian, in the CNMI, will serve as an alternate airfield for U.S. military aircraft. American Samoa, about 2,000 miles north of New Zealand in the Polynesian island group of the South Pacific, is currently the focus of a feasibility study on whether to base Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters there to uphold regional security and assist local partners in countering Chinas malign activity. Even the United States Pacific possessions (grouped collectively as the Minor Outlying Islands) are strategically vital. Located in the North Pacific along the same critical sea lanes between the U.S. West Coast and East Asia that had originally prompted their acquisition in the nineteenth century, these small islands offer welcome, sovereign American territory in the vast expanse of the Pacific. Situated between Hawaii and Guam, Wake Island is undergoing an $87 million upgrade by the U.S. Air Force to better support flight operations. Both Midway Atoll and Johnston Atoll previously housed U.S. military installations and could be reactivated to provide additional U.S. power projection across the North Pacific. CHINESE ENCROACHMENT Chinas global approach to strategic competition has shown no signs of respecting U.S. territories or possessions, however. Indeed, given the relative neglect U.S. territories receive at the highest levels in official Washington, these small islands are even more vulnerable to Beijings predations. The CNMI, for instance, has been inundated by the birth tourism phenomenon emanating from China and encouraged by a parole visa program initiated under the Obama administration. Birth tourism has overwhelmed the CNMI's medical capacity, and, in recent years, foreign births have exceeded native ones there. At the same, four of Chinas largest construction firms and a major casino operator were found by U.S. authorities to be persistently paying local workers below the minimum wage. Across U.S. possessions and territories in the Pacific, China's malign activity is damaging the local economy and regional ecology. Persistent and pervasive illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by Chinese vessels has been common in American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, and as far east as Hawaii. Overfishing and depleted stocks have roiled territorial economies, with a tuna cannery on American Samoa, one of the islands largest employers, even temporarily suspending operations due to lack of fish. China also frequently intrudes into EEZs across the region, including with hydrographic survey ships and even with auxiliary general intelligence vessels (AGIs), which have entered EEZs as far as Hawaii or northern Australia. As the former Director of Intelligence for U.S. Pacific Fleet, James E. Fanell, has written, unfettered activity by such vessels can provide critical information to counter U.S. Navy submarine activity, compromise undersea cables, and establish underwater surveillance systems. Without a regular air or sea presence across this vast region, the U.S.'s ability to ensure the integrity of its territories' EEZs is in question. Even the U.S. Caribbean territories are not exempt. The USVI has seen a significant increase in overdoses from Chinese fentanyl. Puerto Rican politicians have spoken openly of conducting subnational trade deals with China and welcomed hundreds of Chinese businessmen to the island, prompting speculation that the U.S. territory could play a role in the One Belt, One Road initiative. A CALL TO ACTION It is high time for Washington to wake up to Beijings aggressive approach to U.S. territories. First, the White House should recognize that threats to U.S. sovereign territory require the same policy response they would receive if they occurred to a U.S. state. To that end, the Administration could establish an assistant secretary-level Policy Coordinating Committee responsible for integrating U.S. territories and possessions into the broader national security strategy, and particularly U.S.-China competition. Chaired by the National Security Council (NSC) and with representation from the Departments of the Interior, State, Defense, Homeland Security, and others, this body would elevate the importance of U.S. territories within the national security structure. Second, the NSC could create a Director-level position responsible for integrating U.S. territories and possessions into the broader national security discussion across regional and functional areas. Having an official inside the White House complex directly accountable for the integrity of U.S. territories would generate needed energy across the U.S. government. Third, the predatory economic behavior that Beijing has practiced in CNMI and other U.S. territories, as it has in so many less developed countries, should receive additional attention from U.S. regulators. Major construction projects in strategic locations like Saipan and Tinian on the CNMI should be viewed with deep concern, given both Chinas history of labor abuses and the islands military significance. Finally, the U.S. Coast Guard is the entity most capable of enforcing U.S. sovereignty and safeguarding vital interests across the territories and possessions. Whether it is enforcing EEZs in the Minor Outlying Islands, preventing IUU fishing across the Pacific, or countering narcotics and human trafficking in the Caribbean, the Coast Guard is an essential tool in blunting Beijings assault on U.S. territories. While it continues to be under-resourced relative to the scale of its missions, creative thinking in Washington should be applied to both allocate existing assets to protecting U.S. sovereignty while arguing persuasively for more resources in the years ahead. Most Americans know the territories and possessions as vacation destinations or exotic locales from World War II documentaries. Beijing, however, sees them as geographic steppingstones in an expanding global presence with economic, diplomatic, and military significance. The old American approach to the territories of out of sight, out of mind no longer works in an era of Great Power competition. Washington owes the American citizens and residents who call these islands home the same level of attention it would give a national security threat against the Continental United States. Alexander B. Gray, a Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council, served on the staff of the National Security Council from 2018 to 2021, including as Director for Oceania & Indo-Pacific Security. Douglas W. Domenech served as Assistant Secretary for Insular & International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior (2017-2021). LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the completion of nearly $1 million in energy efficiency upgrades for the 791 residents at One Quail Place Apartments, an affordable housing community in Palm Desert. The upgrades SoCalGas provided include 11 high-efficiency boilers which will supply hot water to all 384 apartment units in the community. In addition to the energy-saving high-efficiency boilers, SoCalGas and SoCal Edison (SCE) installed low flow showerheads, low flow aerators, thermostatic shower valves, thermostatic tub spouts, door weather stripping, high efficiency HVACs, refrigerators and exterior light bulbs in units and throughout the complex. The work is part of SoCalGas' Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) program's Common Area Measures (CAM) effort. The upgrades will reduce overall operating costs at the community by cutting energy consumption by nearly 15%. "SoCalGas is committed to doing our part to help California reach its climate goals which includes enabling our customers to conserve energy while also saving money," said Brian Prusnek, director of customer programs and assistance at SoCalGas. "We are proud to have worked with the City of Palm Desert and SoCal Edison to provide a more energy-efficient and comfortable living environment for the 791 residents at One Quail Place." "The partnership with SoCalGas and SoCal Edison represents a true collaboration for the public good," said Palm Desert Mayor, Kathleen Kelly. "The operational dollars saved by this project will aid the Palm Desert Housing Authority in providing additional affordable housing opportunities to the public." "The improvements we made in collaboration with SoCalGas will help this housing community and the residents save money by reducing energy usage without sacrificing comfort," said Eugene Ayuyao, SCE's senior manager of customer programs energy efficiency and conservation. "One Quail was our first project that's part of the CAM program and will serve as a model for our future projects in this program." SCE replaced 242 HVAC units and seven refrigerators inside individual residences throughout the complex. The company also replaced 475 exterior bulbs and ten pool and spa lights. These new, energy-efficient upgrades are expected to reduce the complex's energy usage by about 200,000 kilowatt-hours annually. The Common Area Measures initiative, through the Energy Savings Assistance Program, aims to provide low-income, deed-restricted properties with no-cost energy saving upgrades to their common areas. This could include boiler or water heater replacements, pipe insulation and ancillary services. The offering is ratepayer funded and administered by SoCalGas at the direction of the California Public Utilities Commission. To qualify, the property must be deed restricted and the owner must certify that at least 65% of the resident households meet the ESA income guidelines . Energy efficiency services provided differ by utility and are limited to the communal areas, or common energy systems, of the residential building(s) or property. This program can be combined with the ESA in-unit offerings. In the last five years, SoCalGas' energy efficiency programs have generated over $1 billion in avoided energy costs and delivered more than 219 million therms in energy savings, enough natural gas usage for 548,000 households a year. These energy savings reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent of removing more than 250,000 cars annually. Overall, these measures have helped SoCalGas customers save over $241 million on their natural gas bill costs over the past five years. In 2020, the company's energy efficiency programs helped conserve more energy than any other natural gas utility in the U.S. SoCalGas' energy efficiency programs saved enough energy to power 100,000 homes in southern California for one year. The utility invests more in energy efficiency than any other local natural gas distribution company in the country and currently operates the largest natural gas energy efficiency program. About SoCalGas Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants. SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to helping homes and businesses decarbonize their energy usage by delivering 5% renewable gas by 2022 and 20% by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2015 through 2019, the company invested nearly $7 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook. SOURCE Southern California Gas Company Related Links http://www.socalgas.com Thousands of candidates protested on roads in Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur against the 5th postponement of the MPSC Preliminary Exams-2020, in view of the Covid crises. Image Source: IANS News Thousands of candidates protested on roads in Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur against the 5th postponement of the MPSC Preliminary Exams-2020, in view of the Covid crises. Image Source: IANS News Thousands of candidates protested on roads in Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur against the 5th postponement of the MPSC Preliminary Exams-2020, in view of the Covid crises. Image Source: IANS News Thousands of candidates protested on roads in Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur against the 5th postponement of the MPSC Preliminary Exams-2020, in view of the Covid crises. Image Source: IANS News Thousands of candidates protested on roads in Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur against the 5th postponement of the MPSC Preliminary Exams-2020, in view of the Covid crises. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, March 11 : In a huge scare in corona times, thousands of students took to the streets in Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur on Thursday afternoon following a state government notification postponing the upcoming prestigious Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) preliminary examinations. The MPSC 2020 prelims exams, scheduled to be conducted on March 14, have been postponed for the 5th time in the past one year owing to the Covid-19 crisis, putting the future of many in jeopardy. An estimated 260,000 plus candidates, including several women, who have traveled from remote parts of the state, were hoping to appear for the prelims exams for two objective-type papers at various centres in the state on Sunday. Conducted annually by the statutory body, the exams would open the door for successful in various government jobs across sectors based on merits and the applicable reservation criteria. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Oakley Ventures Inc. (CSE: OAKY) (the "Company" or "Oakley") is pleased to announce the acquisition of a highly promising early stage lithium property located in Nevada's Clayton Valley. Known as the Deer Musk East, the property consists of 275 claims spanning a total of 5,500 acres and is located approximately five miles from Albemarle's Silver Peak Lithium Project. Silver Peak is currently the only producing lithium mine in North America. The claims were staked on behalf of the Company's wholly owned Nevada subsidiary, Oakley Ventures USA Corp., which was recently established for the purpose of holding title to the claims. In connection with the acquisition of Deer Musk East and the Company's intention to concentrate on the exploration and potential development of the property, Oakley intends to complete a name change to Ameriwest Lithium Corporation in order to better reflect the Company's operational focus. "Over the past few months we have been searching extensively for high potential mineral projects across North America," commented Oakley's CEO, Glenn Collick. "We are extremely excited to now announce that we have staked mineral rights within arguably the most sought-after region for lithium exploration in North America. Clayton Valley is not only home to Albemarle's Silver Peak mine, it is also home to recent nearby discoveries, and we believe that Deer Musk East is located within the same basin." Private Placement Oakley is also pleased to announce a proposed non-brokered private placement for up to an aggregate of $5,000,000 (the "Private Placement"), pursuant to which the Company plans to issue up to an aggregate of up to 10,000,000 units of the Company (each, a "Unit"), at proposed subscription price of $0.50 per Unit, with each Unit being comprised of one common share (each a "Common Share") and one non-transferable common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant") in the capital of the Company, and with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") for a period of two years from closing at an exercise price of $0.75 per Warrant Share. Finder's fees are expected to be payable in connection with the completion of the Private Placement in accordance with Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") policies. The proceeds of the proposed Private Placement will be used for the Company's general corporate and working capital purposes All Common Shares and Warrants comprising the Units issued in connection with the completion of the Private Placement will be subject to a hold period of four months and a day from the date of closing, and the closing of the Private Placement is subject to the prior approval of the CSE. Other Items Additionally, Oakley announces the resignation of Mr. George Drazenovic as the CFO and a director of Company. The Company would like to thank Mr. Drazenovic for his contributions and wishes him success in his future endeavours. Mr. Sam Eskandari will assume the position of Interim CFO, as the Company begins to search for a permanent replacement. About Oakley Ventures Inc. Oakley Ventures Inc. is a junior Canadian-based mining company with a focus on identifying and evaluating mineral resource projects for further exploration and future development, if warranted. The Company is currently focused on exploring the ESN Project located in White Pine County, Nevada, which Oakley has the sole and exclusive option to acquire, and the Koster Dam property located in the Clinton Mining Division of British Columbia, in which Oakley has a 45% interest. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Glenn Collick Chief Executive Officer, Director For further information, please contact: Glenn Collick Chief Executive Officer, Director (778) 868-2226 The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the matters and Private Placement referenced herein and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves 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 information. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes to the Company's strategic growth plans, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof, and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation. Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76925 On Thursday night, President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver his first primetime televised address to the nation at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET, in a speech that will mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic being declared. As CNN reports, Biden has said he intends to talk about what comes next in terms of responding to the pandemic. Dont have cable? You can still watch President Joe Bidens speech live for FREE with FuboTV (free trial). Biden on Wednesday said, hes going to use the 20-minute address to talk to the American people, on the subject of what weve been through as a nation this past year. More importantly, Biden said, Im going to talk about what comes next. That includes launching what Biden called the next phase of the COVID response, and explaining what we will do as a government and what we will ask of the American people. Bidens speech also comes after the president signed the $1.9 trillion economic relief package on Thursday, a day earlier than had been originally planned, according to The New York Times. The Times report says that the president and his advisers, aware that low- and middle-income Americans are desperate for the round of direct payments that the bill includes, moved up the timeline to Thursday afternoon. The address to the nation scheduled for later today will kick off, the Times story says, an aggressive campaign to inform voters of the benefits that are coming to them through the relief package. Heres everything you need to know in order to watch President Joe Bidens first primetime address on TV and online: What: Joe Bidens presidential address to the nation When: Thursday, March 11 at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) TV Channels: The speech is scheduled to be carried on major networks, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS, and cable news channels, including CNN. How to watch live online: You can watch the speech live with FuboTV (which includes a 7-day free trial), or with free trials from Hulu + Live TV (7-day free trial) and Sling (3-day free trial). -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist The jurors selected so far this week in Derek Chauvin's trial in the death of George Floyd are unnamed and unseen on camera, but we do know basic details about them. Five men and two women -- half the jury -- had been chosen to serve during the trial in Minneapolis by the time court adjourned on Friday. The jury selection process, which began Tuesday at the Hennepin County Government Center, will continue until the court decides on 14 people -- 12 jurors and two alternates, Hennepin County Court director of communications Spenser Bickett told CNN. Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, a White former Minneapolis Police officer, placed his knee on Floyd's neck for an extended period while Floyd pleaded, 'I can't breathe.' His final moments were captured on video, and his death led to widespread protests against police brutality and racism under the banner Black Lives Matter as well as incidents of unrest and looting. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. He has also pleaded not guilty to third-degree murder, which was reinstated in the case on Thursday. Opening statements are expected to start no earlier than March 29, followed by testimony that could take about four weeks. Separately on Friday, the fourth day of jury selection, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to approve a $27 million settlement to Floyd's estate. Who was selected The jurors all come from Hennepin County, which is demographically about 74% White and 14% Black, according to Census data. The prospective jurors have previously completed a 16-page questionnaire that asked for their personal thoughts on Black Lives Matter, policing and other topics. In court, each person is sworn in and then questioned one-by-one in a process known as voir dire. The juror's name, address and other information are kept anonymous. Eric Nelson is questioning the prospective jurors for the defense, while Steve Schleicher is questioning them for the prosecution. Judge Peter Cahill is presiding over the trial. Three jurors were selected on the first day of jury selection on Tuesday, and two jurors were selected on Wednesday. One was chosen on Thursday and another on Friday. The first juror selected was a White man in his 20s or 30s who works as a chemist and said he has an analytical mind. The second juror was a woman of color who appears to be in her 20s or 30s, according to a pool reporter's observations in court. She said she was 'super excited' about getting the jury questionnaire form. The third juror selected was a White man in his 30s who works as an auditor. The fourth juror was a White man in his late 30s or 40s who said he had a 'very favorable' view of Black Lives Matter. He also said he believed police are more truthful than other witnesses. The juror is planning to get married on May 1 and told the court that if he was selected for the trial it could delay the wedding. 'Go ahead and throw me under the bus with your fiancee,' the judge joked. The juror replied, 'OK, I will do that.' The fifth juror selected was a Black man in his 30s or 40s who moved to the US 14 years ago and works in information technology. He said that he had a 'somewhat negative' opinion of Chauvin, that he strongly disagreed with defunding the police and that police make him feel safe. The sixth juror was a Hispanic man in his 20s or 30s, according to the pool reporter's observations. The man, who works as a truck driver, said Chauvin 'gave me the impression of showing off his authority' in the video of Floyd's death, and he also said none of this would have happened if Floyd had complied with police. The seventh juror is a white woman in her 50s, according to the court. She said she has a 'somewhat negative' impression of Chauvin, and believes there are biases against African Americans but not everyone in the system is bad. She said she felt empathy for Floyd as well as the officers because 'at the end of the day I'm sure that the intention was not there for this to happen.' Who was excused If the defense or prosecution believes a person cannot be impartial in the case, they can ask the court to dismiss the person for cause. Each side has unlimited challenges for cause. Prosecutors and defense attorneys can also move to dismiss prospective jurors without cause, using what's called a peremptory challenge. Chauvin's team is allowed 15 of these challenges and the prosecution has nine. These peremptory challenges can themselves be challenged, though, if they are based on race, ethnicity or sex -- known as a Batson challenge. The defense used peremptory strikes Wednesday on a Hispanic woman who said her English was not great and on a Hispanic man who had martial arts training. The state raised a Batson challenge and argued that the strikes were race-based, but the defense disagreed, and the judge sided with the defense's race-neutral reasoning. The state used a peremptory strike Friday on a man in his 40s who appeared to be white. He said he was an Army veteran who served in Iraq. Bystanders seen in the video of Floyd's encounter with the police, he said, likely raised the stress level of the moment. STAMFORD A Greenwich woman accused of cruelty to animals was released from custody in December on two conditions: She was not permitted near any dogs and was not allowed to sell them. But police say Catherine Palmer, 49, charged in the deaths of three dogs, failed to abide by that agreement. Marshals arrested Palmer Wednesday when she appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford for allegedly violating the conditions of her release. New Canaan Police / Contributed Photo The charge stems from Palmer being seen dropping off three dogs last month at a Norwalk veterinarian, according to her arrest warrant. Norwalk Police Lt. David OConnor said Palmer dropped off three dogs covered in vomit, feces and urine on Feb. 5 at the United Animal Center on Westport Avenue. Palmer told employees that the dogs belonged to her boyfriend, the warrant said. Employees told police that Palmers boyfriend could not provide any details about the animals when he was contacted, according to the warrant. At Palmers arraignment Thursday, defense attorney Mark Kratter argued the crime his client is accused of committing did not merit the $150,000 bond that was set. But Assistant States Attorney Elizabeth Moran said the act showed a blatant and flagrant disregard for court orders. In addition to having contact with dogs, Moran said Palmer has been arranging to sell more pets, which she said also violates court orders. Moran argued for the bond to be maintained at $150,000 and for the court to impose GPS monitoring, a curfew and a travel ban outside of Connecticut as conditions of release. In a compromise, Judge John Blawie lowered the bond to $25,000 and instituted GPS monitoring. As a part of the conditions of her release, Blawie said Palmer cannot have contact with dogs. He also said she cannot participate in any dog sale directly or indirectly. Youre in a hole right now, and you need to stop digging, Blawie warned Palmer. Palmer was arrested in December on three counts of cruelty to animals stemming from the deaths of three puppies in her New Canaan home, police said. New Canaan Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm described a scene at the home that included feces on the floor where the dogs were held, feces matted in their fur and the presence of the parvovirus that she said killed at least two puppies. During testimony in December in a civil case for custody of the dogs that were seized, Halm described how she was first called to the home last August when a tenant reported a sick dog. Halm testified she returned to the home in September and seized 12 dogs after three puppies died. She described the animals as being neglected and living in feces in the kitchen, according to her testimony. Palmer is next scheduled to appear in court April 28 for the criminal charges. A San Francisco Fire Department assistant chief is considering suing the citys fire and human resources departments, claiming she was discriminated against and harassed after blowing the whistle on instances of cheating, racism and safety violations within the department. Lawyers for Assistant Chief Nicol Juratovac, a 23-year veteran of San Franciscos fire department, claimed the department embarked on a campaign of harassment and discrimination to punish her for taking on the good old boys club within SFFD. The lawyers also allege that the department subjected Juratovac to seven trumped up disciplinary charges in retaliation for her whistle-blowing. Six of the disciplinary charges were later dismissed, Juratovacs lawyers said. In the one charge that led to discipline, Juratovacs lawyers said she was punished more harshly than other fire department leaders who faced more serious allegations. Her lawyers also claim Juratovac was harassed with disciplinary investigations after serving as a witness and participating in racial discrimination suits brought against the city on behalf of Black and other minority firefighters. Reached by email Thursday, a spokesperson for the fire department said both the city and the department take equal employment issues seriously and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace free of discrimination. We are also committed to a workplace free of retaliation for any protected activity, fire department spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter said. As this involves a personnel matter, we are unable to comment on it at this time. Therese Cannata, a lawyer for Juratovac, said the primary purpose of the complaint is to put a stop to the harassment and the retaliation. The city has 45 days after the filing of the complaint to respond. If the city denies the claim, Juratovac and her attorneys will have the opportunity to sue. Juratovac believes she needs to be able to speak up in her own defense and those who have been the subject of discrimination and retaliation within the fire department, Cannata said. She does not want to go silent and watch these things happen. Cannata said money is not the primary purpose of the complaint, but believes Juratovac is entitled to compensation, and to promotion and advancement opportunities which she claims Juratovac was denied. According to the complaint, Juratovac, who has been an assistant chief since 2017 the first openly LGBTQ Asian American woman to rise to that rank blew the whistle on numerous, serious instances of cheating on promotion exams, racism, safety violations and other misconduct. In one 2017 incident, Juratovac claims she reported rumors about a going-away party at a fire station, during which on- and off-duty firefighters were drinking, and where a probationary firefighter was allegedly sexually harassed by another firefighter. Juratovac reported the incident to another assistant chief who was on duty the day of the party, before formally reporting the incident to the department and requesting an investigation. Juratovacs report enraged certain members of the SFFD, who considered her report to be an act of disloyalty, the claim said. Juratovac is informed that many of those called out for failing to report this incident continue to instigate the ongoing retaliation and harassment against her. Michael Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: michael.williams@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michaeldamianw. Almost 60% of frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) experienced a mental health disorder during the first COVID-19 lockdown, with many suffering "very high rates of distress", suggests a new study led by researchers at UCL and the University of Haifa, Israel. Given the significantly high levels of mental health disorders across all HSCWs, the researchers (part of the UCL-led COVID Trauma Response Working Group*), are now calling for long-term planning to meet the needs of staff from across health and social care, including specialist trauma services to be set up for healthcare workers, similar to the specialist commissioned NHS psychological trauma services for military veterans. The 'Frontline-COVID study', published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, surveyed 1,194 HSCWs, who worked in UK hospitals, nursing or care homes and other community settings, to identify and compare the rates of mental health disorder across different job roles and places of work. The study, carried out just after the first wave of COVID in the UK between 27 May and 23 July, 2020, found that 58% of HSCWs met the threshold for any mental health disorder; 22% met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); 47% had clinically significant anxiety and 47% had depression. Symptom levels were high across all job roles and settings. Importantly, the study found that it was not just doctors and nurses who were experiencing clinically significant distress, but all staff from across health and care. Furthermore, the research also identified some specific mental health risk factors, principally: concern about infecting others with COVID; being unable to talk with their managers about how they were coping; feeling stigmatised (about their role); and not having had reliable access to personal protective equipment (PPE). Key predictors for PTSD included staff being redeployed to other teams and having had COVID themselves. The research was conducted by the COVID Trauma Response Working Group, formed by UCL psychiatrists and psychologists, who are calling for immediate additional mental health support for HSCWs. This is the first UK study to assess mental health disorders across all health and social care settings during COVID-19. Lead author, Dr Talya Greene (UCL Psychiatry and University of Haifa), said: "Our study shows that more than half of health and social care staff surveyed met criteria for a mental disorder following the first wave of COVID-19 in the UK. Importantly, we found that rates of distress were high, not only among doctors and nurses, but across a wide range of health and social care roles, such as allied health professionals, ambulance workers, hospital porters, pharmacists, and care home staff. "Let's be clear: we may be on the verge of a mental health crisis across the health and social care sector. So we need to make sure that specialist help is offered and accessible across all the different roles and settings. "It is important that this support (for those that need it) is planned for the long-term. Our findings highlight the urgency for immediate long-term funding for specialist mental health services for health and social care workers." Co-author, Dr Jo Billings (UCL Psychiatry), said: "A really important finding from our study is that it showed that, in addition to doctors and nurses, all staff across the health and social care sector need to be offered help. This study also highlights the need for reliable access to PPE for all staff working in health and social care roles, and further investigation of barriers to communication between managers and staff. Our findings also highlight that staff redeployed into new frontline roles are at particular risk of being traumatised and are likely to require additional support during redeployment." ### Co-author, Dr Michael Bloomfield (UCL Psychiatry), added: "Our colleagues in acute hospitals are doing fantastic work under very difficult circumstances. At the same time we know that many mental health clinicians are doing great work in supporting frontline colleagues in need. Whilst our study is based on self-report, and so needs to be interpreted with caution, our findings nonetheless add to a growing body of research on the toll of the pandemic on health and social care workers. Importantly, our study has identified risk factors that might help in better supporting staff. It's important that staff across the health and social care sector are offered this support." *COVID Trauma Response Working Group New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday constituted a committee under the chairmanship of a former Bombay High Court judge to consider the suggestions and submit a report in three months specifying the steps to be taken for early disposal of cheque bounce cases across the country. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the Centre has in principle accepted the need for creating additional courts to deal with such cases, after the modalities are worked out on the issue. The top court had last week termed the pendency of over 35 lakhs cheque bounce cases as grotesque and suggested to the Centre to come up with a law to create additional courts for a particular period of time to deal with such cases. It had said that Centre has the power under Article 247 of the Constitution coupled with the duty to establish additional courts to deal with cheque dishonour cases under provisions of the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act. Article 247 of the Constitution gives power to Parliament to establish certain additional courts for the better administration of laws made by it or of any existing laws with respect to a matter enumerated in the Union List. The top court was hearing a suo motu case to work out a mechanism for expeditious and just adjudication of cases relating to dishonour of cheques, fulfilling the mandate of law and reduce high pendency. During the hearing conducted through video-conferencing on Wednesday, the bench observed that the apex court is considering the matter related to delays that are occurring in disposal of cases under the NI Act and the pendency of these matters is around 30 per cent of the total cases. The bench also comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and S Ravindra Bhat said that many suggestions have been received from various stake holders in the matter. The Union of India has agreed positively to the suggestion of court for implementing the establishment of additional court's for better administration of NI Act cases, the bench said. It said that suggestions received by the top court on the issue are very useful and constructive and it needs to be worked out carefully so that alterations and amendments to the procedure do not itself become impediment to the courts, bars as well as the litigants. ?We therefore consider it appropriate to form a committee which will consider the suggestions given at the bar and submit a report clearly specifying the steps to be taken for early disposal of NI Act cases throughout the country, it said. The bench said that former Bombay High Court judge Justice R C Chavan (rpt R C Chavan) will be the chairman of the committee. It said that other members of the committee would be officer of the department of financial services not below the rank of additional secretary, officers of department of justice, ministry of corporate affairs, department of expenditure, ministry of home affairs, representatives of the RBI and Indian Banking Association to be nominated by its chairman, representative of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and Solicitor General or his nominee. It said that the Centre shall provide secretarial assistance to the committee. It said that copy of the submission of the parties shall be made available to the committee and the panel may consult any expert in the matter. It asked Mehta to submit the names of other members of the committee by March 12. On February 25, the top court had asked the Centre whether it can create additional courts under Article 247 of the constitution for expeditious disposal of such matters. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, who is assisting the top court as an amicus curiae in the matter, had earlier given certain suggestions to the court for evolving a mechanism for speedy disposal of such cases including sending of summons electronically through e-mail or social media. Live TV #mute On March 5 last year, the top court had registered a suo motu case and decided to evolve a "concerted" and "coordinated" mechanism for expeditious disposal of such cases. Lawmakers in Mexico's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, passed a bill on Wednesday night that would make recreational marijuana legal in the country. The measure, approved with a vote of 316-129, would allow adults to smoke marijuana and grow a limited number of cannabis plants at home with a permit and grant licenses for producers to grow and sell marijuana. Individual lawmakers are now discussing revisions to the bill, but the final version is likely to be approved by the Senate. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has indicated he supports the measure. "Today we are in a historic moment," Simey Olvera, a lawmaker from the Morena Party, said. "With this, the false belief that cannabis is part of Mexico's serious health problems is left behind." More than 120 million people live in Mexico, and if the bill is signed into law, it will make the country the world's largest marijuana market, based on population. In 2018, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that the ban on recreational marijuana was unconstitutional, and in January, three years after medicinal cannabis use was legalized, the Mexican health ministry published regulation rules. Recent polling shows that almost two-thirds of Mexico's population is opposed to legalizing marijuana, The New York Times reports, and critics say this new bill likely wouldn't do anything to stop violence committed by drug traffickers, who focus more on methamphetamines and fentanyl. Activists are also wary, believing that the growing permits will mostly go to the rich, freezing out small farmers. More stories from theweek.com The latest recording of Trump calling Georgia election officials was found in the official's trash folder The media is missing the point about Meghan Markle 7 royally funny cartoons about Harry and Meghan's tell-all interview The CM has sought appointment with the PM at an early date to personally explain the options to revive Vizag Steel. (Twitter/file photo) VIJAYAWADA: In a fresh move to thwart the Central plan for privatisation of Vizag Steel, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is taking an all-party delegation to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and prevail on him to retain its present status. The CM has sought appointment with the PM at an early date to personally explain the options to revive Vizag Steel. A meeting is proposed between the PM and the all-party delegation. The referred to the announcement of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on March 8 that the government would go ahead with 100 per cent disinvestment of Vizag Steel equity in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) along with its stake in subsidiaries/joint ventures through strategic disinvestment by way of privatisation. This is a matter of great concern to the people of Andhra Pradesh as also to employees of RINL and other stakeholders, the CM has said. In his letter to the PM, the CM said VSP had a good performance between 2002 and 2015, earning profits with positive net worth. The plant was pragmatically turned-around in 2002 after it was reported to BIFR as a sick company. The company has around 19,700 acres of land and the valuation of these lands alone could exceed Rs 1 lakh crore. RINL currently has a capacity of 7.3 million tonne and has taken up plant modernisation and capacity expansion. This has helped the plant take loans from banks for expansion. Owing to the unfavourable global steel cycle, the company was making losses since 2014-15 and it was having difficulty to service the debt. One of the major structural issues that also leads to a high cost of production is the absence of captive mine, thereby affecting the profitability. The Chief Minister said the plant will again become a profitable venture if some support came from the central government, instead of it taking the disinvestment route, and by implementing some turnaround measures such as allotting captive iron ore mines to bring down the input costs, swapping high cost debt with low cost debt, converting debt into equity through equity conversion and monetization of vacant land. Reddy requested the PM to consider continuing the units operations as it is, to achieve a turnaround for a further period of two years. Allotting to it some captive mines in Odisha will go a long way in reviving the plant, as also conversion of loans into equity by the banks so as to remove the interest burden and listing the entity (RINL, Vizag) on the stock exchange, giving banks the exit option through the stock exchange route and through general public and monetising the land to make the company cash-rich. The CM said, I request you to kindly give me an appointment to explain all the options as narrated above, to revive and put RINL, Visakhapatnam, back on track. I will take along with me an all-party delegation including the representatives of trade unions to represent to you directly the concerns being expressed by the people of Andhra Pradesh, the employees and various stakeholders. I seek an early appointment in this regard. This article appears in the March 12, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. [Print version of this article] World at a Crossroad: Two Months into the New U.S. Administration Invitation: Schiller Institute/ICLC Conference, March 20-21 March 7Two months after the inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States, the world is faced with a multitude of crises: The U.S. is heading for a geopolitical confrontation against China and Russia. The effort to contain the rise of China by trying to forge an Indo-Pacific alliance, or even a global NATO, has been answered with the formation of a military alliance between China and Russia. The financial oligarchy, centered in the City of London, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley, is trying to postpone the inevitable collapse of the transatlantic financial system by pumping anywhere between $30 and $50 trillion into the Great Reset of the Green New Deal, which will be the end of industrial nations and, if implemented successfully, would lead to a gigantic reduction of population worldwide. The World Food Program is warning that this year alone there is the danger that 270 million people will starve to death from the condition of severe underdevelopment aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns, which have already destroyed 500 million jobs. The most dramatic humanitarian crisis since the Second World War is occurring right now in Yemen, where 20 million people are in acute danger of starvation. The fact that such a situation, which could be remedied easily if the political will existed, is not dealt with, means this is genocide. In Syria, one-third of the population is starving and victimized by a proxy war, which seemingly is between Israel and Iran, but really is the cockpit for a potential Third World War between the modern form of the British Empirethe U.K. and the U.S.and Russia and China. There is a systemic competition: While not only China, but also many Asian nations, have revived their ancient civilizations and combined them with an extremely optimistic perspective for the future, based on scientific and technological innovation, the so-called West has plunged into a new Dark Age by adopting the most degenerate cultural practices, a policy of everything goes, which makes the end of the Roman Empire look pale by comparison. Therefore, the only way the human species has any hope of escaping this existential crisis will be by consciously initiating a Renaissance of classical culture and a dialogue of the most elevated cultural traditions of universal history. The Schiller Institute is gathering leading spokesmen from Russia, China, Africa, Europe, and the Americas for a dialogue on how to meet this existential crisis of mankind with the concept of peace through development. Lyndon LaRouche fostered this approach for fifty years, with the idea of looking ahead to the next fifty years, to create the necessary revolution in human affairs to both meet these crises together as a human race, and to unleash the creative potential of mankind to create a world worthy of the dignity of man. 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. Why you want this: A sauteuse may not be the most discussed kitchen tool, but owners of this Le Creuset model praise it for its versatility. A sauteuse is like a shallower Dutch oven with sloped sides, which are designed to make stirring easier. This version is made from enameled cast iron and, like a Dutch oven, can either go on the stovetop or in the oven. It can be used for everything from making casseroles, stews, and noodles, to braising meat. Advertisement What the critics say: The Kitchn writes, This pretty cast iron pan is an all-in-one kitchen rock star. The wide, shallow base is perfect for sauteing veggies and searing or braising meatsall the stuff youd do in your regular kitchen pan. But the sloping sides give you plenty of room to simmer soups, reduce sauces, and bake pasta dishes like you would in a heavy-duty pot. Advertisement Advertisement What the people say: A kitchen workhorse. (I keep this pot sitting on my cooktop not only because its pretty and decorative, but I use it several times a week and its always handy. I generally am cooking for just two, and this is a perfect size for that to make enough for one night and plenty of leftovers for another night. I use it for just about everything sauteing vegetables, browning meat, cooking chicken, making casseroles, making soup, small roasts. Its just a great size not too big and not too small. And its so easy to clean. Ive never had to put much effort into getting baked-on food washed off. Highly recommend!) Advertisement The Le Creuset Sauteuse is now $180, or 39 percent off the regular price. By Alexander Cornwell DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai's Emirates has told employees to take a free coronavirus vaccine or pay for tests to prove they are not infected with the deadly disease, cautioning that an unvaccinated workforce could create operational issues. In an internal email, seen by Reuters, the airline told cabin crew that starting March 15, those not vaccinated must pay for a test valid for seven days to the start of flight or standby duty. "Certain countries may in the future differentiate entry criteria between those who have taken the vaccine and those who did not. Keeping this in mind, having a vaccinated workforce has become essential not just from a health and safety angle but from an operational one too," the email says. Those due for their second vaccine dose, have registered to take their initial dose, have a valid medical reason, or have been recently infected or are infected are exempt, it says. The policy applies to all employees in the United Arab Emirates, an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters, declining further comment. State-owned Emirates has offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and another developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) to its employees for free since January. A COVID-19 test typically costs 150 dirhams ($40) at private and public clinics in Dubai and is relatively accessible. The internal Emirates email said about 60% of cabin crews have been fully or partially vaccinated or are scheduled to be. It is not clear how many cabin crew Emirates now employs after a wave of layoffs last year. Emirates Group, which includes the airline, employed 81,334 staff as of last September, some of whom work outside the UAE. Other companies in the Gulf state have urged their staff to get inoculated, and government offices require unvaccinated employees to pay for regular COVID-19 tests unless they have a valid medical reason to not be vaccinated. The UAE, which has registered 417,909 total infections since the start of the pandemic, has the world's second highest level of vaccinations to population. Story continues The Pfizer, Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines are available for free to the public in Dubai, with priority given to whose who meet certain criteria, such as those older than 40. ($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham) (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell. Editing by Gerry Doyle) HARRISBURG, Pa., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the House passed the American Rescue Act, finalizing $1.9 trillion in relief funding. The officers of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, President Rick Bloomingdale, and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder issued the following joint statement: "The American Rescue Act comes just shy of a year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last year, working people across the Commonwealth have struggled under dire circumstances to make ends meet, keep a roof overhead, care for children, and put food on the table. The pandemic was a near-fatal blow to a system that had failed to protect working people for decades. This historic relief bill will finally address the problems that COVID-19 has worsened. It is never too late to do what is right. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO proudly supports the American Rescue Act as a step toward building back better." SOURCE PA AFL-CIO Related Links www.paaflcio.org Despite having more than 95 per cent of its residents fully vaccinated, Actionmarguerite St. Boniface has announced two COVID-related deaths among its population in the past week. Despite having more than 95 per cent of its residents fully vaccinated, Actionmarguerite St. Boniface has announced two COVID-related deaths among its population in the past week. "We were one of the first homes to declare a resident outbreak after the first dose of the vaccine had been administered," executive director Charles Gagne said in an interview Wednesday. "We also had to administer the second dose in the middle of the outbreak which we did." An outbreak at the Winnipeg long-term care home was declared just after the first round of vaccinations Jan. 28, leaving staff and residents to wait and see how the vaccine would affect residents symptoms before the required second doses were administered Feb. 24. "For the most part even though they were having some symptoms, they appeared to be mild or they appeared to be stable in terms of them not necessarily getting worse," Gagne said. However, three residents have died as a result of the outbreak: one in mid-February; and two more announced March 5 and 9, respectively. Gagne could not confirm whether the latest resident to die had received both doses of the vaccine, but noted 95 per cent of residents in the unit had been fully vaccinated by that point. "Thats where it becomes a bit tricky in trying to understand the role of the vaccine and the severity of the outbreak in terms of illness," he said. "It does remind us, sadly, that although the vaccine was introduced to the building and the vaccine does help in minimizing the effects of COVID, were still talking about a very vulnerable and a very frail population." As of Wednesday, there were four active cases of COVID-19 in the care home and 18 residents have recovered from the virus, meaning they are no longer considered contagious. "What were noticing in the post-recovery of the residents is we do have to attend very much to making sure that they continue to eat well, they continue to drink, that were attending to their emotional, social and physical needs as there is still a post-recovery," Gagne said. "Even though theyre not contagious anymore because of their frailty, and because the virus seems to be different for different people, we have to be very attentive still as theyre recovering." As Manitoba long-term care home residents receive their required doses of COVID-19 vaccine, outbreaks in Winnipeg facilities have begun to wane. According to the latest update from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, five care homes in the region are still considered to have an active outbreak. (An outbreak is declared when one resident, staff member or external service provider tests positive for the virus, and remains in effect until 28 days after the last positive case was identified.) Outbreaks at Holy Family Home and Riverview were declared resolved as of Monday. Outbreaks remain active at Actionmarguerite St. Joseph and St. Boniface, Concordia Place, Poseidon, and River East. Winnipeg care homes have now entered a third phase of vaccinations, which involves both immunizing new residents and completing doses for residents who were ill or hospitalized during earlier rounds. julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jsrutgers WASHINGTON Border Patrol reported more than 100,000 encounters with migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico in February, according to figures the agency released on Wednesday that illustrate the growing surge of people seeking amnesty that has quickly become a major political dilemma for the Biden administration. The 100,441 encounters reported in February represent a 28-percent increase from January. The agency said about 25,000 of those immigrants had been apprehended before. The Biden administration acknowledged some responsibility for the surge on Wednesday, saying it is at least in part attributable to the hope offered by his administrations shift to a more humane immigration system. But officials stressed the administration is still turning away the vast majority of migrants who arrive, and blamed the Trump administration for pushing policies that didnt just neglect our immigration system, they intentionally made it worse. MORE ON THE SURGE: At the border, Gov. Abbott blames Biden for wave of migrants Weve seen surges before, Roberta Jacobson, a former diplomat serving as Bidens border czar, said during a White House press briefing on Wednesday. Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was a significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand. The new figures come as outlets including the New York Times and CBS News report that the number of migrants apprehended at the border has tripled in the last two weeks. Texas Republicans have led the charge to pin the influx on President Joe Bidens shift away from Trump-era immigration restrictions as the GOP angles to make the surge the first major political crisis of Bidens term. These numbers arent surprising at all this is what you get when you incentivize illegal immigration like the Biden administration is doing, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Houston Republican, said. CBP is overwhelmed and this is unsustainable. We can stop this by simply enforcing federal immigration laws and reimplementing the policies that discourage illegal immigration. Several Texans joined a group of House Republicans who held a press conference outside the Capitol on Wednesday blaming Biden for the increase reflected in the new Border Patrol data. Its a tragedy that could be completely avoided, said U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin. This is the Biden border crisis. It is owned completely and entirely by President Biden and his administration. Even some Democrats along the border, meanwhile, have warned of an emerging crisis and urged the Biden administration to do more. They see him as the migrant president The vast majority of encounters the Border Patrol reported in February 71,598 were with single adults, though the number of families and unaccompanied children grew rapidly from January. Border Patrol reported encounters with 19,246 families, up from 7,399 the month before. The agency reported encounters with 9,457 unaccompanied children, up from 5,858 in January. More than half of all families trying to enter the U.S. in February crossed through the Rio Grande Valley section of the border, a sign that region of Texas will continue to see capacity challenges, said Jessica Bolter, an analyst with the Migration Policy Institute. While the number of unaccompanied kids arriving has not surpassed past peaks yet, if we continue to see increases like the one in February, it could surpass past peaks by next month, Bolter said. The biggest increases were among families from El Salvador, Guatemala, and especially Honduras. This could end up looking very similar to the influx we saw in 2019, when families ended up being the biggest share of the flow. Jacobson said the administration is trying to expand legal avenues for people to immigrate to the U.S. The administration announced Wednesday it is restarting a program that allows parents legally in the U.S. to request refugee status for their children living in certain Central American countries. Trump had ended the program, which was launched by the Obama administration. Jacobson said officials are also looking at ways to legally process people who could qualify for asylum in those countries before they leave for the U.S. This administrations belief is that we can get our message across that it is a more humane policy by opening up avenues of legal migration, which will encourage people to take those legal options and go through the asylum process, Jacobson said. The message is: You have another option. The border is not open, Jacobson said. The administration faces an uphill climb convincing thousands of migrants thats the case. They see him as the migrant president, and so many feel theyre going to reach the United States, Reuters reported Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said of Biden the morning after a virtual meeting with his U.S. counterpart on March 1. Biden was quick to end some Trump-era policies that limited legal immigration and the president has proposed a sweeping overhaul in Congress. That immigration package includes $4 billion to fix problems in the countries that are causing migrants to flee, including boosting assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, conditioned on those nations ability to tackle corruption, violence and poverty. That bills chances of becoming law, however, are slim as Republicans have voiced strong opposition to elements of the legislation that would offer a pathway to citizenship to up to 1.7 million Texans who are in the country without legal authorization. Nineteen Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, including U.S. Reps. Michael Cloud of Victoria and Pat Fallon of Sherman, blasted the proposal in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month: The Biden Administrations policies limiting immigration enforcement and weakening border security, coupled with its proposal to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, are signaling to the world that our immigration laws can be violated with little, if any, consequence. ben.wermund@chron.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 05:33:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- On the ten-year anniversary of the Fukushima reactor disaster in Japan, Germany's Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Svenja Schulze presented on Thursday a plan for completing the country's nuclear phase-out. The plan outlined the additional steps required to "minimize nuclear risks for Germany even after the last German nuclear power plants will be shut down at the end of 2022," according to the Ministry for the Environment (BMU). "By shutting down Germany's last nuclear power plants next year, we will achieve a historic goal," said Schulze in a statement. "But nuclear risks remain that require further consistent steps: in Germany, in Europe and worldwide." Although the nuclear phase-out in Germany was well underway, the country was still producing fuel elements for nuclear plants abroad and the plan advocated that the nuclear factories in the German cities Lingen and Gronau should be closed as well. The plan also urged for the expansion of renewables to be accelerated in Germany so that wind and solar could replace nuclear and coal even faster. Last year, renewable energy in Germany reached a new record share of 47 percent, up from 42.3 percent in 2019, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). With 25.6 percent, wind power replaced coal as the "most important energy source" in Germany last year. Enditem Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. (@FahadShabbir) Kano, Nigeria, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :Criminal gangs have killed a total of 31 people in three separate attacks in northwest and central Nigeria, local residents said Thursday, in the latest violence in the volatile regions. On Wednesday, motorcycle-riding bandits stormed Damaga village in northwestern Zamfara state, killing residents and stealing livestock as villagers fled the shooting spree. "The bandits came in around 1:00 pm (1200 GMT) and began shooting indiscriminately. They killed 13 people," Ayuba Musa told AFP. "They took away a large number of cattle, sheep and goats. They didn't spare even chickens," he added. The shooting forced students from a secondary school in the village to abandon their classes for fear of abduction, said another resident, Sahame Umar, who gave a similar toll. The victims were buried late Wednesday, said Musa, who attended the funeral. Central and northwest Nigeria are increasingly becoming hubs of criminal gangs of cattle thieves and kidnappers who raid villages, killing and abducting residents after looting and burning homes. While the gangs are driven by financial motives and have no ideological leanings, there is growing concern they are being infiltrated by jihadists from the northeast, who have waged a rebellion for over a decade to establish an Islamic state. Earlier Wednesday, gangs invaded Osewu village in central Nasarawa state around 0500 GMT. "They (bandits) used machetes to attack people and killed 17, including our chief," resident Idris Habibu told AFP. He said the attackers came in "huge numbers", leaving local vigilantes helpless. Another resident, Abdullahi Omeiza, said the assailants had resorted to killing with machetes despite being armed with guns. On Tuesday, criminal gangs had killed one and injured 18 others when they invaded Kapana village in central Niger state, local lawmaker Andrew Danjuma Jagaba told AFP. Police were not immediately available to comment on the incidents. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin is pleased to announce that "Business North Carolina" named personal injury attorney and Shareholder Jeremy Maddox to the 2021 'Legal Elite' list in the 'Young Guns' category.* "Business North Carolina" has honored North Carolina attorneys since 2002 by publishing its 'Legal Elite' list. According to the publication, this list is the only award that gives every active lawyer in the state the opportunity to participate and the individuals named to the list are the top lawyers chosen using a statewide ballot. Maddox was voted in by his peers in the 'Young Guns' category. Maddox joined the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin in 2012 and was instrumental in leading the opening of the Charlotte office. Firm founder and President Jim Farrin said, "Jeremy richly deserves this recognition from his peers. At our firm, his hard work and dedication to his clients serves as a great example to all. I am proud of his accomplishment and know that he will continue to positively impact our clients and the legal community in general." *For more information regarding the standards for inclusion for the 'Legal Elite' awards, visit: https://businessnc.com. ABOUT THE LAW OFFICES OF JAMES SCOTT FARRIN The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin is one of the largest personal injury firms in North Carolina and has helped over 50,000 injured people since 1997. Operating from 16 offices in NC and one in SC, many of the firm's 50+ accomplished attorneys are recognized professionals in their fields. The firm focuses on providing quality legal services to as many people as possible in the following practice areas: personal injury, car accidents, workers' compensation, nursing home abuse, whistleblowing, defective products, eminent domain, mass torts, class actions, and Social Security Disability. Offices in Durham (main), Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC. Attorney J. Gabe Talton: 280 South Mangum St., Suite 400, Durham, NC. Contact Information: David Chamberlin 280 S. Mangum Street Suite 400 Durham, NC 27701 866-900-7078 https://www.farrin.com/ SOURCE Law Offices of James Scott Farrin Related Links http://www.farrin.com DUBAI: The United Nations children's fund on Wednesday (March 10) urged countries to contribute more money to help poor countries access coronavirus vaccines, saying around $1 billion was needed. UNICEF, the world's single largest vaccine buyer, is part of the World Health Organization-backed COVAX programme to supply COVID-19 shots to emerging economies. "We have been asking the world for more funding ... for UNICEF and our distribution to countries we still need about $1 billion," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said at a virtual event organised by Dubai's World Government Summit. That funding could be used to strengthen health systems in poorer nations and support the distribution of vaccines there, she said. The COVAX initiative aims to deliver at least 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses this year, including 1.3 billion doses to lower income countries. Live TV Fore urged vaccine makers to sign licensing agreements so vaccines could be made locally, singling out Africa as one market that needed it. She also said it was unlikely the COVAX scheme would be able to cover the world this year. "There is still more to do and we could do with more help and assistance." It was almost like a bad joke. Move to a new city and, two months later, the world as you were just beginning to know it shuts down. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic is no laughing matter, and no one knows that better than Brian Herstig, president and CEO of Jewish Federation of St. Louis. He and his wife, Barb, and their toddler daughter (he also has two adult children) moved here from Minneapolis so that he could start his job Jan. 6, 2020. By March 13, Federation, along with most every other business and organization in St. Louis County, had closed its door and sent employees home to work. Not long after, Herstig, 50, and his team at Federation sprang into action, overseeing the fundraising and distribution of the COVID-19 Community Response Fund to help fulfill the food, mental health and financial assistance needs, among others, of the St. Louis Jewish community. Herstig explained in an interview with the Light in May how the funds collected were being distributed and shared lessons learned from the financial crisis of 2008. Last week, the Light spoke to Herstig again, to see how Federation and its many partners were faring a year after shutting down. We also includedthe above graphic to explain how the Community Response Fund has been spent thus far, choosing to focus this conversation on the pandemics impact on Federation and the local Jewish community moving forward. (His responses have been edited for space.) How do you see the STL Jewish community changing as a result of the pandemic? ADVERTISEMENT I can say this, the pandemic has highlighted some needs that always existed in the community. It certainly has highlighted for us the important role that Federation plays at a time like this. And its reenforced what we consider our three main priorities, which I call the FCC. We are a funder, a communicator and a convener. All three of those things were highlighted during this pandemic. The funding piece, weve discussed (see accompanying graphic). In terms of communicating, when this pandemic started, we began meeting daily with the leadership of this community in order to understand what was going on and make sure there were efforts addressing the most vital needs in our community without being duplicative. Those conversations are continuing in order to hear whats going on and make sure there is the appropriate response done in a coordinated and communicated way. The convener piece has been really, really important. There needs to be a place where people can come together and have conversations about what we are seeing and hearing, and recognize that this need over here and this need over there may not sound like they are connected, but they are. The opportunity to do that and address needs collectively as opposed to individually has been really important. Its a good reminder that as a community, an ecosystem, we are stronger when we address things together and lean on those of us who have expertise in different areas to help address the needs of the community. Have any new collaborations come out as a result? Its already happening. For example, the early childhood directors had been meeting as a group regularly, but we actually set aside a pool of dollars because it was a priority even before the pandemic started. Theyve been meeting to talk about collectively what are our longer term needs and issues. The backdrop of the pandemic has forced away some of the territorial conversations and the like to allow people to focus on the basic needs they all have in common, rather than what differentiates. Weve been having a lot of conversations about food and food delivery and food availability in the community with a broad group of people. We have a better understanding of the needs that exist there, and I think that will continue. And certainly, [in]the senior serving portion of community (Covenant Place, Crown Center and NORC), a good number of things have come together in talking about addressing needs, and I think that will continue. When do you see Jewish organizations opening up and how will Federation assist in that process? There are 60 Jewish and Jewish-related organizations in the state of Missouri. Everyone is a partner to us. We dont manage or control any of them. Our job is to make sure the needs of the community are being addressed. We decided to lead by example. We actually closed a little earlier than (St. Louis County) and made the decision to say that our staff wont be attending large events before that was common. My primary responsibility is to the (Federation) staff and volunteers. When we decided to shut down, we did so because we did not believe at the time that we could keep those groups safe doing business as usual. Thats going to be our overriding concern as we look at reopening: How do we best protect the safety of our staff and volunteers? Because we closed a little earlier than most, we may open later than most, in part because we are not a direct service organization. We dont need to be in the building. And weve learned that we can absolutely do our work and do it well on Zoom. I dont know when things are going to open, but each of the organizations in the St. Louis Jewish ecosystem works with a different set of rules. Preschools and day schools are very different than Federation, or the Light, which is different than the JCC, which is different than synagogues. There is no one size fits all. Every organization needs to make the decisions that are best for their business model and for the needs of their constituency. Are there some lessons learned from the pandemic that were unexpected? How will they affect Federation going forward? There are a lot. The world is changing. The way we assumed business has to be done or had been done for a long time that you cant have people work from home because they wont really focus that has changed. I cant answer what that means moving forward and how we, as a community of Americans, will address that. I do think there has been impact in that there is a greater willingness and focus on collaboration, on sharing, on talking to partners who do similar work to find out whats going on and how they are addressing things. We are going to do the work that we can in order to encourage and hold on to that for as long as we can. There are a lot of issues that exist in this community, like any other, that are best served by working collaboratively and being open and honest. One of the things this pandemic has done is break down those walls. Also, I think the pandemic reenforced the fact that our community is not so different from the community around us. There are poor and near poor. There are people living paycheck to paycheck. There are the frail and elderly who are vulnerable. There are people in need who often are hidden from our everyday lives and who will continue to need support from us. Those needs have been highlighted due to whats going on. But theyve always been there, and they will continue to be there, and we as a community need to help them. What about the vaccine rollout? Has Federation, or will Federation, get involved in that? No (chuckling). We have facilities and organizations that are much more in tune with that, like Covenant or Crown or the J, that serve vulnerable populations. Certainly, through (Federation lobbyist) David Winton, we are aware of whats going on. Hes connected at the highest levels. If David ever heard anywhere that there was a need and that we could help address and fulfill that need by bringing together the community, we would do that in a heartbeat. Has the pandemic affected Federations overall fundraising campaign? No, people are giving very generously. There are lots of reasons I came to this community, but one is that this is a community of people who believe in the organizations they built over the past 120 years and support them significantly. This is a community that is home, it is not a transient community. People have shown their generosity and their support for their neighbors those they know and those they dont know through this. They are incredible. Once its safe, what are you looking most forward to doing in St. Louis? I hear there are some nice restaurants in town (laughing) and great places to visit and things to do. We were here for two months with a 3-year-old before everything shut down. We wouldnt even know what to do if tomorrow they said all clear, everyone can go out. Im looking forward to getting to know those pieces of St. Louis. I feel liked there is a group of people I have gotten to know, but I havent sat in their backyards and had a meal or a drink with them, and Im looking forward to that. Also, meeting peoples dog and kids. Lou Ottens was fiddling with a reel-to-reel tape recorder one night in the early 1960s, trying to thread a wafer-thin piece of magnetic tape through mechanical guides so that he could listen to . . . something. He would later recall that he was probably trying to play a work of classical music, though he couldn't be sure. What he did remember was the hours he spent futzing with the machine before arriving at work the next morning with an idea. Ottens, the head of product development at Philips's electronics factory in Hasselt, Belgium, told his team they needed to develop an audio device that was smaller, cheaper and easier to use than the reel-to-reel tape recorder. As a result, they invented the cassette tape, a compact, plastic-encased sound machine that helped democratize music, making it easier for millions of people to hear, record and share songs. In its wake, Ottens became affectionately known by his peers as the brilliant engineer who - fortunately for everyone else - just couldn't work a reel-to-reel. "The legend that came from this, which of course is not very flattering for Lou, is that the cassette was born from the clumsiness of a very clever man," his Philips colleague Willy Leenders later said, in an interview for the 2016 documentary "Cassette." Ottens, who died March 6 at 94, unleashed a sonic revolution with the Compact Cassette, which Philips unveiled at a Berlin radio exhibition in 1963. Billions of cassettes were sold before he spearheaded another advance in electronics, working on a Philips team that jointly introduced the compact disc with Sony in 1982. One of his daughters, Arine Ottens, said he died at an elder care center in Duizel, the Netherlands, but did not give a cause. With blank cassettes, listeners could record their favorite songs from the radio or from vinyl records, creating the first mix tapes - on literal magnetic tape - decades before digital playlists were shared on streaming services such as Spotify. Internet outages never stopped the music, although listeners did face occasional analog issues, such as having to wind the tape with a pencil when the cassette got stuck. The tapes also were used to record telephone messages, books, early hip-hop songs and moments of artistic inspiration, as when Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards drowsily hit "record" on his Philips cassette player one night and woke up to hear "Satisfaction," along with "forty minutes of me snoring." Ottens's cassette tape was about half the width of RCA's tape cartridge, which had been released in 1958, and ran at half speed, requiring less tape and further cutting down on size. To perfect the tape player's dimensions, he made a wood block that could fit in the side pocket of his tweed jacket, explaining that he wanted the cassette player to be not just portable, but "pocketable." "There was a lot of worry the sound quality would be bad. It's like trying to paint a masterpiece on a postage stamp," said "Cassette" director Zack Taylor, who credited Ottens with striking a balance between size and quality. In a phone interview, he added that Ottens convinced Philips executives to share the company's cassette technology after flying to Japan to meet with Sony, which said it was preparing to release a rival model. In doing so, he helped establish a uniform standard that ensured cassettes sold in one country would work in another. "I can be credited for the idea, and a number of ideas in it," Ottens later said of the cassette tape. "But the draftsmen, the electrical designers and the industrial designers, they have done the work. I have done nothing special." Lodewijk Frederik Ottens was born in Bellingwolde, the Netherlands, on June 21, 1926. Both parents were schoolteachers, and his father later directed the regional employment office in Hilversum, where Ottens grew up. As a child, he passed the time playing with a Meccano model construction set. He progressed to more advanced tinkering as a teenager during World War II, building a radio during the German occupation that enabled his family to tune in to Radio Oranje, a London broadcaster that delivered speeches from exiled political leaders such as Queen Wilhelmina. Ottens later served in the Dutch air force, although he was stationed on the ground because of poor eyesight. He studied at what is now the Delft University of Technology, supporting himself by working half-days as a draftsman at an X-ray equipment factory, and joined Philips after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree in 1952. Two decades later, he was named technical director of Philips's audio division. A research team at the company's NatLab research facility in Eindhoven was working on an optical disc project when Ottens asked them to begin developing "an audio-only version of the disc," according to Robert Barry's history book "Compact Disc." "By all accounts, they were not especially keen." As he had with the cassette tape, Ottens insisted that his team make the disc smaller and smaller - in a word, compact. "He said it could and must be smaller - it must have the size and convenience of a cassette player," audio engineer Francois Dierckx told Barry. The end result ultimately measured 12 cm (4.75 inches) across, although Ottens would have preferred it half a centimeter smaller, according to the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. His wife of 46 years, Margo van Noord, died in 2002. In addition to his daughter Arine, survivors include two other children, Nelly and Jan Ottens; four grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. Ottens retired in 1986 and later said he had little affection for cassette tapes, even as hipsters and millennials helped reignite sales, with British music labels launching an international Cassette Store Day - inspired by Record Store Day - to promote the format as a throwback alternative to vinyl, CDs and streaming. "The cassette is history," he told Time magazine in 2013. "I like when something new comes." 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. TEL AVIV - The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced Thursday that it was the first in the world to achieve COVID-19 herd immunity. The announcement was by Gen. Itzik Turgeman, director of logistics and technology. ''After 10 weeks, I can declare that the IDF is the first military in the world to reach herd immunity," he said. Turgeman added that, as of Thursday, some 81 percent of the military had received a coronavirus vaccine or had contracted the virus in the past. Within next week that number was expected to rise to 85 percent, he added. IDF Chief Medical Officer Brig. Gen. Dr. Alon Glasberg said this herd immunity would allow the military to return to more normal operations. Troops will still be required to wear masks, social-distance and abide by other coronavirus-related restrictions in accordance with government policy. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 22:43:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- While many parents are happy to send their children back to classrooms after schools across Britain reopened on Monday to allow pupils to return in full, a survey found that two-thirds of parents are concerned about the amount of "learning lost". The research conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an economic research institute based in London, reveals some parents think that their child will never "catch up". However, Michelle Codrington-Rogers, national president of the NASUWT teachers' union, said that all this talk about children needing to "catch up" in their education may do more harm than good, and parents should trust the schools which are good at adapting to the pandemic situation. "We need to stop talking about catch up. You know, schools are adept at adapting curriculum...And all I can say is trust schools, trust teachers, and trust parents and carers to work with us all together, children are not going to be hugely disadvantaged, as long as we all work together," Codrington-Rogers told Xinhua in a recent interview. Codrington-Rogers said she believes that the current curriculum should adapt to the lessons learnt during the pandemic. "I think it's more important that schools and the education sector step back and think what is education and what should it look like? Why, and what do we measure? And to take on board how important is it now that we've just realized in a global pandemic, we've got to prioritize what children and young people need to know and should know and also how to teach that level of learning. And I think that has to be the priority." A NEW SCHOOL DAY STRUCTURE In secondary schools across Britain, due to large pupil numbers, for this week year groups are being reintroduced in a staggered fashion, allowing staff at school to carry out the appropriate testing and to ensure that social distancing can remain. Testing is set to take place on chosen days for each year group, and some teachers have raised concerns that the new structure of the school day will be disruptive and distract children from learning. Codrington-Rogers said she believes that most teachers will be able to control this new situation, but admits it will require extra levels of caregiving. "As teachers, we know how to manage kids as soon as we get them onto site. It's our specialism. It's our professionalism, and it will be very much like returning to school after a summer holiday," she said. "And that's the way that I predict it will be. The difference is that there's different expectations." "They've got to do testing on top of it. And schools as always, are really adaptable. And that's often why we get the expectation to fix everything, because we do adapt...And so unfortunately, the schools are sometimes having to do the extra level of care and well being that the government doesn't necessarily do." CALLS FOR TEACHERS' VACCINATION Parts of those concerns with teachers have also been the question over whether they should be vaccinated. Codrington-Rogers supports the call for vaccinating teachers. "It's happening in other parts of the world, it's happening in America where they're prioritizing teachers, as well as people on the frontline. So, you know, health care workers. And I think that would give that additional sense of safety." According to Codrington-Rogers, secondary school teachers, for each lesson, are likely standing in front of 30 children from 30 different households. "That could be five lessons with 30 different households. And that's not just the students going from school to home, we're talking about students and young people who are going to socialize with their friends, because if they're allowed to do it at school, why can't they do it in public?" "So the concern is the unpredictability of children and young people, not that we don't trust our children and young people, but we can't control their behaviors outside of school," she said. "And we can't control our behaviors in between home and school. So I think just having that additional safety would be in the best interest." On Feb. 22, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown. The Monday reopening of schools in England was the first part of the four-step plan, which Johnson said was designed to be "cautious but irreversible". Meanwhile, experts have warned Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants and the risks of the public breaching restriction rules. 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. Enditem ROCHESTER, Minn. - A Mayo Clinic study released on Thursday shows the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 80% effective after the second dose. Previously there was only clinical trial evidence showing the efficacy of the vaccines but this most recent study proves the vaccines work in a real world setting. Photo courtesy of Mayo News Network. Photo courtesy of Mayo News Network. Mayo Clinic says ten days after patients receive their second dose of the vaccines they're far less likely to test positive and unknowingly spread COVID-19 with the study showing an effectiveness rate of 80%. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Aaron Tande says he hopes this new evidence encourages those on the fence about getting vaccinated to sign-up and get the shot. He explained, "We think one of the reasons why this pandemic has continued and been so impactful is that people can be minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic and spread this infection to others so, by showing this will decrease the asymptomatic infection, it would decrease the transmission for those people to others and will help put an end to this pandemic." The study was done between mid-December and early February and included patients in Minnesota. Manchester Center, VT (05254) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse; Dublin Murders), A Very British Scandal focuses on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious, extraordinary and brutal legal cases of the 20th century.Famed for her charisma, beauty and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as a divorce featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery and an explicit polaroid picture - all played out in the white-hot glare of the 1960s media.A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time. As her contemporaries, the press, and the judiciary sought to vilify her, Margaret kept her head held high with bravery and resilience, refusing to go quietly as she was betrayed by her friends and publicly shamed by a society that revelled in her fall from grace.Sarah Phelps says: Writing the story of Margarets life and the events leading up to and including her divorce from the Duke has been a passion project of mine since 1993 when I first heard her name and started learning about her. I felt very strongly that shed been punished for being a woman, for being visible, for refusing to back down, be a good girl and go quietly. This drama is my tribute to her.Claire Foy said: Im so excited to work with Anne, Sarah and Paul on this extraordinary project, and to explore through this story, how often shame, judgement and controversy surrounds a woman's sexuality.Paul Bettany said: Im delighted to be working with the remarkable Claire Foy to tell the fascinating and scandalous story of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and their very complicated lives. Im also extremely happy to get the chance to once again be working with the wonderful teams at the BBC and Amazon Studios.Pete Czernin, co-founder of Blueprint Pictures, says: Were thrilled to be able to bring together the uniquely brilliant voices of Sarah Phelps and Anne Sewitsky with the class of Claire Foy and Paul Bettany. Uniting their outstanding talents, A Very British Scandal will shine a new light on the scandalous divorce of Margaret Argyll for a 21st century audience.Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama, says: Argyll v Argyll was one of the defining scandals of the 1960s. In the face of vilification in the press, Margaret fought valiantly, but often in vain, to control the narrative around her. With the help of our incredible writer Sarah Phelps, director Anne Sewitsky, the perfect casting of Claire Foy and Paul Bettany and the team at Blueprint, we are delighted to be able to shine a new light on these events and reframe the life of this infamous character.Brad Beale, Vice President, Worldwide Licensing for Prime Video, says: A Very English Scandal was a tremendous success among Prime Video customers and critics alike, and were incredibly excited to work with the BBC and Blueprint again. We cant wait to see Claire and Paul bring the fascinating Duchess of Argyll Scandal to life.A Very British Scandal will be directed by Anne Sewitsky and produced by Chris Ballantyne. Executive Producers are Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Diarmuid McKeown and Delyth Scudamore for Blueprint Pictures, Lucy Richer for the BBC, Sarah Phelps, Anne Sewitsky, Claire Foy, Kate Triggs and Dominic Treadwell-Collins. It was commissioned by Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama and Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer. Amazon Studios is co-producing in the US.At 3 x 60 minutes, A Very British Scandal will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and be available on Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Sony Pictures Television are the international distributors and brokered the deal with Amazon Studios.Filming will take place across the United Kingdom later this year. Further casting will follow in due course. (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) At least 160 Confederate symbols were removed from public spaces across the United States in 2020, according to the the Southern Poverty Law Center. Even Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy, has removed a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from the Richmond Statehouse and is trying to take down others seen as offensive by an increasing numbers of Americans, including those whose ancestors were enslaved. Texas has largely declined to participate in this nationwide reckoning with the symbols of the Old South. Instead, local officials are doubling down on their Confederate monuments. 'CONFEDERATE HEROES': Black Texas lawmakers hopeful to see 'Confederate Heroes Day' abolished Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton, who represents the city of Conroe, near Houston, says he will file a bill this legislative session to protect historical monuments from efforts to remove them. Meanwhile, officials in rural Walker County, Texas, voted unanimously in December to keep a marker to Confederate Patriots on the county courthouse lawn in Huntsville. The vote followed an eight-month citizen campaign calling for the removal of the monument, which was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1956. Walker County Commissioners explained their Dec. 21 decision only by saying that the monument does not belong to us, suggesting it is a piece of local history. Yet Walker County is hundreds of miles from any major Civil War battlefield. And the countys most famous resident, Sam Houston, a Texas hero, ardently opposed the Confederacy. So rejecting the Confederacy is Texas history, too. MOVING FORWARD: Mississippi's Confederate-themed flag being replaced for first time since 1984 A proud Southerner who opposed secession Sam Houston was the most important political figure in Texas before the Civil War. The modern city of Houston is named for him, as is the university in Huntsville, Texas, where we teach American history. Born in Virginia, Houston moved to the Mexican state of Texas in 1832. A veteran of the War of 1812, Houston was soon appointed commander of the Texas Army and helped secure Texas independence at the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. He went on to serve two nonconsecutive terms as president of the independent Republic of Texas. Later, Houston was the states Democratic governor when secession became a serious subject of discussion in the South. In 1860, following Abraham Lincolns election, white leaders in Huntsville wrote to Houston seeking his advice. Houston counseled them in a letter written on Nov. 14, 1860, to remain vigilant in their defense of American constitutional values when the country is agitated and revolution threatened. He urged the group not to get carried away by the impulse of the moment. There were natural bonds between Houston and Southern secessionists: All were white male slave owners who openly endorsed white supremacy. But Houston saw slavery as a necessary evil, not a patriotic cause. It is necessity that produces slavery, he said in 1855, and it is convenience, it is profit, that creates slavery. As a senator in 1854, he had voted against the extension of slavery into the Kansas and Nebraska territories and was condemned throughout the South for his principled stand. Sam Houston was no abolitionist, however. He owned more than a dozen enslaved people and profited from enslaved labor throughout his life. Unlike much of Americas Southern gentry, though, Houston was not willing to shed blood to expand slavery. When Texas legislators met in 1861 to consider seceding from the United States, Houston made clear his opposition to the move. But Texas secessionists were a stronger force. When Houston refused to take an oath to the Confederacy on March 16, 1861, he was removed from the governors office. Booed by crowds and driven from state politics, Houston settled into a self-imposed exile in Huntsville. He watched in dismay as Texas joined the Confederacy. He died two years later, a lonesome and broken man. A contorted view of Texas history As scholars who focus on race and class in Texas, we have studied the states history and have been led to speak out against Huntsvilles Confederate monument. As we wrote last year in a statement published in the local newspaper, the Huntsville Item, the courthouse marker obscures and misrepresents local history. It is an insult to Houstons refusal to pledge allegiance to the Confederacy and ignores the fact that enslaved African Americans made up most of Walker Countys population during the Civil War. It is, in so many words, an ahistorical monument. Yet Huntsville population 40,000 glorifies Houston as a military and political hero. His former home is surrounded by a modern museum dedicated to him. And Interstate 45, which runs from Houston to Dallas, features a 67-foot statue known as Big Sam advertising Huntsville to travelers. How can modern Huntsvillians like local officials across Texas both revere this anti-Confederate leader and pledge their support for Confederate symbols? The answer lies in the Lost Cause, a tenacious Southern myth that portrays slavery as benign and the Confederacy as noble. This is the preferred version of Texas history promoted by the states conservative leadership, the version that appears in Texas schools textbooks. By the 1950s, when the Huntsville chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected the courthouse monument, the group had been pushing the Lost Cause narrative for over half a century. Mae Wynne McFarland, a native Huntsvillian and 1941 president of the Texas Daughters of the Confederacy, characterized the War Between the States as a conflict fought for exactly the same principles which inspired the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Texas Revolution. Houston fought in two of those three battles. His repeated public statements show, however, that he did not believe the Confederacys effort in the Civil War aimed at the same principles as the War of 1812 or the Texas Revolution. Conservative white Texans have long tried to knit Sam Houston into their Lost Cause narrative. But biographers and students of history have always been there to correct them. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.] This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/texas-distorts-its-past-and-sam-houstons-legacy-to-defend-confederate-monuments-152296. Winston Marshall, the banjo player for Mumford & Sons, says hes taking time away from the band to examine his blindspots after praising right-wing writer Andy Ngo for his recent book, Unmasked: Inside Antifas Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy. Congratulations @MrAndyNgo. Finally had the time to read your important book. Youre a brave man, Marshall tweeted Saturday. The post, which has since been deleted, included a photo of the books cover showing an endorsement from Fox News personality Tucker Carlson. A pile-on ensued, with many people calling Marshall things like a literal Nazi. It all prompted him to tweet out an apologetic statement Tuesday evening (which launched a second flood of people bagging on him for caving to the mob). Over the past few days I have come to better understand the pain caused by the book I endorsed, the British musician said. I have offended not only a lot of people I dont know, but also those closest to me, including my bandmates and for that I am truly sorry. As a result of my actions I am taking time away from the band to examine my blindspots. For now, please know that I realise how my endorsements have the potential to be viewed as approvals of hateful, divisive behaviour. I apologise, as this was not at all my intention. In its review of Unmasked, The Times described Ngos work released in early February as a supremely dishonest new book on the left-wing anti-fascist movement known as antifa. Unmasked is a culmination of Ngos single-minded quest to depict an assortment of leftists as a unified vanguard whose mission is to destroy the nation-state, America in particular, reviewer Alexander Nazaryan wrote. Only in its final pages does he explain the roots of that fixation, his parents immigration from war-torn Vietnam. He calls this book a letter of gratitude to the nation that welcomed them. As an immigrant from a communist country, I understand the sentiment. As a journalist, however, I must point out that he is churning out the very kind propaganda that keeps authoritarians in power. Some conservative writers expressed dismay over the musicians decision to step away. " The Mumford and Sons guy really apologized and left the band because he read a book, tweeted Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire. Whenever I think we have reached the farthest depths of insanity, and the cowardice that enables that insanity, we find still deeper depths to plunge. On Wednesday, Ngo offered thoughts that alluded to the Mumford musicians situation. I grieve for those who are made to suffer because they dare to read my work, or talk to me, he tweeted. The outrage hasnt gone too far beyond social media, however. As of Wednesday, Ngos Unmasked was still available for purchase on Amazon. Powells Books in Portland, Ore., decided to ban the title from its shelves but not from its online store in January after protesters showed up outside its flagship shop. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. ___ (c)2021 the Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The California commercial salmon season, due to start May 1, will be only about half as long as last years season, after the Pacific Fisheries Management Council settled on three proposals for the dates and months fishing can take place this season. Time on the water is cut this year in an effort to have more salmon return to the rivers to spawn to meet our management objectives, Kandice Morgenstern, environmental scientist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said after the councils decision Thursday. The main reason for the shorter season is the smaller number of adult Sacramento River salmon expected to be in the ocean this spring and summer. While commercial fishing boats were permitted to go out for 167 days total last year, the three proposals for the 2021 season would only allow fishing for a total of 78 days, 94 days or 104 days. After the public has a chance to provide feedback on the proposals, the council will announce its final decision in April. From Point Arena (Mendocino County) to the San Francisco region, commercial fishing will be allowed from either May or June until August or September, mostly for a week or several weeks at a time. For the region south of Pigeon Point (San Mateo County), fishing will start in May and end in June or as late as August. The recreational salmon fishery will also be shorter this year. It usually opens in April or early May but will start in June or July except in the Monterey area, where it will open April 3. Every year, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council meets to determine the timing of salmon seasons in Washington, Oregon and California. Though the California commercial salmon season usually runs from May to October, fishing is allowed in certain areas at certain times to protect the population of coastal king salmon, a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, as it makes its way back to the Sacramento River to spawn. This year, the number of adult salmon on the coast is projected to add up to 271,000 fish, compared with last years estimate of 473,200. Thats because the conditions when last years population made its way down the Sacramento River to the ocean were better than they were for this years generation. Many fishermen and women expressed frustration that the council used new models that led to what they see as overly conservative options for fishing this year. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. Im not real happy, said Duncan MacLean, former president of the Half Moon Bay Fishermens Association, who at 71 depends on his income from salmon fishing. A lot of guys wont gear up this year. Theyll probably stick to their day jobs, said MacLean, a former adviser to the council. Dick Ogg, who fishes for salmon out of Bodega Bay, said the limited salmon season will be difficult for the local fishing fleet because of this seasons poor crab season, but he said he tries to keep a positive outlook. Maybe well get lucky and catch a few or maybe we wont, said Ogg. The only way youre going to know is if you put your gear in your water and try as hard as you can. Tara Duggan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @taraduggan "We're excited to release the Sales Enablement Console as it originated from customer feedback and was engineered into the Znode product in a matter of months," says Rupesh Agrawal, President and CEO of Amla Commerce, parent company of Znode. Znode, an enterprise B2B ecommerce platform and product of Amla Commerce, has released its 9.6.3 platform update. This update focuses on empowering salespeople with a new console for customer, quote and order data that brings insights to the fingertips of those directly engaging customers. The key features introduced in Znode 9.6.3 include: Sales Enablement Console: As more sales move through ecommerce and highly trained sales people are required to work remote, the demand for web-based sales enablement tools has grown. Znode now solves sales enablement for specific representative roles by territory and account assignment. Within the console sales representatives can see quotes, orders and user data associated with their user providing them with insights into customer shopping and ordering patterns and analysis opportunities to ensure customers are receiving the correct information therefore enabling sales people to play the role of consultant and assist in increasing sales transactions. Additional functionality sales representatives gain includes the ability to view and manage users, orders, quotes and returns as well as the ability to create orders and quotes within the console providing a deeper level of customer relationship management. The console is web-based and does not require the sales person to use a VPN for access ensuring a more productive sales team during remote work. CardConnect Payment Gateway Integration: An integration to CardConnect has been built as a punchout/iframe method. This integration path provides the opportunity to maintain a consistent user experience, opposed to an off-domain conversion point, as well as the ability to retain full user conversion analytics tracking. This integration is available natively with pre-built API endpoints for quick connection to customers looking to utilize CardConnect as their payment gateway. This payment gateway meets PCI Level 1 Compliance. Additionally, the Znode 9.6.3 update enhanced a number of existing features including: Native B2B Theme is now ADA Compliant: The native B2B theme available in Znode is now Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant at the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level A, thus providing users with disabilities the ability to use a website built utilizing the theme. Complying at a certain level of accessibility is part of the implementation process and maintained after the store goes live. Znode is a headless ecommerce platform allowing these updates to be consumed by customers without the need for an expensive upgrade process. "We're excited to release the Sales Enablement Console as it originated from customer feedback and was engineered into the Znode product in a matter of months," says Rupesh Agrawal, President and CEO of Amla Commerce, parent company of Znode. "The speed at which the Znode team was able to design and release the new native Znode offering displays the flexibility of the API first architecture. Our customers should also benefit from the increased focus on compliance mandates with the ADA compliant B2B theme update and now PCI compliant CardConnect payment gateway integration. To learn more about the Znode ecommerce platform, visit znode.com. To download the Znode Features List, click here. About Znode Znode is an enterprise, B2B ecommerce platform built to empower manufacturers and distributors through a rich-set of features including site search, product information management and multi-store functionality. Created for the unique needs of B2B ecommerce, Znode supports complex pricing, complex inventory, complex product types, approval workflows, quote management and list management. The platform is completely headless with over 600 APIs allowing for greater extensibility, easier integrations and consistent functional updates. Znode is a product of Amla Commerce. About Amla Commerce Amla Commerce is a global software company that has grown out of the belief that ecommerce software should enable sustainable growth. Amla products, Znode and Artifi Labs, are developed to be both economically and technically sustainable. Amla Commerce is a privately-held company, headquartered in Milwaukee, WI. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Manchester Center, VT (05254) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Queensland will review women's experiences of the justice system in dealing with sexual assault and violence. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the review comes amid a national push for systemic change to end sexual assault and violence against women. She says one in five Queensland women has experienced sexual violence since turning 15 and one in four has experienced violence from her partner. The Women's Safety and Justice Task Force, led by retired justice Margaret McMurdo, will examine women's experiences with the justice system. 'We know this experience is different for women than it is for men,' Ms Palaszczuk told parliament on Thursday. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) said only a small number of reported cases of sexual assault ever wind up in court 'We also know that women and girls are disproportionally affected as victims of sexual assault, but it remains one of the most under-reported types of crimes.' 'Only a small proportion of reported cases are prosecuted in court and achieve a conviction. 'Women also face a range of barriers when they seek help, which can draw out the legal process, adding to their trauma.' The review will examine any barriers contributing to the low reporting of sexual offences and high attrition rate for those who do report through formal legal processes. It will look at whether a stand-alone domestic violence offence needs to be brought in, if attitudinal or cultural change is needed within the system and if training for first responders is needed. Ms McMurdo will hand down her recommendations for reform in March. Hannah Clarke (pictured with her daughter) was killed in Queensland along with her three children by her estranged husband, prompting calls for more to be done to protect women from domestic abuse Other task force members include Deputy Police Commissioner Tracy Linford, Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Philip McCarthy, barrister Laura Reece, Queensland Sexual Assault Network deputy director Di McLeod and WWILD manager Gillian O'Brien. The state government is already looking into make coercive control a crime in Queensland. Ms McMurdo is also leading that task force, which is investigating how to criminalise behaviour such as isolating partners from friends, dictating where they're allowed to go and controlling their finances. Queensland may become the first state or territory and one of the first jurisdictions in the world to make coercive control a crime. The task force is due to hand down its recommendations in October. Sarpavaram : , March 11 (IANS) Two employees were killed and four others injured in a blast at a pharmaceutical company in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district on Thursday afternoon, police said. The dead in the accident at Tyche Industries were identified as Kakarla Subrahmanyam (31) and Thotakura Venkataramana (37), both supervisors. The injured include Kudupudi Srinivasa Rao (49), Nammi Simhadri Rao (31), Kalagaa Satya Sai Babu (55) and Regali Rajkumar (35). Srinivasa Rao, Simhadri Rao and Rajkumar are operators while Babu is an assistant production manager. Image Source: IANS News Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy expressed sadness over the loss of life in the accident and also asked the officials to ascertain the reason. He instructed officials to provide better treatment for the injured workers. Considering the forthcoming summer season and high temperatures, Reddy directed officials to take protective measures in all industries, chemical plants and especially pharmaceutical companies. Image Source: IANS News The minister warned that he would not tolerate any harm caused to the workers and locals by companies' lapses. -- Syndicated from IANS NEW YORK, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential misconduct at Entergy Corporation (Entergy or the Company) (NYSE:ETR). The investigation focuses on whether the Companys Board of Directors and/or officers breached their fiduciary duties. Request more information now by clicking here: www.faruqilaw.com/ETR. There is no cost or obligation to you. Take Action If you currently own Entergy stock, have continuously owned Entergy stock and would like to discuss your legal rights, please visit www.faruqilaw.com/ETR. You can also contact us by calling Nina Varindani or Christopher M. Lash toll free at (877) 247-4292 or by sending an e-mail to nvarindani@faruqilaw.com or clash@faruqilaw.com. Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding the Companys conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others. Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner. FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP 685 3rd Avenue, 26th Floor New York, NY 11237 Attn: Nina Varindani nvarindani@faruqilaw.com Telephone: (212) 983-9330 FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP 1617 JFK Boulevard, Suite 1550 Philadelphia, PA 19103 Attn: Christopher M. Lash clash@faruqilaw.com Telephone: (215) 277-5770 The Natural History Museum took to its official Instagram handle and shared an image of a very rare meteorite which was formed about four billion years ago. The London-based museum wrote in the caption that it is the first meteorite to be recovered in the UK for over 30 years. The rare meteorite which was discovered in a driveway in Gloucestershire has left the netizens absolutely stunned and the image has now gone viral on all across social media. Rare meteorite discovered The image shows the black object kept on a silver base. It appears to be a little sparkly. Now that it has reached the museum, scientists are conducting research on it. The meteorite which is older than the earth and belongs to the time when the sun was still new, might help scientists to figure out more about evolution. Lets have a look at the image. Netizens stunned Stunned by the image, netizens took over the comment section. The image has managed to gather over 6.5K likes. In the comment section, one Instagram user tagged his friend and wrote, "I wanna go meteorite hunting!!!". Another Instagram user wrote, "To be able to see what that little rock saw on it's journey would be beyond amazing". Making a hilarious remark, one Instagram user wrote, "you people still trying to eliminate a possible creator or just afraid to acknowledge the possibilitys ?". People can also been seen tagging their friends in the comment section. 'Ingredients of life' Earlier, a glinting meteorite made its way through the skies of Britain and Northern Europe and the scientists consider that it may contain ingredients for life. The fragment of the space rock, which landed in Winchcombe driveway in the British county of Gloucestershire, was collected by researchers who have now stated that it was composed of carbonaceous chondrite containing organic material and amino acids, both essential elements for the creation of life. The meteorite weighs 300 grams and is currently placed at Londons Natural History Museum. The brother of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell said he recognises the setting of a well-known photo showing Prince Andrew next to Virginia Giuffre. Ms Maxwell, the former girlfriend of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has previously cast doubt on the authenticity of the photo, said to be taken inside her Mayfair home in London, showing Andrew with his arm around Ms Giuffre. Andrew has also questioned the validity of the image of him with Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts. Ms Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by financier Epstein, alleges Andrew had sex with her on three separate occasions. Andrew has categorically denied he has had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre. Ms Maxwell is in a US prison, awaiting trial on charges that she recruited three teenage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse between 1994 and 1997. Her brother Ian Maxwell has said he does not know anything about the photograph, but said that he recognises the setting of where it was taken. During an interview on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Mr Maxwell was asked about what he knows about the photograph. I dont know anything about the photograph other than that Ive seen its been published, he replied. This is outside the case that my sister is facing. And I know its interest to your listeners, but nonetheless Im not here to talk about that photograph. He was then asked: But do you recognise the setting of that? Was it taken in Ghislaines house in London? Mr Maxwell replied: I do recognise that setting. Read More Andrew has said he has no recollection of meeting Ms Giuffre and cast doubt on the picture, claiming he is not one to hug or display affection in public. In an interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019, Andrew said while he recognises himself in the picture with Ms Giuffre, he claimed it is not possible to prove whether the image had been faked. He also claimed the picture could not have been taken in London, as he was in his travelling clothes. Ms Giuffre insisted to BBC Panorama the photo was authentic and said she gave the original to the FBI in 2011. Asked if it is possible that Andrew will be called as a witness in his sisters defence, Mr Maxwell told the Today programme: I cant answer that. I just dont know is the short answer. He was asked if his sister still considered Andrew a friend, and he said: I dont know. I would assume that she does, yes. Mr Maxwell told the programme his sister is in effective isolation and is under 24-hour surveillance with 10 cameras. He said she is not a suicide risk and described how she is being dealt with in prison as a grotesque overreaction. Mr Maxwell said he cant go into discussing the relationship of Ghislaine with Jeffrey Epstein, adding: I didnt see them together ... I think only once in my entire life in a social situation. Last week, Mr Maxwell told the Daily Telegraph that the American justice system which he described as bizarre and cruel must grant bail to his much loved sister, adding that her family is solidly behind her. According to court documents released last October, Ms Maxwell denied finding under-age sexual partners for Andrew and cast doubts on accounts by the princes accuser, including a claim that sex took place in a bath. Accusing Ms Giuffre of a tissue of lies, Ms Maxwell said the bath at her home in Mayfair was too small for any sexual activity. Homeowners near the new airport in western Sydney have been thrown into financial ruin by a ruling they say has stripped all value from their properties and destroyed their livelihoods. The NSW government last October announced land near the new Nancy-Bird Walton Airport at Badgerys Creek - dubbed the 'Aerotropolis' and due to open in 2026 - would be re-zoned as 'environmental', meaning no new dwellings could be built and existing homes could not be altered. Under environmental zoning laws all property owners can do is maintain what is already there, plant native trees and remove weeds. Those who invested in land before the ruling can no longer build, while furious locals who own existing homes say it is now impossible to sell them. 'We are ruined, everyone's property here is ruined,' Silvana Di-lorio, 57, told Daily Mail Australia. Walter and Silvana Di-Iorio had planned on selling up, downsizing and travelling - but are now stuck in a home they cannot sell because of government re-zoning plans Hundreds of landowners around the planned new airport (pictured) in western Sydney have been thrown into financial ruin Ms Di-lorio and her husband Walter, 62, had planned to downsize and travel with the money they would make from selling their five-bedroom home, which was expected to be around $4.5million. She said those plans have been destroyed. 'Now I cannot put my house on the market, the real estate agent told us nobody will buy it,' she said. 'Who is going to buy land that has been zoned environmental?' Patrick Darley-Jones from the Luddenham Progress Association told Daily Mail Australia dozens of homeowners had been left shattered by the ruling. Mr Darley-Jones said the worst affected suburbs were Luddenham and Bringelly - where resident Rita Herceg testified to the extent of the suffering. Badgery's Creek is also affected but not as badly. 'There must be 50 homes around here in this position,' said Ms Herceg, whose own Bringelly home was also affected. Mr Koutsomihalis' 4-hectare Bringelly property went from rural land to 100 per cent environmental land designated as a green space, rendering his property worthless Deborah and David Wilkinson, both in their sixties, have been told 6.5 of their eight acres is now zoned environmental and is now worthless at sale because the new 'environmental' zoning means it cannot be built on It is an experience shared by Theo Koutsomihalis, whose Bringelly property had been valued at $12million - but he claims is now worth just one dollar. 'I'm stuck now with a property worth $1 for the next 20 or 30 years, if it ever sells,' Mr Koutsomihalis told The Daily Telegraph. 'The other day I literally had to pull the car over and have a panic attack for 45 minutes. My kids' future is gone.' Ms Di-Iorio was told she wouldn't be compensated for the environmental zoning ruling - and that she was expected to 'manage' the property and prepare it for 'public access'. 'We took it to mean plant trees, keep it in good condition, but we're not sure because that hasn't been explained,' she said. 'I cannot believe in a country like Australia that the government can get away with this. It is mind boggling, really awful. Silvana and Walter Di-Iorio's wanted to sell their $4million-plus home at Bringelly - but a government re-zoning - part of Western Sydney International Airport planning - has rendered it worthless 'We don't sleep any more we've become really nervous about not being able to move on.' Deborah Wilkinson, 62, has been told 6.5 of her eight acres is now zoned environmental and she now considers it worthless. She received a valuation in 2016 of $3.8million but she believes until recently it was worth closer to $5million. 'We all just got an A4 piece of paper in the mail that said "this is what you are now,"' she said referring to a government letter about the re-zoning,' she said. 'My hubby wanted to sell in 2016 but I talked him out of it.' She was also told she will not be compensated and cannot alter the land in any way. 'If one of my horses died I wouldn't be able to bury it,' she said. 'This is extraordinary, the government needs to come clean and tell us the scale of this,' Adam Searle, Shadow Minister for Planning and Better Living said. Rita Herceg said 'there must be 50 homes' in the same predicament since the government re-zoned them 'environmental' Western Sydney residents confronted NSW Opposition Leader Jodi McKay (pictured), Mulgoa MP Tania Davies and Camden MP Peter Sidgreaves, before a parliamentary inquiry was announced on Thursday 'What steps will the government take so people's life savings are not destroyed? The government must take all steps to stop this harm being done to families. 'If the government is going to impact people so drastically there may be a moral obligation to acquire properties at a fair price.' Mr Searle said the environmental re-zoning puts property owners 'in a worse position than if their homes were being acquired'. 'It's as if the government is saying "we don't need it", we are just changing the zoning so you can't sell it.' A lawyer who specialises in representing property owners whose properties are compulsorily acquired or re-zoned for major projects said it 'makes life hell' for owners. Theo Koutsomihalis' home's value plummeted after the NSW government rezoned land surrounding the airport at Badgerys Creek - which is due to open in 2026 More than 200 furious locals turned up to a public meeting at Luddenham Showground on Tuesday to call for an Upper House Parliamentary inquiry into the Aerotropolis planning 'They have their lives on hold with the axe hanging over them for many years,' said Mark Shumsky, of Stacks Collins Thompson. 'They wait, unable to sell, unable to renovate or develop, unable to get on with life. 'A re-zoning of their property just before negotiations about compensation were about to commence can lead to an impression the government is placing undue pressure on property owners. People have "rights" but it can take years for the opportunity to access "rights". 'The government and its acquiring authorities can and do make life hell for those unfortunate enough to get caught up in re-zoning and acquisition situations.' Another issue caused by the re-zonings, Mr Darley-Jones said, was a new 'agribusiness' classification assigned to some properties which had added thousands of dollars to local land rates. A parliamentary inquiry will probe the government's land acquisitions. The state government has vowed to reach an outcome that will satisfy the affected property owners. Contains updated information not available in the abstract. DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Having an ischemic stroke increases dementia risk, and that risk escalates with the number and severity of strokes, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Ischemic stroke is the most common stroke type, accounting for 87% of all strokes. It occurs when a vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed. Stroke is the leading preventable cause of disability in adults, and severity of stroke is a main determinant of poor functional outcome after stroke. "Studies have shown that stroke is a strong predictor of dementia. What isn't clear is how stroke severity and having more than one stroke impact dementia risk," said study author Silvia Koton, Ph.D., MOccH, R.N., FAHA, head of the Herczeg Institute on Aging at Tel Aviv University and head of the Ph.D. program in the department of nursing, Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel. "Our study uniquely characterizes the link between stroke and dementia and sets the stage for prevention strategies aimed at reducing the risk of dementia after a stroke." Researchers studied the health information of nearly 15,800 adults (aged 45-64 years) at baseline (enrolled from 1987-1989) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, which is an ongoing, prospective study in four U.S. communities (Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Washington County, Maryland). Researchers used follow-up data from three decades of the ARIC database, which includes the enrollment period starting in 1987 and continuing throughout 2019 with data collected at both in-person visits several years apart and follow-up telephone calls conducted yearly until 2012 and twice each year through 2019. Using all the available information in ARIC to study the link between stroke occurrence, stroke severity and dementia, the researchers found: The risk of dementia in individuals who had at least one ischemic stroke was 2 times higher than for those with no stroke. Dementia risk increased with the severity and number of ischemic strokes. Adults who had one stroke were almost 80% more likely than those with no stroke to have dementia. The dementia risk jumped to 8.5 times more likely for people who had three or more strokes during the study period, from 1987 to 2019. Among adults with severe stroke, the risk of dementia was almost five times higher than for those with minor stroke. "The association of stroke occurrence and stroke severity with dementia risk was surprisingly strong, and the continued rise in risk of dementia after the first stroke and each subsequent stroke was a remarkable finding," Koton said. "Our findings emphasize the importance of preventing stroke to prevent dementia and to maintain high levels of physical and cognitive function and quality of life, especially at older ages," Koton said. "Stroke is largely preventable. Treatment and control of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, together with the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, which includes regular physical activity and no smoking, are crucial for the prevention of stroke and dementia." Researchers only studied ischemic stroke. "Analyzing the impact of other stroke subtypes on dementia risk would be important," Koton added. "Next, we plan to study the link between stroke and mild cognitive impairment as well as between stroke and changes in cognitive performance over time. Future studies will also include information on brain imaging that will help to evaluate possible effects of vascular brain lesions in addition to stroke." ### Study co-authors are James Russell Pike, M.B.A.; Michelle C. Johansen, M.D., Ph.D.; David Knopman, M.D.; Kamakshi Lakshminarayan, M.D., Ph.D.; Thomas Mosley, Jr., Ph.D.; Shalom Patole, M.D., Sc.M.; Wayne D. Rosamond, Ph.D.; Andrea L. Schneider, M.D., Ph.D.; A. Richey Sharrett, M.D., Dr.P.H.; Lisa M. Wruck, Ph.D.; Josef Coresh, M.D., Ph.D.; and Rebecca F. Gottesman, M.D., Ph.D. The authors' disclosures are listed in the abstract. The National Institutes of Health funded this study. Additional Resources: Statements and conclusions of studies that are presented at the American Heart Association's scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association's policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers are available here, and the Association's overall financial information is available here. The American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference (ISC) is the world's premier meeting dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. ISC 2021 will be held virtually, March 17-19, 2021. The 3-day conference will feature more than 1,200 compelling presentations in 21 categories that emphasize basic, clinical and translational sciences as they evolve toward a better understanding of stroke pathophysiology with the goal of developing more effective therapies. Engage in the International Stroke Conference on social media via #ISC21. About the American Stroke Association The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke -- the No. 2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association officially launched in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit stroke.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. LANSING, Mich., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) has announced the Michigan Chamber of Commerce Foundation/Michigan Energy Workforce Development Consortium (MEWDC) will receive a $1.1 million State Apprenticeship Expansion grant to support the development 427 Registered Apprenticeships in critical energy sector job roles. "The Michigan Energy Workforce Development Consortium (MEWDC) is in its 12th year of collaboration and delivering results for the energy industry in Michigan," said Sharon Miller, MEWDC Co-Chair and Director of Strategic Talent Pipelines at Consumers Energy. "The grant award will support our partnerships to deliver high quality work-based learning with 25 energy sector employers, our unions, community colleges, K-12 school districts, and the state's Michigan Works! Agencies to build outstanding career opportunities for Michigan residents that will support the Michigan energy sector for decades." Tracy DiSanto, MEWDC Co-Chair, and Manager of Workforce Planning and Development at DTE, was also selected to a new state-level Apprenticeship Advisory Board . The board consists of members from multiple industry sectors, labor, secondary and postsecondary education, workforce development and the U.S. Department of Labor Michigan Office of Apprenticeship. The board will provide guidance on innovation and implementation strategies to expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs statewide. The Michigan Chamber Foundation (MCF) will serve as the lead partner and as a fiduciary for the duration of the grant. As a statewide business-led organization, the Chamber provides the ideal combination of capabilities, resources and relationships to serve as a neutral convener for the State Apprenticeship Expansion programs. "Increasing access to Registered Apprenticeship programs means more opportunities for job seekers to earn while they learn, gaining in-demand skills and a nationally recognized credential in a critical industry," LEO Acting Director Susan Corbin said. "At the same time, it helps local Michigan businesses fill a continuous talent pipeline by providing a stream of qualified candidates who are trained and certified based on the employer's needs." MEWDC is an industry led partnership of 50+ energy representatives dedicated to building career awareness around current and future workforce demands in Michigan's energy sector. The consortia will implement activities to accelerate the growth of apprentices with a focus on underrepresented populations including minorities, females, youth, and veterans in high-skill, high-wage, in-demand energy sector careers. To increase the overall understanding of apprenticeship opportunities in the state, LEO recently launched the Michigan Registered Apprenticeship Data Dashboard. This online tool allows users to explore registered apprenticeships in regions across the state, including how many active apprentices there are and the occupations and industries in which they are employed. To learn more about MEWDC: http://consortia.getintoenergy.com/michigan/ SOURCE Michigan Chamber of Commerce Related Links http://www.michamber.com For Scott Mesloh, a registered nurse, handling the admission of a COVID-19 patient last March left him with an infection thats had a lasting effect. Still struggling to breathe while hooked up to supplemental oxygen, Mesloh said Thursday he has not returned to work at Natchaug Hospital in Mansfield since he was sent home when the patient tested positive for COVID-19. Still, he cannot get approved for workers compensation. But Mesloh and thousands of other workers are faced with a challenge: Proving they contracted the disease on the job, despite rampant community spread, to receive this key benefit. Unfortunately, Ive been dealing with this every day. Its unfair that they are fighting, that they are saying this came from somewhere else. I wouldnt have gotten COVID if I didnt admit this patient. ... I did my job. I did what was asked of me. And now here I am, sick. I cant breathe. Breathing every day is a struggle, Mesloh said, who lives in Pawtucket, R.I. Labor groups and employees, with the support of legislators, are seeking to make COVID-19 a rebuttable presumption for workers' compensation claims, shifting the burden to employers to prove the worker did not contract COVID while on the job. A bill before the legislature would restore this protection that was briefly established last March in an executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont, and run through the duration of a public health emergency. It also bolsters burial benefits for essential workers who died. Essential workers have waited long enough to be made whole, said state Rep. Robyn Porter, a New Haven Democrat that co-chairs the labor and public employees committee that held a hearing Thursday on the bill. This is the least that we can do for them. I think this should be given. Some of the strings need to be loosened in the way that we are awarding workers comp. It is unclear how many workers compensation claims would be affected, but officials from the AFL-CIO said 3,100 COVID-related claims have been filed and 300 are actively in litigation. They did not know how many had been denied with individuals unaware they could appeal the decision. Sal Luciano, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, said thousands of workers have contracted the virus since the onset of the pandemic, and many have died. At the very least, our states essential workers deserve a workers compensation presumption so we can take care of them when they get sick, Luciano said. This legislation comes at a crucial time, Luciano argued, since he said the state deprioritized essential workers in its vaccine rollout and announced plans to lift many business restrictions on March 19, further putting these people at risk of contracting COVID-19. People are still testing positive for COVID. As good as we are doing with our numbers, we are not out of the woods. Ive said it before and I will keep saying it, we dont get to call them essential workers and treat them like sacrificial lambs, literally being led to slaughter, Porter said. Without the protection of this rebuttable presumption, advocates say its a challenge to show that a worker contracted the virus on the job, despite the clear risks for those deemed essential, be it an employee at a grocery store or a nursing home. The problem is how are we going to prove these cases? Its one thing to go to work and have a brick hit you in the head or you tripped and fell and hurt your knee. Its another thing for you to go to work and be exposed to a microscopic virus and then be told you have to the leave the workplace, said Nathan Shafner, head of the workers compensation section of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. How are you going to show your exposure? Shafner said law protects the privacy of peoples medical conditions, which a sick workers might need for the case. When you factor this privacy with the fact that you are dealing with a microscopic disease, this rebuttable presumption helps the injured worker, Shafner said. For those like Mesloh and Lisa Marquis, a 25-year nursing home worker from Thompson in Connecticuts northeastern corner, the struggle to get workers compensation has been drawn out for months. Marquis, a certified nursing assistant at Davis Place in Danielson, said she contracted the virus in November. I got COVID at work. Ive battled COVID for four months. Ive ... been drained physically and emotionally. To this day, I struggle to breathe [and] find myself deeper and deeper into financial crisis, Marquis said. For her and others, this bill, she said, could help make them whole while they are unable to return to work. We need to be believed when we file for aid, she said. When COVID-19 spread swiftly through Connecticut prisons, correction officers Virginia Ligi and Sean Howard found themselves working in a petri dish of the virus. Both contracted the coronavirus while working in Cheshire Correctional Institution, they said. Howard, who lives in the Hartford area, said the virus led to a heart conditions he now has to manage with seven medications. Like others, he said, his claim remains in a holding pattern. He said he hasnt been denied, but hasnt received his benefits. He said his fellow corrections workers used sick, vacation and personal time to recover from the virus. It has left me fatigued and feeling short of breath every day, Howard said. I cant even play with my young son like I used to, which is really troublesome ... clearly, my life will never be the same because of COVID-19. CATANZARO, MAR 11 - Italian police on Thursday seized some 20 million euros in assets from Catanzaro businessmen and alleged front men linked to the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia, judicial sources said. Police said 10 arrest warrants were served in the operation. Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, who is leading the current 'maxi-trial' against 'Ndrangheta, said the businessmen's firms had been able to dominate the construction business in and around Catanzaro thanks to their ties to the local Mob. Construction entrepreneur Giuseppe Lobello, 50, was said to be linked to the Arena clan of Isola Capo Rizzuto. He was the alleged bagman for protection money from Catanzaro businesses, police said. Gratteri, who has lived under police protection for 30 years, said the probe, Operation Crocodile, has shown a direct link between the business world and the Calabrian crime world. 'Ndrangheta is Italy's richest and most powerful mafia thanks to its control of the European cocaine trade. All its activities have been estimated to be worth the equivalent of at least three per cent of Italian GDP. Its tentacles have spread from its southern Italian base to central and northern Italy, northern Europe, North and South America and Australia, among other areas. Its influence is especially strong in the affluent northern Italian regions of Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna, but it has also spread to Lazio and Rome. The other main mafias in Italy are Cosa Nostra in Sicily, long more powerful and dangerous than 'Ndrangheta, and the Camorra in Campania. There is a smaller mafia in Puglia, the Sacra Corona Unita (United Holy Crown, SCU), which is generally considered less dangerous and expansive. The biggest ever trial into 'Ndrangheta started in Lamezia Terme in mid-January. The trial delves into the activities of the 'Ndrangheta clans in Vibo Valentia and their links to the political, institutional, economic and rogue Masonic worlds controlling all aspects of local life in Calabria. It is the biggest mafia trial in Italy since the so-called 'maxi-trial' of Cosa Nostra in Sicily from 1986 to 1992, which severely weakened the Sicilian Mob. The Lamezia trial, which is expected to last around three years, has over 300 defendants who are facing hundreds if charges. The defendants include local politicians, businessmen, police and other institutional figures accused of helping 'Ndrangheta hold sway over Calabrian life. "We will show the asphyxiation of Calabrian life by 'Ndrangheta," said Gratteri in his opening remarks. (ANSA). Saudi Arabia has called for a national consensus to end the bloodshed in Syria, writes RT Arabic. The Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud said, during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, on Wednesday, that resolving the crisis in Syria requires consensus between the parties to the conflict, from the opposition and the government. He stressed that Saudi Arabia has been keen from the beginning of the crisis to find a way to stop the bloodshed occurring in a friendly and important country. He also expressed Saudi Arabias keenness to coordinate with all parties, including Russia. He said, We agree with our Russian friends on the importance of identifying a political path that would lead to a settlement and stabilization of the situation in Syria because there is no solution to the Syrian crisis except through the political process. In turn, Lavrov said that he and Saudi officials discussed regional issues and the situation in the Gulf region, emphasizing the significance of ensuring security in this key region of the world. Lavrov stressed that the talks gave great attention to the situation in Syria, its national unity, territorial integrity, and the right of Syrians to independently determine their future, based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254. 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. (Natural News) Electric automaker Tesla has agreed to buy nickel from mine in New Caledonia, in the southwest Pacific Ocean, to secure its supply of the key battery metal. The deal amid growing concern over future supplies of the metal. This is after a 26 percent rally in nickel prices over the past year and growing investment by Chinese companies in Indonesia. The metal is a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. As such, it has been labeled by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk as the companys biggest concern. Nickel is our biggest concern for scaling lithium-ion cell production, Musk said on Twitter. Agreement comes after long-delayed sale On Thursday, March 4, political leaders in New Caledonia agreed to the terms of the sale of the mine, which had been owned and operated by Brazilian mining company Vale SA. This included a majority stakeholding for local interests that sought to resolve unrest over the planned sale. New Caledonia is one of the largest nickel producers, but protests in December by groups seeking independence from France delayed the sale of the mine and accompanying refinery to a consortium that included Swiss commodities trader Trafigura. The protests, which turned violent, let to Vale shutting down the site that month. Under the new agreement, a 51 percent stake in the mining operation will be held by New Caledonias provincial authorities and other local interests. On the other hand, Trafigura will have a 19 percent stake less than the 25 percent it initially wanted. As part of this, Tesla will act as an industrial partner that will help with product and sustainability standards while taking some supply for its battery production. All parties involved also called for reinforced environmental standards and set a 1030 target for the mining complex to achieve carbon neutrality. Tesla looking for more control over its nickel supply to beat the Chinese Tesla will not have an equity stake in the mine, but its close involvement signals its efforts to have greater control over its supply chain. Last year, Tesla entered into a similar deal to buy cobalt, another battery metal, from Swiss miner Glencore. Nickel is mined mostly in Russia, Canada, Indonesia and New Caledonia. While it is primarily used to make stainless steel, growth in the electric vehicle segment has increased demand for it for use in batteries. (Related: Can magnesium batteries revolutionize battery technology?) While a number of companies, including Chinese companies, have invested in nickel projects in Indonesia over the past few years, the process to extract and process the metal uses energy from coal-fire power. The latter means that nickel from those mines may not meet Teslas environmental standard. The only incremental nickel tonnage is coming from Indonesia but the problem with Indonesia from an ESG perspective is it may not meet the criteria of Tesla, said Jim Lennon, an analyst at Macquarie. In addition, Lennon remarks that Tesla is behind the Chinese when it comes to securing nickel supplies. Tesla is way behind in securing units and the Chinese have wrapped it up. On March 2, Tuesday, Chinese stainless steel producer Tsingshan announced that it had signed an agreement to sell 100,000 tons of nickel to two Chinese battery makers, Huayou Cobalt and CNGR Advanced Material. Tshinshan stated that it had begun producing higher purity nickel a form suitable for electric-vehicle batteries at its Indonesia plant. For more news on Tesla and other companies owned by Elon Musk, follow ElonMuskWatch.com. Sources include: FT.com Reuters.com New Delhi: Hours after the announcement to postpone the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examinations, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray sprung into action to contain the unrest the decision had caused in the state. The MPSC examination was scheduled to be held on Sunday (March 14), but it was postponed in view of the increasing cases of coronavirus in the state. Thackeray said that the exams have been postponed for only a few days and the new date will be announced by Friday. "Last time when it (MPSC exams) was postponed, I had assured you it won't be further postponed when the next date is declared. Today it was postponed due to COVID-19. I assure you that postponement isn't for 2-3 months but for a few days. The exam will take place in a week's time," Thackeray was quoted as saying by ANI. The chief minister said that the people engaged in exam duty must be tested for the virus before participating in the process. "Those engaged in exam duty must test negative for COVID-19. It's better that people engaged in the exam duty should be vaccinated first. No one should have any doubt in their mind examiners themselves are infected. We'll declare the fresh date by tomorrow," he added. Thackeray further cautioned the students and parents "to not lend a shoulder for any political gun" on the issue. "I don't want to play with students' emotions but I don't want to play with their health either. This extra time which I'm seeking is only for better preparations for staff and other essentials. I appeal to students and parents to not lend a shoulder for any political gun," Thackeray said. Earlier in the day, students took to the streets in many cities in the state to protest against the government's decision to postpone the exams. A large number of students protested in Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Jalgaon. The government's decision to postpone the MPSC exams came under fire from the opposition as well as leaders of the ruling alliance. Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan questioned the wisdom of the decision. Speaking to reporters in Pune, he said, "If the government can permit weddings, hold budget session and conduct exams for the health department, then it is wrong to cancel the MPSC examination." BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis also demanded that the decision be reversed. "The exams have been pushed forward already and it would result in the loss of opportunity for many students who invest their best years in preparation," he tweeted. Live TV Press Release 11 March 2021 Scandic continues to secure its position as industry winner as Sustainable Brand Index today publishes the official ranking of Sweden's most sustainable brands in 2021. This is the eleventh year in a row that consumers and decision-makers have named Scandic the most sustainable brand in the category; Hotel. Advertisements As early as 1993, Scandic decided to become the leader within sustainability and has since then driven the development of sustainability forward in the global hospitality industry. In 2020, Scandic took the next step towards continuing to be a sustainability leader, by launching a new sustainability strategy in order to continue to meet the high demands that guests and the society expect from the largest Nordic hotel operator. "It feels absolutely fantastic that thousands of consumers have named us the industry's most sustainable brand, year after year. For us, this is proof that Scandic leads the way by being the most inclusive company for the many people, continues to lead the development towards better food and and beverage with less impact and works to offer all our guests the most sustainable room experience. We are humble before the task and very grateful for the trust of our guests, consumers and decision-makers", says Magnus Ljungberg, Sustainability Director at Scandic Hotels Group. About Sustainable Brand Index Sustainable Brand Index B2C focuses on the largest business-to-consumer brands across a variety of industries and countries. Based on more than 60 000 consumer interviews in the Nordics, the Netherlands & the Baltics, the study looks at how sustainable your brand is perceived to be, why it is perceived this way and what to do about it. Currently, the study is conducted annually in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania. The ambition is to grow Sustainable Brand Index B2C to as many countries, industries and brands as possible. https://www.sb-index.com/ The number of NHS staff happy with how much they are paid dropped in 2020, data showed today. Just 36.7 per cent of nearly 600,000 medics polled before the second wave of Covid spiralled out of control were 'satisfied' with their salary, compared with 38 per cent the year before. Charities said the findings were a 'stark reminder' as to why No10's 1 per cent pay rise for NHS medics was 'so disrespectful after the last year'. Unions have threatened strikes over the 'insulting' increase. Boris Johnson yesterday hinted that ministers could still U-turn on the move because nurses could be treated 'exceptionally'. Separate data from the NHS's annual workforce survey found almost half of staff say they were sick with stress during the pandemic. Forty-four per cent reported work-related burnout a record high. For comparison, the figure was 40 per cent in 2019. Medical chiefs have repeatedly warned about the stress frontline NHS workers are facing and said they are worried that many will leave when the pandemic is over. But the number of people who said they were planning to leave the NHS soon was lower than in previous years, at 18 per cent or one in six. The results of the survey come as NHS data today show record numbers of people are facing long waits for surgery, cancer appointments and other procedures and experts warn staff are exhausted and face even more work in the post-Covid era. Just 36.7 per cent of nearly 600,000 medics polled before the second wave of Covid spiralled out of control were 'satisfied' with their salary, compared with 38 per cent the year before The annual staff survey saw the proportion of health service workers admitting to having a stress-related illness rise from 40 to 44 per cent in a year (black line) Almost half of NHS staff say their health has suffered because of work-related stress in 2020 (Pictured: Medical workers at the Royal London Hospital in May last year) Increases in work-related stress were steepest in hospitals, the annual survey found. The past year has seen NHS staff face huge pressures in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 595,270 NHS employees in England responded to the NHS Staff Survey 2020, which was carried out between September and December last year. Findings also revealed that 46 per cent of staff said they had gone to work despite feeling unwell in the previous three months, a drop from 57 per cent in 2019 people have been urged not to go to work when they feel ill in case they have coronavirus. Almost a fifth of staff are considering leaving the NHS although this has fallen slightly since 2019, from 19.6 per cent to 18.2 per cent. The Government's minister for care, Helen Whately, said: 'The past year has undoubtedly demanded more from the NHS workforce than any other point in the health services history, and this years staff survey is a vital tool for hearing staff views... JANUARY NHS STATS SHOW HOSPITALS STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP WITH PATIENTS Routine treatment waiting list is at record high 4.59million people in England, up from 4.52m in December. More people than ever waiting more than a year for treatment 304,044, up from 1,643 in January 2020. Proportion of people seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks of warning sign drops to 83.4%, a record low. More people waiting over a month to start cancer treatment after being diagnosed 6% of patients. Advertisement 'There has been a welcome fall in the number of staff experiencing abhorrent harassment, bullying or abuse. 'However I am disappointed to see a small rise in the number of staff who have experienced discrimination because of their ethnic background. We have zero tolerance for any kind of violence or discrimination in the NHS and Im determined to put a stop to this. 'Areas do remain where we need to do more. We will help staff recover from this pandemic, with investments in mental health support and professional development, along with our commitment to recruiting more doctors, nurses and health support workers so our NHS has the staff it needs.' Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the general findings were encouraging but there were 'significant areas of concern'. He said: 'The overall picture is encouraging given the unprecedented and most challenging of times NHS staff have worked through over the past 12 months. 'There are, though, significant areas of concern and the recent data on the continued poorer experience of ethnic minority staff starkly reminds NHS leaders that staff experience varies unacceptably in their organisations.' He said with nearly one in five people thinking of leaving the health service, there can be 'no room for complacency', as he cited the Government's 'intention to offer only a 1 per cent pay rise' to NHS workers a move which has prompted strong criticism. The survey, which has been conducted every year since 2003, was sent out to more than 1.2 million NHS staff in England between September and December last year. Some 280 NHS organisations took part, including all 220 trusts in England, but it does not cover primary care staff. Royal College of Nursing chief executive Dame Donna Kinnair said the NHS staff survey results should 'act as a stark reminder to ministers of why a one per cent pay rise is so disrespectful after the last year'. She said: 'As the NHS tries to recover from the pandemic, nursing staff are still being pushed to the edge to keep services running. Rest and recuperation for health care staff must be central to decision-making. Support for staff must also include psychological and physical support for all that need it. 'Unless ministers recognise the warning signals of those who are thinking of leaving and the nearly half of those surveyed who felt unwell as a result of work-related stress, it makes it even harder for the NHS to return to normal. 'With tens of thousands of nursing vacancies across the NHS, much more needs to be done and this has to start with keeping and looking after those already in the profession.' It comes after the PM yesterday hinted at a shift on NHS pay as he suggested nurses could be treated 'exceptionally'. Mr Johnson wriggled as he was berated by Labour's Keir Starmer during a tetchy PMQs session, with the Labour leader comparing the proposed 1 per cent for health staff to the 40 per cent hike for ex-aide Dominic Cummings. Sir Keir demanded that MPs be given a vote on the 'real-terms cut'. Unions have threatened strikes over the 'insulting' increase while Tories are restive. Ministers have so far argued the bump is all the country can afford with coronavirus sending national debt soaring towards 2.8trillion, and pointed out that the rest of the public sector is facing a freeze. But the premier fuelled speculation of a shift by stressing that the pay review body will consider the evidence. Prerana Issar, chief people officer for the NHS, said: 'The way the NHS has responded to the pandemic and cared for our patients has been extraordinary, and part of that response has been the way we have supported and looked after each other which these results recognise, with many more people benefitting from health and wellbeing support from their trust and line manager. 'But given the high level of work-related stress for staff caused by the pandemic, we need to maintain our focus on health and wellbeing and give them the support they need during recovery to help us to maintain care for patients. 'And it is also right to ask that NHS staff are treated respectfully as they go about their work serving patients in often demanding circumstances.' Canada welcomed nearly 25,000 immigrants in January 2021 most since last February Canada is already on track to achieve its ambitious 401,000 immigration target this year. Canada welcomed nearly 25,000 immigrants in January 2021 most since last February Canada is already on track to achieve its ambitious 401,000 immigration target this year. Canada welcomed nearly 25,000 immigrants in January 2021 most since last February Canada is already on track to achieve its ambitious 401,000 immigration target this year. Kareem El-Assal Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canadas immigration levels are starting to recover. New Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data show that the country welcomed about 24,665 new permanent residents in January 2021. This is comparable to Canadas monthly intake prior to the pandemic. In fact, it is the strongest month for Canadian immigration since February 2020. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration Prior to the pandemic, Canada welcomed between 25,000 and 35,000 new immigrants per month. There is a significant seasonal component to Canadian immigration. Newcomer arrivals are the strongest during the spring and summer months and taper off towards the end of each calendar year. Reasons for this include the warmer weather making the settlement process easier, as well as families looking to settle in Canada by the end of the summer holidays Canadas school year and work schedule generally resume normal activity each September. This typical state of affairs was interrupted abruptly by the travel restrictions Canada was compelled to implement effective March 18 of last year as it sought to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, immigration levels have remained extremely weak and Canada was not able to surpass 20,000 new arrivals in a month until January of this year. Only 184,370 new immigrants came to Canada in 2020, falling way short of IRCCs goal of 341,000. This was the weakest year for Canadian immigration since 1998. To make up for the shortage, Canadas immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, announced that Canada would welcome 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021. Should Canada achieve this goal, it will be tied for the highest level of immigration in the countrys history the current record stands at 401,000 immigrant arrivals in 1913. The strong start to this year suggests Canada is in good position to achieve its ambitious immigration goal by the end of this year. If seasonal newcomer arrival patterns normalize, we can expect immigration to eventually surpass 35,000 monthly landings by the summer. Moreover, we should see a significant spike in permanent residence landings by the end of the year due to the recent historic Express Entry draw held by IRCC on February 13. It usually takes at least nine months between an individual being invited for permanent residence under Express Entry and then formally completing the landing process. This spike should be recorded by November or December. In recent months, Mendicino and IRCC have communicated a temporary shift in strategy. IRCC will aim to transition as many people currently residing in Canada to permanent residence in order to meet their 401,000 immigrant target. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration In addition to public comments made by Mendicino, a number of major actions by IRCC demonstrates the Canadian governments commitment to this temporary shift in strategy. Whereas IRCC was inviting candidates from all over the world, including Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates to apply for permanent residence towards the end of 2020, it is now focusing on inviting candidates most likely to be in Canada. Since the start of this year, Express Entry draws have only invited Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. On February 13, IRCC held by far the largest Express Entry draw in history when it invited 27,332 CEC candidates to apply for permanent residence. This draw was nearly six times larger than the previous record. Express Entry is the main way Canada welcomes skilled workers to immigrate to the country. Generally speaking, over half of invitees under Express Entry tend to fall under the FSWP while PNP and CEC candidates account for the minority. This has been reversed during the pandemic. Following the February 13th draw, IRCC explained that it estimates some 90 per cent of CEC candidates are living in Canada right now. Given the nature of the ongoing travel restrictions, it is likely that most of those who officially became permanent residents in January were also individuals who have been in Canada throughout the pandemic. Canada has a large population of temporary foreign workers and international students who are provided with an advantage when applying to the countrys over 100 different skilled worker immigration programs. These programs tend to reward candidates who have Canadian work experience and education. This is a function of Statistics Canada research showing that Canadian experience is an excellent predictor of an immigrants success in the labour market. Looking ahead, IRCC has stated it will resume welcoming skilled workers from abroad once the pandemic situation has improved. For now, many skilled workers who have received approval to immigrate to Canada are unable to enter the country due to travel restrictions. While it remains difficult to predict the future, recent developments provide hope that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Daily case counts have fallen in Canada since January, a function of both stay-at-home orders as well as an increase in vaccine distribution. Down south, the United States is now administering over two million vaccine dosages per day. Vaccine rollouts are also moving at a quicker rate globally. Should such positive trends continue, Canada may be in a better position to strongly consider relaxing its travel restrictions later this year. Find out if youre eligible for Canadian immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. ADVERTISEMENT the agency of leadership is very crucial whenever a nation finds itself in such a situation as Nigeria is in today. I say, for the umpteenth time, that a similar historical moment was seized upon by President F. W. de Klerk to reconstitute South Africa, away from an apartheid system that was destined for calamitous collapse. What Nigeria needs at the moment is its own de Klerk Every human society seeks to construct state structures requisite for delivering on the multifaceted mandate of development for the citizenry. While development may be a function of economic growth, the latter alone does not equate same; and thus, every political system works to make growth inclusive. It is, however, not always that the structures of the state, and the patterns of contestation for dominance and control by social groups, i.e. politics, are organised in a way as to be capable of delivering upon this mandate. This reality has regularly played out in the Nigerian context, defined by four major challenges. First, Nigeria operates a (unitary) governance structure that is at variance with the plural character of the society. It doesnt matter here what the 1999 Constitution (as amended) says of itself. What is too obvious is that it is but a blueprint for unitary governance, deliberately positioned as such by the military junta that midwifed extant democratic experimentation in 1999. Secondly, the unitary structure is itself problematic in the (lopsided) manner in which it was constituted; and thus is unable to engender the type of outcome that reflects the aspiration of a preponderance of the Nigerian population. Thirdly, and understandably so, the governance structure is not conducive to the emergence of leaders with the vision and technical capacity requisite for developing a new social formation like Nigeria, in an increasingly dynamic global system. Rather, it reproduces leaders, many of whom are short in capacity, limited in vision, and too compromised, to be the anchors for national unity and development. The nature of the compromises political practitioners must make to access power, narrowly concentrated in the central government under this arrangement, are such that diminish the prospects of the emergence of leaders of such quality and commitment requisite for a fresh berth for the country. This is very much unlike the First Republic, where governance was organised at the regional level, and thus paraded better possibilities for quality leadership. Finally, Nigeria approximates the textbook example of social exclusion. It institutionalises the shutting out of a majority of the population youths, women, peoples with disability, and increasingly arguably, some ethnic nationalities too from the nations political and economic processes, by reason of some socially constructed identities, spurn by the core members of the governing elite. Two issues are of critical import here. The first is predicated upon the fact that what underlines and feeds upon the foregoing challenges is contracting economic opportunities for, and thus material demobilisation of a good chunk of the countrys growing population. When a country finds itself in this type of quandary, it requires to put in place macro-economic policies directed at catalysing sustained economic growth, and development. Yet, economic policies are basically contextual, and cannot be divulged from the general environment from which they emerge. Thus, while not oblivious of the nuances of such economic programming and the specificities of macro-economic tools requisite for the purpose of engendering growth, the focus should be on the sociality of economic policies. Secondly, a critical nexus exists between governance and economic performance. It is trite that good governance (politics) correlates with social development. Most recently, Lewis (in NESG, 2018: 5-9) noted that its not labels, its not the regions, its politics that brings about the transition of a country from a stagnant economy to a prosperous one. For Acemoglu and Robinson (Ibid), the main determinants of differences in prosperity across countries are differences in economic institutions. The twosome also aver that economic institutions of a society depend on the nature of political institutions and the distribution of political power in society. These perspectives align with that of Khan (Ibid) that governance capacity (the presence of strong institutions to implement strategies) was important to economic growth. Claude Ake (1989: 54-65) had earlier pushed essentially the same thesis when he argued that understanding how politics underdevelops the African economy was the unavoidable starting point in the (under)development narrative. What is evident here, as I have argued elsewhere, is that the emergence of a strong developmental state capable of moderating the complex interactions of conflicting social forces, for the ends of inclusive and sustainable development, is the antidote to extant dysfunctionality of the Nigerian political economy (Mimiko, 1997: 241-267; Mimiko, 2020). Thus, unless Nigeria gets the governance structure and its functionality right, all attempts at catalysing economic growth and development in the country, fighting corruption, closing the fault lines, and extirpating ethnicisation of politics and politicisation of ethnic, religious, and regional differentiation, may very well come to nought. It is now quite obvious that the pattern of governance that Nigeria had embraced after the first few years of its independence, has not acquainted itself creditably. The evidence on this is overwhelming. Poverty continues to grow, both in scope and depth, with about half of the population now living in extreme poverty. The problematic arising from this prognosis are, first: What is the specific social context of the string of economic policies needed to propel growth and development in Nigeria; and secondly, what needs be done to bring this desirable context into being? It is now quite obvious that the pattern of governance that Nigeria had embraced after the first few years of its independence, has not acquainted itself creditably. The evidence on this is overwhelming. Poverty continues to grow, both in scope and depth, with about half of the population now living in extreme poverty. Armed non-state actors effectively contest the social and spatial space with the state, in a manner that suggests the apparatuses of state are overwhelmed, and seriously imperils national security. In addition, the social cleavages are widening, undermining the nation-building agenda. These approximate a governance structure that has failed to deliver, and indeed is incapable of delivering, on the most basic mandate of the modern state welfare and security. This reality constitutes the compelling advocacy for recasting Nigerias governance structure in the direction of a more robust and functional federal system, thereby aligning the orientation of the society with the structure of the state. There is no running away from this pathway, given that nationalism and self-determination, as Jeffery Sachs (2005), among others, has very well noted, have become the most critical features of the present century. Indeed, the validity of this model informs the gradual transitioning of many countries, which, for different historical reasons, had operated forms of unified structures, into some form of federalism, defined by greater degrees of autonomy to sub-national units. The current in Nigeria, nay, the world over, is in the direction of sub-national autonomy, the ultimate goal of which is functional federalism. The truth is that this process cannot be resisted for too long. Indeed, the danger in denying the necessity for this pathway is that extremist prognosis for the division of the country may continue to gain traction. In the final analysis, while recognising the profound advantages of keeping the country in its one big and expansive whole, I argue that in the event of the sustenance of the resistance to recomposing the state, the structural integrity of this social formation may be fatally compromised. Nigerians must acknowledge that the oft-repeated Nigeria is indivisible thesis is patently ahistorical. History has demonstrated unambiguously that different types of state structures had unravelled in the past; and there is nothing unique about Nigeria that makes a similar path completely imponderable, especially where the conditions prevailing are akin to the ones that had propelled state failure in other climes. Intellectuals have a role here in leading the charge out of extant national crisis, as they constitute the moral compass of society. This, most humbly, is the purpose this piece is meant to serve. After all, its been said that politics is too important to be left to politicians alone! The reports of the 2014 National Conference, held under a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, and the All Progressives COngress (APC) True Federalism Committee, are quite identical in their prescriptions. Apart from the recommendation by the APC document that offshore oil deposits be placed under the auspices of the central government, which requires to be reviewed in the light of the validity of the argument for a broader modicum of resource control, the two reports are basically the same. I argue that while they are far from being perfect, both documents provide a workable blueprint for reinventing governance in Nigeria. Emplacing some new elaborate structures to dilate on these same issues that had been adequately tackled by these two outings, would not only amount to further wastage of resources, but delay of actions in an arena where urgency is sorely needed. I conclude this piece by noting that the agency of leadership is very crucial whenever a nation finds itself in such a situation as Nigeria is in today. I say, for the umpteenth time, that a similar historical moment was seized upon by President F. W. de Klerk to reconstitute South Africa, away from an apartheid system that was destined for calamitous collapse. What Nigeria needs at the moment is its own de Klerk a metaphor for leadership to wind down a structure that is neither working, nor workable; and replace it with a more functional alternative that can be the basis of economic growth, development, and national unity. President Muhammadu Buhari can choose to step into this office at this epochal moment of Nigerias history. The longer these realities are denied, the more dangerous the situation becomes. As I most recently noted elsewhere, what is incontestable now is that time is running out. The forces of extremism are winning; and moderate outlooks are increasingly becoming irrelevant and indefensible. Intellectuals have a role here in leading the charge out of extant national crisis, as they constitute the moral compass of society. This, most humbly, is the purpose this piece is meant to serve. After all, its been said that politics is too important to be left to politicians alone! Femi Mimiko, mni, a member of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, is of the Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. E-mail: femi.mimiko@gmail.com; Twitter: @FemiMimiko DUBLIN, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Construction Outlook to 2024 (Q4 2020 Update)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Having suffered a historic collapse in construction activity during Q2 2020 amid widespread disruption caused by restrictions imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, there are signs that the global construction industry is poised for a recovery. In many major markets, construction output levels bounced back in Q3 2020 as sites were reopened and operations resumed. Although a renewed spike in (or continued high levels of) COVID-19 infections has resulted in new restrictions in the latter part of 2020, the construction industry in general has been permitted to continue. There are challenges in the short term in terms of getting back to a normal level of activity, not least those related to making sites COVID-19 secure and adhering to local regulations, notably social distancing rules and self-quarantining of workers. However, with the distribution of vaccines on the horizon, the risk of a repeat of the severe disruption that occurred in 2020 has diminished. Reflecting this, the publisher expects that global construction output will expand by 4.5% in 2021, following the estimated contraction of 2.9% recorded in 2020 This report provides a detailed analysis of the prospects for the global construction industry up to 2024, including an assessment of the impact of COVID-19. Scope An overview of the outlook for the global construction industry to 2024, with specific focus on assessing the impact of COVID-19 Analysis of the outlook for the construction industry in major global regions: North America , Latin America , Western Europe , Eastern Europe , South and South-East Asia , North-East Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and North Africa , and Sub-Saharan Africa. , , , , South and , North-East Asia, Australasia, the and , and Sub-Saharan Africa. A comprehensive benchmarking of 91 leading construction markets according to construction market value and growth Analysis of the latest data on construction output trends in key markets. Key Topics Covered: 1. GLOBAL OUTLOOK 2. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: US AND CANADA 3. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: LATIN AMERICA 4. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: WESTERN EUROPE 5. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: EASTERN EUROPE 6. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: SOUTH AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA 7. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: AUSTRALASIA 8. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: NORTH-EAST ASIA 9. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 10. REGIONAL OUTLOOK: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kkstbn About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. 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: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com With the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, organizations across the globe are gradually flattening their recessionary curve by leveraging technology. Many businesses will go through response, recovery, and renewal phases. Building business resilience and enabling agility will aid organizations to move forward in their journey out of the COVID-19 crisis towards the Next Normal. This post-pandemic business planning research will aid clients to: Adjust their strategic planning to move ahead once business stability kicks in. to move ahead once business stability kicks in. Build Resilience by making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. Conceptualize scenario-based planning to mitigate future crisis situations. Key Considerations for Market Forecast: Impact of lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, demand destruction, and change in customer behavior Optimistic, probable, and pessimistic scenarios for all markets as the impact of pandemic unfolds Pre- as well as post-COVID-19 market estimates Quarterly impact analysis and updates on market estimates Related Report on Information Technology Include: Global 3D Scanner Market - Global 3D scanner market is segmented by product (short-range, medium-range, and long-range), technology (laser triangulation and structured light), end-user (industrial manufacturing, healthcare, architecture and engineering, aerospace and defense, and others), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report Here! Global Document Capture Software Market - Global document capture software market is segmented by end-user (BFSI, healthcare, government legal, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report Here! Major Three Document Scanner Market Participants: Avision Inc. Avision Inc. operates its business through the Unified segment. The company offers various document scanners such as AD225WN, AD345 series, AD345F, and other models. Brother Industries Ltd. Brother Industries Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Printing & Solutions, Personal & Home, Machinery, Network & Contents, Domino, and Others. The company offers mobile and desktop scanners. Canon Inc. Canon Inc. operates its business through segments such as Office, Imaging system, Medical system, and Industry and others. The company offers personal scanners, workgroup scanners, departmental scanners, production scanners, and network scanners. If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Get report snapshot here to get a detailed market share analysis of market participants during COVID-19 lockdown: https://www.technavio.com/report/document-scanner-market-industry-analysis Document Scanner Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Document scanner market is segmented as below: Application Government BFSI IT Healthcare Others Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America The document scanner market is driven by the increasing use of high-speed document scanners. In addition, other factors such as the need to adhere to industry sustainability standards are expected to trigger the document scanner market toward witnessing a CAGR of about 4% during the forecast period. Get more insights about the global trends impacting the future of the document scanner market, Request Free Sample @ https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41060 Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Related Links http://www.technavio.com/ A third round of stimulus checks will go out to most Americans this month, but how much will you get? And when is the money coming? Use our calculator and get more questions answered below. The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill Wednesday, including extended unemployment benefits, an increased Child Tax Credit, and direct payments worth up to $1,400. Biden signed the measure, known as the American Rescue Plan, on Thursday, before the current round of unemployment assistance and other coronavirus aid expires on March 14. How much will I get? The full $1,400 payments will go to individuals with incomes of up to $75,000 (phasing out until $80,000) and heads of household earning up to $112,500 (phasing out until $120,000). Married couples earning up to $150,000 (phasing out until $160,000) will be eligible for $2,800. Payments will phase out at a 5% reduction for every dollar of income greater than the income limit. Roughly 85% of U.S. adults would be eligible for the full amount, based on your adjusted gross income (AGI) from your most recent tax return (2019 or 2020). Combined with the $600 stimulus checks approved by President Donald Trump in December, the package would mean $2,000 in direct payments to most Americans. What about dependents? Parents will also receive $1,400 per dependent, instead of $600 in the first two rounds, and this third round of checks will include eligible adult dependents for the first time. The previous two rounds were limited to children under age 17, so parents with college-age students or people who claim elderly people and individuals with disabilities as a dependent will be able to receive extra money in the third round. Altogether, a family of four could receive $5,600 a huge increase from the first two rounds of stimulus checks. Whos eligible for a stimulus check? To qualify for a relief check, you have to be a U.S. resident with a social security number. Certain people who didnt file taxes in 2019 or 2020 may still receive a payment. Prisoners will be allowed to receive the third round of stimulus checks, just like the first two rounds. Immigrants with green cards or certain work visas are also eligible, but nonresidents, temporary workers and undocumented immigrants are not. Stimulus check calculator Use this Omni calculator to see how much your stimulus check will be: Third Stimulus Check Calculator - American Rescue Plan Child Tax Credit Parents can also expect to receive money through the new Child Tax Credit, worth $3,000 per child ages 6 to 17 and $3,600 for children under age 6. The credit, based on taxpayers 2020 income, would normally be a lump sum on an individual or familys income tax return but will instead be delivered as a monthly payment from the IRS for $250 or $300, depending on the childs or childrens age, for a full year to help families affected by the pandemic. The current child tax credit, from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, provides $2,000 per child under 17 for single filers with incomes of $200,000 or less and couples filing jointly with $400,000 of adjusted gross income or less. When will I get my stimulus check? People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, after Biden signed the bill. The first round of checks took weeks to begin arriving, even via direct deposit, but millions received the second round within days and will also receive the third round quickly if they have already verified their bank information on the IRS Get My Payment site. Americans with direct deposit could get their stimulus checks as early as this weekend, through the third week of March. Those who receive paper checks or debit cards would likely get their payments later in the spring. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Bidens signature will not appear on the checks, avoiding the delays that occurred when Trump put his name on the first round of checks. His focus was on getting them out as quickly as possible, Psaki said. We are doing everything in our power to expedite the payments and not delay them, which is why the Presidents name will not appear on the memo line of this round of stimulus checks... This is not about him. This is about the American people getting relief, almost 160 million of them. Is stimulus check taxable? No, Economic Impact Payments are not taxable and you do not have to pay income taxes on them. They are considered tax credits, not income, so you will not have to report them as income when you file your tax returns in 2021 (or for the third payment next year). Any tax refund you are owed this year or next will not be reduced because of the stimulus checks you received. What else is in the new coronavirus relief bill? The American Rescue Plan includes expanded unemployment benefits through Sept. 6 at $300 a week (the first $10,200 of jobless benefits would be non-taxable for households with incomes under $150,000); $60 billion towards Covid-19 testing and vaccine distribution; $130 billion to help schools reopen safely; $25 billion to help bars and restaurants; $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program; $350 billion in emergency funding for state, local and territorial governments; and $30 billion to help low-income households and the unemployed afford rent and utilities. The Senate made some changes to the original package, including dropping a proposed $15-per-hour minimum wage hike, reducing unemployment benefits to $300 a week (down from $400 previously approved by the House), and limiting some eligibility for stimulus checks; fewer people will receive partial payments than an earlier version that would have phased out payments for individuals making up to $100,000, and couples making up to $200,000. The first round of stimulus checks, which gave qualifying American adults a one-time direct payment of $1,200 plus $500 for each child under the age of 17, was part of Congress $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in March 2020. A second round of stimulus checks worth $1,200 was approved in the HEROES Act in May, but legislation stalled for months and the December package cuts those direct payments in half. If you time your income tax filing just right, you could get a bigger stimulus check Stuck in prison? Heres how to claim your coronavirus stimulus check See how much CNY cities, towns will get from $1.9T Covid relief bill Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. John Druschitz spent five days in a Texas hospital last April with fever and shortness of breath as doctors puzzled over a diagnosis. They initially suspected coronavirus. But ensuing lab work was ambiguous: Multiple molecular tests for coronavirus came back negative, but an antibody test was positive. Doctors found that Mr. Druschitz, 65, had an irregular heartbeat and blood clots in both his lungs. They sent him home on oxygen, and ultimately did not give a coronavirus diagnosis because of the negative tests. He didnt think much about the decision until this fall, when he received a $22,367.81 bill that the hospital has since threatened to send to collections. Working with a patient advocate, he discovered that his debt stemmed in no small part from his diagnosis. Not having a coronavirus diagnosis disqualified his hospital from tapping into a federal fund to cover his bills. The House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill on Wednesday with a final vote of 220-211. The COVID relief package with $1,400 stimulus checks and funding for the reopening of schools and COVID-19 vaccine distribution is now waiting for Biden's signature. USA Today noted that the bill overcame hurdles such as numerous complaints and amendments from the chamber and opposition from the Republicans. The bill also overcame the hurdle from progressive Democrats, who believed that too many adjustments were made to more moderate Democrats when the bill was able to pass from the Senate last Sat. The COVID relief bill is now on its way to Biden, who will sign it into law on Friday, according to the White House. RELATED ARTICLE: Senate Approves COVID Relief Bill, $1400 Stimulus Check COVID Relief Bill Passed by House Forbes noted that the passage of the bill, known as the American Rescue Plan Act, was made possible through a legislative process called budget reconciliation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer supervised the effort in the Senate and Speaker Pelosi in the House. The budget reconciliation made it possible for the COVID relief bill to pass Congress despite the GOP's complete opposition and objection. Texas Tribune reported that the massive amounts that the federal government will spend on issues not related to the COVID-19 pandemic are the basis of the Republican opposition to the bill. The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that the latest record showed that about 28,825,174 COVID-19 cases are recorded in the U.S., with 522,469 deaths. In a series of tweets, Vice President Kamala Harris said that Biden "promised that help is on the way, and he has been determined to keep that promise." Harris added that the president had challenged every member of the administration and Congress to reach out to those gravely affected by the pandemic. Harris also commended Biden's efforts to inoculate all Americans alongside the passing of the COVID relief bill. For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that "we will get to work immediately to deliver life-saving resources," which will come from the bill as soon as it is passed and signed by Biden. Pelosi also noted that help is on the way, and they will join the President in this movement. COVID Relief Bill Provisions The COVID relief bill has faced many amendments from the original plan that Biden introduced. Changes such as reducing the unemployment benefits from $400 to $300 and lowering the income cap for stimulus checks from the original $100,000 to $80,000. Once Biden puts his signature on the COVID relief bill, it will satisfy different American living aspects. USA Today mentioned that aside from the $1,400 stimulus checks and unemployment aid, the COVID relief bill will also allot $30 billion to help renters and landlords affected by the weather economic losses and $50 billion for small business assistance. READ NEXT: House Approves $1.9T COVID-19 Relief Bill as President Biden Still Considers Lowering Income Threshold for Stimulus Checks WATCH: Senate Passes President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Relief Bill - from CNBC Television A former Massachusetts man who tried to flee to Canada to avoid a prison sentence for his role in a phone scam that bilked area residents out of hundreds of thousands of dollars has been ordered to pay more than $250,000 in restitution. Ashokkumar Andy Patel, formerly of Worcester, was responsible for helping steal more than $880,000, but the identities of many victims could not be traced, prosecutors said in federal court Tuesday, The Telegram & Gazette reported. Patels lawyer, Vikas Dhar, said Patel made less than $50,000 for his role in the scheme. Patel pleaded guilty last September to wire fraud and money laundering for his role in a complicated scheme in which foreign callers duped people into sending them money by posing as IRS debt collectors. He was sentenced to more than three years in prison. But before he started serving the sentence, he was apprehended by Canadian authorities in October on the Canada-Washington after diving into a ditch. He was indicted in November for contempt of court in connection with the alleged escape attempt. An interim unity government received parliamentary approval in Libya on Wednesday. The governments formation formally ended Libyas divide between warring factions in different parts of the country, though divisions remain. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibahs government was approved by 132 lawmakers. The interim government also includes a three-member Presidential Council headed by diplomat Mohammad Younes Menfi. The government is to remain in power until elections on Dec. 24, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Libya has been in chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. From 2014 to 2020, the country was mired in a civil war. The conflict produced a divided country between the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter and the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west and the capital, Tripoli, which is strongly supported by Turkey. The LNA is in turn backed by neighboring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Both the GNA and the LNA welcomed the new government and have pledged support for the December elections. However, on the ground, Libyan territory and institutions remain under the control of different groups loyal to the two administrations, Reuters reported also on Wednesday. Dbeibah, a businessman, was designated prime minister in February during UN-backed negotiations and given three weeks to form a government. A cease-fire in October also helped pave the way for reconciliation by ending the fighting. Massachusetts Charlie Baker's Diana DiZoglio Methuen Charlie Baker Feb. 1 March 27 April 3 April 10 April 11 (TNS) Officials are promising vaccine signups will get "easier" inthis week with the launch Friday of a centralized pre-registration system for booking appointments and the announcement of dedicated teacher vaccination days at the state's seven largest vaccination sites.The decision to implement a centralized pre-registration system for the state's seven mass vaccination sites comes amid weeks of mounting pressure from state and federal lawmakers to streamline the signup process following repeated website failures and long wait times that have fanned frustrations."The new system will make it easier to request and book an appointment at a mass vaccination site," according to a press release from Gov.office.Sen., D-told the Herald, "It's about time."DiZoglio is one of several lawmakers who have filed legislation to pressure Gov.to improve online signup tools.The pre-registration system will allow residents to log their information with the state and then be sent information via text, call or email to sign up for a vaccine appointment at a mass vaccination site closest to their home once they become eligible, administration officials told reporters during a Wednesday morning briefing.Once informed, people will have 24 hours to follow a provided link and sign up for an appointment.People are incentivized to sign up as quickly as possible once the pre-registration system goes live around mid-morning on Friday, officials said. Appointment links will be sent out on a first-come, first-serve basis based on eligibility."While this should have been done from the very beginning, I'm glad the governor finally decided to take up my bill and establish a vaccine pre-registration system. We must now also ensure he is not just appointment friends of his to run the new system with no oversight. I will continue to push for a full audit and investigation into the governor's no-bid contracting with private companies regarding the vaccine distribution," DiZoglio said.The announcement of the streamlined booking platform comes six weeks after a turbulent rollout into Phase 2 of the vaccine rollout that onexposed massive technology shortfalls and left older residents scrambling to book appointments. Those technology failures intensified weeks later when eligibility opened up to about 1 million people over 65 and those with two or more co-morbidities, causing repeated system crashes.Teachers as promised will also get easier access to vaccines with four dates designated as educator-only vaccination days at all seven mass vaccination sites on four Saturdays in March and April.K-12 educators, school staff and child care workers will be able to use the pre-registration tool to sign up for vaccine appointments onand"We will help educators in order to align Massachusetts with the Biden-Harrs administrations directive to states to prioritize teacher vaccinations," Sudders said Wednesday morning. "We do that understanding we are not getting additional state distribution increase in our vaccine."Massachusetts will continue to receive about 150,000 new first vaccination from the federal government per week through the end of March, Sudders said.On Thursday, 40,000 of those appointments will open up appointments at mass vaccination sites for the last time. Beginning next week, mass vaccination site appointments must be booked through the new central registration tool. Gardai have issued advice on how to avoid online shopping fraud after Irish consumers lost 22 million in credit and debit card fraud last year. Online Shopping fraud is where the buyer doesnt receive the goods after making payments, receives fake/counterfeit goods or goods not as described. The seller can also be conned, having sent their goods and do not receive payment. This has become more prevalent during the Covid 19 pandemic as more and more people are shopping online. Up to 10 million online transactions were carried out over the Christmas shopping period alone, with an overall 50% increase in reported crimes in 2019/2020. Online Shopping fraud is where the buyer doesnt receive the goods after making payments, receives fake/counterfeit or not as described goods This has become more prevalent during the Covid 19 pandemic as more people are shopping online Detective Inspector Mel Smyth explains pic.twitter.com/Nd9AKtjUxm Garda Info (@gardainfo) March 11, 2021 The Advice from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) is: Online shopping Use secure websites. Make sure the website you are on is real not cloned or fake. Make sure there is an "https" at the beginning of the web address and a padlock symbol displayed beside the URL before the purchase is made - this indicates a secure connection. Look for the trust seals Trust seals are commonly placed on homepages, login pages, and checkout pages. Theyre immediately recognizable and they remind visitors that they are secure on this page. Know the websites policy on refunds and know your consumer rights. They are protected if proper site used Where selling platforms offer an official, safe way of paying, use this rather than sending money directly to a third party otherwise use an online payment option such as PayPal, which helps to protect you. Check their payment methods should be credit cards. Never transfer money direct or pay cash If a website is asking you to send money to a random PayPal address, wire it by Western Union, pay in iTunes gift cards or only deals in cryptocurrency, that should send up a red flag. The majority of the time, those methods are done to avoid scrutiny and ensure that a transaction cant be reversed. Always keep a record of your purchase, print or save a copy of your order. Ensure you read the terms and conditions associated with any purchase. Be careful about cut-price offers - if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Do not under any circumstances use public Wi-Fi when making payments - switch to 3G/4G on your phone if necessary. Auction sites Be wary where there is a sense of urgency i.e. need to agree now, last chance, only one left, etc. Be extremely careful when buying things from people with little or no selling history. Dont enter into off site communication for a lower cash price. Never purchase through social media or where the offer came to you via social media Independently visit the website of the online sales company as opposed to clicking on social media or pop-up adverts. Be wary of offers from strangers why are they offering you this once in a lifetime chance? Check for poor English and spelling/grammar mistakes. If you bid for an item unsuccessfully, dont be tempted to trade off-site if another seller approaches you with a similar item. Be careful when using direct banking transactions to pay for goods. Make sure transactions are secure. Dont send confidential personal or financial information by email. Check the IBAN of the bank the seller wants you to send money to - good indicator if the bank you are paying into is in a different country to where the proposed location of the seller/goods are. IBAN numbers can be checked on all search engines, this is as link to one such site https://www.iban.com/iban-checker. It will tell you the country and address of the bank. If the seller is unknown to you, do some research - call them, authenticate their phone number and business, check if they have a physical address. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Jeddah : , March 11 (IANS) The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in Saudi Arabia is working on a national anti-discrimination policy that will be adopted in the near future. The Saudi Gazette citing the sources reported, the policy, which bans all forms of discrimination, is the first of its kind in the Kingdom. "The policy is in the final phases of its formulation and it will be accorded approval shortly," the sources said. The relevant authorities in the Kingdom recently worked out a mechanism for reporting and inspection pertaining to practices of discrimination at workplaces. The ministry also strives to prevent gender discrimination in the payment of monthly salaries or advertisements for jobs. The ministry had recently stressed that citizens have equal rights to work without any discrimination on the basis of gender or any other forms of discrimination, whether at the workplace or when hiring or advertising. The ministry's unequivocal clarification came in a response to a query via the ministry's Customer Care account on Twitter after a company published an advertisement for men-only jobs. "The advertisement was in contravention of Article 3 of the Labor Law," the ministry said while emphasising that work is the right of every citizen and that no one is entitled to engage in any practice that violates this regulation without fulfilling the conditions stipulated in the Labor Law. The ministry also seeks to regulate the employment market by issuing and updating rules that are related to the work environment in the public and private sectors, and that is in a way keeping pace with developments in the local labor market. It is noteworthy that the Human Rights Commission (HRC) had recommended earlier the enactment of a law criminalising racial discrimination. This will be the culmination of the provisions of Saudi laws prohibiting the practice of all forms of discrimination, as well as promoting a culture of tolerance, respect for human rights, and preserving national cohesion. The commission emphasized that the Islamic Shariah make it mandatory that justice and equality shall be the guiding principle in all rights and duties of people. The state has also given the issue of racial discrimination the necessary consideration through the enactment of many regulations and legislation. Article 8 of the Basic Law of Governance stipulates that the "Governance in Saudi Arabia is based on justice, consultation and equality in accordance with the Islamic Shariah" while Article 47 of the law guarantees equality before the judiciary for all without any discrimination. Article 1 of the Civil Service Law stipulates that "merit is the basis for choosing employees to hold public offices", and Article 3 of the Labor Law stipulates that citizens are equal in the right to work. With the Kingdom's accession to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, it has become an integral part of the Saudi laws and it enjoys the same legal authority as that of the Kingdom's laws. PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- On Wednesday morning, March 10th, there was a crowd gathered at the Belair Community Center to receive a vaccine in response to the incorrect circulating message on social media, that the vaccines would be available to everyone. As stated in the official press release issued by the Department of Communication (DCOMM) on Tuesday evening: This is not correct, and only those who fall under the first three priority risk groups are currently eligible to receive the vaccine. The experience Wednesday morning was that too much time and effort from the staff was needed in verifying the eligibility of persons with underlying conditions without an appointment at the Belair Community Center. Therefore, the Vaccine Management Team (VMT) decided that vaccination after registration on-site will only be allowed for persons who are 60 years or older who can prove their residency on Sint Maarten. This is because only for this group, it can be checked, simple, fast, and without any hassle that they are eligible to receive the vaccine. With this approach, we can still accommodate walk-ins while not negatively affecting those that are present with booked appointments. Note, that this does not exclude the person's age 18-59, with underlying conditions from receiving the vaccine. They are still eligible but are asked to follow the normal registration procedure: Register, receive, and confirm the appointment, and then go for your vaccination on the set date and time. Lastly, the VMT wants to emphasize that everyone who wants the vaccine will be offered one. The aim remains to vaccinate at least 70% of the population before the start of the hurricane season, but the VMT does work with a priority system to ensure that those who have the highest risk of contracting severe COVID-19, will be protected first. The VMT is aware that many are eager to receive the vaccine but asks persons to be patient and wait their turn. If you are eligible, you will be offered the vaccine. The VMT would like to once more stress the importance of the registration procedure. Only if people register, additional vaccines can be requested from the Netherlands, and an upscale of vaccination locations can be implemented to accommodate more people. Registration can be done via the online registration form which is also available in Spanish and Creole and can be found via the following link: https://forms.sintmaartengov.org/form.aspx?v=OGtn05kNmb. Both Cole Bay & Dutch Quarter Community Helpdesks are currently equipped to provide information and help with registration for the vaccine. Do not forget to check the opening hours and bring a form of identification. Lastly, the paper based COVID Vaccine Registration Form can be picked up at several locations, including Collective Prevention Services (CPS) at the Vineyard Office Park Building, the Division of Labor Affairs at the Simpson Bay Public Service Center in Simpson Bay, Doctors offices, the Government Administration Building, and select pharmacies. If you have a friend, parent, neighbor, or relative that may need assistance with registration, transportation, or emotional support, please do your part. If you need help with the registration process, your appointment, or wish for more information about the vaccination campaign, you can also call CPS at 914 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Sint Maarten, protected together. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- State Sens. Stephanie Kunze and Theresa Gavarone will introduce a new version of Collins Law on Wednesday, which would up criminal penalties for hazing and introduce standardized education requirements. This law would more specifically define hazing, as well as require a state-created educational plan and for each university to maintain a report of confirmed hazing reports. The legislation, according to a brief sent on Wednesday afternoon, would also define aggravated hazing, as a second-degree felony under certain conditions. Read a full copy of the brief of how the law would change the states definition of hazing and create new penalties in the brief at the bottom of this post. The requirements arent just on Greek life -- hazing education requirements would extend to any student organization recruiting members, as well as any incoming students, including graduate school. Collins Law is named after Collin Wiant, an Ohio University student who died in 2018 in an unofficial, off-campus fraternity house. It was only after his death that his family learned that Collin had been beaten, forced to take drugs and waterboarded as part of hazing the last weeks of his life, his mother, Kathleen Wiant, said in a news conference on Wednesday morning. Wiant worked with Kunze on the original Collins Law, which expired in a Senate committee last year. Wiant said they worked on the legislation so no other family would have to go through what the Wiants went through. The new iteration of the bill comes the week after Stone Foltz, a Bowling Green State University student, died in what was described as an alcohol-related hazing incident. The shocking death of Stone Foltz further underscores the importance of having this bill pass and not having it stall as it did last November, she said. Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said hazing is shrouded in secrecy, and universities and prosecutors lack enough legal tools to investigate and penalize hazing. The bill no longer contains a K-12 bullying piece from last year. Kunze said the coronavirus pandemic led to slowdowns in the legislative process, since it was more difficult to schedule committee hearings, and the bill ran out of time. It was just a lot of different layers when youre looking at K-12 and youre looking at institutes of higher ed and youre looking at increasing penalties. There were just a lot of moving parts to the bill, she said. The difference between the standard definition of hazing and aggravated hazing in the legislation is if it causes serious physical harm, substantial risk of serious physical harm or death to the victim of hazing. That includes forcing or urging the person to consume alcohol or drugs. Ohio university presidents and Gov. Mike DeWine, on a call on Tuesday, discussed the legislation and cracking down on hazing. DeWine previously addressed Foltzs death in a Monday coronavirus briefing, saying that Ohio needed to become a hazing-free state. Its amazing when you realize the impact laws have on changing culture, Wiant said, also noting that the education component will be a driver in making a culture change. There was a time when drunk driving was quite common. Enough parents got upset and got angry and decided to make changes and change laws, and now look at the difference and where were at in our culture. I expect hazing to be the same way. Its been acceptable because there havent been the laws in place. This story has been updated with specifics on criminal charges with information from State Sen. Stephanie Kunzes office. Brief on bills contents Full draft of bill Taoiseach Micheal Martin is seeking to talk to the global CEO of AstraZeneca next week about vaccine supply. It comes as ministers admit the Government has to give every appearance of exhausting all avenues to secure more jabs for Ireland. The conversation with AstraZeneca chief Pascal Soriot, which the IDA is brokering, is not expected to produce any pledge of extra vaccines, despite mounting public frustration at the slow pace of the roll-out. Read More Elsewhere, only one small company here has expressed an interest in getting involved in vaccine manufacturing, the Irish Independent has learned. But it would not be operational until 2023 or 2024. A senior source said Ireland was currently in a supply trough but would be awash with vaccines by summer. Advance purchase agreements have been sealed for the supply of 18.5 million jabs this year. European member states have the power to ban the export of AstraZeneca vaccines and Italy is the first to do exactly that, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said, adding he had signed an enabling provision for a ban here, even though no vaccine is made in Ireland. Pfizer and Moderna had been honouring their contracts with the European Union, but AstraZenecas failure is an enormous problem, he said. The Fine Gael leader said: I can understand how AstraZeneca might run into problems with supply, or manufacturing or quality control. But I do not understand how this big successful company can honour its contracts to the United States and the United Kingdom, but for some reason not its commitments to the European Union. The answers given by AstraZeneca are not satisfactory, Mr Varadkar said. The Government doesn't find them satisfactory and the European Union doesn't either. An EU Heads of Government summit on the sole issue of vaccines is to be held shortly. Labour Party leader Alan Kelly said the response from Stefan de Keersmaecker, spokesman on health for the European Commission, was that they were talking very strongly to AstraZeneca, which was not good enough. He said Ireland was down by a total of 653,000 vaccines on forecast deliveries. On top of this, we know that the EU have exported 34 million doses of vaccines to other countries 9 million to the UK, for instance. How the EU is dealing with vaccines needs to be recalibrated, it needs to be more ambitious. And certainly it needs to be more clinical. Mr Varadkar said the EU could be criticised, but a common European approach was the right one. I was Taoiseach during the first wave I remember what it was like when every individual country was competing with each other, struggling to get PPE to protect staff, to get reagents, ventilators, swabbing kits, testing kits. I know in that scenario, it's more likely the big countries with the buying power will do better. Had Ireland gone on its own on this occasion, we may have found ourselves at the back of the queue. A senior source said the HSE had looked into a claim by Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness that a reliable source on Capitol Hill was offering spare AstraZeneca vaccine. But the company had assured it that it only dealt with national governments and the World Health Organisation, not private sources. There is no crock of vaccine out there, said a senior adviser. There may be counterfeit or vaccines that dont exist. Weve looked at everything that has come our way, including mad stuff. Nor can manufacturing by Irish pharma be quickly switched around to make vaccine. Even if it could be done, ceasing production of a cancer line would lead to a worldwide shortage of cancer drugs in a short time. Its not like mixing up a cauldron and saying a witchs spell. A spokeswoman for Pfizer, which has met 99.9pc of its delivery commitment and dominates the Irish jab supply, said manufacture was complex and involved 280 materials, and up to 15 unique raw materials down to a molecular level. Creating the vaccine also involved 86 suppliers in 19 different countries, she said. Mr Varadkar later told the Irish Independent: There have been discussions from early on with companies with a base in Ireland like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. They are doing all they can for us. The have many more pre-orders in than vaccines manufactured. Theres no surplus of vaccines available at present. Since the middle of last year, grants are available from the Government to help companies get into manufacturing PPE, testing kits, masks, vaccines etc. So far, only one small company is interested in talking to us about helping to set up in the vaccine supply chain. Asked if he would ask US President Joe Biden next week for jabs for Ireland, a spokesman for the Taoiseach said: The discussions are likely to be more around how US, EU and Ireland cooperate on securing global production and supply. BETHESDA, Md., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Congress has passed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, which is on its way to President Biden's desk for signature. In addition to providing stimulus checks for families, funding for schools, small businesses and anti-poverty programs, the package includes much needed relief for America's Community Health Centers as they mark one year of fighting a deadly pandemic on the front lines of medically underserved and hard to reach communities. The legislation includes: National Association of Community Health Centers Logo (PRNewsfoto/National Association of Communi) $7.6 billion in flexible emergency COVID-19 funding for Community Health Centers; $800 million for the National Health Service Corps, $200 million for the Nurse Corps, and $330 million for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education programs, all of which support the health center workforce; $7.6 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand the public health workforce; $47.8 billion to HHS to implement a national testing strategy and contact tracing surveillance; and $7.5 billion in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for vaccine administration and distribution, to be dispersed to support state, local, tribal, and territorial public health departments, community vaccination centers, and mobile vaccination units. "This relief cannot come soon enough for health centers and we are deeply grateful for these resources and the leadership in Congress, along with the Biden Administration, who made it possible," said Tom Van Coverden, President and CEO of NACHC. "Nearly one year ago we were fighting this pandemic with one hand tied behind our backs and a multitude of challenges that included diminished revenues, shortages of protective gear, supplies and tests. Health center advocates across the country have worked tirelessly to let their leaders in Congress know that to successfully fight the pandemic we need to have adequate resources. Today, that call has been answered and we look toward bringing about an end to the pandemic and putting everyone back to work." Story continues The package comes as health centers, which serve 30 million patients nationwide, are engaged in a national vaccination effort as the centerpiece of the Biden Administration's plan to ensure equity in the fight against COVID. Currently, some 250 health centers, with more than 4,000 sites, are working on the ground to ensure special populations -- such as the homeless, the poor, agricultural and migrant workers, residents of public housing, those with limited English proficiency, and people living in rural areas, have access to all three COVID vaccines. Established in 1971, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) serves as the national voice for America's Health Centers and as an advocate for health care access for the medically underserved and uninsured. Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-rescue-plan-provides-resources-to-health-centers-fighting-covid-19-301245098.html SOURCE National Association of Community Health Centers Shell raised eyebrows yesterday when it picked former BHP chief executive Sir Andrew Mackenzie to steer it through the green revolution. He will take over as chairman in May from Chad Holliday, who has been in the role for six years. Mackenzie, a geologist by training who was knighted in 2020 for services to business, has been a director on Shell's board since October. New chairman: Sir Andrew Mackenzie will take over at Shell in May from Chad Holliday, who has been in the role for six years But some have questioned whether he is the right man for the job given that the biggest item on the agenda for energy companies is to make the shift to renewable power and seeing through ambitious climate targets. The 64-year-old Scot, a doctor's son from a coal town near Glasgow, is an oil and gas and mining veteran. He was the chief executive of BHP from 2013 to 2019, and also spent 22 years at Shell rival BP. His time at BHP was overshadowed by a deadly dam collapse at an iron ore mine in Brazil the country's worst ever mining disaster. An iron mine run by BHP and Brazil's Vale had been dumping its liquid waste behind a dam. When the dam eventually burst, it released more than 40m cubic metres of sludge, knocking down most of the village of Bento Rodrigues, killing 19 people, and destroying local wildlife. Mackenzie will also be taking over at a time when Shell is perceived to be behind BP in its plans for the energy transition. Green target: Shell is aiming to reach net zero - meaning it will balance out any emissions it produces - by 2050 The company is aiming to reach net zero meaning it will balance out any emissions it produces by 2050. But there has been discord within Shell over its strategy and in late 2020 a slew of executives at its clean energy division all left the group. In a statement, the company said: 'Andrew brings to Shell his experience of leadership, his global outlook, and a deep understanding of the energy business and climate action.' But others were more critical. Mark van Baal, the founder of environmental activist shareholder group Follow This, said the appointment was 'a kind of insult to responsible investors who are increasingly voting for change'. Follow This has spent years campaigning for Shell to crack down on its emissions and tabled resolutions on the issue at its annual meetings. Van Baal said: 'This is a very bad signal to responsible investors who increasingly ask for the company to embark on the energy transition away from fossil fuels to renewables. 'I think institutional investors who are serious about climate change will not like this.' Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said Mackenzie would need to prove his critics wrong. He said: 'As chairman he'll be more of a mouthpiece than rolling his sleeves up. But that being said, he's got this incredible experience, there's little doubt in his CV, and there'll be a lot of crossover in terms of experience.' Shell's other main priority is recovering from the blow dealt by the pandemic, which sent it nosediving to a 15.6billion loss last year and forced it to cut its prize dividend by two-thirds. The oil major will be aided by rising oil prices which had crashed as the use of car and jet fuels slumped during lockdown but are now back at pre-pandemic levels. Documents filed by Shell yesterday showed chief executive Ben van Beurden's pay packet fell by 42 per cent to 5million after 2020's dire performance. This was partly down to not receiving a bonus. [March 11, 2021] ADVA launches industry's most compact timing solution for digital power substations ADVA (News - Alert) (FSE: ADV) today launched its OSA 5405-P substation grandmaster, an ultra-compact synchronization solution specifically designed for the digital transformation of power utility networks. The OSA 5405-P delivers the precise and reliable timing that utilities need to leverage new smart grid applications, including intelligent power generation, distribution and control systems. The solution protects mission-critical infrastructure from the risk of outages caused by loss of timing from satellite signals by combining GNSS receivers with accurate PTP grandmaster clocks and network-delivered timing. Available with rack, DIN rail and wall mounting options, the OSA 5405-P also reduces cost and complexity in synchronization networks. What's more, by supporting both legacy and new timing technologies, the solution empowers utility networks to smoothly and cost-effectively transition to next-generation synchronization. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005049/en/ ADVA's OSA 5405-P is a key building block for power network operators seeking to develop smart grid applications (Graphic: Business Wire) "The utility network landscape is changing. With the move to distributed power generation and the digital transformation of substations, utilities face a new set of challenges and opportunities. To succeed, all processes must be tightly synchronized and a new level of accurate, robust timing is required. Our OSA 5405-P addresses these exact needs and offers power network operators a simple and affordable route from legacy synchronization to fully protected and assured PTP timing," said Gil Biran (News - Alert) , general manager, Oscillouartz, ADVA. "Now utility networks can leverage a solution tailored to their precise needs that's easy to install anywhere. And with our sophisticated Ensemble Controller and Sync Director, synchronization is easy to manage and operate." The OSA 5405-P offers power network operators a risk-free way to migrate their existing timing infrastructure to the accurate and robust PTP timing needed for new automated technologies and smart grid applications. With network-based synchronization backing up timing from GNSS, the OSA 5405-P removes vulnerability to loss of satellite signals. It supports multiple PTP profiles, including the Power Profile, and features NTP as well as IRIG-B interfaces for precise time synchronization of all power system devices. Its Syncjack capabilities also deliver accurate, real-time monitoring of synchronization quality. The OSA 5405-P is the ultimate power utility synchronization solution where cost-efficiency and small footprint are key. With rack and DIN rail mounting options, it's extremely versatile to deploy. Ideal for secondary substations, it can also complement the OSA 5422-IRIG solution in primary substations. The OSA 5405-P also utilizes in-service sync probing and assurance as well as innovative GNSS assurance capabilities. "Smart grids need intelligent timing. That's what our OSA 5405-P offers. It brings assured and protected synchronization to the edge of the power network in an extremely cost-efficient way. Now operators can rely on their infrastructure delivering the robust and accurate timing needed for new secondary substation and protection relay technologies," commented Nir Laufer, VP, product line management, Oscilloquartz (News - Alert) , ADVA. "The compact and environmentally friendly design of our solution will be especially valuable as utility networks migrate to packet-based timing. The OSA 5405-P distributes accurate timing with the smallest size and power footprint on the market. That means major savings on rack space and a significant reduction in complexity." Further details on the OSA 5405-P are available in these slides: https://adva.li/osa-5405-p-slides. A supporting solution brief can be downloaded here: https://adva.li/osa-5405-p-solution-brief. About ADVA ADVA is a company founded on innovation and focused on helping our customers succeed. Our technology forms the building blocks of a shared digital future and empowers networks across the globe. We're continually developing breakthrough hardware and software that leads the networking industry and creates new business opportunities. It's these open connectivity solutions that enable our customers to deliver the cloud and mobile services that are vital to today's society and for imagining new tomorrows. Together, we're building a truly connected and sustainable future. For more information on how we can help you, please visit us at www.adva.com. About Oscilloquartz Oscilloquartz is a pioneer in time and frequency synchronization. We design, manufacture and deploy end-to-end synchronization systems that ensure the delivery and assurance of highly precise timing information over next-generation packet and legacy networks. As an ADVA company, we're creating new opportunities for tomorrow's networks. For more information, please visit us at www.oscilloquartz.com. Published by: ADVA Optical Networking (News - Alert) SE, Munich, Germany www.adva.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005049/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. A DUP councillor has criticised Sinn Fein and the SDLP's performance in bringing investment to Derry over the last 20 years. DUP Alderman David Ramsey hit out at the parties during a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council's Business and Culture Committee. Representatives of Invest NI spoke at the online meeting on Tuesday about their efforts to promote the local council area to potential investors. However, the performance of Invest NI was criticised by a number of councillors at the meeting. This prompted Alderman Ramsey to question what the two largest parties on the council had achieved over the last two decades. He said he could not 'let pass' the councillors' criticism of Invest NI. Colleagues in our council are very very critical of Invest NI and they do the finger pointing at Invest NI. Invest NI have a responsibility but maybe it is time that we actually pointed the finger at the last 20 years under the SDLP and Sinn Fein who were the leadership of this council area, Strabane and Londonderry, Derry and Strabane district council now. Where was the investment? They were at the pinnacle, even in government. There was even the Deputy First Minister. Where is the peace dividend? Where is it, for the poorest in our society? Alderman Ramsey claimed that an agreement between the DUP and the Conservative government had received 'nothing but criticism' in the local council. It was constantly lambasted and the fact is that if it wasn't for the DUP and Conservative agreement we wouldn't be looking at the investment that we are getting at the minute. The fact is that the city deals, everything was agreed with the Conservative government whenever the DUP were in that position. The City Deal was secured by the DUP. The City Deal is late, we know it is late but it is here now. So what I want to see is prosperity going forward and it is going to happen but do you see this pointing the finger at Invest NI, let's point the finger at the political leadership of the last 20 years. But I look forward to working with that political leadership going forward because of the City Deal. A representative from the Department of Economy had been due to speak at Tuesday's meeting along with the Invest NI staff. However, councillors were told that the Department of Economy was unable to provide someone to take part in the meeting. During their presentation, the Invest NI representatives outlined current projects they are involved in which are aimed at bringing investment and jobs to the local council area and other council areas throughout Northern Ireland. However, following their presentation, a number of councillors criticised the job creation statistics for the Derry and Strabane council area and questioned Invest NI's commitment to the local region. The Invest NI representatives stressed that they were committed to bringing investment into all areas, including the local region. SDLP councillor Rory Farrell, the chairperson of the Business and Culture Committee, said it was disappointing that the Department of the Economy had not provided someone to take part in the meeting. He said Invest NI was responsible to the Economy Minister and, as such, she should be asked to come and speak to the council. Cllr Farrell proposed that Mrs Dodds be invited to a council meeting to discuss this 'pressing issue'. The proposal also called on the Economy Minister to introduce 'sub-regional targets for job creation, economic inactivity, wage levels and investor visitors in Derry and Strabane'. The proposal was supported unanimously at the meeting. 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. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he will order the police and military to arrest those behind fake swab tests and unauthorized purchase of COVID-19 vaccines. In his speech at the inauguration of Dumaguete Citys Port Operations Building, Duterte said he will ask medical experts why some swab tests still yield false positive and false negative results. I have to talk to the medical kasi hindi ko malaman if there is something that is really stupid going around. Kasi yung iba magpa-swab ka, positive ka, but just to confirm, people go to another swabbing station at magpa-swab, negative, Duterte said. [Translation: I have to talk to the medical experts because I cannot fathom if there is something that is really stupid going around. Because when you take a swab test, youre negative, but just to confirm, people go to another swabbing station and the results are negative.] Kasi false positive, false negative. Hindi mo malaman ano ba ito, totohanan, o iba diyan peke, he added. [Translation: Theres false positive, false negative. We cant say if its accurate or if some of these are fake.] The government considers the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR test as the gold standard in confirming the presence of the coronavirus, but health experts have explained that several factors could affect the results, including the timing. Those who get swabbed on the day they are infected are likely to test negative because there are not enough viral particles yet. Duterte went on to warn that those behind fraudulent testing services will be arrested, as well as those who would illegally procure COVID-19 vaccines. I have to order the police and military to find out and arrest these people at saka iyang nagpapabili ng bakuna, Duterte said. 'Pag nahuli ka, patawag kita sa Malacanang. [Translation: I have to order the police and military to find out and arrest these people and those who would ask others to buy vaccines for them. If youre caught, I will summon you to Malacanang.] Only the government can purchase coronavirus vaccines to date, but the private sector can do so through tripartite agreements with the state and the pharmaceutical company. The Blue Jays have outrighted hurler Jacob Waguespack to Triple-A Buffalo, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. The club previously designated the right-hander for assignment, but hell remain part of the organization after clearing waivers. Waguespack, who turned 27 over the winter, joined the Blue Jays when they acquired him from the Phillies in exchange for left-handed reliever Aaron Loup at the 2018 trade deadline. He made his big league debut a year later with 78 innings of 4.38 ERA/5.05 SIERA ball and below-average strikeout and walk rates of 18.8 and 8.7 percent, respectively. While Waguespack was mostly a starter during his initial action with Toronto, he came out of the clubs bullpen in all 11 of his 2020 appearances. Waguespack struggled in that role, though, as he posted an 8.15 ERA (with a much more palatable 4.89 SIERA) across 17 2/3 frames. [March 11, 2021] Ellucian Announces Adam Grant as Ellucian Live 2021 Keynote Speaker RESTON, Va., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellucian, the leading provider of software and services built to power higher education, today announced Adam Grant as the opening keynote speaker for Ellucian Live 2021, the industry's top global technology conference. This year's virtual event will be held April 12-14, 2021 delivering session tracks, on-demand content, panel discussions, breakout meetings, special guest keynotes, networking opportunities and more. "I am honored to welcome Adam Grant to Ellucian Live for a fireside chat about his latest book, Think Again. Leveraging his expertise in organizational psychology, Adam challenges us to rethink our fundamental assumptions and proactively look for opportunities to 'think again' instead of simply reacting to events. He will share useful tips for thinking more critically, boldly and humbly in support of stronger workplaces and learning organizations," said Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian. About Adam Grant Named one of the world's 10 most influential management thinkers and one of the Fortune's 40 under 40, Adam Grant is a leading expert on promoting generosity, originality and resilience. Adam Grant has been Wharton's top-rated professor for seven straight years. As an organizational sychologist, he studies how we can find motivation and meaning, and lead more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world's 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune's 40 under 40 and Oprah's Super Soul 100. He is the author of multiple #1 New York Times best-selling books that have sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 35 languages: Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. His books have been named among this year's best by Amazon, the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, and the Wall Street Journal and praised by J.J. Abrams, Richard Branson, Bill and Melinda Gates, Malcolm Gladwell, and Malala Yousafzai. Grant's TED talks on original thinkers and givers and takers have been viewed more than 20 million times. He hosts WorkLife, a TED original podcast; writes on work and psychology for the New York Times; and has over 3 million followers on social media. He shares monthly insights in his newsletter, GRANTED. Grant earned his PhD in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan, and his BA from Harvard University, magna cum laude with highest honors and Phi Beta Kappa honors. He is a former magician and Junior Olympic springboard diver, and lives in Philadelphia with his family. For more information on Ellucian Live 2021 and registration details, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/ellucianlive. About Ellucian Ellucian is the market leader charting the digital future of higher education with a portfolio of cloud-ready technology solutions and services. From student recruitment to workforce analytics; from fundraising opportunities to alumni engagement; Ellucian's comprehensive suite of data-rich tools gives colleges and universities the information they need to lead with confidence. Working with a community of more than 2,700 customers in over 50 countries, Ellucian keeps innovating as higher education keeps evolving. Drawing on its comprehensive higher education business acumen and suite of services, Ellucian guides its customers through manageable, sustainable digital transformationso that every type of institution and student can thrive in today's fast-changing landscape. To find out what's next in higher education solutions and services, visit Ellucian at www.ellucian.com. Media Contact Lindsay Stanley Lindsay.Stanley@Ellucian.com 703.915.7966 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ellucian-announces-adam-grant-as-ellucian-live-2021-keynote-speaker-301246057.html SOURCE Ellucian [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain University of Arizona researcher Jennifer Carlson says she and other sociologists see gun business as a telltale sign of what's going on in the American psyche. If that is the case, Americans in 2020 were afraid. In 2020, the FBI conducted 39.7 million background checks for gun purchasesa 40% increase over 2019's record totals. January 2021 set a new monthly record, with 4.3 million firearm background checks. It's not hard to guess some of the reasons; 2020 was a year of cascading crises that continued into 2021, including the COVID-19 pandemic, racial unrest and political instability. Carlson, an associate professor in the School of Sociology in the UArizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, has spent over a decade examining how guns shape American life. Last spring, she received a National Science Foundation grant to chronicle the surge in gun purchases in the U.S. in 2020. From April to August, she interviewed more than 50 gun sellers in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan. In September, Carlson's newest book, "Policing the Second Amendment: Guns, Law Enforcement and the Politics of Race" was released by Princeton University Press. For the book, she interviewed more than 80 police chiefs to examine the relationship between gun politics and public law enforcement. This month, Carlson is gathering gun experts across the county for a free, online "Guns in Crisis" series. In advance of the series, UArizona News spoke with Carlson about the spike in gun sales in 2020; the complicated relationship between guns, police and race; and how we can talk about guns in nonpolitical terms. Q. As part of your NSF grant looking at the rise of gun sales in 2020, you interviewed gun sellers across the country. What were some of your most surprising findings? A: This was a really dramatic year in terms of gun sales. The year 2020 started off pretty slow for many gun sellers in January, and then there was a dramatic, night-and-day shift. At some point in March, gun sellers across the country woke up to lines out the door. And gun sales continue to surge. In terms of timing, the sales clearly correlated with the coronavirus pandemic, and, so, the big question becomes, "How do you connect gun sales to a public health crisis?" Gun sellers' reports about why people were buying guns related to uncertainty. The fact that people were going to the grocery store and there was no toilet paper, that places were shut down, people were getting laid offthere is this sense of uncertainty and chaos. The striking aspect of 2020, though, is that this becomes a moment when guns become appealing to a much broader sector of the population who either thought about getting a gun but never took that step, or were adamantly opposed to guns and gun ownership. While the surveys show that conservative white men are disproportionately likely to own guns in this country, gun sellers told me they saw a surge in gun purchasing among first-time gun owners. I heard lots of reports of more women, more people of color, and more people from the LGBTQ community purchasing guns. But on the flip side of that, I heard a lot of concerns from gun sellers about people who shouldn't have guns. Not in the sense that they had a criminal record or something else legally disqualifying, but that they were worried about selling to irresponsible, panicked people. Sometimes, this reflected a concern about putting a gun in the hands of someone who didn't understand firearms handling or safe storage. But other times, it seemed to be code for "liberals"a fascinating expression of political partisanship that I'm unpacking in my next book, "Not a Bang but a Whimper." Q. There were a series of crises in 2020 in addition to COVIDfrom racial unrest to economic insecurity to political instabilitythat may have contributed to gun sales. How does that point to the various reasons people buy guns? A: I talk about 2020 as a year of multi-layered crises, and it was definitely very interesting to me to see how guns fit into these different crises. For many people, each of these crises boiled down to an unraveling of the social safety net. If the social safety net that people thought was there is not there, guns basically become a tool of last resort. An upcoming election always drives up gun sales, especially if it looks like a Democrat is going to win. But this year, there was also fundamental uncertainty about the election itself. Talking to gun sellers, I was struck by how often they told me that no matter the outcome, this would be a contested election. And they were right. Q. Has this past year changed gun culture in this country? With this shift to first-time gun buyers, I think the question is: Does owning a gun make you part of gun culture? You may buy a gun in the context of acute insecurity when you find that for the first time in your life you can't go to the store and buy toilet paper, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you've invested in the broader political project that's represented by pro-gun politics. So I think that's a question that's still waiting to be unraveled. Q. In your latest book, you talk about "gun militarism" and "gun populism." What do those terms mean? A: My book "Policing the Second Amendment" engages double standards in policing, focusing on gun law enforcement. The book is about this basic question of who is considered a "good guy with a gun" versus a "bad guy with a gun," how race animates that, and how that shapes law enforcement. I found when I talked to police chiefs that there's two ways that they understand guns in the hands of private civilians: as objects of danger or objects of social order. I like to think of these different ways of understanding as different kinds of "gun talk." With "gun militarism" gun talk, guns are talked about as objects of danger in the hands of private civilians, while police position themselves as needing guns to disarm the enemy. We know from existing scholarship that the "warrior" mindset is disproportionately at play in the policing of communities of colorand I found that gun militarism often arose in my own conversations with police chiefs in reference to gun violence associated with communities of color, such as gang violence. However, I also heard "gun populism" gun talk when police chiefs talked about gun carriers as (potential) fellow first responders, especially in reference to mass shootings, which are often associated with white rural and suburban communities. Here, police chiefs tended to talk about themselves not as warriors but as guardiansa stark contrast to how they saw themselves vis-a-vis urban gun violence. Q. How can we talk about guns in nonpolitical terms? A: This is the million-dollar question. The more I research guns and gun politics in the U.S., the more I am convinced that when we're talking about addressing the issue of guns, we need to talk trauma. The appeal of guns, the way we talk about guns, the harm that guns can inflictit's all wrapped up in trauma and, frankly, our society's very poor way of dealing with it. There are roughly 40,000 people killed by guns every year. That's 40,000 families and communities who are devastated by that loss. That's a lot more than 40,000 people. Then there's the roughly 80,000 to 100,000 people injured every year with guns. And then there are the innumerable people who are impacted by the fear of gun violenceeven if they haven't experienced it yet but feel "anticipatory trauma." Indeed, many of the people who turn to gun ownership do so precisely because they are hoping to protect themselves against trauma, against existential loss, against the unknown of life-changing injury or death. To move forward in the debate about guns, we have to start talking about trauma, and talking about how we address trauma in society. But that requires vulnerabilityand in a context as politically divisive as the U.S. right now, that also requires a whole lot of courage. Explore further Gun sales spiked in 2020 amid pandemic, social justice protests Connecticut has administered more than 1.2 million COVID vaccines, but statistics released Thursday show that nearly half of those receiving inoculations are not yet fully vaccinated. As Connecticut plans to ease pandemic restrictions next week, Gov. Ned Lamonts administration has touted falling COVID-19 metrics and the states success at administering vaccines as signals that it is time to reopen further. Those that are infected tend to be a little healthier than they were six months ago, so our hospitalizations, complications, fatalities continue in the right direction, Lamont said Thursday. He said there is no change to the planned easing of restrictions set to begin March 19, when he said occupancy caps can be lifted on businesses and houses of worship, and gathering sizes can increase. Mask and social distancing mandates will remain in place. Lamont has maintained that Connecticut will have many more people vaccinated by March 19. President Joseph Biden wants all states to make every adult eligible for the vaccine by May 1, which is closely in line with Connecticuts plan to have everyone 16 and older eligible on May 3. While Connecticut ramps up inoculations, the state has a sizable difference between the number of people who have received a first dose, giving them some immunity against the disease, and those who have been fully vaccinated. Vaccination figures released Thursday show 813,616 people have received at least a first dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, while 417,873 have received their second dose. Coupled with the 27,358 people who received doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the data shows a little more than 12 percent of the states population of 3.6 million have been fully vaccinated, while about 24 percent have received at least one dose. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show only around 9.9 percent of Connecticuts population has been fully vaccinated. Connecticut sits right at the national average for the percentage of the population fully vaccinated, according to CDC data. However, Josh Geballe, the states chief operating officer, said the CDC is misidentifying some of Connecticuts second doses. Its up to about 81,000 doses that they have misclassified that are actually second doses that are administered that are counting in their data as first doses, Geballe said. The good news on this topic is they have committed to us they understand what the fix is thats required. He said the data should be adjusted by Saturday. On Thursday, there were seven fewer Connecticut patients hospitalized with COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 383. The daily positivity rate stood at 2.36 percent dipping back below 3 percent for the first time in three days after 735 new cases were reported out of 31,185 tests. Another nine deaths attributed to the disease were reported, bringing the states official death toll to 7,761. With Connecticut offering the vaccine to anyone age 55 and older, the governor acknowledged shortcomings in inoculating the states most vulnerable populations including communities of color where he said more work needs to be done. The state is targeting 50 high-need ZIP codes, which comprise about a quarter of the states population. Vaccine providers have been given a benchmark of administering 25 percent of their doses to those communities. But a chart Lamont showed during his presentation Thursday showed only federally qualified health centers health organizations that work in underserved communities like people experiencing homelessness or public housing residents have met that mark. Pharmacies, which now receive all their vaccine doses directly from the federal government rather than a portion from the state allocation, were farthest from the mark at 14 percent, according to the state. Asked to reflect on the one-year anniversary of March 11, the day when Connecticut and much of the U.S. shuttered in the face of the pandemic, Lamont said he wished the state had acted sooner, but noted it did so as early as anybody. The people of Connecticut really rallied, Lamont said. We were all confronted with something that was totally unknown and alien to us and we had to work on it together. We had to give each other the benefit of the doubt, we had to do things wed never dreamed wed ask anybody to do wear a mask, close a school, cant go to a restaurant. I think people understood why we were doing what we were doing, and we worked together, he added. My hats off to the legislature, it was a deep politicized situation, we worked together hand-in-hand. That comes as President Biden signed a sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package into law on Thursday, a day earlier than expected. Along with direct payments of $1,400 to many Americans and expanded unemployment through early September, the nations third pandemic-related stimulus will provide Connecticut with about $1.1 billion for education funding, according to the governors office. He also emphasized using stimulus funds to support mental health services. The commissioners of the states education and mental health services departments, both of whom were Lamonts guests for Thursdays press conference, were asked what challenges lie ahead for the post-pandemic world. Charlene Russell-Tucker, acting commissioner of the state Department of Education, suggested the feeling of being safe for both educators and families will be key. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, suggested the funds could partly be used to let residents know what mental health services are available in the state. She also said one focus could be working with people coming to terms with emerging back in public. One thing Im hearing about is people may have struggles with just managing some of the post-pandemic anxieties around, is it really safe now? she said. 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. Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a video conference during the World Economic Forum (WEF) of the Davos Agenda, in Moscow, Russia Jan. 27, 2021. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters) Putin Warns Against US Retaliation Over Alleged SolarWinds Hack A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States should it retaliate for the alleged SolarWinds hack. Dmitry Peskov, Putins spokesman told the TASS news agency on Tuesday that the alarming information would constitute a pure international cybercrime and is condemned under international law. The Russian state has never had anything to do with cybercrimes and cyberterrorism it is being accused of, Peskov stated. A report from the New York Times, citing unnamed Biden administration officials, claimed the United States will carry out a cyberattack against Moscow in the coming weeks. The report will come along with new economic sanctions, the officials said. Peskov, in reference to the NY Times article, stated that these reports are alarming and said the cyber attack would be nothing but international cybercrime. In a rare joint statement in January, the FBI, National Security Administration (NSA), the Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the SolarWinds hack was likely Russian in origin. The departments said its responsible for most or all of the recently discovered, ongoing cyber compromises of both government and non-governmental networks. They added: At this time, we believe this was, and continues to be, an intelligence-gathering effort. We are taking all necessary steps to understand the full scope of this campaign and respond accordingly. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Bishkek on March 28, 2019. (Maxim Shemetov/AFP via Getty Images) Secretary of State Antony Blinken and FBI Director Christopher Wray in recent days have suggested harsh punishments would be meted out against Russia. However, former SolarWinds CEO Brad Smith in late February told a House hearing that there was no evidence the Pentagon was actually impacted by the hack. There is no indication, to my knowledge, that the DoD was attacked, he said. In recent days, cybersecurity experts blamed the Chinese regime for a hack that exposed tens of thousands of servers running Microsofts Exchange email program to possible security breaches. They said the Chinese regime also unleashed an indiscriminate, automated second wave of hacking that opened the way for ransomware and other cyberattacks. The second wave, which began Feb. 26, is highly uncharacteristic of Beijings elite cyber spies and far exceeds the norms of espionage, said Kevin Mandia of FireEye. You never want to see a modern nation like China that has an offense capabilitythat they usually control with disciplinesuddenly hit potentially a hundred thousand systems, Mandia said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. The Associated Press contributed to this report. New Delhi: National Testing Agency (NTA) is expected to release the JEE Main March admit card 2021 on Thursday (March 11) at its official site- jeemain.nta.nic.in. The students would be able to download their admit cards for JEE Main 2021 March as the NTA will update the download link today. The candidates should keep their application number and password/ date of birth and other requisite details ready to download the JEE Main 2021 admit card. JEE Main March Admit Card 2021 details - NTA JEE Main official site- jeemain.nta.nic.in - Admit card release date- March 11, 2021 - JEE Mains 2021 admit card's tentative download time - 8 pm - Candidates need to have the required credential for downloading JEE March admit card - IT JEE Admit Card details mentioned - Name and roll number of the candidates, exam centre, date and time Live TV Notably, the JEE Main March 2021 is scheduled to be held from March 15 to 18, 2021. The NTA will hold the JEE Mains exam for admission in engineering courses four times. JEE Main Feb 2021 exam was conducted between February 23 and February 26, 2021, in 331 cities across the country besides holding outside India in Colombo, Kathmandu, Doha, Dubai, Muscat, Singapore, Riyadh, Sharjah, and Kuwait. In JEE February session, as many as 652627 candidates registered for paper 1 exam out of which 620978 candidates took the exams. The JEE Main 2021 result for the February session was declared on March 8 at jeemain.nta.nic.in--the JEE Main official site. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Thursday that his mother Heeraben Modi was administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The Prime Minister has also urged citizens to help and motivate eligible people to take the COVID-19 jab. In a tweet, the PM said, "Happy to share that my mother has taken the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today. I urge everyone to help and motivate people around you who are eligible to take the vaccine." Happy to share that my mother has taken the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today. I urge everyone to help and motivate people around you who are eligible to take the vaccine. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2021 On March 1, Prime Minister Narender Modi kick-started the second phase of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive by getting the first dose of the vaccine himself. Modi was administered the Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine, which has been indigenously developed by Hyderabad-based firm Bharat Biotech. "Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19," PM Modi had written while sharing an image of himself being inoculated on March 1. Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS. Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19. I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free! pic.twitter.com/5z5cvAoMrv - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 1, 2021 The second phase of the mass COVID-19 vaccination drive began on March 1. After vaccinating 1.5 crore health care and frontline workers during the first phase, in the second phase, people above 60 years and between the ages of 45 and 59 with comorbidities are being administered the vaccine. Vaccines administered to beneficiaries at government facilities are free of cost, while people will have to pay for this at private hospitals. Earlier, the government had set the ceiling price for COVID-19 vaccination in private facilities at Rs 250 per person per dose. On March 10, 13,17,357 people were administered COVID-19 vaccine doses. These included 10,30,243 beneficiaries who took the first dose and 2,87,114 healthcare workers and frontline workers who took the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Also read: COVID-19 in India: 17,921 fresh cases reported; Maharashtra worst affected The New York Times on Wednesday accused Fox News host Tucker Carlson of deploying calculated and cruel tactic to harass their reporter Taylor Lorenz for complaining about online harassment a day after international womens day. The newspaper released a statement defending Lorenz who was mocked in various segments by Carlson who also called her less talented. In a now familiar move, Tucker Carlson opened his show last night by attacking a journalist, the New York Times said. It was a calculated and cruel tactic, which he regularly deploys to unleash a wave of harassment and vitriol at his intended target, it added. The newspaper defended Lorenz as a talented New York Times journalist and said, journalists should be able to do their jobs without facing harassment. Carlson, who is known for his controversial statements, launched a tirade against Lorenz after she posted a tweet a day after international womens day asking people to support women facing online harassment. Its not an exaggeration to say that the harassment and smear campaign Ive had to endure over the past year has destroyed my life. No one should have to go through this, she said on Tuesday. The Fox News host mocked her as a privileged woman at the top of journalisms repulsive little food chain. He said she is far younger and much less talented than other reporters of New York Times, grouping her with high-profile women, including Hillary Clinton and Meghan Markle. Carlson launched the scathing attack in the channels segment discussing powerful people claiming to be powerless. Youd think Taylor Lorenz would be grateful for the remarkable good luck shes had, he said. Lots of people are suffering right now, but no ones suffering quite as much as Taylor Lorenz is suffering. People have criticised her opinions on the internet, and its destroyed her life. Lets pause on International Womens Day and recognise that. You thought female Uighurs had it bad. You havent talked to Taylor Lorenz, Carlson said. The Fox News host continued to berate the NYT and Lorenz after the newspaper issued a statement, calling it harassment. He said a newspapers defence of its journalist is generally reserved for when a correspondent is kidnapped by Isis in Syria and not when a cable TV channel criticises them. We were embarrassed for Taylor Lorenz. She spends her entire life on the internet, so of course, after a while you become a deeply unhappy narcissist thats what the internet does to people, he said. He said he also assumed her bosses would be embarrassed for her too. But little did we know they are all exactly just like she is, he said. Fox News said in a statement: No public figure or journalist is immune to legitimate criticism of their reporting, claims or journalistic tactics. Press Release March 11, 2021 De Lima calls for serious investigation into alleged gun-planting incident Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has called for a swift and serious investigation into the alleged gun-planting incident involving a now-dead policeman and a slain drug suspect. De Lima, the staunchest critic of the administration's murderous war on drugs, stressed that an investigation is necessary to prove the authenticity of the video that caught the said incident and find out if the crime scene has been indeed staged. "It is a grave injustice to accuse anyone of a crime - worse, kill him - without giving him the chance to defend himself before the court. Since the policeman who killed the drug suspect cannot anymore explain his side, a thorough and serious investigation about this incident is much more necessary," she said. "We need to find out how PNP really operates, especially in buy-bust operations, to find out the truth and give justice to the people involved. It is likewise important to find out if planting evidence continue to be a common practice among cops to put a stop on this deplorable act," she added. In an amateur video recently published by the media, a policeman was seen firing a gun three times before putting it beside the body of a slain drug suspect. Based on media reports, the suspect on the video was killed after he allegedly fought it out with arresting policemen during a buy-bust operation in Valencia City on February 20. The policeman on the video, for his part, died after purportedly figuring in an accident five days after the said operation. Despite the incident shown in the video, Police Regional Office 10 reportedly insisted that the suspect had resisted arrest and fired at the policemen, adding that the policeman on the video fired the weapon out of frustration. De Lima, a former justice secretary, maintained that an investigation is necessary "to shed light on these disturbing trends because this is not the first time that a policeman was reported to have staged a crime scene." "Huwag nating kalimutan ang mga naiulat nang nabiktima ng ganitong karumal-dumal na gawainang libo-libong mga pinatay ng War on Drugs, kabilang na ang mga inosenteng batana pinaniniwalaan ding tinamnan ng ebidensya," said De Lima. "Tigilan na ang nanlaban narrative para depensahan lang ang pagpatay sa mga walang kalaban-laban. Higit sa lahat, tigilan na ni Duterte ang pag-udyok ng karahasan sa bansa na nagpapalakas ng loob sa mga mamamatay-tao, kriminal at nasa kapangyarihan para umabuso at gawin ang anumang naisin nila, kahit ito ay labas sa batas, at makatakas sa pananagutan," she added. In 2016, it may be recalled that Duterte admitted that he learned to bend the law to get the desired outcome during his 10 years as a city prosecutor, saying, "We planted evidence. We arrested persons but we released them... But we know at the start that we planted the intrigues." During the 17th Congress, De Lima filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 600 urging the appropriate Senate committee to look into several reports alleging that some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been staging the crime scenes. In the said resolution, De Lima cited the case of 19-year-old Carl Arnaiz who went missing in August 2017- until his body was found in a morgue in Caloocan City ten days after. The two cops responsible for his death was later charged with murder, torture, planting of drug evidence and planting of firearms evidence. De Lima also cited the Reuters' report revealing how two undisclosed senior PNP officials admitted that the PNP has received cash payments for executing drug suspects, planting evidence at crime scenes and carrying out most of the killings they have long blamed on vigilantes. DALLAS, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeycomb, the first fully integrated operating platform for office buildings, announces the commercial release of its software to power the future of work environments. Honeycomb is a software hub that unifies a building's technologies into single application that is mobile, user friendly and easy to manage. Honeycomb App The future of office is currently being shaped by a single driving force flexibility. Corporate office users are rethinking their real estate strategies. The trend is moving towards smaller locations, with shorter leases, across a broader geography, that can be shared amongst their entire workforce. Honeycomb provides operational flexibility for buildings and tenants by integrating legacy systems (parking, access, energy, visitor management, etc.) into one platform that can be shared or across a network of buildings to create a seamless user experience from one location to the next. "When you think about it, co-working was the market response to the demand of smaller tenants looking for lease flexibility. In 2020, corporations are now seeking broader operational flexibility to accommodate employees and the sharing of resources across locations," explained Honeycomb Founder D'Arcy Young. "We built Honeycomb to be the keystone technology to power flexibility from the suite level to the entire building and across a portfolio." Empowering tenants to build flexibility into their everyday operations, is a critical feature for buildings. Buildings need to aggregate all of their operational technologies into one platform so they are easy to access and use by tenants and their employees. The data that is generated from those systems must also be aggregated and analyzed to optimize building operations to find opportunities to lower expenses and generate more revenue. "Think of Honeycomb as Alexa for work environments. It puts the power of an entire building at the fingertips of its users," continued Young. "It opens garage gates, directs parking, calls elevators, turns on lights, reserves conference rooms and makes payments easy. The true power of the platform is that same experience can be provided to the user no matter what office or building they visit. That is the future we have built." About Honeycomb: Founded in 2017, Honeycomb (honeycomb.be) is a software operating platform for the management of real estate infrastructure that is being used by forward thinking real estate companies like Quadrant Investment Properties (quadrantinvestments.com) in Dallas and Dibdesk (dibdesk.com) in Seattle. The platform is designed around proprietary software modules that are deployed in conjunction of existing infrastructure to create truly flexible and efficient work environments. Contact: D'Arcy Young Honeycomb (844) 386-7015 [email protected] SOURCE Honeycomb Coronavirus symptoms experienced in the first week of infection may be a predictor of how long they will last, a new study suggests. USA Today reported that a study published Wednesday in the peer reviewed journal Nature Medicine found that COVID-19 patients who experienced more than five symptoms in their first week of illness had a greater chance of becoming a so-called COVID long hauler, the name researchers assign to those patients having symptoms for more than 28 days. The five most predictive symptoms of becoming a long hauler, experienced during the first week, were fatigue, headache, hoarse voice, muscle pain and difficulty breathing, the study found. How was the study performed? According to USA Today, COVID-19 patients from the U.K., U.S. and Sweden were asked by researchers from Kings College London, Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Childrens Hospital, to report their symptoms through a smartphone application from March to September 2020. The study found that of more than 4,000 participants, about 13% of patients reported symptoms lasting more than 28 days, 4% for more than 8 weeks and 2% more than 12 weeks. USA Today cited study co-author Dr. Christina Astley, a physician scientist at Boston Childrens Hospital, who said, regarding those patients who reported symptoms lasting longer than four weeks, a third of those will have symptoms at 8 weeks and then a third of those at 12 weeks. She added, If you think about it, 1 in 20 people who have COVID-19 will have symptoms lasting 8 weeks or more. What impact did increased age and gender have on persistent symptoms? The study found that the likelihood of having persistent symptoms increased with age, rising from 9.9% of individuals 18 to 49, to 21.9% in those above 70. The most common persistent symptom in older age groups was anosmia, or the loss of smell. The study also found that it was more likely that women would experience long COVID, with 14.9% of female study participants reporting symptoms 28 days after initial infection, compared with 9.5% of men. USA Today noted that although the study attempted to identify long-COVID risk factors and markers, doctors are finding it can happen to anyone at any age, citing Dr. Michael Wechsler, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health. Dr. Wechsler said, It can happen in any age group, but its most alarming to younger people who are otherwise healthy and not used to these symptoms. Two main patterns have emerged. Of the participants, the study found two main patterns among COVID long haulers. Firstly, they found those who exclusively reported fatigue, headache and upper respiratory issues, such as shortness of breath, sore throat, cough and loss of smell, and a second group of long haulers who had persistent multi-system complaints, such as a fever or gastrointestinal symptoms, the report said. According to Dr. Weschler, there are a wide array of symptoms in long COVID-19 patients at National Jewish Healths clinic. Long COVID is common. It affects a large proportion of patients and has a wide distribution of symptoms, he added. Its important to make people aware that all these different side effects and symptoms can occur. READ MORE: Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Probation Officer Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 203 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 203 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Probation Officer Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-probation-officer-degree-programs/ 2021 Probation Officer Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Adams State University Arizona State University Arkansas Northeastern College Ashford University Auburn University Ball State University Belmont University Bemidji State University Bethel University Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Brandman University Campbellsville University Colorado State University, Global Campus Eastern Kentucky University Fayetteville State University Florida Atlantic University Florida International University Fort Hays State University Grand Canyon University Howard University Humphreys University Indiana University East Kilgore College Lamar University Lee University Liberty University Lindenwood University Marquette University McKendree University Mercer University Mesa Community College Missouri Western State University Montana State University, Northern New England College North Carolina Central University Northwestern State University of Louisiana Park University Regent University Southern New Hampshire University Tiffin University University of Arkansas, Little Rock University of California, Irvine University of Louisville University of Maine, Fort Kent University of Massachusetts, Lowell University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Wayne Community College West Texas A&M University Western New Mexico University Westfield State University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. All 77 BJP MLAs in Bengal to have central security cover Bengal polls: Ahead of first phase, observers meet government officials, discuss law and order India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Kolkata, Mar 11: Special Observer for the West Bengal assembly elections Ajay Nayak and Special Police Observer Vivek Dubey on Wednesday met senior state government officials and discussed the issue of law and order ahead of the first phase of polling on March 27, a source in the CEO''s office said. During the meeting with Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and other officials, Nayak and Dubey sought full cooperation from the administration to conduct free and fair polls. The observers also met Home Secretary HK Dwidevi and DGP P Nirajnayan. West Bengal elections 2021: CM Mamata Banerjee claims she was 'attacked' in Nandigram "Law and order issue was discussed at the meeting. The ECI officials expressed their concern over the law and order situation in the state and sought total cooperation from the administration to hold fair and free elections," the source said. The meeting was held a day after the Election Commission removed Virendra as the Director-General of Police of West Bengal. The commission also recently removed Jawed Shamim from the post of ADG (Law and Order). Nayak and Dubey reached the state last week and have been holding meetings with various authorities to oversee poll preparedness and take stock of the situation. Mamata injured in ankle, leg, shoulder, neck: Doctor | Oneidnia News The first phase of the elections will be held in 30 assembly constituencies in five districts - Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and parts of Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur. The eight-phased elections to the 294 seats in West Bengal will be held between March 27 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 2. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 9:33 [IST] US President Joe Bidens executive order on the strengthening of American manufacturing, which he signed during his first week in office, is expected to have a direct effect on demand for US-produced raw materials and finished products, but also lead to wider support for developing projects that feed strategic industries, such as transport, energy, defense and infrastructure. "American manufacturing [] must be part of the engine of American prosperity now," Biden said. "Well buy American products and support American jobs." Biden signaled a previous lax approach to government procurement that turned a blind eye to large volumes of imports for materials sourced elsewhere, instead of relying on domestic supply, is due to change. That specifically singled out iron and steel, but entire sectors such as engines, auto parts and vehicles are set to be put under the microscope. "Under the previous administration, the federal government contracts awarded directly to foreign companies went up 30%. That is going to change on our watch," he said. The administration will look to tighten the rules on company waivers for foreign procurement, and combine that with more transparency on the products that are sourced abroad, to support domestic manufacturers ability to step into those supply chains. Biden also stressed investment opportunities in sectors including "battery technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean energy." The executive order is expected to have two main impacts a bullish effect for domestic demand in established industries, and a broader support for incoming and developing projects and sectors. In minerals, this approach could mean important developments for rare earths, graphite and lithium, among others. Global rare earths supply is dominated by China, which accounts for some 90% of total output. The US has a domestic miner of rare earths in MP Materials. It currently ships its rare earths output to China to be refined, but the company previously stated that it had received funding to build processing facilities in the US; while that project was put on hold, it could see a reprise under the new administration. Additionally, Malaysia-based rare earths producer Lynas announced its intention to set up a processing facility in Texas a project that will be part-financed with US Department of Defense funding. Rare earths elements are employed in defense systems and electric engines, as well as wind turbines all core sectors highlighted in the executive order. Graphite is another mineral where meaningful developments can be expected. At present, the US imports from sources including China, Latin America, Canada and Europe. As such, junior miners looking to set up local operations could be particularly coveted. It is the case of the former Alabama Graphite, a Canadian-owned developer that was taken over by US mining explorer Westwater Resources in 2018. Graphite mined at Westwaters in-development Coosa graphite project will feed a western supply chain of spherical graphite for battery applications, the company stated. The firm is setting up a pilot project to produce anode-ready spherical graphite in Chicago and New York, together with a pilot facility in Germany. Separately, east Africa-based graphite producer Syrah Resources is on track to expand its spherical graphite facility in Vidalia, Louisiana, where graphite anode material is produced from natural graphite that Syrah mines in Mozambique. At present, China still accounts for almost all graphite processing capacity for battery anodes. In January, Syrah said it is on track to expand Louisiana production to 10,000 tonnes per year, with a final investment decision expected in the second half of 2021. A similar case can be made for lithium developments. The mineral, employed in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESSs) is mainly mined outside of the US, and the bulk of processing capacity for lithium chemical compounds is in China. In this sense, the US administration is likely to look favorably at both incoming projects from developers as well as established US companies with interests in lithium operations abroad. The first group includes Lithium Americas, which is developing its 100% owned Thacker Pass project in Nevada and has a stake in the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in northern Argentina, in partnership with Chinas Gangfeng Lithium. The Argentina project will have an average expected production of 40,000 tpy of lithium carbonate equivalent and production is slated to start in 2022. The firm completed its federal permitting process for the Nevada project earlier this year. Incumbent US-headquartered lithium producer Albemarle runs extraction sites in Chiles Atacama region and is developing the Silver Peak operation in Nevada, where it aims to double carbonate production capacity by 2025. Steel The US steel industry has already applauded Bidens approach. "We are pleased by the presidents action today," Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) president Philip K Bell said in a statement. "Executive orders, rulemaking and Congressional legislation should continue to focus on enhancing 'Buy America' in ways that benefit American workers and companies." The executive order will require government agencies to close loopholes in the way domestic content is measured and boost domestic content requirements. It also will increase the price preference for domestic goods the price difference that the government can pay over that for material from a non-US producer. "We are pleased that [Monday's] executive order will tighten up the process for considering waivers to existing domestic preference requirements and will also increase domestic content requirements for defining what constitutes a product that is made in the United States," Kevin Dempsey, president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said in a statement. The order will create a new position in the Executive Office of Management and Budget that will be responsible for implementing Bidens push on federal procurement. Agencies will be required to report on their implementation of "Buy America" laws and make recommendations for achieving these goals, and to continue to do so twice a year. The executive order reiterates Bidens support for the Jones Act, which regulates maritime commerce and requires cargo between US ports to be carried only by vessels built, owned and operated by American citizens or permanent residents. "The orders strengthening domestic content requirements and calling for stricter enforcement of existing legislation like the Jones Act is an important step toward revitalizing our manufacturing base, as well as protecting and creating jobs," USW International president Tom Conway said in a statement. The steel industry also cheered when former President Donald Trump signed a "Buy American, Hire American" executive order on April 18, 2017. Trumps order was supposed to crack down on the use of waivers and exceptions for "Buy America" laws by requiring federally funded infrastructure projects to use steel "melted and poured" in the United States. The steel industry projects that the executive order signals the Biden administrations upcoming infrastructure bill will benefit domestic producers and workers. "Our nation is long overdue for serious, robust investment in our crumbling infrastructure," Conway said. "[Mondays] action is crucial not only for rebuilding our nations broken economy and making our country safer, but for laying a foundation so that all of the work that stems from this investment supports American jobs." This could signal that the Biden administration will continue the protectionist measures that helped bolster domestic steel prices during the Trump era. The previous administration implemented Section 232 tariffs in 2018, imposing duties on imports on steel and aluminium of 25% and 10% respectively. Fastmarkets daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $57.81 per hundredweight ($1,156.20 per short ton) on Tuesday February 2, up by 2.2% from $56.56 per cwt on the previous day and by 3.1% from $56.06 per cwt on January 26. This marked the second-highest level on record since Fastmarkets began collecting HRC data in 1960, with the all-time high of $58 per cwt recorded on January 14. Within days of Mr. Chauvins arrest, he agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder, The New York Times reported last month, but William P. Barr, then the U.S. attorney general, stepped in to reject the agreement, which had also included an assurance that Mr. Chauvin would not face federal civil rights charges. Judge Peter A. Cahill, who is overseeing the trial, later dismissed that charge, but he upheld the more severe charge of second-degree murder. If convicted of second-degree murder, Mr. Chauvin would likely face about 11 to 15 years in prison, though the maximum penalty is up to 40 years. The maximum penalty for the added third-degree murder charge is 25 years in prison. Mr. Chauvin also faces a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter. The Minnesota Court of Appeals last week ordered Mr. Cahill to reconsider whether to add the third-degree murder charge, which has historically been understood to apply to defendants who commit an act that endangers multiple people. But the appeals court broadened the scope of the law in a decision this year and said the charge could be used in cases where only one person was in danger as it was in the conviction of a Minneapolis police officer, Mohamed Noor, for a fatal shooting. Judge Cahill said in February that he was not bound by that new interpretation because it could still be reviewed by a higher court, but the appeals court disagreed with his analysis. Judge Cahill granted the prosecutors motion to add the charge after brief arguments on Thursday morning from Eric J. Nelson, who is Mr. Chauvins lawyer, and Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general who is helping prosecutors in the case. Two lawyers for the Floyd family welcomed the decision in a statement. The trial is very painful and the family needs closure, the lawyers, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, said. Were pleased that all judicial avenues are being explored and that the trial will move forward. [March 11, 2021] Sunshine Biopharma Receives Notice of Allowance for a New Patent Application Extending Protection of Adva-27a in Europe Until 2033 MONTREAL, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunshine Biopharma Inc. (OTC PINK: SBFM), a pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of oncology and antiviral drugs today announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the European Patent Office for a new patent application covering Adva-27a, the Companys flagship anticancer compound. This newly issued patent contains new subject matter and extends the proprietary protection of Adva-27a in Europe until 2033. The equivalent patent in the United States was issued in 2019 (US Patent Number 10,272,065) and similarly covers Adva-27a until 2033. The Canadian Intellectual Property recently issued a Notice of Allowance for the analogous patent in Canada. Sunshine Biopharma is the sole owner of all intellectual property rights pertaining to Adva-27a, including the first Adva-27a patent issued in the United States in 2012 (US Patent Number 8,236,935). We are very excited about this significant extension of proprietary protection for Adva-27a, said Dr. Steve N. Slilaty, CEO of Sunshine Biopharma. With a total population of nearly 450 million people, the European Union represents a significant market for Adva-27a once approved for marketing, he added. About Sunshine Biopharmas Adva-27a Adva-27a is a unique anticancer compound targeted for multidrug resistant cancer. Tests conducted to date have demonstrated the effectiveness of Adva-27a at destroying Multidrug Resistant Cancer Cells, including Pancreatic Cancer cells, Small-Cell Lung Cancer cells, Breast Cancer cells, and Uterine Sarcoma cells. Clinical trials for Pancreatic Cancer indication are planned to be conducted at McGill Universitys Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Canada. About Sunshine Biopharma and COVID-19 Treatment In addition, to working on the development of Adva-27a, Sunshine Biopharma is engaged in the development of a treatment COVID-19. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 2.6 million people worldwide since it first appeared in December 2019. There are currently no rugs that can effectively arrest replication of the virus in people who have contracted the illness. On May 22, 2020, Sunshine Biopharma filed a provisional patent application for several molecules which were designed by computer-aided modeling to inhibit the Coronavirus proteases, thus shutting down the ability of the virus to multiply. Sunshine Biopharma has since completed the synthesis of four such molecules and identified a lead compound, SBFM-PL4. On February 1, 2021, Sunshine Biopharma entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of Georgia for two Anti-Coronavirus compounds which the University of Georgia had previously developed and patented. Sunshine Biopharma is currently advancing the development of these two compounds in parallel with the Companys own SBFM-PL4 by conducting a transgenic mice study in collaboration with the University of Georgia. The mice being used in the study have been genetically engineered to express the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) transmembrane protein in their lungs making them susceptible to lethal infection by SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses the hACE2 receptor to gain entry into human cells to replicate. The goal of the study is to determine if Sunshine Biopharmas protease inhibitors will protect the hACE2-transgenic mice from disease progression and death following infection with SARS-CoV-2. Should these mice studies prove successful, Sunshine Biopharma plans to submit the results to the FDA for authorization to conduct testing on actual COVID-19 patient volunteers in a Phase I clinical trial setting. The implications of a COVID-19 treatment becoming available are vast. This is particularly the case in view of the fact that some of the variants emerging around the world are more virulent and may escape neutralization by the current vaccines. Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to general stock market conditions. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company's most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our expansion of our existing as well as new service lines noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. Additional service offerings may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s) based upon the various geopolitical locations we will be providing services in, the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time. For Additional Information Contact: Camille Sebaaly, CFO Sunshine Biopharma Inc. Direct Line: 514-814-0464 camille.sebaaly@sunshinebiopharma.com www.sunshinebiopharma.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. LAKE PLEASANT Hamilton County, fully settled in the Adirondack Park, is famed for its summer tourism camping at Piseco Lake, kayaking on Raquette Lake and swimming in Long Lake. Its also known as the least populated in the state, just 4,800 residents, and home to one of the oldest populations, with 32 percent of residents being 65 years or older. And now, Hamilton County is known for something else the highest percentage of residents vaccinated against COVID-19. As of Wednesday, the state Department of Health vaccination tracker map indicates Hamilton has successfully administered at least one dose to 48.1 percent of its residents. The next-highest counties number first doses around 30 percent of their populations. We did a great job, county Chairman William Farber said. Our county health department has been working day and night. They are awesome. It was a team effort with regional support. Its heartening the way it worked out. One year of COVID: What we learned and how this all ends Phone calls, fliers, and face-to-face conversations is how the South End is getting vaccinated Cuomo says vaccines for people 60 and over begins Wednesday Farber said the county was able to reach nearly half of its residents by creating its own plan to cover its 1,808 square miles. That was necessary, he said, because the county has no hospitals and no pharmacies. With no ready-made vaccination sites, the county decided to open them in town halls, community centers, fire departments and schools in all 10 county towns. Long Lake was an exception. It had two sites, because from top to bottom the town is 24 miles long. And all of the sites were opened not just during the day, but nights and weekends, too. We are so huge, we are rural, Farber said. Nothing else would have worked as well for us. To the states credit, they recognized that there is not one size fits all for a county like Hamilton. Certainly, the percentage of Hamilton Countys vaccinated residents is also impressive when compared to other rural counties in the state. For example, on Wednesday 16.9 percent of residents in neighboring Fulton County had gotten at least one dose; other rural counties with lower percentages include Greene, at 17.9 percent, and Schoharie, at 16.6 percent. On the flip side, the other lowest percentages in the state are in its most populated areas. Brooklyn has seen 14 percent of its nearly 2.6 million residents receive a first dose. Washington County Attorney Roger Wickes said that rural counties like his have many challenges that more populated areas cant imagine, including large zones with no Wi-Fi or cell service. They also have no highways and no public transportation. He said Washington County has addressed its lag in vaccinations by partnering with neighboring Warren County on mass vaccination sites in Queensbury and signing people up over landlines. Washington County has provided a first dose to 19.5 percent of its population. The state drives people to a website to make an appointment, Wickes said. A lot of our folks cant go to a website. They have to phone it in and we register them on our computer. Wickes said the county has also attempted to identify residents who need the vaccine through the Office for the Aging, Meals on Wheels, senior centers, and fire and police departments and town halls. We have to network and work through alternative means, Wickes said. It helps, Farber said, that the state is open to alternative distribution plans. All counties have been given latitude on how to distribute vaccine, as long as they follow the eligibility requirements as defined in the guidance for the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Program, said Jeffrey Hammond, spokesman for the state Department of Health. We are pleased anytime one of our partners at the county level creates a vaccination rollout program that is consistent with the states plan to get as many shots in the arms of New Yorkers as safely and efficiently as possible. Certainly, it is working well in Hamilton. Amber Wamback, a volunteer firefighter in Long Lake, said she got her vaccine and worked the data entry desk at the towns distribution point at town hall. She said the process was seamless with little wait time. I think its pretty great because most of our county is elderly, Wamback said. People who came seemed really excited about it actually. It feels good." Long Lake Town Supervisor Clay Arsenault credits the countys distribution to Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Barbara Taylor, county Director of Public Health Erica Mahoney and Farber, who worked with the state to get the vaccine. He also said that each town has many volunteers, including those from the Sheriffs Department and first responders who greeted and checked in residents as they arrived. Its been a big effort with all of the supervisors in the county, Arsenault said. Weve all worked hard and diligently to keep getting shots in arms. ... Weve gotten so many compliments on how organized it was. The lines are short, we are running efficiently. Its been a big effort, honestly. Im proud of the county. Mattydale, N.Y. Did any restaurant need another challenge this year? Certainly not. But Thai Love New York in Mattydale is turning out exceptionally good Thai dishes in the face of not just the pandemic but also a car accident in January that made their dining room temporarily unusable. So we put off our in-restaurant dining once more to see how the restaurant we first reviewed in 2018 was handling the double challenge that has turned the place into a delivery- and takeout-only spot for now. What we found was admirable. The menu has expanded since we first tried it. Its all Thai, and everything on it makes us want to go back. Thai Love NY has a full bar, and well take advantage of that in the future. For now, alcoholic drinks are not available for takeout. We love Thai iced tea, but raspberry milk tea ($3.50) was new to us. Both are like sweet desserts. Starters include soups and small plates from $5 to $12. Most salads are mains: large and including protein. This time we stuck with tom yum soup ($5) and Thai love shrimp ($8). We shared our starters--shrimp and tom yum soup--from Thai Love NY. Jane Marmaduke Woodman Like the main dishes, the restaurants soups include a choice of proteins. Tofu, chicken, beef or pork are all $5; shrimp raises the cost to $6. We chose tofu for our tom yum, and it was beautifully prepared: sliced thin and fried. The slightly salty, rich broth was embellished with cilantro and a bit of tomato. Thai Love NY offers several starters based on shrimp. Our fried shrimp, served with a dip, was a very generous serving, plenty for two. The spicy sauce was mayonnaise-based and quite spicy. We were surprised how warm the shrimp was after the 20-minute drive home. A fried shrimp starter from Thai Love NY was plenty for two people. Jane Marmaduke Woodman Mains range from $13 to $22 and include curries, sautes, and noodles. Here again, protein choices determine exact prices, though the range is narrow. We tried prig pow with salmon ($15), medium hot, and red curry (gang deng) with chicken ($13), hot. The two dishes shared some ingredientscoconut milk, bamboo shoots, Thai basil, and peppersbut they were very different preparations. Our prig pow was a saute, therefore not as saucy as our curry, and included roasted Thai chile sauce. The deep flavor of the roasted chiles was pronounced, but the dish was not very spicy-hot. The salmon was fully cooked but not at all dry, sweet and fresh. We were surprised at the sheer quantity of fish in the saute. Thai Love NY uses a large amount of salmon in their prig pow. Jane Marmaduke Woodman Thai curries are all delicious, and our red curry was excellent, though the sauce had separated, not surprising given the effects of takeaway. Despite its appearance, the flavor was terrific. Wed ordered the curry hot, just in the middle of the range of spiciness offered, and it was indeed hotter than the prig pow, just right for us. Plenty of chicken, enhanced by sweet peppers and mushrooms, mixed with basil for a filling dish. Finally, we couldnt resist an order of pad Thai with chicken ($13). An easy introduction to Thai cuisine, the dish of noodles sauteed with a delicious sauce that balances the elements of Thai foodsweet, sour, salty, and spicyhas such a broad appeal that it even shows up as a side on the childrens menu, where complete choices range from $8-$10. Pad thai made a luxurious side from Thai Love NY. Jane Marmaduke Woodman The quantity of sliced chicken in our pad Thai was as surprisingly generous as the salmon had been. Between the chicken, the bean sprouts, and the egg, it was high protein, its flavors enhanced by sweet red pepper and plenty of green onion. We would have enough leftovers for a big dinner later. Some of Thai Loves desserts ($4.50 to $6.50) are made at the restaurant. We loved their mango sticky rice when we tried it a few years ago, so we were happy to see raspberry sticky rice ($5.50) on the dessert menu. It included Thai custard, coconut meat and milk, and toasted sesame seeds. Surprisingly, Thai Love NY sent home one of our desserts in a real glass.Jane Marmaduke Woodman The rice was chewy and sweet, and we guessed that purple or black raspberries had been used, as it was very dark. In a pool of coconut milk, the dessert was topped with shredded coconut as well as sesame seeds. This dessert would have been enough for both of us. Our coppa pistachio ($6.50) was made in Italy and sent home in a glass dish. We would order it again in a minute. Here, custard-based gelato was swirled with chocolate and pistachio gelato and decorated with candied pistachios. Lighter than our sticky rice, it was still rich and delicious. Custard-based pistachio gelato and choclate were delicious together from Thai Love NY. Jane Marmaduke Woodman We regard Thai Love NY as one of the best restaurants in the area and hope they are able to reopen the dining room soon so we can enjoy the pretty room and friendly, professional service along with the excellent food. Until then, were happy they can still offer takeout and delivery. The Details The Restaurant: Thai Love NY, 2822 Lemoyne Ave., Syracuse. (315) 928-5659 Reservations? Yes, when the dining room reopens. Credit Cards? Yes Parking: Private lot Access to Disabled? Yes Vegetarian/ Gluten-free Options? Yes, clearly marked on the menu. Childrens menu? Yes, choices from $8-$10. Hours: Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Cost: Dinner mains on the menu range from $13 to $22. For our review, we ordered from across the menu as much as was reasonable, and our total for two starters, three mains, drinks and two desserts, including tax and a 20% tip was $94.04. MORE CNY FOOD More Dining Out reviews Bars in Armory Square, Solvay among the latest to announce reopening in CNY Hidden Gems of CNY: The best cheesesteak youll find outside of Philly is in Marcellus Upstate NY restaurants can soon seat up to 75% capacity, but will that help them? A question. A sandwich. A surprise: A tale of superb customer service in Auburn, N.Y. Sydney businesswoman Melissa Caddick was caught forging cheques 20 years before she scammed tens of millions out of investors. Ms Caddick vanished the day after corporate watchdog ASIC executed a search warrant at her luxury Dover Heights home on November 11. The 49-year-old mother's badly decomposed foot washed up in a running shoe on a beach about 400km south of Sydney on February 21. Liquidators alleged Ms Caddick 'meticulously and systematically' deceived those who entrusted millions of investment dollars to her over seven years, then used the money to fund her lavish lifestyle. Melissa Caddick vanished the day after corporate watchdog ASIC executed a search warrant at her luxury Dover Heights home in November But it has now been revealed the fraudster was caught forging cheques almost two decades earlier - and was let off, Australian Financial Review's Chanticleer column reported. Ms Caddick was 29 years old when she was hired by a Sydney fund manager for a clerical job in the back office. After six months, an accountant advised the fund manager there were several abnormalities in the accounts. The cheques were then looked over by the fund manager at the National Australia Bank and two cheques - one worth $5000 and another worth $10,000 - were observed with forged signatures. Ms Caddick was asked whether she had forged them and she admitted guilt - but the fund manager decided to let her off. She was not reported to police, the fund manager simply asked to leave the job. Melissa Caddick with her husband Anthony Koletti, who is not accused of any wrongdoing. Caddick used her ill gotten gains to live a lavish lifestyle The financial adviser then went on to swindle millions of dollars from investors before she vanished from her eastern suburbs mansion. Despite numerous conspiracy theories about the missing conwoman, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller believes she is dead. 'There's always a chance she cut her foot off and is still alive but that's pretty fanciful but nevertheless we haven't closed this case,' he said on Monday. 'We are still looking for her remains and we're still looking of where the funds may be.' Mr Fuller all but dismissed speculation Ms Caddick may have met with foul play. 'There's a very slim chance that is the case but we haven't closed this case,' he said. The 49-year-old went missing last November, a day after corporate watchdog ASIC executed a search warrant at her home. A report released last week into her financial affairs indicated she had likely misappropriated about $25 million of investors' funds. Caddick's decomposed foot was found on the New South Wales South Coast in a rare Asics shoe The only remains that have been found are her decomposing foot. 'I've never seen someone's body or body parts wash up 400kms south of Sydney and in reasonably good condition ... but that's not to say it can't happen,' Mr Fuller said. Other bones and remains found on surrounding beaches did not belong to Ms Caddick. Last week, police divers scanned 6000 sq/km of water off Sydney's South Head - near Ms Caddick's Dover Heights home - before the search was called off due to hazardous conditions. 'No other body parts have been found at this stage,' Mr Fuller said. The police are still investigating the case, which has so far identified a possible 68 fraud victims. 'We feel sorry for them but we are still looking at trying to recover funds and that investigation continues,' the commissioner said. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 3 1 of 3 Connecticut State Police / Contributed Photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Connecticut State Police / Contributed Photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 NEW HAVEN A city man was allegedly found in possession of drugs and guns after fleeing an accident on the highway, according to police. Aamir Burnett, 33, of Earl Street, is charged with evading responsibility, following too closely, possession of drug paraphernalia near a school, possession near a school, possession with intent to sell, violation of pistol permit requirements, carrying a pistol without a permit, illegal possession of weapons in a motor vehicle, illegal sale of an assault weapon, illegal possession of a large magazine, risk of injury to a child, interfering with an officer/resisting, two counts of criminal possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of weapon on school grounds and violation of a deadly weapons registration requirements, police said. 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 Kiara Advani has the right lines when she opens up about her future plans. She wants to be "that actor who is good in every film", does not want to be defined by her hits and misses in Hindi film industry. The Bollywood actress made her debut with the 2016 dud "Fugly", but has since then made a mark with some good performances in films such as "M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story", "Lust Stories", "Kabir Singh" and "Good Newwz". In her seven-year-journey, Kiara has also faced failures with "Laxmii" and "Machine". Does the industry define an actor through hits and misses? "If I look back in my journey, the opportunities I got -- whether it is Kabir Singh' or Lust Stories' -- were incredible opportunities that came to me at a time when not so many people knew me, so, yes, at the end of the day if the audience loves your work and appreciates your work that's when people will again want to take in another film. So, that is why we put a lot of pressure on us," Kiara told IANS. The actress hopes to achieve flawlessness when it comes to her craft. "I don't want to be defined by success or failure. I want to be that actor who is good in every film. That is what I am hoping to achieve," she said. Kiara's last release "Indoo Ki Jawaani" dropped on OTT amid lockdown, but she has a busy year ahead, with her films such as "Shershaah", "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2" and "Jug Jugg Jeeyo" lined up. "It's an exciting time. These are all different projects and I am excited. Shershaah' will be the next film to come out. I am really excited to shoot these films," she summed up. (Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in) Miller-Motte College in Chattanooga has purchased a new piece of training technology for its dental program a Panoramic X-Ray machine, or PAN that is used during dental exams to capture an X-ray of the entire mouth in a single image. This technology is often used by dentists in their daily practice, making this a tool for dental assistant students so they can learn how to operate a PAN prior to entering the workforce and may not have to be trained on the job, helping make them more marketable to potential employers, said officials. We are thrilled for our students to now have access to a PAN machine as they progress through the Miller-Motte dental assisting program, said Miller-Motte Executive Director Jay Frank. Having a device like the PAN machine on our campus is a major benefit for our dental program as it helps ensure potential students and employers that our dental assisting program utilizes industry current technology and that our students are trained and prepared. This additional training helps give them an advantage when they graduate. The technology utilizes panoramic radiography, also called panoramic x-ray, in creating a two-dimensional dental x-ray that captures the entire mouth in a single image, including the teeth, upper and lower jaws, surrounding structures and tissues. This is an improvement over digital technology which requires 18 separate X-rays to capture the entire mouth. The 15-month Dental Assisting program at Miller-Motte provides a hands-on learning experience for students so they are trained to work effectively as an integral member of a dental health team when they graduate. Students are taught how to function as an entry level dental assistant through an introduction to dental assisting, dental administrative procedures, dental infection control, dental radiography, dental sciences, operative dentistry, dental lab procedures, and dental specialties. Now, as part of their dental radiography training at Miller-Motte, students will also have the opportunity to learn how to operate a PAN machine. In addition to classroom coursework that includes training on machines like the PAN, each student is required to participate in an Externship Experience in a dental office and gain 330 hours experience through a dental practicum. Being able to take Panoramic X-rays when they come to the office for their externship is vital to their careers, said JaDonna Truelove, an externship provider for the Miller-Motte program. We can train them, but the in-depth learning on the PAN they receive at MIller-Motte adds an extra layer of experience that makes them more prepared. For more information about the dental assisting program at Miller-Motte, please visit: www.miller-motte.edu L.A. Councilmembers Outline Community Benefits of City Budget Reinvestment Council President Martinez and members Price and Ridley-Thomas explain a reimagined public safety model Change is coming to the L.A. city budget in the form of reallocating resources. While some people attribute the budgetary adjustment as a reaction to cries of defund the police, key drivers on the Los Angeles City Council insist that the modification is simply a matter of addressing the needs of the community. Council President Nury Martinez (Council District 6), and Councilmembers Curren Price (CD 9), Marqueece Harris-Dawson (CD 8) and Mark Ridley-Thomas (CD 10), led the charge to redistribute the $150 million cut from the L.A. Police Departments budget to initiatives and programs that benefit the well-being of communities of color in underserved neighborhoods. The L.A. City Council approved the cut in July 2020. On March 8, Martinez, Price and Ridley-Thomas met with Sentinel Managing Editor Brandon Brooks to explain how the process occurred and why the reallocation is in the best interests of the citizens of Los Angeles. (Harris-Dawson had a scheduling conflict and was unable to join them.) ADVERTISEMENT Distribution of the $150 million calls for $50 million to address the citys budget deficit in an effort to save jobs primarily held by people of color, $10 million to establish a summer youth jobs program for children in disadvantaged communities, $1.1 million to establish the Office of Racial Equity within the Civil, Human Rights and Equity Department, and $88 million to reinvest in communities of color. However, the areas of reinvestment are not solely based on Councilmembers decisions, but actually are the result of recommendations by community members, who shared their vision of an improved quality of life with elected officials. We listened to people in a series of discussions and public hearings that took place online, because were in the middle of a pandemic, and we asked what does public safety look like in communities of color? For some of our communities, policing looks very differently, said Martinez. To feel safer in our neighborhoods doesnt necessarily mean more policing. The safest communities in L.A. isnt the result of more policing; its the result of investments and resources. Its to be able to bring to our neighborhoods what the West Side and other neighborhoods are so accustomed to, she stressed. Families in my district want safer parks and clean neighborhoods just like families on the West Side. I dont think its too much to ask. Price explained that the Council responded to their constituents, who were calling for change and reassessment and reallocation of resources. To address the areas of concern, funding has been allotted to youth programming, economic development, city services, community and nonprofit investment and reimaging public safety. With the allocation of $88 million going to communities-in-need and almost $20 million coming to CD 9, theres a real opportunity to figure out how we can imagine our resources in a way that makes sense how we can provide services without the police showing up all of the time, Price said. We also put money into community intervention, recognizing the unique role that our gang prevention workers are playing, and were putting money into safe passages, and money into, most notably, homeless initiatives. Also, Price announced that CD 9 will receive nearly $20 million, which will fund an initiative called the Guaranteed Basic Income Program. Citing it as the largest of its kind in the country, Price said that 500 of his districts poorest families, for example, single parents, would be randomly selected to receive $1,000 per month for a year. ADVERTISEMENT We think that can be life-changing. Weve seen the results in other communities, most recently in Stockton, California, where the recipients reported everything from being able to get a better job to feeling less stress, he declared. Im proud were doing this in CD 9 and hopefully we can replicate this in other parts of the city. Indicating his agreement with Martinez and Price, Ridley-Thomas emphasized the importance of the devoting funds to homelessness. A longtime proponent of resolving the crisis, he said he was pleased that many of the new initiatives would assist with reducing homelessness in the city. When we talk about homelessness, we are talking about a range of issues that are very important to our quality of life and that is whats at stake in terms of expanding what reimaging governance looks like. It is a multi-dimensional approach to governance, he said. Homelessness touches law enforcement, clearly touches land use, touches social services and finally, touches housing as well as health. Not only will there be unarmed response, which all of us have saluted, but there will be a new Homeless Services Hub in South L.A., on 18th and Western, that will be able to dispatch 15 teams of people throughout South L.A. for the purpose of doing the diagnostic work and closing the gap for those who find themselves on the street, added Ridley-Thomas. In addition, he pointed out that utilizing money cut from the LAPD budget does not indicate that he or his City Council colleagues are anti-police, but rather they are anti-police misconduct and excessive use of force. While expressing his advocacy of public safety, Ridley-Thomas said it is not the only aspect of an improved quality of life. There is more to life than the business of the LAPD. There are some things police officers cannot do that other departments do, like Building and Safety, for example, or the fire department. This budget is our way of saying that we have to have a balanced view of budgeting in the City of Los Angeles, he said. Martinez mentioned that the LAPD was not the only department to experience a reduction in its budget. She noted, Every city department took a 10% cut last year, except for LAPD. All we the City Council were asking for was for LAPD to do its fair share. It wasnt a matter of taking from the police, but providing for the community in ways that we havent before, declared Price. The reallocation provided for communities in real need, not just for those who want the funds. Were taking a bold step in a way that will change the field in the area of public safety, homelessness and guaranteed income. The Councilmembers also acknowledged Black Lives Matter Los Angeles for their contribution to the reimagined city budget. In June 2020, BLMLA presented the Council with the Peoples Budget LA, which outlined a reimagined public safety model that highlighted universal aid, crisis management, and improved infrastructure. We appreciate the leadership of BLM. They gave us some good ideas, said Martinez. We are all familiar with grass-roots organizations and there is an array of nonprofits that have been doing this for a long time. Im very comfortable with them. We also never forget those people who are not a part of those community groups. Still, Price shared, But this movement didnt just happen this past summer. Its goes back to generations and generations of protesting and asserting our rights. This is just the latest itineration. Im excited to be a part of this. It underscores our commitment, as elected officials, to listen and to act on the needs that our citizens have. The topic of COVID-19 was discussed as well and the Councilmembers admitted their frustration with the tremendous impact of the pandemic on their respective districts, along with the lack of available vaccination sites in the areas that they represent. COVID really exposed the deep inequalities that existed all along for the essential workers in our own backyard to have been completely devastated by the toll it has had in their lives. We cannot go back to the way we were. We are trying to address some of these inequalities, said Martinez. Relating how the virus has affected CD 9, Price explained that his district has had more than 700 deaths and 60,000 infections, which influenced him and his staff to partner with Kedren Community Heath Center to provide vaccinations. We are all strong advocates for having local clinics in our neighborhoods. Its fine to have something at Dodgers Stadium and even at the Forum, but we need something our people can get to, like Kedren and St. Johns Wellness Center and at our parks. Its been devastating in CD 9. It impacts everybody at a very personal level, Price said. Ridley-Thomas underscored how ethnicity has played a part throughout the pandemic. From the very beginning from the distribution of PPEs to the testing sites and now who gets vaccinated at every step of the way, it has made raw the issue of race and class in the context of this pandemic, he stressed. This has been a very hard year for a lot of people and a lot of those people that we represent. We have a lot of work to do. As the meeting concluded, the Councilmembers encouraged Angelenos to monitor city budgetary actions by visiting https://www.lacity.org/government/government-information/city-finance-budget. Sentinel Managing Editor Brandon Brooks contributed to this article. Greenridge Realty Wins Performance Award From Leading Real Estate Companies of the World We value our partnership with Leading RE and our global network. This national and international reach allows us to provide the same level of service for our clients whether they are moving within West Michigan or around the world. Greenridge Realty was recognized with a top Member Achievement Award from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE), a global network of market-leading independent real estate firms, during a special awards ceremony held virtually on March 1. The family-owned Michigan real estate agency received the 2020 Million Dollar Club Award for outstanding performance and outgoing referrals placed through Leading RE's international broker network. "We value our partnership with Leading RE and our global network," said Greenridge Vice President, Walter Perschbacher. "This national and international reach allows us to provide the same level of service for our clients whether they are moving within West Michigan or around the world." We are delighted to celebrate our members who went above and beyond serving the needs of relocating home buyers and sellers during a truly unprecedented year, said LeadingRE President/CEO Paul Boomsma. The evolving needs of homeowners resulted in increased activity for our network, whether relating to the demand for more space, the appeal of a change of scenery, the ability to work from anywhere or the desire to be closer to family. He adds, While we normally present these awards during our annual Conference Week, which has been postponed until the end of May, we didnt want to delay the opportunity to acknowledge their success. Greenridge Realty is the West Michigan representative of LeadingRE. With a membership that spans six continents, LeadingRE connects more than 550 firms and 135,000 sales associates who produce over 1.1 million real estate transactions each year. As a member of LeadingRE, Greenridge combines authentic local market leadership with top-ranked resources and relationships with other premier real estate firms across the country and around the world. Founded in 1980 as a 30-person real estate firm, Greenridge Realty has grown to one of Michigans longest-standing family-owned real estate agencies. Greenridge Realty currently employs more than 400 real estate agents across 26 West Michigan offices. For more information on Greenridge Realty, visit http://www.greenridge.com The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Police on Tuesday arrested an alleged member of a Chinese crime syndicate with 128 pounds of marijuana packed into boxes in the van he was driving in Bergen County, police said. At 12:47 p.m., Hackensack Police pulled over Vincent Lee, 35, of San Francisco, California, after failing to put on his turn signal on Route 80 East, Detective Capt. Darrin DeWitt said in a statement. When officers began talking to Lee, he could not provide any paperwork for the rental car, according to the statement. It was when officers began to search the car that they discovered eight large cardboard boxes in the back of van, the statement said. Lee told officers he didnt know what was in the boxes or who rented van, the statement said. The boxes contained a total of around 128 pounds of marijuana in vacuum-sealed bags, the statement said. Police identified Lee as a member of a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate, the statement said. Lee was taken to the Bergen County Jail pending his first court appearance, according to the statement. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Seoul, March 11 : Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto leader of Samsung Group, is under investigation over an allegation that he took anesthesia drug propofol shots illegally, police said on Thursday. Propofol is a highly regulated drug in South Korea that the country's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety issued standards to prevent its misuse and abuse. The ministry issued a notice last September to set standards for the use of narcotic drugs propofol and zolpidem, saying propofol is a "psychotropic drug used to induce and maintain the general anesthetic state." The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency said they were looking into the accusation made against Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, that he illegally used the anesthesia drug at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul last year, but refused to provide further details on the ongoing case, reports Yonhap news agency. The police are said to have visited Lee, who is imprisoned in the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, south of the capital, last month to take a hair sample from him for drug testing. Lee is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year prison term for bribing impeached former President Park Geun-hye and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to win government support for a smooth father-to-son transfer of managerial power at Samsung. Samsung said that Lee only took propofol shots for medical purposes and that the police have not corroborated the allegation against him, reports Yonhap news agency. Early last year, a similar accusation was filed against Lee with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission that he regularly used propofol at another plastic surgery clinic in Seoul. The case has been referred to the Supreme Prosecutors Office. Lee also denied the allegation at that time and requested the case to be reviewed by an independent committee consisting of outside experts to see whether the prosecution's investigation is legitimate. Republicans in Australia want to ditch the monarchy within a year of the 94-year-old Queen's death and think Harry and Meghan's recent TV interview will help their cause. The Australian Republic Movement is working on a proposal for how the nation's constitution should look without the monarchy and will unveil its model later this year ahead of a potential referendum. 'The time to have the conversation is now so that when the vote comes around we are united,' national director Sandy Biar told Daily Mail Australia. Republicans in Australia believe the nation will ditch the monarchy just a year after the 94-year-old Queen (pictured in July) dies Mr Biar is liaising with federal politicians, the majority of whom support a republic, to develop a 'consensus position' on how a president should be elected. He said the idea was to avoid a repeat of 1999 when a referendum returned a result in favour of the monarchy because the republican vote split. Many republicans believe the opportune time for another vote will come after Queen Elizabeth dies because she is too popular to unseat. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a staunch republican, said there may not be popular support for a republic while the Queen is on the throne. 'She's been an extraordinary head of state, and I think, frankly, in Australia, there are more Elizabethans than there are monarchists,' he told the ABC. Liberal MP Jason Falinski, who also supports a republic, said a vote could happen within a year of Prince Charles taking the throne. What happened in the last referendum? Australia last had a referendum on becoming a republic in 1999. The republicans lost with 45 per cent of the vote. But one of the key reasons for their loss was that they could not agree on what should replace the monarchy. The republican vote was split and some voted in favour of monarchy because the referendum proposed a president appointed by parliament and they wanted an elected president. Advertisement 'After the Harry and Meghan interview especially, there is this strong sense that when Her Majesty is no longer the head of state that that will break a lot of emotional bands and create an opportunity,' he told Guardian Australia. However, Mr Biar hopes Australia could become a republic even before the Queen's reign ends. 'We don't think it necessarily has to be after the Queen. We don't know when the Queen's reign will end but we do know that Australia should be a republic,' he said. In a bombshell interview on Monday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused the royal family of racism, emotional neglect and bullying. Mr Turnbull said the interview reinforced the need for Australia have its own head of state. 'It's clearly an unhappy family or at least Meghan and Harry are unhappy. It seems very sad,' he said. 'After the end of the queen's reign, that is the time for us to say: Okay, we've passed that watershed. 'Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state of - the king or queen of the UK, automatically our head of state?' In the 1999 referendum the republicans lost with 45 per cent of the vote. The republican vote was split and some voted in favour of monarchy because the referendum proposed a president appointed by Parliament and they wanted an elected president. Mr Turnbull said the republicans let the 'perfect be the enemy of the good'. Harry and Meghan Markle on their tour of Australia in October 2018 A 2019 study by the Australian National University found that support for the monarchy was on a knife edge with 51 per cent in favour. But more recently an Ipsos poll in January found that only a third of Australians supported a republic. During the interview, Meghan described feeling so isolated and miserable inside the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts. She also said Harry told her there were 'concerns and conversations' about how dark Archie's skin would be. Winfrey later said Harry told her off camera that the family member wasn't Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip, sparking a flurry of speculation about who it could be. Alex Crenshaw, Kassidy Crenshaw and Cashi Nwosu spent time at Hermann Park as the state of Texas lifts (Photo : REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare) Texas ended a statewide mask mandate and occupancy restrictions on businesses were lifted on Wednesday, a move some heralded as freedom and others as foolishness. On paper, Texas' rollback of coronavirus mitigation efforts is the most sweeping seen in the United States, along with a similar measure in Mississippi. In practice, vast swaths of Texas have rarely enforced mask or occupancy mandates in the past year, anyway. Advertisement Several major retailers, grocery and restaurant chains in Texas said they would still require that masks be worn in their stores, which under Governor Greg Abbott's order relaxing restrictions is their right. Texas was one of the first states to reopen its economy after the first wave of pandemic cases last May, and the nation's second-most populous state led the way again last week when Abbott, a Republican, announced the relaxation amid declines in new daily COVID-19 cases and with the rollout of vaccines. As of Sunday, 18% of the U.S. population had received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control. https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb/ County officials in regions where COVID-19 patients take up 15% or more of hospital beds for seven consecutive days can enact new mask and occupancy restrictions, under Abbott's order, but no regions are currently in that situation. Austin's city council voted to still require masks, though it did not indicate how that would be enforced. Council members openly dared state officials to sue the city. "In Austin, we're committed to saving lives," city council member Greg Casar wrote on Twitter. The Texas Attorney General's Office wrote on its Twitter account that it was "looking at every avenue available" to take on Austin. WORRIES AND TRUST The Texas Education Agency's guidance for public schools is for the continued use of masks, while nursing homes in the state will not loosen restrictions. The Dallas Jewish Conservatives organization plans to host a party on Wednesday evening with about 200 people. There will be a moment of silence for the pandemic's dead, refreshments for the guests and a bonfire into which folks will be encouraged to toss masks. "It's about freedom, liberty and personal responsibility," said Benjie Gershon, founder of the group. "The act of throwing a mask into the bonfire ... is in no way meant to belittle or undermine the tragic numbers of individuals who have fallen ill to COVID." In conservative West Texas masks have largely been viewed as an unpleasant, government-mandated burden. But Jaqueline Liri, a waitress at Raider Burrito in Lubbock, said she and other staff members have talked it over and they all want to continue wearing masks. They hoped customers would, too. "The virus is still out there," she said. "We still have to be worried." Over at the Taqueria y Panaderia Guadalajara restaurant in Lubbock, manager Alejandro Olivares said staff would remain masked, but he would leave it up to customers to make their own choice. "I trust people to make the best choices for their own health," he said. Serbia 'rearming, like rest of Balkans', says Vucic President visiting UAE for investment (ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, MARCH 11 - All countries in the Balkan region are involved in a rearmament process and Serbia will not be an exception, President Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday. He underscored that Belgrade does not, however, have any offensive aims in doing so and is simply seeking to be able to defend the country. ''Everyone is rearming and we will also rearm. If everyone else does it, we must too. We do not want to be weak and allow everyone to threaten us," Vucic told the private television station Pink during his visit to Abu Dhabi. He claimed that Serbia's aim is to preserve peace and stability in the region. The Serbian president on Wednesday began a visit to the UAE and Bahrain with the aim of strengthening economic collaboration and fostering further Arab investment. The talks also centered on cooperation in the fight against COVID-19. The two Arab nations provided Belgrade with medical and healthcare aid in recent months. Serbia, which is neutral at the military level, has armaments mainly from Russia and China. It collaborates with NATO as part of the Partnership for Peace program. (ANSAmed). (ANSA). Appointment 11 March 2021 Kristopher Colig joins The Memphian as General Manager. His extensive experience in the hospitality industry assures a driven team focused on achieving excellence. For more than 13 years, Colig served at a number of Hyatt Regency-properties as Assistant Director, Director of Food & Beverage and Director of Hotel Operations, where he successfully managed all aspects of hotel operations including food and beverage, catering, culinary, and engineering through a team of managers and service associates. In 2016, he was honored by Hyatt Hotels and Resorts as "Food & Beverage Director of the Year" while serving as Director of Operations in the Dallas / Fort Worth, TX metro area. That same year, Colig also took on key business responsibilities as owner of San Daniele Restaurant, where he played an active role in the brand's launch, budgeting, and business plan development. A university in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing is hiring student informants who speak minority languages, as part of a recruitment drive to "maintain political stability" on campus, RFA has learned. In a recruitment notice dated March 8, the Sichuan International Studies University campus security office said it was hiring "campus security informants" to collect information relating to "campus security." The advertisement used similar language to job ads posted online by dozens of higher education institutions looking for campus security guards, who wear uniform and who are expected to cooperate fully with police in "security maintenance" operations designed to prevent unrest before it happens. The informants' job descriptions were based on "requirements set down by higher-level police departments," the notice said. Successful recruits would be responsible for collecting any information relevant to campus security and reporting it to the authorities, including information used to "maintain political stability," it said. "Sophomores, juniors, and graduate students only may apply," it said, adding that members of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would be preferred, as well as people who can speak "a minority language." "Party members, student leaders, candidates who understand minority languages and those from poor families are preferred," the notice said. "Remuneration and bonuses will be met by the Chongqing municipal police department." A source told RFA that student informers are present in most classes, tutorials, and lectures to monitor everything said by students and faculty alike. A person familiar with the situation, who gave only a surname, Zheng, said that the informant system had been given a new lease of life under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping. "It's very simple. These security information officers are students who work part-time as informants," Zheng said. "A lot of professors in China actually get reported [for saying the wrong thing] by these campus security informants." "They are calling for party members and student officials, but it's also kind of a political test," he said. "Applicants from poor backgrounds are given financial incentives and bonuses." Identities kept secret A former student of ethnic minority languages at the school said the state security police would often recruit informants from departments teaching minority languages like Uyghur. He said that while the recruitment exercise was carried out in public, the actual identities of the informants would remain a closely guarded secret. An employee who answered the phone at the university's campus security office on Thursday declined to comment. "We can't discuss this with you, and we don't give interviews," the employee said. "You should contact the propaganda department, and they would have to agree to it before you could call us." Repeated calls to the number of a lecturer surnamed Li that was listed on the job ad as a contact for recruits rang unanswered during office hours on Thursday. The work carried out by informants on Chinese campuses has resulted in the firing or suspension of dozens of academics since 2019. In December 2019, Chinese universities began removing references to academic freedom from their charters, and replacing them with a pledge of loyalty to the CCP. Shanghai's prestigious Fudan University removed references to "freedom of thought," prompting a daring clap-back on social media from students, who staged a flash protest on campus at the time. China's ministry of education said Nanjing University and Shaanxi Normal University had also submitted amended versions of their charters to the ministry, which had approved all three. The move came after a number of Maoist students from top universities flocked to the southern city of Shenzhen to support workers at Jasic Technology in their bid to set up an independent labor union. Dozens of students were detained and arrested, while some remain incommunicado. Ideological controls Since taking power in 2012, Xi Jinping has launched an unprecedented set of ideological controls and boosted the institutions needed to enforce them. Xi has repeatedly warned members of the political class not to go off message in public, and set up a nationwide monitoring agency to supervise and detain anyone remotely connected with the government, including civil servants, teachers and academics, journalists, and contractors. The authorities are stepping up monitoring of staff and students at the country's higher education institutions through the use of personal data, surveillance cameras in classrooms, as well as via student informants, who typically report back to the authorities around once every two weeks, according to online documents. Xi's approach stems from a 2013 article titled "Improving Ideological and Political Work Among Young Teachers in Colleges and Universities," and from his reiteration of the "Seven Taboos" that mustn't be discussed in public by servants of the state, including teachers. The seven banned topics are: universal values of human rights and democratic, constitutional government; press freedom; civil society; citizens' rights; the historical mistakes of the Chinese Communist Party; the financial and political elite; and judicial independence. Reported by Xiaoshan Huang and Chingman for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Photo: The Canadian Press Customers at Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar enjoy their meal on the patio on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 in Austin, Texas. The one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic is passing largely unnoticed in the Texas capital. Even though Gov. Greg Abbott has fully lifted statewide restrictions, people are persisting with masks and keeping their distance. Rod Marritt, who got his second dose of the vaccine nearly three weeks ago, is still wearing a mask in public, as is his wife. Both are staunchly opposed to the governor's decision, and take comfort in the fact that most people in the city seem to agree. The two retirees say the last 12 months have been among the longest of their lives, largely because they've been unable to visit family. President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a prime-time address tonight to spell out the next steps in the administration's COVID-19 strategy, and to encourage people to stay the course. The day after receiving the letter, Senator Reynolds issued a statement saying she was deeply sorry for these remarks and for any hurt and distress they have caused. She noted any resolution of the matter would include an apology. Loading Mr Porter is also on medical leave to deal with his mental health after he revealed he was the cabinet minister accused of raping a woman in 1988, when he was 17 and she 16. He has hired veteran Minter Ellison defamation lawyer Peter Bartlett and has vigorously denied the allegations. NSW Police have closed their investigation into the matter because the woman who made the allegations took her own life in June 2020, without giving a sworn statement. They did not interview Mr Porter. Prime Minister Scott Morrison continued to resist pressure to set up an independent inquiry to determine whether Mr Porter is a fit and proper person to serve as Attorney-General. He said on Wednesday he would not move Mr Porter out of the portfolio. Hes a fine Attorney-General and a fine Minister for Industrial Relations, and he is an innocent man under our law, Mr Morrison said. To suggest that there should be some different treatment applied to him, based on what have been allegations that the police have closed the matter on, I think that would be grossly inappropriate to take actions against him on that basis. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday that MinterEllison chief executive Annette Kimmitt was told her services were no longer required by board chairman David OBrien. MinterEllison did not return a request for confirmation of the report. Ms Kimmitts position has been under siege since she sent an all-staff email last week that was critical of veteran partner Mr Bartlett for not following consultation or approval processes before he provided advice to Mr Porter about his response to the rape allegation. Unfortunately, like you, I only became aware last night that the firm is acting through Twitter and media reports, Ms Kimmitts email, sent last Wednesday morning, said. Loading The acceptance of this matter did not go through the firms due consultation or approval processes. Had it had done so, we would have considered the matter through the lens of our purpose and our values. The nature of this matter is clearly causing hurt to some of you, and it has certainly triggered hurt for me. I know that for many it may be a tough day, and I want to apologise for the pain you may be experiencing, she wrote, directing staff in distress to the Employee Assistance Program. Mr Bartlett wasnt aware of the email until it landed in the inboxes of the more than 2,000 staff and partners it was sent to, some of the firms lawyers have said. The email not only pitted Ms Kimmitt, who is also the managing partner, against one of the firms longest-standing and prominent lawyers, but it also implied the firm may not have agreed to represent the Attorney-General. Audubon Companies adds Sonny Best as Director of Turnaround Management HOUSTON, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Audubon Companies, a global provider of integrated engineering, technical, and management services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sonny Best as the Director of Turnaround Management. Based in the South Houston office, Mr. Best will be responsible for expanding mission-critical shutdown and turnaround (TAR) services for refining, chemical, petrochemical, and power generation clients. He will report to Shawn Senf, Vice President of Petrochemical & Refining. Bringing more than 30 years of global industry experience, Mr. Best will also focus on client workflow assessments and implementing TAR best practices. His experience includes project management, turnaround management, and project controls management, planning & scheduling, and consulting. "Sonnys extensive industry experience and successful track record are highly complementary to our strategic focus in further leveraging our highly-trained workforce, proprietary technology, and best-in-class capabilities to serve our clients better," said Senf. "The addition of Sonny to our team reinforces our commitment to providing critical, cost-effective turnaround solutions and resources to help our clients achieve safe, predictable, and competitive results." Prior to joining Audubon Companies, Mr. Best held numerous leadership roles in the refining, petrochemical, and industrial sectors. Most recently, Mr. Best worked at BP Refining, where he served as Global Turnaround Assurance Advisor. He also served as National Turnaround Team Manager at Air Liquide America LP. Mr. Best holds a bachelors degree in computer science from Texas A&M. He also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. On the web: www.auduboncompanies.com On Twitter: @audubonco ----------------------------- About Audubon Companies: Audubon Companies is a leading engineering, technical, and management services company supporting the energy, power, infrastructure, and industrial markets. With our commitment to safety and quality, we deliver value-added project solutions, products and services for repeatable project success. For more information, please visit www.auduboncompanies.com. Source: Audubon Companies The highest-energy cosmic rays come from subatomic interactions within star clusters, not supernovae, say Michigan Tech physicists and collaborators. For decades, researchers assumed the cosmic rays that regularly bombard Earth from the far reaches of the galaxy are born when stars go supernova when they grow too massive to support the fusion occurring at their cores and explode. Those gigantic explosions do indeed propel atomic particles at the speed of light great distances. However, new research suggests even supernovae capable of devouring entire solar systems are not strong enough to imbue particles with the sustained energies needed to reach petaelectronvolts (PeVs), the amount of kinetic energy attained by very high-energy cosmic rays. And yet cosmic rays have been observed striking Earths atmosphere at exactly those velocities, their passage marked, for example, by the detection tanks at the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory near Puebla, Mexico. Instead of supernovae, the researchers posit that star clusters like the Cygnus Cocoon serve as PeVatrons PeV accelerators capable of moving particles across the galaxy at such high energy rates. What are PeVatrons? PeVatrons are believed to be highest-energy sources of cosmic rays in our galaxy, and their definitive identification has so far been elusive. PeVatrons accelerate protons to petaelectronvolts (PeVs), an enormous amount of kinetic energy capable of slinging subatomic particles light-years across the galaxy. Their paradigm-shifting research provides compelling evidence for star forming regions to be PeVatrons and is published in two recent papers in Nature Astronomy and Astrophysical Journal Letters. A characteristic of physics research is how collaborative it is. The research was conducted by Petra Huentemeyer, professor of physics at Michigan Technological University, along with recent graduate Binita Hona 20, doctoral student Dezhi Huang, former MTU postdoc Henrike Fleischhack (now at Catholic University/NASA GSFC/CRESST II), Sabrina Casanova at the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow, Ke Fang at the University of Wisconsin and Roger Blanford at Stanford, along with numerous other collaborators of the HAWC Observatory. From Whence They Came Huentemeyer noted that HAWC and physicists from other institutions have measured cosmic rays from all directions and across many decades of energy. Its in tracking the cosmic rays with the highest known energy, PeVs, that their origin becomes so important. Cosmic rays below PeV energy are believed to come from our galaxy, but the question is what are the accelerators that can produce them, Huentemeyer said. Fleischhack said the paradigm shift the researchers have uncovered is that before, scientists thought supernova remnants were the main accelerators of cosmic rays. They do accelerate cosmic rays, but they are not able to get to highest energies, she said. So, what is driving cosmic rays acceleration to PeV energy? There have been several other hints that star clusters could be part of the story, Fleischhack said. Now we are getting confirmation that they are able to go to highest energies. Star clusters are formed from the remnants of a supernova event. Known as star cradles, they contain violent winds and clouds of swirling debris such as those noted by the researchers in Cygnus OB2 and cluster [BDS2003]8. Inside, several types of massive stars known as spectral type O and type B stars are gathered by the hundreds in an area about 30 parsecs (108 light-years) across. Spectral type O stars are the most massive, Hona said. When their winds interact with each other, shock waves form, which is where acceleration happens. The researchers theoretical models suggest that the energetic gamma-ray photons seen by HAWC are more likely produced by protons than by electrons. We will use NASA telescopes to search for the counterpart emission by these relativistic particles at lower energies, Fang said. The Cherenkov light detectors at the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov observatory. Image Credit: HAWC Ingredients for Acceleration The extremely high energy at which cosmic rays reach our planet is notable. Specific conditions are required to accelerate particles to such velocities. Grants and Funding This research is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the LDRD program of Los Alamos National Laboratory, CONACyT, Mexico, and the Polish Science Centre (among others). The higher the energy, the more difficult it is to confine the particles knowledge gleaned from particle accelerators here on Earth in Chicago and Switzerland. To keep particles from whizzing away, magnetism is required. Stellar clusters with their mixture of wind and nascent but powerful stars are turbulent regions with different magnetic fields that can provide the confinement necessary for particles to continue to accelerate. Supernova remnants have very fast shocks where the cosmic ray can be accelerated; however, they dont have the type of long confinement regions, Casanova said. This is what star clusters are useful for. Theyre an association of stars that can create disturbances that confine the cosmic rays and make it possible for the shocks to accelerate them. What is a Cherenkov light detector? A graphic depiction of the how Cherenkov light detectors function. Click image to expand. Image Credit: SWGO More than 300 massive water tanks at HAWC sit waiting for cosmic ray showers shower of particles that moves at nearly the speed of light toward the ground. When the particles hit the tanks, they produce coordinated flashes of blue light in the water, allowing researchers to reconstruct the energy and cosmic origin of the gamma ray that kicked off the cascade. But how is it possible to measure atomic interactions on a galactic scale 5,000 light-years from Earth? The researchers used 1,343 days of measurements from HAWC detection tanks. Huang explained how the physicists at HAWC trace cosmic rays by measuring the gamma rays these cosmic rays produce at galactic acceleration sites: We didnt measure gamma rays directly; we measured the secondary rays generated. When gamma rays interact with the atmosphere, they generate secondary particles in particle showers. When particle showers are detected at HAWC, we can measure the shower and the charge of secondary particles, Huang said. We use the particle charge and time information to reconstruct information from the primary gamma. More Eyes on the Skies In addition to HAWC, the researchers plan to work with the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), an observatory currently in the planning stages that will feature Cherenkov light detectors like HAWC but will be located in the southern hemisphere. It would be interesting to see what we can see in the southern hemisphere, Huentemeyer said. We will have a good view of the galactic center that we dont have in the northern hemisphere. SWGO could give us many more candidates in terms of star clusters. Future collaborations across hemispheres promise to help scientists around the world continue to explore the origins of cosmic rays and learn more about the galaxy itself. Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigans Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior. The automakers are afraid that any punitive measures taken against SK could seriously hurt their battery supply. After the ITC's preliminary ruling in favor of LG, which could force SK to shut its factory in Georgia, Volkswagen and Ford said they could face huge problems producing electric cars, and it would cost American jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Global automakers in the U.S. have sent a petition to the International Trade Commission seeking leniency for SK Innovation in a legal dispute over the misappropriation of trade secrets with rival LG Energy Solution. Battery Makers' Clout Battery demand is increasing exponentially as carmakers start shifting to electric cars, but suppliers of the fuel cells have been unable to keep up. This has forced automakers to go all out to secure stable supplies of batteries. GM is currently building a joint venture battery factory with LG, which will be the second for the Korean company. This could raise concerns that GM is becoming too dependent on LG. But industry insiders say stable supplies are the prime concern. There are even rumors that LG had to turn down a supply request from another automaker because it was already at full capacity. The situation is expected to continue for a considerable time. Market analysts SNE Research said battery supply currently surpasses demand, and there is a dire shortage if Chinese manufacturers are excluded. It warned that demand will surpass supply until 2025 and a supply shortage will last until 2030. One U.S. automaker with a Korean supplier recently saw one of its electric cars catch fire. Such an incident would usually prompt the automaker to press the battery producer to compensate for damage. But the automaker is apparently hesitant to sue the battery maker for fear of a disruption in supply. Chinese Dominance of Raw Materials Another problem is that China currently controls the supply of raw materials for lithium-ion batteries like nickel, cobalt and manganese. Africa's Congo region accounts for 70 percent of the supply of cobalt, which is the most expensive of them, and Chinese companies own the rights to four out of seven cobalt mines in the Congo. China also accounts for 76 percent of the global supply of precursors -- a combination of nickel, cobalt and manganese. Aluminum, which is not a rare metal, is also necessary to produce anodes, and China controls 57 percent of global aluminum output. It also accounts for 64 percent of the global output of graphite and silicon, which are used to make cathodes. What is most troubling is that China accounts for 98 percent of global output of rare-earth elements that are used to make permanent magnets for electric motors. China has the world's largest reserves (44 million tons) of rare-earth elements. Its proportion of global output last year fell to 62 percent due to checks by the U.S. and Australia, but the U.S. still relies on China, sending raw materials to the Asian country for processing and importing them again. Korea imports half its rare-earth elements from China. That means they can always be used as a bargaining chip by China in its trade war with the U.S. Last year, China passed a law authorizing the limitation of rare-earth-element production and exports. The prestigious World Branding Awards, the ultimate global brand recognition accolade now in its 12th edition, saw over 400 brands from more than 45 countries named Brand of the Year in the 2020-2021 World Branding Awards, nominated by over 250,000 consumers across the globe. Amongst the top tier brands listed as Global Tier winners are CoCo, Faber Castell, Fender, Heinz, IKEA, LEGO, Lurpak, McCain, Netflix, PILOT, Spotify, Yakult, and Yamaha, amongst others. Regional Tier winners include Anchor (New Zealand), Cotton On (Australia), Elkjp (Norway), LuLu (United Arab Emirates), Isetan and Uniqlo (Japan), amongst others. The victorious National Tier brands include Active Wheel (Household Detergent Powder), Amul (Dairy Products Milk), Haldirams (Snack Foods), Milton (Houseware Products), Saffola (Cooking Needs Oil), and Zee TV (Broadcasting Satellite TV). Winners are uniquely judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research, and public online voting. Seventy percent of the scoring process comes from consumer votes. There can only be one winner in each category per country. The voting and nomination had taken place amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic whilst many countries were faced with restriction measures that had greatly disrupted the economic landscape. The Awards celebrates the innovative and creative ways these successful brands have managed to remain distinct and relevant to their consumers over the past year. This is a celebration of the best marketers from across the globe. The Awards are an acknowledgment of the tireless effort of the teams that build and maintain their brand presence in an ever-changing market, said Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum. To be a winner at the Awards, a brand has shown that they have built themselves up to such a degree that they are placed amongst the best brands in the world, said Danny Pek, Chief Executive of the World Branding Forum. Now in its seventh year, the awards are organised by the World Branding Forum, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing branding standards. It organises and sponsors a range of educational programmes. For more information and the full list of winners, visit awards.brandingforum.org. About the World Branding Forum The World Branding Forum (WBF) is a registered global non-profit organisation. Its aims and activities are to raise the standards in branding for the good of the industry as well as consumers. The WBF produces, manages and supports a wide range of programmes covering research, development, education, recognition, networking and outreach. For more information, visit brandingforum.org. ### View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/52392962/en LANSING, MI -- Herbert Alford spent nearly five years behind bars after he was accused and convicted in 2016 in the shooting death of Michael Adams, even though he was nowhere near Adams when the shooting took place. Alford couldnt have been in the area at the time as he was renting a car at the Lansing airport, which is 20 minutes away from where Adams was killed in 2011. Alford was freed from prison, his conviction was overturned and all charges were dropped in 2020 after the rental company finally turned over the receipt proving he was at the airport six minutes before the shooting, according to WLNS. On Tuesday, Alford and his lawyer, James White of Lansing, filed suit against Hertz alleging the company failed to come forward with the requested receipt in a timely manner. Alford is seeking monetary damages in the case, but it may be held up as the company is currently going through bankruptcy reorganization. There is no question that (Alford) would have avoided going to prison had they produced this documentation, White said. Although Alfords trial took place in 2016, Hertz did not produce the receipt proving Alfords innocence until 2018, long after Alford had already been sentenced to up to 60 years in prison. Hertz did not respond to requests for comment, according to the Associated Press. More: How a registered sex offender in Harrisburg ran a basketball league, held Easter egg hunts for kids Skeletal remains found 33 years ago in Pa. well IDd Actress Stacey Dash made a second career of her appearances as a contributor on Fox News. Dash, a Trump supporter, was chiefly known for her role in the 1995 teen comedy Clueless. Later, she became known for her comments on Fox, like when she panned Black History Month and BET, judged college survivors of sexual assault and said that transgender people should pee in the bushes instead of using a bathroom. Now, Dash, 54, is trying to walk it all back. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Dash, a Bronx native and alum of Paramus High School who presided over a brief campaign for Congress, attributes her past actions to anger. Ive lived my life being angry, which is what I was on Fox News, Dash says. I was the angry, conservative Black woman. And at that time in my life it was who I was. Fox News cut ties with Dash in 2017 after suspending her for on-air profanity in 2015 for saying that then-President Barack Obama didnt give a sh-- about terrorism. Breaking! Stacey Dash is apologizing. Maybe Omarosa can give her tips on where to go on the apology tour. They always wanna come back home, dont they? This part, I was the angry, conservative, Black woman. I made alot of mistakes cuz of that anger." https://t.co/qCBgD67J9F pic.twitter.com/XFa4aKFpOu Clay 'Didn't Hold My Vote Hostage' Cane (@claycane) March 11, 2021 I realized in 2016 that anger is unsustainable and it will destroy you, Dash now says. I made a lot of mistakes because of that anger. She calls the Jan. 6 Capitol riot appalling, marking the event as a turning point in her support of Trump. When that happened I was like, OK, Im done. Im truly done, Dash says. The actress, who says she was blacklisted in Hollywood because of her views, plays a doctor in the anti-abortion movie Roe v. Wade opposite Jon Voight and Steve Guttenberg. Dash, who joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014, says that being a Trump supporter put her in some kind of box where she didnt belong. There are things that I am sorry for, Dash tells the Daily Mail, saying she would never work for Fox News or any news outlet today. Things that I did say, that I should not have said them the way I said them. They were very arrogant and prideful and angry. And thats who Stacey was, but thats not who Stacey is now. Staceys someone who has compassion, empathy. Stacey Dash and Alicia Silverstone as Dionne and Cher in the 1995 classic "Clueless."Paramount Pictures Even after she departed Fox, Dash continued to draw criticism for her views. Following the violent clash between white supremacist protesters and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, Dash endorsed Trumps very fine people on both sides remarks. Do I know every person of the neo-Nazi party, if they have a good heart or not? she said. No, I do not. In 2019, Dash was arrested on a domestic battery charge in Florida after allegedly slapping and pushing her husband, attorney Jeffrey Marty, who asked that the case be dropped. Dash filed for divorce from Marty in June. In 2018, the actress announced that she was running for Congress as a Republican in California, but said she was quitting the campaign soon after, blaming bitterness surrounding our political process. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter. 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. New owner of Mercedes-Benz of Newbury outlines the company's philosophy Keith Jackman THE new owner of Newburys Mercedes-Benz dealership has promised to put its customers first. The Sandown Group officially completed the acquisition of the franchise from the Syntner Group on February 4. And although the showroom and forecourt remain closed in line with the current coronavirus restrictions, the message is that they are still very much open for business and looking forward to welcoming customers back. The addition of the London Road site is the latest Mercedes-Benz addition to the groups portfolio, since its opening of a new service centre in Farnborough in 2019. Sandowns managing director, Gavin McAllister, said that he was honoured to welcome Mercedes-Benz of Newbury and its staff into the group, describing the acquisition as a special moment. He said: In terms of its location and proximity to our other retailers, Newbury is a perfect fit that enables us to reach into West Berkshire so its addition is an important step in our ongoing growth. The Mercedes-Benz of Newbury facility features a seven-car showroom and an Approved Used display of 40 vehicles, increasing Sandowns group stock to more than 700 cars. It also features an eight-bay workshop. Sandown said in a statement published on its website that the majority of Mercedes-Benz of Newburys existing 44-strong workforce will remain with the business. The Newbury dealership is being overseen by new general manager Keith Jackman, who has been a member of Sandowns senior management team for many years and previously headed up its Basingstoke and Guildford sites. Mr Jackman said that although Sandown has been unable to welcome people through the doors, it has simply found creative and imaginative ways to bring the dealership to the customer instead. He said: Our workshop is still open, so we are carrying out services, MOTs and repair work as usual and we have a special drop-off point which is Covid-secure. Although our forecourt and showroom are closed, everything can still be done without actually visiting us. If you want to purchase a car you can do so online and click and collect it from us. If you want to test drive a vehicle you still can as we can deliver the car to your home. We did offer that service before Covid, but we didnt make a big thing about it because people generally prefer to come in to see us. But as soon as Covid hit we obviously promoted it a lot more to make people more aware of it. It has allowed us to supply vehicles to customers and almost carry on as normal, which has been fantastic. Mr Jackman said that apart from a newly-refurbished showroom and the new signage, customers were unlikely to notice a huge difference when they are able to return, despite the change of ownership. To be honest, not an awful lot has changed, he said. When we bought the franchise from them [Syntner] we kept almost all the existing staff so a lot of the faces that greet you will be the same. The thing that we focus on very much at the Sandown Group is customer service. That is our number one objective. We look after customers to ensure they come back and that theyre happy. Mr Jackman also provided reassurances that the showroom would be fully Covid-secure when they are able to reopen it. He said: Weve got screens up, hand sanitisers around the building, signage in the waiting areas and around the showroom. We have also moved the seating and tables around to make sure it is absolutely safe for customers, and of course our staff as well. Mr Jackman says the one thing he wants to do is challenge the common misconception that main dealers are more expensive than independent garages, saying that Sandown makes an effort to not be beaten on price. We have something called a platinum discount, which actually means we will match or even beat local independent retailers on cost, he said. There are many benefits of coming to a main dealer that you dont get when you go to an independent retailer youve got the product knowledge and Mercedes-Benz-trained technicians, the courtesy cars. Also, if you come to us for your service it renews your Mercedes-Benz Motability, so basically gives you your RAC cover for 12 months, which in itself is valued at about 250. The Sandown Group brings together Mercedes-Benz of Basingstoke, Dorchester, Guildford, Farnborough, Hindhead, Poole and Salisbury and now Newbury under one name. The group started its relationship with Mercedes-Benz more than 30 years ago and remains a specialist Mercedes-Benz only dealer group. To find out more, visit www.sandown-group.co.uk 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. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access A former employee of the German government has been convicted of spying for Egypt. A 66-year-old identified only as Amin K. received a suspended prison sentence of one year and nine months, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. The former office employee of the German federal government's press office received the sentence last week, according to the outlet. Prosecutors said Amin passed information to Egypts General Intelligence Service while working for the press offices visitor service. Court documents also said he attempted to recruit another spy and passed on the names of five colleagues of Syrian heritage to the service, among other transgressions. Amin has family in Egypt, and his handler helped his mother obtain her pension in return for his services, according to Germanys state-owned broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Amins case first made the news last July when Germanys domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, mentioned it in an annual report. The right to remain silent is underrated as wayback greatness and political shout outs don't trump a bad breathalyzer result. Read more . . . Former New York Yankees star Johnny Damon struggled with officers during his recent DUI arrest, bodycam footage released by the Windermere Police Department shows. The bodycam footage from Damon's Florida arrest was released on Tuesday and included him pleading that he was in favor of the police and a supporter of former president Donald Trump The Emirates Mars InfraRed Spectrometer (EMIRS) measures the thermal infrared energy emitted from the surface of Mars (top row) and its interaction with the Martian atmosphere (bottom row). Image credit: Emirates Mars Mission/EMIRS The Emirates Mars Mission, the first interplanetary exploration undertaken by an Arab nation, reached Mars' orbit on Feb. 9, 2021. Now, some of the first images from the spacecraft's instruments are available, including planetwide infrared images from the ASU-designed Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS). EMIRS was a joint development effort by teams from ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration, Northern Arizona University's Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, supported by teams from University of Colorado, Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. "Our work together with the teams at ASU and NAU on EMIRS has brought together some of the world's most respected experts in planetary atmospheric science together with younger learners who have benefited immensely from the development of the instrument and its scientific goals and resulting data sets," said Omran Sharaf, project director of the Emirates Mars Mission. EMIRS provides a unique view of the lower and middle atmosphere of the planet, measuring the distribution of dust particles and ice clouds while tracking the movement of water vapor and heat through the atmosphere. In this initial image from the instrument, EMIRS provides results of measurements of thermal infrared energy emitted from the surface (top row) and from the atmosphere (bottom row). In the right column, EMIRS measurement locations were mapped to the planet, colorized by temperature, and overlain on a Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter shaded relief map. In the left column, data between measurements were interpolated, colorized by temperature, and overlain on a Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter shaded relief map to form a continuous image. "This is the first global snapshot of the atmosphere that we have seen since the 1970's Viking mission," said EMIRS Development Lead Philip Christensen, who is an ASU Regents Professor and planetary scientist. "Weather is a global process, so having these global views gives us a powerful new tool for studying the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere and how it changes over time." The purple-green-blue hues show that the measurements were taken of the Martian nightside, although dawn on the planet can be seen on the right-hand side of the surface temperature image, as depicted by the red hues. Features such as Arabia Terra, which has cold nighttime temperatures, can be observed in the upper left portion of the surface temperature data, depicted by the blue and purple hues. "EMIRS is going to acquire about 60 more images like this per week once we transition into the primary science phase of the Emirates Mars Mission," said EMIRS Instrument Scientist Christopher Edwards, who is an assistant professor and planetary scientist at NAU. "We'll use these images and sophisticated computer programs to build up a complete global, daily understanding of the Martian atmospheric components, like dust, water ice, water vapor and atmospheric temperature." The Emirates Mars Mission is being carried out by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in the United Arab Emirates in collaboration with a number of research institutions including Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Colorado Boulder. Hope will spend one Martian year (about two Earth years) orbiting the red planet gathering crucial science data. "The scientific goal of the mission is to give us an unprecedented global view of the Martian atmosphere," said Hessa Al Matroushi, science lead for the Emirates Mars Mission. "Such a perspective is necessary to understand the connections within and between the upper and lower atmospheres and how those connections help to drive atmospheric escape. We believe this escape has helped to shape Mars' evolution from a warm, episodically wet world in the ancient past to the cold, dry planet we see today." Unique to Hope is its orbit, which enables near-complete daily and geographic coverage, providing a weather-satellite style view of all layers of the Martian atmosphere from the surface on up to space. This mission is giving scientists greater insight into how our own planet may have evolved, as well as enabling greatly improved weather forecasting to help support future human missions to Mars. Importantly, Hope addresses several key goals of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (representing the consensus of the international Mars community) in regard to both science and human exploration. In addition to EMIRS, the orbiter includes a multi-band camera called the Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI) and a far-ultraviolet imaging spectrograph called the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS). The EXI camera is capable of taking high resolution images and will measure properties of water, ice, dust, aerosols and ozone in Mars' atmosphere. The EMUS spectrometer will measure global characteristics and variability in the thermosphere and hydrogen and oxygen coronae. Both were developed at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder. The spacecraft, which is about the size of a small car, was constructed at Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics by a joint team led by Project Director Omran Sharaf and deputy program manager Sarah Al Amiri from Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. Al Amiri currently serves as chair of the UAE Space Agency. The overall team working on the mission is comprised of some 200 staff from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, 150 from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and 100 from other partners, as well as an international science team. The mission's name, Hope, was chosen to send a message of optimism to millions of young Arabs, according to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai for whom Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre is named. The resulting mission data aims to make major advances in our understanding of the Martian climate system and will be shared freely online with more than 200 institutions worldwide. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. 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. In some relief to Tata Motors, the Delhi High Court has stayed a Delhi government order which called for suspending the subsidy offered on Tata Nexon electric vehicle (EV) over allegations that there were differences between the ARAI-certified and the real-world range. (Also read: Tata Motors backs range claim of Nexon EV) Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said that Tata Motors had asserted the range of Nexon EV based on the figure of 300 kilometeres per charge certified by Automotive Research Association of India. It was noted that the car maker had applied for subsidy based on this. "The Honourable Delhi High Court has issued notice on our writ and granted interim relief by directing a stay against the delisting of Nexon EV from Delhi Governments eligible list of vehicles," said a Tata Motors' spokesperson. "The Honourable High Court has granted time to the Delhi Government to file counter affidavit in the matter." The AAP government in Delhi had recently received complaints that Nexon EV's certified range and real-world range had differences. A resident of Najafgarh had stated that despite following all driving practices advised by an authorized company dealer, he wasn't able to get a per-charge range as had been stated by the car maker. The Delhi government, consequently, had suspended the subsidy offered on the EV. Delhi is currently the most ideal city to buy an EV in because of the affordability factor. The government here offers subsidies, and road tax and registration free waivers, for electric vehicles bought in the Capital. As such, the exclusion of Nexon EV came as a jolt to Tata Motors with the company claiming that multiple factors affect the range of an EV in the real world. It isn't just about Nexon EV in particular. The certified range of electric vehicles may be different from what is achieved in real world conditions as factors such as air conditioning, terrain, road conditions, cabin load and more do have a role to play in the final per-charge figure achieved. All Texans 50 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, expanding the pool of possible recipients to nearly half of the states population. Now the question is how to find a shot. So far, 4.7 million Texans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, a 15.8 percent vaccination rate that is one of the worst in the nation. State officials say they are going as fast as they can. They have complained the federal government is not sending enough vaccine because it is using old population data to calculate the Texas share. More than half of the Texans over 65 have received at least their first dose, a milestone the state reached last week. Texas is now vaccinating members of priority groups 1A and 1B a subset of more than 10 million people that includes health care workers, Texans 65 and older, and anyone over age 15 who has a comorbidity. Last week, officials made the states 1.3 million teachers and child care employees eligible for a dose, a victory for educators who argued they deserve earlier access because of their on-the-job exposure to students. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had directed all states to make the change. LIVE UPDATES: Texas COVID vaccine tracker So you're over 50 and you want the COVID-19 vaccine Harris County Public Health How to register: Harris County Public Health is registering anyone regardless of age or occupation on its online wait list. The system will prioritize people according to state criteria for vaccination. You won't be allowed to schedule an appointment until you're in a prioritized group. https://vacstrac.hctx.net/landing Patients who go to Harris Health can call 713-873-8777 to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Houston Health Department How to register: The department now has two wait lists available for the COVID-19 vaccine: one for Pfizer and Moderna's two-dose series, and another for Johnson & Johnson. You can sign up for automated email, text message, voice call or mobile app push notifications for appointments at https://HoustonEmergency.org/covid19. Montgomery County How to register: Montgomery County has launched a wait list at https://mcphd-tx.org/. The The county's public health district is filling vaccine appointments from the wait list. District officials said to monitor the county's Facebook and Twitter pages for updates. Fort Bend County How to register: Visit their website at https://vaccinewaitlist.fortbendcountytx.gov/ to register for the wait list. The The county's Health and Human Services department recommends taking the vaccine elsewhere if given the opportunity. Galveston County How to register: Galveston County and the University of Texas Medical Branch have launched their own wait list, accessible by phone or web. People interested in getting the vaccine can register regardless of where they live or whether they're a UTMB patient. Visit their website at https://www.utmb.edu/covid-19/vaccine or call 877-389-2318. Brazoria County How to register: Visit the Brazoria County government website at https://www.brazoriacountytx.gov/ or call one of four clinics to make an appointment:Angleton (979) 864-1484 Alvin (281) 585-3024 Lake Jackson (979) 265-4446 Pearland (281) 485-5344 UTMB is also vaccinating at its Angleton Danbury campus. To sign up for the wait list, visit their website at https://www.utmb.edu/covid-19/vaccine. See More Collapse Those 50 and older will be included in priority group 1C, which will expand eligibility to an estimated 12 to 14 million people. More than 93 percent of Texans who have died from the virus have been over 49 years old. Weve seen a remarkable decrease in the number of hospitalizations and deaths since people 65 and older started becoming fully vaccinated in January, Imelda Garcia, the chair of the states Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel, said Wednesday. Expanding to ages 50 to 64 will continue the states priorities of protecting those at the greatest risk of severe outcomes and preserving the states health care system. There are an estimated 5 million Texans between the ages of 50 and 64, a group that has accounted for more than 20 percent of the states fatalities. More than 1 million Texans between those ages have already received at least one dose of the vaccine, health officials said. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that essential workers including police officers, firefighters, grocery store employees, food service workers and journalists be prioritized for the vaccine ahead of individuals over 50. This week, Texas received more than 1 million first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, a record number mostly attributable to the addition of 240,000 units of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But next week, Texas wont receive any doses of that vaccine due to a federal shortage, Garcia said. She expects the weekly supply to rise again at the end of the month. Three vaccines have been approved for distribution in the United States. Two of them, made by Pfizer and Moderna, require two shots administered about a month apart for full immunization. The third is the single-shot vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson. The 1C announcement came on the same day that Texas lifted its COVID restrictions, including the mask order Gov. Greg Abbott implemented last July to slow the spread of the virus. Abbott has cited the rapid increase in vaccinations as part of the reason for removing the state mandates. Most seniors have already received a shot, the governor tweeted Wednesday. Seniors who have not received a shot & want one will still be prioritized. Always voluntary. Local officials lauded the announcement as another step toward normalcy. I think its a good thing, said Stephen Williams, the director of the Houston Health Department. With the vaccine, we can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we cant let our guard down. While the federal government continues to increase supply sent to state and local vaccine providers, cities still need additional doses to maintain the flow of vaccines going into the communities at highest risk for the virus, he said. Officials have launched a series of new initiatives in recent weeks to reach those vulnerable groups, including two mobile vaccination programs for homebound seniors and rural Texans. The state has also partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to open three vaccine mega-sites in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, aiming to inoculate underserved communities. Black and Hispanic Texans have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, but have also received the vaccine at lower rates than white people. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo welcomed the move into Phase 1C. There is hope on the horizon, and little by little, well continue getting through our population, Hidalgo said. This is the time to continue wearing our masks, continue avoiding crowds, and getting the vaccine as soon as it becomes available to us. County officials will continue to push state and federal partners for more vaccines, she said. In Harris County, 1.1 million doses have been administered, and more than 351,000 people have been fully vaccinated, according to Hearst Newspapers data. The challenge, Hidalgo said, is not having enough doses to hand out to everyone on the wait lists. We knew it would be well into the summer until we hit most of our population. Thats going to require continued patience and perseverance, and we ask the community to continue to stick with us on this, she said. In Galveston, the county health department works in conjunction with the University of Texas Medical Branch on mass vaccination efforts. What I think DSHS is doing is taking the temperature around the state, and particularly for places that have wait lists like us, and finding that were getting the people were targeting and deciding its time to move on, said Dr. Philip Keiser, a professor of medicine at UTMB and the local health authority for Galveston County. We have a lot of people on our wait list between 50 and 64, and dont have that many people over 75. We have some over 65, but not many. Its not enough to continue to vaccinate people at the same rate. Staff writer Jeremy Wallace contributed reporting. China in Focus (March 10): China Cancels Film Nomadland Over Director Chinas first ever Golden Globe winner is now facing backlash from her home country because of her criticism of China from back in 2013. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) head takes military tension with Taiwan to a new level. A top U.S. military officer warns of a potential invasion. Chinas new AI can recognize you, even if youre wearing a mask. The software won a Shanghai-based company first place in a global tech competition. A young man suffers 14 years in jail for leaking details about CCP head Xi Jinpings daughter. The young man faced torture and was forced to confess. Chinas largest offshore oil producer delists from the New York Stock Exchange. Its in compliance with a Trump-era order banning U.S. investment in companies tied to Chinas military. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China. For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter. Watch: Prince William: Royals 'very much not a racist family' Prince William has said the royals are "very much not a racist family" as he and the Duchess of Cambridge made their first public appearance since Harry and Meghan's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. The Duke of Cambridge said he had not yet spoken to his brother, but promised he would, adding they are "not a racist family" when asked by a reporter. The comments came as Prince William and Kate visited a school in east London on Thursday morning, in a rare face to face engagement after moving back down to the capital from their country home of Anmer Hall, Norfolk. In the interview, Harry and Meghan recounted "conversations" which they say took place between a family member and Harry related to the colour of Archie's skin. Meghan recounted that there were "concerns" about "about how dark his skin might be when hes born". William chats to a child as she plays plays during a visit to School 21 in east London. (AFP) William and Kate's visit coincides with the roll-out of Mentally Healthy Schools resources for secondary schools. (AFP) Read more: Why didn't Harry and Meghan's race claim go straight to HR? While they did not clarify who did make the remark, Winfrey said they told her it was not the Queen or Prince Philip. Kate was directly brought into the line of fire when Meghan gave her account of reports of an argument between the two women before the May 2018 wedding, though she did tell people they did not have to pick a side. Meghan said it was Kate who made her cry, not the other way around as had been reported, but said that Kate "owned it" and sent her flowers adding "she's a good person". There has been no response from Kate's side to that claim. William and Kate's engagement on Thursday to School 21 in Stratford coincided with the rollout of Mentally Healthy Schools, a set of resources provided by the Anna Freud Centre to help secondary schools and colleges with mental health information. William and Kate at a school in east London on Thursday. (AFP) William and Kate spoke to teachers and mental health professionals about the school reopening. (AFP) William with a young pupil in the playground. (WPA Pool/Getty Images) The Royal Foundation, William and Kate's charitable arm, worked with the Anna Freud Centre from 2018, as well as other charities, to create the resources. Story continues Kate has been patron of the Anna Freud Centre since 2016. The couple also spoke to teachers about how they have adapted to reopen the school following the latest lockdown in England. Kate, in a pink Boden top and Max&co coat, played with children at the water section of their playground, and helped them dig for treasure in a sandpit. Meanwhile William helped build a wall in the construction area, saying "I was just doing what I was told" as he took instructions from a young boy. Prince Charles was the first royal to break cover with an engagement on Tuesday, as he headed out to a vaccine centre in London to meet those waiting to get their first coronavirus jab. He chuckled when he was asked what he thought of the interview, but moved on without making any comment. Later that day, the Palace finally responded to the shocking claims made by Harry and Meghan in the two-hour Winfrey special. Watch: Harry and Meghan: What the Sussexes really think of Charles, William and Kate Kate watches as a child shows her he is five, holding up his hand, at School 21 in London. (AFP via Getty Images) Kate chatted to a child in the water area of the playground during the visit. (AFP) Read more: Harry and Meghan interview: Was Archie denied a royal title when he was born? The Palace statement, on behalf of the Queen, said: "The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. "The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. "Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were said to be feeling "free" after the explosive interview, according to friend Janina Gavankar, who said they could now focus on their work through the Archewell foundation. However the fallout in the UK is likely to continue. Kate played with some of the pupils before speaking to teachers and staff at the school. (AFP) It was the first time the couple have carried out an engagement since Harry and Meghan's interview. (PA Pool/Getty Images) Kate had her hair back in a ponytail as she battled the wind on the visit to east London. (AFP) Read more: 5 most explosive claims about Royal Family from Meghan Markles Oprah interview On Thursday at the local election campaign launch, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: The issue that Meghan raised of race and mental health are serious. "The Palace has now responded and I do think it is a matter now for the family and I do hope it is resolved as soon as possible. But the wider issues in society about race and mental health are something for all of us to take seriously. Asked about the possibility of a debate on the "family dispute" and the role of the monarchy, leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg responded by reading out the national anthem. Chris Ship, ITV's royal editor, tweeted of the comment by William: "Its unprecedented for a senior Royal to speak in this way. And shows the fight they now have on their hands to repair their reputation following Meghan and Harrys explosive claims. "Remember the Queens statement said 'recollections may vary'." Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt tweeted: "Imagine if Prince William had been in charge of the palace statement two days ago." He then added: "Its a very vivid sign of how bad things are for the royals that a future head of state of a multicultural country has to insist his family arent racists." The Mekong Deltas agri-products enjoy significant opportunities as Vietnam integrates deeply into the international arena Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan said that Vietnam has exported eight types of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products with an annual turnover of over $1 billion many of which have achieved high positions in the global market. However, Vietnam's agricultural sector has yet to develop modern production methods due to its small scale and lack of technology applications. As a result, agricultural production has low productivity, competitiveness, and added value. He added that it is necessary to optimise the stages in the agri-product value chain by removing bottlenecks in production and preservation. Also, food loss needs to be reduced, transportation costs optimised, and stable output markets found for agri-products. "It is necessary to create favourable conditions for responsible enterprises with a vision to join production and business, especially the development of modern logistics services," Xuan stressed. Developing infrastructure and an all-in-one agricultural logistics centre Economic experts say that to boost the sustainable development of Vietnam's agri-products, priority policies need to be built for key areas, including the Mekong Delta the nation's largest rice basket. The government's resolution No.120/NQ-CP on the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta in response to climate change has a hundred-year vision with several distinct investment phases. In particular, top priority must be given to investment in logistics and transport infrastructure, which is seen as the lifeblood of the economy. The government has approved a five-year $2 billion allotment for infrastructural development in the area. Nguyen Phuong Lam, director of the Can Tho branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the Mekong Delta has recently made heavy investments in infrastructure and diversified transportation means to improve the trade flow of agri-products. In particular, once opened for traffic, Trung Luong-My Thuan Expressway is expected to significantly speed up product delivery times. With regards to logistics, expert Nguyen Phuong Lam said that for a long time, localities in the Mekong Delta have only focused on the stages from the field to the factory but paid little attention to the stages from the factory to the port, shipping, packaging, and inspection despite their decisive role in the competitiveness of agri-products. That is the reason why it is very important to develop logistics centres that are capable of handling all the stages of agri-production from the Mekong Delta to the ports and consumption markets. This would reduce waiting times and cumbersome procedures. Thus, logistics companies are urged to resolve this pressing problem. Most recently, the first phase of Hanh Nguyen Logistics Center (Hau Giang Agri-product Export Logistics Center), a self-contained logistics centre for all agricultural export procedures, has been put into operation in Hau Giang province. Situated in a prime location, the logistics centre provides convenient access to the Mekong Delta and southeast region. Hanh Nguyen Logistics Center promises to open up optimal solutions for Mekong Delta agri-products to expand to overseas markets. Pham Tien Hoai, Hanh Nguyen Logistics CEO and chairman of the Board of Tien Thinh Group said, After many years of accompanying farmers, we want to create a breakthrough for them so that their work can be less strenuous and receive more of their deserved results. The opening of a logistics centre allows connecting all stages in the supply chain of agricultural products and find more markets for agri-products. Customers and farmers need only bring their products to the centre, we will take care of the rest, from cleaning to preserving and irradiating. We also handle the transportation, customs clearance, exports, and financial procedures to find suitable markets for the products. Cherry is a harrowing new streaming drama that represents a huge, more mature departure for star Tom Holland. The actor is best known for playing Peter Parker in the most recent Spider-Man series. In Cherry, conversely, he plays a war veteran struggling with PTSD and opioid addiction. Holland is joined by fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe alumni, Anthony and Joe Russo, who directed the new film. The sibling duo is best known for helming a handful of massive MCU hits: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. With that level of popular talent involved, theres sure to be a lot of viewers eager to check out Cherry when it hits streaming tomorrow. So, is it on Netflix? Or, will you have to venture a bit further afield to get it? Is Cherry based on a true story? Tom Holland stoops to bank robbery in The Russo Brothers Cherry. | Apple RELATED: Cherry: Tom Holland on What He Couldnt Prepare for Going in Cherry is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name from 2018 by Nico Walker. Walker served as a combat medic in the Iraq War from 2005-2006. Upon returning home, PTSD and depression led him to heroin addiction, and eventually he turned to robbing banks to fund his habit. He was later convicted for robbing four banks in the Cleveland area and was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2012. He was released early in 2019. Cherry, the novel and the film, change a few elements of Walkers true story. The most prominent is the shift from the protagonist dealing with heroin addiction to opioid addiction, giving the story a timely quality. Theres also a personal quality for the Russo Brothers. The story of Cherry is set in Cleveland, the brothers hometown. Angela Russo-Otstot, the duos sister, also co-wrote the films screenplay. In the past, shes made cameos in various Russo Brothers projects, including Arrested Development, Welcome to Collinwood, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. While its always up to viewers to make their own call, Cherry has had a rough critical reception since its premiere. It currently sits around 38% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, with many writers deriding the films overblown visual style, which can detract from the important story at its core. The performances, Hollands in particular, were widely praised despite the other issues. Where to watch Cherry RELATED: Cherry: Russo Brothers Reveal Why They Chose Tom Holland for This Dark Role Apple dished out $40 million to acquire Cherry back in September 2020, according to Variety. This fits the companys ongoing philosophy when it comes to original films, which is the pay big for movie-star-laden projects in order to attract viewers. Its upcoming film slate includes buzzy projects from Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Scarlett Johansson. As such, Cherry will only be available to stream on Apple TV+. The only other viewing option would be theatrical, as the film was released in a handful of locations on Feb. 26. Apple TV+ is available for $4.99 a month on its own, but can also be had as part of the Apple One bundles, which range from $14.99-$29.99. A free year of the service is still included with the purchase of new Apple hardware, including iPhones and iPads. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Drilling is expected to take 10 days with assay results to follow in late May with targets of around 10-12 million tonnes to proven reserve. The drilling will also generate additional commercial sample for despatch to potential offtake partners ( ) will begin a 130-hole aircore grade control drilling program later this month aimed at upgrading the 11.3 million tonnes resource at Arrowsmith North Silica Sand Project around 270 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia. This drilling campaign, which is expected to take 10 days with assay results to follow in late May 2021, is intended to upgrade the indicated and inferred resource estimate in the area drilled to a measured resource and proven reserve. The company hopes the drilling program will confirm the continuity and homogeneity that has been demonstrated by previous drilling. Key production activity Managing director Bruce Maluish said: The drilling of tight-spaced grade control holes at Arrowsmith North is another key pre-production activity being undertaken as we prepare for the commencement of mining. The area being grade control drilled is where we are planning to mine for the first 6-10 years. This targeted grade control area sits within the resource estimate of 771,000 million tonnes at 98% SiO 2 for around 11.3 million tonnes of indicated and inferred resource. Drilling will also generate a significant tonnage of additional raw material for VRX to conduct supplementary metallurgical test-work to fine-tune the design and operating parameters of the process plant and for approvals required by Mid-West Ports. Silica sand potential to grow Additionally, the program is set to generate further commercial samples for despatch to potential offtake partners as demand for VRXs silica sand continues to grow. Maluish continued: "Sources of supply of quality silica sand throughout the Asian region are shrinking at a rapid rate, and this has led to tremendous interest for VRXs silica sand from potential customers who are acutely aware of the supply problem. We are well-positioned to fill this demand and, as we develop our silica sand projects, remain focused on delivering long-term offtake partnerships with significant participants in the Asian market. The Camp Hill School District is closing Eisenhower Elementary School for two days after a student tested positive for COVID-19, officials announced Wednesday. The student was last in the school on Monday, according to a letter sent by Acting Supervisor Patricia Sanker. Because of the number of cases with school exposure, the Pa. Department of Education guidelines indicate that the building should be temporarily closed. All Eisenhower Elementary students will switch to remote learning on Thursday and Friday, with Thursday having a scheduled 2-hour delay. Students will return to the school on Monday, March 15, which will mean the building is empty for four days including the weekend. The district said the closure will allow for the building to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and give the district and the Department of Health time to identify close contacts who need to quarantine. As the Coronavirus situation in our country and our community continues, we urge you to take necessary precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our school community, Sanker said in the letter. Anyone who is contacted by the Pa. Department of Health or school nurses should cooperate by monitoring and following all instructions. Anyone who develops symptoms should notify your local health department or Pennsylvania Department of Health immediately at 1-877-724-3258, contact a health care provider and the school nurse. Read more on PennLive: Look, I was pretty young in my career, and I was in a situation where I was one of very few females, and I was being harassed on a regular basis by someone in full view of others. Thats how brazen this individual was. And, you know, when youre young, in a workplace, particularly when youre new, you want to try to get along with folks, Lightfoot said. But it got to a point where it (was) just downright offensive, and it was inhibiting my ability to do my job. This individual clearly was trying to demoralize me in the workplace. And I think you know me well enough to know I stick up for myself. And so, I dealt with it, and it stopped. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Razor wire is seen on fencing near the US Capitol Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 3, 2021. (Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images) Capitol Riot Suspect Arrested at Airport After Being Deported From Kenya A U.S. Capitol riot suspect was arrested by the FBI at John F. Kennedy International Airport Saturday after being deported from Kenya, the BBC reported. Issac Sturgeon, 32, of Montana has been charged with seven counts including obstruction of justice, engaging in physical violence, and assaulting police officers, KTVQ reported. Sturgeon had been staying in Kenya since Jan. 24, texting others prior to the trip to ask if he was wanted, The Washington Post reported. Sturgeon told the New Yorks federal court on Monday that, I wasnt trying to flee, as he traveled frequently. Sturgeon planned to stay in Kenya until early April and then return to the United States which was detailed in court documents, according to the BBC. Sturgeon was ordered to be deported by the Kenyan authorities after an arrest warrant was issued by the FBI, the New York Post reported. On Monday, Sturgeon was released to his Montana property on a $250,000 monitoring bond, The Washington Post reported. If convicted of the seven charges, Sturgeon could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the New York Post. Sturgeon originally was caught on video by police officer body cameras allegedly picking up a barricade and pushing it into DC Metropolitan Police during the Jan. 6 riots. On Jan. 16, the FBI uploaded a picture of Issac Sturgeon wearing a green jacket, scarf, and a grey beanie, the New York Post reported. Sturgeon, who currently owns a lawn care business, had previously shown interest in joining the National Guard, KTVQ reported. Sturgeon is one of three Montanans to be charged with involvement in the capitol riot, KTVQ reported. The other three men, business owner Hank Muntzer who has pleaded not guilty to his charges and brothers Joshua and Jerod Hughes who turned themselves into local authorities, have been ordered to return to Washington D.C. to await trial. By Nicole Iuzzolino From The Daily Caller News Foundation Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. The Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Hamed Bakayoko, on Wednesday, died from cancer at a hospital in Freiburg, south-west Germany, according to the government. He was 56. Mr Bakayoko, an ally of, and possible successor to, President Alassane Ouattara was appointed Ivorian prime minister only in July after the death of his predecessor, Amadou Gon Coulibaly. Our country is in mourning, President Alassane Ouattara wrote in a post on Twitter. Notre pays est en deuil. Jai limmense douleur de vous annoncer le deces du Premier Ministre, Hamed Bakayoko, Chef du Gouvernement, Ministre de La Defense, ce mercredi 10 mars 2021, en Allemagne, des suites dun cancer. pic.twitter.com/IfImVNdlho Alassane Ouattara (@AOuattara_PRCI) March 10, 2021 It is with great sorrow that I announce the death of Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, head of state, minister of defencein Germany, as a result of cancer. Mr Ouattara added. Mr Bakayoko, a former media executive who doubled as the West African nations defence minister, was flown to France on February 18 for medical care. But after a meeting between him and Mr Ouattara in France last week, the government said it was recommended that the hospitalization of the ailing minister should be extended. Mr Bakayoko was later transferred to Germany due to his deteriorating health. Mr Ouattara described Mr Bakayoko as a great statesman, an example to young people and a man of exemplary loyalty. Meanwhile, the president, on Monday, named his close confidant and chief of staff, Patrick Achi, as interim prime minister to serve in Mr Bakayokos stead. Tene Ouattara, a younger brother of the president, was also named interim defence minister. Political career In the 1990s, at a time when he was in medical school, Mr Bakayoko launched Le Patriote newspaper, which helped him cultivate ties with stalwarts in the Ivorian political scene. He became minister of telecommunications and new technologies in 2003 but bowed out in 2010 after a brief civil war broke out when former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept the election results. After the war, in 2011, Mr Ouattara appointed him as interior minister, a position he held till 2017 after mutinies by some soldiers. By 2018, he was elected mayor of the poor Abidjan district of Abobo. Election results published on Sunday showed that he won 90 per cent votes in Saturdays parliamentary election without campaigning in person to occupy the legislative seat of Seguela district. ADVERTISEMENT Andy will be responsible for the leadership of the USAT sales team and will blaze new paths for delivering mission critical communication solutions for voice, data and video using public and private LTE technology via 4G, 5G, and CBRS networks. Andy has an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University, and is a veteran of the US Navy Submarine Force. Andy has spent over 25 years in the wireless space working with customers to utilize secure data connections that bring value and reliability to their operations and fulfill business needs. Most recently Andy was Director of Sales for North America at Sierra Wireless after holding other sales management roles during his 20-year tenure. Andy has also held sales and technical management positions at cellular providers including AT&T and Verizon. His experience at every level of the sale and deployment of industrial IoT systems brings a unique perspective that adds value to USATs clients. Andy is excited to grow sales and to build synergies between USAT and the Mobile Communications America family of companies to deliver complex wireless projects that are easier to deploy and support. Andys addition will benefit our clients and sales team alike as we push forward into new avenues provided by 5G and private LTE networks said Beverly McRae VP of Sales and Marketing at USAT. -------- About USAT -------- USAT LLC serves the nations critical infrastructure by creating secure communication networks that pass data wirelessly between key systems linking remote assets, whether they are personnel or machine. This wide-area connectivity enables businesses and government agencies to operate more efficiently as they monitor, manage, and control their field assets. USAT sells, designs, configures, and installs Cellular Wireless Data Communications hardware and software, providing industry targeted IoT connectivity solutions. Our expert services delivered from inception to continued operation add value and reduce complexity for our clients. -------- Contact USAT -------- Toll Free: (888) 550-USAT Local: (919) 942-4214 Email: info@usatcorp.com 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. Serco takes $600M Navy recompete Im sure Serco Inc. celebrated when it retained a single-award contract with the Navy worth $600 million, but its even sweeter when that award comes out of the gate with a $153 million task order. Serco has been tapped by the Navy to maintain hardware, software and firmware as part of the Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Ashore Sustainment Program. The contract has a five-year base and a single three-year option. The initial task order has a five-year term if all options are excercised. Serco will provide life-cycle sustainment of physical security and access control, and command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) systems as part of the Commander Naval Installation Commands AT/FP program worldwide. The company will also work with the government on technology refresh efforts to improve capabilities and improve performance. Serco has supported this customer since 2003. Since then, we have increased our worldwide deployment team significantly. We consider it an honor to continue to support the Navy on such a global scale, said Serco Inc. CEO David Dacquino. An entrepreneur and visionary, Elon Musk almost never plays things safe. Each of his projects is a piece of something bigger. Now, the billionaire is building a mega power plant in Texas very close to the Gulf of Mexico seemingly as a result of a follower's tweet. Last week, Musk reported on Twitter that he is creating his own city that he will call Starbase. It will be located in Texas, near the SpaceX, Musk's spacecraft company. It will also house Starlink (Musk's satellite internet system) and Tesla's electric vehicle facilities. According to Bloomberg, Tesla subsidiary Gambit Energy Storage is assembling the megabattery in Angleton, a city of 20,000 south of Houston. When ready, the power plant could provide 100MW of electricity to about 20,000 homes. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) assured that the site will begin operating in early June, the same outlet said. The tweet that inspired Musk's megadrum in Texas The entrepreneur already has some experience in the field of energy supply. In 2017, he built a 100MWh battery farm in South Australia. Then, last February, when much of Texas and northern Mexico were without power as a result of the weather, a Twitter user asked Musk if it would be possible to set up a battery plant, similar to the Australian one, in the Lone Star State. The businessman, who has the gift of making even the wildest projects seem easy, answered with a certain "yes." And it is - Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2021 Musk has a budget for the megabattery and more Yesterday, the Tesla CEO reportedly lost about $27 billion in a week, due to the plunge in shares of his auto company, alongside other reasons. His fortune came to $151.1 billion, leaving him in third place in the Forbes billionaires ranking. However, today, Musk's fortune seems to have reversed because, as of this writing, he has recovered about $16.5 billion, as well as the title of the second richest person in the world. We'll pay attention to any developments in the stock market to see if Musk maintains his position or continues to see ups and downs in his fortune. Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved She is currently expecting her first child, a girl, with husband Iain Stirling. And Laura Whitmore looked radiant as ever as she displayed her growing baby bump in a series of snaps she shared on Thursday. The TV presenter, 35, donned a red and white plaid short-sleeved mini dress with a frilled detail and pleated hemline. Stunning: Laura Whitmore looked radiant as ever as she displayed her growing baby bump in a series of snaps she shared on Thursday Adding height to her frame with a pair of red heels, the Love Island host also sported a pair of white ankle socks. Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, Laura completed her look with a light pallet of makeup. Alongside the post, she wrote: 'You may have noticed I havent exactly been into traditional maternity wear. I like fashion and being pregnant doesnt change that. 'Anything Ive added to my wardrobe have been pieces I hope to wear long term not just for a few months and then waste (and maternity wear tends to be boring) Its just about finding the right shapes.' Outfit: The TV presenter, 35, donned a red and white plaid short-sleeved mini dress with a frilled detail and pleated hemline The social media post comes after Lorraine Kelly accidentally revealed the gender of Laura's baby to the nation during a live interview. Lorraine let slip that Laura was set to welcome a daughter, noting that the mother-to-be will likely want to pass advice on to her 'baby girl'. To which Laura, slightly taken aback, replied: 'Well, my baby... yes,' as she and husband Iain had been yet to confirm the gender of their unborn child. Laura has documented her pregnancy on social media and previously said she is due in 'early 2021'. Laura wrote: 'You may have noticed I havent exactly been into traditional maternity wear. I like fashion and being pregnant doesnt change that' She added: 'Anything Ive added to my wardrobe have been pieces I hope to wear long term not just for a few months and then waste (and maternity wear tends to be boring) Its just about finding the right shapes' The star is hoping to be back at work this summer for the next series of Love Island which was pulled off air last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Late last year, it was revealed Laura and Iain had secretly tied the knot in a Humanist ceremony at Dublin's City Hall on November 11. Taking to Instagram to celebrate the start of 2021, Laura finally confirmed the nuptials while sharing a beautiful snap from the pair's big day. The couple have been together since the summer of 2017 and Iain is believed to have proposed in South Africa in early 2020 when they were filming the winter series of Love Island. Tens of thousands of coronavirus vaccination appointments go live at the seven state-run super immunization sites in Massachusetts on Thursday, a day before the commonwealths online booking platform is expected to be replaced by a new signup tool. More than 40,000 new first-dose appointments at the large-scale vaccination sites will open to eligible groups Thursday morning through the states website, vaxfinder.mass.gov, and the COVID-19 211 call center for residents who dont have internet access or have difficulty using the online booking portal. Another 40,000-plus second-dose appointments have also been scheduled at the super immunization locations. The new preregistration signup tool will replace the current booking portal starting Friday. Announced by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday, the system seeks to make it easier for eligible residents to request and set an appointment at a large-scale vaccination site near them. More sites are expected be added to the preregistration service in the coming weeks. Lawmakers and residents alike have been calling for the creation of a preregistration system for months now, lambasting the state for its stressful online appointment-booking service, run by the company PrepMod. Those trying to get vaccination slots have been forced to race against others trying to do the same in a short span of time, dealing with the states website crashing one week and waiting in hours-long virtual lines the next. With the new website, residents wont need to search for appointments at super vaccination sites anymore, officials said. Instead, once eligible individuals are pre-registered, they will be contacted when a slot becomes available. They will then have 24 hours to accept the appointment. Once this goes live, we will then start to talk to other providers that are open on our website around conversation into the pre-registration system, Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said. This week, the state as a whole will receive a limited supply of roughly 155,000 first doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The Baker administration noted weekly allocations are subject to variability due to changes in the federal governments supply, demand from providers who have 10 days to use their vaccines and obligations to meet second-dose appointments. Due to a severely constrained federal supply and the existing population that is currently eligible for vaccines, it is estimated that it will take a month for all eligible individuals to secure a first appointment, the the governors administration said. This timeframe is only subject to change if federal supply increases dramatically, including the recently authorized Johnson & Johnson vaccine. On Thursday, teachers, school staff and child care workers in Massachusetts also became eligible to receive the vaccine following widespread outcry from residents, educators, teachers unions and lawmakers. They are joining individuals 65 years or older and people with two comorbidities who are already allowed to book appointments. First and second doses this week will be allocated as follows: 83,000 for the seven large-scale vaccination sites, 79,000 for private and public hospital providers, 38,000 for the states 12 regional collaboratives, 25,000 for community health centers and another 25,000 for local boards of health to complete second-dose appointments and support 20 communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The seven super immunization sites are set up at the former Circuit City in Dartmouth, the DoubleTree in Danvers, the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Fenway Park in Boston, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, the Natick Mall and the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. As part of a federal partnership, Democratic President Joe Bidens administration will also be distributing vaccines to CVS locations in Massachusetts and to other qualified community health centers in the state. These quantities fluctuate weekly and are not counted as part of the states allocation, Bakers office said. According to the governors office, 95,000 doses of the vaccine have been allocated through the retail pharmacy program this week, and 19,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which only require one dose, have been shipped to federally qualified health centers in Massachusetts. As of Wednesday afternoon, a little more than 2.3 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been administered in the commonwealth. Out of all 50 states, Massachusetts has the ninth highest number of doses administered per capita, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Related Content: AKRON, Ohio Authorities have released the identity of a 36-year-old man who was shot and killed Tuesday night in West Akron. William Little died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Summit County Medical Examiners office. No arrests have been made in the shooting. Officers were called to the 800 block of Work Avenue, which is north of Copley Road and just west of West Exchange Street, at about 6:25 p.m. Little was found wounded in the backyard of a residence. He was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center but died of his wounds, police say. Investigators believe Little was involved in an argument with an unknown suspect before being shot. No additional details on the shooting have been released. Anyone with information can call detectives at 330-375-2490 or Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS. Individuals also can send tips by texting TIPSCO to 274637. Callers can remain anonymous. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: 10 teens involved in rash of carjackings, shot, pistol-whipped and robbed way across Cleveland, police reports show Cleveland man accused of shooting neighbor during dog dispute found incompetent to stand trial Solon principal will not face charges over emailed complaint after prosecutor found no criminal activity Man shot outside Maple Heights tavern, police say BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? 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on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children New Delhi: China on Thursday issued a second safety advisory within two months to its nationals travelling to India, highlighting train accidents, natural disasters and frequent infectious disease cases in the country. The notification issued by the Chinese Embassy in India comes amid the shrill campaign being carried out against India by the official media in China over the Doklam standoff. The advisory asks Chinese nationals to pay attention to their personal safety and the local security situation and to avoid unnecessary travel within the country, state-run Peoples Daily Online reported. Travellers are told to carry personal identification information with them, obey religious customs, and keep their family, colleagues, and friends posted about their travel. The advisory highlights the weekend train derailment, natural disasters, and frequent infectious disease cases in India. The warning is valid till the end of the year. The first safety advisory was issued by China on July 7 and was valid for one month. India and China have been locked in a standoff for over two months in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector. The face- off began after Indian troops stopped Chinese military from building a road in the area. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Congressman John Moolenaar, this week, joined other members of the Michigan congressional delegation to pass out food and gift cards to Michigan National Guard members who are serving in Washington, D.C. The men and women of the Michigan National Guard have served honorably, and I am glad they will be able to return home to their families very soon, said Congressman Moolenaar. It was an honor to spend time with them today and thank them for serving our nation." Victoria's acting premier has revealed Daniel Andrews is 'up and about' in hospital as he faces months of recovery from a fall that caused serious spinal injuries. Mr Andrews spoke to James Merlino by phone from Alfred Trauma Centre on Thursday, as doctors decide whether the premier will need surgery after fracturing the T7 vertebrae in the middle of his spine and breaking several ribs. 'He's fine, he was up and about but this is the first few days since he suffered this serious injury, so his focus is getting better and the care he needs,' Mr Merlino said. Mr Andrews slipped on wet stairs at a Mornington Peninsula holiday rental while getting ready for work on Tuesday morning. Victoria's acting premier James Merlino said Daniel Andrews was 'fine' and 'up and about' after speaking with him by phone on Thursday. Pictured: Mr Andrews and his wife Catherine (left) 'It was great to touch base with him, make sure he's okay. It was great to hear his voice,' Mr Merlino said. 'This is quite serious but he's in the best place, getting the best care at Alfred (and) all the love and support of his family. 'I look forward to his recovery and returning to the job but at the moment, his complete focus needs to be on his recovery.' Mr Merlino said he would continue to update Victorians on the premier's condition. 'Over the next few days we'll know more in terms of Dan's treatment plan and his recovery,' he said. A government source said there still remains a '50-50 chance' Mr Andrews will require surgery on his fractured vertebrae. However the head of the intensive care unit where Mr Andrews is recovering said there were no immediate plans for him to go under the knife. Mr Merlino (pictured) revealed Victorians will have a much clearer picture of Mr Andrews's recovery in the coming days and assured residents they will get regular updates on the premier's condition Daniel Andrews fractured his T7 vertebrae (pictured), which is in the middle of his spine after slipping on wet stairs at a Mornington Peninsula holiday rental The premier could be off work for three months if the operation goes ahead, with his recovery expected to take between six and 12 weeks. Mr Merlino, who has been deputy premier since 2014, sought to reassure Victorians he would be able to fill Mr Andrews' shoes for a longer period if required. 'We made a commitment back in 2014 when we first came into government to not waste a day,' he said. 'Government will continue. I'll be the acting premier, leading cabinet.' Mr Andrews was initially treated at Peninsula Private Hospital but transferred to Alfred Trauma Centre in Melbourne after specialists assessed an MRI scan. Associate Professor Steve McGloughlin, the head of the intensive care unit at The Alfred hospital said the premier was 'comfortable and his pain is well-controlled'. A government source told AAP there is more than a 50 per cent chance Mr Andrews (pictured) will need surgery to treat his serious injuries sustained in a fall The head of the intensive care unit at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne has confirmed his injuries are serious but said he is in a stable condition and there are no immediate plans for surgery A statement from Mr Andrews on Tuesday revealed a series of horrific injuries uncovered by a CT scan (pictured) 'A multidisciplinary team including intensive care, trauma and orthopaedic specialists has developed a treatment plan, together with the Andrews family,' Prof McGloughlin said late on Wednesday. 'Mr Andrews has sustained some serious injuries and his condition is being monitored closely. At this stage there is no immediate plan for surgery.' He has been cleared of any internal or head injuries. 'Heartfelt thanks to the entire team at @AlfredHealth for taking such good care of me. We're so very grateful,' Mr Andrews tweeted on Wednesday. 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. Houston: Millions of Texas residents on Friday were bracing for a potentially "life-threatening" storm as Hurricane Harvey was "dangerously approaching" the US state as a Category 2 storm with the potential to wreck havoc and dump up to three feet of rain. Fuelled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Harvey would be the first major hurricane to hit Texas city in nine years, according to the forecasters. The "life-threatening storm", could bring up to three feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges. "Recent data from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated #Harvey has strengthened with estimated 100 mph and is now a Category 2 storm", National Weather Service (NWS) Houston tweeted. It said the hurricane was approaching with and less than 36 hour out from landfall along the middle Texas coast. Harvey is forecast to hit the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph, bringing a storm surge and flash flooding, the NWS said. Read more: 20 killed in Kabul Shiite mosque attack, IS claims responsibility The weather agency was blunt in its warning, saying the storm was "dangerously approaching the Texas Coast" where it could linger for days and could spin back ashore to regenerate as it heads toward Louisiana. "Texas is about to have a very significant disaster", Brook Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was quoted as saying by the CNN. He warned that a "significant inland flood event over many counties" was expected. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a State of Disaster for 30 counties and requested 700 National Guard members to be activated. "A lot of people are taking this storm for granted thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them. Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible", Abbott told a local television station. Schools and universities in Houston and nearby areas have cancelled classes as Harvey continues to gain strength. School districts across Houston have also cancelled extra-curricular activities scheduled for today and this weekend. While it has been nine years since Texas last saw a hurricane, the state is no stranger to devastating flooding from tropical systems. In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison was a multi billion-dollar disaster for the state, specifically Houston. Read more: Sierra Leone disaster leaves at least 500 people dead and 810 missing In Corpus Christi, where Harvey will likely make landfall, a voluntary evacuation has been ordered. Long lines for grocery and essentials were seen at stores as the city cancelled Friday's dockets in city court and provided self-serve sandbags to residents. Port Aransas on Mustang Island and nearby Portland issued mandatory evacuation orders. "The system is likely to slow down once it reaches the coast, increasing the threat of a prolonged period of heavy rain and flooding across portions of Texas, southwest Louisiana, and northeastern Mexico into early next week", the National Hurricane Center warned this week. Meanwhile, residents along the Texas coast aren't taking any chances. They're filling sandbags, stocking up on water and boarding up windows. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi, March 11 : Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Thursday criticised the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan over recent incidents of rape and crime against women in the state. He also questioned why former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had not visited the state. In a series of tweets, Javadekar said, "March calendar of Rajasthan Government, March 2: woman raped in police station in Alwar, March 5: the rape accused out on bail burnt the victim alive in in Hanumangarh and March 6: gangrape in Kota." In another tweet, the Minister said, "March 8: shameful incident of rape on Women's Day in Ajmer, March 9: mother and daughter were stripped and beaten in Tonk." Javadekar asked Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi why they haven't visited Rajasthan till date. Through March 2, there were 348 carjackings in Chicago, more than double the tally at the same time last year and far and away the most the city has seen during the same period since at least 2001, city crime statistics show. Hyderabad, March 11 : Three people have been killed in two separate road accidents in Hyderabad. One man was burnt alive when a container truck caught fire after it was hit by another truck near Shameerpet on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Thursday. According to police, a brick-laden lorry coming from Karimnagar to Hyderabad hit the container truck carrying transformers while trying to overtake it. The collision led to fire in the container truck and the man standing guard with transformers was killed. Both the vehicles were gutted in the collision. The driver of the brick lorry escaped after the accident. In another accident late Wednesday, two youths riding a motorcycle were killed after they were run over by a RTC bus in Hyderabad. The incident occurred near Nalgonda Crossroads under the limits of Chaderghat police station. The youth came under the wheels of Road Transport Corporation (RTC) bus. The deceased were identified as Mohammed Ilhaf Ahmed (14) and Shoaib (20), who were friends and residents of Old Malakpet. The students were returning home after attending a ceremony in connection with marriage of Ilhaf's sister scheduled on March 12. A day before the marriage, Ilhaf's family plunged into gloom. Police shifted the bodies of the youth to government-run Osmania General Hospital for autopsy. Srikant Reddy, sub-inspector of Chaderghat police station said the bus driver was absconding and a search was on for him. A case was registered. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. A CONTROVERSIAL wind turbine erected near the Clare/Limerick border is to be removed following a council order. Clare County Council has directed the decommission and removal of the turbine for non-compliance with planning permission. Consent was granted almost a decade ago to Seamus Madden to erect a single 800kW turbine, 73 metres high with a rotor diameter of 53 metres in Parteen. No objections were lodged, and a further extension was granted to his planning permission in 2016. It was only when it finally did appear, concerns were raised, with the structure visible from behind Limericks King Johns Castle. The councils enforcement notice was issued earlier this week, suggesting the turbine and base structure is, as constructed, not sited at the location as permitted under planning. The applicant has also been requested to refund the planning authority the costs and expenses of 300 in relation to the investigation of this. Clare County Council said failure to comply could lead to legal proceedings being issued. Local Fianna Fail TD Cathal Crowe filed the case with the planning enforcement unit of Clare County Council. He made points relating to the start date of the construction and also the set-back distance of the windmill structure from local residences. It set in train a council visit to the site, and ultimately, its enforcement notice this week. Mr Crowe has welcomed the move. He said: A huge bone of contention was the proximity of the windmill to local homes, and this was the basis of a written complaint I made to the council on behalf of residents, and similar complaints were subsequently made in the community. The council recently took measurements on the site and I understand this was part of the basis for the ultimate decision they took. Whilst everyone wants to see a push towards more renewable energy infrastructure, windmills have to be appropriately located in Ireland, and the heart of a residential community isnt the best place for this, and Im glad that the Council has made this determination. I hope it will be taken down within the one month timeframe stipulated, he added. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Serbia will become the first European country to produce the Chinese Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine, the Balkan country's President Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday. Vucic announced that a deal concerning the construction of a "vaccine factory" will be signed in the next two weeks, and it will be built with support of China and United Arab Emirates. "We will start producing the vaccine as soon as October 15", Vucic told public broadcaster RTS after a meeting with the UAE's de facto ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. Although an EU-candidate country, Serbia has kept close diplomatic and economic ties with Moscow and Beijing, and has used the delicate balance to become continental Europe's fastest vaccinator. The small Balkan country has secured massive shipments of Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V jab, leading the Balkan country to inoculate some 1.5 million of its 7 million population. While the European Union kicked off its vaccination programme across its 27 member states late December, poor countries outside its borders in the Western Balkans have been left to fend for their own. Vucic, in comments run by the RTS public broadcaster, added that once the factory is set up, Serbia will provide the vaccine to countries throughout the region. "What I learned tonight is that we will have to give the vaccine around the region, even at production cost", Vucic said. In February, Serbia was given preliminary approval to start manufacturing the Sputnik V vaccine as well, and has said production will begin in mid-May. Explore further Serbia starts vaccination with Chinese-made Sinopharm 2021 AFP 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 Alabama Community College System on Wednesday named presidents for its Lawson State and Shelton State campuses. System Chancellor Jimmy Baker recommended Lawson State Community College interim President Cynthia Anthony be named the permanent leader. Baker recommended Brad Newman assume the presidency at Shelton State Community College. Baker made the recommendations during the boards regular monthly meeting on Wednesday. The two will formally begin the new roles no later than April 1, according to a system announcement after the meeting. Baker called Anthony one of the most experienced leaders in the system. She is one of those people you want to meet every day because she is always positive, always cheering people up and always after the business of pursing education and making it better, Baker said. Anthony was named the interim president at Lawson State last fall. Anthony has also previously served in administrative roles in the system office and as the interim president at several other campuses including Drake State Community and Technical College, Shelton State and Enterprise State Community College. Anthony thanked the board members for their support. Under her leadership, the college, with campuses in Birmingham and Bessemer, will continue to engage the community, strengthen the workforce, and remain laser-focused on the student experience, she said. We have a solid foundation on which to build, and I believe Lawson States future is brighter than its past, and am I excited to be part of that future, Anthony said. Baker praised Newmans connections in West Alabama as he made the recommendation. My expectation is this will bring long-term service, stable leadership and great things to happen as we move forward working with that community, which is a great community but there are a lot of needs that have not been met, Baker said. Trustee Milton Davis, who served on the search committee, praised Newman as a candidate. Mr. Newmans leadership was exemplary, and his passionate commitment to the city of Tuscaloosa and West Alabama is impeccable, Davis said. Bryan Helms, the systems vice chancellor for administrative and financial services, was named interim president last spring following the departure of Bill Ashley. Newman served as plant manager for ZF Chassis Systems, LLC in Tuscaloosa, according to the system office. Newman is also chairman of the workforce development partnership West Alabama Works, a West Alabama Chamber of Commerce board member, and a member of the West Alabama Regional Workforce Council/Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Board. As a local industry leader, I know first-hand the critical role Shelton State plays in the community and the important impact the quality education and training the college provides has on the local economy. I look forward to meeting with students, faculty, staff, and administrators over the coming weeks as we take steps to continue to move Shelton State forward, Newman said in comments released by the system. About 11.2 per cent of People Living With HIV (PLWHIV) in Nigeria still incur huge out-of-pocket costs for treatment, a new report has shown. The report titled Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) initiative on COVID-19 and HIV in Nigeria shows that 212,800 PLWHIV in the country make significant out of pocket expenses to access treatment. The report indicates that distance of treatment centres and out of pocket expenses are major barriers to HIV service accessibility. 20.2 per cent of PLHIV do not have treatment centres close to where they live. Other barriers include side effects of HIV treatment, drug breaks, lack of confidentiality at site level, user fees for processing payments, stigmatization and discrimination amongst others. Data for the report were collected between September and December 2020 by the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) with support from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the UNAIDS. About 1.9 million people under the age of 64 are living with HIV in Nigeria, results from the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) show. Timely Member states recognised that to meet the fast track targets, community responses to HIV must be scaled up and committed to at least 30 per cent of services being community-led by 2030, the Director-General of NACA, Gambo Aliyu, said at the virtual launch of the report. Mr Aliyu noted that the CLM Framework will serve as a guide in the implementation of the CLM initiative in Nigeria as a way of putting the community first. The CLM framework is key to ensuring availability, access to and the delivery of quality HIV care and services, he said. It also empowers clients and communities to seek information, increases health literacy, expands engagement with health service delivery, addresses human rights violation, stigma and discrimination and demand accountability from the health system to improve the delivery of HIV services. Mr Aliyu said NEPWHAN, being the patient community, was rightly selected after necessary organisational checks and processes to implement the maiden CLM initiative in Nigeria. In her remarks, the UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, said monitoring and accountability mechanism is needed to improve services and quality of delivery at the community level. Ms Byanyima explained that the CLM initiative is a critical element in Community based result of HIV. This initiative will also include addressing the structural barriers that reduce access to health services and working to improve accountability in HIV programmes, she said. This CLM initiative in Nigeria needs to be strengthened and supported by all our partners including ourselves. The National Coordinator, NEPWHAN, Ibrahim Abdulkadir, highlighted the importance of community monitoring in the fight against the disease. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Abdulkadir lauded the support received from development partners in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the support from various partners made it possible for PLWHIV to access drugs and other services despite the lockdown imposed to limit spread of the COVID-19 virus. He said the CLM report is key to monitoring the fight against HIV/AIDS as it will help to improve access to healthcare services. The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, said that the CLM initiative will provide vital insight from community and service beneficiaries. This, she said, will further push Nigeria towards achieving its HIV goal by the year 2030. Wyoming Business Tips for March 15-21 A weekly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming. By Audrey Jansen, Shop Wyoming project manager, Wyoming SBDC Network As part of the expanding services within the Wyoming SBDC Networks CARES Act Recovery Program, a one-stop, e-commerce site, called Shop Wyoming, has been released for Wyoming entrepreneurs. This site allows customers to shop and check out from multiple Wyoming-grown businesses at once and will give retailers the opportunity to reach new and existing customers on a local and national scale all within one unique, state-centric platform. There is no cost to participate, and youll receive an in-depth training upon registration. Its easy to get started selling your products on www.shopwyoming.com. Simply register to become a client with the Wyoming SBDC Network at www.wyomingsbdc.org for no-cost, confidential training and advising. After you apply and are approved to become a retailer on the Shop Wyoming platform, you can expect: -- Individualized, no-cost, confidential assistance on how to get set up and start selling on this e-commerce platform. -- Access to the Wyoming SBDC Network's new cache of product photography equipment. -- Your very own page on the Shop Wyoming site where you can post products, brand messaging, and links to your businesss website and social media pages. -- Free marketing as we actively promote the Shop Wyoming platform across social media, email marketing channels and throughout our statewide industry contacts. That's 8,000 social media followers and 9,000 email subscribers. -- Ease of use. Shop Wyoming will handle all sales tax reporting and payment for the sales your business makes on the platform. Here are some tips to help you find success on Shop Wyoming: -- Create high-quality product photos. If you have the option to work with a professional photographer, that is a great route to take. Depending on your business, there might be a trade option that you can work out with someone local to make this more affordable. However, smartphones these days take beautiful photos under the right conditions, and we are here to help with our new photography kits that supply a backdrop and lighting that you can use in combination with your phone to take great product photos. -- Identify what sets you apart and put it into words. This is often referred to as your value proposition and is essentially a statement that tells customers what you do and why it matters. A description of your business will be listed on your Shop Wyoming profile, and youll want something that is quick and compelling. Your Wyoming SBDC Network business adviser is a great resource for feedback as you work on crafting this. -- Have your logo ready. A logo is an essential piece of your brand and allows you to start building brand awareness so that, when people see your logo, they remember you and what you do. If you dont have a logo yet, reach out to your Wyoming SBDC Network business adviser for ideas about how to get one. There are a variety of options, such as working with a local graphic designer; using an online service, such as looka.com, fiverr.com or upwork.com; or leveraging grant and loan opportunities that might provide funding for projects like this. -- Build your online reputation. As you prepare to start marketing your business online, you will need an online reputation. Often, customers first read reviews of businesses before purchasing from them to ensure that the businesses are trustworthy. You should have reviews enabled on Facebook and other relevant social media platforms, such as Yelp; create a Google My Business listing so customers can leave reviews there; and share testimonials on your businesss website. An online reputation is a crucial part of converting a browser into a customer by highlighting how happy your other customers have been. For more information, visit www.shopwyoming.com, or email Jansen at audrey.jansen@uwyo.edu or call her at (307) 760-0298. The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2020 alone, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 95 new businesses; support 6,954 jobs; and bring a capital impact of $18 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY 82071-3922. It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Handshake , the leading site for college students to find jobs, is releasing its first-ever annual Early Talent Awards (ETAs) to celebrate the employers who have transformed their recruiting strategies for a digital-first world. Handshake's Early Talent Awards recognize 120 small- to large-sized companies across 12 industries, including accounting, education, government & nonprofits, insurance, manufacturing, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, technology, transportation & logistics and more. The award recognizes the employers who have excelled in four main areas of their early talent program: student interest, message engagement, brand resonance, and virtual event participation. Together, this list of employers encompasses a group that has successfully evolved their hiring efforts to succeed in the digital landscape. "We are thrilled to recognize our employer partners and the great work they have done this past year to recruit early talent with our first annual Early Talent Awards," said Garrett Lord, CEO & Co-founder of Handshake. "The pandemic has expedited the shift to digital in all areas of life, but especially in recruiting, where we saw the in-person element taken away. The Early Talent Awards celebrate those employers who have thrived by embracing that shift, extending their reach and connecting with students and new grads at a scale previously unknown." "The pandemic accelerated our plans to expand our virtual recruiting capabilities. Companies of all sizes are working to provide more personalized interactions and proactive outreach to share our opportunities with students," said Julie Grzeda, Executive Director for Early Career Talent at GE. "Handshake has been a big part of our early career talent attraction strategy. We are honored to be recognized as a part of this year's Early Talent Awards and are committed to continuing to find new ways to build our future leaders." Employers across Handshake have continued to show commitment to adapting their strategies to this new normal, with almost 7x more virtual events hosted in 2020 compared to the previous year. Additionally, as students approach the job search, a recent Handshake survey of students and young alumni found that an overwhelming 80% prioritize a company's reputation when searching for a job. Also, 29% of students would like employers to be more clear about who they're looking for during the job search process. The winning employers in Handshake's Early Talent Awards have aligned their programs with this rising generation's expectations, and will serve as a guide for college students and graduates as they prepare to launch their career. To further support employers, Handshake will also be hosting a virtual event on March 25 to provide employers with the insights and tactics to implement stronger recruiting practices. For more information about Handshake's Early Talent Awards and to view the full list of employers that made the list, click here . For additional information about Handshake visit https://www.joinhandshake.com/ . ABOUT HANDSHAKE Handshake is the number one site for college students to find a job. Today, the Handshake community includes 17 million students and young alumni at over 1,100 colleges and universitiesincluding 180+ minority-serving institutions. We connect up-and-coming talent across all 50 states with nearly 500,000 employers recruiting on Handshakefrom every Fortune 500 company to thousands of small businesses, nonprofits, startups, and more. Handshake is democratizing opportunity and ensuring college students have the support they need to find a great job and kick-off a meaningful career regardless of where they go to school, what they choose as a major, and who they know. Handshake is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Denver and London, England. STUDENT SURVEY METHODOLOGY This online survey of 1,003 US college students, primarily targeting 17-24 years, was conducted by Propeller Insights on behalf of Handshake between January 12 and January 18, 2021. Propeller Insights strives to achieve a statistically significant sample that meets the industry standard of a 95 percent confidence level and a 5-percentage margin of error, based on the population being represented for all online quantitative surveys. SOURCE Handshake Related Links http://joinhandshake.com On the 10th anniversary of Syrias civil war, Mgr Abu Khazen looks at a torn nation and a people in poverty and growing despair. The country is rich in gas, oil and wheat but the average family has US$ 30 a month to live on. The help of the Church and NGOs is fundamental. The pope in Iraq is a source of hope. Aleppo (AsiaNews) Syria is a torn, shattered nation that lacks everything and the people live in conditions of extreme poverty and growing despair, said Mgr Georges Abou Khazen Vicar Apostolic of Aleppo of the Latins, speaking to AsiaNews. People wanted to celebrate not the anniversary of the war 10 years after its beginning, but everything is gone wrong on the anniversary of peace and reconciliation. International sanctions and the US Caesar Act have made the situation worse. Diesel fuel has not been delivered for quite some time. Very few people got a hundred litres, until they ran out of supplies, Mgr Abu Khazen said. Now they have also stopped providing cooking gas, and people have to wait up to 60 days. Drivers have to wait up to two days at a petrol station just to get 20 litres, leaving their car waiting to refuel. Long lines - even hours - are necessary to buy some subsidised bread. For the apostolic vicar, Unless you live like this, it is not possible to imagine the difficulties poor people are forced to endure. Power supplies have also been cut to only one or two hours a day. This is how things are in the country, which is rich in oil, gas and wheat, but cannot benefit from any of this, because it has been expropriated. The civil war broke out in March 2011 as a popular uprising in the context of the Arab Spring across much of North Africa and the Middle East. From a domestic conflict, it morphed into the worst proxy war of the 21st century, drawing in jihadi groups, causing even more bloodshed. In nine years, almost 400,000 people have died, dozens of cities have been devastated and half of the population is now displaced at home or abroad. Thinking about Syria before the war, the prelate notes that the country was going through a lot of development, peace, living together. It was a beautiful mosaic, a safe place where you could go everywhere. Even young women could go out at one at night in peace, take a taxi and travel without hindrance. People still remember what it was like before, but as time goes by they are losing hope of returning to the glories of that time. Among displaced people, more and more are saying they were wrong to stay in Syria and this is an indication of the widespread mistrust and despair of these poor people. What is missing the most are the main things of everyday life: gas, petrol, bread... peace! People do not have great wants, but only the concern to be able to live, to go further with a dollar that used to be worth 50 (Syrian) pounds and now is at 4,000, while wages have remained the same. This means that most families are forced to live on US$ 30 a month, below the poverty line. Without the help of various NGOs and the Church itself, people would starve to death. Add to this, the destruction, the collapsed infrastructure, the exodus of refugees for a nation that has lost half its population, with minorities suffering without seeing the end of this tunnel Despite the tragedy, We do not want hope to end, we must keep it alive, said Mgr Abu Khazen, but mistrust remains widespread since things are not going in the direction of peace and is complicated by the opposing interests of the various players: Americans, Russians, Turks, Kurds, Arabs. In this context, Christians are at risk of paying a very high price, even though They have always been a factor of unity and dialogue. Meanwhile, Syria is being pushed more and more towards partition, towards a division that none of us wants and which would have devastating effects. We want it to stay united. One of the few elements of strength is the closeness shown to us in recent years by Pope Francis, whose prayers have always been an element of joy and cohesion. His trip to Iraq has given us great hope too. Let us that one day he will be able to come here to Syria and be a witness to peace and celebrate an anniversary of true reconciliation, not war. The Founders Warned Us About Abuses Like H.R. 1 Commentary H.R. 1, the bill that would seize control of federal elections from the states, comes with an unusual twist. It supposedly promotes access. But it says anyone challenging its constitutionality is barred from every court in the nation but a single federal trial court in Washington, D.C.! Under H.R. 1, some citizens get more access than others. Mark Twain is said to have quipped that history doesnt repeat itself, but often rhymes. And heres one of those rhymes: Limiting challengers to one court in the nation sounds a lot like Founding-Era warnings that if Congress could regulate its own elections it might limit voters to one polling place per state. More on that shortly. As my last essay noted, H.R. 1 claims to rely on three sections of the Constitution, two of which probably are irrelevant. The third is the Elections Clause (Article I, Section 4, Clause 1)more appropriately called the Times, Places, and Manner Clause. It reads as follows: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations . H.R. 1 quotes some out-of-context Supreme Court language to the effect that the italicized language gives Congress broad authority to overrule state election law. But the text of the Elections Clause tells a very different story, as does its history. The text tells us that Congresss power applies only to congressional elections. It doesnt apply to presidential contests, as the drafters of H.R. 1 pretend. In addition, the text focuses principally on the power of state legislatures. It adds Congresss authority only in a subordinate clause. This subordinate clause is what lawyers and judgesboth in the Founding Era and in modern timescall a proviso. Provisos traditionally are interpreted narrowly, leaving the earlier language (the state legislatures power) to be interpreted broadly. In this case, narrow interpretation means that if theres reasonable doubt about whether Congress has authority, the issue is decided against Congress. Now lets look at the history: When the Constitution was publicly debated, the proviso giving Congress power to revise state election laws was highly controversial. Even many of the Constitutions supporters wanted it taken out. Dr. James McClurg of Virginia, who had served at the Constitutional Convention, was one of these. Another was Noah Webster, later famous for his American dictionary. Webster wrote an influential pamphlet strongly supporting the Constitutionbut demanding that the proviso be removed. Why the concern? They understood the danger of allowing incumbent politicians to dictate the laws governing their own re-election. Experience shows that if incumbents write the rules, they write the rules to suit themselves. A glaring example is how the Democrat sponsors of H.R. 1 seek to alter state voter registration systems to their own advantage. Skeptical Founding-Era writers explained in detail how the proviso could be abused. They pointed out, for instance, that if Congress could fix a Place for election, it might severely limit the number of polling places and locate them to benefit incumbents. Thus, a congressman from Philadelphia might induce his colleagues to locate only one polling place in Pennsylvaniain the congressmans own neighborhood in Philadelphia. Sound familiar? Its a lot like Democrat partisans providing that the one court where H.R. 1 can be challenged is in heavily Democrat Washington, D.C. During the constitutional debates, there was so much public resistance to the proviso that advocates became very concerned. What if these few words led the public to reject the entire Constitution? So advocates assured the public that Congresss power over congressional elections would be extremely limited. They said the proviso was designed only for emergencies. As I reported in my 2010 study of the Elections Clause: [T]he proponents decisive argument was one that had first been raised at the federal convention: that the Times, Places and Manner Clause was needed to enable Congress to preserve its own existence. In absence of a congressional power to regulate congressional elections, a group of states could destroy the House of Representatives by refusing to provide for those elections or by creating regulations designed to sabotage them. As a precedent, the Federalists alleged that Rhode Island had damaged the operations of the Confederation Congress by refusing to send delegates to that body. The Federalists made this argument over and over, using it to sway votes in crucial states. Moreover: In Maryland, convention delegate James McHenry added that an insurrection or rebellion might prevent a state legislature from administering an election. As James Iredell told the North Carolina ratifying convention, [a]n occasion may arise when the exercise of this ultimate power in Congress may be necessary if a state should be involved in war, and its legislature could not assemble, (as was the case of South Carolina, and occasionally of some other states, during the late war). Marylands famous jurist, Alexander Contee Hanson, added that Congress would exercise its times, places, and manner authority only in cases of invasion, legislative neglect, or obstinate refusal to pass election laws, or if a state crafted its election laws with a sinister purpose or to injure the general government. It was never meant, he wrote, that congress should at any time interfere, unless on the failure of a state legislature, or to alter such regulations as may be obviously improper. Based on these assurances, the public accepted the proviso and ratified the Constitution. Of course, the Constitution doesnt actually say the proviso is limited to emergencies. But courts routinely consider the history behind a documents words when deciding how broadly to interpret them. I explained above that the text tells us to construe the proviso narrowly. History backs this up. Heres an illustration of how the courts should apply Congresss Election Clause authority. Suppose the question arises of whether the manner of holding Elections extends only to mechanics such as the form of the ballot, or also includes regulating campaigns. Narrow construction would give force to the Founding-Era evidence that manner of holding does not include campaigns. Bottom line: The drafters of H.R. 1 were wrong to proclaim unlimited power to regulate federal elections and campaigns. On the contrary, the Elections Clause grants Congress only limited authority. A runaway Congress should never be permitted to seize more power than the Constitution gives it. Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor, is a leading originalist scholar and senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver. The Texas attorney general twice relied on his 2010 study of the Elections Clause in Supreme Court litigation earlier this year, and Chief Justice John Roberts used it in a 2015 Supreme Court case. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A former MI6 officer who wrote a dossier about alleged links between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin said the UK needs new laws to deal with influence from foreign states like Russia and China. Christopher Steele said UK legislation is not fit for purpose and called for people working on behalf of foreign countries to be registered, like in the US and Australia. The Home Office said a foreign agent registration scheme will be introduced as part of forthcoming legislation to counter hostile activity from overseas. Mr Steele told the BBC the threat is not from classic espionage stealing secrets using spies but through foreign states using people to exert influence on policies. The word is out there that were a bit of a soft touch, that we dont have regulators with teeth and we dont have legislation which is up to date and fit for purpose, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme Were not talking about espionage. What were talking about is there is a lack of transparency in Britain about the way in which foreign actors, in particular those emanating from authoritarian states, are exerting influence over our policies. Were way behind, I think, our allies in this, in particular America and Australia. Vladimir Putin (Adam Davy/PA) The former spy was behind the so-called Steele dossier, published by BuzzFeed in January 2017, about alleged links between former US president Mr Trump and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election campaign. A highly critical report published last year by MPs on the Intelligence and Security Committee said the UK Government had badly underestimated the threat from Russia. A Home Office spokeswoman said: The Government will introduce a foreign agent registration scheme as part of forthcoming legislation to counter hostile activity by states. This follows consideration of similar laws in like-minded countries including the US and Australia. Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu met on Thursday with the Finnish Ambassador to Romania, Marjut Akola, the discussions focusing on the cooperation relations between the two states in the medical field. Highlighted in the discussion were areas such as the provision of medical assistance for patients with burns, investments in health infrastructure, digitalisation and exchange of experience between professionals from the two countries, informs a Ministry of Health's release sent to AGERPRES. The meeting was attended by Dr. Ioana Mihaila, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health. on Thursday said it will offer users of Pay enhanced privacy features, allowing them to take control of their own transaction data. Pay is rolling out an update to the app from next week that will provide users with more controls to decide how their activity is used to personalise features within the app. All users will be asked to choose whether they would like to turn the control on or off as soon as they upgrade to the next version of the app. "Privacy is already a key priority for us...If you do anything on Google Pay, it stays on - and that's the state today. What we are saying now is we are creating new controls for managing your Google Pay activity, even on Google Play. So if you're doing something on Google Pay, we want you to be in control of saying - should this activity be used or recorded for use for personalising a feature," Google Pay Vice President - Product Ambarish Kenghe told PTI. He cited an example of using Google Pay for recharges of mobile phone services and said users can now choose whether this data can be used for providing offers and rewards to the users. "Turning on 'Personalisation within Google Pay' will provide users with a more tailored experience within Google Pay. Even with this setting turned off, Google Pay will continue to work just as well - only without personalisation," he added. Users will also be able to view and delete individual transactions and activity records that they don't want used to personalise the Google Pay experience. "The transaction history will still be there for regulatory purposes (which mandates transaction data be stored for the operator for a period of time) but it will not be used for personalisation," Kenghe said. These steps will also help the tech giant in allaying fears of customers and regulators about the misuse of the financial data of users. Google Pay supports UPI payments as well as contactless card transactions through tokenised debit or credit cards linked to users' smartphones. While the company does not provide country-specific user numbers, globally it has over 150 million monthly active users of which India accounts for a large share. "We don't take users' trust for granted, and work hard to ensure that people are able to understand and manage their data and make privacy choices that are right for them. We do this by putting our users in the driver's seat to manage their data and privacy with easy-to-use privacy features and controls," he said. Kenghe emphasised that the financial and transaction information on Google Pay is never sold to a third-party, and the transaction history is not shared with any other Google product for targeting ads. According to Google Pay India, users anytime can also deselect transactions, which they wouldn't like Google Pay to use for providing a personalization experience. These privacy features will be shown upfront for new users before they sign up for the app, while old users will get a pop-up when they upgrade their existing app. Users can also review these from the setting tab. It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be If you havent already done so, we encourage you to sign up for one or all of the Jewish Lights email newsletters (see list below). Starting March 15, the Light is launching Our Morning Light, delivering our latest news and features each morning, Monday through Friday, right to your email inbox. All you need to do is sign up at www.stljewishlight.com/newsletters. In addition, the Light is launching a twice-monthly family newsletter geared toward St. Louis Jewish families, which will be sent to those who sign up, starting March 17. This family newsletter will feature video content from adults and kids, along with stories designed to keep readers informed on everything from local family-friendly events to academic opportunities to bnai mitzvah planning to mitzvah projects to child development articles to advice columns to PJ Library offerings and so much more. Check it out and let us know you can sign up at the link above. If you arent already familiar with our other newsletters, they are as follows: Latest obituaries, which comes out as many as three times a week ADVERTISEMENT Israel news, which comes out every Monday Simchas, which comes out twice a month Again, sign up for one or all at www.stljewishlight.com/newsletters. Youll see all your options listed there. 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. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Ballard Man Jailed on Rape, Incest Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff ith assistance from the McCracken County Sheriffs Office, deputies learned that 49-year-old Timothy Tipton of LaCenter had allegedly been having a sexual relationship with a female child for at least the past four years. Deputies said Tipton had also been exchanging illicit photos with the child. Tipton was interviewed by detectives, then arrested and lodged in the Ballard County Jail on charges of incest, 3rd degree rape, 1st degree sexual abuse and incest by forcible compulsion of someone incapable of consent or under 18. BALLARD COUNTY - A Ballard County man was arrested Wednesday on rape, incest and sexual abuse charges.The Ballard County Sheriff's Office was notified by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services about an alleged sex crime. W A Bronze Age society that lived in what is now Spain 4,000 years ago may have been ruled by women, say archaeologists who found a skeleton with a silver crown. The bones of a woman buried with a silver diadem and other funerary riches were discovered at Spanish Bronze Age site La Almoloya. Archaeologists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona found the remains of a woman and a man in a 'very large ovoid jar' that had been buried under the floor of what they believe was a Bronze Age palace or government building. The woman lived in a society called 'El Argar' by experts - named for the first dig site where the cultural evidence of the ancient society was discovered in 1880. Argaric culture dominated the south-east part of Spain between 2200 BC and 1550 BC, and it has long been suspected women held leadership roles in the society. The team said most of the funerary items were found on the woman, including the crown and silver bracelets, suggesting she, rather than the man, was the ruler. A Bronze Age society that lived in what is now Spain 4,000 years ago may have been ruled by women, say archaeologists who found a skeleton with a silver crown Archaeologists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona found the remains of a woman and a man in a 'very large ovoid jar' that had been buried under the floor of what they believe was a Bronze Age palace or government building EL ARGAR SOCIETY: A BRONZE AGE CULTURE El Argar was an Early Bronze Age site in modern day Spain. It was home to an ancient tribe that sophisticated pottery and ceramic techniques they traded with other tribes in the region. The civilisation covered much of what is southern Spain and Portugal. Some experts say El Argar was a unified state, rather than a collection of tribes with similar cultures. As well as pottery they produced knives, halberds, swords, spears, arrows and axes with curved edges. Silver was also heavily exploited by the community, including for jewellery. Recent studies have suggested that for some, if not all of the time, El Argar may have been a matriarchal society. Advertisement Women of the ruling class may have played an important role in the governance of El Argar, claimed study lead author Roberto Risch. This was a society which flourished in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula between 2200 and 1550 BC, lasting two centuries and becoming 'the first state organisation of the western Mediterranean.' Risch and colleagues investigated a princely tomb containing two people and up to 30 items of funerary goods. The tomb was discovered in 2014 at the archaeological site of La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia, beneath what was later identified to be the governing hall of a palatial building. 'La Almoloya and the princely grave 38 belong to these exceptional archaeological finds, which from time to time provide a glimpse into the ruling subjects and the emblematic objects of the first state societies emerging in Europe during the Bronze Age,' states Vicente Lull, one of the study's coordinators. Published in Antiquity, this research has given archaeologists an insight into the political and economic power of the ruling class in El Argar. The burial, located in a large ceramic jar, featured a man aged 35 to 40, and a woman aged 25 to 30. Next to them was a range of some 30 valuable and prestigious objects, many of which were made or embellished with silver and almost all belonging to the female. The bones of a woman buried with a silver diadem and other funerary riches were discovered at Spanish Bronze Age site La Almoloya in south east Spain There was a very complete repertoire of jewels and personal objects: bracelets, earlobe plugs, necklaces, spirals and containers with animal offerings. The most outstanding item was a silver diadem found on the head of the female. A detailed study of the diadem involved a comparison to four others found in the 19th century in tombs of rich women and the elite of the Argaric society. The name of the society comes from El Argar, the first archaeological dig site where evidence of this specific bronze age culture was first discovered. The comparison of the diadems points to the fact that all of them, despite being remarkably uniform, were highly exclusive pieces. They were created in a silversmith workshop such as the one recently discovered in Tira del Lienzo, another Argaric site excavated by the same team a few years ago. 'The singularity of these diadems is extraordinary. They were symbolic objects made for these women, thus transforming them into emblematic subjects of the dominant ruling class,' explains Cristina Rihuete, who also took part in the study. 'Each piece is unique, comparable to funerary objects pertaining to the ruling class of other regions, such as Brittany, Wessex and Unetice, or in the eastern Mediterranean of the 17th century BCE, contemporary to our [dig site]'. The tomb was discovered in 2014 at the archaeological site of La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia, beneath what was later identified to be the governing hall of a palatial building Copper awl with a handle coated in silver. There was a very complete repertoire of jewels and personal objects: bracelets, earlobe plugs, necklaces, spirals and containers with animal offerings According to researchers, the opulence of the funerary goods found in the tombs of the elite women is an indication of their distinguished role in the governance of some of these settlements. This is the case in La Almoloya, birthplace of the Argar society and centre of the most relevant political and economic power within the region. The team believe that the women were actually in charge, rather than just being symbolic figureheads for the society. 'In the Argaric society, women of the dominant classes were buried with diadems, while the men were buried with a sword and dagger,' the team argued. The team said most of the funerary items were found on the woman, including the crown and silver bracelets, suggesting she, rather than the man, was the ruler KEY DISCOVERIES FROM LA ALMOLOYA Experts from the Autonomous University of Barcelona have been excavating a site called La Almoloya. This was once an important bronze age building - possibly a palace or parliament, the team explained. Under the floor of the building was a large ceramic jar features two people - a man aged 35 to 40 and a woman aged 25 to 30. They were surrounded by 30 valuable and prestigious objects made or embellished with silver. The vast majority belonged to the female, suggesting she held a higher rank than the man. There was a very complete repertoire of jewels and personal objects: bracelets, earlobe plugs, necklaces, spirals and containers. The most outstanding item was a silver diadem found on the woman's head. Advertisement 'The funerary goods buried with these men were of lesser quantity and quality. 'As swords represent the most effective instrument for reinforcing political decisions, El Argar dominant men might have played an executive role, even though the ideological legitimation as well as, perhaps, the government, had lain in some women's hands,' they explained. The grave excavated at La Almoloya included a man and a woman, along with 30 pieces of funerary goods. According to genetic analyses on the remains conducted at the Max Planck Institute, the individuals buried in Grave 38 were contemporaneous. They died simultaneously or close together in the mid-17th century BC. The pair were unrelated biologically, but experts predict they were married. The team believe they had a daughter, who was found buried near them. The woman had several congenital abnormalities, along with markings on the ribs that could indicate she had a pulmonary infection at the time of death. Meanwhile, the male also had wear and tear on his bones indicative of extensive physical activity, possibly horse riding. The woman was covered in the majority of the funerary items, including the silver diadem, silver bracelets and other expensive goods that increase evidence she was a member of the elite. Of equally exceptional character is the building under which the grave was foundpossibly one of the first Bronze Age palaces identified in Western Europe, the team explained in their paper. Ring from the dig site. A detailed study of the diadem involved a comparison to four others found in the 19th century in tombs of rich women and the elite of the Argaric society Golden earlobe tunnel-plugs from La Almoloya. According to genetic analyses on the remains conducted at the Max Planck Institute, the individuals buried in Grave 38 were contemporaneous The architecture and artefacts from La Almoloya provide new insight into emblematic individuals and the exercise of power in societies of marked economic asymmetry, study authors explained. 'It's a building with a hall where 50 to 55 people could be sitting listening to each other, or to someone explaining something,' Risch told New Scientist. He said there was no evidence of food or religious artefacts within the building, suggesting it was neither a private home or a temple. The metal objects found in the burial pot under the floorboards of the building also stand out in quantitative terms, study authors said. The total weight of the silver is approximately 230 grams, which is equivalent to 27.5 shekels, a currency used during the time of Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylon, in the first half of the 18th century BC - contemporaneous with El Argar. This currency was likely adapted by other Near Eastern and Aegean economies. This means that in total, the silver found at La Almoloya would be enough to pay 938 daily wages or buy 3,350 kg of barley. General layout of housing complex 1 at La Almoloya. The red star marks the location of the princely grave containing the man and woman Small, carinated vessel with silver coatings. The architecture and artefacts from La Almoloya provide new insight into emblematic individuals and the exercise of power in societies of marked economic asymmetry, study authors explained A 'MARRIED COUPLE' BURIED TOGETHER The man and woman buried in the ceramic pot were not biologically related but died at the same time in mid-17th century BC. They had a daughter who was buried near them, the team explained. The woman had markings on her ribs that suggested she had a pulmonary infection at the time of death. The man had wear and tear to his bones suggesting physical activity possibly horse riding. Advertisement Notably, the mean weight of the three medium-sized silver spirals worn by both individuals is 8.44 g, which matches the weight of the Mesopotamian shekel. Furthermore, the weights of other silver spirals found in the grave are practically fractions or multiplications of that figure. 'This may be a random distribution or it may indicate a standardised system of weights and measures mirroring contemporaneous Eastern examples,' explained Risch. 'Further research is required to determine this, but the possibility of detecting a metric system behind the silver spirals is a further indication of the extent of the economic control exercised by the dominant class in El Argar.' This evidence of a standardised system of weights and measures could be proof of a wider political unity among the Argaric regions, something theorised by previous archaeologists. Contrary to the tombs found in El Argar, where there is no knowledge of the space in which they were placed, the funerary goods in this grave, and the diadem did offer the possibility of interpreting their location within an architectural setting. Schematic drawing showing the location of grave goods in relation to the bodies in La Almoloya 'The presence of emblematic objects buried in such an important place as is the "parliament" of La Almoloya could represent political unity among the Argaric regions during the last period of this society,' said co-author Rafael Mico. The El Argar society flourished from 2200 to 1550 BC in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, and represents an early Bronze Age society with urban centres and monumental constructions. The society also had a developed division of labour, intramural burials with marked asymmetries in funerary expenditure between individuals, political boundaries and institutionalized violence in the context of a class-based state society. The El Argar society flourished from 2200 to 1550 BC in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, and represents an early Bronze Age society with urban centres and monumental constructions The most important settlements are El Argar, La Bastida and La Almoloya. The discovery of this new grave in La Almoloya, excavated in 2014 by researchers highlights the unique archaeological wealth of the site. The discoveries made, including a building with political functions and the princely grave, confirmed its importance as a centre of political and economic relevance within the political territory of El Argar. The diadem found in La Almoloya is the only one to be preserved in Spain. The findings have been published in the journal Antiquity. The House on Wednesday passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that includes a long-sought provision to disincentivize for-profit schools from targeting GI Bill recipients with deceptive marketing or outright scams. The provision closes the so-called 90/10 loophole. Currently, for-profit schools must collect at least 10% of their revenue from non-federal sources. The 90/10 rule doesn't count the GI Bill as federal revenue, despite it being earned on duty and paid out by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This gives for-profit colleges an incentive to recruit veterans to stay in business, veterans advocates have argued. "After nearly a decade of requests from veterans and military organizations, we are grateful Congress is moving to finally remove the target from the backs of veterans and service members by closing the 90/10 loophole," said Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success. "For too long, bad actor colleges have treated veterans and service members 'as nothing more than dollar signs in uniform.'" Read Next: As the Navy Moved to Fire Capt. Crozier, Other Leaders Rallied Around Him After more than a decade of lawmakers and advocates pushing to gut the loophole out of law, Democrats attached the provision to the massive COVID-relief package. As with a lot of bills passed through Congress, unrelated measures are often attached for easier passing into law. In 2018, the VA inspector general warned that the agency could waste $2.3 billion in payments to "ineligible colleges" over the next five years. In the majority of cases, the wasted payments would go to for-profit universities. To make the 90/10 provision easier to pass, a deal was brokered between Democrats and Republicans to delay implementation of any new rules that would impact beneficiaries and schools until at least 2023. The for-profit education sector rejects the characterization that 90/10 was bad for students. The sector warns that prices at some schools could rise and that it could be more difficult to accept new GI Bill recipients. "Antiquated and blunt inputs tests like 90/10 will never take the time, nor are they meant, to get a boots-on-the-ground perspective of institutional and student outcomes," said Stephen Patterson, director of communication for the Veterans Education Project. The American Rescue Plan was passed down party lines in both chambers; no Republican voted in favor. The bill is the first major legislative achievement of the Biden administration and now heads to the president's desk to be signed into law. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: VA Is Asking DOJ for Help Getting Back GIBill.com After Losing Domain Rights Dublin, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Asia Pacific Automotive Data Logger Market By Application, By Connection Type, By Channels, By End User, By Country, Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2020 - 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Asia Pacific Automotive Data Logger Market is expected to witness market growth of 7.2% CAGR during the forecast period (2020-2026). Vehicle data holds potential for OEMs to make new revenue paths and to expand the capability of connected vehicle portfolios from real-time analytics, Usage-Based Insurance (UBI), data marketplaces/monetization, and more. Moreover, the kind of volume and velocity of data recorded in the latest vehicles show some challenges in extracting the right data at the right time. The main driver of the industry is the adoption of the advanced electronic component in the latest vehicle architecture and the testing took place before the commercialization of the vehicle. To understand the real-world situation based on the performance of different components in the vehicle, automotive OEMs perform testing their models on road. Moreover, analyzing data from remote loggers in real-time can bring down the product development time remarkably. But this amply increases the expectations of the performance of automotive data loggers. OEMs require real-time data recording and analysis that need a high-speed communication channel accompanying superfast connections with laptops/PCs. Due to this, many telematics options incorporated in automotive data loggers like Wi-Fi, GPS, or Bluetooth. In GPS transfer, the antenna and the receiver are implanted into the data logger. In this case, the data loggers offer data on different parameters like latitude, time, direction, speed, and longitude. In Wi-Fi transfer, the vehicle requires the range of the Wi-Fi hotspot that may be OEM LAN, designated, or third-party Wi-Fi hotspot. Through this method, vehicles can be tested under a single Wi-Fi hotspot. Earlier data transfer processes required SD cards or USB cables, but nowadays methods of data transfer range from data loggers to display devices are used at a low rate. This shift is because of their higher reliability and low chance of data loss. Although the requirement of faster testing and development of vehicles, to stay on the top in the technologically dynamic automotive industry. It makes it more important to analyze data in real-time in the lab and on-road testing. Based on Application, the market is segmented into Post-Sales and Pre-Sales. Post- Sales Application is further segmented into ADAS & Safety, Fleet Management, Automotive Insurance and Others. Based on Connection Type, the market is segmented into USB & SD Card and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi. Based on Channels, the market is segmented into CAN & CAN FD, LIN, Ethernet and Others. Based on End User, the market is segmented into Service Stations & Government Bodies and OEM's. Based on countries, the market is segmented into China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Story continues Companies Profiled Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group) National Instruments Corporation Continental AG Aptiv PLC Xilinx, Inc. Moog, Inc. Horiba Ltd. Racelogic Ltd. Autel Intelligent Technology Corp., Ltd. TTTech Group Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Market Scope & Methodology Chapter 2. Market Overview Chapter 3. Competition Analysis - Global Chapter 4. Asia Pacific Automotive Data Logger Market by Application Chapter 5. Asia Pacific Automotive Data Logger Market by Connection Type Chapter 6. Asia Pacific Automotive Data Logger Market by End User Chapter 7. Asia Pacific Automotive Data Logger Market by Channels Chapter 8. Asia Pacific Automotive Data Logger Market by Country Chapter 9. Company Profiles Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group) National Instruments Corporation Continental AG Aptiv PLC Xilinx, Inc. Moog, Inc. Horiba Ltd. Racelogic Ltd. Autel Intelligent Technology Corp., Ltd. TTTech Group For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wrdh6q About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com 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 Tanzania's president who refused to enforce lockdowns or mask-wearing is feared to have contracted Covid-19 after vanishing for two weeks. John Magufuli insisted for months that the pandemic had been fended off by prayer, claimed that vaccines were 'dangerous' and has not published any Covid statistics since May. The president has not been seen in public since February 27 and the opposition party are now demanding to know his whereabouts after a number of high-ranking officials have died from the virus. Tanzania's president John Magufuli who refused to enforce lockdowns or mask-wearing is feared to have contracted Covid-19 after vanishing for two weeks Magufuli's absence has led to a flurry of rumours on social media, with the hashtag #Pray4Magufuli trending in neighbouring Kenya on Wednesday, with many speculating he may have Covid-19. Several Tanzanian officials have died recently, while the finance minister appeared last month coughing and gasping at a press conference outside a hospital to dispel rumours he had died of Covid-19. Magufuli last month conceded the virus was still circulating despite his previous claims after the vice-president of semi-autonomous Zanzibar was revealed to have died. In June last year, he claimed he had ridden the 60-million population of the virus after three days of national prayer. He has often advocated the use of herbal remedies, has never worn a mask, has encouraged international tourism and often attends large gatherings. He was last seen in public in February when he swore in a new chief secretary, and has since skipped a regional heads of state virtual summit and two Sunday church services, which he regularly attends. In March last year, the president said the virus will not harm the country's Christian population, saying: 'Coronavirus, which is a devil, cannot survive in the body of Christ... It will burn instantly.' Magufuli insisted for months that the pandemic had been fended off by prayer and claimed that vaccines were 'dangerous' He has condemned lockdowns, social distancing and the forced closures of shops and restaurants in other countries. When a batch of testing kits arrived, he claimed they were faulty and ordered his security officials to use them on goats, pawpaws, sheep and motor oil, some of which he claimed tested positive. He has instead advocated inhaling steam, eating maize and potatoes and using a plant-based treatment developed in Madagascar. 'The President's well-being is a matter of grave public concern,' opposition leader Tundu Lissu wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. 'We're informed when (former president Jakaya) Kikwete had prostate surgery. We're told when (former president Benjamin) Mkapa went for hip replacement... What's it with Magufuli that we don't deserve to know?' Meanwhile, Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper reported that 'an African leader' from a country which has refused face masks and public health measures, had been admitted to the Nairobi Hospital. He was last seen in public in February when he swore in a new chief secretary, and has since skipped a regional heads of state virtual summit and two Sunday church services An official at the hospital told AFP 'we don't know' when asked if Magufuli had been admitted, while Kenyan government sources denied the information. 'There are things like health issues which are private but for a public leader, people need to know. We don't want all details but at least knowing when the leader is ill or hospitalised,' the secretary general of the opposition party Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo), Ado Shaibu, told AFP. 'When you make such information open, you reduce room for unnecessary panic and spread of rumours.' Tanzania's government has yet to comment on Magufuli's whereabouts, however Information Minister Innocent Bashungwa on Wednesday warned media and citizens against 'using rumours as source of information.' Tanzania stopped releasing data on Covid-19 in April 2020 and in January Magufuli said vaccines for the disease were 'dangerous'. The head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last month appealed to Tanzania to take 'robust action' against Covid-19, after several travellers from the country tested positive. After months of denying the presence of the virus, Magufuli revealed in February that some of his aides and family members had contracted Covid-19 but recovered. 'Let us all depend on God as we also take other preventive measures. I put God first and that is why I do not wear a mask.' Congresswoman who thought Guam not part of US will get island cookies Nashville officials are seeking a $2.25 million settlement with the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white Nashville police officer from behind during a 2018 foot chase, Mayor John Coopers administration said in a news release Friday. The city says its metro council has filed a resolution to resolve litigation in federal court against Nashvilles government and Officer Andrew Delke in the death of 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick. Delkes defense attorney, David Raybin, noted that the civil settlement would have no effect on the criminal case against the officer, who remains charged with first-degree murder in Hambricks death and is slated for a July trial. The city says it and Delke arent admitting wrongdoing or liability with the settlement. We think this is a fair resolution for all of the parties, Nashville Director of Law Bob Cooper said in the release. Pursuing this matter through trial and appeal would have been expensive and time consuming with the risk of an adverse decision. The community is better served by bringing finality to this case. Police Chief John Drake, the second Black leader of Nashvilles force, plans to meet privately with Hambricks mother, Vicki Hambrick, after the settlement is approved, the release says. As chief, Drake has promised continued efforts to improve community engagement and recruit more diverse candidates as officers. This settlement will avoid years of protracted litigation as our department continues its strong focus on building trust and partnerships with Nashville residents through community engagement and, when possible, alternative policing strategies, Drake said in the release. Attorneys for Hambricks family, meanwhile, had positive words for the settlement. While money can never make up for the loss of Daniels life, we are proud to have delivered some measure of justice for Daniels family, Joy Kimbrough and Kyle Mothershead, attorneys for Hambricks estate, said in the citys news release. Delke, 27, has pleaded not guilty in the July 2018 shooting. Delkes attorney has said the officer acted in line with his training and Tennessee law in response to an armed suspect who ignored repeated orders to drop his gun. District Attorney Glenn Funk has argued Delke had other alternatives, adding the officer could have stopped, sought cover and called for help. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Law Enforcement (CNN) - The pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday morning that real-world evidence from the Israel Ministry of Health show that there have been "dramatically" fewer COVID-19 cases and deaths among people in Israel who have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine compared with those who have been not vaccinated. The latest analysis from the Israel Ministry of Health is based on data collected between Jan. 17 and March 6, according to the announcement. During that time, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the only COVID-19 vaccine available in the country and the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, was dominant. According to Pfizer and BioNTech's announcement, the latest analysis from the Israel Ministry of Health shows that two weeks after the second dose, vaccine effectiveness was at least 97% in preventing symptomatic disease, hospitalizations and death. The analysis also found that the vaccine effectiveness was 94% in preventing asymptomatic COVID-19, where infections show no symptoms "We are extremely encouraged that the real-world effectiveness data coming from Israel are confirming the high efficacy demonstrated in our Phase 3 clinical trial and showing the significant impact of the vaccine in preventing severe disease and deaths due to COVID-19," Luis Jodar, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Pfizer Vaccines, said in the announcement. "The findings which suggest that the vaccine may also provide protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections are particularly meaningful as we look to disrupt the spread of the virus around the globe," Jodar said. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus that causes COVID-19. The announcement comes about two weeks after a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finding that the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 meaning people who were infected with the coronavirus and felt sick decreased by 94% among those who received two doses of the vaccine. Even before the second dose, the vaccine's effectiveness approached 60%. "This clearly demonstrates the power of the COVID-19 vaccine to fight this virus and encourages us to continue even more intensively with our vaccination campaign. We aim to achieve even higher uptake in people of all ages, which gives us hope of regaining normal economic and social function in the not so distant future," Yeheskel Levy, Israel Ministry of Health director, said in the announcement. "When we started our development last year in January, our aim was to make a difference for people worldwide and to help end this pandemic," Dr. Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, said in the announcement. "One year after the declaration of a pandemic by the WHO, we now see that we are on the right track to accomplish our goals." Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, said data from Israel that shows the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine prevents asymptomatic infection and death is a message of hope one year on from the declaration of a pandemic. It is a great opportunity, I think, that in this day of the first anniversary of the declaration of a pandemic, we do have a message of hope, Bourla told CNBCs Meg Tirrell on Squawk Box. Bourla explained that the data comes from a country where more than 55% of the total population has been vaccinated. Efficacy so far in Israel is at 97%, saying all three measures, mild disease, hospitalizations and deaths are north of 97% in real world efficacy with millions of people vaccinated. Perhaps most important of all, he said, it appeared to be 94% effective against asymptomatic transmission. Bourla said that this is important for society, because the asymptomatic carriers, the asymptomatic patients are the ones that they are spreading the disease mainly. This is the first time that we are coming with a confirmation of a real world evidence study of that magnitude, he said. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Pfizer vaccine prevents asymptomatic COVID-19 and death, data from Israel shows" 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. Nun kneels in front of police to stop Myanmar violence: 'Kill me instead' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Amid escalating violence between the military and protestors in northern Myanmar, a nun went down on her knees in front of police, pleading with them to stop shooting and spare the children, offering up her life instead. A now-viral video shows Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis Xavier congregation, in a white robe and black habit kneeling, her arms spread, on a street in the town of Myitkyina, speaking to two policemen who were also kneeling. I knelt down begging them not to shoot and torture the children, but to shoot me and kill me instead, she said, according to The Guardian. I begged them not to hurt the protesters, but to treat them kindly like family members, the nun told Reuters. I told them that they can kill me, I am not standing up until they give their promise that they will not brutally crack down on protesters. The unrest began on Feb. 1, when the military detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and put a commander in charge of the country. Violence has escalated in recent weeks as Myanmars military junta continues to use force, teargas, rubber bullets, and live rounds to silence protestors. Tawng told UCA News that she was working in a church-run clinic when she spotted military personnel chasing, beating, and arresting protestors wearing hard hats and carrying homemade shields on the street. I thought today is the day I will die. I decided to die, she told Sky News. The 45-year-old ran outside to confront the police and told the UCA News that she had prepared herself to give my life for the Church, for the people and for the nation. Tawng said she had received assurances from senior officers that they were just clearing the road. However, gunfire started soon afterward, and at least two protestors were killed and several others injured. We heard loud gunshots, and saw that a young kids head had exploded, and there was a river of blood on the street, Tawng said. The children panicked and ran to the front I couldnt do anything but I was praying for God to save and help the children. The nun told Reuters that she tried to bring some of the victims to the clinic before she was blinded by tear gas. Our clinic floor became a sea of blood, she said. We need to value life. It made me feel so sad. Over 60 people have been killed and more than 1,800 detained in the crackdown on anti-coup protests, The Associated Press reports. As thousands continue to protest the coup, the military has imposed a nighttime curfew and conducted mass arrests to disperse the crowds. Christians make up about 6% of the majority-Buddhist nation. Formerly known as Burma, the country is ranked No. 18 on Open Doors USAs World Watch List of 50 countries where it's most difficult to be a believer. Rights groups have warned that the militarys consolidation of power in the coup will only make things worse for religious minorities and have urged the international community to take action against the abuses being perpetrated by the military regime. The military is notorious for its relations with the ultranationalist ultra-Buddhist group the Ma Ba Tha, International Christian Concern's Southeast Asia Regional Manager, Gina Goh, said. The military together with Ma Ba Tha has targeted the Muslims in the country, but they also go after Christians. Once they get a hold of the power, they might resort to things they were doing before they passed the power to the civilian government. They kill. They rape minority Christians. In Myanmar, the military holds immense power and controls 25% of the government, according to the countrys Constitution. Military leaders are nationalists who support the countrys majority religion of Buddhism. [The coup is] a power play," said Goh. "The military is almost like a gang. They can use their power to intimidate people. Customs and Border Protection encounters more than 3,000 people a day attempting to cross the border. Katko recalled that former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who served under President Barack Obama's administration, said 1,000 encounters a day was "a bad number." Katko described the situation as "disorder at the border by executive order." "Instead of being transparent with Congress and the American people about what is happening at the border, the (Biden administration) is twisting itself into a pretzel to avoid using the dreaded word, 'crisis'," Katko said. "All we heard out of the White House yesterday was a refusal to take responsibility and yet-to-be-revealed long-term objectives not an answer to this immediate crisis." Katko outlined other disagreements with the Biden administration beyond halting the construction of a border wall. He said "catch and release" policies have been implemented that allow migrants to enter the U.S. He also criticized the Biden administration's decision to end the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which required those seeking asylum in the U.S. to stay in Mexico until their immigration court hearing. McCarthy said he sent a letter to Biden requesting a meeting to discuss the immigration policies. So far, he hasn't received a response. "So next week, I will be traveling to the border with 12 other (House Republicans) to assess the crisis firsthand and come back with solutions to make sure our border is secure and that we can end this crisis that Biden has created," McCarthy added. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. [March 11, 2021] Strong Growth Expected for Third-Generation Semiconductors in 2021, with GaN Power Devices Undergoing Highest YoY Increase in Revenue at 90.6%, Says TrendForce The third-generation semiconductor industry was impaired by the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic successively from 2018 to 2020, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. During this period, the semiconductor industry on the whole saw limited upward momentum, in turn leading to muted growth for the 3rd gen semiconductor segment as well. However, this segment is likely to enter a rapid upturn owing to high demand from automotive, industrial, and telecom applications. In particular, the GaN power device market will undergo the fastest growth, with a $61 million revenue, a 90.6% YoY increase, projected for 2021. TrendForce expects three factors to drive the rapid growth of the GaN and SiC markets in 2021: First, widespread vaccinations are projected to drastically curb the spread of the pandemic, thereby galvanizing a stable increase in the demand for base station components, as well as for components used in industrial energy transition, such as power inverters and converters. Secondly, as Tesla began adopting SiC MOSFET designs for its in-house inverters used in Model 3 vehicles, the automotive industry has started to place increasing importance on 3rd gen semiconductors. Finally, China will invest enormous capital into its 14th five-year plan starting this year and expand its 3rd gen semiconductor production capacity to ultimately achieve semiconductor independence. Resurging demand from EV, industrial, and telecom sectors will bring about a corresponding increase in 3rd gen semiconductor device revenue Although certain foundries, such as TSMC and VIS, have been attempting to manufacture GaN devices with 8-inch wafers, 6-inch wafers are still the mainstream. As the pandemic shows signs of a slowdown, the demand for RF front end in 5G base stations, for smartphone chargers, and fr automotive on-board chargers has now gradually risen. As such, total yearly revenue from GaN RF devices is projected to reach US$680 million, a 30.8% increase YoY, in 2021, whereas GaN power device revenue is projected to reach $61 million, which is a 90.6% increase YoY. In particular, the remarkable increase in GaN power device revenue can primarily be attributed to the release of fast chargers from smartphone brands, such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo, starting in 2018. These chargers enjoyed excellent market reception thanks to their effective heat dissipation and small footprint. Some notebook computer manufacturers are currently looking to adopt fast charging technology for their notebook chargers as well. Going forward, TrendForce expects more smartphone and notebook chargers to feature GaN power devices, leading to a peak YoY increase in GaN power device revenue in 2022, after which there will be a noticeable slowdown in its upward trajectory as GaN power devices become widely adopted by charger manufacturers. On the other hand, 6-inch wafer capacities for SiC devices have been in relative shortage, since SiC substrates are widely used in RF front end and power devices. TrendForce expects yearly SiC power device revenue to reach $680 million, a 32% increase YoY, in 2021. Major substrate suppliers, including Cree (News - Alert) , II-VI, and STMicroelectronics, are planning to manufacture 8-inch SiC substrates, but the short supply of SiC substrates will unlikely be resolved until 2022. For further details of this press release, along with figures showing GaN and SiC power device revenues from 2018 to 2022, please visit: https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20210311-10708.html For more information on reports and market data from TrendForce's Department of Semiconductor Research, please click here, or email Ms. Latte Chung from the Sales Department at lattechung@trendforce.com About TrendForce (www.trendforce.com) TrendForce is a global provider of the latest development, insight, and analysis of the technology industry. Having served businesses for over a decade, the company has built up a strong membership base of 500,000 subscribers. TrendForce has established a reputation as an organization that offers insightful and accurate analysis of the technology industry through five major research departments: Semiconductor Research, Display Research, Optoelectronics Research, Green Energy Research, and ICT Applications Research. Founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 2000, TrendForce has extended its presence in China since 2004 with offices in Shenzhen and Beijing. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005448/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form In any country, the financial services sector is typically made up of banks, trust and loan companies, credit unions, life and health insurance companies, property and casualty insurance companies, securities traders and exchanges, investment fund companies, pension funds, finance and leasing companies, insurance agents and brokers, and a myriad of auxiliary service providers, such as independent financial advisors, actuaries, and intermediaries. Opening up of the sector was a part of GAT (WTO). The announcement in the Union Budget 2021 to increase FDI in insurance companies is a welcome move for the insurance sector. Insurance is a long-term offering with built-in assurance, leading to a need for high capital investment, especially in the initial years of the business. However, though it is an important constituent for the countrys growth and risk mitigation, insurance penetration is by far the lowest in India. While the sector has several players, only a few have been able to find a firm foothold and market penetration. Equity infusion will help larger and global brands to explore the Indian market. Companies like Berkshire Hathaway have always wanted to explore a higher FDI in the insurance sector to explore the business opportunity in India. While the opportunity for the business is great, its a game where a large balance sheet and having a lead market share has an advantage. At present, local players have an edge. The sector is currently under-penetrated and needs some help and boost to expand to smaller towns. India needs to make insurance not only affordable, but also accessible and attractive to the lower strata of the society. Especially in the post-pandemic world, where people have become more alert and cautious about their health and well-being, on the one hand, and want to strengthen their financial health, on the other hand. Therefore, health checkups and preventive care measures have taken a top priority and people are more eager to insure and protect themselves even in the Tier 2 and 3 towns. Speaking to Adgully, Sonia Notani, CMO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company, noted, This is quite encouraging and will help the insurance industry in several ways. The increase in the FDI limit to 74% will lead to increased capital inflows and boost growth potential for the private sector insurance companies. The additional infusion of capital will be deployed not only for managing solvency requirements, but will also lead to funding growth and enabling deeper penetration of the private sector insurers across the country. This will also lead to enhanced employment generation in the sector. Increased FDI limit will also help attract more foreign insurance companies to set-up in India, thus bringing in diverse global expertise and healthy competition. Notani further said that the life insurance penetration rate in India continues to be one of the lowest across the globe at 2.74%, as per the annual report by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The industry requires adequate capital infusion to manage solvency and boost growth. The additional capital can provide stimulus to scale up the technology and digital infrastructure to enable cost-effective customer acquisition and servicing capabilities; thus, leading to widespread reach and subsequent penetration across customer segments. Sharing his views on the announcement of the hike in FDI in the insurance sector by the Government, Suresh Agarwal, Chief Distribution officer, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co, said, We see the increase in FDI limit from 49% to 74% as a positive development as this will attract more capital to the industry. This move shows the Governments confidence in the insurance industry and companies will certainly work towards significantly increasing the insurance penetration in the country. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 21:52:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- German fashion brand Hugo Boss announced Thursday that its currency-adjusted sales declined by 31 percent in the fiscal year 2020 to 1.95 billion euros (2.3 billion U.S. dollars). After reaching 344 million euros in the previous year, underlying earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) plummeted to minus 236 million euros as a result of the decline in sales as well as a lower gross profit margin, the company said. It was a "challenging year," said Yves Mueller, spokesperson of the company's managing board, adding that the company "managed to overcome the many challenges of the pandemic, ending the year with a positive free cash flow." Global COVID-19 lockdowns led to "widespread temporary store closures" as large-scale restrictions on public life put a "significant strain" on Hugo Boss' financial performance, according to the company. While the implications of the pandemic became "particularly evident" in Europe and the United States, the "swift recovery of business" in China compensated for declines in other Asian markets, the company noted. While sales in Europe and the United States fell 31 and 42 percent respectively, sales in China already returned to double-digit growth in the second quarter of last year and annual sales there in 2020 were up by five percent. "We have made significant progress along the execution of our strategic initiatives, especially in the important online business, and in China," said Mueller. China was a "strategically important market" to the German fashion brand, according to Hugo Boss. In 2020, the company's online business continued to record "significant double-digit growth" for the third consecutive year as currency-adjusted sales went up by 49 percent and reached 221 million euros. The company anticipates the first quarter of 2021 to be negatively impacted by the pandemic, expecting to "recover noticeably in the further course of the year." Moreover, vaccination campaigns as well as the "pursued gradual lifting of lockdowns" should improve the company's business performance, it noted. (1 euro = 1.19 U.S. dollars) Enditem Glanbia and Lakeland Dairies have both announced milk price rises for Febuary supplies. Glanbia will pay its Member milk suppliers 36.1 cent per litre (cpl) (including VAT) for February creamery milk supplies at 3.6pc butterfat and 3.3pc protein. Glanbia Ireland (GI) will pay a base milk price for February of 32.68 cpl (including VAT) for creamery milk at 3.6pc fat and 3.3pc protein. This is an increase of 2 cpl from the January base price. In addition to the base price, a Seasonality Bonus of 3 cpl (including VAT) will be paid on all creamery milk supplied in February. Farmer Members will also receive a 0.42 cpl (including VAT) payment from Glanbia Co-op on all milk supplied this month as their Share of GI Profit. The Glanbia Ireland base price, Seasonality Bonus and Co-op Share of GI Profit payment will be adjusted to reflect the actual constituents of milk delivered by suppliers. The Glanbia milk price for February creamery milk, based on LTO constituents of 4.2pc butterfat and 3.4pc protein, is 39.40 cpl. Lakeland Dairies also announced an increase in its milk price for February. In a statement, it said its suppliers in the Republic of Ireland will recieve a base price of 33.34c/L (including VAT/Lactose) will be paid for milk supplied in February. This is an increase of 1c/L on January. According to the processor the normal out of season bonus of 5c/L applies for February, while it added that a special unconditional Lakeland Bonus of 1c/L (plus VAT) will also be paid on all February milk (this was also paid for January, December and November milk). Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, its suppliers will receive a base price of 27.25p/L for February milk. This marks an increase of 0.7p/L on the January price. In addition, the processor said a special unconditional Lakeland Bonus of 1p/L will also be paid for all February milk. A spokesperson for Lakeland Dairies said: As the European peak season is commencing, there is currently strength in the global market with the dynamic between the supply of milk being produced and the demand for dairy products from customers largely in balance at present. "Covid-19 continues to influence buyer sentiment as the potential reopening of economies across the world remains under consideration. Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the market closely in the coming weeks. Glanbia Ireland Chairman John Murphy said: Dairy market sentiment in recent weeks has been boosted by a combination of factors, including lower than forecast milk supply volumes in key production regions and strong Asian demand. "Other factors include continued Government support measures and optimism linked to the tentative easing of Covid restrictions in some countries. It is also welcome to see the US and Europe announce a four-month suspension of all tariffs linked to the Airbus and Boeing dispute. The Board will continue to monitor developments on a monthly basis. "The combination of experience and industry knowledge brought by the newest additions to our team supports ValueHealth's leadership behind transitioning healthcare to value-based care and consumerism," said Bisbee. "We will continue to grow and expand our team of top-quality leaders in pursuit of our vision to be the preferred and most trusted partner in the healthcare industry." Andy Penn joins ValueHealth as General Manager, Consumer Group. In his role, Penn will lead the consumer group, building upon ValueHealth's surgical platform with a focus on delivering technology enabled solutions to healthcare consumers through employers, health plan sponsors, and other key stakeholders. Penn comes to ValueHealth with significant leadership experience in Healthcare Information Technology. In his prior positions, Penn led the product portfolio, business strategy, and key partnerships for the Care Management and Virtual Health lines of business. During his 17 years at Cerner Corporation, Penn held a variety of executive leadership roles within Cerner's consulting, solution management, and business development organizations focusing on enabling Cerner clients and the company to meet their strategic goals. Teresa Olsen joins ValueHealth as Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs. In her role as Vice President, Olsen will lead all marketing initiatives, brand positioning, and corporate communications for ValueHealth. Olsen comes to ValueHealth as a strategic leader who has worked in multiple consumer industries during her career of over 30 years. Most recently, she led the strategy and media divisions of Buffalo Groupe LLC. Prior to that, she was with Hallmark Cards where she directed strategy for the company's branded specialty retail network (2,000-plus locations) and expanded distribution and omni-channel retailing initiatives to drive new consumer engagement. Before Hallmark, Olsen was a principal in eCreativeSearch, a venture-backed digital start-up in Chicago that served as a global archival resource of video ads for advertisers, agencies, and production companies. Her extensive experience also includes brand strategy and marketing work on behalf of Fortune 100 companies like Procter & Gamble, Coors Brewing Co., Mead Johnson, Burger King, and Nestle. Ryan McFadden joins ValueHealth as General Manager, Physician Alignment and Channel Development. In this role, he will focus on building alignment with provider groups and health systems across the US. In addition, he will lead ValueHealth's channel development strategy focused on aligning with organizations committed to advancing value-based care. McFadden comes to ValueHealth with 20 years of experience in healthcare, having served in commercial leadership roles for leading organizations in the life sciences and health system space. Over the course of his career, he has successfully built and led cross-functional teams through the development of new business models, joint-ventures, and product/service-line launches across therapeutic categories and regions. Most recently, McFadden served as Head of IDN Strategy for Mylan Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he was the Associate Vice President of Business and Network Development for Temple University Health System in Philadelphia, anchored by NCI designated Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple University Hospital. He began his career in healthcare in sales and sales leadership roles at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. About ValueHealth ValueHealth has pioneered the ambulatory surgical space since 1997. More recently the company is leading healthcare's transformation to value-based care and consumerism. This transformation is well underway in many markets throughout the country, including the mid-Atlantic region. In collaboration with the region's benefits consultants, employers, and payers the company is building a value network of providers. Founded on the fundamentals of payment reform and consumerism, ValueHealth is a technology-enabled, data-driven healthcare services company with a surgical digital platform that accelerates the transition from fee-for-service to value-based surgical care while successfully positioning its provider partners to flourish in an emerging risk environment. Today, it operates in over 30 states, and its nationally recognized Ambulatory Centers of Excellence (ACE) are leaders in the transition to value-based care. ValueHealth is passionate about putting its proven experience to work for all stakeholders as a trusted partner to help achieve market share dominance. For more information, visit valuehealth.com . Media Contacts: Teresa Olsen VP, Marketing & Public Affairs 913.387.0913 [email protected] SOURCE ValueHealth, LLC Related Links https://valuehealth.com The Syracuse Community Health Center is among 200 in New York eligible to become a new Covid-19 vaccination site under a federal plan targeting underserved and minority communities. The federal government would ship Covid vaccines directly to the community health centers as part of a national effort to expand and speed up access to the shots, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said today. The Syracuse Community Health Center has not yet decided when and how it will distribute the vaccinations, said Derrick Murry, the centers executive vice president and chief operating officer. Our goal would be to look at our partner organizations in the community, Murry said, adding the process is just beginning. The center operates three free-standing sites but would seek to operate vaccination clinics at multiple locations in Syracuse, Murry said. The federal governments decision makes 35 community health center operators in New York eligible to receive vaccine shipments directly from the federal government, rather than waiting for distribution from the state. The 35 health centers operate about 200 offices across New York, Schumer said. In Central New York, the only other health center eligible for the federal shipments is East Hill Medical Center in Auburn. Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate majority leader, described the new effort today as a vaccine supercharge for New York state. More access and more shots means a quicker recovery, and thats what we want, Schumer said. A spokesperson for Schumer said it was not yet clear what, if any, eligibility requirements will be put in place at the community health centers. The vaccination shots would be free. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will pay for and organize the vaccine distribution to the health centers, Schumer said. Rep. John Katko urged the agency in a letter last month to include the Syracuse and Auburn health centers in its vaccine program. Katko, R-Camillus, said the local centers have a combined 28 locations in Central New York where they reach thousands of underserved patients. Congress set aside nearly $32 billion to pay for the expanded vaccine purchases and distribution in a Covid relief bill passed in December. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources NY to allow even bigger weddings, eases testing requirements Why arent NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line? Nascentia Health first in Central New York to offer Covid vaccine shots in-home Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Every Friday night, long after everyone else in her house has gone to bed, Doramise Moreau can be found in the kitchen, cooking plate after plate of chicken, turkey, rice, and beans. She's been doing this since the coronavirus pandemic began last spring, and doesn't plan on stopping. Moreau, 60, cooks at least 1,000 meals every week for the hungry, delivering them to Miami's Notre Dame d'Haiti Catholic Church. The church uses donations to pay for the groceries, but Moreau does the shopping and cooking solo, after she is done working for the day as a school janitor. Moreau told The Associated Press she never will turn away anyone who is hungry, saying "if they go home and have nothing, it hurts my feelings." Even as a child, Moreau wanted to make sure people were fed she would take any extra food she could find at home and give it to those in need. Moreau doesn't earn much money, but makes it a priority to regularly send food pallets to relatives and neighbors in her hometown near Port-au-Prince, directing her sister on what items get delivered to which house. "She takes care of everybody from A to Z," Reginald Jean-Mary, Notre Dame d'Haiti's pastor, told AP. "She's a true servant. She goes above and beyond the scope of work to be a presence of hope and compassion for others." More stories from theweek.com The media is missing the point about Meghan Markle Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez break up, confirming love is dead Eddie Murphy reveals that working on 'sh---y' movies made him so depressed that he stopped acting for 8 years The regulatory landscape surrounding cancelled ancillary products is changing. The risk of class-action lawsuits is starting to raise the stakes for credit unions, especially those active in indirect auto lending. The root of the problem is how refunds are provided when policies are cancelled or a loan is paid off. While the regulatory and legal landscapes are shifting quickly on the issue, your member experience is equally at risk. Here are four questions and answers related to product refunds: What products are considered refundable? Most member-elected ancillary-type products have a refundable component if theyre bought at vehicle purchase or loan origination. These products (also known as add-on products, aftermarket products, or voluntary protection products) have premiums that are added to the borrowers final loan amount. A refund may be owed if a trigger event (e.g., early loan payoff, repossession, total loss, or member request) that prevents the loan from reaching its maturity date occurs. The refund amount will depend on several factors, including the products policy language, state regulatory requirements, the type of triggering event, and how much time was left on the loan. Armenia's Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan appointed March 10 Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Stepan Galstyan as acting head of the General Staff, the press service of the Ministry of Defense reported. It explained this decision by the need to ensure the regular activity of the structure due to the temporary vacancy of the post of the head of the general staff, ARKA reported. On March 10 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a Facebook post that his decision to dismiss the chief of staff of the armed forces Onik Gasparyan has come into force. Pashinyan ordered the dismissal of Gasparyan after the latter and more than 40 other top ranking army generals demanded his resignation in a statement on February 25. On March 10 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan petitioned President Armen Parisian to approve the appointment of Artak Davtyan as chief of the staff. Ofcom spectrum auction set to start this week Mobile operators will begin bidding in the UKs next spectrum auction from Friday 12 March, Ofcom has confirmed A total of 200 MHz of spectrum is being released through the auction, which will help improve existing mobile services and also support the continued rollout of 5G across the UK. After a pause in the process following the significant worsening of the coronavirus situation at the end of 2020, we can now confirm bidding in the principal stage will begin on Friday 12 March. How the auction will work The auction will involve the UKs four main mobile networks EE, O2, Three and Vodafone bidding for spectrum in two different frequency bands: The 700 MHz band. We are releasing 80 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. These airwaves are ideal for providing wide area coverage including in the countryside. The 3.6-3.8 GHz band. We are releasing 120 MHz of spectrum in 3.6-3.8 GHz band. These important airwaves are part of the primary band for 5G and capable of boosting mobile data capacity, carrying lots of data-hungry connections. Bidding will take place in two separate stages: Principal stage. Companies first bid for airwaves in lots to determine how much spectrum each company wins in each band. Bidding will continue for as long as there is excess demand for the spectrum available. We will announce the results of the principal stage as soon as possible after it has concluded. Assignment stage. There is then a round of bidding to determine the specific frequencies that winning bidders will be allocated. Winners of spectrum in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band will also have the opportunity to negotiate the specific frequencies among themselves if they want to join together the airwaves they have secured within the wider 3.4-3.8 GHz band. The final results of the auction will be published once all stages are complete. More details on how the auction will work are set out in our guide to the auction process https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/guide-to-forthcoming-spectrum-auction Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Visiting nursing homes in Alabama just got easier Wednesday after the federal government relaxed restrictions on indoor visitations. The updated guidelines by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services now allows indoor visits to nursing homes regardless of whether the guest or the nursing home resident received the COVID-19 vaccine, with few limitations. About three million vaccines have been delivered to nursing homes so far. Visits are only barred if: A resident is not vaccinated and the county positivity rate is more than 10 percent and less than 70 percent of nursing home residents in the facility are fully vaccinated A resident has a confirmed COVID-19 infection A resident is in quarantine Beyond those caveats, nursing home visits will be allowed in Alabama. CMS recognizes the psychological, emotional and physical toll that prolonged isolation and separation from family have taken on nursing home residents, and their families, said Dr. Lee Fleisher, MD, CMS Chief Medical Officer and Director of CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, in a statement. That is why, now that millions of vaccines have been administered to nursing home residents and staff, and the number of COVID cases in nursing homes has dropped significantly, CMS is updating its visitation guidance to bring more families together safely. This is an important step that we are taking, as we continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining infection prevention practices, given the continued risk of transmission of COVID-19. The new guidelines were welcomed by the Alabama Nursing Home Association. We are pleased the federal government recognized the decrease in COVID-19 cases in nursing homes and revised the visitation restrictions to benefit residents and families, said Alabama Nursing Home Association president & CEO Brandon Farmer in a statement. These changes were just announced this afternoon and we will provide technical assistance to help our members implement the changes. We are encouraging all our members to follow the new guidance and increase visitation opportunities when appropriate. The updated guidance also allows for compassionate care visits at all times -- even if a countys positivity rate is above 10 percent or there is an outbreak at the nursing home. Compassionate care visits include visits to nursing home residents whose health has sharply declined or is experiencing a significant change in circumstances, CMS said. New Delhi: Villagers in Jharkhands Maoist-hit district Khunt took a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) rank officer and his team hostage on Thursday evening. A superintendent of police (SP) rank officer posted in Jharkhand Police headquarters had confirmed the incident. He told the media that DSP and his team has been made captive by the villagers of Kotam Silodan, around 60 kilometers from Jharkhand state capital Ranchi. Jharkhand Police launched an operation led by the Khunti SP to rescue the captive police personnel. The police had to fire in the air in order to control the villagers. The villagers, however, lost their cool as police resorted to firing in the air. As per reports, top police personnel tried to pacify the villagers but they weren't ready to listen to them. Along with the SP, the SDM has also been taken hostage by Kanki villagers of Murhi Panchayat. Some police personnel have also been taken hostage. Nearly 1500 villagers are involved in the hostage situation. Here are the live updates: #8:00 AM: Jharkhand Police Director General of Police DK Pandey with team rushes to Khunti to negotiate with villages to rescue captive police officials #8:00 AM: Villagers have blocked all roads towards the village #8:00 AM: More than 200 police personnel have been made captive by villagers armed with traditional weapons For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Chennai, March 11 : The by-election to the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat which is to take place alongside the Tamil Nadu assembly polls is expected to generate a high voltage campaign with a galaxy of senior BJP leaders flying down to Kanyakumari for campaigning. The party campaign was inaugurated by BJP stalwart and Union Home Minister Amit Shah who conducted a roadshow at Kanyakumari beach road on Sunday for the victory of party candidate and former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan. Amit Shah also conducted a door to door campaign at 11 houses in Sucheendran in Kanyakumari constituency. Pon Radhakrishnan had won the 2014 general elections and became the Union minister of state for shipping. He was instrumental in bringing in Colachel port and the Kanyakumari trans-shipment hub and several other development programmes. Pon Radhakrishnan while speaking to IANS said, "We are fighting the election with full confidence and I feel that the acceptability of the Narendra Modi government and my own close proximity with the people of Kanyakumari will help me to sail through smoothly in the elections." Pon Radhakrishnan had lost in the 2019 general elections to Congress leader H Vasanthakumar by a margin of more than 3 lakh votes. The passing away of Vasanthakumar has led to the by-election in the constituency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reach the constituency for electioneering but his itinerary is not yet finalised. BJP state president L Murugan told IANS, "Pon Radhakrishnan is a very popular leader of Tamil Nadu and was the state president of the BJP. He has good grassroots connect in the constituency and we expect him to win this election." BJP leaders and Union ministers Smriti Irani, Piyush Goel, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and Nirmala Seetharaman are expected to reach the constituency in the span of a few days. Party national general secretary CT Ravi who is in charge of Tamil Nadu while speaking to IANS said, "We are expecting nothing less than victory at Kanyakumari. We have stitched our combine of AIADMK, BJP and PMK and this combine will bring us victory. Congress is not a force to reckon with at the national level and people are wise enough to vote for the BJP and become part of the national bandwagon." With Pon Radhakrishnan fighting a tough battle ,the Congress is likely to field H Vasanthakumar's son Vijay Vasanth in a bid to retain the seat. The earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, wiped away the ancient Japanese village of Kesen. In the past decade, a small group of survivors has valiantly tried to rebuild the community, but a grim reality has set in: This emptiness will last forever. KESEN, Japan For centuries, this village rode the currents of time: war and plague, the sowing and reaping of rice, the planting and felling of trees. Then the wave hit. Time stopped. And the village became history. When a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami struck coastal Japan on March 11, 2011, more than 200 residents of the village, Kesen, in Iwate Prefecture, were killed. All but two of 550 homes were destroyed. After the waters receded, nearly everyone who survived fled. They left behind their destroyed possessions, the tombs of their ancestors and the land their forefathers had farmed for generations. But 15 residents refused to abandon Kesen and vowed to rebuild. Twice a year since 2011, Hiroko Masuike, a photographer for The New York Times, has visited the village to document the survivors all-but-doomed mission of remaking their hometown. London: A defiant Piers Morgan says he still doesnt believe anything Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said in her interview with Oprah Winfrey and is happy to fall on my sword in defence of free speech. The polarising broadcaster quit top-rating television show Good Morning Britain on Tuesday after his fierce criticism of Prince Harry and Meghan prompted 41,000 complaints to the media regulator. Morgans bosses at British network ITV asked him to apologise, but the 55-year-old former newspaper editor refused and resigned. British media reported that Meghan had submitted a formal complaint with the network. Piers Morgan outside his home in the London suburb of Kensington on Wednesday. Credit:PA Speaking outside his London home on Wednesday morning, Morgan said he believed in freedom of speech and the right to have an opinion. Michael Kovrig, left, and Michal Spavor are shown in these 2018 images taken from video. A state-owned publication in China says two Canadian men will "soon" receive their first trial after more than two years in detention. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP 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. To clarify something right off the bat, there are, of course, still many wonderful specialty stores in New Jersey. Theyre in malls, strip centers, on downtown streets and freestanding locations; there are still vendors that cater to a niche market. But there are also the big box stores now. One-stop shopping at its most extreme. Theyre a concept that was incomprehensible in my youth one store, one floor, with everything. Department store stuff check. Supermarket stuff check. Electronics, auto repairs, appliances, check, check and check. There was a time, though, when a store that sold one thing and one thing only was the rule rather than the exception. You want records? Got to a record shop; one foot inside the door Boom! Records. Shoes? No wearing out your own traipsing to the back of a department store shoe stores had shoes and nothing but. In a television or radio shop, not only did the proprietor have whatever you asked for, no matter how esoteric, but there was also the fascinating sight of him being able to lay his hands on it immediately from what looked to anyone else like complete chaos. Perhaps the internet has decreased the likelihood that specialty stores will ever be as common as they once were. But, to be clear, there as nothing at all common about those wonderful stores. Heres a gallery of specialty stores from days gone by in New Jersey. If you have vintage photos youd like to see in our slide shows, send them in an email to greghatalagalleries@gmail.com. Our employees are trained to perform their duties as quickly and as safely as possible to minimize the risks of exposure to the virus. Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric, a commercial and residential plumbing and HVAC service provider, assures customers that all employees are required to follow the company's COVID-19 safety policy to protect customers and slow the spread of the virus. Employees are required to wear masks while on the job, wash their hands frequently, and are provided with hand sanitizer. In addition, employees who are feeling unwell are required to let their manager know and stay home until they have recovered and received a negative COVID-19 test result. "As the world continues to battle this virus," says Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric General Manager Ian Williams, "we understand the importance of keeping the home safe and COVID-free." He continues, "Our employees are trained to perform their duties as quickly and as safely as possible to minimize the risks of exposure to the virus." Though a vaccine is currently being distributed across the nation, rates of cases and hospitalizations remain high. In light of this, Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric is not relaxing company safety precautions and its managers are responsible for providing regular training and reminders to employees about the company's COVID-19 safety policy. Jeremy Prevost, CEO of Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric, explains the company is "committed to protecting the health and well-being of employees and customers. We will continue to monitor new developments in the spread of this virus and follow the precautions recommended by our public health officials." Prevost adds, "At the end of the day, what matters most are the people who support our business: our employees and our customers. Together, we'll get through this and welcome the end of the pandemic." Customers with questions about the company's COVID-19 safety policy are encouraged to visit: https://tuckerhillaz.com/ 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 company's 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. I'm excited to be joining VoltDB at a time when 5G is driving the need for real-time decisioning and analytics at scale. Tweet this Farmer brings many years of experience rapidly scaling global sales and partnerships for enterprise-grade technology companies specializing in data platforms and data-driven innovation. He has particular expertise in and knowledge around growing companies' presence in mature and emerging markets. At Volt, he'll work closely with CEO David Flower to grow Volt's global presence and build key partnerships. At Compuware, Farmer led a significant Northern Europe operation, achieving many years of best in class success and growth. At Attunity, achieving over 100% year on year growth, he helped scale the company to $100 million as Regional VP of Northern and Southern Europe, setting up teams in France, Holland, and Scandinavia, and orchestrating key partnerships with companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Attunity was acquired by Qlik, where Farmer currently leads Northern Europe with five sales regions and has overall GM responsibility for around 400 people. "I'm really excited to be joining Volt at a time when 5G is driving the need for real-time decisioning and analytics at scale. Volts' solution is highly relevant for any enterprise seeking to capitalize on fast data for areas such as monetization, revenue assurance, business support systems, and fraud prevention," Farmer said. "Volt already has an impressive array of blue chip customers which we will grow significantly over the coming quarters. This is a tremendous opportunity for any business in the telco space to differentiate their capabilities." For more information on why organizations across all industries are choosing VoltDB to power their operations, visit https://www.voltdb.com/ . About VoltDB VoltDB is the only data platform designed to support telco applications in the age of 5G. We combine in-memory data storage with predictable low-latency and other key capabilities to power BSS/OSS, customer management, and revenue assurance applications that need to act in single-digit milliseconds to drive revenue or prevent revenue loss, without compromising on data accuracy. For more information, visit voltdb.com . SOURCE VoltDB Related Links www.voltdb.com ALBANY Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the decision by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's acting counsel to refer a sexual assault allegation against the governor to the city's police department was "highly unusual" and would normally be a matter handled by the State Police. "This was highly unusual. No one can recall the Albany Police Department being contacted with a complaint of this type that happened on state property," Sheehan told the Times Union on Thursday. "Typically, those cases are referred to the State Police. We do have parallel jurisdiction but ... in my years in office I dont know of any sexual assault claim that has been referred to the Albany Police Department out of the state complex or the governors mansion." Cuomo's counsel reported the incident to Albany police on Wednesday night just hours after the Times Union published new details of a female aide's account of what she described as sexually aggressive groping by the governor after she was called to the Executive Mansion late last year. The referral, made by Cuomo's office as required by state law, was confirmed by the police department's spokesman and first reported by the New York Times. Sheehan said that before Beth Garvey, the governor's acting counsel, had contacted Albany police the department had been notified by State Police at the Capitol that Garvey would be calling them. Officials with the governor's office and the State Police did not immediately respond to questions about why the State Police did not field the complaint, or whether that agency had recused itself from the matter. The Times Union first reported this week that the woman's allegation against Cuomo could potentially lead to a charge of misdemeanor sexual assault. "When the police chief notified me of this notification that the police department received, I was very firm in communicating that while I understood that the department had been made aware of a potential criminal allegation, (and) that because this woman was represented, that the detectives or the police department should only contact her attorney, not her directly," Sheehan said. The woman's attorney informed the city that they are not interested in pursuing a criminal complaint at this time. The lawyer "has made it clear that she wants the attorney generals office to have the authority to investigate this, along with the other allegations, and I am very respectful of that decision," Sheehan said. Related: Where do New York lawmakers stand on Cuomo remaining in office? A spokesman for the city police force said that the referral did not mean an investigation had begun, but that the police would offer services to the alleged victim. As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department, Garvey said in a statement. If they decline, the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves and inform the department of the allegation. In this case, the person is represented by counsel and when counsel confirmed the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorneys information, Garvey said. On March 1, the governors office issued a referral letter empowering state Attorney General Letitia James to commence an investigation of earlier allegations that the governor had sexually harassed at least two female staff members, including Boylan. That referral does not authorize the attorney general to conduct a criminal investigation or to subpoena witnesses before a grand jury. It's unclear, given the latest alleged victim's accusations, whether the governor's office will expand its referral to give James' office jurisdiction to handle any criminal components of the harassment and sexual assault allegations. In essence, Cuomo would be authorizing the attorney general to investigate him for any potential crime. Sheehan, an attorney who previously conducted sexual harassment investigations for a publicly traded company, said it is unusual for a victim of sexual harassment to pursue a criminal case against their alleged abuser. "In my experience, Ive never seen a complaint that resulted in criminal charges," the mayor said. "In virtually every instance the women who are subjected to sexual harassment want the harassment to stop and they want to pursue their claims civilly. Often they want to pursue it as confidentially as possible. "I think its really important to recognize that every time you make a victim tell her story, youre re-victimizing her," Sheehan said. The governor's administration has taken criticism for its failure to refer a complaint from Charlotte Bennett, another Cuomo aide who has made allegations against him, to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, as required by his own 2018 executive order. The Times Union reported Wednesday evening that the latest female aide to tell her story has alleged Cuomo aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after she had been called to the Executive Mansion under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor with a minor technical issue involving his mobile phone. They were alone in Cuomo's private residence on the second floor when he closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her, according to the source. The allegations by the female aide, who is the sixth woman to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, were first reported Tuesday by the Times Union. The additional details describe the most egregious behavior attributed to the governor to date. The person briefed on the case, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the woman who is much younger than Cuomo told the governor to stop. Her broader allegations include that he frequently engaged in flirtatious behavior with her, and that it was not the only time that he had touched her. The woman's story was revealed within the governor's Executive Chamber on March 3, as staff members watched his first news conference in the week since Lindsey Boylan published an online essay detailing her own allegations against Cuomo. In the news conference, the governor denied ever touching any women "inappropriately." Hearing those remarks, the female aide became emotional. At least one female supervisor came to her assistance and asked why she was upset. The female aide subsequently told the supervisor about what she said had been inappropriate encounters with Cuomo, the source said. In response to the Times Union's questions about the allegations, Cuomo on Wednesday evening issued a statement to the newspaper: "As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report. State Attorney General Letitia James' office is overseeing an investigation of the multiple harassment allegations against Cuomo. 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. Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital Appoints Key Leaders By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital announces that it has named Rick Goins, DHA, FACHE, the hospitals chief operating officer. Goins starts his new role with Lourdes Hospital in June."Rick has provided effective leadership at Massac Memorial Hospital as its CEO the past five years. We will benefit greatly from Rick's knowledge of the market and his wide-ranging expertise, said Bon Secours Mercy Health - Kentucky President Michael Yungmann.Before being named CEO of Massac Memorial Hospital since 2016, Goins served as the hospitals director of professional practice and chief operating officer. He has also held leadership roles with Middletown Regional Hospital in Middletown, Ohio and Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center. Goins earned his doctorate in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and his masters in health administration from The Ohio State University in Columbus.Lourdes Hospital also named Ian Smith, FACHE, chief operating officer of Mercy Health Physicians Kentucky. Smith started on March 1. Ian is a skilled physician group leader who brings great experience in building teams of high-performing specialists and primary care providers to Mercy Health Kentucky, said Yungmann. His leadership will benefit patients in all the communities we serve.Smith joins Mercy Health Kentucky from University of Cincinnati Physicians in Cincinnati, where he served as chief of operations and finance and senior business officer. Previously, he held leadership roles with Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center and Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati. Smith earned his masters in business administration from Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, KY and his bachelors management from Northwood University in Midland, MI.Mercy Health - Paducah is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, one of the 20 largest health systems in the United States and the fifth largest Catholic health system in the country. The ministrys quality, compassionate care is provided by more than 60,000 associates serving communities in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as throughout Ireland. Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital is a 359 licensed-bed facility accredited by The Joint Commission and was named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission. Lourdes is home to the regions largest multi-specialty physician network, Mercy Medical Associates, which consists of more than 100 providers serving in over 30 locations throughout western Kentucky. Consistent with its commitment to serve each patient with dignity, Bon Secours Mercy Health provides nearly $2 million per day in community benefit. The mission of Mercy Health Paducah is to extend the compassionate ministry of Jesus by improving the health and well-being of our communities and bring good help to those in need, especially people who are poor, dying and underserved. For more information, visit www.mercy.com It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. Herbert Alford spent nearly five years behind bars after he was accused and eventually convicted in 2016 in the shooting death of Michael Adams, even though he was nowhere near Adams when the shooting took place. Alford couldnt have been in the area at the time as he was renting a car at the Lansing, Michigan airport which is 20 minutes away from where Adams was killed in 2011. Alford was freed from prison, his conviction was overturned and all charges were dropped in 2020 after the rental company finally turned over the receipt proving he was at the airport six minutes before the shooting, according to WLNS. On Tuesday, Alford and his lawyer, James White of Lansing filed suit against Hertz alleging the company failed to come forward with the requested receipt in a timely manner. Alford is seeking monetary damages in the case, but it may be held up as the company is currently going through bankruptcy reorganization. There is no question that (Alford) would have avoided going to prison had they produced this documentation, White said. Although Alfords trial took place in 2016, Hertz did not produce the receipt proving Alfords innocence until 2018, long after Alford had already been sentenced to up to 60 years in prison. Hertz did not respond to requests for comment, according to the Associated Press. 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. An Everett man who robbed several Worcester banks in 2017, including one in which he threatened to shoot a teller, was sentenced Wednesday to up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to numerous charges. James P. Monteiro, 44, left a number of employees at multiple banks shaken, prosecutor Joseph Simmons said in Worcester Superior Court according to The Telegram & Gazette. In addition to the teller he threatened to shoot, one bank manager left their job after a robbery, while a teller who was robbed twice was left distraught, he said. In no robberies was a gun brandished. In all he robbed or attempted to rob five banks in November 2017, including one bank that was robbed twice. Monteiros lawyer, Peter Lacy, said his clients crimes were fueled by addiction and he did not intend to harm anyone. Charges are pending against Monteiros alleged getaway driver in one of the robberies, but plea discussions are underway, lawyers said. SEOUL, South Korea The small white delivery trucks zip down streets all over South Korea. The uniformed workers send photos of safely delivered packages to impatient customers. Workers can move so fast, their employer promises, that it calls the service rocket delivery. The trucks and the operation belong to Coupang, a start-up founded by a Harvard Business School dropout that has shaken up shopping in South Korea, an industry long dominated by huge, button-down conglomerates. In a country where people are obsessed with ppalli ppalli, or getting things done quickly, Coupang has become a household name by offering next-day and even same-day and dawn delivery of groceries and millions of other items at no extra charge. The company, which is sometimes called the Amazon of South Korea, got a big endorsement on Thursday from Wall Street. Its shares rose 41 percent from an initial public offering price of $35 to close the day at $49.25. The I.P.O. raised $4.6 billion and valued the company at about $85 billion, the second-largest American tally for an Asian company after Alibaba Group of China in 2014. Coupang may need the money. South Koreas big conglomerates, called chaebol, and others are building their own delivery networks as Coupang plans its expansion. It faces other issues, too, such as growing concerns about working conditions after the death of several Coupang warehouse and delivery workers that some relatives and labor activists blamed on overwork and poor labor practices. MOSS POINT, Miss., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A positive prevention initiative designed to promote inclusion among students was celebrated this year virtually at two Mississippi schools on March 4, 2021, with the help of Magnolia Health. The schools included Kreole Primary Elementary and Escatawpa Upper Elementary. Representatives from Magnolia Health hosted the online event in honor of No One Eats Alone Day, created by the nonprofit Beyond Differences. More than 450 students participated in activities designed to teach them about social isolation and the negative impact it can have on health and academic performance. Students were able to participate in fun and engaging activities, paired with video demonstrations and promotional items for school staff to use with them. Social isolation affects millions of students and has been identified as a precursor to bullying, self-harm, and community violence. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, promoting mental health has gained increased importance, as students deal with the additional stressors from the pandemic and quarantining. Through No One Eats Alone, students have shown that if they are given the tools, they will stand up for others as empathetic and caring activists, not passive bystanders. "At Magnolia Health, we're committed to helping children lead healthier lives, and that includes providing them with safe environments to discuss challenges, especially amid COVID-19," said Aaron Sisk. "We are proud to partner with Beyond Difference to virtually celebrate No One Eats Alone Day and give students in Mississippi the tools they need to remain focused on their health and social lives. "The pandemic has given us all a taste of social isolation and the desire to feel connected," said Laura Talmus, the co-founder and executive director of Beyond Differences. "Students and teachers need No One Eats Alone -- now more than ever -- to continue changing the culture in middle schools to be a more welcoming place for everyone regardless of their differences." The two schools joined more than 2,500 schools across the country that celebrated No One Eats Alone Day. The initiative reached more than 1 million students in all 50 states. No One Eats Alone Day is sponsored by the Centene Charitable Foundation. About Magnolia Health Magnolia Health is a long-term solution to help the state of Mississippi enhance care for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients, while most effectively managing taxpayer dollars. A physician-driven, Mississippi-based Coordinated Care Organization (CCO), Magnolia is backed by its parent company, Centene Corporation (Centene). Centene has more than 30 years of experience in Medicaid, CHIP and other government-funded programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and long-term care. For more information about Magnolia, visit www.magnoliahealthplan.com. SOURCE Magnolia Health Related Links https://www.magnoliahealthplan.com Online shopping tools on the Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale website bring the power of car buying to the homes of customers. Hyundai shoppers who are looking to get behind the wheel of a new vehicle without having to leave the comfort of their home will find the online shopping tools on the Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale website more than helpful. The local Hyundai dealership continues to offer streamlined online shopping tools to help local customers shop for their next vehicle online with ease. Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale puts the power in the shoppers hands with its suite of No Bull Express online tools. No Bull Express allows customers to complete every step of the automotive purchase or lease process online without having to come by the dealership. From browsing to financing to approval and signing, the entire process from start to finish can be done on the Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale website. Along with easy-to-use online shopping tools, Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale will bring vehicles to the homes of perspectives buyers for a test drive. After picking out the perfect vehicle, finalizing the deal and signing the purchase agreement, Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale will deliver the new vehicle directly to the buyers driveway. Individuals looking to trade in their current vehicle before picking out a new model can take advantage of Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondales in-home trade appraisal. The Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale team will appraise a trade-in's value online or at the owners home in just a few easy steps. Anyone can view the entire Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale catalog of vehicles on the dealerships website, earnhardthyundai.com. Members of the Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale staff are available by phone, 833-331-0148, to offer assistance through any step of the purchase process. Prospective buyers who start their purchase online but wish to finish in person can come by the dealership anytime during normal business hours to finalize their purchase. Earnhardt Hyundai of Avondale is located at 10401 W Papago Fwy in Avondale, AZ and is open seven days a week. Go Hillsboro Group Continues Its Efforts Like everything else in the world, COVID-19 has had an effect on the local Go Hillsboro organization. That has led the group to turn its focus on educating the public on what Go Hillsboro is all about through strategic marketing, communications and the hashtag, #GoHillsboroTx. According to Hillsboro ISD Superintendent Vicki Adams, the groups primary goal this year is to build on strategic, effective communications. The groups origination and efforts, now in its fifth year, was the brain child of Adams, who saw a similar program, but for school districts, at a conference. She brought the school district, City of Hillsboro, Hill College and Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce together to work on community issues in the spring of 2016. The members have adopted a purpose statement, Go Hillsboro promotes the Greater Hillsboro Area through collaborative projects that support community and economic development, opportunity and success. Its exciting to see the leaders in our community come together with a unified voice to collaborate, communicate and promote Hillsboro and the surrounding area, Dr. Pam Boehm, president of Hill College, said. Together, we can make a difference. Each year, a survey of local business and community leaders has been conducted to determine critical issues facing the community. That led to this years primary goal to Build on Strategic and Effective Communication. In addition, the group is expanding its membership to more broadly reflect the community make-up. To that end, Dot Clark, Sanjay Bala, Peter Zarate III, Brooke Thompson and Tony Cain have recently joined the committee, and Megan Henderson has replaced Frank Johnson as the Hillsboro city manager representative. In addition to the communication and marketing efforts this year, the committee is exploring the use of additional technology, improved messaging along Interstate 35 to promote local museums, tourist attractions, etc. and exploring resources in the county and neighboring communities. Critical issues identified through this years survey included keeping businesses open and prosperous during the ongoing pandemic, building community ownership/advocacy, sustaining access to healthcare, promoting arts and culture, lack of housing, need for good jobs, addressing the empty outlet mall and development of a skilled workforce. Serving on the committee with other community-minded people has allowed the group to come up with a number of projects to improve the community and local quality of life, Art Mann Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation administrator, said. He added that workforce development has been one of his main focuses since Go Hillsboro organized. Members of the group recently hosted a virtual career fair for high school juniors and seniors in the county. It was the third annual event as Judge Brian Walker served as speaker this year. The former Hillsboro attorney recently assumed his position on the 2nd Court of Criminal Appeals in Fort Worth after winning a seat in the November 2020 general election. The event hosted by Hill College started two years ago with just Hillsboro junior and senior students, but expanded to all Hill County high schools last year. There were over 700 students on the college campus in March, the week before the pandemic hit. They took in programs on job interview procedures, personal finance, static displays for local law enforcement, Texas Parks and Wildlife, EMS, DPS and medical helicopters and booths manned by local businesses, the military and colleges and universities. In his second year on the committee, Justin Dyer, childrens librarian at the Hillsboro City Library, said he was excited to be on the committee because a conduit for communications across all aspects of the community is vital in order to realize productive changes that benefit everyone working, living and playing in the Greater Hillsboro area. Other efforts in the planning stages are linking all local websites, a quarterly column in The Reporter Newspaper, podcasts and short videos promoting local events and quarterly reports on the state of Hillsboro through the chamber. Committee projects since 2016 include an outlet mall initiative, Movies in the Park, development of an industrial alliance, development of an industrial maintenance program for area high school students through Hill College, refurbishing downtown trash cans, collaborated with Leadership Hillsboro to construct a pocket park at Franklin Street and Country Club Road, launched the downtown concert series, hosted industrial alliance breakfasts (pre-pandemic) and expanded a job shadowing co-op program. Committee member Cami Steele added, I love this community and I love connecting all areas of the community together. Go Hillsboro works to represent everyone in Hillsboro and to make improvements in the culture of the area. In addition to the already mentioned new members, representing the school district on the committee are board of trustees member John Sawyer, Adams, Paula Cox, Steele and Jo Hayes. For the college, Dr. Boehm, Jessyca Brown and Stephen Pape are participating, along with Wendy Ellis from the chamber. Representing the city are Mayor Andy Smith, Mayor Pro Tem Scott Johnson, Chris Moore, Dale Snyder, Dyer and Mann, and community members Jamie Siddons and Thompson. Jeanne Marie Ellis, principal with JME Group in Lakeway, has served as facilitator for the effort. Samantha Armytage fired a broadside at the media during her tearful final remarks as the co-host of Sevens top-rating breakfast show. I do want to say that I never fully understood some of the scrutiny, and the snarkiness and the bullying from some aspects of the media, the former Sunrise host said on Thursday. Samantha Armytage and husband Richard Lavender during her last day as co-host of Sunrise. But today, we move on from that. Because there is a new chapter starting and it has been overwhelmingly a good experience in my life. Most of all, I thank all of our viewers. You are just wonderful people. There are so many lovely people out there so many more lovely ones than the nasty ones. It was a fitting and unsurprising sign-off, given Armytages tumultuous relationship with the press in recent years. Glencore, the worlds top commodities trader, said Tony Hayward will step down as chairman at the latest by next years annual general meeting, after overseeing the appointment of its first new CEO in 20 years. Haywards departure as chairman had been expected, given hes held a board role for more than nine years, a period longer than recommended under UK governance code. Yet the company said Thursday (UK time) that the board supported him staying another year, to oversee the once-in-a-generation change in leadership at the company, as well as navigate multiple ongoing legal probes. Glencore chairman Tony Hayward Tony Hayward will step down by next years annual general meeting at the latest. Credit:Bloomberg The appointment of a new chairman, which Glencore says is underway, will add to changes at the top of the company. Chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg is stepping down this year, after two decades in charge, and will be replaced by hand-picked successor Gary Nagle. A raft of other senior executives who became billionaires when the company floated in 2011 have also left in recent years. Hayward previously faced opposition ahead of last years AGM, when UK-based Pensions & Investment Research Consultants urged shareholders to vote against his reappointment, questioning his independence after a lengthy spell at Glencore. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York Citys ongoing policy to shutter schools in the event of two or more unrelated coronavirus (COVID-19) cases is now being questioned by medical experts in light of new research, according to a Chalkbeat report. In recent months, New Yorkers have grown increasingly critical of the citys current school closure model, which requires school buildings to close for 10 days if there are two or more confirmed coronavirus cases in the school, regardless of if those cases are linked. I think it deserves a real thorough second look, Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Chalkbeat. Im not so sure its needed. The report references a study published earlier this week in the journal Pediatrics that found that, between October and December, only 0.5% of the over 36,000 people known to have been exposed to someone with the virus within a New York City public school went on to test positive themself. Results from the study were in line with prior reports that showed that school buildings pose a low risk of viral transmission, and that adults are more likely to contract and spread the virus than children, with approximately 60% of the over 2,200 people infected in school buildings being staff members. While there are limitations to the study, transmission seemed to primarily be among adults, which is consistent with our knowledge that younger children may be at lower risk of transmission [of COVID-19] and reinforces the importance of vaccinating front-line workers, such as teachers and educators, Dr. Amanda Castel, professor of epidemiology at the Milken Institute of Public Health at George Washington University, told Chalkbeat. A potential change to the current closure policy would be a welcome sight for many New York City families who want to see their kids in the classroom. Since September, there have been over 1,800 full school closures and more than 10,500 classroom closures as a result of coronavirus cases within school buildings. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that news regarding the closure policy could be released in the coming days, but representatives from the citys teacher union appear hesitant to alter the guidelines put in place to protect their workers. Were going to continue to do what weve always done in terms of this virus, Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said Wednesday. We listened to medical experts, and right now we know that why we dont have spread inside of schools is everything in our plan that was designed by independent medical experts. Input Still Sought on Ballard US-60 Project By West Kentucky Star Staff BALLARD COUNTY - There's still time to submit public comments about a planned US-60 reconstruction project in Ballard County, after an online public hearing on the project Tuesday night was attended by 38 citizens.Kentucky Transportation Cabinet personnel and consultants working on the project were available from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. to answer questions and accept statements.Several Kevil area residents requested in-person meetings to discuss how the new 4-lane might impact their property. The 4.5 miles of new roadway will require the purchase of 79 parcels."We need citizen input to assure we are developing a project that will provide the greatest benefit to the public," KYTC District 1 Project Manager Chris Kuntz said. "We want to thank everyone who attended the online meeting. Even if you didn't participate Tuesday night, you still have time to visit the website, review the displays, and provide written comments."The U.S. 60 corridor project is designed to improve safety and mobility in the Kevil area from the existing 4-lane near the Ballard-McCracken County Line to the Humphrey Creek Bridge at the east edge of LaCenter. About 6,000 vehicles travel this section of the existing roadway in an average day.Comments submitted online or by mail will be accepted through March 31. They may be submitted online at the link below, or by email at US60ballard@qk4.com.Written comments will be accepted through March 31, and may be submitted to KYTC District 1; 5501 Kentucky Dam Road; Paducah, KY 42003.On the Net: She's been rocking a wild curly wig around the set of her aerobics-fueled Apple TV+ dramedy Physical. But Rose Byrne let her real tresses see the sun during a brief break from shooting in Santa Monica, California on Wednesday. The Aussie actress, 41, was glowing as she poked her head out of a trailer to give someone her jacket and bag. Out of costume: Rose Byrne took off the wild 80s wig she's been wearing to shoot her new show Physical after a busy day on set Wednesday The full, kinky mane was gone and instead Byrne had her shoulder-length brunette locks tied back with a leopard-print scarf. Rose had traded the patterned sweater and mom jeans she wore on camera earlier in the day for a comfy grey Clare V sweatshirt with the phrase 'Liberte, egalite, maternite' on the front - a feminist twist on the French national motto. Continuing the low key look, the Bridesmaids actress slipped into a pair of matching sweatpants and white Birkenstocks with blue socks showing. Rose enjoyed a bubbly mid-day treat, seen sipping on a sparkling Topo Chico water as she popped a mask on and left her trailer. Rolling: The Aussie actress' slipped out of her wardrobe - a patterned sweater and mom jeans Great greys: Off camera, Rose donned a comfy grey Clare V sweatshirt with the phrase 'Liberte, egalite, maternite' on the front - a feminist twist on the French national motto In Physical, Rose plays tortured San Diego housewife Sheila who begins to find herself when she's swept up into the aerobics craze of the 80s. 'It's about paving that path for those wellness gurus and lifestyle gurus, which are now sort of a dime a dozen but back then was groundbreaking,' Byrne explained during a virtual TCA panel last month, per THR. Sheila darkly funny take on life mingles with her own demons about body image. The Mrs. America star said that her character's struggle with self-worth is relatable to anyone. Retro: In Physical, Rose plays tortured San Diego housewife Sheila who begins to find herself when she's swept up into the aerobics craze of the 80s 'There is no exclusive person, there is no rule of who or who doesn't feel like this or has personal demons no matter who you are, or what you look like, or where you're from, or anything,' she explained. And while she said she found the aerobics scenes liberating, the same could not be said of the era-perfect costumes. 'Those leotards are just within an inch of their life. It's like a Marvel costume or something, the amount of fittings I've had.' Physical is set for a summer 2021 release on Apple TV+. Thankfully, we haven't seen a KCMO murder in the past few days. Still, there's plenty of crime content to check and we offer this quick glimpse at local property theft, police action and calls for cooperation. Robber Into Work 'She's a thief': Video captures porch pirate struggling to steal hot tub from local nurse KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Home security footage captured a porch pirate stealing a 50-plus pound inflatable hot tub from a Kansas City woman's porch in broad daylight. Denise Gregory is a registered nurse and medical sales rep. In this pandemic, she has been busy. Have You Seen Her?!?! Blue Springs police ask for help in finding missing woman Police in Blue Springs are asking for help in finding a missing 37-year-old woman.Police said England Williams, 37, was last seen on Tuesday at 7:45 a.m. by her sister in the 900 block of Southeast Tequesta Lane.The family told police that Williams suffers from mental issues. KC Plagued By Crooks Scammers targeting people searching for COVID-19 vaccines - here's what to watch out for KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If you're tired of waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine, there are sites on the dark web willing to sell it to you. They're just some of the plethora of scams popping up all over the internet trying to cash in on the coronavirus vaccine. Murder Case Aftermath 2 men charged in Monday homicide at Independence motel KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Prosecutors have charged a second man in connection to a murder Monday in an Independence motel. Tyler Ross, 29, last known address in Lee's Summit, is charged in Jackson County Court with second degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of robbery. Sleaze Scummit Gunman Confronts Charges Man charged with unlawful use of weapon while intoxicated, accused of firing shots outside Troop A Headquarters LEE'S SUMMIT, MO (KCTV) -- According to court records, a man accused of driving to Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop A Headquarters in January and firing an assault-style rifle had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit that night. Meth Town Demands Money FBI searching for Independence bank robbery suspect KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The FBI is searching for a suspect in connection to a bank robbery Tuesday morning in Independence. It happened just before 9:45 a.m. at the Bank of the West, located at 4610 S. Noland Rd. The suspected robber handed a teller a demand note before fleeing on foot with an undisclosed amount of money. Upscale Scam Uncovered Leawood resident's new home listed in rental property scam LEAWOOD, Kan. - Since James Paskiewicz closed on his Leawood home two weeks ago, he's encountered several people looking through his windows and walking around the property. "I've put signs on all of my windows to let people know I will call police, and this is a scam," Paskiewicz said. New Clues Debut FBI Seeks Help In Kansas City, Kansas Woman's Death, A 22-Year-Old Cold Case State and federal authorities in Kansas are seeking the public's help in identifying those responsible for the unsolved 1998 murder of a Kansas City, Kansas, woman. The FBI and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation want to know who killed Rhonda Tribue, a 33-year-old mother of six whose body was found during the early morning hours of Oct. Developing . . . WASHINGTON (AP) In a highly unusual breach of security last month at the air base that operates the Air Force One presidential aircraft, an apparently aimless intruder went undetected for several hours and walked on and off an airplane on the flight line before his quirky headgear gave him away. He was wearing what an Air Force investigative report released Thursday described as a bright red or pink cap that partially covered his ears and had distinctive balls on top that looked a little like mouse ears. An airman in the operations office at Joint Base Andrews, located in Maryland just outside Washington, saw the man on the flight line and became suspicious, partly because of the headgear, and called security. Officials said he never got close to Air Force One. To be frank, I'm just being honest, we had no idea we had an unauthorized civilian on the base. He could have roamed around for a lot longer had it not been for that particular airman that figured out he doesn't quite fit," said Sami Said, the Air Force inspector general who briefed reporters on his findings. The Feb. 4 intrusion was reported the same day by the Air Force, which opened an internal investigation to determine how it happened and what could be done to minimize chances of a repeat. The probe found three main security failings, starting with human error by a gate security guard who allowed the man to drive onto the base even though he had no credentials that authorized his access. Hours later, the man walked undetected onto the flight line by slipping through a fence designed to restrict entry. And, finally, he walked onto and off a parked airplane without being challenged, even though he was not wearing a required badge authorizing access to the restricted area. The day of the incident, the officials said the intruder was turned over to local law enforcement because there was at least one outstanding warrant for his arrest. His name has not been released. The inspector generals report said he had an extensive arrest record, but further details were blacked out. Story continues Security forces actually never saw him transition from the open gate to the aircraft, said Said, the inspector general. Aside from his odd hat, the intruder's clothing dark pants and jacket and black high-top sneakers could have made him appear to be a contractor, Said said, although he should have been challenged anyway, not least because he had no visible badge authorizing his presence. The good news is, once alerted, security forces apprehended him pretty darned quickly the minute he came off the plane, he said. Said said the modified Boeing 747 that serves as Air Force One for presidential travel was never at risk and that it is kept behind more layers of protection at Andrews. That area is exceptionally secure, he said. Unimpeded, the unarmed intruder got aboard a C-40, a transport jet primarily used by members of the Cabinet, Congress and military combatant commanders. He did no harm and the Air Force investigation report, which was heavily censored by the Air Force before it was released Thursday, concluded that he had no plan to cause harm to Air Force personnel or equipment. His purpose could not be definitively determined. The evidence supports the conclusion that (blank) was simply wandering around the base and did not enter the base to meet anyone, the report said. During questioning, (blank) said he came on base because he wanted to see airplanes. After driving through the Virginia Gate at Andrews, the man drove to the base exchange, where surveillance camera footage later showed he spent about an hour before returning to his car. His whereabouts for the next four hours could not be determined. Personnel at the 89th Air Wing passenger terminal recalled him entering the terminal, and he then slipped unnoticed onto the flight line through an 18-inch gap in a security fence gate that was not fully closed because of a malfunction. He walked onto the C-40 aircraft, which was open to facilitate a communications training session. Two aircrew members were aboard. The intruder walked to the back of the plane and left unchallenged after a few minutes. As he walked back toward the security gate on the flight line he was stopped and arrested. Said said that to his knowledge Andrews had never before experienced such a lapse in security. On Wednesday, India called for the strengthening of security and safety of UN peacekeepers and for bringing perpetrators to justice. Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations T.S Tirumurti attended the informal meet of the Security Council on peacemaking. Tirumurti took to Twitter and said, 'India also called for enhancing the use of technology for safety". At informal #UNSC meet on @UNPeacekeeping, I called to: Strengthen further safety & security of peacekeepers Bring perpetrators of heinous crime against them to justice Enhance use of technology for safety Recalled s gift of 200,000 vaccine doses for peacekeepers pic.twitter.com/nOBSnK8rSG PR UN Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) March 10, 2021 India Condemns Attack Against UN Earlier in January, India has strongly condemned the attack against the United Nation (U.N.) peacekeepers in two separate incidents in Mali. A Burundian peacekeeper from the UN mission in the Central African Republic (C.A.R) was killed during an attack perpetrated by a rebel group. Another peacekeeper from Egypt was killed in Mali's northern Kidal region the same day. Tirumurti took to Twitter and expressed condemnation, pain, and extended condolences to the families and governments of the dead peacekeepers. Four peacekeepers lost their lives Four peacekeepers from Ivory Coast lost their lives due to an improvised explosive device and an attack by unidentified gunmen in the Timbuktu region. The peacekeeping mission has been in Mali since 2013 after Islamic extremists took control of major towns in the north. UN Thanks India For 200,000 Vaccine Doses On February 21, the United Nations thanked India for providing 200,000 COVID vaccine doses for UN peacekeepers and appreciated the efforts to strengthen the COVAX facility for ensuring fair access to vaccines for all. Tirumurti quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. India has been a global leader in pandemic response efforts. Appreciate efforts to strengthen COVAX Facility ensuring equitable access to vaccines UN Secy Gen thanks EAM for offering 200,000 COVID vaccine doses for UN Peacekeepers,says India's Permanent Rep to UN,TS Tirumurti pic.twitter.com/C06wdXFL19 ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2021 Guterres also thanked India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for offering 200,000 COVID vaccine doses for UN Peacekeepers. Trust, but verify. Thats the Russian proverb President Ronald Reagan cleverly co-opted during nuclear disarmament talks with the Soviets in the 1980s. When youre being asked to trust someone you dont really know to do the right thing on your behalf, well, you might want to have the ability to inspect the process. Unfortunately, citizens in Michigan dont get that opportunity with the people theyve elected to lead their state. Michigan government ranks dead last in the country for transparency to its people, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Thats largely because were one of two states that exempt the governors office and the Legislature from disclosure of public information. Its not loopholes its more like a black hole, said Lauren Gibbons, who covers state government for MLive. If people ask for public records, they dont have to give them. Not to mention that the Legislature and Governors Office are not beholden to financial disclosure laws. All but two states have those laws. Gibbons was my guest on this weeks Behind the Headlines podcast for MLive, along with Robin Luce-Herrmann, a shareholder in the Butzel Long law firm who serves as general counsel for the Michigan Press Association (hit the play button, below, to hear the whole conversation). Our conversation was on the eve of Sunshine Week, which is March 14-21. It is celebrated by journalists nationally to draw attention to, and educate people about, the Freedom of Information and Open Meetings Act laws that hold public officials and bodies accountable to the people. MLive uses the FOIA constantly to seek records of government deliberations and actions, and to shed light on how and why decisions are made. Usually, the FOIA is our last resort when facing recalcitrant officials; often, those officials delay responses or reject the request; occasionally they throw huge fees at us. Its a counterintuitive approach to take toward journalists, who are representing the interests of people like you. Because if someone tries to hide something, were going to be even more curious. When (public officials) dont start off from that vantage point, that Everything we do is subject to public scrutiny and disclosure, thats when you sort of dig yourself a hole, Luce-Herrmann said. Recent examples of MLive using sunshine laws include getting reports on police discipline in Ann Arbor that even that citys Police Oversight Committee had not been able to see. In Kalamazoo, city council members changed their public meeting format after we reported on them skirting the Open Meetings Act. Also in Kalamazoo, FOIA reporting revealed that a police chief had been quietly fired and had not retired, as city residents had been told. Its rarely easy to use the system, but were used to it; its part of our job. Its much more intimidating for common citizens. There are a lot of barriers to open records that citizens dont necessarily know how to get past the cost, the difficulty understanding what documents will have the information, said Gibbons. Especially at the state level, once you start getting into the weeds, its complicated even for journalists to figure out where things are. Thats why educating the public on their civic rights isnt the only solution. The laws have to change, and elected officials and public bodies have to be held accountable. Luce-Herrmann said it best: If the public bodies were going to suffer more penalties, then maybe they would start erring on the side of providing the documents, rather than erring on the side of withholding everything they can on the basis that no ones going to sue them. New House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, said he is making transparency and ethics reform a priority in this session. We shall see legislation to improve transparency in Michigan has seen support from the House in recent years, but died in the Senate. A better bet may be a ballot initiative proposed by Progress Michigan to amend FOIA to the Legislature and Governors Office; those sorts of grassroots efforts have proven to get the attention of legislators who talk a good game but never follow through. In the past, theyve passed legislation to blunt ballot efforts on redistricting, voting rights, marijuana legalization, and pending changes to anti-discrimination laws. Those sort of actions breed cynicism, and we already have too much of that. People care about government transparency, and they care about things that their government does, Gibbons said. I think knowing more about public records and having an easier avenue would certainly make people trust their government a little bit more. John Hiner is the vice president of content for MLive Media Group. If you have questions youd like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at editor@mlive.com. Tibetans and Tibet supporters around the world marched on Wednesday to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of a March 10, 1959 national uprising in Tibet against rule by China, which had invaded and forcibly annexed the independent Himalayan nation nine years before. Thousands of Tibetans died in the uprising and subsequent crackdown by China, and March 10 remains a politically sensitive date for Chinese authorities in Tibet, who routinely tighten surveillance and security measures in Tibetan areas of China to block protests ahead of the anniversary. In a day of activities to observe the anniversary around the world, Chinese authorities tightened security around Tibet, with government officials in the Tibet Autonomous Region's Lhoka city deploying security personnel in front of office buildings and driving military vehicles in processions along the city streets, a local source told RFA's Tibetan Service. Banners carried on the vehicles read, "Those who violate the law will not escape punishment," spreading fear among local residents, RFA's source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Protest events and rallies were held on Monday in cities across Australia, Canada, the United States, Europe, Taiwan, and India, where activists from the Tibetan Youth Congress stormed the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi and were held briefly by police before being released. For more than 60 years, millions of Tibetans have died and thousands of monasteries have been destroyed under Chinas continuing repressive policies, TYC general secretary Sonam Tsering said following the event. So when the Tibetans inside Tibet have not lost faith in our struggle, we in exile must, and will, continue to keep the Tibetan issue alive, Tsering said. Speaking at a ceremony held in Dharamsala, Indiaseat of Tibets exile government the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA)CTA exile political leader, or Sikyong, Lobsang Sangay said Tibetans around the world had come together Monday to mourn the loss of over a million Tibetans [who] have lost their lives in the past six decades under Chinese rule. But we are also here to mark the undaunted resilience of Tibetans in Tibet, Sangay said. Even under the threat of losing their lives, they continue to protest by protecting and preserving our language, our religion, our culture, our land, and our identity. As a college student, I am so happy to be taking part in commemorating the anniversary of our National Uprising Day, Norzin Lhamo, a resident of Mysore in South India said, during a march to commemorate the event. I just hope that we get our freedom, and am looking forward to the day when Tibetans inside Tibet and in exile can finally unite. In the UK, Tibetan flag-raising ceremonies were held in Woolwich, Amherst, Northampton, and Easthampton, with another flag raising held in front of City Hall in Richmond, California, in the U.S., while in Europe peaceful protest rallies were held in Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, and Vienna. In Nepal, a country with close economic and political ties to China, authorities meanwhile barred Tibetans living in the country from marking the uprisings anniversary, sending a notice on March 6 to the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office in Kathmandu appealing to Tibetan residents of Nepal to refrain from organizing protests or public gatherings. March 10 is a sad day, said Tibetan resident Choesang Dolma. And though I cant go out to observe this day here in Nepal, I am so proud of the other Tibetans around the world who will march in the streets to commemorate this important day, Dolma said, adding that she would close her restaurant for the day to mark the event. Taiwan observes Tibet's National Uprising Day in a ceremony in Taiwan's capital Taipei, March 10, 2021. Credit: RFA US lawmakers voice support U.S. lawmakers on Monday also voiced support for Tibet, with U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi saying, Today, we continue to stand with the Tibetan people and honor those who sacrificed all for their rights and freedom. Tibetan men, women and children want simply to practice their faith, speak their language and celebrate their culture free from violence and intimidation. Yet, Beijing for decades has waged a campaign to destroy Tibets proud culture and history. [This] remains a clarion call for action to freedom-loving people worldwide, Pelosi said. I stand in solidarity with all the Tibetans around the world in commemorating the 62nd anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day, added Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, speaking in a video message in support. Your actions today will send messages that we remember all who lost their lives and who are driven from their homes in Tibet, McGovern said, at the same time urging the administration of U.S. President Biden to effectively implement legislation supporting Tibet signed into law by former president Trump. The U.S. State Department in a statement meanwhile called on China to respect the human rights of Tibetans and the preservation of Tibets environment as well as the unique cultural, linguistic, and religious identity of Tibetan traditions. ' Taiwan observes Tibet's National Uprising Day in a ceremony in Taiwan's capital Taipei, March 10, 2021. A similar history and struggle' Also on Monday, the Germany-based World Uyghur Congressrepresenting ethnic Uyghurs in exile and at home in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang where more than a million members of the mostly Muslim minority group have been held in political reeducation campsvoiced support for Tibetans struggle for freedom. Uyghurs and Tibetans share a similar history and struggle, the WUC said in a statement. Both people saw their land and fundamental freedoms being stripped away from them. Today, Tibetans and Uyghurs are living under the repressive genocidal regime of the [Chinese Communist Party], and the diaspora community lives in exile, advocating for democracy and fundamental freedoms, the WUC said. Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force nearly 70 years ago, and the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India and other countries around the world following the failed March 10 uprising. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings. The Tibetan diaspora is estimated to include about 150,000 people living in 40 countries, mainly India, Nepal, North America, and in Europe. About 7 million Tibetans live in Tibet and adjacent provinces of China. Reported by Lobsang Gelek for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Richard Finney. Indians today are undoubtedly better off than they were 30 years ago. Life expectancy has increased, medical care is improving and more infrastructure is being built than ever before. Yet, much more remains to be done. In late 2020, while the nation was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, it received some grim news: In the 2020 Global Hunger Index, India was ranked 94th out of 107 countries, with only 13 nations faring worse globally. Indian health and material indicators remain concerning. A sixth of India's population is malnourished and goes to bed hungry every day. A third of India's children under the age of five show signs of stunting. More than a third of the world's malnourished children live in India, half of whom are underweight. India is the world's second-largest food producer but is hungrier than Myanmar, Namibia, Senegal, Guatemala and Iraq and only one rank above the DPRK, according to the latest 2020 figures, which have shown little change since before the pandemic. About 300,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide since 1995 - that's about 33 suicides every day for 25 years. The poverty of priority Yet, watching Indian TV news and reading Indian newspapers, one could be forgiven for not knowing much about any of this. Much of Indian corporate media worries more about GDP growth and stock market indices than about poverty and health indices. When India was recently dubbed "partly free" by Freedom House, that's all the Indian media would discuss for days. It's always the same playbook: Millionaire anchors put on a sad face, elitist pundits lament India's "shrinking space for dissent" There's a debate with a few Ivy-league experts; the government is criticized, and then everybody goes home. The next day, the media loses interest and moves on to the next story. Many who raised barely a peep at India's ranking in the Global Hunger Index complained vociferously about India's ranking in the Freedom House Report. Many of the same elitist Indian commentators who criticize the rising wave of "intolerance" (a famous catchword these days) in India have few concerns about the rising wave of malnutrition. Many Indian pundits and policymakers remain thoroughly westernized in their thinking, worrying more about "freedom" and "democracy" than poverty and hunger. Apathy and arrogance So what explains the normalization of poverty in Indian policy discourse today? One reason could be the disproportionate influence of the privileged classes on public policy, what Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen call "elitist biases." Harsh Mander, in his book "Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice, and Indifference in New India," laments a "startling absence of compassion among a majority of well-to-do Indians towards the millions who have no advantages of birth to shield them from hunger A dispassionate external observer would be bewildered by middle-class India's capacity to look away when confronted with enormous injustice and suffering; by our society's cultural comfort with inequality." Of course, India is hardly the only country whose poor experience such disdain from the middle class and ruling elite. Complaining about India's diminishing "freedoms" and "intolerance" makes one look progressive and modern, and talking about poverty makes one look old-fashioned and out of touch. The right to rule And herein lies the key difference between India and China. The Chinese government believes that its legitimacy is derived from delivering public services. The Indian government believes its legitimacy is derived from winning elections. As Indian journalist and writer Pallavi Aiyar argues, in India, legitimacy is derived from process, while in China, it's increasingly drawn from performance. In the absence of any significant improvement in the lives and material conditions of the Indian people, India's promises sound hollow and its advantages illusory. The foamy self-esteem of some cocksure, complacent Indian commentators over India's "freedoms" and supposed advantages would sound a lot more persuasive if the said advantages actually produced some material benefit for the Indian people. After all, free speech doesn't fill stomachs. Yet, there is cause for hope. India was the world's largest economy for most of the last 2,000 years larger than both China and Europe and there is no reason it cannot be so again. Indian policymakers are making some right moves but at a snail's pace. For many Indians, it could be a long wait in hell before India's structural advantages and policies start bearing fruit. In the meantime, apathetic pundits will no doubt bask in the glory of Indian democracy and freedom that Indians ostensibly have and freely enjoy. If only more Indians also had food to eat. By Maitreya Bhakal, an Indian commentator who writes about China, India, U.S. and global issues. (Source: CGTN) It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! ANN ARBOR, MI - Returning middle and high school students will spend half their day in the classroom before departing to finish their learning from home in a new hybrid plan presented to the Ann Arbor School board on Wednesday. Students will arrive at school for three in-person morning classes before leaving for an afternoon session of remote learning in those same classes when they begin to phase back into buildings on April 12, according to the new hybrid schedule presented March 10. Under the new schedule, middle and high school students opting for the hybrid format arrive at their school buildings at 8:20 a.m. Middle school students will have a 20 minute advisory period at their home base classroom to begin the day before three, one-hour class blocks that run until 12:10 p.m. Students will then get lunches and go home for a remote afternoon of the same classes that begin at 1:15 p.m. Each remote learning block in the afternoon runs 30 minutes, with the day coming to an end at 3:10 p.m. A sample schedule for the hybrid learning format for high school students at Ann Arbor Public Schools splits the day between in-person classes in the morning and an afternoon of remote learning.Image provided | AAPS High school students will attend three slightly longer blocks of classes before leaving for the day at 11:55 a.m. They have 50 minutes of travel and lunch time before an after-lunch remote advisory period starts at 12:45 p.m., followed by remote sessions of the same three classes in half-hour blocks. Middle and high school students in self-contained classrooms will attend in-person classes all day in the hybrid format. Splitting the day for students between in-person and remote classes allows the district to serve lunches to students as they exit the buildings so they can eat remotely, rather than in an unmasked in-person format in the buildings - a concern of the district, AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift said. We know having students together in an unmasked lunch period, even with assigned seating, there are risks inherent in that environment, Swift said. The design of the overall secondary plan is to remove the restaurant risk, of the unmasked congregant setting lunch. This format also allows older students to be home prior to the dismissal of younger students, Swift said. Weve heard from many families the need to have that support at home, Swift said. It will allow students to balance their day between the rather strict protocols and restrictions that will be required of an in-school environment and balance that with the afternoon in the virtual experience. Under the hybrid format, middle and high school students will attend school in two groups, with in-person classes being on Monday and Tuesday for Cohort 1 and Thursday and Friday for Cohort 2. Wednesday remains a remote learning day for all students. Other larger Michigan school districts, such as the Troy School District and Plymouth Canton Community Schools, have created schedules virtually identical to what AAPS will offer secondary students, Swift said. Our hope is that with this more balanced day schedule, that well be able to bring back a greater number of students who are in need of that face-to-face contact, Swift said. The modified schedule eliminates some of the challenges for teachers in trying to teach students both in-person and via Zoom at the same time by having a uniform afternoon schedule, AAPS Executive Director High School Education Paul DeAngelis said. It allows for teachers in the afternoon to be teaching in the virtual mode that weve been accustomed to, he said. Ann Arbor Public Schools students will begin returning to the classroom in a hybrid format beginning March 25. Under the approved plan, preschool, young fives and kindergarten students will start first, along with small groups of students in grades 6-12. First- and second-grade students are slated to return in the hybrid format on April 5, followed by students in grades 3-5 on April 12. Middle and high school students also will begin a phased-in return to the hybrid format on April 12. Families of middle and high school students can expect to receive a registration survey in the coming days to let the district know if they plan to be in the hybrid or remote learning format, Swift said. AAPS also is scheduling meetings in the coming weeks to inform parents of more building-specific plans for the return to in-person learning. READ MORE: In-person learning coming to Ann Arbor Public Schools in March Parents hope Ann Arbor can deliver on intent to offer 5 days of in-person school this fall Ann Arbor teachers, parents have wide range of opinions on transition to in-person classes 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. You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite app including Alexa, Apple, Google, Spotify and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit! Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | March 11, 2021 One state lawmaker is looking to stop PennDOTs plan to toll nine bridges. A teen who was tackled and punched by an off-duty officer wont see any damages from the City of Pittsburgh. Luckily, Governor Tom Wolf seemed to indicate that St. Patricks Day for bars and restaurants is a go. Plus, one miniature donkey from York County is in the final running to be the next Cadbury bunny. Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa, a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa. Todays episode refers to the following articles: If you enjoy Today in Pa, consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too. The biggest gathering of pilgrims in the state for Maha Sivaratri is expected at Sri Raja Rajeswara Swamy temple in Vemulavada town. DC file photo HYDERABAD: Strict Covid-19 preventive measures will be in place for Maha Sivaratri festival at Keesaragutta on city outskirts, with up to two lakh devotees expected to visit Sri Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple atop the hill from Thursday morning to Saturday morning. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Katta Sudhakar Reddy, executive officer of the temple, maintained that the temple management committee will strictly follow Covid-19 norms. We have set up special healthcare stalls that will operate round the clock on these days. Some ambulances will be on standby. The number of prasadam counters has been increased to avoid crowding, he stated. Five hundred sanitation staff will ensure cleanliness while 1,800 police personnel will ensure vigil including social distancing, he maintained. The biggest gathering of pilgrims in the state for Maha Sivaratri is expected at Sri Raja Rajeswara Swamy temple in Vemulavada town, where six lakh to eight lakh devotees are expected from the two Telugu states, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Vemulawada temple authorities have ordered one lakh cloth masks and deployed 2,000 police personnel and an equal number of sanitation workers. Temples public relations officer Upadyalu Chandrasekhar said, Temple receives pattu vastrams from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthams for the deity on Maha Sivaratri. We are expecting three lakh devotees on Thursday itself. Department of Culture is organising 33 different programmes that visitors can witness. Arrangements have been made for distribution of four lakh laddus as prasadam. TSRTC is pressing into service around 1,200 special bus services to various temple towns with Shiva temples. Brahama Kumaris, who are devotees of Lord Shiva, are also organising several programmers in the twin cities on the occasion, Amarnath Yatra, along with 12 Jyothirlinga darshan will be there at Beeramguda, Kesara, Chilkur and Maredpally. First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill during a Covid-19 update in Dungannon (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA) Stormonts leaders have both signalled a willingness for vaccines to shared with the Irish Republic. Arlene Foster and Michelle ONeill were asked about the issue as Covid-19 vaccination rates in Northern Ireland continue to significantly exceed those south of the border. While Northern Ireland has benefited from being part of a UK-wide vaccination procurement plan that has received widespread praise, the Irish Republic has been caught up with supply issues related to orders negotiated by the European Commission. We need to maximise the opportunities that we have as an island in terms of the pandemic Michelle ONeill Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated a willingness to help Ireland with vaccines, but only after the rollout of jabs was complete within the UK. At a post-Executive press conference in Dungannon, Mrs Foster and Ms ONeill were asked about the prospect of sharing vaccines if there continued to be a disparity in vaccination rates on both sides of the border. DUP leader Mrs Foster said: I think that the Prime Minister has said that once the UK citizens are vaccinated that he is content to have that conversation. I think we need to have that conversation because if were vaccinated in Northern Ireland and theres still a cohort of people in the Republic of Ireland not vaccinated and people are moving about and coming up to Northern Ireland then that has an impact on us here in Northern Ireland because of the effectiveness of the vaccine working. So we need to have that conversation and I asked our chief medical officer (Dr Michael McBride) today about the efficacy of the vaccine if people were to come into contact with others who hadnt been recipients of the vaccine and he said that was something that would be concerning, so well continue to have those conversations, I think its very important that we do. Expand Close Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill stressed the need for cooperation across the island (Presseye/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill stressed the need for cooperation across the island (Presseye/PA) Ms ONeill said: We need to maximise the opportunities that we have as an island in terms of the pandemic. I think we could have made a lot more of that throughout the pandemic. I think nobody should be greedy whenever it comes to vaccines, were facing a global pandemic, all people across the world are faced with the impact of the pandemic so, yes, we should be sharing and, yes, we should be working together. Thats the only way in which were going to find our way out of this current phase that were all in. UTICA, N.Y. WKTV NEWSChannel 2 will hold its annual Heart Telethon Thursday, to raise money from the American Heart Association. The telethon will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Each year, WKTV teams up with Americas Greatest Heart Run & Walk to gather donations ahead of the event. However, this year, the run will be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to Tina Pavlot, Telethon chair, people can register now and fundraise over the next two months. Then on May 15, participants can walk or run on their own, and send in selfies and comments online. We anticipate having more people respond to that just because it is digital and you can do it from anywhere, said Pavlot. Special guests will appear on WKTVs morning newscasts, and the telethon will air on CBS Utica from 4 to 5 p.m., and 7 to 8 p.m. In 2020, $115,000 was raised through the telethon. To call in and donate, call 866-374-9588 between 6:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Anyone who'd like to register for the Heart Run can click here. A federal surveillance move will now be given to a jury to judge. Overall this is a win for the prosecution BUT a tactic that could be picked apart by the defense. Check more deets on the decision . . . KMBC: FBI's 'recorded confession' by Kylr Yust can be used in trial, judge rules Deets . . . "Yust talked about Kopetsky during a 2011 FBI audio recording on a hidden wire worn by his former girlfriend. . . Yust's defense attorneys allege Farris used the promise of sex to entice him to confess to killing Kopetsky. They asked Cass County Presiding Judge William Collins to withhold the FBI wire recording from Yust's trial scheduled to begin April 5. The recording picked up a conversation between Yust and Farris, "wherein the defendant confessed to killing Kara Kopetsky," according to a state pleading obtained by KMBC 9 Investigates. "Yust's recorded confession was voluntary," the pleading said, in part. "Yust was not 'entrapped' or 'enticed' to make his confession." Developing . . . Spruce Forest opens for season through a new door With the crashing of the trees, three of the cabins were destroyed, along with damaging the village church and other buildings as well. At this crucial time PMBs can help lower the cost for the venerable At a Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights held in Chicago in March 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. said, Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane. As a pastor and community activist, I know all too well the healthcare injustices faced by minority communities. Its not a secret that people from these communities are disproportionately affected by a wide range of health issues. And nothing has highlighted and exacerbated the disparities quite like COVID-19. According to a CDC study, Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19. In a double-blow to minority communities, not only do they have to worry about treating already present illnessestheres an ever-present danger of catching a deadly virus that has already killed more than 242,000 Americans. Chronic health issues arent cheap. Many conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or asthma, are treated with prescription drugs that are expensive. If someone has more than one health condition to manage (which is frequently the case in minority communities) those trips to the pharmacy can become incredibly expensive as the cost for prescription drugs continues to rise at an alarming rate. ADVERTISEMENT What is shocking and inhumane about prescription drugsare the actions of the drug manufacturers who create them. These companies continue to gouge prices and profit from life-saving treatments. The pandemic has caused people to lose their jobs, small businesses have closed, the unemployment rate is higher than ever, butBig Pharma hasnt suffered and continues to show big profits. Throughout COVID-19, pharmaceutical companies have continued to raise the cost of prescription drugs. And those who will be most hurt by the ever-increasing rise in the cost of prescription drugs are minority communities. There are many challenges to making healthcare more affordable and access to affordable medications isnt the only problem. But when it comes to prescription drugs and pushing back against the actions of Big Pharma, fortunately, this isnt a fight we have to do alone. Most people dont realize the shield that is in place protecting hundreds of millions of us from the price gouging of Big Pharma. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) negotiate on our behalf to reduce the cost and burden caused by pricey medications and they are doing this all day every day. This mostly unknown player in the healthcare industry negotiates the list price of a drug (set by Big Pharma) with insurance companies to make sure that the cost paid by the patient (you and me) at the pharmacy is affordable. Throughout this pandemic, PBMs have waived early refill fees and offered delivery services so that customers could receive their prescriptions from the comfort of their home. Even though many of us dont realize that we have PBMs negotiating on our behalftheyre there, working for us all. Positive stories about pharmacy experiences stand in stark contrast to the nightmare stories about rationing or forgoing treatments because the patient cant afford them. The common thread in the good storiesis having a benefit manager working to negotiate the price down from what only insurance alone could cover. ADVERTISEMENT The price of medications is set by Big Pharma. But instead of taking responsibility for their role in increasing prescription drug costs, they paint everyone else in the supply chain as the bad guy. PBMs are heavily scrutinized and blamed by the very organization that continues to raise the list price every year. Pushing back against Big Pharma and looking to groups who advocate for affordable drugs is a social justice issue. The actions of Big Pharma are unacceptable (and frankly, abhorrent) and make for unequal access to life-saving treatments. Advocate negotiators are a good first step in creating a level playing field as we continue to fight for equity in quality healthcare for all communities. Alleviating the high cost of prescription drugs is just one step at making healthcare costs more affordable for all. There is more work to be done in this area and we know that like everything elsewe will have to work harder to ensure minority communities have access to high quality and affordable healthcare. Those who have the power to create policy around this issue should instead focus on holding Big Pharma accountable for their role in increasing costsrather than demonize entities like PBMs that work to lower it to the benefit of the most vulnerable. We can only make progress on this issue when the blame game ceases to exist, and we work together to solve this issue for vulnerable communities across the state and make the cost healthcare more humane. Pastor William D. Smart Jr. Co-Pastor Christ Liberation Ministries President/ CEO Southern Christian Leadership Conference -Southern California European drug chiefs today approved Johnson & Johnson's Covid vaccine but the continent may face delivery delays because of a supply shortage at the company. Regulators at the European Medicines Agency have green-lighted the jab the first to only require a single dose for use on over-18s in the general public. It is now set to be officially approved by the European Commission. But the bloc might not get any supplies until the summer because the company is struggling to get enough of the ingredients it needs. The disruption marks the second time Europe has suffered at the hands of a vaccine manufacturer, after a row erupted with AstraZeneca when the company failed to meet its supply commitments when there were manufacturing issues in Belgium. Johnson & Johnson has now said it will struggle to deliver the 55million doses it had promised by the end of June, Reuters reports. In a statement the firm said it was still committed to providing all of the 200million doses it had pledged for the year. The UK has ordered 30million doses of J&J's vaccine enough to cover half of the population but is not expecting any deliveries until the second half of 2021. The Janssen vaccine is so far the only successful one to rely on a single dose, making it attractive to health services that will only need to do half as many appointments The EU has extended laws that allow it to block vaccines being exported from member states to foreign countries until at least June to boost its vaccine drive, which is well behind the UK The vaccine has already been approved in the US, Canada and Bahrain, and looks set to get used in South Africa and the UK. It is so far the only successful one to rely on a single dose, making it attractive to health services that will only need to do half as many appointments. Clinical trials found it prevents up to 100 per cent of deaths caused by Covid, and stops 85 per cent of cases of severe disease. An unnamed EU official told Reuters Johnson & Johnson had said the company was not likely to meet its target of getting 55million doses delivered by the summer. Europe had been promised 200million doses this year, with a quarter of them coming in the next three months, but this now may not happen. EU EXTENDS VACCINE EXPORT RULES AMID SUPPLY SHAMBLES The European Union has extended powers that allow it to block exports of coronavirus vaccines until at least June as its jab drive fails to gather pace. The laws were rushed into force in January amid an almighty row between the EU and AstraZeneca, which saw Eurocrats accuse the drug-maker of sending doses meant for the continent to Britain. Since then the rules have been used just once, to block a shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca vaccines going from Italy to Australia, but EU vaccine tsar Thierry Breton has hailed their effectiveness as a deterrent. As a result the EU has been forced to deny allegations of 'vaccine nationalism', with Council President Charles Michel attempting to flip the script and yesterday accusing the UK of putting 'an outright ban' on exports instead. The remark sparked fury in London as Boris Johnson denied that a single dose had been blocked, after which an EU spokesman admitted that no such ban existed. Mr Michel refused to apologise, however, instead qualifying his initial statement to say instead that there are 'different ways of imposing bans or restrictions'. The EU is presiding over one of the world's slowest vaccination campaigns, and has given at least one dose to just seven per cent of its population so far. Meanwhile the UK has given at least one dose to 33 per cent of the population. Britain is also injecting people much faster, at a rate of 0.52 per hundred per day, almost double the European average of 0.25 per hundred. EU red tape, supply bottlenecks and scaremongering around AstraZeneca's vaccine have all been blamed as thee cause. In the latest development, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia all suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday to examine a possible link to blood clots after and Austrian woman died. That is despite Europe's medical regulator saying that there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots. Advertisement The US is furthest ahead with the Janssen vaccine and approved it for public use on February 27. It is now being rolled out across the country as a third vaccine alongside the mainstays made by Pfizer and Moderna. J&J did not comment on the supply issue but said: 'Aligned with our agreement, we expect to begin supplying our commitment of 200million doses to the European Union in the second quarter of 2021.' The disruption comes after a blazing row broke out between Europe and AstraZeneca earlier this year. AstraZeneca, which makes Oxford University's vaccine, said it would have to scale back deliveries of the jab because factory yields weren't as high as expected to begin with, so it was running short. The EU responded in an explosive manner and has since become extremely protective of its supplies and imports and exports of vaccines. The bloc today extended powers that allow it to block exports of coronavirus vaccines until at least June as its jab drive continues to fail to gather pace. The laws were rushed into force in January amid an almighty row between the EU and AstraZeneca, which saw Eurocrats accuse the drug-maker of sending doses meant for the continent to Britain. Since then the rules have been used just once, to block a shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca vaccines going from Italy to Australia, but EU vaccine tsar Thierry Breton has hailed their effectiveness as a deterrent. As a result the EU has been forced to deny allegations of 'vaccine nationalism', with Council President Charles Michel attempting to flip the script and yesterday accusing the UK of putting 'an outright ban' on exports instead. The remark sparked fury in London as Boris Johnson denied that a single dose had been blocked, after which an EU spokesman admitted that no such ban existed. Mr Michel refused to apologise, however, instead qualifying his initial statement to say instead that there are 'different ways of imposing bans or restrictions'. The EU's charge d'affairs was summoned to the Foreign Office to 'clarify' the situation. The EU is presiding over one of the world's slowest vaccination campaigns, and has given at least one dose to just seven per cent of its population so far. Meanwhile the UK has given at least one dose to 33 per cent of the population. Britain is also injecting people much faster, at a rate of 0.52 per hundred per day, almost double the European average of 0.25 per hundred. EU red tape, supply bottlenecks and scaremongering around AstraZeneca's vaccine have all been blamed as thee cause. In the latest development, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia all suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday to examine a possible link to blood clots after and Austrian woman died. That is despite Europe's medical regulator saying that there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Women shouldnt have to pay more than men for dry cleaning, tailoring, razors, hair products or other substantially similar goods and services, New Jersey state lawmakers said Thursday in voting for a ban on the so-called pink tax. The state Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill (S2039) penalizing businesses for gendered pricing, a higher charge on products or services targeting and marketed to women and girls. A similar law went into effect in New York last year. Women are often stuck paying more than men for similar goods and services simply because these products are marketed towards women, Sen. Nia Gill, D-Essex, said in a statement. If these products are inherently the same, why are females being forced to pay more? The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs in 2015 compared 800 products with male and female versions and found women are asked to pay more 42% of the time. A five-pack of Hydro Silk Schick razors marketed to women cost $18.49, while a five-pack of Hydro razors for men had a price tag of $14.99. Target listed a red Radio Flyer scooter for $24.99 and the pink version for $49.99, according to the study. Personal care products cost 13% more, while girls toys were priced 7% higher, girls clothing 4% higher, and womens clothing, 8%. From D.C. to Trenton to your town, the N.J. Politics newsletter brings the news right to your inbox. Sign up with your email here: The proposal would prohibit gender-based pricing of substantially similar goods, which often differ only cosmetically think razors and shampoo if the difference in price is based only on the gender of the consumer it is intended for, according to the bill. The bill defines substantially similar as products made of similar materials, with similar functions and features. A products color or packaging dont count, while sellers can take into account differences in labor or materials, the bill says. The upcharges on items such as shaving gel, deodorant, these are things that are purchased frequently, and that means the cost of buying these adds up pretty quickly, said Anjali Mehrotra, president of the National Organization for Women New Jersey. Its really an equity question because it becomes exceptionally burdensome for women and girls from lower-income households. This proposal also would prohibit gendered pricing of services and specifies that barbers, tailors, hair salons and dry cleaners clearly and conspicuously disclose pricing lists for customers. They, too, would be allowed to charge women higher prices when more labor is required. We feel that haircuts should be priced according to the labor involved, so maybe by length of hair or the time it takes. Not by gender, Mehrotra told the commerce committee. If youre just changing the length of a pant or a sleeve it should not be gender based. It should be the same whether its a mens suit or a womens suit. Businesses that violate the ban could be hit with fines up to $10,000 for their first violation and up to $20,000 for their second, in addition to cease and desist orders and damages. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill 4-0, though two lawmakers were concerned with enforcement challenges. Im voting for the bill because the spirit of the bill is whats important here, said Sen. Joe Cryan, D-Union. It just looks like its pretty hard to enforce, in my opinion. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Beth Moore, a popular Christian author and Bible teacher in Houston, has decided to leave the Southern Baptist Convention as the largest coalition of Baptist churches in the U.S. wrestles with controversies about sexual abuse, race and the role of women in ministry. I am still a Baptist, but I can no longer identify with Southern Baptists, Moore told the Religion News Service in an article published Tuesday. I love so many Southern Baptist people, so many Southern Baptist churches, but I dont identify with some of the things in our heritage that havent remained in the past. News of Moores departure landed like a bombshell in churches across the country where her Bible lessons are widely studied and enjoyed. Beth Moore leaving the Southern Baptist Convention is the religion news equivalent to Prince Harry leaving the royal firm, wrote Christian author Diana Butler Bass on Twitter. A big and unthinkable deal. An outspoken advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, Moore has spoken publicly about her own experience as a young abuse survivor and how she didnt feel safe in her home, but felt safe at her local Baptist church. After the Houston Chronicle published Abuse of Faith, an investigation in 2019 that revealed how SBC church leaders, employees and volunteers had sexually abused 700 people over the past 20 years, Moore urged SBC leaders to do more to protect church members. Maybe youre not the abuser or the abused, but youre in a family where its happening rampantly, Moore said at the SBCs annual meeting in Birmingham in 2019. Our family is sick. How do we get well? But in recent years, the conservative wing of the SBC has tried to silence Moore. She said the pushback started when she criticized Donald Trump after an Access Hollywood recording caught him on tape boasting about grabbing the genitals of women and forcing himself on them. Moore said she was shocked when fellow evangelicals, who had roundly criticized Bill Clintons affair with Monica Lewinsky, rallied around Trump. In 2019, when Moore and SBC leaders called for reforms to prevent sexual abuse in churches, conservative pastors accused Moore of overstepping her Biblical bounds as a woman by delivering a sermon at a church. Women are prohibited from becoming pastors in Southern Baptist churches. Russell Moore, the head of the SBCs public policy entity who is no relation to Beth Moore, rebuked her critics. A Southern Baptist Convention that doesnt have a place for Beth Moore doesnt have a place for a lot of us, he said in 2019. Now Moore has decided the SBC has no place for her, raising questions about whether supporters will follow in her footsteps as the SBC struggles to attract new members. The SBC has officially apologized for its early stance on slavery, which had split Baptists in 1845. But controversies over race continue. Two prominent pastors of Black Baptist churches, Charlie Dates in Chicago and Ralph West in Houston, announced they were leaving the SBC after seminary leaders declared that critical race theory, an academic field that examines how white supremacy permeates society, was incompatible with Baptist faith. What the SBC seminary presidents have done has brought division and confusion to the body of Christ, West wrote in an opinion piece published by the Baptist Standard that explained his departure. American history has been tainted with racism. America codified it. And more, our public and private institutions propagated it, West wrote. Moore said the SBCs publishing arm, Lifeway Christian Resources, will continue distributing her books but will no longer publish them or help organize Moores live events, which have drawn thousands of people. At the end of the day, there comes a time when you have to say, this is not who I am, Moore said. john.tedesco@chron.com By Dr. Jeffrey I. Kim The word populism is considered one of the most contested terms among scholars and political scientists. Paul Targgart, professor of Sussex, the U.K., has said, "Populism is one of the most widely used but poorly understood political concepts of our time." Nevertheless, the definitions below are worth considering: (1) Populism is an ideology which presents "the people" as a morally good force and contrasts them against the elite" who are portrayed as corrupt and self-serving. (2) Populism is based on the principle of popular sovereignty, which is an integral element of democracy and it is neither undemocratic nor anti-democratic. (3) Populism is a political ideology which appeals to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. The word, "political populism" can be traced to as far back as the power struggle between the two political factions "populares" (favoring the people) and "optimates" (referring to senators and large land owners) in Ancient Rome. Since then, many different types of political populism have emerged and disappeared. Today, political populism is being practiced in many parts of the world regardless of whether the country is a liberal democracy or not. Francis Fukuyama, a political economist and professor of Stanford University, has recently argued that the rise of new forms of populist nationalism threatens the liberal international order that has been the foundation for global peace and prosperity after World War II. He also pointed out that populist policies are popular in the short run but not sustainable in the long run. Fukuyama also noted that during his presidential election campaign, Donald Trump stressed economic populism, threatening to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Fukuyama also said that when accepting the Republican nominations in 2016, Trump acted like a classic charismatic at rallies with his core supporters. Dani Rodrik, former professor of Princeton University, has pointed out that without separation of powers an independent judiciary and a free media, namely, in the absence of the rule of law and basic civil liberties, populist regimes can prolong their rule by manipulating the media and the judiciary at will. Hence the damage that political populism can do is limitless. South Korea is now undergoing an extreme version of political populism which allows a majority to ride roughshod over the rights of minorities. In May 2017, President Moon Jae-in came to power on a wave of populism. The Korean economy had suffered for several years from low GDP growth, high unemployment, and increasing income inequality. Moreover, President Moon's party won a landslide victory in the 2020 general election. Out of 300 seats, the ruling party and its satellite parties together won 180 seats (60 percent). This is the highest number by any party since 1960. Hence, the ruling liberal alliance can get an absolute majority. For three years after his inauguration in May 2017, President Moon had enjoyed high levels in his approval rating. It went up to as high as 71 percent in early May 2020. Then it dropped to the 37 percent level because many people lost much of their confidence in President Moon's political leadership. Now the Moon government is making desperate efforts to tackle five difficult issues fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening national defense with its allies, reducing youth unemployment, keeping soaring housing prices in check, and mobilizing financial resources for emergency relief funds. Of these tasks, the provision of emergency relief funds is the hottest subject at the national level. Politicians, particularly members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) should be careful not to map out polices solely based on populism Financial resources are always limited in supply. Politicians and the President may want to give cash aid to the people to boost consumption right before the mayoral by-elections scheduled for April 7 in two cities Seoul and Busan. However, there will be a moral laxity problem on the part of voters and ruling party members as well. Voters know the cash they receive will not change their consumption habit because the amount will be small and be a transitory income. If the ruling party members try to offer voters as much cash as possible, our future economy will be ruined. Dr. Jeffrey I. Kim (ickim@skku.ac.kr), former foreign investment ombudsman, is a professor emeritus at Sungkyunkwan University. He earned a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Chicago and taught at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the American University, Washington, D.C. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times. WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it has cancelled orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as the industry-wide downturn in aviation continues. A WestJet Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft taxis to a gate after arriving at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it has cancelled orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max aircraft amid an industry-wide downturn. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it has cancelled orders for 15 Boeing 737 Max aircraft as the industry-wide downturn in aviation continues. The cancellations leave WestJet with 27 Max aircraft remaining on order, the company says. "WestJet remains committed to our 737 MAX aircraft and have safely returned the first three of our 14 MAX to the fleet," WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell said. In January, WestJet was the first Canadian airline to return the Max into service, after Transport Canada lifted a nearly two-year grounding order for the aircraft. The aircraft was grounded in airspace worldwide in March 2019 after deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that investigators said were caused by a faulty sensor system. Transport Canada required airlines to make a number of design changes and implement additional training procedures for pilots operating the Max. Beyond those requirements, airlines have said they plan to notify passengers if they are scheduled to fly on a Max and will offer customers more flexible options for changing their flights to another aircraft. Air Canada, which also flies the aircraft, returned its first Max to service on Feb. 1. Air Canada cut some of its orders for the Max earlier in the pandemic, saying that the move was in response to new market realities. Airlines have been scrambling to slash costs as the pandemic and travel restrictions cause revenues to plunge. Air Canada has indicated that the industry is close to a deal with the federal government about a bailout for the sector, after months of negotiations about the terms of an aid package. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2021. Companies in this story: (TSX:AC) A fake Uber driver who prowled one of Brisbane's busiest party precincts sexually assaulted five different women on the ride home, a jury has found. Sampath Sandaruwan Samaranayake, 44, posed as an Uber driver to lure women into his car in the early hours of September 2018. The jury took less than three hours to find Samaranayake assaulted the five women in separate attacks, forcing them to touch him on the ride home. He also touched, kissed and exposed himself to the women, with some trapped in the car. Sampath Sandaruwan Samaranayake, 44, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting five women while posing as an Uber driver Samaranayake denied the claims in the Brisbane District Court, but was found guilty in Thursday of 18 counts including sexual and indecent assault and deprivation of liberty. The father of two took the stand on Wednesday, admitting Uber rejected his application because his 2007 Land Rover was considered too old. The full-time chef said he was under financial pressure and needed a second job to pay to have skin folds removed when he started his own rideshare scheme. He would trawl the nightclub precinct looking for passengers waiting for Uber drivers and offered to take them home for a cash fee. Samaranayake would discuss his weight loss and how conscious he remained about the 25 to 30 kilos of skin folds left on his body. He claimed the women enjoyed chatting, and his alleged victims tried to touch him to comfort him. In closing, crown prosecutor Sandra Cupina said it was unlikely that five separate women would offer a 'sympathy' sex act to a total stranger, and the jury should reject his evidence. 'It's implausible that they would touch his body in any way unless he forced them,' she said. Defence barrister Peter Nolan said his client had behavioural issues. 'He obviously had issues that caused him to act in a way that you might find a bit odd or bizarre, but that doesn't mean he is criminal,' Mr Nolan said. Strategic partnership pairs market-leading pricing solutions, domain expertise and implementation excellence across Germany, Austria and Switzerland PROS (NYSE: PRO), a provider of AI-powered solutions that optimize selling in the digital economy, today announced a strategic partnership with ISB AG to expand the PROS implementation, integration and support capabilities to customers across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The new partnership will deliver PROS industry-leading pricing software with ISB AG's implementation expertise to customers with the ongoing support needed to enable future adoption of PROS solutions, helping to accelerate digital selling transformations in the region. The rise in buyer preference for digital channels has caused pricing complexity to increase exponentially. Pricing systems that generate consistent and harmonized prices across all go-to-market channels are the only way companies can meet the needs of today's buyers while building customer trust and loyalty. A local partner with deep-rooted expertise in navigating complicated IT landscapes can drive a smooth implementation of these critical systems, ensuring companies can best serve their customers now while progressing towards bringing their full digital strategy to fruition. "Businesses are craving AI-based pricing solutions to meet buyers' expectations for real-time, relevant pricing to drive digital selling initiatives that fuel revenue and margin growth," said PROS Vice President of Alliances EMEA Lionel Chapurlat. "With its strong DACH footprint, proven domain and industry expertise, ISB AG is the right partner for PROS to deliver market-leading pricing solutions to meet these demands while extending our regional presence. Welcome, ISB AG, to the PROS partner ecosystem." For more than 10 years, ISB AG has supported all aspects of price management such as price analysis, price implementation and discount/bonus management. Implementing more than 1,000 projects, ISB AG brings a methodical, proven approach that has driven success for its customers over a 30-year history. "The collaboration between ISB AG and PROS will enable customers to power pricing capabilities that best serve the buyers in their markets," said ISB AG Vice President of Sales Industry Stefan Kroller. "Together, we will help B2B companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland achieve exceptional business results." About PROS PROS Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PRO) provides AI-powered solutions that optimize selling in the digital economy. PROS solutions make it possible for companies to price, configure and sell their products and services in an omnichannel environment with speed, precision and consistency. Our customers, who are leaders in their markets, benefit from decades of data science expertise infused into our industry solutions. About ISB AG ISB AG has been developing software solutions for many years, competently covering the areas of software engineering and IT consulting. As an innovative and software-independent IT service provider, ISB AG has been supporting industry and public administration customers with the implementation of their software projects for three decades. ISB AG offers sound IT consulting throughout all phases of the IT life cycle. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the functionality and benefits of AI-powered solutions to organizations generally as well as the functionality and benefits of PROS software products. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon PROS historical experience with AI-powered solutions and its current expectations of the benefits of AI-powered solutions for organizations that implement and utilize such software. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described herein include the addressability of an organization's AI-powered solution needs, the risks associated with PROS developing and enhancing products with the functionality necessary to deliver the stated results and the risks associated with the complex implementation and maintenance of AI-powered solutions such as PROS software products. Additional information relating to the uncertainty affecting the PROS business is contained in PROS filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent PROS expectations as of the date of this press release. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change, and PROS disclaims any obligations to update or alter these forward-looking statements in the future whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005082/en/ Contacts: Amanda Parrish aparrish@pros.com 832-924-4731 Malaysian Christians are allowed to use the word Allah to refer to God in educational publications, a High Court ruled on Wednesday in ending a decades-long ban, which the court said was unconstitutional because it restricted religious freedom. The Kuala Lumpur High Court further ruled that a 1986 directive by the home ministry to bar the use of Allah and three other Arabic words in Christian publications was illegal and irrational, because Malay Christians had used these words for more than 400 years, the state-run Bernama news agency reported about the verdict. The use of the words would not disrupt public order, Judge Nor Bee Ariffin said in her ruling allowing Christian publications to use not just Allah, but also the words baitullah, kaabah and solat. BenarNews could not immediately obtain a copy of the High Court judgment or reach lawyers on either side of the case. The High Courts decision seemed to contradict a 2014 Federal Court ruling in a separate case that according to the Associated Press, upheld the government ban on the use of Allah by Christian publications, which was a highly emotive issue for the countrys Christian minority and Muslim majority. Meanwhile, the government counsel on the case told Bernama that Christian publications using the words need to note that the material is intended only for Christians. However, publications that contain the four words must carry a disclaimer that it is intended for Christians only as well as a cross symbol, Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan told Bernama. Govt urged to appeal ruling Over the decades, many conservative Malaysian Muslims had said that non-Muslim Malays using words like Allah could use it to confuse and purportedly convert Muslims to another religion. The months leading up to the 2014 federal court ruling, and previous court decisions on the issue, saw huge demonstrations by Muslims who carried banners with quotes such as Allah is just for Muslims. Already, by Wednesday evening, the Muafakat Nasional coalition of parties expressed serious concern about the High Courts judgment. Muafakat consists of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) Malaysias oldest party and a partner in the ruling coalition and the conservative Pan-Islamic Malaysian Party (PAS). Muafakat Nasional wishes to state its serious concern on the High Court decision to allow the use of Islamic terminology by non-Muslims in their respective publications. The meeting urged the government to appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeal, the coalition said in a statement on the UMNO website. Some others approved of the High Court ruling. One person on Twitter who identified as Malaysian said banning Allah from being used by non-Muslims was discriminatory. As a Malaysian it baffled me and I was ashamed how Malay Muslim denigrated to such lows of discriminatory practices. My generation saw this absurd revisionism went out of control, the person tweeted. The 2010 Malaysian Census showed 61.3 percent of Malaysians practice Islam, almost 20 percent Buddhism and 6.3 percent Christianity, according to the 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom published by the United States State Department. James Masing, deputy chief minister of Malaysias Sarawak state, where Christians are in a majority, said Wednesdays High Court ruling showed that freedom of religion exists in the country. The High Court quashing the ban on the word Allah to be used by Christians, shows that freedom of religion is very much alive and well in Malaysia. It has the force of law in this country, Masing told The Borneo Post. A leading interfaith group in Malaysia said the High Court was right in allowing Christians to use Allah because everyone has the right to freedom of religion. Malaysians should respect the ruling, R.S. Mohan Shan, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, told The Malaysian Insight publication. 13-year-long case Wednesdays ruling was on a judicial review application filed by Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, a Sarawak Christian, 13 years ago. The authorities had seized eight religious CDs, with Malay titles that included the word Allah, from Ireland in May 2008 when she returned from an overseas trip. Ireland filed the judicial review application to challenge the seizure and for a declaration on her constitutional right to use the word Allah in Christian publications. In 2014, the High Court held that the seizure was wrong but did not decide on the constitutional issues Ireland raised. A year later, the Court of Appeal ordered the home ministry to return the CDs to Ireland, but told the High Court to hear the case on the constitutional aspects of the case. The High Court was set to rule on the case on 2018 but postponed a verdict. On Wednesday, the High Court ruled that Ireland was guaranteed protection from religious discrimination. It is not disputed that Bahasa Malaysia has been the language of the people in Sabah and Sarawak, Judge Nor Bee ruled. As can be discerned from affidavits by the applicant and several other affidavits, all of which have not been rebutted, it cannot be denied that the Christian community in Sabah and Sarawak used Allah in Bahasa Malaysia in practicing their religion for centuries. TexteZone1 The Chernobyl accident in 1986 and the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011 are the only two nuclear accidents classified at the maximum level of the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), although contamination levels are much lower around the Fukushima Daiichi plant than around the Chernobyl plant. To date, thyroid cancer in people exposed during childhood and adolescence is the main health effect demonstrated to be associated with radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident, due to iodine-131. After the Fukushima Daiichi accident, based on the experience gained from the Chernobyl accident, systematic screening for thyroid cancer was established in Fukushima Prefecture for young people who were under 18 years of age at the time of the accident. At this time, about 10 years after the accident, it is still premature to say whether there is an increase in thyroid cancer due to the Fukushima Daiichi accident. What you need to know about thyroid cancer The thyroid is a gland located in the neck whose main function is to produce hormones from the iodine naturally present in food (fish, seafood, dairy...). These thyroid hormones are essential for the proper functioning of the body and, in the event of thyroid removal, hormone replacement therapy is prescribed for life. The development of nodules in the thyroid gland is very frequent, in liquid form (cysts) or solid form. These thyroid nodules are generally benign, with only 10 to 15% of the nodules being cancerous in nature. Thyroid cancer occurs about three times more in women than in men, and the incidence of thyroid cancer varies from country to country: for example, in 2012, thyroid cancer rates per 100,000 women were 89 in South Korea, 20 in the United States, 15 in Italy, 13 in France, 8 in Finland and 6.5 in Japan. It is very rare before the age of 15 and represents less than 1% of all childhood cancers. There are several types of thyroid cancer: differentiated cancers (papillary or follicular): papillary cancers are the most common, representing about 80% of thyroid cancers. They are mainly diagnosed between 30 and 50 years of age and have a good prognosis. Follicular cancers represent about 10% of thyroid cancers. Follicular cancers are generally not very aggressive and slow-growing; undifferentiated (anaplastic) cancers: they mainly occur in the elderly (about 1% of thyroid cancers), the prognosis is very poor, with a life expectancy of a few months; medullary (familial) cancers: the prognosis for medullary cancers is more reserved, with a 65% survival rate 10 years after diagnosis. Typically, the process of diagnosing thyroid cancer begins because a patient has symptoms suggestive of thyroid cancer or because nodules are detected incidentally during a routine clinical examination. Performing systematic ultrasound screening in a population that does not show clinical signs suggestive of thyroid cancer may reveal thyroid cancers that would not have progressed (usually very small) and would have never been diagnosed in the absence of screening. This is because thyroid cancer usually progresses slowly and only causes symptoms when it is in an advanced stage. These cancers diagnosed during screening correspond to what oncologists call indolent or quiescent cancers. Early detection of these cancerous nodules does not improve the health or survival of patients, but may instead affect their quality of life due to medical treatment and/or surgical complications. Thyroid cancer screening therefore leads to an over-diagnosis of thyroid cancer, i.e. the detection of cases for which there is no medical benefit from treatment. The thyroid gland is an organ that is particularly sensitive to ionizing radiation, especially after exposure in childhood. In individuals exposed to ionizing radiation during childhood, the risk of thyroid cancer varies according to the type of exposure (external or internal irradiation), the histological type of thyroid cancer (papillary, follicular...), the age at the time of exposure, the time elapsed since exposure, the presence of iodine deficiency, etc. The increase in this risk can be very high, up to a risk multiplied by 20 for a thyroid dose of 1 Gy according to some studies on external irradiation. Risk of thyroid cancer due to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident From the early 1990s, pediatric physicians in Belarus and Ukraine noted a significant increase in the number of thyroid cancers, mainly papillary cancers, in children and adolescents exposed to radioactive fallout after the Chernobyl accident. Subsequently, numerous studies showed that this increase was mainly due to radioactive iodine released during the accident, with the incidence of this cancer increasing with the radiation dose to the thyroid. In order to better characterize the increased risk of thyroid cancer following exposure to radioactive iodine, thyroid screening including ultrasound imaging and clinical examination was implemented for approximately 13,000 children in Ukraine and 12,000 in Belarus (aged 18 years or less in 1986) for whom direct measurements of thyroid radiological activity could be made within 2 months after the Chernobyl accident. These screenings were carried out more than 10 years after the accident, once the increase in thyroid cancer incidence had been well established in young people aged 18 or younger at the time of the accident. In Russia, an annual clinical examination of the population, supplemented by ultrasound or other imaging procedures if necessary, was introduced in 1991 among the 110,000 residents of the most contaminated regions who were under 18 years of age at the time of the accident. All these studies showed a significant increase in the risk of thyroid cancer in people exposed to radioactive fallout in childhood and adolescence, with a risk multiplied by 2.5 to 6 for a dose of 1 Gy depending on the studies. They also made it possible to estimate the respective share of screening and exposure to ionizing radiation in increasing the risk of thyroid cancer. According to the report on thyroid cancer in Ukraine, Belarus and the most contaminated regions of Russia, published in 2018 by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), 19,233 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in the period 1991-2015 in persons under 18 years of age at the time of the accident, almost 3 times more than in the period 1991-2005. In the latest period 2011-2015, a total of 7,630 new cases were diagnosed, 80% of which were women. This increase over time in the incidence of thyroid cancer in those under 18 years of age at the time of the accident is attributable to the rise in baseline cancer rates with age (the risk of cancer increasing spontaneously with age), exposure to ionizing radiation and improved medical detection methods. UNSCEAR has estimated that approximately 25% of these thyroid cancers are attributable to exposure to ionizing radiation (between 7% and 50% given the uncertainties). Total number of thyroid cancers diagnosed between 1986 and 2015 in young people under 18 years of age in 1986 in Ukraine, Belarus and the most contaminated regions of Russia (Source: UNSCEAR 2018) FOCUS: The risk of thyroid cancer due to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident in France In 2000, a study by IRSN and the French Public Health Agency estimated the theoretical number of thyroid cancers over the period 1991-2015 attributable to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident among the 2.3 million children under the age of 15 living in eastern France in 1986. The estimate resulted in a very low number of thyroid cancers theoretically attributable to the radioactive fallout from the accident: between 7 and 55 excess cases. This estimate was of the same order of magnitude as the uncertainty associated with the expected number of thyroid cancers in the absence of accidental exposure to iodine-131 in this population (889 60 spontaneous cases). This observation is explained by the low doses due to the fallout from the Chernobyl accident in France (about 100 times less than those received by children in Belarus among whom an increase in the number of thyroid cancers has been detected). The study concluded that such an excess of cases would be very difficult to detect by an epidemiological study (Rogel et al. BEH 2016). Risk of thyroid cancer after the Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident Shortly after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011, based on the feedback from the Chernobyl accident, the Japanese government launched an extensive health monitoring program called the "Fukushima Health Management Survey". It includes the implementation of systematic screening for thyroid cancer by ultrasound for the 300,000 young people who resided in Fukushima Prefecture at the time of the accident. Since 2014, follow-up thyroid check-ups are performed every 2 years in young people under the age of 20, and then every 5 years beyond this age. Compared to Chernobyl, radiation doses to the thyroid in young people in Fukushima were lower, in the order of a few mGy, with a maximum thyroid dose of about 60 mGy in children, 10 to 100 times less than the doses received after the Chernobyl accident. Systematic screening implemented in Fukushima Prefecture shows a high rate of thyroid tumor nodules in children aged 18 years or younger at the time of the accident. The frequencies of tumor nodules are in the order of: 39/100,000 in the first screening campaign (prevalence of 116 cases among 300,476 children); 13/100,000 per year in the second campaign (incidence of 71 new cases in 2 years among 270,497 children); 7/100,000 per year in the third campaign (incidence of 31 new cases in 2 years among 217,921 children); 6/100,000 per year in the fourth campaign (incidence of 21 new cases in 2 years among 180,664 children). For this campaign, the number of cases is not yet consolidated and is likely to increase. Interpreting thyroid screening results in Fukushima Prefecture A distinction must be made between the prevalence and incidence of thyroid nodules or cancers. Prevalence is the frequency of people with a disease at a given time, including both new and old cases. Incidence is the frequency of new cases of a disease over a given period of time. As part of the systematic screening in Fukushima Prefecture, the first screening campaign from October 2011 to March 2014 provides prevalence data: as a result, some of the nodules identified may have been already present in individuals before the accident in March 2011. On the other hand, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th screening campaigns (as well as all those that will follow) provide incidence data: only new cases that have occurred since the previous screening campaign are identified. The results of the last three campaigns cannot therefore be directly compared with those of the first campaign. In the case of slowly progressing diseases, which is the case for thyroid cancer, prevalence is higher than incidence. Most cases identified by systematic screening in Fukushima Prefecture are small tumor nodules with no clinical expression, i.e., no palpable neck lump, and no endocrine disruption. These cases cannot be compared to those detected by a cancer registry that essentially records clinically expressed or incidentally discovered cases. The frequency of tumor nodules detected by a screening campaign is therefore naturally much higher than that of cancers provided by a registry. The increase in prevalence or incidence related to the routine nature of a screen is called a "screening factor". For example, South Korea introduced ultrasound screening for thyroid cancer in adults in 1999: a comparison of the 1993 and 2011 figures shows that the observed rate of thyroid cancer was multiplied by a factor of 15 as a result of the introduction of this screening. Other work carried out in Ukraine after the Chernobyl accident has shown that systematic screening by ultrasound (but limited to a nodule diameter of 10 mm, twice as large as that of Fukushima) can lead to an increase in the observed incidence of thyroid cancer by a factor of 7. In a Russian study, over the period 1991-2013, it was estimated that the introduction of screening increased the incidence of thyroid cancer by a factor of 7 in those exposed in childhood and by 1.5 in those exposed in adulthood. In order to make the comparison relevant, the data from the screening implemented in Fukushima Prefecture should be compared with those obtained in a screening campaign in non-exposed areas, using the same testing protocol as in Fukushima Prefecture. Thus, during the period 2011-2014, systematic thyroid cancer screening campaigns similar to the one in Fukushima were implemented in children aged 18 years or younger in three unaffected Japanese prefectures (Aomori, Hiroshima and Yamanashi prefectures). Data from these campaigns showed that the prevalence of thyroid nodules larger than 5 mm or cysts larger than 20 mm detected in young people by ultrasound in these prefectures was similar to the prevalence observed in Fukushima Prefecture. Are the thyroid cancers in Fukushima due to radioactive fallout from the accident? At this stage, given the effect of screening and the differences between prevalence and incidence, it is still premature to pronounce on a possible increase in post-accident thyroid cancer in children present in 2011 in Fukushima Prefecture at the time of the nuclear accident. Studies published to date show no association between dose distribution and thyroid cancer frequency in Fukushima Prefecture (Ohira et al. 2020). UNSCEAR considers that future radiation-induced health effects (including a possible increase in the frequency of thyroid cancer) will be difficult to discern in Fukushima, given the low level of exposure to ionizing radiation (UNSCEAR 2021). To date, there are several indications that the high frequency of thyroid tumor nodules observed in Fukushima Prefecture is related to the effect of screening rather than radiation (Bogdanova et al. Thyroid 2020): the age distribution of the observed cases is close to that classically observed in a non-exposed population (whereas the cases observed after the Chernobyl accident were much younger); a study published in the journal "Scientific Reports" in 2015 analyzed the oncogenic profile of 68 cases of thyroid cancer identified and operated in the framework of the systematic screening of Fukushima prefecture: the frequency of genetic alterations observed is similar to that observed in a non-exposed population (and very different from that observed after the Chernobyl accident); the prevalence of thyroid nodules observed in Fukushima Prefecture in the first screening campaign appears to be very close to that observed in Aomori, Hiroshima and Yamanashi Prefectures not exposed to the radioactive releases from the accident, where similar screening campaigns have been implemented; several modeling studies based on Ukrainian, Korean or Japanese data conclude that the effect of screening is compatible with the high prevalence of thyroid nodules recorded in Fukushima Prefecture; the estimated dose levels for children present in 2011 in Fukushima Prefecture are very low for most of them. Very few children received thyroid doses in excess of a few tens of mGy due to inhalation of radioactive iodine. At present time, the doses due to internal contamination of children have not been reconstructed individually (only a geographical distribution of absorbed thyroid doses by commune, estimated by UNSCEAR). But among the diagnosed cases for which the external dose was reconstructed, the highest estimated dose was of the order of 2 mSv. These doses are too low, in the current state of knowledge, to explain a detectable increase in the frequency of thyroid nodules. In 2011, the clinical management of a thyroid tumor nodule in Fukushima Prefecture almost always consisted of complete or partial surgical removal of the thyroid. However, in recent years, considering that most nodules (even tumoral ones) are indolent and may remain unchanged for many years, clinical recommendations have evolved towards ultrasound monitoring of nodules with no severity criteria. Today, the position of the physicians of the Fukushima Medical University is to move towards a less systematic mode of screening and therapeutic management. In particular, they advise limiting surgical operations at the time of diagnosis, and more broadly proposing an individual follow-up to monitor the evolution of the nodules detected. FOCUS: Recommendations for thyroid screening after a nuclear accident As part of a European project on improving health and medical surveillance after a nuclear accident in which IRSN participated, the SHAMISEN Consortium (Nuclear Emergency Situations - Improvement of Medical And Health Surveillance: https://www.isglobal.org/en/-/shamisen) recommends considering systematic health screening after a nuclear accident only if it is duly justified, i.e. by ensuring that the screening will do more good than harm. Based on the experience of screening in Fukushima Prefecture, the Consortium does not recommend systematic thyroid cancer screening because the negative psychological and physical effects are likely to outweigh the potential benefits in affected populations. However, the Consortium does recommend that thyroid health surveillance be made available to those who request it, whether or not they are at increased risk of cancer, with appropriate information and support (Clero et al. Approx. Int 2021). Subsequently, specific work on the value of systematic thyroid cancer screening was carried out in 2018 by an expert group from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, Thyroid monitoring after nuclear accident (TM-NUC) http://tmnuc.iarc.fr/en/), of which IRSN was a member. Consistent with the conclusions of the SHAMISEN Consortium, this expert group does not recommend systematic screening for thyroid cancer by ultrasound examination after a nuclear accident, in particular because of the risk of over-diagnosis. It recommends that consideration be given to offering a long term thyroid monitoring programme for higher risk individuals after a nuclear accident, combined with detailed information on the risks of over-diagnosis for patients and families (Togawa et al. Lancet Oncol 2018). The Japanese experience is rich in lessons. In 2011, the Fukushima Prefecture did not have a cancer registry. If this had been the case, it could have used this monitoring to quantify the incidence of cancers before and after the accident, and thus identify a possible resurgence of thyroid cancers. France set up a national children's cancer registry at the end of the 1990s, but the registries available for adults do not cover the entire territory. The SHAMISEN Consortium recommends the establishment of cancer registries, which help to estimate the health risk and to dialogue with civil society in the event of a nuclear accident. NBC First it was Dr. Seuss. Then Mr. Potato Head. Now Fox News has spent all week freaking out over the Looney Tunes and Seth Meyers is pretty sure he knows why. Democrats in Congress passed the final version of a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, as well as a bill that would strengthen unions, the Late Night host said Wednesday night. Both of which would deliver huge benefits to the poor and working class, but the GOP and Fox News have been much more focused on Looney Tunes and the royal family. The latest cancel culture war on Fox is over the decision to cut Pepe Le Pew out of the upcoming Space Jam 2. Personally, I cant believe Fox News is defending someone whos French, Meyers joked. If this was 2003, theyd be referring to him as a freedom skunk. For any viewers too young to remember, he explained that he was referencing that time when conservatives canceled French fries. In fairness, this outrage might just be because Fox News has lost so many advertisers that their last major sponsor is the Acme corporation, the host said. Thats why Hannity tied himself to that rocket last night. I guess my anvil boycott is back on. South Park Brutally Mocks Wacky QAnon Supporters in Vaccination Special Seriously, imagine being an actual adult and spending any amount of time at all complaining about a decades-old cartoon character being left out of a movie, Meyers added. The point is, guys, theres a pandemic raging, millions suffering or out of work, and youre spending your time defending the Looney Tunes. Since it seemed redundant to call behavior like that looney tunes, he went with Mickey Mouse instead. The Republican Party and conservative movement have turned entirely to nonsense culture war B.S. because they have nothing else to talk about, Meyers explained. They dont have a convincing criticism of the Democrats massive COVID relief bill because its overwhelmingly popular even with their own voters. Story continues So when conservatives call it partisan, he reminded Americans that its only partisan among elected Republican lawmakers. The GOP and Fox News cant criticize it, so theyd rather not tell their voters about it at all. For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Abu Dhabis HOPE Consortium has announced the inaugural World Immunisation & Logistics Summit, a major international gathering of front runners and senior decision-makers leading the charge in the collective human effort against the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the international speakers will be DrTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO; Mark Suzman, CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Stanley C. Erck, President and CEO, Novavax. The summit is organised by the HOPE Consortium, an Abu Dhabi-led public-private partnership responsible for the mass distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to the global population. It will take place virtually on March 29 and 30, and will further cement Abu Dhabis pioneering role in the fight against Covid-19. The summit provides an open forum for global leaders to discuss the logistical challenges associated with vaccine transport and distribution - from production to patient - with the aim of finding scalable, real-world solutions to achieving mass and broad worldwide vaccine delivery and vaccination, a statement said. The two-day summit will see the participation of over 1,000 attendees from all corners of the globe representing governments, key multi-national NGOs, IGOs, pharmaceutical and global supply chain players, as well as leading academics. The delegates will tackle key logistical and technological challenges facing global supply chains and associated emerging trends - including the rise of vaccine nationalism - to ensure equitable and rapid delivery of the life-saving vaccines at this critical juncture facing the health, wellbeing, and prosperity of all humankind. A virtual exhibition alongside the summit will offer attendees one-to-one networking and interactive exhibition booths to engage with key local and international stakeholders. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, Chairman, HOPE Consortium Executive Committee, said: The World Immunisation & Logistics Summit is part of Abu Dhabis continuous efforts in the global fight against COVID-19, and is a clarion call to the global community, key public and private sector leaders and experts to join hands in solving the largest and most complex logistical effort ever to be undertaken in human history. As we pass the pandemics one-year mark, it is incumbent on the international health and logistics players to overcome this enormous challenge through an open forum that brings about scalable, sustainable and equitable vaccine distribution solutions, delivering help and hope to all those in need. The global community is united in its need for solutions and through this summit, Abu Dhabi and the HOPE Consortium are seeking to leverage the power of human will and ingenuity to combat the virus and draw the Covid-19 era to a close. Dr Jamal Mohammed Alkaabi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH), said: Hope is Abu Dhabis message to the world. Combating this pandemic is not impossible, and we are confident that life as we all know it will go back to normal through our relentless work with all concerned parties to provide and transfer billions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to all parts of the world. This stems from our belief in Abu Dhabis vital role in eliminating the virus and limiting its spread, and its position as a global logistics centre. Through the summit, local and international leaders and decision-makers, who are committed to facing the pandemic, will come together to discuss logistical challenges and cooperate to achieve a comprehensive and fair distribution of these vaccines around the world." Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports, and Chairman of the Operations Steering Committee, HOPE Consortium, said: In assembling a global alliance, the World Immunisation & Logistics Summit reflects our leadership vision and its efforts to find a comprehensive supply-chain solution that touches billions of lives for the better. Keeping pace with an ever-evolving virus is a race against time that requires a combined strategic response from global experts across a broad spectrum of domains and industries. The summit offers Abu Dhabi Ports and our partners an unprecedented opportunity to not only help solve emerging cold chain and logistical challenges, but to work hand-in-hand with the worlds leading health experts to deliver mass volumes of vaccines to a wide range of geographic locations at the right time and in the right ambient environments. A key element in the two-day summits proceedings will centre on the revolutionary role that technology is playing in enabling end-to-end, safe, secure supply chain operations that protect vaccine integrity throughout its journey. TradeArabia News Service The Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine has become the latest to be approved for use in Europe, in what promises to be a game changer for the inoculation programme in Ireland. The European Medicines Agency has cleared the way for the EU to approve the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen. It is expected that Ireland will receive 600,000 doses of this new vaccine which will arrive between April and June. In total, 200m doses are set to be delivered to the EU. The vaccine is now the fourth one to be approved for use in the EU, and is slightly different from the other ones as it only requires one dose. Read More Additionally, it is easier to transport as it doesnt have to be frozen, and it is effective for all age groups. The vaccine had already been approved in the US, with the Food and Drug Administration giving the go ahead 12 days ago. Now that European Medicines Agency has approved it, the European Commission will have to authorise its use, which they could do as soon as tomorrow. Other potential Covid-19 vaccines are also under rolling review by the agency. However, they have not yet applied for authorisation. These include the Curevac vaccine, Novavax vaccine, and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. At yesterdays Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will not arrive until at least early April. Speaking today with RTE Radio One, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said that the UK and US do not yet have spare vaccines to offer to Ireland. I think its been made very clear that there are not mountains of vaccines or spare vaccines available right now, he said. I think there will be as we move through the summer, as countries vaccinate their populations, and they have a lot of spare vaccines left over. Read More When the World Health Organization declared the a pandemic one year ago Thursday, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining that the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most. The agency made some costly missteps along the way: It advised people against wearing masks for months and asserted that COVID-19 wasn't widely spread in the air. It also declined to publicly call out countries particularly China for mistakes that senior WHO officials grumbled about privately. That created some tricky politics that challenged WHO's credibility and wedged it between two world powers, setting off vociferous Trump administration criticism that the agency is only now emerging from. President Joe Biden's support for WHO may provide some much-needed breathing space, but the organisation still faces a monumental task ahead as it tries to project some moral authority amid a universal scramble for vaccines that is leaving billions of people unprotected. WHO has been a bit behind, being cautious rather than precautionary, said Gian Luca Burci, a former WHO legal counsel now at Geneva's Graduate Institute. At times of panic, of a crisis and so on, maybe being more out on a limb taking a risk would have been better. WHO waved its first big warning flag on January 30, 2020, by calling the outbreak an international health emergency. But many countries ignored or overlooked the warning. Only when WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a pandemic six weeks later, on March 11, 2020, did most governments take action, experts said. By then, it was too late, and the virus had reached every continent except Antarctica. A year later, WHO still appears hamstrung. A WHO-led team that traveled to China in January to investigate the origins of COVID-19 was criticised for failing to dismiss China's fringe theory that the virus might be spread via tainted frozen seafood. That came after WHO repeatedly lauded China last year for its speedy, transparent response even though recordings of private meetings obtained by The Associated Press showed that top officials were frustrated at the country's lack of cooperation. Everybody has been wondering why WHO was so praising of China back in January" 2020, Burci said, adding that the praise has come back to haunt WHO big-time. Some experts say WHO's blunders came at a high price, and it remains too reliant on iron-clad science instead of taking calculated risks to keep people safer whether on strategies like mask-wearing or whether COVID-19 is often spread through the air. Without a doubt, WHO's failure to endorse masks earlier cost lives, said Dr. Trish Greenhalgh, a professor of primary care health sciences at Oxford University who sits on several WHO expert committees. Not until June did WHO advise people to regularly wear masks, long after other health agencies and numerous countries did so. Greenhalgh said she was less interested in asking WHO to atone for past errors than revising its policies going forward. In October, she wrote to the head of a key WHO committee on infection control, raising concerns about the lack of expertise among some members. She never received a response. This scandal is not just in the past. It's in the present and escalating into the future, Greenhalgh said. Raymond Tellier, an associate professor at Canada's McGill University who specialises in coronaviruses, said WHO's continued reluctance to acknowledge how often COVID-19 is spread in the air could prove more dangerous with the arrival of new virus variants first identified in Britain and South Africa that are even more transmissible. If WHO's recommendations are not strong enough, we could see the pandemic go on much longer, he said. With several licensed vaccines, WHO is now working to ensure that people in the world's poorest countries receive doses through the COVAX initiative, which is aimed at ensuring poor countries get COVID-19 vaccines. But COVAX has only a fraction of the 2 billion vaccines it is hoping to deliver by the end of the year. Some countries that have waited months for shots have grown impatient, opting to sign their own private deals for quicker vaccine access. WHO chief Tedros has responded largely by appealing to countries to act in solidarity, warning that the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure if vaccines are not distributed fairly. Although he has asked rich countries to share their doses immediately with developing countries and to not strike new deals that would jeopardize the vaccine supply for poorer countries, none have obliged. WHO is trying to lead by moral authority, but repeating solidarity' over and over when it's being ignored by countries acting in their own self-interest shows they are not recognizing reality, said Amanda Glassman, executive vice president of the Center for Global Development. It's time to call things out for the way they are. Yet throughout the pandemic, WHO has repeatedly declined to censure rich countries for their flawed attempts to stop the virus. Internally, WHO officials described some of their biggest member countries' approaches to stemming COVID-19 as an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus and macabre. (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.) Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, and EFL (Expolanka Freight), the global supply chain company, have carried a vital consignment of vaccines from India to Egypt. Leveraging Etihad Cargos IATA CEIV certification for pharmaceutical logistics and capability to facilitate temperature-sensitive cargo shipments between +25C and -80C, and EFLs CEIV and GDP compliance, the two entities collaborated to carry a consignment of 12,475,000 Tetanus and Diphtheria vaccine doses produced in India, the largest vaccine manufacturing origin according to WHO. Maintaining the shipment integrity, EFL handed over the shipment to Etihad Cargos care in Mumbai, with the UAEs national carrier transiting the consignment through its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport en route to Cairo, maintaining the required +2C to +8C temperature ranges. This shipment underlines Etihad Cargos capability to transport temperature-sensitive cargo across the network and reinforces Etihad Cargo standing as an IATA CEIV Pharma-certified carrier, explained Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales and Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group. Working with partners such as EFL, Etihad Cargo leverages a collective of expertise and extensive network capabilities to provide essential logistical solutions to where they are needed most. Supply chain resilience stems from having the right formula of partners, products and solutions, as well as a deep alignment on shared values and complimenting capabilities, said Senthilnathan Shanmugam, Group CEO, EFL. With Etihad Cargo, we are able to deliver on our commitments and strive towards a safe and secure world for all. TradeArabia News Service Irish chief executives are more downbeat about the economic outlook over the next 12 months than their international counterparts, a report from professional services group PwC shows. While sentiment around economic growth has improved among chief executives here with 49pc of CEOs upbeat about Irelands economy in the year ahead, up from just 16pc last year they are more pessimistic than international CEOs. Global CEOs are much more positive, with three in four confident of global economic growth this year. It comes as countries across the world are currently rolling out vaccines against the Covid-19 virus. Last year [pre Covid] there was an underlying concern that the economy wasnt going to grow, said PwC managing partner Feargal ORourke. My sense isthe level of muted optimism here is probably a function of the scale of the lockdown here and the vaccine roll-out programme. We have had probably one of the most severe lockdowns and I think that is tainting peoples optimism here. Nonetheless, Irish CEOs are more optimistic about the outlook for their own businesses. An overwhelming 82pc are confident about their organisations revenue growth in the year ahead, up from 67pc last year. Organic growth and operational efficiencies will be the two main drivers of this planned growth, according to the survey. In terms of key growth markets, the UK and the United States remain the most important overseas markets for Irish businesses. Despite its withdrawal from the European Union, the UK will remain the most important trading partner for almost half of Irish CEOs over the next 12 months. While a trading agreement between the UK and EU has been reached, there is no agreement on equivalence in financial services, and data privacy concerns remain to be addressed, the report states. Over half of Irish CEOs expect to increase employee numbers this year. However, business leaders here are more concerned about skills shortages than their global counterparts. The report, which polled 153 Irish CEOS and 5,050 global CEOs in 100 countries, found the disruption and uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (95pc) is the top concern for an overwhelming majority of respondents. As governments look at ways to cover the cost of the pandemics impact, nearly two-thirds of Irish CEOs surveyed said that tax policy changes to address consequent rising Government debt levels will increase their organisations total tax obligation. Other concerns at a record high in Ireland since the survey began include cyber threats, climate change and environmental damage. While the pandemic has brought about a significant increase in digital adoption, it has also increased the risks associated with digital. As the second greatest concern, nine out of ten Irish business leaders are worried about cyber threats, according to the report. On the back of this, 27pc of Irish CEOs plan double-digit investment in cybersecurity and data privacy in the next three years. The speed of technology changes, supply chain disruption and readiness to respond to a crisis, were also cited as concerns. The Prime Minister has said he was shocked and deeply saddened after human remains were discovered in the search for Sarah Everard. A serving Metropolitan Police officer, who is in his 40s, is being questioned on suspicion of the 33-year-olds kidnap and murder. Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said on Wednesday night that remains had been found in an area of woodland in Ashford in Kent by detectives investigating Ms Everards disappearance. Boris Johnson said on Thursday: I am shocked and deeply saddened by the developments in the Sarah Everard investigation. Like the whole country, my thoughts are with her family and friends. We must work fast to find all the answers to this horrifying crime. The officer, who is in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, was held on Tuesday night on suspicion of kidnap before being further arrested on suspicion of murder and a separate allegation of indecent exposure the following day. Home Secretary Priti Patel said every woman should feel safe to walk our streets without fear of harassment or violence, after Dame Cressida sought to reassure the public. It is thankfully incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets, the Commissioner said. She added: But I completely understand that, despite this, women in London and the wider public particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing will be worried and may well be feeling scared. A police cordon in Fridd Lane near an area of woodland in Ashford in Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA) The Met said the arrested officers main job was uniformed patrol of diplomatic premises, but would not specify where he had worked. He was not on duty at the time of Ms Everards disappearance. The diplomatic protection squad is responsible for guarding the Parliamentary estate, including Downing Street and the Palace of Westminster, as well as embassies in London. A woman in her 30s has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. In a statement, Dame Cressida said: The news today that it was a Metropolitan Police officer arrested on suspicion of Sarahs murder has sent waves of shock and anger through the public and through the whole of the Met. A missing sign outside Poynders Court on the A205 in Clapham (Victoria Jones/PA) I speak on behalf of all my colleagues in the Met when I say we are utterly appalled at this dreadful news. Our job is to patrol the streets and to protect people. Investigators are continuing to work around the clock on what Dame Cressida described as a very fast moving case. The remains have not yet been identified and it could take some time to do so, the Commissioner added. She said people living around the Clapham and Tulse Hill areas of south London could expect to see increased patrols in the area. Police outside a house in Freemens Way in Deal, Kent (Steve Parsons/PA) As well as the search of the woodland in Ashford, over the course of Wednesday, officers also searched a property in Deal, Kent. Multiple cars were taken away by investigators and a neighbour told the PA news agency a police officer lived at the address with his wife and two children. Marketing executive Ms Everard vanished while walking home from a friends flat in south London on Wednesday March 3. Ms Everard is thought to have walked through Clapham Common towards her house in Brixton a journey which should have taken around 50 minutes. She was last captured on a doorbell camera walking along the A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill at around 9.30pm on March 3. A vigil titled Reclaim these streets has been organised on Facebook and is due to take place at Clapham Common bandstand at 6pm on Saturday. Organisers said: Its wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem. Weve all been following the tragic case of Sarah Everard over the last week. This is a vigil for Sarah, but also for all women who feel unsafe, who go missing from our streets and who face violence every day. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children ALBANY, N.Y. Albany Police Department officials said on Thursday that they had been notified by the New York State Police and the governors office about an alleged incident at the Executive Mansion involving Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a female aide that may have risen to the level of a crime. Steve Smith, a spokesman for the Albany police, said that the department had not received a formal complaint from the woman, who has not been identified, but that it had reached out to a lawyer for her. This does not mean, Mr. Smith said, that the department has opened a criminal investigation, but it has offered its services to the alleged victim, as we would do with any other report or incident. Albany police officials said they heard from the state police on Wednesday night after the publication of an article in The Times Union of Albany that detailed accusations leveled by an unidentified aide to the governor who accused Mr. Cuomo of groping her at the governors mansion, where he lives, late last year. The TBI has issued an Amber Alert in the ongoing search for Daphne Westbrook, who is 17 and missing from Chattanooga. Officials said she is with her non-custodial father John Westbrook, who is being sought after he was indicted by the Hamilton County Grand Jury for aggravated kidnapping. TBI officials said, "There are unique circumstances to this case" and said they have recent evidence that makes them more concerned for Daphne's well-being. She is described as 53, 110 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen in Chattanooga in October 2019, and did not return from a weekend visit with Westbrook. In June 2020, authorities in Hamilton County secured a warrant, charging Westbrook with custodial interference, and in October, TBI placed Daphne on its Missing Children website. On Feb. 23, a Hamilton County Grand Jury returned the kidnapping indictment in connection to Daphnes disappearance. Westbrook is 64, 200 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Authorities believe he may have traveled to the western United States with Daphne. He has known contacts in Colorado, New Mexico, California, and Washington. Officials said, "They could, however, be anywhere. And in recent weeks, evidence uncovered during the investigation into John Westbrook has led authorities to become increasingly concerned for Daphnes well-being. "Were issuing our Amber Alert now, because a warrant has been issued for a qualifying crime in Tennessee, and in hopes that should evidence place her and John in another state that state will be able to issue an Amber Alert faster. "If you see Daphne Westbrook or John Westbrook, or have information about their relationship or disappearance, call 423-209-7415 or 1-800-TBI-FIND, or email TipsToTBI@tn.gov or FindingDaphne@hcdatn.org. It appears that Azerbaijan is preparing for a new war, this time a direct invasion of areas of Armenia, Paul Antonopoulos wrote in his article on Greek City Times. The piece runs as follows: Two days before the Turkish-sponsored invasion and war of Nagorno-Karabakh began on September 27, Greek City Times revealed that Turkey was transferring Syrian mercenaries to Azerbaijan. This was denied by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry when asked by Greek City Times, but now there has been irrefutable evidence, including photographs, videos, captured mercenaries and testimonies. Now it appears that Azerbaijan is preparing for a new war, this time a direct invasion of areas of Armenia. Although Azerbaijan, with assistance from Syrian mercenaries and Turkish special forces, recaptured seven districts surrounding the former Soviet Unions Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast from Armenian personnel, it appears that a new conflict is about to breakout. After a humiliating loss due to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans unpreparedness and/or disinterestin maintaining control over the seven districts, a direct land route was supposedly granted to Azerbaijan so it can access its Nakhchivan exclave via a corridor through Armenias Syunik province, which Azerbaijanis call Zangezur. This was supposedly agreed upon with the signing of the November 10 trilateral (Armenia-Azerbaijan-Russia) ceasefire agreement. Monte Melkonian, a Lieutenant Colonel from the first Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994), said in the early 1990s that if Armenians lost Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, they would next lose Syunik Province, the thin strip of land separating Azerbaijan-proper from Nakhchivan. He stated that If we lose [Karabakh], we turn the final page of our peoples history. He believed that if Azerbaijani forces succeeded in deporting Armenians from Karabakh, they would then advance on Syunik and other regions of Armenia. If Azerbaijan were to capture Syunik province, this would not only connect Azerbaijan-proper to Nakhchivan, but it would also give Turkey direct access to the oil and gas rich Caspian Sea and onwards to Central Asia. Azerbaijan defends their position to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts based off United Nations resolutions. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has also maintained that his country is only interested in recapturing what it calls occupied territory. However, Turkish and Azerbaijani nationalists have called for the occupation of Syunik province to end Nakhchivans detachment from Azerbaijan-proper. Many prominent Armenians warn that the long-term aim of Turkey and Azerbaijan is to create a smaller Armenian rump state based around todays northern Armenia. It appears that Azerbaijan is preparing for a new war to capture Syunik from Armenia. Aliyev said during a speech at an economic conference last week that a new transport corridor will pass through Zangezur, a historic territory of Azerbaijan, and will connect mainland Azerbaijan with its integral part, the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, and Turkey. Ignoring Aliyevs fallacy that Syunik is historically Azerbaijani territory, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan claimed that with such a provocative statement, calling Zangezur an historic Azerbaijani territory and making reference to an imaginary corridor, the President of Azerbaijan deliberately undermines the implementation of the November 9 and January 11 trilateral statements. Article 9 of the November 9 trilateral statement does not mention the establishment of a corridor. The Azerbaijani president said on Tuesday that Armenia wants to obstruct the implementation of the Zangezur corridor, but they will not succeed. We will force them. This is a clear indication that Azerbaijan is prepared to use force to open a transportation corridor through Armenian territory to connect Nakhchivan with Azerbaijan-proper. Aliyevs statement comes as Azerbaijani media reported at the end of February that Azerbaijani Armed Forces will conduct a special operation in Karabakh. We cannot tell you exactly which area this will happen, but there is an accumulation of military equipment on both sides, the report said. In another suggestion that Azerbaijan is preparing for a new military operation against Syunik province, a Turkish Boeing 737AEW&C early warning and control aircraft was circling near the border with Armenia. This is the same planecodenamed CENAH01 which was used during the opening days of last years war. There are also reports that Azerbaijan is calling up reservists, while at the same time the Turkish and Azerbaijani military have conducted joint exercises near the Armenian border. The suggestion that Azerbaijan is preparing for a new war comes at a time when it appears that Ukraine is preparing for a spring offensive against militias in Donbass. There is a possibility that Azerbaijan and Ukraine, both close allies of Turkey, could launch simultaneous operations to force Russia to make concessions on behalf of Donbass militias and Armenia. Turkey strongly emphasises that Crimea is Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and that the Tartar minority are supposedly oppressed. In addition, Turkey provides drones to the Ukrainian military and also says it will not hesitate to act against Armenia if it does not succumb to its demands. Despite Pashinyans attempts to pivot Armenia away from Russia and towards the liberal West, Moscow is now helping the Armenian military reform and rearm. Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan told RIA Novostithat conducting military reform in Armenia isnt just planned, but is already being carried out, and our Russian colleagues are directly involved in this process. According to him, the main efforts will be directed to the development of control systems, intelligence, electronic warfare, air defense and unmanned aircraft, missile forces and artillery. In response, Aliyev said that Russia should not help Armenia modernize its army or provide new weapons. More importantly, Armenia is a member-state of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). If Armenia is attacked by a non-member state, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia would be obligated to provide assistance. Although it is inconceivable that Azerbaijan, even with Turkish support, would be willing to antagonize Russia into a military conflict, the question begs whether Moscow would be able to handle simultaneous conflicts in the Caucasus and Donbass if Azerbaijan and Ukraine are to launch simultaneous spring offensives, in addition to Russias commitments in Syria and indirectly in Libya. It is likely that Turkey would be urging Azerbaijan and Ukraine to make simultaneous actions to gain concessions from Russia, such as forcing Armenia to open a transportation corridor between Azerbaijan-proper and Nakhichevan. Guidant Financial Women 2021 Weve seen an annual increase in the number of women who own small businesses, said David Nilssen, CEO of Guidant Financial. 32% of small business owners are women, a 13% increase from last years 27%, according to findings from the latest Small Business Trends report released by Guidant Financial. The reports findings are based on the annual Small Business Trends survey conducted by the Small Business Trends Alliance (SBTA); a group of companies dedicated to supporting small business with data insights. The SBTA teamed up to conduct a joint survey of over 2,400 current and aspiring small business owners across the nation. Weve seen an annual increase in the number of women who own small businesses, said David Nilssen, Guidants CEO. This excellent growth shows how women are increasingly able to access funding and take control of their entrepreneurial journey. More Small Business Trends report findings: 51% of women small business owners are Gen X o 31% are Boomers o 17% are Millennials o 1% are Gen Z 29% of women started their own business to be their own boss o 20% wanted to pursue their own passion o 13% were dissatisfied with corporate America Top 4 Industries for Woman-Owned Small Businesses 1. Healthy, Beauty, and Fitness 2. Food and Restaurant 3. Retail 4. Business Services The Top 5 Non-COVID Challenges Faced by Women Small Business Owners 1. Marketing / Advertising 2. Lack of Capital / Cashflow 3. Recruiting / Retention of Employees 4. Managing / Providing Benefits 5. Administrative Work Political Party Affiliation for Women Small Business Owners o 36% said they didnt belong to or feel represented by any political party o 33% Democrat o 24% Republican o 7% Libertarian, Green, or other 55% of female small business owners surveyed voted for Biden o 27% voted for Trump o 18% didnt vote or voted for another candidate 44% of women small business owners feel somewhat or very confident about small business post-COVID o 40% feel somewhat to very unconfident o 16% are neutral 21% of women-owned small businesses lost revenue due to COVID-19 77% percent of respondents expect their small business to survive the pandemic Accompanying infographic and report can be found at https://www.guidantfinancial.com/small-business-trends/women-in-business/. Methodology The Small Business Trends Alliance, an organization comprised of Deluxe, Guidant Financial, MyCorporation, Flippa, FRANdata, and AP Intego, conducted a joint email survey from December 1, 2020 to December 18, 2020 of more than 2,400 current and aspiring small business owners nationwide. About Guidant Financial Guidant Financial helps business owners secure financing to start, buy, or grow a business. An industry leader in business and franchise financing, Guidant works with new and existing entrepreneurs to identify, evaluate, and deploy customized financing solutions. Their services include, but are not limited to, 401(k) business funding, SBA loans, unsecured credit, and portfolio loans. In total, Guidant has helped over 20,000 entrepreneurs in all 50 states to invest more than $4 billion in funds to start small businesses, resulting in more than 85,000 U.S. jobs created. Visit Guidant at guidantfinancial.com. About the Small Business Trends Alliance (SBTA) Founded in 2019, the Small Business Trends Alliance (SBTA) is a group dedicated to supporting small businesses with data trends and insights. These data-backed insights are intended to help small business owners confidently make key decisions, and to bring transparency to small business for prospective entrepreneurs to learn more about their options. The 2020 SBTA includes Guidant Financial, Deluxe, Flippa, MyCorporation, FRANdata, and AP Intego. " " Glycerine soaps are soaps that contain glycerine, a component of fat or oil. They are recognizably different from other soaps because they are translucent. John W Banagan/Getty Images Sometimes a chemist comes up with a really cool compound that can fix one or two really important problems, and other times somebody discovers a material that has literally a gajillion uses. Glycerine, also known as glycerol, has about a gajillion uses and that's not really an exaggeration. Glycerine was first discovered in 1779 by a Swedish chemist named Carl Wilhelm Scheele the same guy who first described the attributes of oxygen and a bunch of other elements like hydrogen, barium and chlorine. The late author and biochemist Isaac Asimov referred to him as "hard-luck Scheele," due to the fact that he was scooped by other scientists in publishing some of his most important findings, thereby losing full credit for these discoveries. Scheele discovered glycerine accidentally while boiling together olive oil and lead monoxide, and he called the resulting material "the sweet principle of fat," because of its slightly sweet taste. Later, the French chemist Michel-Eugene Chevreul named it glycerine (from glykys, the Greek word for sweet). Glycerine is a non-toxic, transparent, viscous, water-soluble liquid with a high boiling point that can be found in both vegetable and animal fats. Chemically, it acts like an alcohol, in that it can be reacted in some situations, but it's generally stable. Here are a few of the gajillion uses for this miraculous stuff: Advertisement 1. Soap Glycerine is an ingredient in many soaps, but strangely enough, soapmaking is also a way to produce glycerine. Chemists sometimes even formulate industrially-manufactured soap as a means to produce glycerine, which is the commercial name for glycerol. Glycerine is produced through the saponification process, which creates soap by converting oil or fat into soap and glycerine by heating the lipids and adding an alkali like sodium hydroxide, or lye. "Melt and pour" soaps that are molded into fun shapes generally have a high glycerine content. Advertisement 2. Hair and Skin Care Products Because glycerol is a humectant, meaning it can attract and bind moisture to it, it's a common ingredient in beauty products meant to moisturize, like lotions, conditioners and shampoos. Glycerine in haircare products can keep hair from overdrying and splitting and is used in shampoos that treat dandruff and itchy scalp. Lotions and skin care products use glycerine for the same reasons hair care products use them: They attract and chemically hold onto moisture. Lotions, for instance, generally contain three main ingredients: a humectant; an emollient, which smooths cellular rough spots; and an occlusive, which provides a protective barrier over the skin so moisture doesn't escape. Glycerine is the most commonly used humectant in skin care because it pulls moisture to the surface of the skin from the air and from deeper layers of the skin, leaving your complexion looking dewy. Advertisement 3. Food Glycerine is useful as a food additive, as it serves scads of different functions. It's a sugar alcohol, so it can act as a sweetener, although it's around 60 to 75 percent as sweet as sugar. It's generally preferred over other sugar alcohols like sorbitol and mannitol because it's less likely to have a laxative effect when eaten. Because of glycerine's moisture binding properties, it helps preserve breads, cakes and energy bars, preventing them from drying out. Its viscous texture can add thickness and smoothness to liquids. Because it's such a jack-of-all-trades, glycerine can be found in drinks, condiments, cake icings, soft candies, canned soup, marshmallows and chewing gum. " " Glycerine is used as a low-emission fuel to power the generators that provide electricity for the cars on the Formula E racing circuit. Edward Wong/South China Morning Post/Getty Images Advertisement 4. Pharmaceuticals Because glycerine is naturally sweet, it's used to make medicines like cough syrups and lozenges more palatable. But its sweetness isn't the only benefit of glycerine in medicines it's a great thickener for topical ointments. Glycerine suppositories attract water out of the colon to move things along in the digestive system. Otherwise, glycerine is used as an excipient just a neutral vehicle for the active ingredients in things like eye drops, ear drops and gel capsules. Glycerine is also used as a medium for freezing things like sperm, red blood cells and other living tissues. Advertisement 5. Paints, Inks and Plastics Glycerine has lots of industrial applications. For instance, it used to be the main ingredient in antifreeze, but it's largely been replaced by other chemicals that don't taste as sweet, and therefore don't attract and kill animals when it's spilled on the ground. Glycerine is an important building block of paints and resins used for coating things like wires. It's also used as a softener in plastics, and is used extensively in food wrappers because it's nontoxic and can prevent shrinkage. Advertisement 6. Vaping Liquid Vegetable glycerine is a common base in many vaping fluids for e-cigarettes, which some vapers prefer because high glycerine content makes for a very visible aerosol. Now That's Interesting More than 200 million pounds (91 million kilograms) of glycerine are made in North America every year. PITTSFIELD The Holiday Inn signs on the former Crowne Plaza Hotel have been covered up for now, but it doesn't mean the lodging establishment's conversion to that brand is over.The signs were ADVERTISEMENT The Debt Management Office (DMO) has decried the countrys debt service to revenue ratio, describing it as a major issue of concern. Patience Oniha, the Director-General of DMO, said this in Abuja on Thursday at the fifth Budget Seminar (webinar) organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The theme of the budget seminar was, Financing Nigerias Budget and Infrastructure Deficit through the Capital Market. Mrs Oniha stressed the need for infrastructure built with borrowed funds to generate revenue to service the debts. According to her, We have done the Sukuk, for instance, but the government is the one servicing the debt of those Sukuk. They (the debts) are not being serviced with revenue from those sources (infrastructure). I think that when we are talking about those innovations like revenue, bonds and all that, we should be talking about policies to ensure that the projects that we financed generate revenue, she explained. The government has tied the Sukuk bond to road infrastructure projects since its launch in 2017. Some of the roads earmarked for the hundreds of billions realised are Ibadan-Ilorin Road, Kolo-Otuoke- Bayelsa-Palm Road, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expresway, Kaduna Eastern Bypass, Kano-Maiduguri Road, and Damaturu-Potiskum Road. Afolabi Olowookere, the Head of Economic Research and Policy Management Division of SEC, said the current system where the government appeared to be the major financier of infrastructure projects was unsustainable. Mr Olowookere suggested that an adequate cost recovery system be adopted for any infrastructure to be revenue-generating. One major source for financing infrastructure is Public-Private Partnership. Government must formulate policies and incentivise the development of domestic public debt markets, he said. Oscar Onyema, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), said the exchange was ready to support economic development in the country through infrastructural products. Mr Onyema said the NSE would work with supply and demand side to create the needed environment at the exchange for infrastructure development. (NAN) NPP Ashanti Regional Secretary, Sam Pyne has slammed the Minority in Parliament over their behaviour towards Chief Justice Anin Yeboah during President Nana Akufo-Addo's State of the Nation Address. The President delivered his State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, March 9 on the floor of Parliament. He touched on his achievements and development initiatives to be implemented in his second term. Although the President had his share of Minority interjections, what has caught attention is the Minority's cold reception to the Chief Justice. The Minority booed and hissed when the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin acknowledged the Chief Justice's presence at the function. Sam Pyne is utterly disappointed in the Minority. Contributing to Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", he described the Minority's action as an embarrassment to the world. "It wasn't a good thing to show the world. If we do that, then we're portraying that either someone didn't tell us the truth or we don't respect the court decision. Moreover, the Chief Justice is not the court; it's a panel and none of them dissented," he said. Watch video below 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. Featured Video 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. LOS ANGELESThe PRO Act, federal legislation that takes the provisions of Californias AB5 law restricting how companies may hire freelance workers and makes them national, took a major step toward becoming law Tuesday when the United States House passed the bill on a mostly party-line vote, 225-206. Five Republicans voted in favor of the bill, whose full name is Protecting the Right to Organize Act, along with all 220 House Democrats. Identical to AB5, the PRO Act includes the so-called ABC Test used to determine which workers can be deemed independent contractors, and which must be treated as employees. When AB5 took effect in California at the start of last year, it created alarm within the adult industry, where most performers and crew members work on a freelance basis. The bill created the most confusion in the live adult performance sector, where the freewheeling system in most strip clubs that allows dancers to leave each night with cash in hand while protecting their own identities was curtailed by the ABC test. According to a report by the news site Vox.com, Democratic aides say that the ABC test included in the PRO Act will not impair the ability of freelancers to work, but instead will simply give them the option to collectively bargain along with regular employees. Though how such collective bargaining involving independent contractors would work remains unclear. President Joe Biden has endorsed both AB5 and the PRO Act, saying during his presidential campaign that the ABC test will mean many more workers will get the legal protections and benefits they rightfully should receive. Under the three-pronged ABC test, to remain an independent contractor a worker must be free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, as well as performing work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entitys business. The worker must also be engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed. The ABC test replaces the more lenient Borello Test, under which a worker must prove only that she or he is free from the control of an employer that is, do the workers set their own hours, work from a location of their choice, supply their own equipment and so on? Writing for The Week news magazine, freelance writer Bonnie Kristian said that the PRO Act is intended to force companies to hire us as employees with all the benefits, like insurance and vacation time, that entails rather than as independent contractors. That won't happen. If this legislation passes as-is, it will instead destroy my livelihood by making all my work contracts illegal. Under Californias AB5 law, freelance writers were initially limited to publishing only 35 articles per year for any given publication. But last September, the state legislature approved a new bill, AB2257, which exempted those writers from the ABC test completely along with workers in dozens of other industries. The primary targets of AB5 were rideshare and delivery companies that utilize gig economy workers companies such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and others. But in November, California voters approved Proposition 22, which exempted those companies as well, leaving AB5 largely crippled. But if the PRO Act becomes law, the federal legislation would likely supersede those state exemptions. The law faces an uphill battle in the U.S. Senate, however, where it would need 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster. Whether Democrats could induce 10 Senate Republicans to support the bill appears to be a longshot. Photo By Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives / Wikimedia Commons VICTOR, N.Y., March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a leading beverage alcohol company, announced today a commitment to invest $10 million in the Clear Vision Impact Fund, LP, a newly-formed investment vehicle founded by Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC - the only U.S. investment bank certified as a women and minority-owned enterprise. The Clear Vision Impact Fund's objective is to make investments in minority-owned businesses, with an emphasis on African American/Black-owned businesses; businesses that operate in or serve underserved, predominantly African American and Latinx, markets; and businesses that foster inclusive growth. "Minority-owned businesses are under-represented in our industry and many other business segments as pervasive and systemic barriers have existed for these companies and their leaders for far too long," said Bill Newlands, Constellation Brands' president and chief executive officer. "We remain committed to doing our part to help remove such barriers and we're proud to partner with Siebert Williams Shank & Co. and other companies that have joined this effort. Working together, we can provide greater access to capital and opportunity for minority-owned businesses as well as the employees and communities they support." According to small business financing company Guidant Financial's analysis of African American/Black-owned businesses in 2020, lack of cash flow or capital is cited as one of the main challenges facing Black entrepreneurs(1). In addition, minority-owned firms often face lending discrimination. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, an organization that works to champion fairness and end discrimination in lending, housing and business, found that in 44 percent of tests, Black business lending applicants received disparate treatment from lenders, including discouraging Black firms from applying for a loan and requiring additional information of Black firms compared to White firms(2). Constellation's investment in the fund is part of the company's commitment to invest $100 million in African American/Black and minority-owned businesses by 2030, a component of the company's multi-initiative racial justice action planaimed at achieving greater equity for African American/Black and minority colleagues at Constellation, within the beverage alcohol industry, and within the communities where the company operates. "Supporting our communities has been a core part of Constellation Brands' DNA since our founding more than 75 years ago and we are committed to fostering economic prosperity and development for disadvantaged communities around the world where we operate," said Michael McGrew, Constellation Brands' chief diversity officer. "We're proud to play a role in helping provide greater access to support and opportunity in our communities by giving Black and minority-owned small businesses a more equitable fighting chance through this investment. While we still have much work ahead to reach our ultimate goals, I am extremely inspired by our team's passion and dedication to making meaningful progress." (1) https://www.guidantfinancial.com/small-business-trends/african-americans-in-business/ (2) https://ncrc.org/lending-discrimination-within-the-paycheck-protection-program/ ABOUT CONSTELLATION BRANDS At Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), our mission is to build brands that people love because we believe sharing a toast, unwinding after a day, celebrating milestones, and helping people connect, are Worth Reaching For. It's worth our dedication, hard work, and the bold calculated risks we take to deliver more for our consumers, trade partners, shareholders, and communities in which we live and work. It's what has made us one of the fastest-growing large CPG companies in the U.S. at retail, and it drives our pursuit to deliver what's next. Today, we are a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. Every day, people reach for our high-end, iconic imported beer brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Corona Premier, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, and Pacifico, and our high-quality premium wine and spirits brands, including the Robert Mondavi Brand Family, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, The Prisoner Brand Family, SVEDKA Vodka, Casa Noble Tequila, and High West Whiskey. But we won't stop here. Our visionary leadership team and passionate employees from barrel room to boardroom are reaching for the next level, to explore the boundaries of the beverage alcohol industry and beyond. Join us in discovering what's Worth Reaching For. To learn more, follow us on Twitter @cbrandsand visit www.cbrands.com. MEDIA CONTACTS INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS Mike McGrew 773-251-4934 / michael.mcgrew@cbrands.com (mailto:michael.mcgrew@cbrands.com) Amy Martin 585-678-7141 / amy.martin@cbrands.com (mailto:amy.martin@cbrands.com) Patty Yahn-Urlaub 585-678-7483 / patty.yahn-urlaub@cbrands.com (mailto:patty.yahn-urlaub@cbrands.com) Marisa Pepelea 312-741-2316 / marisa.pepelea@cbrands.com (mailto:marisa.pepelea@cbrands.com) A downloadable PDF copy of this news release can be found here. http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/4bb022b7-a83c-4fb5-b0ea-e685a7e9a567 Virgin Australia has launched a mega flash sale on flights to some of the country's best holiday spots including Byron Bay and the Whitsundays. The half-price air fares will be offered for just two hours between 5-7pm on Friday night with Aussies urged to get in quick. Destinations include Byron Bay, Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Launceston and the Whitsundays. Virgin Australia has launched a mega flash sale on flights to some of the country's best holiday spots including Byron Bay and the Whitsundays (Whitsundays pictured) VIRGIN'S BEST DEALS Sydney to Byron Bay $55 Melbourne to Gold Coast $88 Brisbane to Whitsundays $78 Sydney to Gold Coast $55 Melbourne to Launceston $64 Advertisement Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the sale was a way to encourage Australians to get out and see their country. 'We've announced today a flash sale to get the party started and get people into some half-price fares,' she told Sunrise on Friday morning. The deal includes one way flights including routes from Sydney to Byron Bay for just $55, Melbourne to the Gold Coast for $88 and Brisbane to the Whitsundays for $78. Melbournians planning a trip to Tasmania's Launceston have also been urged to get in quick with air fares starting from just $64. Virgin's flash sale will be separate to the government's half price flights policy which is due to start from April 1. Under Scott Morrison's plan, interstate tickets to and from 13 holiday hotspots will be subsidised by the federal government until July 31 and airlines will ramp up their flight schedules to deal with an expected surge in demand over the next three months. Melbourne residents planning a trip to Tasmania's Launceston (pictured) have also been urged to get in quick with air fares starting from just $64 The Pass beach is seen at Byron Bay. The popular holiday destination is included in Virgin's flash sale launching on Friday night The locations on offer are the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (including Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island. Some 57 routes will be covered on the Qantas and Jetstar network, CEO Alan Joyce said on Thursday morning. The discount means a return ticket from Sydney to Cairns which currently costs $233 could be as little as $116.50. A return between Melbourne and the Gold Coast, which is now on sale from $130, could cost just $65. To get their half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. The discount only applies to inter-state travel, not intra-state flights - providing an incentive to premiers to keep their state borders open. The world has marked one year since the coronavirus threat was declared a pandemic The world on Thursday marked one year since the coronavirus threat was declared a pandemic, with vaccinations offering hope but much of humanity still enduring highly restricted lives and no clear path back to normality. The enormity of the challenge entering the second year of the pandemic was highlighted Wednesday in Brazil, where a surge fuelled by more contagious new variants saw a record 2,286 deaths reported for the day. On the economic front, the US Congress passed one of its biggest stimulus efforts ever -- a $1.9-trillion package that President Joe Biden said would give struggling American families a "fighting chance". History of deadly plagues, epidemics and global pandemics Since first emerging in China at the end of 2019, the coronavirus has killed more than 2.6 million people and forced unprecedented curbs on movement that eviscerated economies. "It took a long time for the politicians to act... We are paying for it, the poor people," said Adilson Menezes, 40, outside a hospital in Brazil's biggest city Sao Paulo, where all non-essential businesses are closed to help fight the virus. In Brazil a surge fuelled by more contagious new variants saw a record 2,286 deaths reported in 24-hours on Wednesday The World Health Organization officially declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11 last year as infection numbers were beginning to explode across Asia and Europe. About 4,600 deaths had been officially recorded around the world at the time. On the same day, actor Tom Hanks announced while on a filming mission in Australia that he had contracted the virus, deepening fears that no one was safe. But with the United States only just starting to feel the direct impacts of the pandemic, then president Donald Trump played down the threat. Despite the rollout of vaccines in many parts of the world, the fight against Covid-19 is far from over "The virus will not have a chance against us," Trump told the nation. Under his chaotic leadership, the United States would become the hardest-hit nation: the American death toll today stands at more than 528,000. - 'War footing' - The only defenses to the contagious virus one year ago appeared to be face masks and stopping people from interacting. Global aviation came to a standstill and governments imposed deeply unpopular restrictions, forcing billions of fearful people into some form of lockdown. Cats sit by closed shops in the old city of Jerusalem during Israel's third COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown in December 2020 "We are on a war footing," Corinne Krencker, the head of a hospital network in eastern France told AFP on March 11 last year, as patient and death numbers began to surge. In Madrid, 70-year-old Jose Luis Lucas was taking his granddaughters out of the bustling city to a holiday home he hoped would be safer. "These are my grandchildren, I have to look after them, don't I," he told AFP on the day the pandemic was declared. "We will just have to avoid too many hugs and kisses." - Vaccine hope - At the same time, governments and scientists were beginning the race to create vaccines -- research and development that would take place at an unprecedented, breakneck pace. US President Joe Biden has vowed to have enough vaccine doses for the entire American population within months Today, several shots are being rolled out, including those developed in China, Russia and India. More than 300 million vaccine doses have been administered in 140 countries, according to an AFP count. The global vaccine rollout has also exposed power and wealth divides. Rich nations have surged ahead with their mass vaccination programs, while billions in poorer nations are still waiting to receive shots. Hope for a worldwide push has been boosted by the launch of deliveries under the WHO-backed Covax scheme, which aims to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. People wait after being inoculated with a Covid-19 vaccine in Beijing, China The success of the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Johnson & Johnson shots is further cause for optimism as they are easier to transport and store than the ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, which require ultra-cold refrigerators. The European Union's medical regulator was set to hold a meeting Thursday to discuss authorization for the J&J vaccine, which has already been approved by Canada and the United States. - 'Light at end of tunnel' - The US vaccination effort has gained momentum in recent weeks, with Biden vowing to have enough doses in place within months for the entire American population. His administration has driven through the massive economic stimulus package, which Biden is expected to sign into law on Friday. Biden is scheduled to deliver a prime-time televised speech on Thursday in which he will offer an optimistic vision for his nation, and by extension the world. "There is real reason for hope folks, I promise you," Biden said in a preview of his remarks, which will include his administration's next steps against Covid-19. "There is light at the end of the tunnel." burs-qan/kma Holotype (left) and paratype (right) male specimens of Luciola singapura, a new species of firefly from Singapore. Credit: Wan F. A. Jusoh Researchers from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, have discovered a new species of firefly from the last remaining freshwater swamp forest in Singapore. This is the first time since 1909 that a new species of luminous firefly has been discovered in Singaporehighlighting the need for continued biodiversity research, even in small, well-studied, and highly developed countries such as Singapore. Fireflies are one of earth's most charismatic insects, owing to their ability to produce spectacular bioluminescent displays. They are an extremely diverse group of beetles in the family Lampyridae, with more than 2000 species worldwide. It continues to fascinate many that in Singapore, a small, highly urbanized, and bustling city-state in Southeast Asia, fireflies have a scattered distribution but are not as uncommon as many would assume. A Familiar Unknown In 2009, a nationwide survey of fireflies by National Parks Board (NParks) at 14 sites across Singapore documented 11 firefly species, including an unidentified species, codenamed Luciola sp. 2 after the firefly genus Luciola. "When we first encountered this species, we knew it was interesting because the specimens were collected from a freshwater swamp forest in the central catchment area of Singaporefireflies are rarely reported from this type of habitat. Furthermore, it did not fit the descriptions of any known firefly species to-date," says Dr. Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh, the lead author and Research Fellow at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM), National University of Singapore (NUS). "We thought the specimens collected in 2009 were the only ones of the unidentified species until I started examining the firefly collection in LKCNHM and found three additional specimens collected 20 years prior. I immediately contacted my colleagues at NParks and we arranged a series of night surveys." Map of Singapore showing the location of Luciola singapura in the Nee Soon Swamp Forest (inset). Numbered dots represent type localities of Luciola species in Asia and the Pacific islands that were examined and/or analysed in the study. Credit: Jusoh et al. (2021) A 10-Year Reunion Ten years after the 2009 nationwide survey, the researchers from NUS and NParks revisited the firefly habitat located in the Nee Soon Swamp Forestthe last remaining freshwater swamp forest in Singapore and successfully collected additional specimens of Luciola sp. 2. However, the study did not come without its challenges. The genus Luciola contains at least 280 species, most of which cannot be readily distinguished from one another using traditional external features. Therefore, to determine the identity of Luciola sp. 2, the researchers performed intricate dissections to examine internal organs and employed modern DNA techniques through a method called genome skimming. After two years of data collection and analysis, in collaboration with researchers from Charles Sturt University, Australia and Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and NUS Department of Biological Sciences, the results showed that Luciola sp. 2 was both genetically and morphologically unique and was thus described as a new species called Luciola singapura. "This study underscores the importance and utility of molecular methods that can provide solutions to problems that are otherwise difficult to resolve using traditional approaches," explains Dr. Chan Kin Onn, co-author and Museum Officer at LKCNHM. Beacon of Hope The last luminous firefly described from Singapore was Pteroptyx bearni Olivier in 1909, which is a well-known congregating firefly species in Southeast Asian mangroves (see page 228 our Voyageurs, Explorateurs et Scientifiques e-book). Unfortunately, this species has not been sighted in Singapore since then and is assumed to be extirpated. This new discovery that came 100 years later gives hope that continued research in the field and among museum collections, as well as advancement in molecular techniques can help us better understand our natural heritage. Lim Liang Jim, Group Director of the National Biodiversity Centre at NParks added: "The discovery of this new species is very significant to science in Singapore, and shows the importance of conserving the last freshwater swamp forest here. As part of efforts to transform Singapore into a City in Nature, under the NParks Nature Conservation Masterplan, we are implementing species recovery plans for our endangered and rare species which include enhancing core habitats. We currently have a species recovery plan for Singapore fireflies and this new discovery will also contribute to the understanding of the species and ecology of fireflies in Singapore." Explore further Firefly tourism takes flight, sparking wonder and concern More information: Wan F. A. Jusoh et al. Molecular Systematics of the Firefly Genus Luciola (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) with the Description of a New Species from Singapore, Animals (2021). Wan F. A. Jusoh et al. Molecular Systematics of the Firefly Genus Luciola (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) with the Description of a New Species from Singapore,(2021). DOI: 10.3390/ani11030687 Provided by Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum Fresh crackdowns have shuttered Myanmars independent media and left journalists jobless, threatened and fearing the worst as the military junta tightens its grasp, writes Phil Thornton. Six of the many journalists detained since the beginning of Myanmar's coup on February 1. Credit: Facebook Myanmars military has intensified its efforts to dismantle the countrys independent media and to block journalists ability to work. Media covering the countrys nationwide protests told IFJ, legal restrictions, harassment, arrests and increased violence by the military is intended to stop credible information getting out to the public. A look at the front page of the militarys sponsored Global New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday, March 10, confirmed the coup leaders latest attack on independent media outlets. The licenses of Myanmar Now, Mizzima Media, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), 7 Day News and Khit Thit Media were all revoked from March 8. The GNLM said the five media outlets were banned from publishing or broadcasting or using any kind of media or technology platforms. The GLNM stated the coup leaders appointed State Administration Council had given the authority to the Ministry of Information to revoke the licences of the five independent media outlets - who are deemed to cover news that affect the rule of law and security of the people and support those who commit high treasonin accordance with Article 419 and 420 of the Constitution. DVB production director, Toe Zaw Latt, told the IFJ: Were banned from any reporting on any platform, they want to shut us up. Like many journalists spoken to for this article, Toe Zaw Latt confirmed he was concerned at the level of violence being used against protesters and reporters. They know where we live, where our families live, where we work and what we do. There are roadblocks, use of live ammunition, stun grenades, tear gas and nighttime raids to arrest people. I cant go back to my home. I have to keep moving from place to place. This has reduced journalists ability to live report. Toe Zaw Latt said what happened to DVB journalist, Kaung Myat Hlaing, could happen to any reporter. Kaung Myat Hlaing managed to live-stream, from his first-floor balcony, as police fired shots in the street below before entering his own building and arresting him. He remains detained in the army compound, after an admission to hospital for injuries sustained during his arrest. He has been charged for making public statements to cause problems under section 505a of the countrys penal code. Despite the ban and arrests, DVB continue to broadcast from a third country, but the revocation of the licenses of the five media outlets has meant many journalists are now without paid work. Aye Win, (not real name) said the ability to keep working under pressure from the military and its security forces is unnerving. We have to move our office, keep a low profile, stop using our names, our voice and cant show our face. Trains and buses have stopped. Cars are searched at roadblocks for incriminating materials. At night soldiers smash cars that are in their way. We live with a curfew and internet and phone restrictions our daily life has gone. The militarys decision to move Light Infantry Divisions 33 and 77 into protest areas has worried journalists. The brutal reputation of LID 33 was earned in the killing and displacement of Rohingya people in Rakhine State and against ethnic Kachin in 2017. LID 77 notoriously turned their guns on unarmed monk protestors in 2007. Reporters told IFJ that soldiers and police are being bussed into areas to replace local units who would have difficulty going against people they knew. One said: Theyve brought in special forces such as LID 33 and 77, snipers and we have seen soldiers swapping their uniform for police uniforms. A senior officer with an ethnic armed organization explained to the IFJ that LID 33 and LID 77 are understaffed and their reputation as an elite counter insurgency force under the direct orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Ming Aung Hlaing, is not as good as it sounds. They might be tough when fighting unarmed villagers. We hear their morale is low and they dont want to fight anymore, but they have no choice as they are under strict orders and we know they are using drugs. The ethnic officer said the international community should be spending their money to encourage splits in the military if they wanted to see genuine change in Myanmar and not waste it on human rights trainings. I dont know names, but we hear some officers have been arrested. It is possible they could split, but it would need to be large if it is to count. A number of media outlets, including Mizzima and Myanmar Now, had their offices raided by truck loads of soldiers. Despite being unoccupied, the soldiers smashed and thrashed their way through the offices in what many journalists saw as an attempt to intimidate journalists. Phil Robertson, the deputy asia director for Human Rights Watch, said in a media statement the banning of the five outlets is clearly part of a much larger military junta assault on freedom of the press and the ability of journalists to do their jobs without harassment, intimidation or arrest. He notes that since the coup began on February 1, the junta has detained at least 34 journalists, and some are still being held without charge. HRW concluded that the attacks on the media are a transparent attempt to suppress news of peoples widespread opposition to military rule. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization founded and run by former political prisoners, reported as of March 9, that 2,008 people had been arrested. It also accused the military of using torture against the detained, often resulting in death. It said: Torture is a tactic of this military junta in conjunction with arrests. The recent deaths of two NLD members during detention has displayed their use of inhumane torture, the safety and dignity of these detainees is a matter of grave concern. AAPP said on its website, the militarys targeting of the media is aimed to conceal human rights violations and to weaken communication channels between free media and the public. In addition to weakening the momentum of the peaceful protests. AAPP pointed out the targeting and repression is also a signal to threaten the remaining free media. AAPP explained the banning of the five media outlets is not in compliance with domestic law, Article 354 of the 2008 Constitution or international law. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and Article 19(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects the right of freedom of press and freedom of expression. Kyaw Win, who has worked as a journalist both in-country and in exile, explained to IFJ that he fears the military will increase its campaign of misinformation and fuel divisions within the community. They will encourage division between ethnic groups who feared Burmanization of their lands and culture. They will weaponize this and will massage divisions. It only takes a spark for this to work. They will tell Bamar protestors, look the ethnic armed groups do nothing to help you. Kyaw Win said, with the countrys media muzzled, it would be difficult getting real information gathered and published to inform peopleif theres no real information theyll fill the void with misinformation that worries me. He says the country is now at a crossroads. Buses and trains are not running, roads are blocked, its hard to go to stores or markets. Shelves are getting bare, teashops are raided, people are arrested in vicinity of protests, slingshots used at nighttime to break windows and indiscriminate beating of people daily life is disrupted. The military are masters at causing chaos and confusion until it gets too hard for foreign governments and media to follow. A report by Reuters said the military junta had hired a former Israeli military intelligence official at US$2 million to represent and lobby for them. The story explains, Ari Ben-Menashe and his firm, Dickens & Madson Canada, will represent Myanmars military government in Washington, as well as lobby Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Russia, and international bodies like the United Nations, according to a consultancy agreement. Kyaw Win pointed out to the IFJ that the militarys expensive Western-based lobbyist would work to soften the militarys power grab. This is an attempt to misinformmuddy the waters and discredit reliable information. At least 70 protesters have been murdered so far and since the coup on February 1st at least 1,939 people arrested. Now with independent media outlets banned by the Ministry of Information, journalists are without paid work and many are forced to hide in fear of arrest. Toe Zaw Latt said all the journalists hes spoken to are scared - and for good reason. Im scared, the military terrify us. Imagine what theyd do to us if we are arrested. Bash us and torture us, but we have to keep reporting. We want it to end. But were scared to go back to the bad days when the military controlled every aspect of our livesI dont want to go back to that. Being watched all the time by MI and special branchits not the way we want to live. Phil Thornton is an adviser for the International Federation of Journalists in South East Asia. This blog has been commissioned and produced for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). It may be reproduced by media, with full acknowledgement of the IFJ as publisher with a link to ifj.org Police and security forces raided several apartments in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, overnight and detained dozens of people amid an ongoing crackdown against protesters demanding the country's authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka resign. Human rights activists and volunteers said the majority of those detained late on March 10 were registered in Minsk's Lebyadziny and Novaya Baravaya districts, where police and security forces swept through buildings and searched apartments. According to an updated list filed by an independent volunteer initiative, more than 100 people were detained and are currently in custody. No official explanation for the sweep or the arrests has been given. A crackdown on anti-Lukashenka protesters has been under way in Belarus since August after Lukashenka, 66, who has run the country since 1994, was officially deemed the winner of a presidential election for the sixth consecutive time. Tens of thousands of Belarusians protested the poll's results saying the election was rigged. Thousands of Belarusians, including dozens of journalists covering the protests, have been detained by authorities, some handed prison terms, and hundreds beaten while in detention and on the streets. Several protesters have died in the violence, and some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials against some detainees. Many EU countries, Britain, the United States, and Canada have refused to recognize Lukashenka as Belarus's legitimate leader. The European Union has imposed three sets of sanctions against Belarusian authorities, including Lukashenka, over the rigged presidential poll and the violent crackdown against peaceful protesters. Injustice takes many forms. In an upcoming speaker series, Michigan Techs Institute for Policy, Ethics and Culture (IPEC) takes on some of the most compelling. IPECs virtual speaker series, Justice in Transition takes place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday nights March 23 through April 15. Featuring nationally known experts, activists, thought leaders and TED Talk speakers in economic, environmental, cultural, political and technological justice, its designed to be a space for community conversation. Theres a different topic every week. But theyre all interconnected, with a renewed sense of urgency. Calls for justice for the land, for people of color, for the poor, for those structurally and systemically excluded from access to the good life are proliferating, said IPEC Director Jennifer Slack, distinguished professor of communications and cultural studies with the Michigan Tech Humanities Department. The past year has been especially tumultuous. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted daily life but exposed deep inadequacies and inequities in the delivery of health care. The killing of George Floyd lit the latest fuse of anger over police violence against people of color. White supremacists have found new footing and have equally encountered informed and growing resistance. The concerns and warnings of climate scientists are increasingly being taken seriously as bizarre weather events stress inadequately prepared infrastructure. The land implores us to act, as species are lost to extinction and ecosystems are disrupted by the actions of humans. Slack in her office. Institute members have continued to pursue and publish research during the pandemic. "The series features a variety of speakers who actively address systemic injustices of the past and present and advocate for change that enables us to all rise together." Jennifer Daryl Slack , IPEC Director Slack notes that all of the issues have deep cultural rootsand none are new problems. Its the dramatic convergence of events in a single year during a global pandemic that offers opportunities to, as she puts it, see the connections among them, confront what needs to be addressed and envision what justice and advocacy look like going forward. Opening the series with spoken-word poet, dancer, playwright and educator Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and closing with civil rights activist DeRay McKesson an early supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, presenters also include Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and Ruha Benjamin, author of Race After Technology. Book Giveaways and Conversation Takeaways Copies of McKesson, Kimmerer and Benjamins books are among several selections available free through project partner Portage Lake District Library (PLDL). And, a plus for younger readers: the Michigan Humanities grant and IPEC matching funds enabled the library to also select age-appropriate young adult and childrens books that complement the series. That way, everyone in the family can be part of the conversation, says PLDL program director Michael Stanitis. Come in, grab a book and enjoy the conversation, he said. Readers can trade, share or form book clubs around the selections. Stanitis, who will also help moderate the community question and answer segments during the live streams from mission control the Rozsa Center says the series aligns with the librarys mission to bring the community together. Previous collaborations with Michigan Tech and other community partners demonstrate the power of co-sponsoring events to attract larger, more diverse audiences ready to engage with important and complex topics by learning, listening and discussing. Its a big conversation youve got to start somewhere, Stanitis said. As a free and public library we aim to serve everyone and find strength in celebrating our differences. The Justice in Transition series, in partnership with the Institute for Policy, Ethics and Culture, complements our mission and encourages vital discussions on racial justice and equality in our community." Expert in Their Fields, Leaders in the Call for Justice To heighten awareness that these problems and movements are interconnected, our speakers address a range of crucial issues, Slack said. After each speakers presentation, theyll engage in conversation with an IPEC member chosen for their commitment to the issues raised by the speakers. Speakers will also answer audience questions, which can be submitted in advance. Heres a look at series line-up: March 23: Marc Bamuthi Joseph Poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph speaks to the role of the arts in creating solidarity. His brilliant and passionate advocacy for the arts as contributing to systemic change provides the inspiration for the entire series, said Slack. Joseph will converse with Mary Jennings, director of programming at the Rozsa Center for Performing Arts. Watch Bamuthi Joseph's TED Talk and his performance of How We Heal. March 25: Lawrence Gostin Human rights law and global health expert Lawrence Gostin covers the failings of the U.S. health care system exposed by the pandemic and shares lessons learned as he advocates for changes in health care delivery. Gostin will converse with Caryn Heldt, director of Michigan Techs Health Research Institute and technical director of the Universitys COVID-19 Testing Laboratory. Watch Gostin's Ask and Answer on preventing the next pandemic. March 30: Robin Wall Kimmerer It is time, as we learn from Robin Wall Kimmerer, to give the land its due and to do that we can draw on traditional knowledge, said Slack. Kimmerer, a professor, author, plant ecologist and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, will converse with Valoree Gagnon, director of University-Indigenous Community Partnerships at the Great Lakes Research Center and a College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science faculty member. Listen to Kimmerer on On Being. April 1: August Ball August Ball, of Cream City Conservation, is described by Slack as a fiery activist from nearby Milwaukee who makes palpable the sources of racism and advocates for environmental justice that takes into consideration the uniquely systemic challenges for people of color. Ball will converse with ecosystem ecologist Amy Marcarelli of the MTU biological sciences department, whose teaching and research occurs at the interface of nutrient cycling and ecological communities, including humans. Watch Ball's video on equity in conservation. April 6: Katherine Hayhoe Climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe combines atmospheric science and public policy to emphasize the interlacing of climate science and its effects. She is known for being an excellent communicator who can speak to people across the spectrum of political differences and faiths, said Slack. Hayhoe will converse with Sarah Green, a chemist and climate scientist deeply committed to working on the science-policy interface. Watch Hayhoes TED Talk on truth, faith and climate change. April 8: Ulf Johannson IKEA global wood supply and forestry manager Ulf Johansson makes it clear that good corporate policy can be good for business as well as the Earth. Johansson will converse with Mark Rudnicki, a forest biomaterials scientist who works on the responsible use of Michigans forest resources and furthering the circular bioeconomy. Learn more about Johannson's advocacy for responsible forest management. April 13: Ruha Benjamin Professor, sociologist and author Ruha Benjamin looks to the future design of technology as a mechanism for overcoming injustices, Slack said, noting the growing awareness that systemic injustice gets coded into technology, data and algorithms. Benjamin will converse with philosopher Alexandra Morrison of Michigan Techs Humanities Department, whose research and teaching addresses ethics and technology. Watch Benjamin's TEDxBaltimore Talk on biases inherent to modern scientific research. April 15: DeRay McKesson We end the series with the brilliant DeRay McKesson, civil rights activist who has been one of the leading voices in the Black Lives Matter movement, Slack said. His compelling use of data in making the case for justice and his belief in our capacity to imagine our way forward encourages us all to take up the challenge to contribute how we can. McKesson will converse with Wayne Gersie, Michigan Techs Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. This broad collaboration speaks to issues that affect all of us, whether we are members of the university community or the broader community, said Slack. These speakers bridge the divide between research and public advocacy. Our hope is to bring the university and the community into conversation, to enhance university research with attention to matters of justice and to provide students in both the university and local schools with engaging exposure to questions of justice. The Justice in Transition series follows IPECs public events on Algorithmic Culture in fall 2019 and Designing the Anthropocene in early 2020. During the global pandemic, IPEC shifted to virtual formats, beginning with a 1,000-word essay series on implications of the COVID-19 crisis. Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigans Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior. As state lawmakers in Austin wrap up the latest legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday threatened to withhold their pay by vetoing a line item in the states budget because a Democratic walkout killed his priority elections bill. No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities, Abbott tweeted. Should the governor veto Legislature funding? You voted: On Guam, there are three hospitals. Two of them, Guam Regional Medical City and Naval Hospital Guam, have the Gold Seal of Approval from The J Read more Classes in the Wilkes County Schools will start on Aug. 23 and end on May 25 in 2021-22 as a result of a calendar approved by the Wilkes Board of Education on Feb. 1. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus S.Aleinik meets the Ambassadors of Italy, Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Turkey On March 11th, 2021, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Sergey Aleinik met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic Mario Baldi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea Tae Jun Youl, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Sajjad Khan and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Ozcan. During the meeting, a special attention was paid to the issues of the functioning of international organizations. An exchange of views took place on existing approaches and initiatives to the reform of the United Nations Security Council. print version A Gloucester County man forcibly rushed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and assaulted lines of police officers trying to fend off the attack, the FBI alleges in a criminal complaint. Ezekiel Stecher, of Sewell in Mantua Township, is charged with five crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot, including assault on a federal officer and violently entering the Capitol. He made his first appearance in federal court on Tuesday, in Camden. Stecher runs Stecher Farms on Bridgeton Pike (Route 45), according to multiple listings. The FBI learned of Stechers alleged involvement in the Capitol attack from a video that was uploaded to an FBI tip line on Jan. 18, authorities said. Someone asks a man, What is your name? Where are you from? and he replies, Zeke Stecher from New Jersey, according to the complaint. The FBI searched New Jerseys motor vehicle records and found an Ezekiel K. Stecher with an address in Sewell, and found his drivers license photo looked like the man in the video, an agent wrote in the complaint. Agents then conducted an in-person interview with a local Sewell farmer who purchased produce from Stecher who said theyd known him for over 10 years. An agent showed the person still images from the video and the person identified Stecher as the man they know as Zeke, the FBI says in the complaint. Still images from videos that show Ezekiel "Zeke" Stecher during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photos from the FBI) In all, the FBI described three videos from the attack in which they say Stecher appears. In one, he allegedly appears against the wall of the lower west terrace of the Capitol, pushing the crowd forward, toward Washington D.C. police officers and into the doors of the U.S. Capitol. Stecher is also allegedly seen in a video in which riot shields are taken from officers and passed back by members of the crowd and Stecher is yelling in the direction of the police. In other videos, the FBI says, Stecher is seen multiple times pushing against police as the rioters squeeze and push through a narrow tunnel. At one point, he is sprayed with a chemical irritant but pushes forward, before eventually retreating from the building. He then pours water on his face. In 2013, NJ Advance Medias South Jersey Times featured the Stecher farm. It described how Zeke and his wife Hillary Stecher worked together with their three children. Theyd both grown up on farms; Zeke on their land, which had been his family since 1905, and Hillary on one in Burlington County. We are completely farmers. No part-time jobs. We farm. And thats the only thing we fill on out income tax, Hillary Stecher said. At the time, she was running a roadside farm stand on the edge of the property called Country Hills. A call to the farm Thursday was answered by a woman who said Zeke Stecher was not present and hung up. Stecher was represented by a public defender on Tuesday, and no other lawyers are listed for him in the case, which will be transferred to Washington, D.C. like all others related to Jan. 6. Stecher is the 14th person with a New Jersey connection charged in the Capitol attack. Authorities this week revealed charges against a Hackettstown resident who belongs to the Oath Keepers militia group, and a Camden County man. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com Both East and West U.S. Defense Logistics Agencies surplus term sale contracts included VANCOUVER, BC, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros.' GovPlanet marketplace has been helping the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) sell thousands of its surplus rolling stock assets for the past seven years. Three years ago, Ritchie Bros. extended its relationship with the government agency, after being awarded contracts to purchase, manage, and sell non-rolling stock surplus assets for the DLA's East and West regions. Last week, Ritchie Bros. was declared the apparent high bidder for two new East and West contracts, covering the consolidated surplus rolling stock and surplus non-rolling stock assets for the DoD. Each of these contracts has a base term of two years with three one-year renewal options. Rolling stock assets include surplus trucks, trailers, generators, wheel loaders, cranes, crawler tractors, and other equipment. Non-rolling stock assets include non-wheeled items such as industrial machinery, electrical equipment, textiles, spare parts, and other miscellaneous surplus assets. "We're very excited to win this contract and continue our long-standing support of the DLA in selling their surplus assets," said Ann Fandozzi, CEO of Ritchie Bros. "Our relationship with the DLA has been instrumental in the development and growth of our very successful GovPlanet marketplace, which specializes in selling assets for government agencies. Last year alone, we sold 75,000 items from the DLA through GovPlanet! This new contract will help continue the growth trajectory of GovPlanet and our company as a whole." "The strength of our GovPlanet marketplace is enhanced by our ability to offer the DLA's surplus assets to our growing buyer base," said Jeff Jeter, President, Global Strategic Accounts, Ritchie Bros. "We have shown we are able to reach more potential buyers than ever before, providing the DLA and all our GovPlanet consignors unparalleled service and strong returns on their assets." About GovPlanet: GovPlanet, a Ritchie Bros. solution, was launched in 2014 to address the specialized equipment disposition needs of public entities, from federal, including military, to state, local and municipal. Each week, on average, GovPlanet draws close to 90,000 attendees to its online auctions. Items go into preview two weeks in advance and bidders can view photos, video and inspection reports. All items sold on GovPlanet have been inspected and come with IronPlanet's exclusive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certifications, which give bidders the confidence to buy online from anywhere in the world. About Ritchie Bros.: Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a number of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offers live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with featured weekly auctions and providing the exclusive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certification; Marketplace-E, a controlled marketplace offering multiple price and timing options; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; and Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales. The Company's suite of solutions also includes Ritchie Bros. Asset Solutions and Rouse Services LLC, which together provides a complete end-to-end asset management, data-driven intelligence and performance benchmarking system. Ritchie Bros. also offers sector-specific solutions including GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, and Kruse Energy, plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. For more information about Ritchie Bros., visit RitchieBros.com. Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media. SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Acting Premier James Merlino went on the front foot over the half-price flights initiative on Thursday. Credit:Joe Armao Epping Gardens, one of the worst-hit aged care homes in the state during the second wave of the coronavirus and the subject of a class action, was placed under temporary lockdown as health authorities undertook further testing. The positive test was later deemed to be as a result of shedding, meaning the resident was no longer infectious and restrictions were lifted at the home by 6pm. Mr Merlinos disappointment on the travel package was matched by his counterparts in NSW, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted the 14 airports were only an initial list which would probably grow once the travel industry responded to the announcement. The 50 per cent discount on the airfare gets combined with a hotel deal, a tour out on the reef or wherever you happen to go, and you package it up, and thats how the travel industry works and theyre very, very good at it, he said. In the absence of Premier Daniel Andrews, who faces an extended recovery period after breaking ribs and fracturing a vertebra, Mr Merlinos offensive was backed up by Tourism Minister Martin Pakula, who said he would be writing to Mr Tehan. Somewhere in the Canberra bubble there seems to be a misunderstanding of how Victorian tourism works, and a failure to understand that capital cities have felt the absence of international visitors every bit as much as the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and the Whitsundays, Mr Pakula wrote on Twitter. We want to get Aussie visitors to our ski fields, our wineries, our hotels, our restaurants and laneway bars, our rugged coastline and our incredible regional culinary and cultural offerings. But this inequitable package from the Commonwealth doesnt do it, and it needs to change. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The NSW government complained that Queensland was getting an unfair share of the program especially given its record on snap border closures and childish behaviour over quarantine bills. Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said that unlike some states, NSW has always acted in the national interest and shouldnt be subsiding the economies of others. NSW had avoided snap border closures, Mr Perrottet said but Queensland was now being rewarded by the federal government despite not striking the balance between protecting people and saving jobs. Announcing the package on Thursday morning, Mr Morrison repeated his message to state governments that vaccinations had changed the threat of COVID-19 in 2021. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and deputy Michael McCormack want a less conservative borders approach. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen For this to work best the states have to keep their borders open, he said. Mr Morrisons deputy Michael McCormack went further, demanding premiers avoid knee-jerk, hasty decisions at a moments notice to have snap border closures. Mr McCormack signalled that there could be an extension to the program, with more destinations added at a later date. The keyword there is initial, he said. So well look at what we can do and well work with the airlines. Well work with the tourism operators to see what other destinations may well be potentially added to the list. James Merlino will likely be deputising in Premier Daniel Andrews absence for several weeks. Credit:Joe Armao Mr Joyce said all state leaders had told him that the risk of borders closing would be extremely low once phases 1a and 1b of the vaccination program made up of seven million high-risk people including hotel quarantine workers plus aged care residents and staff were completed. Federal Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy said on Wednesday that he was aiming for phase 1 to be completed by the middle of the year before the entire population is vaccinated by October. The Victorian government will release its latest batch of $200 travel vouchers on Friday, which for the first time will be allowed to be used in Melbourne as well as the regions. Loading Victorian businesses suffered as the state shut its border to New South Wales over the Christmas period and most jurisdictions closed to Victoria during last months five-day lockdown. Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani pointed to those as evidence Australians remained reluctant to travel and risk being at the other side of a snap border closure. This federal package fails to address the key issue of consumer confidence, she said. Mr Merlino said discussions were ongoing at national cabinet regarding border guidelines but we want our borders to be open. His scepticism on the federal tourism package was echoed by Accommodation Australia chief executive Dean Long, who said capital cities such as Melbourne, where 80 per cent of the market was from international and corporate travellers, needed more immediate support with hotels running at less than 10 per cent capacity. Justin Giddings, chief executive of Avalon Airport Victorias big winner from the federal announcement told The Age that he disagreed with Mr Merlinos logic. When we do catchment surveys, Im always surprised by the number of people from Melbourne and beyond about 55 per cent of arrivals go on to Melbourne, he said. Victoria only has two main airports, Mildura could be included perhaps but none of Australias other capital cities have been included in the program. Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra questioned why Tasmania got the first-class treatment of three airports compared with Victorias one. As good as coming into Avalon is it doesnt help the CBD, it doesnt help the Mornington Peninsula, it doesnt help East Gippsland, he said. Regulatory News: AudioValley (ISIN code: BE0974334667 Ticker: ALAVY), an international specialist in digital audio technological solutions, continues its expansion in Nordic countries through a partnership between its subsidiary Targetspot and Bauer Media Audio. For the first time, Targetspot's digital audio inventory is available for sale in four Nordic European countries, following an agreement signed with Bauer Media Audio covering Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Targetspot is continuing its international expansion and aims to conquer 10 new territories by the end of 2021. This objective is supported by the signing of a major new agreement this week with Bauer Media Audio, a key player in the audio sector, which allows it to market its inventory in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. For Eric van der Haegen, Targetspot's Strategic Partner Development Director, the agreement concerns a key region in Europe: "The digital audio culture is already well established in all Nordic countries. This arrival in the countries of Northern Europe is naturally part of our strategy of promoting local partnerships." Bauer Media Audio is Europe's leading digital commercial broadcaster and audio operator. Experts in the power of sound, the company comprises of 110 audio across 7 European countries. The agreement allows advertisers to access the Targetspot inventory comprising prestigious brands such as Sonos, AudioBoom, Blogtalk Radio, Trinity Audio, Radio France and Shoutcast radios, i.e. more than two million allocations each month in the Scandinavian countries and Finland. Alexandre Saboundjian, CEO and Founder of AudioValley, believes that "Bauer Media Audio will be a strong ally in our development in Northern Europe." The Nordic countries' lead in digital audio consumption is indeed telling. The latest Polaris Nordics study confirms this: 91% of the population now streams music. Nordics listen to digital music on average 3.2 hours a day. The source of musical discoveries is revealed as 36% for radio and playlists of streaming services account for 13%. Next date for your agenda: Announcement of 2020 annual results, Wednesday 14 April 2021 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310006087/en/ Contacts: AUDIOVALLEY, investor relations Sebastien Veldeman investorrelations@audiovalley.com AUDIOVALLEY, press relations Emilie Dehan press@audiovalley.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. According to new market research report on " Maritime Satellite Communication Market by Component (Solutions and Services), Solution (VSAT and MSS), Service (Tracking and Monitoring, Voice, Video, Data), End User (Merchant Shipping, Offshore, Government), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025 " , size is Expected to grow from USD 2.3 billion in 2020 to USD 3.2 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.1% during the forecast period. Escalating the need for enriched data communication to improve operation efficiency, onboard security & surveillance, and employee / passenger welfare in maritime is driving the market. Browse and in-depth TOC on " Maritime Satellite Communication Market " 221 - Tables 42 - Figures 216 - Pages Furthermore, The major factor driving the maritime satellite communication market is the need to attain improved connectivity between the land and sea operations and realizing benefits in faster repair times, preventative maintenance, fuel-saving, and real-time navigation. Download PDF Brochure@ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=113822978 Ka-band segment to account for the largest market size during the forecast period This section studies the maritime satellite communication VSAT portfolio. Ka-band operates under frequency 26.5-40 GHz. It is an extremely high frequency, commonly used in HD satellite TV. It is used by the maritime industry to support marine VSAT services. Ka-band incurs significant implementation cost but relatively low maintenance. It is susceptible to rain fade. Inmarsat was the first company to provide Ka-band VSAT services. As more Ka-band bandwidth becomes available, other players also started using Ka-band to deliver their communication services The video service segment to account for the largest market size during the forecast period The video service segment of the maritime satellite communication service includes streaming of high definition photos & videos and online TV channel broadcast services. Video services enable the crew to get in touch with family through videoconferencing, get information & update on news, sports, and favorite TV programs, and many other services. Live video service can help onboard technicians to get live assistance from experts to resolve problems. High-quality live video transfer needs reliability and sufficient bandwidth. Inquiry Before Buying@ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=113822978 APAC to account for the highest market share during the forecast period The maritime satellite communication market in APAC is the largest in terms of market size. APAC is the fastest-growing region in the maritime satellite communication market. Many countries in the APAC region are likely to adopt maritime satellite communication solutions owing to high demands, specifically in the oil and gas, merchant shipping, mining, and passenger shipping verticals. The APAC region is implementing maritime satellite communication solutions significantly. The maritime satellite technology has been adopted in this region to incorporate advanced communication networks to communicate with employees, such as crew working at remote offshore locations. The major maritime satellite communication market vendors include Inmarsat (UK), Iridium Communications (US), Thuraya (UAE) Hughes Network Systems (US), KVH Industries (US), Viasat (US), Speedcast (Australia), ST Engineering (Singapore), NSSLGlobal (England), Marlink (France), ORBOCOMM (US), Navarino (Greece), Network Innovations (Canada), GTMaritime (England), AST Group (UK), Isotropic Networks (Wisconsin), Norsat International (Ontario), Satcom Global (Canada), Intelsat (US), and Orbit Communication Systems (Israel). About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the worlds No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M & M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/maritime-satellite-communication.asp Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/maritime-satellite-communication-market-113822978.html FILE - Signs are held up showing Breonna Taylor during a rally in her honor on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Thursday, June 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File) PHOTO:AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley House to Vote on Bill Limiting No-Knock Warrants By The Associated Press FRANKFORT - A bill that would limit the use of "no-knock" warrants is headed to the Kentucky House floor for a vote.A Kentucky state House committee advanced a version Wednesday that mandates that no-knock warrants would only be issued if there was "clear and convincing evidence" that the "crime alleged is a crime that would qualify a person, if convicted, as a violent offender."A bill that includes a complete ban on no-knock warrants was also brought up for discussion before the committee.Louisville banned all no-knock warrants in June 2020. BERLIN (Reuters) - German coronavirus cases posted their biggest daily increase in five weeks on Thursday, as calls grew to allow family doctors to start administering COVID-19 vaccines sooner to speed up the rollout. The number of new reported coronavirus cases rose by 14,356 data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed, almost 2,500 more than a week ago and the biggest daily increase since Feb. 4. RKI President Lothar Wieler said he was very concerned by the rising numbers given there were still many vulnerable people that needed to be vaccinated. "In Germany particularly, I see the beginning of the third wave," he told a U.N. briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, urging people to stick to the physical distancing rules and wear masks. "We have to vaccinate as soon as possible, as much as possible, strategically," he added, noting the incidence of the virus had declined "tremendously" in those aged over 80, but was rising in other age groups. Germany's vaccination campaign has got off to a sluggish start, hampered by a shortage of doses and bureaucracy. Only 6.9% of the 83 million population has received at least a first dose against the coronavirus, far behind countries such as Britain, Israel and the United States. The head of the German Ethics Council called for the government to let surgeries start administering shots as soon as possible. "It's an ethical imperative to make progress on vaccination now," Alena Buyx told RTL/nTV television. On Wednesday, regional and national health ministers agreed family doctors should start administering shots from mid-April. But they also decided that mass vaccination centres should still continue to receive at least 2.25 million doses per week. This means doses will not be available in sufficient supplies for doctors' surgeries until May, the head of the KBV doctors' association told ZDF television. The premier of Saxony Michael Kretschmer, however, rejected the criticism, telling ZDF that mass vaccination centres had the highest throughput and remained the fastest way to get shots in arms. (Reporting by Caroline Copley and Andreas Rinke; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Alison Williams) It is necessary to form the folk arts and crafts market in Ukraine and put it on a modern footing. Lets take the area of folk arts and crafts. The potential we can count on today is UAH 4 billion in imports and UAH 2.2 billion in exports. But it is very important to form a market of folk arts and crafts. It is very fragmented, no one has dealt with it for a long time. The post-Soviet period, when many plates and embroidered shirts were produced, is over. There is no such powerful customer as the state anymore. Therefore, it is important to transform this area, put in on modern footing in order to unleash its great potential. And not only to preserve masters but to give impetus to further development of this area, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko said during the All-Ukrainian Forum Ukraine 30. Culture. Media. Tourism, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. As noted, the development of this area requires the introduction of register and system of product labeling, geographical indications, new sales markets, cross-sectoral collaborations with fashion and design, increased added value and monetization of products. As reported, Ukraine and Europe will cooperate in creation and promotion of the concepts of cultural routes in the common cultural space. ol A woman rides past the barricades of the autonomous zone near where George Floyd died in May 2020, in Minneapolis, on March 10, 2021. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) Minneapolis Autonomous Zone a Danger to Residents, Businesses, Police Group Says The so-called autonomous zone around the site in Minneapolis where George Floyd died last year has become a threat to public safety and a danger to residents and businesses, a police association says. Retired Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, spokeswoman for the National Police Association (NPA), told Fox News in an interview on March 11 about recent incidents around the intersection of E. 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, renamed George Floyd Square in memory of Floyds police-custody death. George Floyd Square is now an autonomous zone. They just had a homicide there, Smith told the outlet, adding that violence in the barricaded area has been a constant problem since riots rocked Minneapolis last summer. Police said a man was shot and killed in the area on March 6. Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder told local outlet KSTP that responding officers were met with interference when they approached the zones barricades. Miami-based reporter Brian Entin was recording material outside the zones barricades when he was accosted by two activists demanding that he leave. Youre going to be in a bad situation here in a second, one of the activists can be heard saying in the video. Youre being called out for what you are and you need to get out of here, the person says. Entin later interviewed the aunt of 30-year-old Imez Wright, the man who was shot and killed inside the zone. Were police able to get in and help him? Entin asked. Police were not allowed to get into that area, replied the woman, who wasnt identified by name in the report, who added that her nephew was carried outside the zone before being taken to the hospital, where he later died from his wounds. She said law enforcement was not welcome inside the zone, which she called an atrocity, suggesting that her nephew might have survived had things been different. Asked about the atmosphere inside the zone, the woman described it as volatile and militant and that people wanting to go and support the initiative arent particularly welcome. In her remarks to Fox News, Smith also said there are businesses around George Floyd Square that get robbed by the same people two to three times a week and that people inside the zone just cant get police services. She said the problem is most acute in the vicinity of the Third Precinct, which was burned down. Retired Seattle police officer Steve Pomper, in a March 9 post on NPAs website, blamed local authorities for being too lenient. The key takeaway here, for everyone, is SPD [Seattle Police Department] officers swiftly reclaimed their police station (unlike Minneapolis, Seattle still had a station to reclaim) and tossed CHOP/CHAZ into the anarcho-communist ash heap of history, Pomper wrote, referring to Seattles now-defunct autonomous zone by its two acronymsthe Capitol Hill Occupied Protest and the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. In Minneapolis, insurrectionists destroyed an MPD [Minneapolis Police Department] precinct because the mayor wouldnt allow the cops to do what theyre trained to do, Pomper wrote. On March 8, hundreds of people gathered outside the fortified courthouse in Minneapolis for the first day of the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged in Floyds death. Demonstrators chanted, No justice, no peace! and speakers implored the jurors to do the right thing. Many in the crowd carried banners, some reading Justice for George Floyd and Convict Killer Cops. Floyds death sparked protests and riots after footage emerged showing that Chauvin restrained Floyd for an extended period with a knee to the neck. In the interview on Fox News, Smith said Minneapolis is preparing for inevitable rioting because no matter how this case turns out, there likely will be violence. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children (Reuters) - Three people were killed and a fourth person was wounded and taken to hospital after a shooting in Houston, police said early on Thursday. "Homicide/Shooting: 6000 Ranchester. Four victims shot. Three deceased. One transported to area hospital," Houston Police said in a tweet. No suspect was identified after the shootings late Wednesday, Officer Richard Gunke of the Houston Police Department told the New York Times newspaper. A motive was not immediately clear. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson) [March 11, 2021] Win a Space Education Bundle from PCG, the Aldrin Family Foundation, and NCBCE: Enter by April 15 ASHEVILLE, N.C. and RALEIGH, N.C., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Education leaders, Public Consulting Group LLC (PCG), the Aldrin Family Foundation, and the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) are proud to announce their partnership for an upcoming contest (open from March 15 to April 15). Together, they have donated Space Education bundles valued at $5,000 each to the contest for fifth through eighth grade North Carolina science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators! PCG, in partnership with the Aldrin Family Foundation, provide Space Education bundles that include a unique curriculum (K-12 options), gigantic Mars and Moon learning maps, robots, and Space camps that can be taught or implemented virtually or with a hybrid approach. These tools are designed to inspire and empower students in the field of space exploration. According to Dr. Andy Aldrin, CEO of The Aldrin Family Foundation, "The first crew to explore Mars are in America's classrooms today." Learn more about these space education offerings and ways schools are using them to enrich students and increase engagement in this YouTube video. At the heart of these offerings, Tony McLean Brown, Director of Strategic Investments at PCG and board member of the North Carolina State University Institute of Emerging Issues (NCSU IEI) said, "Our partnership with the Aldrin Family Foundation drives learning and academic success and allows local school districts to prepare their students to compete globally in the space entrepreneurship arena. But in the end, what makes this partnership most exciting is students love thinking, talking, dreaming, reading, and learning about space." Through this exciting contest, North Carolina fifth through eighth grade educators have an opportunity to win their choice of either a Moon bundle or a Mars bundle. These interactive packages include the Mimio MyBot educational robotics system, a Lunar or Mars Pro Globe with augmented reality technology, and many other STEM resources. As Space Education encourages the exploration of space-related STEM careers for students, NCBCE's partnership is invaluable to this contest as well. NCBCE focuses on integrating the business community within K-12 so that appropriate curriculum and apprenticeships can lead qualified candidates from North Carolina's K-12 school systems to higher education and employers in the state. PCG and the Aldrin Family Foundation are pleased to share the mission of providing premiere STEM education curriculum and resources to our future space explorers. Applying to win a Moon or Mars bundle for a North Carolina classroom (fifth through eighth grade) is both quick and convenient. Click here to complete the online application. The contest is open from March 15 to April 15. (Disclaimer: PCG will not receive any benefit from this prize being awarded to a certain district.) About Public Consulting Group Public Consulting Group LLC (PCG) is a leading public sector solutions implementation and operations improvement firm that partners with health, education, and human services agencies to improve lives. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PCG employs over 2,500 professionals in more than 50 offices worldwideall committed to delivering solutions that change lives for the better. The firm has extensive experience in all 50 states, clients in six Canadian provinces, and a growing practice in Europe. PCG offers clients a multidisciplinary approach to meet challenges, pursue opportunities, and serve constituents across the public sector. To learn more, visit www.publicconsultinggroup.com. Media Contact Richard Purcell, Public Consulting Group 304923@email4pr.com Phone: 828-242-7732 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/win-a-space-education-bundle-from-pcg-the-aldrin-family-foundation-and-ncbce-enter-by-april-15-301245459.html SOURCE Public Consulting Group [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. A virologist from the Tropical Medicine University works to develop a test that will detect the P.1 variant of the new coronavirus, in Sao Paulo, Brazil - Andre Penner/AP Coronavirus Article Bar with counter .. 07:00 PM Roundup of today's news Here is your evening roundup of today's news: 06:51 PM Pfizer vaccine blocks 94 per cent of asymptomatic cases, study finds The Pfizer vaccine blocks 94 per cent of asymptomatic cases, an Israeli study has shown, reigniting hopes herd immunity can be reached. The Israeli ministry of health found that the Pfizer vaccine has an efficacy of 97 per cent against disease and death and 94 per cent against infection without symptoms. The figures, which have not yet been peer-reviewed by scientists, were welcomed by scientists as they will help the UK reach herd immunity and eventually relax social distancing rules. Israel is the first country to have vaccinated more than half its population, which it has done with Pfizer/BioNTech. Story continues How does the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine work Izzy Lyons has the full story here 06:47 PM Tory candidate under fire for 'offensive' comments on public sector pay and Covid A Tory candidate set to be elected in May has come under fire after it was revealed that she accused politicians and the media of creating panic and fear over Covid-19 and attacked pay rises for public sector workers. Sue Webber, a Conservative councillor in Edinburgh, also described party leader Douglas Ross as out of his mind for refusing to oppose crazy travel bans. In a series of messages reported by The Herald, Ms Webber said it was about time that public sector pay be frozen. When a colleague brought up council employees having to work extremely long hours, she added: Welcome to the hours we work in the private sector. Writing in a Whatsapp group for Conservative councillors, she wrote: I was thinking of a vote-winning policy called salary sacrifice where they only get 80 per cent and have to struggle like the others on furlough. Georgina Hayes has the full story here 06:39 PM Turkey plans to vaccinate 50m people against Covid-19 before autumn Turkey plans to vaccinate 50 million people against Covid-19 by autumn in order to combat the spread of coronavirus after the number of daily cases surged to their highest level this year. Turkey, with a population of 83 million, has so far carried out 10.56 million inoculations, putting it in the upper ranks of major countries in terms of the proportion of its population vaccinated so far, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said. "If we can vaccinate 50 million of our population before autumn as we plan, the pandemic will no longer be a heavy burden for us," Koca said in a live televised statement on the anniversary of the first Covid-19 case recorded in Turkey. Turkey launched the rollout of Covid-19 doses developed by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd on Jan. 14. Koca has said it aimed to receive 105 million doses of this vaccine by end-May, enough to vaccinate everyone older than 20 twice. 06:31 PM France sees no reason to suspend AstraZeneca shot, minister says French health authorities see no reason to suspend the use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccinations, despite suspensions in some other European countries, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday. Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZeneca's shot following reports of the formation of blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated. Veran said the French drug safety agency, in line with its European Union counterpart, had advised that there was no reason to suspend injections with the AstraZeneca vaccine. "The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine are considered higher than the risks at this point," Veran said at the government's weekly coronavirus briefing. 06:26 PM Mexico's lucha libre wrestlers take fight against Covid Mexico's famous lucha libre wrestlers turned Latin America's largest wholesale food market into a battleground against Covid-19 this week, barging down walkways to urge people to wear masks to contain the virus. Mexican Lucha Libre wrestlers recreate a fight with a person who is not wearing a face mask - Hector Vivas/Getty Images One year into the pandemic, arenas that would usually draw thousands of rowdy spectators to watch the free-style wrestlers in lucha libre fights have stayed closed. So the masked wrestlers have taken on a different fight. "Put on a mask!" a group of wrestlers in traditional outfits urged buyers and sellers in the bustling thoroughfares of Mexico City's sprawling Central de Abasto market. "Be responsible!" Those who resisted were sprayed down with disinfectant. 06:18 PM One-week return to remote learning for primary pupils in Northern Ireland axed A controversial plan to take primary school children in Northern Ireland back out of classes for the week prior to the Easter holidays has been scrapped. The move was agreed by the Stormont Executive on Thursday, but ministers put back decisions on the return of other school cohorts to class to next week when a wider review of lockdown restrictions will take place. The Executive meeting also saw ministers agree to extend a financial support measure that has exempted businesses in certain sectors, including hospitality, tourism and retail, from paying rates. After the meeting, First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill indicated that next week's lockdown review was also likely to bring announcements on the easing of some restrictions impacting wider society. 06:07 PM DVLA workers vote to strike in Covid safety row Hundreds of workers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency have voted for industrial action over Covid health and safety concerns. Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) at the office in Swansea, South Wales backed strikes by 71.6 per cent and other forms of industrial action by 76.9%, on a turnout of 50.3%. The union says the office suffered the worst Covid workplace outbreak in the UK, but more than 2,000 staff have been going into the workplace every day. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "This result is a damning indictment on DVLA management in their abject failure to keep staff safe. "Our members have sent a loud and clear message that they are not safe at their place of work. The strength of feeling amongst staff comes as no surprise, given the management's disregard for the safety of their workers. 05:58 PM NHS performed 40 per cent fewer heart operations in January as waiting lists hit record high The NHS performed 40 per cent fewer heart operations as Britain entered lockdown this January, with total waiting lists now at a record high, new data shows. In total 4.59 million people are waiting for hospital treatment the highest since records began in 2007. The statistics, for January, show 304,044 people waiting more than a year for all types of hospital treatment. A year ago just 1,643 people waited this long. The statistics also show 39 per cent fewer heart operations and other cardiac procedures were performed in January, compared to the same time last year. Experts warned that operations which could save lives were once again being put on hold, because of the pandemic. Laura Donnelly has the full story here 05:52 PM Mozambique to receive extra 1.7 million Covid-19 vaccines Mozambique expects to receive 1.7 million more doses of Covid-19 vaccines by May from various bilateral sources, its prime minister said on Thursday. Mozambique kicked off its Covid-19 vaccination program on Monday after receiving a donation of 200,000 doses from the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) last month. The government aims to inoculate around 60,000 health workers in the country of about 30 million, nearly half of which are adults. It wants to vaccinate 16 million people by 2022. So far, 15,000 people have been vaccinated. "Our country will receive, by May of the current year 2021, over 1.7 million doses of vaccines within the scope of bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms," Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario told lawmakers. The low-income southern African nation on Monday received 100,000 shots from India as a donation, as well as 384,000 vaccines from the distribution program COVAX, co-led by the World Health Organization. 05:42 PM Starmer backs 'fair rise' for nurses but stops short of supporting 12.5pc hike Sir Keir Starmer has said NHS workers should get a "fair" pay rise, but declined to back a 12.5pc increase proposed by the Royal College of Nursing. Launching his campaign for May's elections, the Labour leader targeted the Government's widely criticised recommendation of a one per cent raise for England's health workers. He said on Friday that "a vote for Labour is a vote to support our nurses", but did not go as far as some supporters wanted in specifying the raise they deserve during the pandemic. Asked at the virtual launch, Sir Keir said the increase should be "above inflation, a real rise". "I think the starting point should be the 2.1 per cent that was promised and was, of course, budgeted for," he added. Sir Keir did not directly answer questions about his support for potential strikes by nurses, saying it is in the hands of Boris Johnson to prevent industrial action. 05:32 PM Pfizer to exceed 2021 vaccine production target by as much as 20pc Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE will exceed their original global target for Covid-19 vaccines by as much as 20 per cent this year, producing 2.3 billion to 2.4 billion doses, Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla has said. "We will exceed clearly, this year, the 2 billion doses," Bourla said in an interview. By the fourth quarter, the companies will be at a 3 billion dose a year run rate, and should be able to produce that much next year, he added. Bourla said the company expects to be able to meet its commitment of supplying 120 million doses of its vaccine to the U.S. government by the end of March. That would require them to deliver another 60 million doses over the next three weeks. Global vaccine rollout - top 10 05:25 PM 'One in five' 16 to 59-year-olds in England have had first vaccine dose About one in five people aged 16 to 59 in England are likely to have had their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, new figures suggest. An estimated 21.8 per cent of people in this age group had received their first jab by March 7. Letters to people aged 56 to 59 in England inviting them to book their first dose of vaccine began to be sent out at the end of last week. Vaccines have yet to be officially rolled out in England to the general population under 56, but a growing minority of people in this age group are likely to have been offered a dose due to their job or because they have a particular health condition. Is the UK on track to hit vaccination targets? 05:19 PM France's Covid ICU figures on the rise again, close to 4,000 The French health ministry said on Thursday the number of people treated in intensive care units (ICUs) for Covid-19 went up by 74, to 3,922, the highest for three and a half months. There were 265 new deaths from the respiratory disease over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 89,830, the seventh-highest in the world, versus a seven-day daily moving average of 285. The number of cases went up by 27,166, at 3.990 million, the world's sixth highest total, versus 30,303 Wednesday and 25,279 a week ago. Coronavirus France Spotlight Chart - Cases default 05:12 PM Faster unlocking of rules could trigger third wave of Covid, report says A third wave of coronavirus could be triggered by unlocking restrictions too quickly before June, according to the Welsh Government's scientific advisers. The Technical Advisory Group's report states that the increased transmissibility of the Kent variant means that a gradual easing of rules is needed in order to suppress the virus. The report was made public on Thursday ahead of Friday's announcement on changes to Wales' lockdown rules, expected to include the move to a "stay local" requirement and reopening hairdressers and some non-essential retail. The advice, which was given to ministers last month, says that Wales' phased return to face-to-face teaching in schools, alongside remaining in Alert Level 3 restrictions until the end of June, could be enough to keep levels of the virus down. "These scenarios suggest that gradual unlocking of restrictions, combined with a gradual 'step up' of children being in school face to face, should be achievable without another wave of cases, hospitalisations and deaths in this period, as long as 'adherence with restrictions' remains high," the report said. 05:07 PM Pupils meeting in each other's homes risk spreading Covid, union warns Teenagers who are mixing outside of school and meeting up in each other's homes after returning to class risk spreading coronavirus, the president of a school leaders union has said Pupils take part in lessons on their first day back from lockdown at Chertsey High School on March 9 2021 - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe . Richard Sheriff, president of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), warned it could be "dangerous" if the reopening of schools in England prompts greater social mixing among young people. Speaking ahead of ASCL's virtual annual conference, Mr Sheriff also said parents with "pointy elbows and lawyer friends" could widen the equality gap if they apply pressure to teachers deciding grades this year. His comments came as millions of pupils returned to class in England after months of remote lessons. 04:59 PM Swedish Crown Princess Victoria tests positive for Covid-19 Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria, next in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, and husband Prince Daniel have tested positive for coronavirus, the royal court has said. "The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel display mild symptoms, but are feeling well considering the circumstances," the Swedish Court said in a statement. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (R) and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (C - AFP As crown princess, Victoria, who is 40 years old, is next in the line of succession to the Swedish throne currently held by her father, King Karl XIV Gustaf. 04:51 PM Palestinians receive 40,000 vaccines from UAE Palestinians received 40,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday, a donation by the United Arab Emirates that could boost a long-time rival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of an election. Mohammad Dahlan, who fell out with Abbas and was dismissed from the president's Fatah party more than a decade ago, took credit for securing the shipment to Gaza from the UAE, where he lives in exile. In a potential challenge to Abbas, Dahlan has announced plans to field a list of candidates he dubs "Fatah reformists" in a parliamentary election scheduled for May. Dahlan has obtained 60,000 Sputnik V doses for Palestinians since February, outpacing official Palestinian authorities. He said half of the new shipment would be allocated to Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Abbas's Palestinian Authority has limited self-rule. 04:44 PM Brazil hospitals pushed to limit as Covid-19 death toll soars Hospitals in Brazil's main cities are reaching full capacity, health officials have warned, as the country recorded the world's highest Covid-19 death toll over the past week. Intensive care wards for treating coronavirus patients have reached critical occupancy levels over 90 per cent in 15 of 27 state capitals, according to biomedical centre Fiocruz. A worker buries a victim of covid-19 in the Campo da EsperanAa cemetery, in Brazil - Shutterstock/Joedson Alves In Porto Alegre, the largest city in southern Brazil, there are no free intensive care units (ICUs), and occupancy has also hit 100 per cent in two other state capitals, Fiocruz reported. The Health Ministry on Wednesday reported a record 2,286 deaths from Covud-19 in the last 24 hours, as new infections rose by 79,876. With more than 270,000 deaths, Brazil's pandemic death toll over the past year trails only the United States. 04:33 PM Homeless people prioritised for vaccine Homeless people should be prioritised to receive a coronavirus vaccine, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said. The JCVI said people who are homeless or sleeping rough are likely to have underlying health conditions and should be offered jabs alongside those in priority group six. They should also be offered the vaccine without the need for an NHS number or GP registration, it added. Professor Wei Shen Lim, JCVI Covid-19 chairman, said: "The JCVI's advice on Covid-19 vaccine prioritisation was developed with the aim of preventing as many deaths as possible. "People experiencing homelessness are likely to have health conditions that put them at higher risk of death from Covid-19. 04:25 PM UK's death toll passes 125,000 The UK's official death toll from Covid-19 has passed 125,000, marking another grim milestone during the pandemic. There were 181 further deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test, Government figures showed, taking the total tally to 125,168, while 6,753 new cases were also reported. Deaths, cases and hospitalisations have fallen rapidly in the last few weeks after infections soared at the start of the year, fuelled by a new highly-contagious variant of the virus. The strict lockdown imposed in January and the mass rollout of vaccinations has helped to bring the numbers down. Coronavirus excess deaths - by UK region 04:15 PM My 16-year-old daughter has had long Covid for five months and I dont know how to fix it Liliana contracted coronavirus in September and since then, her gruelling post-viral symptoms have really taken their toll. Ten days after she first began displaying symptoms, she still felt dreadful. She came out in a painful, stinging rash all over her body it looked as if shed been badly sunburnt and the glands on her neck were so swollen she couldnt move her head. She was really suffering; she couldnt eat, she was constantly nauseous and being sick. She was admitted to hospital on October 1 as doctors were concerned about her rash and fever, and kept in for observation for 24 hours. Five months on, many of her symptoms remain. The rash subsided, but it returns whenever she gets too warm. The house has to be kept cool and she has a fan next to her, even on the coldest days. 04:02 PM Army helicopter brings vaccine relief to tiny Irish island The army pilots landed their helicopter on the tiny Irish island of Arranmore just before lunch on Thursday and handed over their precious cargo of Covid-19 vaccines to Dr. Kevin Quinn and his grinning daughter Aoife. The arrival of first batch of shots last month was a "joyous occasion", Quinn said. Irish Army helicopter delivers Covid-19 vaccines to Arranmore Island - Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters Thursday's delivery of second doses was even more momentous - he reckons he will now be able to fully vaccinate around half the population in the next few days. With fewer than 500 residents, the remote island off the northwestern tip of Ireland is one of the hardest places to reach in a vaccination programme that, like in the rest of the European Union, has been hampered by supply problems. The two army pilots took one hour and 40 minutes to fly in from the Casement Aerodrome military air base on the outskirts of Dublin. Aoife, who works as a nurse on Arranmore, helped her father and the crew carry the frozen boxes of Moderna shots to his car, parked down a lane. 03:55 PM EU told to expect no AstraZeneca vaccines from U.S. in near future Washington has told the European Union that it should not expect to receive AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in the United States any time soon, two EU sources have said. The U.S. message could complicate vaccination plans in the 27-nation bloc, which has been grappling since January with delays in deliveries from vaccine makers. "The U.S. told us there was no way it would ship AstraZeneca vaccines to the EU," said a senior official directly involved in EU-U.S. talks. AstraZeneca told the EU earlier this year it would cut its supplies in the second quarter by at least half to less than 90 million doses, EU sources told news agency Reuters, after a bigger reduction in the first three months of the year. 03:47 PM Nepalese restaurant delivers 100,000 free community meals since start of pandemic A Nepalese restaurant has delivered its 100,000th free meal to members of the community since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Sujan Katuwal, owner of Panas Gurkha in Lewisham, south London, started giving away meals to NHS workers, homeless shelters and community centres after being forced to shut the restaurant's doors during the first lockdown last March. On Thursday he was joined by actor Joanna Lumley, a long-time campaigner for the UK's Nepalese community, as he delivered meals to the Royal Artillery Barracks in Greenwich which took him past the 100,000 mark. Joanna Lumley with Sujan Katuwal, the owner of Nepalese restaurant Panas Gurkha in Lewisham, south London, - Ian West/PA Ms Lumley said: "To look out and help people who are terribly busy and simply won't have time to prepare food is such a generous and open-hearted thing to do. "They've looked after care workers, the homeless community and to crack through the 100,000-meal barrier is simply sensational." 03:34 PM EU regulator backs AstraZeneca doses after Denmark suspension Europe's drugs regulator backed the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine on Thursday, saying its benefits outweighed the risks, after Denmark paused its use following reports of blood clot formation in some who had been vaccinated. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which called the suspension a precautionary measure, said there was no indication at present that vaccination had caused those conditions. The vaccine can continue to be administered while its safety committee investigates the cases of blood clot formations, the EMA added. 03:26 PM Cunard to offer staycation sailings while cancelling international trips Cunard is to operate voyages around the UK's coastline this summer after extending the suspension of its international sailings. The firm said it will operate staycation trips for UK residents-only on its ship Queen Elizabeth. Details of timings and itineraries will be announced later this month. The sailings will replace a number of international cruises that have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cunard is owned by Carnival, whose other UK firm, P&O Cruises, announced last week it will offer a series of week-long UK sailings this summer. Maritime minister Robert Courts told MPs on Monday that domestic cruises could be permitted from May 17. 03:18 PM Italy bans batch of AstraZeneca vaccine Italy has banned a batch of the AstraZeneca/Oxford coronavirus vaccine following fears of a link to blood clots, according to the country's medicine regulator. "Following the reporting of some serious adverse events... AIFA has decided, as a precaution, to issue a ban on the use of this batch throughout the national territory," AIFA said in a statement. It said that it "reserves the right to take further measures, if necessary," in coordination with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). But it stressed that at the moment there had been no established link between the administration of the vaccine and the alleged side-effects. Vaccination rates in the UK and the EU 03:08 PM Royal Colege of Nursing derides 1pc pay rise as 'disrespectful' Royal College of Nursing chief executive and general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said the NHS staff survey results should "act as a stark reminder to ministers of why a one per cent pay rise is so disrespectful after the last year". She said: "As the NHS tries to recover from the pandemic, nursing staff are still being pushed to the edge to keep services running. Rest and recuperation for health care staff must be central to decision-making. Support for staff must also include psychological and physical support for all that need it. "Unless ministers recognise the warning signals of those who are thinking of leaving and the nearly half of those surveyed who felt unwell as a result of work-related stress, it makes it even harder for the NHS to return to normal. "With tens of thousands of nursing vacancies across the NHS, much more needs to be done and this has to start with keeping and looking after those already in the profession." 03:01 PM Vaccine take-up for over-80s lags in London Vaccine take-up in London among people aged 80 and over continues to lag behind other regions of England, figures have suggested. An estimated 83.5 per cent of people in this age group in the capital have had their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to NHS England. Take-up in all other regions is estimated to be at least 94 per cent, with south-west England having the highest proportion at 98.7 per cent. Is the UK on track to hit vaccination targets? 02:58 PM NHS waiting list hits record high during pandemic The number of people in England waiting to start hospital treatment has risen to a new record high. Figures from NHS England show 4.59 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of January - the highest number since records began in August 2007. The number waiting more than 52 weeks to start hospital treatment stood at 304,044 in the same month - the highest number for any calendar month since January 2008. Lockdown caused a 54 per cent drop in the number of people admitted for routine treatment in January compared with a year earlier. Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director for the NHS in England, said: "Admitting more than 100,000 Covid patients to hospital in a single month inevitably had a knock-on effect on some non-urgent care. 02:37 PM Comment: Beware the narrative of normality by June it could go the same way as five days of Christmas It is tantalising but risky to think a normal summer is just around the corner but we must be cautious, says Professor John Ashton. A year ago the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. The anniversary marks a moment where we can take stock of the greatest crisis facing the UK outside wartime for 100 years. One year on, there is no doubt the UK has come up short in its response: there have been 130,000 Covid-related deaths, the country is still in lockdown and there have been many well-chronicled errors in handling the pandemic. There can be little doubt that when Covid first made its UK appearance in February last year the government was caught flat footed. Years of austerity had hit the NHS and public health services alike, exacerbated by the disastrous health reforms of 2013. When the first cases of Covid were reported in York at the beginning of February 2020 the prime minister was distracted by Brexit and the complexities of his personal life. The Government wasted a month when it could have been tracking down cases of the virus through the time-honoured public health measures of street level testing and tracing, followed by isolation of those affected based on local knowledge and influence. 02:27 PM Four former US presidents urge public to be vaccinated Four former U.S. presidents are urging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as Covid-19 doses are available. Two public service announcements feature Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter along with first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Rosalynn Carter. All have received doses of the Covid-19 vaccines. One ad features photos of the former presidents and their spouses with syringes in their upper arms as they urge Americans to "roll up your sleeve and do your part" by getting vaccinated. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. 02:21 PM Australia offers half-price flights for citizens to boost tourism-hit sector Australians will be able to fly around the country on half-price tickets under a new $1.2bn (700m) tourism package announced today by the government. The discounts aim to encourage Australians to go on holiday while the international border remains closed, boosting business for local tourism operators who have struggled over the past year. The government hopes it will encourage citizens to visit famous sites like the Great Barrier Reef, Gold Coast and Uluru. The discounted routes are between states with the exception of half price flights from South Australian capital Adelaide to Kangaroo Island, which is part of the same state. The 13 regions intended to benefit from the scheme have tourism sectors that rely heavily on international visitors under normal circumstances. 02:18 PM England's cases continue to fall Covid-19 case rates are continuing to fall in all regions of England, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England. In Yorkshire and Humber the rate of new cases stood at 97.6 per 100,000 people in the seven days to March 7 - the highest rate of any region, but down from 115.6 in the previous week. East Midlands recorded the second highest rate: 84.0, down from 122.9. South-west England recorded the lowest rate: 32.3, down from 43.9. Map of UK's seven-day Covid-19 infection rate, by local authority 02:13 PM Italy ban on AstraZeneca batch follows two deaths in Sicily Italy's decision to ban a batch of AstraZeneca vaccine was taken following the deaths of two men in Sicily who had recently been inoculated, a source close to the matter said on Thursday. Italy's medicines authority Aifa said earlier that the ban was a "precautionary" measure, adding that no link had been established between the vaccine and subsequent "serious adverse events." The source said Aifa had moved after Stefano Paterno, a 43-year-old navy officer, died earlier this week of a suspected heart attack the day after his jab. A second man, 50-year-old policeman Davide Villa, died last weekend, some 12 days after his jab. Local newspapers reported he fell ill within 24 hours of his injection and never recovered. The source said both men had received shots from AstraZeneca's ABV2856 batch. 02:09 PM Brazil registers deadliest day of pandemic Brazil has registered its deadliest day of the Covid pandemic so far, registering a record 2,286 deaths from Covid-19 in one day on Wednesday. The South American country of 212 million people, which has the world's second-highest death toll in the pandemic, is struggling to deal with a crush of cases that has pushed many hospitals close to the breaking point. The new daily record brought the number of people who have died of Covid-19 in Brazil to 270,656, second only to the United States. The country also registered its third-highest number of coronavirus infections Wednesday, with nearly 80,000. "We're at the worst moment of the pandemic in Brazil. The transmission rate with these new variants is making the epidemic even worse," said Margareth Dalcolmo, a doctor and researcher at leading public health center Fiocruz. Coronavirus Brazil Spotlight Chart - Cases default 02:01 PM Imam and pastor urge people to 'check' before sharing vaccine posts Shareable videos of an imam, a pastor and clinicians have been created with the aim of dispelling misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine. A series of clips and images have been put together by the Government with the support of social media giants including Facebook and Twitter, in a bid to address concerns about low vaccine uptake among ethnic minority communities. Trusted community figures feature in the material, urging people to be mindful of misinformation and "check before you share". The campaign is particularly aimed at countering the spread of misleading and false details via private messaging apps such as WhatsApp, where it is harder to detect. It comes after Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said anti-vaccination messages are "very, very cleverly, hyper super-forensically targeted at different communities" with false claims about fertility "proving to be sadly quite potent". 01:49 PM Cycling: Paris-Nice organisers to change route of race finale amid virus restrictions The route of the prestigious Paris-Nice week-long race's finale will need to be 'adapted' amid Covid-19 restrictions in the Azurean city, regional authorities have said. "Technical meetings are underway between the organisers and the State services to adapt the course," the Prefecture des Alpes Maritimes said in a statement. "In any case, these stages can only take place outside the locked down area and without spectators." Team Jumbo rider Primoz Roglic (C) wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey competes in the pack during the 5th stage of the 79th Paris-Nice race - Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Saturday's penultimate stage is due to start in Nice and Sunday's final stage was expected to start in Nice and finish on its famous Promenade des Anglais, the Cote d'Azur's most iconic walk. Nice mayor Christian Estrosi has requested the Promenade, which would normally be full of people strolling in the spring sunshine but has been closed for the last two weekends, be opened to pedestrians and cyclists this Saturday and Sunday. 01:40 PM Crown Court backlog reaches record high during pandemic The backlog of criminal cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts in England and Wales has hit its highest level in a year. The latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show there were 56,544 outstanding crown court cases at the end of January, up from 55,676 in December. This is compared with 38,411 a year earlier, before the coronavirus pandemic took hold and courts were initially forced to shut as the country went into lockdown. The latest inspection by Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) said delays in cases coming to court affect "the ability of victims, witnesses and defendants to recollect the events and can impact on their willingness to attend court to give evidence". Meanwhile some lawyers have said they are already seeing trials being listed for 2023. The Government has said it is investing 450 million to "boost recovery in the courts and deliver swifter justice", insisting this is "already yielding results". 01:32 PM Covid-19 cases in Africa pass four million as vaccination program gathers pace Africa is poised to surpass four million Covid-19 infections this week since the continents first confirmed case in February 2020. The year-long battle against the virus, which has also claimed over 106 000 lives, is now receiving a crucial boost with the arrival of vaccines through the COVAX Facility a multi-partner vaccine procurement platform. While reported deaths have dropped by more than 50 per cent over the past month compared with the previous proportion of deaths among confirmed cases (3.6pc) remains higher than the global average. Over 14.6 million vaccine doses have been delivered to 22 African countries since February 24 through COVAX. Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said: The pandemic has nearly knocked loose the linchpin of the health systems in many countries. Cases, deaths and vaccinations, coronavirus world map 01:21 PM EU drugs regulator gives green light to J&J's single-shot Covid-9 vaccine The European Union's drugs regulator has recommended conditionally approving Johnson & Johnson's single dose Covid-19 vaccine. The bloc is attempting to speed up a stuttering inoculation campaign and boost its supplies of vaccines. EU vaccine rollout suffers The vaccine is the fourth to be endorsed for use in the EU following vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech , AstraZeneca-Oxford University and Moderna, and is recommended for those over 18 years of age. The United States, Canada and Bahrain have also approved the dose. South Africa is carrying out an expedited review. 01:15 PM Norway suspends AstraZeneca vaccine rollout Norway halted on Thursday the rollout of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, following a similar move by Denmark. "This is a cautionary decision," Geir Bukholm, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, told a news conference. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik 01:12 PM France eases Covid-19 restrictions on international travellers France will ease some Covid-19 restrictions on international travel outside Europe, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. The ministry said in a statement that travellers to or from Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Britain and Singapore would no longer have to need a compelling reason to travel. All other restrictions, such as a requirement for a negative Covid-19 test less than 72 hours before travel, would remain in place, the ministry said, adding a decree was due to be published on March 12. 01:09 PM Sweden registers 5,300 new Covid-19 cases Sweden, which has shunned lockdown throughout the pandemic, registered 5,300 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, health agency statistics showed. The country of 10 million inhabitants registered 23 new deaths, taking the total to 13,111. The deaths registered have occurred over several days and sometimes weeks. Sweden's death rate per capita is many times higher than that of its Nordic neighbours' but lower than in several European countries that opted for lockdowns. Coronavirus Sweden Spotlight Chart - Cases default 01:00 PM Glass vials for Covid vaccines not sustainable, says expert Consideration will have to be given to how vaccines continue to be manufactured as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, an expert has said. Vaccines are currently produced in multiple-dose glass vials, but given the speciality of these, they may not be a viable option going forward as billions of people require jabs every year. Dr Ian Muir, chief executive of Porton Biopharma and lead for the contract manufacture team of the UK's Vaccine Task Force, said there are only a few manufacturers in the world who can make the specialised vials the vaccines are currently delivered in. Dr Muir said: "As we look forward more globally, I think the question that needs to be addressed is whether 10-dose glass vials are really the answer for seven billion people and whether we need to look at other delivery systems. "So whether that is single use plastic vials or single use prefilled syringes or other alternative technologies that are out there, because just making enough glass, anywhere in the world, and filling it is going to be a real constraint." 12:49 PM Row between EU and UK over 'vaccine nationalism' intensifies The EU President has hit back at the UK in the bitter row over vaccine nationalism, asking "how many doses did they export?". Charles Michel said "it is unfair to attack the EU" over its export transparency ban, which Brussels could extend today. He told Politico: "I confirm what I said because there are different ways to impose a limitation or a ban. There are different ways, not only via one executive order or via one legislation. "There are different ways. And I repeat, its very simple, one certainty and one question. Whats certain: Europe is a continent which exports a lot of doses, thats why I wrote it very clearly. "Its unfair to attack the European Union on this topic, saying that we would choose vaccination nationalism or protectionism. This is not the truth. The facts are the facts. At a certain point, its my call for more transparency. How many doses did they export?" 12:38 PM One dose of Pfizer jab gives inadequate protection to cancer sufferers, study shows One shot of the Pfizer vaccine gives inadequate protection to cancer sufferers, new research suggests. Scientists said the current strategy of delaying the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine must be urgently reviewed for cancer patients in light of the findings. A study from King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute - which has not yet been peer-reviewed - found that three weeks after the first jab, antibody responses were found in 39 per cent of people with solid cancers and 13 per cent of people with blood cancer. This compared with 97 per cent of people with no cancer, according to the research on 205 people, who comprised 151 with cancer and 54 healthy controls. Cancer patients given a second dose of the vaccine three weeks after the first - as recommended by Pfizer - had a much better immune response, with 95 per cent of those with solid tumours showing detectable antibodies. Laura Donnelly has the full story here 12:34 PM Half of NHS staff fell ill due to stress during pandemic Half of NHS staff in England who worked in coronavirus settings felt unwell due to work-related stress, the NHS Staff Survey 2020 found. It showed that 50 per cent of the staff who said they had worked on a Covid-19 specific ward or area at any time reported feeling unwell as a result of work-related stress. This compared to 41 per cent of the staff who had not worked in Covid settings feeling unwell as a result of work-related stress. 12:27 PM Greece lays out welcome mat for holiday-makers Greece is laying out the sunbeds and beach umbrellas as it prepares to reopen to tourists in May and resurrect an industry which suffered one of its worst years in years due to the pandemic. "All you need is Greece," Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said this week in an address from the Acropolis museum, home to sculptures from Greek antiquity. Masked visitors at the Areios Pagos hill, with the Acropolis' Propylaea seen in the background - Reuters The tourism sector accounts for about a fifth of Greece's economy. As vaccination programmes get underway around the world, Greece is relying on its record in handling the pandemic to draw foreign tourists back to its islands and monuments. It has led calls for Europe to adopt a vaccine passport showing whether someone has been vaccinated to allow travel over the summer. Theoharis said Greece would open to visitors either way. "People who are vaccinated, have tested negative or recovered from the disease and have antibodies are welcome to Greece and we will welcome them irrespective of any agreements," Theoharis said. 12:15 PM Indian health officials deny second wave despite biggest single spike in cases Despite India recording its biggest single-day spike in fresh Covid-19 cases in two months on Wednesday, public health experts do not believe the country has entered into a second wave as outbreaks are localised. India reported 22,854 new infections but 86 per cent of the cases were found in six out of the countrys 36 states and union territories - Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. The authorities are urging people to still adhere to precautionary measures, such as wearing a mask and maintaining social distance, so these localised outbreaks do not then spread nationwide. Tens of thousands of Hindus plunge into the Ganges River as part of the Kumbh Mela festival, with all participants requested to present a negative Covid-19 test beforehand - Reuters The Maharashtra state government is also said to be considering re-implementing some lockdown measures. Public health experts are blaming the steady increase in new infections on life largely returning to normal in India, with restrictions lifted on domestic travel and the majority of Indians returning to work. 12:08 PM EU extends vaccine export checks by three months until end-June The European Commission has extended until the end of June its scheme requiring authorisation for Covid-19 vaccine exports, due to continued European Union concerns about supplies within the 27-nation bloc. The move announced on Thursday comes after the EU blocked a shipment of vaccines to Australia last week under the mechanism set up as a reaction to drugmakers' announcements of delays in the deliveries of vaccines to the EU. The delays have slowed the roll-out of inoculations in many EU countries, much to public frustration. The Commission, which has overseen vaccine orders for EU member states, said that in the six weeks of the scheme to date it had cleared 249 requests for exports of 34 million doses to 31 countries. Eight further export requests are pending approval, an EU official said. 12:02 PM Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine likely to prevent asymptomatic infection Pfizer Inc and BioNTech has said that real-world data from Israel suggests that their vaccine is 94 per cent effective in preventing asymptomatic infections, meaning the vaccine could significantly reduce transmission. The companies also said the latest analysis of the Israeli data shows the vaccine was 97 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic disease, severe disease and death. That is basically in line with the 95 per cent efficacy Pfizer and BioNTech reported from the vaccine's late-stage clinical trial in December. According to the analysis, unvaccinated individuals were 44 times more likely to develop symptomatic Covi-19 and 29 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than those who had received the vaccine. The data, collected between Jan. 17 and March 6, has not yet been peer reviewed. Vaccine comparator (as of February 8) 11:55 AM EU study finds Covid-19 has already wiped out six million jobs The first wave of the pandemic wiped out some six million jobs in the European Union, according to a study released on Thursday. Temporary contractors, young and female workers at times were hit harder than in the 2008-09 financial crisis. The Eurofound study said teleworking, short-time work schemes and other state support helped protect jobs but also meant more people slid into protracted professional inactivity rather than figuring in unemployment statistics. "There were 5.7 million fewer people in employment in the EU by spring 2020 than at the end of 2019, and 6.3 million fewer compared with the trend growth that could have been expected before the Covid-19 pandemic," Eurofound said. "Younger workers experienced the sharpest declines in employment," said the report, stressing youth employment levels in the pandemic shrank more than during the financial crisis that started in 2008, risking another 'lost generation'. 11:48 AM Watch: Belgian care home residents perform parody of Disney's Frozen 11:46 AM Denmark suspends AstraZeneca vaccine for two weeks after blood clot reports Denmark has put using AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine doses on hold for two weeks after reports of cases of blood clots forming, including one death, authorities have announced. Officials did not say how many reports of blood clots there had been, but Austria has stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. "Both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to respond to reports of possible serious side-effects, both from Denmark and other European countries," the director of the Danish Health Authority, Soren Brostrom, said in a statement. "It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days. The health agency did not give details of the Danish blood clot victim. 11:41 AM Covid cluster at gym sends hundreds into quarantine in Hong Kong A Covid-1 outbreak at a gym popular with expatriates in Hong Kong has forced over 240 people being sent into quarantine, the city's government has said. Positive cases have spilled into the banking sector and the city's international school network. A Windsor Spar employee disinfects changing rooms - Miguel Candela/Shutterstock Hong Kong's health bureau told a briefing that a Covid-19 cluster emerged at Ursus Fitness, a gym in the trendy Sai Ying Pun district near the financial centre, which had led to a spike in cases across the city. At least nine schools have been temporarily closed as a precautionary measure, schools and teachers said on Thursday. A confirmed case at Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Hong Kong resulted in a whole floor of staff being sent for tests, with some put into quarantine and many asked to work from home. 11:31 AM Keir Starmer accuses Boris Johnson of 'slamming the door' on carers after clapping for them Sir Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson of slamming the door on carers after clapping for them and criticised the Tories for failing to fix social care. Launching his local election campaign with a virtual speech, the Labour leader said: "When I clapped for our carers, I meant it. "The Prime Minister clapped for carers, then he slammed the door on them. "Every vote in this election is a chance to show the Conservatives that the British people value our NHS and our key workers so much more than this Government does. "It's also the chance to show that we can't wait any longer for the Conservatives to fix social care." 11:21 AM US-China 'squabbles' delayed Covid origins investigations, WHO investigators say Science has been crushed by frosty geopolitical relations and anti-China rhetoric, according to members of the World Health Organization-led team exploring the origins of the coronavirus. Earlier this month international experts spent a month in Wuhan where the first Covid-19 cases were detected in late 2019 during a highly anticipated trip to investigate how Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, emerged. But, speaking at an event hosted by the think tank Chatham House on Wednesday, the ecologist Dr Peter Daszak suggested efforts to study the viruss origins have been disrupted and delayed by international squabbles, particularly between Beijing and Washington Weve not had access to work in China on the origins for the last 12 months, which is ironic because we could have been on the ground, working with our Chinese colleagues sooner, he told the virtual event. By now we may have had some really important answers as to how [Sars-Cov-2] emerged. The rhetoric has held that up to some extent science is being used and abused. Sarah Newey has more details on the hour-long briefing: 11:14 AM Lockdown disruption led to 1.4m unplanned pregnancies in poor countries Disruptions to family planning services linked to the Covid pandemic have led to an estimated 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies this year, United Nations data show. Figures from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) show that in the last year nearly 12 million women were unable to get contraception, leading to around 1.4 million unintended pregnancies. The study of 115 million low and middle income countries show that the pandemic caused an average of 3.6 months disruption to family planning services. Most of the disruption occurred in April and May 2020 when countries were forced to divert resources away from their reproductive health services. Women also lost access to health services due to movement restrictions or fear of travelling to health facilities. Pregnancies dont stop for pandemics, or any crisis. We must ensure that women and girls have uninterrupted access to life-saving contraceptives and maternal health medicines, said Dr Natalia Kanem, UNFPA executive director. Anne Gulland reports: 11:11 AM President Biden to urge vigilance and offer hope on anniversary of lockdown President Joe Biden will mark the one-year anniversary of the U.S. coronavirus lockdown tonight with a prime-time speech commemorating losses from the pandemic while expressing hope for the future as vaccinations increase. The Democratic president, who campaigned on a promise to halt the spread of the virus more effectively than his predecessor, Donald Trump, has warned Americans that more deaths are to be expected. But with the vaccinated population slowly increasing, Biden is conveying fresh hope even as he urges people to continue to be cautious against further waves. More than 528,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States, and just about 10 per cent of the country has been fully vaccinated. Biden said on Wednesday that he would use his 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT) address to discuss "what we've been through as a nation this past year." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. 10:55 AM Covid around the world, in pictures Hindu devotees queue to perform rituals to a Shiva Lingam, a stone sculpture representing the phallus of the Hindu deity Shiva, on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri festival, at Shivala Bhaiyaan temple in Amritsar - Narinder Nanu/AFP A group of people gather to burn masks along the JFK Memorial Causeway in honor of the end of the statewide mask mandate across Texas. - USA Today Argentines protest to demand justice after the death of football legend Diego Armando Maradona, in Buenos Aires - Agustin Marcarian/Reuters 10:24 AM NHS Confederation chief warns of 'significant areas of concern' Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the overall picture shown by the NHS Staff Survey 2020 was encouraging but there were "significant areas of concern". He added: "The overall picture is encouraging given the unprecedented and most challenging of times NHS staff have worked through over the past 12 months. "There are though significant areas of concern and the recent data on the continued poorer experience of ethnic minority staff starkly reminds NHS leaders that staff experience varies unacceptably in their organisations. "With the Government once again reiterating its intention to offer only a 1% pay rise there can be no room for complacency when the results also show that around a third of staff are considering leaving their jobs and nearly one in five are thinking of quitting the health service entirely. "While there has been an increase in the number of staff agreeing that their organisation has enough staff for them to do their job properly, this is still less than two in five, and reinforces the need for a funded workforce plan to give staff hope that the vacancies in their teams will be filled longer term." 10:13 AM One in five staff considering leaving NHS, survey shows Almost a fifth of staff are considering leaving the NHS - although this has fallen slightly since 2019, from 19.6% to 18.2%, according to the survey. It includes people considering retiring or taking a career break and those considering moving to a job outside healthcare or in healthcare but outside the NHS. 10:09 AM Emergency admissions to A&E down Emergency admissions to A&E departments at hospitals in England also showed a fall last month, down from 510,811 in February 2020 to 421,651 in February 2021. NHS England again said this is likely to be a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak. 10:04 AM A&E attendances figures down a third year-on-year A&E attendances at hospitals in England continue to be below levels of a year ago, according to the latest figures from NHS England. A total of 1.3 million attendances were recorded in February 2021, down from 2 million in February 2020. After adjusting for the leap year in 2020, NHS England said attendances were down year-on-year by 33%. NHS England said the drop is "likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response" - suggesting that people are still staying away from A&E departments because of the coronavirus outbreak. 09:44 AM Hospital waiting list at record high The number of people in England waiting to start hospital treatment has risen to a new record high. A total of 4.59 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of January 2021, according to figures from NHS England. This is the highest number since records began in August 2007. The number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start hospital treatment stood at 304,044 in January 2021 - the highest number for any calendar month since January 2008. One year earlier, in January 2020, the number having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at just 1,643. 09:06 AM Labour deputy leader defends Starmer's pandemic approach Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner defended Sir Keir Starmer's approach to handling the pandemic as leader of the opposition. "Keir Starmer made a decision, which I think was the right one, to try and be constructive, and to ensure that we gave constructive opposition that worked in the national interest," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "And that's what we focused on. Now I know some people felt that that was giving them an easy ride, it wasn't. "It's incredibly frustrating, especially when you see the kids not getting the laptops they need, when they're not giving them the food, when the billions of pounds has been squandered. "We've highlighted those things but we've tried to be constructive." 08:42 AM GlaxoSmithKline antibody drug reduces death by 85pc A monoclonal antibody drug reduces hospital admission or death from Covid-19 by 85%, the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced. The drug, called VIR-7831, is a new treatment for people with mild to moderate illness, and the study has been so successful that it has been stopped early. GSK and its partner, Vir Biotechnology, plan to immediately seek an emergency use authorisation in the United States and approval in other countries, including potentially in the UK. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-produced molecules that mimic human antibodies. The global phase 3 clinical trial based its initial analysis on data from 583 patients at risk of hospital admission. GSK said VIR-7831 works in two ways - by blocking the virus's entry into healthy cells and also clearing infected cells. 08:19 AM Majority of women say well-being harmed by home-schooling Ministers are under pressure to address the unequal effect of lockdown on men and women, after figures showed more than half of women said their wellbeing was negatively affected by home schooling. The Office for National Statistics found 67 per cent of women and 52 per cent of men had home-schooled a child between Jan 13 and Feb 7 and 53 per cent of women said that had hit their wellbeing, compared to 45 per cent of men. It has led to calls for the Government to ensure women are included in its drive to build back better. 08:07 AM UK has '10m' extra jabs ready for vaccine surge The UK now has up to 10million extra vaccine doses which will allow for a surge in jabs over the coming weeks, the i newspaper has reported. Waless First Minister Mark Drakeford told the paper a recent "dip" in vaccinations was now over, and predicted a large increase in the number of doses being delivered in March. While Westminster has refused to publish updates on vaccine supply, Holyrood has said Scotland has around It's understood the doses are allocated to each nation according to its share of the UK population, suggesting the number of jabs available for the UK as a whole is around 10 million. 07:40 AM From Wuhan to a global catastrophe: One year of the coronavirus pandemic When an unknown virus was discovered in a Wuhan market, few could have predicted it would change the world, writes Verity Bowman. But the disease we now know as Covid-19 has spread across the globe at terrifying speed, presenting humanity with an unprecedented challenge. One year after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus to be a pandemic, we look back at the events that have shaped the global crisis. See our interactive timeline here. 07:34 AM Heathrow passenger numbers down 92pc year-on-year Heathrow's passenger numbers were down 92% year-on-year in February, with 461,000 people travelling through the London airport. This is the lowest monthly figure since 1966. The airport said the decline was due to the ban on non-essential travel, quarantine rules and the requirement for pre-departure and post-arrival coronavirus testing. Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "Aviation has always led the UK economy out of recession, and we will do so again. "The PM's Global Travel Taskforce can lead the way on reopening international travel and trade safely - but ministers must get a grip of Border Force's performance so that visitors get a warm welcome to Britain, not a six-hour queue." 07:26 AM More than 40 facing 800 fines for London rave More than 40 people are facing fines of 800 after being caught at an illegal rave in the vault of a disused bank, police said. The Metropolitan Police said officers heard loud music while on patrol in Hortus Road in Southall, west London, just before 9am last Sunday. They identified the source of the music as a derelict building, and discovered people had made their way into the premises through a gap in a fence, with DJ equipment and speakers having been set up inside. The officers then entered the venue and reported all 44 people inside for consideration of a fixed penalty notice of 800 before removing them from the premises. "It is disappointing some selfish people still insist on breaking Covid regulations," said Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Bowen, from the Met's West Area Command Unit, which covers the area. "We are all excited about the prospect of returning to normal in June - and some changes to restrictions are imminent - but behaviour like this risks undermining the road map out of lockdown and could potentially cause further delays by creating a breeding ground for the virus. "We will continue to do our part in shutting illegal events like this down and taking action where necessary." 07:19 AM Today's front page Here is your Daily Telegraph on Thursday, Mar 11. dt 05:53 AM Europe faces third wave A third wave of the coronavirus is sweeping across large areas of Europe and threatens to engulf many countries quicker than they can hope to vaccinate their citizens. In Italy, infections have risen by 50 per cent in a fortnight, and there are now 300 deaths a day. In Hungary, infections have more than doubled in 14 days. In the Czech Republic, they are now so high local immunologists say the country could achieve herd immunity without the help of vaccines. Fear has turned into anger and exhaustion, Italy's influential La Repubblica newspaper said on Wednesday. Were waiting for the vaccines like pioneers in a Western movie, surrounded by Indians, scanning the horizon and waiting for the Seventh Cavalry. Read more: Europe faces third wave as it lags behind with vaccinations Covid-19 percentage increase in past two weeks across Europe 03:47 AM Trump claims credit for Covid vaccine Donald Trump has issued a statement that takes credit for the US vaccine rollout and claims that, if it was not for him, Americans would not have received the jab for five years. The former US president said: "I hope everyone remembers when theyre getting the Covid-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasnt president, you wouldnt be getting that beautiful shot for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldnt be getting it at all. "I hope everyone remembers." Donald Trump visited the Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday - GC IMAGES 03:32 AM Cheap flights for Australians Almost one million Australians will be able to enjoy half-price flights to domestic holiday destinations under a government plan to boost tourism as Covid border closures keep international travellers out. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government would spend $1.2 billion (about 667 million) to subsidise 800,000 flights to areas outside major cities that were "heavily dependent on international tourists". Half-price airfares will be offered to entice Australians to book holidays at places like the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and the Gold Coast. Australia has been effectively sealed off from the rest of the world since shutting its border last March in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and is yet to announce when it will reopen to overseas visitors. Visits to Uluru will be subsidised - REUTERS 02:46 AM Today's top stories Fullerton College: leveraging VitaNavis to nurture students' career readiness Last year, Fullerton College (which had used the MBTI and Strong Interest Inventory assessments for years) began using the VitaNavis platform to help students better connect with careers and graduate career ready. "The VitaNavis platform compares to nothing else out there....we're helping students decide on a major sooner and getting them to graduate and/ or transfer in a timely manner," said Janine Cirrito, Career Center Coordinator II, Fullerton College. Using VitaNavis, Fullerton reaches prospective students earlier, giving them valuable information about programs that map to their future career plans. In addition, VitaNavis's mobile-friendly platform is scalable and easier for students to access on the go. Fullerton's future with VitaNavis Since VitaNavis' implementation a year ago, 4,000 students have completed the SuperStrong assessment. Fullerton College is also planning to leverage it with feeder and non-feeder high schools. "VitaNavis has been extremely instrumental to me in assisting [students]," said Deanna Smedley, a Fullerton College counselor. "It's simple and visually appealing for both the counselor and the student." To download the white paper on career readiness, visit: https://get.vitanavis.com/whitepaper-readiness To get the Fullerton College case study, visit: https://get.vitanavis.com/assets/resources/VitaNavis%20-%20Case%20Study%20-%20Fullerton%20College.pdf About The Myers-Briggs Company In our fast-changing world, your edge lies in harnessing 100 percent of your talent at work, at home, and everywhere in between. The Myers-Briggs Company helps organizations worldwide improve teams, develop inspirational leaders, and solve the most perplexing people challenges. We empower individuals to be the best versions of themselves by enriching their understanding of themselves and others. As a Certified B Corporation, The Myers-Briggs Company is a force for good. And we're ready to help you succeed. +1 800.624.1765 : themyersbriggs.com : The Myers-Briggs Company Contact: Michael Burke [email protected] 415-989-9000 SOURCE The Myers-Briggs Company Related Links https://www.themyersbriggs.com [March 11, 2021] Cambridge Savings Bank Announces Successful Transition of Melrose Bank Acquisition; Go-Forward Plan Prioritizes Community Engagement, Charitable Giving and Relationship-Centric Service Cambridge Savings Bank (CSB), a full-service mutual bank with a customer-first approach and more than $5 billion in assets, today announced it has successfully transitioned Melrose Bank customers and added CSB's 17th physical location. Following the acquisition of Melrose Bank into Cambridge Savings Bank on June 1, 2020, CSB has made it a priority to connect with the Melrose community, focusing on its relationship-centric and service-oriented approach to helping individuals, families and small businesses. Recently recognized as one of the most desirable places to live by Realtor.com, Melrose is a city with a bright future and, in only a matter of months, CSB has already made an impact, both philanthropically and by way of providing value to customers and the community. The bank has made it a priority to invest in Melrose's promising growth trajectory. "Expanding into Melrose is an exciting opportunity for us to serve a diverse and growing community," said Wayne Patenaude, President and CEO at CSB. "We are a relationship-centric bank driven by a passion for helping people - individuals, families and small businesses. It was important that we established a positive presence in Melrose and demonstrate the tangible value we bring to the community." While 2020 was a tumultuous year for most Americans, CSB addressed the disruption by doing what it does best: placing an emphasis on doing right by its customers and communities, and ensuring that their needs are prioritized. Recent CSB community-oriented and customer-focused initiatives include: Donating $100k via its Charitable Foundation to local nonprofits chosen by Melrose customers (Beneficiaries included Melrose Family YMCA, Melrose Farmer's Market, Melrose Alliance Against Violence, Bread of Life, Malden YMCA, Follow Your Art, Friends of Middlesex Fells, and Melrose Symphony Orchestra). Consolidating online banking accounts for customers who had accounts at both CSB and Melrose. Waiving fees to support customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Sponsoring Melrose's Small Business Saturday event in conjunction with the Melrose Chamber of Commerce. Personalizing outreach to each customer to identify the optimal account type for their needs. Continuing the Bank's "First Stop Melrose" program - a local gift certificate program that supports Melrose residents via the purchase of gift cards to support local businesses. "As a community bank, we pride ourselves on being intentional about giving and lending locally, and serving local residents and the business communities in which we operate," said Carol Sexton, SVP - Head of Retail Banking at CSB. "Throughout each stage in this acquisition, we made it a priority to go the extra step for our customers and understand their life stage or where they're at with their business. Our recent investments into the Melrose community illustrate those beliefs." About Cambridge Savings Bank Cambridge Savings Bank is a full-service banking institution with over $5 billion in assets. As a mutual bank, CSB is committed to improving the quality of life of our employees, customers and the communities we serve. One of the oldest and largest community banks in Massachusetts, Cambridge Savings Bank offers a full line of individual and business banking services across a robust Massachusetts-based branch network and through digital banking solutions for commercial, small business and consumer customers. To learn more about how we can meet your needs, visit us at cambridgesavings.com, or better yet, come meet us to help you make the most out of your banking relationship. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005209/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The UK medicines regulator is urging people to continue having the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, after a growing number of countries suspended its rollout over fears about blood clots. Denmark, Norway and Iceland said they were temporarily halting all AstraZeneca vaccinations to investigate reports of blood clots among people who have had the jab. Italy also followed Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Lithuania in banning jabs with one particular batch of one million AstraZeneca vaccines, which was sent to 17 countries. The UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there was no evidence to suggest the vaccine caused blood clot problems, and said people should still get their Covid-19 vaccine when asked to do so. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also backed the jabs safety and said there had been just 30 reports of blood clots among close to five million people given the vaccine across Europe. It said in a statement: The position of EMAs safety committee is that the vaccines benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing. Earlier this week the EMA reported that one person in Austria was diagnosed with blood clots and died 10 days after vaccination, but stressed there was currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions. Another person was admitted to hospital with pulmonary embolism (blockage in arteries in the lungs) after being vaccinated. Dr Phil Bryan, MHRA vaccines safety lead in the UK, said: The Danish, Norwegian and and Icelandic authorities action to temporarily suspend use of the vaccine is precautionary whilst they investigate. Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. (PA Graphics) More than 11 million doses of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK. Reports of blood clots received so far are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population. Dr Bryan said the safety of the public always comes first and the issue was being kept under close review but available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause. Professor Jon Gibbins, from the University of Reading, said blood clotting occurs for a variety of reasons and is naturally quite common, affecting one to two in 1,000 people in the general population. He said it was understandable that some people may worry but there needed to be caution in suggesting a link between the vaccine and clotting. (PA Graphics) Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said: Vaccine safety is critically important. Our UK regulator, the MHRA, review all reports of adverse events for both vaccines as they are reported. The public should have confidence that both vaccines used in the UK vaccination programme are safe and highly effective at preventing severe disease, including the prevention of blood clots caused by Covid. In a statement, AstraZeneca said patient safety was its highest priority and regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine. The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in phase three clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine has been generally well tolerated, it said. Professor Stephen Evans, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: There are a number of countries that have paused the use of the AZ vaccine, in some countries related to a particular batch. Genuine problems with a batch are very rare and almost always relate to contamination by bacteria or physical (eg glass) particles detected by the manufacturer. (PA Graphics) It comes as Public Health England (PHE) said four more cases of the P1 Covid-19 variant first identified in Manaus, Brazil, had been found in the UK. Three in south Gloucestershire are all close or household contacts of the two existing P1 cases in the area, while one case in Bradford, West Yorkshire, involves a person who tested positive in late February after travelling back from Brazil via Paris. Contact tracing teams have followed up close contacts of this individual and advised them to isolate and get a test. The latest cases bring the total number of P1 variant cases in the UK to 10 seven in England and three in Scotland, all of which have links to travel or to a previously confirmed case that has travelled to Brazil, PHE said. Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency has authorised Johnson & Johnsons one-dose coronavirus vaccine for use. The MHRA is considering its use for the UK. 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. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 We have all experienced it, even if we didnt know what to call it. Whether were overlooking a beautiful view after a challenging hike or watching a new leaf grow on the plant weve been nurturing in lockdown, the feeling we get in that momentamazed, inspired, transportedis what researchers call awe. In his new book, Awestruck, psychologist Jonah Paquette explains the process underlying the experience of awe and uncovers both its complexity and its value to our well-being. Walking readers through various scientific findings, he shows that awe helps improve our relationships, decrease our stress, and make us happier. By illustrating awes many benefits, Paquette gives us a reason to seek more awe experiences in our livesand then shows us how to do it. How We Experience Awe An awe experience, as Paquette defines it, involves two primary components: encountering vastness and experiencing transcendence. Vastness happens when we come across a view (like a spectacular sunset) or concept (such as the existence of black holes) that is too incredible to fit into our current worldview, forcing us to expand our understanding of what is possible. Transcendence happens when we take in this new, awe-striking idea or image in front of us and try to make sense of it. Not only is awe a pleasant feeling akin to wonder, it also helps us to experience a different relationship with the world around us, says Paquette. When we are overcome with awe, he explains, we often experience a small selfthe sense of our ego becoming smaller, and our needs, hopes, and purpose more integrated with the people and environment surrounding us. Awe blurs the line between the self and the world around us, diminishes the ego, and links us to the greater forces that surround us in the world and the larger universe, he writes. In that way, awe can serve a dual purpose, improving our well-being while bringing us together. The Benefits of Awe Like many positive emotions, awe can make us feel good. But awe goes beyond that, helping us to connect with others. Here are some of the main benefits of awe, as recounted by Paquette. Awe decreases stress levels. Awe has been shown to reduce stress levels in both the short term and the long term. In one study described in the book, researchers examined the impact of an awe experience on stress levels among both urban high school students and war veterans. Participants taken on a one-day river rafting trip had reduced levels of stress and symptoms of PTSD that were maintained weeks later. Critically, it wasnt just spending time outdoors that seemed to lead to reduced symptoms, but natures specific ability to induce a sense of awe. The evidence supporting the link between spending time outdoors, experiencing awe, and lower stress levels has become so persuasive that many physicians have begun to prescribe time spent in nature or in green spaces, the way one might typically prescribe a new medication, says Paquette. Awe increases generosity and kindness. In a study conducted at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley, researchers had students spend a minute either gazing up in the middle of the campuss eucalyptus grove or staring at a drab science building. When a stranger (actually, someone working for the researchers) walked by and accidentally dropped a box of pens, participants who experienced awe by gazing up at the trees were more likely to help the stranger collect the pens. Later, the same participants also scored lower on entitlement and demonstrated a higher degree of ethical decision-making. Other studies have also found a link between awe and generosity and kindness. Feeling awe makes us more willing to help those in need, and in turn increases our sense of connection to others. By enabling us to feel connected to each other, form alliances, act generously, and explore new possibilities, it stands to reason that the story of humans would not be possible without awe, he writes. Awe makes us happier and more satisfied with life. Paquette points readers toward numerous studies that demonstrate how awe can impact our mood. In one study conducted a few years ago, participants were shown a slideshow of either commonplace nature scenes (like an oak tree) or awe-inspiring nature scenes (like the Grand Canyon) and were asked questions regarding their mood both before and after the slideshow. Both groups showed improvements in mood, but those who watched the awe-inspiring slideshow reported a far greater improvement. While awe can make us happy in the short term, research has shown that this benefit lasts, too. In a study from UC Berkeley, researchers had participants track their mood and awe experiences over several weeks. They found that people experienced awe two times per week, on average, and that having awe experiences led them to have greater well-being and life satisfaction even weeks later. These are only a few among multiple studies that, according to Paquette, confirm our intuition: Awe makes us feel good. By reducing stress, increasing generosity, and improving our life satisfaction, awe really is good for us. How to Experience Awe in Everyday life Given that awe has these benefits, says Paquette, we should try to experience it more in our everyday lives. Though many of us may only associate awe with special vacations or occasionslike graduation ceremonies or visits to the Grand Canyonhe describes numerous ways we can incorporate awe into daily routines (and help intensify the experience, too). Linger. When you catch yourself in awe, Paquette recommends sitting with that feeling for as long as possible. Though you may be tempted to move quickly onto the next thing, such as taking a photo or responding to a notification, try pausing first to soak in the surroundings for a bit longer. Appreciate your senses. Tune in deeply to your awareness of color, texture, scent, and sound. What do you hear? What do you see? While on a walk, stretching, or taking deep breaths, Paquette recommends we allow ourselves to sink into the senses that connect us to the world, and be in awe of what we find. Slow down. Create space for awe to emerge in the mundane. While you water your plants, tenderly check for new leaves and buds. While eating, consider the time and energy that went into the food in front of you. By slowing down and appreciating the patience and effort involved in habitual processes, Paquette assures us, we will find ourselves awe-inspired. Unplug. While many of us are dependent on technology for work or for communicating with others, its good to intentionally step away from the screen and give ourselves the opportunity to connect with ourselves. Somewhat counterintuitively, technology can make us feel more isolated and lonely by pulling us away from the present moment, Paquette explains. He suggests ditching the phone and taking a walk, visiting a park, or making a meal, all without taking a photo or sharing it on social media. Awe walks. Numerous studies have shown that spending time in nature lowers stress and improves our physical and mental health by decreasing blood pressure, enhancing focus, and strengthening our immune system. Experiencing awe is actually one of the main factors that make nature so powerful. Try taking an awe walk, intentionally seeking to be awed by your surroundings. Awe journaling. Paquette urges us to think back to our most awe-inspiring vacations, events, and moments, and take the time to document them. Where were you? Who was there? How did you feel? This simple practice may decrease your sense of time pressure, and make you more generous, as well. Why We Need Awe More Than Ever Paquette wrote this book before the pandemic started, but it seems more relevant than ever. As we surpass the one-year mark of pandemic restrictions and the emotional strain they have come with, the tried-and-true ways to take care of our mental well-being, such as calling a friend, exercising, and meditating, can sometimes feel stale. Seeking awe is a unique way to reduce stress while simultaneously finding happiness and connection during this period. As Paquette helps us see, it doesnt take much to experience awe. Just taking a walk in our neighborhood and observing our surroundings with intention can leave us awestruck and in a better state of mind. And, given how hard this time has been, we could all use a bit more of that. Teja Pattabhiraman is a senior at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley, where she studies public health and neurobiology. She is a research and editorial assistant for Greater Good magazine, does research at the Center for Environmental Research and Childrens Health, and is a program associate at the California Initiative for Health Equity and Action. This article was originally published on the Greater Good online magazine. The USS John Finn sailed through the Taiwan Strait on March 10, conducting "routine" operations in the area. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Waite / US Navy 7th Fleet The missile destroyer USS John Finn has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, triggering Beijing's ire. This is the third sailing of a US Navy destroyer through the highly-contentious area since Biden took office. China has responded to the destroyer's presence, vowing a swift response to all threats. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A US Navy destroyer has sailed through the Taiwan Strait in what it calls a "routine" exercise - a move that has once again triggered Beijing's ire. According to a statement from the US Navy's 7th Fleet, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn was conducting a routine transit per international law. "The ship's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows," said Lieutenant Mark Langford, spokesperson for the US 7th Fleet. The Chinese government has issued a strong response to the destroyer's passage through the strait, Sina News reported. "This move by the US Navy has artificially created risk factors across the Taiwan Strait and deliberately undermined regional peace and stability. We firmly oppose this," the government's statement read. "Our troops in the theater are always on high alert and are ready to respond to all threats and provocations." The strait is a 180-km wide body of water that separates Taiwan and continental Asia. It's a widely contested area as it links the South China Sea to the East China Sea in the north. The US and its allies view it as international waters, and US warships are known to regularly conduct exercises in the strait, many of which trigger Beijing's ire. This is the third time a US warship has traveled through the strait since Biden took office, according to Taiwan News. In early February, the USS John S. McCain sailed through the Taiwan Strait to carry out an operation near the Paracel Islands. Story continues At the time, the Chinese protested the destroyer's passage through the strait and were "closely monitoring" the ship. On February 25, the USS Curtis Wilbur also traversed the waterway. The USS John Finn's transit happened as Beijing accused Admiral Philip Davidson of attempting to "hype up" the military threat that China posed. Davidson is a four-star admiral in the US Navy and is currently serving as the 25th commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command. Davidson had warned at a Senate committee hearing a day earlier that an invasion of Taiwan could be "imminent," and happen within the next six years to a decade. "I worry that [China] is accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the rules-based international order... by 2050," Davidson said, according to The Guardian. China's President Xi Jinping has been open about his intention to "reunite" China with Taiwan, and his plans appear to have escalated over the past year. According to an SCMP report, People's Liberation Army jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's airspace in 2020 alone. In 2019, Xi said that taking Taiwan was "an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people," according to the BBC. Lye Liang Fook, a senior fellow and the coordinator of the regional strategic and political studies program at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said that the US was "sending a message that it is here to stay in the region," by conducting operations in the Taiwan Strait so frequently. "The message appears to be broader, implying that it is not just about Taiwan. It tells the world that the US is here to stay, and reinforces the view that even with the new Biden administration, there is in many ways a lot of continuity with the previous administration," Lye said. He added that the move to send destroyers to pass through the Taiwan Strait was a sign as well that the US views the region as a "critical area" that is in line with its long-term interests. "It is an indication as well that the US actively supports the rule of law in the region, and is against the use of the "might is right" approach. In the long-term, the US would be interested in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, and resolving differences through negotiation and peaceful resolution," Lye added. Peking University professor Zha Daojiong, an academic at the college's school of international studies, told Insider that the Chinese have the right to "monitor the movement," presuming these are "innocent passage operations, as defined by international maritime law." According to UN conventions, the right of "innocent passage" refers to a vessel's right to enter a territory as long as it does not prejudice the peace, good order, or security of other states. "However, this is not the first time a US Naval vessel has moved through the Taiwan Strait. But such an operation, as long as it constitutes an innocent passage, is in line with Chinese laws on the country's maritime space," said Zha. Read the original article on Insider Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 16:15:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close URUMQI, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Under efforts to protect ancient religious books, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has collected and cataloged more than 2,000 Islamic tomes. Over the past 30 years, the central government and Xinjiang's regional government have allocated more than 10 million yuan (1.5 million U.S. dollars) to the collection, registration, collation and publication of ancient religious books, said Abulat Esan, director of the office of the leading group for the collection, collation and publication of ancient books from ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Preserved Islamic tomes include the Quran, "The Biography of the Prophet" and "The Biography of Muhammad" in the Arabic, Persian and Chagatai languages. A manuscript of "The Biography of the Prophet" has a history of 230 years. Eight ancient books including "The Biography of the Prophet" have been added to the national register of precious ancient books, according to Abulat Esan. In 2016, Xinjiang established a special library for ancient books, featuring constant humidity and temperature. In 2019, the region promoted the digitization of ancient books, further strengthening the preservation, study and utilization of ancient religious books. Enditem 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. Andhra Pradesh: Two killed, 6 injured in chemical factory blast India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Amaravati, Mar 11: Two workers were killed and four others seriously injured in a reactor blast in a bulk drug manufacturing unit near Kakinada city in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. The injured, one of whom was said to be in a critical condition, have been shifted to a private hospital in Kakinada from a government hospital for better treatment, police sources said. The blast occurred around 3.15 pm during routine operations at Tyche Industries located at Sarpavaram village. Deputy Chief Minister (Health) AKK Srinivas, who enquired about the incident, directed the Medical and Health Department officials to ensure better medicare to the injured workers. He extended condolences to the bereaved families. West Bengal elections 2021: Mamata Banerjee's assets worth Rs 16.72 lakh Excessive heat generated while two chemicals were being mixed in the reactor led to the fire and the blast, the case investigating officer Srirama Koteswara Rao said over phone from Kakinada. As it was Maha Sivaratri festival day, there was only a skeletal staff on duty. The deceased have been identified as K Subrahmanyam (31) and T Venkata Ramana (37). All the victims were working as operators in the unit. The blast also resulted in a fire in the unit but personnel from the Emergency Response and Fire Services Department from Kakinada swung into action and put the blaze out. Agriculture Minister K Kanna Babu, under whose constituency the chemical factory falls, visited the accident spot and supervised the rescue operation. Akhilesh Yadav makes insinuations, demands probe into 'attack' on Mamata Banerjee He enquired about the safety systems in place at the unit. District Collector Muralidhar Reddy and Superintendent of Police Adnan Nayeem Asmi also visited the blast site and later the hospital to inquire about the incident. State Industries Minister M Goutham Reddy, expressing grief over the incident, directed the department officials to submit a report on what led to the mishap and if all safety protocols were adhered to. He also asked the official machinery to be on alert in view of the onset of summer and take adequate precautionary measures in all pharmaceutical and chemical factories. He warned that any management lapse would be viewed seriously and appropriate action initiated. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 20:54 [IST] A Belfast man who served a sentence for stealing Noah Donohoes bag was back in court on Thursday for a motoring offence. Daryl Paul was due to stand trial at the citys Crown Court for three offences dating back to December 2019. However, after he admitted aggravated vehicle taking, causing damage to the vehicle, the other charges were left on the books. Judge Philip Gilpin handed the 33-year-old, from Glasgow Street in the north of the city, a six-month sentence, suspended for two years. Earlier this year, Paul was jailed for three months for stealing Noahs rucksack. He found and then tried to sell the bag while the 14-year-old was still missing, in an offence defence barrister Taylor Campbell described as opportunistic. Mr Campbell asked for his client to be re-arraigned on the motoring charge on Thursday. Crown prosecutor Gareth Purvis said police spotted a Renault Clio stolen from a property in south Belfast on December 11, 2019, being driven in the Clifton area of the city five days later. When officers stopped the car, they saw Daryl Paul in the passenger seat and his brother, William Paul, driving. A chase ensued after the car sped off when approached by a sergeant who tapped his baton on the window. The Clio was driven dangerously on several roads, including the Westlink and York Road, before being crashed on wasteground at Grove Playing Fields. The brothers fled the vehicle but were later arrested. William Paul was subsequently sentenced to 12 months for charges including aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving. When questioned, Daryl Paul claimed his brother had picked him up that morning and he had no idea the car was stolen. While this was accepted by the Crown, Paul still ran away from the vehicle. The prosecutor said the defendant had more than 190 convictions and added this was his first appearance in the Crown Court for more than 10 years. Defence barrister Taylor Campbell described his client as a persistent low-level offender who usually found himself in the Magistrates Courts. He repeated the claim that Daryl Paul had no idea the car was stolen, and said that after William Paul ran off, his brother made a split-second decision that he would run off as well and thats the only criminal culpability attached to him. Mr Taylor also spoke of Pauls significant and quite dangerous medical issues, describing his life as extremely complex Judge Gilpin accepted that while the charges would normally be dealt with in the Magistrates Courts, the defendants lengthy record meant the custody threshold had been passed. After considering Pauls health issues, he sentenced him to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and imposed three penalty points. The judge also urged him to stay out of trouble or potentially face a custodial term. 2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning -- 4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS. We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover. We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come. I finally gave up Christianity when I was 15, wrote the famous atheist Richard Dawkins in Outgrowing God: A Beginners Guide. Dawkins hoped to reach the rising generation of kids with the good news that they dont need religion. In the decades since the New Atheist movement launched, you might think this was the only message sounding from the academic world. But this is simply not the case. Religious belief was supposed to decline as modernization swept the world. But it hasnt. Being a world-class academic and a serious, orthodox Christian was supposed to be increasingly untenable. But it isnt. Giving up on religion was supposed to make people happier, healthier, and more moral. But it doesnt. In fact, even Dawkins has had to acknowledge (grudgingly) the evidence that people who believe in God seem to behave better than those who dont. Broadly speaking, religious belief and practice seems to be good for societyand good for kids. Writing in The Wall Street Journal in 2019, therapist Erica Komisar gave this provocative advice: Dont believe in God? Lie to your children. Komisar was not shooting in the dark. There is growing evidence that regular religious practice is measurably good for the health, happiness, and pro-social behavior of our kids. In a recent study, the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health found that it contributes to a wide range of health and well-being outcomes later in life. Of course, none of this means that belief in God is right, or that Christianity is true. It should, however, give us pause before assuming our kids are better off without religion. If this data is challenging for nonreligious parents, then declining interest ... 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / Andy Smith has taken twists and turns to become a fast-growing leader in marketing and publications today with his unique story. As CEO and team leader of I-Worship Network, a full-service publication, and marketing brand, he is on a mission to show the excellent way to do business. His journey started in Burg Jones Lane on the south side of Monroe, Louisiana, where he was raised in a single-parent home. Even with his reality, he never lacked encouragement from the people around him and still believes the quality of people around you matters. With a deep love for God and family, his mother and mentors always told him that he would become a man of significant impact on the world. He would get in trouble in school but still pass all his tests and get away with it until the twist that would have set his whole life back. While growing up in church, he started playing the piano at age nine and mixing with the wrong crowds. In ninth grade, Andy ended up in Juvenile Detention for riding in a car his friend had stolen. "The sad part about this situation was when I saw my mentor of thirty years to date, walking up to the window of that car. The look of disappointment on his face felt like a life sentence." This was a wake-up call because he knew he had to make something of his life and live up to what he believed about his future impact. From this experience, he grew and began to understand his purpose in life. He embraced his talkative nature and love for music. "I am so grateful I did because music has taken me across the country for twenty-five plus years! I love music! It always has and will forever be my passion. It has allowed me to meet some amazing people who have been very instrumental in the growth of my brand." It became an opportunity for him to correct his course while preparing for the service he provides for people in his life and brand today. On a journey to create his legacy, Andy has authored and self-published seven titles, all without a degree, no education! He only received his GED in 2020, even though he began his writing career at age 20 and has not stopped since. His most recent work is "Love Her Until Understanding Love From A Male's Perspective." Others include "The Lost Worshipper: The Pressures, Passions & Powers of A Worship Leader," "The I AM Factor: 5 Powerful Tools To Self-Discovery, "The I AM Factor- Prayer Journal" "The I AM Factor- Power & Success Journal, "Let Your Glory Be Revealed: 7 Keys To Unlocking The Presence Of God", "Life In The Now" How To Activate Your Purpose & Discover Your Potential. To read Andy's work, visit his bookstorehere. After going through the journey and achieving such success in publication, he was in an excellent place to help others. Motivated by the brands with great potential but the low quality of representation, he realized the need to create a better way, a new level of excellence. He had seen a magazine where a pastor friend was featured and commented on the quality to do much better. Andy was disappointed in the publication because of his love for marketing and branding. His friend's wife looked at him and said, "You do it. Show them what excellence looks like". And I-Worship Network began. IWN started with I-Worship magazine and is now a global name with other brands under the same roof. After watching people around him succeed and grow, he launched full steam into marketing. "I had no idea that God would take our publication global. I-Worship Magazine is now in 46 states and six countries". The brand has recently released a publication solely for today's woman: "Woman Arise" and is eager to reach the home full-circle through a children's magazine coming soon. "I want to highlight the stories of children who are making amazing strides in Education and Entrepreneurship, but also those who are less fortunate yet trying to stay encouraged and optimistic about their future." Building a business from scratch, Andy has learned a lot. Like most entrepreneurs, he worried about support and if he had the resources to grow. "I didn't have the money, and I didn't know who would support my dream. The beginning steps of launching a business are the hardest. You have to plan, strategize, consult, research. When I started, I didn't do anything of that sort. I took off running with no structure. It became hard because all of the steps I should have applied at the beginning, I had to go back and fix." He advises business owners today to avoid the trap of taking on too much too soon and starting without getting their details in order. "Support will come based on people's needs and your consistency," Andy advised. Andy knows that people trust this brand because he puts his heart into it project, and each client feels like he works for only them. While in a seemingly saturated market, he says, "To be honest, in my mind, I'm not in a competition. I believe everyone has a distinct audience, and it is up to them to locate their tribe. I think it's more about the work ethic that allows you to progress efficiently and accurately. I have even sent my other colleagues clients because I believe it's enough to support out here for all of us. Lastly, I believe, as the scripture says, it is unwise to compare yourselves among yourselves." Andy and his team offer services from vision concepts to self-publication. It is a fully structured brand that covers graphics, branding, magazine features, public relations, and more. Their clients range from young adults to pastors, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs. Leading in the church arena and abroad, IWN is excited to know that this is only the beginning and the best is yet to come. CEO Andy Smith states, "I am a strong believer that if you're going to be in the public eye, there is only one way to do it...THE RIGHT WAY." As a business owner, sometimes he has to sacrifice today for tomorrow; he does this to achieve the financial freedom to afford his vision. His advice to those starting their business is to surround themselves with other business owners, meet a need for people, and be consistent. "I believe when it comes to success and purpose, which surrounds you is vitally important. So many people are searching for their purpose and the course that would lead them to ultimate success. If I could leave anything with the readers, it would always be to keep God first. God never sets us up for failure. There will be times where things don't work out the way you planned. Just know that it's still going to work out for your good." To find out more about Andy, you can follow her on Instagram here. CONTACT: Paula Henderson 561-768-4444 phendersonnews@gmail.com About VIP Media Group: VIP Media Group is a hybrid PR agency. Their diverse client base includes top-class entrepreneurs, public figures, influencers, and celebrities. SOURCE: Andy Smith View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/635001/Self-Published-Multi-Author-And-Serial-Entrepreneur-Andy-Smith-Is-The-Man-Behind-The-I-Worship-Network-The-Fastest-Growing-Full-Service-Publishing-And-Branding-Company The review, one of three investigations into the departments response to the demonstrations, was completed by a panel of former police commanders and led by Gerald Chaleff, who has served on police oversight panels in Los Angeles dating back to the citys 1992 riots after four officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King. There was a lack of preparation, a lack of planning, Mr. Chaleff said of the Los Angeles Police Department in an interview, adding that it could have minimized the destruction caused by a small group of people who vandalized the city during last years protests. He said that most demonstrators were peaceful, but that there were some people there to create chaos and cause problems. In interviews, several commanders admitted to the authors of the report that they lacked experience in managing peaceful protests and said they did not receive enough training to maintain order. Training in crowd control, which became mandatory after the police responded violently in 2007 to demonstrations over immigrant rights, had not occurred for several years leading up to 2020, according to the report. There are still a few high-level personnel with expertise in handling large demonstrations, but the report said the Police Department should prioritize the training going forward, as officers retire and are assigned elsewhere. Officers interviewed for the report said they thought that good relationships with residents would keep the demonstrations peaceful, as they had in the recent past, but that their confidence resulted in them failing to plan. The department formed lines of officers standing shoulder to shoulder to block off a street or keep the protesters from going a certain way. But this technique proved ineffective. As violence erupted, the lines did nothing to help control the crowd. There is a story Linda Dresner likes to tell about her austere New York boutique, which opened on Park Avenue in 1984: Jackie O. would come in and say, Do you mind if I just stay here and have my tuna fish sandwich in the dressing room? She just enjoyed looking at the young women trying on the clothes. Linda Dresner, the store, was a minimalist shrine to avant-garde clothing. And Linda Dresner, the woman, became a Manhattan shopping legend, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis anecdotes and all. Except New York was not technically Ms. Dresners home. She started her business in Michigan, five years before coming to Park Avenue. After closing her New York store during the financial crisis of 2008, she returned to outfitting the Detroit area full time. Until March 1, that is, when Ms. Dresner closed her sole boutique in Birmingham, Mich., after four decades in the fashion industry. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 17:11:36|Editor: zh Video Player Close BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to continue working with the World Health Organization (WHO) on tracing the origin of COVID-19, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday. Li said China had maintained communication with the WHO and provided the WHO mission support during their work in China concerning the origins of the virus, stressing that the Chinese side has acted in a fact-based manner and with an open, transparent and cooperative approach. Enditem An insurer that paid $4.5 million to Dartmouth College to restore a dormitory that was damaged by fire cant seek recovery from two students whose negligence started the blaze, the New Hampshire Supreme Court decided. The high court ruled 3-0 Wednesday that Daniel Ro and Sebastian Lim, as tenants of the dormitory, were implied co-insureds under the colleges insurance policy. The court rejected Factory Mutual Insurance Co.s argument that the students had waived that protection by violating rules clearly stated in the student handbook, including a prohibition against charcoal grills. The opinion says a document on Dartmouths website states that the college insures its property for fire damage, but that personal property owned by students is not covered. Other courts have concluded that language in a rental agreement indicating that the landlord has insured the property could support a tenants reasonable expectation that the tenant was not required to do so, the opinion says. Ro and Lim admitted they were responsible for the Oct. 1, 2016 fire that damaged much of Dartmouths Morton Hall. They had left a small charcoal grill burning outside a window on the fourth floor of the dormitory building, which spread onto the buildings roof. The fire displaced 67 students, who had to move off campus for much of the school year while the damage was repaired, according to local news reports. Dartmouth expelled Lim and Ro and denied an appeal, even after 1,100 people signed a petition urging leniency, according to a report in The Dartmouth, a student newspaper. Factory Mutual paid Dartmouth $4,544,313.55 for its damage claim and then filed a subrogation demand. Lim and Ro responded by filing an action seeking declaratory relief. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of the former students. The insurer appealed. The Supreme Court said an Oklahoma appellate court created the principle that tenants are the implied co-insureds under a property insurance policy in a 1975 decision in a case titled Sutton v. Jondahl. New Hampshire adopted the anti-subrogation doctrine in 2004 in a case titled Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. Crete. Factory Mutual argued that Lim and Ro were more akin to hotel guests than tenants who have a possessary interest in the property they lease. Students in dormitories are paying for nothing more than a license to occupy the campus, which is a transient or impermanent interest, the insurer argued. It noted that the colleges rules allowed it to relocate students to other rooms and assign other students to share their rooms. The carrier said even if the students had possessory interest, they negated the anti-subrogation provisions of the Crete decision when they violated campus policies that barred any open flames in the dormitory building and stated that students may be held liable for any damage they caused. None of the policies, however, explicitly required the plaintiffs to purchase fire insurance on their respective dormitories or informed them that they could be liable on a subrogation claim by the colleges insurer if they negligently caused a fire, the opinion says. Rather, as the plaintiffs assert, the treatment of the subject of insurance in the student handbook and other college documents reinforced a reasonable expectation that the responsibility to insure dormitory buildings was allocated to Dartmouth College. The court affirmed the decision of the trial court finding in favor of Lim and Ro. About the photo: Renovations underway after Oct. 1, 2016 fire at Darmouth Colleges Morton Hall. Photo courtesy of Dartmouth Office of Residential Life. Last fall, a Sherwood High School teacher climbed into a 15-foot hedge and took photos of a teenage girl as she changed in her bedroom. And months later, on the day Brian Trostel was sentenced for his crimes, the victim still cant bring herself to open her curtains. Trostel, 60, was sentenced Wednesday for taking photos of a teenage girl in her bedroom twice last fall. He pleaded guilty last week to one count of encouraging child sex abuse and three of invasion of privacy. His sentence includes restitution to the victim, sex offender treatment and a revocation of his teaching license. He will also be sentenced in May to 11 months of jail time. Trostel also cannot have any contact with the teenager or her family or enter a three-block grid around the Southeast Portland neighborhood where the family lives. And if he violates any of the terms of his sentencing, he may receive more jail time or a stint in prison. According to a statement the victims mother read to Multnomah County Circuit Judge Angela Lucero, Trostel lived in the same neighborhood as the family and twice hid in a 15-foot-tall wall of laurel bushes on the property behind the familys home and photographed the teen while she was changing. The girl, who is now 14, said in court Wednesday that Trostels actions left her feeling unsafe in a place that should have been a sanctuary. The Oregonian/OregonLive does not identify victims of sex crimes. Life as a 14-year-old girl is hard enough with school and friends and rising insecurities, she said. I was dealing with lost friendships and I didnt have anywhere I could go because of the pandemic. I wanted to be excited about high school, but I felt overwhelmed. Creepy older men taking pictures of me should not have been added to that list, she said. What happened to me shouldnt have, and I wish so strongly that it hadnt. Deputy District Attorney BJ Park said Trostel violated the privacy of a child in a place they should feel safe. Trostels attorney, Jeff Siefman, declined to comment. Trostel turned himself in to police in January, days after a grand jury indicted him on 29 counts of various sex crimes, including the four counts to which he eventually pleaded guilty. He was placed on leave in December after Sherwood School District officials learned of his arrest, and a district spokesperson said he is no longer employed there. The spokesperson said the district had no immediate reason to believe Trostel who was hired at Sherwood High School in 1995 victimized any Sherwood students. The victims mother spoke in court about the feelings of shock and betrayal Trostel has caused her family, who has known him for years. He had welcomed the family to the neighborhood, for example, and had the victim over for game nights with his children. At the same time that he was doing these despicable things to our daughter, he was also stopping me in the driveway or on the sidewalk to ask how she was doing, how she was feeling about starting high school, the girls mother said in her statement, which she provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Thinking back on that now makes me want to throw up. She said Trostels behavior weighs on her daughter every day. Her daughter doesnt want to walk around the neighborhood for fear she might run into Trostel. She doesnt want to open her curtains. I am boiling with rage, as a mother for my daughter, for the daughters on my street, for the daughters who were students of Brians at Sherwood High School, she wrote. The teenager said while its still difficult to think about Trostels crimes, she hopes instead to focus on making sure he will never be able to commit them again. I live on a block with a lot of younger kids, and I want them to know he will never be back here, he will never hurt them like he hurt me, she wrote. I dont want to think about what he did, its easier to think about doing whatever I can to keep others from experiencing it. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Photo credit: Instagram / Allure Realty From House Beautiful Yesterday, Netflix announced in a press release that Selling Sunset would be renewed for a fourth and fifth season. In addition to that wonderful news, the platform also shared some deets on a new original series coming soon from Selling Sunset's creator Adam DiVello. This new show (which doesn't have an official title yet) will focus on the real estate agents of Allure Realty in Tampa Bay, Florida. As the show's description explains: "Owned by military vet Sharelle Rosado, this all-Black, all-female real estate firm has its eyes set on dominating the Suncoast. These ladies are equally as fun as they are fiercely ambitious, with all of them vying to be on top of the lavish world of luxury waterfront real estate." OK, I don't know about you, but this sounds a lot like the Oppenheim Group, but on the East Coast. The show's description goes on to note that Rosado has big plans for her brokerage and won't let anyone get in the way of making her dreams a reality (love that boss babe energy!). On Wednesday, she shared the exciting news on her personal Instagram account (@sharellerosado_). "Cant wait to bring you inside our lavish world of real estate throughout the Tampa Bay area," she wrote regarding the new show, alongside a fabulously fierce photo of herself. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause even left a sweet note in the comments. "Congrats!!! Cant wait to watch! If you ever come to LA you have to drop by the office ," she wrote. As for the rest of the agents, Netflix didn't reveal any names. However, we did find a photo of the staff on Allure Realty's Instagram page (@allurerealtyfl). Agents Alexis Williams, Brianna Gordon, and Juawana Williams stand to the left of Rosado, followed by Anne Sophie, Karla Giorgio, Colony Reeves, and Rena Frazier on her right. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Unfortunately, the network did not reveal any information as to when this show will premiere, but we'll keep you updated as we learn more. Story continues Follow House Beautiful on Instagram . You Might Also Like Rajkummar Rao Pens An Emotional Note On His Mothers Death Anniversary: I See You In Every Mother Out There Bollywood star Rajkummar Rao on Wednesday penned a sentimental tribute on the fifth death anniversary of his mother. The 'Stree' actor shared a throwback picture on Instagram that features his childhood picture with his mother. Alongside the snap, he penned an emotional note that read, "It's been 5 years,Maa,since you left us ,but,there has not even been a single day since,wherein,I haven't felt your presence. Nothing in this world would have been possible for me without your blessings and I know your blessings are still there with me." "Mothers are the best and there is nothing in this world more valuable than a mother. I see you in every mother out there," he added. Kumar further continued the note and promised his mother to always make her proud on him. In the end of the long caption, the 36-year-old actor thanked his mother for teaching him two valuable lessons of life- "compassion" and "to always have faith despite the unfriendly circumstances". View this post on Instagram A post shared by RajKummar Rao (@rajkummar_rao) The post on the photo-sharing platform garnered more than 3 lakh likes within an hour of being posted. It received likes and comments from celebrity followers including Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana and more. Kumar's long-time girlfriend, Patralekhaa, left two heart emoticons on the heart-warming memory of the mother-son duo. Meanwhile, on the work front, Rajkummar Rao will be next seen in his horror-comedy drama 'Roohi' featuring Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma, which is set to release on March 11, 2021 in theatres. Besides this, he will also be seen in Harshavardhan Kulkarni directorial rom-com drama 'Badhai Do' with Bhumi Pedenkar. (ANI) 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. Hyderabad: A group of students from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Thursday burnt copies of a probe panels report which had said that the varsitys action was not responsible for Dalit scholar Rohit Vemulas suicide. Vemulas death last year had touched off massive protests. Report of the one-man judicial commission under former Allahabad high court judge Justice A K Roopanwal, set up by the human resource development ministry, had said, Vemula was a troubled individual and was unhappy for several reasons. It also said that Vemula was not a Dalit. Watch video: 'My name is Rohith, I am a Dalit', said Rohith Vemula in WhatsApp video days before committing suicide A group of students this evening held a protest here and accused the Commission of having submitted an illegal, mischievous and politically motivated report.The Commission went beyond its terms of reference by investigating Vemulas caste, the protesters said. Dontha Prashanth of Ambedkar Students Association said, The report has suited the purpose of ABVP and BJP, going against the evidence available before the commission. Professor K Laxminarayana, who also addressed the protesters, said the Commission was primarily set up to investigate the circumstances that led to Vemulas death, but it didnt carry out this task. Vemula hanged himself in his hostel room on January 17, 2016. Before that, the varsity had taken disciplinary action against him. Read | Cyberabad Police books journalist for covering Rohith Vemula's death anniversary protest in Hyderabad For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A Whitehall equality adviser last night accused ministers of creating a 'hostile environment' for gay people as she quit. Jayne Ozanne resigned from the Government's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advisory panel, criticising equalities ministers Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch for being 'ignorant'. The adviser, who has also resigned as a member of the Conservative Party, said they are known as the 'ministers for inequality' in the LGBT community. Jayne Ozanne has quit the Conservative Party and resigned from the Government's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advisory panel Miss Ozanne, a member of the Church of England's General Synod, told ITV News of the 'hostile environment for LGBT people among this administration'. But Government sources accused the lesbian campaigner, whose panel term was due to end this month, of 'sour grapes' after not getting her way over reforms. Miss Ozanne said she does not believe Miss Truss and Mrs Badenoch 'understand LGBT people, particularly trans people'. Jayne Ozanne said equalities ministers Liz Truss (pictured outside Downing Street last month) and Kemi Badenoch were 'ignorant,' as she quit the Government's LGBT advisory panel She added: 'I've sat in meetings and I've been astonished about how ignorant they are on issues that affect the real lives, particularly of younger people.' She said the catalyst for her resignation was a debate in Parliament on gay conversion therapy - and appealed to the Prime Minister to understand that the current proposals do not have the confidence of the LGBT community. Miss Ozanne said she fears the Government is going backwards on LGBT equality. 'There are many who fear that we are going back to the days of [Margaret] Thatcher, the days of Section 28. 'The language that I hear from them is of us being woke, or of being loud lobby groups, and what they don't seem to understand is the reason we have to shout is because we are hurting, because there are people who are vulnerable who are going unheard and unnoticed. 'I do not believe this Tory government, sadly, have the best wishes of the LGBT community at heart. Miss Ozanne said she does not believe Miss Truss and Mrs Badenoch (pictured) 'understand LGBT people, particularly trans people' 'Instead we seem to have a Trump-esque mode of operation where they're listening to the right-wing evangelicals and those frankly who want to take us back.' A Government spokesman said: 'The Government is committed to building a country in which everyone, no matter their sexuality, race or religion, is free to live their lives as they choose. 'We have repeatedly made clear that we will take action to end conversion therapy and we are working to bring forward plans to do so shortly.' There is no indication that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is linked to an increased risk of blood clots, the EUs medicines regulator says. It said the number of cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population. The statement came after a number of countries, including Denmark and Norway, suspended the use of the jab. Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine shots following reports of the formation of blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated. Austria earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. Still, the European medicine regulator EMA said the vaccines benefits outweighed its risks and could continue to be administered. Europe is struggling to speed up a vaccine rollout after delivery delays from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, even as a spike in cases amid a more contagious virus variant has triggered fresh lockdowns in countries like Italy and France. Denmark suspended the shots for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said. Their response was also prompted by reports of possible serious side effects from other European countries. It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days in Denmark. This is a cautionary decision, Geir Bukholm, director of infection prevention and control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), told a news conference. FHI did not say how long the suspension would last. We await information to see if there is a link between the vaccination and this case with a blood clot, Bukholm said. Iceland on Thursday suspended jabs with the vaccine as it awaited the results of an investigation by the EMA. Italy, also on Thursday, said it would suspend use of an AstraZeneca batch different to the one used in Austria. Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be administered and that the cases of blood clots corresponded with the rate of such cases in the general population. The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence, Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters. Evans added that the COVID-19 disease was very strongly associated with blood clotting. Phil Bryan, head of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said reports of blood clots so far didnt exceed what would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population. Available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause, he said. More than 11 million doses of AstraZenecas vaccine have so far been administered across the UK. AstraZeneca told Reuters in a written statement the safety of its vaccine had been extensively studied in human trials and peer-reviewed data confirmed it was generally well tolerated. The drugmaker said this week there had been no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine. It said it was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support their investigation. The European Unions drug regulator, the EMA, said on Wednesday there was no evidence so far linking AstraZeneca to the two cases in Austria. It said the number of thromboembolic events marked by the formation of blood clots in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine was no higher than that seen in the general population, with 22 cases reported among the 3 million people who have received the shot as of March 9. EMA said it understood the decision by Denmark and Norway was taken as a precaution. Four other countries Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia have stopped inoculations from the batch while investigations continue, the EMA said. The batch of 1 million doses went to 17 EU countries. Swedish authorities said they did not find sufficient evidence to stop vaccination with AstraZenecas jab. There is nothing to indicate that the vaccine causes this type of blood clots, Veronica Arthurson, head of drug safety at the Swedish Medical Products Agency, told a news conference. The Danish Medicines Agency said it had launched an investigation into the vaccine together with corresponding agencies in other EU countries and the EMA. So far, 138,148 Danes have received a shot with AstraZenecas vaccine in a country of 5.8 million. The Nordic country, which also uses vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, is set to receive 2.6 million doses from AstraZeneca over the coming months. Denmarks Health Authority said the final date for when it expects all Danes to have been fully vaccinated would be pushed back by four weeks to Aug. 15. Spain on Thursday said it had not registered any cases of blood clots related to AstraZenecas vaccine so far and would continue administering the shots. The EUs drugs regulator on Thursday approved Johnson & Johnsons single dose COVID-19 vaccine. SOURCE: REUTERS PHILADELPHIA (AP) A man has been charged with three murders believed to have been committed within a 24-hour period the killing of the defendants wife and the deaths of a couple found slain in their northeast Philadelphia apartment, police said. Captain Jason Smith said authorities had been seeking 36-year-old Donald Tillman in the death of his 33-year-old wife, Tyronda Harrington, who was found shot to death Jan. 20 in the Wissinoming neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia. District Attorney Larry Krasner said two of her children, ages 4 and 14, were home at the time and Tillman is charged with attempted murder of the teenager. Two days later, the bodies of 59-year-old Army veteran Mark Ruff and 43-year-old Nicole Newell were found in an apartment near the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Smith said bullets from that double murder matched those from the other slaying. He said police believe all of the victims were killed on the same day or thereabouts. On the same day police believe all the murders occurred, Tillman went to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital, where he was admitted as unidentified, Smith said. Six days later, his identity was discovered and authorities were notified. Smith said the firearm used hasnt been recovered. Tillman is charged with three counts of murder and related counts. Smith said Tillman was on probation in a firearms case and had 20 prior arrests. His relationship with Ruff and Newell is unclear and the motive for those slayings is unknown, he said. Its unclear whether Tillman has an attorney; a working number for him couldnt be found Wednesday. More: How a registered sex offender in Harrisburg ran a basketball league, held Easter egg hunts for kids New Jersey native, suspected in 5 killings in 2 states, captured by police in Missouri France on Thursday eased travel restrictions for seven countries outside the European Union, including Britain, saying trips to and from t... France on Thursday eased travel restrictions for seven countries outside the European Union, including Britain, saying trips to and from them would no longer need to be justified by essential reasons. The French government had from January 31 banned all travel outside the EU without a valid excuse to limit the spread of Covid-19 variants in the pandemic. But due to the changing pandemic situation, it will no longer be necessary to prove a compelling reason for travel to or from Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United Kingdom, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The measure had been adopted in large part to limit the spread of the more infectious variant of Covid-19 that first emerged in England. But this variant is now accounting for well over half of the number of new Covid-19 infections in France. The restrictions were eased due to the very wide spread of the British variant in France and the particular health situation of those countries, the ministry said. Travellers arriving in France from the seven countries will still have to present a negative Covid-19 test taken a maximum of 72 hours beforehand, it said. Travel to other countries outside the EU still remains limited to essential reasons but the foreign ministry said the number of exemptions are being increased to allow couples to reunite and children to attend school. Sharon Osbourne must really love Piers Morgan. On Wednesday, Osbourne defended her British pal, who recently walked off and subsequently quit the morning show Good Morning Britain after being criticized for his disparaging remarks about Meghan Markle, on The Talk in a conversation with her co-host Sheryl Underwood. Underwood did her best to explain why many found Morgan, who received over 41,000 complaints regarding the way he spoke about the Duchess of Sussexs bombshell interview with Oprah, and his characterization of Markle to be racist, saying that Osbournes online support of Morgan implies that she gives validation or safe haven to something that he has uttered that is racist. . @piersmorgan I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that youre paid for your opinion and that youre just speaking your truth. Sharon Osbourne (@MrsSOsbourne) March 9, 2021 A defensive Osbourne doubled down on her support for Morgan. I feel like Im about to be put in the electric chair, she said, before launching into an expletive-laden defense of herself as profoundly not racist. How can I be racist? How can I be racist about anybody or anything in my life? How can I? asks Osbourne, without providing any specific evidence to support her claim. After commercial break, a still-peeved Osbourne asks for specific example of Morgan being racist, demanding that Underwood educate her, adding dont try and cry cause if anyone should be crying it should be me. Underwood grants Osbournes request, explaining that Morgans dismissiveness of Markles race, is, in fact, a type of racism, but this doesnt seem to land on Osbourne. If Piers doesnt like someone and they happen to be Black, does that make him a racist? So why cant it be he just doesnt like her? True heads know that part of the reason for Morgans intense distaste for Markle stems from the fact that Markle ignored his advances many moons ago, which complicates matters in a gross way, but doesnt make Morgans actions any less racist. Unfortunately, Osbournes white fragility seemed to prevent her from listening to what her Black co-host had to say about the complexities and nuances of racism. But given her closeness with the incredibly fragile Morgan, this isnt too surprising. As they say, birds of a feather flock together. karen osbourne begging to be canceled live on the talk right now pic.twitter.com/YU217LK5rL Deja The View (@dejatheviewpod) March 10, 2021 CLEVELAND, Ohio - As successful as Republicans have been in building dominating control of Ohio politics, their supermajority hold on the Statehouse could be nearing an end - that is if the rules of gerrymandering reform Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved are closely followed. Embedded in the 2015 constitutional amendment to clean up the process of drawing Ohio Senate and Ohio House districts every 10 years is a requirement to look back at past statewide elections from the decade - and build maps representative of the states political leanings. Those 16 state and federal races - including Ohio wins by Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Mike DeWine - - taken together show a 54% to 46% advantage for the GOP over the Democrats. This makes Ohio a red state. But not nearly as much as the size of the lopsided control the last set of maps - drawn up in 2011 ahead of the gerrymandering reform - delivered for Republicans, who now control 76% of the Ohio Senate seats and 64% in the House. Republican leaders such as former Senate President Larry Obhof argue that strong campaigns and good candidates helped widen the GOP control, but without question the maps were designed to put the Republicans at a big advantage. And they worked. Here are the results of the elections using the current district lines, from 2012 through 2020. Uncontested races included are those for which there was not both a Republican and Democrat, though in some cases there were third-party or independent candidates.Rich Exner, cleveland.com How gerrymandering works Gerrymandering is when the party in control of the process packs as many likely opposing voters in as few districts as possible, so that the majority party can spread out its success. That goes a long way toward explaining why in 2012 when the current maps were used for the first time, the Republicans won 60 of the 99 House races although the Democrats received more votes overall in those races. The maps were drawn shrewdly, based on previous voting patterns. But now the new rules - being used this fall the first time in preparation for the 2022 election - not only have stricter restrictions for how communities can be split, they require a political test. The state constitution requires looking at statewide and federal partisan elections over the last 10 years - those for president, the U.S. Senate, governor, auditor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. Then in creating the maps, the proportion of districts that favor each political party shall correspond closely to the statewide preference of the voters. Important note here: This provision is just for the state legislature; the political test was excluded in gerrymandering reform later approved in 2018 for the congressional redistricting process, taken out at the request of Republican leaders. Combining these 16 statewide races and removing votes for third-party or independent candidates leaves the Republicans with a 54.1% to 45.9% advantage over Democrats. Individual race results shown below include the independent and third-party votes. Race Rep. Dem. Rep. Dem. 2012 President Romney Obama 47.7% 50.7% 2012 Senate Mandel Brown 44.7% 50.7% 2014 Governor Kasich FitzGerald 63.6% 33.0% 2014 Att. Gen. DeWine Pepper 61.5% 38.5% 2014 Auditor Yost Carney 57.0% 38.3% 2014 Sec. State Husted Turner 59.8% 35.5% 2014 Treasurer Mandel Pillich 56.6% 43.4% 2016 President Trump Clinton 51.7% 43.6% 2016 Senate Portman Strickland 58.0% 37.2% 2018 Senate Renacci Brown 46.6% 53.4% 2018 Governor DeWine Cordray 50.4% 46.7% 2018 Att. Gen. Yost Dettelbach 52.2% 47.8% 2018 Auditor Faber Space 49.7% 46.3% 2018 Sec. State LaRose Clyde 50.7% 47.0% 2018 Treasurer Sprague Richardson 53.3% 46.7% 2020 President Trump Biden 53.3% 45.2% What the change means As for future Statehouse elections, It pretty much means there should not be a supermajority due a squeaker election, said Richard Gunther, a professor emeritus of political science from Ohio State University who was a consultant on the reform effort and the negotiations that led to the 2015 ballot measure. It should be a much more fair map, Gunther said. The Republicans likely will have a majority, but it shouldnt translate into a supermajority. A supermajority in the Statehouse is significant. As explained by Obhof, the former Senate president, 60% is needed to override a veto, two-thirds are necessary to pass emergency legislation and a large majority provides a cushion on more divided matters. For me as the leader, it made your job easier, Obhof said. While favorable maps for the Republicans designed by previous voting patterns were an important factor, Obhof also said good candidates and good campaigns matter as well: You can have a supermajority irrespective of the map. Yet, Obhof said the reforms mean that as the district maps are developed now and in the future, the minority party will have more influence in the process than they had before. One of the big advocates for change was the League of Women Voters, which argued in part that gerrymandering takes away the voices of the voters by creating districts that are so uncompetitive that candidates either end up running unopposed or face little credible opposition. We dont care about who wins. We just want candidates to have to work for their voters, said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. There will be some seats that stay solidly Republican or solidly Democratic. But we should see more seats that swing back and forth. Thats good for voters. We want candidates and elected officials to listen to constituents in their districts. The reform was supported by leadership of both political parties. What else is in the reform Beyond the political leanings, other requirements for Statehouse redistricting include: * More bipartisan say: Formerly, a five-member commission set the Statehouse map with a simple majority vote. Reform changed this to a seven-member commission (the Republican governor, auditor and secretary of state, plus two appointments for each party made by the state legislative leaders). Passage of a new 10-year map will require both votes from the minority party (the Democrats this year). Otherwise, a four-year map could be approved. * New limits on splitting communities: Districts must be compact. If the commission splits a county, municipal corporation or township between districts, it must explain its actions in a statement accompanying the map. * Public process: The commission must hold at least three public meetings across Ohio to present the map and solicit public input. Ohio voters approved of these changes, 71% to 29%. The reform measures provide really important guardrails, said Katy Shanahan, Ohio director for All on the Line, a national group focused on redistricting with ties to the Democratic Party. The reforms offer really good protections against re-doing the (gerrymander of) 2011. Yet, Shanahan said Ohio is on her groups watch list because of the states gerrymandering history: We have an opportunity to turn the tide. The redistricting work likely will take place in the fall. The reform includes a deadline of Sept. 30. But delays brought on by the coronavirus pandemic means the state may not have the needed local population details from the Census Bureau until Sept. 30, six months behind schedule. That still leaves ample time to complete the work ahead of filing deadlines for the next election, but may require agreements by state officials on how to proceed beyond the deadline. Rich Exner, data analysis editor, writes cleveland.coms and The Plain Dealers personal finance column - Thats Rich! Follow on Twitter @RichExner. His Out of Line series in 2017 and 2018 focused on congressional gerrymandering reform. Read previous stories Census Bureau says it may not have redistricting data ready for the states until early fall, creating deadline issues in Ohio Census 2020 Q&A: Who gets counted, new chance to complete online, iPhone 8-equipped enumerators and more Census Bureau wraps data collection, but stops short of promising an official 2020 count by the Dec. 31 deadline; accuracy concerns linger locally The Duchess of Sussex contacted ITV personally on Monday to warn that Piers Morgans dismissive attitude towards her Oprah Winfrey interview could prove damaging to others suffering with mental health problems. The Duchess (39) is understood to have been briefed on Morgans comments on Good Morning Britain when she woke up after the two-hour interview aired in the US. The outspoken presenter told viewers he didnt believe a word of what she told the US chat show host, including her claim that she was not supported by Buckingham Palace when experiencing suicidal thoughts. The Duchesss decision to lodge a formal complaint was not related to his personal criticism of her, reporters understand. Read More But she was concerned that his comments could have a detrimental effect on others who were experiencing mental health problems. She also feared that his broadside might influence the opinions of others on mental health. On receiving her email, ITV bosses asked Morgan to apologise to the Duchess during Tuesdays show but he refused. The former Daily Mirror editor then quit, after storming off the set following a row with weather presenter Alex Beresford. He said on Tuesdays episode that he still had serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what the Duchess had said, but that it was not for me to question if she felt suicidal. ITV, which bought the rights to the Winfrey interview for a rumoured stg1m, later confirmed he had quit, ending his six-year tenure on the show. The development followed Buckingham Palaces reaction to the Sussexes interview, which said the royal family was saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The pregnant Meghan claimed during the interview that she was nearly driven to suicide by life in the British royal family. She said she desperately sought help from palace aides, but that her pleas fell on deaf ears. Morgan said on Mondays show: Im sorry, I dont believe a word she says. I wouldnt believe her if she read me a weather report. In a tweet later that morning, he referred to her as the Pinocchio Princess. Speaking outside his London home yesterday, Morgan repeated his comments, saying: If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it. He reiterated it again on Twitter, saying: On Monday, I said I didnt believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. Ive had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still dont. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill Im happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. Im off to spend more time with my opinions. Morgan quoted Winston Churchill, who said: Some peoples idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage. He later revealed that Good Morning Britain had for the first time beaten BBC Breakfast in the ratings on Tuesday, adding: My work is done. Mind, a leading mental health charity, was among those who criticised Morgan. It said: Its vital that, when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health, they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy. Dame Carolyn McCall, ITV chief executive, said she completely believed what [the duchess] says, adding that ITV was totally committed to mental health. Morgan faces an Ofcom investigation after the regulator received 41,000 complaints over his comments. He has not hidden his disdain for the Duchess after accusing her of ghosting him when she met Prince Harry. Read More Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Covid-19 emerged in Wuhan, central China, in late 2019 before spreading across the world From the first cases in China to worldwide lockdowns and vaccination drives... Here are the 10 key moments since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a year ago by the World Health Organization (WHO). First deaths On December 31, 2019, the WHO is alerted to a cluster of pneumonia cases "of unknown cause" in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. A week later, a new coronavirus is identified. China confirms on January 11 its first death in Wuhan from an illness which will be named COVID-19. On January 23 Wuhan is placed under quarantine and cut off from the world. Countries start to repatriate their citizens from China. France reports the first death confirmed outside Asia, a Chinese tourist, on February 15. 'Pandemic' By March 6 more than 100,000 cases have been recorded around the world. Northern Italy is locked down, quickly followed by the rest of the country. On March 11 the WHO says COVID-19 is a pandemic. Global stock markets crash. Governments and central banks roll out massive economic support measures. Europe in lockdown Spain (March 14) and France (March 17) order their populations to stay at home. Germany and Britain say people should avoid all social contact. The 27-nation European Union closes its external borders. A deserted St Mark's Square in Venice in March 2020. Italy was the first European country to announce a national lockdown On March 24 the Tokyo summer Olympics scheduled for July 2020 are postponed for a year. The following day the United Nations warns that the pandemic is "threatening the whole of humanity". Half world confined Lockdown measures are enforced all around the world. On April 2 more than 3.9 billion peoplehalf of the world's populationare forced or called on to confine themselves, according to an AFP count. The same day the threshold of one million cases is crossed. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is infected and ends up in intensive care. The battered US aircraft manufacturer Boeing slashes 16,000 jobs on April 29. Many other airlines, car manufacturers, tourism, and department stores suffer and lay off staff. Hydroxychloroquine row Backed by US President Donald Trump as a potential treatment, malaria drug hydroxychloroquine showed no benefit in treating severely ill patients, according to British scientists on June 5. Trump will later suggest people inject disinfectant. Surge in Latin America By June 7 the global death toll reaches more than 400,000. Brazil becomes the country with the second biggest death toll after the US. Its president Jair Bolsonaro calls it a "little flu", before himself becoming infected. Fellow COVID-19 sceptic Donald Trump will also get it. Masks and anti-masks With cases on the increase, several European countries make mask wearing compulsory on public transport, in schools and shops and on the street. Anti-mask demonstrations are organised in London, Paris and Rome, with protesters attempting to storm the Reichstag building in Berlin on August 29. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro infamously called Covid-19 "a little flu" Grim milestones The one million deaths mark is passed worldwide on September 28. Within days infections start to spiral again in Europe, where many countries order new lockdowns and curfews, which are then eased for the end of year holidays. The pandemic picks up pace in the US, where its handling is a key issue in the bitter presidential campaign. A new spike there is reached on January 13, 2021 with 4,470 people dying in 24 hours. Half a million are dead there by February 23, with new President Joe Biden pointing to a US toll greater than that in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam war put together. New variants The emergence in Britain of a variant believed to be more contagious forces PM Johnson to announce a new lockdown on January 4. Other highly contagious strains are also detected in South Africa and Brazil. The number of deaths doubles in less than four months, passing the two million mark on January 15, 2021. Vaccines bring hope Vaccination campaigns begin in December in Britain, Russia, the US and the EU, picking up speed in early 2021. But problems with deliveries, in particular for the Swedish/British AstraZeneca, slow down the process in Europe. In early March the epidemic starts to slow in the US, but picks up speed again in Europe, while passing the threshold of 700,000 deaths in Latin America on March 9. On the same day more than 300 million doses of vaccines have been administered around the world and some countries start to ease their restrictions. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP In a matter of months at the outset of 2020, a mysterious respiratory disease that emerged in a far-flung province of a foreign land escalated into a full-scale global pandemic the worst the world has seen in at least a century. COVID-19 not only claimed the lives of millions worldwide. It radically changed life. Face masks, social distancing, hand sanitizing stations, lockdowns, supply shortages and shopping and restaurant restrictions, to name a few, suddenly became a part of daily life. Homes became offices and classrooms. Curbside pickup replaced dining out. Rites of passage, from getting drivers licenses and tying the knot to celebrating birthdays and attending proms, often were put on hold. Family gatherings and funerals even hugs, kisses and handshakes became taboo. Through it all, neighbors helped neighbors. Personal and professional plans were dashed, prompting many to chart new paths. Businesses grappled with unforeseen hardships. Many restructured to meet growing demand while others opened for the first time to do the same. And many persevered. Here are some of their stories. Longing for normalcy Esther Wigley longs just to see someone smile again. The 70-year-old Scranton resident loved her twice-weekly visits the West Side Senior Center, where she enjoyed hot meals and camaraderie whether is was discussing a favorite book or winning Rummy. COVID-19 robbed her of that, especially when Gov. Tom Wolf shut down all nonessential businesses March 19. The hardest part of the whole thing is the absence of human touch, Wigley said. You also get frustrated because you feel like you dont have control over the situation. It makes you feel useless. Stuck in her Mulberry Towers apartment, Wigley said she stayed busy cleaning not my favorite thing reading mysteries and watching police drama shows, like NCIS New Orleans and The Closer. My friend said, How can you watch people being autopsied? she said. I find it fascinating. I always wanted to be a doctor, but I didnt have the money. She also was thankful for the weekly Monday afternoon phone call with a volunteer from the peer support program run by the Ignatian Volunteer Corps and United Neighborhood Centers. Its really nice to hear someones voice and know you have that call to look forward to to start off your week, she said. She was thrilled to regain some semblance of normalcy when Lackawanna County businesses reopened June 26, but yearns for the pre-COVID days. I was a restaurant junkie, she said with a laugh. I have not been inside a restaurant in over a year. Im afraid to be that close to anyone. She still craves human interaction, especially visits with friends. There are so many people dying. You cant comfort their families, put a hand on them to make them feel better, she said. When someones happy you cant share their joy. Just to be a human being again is what I want. I want to be a normal human being. No more predictions Its been a nomadic year for Clarks Summit native Kyle Wall. December 2019 found the now 34-year-old musician moving into a new house in Seattle, where he had been working a communications job in the nonprofit and health care spheres since 2018. He had just gotten a puppy Georgia, a German Shepherd/yellow lab mix. The U.S.s first confirmed case of COVID-19, a Washington state resident, wouldnt be reported for another month. By Memorial Day weekend, life was radically different. With Georgia sprawled out in the back seat, Wall drove more than 2,750 miles, from Seattle to his parents house in Clark Summit, passing through states under varying levels of pandemic-prompted lockdowns. A relationship had recently ended. His job had gone fully remote. He was going home. My mindset at the time was Id go back for a few months and then, once COVID is over come the fall, maybe September, head back to Seattle and keep things moving, Wall said. But obviously that didnt happen. After a few months in Northeast Pennsylvania, Wall secured a temporary sublet on an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, where he had lived for nine years before heading West. Continuing to work his Seattle job remotely, he has lived there since, returning to the Scranton area every few weeks to see family. If you told me three or four years ago that I would be just coming back from living a few years in Seattle, with a dog, in the middle of a pandemic, that would have been surreal enough as it is, he said. But I think with so many people who have been bored and sort of felt locked down during this pandemic, I am a little grateful to have had a few changes of scenery. While he wishes the circumstances were different, Wall relished the opportunity to spend more time with his parents, a luxury he didnt have on the west coast. He plans to return to Northeast Pennsylvania when his sublet expires in April. Whats next remains to be seen. Well see where the year goes, Wall said. Ive learned to stop making predictions about where my life is going to be in a few months. So much uncertainty A computer whiz, Shannon Cross prefers a hammer in his hands. The computer software project manager turned in his terminal 15 years ago to take over operation of his father-in-laws business, Outlook Construction, a Jefferson Twp.-based custom home building company. When COVID-19 shut down nonessential construction work March 19, Cross, 43, returned to his computer. I remember sitting in my office for six or eight weeks with almost nothing to do, he said. We tried to take advantage of the down time. We used it to plan for the future and finish the redesign of our website. It was a stressful time as bills mounted, with little revenue to pay them. There was so much uncertainty where things were going and what was going to happen, he said. It definitely put us in a cash flow pinch. He also worried about weather damage to some of the 20 homes he had under construction at the time. It was a chaotic time, he said. We had some homes framed out we couldnt work on. We tried to cover things up with plastic. Three months later, business boomed when shutdown orders were lifted. Today, his company continues to be busy with 36 homes under construction. In prior years, they would build 17 to 25 homes. Its crazy, Cross said. Now were struggling with material shortages. He expects the new home building boon to continue for the foreseeable future, mainly because a high demand for existing homes is forcing people to turn to building new homes. Theres not a lot existing homes for buyers to chose from, he said. Thats led to a spike in demand for new housing. Do not give up Jamie Durkin started developing plans to open a sewing shop in Scrantons South Side in October 2019. Seven months later, despite the risk of opening a small business amid an economy-cratering pandemic, she launched Vecina Design at 701 Cedar Ave. as the nation grappled with a shortage of much-needed personal protective equipment. The acute demand for masks and a longstanding desire to be independent motivated Durkin to sink her savings into the shop and pull the trigger. I really felt like I have these skills (and) as a citizen of this planet I am not contributing to help people get through COVID with masks, said Durkin, 48. In May, I just really hit the ground running. I was like this is an opportunity of a lifetime to start my own business in an industry that Ive been involved with my entire life. She started sewing masks for the Carolina Textile District, a North Carolina-based network of textile producers sourcing the protective gear through small manufacturers. Her first order was for 2,000 pieces simple fabric masks to meet an urgent need. At that time, there was such a shortage, Durkin said. People needed to wear something. As demand for masks waned in the latter half of 2020, Durkin continued to sew for other vendors, usually small domestic runs of home goods and tote bags. She was inspired in December by then President-elect Joe Bidens announcement of the 100 day mask challenge, an effort to get more Americans to mask up to defeat the pandemic. One of Bidens first executive orders as president mandates masks be worn on federal properties. Durkin has since designed, sewn and started selling Scranton- and Biden-themed masks referencing the 100-day challenge, which are available online at vecinamasks.com. She also recently started offering St. Patricks Day-themed masks on the online store. While Durkin hopes to create jobs in the South Side neighborhood, at this point, she has made all the masks and other products herself. I moved into this neighborhood because I wanted to hire people to have them come in to sew, but because of COVID it was tough to hire people, she said. People werent interested in going into businesses they didnt know, so I wound up sewing thousands of masks starting in May until about now. While she knows more challenges await, Durkin described owning her own shop as a dream that endured over decades of working for others in the design, sewing and manufacturing industry. Another dream is to develop her own bag line and sell them directly to customers. Absolutely do not give up, she said. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. The first study to report the optimal amount of physical activity in patients with kidney disease is published on World Kidney Day in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Kidney disease was less likely to progress in active individuals, who also had less heart problems and improved survival. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity (e.g. walking) or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity (e.g. jogging) weekly physical activity, or an equivalent combination, for health benefits in adults.2 This study found that patients with kidney disease whose activity level ranged from the WHO minimum up to twice that amount had the best health over a follow-up of nearly two years. Remaining active was crucial to sustaining the benefits. Study author Professor Der-Cherng Tarng of Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan said: "Our results suggest that physical activity should be integrated into the clinical care of patients with kidney disease." Chronic kidney disease affects around 700 million people worldwide.3 Muscle wasting results in physical inactivity which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease - the main cause of death in these patients. Once chronic kidney disease progresses to end-stage renal disease, the risk of cardiovascular death is 10-20 times higher compared with the general population. This means that slowing progression is important for heart health and longevity. This was the first large-scale study to investigate the association between physical activity and progression of kidney disease. Specifically, the study examined the links between exercise and all-cause mortality, end-stage renal disease, and cardiovascular events in kidney disease patients. The study included 4,508 patients with chronic kidney disease between 2004 and 2017. Patients were not on dialysis. Patients were divided into three groups according to weekly physical activity assessed with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) questionnaire: highly active (WHO minimum or more), low-active (less than the WHO minimum), or inactive (no activity). A total of 1,915 patients were classified as highly active, 879 were low-active, and 1,714 were inactive. During a median follow-up of 686 days, 739 patients died, 1,059 developed end-stage renal disease, and 521 had a major adverse cardiovascular event (heart attack, stroke, hospitalisation for heart failure, or death from cardiovascular disease). The highly active group had the lowest chance of all these adverse outcomes, followed by the low-active and inactive groups. The researchers analysed the association between physical activity and adverse outcomes after adjusting for other factors that could influence the relationships including age, sex, smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, medications, and other conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, and cancer. Compared to the inactive group, the highly active group had a 38% lower risk of death, 17% lower risk of end-stage renal disease, and 37% lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. The health benefits in the low-active group did not reach statistical significance. Study author Dr. Wei-Cheng Tseng of Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University noted that the likelihood of cardiovascular events did not further decrease once activity surpassed double the WHO minimum. He said: "Extreme amounts of exercise can induce heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias) in those with kidney disease. It therefore seems sensible to avoid very high levels to maximize the benefits and minimise the risks." To examine the impact of changing usual exercise habits, activity was reassessed six months after the first measurement. Highly active patients who became more sedentary had two-fold increased risks of death and cardiovascular events compared to those who stayed highly active. Dr. Tseng said: "This highlights the importance of maintaining physical activity among patients with kidney disease." ### Authors: ESC Press Office Tel: +33 (0)4 89 87 20 85 Mobile: +33 (0)7 8531 2036 Email: press@escardio.org Follow us on Twitter @ESCardioNews Funding: Please see the paper. Disclosures: None. Notes References 1Kuo CP, Tsai MT, Lee KH, et al. Dose-response effects of physical activity on all-cause mortality and major cardiorenal outcomes in chronic kidney disease. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2021. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwaa162. Link will go live on publication: https:/ / academic. oup. com/ eurjpc/ article-lookup/ doi/ 10. 1093/ eurjpc/ zwaa162 2World Health Organization Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health: https:/ / www. who. int/ dietphysicalactivity/ publications/ 9789241599979/ en/ 3GBD Chronic Kidney Disease Collaboration. Global, regional, and national burden of chronic kidney disease, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2020;395:709-733. About the European Society of Cardiology The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives. About the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology is the world's leading preventive cardiology journal, playing a pivotal role in reducing the global burden of cardiovascular disease. 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. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Asylum seeking migrants are asked to exit thick brush after crossing Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Mexico in Penitas, Texas (This March 10 story corrects headline to 'U.S. state troopers' from 'U.S. border patrol agent') (Reuters) - Lying patiently in the long grass near the Rio Grande in Texas on Tuesday, Reuters photographer Adrees Latif was watching and waiting. A native Texan, Latif has been covering the ebbs and flows of the migration story at the border since 2018. In recent weeks, a humanitarian crisis in Central America paired with changes in migration strategy in the White House have led to a surge in those trying to cross north to what they hope will be a better life in the United States. Within the heavily trafficked Rio Grande Valley sector of the border, Latif has seen the people smugglers move their operations around to evade the border patrol in the last three years, shifting just like the wide river that divides the United States and Mexico. To get the pictures he is looking for, Latif needs to be on site from dusk to dawn, waiting to catch the moment once or twice a day when a vehicle will appear on the Mexican side to transport migrants to a waiting raft. Within five minutes, they are across the river and into Texas. He does not want to miss that moment. "It's like a whole day's work lying in wait and then you only have a few moments to produce the images," said Latif. On Tuesday, Latif saw a scout on the Mexican side, just as a border patrol helicopter passed overhead. It hovered over Latif, kicking up dust. The smugglers likely saw that and chose to cross further upriver. Moving to where he thought the migrants would disembark, the helicopter still overhead, Latif saw a migrant couple walking through the brush. It's uneven territory, heavy with Lyme disease-carrying ticks, and he advised them to use the road. They told him others were hiding further back. He headed in that direction, as agents began arriving. Suddenly, he came across the scene captured in the photograph. A Texas state trooper, dressed head to toe in green and clutching handcuffs in one hand, was beckoning to a migrant family to come out of the brush. Story continues In the photo, four-year-old Harbin Ordonez, who traveled from Honduras with his mother, looks at the man, while his mother, Edith, holds on to him tight. The boy was crying just a moment before and will later cry again but in this moment he stares, fear and defiance mixing on his young face. The sound of the helicopter is so loud, it is impossible to hear conversation. A minute or so later, the trooper accompanied the two and another migrant mother and child to pick-up trucks, where they were driven up to the border wall, about two miles away. There, about a dozen migrants followed the usual routine - showed identification, removed jewelry and shoelaces, and had the bands the smugglers used to identify them clipped off their wrists. They were then taken away in buses - family groups on one bus, unaccompanied minors on another - to whatever future awaits them in the United States. (Writing by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Howard Goller) No one sets out to be a Black Lives Matter martyr. But somewhere along the way last year, as masked marchers from Louisville to Las Vegas chanted her name, Breonna Taylor became a symbol of change. Taylors fate was sealed in the wee hours of March 13, 2020, when Louisville Metro Police officers burst into the 26-year-olds apartment on a no-knock warrant, firing 32 bullet rounds and killing the emergency room technician as she stood in her hallway with her boyfriend, who survived. Now her death is bringing new life to the stories of other Black women who have died at the hands of police or in police custody, those whose names and identities have largely gone unknown and unacknowledged. While the names of too many Black men and boys killed by police Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice are widely known, Black womens cases have rarely garnered national attention. Jeanette Williams places a bouquet of roses at a memorial for Sandra Bland near Prairie View A&M University, in Prairie View, Texas on July 21, 2015. A notable exception is Sandra Bland. In 2015, the Illinois native was found hanged in a Waller County, Texas, jail a few days after a traffic stop by a state trooper, captured on video, ended with her arrest. Her death was ruled a suicide, something her family has publicly disputed. Theres not a lot of data on the police-involved deaths of Black women; no national registry exists. But The Washington Post has noted nearly 250 women, including 48 Black women, have been shot and killed by police since the newspaper began tracking police-involved shootings in 2015. It was the death of 50-year-old Michelle Cusseaux in 2014, not long after the police shooting of Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, that drew the attention of the African American Policy Forum. Police in Phoenix were sent to Cusseaux's house for a mental wellness check. She answered the door while holding a hammer in one hand; police shot her through the heart. Her mother, Fran Garrett, marched with her daughters casket through downtown Phoenix weeks after her death, calling for an outside agency to investigate the shooting. Story continues This was the catalyst for the #SayHerName campaign. Members of the Las Vegas Aces honor Michelle Cusseaux with a moment of silence before a WNBA basketball game against the Washington Mystics, Aug. 15, 2020, in Bradenton, Fla. The start of a movement Black girls as young as 7 and Black women in their 90s have been killed by the police, and for a long time nobody was talking about it, said Kimberle Crenshaw, co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and creator of the #SayHerName campaign. Anti-Black racism is experienced in gendered ways. Elevating this message is important to give a holistic view and expose that Black women and girls are not exempt from abusive policing practices. A professor of law at UCLA and Columbia Law School, Crenshaw, 61, is a leading authority on Black feminist legal theory, race and civil rights who developed such terms as intersectionality and critical race theory, which examine the systems at play that perpetuate racism. Kimberle Crenshaw, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum wears a hoodie with the names of Black daughters, sisters, wives, cousins, and community members killed by police. Wearing a white hoodie with the names of Black daughters, sisters, wives, cousins and community members killed by police, she explained the origins of #SayHerName during a Zoom interview. Back in 2014, AAPF and the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies (CISPS) at Columbia launched the campaign to bring awareness to often forgotten or invisible victims and give their families support. The following May, we hosted the first #SayHerName vigil in New Yorks Union Square, she said. Relatives of at least 16 Black women killed by police assembled from around the country. Soon after, AAPF and CISPS released a groundbreaking report: Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women. Co-written by Crenshaw and Andrea J. Ritchie, a lawyer and activist, it outlined the objectives of the movement, providing an intersectional framework for understanding Black women's susceptibility to police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. There is an impact in a community in feeling terrorized. The goal of terrorism is to not just harm individuals but put terror in the hearts of a whole community, and that is what police violence like the kind Breonna Taylor experienced does, said Ritchie, author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color. Ritchie, who works independently from AAPF, spoke recently with The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. And of course the community has risen up in resistance and said, 'We are not accepting this; we are not going to be terrorized.' But the reality is, that is the impact. The grief of the mothers Historians say Black women have long been terrorized raped, beaten, worked to the bone since the first enslaved Africans arrived in the British colony of Virginia in 1619. There have always been untold and undocumented stories of violence against Black women and girls, said Karsonya Wise Whitehead, associate professor of African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland. Some incidents foreshadowed the public outrage seen today. Whitehead cited the 1984 case of Eleanor Bumpurs, 66, an elderly disabled Black woman gunned down by New York police as authorities tried to evict her from public housing. The back rent she owed was less than $100. It reminds us of the challenges associated with being Black and being a woman in this country. ... We need the space to say their names, push this hashtag forward into our daily lexicon, and remind people that the violence against our people does not stop at the gender divide," Whitehead said. The #SayHerName campaign, which is largely funded by philanthropic partners, focuses on direct advocacy. For instance, Crenshaw hosts an annual #SayHerName Mothers Weekend, bringing together mothers who have lost daughters to police violence for dialogue, dinners and pampering. The organization works to meet the specific needs of each family, even providing temporary housing and financial stipends if necessary. Most important, its a safe space where the mothers can construct a community of support whether they need empathy or information on how to mobilize and advocate for racial justice. I am the mother of a beautiful Black woman whose life was snuffed out by the police, said Gina Best, an Iowa native who lives near Washington, D.C. There is no pill I can take to alleviate the pain. Best's daughter India Kager, a 27-year-old Navy veteran, postal worker and mother of two, was killed in September 2015 by a Virginia Beach SWAT team as she sat in a car at a 7-Eleven with the father of her 4-month-old baby boy. The child was in the back seat. Best filed a wrongful death lawsuit, and in 2018, a jury ruled two of the officers were responsible. The award was $800,000 to Kager's minor children. Rage propels me forward, said Best, who noted that there are police officers in her family. I modulate my grief in order to reclaim the narrative of the life of my daughter. I dont care to forgive the men who did this. They have wreaked havoc, destruction and pain. The mothers have become, as Crenshaw put it, a sisterhood of sorrow. They regularly text, call and visit one another. Korryn Gaines, 23, was riddled with bullets in her Baltimore County home in August 2016; the gunfire also seriously injured her 5-year-old son. Police had shown up to serve a failure-to-appear warrant from a traffic violation. An hours-long standoff ensued with Gaines, who was armed with a shotgun, filming on her cellphone and posting live on social media. Photos of Korryn Gaines and Breonna Taylor, two Black women killed by police, are displayed in front of the White House in Washington, June 19, 2020, as people gathered here to mark Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed from bondage, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The one word to describe how I feel is broken, said her mother, Rhanda Dormeus. Since her death, my family has been in turmoil. Alcohol abuse, anger issues, the emotional trauma has been so profound. As the matriarch I must be there for everyone. At 4 a.m. my daughter was screaming, crawling on the floor, crying, saying she wished it would have been her instead of her sister. In 2018, a jury awarded Gaines' family $37 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. The verdict was overturned by a judge in 2019 but later reinstated by a higher court. The will of the people was done, said family attorney J. Wyndal Gordon of the jurys original verdict. Now the county needs to show some accountability and financial responsibility for the harm (police) caused this family for generations to come. The Fraternal Order of Police, with more than 350,000 members, is the nation's largest law enforcement labor organization. After the death of George Floyd in 2020, national president Patrick Yoes released a statement saying in part: "... police officers should at all times render aid to those who need it. Police officers need to treat all of our citizens with respect and understanding and should be held to the very highest standards for their conduct." Accountability and hope Congress has taken up police accountability. On March 3, the House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. The bill is intended to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and empower communities. It also seeks to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve by addressing systemic racism and bias to help save lives. Black communities have suffered from police abuse for as long as weve been here, said Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., who introduced the measure. None of us are safe if essentially law enforcement can treat us any way they choose. Chanelle Helm is a Black Lives Matter Louisville organizer who has led demonstrations in the city since last May, when Taylors case became national news. Very intense protests took place. That very first night, police used tear gas on us. They were shooting pepper-bomb bullets, Helm said. Someone was murdered by the state, in a pandemic while people were fearful, losing their homes. The disrespect. We have been saying Breonnas name ever since and trying to get justice. None of the three officers involved were charged with her death. One was indicted on a charge of wanton endangerment and has pleaded not guilty. Two have been terminated. Taylors devastated family keeps her legacy alive. Crenshaw has reached out to Taylor's mother, Tamika Parker, in the past year to connect her with other grieving mothers. Michael Brown Sr. hugs Ju'Niyah Palmer at the Until Freedom rally Louisville, Kentucky on Aug. 8, 2020. Both lost loved ones in police shootings: Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 and Breonna Taylor in March 2020. Taylor's younger sister, JuNiyah Palmer, is a college student who was sharing the apartment with Taylor when she was killed. She remembers fun, simple memories: doing cartwheels with her sibling; going to the car wash. She feels Taylor's presence. Like, I really do. Yet despite her grief and pain, there is hope. When I see the images of (Taylor) and people painting images of her, it makes me feel joyful because it makes me feel like people are still thinking about her, she said. Indeed, the world is thinking about Breonna Taylor and saying her name. And perhaps they will now whisper, shout and speak the names of other Black women, too. Contributing: Shaylah Brown, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record SUBSCRIBE: Help support quality journalism like this. SIGN UP: Get the Breonna Taylor Case newsletter in your inbox This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: #SayHerName honors Breonna Taylor, other Black women killed by police A Level and GCSE pupils could be facing more exam pressure than ever when they return to the classroom on March 22 - despite not having any formal exams to sit this summer. And students have called on Northern Ireland exams body CCEA to immediately revisit the grading guidelines issued to schools last week, saying what awaits students is "a violent stream" of tests and the conditions will be "dangerous for mental health". The new arrangements introduced by CCEA following the cancellation of exams could leave some pupils facing 40 'exam standard' assessments in a six-week period to provide evidence for teacher grading. CCEA is demanding teachers grade pupils from four pieces of evidence, but much of the work produced during lockdown may not qualify despite previous assurances from the Department of Education. CCEA said: "The evidence used must be at the level of the qualification being graded and generated during the teaching period of the specification." According to Cormac Savage, president of the Secondary Students Union NI, pupils will go into the exam standard tests without the same quality of learning as previous pupils. He urged more trust to be placed in teachers. Expand Close Cormac Savage, president of the Secondary Schools Union / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Cormac Savage, president of the Secondary Schools Union "Some of this guidance from CCEA is so out of touch with schools and students," he told Stormont's Education Committee yesterday. "There is a blitz of assessments and that's going to be dangerous for mental health, sending students in to do these assessments without having the same quality of teaching. "This guidance needs to be immediately altered to include homework essays as evidence. "Students were told my the Education Minister that work completed during the lockdown would contribute towards grades. Now under CCEA guidance, they say that's not good evidence. "Students have been working harder than ever to safeguard their grades. Now, after being told that work would contribute, CCEA - on a Friday evening in March - say it won't. That's totally demoralising. We were told 'These are not exams and should not be treated as such'. "Now, students are told they may sit four assessments under exam conditions - a far cry from the spirit of the Minister's announcement to the Assembly. "The timeframe is detrimental to students. Teachers are required to have documentation, data collation and paperwork sent to CCEA in May. But schools are unable to sit assessments in the 'controlled' (exam) setting the guidance recommends during closures and the two week Easter break. "It means some students could potentially have as many as 40 exams in the period between mid-April and late May, based on the recommended four exam condition assessments for an example of 10 GCSE subjects. "Work done in lockdown cannot meet the recommended 'controlled' conditions new CCEA guidance demands." SDLP education spokesperson Daniel McCrossan said there was too much "messing" over the last year and that had caused unnecessary stress and anxiety. "There has been a lack of leadership or understanding by CCEA and the Education Minister, both of whom are out of touch with young people, and with reality," he said. "We have two choices. We can lead from the front, or sit at the back. Unfortunately too many Executive ministers have been sitting at the back of the bus when they should have been driving and that is not acceptable. "CCEA is self regulating and out of touch," he continued. "They are not learning from their mistakes. They have put a huge amount of pressure on all young people and it's unforgivable." A spokesperson for CCEA said: "The knowledge, expertise and professionalism of teachers and school leaders are key to the success of this process. CCEA recognises the burden of responsibility that this task places on to teachers and is committed to providing as much support and guidance as possible so that they can work with confidence to arrive at grades that reflect their student's knowledge this year." A man charged with breaching the terms of his sexual offences prevention order has been sentenced to two years on probation. Richard McFarland, 53, whose address was given as a hostel on Lawrence Hill, appeared in court charged with breaching the terms of his Sexual Offences Protection Order (SOPO) and possession of Class B drug Cannabis on January 31, 2021. He is further charged with breaching his SOPO on February 3 for possession of a mobile phone. The court heard that his bail address at Lawrence Hill has since been withdrawn by the owner. McFarland was jailed in 2006 for the false imprisonment of a young boy in a toilet cubicle in a restaurant and made subject to the notification requirements of a SOPO a measure put in place to manage significant concerns. Derry Magistrates Court was told that McFarland has breached his SOPO on 20 occasions. Under the terms of that order, amongst other conditions, McFarland is banned from being in the company of anyone under 18-years-old and from owning a mobile phone without the approval of his Designated Risk Manager. Defence barrister Sean Doherty said that a pre-sentence probation report (PSR) which had been ordered by the court was not available for reasons not entirely clear. Previous PSRs were handed to the presiding judge. Outlining details of the case, a Public Prosecution Service (PPS) representative said that during a bail check on February 3 police located a mobile phone under a pillow on McFarlands bed. The defendant said he had approval to use the phone but police discovered he didnt have permission and it was not an approved device. While in custody police also found two mobile phone top-up cards and he could not explain why he had them. SOPO breaches from January 31 were also discovered during a bail check when police officers noticed the defendants speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet. Police found that he had been drinking on the Friday and smoking cannabis on Friday and Saturday. Consuming alcohol amounted to a breach of his SOPO and he was charged for possession of cannabis. Mr Doherty said his client received a five months prison sentence in November which was confirmed after an appeal last week. He added that McFarland pleaded guilty to the latest charges at the first opportunity. After losing his bail address, Mr Doherty said, the 53-year-old is in a difficult position once more adding that homelessness is an issue hes dealt with most of his adult life. The court was told that McFarland grew up in the care system and was subjected to an extremely adverse experience in that system. Defence counsel said the defendant is socially isolated and stuck in a cycle where hes in and out of prison. A Consultant Psychologist found that he has an underlying personality disorder after the childhood experience as well as alcohol dependency. Mr Doherty said there has been no offending of any sort involving children since the offence of false imprisonment but accepted there have been numerous breaches of the SOPO. The defence barrister said a lot of agencies are conducting their business over the phone at present and his client had borrowed a mobile phone from another individual at the Lawrence Hill hostel. He added that there is no suggestion it was used for any purposes. Mr Doherty suggested that McFarland could be spared prison and given an opportunity to break the cycle and work with probation services to address his issues. District Judge Laura Ievers said she had a chance to read over McFarlands personal circumstances and hear the defence submissions. She noted 20 previous breaches of the SOPO order which offending is restricted to. The judge added that the significance of breaching such orders cant be underestimated. You have flagrantly breached orders time and again, Judge Ievers said. On practically every occasion breaches have been dealt with by way of a prison sentence, the court heard. Judge Ievers also noted a tone of pessimism in the probation report about whether supervisory support was serving any purpose. The judge said she was prepared to take a chance with McFarland in the hope and expectation that you can harness this opportunity and work with the authorities to break the cycle. She added that it shouldnt be seen as the soft option because if the defendant doesnt comply he could be brought back before the court and can be re-sentenced. Judge Ievers sentenced the defendant to two years on probation and ordered him to engage fully with any programmes recommended and to continue working with his Designated Risk Manager. It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be READING, Pa. - More than two and a half years after Gregory Longenecker's death in Berks County, his family has settled out of federal court after suing the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The family is due to receive $475,000. Longenecker and another man were found by police near a handful of marijuana plants growing on state game lands in Penn Township, near Bernville, on July 9, 2018. Longenecker ran off into thick brush, and a state trooper and a game commission employee pursued him with a bulldozer. Berks County District Attorney John Adams concluded that Longenecker crawled underneath the bulldozer when it stopped briefly and was killed once it started moving again. "They know he is unarmed and not a threat, yet the state police send in 15 armed law enforcement, a helicopter and a 9-ton bulldozer to get Greg at all costs," said family attorney Jordan Strokovsky. Gregory's uncle, Mike Carpenter, said he is hoping for sweeping changes to the way the police pursue suspects. "I'm still trying to understand why they had to take his life for a mere 10 plants," said Carpenter. "The way they had to pursue him is absolutely ridiculous." The police said Longenecker had toxic levels of methadone and methamphetamine in his system when he died. Adams told 69 News he stands behind the evidence and conclusions found in his office's investigation. The Pennsylvania State Police told 69 News in a statement: "The settlement is part of the resolution of litigation and is not an admission of wrongdoing." Health Department boss Brendan Murphy has conceded all Australians will not be vaccinated by October, which was the deadline proposed by the government. But Professor Murphy said a solitary shot of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 jab - rather than two - will be enough to 'completely vaccinate' the population over the coming months. The federal government had said all Australians would receive two doses of the vaccines - Pfizer and AstraZeneca - by the end of October. Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy has conceded all Australians will not be vaccinated before October Speaking on Thursday, Professor Murphy admitted the target of four million vaccinations by next month also won't be achieved. He said 'global supply issues' with a number of European countries - including Italy blocking the export of a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia - was the reason for the delay. Australia had been expecting 3.8million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Europe in March, but so far only 700,000 doses have arrived - leaving a 3.1million shortfall. 'It would be impossible to predict exactly when we (Australia) will hit four million (vaccinations) until we actually know what the international supplies will be like,' Mr Murphy said. 'But it will be done as quickly and safely as we can with the available vaccines.' About 125,000 Australians have so far received the jab. Doubt over the inoculation time-frame comes as a number of GPs said the October target was unrealistic, according to The Australian. Many private and public practices are anticipating they will struggle to vaccinate the hundreds of people per day required to meet targets set by the federal government. A number of GPs believe a more viable target is the early months of 2022. Australian Medical Association president Omar Korshid said having the population fully vaccinated by October is unlikely. 'It will be very difficult to achieve,' he said. 'Aiming to have the first dose administered by the end of October is more realistic.' Australian GP Alliance deputy chairman Mukesh Haikerwal went a step further, declaring 'phones will literally melt in front of us with the calls coming through once a vaccine is readily available'. Meanwhile, recent evidence has shown the AstraZeneca vaccine works most effectively when there is a 12-week delay between doses, according to the Herald Sun. Professor Murphy said in a Senate inquiry in Canberra this week that the first dose was 'highly protective' before stressing the importance of a follow up dose. Nucleus Network medical director Professor Paul Griffin said he will be interested to see if the second dose proves to be vital. 'It still remains to be seen whether that second dose confers other benefits such as longevity of protection,' he said. Globally, the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being administered across Australia, is said to be performing better than it did in early clinical trials. Recent studies also revealed after two doses AstraZeneca's effectiveness is an encouraging 82.4 per cent. Health chief on back foot over vaccines The boss of Australia's health department has come under fire for 'dangerous' suggestions one coronavirus jab offers full protection against the disease. Brendan Murphy clarified his evidence after telling the Senate's coronavirus response committee that one dose was akin to being fully vaccinated. 'Don't you think it's a bit dangerous for you to be sitting here saying 'well one shot gives you protection'?' Labor senator and committee chair Katy Gallagher told the hearing in Canberra. 'Part of what we need to do here with the rollout is making sure people get two shots.' Professor Murphy, who was chief health officer at the onset of the pandemic, said one dose was 'fully protective' but needed to be topped up. 'Of course we want everyone to get two shots,' he said. He dismissed concerns the government would not reach its original goal of offering all adults two doses by the end of October as a 'semantic' argument. 'In practical terms, they are fully vaccinated because they've got that highly protective first dose,' Prof Murphy said. He said one dose 'doesn't last as long' and should be topped up. The health chief denied he was providing political cover for the Morrison government's lofty vaccination targets. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has pointed to two unpublished studies looking at the real-world effectiveness of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, which are being used in Australia. In Scotland, a single dose of either prevented 85 to 94 per cent of coronavirus-related hospitalisation 28 to 34 days after vaccination. Public Health England found people with a single dose aged over 70 were a 60 to 70 per cent lower risk of symptomatic infection 28 days after receiving the jab. Updated advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which the vast majority of Australians will receive, recommended it is more effective with a 12-week gap than four weeks as initially advised. Prof Murphy said it was unlikely every adult would have the chance to receive two doses by the end of October. 'We don't know whether we'll be able to achieve two shots by October,' he told the committee on Thursday. 'All I'm saying is that with a 12-week interval it's going to be difficult.' Advertisement At this stage, only close to 100,000 Australians have been inoculated, well short of government forecasts (stock image) Globally, the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being administered across Australia, is said to be performing well (stock image) Denmark suspends AstraZeneca vaccine over blood-clotting fears - as nurse's death that prompted ban in Austria is ruled NOT to be linked to the jab Denmark has suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine after cases of blood clotting, despite the EU ruling that a death in Austria had not been caused by the jab. Copenhagen's health minister said authorities were probing whether there was a link between having the jab and blood clots, after several cases and one death. Magnus Heunicke said: 'At present it can not be concluded whether there is a connection. We are acting early, it must be thoroughly investigated.' Denmark joins five other countries - Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia - who suspended the vaccine after a 49-year-old Austrian woman died of 'severe blood coagulation problems.' But Boris Johnson today defended the vaccine, calling it 'both safe and effective' and insisted Britain would continue with its own rollout. It comes after the EU's medicines watchdog yesterday announced that it had found no link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the woman's death. Denmark's health minister Magnus Heunicke said authorities were probing whether there was a link between having the jab and blood clotting, after several cases and one death 'There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine,' the EMA regulator said. As well as the woman's death, another three cases of blood clotting issues had been reported in Austria from people who had taken the vaccine. One of those patients, a 35-year-old woman, developed a pulmonary embolism - a blockage of an artery on the lung - but is now recovering. The EMA said that the batch which had been singled-out in Austria, labelled ABV5300, comprised one million doses and had been delivered to 17 EU countries. The EMA said: 'Although a quality defect is considered unlikely at this stage, the batch quality is being investigated.' It said the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) were investigating the thrombosis conditions linked to the same batch as well as all other reports of thrombosis and related blood clotting conditions reported post-vaccination. 'The information available so far indicates that the number of thromboembolic events in vaccinated people is no higher than that seen in the general population,' it said. The EMA said as of Tuesday, there had been 22 reports of such conditions among the three million people to receive the AstraZeneca jab in the European Economic Area. It said further information would be released as the investigation progresses. Denmark said today it was suspending the vaccine for 14 days while it investigates whether there is any link between the blood-clotting cases and the jab. They did not say how many reports of blood clots there had been or give details of the person who died. 'Both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to respond to reports of possible serious side-effects, both from Denmark and other European countries,' the director of the Danish Health Authority, Soren Brostrom, said in a statement. Today, the UK government defended the vaccine and insisted it would continue with its own rollout. 'We've been clear that it's both safe and effective... and when people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence,' Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman told reporters. 'And in fact you're starting to see the results of the vaccine programme in terms of the (lower) number of cases we're seeing across the country, the number of deaths, number of hospitalisations,' he said. Britain began the world's first mass vaccination drive against the coronavirus in December, underpinned largely by the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab and another from Pfizer-BioNTech. EU regulators on January 30 approved the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it was effective and safe to use. Adverse reactions seen in trials were short-lived for the most part and blood clotting issues were not reported. An AstraZeneca spokeswoman told MailOnline: 'We're aware of the statement made today by Sundhedsstyrelsen [the Danish health authority] that they are currently investigating potential adverse events related to vaccination against COVID-19. 'Patient Safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca. Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. 'The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase III clinical trials and Peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine is generally well tolerated.' The investigation by the EU comes after a humiliating U-turn by European leaders who have given their backing to the vaccine after claiming it was ineffective at the height of their row with the vaccine-maker and Britain in January. During the ongoing row, the EU has furiously blamed Britain for its woeful vaccine rollout, blocked doses from leaving to Australia and begged the USA to give them its surplus doses. Last week, Italy stood at the European vanguard as it embargoed 250,000 doses which were destined for Sydney. The agency confirmed it had received two reports 'in a temporal connection' with a vaccine from the same batch in the district clinic of Zwettl, Lower Austria, but said the suspension was a precautionary measure. Picture: File image The move raised eyebrows Down Under, as Australia's finance minister Simon Birmingham said it is 'a reminder of the desperation that exists in other parts of the world, compared with the very good position we found ourselves in here'. 'We are obviously disappointed and frustrated by this decision,' he added. Over the weekend, it was reported that the EU had gone cap in hand to Washington to beg them to provide some of their surplus AstraZeneca. It's a humiliating U-turn for Brussels whose leaders had wildly claimed that the AstraZeneca vaccine was ineffective earlier this year. Emmanuel Macron was accused of anti-vax propaganda when he claimed the jab was only 'quasi-effective' for elderly patients. French PM Jean Castex has since endorsed the vaccine, saying it is just as effective as any other approved in the EU. Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia have all suspended of AstraZeneca jabs while they wait for the full findings of the investigation by PRAC. Yesterday's ruling by the EMA was based on PRAC's preliminary findings. Geneva, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :At least 3,000 nurses have been killed by Covid-19, the global nurses' federation said Thursday as it warned of a looming exodus of health workers traumatised by the pandemic. Exactly one year on since the World Health Organization (WHO) first described Covid-19 as a pandemic, the International Council of Nurses said burn-out and stress had led millions of nurses to consider quitting the profession. And once the pandemic is over, a dwindling number of experienced nurses could be left to handle the giant backlog of regular hospital care that had been postponed due to the crisis, the ICN warned. The known death toll of nurses killed by the disease -- compiled from just 60 countries -- is likely to be a gross underestimate of the full total, the federation said. ICN chief executive Howard Catton said nurses had gone through "mass traumatisation" during the pandemic, being pushed to physical and mental exhaustion. "They reach a point where they've given everything they can," he told reporters. Catton said the global workforce of 27 million nurses was six million short going into the pandemic -- and four million were heading for retirement by 2030. In a report, the ICN said the pandemic "could trigger a mass exodus from the profession", from as early as the second half of 2021. The global nurse shortage could widen to nearly 13 million, it added. "We could be on a precipice," said Catton, recalling that it took three to four years of training to produce a novice nurse. He said nurses had done a "phenomenal" job "to lead the world through this pandemic", saying they would share an equal platform with the vaccine creators in the eventual history of Covid-19. But once the pandemic has passed, frazzled nurses will then have to deal with all the unmet healthcare needs and waiting lists, whilst also facing likely staff shortages. Founded in 1899, the ICN is a federation of more than 130 national nursing associations. It called for governments to invest in training more new nurses to address the global shortage. It also called for better pay to encourage existing staff to stay on -- to bolster health systems for future crises, if nothing else. The WHO wants to see healthcare workers in all countries being vaccinated within the first 100 days of 2021. Catton said that was the start line rather than the finish line, and voiced "grave concerns" at the unequal distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries. For nurses, facing an elevated risk of infection, immunisation "is about their right to being protected at work," he said. "Not being protected at work adds to their distress." Recalling the public appreciation shown towards nurses in the early stages of the pandemic, Catton said that now, "overwhelmingly, nurses would rather be getting their vaccine than a round of applause". The ICN strongly recommended that all nurses take a Covid-19 jab. "It is an issue of protection and safety for patients," Catton said. "If somebody doesn't have the vaccine then it may well be that you have to look at redeploying them to other areas." The 2020 goons attack inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi was one of the worst of its kind incidents inside a campus anywhere in the country. As the nation watched in horror, students, and teachers being beaten up by armed, masked goons who left with impunity as police watched on, one image stood out - the photo of Aishe Ghosh. BCCL/ File The JNU Students Union President was left badly injured and was seen bleeding from her head. Who is Aishe Ghosh? Ghosh, a leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI) is one of the candidates filed by the Communist Party of India (CPIM) for the upcoming assembly elections in her home state West Bengal. The 26-year-old M.Phil student will be contesting from the Jamuria constituency. PTI/ File Ghosh joins a long list of former JNUSU presidents who went on to make it into state and national level politics including Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechuri, Chandrashekhar Prasad, and Kanhaiya Kumar. However, the student at the School of International Relations of JNU is the first sitting JNUSU President to contest assembly elections. She is one of the many student and youth candidates the CPIM has given tickets for the upcoming West Bengal assembly polls. BCCL/ File Others include SFI state secretary Srijan Bhattacharjee and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) state president Minakshi Mukherjee. The party which has been in power in West Bengal for seven consecutive terms from 19772011 has been reduced to its once shadow now. The left parties are not expected to make a comeback in 2021 as well where the BJP is trying to unseat the Mamata Banarjee government after being in power for ten years. 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. Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire rises as he is recognized by the speaker of the House of Commons following Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, on April 8, 2019. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Dallaire Says Self Interest Is Obstructing Canadian Cabinets Response to Uyghur Genocide in China Retired Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire said self-interest is whats obstructing the Canadian government from calling out Beijing over its genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Self-interest and a lack of wanting to take the risk of holding accountable great nations who do horrible things is still prevalent, Dallaire said in an interview on CBCs Power and Politics program on Wednesday. Youre either a great nation that believes in its values and in what its flag stands for, and what so many have died to defend it youre either that, or youre not. Dallaires comments come after the majority of MPs last month voted in favour of a motion tabled by the Conservatives to officially recognize that the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) campaign against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities constitutes a genocide. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet did not show up, except for Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau, who voted on behalf of the cabinet to abstain from voting on the motion. Dallaire, who was the former force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda before and during the 1994 genocide, said Canada need not do it alone. Canada must build a coalition of a whole bunch of other like minded middle powers to make pressure in order to influence the capability, both economic and political, surrounding China, he said. His comments also came after an independent report, published on Monday by think tank Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, concluded that the CCP is responsible for the ongoing genocide against Uyghur Muslims. The report says that the CCPs intent to destroy the Uyghurs is derived from objective proof, consisting of comprehensive State policy and practice, which President Xi Jinping, the highest authority in China, set in motion. The authors noted in the report that the genocide is conducted systematically, starting by collecting Uyghurs biometric data, to assigning party cadre teams to monitor them, and subsequently destroying their cultural and religious site, language, and poetryall central to their identity and life. The CCP next criminalized their religious practices, built, and expanded the internment camps and detention facilities where about 1 to 2 million Uyghurs were detained. What follows is forced labour, forced abortions, mass sterilization of Uyghur women, widespread rape, sexual abuse, and forced separation of the Uyghur children from their parents, the report wrote. Dallaire said he is saddened by the fact that lessons learned from previous genocides are used as tools to intervene only after a catastrophe occurs, but not before it. When there is massive abuses of human rights by a state we all have the responsibility to go in and protect them, he said. We signed up to it. The world signed up to it. President Donald Trump before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on May 29, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Trump Says We Have to Stop Democrat-Led Election Reform Bill: Jason Miller Former President Donald Trump, via his adviser, warned against an election reform bill that is currently being pushed by some Democratic lawmakers. We have to stop this. We cannot let this go through, Trump said in reference to H.R. 1, according to Jason Miller, in an interview on War Room Pandemic. H.R. 1, also known as the For the People Act, passed the House largely along party lines in March, and it would widen access to voting by expanding voter registration, mail-in balloting, early voting, and include election security measures. Due to the fillibuster, which requires a 60-vote majority, H.R. 1 faces a major hurdle in being passed by the Senate. The media wants to forget what happened in 2020. I havent, and we have a lot of work we have to do. He said that, Miller also said on the Steve Bannon-hosted program. He said, The media might want to forget what happened in 2020. I havent. Were not going to forget what happened, and we got to stop this bill. But Democrats, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), said the bill is a sweeping anti-corruption and pro-democracy legislative package that will protect and expand voting rights, restore integrity to government, and put the needs and priorities of the American people ahead of special interests. Other Democrats, including Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), have said the bill will [reaffirm] Congress authority to regulate money in politics, pushing back on the Supreme Courts wrong-headed Citizens United decision. Trump has spoken once in public since he left office on Jan. 20 and has mostly communicated via email after Twitter suspended his account. During an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference late last month, Trump used critical words to describe H.R. 1. Democrats in Congress are racing to pass a flagrantly unconstitutional attack on the First Amendment and the integrity of our elections known as H.R. 1. Do you know what H.R. 1 is? Its a disaster, the former president told an audience on Feb. 28. Their bill would drastically restrict political speech, empower the federal government to shut down dissent, and turn the Federal Election Commission into a partisan political weapon. In addition, it virtually eliminates voter ID requirements nationwide Effectively ends all registration deadlines, Trump added. Can you believe this? Other Republicans have issued similar warnings in recent days. But at the state level, 43 states have carried over, pre-filed, or introduced more than 250 bills to restrict voting access as of late last month, according to the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice. More than 700 bills have been pushed to expand voting rights in 43 states, the organization found. ORLAND PARK, Ill., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marquette Bank, a locally-owned neighborhood bank, has announced the continuation and expansion of the annual Marquette Bank Education Foundation Scholarship Program. The 2021 Scholarship Program has grown to 61 Chicagoland High Schools. The program awarded its first scholarships in 1968 and celebrates a tradition of providing scholarships to graduating seniors from schools in Marquette Bank's neighborhood footprint. Scholarships of $2,500 are awarded to students continuing their education who have an outstanding record of community service, demonstrate financial need and maintain at least a "B" average through their high school education. Since 1968, approximately $3.5 million has been awarded to almost 1,800 Chicagoland high school seniors. "As a neighborhood bank, we support the most involved and dedicated kids in our communities," Christie Cox, Director of Neighborhood Strategy. "By contributing to the education of these deserving students, we hope that they will find individual success and return to help improve their neighborhoods in the future." Students are invited to apply for the scholarship through their schools' guidance office. Scholarship recipients are selected by their own school's principal, guidance counselors or a principal-appointed committee. The scholarship can be used to cover expenses at any higher education program, including four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, vocational training or trade schools. The Chicagoland schools invited to participate in the 2021 Marquette Bank Education Foundation Scholarship Program include: Acero - Major Hector P. Garcia M.D. High School; Chicago Air Force Academy High School; Chicago Andrew High School ; Tinley Park ; Argo Community High School; Summit Back of the Yards College Preparatory High School; Chicago Benito Juarez Community Academy; Chicago Bogan College Prep High School; Chicago Bolingbrook High School; Bolingbrook Brother Rice High School; Chicago Catalyst Maria High School ; Chicago ; Chicago Christian High School ; Palos Heights ; Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences; Chicago Chicago Hope Academy; Chicago Christ the King Jesuit College Prep. Cristo Rey Jesuit High School; Chicago Curie Metropolitan High School; Chicago De La Salle Institute; Chicago Eisenhower High School; Blue Island Eric Solorio Academy H.S.; Chicago Evergreen Park High School ; Evergreen Park ; Farragut Career Academy; Chicago Gage Park High School ; Chicago ; Hancock High School; Chicago Harper High School ; Chicago ; Hubbard High School; Chicago Infinity Math, Science and Technology High School; Chicago Johnson College Prep; Chicago Prep; Kelly High School ; Chicago ; Kennedy High School ; Chicago ; Lemont High School ; Lemont ; Lemont Leo Catholic High School ; Chicago ; Lincoln-Way Central High School; New Lenox Lindblom Math & Science Academy High School; Chicago Marist High School ; Chicago ; Morgan Park High School ; Chicago ; Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School; Chicago Mount Carmel High School; Chicago Oak Forest High School ; Oak Forest ; Oak Lawn Community High School; Oak Lawn Our Lady of Tepeyac High School; Chicago Percy L. Julian High School ; Chicago ; Providence Catholic High School; New Lenox Reavis High School ; Burbank ; Richards High School; Oak Lawn Romeoville High School; Romeoville Saint Ignatius College Prep; Chicago Sandburg High School; Orland Park Shepard High School; Palos Heights Simeon Career Academy; Chicago St. Laurence High School ; Burbank ; St. Rita of Cascia High School ; Chicago ; Stagg High School ; Palos Hills ; Tilden Career Community Academy High School; Chicago Tinley Park High School ; Tinley Park ; Trinity High School ; River Forest ; Universal School; Bridgeview Urban Prep Charter Academy - Englewood Campus; Chicago The Marquette Bank Education Foundation Scholarship Program is part of the Marquette Neighborhood Commitment, where each quarter the bank focuses on a different area of need: shelter, hunger, education and health/wellness. For more information on the Marquette Bank Education Foundation Scholarship Program, call 1-888-254-9500 or visit www.emarquettebank.com. About Marquette Bank: Marquette Bank is one of the largest neighborhood banks in Chicagoland and has been helping neighbors, families and businesses achieve their financial goals since 1945. Independent and locally-owned, Marquette Bank offers a full range of consumer and business banking, home financing, business lending, insurance, investments, wealth management, estate planning and trust services. Marquette Bank is the only bank in Chicagoland to offer the FunRewards program, offers popular digital banking services and free access to over 40,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide. Marquette Bank has received 10 consecutive 'Outstanding' CRA ratings from federal regulators putting it in the top 1% of all banks nationwide. Marquette Bank has 20 banking centers, 2 lending services offices and a corporate administrative center with locations in Chicago, Bolingbrook, Bridgeview, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Lemont, New Lenox, Oak Lawn, Oak Forest, Orland Park, Romeoville and Summit, Illinois. Marquette Bank is a subsidiary of Marquette National Corporation (OTCQX: MNAT), a diversified financial holding company, and has $1.9 billion in assets along with a local lending portfolio of almost $1 billion. Marquette Bank is an Equal Opportunity Lender, Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC. Connect with Marquette Bank on social media on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. For more information visit: http://www.emarquettebank.com or call 1-888-254-9500. For More Information: Jeff MacDonald 708-873-3560 [email protected] SOURCE Marquette Bank Related Links http://www.emarquettebank.com Ukraine and Romania are interested in intensifying political dialogue at the highest and high levels, as well as cooperation in order to strengthen regional security. These issues were discussed at a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar and Romanian Ambassador to Ukraine Cristian-Leon Turcanu, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press service reported. "The interlocutors discussed ways of developing Ukrainian-Romanian relations both on a bilateral basis and within international organizations. They gave priority to intensifying political dialogue at the highest and high levels, as well as cooperation between the two countries to strengthen regional security," the statement reads. The deputy minister informed about the progress in preparation of the draft law of Ukraine on national minorities, the formation of a new Ukrainian delegation to the bilateral commission on ensuring the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. Bodnar confirmed the intention of the Ukrainian side to resume the activities of this commission as soon as possible after the completion of institutional changes in the structure of the executive bodies of Ukraine responsible for this area. The parties also reaffirmed the importance of developing the infrastructure of the joint Ukrainian-Romanian state border. ish MILAN Generali is confident it can hit its targets this year after Italys biggest insurer overcame a negative impact from the coronavirus crisis in 2020 to deliver a record operating profit. Operating profit, which is closely watched by the market, rose 0.3% to 5.21 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in 2020, Generali said, despite a 123 million euro hit from COVID-19. Generali shares were up 2% at 0830 GMT on Thursday, outperforming a flat European insurers index. After an excellent 2019 and an excellent 2020 we are well positioned to close out 2021 well, Generali Chief Executive Philippe Donnet told a news briefing. Asked if he felt under shareholder scrutiny, Donnet said it had not been a given that the Italian insurer would perform well in the unprecedented scenario of the health crisis. Donnet, whose mandate as CEO comes up for renewal next year, has come under pressure from key shareholders Leonardo Del Vecchio and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone. Del Vecchio is the largest shareholder of Mediobanca , which in turn is the biggest investor in Generali. In a bid to improve his chances of another term, Donnet launched a reorganization of Generali, with his deputy Frederic de Courtois leaving. The groups 2019-2021 strategic plan ends this year and while Donnet has said he is already working on the next one, no date for its presentation has been set yet. Europes No 3 insurer said its net profit fell 34.7% to 1.744 billion euros in 2020 after net impairments of 287 million euros due to market volatility. The figure was in line with the analyst consensus. Its solvency ratio, a key measure of financial strength, stood at 224%, rising to 228% at the end of February. Generali will pay a dividend of 1.47 euros per share split into two tranches, a first of 1.01 euros to be paid in May and the second in October providing regulators give their blessing. A second tranche was not paid last year after Italys insurance regulator asked companies not to pay dividends following recommendations from the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) to conserve cash in the coronavirus crisis. ($1 = 0.8385 euros) (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Edmund Blair, Stephen Jewkes and Alexander Smith) Topics Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) Plc. Only 4.6% of Marion's 65K vaccine doses have gone to Black residentsJoe Callahan, Ocala Star-Banner, Fla.(TNS) - Only 4.6% of Marion County's COVID-19 vaccinations have made it into the arms of Black residents, who make up 13.5% of the county's population and 12% of the 877 local coronavirus deaths that have been reported so far.Marion County is not alone. This vaccination trend is occurring all across Florida and the United States.Area officials say the vaccine disparity in communities of color is a result of many factors. Among them: hesitancy due to distrust, lack of reliable transportation and lack of reliable technology/internet access to make appointments.Some Black community leaders note that many who live in low-income communities, no matter their race, can't afford television service, or a newspaper subscription, to get vital real-time updates of when vaccines become available.Local Black leaders say that the disparity is not from a lack of trying. Three community outreach vaccination events have been held at Black churches around Ocala, and a fourth will be held March 18 in Reddick.Some leaders suggest it is time, now that more vaccine has become available, to launch mobile vaccination events across Marion in underserved communities."We need to go into these underserved communities. especially the ones we haven't hit yet, like Fort McCoy," said Eric Cummings, a Marion County School Board member andData shows Marion has administered 65,590 first COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Wednesday. Marion County has 365,000 residents.Of those, only 3,040 Black residents have gotten a vaccine, or 4.6%, according to Wednesday's report from the Florida Department of Health.While 4.6% of local Black residents have gotten one of those first doses, Black residents make up 14% of Marion's reported COVID-19 cases, 18% of the hospitalizations and 12% of the deaths.Data shows that 6% of Florida's Black residents, when compared to 16.9% of the state's population, and 7.1% of U.S. Black residents, when compared to 18.5% of the nation's population, have gotten at least their first vaccine dose.The Florida Department of Health in Marion County has been working with area officials on events for underserved communities."The state tracks and monitors the race and ethnicity of people who receive the COVID-19 vaccine," said Mark Lander, administrator for the local health department. "It helps identify if certain groups may be underserved in vaccination efforts."Lander, in an email interview, said "we have worked to provide vaccine specifically for outreach vaccination efforts in African-American communities, which have traditionally been underserved."There also is a disparity when it comes to vaccinating the Hispanic community.Data shows only 2,554 Hispanic residents have gotten a vaccine, or 3.9% of all those first doses, according to Florida Department of health statistics. Hispanic residents make up 14.1% of the Marion population.While 3.9% of local Hispanic residents have gotten one of those first doses, Hispanic residents make up 16% of Marion County's reported COVID-19 cases, 10% of the hospitalizations and 8% of the deaths.Data shows that 11.8% of Florida's Hispanic residents, when compared to 26.4% of the state's population, and 8.5% of U.S. Hispanic residents, when compared to 18.5% of the nation's population, have gotten at least their first vaccine dose.More than 93 million people have gotten their first dose of the vaccine nationwide, while the state has administered 3.7 million first doses and Marion has administered 65,590.Marion's non-Hispanic white population makes up 69.6% of the population, while 64.7% of all the county's vaccines have gone to that group. About 40,000 of all the COVID-19 vaccine doses, out 61,606, have gone to non-Hispanic white residents.Florida's non-Hispanic whites make up 50.9% of the population, while those residents have received 55.9% of the vaccinations. The nation's non-Hispanic white population makes up 57.8%, while those citizens have received 65.5% of first doses.But the numbers are not complete. Data shows that the race of 16.2% of the Marion County residents who received a vaccination, as well as 15.3% of the Florida residents who received their first dose, is listed as unknown.Bishop J. David Stockton III, president of the local chapter of the NAACP and pastor of the Greater New Hope Church, says when the vaccine registration by phone launched in late December that many Black residents did not know until it was too late.Stockton said that when the vaccines first arrived, many underserved communities received word late of the county's phone registration.By the time the word spread to many low-income Black communities, the county had registered 50,000 people and shut down the registration process until the state created a registration database for older residents to call.While vaccinating Black residents has lagged behind, Stockton said he doesn't fault the Florida Department of Health in Marion County. He said early on there was hesitancy among older Black residents.Stockton suspects more Black residents have gotten shots than has been reported. He is basing that on the fact that he knows many people traveled out of county to get vaccinated, and that the race is listed as unknown for 16.2% of those who have gotten shots."At the beginning, they had a fear of the vaccine," he said.Cummings said that fear quickly waned and then it was impossible for most people of any race to get an appointment. Cummings and Stockton teamed up with Tommy Brooks, pastor of New St. John Baptist Church, to work with county officials.Both Cummings and Stockton said those vaccination events included people of all races, especially Black, Hispanic and other races.The three men reached out to Lander and Preston Bowlin, Marion's emergency management director, on a plan to get shots into the arms of residents of color.There have been three events at area Black churches the three churches that Stockton, Cummings and Brooks represent. There is another planned for next Thursday in Reddick.But the main barrier now is reliable transportation to get to the mass vaccination sites, as well as having affordable technology so people can get an appointment.Stockton said the health department asked him and other leaders in the Black community to help fill 500 appointments that were set aside specifically for Black residents for the two-day mass vaccination event that was held earlier this week at the Florida Horse Park. The idea was to help get more people of color vaccinated."We had several people that we called to go to the horse park, and they said they didn't know where it was and said they would wait for the Reddick event," Stockton noted, adding many of those people were concerned about finding transportation.Regardless, he said work needs to be done to get more Black residents to vaccination sites or get health professionals out to underserved communities. Stockton said the good news is that the local health department officials are listening."What it takes is to have everybody at the table," Stockton said. "I think sometimes we have the tendency to not to know the makeup of the county and the issues that some of our county residents face. I think that is the biggest challenge we have faced."Stockton said he working hard not just for local Black residents, but people of color in all underserved communities. Cummings said he believes that the vaccine divide will be bridged now that more vaccine is coming in to the county.Lander said everyone is working together to determine ways to reach out to the underserved communities. He pointed to a recent event at the city of Ocala's first responder campus where people were on hand to register older residents.Lander said the agency will continue to "work with community leaders to identify opportunities to increase vaccinations." Contact Joe Callahan at 897-0307 or email him at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.___(c)2021 the Ocala Star-Banner (Ocala, Fla.)Visit the Ocala Star-Banner (Ocala, Fla.) at www.ocala.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The majority of us believe the pandemic has widened the gap between the most and least well-off, a research group said yesterday. And over half of the population believe that mental health has been the greatest casualty of the crisis, according to the Social Mobility Commission. Its report said 56 per cent of Britons think that lockdowns have increased inequality. The last year has seen salaried middle-class office staff working from home while lower-paid and often young service sector workers have been furloughed or have lost their jobs. The majority of us believe the pandemic has widened the gap between the most and least well-off, a research group said yesterday (stock image) The Government-sponsored commission said there was deep concern over social division and four out of five of us now think there is a large gap between classes. There is growing evidence that those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are being most affected by the pandemic, the report said. It added: Young people from the poorest backgrounds are losing their jobs, while families are trapped in cramped housing, sometimes unable to afford basic necessities. Children from disadvantaged families, often without digital access, are falling behind at school. The findings, based on a YouGov poll of 4,693 people, indicated that 55 per cent think the greatest impact of the pandemic has been on mental health, while 44 per cent believe the greatest effect has been difficulties caused by a lack of social contact. Over half of the population believe that mental health has been the greatest casualty of the crisis, according to the Social Mobility Commission (stock image) Just over a quarter said employment opportunities have been most affected and 22 per cent pointed to the shutdown of schools and education. Steven Cooper, from the commission, which is to be moved into the Cabinet Office in Whitehall as part of the Governments levelling up programme, said: The pandemic has had a devastating impact on jobs, training and mental health, particularly among the most disadvantaged groups. This poll dramatically underlines public concern about growing social inequality. Government, employers and educators should listen and act. The most disadvantaged at home, school or work should now be put centre stage in any recovery plan. House of Representatives Passes George Floyd Justice in Policing Act The House on Wednesday passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, an ambitious police reform bill that would ban chokeholds and overhaul qualified immunity protections for officers. The legislation, H.R. 1280, passed 220-212 although a Republican Congressman Lance Gooden (R-Texas) said hed voted yes by mistake and changed the official record to reflect his opposition. The bill now heads to the Senate where Democrats still need 10 Republicans to vote yes for passage. ADVERTISEMENT While Democrats hold a slight majority in the Senate 52-50, counting Vice President Kamala Harris sixty yes votes are required for passage. Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the Congressional Black Caucus Chair, said she remains confident that enough Senate Republicans will support the measure. Others agreed while applauding the action in the House. For too long, we have endured the pain of watching or seeing the deaths of people of color, particularly Black men and women, at the hands of rogue police officers who operate with impunity and take it upon themselves to be the arbiters of life and death, Congresswoman Maxine Waters declared. The trauma that our communities feel is only made worse by the ways in which we are forced to reckon with the reality that Black people are over 3.5 times more likely to be killed by police than White people, and Black teenagers are 21 times more likely to be killed by police than White teenagers. Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci issued a joint statement on behalf of the family of George Floyd. We are deeply gratified and grateful for the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives in passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, responding to the mandate issued by thousands of Americans who took to the streets last summer to raise their voices for change, the lawyers wrote. ADVERTISEMENT This represents a major step forward to reform the relationship between police officers and communities of color and impose accountability on law enforcement officers whose conscious decisions preserve the life or cause the death of Americans, including so many people of color. Now we urge the Senate to follow suit and send this important legislation to President Biden. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is named in honor of George Floyd, who died May 25 after a White Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired, and he faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. His trial and jury selection are scheduled to begin Monday. The bill would ban neck restraints and no knock warrants in drug cases at the federal level. It would also reform qualified immunity, a tenet that makes it difficult to sue officers. Americas standing in the world as a beacon for justice demands that we live up to the principles of justice in everything we stand for, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson announced. The passage of this bill pushes us further along the path toward realizing justice for all. Dog the Bounty Hunter and fiancee visit Colorado church, witness powerful move of God Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Duane "Dog" Chapman and his fiancee, Francie Frane, attended church together in Colorado this month and felt "so blessed" by their experience. The famous bounty hunter and reality TV star, along with his wife-to-be, shared photos on Instagram over the weekend while at the 970.church in Grand Junction, Colorado. They called their experience "amazing." "Dog and I were so blessed to be a part of this powerful move of God with @robbydawkins at 970.church last weekend!" Frane wrote on her Instagram along with photos. 970.church is affiliated with the Rocky Mountain District of the General Council of the Assemblies of God USA. The photos showed the couple speaking in front of a group and getting prayed over by the ministry leader, Robby Dawkins, and his team. "Forever in awe of Jesus," she testified. Chapman and Frane came together while both grieving the loss of a spouse. Their Christian faith is what helped them bond. Chapman lost his wife, Beth, in June 2019 after a battle with cancer. Meanwhile, Frane's husband, Bob, also died of cancer shortly before Beth. The couple announced their engagement in 2020 but did not set a wedding date due to the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview with The Christian Post last year, the 68-year-old said he and his fiancee believe in the power of shaping their world with their words. He spoke of the scripture in Proverbs 18:21 that says, "death and life are in the power of the tongue." As you know, I have my new [girlfriend] Francie. She's a very devout Christian and believes like I do about speaking her words and her lips, he told CP. It's really funny because I'm dating her, and I wake up not feeling good. She'll go, Hi, how are you feeling? And I go, 'Hold on, let me get the phone in the other ear.' 'Are you feeling alright?' And I'm like, Yeah. Do you have anything? No. So it's funny that when you have someone that's close to you, that you love, that believes the same way in the same tongue, it really works, it's really happening. Chapman had a COVID-19 scare last month and told Dr. Mehmet Oz that he thought he might die. "I think anybody right now in America that gets a bad cold or a little bit of a flu, ... the COVID alarm goes off in your mind. Fear, 'Oh no! I'm over 60, am I gonna make it?'" he told the popular doctor. "So yeah, I thought, 'Here we go COVID versus the Dog here we go.' But, I didn't have it, so thank the Lord." Chapman told Oz that he thought he was "almost dying," admitting, "I was saying my last prayers." However, Chapman is healthy now and spending some of his time in the house of the Lord. (Newser) Victor Smith, 91, was in an Ohio rehab clinic when his appointment for a second shot of coronavirus vaccine came around on Jan. 25. He was taken to a county site and returned, Live Science reports. "When he came back, I spoke to him, he was good," said his daughter, Dawn Smith Theodore. It was vaccination day at the rehab center, too, and a firefighter showed up a while later and said he had a dose for Victor. "The nurse said 'Victor Smith?' and he said, 'Yes' so they gave him the room number," his daughter said. But the dose was supposed to go to another Victor at the clinic, per WGCL. "I got two vaccines," Smith told his daughter. After the second shot, Smith's blood pressure dropped, and he went into shock. "They pretty much told me he was not going to make it," Theodore said. story continues below But her father recovered. Smith had had his first shot three days earlier; the doses are supposed to be given weeks apart. The City of Hamilton said the rehab center and the fire department, which handles vaccinations at the clinic, are investigating, per WLWT. No one said which brand of vaccine Smith received. In Australia, two patients, ages 88 and 94, were given as much as four times the recommended Pfizer vaccine dose last month, per ABC. They also recovered. Experts attributed the mistake to the vaccine coming in multidose vials; Australia's health professionals are used to vaccines in single-dose containers. The doctor who gave the shots had not had the training needed. (Read more coronavirus vaccine stories.) Former NDC Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has applauded President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Tuesday, March 9. The President gave his first nation address this year on the floor of Parliament. SONA Highlights President Akufo-Addo touched on the various sectors of the economy and outlined his achievements as well as vision in his second term in office. Some notable things the President said are: ''Mr. Speaker, Government, in four years, has recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy. We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals. The National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services are all part of the drive to formalise our economy, and enhance its productivity. ''Four years ago, it sounded recklessly optimistic, but Free SHS and Free TVET are now entrenched parts of our educational setup. In a few years time, we can guarantee that the basic education for the workforce in our country would be at the secondary level. It is a transformational step we have taken, which should quicken the pace of development all round, and give us confidence in our future. "Mr. Speaker, Ghana rice is the preferred choice in an increasing number of our homes, as the growing, processing and packaging of rice become a more established and attractive industry. During this COVID crisis, we have, mercifully, been spared the spectre of food shortages. On the contrary, thanks to Planting for Food and Jobs, food has been in abundance in our markets across the country. Throughout the ages, food processing has provided the takeoff point for the industrialisation of many nations, and we are taking that lesson to heart as we pursue the goal to industrialise, modernise and create jobs for the young people of our nation. "The One-District-One-Factory programme is part of the anchor on which we are building the comprehensive industrialization of our country. Much of the work has now been done to put in place the framework for the rapid implementation of projects. The factories, that are currently in place and in production, reflect the underlying principle of the programme, which is the equitable distribution of development projects around the country. The prospects of our becoming the automobile hub in West Africa are growing stronger every day, with the investments being made in the country by global manufacturing giants in the automobile industry." I Support Akufo-Addo Allotey Jacobs has declared full support for President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government. What is happening in this country, my years in politics; theres a vast change in our governance system. Im seeing a new type of leadership. In every organization, if it dwells very well, it depends on leadership and were seeing this country, when you place Kwame Nkrumah aside; for me, I will say Im seeing a new leadership, Allotey eulogized the President. He added; Im seeing a change in our governance system . . . Building a nation, it doesnt take one person; so, sometimes, we should put our political affiliation aside and look at what the current system is doing and give our massive support because at the end of the day, it will benefit all of us. Allotey further expressed delight over the President's speech saying I enjoyed the Presidents state of the nation address. He made these remarks on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo''. 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. Featured Video Des Moines Register Reporter Andrea Sahouri hugs her mom after being found not guilty at the conclusion of her trial, at the Drake University Legal Clinic, in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 10, 2021. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Kelsey Kremer) Des Moines Register Reporter Andrea Sahouri Acquitted of Charges Incurred While Covering a BLM Protest A jury in Iowa has acquitted a reporter of all charges she incurred while covering a Black Lives Matter protest last year. The jury on Tuesday found Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri, 25, and her then-boyfriend Spenser Robnett, 24, not guilty of two misdemeanour chargesfailure to disperse and interference with official acts. Robnett had stood trial earlier this week. The decision came after less than two hours of discussion. Sahouri told reporters she was relieved by the acquittal. She called it a victory for press freedom and democracy. I have been dealing with a lot of pressure and anxiety and trauma from the assault and continuing to do my job has been difficult, she said. But it is important. That is why I am in this field. Sahouris arrest happened in May 2020. Video captured by a responding officer showed Sahouri, in pain from being pepper-sprayed, repeatedly telling officers that she was a reporter on assignment. Robnett said he was sprayed and handcuffed after telling a police officer that Sahouri was a journalist. The three-day trial saw prosecutor Bradley Kinkade, an assistant Polk County attorney, telling jurors that it didnt matter that Sahouri was working. He said that her profession wasnt a defense against the misdemeanor charges. Kinade argued that both Sahouri and Robnett were within hearing distance when police ordered crowds to disperse but the two remained with the crowd. He also argued that videos and photos she had posted on Twitter while at the scene was evidence that she was near an unlawful assembly. Arresting officer Luke Wilson had testified that Robnett tried to pull Sahouri away from Wilsons custody and Sahouri had briefly resisted arrest. Wilson, however, said that he didnt record the arrest on his body cam and didnt try to recover the video later, in apparent violation of the Des Moines Police Department policy. Once I determined she wasnt leaving, I had to take action, Wilson testified, adding that he still didnt know who she was, according to The Associated Press. Defense attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt asserted that Sahouri and Robnett didnt hear any dispersal orders, and that she was only trying to report from places where she was allowed. He also refuted Wilsons claim that the two had interfered. Sahouri and Robnett would have been fined hundreds of dollars and possible jail time of up to 30 days if convicted. The defense was funded by Gannett, the parent company of the Des Moines Register. Employees of the newspaper chain expressed support for Sahouri on social media. Columbia Journalism School, where Sahouri earned a masters degree in 2019 before joining the Register, also expressed solidarity by promoting the hashtag #JournalismIsNotACrime. Grateful justice was done and @andreamsahouri was fully exonerated, Gannett news president and USA Today Publisher Maribel Wadsworth announced on Twitter. But it should never have come to this. She was assaulted, arrested, charged and tried for doing her job. Todays victory is as much a victory for the 1st Amendment as it is for Andrea. More than 100 U.S. journalists were arrested or detained last year for covering various Black Lives Matter protests, although most were not charged or had their charges dismissed, according to Press Freedom Tracker. The Associated Press contributed to this report. (CNN) -- LinkedIn one of the few Western social media networks available in China has suspended new sign-ups in the country, but said the decision has nothing to do with a recent cyberattack on parent company Microsoft. Microsoft revealed last week that a group called Hafnium exploited its Exchange email service and was able to gain access to computers. The company said the group was "assessed to be state-sponsored and operating out of China." A LinkedIn spokesperson said its decision was unrelated to the hack. The social media platform, which is used by professionals, was suspending new member sign-ups for LinkedIn China "as we work to ensure we remain in compliance with local law," it said in a statement. "We're a global platform with an obligation to respect the laws that apply to us, including adhering to Chinese government regulations for our localized version of LinkedIn in China," LinkedIn added. The company declined to elaborate on which local law it was examining. A US official recently told CNN that as many as 250,000 Microsoft customers were hit by the Exchange attack, and the White House has deemed it an "active threat." Beijing has pushed back on the allegations that it is involved, warning last week that linking such attacks "directly to the government" is a "highly sensitive political issue" that shouldn't be based on "unprovoked guesses." Fallout from the hack and the apparently unrelated LinkedIn suspension have been hotly discussed in Chinese state media in recent days. The Global Times, a hawkish state-owned tabloid, cited "Chinese experts" in a report earlier this week saying that the Biden administration threatens to "poison relations between the two countries" after reports indicated that the US government wanted to form a task force to deal with the hack. The Global Times also criticized Western media on Wednesday for attempting to characterize the LinkedIn decision as "punishment" for Microsoft. Citing "industry observers," the publication called such links an "act to politicize internet security issues." "Every foreign company operating in China must abide by Chinese laws and respect the feelings of Chinese people," the article read. Microsoft has a long history in China, having entered the market in 1992. Its software is widely used by the Chinese government and companies, and its Bing search engine is also operational, while Google has been cut out for years. Analysts have said the hack incident is unlikely to affect how Microsoft operates in China in the longer term, as the American tech giant has rolled out plans to expand its presence and double its cloud service capacity in the coming years. LinkedIn has been available in China since 2014. Its presence in China, where it has more than 45 million users, is notable because many other Western social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, are blocked. This story was first published on CNN.com, "LinkedIn suspends new sign-ups in China" KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI No residents or firefighters were injured, but a trained therapy dog died in a house fire Tuesday night west of Kalamazoo. A second dog, that was not a therapy dog, was outside when firefighters arrived and survived the blaze unscathed, Oshtemo Fire Chief Mark Barnes told MLive. The home, and all of its contents, suffered substantial damage, he said. First responders from multiple departments were dispatched to the blaze, in the 10000 block of W J Avenue in Oshtemo Township at 9:18 p.m., Tuesday, March 9. Upon arrival of Oshtemo Fire and Rescues first fire unit at 9:23 p.m., heavy fire was found coming from the home and its attached garage, Barnes said. An immediate second alarm was transmitted which then moved Texas Township to backfill Oshtemo Station 2 and Kalamazoo Township Westwood Station to backfill Oshtemo Station 1, a news release stated. Alamo Township and Mattawan fire departments both assisted on scene, the release stated. Fire crews initially took a defensive strategy with large handlines designed to stop the progression of the fire into the remaining structure. That was soon followed by additional handlines and a change to an offensive strategy, the release stated. There was a momentary withdrawal in the garage area due to a roof collapse. The fires cause remains under investigation, but Barnes said it is not believed to have been suspicious. A trained therapy dog perished in a house fire Tuesday, March 9, 2021 on WJ Street in Oshtemo Township, Michigan. (Courtesy photo | Oshtemo Fire and Rescue) Also on MLive: No criminal charges issued in fatal cannon explosion at Michigan baby shower Tracking a year of coronavirus in Michigan Big Ten Tournament preview: storylines, odds, and predictions for countrys top conference [March 11, 2021] Government of Canada contribution strengthens Canada's position as a global leader in quantum computing Investment promotes commercialization of quantum computing technology BURNABY, BC, March 11, 2021 /CNW/ - Quantum computing is a transformative technology in which Canadian researchers, businesses and workers have developed a leading global advantage. This technology will have a significant impact on the daily lives of Canadians and will be a driver of economic growth and good jobs. This is why the Government of Canada has identified it as a strategic opportunity for the country and is increasing its support to the sector. Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced a $40-million contribution to D-Wave Systems Inc. of Burnaby, British Columbia, one of Canada's most innovative and intellectual propertyrich firms. This contribution will support a $120-million project to develop quantum computer hardware and software systems, ensuring that Canada remains at the forefront of quantum technology development. The project will help D-Wave further the advantage of quantum technology over classical computers by enhancing the processing capabilities and computing power of its current systems. To reach this objective, the company will develop a new and more powerful quantum processor and provide additional advancements for its quantum computers. With this project, D-Wave will be well positioned to bring its next-generation quantum system to market, which could improve productivity, innovation and analytical capabilities across Canada's economy. This investment will also enable D-Wave to provide greater access to its cloud-based service, which is particularly helpful to small and medium-sized Canadian companies that would benefit from access to the power of quantum computing. This effort will strengthen the Canadian innovation ecosystem and accelerate the commercialization of quantum computing services. Through this project, D-Wave commits to creating and maintaining up to 200 jobs, employing up to 10 co-op students annually, and spending more than $480 million on R&D. D-Wave will also provide quantum computing access to qualified members of the quantum computing ecosystem in Canada to encourage its development. Quotes "Quantum technology and artificial intelligence are key parts of our government's plan to make our post-pndemic economy stronger than ever. This investment in D-Wave will help place Canada at the forefront of quantum technology development and will create new jobs and opportunities to help Canadians and make our economy more resilient." Philippe Champagne , Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry "Canada is in an innovation race, and the federal government is committed to growing the economy and creating well-paying jobs. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global demand for transformative technologies, and there is a real opportunity for Canada to be a world leader in this field. Today's investment in D-Wave will help to place Canada at the forefront of quantum technology development and will create new jobs and opportunities to help Canadians and advance the economy." Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard "D-Wave is proud that its technologies are among those that the Strategic Innovation Fund has invested in. Through support from the Government of Canada, D-Wave will continue to build a global quantum ecosystem showcasing the power of Canadian innovation. We are focused on bringing early quantum hybrid value to diverse fields, including health care, materials science, financial analysis, manufacturing and logistics, and will continue to focus on the prototyping, development, full-scale implementation and deployment of quantum computing systems and services on new innovative architectures and designs." Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave Systems Inc. Quick facts D-Wave Systems Inc. is a privately held company that focuses on the development of quantum computer hardware, software and services. To date, D-Wave is the first and only company in the world to bring to market a quantum computer that can run real, in-production applications. Quantum computing has the potential to help develop targeted drugs for specific patients, make delivery routes faster and more efficient, strengthen online security, predict weather events, model climate change, and more. The global quantum computing market is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2030. by 2030. The contribution is being made through the Strategic Innovation Fund, a program designed to attract and support high-quality business investments across all sectors of the economy. This project has also received assistance from Sustainable Development Technology Canada and the Government of British Columbia . . This project addresses strategic considerations from the Economic Strategy Table on Digital Industries and the National Cyber Security Strategy. It also supports priorities set forth in the Government of Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan, such as helping to develop a highly skilled workforce and advancing research in foundational new technology that is a key component of future economic growth and innovation. Innovation and Skills Plan, such as helping to develop a highly skilled workforce and advancing research in foundational new technology that is a key component of future economic growth and innovation. In addition to the Strategic Innovation Fund, there are hundreds of programs and services to help businesses innovate, create jobs and grow Canada's economy. With its simple, story-based user interface, the Business Benefits Finder can match businesses with the most fitting programs and services in about two minutes. Stay connected Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on Twitter: @ISED_CA SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. Indianapolis, IN (46208) Today A steady rain this morning. Showers with perhaps a rumble of thunder developing for the afternoon. High 67F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Shares in Irish Ferries operator ICG were down 1.3pc in Dublin on Thursday afternoon after it reported an operating loss, including non-trading items, of 10.4m in 2020, amid a challenging year for the group. This is a swing on the companys earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) of 64.9m the prior year. The loss is mainly due to Covid-19 travel restrictions on its passenger business, according to annual results from the group. ICG also incurred a non-trading expense of 11.2m last year due to changes to its pension scheme. Revenue at the Dublin-listed company fell to 277.1m in 2020, down 22.5pc on the corresponding period in 2019. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in the ferries division decreased by 66.8pc, to 22.3m. In the container and terminal division Ebitda increased by 1pc, to 19.8m. During the year ICGs roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) traffic increased 7pc to 335,500 freight units. ICG chairman John B McGuckian said: 2020 was an exceptionally challenging year for the group, with the restrictions placed on travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While these restrictions brought large-scale disruption and reductions in our passenger business, the other parts of our business proved resilient throughout the entire year. Our RoRo Freight operations grew in 2020 despite the operational and market difficulties presented by the pandemic. At the end of 2020, ICG had net debt after total capital expenditure of 30.1m. The group said it is in a strong financial position with available liquidity of cash and committed bank facilities of 240.8m at 31 December 2020. So far this year, Irish Ferries has carried 39,200 RoRo units, a decrease of 30pc on the prior year, while the number of cars decreased by 75.6pc to 7,400. Passenger numbers in the period fell by 69.3pc versus the prior year, with trading affected by both Covid-19 restrictions and new customs requirements following the exit of the UK from the European Union. Jeremy Hunt today revealed he has coronavirus and is isolating with 'very mild' symptoms - just days after getting the vaccine. The former health secretary said he was informed he had tested positive on Tuesday morning - just as his children were looking forward to going to school. Writing in his local paper, the Haslemere Herald, Mr Hunt said he had been preparing to chair a health select committee hearing with NHS England chief Sir Simon Stevens when he received the call. However, he was able to continue with the session because he has not currently been badly affected. The news came despite Mr Hunt having received his first vaccine dose on March 2. It can take weeks for the jab to give full protection. Jeremy Hunt said he was informed he had tested positive on Tuesday morning - just as his children were looking forward to going to school The news came despite Mr Hunt having received his first vaccine dose on March 2. It can take weeks for the jab to give full protection Mr Hunt, who has three children with wife Lucia, wrote: 'The Hunt children had been jumping up and down with the excitement of going back to school with uniforms prepared and satchels packed when the totally unexpected happened Dad got Covid. 'Having ducked the cursed virus for over a year, the dreaded news came through from NHS Test and Trace on Tuesday morning. 'Ironically, it happened to be half-an-hour before chairing a Select Committee at which Sir Simon Stevens was the guest witness, something I was able to do because my symptoms remain very mild.' The Surrey MP said his PCR test was 'conducted smoothly' in Onslow and praised the 'relaxed friendliness of the staff doing what cannot be a very appealing job'. 'The result came through in less than 24 hours, and all the people I have spoken to on the phone about the self-isolation requirements were clear, kind and helpful,' he went on. Mr Hunt said that despite his strong criticism of the Test and Test system they were 'diligent' in contacting him. 'As someone who has complained loudly in the past about failings with NHS Test and Trace, I was amused to see my phone buzzing throughout the morning as they tried to get in touch with me with great diligence,' he wrote. 'In fact, the success of Test and Trace is something that should be more talked about alongside the better-known achievements of the vaccine programme. 'Indeed, from my experience, it has become a model of efficiency. 'That is not to say there are not improvements that still need to be made I am still concerned that too many people may not be complying with requests to self-isolate. 'I also think that if we were to start all over again, we would organise the contact tracing through local authorities (although it makes sense to have a few mega labs to do the testing).' Mr Hunt said the family was managing isolation 'thanks to iPads, board games, Netflix and the great kindness of our neighbours'. The single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine should begin arriving in Ireland next month, the Tanaiste said (Brian Lawless/PA). The single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine should begin arriving in Ireland next month, the Tanaiste has said. Leo Varadkar anticipates supplies will be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday, it is understood. The Coalition has been under pressure over the speed of its inoculation programme as Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK races through priority groups. Mr Varadkar told Fine Gaels parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday evening that Covid-19 as a severe disease in nursing homes is almost gone and there have been very good results in frontline healthcare workers. He said case numbers were going down slowly and the number of patients in hospital intensive care units has fallen below 100. Mr Varadkar said all countries would need their own supply of vaccines for several months yet. He predicted the pipeline will continue to improve. The Tanaiste said no decision on easing restrictions would be made until the week leading up to April 5. He warned the focus would be not to jeopardise schools and childcare. Ireland is to receive an extra 46,500 Covid-19 vaccines by the end of the month, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has confirmed. It comes following a deal reached by the European Union to secure an additional four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will be supplied across EU countries. Mr Martin said the vaccines would arrive by the end of March. Pleased this morning to have confirmation from Commission President @vonderleyen that Ireland will secure an additional 46,500 Pfizer BioNTech vaccines before the end of March. When they get here, they will be administered quickly. Efforts ongoing to increase production. MicheAl Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 10, 2021 He tweeted: Pleased this morning to have confirmation from Commission President (Ursula von der Leyen) that Ireland will secure an additional 46,500 Pfizer BioNTech vaccines before the end of March. When they get here, they will be administered quickly. Efforts ongoing to increase production. The announcement will be widely welcomed by public health officials who have expressed frustration over vaccine supply lines. HSE chief executive Paul Reid said that the first-quarter target was reduced to 1.1 million from an initial 1.7 million. New data has revealed a big jump in the number of people moving around in the last month. New figures show that retail and recreational mobility is up 16%, workplace mobility up 7% and footfall in Dublin city up 29%. A Government official said that meant an increase of nearly 900,000 people on the move. People found travelling more than 5km from their homes for non-essential journeys could be hit with a fine. So far, great signs of the impacts of vaccinations. Serial testing in nursing homes at 0.2% positivity. Percentages of cases in healthcare workers down from 16% to 4%. Mortality, infections and transmissions levels down, along with hospitalisations and ICU. @HSELive #COVID19 Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) March 10, 2021 To date, around 12,000 fines have been issued by gardai for a range of Covid-19 breaches. Another 47 people have died with Covid-19 in Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) said. It was notified of 631 more confirmed infections. CDC Guidelines Masks should be worn: By people 2 years of age and older Any time you are in a public setting Any time you are traveling on a plane, bus, train, or other form of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations When you are around people who do not live with you, including inside your home or inside someone elses home Inside your home if someone you live with is sick with symptoms of Covid-19 or has tested positive for Covid-19 CDC recognizes there are specific instances when wearing a mask may not be feasible. In these instances, consider adaptations and alternatives. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention In the year since the University of Nebraska at Omahas response to the COVID-19 pandemic began, the universitys network of academic advisors have gone above and beyond to support students. Sammi Kaiser, Ph.D., who serves as senior director of academic advising and the Academic & Career Development Center, sat down with UNO Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., to discuss how an emphasis on flexibility and nurturing a campus culture of support have set the tone for future student success. Ways to enjoy the Maverick Minute: Watch on YouTube Listen on Soundcloud View Transcript (PDF) Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Rolls-Royce plunged to a 4billion loss last year after the collapse in air travel hammered its engines business. The UKs premier engineering firm warned the recovery this year would be even slower than expected after a second wave of the pandemic led to more flight cancellations. But boss Warren East was in fighting mood and said the company was in a position to thrive, not just survive and had built up enough cash to deal with any further setbacks. Engine trouble: Rolls-Royce warned that the recovery this year would be even slower than expected after punishing second waves of the pandemic led to more flight cancellations Rolls makes half its revenue from servicing plane engines. It is paid for the number of hours its engines fly, in what are dubbed power by the hour contracts. But turnover tumbled by 29 per cent to 11.8billion as air traffic was disrupted worldwide. The 4billion loss which compares with a 583million profit in 2019 was worse than analysts had expected. In an effort to get through the crisis, Rolls kicked off a huge restructuring last May that included cutting 9,000 jobs from its 52,000-strong workforce and selling parts of the business worth 2billion. Rolls has also raised 7.3billion which included arranging loans and selling new shares and has access to 9billion. But at its lowest point last year, the Derby-headquartered company admitted it could struggle to survive if the downturn continued. Rolls has been burning through cash, 4billion in total last year, and expects to go through another 2billion in 2021. In an effort to get through the crisis, Rolls kicked off a huge restructuring last May that included cutting 9,000 jobs and selling parts of the business worth 2bn But East yesterday said the 9billion cushion was more than ample to last us if flying doesnt pick up this year or next year, even if theres no recovery from here over the next couple of years. In 2020, Rolls engines flew just 43 per cent of their normal hours. The company has revised down its forecasts for flight hours this year, which the company expects to run at about 55 per cent of 2019 levels. This is down from estimates of 70 per cent in October. And in the same set of forecasts yesterday, Rolls predicted flight hours would be at 80 per cent in 2022. However, the company also warned there was a severe but plausible scenario that they could be 40 per cent in 2021 and 70 per cent in 2022. Rolls said that while it was optimistic about the rollout of vaccine programmes, there were still uncertainties around new, and possibly more deadly, variants of Covid. Air travel is expected to take years to get back to 2019 levels but Rolls is at another disadvantage because it makes engines for bigger planes that fly on long-haul routes. This part of the market is expected to take even longer to recover. Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Laura Hoy described the results as brutal and said investors could forget about a dividend any time in the near future. Hoy said: No amount of cost-saving and restructuring was enough to offset massive declines in civil aerospace, the groups largest division. Defence was the only bright light, but it makes up less than 30 per cent of overall revenue so its 8 per cent uptick in profits was buried under heavy losses in all of the groups other segments. The companys power by the hour business model also came under fire from analysts yesterday. Jack Winchester, analyst at investment research firm Third Bridge, said: What weve seen over the past year is the inherent fragility of Rolls-Royces business model when you sell engines to customers at a loss, you are very dependent on your aftermarket power by the hour business. East told the Mail that the company had considered other sorts of deals it could strike with customers such as having a minimum usage charge on some contracts. But he said there were no plans to radically change the business model. Away from civil aerospace, Rolls is also trying to establish itself as a leader in building small nuclear reactors and developing green flight technology. Yesterday Rolls announced it had joined forces with Scandinavian carrier Wideroe to launch an all-electric plane by 2026. "CONSUMER UNFRIENDLY" Hontiveros urges ERC to simplify power rate-setting mechanism, replace 'complex' PBR Senator Risa Hontiveros today urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to review its power rate-setting mechanism, saying that its complex and ambiguous nature leads to questionable over-recoveries, making it 'consumer unfriendly'. The statement came after Manila Electric Company (Meralco) slashed its power rates for a second straight month in March, factoring in the approved refunds ordered by the power regulator. Hontiveros said that while the P13B Meralco refund to consumers is good news to welcome, the decision of ERC to grant Meralco's petition "obscures the original sin" that created the problem of over-recovery, if not fraud, in the power industry. "Magandang balita sana na bababa ang babayaran natin sa kuryente. Pero kung tutuusin, soli-bayad lang naman ito sa sobra nilang nasingil," Hontiveros explained. That original sin, the senator pointed out, was the rate-setting methodology called Performance-Based Regulation (PBR) that the Commission adopted in early 2000 replacing the old but tested Return on Rate Base (RORB) method. The PBR is assailed by consumer groups as "too complex to understand", and by the Supreme Court for "transferring wealth from electricity consumers to utilities' shareholders". "Matagal nang hinihingi ng consumer groups maibalik sa dating RORB ang rate-setting mechanism dahil mismong ang ERC ay hindi maipaliwanag kung bakit ang mga utility tulad ng Meralco ay umabot sa 15.50% ang weighted average cost of capital (WACC) na sinisingil sa ilalim ng PBR. Lagpas ito sa 12% return na itinatakda ng batas para sa mga public utilities," Hontiveros said. The Senator added that during the Senate deliberations that she initiated on the Chinese control of the national grid, it was revealed that ERC granted the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) the same WACC of 15% when NGCP's market risks are much lower than that of MERALCO's. "Hinahamon natin ang ERC na gumamit ng regulasyon na mas madaling maunawaan, may basehan na consistent sa direktiba ng EPIRA na magkaroon ng methodology that allows the recovery of just and reasonable costs at hindi base sa inflated forecasted cost na nangyayari ngayon sa PBR. Imbis na bumaba ang singil, mas tumaas pa gamit ang PBR," Hontiveros said. "Public utilities, such as the power sector, are imbued with public interest. Tungkulin ng gobyerno, ng ERC bilang regulatory body na proteksyunan ang interes at kapakanan ng publiko mula sa anumang pagmamalabis o pananamantala," Hontiveros concluded. Lieutenant Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday travelled in a passenger bus along with locals to check the public transport facilities in the union territory. Soundararajan, who was accompanied by her advisor Dr AP Maheshwari and Special Secretary Thiru SD Sundaresan, first travelled from Antonia Church bus stop to Thavalakuppam junction. After that, she took a ride in another passenger bus from Thavalakuppam junction to Abishegappakkam. Later while addressing media, the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor said that the grievances which she heard from the people will be addressed once the in are over. "I did travel along with people to learn the facilities and conditions. The grievances which I heard from the people will be addressed after the election is over. In the meantime, discussions will be held with the officers to plan in this regard," she said. will go to polls on April 6 and counting of votes will take place on May 2. (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 YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- First High-School Education Group Co., Ltd. ("First High-School Education Group" or the "Company") (NYSE: FHS), the largest operator of private high schools in Western China and the third largest operator in China[1], today announced the pricing of its initial public offering (the "Offering") of 7,500,000 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") at an offering price of US$10.00 per ADS for a total offering size of approximately US$75,000,000, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. Each ADS represents three Class A ordinary shares of the Company. The Company expects to offer 5,000,000 ADSs and Longwater Topco B.V. (the "Selling Shareholder") expects to offer 2,500,000 ADSs in aggregate in the Offering. The ADSs are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 11, 2021, under the symbol "FHS." The Offering is expected to close on March 15, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The Company and the Selling Shareholder have granted the underwriters an option, exercisable within 30 days from the date of the final prospectus, to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,125,000 additional ADSs. The Benchmark Company LLC, Valuable Capital Limited and TFI Securities and Futures Limited are acting as the joint bookrunners of the offering and representatives of underwriters. AMTD Global Markets Limited, Maxim Group LLC, Boustead Securities, LLC, Futu Inc., US Tiger Securities, Inc., and Fosun Hani Securities Limited are acting as Co-managers of the offering. FT Global Capital, Inc is acting as advisor to the Company. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was declared effective on March 10, 2021. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. This offering is being made only by means of a prospectus that forms part of the effective registration statement. A copy of the final prospectus relating to the offering, when available, may be obtained from (i) Benchmark Company LLC. at [email protected]; (ii) Valuable Capital Limited at Room 2807-09, 28th Floor, China Merchants Tower, Shun Tak Centre, 168-200 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong / [email protected]; and (iii) TFI Securities and Futures Limited at Room 1108 1111, 11/F, Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong / 852 3187 8701 / [email protected]. About First High-School Education Group First High-School Education Group is the largest operator of private high schools in Western China and the third largest operator in China[2]. First High-School Education Group has a network of 19 schools, offering 14 high school programs, seven middle school programs and four tutorial school programs for Gaokao repeaters, as of September 30, 2020. All of schools of the Company are strategically located in Western China. The Company aspires to become a leader and innovator of private high school education in China. For more information, please visit: https://ir.diyi.top/ [1] In terms of student enrollment as of December 31, 2019, according to an industry report commissioned by First High-School Education Group and prepared by China Insights Industry Consultancy Limited. [2] In terms of student enrollment as of December 31, 2019, according to an industry report commissioned by First High-School Education Group and prepared by China Insights Industry Consultancy Limited. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected trading commencement and closing dates. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties related to market conditions and the completion of the public offering on the anticipated terms or at all, and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the preliminary prospectus filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For Investor and Media Inquiries Please Contact: In China: First High-School Education Group Lillian Liu Tel: +86-13062818313 E-mail: [email protected] Wonderful Sky Financial Group Natalie Lau Tel: +852-36411360 E-mail: [email protected] In the United States: Wonderful Sky Financial Group Sana Bao Tel: +1-917-975-5673 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE First High-School Education Group Co., Ltd Related Links https://ir.diyi.top/ Aurora is preparing another mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the city on Saturday after 2,400 people were vaccinated during an event in the city on Monday. Aurora residents who are eligible to get the vaccine were able to begin signing up at 2 p.m. Wednesday for the Saturday event, to be held in partnership with Walgreens, which will feature 2,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The sign-up site is www.aurora-il.org/MassVaxAurora. Doctors should hold off clamping the umbilical cords of premature babies to help give them the best chance to thrive in their critical first days of life. An Australian-led meta-analysis and systematic review of 42 clinical trials involving 5772 infants worldwide is expected to pave the way for new global guidelines to give clinicians the confidence to delay severing the connection between the placenta and their pre-term patients. Danielle Rizks sone George, 14 months, was born at 23 weeks and two days gestation. Credit:Louise Kennerley When doctors waited just a minute or 30 seconds before cord clamping, preterm babies needed fewer blood transfusions and the strategy also appeared to improve their chances of surviving, said lead researcher Dr Anna Lene Seidler from Australias National Health and Medical Research Councils Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney. Those babies were more stable, less sick, Dr Seidler said. The guests have been revealed for this week's Late Late Show on RTE One. Allen Leech, Home of the Year judges, Seana Kerslake and Nathan Carter are among guests for The Late Late Show this Friday night. Following on from The Late Late Show's Taking Care of Business Special which aired last year, this Friday the show welcomes back the inaugural bursary winners Patrick Cox, Oliver Kirwan, Donagh Quigley, and Denise Rock with news of how their business have adapted and thrived through the lockdown. Actor Allen Leech of Downton Abbey and Bohemian Rhapsody fame on coming home to Ireland, the joy of a good pint and why he supports the work of the Sudden Adult Death Syndrome charity, CRY. Marie Greene & Emily MacKeogh will be asking for public support for CRY and recounting their personal experiences. Home of the Year is currently back on our screens and the differing opinions between the judges have got the nation talking. Hugh Wallace, Amanda Bone & Suzie Mc Adam will be in studio tomorrow night to discuss this year's homes. Seana Kerslake star of new Sunday night hit-drama Smother will be speaking to Ryan about filming the show in Lahinch in the middle of the pandemic, and she will be remembering her close friend Danika McGuigan, daughter of Barry McGuigan. Nathan Carter will be in studio with the first TV performance of his new song. Dea Matrona from Belfast will also be in studio to perform their latest single, Make You My Star. The line-up for the upcoming Late Late Show St Patrick's Day Special on Wednesday, March 17th will be released in the coming days. From Tokyo to Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town to Moscow via New York, the one-off Wednesday evening show will host the trad session to end all trad sessions. The show will also mark the most extraordinary twelve months in living memory with a very special dedication to a recipient who represents the very best of the Irish spirit. The Late Late Show St Patrick's Day Award will be presented live on the night. The Late Late Show, Friday, March 12th on RTE One. Goose Creek, SC (29445) Today A few showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving for the afternoon. High 83F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Appoints Mr Louis Rozman as Director Sydney, Mar 11, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Empire Energy Group Limited ( ASX:EEG ) ( OTCMKTS:EEGUF ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Louis Rozman to the Board of Directors.Mr Rozman has had a distinguished career in the natural resources sector across operations, development and project financing. His experience includes construction, project management, joint ventures and project financing including private equity.He has held numerous senior management positions in the industry. His experience as Chief Executive Officer of CH4 Gas Limited ("CH4") a successful Queensland coal seam gas developer and producer, is of direct relevance to Empire's growth plans. CH4 was one of the first companies to commercialise a Queensland coal seam methane project. CH4 merged with Arrow Energy in 2006, and the enlarged business was later acquired by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina for >A$3 billion.Mr Rozman's experience will be valuable to Empire as the Company progresses its Northern Territory petroleum projects through appraisal and ultimate commercialisation. His biography is attached and he will stand for election at Empire's 2021 Annual General Meeting.Retirement of Non-Executive DirectorMr John Gerahty has retired from the Board of Directors effective today.Mr Gerahty has been a significant and valuable Director and shareholder throughout a period of consolidation and progress for the Company and its balance sheet. This has been important in the successful execution of the Company's strategy now focused on the Northern Territory.The Empire Board thanks Mr Gerahty for his contribution and wishes him well for his future endeavours.Louis Ivan RozmanMr Rozman is a mining engineer and executive with 40 years' experience in operating and constructing projects in Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Mr Rozman was the Chief Operating Officer of AurionGold Limited and was instrumental in the growth and development of its predecessor, Delta Gold Limited. He was the Chief Executive Officer of CH4 Gas Limited, during its pioneering coal seam gas development in Queensland.Mr Rozman was a founding partner and director of Pacific Road Capital Management overseeing several of its key natural resources projects.Mr Rozman is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy ("AusIMM") and a Chartered Professional (Management). He is the Chairman of the VALMIN Code Committee for the AusIMM and Australian Institute of Geoscientists. He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) degree from the University of Sydney and a Masters in Geoscience (Mineral Economics) from Macquarie University.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. WandaVision has wrapped up what is supposed to be its one-and-done season, and as expected, debate is afoot about just how effective the finale was. However, there seems to be little debate about one thing in particular: Elizabeth Olsens performance. Even if people thought the finale didnt leave up to every expectation, there is general agreement that Olsen exceeded expectations, with talk of an Emmy nomination. But Olsens commitment to the role was evident a couple Avengers movies back. What was Scarlet Witchs arc? Elizabeth Olsen | Dominik Bindl/Getty Images RELATED: Age of Ultron Still Gets a Lot of Hate, But Many Fans Dont Understand Why Wanda Maximoffs first full movie in the MCU was Avengers: Age of Ultron, but her actual first appearance came via one of Marvels famous post-credits scenes. She appeared at the tail end of Captain America: Winter Soldier, being shown in captivity with her brother. She and Quicksilver turned out to be reluctant allies, but they eventually joined the side for good, although Quicksilver did not make it out alive. It was not the last time Wanda would suffer tragedy. The next time we saw Wanda was in Captain America: Civil War, which was an Avengers movie in all but name, Hulk and Thor. Wanda has joined a mission in Nigeria to stop the theft of a biological weapon. When Wanda diverts an explosion, she accidentally sends it through a nearby building, killing several people, including Black Panthers father. Wracked with guilt, she finds comfort in a relationship with the android Vision. This romance becomes central to Wanda and Vision from this point forward. In Avengers: Infinity War, they live off the grid, largely to protect Vision, who is powered by one of the Infinity Stones. Inevitably, they must rejoin the fight, and in Wakanda, double tragedy strikes. Thanos kills Vision while retrieving the Mind Stone, then Wanda gets taken away in the blip, aka the snap. How the actors improvised the farewell scene Some people might think theres not much room for improvisation on a Marvel movie, given that there are so many effects-heavy sequences, and the final scenes between Wanda in Vision in Infinity War were certainly effects heavy. However, Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors, gave the actors a lot of freedom. Cinemablend quoted Bettany as saying: Well it was about 100 degrees and we were really, really sweaty, and the Russo brothers ran over to us and went, So the entire beating heart of the movie is now on your shoulders. And then they went, roll the camera. So we did it a couple of times and they said, OK, thats great, lets just improvise it now, and you know I just sort of looked at Lizzy and she looks at me and I thought, Im a robot, and youre a witch, how are we gonna do this? We went off and just wrote some stuff together and then we came back in. You know, its a lot in isolation. In a video by IMDB, Bettany and Olsen recalled the Russos specifically asking the actors to improvise the scene. Olsen recalled, Thats my favorite moment because it was so ridiculous. To make it so emotional felt so silly and ridiculous. Avengers: Endgame featured a major death with improvised scenes Avengers: Endgame features a major death when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) sacrifices his life to defeat Thanos. Once again, Marvel placed faith in the stars to create an emotional farewell. Actor Tom Holland, who plays Spider-Man, told Pinkvilla that Tonys final moments were unscripted. They kinda brought us to set, they kind of told us what was gonna happen, or what they wanted to happen and then we sort of just improvised if I can remember correctly, said the actor. So, it was a really, really interesting way to shoot such a kind of pivotal scene of the movie. Hollands characters death in Avengers: Infinity War was also improvised. He told GQ: It is kind of improvised. A technique I do if Im trying to cry is Ill say the phrase over and over again. So for example, if I was like in a scene and I was talking to someone and the undertone of the scene was that I loved them, I would say in my head I love you so much. I love you so much and then it just kind of brings up emotion. And in that scene, it was I dont want to go and I just thought I would say it out loud and it works, its really good in the film. Maharashtra lockdown: Full list of what is permitted and what is not This village in Maharashtra is COVID-19 free, thanks to its youngest sarpanch Maharashtra: After backlash, CM Thackeray says MPSC exam will be held by March 22 India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Mumbai, Mar 11: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday evening said the Maharashtra Public Service Commission's (MPSC) preliminary examination would be held by March 22. Earlier, the MPSC's decision to postpone, yet again, the exam for government jobs which was to take place on March 14 (Sunday) on account of rising coronavirus cases sparked protests with students blocking a road in Pune. Strict lockdown will be enforced in parts of Maha: Thackeray "The preliminary examination will be held within eight days from March 14. The announcement of dates will be made tomorrow, this is my promise to you," Thackeray said. The decision to postpone exams had evoked angry reaction from leaders of ruling allies Congress and NCP too. Thackeray also said no student will be barred on the ground of age as a result of postponement. "Precautionary measures such as sanitization of exam centres, COVID-19 tests of paper distributors, supervisors and assessors are being taken. We are doing it in the interest of candidates' safety," the chief minister added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 22:53 [IST] Amaravati, March 11 : Telugu Desam Party General Secretary Nara Lokesh on Thursday condemned the arrest of party leader Kollu Ravindra and hit out at the YSR Congress government over its "oppression". Accusing state Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkatramaiah of being behind the episode, he said: "I condemn the arrest of non-controversial common man Kollu Ravindra. A good CM will enjoy the state developing while an obstinate Chief Minister like Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will derive evil happiness from opposition leaders' arrests." He asserted that neither Reddy nor Venkatramaiah can harm Ravindra, or his party. "How much ever you try to oppress (it), the TDP will bounce back and continue its fight," he said. Lokesh also warned officials "playing to the tunes of YSRCP leaders drunk on power" to "prepare to eat food in prison with Reddy". Meanwhile, Ravindra, who subsequently secured bail from a local court, claimed that he was illegally arrested because he "questioned injustice". "When I went to exercise my franchise, they (the government) themselves created trouble. Police told me not to talk to the media and put me in house arrest, leading to me staying at home all of Wednesday," the former minister said. He said police arrived in the morning on Thursday after registering a case against him. "Today is Shivaratri and I thought of going to the canal but I wasn't allowed, depriving me from offering prayers to the gods. If they (police) ask me, I myself would come and answer but they have troubled me since morning," he alleged. He claimed that Reddy cannot last long with this police rule and vowed to take all the "crimes" of the ruling party to the people. "We will definitely fight until we get justice. All these cases and troubles are temporary. Please remember what could happen in the future as well. Remember that tit for tat will always be there," he warned YSRCP leaders. There is rivalry in Machilipatnam between Ravindra and Venkatramaiah and a few months ago, Ravindra was arrested for alleged involvement in the murder of an aide of Venkatramaiah. Getting bail later, he had again accused the Minister of targeting him. Meanwhile, phone calls to the local SP and ASP to check why Ravindra was arrested went unanswered, though it is speculated that that the skirmishes involving him during the polls on Wednesday were the reason. WSJ rebukes 'Hong Kong illusionist' Paul Chan The editorial urged Paul Chan 'to stop trying to convince the world that Hong Kong is what it was'. File photo: RTHK The Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has lashed out at Financial Secretary Paul Chan for claiming Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy, accusing Chan of invoking a system that no longer exists. In a letter written by Chan and published in the newspaper on Wednesday, the minister argued that Hong Kong should continue to be included in the Index of Economic Freedom, after the Heritage Foundation dropped the SAR from the annual ranking, citing Beijings increasing control over the city's economic policies. The finance chief had described the think tanks explanation for the move as flawed and inexplicable, insisting that Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the Basic Law and "One Country Two Systems". However, the WSJ Editorial Board wrote back on the same day, striking down Chans arguments in an article titled Hong Kong Illusionist. Chan has the impossible task of denying what everyone can plainly see: Chinas Communist Party is remaking Hong Kong in its own mainland image, it wrote. While the Sino-British Joint Declaration laid out the terms of Hong Kongs autonomy under the One Country, Two Systems framework, the board said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang had in 2017 declared the historical document void. Hongkongers have every reason to believe him after watching China ram through an unpopular national-security law whose provisions include allowing Beijing to take some Hong Kong cases to China for trial, the article said. Mr Chan wants readers to believe that economic freedom continues no matter the political repression. But China is not Singapore. In China dissenters simply disappear. Foreign businessmen can be arrested and held as diplomatic hostages economic freedom? Tell that to Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai, who remains in jail because the government has invoked the national-security law, overturning the presumption of bail in the common law that supposedly governs Hong Kong. Our advice to Mr Chan is to stop trying to convince the world that Hong Kong is what it was and accept that hes now flacking for the man who really runs Hong Kong: Chinese President Xi Jinping, the editorial concluded. TAKE OUR SURVEY ~~TELL US HOW WE ARE DOING Loading The media treated the Shorten allegations with caution. When The Australian first reported them, for instance, it did so in November 2013 after three days of discussion with Shorten and his office about the claims. It did not name him. It did not say whether the man was in federal or state politics. There was no follow-up story the next day. The allegations against Porter were aired on Friday, February 26, as claims against a man in federal cabinet. This narrowed the suspects to about 16 men. Porters spokesman says the ABC did not put questions to the Attorney-General or his office about the allegation of rape before going to air that night a key point likely to come up in Senate estimates. Only Porter has faced calls for a further inquiry. Shorten was given gentler treatment. His Labor colleagues said his public statement was enough to draw a line under the matter. His opponents, such as Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, let the matter fade. Porter is different, of course. He is a cabinet minister, part of the executive government and the first law officer of the country. But the difference is not vast. Shorten was a party leader and aspired to be prime minister. He asked voters to give him a bigger job than attorney-general. Loading The first law officer has to be beyond doubt, beyond reproach, said Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek on Tuesday. But cant the same be said of the potential prime minister? Of course it can. Voters know it can. There is another pillar in the case for an inquiry, however. Shorten faced an accuser who signed a formal statement and could be questioned again at any time. Police completed their investigation, closing the case. Porter is accused from the grave. The woman wrote a detailed account of the alleged rape but never made a formal statement to police. She took her own life last June. This is enough for some to argue that an inquiry is the only way to look into Porters history and decide whether he committed a horrific crime. Yet the womans death would hobble an inquiry just as it did the police investigation. There can be no sworn testimony from the accuser. There would not be enough admissible evidence. Could a retired judge really overcome this basic problem? He or she could hear from others, such as the womans friends, but the ability to listen to hearsay is not a compelling case for a judicial inquiry. So the very fact used by some to call for a review the tragic death of the woman involved can also be used to reject one. Loading This does not mean Porter can walk on. Shorten was interviewed at least once by Victoria Police and waived privilege against self-incrimination. He answered follow-up questions from police. He handed documents to police in response to requests. The investigation lasted 10 months. Porter was never interviewed by NSW Police. The reason is simple: he was not asked. The force said last week that it did not want to put claims to a suspect before having a formal statement from the woman. This is a better argument for an inquiry than some of the others. Porter has taken questions from the media in a torrid press conference but not from authorities who have all the claims before them not least the womans written account of her experience. Loading So some questions remain to be answered. Here is one. The woman claims they had dinner in Perth in the final days of September, 1994. It is a confounding part of her statement that she agreed to dinner with her alleged rapist. It is yet to be explained. Porter says, to the best of his recollection, they last met in January 1988, but he does not dispute the possibility of that later meeting. Still, that is not enough to clear the stench of a double standard. One rule for Shorten, another for Porter. The argument over Porter is so intensely political, with each side entrenched, that Morrison may have to ask the Attorney-General to step aside or resign. Those close to Morrison say he will tough it out. What nobody knows is whether the political cost will become too great to bear. One theory in the government is that Albanese will be happy to press the nuclear button. What would he care if Shorten is collateral damage? If it comes to mutually assured destruction, Labor will assume Morrison suffers greater damage. DALLAS, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Event and meeting travel was interrupted in 2020, but there are clear signs that this multi-billion-dollar global industry is preparing for a roaring return. Why? Corporations rely on meetings and gatherings to connect with employees and to introduce products, services and to grow. Associations and interest groups meet to share ideas, form new relationships, and increase their knowledge so events and meetings will continue to fill this vital role. Would-be travelers can't wait to ditch zoom for a chance to meet peers face-to-face. Event Management and Travel Booking on One Site REACH Meetings and Events knows how critical meetings are for their clients and they strive to make each event create memorable and productive. Today, the need to gain the most out of every "in-person" interaction is a critical goal for every client. Corporate gatherings have to be carefully planned and optimized to make employees feel safe in what may now be their first extended stay outside of their home in months. REACH Meetings and Events knows that complexity needed to be removed anywhere and everywhere from all aspects of meetings, and kept coming back to travel as one area that was hard to solve. ITS's TripEvents product suite that has focused on the user experience, performance and connecting with travelers in new and novel ways. REACH Meetings and Events recognized this effort and also realized that TripEvents' ability to both provide self-service booking capabilities for travelers and the need to push trip information back into most major Event Registration software platforms, made travel planning easy. In October of last year, with the vaccine still on the horizon and a lot of lingering uncertainty regarding event travel, 85% of ITS clients responded that they expected a return of conference, meeting and event travel by the second half of 2021. Even with this optimism, companies make the most out of each and every travel opportunity. REACH Meetings and Events makes all of their clients' events memorable and each offsite meeting better than the last. About REACH Meetings REACH Meetings & Events offers full-service event management expertise. The company's services include venue sourcing, meeting and event management, training and incentive programs, executive retreats, event staffing, and travel management. REACH was founded in 2019 by a Fortune 500 consulting and training expert and a meetings industry veteran with deep experience in global meetings management. REACH is headquartered in Austin and Dallas, TX. To learn more about REACH visit www.reachmeetings.com About ITS Internet Travel Solutions, LLC (ITS) develops and maintains technology for the corporate, convention, cargo, passenger airline, crew accommodation, and event and meeting sectors. ITS solutions, products and services solve problems, create savings and provide long-term value through ease of use, valuable integration, and scalability for large and small clients. ITS also provides support services to help travelers throughout their journey, making each trip productive and meaningful. Visit www.its.com to learn more. Media Contact: Brian Tanis [email protected] 214-457-7463 SOURCE Internet Travel Solutions, LLC (ITS) Eight people were killed in the central town of Myaing on Thursday when security forces fired on a protest, a demonstrator who helped carry bodies to hospital told Reuters by telephone. We protested peacefully," the 31-year-old man said. "I couldn't believe they did it." Myanmar's military government on Thursday alleged that deposed leader had accepted illegal payments, while eight people were killed when security forces opened fire on protests against the coup, witnesses said. Rights group accused the military of adopting battle tactics against demonstrators. One person was killed in the North Dagon district of the biggest city of Yangon, witnesses said. Photographs posted on Facebook showed a man prone on the street, bleeding from a head wound. One death was reported in Mandalay. Before Thursday's deaths, an advocacy group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, had said more than 60 protesters were killed and about 2,000 people detained by security forces since the February 1 coup against Suu Kyi's elected government. accused the army of using lethal force against protesters and said many killings it had documented amounted to extra-judicial executions. These are not the actions of overwhelmed, individual officers making poor decisions," said Joanne Mariner, Amnesty's director of crisis response. "These are unrepentant commanders already implicated in crimes against humanity, deploying their troops and murderous methods in the open." Junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told a news conference the security forces were disciplined and used force only when necessary. The unrest was not a situation that should be of concern to the community and the West was making assumptions that were incorrect, he said. The military has previously said it is acting with utmost restraint in handling what it describes as demonstrations by "riotous protesters" whom it accuses of attacking police and harming national security and stability. West Bengal elections 2021: Mamata Banerjee's assets worth Rs 16.72 lakh India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Nandigram, Mar 11: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared that her net worth is Rs 16.72 lakh. Banerjee, who is contesting the Nandigram assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur district, doesn't own any vehicle or property, according to her self-sworn affidavit filed before the Election Commission of India. The 66-year-old leader's total movable assets are worth Rs 16.72 lakh. Such assets owned by her were worth Rs 30.45 lakh before the assembly election in 2016. Her income for the year 2019-20 was Rs 10,34,370. Cash in hand with the chief minister is Rs 69,255 while she has a total bank balance of Rs 13.53 lakh which includes Rs 1.51 lakh in her election expenditure account. Akhilesh Yadav makes insinuations, demands probe into 'attack' on Mamata Banerjee She also has a deposit with the National Saving Certificate (NSC) of Rs 18,490. The affidavit showed that her tax deducted at source (TDS) receivable is Rs 1.85 lakh in the financial year 2019- 20. Banerjee owns nine grams of jewellery worth Rs 43,837. A voter of Bhabanipur assembly constituency in Kolkata, she received a royalty of Rs 930 in 2019-20. Banerjee has a number of books to her credit. The chief minister has no criminal case pending against her. She is an MA from the University of Calcutta and also holds an LLB degree. Banerjee on Wednesday filed her nomination papers from the Nandigram constituency, where she is pitted against her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikary of the BJP and Minakshi Mukherjee of the CPI(M). Voting will be held in Nandigram on April 1 in the second of the eight-phase polling. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 20:36 [IST] Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Andrea Sahouri, an Iowa-based journalist arrested last year during the wave of protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd, was found not guilty Wednesday of failing to disperse and interference with official acts. Sahouri, a reporter for the Des Moines Register, was arrested on May 31 while covering a demonstration in the states capital. Police officers are shown arresting Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri after a Black Lives Matter protest she was covering on May 31, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa, was dispersed by tear gas. (Photo courtesy Katie Akin via AP) Sahouri testified Tuesday that she was tweeting photos and videos of the demonstration as clashes between police and protesters broke out. Officers approached Sahouri and told her to get back, so she continued covering the events from a distance. Sahouri met up with a fellow reporter, Katie Akin, that evening. As more police arrived, Sahouri told her then-boyfriend Spenser Robnett to move the car they had driven to the area. Soon after, police deployed tear gas on a group that Sahouri happened to be covering. She, Robnett and Akin moved away from the scene and headed toward a Verizon store parking lot to leave the area as demonstrators scattered, she told the court. As they departed, Robnett was struck in the leg by a tear gas canister, making him temporarily fall to the ground. As Sahouri rounded the corner of the Verizon store, she said that she saw an officer charging toward her and immediately put her hands up. I wasnt doing anything wrong, Sahouri said. I said, Im press, Im press, Im press. He grabbed me, pepper-sprayed me and as he was doing so said, Thats not what I asked. Sahouri described the pepper spray as extremely painful and explained that she thought she was going to go blind. Body camera footage played for jurors before Sahouri testified backed up her account. The video showed Sahouri temporarily blinded and hurting from pepper spray as she repeatedly told police she was a reporter. This is my job, Sahouri said in the video. Im just doing my job. Im a journalist. Robnett also took the stand Tuesday and told jurors he saw officer Luke Wilson spray Sahouri from close range. Robnett approached the officer to say that Sahouri was a journalist. Robnett was subsequently pepper sprayed, knocked to the ground and arrested. Both Sahouri and Robnett said that they did not hear police issue any order to disperse and that they did not interfere with officers who arrested them. Officers said Sahouri was not wearing a press badge, which she had left in her car. However, the Des Moines Registers executive editor, Carol Hunter, called this excuse a red herring, saying police knew Sahouri was a journalist. Wilson, an 18-year Des Moines Police Department veteran, said he arrested Sahouri because she was the only person that remained in the immediate area after police deployed tear gas and pepper spray against protesters. Wilson claimed that Sahouri tried to pull her arm away from him, and that Robnett tried to pull Sahouri away. Wilson said he did not know Sahouri was a journalist when he approached her. Wilsons body camera was not activated during the arrest because he mistakenly believed it was recording, he said. Department policy requires officers to report when significant incidents are not recorded, which Wilson did not do. Footage used in the trial came from the camera of another officer on the scene with Wilson. Sahouris acquittal is a welcome outcome to the bogus charges levied against her and a testament to the support in the general population for democratic rights, including a free press. Had she been convicted, Sahouri would have faced up to 30 days in jail and hundreds of dollars in fines for covering the police crackdown on protesters. The assault and arrest of Sahouri took place during an unprecedented series of attacks on journalists in 2020. According to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, she was among the 128 journalists arrested across the country last year. The arrests include: CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and three crew members were arrested during a live broadcast last May. Jimenez was being fully cooperative with police demands, offering to move his reporting location if his crew were in the way, when a group of Minnesota state patrolmen surrounded them and placed them in handcuffs. Independent video journalist Brendan Gutenschwager said he was brutalized by police when he was arrested while covering protests in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin against the refusal to bring charges against the officer who murdered 17-year-old Alvin Cole. Gutenschwager described being threatened with a Taser, dragged on the ground and zip-tied, then thrown into a paddy wagon with a mix of protesters and other journalists. Samuel Robinson, a reporter for MLive, was arrested with counter-protesters at a Proud Boys rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Robinson reported the Proud Boys violently attacked a homeless resident and counter-protesters. Police arrived at the scene and began arresting demonstrators. In the video of the arrest, Robinson clearly stated he was with the media while being pushed to the ground by police in riot gear. The fascist Proud Boys were allowed to leave the scene with the help of police. In 2020 alone, the organization recorded 392 assaults on journalists, 99 incidents of equipment damage, and almost 1000 violations of press freedom related to national social justice protests. Despite the fact that 36 percent of the arrests were accompanied by a physical attack by the police, no officer has been charged with assault. Meanwhile, 13 journalists currently face criminal charges. The increase in the number of attacks on journalists was, and remains, bound up with the decline of American democracy and the trend toward dictatorship. Last years spontaneous movement of millions of workers against the police terrified the ruling class. Both Republican and Democratic politicians moved quickly to brutally repress the protests through violent police crackdowns and the deployment of the National Guard, terrified that the protests would expand further. The crackdowns were accompanied by a campaign to silence journalists in an effort to cover up the acts of brutality committed by police. The ruling class is engaged in an active campaign of intimidation and censorship. Journalist Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, remains imprisoned in Londons Belmarsh Prison as the Biden administration continues to seek his extradition to face charges for exposing American war crimes. The World Socialist Web Site is actively being censored by technology corporations like Google and Facebook. The defense of democratic rights requires the mobilization and intervention of the working class fighting for the socialist reorganization of society. A Boeing 737 MAX airplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash., on June 29, 2020. (Karen Ducey/Reuters) Feinberg to Oversee $500 Million Boeing 737 MAX Victim Fund WASHINGTONProminent attorneys Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros will be named to oversee a $500 million victim compensation fund for the relatives of 346 people killed in two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes, a spokeswoman for Feinberg confirmed on Wednesday. As part of a settlement with the Justice Department, Boeing in January agreed to pay $500 million to compensate the heirs, relatives, and beneficiaries of the passengers who died in Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2018 and 2019. Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the Ethiopian crash that led to the MAXs 20-month grounding worldwide, which was lifted in November. Boeing and the Justice Department declined to comment. The $500 million was part of a $2.5 billion deferred prosecution agreement Boeing reached with federal prosecutors in January over the MAX. Boeing was required to propose three candidates for the position and the Justice Department had the right to choose the administrator from among the candidates proposed. The settlement, which allowed Boeing to avoid prosecution, also includes a fine of $243.6 million and compensation to airlines of $1.77 billion over fraud conspiracy charges related to the planes flawed design. The Justice Department said in January, Boeings employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception. Under the terms of the settlement, the $500 million fund does not impact ongoing litigation against Boeing by relatives. Feinberg will make recommendations about payments but the Justice Department will make final decisions on all payments. In July 2019, Boeing named Feinberg to oversee the distribution of $50 million to the families of those killed in the crashes. Feinberg and Biros have administered many compensation funds including for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, General Motors ignition switch crashes, and numerous school shootings. By David Shepardson and Tracy Rucinski Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 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 beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results Jointly hosted by Secoo and the iconic British brand, Liberty, the exhibition "Meet Spring, Meet Liberty" formally kicked off on March 8, International Women's Day. Distinguished guests from UK Department of International Trade, China British Business Council, China Fashion Designer Association, Rachel Huang, Liberty's head of operations and sales for the Far East and Greater China; and Regina Szeto, vice president of brand, international PR, and marketing at Secoo, in addition to fashion industry leaders and the media partners attended the event. Liberty, founded in 1875, is the world's third-largest department store located on Regent Street, in the heart of London. Liberty is a movement dedicated to the discovery, animated by arts, culture, design, and the pursuit of beauty. In recent years, luxury and fashion brands like Gucci, The North Face etc. had made crossover collections showcasing Liberty's exclusive prints and silhouettes that blur lines between heritage luxury and cutting-edge style. In 2018, Liberty and Secoo formed the initial collaborative partnership to launch the iconic British brand flagship store on Secoo's online platform. This new partnership aimed to raise Chinese consumers' understanding of the iconic brand and experience the British lifestyle through the offline exhibition in Beijing. To connect with the offline exhibition, Secoo launched an exclusive Liberty limited edition gift boxes on March 6 to celebrate Secoo's Goddess Day event. Secoo Holding Limited ("Secoo") is one of Asia's leading online integrated premium products and services platforms. Secoo provides customers a wide selection of authentic upscale products and lifestyle services on the Company's integrated online and offline shopping platforms, consisting of the Secoo.com website, mobile applications, and offline experience centers, offering over 400,000 SKUs, covering over 3,800 global and domestic brands. Supported by the Company's proprietary database of upscale products, authentication procedures, and brand cooperation, Secoo can ensure every product's authenticity and quality. With this Liberty exhibition, Secoo has committed again to its mission "Devoted to You." SOURCE Secoo Group Mother asks for B100k dog bite compensation PHUKET: The mother of a 15-year-old girl is seeking B100,000 compensation after her daughter was chased and bitten by a dog as she walked to school in Phuket Town yesterday (Mar 10). accidentsanimalspolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Thursday 11 March 2021, 11:56AM The girls mother holds up photographic evidence of the wound caused by the dogs bite. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub. Chotika Kansuya, 32, filed a complaint to Lt Col Suchart Meelampong of the Phuket City Police yesterday morning, several hours after the incident occurred. Ms Chotika told police that at about 6:40am yesterday her daughter Panitnan Saelim was walking to Satree Phuket School as normal. Whilst on Klong Bang Yai canal near the Phuket Wittayalai School a dog suddenly ran from a house, chased her, and bit her left leg. The dogs owner, who only wanted to be named as Ms May, presented herself later in the afternoon to police for questioning and to negotiate the compensation offer. Ms Chotika asked for B100,000 as compensation but Ms. May did not agree with that number and stated she would prefer to contest the amount in court. I do not think it is reasonable number, she commented. Ms. May confirmed to police that she has two dogs a male known as Khan Thong and a female called Khan Ngen and both are kept chained to the front of her house. In recounting her version of events to police she recalled she was cooking food for her dogs in the morning when suddenly they started barking. I heard the dogs bark then saw a girl walking past my house who seemed afraid of them. I shouted to her to keep walking and not to look at the dogs to draw attention, Ms. May said. As I shouted to the girl, the chain holding Khan Thong the male dog broke off and he chased after the girl. He bit the girl on her leg before I was able to catch him. It was not a serious bite and only a small wound. If the dog had really meant to attack and bite aggressively then the wound would be much bigger and far more serious, she added. Khan Thong has never bitten anyone before. I havent raised my dogs to attack or bite anyone and I have no idea why the chain restraining him managed to break. "The mother of the girl also told police that I have three dogs, but I have only two, Ms. May added. She also complained that I ignored the dogs which is untrue as I did warn the girl to keep walking and avoid eye contact so as not to attract their attention, she said. Phuket City Municipality office Chief (Palad) Chalermporn Piyanarongroj went to examine the house and found only two dogs. He did advise Ms. May to keep the dogs caged in future to avoid any possible repeat incident occurring. I will send some officers to visit tomorrow and check Ms. May has addressed the situation and taken my advice to avoid this happening again in future, Chief Chalermporn said. He did not confirm whether the case would go to the courts or provide any further clarification on the compensation sought from the victims mother. Four men arrested yesterday as part of a police operation into dissident republican activity in Derry have been released. Three men, aged 49, 21 and 19 years-old, were arrested under the Terrorism Act. Police said they have been released following questioning. A 61-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice has been released pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service. A PSNI spokesperson said the investigation was ongoing. Virgin Australia cabin crew greet the chartered Virgin Australia flight as it arrives at Hobart International Airport on November 13, 2014 in Hobart, Australia. (Graham Denholm/Getty Images) 800,000 Half Price Domestic Airfares to Aid Australian Tourism Industry The federal government is subsidising half the cost of 800,000 eligible airfare tickets for domestic travellers as part of a $1.2 billion support package for the struggling tourism industry. The program, scheduled to run from April to July, is the next step in economic support for the tourism industry after JobKeeper ends in March. This is our ticket to recovery, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement. This package will take more tourists to our hotels and cafes, taking tours and exploring our backyard. Qantas and Virgin both welcomed the news, with Qantas planning to put 550,000 total eligible tickets on sale during the period, or 32,000 per week. The empty Qantas departure terminal at Melbourne Airport on Aug. 20, 2020. (William West/AFP via Getty Images) Trade and Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said for the scheme to work effectively, state governments need to co-operate by maintaining open borders. The key things that we need now that the vaccine is rolling out is that we need state and territory leaders to make sure that the border closures are very much a last resort, Tehan said. We want people to have the confidence to travel again. All the surveys that have been done show that peoples biggest concern now about travelling is not COVID-19; its actually border closures and being locked out of their states. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott expressed support for the package, calling it job-saving. She also echoed Tehans words, calling for state leaders to end knee-jerk border closures which destroy confidence and make holidaying impossible to plan. Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner was disappointed in the announcement, saying it will do little to help the industry. He also cited border closures as a more pressing concern for the recovery of the tourism industry. It is a very small, very meagre package at best, he said on the Today Show. I dont think this is going to help at all, really. It is about the borders. Keeping the domestic borders open and getting the international borders open as soon as possible. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk talks to the media on January 07, 2021, in Brisbane, Australia. (Jono Searle/Getty Images) Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has repeatedly been calling for more government assistance, said the package wasnt good enough. Much more direct support is still needed for the many tourism operators impacted by the end of JobKeeper, Palaszczuk said. Im calling on the Federal Government to provide subsidised flights from Brisbane to Cairns to help further stimulate tourism demand in Far North Queensland. Meanwhile, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he was jubilant at the announcement and encouraged Aussies to start making plans to visit the Coast. He urged Palaszczuk to stop being trigger-happy on border closures and keep them open. Then-Tourism Minister Kate Jones estimated the snap border closure between Queensland and New South Wales over the summer holidays cost the nation an estimated $7 billion. Palaszczuk made the decision in response to the growing Northern Beaches cluster in Sydney at the time, leaving many interstate tourists stranded and uncertain. The support package will also help airlines maintain around 8600 jobs and subsidise costs for training, certification, and accreditation to ensure they can expand again when the market completely opens. A couple walk through the palm trees on the beach on November 13, 2012, in Palm Cove, Australia. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) Initial flight destinations will operate in 13 regions: Queensland: Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (including Proserpine and Hamilton Island), and the Sunshine Coast. Northern Territory: Lasseter and Alice Springs Tasmania: Launceston, Devonport, and Burnie Western Australia: Broome Victoria: Avalon New South Wales: Merimbula South Australia: Kangaroo Island The woman who called police and accused her Harding Street neighbors of drug dealing leading to a police raid in which the neighbors were killed pleaded guilty in federal court to making false 911 calls. Patricia Ann Garcia pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks via videoconference on March 9, court records show. She had been charged with one count of conveying false information to police through a series of 911 calls about Dennis and Rhogena Tuttle, who lived across the street from her. Garcias phone calls eventually led Houston police narcotics officers to raid the Tuttles home. The operation, on Jan. 28, 2019, resulted in a shootout that ended with the Tuttles deaths and four officers wounded by gunfire. In the aftermath of the raid, police investigating the incident accused the officer who led the raid, Gerald Goines, of lying on a search warrant affidavit about buying drugs at the home. Garcia was arrested in November 2019, along with Goines and Bryant. Court records from the arrest show prosecutors accused her of calling police and telling them her daughter was in the home with the Tuttles, whom she accused of being drug dealers. Garcia also accused Rhogena Nicholas of being a heroin addict, and said that the couple had machine guns in their house. The accused womans attorney, Marjorie Meyers, said Thursday that she viewed the case as separate from the larger narcotics scandal. Shes saddened by what happened to her neighbors, Meyers said. She certainly never intended or expected that to happen. Wrong Door: Botched Houston drug raid was not the first Angela Dodge, spokeswoman from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas, declined to comment on the plea. We will let the court record speak for itself, she said. Garcia has been in custody since Dec. 4, 2020, after she was arrested for violating conditions of her bond. Her sentencing is scheduled for June 8, in federal court in Houston. She faces up to five years in prison. Garcias plea marks the first court action in which anyone connected to the raid in any capacity has pleaded guilty or been convicted of a crime for a role in the incident. A lawyer representing the relatives of Rhogena Nicholas in a wrongful death lawsuit said the guilty plea was a good step forward, and accused HPD of conducting a coverup of the events before, during and after the raid. The continued silence of the mayor and the police chief is not lost on the Nicholas family, attorney Mike Doyle said in an emailed statement. Goines and Bryant who have long since retired from HPD both face a slew of charges in federal court; Goines, for violating the couples civil rights and tampering with government records, while Bryant faces tampering charges. RELATED: Lawyer of Houston police officer charged in Harding Street murder blasts DA Kim Ogg In state court, Goines is charged with felony murder, and Bryant faces additional tampering charges. In the 18 months following the former officers arrests, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg also announced charges against other current and former police officers, including a murder charge against officer Felipe Gallegos and aggregate theft of overtime by Goines, Bryant, retired sergeants Clemente Reyna and Thomas Wood and retired officers Hodgie Armstrong, Cedell Lovings and Griff Maxwell. Current officers Nadeem Ashraf, Oscar Pardo and Frank Medina also are charged with aggregate overtime theft. Former Narcotics Lt. Robert Gonzales was also charged with one count of misappropriation of fiduciary responsibility. The scandal prompted a slew of lawsuits, and review by Harris County prosecutors of thousands of cases that Goines and his fellow narcotics officers had worked over the past decade. Several people convicted in those cases have already seen their convictions overturned. st.john.smith@chron.com CLEVELAND, OH / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / Mace Security International, Inc. (OTCQX:MACE) today released its schedule of Investor Relations Events for 2021. Mace leadership will be presenting in-person at these (virtual) events. In addition, Mace will hold its Annual Investor Day Presentation in July where investors get a mid-year update on new products and programs in the Personal Safety and Security area. For more information regarding any of these events, please contact Mike Weisbarth (mweisbarth@mace.com). Event Date LD Micro Conference March 31, 2021 Mace 4Q20 Earnings Call April 6, 2021 Mace 1Q21 Earnings Call May 4, 2021 Investor Summit Virtual Summit May 17-19, 2021 Mace Annual Shareholders Meeting & Investor Day July (TBD) Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference July 8, 2021 Mace 2Q21 Earnings Call August 3, 2021 Mace 3Q21 Earnings Call November 2, 2021 Investor Summit Virtual Summit November 16-18, 2021 Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference December 2, 2021 About Mace Security International, Inc. Mace Security International, Inc. is a globally recognized leader in personal safety products. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the Company has spent more than 30 years designing and manufacturing consumer and tactical products for personal defense and security under its world-renowned Mace Brand - the original trusted brand of pepper spray products. The Company's other leading brands include Tornado Brand stun guns and pepper spray, and Vigilant Brand personal alarms. The Company also offers aerosol defense sprays for law enforcement and security professionals worldwide through its Take Down Brand. Mace Security International, Inc. distributes and supports its products and services through mass-market retailers, wholesale distributors, independent dealers, e-commerce channels and through its website, www.Mace.com. For more information, please visit www.mace.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and information included in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words or phrases "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "projected," "intend to" or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to certain risks, known and unknown, and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic conditions, dependence on management, our ability to compete with competitors, dilution to shareholders, and limited capital resources. Contact: Mike Weisbarth Chief Financial Officer mweisbarth@mace.com SOURCE: Mace Security International, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/634824/Mace-Announces-2021-Investor-Conference-Schedule Both TMC, BJP leaders to meet EC officials over alleged attack on Mamata in Nandigram India oi-Madhuri Adnal Kolkata, Mar 11: Both TMC and BJP leaders will meet EC officials on Thursday over the alleged attack on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram on Wedneday. Mamata injured in ankle, leg, shoulder, neck: Doctor | Oneidnia News Banerjee alleged on Wednesday that she was attacked by four to five men who manhandled her during an election campaign in Nandigram because of which she sustained an injury in the left leg. Preliminary medical tests conducted on Banerjee late on Wednesday night detected severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in her right shoulder, forearm and neck. In wake of attack on Mamata Banerjee, TMC defers manifesto release "A temporary plaster was done on her left ankle and she will undergo several blood tests this morning. Her ECG report was fine,'' doctors said. "Banerjee is stable now. She will be under observation for the next 48 hours. A CT scan may be conducted during the day. We will again examine her and decide on our next course of treatment. Her fever subsided," a doctor of the SSKM Hospital told PTI. The state government constituted a nine-member team to treat Banerjee, and doctors conducted an x-ray on the chief minister as soon as she was taken to the hospital from Nandigram on Wednesday evening. Banerjee sustained injuries on her left leg and waist as she fell on the ground after she was allegedly pushed by unknown miscreants while campaigning for assembly elections in Nandigram. Mamata Banerjee has injuries to her ankle, neck and right shoulder She is undergoing treatment at the 12.5 special cabin of Woodburn Block of the SSKM Hospital. The TMC supremo had on Wednesday filed her nomination to contest the ensuing assembly elections from Nandigram seat. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 11:17 [IST] Kanpur, March 11 : The father of an accused in the Sajeti gangrape case, has been booked for allegedly killing the father of the rape survivor. Devendra Yadav, father of accused Deepu Yadav, is a sub-inspector (SI) in the state police. Superintendent of police (rural) Brijesh Srivastava said that an FIR has been registered on charges of murder against Devendra Yadav. The family members of the deceased alleged in the FIR that Devendra Yadav hatched a conspiracy to kill rape survivor's father and make it look like a road accident. "Ghatampur inspector Dhanesh Kumar has been asked to investigate the charges. Action will be taken against the SI once the probe confirms his involvement in the alleged murder," the SP said. The 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by Golu Yadav and Deepu Yadav in the Sajeti area on Monday. The victim had gone out to bring fodder for cattle when she was abducted by the duo and taken to a secluded place where she was allegedly gang raped. The girl's family alleged that a day after the incident, when they were heading toward Sajeti police station to lodge a complaint, Deepu's brother, Saurabh Yadav, had threatened to eliminate them if they lodged a complaint in the case. The rape survivor's father was crushed to death by a speeding truck, just metres away from Ghatampur community health centre, where his 13-year-old daughter was undergoing medical examination for sexual assault, on Wednesday. Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Since February 15, the downward trend in the seven-day incidence of COVID-19 infections in Germany has abruptly reversed. The average number of new infections has risen steadily since then and already exceeds 8,000 per day. The number of daily deaths from coronavirus is currently 250 and will rise sharply in coming weeks as the number of infections increases. According to a recent report by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the more contagious B.1.1.7 variant, which accounted for 6 percent of all new infections at the beginning of last month, now accounts for 46 percent. Schoolchildren arrive at school in Frankfurt, Germany. (Michael Probst / The Associated Press) Under these conditions, the unsafe reopening of retail and public lifeas pursued by the ruling classis a political crime that puts the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk. With their decision to phase out the remaining protections against COVID-19, agreed to by the federal and state governments last Wednesday, a new murderous race for profits and public revenue began among state and local governments. For example, in Schleswig-Holstein and Rhineland-Palatinatethe only states with an incidence rate below 50 per 100,000all shops were immediately opened on Monday, without the announced rapid testing capacities having been set up. Most of the other federal states opened up retail on Monday based on a shopping by appointment rule. Overall, the decision allows the states to implement reopenings in 340 districts, even though the incidence rate there is in the red zone between 50 and 100. In 66 other districts, the incidence rate currently remains above the devastating 100 mark. Ten weeks since the start of the nationwide vaccination campaign, only 3.1 percent of the population have been fully immunised, although according to a representative survey by the RKI, the willingness to be vaccinated is 80 percent. Ulrich Weigeldt, head of the General Practitioners Association, explained on Tuesday that with a systematic involvement of the GPs who have been on standby for months, 2.5 million people could be vaccinated every week. Charite virologist Christian Drosten had also recently urged this approach. According to the National Vaccination Strategy, however, GP and specialist practices should not be comprehensively involved in the vaccination campaign until the end of March/beginning of April. Despite the significant increase in the incidence rate, school reopenings are also to be massively pushed forward with the opening of the retail sector. The chairperson of the Conference of State Education Ministers, Britta Ernst (Social Democratic Party, SPD)who is also the Brandenburg State Education Ministertold Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland yesterday that there was agreement nationwide to send all pupils back to school before the end of March. Schleswig-Holsteins Education Minister Karin Prien (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) announced that all pupils were to return to their classrooms in ten cities or districts as of next Monday. Four weeks ago, the state governments had already reopened primary schools and day-care centres, often without the mandatory wearing of masks, thus exposing teachers and educators, as well as children and their families, to a deadly risk. The criminal policies of the federal states in reopening schools and retail will intensify the pandemic. The state government of Brandenburg, for example, announced on Tuesday that it would unilaterally raise the nationwide incidence limit of 100beyond which renewed closures would be dueto 200. Hesse, which currently has an incidence rate of 68, allowed gyms to open despite a summit decision to the contrary at the beginning of the week. The district of Calw in Baden-Wurttemberg even manipulated the basis of the data to be able to reopen retail. According to a dpa report, the district authorities had factored out locally well containable outbreaks, so that the incidence rate adjusted in this way was below 50 for five days. In doing so, the district authorities referred to the Coronavirus Ordinance of the federal state, according to which the health office can take the diffusivity of the infection occurrence into account appropriately. This diffuseness of the infection incidence in Germany is, in turn, the result of the authorities cover-up policy, which has led to the fact that in the statistics of the RKI no place of infection can be cited in four-fifths of all cases. Meanwhile, Thuringia, which is the only federal state governed by the Left Party, has a seven-day incidence rate more than twice as high as most other federal states and, with 135 weekly infected persons per 100,000 inhabitants, is by far the leader nationwide. After the last conference of federal and national ministers, Minister-President Bodo Ramelow had expressed relief that we are no longer chained to the number 35 (incidence rate) and had pleaded for also using the word herd immunity. In fact, since the beginning of the pandemic, the ruling class in Germanyas in countless other countrieshas proceeded from the premise that profits must take absolute precedence over human lives. The result of this policy, which strictly rejects internationally coordinated shutdown measures, is over 800,000 COVID deaths in Europe alone. In Germany, the total number of deaths last year was nine percent higher than the average of the previous four years, according to a recent evaluation by the Federal Statistical Office. According to the RKI, 72,189 have died from the virus so far in Germany. With this policy of death, the government is carrying out the interests of German finance capital and defending the profits of big business. After the conference of federal and national ministers, Sabine Hagmann, head of the Baden-Wurttemberg trade association, told the Stuttgarter Zeitung that she was positively surprised by the reopening plans. In the style of right-wing coronavirus deniers, she added that there were fears, however, that more rapid tests could increase the incidence figuresand this could lead to a renewed lockdown. There is no longer any serious discussion of systematic mass testing, which was supposed to have been a supporting pillar of the reopening decision. The top-level talks with the business community announced by Chancellor Angela Merkelat which the regular operational testing of all employees was to be discussedwas called off at the last moment on Friday without setting an alternative date. The reason was open legal and logistical questions, news broadcast Tagesschau quoted the Federation of German Industries. However, without regular twice-weekly testing of all employees and schoolchildren, cluster infections could not be reliably detected, experts warn. Instead of expanding the production of reliable mass tests as planned and using them in a scientifically sound manner, the existing rapid test stocks are to be left to the free market and subordinated to private profit. Several discount and drug stores have announced that they will sell nasal swab tests for five euros each. On Saturday, the website of the discounter Lidl temporarily collapsed under the high demand for self-tests. Manager M agazin speaks of a state-organised mega-business that is likely to fabulously enrich leading biotech companies. The ruthless intensification of the profits before lives policy met with goodwill on the German financial markets. The German DAX stock index closed at an all-time high of over 14,400 points on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken / AFP The United States will not ease any of its sanctions on Iran, including the release of Iranian funds blocked in South Korea, until Iran first complies with its obligations under its nuclear deal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. "As we've said, if Iran comes back into compliance, with its obligations under the nuclear agreement, we would do the same thing that would involve, if it came to that, if Iran made good on its obligations, sanctions relief pursuant to the agreement," the top U.S. diplomat told the House Foreign Relations Committee. "But unless and until Iran comes back into compliance, they won't be getting that relief and the report you referred to is simply incorrect," he added when asked by a lawmaker. South Korea earlier said it may release about US$1 billion of Iranian money held in South Korean banks after first consulting with the United States and if the U.S. agrees to it. Blinken flatly dismissed any plans to release Iranian funds, saying, "We are not," when asked why the funds were being released. About $7 billion in Iranian funds are currently frozen in South Korean banks. A man in his 30s has died following a serious road accident in Donegal this morning. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to the fatal crash which occurred approximately 8am at Ballymagroarty, Ballintra on the N15. A car and a van were involved in the collision. The driver of the car, aged in his 30s, was removed to Sligo University Hospital with critical injuries and passed away shortly after. Read More The road was temporarily closed for examination by Garda forensic investigators but has since reopened. Gardai in Ballyshannon are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward. They are also appealing for any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam), who were travelling in the area between 7:30am - 8:30am to make this footage available to Gardai. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Ballyshannon Garda station on 071 985 8530, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station. {span}Gov. Charlie Baker speaks to the media Wednesday about the states new vaccine appointment preregistration system after touring the Shawmut Corporations West Bridgewater manufacturing facility that produces N-95 masks. {/span} 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. READING, United Kingdom and HOUSTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Expro Group, a privately-held international energy services company with market leadership in well access and well flow optimization, and Frank's International (NYSE: FI), a global oil services company that provides a broad range of highly engineered drilling and completions solutions and services, today announced a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock transaction. Upon the closing of the transaction, Expro shareholders will own approximately 65% of the combined entity, with Frank's shareholders owning approximately 35%. The combination brings together two companies with decades of market leadership, best-in-class safety and service quality performance, exceptional talent and global capabilities in well construction, well flow management, subsea well access, well intervention and production services. With a broad range of complementary, highly specialized equipment and services, the combined company will provide customers with cost-effective, innovative solutions across the well lifecycle, driving a stable, diverse revenue mix. The combined company will have a strong, debt-free balance sheet, robust order backlog, more than $1 billion of pro forma annual revenue as well as an ability to generate through-cycle free cash flow and growth. "This transaction unites two established industry players to create a leading service provider with an extensive portfolio of capabilities across the well lifecycle," said Mike Jardon, Chief Executive Officer of Expro. "Together, Expro and Frank's will be better positioned to support our customers around the world and navigate industry cyclicality. This business combination also allows us to rationalize facilities and other support costs, optimize business processes, capitalize on profitable growth opportunities and create value for shareholders of both companies, particularly as the environment for international projects continues to improve." Mr. Jardon continued, "We expect the combined company's scale, debt-free balance sheet and cash flow outlook will allow us to accelerate growth. This will be achieved through an enhanced ability to deliver integrated customer solutions and increased investments in digitalization, autonomous operations and other technologies. The combination of Expro and Frank's also allows us to advance our commitment to a lower carbon future, which is underpinned by our goals to maximize efficiency and improve our products and services to help the Company and its customers lower emissions. Finally, this transaction will unite two of the premier teams in the industry, and better allow us to attract, retain and develop the best workforce. We look forward to combining the strengths of our businesses and teams and building upon both companies' proud track records of providing safe, reliable and cost-effective solutions and best-in-class service quality to Expro's and Frank's many customers." "Expro and Frank's share complementary cultures, values and competencies all of which support a smooth integration for our customers and employees," said Mike Kearney, Chairman, President and CEO of Frank's. "After undertaking a thorough process to consider a range of strategic alternatives, we are confident that this transaction presents a compelling opportunity for Frank's shareholders to benefit from value creation led by returns-focused growth. The combination brings scale, improved profitability and free cash flow and, together, we will be better positioned for the industry recovery, of which we are in the early stages. We are extremely proud of Frank's history and the talented individuals of Frank's who helped build and sustain our great company. We expect this combination to create career development and advancement opportunities for many of our employees as part of a more balanced and stronger combined organization." Multiple Avenues for Value Creation Broad offering that spans the well lifecycle provides through-cycle resilience and ability to better capture cyclical recovery upside: The combined company's expanded product offerings will enable it to perform well across the oilfield cycle generating strong and stable cash flow and positioning it to capitalize on upside driven by a recovery. The combined company will offer a balanced portfolio of services and solutions that meet customer needs across well construction, completions, production optimization and de-commissioning, in both onshore and offshore markets. Its diverse revenue streams are supported by a global operating footprint and a blue-chip customer base. Together, Expro and Frank's will generate approximately one-third of the combined company's revenue from customers' production optimization efforts. At December 31, 2020 , Expro's backlog was approximately $1 billion . The combined company's expanded product offerings will enable it to perform well across the oilfield cycle generating strong and stable cash flow and positioning it to capitalize on upside driven by a recovery. The combined company will offer a balanced portfolio of services and solutions that meet customer needs across well construction, completions, production optimization and de-commissioning, in both onshore and offshore markets. Its diverse revenue streams are supported by a global operating footprint and a blue-chip customer base. Together, Expro and Frank's will generate approximately one-third of the combined company's revenue from customers' production optimization efforts. At , Expro's backlog was approximately . Establishes well lifecycle leadership across enhanced geographic footprint, including key international markets: The combined company will have leading positions in large addressable markets across the well-lifecycle and customer spend, with operations in more than 50 countries and across six continents, including the world's most prolific oil and gas basins. Expro's established position in North Africa , the Middle East and Asia markets will provide significant opportunities to expand Frank's presence in these attractive regions. Similarly, the combined company will leverage Frank's strong position in drilling and completions services throughout the Americas to deliver integrated customer solutions. The combined company will have leading positions in large addressable markets across the well-lifecycle and customer spend, with operations in more than 50 countries and across six continents, including the world's most prolific oil and gas basins. Expro's established position in , the and markets will provide significant opportunities to expand Frank's presence in these attractive regions. Similarly, the combined company will leverage Frank's strong position in drilling and completions services throughout the Americas to deliver integrated customer solutions. Robust technology and innovation pipeline to aid sustainability goals: Both companies are committed to continuing their development of technologies that will drive enhanced sustainability and enable the combined company to capitalize on industry trends geared towards digitalization, automation and a lower carbon future. The combined company will remain committed to achieving a 50% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030, and net zero CO 2 emissions by 2050, protecting the environment while providing core products and services that help make energy affordable for people around the world and optimize participation in the energy transition. Strong Balance Sheet and Synergies Bring Significant Degree of Operational Flexibility and Strategic Optionality Significant and achievable synergies: The combined company is targeting approximately $55 million of annual run-rate cost synergies to be achieved in the first twelve months, ramping up to $70 million of annual cost savings within 36 months. The companies have also identified significant growth opportunities through complementary customer relationships and operating footprints, earlier visibility into customer requirements, increased time on rig and greater exposure to the full life of the field. The combined company is targeting approximately of annual run-rate cost synergies to be achieved in the first twelve months, ramping up to of annual cost savings within 36 months. The companies have also identified significant growth opportunities through complementary customer relationships and operating footprints, earlier visibility into customer requirements, increased time on rig and greater exposure to the full life of the field. Strong balance sheet and cash flow before synergies: The combined company will have a debt-free balance sheet and pro forma revenue and adjusted EBITDA, excluding identified synergies, of more than $1 billion and $107 million , respectively, based on the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 . At closing, the combined company is expected to have approximately $285 million of cash. To supplement available liquidity, the companies expect to complete syndication of a revolving credit facility, which will be available for direct borrowings and letters of credit, of up to $250 million prior to the close of the transaction. Proven Leadership Team Upon closing of the transaction, Expro Chief Executive Officer, Mike Jardon, will become Chief Executive Officer of the combined company and will be a member of the Board of Directors. Mike Kearney, Frank's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, will serve as Chairman of the combined company. Quinn Fanning will serve as Chief Financial Officer of the combined company, and the remainder of the new leadership team is expected to include representatives of both companies. In addition to Mike Kearney and Mike Jardon, the remainder of the combined company's nine-member Board of Directors will comprise five additional directors appointed by Expro and two additional directors appointed by Frank's. The combined company will be operationally headquartered in Houston, Texas, and will maintain a significant operating presence in Lafayette, Louisiana, Aberdeen, Scotland and other key locations around the world. The principal executive office of the combined company will remain in the Netherlands. Transaction Terms Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, Expro shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 7.272 shares of Frank's for each share of Expro owned, subject to adjustment in specified circumstances. Upon the closing of the transaction, Expro shareholders will own approximately 65% of the merged entity, with Frank's shareholders owning approximately 35%. The transaction is structured to be tax-free to shareholders, and is expected to close in the quarter ending September 30, 2021, subject to approval by Frank's and Expro shareholders and customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals. Upon closing, the combined company will assume the Expro Group name and be listed on the NYSE exchange under the symbol "XPRO". The combined company will retain the Frank's brand name for its well construction solutions. The Mosing family representatives on the Frank's Board unanimously support the transaction. Expro shareholders representing approximately two-thirds of ownership have agreed to support the transaction. Advisors J.P. Morgan Securities plc is serving as financial advisor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is serving as legal counsel to Expro. Moelis & Company is serving as financial advisor and Vinson & Elkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to Frank's. Conference Call and Webcast Expro and Frank's will host a conference call today at 1:30 PM GMT / 7:30 AM CT to discuss this morning's announcement. To access the call, please dial 1-(877) 883-0383 or 1-(412) 902-6506 outside the U.S. and enter passcode 1813872. Due to the anticipated high number of callers, the companies encourage listeners to join via webcast unless they intend to participate in the Q&A portion of the call. Those joining by phone should dial in 10-15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The conference call will also be broadcast live via the Internet and can be accessed on each company's website at www.exprogroup.com and www.franksinternational.com. A webcast replay of the conference call will be available at each company's website shortly after the call. ABOUT EXPRO GROUP For clients working across the entire well life cycle, Expro is the well flow optimization expert. With nearly 50 years of market leadership, Expro employs approximately 4,000 people across 50 countries worldwide. The company combines innovative technologies with high quality data to deliver cost-effective solutions across three main capabilities: well testing and appraisal services; subsea, completion and intervention services; and production services. Expro delivers a service that's not just state of the art, but highly accurate. www.exprogroup.com ABOUT FRANK'S INTERNATIONAL Frank's International N.V. is a global oil services company that provides a broad and comprehensive range of highly engineered tubular running services, tubular fabrication, and specialty well construction and well intervention solutions with a focus on complex and technically demanding wells. Founded in 1938, Frank's has approximately 2,400 employees and provides services to leading exploration and production companies in both onshore and offshore environments in approximately 40 countries on six continents. The Company's common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "FI." Additional information is available on the Company's website, www.franksinternational.com. No Offer or Solicitation This communication relates to a proposed merger and related transactions (the "Transactions") between Frank's International N.V. ("Frank's") and Expro Group Holdings International Limited ("Expro"). This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Transactions or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance, exchange or transfer of the securities referred to in this document in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Important Additional Information In connection with the Transactions, Frank's intends to file relevant materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including a registration statement on Form S-4 (the "Registration Statement"), which will include a proxy statement/prospectus of Frank's. After the Registration Statement has been declared effective by the SEC, a definitive proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to the shareholders of the Frank's and Expro. SHAREHOLDERS OF FRANK'S AND EXPRO ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS (INCLUDING ALL AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE TRANSACTIONS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRANSACTIONS. Such shareholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents containing important information about Frank's and Expro once such documents are filed with the SEC through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Additional information is available on the Frank's website, www.franksinternational.com. Participants in the Solicitation Frank's and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Frank's in connection with the Transactions. Expro and its officers and directors may also be deemed participants in such solicitation. Information regarding Frank's directors and executive officers is contained in the proxy statement for Frank's 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 28, 2020, Frank's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on March 1, 2021, and certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K. You can obtain a free copy of these documents at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov or by accessing Frank's website at http://www.franksinternational.com. Other information regarding persons who may be deemed participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available. Forward-Looking Statements and Cautionary Statements The foregoing contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this communication that address activities, events or developments that Expro or Frank's expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Words such as "estimate," "project," "predict," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "potential," "create," "intend," "could," "may," "foresee," "plan," "will," "guidance," "look," "outlook," "goal," "future," "assume," "forecast," "build," "focus," "work," "continue" or the negative of such terms or other variations thereof and words and terms of similar substance that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes identify the forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, forward-looking statements contained in this press release specifically include, but are not limited to, statements, estimates and projections regarding the Transactions, pro forma descriptions of the combined company, anticipated or expected revenues, EBITDA, synergies or cost-savings, operations, integration and transition plans, opportunities and anticipated future performance. These statements are based on certain assumptions made by Frank's and Expro based on management's experience, expectations and perception of historical trends, current conditions, anticipated future developments and other factors believed to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. Although Frank's and Expro believe the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable and are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these assumptions are accurate or that any of these expectations will be achieved (in full or at all) or will prove to have been correct. Moreover, such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Frank's, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the risk of the failure to obtain the required votes of Frank's and Expro's shareholders; the timing to consummate the Transactions; the risk that the conditions to closing of the Transactions may not be satisfied or that the closing of the Transactions otherwise does not occur; the failure to close the Transactions on the anticipated terms, including the anticipated tax treatment; the risk that a regulatory approval, consent or authorization that may be required for the Transactions is not obtained in a timely manner or at all, or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement relating to the Transactions; unanticipated difficulties or expenditures relating to the Transactions; the diversion of management time on Transactions-related matters; the ultimate timing, outcome and results of integrating the operations of Frank's and Expro; the effects of the business combination of Frank's and Expro following the consummation of the Transactions, including the combined company's future financial condition, results of operations, strategy and plans; the risk that any announcements relating to the Transactions could have adverse effects on the market price of Frank's common stock; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the Transactions; expected synergies and other benefits from the Transactions; the potential for litigation related to the Transactions; results of litigation, settlements and investigations; actions by third parties, including governmental agencies; volatility in customer spending and in oil and natural gas prices, which could adversely affect demand for Frank's and Expro's services and their associated effect on rates, utilization, margins and planned capital expenditures; unique risks associated with offshore operations; global economic conditions; liabilities from operations; decline in, and ability to realize, backlog; equipment specialization and new technologies; adverse industry conditions; adverse credit and equity market conditions; difficulty in building and deploying new equipment; difficulty in integrating acquisitions; shortages, delays in delivery and interruptions of supply of equipment, supplies and materials; weather; loss of, or reduction in business with, key customers; legal proceedings; ability to effectively identify and enter new markets; governmental regulation, including legislative and regulatory initiatives addressing global climate change or other environmental concerns; investment in and development of competing or alternative energy sources; ability to retain and hire key personnel, including management and field personnel; the length of time it will take for the United States and the rest of the world to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus to the point where applicable authorities ease current restrictions on various commercial and economic activities; and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. All such factors are difficult to predict and are beyond Expro's or Frank's control, including those detailed in Frank's annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K that are available on Frank's website at http://www.franksinternational.com and on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and Expro and Frank's undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Frank's Contact: Sydney Isaacs / Alan Oshiki Abernathy MacGregor 713-817-9346 Expro Contact: Quinn Fanning Expro 281-994-1066 Andrew Siegel / Nick Lamplough Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher 212-355-4449 SOURCE Frank's International N.V. Related Links https://franksinternational.com/ She shot to fame after appearing on Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model in 2012. And Louisa Warwick looked sensational as she flaunted her honed frame en-route to the gym in Miami on Thursday. The beauty, 28,slipped into a tiny electric blue crop-top which showcased her washboard abs as she strolled. Glow: Louisa Warwick looked sensational as she flaunted her honed frame en-route to the gym in Miami on Thursday The businesswoman paired this with white high-waisted shorts which emphasised her honed legs. Her caramel flecked brunette tresses were styled in soft waves and she wore a glowing palette of make-up. Louisa looked in great spirits as she strolled in the sun before heading to her exercise session. Louisa, who ran for Great Britain in distance running as a teenager and also competed as swimmer growing up, found fame on BINTM in 2012. Leggy: The beauty, 28,slipped into a tiny electric blue crop-top which showcased her washboard abs as she strolled Sunkissed: Her caramel flecked brunette tresses were styled in soft waves and she wore a glowing palette of make-up However it was a then 18 year-old Letitia Herod who was crowned as the winner. After appearing on the show Louisa went on to front campaigns for TRESemme and Calvin Klein as well as land covers and editorials in magazines such as Vigore, Company and L'Officiel. Her rising stardom was quickly spotted by New York's fashion elite, where she moved to study sports management at New York University. Just two days after graduating, Louisa launched her marketing business Social Acceleration Group which helps plan Instagram giveaways. Refreshed: The star held onto a bottle of water as she headed to the gym Speaking in May 2020, Louisa also revealed her company launched customisable billboards across the USA, including in Times Square, for $400. Elsewhere in her chat with Authority Magazine, Louisa credited her past experience in swimming and running with helping her be a great businesswoman. She said: 'I am very calm but know when to switch on, I have great endurance, I am completely self-motivated, driven, goal-orientated and understand what hard work is. 'I have no problem working on my business up to 16 hours a day and at odd hours around the clock. I am the type of person that if I have set myself a particular goal I wont stop until it is achieved.' The model hit headlines in March 2016 when she accused former America's Next Top Model judge Nole Marin of paying her for jobs with cheques that bounced. Lawyer Mark Jay Heller, representing Louisa, told the New York Daily News she had been mailed two cheques for more than $8,000 from the owner of Aim Model Management, but neither were able to be cashed. A spokesperson for the agency said the blonde beauty 'was released from her contract for cause'. Despite the controversy, the model remained in high in demand and, according to Models On Trend at the time, ensures she eats 'three full meals per day' and 'works out 4 times per week' to keep her figure in check. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday condemned the killing of an unarmed passerby by South African police during a university student protest for free education, describing it as deeply disturbing. A 35-year-old government worker was caught in crossfire on Wednesday while walking out of a doctor's office and shot dead on a Johannesburg street where university students were protesting to demand the scrapping of fees debt. "This is most unfortunate and it disturbed me quite deeply because it demonstrated that whilst our people were protesting rather peacefully, there was overreach, it seem like, that by the police," Ramaphosa said. The victim was "an innocent bystander and indeed even the students much as they were protesting... did not warrant the type of resistance and push from our police," he told traditional leaders. He has demanded a thorough investigation into the killing of Mthokozisi Ntumba. The incident sparked fresh anger and concern over police brutality, igniting further protests. Around 300 people, including students, ruling and opposition party activists, as well labour union members marched to a Johannesburg police office where nearly two dozen armed officers guarded the main entrance. "We are here to condemn them in the strongest force possible," said Aubrey Moloto, 37, who was marching in solidarity with the students. "Enough is enough". From the police station, the procession marched to the headquarters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), where they were addressed by the party's secretary general Ace Magashule. Earlier, Police Minister Bheki Cele expressed his condolences to the family of the dead man and said the killing was indefensible. "I cant explain it. Somebody... just went crazy," said the police minister about the shooting. It is not clear yet whether police used live ammunition during Wednesday's protests, but a police watchdog has launched a probe into the killing. Story continues - Disrupted traffic - Police fired rubber bullets to disperse students who were protesting outside University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), one of the country's top-tier institutions. The students had blocked roads with rubble and burning plastic trash bins, disrupting traffic, a street away from campus. The students demanded that the university allow those in arrears on their fees -- some by up to $9,800 -- be allowed to register for the 2021 academic year. Wits vice-chancellor, Zeblon Vilakazi told reporters earlier that the protests "could have been resolved better". A parliament committee on policing matters, condemned the "unwarranted excessive violence by the police". "From here, we are going back to our campuses to shut them down," Athenkosi Mabona, coordinator of the South African Students Congress (SACSO), a students umbrella grouping, told AFP. "The killing of yesterday is a vindication of our long-held view that the police of South Africa is an enemy of the black skin," he said. Memories of university unrest have stalked South Africa since 2015 when students staged nationwide FeesMustFall protests against high education costs on the backdrop of the country's widening inequality. In 2017, and two months before he was forced to resign, ex-president Jacob Zuma announced free higher education for poor and working-class South African undergraduate students. A student financial aid scheme which subsidises disadvantaged students has been facing funding shortfalls. In what the opposition called a "knee-jerk reaction" to the protests, Education Minister Blade Nzimande earlier on Thursday said government would give priority to funds to ensure that qualifying students would be sponsored for the 2021 academic year. "These are not long-term solutions, but a temporary band-aid to buy time and cover up the fact that the ANC has fumbled its own 'free-education' policy," said the largest opposition Democratic Alliance. ho-cld-sn/pma Up to 100 people arrived at Knockmany Forest on Sunday. Forty cyclists damaged a prehistoric burial site near Augher last weekend. The SDLPs Sharon McAleer told Mid Ulster District Councils environment committee that up to 100 people arrived at Knockmany Forest on Sunday. Councillor McAleer said 40 cyclists were seen riding over Queen Anyas burial site at the summit of Knockmany Hill. I have been made aware of an issue that happened at Knockmany on Sunday where up to 100 (cyclists) had come to the car park and taken up all the parking spaces, she added. Unfortunately, 40 were counted going over the burial site, which is just not acceptable. They dug up all the ground and then proceeded to go down through the forest and destroy the wildlife and nature along the way. Lots of people in the community are annoyed about this because the place is packed with walkers. Expand Close SDLPs Sharon McAleer says she has received numerous complaints from residents / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SDLPs Sharon McAleer says she has received numerous complaints from residents Councillor McAleer stressed that while she had previously raised the matter with council officers, she was returning to it because it was an urgent situation. These (cyclists) have been coming since last year. Following some negotiations, they had eased off, she said. These are not local (cyclists) they would not dream of going up that area and I am very concerned because the area is being slowly destroyed. The DUPs Frances Burton agreed with her colleague and urged the council to take action. It is a disgrace and it is ridiculous that this has happened, she said. When you look at the amount of people out walking in forests, there is hardly a forest in the area that is not busy. There seems to be a lot of people using them at present, but this littering and the parking situation has resulted in distress for those who live close to these areas. Some are now housebound because people have parked over their entrances. I was at the Brantry (lough) on Sunday and there were a lot of (vehicles) parked on the banks. There are a number of local people very unhappy about the state of the road because of the amount of vehicles. The Roads Service does not seem interested, so we as a council have a bit of work in these areas as the traffic and litter problems caused by an increase in visitor numbers really frustrate local people. The council said a biodiversity officer would be tasked to assess the damage and produce a long-term plan to repair it. Roberto Velazquez Martinez, 36, was extradited to Chicago late last year after being arrested in Peru. A criminal complaint filed in Chicago alleged he masterminded the narcotics transaction, which allegedly involved flying some 375 kilograms of cocaine via private jet from Honduras to Mexico, where corrupt police officers would then escort the shipment to the U.S. border, court records show. Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Jason Miller, Senior Adviser to the Trump 2020 reelection campaign, walks in the Capitol during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 9, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Trump Eyeing Upgrade Over Georgias Gov. Kemp, Adviser Says Former President Donald Trump is looking into replacing Georgias Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the 2022 election, according to an adviser. Jason Miller, spokesman and adviser for the former president, said on March 10 that Trump is serious about winning gubernatorial races in 2022 in order to prevent the same election shenanigans that took place during and after the 2020 election. Weve started getting granular on the races that are coming up in 2022, Miller said on Steve Bannons War Room. Weve discussed House members who voted for impeachment. Weve also gone through the gubernatorial races, whether its an open seat where we need to hold it and get a good person, like Arizona, whether its a place where we have a chance for an upgrade, such as Georgia. Trump had vowed in early January to campaign against Kemp in 2022 because the Republican governor was uncooperative with efforts to authenticate the legitimacy of the 2020 election in the Peach State. Kemp said earlier this month that he would absolutely back Trump for president in 2024, raising the prospect, temporarily, that the two had made amends. Miller said Trumps team is going through a robust research and vetting process for candidates on the state and federal levels, including by verifying where prospects stand on key policy positions. The presidents son Donald Trump Jr. is very involved in the operation, according to Miller. We want to make sure that we also go through and really kick the tires on the policy positions. Whats their stance on ending these forever wars? What is their stance on trade? What is their stance on ending illegal immigration and securing the border? Miller said. We want to hear in their words, where do they stand? Miller said. Well have that very much on the record. According to Miller, Trump also views defeating the Democrat governors in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada, as well as getting a Republican governor in the open seat in Pennsylvania, as being critical to preventing the 2020 election issues from happening again. We wouldnt have had a lot of shenanigans from 2020 with rigging the election if we had had Republican governors in there to put their foot down. So its critical, Miller said. Trump has quickly amassed an $80 million war chest in his Save America political action committee, according to Miller. The total suggests that the former president has raised at least $50 million so far this year and appears to either match or even outpace the fundraising by the Republican National Committee, which reported raising $16.2 million in January. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is investigating a suspected data breach in which the delivery details of more than 440,000 parcels dispatched here last month by a leading courier company may have been accessed by hackers. Assistant data commissioner Graham Doyle confirmed to Independent.ie that the data protection watchdog is looking into the alleged breach involving Fastways couriers. I can confirm that we received a breach notification from Fastways Couriers and we are currently assessing it, he said. In a statement this evening, the company said it was hacked while carrying out maintenance on a database server on February 24. None of the data that was allegedly breached involved financial details, such as debit or credit card information or passwords. However, hackers were able to access the names, addresses, email accounts and phone numbers of clients, according to the statement. The data in question is information used for the purposes of delivery (including name, address, email and/or phone). No financial data or other personal data has been compromised, nor is this stored on any Fastway system, the statement read. On learning of the cyber breach, Fastway advised the Data Protection Commission and the Gardai. Fastway has made the requisite data breach submission to the Data Protection Commission. The cyber-attack was identified by Fastways third-party IT development contractor on February 25th and was fully mitigated by 9am on February 26th. The third-party contractor advised Fastway of the breach on March 2. The statement said the names, addresses and contact details of 446,143 parcel deliveries across Ireland, including those that were en route or undelivered for around 30 days from the middle of January were affected Fastway CEO Danny Hughes said in the statement: It is distressing that our IT system was compromised by a malicious hack as we are exceptionally careful in every aspect of our data protection obligations. I deeply regret that peoples personal data has been compromised and I apologise to our clients and their customers. I want to stress that nobodys financial data was at risk and the issue is limited to delivery information only. We will continue to work closely with the DPC, the Gardai and our clients to manage this situation in line with best practice. The company meanwhile, has hired an IT company to look into the breach and independently assess the cyber attack. Among its 7,263 clients are 20 large online retailers, including Littlewoods Ireland, which has reportedly advised its customers of the breach as well. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Fastways said customers can rest assured that details of their online purchases would not be accessed during the breach and that all data from its clients are deleted within 30 days. The company has 16 outlets across Ireland, including its headquarters in Dublin. With its foreign trade maintaining an upward momentum in the first two months of 2021, China's resilient economy and greater opening up will give more confidence to its trading partners and global economic recovery, overseas experts and organizations have said. The country's total imports and exports of goods expanded 41.2 percent year on year to 834.49 billion U.S. dollars in the January-February period, according to China's General Administration of Customs (GAC). Meanwhile, its total exports soared 60.6 percent year on year to 468.87 billion dollars, the GAC reported. Facing a sluggish global economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, "China's presence looms large," said Tong Shiping, a professor of economics at Japan's Dokkyo University, adding that "at the same time, a market of 1.4 billion people remains attractive to global investors." Commenting on the double-digit growth in China's exports to its major trading partners year on year -- 75.1 percent to the United States, 51.9 percent to the European Union (EU) and 43.2 percent to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Tong said this has shown growing dependence on Chinese products across the world. "The rise in exports will play a locomotive in the rapid recovery of China's economy," the professor added. "China is doing better, driven by strong gains in manufacturing," Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, a major accounting firm, wrote Monday in a blog post. "China has become an even larger export platform post-pandemic than it was prior. Part of that is due to the outsize role it plays in the production of PPE. Another reason is that moving manufacturing facilities back to the U.S. never occurred," she noted. Also in the January-February period, China's total imports rose 22.2 percent to 365.62 billion dollars, according to the GAC. In 2020, exports of such countries and regions as Japan, the EU and Latin America declined significantly, while their exports to China still showed a steady upward trend, becoming a bright spot in this field. "In many parts of the world, both on bilateral and multilateral terms, China's trade with its partners is expanding and deepening year after year," said Cavince Adhere, a China-Africa relations expert based in Nairobi, pointing out that China has surpassed the United States to become the EU's top trading partner and has been Africa's largest trading partner for 11 years. "China's economic vibrancy injects optimism for a better showing for the global economy," Adhere said. Bhubaneswar, March 12 : Odisha's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are set to corner the Biju Janata Dal government over several issues during the second phase of the Budget session beginning on Friday. The second phase is scheduled to continue till April 9 with all Covid-19 precautionary measures in place. The opposition parties have chalked out their strategies to attack the government, deciding to raise several issues including the rising forest fire incidents, law and order, border dispute, and irregularities in paddy procurement. "The farmers are selling their paddy in distress as the Mandis are not operating. We will raise the issue. Besides, crimes are increasing in the state," said Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja. BJP's deputy legislature party leader Bishnu Charan Sethi said they will discuss the forest fire incidents in Similipal national park and other forests in the state. On the other hand, government chief whip Pramila Mallick said they are ready to discuss every issue to be raised by the opposition members. During the second part of the session, the main focus of the government will be to get the various demands for grants for the year 2021-22 passed along with the Finance Bill. The Appropriation Bill on the budget for the year 2021-22 will be presented on March 31. The state government is likely to pass several bills in the House during the period. The first phase of the budget session of the assembly, which commenced with the address of Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal on February 18, concluded on February 27. Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari presented the annual budget for financial year 2021-22 on February 22. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Mr Andrews has been temporarily replaced by Deputy Premier James Merlino. Environment Minister Lily DAmbrosio praised Mr Merlino at the governments press conference on Wednesday. She said Mr Merlino, who is also the minister for education and for mental health, was up to the task for as long as necessary. James Merlino is a consummate politician and hes doing a fantastic job as acting Premier, she said. Another Labor MP told The Age that theres no doubt Daniel is a strong leader, but hes a leader of a team. Regardless of how people have elevated his persona through coronavirus, it will be business as usual, the MP said. Its not the first time Daniel hasnt been there for a parliamentary sitting and James has run the ship plenty of times. He [Merlino] is a popular guy every single MP is talking to him about education and now mental health issues. A senior government source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Andrews recovery certainly wont be quick, with a more precise time frame dependent on the impending decision of The Alfred hospital trauma centre doctors on surgery. Surgeons told The Age a recovery time of six to 12 weeks was likely. The government source confirmed the Premier, who is said to be in good spirits, had fractured his T7 vertebra, which could require screws to be inserted and a months-long recuperation period. Concerns over the seriousness of Mr Andrews condition have gradually increased since he was taken to hospital early on Tuesday after slipping on wet stairs at a holiday home in the Mornington Peninsula while getting ready for work. He broke ribs on his left and right sides but has been cleared of internal injuries such as a punctured lung. The Premier has not sustained head injuries and was conscious and speaking on Wednesday, the government source said. Premier Daniel Andrews at a press conference on March 4. Credit:Jason South He was initially treated at the Peninsula Private Hospital in Langwarrin and had a range of scans, but on Tuesday evening, after an MRI was assessed by specialists, it was decided to move him to The Alfred. The T7 is the seventh thoracic vertebra, found in the middle of the chest between the seventh and eighth pairs of ribs. It plays important roles in the support of the spinal cord, ribcage and muscles of the chest. Leading orthopaedic surgeon John Cunningham who is not Mr Andrews doctor said based on the description of the Premiers injuries, he would expect him to be out of work for anywhere between six and 12 weeks, depending on the type of treatment he opted for. This is my bread and butter; I see these sorts of fractures all the time, Mr Cunningham said. They really knock people for six. Even after successful treatment, they can have lingering symptoms for some time. He will likely be able to recover from this, but its going be a while before hes standing up in Parliament or in front of the press for hours on end. Regardless of the decision on surgery, Mr Andrews is expected to remain in intensive care for several days and will almost certainly be absent for next weeks sitting of Parliament. Mr Andrews absence comes as Ms Neville has taken leave until late May to receive treatment for Crohns disease. A decision on when Victoria will reopen its hotel quarantine program to international arrivals remains pending after Mr Andrews indefinitely paused flights last month due to a leakage of COVID-19 from a quarantine hotel. Mr Cunningham said for injuries such as Mr Andrews, the common treatment was to have corrective surgery soon after the injury. Alternatively, a patient could use a high back brace around the thoracic spine, helping them stay upright and preventing spinal deformity while their fracture heals. Mr Cunningham said it appeared the Premier had avoided a worst-case scenario of spinal cord damage. The question of whether or not to operate now and I say this in general terms is to do with the chances of him developing an ongoing deformity or what we call a kyphosis, he said. Kyphosis is a spinal disorder in which an excessive outward curve of the spine results in an abnormal rounding of the upper back. Mr Cunningham said there was a very small risk of paraplegia or permanent neurological injury from surgery. It is very difficult to be prescriptive when it comes to spinal trauma, he said. Youve got to really take into account a patients whole general health, their workplace and how much time they can take off. I would think that Daniel Andrews would be a man who wants to take the least amount of time off work as possible. Melbourne neurosurgeon and spinal surgeon Michael Wong said the length of the Premiers recovery depended on the severity of his fracture. In the event of a minor fracture, you dont really need surgery. You just need to put the patient in the brace and they would still expect to have pain for quite some time and go through a period of rehabilitation, he said. For more severe fractures, the spine can become unstable, and surgery is required. Loading If the fracture is so bad that some of the bone fragment has basically come apart and is now impinging onto the nerves of the spinal cord, then you have to operate to protect the spinal cord, said Dr Wong, who specialises in treating people with chronic pain. He said surgery involved using some sort of spinal instrumentation, such as metal screws, to stabilise the spine. The surgery itself is not a small surgery, he said. It is a significant surgery that someone will face when they have spinal fracture. JOHANNESBURG (AP) In an effort to quell violent protests at universities, South Africa's education minister has vowed to make more money available to enable thousands of students to register for the 2021 academic year. One man, a bystander, was killed in the protests Wednesday at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, adding pressure on the government to resolve the problem. Throughout the week students have been protesting because thousands of poor students have been prevented from registering due to outstanding fees. Education Minister Blade Nzimanede said Thursday that the education budget will reallocate funds to ensure that all qualifying students are allowed to register for their studies. The government pledge comes after Mthokozisi Ntumba, 35, was allegedly shot and killed by the police when they opened fire on protesting students. Ntumba was apparently returning from a clinic in the area when he was caught in the crossfire, according to reports in the local media. There is widespread outrage over the shooting death of Ntumba, who had recently obtained his masters degree and was the breadwinner for his wife and three children. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday said the students' protests did not warrant the police opening fire, saying Ntumba's killing disturbed me deeply. It seems there was overreach by the police. This matter must be investigated and those responsible must be dealt with according to the law, Ramaphosa told parliament. Amnesty International has called for South Africa's police to stop using rubber bullets, which the rights group said are also deadly and can cause long-term injuries. Police minister Bheki Cele on Thursday visited Ntumbas family and promised action against the police officials who were responsible for his death. It is something that has no inch, no grain of explanation or defence on it. Somebody, for me, just went crazy, Cele told the press outside Ntumbas home. Police investigators on Thursday confirmed they had gathered evidence from the scene to investigate Ntumbas killing and determine whether police were responsible for his death. It is unclear how far the recent announcement about funds being made available to allow students to register can quell the spread of further demonstrations. Students from the University of Cape Town are expected to protest on Friday. The University of the Free State has confirmed that at least 20 students were arrested Thursday after clashes with the police outside its campus. New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday (March 10) informed the Rajya Sabha that there is no comprehensive scheme for the rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment gave the information in a written reply to the question put forth by Biju Janta Dal (BJP) Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Prasanna Acharaya. "However, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has undertaken ten pilots in ten cities namely Delhi, Bangaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna, Indore, Chennai, Mumbai, and Nagpur, for undertaking a project on comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging," the reply added. Live TV Further informing, it said that these pilots are being implemented with support of state governments/UTs/local urban bodies, voluntary organisations. The Ministry also revealed that as per Census 2011, the total number of beggars, vigrants, etc. in the country is 4,13,670. New Delhi: Under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme (PM-KISAN), the central government provides benefits of Rs 6,000 every financial year to farmers families which is directly transferred to the their account. All the three installments of the current financial year have been transferred in the bank accounts of the farmers while it is believed that the next installment will be credited before Holi. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) completed two years on 24 February. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, was launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2019, aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions. Under the Scheme, the amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Who are eligible to get benefits under the PM-KISAN Scheme? All landholding farmers' families, which have cultivable landholding in their names are eligible to get benefit under the scheme. Who are excluded from the PM-KISAN Scheme? Live TV #mute Those excluded from the PM-KISAN include institutional land holders, farmer families holding constitutional posts, serving or retired officers and employees of State or Central government as well as Public Sector Undetakings and Government Autonomous bodies. Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over Rs 10,000 and those who paid income tax in the last assessment year are also not eligible for the benefits. How many times the PM-KISAN Scheme benefit will be given in a year? Under the PM-KISAN scheme, all landholding farmers' families shall be provided the financial benefit of Rs 6000 per annum per family payable in three equal installments of Rs 200O each, every four months. The period of 1st installment under the scheme was from 01 .12 2O18 to 31 03 2019, that of 2nd installment from 01 04.2019 to 31 07 .2019,3'd installment from 01 08.2019 to 30 11 2019, and so on. PM-KISAN Scheme for only Small and Marginal Farmers' families? ln the beginning when the PM- PM-KISAN Scheme was launched (February, 2019), its benefits were admissible only to Small & marginal Farmers' families, with combined landholding upto 2 hectare. The Scheme was later on revised in June 2019 and extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings The Central Government had notified a decision to extend the benefit of Rs 6,000 per year under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country, irrespective of the size of their landholding. In the run-up to the two-day bank strike on March 15-16, India's largest public sector bank SBI (State Bank of India) and Bank of Maharashtra have said that their services may be affected due to the strike.In view of this, customers have been advised to plan cash withdrawals and transfers well in advance. Both SBI and Bank of Maharashtra are taking necessary measures to ensure that services remain unaffected, they said they can't quantify the expected loss due to this strike at present. Also read: Bank strike on March 15, 16 to hit services; BoM informs customers In an exchange filing, SBI said, "...we have been advised by Indian Banks Association (IBA) that United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU)... has given a call for an all India strike by bank employees on 15th & 16th March 2021." "If the strike materialises, the normal functioning of the Bank's branches/offices is likely to be affected. The bank is taking all necessary steps to minimise the impact of the strike so as to provide the normal banking services to its customers," Bank of Maharashtra's release read. Also read: Bank employees' strike to hit SBI services on March 15, 16 This two-day long strike has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). The UFBU comprises nine main bank unions -- All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers' Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO). Bank unions are protesting against the Centre's proposal to privatise public sector banks, among several issues. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that privatisation of two public sector banks and one general insurance company is on the cards. "Other than IDBI Bank, we propose to take up privatisation of two public sector banks and one general insurance company in the year 2021-22. This would require legislative amendments and I propose to introduce the amendments in this session itself," Sitharaman had said during her Budget 2021 address. Also read: RBI announces Rs 10,000 cr worth OMO for sale, purchase of govt securities BEIJING: The Chinese government shouldn't interfere in the succession process of Tibet's spiritual leader Dalai Lama and as it is an "outrageous abuse of religious freedom", the United States said on Tuesday(March 9). Replying to a question on Joe Biden's position on the issue of Dalai Lama's reincarnation, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said "We believe that the Chinese Government should have no role in the succession process of the Dalai Lama". He further said, "Beijing's interference in the succession of the Panchen Lama more than 25 years ago, including by, "disappearing the Panchen Lama as a child and attempting to replace him with a People's Republic of China (PRC) government-chosen successor remains an outrageous abuse of religious freedom." The Chinese government occupied Tibet in 1950 and has ever since tried to control the region. The Buddhist figure, who is currently 85-year-old, had earlier announced that upon turning 90 he will decide whether he should be reincarnated. The Dalai Lama, whom China views as overseer of an "evil clique" that seeks to split Tibet from China, escaped to India in 1959 and the 10th Panchen Lama (Lobsang Trinley Lhundrup Choekyi Gyaltsen) stayed behind in Tibet. He spoke against Chinese rule many times and wrote a report chronicling Tibet's famines in the 1960s. In recent years, China has intensified its efforts to eradicate the Dalai Lama from the religious lives of Tibetans to crush their identity. During a meeting, Mao Zedong had told the 14th Dalai Lama, that "religion is poison." The Chinese government's State Religious Affairs Bureau had published a document in 2007 laying out "management measures" for the reincarnation of living Tibetan Buddhas. According to the document, the reincarnations of Tibetan religious figures must be approved by Chinese government authorities, and those with "particularly great impact" must be approved by the State Council, China's top civil administration body currently led by Premier Li Keqiang, CNN had earlier reported. However, the Dalai Lama has stated that if he chooses to reincarnate, the responsibility for finding the 15th Dalai Lama will be on the Gaden Phodrang Trust, an India-based group he had founded after going into exile. While China continues with its policies to eradicate the Dalai Lama from the lives of Tibetans by bringing the religious institution under its control, the US has threatened to sanction the Chinese government officials who chose a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama over the wishes of the Tibetan people. Live TV Demonstrating the ongoing threat of fascistic terrorist violence and persistent concerns of an insider attack, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday evening approved a request from acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman to keep 2,300 National Guard soldiers deployed around the Capitol complex for another 60 days, through May 23. National Guard soldiers have been deployed to the Capitol grounds since the evening of January 6 after a far-right mob on the orders of former President Donald Trump attacked the Capitol in an attempt to block Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote and keep Trump in power. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits National Guard troops deployed at the U.S. Capitol and its perimeter, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, Pool) The decision to keep over 2,000 soldiers in D.C. is a reflection of the unprecedented ongoing political crisis within the capitalist state and ruling class as details continue to emerge exposing significant sections of the statenamely the police, military and intelligence agencies in conjunction with the Republican Partyin organizing and planning the attempted coup. Speaking to CNN, an anonymous defense official said that there was no specific threat to report, but that the decision to keep soldiers in place was made in response to persistent threats, especially if President Joe Biden were to address a joint session of Congress. The same official told CNN that the request for an extension of the deployment was met with resistance from some governors, while others refused to commit any troops to the Capitol. During this extended period, DoD officials will work with the U.S. Capitol Police to incrementally reduce the National Guard footprint as conditions allow, read part of a statement from the Department of Defense announcing the extension. Currently there are about 5,100 troops protecting the Capitol, down from over 25,000 that were deployed in the aftermath of the January 6 assault. There is no firm date for when troops might be leaving the Capitol. In a leaked email provided to Fox5 dated January 20, Robert Salesses, a Defense Department official who testified in front of Congress last week, discussed plans to keep National Guard personnel around the Capitol for an extended period, at least through Fall 2021. The Capitol Police department released a brief three-sentence statement on the continued National Guard support, thanking the Guard, but omitting any reason as to why they were needed. Acting Chief Pittman has previously acknowledged in congressional testimony that 35 Capitol Police officers were under investigation for code of conduct violations related to January 6, with six of those suspended for their actions. The department has not released any further information concerning the cozy relationship between the police and the pro-Trump fascists. Due to threats received related to a possible QAnon-inspired attack on March 4, last week the House of Representatives adjourned a day early. In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), Michigan Representative Elissa Slotkin said that many of her colleagues dont feel totally secure in the Capitol. Freshman pro-Trump Republican representatives who propagated the fascist QAnon conspiracy theory enjoy close relations with far-right militias, and remain in Congress, including Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert and Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. On Wednesday, Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington state sent a letter to the House Committee on Ethics requesting an investigation into Boeberts involvement in instigating and aiding the violent riot at the Capitol Building and to submit any findings to the Department of Justice. Jayapal cited tweets from Boebert on January 6 in which Boebert disclosed the location of Congressional members as the attack was in progress, including tweeting at 2:18 p.m. that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been removed from the chambers. The only other representative to tweet the location of the Speaker that day, noted Jayapal, was Alabama Representative Mo Brooks, a chief organizer of the Stop the Steal rallies and opening speaker at the Save America Rally held on January 6. Jayapal also cited Boeberts numerous connections to militia groups like the III Percenters, which is affiliated with the Oath Keepers as part of the Patriot Network. One member of the group, Robert Gieswein, who was arrested in the assault on the Capitol, even posted a photo of himself in front of the restaurant Boebert owns, brandishing a long rifle. Court documents have revealed the leading role veterans have played in organizing the attack, especially those in groups that recruit ex-military and former police like the Oath Keepers. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, himself a former Army paratrooper and aide to former Texas Republican Representative Ron Paul, has been named in numerous court documents, including this past week, showing him offering advice to insurrectionists as to what weapons to bring and how to breach the Capitol. Thomas Caldwell, a former Navy commander and Oath Keeper who is currently detained awaiting trial for his role in the January 6 assault, was part of an encrypted messaging channel with fellow Oath Keepers that included Rhodes. In one conversation cited by prosecutors between Caldwell and an unidentified person, Caldwell boasted of storming the Capitol with the Oath Keepers and some other militia. In a later text to the same person, Caldwell surmised, If wed had guns I guarantee we would have killed 100 politicians. In response to the critical involvement of current and former military members in the attempted coup, the military took the unprecedented step of issuing a 60-day stand-down order to address the problem of extremism in the ranks. In a February interview with Military.com, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby admitted that the numerous arrests of current and former military members in the siege has been a wake-up call. Kirby added that it is no longer debatable that extremists are in the ranks, Its really just about to what degree, he said. Kirbys comments were echoed by head of US Central Command General Kenneth Frank McKenzie Jr. A commander who tells you that theres no problem really doesnt know whats going on in his own unit, McKenzie said in a recent interview with the Washington Post. Of the over 300 people that have been charged in the attack, those facing the most serious charges, including conspiracy and assault with a weapon, have been far-right militia members, many of whom are former or current police and/or military. An analysis by CBS News found that in at least 33 of the 282 cases they reviewed, the accused are current or former military, with two still in the Army Reserve and another in the National Guard. There is no telling where the loyalties of the Pentagon are. In congressional testimony last week, D.C. National Guard Commander William Walker said that it took three hours and 19 minutes after he had requested permission to deploy his troops to protect the Capitol to receive a response from acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. Miller was installed after Trump fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on November 9. Former Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, who Walker testified was unavailable when he tried to request permission from the Department of Defense to deploy his troops, confirmed in the aftermath of the attempted coup that service members from across the military were at the January 6 rally. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. To commemorate International Womens Day 2021, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is featuring (in the month of March) influential female policy makers from several countries they work in around the world to highlight their experiences working in government and promoting a culture of evidence-based policymaking within their institutions, how the COVID-19 pandemic changed their work, and what long-term impacts they hope to achieve in the sectors in which they work. From Ghana, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) spoke to the Executive Director/Inspector-General of Schools, Dr. Haggar Hilda Ampadu who directs the National Schools Inspectorate Authority. In this capacity, she is responsible for creating, institutionalizing, and overseeing the establishment, registration, licensing, inspections, and assessments of Ghanas all public and private pre-tertiary schools in Ghana. Upon assuming her role as the Inspector General of Schools/Executive Director, she has worked to create streamlined processes, with an emphasis on digitization, standard operating procedures development, policy development, and implementation. Below is the feature: What motivated you to go into the public sector? Over the course of my career, Ive worked across 36 African countries to develop and strengthen health systems. This was mainly in the domain of medicine safety for the World Health Organization (WHO), which required me to understand quality control, supply chains, and other systems and processes. Through this work, I realized that there were insufficient documentation processes and effective systems approaches in many organizational operations, mainly across Africa. This realization is what motivated me to work in policymaking and implementation, and now I work to promote integrity and transparency in Ghanas education sector. My goal in creating and institutionalizing policies and processes within the National Schools Inspectorate Authority (NaSIA) is for schools to be fully aware of our mandate, processes, and requirements, per the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) and operate their schools within the remit of the law. We also want our stakeholders and the general public to know that we operate in a spirit of transparency. For instance, our School Inspection Reports, a list of Registered Schools, and aspects of the new law, among others, are published on our website (www.nasia.gov.gh) for ease of verification. With the integrity of these processes and data-driven decisions, we can better ensure that we are supporting our learnerswho are our essential stakeholders. How has your work changed because of the pandemic over the last year? What has been the biggest challenge for you and for the National Schools Inspectorate Authority? The pandemic has seriously affected our school Inspections. We recognized the need for the continuation of teaching and learning in this time of crisis, we were thus inspired to conduct virtual school inspections. In addition, in partnership with the UNICEF-Ghana office, we developed and published the National E-learning Standards and accompanying guidelines for pre-tertiary schools in April 2020 in response to COVID-19 and school closures. This has been a key resource for schools nationwide over the course of the pandemic. In addition to adapting to the crisis, we still need to keep up with our planned operations. For example, prior to a collaboration with UNICEF in the 2019-2020 academic year, we did not have specific inspection tools for assessing the quality of learning in kindergartens. In partnership with the UNICEF-Ghana office, we have now developed kindergarten inspection tools that will be deployed in the next inspection term during the 2021 academic year. How have you promoted evidence-based policymaking within the National Schools Inspectorate Authority, and what are some challenges in doing so? One of my main goals is to continually identify areas that can be improved for better organizational capacity and effectiveness. For example, the National Schools Inspectorate Authority previously had a series of ad-hoc processes for inspections and audits to assess the quality of education for learners. In June 2019, with technical assistance from IPA and DFID-Ghana in the form of four personnel forming a part of our core digitization team, we digitized the inspection approach and this significantly streamlined data collection processes. As a result of this digitization, data to support policy decisions is collected at the school level and received in real-time by headquarters in Accra for reporting and analysis. This approach better ensures that each inspection report is based on objective evidence, and thus limits subjectivity and opportunities for bias. Prior to my joining NaSIA, there were also limited policies guiding the organizations work. In my role as Executive Director, I am championing the development of key policies to support our mandate in my bid to ensure that all our processes are well documented and published. Ive worked to develop the School Establishment and Inspection Policy (SEaIP), School Licensing Policy (SLiP), Safeguarding Policy, and School-Based Assessment Policy. The SEaIP and SLiP, developed with financial support from the UNESCO-Ghana office and the Education Partnership Group-UK respectively, started in June 2020. They are now near completion and have gone through various Technical Working Group meetings and stakeholder reviews and are awaiting approval, including at the Ministerial level. Each policy is also accompanied by specific guidelines to aid its implementation and operationalization. All that being said, the push to create more effective and efficient processes to make decision-making more data-driven is still a big challenge for us. Inadequate resources, in terms of financial resources, equipment, staff time, and capacity building to give a few examples, is the biggest challenge that we face. However, digitizing many of our inspection processes has enabled us to work within these constraints. For example, by adopting a statistical sampling approach for selecting schools for inspection, we have increased the number of schools inspected from about 50 to now 2,341 per academic yearthis is a huge win for us. More importantly, with this approach and the expanded sampling we have, we can confidently extrapolate the results across all schools in Ghana. Weve also focused on reducing manual and human efforts in our operations. For instance, school registration and payment processes at NaSIA are now automated and done online, which allows us to more efficiently track these processes and assess support for schools regardless of their location in the country. I am committed to continuing to improve the quality of the work of the Inspectorate Authority by institutionalizing data-driven processes and decisions. 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 Denmark's Directorate-General for Health announced this Thursday, 11 March, that it is temporarily suspending the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after recording "severe cases of thrombus" in people who had received it. One of the cases is related to a death, the authorities explained in a statement, highlighting that it still cannot be concluded that there is a relationship between the vaccine and the blood clot. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched an investigation according to the Danish Directorate-General for Health. In Spain, at the moment, no unforeseen side effects have been identified either in the AstraZeneca vaccines or in the other two that are being administered, from Pfizer and Moderna. Until this Thursday, the Ministry of Health has distributed a total of 1,700,500 doses of AstraZeneca among the regions, although only slightly more than 725,000 have been used, since the regions are keeping reserves to be able to guarantee the second jab. Spain's Public Health Commission has stipulated that this vaccine - developed by the University of Oxford - be reserved for essential personnel and other professionals under the age of 55 years of age, although that decision was due to be reviewed again this Thursday. France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Belgium and Andorra, have lifted their vetoes in recent days of using the AstraZeneca formula among the elderly. Last week, Spain's Ministry of Health, in its latest update of the coronavirus vaccination plan, recommended taking one gramme of paracetamol before receiving the AstraZeneca jab, as well as continuing to take the analgesic every six hours if mild side effects appeared after the vaccination. Experts at the department headed by Carolina Darias changed the protocol to introduce the use of paracetamol after reporting numerous cases where people reported side effects similar to those of an intense but brief flu. In many cases, young and healthy people have had to take days off work to recover from the effects of AstraZeneca vaccine, health sources reported. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Yes, Theyre Open is a web series highlighting local bars and restaurants that are open for takeout, delivery, pickup or dining during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Live streams from the featured restaurants are broadcast on the Advance Facebook page every weekday around 3 p.m. On Wednesday, the Advance/SILive.com visited Kills Boro Brewing Co./Craft House at 60 Van Duzer St., which is open for indoor dining and pickup from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 718-442-3433. Staten Island restaurant owners: If you would like your establishment featured for free as part of Yes, Theyre Open, email reporter Victoria Priola at vpriola@siadvance.com. Kill Boro Brewing Company celebrates one year of business at Craft House in Tompkinsville on September 29, 2018. Pictured are Vincent Lima, Sean Torres, Patrick Wade, Philip Gardner and Kurron Mangin of Kill Boro Brewing Company. (Staten Island Advance/ Victoria Priola) YES, THEYRE OPEN: Kills Boro Brewing Co. and Craft House are open for pick up, indoor dining and delivery at 60 Van Duzer St. The food and drink establishment is open Wednesday through Friday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call 718-442-3433. Posted by Staten Island Advance on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 WANT MORE YES, THEYRE OPEN? Check out the listings below or check out all of our previous coverage here. The RoadHouse, 1400 Clove Road Killmeyers Old Bavaria Inn, 4254 Arthur Kill Road Sals Bakery, 245 Richmond Valley Road Jodys Club Forest, 372 Forest Ave. 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 senior official from the NIO is being sent to the United States to engage with President Biden's administration. (Niall Carson/PA) A senior official from the Northern Ireland Office is to travel to the United States with the aim of trying to establish relations with President Joe Biden's administration. The move, which was reported by The Daily Telegraph on Thursday, is hoped to "counter EUs efforts to turn President Bidens administration against UK" over its actions in Northern Ireland It comes amid UK-EU tensions over the UK's decision to extend an exemption on Brexit checks on goods going from Great Britain to supermarkets here. The official will be tasked with providing factual briefings to US politicians, as well as rebutting EU claims made about the UK post-Brexit, the newspaper reports. Brandon Lewis, the NI Secretary of State, is understood to be driving the plans , having stepped up engagement with senior US Democrats in recent months in a bid to keep the new administration onside. Northern Ireland follows the EU's rules on trade to prevent a hard border on the island, however, that has caused problems for suppliers sending goods from Great Britain, prompting ongoing concerns from unionists that it undermines Northern Ireland's place in the UK. Last week the government unilaterally extended grace periods limiting bureaucracy linked to the Northern Ireland Protocol until October. They had been due to expire at the end of March. The UK also temporarily lifted the protocol's ban on plants potted in soil in Great Britain from entering Northern Ireland. The European Commission is now preparing to take legal action against the Government, accusing it of breaching the terms of the protocol, which governs trade to Northern Ireland post-Brexit. First Minister Arlene Foster had described the reaction from the Commission to the extension of the grace period as "hysterical". The US president, who is Irish American, has previously expressed concerns about the situation in Ireland after Brexit. He told reporters in November last year the US did not want a "guarded border" on the island of Ireland and that it had taken a lot of hard work to reach a settlement and end decades of conflict. Before his presidential win, Mr Biden - said that any UK-US post-Brexit trade deal had to be "contingent" on respect for the Good Friday Agreement and must not endanger the peace process. The EU has complained UK's unilateral decision to extend grace periods on Brexit checks breaches part of the Brexit deal known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, and has threatened the UK with legal action. Brexit minister Lord Frost has said London would defend "vigorously" any legal action brought by Brussels and that the measures taken were "operational, technical and temporary". On Wednesday, NI Secretary of State Brandon Lewis also insisted the move had been "lawful". "My view is having spoken to businesses, if we hadn't have taken the action that we took last week, we would have had empty shelves in supermarkets in Northern Ireland imminently now," he said. "I think that would have raised tensions further and it may well have undermined the protocol fatally in a way that is not actually in the best interests of either the EU, the UK or the people of Northern Ireland." The UK and EU have also disagreed on the export of Covid-19 vaccines, with Boris Johnson rejecting the bloc's claim that the government was stopping jabs from leaving the country. The NIO has declined to comment on the matter. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A registered sex offender from New Springville who was recently accused of attempting to lure a 12-year-old girl to the Staten Island Mall now faces federal charges for allegedly posing as a teenage boy and making a series of graphic and lewd requests to a 16-year-old girl on Instagram. Between September and October of 2020, Ryan Behar, 42, used an Instagram account to portray himself as a teen to coerce a victim, who identified herself as a 16-year-old girl, to send sexually explicit images and commit pornographic acts during live video calls, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Eastern District Court. Behar has been charged with attempted sexual exploitation of a child, according to the documents, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 50 years. As alleged, Behar misused social media in an effort to lure an underage teenager into having sexually explicit communications with him, said Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme. This office will continue to make every effort to protect minors and hold to account those who contribute to their victimization. Behar was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday. His lawyer, Kannan Sundaram, argued that Behar was not a flight risk and contested the governments assertion that his client attempted to destroy evidence, among other allegations. Sundaram said Behar has struggled with problems that have persisted his entire life, including serious mental deficiencies and would not present an issue returning to court for trial. Additionally, Behars parents, who house the defendant, purchased plane tickets to admit their son to an inpatient treatment program for sex offenders in Minnesota, Sundaram said. However, United States Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara said not enough information about the program was included in the bail request and subsequently denied Behar bail, in line with the request of Assistant U.S. Attorney Garen Marshall, who was representing the government. The charges are significant, the evidence is significant, said Bulsara. This is not a mere case of viewing images, it is solicitation and it is repeated over a number of months, all with minors. Im concerned with danger to the community, and my decision is based on that. FEDERAL CASE UNSEALED Federal authorities allege Behar began communicating with the 16-year-old victim around Sept. 13, 2020 using the Instagram account @slimvectra2025 and continued to speak with the girl for several weeks. Behar repeatedly made explicit comments toward the victim, including making requests for the girl to have sex with him, show her breasts and backside and undress in front of him during a live video, among other vulgar appeals, authorities allege. The federal investigation was sparked after members of the NYPDs 121st Precinct arrested Behar for allegedly using the aforementioned Instagram account to speak to a 12-year-old girl and request she meet him at the Staten Island Mall. In that case, federal authorities said the 12-year-old notified her parents of the suggestion, which prompted the victims aunt to create an Instagram account posing as a 17-year-old girl to investigate Behars allegedly fraudulent persona. The aunt communicated with the @slimvectra2025 account, which has a bio that says, Hi girls I am single and has over 300 followers as of Wednesday. The account, which is private, follows over 3,000 users. The account in question has the photo of what appears to be a teenage boy as its profile image and lists a fake name. When the 12-year-old victims aunt communicated with the account, Behar, allegedly using the fake name, said his older brother was looking for a girlfriend. When the aunt asked for a photo of his older brother, Behar sent an image of himself, federal authorities allege. Behar repeatedly asked the aunt, posing as a 17-year-old girl, to meet him at the mall. When asked if he was OK with the faux person he was to meet being underage, he said he was, according to authorities. He then proceeded to make a series of sexually explicit comments toward the account, authorities allege, before going to the mall on Jan. 24 to meet the person he believed he was communicating with. There, the 12-year-old victims father confronted Behar, who sent the aunts fraudulent account images of the outfit he was wearing, authorities said. Officers responded to the scene and arrested Behar about a block from the mall. On the day of that arrest, Behar was observed attempting to delete apps and other data from his photo, federal court documents say, and a later investigation found Behar allegedly deleted apps including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and TextNow. A subsequent search warrant executed by the FBI on Facebook Inc. revealed the contents of Behars Instagram account, @slimvectra2025, between late August of 2020 and late February of 2021 and established that Behar continued his pattern of repeated inappropriate contact with minors during this period, a criminal complaint alleges. In the January case, Behar was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Following his arraignment in that case, he was released on his own recognizance with the provision that he does not use the internet. His next court date for that charge is April 27, according to online court records. A PREVIOUS CONVICTION In 2018, Behar was charged with pretending to be a 14-year-old boy on social media in an attempt to lure a 13-year-old girl to his Vassar Street apartment for sex, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported. I invited her to my home to cook her dinner and eventually have sex with her, he told authorities, according to the complaint in the case. Following that case, he was required to register as a level-one sex offender and was sentenced to three years probation; however, he violated that probation in 2019 and was re-sentenced to jail for 364 days. The New York City Department of Probation (DOP) filed a Violation of Probation (VOP) against Ryan Behar after routine searches of his digital devices uncovered sexually explicit material, the use of an alias to have sexual conversations with minors, and the failure to inform DOP of all screen names and social media accounts, said the agency in a statement. After he was released in July of last year, federal authorities said Behar created the @slimvectra2025 Instagram account in August of 2020 and began reaching out to minors. In a detention memo presented in federal court Wednesday, Behar sent an image of his genitals 14 times between Sept. 7, 2020 and Jan. 12, 2021 to minors between the ages of 10 and 15. A CALL FOR MORE VICTIMS District Attorney Michael E. McMahon previously urged parents to speak to their children about not talking to strangers and never agreeing to meet up with someone who reaches out to them over the internet. He added that the Special Victims Bureau is a resource for parents who have questions and encouraged residents to reach out to his office directly for information, as well as the police department if an incident happens that raises concerns. FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said, Predators are appallingly aggressive in targeting societys youth. If you think your child or teen is shielded from this type of predator, who can quietly target your child without ever having to physically enter your home, please think again, Sweeney said. Do you know who your children are interacting with online? Have you asked? Adults did not grow up with this type of threat. Technology has changed, and we need your help educating and protecting our children. Sweeney said the FBI believes that Behar had contact with many more victims and urged those victims or their parents or guardians to call us at 1- 800-CALL-FBI, or reach out for us online at tips.fbi.gov. The Kingdom I Came to Love: an intriguing testament of the authors exploit in the desert kingdom. The Kingdom I Came to Love is the creation of published author Fernando G. Ting, a man who broke into overseas work when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia opened a job opportunity to international workers. Being an overseas worker, he completed his deeper learning about life through careful observations. Ting writes, The safest way to view the Middle East in general and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in particular, is from an airplane window during a landing approach. Once out of the plane, you no longer have the confines of the cockpit to isolate your senses. Depending on the weather and time of the year, you immediately feel the searing heat on your skin, the blinding glare of the sun reflected from the ground hits your eyes, and the sweetish smell of petroleum permeating in the air greets your nose. But as soon as you overcome the initial shocks, you will begin to feast on the opulent sights in the modern miracle in the desert. Millions of international brains and brawn labored many years to build, develop, and maintain the multimillion-dollar modern structures and facilities in Saudi Arabia. When the Kingdom came into the windfall of petroleum dollars, its tiny population can never cope with the vast modernization plan of the government calling for super large building projects. The only solution is to import millions of brilliant minds and muscles to execute magnificent dreams into reality. The ultra-religious Kingdom has always maintained a preference for fellow Muslims like Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh but also graciously opened its doors to hardworking non-Muslims. Workers from Europe, the USA, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Japan, and China flooded the country. The multinational talents are a huge blessing to the Kingdom, spurring its development into dizzying heights. The whole situation has also developed into a mutually beneficial activity because the Kingdom has ultimately provided precious income to the millions of its workers. It has shared its blessings. This book is only a microcosm of the much larger picture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its heroic workers! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Fernando G. Tings new book serves as a historical legacy to readers as the author shows a spectacular leap of a country with brilliant and mighty people. View a synopsis of The Kingdom I Came to Love on YouTube. Consumers can purchase The Kingdom I Came to Love at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Kingdom I Came to Love, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. GRAND RAPIDS, MI Calvin University students are organizing a silent sit-in Thursday afternoon in protest of a student-led display table on campus that reportedly displayed anti-LGBTQ messaging earlier this week. Calvin freshman Jasmine Nykamp, who co-organized the protest, said she and other students want to show their support for the LGBTQ community and insist hate has no place on campus. The sit-in is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, March 11, on Commons Lawn at Calvins campus. We want to tell the LGBTQ student body that they are loved, that theyre cared for and that they do belong on campus, said Nykamp, of Grand Rapids. The sit-in follows controversy over a student-organized booth that was set up on campus Tuesday, March 9. The booth reportedly had messaging that suggested having an LGBTQ orientation is sinful. LGBTQ IS SIN. THE BIBLE SAYS, a sign on the booth read. In a message to students the next day, Calvin President Michael Le Roy acknowledged the student-led booth and said university officials were reviewing whether students followed university-approved policies and procedures. He said messaging on the booth did not align with the universitys values. Calvin University will rarely make public statements related to issues of the day, but we write today because we believe this is a public issue that has bearing on our students and our community life, Le Roy said in Wednesdays email to students. The tabling event yesterday afternoon failed to live up to our communitys high standards. Le Roy cited the universitys position on sexuality, which is grounded in the views of the Christian Reformed Church, that orientation is not a sin and that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people - like all people - are created in Gods image and, as valued members of the human family, should be treated with respect, grace, understanding, and love. He also affirmed Calvins views that sexual intimacy is a gift from God to be celebrated in marriage between a man and a woman. A university spokesperson on Thursday declined to identify the students who organized the booth. Le Roy acknowledged Calvin aspires to be a place where free exchange and expression of ideas flows, but also pointed to university guidelines that students, faculty and staff must respect those with whom we disagree. Nykamp said she and other students were disappointed with Le Roys message. She said she wishes the president had condemned what she called blatantly hateful behavior. I was disappointed that there couldnt have been more of a call for the total acceptance of students, she said. I was hoping for more of a condemnation of what had happened, and maybe an acknowledgement that there will be consequences for this action. Shortly after seeing the anti-LGBTQ booth on Tuesday, Nykamp organized a petition calling to recognize and support LGBTQ students on campus. The petition has over 2,400 signatures and has circulated among other universities like the University of Michigan, Loyola and Harvard, Nykamp said. The petition calls for the students who organized the booth to be disciplined. We call for the penalization of the three students who did not get approval from the university to post their table, and so wrongly disrespected peers, the petition reads. With Thursdays sit-in, Nykamp said she is hoping for Calvin administrators to recognize the large presence of the LGBTQ community at the university. She co-organized the event along with Calvin student Brandon Martinez. There are supporters and a large, large amount of queer students on campus and the administration needs to do a better job of recognizing them, she said. We also want the queer community to see that there are students on campus who care about and love them, even if there are some that dont agree with the person that they are. More on MLive: Grand Rapids Community College preparing for new normal in fall with more in-person classes Judge dismisses Detroit lawsuit against Black Lives Matter protesters, finds no evidence of plan to incite riots Rite Aid now prioritizing COVID-19 vaccines for teachers, school staff, childcare workers Credit: NASA Several years after scientists discovered what was considered the oldest crater a meteorite made on the planet, another team found it's actually the result of normal geological processes. During fieldwork at the Archean Maniitsoq structure in Greenland, an international team of scientists led by the University of Waterloo's Chris Yakymchuk found the features of this region are inconsistent with an impact crater. In 2012, a different team identified it as the remnant of a three-billion-year-old meteorite crater. "Zircon crystals in the rock are like little time capsules," said Yakymchuk, a professor in Waterloo's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. "They preserve ancient damage caused by shockwaves you get from a meteorite impact. We found no such damage in them." Additionally, there are multiple places where the rocks melted and recrystallized deep in the Earth. This processcalled metamorphismwould occur almost instantaneously if produced from an impact. The Waterloo-led team found it happened 40 million years later than the earlier group proposed. "We went there to explore the area for potential mineral exploration, and it was through close examination of the area and data collected since 2012 that we concluded the features are inconsistent with a meteorite impact," Yakymchuk said. "While we were disappointed that we weren't working in a structure that was the result of a meteorite hitting the planet three billion years ago, science is about advancing knowledge through discovery, and our understanding of the Earth's ancient history continues to evolve. Our findings provide scientific data for resource companies and Greenlandic prospectors to find new mineral resources." The study, Stirred not shaken; critical evaluation of a proposed Archean meteorite impact in West Greenland, by Yakymchuk and an international team of scientists from Canada, Australia, Denmark, Greenland and the United Kingdom, appears in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Explore further Analysis of a Martian meteorite reveals evidence of water 4.4 billion years ago More information: Chris Yakymchuk et al. Stirred not shaken; critical evaluation of a proposed Archean meteorite impact in West Greenland, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2021). Journal information: Earth and Planetary Science Letters Chris Yakymchuk et al. Stirred not shaken; critical evaluation of a proposed Archean meteorite impact in West Greenland,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116730 Italy bans AstraZeneca batch amid reports of deaths Probes in Sicily into deaths of serviceman and police officer (ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 11 - Italy has banned an AstraZeneca vaccine batch after reports of two suspect deaths in Sicily and after several other European countries stopped using batches due to suspected fatal blood clots. But it downplayed suggestions of a causal link. The death of a 43-year-old Italian serviceman in Sicily is linked to the decision by Italian medicines agency AIFA to ban the use of one batch of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, batch ABV2856, sources said on Thursday. AIFA said that it has banned doses from the ABV2856 batch being given as a precautionary measure after reports of "serious adverse events". It stressed that there was no proof of a link between the vaccine being given and these events. Stefano Paterno, a member of the Italian Navy serving at Augusta in Sicily, died early on Wednesday of a heart attack at his home, the sources said. The previous day he had had the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from the batch AIFA has banned, according to the sources. Prosecutors have opened an probe and have placed around 10 people under investigation on suspicion of manslaughter. They include people involved in the distribution of the vaccine and the health personnel who gave the jab. Catania prosecutors, meanwhile, have opened a probe into the case of Davide Villa, a 50-year-old police officer who died 12 days ago after being vaccinated for COVID-19, sources said on Thursday. The policeman received a jab from the same AstraZeneca batch that Italian medicines agency AIFA has decided to ban as a precautionary measure, the sources said. Denmark and Norway have suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after reports in Denmark of one death and of people having blood clots after vaccination. Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have stopped using doses from Astrazeneca batch ABV5300, after Austrian reports of a woman dying of blood coagulation problems after being vaccinated. As sources said the banned batch had been distributed across Italy and panic spread among those who have had or are set to have the jab, with a wave of cancellations, Premier Mario Draghi had a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in which it emerged that there is no link between cases of thrombosis registered in Europe and the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, premier's office sources said. Italian drugs agency AIFA chief Giorgio Palu said Thursday "a causal link is yet to be shown" between the jab and the clots. Two thirds of Italy's population will have had their first dose of the COVID vaccine by the start of the summer, Health Undersecretary Pierpaolo Sileri told Italian radio Thursday. By October, he said, two thirds of the population will also have had the second shot of the jab. Sileri also said the government would impose further restrictions in areas where infection risks are higher but there would be no sudden moves such as those occasionally taken by the last government. Stressing that all fresh restrictions would be based on the scientific recommendations of the COVID task force, Sileri said "there won't be a lockdown from one day to another, but there will be time to prepare". Former premier Giuseppe Conte's government came in for particular criticism for suddenly slamming the door shut on ski operators after they had been gearing up to resume activities.(ANSAmed). (ANSA). By Ko Chang-nam The 49th Ministerial Conference of the International Organization for Railway Cooperation (OSJD) will be held in June in South Korea. This is the first time for the Republic of Korea to host the conference, and it must be great news! The OSJD, founded in 1956 and with its headquarters in Warsaw, is an international organization that coordinates Eurasian railways policies and oversees related railway standards with regard to passenger and freight transportation of international railways among Eurasian countries. South Korea became the 29th nation to join the group in 2018. Currently, the OSJD has 29 member countries, including Russia, China, Mongolia and North Korea, in which Eurasian railways including the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR), Trans-China Railway (TCR), and Trans-Mongolian Railway (TMGR), are located. At the OSJD Plenipotentiary Conference which was held Dec. 1 to 4, 2020, by way of videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided that the Republic of Korea will host the OSJD's 49th Ministerial Conference on June 15-18 with the support of the OSJD Committee and its member countries. The 49th Ministerial Conference will gather some 200 rail-related ministers and officials including those from major rail operators in Germany and France and those from international organizations like the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Officials and related personnel of KORAIL and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are currently preparing for the conference. The OSJD's Annual Ministerial Conference is the highest decision-making body of the organization, where participants discuss policy directions and cooperation. With regard to this year's conference, I would like to set forth my views on the event and the East Asia Railway Community (EARC). First of all, taking this opportunity of hosting the ministerial conference, activities on the EARC Initiative should be back on the right track and the roadmap for founding an international organization of EARC should be implemented consequently. The EARC Initiative is for international cooperation of the United States, South Korea, North Korea, China, Russia, Mongolia and Japan and its purpose is to pursue peace and co-prosperity based on infrastructure investment and economic cooperation in East Asia, by way of rail. It has been almost three years since South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed the EARC initiative in his speech commemorating the 73rd National Liberation Day on Aug. 15, 2018. After that, President Moon Jae-in delivered a speech at the 73rd Session of the U.N. General Assembly, seeking support cooperation for the EARC Initiative, and government officials of the related ministry have made efforts to boost the initiative, holding international seminars and symposia thereafter. These efforts deserve recognition. However, it is regrettable that there have been no tangible efforts like having working group meetings or high-level meetings among related countries for establishing an international organization of EARC. Therefore, it is required that related officials and ministers should put forth multilateral efforts of explaining the background and roadmap for establishing an international organization of EARC, proposing a diverse way of having working group meetings or high-level meetings among related countries. At least, efforts should be exerted to form an international forum for EARC. Secondly, we have to do our best to invite North Korean officials and the related minister to participate in the OSJD Ministerial Conference. If necessary, a special envoy should be dispatched to find a way for a North Korean delegation to attend the conference. As such, measures for inter-Korean railway cooperation, including mutual exchanges of related personnel and a joint study and design of railways, should be discussed for successful implementation of the inter-Korean railway project. Finally, we have to strengthen international cooperation with Eurasian railway operators such as Russia, China and Mongolia to lay the groundwork for connecting inter-Korean railways with the Eurasian rail network in the future. Anyway, with the successful hosting of the ministerial conference, I hope that the Republic of Korea will strengthen its status in the international railway society and take a leap forward for the sustainable development of railways domestically and abroad. Ko Chang-nam is a former economic affairs officer of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). A woman charged with capital murder in the death of her 13-month-old infant son is the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit filed today in Limestone County Circuit Court, as well as local and state officials with the Alabama Department of Human Resources. The suit contends that the October 5, 2019, death of Casen Case, who was left in a hot car for seven to eight hours, could have been prevented if DHR investigators had acted on multiple reports that the childs mother was abusing and neglecting him. A capital murder trial is set for May for Elizabeth Anne Case, who is currently being held in the Limestone County Jail. The State of Alabama Department of Human Resources, and the director and program director of the Limestone County Department of Human Resources, are also named as defendants in the suit. Birmingham attorneys Tommy James of Tommy James Law, and Jeremy Knowles of Morris Haynes, are representing the childs paternal aunt, who filed the suit. James said DHR failed to conduct a proper investigation of the childs mother. Casen should have been removed from his mother due to her criminal history and the multiple reports of abuse and neglect made to DHR, James said. If DHR had done their job, Casen would be alive today. This innocent baby is dead because the people at DHR did not do their jobs and it is appalling that this was allowed to happen. It is past time for DHR and its employees to be held accountable for not doing their jobs. The lawsuit contends that Case had been in and out of jail during much of her pregnancy and was released just prior to Casens birth. According to the suit, Case had been charged with various offenses over the years, including driving under the influence, property thefts, multiple charges of possession and receiving stolen property, domestic violence, burglary, fraud, drug possession and robbery. According to investigators, on Oct. 4, 2019, Case left her residence between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. the night before the childs death, with him buckled into a front-facing car seat without strapping the seat to the vehicle. Case traveled to both Limestone and Madison counties where she was dumpster diving while the child was in the vehicle, officials said. She then returned home around 5:40 a.m. and left the baby in the vehicle when she went inside the home and went to bed. Case awoke around 1:30 p.m. when the babys grandmother was banging on the door because she couldnt find her grandchild. They searched for the baby and found him in the car. Case then took the child in the home and placed him in the shower. The grandmother called 911, loaded the child in the car with Case, and met Athens Police at the Recreation Center at Highway 251 and Highway 31. The outside temperature was approximately 97 degrees when he was found. Casen was transported to Athens-Limestone hospital where he was pronounced dead. Casens family hopes and prays that this case leads to positive change so that future child deaths can be prevented, James said. Dozens of residents who are suing the city of Reno over the flooding of their homes in 2017 are moving to federal court in a complex case that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars. The move comes as the citys related appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court is pending, the Reno Gazette Journal reports. Lemmon Valley residents who filed a class-action suit won a jury verdict in Washoe County District Court in 2019 that determined Reno was responsible for the dramatic flooding that left their homes north of town under water for years. But Judge Barry Breslow later decertified the class, which means each of the 26 plaintiffs must argue individually for damages. Since then, their lawyer, Roger Doyle, has been refiling their cases in federal court in Reno, the newspaper reported last week. In the meantime, the years-long legal battle continues in both state and federal jurisdictions after the Reno City Council voted 4-3 to appeal the earlier judgment against the city to the states high court. Mayor Hillary Schieve, council members Jenny Brekhus and Naomi Duerr argued the residents have suffered enough and that the city should settle the case and move on. To me this doesnt sit right and I think that a lot of those people out there suffered, Schieve said during a recent council meeting. I think we all (need to) move on and focus on other things to make the infrastructure better for our residents. Council members Devon Reese, Oscar Delgado, Bonnie Weber and Neoma Jardon suggested that they should follow the city attorneys advice and move forward with the appeal. We certainly dont want those people to be out of their properties, but we also have to think about our entire city, said Weber, whose ward includes Lemmon Valley and the Swan Lake flooding victims. Reno City Attorney Karl Hall said the district court did not properly establish liability and incorrectly calculated damages, and the initial certification of the class was in error. Doyle said that going to U.S. court will bind the city to the judgment that was found against it in the 2019 trial when a state judge determined the city was responsible for the damages. Doyle and his team are moving to get the trials to determine damages in federal court as soon as possible. It took four years for the Washoe District Court to come to a final verdict in that case. The ruling determined the city was responsible for damages plus attorneys fees, which could cost the city at least $1.5 million. The Swan Lake Basin flooded nearby homes in 2017 after the city of Reno pumped or diverted excess storm water into Swan Lake Basin. More than 60 homes were damaged. The newspaper reported in 2018 the city knew Swan Lake would likely flood and ignored suggestions to build flood mitigation projects alongside new developments in Lemmon Valley. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits USA Flood Homeowners Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Ashley Schmid holds a sign reading 'boys will be boys, held accountable,' with a red line crossing out 'boys,' as she and other students protest outside LSU's Football Operations Center at a sit-in organized by Tigers Against Sexual Assault (TASA) to protest the school's handling of sexual assault claims, March 8. U.S. officials announced Wednesday they'll hold their first high-level, in-person summit next week with China and cyberattacks, human rights and Chinese actions in Taiwan and Hong Kong are likely on the agenda. Why it matters: China's leaders may see the current moment as a window of opportunity to persuade a new administration the United States has much to gain from supporting Beijing's global goals and much to lose if the U.S. tries to thwart them. Relations between the world's two nuclear-armed superpowers are at their lowest point in decades. The Biden administration has said it views China as a major strategic rival, and the National Security Council has made the Indo-Pacific region its top focus. On the table: In Anchorage, Alaska, next week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are likely to bring up recent cyber intrusions attributed to Chinese-backed actors, China's recent aggression toward Taiwan and the genocide that China is perpetrating against its Muslim minorities. State Councilor Wang Yi and Director Yang Jiechi are likely going to demand that the U.S. cease interfering in what they perceive as issues of Chinese territorial sovereignty. They are also likely to object to what they perceive as attempts at regional containment, such as the planned Quad summit involving officials from the U.S., Japan, Australia and India. Both the Biden administration and Chinese officials hope the U.S.-China relationship can accommodate some degree of cooperation, so potential areas of partnership such as on climate change and pandemic preparedness also may come up. My thought bubble: Yang and Wang undoubtedly hope to win a detente. WHEATON, Ill. (AP) A former chemistry teacher at a suburban Chicago high school has been convicted of reckless conduct for pouring liquid nitrogen on a student during a science demonstration in 2018, injuring the youth. A DuPage County jury on Tuesday also found Garry Brodersen, 66, guilty of one count of endangering the health or life of a child following a two-day trial, prosecutors said. That charge and the reckless conduct charge are both misdemeanors. Brodersen, of Carpentersville, was performing a science demonstration in front of a class in May 2018 at Bartlett High School when prosecutors said he poured liquid nitrogen on a male students chest and groin area. The student suffered burn injuries to a finger and his groin, the states attorneys office said. Mr. Brodersen displayed extremely poor judgment when he doused a student with a dangerous chemical during a science demonstration, DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlinsaid in a written statement. The student had volunteered to take part in the science demonstration, but did so with the understanding that the liquid nitrogen would be poured over his chest area, not on his groin area, the states attorneys office said. The student has since fully recovered, the office said. The student was lying on his back in a classroom when Brodersen poured the liquid nitrogen onto his chest, followed by a larger amount onto his groin, the Daily Herald reported. Brodersen resigned from his position and voluntarily surrendered his teaching certificate in June 2018, according to School District U-46, which includes Bartlett High School, told the Chicago Tribune. Brodersen is expected in court again March 18 for post-trial motions or sentencing. Minister president of Germanys Thuringia region, Bodo Ramelow, called for using Russias Sputnik V vaccine against the novel coronavirus on the countrys territory as soon as possible. "In my opinion, the Sputnik V vaccine provides a great opportunity for a quicker return to normal life," he said in an interview with Funke Mediengruppe, published on Thursday. "I call upon the German government to let EU understand that a necessary amount of the vaccine should be requested from Sputnik V manufacturers right now." According to the politician, authorizing the use of Sputnik V will help German citizens to overcome prejudices related to Russian-made medicines. As an example, he cited Germanys decision to reject Soviet-made vaccine against polio in 1960s, at the cost of childrens lives and health. "The use of Sputnik V in Germany can lead to the understanding that Eastern European science is not worse than that of capitalist states," TASS cited him as saying. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. 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. Manreet Kanwar, MD, is an AHN cardiologist who specializes in heart failure; she is also a board member of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation. Based on our teams leading expertise with LVAD technology, we were confident that with the proper pharmacological plan in place, paired with close monitoring, an LVAD could appropriately off-load her left ventricle, allow her heart to heal and put her heart failure into a form of remission. Cardiothoracic surgeons at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH), a part of Allegheny Health Network (AHN), are exploring a new indication for left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) as a bridge to recovery from heart failure after performing an explant procedure on a 21-year old patient from western Pennsylvania. The case has added to a growing recognition of the potential of LVADs beyond bridge to heart transplantation and is the focus of an article published by the AHN team in the Journal of Cardiac Failure (Bridging the Gap to LVAD Recovery and Explantation doi.org/10.1016/j.cardfail.2019.07.378). Manreet Kanwar, MD, an AHN cardiologist who specializes in heart failure, and board member of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, is the lead author of the report. Madysen Stauffer of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was admitted to AGH in 2019 with severe nonischemic cardiomyopathy, a form of heart failure, likely caused by a viral infection. In such circumstances, an LVAD is often implanted to support a patients failing heart until a donor heart becomes available or to provide support on a permanent (destination) basis. Madysens profile as an otherwise healthy, young adult allowed us to really challenge the typical course of treatment. Although heart transplantation is an excellent option for many patients with end-stage heart failure, transplanted hearts generally last about 15 years, on average. Throughout the course of her lifetime, she could require up to three hearts, explained Dr. Kanwar. Based on our teams long experience and leading expertise with LVAD technology, we were confident that with the proper pharmacological plan in place, paired with close monitoring, an LVAD could appropriately off-load her left ventricle, allow her heart to heal itself and put her heart failure into a form of remission. LVADs connect directly to the hearts left ventricle and aorta to augment the organs natural pumping capacity. The LVAD doesnt replace the heart, but rather helps it to pump blood from the heart to the aorta, restoring oxygenated blood flow to normal levels throughout the body. In a 2020 study published in Circulation, (Prospective Multicenter Study of Myocardial Recovery Using Left Ventricular Assist Devices doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.046415), heart specialists from across the country released results from a prospective, non-randomized study pulling from six health systems. Forty patients with chronic advanced heart failure from nonischemic cardiomyopathy who received LVADs were enrolled, and of the population, 40 percent achieved sufficient myocardial function to reach criteria for explantation within 18 months with sustained remission from heart failure at 12 months. Overall, 19 patients were explanted based on myocardial improvement; survival free from LVAD or transplantation was 90 percent at one year and 77 percent at two and three years. In a related review published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery (Bridge to Removal: A Paradigm Shift for Left Ventricular Assist Device Therapy, doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2014.07.061) researchers reviewed the trajectory of 81 LVAD patients and found that nearly 20 percent had significant recovery of left ventricular function within six months of implantation. It is one of the largest studies to prospectively link mechanical unloading with functional recovery. In November 2019, Dr. Kanwar and a surgical team at AGH led by Masaki Tsukashita, MD successfully explanted Madysens LVAD, based on predetermined indications that the heart was deemed strong enough to function independently. Madysen is now a full-time electrical engineering student in her third year at Penn State; her heart continues to improve as she follows a strict medicine regimen each morning. I had an echocardiogram in February as part of a full panel of testing needed to get back into the classroom. My heart had shown no enlargement or significant change since my last imaging nine months prior, so it has since stabilized, said Stauffer. Its been an amazing feeling to go back to school and gain back my sense of independence. My relationship with Dr. Kanwar has been one of the best Ive ever had with a clinician and I cant thank her and the AGH team enough. Its great to know that I still have my heart and in its own way, its healing itself. Within, Bridging the Gap to LVAD Recovery and Explantation, Dr. Kanwar identifies 16 additional patients who received an LVAD at AGH from 2006 through 2017 who may have benefitted from a similar course of treatment based on their profiles. This case study is among the few successful LVAD explantation procedures documented in the country, said Dr. Kanwar. We believe it will further advance and challenge the standards of care for younger patients with end-stage heart failure and provide a viable alternative to cardiac transplantation in some cases. For more information on AHN and the AHN Cardiovascular Institute, visit ahn.org. ### About the Allegheny Health Network: Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of 13 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, Health + Wellness Pavilions, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute, and a group purchasing organization. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, trauma care, cardiovascular disease, organ transplantation, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, womens health, diabetes, autoimmune disease and more. AHN employs approximately 21,000 people, has more than 2,500 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. BETHESDA, Md., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The SANS Technology Institute (SANS.edu), the nation's premiere college for cybersecurity, has announced the first three winners of the Assante Scholar Award. This award is given to outstanding students in the field of industrial control systems and is named in honor of the late Mike Assante, a pioneer the ICS security field. The awards were presented by SANS Technology Institute president Alan Paller in a virtual ceremony during the SANS ICS Security Summit. The 2021 winners of the Assante Scholar Awards are Kristy Cappelli of Washington, DC, Craig Raslawski of Georgia, and Rhianna Zuby of Ohio, all of whom completed the SANS Technology Institute's undergraduate certificate program in Applied Cybersecurity and displayed academic excellence in an industrial control system security course (ICS/SCADA Security Essentials) originally developed by Assante. At the presentation of the awards, Alan Paller recalled Mike Assante advising him that the only defense against hostile nations seeking to attack our power systems would be extraordinary practitioners who not only have a deep understanding of cybersecurity, but are completely knowledgeable of the technical environment the network, systems, and applications they are defending. "These three award winners are exceptional students who are tenacious, curious and quick learners," said Alan Paller. "They also have personalities that anyone would want to hire. If Mike were looking at me now and asking, 'Did you find those extraordinary practitioners?' I'd say that we did." About Mike Assante Mike Assante was the founder of the Industrial Control Systems Security (ICS) curriculum, ICS and SCADA Lead, and Director of Industrials and Infrastructure at the SANS Institute. A pioneer in the field of industrial control system cybersecurity, Mike made a long list of remarkable contributions to the advancement of critical infrastructure system design, threat intelligence, detection, mitigation, and incident response capabilities within the ICS community. Mr. Assante passed away in 2019, and in recognition of his legacy, the SANS Technology Institute established the Assante Scholar Award, which is eligible to undergraduate and graduate students. About the SANS Technology Institute The SANS Technology Institute (SANS.edu), America's premier college for cybersecurity, offers career-focused undergraduate and graduate programs distinguished by: A world-class faculty of highly skilled information security practitioners Hands-on cybersecurity courses that are continually updated for real-world relevance Industry-recognized GIAC certifications earned in each of its programs Innovative online and in-person course delivery options, including 100% online options for all SANS.edu programs The proven success of its alumni In the field of industrial control systems security, the SANS Technology Institute offers a master's degree with an optional Special Focus Area in Industrial Control System Security, a graduate certificate in ICSS, and elective options in industrial control systems security in its bachelor's degree and undergraduate certificate programs. Cybersecurity is all the SANS Technology Institute teaches and nobody does it better. Learn more at www.sans.edu. SOURCE SANS Institute Related Links www.sans.edu Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. News CISA and FBI Issue Joint Advisory on Exchange Server Hafnium Attacks The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced a Microsoft Exchange Server joint advisory (AA-21-069) on Wednesday that offers consolidated advice for Exchange Server users on detecting Hafnium attacks. The advice, which offers practical measures for IT pros to take, is based on republished materials, and was "partially derived from multiple open source reports." Organizations using Exchange Server products currently are under active attack by a supposed nation-state attacker, dubbed "Hafnium," via zero-day vulnerabilities in those products. Microsoft's Exchange Online serviced isn't considered to be vulnerable, though. In general, CISA and the FBI are advising organizations running Exchange Server to look for indicators of compromise using various tools and logs. If indicators of compromise are detected and organizations lack forensic skills for further investigation, then they should "immediately disconnect Microsoft Exchange on-premises servers." Moreover, organizations are advised to report indicators of compromise, the presence of Webshell code, unauthorized access to accounts and the "evidence of lateral movement by malicious actors" to either CISA or the FBI, per the advisory document. Other Advice The joint CISA-FBI advisory may be useful because so much advice has dribbled out since Microsoft's March 2 disclosure of the active attacks on Exchange Server, leveraging multiple zero-day vulnerabilities. Many other voices have since chimed in on the topic. For organizations that already know they've been compromised, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Jaap Wesselius described the nuances involved in destroying and rebuilding an Exchange Server implementation in this blog post. VMware Carbon Black's Threat Analysis Unit published detection steps to take for Exchange Server users. Users of the VMware Carbon Black security solution running "3.6 sensor versions are protected out of the box," VMware's announcement explained. Microsoft recently offered downloadable security patches for Exchange Server implementations lacking the latest cumulative updates (CUs) as a temporary measure to get products quickly patched, but not all CU versions were supported. A helpful list of the supported CUs was compiled by MVP Michel de Rooij in this blog post. If an organization is running an Exchange Server CU version that's not on the list, then they'll need to upgrade to a supported CU before applying Microsoft's Hafnium security patches. Organizations may be running Exchange Server simply because Microsoft requires it for synchronization purposes with its online services. This problem was recounted by MVP Steve Goodman in a recent Petri post. He described the years-long history of this circumstance, which has now become a potential security issue for organizations with "hybrid" (cloud services plus on-premises servers) environments. Microsoft acknowledged this issue in recent times during Ignite 2020, but it apparently went unmentioned during this month's Ignite 2021 event, Goodman noted. SophosLabs has published proof-of-concept attack tools for defense against Hafnium attacks. Here's how they were described by Andrew Brandt, principal researcher at Sophos: As mentioned in the Sophos News article, the proof-of-concept tool gives Blue and Red teams and the broader security community the opportunity to simulate an attack like Hafnium's in order to develop stronger defenses. IT solutions firm Quest plans to conduct an online public talk on detecting the Exchange Server Hafnium attacks, per this Quest announcement. The March 12 talk will feature discussions by MVPs Jeff Guillet, Michael Van Horenbeeck and Paul Robichaux, plus Bryan Patton of Quest. Exchange Server Attack Timeline Microsoft was first alerted to the Exchange Server attacks by security firm Devcore on Jan. 5, according to a timeline published in this KrebsonSecurity post. Security firms Volexity and Dubex also spotted the attacks in January, with Dubex notifying Microsoft on Jan. 27 and Volexity doing the same on Feb. 2. Microsoft initially had planned to release fixes for the Exchange Server zero-day vulnerabilities on "update Tuesday" (March 9), but instead released them a week earlier (March 2), per the KrebsonSecurity timeline. Another Hafnium timeline, produced in an article by Joe Slowik, a senior security researcher with security firm DomainTools, suggested that initial Hafnium group activity may have started a couple of months before the initial reporting by security researchers, possibly as early as November 2020. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Retired Sgt. Maj. Willie McCain is fired up, motivated, dedicated. At age 85, he's as driven as he was while he served in the Army more than 50 years ago. The career soldier is out walking every day -- even with the help of a cane -- for three to four hours a day, McCain told Scott Mason, a reporter for WRAL. He told the NBC affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina, that he still logs up to 15 miles a day and sometimes 100 miles in a week. Although his motivations might have changed, he's still out there, walking the streets of Fayetteville. During the 1970s, McCain was inspired by President Jimmy Carter's "Run For Your Life" program, where soldiers could log and track every mile they ran and receive patches for achieving milestones. The military gave him everything, he said. "I never had a job before," McCain told Mason. Running and exercising were integral parts of his Army career. "1977, and I've been doing it ever since," McCain said. "And I love it." He also volunteers today with the organization wear blue: run to remember, which uses running and walking to honor fallen troops and their families. Joining the Army straight out of high school, McCain was stationed at nearby Fort Bragg when Carter, an avid runner, implemented the military running program. In his Army days, he used running as physical training and to "motivate" soldiers on base. "You got to set an example for yourself, and you got to demonstrate," McCain told the reporter of his 30-year Army career. "Any person who was in that battalion or command that they had trouble with, they brought them out to me. They couldn't figure out, 'What is he doing to help these people?'" These days, McCain has other motivations besides exercise. They include fried fish, collard greens and nine-layer chocolate cake. At his age, walking 15 miles a day means he can eat almost anything he wants, he told WRAL. McCain said exercising is the best thing that can happen to a person, other than banana pudding. -- Blake Stilwell is 38 and is also motivated by fried fish. He can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for fitness and basic training tips, or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. A former priest has been charged with the historic sexual assault of two young boys in Sydney's west and on the NSW South Coast. Detectives in August began investigating the allegations said to have taken place between 1986 and 1991. Police will allege in court the man, who was a priest, sexually assaulted two boys then aged between 11 and 17 who were known to him, over a five-year period, while they were in his care. The ex-priest will face Penrith Courthouse on Thursday facing 13 counts of sexual assault A 70-year-old man was issued with a court attendance notice in January at a facility at Malabar, for multiple charges. These included indecently assaulting a person under 16, sexual intercourse with a person aged 10-16, homosexual intercourse with a male aged 10-18 and inciting a person under 16 to an act of indecency. The man will appear at Penrith Local Court on Thursday. If you are the provincial government, and you are not doing your job - blame Telus. It is easier for bureaucrats to blame someone else for their failures, rather to own up to their failures and take corrective action. For Justin Trudeaus government, its easier to blame the pharmaceutical companies, and vaccine nationalism by the European Union, and the United States, rather than to man up to their failures. How did the BC government ever think they could coordinate all the vaccine distribution to a Soviet style centralized system - where everyone wanting a vaccine has to go to a centralized system? As the fall of the Soviet Union has taught us, centralization on a large scale is doomed to fail. The centralized vaccine booking system is simply not meant to handle such a number of requests. Private enterprise in most cases can usually do things more efficiently, faster, and in many cases more cost effective than the government can. Besides having mass vaccination clinics, community pharmacies are ready, willing, and able to help. It is much easier to book an appointment with a community pharmacy, or doctors office of your choice, rather than to wait hours to speak to an agent, or cant book online because of an overloaded registration system. Older people are not the best with technology, and putting them on hold for hours simply is not fair, neither is it to expect their children to have to wait on the phone - when they are working, or have family responsibilities. For them, its easier to simply call their local pharmacy, or doctors office, and set up an appointment. Canadas vaccine rollout is already a national embarrassment, with our neighbours to the south vaccinating in one day, the entire proportion of Canadians that have been vaccinated so far. It only makes things worse when our government is now allowing the spacing between doses to increase to 4 months against the advice of the manufacturers, to save face for their failures and bureaucratic ineptitude. Robert Hogue Thousands of retired elderly people gathered in various parts of Lima to be vaccinated against the coronavirus Wednesday. Executive Director of Peru's Social Security, Fiorella Molinelli, told said they are set to vaccinate a total of 11,700 insured older adults. Another as yet an unknown number of poorer elderly people, many of whom never had a formal job, are being vaccinated by workers from the Ministry of Health. The elderly are being vaccinated with doses from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Peru currently has more than 1.3 million people confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 and 48,163 recorded deaths from the new coronavirus. In addition to Pfizer, Peru has purchased 1 million Sinopharm vaccines that it applied to protect doctors and nurses. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Thousands of migrant children who crossed the US-Mexico border alone are being held in US Border Patrol custody for more than four days on average in facilities unfit for minors, a dramatic increase from a week ago, according to internal documents reviewed by CNN. The data, dated Tuesday, is the latest indication of the challenge facing the Biden administration to address the bottleneck in the immigration system, with the number of unaccompanied children outpacing the availability of proper shelter space to care for kids. On average, over the last 21 days, Customs and Border Protection encountered 435 unaccompanied children daily, up from a previous average of around 340 children. They are staying in facilities for 107 hours on average, longer than the 72 permitted under US law. A week ago, the average time was 77 hours. Roberta Jacobson, the Biden administration's coordinator for the southern border, emphasized at the White House press briefing Wednesday the administration's message that now is not the time to come to the US. "It's really important that people not make the dangerous journey in the first place, that we provide them with alternatives to making that journey, because it's not safe en route," she said. "And so, you know, if I could just emphasize that, that it's really important that that message get out, because the perception is not the same as the reality in terms of the border not being open." A myriad of reasons can account for the sudden rise in children at the US-Mexico border, including the pandemic's dramatic toll on Latin America, where economies once projected to grow have been decimated, the results of two devastating hurricanes that hit the region, and a perception of relaxed enforcement by the Biden administration. Typically, after being taken into Border Patrol custody, unaccompanied children have to be turned over within 72 hours to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is tasked with the care of migrant children, barring exceptional circumstances. Once in care, case managers will work to place children with a sponsor, like a parent or relative, in the US, but as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and precautions to avoid spread of Covid-19, the department has until recently only been able to use a little more than half of the beds it has for children. Jacobson was unable to say what the administration is doing right now to solve the challenge regarding the unaccompanied minors. "My part of this focuses much more on what we're doing at the end of this process in Central America and Mexico. I think all of us at every stage of this process are doing everything we can to make sure that children are well cared for and moved into facilities that are appropriate for them," Jacobson said at the White House press briefing Wednesday afternoon. Asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins whether Jacobson would describe the surge as a crisis, she declined to say. "I'm not trying to be cute here but I think the fact of the matter is we have to do what we do regardless of what anybody calls the situation," she said, adding that there is "urgency, from the President on down, to fix our system." Jacobson said a surge in migrants trying to enter the US is a response to a "significant hope for a more humane policy." "We've seen surges before. Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was a significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of, you know, pent up demand," Jacobson said. "I don't know whether I would call that a coincidence, but I certainly think that the idea that a more humane policy would be in place may have driven people to make that decision, but perhaps more importantly, it definitely drove smugglers to express this information to spread disinformation about what was now possible," she added. This story has been updated with additional details and the White House comments. 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. Axia Public Relations helps Health Hero, the nation's largest on-site mobile mass vaccinator. The agency has been tasked with guiding Health Heros communications and positioning it as the leader for COVID-19 mass vaccination capabilities. We're rapidly vaccinating thousands while our PR and marketing experts share our experience and capabilities and encourage organizations to select our team of vaccinators to help them and their team," said Health Hero Florida president Jeff Lott. Magrino signs Banfi Wines and KYLA Hard Kombucha. The agency will work on creative programming and brand awareness development in the U.S. market through integrated public relations strategies and marketing campaigns. Created in 1919 as a New York-based wine importer, Banfi Wines is a leading Italian producer in Tuscany and Piedmont, run by third-generation family proprietor and CEO Cristina Mariani-May. KYLA Hard Kombucha was created in 2018 as an Oregon-based brewing start-up. This spring, the company will also premiere a range of cultured cocktails. LDPR books The Langham Boston, Alila Napa Valley and Hotel Viking. For the Lanhgam, LDPR will manage media relations for its reopening after a $200 million transformation, focusing on travel, trade, lifestyle, culinary and design. The agency is managing media relations and press engagements for the March 15 opening of the Alila Napa Valley in St. Helena, CA as well as for the Hotel Viking in Newport, RI, which recently renovated its Spa Fjor. LDPR is also handling media relations and press engagements around the extensive renovations at the Westin Indianapolis. The Pollack Group lands cybersecurity and network solutions company Apollo Information Systems to create marketing and PR campaigns around Apollos custom-made solutions and industry experts. Silicon Valley-based Apollo offers such services as operational threat assessment and testing, and security leadership services, using an approach that focuses on the specific business and industry of each client. As Apollo is undergoing significant growth in the cybersecurity and network space, we are looking to amplify our expertise in the industry and bring value to the many businesses that need custom-fit CISO strategies, said Ed MacBeth, VP business development for Apollo. We engaged The Pollack Group because they focus steadfastly on bringing authentic value to our customers. For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. Twenty twenty-one could be a particularly "dangerous" year for Spain, thanks to Islamic State terrorists posing as migrants entering via Europe with "instructions" to attack, among other targets, churches. A report highlights several example,s indicating an uptick in terrorist activities, adding, "[T]he fact that we are immersed in a pandemic does not seem to stop the jihadist threats." One of the more recent threats concerns Santiago de Compostela, a Christian shrine in Galicia, in the farthest northwest of the peninsula. Several messages among Muslim migrants mentioning it as a potential target have been intercepted, placing the pilgrimage site on high alert and tightening restrictions concerning foreign visitors from hotspot nations such as Syria, Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. That Muslim terrorists are specifically focused on Santiago de Compostela is not surprising. Not only is it one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites and therefore an ideal target of the jihad but the shrine (now cathedral) figures prominently in the historic wars between Christians and Muslims in Spain. Even the saint it is named after and whose body is said to rest there, James the Greater (son of Zebedee), figures in the wars of these times. Indeed, because he was widely believed to have appeared on a snow-white charger, slaughtering thousands of Muslims at the battle of Clavijo in 844, Spain's patron saint has for centuries been better known as Santiago Matamoros that is, Saint James the Moor-Slayer. Little wonder, past and present, that Muslims have targeted Matamoros and his shrine. One of the most notable attacks occurred over a thousand years ago, in 997. Then, Muhammad bin Abi Amir, known as "Almanzor" the Victorious while carrying a Koran, "over which he meditated endlessly," led a great jihad to the Christian-held north of Spain. He sacked, burned, and terrorized the region destroying the churches so that "not a trace remained" and ritually massacred or enslaved tens of thousands of Christians. He finally reached and sacked Santiago de Compostela. Because Almanzor held a "special grudge against this fighting saint," he razed his shrine to the ground; its icons, statues, and crosses were "overthrown and mutilated"; and the church bells of Compostela were seized and carried on the backs of enslaved Christians to the Great Mosque of Cordoba, where they were transformed into and used as lamps to lighten the Muslim place of worship. Prior to Almanzor's arrival, the monks guarding the shrine hid the "Moor-Slayer" saint's remains, which were returned and the edifice rebuilt. Moreover, the attack backfired; "news of the desecration of the sanctuary far from arousing fear and dismay, or causing disaffection, aroused extraordinary indignation and renewed fervor. The cause of James the Apostle became the cause of the whole of Christendom." Soon the Reconquista would be launched in full effect. Nearly 240 years later that is, 240 years of savage wars between Christians and Muslims the Christians, under Ferdinand III of Castile (r. 12171252), conquered Cordoba, for centuries the capital of Muslim Spain. The city "was cleansed of all filthiness of Muhammad," writes a contemporary Spanish chronicler; its Great Mosque, which centuries earlier had been "built with the materials of demolished churches brought to Cordoba on the heads of Christian captives, thus exalting the true religion and trampling polytheism" as a Muslim historian had once boasted was reconsecrated as a church. Then Ferdinand "ordered the cross to be put upon the chief tower [minaret] where the name of the false Muhammad was wont to be called upon and praised," continues the Spanish chronicler. The sight of the crucifix atop the church-turned-mosque-turned-church-again "caused confusion and ineffable lamentation among the Saracens and, on the contrary, ineffable joy to the Christians." Finally, Ferdinand"the tyrant, the accursed one," as he was known to Muslims found and returned on the backs of Muslim captives the bells of St. James to his sanctuary in Compostela, where they remain. While much of this history is all but forgotten today in the West, by fixating on launching a terrorist attack on the shrine of the Moor-Slayer, present-day Muslims ensure that the continuum between past and present remains. Historical quotes in this article were excerpted from the author's Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute. Space cooling already accounts for 14% of residential electricity demand in Brazil, and it is expected to increase further because of climate change. Very few studies investigate the relationship between climate change, cooling needs, and electricity demand. In a new study in Energy and Buildings, a team of researchers from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and CMCC@Ca'Foscari - a joint program of Ca'Foscari University of Venice and CMCC Foundation - investigate how climate and income during the period 1970-2010 shaped cooling services in Brazil. This historical relationship allows projecting the resulting energy demand for cooling services across three warming scenarios: +1.5C, +2C, +4C. The study shows that the average air conditioning equipment days of use would increase by more than 100% in Brazil, in a 4C warming scenario. This would substantially impact the need for space cooling and consequently, the associated energy consumption. But even in the case of more optimistic future warming scenarios, energy consumption - and consequent emissions - will increase. Because of cooling needs, average CO2 emissions, today of 0.62 Mt per year, are projected to increase in the three warming scenarios respectively by 70% (+1.5C), 99% (+2C) and 190% (+4C). "To define past and future ambient thermal comfort needs we use the wet-bulb Cooling Degree Days (CDDwb), a measure of temperature which accounts for air's humidity" explains Enrica De Cian from CMCC@Ca'Foscari, co-author of the study and principal investigator of the ERC Starting Grant project ENERGYA - Energy use for Adaptation. "Brazil is a very peculiar country as it varies widely in climatic conditions and population density. Our study shows that the highest temperature growth will happen in the northern region, characterised by low population density. Therefore, it will not translate into relevant energy consumption, excepting for the city of Manaus, the seventh largest city of Brazil, which is in the North region of the country, at the center of the Amazon rainforest". The North is already saturated, with an average of 328 annual days of air conditioning use. On the opposite in the South region, a temperature increase of 4C would inflate the energy consumption by almost 5 times. Total energy demand for space cooling in the country may rise consistently because of the income effect alone, as it has been observed in the ?rst decade of this century. "In addition to temperature and population density, income of a region is crucial in shaping energy demand" explains Malcolm Mistry, a researcher at CMCC@Ca'Foscari. "Socio-economic drivers are also important to assess trends in ownership rates and types of air conditioning units in use, as typically there is a de?cit in achieving thermal comfort in many Brazilian households because of budget constraints." Considering population and income increase alone, the ownership rate of space cooling appliances in Brazil can reach 96 air conditioning units per 100 households in 2035, compared to a current average of 40 units, boosting energy demand by 125%. Energy ef?ciency can potentially reduce this growth in energy consumption observed for all warming scenarios. The potential carbon emissions avoided by energy savings from ef?ciency measures depends on the fuel mix of the power sector. In Brazil, the authors conclude, a 59% improvement of ef?ciency is feasible but it would require much more aggressive energy ef?ciency policies than those currently in place. ### For more information: The John Lewis Partnership slumped to a 517million loss last year and has confirmed that more store closures are on the way. The group, which includes John Lewis and Waitrose, said it was 'in discussions with landlords and final decisions are expected by the end of March.' No details concerning the number of stores to permanently close, their locations or job losses were provided. But, it said it will probably have to close in 'locations where our customers aren't.' On a media call, bosses said that they could not confirm that there would be no further job losses, but hinted that they hoped to be able to redeploy partners affected by the latest line up of proposed store closures. Loss: The John Lewis Partnership slumped to a 517million loss last year The group, which has 42 stores, said: 'Hard as it is, there is no getting away from the fact that some areas can no longer profitably sustain a John Lewis store. 'Regrettably, we do not expect to reopen all our John Lewis shops at the end of lockdown, which will also have implications for our supply chain.' Chairman Sharon White said: 'Closing a store is one of the hardest decisions we can make as a Partnership. 'We are acutely sensitive to the impact on our Partners, customers, and communities, particularly at a time when retail and our high streets are undergoing major structural change. 'We will do everything we can to lessen the impact and will continue to provide community funds to support local areas.' Without Government support, JLP said it would have had to undergo an 'even bigger restructuring', putting even more jobs at risk. JLP said it wants to save 300million a year by 2022/23, but it will also plough 800million into its 'turnaround' plans this year, which includes a restructuring. The business wants to be generating a profit of around 400million by the end of 2026. A bonus for partners will not start being repaid until profits reach around 150million. Online growth: A chart from JLP showing the growth of its online shopping arm Closures: More closures are on the way for stores in the John Lewis Partnership Hubs: New small John Lewis hubs will be located in Waitrose stores The group said its latest annual loss emerged as a result of 'substantial exceptional costs', namely the write down in the value of John Lewis shops 'owing to the pronounced shift to online', as well as restructuring and redundancy costs from store closures and head office changes. In a results call with the media this morning, JLP said its John Lewis stores suffered a 190million drop in trading operating profits, with like-for-like sales flat. Having been able to stay open throughout the pandemic, Waitrose saw its operating profit rise to 1.1billion over the past year. Bosses said the group forked out 65million in Covid-related costs last year, with 25million shelled out for partner sickness. In September, the John Lewis Partnership announced that it was axing its partner bonus for the first time since 1953. This emerged as the group posted a stinging half-year loss of 635million, against a profit of 146million by the same point a year earlier. Ms White said on a media call that the past year had thrown up a 'uniquely volatile environment', meaning it could not provide a forecast for profit in the year ahead. Online shopping growth and five-year plan Before the pandemic around 6 in every 10 spent online with John Lewis 'was driven by our shops', the group said. But, since the pandemic started this had dropped to 3 in every 10 spent online. John Lewis' online sales increased by 73 per cent during the pandemic and the group expects around 70 per cent of its purchases to be made online by 2025. It said: 'While there is clearly uncertainty over the extent to which these changes will endure, we are expecting much of the shift online to be permanent and are adapting the business accordingly.' On this morning's media call, Ms White said she wants to turn the business into a 'lean, simple and fast' retailer. Turnaround plan: John Lewis Partnership chairman Sharon White and Chancellor Rishi Sunak As part of a major five-year turnaround plan, JLP said that by 2030, 40 per cent of its profits will come from outside retail and instead be focused on areas like financial services, housing and 'outdoor living.' Last year eight 'loss making' John Lewis stores and seven Waitrose stores were permanently closed, and the group today confirmed that it is in the process of reducing the cost of its head office by 20 per cent. In July, the group announced plans to permanently close John Lewis stores in Birmingham, Croydon, Newbury, Watford, Swindon and Tamworth, as well as hubs in Heathrow airport and St Pancras train station in London. The move triggered the loss of 1,300 jobs. Recent reports suggested a further eight stores were earmarked to be shut, on top of eight announced in July. Ms White said that the secret to the group's future success, she believed, stemmed from the partnership model, 'if we can get it right.' Ms White said that getting back to the group's core principles would help it get back on a stronger footing, adding that it had to adapt quickly. 'We've got a heritage, a brand and trust that other businesses would kill for', she added. Lower prices on the way? Bosses today confirmed that shoppers can expect to see new prices focused on 'value' this year. They said that shoppers will start seeing a difference to the cost of goods across ranges when stores reopen on 12 April. They added that further price changes will be introduced on new lines from the summer of this year. More 'convenient' shopping JLP is now making a big deal of its new idea to bring the John Lewis and Waitrose brands closer together. It has trialed selling certain lines of John Lewis goods within Waitrose shops at five stores and is now planning on expanding this trial to more locations. The group says that part of its problem has been people having to travel too far to get to a John Lewis store. On the media call, bosses said they may consider opening smaller, more local stores in, for example, places with vacated shops. Top brass also confirmed that with the focus on online shopping and click-and-collect, it still had no plans to become akin to 'Argos for the middle-classes.' All change on our high-streets The demise of a spate of big-name retail brands during lockdown, including Oasis, Warehouse, Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, was accelerated by the pandemic, with shop-based retailers facing soaring costs and dwindling footfall. Bricks-and-mortar based retailers are having to come up with new ways to lure in shoppers and drive up sales. This week, high street stalwart Next agreed to snap up a 25 per cent stake in high-end rival Reiss for 33million, with an option to add to its holding and secure majority control. All change: Marks & Spencer has vowed to be 'never the same' as it turns its business around Marks & Spencer is another retailer which has vowed to be 'never the same again'. Over the next three months it will start selling a further 11 brand names like Hobbs, Seasalt, White Stuff and Y.A.S online, in addition to Early Learning Centre and, among others, Nobodys Child. Back in January, M&S snapped up the Jaeger brand from administrators. 'We know online shopping is growing at pace and we need to give our customers more choices and more reasons to shop at Marks & Spencer', Neil Harrison, the director of brands at M&S, said. In the past year, John Lewis & Partners has added 30 new fashion and beauty brands in store and online, with a further 50 being introduced, many of them independent and British-based. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ATLANTA In Arizona, a Republican state senator worried aloud that his partys proposed voter identification requirements might be too cumbersome. But he voted for the bill anyway. In Iowa, the states Republican elections chief put out a carefully worded statement that didnt say whether he backs his own partys legislation making it more difficult to vote early. And in Georgia, Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan left the room as Senate Republicans approved a bill to block early voting for all but the GOPs most reliable voting bloc. Duncan instead watched Mondays proceedings from a television in his office to protest. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ This is what amounts to dissent as Republican lawmakers push a wave of legislation through statehouses across the nation to make voting more difficult. The bills are fueled by former President Donald Trumps false claims of widespread voter fraud and many are sponsored by his most loyal allies. But support for the effort is much broader than just Trumps hard-right base, and objections from GOP policymakers are so quiet they can be easy to miss. Its appalling whats happening, said former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, who condemned the silence of the GOPs elected officials. There have been no provable, obvious, systemwide failures or fraud that would require the kind of legislative remedies that Republican legislatures are embarking on. What the hell are you so afraid of? Black people voting? Experts note that most changes up for debate would disproportionately affect voters of color, younger people and the poor all groups that historically vote for Democrats. But Republicans are also pushing restrictions with the potential to place new burdens on GOP-leaning groups. Its a startling shift for a party whose voters in some states, such as Florida and Arizona, had embraced absentee and mail voting. Several Republican strategists note the party may be passing laws that only box out their own voters. There are multiple states and in multiple demographics where Republicans consistently outperform Democrats in early voting and absentee voting, and they need to be very careful because they could be shooting themselves in the foot to restrict that and make it more difficult,, said Terry Sullivan, a Republican strategist. If elected Republicans share these concerns, they have done little so far to slow the momentum of major legislation in competitive states like Georgia, Arizona, Florida and Texas, where Republicans control the state legislature and the governors office. Democratic officials, civil rights leaders and voting advocates are horrified. Martin Luther King III said he spent last weekend in Selma, Alabama, celebrating the 56th anniversary of his fathers bloody march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Instead of being a day of celebration, he said, there was a sense that the civil rights movement was sliding backward because of the Republican voting proposals. Theres no question about this being a higher level of Jim Crow, King said in an interview. He said hes worried that little can be done to stop the Republican effort in the short-term. Im not sure what would make Republicans change other than they lose (in upcoming elections, King added. There has to be a maximum effort so that does happen. Theyre going to get very few votes from community of color. Republicans championing the changes insist theyre simply trying to help restore public confidence to the U.S. election system. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020, but polls suggest that many Republicans doubted the outcome of the election after Trump repeatedly declared, falsely, that he was the victim of illegal voting. In an interview, Trump ally Ken Cuccinelli used an expletive to describe Kings suggestion that the new laws are designed to disenfranchise African Americans. I take great offense to the idea that Im trying to keep anybody from voting, Cuccinelli said. Theres no reason anybody, no matter what color they are, cant access this system if theyre a legal and appropriate voter. In Georgia, the state Senate has voted to limit access to absentee mail ballots to people 65 and over, those with a physical disability and people out of town on Election Day. Legislation passed by the state House would also dramatically reduce early voting hours, limit the use of early-voting drop boxes, and make it a crime to give food or water to voters standing in line. During Mondays Senate vote, several Republicans who represent competitive metro Atlanta districts didnt vote, including Sen. Brian Strickland. He had tried to amend the bill in committee to remove provisions scrapping no-excuse absentee voting but was unable to muster enough support. Strickland said he didnt vote against the bill because he agrees with much of it, except the provision to end no-excuse absentee voting. The idea of going backward on that now and requiring excuses, I think it sends the wrong message, Strickland said. If ultimately approved by both chambers of the legislature, the change would end broad no-excuse absentee voting put in place in 2005 by a Republican-led legislature, after more than 1.3 million people voted absentee by mail in November. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, on Monday signed a GOP-backed bill that requires voting sites to close an hour earlier and shortens the early-voting period to 20 days from the current 29. Voters will be also removed from active voting lists if they miss a single general election and dont report a change in address or re-register. Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate, who contradicted Trumps references to widespread voter fraud last fall and expanded mail-in voting during the pandemic, did not oppose the new law, but he offered no ringing endorsement either after a Latino advocacy group sued Tuesday to stop it from taking effect. My office will continue providing resources to help every eligible Iowan be a voter and understand any changes in election law, Pate said. Our goal has always been to make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat. And in Arizona, Republicans introduced dozens of bills to impose new restrictions on voting, many of them targeting the vote-by-mail system that accounts for about 80 percent of Arizonas ballots. Some of the most aggressive proposals have died unceremoniously. House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican, quietly buried a bill that would have allowed the Legislature to overturn presidential election results and appoint its own Electoral College representatives. But other measures are advancing, some with the support of Republicans who acknowledge discomfort. The Arizona Senate this week voted to require identification such as a drivers license number or a copy of a utility bill to be included with mail ballots. Republican Sen. Tyler Pace said he worried it would reduce ballot secrecy and pose a serious barrier to the many voters who dont have a printer at home. The problem is every single way you look at that it gets cumbersome, Pace said during the bill debate. Meanwhile, Steele warned Republican officials that they would face a fierce political backlash in next years midterm elections and beyond if they continue to make it harder for some voters to participate in elections. If youre silent, youre complicit. Youre complicit in disenfranchising African American voters in key jurisdictions across the country, Steele said. They will rue upcoming elections if they stay on this course. ___ Peoples reported from New York and Cooper reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report. (Newser) Matthew McConaughey is seriously considering doing something highly unusual for an actorrunning for governor of a state that isn't California. The True Detective star told Crime Stoppers of Houston's Balanced Voice podcast Wednesday that a run for Texas governor is now a "true consideration," Fox News reports. It's not clear what party, if any, the 51-year-old actor would run as a member of. In December, he slammed Hollywood liberals who "patronize" and described himself as "aggressively centrist." Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is up for reelection next year. His potential Democratic opponents include Beto O'Rourke. story continues below McConaughey told host Rania Mankarious that he was looking into what his "leadership role" could be for the next generation, the Hill reports. "Because I do think I have some things to teach and share, and what is my role?" he said. "What's my category in my next chapter of life that I'm going into?" McConaughey first raised the idea of a gubernatorial run with radio host Hugh Hewitt in November, though he said it would be "up to the people more than it would me." He said at the time that "politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested." (Read more Matthew McConaughey stories.) KGF star Yash's family has landed itself in a controversy surrounding a piece of land in the Thimmanahalli-Dudda village of Hassan. The villagers have raised objection to the actor's earth-levelling work on the vacant plot on Tuesday. The residents even alleged that the plot belonged to them and that Yash's family was encroaching it. The police have revealed that the villagers picked a fight with Yash's family members after they realised that the actors kin had arrived with bulldozers and had started the land levelling work on the plot. The residents alleged that they were making a road there. However, Yash has spoken up over the issue and said that they were only making a compound wall to protect their property. The Hindu has reported that Yash met with police officials of Dudda in Hassan with respect to the protest by residents. The Dudda police sub-inspector Madhu said, "The residents are alleging that Yash's family is encroaching upon their land, while the family claimed that they were constructing on a Kharab land, which connects to the Kalabhairaveshwara temple behind the actor's farm land." The police officer added that the villagers and Yash's parents have lodged a complaint and a counter-complaint respectively. They are currently looking into the matter and investigations are on. After being summoned to the police station, Yash shot back at the allegations and told the reporters that he had purchased the farm land to get into farming in the days to come. He said, "I am not here to make profits. I will not bother about my image. I am a son of this state, and if I want I will own property anywhere in this state. Who can stop me." The actor added that he is ready to donate even 10 acres of land for the welfare of the people of the village, but he cannot tolerate his parents being 'harassed or targeted'. ALSO READ: KGF Star Yash To Team Up With Producer Vishnuvardhan Induri For A Pan India Film? ALSO READ: Salaar: Did KGF 2 Star Yash Say 'No To Prashanth Neels Next Before Prabhas Said 'Yes To It? * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! 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 wild turkey of Griffin Avenue, and other tales of campus-bound pandemic ornithology Wrens at the Wren: A lab section of Biology 416, Introduction to Ornithology, checks out a sighting near the Sir Christopher Wren Building. In non-pandemic times, class members traverse the commonwealth to view multiple species. This year, theyve found surprising ornithological benefits in being restricted to the William & Mary campus. Photo by Dan Cristol Photo - of - Hide Caption Ornithology students at William & Mary traditionally travel the commonwealth, piling into vans at 3 a.m. to head out to where the birds are. Its off to the West Virginia border to see warblers and raptors, or to the Eastern Shore for an introduction to the arcana of the field marks that distinguish gull species. But not this year. Because of the pandemic, we cant get in the van together, said Dan Cristol. So were doing it all on foot. Its been a surprisingly rewarding experience, he said, partly because William & Mary is a pretty birdy place in its own right. Cristol, Chancellor Professor in the universitys Department of Biology, has been teaching Biology 416, Introduction to Ornithology, at William & Mary for 25 years. Last years state-trekking Ornithology class logged 265 species sighted in Virginia. Cristol says an assiduous birder can reasonably expect to find 100 species on the William & Mary campus. If this semesters class is missing out in terms of variety, their socially distanced birdwalks around campus have compensated by allowing the class to visit and revisit and recognize individual birds. For starters, theres the wild turkey of Griffin Avenue. Right across from Barksdale Field, Cristol said. A turkey has moved in there. Shes not there very often, but shes very aggressive. Well walk down the middle of the street and this hen turkey comes out, charging at us. The turkey has no hesitancy about getting up in the business of a group of large, masked, binocular-bearing creatures. Cristol said the turkey gets so close that student cell-phone snapshots look like a telephoto lens was used. Other birds react to the recurring presence of the ornithologists in less confrontational ways. For instance, the mallards on Lake Matoaka seem to understand that the class means them no harm. Theyre pretty tame, Cristol said. When they see us now, they paddle away slowly instead of taking flight. It is axiomatic among birders that wintertime is duck time and an ornithologist can mark off a decent number of waterfowl species by regular binocular scans of the surface of Lake Matoaka. This year, pickings have been just a bit on the slim side. Theres about 30 gadwall, about 15 bufflehead, maybe 20 ring-necked ducks, he said. Say about 10 pied-billed grebes, some Canada geese but normally we also get a smattering of other ducks that come through. The smattering has been smaller than normal a goldeneye, the odd canvasback. Cristol attributes the low duck count to a mild winter immediately to the north. Ducks aside, Cristol said that its been a very good birding year at William & Mary. Weve got species from the far north that we dont normally have, due to a failure of the boreal forest tree-seed crop, he said. Weve got red-breasted nuthatches, pine siskins and purple finches normally none of those are present in any numbers. When waiting for a waterfowl influx on Lake Matoaka, the class can head to the blind and feeder array at the Keck Environmental Laboratory to see some of those northern birds. Cristol set up a COVID-safe blind complex with the viewing holes six feet apart, large enough to accommodate a lab section. The students are told to be on the lookout for an evening grosbeak, but it hasnt materialized yet. They're around town, but we haven't actually seen one on campus. Those are birds that are almost never present, Cristol said. I've only seen evening grosbeaks on campus maybe two or three times in 25 years. The birding expeditions are part of the lab component of the class. Cristol says he has lab four days a week, dividing the class into groups of seven. He leads each group of seven around the likely places on campus. They often see the same bird time after time. The students get to know them like individuals: Oh, the phoebe is over on this side of the pond today. I wonder why? he said. So they're just having a completely different experience than normal years. Every person is just seeing every bird and getting to know him as an individual. We're starting to recognize some of the individuals by their songs, which are unique. A deeper acquaintance with a smaller number of bird species has produced other interesting educational opportunities. For instance, the class is mulling the puzzling crow-owl relationship. This year also has been a good one for hawks and owls; Cristol says he thinks it has to do with the burgeoning squirrel population on campus. Barred owls and great horned owls are common around campus, as are two species of crow the familiar American crow and the fish crow, whose sardonic call distinguishes it from the cawing American crow. American crows have a habit of harassing owls, behavior that Cristol says is known as mobbing. A barred owl will just be sitting on a branch, chilling, and the crows will fly around it, dive-bombing and harassing. He said one of the strangest aspects of mobbing is that sometimes the crows will attack a vacant branch if it was the site of a mobbing the day before. Cristol pointed out that vacant-branch mobbing is a phenomenon that students of previous years would not have been able to detect in their manic race to observe as many kinds of birds as possible. The students are really fascinated by how the crows attack the owls, Cristol said. And so we're having them come up with hypotheses for why crows do that. Which is good: No one's ever actually figured out definitively why crows are obsessed with attacking owls, but they are. Cristol speculates that the universitys adaptations to operation during a pandemic may have made the birds less wary, a boon for birders. There are plenty of students here, but now we dont have that huge march every 50 or 80 minutes, as students go from class to class, flushing the birds, he said. Cristol said he has come to appreciate the benefits of the kind of closer, deeper ornithology that was thrust upon him by the circumstances of the pandemic. This class is fundamentally about learning to see whats in front of you as a biologist, Cristol added. "The first step of the scientific method is observation, and the pandemic is providing an opportunity for more thoughtful observation of campus birds. Its something I might have classes do more of in the future. Local Journalism Initiative Later this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet his G7 colleagues with an unenviable climate record on the books. Canada has had the highest emission growth of its peers since the Paris Agreement was signed. From 2016 to 2019, Canadas emissions leapt 3.3 per cent, according to a new report authored by earth scientist David Hughes and co-published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Corporate Mapping Project, the Parkland Institute, Stand.earth, West Coast Environmental Law and 350.org. That emission creep is far more than the United States 0.6 per cent growth over that same period, and represents a major failing compared to the other five G7 countries, which managed to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 4.4 per cent to 10.8 per cent. We have politicians that are trying to please everybody and are making totally counter-productive policy decisions, said Hughes, calling it a stark contradiction between government priorities, which are building the Trans Mountain Expansion to the coast (and) reducing emissions by 40 per cent by 2030. Its going to lead to continuous growth for as long as the resource inputs hold out, and then a crash, a very painful crash, he said. In late April, Ottawa committed to a 40 per cent GHG reduction from 2005 levels by 2030 at the same time it plans to grow the oil and gas sector that is responsible for a quarter of the countrys emissions. Despite the emission jump from 2016 to 2019, overall emissions are down 1.2 per cent since 2005, says Hughes. So we've got 39 per cent to go in nine years, he said, warning that the low-hanging fruit of phasing out coal is in the rearview mirror and the next phase of decarbonization will be even more challenging. Assuming the government continues to implement climate policies, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) forecasts the oil and gas sector will cause Canada to miss its Paris Agreement target of an 80 per cent reduction from 2005 levels by 2050, let alone the target of net zero proposed in Bill C-12. Even if you reduce emissions from every other sector of the economy to zero, we'd still miss an 80 per cent reduction target by 32 per cent in 2050, said Hughes. However, we claim that we're going to get to net zero by 2050, so the numbers just don't make any sense. The report notes that under CERs pipeline export capacity forecasts neither the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion or the Keystone XL pipeline are needed, and it calls for the cancellation of both and any other pipeline projects CER deems unnecessary. Further, it says if a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry is developed in British Columbia, the provinces CleanBC climate plan would be impossible to achieve. The CER estimates oil and gas exports will grow 42 per cent and 186 per cent, respectively, by 2050, with domestic demand falling over that time. Oil production is predicted to peak in 2039 and then fall through 2050. That forecast estimates all production growth occurring in Alberta and British Columbia, at 13 and 146 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, the CERs modelling forecasts a 12 per cent decline in production in Saskatchewan and a staggering 99 per cent drop in Newfoundland and Labrador. However, the modelling does not take into account Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Fureys recent attempts to attract new exploration to that provinces offshore, nor tentative plans swirling on the island to use hydropower from Labradors Churchill River to power offshore oil rigs. Clearly if Canada is to have any hope of meeting its emissions-reductions targets, the oil and gas production sector will have to reduce emissions to a level far below what is projected in the CER evolving scenario, reads the report. The only way this can be done is to radically reduce production, and cutting production will have economic impacts. The oil and gas sector represents about nine per cent of total GDP and is essentially the countrys dividing line between which provinces are making GHG progress and which arent. The oil- and gas-producing provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador all saw emissions climb from 2005 to 2019, while Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island all saw emissions fall significantly, largely owing to the phaseout of coal-fired plants. While Ottawa sets new GHG reduction targets, the report highlights that since 2000, fossil fuel companies have extracted more and paid less for it. Over that time, royalty revenue is down 45 per cent despite record production, and tax revenues from the oil and gas sector have fallen to less than four per cent in 2018 of all industry taxes, compared to over 14 per cent in 2009. These cuts represent billions of dollars of lost revenue. Hughes says the reason for lower collection is due the price of oil dropping and government incentives to encourage more drilling. Because Canada has heavy energy demands in winter not easily satisfied by existing renewable power, Hughes says the country will depend on oil and gas to some extent for the foreseeable future, which is why hes against selling the resources off for diminishing returns. It is cold up here, likely we are going to need some of that gas and some of that oil, and it's finite and industry always takes the best stuff first We're selling off the best of what we have left, destroying our emissions targets and getting nothing for it, he said. John Woodside, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, National Observer 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. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday 10th March 2021 by the Ministry of Information appealed to the general public to disregard such reports. Here is the full statement RE: GOVERNMENT TO SANCTION PERSONS WHO REFUSE COVID-19 VACCINE The attention of the Ministry of Information has been drawn to a false publication by a number of reputable online portals and newspapers to the effect that Government will sanction persons who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The said reportage is false. Government has neither taken nor announced any such decision. For the avoidance of doubt, below is the quotation of the remarks by the Minister for Information at a press briefing in Peduase on Monday March 8, 2021, when asked about whether or not sanctions will be imposed on persons who refused the COVID-19 vaccines "As at now, there are no sanctions that have been rolled out. We are encouraging strongly that people should take the vaccine and we are pleased that we are observing that the initial vaccine hesitancy appears to be toning down a bit and we congratulate you our colleagues in the media as you are helping us. We congratulate our colleagues in NCCE, ISD. As we are getting the message out, we are noticing that hesitancy is gradually coming down and a lot more people are volunteering to take the vaccine. So we have not had need as at now to introduce any sanctions. Should it become necessary at some point, that we consider either what has been done I think in places like Israel or other places, where they will say if you haven't taken the vaccine you can't attend a public programme. If you haven't taken the vaccine I think in Dubai, you have to do a PCR test at your own cost every week or something, Should it become necessary that we get there, we would advise accordingly but for now, we are happy at the level of encouragement and volunteering with which people are stepping up and taking it". The general public is advised to ignore such false publications. Ghanaians are, however, encouraged to take the vaccine to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 illness. 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. Featured Video Mumbai, March 11 : Actor Freddy Daruwala is known to be among the most good-looking villains in Bollywood. Having been part of big commercial projects as Holiday, Force 2, and Commando 2, has only helped him become a popular face. However, he feels the scope for villains in a film story is restricted nowadays. "I never thought of myself as a villain or a hero. These days there is a very thin line between positive and negative leads, but casting directors don't see your potential to be a positive lead and as a result you get typecast," Freddie tells IANS. "I would love to play a negative or positive lead. It's just that when you play a positive lead, you get many choices of scripts because the project is building around you and your character. When you play a villain, there are not many scripts that explore the character. Times were different in the 1980s or the 1990s, where there was just one villain and one hero and there used to be a tussle between them. Nowadays, the situation or society becomes the villain. The content has changed," he adds. The actor will soon be seen in "The Incomplete Man", in a positive role, which fights to get justice for a rape victim. "I am not saying I want to come out of that image. My fans like me, so I don't have to work hard to change the image. Luckily, the performances I have given, people have liked me. It has not been difficult for people to get convinced that I can do something different," he says. "If I keep sitting and waiting for roles to be a villain, then I am limiting myself and even if I sit and wait for the role of a hero, I am limiting myself," says the actor, who will also be seen in a pivotal role in upcoming series "Inspector Avinash". * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. DUBLIN, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Doors and Windows Market in APAC - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The APAC doors and windows market by revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% during 2021-2026. The market will offer lucrative growth opportunities and grow 1.4 times during the forecast period by unit shipments. China is likely to emerge as the region's market leader; however, countries such as India, Australia, Indonesia, and Thailand are likely to offer expansion opportunities for new construction and renovation activities. China is the largest single market for the building construction sector. The growing disposable income of consumers and the increasing demand for thermal comfort are increasing renovation activities. With the floor space area and its associated energy consumption expected to witness traction in the coming decade, efforts to reduce emissions from buildings are prioritized, driving the usage of energy-efficient materials for construction. China is a well-established market for building codes and green policies covering residential, commercial, and public buildings. Hence, emission regulations have fueled the installment of high thermal and insulation windows and doors. APAC Doors and Windows Market Segmentation The APAC Doors and Windows market research report includes a detailed segmentation by product, types, material, end-user, installation, operation, geography. In terms of shipments, doors contributed over 35% in the APAC doors and windows market share in 2020. Wood and metal remain the most preferred material for external doors in several Southeast Asian countries. Metal doors are generally preferred for commercial buildings owing to their durability and high performance. Nevertheless, wood tends to remain the most dominant material in countries such as Japan and South Korea. Increased wood preference in interior and external work and renovation activities is likely to influence the wooden doors market growth. While vinyl is considered one of the fastest-growing segments in the region due to its low-cost and high efficiency, wood maintained its lead in 2020. The projected revival of the APAC region's construction industry is expected to contribute to the residential sector's adoption of interior doors and windows. A high-speed renovation in several tier-I APAC cities has gained momentum in recent years. Interior doors and windows are expected to generate incremental revenue of approx. USD 10 billion during the forecast period, posing an absolute growth of 36% by unit shipments. Governmental policies to renovate abandoned homes in Japan and South Korea could support the market's development due to replacing worn-out interior doors and windows. The APAC windows and doors market is dominated by metal and wooden material due to the high concentration of manufacturers in China and India. Furniture made from concrete and high-grade wood has been one of the most sought-after home decor materials in countries like Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and India. In 2020, wood was the second most dominant material for windows and doors manufacturers in the APAC region. Residential end-users are the primary drivers for doors and windows, and the market is expected to generate incremental revenue of approx-$ 30 billion during the forecast period. New government-funded housing projects currently drive the demand for new residential construction. Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand are expected to be significant hotspots for new residential installations during the forecast period. Government-funded projects are focused on high-cost efficiency, thus increasing the demand for plastic windows and doors as they are highly cost and thermally efficient than wood and metal counterparts. Japan and China account for significant solar energy usage and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). India is expected to witness increased demand due to improving living standards, growing construction industry, and increasing government initiatives to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. In 2020, new construction activities in the APAC region were highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the revival is expected to fuel the growth in 2021. China is the epicenter of new construction activities, with a slowdown witnessed during Q3 and Q4 of 2020. Building construction activities in South Korea and Indonesia are expected to revive in 2021, thereby leading to the demand for new installation of doors and windows. The introduction of housing schemes by governmental agencies in South East countries is expected to support the market growth. APAC is set to become the largest market for flexible workspace in the world by the end of 2022. It was estimated to have over 11,500 co-working spaces by January 2021. Co-working spaces are significantly boosting the demand for doors in non-residential segments, including glass material for floor and office, wooden and aluminum doors for washrooms. With the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the significance of hands-free access and remote operations has been experienced significantly. Corporate offices, food courts, medical facilities, hospitality centers, and hotels, where safety and hygiene are essential, observe automatic doors' adoption. Over the years, the growth of manual doors and windows has increased due to low maintenance, customization, individualized security, and personalization. The application of manual doors is high in growing economies such as South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand. Automatic doors and windows are expected to grow at the fastest CAGR, generating incremental revenue of $11 billion during the forecast period. Commercial renovation facilities are preferred places, where automatic versions are expected to witness adoption due to their energy efficiency, better security, and higher accessibility. INSIGHTS BY GEOGRAPHY In terms of revenue and unit shipments, China is expected to emerge as the largest doors and windows market in the APAC region. The country is one of the largest manufacturers of steel and aluminum windows and doors in the world. Customization and craftsmanship are the factors promoting the export of these products. Further, Chinese manufacturers are increasingly dealing with global customers and clients to stay competitive in the market. Design aesthetics, budget, and installation purpose play a vital role in installing doors and windows in the country. The revival of the construction industry, shopping mall boom, a significant number of hotel projects are expected to boost momentum for new installations in China during the forecast period. INSIGHTS BY VENDORS LIXIL Corporation, YKK AP, Profine Group, and VEKA have a wide presence in the APAC doors and windows market. The market has witnessed major product development in terms of performance, where uPVC doors and windows are the key focus. uPVC doors and windows are gaining high traction in the APAC market due to their high performance and low maintenance. Besides, vendors are focusing on developing energy-efficient products. They are emphasizing the development of weatherproof, lead-free, and long-lasting products. Manufacturers are introducing a variety of fenestration products to meet the rising demand. Besides, they are also focusing on innovating their products to establish a competitive edge in the market. KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED 1. What are the projected revenues of the APAC doors and windows market size by 2026? 2. How energy-efficient and sustainable building materials affect the growth of the APAC region? 3. What are the major market restraints in the doors and windows market? 4. Which segment is likely to emerge as the largest end-user during the forecast period? 5. Who are the leading players in the windows and doors market? Market Dynamics Opportunities & Trends Preference for Vinyl Doors & Windows Rise in Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Building Materials Growing Prominence for Photovoltaic Integration Growth Enablers Growing Renovation & Retrofit Activities Rising Construction Sector Product Feature Enhancements & Rise In Housing Investments Restraints Trade Barriers & End-User Variability Onset Of Pandemic Diseases Prominent Vendors LIXIL Corporation YKK AP Profine Group VEKA Other Prominent Vendors Shanghai SunFlower Group Co. Ltd. Oppein Home Group Inc. Huahe Group Co. Ltd. Guangdong Runcheng Chuangzhan Wood Industry Co. Ltd. Shanghai Finzone Windows & Doors Co. Ltd. Foshan Huge Aluminum Co. Ltd. AOLAND Inc. Doorwin Group ORIDOW Megha Door CenturyPly Purewood Doors Greenlam Industries Ltd. Duroply Industries Ltd. DP Doors Orion Doors Durian Private Ltd. Beautex Industries Pvt Ltd. Fenesta Building Systems Window Magic A&L Bradnam's Windows & Doors Parkwood Products Ltd. Hume Doors & Timber Doorcraft DAIKEN CORPORATION Eagle Aluminium Rylock DGA Windows For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xbjwh7 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 Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond gave a Facebook update this Thursday after her husband Ladd and nephew Caleb were hospitalized. Caleb, 21, was seriously injured when a fire truck he was driving crashed into another fire truck driven by Ladd, 57, in rural Oklahoma. 'I want to thank you all for your prayers for our family. Caleb and Ladd are in the hospital, but we think they will both be okay,' wrote Ree, 51. 'We think they will both be okay': Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond (left) gave a Facebook update this Thursday after her husband Ladd (right) and nephew Caleb were hospitalized; seen in 2017 'Thank you all for your love and kindness': 'As a family we are giving thanks today, knowing things could have been much worse,' she added; seen in 2011 'As a family we are giving thanks today, knowing things could have been much worse. Thank you all for your love and kindness. It means a lot,' she added. Ree's update came one day after Caleb was reported to be in critical condition in hospital following the head-on collision. The pair had been responding to a grass fire that was encroaching on the rural property on Wednesday, according to local CBS affiliate News On 6. The crash happened on a country road about eight miles west of the town of Pawhuska, according to People. Her man: Ree's husband Ladd was involved in a crash on the family ranch in Oklahoma on Wednesday that left the couple's nephew in 'critical condition' Caleb Drummond, 21, was behind the wheel when he collided head on with a fire truck driven by Ladd as they responded to a grass fire about eight miles west of Pawhuska Citing the Oklahoma highway patrol, the outlet said the trucks hit one another 'head-on' due to 'high winds on a gravel road' that caused visibility to be decreased. Caleb, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was reportedly ejected from the truck and thrown 70 feet as a result of the impact. He suffered head, arm, leg and internal injuries, according to the OHP report, and is being cared for at the St. John Medical Center in Tulsa. Ladd Drummond, 57, declined medical treatment at the scene. High winds and smoke had led to reduced visibility at the time of the collision which happened at about 1:43 p.m. local time, according to local CBS affiliate News On 6 Caleb, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was reportedly ejected from the truck and thrown 70 feet as a result of the impact. He suffered head, arm, leg and internal injuries and is being treated at St. John's Medical Center in Tulsa According to local news outlet Fox23, firefighters in the area have been battling grass fires across northeastern Oklahoma since Monday. The Drummond family is one of the largest landowners in the U.S., owning 433,000 acres of property, and Ree and Ladd have raised their four children on their ranch in Pawhuska. Drummond became famous for her popular cookbooks, blog and Food Network show. She also opened a Pioneer Woman-themed boutique hotel, a restaurant and a store in Pawhuska and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of fans flocked to the small town each week. Ree Drummond, 51, who married Ladd in 1996, became famous for her popular cookbooks, blog and Food Network show, all under her Pioneer Woman brand. Ree opened a Pioneer Woman-themed boutique hotel, a restaurant and a store in Pawhuska and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of fans flocked to the small town each week Ladd is now a key player at Drummond Land & Cattle Co, the notoriously private family-held company that Frederick Drummond started after arriving in this country from Scotland in the late 19th century. In addition to the money they bring in from their cattle and horse endeavors, Drummond Land has also received $23.9 million from the federal government via he Bureau of Land Management since December 2006. These contracts are awarded to the family to keep wild horses and burros on their massive property, with government records stating that they need the land to 'support animal protection.' Ree also came from money, growing up as the daughter of a surgeon on a country club in Bartlesville, about 20 miles east of Pawhuska. She left for school at the University of Southern California and, a few years after graduating, planned to move closer to home, to Chicago. Her plans took a detour when she stopped for a visit in Bartlesville and meet her Marlboro Man, who she wed in 1996, paving the way for the birth of her alter ego. A man accused of murdering a drug dealer did not kill anyone, his barrister has told a court, but did engage in a clumsily-executed plan to help a friend dispose of the body and other items, including a document with his own name on it. Alex Dion, 40, is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court accused of murdering Wachira Mario Phetmang, 33, in May 2018 by inflicting serious head injuries. He has pleaded not guilty. Alex Dion pictured in May 2018. Mr Phetmangs body was found in bushland next to Homebush Bay Drive in Sydneys west, wrapped in plastic and with his hands and legs bound. On Thursday, Mr Dions barrister Madeleine Avenell SC told the jury that her clients housemate was the person who killed Mr Phetmang, after a plan to steal drugs turned into an absolute disaster. [March 11, 2021] Huawei unveils its latest FusionSolar Smart PV offerings SYDNEY, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei has launched its latest cutting edge FusionSolar Smart PV offerings at a special industry event in Sydney to meet the growing demands for smarter solutions in a booming Australian solar sector in which 4,000MW of new capacity was added in 2020 taking total capacity to nearly 20,200MW. As the recognised global leader in the solar inverter market Huawei has now launched its state-of-art residential and C&I inverter in Australia that will deliver three main benefits to users: optimal electricity cost, active safety and better experience. The SUN2000-6KTL-L1 inverter is the newest addition to the existing L1 range with the 'true-hybrid' battery and optimizer ready with AFCI function and providing ultimate flexibility and safety for both installers and end-customers. The SUN2000-29.9/36/40KTL-M3 has been designed to better meet the requirements of C&I customers in Australia and includes four key features: AFCI: Designed to improve safety for PV plants, AFCI can reliably detect the occurrence of arcs in less than 0.5 seconds. Huawei's AFCI complies with TUV SUD's IEC63027 standards and the maximum distance of AFCI is 200 meters, which is sufficient for large rooftops. Optimizer compatibility: The SUN2000-20.0/36/50KTL-M3 inverters are compatible with Huawei SUN2000-450W-P optimizers. This will significantly increase the yields of the system (up to 30%) especially if the roof has shading issue. With full optimizer solution, panel level monitoring and 0V rapid shutdown can also be achieved, which is a mandatory requirement for some C&I projects in Australia . The automatic module mapping function saves 95% configuration time and ensures smooth and easy commissioning. Built-in PID recovery: PID Effect is very common in humid areas of Australia (such as Queensland and Northern Territory). The M3 inverters are equipped with built-in PID recovery function, which can increase energy yield by 1.59% in 6 months, based on a real Huawei case study. Easy commissioning: Only WLAN-FE and 4G Smart Dongle are required for commissioningthe M3 inverters, and a smart dangle can support up to 10 devices. Besides this, only one App - the FusionSolar App - is required for all set up, commissioning and monitoring, further enhancing the user experience. Mr. Hudson Liu, CEO of Huawei Australia, said: "As a pioneer of the Smart PV industry we are continuously innovating and are committed to providing the optimal output and experience to our customers and actively contributing to Australia's Renewable Energy Target." Timm McVaign, Digital Marketing Specialist of One Stop Warehouse, said: "The primary features of the SUN2000-6KTL-L1 inverter of active safety, higher yields and being battery ready are extremely helpful for our customer to communicate and on-sell the product as a desirable value add to their customers." Mr. Keera Single, CEO of Solargain, said: "As part of the smart PV solution the Fusion Solar App enables simple monitoring making selling the benefits of storage visible and also helps customers to become energy independent." About Huawei FusionSolar Huawei offers leading Smart PV solutions harnessing more than 30 years of expertise in digital information technology. By integrating AI and Cloud, Huawei further incorporates many latest ICT technologies with PV for optimal power generation, thus making the solar power plant to be Highly Efficient, Safe & Reliable with Smart O&M and Grid Supporting capabilities and builds the foundation for solar to become the main energy source. For solar energy users, Huawei launched advanced solution for C&I and residential customers based on the 'Optimal Electricity Cost and Active Safety' concept. By improving the utilization of solar power, Huawei has helped to power millions of residents and hundreds of industries globally. Huawei will continue to innovate and enable renewable energy to empower each individual, home, and organization. For more information, please visit Huawei online at https://solar.huawei.com/ or follow us on Linkedin, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE Huawei [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] On March 5, a month after my first dose, I received my second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a Publix in Johns Creek. It was no walk in the park, but I am grateful I received it. Here is my experience. Thiruvananthapuram, March 11 : While the Pinarayi Vijayan led CPI-M has come out with its list of candidates, the Congress, which leads the opposition is still contemplating on the composition and make, even as it saw one of its senior leaders, P.C.Chacko, bidding adieu to the party, on the grounds that he was not given due weightage. Kerala goes to the polls to elect 140 legislators on April 6 and the Congress is expected to contest in 92 seats. A senior Congress leader, however, said these are all common things that has happened in his party, every time it faces an election. "Even though many will ask, on how many more Chackos are going to be there, it's definitely going to be there, as, at the moment, the BJP has opened its doors. "While the CPI-M is a cadre party and has some sort of discipline, the Congress party is like a crowd and people come and go and it has happened in the past and it will happen when the list comes out and it will happen tomorrow also," said the leader who did not wished to be named. With the scene of cutting and chopping of the long list of Congress aspirants, now taking place in Delhi, the question is when would the list be out as faction managers like former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala are fighting it out for their aides. The Congress party high command led by Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and new strongman K.C.Venugopal, are not willing to budge though. While the CPI-M and CPI -- the two leading parties in the Left have been able to come out with basic guidelines that all those who have contested this many times need not seek renomination has been adhered to in letter and spirit, the same thing might not apply in the Congress. The general guideline in the Congress party is that winnability would be the criterion and around 60 per cent of the candidates would be youths and new faces. It has still not been able to come anywhere near finalisation as the faction leaders, especially 77-year-old Chandy, who knows that this would be his last chance on account of his age and failing health, is unwilling to budge, and he is rooting for his faithfuls, like eight time legislator K.C.Joseph, K.Babu, Dominic Presentation, C.P. Muhammed to name a few. Congress veteran T. Sarathchandra Prasad is among few of the senior leaders who has a feel that their name would not be in the list, and is doing his best to come out with old newspaper cuttings on their contribution to the Congress party in the yesteryears. "Just look back and the Congress party has lost senior leaders like Phillipose Thomas, G. Raman Nair, Abdullakutty to the CPI-M and BJP. "Am sure, once the list is out, a few more will be going out. One way out of this ruckus is, like the CPI-M, there should be some basic guidelines on the term and the number of times a person can contest. "Otherwise, this mad rush for seats and washing dirty linen in public will all happen. What many fail to understand is that this time, if the Congress-led UDF fails to regain power, it could well be curtains for the grand old party in Kerala, which has held office in every other Assembly elections," lamented another Congressman, venting his anger. The State unit of the BJP is not in any sort of hurry and its state president K.Surendran has already said they are waiting for the Congress' list to come out, giving clear indications, their doors will be open for the likes of "Chacko's". Over 2,200 Catholics, representing all the dioceses of Ireland, have asked their Bishops to restore public worship in an open declaration/petition. In less than one week a couple of thousand people, incudling 44 from the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, signed an on-line petition organised by Roundtower Association. Also read: Make-A-Wish brings joy to Longford boys life in lockdown The Bishops received the petition on Tuesday morning, March 9, while they gathered virtually for their plenary meeting. The petition is being added to daily at www.roundtower.org/declaration and the names of those who signed and who were included in the letter to the bishops, along with their dioceses, were attached. The declaration references the Second Vatican Councils teaching that the civil power cannot limit the public worship of God. Also read: 'The accused needs to start to believe in himself': Man jailed for robbery of Longford primary school Spokesperson for Roundtower Association, Sean McGee, said, I think the numbers of people signing the declaration highlights two things. "Firstly, there is a growing unease among grassroots Catholics that they are being unjustly excluded from access to Christs grace in public Mass and second, Catholics here are beginning to realise that, according to Catholic teaching, it is not in the governments authority to prohibit public worship. "Perhaps the Bishops dont know the teachings of Vatican II on this point or perhaps they are unwilling to follow through on it but either way the feedback we are getting is that there is mounting disquiet being directed at the Bishops. Also read: Longford County Council planners give go ahead for construction of Kenagh housing development On the matter of the Bishops being concerned for the safety and welfare of the public at this time, Mr McGee responded: Between lockdowns the Church has proved it can meet the best practices in hygienic protective provision for the healthy and it is always allowable for the weak and vulnerable to be exempt from attending Holy Mass. Perhaps our Bishops should show as much a concern for the spiritual health of their flocks as they do for their physical health? Roundtower Association was formed in 2018 and is involved in the propagation of the teachings of Catholic Faith in Ireland through conferences, study groups and debates. Cant get enough of Meghan Markle and Prince Harrys love story after their recent interview with Oprah Winfrey? These books might just be the royal romance novels you need if youre feeling the love between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after the Sentebale Polo Cup | Chris Jackson/Getty Images Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory New York Times bestselling romance novelist Jasmine Guillory evokes the magic and excitement of a holiday romance within a royal love story in Royal Holiday. Vivian Forest is only traveling to England for a whirlwind trip and some quality time with her daughter, whos been enlisted to style a member of the royal family. But she gets a lot more than she bargained for in Malcolm Hudson, whos worked for the Queen for years and is too deliciously dreamy for words. Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory From the beloved author of The Proposal and a rising star in the romance genre (Entertainment Weekly) comes a dazzling new novel about a spontaneous holiday vacation that turns into an unforgettable romance.https://t.co/vmIBOIBdPB pic.twitter.com/y22ubtl8Yt Penguin Random House (@penguinrandom) October 13, 2020 Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Casey McQuistons Red, White & Royal Blue is the perfect fit for anyone who loves the U.S./British romance between Prince Harry and Meghan. In this New York Times bestselling romance novel, the beef between Alex Claremont-Diaz whos thrust into the spotlight after his mother becomes the President of the United States and Prince Henry threatens U.S./British relations on a grand scale. But when they try to fake a friendship for the purposes of international relations, they develop an unexpected bond that goes beyond a PR stunt. Psst we are restocked on signed copies of Red, White & Royal Blue by @casey_mcquiston Get 'em while they last!#historyhuh https://t.co/8jvcnQ7TUo pic.twitter.com/rW2QL64MJ7 Astoria Bookshop (@astoriabookshop) March 3, 2021 RELATED: What Are Prince Harry and Meghan Markles Chinese Zodiac Signs? A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole Alyssa Coles entire Reluctant Royals series will likely appeal to fans of the Sussexes unique road to love. First in the series is A Princess in Theory, a tale about a grad student who keeps deleting her emails about being allegedly engaged to an African prince. The problem is, theyre true and her betrothed isnt willing to wait much longer to find his promised bride. American Royals by Katharine McGee Fans of Meghan and Prince Harry will immediately fall for Katharine McGees American Royals (and the sequel, American Royals II: Majesty), which imagines a version of the U.S. with its own monarchy. McGees carefully crafted alternate history is steeped in romantic intrigue and told from the perspectives of several different members of the American royal family. YA lovers! @katharinemcgee has an addictive new book coming: #AmericanRoyals. Pre-order with us now to get a SIGNED copy! And if you're in #Houston, grab your calendar: Katharine will be here in the shop Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 PM! See you there. https://t.co/dNgRwpb9fr pic.twitter.com/JNunq6LUlh Blue Willow Bookshop (@BlueWillowBooks) August 30, 2019 Command Me by Geneva Lee Those who prefer a Kensington Palace-inspired romance series with a little more spice will love to sink their teeth into Geneva Lees 12-book Royals Saga, starting with the novel Command Me. When bad boy Prince Alexander of Cambridge steals an unexpected kiss, he and his shocked kissing partner are doubly bowled over when they realize the tabloids caught the whole thing on camera. Devil in Blackmoor Castle by Jamila Jasper Romance author Jamila Jasper says her sizzling love story Devil in Blackmoor Castle was inspired by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. When Prince Freddie first sees London ballerina Temperance performing, he cant get enough of her and he intends to get to know every last inch of her back at Blackmoore Castle. But the couples lust turns to love faster than they ever imagined. The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright If youre more into the romance between Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, youll devour Emily Albrights The Heir and the Spare in no time. Evie, a new student at Oxford, falls for another student who just so happens to be a prince. But shes hiding a secret of her own, and when the royal family finds out, things could get ugly. The Royal Runaway by Lindsay Emory Lindsay Emorys royal romantic comedy, The Royal Runaway, is as hilarious and fast-paced as its sequel, The Royal Bodyguard. When a princess is jilted at the altar, she teams up with a sexy stranger she meets in a bar to find out what really happened to her former fiance. Theres just one problem the stranger is her exs brother, and a British spy to boot. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean If you loved Meg Cabots The Princess Diaries, youll also fall for Emiko Jeans upcoming YA novel, Tokyo Ever After. Izumi Tanaka has always struggled to feel like she belongs in her northern California hometown. When she finds out her father is the Crown Prince of Japan, shell have to learn who she really is in a whole new way. The Royal We and The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan Whether you love Prince William and Kate or Prince Harry and Meghan, youll find a royal romance to fall for in Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgans The Royal We and its follow-up novel, The Heir Affair. In The Royal We, an adventurous-but-practical Oxford student falls for the heir to the British throne. In The Heir Affair, the couple is in self-exile from the royal family after a scandal ruins their wedding. Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins Rachel Hawkins lends lighthearted comedy to a regal love story with an enemies-to-lovers twist and an LGBTQ romance at its heart in her YA novel Her Royal Highness, a companion novel to the earlier book Prince Charming. Millie applies to boarding schools across the pond in an attempt to get away from her almost-cheating almost-girlfriend in Houston. Her roommate, Flora, isnt her cup of tea; shes a Scottish princess, and she acts like one. But Millie and Flora gradually find a way to overcome their differences and discover they have more in common than they thought. Possessing the Prince by Louise Lennox Possessing the Prince: An African Royal Romance is the third book in Louise Lennoxs Sexy Sovereign series of romance novels. Do you wish there were more Black love stories with joyful endings? I do! Thats why I wrote the Sexy Sovereign Series. Book 3, Possessing the Prince, releases March 9th!Pre-order your copy today! https://t.co/7tbRvJ8RHE#blackbookstagrammer #blacklit #blackgirlsread pic.twitter.com/mc8X5ciTri Louise Lennox (@LouiseLennox4) February 22, 2021 Abena Owusu is a British royal photographer, an Ashanti Chiefs daughter and betrothed to the Ashanti king himself, until that all goes wrong. But her fathers attempts to push her into an unwanted marriage in Ghana leads her to start a fake relationship with her childhood confidante, Ashanti prince Senya Togbe. But while the marriage is feigned at first, they soon realize their mutual passion is not. (CNN) Russia moved to slow down the speed of Twitter on Wednesday after the social media company failed to remove what the country's media watchdog described as prohibited or harmful content. The move comes after Russia vowed to act against social media platforms in the wake of protests in support of opposition figure Alexey Navalny. Officials warned they would take action against social media companies that didn't filter posts about protests that the Kremlin deemed as illegal or inciting people to demonstrate. "Starting today, Roskomnadzor has taken measures of centralized response, namely, slowing down the speed of the service. The slowdown will be implemented for 100% of mobile traffic and 50% of fixed traffic. The mechanism involves slowing down the transfer of photo and video content, without limiting transmission text messages. This way, users will be able to exchange messages without hindrance," Vadim Subbotin, deputy head of the Roskomnadzor media watchdog, told journalists, according to state news agency TASS. As the move took place on Wednesday, however, some Russian government websites -- including the Kremlin and the Russian Parliament portals -- experienced an outage across the country, according to state media RIA-Novosti reported. As reports of the outages were emerging, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in a conference call that the official Kremlin website was working, but did not rule out the possibility of failures and referred reporters to the Ministry of Communications. The ministry said on its official Twitter account that problems with access to a number of government and other sites were connected with malfunctioning routers used in the Rostelecom network, adding that "the company is taking the necessary measures to restore the network functionality." RIA-Novosti reported later that the websites of the Kremlin, the State Duma and the Federation Council had resumed working. Restrictions on Twitter, Subbotin noted, will remain until all prohibited information is removed. "Roskomnadzor's actions are aimed at forcing Twitter to comply with the Russian legislation in order to protect users, including children, from prohibited content posted on the Twitter platform -- until it is completely removed," he said. The New York Times reported on Sunday that United States is planning a series of cyberattacks on Russia in an act of retaliation following the Solarwinds hack. CNN has previously reported that the Biden administration is considering a response against Russia over the SolarWinds hack that includes a mix of sanctions and a cyber component, which US officials said would likely be secret. CNN has not corroborated that the White House has approved a specific option for "counterstrikes" or a three-week timeline for carrying out such a response, as the New York Times reported Sunday. There is no evidence as of yet that the website outages experienced in Russia are connected to an outside attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also added in a conference call with journalists on Wednesday that tech companies are obliged to comply with the Russian laws and demands of the regulatory departments if they operate on the territory of the Russian Federation. "Of course, Russians should be able to have access to all the world's resources. But, in addition to this, the regulatory function is to ensure those resources act in the legal field and fulfill the legal requirements of Russia and Russian departments on the territory of the Russian Federation. Therefore, no one has any desire to block anything, but it is quite reasonable to take measures in order to force these companies to comply with our laws," said Peskov. On February 1, a law came into force in Russia, which put the onus on social media networks to independently identify and block prohibited content. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Russia's Twitter crackdown ends up taking out government websites." 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. Asylum seekers listen to names being called from a waiting list to claim asylum at a border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sept. 26, 2019. (Elliot Spagat/AP Photo) 11 States File Motion to Revive Fight for Trumps Public Charge Immigration Rule Eleven states filed a motion challenging the White Houses move to rescind a Trump-era policy that seeks to ensure that immigrants can financially support themselves in order to become American citizens or obtain permanent residency. The motion, led by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, is part of a lawsuit that his office filed on Feb. 3 against a recent immigration policy issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that halts most deportations for 100 days. But the new motionfiled in the 9th Circuit Court of Appealspertains to the Public Charge Rule after the Biden administration abandoned the defense of the law in the Supreme Court. It is unconscionable to overwhelm our infrastructure and immigration personnel when we are dealing with the health and economic devastation of the pandemic, said Brnovich, a Republican, in a statement on March 11. While regardless of ones position on immigration reform, this reckless violation of federal law is only creating another national crisis and putting additional strains on our state and hardworking Arizona taxpayers. Brnovichs lawsuit (pdf) said that invalidation of the Public Charge Rule will impose injury on the states to the tune of about $1.01 billion in foregone savings in transfer payments for all states annually. The Supreme Court had agreed last month to hear challenges to the 2018 rule, but the current administration noted in its request that all parties agreed to ask the court to dismiss the case. Immigration advocacy groups, activists, and some Democrats said the rule was tantamount to a wealth test for immigrants seeking citizenship or a green card. The Trump rule erected an invisible wall in the form of a wealth test that discriminated against people on the basis of race as a condition for regularizing their immigration status, the Legal Aid Society said last month. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also said his agency stopped the implementation of the 2019 rule. Immigrants await their turn for green card and citizenship interviews at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Queens office in Long Island City, N.Y., on May 30, 2013. (John Moore/Getty Images) The 2019 public charge rule was not in keeping with our nations values, Mayorkas said in a March 10 statement. It penalized those who access health benefits and other government services available to them. The DHS said a day before that it would revert to Clinton-era rules that instructed officials to deem immigrants public charges if they were receiving government cash benefits or long-term care in hospitals or other care facilities. Under the 1999 interim field guidance, DHS will not consider a persons receipt of Medicaid (except for Medicaid for long-term institutionalization), public housing, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as part of the public charge inadmissibility determination, the department said in a statement. The agency also said that vaccination and other medical treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, wont be considered public charge determinations. Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia joined Brnovichs lawsuit. In a separate case, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, filed a lawsuit against the White Houses 100-day deportation freeze. A federal judge in February temporarily paused the moratorium twice before placing an indefinite halt on the Biden order. Arizona and Montana are also challenging the White Houses Interim Guidance that was issued by the acting director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 18. Homeland Security officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. We are so proud of our 20-year history and thank our clients for their trust and loyalty over the years. The firm looks forward to achieving continued success for the future ahead, says Ranse Partin Conley Griggs Partin LLP recently named one of Atlantas 2020 Best Places to Work by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, is a plaintiffs law firm that was founded by partners Cale Conley, Richard Griggs and Ranse Partin. Their vision was to have a law firm that possessed all the creativity, innovation, resources and aggressiveness of a 21st-century business, but firmly built on a foundation of old-school values. These values focused on personal relationships with clients and colleagues, attention to detail, hard work and integrity. The attorneys and staff members at Conley Griggs Partin LLP are committed to working together to reach these goals and improve peoples lives. Based in Atlanta, the firm has grown exponentially over the past 20 years, opening a second office in South Georgia. The practice is dedicated to representing clients who have been injured, killed or harmed by the negligence or wrongdoing of others, as well as businesses that have been wronged or underpaid in the Southeast and across the country. This dedication to putting clients first, as well as a team approach to providing legal representation, has led to numerous awards and national recognition for both the firm and its employees. We are so proud of our 20 year history and thank our clients for their trust and loyalty over the years. The firm looks forward to achieving continued success for the future ahead, says Ranse Partin More about Conley Griggs Partin LLP: The attorneys at Conley Griggs Partin LLP have dedicated themselves to developing expertise in representing people and businesses, fighting diligently for those that have been injured or financially harmed by the negligent or wrongful conduct of others. As experienced professionals who specialize in personal injury and business tort cases, the lawyers at Conley Griggs Partin LLP are qualified to represent victims of auto accidents, business disputes, class action lawsuits, product liability, wrongful death, spinal cord injuries and much more. Conley Griggs Partin LLP is located at 4200 Northside Parkway, Building One, Ste 300 in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information about the law firm, please call (404) 467-1155 or visit http://www.conleygriggs.com. The Union Cabinet has given its nod to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent. With this approval, the government has also done away with the previous rule to allow ownership and management control with Indian. The Cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday approved amendments in the Insurance Act, 1938, news agency PTI reported citing sources. The decision regarding increasing the FDI was taken during Budget 2021 on February 1. "I propose to amend the Insurance Act, 1938 to increase the permissible FDI limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent in insurance companies and allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her speech had said. Also read: LIC IPO estimated at Rs 400-600 per share The new structure allows a majority of directors on the board and management to be resident Indians. Of these, at least 50 per cent of directors should be independent. The companies must retain a specified percentage of profit as a general reserve. The Centre also proposes to bring in a charter for investor protection. Before this, the Centre had hiked the FDI cap in insurance from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in 2015. The expansion of the FDI in the insurance sector will lead to better penetration of life insurance services across the country. The loosening of restrictions on foreign ownership of insurers will also provide new sources of funding. It will also offer access to external know-how that can support insurers' underwriting performance and unlock new operating efficiencies. As per the data, India is still way behind in terms of life insurance and general insurance penetration. Life insurance premium as a percentage of GDP is 3.6 per cent in the country, while the global average is 7.13 per cent. Similarly, in the case of general insurance, it is even worse at 0.94 per cent of GDP in India against the world average of 2.88 per cent. Global rating agency Moody's had earlier lauded the government's decision to hike the FDI limit in Indian insurance companies. Moody's said the potential for higher foreign ownership will increase insurers' financial flexibility by offering additional opportunities to bolster solvency. Also read: FDI hike in insurance, LIC IPO, privatisation of state-run insurers credit positive: Moody's 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. Portland, OR, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the India aluminum extrusion market generated $1.3 billion in 2019, and is expected to generate $2.5 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of 8.3% from 2020 to 2027. The report offers a detailed analysis of changing market trends, top winning strategies, key segments, value chain, major investment pockets, and competitive landscape. Increase in demand for lightweight products in construction activities and high corrosion resistance and durability drive the growth of the India aluminum extrusion market. However, high initial cost restrains the market growth. On the other hand, rise in demand for customized extrusion presents new opportunities in the coming years. Download Sample PDF (121 Pages PDF with Insights): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/10664 Covid-19 Scenario: Manufacturing activities of aluminum extrusion were stopped due to lockdown imposed by the government. Moreover, the supply chain is disrupted and issues such as lack of sufficient workforce occurred. Restrictions on cross-border import and export activities postponed the lead time for replenishing raw materials. This, in turn, negatively affected the upstream process. Though there has been reduced demand during the pandemic, increase in prominence of intelligent mining and digital transformation would raise the demand slowly. Request the Covid19 Impact Analysis @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/10664?reqfor=covid The report offers detailed segmentation of the India aluminum extrusion market based on product type and end user. Based on product type, the mill-finished segment accounted for the highest market share, contributing to nearly three-fifths of the total share in 2019, and will maintain its leadership position in terms of revenue during the forecast period. However, the anodized segment would register the highest CAGR of 9.5% from 2020 to 2027. Based on end user, the building & construction segment held the highest market share in 2019, accounting for more than three-fifths of the India aluminum extrusion market, and is expected to continue its leadership status during the forecast period. However, the industrial segment is expected to witness the largest CAGR of 11.7% from 2020 to 2027. Leading players of the India aluminum extrusion market discussed in the research include Arkema S.A., Celanese Corporation, BASF SE, Covestro AG, Solvay SA, and Sabic. Interested in Procuring this Report? Visit Here: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/india-aluminum-extrusion-market/purchase-options Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access | 1 Year Subscription | Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP, based in Portland, Oregon. AMR provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Workplace flexibility and fall in commuting times could also reduce need for creche places PARENTS face the threat of creche closures and higher fees as providers predict home-working will lead to falling demand for places. Many parents are expected to opt for hybrid working arrangements, switching between their office and home during the week when the economy reopens. Some childcare owners now fear a severe impact on business if the extra flexibility and fall in commuting time, coupled with health fears, prompts a longer-term fall in demand for services. At worst, they forecast closures and job losses. A reduction in places could lead to fees rising for those parents whose children remain. Mary Moloney, the president of childcare rights group OMEP and lecturer in childhood policy at Mary Immaculate College, was not surprised by the closure warning. Read More She said the sector heavily depended on the wage subsidy scheme at the moment. I have been talking to providers myself around how theyre doing and theyre all saying to me they would have had to close their doors before now without it, she said. What were finding is that even though the sector is returning to some semblance of normality, parents who work in industries that are not essential services are out of work, and are simply not sending children back to childcare settings at the moment. The other big thing that is happening is where parents are able to manage the children at home while working. That is continuing. You will do that to avoid the high cost of childcare. Its the reality of the situation for everyone. She said she knows of a provider in Limerick that had provided care for 110 families, but was at about 30pc of normal capacity throughout the pandemic. If providers go out of business, its going to reduce the available places for children and families. Secondly, the cost will go up. She said the Government needed a strategy in place so the sector did not collapse and parents needed to know if their service would be there in September. Ms Moloney said the sector was run on a shoestring budget because the Government has not invested sufficiently and most income comes from parental fees. Frances Byrne of Early Childhood Ireland (ECI) said providers feared what the new normal will be. If both parents are working remotely, they can take turns minding the children and then working in the evening for example, she said. The group wants investment of 200m a year for wage subsidy support. She said pre-schools are reopening this week, and a full reopening for all children is expected subject to public health advice on March 29. We dont know whats ahead of us, she said. The broad view is that a lot of parents will stay at home, part or full time. ECI, which has 3,800 members and is the largest provider group in the country, said if government support was wound down the loss of parental income will put the sector in jeopardy, leading to full or part closures. The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) was due to continue until March 31, but has been extended for all sectors until the end of June. The group has appealed to the Government to extend the scheme until 2022. Senator Marie Sherlock said most creches in Dublin north central had not seen a huge drop in demand, although there may be an impact on demand when offices are back open and flexible working arrangements are available. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said in January there would be no cliff edges in terms of the removal of pandemic financial supports for workers and business affected. A department spokesperson said: The minister has been clear there will be no cliff-edge to the EWSS. It is likely continued support will be necessary out to the end of 2021 to help maintain viable businesses. Courtesy Ask Chef Productions There's no need to croon to a sad Irish ballad this St. Patrick's Day. The festivities are plentiful even with in-person cancellations due to COVID-19. That's the luck of the Irish for you. "Just because you can't do what you normally do doesn't mean that you can't celebrate, says Mary Moriarty, 66, who lives in Tempe, Arizona. Her mother was born in Ireland's County Donegal and her paternal grandparents were from Ireland as well. "For the Irish, she says, St. Patrick's Day is our high holy day." So don some green garb and get ready to observe the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to remove the statewide mask order has forced businesses to decide if theyll continue requiring customers to wear masks without a mandate to assist them. The Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center released a statement following Abbotts announcement saying theyll continue to enforce mask-wearing, social distancing and capacity limits for performances. We are all very excited about getting back to a pre-COVID normal, however, that will all come in time, General Manager Stephanie Rivas said in the statement. One of the main components of their decision is that coronavirus protocols have become an industry standard, Ginny Van Doren, director of marketing, said in a phone interview. She said most artists are requiring that COVID-19 policies be in place before theyll agree to performances. After Abbotts mask order was lifted on Wednesday, there is concern that some patrons will refuse to wear face coverings, Van Doren said. Theres going to be a handful of people who might try and see what they can get away with, but by and large, people are respecting and following the rules that we have put in place, she said. Van Doren said theyre having a meeting with the University of Texas Permian Basin, which owns the performing arts center, next week to discuss the steps theyll put in place if patrons insist on not following their policies. Sam Logan, co-owner of Endless Horizons Records and Tapes in Odessa, posted on social media after Abbotts announcement that the same rules still apply and no mask, no entry. I think it is up to everybody as an individual to do what they can to keep the people around them safe, he said in a phone interview. And in that case, as a business owner, I feel like its my duty to do what I can to make sure that my employees and customers are safe. Logans post received several negative comments from those who disagreed with his choice, but he said most of those commenters were never customers and dont live in the area. He said employees are providing masks to customers who enter without them and the store is offering curbside services. So far, any mask-less customers have either taken the masks offered to them or left the store when asked to wear face coverings, Logan said. One person being offended is a lot better to me than the possibility of one of my regular customers getting sick, he said. Some businesses are changing their policies from requiring masks to asking that customers wear masks because of Abbotts decision. N-Tune Music and Sound, which has locations in Midland and Odessa, changed their signage Wednesday, according to Operations Manager Derrick Killam. A photo provided by Killam shows signs on their front doors now say, We are aware that Gov. Abbott has lifted the mask mandate. However, we have at-risk employees and we are asking you to wear your mask in our store. Theres little help available to businesses requiring masks if a customer refuses to don a face covering. Midland Mayor Patrick Payton said during a press conference Tuesday that businesses will need to decide how to enforce that rule. There will be options available to them if a particular customer or patron causes a scene or does something thats dangerous to others, outside of the perception of wearing a mask, but a local business is going to have to make that decision about how theyre going to interact with customers in that regard, he said. He said businesses cant call the police department for assistance in enforcing mask rules, but they could file criminal trespassing charges if a customer refuses to leave after service is refused. Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images Appointment slots are still open and walk-ins are welcome today (March 11) for those interested in receiving a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccination. The clinic will be open from 1:30-4 p.m. The clinic is at the Ollie Liner Center, 2000 S. Columbia St. PHOENIX, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Charlie Health, a virtual intensive outpatient (IOP) provider of mental health and substance use treatment for teens and young adults, today announced its expansion of services to Arizona. Charlie Health's announcement marks a new, accessible group-based treatment option for youth in Arizona. By partnering with key community members, hospitals, insurance companies, schools, and local therapists, Charlie Health provides treatment for clients who require more than weekly individual therapy or who are transitioning back to home and school after residential or hospital-based treatment. "With a dramatic rise in mental health concerns among youth in our communities, Charlie Health is offering its support at a critical moment," said Andrew Swartz, Director of Clinical Outreach. "Our virtual platform allows struggling youth the ability to receive support, feel connected, and find their smile from the comfort and safety of their homes." Charlie Health has provided Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho youth with unprecedented access to intensive therapy, and is now partnering with behavioral health leaders in Arizona to provide similar access for youth. The mental health crisis is urgent for youth in Arizonathe second leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults is suicide. Accessible mental health services are critical for youth populations now more than ever. Of Arizona high school students surveyed, 11% reported suicide attempts and 36% reported feeling so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks that they stopped usual activities, according to Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System data. "Providing youth with access to a continuum of mental health care services, whether they are stepping down from 24/7 care or in need of a higher level of care, is essential in achieving sustainable healing," said Charlie Health's Clinical Director, NaKeya Ashe, LCSW. "Clinical excellence is our top prioritywe're excited to continue to grow our team of licensed clinicians and provide our community with comprehensive, quality services." Rather than group clients together based on localized access to treatment centers, Charlie Health customizes treatment plans and carefully matches clients in groups of peers with similar needs. Charlie Health leverages comprehensive, evidence-based treatment programs from expert, licensed clinicians to allow healing from the comfort of clients' homes. About Charlie Health Charlie Health provides personalized, video-based treatments for teens and young adults struggling with mental health and substance use disorders. Through providing quality, accessible behavioral health support, Charlie Health hopes to remind the Arizona community that recovery is possible. To learn more, visit www.charliehealth.com. Contact: Andrew Swartz, [email protected] (480) 843-1757 SOURCE Charlie Health Related Links https://www.charliehealth.com/ Experts have issued a stark warning about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of children and young people. Psychiatrists at Cambridge University are calling for urgent action 'to ensure that this generation is not disproportionately disadvantaged by Covid'. They claimed a number of studies have shown 'moderate increases' in mental health problems and depressive symptoms in under-18s during lockdown. The experts added urgent referrals for eating disorders in England had doubled in 2020, with a similar pattern detected for all mental health referrals. Experts believe children and young adults - the most common sufferers of eating disorders - are fuelling the rise. Writing in the British Medical Journal, they said research had shown youngsters from poorer backgrounds were 'consistently worse' off. Professor Tamsin Ford, a child psychiatrist who authored the editorial, said lockdown curbs were leading to 'vicious cycles of increasing stress and distress'. She said: 'Known triggers for self-harm and poor mental health are aggravated by pandemic restrictions, including separation from friends, arguments with parents, unresolvable arguments on social media, strained finances, academic stress, and feelings of isolation. School closures are particularly difficult for families facing other adversities.' Professor Ford warned of a silent crisis in young people that was being masked because fewer mental health clinics are running at full capacity due to Covid measures. Psychiatrists at the University of Cambridge have issued a 'stark warning' about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of children and young people She said the problem may also be flying under the radar because not enough high quality studies had focused on the emotional toll of the pandemic children. Professor Ford and colleagues point to evidence that the mental health of the UK's children and young people was deteriorating before the pandemic. 'Hidden' waiting list of six million patients who haven't come forward for treatment could flood NHS Health bosses have warned of a 'hidden' waiting list of six million patients who haven't come forward for treatment could flood NHS later this year. Head of the NHS Confederation Danny Mortimer said that official waiting list could swell to unprecedented levels that have not been seen in more than a decade. Mr Mortimer added that patients should expect to wait months - and in some cases up to a year - to be treated after Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget offered no new investment to meet previous guarantees on waiting times. The NHS Confederation estimated that there was a 30 per cent drop in the number of patients being referred for treatment from 2019 to 2020. It is thought that these 5.9 million 'hidden' patients still require treatment but do not appear in any NHS statistics. But almost two thirds are expected to join waiting lists later this year - with figures expected to grow from 4.6 million in December 2020 to 8 million by October 2021. Mr Mortimer warned that this would represent the worst levels for 10 or 15 years. Advertisement For example, between 2004 and 2017 anxiety, depression, and self-harm increased, particularly among teenage girls. There have been some early indications this trend has continued, according to England's Mental Health of Children and Young People Survey. It found probable mental health conditions increased from 10.8 per cent in 2017 to 16 per cent in July 2020 across all age, sex, and ethnic groups. Meanwhile, an NHS Digital survey of 2,700 parents recruited through social media reported deteriorating mental health and increased behavioural problems among children aged four to 11 years between March and May 2020, during the first lockdown. The more deprived children had consistently worse mental health in both surveys, note the authors - a stark warning given the historic economic fallout expected when the pandemic ends. Although children are at lowest risk of death from Covid, 'concerning signals remain about the pandemic's effects on their mental health, which are unevenly experienced across different age groups and socioeconomic circumstances,' the experts warned. The long term effects also remain uncertain, they wrote. 'What we do know is that education has been disrupted and many young people now face an uncertain future,' they added. 'Policymakers must recognise the importance of education to social and mental health outcomes alongside an appropriate focus on employment and economic prospects,' they conclude. In a linked opinion article in the BMJ, researchers analysed the effects of the pandemic on suicide rates. Reports from several countries suggest there has been little effect, while in England 'real time' data shows no increase in rates of suicide or self-harm in the months post lockdown. But Professor Louis Appleby at the University of Manchester warned that these are early findings and may change. 'Beneath the overall numbers there may be variations between demographic groups or geographical areas,' he writes. 'After all, the impact of covid-19 itself has not been uniform across communities.' The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the dire situation facing tens of thousands of UK cancer patients. At the end of December 2020the worst month for medical backlogs since records began in 2007almost 4.52 million patients in England were waiting to start hospital treatment. 224,205 people had been waiting more than a year. Tens of thousands of cancer sufferers are among those waiting. Hundreds of them will die needlessly because of the Conservative governments criminal response to the pandemic. An article by the Cancer Research UK charity highlights the increasing numbers of patients waiting for cancer referrals, diagnoses and treatments. The article notes that, since the onset of the pandemic, waiting times for screening, tests and treatment have been steadily increasing. Roughly 40,000 fewer people started treatment for cancer in 2020 compared with previous years. According to Jon Shelton, senior cancer intelligence manager at the charity, the drop in numbers of cancer patients is primarily driven by a lack of diagnoses. Many cancer diagnosing tests cannot be carried out due to the sustained pressure on hospitals created by the pandemic. Around 600,000 fewer endoscopies were performed in England between March and November. Dorset Breast Screening Service mobile centre station in Bournemouth, July 2018 (credit: WSWS Media) Patients with operable cancers that can be removed by carrying out surgeries have also had to wait for months, often becoming unsuitable candidates for such procedures as their condition worsens. In reference to a study from October 2020, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) noted that across the seven major cancer types each four-week delay between diagnosis and surgery was linked to a 6-8 percent increase in mortality rates. Four-week delays for radiotherapy and chemotherapy could see mortality rates increase by as much as 23 and 28 percent respectively. An oncologist who works in a north west England National Health Service (NHS) hospital trust told the WSWS, We see a large drop of patients coming for treatments. This is because hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. Cancer patients are struggling to get appointments for clinics. Even if they managed to have an appointment, most of the occasions, we currently have telephone consultations. He added, It is very difficult for us to understand the severity of a patient condition without carrying out physical examinations. For instance, when we manage Lymphoma, patients have a lump or tumour somewhere in their bodies. We simply cannot understand the size of it without palpating [examine by touching] it. Patients with myeloma get bone pain and tenderness. How can we understand it without touching and seeing them? To check whether patients have got lymph node enlargement, splenomegaly and hepatomegaly we have to examine their bodies. Under the coronavirus situation there is an enormous crisis in diagnosing cancer and determining their severity. This delays cancer treatment. The outcomes of treatment and prognoses suffer as a result. When we start treatment, the cancer patients can have very sinister bacterial, viral and fungal infections. These infections can be fatal for this group of patients who are immunocompromised. But because of the Covid situation, they cannot get admitted to our units quickly. If they need Intensive Care treatment they wont have it because ICUs are overwhelmed. The kind of patients we used save before, die now, because of this situation, he explained. Describing the perilous situation in wards, the oncologist said, We are forced to discharge patients before their treatments are completed. Bed managers are pressurising us to send the cancer patients home earlier than we used to do before. They say that the bed capacity is dire in the hospital. At the start of the pandemic, the WSWS warned: Thousands of deaths are expected due to delays in referrals and treatment for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses in the UK, as the National Health Service is overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. We explained this would be the result of the herd immunity policy being nakedly pursued by the Johnson government. The impact of the pandemic and the herd immunity agenda fell on a health service already being driven into the ground. Figures from the Nuffield Trust show that delays to diagnoses and treatments have been increasing year-on-year for the past six yearsthe 18-week target was missed for 48 percent of patients in June 2020. These delays stem from over a decade of savage austerity cuts, which have created a massive shortage of National Health Service (NHS) staff, beds and equipment. According to NHS England data, bed capacity has been slashed by almost two thirds over last 34 years in England. In 1987, the average available daily number of beds for all specialties stood at 297,364. Bed capacity was down to 118,451 in 2020. Staff shortages are also a hugely significant factor. The WSWS noted in 2019: One of the main factors in treatment delay is staff shortages, especially of clinical oncologiststhose who treat cancer patients with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Considering figures then available, we highlighted that A census carried out by the Royal College of Radiologists in 62 major cancer centres in the UK found that more than 7.5 percent of consultant posts, which amount to 70 full-time posts, were vacant. The number of vacant nursing posts is over 40,000, accounting for 40 percent of NHS vacancies, which total a staggeringly high 100,000. The human suffering caused by the destruction of the NHS is exemplified by patients like Adrian Rogers, whose cancer became inoperable due to delays in his surgery. Rogers was quoted by the BBC as saying, People will have now died as a result of delays to treatment. The article revealed Rogers wife has been forced to start a GoFundMe page to pay for life-saving treatment for her husband as the care he requires is not available on the NHS. The pandemic has vastly accelerated the premature deaths of workers from treatable cancers. Enormous leaps in technology and medical science have helped scientists better understand cancer, paving the way for earlier and more accurate diagnosis, as well as improving methods of treatment. The subordination of healthcare to the accumulation of private profit, however, keep these advances out of reach for the majority of the population. Besides Tory and Labour governments, responsibility for the catastrophe in the NHS is shared with the trade unions. They have presided over the increasing rationing of treatments, the profiteering of medical services via privatisation, the loss of staff and decrease of beds. The unions backed the 1997 Blair/Brown Labour government whose use of Private Finance Initiatives resulted in privatisations and a growing NHS debt burden and laid the foundations for the Tory 2012 Health and Social Care Act. They did nothing to oppose the 2012 Act, which accelerated the process of privatisation. They have not raised a peep over new privatisation plans contained in Hancocks white paper, Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all. Throughout the pandemic, the unions have collaborated with the government to enforce its repeated premature reopenings, resulting in devastating waves of the disease which have crippled the NHS. For further information visit NHS FightBack 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. EasyJet has paid compensation to a British-Israeli woman who was made to move seats twice because ultra-Orthodox Jewish men refused to sit next to her. Melanie Wolfson, 38, had asked for 15,000 in a lawsuit following the flights from Tel Aviv to London. The amount she was awarded has not been revealed. Ms Wolfson, a professional fundraiser from Tel Aviv, also asked the company to ban its cabin crew from asking women to switch seats because of their gender. The budget airline has now said it was not its policy to switch people based on their sex and would dish out extra training. Melanie Wolfson, 38, claimed compensation following the flights from Tel Aviv to London The budget airline has now said it was not its policy to switch people based on their sex and would dish out extra training (file photo) Ms Wolfson said she paid extra for an aisle seat on a flight from Tel Aviv to London in October 2019. An ultra-Orthodox man and his son, who were sitting in the row when she arrived, asked her to switch seats with a man a few rows ahead. But Ms Wolfson, a professional fundraiser, said she was 'insulted and humiliated' by the request. She told Haaretz last year: 'It was the first time in my adult life that I was discriminated against for being a woman.' 'I would not have had any problem whatsoever switching seats if it were to allow members of a family or friends to sit together, but the fact that I was being asked to do this because I was a woman was why I refused.' She added: 'What was even more infuriating was that there were passengers watching this happen who said nothing.' A flight attendant eventually intervened and offered Ms Wolfson a free hot drink as an incentive to move. An ultra-Orthodox man and his son, who were sitting in the row when she arrived, asked her to switch seats with a man a few rows ahead (file photo) Concerned the flight might be delayed and feeling she had little choice, she agreed to switch seats. She said: 'There were passengers watching this happen who said nothing.' According to the suit, several flight attendants told Ms Wolfson women were often asked to switch seats in order to accommodate ultra-Orthodox men. Just over a month later, she lodged an official complaint with easyJet, arguing requests she move seats because of her gender was discriminatory. Two months later, on another easyJet flight to London, Ms Wolfson was again asked to move seats by two ultra-Orthodox men. Though she refused their request, two female passengers agreed to change seats with the two men sitting next to her, according to the lawsuit. Members of the cabin crew allegedly did not intervene or defend her right to stay seated where she was - although again she was offered a free hot drink. Ms Wolfson complained to easyJet on both occasions but when it failed to respond she decided to sue for violation of Israeli law. It prohibits discrimination against customers on the basis of race, religion, nationality, land of origin, gender, sexual orientation, political views or personal status. Although easyJet is not based in Israel, lawyers argued the airline was subject to Israeli law while its plane was on the ground at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Although easyJet is not based in Israel, lawyers argued the airline was subject to Israeli law while its plane was on the ground at Ben-Gurion International Airport (file photo) A statement from easyJet and Ms Wolfson yesterday, seen by the Guardian, said: 'EasyJet does not believe that female passengers should be asked to move seats simply based on their gender. 'The airline has a policy to politely inform any customer who raises this request that this will not be accommodated. 'Unfortunately, according to Melanie Wolfson this policy was not followed in her case. 'EasyJet is committed to tackling any discrimination on flights... we take this very seriously and in addition to compensating Ms Wolfson for her experience, easyJet intends to implement additional crew training and renew our crew guidelines in order to prevent these incidents happening in the future.' Aengus Kelly, CEO and Executive Director of AerCap attends the 2016 International Air Transport (Photo : REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo) When Irishman Aengus Kelly got his first job in aircraft leasing in 1996 it was with a firm so down on its luck the American giant General Electric had an option to buy it for one dollar. Three years earlier, GE had taken over the jewels of ruined Irish leasing empire Guinness Peat Aviation for $1.3 billion and renamed it GECAS, while the discarded rump that hired the young accountant Kelly was left with GPA's "bad assets." Advertisement On Wednesday, Kelly completed a dramatic 25-year turnaround with a $30 billion acquisition of GECAS by AerCap, the direct corporate descendant of the assets spurned by GE when it rescued the business built by legendary Irish entrepreneur Tony Ryan. It is a reminder of the risks and sometimes spectacular rewards inherent in a discreet and largely Dublin-based industry that owns 40% of the world's airline fleets. The deal marries AerCap, already the world's largest lessor following earlier acquisitions, with No. 2 GECAS to create an industry titan with more than 2,000 jetliners and relations with most key airlines. After effectively reuniting the two wings of Ryan's empire by buying GECAS, Kelly vowed not to let Ireland's new AerCap-controlled leasing giant suffer the same fate as GPA. "Those lessons were imprinted into me. You cannot run this business with a short-term liability structure or a balance sheet that is not conservative," Kelly said in an interview. "The lessons were hard-learned. I won't lie to you, but they'll never be forgotten." Known for his focus on managing risk, the 47-year-old Dubliner is a very different character from Ryan, whose highly leveraged bets built but then destroyed a leasing behemoth. While Ryan's career was a rollercoaster that saw his fortune destroyed before a punt on budget airline Ryanair rebuilt it, Kelly's rise has been slow and steady. His strategy has been to keep the balance sheet strong to swoop on killer deals when times are tough for rivals. ASSET VALUES Kelly noted that AerCap had bought GECAS for less than its assets were worth on GE's balance sheet, a move that GE said would trigger a $3 billion charge. "No other company in aircraft leasing has ever done an M&A trade below book (value). Aercap has done it four times. Why are we able to do that? Because of our conservative balance sheet, because it puts us into a position to act when times are tough." However, several aircraft transactions have been followed by asset writedowns by the buyer. Industry executives warned there was a risk of further pressure on the value of the assets being bought by AerCap as the coronavirus crisis hammers airlines. "There's always a risk ... but you price all that in when you do the transaction," Kelly said. He also dismissed any concerns over $25 billion of fresh debt, saying AerCap had kept a coveted investment-grade rating. That still leaves a leasing monolith roughly three times the size of its nearest rival facing questions over its size. Kelly had himself flagged concerns about growing too big at an Airfinance Journal conference in January last year, when he suggested a fleet of about 2,000 jets would be tricky to run. On Wednesday, he said he was confident AerCap could manage the volume of business without having to push down the price it charges airlines simply to keep up with the fleet turnover. A significant number of low-value regional jets in GECAS' portfolio have been placed until the end of their life, and GECAS has switched a significant number of narrowbodies to freight, he said. All eyes are now on whether the next tier of lessors will be driven towards further consolidation or press regulators to exact concessions. After the long road back from predecessor GPA's downfall, Kelly vaunted AerCap's credentials as an independent lessor competing with the units of major banks. But other executives said suppliers, airlines and lessors are still digesting the deal. "It's a huge market ... There's plenty of competition out there," Kelly said. "We're competing every day against the behemoth of the biggest banks in the world that own aircraft leasing companies." "We're proud to play a part in increasing access to the vaccine to as many people as possible to enable reopening efforts in the communities we serve," said Neela Montgomery, President of CVS Pharmacy and Executive Vice President, CVS Health. "Feedback on every aspect of the vaccination process has been incredibly positive, from the digital experience to interacting with our team of health care professionals whose incredible efforts are helping to move us one step closer towards the eventual end of the pandemic." Vaccines at participating CVS Pharmacy locations in Virginia will be available to individuals meeting state eligibility criteria, as well as K-12 teachers and staff and childcare workers. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app, and people without online access can contact CVS Customer Service: [(800) 746-7287]. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided. Supply for the expanded rollout in the state is sourced directly from the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Participating CVS Pharmacy locations are in the following counties and independent cities: Alexandria City, Colonial Heights City, Danville City, Emporia City, Fairfax, Hampton City, Henrico, Lynchburg City, Norfolk City, Prince William, Pulaski, Richmond City, Roanoke, Tazewell, and York. As more supply becomes available the company will expand to more store locations and in more Virginia communities. The 64 sites in Virginia are among nearly 1,200 CVS Pharmacy locations across 29 states and Puerto Rico where the company is administering vaccine, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Vermont. Vaccines will eventually be available at CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the country subject to product availability, with the capacity to administer 20 25 million shots per month. Multimedia assets, including b-roll and still photography from long-term care facility and in-store COVID-19 vaccinations, are available here. More information on steps CVS Health has taken to address the pandemic is available at the company's frequently updated COVID-19 resource center. About CVS Health CVS Health is a different kind of health care company. We are a diversified health services company with nearly 300,000 employees united around a common purpose of helping people on their path to better health. In an increasingly connected and digital world, we are meeting people wherever they are and changing health care to meet their needs. Built on a foundation of unmatched community presence, our diversified model engages one in three Americans each year. From our innovative new services at HealthHUB locations, to transformative programs that help manage chronic conditions, we are making health care more accessible, more affordable, and simply better. Learn more about how we're transforming health at www.cvshealth.com . Media Contact Amy Thibault, (401) 318-2865 [email protected] SOURCE CVS Health Related Links www.cvshealth.com RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A former Army captain serving life prison sentences for the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two young children at a North Carolina base wants to leave federal prison due to his deteriorating health during the coronavirus pandemic. Lawyers for Jeffrey MacDonald are expected to make their case Thursday before a judge at the Raleigh courthouse. Its the same place where the ex-physician was convicted in 1979 for the murders. Federal prosecutors oppose his release from a Maryland prison. Attorneys for MacDonald, 77, wrote in court documents that their clients illnesses chronic kidney disease, skin cancer and high blood pressure among them make him among those who are at the highest risk for severe illness of death, should he contract COVID-19. The governments lawyers have said MacDonald doesnt qualify for compassionate release, and that he waived his last two opportunities for parole in 2020. U.S. attorneys also wrote that MacDonalds refusal last week to take a COVID-19 vaccination means he cant rely on the potential risks of the illness to justify his release. Former Army physician Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald talks with newsmen after being released on bond in Los Angeles, Jan. 31, 1975, following his arrest on a charge of murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of his wife and two children at Fort Bragg, N.C. in 1970. (AP Photo/George Brich)AP Prosecutors said MacDonald used a knife and an ice pick to kill his wife and children at their house on Fort Bragg before stabbing himself with a scalpel. They said he donned surgical gloves and used his wifes blood to write the word PIG over their bed to imitate that years Charles Manson murders. MacDonald maintains he was wrongly convicted, pointing to drug-crazed hippies as the culprits. It became known as the Fatal Vision case, the title of a true-crime book MacDonald had invited author Joe McGinniss to write to demonstrate his innocence. Instead, McGinniss became convinced of his guilt. McGinniss died in 2014. A man has been charged with the murder of aspiring lawyer Sven Badzak, who was stabbed to death outside Waitrose as he went to buy a bagel. Rashid Gedel, 20, was arrested on Wednesday and appeared at Barkingside Magistrates' Court today where his case was sent to the Central Criminal Court for a hearing on March 15. Gedel, from Ilford in east London, is charged with murdering 22-year-old Mr Badzak in Kilburn, north west London, on February 6. The victim's mother Jasna Badzak, a former Conservative Party activist, said her son had gone to a shop to get orange juice and then to a bagel shop when he was attacked. Officers investigating the murder of 22-year-old Sven Badzak (pictured) in Kilburn continue to appeal for more witnesses to come forward Sven Badzak met Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a child. He was stabbed to death on his way to pick up some orange juice Ms Badzak said her son, who had a degree in sociology but wanted to become a lawyer, had met the Prime Minister and other well-known Conservative politicians when he was 10, through her campaigning work with the party. 'His death was completely unprovoked,' she said, adding: 'The Waitrose bag with orange juice in that he bought using my card was found at the same place where he died.' Mr Badzak, who was privately educated at Wetherby and Portland Place schools before attending Roehampton University, and his 16-year-old friend were chased at around 5.30pm. They became separated and Mr Badzak fell to the ground and was stabbed repeatedly. Pictured: Police parked at the scene of a stabbing on Willesden Lane on February 7, 2021 Mr Badzak's mother, a former Tory party activist, said her son was walking to a bagel shop when he was knifed to death in the attack, involving six people, on February 6 The 16-year-old also suffered multiple stab injuries but managed to escape into a shop in Willesden Lane and is now said to be recovering. Officers investigating the death of Mr Badzak, from Maida Hill, west London, continue to appeal for witnesses to come forward. Police are urging anybody with information relating to this investigation to call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD 5580/06Feb. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Burning Man-ischewitz sign up for the free virtual seder at www.jewbelong.com Saturday, March 27th, 2021 at 7pm ET To join us, sign up at JewBelong.com On the first night of Passover, Saturday, March 27th, 2021, JewBelong will present BURNING MAN-ISCHEWITZ, their second virtual Passover Seder, with Matt Broussard (Comedy Central) as host. In a time where the terms diversity and inclusion are on the tip of everyones tongue, JewBelong is proud of the fact that their name has included the word belong since their inception. Jews come in many forms and with varying knowledge of their culture. Sometimes Judaism can seem off-putting because of the many rules and complex traditions. JewBelong helps by explaining the intention behind the rituals and invites everyone in, whether they break the rules or abide by them. JewBelong is able to balance tradition with inclusion by highlighting love and humanity. Archie Gottesman, JewBelongs co-founder, says, We need community, albeit virtually, now more than ever. Were excited to provide a space for Jews and FOJs (Friends of Jews) to participate in a free, relevant, creative but also traditional Passover Seder. At JewBelong we dont judge if someone eats an English muffin the morning after the Seder (Jews are supposed to refrain from eating bread for the eight days of the Passover holiday). The world has too much other-ing and marginalizing right now. We want everyone to feel the belonging in a holiday that is about freedom! BURNING MAN-ISCHEWITZ, explains the Passover Seder so that those who arent Jewish, or who are but didnt get much Jewish education, or may just be someone in need of a refresher, wont feel left out or JewBarrassed (that feeling people sometimes get when they think they should know something Jewish, but they dont). Here is a quick trailer of How Long Should Seder Be? and of course a cameo from Drunk Elijah. JewBelong.com also has a free, downloadable Haggadah complete with all of the Seder steps, original songs, a fantastic skit that tells the story of Passover, Burning Bush: A Passover Drinking Game, and more. About JewBelong: JewBelong.com is a non-profit online resource that offers easy explanations and meaningful DIY rituals for Jews, for people who arent Jewish but are part of a Jewish community, and especially for anyone who has felt like a Jewish outsider or feels disengaged from the religion. JewBelongs co-founders, Archie Gottesman and Stacy Stuart, are the marketing duo that was the voice behind Manhattan Mini Storages iconic branding (NYC: Tolerant of Your Beliefs. Judgmental About Your Shoes. If You Dont Like Gay Marriage, Dont Get Gay Married). JewBelongs virtual Seder will premiere at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, March 27th, 2021 and be available for the rest of Passover. The JewBelong Seder is open to the public. ### Assets can be found here: http://bit.ly/jewbelong Include How Long Should The Seder Be? https://youtu.be/FuIsXh83VvY Include Drunk Elijah https://youtu.be/EqX7ac3Y5u4 To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Dutch inventor of the audio cassette tape dies aged 94 Lou Ottens, inventor of the cassette tape and a CD pioneer died aged 94 at his home in Duizel in Brabant on Saturday, Dutch media report. Ottens, who studied to be an engineer, started working for Philips in 1952. Eight years later he became head of the firms recently introduced product development department. Within a year he and his team had developed the first portable tape recorder of which over a million were sold. Two years later he revolutionised the old reel-to-reel tape system by inventing the cassette tape. 'I got annoyed with the clunky, user-unfriendly reel to reel system, its that simple', Ottens said later. The new carrier had to be small enough to fit into his jacket pocket, Ottens decided, and he had a wooden model made to determine the ideal size. In 1963 the first plastic encased cassette tape was presented at an electronics fair carrying the slogan smaller than a pack of cigarettes! The tapes were quickly copied by the Japanese but in different formats! Ottens managed to make a deal with Sony to use the mechanism patented by Philips to introduce a standard cassette which was then rolled out globally. Over 100 billion were sold worldwide. Ottens went on to develop the CD, which again became a Sony-Philips standard and which sold over 200 billion. In 1986 Ottens retired but he was often asked if he was proud of his inventions, which allowed millions to have access to music. I have no pride dial Ottens said in an interview, stressing that both inventions were team efforts. His biggest regret was that that Sony, not Philips, invented what he considered to be the ideal application for the cassette tape, the Walkman. That still hurts, he said. Dubious about the recent revival of the cassette tape Ottens said nothing could beat the sound of a CD. Read more at DutchNews.nl https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/03/dutch-inventor-of-the-audio-cassette-tape-dies-aged-94/? Sorry! This content is not available in your region She is a successful actress who made her film debut in 2006 film Venus. And Andrea Riseborough looked sensational as she attended a virtual event for the SXSW festival to promote her upcoming film Here Before on Wednesday. The actress, 39, cut a glamorous figure as she donned a white long-sleeved dress with a plunging neckline. Radiant: Andrea Riseborough looked sensational as she attended a virtual event for the SXSW festival to promote her upcoming film Here Before on Wednesday The garment featured a black strap detail and a floral print which the Nocturnal Animals star paired with a white necklace. Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, Andrea added height to her frame with a pair of black boots. The film star posed on a balcony for some of the shots while in another she could be seen in front of a fireplace with birthday balloons hung behind her. Here Before is a psychological thriller film set in Belfast, Northern Ireland that will have its premiere at the SXSW festival on March 17. Style: The actress, 39, cut a glamorous figure as she donned a white long-sleeved dress with a plunging neckline It comes after Andrea revealed she found the 'love of her life' while working on the set of one of her latest movies, Luxor. The actress told how she fell for co-star Karim Saleh, 42, during filming and said it couldn't have been more of a 'celebratory experience' for her. The film sees the Happy-Go-Lucky star feature as an aid worker who rekindles an old romance in Syria to forget the traumas she has seen, with Karim portraying her old flame. On-screen romance quickly turned into a real-life love story for the co-stars as Andrea admitted that she had fallen for the Counterpart actor. Outfit: The garment featured a black strap detail and a floral print which the Nocturnal Animals star paired with a white necklace She told the i newspaper: 'It's the film on which I found the love of my life. It couldn't be a more celebratory experience for me.' The film explores the idea that people never fall out of love with their old partners, something the TV star believes is 'true'. She explained: 'I think it's true. And also how many times have we really been in love?' The 'world's oldest impact crater' the vast Maniitsoq structure that lies on the coast of west Greenland is actually nothing of the sort, geologists have claimed. In 2012, an international team of researchers proposed that the 62 mile (100 kilometre) -wide structure was formed by a giant impact some 3 billion years ago. There is no crater-shaped bowl in Maniitsoq. This, the researchers argued, eroded away, as the present surface was buried 14 miles down at the time of the impact. Instead the team pointed to a magentic anomaly as well as signs of circular deep-crustal crushing which they said was evidence of the penetrating impact shock. This was met with scepticism, however, with some experts claiming that the Maniitsoq structure did not meet enough of the criteria to be classified as a crater. Now, researchers led from Canada have shown that the structure was indeed created by the exact same, regular geological process as the surrounding area. In fact, some of the magmatic rocks at the core of the alleged crater were identical to those found in an adjacent region, outside the proposed impact zone. The 'world's oldest impact crater' the vast Maniitsoq structure that lies on the coast of west Greenland is actually nothing of the sort, geologists have claimed. Pictured: Finnefjeld mountain, which researchers claimed back in 2012 was the core of a remnant impact structure In 2012, an international team of researchers proposed that the 62 mile (100 kilometre) -wide structure was formed by a giant impact some 3 billion years ago. Pictured: a geological (main) and aeromagnetic (inset) map of the Maniitsoq region on Greenland's western coastline THE ARCHEAN EON The Archean is the second of Earth's geological eons, spanning from around 42.5 billion years ago. At this time, the planet had cooled sufficiently for the continents to form and life on Earth was just beginning. Rock outcrops dating back to the Archean eon have been found in various places across the globe including Australia, Greenland, Scotland and Wyoming in the US. They usually appear as granite-rich remains of continental crust, or heavily metamorphized deep-water sediment. Advertisement The hunt now continues for impact craters from the Archean eon, 42.5 billion years ago, when the continents were newly minted and life on Earth was just beginning. Evidence for intense impact activity during this period can be found in the iconic craters on the moon's surface but their terrestrial counterparts remain elusive. It is possible than none actually remain, and that any evidence that once existed has been long ago eroded away or buried underneath much younger rock. The study debunking the impact hypothesis was undertaken by geologist Chris Yakymchuk of the University of Waterloo, in Canada, and his colleagues. 'Our results conclusively rule out the proposal that much of the rock mass in the Maniitsoq region formed by an Archean meteorite impact,' the team wrote. This, they added, 'leaves the 2.23 billion-year-old Yarrabubba structure in Western Australia as the oldest confirmed terrestrial impact structure.' 'The source craters for Archean-aged impact ejecta remain elusive on Earth.' In their study, Professor Yakymchuk and his team combined mapping of geological outcrops in the field with rock dating and chemical analysis to get to the bottom of how the Maniitsoq structure was formed. They found that the odd magnetic readings identified in the previous study do not persist over the wider area, as would be expected if this signature was formed by an impact event and nor did magnetic scans reveal any circular impact structures. The researchers analysed 5,587 grains of a mineral called zircon, looking for evidence of impact shock on their crystallographic structure. 'Zircon crystals in the rock are like little time capsules,' said Professor Yakymchuk. 'They preserve ancient damage caused by shockwaves you get from a meteorite impact. We found no such damage in them.' The researchers analysed 5,587 grains of a mineral called zircon, looking for evidence of impact shock on their crystallographic structure but found none. Pictured: a selection of zircon grains analysed by the researchers, as seen through a scanning electron microscope. The colours indicate the orientation of the crystal structure. Had the grains been subjected to a massive impact shock, this deformation would manifest as different colours in single grains Moreover, analysis of a oxygen isotopes in zircons revealed no evidence that the rocks in the Maniitsoq structure were ever subject to an influx of hot seawater through impact-forged cracks, as had previously been proposed. Had water altered the rocks in the area, they would have become enriched in a lighter isotope of oxygen that is relatively more common in seawater than rocks. The team's investigation also revealed that some rocks that were claimed to have melted and reformed as a result of the high-energy impact were actually some 40 million years younger than previously thought. Finally, the team found a swathe of rocks cross cutting the proposed impact site that were at least 100 million years younger but had also been subjected to burial, heat and deformation. It would not be possible, the researchers explained, for these rocks and evidence for an ancient impact to co-exist together in the rock record the latter would not survive such modification processes. The study debunking the impact hypothesis was undertaken by geologist Chris Yakymchuk and colleagues. 'Our results conclusively rule out the proposal that much of the rock mass in the Maniitsoq region formed by an Archean meteorite impact,' the team wrote 'I try to keep an open mind about everything in science, especially until you see the rocks themselves,' Professor Yakymchuk told Massive Science. However, he added, 'after seeing the rocks, it was kind of "Huh? These don't look that different from rocks I've seen elsewhere in the world." 'So either we missed impact structures everywhere on Earth or this wasn't one.' 'You have to take everything together and say, okay, what is the simplest explanation for all the features we see?' Professor Yakymchuk continued. 'And the simplest explanation is that this is not an impact,' he concluded. The full findings of the study were published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. US President Joe Biden, within two months of taking charge, has moved with speed to implement his domestic and international agenda. His predecessors jibe dubbing him Sleepy Joe is proving totally wrong. Of concern to India is the United States pushing Afghanistan towards what the draft paper sent to all parties, including the Taliban, calls the Afghanistan Peace Agreement. Simultaneously, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken wrote to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and senior statesman Abdullah Abdullah, urging acceleration of the entire peace process. The Biden presidency has directly or indirectly impacted other South Asian developments too. India and Pakistan surprisingly announced restoration of the 2003 ceasefire agreement after two years of heavy exchanges along the Line of Control. India ignored its dictum that no de-escalation with Pakistan was possible till it abandoned the use of terror as an adjunct to diplomacy. Pakistan decided to withdraw its precondition that till India restored the status quo ante in Kashmir, normality couldnt be restored. The US role is more clearly manifest, observing its new exit strategy from the two-decade Afghan conflict. That the US would treat Pakistan with greater deference than the Trump administration did became clear early after Team Biden began articulating its foreign policy priorities. The retention of Zalmay Khalilzad as US special representative for Afghanistan confirmed continuity rather than innovation in Americas Afghan policy. President Trump fathered the deal with the Taliban and declared a complete US troop withdrawal by May 1, 2021. US troop levels are now down to 2,500. Thus, Mr Blinkens letters to the two top Afghan leaders and the draft peace agreement, despite the letter which concedes we have not yet completed our review of the way ahead, sets out the future path. While the letter cajoled President Ghani to cooperate through subtle threats and doomsday scenario, the draft peace agreement specifies the next steps, under three sub-headings. One outlines the guiding principles for a new constitution and the future Afghan state. It envisions a multi-ethnic state and the protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The second spells out the possible shape of a transitional government that includes separation of powers. The President will be the commander-in-chief, apparently for the seamless integration of Taliban fighters in todays Afghan Army. He will also retain international relations, perhaps for better coordination with multiple foreign stakeholders, especially regional powers. The third is the need for a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. Two immediate processes are envisaged. One, the United Nations will be urged to convene the foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US. Separately, Turkey will be asked to host a senior-level meeting of both sides -- the Afghan government and the Taliban, in coming weeks to finalise a peace agreement. A controversy arose on whether Russia, perhaps on behalf of Pakistan and China, wanted India excluded from the regional group. The old Quadrilateral Coordination Group had the US, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. Thus, Indias inclusion is acceptance that the regional group would lack balance without India, as the interests of China, Pakistan and Russia mostly converge. In any case, Indias development assistance to Afghanistan has been exemplary and appreciated by the ordinary Afghan. But the United States has unlevelled the playing field by scaling back its military presence. The Afghan Army is unable to control anything more than the larger population centres. Even in Kandahar, the countrys second-largest city with great symbolic significance for the Taliban, the land access is with the Taliban. Mr Blinkens letter ends with the warning that a US troop withdrawal by May 1 is a possibility and thereafter, even with US financial assistance for the Afghan Army, the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains. This is a surrender to the Taliban-Pakistan interests even before a dialogue begins. This perhaps explains the Pakistan Army accepting a ceasefire at the Line of Control with India. They can see the balance of forces in Afghanistan tilting in their favour. Thus, they are willing to put their Kashmir strategy on hold, trying through a dialogue and Americas urgings for the status quo to be restored, while they consolidate their advantage in the west, especially by negating Indias role in a post-Ghani Afghanistan. It would be delusional to assume the Pakistan Army has swallowed the altered status quo in J&K. Indian options are circumscribed by mutated regional geopolitics compared to the late 1990s after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 1996. First, India-Iran-Russia then had total convergence of strategic interests to ensure that the Taliban couldnt capture northern Afghanistan. The three coordinated to keep the Northern Alliance alive and the Panjshir valley free, while Ahmad Shah Masood lived. Irans western border was still blocked by an inimical Saddam Hussein. Today that alliance is one in name only, as shown by the controversy over Russias role in barring India from the regional grouping. Moreover, Irans primary strategic interest is in getting US and other sanctions lifted and retaining control over Shia Crescent that runs through Shia-majority Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Today the Iran-Taliban ties are workable if not warm, with the Taliban curbing its anti-Shia zeal for the larger strategic goal of reducing its dependence on Pakistan. Iran provides an alternative exit to the open seas, and both distrust the US. The transition in Afghanistan will be tricky. Taliban tactics of fight-and-talk worked for them, particularly with the US broadcasting its military exit. Why will they accept a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire without gaining substantial control over the transitional government? The Afghan government needs money and air cover for special forces, about a quarter of the total army, well trained by the US and doing the critical fighting as the regular forces buckle. India might be able to finance but can hardly replace the US level of air cover with drones, armed helicopters and medivacs. Can India engage the Taliban, despite Pakistani objections? The Taliban too will need development aid, which even now is largely channelled in the rural hinterland through them as the government lacks access. But a constant negative will be the BJPs minority-bashing majoritarian politics and its Kashmir policy. Pakistan will count on that to keep India in the Talibans bad books. As the US exits, India must redesign its approach to an altered AfPak salient. Indias domestic and neighbourhood policies are scraping against each other. The looming Assembly elections, particularly in West Bengal and Assam, will show whether even the Indian masses are tiring of divisive and jingoistic politics. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Supply Chain Management Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 160 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 160 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Supply Chain Management Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-supply-chain-management-degree-programs/ 2021 Supply Chain Management Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): American Public University System Anderson University Arizona State University Athens State University Auburn University Baker College Ball State University Bellevue University Brandman University Capella University Clarkson University Clayton State University Coastline Community College Colorado Christian University Colorado Technical University Davidson County Community College DeSales University East Carolina University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Florida International University Florida State College, Jacksonville Forsyth Technical Community College Fox Valley Technical College Franklin University Georgia Institute of Technology Kennesaw State University Liberty University Lindenwood University Lipscomb University Metropolitan State University Michigan State University Minnesota State University, Moorhead Murray State University Northern Arizona University Northern Kentucky University Palo Alto College Park University Portland State University Shoreline Community College Southern New Hampshire University Southern Wesleyan University Temple University University of Alabama, Huntsville University of Arkansas University of Houston, Victoria University of Maryland Global Campus University of Saint Francis University of Texas, Austin University of Texas, Dallas Western Illinois University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. They have been married for almost 25 years. And Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness looked as love-up as ever as they took their dog Dali for a walk in New York on Wednesday. The couple wrapped their arms around each other during the chilly stroll as they wore matching black puffer jackets. Love is in the air! Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness cuddled up in the cold as they took their dog Dali for a walk in chilly New York on Wednesday The high-profile couple looked incredibly relaxed, smiling under their protective face masks. Hugh, 52, covered his fit frame in a black padded jacket teamed with a black T-shirt and trackpants. He finished his casual ensemble with a pair of blue runners and held onto Dali's lead as the adorable pooch trotted beside them. Keeping it casual: Hugh, 52, covered his fit frame in a black padded jacket teamed with a black T-shirt and trackpants Deborra-Lee matched her husband's attire, wearing a black puffer jacket along with black tights and a pair of white runners. Hugh has been laying low lately amid the coronavirus pandemic, but he recently took to Instagram to back Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following their bombshell interview this week. The Sydney-born star said: 'I recommend Oprah's interview with Meghan and Harry, which Deb [wife Deborra-lee Furness] and I, and millions of people around the world, watched last night, with astonishment. Matchy, matchy! Deborra-Lee matched her husband's attire, wearing a black puffer jacket along with black tights and a pair of white runners 'Because there we were, watching an incredibly high-profile woman, and her husband, speak so openly, courageously, honestly, with such dignity about the hardest time in their life and their cry for help.' Hugh has been based in the Big Apple for years with his wife Deborra-lee and their two children, Oscar and Ava. The Greatest Showman star is said to be contemplating a move back home to Sydney's Bondi Beach, where he owns a $6million property. Impressed: This week Hugh praised Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 'courageous' interview with Oprah Winfrey in a heartfelt Instagram post on Monday 'Hugh has privately considered a move back for years, but he never followed through with it because he has such a good life in the States,' a source told New Idea. 'Besides his career, there's a solid support network and he and Deb are now die-hard New Yorkers. They love the spirit of the Big Apple, plus the pace and excitement of being in a city that never sleeps.' Despite this, Hugh is reportedly missing having the beach at his backdoor and still feels attached to the laid-back lifestyle in Australia. AfricaXP will expand its free-to-air satellite TV service, PremiumFree, to millions of satellite dishes in South Africa on 1 May 2021. AfricaXP is a digital content distributor and themed linear channel creator which is focussed on Africa. Through its PremiumFree service it aims to become the default multichannel satellite TV offering on the continent. PremiumFree is already offering free-to-air satellite TV services in many African countries through two Eutelsat satellites. In 2020 AfricaXP signed multi-year agreements with Eutelsat Communications for Ku-band capacity on two Eutelsat satellites, positioned at 16 East and 7 East. This capacity enabled AfricaXP to extend the reach of its PremiumFree service from only West Africa to Eastern and Southern Africa. AfricaXP is now further extending the reach of PremiumFree through a partnership with Intelsat IS-20 which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Speaking to MyBroadband, AfricaXP CEO Craig Kelly said their PremiumFree bouquet has been available across the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa including South Africa since April 2020. The recent development is that they have acquired capacity on IS-20, which has excellent reach into homes throughout the entire region. He said the capacity on Intelsats IS-20 satellite gives them additional coverage and direct access to over 40 million homes across this region with dishes aligned to it. Many South African households have IS-20 aligned dishes connected to closed decoders that lock out other channels. These viewers could now buy any low-cost free to air decoder and connect it to their LNB cable coming from the dish to receive the PremiumFree channels. The operators of those services could also elect to open their boxes to allow reception of some or all of the free to air channels on IS-20. As the service is free-to-air with no encryption or conditional access, users can simply tune in and use the service. PremiumFree has been transmitting a pilot channel on IS-20 since 7 January. Its full bouquet will start testing in April and will be formally launched on 1 May. The current PremiumFree bouquet offers 20 English channels with a strong focus on African content. Our channels are made in Africa, by Africans for the African viewer showcasing the cream of African production and local language talent together with the best international programming on offer, it said. The content includes themes like Hollywood movies, African movies and series, kids, telenovelas, sport, comedy, lifestyle, documentaries, faith, and education. The current PremiumFree English bouquet includes the following channels: Afriwood Blockbuster Afriwood Series Bongo TV Pulse Cinema Huasa Diva Fight Night Sports Connect Fresh Gospel Life Kiddiwinks True African Life TV Limelight LOL Africa Romanza+ Africa Passion Riverwood Synapse Trigger Kelly said they will add new channels from time to time going forward to offer the best possible viewing experience. AfricaXPs PremiumFree will compete against MultiChoices entry-level DStv service and Platco Digitals Openview in the affordable linear TV market in South Africa. Launched in 2013, Openviews free-to-air satellite TV service has shown impressive growth and it now activates over 35,000 households per month. Last year Openview surpassed 2 million households which shows the strong demand for its offering. Openview has an advantage over PremiumFree in South Africa because of its local focus. It boasts 18 television and radio channels, which include eMovies, eMovies Extra, eExtra, and eToonz. It also carries all the SABC channels which are currently not currently available through PremiumFree. Another competitor in this market segment is the DStv Easyview package. which costs R25 per month. It offers 30 TV channels and 95 audio channels. While not free, DStv Easyview is affordable to millions of South African households and can therefore be seen as an Openview and PremiumFree competitor. PremiumFrees big selling point over Openview and DStv is that its bouquet of channels is broadcast unencrypted. Broadcasting unencrypted means the service can be offered free of charge and makes it possible to receive the channels instantly on dishes and decoders already owned, installed and connected. Its all about instant reach for us and with no extra equipment or cost for the viewer, said Kelly. (Natural News) Health authorities in the United Kingdom found no influenza cases two months into 2021. Laboratory analysis confirmed only one case in the last week of December, leading to allegations that possible flu cases may have been lumped into COVID-19 case counts. But health officials in the U.K. denied this was a cause for concern, as it only proved that measures to curb COVID-19 also drove down influenza transmission. The Independent reported on Feb. 25 that influenza infection rates are at historic lows, with public health officials finding not a single flu case in the U.K. for the past seven weeks. Out of the more than 685,000 swab samples analyzed by Public Health England (PHE) scientists since the first week of January 2021, none have tested positive for influenza as of writing. The U.K.s public health body processes and examines thousands of swab samples every week to find out how prevalent certain respiratory diseases are in the population. PHE has credited this low number of flu cases to public health protocols for the Wuhan coronavirus and increased flu immunizations. PHE Head of Flu Dr. Vanessa Saliba also cited a reduction in international travel and changes in behavior such as wearing masks and washing hands frequently for the lower flu cases. Saliba further commented on the role flu vaccines played in reducing infections: This seasons immunization program is on track to be the most successful ever, with the highest levels of vaccine uptake recorded for those 65 years and over, two- and three-year-olds and health care workers. Operational research professor Christina Page of University College London suggested keeping measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in place. She continued that doing so could reduce flu deaths to pretty much zero. Page also remarked that it is worth encouraging people to wear masks on public transportation and in other busy environments every winter, when the flu virus is prevalent. According to a BBC report, figures published in April 2020 by the U.K.s Office for National Statistics showed thrice as much fatalities from flu and pneumonia than COVID-19. The number of deaths from flu and pneumonia at more than 32,000 is three times higher than the total number of coronavirus deaths, the article said. There are no influenza cases as they have been lumped into COVID-19 case counts Both the U.K. and the U.S. have seen influenza cases becoming little to almost none during the onset of the pandemic. Last month, epidemiologist Knut Wittkowski claimed that influenza has been renamed COVID-19 for the most part. The former head of Rockefeller Universitys Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design argued that many flu infections are being incorrectly labeled as those caused by the Wuhan coronavirus. Wittkowski told Just The News: There may be quite a number of influenza cases included in the presumed COVID-19 category of people who have symptoms, but are not tested for SARS RNA. He noted that influenza symptoms can be mistaken for that of COVID-19. The epidemiologist further explained that those same patients also may have some SARS RNA sitting in their nose while being infected with influenza, with subsequent tests confirming it to be a COVID-19 infection. (Related: CDC admits false positives are being mistakenly included in official coronavirus data.) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the cumulative positive influenza test rate from late September 2020 into the second week of December 2020 only amounted to 0.2 percent. Figures from the same period in 2019 showed a higher 8.7 percent. Weekly counts likewise reflected dismally low numbers. The first week of January 2021 reported a 0.1 percent influenza test rate compared to the 22 percent rate reported during the first week of January 2020. This misreporting of both COVID-19 and influenza statistics has landed the public health body in hot water. Based on a new study published in Science, Public Health Policy and The Law, the CDC appeared to have violated multiple federal laws by artificially inflating COVID-19 death counts. The paper asserted that the CDCs methods for collating and classifying data significantly [impact] the published fatalities count due to COVID-19. Watchdog group All Concerned Citizens said in a statement to the National File that the CDC illegally enacted new rules for data collection and reporting for COVID-19 cases. The agencys move resulted in a 1,600 percent increase in the number of recorded COVID-19 deaths. The watchdog continued: The research [paper] asserts that CDC willfully compromised the accuracy and integrity of all COVID-19 case and fatality data from the onset of this crisis in order to fraudulently inflate case and fatality [numbers.] Despite being required to maintain full compliance with federal laws even during an emergency, the CDC failed to facilitate mandatory federal oversight and public scientific comment. Because of this shortcoming, All Concerned Citizens said a formal petition has been sent to the U.S. Department of Justice on the matter. The group added that all U.S. attorneys have also sought an immediate grand jury investigation. (Related: CDC chief admits hospitals have perverse incentive to inflate coronavirus deaths.) Visit DisInfo.news to read more about how influenza deaths are misreported as being caused by COVID-19. Sources include: NewsPunch.com Independent.co.uk Summit.news BBC.com JustTheNews.com HealthImpactNews.com [PDF] NationalFile.com The third-generation Amazon Echo Show 10 isnt just Amazons best smart display, its the most innovative, the most sophisticated, and the best-sounding smart home hub ever. The brushless motor that almost silently spins its 10.1-inch HD display around a 350-degree arc is the feature that will grab your attention when you take it out of the box, but youll quickly discover many more things to get jazzed over when you set about exploiting its capabilities to the fullest. Updated April 6, 2021 to add an unboxing and setup video (see above). Using feedback from its onboard 13-megapixel camera as well as from its far-field microphones, the Echo Show 10 rotates its display around its base so that its always facing you. This is a fantastic feature whether youre following a recipe, engaging in a video call, or watching a movie on Netflix. And Amazon gives you full control over how motion occurs: You can disable it entirely, enable it only for some activitiessuch as when making video calls, watching a video, or following a recipeor you can activate/deactivate it on demand by saying things like Alexa, follow me, Alexa, turn right, or Alexa, turn off motion. Michael Brown / IDG If you place the Echo Show next to a wall or in a corner, you can adjust how far it will rotate so that it doesnt bump into anything as it spins. The display apparently has a clutch or a similar mechanism that automatically disengages the motor while at rest, allowing you to manually turn the display left or right even if motion is enabled. Unlike previous iterations of the Echo Show, you can also tilt its display up or down to get the best viewing angle (this feature is not motorized). This review is part of TechHives coverage of the best smart speakers and displays , where youll find reviews of the competitions offerings, plus a buyers guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product. Display quality is much improved on this model compared to the first- and second-generation Echo Show. Its not only brighter, but Amazon has added the ability for the display to adjust its brightness and color to adapt to the ambient lighting in the room. Those are features Google has already made available in its competing Nest Hub Max. Michael Brown / IDG The Amazon Echo Show 10 is available in charcoal or glacial white, but its cord and power adapter will be glacial white regardless of which color your choose.. I set up the Echo Show on my kitchen island and found that its tracking feature worked well and smoothly as it followed me moving around the roomprovided theres adequate ambient light. If the room is too dark, the Echo will display a message that reads Motion is unavailable because lighting is low. And while it can spin 175 degrees in each direction, it will reverse and rapidly swing the other way when it reaches the end of either range. This induced mild vertigo for the people on the other end of my video calls, but I dont imagine there will be many times when youll go to the extreme of walking in circles around the display like I did. Most of the time, youll be moving from side to side, and the Echo Show tracked those movements relatively wellunless there was someone else in the room moving in a different direction. It could then become confused over who it was supposed to track. Having one person speak to the display helps with this, since it uses both computer vision and sound to triangulate your location. Michael Brown / IDG If youre camera shy or dont want the Echo Show 10 to track you as you move about the room, you can slide this physical shutter over its camera lens. While this reviews headline is accurate, you neednt be too concerned about the privacy implications of the Echo Show 10s ability to track your movements. Theres a MediaTek 8183 chip on board, but all the processing needed to accomplish the rotation trick is performed locally, on the device itself, using Amazons new AZ1 Neural Edge processor. No images or videos are uploaded to the cloud for this purpose. But if you still find that tracking feature disconcerting, you can slide a mechanical shutter over the cameras lens. Theres also a button for disabling its onboard microphones. Home security In addition to streaming video from compatible third-party home security cameras, including those in the Amazon-owned Ring family, you can stream a live view from other Echo Shows in your home or those belonging to your contacts using Amazons Drop In feature (providing the appropriate permissions have been granted by the other parties). Enable Alexa Guard and the Echo Show will listen for the sound of smoke and carbon-dioxide detector alarms when you say Alexa, Im leaving. If it detects those sounds, or the sound of breaking glass, Alexa will send an alert to your smartphone. Saying Alexa, Im home when you return toggles Guard mode off. Michael Brown / DIG A home-monitoring feature lets you and other authorized users use the Echo Show 10s rotating camera to see whats happening inside your home. Sign up for Alexa Guard Plus ($4.99 per month or $49 per year), and the speaker will also listen for the sound of footsteps or doors closing while Guard mode is active, indicating that someone could be in your home when its supposed to be vacant. Amazon says the Echo Show 10s motorized display will soon deliver even more home security benefits to Alexa Guard Plus subscribers: While youre away, the displays built-in camera will automatically pan the room and send you an alert if a person is detected in its field of view. Tapping the alert will activate Drop In mode, so you can get a live view from the camera to see whats going on. Dragging your finger over the live view will trigger the new Echo Show 10 to pan its camera to give you a view of the entire room. While you can create Alexa Routines that will trigger all sorts of automations based on the geolocation of your smartphone, you cant turn on Alexa Guard this way. I suspect its because theres currently no way for Alexa to determine if youre the only one whos leaving and that anyone else might still be home That would trigger an annoying false alarm, among other things. The one downside to the motorized display is that you need to maintain a five-inch perimeter all the way around the Echo Show 10; otherwise, that the spinning display could knock something over. But if you do decide to place the display against a wall or in a corner, a device-mapping process during setup lets you restrict its range of motion (you can run through this anytime you move the display to a new location). Incidentally, the Echo Show 10 is awkward to move, due to its weightand uneven weight distributionand its rotating base. Amazon also provides a paper template that you lay on your counter or tabletop that will indicate the area that should be kept clear if you are going to allow its display to rotate freely. You can also program the displays idle position, the position it will return to when it stops tracking anyone. Michael Brown / IDG Amazon provides this paper template to show you the perimeter that must be free from obstacles for the Echo Show 10 to fully rotate. Audio performance Amazon has made steady progress improving the audio performance of its Echo smart speakers over the years, and while the Echo Show 10 doesnt rise to the level of the display-less Echo Studio, the Sonos One, or the Google Home Max (a speaker well miss forever), it does sound very, very good for the price. Its outfitted with a pair of 1-inch front-firing tweeters and a substantial 3-inch woofer that pumps bass out the top of its squat, cylindrical enclosure. I didnt get a good sense of stereo separation, but the speaker doesnt sound appreciably different even when youre sitting opposite its tweeters (an unlikely scenario if tracking is enabled). Amazon hasnt released much in the way of specs for the Echo Show 10s audio subsystem, but I can tell you its speakers can get quite loud. And if you crave even more low-end performance, you can pair the speaker with Amazons very affordable and wireless Echo Sub, a feature that no other smart speaker brand except Sonos can match. Unlike most other Echo speakers, this one doesnt include a 3.5mm aux output, which doesnt surprise mea cord would easily get tangled around its base. Amazon The Amazon Echo 10 (3rd Gen) is equipped with two front-firing tweeters and an up-firing woofer. You can stream music to the Echo Show 10 via Bluetooth, but youll get a much better experience using Wi-Fi (theres a Wi-Fi 6 adapter on board). I started my listening tests streaming tracks from the Tidal app on my iPhone 12 using Bluetooth, but couldnt stand that for longtheres no support for a higher-resolution Bluetooth codec such as aptX or aptX HDso I quickly switched to Wi-Fi. You can stream music from Amazon Music, Amazon Music HD, Apple Music, Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, the aforementioned Tidal, and several other services in addition to the music stored on your own network (this story will show you how to do that). Smart home features Like most of Amazons more recent smart speakers, the third-gen Echo Show 10 has a built-in Zigbee smart home hub. Thats great if your smart home revolves around the Zigbee wireless mesh protocol, but well keep repeating our wish that Amazon would also show Z-Wave some love, the way most other smart home hub manufacturers do. The Echo Show 10 can also function as a bridge on Amazons upcoming Sidewalk neighborhood network, an initiative that promises to extend the range of smart home devices such as motion sensors, pet trackers, and similar products. Sidewalk will enable compatible devices to reach the internet even if theyre outside of Wi-Fi range. This trick is accomplished by siphoning a tiny bit of each participating homes broadband bandwidthno more than 80Kbps and maxing out at 500MB per monthvia Sidewalk bridges such as the Echo Show 10. Youre given the opporunity to opt out of Sidewalk during set up, but youll need to take steps to opt out of Sidewalk on Alexa devices that are already set up. While the company has also expressed support for the Thread smart home protocoljoining Apple, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance as part of Project Connected Home over Internet Protocol (CHIP) standards bodythe Echo Show 10 cant act as a Thread border router like Apples HomePod mini can. Thread could become a big deal or it might never get off the ground, but the same could be said of Sidewalk. Id prefer to have both technologies at my disposal, even if I end up never using either of them. Michael Brown / IDG Amazons upcoming Sidewalk long-range networking feature will help yourand your neighborsRing and other compatible smart-home devices achieve better range by siphoning a bit of each participants broadband bandwidth. All that said, speaking to Alexa is the easiest way to control all your smart home devices, since every important manufacturer renders their products compatible with it. My own home started life 13 years ago with a Vivint smart home hub at its center and with about 50 Z-Wave devices for lighting controls. Over the years, Ive added Ring doorbells, lighting, and security cameras; Philips Hue Zigbee smart bulbs and outdoor luminaires; Wi-Fi-based smart switches and ceiling fan controllers from Leviton and Lutron; numerous Sonos speakers, indoors and out; and even smart window shades that use three different communications protocols. I use Alexa to control all those products, even though theyre ostensibly not interoperable. Bottom line The third-generation Echo Show 10 earns every cent of its $20 premium over the still-available second-generation model. That said, I suspect it will be harder to pull the trigger on replacing an existing second-gen model just to get that motorized display. If, for example, your primary use for the older Echo Show is video calling, reading recipes while you cook, and watching videos when youre not stationary, an upgrade makes sense. But if you typically rely on the Echo Show just for music listening and smart home control you should probably stand pat. As with previous Echo products, the Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) by itself wont satisfy a hardcore smart home enthusiast, nor will it quench an audiophiles thirst for high-quality music reproduction or a cineastes love for movies on the big screen. But its a fantastic and affordable companion to higher-end devices in all three categories. The SkyStar Wheel on a sunny day in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on March 6, 2021. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times) San Francisco Ferris Wheel Will Stay for 4 More Years SANTA CLARA, Calif.San Franciscos Historic Preservation Committee has decided to keep the SkyStar Wheel in the music concourse in Golden Gate Park for four more years. The original agreement for the 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel was one year, as part of the parks 150th anniversary. Those in favor of the wheel staying have said that it brings a quality of life to the citys residents, more people to the city to promote local businesses, and money for the park. While the ride had been closed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, operations resumed on March 4. Its been tough on kids, its been tough on families. I think the wheel has been a symbol of hope during the time of closure, Jon Finck, SkyStar Wheel publicist, told NTD Television. Those against it staying have said the generator makes too much noise. The committee addressed that concern by proposing to replace it with a quieter one. Now that the wheel is open again, people are already lining up for their turns. People wait in line to ride the SkyStar Wheel in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on March 6, 2021. (David Lam/The Epoch Times) We havent been out to the Golden Gate Park for over a year because of the pandemic, Jose Acosta from San Jose told NTD Television. Id like to bring the grandkids next. He rode with his wife, Gloria. Its a perfect day, beautiful view, and theyre really quick about moving the line. The line is a lot longer now, she told NTD Television. It was a little scary, but it was a good ride, Krystal Hannaford told NTD Television. Krystal Hannaford (L) rode on the SkyStar Wheel with her family in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, on March 6, 2021. (David Lam/The Epoch Times) Its pretty relaxing. Going up while theyre loading, you feel a little bit like, whens this thing going to get moving again? But once it goes, its really smooth and totally chill. Great view of the city. You could see the headlands over the Marin and the top of the bridge and everything. Yeah, it was cool, Todd Reynolds told NTD Television. On a clear, sunny day, riders can see the city, ocean, and Golden Gate Bridge from the top. The wheel is 15 stories tall and has 36 ventilated gondolas that are sanitized between uses. An employee cleans a SkyStar Wheel gondola between uses at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on March 6, 2021. (David Lam/The Epoch Times) When people have been at the park, looking at the wheel not being able to turn, everybody has written to us and said time and time again, We remain hopeful that we will get through this COVID pandemic and cant wait to take a ride. And I think thats why were here today, Finck said. Tickets are $18, and San Francisco residents receive a 15 percent discount. All San Francisco public school graduating seniors can get free rides this summer from June to September with a valid ID. The committee will consider a permanent location for the temporary structure in the future. The view of the Music Concourse from the top of the SkyStar Wheel in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on March 6, 2021. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times) Transporting the Wheel The wheel, a state-of-the-art attraction, is special in that it can be taken down and transported, Finck said. It was disassembled in Cincinnati, Ohio. The parts were put in 14 huge trucks and moved to San Francisco. I watched them assemble it, and it was quite amazing, Finck said. He said it took three days to put all the gondolas together and three weeks to assemble the entire wheel. I would say that if you have a fear of heights, dont worry. Youll be fine, Finck said. I have vertigo, and its okay. A healthcare worker who admitted to drunkenly sexually assaulting his friend after she picked him from a police station has been banned from nursing for six months. Heath Pickett groped his female friend and colleague while she was driving him home after Victorian police officers asked her to help him sober up in July 2018. Mr Pickett was told he cannot apply to be a nurse for half a year at a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing held on March 4. A healthcare worker who admitted to drunkenly sexually assaulting his friend after she picked him from a police station has been banned from nursing (Stock) Mr Pickett - who 'was upset due to issues in his personal life' - went on a drinking spree on Wednesday July 18, 2018. After drinking two and a half bottles of scotch, he was picked up by police who called his female friend and asked her to take him to her house while he sobered up. At her home, the aged care nurse put on his friend's high heels, fell into her coffee table and vomited on the carpet near her front door. She decided to take him back to his place but while driving had to try and defend herself while he assaulted her multiple times by groping her breast and crotch, and then laughingly exposed his penis to her as she tried to tuck him into bed upon arrival. Heath Pickett groped his female friend and colleague while she was driving him home after Victorian police asked her to help him sober up in July 2018. Pictured: Victoria Police logo from 2013 The day after the incident Mr Heath apologised via text and the victim replied, 'all good, sorry for what?' She later experienced 'serious adverse impacts' from the assault, VCAT said. Mr Pickett pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault in the Magistrates' Court on April 4 in 2019. No convictions were recorded but he was ordered to be treated for alcohol dependency. He was originally suspended for two and a half years from working a nurse when the incident first happened and has now been banned for working for six months from March 2021. Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia that they often ask people to collect drunk friends or family members from police stations. 'An alternative to lodging an intoxicated person in custody, unless the circumstances justify otherwise, is to release said person into the custody of a friend, relative or legal practitioner,' a spokesperson said in a statement. A former IRA bomber is urging Pope Francis to consider beatifying Northern Ireland judges and their family members who were killed by republican terrorists. Shane Paul O'Doherty has written an open letter to the pontiff after the Catholic Church recognised the martyrdom of Italian judge Rosario Livatino, who was gunned down in September 1990 by the Sicilian Mafia, paving the way for his beatification. As a Christian who now repudiates violence, Mr O'Doherty says he wants to see similar recognition for leading legal figures murdered by the IRA during the Troubles, including barrister Edgar Graham, Lord Justice Maurice Gibson and Judges Martin McBirney, Rory Conaghan and William Staunton. Mr O'Doherty joined the IRA at 15 and received 30 life sentences for a letter bombing campaign but went on to renounce terrorism and seek forgiveness from his victims. In his letter to Pope Francis, Mr O'Doherty wrote: "I read recently that you are going to beatify as a martyr an Italian judge - Rosario Livatino - who was murdered by the Mafia. "I want to tell you about a number of judges, lawyers and family members who were murdered in Northern Ireland by terrorists of the IRA. "I want you to consider beatifying as martyrs these innocent victims of the IRA. I write to you as a former member of the IRA who has repented." He added: "If an Italian judge murdered by the Mafia is to be beatified as a martyr, why aren't the judges and family members who were murdered by the IRA in Northern Ireland also to be beatified as martyrs, even when some of them were leaving a Catholic church directly after attending Mass? What have you to say, Pope Francis?" Mr O'Doherty highlights a number of killings in his letter, including the murder of Judge William Doyle as he left Mass in St Brigid's Catholic Church in south Belfast in January 1983. Sixteen months later, IRA gunmen used the same church to attack Judge Tom Travers and kill his 22-year-old daughter, Mary. Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for Innocent Victims United, said he echoed the sentiments expressed in Mr O'Doherty's letter to Pope Francis. "To beatify an Italian judge as a martyr who was murdered by the Mafia would be viewed by many as an important and symbolic step," Mr Donaldson said. "It certainly means that Pope Francis' attentions need to also turn to Northern Ireland where there were many judges and other family members assassinated by the Provisional IRA, with a number murdered when they were arriving at or leaving their place of worship. "This reality makes it all the more appropriate that Pope Francis would move to beatify and officially recognise such individuals." Mr Donaldson added: "There were many others beyond judges who were murdered when leaving their place of worship. "Pope Francis should also make acknowledgement of such individuals and we would call on him to engage with his Church here in Ireland and with his Irish Bishops. "The sacrifices of those murdered through terrorism from within the Judiciary and other elements of law and order are as worthy of recognition in Northern Ireland as they are within Italy." [March 10, 2021] FICO Survey: 69% of Thais Prefer to Use Digital Channels to Engage with their Bank During Financial Hardship Appeal of in-person branch banking fading fast post pandemic BANGKOK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlights: 69 percent of Thai consumers prefer to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial hardship. prefer to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial hardship. 44 percent of Thais prefer to communicate via their mobile banking app; 14 percent use internet banking. prefer to communicate via their mobile banking app; use internet banking. 35 percent of Thais prefer to deal with just one primary bank with a further 40 percent saying that they 'somewhat agreed' this was their preference. A recent survey by global analytics software firm FICO has revealed that 69 percent of Thai consumers prefer to use digital channels to engage with their bank during financial hardship. The poll conducted in December 2020, during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrates the willingness of consumers to embrace digital banking and the opportunities that exist for banks to further develop their offering. More information: https://www.fico.com/en/latest-thinking/market-research/advancing-new-experiences-digital-banking The high level of smartphone penetration in Thailand meant that 44 percent of Thais preferred to communicate about hardship via their mobile banking app; 14 percent used internet banking; 6 percent wanted to use virtual conference technology; 3 percent preferred telebanking and 2 percent communicated via email. "The risk of infection and social distancing requirements made branch visits less appealing last year, accelerating a shift to digital banking channels globally," said Aashish Sharma, risk lifecycle and decision management lead for FICO in Asia Pacific. "Being able to deliver and manage numerous channels in line with customer preference and deliver a seamless and engaging experience is a challenge that is here to stay. Investment in customer management and communication tools that span these channels and product silos and can deliver personalization and improved decision making is key to making digital banking a success." Customer attitudes to new technology from banks such as debt collection automation can yield some interesting preferences and behaviors. "It is worth noting that during periods of hardship, soe customers prefer to deal with the issue using intelligent, automated online services, such as our FICO Customer Communication Services (CCS) so as to avoid the embarrassment of talking to an agent about outstanding loans. If customers prefer digital channels during times of hardship, their most difficult time, it seems to me we can expect branch banking to continue its decline," explained Sharma. Importance of maintaining banking relationships Banks still have a data and relationship advantage when compared to fintech challengers. The survey revealed that across Asia Pacific, one in three consumers preferred to have all their banking needs serviced by one bank. In Thailand this was higher at 35 percent, with a further 40 percent saying that they 'somewhat agreed' they would like to deal with just one primary bank. "Managing multiple bank accounts or finance products with different lenders can often be a complex, time-consuming and costly process for the average banking customer," said Sharma. "Digital banking users today are looking for greater control and visibility of their financial position." When asked about their willingness to try a fintech or challenger bank, 38 percent of Thais said that they were inclined to consider a competitor with a further 40 percent relatively open to the idea. "To consolidate and strengthen main bank engagement, lenders need to offer digital banking features that compete with the challengers to ensure the stickiness and viability of long-term customer relationships," added Sharma. Most appealing reasons to switch banks When asked about the reasons they would make the switch to a competitor, 50 percent of Thai consumers said their number one reason would be to secure improved personalization and controls in their digital banking service. The poll defined this as the ability to view transaction history, update personal details, reset passwords and other such functions. Interestingly, personalization and control was also the top reason for switching across Asia Pacific (31%). Other top switching drivers across Asia Pacific were; the ability to control a payment card (set transaction limits, lock/unlock); the ability to set up recurring payments; and improved security features such as biometrics and two-factor authentication. FICO's Advancing New Experiences in Digital Banking survey was conducted in December 2020 using an online, quantitative poll of 5,000 consumers across ten countries carried out on behalf of FICO by an independent research company. The countries surveyed were Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. About FICO FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956 and based in Silicon Valley, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 195 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 120 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time. Learn more at www.fico.com. Join the conversation on Twitter at @FICOnews_APAC. FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the US and other countries Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1452541/Advancing_New_Experiences_in_Digital_Banking.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/450763/FICO_Logo.jpg SOURCE FICO [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Paxton Urges GOP State Lawmakers to Tighten Election Integrity Laws Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is calling on Republican lawmakers to treat election integrity as a priority issue. There are certain states where we still control legislatures and we still have governors, he told Breitbart News in an interview recorded during the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, but published on March 9. Election integrity came to the forefront in a dramatic way in 2020, with former President Donald Trump and his allies claiming that reduced security measuresprimarily related to mail-in ballotsled to fraud that cheated him out of victory. I would encourage them to work with the legislature in those states and make sure that their laws are tightened up, Paxton said, because the credibility of these elections is so important. We dont want to be Venezuela, he said. We dont want to be another country where people dont trust the elections, where theres really no reason to go vote if you dont know if the integrity of the elections is good. Paxton took aim at states with lax election integrity laws, especially around mail-in ballots, such as not requiring photo ID or signature verification. In instances like these, Paxton said, youve got a real problem having any credibility in your elections, and that harms democracy. The Texas AG took a prominent role in the contest-of-election thrust following voter fraud allegations in November. He led Texass legal efforts to challenge election results in four battleground states before the U.S. Supreme Court, which was later dismissed due to lack of standing. Local election integrity efforts have borne fruit, however, Paxton said. Texas initially had I think it was 12 lawsuits that we fought in our own state over judges, local officials trying to change our lawsthat were passed by our state legislatureto force more mail-in ballots, to force us to not have signature verification when we do have mail-in ballots, and so we fought those and we won every single one of those lawsuits and we protected the integrity of our elections, Paxton said in the interview. He believes the election integrity fight is far from over and wants Republican legislatures to make the issue a top priority. And since the hotly contested 2020 election, GOP state legislators have been advancing bills to bolster election integrity, with lawmakers appearing to have been most active in Arizona and Georgia. While criticized by Democrats for making voting more difficult, election security measures are being demanded by many Republican voters, particularly in the six states where the GOP controls the legislatures but President Joe Biden claimed victory: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In all except New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump contested the results. In the broader debate about election security, Republicansand conservatives in generalhave tended to argue that casting a vote is a privilege of citizenship that should be safeguarded with secure processes and restrictions, and that easing requirements around voting opens the process up to fraud and abuse. Progressives and their Democrat allies tend to say that barriers to casting a ballot should be as low as possible and that the kind of security measures pushed by conservatives, such as stricter voter ID or proof-of-citizenship laws, amount to disenfranchisement. Progressives often frame the debate as between voter suppression and expansion, while conservatives tend to see it as election security versus vulnerability to abuse. In the wake of the 2020 election controversy, Republican and Democratic lawmakers across the country have been pulling in opposite directions by introducing legislation that either reduces barriersand guardrailsto voting or seeks to strengthen election integrity, which can also make casting a vote more burdensome. The Brennan Center for Justice, an advocacy group that pushes for progressive policies, counted 106 bills in 28 states designed to tighten voting standards so far this year, a significant jump from last year. At the same time, 35 states introduced a total of 406 bills to make voting less restrictive, also an increase from last year. Petr Svab contributed to this report. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Presently, various types of neonatal monitoring, assistance, and therapeutic care equipment are available commercially. Demand for neonatal infant care equipment is increasing across regions owing to rising prevalence of preterm birth complications and incidence of jaundice in neonates. Technological advancements along with improvements in available neonatal infant care equipment have benefitted manufactures and users alike. Demand has been increasing significantly across both, developed as well as emerging economies. There is especially high demand for thermoregulation devices such as warmers, incubators, eye masks, and monitoring systems. According to a revised report published by Persistence Market Research, the global neonatal infant care equipment market was valued at US$ 1.9 Bn in 2019, and is predicted to witness an impressive CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period (2020-2030). Key Takeaways from Market Study Based on product, thermoregulation devices are expected to represent more than 50% of the revenue share. By end user, hospitals account for a major revenue share of 52.8%, and the trend is projected to continue during the forecast period as well, due to availability advanced facilities, point of care services, and presence of skilled professionals. Availability of a wide range of advanced neonatal equipment, rising prevalence of preterm births, and increasing healthcare expenditure are factors aiding market growth. North America , followed by Europe , are leading regions in the global neonatal infant care equipment market. , followed by , are leading regions in the global neonatal infant care equipment market. The market in the U.S. is projected to expand at a CAGR of nearly 7%, while that in the U.K. at 6.5%. Both, China and India , are projected to experience a CAGR of more than 7%, on back of high birth rates in the countries. Get Sample PDF of Report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4157 "New product approvals and launch of advanced neonatal equipment, along with growing demand for jaundice management in newborns, are factors aiding market expansion," says a Persistence Market Research analyst. Collaborations and Acquisitions by Key Players Prominent players in the global neonatal infant care equipment market are firming their product ranges through acquisitions and collaborations to reach out to emerging markets. Leading manufacturers are actively focusing on technological advancements as well. Manufacturing capacity expansion is expected to remain a crucial trend over the coming years. For instance, in February 2021 , Medtronic plc announced the results of the prospective observational study comparing the efficacy and reliability of two pulse oximeters - Nellcor Bedside SpO2 Patient Monitoring System and Masimo Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeter. The study was carried out in collaboration with global healthcare communities. Ask an expert for any other query: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ask-an-expert/4157 Increasing Focus on Distribution Network Neonatal infant care equipment manufacturers are following a collaborative approach, between companies and nursing homes or maternal hospitals, which is expected to enhance their distribution networks across regions. Multinational companies such as GE Healthcare and Fanem Ltda. have signed strategic alliances with hospitals for supplying neonatal infant care equipment, to improve their distribution network in emerging markets. Get Full Access of Report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/4157 What Does the Report Cover? Persistence Market Research offers a unique perspective and actionable insights on the neonatal infant care equipment market in its latest study, presenting historical demand assessment of 2015 - 2019 and projections for 2020 - 2030. The research study is based on product (thermoregulation devices [radiant warmers, neonatal incubators, and neonatal cooling systems], phototherapy devices [LED phototherapy units, CFL phototherapy units, and phototherapy eye masks], monitoring systems [neonatal ventilation, brain monitoring, blood gas monitoring system], hearing screening and vision screening) and end user (hospitals, pediatric & neonatal clinics, and nursing homes), across seven key regions of the world. Browse Research Release at: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-reports.asp Browse End-to-end Market: Healthcare Related Reports: Neonatal Neurosonography Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/neonatal-neurosonography-market.asp Neonatal Hearing Screening Devices Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/neonatal-hearing-screening-devices-market.asp About Persistence Market Research Overview: Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes. Contact Rajendra Singh Persistence Market Research U.S. Sales Office: 305 Broadway, 7th Floor New York City, NY 10007 +1-646-568-7751 United States USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Visit Our Website: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661339/Persistence_Market_Research_Logo.jpg NEW YORK, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- G&P Acquisition Corp. ("G&P" or the "Company"), announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 17,500,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") under the ticker symbol "GAPA.U" commencing on March 11, 2021. Each unit consists of one share of the Company's Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of the Company's Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, the Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbols "GAPA" and "GAPA WS," respectively. G&P is a blank check company newly incorporated as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or companies. While the Company may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or sector, it intends to focus its search on investment opportunities in the food and beverage, consumer goods, automotive and hospitality sectors. In addition, although G&P may pursue an acquisition in any industry, sector or geography, it intends to capitalize on the ability of its management team and its sponsor's broader operating platform to identify, acquire and operate a business that may provide opportunities for attractive returns and long-term growth. BMO Capital Markets Corp. is acting as the sole book-running manager for this offering. The Company has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 2,625,000 additional units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on March 15, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus and final prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from BMO Capital Markets Corp., Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 3 Times Square, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10036, by telephone at 800-414-3627 or by email at [email protected]. The registration statement relating to the securities has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 10, 2021. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. CAUTIONARY NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the proposed initial public offering and the anticipated use of the net proceeds. No assurance can be given that the proposed initial public offering will be completed on the terms described, or at all, or that the net proceeds of the initial public offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's registration statement and preliminary prospectus relating to the Company's initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements for revisions or changes after the date of this press release, except as required by applicable law. Contacts: Investors and Media: Email: [email protected] Phone: (212) 415-6506 SOURCE G&P Acquisitions Corp Related Links http://www.gapacq.com Defending its decision, the government said the proposed investment by Aurobindo will give a boost to the states economy, develop the region and create wider employment opportunities. (Representational File Photo) Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday relaxed rules to facilitate Aurobindo Reality own a controlling stake in two ports the existing Kakinada deep water port and the proposed Kakinada SEZ port. There was an embargo on acquiring the controlling stake in two ports falling within a distance of 75km. Infrastructure and investment special chief secretary Karikal Valaven issued orders relaxing the conditions. The state government took legal opinion from former Chief Justice of India VN Khare and advocate general S Sriram before approving Aurobindos request for rule relaxation. The government also allowed GMR group to buy back a 26 per cent stake in the port project, though it sold its entire equity to Aurobindo, to fulfil the condition that the original concessionaire of the port project (GMR in this case) should not leave the project before two years of commencement of port operations. Aurobindo which initially acquired 51 per cent stake of the GMR group in the proposed KSEZ and greenfield port later managed to take over the remaining 49 per cent held by the KV Rao and associates, who are close to both the Chandrababu Naidu and YS Rajasekhar Reddy governments of the past. Aurobindo group, close to chief minister Jagan, also made KV Rao sell his stake in the existing deepwater port. Both the legal experts, the former CJI and AG, opined that the government has the power to make changes in the concession agreement when larger public interest is involved. Defending its decision, the government said the proposed investment by Aurobindo will give a boost to the states economy, develop the region and create wider employment opportunities. She shares a passion for health and fitness with hunky husband Chris Hemsworth - who is well known for his rippling muscles as Marvel superhero Thor. And Elsa Pataky has proved she's just as dedicated with her workout routine while flaunting her impressive figure on the cover of Australian Women's Health magazine this month. The 44-year-old looked sensational as she displayed her toned abs and trim pins in a crop top and bikini bottoms. Lean: Actress Elsa Pataky, 44, (pictured) looked sensational as she showed off her incredible abs in a black crop top and bikini bottoms on the cover of Australian Women's Health magazine this month The Fast and The Furious star beamed as leaned against a wall while highlighting her peachy derriere and washboard stomach. The beauty highlighted her delicate features by wearing a matte makeup style. The shoot is believed to have been done some time ago, and Elsa has since ditched her blonde tresses for brunette locks in preparation for an upcoming Netflix film. Fit and strong: One of the inside photos shows Elsa sitting on her knees as she highlighted her toned torso in a pair of white sneakers One of the inside photos showed Elsa kneeling on her knees in a green semi-sheer crop top jacket with black bikini bottoms. The Spanish beauty posed with one hand behind her head while offering a glowing smile to the camera. Inside the magazine the Byron Bay-based beauty revealed her latest training habits with superstar husband Chris and UK fitness star Ross Edgley. Hard work: Speaking to Women's Health, she revealed that she lifted heavy weights over the course of four weeks under the guidance of Chris and British adventurer Ross Edgley (right) 'We worked with big weights and, at the same time, exercises that improve functional movement,' she told the publication. 'We were swimming, we were climbing ropes, we were doing burpees, we were doing a lot of moving and acceleration,' she added. 'It's a mix of everything that really helps, and my body started to change a lot in just four weeks.' Tough! The Spanish actress added: 'It's a mix of everything that really helps, and my body started to change a lot in just four weeks.' The Madrid-born actress also spoke about her love of the great outdoors: 'I come back [home] and see the greenery, and I just feel so much better.' Elsa is gearing up for her role in Netflix's exciting new action drama film Interceptor. She will star as the lead character, a woman set to save the world from 16 nuclear missiles. Nature queen: The Madrid-born actress also spoke about her love of the great outdoors: 'I come back [home] and see the greenery, and I just feel so much better' The exciting movie will be filmed in Sydney, with production set to commence later this month. Elsa told News Corp recently that she has been rehearsing moves for the film using a toy pistol at home with Chris and their three children. She said: 'I brought home a toy gun to practice with and was showing my kids a fight I have to do and they were really excited. Especially my daughter, who has two brothers who keep telling her 'we're stronger than you' and she says 'no way!' I am reading this article by Thomas K. Noonan, How far does it go with the Big Lie? This guy has nothing but hate in his heart. Where does this come from? Why cant you see the accomplishments Trump made? You mention nothing about the Democrat Party and their negative things, like abortion, open borders, sanctuary cities. Why not? Tell the truth, the whole truth. Minersville Hey, Tom Noonan, you know what the real Big Lie is? I am not going to rule by executive order, I am going to rule by consensus. Thats the big lie that your president, Joe Biden, told us. What is he doing, Tom? He is ruling by executive order, exactly what he said he wouldnt do. Nobody needs a lecture from you about a big lie because that is all the Democrats are: One big lie. Frackville Property taxes will not go away because the Republicans, as usual, will not raise taxes. They would rather cut programs. Trump will not be relevant in 2024 because he will be in prison. And finally, the commentator has said in past years, the president does not control gas prices. Hegins I was just reading the paper and I was a little upset because people are concerned about health workers getting their shots. They are there to protect people, many people. Then, they have to go home with their families and if they are not protected, what is their family going to do and how are they going to continue to help others? I think it is important to praise God for these people who are working so hard to take care of us. Frackville I was really happy to see there was a vaccine clinic being started up at the Fairlane Village mall. I called the number in the paper and I was on hold for hours, not being able to get through. At one point, I was told if I wanted to leave a message, I should press 1. I pressed 1 and my call got disconnected. I tried this numerous times. Can anyone tell me is there a secret for getting through? How are all these people getting through and getting appointments? It is very frustrating. I want to get my vaccination. There has to be a better system for this. Pottsville To the person from Minersville who is looking for someone who sells dry ice, call Cabelas. They have dry ice. Pottsville In regards to the Shenandoah Borough statement about cleaning up after snow, bigger joke. Cleaning up after your pets, speeding, stop sign and red light violations, parking next to fire hydrants, too close to intersections, just look the other way. Shenandoah I am a Vietnam vet and a Republican. I would like to comment on the censuring of Pat Toomey. I am very glad I never had to share a fox hole with Toomey, Mitt Romney or John McCain. Thank God Toomey isnt running again. I bet the Democrats are really going to miss him. Ashland My complaint is why we lost our police department in New Castle. One of the reasons is they bought a gun club building for $75,000 that isnt worth $30,000. It was never checked out, too many damages to the property. The people in the township should be aware of this and come to the monthly meeting, the first Thursday of every month at 7 oclock. New Castle Township In regard to COVID-19, some so-called COVID-19 experts express their opinions which are very similar to weather patterns. Also the darling of the media, Dr. Fauci, reminds me of a fortune teller at some county fair. Auburn Someone mentioned in the paper about David Argall and property tax reduction. Are you kidding me? The only thing David Argall does is gerrymander districts and vote himself a midnight raise. The man should write a letter to every constituent and apologize and resign. Saint Clair I am calling to thank Kathryn Lopez for her great articles. She seems to be very much in touch with spiritual American readers. Pitman Ana de Armas shared a sultry black-and-white photo of herself sporting her blunt short bob and fringe on Instagram on Thursday. The Cuban actress, 32, proudly showed off her dramatic look as she sipped on an iced coffee, months after splitting from Hollywood actor Ben Affleck, 48. Ana was dressed stylishly in a camel coat layered over a crisp white T-shirt. Sassy look: Ana De Armas showed off a dramatic fringe and blunt bob in sultry black-and-white photo on Instagram on Thursday... months after splitting from Ben Affleck Time for a change: Ana's shorter do marks a dramatic change from the much lighter, long hairstyle we've been accustomed to seeing on her (pictured last year) Accessorising with a silver chain and bold pendant, Ana framed her alluring stare with winged eyeliner. Her do marked a dramatic change from the much lighter, longer hairstyle she usually sports. The Knives Out star was first seen rocking the sharp new look in January when she appeared in a video message for her friend Claudia Muma. Photos of Ana's new look emerged that same month on social media after she was tagged by friends. First peek: The Knives Out star was first seen rocking the sharp new look in January when she appeared in a video message for her friend Claudia Muma (pictured) Some of Ana's fans even suspected that her split from A-lister Ben was the reason for her drastic transformation. 'Convinced that Ben Affleck & Ana de Armas have broken up because she went to stay with family in Cuba and got bangs,' one person wrote on Twitter on January 10. Another Twitter user mused on January 2: 'Did Ana De Armas and Ben Affleck break upAna got that post-break up haircut too.' Ana and Ben went their separate ways at the beginning of 2021 after a year of dating. The split was reported to be 'as amicable as can be', with sources insisting the pair still have 'a lot of love' for one another. On set: Ana on the set of her upcoming blockbuster, The Grey Man. The actress even shared a brief video of herself brushing up her firearm skills An insider previously said: 'There is a lot of love still between the two of them. The split is as amicable as can be.' Meanwhile, Ana's hectic work schedule has been keeping her busy, with the star spending the majority of this month on the set of her upcoming blockbuster, The Grey Man. The actress even shared a brief video of herself brushing up her firearm skills with her trainer Chili Palmer earlier in March. The Gray Man is adapted from Mark Greaney's debut 2009 novel, the first in a series following Court Gentry (Gosling), a.k.a. The Gray Man. Gentry is a former CIA operative who finds himself being hunted by another former CIA spook, Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans). There is no word yet on who de Armas will be portraying in the film, but she was also joined this week by Rege-Jean Page, Billy Bob Thornton and Alfre Woodard. Wagner Moura, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush and Julia Butters round out the cast of the action-thriller, directed by the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Endgame). Filming is slated to take place in Los Angeles, with The Gray Man said to be the most expensive project Netflix has ever produced. While de Armas gets to work on that project, she could have a very big year ahead of her, with three high-profile projects slated to debut this year. She portrays the new Bond girl Paloma in the highly-anticipated James Bond adventure No Time to Die, currently slated for release on October 8. She also has Deep Water in post-production, where she first met her ex-boyfriend Ben Affleck, slated for release on August 13. The actress also plays Norma Jeane Mortenson, a.k.a. Marilyn Monroe, in a fictionalized account of her life called Norma, slated for release this year on Netflix. (Newser) The White House began highlighting the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill immediately after it gained final congressional approval on Wednesday, wasting no time in selling the public on President Bidens first legislative victory. The West Wing began an ambitious campaign to showcase the bills contents while looking to build momentum for the next, perhaps thornier, parts of the presidents sweeping agenda. Biden will sign the bill into law on Friday, but the White House didnt wait, turning the bill signing into a three-day event. The president tweeted moments after the House of Representatives passed the bill that Help is hereand brighter days lie ahead." The White House also released a slickly produced video touting the passage, and Democrats on Capitol Hill staged an elaborate signing ceremony. story continues below Biden will make the first prime-time address of his presidency on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdowns and will use the moment to pitch toward the future and how prospects will be improved by the aid package. Biden and other veterans of the Obama administration say they are determined to avoid repeating the mistakes from more than a decade earlier, when the administration did not fully educate the public about the benefits of its own economic recovery plan. "We didnt adequately explain what we had done. Barack was so modest, he didnt want to take, as he said, a 'victory lap," Biden said last week. This time, Biden "will be hitting the road, the vice president will be hitting the road, the first lady will be hitting the road" to promote the bill, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. (Read more COVID relief bill stories.) Robert Connolly Film Victoria, SBS and Arenamedia have joined forces on a new initiative to fast-track the skills and stories of under-represented writers and directors in low budget feature films. A diversity of voices and perspectives is vital to the strength and future of our screen industry. The Victorian Government is proud to back this initiative which will help local creatives from a range of backgrounds and experiences to take the next step in their careers. I look forward to seeing local writers and teams honing their skills and more local content hitting the screen, said Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson. The recent boost in screen sector support from the Victorian Government has allowed us to initiate more programs that will make a tangible difference for Indigenous and traditionally under-represented Victorian storytellers, said Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher. We know that the all-important first or second screen credit can be difficult to attain and even more so for diverse writers and directors. With scaffolded development support and a market safety net, this accelerator initiative will benefit the talent participating in the development phase, in addition to the team ultimately selected to produce and release their feature film. Robert Connolly, Founder and Director of Arenamedia and North South East West, said: We are excited to be working with Film Victoria on this innovative initiative which aligns perfectly with Arenamedias long term commitment to working with new and diverse voices in Australian cinema. Supporting and nurturing emerging talent is critical to the success of our industry. Marshall Heald, SBS Director of TV and Online Content, said: SBS is committed to exploring more ways to elevate underrepresented voices in our sector through partnerships like Originate, which make a meaningful contribution to more diverse and inclusive Australian storytelling on our screens. Were excited about the opportunities to support emerging creatives in bringing their uniquely Australian perspectives and experiences to life through feature film, and sharing those stories with audiences across our network, through this initiative. Originate is designed to accelerate the development of a slate of creative-led fiction features, turning early draft scripts into production-ready screenplays through a three-part process delivered by internationally renowned UK-based story developer Angeli McFarlane. At the end of the development phase, three projects will be considered for production finance and one will go into production in 2022 with a $1.5m (approx.) total budget of which the majority will be financed by Film Victoria, SBS, Arenamedia and local distributor North South East West. North South East West will provide an Australian cinema release before a premiere on the SBS Network. The emerging filmmakers will be professionally supported every step of the way by powerhouse mentors including Arenamedias prolific producers Liz Kearney and Robert Connolly (The Dry, Acute Misfortune, Paper Planes) and Donna Chang, Acting Commissioning Editor, SBS Scripted. Originate starts in May 2021 with a series of online writers seminars. Up to six teams will then be selected to take part in a week-long writers lab in August. The third stage is a three-month writers intensive with up to three teams, with one project selected for production investment. Applications for Originate are now open and close 11pm Thursday 15 April 2021. film.vic.gov.au Related Chennai, March 11 : The supporters of AIADMK MLA Amman Arjunan staged protests and blocked roads in Coimbatore after the party allocated the seat to its ally, the BJP. Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan is likely to be the BJP candidate from the South Coimbatore seat. AIADMK ward unit secretaries of Ramanathapuram, Ukkadam, Sungam, Gandhipuram and Flower market areas of Coimbatore, led the protests along with a galaxy of supporters, including party workers and cadres. K.Selvaraju, AIADMK functionary told IANS, "Vanathi Srinivasan may be the national president of the BJP women's wing but we cannot compromise on the seat being given to her under the AIADMK seat sharing agreement. We will continue with our protests till this decision is revoked". Srinivasan was not available for comment. Meanwhile, more AIADMK supporters took to the streets in a few other constituencies where the sitting MLAs were denied seats. Supporters of S.Semmalai, who won from Mettur constituency of Salem district in 2016 took to the streets after he was denied a ticket. In Villupuram district also the party supporters led by its district leaders, conducted protest marches after the party announced the candidature of M.Senthil Kumar for the Kallakurichi constituency in the district. The cadres are demanding to give the seat to former MLA Azhaguvel Babu. The protests which commenced after the announcement of the list of 171 candidates on Wednesday evening continued on Thursday morning. The AIADMK has fielded maximum a number of candidates from the "Gounder" community in Western Tamil Nadu and had chosen not to provide much seats to the BJP in this region as the party feels that the community would support it as the Chief Minister K.Palaniswami is from the community and the first "Gounder" to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. 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. Porterville, CA (93257) Today Sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High near 105F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A mostly clear sky. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. 31 Missing Children Located, Rescued After Month-Long Operation in Texas Several dozen missing minors were located, recovered, or rescued after a month-long operation in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas, officials said on March 10. At least seven recoveries were of critically missing children with ties to sex trafficking. Cases included rescuing a 15-year-old girl from a johns house in Fort Worth and recovering a 15-year-old girl from an Uber in Houston during a prostitution sting. The other 24 children were recovered from friends or relatives and reunited with their legal guardians. The operation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the police departments of Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Grand Prairie. To observe law enforcement partnerships and community concerns culminate into such a successful recovery outcome is rewarding, said Acting U.S. Marshal Quintella Downs-Bradshaw in a statement. Victims should know they are not forgotten, there is hope and a way to return home. We are grateful to be a part of a coalition of extraordinary law enforcement agencies who were dedicated in reuniting these children with their loved ones. It is our hope that each of them will be able to put this traumatic experience behind them and move forward to have a happy and productive life, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. These kids and teens represent some of our most vulnerable populations where adults try to prey on their innocence. We will not rest until every child is located safe and someone is held accountable, Arlington Police Chief Al Jones added. Analysts with the Texas Department of Public Safetys Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services supported the operation by providing critical intelligence, with additional support from the nonprofit 4theONE. More than 346,000 missing children reports were recorded by the National Crime Information Center in 2020. Approximately the same number were purged from the system for reasons including a law enforcement agency locating a subject or an individual returning home on their own. Children who go missing include those who were abducted by a relative or nonfamily perpetrator, those who ran away, and those who got lost, federal officials have said. U.S. Marshals Service Director Donald Washington said during an Oct. 1, 2020, appearance on Fox Business that many missing children are in particular danger as a result of either being victims of violent crime or because of who they are. For example, some of them may be in the middle of gang affiliations or in the midst of drug abusers or in the middle of some bad situations involving people who have violent tendencies and things of that sort. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the Kindle version of Swami Chidbhavananda's Bhagavad Gita through a video conference. Launching the e-book version, the Prime Minister lauded the efforts to bring out e-book version saying it would connect more youngsters with the noble thoughts of the Gita. "Traditions and technology have merged," said the Prime Minister, adding this e-book would deepen the connect between the eternal Gita and the glorious Tamil culture. He said it would enable the Tamil diaspora spread across the world to read it easily. Launching e-Book version of Swami Chidbhavananda Jis Bhagavad Gita. https://t.co/i17zc4kz2E Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 11, 2021 Paying homage to Swami Chidbhavananda, the Prime Minister said the mind, body, heart and soul of Swami Chidbhavananda was devoted to India's regeneration. He said Vivekananda's Madras lectures inspired Swami Chidbhavananda to put the nation above everything else and serve the people. He also praised Ramakrishna Mission for its commendable work in community service, healthcare, education and carrying forward the noble work of Swami Chidbhavananda. Also read: Poor, middle-income groups saving Rs 50,000 cr per year from health schemes: PM Modi The Prime Minister said the beauty of the Gita is in its depth, diversity and flexibility. He noted that Acharya Vinoba Bhave described the Gita as a mother who would take him in her lap if he stumbled. Great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi were inspired by the Gita, he said, adding Gita makes us think, inspires us to question, encourages debate and keeps our mind open. He said Gita is a treasure of thoughts that reflects the journey from depression to victory. He said the path shown in it becomes ever relevant at a time when the world is fighting a tough battle against an epic global pandemic and bracing for a far-reaching economic and social impact. He quoted a peer reviewed journal of cardiology published by University of Oxford, which talks at length about the relevance of Gita during the time of COVID pandemic. The Prime Minister said the core message of Gita is action because it is far better than inaction. He added, similarly, the core of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is to create wealth and value not only for ourselves but for the larger humanity. He recalled how our scientists came out quickly with vaccines for COVID to heal and help humanity, keeping with the spirit of Gita. Also read: India must develop military into a 'future force', says PM Modi It was 18 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement when Senator George Mitchell felt he could speak out about how he almost gave up. The work of the US Special Envoy who chaired the ground-breaking talks that led to the establishment of a power-sharing government pushed him to the point where he didnt know if he could do much more. The relentless rounds of negotiations were going nowhere. After a year and a half of inertia, on a flight home to New York, he felt enough was enough. What sense did it make to pursue what was obviously a hopeless task, especially since the reason for this flight home was to be present at the birth of my son, he said. As it would turn out, it was the birth of his son which inspired him to see it through all the way to an agreement. Watching the infant sleeping, he had an epiphany: I started to think about how different his life would be had he been born a citizen of Northern Ireland. One wonders is it beyond us all concerned today to imagine what it would be like to be born on the others side? US stewardship of the negotiations in the 90s was vital in seeing the journey towards agreement completed. Ireland has always looked across the Atlantic for support. So it may not be too remarkable for Sinn Fein supporters to place ads in US publications, seeking to press our Government to prepare and plan for a united Ireland. Commenting on the matter, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar acknowledged as much, when he said he had no objection to the party running reunification ads. Its a legitimate aspiration and one that I share with my party, he added. But where Mr Varadkar said he did have a problem with Sinn Fein was their relationship of mutual hostility with unionism. The ads were placed at a time when divisions between all sides have deepened over Brexit. Behind the Sinn Fein drive is a narrow belief that the next census in the North could show a slight majority of Catholics, for the first time. The whole purpose of the Good Friday Agreement was to ensure that consent became the corner stone of all future political architecture in the North. The DUP are far from blameless in the deterioration of relationships. Brexit has added to the cold-war conditions. Nonetheless, if the fate of the North rests purely on a head count; and the views of all sides are not heard and respected, then we will have reverted to an atavistic might is right position. Turning the clock back on decades of progress is the last thing we need. The Good Friday Agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums. It pivots on agreeing issues, not forcing them, which is a core tenet currently being conveniently overlooked by all sides. 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. Romania has unlimited access to European funds, the only limitations being the country's ability to build and co-finance projects aligned with the European strategic priorities, Deloitte Romania and Moldova Country Managing Partner Alexandru Reff told today a video conference on the largest companies in Romania, according to AGERPRES. "This is an auspicious moment, a favorable time, I think we have a well-intentioned government with a business-friendly agenda, and - I'm a bit courageous in saying this - I think that we have unlimited access to European funding, because in fact the only limitations we will face are those related to our own ability to build and co-finance - let us note these two challenges - projects that are ambitious enough, with a sufficiently large and reforming impact and that are sufficiently aligned with the European strategic priorities, first and foremost with the move to sustainability and digital," said Alexandru Reff. The Deloitte representative said that the banking system has offered solutions to the crisis caused by the pandemic. "In addition, we have a solid banking system, which this time proves to be part of the solution and by no means part of the problem. We have companies that have demonstrated huge resources of resilience and creativity, so I would say with all confidence that we are at a tipping moment, but with auspicious and encouraging outlooks we must mobilize to take advantage of at all levels," mentioned Alexandru Reff. He also estimated that the economy is currently moving from contraction to growth. Alexandru Reff participated on Thursday in the ZF video conference "Top 1,000 largest companies in Romania. The pulse of the economy". Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 22:54:45|Editor: ZD Video Player Close The closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 11, 2021. Leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attended the meeting, and Li Zhanshu presided over the closing meeting and delivered a speech. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, concluded its annual session Thursday afternoon. Chinese leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attended the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Li Zhanshu, an executive chairperson of the presidium of the session, presided over the meeting attended by nearly 3,000 NPC deputies. Lawmakers adopted the amendments to the organic law and procedural rules of the NPC. President Xi Jinping signed presidential orders to promulgate the amendments. The meeting adopted a decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The lawmakers also approved the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, the government work report, and the work reports of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. They approved a report on the implementation of the 2020 plan for national economic and social development, and the 2021 plan for national economic and social development. They also passed a report on the execution of the central and local budgets for 2020, and approved the central budget for 2021. Addressing the meeting, Li Zhanshu said that the annual session has successfully completed its agenda. The decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR has been highly endorsed by the deputies, Li said. Li called for better leveraging the role of people's congresses on the journey toward fully building a modern socialist China. Li urged rallying even closer around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, as the CPC will celebrate its centenary this year. He also called for advancing toward realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Before the closing meeting, Li presided over the meetings of the session's presidium and the presidium's executive chairpersons. Enditem The 6th International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, in concurrence with ICT Excellence Awards (ICICT 2021), was held in London, United Kingdom, from February 25-26, 2021. This year, ICICT moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the conference was to provide opportunities for researchers, academicians, industry persons, and students to interact and exchange ideas, experiences, and expertise in the current trend and strategies for information and communication technologies. Another important aim was to focus on innovative issues at the international level by bringing together experts from 91 countries. Only 350 of 1,190 submissions, including Intetics, were chosen for further participation and had a chance to present scientific reports. Sergey Terekhov, QA Director at Intetics, took part in the Congress with a presentation based on the article, Practice of Tech Debt Assessment and Management with TETRA, which was prepared by Boris Kontsevoi, President and CEO at Intetics, Denis Syraeshko, Delivery Director, Sergey Revko, Technical Team Lead, and the speaker himself. The article covers the further development of the companys proprietary approach to the assessment of software product quality and measurement of technical debt. The authors showed assessment results of the existing e-learning project with the help of the Technical dEbT Reduction plAtform (TETRA) with exact numbers of all reviewed metrics and assigned indices as well. The methodology, its advantages, and limitations were also discussed. The presentation covered the following topics: The definition of technical debt The way technical debt could be described and managed TETRA Methodology and Results Evaluation Source Code Quality Assessment and Report Example Template Advantages and limitations of the approach Intetics experience in applying TETRA to e-Learning platform assessment All papers presented at ICICT 2021 will be published in conference proceedings by Springer AISC. ISBN Number - 2194-5357 Series: http://www.springer.com/series/11156, so everyone will be able to get access to the paper and data from it. At Intetics, we make efforts to contribute to modern science and encourage the scientific development of our experts. With TETRA, full-fledged software products technical debt evaluation provides the product owners and investors with proper information that can be applied to decision making and determining business risks. Owners are able to estimate existing software products efficiency and value on the market. Also, the assessment allows investors to evaluate the state of a product for purchase, better define the products market value, and define the investment risks of the intended transaction. About Intetics Intetics, Inc. is a leading global technology company that provides custom software application development, distributed professional teams, software product quality assessment, and all-things-digital solutions built with SMAC, RPA, AI/ML, IoT, blockchain, and GIS/UAV/LBS technologies. Based on proprietary pioneering business models of Offshore Dedicated Team and Remote In-Sourcing, an advanced Technical Debt Reduction Platform (TETRA), and measurable SLAs for software engineering, Intetics helps innovative organizations capitalize on global talent with our in-depth engineering expertise based on the Predictive Software Engineering framework. As a company that cares about the quality of delivered, supported, and re-designed products, Intetics created TETRA, a technical debt reduction platform, to ensure the highest level of quality for the product. About ICICT 2021 The 6th International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, in concurrence with ICT Excellence Awards (ICICT 2021), was held in London, United Kingdom, from February 25-26, 2021. ICICT 2021 will target state-of-the-art and emerging topics pertaining to ICT and its supported e-Agriculture and rural development technologies, e-Education and computing technologies, e-Mining, and inclusive technologies for implementation for engineering and managerial applications through ICT. Participants were enlightened about vast avenues and current and emerging technological developments in the field of ICT in this era, and its applications will be thoroughly explored and discussed. CipherTrace Traveler is the first major milestone in the progressive development of commercial Travel Rule solutions building upon TRISA's open-source foundation CipherTrace announces today the release of CipherTrace Traveler, a cryptocurrency Travel Rule compliance solution for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), including cryptocurrency exchanges, custody providers, OTC trading desks, banks and other financial institutions that is compatible with the TRISA standards (Travel Rule Information Sharing Alliance). The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 16, the Travel Rule, is a guideline created by the global anti-money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to mitigate money laundering and other illegal financial activities. Under the FATF's new Travel Rule guidelines, exchanges, banks, OTC desks, hosted wallets and other financial institutions are required to share certain personally identifying information (PII) about the recipient and receiver for cryptocurrency transactions over USD/EUR 1000 globally. The Travel Rule Information Sharing Alliance (TRISA.io) is a non-profit collaboration of 150 cryptocurrency stakeholders delivering critical security infrastructure and open-source software to address the FATF's top concerns and help overcome the "sunrise issue." Top concerns revolve around identification and due diligence on counterparties and add security. TRISA utilizes proven security components to address privacy and data protection issues. TRISA collaborated with GDF to create the TRIXO questionnaire as a foundation for KYV. The purpose of this questionnaire is to act as a baseline due diligence for VASP to VASP onboarding ahead of Travel Rule data sharing. "CipherTrace Traveler is the first major milestone in the progressive development of commercial Travel Rule solutions building upon TRISA's open-source foundation," said CipherTrace CEO Dave Jevans. "Traveler leverages the TRISA VASP directory and TRISA certificate authority developed by TRISA into a solution that will be more secure and interoperable for use by exchanges and other financial institution clients." Traveler will enable VASPs to automatically look up the name of a VASP that a transacting wallet belongs to, enabling assurance that they are only sharing PII with other Travel Rule-compliant VASPs. Traveler will scan addresses associated with incoming cryptocurrency transactions and automatically decipher the originating VASP, verify that the VASP is part of the TRISA directory, and share the PII necessary for Travel Rule compliance. Traveler prevents data leakage and assures confidentiality via its automated mutual VASP authentication system. "This is a major step in overcoming previous barriers prohibiting VASPs from complying with current and pending Travel Rule laws," continued Dave Jevans. "If all major exchanges, banks, and other financial institutions deployed Traveler, money laundering using cryptocurrencies could be dramatically reduced, as criminals would have fewer avenues enabling the obfuscation of stolen funds." CipherTrace Traveler enables VASPs to comply with Travel Rule information sharing regulations by identifying hosted wallets and the recipients VASP. It leverages the open TRISA architecture for Know Your VASP (KYV) and mutual authentication to assure private information sharing and reducing the risk of leaked user data. CipherTrace Traveler integrates easily with transaction processing systems and interoperates with open-source TRISA.io software and protocols. Jurisdictions around the world have and are proposing the implementation of laws based on the Travel Rule, potentially jeopardizing the future of virtual asset service providers should these institutions fail to adopt solutions. Already, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Switzerland forbid exchanges to operate without licenses that enforce Travel Rule compliance. Canada will require compliance by July 2021, and the United States is essentially already enforcing the Travel Rule under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The US Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)s proposed rule change regarding the Travel Rule seeks to lower the threshold and clarify that the regulation definitely applies to virtual currency transactions. The proposed rule change intends to lower the existing dollar threshold to collect, retain, and transmit information on funds transfers and transmittals of funds in amounts of $3,000 or more to $250 for funds transfers and transmittals of funds that begin or end outside the United States. Travel Rule regulation applied to cryptocurrencies will help alleviate concern regarding illicit use cryptocurrencies that past and current US Treasury leadership have expressed in public. CipherTrace and TRISA separately provided feedback to FinCEN in November 2020 and anticipate imminent implementation. "We can expect FinCEN in the U.S. to drop the threshold for cross-border transactions, implement rules pertaining to privacy coin transactions, and set a new deadline for VASPs to comply all very early in 2021," said Dave Jevans. "The time for US VASPs to sort out Travel Rule compliance is now." For media inquiries, please contact Kili Wall at (310) 260-7901 or Kili(at)MelrosePR(dot)com About CipherTrace CipherTrace, leading cryptocurrency intelligence company, brings virtual currencies and financial services together with fraud protection, anti-money laundering, and financial crime prevention. CipherTrace derives superior cryptocurrency intelligence from analizing massive amounts of validated blockchain transaction attribution. CipherTrace founders are dedicated to protecting consumer privacy and growing the blockchain economy, while defending against illicit finance. Deep expertise in cybersecurity, eCrime, payments, banking, encryption, and virtual currencies form the foundation for CipherTrace's commercial offerings. For more information, visit http://www.CipherTrace.com or follow us on Twitter @CipherTrace. About TRISA Travel Rule Information Sharing Alliance (TRISA) is a nonprofit implementing an open-source framework to support VASPs in sharing sender and receiver information to comply with Travel Rule requirements without compromising privacy. By applying a proven Certificate Authority (CA) model, TRISA reliably identifies and verifies VASPs to enable interoperability and ensure Personally Identifiable Information (PII) stays private and not sent to the wrong entity. The peer-to-peer design eliminates a single point of failure and provides resilience against attacks and scales to accommodate extreme volumes. VASPs and financial institutions can immediately begin using TRISA to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requirements as well as Travel Rule guidelines. Meyer moved to Lake Buff in 2005 and has been practicing law for 30 years, most recently in complex and civil litigation. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and was elected Lake Bluff village clerk in 2011, according to information he provided to Pioneer Press. In 2013, he successfully ran for a seat on the Village Board, where he is now completing his second term as trustee. Mumbai, March 11 : Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan took to Instagram to share a message for niece Samiera on her birthday on Thursday. Samiera, who turns 16, is the daughter of Kareenas elder sister Karisma Kapoor. Sharing a throwback picture of her with Karisma's kids Samiera and Kiaan, Kareena referred to Samiera as "our first born baby". The image appears to be from a holiday as a suitcase can be seen in the image and the three seem to be at an airport. "You call me BebooMA for a reason... cause when Mom says no you know who to turn to... always got you my girl...forever. Fly high, be happy and healthy ...I love you our first born baby Happy birthday Samuuuu," she captioned the picture. Reacting to her post, her close friend Malaika Arora shared two heart emojis. Meanwhile, Kareena and actor Saif Ali Khan were blessed with their second baby last month. The actress shared a glimpse of the little one in a Women's Day post on Instagram recently. A farmer harvests a crop in the village of Gangzhong in China's eastern Zhejiang province, on Nov. 19, 2013. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images) Two Sessions: Seeds, Breeding Animals is Chinese Agricultures Key Bottleneck Chinese top politicians are facing a tough bottleneck issue, how to develop Chinas stock of seeds and breeding animals, at the two sessionsthe Chinese Communist Partys most important annual political conference from March 4 to 11. China faces a similar dilemma in the seeds and breeding animals industries as it does with semiconductor chips, China News Weekly reported on March 9. China is calling seeds and breeding animals the chips of agriculture. With semiconductor chips, the country currently relies on advanced technologies that are imported. Its biggest telecommunication manufacturer, Huawei, lost 5.6 percent of its market share in the smartphones industry in the third quarter of 2020 after the United States started banning exports to China, according to U.S. headquartered market research company IDC. Chinese leader Xi Jinping admitted to the shortages in the two sectors in December last year. An Iowan farmer with Dekalb brand corn seeds, which is a subsidiary of Monsanto, in this file photo. (Mark Hirsch/Getty Images) Top Priority Developing the seeds and breeding animal industries, and completing with the industries in developed countries, will be one of Xis top priorities for the nation this spring. Central government authorities released the No. 1 Central Government Document on Feb. 21, in which Xi ordered nationals to modernize the seed industry, and improve the genetics of livestock and poultry. On March 5, Chinese premier Li Keqiang asked the government to ensure the safety of seeds and breeding animals as he gave the government working report at the two sessions meeting. This was the fourth point in a list of nine requests. Recently, Li has made numerous mention of the importance of the seeds and breeding animals. On March 2, he emphasized the importance of developing Chinas seeds and breeding animal stock, and pork production at the National Spring Agricultural Working Video Conference. On March 5, Chinese Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Tang Renjian also said at the two sessions press conference that Xi had ordered the regime to work hard on developing Chinas seeds and breeding animals industries into one that is independent of the global market. Tang promised that his ministry would work together with other related government agents to make an action plan for the seeds and breeding animals industries. We will try our best to achieve a major breakthrough within 10 years, he said. A farmer displays a broiler reared at his poultry farm in the suburbs of Bangalore, India, on Sept. 24, 2020. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images) He also talked about the gap between China and developed countries in the agricultural sector. The corn and soybeans productivities of China developed seeds is only 60 percent of the imported seeds from developed countries, Tang said. He added, The breeding white-feather broilers grandparents mainly rely on importing. China raised and consumed 4.4 billion white-feather broilers in 2019, which made up 26 percent of the market, according to the China Animal Agriculture Association (CAAA). The CAAA is a non-profit independent organization that represents the over 200 million Chinese farmers in China, and is under the management of the Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry, according to its website. Tang claimed that China can survive without imported seeds and breeding animals, although the quality of the local products are not as good as the imported ones. But the real situation of Chinas seeds and breeding animals is worse than Tangs claims. Bad Situation State-run China News Weekly reported: China is the worlds largest pork consumer as well as pig producer. Chinese people eat 700 million pigs every year, and feed half of the pigs in the world However, 90 percent of pigs in China are the pedigree of imported breeds. The report then interviewed deputy chair of CAAA Li Jinghui, who said Chinese pig breeds cant compete with the Duroc pig from the United States, the Danish Landrace pig, or the Yorkshire pig from the United Kingdom, which China calls the DLY breeds. The DLY breeds are fully grown in six months, but Chinese breeds need over a year to reach full size. They eat about 2.5 pounds of feed to gain one pound in weight, while Chinese breeds eat over four pounds of feed to gain one pound in weight. About 40 percent of the adult DLY pigs are fat, while 60 percent of Chinese breeds are fat. Consumers prefer lean meat over fat. A man waits with his pig before entering the show arena during the 160th Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, England, on July 10, 2018. (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images) Unable to compete with imported breeds, Chinese domestic pig breeds are dying. China had 90 domestic pig breeds 37 of them are extinct, almost extinct, or endangered, state-run Xinhua reported on Feb. 28. China imported 20,000 breeding pigs in 2020, which make up six percent of breeding pigs in China, China News Weekly quoted from official numbers. The remaining 94 percent of breeding pigs are mostly the offspring of the imported pigs, according to the report. In Chinas breeding animals industry, pigs arent the only animal relying on imported pedigree. Milk cows and beef cattle are also reliant on imported breeding animals. Arnaud Caron, a French farmer drives an old Mc Cormick F8-413 combine as he harvests his last field of wheat, in Vauvillers, northern France, on July 23, 2018. (Pascal Rossignol/Reuters) Chinas seeds for a large range of crops and vegetables rely on imports as well. The weekly Xinhua-operated magazine Liaowang reported on Sept. 21 last year that most of the corn seeds used in China are developed by American companies Pioneer and Monsanto. Pioneer is a subsidiary of American company Corteva Agriscience, which split from DowDuPont in 2019. Potatoes are another example of a crop reliant on foreign stock. Keshan county in northeastern Chinas Heilongjiang Province is one of three potato capitals in China. Liaowang reported that half of the countys potato farms plant Atlantic potatoes imported from the United States. The other two potato capitalsDingxi city northwestern Chinas Gansu Province and Guyuan city in Ningxia regionalso plant Atlantic potatoes as well as several local varieties. Wheat is one of the main crops in China, which has about 4,500 years of history cultivating the grain. In recent years, Chinese wheat varieties havent meet the needs of cookies and bread businesses, which need high-gluten and low-gluten, magazine Liaowang reported Lei Zhensheng, director of the Wheat Institute at Henan Provincial Agriculture Academy as saying. We import wheat seeds [for these needs]. Root vegetables are winters buried treasures. (Anna Chavdar/Shutterstock) Chinas vegetable business, such as white radish, broccoli, pepper, onion, carrot, tomato, spinach are all supported by imported seeds. The price of the imported white radish seeds is over 20 times that of local ones. But the radish looks nicer, more juicy, with less roughages, and can be stored for a long time, Liu Kuipeng, an official from Hunan Provincial Agricultural and Rural Affairs Bureau, told Liaowang. Liu said the majority of white radish seeds in China are imported from South Korea. Xinhua reported on Feb. 23 that over 80 percent of broccoli seeds in China are imported from Japan because China didnt have the stock technology. The China National Seed Trade Association released its 2019 seeds trade annual report on Dec. 31 last year. According to the report, China imported $435 million worth of seeds in 2019, with $127 million being from the United States. Toms River has agreed to change its zoning rules for houses of worship in order to avoid litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice, which argues amendments to the municipalitys code in recent years violate federal law by severely restricting where religious institutions can locate. The decision comes amidst of growth of the Orthodox Jewish population in the town. On Tuesday night, the town council voted 6-1 to approve a consent decree with the Justice Department that would resolve a lawsuit brought by the federal government alleging changes to the townships religious land use rules in 2009 and 2017 failed to comply with the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The suit and consent decree were both filed on Wednesday. Overall, the consent order keeps the township out of lengthy and costly litigation with the federal government, provides greater opportunities for religious assemblies conforming with federal law and advances important township priorities, assistant Toms River attorney Anthony Merlino said at the meeting. Merlino said the Justice Department (DOJ) launched an investigation into revisions made to the townships zoning laws pertaining to houses of worship in 2018. In 2009, Toms Rivers council altered its zoning laws to block the construction of houses of worship in three zoning districts where they had previously been allowed since 1979. And in 2017, the council increased the minimum acreage requirement for houses of worship from 2 to 10 acres in areas of town where they were allowed under certain conditions. Minor collector roads roads that connect neighborhood streets to larger roadways were also removed as permissible locations for houses of worship. The DOJ alleged that the rules have impacted the towns Orthodox Jewish population, who tend to gather at small houses of worship and walk to and from synagogues on the Sabbath and holidays, when automobiles are not allowed to be used. (The amendments) eliminated houses of worship as a conditional use in many of the residential zoning districts located in the northern area of the Township where population growth, including the growth of the Orthodox Jewish population, and thus potential demand for new houses of worship, is most likely, the complaint filed in U.S. District Court reads. The consent decree entered in with the state will roll back those changes. Requirements in the decree include: In three zones in the northern part of the township, houses of worship will be permitted under certain conditions Minimum lot size in the conditionally allowed zoning districts would return to 2-acres Smaller-sized houses of worship, those between 2 to 2.5 acres, would be allowed to locate on minor collector roads Large houses of worship above 2.5 acres would be allowed to locate on major roadways Houses of worship would become a permitted use in the townships rural highway business and highway business zones Houses of worship would not permitted on local roadways in neighborhoods The consent decree also requires the township to train its officials and employees on RLUIPAs requirements, establish a procedure for receiving and resolving RLUIPA complaints and other injunctive relief, according to the DOJ. Pushing for council members to approve the decree, another town attorney, Marci Hamilton, said: The short answer is because the DOJ is right. 2017 was not Toms Rivers best moment and the DOJ was going to come down with a hammer. Signed into law in 2000 by then President Bill Clinton, RLUIPA states that a municipalitys zoning code cannot place unreasonable limits on where religious assemblies and institutions may locate, burden religious exercise or treat religious institutions on less than equal terms with non religious ones. In a statement, Rachael A. Honig, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said the consent decree will end unlawful zoning practices in Toms River.. Federal law protects religious communities against unequal treatment and unwarranted burdens, said Honig. Zoning regulations that impose unreasonable restrictions or prevent religious faiths from having a place to worship violate RLUIPA. Through the resolution entered today, this office takes another step to put an end to unlawful zoning practices and vindicate the civil rights of minority religious communities in the District of New Jersey. In a statement to the Lakewood Scoop, the Toms River Jewish Community Council said it was disappointed by the consent decree. The proposal falls short of its stated goal to alleviate the burden on the Orthodox Jewish communitys ability to freely exercise its religious freedoms. For the Orthodox Jewish community living within the Township, the ability to have a synagogue within a safe walking distance of the residences of community members is an essential part of (their) religious exercise. The proposal discussed by the Township will serve to perpetuate the ongoing burden on religious exercise, the statement reads. One councilperson, Daniel Rodrick, voted against passing the consent decree. He did not explain his decision at Tuesday nights meeting. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NJ Advance Media. Council president Kevin M. Geoghegan, voting yes, said the council needed to put this past us. This has dragged out for a very long time. Its certainly not a comfortable position for any of us. There has been a lot of back and forth that started prior to us sitting here, but we need to move on and put this past us, he said. By agreeing to this consent order, were not only coming into compliance with federal law, at the same time we are protecting the general welfare of all our citizens, Councilman Matt Lotano 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. Its 11 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, and the tide is out at Cullinan Ranch, a former oat hay farm just northwest of Vallejo. Yards of greenish-brown mud glisten in the sun, like the surface of some sort of pretty-ugly soap bubble, thick with silt deposited from the Napa River. Thats just the way Francesca Demgen likes it. Once upon a time, this stretch of land along the north edge of Highway 37 was an oat hay farm, supplying 7% of the oat hay for Marin and Sonoma counties dairy industry. Before that, it was a part of San Pablo Bay, a crucial tidal wetland where waterfowl, fish and mammals flourished. And in the 1980s, it looked like it was going to be Egret Bay, the Bay Areas latest luxury development: 4,500 residential units (1,000 of which would have their own private boat docks), two marinas, two elementary schools, a high school, a hotel and a slew of restaurants, shops and offices. This to me was the key to the whole North Bay, says Demgen, a wetland biologist who helped organize resistance to the $1 billion Cullinan Ranch development in the 1980s, pointing out the region on a map as we stand in a little parking lot off Highway 37 next to the former farmland. It would have been the beginning of the end on tink tink tink tink, she taps her finger along Highway 37 from Vallejo across San Pablo Bay out to Sonoma County, development all the way across, and I didnt like that one bit. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE The city of Vallejo was eager to see it happen. It will be an expensive community, a prestigious address, so to speak, Vallejos city manager Ted A. MacDonnell told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1983. Right now were a middle-income town. We need a development of this kind. It will have higher-income residents able and capable of spending money on more than necessities. To make it happen, the city would annex the ranch, and tons of dirt would need to be brought in to create an earthquake-safe foundation for the houses on top of all the soft and jiggly bay mud. Engineers for the project reassured the public that with good engineering any earthquake damage would be merely cosmetic, but one critic said that building on more than 50 feet of mud would be akin to sitting down on a coiled rattlesnake, concerns that would be borne out six years later when the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the Bay Area, causing wetter, looser soils to liquify and killing 63. Mike McClure/Courtesy On top of earthquake risk, Cullinan Ranch sits between the then-boundaries of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge and the Napa Marsh, two crucial wetlands. As many as 80% of Alaskas canvasback ducks visit the area to winter. As she describes the diversity of Cullinan Ranch, Demgen pauses from time to time, raising a pair of binoculars to her eyes and scanning the landscape. I think our osprey is getting attacked, she says, referring to an osprey thats been nesting on nearby Mare Island, and for which she has been on the lookout since this interview began. In the distance, a large dark bird appears locked in a dogfight with some white birds. See those three gulls dive bombing a bigger bird? Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE To Demgen, the Egret Bay proposal was an expensive and risky project that would permanently erase hundreds of acres of tidal and seasonal wetlands, crucial habitat for indigenous California species. So Demgen and other activists fought the proposed housing development. Opponents of the project originally positioned themselves as worried about the expense of the $1 billion development, Demgen recounts. The group titled themselves Citizens for Cost Efficient Growth to appeal to the publics financial concerns. But it was a conversation with Tony Intintoli, who would be elected mayor of Vallejo in 1987, that changed Demgens perspective on how to fight the development. He said weve got to play to what drew us to it, which was this all used to be wetland, and for this not to be wetland, for this to be houses, was just so wrong. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Still, the fight for this flat stretch of wetland outside Vallejo was an uphill battle. The project had the backing of the citys mayor and city manager, with then-Mayor Tony Curtola telling the San Francisco Examiner, The people of Vallejo are very much in support of this project. The Solano County Board of Supervisors and Vallejo City Council voted in favor of the project and approved the environmental impact report, a key piece of any major development. Demgen was at the time a member of Save the Bay, which fought to protect Bay Area habitat from development. She measured Cullinan Ranchs waterfront area along Highway 37 and then measured out an equal distance along I-80 to show how much wetland was at risk. They were shocked, Demgen says. Save the Bay put up half the funds to challenge Egret Bays environmental impact report in court. The lawsuit was ultimately successful: A judge ruled the EIR glossed over key details. But the movements win was in its own way a defeat, as the developers were given a chance to remedy the issues. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE I ask Demgen about the emotional journey of fighting the development, and shes upbeat and determined, focusing on all the work volunteers put in to raise awareness of the developments harms. Its only later, after weve both gone home, that she emails me about her feelings at the time. People worked hard to analyze the EIR sections, she writes. Then we had to get the funds to pay for the attorney. We felt supported when the donations came in, we were ecstatic when we won the case, but then demoralized when we realized that functionally we had just fixed the EIR for the developers. However, the lawsuit had done enough to scuttle Egret Bay. In 1985, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the development on the grounds that the area was habitat for two endangered species, the salt marsh harvest mouse and the Ridgeways rail. Egret Bay would threaten them with extinction, the Army Corps of Engineers said. By 1991, environmentalists, with the help of California Sen. Barbara Boxer, secured federal funding to purchase the former farmland and add it to San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a deliciously ironic rebuke to city manager MacDonnells 1983 statement that if the public wants the Cullinan Ranch to stay open, then the public should buy it. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE --- Demgen and I, along with Justin Bodell, the current president of Friends of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which Demgen founded, walk along the raised dirt path between Cullinan Ranch, which is federal land, and the state preserve that borders it. A sign beside the parking lot shows an illustration of how Cullinan Ranch looked when Dutchmans Slough, which runs along the north border of the ranch, was breached in 2015. An illustration beside it shows how it could look in 50 years, after silt has built up, native plants have taken root and the intertidal wetlands are restored. Its like predicting the national debt, says Demgen. ... If theres two or three big storm years, much more sediment will settle in. For now, a couple mounds of earth stick out of the waters, which have receded far from the shore in low tide, and two pairs of Canada geese fight over prime real estate in some shrubs on top of one earth mound. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Eucalyptus trees were chopped down, but some plants were left, Demgen says, to help the flow of water into Cullinan Ranch. Large, lightweight geofoam blocks were installed along portions of the highway to create overflow ponds and prevent 37 from flooding. And a kayak launch and fishing pier were installed for the public to enjoy the restored wetlands. One of the tricks in wetland restoration is doing the design so youre working with Mother Nature, Demgen explains, indicating the glistening muck that lines these former oat hay fields, getting the sediment to settle along the edges. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE That muck is the lifeblood of the Cullinan Ranch restoration process, as it settles and creates a rich environment for native flora to flourish and draw native fauna. That wetland ecosystem created the rich, organic material oat hay farmers benefited from for decades, even as the land they were working sank below sea level because of the agricultural activity. Its also what would have made Egret Bay such a dangerous place to live in the event of an earthquake. Close to us, a ruddy duck dips and dives in the shallow waters. Bodell, a duck hunter, says he identifies them by their distinctive tails. The lone little duck near us has a large, straight tail that it wiggles as it floats and then quickly dives below the surface. On clear, sunny days when the tide is in, crossing 37 and visiting the San Pablo Bay wildlife refuge can feel like skimming across the ocean, with acres of smooth water as far as the eye can see, Mount Tamalpais and Mount Diablo in the distance like some other continents. After a good rain, the waters become a mirror, reflecting miles of puffy white clouds and achingly blue open sky. At Cullinan Ranch, highway traffic whizzes by, but take a few steps down the path and it quickly grows quiet. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE Youre surrounded by millions and millions of people, Bodell says, but you get in a kayak and theres no one around. Bodell, Demgen and I walk out to the little fishing pier, and she points out the old farmhouse road (now just a gated turnout on westbound 37) and rows of eucalyptus, the trunks of some of which were left to help distribute the silt and control the flow of water into the ponds. What do you want people to know most about this place? I ask her, as we turn away from the water and head back to our cars. I think the most important thing for me its here, its come full circle from being a marsh to being an agricultural land, Demgen says. And now its on its way to becoming a marsh again. But, Demgen points out, agriculture doesnt preclude restoration to wetlands. Had it become a development, the ducks would have never gotten their home back, this crucial ecosystem on the edge of the bay would have been lost forever. Bodell agrees. The agriculture was a good placeholder until it could get restored. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. New Delhi, March 11 : With reference to certain wild allegations levelled by a section of the foreign media dragging the name of the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari and his family, it has already been stated by the Ministers office that these accusations are malicious, fabricated and baseless. Since the entire episode of the Scania bus was an internal affair of the Swedish company, the statement of the Scania spokesperson has made it clear that Gadkari and his family members have absolutely nothing to do with the purchase or sale of any Scania bus. "Nor do they have anything to do with any firm or individual who might be linked with the purchase or sale of the bus," Gadkari's office said. "In the light of the Scania spokesperson's clarification absolving Gadkari and his family, we request the media, especially the foreign media, to desist from making unsubstantiated allegations against Gadkari and his family," the statement said. "If the media fails to refrain from indulging in witch-hunt of Gadkari and his family, the Union Minister and his family may be constrained to take recourse to all necessary legal measures to protect their reputation and integrity," the statement added. As per a statement by Gadkari's office, the Swedish bus manufacturers Scania has denied sending any bus to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari for personal use. The company (Scania) spokesperson has also denied engaging "in any business deal with any (one) connected with Gadkari's sons", according to The Indian Express, the statement said. In an email response to queries from The Indian Express, Scania said: "The company denied sending any bus to Gadkari for personal use." "The company (Scania) spokesperson also denied engaging in any business deal with any connected with Gadkari's sons." "The spokesperson said the company did sell the Scania Metrolink bus to one of its Bengaluru-based dealers called Transpro Motors, which in turn sold it to a company named Sudarshan Hospitality, which it said, was 'an Indian bus operator'. Sudarshan Hospitality is based out of Nagpur." The spokesperson further said: "No, this particular bus was purchased from Scania India in 2016 by one of the company's private dealers who delivered it to one of its customers (an Indian bus operator). I have no information about the current status of the bus," said Hans-Ake Danielsson, a company spokesperson based in Sweden. About the deal with NMC, (Nagpur Municipal Corporation), the company said 55 buses used for trial were returned to it. "These public transport buses were delivered to NMC and were returned to Scania India after the trial was finished. All of the in total 55 ethanol buses ordered by NMC have been returned to Scania India." The company spokesperson did not disclose the price of the bus. "The bus was tour bus (Scania Metrolink). We do not inform about the price our retailer organisation (i.e. the dealers) is charged for the products they sell on the market," she said. It also denied engaging in any business deal with any connected with Gadkari's sons. Hard-up savers who need to raid their Lifetime Isa pot will soon be charged their own money to do so again to 'discourage withdrawals' and 'protect its status as a long-term savings product', the Government has said. It said the penalty for withdrawing money from the tax-free account would be increased back up to 25 per cent from 6 April and that it had 'no plans to permanently reduce this charge to 20 per cent.' Budget documents appeared to suggest the Treasury planned to reinstate the higher penalty, which would cost savers their own money plus a Government bonus of up to 1,000 a year, from 6 April, after dropping it for a year. The product can be either used by a first-time buyer for a home, or to be used as a pot to build retirement savings no to be touched until the saver reaches 60. A petition to permanently reduce the Lifetime Isa penalty to 20% - meaning savers would only lose a Government bonus - has received more than 19,000 signatures Someone who saved the maximum 4,000 a year into a Lifetime Isa and needed to withdraw it would be billed 250 of their own money on top of the 1,000 bonus, an effective penalty of 6.25 per cent of their own savings. But despite a petition calling for the penalty to be permanently reduced attracting more than 19,000 signatures, the Government said the higher charge would be reintroduced. In a response to the petition, published the day after the Budget and just under a fortnight after the petition hit 10,000 signatures, it said: 'This charge is made to reflect that the account is intended to be used for the specific purposes of home ownership and later life and therefore disincentivise withdrawals. 'Savings remain accessible where needed, subject to this additional charge. Need to tap your savings? Don't wait until deadline day Savers who need to withdraw Lifetime Isa deposits before the penalty is bumped back up to 25 per cent need to act quickly to avoid being charged. According to conversations with Lifetime Isa providers, the taxman has confirmed the reduced 20 per cent penalty applies to withdrawals paid out before the 5 April deadline, not withdrawals requested before that date. This means savers who need to sell off investments need to give themselves time before those transactions clear, or for cash withdrawals to be paid out. While savers should not touch their Lifetime Isa savings unless they have to, if they do they should be aware that they will be charged their own money if they leave it too late. 'The Government believes it is fair that this significant investment of public funds is targeted at individuals who save into a Lifetime Isa for its intended purpose. 'It is right to protect its status as a long-term savings product, discourage withdrawals that might be made in the absence of an additional charge and provide value for money for the taxpayer.' However, although the Government insists the account is designed for long-term saving, savers are expected to raid those savings if they fall on hard times before they can get benefits. The Treasury initially dropped the penalty for a year after This is Money reported how Lifetime Isa savings were included in the means test for Universal Credit. It particularly affects those who are saving into a Lifetime Isa for retirement, as pension savings are not included in the Universal Credit means test, which says those with more than 16,000 in savings have to use those before they can apply. But while other measures aimed at supporting household finances, including the furlough and self-employed income support scheme and the 20-a-week uplift in Universal Credit, have been extended until September, despite fears that unemployment could peak towards the end of this year. 'The argument for a temporary extension is really strong', Nathan Long, an analyst at DIY investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, which launched the petition, said. 'Given the nation seems to be steeling itself for anticipated job losses as furlough unwinds, the case for the reduced penalty must surely be as strong now as when they first signed off on it.' Lifetime Isa savers have to pay their own money to access their deposits before they are eligible for benefits Those calling for the reduction to be made permanent also said the severity of the penalty acted as disincentive to save into it in the first place. Ben Stanway, the co-founder of Moneybox, now the UK's largest Lifetime Isa provider with more than 250,000 holders, said: 'While we appreciate the importance of encouraging long-term saving, our strong view is that the loss of a 25 per cent bonus is sufficient incentive for people to avoid dipping into their savings unless they need to. There is no need for any further disincentive.' He added: 'The majority of Lifetime Isa savers are in their 20s, and life can change a lot in that period, people want to go back into education, some people get married to someone who owns a home already. 'At the moment people are penalised for understandable life events.' He said if the Government did not reduce the penalty permanently, it 'could expand the list of allowable withdrawals', which at the moment covers only a first home purchase, withdrawals made once the holder turns 60 or in cases of terminal illness. 'It would be a great signal to young savers and show we unequivocally support you.' Nathan Long added: 'The response centres on the need to disincentivise withdrawals, but this fails to recognise that Lifetime Isa savers are paying in voluntarily. 'They don't need to be locked into doing the right thing and save for the future as they've already decided to do it. 'Giving up the government bonus is disincentive enough, meaning the additional penalty just acts as a barrier to save in the first place.' Discussing ACLIV Antiviral Film Application with the World's Top-five Pharmaceutical Company Based in Europe NEOTENY, a chemical company specializing in film making, announced that it has received ISO 21702 certification (Certification No.: 21-1634) from an antiviral testing agency in France, confirming that its antiviral film ACLIV can kill COVID-19 virus by 99.9% within 30 minutes. ISO 21702 is an antimicrobial surface test that performs the measurement of antiviral activity on plastics and other non-porous surfaces. Among around 50 antibacterial and antiviral film brands across the world, only five including NEOTENY have obtained ISO 21702 certification. At the test conducted targeting the COVID-19 virus, ACLIV antiviral film killed 99.9% of the virus within 30 minutes. This is by far the most outstanding result among those of antiviral tests conducted on the COVID-19 virus so far. Previously, Hexis of France had produced the best result of killing the virus in approximately one hour. The viral extinction time of most ISO 21702-certified products is around 24 hours. In August 2020, ACLIV of NEOTENY has been certified ISO 21702 in Japan with its performance against Influenza A virus recognized by an international standard research center of Japan. Recently, it also won the European certification, CE (Conformite Europeene), for antiviral and antibacterial effects. Collaborating with the World's Top-five Pharmaceutical Company Based in Europe Having won recognition for its antiviral film technological power, NEOTENY entered into a confidentiality agreement with the world's top-five pharmaceutical company based in Europe. NEOTENY is currently collaborating with this company in applying the antiviral film ACLIV to medical devices. It is unprecedented for this multinational pharmaceutical company, which is notorious for being strict about partner and product selection, to collaborate with a Korean company. "There are numerous antiviral products in the world. But, it is not easy to find one that comes with reliable certification data or satisfactory performance," said a senior engineer from the multinational pharmaceutical company in charge of the collaboration project. "We have confidence in NEOTENY's ACLIV because it is one of few products that obtained certification from two ISO research centers in France and Japan and also provides excellent performance." Antiviral Screen Protector to be Released in March According to a medical study, the COVID-19 virus can survive for up to 28 days on the surface of the smartphone LCD. The touch screen is the main carrier of viruses and bacteria. NEOTENY is scheduled to release a screen protector for mobile phones, tablet PCs and display screens developed using its antiviral technology in March. The core elements of a screen protector are the surface hard coating technology, which is aimed at increasing durability against scratch, and silicon adhesive, which is applied to the surface of a device. Silicon adhesive of inferior quality reduces the lifespan of the devices it is applied to and also lowers permeability by causing the formation of air bubbles and the rainbow effect. NEOTENY developed a touch screen protector of stable quality by applying the hard coating technology it had developed and a precision silicon adhesive used for semiconductors. All packaging materials used for this screen protector are eco-friendly. For the product container, eco-friendly paper made from sugar cane is used. The internal plastic packaging is a biodegradable film. NEOTENY CEO Stewart Kim said, "We become infected by viruses and get diseases from bacteria without realizing it. NEOTENY will help consumers keep enjoying healthy life by providing them with antiviral solutions." For more information on the antiviral film ACLIV, please visit https://acliv.co.kr/. About NEOTENY As a chemical company specializing in films, NEOTENY is broadening its business areas by developing and distributing film and chemical products in addition to providing management consulting and M&A consulting services for the chemical industry. ACLIV is NEOTENY's business division in charge of the antiviral product group. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005392/en/ Contacts: NEOTENY Stewart Kim, CEO +82-2-2088-6478 stewart.kim@neotenyconnect.com Hyundai Motor's IONIQ 5 / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Production increase may cannibalize other EVs. By Nam Hyun-woo The popularity of Hyundai Motor's new IONIQ 5 electric vehicle (EV) is creating a dilemma for the carmaker, because limited incentives and an auto semiconductor supply shortage are forcing the automaker to juggle priorities. According to Hyundai Motor, domestic preorders for the IONIQ 5 surpassed 38,000 vehicles as of Tuesday, reaching more than half of the automaker's annual production target of 70,000, just two weeks after the car was unveiled. However, the company has yet to decide whether to increase production due to a number of factors that may result in the cannibalization of other EVs Hyundai Motor plans to debut later this year. Industry officials said the first factor is the limited number of domestic EV incentives. According to the Ministry of Environment, the central government plans to provide incentives for 75,000 passenger EVs this year. This means almost half of the incentives will likely be spent for the IONIQ 5. The situation gets worse when incentives from municipal governments are taken into account. According to the ministry, the total number of EVs for which municipal governments will provide incentive this year stood at 43,744, meaning EV makers face tough competition to get the limited amount. The situation is not favorable for Kia Motors' EV6, teaser images of which were revealed Tuesday. Kia said the EV will make its world premiere later this month and hit showrooms in July. If the IONIQ 5 eats up the majority of incentives, the EV6 will face harsh competition with the Tesla Model Y, Renault Zoe and Chevrolet Bolt EUV among others. Hyundai Motor's Genesis luxury brand also plans to launch its first EV this year, meaning competition will intensify even further. Against this backdrop, increasing the production volume of the IONIQ 5 will further shrink the potential total of incentives for customers, forcing Hyundai Motor to contemplate the right balance between a production increase and an adjustment in delivery schedules, industry officials said. "Incentives play a crucial role in marketing EVs," an official said. "Hyundai Motor appears to be struggling to find the right balance without delaying deliveries too much." A teaser image of Kia EV6 / Courtesy of Kia On Thursday, the Japanese artist Yuri Shimojos affecting show Memento Mori makes its U.S. debut at Praise Shadows Art Gallery, a new space in Brookline, Mass., that aims to exhibit emerging and midcareer artists, as well as mentor young artistic talent in the Boston area. For Shimojo, who splits her time between New York and Kyoto, Japan, and the gallerys owner, Yng-Ru Chen who cut her teeth at MoMA PS 1, the Asia Society and Sothebys March 11 is heavy with meaning: It marks the 10th anniversary of Japans deadly Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which together claimed nearly 16,000 lives, and which inspired this body of work. When Shimojo heard news of the disaster in 2011, she was in her studio in New York and was struck by a report describing the sakura, or cherry blossom trees, blooming amid the wreckage. To soothe her grief, she began to paint their petals. I started to see each one as a life, Shimojo says. The resulting work, Sakura (2011-13), a muted swirl of pastel pink, white and light gray, led to four others, each rendered in Japanese ink on Khadi paper and taking a circle as its form an orb of burgundy, a spiral of forest green, an amalgam of blue dots that look almost like an iris a gesture toward the cyclical nature of life. Those works are included in the exhibition along with a new site-specific installation, in which a single sakura petal, made from washi paper and suspended on a thread, hangs above a mound of salt and 108 glass petri dishes, each containing its own washi petal. A dazzling light projection, created by Maria Takeuchi, and contemplative soundscape, composed by Alec Fellman, accompanies the installation. Memento Mori is dedicated to the victims of the Tohoku disaster and of Covid-19, and is a reminder of natures formidable power as well as its resilience. Memento Mori is on view through April 18, 313A Harvard Street, Brookline, Mass., praiseshadows.com. read This Recipes From a Seasoned Restaurateur The Biden presidency has directly or indirectly impacted other South Asian developments too US President Joe Biden, within two months of taking charge, has moved with speed to implement his domestic and international agenda. His predecessors jibe dubbing him Sleepy Joe is proving totally wrong. Of concern to India is the United States pushing Afghanistan towards what the draft paper sent to all parties, including the Taliban, calls the Afghanistan Peace Agreement. Simultaneously, US secretary of state Anthony Blinken wrote to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and senior statesman Abdullah Abdullah, urging acceleration of the entire peace process. The Biden presidency has directly or indirectly impacted other South Asian developments too. India and Pakistan surprisingly announced restoration of the 2003 ceasefire agreement after two years of heavy exchanges along the Line of Control. India ignored its dictum that no de-escalation with Pakistan was possible till it abandoned the use of terror as an adjunct to diplomacy. Pakistan decided to withdraw its precondition that till India restored the status quo ante in Kashmir, normality couldnt be restored. The US role is more clearly manifest, observing its new exit strategy from the two-decade Afghan conflict. That the US would treat Pakistan with greater deference than the Trump administration did became clear early after Team Biden began articulating its foreign policy priorities. The retention of Zalmay Khalilzad as US special representative for Afghanistan confirmed continuity rather than innovation in Americas Afghan policy. President Trump fathered the deal with the Taliban and declared a complete US troop withdrawal by May 1, 2021. US troop levels are now down to 2,500. Thus, Mr Blinkens letters to the two top Afghan leaders and the draft peace agreement, despite the letter which concedes we have not yet completed our review of the way ahead, sets out the future path. While the letter cajoled President Ghani to cooperate through subtle threats and doomsday scenario, the draft peace agreement specifies the next steps, under three sub-headings. One outlines the guiding principles for a new constitution and the future Afghan state. It envisions a multi-ethnic state and the protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The second spells out the possible shape of a transitional government that includes separation of powers. The President will be the commander-in-chief, apparently for the seamless integration of Taliban fighters in todays Afghan Army. He will also retain international relations, perhaps for better coordination with multiple foreign stakeholders, especially regional powers. The third is the need for a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. Two immediate processes are envisaged. One, the United Nations will be urged to convene the foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US. Separately, Turkey will be asked to host a senior-level meeting of both sides -- the Afghan government and the Taliban, in coming weeks to finalise a peace agreement. A controversy arose on whether Russia, perhaps on behalf of Pakistan and China, wanted India excluded from the regional group. The old Quadrilateral Coordination Group had the US, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. Thus, Indias inclusion is acceptance that the regional group would lack balance without India, as the interests of China, Pakistan and Russia mostly converge. In any case, Indias development assistance to Afghanistan has been exemplary and appreciated by the ordinary Afghan. But the United States has unlevelled the playing field by scaling back its military presence. The Afghan Army is unable to control anything more than the larger population centres. Even in Kandahar, the countrys second-largest city with great symbolic significance for the Taliban, the land access is with the Taliban. Mr Blinkens letter ends with the warning that a US troop withdrawal by May 1 is a possibility and thereafter, even with US financial assistance for the Afghan Army, the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains. This is a surrender to the Taliban-Pakistan interests even before a dialogue begins. This perhaps explains the Pakistan Army accepting a ceasefire at the Line of Control with India. They can see the balance of forces in Afghanistan tilting in their favour. Thus, they are willing to put their Kashmir strategy on hold, trying through a dialogue and Americas urgings for the status quo to be restored, while they consolidate their advantage in the west, especially by negating Indias role in a post-Ghani Afghanistan. It would be delusional to assume the Pakistan Army has swallowed the altered status quo in J&K. Indian options are circumscribed by mutated regional geopolitics compared to the late 1990s after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 1996. First, India-Iran-Russia then had total convergence of strategic interests to ensure that the Taliban couldnt capture northern Afghanistan. The three coordinated to keep the Northern Alliance alive and the Panjshir valley free, while Ahmad Shah Masood lived. Irans western border was still blocked by an inimical Saddam Hussein. Today that alliance is one in name only, as shown by the controversy over Russias role in barring India from the regional grouping. Moreover, Irans primary strategic interest is in getting US and other sanctions lifted and retaining control over Shia Crescent that runs through Shia-majority Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Today the Iran-Taliban ties are workable if not warm, with the Taliban curbing its anti-Shia zeal for the larger strategic goal of reducing its dependence on Pakistan. Iran provides an alternative exit to the open seas, and both distrust the US. The transition in Afghanistan will be tricky. Taliban tactics of fight-and-talk worked for them, particularly with the US broadcasting its military exit. Why will they accept a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire without gaining substantial control over the transitional government? The Afghan government needs money and air cover for special forces, about a quarter of the total army, well trained by the US and doing the critical fighting as the regular forces buckle. India might be able to finance but can hardly replace the US level of air cover with drones, armed helicopters and medivacs. Can India engage the Taliban, despite Pakistani objections? The Taliban too will need development aid, which even now is largely channelled in the rural hinterland through them as the government lacks access. But a constant negative will be the BJPs minority-bashing majoritarian politics and its Kashmir policy. Pakistan will count on that to keep India in the Talibans bad books. As the US exits, India must redesign its approach to an altered AfPak salient. Indias domestic and neighbourhood policies are scraping against each other. The looming Assembly elections, particularly in West Bengal and Assam, will show whether even the Indian masses are tiring of divisive and jingoistic politics. Microsoft's decision in February to strip an identifier used for decades from some Windows update release notes continues to draw the ire of customers. On Feb. 18, the company announced on its Windows IT Pro blog that it would no longer include the KB identifier KB for Knowledge Base in the URLs of all online release notes associated with Windows update release details. The KB identifiers have been used by Microsoft for several decades to pinpoint individual bug fixes and guide customers to the appropriate documentation. "One of the primary ways that many find release notes is through the use of a KB identifier (KBID)," Christine Ahonen, a program manager at Microsoft, wrote in the post to the Windows IT Pro blog. "We use a unique identifier for each Windows update. Once a KBID is created, it is then used to identify the update throughout the release process, including documentation." Ahonen noted that the KB identifier was used in not only the title of the release note but more importantly, in URL of that note, in the format https://support.microsoft.com/help/#######. But such wouldn't be the standard in the future. "For instance, the URL structure of https://support.microsoft.com/help/ is still supported, however, it will redirect to a newly formatted URL https://support.microsoft.com//topic/," Ahonen said. (GUID, aka Globally Unique Identifier is a Microsoft-specific 128-bit integer consisting of 8 hexadecimal digits, followed by three groups of 4 hexadecimal digits each, followed by one group of 12 hexadecimal digits used to identify, in this case, a specific release note.) "Additionally, if a KBID appears in the title of a page, it will appear in the URL. If a KBID is not in the title, it will not appear in the URL. Types of articles where you may not find a KBID include informational articles and articles released for non-cumulative updates or specialty packages." Ahonen did not initially divulge the reason for the change. Don't mess with my KB Users reacted immediately to the announcement. And none applauded it. "Why can't you just add it (the KD identifier) to the URL?" asked Vadim Sterkin in a comment. "You've got a title and a huge GUID there already. KBID isn't an overhead. But no, you make us view or parse the source. Your approach doesn't make sense, but you don't really bother to explain it." "Hold the phone. Enough. Don't mess with my KB numbers," wrote Susan Bradley in another comment. (Bradley, who publishes the Windows tip newsletter AskWoody.com, also contributes to Computerworld as the Microsoft Patch Lady columnist.) This is how we all 'speak' in terms of patches, patch management, etc. "Clearly this is making it easier for you but not for us. You remember us? Your customers? The ones you should be making happy? If it is a KB, then it needs to have a KB in the URL. Period." Others echoed Sterkin and Bradley. "When tackling updates, it's very common for me to just type support.microsoft.com/help/kb###### into the address bar," said someone identified as Vatnos. "This is a terrible change, and I fail to see the benefit of it in any way." Why the KB kerfuffle? Microsoft's content publishing system On March 4, Ahonen returned to the then-dormant comment section of her post from weeks before with news about the decision to drop the KB identifier. "This is the result of our change over to a new Content Management System (CMS)," Ahonen wrote. "This new CMS does not support the old URL patterns and so we needed to adapt to the new structure. "To have this function like the old system, we have added redirectors to use both older patterns: support.microsoft.com/help/KBID support.microsoft.com/KB/KBID "Typing either one of these old patterns will take you to the new URL," Ahonen continued. "You can still link to the old URL patterns and it will take you or your customers to the correct location." Ahonen also said that every Windows servicing update article would have the appropriate KB identifier in its title, including all security updates as well as all non-security updates. "These articles will be fully searchable," she said. The automatic-redirection, however, didn't solve the problem caused by Microsoft scrubbing the KB identifier from some URLs, Bradley argued. "Could you determine the KB number easily from that page?" she asked, referring to the URL of a release note for a problem she had encountered. "I can't visually see that KB number ... easily anymore. None of these changes make our jobs easier." Ahonen commiserated with Bradley in a follow-up comment. "I agree that it is frustrating not to be able to find the KBID on the page or in the URL for some of these outlying articles," she said. "We are looking at various solutions to work around the limitation." Ahonen also urged users to continue providing feedback. "The more we understand the way that customers use these IDs the better our resolution will be." She gave no hint, however, that the removal of KB identifiers would be reversed not surprising considering it's connected to the new CMS platform, a serious investment in any instance. Bradley countered with a final example. "This was an update widely pushed to our machines, it wasn't an outlying article," Bradley wrote in a March 5 comment, offering the support document's title and one-line description, neither of which included a KB identifier. "If something is going to be pushed through the Windows Update channel, it needs a KB front and center." County library to unveil story walk project in Vanderbilt The Otsego County Library is hosting a ceremony Saturday to formally open the latest story walk project. New research shows a lack of an association between Vitamin D deficiency and the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, recoveries, or mortality rates in European countries. Malnutrition can increase a persons risk of mortality from various diseases. Previous studies have examined if vitamin D deficiency could influence the prevalence of COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Some postulate that vitamin D can protect against lung infection by attenuating an overactive immune system and preventing acute respiratory syndrome (ARS), both of which are associated with severe and critical COVID-19. However, Dimitra Rafailia Bakaloudi and Michail Chourdakis from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece argue theres no clinical evidence to corroborate these claims. The team writes: In the light of the most recent evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as by using updated Vit D deficiency prevalence for each included country, we can end up in more accurate conclusions. The study Prevalence of vitamin D is not associated with the COVID-19 epidemic in Europe. A judicial update of the existing evidence is available as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review. Collecting data The researchers compiled data on COVID-19 infections, recoveries, and mortality rates using the Worldometer website. They gathered information on the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in 24 European countries through the PubMed database, with the last data point being February 6, 2021. They evaluated vitamin D deficiency by its prevalence instead of mean Vitamin D levels. Study population size on Vitamin D deficiency varied by country, with Slovenia being the lowest at 280 and Italy being the highest at 74,235. Vitamin D deficiency differed across Europe Finland had the lowest Vitamin D deficiency at 6%, whereas Turkey reported the highest Vitamin D deficiency at 75.5%. About 11 of the 24 countries had their adult populations more than 50% deficient in Vitamin D. When evaluating larger countries, the researchers looked at the total number of COVID-19 cases per 1 million of the total population. Based on this measurement, Russia had the lowest amount at 2.684 per 1 million in the population infected with SARS-CoV-2. The Czech Republic had the highest coronavirus infections when looking at the total population. They reported 94,522 per 1 million. Norway experienced the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate with 105 deaths for every 1 million. The highest COVID-19 mortality rate was in Belgium, with 1,826 deaths. In terms of recovery, Switzerland had the lowest number of COVID-19 libraries, and the Czech Public had the highest number of recoveries. There was no significant association between Vitamin D and COVID-19 cases and mortality. Although only 24 European countries satisfied our inclusion criteria, the analysis included a significant part of the European population. Therefore, the results of our study could be generalized to most of the excluded European countries too. Moreover, along with most high-income countries, upper-middle income countries, such as Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, were also included in the analysis, reflecting the effect of economic status in the outcomes. The researchers only evaluated Vitamin D deficiency data and not from a national level survey, which could have been more representative of countries current population. A mean value cannot represent the Vit D status of a whole country because outliers and skewed populations influence it. However, we have also conducted these analyses using updated data regarding Vit D mean concentration (only from the last decade) without finding any statistical significance, wrote the team. Based on the findings, the researchers suggest the government should create more preventative measures to increase awareness of the risk of Vitamin D deficiency in high-risk groups. They should also increase information on the lack of significant association between Vitamin D and the coronavirus pandemic outcomes. *Important Notice medRxiv 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. [March 11, 2021] Napatech Software Optimized for Silicom's Latest Intel FPGA-Based SmartNICs COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Napatech (OSLO: NAPA.OL), a leading provider of programmable SmartNICs, in partnership with Silicom, today announced availability of its Link-Virtualization FPGA-based SmartNIC software for Silicom's latest generation of Intel FPGA-based SmartNICs. The combination of Napatech's software and Silicom's SmartNIC increases the application, networking, security, and storage performance of servers deployed in virtualized datacenters. Napatech's Link-Virtualization software is a production-grade, turn-key solution that harnesses the capabilities pioneered by hyperscale cloud service providers, and makes them readily available to cloud, 5G telecom, and enterprise datacenter networks of every size. The software is optimized for Silicom's C5010X SmartNIC which was created from the recently announced Intel FPGA SmartNIC C5000X-PL platform, as well as the Silicom N5010 SmartNIC for high performance networking acceleration. The latest generation of Intel FPGA-based SmartNIC platforms are available with an array of hardware options and combinations including Intel Stratix 10 FPGAs, Intel Ethernet 800 Series controllers, and Intel Xeon D processors. The combination of Napatech's Link-Virtualization software and Silicom's Intel FPGA-based SmartNICs provides a unique and compelling choice for server connectivity to modern datacenter operators, with benefits that include: Performance: Line-rate networking with ultra-low latency for 10, 25, and 100GbE. Agility: Programmable FPGAs for hardware performance at the speed of software DevOps innovation. Efficiency: Releasing valuable CPU resources for applications and services that generate revenue. Security: Offload and acceleration of compute-intense security processing workloads. Economics: The optimal combination of performance, features, programmability, and cost. Orchestration: Automated management, provisioning, and configuration at scale. Sustainability: An open, standard design in an environmentally friendly size and power configuration. Leading use cases supported by the solution include full and partial Open vSwitch (OVS) offload, live migration, hardware quality of service, VM-to-VM network, and application performance monitoring, network telemetry, service chaining, and custom workload integration. Seamus Crehan, President, Crehan Research said: "This combination of Intel's processors and FPGAs, Silicom's SmartNIC designs, and Napatech's SmartNIC software delivers a very compelling solution at a time when the SmartNIC market seems to be reaching an inflection point for broader customer adoption." Shaike Orbach, Chief Executive Officer, Silicom said: "Silicom's commitment to its strong partnership with Intel led to our C5010X and N5010 product designs which include both the SmartNIC hardware and the IP shells required for the implementation of a variety of applications and offloads in the Cloud and 5G core spaces. The inclusion of Napatech's FPGA-based software, together with our latest SmartNICs offering, is significant for addressing the vision all three companies have for datacenter programmable SmartNICs." Ray Smets, Chief Executive Officer, Napatech said: "We are very pleased to have established this relationship with Silicom and expanded our software ecosystem partnership with Intel. In combination, this allows Napatech to extend our reach into high-growth cloud and telecom markets where the demand for programmable SmartNICs and our software is increasing. The collaboration between Napatech, Silicom, and Intel unites the expertise required to solve some of the most complex data center challenges faced by our customers today." Patrick Dorsey, Vice President of Product, Intel Programmable Solutions Group said: "Intel's strategy for SmartNICs is to go beyond delivering products alone, to optimize hardware and software into platforms that simplify deployment of accelerated cloud and enterprise data center and communications network workloads. The collaboration between Intel, Silicom, and Napatech is a powerful example of how Intel has created platforms featuring our leadership in FPGAs, Xeon D Processors, and Ethernet Controllers that have attracted an innovative ecosystem of hardware and software partners to offer disruptive products and solutions to our customers." Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. About Napatech Napatech helps companies to reimagine their business by bringing hyperscale computing benefits to IT organizations of every size. We enhance open and standard virtualized servers to boost innovation and release valuable computing resources that improve services and increase revenue. Our programmable SmartNICs are based on a broad set of FPGA software for leading IT compute, network and security applications that are supported on a wide array of FPGA hardware designs. Additional information is available at: www.napatech.com. No Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to, business conditions, trends in the industry and markets, global economic and geopolitical conditions, macro-economic factors, and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Napatech's reports. The matter discussed in this release is based on current expectations and maybe subject to change. Napatech will not necessarily update this information. For details, visit us at www.napatech.com. Media Investor Relations Shannon Van Every Heine Thorsgaard Press and Analyst Relations Chief Financial Officer Nadel Phelan Napatech +1.408.313.9974 +45.2241.8090 shannon@nadelphelan.com htg@napatech.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/napatech-software-optimized-for-silicoms-latest-intel-fpga-based-smartnics-301245392.html SOURCE Napatech [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. Secretary of State has said the US will speak out forcefully against committing "genocide" against the Muslims in its Xinjiang province, as several lawmakers expressed concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in the communist nation, ahead of the first face-to-face meeting of top American and Chinese officials next week since President Joe Biden took office. The White House and State Department said on Wednesday that Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan will see China's top foreign policy officials, the foreign affairs chief of the ruling Communist Party of China, Yang Jiechi, and State Councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi on March 18 in Anchorage, Alaska. Blinken told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing that the US will continue to speak out forcefully and shine a light on "egregious violations of human rights" by We have been clear and I've been clear that I see it as genocide, other egregious abuses of human rights, and we'll continue to make that clear, he said, responding to a question by Congressman Michael McCaul who asked what additional steps is the Biden administration is prepared to take to stop this "genocide". I think there are a number of things that we can do, should do, and will do. First of all, it's important to speak up and speak out and to make sure that other countries are doing the same thing. The more hears not just our opprobrium but a chorus of opprobrium from around the world, the better the chance that we'll get some changes, Blinken said. We have a number of steps that we have taken or can take going forward, to include for those directly responsible for acts of genocide, gross human rights violations, sanctions, visa restrictions, etc. I think it would be very important, if China claims that there is nothing going on, that it gives access to the community, to the United Nations. "If they have nothing to hide, show it to us, show the world. And so, we'll be calling for that, he said. "Then there are a series of practical things that are very important. For example, we should make sure that we are not exporting and others are not exporting to China any products that can be used for the repression of their people and their minorities," he said. Similarly, America shouldn't be importing products that are created by forced labor, including from Xinjiang. "So, those are some of the practical things that we can and should do, but for short we're going to start by speaking out forcefully on this, Blinken said. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick asked, What can the administration do to protect the Uighur community and the Uighur minority, bring about the end of this ongoing genocide in China and will you be raising these concerns of grave human rights violations when you meet with the Chinese officials in Alaska? Blinken responded, I have spoken already to my Chinese counterpart, raised those concerns directly with him, President Biden has raised those concerns directly with (President) Xi Jinping in his conversation with him. We will certainly be raising them again in Alaska. The meeting with the Chinese in Alaska will come just just days after Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin see their Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo and Seoul to reaffirm US treaty alliances with those nations. It will also come less than a week after Biden holds a virtual summit with the top leaders of India, Japan and Australia to discuss Indo-Pacific policy. US-China relations nose-dived while Donald Trump was president, with his administration taking multiple actions against Beijing for its actions against Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang and in Tibet, its crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, aggressive actions toward Taiwan and staking claims to territory in the South China Sea. (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.) They have both won Academy Awards and have both starred in Star Wars movies. And now Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong'o are teaming up for the Apple TV+ limited series Lady In The Lake, THR.com reported on Wednesday. The drama is based on Laura Lippman's bestseller of the same name and both actresses have also signed on to serve as executive producers on the project. New project: Oscar winners and Star Wars vets Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong'o are teaming up for the Apple TV+ limited series Lady In The Lake, THR.com reported Wednesday Set in Baltimore, Maryland, in the 1960s, Lady In The Lake centers on housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz who sets out to investigate an unsolved murder in the city. This brings her into conflict with Cleo Sherwood, a working mom and activist who supports Baltimore's Black progressive agenda, according to THR.com. Portman will play Schwartz and Nyong'o takes on the role of Sherwood. Plot: The series, set in Baltimore, Maryland, in the 1960s, centers on an unsolved murder and is based on Laura Lippman's bestseller of the same name Friends: Portman and Nyong'o appear to be pals as well as potential co-stars, with Portman wishing Nyong'o star a happy 38th birthday on March 1 via Instagram The two stars appear to be pals as well as potential co-stars. Back on March 1, Portman took to Instagram to wish Nyong'o a happy 38th birthday. Sharing a photo of the smiling actress, she wrote: 'Happy birthday to this goddess'. Portman is currently in Australia filming Thor: Love And Thunder. Nyong'o will next be seen in the movie The 355, an action thriller co-starring Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz and Diane Kruger. Girl power: Nyong'o will next be seen in the movie The 355, an action thriller co-starring Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz and Diane Kruger Bharat Bandh on 26th March 2021: What is Open, What is Closed Bharat Bandh on March 26 India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 11: The farmers protesting against the contentious farm laws have called for a Bharat Bandh on March 26 to mark four months of their protests. Farmer leader, Bhuta Singh said that the farmers along with the trade unions will also protest the hike in fuel prices. We will observe a complete Bharat Bandh on March 26. He said that the peaceful bandh will be effective from morning to evening. He also said that the farmers will observe Mandi Bachao-Kheti Bachao on March 19. Farmers ready to continue protest on Delhi borders till Modi govt lasts: Tikait The farmers have also decided to celebrate Shaheedi Divas of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. On March 28 the new farm laws will be burnt, Bhuta Singh also said. Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three border points of Delhi since November 28 last year, demanding the repeal of three farm laws enacted by the Centre and a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News Commentary: No more crocodile tears for China's Xinjiang Xinhua) 09:23, March 11, 2021 BEIJING/URUMQI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Western politicians' accusations of human rights abuses against Uygurs in Xinjiang have picked up a higher pitch recently. These noises are, in fact, nothing more than hypocritical crocodile tears aimed at smearing China's image. And more importantly, they are crying over made-up stories that contain not a single shred of truth. The claim of "forced labor" underpinning a ban on imports of Xinjiang's cotton is groundless. In fact, workers of all ethnic groups in the region have signed labor contracts with employers based on the principles of equality and voluntariness, and received legal payments in accordance with China's labor law and regulations. There is no discrimination against workers on the basis of ethnicity, gender, or religious belief. Besides, if these politicians really care about the well-being of people in Xinjiang, they should have never imposed a ban on cotton imports from the region. The cotton industry is an important means of living for numerous local people for generations. The ban only hurts them by robbing their rights to work and to a better life. That is why some Xinjiang enterprises and locals are suing Adrian Zenz, a member of a far-right group established by the U.S. government who has kept fabricating fake reports about Xinjiang, for causing damage to their reputation as well as economic losses by spreading rumors of "forced labor." Adrian Zenz has not been to Xinjiang in recent years, but ignorance has not prevented him from constantly churning out ill-grounded reports on the region, which have been readily picked up by some like-minded Western politicians as proof for their double-faced human rights concerns. The reality in Xinjiang is that all the people including the Uygurs have been lifted out of absolute poverty with enhanced access to infrastructure, education, healthcare and jobs. The ethnic traditional cultures and religious beliefs are effectively protected in Xinjiang, where visitors can find well-furnished mosques and watch TV programs broadcasted in local ethnic languages everywhere in the region. The voices of ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang are also heard on the national political arena like the ongoing "two sessions." Xinjiang's over 50 national lawmakers attending the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, are from 11 ethnic groups. Among them, 22 are Uygurs. At the regional legislature, over 64 percent of local lawmakers belong to different ethnic minority groups. Forget the dramatic but baseless accusations of liars like Adrian Zenz. There are so many sources including statistics, pictures, blogs and videos to learn about what is really happening in Xinjiang. Uygur population in the region has doubled from 5.55 million to over 12 million in the past more than 40 years. The average life expectancy of local people has risen from 30 to 72 years in the past 60-plus years. The region's GDP has also surged over 200 times in the past over six decades. With these plain facts, how can an accusation of "genocide" be justified? The smearing, whether targeted at the population or culture in Xinjiang, has proved to be thorough lies. Enough of the cheap tears. The people of Xinjiang refuse to be used by Western politicians as pawns to undermine the region's stability and prosperity and interfere in China's internal affairs. DNA technology has helped to determine the identity of a pregnant teen found dead in a Pennsylvania well more than 30 years ago. The victim's skeletal remains was discovered in January 1988 at the bottom of the well, which was located inside the abandoned Publicker Distillery in Bensalem, Bucks County. Police estimated that she had been aged between 17 and 23 years old at the time of her death, and they also determined that she was about six months pregnant. Despite initial media interest, the girl did not match the description of any missing persons in the area and the case subsequently went cold. But on Wednesday, the victim - who has been known only as 'Bucks County Jane Doe for the past 33 years - was finally able to be identified thanks to advances in genome sequencing technology. She been named as Lisa Todd, who vanished from Philadelphia in October 1985 at the age of 17. DNA technology has helped determine the identity of a pregnant teen found dead in a Pennsylvania well more than 30 years ago. She been named as Lisa Todd, who vanished from Philadelphia in October 1985 at the age of 17. Pictured: a sculpture that was created to envision what Todd might have looked like prior to her death Todd was discovered in January 1988 at the bottom of the well, which was located inside the abandoned Publicker Distillery in Bucks County Clothing and jewellry discovered on the victim at the time are pictured The news has stunned Lisa's surviving brother and sister. Detective Chris McMullin, who has worked on the case for more than 15 years, told WHYY on Wednesday that he called Lisa's family when he learned of her name. 'Her brother was literally speechless, understandably so,' McMullin stated. A photo of Lisa Todd taken before she dropped out of high school. She gave birth to her first child at 15, and was six months pregnant at the time she died - sometime between 1985 and late 1987 Lisa's sister, Linda Todd, told KYW News Radio that she had a 'big knot in her stomach' after receiving a call from the detective. McMullin says that while the determination of Linda's identity marks a break in the case, it is far from being solved. Lisa Todd dropped out of high school as an early teen after falling pregnant at the age of 15. At the time of her disappearance, she had a two-year-old son who is now aged in his mid-30s. Lisa's family figured that she had run away after learning that she was pregnant for a second time. It's unclear how long she was alive for between the time of her disappearance in October 1985 and the discover of her body almost two-and-a-half years later in January 1988. Bensalem is located just 19 miles from where Lisa previously lived. Cops are calling the death 'suspicious', and say it's unlikely she ended up down the well by accident. Linda Todd says she hopes the latest break gives detectives a much-needed boost in finally cracking the case. 'I am just glad they found her, but I just want to know why and who,' she said of her sister's death. Lisa's sister, Linda Todd, told KYW News Radio that she had a 'big knot in her stomach' after receiving a call from the detective At the time Lisa's body was discovered, DNA technology was still in its primitive stages. In 2007, nearly 20 years after the body was found, DNA was extracted from Lisa's remains and uploaded into CODIS, the national DNA database. There was no match. Late year, more DNA was extracted by Bode Technology - a company contracted by detectives. They performed genome sequencing and uploaded the results to GEDMatch - a website which compares people's DNA test results. Eventually it led the company to a match with some of Lisa's relatives. 'What makes this case so incredible is the utilization of the technology we have in 2021,' one official told WHYY. 'The case really broke just two months ago. The genealogy now available to us is remarkable.' Women have opened up about their experience of being assaulted in the wake of the Sarah Everard case. The 33-year-old's disappearance has highlighted the dangers women face when out alone and has sparked a national debate. A police officer remains in custody in relation to Ms Everards disappearance. The Met Police said that remains had been found in an area of woodland in Ashford in Kent by detectives investigating the case. Today Joe Duffy received several phone calls to LiveLine from women who spoke of their own personal experience of how they had been subjected to horrific attacks often by men who were currently on bail for another offence. Read More Mary Lynch, a female taxi driver was attacked by Jerry McGrath in April 2007 before he went on to murder Sylvia Roche Kelly, told of the ongoing impact that it has on her, and the immense anxiety she still feels. "I lock all my doors inside. Every single door is locked at night time, she said. Speaking about the attack, Ms Lynch said: "He kicked me into the car, he bit me on my bare skin and he tried choking me, I was black and blue - he pulled lumps of hair out of my head." Sinead OLeary told her horrifying story of being stabbed 20 times by Peter Whelan - a man who murdered her friend Nichola Sweeney after breaking into her family home as the two were getting ready for a night out on April 27, 2002. Ms OLeary said she had to work hard to regain peace after the traumatising attack that happened almost 19 years ago. However, she said the past two years have been harrowing for her as Whelan had temporary day releases and parole hearings. "I worked hard to regain peace... to find out he was back was absolutely devastating and traumatising, she said. "The last two years were horrendous. I wouldn't feel safe with him back in Cork. It's very intimidating. Another woman recounted her experiencing trying to escape a man who exposed himself in front of her on a bus and then later pursued her. The woman, Catherine, spoke to RTEs LiveLine about a man who had 200 past convictions. Catherine said he had gotten on a bus and the man had sat beside her. He immediately began to touch himself while looking at her. In distress, she left the bus, saying in hindsight she would have alerted the bus driver to the situation. Although she was off the bus, she was not yet safe, as the man got off a few stops later and began to walk back towards her. Catherine would later come to learn that the man was a serial sex offender. Hes a maniac. He shouldnt be let out on the streets, ever. The system is just wrong. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has reminded the public of their services, saying so many survivors [are] telling their stories today which we know can be triggering. "Please remember support services are available if you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence. RCC 24-Hour Helpline 1800 77 8888. On the first day of Texas reopening at 100 percent, Montgomery County residents seemed to embrace the big step toward normalcy. Following Gov. Greg Abbotts announcement on March 2, Wednesday was the first day restaurants and businesses could open at 100 percent after suffering through fluctuating capacities for the past year that put a real hurt on the restaurant industry. The day also brought an end to the statewide mask mandate which has been a hotly debated topic since March 2. Now the decision is largely on the individual establishment as to whether masks are required or not. Locally it appeared that restaurant staff still remained masked. Some customers wore them, some did not. Colin McKenzie, with McKenzies Barbeque and Burgers in Conroe, said they had a good lunch crowd Wednesday. But in general their business has been up since the winter storm. He said they were closed for three days during the storm and once they opened back up, its been crazy ever since. On HoustonChronicle.com: Texans 50 and older can receive a COVID vaccine starting next Monday Im not sure why that affected things the way it did, but ever since then its been non-stop, he said. He said they were already doing a majority of pick-up and carry-out orders, but even more of their dine-in business has shifted to to-go during the pandemic. We kind of expect that trend to stay, he said. He added from the general consensus of customers he spoke with Wednesday, everyone seemed to be happy to get out and happy to get back to a little bit of normal. At Vernons Kuntry Katfish on Texas 105, manager Letha Bly arrived for work at 3 p.m. and they were completely full in the front room, where normally during the pandemic theyd have every other table not available. I definitely feel like for this time of day, weve been full, Bly said. She said the customers are always happy at Vernons Kuntry Katfish, Wednesday there were just more of them. At Pacific Yardhouse in downtown Conroe, manager Teak Daniele said their lunchtime crowd was normal but they were very busy in advance their Reopen Texas Celebration Wednesday night. As of Wednesday evening, there were 190 responses to their event on Facebook. They were hosting live music with Jesse Roach, a Walking Dead trivia night and crawfish and steak specials. MORE FROM SONDRA HERNANDEZ: Breweries, wineries optimistic over ability to open fully in Montgomery County When asked if people were happy to be out and about he answered the people showing up for Wednesdays celebration were. There was also a streaming option for those not quite ready to venture out. Thursday brings the first community gathering in downtown Conroe following the states reopening at 100 percent. A Lucky Sip and Stroll is from 4 to 9 p.m. at Main Street Merchants on Main Street in downtown Conroe. Main Street Merchants owner Janese Sokulski is curious how people will respond. This weekend also brings Southern Star Brewing Companys 13th anniversary celebration on Saturday starting at noon. Masks are required when moving about the taproom, but can be taken off once seated. Also, theres plenty of room to spread out on their acreage. Also next Wednesday, the annual Conroe St. Patricks Day Walking Parade returns at 5 p.m. at The Corner Pub. Itll be a time for the wearing o the green to welcome back a wee bit of normal. shernandez@hcnonline.com A stray dog who was seen on surveillance video walking into a veterinary clinic in Brazil is now under the personal care of one of its physicians after he was treated for a cancerous tumor. A couple of clients were waiting with their pooches to be attended to when the dog limped into the offices of Vet VIP in Juazeiro do Norte, Ceara, on Saturday. Veterinarian Dayse Silva was standing behind the counter and approached the dog as he checked out his surroundings and sat. The surveillance camera system at Vet VIP recorded the moment a stray dog walked into the clinic by himself Saturday, before the staff learned that he had a cancerous tumor after they treated an ingrown nail in his paw. The dog is currently undergoing chemotherapy and waiting to be adopted According to Vet VIP veterinarian Dayse Silva, the dog will be staying with her while he receives his rounds of chemotherapy The physician initially detected an ingrown nail after he greeted her with his paw and wagged his tail. Further tests revealed the dog's tumor from his genital area, requiring him to undergo chemotherapy. 'He's very well. Excited, smart, very different from when he came here,' Silva said in an interview with Brazilian online portal G1. Dayse Silva cares for the dog moments after he entered the clinic with a limp 'He's no longer has any bleeding and shows no signs of being in pain. He reacted well to the first chemotherapy session and we will evaluate each new procedure to find out how many he will need ...' Silva opened her family's home to her new friend while he recovers and travels with her to the clinic for his daily treatment. Vet VIP clinic has received calls from residents interested in adopting him, but none had visited in person to fill out the required adoption documents. An online drive to raise funds to cover the cost of the dog's care exceeded the clinic's goal of $713. The minister says the document was needed way back in 2014. Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council on March 11 approved a strategy to end the Russian occupation of Crimea and reintegrate the peninsula. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced this on Twitter. Read alsoRussian invaders to "sue" Ukraine for cutting water supplies to occupied Crimea rights group "We've approved the Strategy for De-occupation & Reintegration of Crimea, a historic document needed since 2014," he said. "The signal is crystal clear: we dont just call on the world to help us return Crimea, Ukraine makes own dedicated & systemic efforts under President [Volodymyr] Zelensky's leadership." Kuleba also listed three priorities in the policy aimed at retaking Crimea. "3 pillars for returning Crimea: 1.Strategy. Approved today. 2.Consolidation. We work on joining efforts of all partners on the Crimea Platform. 3. Synergy. Restoring international law and in result, restoring full Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea & the city of Sevastopol," he said. Russian occupation of Crimea Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had occupied 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. On 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 Crimea annexation attempt 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 London, March 12 : There is no indication that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is linked to an increased risk of blood clots, the EU's medicines regulator has said. It said the number of cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population. The statement came after a number of countries, including Denmark and Norway, suspended the use of the jab, the BBC reported on Thursday. The suspension followed reports that a small number of people had developed clots after receiving the vaccine. There were also reports that a 50-year-old man had died in Italy after developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following a dose of the jab. "There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine," the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday. "The vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing," it added. It said there had been 30 cases of "thromboembolic events" among the five million Europeans who have received the jab. AstraZeneca said the drug's safety had been studied extensively in clinical trials. "Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine," a spokesperson said. In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there was no evidence the vaccine had caused problems, and people should still go and get vaccinated when asked to do so. "Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK," said Phil Bryan of the MHRA. The decision to temporarily suspend the use of AstraZeneca's jab has come as a setback for a European vaccination campaign that has stuttered into life, partly due to delays in delivery of the drug. However, there was some good news on Thursday as the EMA approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine. "More safe and effective vaccines are coming to the market," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted, although some reports suggest that J&J vaccine shipments may not arrive until April. Denmark, Norway and Iceland have temporarily suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Italy and Austria, meanwhile, have stopped using certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure. The suspensions in Italy and Austria involve different batches of the vaccine. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have also suspended the use of the same batch as Austria. In an earlier statement, the EMA said Denmark's decision was a "precautionary measure (taken) while a full investigation is ongoing into reports of blood clots in people who received the vaccine, including one case in Denmark where a person died". Italy's medicines body said its decision was "precautionary", adding that no link had been established between the vaccine and subsequent "serious adverse events". Two Italians are reported to have died after receiving the vaccine, and an unnamed source was quoted by a media outlet saying that their deaths are what prompted the temporary suspension. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text GULFPORT, Miss., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hancock Whitneyone of America's strongest, safest bankshas once again received Greenwich Associates national and regional awards for middle market and small business banking excellence and best brand. Founded in 1972, Greenwich Associates is the leading global provider of data, analytics, and insights to the nancial services industry and known for recognizing the best of the best among banks bringing quality service to clients. Hancock Whitney earned 17 Greenwich Awards in 2020, raising the bank's grand total of awards to 201, with 21 Best Brand Awards since 2013 and 180 Excellence Awards since 2005. "Greenwich Associates awards represent the voices of our clients recognizing our associates' commitment to the core values that guide how we strive to deliver 5-star service every day," said Hancock Whitney Chief Operating Officer Shane Loper. "We are honored again to receive this recognition for excellence in middle market and small business banking and for best brand and invite others to visit our Gulf South financial centers to learn how we can help them achieve their financial goals and dreams." Read details about the awards below or at https://www.hancockwhitney.com/insights/helping-our-clients-achieve-their-dreams-inspires-and-fulfills-us. Learn more about Hancock Whitney's commitment to service at https://youtu.be/GP-k595UUeA. Middle market banking Using a series of qualitative metrics, Greenwich Associates evaluated middle market banking platforms at more than 600 U.S. banks through interviews with more than 11,000 middle market clients with sales of $10 million to $500 million about a range of products and services. Only 30 banks were distinctive enough to earn Greenwich Excellence Awards for middle market banking, and only 13 warranted Greenwich Best Brand Awards for middle market banking. Hancock Whitney received eight Greenwich Excellence and Best Brand Awards in middle market banking in 2020: National Greenwich Excellence Awards Overall Satisfaction Likelihood to Recommend Cash Management-Overall Satisfaction National Greenwich Best Brand Awards Ease of Doing Business Trust Regional Greenwich Excellence Awards-South Region Overall Satisfaction Likelihood to Recommend Cash Management-Overall Satisfaction Small business banking In determining 2020 Greenwich Excellence Award and Best Brand Award winners for small business banking, Greenwich Associates looked at small business banking platforms at more than 600 U.S. banks, interviewing more than 12,000 small business banking clients with sales of $1 million to $10 million about a range of products and services. Only 32 stood apart for a Greenwich Excellence Award, and only 13 earned a Greenwich Best Brand Award. Greenwich Associates recognized Hancock Whitney in 2020 with nine awards for small business banking: National Greenwich Excellence Awards Overall Satisfaction Likelihood to Recommend Cash Management-Overall Satisfaction National Greenwich Best Brand Award Ease of Doing Business Trust Regional Greenwich Excellence Award-South Region Overall Satisfaction Likelihood to Recommend Relationship Manager Proactively Provides Advice Cash Management-Overall Satisfaction About Hancock Whitney Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Hancock Whitney offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; certain insurance services; and mortgage services. The company also operates a loan production office in Nashville, Tennessee. BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation's leading independent bank rating and analysis firm, consistently recommends Hancock Whitney as one of America's most financially sound banks. More information is available at www.hancockwhitney.com. SOURCE Hancock Whitney Related Links http://www.hancockwhitney.com Congress on Thursday released two more names of candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Ratan Engti will contest from Bokajan and Sum Ronghang from Diphu -- both seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. As of date, Congress has released names of 68 candidates for the 126-member Assembly polls which the party is contesting in alliance with All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and Bodoland People's Front (BPF). The party had on Wednesday released a list of 26 candidates, and appointed senior leaders Mohan Prakash and Jaydev Jena as special observers. The elections are scheduled to be held in three phases in In its first list on March 7, the Congress had released 40 names. The important candidates are Pradyut Kumar Bhuyan who will contest from Nalbari while Misbahul Islam Laskar will be trying his luck from Borkhola. Congress legislative party leader Debobrata Saikia will contest from Nazira and former Minister Rakibul Hussain will contest from Samaguri. The party has named Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora from Gohpur, Ram Prasad Sharma from Barchalla and Anuj Kumar Mech from Tezpur. The party has also fielded Bismark Gogoi from Khumtai and Rana Goswami from Jorhat. According to the poll panel, of the total 126 Assembly seats in Assam, eight are reserved for SC candidates and 16 for ST nominees. --IANS miz/in (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.) [March 11, 2021] From Homelessness to High School Graduation and HBCU Scholarship Recipient, FLEX Grad Starts Her First Semester at Central State University Graduating from high school and attending college was once only a dream to Dreama S., 19. After overcoming multiple obstacles including surviving cancer, the trauma of losing a sister and experiencing temporary homelessness, she graduated with honors from FLEX High School in the fall of 2020 during a national pandemic. She recently started her first semester at Central State University (CSU), a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Ohio. CSU is part of the 1890 Universities Foundation's multi-state network of HBCUs established in 1890 through the Second Morrill Act. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005168/en/ FLEX High honors alumna and Central State University student Dreama S., 19, explores her new campus (Photo: Business Wire) The Foundation and Lifelong Learning, a nonprofit educational services organization that supports public charter networks FLEX High and Learn4Life, have partnered to bolster college readiness and increase college access and enrollment for at-risk students. The partnership is the first of its kind between networks of publicly funded K-12 schools and a national consortium of HBCUs. Click to Tweet: Wow girl! Dreama overcame cancer, losing a sister and temporary homelessness to graduate, earn a scholarship and start her first semester at CSU - Go Marauders! Go Dreama! Happy #HBCU Month! #changeyourstory #Learn4Lifeschools Dreama and other students benefit from increased access, resources and financial support to help them transition to and succeed in college. As part of the partnership, Lifelong Learning has funded a College Access Program $5,000 scholarship, and Dreama was its first recipient. The personalized instruction, social-emotional support and flexible school day Dreama received at FLEX High made it possible for her to tackle high school while earning college credits through dual enrollment at Columbus State Community College. The pandemic forced her to delay her start at CSU until the spring semester and stay closer to home while attending Columbus State. "HBCUs create a welcoming environment for all learners regardless of their race, ethnicity or income level," said Michelle Harvey, vice president of innovation at Lifelong Learning. "Their focus on developing resilient learners is a natural extension of the one-on-one, personalized support FLEX and Learn4Life students receive." Learn4Life and FLEX recently held a Virtual College Week for 11 HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions to present their schools, college life and admissions requirements to students. Dreama spoke as part of the presentation, offering advice and words of encouragement to high school students. "Don't stop, don't quit, don't drop out," she said. "Keep doing what you need to do, and you will finish. I promise you, Class of 2021!" For more information about the schools and the partnership with the 1890 Foundation, visit www.learn4life.org/hbcu-partnerships or www.flexhighohio.org/hbcu-partnerships. About Learn4Life Learn4Life is a network of nonprofit public schools that provides students personalized learning, career training and life skills. Each school is locally controlled, tuition free and gives students the flexibility and one-on-one attention they need to succeed. Serving more than 49,000 students - including full-time and intersession students - we help them prepare for a future beyond high school. For more information, please visit www.learn4life.org. About FLEX High FLEX High's mission is to empower students to attain high academic achievement while empowering them to reach their post-secondary dreams and goals. We fulfill this by implementing a student-centered approach to personalized blended and remote learning. With schools in Ohio and Michigan, FLEX High is focused on helping students graduate to a better life beyond high school. For more information, please visit www.flexhigh.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005168/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. WB elections 2021: TMC parliamentary delegation to meet EC on Friday over 'attack' on Mamata India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Mar 11: A parliamentary delegation of the Trinamool Congress will meet Election Commission officials in Delhi on Friday over concerns following the alleged attack on party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, party sources said on Thursday. Six TMC MPs from both the Houses of Parliament are expected to arrive in Delhi to join the delegation, a source said. A delegation of the party met poll panel officials in Kolkata on Thursday and later alleged that the "Election Commission did nothing despite there being reports of a possible attack on Banerjee". West Bengal elections 2021: Young nominees find place in CPI(M) list Claiming that the attack was a "deep-rooted conspiracy to take the life of the TMC supremo", party leaders said anti-social elements have been mobilised from the neighbouring states by the BJP in Nandigram to unleash violence. The EC can't shun responsibility as it is in charge of the law-and-order situation in poll-bound West Bengal, it said. The Trinamool Congress supremo was injured in the leg after being allegedly pushed by unidentified people near a temple at Reyapara area during campaigning at Nandigram on Wednesday, where the BJP has pitted her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari against her. Will campaign on wheelchair, if needed: Mamata Banerjee Banerjee alleged that she was pushed by four to five men while she was trying to get into the car, following which fell flat on her face. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 17:58 [IST] Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has put aside her differences with Sam Armytage to wish the Sunrise host 'all the best' in her post-morning television life. Ms Palaszczuk was one of a handful of guests who gave Armytage an emotional goodbye as she finished her last day at Seven's breakfast show on Thursday. She also extended an invitation to Armytage to visit Queensland, in a slight dig at the outgoing Sunrise host who was fiercely critical of the Sunshine State's border closures during the Covid pandemic. 'I just wanted to wish you all the very best for your future. Congratulations on a great service to Australia,' Ms Palaszczuk said in a recorded video message. 'I wanted to let you know there is always a warm, friendly welcome here in Queensland for you on your next Queensland holiday.' Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured main) wished Sam Armytage (inset) 'all the very best' for her post-morning television life, while also extending an invitation to the Sunrise host to visit the state after being critical of border closures Armytage later revealed to her Sunrise colleagues how shocked she was to be invited by the premier to holiday in Queensland. 'That was lovely of her to do that. And she's invited me back to Queensland which I did not think would happen,' she said. 'All's fair in love and war. When you're in the middle of a pandemic you've got to get stuck into the pollies sometimes. And then you've got to get over it.' Armytage regularly used Sunrise air-time to attack the premier for her draconian border closures during the Covid pandemic. In September, Armytage blasted Ms Palaszczuk after claiming she refused to appear on Sunrise to front up to questions about her restrictions. It came after a fire tore through Mungindi, a drought-stricken town on both sides of the Queensland and New South Wales border, wiping out its only supermarket and butcher. But due to Ms Palaszczuk's hard border closures, locals were forced to leave their border bubble to get essentials, or travel 160km to the nearest supermarket. 'My blood is boiling because a lot of things she has done lately. You guys have now got no supermarket and no water and no food, basically,' Armytage said. Armytage (pictured on Thursday during her last morning at the helm of Sunrise) thanked Ms Palaszczuk for her message, saying it was 'lovely of her to do that' 'She won't come on the show. I am happy to have it out of there. I'm fed up of what's going on in Queensland.' That same month, Armytage slammed Ms Palaszczuk for 'playing the bullying card' after refusing the prime minister's desperate calls to let a young woman leave hotel quarantine for her father's funeral. The Sunrise host said she was 'astounded' by the Queensland border debacle, adding it was 'beyond comprehension' the woman was denied the chance to attend the funeral. 'I was astounded and I watched the news last night and I saw Annastacia Palaszczuk play the bullying card,' Armytage said. Weeks later the pair clashed on air just before the Queensland election after Ms Palaszczuk finally agreed to an interview. Armytage demanded to know what response Ms Palaszczuk had to 'people who say you've been playing politics during a pandemic'. The premier denied the claim, adding: 'Sam, I did have to make some strong decisions about those borders and they were tough, they were tough on a lot of people'. Armytage, 44, announced her resignation live on air on Monday, saying she wanted to step back from TV to spend more time with her family. Armytage (left) and Ms Palaszczuk (right) clashed in October last year over Queensland's controversial border closures New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian was also among the well wishers, telling Armytage she was leaving the show at the top of her game. 'To the lovely Sam, congratulations on a great innings at Sunrise. You're leaving on your own terms at the top of your game and we couldn't be happier for you. All the best for the future,' she said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid tribute to Armytage's almost eight years at the helm of Sunrise. 'You've brought something to the mornings that I think Australians who've been tuning in for so long have really appreciated,' Mr Morrison said. 'I appreciate now as you say, you're editing your own story. And I know things have been pretty tough for you over the past 12 months and I'm sure you're looking forward to a new period in you life after recently being married. 'I want to thank you for the many times when you've grilled me... but also some of the lighter discussions we've had. I wanted to wish you all the best. God bless.' Jess Redden has said that she was overwhelmed at first when adjusting to life in Australia but has now fallen in love with the country. Jess, (27), made the move to Perth in January with fiance Rob Kearney, who ended his 15-year career with Leinster Rugby to sign with Australian rugby union side Western Force. They couple got engaged in 2019 with a romantic New York proposal and were hoping to get married in June 2021 before the pandemic hit. The trainee pharmacist, who also has a huge Instagram following, hopped on Georgie Crawfords wellness podcast, The Good Glow, this week to talk about life down under. She and Rob had to go through Australias intensive hotel quarantine with no windows for two weeks, but Jess said the rigorous isolation was oddly relaxing. She said: In a weird way, it was kind of therapeutic, you know? You didnt have to do anything, you didnt have to be anywhere, so it was time to catch up with yourself and obviously catch up with each other. I dont regret it in any way. Just breathing fresh air after fourteen days was incredible, she added. The strict quarantine rules for those entering the country has allowed Oz to keep Covid transmissions low and normality seems to have been restored in Perth, where Jess and Rob live. Over here, theyve had no community transmission in nine months and everythings just normal. At the start I was overwhelmed being in packed places and markets, things like that but now its normal again. Expand Close Jess Redden and Rob Kearney at Cian Healy's wedding. Picture: Andy Newman / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jess Redden and Rob Kearney at Cian Healy's wedding. Picture: Andy Newman Read More Jess, who is a native of Dundrum, has had a difficult year after her beloved father, Brian, passed away last September. The 27-year-old told Georgie that she has recently realised that talking about her fathers death helped to build up confidence with her big move across the world. "Theres no right or wrong way to grieve but Id have to say one of the best things that Ive utilised is talking. Im talking all of the time. Im talking to my friends, my family, Im talking to Dad. Its really helping me," she said. My dad really was just the most incredible man. He just loved life so much. I know that he would not want me to not come to Australia and not take these opportunities. If I didnt come over here and take this opportunity, it would have been a disservice to him, she continued. While fiance Rob is set to remain in Perth, for a bit longer, Jess will be returning home in May to complete her pharmacy degree. After graduating with a degree in psychology from UCD, followed by two failed medicine entry exams and another failed application to become a primary school teacher, Jess finally decided that pharmacy was the route for her. She told listeners that her Dad was the one to encourage her in pursuing her dream career and always made her feel important and special. Jess said that she is loving life down under and cant wait to make her return to the country after finishing her pharmacy placement in May. Id never been away from Ireland for more than two weeks ever in my life so to come away for five months and to have such a positive experience especially after such a tragic, awful year. Its amazing what this country has done for my mind. The extraordinary life of an American neuroscientist who believed he could transplant human consciousness by cooling brains before removing and placing them in another body is told in a fascinating new book. The work of Robert White, whose life ambition was to transplant a human head, is explored by Brandy Schillace in Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul. In a race against the Soviet Union, White conducted brain experiments on mice and dogs in the 50s and 60s, before 'perfecting' the head transplant surgery in 1970 through his work on hundreds of monkeys. The scientist's first successful transplant monkey died after eight days because the body rejected the head. The monkey was unable to breathe on its own and could not move because the spinal cord was not connected. Yet White fervently believed the technique could, and should, be applied to humans in order to transplant the 'souls' of people who were completely paralysed into a healthy body to give them a second chance at life. A devout Catholic who was friends with Pope John Paul II, he believed that his work had the higher purpose of preserving the soul by saving the brain, but he died in 2010 before he was ever able to perform the surgery on another human being. WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: SCROLL DOWN FOR IMAGE OF MONKEY The extraordinary life of an American neuroscientist Robert White who believed he could move a human soul between bodies by transplanting the brain is told in the new book Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul Robert was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1926, the eldest son of Robert White Snr, a US army reserve officer in the coastal artillery. He grew up in a deeply Catholic household, who moved to Minneapolis when he was 15, where his love of science was inspired by his biology teacher at DeLaSalle, a Catholic high school. His father died in World War II after serving in the Philippines and Robert went on to sign up in 1944. He graduated Valedictorian of his class, but his passion for science led him to the medical corps, and he was shipped out to Indiana to undergo intensive training. The Russian surgeon Demikhov grafted the head and fore-paws of one dog onto another in 1959 - the animal lived for 23 days after the surgery In 2016, eccentric Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero claimed researchers in China had successfully followed in White's footsteps to carry out a head transplant on a monkey (pictured) Meanwhile in 2017, researchers in China affixed the heads of smaller, donor rats onto the backs of larger rats, creating two-headed animals that lived an average of just 36 hours White 'perfected' the head transplant surgery through his work on hundreds of monkeys and in 1970 he performed an 18-hour procedure in which he moved an entire head from one monkey onto the decapitated body of another (pictured) The scientist's first successful transplant monkey died after eight days because the body rejected the head. The monkey was unable to breathe on its own and could not move because the spinal cord was not connected He would end up in the Philippines, like his late father, where he treated American soldiers suffering from malaria, before he was moved to Japan in August 1945. How can a monkey's brain be separated from its body? White would anesthetize monkeys with solution of sodium pentobarbial, shave the neck and insert a tube into the trachea to provide oxygen. The reasoning for this was that the monkey would stop breathing on its own if the body temperature became too low. He would then make the first incision to expose the carotid arteries in the neck. Using a cannula to connect the veins and arteries together, he pulsed blood from one artery into a purpose built heart exchange. Freezing saline poured into the heat exchanger's flexible tubes would then cool the blood going to the monkey's brain, but keeping the warm blood flowing through the body. By cooling the brain, it needed less blood-borne oxygen to survive, while keeping the body warm, so it was not at risk of hypothermia. After a year, White and his team perfected the technique and were able to isolate the brain as 'functionally separate' from the rest of the body for 30 minutes. The supply of blood at a cooled temperature meant that the brain could be removed from the body. White used rhesus monkeys and separated the brains from smaller monkeys, keep them alive by using their larger counterparts as a sort of life-support system. Between 1963 and 1962, White performed the operation on monkeys weekly, but struggled to stop the brains from degrading. In March 1970, he was able to perform a true White Operation an 18-hour procedure in which he moved an entire head from one monkey onto the decapitated body of another. The monkey was paralyzed from the neck down and lived for eight days before rejection set in. Advertisement At the age of just 19, he set up a clinical laboratory at a Red Cross hospital and shared the space with surgeons and other medical professionals, prompting him to question how much a man could lose of himself without losing his identity. In the South Pacific, he saw many men paralysed from the neck down and he was fired with a determination to help these paraplegics live more productive lives. He left Philippines in 1942, and used the GI Bill to enroll at the College of St Thomas in Saint Paul, before he matriculated to complete a degree in chemistry at University of Minnesota. In 1951, he applied to the university's medical school and was accepted, but was hand-selected by Harvard Medical school with a full scholarship. He graduated with Honors in 1953 and began a residency in the Peter Bent Brigham hospital. Meanwhile in 1952, experimental Russian surgeon Vladimir Demikhov grafted the head and upper body of a small puppy on to the head and body of a fully-grown mastiff, to form one grotesque creature with two heads. The Soviet propaganda machine informed the world, and the canine curiosity was both very real - and a scientific triumph. Soon the US had a radical transplant programme of its own, led by Robert, who wrote at the time: 'I don't think the soul is in your arm, in your heart, or in your kidneys. I believe the brain tissue is the physical repository of the soul.' Robert believed if he was able to keep brain tissue alive, he could preserve the most sacred element of human life. He was baffled by the idea of transplanting organs individually, questioning why you would replace the organs in a diseased body instead of transplanting just the head to a healthy body. White argued that the brain held the entire concept of identity and life for humans - believing a dead brain meant the individual was dead, while a living brain meant the individual was alive. Schillace wrote: 'If I take your brain, nothing remains of you.' He'd said that before to Maurice Albin, to Javier Verdura, to his wife Patricia; he had even spoken of it to theologians... 'What is the soul?' was a question White asked himself every time he held in his hands the amorphous bundle of jelly and nerves...under the microscope, the tissues all look the same, and yet something special, something unique and strange, unbridled and individual, lived there. Robert was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1926, the eldest son of Robert White Snr, a US army reserve officer in the coastal artillery (pictured) White's ultimate goal in surgery was to transplant a human head from one body to another - purportedly to prolong the life of someone like Stephen Hawking Robert believed if he was able to keep brain tissue alive, he could preserve the most sacred element of human life and pursued this ambition through his work on monkey brains (pictured) 'The soul is the brain,' was his conclusion. Author Brandy Schillace believes White's motivation was spurred by his belief that you are your brainthat rescuing a brain by giving it a full new body and set of organs meant saving the soul Performing complex brain operations and surgeries only furthered this belief and reinforced his idea that when he held the brain of a man, he held 'all of his personality'. White fervently believed that by performing a head transplant, he would be able to prove once-and-for-all that the brain was where the human spirit and soul reside. Following the Russian scientist Demikhov's triumph with the two-headed dog, the American government helped Dr White establish a brain research centre at the county hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. He had a small team of three, but hoped to upsize to a larger staff. The team not only developed a method of measuring spinal fluid, but also worked out a way to 'collect' the fluid in a plastic module, which has been applied to humans in clinical practice to this day. White drew parallels to the infamous story of Frankenstein through his work, and even playfully dressed up as the character in his later life (pictured) History: In 1970 Dr Robert White transplanted the head of one monkey onto the body of another, as shown in this diagram Pictured: Another of Robert White's diagrams detailing the process of cooling the brain before removal. Author Schillace believes White felt a human surgery could be more successful than primate How would a brain transplant work? White planned for both patients to be anethetized before the two teams of doctors made incisions around each person's neck. The medical team would then gradually separate tissue and muscle to reach the carotid arteries, jugular veins and spine. White believed this would be easier to locate in humans compared to monkeys due to their size. Bone would be removed to expose the spinal cord, which would be cleanly severed. The head would be removed, before the veins and arteries are sewn up, spinal columns fastened together and the skin closed. The second patient's head would then be disposed. Pumps would lower the body temperature to 10 degrees, to slow the metabolic rate, before drugs were used to prevent the body from rejecting its new head by supressing immune response. It is now over 40 years since the first monkey head transplant and since then an operation on a mouse has been carried out in China. Modern doctor Dr Canavero claims all the necessary techniques already exist to carry out a full human head transplant. He believes he just needs to put the relevant techniques together to carry out the first successful operation. The new body would come from a normal transplant donor, who is declared brain dead. The head to be transplanted would be cooled to between 12C and 15C. Surgeons would then have one hour to remove both heads and reconnect the transplant head to the circulatory system of the donor body. Both the donor and the patient would have their head severed from their spinal cord at the same time, using an ultra-sharp blade to give a clean cut. The patient's head would then be moved on to the donor's body and attached using a 'glue' called polyethylene glycol to fuse the two ends of the spinal cord together. While the head is reconnected, the donor body must be chilled and put into total cardiac arrest. The donor body's heart could then be restarted once the head was reconnected. The muscles and blood supply would be stitched up, before the patient is put into a coma for four weeks to stop them moving while the head and body heal together. During that time the patient would be given small electric shocks to stimulate their spinal cord and strengthen the connections between their head and new body. As the patient is brought out of their medically-induced coma, it is hoped they would be able to move, feel their face, and even speak with the same voice. Powerful immunosuppressant drugs would be prescribed to stop the new body from being rejected. In addition, the patient would require intensive psychological support. Neurosurgeon Dr Sergio Canavero believes the operation would take 100 surgeons up to 36 hours and would cost 8.5million. Advertisement He won the US public Health Service grant in 1962 with the purpose of isolating the primate brain and worked out how to isolate the organ from the rest of the body. By day, he performed surgery on people with all kinds of brain injuries and illnesses, but away from his clinics, animals were the focus of his attention. Unlike humans, and in keeping with his strict Catholic beliefs, White believed animals do not have souls. One key experiment Dr White carried out in 1964 involved removing the brain - though not the head - from one dog and sewing it under the neck skin of another dog. With its blood vessels connected to those of the host-dog, Dr White managed to keep the isolated brain alive for days. He proved not only that the brain could survive away from its own body but that it was immunologically sound - meaning that, unlike a kidney, it could be transplanted without the likelihood of the new 'body' rejecting it. This was a great breakthrough, but it posed much bigger questions. Did a brain isolated in this way still have the power of thought? Could it in any way be described as 'conscious'? Since the transplanted brain had no means of expressing itself, Dr White could not answer this question and he seemed to have reached an impasse. But in 1966 he received help from a most unexpected direction. With Stalin long dead, and the USSR creeping towards economic and technological collaboration with the West, Soviet scientists invited him to visit their laboratories and operating theatres. During his trip, White learned of new Soviet experiments, in which a severed dog's head had been kept 'alive', not by stitching it onto another dog's body, but using special life-support machinery. Most remarkable of all, the isolated head had continued to show signs of consciousness - its eyes blinking in response to light, and ears pricking at the tap of a hammer on the cases it was in. This inspired White to take Demikhov's original two-headed dog experiment a stage further: not merely grafting one animal's head on to another's body, but completely replacing one animal's head with another. This highly complicated operation took White three years to plan and he knew many people would find it morally repugnant. In 1968, White went to seek the Catholic church's approval for his controversial beliefs, and spoke with Charles E. Curran, a moral theologian at the Catholic University of America. He spoke with Curran about the ethics of kidney and heart transplants, arguing that these organs are purely meat which can be transferred between bodies without a change to the 'soul'. According to Schillace, Curran agreed with White in that he didn't believe a man's individuality resides in his heart or kidneys. White argued that life grew from within the brain, not from other organs within the body, and said the soul 'resides in the brain.' Two years later, in the late afternoon of March 14, 1970, he went ahead with the world's first true head transplant, using two rhesus monkeys. Decapitating both animals, the surgeon successfully managed to maintain blood flow to the monkey brain while it transitioned between its original body and its new one, before it was stitched onto the head of another monkey. He and his team then faced a nervous wait until finally the 'hybrid' monkey regained consciousness, opened its eyes and tried to bite a surgeon who put a finger in its mouth. Doctor of Biological Sciences, organ transplant pioneer, Vladimir Demikhov with a two-headed dog. The surgeon had stitched the head and upper-body of a two-months puppy onto the neck of the four-year mongrel Mukhtar This photo shows the operation in progress. The transplant was accomplished by Soviet surgeon Vladimir Demikhov at the Moscow Medical Institute In 2017, Chinese scientists attached the head of a rat onto the body of another. The team managed to complete the transplant without causing brain damage to the donor The team clapped and cheered as their creation moved its facial muscles, followed their movements with its eyes and even drank from a pipette. But though White regarded the operation as a major success, he knew it had one major limitation. Will a brain transplant ever be performed? 2006 - Researchers at University College, London, announced plans to inject the spinal cords of paralysed patients with stem cells taken from the human nose. These are cells capable of regenerating themselves and adapting to many different purposes within the body and it is hoped they might create a 'bridge' between the disconnected ends of the spinal nerves, enabling paralysed patients to regain full control of their bodies. If severed spinal cords can be restored in this way, perhaps head transplants might eventually become a scientific possibility - without leaving the unfortunate 'patient' permanently paralysed. Controversial neurosurgeon Dr Canavero and severely handicapped Russian computer scientist Valery Spiridonov, who volunteered to be a human guinea pig for a human head transplant 2016 - Controversial neurosurgeon Dr Canavero outlined plans to conduct 'Frankenstein' experiments to reanimate human corpses to test his technique. Professor Canavero and his collaborators discussed trials to test whether it is possible to reconnect the spinal cord of a head to another body with tests that will stimulate the nervous system in fresh human corpses with electrical pulses. He plans to cut the connection with a diamond blade and then cool the brain to a state of deep hypothermia to protect it, before connecting it to a new body. The scientists prepared by carrying out a head transplant on a rat in a practise run for controversial human experiment. Researchers used three rats for each operation: a smaller rat, to be the donor, and two larger rats, acting as the recipient and the blood supply. To maintain blood flow to the donor brain, they connected the blood vessels from that rat to veins of the third rat using a silicon tube, which was then passed through a peristaltic pump. Then, once the head had been transplanted onto the second rat's body, the researchers used vascular grafts to connect the donor's thoracic aorta and superior vena cava to the carotid artery and extracorporeal veins of the recipient. The aim of the surgery is to first cut the spinal cord and then repair it before using electrical or magnetic stimulation to 'reanimate' the nerves and even movement in the corpse. In an article for the Surgical Neurology International, Dr Canavero and his colleague in South Korea and China drew parallels to the infamous story of Frankenstein, where electricity is used to reanimate the fictional monster. He pointed to experiments conducted in the 1800s using the corpses of criminals who had been hung as proof such tests could be successful. Severely handicapped Russian computer scientist Valery Spiridonov volunteered to be a human guinea pig. The research has failed to get support in Europe and the US due to ethical concerns, but has been allowed in China. 2017 - Dr Xiaoping Ren managed to transplant a head onto a dead monkey's body. 'The first human head transplant on human cadavers has been done,' he told The Telegraph. 'A full head swap between brain-dead organ donors is the next stage.' 2019 - Previous clinical lead at Hull University Teaching Hospitals, Dr Bruce Mathew, said advances in robotics, stem cell transplants and nerve surgery could make it possible to transfer a brain and spinal cord between two bodies. Mr Mathew stumbled across the 'not impossible' theory while writing a science fiction novel called Chrysalis: A surgical sci-fi story about immortal potential with futurist author Michael J Lee. 'Initially our intention was just to brainstorm an idea and it seemed rather silly, but then I realised, it actually isn't,' he told The Telegraph. 'If you transplant the brain and keep the brain and spinal cord together, it's actually not impossible.' Describing the experiment, he said: 'You would take off the spinal column, so that you could drop in the whole brain and spinal cord and lumbar sacral into a new body. 'It's very difficult to take out the dura (the protective membrane of the spinal cord) intact without making a hole in it. It will take a number of advancements, but it will probably will happen in the next 10 years.' The operation could help people suffering with muscular dystrophy, amputees, or even bring individuals back from the dead. Advertisement Because its spinal cord had been severed as part of the operation, the monkey was paralysed from the neck down and it was impossible for the surgeons to reconnect the hundreds of millions of nerve threads necessary for it to regain any bodily movement. Schillace wrote: 'The creature in his laboratory was in every way a monkey- the same monkey. It certainly seemed to remember White, if only to hate him. 'What have I done,' he wondered, 'Have I reached a point where the human soul can be transplanted? And if so, what does that mean?'' White believed 'the procedure for isolating the human brain would be about the same, except in terms of scale.' Still, White insisted that such surgery might help a very particular kind of human patient - those paraplegics who faced imminent death because their heads were trapped on bodies failing due to the long-term medical complications which often accompany extensive paralysis. With a head transplant, these people, he reasoned, would remain paraplegic but their new bodies, 'donated' by patients who were brain dead but otherwise physically healthy, would give them a new chance of life. After the monkey head transplant, he enjoyed public fame and became known in far corners of the world, as well as being invited to international conferences. He was invited to The Vatican by Jesuit scholars to provide a two day seminar and to explain his view that brain death equaled human death, when he was asked for a brief audience with the Holy Father. The Pope wanted White to explain personally about the idea of brain death, and White did his best to convey his beliefs. In the year after his visit to the Vatican, he performed four more monkey transplants and the animals lived for between six and thirty-six hours in their newly stitched bodies. His work immediately attracted criticism in the press, with animal activists and fellow scientists renouncing his ethics. White retorted that there was a hierarchy within nature - humans were permitted to benefit at the cost of 'lower animals'. He supported the claim by saying that the human brain was 'the most complex and superbly designed structure'. He also said arguing the use of animals in scientific experiments was 'a disservice to medical research' and felt a human life was infinitely more valuable. Shunned by the scientific establishment and threatened by anti-vivisectionists, he was forced to seek police protection for himself and his family and was denied funding for his work. Other scientists tried to dampen down White's ambitions, with Schillace writing he was told 'don't talk about the monkey heads' after he was nominated for a Nobel prize.' But he still dreamed of performing the surgery on a man, and set his hopes on a patient like Stephen Hawking, landing on Craig Vetovitz. Craig had a motorbike accident in 1971, losing all motor control in his lower body and most physical sensations. He was quadriplegic but had a successful life - he was married, had children, finished university and started a business, as well as travelling extensively. He became interested in experimental surgery, and decided to get in touch with White after considering his work 'noble', Author Schillace believes White's motivation was spurred by his belief that you are your brainthat rescuing a brain by giving it a full new body and set of organs meant saving the soul. She told Wired: 'I think White felt that the human surgery would be more successful, because of everything being larger and easier to work on, and that they could work faster. 'He actually felt quite positive that it would succeed better than the monkey head transplants.' The surgery would cost between $100,000 and $200,000 but would also require additional funding for training, trials, operating theatre and aftercare, as well as rehabilitation. All in all, the cost would total $4 million and by 1999, White was facing retirement without having completed his life long dream. He published an article the same year that argued the surgery would prove the location of the human soul. Ultimately Craig did not have the surgery, claiming it was because 'the government stepped in and put an end to the operation', however White also found it difficult to secure the necessary funding. In 2007, after White's retirement, he met with Frank Spotnitz, the executive producer of The X-Files to offer scientific advice on the plausibility of a head transplant for a new film. The X-Files: I Want To Believe premiered in 2008, and grossed $4 million on its opening day, with White credited as a medical consultant on the film. White suffered a stroke months later after being in a car accident, and spent months in rehab. The scientist became increasingly frail, suffering from diabetes and a slow-moving prostate cancer, and died in 2010 without ever getting a chance to perform his much-desired head transplant on a human patient. Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul by Brandy Schillace, Simon & Schuster. Avaialble to buy in the US and eBook. Available to pre-order in the UK for 10 June release. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Mumbai, March 11 : Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt on Thursday informed that she has tested negative for Covid-19, in a health update she shared on Instagram story. Alia added in the statement that she has resumed work the same day. "I've been reading all your messages of concern and care. I have tested negative for covid-19 and after isolating and speaking with my doctors, I am back to work from today. Thank you all for your good wishes! I am taking care and staying safe! You please do the same. Love to you all #dogazkidoori #maskhaizaroori," she said. The actress undertook Covid test after director Sanjay Leela Bhansali reportedly tested positive for the virus earlier this week. She has been shooting lately for Bhansali's upcoming film "Gangubai Kathiawadi" in the city. Meanwhile, Alia's rumoured boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor has tested Covid-19 positive and is living under home quarantine. A crane installs the last span of the Padma Bridge in the Munshiganj district of Bangladesh, Dec. 10, 2020. The roadway portion of the massive China-backed Padma Bridge, which links Dhaka with southern Bangladesh, has been delayed another year because of coronavirus-linked labor shortages and will not open until June 2023, Bangladesh government officials said Wednesday. The delay is the latest for the 6-km (3.7-mile) dual-purpose span Bangladeshs largest-ever infrastructure project, which began in 2015. After crews placed the final span on the vehicular section of the double-decker bridge in December, officials said that portion was expected to open next year, followed by the rail portion in 2024. We had a plan that the prime minister would open the bridge for traffic in June 2022 and had hoped the road portion would be fully complete, said Mohammed Belayet Hossain, secretary for the Bridges division under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges. But we need one more year before its inauguration. Eighty percent of the road component of the Padma Bridge has been complete, although the coronavirus pandemic slowed progress, he told BenarNews. The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, to open the 1.9-km (1.2-mile) Friendship Bridge connecting the two countries. Belayet said the extra year was needed for the Padma Bridge to examine it for potential flaws in construction before opening it to traffic, noting that the extra year would not add to the cost of the project. The bridges road section, which cost U.S. $3.87 billion, is being funded by Bangladeshs government and being built by China Railway Major Bridge Engineering, a state-run company. The Chinese government agreed to finance 85 percent of the cost of the $4.8 billion rail portion through a loan to Bangladesh. The bridge is to provide four lanes for road traffic on the top deck and a broad-gauge single railway track on the bottom deck. When finished, economists forecast the Padma Bridge could increase Bangladeshs gross domestic product by 1.2 percent, because it will open investment in the south and southwestern regions that host two seaports Mongla and Payra. Political considerations There could be more than one reason to delay opening the Padma Bridge, according to a political science and public administration professor at Chittagong University. The government has two considerations for the one year time extension for the Padma bridge one technical and the other political, Nizam Uddin Ahmed told BenarNews. He noted that testing for construction issues is necessary. The political consideration is more important. Our next general elections are set to take place either in late 2023 or early 2024. Keeping the elections in mind, the government could have thought of shifting the inauguration to June 2023, he said. The Padma Bridge is sure to bring about qualitative changes to millions of peoples lives in the South and Southwestern parts. So opening the bridge six months before an election could positively mold the peoples support for the Awami League, and I do not see anything wrong with it, he said, referring to the countrys ruling party. Ahmed noted that if the bridge were to open next year, people would forget about how it has improved their lives. Currently the Awami League is pursuing the politics of development. So the ruling party wants to use the Padma Bridge construction in the upcoming elections, he said. China Railway Engineering Corp. (CREC) was contracted to build the rail link, which has been beset by delays since the project began in January 2016. It was scheduled to be finished in June 2022, but saw a two-year extension in January 2020. The outbreak of the COVID-19 led to additional delays in 2020 as many Chinese engineers and employees who had gone home on visits were stuck there because of travel restrictions, officials said. In August 2020, bridge project director Shafiqul Islam flagged concerns about CREC reducing the height and width of the rail and the road tiers. The bridge was not wide enough to handle the expected volume of traffic and there was not enough distance between the tiers for train traffic, he had said. The flaws detected in the rail-link project have been corrected. Now, we do not see any problem in executing the whole project, Islam said in December 2020. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi (front left) waves with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after his arrival at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, June 6, 2015. (Reuters) Friendship Bridge Built by India Chinas regional rival at a cost of 1.33 billion rupees ($18 million), the Friendship Bridge will give seven landlocked northeastern Indian states easy access to the Bangladesh port of Chittagong and to Southeast Asia, officials said. We expect that the framework we are inaugurating today will also help Bangladesh trade more easily not only with India, but with Nepal and Bhutan as well, Hasina said at Tuesdays dedication. We are creating a new era in South Asia through providing connectivity to India. We are in a region which has remained conservative in opening up and where inter-regional trade is far below its potential, she said, adding, We hope it will also contribute to improving the livelihoods of those residing on the Bangladesh side of the bridge. Modi noted that the entire region was being developed as trade corridor for the two nations. The prime minister emphasized that the rail and water connectivity projects that have been realized in the recent years have been strengthened by this bridge, according to a statement released by Modis office. The executive director of a private think-tank in Bangladesh said the Friendship Bridge would enhance trade between the neighboring nations. The bridge will allow the landlocked seven northeastern states to carry their goods unloaded at the Chittagong port. So, the importance and revenue of the port would increase, Ahsan H. Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute, told BenarNews. LONDON - Britains royal family is smarting from its depiction in Meghan and Harrys explosive TV interview as aloof, uncaring and tinged with racism. But the couple identified an even bigger villain: the British media, which they accused of racist bullying and personal attacks. FILE - This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Prince Harry, from left, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in conversation with Oprah Winfrey. Almost as soon as the interview aired, many were quick to deny Meghans allegations of racism on social media. Many say it was painful to watch Meghan's experiences with racism invalidated by the royal family, members of the media and the public, offering up yet another example of a Black woman's experience being disregarded and denied. (Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions via AP, File) LONDON - Britains royal family is smarting from its depiction in Meghan and Harrys explosive TV interview as aloof, uncaring and tinged with racism. But the couple identified an even bigger villain: the British media, which they accused of racist bullying and personal attacks. Many in the media argue that although some tabloids occasionally go too far, journalists play a vital role holding Britains taxpayer-funded royal family to account. But some British journalists, especially those from minority backgrounds, hope the interview will trigger a long-overdue reckoning with media misbehaviour and lack of diversity. Marcus Ryder, professor of media diversity at Birmingham City University, said it was too glib to speak of watershed moments. But I would suggest that this is a moment which will help shape the industry, he said. In the couples interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan accused British tabloids of attacking and inciting so much racism against her. Harry depicted a toxic relationship between monarchy and media, saying the royal family was scared of the tabloid press. The allegations stirred a passionate response that has toppled two senior British media figures. British television host Piers Morgan laughs as he speaks to reporters outside his home in Kensington, central London, Wednesday March 10, 2021. Morgan quit the Good Morning Britain program on Tuesday after making controversial comments about the Duchess of Sussex. The U.K.s media watchdog said earlier Tuesday it was launching an investigation into the show under its harm and offense rules after receiving more than 41,000 complaints about Morgans comments on Meghan. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP) Talk show host Piers Morgan, a familiar TV face on both sides of the Atlantic, quit Good Morning Britain amid an outcry over his comments about Meghan, particularly her description of mental health struggles and suicidal thoughts. Morgan told viewers on Monday that I dont believe a word she says. His comments drew more than 41,000 complaints to Britains media regulator. Morgan walked off the Good Morning Britain set on Tuesday when another presenter challenged him, and quit the show later the same day. The furor has also claimed the job of Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors. The new media umbrella group released a strongly worded defence of the press after Harry and Meghans interview, saying the U.K. media is not bigoted and will not be swayed from its vital role holding the rich and powerful to account. That prompted a backlash. Top editors of The Guardian, the Financial Times and HuffPost UK took issue with the statement, while 160 reporters and editors signed a letter saying the Society of Editors was in denial about racism. ITV News anchor Charlene White, the first Black woman to present the network's main evening news program, pulled out of hosting the societys annual Press Awards, saying the organization asked her to get involved to improve its diversity but failed to live up to its words. Since the Black Lives Matter movement really took hold in the U.K. last year, every single institution in this country has had to finally look at its failings and its position in terms of how they treat ethnic minorities both inside and outside of its walls, White told the society in a statement. But for some unknown reason, you feel as though the U.K. press is exempt in that discussion. On Wednesday, Murray stepped down, acknowledging his statement could have been much clearer in its condemnation of bigotry and has clearly caused upset. FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 10, 2021, a pedestrian passes newspapers on display with front pages featuring images of members of the royal family, outside a shop in London. In a TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan were critical of the British media, and while some say their criticism is unfair, some hope the interview will trigger changes. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, FILE) Britains media, while diverse in its political and social views, is not representative of the population in terms of race, gender or class. Non-white Britons and women are underrepresented, while graduates of private schools hold a disproportionate share of the jobs. Journalists who are working to change the situation say it is not easy. Marverine Duffy, a former news anchor who directs the journalism program at Birmingham City University, says improving the numbers of ethnically and socially diverse qualified journalists into newsrooms is paramount, but is not enough. Systems need to be put in place to shake up group-think, anti-Blackness and the unwillingness to see racism and xenophobia for what it actually is, instead of turning a blind eye, she said. As well as sparking a debate about diversity, Meghan and Harrys interview highlighted the media's complex, uneasy relationship with the monarchy. For decades, Britains royal dramas played out largely in private as a deferential media protected the secrets of the monarchy. In the 1930s, the romance between King Edward VIII and divorced American Wallis Simpson was headline news in the U.S., but barely mentioned in Britain until the king abdicated to marry the woman he loved. That deference was evaporating by the time Prince Charles married 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. British media charted every twist of their increasingly unhappy marriage. Glamorous Diana became the worlds most famous woman, trailed by paparazzi up to the moment of her death in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being pursued by photographers. Dianas death prompted soul-searching for both palace and press. But it did not heal their troubled relationship. Harry has spoken of his fear that history will repeat itself and his wife will suffer the same fate as his mother. When he and Meghan quit royal duties last year and moved to North America, they cited what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. The couple are suing several U.K. newspapers for invasion of privacy. Ryder said the challenge for the media was differentiating legitimate stories about royalty that are in the public interest from intrusive gossip. It is a subjective call, and that subjective call is why we need our gatekeepers, the people who are making that call the people who are the head of newspapers, the people who are the head of news broadcast bulletins to have true diversity, he said. Because if the only people that are making that call are white people from a certain background and are predominantly male, they will make different subjective calls than if we have more diversity. Others point out that despite their hostility to the British press, Harry and Meghan are deft media manipulators themselves. Ed Owens, a historian who has studied the relationship between the media and royalty, said the couple is utilizing the new channels of media things like social media, the Oprah interview to try and reach out and connect with new audiences. This is nothing new, he said. The royals have always sought out new forms of media in order to connect with the public. Another thing thats not new is the way that they used, if you like, a language of suffering and hardship in order to evoke an emotional response from media audiences around the world." "And I think to a large part, they succeeded, he said. AP writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report. 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Do you have any comment? A: China, invited by the United States, will have a high-level strategic dialogue with the U.S. side in the coming days. China's position on China-US relations is clear. We ask the United States to view China and China-US relations in an objective and rational manner, reject the Cold-War and zero-sum game mentality, respect China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs. It should follow the spirit of the phone call between the Chinese and U.S. presidents, focus on cooperation, manage differences, and bring the China-US relationship back to the right track of sound and steady development. Anubhav Anusha is the founder of the healthcare diagnostic and research company, GeneStore, which has launched the worlds most affordable COVID-19 RT-PCR test kit at a price of Rs. 199. Anusha is seen briefing Indian Home Minister Amit Shah about the kit. (ANI photo) A judge has ordered that cash which was posted from the US to an allegedly fictitious person at a house in Sligo is to be forfeited as the proceeds of crime. Kieran Kelly BL, for the Revenue Commissioners, outlined to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday that on June 17 last (2020) a sniffer dog at an An Post parcel hub in south Dublin indicated the presence of cash in a package. He said the dog was trained to detect drugs and cash. After the positive indication by the dog a customs official at the hub opened the package and found a greeting card and $US6,700 in cash. The card had nothing written in it and this caused the official to form a suspicion, Mr Kelly told the court. The package was addressed to Michael Wilbald and to a house at an address in Sligo town. During the Revenue based investigation that followed investigators attempted to identify this person using a number of methods. Investigations of the records of the Department of Social Welfare or the Revenue Commissioners turned up nobody of that name resident here. Investigating officers called to the address in Sligo and were told by a woman living there that nobody by the addressees name lived there. Letters addressed to Michael Wilbald at the address were not answered. Attempts to identify the sender of the package, via the consignee or courier, were unsuccessful. Mr Kelly told the court that a number of weeks after the detection of the cash another package containing cash was found addressed to a different addressee but at the same house in Sligo. This is currently the subject of investigation. Mr Kelly submitted to the court that it was very unorthodox to send cash in such a way without any note to accompany it. The court heard that the State alleged that the cash directly or indirectly represented the proceeds of criminal conduct. Judge Elma Sheahan said that based on the evidence she was satisfied this was the case and ordered the forfeiture of the cash. President Joe Biden was originally expected to sign the American Rescue Plan into law on Friday, according to multiple media reports, but on Thursday afternoon, The Associated Press said hed sign the legislation today. Once he does, the IRS will officially be authorized to send a check, direct deposit, or prepaid debit card to millions of Americans who will be eligible for the third, and likely final, stimulus payment related to the coronavirus pandemic. The latest economic relief package totaled $1.9 trillion and included payments of up to $1,400 for single tax filers and $2,800 for joint and phases out anyone who makes more than $75,000 and is in the former category or $150,000 for those in the latter. Anyone with dependents will receive $1,400 for each one, as well. You can calculate what youre eligible for below. For weeks now, an overwhelming percentage of Americans Democrats, Independents, and Republicans have made it clear they support the American Rescue Plan, Biden said recently, according to Newsweek. Today, with final passage in the House of Representatives, their voice has been heard. Assuming Biden signs the massive piece of legislation as expected Friday, its possible that payments could go out as soon as next week, though more cautious timelines say it will take two weeks for the IRS to get everything in place to start sending them out. Anyone with bank account information on file with the IRS will be in the first batch of payments, while those who have to wait for the mail will be waiting awhile. Its also worth noting that 2020 tax returns will be used to determine eligibility if they have been filed. If not, 2019 returns will be used. With The Omni Calculator embed below, you can enter your information to see how much money youll receive. If you cant see it, click here. Third Stimulus Check Calculator - American Rescue Plan Finally, its also worth noting that the American Rescue Plan includes a child tax credit of $3,000 per child between the ages of 6-17 and $3,600 for those under six. The IRS could start providing advances on the 2021 credit through periodic payments of $250 for school-aged children starting as early as July 2021, depending on what the Treasury Department determines is workable, NBC News reports. Editors note: This story was updated to reflect the fact that The Associated Press reported that President Joe Biden would sign the American Rescue Plan into law on Thursday. Previously, it was reported that he would sign it on Friday. Partner with us for Press release distribution and get best in class service, guaranteed postings on tier 1 media and maximum reach New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj on Friday made a controversial statement after violent clashes broke out following conviction of Dera Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 15-year-old rape case by a special CBI court in Panchkula. While talking about the violent protests in Haryana, Punjab and several other places by Dera supporters and followers, he said One person alleging sexual exploitation but crores stand with him today, why those crores of people are not being heard? The BJP MP also attacked the court saying If even bigger incidents take place, court will also be responsible not just Dera people. It is a conspiracy to defame the Indian culture, he further added. Yojnabaddh tareeke se Bhartiya sanskriti ko badnaam karne ka shadyantra hai: Sakshi Maharaj,BJP MP #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/rk32eWeTuA ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017 ALSO READ | Ram Rahim conviction: 30 killed, over 250 injured in violence by Dera supporters; PM Modi condemns violence Massive violence erupted in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, and Chandigarh after a CBI Court in Panchkula convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Soon after the news of his conviction came out, his supporters started protesting and pelting stones on police and security forces. At least 30 people were killed and over 250 injured in violent clashes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana have appealed people to maintain peace and law & order in the states. ALSO READ | Ram Rahim verdict: HC says attach Dera assets to compensate for losses For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. ALBANY Service providers say New York pocketed $400 million in enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) aid that should have flowed to nonprofits providing direct care, housing and other supportive services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. New York Disability Advocates President Tom McAlvanah said the nonprofit service providers the organization represents never saw a penny of the first FMAP infusion the state received last year, as part of a federal stimulus bill in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and had feared with the latest federal stimulus the sector would again miss much-needed aid. We have no dollars from that despite the increases in our cost of doing business, the (personal protective equipment), the hazard pay, the loss of services because of people staying home, he said. So we are advocating with the governors office and Legislature that that money should really be put back to the provider community to be able to help pay for the proposed cuts that are on the table. Budget office spokesman Freeman Klopott denied any FMAP funds entitled to providers are being withheld. "All providers received the enhanced FMAP and if the state hadn't received this increased reimbursement, funding to providers would have been reduced by as much as 20 percent as a result of the COVID-related revenue shortfall," he said."Uses for any additional funding will be discussed with the Legislature as part of negotiations over the state budget that's due by April 1." Nonprofits and other service providers experienced state withholds on funding last year and cuts to reimbursements, and those who provide services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities say their sector has been faced with stagnant cost-of-living reimbursements for years as well. The federal package approved Wednesday the American Rescue Plan ensures federal FMAP funds will flow directly to the vulnerable population and those who serve them, according to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer's office. The federal government will pick up a larger chunk of Medicaid funding, increasing FMAP aid 10 percent for home and community services for the disability community, said Schumer spokeswoman Allison Biasotti. Since COVID upturned our lives, Sen. Schumer has delivered over $60 billion to New York state government, which has covered all revenue holes, staved off layoffs and sustained education, health care, vaccination, mass transit and countless other vital services," she said. "The additional billions in home-and-community-services and other FMAP funding coming to New York will guarantee that health care remains available when it is needed most, and the specific funding he delivered for disability services on top of broader Medicaid relief will help address some of critical needs the disability community has faced during the pandemic." The plan also provides direct payments to millions of Americans along with funding for state and local governments and other sectors to help bolster the economy. Republicans voted against it and assailed it as unnecessary, unaffordable and simply extending entitlement benefits. It now goes to President Joe Biden for signature and enactment. Supporters contend it will inject vast amounts of federal resources into the economy, including one-time direct payments of up to $1,400 for Americans, jobless aid of $300 a week through the summer, money for distributing coronavirus vaccines and relief for states, cities, schools and small businesses struggling during the pandemic. McAlvanah said the need for disability services is only expected to increase, and thus investments in the sector are necessary to continue to support the vulnerable population. "That really would be a shot in the arm for our providers," he said. After more than a decade with chronic underfunding and a lack of investment in our workforce, if New York does not invest in this kind of way, then they are threatening the closure of major institutions." Beyond the immediate aid, supporters said the bill could cut poverty by one-third this year and would plant the seeds for what Democrats hope will become an income guarantee for children. It aims to cut child poverty in half through a generous expansion of tax credits for Americans with children; increases in subsidies for child care; a broadening of eligibility under the Affordable Care Act; and an expansion of food stamps and rental assistance. YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenian authorities warned Thursday that the coornavirus infection rate is growing again in the country. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting that a significant growth is recorded in the daily new cases, referring to the 748 confirmed new cases over the past 24 hours. In turn, Healthcare Minister Anahit Avanesyan noted that only 4285 tests were performed in one day. As we projected last week, we have a significant growth in the infection rate, Avanesyan said. Right now we have 6772 active cases, of whom 901 are hospitalized. We have 9 hospitals treating Covid patients. And right now we have 100 available beds, she said, adding that they are increasing the number of beds but warned that the number isnt unlimited. We must do everything so that the number of patients doesnt surpass our capacities, Avanesyan said. The Prime Minister urged authorities to do everything to avoid the necessity of imposing additional restrictions. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close (Newser) A tourist bus plunged into a ravine on Indonesias main island of Java after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 27 people and injuring 39 others, police and rescuers said Thursday. The bus was carrying a group of Islamic junior high school students, teachers, and parents from the West Java province town of Subang when the accident happened late Wednesday on a winding road, said local police chief Eko Prasetyo Robbyanto. He said the bus was on its way back to Subang from a pilgrimage site in the provinces Tasikmalaya district when it plunged into the 65-foot-deep ravine after the driver lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of sharp declines in Sumedang district, the AP reports. Police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but survivors told authorities that the vehicles brakes apparently malfunctioned, Robbyanto said. story continues below Bandung search and rescue agency chief Deden Ridwansah said the 27 bodies and 39 injured people were taken to a hospital and a nearby health clinic, including a body of a young boy who was pinned under the overturned bus and pulled from the wreckage Thursday morning. Thirteen of the injured were treated for serious injuries, Ridwansah said. The driver was among those killed. Television video showed police and rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency evacuating injured victims and carrying the dead to ambulances. Grieving relatives waited for information about their loved ones at Sumedangs general hospital, others tried to identify the bodies laid at a morgue. Road accidents are common in Indonesia because of poor safety standards and infrastructure. (Read more Indonesia stories.) YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Ararat Mirzoyan thanked Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matviyenko for mediating the release of a Lebanese-Armenian woman from Azerbaijani captivity. All women lawmakers of the Armenian parliament had written a letter to Matviyenko asking for her help in achieving the release of Maral Najarian. I am planning to nominate Mrs. Matviyenko to the National Assembly Council for the National Assembly Medal of Honor, Mirzoyan said in a statement, expressing gratitude to the Chairwoman of the Federation Council. I am hopeful that joint efforts with our partners will allow us to return all prisoners of war and captives as soon as possible, Mirzoyan added. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children The 2022 Honda Odyssey is now available at Rossi Honda. With more interior space and various trim level options, the 2022 Honda Odyssey is ready to go. Vineland-area drivers who have been looking for a new vehicle that offers more space will like what the 2022 Honda Odyssey has to offer. With more interior space and various trim level options, the 2022 Honda Odyssey is ready to go. The minivan is now available at Rossi Honda. The five trim levels that the 2022 Honda Odyssey is available in include the LX, EX, EX-L, Touring and Elite. All five trim levels come with the same powerful engine option which is a 3.5-liter V-6 that produces 280 horsepower and 262 pound-foot of torque. There are a variety of technology features available and standard in the 2022 Honda Odyssey. The LX trim level comes with a 5-inch color LCD screen and the rest of the trim levels come with an 8-inch high-resolution electrostatic touchscreen. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Sirius XM, HD Radio and SMS Text Message Function come standard on the EX trim level and above. Honda Sensing technologies come standard in the 2022 Honda Odyssey. The systems include a Collision Mitigation Braking System, Road Departure Mitigation System, Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning. Other driver-assist features include a Lane Keeping Assist System, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Traffic Sign Recognition, Auto High-Beam Headlights and Rear Seat Reminder. Potential customers who would like to learn more about the 2022 Honda Odyssey that is now available at Rossi Honda can visit https://www.rossihonda.com/. Individuals who have further questions and would like to speak to someone from the dealership can do so by calling 856-446-5217. Finally, Rossi Honda is conveniently located at 1517 South Delsea Drive for those who would like a more personal experience. Juba, South Sudan (PANA) - Scores of international and national Non-governmental Organisations working in South Sudan have call on the UK Government to reconsider urgently the reported 59% budget cuts to vital international aid The U.S., British, E.U. and Canadian governments all have pre-purchased enough COVID vaccine doses to inoculate their populations many times over while vaccine access in the rest of the world remains limited AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) warned today that the U.S. government and its British, European and Canadian partners risk undermining the global fight to control the COVID-19 pandemic with their vaccine hoarding practices. "The fight to control the COVID-19 pandemic won't be over until it is over everywhere. By insisting on vaccinating all their residents first before they start releasing doses to other low- and middle-income countries, rich countries may be harming the global fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus," said Tom Myers, general counsel and chief of public affairs for AHF. According to a New York Times analysis (NYT: With First Dibs on Vaccines, Rich Countries Have 'Cleared the Shelves'December 15, 2020), the United States has pre-purchased enough vaccine supplies to vaccinate its population four times over. The U.S. is not alone. The United Kingdom has pre-purchased enough vaccines to inoculate its population four times over, the European Union two times over and Canada six times over. Published reports suggest the U.S. has secured 800 million doses from six different drug companies (Al Jazeera: 'What is 'vaccine nationalism' and why is it so harmful?' 2/7/21) Politico reported the American government just inked a deal for another 100 million doses (Politico: 'Biden to order 100 million more doses of Johnson Johnson vaccine'3/10/21) "Wealthy countries' purchasing power is 'emptying the shelves' of vaccine for low- and middle-income countries that depend on international aid and purchasing pools organized by international organizations. We're delighted that the U.S. government has pledged $4 billion to help low-income countries buy vaccines. But that won't do much good, if no vaccines are available," added Myers. "This isn't an 'either-or' but a 'both-and' proposition for vaccine access. Vaccine nationalism is unacceptable and immoral. We can and should take care of our own and low- and middle-income countries at the same time." Vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations is drawing wider public criticism, as seen in a related article published in today's Washington Post: E.U. denies vaccine nationalism charge, accuses U.S. and U.K. of not sharing 3/10/21. About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.5 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310006016/en/ Contacts: MEDIA CONTACTS: Ged Kenslea,Senior Director, Communications, AHF +1.323.791.5526 [cell] +.323.308.1833 [work] gedk@aidshealth.org John Hassell,National Director of Advocacy, AHF +1.202.774.4854 [cell] John.hassell@aidshealth.org DUBLIN, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Preserving and Processing of Fruit and Vegetables in South Africa 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report focuses on the South African fruit and vegetable processing industry, which includes frozen, canned and dried fruit and vegetables and fruit and vegetable juices. It includes information on the state and size of the sector, developments and corporate actions and influencing factors, including the effect of and response to coronavirus. There are profiles of 19 companies including Rhodes Food Group, Tiger Consumer Brands and Pioneer Foods. Other profiles include Clover, which was acquired by the Milco consortium and Libstar, which produces private label products. Preserving and Processing of Fruit and Vegetables: South Africa's fruit and vegetable processing industry has been identified as a key driver of inclusive and labour-intensive growth. Food and beverage manufacturing revenue was R566.7bn in 2019 and revenue in the fruit, vegetable, meat and fish processing sector was around R155.7bn. The industry is increasingly concentrated and competition among major processors is on the rise. The sector faces a number of challenges including constrained consumer spending and increasingly stringent health and safety standards and regulations, especially for exporters. Exports: Over 80% of canned fruit is exported annually to Europe, America and Asia, and trade agreements and food safety are critical to the sustainability of the export market. More than 50% of South African dried fruit, including seedless raisins, sultanas, currants, peaches, pears, apricots and prunes, is also exported and major destinations include the UK, Germany, Japan, China and Singapore. Coronavirus: The onset of the pandemic coincided with summer crops being in season and caused minimal disruption. However, some manufacturers have stated that international turnover was severely affected by the slowdown in exports of canned fruit to China since early January and constraints at the port of Cape Town. The sector benefited from people buying larger quantities than normal when the country went into lockdown due to fear of food shortages. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Description of the Industry 2.1. Industry Value Chain 2.2. Geographic Position 3. Size of the Industry 4. State of the Industry 4.1. Local 4.1.1. Trends 4.1.2. Developments 4.1.3. Corporate Actions 4.1.4. Regulations 4.1.5. Enterprise Development and Social Economic Development 4.1.6. Government Initiatives 4.2. Continental 4.3. International 5. Influencing Factors 5.1. Coronavirus 5.2. Economic Environment 5.3. Rising Operating Costs 5.4. Utilisation 5.5. Cyclicality 5.6. Drought and Fruit Quality 5.7. Post-Harvest Losses 5.8. Health 5.9. Genetically Modified Organisms (Gmos) 5.10. Logistics 5.11. Health Promotion Levy 5.12. Food Safety and Religious Requirements 5.13. Technology, Research and Development (R&D) and Innovation 5.14. Environmental Concerns 5.15. Labour 6. Competition 6.1. Barriers to Entry 7. SWOT Analysis 8. Outlook 9. Industry Associations 10. References 10.1. Publications 10.2. Websites Appendix Summary of Notable Players Company Profiles Associated Fruit Processors (Pty) Ltd Campers Corner Rentals CC Ceres Fruit Processors (Pty) Ltd Clover Sa (Pty) Ltd Dried Fruit Direct Marketing (Pty) Ltd Eastern Trading Co (Pty) Ltd Frut Sa (Pty) Ltd Giants Canning CC Granor-Passi (Langkloof) (Pty) Ltd Granor-Passi (Pty) Ltd In 2 Food Group (Pty) Ltd Libstar Operations (Pty) Ltd Magaliesberg Sitrus Maatskappy (Pty) Ltd Mccain Foods ( South Africa ) (Pty) Ltd ) (Pty) Ltd Pioneer Foods Groceries (Pty) Ltd Rhodes Food Group (Pty) Ltd Southern Canned Products (Pty) Ltd Summerpride Foods (Pty) Ltd Tiger Consumer Brands Ltd For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/t3p633 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 The East Baton Rouge Metro Council easily approved a motion Wednesday to rezone Cortana Mall that will allow Amazon to create a massive fulfillment center on the property and create 1,000 jobs. Wilson LaFoe, a Jackson, Mississippi developer who owned the former Virginia College space in the mall said the deal closed Wednesday. LaFoe did not know the sale price for the entire property. ADVERTISEMENT The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Thursday, arraigned two former directors of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and seven serving officers of the agency on charges of fraud and criminal misappropriation of about N4.6billion. They were arraigned on 42 counts before Ijeoma Ojukwu of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. The defendants included a former Coordinating Director of FIRS, Peter Hena, and Mohammed Bello Auta, who is a former Director of Finance. The rest of the defendants, who are still in service of FIRS are, Amina Sidi (Finance and Account department), Umar Aliyu Aduka (Internal Audit), Mbura Mustapha (Deputy Manager), Obi Okeke Malachy (Services Group), Obaje Napoleon Adofu (Head of Budget), Udo-Inyang Effiong Alfred (Officer II) and Benjamin Jiya (Assistant Director). The EFCC alleged in parts of the charges that the officials, between 2017 and December 2018 in Abuja, conspired to conceal funds said to be proceeds of unlawful activities. READ ALSO: The commission said the some of the offences were contrary to section 18 and punishable under section 15(2) (a) and (3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 ( as amended by Act No. 1 of 2021) Not guilty EFCC said in a statement by its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, that the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecuting counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, subsequently asked the court for a date to commence trial. However, the defendants through their counsel prayed the court to grant them bail. The judge granted them bail in the sum of N100m each and sureties in like sum. The sureties , who must be Nigerians residing in Abuja with landed property within the jurisdiction of the court, are also to provide evidence of tax clearance. Ms Ojukwu also ordered the defendants to deposit their travelling documents with the court and must obtain the courts permission before travelling out of the country. The matter was adjourned till June 14, 15, 23, 24, 28, and 29, of 2021 for the commencement of trial. The federal government issued updated guidance on Wednesday relaxing visitation rules for nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said facilities should allow responsible indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status of the resident, or visitor, unless certain scenarios arise that would limit visitation for the following: Unvaccinated residents, if the COVID-19 county positivity rate is greater than 10 percent and less than 70 percent of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated; Residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met the criteria to discontinue transmission-based precautions; or Residents in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met criteria for release from quarantine. The guidance also says compassionate care visits should be allowed at all times, regardless of a residents vaccination status, the countys coronavirus positivity rate or an outbreak. This comes after Gov. Kay Iveys extension of Alabamas Safer at Home Order through April 9 called for an immediate slight increase in the number of caregivers and visitors allowed in Alabama hospitals and nursing homes. Subject to reasonable restrictions, patients and residents will be allowed visits from as many as two caregivers (up from one) or as many as two visitors (up from one) at a time, the order said. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Although outbreaks increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission, as long as there is evidence that the outbreak is contained to a single unit or separate area of the facility, visitation can still occur. You can read the full announcement here. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked members of the opposition and those who doubt his governments achievements to pay close attention to happenings around them. Speaking in Parliament yesterday in his first State of the Nation Address of his second term, he reiterated his governments commitment to industrialisation by stating some of the progress made under the 1D1F policy. This statement by the President, however, attracted shouts from the members of the Minority in Parliament for which the President responded, Open your eyes, youll see them. This he said would enable the NDC to appreciate evidence of his government's industrialisation drive, the One District One Factory policy. The President, among other things, outlined that due to the policy, 232 projects, including 76 completed and functional factories, were at various stages of completion. Economy We are determined to make our own things and the Akufo-Addo administration will continue the agenda of rapid industrialisation with the aim of transforming the structure of the Ghanaian economy from one dependent on the production of raw materials to a value-added industrialised economy. "Under the One District One Factory Policy, 232 projects are at various stages of completion. This includes 76 operating 1D1F companies whiles 112, including five medium-sized agro-processing factories and 63 common user facilities are under construction, the President stated. For him, the NPP won the December 7, 2020 elections because they delivered most of their promises between 2017 and 2020. Pre Order Ghana Year Book 2021 Setbacks The President said in spite of the considerable challenges that confronted his administration, and the setbacks we encountered, we were confident our record in office would put us in good stead before the electorate and earn us a second term in office, which it did. It means that the reason for which the Ghanaian people went to the polls on December 7 that is to seek improvement in their living standards and the rapid transformation of the economy must continue in earnest, he added. 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 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. Tocvan Ventures (CSE: TOC) Vice President of Exploration Brodie Sutherland joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has started preparation for their 2021 field season at the Pilar Project in Mexico. Sutherland telling Proactive they are planning a ton of surface work and also look to complete a drilling program as well. Neera Tanden is the head of the Center for American Progress, which the Washington Post termed Washingtons leading liberal think tank. In one of the first nominations Joe Biden made as president-elect, he selected Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget, a plum post indeed. In a classic bit of irony, however, Tanden turned out to have the same addiction to tweeting that did in Donald Trump. After Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said that Tandens tweets will have a toxic and detrimental impact on relations between Congress and the OMB, Biden withdrew the nomination. Thats a fun political squabble. But what does it have to do with New Jersey politics? Declan OScanlon would like to know. OScanlon is the Republican state senator from Monmouth County who represents the district in which Gov. Phil Murphy lives. Back in April of last year Murphy named Tanden to a Restart and Recovery Commission. But Tanden, who grew up in Massachusetts and became a Beltway insider, should not have been named to a group advising on policy for New Jersey, OScanlon said. There are Democrats and Republicans in business who were clamoring for competent people to guide our reopening, OScanlon said. Why would you complicate the reopening by putting someone whos blatantly political into the mix? Tanden resigned from the commission when she was nominated to head OMB. But judging by the remaining members, the panel could be mistaken for a political campaign committee. Its packed with activists while it lacks a single representative of the small businesses that were so adversely affected by Murphys many executive orders. If those orders had spared New Jersey from the full impact of the virus, then they might have been justified. But New Jersey leads the nation in COVID-19 deaths per capita. It leads the world. If New Jersey were a country, its death rate of 249 deaths per 100,000 residents would rank it ahead of every nation on Earth. OScanlon said a legislative inquiry into Murphys handling of the crisis is long overdue. He recalled that the Legislature appointed a bipartisan committee with subpoena power to look into Bridgegate, a mere traffic jam. We should have a bipartisan committee with subpoena power to do a completely transparent, independent investigation, OScanlon said. He said the main focus of that investigation should be deaths at long-term-care facilities. Around this time last year, the Murphy administration followed the lead of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in issuing an edict banning nursing homes from refusing admission to COVID-positive patients. But between the time Cuomo issued his order and Murphy issued his, the CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published an article on the outbreak a month earlier at a nursing home in Washington State. The article said that the Washington case indicated very rapid spread, despite early adoption of infection prevention and control measures. A couple days later the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Medicine issued a warning against accepting COVID patients in nursing homes, saying that doing so would put the many frail and older adults who reside in nursing homes at risk. When I called the societys executive director the other day, Christopher Laxton noted that the New Jersey order prohibited the homes from testing patients for COVID-19. That made it impossible for the homes to quarantine COVID-positive patients, he said. You werent allowed to refuse them because of their COVID status and you werent allowed to test them to determine the status, Laxton said. (He also said that nursing homes have just one nurse per 15 residents compared to one per patient in intensive care units.) He said that other states, such as Georgia, took the opposite approach and issued orders prohibiting the homes from accepting COVID-positive patients. Georgia has a death rate less than half New Jerseys. So I would say an investigation is in order. When I ran that by Senate President Steve Sweeney, he replied, Right now weve said that when this thing is wrapped up we would take a complete and thorough look at it. But its not wrapped up. The Democrat from Gloucester County added, If we knew then what we know now we would have done things differently. Well all say mistakes were made, but there was no playbook. Or was there? Murphy seemed to be following the playbook written by Cuomo, who was getting lots of good press initially until he was accused of covering up nursing-home deaths. As for an accurate count of deaths in New Jersey, the Murphy administration has been slow to respond to inquiries, OScanlon said. We dont know what we dont know, he said. The main thing we dont know is whether Murphy was doing what best for us or what was best for himself politically. If that investigation ever starts its work, perhaps Tanden could be asked to come from Washington to testify on that point. Or perhaps she could just tell us in her tweets. ALSO - THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WEIGHS IN: The Department of Health replied to my email after my print deadline Wednesday. Here is their side of the story. I asked them to explain how this advice comports with the warnings by the CDC and the Society that COVID-19 spreads easily in nursing homes even with precautions, but I didnt hear back. That is the sort of issue that should be hashed out in an investigation: This was not the subject of an executive order. The guidance on accepting patients and residents discharged from the hospital during COVID-19 Pandemic outlined that individuals should be isolated and cohorted based on symptoms, exposure and test status. Facilities had to create separate wing/unit or floor to accept asymptomatic patients/residents coming or returning from the hospital, as well as, create separate wing/unit to accept COVID-19 (+) patients/residents and care for those suspected or confirmed with COVID-19. https://nj.gov/health/legal/covid19/3-31-2020%20Accepting%20Patients%20during%20COVID-19%20Pandemic_CDSMMedits.pdf If the patient was admitted from the hospital and was already tested the facility would know the status. Also, symptomatic patients without a confirmatory PCR test were discharged as probable COVID-19 case and the facility needed to follow all infection control procedures. The China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA), a state-backed association of 774 Chinese businesses in the chips industry, said on Thursday that it has set up a working group with United States technology companies to create an avenue for communication on issues such as export controls, supply chain security. The launch of the working group came amid speculation that the administration of US President Joe Biden is likely to relax certain trade restrictions against Chinese semiconductor companies to ease a global shortage of chips, a move that could help Chinese firms, from Huawei Technologies to Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC). SMICs shares in Hong Kong surged 10 per cent and gained 5.5 per cent in Shanghai on Thursday. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. The working group is aimed at promoting deeper mutual understanding and trust between the Chinese and US semiconductor industries to solve concerns through dialogue and cooperation, the Chinese association said in a statement on its website. The counterpart of the Chinese association is the Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The working group, which will include 10 experts from both sides, will conduct meetings every six months to keep each other updated about technology and trade restrictions policies in Beijing and Washington DC and to work out policy proposals, according to the CSIAs statement. According to Washington-based SIA, the working group is about sharing public information regarding general trade matters, not easing export controls. SIA maintains regular dialogue with our industry counterparts around the world, including China, and this is part of that ongoing effort, the group said. SIA is committed to working with the US government on the shared goal of enhancing American semiconductor competitiveness while protecting national security. Story continues William Deng, an analyst at UBS in Hong Kong, said the working group could help improve communication in the semiconductor value chain in China and the US. Even if the US restrictions remain, better communication [between Chinese and US semiconductor industry players] can help mitigate supply chain disruptions, Deng said. A company in the value chain may have a better idea how to manage its inventory and production with [help from] the working group, Deng said. Deng added that the Biden administration is unlikely to lift the US export ban on key technologies to China as Washington has made it clear the country is a strategic competitor and that technology will be a key area of competition. The announcement was made just hours after the announcement that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan are expected to meet Chinas most senior foreign policy official Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, next week in Alaska, confirming a report by the South China Morning Post on Tuesday. Blinken said earlier this month that China is the biggest geopolitical challenge for the United States in the 21st century. China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system, he said. Our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be and adversarial when it must be. But there are already signs that the US may relax restrictions imposed on China. SMIC said last week that it has secured supply of deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems from Dutch firm ASML in an amended purchase agreement worth US$1.2 billion, a move that could help ease supply chain risks for Chinas chip-making champion. The CSIA is an industry body backed by Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Its current chairman is Zhou Zixue, chairman of Shanghai-based SMIC. Chinas imports of semiconductors and diodes surged in the January-February period, reaching their highest year-on-year growth rate in six months. China imported 96.4 billion semiconductor devices in the first two months of this year, up 36 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to data released by the nations customs agency on Sunday. Imports of diodes soared 59 per cent from a year earlier to 99.6 billion pieces in the two-month period. Additional reporting by Mark Magnier More from South China Morning Post: This article US and China set up semiconductor working group to ease tension in industry, improve supply chain security first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021. Dake Rechsand, a leader in breathable sand technology, has partnered with Goumbook and JA Hotels & Resorts to plant a total of 20 Ghaf saplings in Dubais resort, backing the Give a Ghaf campaign to conserve the threatened indigenous plant. Goumbook teamed up with Dake Rechsand, a Dubai-based company offering sustainable solutions in water conservation and desert farming, to run a series of experiments in the UAE, in order to grow plants and trees in desert regions. Dake Rechsands proprietary breathable sand, with its ability to retain water for extensive periods and allow free passage of air, helps overcome challenges such as water scarcity and arid climate, to make desert cultivation easier. The breathable sand enables optimal productivity, while reducing water requirements by up to 80%. Ghaf, the national tree of the UAE, symbolizes the region's quest for sustainability and desert greening. Since 2010, Goumbook, a leading social enterprise promoting sustainability and green practices, has been at the forefront of planting ghaf trees across the region, in collaboration with municipalities, local companies, landowners, and passionate individuals. Goumbook has thus far planted over 95,000 ghaf trees. Chandra Dake, CEO and Founder of Dake Rechsand, said: "We partnered with Goumbook to power their campaign using our water-wise medium. The involvement of a brand like JA The Resort has the potential to influence the rest of the hospitality sector, and will hopefully drive similar projects across the entire industry. Commenting on the industry-first undertaking, Samuel Njoroge, Cluster Quality Assurance Manager of JA The Resort, said: "Thanks to our partnership with Goumbook, JA The Resort was pleased to get introduced to Dake Rechsand and experiment with their new breathable sand technology, which is a game-changer towards water conservation efforts. We strongly advocate such sustainable solutions and, as Dubais Most Sustainable 5-star Resort, our aim is to continue supporting and accelerating the UNs Sustainable Development Goals through strengthening our partnerships with such companies. JA The Resort will continue its long-term partnership with Goumbook and Dake Rechsand, to accelerate reforestation, water conservation and sustainability in the UAE. Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Founder and Managing Director of Goumbook, said: We are glad to partner with JA The Resort, Jebel Ali Beach, and try this new technology to plant ghaf trees within the resort. The breathable sand by Dake Rechsand is a welcome innovation in the tree planting community, where water conservation is very essential. Reducing the water requirements in tree planting will encourage many to support tree planting and make planting a more meaningful act, particularly in harsh conditions. With this new technology introduced in Dubai, we hope to inspire more people and companies to support ghaf tree planting and ensure that their efforts are leading to sustainable use of water, she concluded. TradeArabia News Service A 39-year-old mother in Utah, whose family say she had no known health problems, died four days after receiving her second dose of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine. Kassidi Kurill, of Ogden, died on February 5 after falling ill and being rushed to hospital. Her family, who are still awaiting results of her autopsy, believe her death was the result of complications due to the COVID-19 vaccine. Kurill worked as a surgical tech for several plastic surgeons. Healthcare workers in Utah were among the first to be eligible to receive the vaccine. Utah's medical examiner says they haven't certified any vaccine-related deaths so far and that there doesn't appear to be a link between the death of four Utah residents - one of which is Kurill - and the vaccines. Kurill's family say the mother-of-one was healthy and had no pre-existing conditions prior to her shock death. 'She was seemingly healthy as a horse,' Kurill's father, Alfred Hawley, told Fox News. 'She had no known underlying conditions. Kassidi Kurill, 39, died four days after receiving her second dose of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine in Utah last month. Pictured: Kurill with her nine-year-old daughter Emilia 'She was healthy, happy and active, the greatest mom you ever saw in your life, and then she was so sick that, in less than 12 hours, intubated and on life support.' Kurill received her second vaccine dose on February 1. She began complaining the following day about headaches, nausea and being unable to urinate despite drinking fluids. Her condition improved slightly on her second day post-vaccination but she took a turn for the worse and was rushed to the hospital on February 4. 'She came in early and said her heart was racing and she felt like she need to get to the emergency room,' her father said. When she arrived at the hospital, Kurill immediately began throwing up as doctors worked to figure out an explanation. 'They did a blood test and immediately came back and said she was very, very sick, and her liver was not functioning,' Hawley said. Kurill received her second vaccine dose on February 1 and began complaining the following day about headache, nausea and being unable to urinate despite drinking fluids An autopsy is underway to determine the cause of Kurill's sudden death. Loved ones set up a GoFundMe campaign to support her daughter Emilia (above together) CDC says no deaths are linked to COVID vaccine safety Of the more than 92 million COVID vaccine doses administered in the US to date, fewer than 1,700 deaths have been reported, the CDC says. The FDA requires vaccine providers to report any death after a COVID vaccine to the Vaccine Adverse Event Report System, otherwise known as VAERS. Four Utah residents are currently listed on that database and one of them is believed to be Kurill. Anyone can submit reports to the VAERS database, including family, next of kin and doctors. It is an unverified reporting system that does not determine if a vaccine caused the death that is reported. 'To date, VAERS has not detected patterns in cause of death that would indicate a safety problem with COVID-19 vaccines,' the CDC website states. Advertisement Kurill was airlifted that night to the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray where doctors tried to stabilize her for a liver transplant. Her condition continued to deteriorate to the point that she was unable to talk by the next morning and her heart and kidneys shut down. 'She got worse and worse throughout the day. And at nine o'clock, she passed,' Hawley said. 'It was a total shock. I was even afraid to tell my wife.' The family hopes that an autopsy will give them answers about the mother's shockingly sudden death. The FDA requires vaccine providers to report any death after a COVID vaccine to the Vaccine Adverse Event Report System, otherwise known as VAERS. Four Utah residents are currently listed on that database and one of them is believed to be Kurill. Anyone can submit reports to the VAERS database, including family, next of kin and doctors. It is an unverified reporting system that does not determine if a vaccine caused the death that is reported. Dr Erik Christensen, the Utah Department of Health's chief medical examiner, said officials had not found any connection between the vaccine and those deaths. He said proving the vaccine was a cause of heath is very rare, unless there was an immediate case anaphylaxis, which would be an instant death. Deaths from coronavirus vaccines are extremely rare, according to the CDC's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Of the more than 92 million doses administered in the US to date, fewer than 1,700 deaths have been reported (file photo) Christensen said an autopsy, which the family are still waiting on, can potentially reveal an undiagnosed condition that may have caused the death. Hawley said that until the family gets other data, they 'must believe there was something with the shot'. But Hawley did say that he hopes his daughter's experience will not discourage others from getting vaccinated. He urged anyone experiencing symptoms after the vaccine to take them seriously. 'If you have a reaction to it, don't ignore it. Don't be stoic and just say: 'Oh, I'll be fine,' he said. 'Pay attention. If it persists beyond a day, you might ought to go see a doctor. And make sure that you're not another one in a million.' Deaths from coronavirus vaccines are extremely rare, according to the CDC's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Of the more than 92 million doses administered in the US to date, fewer than 1,700 deaths have been reported. 'To date, VAERS has not detected patterns in cause of death that would indicate a safety problem with COVID-19 vaccines,' the CDC website states. Loved ones set up a GoFundMe campaign to support Kurill's nine-year-old daughter, Emilia. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Ahead of this weekend's Saint Patrick's celebration in Terre Haute, volunteers are painting the town green! They made shamrock at the corner of 19th & Poplar Streets. The painting kicks off the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Dash, hosted by Saint Patrick School. Organizers were forced to cancel the annual events, due to COVID-19, last year. The Irish Dash starts off the weekend, with check-in at 7:30 a.m., Saturday morning. The parade wraps up the festivities at 1 p.m. For a look at Saturday's race locations, start times, and parade routes, visit their website. Mangaluru: The Customs seized over two kilograms of gold worth over Rs 1.10 crores from a passenger travelling from Dubai at Mangaluru airport on Thursday (March 11). A team led by Dr. Kapil Gade IRS Deputy Commissioner and other department officers intercepted a female passenger named Mohammed Ali Sameera from Kasaragod coming from Dubai by Air India flight. She tried to smuggle gold by concealing in both her inner garments including Sanitary pads and also in socks, the Customs said. Foreign-origin cigarettes were also seized from her possession. Live TV By Tara Copp, McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS) WASHINGTON The Defense Department is considering issuing involuntary activation orders to National Guard units to protect the U.S. Capitol through May, even as thousands of those service members who have been in Washington since January are set to return home this weekend, two defense officials told McClatchy. The National Guard deployment was in response to the deadly attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6. On Inauguration Day, more than 26,000 National Guard service members were protecting the nations capital. About 5,200 have remained, but their mission was set to end on Friday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this week directed that 2,300 service members continue to protect Congress through May 23, citing a request from the U.S. Capitol Police. Throughout Wednesday, National Guard leaders were speaking to their state governors and Guard leadership to find volunteers to come to Washington for the next two months. One defense official told McClatchy the units may be placed under involuntary activation so that instead of individual service members from various states filling the request, an entire unit and its leadership would do it, which the official said would improve command and control. Often the National Guard fulfills requests by getting governors to support deployment, then that governor tasks the states Guard units to issue voluntary activation orders, which take into account a service members ability to leave a full-time job. In times of war or natural disaster the activation orders can be involuntary, which provide service members additional protections from losing their civilian jobs due to their military responsibilities. Having to rely on involuntary activation reflects the hesitation some states have expressed in sending forces to the Capitol, or extending the ones already there, citing the many demands those units have faced, including supporting COVID-19 response and natural disaster relief. Michigan National Guard troops account for almost 1,000 of the approximately 5,200 service members still guarding the Capitol, and those forces will be returning home this weekend, said Bobby Leddy, a spokesman for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Michigans Guard members were some of the first troops on the ground to answer the call to protect our nations Capitol Building from security threats, Leddy said. There is no intention of extending this deployment. California has also sent members of its National Guard to protect the Capitol since January. The 200 that remain will be heading home this weekend, and there are no plans to extend the mission in Washington, said California National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Jason Shiroma. Kansas has 50 National Guard members at the U.S. Capitol, but they will be back mid-month and will not be extending, the Kansas National Guard said in a statement to McClatchy. Florida received a request to help protect the Capitol in the days following the inauguration, but declined to send forces. Other Guard units, including Kentucky and Washington state, said they are ready to assist if needed. More: 2021 will soon start to feel more normal, like before the COVID-19 pandemic. Can we handle it? Investigation into U.S. Capitol riot narrows in on organized extremist groups GEORGETOWN COUNTY Residents of Georgetown County are frustrated with persistent flooding in their neighborhoods, and hoping county council will devote more attention and funding to the issue. Meanwhile, the county slashed 59 percent from its stormwater fund last year, and more than 12 percent from the year before that. Despite this, the county, so far, has focused on funding other projects this year, including library renovations. Dedric Bonds, one of many residents of Spring Gully who spoke at a county council meeting Feb. 23, showed several pairs of his family's worn and muddy boots. The wear on the boots was not from everyday leisure, or because he and his family are avid fisherman or particular fans of water. These boots represent what it takes to navigate the swamp that becomes my yard after any degree of rain, Bonds said. Bonds was not alone as 10 other Georgetown County residents voiced their concerns Feb. 23 about how the 2014 Capital Project Sales Tax surplus is to be spent. Ultimately, their vocal dismay led to the discussion being pushed back to allow for other project considerations. As part of the surplus, amounting to a total of $12.5 million, each councilmember got $1 million to spend on capital projects in their district. Councilwoman Lillie Johnson represents Spring Gully's District 4, and Bonds said that Johnson did not consult with her constituents first before proposing that her $1 million be used for library improvements. South Carolina law specifically lists flooding as something the tax can be used for, and though Johnson met with her constituents March 4 after public outcry, she declined to comment on whether or not consultations happened prior. Sign up for our Myrtle Beach weekly update newsletter. Sign up for weekly roundups of our top stories, news and culture from the Myrtle Beach area. This newsletter is hand-curated by a member of our Myrtle Beach news staff. Email Sign Up! Tracy Jones, the county's stormwater division manager, said the budget was lower for this year because Director of Public Works Ray Funnye and County Administrator Angela Christian didn't approve some planned projects. "When I give a cost estimate, when I add it up, that's when I ask for $5 million or $3 million, whatever it is that year," Jones said. "I'm the one who puts the (budget) to my boss ... maybe I asked for $3 million and they gave me $2 million because they didn't think I could get them all done." Among the unapproved projects are drainage improvements on Boyle Drive in Litchfield, which the county is currently working to get the permissions for, public information officer Jackie Broach said. Christian said the county tries to set realistic budgets for what can get done in a year, and that each fund, such as stormwater management, has the flexibility to request changes to their budget if they have time and money for more projects. Bonds had no idea that the stormwater budget had been decreased by more than half, and said he hopes work can be done with organizations like Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments to increase funding and, therefore, improve the drainage issues in Spring Gully and all of District 4. "59 percent is pretty daggone hefty," Bonds said. Planning for the next year's budget has already begun, with departments already having submitted their budgets, Christian said. These budgets will come before council in late April. Teachers, staff and child care workers in Massachusetts are now eligible to receive coronavirus vaccines as of Thursday morning. Gov. Charlie Baker announced last week that COVID-19 vaccination appointments would become available for K-12 educators and staff as well as child care workers this week. Teachers are joining groups already eligible for the vaccine, including residents 65 or older and individuals with two comorbidities. Bakers announcement came after President Joe Biden said his administration is directing states to prioritize teachers in their vaccine rollouts following widespread calls to allow educators to get immunized as many schools return to in-person learning. We moved up educators to align Massachusetts with the Biden-Harris administrations directive for states to prioritize teacher vaccinations, said Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders, who heads the state COVID-19 Command Center. We do that understanding we are not getting [an] additional state distribution increase in our vaccines. In Massachusetts, education officials are requiring that elementary schoolers return for in-person learning April 5 and that middle schoolers return April 28. A return date for high schoolers has yet to be determined but should be announced next month. Bidens directive to states followed previous guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying getting teachers vaccinated is not a prerequisite for schools to safely reopen. In-person learning can safely resume with strict public health measures in place, like masking and social distancing, the presidents administration noted. As part of the coronavirus vaccine rollout in Massachusetts, Sudders said Wednesday the state plans to designate four immunization days for the commonwealths roughly 400,000 educators, school staff and child care workers. Teachers, staff and child care workers will be able to set vaccination appointments at one of the states large-scale immunization sites for March 27, April 3, April 10 and April 11, according to Sudders. Over the course of the four designated days, at least 20,000 vaccinations will be administered, she estimated. For any of the four designated days, the newly eligible group will have to book appointments using the states new pre-registration website, which goes live Friday. Educators, staff and child care workers can also schedule appointments Thursday morning with the general population at all 170 sites currently open to eligible residents in Massachusetts by visiting www.mass.gov/covidvaccinemap. Due to a severely constrained federal supply and the existing population that is currently eligible for vaccines, it is estimated that it will take a month for all eligible individuals to secure a first appointment, the Baker administration said. This timeframe is only subject to change if federal supply increases dramatically, including the recently authorized Johnson & Johnson vaccine. As of Wednesday afternoon, 2,313,916 doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been administered in Massachusetts, making it the state with the ninth highest number of doses administered per capita. Looking at the allotment of this weeks vaccine doses in Massachusetts, the states seven super vaccination sites will get 83,000 vaccines combined this week. Pharmacies will get 95,000, hospitals 79,000, the commonwealths 12 regional collaboratives 38,000 and community health centers 25,000. Another 25,000 doses will go to local boards of health that had second-dose appointments scheduled. Related Content: The Ministry said in a statement that the US Defense Secretary, Llyod Justin would be visiting India as part of his international tour on 19th and 20th March, the Ministry of Defense on Saturday. India is believed to procure 30 armed drones, namely 30 MQ-9 Reaper from the US which is worth $3 Billion. To counter China, India is believed to procure 30 armed drones, namely 30 MQ-9 Reaper from the US which is worth $3 Billion. The approval will be finalised during Defense Acquisition Meeting led by Rajnath Singh which will be further strengthened by Lloyd Justins visit. The US Defense Secretary, Llyod Justin would be visiting India as part of his international tour on 19th and 20th March, said Ministry of Defense on Saturday. He is expected to meet Rajnath Singh, the Defense Minister and other signatories of the government, the Ministry said in a statement. The Ministry said that Austins visit to India as part of his overseas travel emphasizes the strength of the US-India strategic partnership and both sides were expected to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral defense cooperation and exchange views on regional security challenges and maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. It said that discussions regarding defense cooperation would also focus on how both countries could consolidate military-to-military cooperation and defense trade and industry cooperation. Also Read: Nepal ruling party splits; top court quashes the formation of NCP Also Read: PM Modi, US prez Joe Biden to virtually participate in first-ever Quad leaders summit on Friday Austin would be visiting the headquarters of US Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii on the 13th of March followed by visits to Japan, Republic of Korea and India. This will be the first Cabinet-rank official visit since Joe Biden assumed office. Chinas expansionary territorial ambitions are also on display along its western border, where the PLA has been engaged in a standoff with Indian forces along the Line of Actual Control since May 2020, commented Admiral Philip S Davidson, US Navy Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command. He remarked that the PLA has not yet withdrawn from several forward positions which it seized during the initial clash and the escalation of tensions between India and the PRC has led to casualties between both sides. Also Read: British royal family displays racist undertones: Should it surprise Indians? SABA:--- Saba will be partially reopening its borders per May 1, 2021. Quarantining will be lifted for fully-vaccinated persons, quarantining for non-vaccinated persons will be five days, and vaccinated day-trippers will be welcome again. Until now, Saba has used a containment strategy with strict entry regulations to keep COVID-19 at bay. With more than 85 percent of the adult population and the risk groups fully vaccinated by May 1, thereby protecting the vulnerable Sabans against severe disease, the Public Entity Saba has decided to implement the first phase of the mitigation strategy per May 1. Per this date, fully-vaccinated persons may enter the island without quarantine for 10 days. Non-vaccinated persons will continue to require quarantine during this phase, but for 5 days instead of 10. The 5-day quarantine decision is based on the recommendation of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Non-vaccinated persons under the age of 18 coming in from high-risk areas will not have to go into strict quarantine as they are much less infectious, but they will have to stay out of school, daycare, afterschool care for 5 days after arrival. All incoming travelers from high-risk areas will still need to do a pre-travel test. Tests on arrival and/or after day 5 will also be in place for certain groups. People will keep having to acquire permission through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before coming to Saba, except for visitors who come to the island for one day. Only vaccinated persons will be allowed as day-trippers. Saba will move to a two-category risk categorization system: high and low risk. Countries/territories are considered low risk if there is no local circulation of COVID-19 for the past 14 days. As is already the case, persons coming from low-risk areas dont have to do a pre-travel test and dont have to quarantine. For now, the island will remain at awareness level 1, which means that daily routines will continue, with basic hygiene measures and extra emphasis on persons remaining at home when sick. This first phase per May 1 will be assessed after a month. The reopening strategy is, as always, dependent on how the pandemic continues to develop, and for example, the emergence of a vaccine-escaping strain could lead to adjustments of the strategy. On March 19, the second batch of Moderna vaccines will arrive on Saba from the Netherlands. The week after, the second round of vaccinations will take place. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. The Toyota Vios GR-S has been making its way around South East Asia. It first debuted in Malaysia alongside their local launch of the GR Yaris followed by Vietnam. Now, the sportier, Gazoo-fied Vios has finally made its way to the Philippines. We had some questions about the model, and Toyota Motor Philippines were happy to answer them. One of the biggest questions we had was where the Vios GR-S' place of assembly. For reference, the Malaysia and Vietnam-spec Vios GR-S models come from Thailand. As you may know, all Vios models sold locally roll-off the Sta. Rosa assembly plant. The question now is whether the Philippine-spec GR-S is also assembled here or imported from Thailand. Remember, aside from the new kit, the Vios GR-S also features a new 10-speed CVT exclusive to the model. It also has a revised interior with sportier accents. Surprisingly, TMP says the Vios GR-S is assembled locally, along with the rest of the Vios models built at the Sta. Rosa plant. Because of that, the automaker was able to keep the prices low. Specifically, the Vios GR-S is just a shy over PHP 1 million, depending on the color. More importantly, buyers of the new sportier Vios do not have to pay the extra PHP 70,000 as part of the safeguard bond. Since the Vios GR-S is built locally, it also means parts will be easily available to order. It's also why TMP now offers the Vios GR-S kits and parts to all current-generation Vios owners. So even if you don't own a Vios GR-S, you can purchase the styling package at Toyota dealerships and give your Vios a sportier look. Vios GR-S owners will also be proud to know that they are driving a Gazoo Racing tuned vehicle made in the Philippines. Goose Creek, SC (29445) Today A few showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving for the afternoon. High 83F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. The former Barbour County sheriff has been indicted on charges that he wrote at least $85,000 worth of checks to himself or family members from sheriffs office funds. Alabama Attorney Steve Marshall on Thursday announced the two-count indictment against Leroy Davie Upshaw, who was initially arrested on the state charges in September 2020. Upshaw, whose term as sheriff ended in January 2019, remains out on $30,000 bond from his previous arrest. Use of office for personal gain is a Class B felony, punishable to two to 20 years in prison. Efforts to reach Upshaws attorney for comment werent immediately successful. According to court records, Upshaw was sheriff in Barbour County from Jan 1, 2015 through July 23, 2018 with a salary set at $47,500 that was deposited directly into his bank account. The sheriffs office maintained several non-payroll operational accounts for other responsibilities and investigators report that checks were written to Upshaw from those other accounts including the Sheriffs Fund, the Jail Fund, the Feeding Prisoners Fund and Work Release. Under Alabama law, the Work Release fund receives 25 percent of the inmates earnings to be applied toward the costs of his confinement, with the remainder to be credited to an inmates account. A review of sheriffs office documents and bank records revealed numerous checks from those accounts were being written directly to Upshaw, an AG investigator wrote in his affidavit. Some of the check were signed by Upshaw and he directed a subordinate BCSO employee to write and sign other checks made out to him, investigator James K. Murray wrote. Many of these checks were cashed by Upshaw. In addition, review of Upshaws joint personal bank account with his wife, and an additional bank account belonging jointly to his wife and teenaged son, revealed that dozens of checks from the BCSO operation accounts were being deposited directly in the Upshaw familys personal account,' Murray wrote. Between Jan. 1, 2015 and July 23, 2018, records state, more than $85,000 in checks from those jail funds were either cashed or deposited in the personal accounts of Upshaw or a family member. During an audit, the Examiners of Public Accounts identified numerous BCSO checks written to Upshaw and notified Upshaw that he could not lawfully take money for personal use from the Work Release account specifically $23,900 or the Sheriffs Fund account - $5,100. The sheriff was told he needed to reimburse the funds. Upshaw then directed a subordinate to move money from various BCSO accounts and write him two checks from the Feeding Prisons Fund for the amounts owed to satisfy the audit findings,' according to the affidavit. Upshaw then used the money from the Feeding Prisoners account to purchase two official bank cashiers checks on which he designated himself as the remitter. The records go on to say Upshaw presented those cashiers checks as proof he had personally repaid the money he owed, when in fact the money had come from other unauthorized BCSO sources. 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. 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. Ethiopia's Amhara region denied Thursday that its forces were engaged in "ethnic cleansing" in conflict-hit Tigray, one day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the phrase in public testimony. Earlier this week, Tigrayan officials accused forces from neighbouring Amhara of kicking thousands of people off land in western Tigray -- a part of the region that ethnic Amharas claim rightfully belongs to them. Appearing before Congress Wednesday, Blinken said "acts of ethnic cleansing" had been committed in western Tigray, calling for them to "stop" and for "full accountability". In an interview with AFP Thursday, Amhara spokesman Gizachew Muluneh dismissed reports of ethnic cleansing and large-scale displacement as "propaganda". "A few Tigrayans may be displaced, a few in number," he said. Gizachew also said Blinken's call for Amhara forces to leave Tigray was misguided, claiming the territory where these forces were present would actually be considered part of Amhara from now on. "There are not any Amhara forces in Tigray region. These areas are not Tigrayan areas, in history," Gizachew said. "If the Secretary [Blinken] is talking about these areas, these areas are not Tigrayan. Our forces are not in the Tigrayan areas, rather our forces are in Amhara region. That is our response." Ethiopia is made up of 10 semi-autonomous federal states organised along ethnic lines, and ethnic violence has soared in recent years. - Disputed land - Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military campaign in Tigray in November after blaming the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), for attacks on army camps. Abiy, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, leaned on forces from Amhara to secure western and southern Tigray once the TPLF retreated from those areas, and Amhara officials set up transitional administrations in multiple cities and towns. Story continues It was a sensitive move, given that many ethnic Amharas believe the once-dominant TPLF illegally incorporated the fertile territories after it came to power in the early 1990s -- and that they should fall under Amhara administration. Blinken's remarks Wednesday confirmed the substance of a New York Times report last month that said that an internal US government report determined there was "ethnic cleansing" in western Tigray. The report, according to the newspaper, said entire villages had disappeared in an effort to make western Tigray "ethnically homogeneous through the organized use of force and intimidation." Abiy's government has not announced any formal decision on whether western and southern Tigray would be annexed by Amhara. His office on Thursday referred questions to the foreign ministry, which did not respond to a request for comment. - Fighting continues - Abiy declared victory in Tigray in late November after federal forces entered the regional capital Mekele, but TPLF leaders remain on the run and fighting has continued. While Abiy's government says life is returning to normal in much of the region, UN officials fear for a humanitarian catastrophe and estimate that 4.5 million people need assistance. Blinken on Wednesday reiterated Washington's call for the withdrawal of troops from neighbouring Eritrea from Tigray. The Eritreans stand accused of multiple massacres and widespread acts of sexual violence, though Addis Ababa and Asmara officially deny they are present in Tigray at all. A statement from the ousted Tigray government, posted Thursday on Twitter by TPLF senior official Getachew Reda, praised the administration of US President Joe Biden "for their principled position against war crimes and all forms of impunity". It also said pro-TPLF forces would keep up their fight "until such time that our people are fully liberated from occupation." rcb/fb/pma All Texans 50 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, expanding the pool of possible recipients to nearly half of the states population. Now the question is how to find a shot. So far, 4.7 million Texans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, a 15.8 percent vaccination rate that is one of the worst in the nation. State officials say they are going as fast as they can. They have complained the federal government is not sending enough vaccine because it is using old population data to calculate the Texas share. More than half of the Texans over 65 have received at least their first dose, a milestone the state reached last week. Texas is now vaccinating members of priority groups 1A and 1B a subset of more than 10 million people that includes health care workers, Texans 65 and older, and anyone over age 15 who has a comorbidity. Last week, officials made the states 1.3 million teachers and child care employees eligible for a dose, a victory for educators who argued they deserve earlier access because of their on-the-job exposure to students. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had directed all states to make the change. LIVE UPDATES: Texas COVID vaccine tracker So you're over 50 and you want the COVID-19 vaccine Harris County Public Health How to register: Harris County Public Health is registering anyone regardless of age or occupation on its online wait list. The system will prioritize people according to state criteria for vaccination. You won't be allowed to schedule an appointment until you're in a prioritized group. https://vacstrac.hctx.net/landing Patients who go to Harris Health can call 713-873-8777 to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Houston Health Department How to register: The department now has two wait lists available for the COVID-19 vaccine: one for Pfizer and Moderna's two-dose series, and another for Johnson & Johnson. You can sign up for automated email, text message, voice call or mobile app push notifications for appointments at https://HoustonEmergency.org/covid19. Montgomery County How to register: Montgomery County has launched a wait list at https://mcphd-tx.org/. The The county's public health district is filling vaccine appointments from the wait list. District officials said to monitor the county's Facebook and Twitter pages for updates. Fort Bend County How to register: Visit their website at https://vaccinewaitlist.fortbendcountytx.gov/ to register for the wait list. The The county's Health and Human Services department recommends taking the vaccine elsewhere if given the opportunity. Galveston County How to register: Galveston County and the University of Texas Medical Branch have launched their own wait list, accessible by phone or web. People interested in getting the vaccine can register regardless of where they live or whether they're a UTMB patient. Visit their website at https://www.utmb.edu/covid-19/vaccine or call 877-389-2318. Brazoria County How to register: Visit the Brazoria County government website at https://www.brazoriacountytx.gov/ or call one of four clinics to make an appointment:Angleton (979) 864-1484 Alvin (281) 585-3024 Lake Jackson (979) 265-4446 Pearland (281) 485-5344 UTMB is also vaccinating at its Angleton Danbury campus. To sign up for the wait list, visit their website at https://www.utmb.edu/covid-19/vaccine. See More Collapse Those 50 and older will be included in priority group 1C, which will expand eligibility to an estimated 12 to 14 million people. More than 93 percent of Texans who have died from the virus have been over 49 years old. Weve seen a remarkable decrease in the number of hospitalizations and deaths since people 65 and older started becoming fully vaccinated in January, Imelda Garcia, the chair of the states Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel, said Wednesday. Expanding to ages 50 to 64 will continue the states priorities of protecting those at the greatest risk of severe outcomes and preserving the states health care system. There are an estimated 5 million Texans between the ages of 50 and 64, a group that has accounted for more than 20 percent of the states fatalities. More than 1 million Texans between those ages have already received at least one dose of the vaccine, health officials said. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that essential workers including police officers, firefighters, grocery store employees, food service workers and journalists be prioritized for the vaccine ahead of individuals over 50. This week, Texas received more than 1 million first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, a record number mostly attributable to the addition of 240,000 units of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But next week, Texas wont receive any doses of that vaccine due to a federal shortage, Garcia said. She expects the weekly supply to rise again at the end of the month. Three vaccines have been approved for distribution in the United States. Two of them, made by Pfizer and Moderna, require two shots administered about a month apart for full immunization. The third is the single-shot vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson. The 1C announcement came on the same day that Texas lifted its COVID restrictions, including the mask order Gov. Greg Abbott implemented last July to slow the spread of the virus. Abbott has cited the rapid increase in vaccinations as part of the reason for removing the state mandates. Most seniors have already received a shot, the governor tweeted Wednesday. Seniors who have not received a shot & want one will still be prioritized. Always voluntary. Local officials lauded the announcement as another step toward normalcy. I think its a good thing, said Stephen Williams, the director of the Houston Health Department. With the vaccine, we can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we cant let our guard down. While the federal government continues to increase supply sent to state and local vaccine providers, cities still need additional doses to maintain the flow of vaccines going into the communities at highest risk for the virus, he said. Officials have launched a series of new initiatives in recent weeks to reach those vulnerable groups, including two mobile vaccination programs for homebound seniors and rural Texans. The state has also partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to open three vaccine mega-sites in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, aiming to inoculate underserved communities. Black and Hispanic Texans have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, but have also received the vaccine at lower rates than white people. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo welcomed the move into Phase 1C. There is hope on the horizon, and little by little, well continue getting through our population, Hidalgo said. This is the time to continue wearing our masks, continue avoiding crowds, and getting the vaccine as soon as it becomes available to us. County officials will continue to push state and federal partners for more vaccines, she said. In Harris County, 1.1 million doses have been administered, and more than 351,000 people have been fully vaccinated, according to Hearst Newspapers data. The challenge, Hidalgo said, is not having enough doses to hand out to everyone on the wait lists. We knew it would be well into the summer until we hit most of our population. Thats going to require continued patience and perseverance, and we ask the community to continue to stick with us on this, she said. In Galveston, the county health department works in conjunction with the University of Texas Medical Branch on mass vaccination efforts. What I think DSHS is doing is taking the temperature around the state, and particularly for places that have wait lists like us, and finding that were getting the people were targeting and deciding its time to move on, said Dr. Philip Keiser, a professor of medicine at UTMB and the local health authority for Galveston County. We have a lot of people on our wait list between 50 and 64, and dont have that many people over 75. We have some over 65, but not many. Its not enough to continue to vaccinate people at the same rate. Staff writer Jeremy Wallace contributed reporting. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Eyal Goldstein. Credit: Tel Aviv University About 1.8 million envenoming snakebites occur around the world annually, killing about 94,000 people. In tropical areas, especially in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, snakebites are considered a major cause of death, especially among farmers who encounter snakes in their fields. In response, the World Health Organization has launched a strategic plan to reduce snakebites by 50% by 2030. An important basis for attaining this goal is expanding relevant scientific research. An international research group, including researchers from Tel Aviv University, has recently created an innovative simulation model for predicting snakebites, based on an improved understanding of interactions between farmers and snakes, in both time and space. The purpose of the model is to determine the probability of a snakebites occurring in certain places (for example in rice fields vs. tea fields) at various times (hours of the day and months of the year). The study is founded upon extensive research and data from Sri Lanka, where about 30,000 envenoming snakebites kill approximately 400 people every year. It focused on 6 types of snakes, some numbered among the most venomous in the world (cobra, Russell's viper, saw-scaled viper, hump-nosed viper, common krait and Ceylon krait), matching them with farmers who grow the three most common crops in the area: rice, tea and rubber. Thus for example, the model predicts that the bites of Russell's viper peak in rice fields during February and August, while the hump-nosed viper prefers rubber plantations in April and May. The model also determines that in the southeastern part of the studied region, the largest number of snakebites are inflicted by Russell's viper, one of the world's most dangerous snakes, while in other parts of this area snakebites of the less lethal hump-nosed viper are the most common. The study was led by Dr. Takuya Iwamura (currently at Oregon State University) and Eyal Goldstein of the School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University, and Dr. Kris Murray of Imperial College London and the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London. Other participants included researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Lancaster University and the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The paper was published in February 2021 in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Eyal Goldstein explains: "We built a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary model, which includes the behavior patterns of both sidessnakes and humans, identifying risk factors at various times and places, and warning against them. For example, the model can differentiate between low-risk and high-risk areas, a difference that can be manifested in double the number of snakebites per 100,000 people." Dr. Murray explains that "Both snakes and people go about their business at different times of the day, in different seasons and in different types of habitatsthe model captures all of this to predict encounters between people and snakes in areas where farmers are working. We then factor in the aggressiveness of different snake species to work out how likely an encounter is to result in a bite." Dr. Iwamura emphasizes that "Our approach is to mathematically analyze interactions between snakes and humans, with an emphasis on the ecological perspective. This is a completely new approach to understanding the mechanism that causes snakebites. Unlike most studies, which have so far focused mainly on social and economic risk factors, we chose to focus on the ecological aspectssuch as snakes' movements and habitats, the impact of climate and rainfall, and the respective behaviors of farmers and snakesas a key to predicting potential encounters." Verified against existing data in Sri Lanka , the model was proved very accurate in predicting snakebite patterns in different areas and different seasons, as well as the relative contribution of various types of snakes to the overall picture as seen in hospital data. Now the researchers intend to implement the model in places that don't yet have accurate snakebite data. They will and also use it to predict future changes resulting from climate changesuch as increased rainfall leading to greater snake activity, as well as changes in land use and habitats available to snakes. Dr. Iwamura concludes: "Our model can help focus the efforts of snakebite reduction policies, and serve as a tool for warning, raising awareness and saving human lives. Moreover, we regard this study as a first stage in a broader project. In the future we intend to develop more complex models of encounters between humans and wildlife, to support both public health and nature preservation policies in the real world." Explore further Snake venom study reveals troubling shortcomings in antivenom therapy in India More information: Eyal Goldstein et al, Integrating human behavior and snake ecology with agent-based models to predict snakebite in high risk landscapes, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases (2021). Journal information: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Eyal Goldstein et al, Integrating human behavior and snake ecology with agent-based models to predict snakebite in high risk landscapes,(2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009047 Mumbai, March 11 : The new horror comedy "Roohi" is the first film in the genre that Alexx O'Nell has tried, but the Bollywood actor of American origin says he is familiar with the art of making people laugh through acting. Alexx, who hails from Connecticut, plays Tim, an American filmmaker, who arrives at a tiny village in rural India to do a story on a very unique small-town tradition. "This is indeed my first horror comedy and it is in fact, my first comedy since 2012, when Akshay Kumar and I faced off as rival scientists in 'Joker'. While it has certainly been a while, I am no stranger to comedy. I perform in numerous comedy plays and musicals as a stage actor in the US, and I started my Indian film career with small roles in back-to-back-comedy movies 'Cheeni Kum' and 'Loins Of Punjab Presents' way back in 2007. It was nice to have had some laughter while shooting 'Roohi', without having to realign my energies to the heavy and dramatic content I have been used to shooting. It's wonderful to0 -- I have a funny film releasing for a change," Alexx tells IANS. On his preparation for the role, he adds: "I studied the screenplay and created Tim's back story -- where he is from, why he is there, and where he is going. I had worked as a videographer many years ago and I also worked briefly in journalism. So I had a good understanding of how someone who liked Tim would go about executing his story. But I also took a good look at documentaries as well as mockumentaries, most notably 'This Is Spinal Tap', to get a feel for how I wanted Tim to present himself on screen," he says. This is the third time Alexx has worked with Rajkummar Rao, after the feature film "Chittagong" (2012) and the web series "Bose: Dead/Alive" (2017). "Raj is a fantastic actor, and I jumped at the opportunity to work with him again. The funny thing is, after my characters in 'Chittagong', and 'Bose', which were quite literally trying to kill Rajkumar's, it's nice for us to be friends on screen for a change! So, while this isn't a role quite as large as some of the others I have this year, I always appreciate the opportunity to work with excellent artistes like Raj," shares the actor. Press Release March 11, 2021 POE CITES BROADCAST FIRMS' ROLE IN DISTANCE LEARNING Sen. Grace Poe called on broadcast firms seeking the renewal of their franchises to steadfastly carry out their role in enabling students across the country to benefit from distance learning. "We must provide all the necessary support to our students, especially those whose only dependable access to learning is through the broadcast media at this time of pandemic," stressed Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services. "Ibuhos natin lahat ng ating magagawa lalo na para sa ating mga mahihirap na mag-aaral upang sila ay matuto at hindi mapag-iwanan sa gitna ng kanilang kalagayan sa hagupit ng pandemya. Sila ang ating pag-asa," Poe reiterated. The Senate committee on public services that Poe chairs is set to recommend to the plenary the approval of the renewal of the broadcast franchises that had no issues with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and upon their submission of the required clearances. Poe's panel has adjourned its committee hearing on 13 broadcast firms' franchises on Wednesday (March 10), asking the franchise applicants to submit the remaining requirements they lack for the committee to be able to bring to plenary the approval of the franchise bills. Broadcast franchise applicants are required to show proof that they are able to satisfactorily carry out their mandate and submit clearances such as those from the NTC, SEC, and the BIR to ensure that they have complied with the requirements to be deemed worthy of the franchise they seek. "The grant of a franchise is not a right, but a privilege. New franchise applicants must establish that there is a public need for the service they propose to deliver and the means to adequately provide it. To those for renewal, treat the franchise not only as a privilege but also as a checklist of your obligations and commitments to the public," Poe said. One of those seeking a new broadcast franchise is the City Government of Davao which gets its resources from Davao's disaster fund. The Davao City Radio Broadcasting Station had been operating since February 2020 focusing mainly on preparing communities for disasters such as floods and others. Seeking franchise renewal is the University of the Philippines' (UP) broadcast station which was first given a franchise in 1995. Since the start of the pandemic, UP's station has been focusing on the dissemination of public information such as government issuances and advice on safe practices from the Philippine General Hospital. Recently, it has been providing updates on the COVID-19 vaccines. Aside from the Davao City Radio Broadcasting Station and UP, franchise applicants also include: Rolin Broadcasting Enterprises Inc., Blockbuster Broadcasting System Inc., Tagbilaran Broadcasting System Inc., Servotron Industries Inc., Christian Music Power Inc., Allied Broadcasting Center Inc., Palawan Broadcasting Corp., St. Jude Thaddeus Institute of Technology Inc., Good News Sorsogon Foundation Inc., Baycomms Broadcasting Corp. and Highland Broadcasting Network. (TNS) A renegade mouse cursor signaled the danger at the water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida.On Feb. 5, a plant operator for the city of about 15,000 on Floridas west coast saw his cursor being moved around on his computer screen, opening various software functions that control the water being treated. The intruder boosted the level of sodium hydroxide or lye in the water supply to 100 times higher than normal.Sodium hydroxide, the main ingredient in liquid drain cleaners, is used to control water acidity and remove metals from drinking water in treatment plants. Lye poisoning can cause burns, vomiting, severe pain and bleeding.After the hacker exited the computer, the operator immediately reduced the sodium hydroxide back to its normal level and then notified his supervisor, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a news conference a few days later. Even if it hadnt been quickly reversed, the system has safeguards and the water would have been checked before it was released, so the public was never at risk, he added.Nevertheless, the Oldsmar breach alarmed state and local officials around the country.Officials Ive contacted are nervous. There is great concern, said Alan Shark, executive director of the Public Technology Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that provides training and other support to local government information technology executives.Some states responded to the attack by issuing alerts to water systems. Some also decided to provide additional training and focus more on cybersecurity during their water plant inspections. But many local governments that run water systems lack the money or the personnel to strengthen cybersecurity.In Wisconsin, state officials sent cybersecurity advisories to all 611 community water systems after the Florida breach, said Miranda Mello, a senior water supply engineer at the Department of Natural Resources.This incident is opening a lot of peoples eyes because public health is connected to systems that have cybersecurity vulnerabilities, she said.The state doesnt have a comprehensive way to track the cybersecurity measures that water systems have in place, she said. But it does ask about their security and emergency response systems when staffers inspect utilities every three years.Because of the Oldsmar attack, Mello said, the state plans to incorporate more questions specifically about cybersecurity during its inspections. In Massachusetts, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued an advisory to public water suppliers after the Florida attack, warning utilities to be on heightened alert for any unusual activity and remain vigilant by evaluating system security. The agency also is planning additional training for state and water utilities staff, spokesperson Edmund Coletta said in an email, and is reviewing all regulations and policies.In New Jersey, cybersecurity officials also sent out a series of alerts after the Oldsmar breach.Changing the chemical equation and compounds to treat the water is shocking on the surface, but theres been a concern about this for a long time, Jared Maples, director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, said in an interview with Stateline.Officials need to be concerned not just about cyber criminals or terrorists trying to target the water supply, he said, but also about threats from insiders, such as disgruntled employees.While water plants have fail-safes to prevent hackers from compromising drinking water that gets to the public, Maples said, they still have to be on their guard because theres no such thing as 100% safe in this game.Our goal is to continually try to stay ahead of them, to make our system stronger and better, he said. Its a constant cat and mouse [game] that we play. About 52,000 community water systems operate in the United States, providing water to more than 286 million people year round. Most systems are run by local governments; many are very small.Small water utilities often dont have their own IT or cybersecurity staff. They typically are part of city or county governments, but those too may not have the staff or resources to ensure that cybersecurity is strong. Sophisticated hackers could take advantage of weaknesses in the system and affect water quality or distribution, said Michael Arceneaux, managing director of the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a Washington, D.C.-based group that helps water utilities strengthen their physical and cybersecurity. It could become a public health issue. Water utilities that dont have the resources need technical training and help setting up secure systems, selecting software and hardware, and operating the technology, he added.The Pinellas County Sheriffs Office, FBI and Secret Service are investigating the Oldsmar incident. Investigators havent identified a suspect and dont know whether the attack originated in the U.S. or why Oldsmar was targeted. The important thing is to put everybody on notice ... these kind of bad actors are out there, Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel said at the news conference. Its happening. So really take a hard look at what you have in place.Oldsmar officials said they disabled the program that allowed the intrusion and will make security upgrades. In response to the Oldsmar incident, four agencies including the FBI, EPA and a federally funded group that tracks cybersecurity issues for states and local governments released a joint advisory warning that corrupt insiders and outside cyber actors were using desktop sharing software to victimize targets, including those in the critical infrastructure sector. The agencies made a number of cybersecurity recommendations and advised organizations to upgrade their Windows operating systems.They also cautioned that water utilities should install independent cyber-physical safety systems that would prevent dangerous conditions if the control system is compromised. That would let smaller systems that have limited cyber capability take steps that would prevent hackers from gaining control of a pump and raising the pH to hazardous levels, as happened in Oldsmar.The Oldsmar breach has gotten attention in Congress as well.Calling it a serious security compromise, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has asked the FBI for a progress report on the criminal investigation and the EPA for a review of the plants compliance with federal water security plans.Shark, of the Public Technology Institute, said its been hard for local governments to get the funding to beef up cybersecurity at water utilities.States have to step up, and theyre going to need help from the feds to find ways to fortify this, he said. There are a whole set of bad actors out there probing for weaknesses to bring certain facilities to their knees.Sometimes theyre able to break through. In the past few years, water utility systems in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Fort Collins, Colorado, have been victimized in ransomware attacks, according to a 2019 study in Journal of Environmental Engineering. Ransomware hijacks computer systems and holds them hostage until their victims pay a ransom or restore the system on their own. The study noted that 25 U.S. water utilities had reported cybersecurity incidents in 2015 and that many cases either go undetected or are not disclosed. Across the globe, hackers whove struck water utilities have ranged from curious amateurs to disgruntled former employees to cyber terrorists, the researchers found.In Oldsmar, before the breach, authorized users could use software to remotely monitor operations and check chemical levels to troubleshoot any problems. Many utilities use a similar system, which could become an entry point for hackers, cybersecurity experts say. Everything is getting automated these days. A lot of these utilities operate with razor-thin budgets and limited staffing. Theyll set up systems where someone can access it from home, said Alex Hamerstone, risk management director at TrustedSec, a company based in a Cleveland suburb that does cybersecurity testing for water plants and other utilities.If water utilities use passwords that arent strong enough or terminate workers without changing their passwords, Hamerstone said, that can leave them vulnerable to hackers. Cyber criminals can use phishing or other methods to try to get into email or billing systems at water utilities, just as they do with other government agencies, he said. But Oldsmars breach was much more dangerous because it threatened lives, he added.Now, if you want to poison water, you can do it from the comfort of your home. Mello, of Wisconsins environmental agency, said water systems typically have multiple alarms that will alert an operator if theres an issue going on, and checks and balances to ensure the water quality is at the level that it should be. But she cautioned that water plants operating systems need to be up-to-date and staffers should be using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, a method of confirming identity before someone logs in, usually by entering a randomized one-time password or number sent to a smartphone or email address.In Manatee County, Florida, officials decided against using a remote system at their water plant, which serves more than 400,000 residents. Even if youve got firewalls and other security measures in place, its still vulnerable. We want to eliminate that, said Manatee County Utilities spokesperson Amy Pilson. The utility uses an older, closed system that has no remote access, Pilson said. While it is in the process of upgrading to a newer system with tighter security and more safeguards, it will allow managers or superintendents remote access to a dashboard only to look at readings and measurements; not to make changes.Arceneaux, of the water utilities security group, said since the COVID-19 pandemic began and more people have been working at home, his group has been recommending that utilities update software, provide training and assess what software and hardware they use as well as vulnerabilities.Its really important that water boards and city councils and top managers take an interest in cybersecurity and provide the investments that are needed to prevent these types of attacks, Arceneaux said.And water utility officials and others need to understand that its not just something that can hit a small community, said Kevin Morley, federal relations manager at the American Water Works Association, a Denver-based group that represents water utilities and others in the field.This could happen to a large city as well, Morley said. Water systems, large or small, need to be vigilant. Its a very real threat. Next has bought a 25 per cent stake in upmarket fashion brand Reiss. The UKs largest clothing retail chain will pay 33million for the holding and lend Reiss a further 10million to help it recover from the pandemic. Next has the option to buy an additional 26 per cent for a slightly higher price any time before July 2022 handing it a 51 per cent stake and control of the company. Next, which is the UKs largest clothing retail chain, will pay 33m for 25 per cent stake in upmarket fashion brand Reiss and a further 10m to help it recover from the pandemic The deal reunites Next chief executive Lord Wolfson with Reiss boss Christos Angelides, who worked for Next for 28 years before leaving in 2016. Angelides will stay on as boss of Reiss. Next already stocks Reiss clothes on its website and the deal will see Reisss online operations move to Nexts Total Platform. Wolfson said: Reiss is an outstanding brand with enormous potential and a first class management team. We are excited to see what can be achieved Reiss, which counts Britains Got Talent judge Amanda Holden and the Duchess of Cambridge as fans, was put up for sale by its US private equity owners, Warburg Pincus, before the pandemic. Its first store, selling mens clothes, was opened in Londons Bishopsgate in 1971. The company moved into womens clothing and accessories in the early 2000s, and now operates from 183 stores and concessions in 14 countries. The chain has previously said photos of Kate Middleton wearing a white 159 Reiss dress for her official engagement portrait in 2010 sent the brand to stratospheric new heights. But it has struggled in the pandemic as customers swapped its signature suits and tailoring for jogging bottoms, and commuters and tourists deserted its city centre locations. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. A Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation will hold a meeting with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata on Thursday over the Nandigram incident, in which state's Chief Minister was allegedly attacked and injured. The delegation is planning to file a complaint with the CEO about the alleged attack on the party chief. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation will also meet the commission to demand a proper enquiry into the incident. The West Bengal administration is also investigating the truth about the injuries of Mamata Banerjee, whether it was an attack or accident. Accommodating the same, Purba Medinipur District Magistrate Vibhu Goyal and SP Praveen Prakash visited Nandigram's Birulia Bazar on Thursday where TMC chief sustained injuries after being allegedly pushed by unknown people last evening. However, Congress state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused her of resorting to 'nautanki' (theatrics) while its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma expressed concern over the alleged attack and stated that hatred and violence were unacceptable in a democracy. The West Bengal Congress chief Chowdhury claimed that the Chief Minister was indulging in hypocrisy to gain sympathy. Elections to 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (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, March 11 : The Delhi government proposes a major outreach programme with taxpayers to get them on board for increasing their tax contribution to help bolster revenue which was severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of the exercise, the government has involved all ward authorities to prepare a list of 300 top taxpayers in their respective areas and compare their cash payment of state GST (SGST) for FY2019-20 with the SGST deposited in cash for the last four months (November 2020-February 2021). Based on this list, top defaulter taxpayers who have shown average decline in tax of more than 25 per cent would be personally contacted by tax authorities to ascertain reasons for the decline in tax payment. The authorities would then motivate taxpayers to increase their tax contribution and support the welfare agenda of the government. In addition, the state government also proposes to telephonically contact top 200 return defaulter taxpayers upto the month of February, including even those belonging to Central jurisdiction, and instruct them to file returns. "The idea is to make taxpayers aware of the need to contribute towards nation building and pay all their due taxes without delays. This is also important considering the pandemic disruptions have pushed several honest taxpayers to delay and forgo their responsibility to the tax department. Effort will to reach all such persons and motivate them to pay their taxes," said a government official aware of the development. The state government also proposes to use the 'carrot and stick' policy to make other taxpayers fall in line. To ensure tax filers file returns on time, interest on net cash liability of tax will be levied in all major cases. Also, all cases referred by the Business Intelligence Unit (BIU) will be acted upon with the objective of collecting due tax for March in the month itself. The Delhi government is stepping up on tax collections in wake of severe resource crunch faced by it during the early months of the lockdown and the pandemic. SGST collections had fallen over 90 per cent in April 2020 and had continued to remain sluggish thereafter. They, however, picked up pace this year with January and February numbers close to reaching the pre-Covid levels. The years of Netflix looking the other way as users share passwords with friends and loved ones might be coming to an end, with the streaming giant rolling out a test that appears to take aim at Netflix freeloaders. As reported by GammaWire, some Netflix users have encountered a screen that warns, If you dont live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching. At the bottom of the screen are buttons for requesting a verification code sent via email or text. Theres also a verify later option that allows users to keep watching without a verification code, although its not clear exactly how much later later means. Netflix confirmed the test to The Hollywood Reporter, adding that the test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so. Sharing Netflix passwords has been a thing for about as long as theres been a Netflix, and weve even reported on tools that make it easier and safer to share your Netflix password with others. For years, Netflix appeared to simply let the practice go. We love people sharing Netflix whether theyre two people on a couch or 10 people on a couch, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings said back in 2016, the reasoning being that password freeloaders generally wound up signing for their own accounts. But the streaming industry has been taking password sharingor password piracymore seriously. By one estimate, streamers lost $9.1 billion due to password freeloaders, a figure thats projected to soar to $12.5 billion by 2024. Still, its not clear whether the new Netflix test signals a wider crackdown on password sharing or merely a smaller experiment. Netflix told CNBC that it tries hundreds of tests a year, and that it might not lead to a general password crackdown. TEL AVIV - Fatah's central committee has expelled Yasser Arafat's nephew, Nasser al-Kidwa, from the party after he announced that he will be taking part in the May parliamentary elections at the head of his own list. The list will include independent candidates as well as representatives from the business sphere and youth figures. Local media reported the news, noting that he had come into conflict with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, in part because he supports the candidature of Marwan Barghouti for the July presidential elections. In the past Kidwa, 67, had been foreign minister and represented Palestine at the UN. Observers say that Fatah may arrive at the vote weakened by other rivalries. Some of its voters, they say, may support another independent list that is still being formed and will be led by former prime minister and economist Salam Fayad. Former Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan - who is also in disaccord with Abbas - is meanwhile seeking to garner support among voters in Gaza, including by organizing the entrance of tens of thousands of Sputnik COVID vaccines offered by the UAE into the enclave. Yangon, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :Myanmar's military junta on Thursday accused detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi of accepting a $600,000 illegal payment and more than 11 kilograms of gold. "We have learnt Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself took this $600,000 and seven visses (11.2 kilograms) of gold. The anti-corruption commission is investigating," the military's spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters in the capital Naypyidaw. Four people have been arrested by detectives investigating dissident republican activity (Niall Carson/PA) Four people have been arrested by detectives investigating dissident republican activity in Northern Ireland. Three searches were conducted in the Londonderry area and two in the Dungiven area on Wednesday morning. A further search of a house was carried out by officers in the Limavady area. A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detective said: A number of items, including clothing and electronic devices, were seized and have been taken away for further forensic examination. The proactive policing operation conducted today outlines our commitment to tackling serious crime in our communities PSNI detective The searches and arrests are in relation to the ongoing investigation into dissident republican activity in the Derry/Londonderry area. Men aged 49, 21 and 19 were arrested under the Terrorism Act. A 61-year-old man has also been arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice. All four are assisting police with their enquiries. The detective added: The proactive policing operation conducted today outlines our commitment to tackling serious crime in our communities. The generous investment from KMMG will build upon this momentum and enable the AWIM programs to inspire and educate more students in Georgia and Alabama schools with hands-on STEM activities. Lori Gatmaitan, director of the SAE Foundation SAE Foundation announced today it has received a donation of $220,000 from Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) to expand SAE Internationals A World In Motion (AWIM) program and build upon the strong STEM engagement in Troup, Harris and Meriwether Counties in Georgia, as well as in Chambers County and Lanett City, Alabama. Despite the current challenges facing our learning environments, the industry partnerships we have formed enable us to continue to deliver both in-classroom and virtual AWIM program offerings, said Lori Gatmaitan, director of the SAE Foundation. The generous investment from KMMG will build upon this momentum and enable the AWIM programs to inspire and educate more students in Georgia and Alabama schools with hands-on STEM activities. As a part of Kias longtime partnership with SAE on community STEM outreach, KMMG has also supported the region's annual SAE JetToy Competition. This signature SAE event brings together more than 500 students from local schools in Georgia and Alabama in a team format to design and build the most efficient and smooth-running balloon-powered vehicle. Students take what they learned in the classroom activities to compete against other teams in distance, accuracy and timed events. Kia volunteers serve as track judges at the competition as well as volunteers in the classroom prior to and following the event. Since 2012, KMMG has supported SAEs AWIM program, reaching more than 78,000 students in over 60 schools in Georgia and Alabama, said Chris Miller, chief administrative officer at KMMG. We are honored to support a program that has built such a strong, sustainable model for teacher training, student learning and volunteer engagement within our communitiesgiving students the solid foundation they need for future STEM studies and careers. SAEs AWIM program provides educators with resources to help increase students understanding of and achievement in STEM subjects, including information technology and computer science. Over the past three decades, AWIM has reached six million students globally and has been supported by more than 30,000 industry professionals as volunteers. For more information on how to get involved with the SAE Foundation, visit: http://www.saefoundation.org. To learn more about SAEs AWIM program, visit: https://www.sae.org/learn/education/. About SAE Foundation The SAE Foundation encourages and increases student achievement and participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to build an inclusive, STEM-fluent workforce. Funds raised by the SAE Foundation support SAE Internationals award-winning A World In Motion (AWIM) program, Collegiate Design SeriesTM (CDS), awards and scholarships. SAEs STEM education programs enable students to develop the 21st century skills needed to succeed in real-world work environments and connect classroom learning with real-life application. Overall, SAEs STEM programs have reached more than six million students worldwide and engaged more than 30,000 STEM industry professionals as volunteers. SAE International is a global association engaging nearly 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers to advance mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity. http://www.saefoundation.org. ### Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government welcomed the National 14th Five-Year Plan that was approved by National People's Congress (NPC) today, saying it will proactively integrate Hong Kong into national development. The Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic & Social Development of the People's Republic of China & the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 was approved by the fourth session of the 13th NPC. The Hong Kong SAR Government greatly welcomed the contents relating to Hong Kong in the 14th Five-Year Plan and expressed gratitude for the central government's support for its future development in various key areas. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said: "The 14th Five-Year Plan is the blueprint and action agenda for the social and economic development of the country in the next five years. I am delighted that contents relating to Hong Kong can be found in its chapter 61 on maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau, and chapter 31 on proactively and progressively taking forward the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Indeed, the 14th Five-Year Plan has incorporated many concrete proposals put up by the Hong Kong SAR Government after more than a year of study, demonstrating the central government's unwavering support for Hong Kong. Noting that the city has faced unprecedented challenges over the past two years, Mrs Lam said that only by firmly upholding the one country, two systems principle and safeguarding national security can society and the economy of the Hong Kong SAR progress and develop steadily. The part concerning Hong Kong and Macau in the 14th Five-Year Plan states from the outset that to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau, it is imperative to fully and faithfully implement the one country, two systems principle; uphold the constitutional order as enshrined in the Constitution and the Basic Law; uphold the central authorities' overall jurisdiction over the SARs; implement the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the SARs to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests of the nation and the social stability of the SARs; and resolutely prevent and curb interference by external forces in the affairs of Hong Kong. I fully agree to these fundamental principles." On economic development, the Hong Kong SAR Government noted that the 14th Five-Year Plan continues to support Hong Kong to enhance its status as an international financial, transportation and trade centre; strengthen its status as a global offshore renminbi business hub, an international asset management centre and a risk management centre; establish itself as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region; and promote service industries for high-end and high value-added development. The plan also raises for the first time the support for Hong Kong to enhance its status as an international aviation hub, to develop into an international innovation and technology hub and a regional intellectual property trading centre, and develop into a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world, it added. The Hong Kong SAR Government emphasised that it is deeply encouraged by such new supporting statements and will continue to press ahead with measures in bolstering Hong Kong's competitiveness in sectors including the development of the three runway system at the airport, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Co-operation Zone, the West Kowloon Cultural District and the various new initiatives announced in the 2020 Policy Address. On high-quality bay area development, the 14th Five-Year Plan states the deepening and widening of mutual access between the financial markets of Hong Kong and the Mainland and strengthening the bilateral exchanges and co-operation on different fronts, and, for the first time, includes the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Loop as a major platform of co-operation in the bay area. Pursuant to the Outline Development Plan for the bay area, the Hong Kong SAR Government has been taking forward various initiatives over the past two years. During the Chief Executive's visit to Guangdong and Shenzhen last November, key collaboration initiatives for 2021 were formulated with the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments. These initiatives include facilitating Hong Kong youths to study, work and start business in the Mainland cities of the bay area, which is consistent with the objective of establishing a brand of quality exchanges among the youths of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau as stated in the 14th Five-Year Plan. The plan also contains measures to enable Hong Kong and Macau residents to develop and live in the Mainland, strengthen education on the Constitution and the Basic Law and national development, and enhance national awareness and patriotism among Hong Kong and Macau people. Through education in schools and other means, the Hong Kong SAR Government noted that it has been stepping up efforts to enhance the people's understanding of national development, in particular national security, and will roll out a series of promotional and educational activities on this year's National Security Education Day on April 15. It stated that it will spare no effort in explaining to the public the work of the NPC on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong SAR and implementing patriots administering Hong Kong. The Hong Kong SAR Government said that Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy in handling external affairs under "one country, two systems", and that it welcomes the support from the 14th Five-Year Plan for the city to foster co-operation and exchanges with countries and regions around the world and will make the best use of its overseas and Mainland Economic & Trade Offices to explore more opportunities for developing bilateral and multilateral co-operation. In summarising the significance of the five-year plan to Hong Kong, Mrs Lam said: As a highly market-oriented city and an international economy underpinned by the rule of law, Hong Kong will proactively become a participant in domestic circulation and a facilitator in international circulation amidst the dual circulation development strategy of our country with the support of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Hong Kong will take the bay area development as the best entry point to better integrate into the overall development of our country, which will bring continuous impetus to Hong Kong's economy. Federal officials are considering temporarily housing unaccompanied migrant children at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. The Department of Health and Human Services and NASAs Ames Research Center, that owns and operates Moffett Field, are coordinating a site assessment of some currently vacant property to determine whether certain facilities at the site might be suitable to temporarily provide shelter space in the future, a spokesperson from Ames Research said. "This effort will have no impact on NASAs ability to conduct its primary missions," the statement said. The Department of Health and Human Services wasn't immediately available for comment on this story, but Ames Research said the federal department has requested federal agencies to determine whether they have vacant properties available and suitable for potential future use as influx care facilities to provide temporary emergency shelter and services. Mofffett Field is former U.S. Naval facility now serving as a civil-military airport that's spread across a massive swath of land at the south end of San Francisco Bay The number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the U.S. southwest border has surged to levels not seen since before the pandemic, a challenge for President Joe Biden as he works to undo the restrictive immigration policies of his predecessor. Statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the number of children and families increased by more than 100% between January and February. Kids crossing by themselves rose 60% to more than 9,400, forcing the government to look for new places to hold them temporarily. The surge has been seized on by Republicans and former President Donald Trump as a line of attack on Biden, though his administration is turning back nearly all single adults, who make up the majority of border-crossers, under a public health order imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration is temporarily holding children and families, mostly from Central America, for several days. They are generally then allowed to enter the U.S. while authorities evaluate their claims to asylum or see if they have any other legal right to stay in the country. U.S. officials say that early Biden administration moves on immigration have likely been portrayed by smugglers to migrants that they will be able to cross the southwest border more easily than under Trump. Most people are still turned back. Nearly three-quarters of the more than 100,000 total people encountered at the southwest border in February were single adults, records show, and the vast majority were quickly sent back across the border to Mexico under the public health order. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Desperate health officials have been warned about scams involving fake private supplies of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines. The warning has come from AstraZeneca which said it is not selling any of its jabs privately and is focused on its commitment to provide vaccines to governments and international health organisations. The Department of Health revealed last night the taskforce overseeing the vaccine roll-out and health officials here had been alerted to various offers around the procurement of vaccines mainly the AstraZeneca jab outside of the supplies covered by advance purchase deals under the EU agreements. It said AstraZeneca has advised the Department of Health there is currently no private supply, sale or distribution of its vaccine. It has cautioned that if someone offers private vaccines, they are likely to be counterfeit. It comes as the Government is under pressure to ramp up the vaccine roll-out here which, as of last Sunday, had 525,768 doses administered with just 3pc of the population fully vaccinated. Figures from the Department of Health yesterday showed that up to the end of last week some 613,650 doses have been shipped here to date. It said 95pc of vaccines are administered within seven days of arrival and a buffer supply must be held back. Meanwhile, GPs who are administering the vaccine to the over-80s are reporting ongoing problems with deliveries of Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to surgeries this week, which in some cases are falling short of what is needed. It means that some older patients who were expecting the vaccine are having to be contacted and told their vaccination will not go ahead. HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry told the GPs that you may not receive the total order for these coming weeks but, in all instances, the amount you are to receive will be advised to you. "Any shortfall in vaccine for the over-80 age group will be allocated in your next order and so on through March with a significant ramp-up in vaccine delivery in April as increased supplies arrive in Ireland, he said. It comes as 47 more Covid-related deaths were reported yesterday, 14 of which occurred this month. A further 631 new cases of the virus were diagnosed. However, the pressure on hospitals continues to reduce with 370 Covid-19 patients hospitalised and 92 in intensive care. But there were 31 additional hospitalisations in the previous 24 hours. The National Public Health Emergency Team is expected to give the green light to an easing of visiting restrictions to nursing homes where residents and staff are vaccinated. It is expected relatives and friends will be asked to book a visit in advance and it will remain very controlled with the use of surgical masks and other measures because of the ongoing risk of infection. The latest report on outbreaks of the virus for last week shows three new outbreaks in nursing homes compared to 44 during the worst week in January. There were 17 cases of the virus in nursing homes last week, down from 93 the previous week. Most outbreaks happened in family households, rising to 259. Outbreaks among students dropped to 15 from 61 the previous week. There were 19 outbreaks in the workplace, including meat and food factories as well as the commercial sector. Dominic Raab has accused China of further 'hollowing out' democracy in Hong Kong after Beijing approved a controversial 'patriotic' plan to control elections in the city. China's parliament today approved a draft decision to change Hong Kong's electoral system. The move will further reduce democratic representation in the city's institutions and will also introduce a mechanism to ensure politicians are loyal to Beijing. Mr Raab said the decision is the 'latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate in Hong Kong, contrary to the promises made by China itself'. The Foreign Secretary said Beijing had 'further undermined confidence and trust in China living up to its international responsibilities'. The UK Government is now assessing the details of the decision to see if China has breached the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today said China's proposed changes to Hong Kong's electoral system 'is the latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate' in the city Chinese President Xi Jinping, bottom center, and Premier Li Keqiang, bottom left, arrive for the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing today The measures brought forward by China are part of its continued efforts to tighten its grip on Kong Kong. It follows the imposition of a controversial national security law in June last year which critics labelled a tool to crackdown on dissent after a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2019. Since those protests started, most high-profile democratic politicians and activists have been sent to jail or are in self-exile. Responding to the Hong Kong electoral reforms, Mr Raab said in a statement: 'This is the latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate in Hong Kong, contrary to the promises made by China itself. 'This can only further undermine confidence and trust in China living up to its international responsibilities and legal obligations, as a leading member of the international community.' China's parliament supported the proposed changes by 2,895 votes to zero with one abstention. The Liaison Office, Beijing's representative body in Hong Kong, said the 'central authorities have good intentions'. 'We expect all sectors of the community and the general public to take ownership of the work to amend the law and offer suggestions, so that a strong positive energy can be gathered under the banner of patriotism and love for Hong Kong,' it said in a statement. In a separate statement, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam pledged her 'staunch support' and expressed 'sincere gratitude'. The changes virtually eliminate any possibility of the opposition affecting the outcome of elections in the former British colony, whose return to Chinese rule in 1997 came with a promise of a high degree of autonomy. The blanket requirement for 'patriotism' raises the risk that politicians will start competing over who is more loyal to Beijing, rather than who has the better ideas for how the city should be governed, analysts have said. Hong Kong Secretary for Mainland and Constitutional Affairs Erick Tsang has defined patriotism as 'holistic love' for China, including the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. The measures will alter the size and composition of Hong Kong's legislature and an electoral committee selecting the chief executive in favour of pro-Beijing figures. The committee will also be given powers to select many city legislators. A new mechanism will be set up to vet candidates and screen election winners' behaviour to make sure only those seen as patriots rule Hong Kong. Beijing will increase the size of the electoral committee from 1,200 to 1,500, and the legislature from 70 to 90 seats. Currently half of the 70 seats in the Legislative Council are directly elected, a proportion which will shrink with the extra seats picked by the electoral committee. The other half represents industries, unions, and professions and is largely stacked with pro-Beijing figures. Transitional medicinal cannabis regulations will be extended by six months to 30 September 2021 as a result of Covid-19 to ensure certainty of supply, says Health Minister Andrew Little. The Government is committed to making the system work and continuing access to prescribed medicinal cannabis products for patients who need them, says Little. Two products from one company have been verified under the new regulations. The Government wants to see multiple suppliers for price competitiveness. Covid-19 restrictions have limited the abilities of companies to apply under the regulations, has affected global supply chains and also added challenges to suppliers seeking to have products assessed," says Little. I am mindful of the risk that wholesalers could suspend imports in advance of the April 1 deadline and this would prevent patients from accessing prescribed medicines. By extending the deadline, patients will be still able to access products, while suppliers have the additional time they need to apply to the Medicinal Cannabis Agency for verification. The Government remains committed to bringing in the new regulation standards because patients and doctors deserve to know that medicinal cannabis products contain what the ingredient list says, are free from contaminants and are safe to consume." The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019 came into effect on April 1 last year. The Regulations set a minimum quality standard for medicinal cannabis ingredients and products, and introduced a licensing regime to enable the establishment of a domestic industry to cultivate, manufacture and supply medicinal cannabis. The Health Minister will request Her Excellency the Governor-General to sign the regulations extension on March 15. Matt Hancock today revealed homeless people in England will be bumped up the Covid vaccine priority list regardless of their age. The Health Secretary said the decision recommended by the UK's top vaccination advisers would 'save more lives among those most at risk in society'. He added it was important 'nobody gets left behind'. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises No10 on who should be inoculated, has until now ranked people by their age and whether they have any serious health conditions. But the expert panel said it was now recommending the homeless were included because they 'are likely to have health conditions that put them at higher risk of death from Covid'. They will be mixed into the sixth priority group in the Government's top nine, which includes everyone between the ages of 16 and 64 who has a serious health condition. The JCVI said local NHS leaders can shorten the 12 week dosing regimen if they believe a homeless person is unlikely to show up for their appointment. Homeless charity Shelter estimates there are around 280,000 people living rough in England. It follows an announcement from Wales on Wednesday that it was bumping up homeless people on its priority list. Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to follow suit. Matt Hancock today revealed homeless people in England will be bumped up the Covid vaccine priority list regardless of their age The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises No10 on who should be inoculated, has until now focused on age and already-ill people Mr Hancock said: 'Our vaccination rollout is moving at an incredible speed, with two in every five adults now having received at least one vaccine. 'It's so important that nobody gets left behind in this national effort. 'We know there are heightened risks for those who sleep rough and today I have accepted the advice of the independent experts at the JCVI to prioritise those experiencing rough sleeping or homelessness for vaccination alongside priority group six. 'This will mean we will save more lives, among those most at risk in society.' The JCVI said people who are homeless should also be offered the vaccine without the need for an NHS number or GP registration. Its advice doesn't mean all homeless people must be vaccinated, but gives NHS bosses the flexibility to offer jabs to anyone who is homeless, regardless of their age or health status. People could be reached by the NHS if they are in emergency accommodation or by local health teams who are already aware of homeless populations. The original Everyone In national emergency accommodation for homeless people has ended now but some places are still offering homeless people housing during the pandemic. Others are likely to already be known to health chiefs in their areas, the Department of Health said. Professor Wei Shen Lim, JCVI Covid chairman, said: 'The JCVI's advice on Covid vaccine prioritisation was developed with the aim of preventing as many deaths as possible. 'People experiencing homelessness are likely to have health conditions that put them at higher risk of death from Covid. 'This advice will help us to protect more people who are at greater risk, ensuring that fewer people become seriously ill or die from the virus.' Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, welcomed No10's move to bump homeless people up the vaccine queue. He added: 'But make no mistake, the vaccine will not make homelessness safe. 'Whether it is living on the streets, or in cars and sheds, or constantly moving between friends sofas, homelessness is extremely damaging to both your physical and mental health. 'We desperately need a plan to ensure everyone has a safe and secure home.' U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken / AP-Yonhap By Do Je-hae Washington's negative stance about easing sanctions on Iran, including those covering about $7 billion in Iranian funds frozen in Korean banks, is likely to make it harder for Seoul to resolve the issue of a Korean tanker seized by Tehran, as resolving the financial issue is believed to be a priority in getting it released. During an appearance at the House Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed some media reports that part of the funds at the Korean banks could be released. "Unless and until Iran comes back into compliance, they won't be getting that relief and the report you referred to is simply incorrect," Blinken said. His remarks came amid rising tension between the U.S. and Iran over a nuclear deal and Iran's call for the lifting of sanctions. Under the circumstances, the remarks from the top U.S. diplomat are seen as aggravating the dilemma faced by Seoul, which has sought to resolve the issue of the frozen assets, one of the biggest obstacles to bilateral relations. Earlier this year, a Korean tanker and its crew members were seized by Tehran. Currently, the $7 billion from oil sales by Iran are being held in the two banks due to the U.S. sanctions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has tried to resolve the issue with Iran through active diplomacy, with First Vice Minister Choi Jong-kun visiting the country in January. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong also spoke with Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, Feb. 24, and underlined Seoul's efforts for progress on outstanding bilateral issues, such as the frozen assets and the release of the Korean vessel and its captain, who is also still being held by Tehran despite the release of his crewmembers. "Foreign Minister Chung called for the early release of the Korean-flagged vessel Hankuk Chemi and its captain. In response to Foreign Minister Zarif's request for an early resolution of the issue of Iranian funds frozen in Korea, Chung explained that the government was making its best efforts with sincerity," the ministry said in a statement. In February, Iran announced Tehran and Seoul had reached a deal under which the money would be transferred to its desired destination. In response, Seoul said at the time that it may release part of the funds after getting Washington's agreement. "If the U.S. does not agree to the release of the funds, there is not much Korea can do since it cannot go against the sanctions," said Shin Beom-chul, director at the Center for Diplomacy and National Security at the Research Institute for Economy and Society in Seoul. "Blinken's remarks present a challenge for Seoul to manage the situation well so that the prolonged freezing of the funds won't further aggravate bilateral relations and negatively impact the ongoing efforts for the release of the Korean ship and its captain." Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul said Secretary Blinken's principled approach on the frozen Iranian funds was good news for Korean national interests. "It allows Seoul to resist extortion even while making every reasonable effort to cooperate with Tehran. This also sends a signal to North Korea that international sanctions will be strictly enforced but can be relaxed upon compliance with denuclearization agreements." Condemning the alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee on Thursday said that the party will raise the incident of the attack with the Election Commission. Hitting out at the attackers of the TMC supremo, the party Minister said, "Those who are cowards have been constantly trying to stop Mamata, but no one could stop her." Partha Chatterjee condemns attack on CM Mamata Calling the attack on the West Bengal CM a "conspiracy", Chatterjee while speaking to the reporters outside the hospital where Mamata Banerjee has been admitted said, "First the state's Additional Director General of Police (ADG) law and order was changed, after that the state Director General of Police was removed, now this incident happened." Partha Chatterjee said that the TMC party leaders have decided to go to the Election Commission and keep this matter in front of the constitutional authority. Mamata injured during Nandigram campaign' Hours after filing her nomination from Nandigram, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee abruptly left her on-ground campaign claiming that she was attacked and sustained a leg injury. CM Mamata Banerjee has alleged that she was attacked by 4-5 people while she was returning after performing puja in a temple at Barulia Bazar in Nandigram, adding that no security official was present when she was attacked. The Bengal CM has said that she will lodge a formal complaint with the Election Commission, before rushing to Kolkata to seek medical attention. #WATCH:"Not even one Police official was present. 4-5 people intentionally manhandled me in presence of public. No local police present during program not even SP. It was definitely a conspiracy. There were no police officials for 4-5 hrs in such huge public gathering" says WB CM pic.twitter.com/wJ9FbL96nX ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2021 Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee will release her party's manifesto on Thursday at TMC's head office - Kalighat, Kolkata. Sources report that the manifesto will have '10 commitments of Mamata Banerjee' similar to Nitish Kumar's Saath Nischay' or DMK chief M K Stalin's '7 poll promises'. Moreover, sources state that the manifesto will focus on creating jobs, water supply with tap water connections, free ration delivery at home. BJP has reportedly attacked TMC over leaks in PDS, lack of tap water connections. Bengal is set to go to polls in 8 phases - March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26, and April 29 with results to be announced on May 2. Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan could not resist a dig when he received a $7.3 million bill from NSW last week for putting WA residents up in hotel quarantine. He posted on his Facebook page an image of the bill going through a paper shredder, adding: We ... never sent NSW a bill for the pain and hurt caused when the NSW government let the virus go rampant off the Ruby Princess. (Queenslands Deputy Premier Steven Miles also posted on Facebook a video of himself shredding his states invoice from NSW.) Yet Mr McGowans comment is evidence in itself that NSW did pay a price for the Ruby Princess. One year after the cruise liner sailed through the Sydney Heads and spilled hundreds of coronavirus-infected passengers down its gangway after border procedures were tightened, cruise ships were banned and hotel quarantine became mandatory for returning travellers the episode continues to be raised as a symbol of ineptitude. The Ruby Princess framed the way that the pandemic was managed in ways that are still playing out. Rising magma and empty coffers, following an allegation of embezzlement, has left volcano watchers in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo worried that they will not be able to provide an early warning if a volcano towering over the city of Goma erupts. Xu Wenguang, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Quzhou Municipal Committee, called for improved care and services for the elderly and school-age children during this year's session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature. In one of his proposals submitted to the session, the deputy to the 13th NPC called for the country to give more care to its senior residents, especially those with only one child in their families, as China transitions to an aging society. At the end of 2019, China had 254 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for 18.1% of the national population. The number is expected to exceed 300 million in the next five years, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. This has brought unprecedented challenges to the traditional form of home-based elderly care, creating a growing number of empty nesters and giving mounting pressure to those families with only one child, Xu said. He called for policy support for senior citizens with one or no children through measures such as providing additional living allowances as well as discounts for those who choose to live in nursing homes. He also said that he hopes the society will pay more attention to the physical and mental wellbeing of seniors who have lost their children, and suggested government organizations to provide mental care to those people through volunteering services. In another proposal on school-age children, Xu said China should scale up the practice of providing lunch to students in primary and secondary schools to ensure that they have sufficient food and nutrients intake, reduce infection risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and relieve parents' burdens. In response to issues on students' after-school hours, Xu wrote in his proposal suggesting schools set up student care centers that offer homework supervision, tutoring, and other services. He said these centers on school grounds can provide students from disadvantaged backgrounds with a structured environment that they may not otherwise have access to. "They are also opportunities to cultivate good work habits and discipline among the students," Xu said. "Moreover, parents who don't have time to pick up their kids on time won't have to worry, as their kids will be in a safe and familiar environment," he said. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Tre Williams scored 14 points and Jamal Mashburn Jr. 11 and Minnesota snapped a seven-game skid with a 51-46 win over Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Conference tournament. The Golden Gophers advance to play fifth seed, and No. 9 ranked, Ohio State on Thursday. Minnesota pulled out the win despite shooting a paltry 37% (18 for 49) while making just 10 of 24 (42%) from the foul line. Down the stretch, however, the Wildcats didnt help their cause when, with a 46-39 lead with 4:20 to go, they never scored again. Marcus Carr drained back-to-back fadeaway jumpers and 2 of 3 foul shots in a 90-second span and the Golden Gophers led 49-46. Miller Kopp led Northwestern with nine points. We're still staring at Canoo's unusual electric pick-up that looks set to take on Tesla's Cybertruck. We're also thinking on why Apple's iPhone 12 Mini has struggled. But today we're starting with some sad news. The former Philips engineer who invented the first compact cassette tape, Lou Ottens, has passed away at the age of 94. Cassette tapes had a major impact on music culture, offering listeners the ability to easily create their own albums and playlists, recording from different sources, like other tapes and live radio. Like a lot of people in my generation, I owned a dual-cassette boombox in my childhood, just please dont ask me about my music tastes. Cassette tapes were subsequently usurped by compact discs (which Ottens also helped develop) and then digital music and streaming services. Having said that, tapes persist. In 2016, sales of cassettes increased by 74 percent. Mat Smith The company will build several electric vehicles on one platform. This design certainly takes a different approach to Tesla's edgy Cybertruck and is even going to stand out as electric pickups from Rivian, Ford and others start to hit the streets. The specs promise more than 200 miles of range on a charge, with up to 600 HP and 550 lb-ft of torque in a dual-motor configuration and a payload capacity of up to 1,800 pounds. At 76 inches, it's one inch taller than Tesla's Cybertruck but notably shorter than GMC's 81.1-inch tall Hummer EV. It's also short in length compared to those competitors at just 184 inches, but a pull-out bed extension brings the total length to 213 inches. Continue reading. Reports suggest Apple is slashing production by at least 70 percent. Apple is slashing production of the iPhone 12 mini through the first six months of the year, according to Nikkei. The company will reportedly produce at least 70 percent fewer units than it planned and backs previous suggestions that the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini isn't selling as well as other models. There are certainly drawbacks to the mini, like its battery life, but there are also few phones as small and as high-specced as the mini iPhone 12 it might just be a niche proposition. Continue reading. Yeah, the company skipped number 4. It's only been a little over seven months since ASUS launched its ROG Phone 3 gaming smartphone, but the company is already releasing a follow-up model, the ROG Phone 5 (skipping 4 due to tetraphobia). There are some minor cosmetic changes, but also better heat dissipation, weight distribution and audio performance. Those audio improvements seem to be the focus: Better component choices mean theres more space inside the ROG Phone 5 for the front-facing speakers. Continue reading. It looks like a spiritual successor to Turtles in Time. TMNT If cassettes werent nostalgic enough, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is sure to delight anyone who remembers 90s arcade scrolling beat-em-ups. The new game, developed by Dotemu (Streets of Rage 4) and Tribute Games (Mercenary Kings), is a four-player brawler that looks like a natural successor to Turtles in Time. No quarters needed. Continue reading. What will the show look like when it kicks off on June 28th? The GSMA is sticking to plans for an in-person Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this June just without a few marquee names. A handful of companies, including Oracle, smartphone maker Sony and networking firms Nokia and Ericsson, have all confirmed they will not attend the show. There are also strict travel restrictions for would-be attendees. The website for the US Embassy in Spain and Andorra says that entry into the country is not allowed unless they meet very specific requirements or have already obtained special permission from the Government of Spain. Continue reading. It promises "the best still and video performance in Nikon history." Nikon Nikon has announced it's developing the Z9, a flagship full-frame mirrorless Z mount model with "the best still and video performance in Nikon history." The new model will ship in 2021 with 8K video and other advanced features. Expect the very best from Nikon and a price tag to match. There's no word yet on pricing, but Nikon has promised more information in the months to come. Continue reading. But wait, theres more... How to organize your desk at home Adobe Photoshop is now available natively on M1 Macs 'Valorant' pro Sinatraa has been suspended amid sexual assault allegations HTC shrinks its VR Tracker, debuts new face-tracking accessory Apple to invest over $1 billion in new Munich silicon facility The best smart lights for your bedroom Apple rejected Parler's latest attempt to come back to the App Store ESPN+ live sports and originals are now available on Hulu Polestar's latest EV concept is an adorable three-wheeled cargo sled Illustration: Chen Xia/GT The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as Quad, between the US, Japan, India, and Australia has been seen as a group to counter China. But the four-country group hasn't formed a cohesive force from within. Instead, the four have been busy with their own calculations. The US will hold the first leaders-level meeting of the Quad on Friday. Various topics involving China will be discussed. Days before the meeting, Japan, India, and Australia couldn't help but again hype the "China threat." Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the telephone on Tuesday, when they shared "serious concerns regarding unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China seas, China's Coast Guard Law and the situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region." On the same day, Japan's ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, told The Australian Financial Review Business Summit that Australia "is not walking alone" in dealing with China as Japan had similar experiences "about 10 years ago." These interactions before the Quad summit have reiterated the cliche over China, trying to create an image that the group is united. The three countries aim to strengthen deterrence against China by bolstering each other's boldness. They were also aiding the US strategy to step up pressure on China. The current framework of the Quad was built during Trump's presidency to serve US strategic competition with China. The US is fond of forming an alliance against a certain country, because it believes it can stack the odds in its favor and economize the consumption of its diplomatic and financial resources. Prompted by the intent to contain China, the Biden administration has continued this aggressive and confrontational posture. But today, as the interests of countries are diversified, it is impossible for them to blindly follow the US' steps just because of Washington's claims. There is not much the US can give to its allies in exchange. Not to mention that the US' selfish nature has become increasingly known to the world. Against this backdrop, US allies who have a complex relationship with China apparently cannot count on the US to compensate for their losses when they follow Washington to confront China. Hence, it is not in line with their pursuits to judge what they should do from only the dimension of US geopolitical struggles against China. Even though Canberra is a resolute follower of Washington, people in Australia are struggling with the deterioration in China-Australia relations. For example, on the same occasion when Yamagami tried to show sympathy to Australia, Jane Golley, director of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University, called for an end to the megaphone diplomacy on China and for trying to work behind the scenes. Japan and India's attitudes toward China are more complicated. It is obviously not in their interests to make them stand one-sidedly against China. Particularly India. New Delhi's move to reopen the door to Chinese investment after border disengagement has clearly shown that India needs cooperation with China rather than long-standing confrontation. The Quad is not an alliance of like-minded countries as the US claims. The three countries other than the US would probably take a tactic of coordinating with the US in narratives while sticking to their own approaches on China, so as to deal with the embarrassment of being between the pressure from the US and their own interests with China. Before they can assure that they will not be brought into another pit by the US, perhaps they have no other choice but to find relief in bolstering each other's boldness. Kevin Kuhnash, the former CEO of Indiana-based plastics manufacturer Lucent Polymers, Inc., was sentenced on March 2, 2021 to 36 months of imprisonment and one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. The SEC previously charged Kuhnash for his alleged role in a scheme to conceal that Lucent's core business model was a sham in connection with the company's acquisition by another manufacturer in 2013. According to the SEC's complaint, Lucent routinely lied to its customers and falsified its certifications of test data to show that its products complied with customer specifications, including on important aspects such as fire-retardant measures. Kuhnash allegedly hid Lucent's fraudulent practices, made misrepresentations to the company that acquired Lucent, and continued the fraud even after the sale of the business. On July 28, 2020, Kuhnash pleaded guilty to two counts of securities fraud and one count of money laundering. The criminal fraud charges against Kuhnash were based on the same misconduct underlying the SEC's complaint. The SEC's litigation, which was stayed pending resolution of the criminal action, continues. The SEC's complaint charges Kuhnash and Lucent's former CEO, Jason Jimerson, with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, civil monetary penalties, and officer-and-director bars. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California walks from the House floor March 2 during the vote on the Democrats $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill on Capitol Hill in Washington. Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. An organised mum-of-three from Sydney has shocked hundreds online after sharing images of her neat and tidy 'junk' cupboard. Posting to the Organising Ideas Australia Facebook group, Lyndall revealed she arranged the cupboard using several budget drawers from The Reject Shop. 'What do you do with all the little bits and pieces you can't live without and need in a pinch yet have nowhere to live? Well this is my solution!' she wrote online. 'Here I have carefully sorted through all the cables, tools, sticky thingies and fixings to make them super easy to find!' Posting to the Organising Ideas Australia Facebook group, Lyndall revealed she arranged the cupboard using several budget drawers from The Reject Shop Using her Dymo label maker, the junk cupboard was split into various categories to ensure the separate small items can be found swiftly. Some of the categories included batteries, scissors, power adaptors, adhesives, key rings and pliers. 'We just moved house so I need these bits and pieces on the daily while unpacking and organising our new home! So easy to find what I need,' she said. Using her Dymo label maker, the junk cupboard was split into various categories to ensure the separate items can be found swiftly The social media post quickly caught the attention of other parents who praised the woman and her organisational skills. 'That's so impressively organised. Well done!' one woman wrote. 'I absolutely love this idea! I would love to do something similar under the kitchen sink,' another wrote. A third added: 'Absolutely brilliant, I need help with my 'stuff' in my sewing/craft room.' Another described the incredible organisation as 'next level'. China's Parliament on Thursday adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan, the mega blueprint containing billions of dollars worth of projects, including the controversial hydropower project on the river in close to the Arunachal Pradesh border over which India has raised concerns. The National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislature with over 2,000 members mostly drawn from the ruling Communist Party, adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for national economic and social development and the long-range objectives through the year 2035, on the last day of its six-day session on Thursday, official media reported. Attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other senior leaders, the NPC approved a development blueprint which contains 60 proposals for speeding up China's development. It was passed by the Communist Party of (CPC) last year. The 14th Five-Year plan included building the dam on the lower reaches of the river over which India and Bangladesh, the riparian states, have raised concerns. has downplayed such anxieties saying it would keep their interests in mind. As a lower riparian State with considerable established user rights to the waters of the trans-border rivers, the Indian government has consistently conveyed its views and concerns to the Chinese authorities and has urged them to ensure that the interests of downstream States are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas. Che Dalha, deputy Communist Party chief of the Autonomous Region, said during the NPC session that authorities there should strive to begin construction (of the dam) this year. Comprehensive planning and environmental impact assessments for the project should be approved as soon as possible, he said last Saturday on the sidelines of the NPC session, Hong Kong-based South Morning Post quoted a press release from the provincial government in The Rolls Royce XWB engine assembly line at the Rolls-Royce's aero engine factory in Derby. Photo: PA Engineering giant Rolls-Royce (RR.L) has posted a mammoth 4bn ($5.6bn) loss for 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated its aviation business. Rolls-Royce, which makes and services engines for aeroplanes, said it made an underlying loss of 3.95bn last year as revenue dropped by almost a third to 11.7bn. The company recorded a loss of 3.1bn on a reported basis and made an operating loss of 2.1bn. Chief executive Warren East said 2020 was "an unprecedented year" and the impact of COVID-19 was "felt most acutely by our Civil Aerospace business." The grounding of planes around the world led to plummeting demand for both new engines and the servicing of existing ones, which is where Rolls-Royce makes most of its money. WATCH: Rolls-Royce downgrades 2021 outlook READ MORE: Rolls-Royce to cut at least 9,000 jobs Rolls-Royce's civil aviation arm lost 2.5bn last year, which offset small profits at its power systems and defence businesses. Last May, Rolls-Royce announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs as part of a painful restructure to stem losses. East said on Thursday the decisions was "regrettable, but unfortunately very necessary." More than 4bn left the business last year. Rolls-Royce said it was targeting free cash flow generation by the middle of this year. READ MORE: Rolls-Royce job cuts a 'body blow' to town where turbojets born Jack Winchester, an analyst at Third Bridge, said the cash outflow "really does bring into focus the deep pain caused by the pandemic." "This is a business which has been producing positive cash flows in the hundreds of millions basically since the turn of the millennium," he said. With a painfully large cash burn rate, all eyes will be on the fledgling air travel recovery people are hoping for." Despite the large annual loss, revenue was slightly ahead of City forecasts and analysts were buoyed by the forecast of a return to free cash flow. Shares rose over 3% to top the FTSE 100 (^FTSE). Story continues Rolls-Royce shares jumped on the annual numbers. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK "We have made a good start on our programme of disposals and will continue with this in 2021," East said. "We continue to invest in developing market-leading technology and low carbon opportunities in all our end markets, to create value for our stakeholders and ensure we are well positioned to take advantage of the transition to a lower carbon economy and growing demand for more sustainable power solutions." Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "The company still isnt out of the woods yet, announcing that it is likely going to have shut its factories in the summer for two weeks to help stem the losses." WATCH: How to prevent getting into debt TAMPA, Fla., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After eight years in business, 50% year-over-year growth in the past three years, and ranking among national realty firms, Pineywoods is expanding through branching and licensing opportunities for real estate agents and brokers around the country. Agents will have the opportunity to branch or license Tampa-based Pineywoods Realty's name in a new market, quickly establishing an office and building a brand by leveraging Pineywoods Realty's past successes and experience. From among 1,277 other offices in the Tampa market, the 2020 Multiple Listing Services (MLS) ranked Pineywoods Realty's Tampa office at number 14 for transactions, with 1,323 transactions, and number 15 for volume, having earned $287,882 Million in total sales. Pineywoods Realty has proven its brand power across the state of Florida with a home office in Tampa and agents across the state, including Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando. "We've built a culture and business that people really love to be a part of," said Ryan Chamblee, Managing Broker for Pineywoods Realty. "We're an all-service platform, so it makes the process seamless, especially for young entrepreneurs. And we've cultivated an environment that's unlike others in our industry." Becoming a Pineywoods Realty office starts as a two-way street: prospective agents and the Pineywoods Realty team both interview one another to ensure a good business and culture fit. After discussing the different short- and long-term investment methods and what each side can expect, they can begin to discuss specific office details, such as operations and other complimentary service offerings. Pineywoods Realty has been growing across the state, with a new office set to open this spring on Anna Maria Island, led by Pineywoods Realty's co-founder and former managing broker, Lawrence Vargas. "Every year we have top-producing agents join our team from other high-profile firms,'" Chamblee said. "When other agents in the area see that move, they take note and follow them because those agents have done their research. They also see an opportunity to be a part of a great company culture." Despite many businesses slowing down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the real estate market has been on the rise and is expected to continue this substantial growth in 2021 due to limited inventory. An office territory allows a realtor or team to hit the ground running, aligning themselves with a company that has proven brand strength and back-end support. To learn more about branching and licensing with Pineywoods Realty, contact Ryan Chamblee at (813) 225-1890 or send an email to [email protected]. About Pineywoods Realty: Pineywoods Realty, part of the Pineywoods platform and named after the native Florida cattle, is an all-in-one real estate solution that offers an entrepreneurial and efficient approach for agents, property managers, buyers and sellers. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., the Pineywoods platform functions as a catch-all for real estate needs. Media Contact: Macey Wilson [email protected] 813-258-5858 X2430 SOURCE Pineywoods Realty 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. HSE boss Paul Reid has said it is bizarre that the health board is held responsible for missed vaccination targets and not the suppliers. Mr Reid was particularly critical of AstraZeneca, saying the HSEs confidence in the company had been rocked after a series of missed delivery targets. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has sought a meeting with the AstraZeneca CEO next week, to discuss the issues around production and supply, a move backed by Mr Reid. The HSE chief executive has cast doubt on whether the supplier will be able to meet its full commitment to supply 377,000 vaccines by the end of the quarter. Expand Close The Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine (Danny Lawson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine (Danny Lawson/PA) Mr Reid said: There was one delivery where we would be expecting 52,000 and we would get an early forecast, sorry thats 26,000 and then very shortly before that wed get an indication that its less than 10,000. Thats the environment which were trying to operate in, and were being held accountable for missing our targets which is bizarre. Were delivering, it is delivered efficiently, effectively and safely within a very reasonable timeframe for everything that we get. Weve demonstrated that since the first week of this campaign. Weve obviously been keeping the Taoiseach and everybody else informed of the unpredictability of the supply. As we look towards the rest of the quarter, the indications were for the rest of the quarter were 377,000 from AstraZeneca. Im not sure they will meet that full commitment, based on what weve seen and what weve heard so far. Mr Reid said the shifting delivery schedules are impacting on the HSEs ability to effectively administer the vaccines. We are operating in very real time in our distribution of vaccines. You know, 95% of what we get in any given week is administered within that week. In fact at times its 95% within three days of distribution and administration he said. He said that in recent weeks the HSE was given only 48 hours notice that vaccines to be administered over the weekend would not be available. The HSE has forecasted between 75,000 to 85,000 of vaccines will be administered next week. But Mr Reid admitted that there has been no clarity from AstraZeneca if it will meet its delivery targets for next week. Right now, people aged 80 and older are being offered a free COVID-19 vaccine. You donat need to register in advance. When your vaccine is available, your GP will let you know. Visit https://t.co/cC4nQ2Dbxq #HoldFirm #CovidVaccine pic.twitter.com/UJoxWFvfMj HSE Ireland (@HSELive) March 11, 2021 He said: There has been dialogue with them again today to get clarity. I dont have that clarity on confirmation of deliveries for next week. Thats the level of detail were dealing with right now, what is next week, can you confirm it? Our conference levels have been fairly rocked with them in terms of delivery and supply. AstraZeneca came in for heavy criticism in the Dail earlier on Thursday, with Tanaiste Leo Varadkar questioning how the company was able to meet its commitments to the United States and the UK, but not the EU. We dont find it satisfactory and the European Union doesnt find it satisfactory either, he said. An Australian Financial Review business summit this week became a platform for the corporate elite and the crisis-wracked Liberal-National Coalition government to escalate their drive to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to intensify the decades-long offensive against the jobs, wages and conditions of the working class. Ever-more anxious to satisfy the demands of big business, Prime Minister Scott Morrison laid out an agenda with three main planks to boost corporate profits: 1. End all COVID-19 lockdowns, border closures and other safety restrictions, 2. Launch a massive temporary migration program to supply employers with cheap labour, and 3. Scrap or cut the wage subsidy and welfare payments to coerce workers into low-paid jobs. Morrison addressing the summit [Screenshot afrsummit.com/] On the first front, the financial newspaper reported: States and territories must abandon their policy of eradication and stop closing borders every time there is a small outbreak of the coronavirus, because the vaccine rollout is lessening the health risk and the economic recovery is at stake, business and political leaders say. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and Morrison were part of a concerted push to insist that governments had to put faith in the vaccine rollout and drop their obsession with having zero cases every day. With his governments survival in question as a result of rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter, amplified and driven by corporate media, Morrison emphasised that he understands the business frustration with the continuation of pandemic restrictions that cut across the full reopening of the economy. Morrison told the gathering that encouraging signs from Israel and Britain about the efficacy of vaccines meant Australia could soon start treating the coronavirus as nothing more than a bad flu. A new risk management approach was needed that gave greater consideration to economic risk, compared to health imperatives. Berejiklian, whose Coalition state government was put on notice when she faced her own media scandal last year, won applause for leading the charge. She declared that as the most vulnerable people were immunised, success measured by zero cases a day is a flawed model. Border closures were an embarrassment. Joyce, the Qantas chief, underscored the profit interests at stake. He claimed that had it not been for a COVID-19 cluster in Sydney over Christmas and the other states shutting their borders, Qantas would have been back to 100 percent domestic capacity, rather than the current 60 percent. Despite the continuing global pandemic and the spread of new more transmissible coronavirus variants, Joyce and CSL chief executive Paul Perreault urged the reopening of international borders. The sooner the better, Perreault said. On the second front, Morrison flagged an uncapped temporary migration scheme to fill jobs that he said Australian workers refused to do. Temporary workers would be compelled by visa conditions to take low-paid and insecure jobs, and denied the right to even apply for permanent residency or citizenship unless they remained in them. Answering questions, Morrison placed no limit on the proposed scheme, saying temporary work visas were always demand-driven by the needs of employers. Areas in dire need included hospitality and agriculture, and another 1 million aged-care workers alone would be needed by 2050. Temporary visas would enable the government to direct workers to where employers required them. Conditionality is one of the great advantages of the temporary visa program. You cant put conditions on permanent visas, he said. On the third front, Morrison reiterated his governments decisions to axe the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme and the welfare payment coronavirus supplement on March 28. These measures were adopted a year ago to provide businesses with multi-billion dollar stimulus packages and to prevent a social and political crisis over the highest unemployment levels since the 1930s Great Depression. The programs are now being terminated, directly exposing more than 2.5 million workers to unemployment and sub-poverty JobSeeker dole benefits on $44 a day, in order to further push them onto low wages and poor conditions. Morrison said mutual obligations on dole recipients were being ratcheted-up as a means of tackling large gaps in the workforce produced by the previous reliance of employers on tens of thousands of backpackers, as well as Pacific islanders, international students and other temporary visa holders. Jobless workers face being cut off benefits unless they apply for 20 jobs a month, even though there are, on average, about 10 unemployed or underemployed workers for every vacancy. This jobs crisis is about to worsen, and that will be used to intensify the pressure on workers. According to a Commonwealth Bank report this week, around 900,000 workers will still rely on JobKeeper in the days before it is scrapped on March 28, and some 110,000 will then lose their jobs, particularly in the transport, arts and recreation, accommodation and food services industries. Another report, by CreditorWatchs latest Business Risk Review, pointed to the added prospect of widespread bankruptcies of small and medium-sized business. It said the number of external administrations had soared 61 percent in February compared to the previous month. Although insolvency protection laws ended on January 1, businesses with debts of under $1 million were given an additional three months to work with an insolvency practitioner to restructure their operations. Under these conditions, Morrison outlined the governments intent to start clawing back, from social spending, the mountains of cash handed to the financial elite through last years bailout packages. He said the federal, state and territory governments had poured in a total of $398 billion, or 19.5 percent of gross domestic product, over 12 months. Its not sustainable, he declared. Because you simply cannot run the Australian economy on taxpayers money forever. In his bid for continued business backing, Morrison claimed that Australia was leading the world out of the global pandemic and the global recession it caused. In reality, millions of workers remain unemployed or under-employed and the Department of Health secretary, Brendan Murphy signalled yesterday that the government would not reach its target to vaccinate four million people by early April. Significantly, Morrison boasted of forming the bipartisan National Cabinet a year ago, bringing together the federal, state and territory government leadersthe majority of whom are from the Labor Partyto achieve unprecedented cooperation. As if to reinforce this united front, federal Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese was the opening speaker on the summits second day. Facing mounting moves against his leadership, he was asked by the Financial Reviews political editor Phil Coorey how Labor would improve its dealings with the business community. In response, Albanese recalled his service to the corporate elite during the last federal Labor government of 20072010. You can look at what I did. I created Infrastructure Australia and the urban policy forum. That gave the business community a seat at the table to allocate capital, he said. As the summit demonstrated, while the pandemic has not, so far, had the same devastating public health impact as in most other countries, it is being used no less than anywhere else in the world to restructure working and social conditions for the benefit of the wealthiest layers of the ruling class. Albaneses pledge to big businessreiterating his constant theme since being installed as leader following Labors 2019 election debacleshows that Labor and its trade union partners will seek to continue to police that offensive. Regardless of whether Morrisons government survives, or whether Albanese is ousted as Labor leader, this assault can be answered only by workers breaking out of the Labor-union straitjacket and building new genuine working class organisations to fight for a socialist program based on social need, not private profit. Food delivery services like Zomato and Swiggy have captured the market beyond our imagination, with more of us ordering food from these apps instead of going to restaurants. If you have an idea about how it works, you would surely know that these apps have tie-ups with restaurants wherein delivery personnel pick up your food and deliver it to your doorsteps. Interestingly, when it comes to Zomato, there have been a few instances where the delivery people have landed in trouble and created a stir online. Here are three such incidents: 1. Delivery Boy Punches A Woman In Bengaluru This is a recent case that has gone viral, evoking shocking reactions from people on social media. Hitesha Chandranee, a make-up artist, has alleged that she was attacked by a delivery boy. The incident occurred in Electronic City in the afternoon on March 9. A police complaint has been filed after Chandranee shared the video narrating the entire incident. I ordered food from Zomato as I was working since morning. I ordered food around 3:30 pm, which was supposed to get delivered by 4:30 pm, and I did not get the order on time, so I was constantly following up with the Zomato customer care that either give me free delivery for the same or just cancel the order Hitesha says in the video. And then the Zomato delivery guy came here. He was so rude I didnt open the full door, I spoke to him from a gap in the door and told him I was talking to the customer care I told him I dont want the order since it was very late. But he refused to take the order and started screaming, bloody I am your slave or what It felt so threatening, I got scared and I tried to push the door. But he was so huge, he pushed back the door, snatched the order back from me and punched me. Then he ran away she added in another video on Instagram. Heres the video: 2. Delivery Boy Eating Customers Food In another embarrassing incident, the food delivery company found itself in major trouble after a video of one of the delivery persons eating food from each packet he was to deliver went viral. He then repackaged them and put them back in his delivery bag. The delivery boy was sacked by the company after the incident. The company released a statement saying, We would like to reiterate that given our multiple communication channels with users, who expect the highest standards from Zomato and highlight the smallest of deviations to us as soon as they receive their orders, this is a highly unusual and a rare case. We take this very seriously and will soon introduce tamper-proof tapes, and other precautionary measures to ensure we add an extra layer of safeguard against such behaviour. Some people genuinely felt bad for the delivery boy who was left jobless because of the incident. 3. Delivery Boys Religion Is Targeted A Twitter user Amit Shukla, after ordering food through Zomato, cancelled his order as the food delivery company had allocated 'a non-Hindu rider' for his delivery. "Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non-hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation I said you can't force me to take a delivery I don't want don't refund just cancel," Amit Shukla tweeted tagging the food delivery company. Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation I said you can't force me to take a delivery I don't want don't refund just cancel (@Amit_shukla999) July 30, 2019 "Food doesn't have a religion. It is a religion," the company tweeted in response to the customer's request for a change of the rider. Food doesnt have a religion. It is a religion. https://t.co/H8P5FlAw6y zomato india (@zomatoin) July 31, 2019 What do you have to say about these incidents? Let us know in the comments section below. The French Space Forces Command has begun its first military exercises in space in a bid to test its ability to defend its satellites. According to Deutsche Welle media outlet, Michel Friedling, who is the head of the countrys Space Command, called the exercises stress test of the Forces systems and said that they were a first for the French army and even a first in Europe. During the drill, which began on Monday and is set to last until Friday, the French military will monitor a potentially dangerous space object as well as a threat to its own satellites from another foreign power possessing a considerable space force. The French army said, "#AsterX2021 Launch of the first space exercise in @CNES. Led by the French Air Force and Space Command, this tactical and operational training exercise for military space operations prepares space fighters". #AsterX2021 Lancement du premier exercice spatial au @CNES. Pilote par le Commandement de lespace de larmee de lAir et de lEspace, cet exercice tactique et operatif dentrainement aux operations spatiales militaires prepare les combattants spatiaux. https://t.co/aFGtSzmlXh pic.twitter.com/GGTLhQbdvZ Armee de l'Air et de l'Espace (@Armee_de_lair) March 10, 2021 The US Space Force and German space agencies are also taking part in the French exercises. The military drill is part of the French governments strategy to make the country the worlds third-largest space power. Apart from the military exercises in space, France also plans to develop anti-satellite laser weapons. Further, the country also plans to strengthen surveillance capabilities in an area that it believes could become a major theatre of confrontation between powers on Earth. France needs to act It is worth noting that the French Space Forces Command, Commandement de lEspace (CdE), was created back in 2019 and it is set to have 500 personnel by 2025. According to the media outlet, investments in the space programme are also set to reach $5 billion in the same six-period a fraction of what is being spent by the US and China. Back in 2019, the French Defence Minister Florence Parly had said that the countrys allies and adversaries are militarizing space because of which France needs to act. Meanwhile, the military drill comes after a Russian spy-satellite had tried to approach a Franco-Italian satellite in what Paris called an act of espionage. In 2017, Russias Olymp-K attempted to intercept transmissions from the Athena-Fidus satellite which is used by both Italian and French armies for secure communications. In 2020, the United States also accused Russia of having conducted a non-destructive test of an anti-satellite weapon from space. (Rep image: Unsplash) WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The European Union (EU) will join the dynamic digital experience of South by Southwest (SXSW) Online for its annual [email protected] event, highlighting European innovation and culture. From March 16 through 20, the festival will for the first time be virtual and accessible to global audiences with keynotes, conference sessions, world-class networking, and the unexpected discoveries that are always part of SXSW. "This year's festival comes at a special time for the EU-US relationship," said European Union Ambassador to the United States Stavros Lambrinidis. "We are witnessing the dawn of a new transatlantic era with a strong focus on how Europe and the United States can collaborate on everything from digital transformation to the greening of our economies. And that collaborative spirit how we can work closely together and learn from each other is very much at the heart of our South by Southwest programming." Notable speakers include European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager; U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar; European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel; European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova; Director-General for Research and Innovation Jean-Eric Paquet; Co-Founder and President, Center for Humane Technology Tristan Harris; and Michelle Patron, Senior Director of Sustainability Policy, Microsoft. Join the EU for thought-provoking discussions and presentations about connectivity, collaboration, and innovation. Learn how to participate in EU-funded research, take part in a future-focused discussion about what a new social contract for big tech could look like, and discover how privacy and surveillance have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics range from Europe's recently released "Democracy Action Plan" to the latest in tech. The EU will participate in the SXSW Panel Picker official events, which require a SXSW badge for access, as well as five open-to-all conversations. The SXSW Panel Picker events can be viewed by logging in with a SXSW Online badge at sxsw.com and will be available for streaming from March 16-20. Select discussions will be livestreamed on the official [email protected] website ( euintheus.org/SXSW ). [email protected] is free to attend. For a full schedule and all registration links, please visit www.euintheus.org/SXSW. The event hashtag is #EUatSXSW. For all media requests regarding [email protected], please contact [email protected] . SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States Related Links eeas.europa.eu With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging on, Louis Vuitton decided to unveil their latest collection during a virtual fashion week event on Wednesday. And Olivia Culpo looked more than runway ready as she appeared on Instagram in full Louis Vuitton get-up. 'Virtual fashion week continues @LouisVuitton #LVFW21 @nicolasghesquiere,' captioned the 28-year-old actress, who boasts 4.7million followers. Fashion forward: Olivia Culpo looked more than runway ready as she appeared on Instagram in full Louis Vuitton get-up Virtual event: 'Virtual fashion week continues @LouisVuitton #LVFW21 @nicolasghesquiere,' captioned the 28-year-old actress, who boasts 4.7million followers Culpo, posing before a white backdrop, slipped her slender physique into a mod shift dress featuring vibrant hues of yellow, blue, and red. The unique dress had a graphic pattern splattered across the front of it and a yellow statement sleeve. Olivia threw on a pair of bright red Louis Vuitton boots with gold hardware and an exaggerated silhouette. As for her makeup look, the former girlfriend of Nick Jonas rocked a bright red lip and enhanced her brown peepers with a bit of neutral toned shadows. Vibrant: Culpo, posing before a white backdrop, slipped her slender physique into a mod shift dress featuring vibrant hues of yellow, blue, and red Accessorize: To complete her primary toned ensemble, Olivia carried her virtual fashion week essentials in a Louis Vuitton bag featuring the brand's iconic monicker and rocked a pair of red cateye shades Her lengthy brunette hair was parted in the middle and styled into a chic bun. To keep her outfit the focus, Culpo's nails were painted white. To complete her primary toned ensemble, Olivia carried her virtual fashion week essentials in a Louis Vuitton bag featuring the brand's iconic monicker and rocked a pair of red cateye shades. In the video shared to her Instagram page, the former Miss Universe provided her followers a close up look at all of the elements of her Louis Vuitton fit, before throwing it on and modeling it. Make a statement: The unique dress had a graphic pattern splattered across the front of it and a yellow statement sleeve Olivia's fashion forward post comes after she spoke candidly about her endometriosis diagnosis and the importance of communicating period pain to your doctor. She told People that, after three years of struggling with chronic pain from her diagnosis, she feels 'so much better' thanks to a recent surgery meant to correct the issue. 'It was getting to the point where not only were my periods becoming unbearable, but then I've learned also that like another symptom of endometriosis as it's progressing is you have pain even in between periods,' she explained. She noted that the pain doesn't only occur when a woman is 'on their cycle,' but it can also occur 'in between' periods. Understated: As for her makeup look, the former girlfriend of Nick Jonas rocked a bright red lip and enhanced her brown peepers with a bit of neutral toned shadows Take a look: In the video shared to her Instagram page, the former Miss Universe provided her followers a close up look at all of the elements of her Louis Vuitton fit, before throwing it on and modeling it 'I really tried my hardest to pretend that it wasn't there, and just cope and be able to do normal things that I wanted to be able to do. 'And then eventually, I realized that it was not possible. I just remember being on planes curled up in the fetal position, just crying to myself.' Olivia told the outlet that she tried 'to put on a brave face' as she desperately sought out answers for her pain, with many doctors dismissing her concerns. 'It slowly takes over your life,' said the star of the pain. 'You begin to plan your life around endometriosis because you can't function. Every month, you don't know if it's going to be five times worse than last month, or ten times worse.' Raising awareness: Olivia's fashion forward post comes after she spoke candidly about her endometriosis diagnosis and the importance of communicating period pain to your doctor Culpo finally received the answer she had been looking for after she was rushed to the emergency room during a vacation to her beau Christian McCaffrey's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. It was during this impromptu visit to the ER that Olivia learned of her endometriosis diagnosis. Although Olivia marveled at 'how lucky [she] was to have such care,' she also stressed the importance of making this level of care accessible to everyone suffering from the condition. She first spoke publicly about her diagnosis via Instagram in August and, at the time, she was not 'ready' for surgery to correct her pain so she, instead, really 'tried [her] hardest to go the holistic route.' Dismissed: Olivia told the outlet that she tried 'to put on a brave face' as she desperately sought out answers for her pain, with many doctors dismissing her concerns; Olivia pictured on Saturday 'I cut out caffeine. I cut out alcohol. I cut out gluten, dairy, sugar. And I was still in so much pain. And I think what had changed for me is when I felt like I had exhausted all resources outside of this more evasive route,' she explained. She would go on to have surgery in November, which she admitted was a 'scary' thing to confront at time. In the days after surgery, Olivia was 'definitely in pain,' but the pain she was feeling post-surgery 'was nothing compared to the pain that I had been feeling on a monthly basis' with endometriosis. Surgical intervention: She would go on to have surgery in November, which she admitted was a 'scary' thing to confront at time; Olivia pictured in November Nothing in comparison: In the days after surgery, Olivia was 'definitely in pain,' but the pain she was feeling post-surgery 'was nothing compared to the pain that I had been feeling on a monthly basis' with endometriosis; Olivia pictured in November 'It's nothing. It's a walk in the park compared to the monthly pain that you have with endo,' she continued, before stressing that getting the surgery was the 'best decision [she has] ever made.' Culpo, partnering with the Endometriosis Foundation of America, went on to encourage others suffering from painful periods to 'use all available resources, do your research, go online, go on YouTube, ask your friends' friends who maybe has endometriosis and create a support system for yourself so that you don't feel so alone. 'And not only is that empowering and makes you feel better, but it will get you the help that you need,' she concluded. Citing Swedish Institute V-dem's Democracy report titled 'Democracy Broken Down: India', ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, opined that 'India is no longer a democratic country'. After US-based Freedom House's titled Democracy Under Siege, V-dem Institute's report downgrades India to an 'electoral autocracy' from a 'democracy' claiming gradual deterioration of freedoms in the past 10 years. The report claims that most autocratisation happened after 2014 - the beginning of PM Modi's first term. Rahul Gandhi quotes V-Dem institute's report India is no longer a democratic country. pic.twitter.com/iEwmI4ZbRp Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 11, 2021 What does V-Dem Institute's report claim? The report claims that India's level of liberal democracy declines from 0.57 in 2013 to 0.34 in 2020, claiming diminished autonomy of election management body i.e the EC- accusing a downgrade in 'overall freedom and fairness of elections' - specifically in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The report claims diminishing freedom of expression, the media, and civil society under the Modi government, alleging censorship on par with Pakistan and worse than Bangladesh and Nepal. Claiming the instances of sedition charges, UAPA invoked, the report claims the government is allegedly using it to imprison political opponents, imprison protestors, silence dissent in academia. Quoting to CAA, which has been passed by parliament, the report alleges constitutional violation on religious clause. The report also quotes the tightening of FCRA norms, concluding 'descent into electoral authoritarianism in what used to be the worlds largest democracy. The Centre is yet to respond to the report. Freedom House Report Similarly, US NGO Freedom House report titled Democracy Under Siege downgraded India to 'partly free' from 'free'. due to discriminatory policies affecting the Muslim population, crackdown on expressions of dissent and rising violence. India has scored 67 out of 100 in the report. The report has scored India 34/40 in political rights and 33/60 in civil liberties. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, India had been rated as free in Freedom Houses reports, though its scores on a scale of 100 had declined during this period from 77 to 71, according to Outlook. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting termed the report as 'misleading, incorrect and misplaced' and issued a point-by-point rebuttal. It has assured that India under its federal structure is ruled by multiple parties apart from the one in Centre through a free and fair election conducted by an independent election body. Centre touched open the points raised in the report regarding various changes in India in the past year such as Delhi riots, Use of sedition law, COVID-19 lockdown, govt response to human rights organizations, intimidation of academics and journalists, Internet shutdowns and FCRA amendment. Srinagar, March 11 : The two terrorists killed in an encounter at Bijbehara in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on Thursday had refused to surrender before they were neutralised by the security forces, officials said. The police said that based on specific inputs generated by Anantnag police regarding the presence of terrorists in the Kandipora Bijbehara area of Anantnag, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police, the army and the CRPF on Wednesday afternoon. During the search operation, as the presence of the terrorists got ascertained, they were given the opportunity to surrender. However, they fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party, which was retaliated, leading to an encounter. But due to darkness, the operation was suspended though the cordon remained intact through the night. The police said that on Thursday morning, repeated announcements were again made for the hiding terrorists to surrender. "But the terrorists fired on the joint search party which was retaliated, resulting in the elimination of the two hiding terrorists," the police said. The slain terrorists have been identified as Adil Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Shithpora Bijbehara, and Zahid Ahmad Rather, a resident of Sirhama Anantnag, both affiliated to the proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. The police said that as per their records, both the killed terrorists were involved in several terror crime cases, including attacks on security forces and civilian atrocities. The police added that incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter. All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crimes. "The last rites of the slain terrorists shall be performed after conducting their medico-legal formalities and their nearest family members shall be allowed to participate in the last rites," the police said. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. DUBLIN, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "The Production, Processing and Preserving of Red Meat in South Africa 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Research and Markets Logo This report focuses on the production, processing and preservation of red meat and red meat products, with a specific focus on cattle (beef and veal), sheep (lamb and mutton), pigs (pork), game and goats. It includes descriptions of the state and size of the sector and factors that influence it, including the coronavirus crisis, drought and herd sizes, regulations and competition issues and the informal sector. There are profiles of 43 companies in the sector including major players such as Beefcor, Karan Beef and Tiger Consumer Brands and abattoirs such as Cavalier, Doornplaat and Upington. Production, Processing and Preserving of Red Meat: Having not completely recovered from the 2015 and 2017 drought, which led to a shortage of red meat, the red meat sector has been struck by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the declaration of a state of emergency and lockdown. Despite expectations of a significant economic contraction, the sector has mostly been able to weather the challenges introduced by the pandemic, and meat production is expected to increase marginally in 2020. The sector was affected by the initial closure of hotels, restaurants and takeaways and ban on hot food sales. Economic concerns led many people to reduce consumption of high-priced red meat items. Imports and Exports: Brazil supplied 32% of South Africa's imported meat products in 2019, followed by the US, Poland and Germany, with poultry making up 72% of the value. South Africa's agricultural exports fell in 2019, partly affected by the drought and the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at the start of the year. Between 2012 and 2019, meat exports grew 30%, with the biggest export markets outside of Africa being the Middle East and China. Beef accounted for 48% of meat exports in 2019, poultry 33% and pork 10%. Key Topics Covered: Story continues 1. INTRODUCTION 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY 2.1. Industry Supply Chain 2.2. Geographic Position 3. SIZE OF THE INDUSTRY 4. STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 4.1. Local 4.1.1. Corporate Actions 4.1.2. Regulations 4.1.3. Enterprise Development and Social Economic Development 4.2. Continental 4.3. International 5. INFLUENCING FACTORS 5.1. Government Intervention 5.2. Economic Environment 5.3. Operating Costs 5.4. Labour 5.5. Herd Rebuilding 5.6. Health and Diseases 5.7. Technology, Research and Development (R&D) and Innovation 5.8. Cyclicality 5.9. Environmental Issues 5.10. Crime, Predation and Stock Theft 6. COMPETITION 6.1. Barriers to Entry 7. SWOT ANALYSIS 8. OUTLOOK 9. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS 10. REFERENCES 10.1. Publications 10.2. Websites APPENDIX Summary of Notable Players Company Profiles Al-Amien Foods Cc Beefcor (Pty) Ltd Beefmaster Kimberley (Pty) Ltd Bloemfontein Abattoir (Pty) Ltd Bms Foods (Pty) Ltd Braviz Fine Foods (Pty) Ltd Cape Deli (Pty) Ltd Cavalier Abattoir (Pty) Ltd Chalmar Beef (Pty) Ltd Chamdor Meat Packers (Pty) Ltd Doornplaat Abattoir (Pty) Ltd East London Abattoir (Pty) Ltd Eskort (Pty) Ltd Excellent Meat Market (Pty) Ltd Fabvleis (Pty) Ltd Famous Brands Ltd Farm 2 U (Pty) Ltd Frey's Food Brands (Pty) Ltd Good Hope Meat Supply Cc Hessequa Abattoir (Pty) Ltd Holstein Meats (Pty) Ltd Irvin And Johnson Ltd Kalahari Kid Corporation (Pty) Ltd Karan Beef (Pty) Ltd Kyto Operations (Pty) Ltd Lentaba Meat (Pty) Ltd Morgan Abattoir (Pty) Ltd New Style Pork (Pty) Ltd Oos Vrystaat Kaap Bedryf Ltd Overberg Food Distributors (Pty) Ltd Q-Meats Cc Qk Meats Sa (Pty) Ltd Rhodes Food Group (Pty) Ltd Rica Meats (Pty) Ltd Roelcor Malmesbury (Pty) Ltd Seemanns Quality Meats (Pty) Ltd Sernick Group (Pty) Ltd Sparta Foods (Pty) Ltd Tiger Consumer Brands Ltd Upington Abattoir (Pty) Ltd Vereeniging Abattoir (Pty) Ltd Watsons Baconeries (Pty) Ltd Winelands Pork (Labelle Street) (Pty) Ltd For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gx4i80 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com 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: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/south-africa-red-meat-production-processing-and-preserving-market-report-2020-state-of-the-industry-influencing-factors-competition-outlook-industry-associations-301245718.html SOURCE Research and Markets 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. Commentary: "Two sessions" reaffirm China's commitment to wider, win-win opening-up Xinhua) 08:59, March 11, 2021 Aerial panoramic photo taken on Sept. 12, 2020 shows the Houhai area in Nanshan District of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- When the COVID-19 pandemic drained global economic confidence last year, China's dynamic market brought a sense of certainty. Now at the ongoing annual "two sessions" where lawmakers and political advisors nationwide pool their wisdom into China's modernization drive, China reaffirms its decades-long commitment to opening-up. China is ready to open more broadly and confident in its ability to do so, building on its strong recovery momentum. Last year, the country pulled ahead of the major economies to achieve positive growth, with its gross domestic product (GDP) rising 2.3 percent year on year. Photo taken on Nov. 5, 2020 shows the industrial robots of Nachi company from Japan at the Intelligent Industry and Information Technology exhibition area during the 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Li Renzi) Anticipating bullish growth in 2021, the country has set its annual GDP target at over 6 percent, boosting morale while leaving room for policy maneuver. Market expectations and forecasts by major international organizations point to higher growth. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projected that China's GDP will rise 7.8 percent this year. No doubt, the China locomotive will continue to inject impetus to the pandemic-hit global economy. China's integration into the world showed that there is no reason for the country to shut its doors. It is crystal clear that openness leads to prosperity, while closed doors invite obscurity. This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization. China has continuously contributed to the process of globalization and achieved win-win results alongside the rest of the world. Over the past two decades, the country's average annual contribution to world economic growth has neared 30 percent, while its overall tariff level has dropped from 15.3 percent to below 7.5 percent. At this historic development juncture and the starting point of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), China's economy has embarked on a new journey with three major driving forces: scientific and technological innovation, the expansion of domestic demand, and reform and opening-up, which will help further unleash the vitality of the country's huge market. Delegates from China and Switzerland sign an agreement at the booth of STOR-H TECHNOLOGIES SA from Switzerland during the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 6, 2020.(Xinhua/Fang Zhe) China will promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and steadily promote the opening-up of financial sectors including banking, securities, insurance and futures, according to the draft outline of the new five-year plan. In addition to opportunities, opening-up also brings new challenges. How can the world's second-largest economy continue to flourish amid intensified global competition? "Facing new problems and challenges brought by globalization, we should not retreat into protectionism, isolation or decoupling, but work together to make globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all," State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during this year's "two sessions." Spectrum acquisition in recent auctions to fill certain gaps in some circles has put VIL on a "strong footing" to be competitive in market, ensuring all elements are now in place to offer improved services and compelling proposition to customers, a senior company official said. Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer, P Balaji sought to "debunk the myth" that VIL may not have acquired large amounts of spectrum due to financial constraints. He asserted that the company had bid for just as much radio waves, as it needed to boost its services and coverage. The company has adequate spectrum to meet customers' requirement and to be competitive in the market, he told PTI. "So we chose to buy what we chose to buy, because we had the largest spectrum pool among all the private operators. Even now, after auctions, we are not lowest on spectrum holding among private operators," he said. The company has "stayed true" to its business strategy right through integration process (merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular), kept focus on service quality "as affirmed by third-party validations and benchmarks", and inked partnerships that bring value to customers, Balaji contended. "Whether it is capacity, partnership, coverage, customer experience, quality of service - all these elements are in place. We have a compelling proposition for customers, and we will have a fair share of the market," he said. VIL's spectrum holding post-auction stands at 1,768.60 MHz. For Vodafone Idea, the value of spectrum bought in auctions (11.80 MHz) was at Rs 1,993.4 crore. Industry sources said that its deferred option entails payment of Rs 574.6 crore as immediate upfront payment, and Rs 103.50 crore for frequencies available at later date. The payment for the same is as per prescribed schedule laid down by Department of Telecom (DoT). Asked if the company has adequate funds for making upfront payment on spectrum bought in recent auctions, Balaji said, "Yes, we will make the upfront payment as required by DoT". "11.8 MHz spectrum is all we needed to fill our requirements," Balaji said. On how VIL is looking at the 5G opportunity, Balaji said the company has done significant amount of investments in its network, to make it 5G-ready. "We have already done one of the largest deployment of 5G-ready technologies including core cloudification and these help us deliver better quality of service to our customers," he said. VIL has applied for participation in 5G trials and is hopeful of a go ahead from the government. "These trials will allow us and other players to make sure that specific India use cases are put together to test and that will also allow, for in future whenever 5G is massively deployed, to get these to scale across verticals," Balaji said. Also Read: Jio launches integrated fibre broadband, digital plans for small businesses City commissioners apologized Wednesday to the family of Quanice Hayes, a 17-year-old shot and killed by Portland police four years ago, before approving a $2.1 million settlement of the familys federal wrongful death lawsuit. Hayes grandmother and two uncles said they remain disturbed that Officer Andrew Hearst who fired the fatal shots and had been involved in a prior shooting still works for the Police Bureau and faced no discipline. They pushed for officer-worn body cameras as their lawyer, J. Ashlee Albies, called on the city to make meaningful changes so another Black teenager doesnt die by police hands. There was no accountability, said Steven Hayes, Quanice Hayes uncle who was named as the familys representative in the lawsuit. He said he watched their attorneys question Hearst during a deposition. I sat across the room from him. ... That was one of the worst things Ive had to endure was this man not showing any remorse for killing one of my family members, he said. A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by Hearst. The shooting occurred Feb. 9, 2017, after police discovered Hayes, a suspect in an armed robbery earlier that morning, in an alcove in front of a home in the 8300 block of Northeast Hancock Street and ordered him to keep his hands up and crawl on the driveway toward officers. When Hayes appeared to reach toward his waistband, Hearst said he fired, killing Hayes. The familys lawyers hired forensic biomechanical engineer Jesse L. Wobrock, who reviewed the paths of the three bullets that hit Hayes and the teens wounds. Wobrock found that Hayes was on his knees, his head and neck bent forward and his torso leaning slightly forward to comply with officer orders to go down to his face when Hearst fired the shots. Bullets struck Hayes in the abdomen, torso and head. Hayes likely moved his hand to the ground to help him lie prone, Wobrocks opinion said. Officers found a black and tan airsoft pistol in a flower bed about 18 inches to the right of Hayes body, according to court records. If killing a surrendering young Black man is an acceptable risk for this city and is consistent with the way that the city trains its police department, then we need to be transparent about that, Albies told the City Council members. Its not acceptable to me. Its not acceptable to the Hayes family and its not acceptable to many members of our community and it should not be acceptable to you. The family will receive $1.5 million under the settlement, with $595,081 going to attorney fees and other costs. Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner, urged the council to approve the settlement, recognizing that money wont replace the familys loss. He urged everyone to consider how to improve the public structures and systems that too often are unable to prevent the circumstances that caused us to be here today, citing how schools, workplaces and other institutions fail young men, particularly Black and brown young men. What are we doing as individuals in this system to create the wraparound services that lead to different choices and better outcomes? he said. Commissioners Carmen Rubio, Dan Ryan, Jo Ann Hardesty and Mingus Mapps all apologized to Hayes family members for the pain and suffering theyve endured. Rubio also was the first to apologize to the family for the citys initial legal attempt to partly blame Hayes mother and allege she was negligent and at fault for not being able to control her son. Last year, the city withdrew the allegation in court after facing intense criticism. I also feel compelled to apologize for the harmful and negative mischaracterizations of Quanices mother and family that were first included in the citys initial legal response to this tragedy, " Rubio said. All of this is horrifying and wrong and it is in its way a part of the story of why thousands of people in Portland and around the world called for justice for Black lives last year. ... No mother or parent or family member or friend or community should have to endure this kind of compounded trauma. Hardesty, Ryan and Mapps followed with their own apologies to the family. This decision does nothing to fix our broken system, Hardesty said. She called for a different kind of policing in the city -- one that doesnt view Portlanders as their enemy and holds officers accountable for their actions through a future independent civilian oversight system. At the same time, Hardesty challenged the Hayes familys endorsement of body cameras, saying she doesnt believe theyre effective as an accountability tool. Mapps, though, backed the push. While this council cannot undo this tragedy, we can and we must take steps to make sure that tragedies like this never happen again, Mapps said. Ive heard the Hayes familys plea that the Portland Police Bureau adopt body cameras and out of respect to the family, I urge this council to look into this question. Mapps said he supports citizen-led police oversight, rejects a militarized approach to policing and wants a police force that places this value front and center: Black Lives Matter. Hearst was involved with two other officers in the fatal shooting of a 50-year-old man outside a Southeast Portland hospital in 2017. Police killed Merle Hatch in the parking lot at Portland Adventist Medical Center after Hatch shouted that he had a gun and charged officers. His weapon turned out to be a telephone handset. A grand jury also found no criminal wrongdoing by the officers. -- Maxine Bernstein Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212 Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Happy St. Patrick's Day! New Novel Celebrates Irish Journey to America. Title: The Dunnes of Brittas: An Irish Familys Saga of Endurance Kevin Lee Akers In the grand storytelling tradition of Anthony Trollope, Leon Uris and Colleen McCullough, comes The Dunnes of Brittas, a sweeping historical saga beginning in an aristocratic yet fragile Ireland. The illustrious and ancient Dunne family ruled over land in the heart of Ireland since time immemorial. General Edward Dunne, the clan chieftain, and his family lived in the manor house known as Brittas. His estate agent and cousin Peter Dunne raised his brood in the servants wing. These two related yet very separate branches struggle to secure their futures during the countrys darkest, most formidable years. As Ireland is crumbling, the West is rising in golden sunshine. The novel follows the Dunnes to Antebellum New Orleans, South America and finally to San Francisco where they struggle to create their own family dynasties. Sharing in each others triumphs and tragedies, they finally discover that their strength doesnt derive from their separate branches but their common roots. Rich with historical detail and memorable characters, the novel is loosely narrated by Aunt Lucy who writes to her niece: My hope is that just maybe Sarafrances will appreciate how many careful plans, impulsive decisions and MIRACLES of the past it took for her to have the kind of life she now enjoys. St. Patricks Day Infographic: https://www.dunnesofbrittas.com/happy-st-patricks-day/ The Dunnes of Brittas: An Irish Familys Saga of Endurance is published by Bassett Street Press. ISBN: 978-1-057885-0702 (e-book) ISBN: 978-1-7923-5261-4 (paperback) ISBN: 978-1-7923-5262-1 (hard cover) Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Dunnes-Brittas-Irish-Familys-Endurance-ebook/dp/B08PW26FRD About the author Kevin Lee Akers is an award-winning designer, illustrator and author of All Wrapped Up! Groovy Gift Wrap of the 1960s. His interest in Ireland, San Francisco and the nature of family culminates in the authorship of his first novel, The Dunnes of Brittas. http://www.dunnesofbrittas.com http://www.kevinakers.com The Dunnes of Brittas on social media: http://www.facebook.com/The-Dunnes-of-Brittas-111980943919385/ http://www.instagram.com/dunnes_of_brittas https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56349412-the-dunnes-of-brittas Source: Bassett Street Press With possible exception of how to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the latest stimulus package to come out of Washington and what it will mean for their pocketbooks is top of mind for many Connecticut residents, particularly those who are low-wage or unemployed workers. If approved by the House of Representatives this week, this will be third stimulus package since COVID-19 rocked the nations economy. Once the bill becomes law, the Internal Revenue Service will process more than 100 million payments, which will be sent out via one of several delivery methods. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the next round of checks. Who is eligible to receive the checks? For single taxpayers, anyone who has an adjusted gross income of less than $75,000 is eligible for the full $1,400, according to Sara Spodick, director of the Tax Clinic at Quinnipiac University, a group that helps low income individuals deal with their problems with the IRS. If your gross adjusted income is between $75,000 and $80,000, the $1,400 is reduced through what is called a phase-in. For individuals who file jointly, the adjusted gross income is capped at less than $160,000. The IRS will base the size of your stimulus payment on the information contained in an individuals 2019 tax returns. How much can I expect to receive? For an individual taxpayer, the typical amount you can receive is $1,400, Spodick said. Because rules governing the third stimulus payments are still in flux, its difficult to determine the minimum amount someone could receive. Do individuals get more than $1,400 if they have any dependents? Yes. For example, a single person with a dependent child would get $2,800 in stimulus money. In previous rounds, college students were not considered dependents. This time, an additional $1,400 goes to individuals who filed the 2019 tax return for each college student. One caveat, Spodick said, is that if a college student collected unemployment last year, the money would go to them instead of the individual who filed the taxes. What if I had a baby in 2020? If you had a baby during 2020, the child would be declared as a dependent. Spodick said the tax filer would be eligible to be claimed as a Recovery Rebate Credit on the 2020 federal income tax filing next spring. When am I likely to receive my stimulus check? That depends on when the latest bill is signed into a law, which is likely to happen by March 14. If so, the first payments will be sent out before April 1. Those who have direct deposit capability at their banks and credit unions will likely get the first payments. Those receiving a stimulus payment via a physical check or an economic impact payment (EIP) card will start seeing their money from the government later in the month. These estimates come with a caveat: The IRS could get bogged down in process of issuing checks, which could push the arrival of government payments into May. This is a busy period for the IRS, Spodick said. They are processing 2020 tax returns in addition to sending out the stimulus payments. Who do I contact if my payment doesnt arrive? About two weeks after the IRS has sent out your payment, you should get a letter from the agency confirming the payment and telling how to contact the agency if there are any problems. If you dont receive your payment or a confirmation letter from the IRS, Spodick, youll likely have to file for the money as a Recovery Rebate Credit in your next tax filing. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com The Pentagon is carrying out an urgent review to determine which US military installations and units are "high-risk" for service members becoming victims of sexual harassment and assault. The review was ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who issued a memo in late February and follows the unveiling of a wider inquiry into sexual assault and harassment in the military with the establishment of a 90-day commission just days after President Joe Biden took office in January. In the February memo Austin said he wanted details on "installations and units that are of greatest concern as well as those that are showing promise." An action plan is now due on his desk next week. A defense official said the Pentagon also plans to start surveying troops to "develop the full picture of risk across all DoD installations," The survey will include troops and leadership to see how top commanders are responding to problems, the official said. On Monday Biden stressed the importance of the issue, stating that sexual assault in the military is "nothing less than a threat to our national security." "This is going to be an all-hands-on deck effort under my administration to end the scourge of sexual assault in the military," he added during remarks marking International Women's Day at the White House. 'We haven't gotten it right' Though it's early in the review process Austin has emphasized the scale of the problem facing the Pentagon. "We have been working at this for a long time in earnest, but we haven't gotten it right," he told reporters last month. Austin received the conclusions of an immediate review of existing programs to tackle the issue on February 5 and said they are "far short of what is required to make lasting change." The latest available Defense Department statistics for fiscal year 2019 show there was a three percent increase in sexual assault reports compared to the previous year. A study released last week found that service members at locations with high levels of sexual harassment were at a higher risk of being sexually assaulted. "Sexual assault risk for women increased by a factor of 1.5 and assault risk for men increased by a factor of 1.8" compared to locations with low levels of harassment, the study from Rand corporation found. Alongside the focus on high-risk military bases, Austin has ordered the establishment of a "violence prevention workforce" dedicated to the "prevention of interpersonal violence and self harm," according to the memo. Few details have been decided on, but a report is due by October on how the effort will be organized. Lynn Rosenthal, formerly a White House adviser on Violence Against Women has been appointed by Austin to lead the commission that was announced in January. "We want to hear from service members about what it is that they think would make the climate safer for them," Rosenthal told CNN. "One of the hardest things to hear when you listen to survivors talk is how hostility was conveyed by their attackers, this hostile approach to them, as a part of the sexual assault. And that approach was to the victim, 'you don't belong here, you don't belong in this military. No one will believe you if you talk about what happened, and you will be blamed,'" Rosenthal said. "This commission says to that service member, you do belong in this military. You belong. And it's our job to make this climate safe for you to be here." There is significant political pressure for Biden and Austin to follow through on their promises to take action on the issue. Sexual assault was a central issue in Austin's confirmation hearing where Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York expressed her continuing skepticism, "Every Secretary of Defense from the last 25 years has said there is a zero tolerance for sexual assault in the military. But every time they say there's zero tolerance, we look at the facts, we look at the evidence, we look at how many sexual assaults are committed, how many go to trial, how many end in conviction. And we don't seem to improve at all." Gillibrand has long advocated for moving decisions about whether to prosecute alleged sexual assaults away from the immediate unit where the alleged crime took place so senior officers are not making decisions about those who may be working under them. Victims and advocates argue the fact victims and alleged perpetrators remain working in close proximity after allegations are made means many victims are afraid to report they have been assaulted or harassed. Troops have been offering ideas to tackle the problem But some service members aren't waiting for action from Washington. In the 18th Airborne Corps, troops have been offering their own ideas directly to top brass on how to tackle the crisis. Lt. General Michael Kurilla, commanding general of the corps solicited ideas from more than 40 soldiers and several soldiers made 'Shark Tank' style presentations. Staff Sgt. Shameka Dudley, a Russian linguist in a military intelligence unit, suggested creating a virtual reality training program so soldiers would be in as realistic but safe environment. The scenarios in the program would not involve assaults but focus on how soldiers would talk about incidents and the broader impacts of assault and harassment on a unit. Lt. Col. Scott Stephens, currently deployed in South Korea, focused his suggestion on prevention. Stephens recommended an intense effort to train younger troops as "ambassadors" who can then mentor others before harassment and assaults happen. "We have to get way ahead of this" he said. Sgt. Taylor Knueven, a combat medic who was a victim of sexual assault recommended more use of peer pressure to persuade troops to behave appropriately. She told CNN that troops need to better understand "what is normal" and what is not. She suggested making all training is mandatory with "no excuses" for missing any sessions. Kneuven also stated that based on her own experience she believes that women are under-represented on military panels conducting disciplinary proceedings. "There needs to be equal representation," she said. Frankfort, KY (40601) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with thundershowers developing for the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Four more cases of the Brazilian coronavirus variant have been spotted in the UK, Public Health England revealed today. The strain, known as P.1, was picked up in three patients in South Gloucestershire who were all close contacts or family members of two existing cases in the area. Another person tested positive for the variant in Bradford, West Yorkshire, after returning from Brazil via Paris on February 14. Contact tracing teams have tracked down their close contacts and told them to isolate and get a test. The new cases bring the total number of P.1-infected patients in the UK to ten seven in England and three in Scotland. All had direct or indirect travel links to Brazil. Meanwhile, PHE said another new Covid variant which shares mutations with both the Kent and Brazil strains had been identified in two patients in England. The 'Variant Under Investigation' which has not yet been named was detected in tests carried out in the South East on March 4. Both patients had recently travelled to Antigua in the Caribbean. The variant contains the spike mutations E484K, found on the Brazilian and South African variants, and N501Y, also present on the Kent strain. But PHE said it was not concerned about the new strain because it is missing specific deletions in its genetic code that make those other variants more transmissible or help it to evade antibodies. The discovery of the Antigua strain means the agency now has five variants 'under investigation'. It has four more which it describes as 'variants of concern'. They are: the current dominant Kent strain (B.1.1.7); one imported from Brazil (P.1), the South African variant (B.1.351), and one version of the Kent strain that has evolved further that cropped up in Bristol. Despite new variants cropping up in the UK and around the world more often, top scientists have warned against becoming 'obsessed' with mutant viruses. UK's dominant Kent Covid variant is up to TWICE as deadly as older versions of the virus, study claims The Kent coronavirus variant is more deadly than original strains of the virus, another study has claimed. Researchers analysed the lethality of the highly transmissible strain the dominant type circulating in the UK which has rapidly spread across the world. Data from around 55,000 Britons revealed the B117 variant was 64 per cent deadlier than earlier versions of the coronavirus. But scientists admitted the risk of dying may actually be twice as high for people infected with the Kent strain. Academics calculated this equated to the disease killing 0.41 per cent of everyone it infected in the study group or one in 250 people. For comparison, the original Covid strain had a lethality rate of around 0.25 per cent one in 400 people in a separate cohort matched by age and other factors which affect the risk of dying. The research, carried out by academics at the universities of Exeter, Bristol, Warwick and Lancaster, was published in the British Medical Journal. Despite the finding being worrying for the UK, scientists are certain that the current vaccines will work just as intended against the strain. The study comes after No10's top scientific advisers spooked the nation in January when they warned the variant, which first emerged in September, was up to 30 per cent deadlier than older versions. It is hard to compare death rates between the first and second waves, to measure the impact of the different variants, because many people weren't tested in the first wave, meaning the ratio of infections to deaths is wrong. Advertisement All the of the big vaccine-makers say they are confident their jabs will be highly effective against all emerging strains. Oxford University researchers have said it is unlikely a single strain will make the vaccines significantly weaker in the next year. Instead, they say there is more chance that a series of evolution over the space of many months or even years could eventually make the current crop of jabs less potent. But vaccines can be modified in a matter of weeks and regulators in the UK, US and EU have passed laws which means new booster vaccines can be fast-tracked to approval. So far UK health officials have managed to prevent major outbreaks of new variants. For example, the second most common variant is the South African one, which has been picked up 318 times in the UK. Another strain linked to Nigeria has been spotted in 112 people. PHE chief Sharon Peacock attributed a large part of that success to the draconian three-month lockdown that the country is only now starting to emerge from. Some scientists have also suggested that the Kent variant is so much more transmissible than the other strains that it has an 'evolutionary edge'. Professor Peacock told a Royal Society of Medicine press briefing today: 'It is a great hypothesis [that the Kent virus out-competes other variants]. 'But I think it is difficult to say at the moment, and the reason for that is we have been in a quite stringent lockdown so it appears to be the case that the other variants actually aren't getting a foothold in this country. 'But if we put them in a head to head race I wouldn't like to say which would end up over the finish line first, but we do have a very established variant that is very transmissible [in the Kent one].' She added: 'It's a contained situation but we have to keep watching every day and every week and also find out the biological reason why that would be the case.' It comes after a study published on Wednesday suggested that, on top of being at least 50 per cent more transmissible, the Kent variant may also be twice as deadly as the original Covid strain. Data from around 55,000 Britons revealed the B117 variant was 64 per cent deadlier than earlier versions of the coronavirus. But scientists admitted the risk of dying may actually be twice as high for people infected with the Kent strain. Academics calculated this equated to the disease killing 0.41 per cent of everyone it infected in the study group or one in 250 people. For comparison, the original Covid strain had a lethality rate of around 0.25 per cent one in 400 people in a separate cohort matched by age and other factors which affect the risk of dying. The research, carried out by academics at the universities of Exeter, Bristol, Warwick and Lancaster, was published in the British Medical Journal. Despite the finding being worrying for the UK, scientists are certain that the current vaccines will work just as intended against the strain. The study comes after No10's top scientific advisers spooked the nation in January when they warned the variant, which first emerged in September, was up to 30 per cent deadlier than older versions. It is hard to compare death rates between the first and second waves, to measure the impact of the different variants, because many people weren't tested in the first wave, meaning the ratio of infections to deaths is wrong. Badly injured Daniel Andrews faces a political reckoning as doubts grow whether hell still be able to pull the strings from his hospital bed Victorian Premier was severely injured when he stumbled down a flight of stairs Fifty per cent chance Dan Andrews could still require surgery, source says Recovery time could be three months if the premier has the operation He is in a Melbourne hospital that deals with traumatic spinal injuries after fall Premier's political allies could turn into foes should he be sidelined too long The political fallout from Daniel Andrews' ugly fall down the stairs could be significant with speculation rife whether he will be able to run the state from his hospital bed. As the Victoria premier continues the long road to recovery, speculation has quickly shifted as to how long he can continue to play the state's puppet master. The 48-year-old slipped on wet stairs and cracked multiple ribs and injured the T7 vertebrae while getting ready for work at a rented holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula on Tuesday morning. A government source has anonymously revealed there is more than a 50 per cent chance Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) will need surgery to treat serious injuries Daniel Andrews has fractured his T7 vertebrae (pictured), which is in the middle of his spine A statement from Mr Andrews on Tuesday revealed a series of horrific injuries uncovered by a CT scan (pictured) Specialists say there is a 50 per cent chance Mr Andrews will require surgery to treat his serious spinal injuries. The Victorian premier could be off work for three months if the operation goes ahead, with his recovery expected to take between six and 12 weeks. Anyone who has suffered a serious back injury knows the excruciating pain Mr Andrews would be enduring. Pumped-up on pain killers and facing surgery, few outside the premier's inner circle expect him to be making any significant decisions impacting on ordinary Victorians anytime soon. This is a man who worked for 120 consecutive days last year without a break during Victoria's COVID-19 crisis. His deputy, James Merlino, has been cast into the 'chairman's' hot seat while the premier recovers. Mr Merlino, who also holds the education and mental health portfolios, is not expected to run the government with an iron fist like Mr Andrews. During the height of the pandemic, he managed to escape mostly unscathed from the angst of Victoria's locked down community. Sources suggest Mr Merlino was 'champing at the bit' to get a crack at the top job while Mr Andrews recovers. Others say he has much greater aspirations to lead the party into the next election, although he unlikely has the numbers. Acting Victorian premier James Merlino is acting as premier of Victoria while his boss rests up Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan has long been linked as a likely successor to Premier Daniel Andrews Mr Andrews has seven long years under his belt as premier and has proven himself to be a political animal and extreme survivor. When coronavirus escaped from Victoria's hotel quarantine in May last year, those within smelt blood in the water. An inquiry into the fiasco saw the end of Mr Andrews' health minister and two department heads. Back then, speculation was rife about who would replace the embattled premier, who staunchly refused to budge midway through the pandemic lockdown. It was believed Mr Andrews would be allowed to carry the can for the fiasco so that when the time came to dump him, his replacement could easily point the finger directly at his, or her, predecessor. In August, when the man dubbed 'Chairman Dan's' popularity was at an all time low, Jacinta Allan, the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, was said to be a viable replacement. She was elected to Parliament in 1999 when, at age 26, she defeated a sitting Liberal MP more than twice her age in the rural city of Bendigo. Two decades later, she is the longest-serving female cabinet minister in the history of Victorian politics despite being only 46, and some say could soon revive a long Australian political tradition of a woman taking over from a man who struggles in the top job. Pictured: Mr Andrews and his wife Catherine (left). Mr Andrews said his wife and children were grateful to paramedics for supporting his family after the fall The head of the intensive care unit at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne has confirmed his injuries are serious, but said he is in a stable condition and there are no immediate plans for surgery While Mr Merlino has been tasked with the top job while the boss recovers, it is far from etched in stone that it will remain that way. His performance over the coming days and weeks will be telling. And the transport minister will be keeping close watch. Victoria continues to enjoy zero cases of community spread of COVID-19, but it remains in the middle of a crucial roll out of the vaccine. A bungle in Queensland saw its premier Annastacia Palaszczuk forced to deflect criticism at the federal health minister. Equally, the longer Mr Andrews remains in bed, the longer he risks being out shined. Victorians have hardly forgotten the misery they endured while he was at the helm and his subsequent hand balling of responsibility for the hotel quarantine disaster. More than 800 people died as a result of the quarantine debacle. While Mr Andrews licks his wounds, speculation is rife they may be about to fester. What the doctors say about Daniel Andrews' injuries The head of the intensive care unit where Mr Andrews is recovering said on Wednesday night there were no immediate plans for him to go under the knife. A team of intensive care and trauma specialists at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne have developed a treatment plan for the politician - and a top doctor said he is in a stable condition. 'Mr Andrews is comfortable and his pain is well-controlled,' Alfred's Director of Intensive Care Unit Associate Professor Steve McGloughlin said in a statement. 'A multidisciplinary team including intensive care, trauma and orthopaedic specialists has developed a treatment plan, along with the Andrews family. 'Mr Andrews has sustained some serious injuries, and his condition is being Advertisement Mr Andrews could be off work for three months after hurting himself in a fall, as surgeons reveal the recovery period would be between six to twelve weeks. Pictured: Alfred Hospital where the premier is recovering Opinion Article 11 March 2021 In this article I will address the reasons I personally feel sustainability is important in hospitality industry and why, we "Generation Z" have a reponsibility to create a sustainable Industry. Climate activist Greta Thunberg is certainly not afraid to speak truth to power. Not only was she willing to confront world leaders for their lack of action on the climate crisis, but she has inspired an entire movement of global environmental activistsincluding me. Advertisements For four years, I lived and worked on a permaculture farm where we took a very integrated and sustainable approach to producing food and to living. During that time, I became increasingly passionate about biodiversity and climate change. Now that I'm a student in a field that has an enormous impact on the environmentnamely tourismI feel more than ever that it's the moral duty as well as the professional responsibility for people working in the industryas well as those who are aspiring to do so to help pave the way toward a better, brighter future. Not only do we need to make the sector more environmentally responsible but because tourism impacts local communities, we need to practice sustainable tourism, which takes into account the economic and social well-being of people living in tourism destinations. While many of us will launch our careers in the midst ofor shortly aftera global pandemic that has brought tourism to its knees, along with the attention on the coronavirus and the health of people, this been a time of unprecedented focus on our planet's health. The urgency to act has never been greater. As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently said, "The world remains way off target in staying within the 1.5-degree limit of the Paris Agreement. This is why we need more ambition, more ambition on mitigation, ambition on adaptation and ambition on finance." While tourism is widely acknowledged to be a leading contributor to climate change largely because of the carbon emissions associated with transportation, food production and waste and construction it's also true that climate change is threatening the very existence of leading tourist destinations. For example, research shows that Australia will lose about 40 percent of its beaches over the next 80 years due to coastal erosion. Venice's water levels rose so high in 2019 that tourist sites and local businesses were devastated. With a 3.3 feet sea level rise, an estimated 49 percent of resorts in the Caribbean will face adverse destruction or damages. The list goes on. A growing groundswell to drive change Despite the disheartening news and concern that the pandemic and its economic repercussions would shift focus away from sustainability, that's not been the case. In fact, the pause in travel has given the industry as well as travelers the opportunity to reboot and reprioritize sustainability. And they are. Even Prince Harry whoalong with leading brands Booking.com, Skyscanner, TripadvisorTrip.com and Visa recently co-founded the non-profit organization Travalyst to encourage the industry to become more sustainable and make eco-choices simpler for travelers said: "As the industry re-emerges from crisis, there is an urgent need to reset and reimaginewith new optimism, and increased tourist demand for natural experiences and sustainable practices, this year has the potential to bring sustainability to the forefront." So while my generationGen Zis inheriting a world in which a million plant and animal species are endangered, forests are disappearing faster than ever and the world's oceans are teeming with tiny bits of microplasticsour determination to heal our planet is apparent and growing. This is certainly true among travelers. A recent survey of GenZ respondents conducted by Booking.com found that when booking their next trip, they plan to be mindful of the planet and the effect their decisions have on it, with over half (54%) stating that the environmental impact traveling has on destinations is an important factor that needs to be considered when traveling. More than half (52%) would visit a less known destination over a popular one if it meant having less of an impact on the environment. Joining the sustainability journey One of the aspects of sustainability that I find most compelling and empowering is that it's a never ending journeythere's always more to do, more to learn. This is particularly evident during Sustainability Week when together with other committed Swiss universities, EHL students organize projects, events and campaigns to introduce students to relevant issues. For example, last year we organized a workshop on "zero waste cooking", panels on sustainable tourism management and we produced a video on reducing waste on campus. We also organized a conference with the Swiss politician Cesla Amarelle, directors from Lausanne's universities, and student representatives to discuss ways of integrating sustainability into student life. Every day, we have choices to make. We can choose to ignore the problems and hope they'll go away on their own or that somebody else will take the lead. Or we can set our sights on solutions and work toward them, bit by bit, by becoming sustainability leaders and finding new ways to raise awareness, advance progress, generate hope and take pride in our contributions. Bidens massive infrastructure plan might be expensive but well worth it Is Americas infrastructure spending worth it? So far, the answer would lean towards a yes. A report published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) this week has validated the nations recent success in improving its infrastructure, while justifying the need for additional government spending. The Report Card for Americas Infrastructure, published every four years since 1998, gave US infrastructure an average grade of C- up from a D+ in 2017 marking the first time in two decades that a C range grade was given. While it appears the US infrastructure programs are on the right track, a lot more work still needs to be done to address those crumbling roads and bridges, says the ASCE, labelling overall US infrastructure in mediocre condition. More Spending The road to upgrading Americas infrastructure is a long and costly one. According to the engineering society, the US is paying just about half of its infrastructure bill, and its total investment gap has in fact widened over the past decade. The country is now facing a $2.59 trillion shortfall in infrastructure needs over the next 10 years that will require a massive jump in investment, the ASCE says. The ASCE study graded a total of 17 categories of infrastructure, ranging from a B for rail to a D- for transit. Five category grades (aviation, drinking water, energy, inland waterways and ports) went up, while only one category (bridges) went down. The remaining 11 categories received D range grades, signaling room for improvement. Casey Dinges, senior managing director at the ASCE, estimates that it will take $200 billion in spending every year for 10 years, from any combination of public and private sources, to get Americas infrastructure to a B grade range. The biggest projected spending gap is in surface transportation, with a total of $1.2 trillion in unmet needs over the next 10 years. The next largest funding gaps are in the water systems and schools, which require $434 billion and $380 billion, respectively. As a result, the engineering society has urged the US to bolster investment from all levels of government and the private sector to 3.5% from 2.5% of its GDP by 2025. We risk significant economic losses, higher costs to consumers, businesses and manufacturers and our quality of life if we dont act urgently, ASCE Executive Director Thomas Smith said in a statement. The massive power outages that happened recently in Texas served as a timely reminder that Americas infrastructure can be frail even in one of the biggest states. One industry expert even went as far as to say that Americas infrastructure was basically built in the past 100 years, along with projects following World War II. Without a significant infrastructure hike, by 2039 the US economy will lose $10 trillion in growth, exports will decline by $2.4 trillion and 3 million jobs will be lost, the ASCE warns. Bidens Pitch Whether the Societys call for more investment will be answered remains to be seen, but it would add more ammunition for President Joe Bidens lobby for a dramatic jump in infrastructure spending over the coming weeks. Long before the ASCE report card, Biden, along with the Democratic-run House and Senate, has been planning for a massive, longer-term infrastructure spending spree after the covid aid package is enacted. Under his Build Back Better plan, Biden previously campaigned to spend over $7 trillion on initiatives, with US infrastructure being the centerpiece. These include a big jump in spending on surface transportation, airports, transit systems, as well as addressing high-speed broadband, electrical grids and water systems and boosting electric vehicles charging and high-speed rail. Bidens latest infrastructure spending bill, drawn on the Build Back Better proposals, has the support of both parties, but is facing pushback and skepticism from bipartisan groups. A meeting is scheduled this week between the President and bipartisan lawmakers to discuss those spending plans, from which Biden is hoping to win funding approval for his ambitious infrastructure plan after seeing his predecessors Donald Trump and Barack Obama fail to do so. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also part of this meeting, is all-in on rebuilding the nations aging roads, dams and railroads. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, stated that the ASCE report documents what Americans already know: failure to fully invest in our infrastructure over the years is now catching up to us. Consequences are appearing nationwide, in the form of dangerously degraded roads, bridges and other assets. We are so far behind the curve, Biden said last month ahead of a meeting with labor leaders. We rank something like 38th in the world in terms of our infrastructure everything from canals to highways to airports. The President added that the US needs to do everything we can doto make ourselves competitive in the 21st century. Tax Options Just how will Biden and the Congress fund any new infrastructure spending is up in the air, and his administration has not revealed the text of its infrastructure package yet. The last time the federal government raised the gas tax, which is supposed to fund improvements to US highways, was back in 1993. However, Buttigieg told Bloomberg in a recent interview that raising the gas tax was off the table. So, this time around, the tax burden may be placed on the wealthy and corporations, an idea that is being floated around by Democrats. Regardless of details and the price tag, Bidens infrastructure bill must obtain the necessary backing of Republicans, which have already opposed his plans to curb carbon emissions. The party wont support another Green New Deal disguising itself as a transportation bill, said Representative Sam Graves of Missouri, the senior Republican on the Transportation Committee, adding that there is a growing disparity between resources devoted to urban and rural infrastructure that still needs to be addressed. Republicans are eager to work on bipartisan solutions, but it will take a willingness to compromise and a good faith effort to consider Republican priorities, Graves said. State and local governments, however, have been doing their part. Since 2010, as many as 37 US states have raised gas taxes to fund transportation, and voters approved 98% of local infrastructure ballot initiatives in November. The states cant go it alone. The cities cannot go it alone. They need a federal partner, Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation committee and Oregon Democrat, urged earlier. DeFazio, one of the eight lawmakers attending this weeks meeting, previously helped to pass the $1.5 trillion infrastructure package in 2020 that hit a brick wall in the Senate. New Economic Hires As Biden prepares to lobby for his second major spending bill, the White House has welcomed two transportation and manufacturing specialists to its senior ranks. The addition of Elisabeth Reynolds, a manufacturing and economic development researcher at MIT, and Samantha Silverberg, a former top administrator at the transit authority in the greater Boston area, to the National Economic Council signals Bidens intent to fulfill his infrastructure goals during the early days of his administration. Reynolds has studied topics including growing the domestic manufacturing base, while Silverberg previously led the development of an $8 billion transit upgrade program at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Implications Goldman Sachs analysts recently said they expect Bidens proposal to be worth at least $2 trillion and potentially even double that over the next 10 years; this figure is even higher than the economic relief bill. To fund that much expenditure, they are expecting private sector tax increases on at least some of the proposed initiatives, which could offset up to about $1 trillion of the total cost of the final package. But the spending could be well worth it, according to Bank of America, which forecast that this plan, should it get passed, would boost short-term US GDP by 2-9%. The long-run impact would be considerably more, the bank says. The bank also predicts that the biggest beneficiaries would be industrial and materials firms, who will be called upon for these future infrastructure projects. It is estimated that each 1% move in GDP growth should translate into a 3-4% growth in the earnings of S&P 500 companies. Small-cap businesses, whose sales tend to boom during periods of increased capital expenditure, will stand to gain as well. An injection of funds towards picks and shovels industries would also represent a pivot from the largely tech-focused spending of late, which could even signify a change in market leadership, paving the way for the energy sector. By Richard (Rick) Mills www.aheadoftheherd.com rick@aheadoftheherd.com If you're interested in learning more about the junior resource and bio-med sectors please come and visit us at www.aheadoftheherd.com Site membership is free. No credit card or personal information is asked for. Richard is host of Aheadoftheherd.com and invests in the junior resource sector. His articles have been published on over 400 websites, including: Wall Street Journal, Market Oracle, USAToday, National Post, Stockhouse, Lewrockwell, Pinnacledigest, Uranium Miner, Beforeitsnews, SeekingAlpha, MontrealGazette, Casey Research, 24hgold, Vancouver Sun, CBSnews, SilverBearCafe, Infomine, Huffington Post, Mineweb, 321Gold, Kitco, Gold-Eagle, The Gold/Energy Reports, Calgary Herald, Resource Investor, Mining.com, Forbes, FNArena, Uraniumseek, Financial Sense, Goldseek, Dallasnews, Vantagewire, Resourceclips and the Association of Mining Analysts. Copyright 2021 Richard (Rick) Mills - All Rights Reserved Legal Notice / Disclaimer: This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. Richard Mills has based this document on information obtained from sources he believes to be reliable but which has not been independently verified; Richard Mills makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of Richard Mills only and are subject to change without notice. Richard Mills assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission. Furthermore, I, Richard Mills, assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information provided within this Report. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Brand: Love Island star Dani Dyer has a range of designs with In The Style Dublin-based private equity firm Causeway Capital will reap more than 30m (35m) in cash from the planned flotation in London next Monday of UK fashion group In The Style (ITS). Causeway will also retain a 14.5pc stake in the business. The Dublin firm invested 2.5m in ITS in 2018, taking a 49pc stake. The investment was made via a Causeway fund backed by AIB and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. Founded by chief executive Adam Frisby (33) in 2013 from his Manchester bedroom with 1,000, ITS generated net sales of 35.4m (41m) in the nine months to the end of last December. Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 3.6m (4.1m). Targeting customers in the 16-35 age group, In The Style (ITS) partners with well-known celebrities who have strong social media presences to help fuel its sales. Among those that have enlisted to endorse its products are Love Island star Dani Dyer and Made in Chelseas Binky Felstead. Causeway, which was established in 2015 by investors including Helix Health founder David Raethorne and Matt Scaife, who was chief financial officer at Helix. A software firm, Helix Health was sold for 40m in 2014. ITS will be valued at 105m (122m) on admission to the Alternative Investment Market next week. The placing of new shares will raise gross proceeds of 11m for the company. The placing of sale shares will raise gross proceeds of 49m for selling shareholders, with Causeway securing the majority of those funds. Following the flotation, senior ITS management will retain a 27.3pc stake in the business. Expand Close Significant: Causeway Capitals Matt Scaife said floatation is an achievement / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Significant: Causeway Capitals Matt Scaife said floatation is an achievement Its said that the flotation has attracted strong support from high quality institutional investors and that the placing was significantly over-subscribed. The 11m raised by the company will be combined with existing cash resources to invest in growing and developing its social media influencer network, according to the firm. It will also use the money to enter other markets and invest in infrastructure and technology. Mr Frisby said he was thrilled by the positive reception to the companys flotation plans. This is a great testament to In The Styles differentiated brand, innovative influencer collaboration model, and exciting opportunities for future growth, he said. Matt Scaife from Causeway Capital said the flotation is a significant achievement for ITS and well deserved. It was particularly pleasing to see so much demand from high quality institutional investors which has enabled Causeway Capital to realise a good return for the investors in our maiden fund, he added. ITS points out that its products are design-led rather than price-led. About 85pc of its products are designed and developed in-house. The emphasis is on offering unique pieces, designed and developed in conjunction with the relevant influencer, rather than offering products at the lowest possible price points, according to the groups prospectus. Its had an active customer base of 700,000 shoppers at the end of last December, 61pc higher than a year earlier. The pandemic is still not over. This is what medical experts, local officials and residents of the Gateway City continue to state despite the end of mask mandates and capacity limits in the state. While Wednesday marked the first day of the lifting of these policies, many Laredoans will opt to continue to practice them regardless. One of the main reasons for this is the fear that all the progress made against COVID-19 could be wiped away, as previous reopening tries in the city have shortly preceded the two worst spikes the city has seen. And Laredoans discussed their thoughts on the end of the mask mandate recently with LMT. The pandemic is not close to over, said Mari Lee Paez, who suffered from the virus in December. There are many unvaccinated people, putting them very vulnerable to the virus. ... If we continue with face mask use, we can protect ourselves and others. Businesses who won't mandate it will welcome many who have never been too happy about face mask use. This will bring up our active cases and deaths. Other locals state that the pandemic is also not over and that they will continue practicing all the necessary precautions to make sure they are not sorry for being more careless amid the fact that people still continue to get infected and die locally. The pandemic is definitely not over, Rosalie Sencion said. We still need to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Ill still be wearing my mask. Better to be safe than sorry. Some Laredoans also feel that it is too early to reopen considering the fact that not many people have been vaccinated yet around the city and the state. According to the CDC, 10.4% of individuals in Webb County have been partially vaccinated and 9.1% are fully vaccinated. Texas itself ranks as the state with the fourth lowest partial vaccination percentage (15.2%) and the third lowest fully vaccinated percentage (8.2%). As long as everybody or at least a great majority of people around the world are vaccinated, then this is not over as it will continue spreading and killing, Armando Cisneros said. I believe that once the majority are vaccinated and it proves to create some sort of immunity among people, then we can consider it over and under control. However, we will see new types of it come out in years to come such as the different ones that have appeared from Brazil, UK and other parts like with the H1N1 and the flu. Others fear that cases will climb again, and this reopening could in turn lead to even harsher closures, such as near the end of 2020 when many bars and other businesses were forced to close for a second time following the rise in infections. Cases will climb again because of this weeks change in law, Edgar Santoval said. We might even go back to square one in a few weeks and see lockdowns again if cases climb so high, or maybe even the federal government intervene, which I think it is even worse than what we have today. Please stay protected. Though the majority of Laredoans do agree that the pandemic is not over, some do feel it is time to start normalizing their activities almost one year after the initial wave began to hit Laredo especially those who see the vaccine as already being the way out of the pandemic. Once the vaccines began rolling out fast, the pandemic came to an end at least in the U.S., Martha Sanchez said. The vaccines are the clear answer that this issue is over and done with, and the reopening of things is just a way of showing that the pandemic has finally been put under control and is already about to be over. Others find comfort in looking at the end of the pandemic through the lens of normalizing even if by a little their daily routines and activities. It should be over, at least mentally, Richard Cruz said. I know that the virus is still not gone and infections will continue, but just like the flu, we must continue to live with it. So let us just recognize the importance of being clean and taking care of ourselves, so we can put this behind us as soon as possible. Individuals who have suffered from the virus, however, continue to sound the alarm that the only true way to remain safe is to continue practicing as much safety standards as possible to make sure the spread is slow down, stopped and eventually controlled fully. And many argue that only a few weeks with lower numbers of cases does not equate the end of the pandemic, as safety procedures mandatory or not should continue. Many are not strong enough to fight the virus, Paez said. Mask use and safety practices are not equivalent to your life being controlled or over. It's about human compassion and keeping ourselves and others safe. Better stay safe than lament of another loved one succumbing to the virus. jorge.vela@lmtonline.com Member states of the World Trade Organization will on Wednesday begin talks on a joint proposal by India and South Africa to suspend patents on coronavirus vaccines to increase production. It's supported by more than 100 developing countries, many of whom have not yet made a meaningful start to their vaccination campaigns. But drugs companies say manufacturing capacity and ingredients shortages, not patents are proving to be the main bottlenecks. Britain, the EU and the US all oppose the proposal and are likely to block its passage in the WTO. 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. Featured Video The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has been saluted for its dedication to helping military members and veterans achieve academic and career success. UL Lafayette has earned a silver designation on the 2021-2022 Military Friendly Schools list compiled by Viqtory. The veteran-owned company provides information about post-military education and careers. The list recognizes colleges and universities in one of several categories Top Ten, gold, silver, bronze or military friendly. Sammi Conner, UL Lafayettes director of Veteran Services, said the recognition is representative of our continual commitment to providing support and resources for veterans, active military members and their dependents. Viqtory compiles the Military Friendly Schools list based on research of publicly available data for more than 8,800 colleges and universities obtained from the U.S. departments of Education, Veterans Affairs, and Defense. Feedback from student veterans and military members is weighed as well. Schools are also required to complete a data-driven survey. It considers factors such as on-campus military support, academic policies, admissions, tuition assistance and flexible course scheduling options. More than 1,200 schools completed the survey; 747 of them made the cut as a 2020-2021 Military Friendly School. The list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine. Visit UL Lafayettes Office of Veterans Services to learn more about programs, services and opportunities for veterans and military members. Graphic: The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has been recognized on the 2021-2022 Military Friendly Schools list compiled by Viqtory. The veteran-owned company provides information about post-military education and careers. Graphic credit: Viqtory, Military Friendly The cable, named the Pacific Light Cable Network, was originally intended to link the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines Facebook has decided to halt its efforts to build a trans-Pacific undersea cable that would have connected California and Hong Kong, due to tensions between the United States and China. "Due to ongoing concerns from the US government about direct communication links between the United States and Hong Kong, we have decided to withdraw our FCC application," a Facebook spokesperson told AFP on Wednesday, referring to the Federal Communications Commission. "We look forward to working with all the parties to reconfigure the system to meet the concerns of the US government," the spokesperson added. The social networking giant and several telecom companies filed their first construction permit in 2018, to connect two sites in California to Hong Kong and Taiwan. The project was supposed to facilitate communications through fiber optics capable of carrying large volumes of data with very low waiting times. But Washington resisted, because of perceived potential national security risks regarding China, which has tightened its control over Hong Kong. In June, the US Department of Justice recommended that a trans-Pacific undersea cable proposed by Google and Facebook bypass Hong Kong. The cable, named the Pacific Light Cable Network, was originally intended to link the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines. The Hong Kong landing station "would expose US communications traffic to collection" by Beijing, the department said. The FCC gave Google permission in April 2020 to operate the link between North America and Taiwan. Explore further US wants undersea data cable to skip Hong Kong 2021 AFP MELBOURNE (dpa-AFX) - Royal Dutch Shell plc. (RDS-B, RDSB.L, RDSA.L, RDS-A) said Thursday that it has appointed Andrew Mackenzie, former chief executive officer of BHP, as its new chairman with effect from the conclusion of annual general meeting on May 18, 2021. Mackenzie will succeed Chad Holliday who will step down on May 18 having served as Chairman for six years and as a Board Director since September 2010, Shell said in a statement. Mackenzie joined Shell's Board in October 2020, after a career in the energy, petrochemicals and resources sector, latterly as Group CEO of BHP from 2013 to 2019. From 2004 to 2007, at Rio Tinto, he was Head of Industrial Minerals and Diamonds. Before this, over a 22-year career at BP, he held senior leadership roles in exploration, research and development, and chemicals. Shell said that Nigel Sheinwald, Non-executive Director, Chair of the Safety, Environment and Sustainability Committee and member of the Nomination and Succession Committee, will not stand for re-election at the 2021 AGM, having served as a Director for nine years. Shell also announced its intention to propose to the 2021 Annual General Meeting that Jane Lute be appointed a Non-executive Director of the Company with effect from May 19, 2021. 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. Police are continuing to question a serving officer on suspicion of the murder of Sarah Everard following the discovery of human remains. The Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday night that remains had been found in an area of woodland in Ashford in Kent by detectives investigating the 33-year-olds disappearance. A serving police officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command had earlier been arrested on suspicion of Ms Everards kidnap and murder. Met Commissioner Cressida Dick sought to reassure the public in the wake of Wednesdays developments, saying it is thankfully incredibly rare for a woman to be abducted from our streets. She added: But I completely understand that despite this, women in London and the wider public particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing will be worried and may well be feeling scared. The Met said the arrested officers main job was uniformed patrol of diplomatic premises, but would not specify where he had worked. He was not on duty at the time of Ms Everards disappearance. The diplomatic protection squad is responsible for guarding the Parliamentary estate including Downing Street and the Palace of Westminster, as well as embassies in London. The officer, in his 40s, was also arrested over a separate allegation of indecent exposure, the Met said. A woman in her 30s has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. In a statement, Ms Dick said: The news today that it was a Metropolitan Police officer arrested on suspicion of Sarahs murder has sent waves of shock and anger through the public and through the whole of the Met. I speak on behalf of all my colleagues in the Met when I say we are utterly appalled at this dreadful news. Our job is to patrol the streets and to protect people. Investigators are continuing to work around the clock on what Ms Dick described as a very fast moving case. The remains have not yet been identified and it could take some time to do so, the Commissioner added. She said people living around Clapham and Tulse Hill could expect to see increased patrols in the area. As well as the search of the woodland in Ashford, over the course of Wednesday, officers also searched a property in Deal, Kent. Multiple cars were taken away by investigators and a neighbour told the PA news agency a police officer lived at the address with his wife and two children. Marketing executive Ms Everard vanished while walking home from a friends flat in south London on Wednesday March 3. Ms Everard is thought to have walked through Clapham Common towards her house in Brixton a journey which should have taken around 50 minutes. She was last captured on a doorbell camera walking along the A205 Poynders Road towards Tulse Hill at around 9.30pm on March 3. A vigil titled Reclaim these streets has been organised on Facebook and is due to take place at Clapham Common bandstand at 6pm on Saturday evening. Organisers said: Its wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem. Weve all been following the tragic case of Sarah Everard over the last week. This is a vigil for Sarah, but also for all women who feel unsafe, who go missing from our streets and who face violence every day. Read More Federal officials in the Bay Area are assessing whether Moffett Field in Mountain View can be used as a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children as the Biden administration looks to house minors entering the United States seeking refuge, authorities said Wednesday. Officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and NASAs Ames Research Center are checking vacant property at the former Navy base to see if facilities there could be used as temporary shelters for the children, NASA officials told The Chronicle on Wednesday. The U.S. this year has seen a surge at the U.S.-Mexico border of unaccompanied migrant children fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, according to a New York Times report. The surge comes as President Biden applies what he has called a humane approach to processing immigrants seeking refuge. The Department of Health and Human Services has requested federal agencies to determine whether they have currently vacant properties that might be available and suitable for potential future use as Temporary Influx Care Facilities for unaccompanied migrant children, NASA said in a statement. This effort will have no impact on NASAs ability to conduct its primary missions. Moffett Field is managed by NASA, which operates the Ames Research Center at the site. Its massive hangars can be seen from Highway 101, and it includes two runways. The federal government initially commissioned the site as Sunnyvale Naval Air Station, but it later became Moffett Field. The site was closed as a military base in July 1994, NASA officials said. It continues to be an airfield where former presidents have touched down in Air Force One, such as Barack Obama and Donald Trump when visiting the region. Customs and Border Protection said on Wednesday that 9,457 children were detained while arriving alone at the U.S.-Mexico border in February. In January, 5,800 children were detained, the New York Times reported. The number of children and families crossing the U.S. border has increased by more than 100% between January and February, according to data released Wednesday by Customs and Border Protection, the Associated Press reported. Those statistics also show that the number of children trying to find refuge by themselves increased by 60%, according to AP reports. Maricela Gutierrez, executive director of the immigrant rights organization SIREN told The Chronicle that Placing anyone in detention whether on a short term or temporary basis is denying their freedom and liberty. No matter the setting children should not be placed in cages, Gutierrez said. President Biden made a commitment to the American people that he would free the children and he needs to stay true to his commitment and ensure children spend the least amount of time in custody since any government custody is harmful to their health and well being. Gutierrez added that immigrants have died while in detention centers and pointing to reports of unsanitary conditions and coronavirus spread asked, why would we place children at risk for death or illness in any government facility? Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East and other regions have been hard hit by COVID-19 deaths and job losses as well as government and employer harassment in the countries where they are working. Those who have managed to return to Bangladesh are confronted with starvation, indebtedness and other miseries. More than 10 million Bangladeshis, or about one in every 20 people from the country, are migrant workers. Bangladesh is sixth highest in the list of countries that send their workers overseas. More than three million are employed in the Middle East, including nearly two million in Saudi Arabia. COVID-19 pandemic relief services in Chandpur, Bangladesh [Source: Flickr] On December 31, the Daily Star reported that Bangladeshi migrant workers topped the list when it came to infected persons and that by July 2020, more than 70,000 Bangladeshis were infected in 186 countries. On January 21, the newspaper revealed that a total of 2,330 Bangladeshi migrant workers had succumbed to COVID-19 in 21 countries as of December. A quarter of those who died from the coronavirus in Saudi Arabia were Bangladeshis. The high number of COVID-19 related death rates among Bangladeshi migrants in the Middle East is mostly due to a lack of free access to proper healthcare. On January 20, the Financial Express quoted a Bangladeshi doctor working in Oman, who said: We have seen Bangladeshi maids paying for health care from their own pocket unless theyre fortunate enough to have kind and generous employers. While countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have free COVID-19 testing for all migrants, irrespective of their legal status, undocumented workers with coronavirus symptoms are reluctant to seek treatment, fearing they could be arrested and deported. As the Daily Star reported, in reality [m]igrants in irregular status or those holding so-called free visas for all practical purposes remained outside the purview of health care that these countries were supposed to provide them. Hit by the health and global economic consequences of the coronavirus, about 400,000 workers returned to Bangladesh between March and December last year, or between four and eight times higher than in previous years, according to the Dhaka Tribune. Thus, the number of Bangladeshi guest workers fell to around 200,000 last year, drastically down from previous annual averages of 700,000 and 800,000. On January 29, the Business Standard, citing joint research by the Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants (BCSM) and the Migratory Movements Research Unit (MMRU), reported that around 27 percent of Bangladeshi migrant workers lost their jobs and 26 percent more dropped to partial employment between April and July last year. About 67 percent of Bangladeshi migrant workers who were forced to return home were not paid wages, and 62 percent had to leave behind savings and other assets. Last July, the Bangladesh High Commissioner in the Maldives admitted that many Bangladeshi migrant workers had not received outstanding wages and other payments from their employers. Firoza Begum, a 40-year-old domestic worker in Saudi Arabia, lost her job because of the pandemic. She spent 14 years of her savings in order to get back to her village in Bangladeshs Patuakhali district. She had not been paid for six months. Bangladeshi migrant workers are highly exploited and are often forced to work in dangerous and unsafe COVID-19 conditions. One study found that in Oman, Bangladeshi female domestic workers are paid on average only $234 per month compared to Filipino workers who receive $416, and Indian and Sri Lankan workers $312. The low paid Bangladeshi workers are often harassed by unscrupulous agents. A female worker named Nazma, for example, was sent to Saudi Arabia through a local broker in December 2018 after they promised her a job at a hospital. According to her family, she was sent to a private house where she was allegedly tortured, sexually abused and killed. The death of high numbers of Bangladeshi migrant workers was prevalent even before the pandemic outbreak. A February 25 editorial in the New Age reported that over 33,000 died between 2005 and 2017. An article in the Dhaka Tribune revealed that the bodies of over 60 female workers were sent back home last year. One of the victims included 14-year-old Umme Kulsum who was allegedly tortured to death by her Saudi house owner in September. In February this year, six Bangladeshi workers were killed in a fire at a sofa factory opposite Heraz Marketat near the Saudi city of Medina. The Hasina government has provided no relief for the thousands of migrant workers forced to return home who now face a range of financial problems and even starvation. Dhakas response has been to try and impose the economic crisis produced by the pandemic on workers and the poor. A BCSM and MMRU survey of 200 households in 21 Bangladeshi districts revealed that borrowings to cover disrupted remittance payments to guest workers families constituted about 54 percent of household income between April and July. Prior to the pandemic, monthly household expenditure was on average 17,000 taka ($US200). This dropped to 7,300 taka between April and July, a 57 percent decline. Firoza Begum explained, Were surviving by taking loans from my relatives. I owe them about 150,000 taka but dont know how this money will be repaid. The poverty confronting some of the returning migrant workers is so bad that many have had to return to their jobs overseas, despite the risk to their lives from COVID-19. Last September, hundreds of migrant workers demonstrated in Dhaka demanding Saudi Arabian Airlines provide them air tickets so they could to return to their workplaces in the Middle East. The Hasina government, which faces declining remittances, falling garment exports and a collapse of tourist income due to the pandemic, is determined to boost the number of Bangladeshi migrant workers. The New Age reported last month that garment export earnings in January 2021 were down by 5 percent year-on-year to $3.43 billion, compared with $3.61 billion in the same month of 2020. Garment export earnings from last July to January in the current fiscal year fell by 1.09 percent to $22.67 billion, down from $22.91 billion in the same period the year before. In 2019, remittances from migrant workers amounted to $18 billion or around 7 percent of the countrys GDP. Desperate to maintain this inflow, the Hasina governments foreign ministry is reportedly seeking to find jobs for Bangladeshi workers in new labour markets, including Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and Libya. Currently, the official number of Bangladesh coronavirus infections is over 550,000, with deaths approaching 8,500. These relatively low figures, however, are a gross undercount because health authorities are only testing about 13,000 per day, instead of the 50,000 recommended by the Hematology Department at Dhaka Medical College. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill and the largest package in U.S. history, passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday and is headed to President Joe Bidens desk where it will be signed on Friday. The relief package is the first under the Biden administration. It passed by a vote of 220-211. This legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going a fighting chance, President Joe Biden said, according to CBS. Stimulus checks were one of the most debated parts of the relief bill in previous weeks. Both Republicans and Democrats agreed that $1,400 direct payments would be included in the bill, however, income limits were the topic of debate, mostly by more moderate Democrats. Under the American Rescue Plan, individuals making $75,000 and couples making $150,000 annually, along with eligible dependents, will receive $1,400 each. What do we say to America? Help is on the way. Help is on the way. Youll receive $1,400 checks by the end of March, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. The urgency to pass the relief bill and get money into the hands of the American people comes as extended unemployment benefits are set to expire on March 14. Democrats in the Senate used budget reconciliation -- meaning all 50 Democrats need to vote in favor in order to pass any controversial legislation without Republican support -- to pass the legislation. However, this led to the $15 federal minimum wage increase being removed from the bill since not all Democrats agreed on it. WHATS INSIDE THE $1.9 TRILLION LEGISLATION The $1.9 trillion plan gives $350 billion in aid to local and state governments, $14 billion for vaccine distribution and $130 billion to schools elementary, middle, and high schools to create safe reopening plans. Three-hundred billion is earmarked to extended federal weekly unemployment benefits -- which are set to expire this week -- through Sept. 6; those who qualify will receive $300 per week. It also increased the child tax credit from $3,000 per child to $3,600 per child, which will be initially distributed via monthly payments. The Payment Protection Program (PPP) received $7 billion and an additional $25 billion for restaurants, one of the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic. MAYOR, GOVERNOR APPLAUD THE BILL, SAY IT WILL ALLOW NEW YORK TO RECOVER Mayor Bill de Blasio said the bill is exactly the bold action thats been needed to help the city move forward with its recovery plan. This stimulus bill is the most comprehensive, progressive economic legislation passed since President Roosevelts New Deal and will bring much needed relief to families, cut child poverty and help small businesses survive, de Blasio said. The governor also praised the bills passage and thanked Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) for their role in passing the bill. This legislation confronts the dual health and economic crises created by the war on COVID by providing much needed relief to lift New York families out of dire economic straits, critical funds to expand and accelerate relief to New Yorks growing vaccination efforts, and targeted relief for state and local governments, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER. NOTE: On the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 in New Jersey, we will publish several opinion pieces about our experiences over the past year. Today, a teacher writes about how she endured a year of teaching at home. Friday, a corporate innovator will write about the future of work. By Shan Byrd On Thursday, March 12, 2020, my head was spinning from the shouts, screams and joyous laughter of children in the lunchroom. Then, suddenly, a force hit me and my legs buckled. As I tumbled, I identified a bright-eyed, stuffy-nosed student who I hadnt seen in weeks. She confessed that she was out sick from the flu. She hugged me with a sniffly cough and I thought nothing of it. Later that day, I grabbed my belongings because schools were being temporarily closed. It was surprising but seemed like a blip an unexpected three-day weekend. Four days later, it became more real when Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 104 closing schools indefinitely. It soon became surreal as those weeks grew into months. Now, its a year since weve been on campus. Those first days and weeks were beyond chaotic. My colleagues and I worried about health care and basic nutrition for our students in a district where 100% of families qualify for free or reduced-price meals. To help, our district set up outdoor food distribution centers where families could pick up the meals that students normally would have received at school. For those who could not leave their homes, we delivered meals. We worried about Internet access and the availability of electronic devices. Our district was able to resolve the hardware issue fairly quickly by sending some older students home with laptops immediately and distributing them to younger students within a matter of weeks. Internet access was harder to crack. Many of our families do not have the reliable high-speed access required to fully participate in synchronous online learning. Those who relied on district-provided hot spots or whatever free wifi they could access in their neighborhoods sometimes remained at a disadvantage, a digital divide that still persists. We searched for ways to balance rigorous instruction with meeting the basic human need of psychological safety. In one class, a 12-year-old student kept interrupting, insisting that his knee itched. But we were behind schedule; there was no time. Finally, to quiet his complaints, I surrendered and asked him to turn on his camera to scratch his knee. Within seconds, the entire class turned on their cameras and we all scratched our knees and laughed together. It took one brave student, calling out for a vicarious physical connection, to give us that refreshing, impromptu mindfulness moment. We then successfully completed our classwork with wide smiles. As time progressed, we adapted. We offered training called Parent University to families so parents could better support their children in online learning. We found innovative ways to teach remotely and, for the first time ever, we shared portions of our private lives. I witnessed co-workers masterfully manage busy toddlers while teaching virtual classrooms. On many occasions, my students were themselves caring for younger siblings while attending class online. Like my colleagues across the state, there was a deeply personal aspect to all of this for me, as well. One of my adult children returned home to continue college remotely. Another embarked on a new endeavor that left me worried for his health and safety. My oldest son, living 1,200 miles away, was one of the first to contract COVID-19. Hearing him call me, struggling to catch his breath, clearly ill with that still-mysterious disease but deemed not ill enough to be admitted to a hospital, was almost more than the mother in me could handle for two months it took for the symptoms to pass. In late March, I was grateful when a dear friend stopped by to check in on me and offer socially-distanced prayers for my family. In mid-April, I was crushed when that same friend succumbed to COVID-19. As a teacher, I grieved to imagine what my students and colleagues endured in their own lives. My heart broke for one student who I would see hiding under the covers on his bed, afraid to leave his room. I knew his family had been deeply touched by the pandemic. I did my best to coax him out from under his covers and next to an open window where he could get some fresh air. But seeing that level of pain and having so little opportunity to help was one of the hardest things Ive experienced in 17 years as an educator. Then came May, just when we were finding our stride and growing hopeful for a return to normalcy. Instead, 8 minutes and 46 seconds of horror was suddenly looping on our screens and in our psyches. To think my students in their homes witnessed the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd. It was a moment when we should have been together to share the emotion, to learn about the history of brutality against Black bodies in our nations history and its present, to consider the centuries of racial inequality and dehumanization that led to that moment in Minneapolis. With shuttered schools because of the pandemic, New Brunswick delivered food for students or parents who are unable to pick them up. Nourishment is critical in a district where 100% of families qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Above, bus driver Lawrence Bridges, now retired, checks his list. I worried about the barrage of mixed messages bombarding the children I serve. And I grieved that COVID was robbing us of community connection when we needed it most. But determined not to give in to despair, I began organizing online conversations during those uncertain times that included the voices of adults and children. I drew strength from my faith and family. I also relied on my training as a Restorative Justice Practitioner who believes in the power of community to find healing and wholeness in the wake of harm. When I think about restorative justice I think of a bright, hardworking student who never earned straight As but always held her own academically before. This year, she has struggled mightily, struggling to pass her classes. Ive grieved with her tearful mother as we talked about how to help her daughter. I know this much: no amount of scolding, punishment, accountability or rigor will help my student or thousands like her across New Jersey. She and they need healing, support and the opportunity to recover. If we focus on that, academics will follow. In our district, the staff is scheduled to return to buildings on March 15. Health and safety permitting, students will return for hybrid instruction a month later. Its a small step, but an important one because it brings hope that school as we know it in person, with the community, caring and connection that we all crave is within our grasp again. I, for one, cant wait. The post-COVID era will bring many changes. I, for one, may no longer so casually welcome a snot-soaked hug from a beloved student. However, I am more invested than ever in a future where my students, and all people, are valued, treated with dignity and respected. If we do that better next year than we did last year, we will go a long way toward redeeming the trauma of the last 12 months. Shan Byrd is the restorative justice coordinator for New Brunswick Public Schools. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. On Saturday, on a party-line vote of 50 to 49, Senate Democrats passed H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The lone absence was Alaskan Republican Dan Sullivan, who had to leave Washington to attend the funeral of his father-in-law. The hardest part about keeping coronavirus cases down among American troops based in South Korea had nothing to do with interacting with locals. Instead, it was dealing with troops coming in from the U.S., the top commander of forces there told Congress this week. More than 166,000 U.S. troops have tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, since the start of the global pandemic. Few of them are believed to have caught the virus in South Korea, which has maintained low infection rates compared to the U.S. "Of the 58,000 people who touch U.S. Forces Korea bases daily, we've seen a total of 110 local affiliated cases -- and only about 28 service members tested positive," Army Gen. Robert Abrams told members of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. Read Next: Northrop Designing 'Sky Viper' Cannon for Army's Futuristic Attack Helicopter It's a remarkable record, the general noted. The U.S. has about 28,000 U.S. troops based in South Korea to deter aggression from the North. "Our biggest challenge," Abrams added, "has been from inbounds or returnees coming from the continental United States, where we've had approximately 700 positive cases." South Korea has been lauded for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The country's population is equivalent to that of Texas and Florida combined. More than 77,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 in Florida and Texas since the start of the pandemic. About 1,648 people have died of COVID-19 in South Korea. "We have greatly benefited from our robust partnership with the Republic of Korea government and the Korean disease control and prevention agency, who have supported our efforts," Abrams said. "As a result, our rate of infection has remained extremely low." As the U.S. struggled with its coronavirus tests, testing in South Korea was widely available nationwide. The country has also used drones to disinfect public spaces, and its citizens embraced mask-wearing due to experiences with past viral outbreaks, including a respiratory syndrome that hit there in 2015. U.S. Forces Korea was able to relax travel restrictions early in the pandemic due to a low number of cases there. U.S. and South Korean troops are currently participating in a nine-day command-post exercise. Leaders opted to limit the number of troops involved and cut outdoor maneuvers, the Yonhap news agency reported, due to continued concerns about the pandemic. Abrams told lawmakers that the force is working to ensure troops, families and military retirees in Korea have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. They're slated to receive 9,700 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, he said, "which will go a long way toward being able to give the immunizations." Two dozen U.S. troops have died of COVID-19. More than 1,400 of them have been hospitalized with the virus. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Related: Military Travel Restrictions Eased in South Korea as Virus Cases Drop A California man was sentenced to more than 200 years in prison on Thursday after drowning his two autistic sons by driving his car off a pier in order to collect on life insurance policies he had taken out on them. Ali Elmezayen, 45, drove the family's Honda sedan -- with his ex-wife and two sons inside -- off a wharf in San Pedro, south of Los Angeles, on April 9, 2015. His sons, aged eight and 13, drowned but his ex-wife, Raba Diab, was saved by a fisherman who threw her a flotation device. Elmezayen escaped through an open driver's side window and swam to a ladder on the dock. Following the deaths of his sons, Elmezayen, an Egyptian national, collected more than $260,000 on insurance policies from two companies. Authorities said Elmezayen transferred most of the money to Egypt and about $80,000 was seized from his US account. Elmezayen was convicted in October 2019 of federal charges of mail and wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. US District Judge John Walter sentenced him to 212 years in prison and denounced what he called the "vicious and callous nature of his crimes." "He is the ultimate phony and a skillful liar," Walter said. "The only regret that the defendant has is that he got caught." Elmezayen still faces state charges for the murder of his two sons and attempted murder of his ex-wife. ban/cl/sst IRVINE, Calif., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM Data Solutions, licensor of the nation's most comprehensive foreclosure data and parent company to RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com), a foreclosure listings portal, today released its February 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 11,281 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions up 16 percent from a month ago but down 77 percent from a year ago. "Extensions to the Federal Government's foreclosure moratorium and CARES Act mortgage forbearance program continue to keep foreclosure activity historically low," said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of RealtyTrac, an ATTOM Data Solutions company. "These government actions, and the efforts of lenders and mortgage servicing companies, have helped millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure during a year-long global pandemic and a recession that resulted in 22 million lost jobs." Highest foreclosure rates in Utah, Delaware, and Florida Nationwide one in every 12,182 housing units had a foreclosure filing in February 2021. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Utah (one in every 3,883 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (one in every 5,219 housing units); Florida (one in every 6,232 housing units); Illinois (one in every 6,336 housing units); and Louisiana (one in every 7,923 housing units). Among the 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in February 2021 were Provo, UT (one in every 787 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Shreveport, LA (one in every 1,951 housing units); Lake Havasu, AZ (one in every 2,247 housing units); Cleveland, OH (one in every 3,943 housing units); and Florence, SC (one in every 3,980 housing units). Those metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million, with the worst foreclosure rates in February 2021 including Cleveland, OH were: Jacksonville, FL (one in every 5,707 housing units); Riverside, CA (one in every 6,478 housing units); Birmingham, AL (one in every 6,532 housing units); and St. Louis, MO (one in every 6,651 housing units). Foreclosure starts increase monthly in 29 states nationwide Lenders started the foreclosure process on 5,999 U.S. properties in February 2021, up 15 percent from last month but down 78 percent from a year ago. "The government's moratorium bans foreclosures on government-backed loans for homeowners, and borrowers in the forbearance program are also protected from foreclosure actions," Sharga noted. "But loans on commercial properties, investment properties, and properties that are vacant and abandoned do not always have the same protections. This could be why we're seeing a slight increase in foreclosure starts despite the government programs." States that had at least 100 foreclosure starts in February 2021 and saw the greatest monthly increase in foreclosure starts included: Utah (up 230 percent); North Carolina (up 73 percent); Michigan (up 60 percent); Georgia (up 58 percent); and Mississippi (up 54 percent). In looking more granular, those counties that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts in February 2021 included: Los Angeles County, CA (234 foreclosure starts); Utah County, UT (224 foreclosure starts); Cook County, IL (154 foreclosure starts); Harris County, TX (97 foreclosure starts); and Riverside County, CA (74 foreclosure starts). Foreclosure completion numbers increase 8 percent from last month Lenders repossessed 1,545 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in February 2021, up 8 percent from last month but still down 85 percent from last year. Counter to the national trend, those states that saw a decline in completed foreclosures from last month, included: Indiana (down 75 percent); Colorado (down 75 percent); South Dakota (down 67 percent); Utah (down 67 percent); and Alabama (down 56 percent). Those major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population greater than 1 million that saw the greatest number of REOs in February 2021 included: Chicago, IL (111 REOs); St. Louis, MO (54 REOs); New York, NY (36 REOs); Atlanta, GA (35 REOs); and Los Angeles, CA (33 REOs). Reserve your spot and attend our FREE webinar on the distressed housing market. Report methodology The ATTOM Data Solutions U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the ATTOM Data Warehouse during the month and quarter. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the quarter may have been recorded in the previous quarter. Data is collected from more than 3,000 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 99 percent of the U.S. population. ATTOM's report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the annual, midyear and quarterly reports, if more than one type of foreclosure document is received for a property during the timeframe, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. The annual, midyear, quarterly and monthly reports all check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report does not count the property in the current year, quarter or month. Interested in finding out more about our pre-foreclosure and foreclosure data? Contact ATTOM for Foreclosure Data Licensing Details. Visit RealtyTrac.com for Foreclosure Search and Listings. About ATTOM Data Solutions ATTOM Data Solutions provides foreclosure data licenses that can power various enterprise industries including real estate, insurance, marketing, government, mortgage and more. ATTOM multi-sources from 3,000 counties property tax, deed, mortgage, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation's population. About RealtyTrac (Powered by ATTOM's Property Data) RealtyTrac.com is the premier foreclosure listing and search portal for investors and consumers looking to gain a competitive edge in the distressed market. Realtytrac.com grants access to insight that is typically only available to real estate professionals. Media Contact: Christine Stricker 949.748.8428 [email protected] Data and Report Licensing: 949.502.8313 [email protected] SOURCE ATTOM Data Solutions Related Links www.realtytrac.com South Africa: Cabinet to communicate decision on funding of first year students As Wits University continued to protest over the lack of funding for first year students, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has told Parliament that Cabinet has taken a decision on the matter. Responding to follow-up questions when Minister in the Social Services cluster appeared for oral questions before the National Assembly, the Minister said Cabinet was expected to announce its decision this morning [Thursday] before he briefs media to further expand on the decision. The first year students, the matter has been put before Cabinet and Cabinet has taken a decision today as to what will happen. Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to communicate cabinet decisions. Cabinet I am told is going to be communicating its decision sometime tomorrow morning as to what will happen. Myself after Cabinet has communicated, I will also have a briefing with the public in order to give more details and information but as Minister of Finance said, what is guiding us is that no deserving student who qualifies must actually be left out, and thats the policy of government. Especially the children of the poor and working class, he said. He said this after a 35-year-old man, who was reported to be coming out of a clinic, was allegedly shot dead when police opened fire at protesting students in Braamfontein on Wednesday. Nzimande has since sent his condolences to the mans family and friends. I have also expressed my condolences on the member of the public who died this morning. The matter is being investigated on whether that person was shot or not and what were the reasons for the death. This comes after Wits students embarked on a protest against financial exclusion, which has halted registration at the institution. On Monday, the Minister announced that because of fiscal pressures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has not yet been able to confirm funding eligibility for first-time entering students wishing to study in public universities in 2021. He said this was because NSFAS was facing a shortfall on its funding for 2021. We have eliminated a lot of uncertainty in relation to NSFAS students right now. On Monday, I announced that despite the fiscal challenge that we are having, all NSFAS continuing students who have met the criteria for progression will be supported, all of them. In other words, those who are already in the system in universities and TVET colleges, they must be registered and NSFAS is going to pay for them. The challenge was with the number of new students we can be able to take as a result of the fact that we have more demands than the resources that are in the hands of government. For a number of reasons, while it has been the budget cuts unfortunately that started before COVID-19, but COVID-19 also contributed to that because we have had to extend the academic year without additional money. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. State police have arrested a Louisiana woman accused of selling fraudulent auto insurance policies. The majority of the victims saw the womans advertisement for automobile coverage on Facebook Market Place, according to the Louisiana State Police (LSP). The LSPs Insurance Fraud and Auto Theft (IFAT) Field Office said a complaint received from a local insurance agency in June 2020 claimed that 25-year-old Brianna Phillips of Pineville was selling fake policies labeled as being from Safeway Insurance Company of Louisiana. An LSP investigation discovered Philips sold fraudulent automobile insurance policies to several victims. She then would provide the victims with a fraudulent declaration page and a fraudulent insurance card. Phillips was arrested on March 9, 2021. She is charged with 10 counts related to: insurance fraud, forgery of certificate of insurance, theft, and advertisements by insurers. She was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. Those who have purchased auto insurance from Phillips are urged to contact the Louisiana State Police Insurance Fraud Unit at 318-484-2193. Source: Louisiana State Police Topics Auto Louisiana Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Mostly sunny skies with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. Very hot. High 101F. WSW winds at 10 to 15 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 70F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Central government is reportedly planning to invite financial bids for privatisation of national carrier Air India by the end of this month. The plan is to wrap up the disinvestment process in the second half of the current calendar year. The shortlisted entities might be given time till June or early July this year to furnish their financial bids, reported CNBC-TV18. After the bids are locked, the sale of Air India will take another 3-4 months to finalise after evaluation of the financial bids. Earlier this week, the consortium of Air India employees was disqualified from the disinvestment process. The consortium was being led by Air India Commercial Director Meenakshi Malik, who informed the employees of the development in a letter. ALSO READ: Air India employee consortium out of privatisation race As per reports, this leaves Tata group and SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh, among others, in the race. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her Budget speech last month that the privatisation of Air India will be completed in 2021-22. It is crucial to meeting Centre's Rs 1.2 lakh crore disinvestment target for the next financial year. Apart from selling its 100 per cent stake in Air India and Air India Express, the government is also looking to offload its 50 per cent share in Air India Airport Services Pvt Ltd. The Centre is also rushing to divest helicopter service company Pawan Hans, a Mini Ratna-I category PSU. ALSO READ: Air India to phase out Boeing 747s marking end of an era Global cloud communications company, Infobip today announces its full Communications Platform as-a-Service offering is now available on Microsoft Azure, thereby extending the enterprise customer base globally for Infobip - particularly in the finance, eCommerce and retail sectors, and allow it to expand its core market footprint. The Azure deployment is the latest step in Infobip's technology collaboration with Microsoft that sees Infobip adding its omnichannel capability to Microsoft's platforms for the benefit of all enterprise and B2B customers seeking easy to scale customer engagement and customer service solutions that span contact center, marketing, security and authentication services. As the company edges towards an IPO, Infobip is looking to use Microsofts ecosystem to access new business opportunities, share leads and differentiate its expertise to drive transformation for all. The decision will see Infobip working closely with Microsoft and its partner ecosystem to help build demand, sales planning for partner-to-partner empowered selling and deliver marketplace-led commerce for end customer transformation. Infobips Consultancy and Technology Partnership arm will also provide access to appropriate resources such as product documentation and training through its partner portal. A self-service option will become available later in the year. It is anticipated that by 2023 a range of identity and IOT based services will also be added to the portfolio. Silvio Kutic, CEO at Infobip says: As the markets and ecosystem evolve, we increasingly see areas of co-opetition where companies are partnering and competing. I see these instances as opportunities to find Go-To-Market ways together for the benefit of the customer. This collaboration is more than about creating a wider reseller network or reach a bigger client base or simply bigger clients of course it does help with these goals rather its also about providing a more open and integrated arena to power digital customer experience as we enter the hyper-connected era of 5G. The solutions range from simple plugin integration to ready-to-use end-to-end options speeding up time-to-value with as professional services and tech support as is needed. Infobips infrastructure on Azure includes omnichannel support through its Contact Center solution Conversations, the automated customer engagement engine Moments and AI powered chatbot building function Answers that all sit on top of a wide range of programmable channels. Customers will also benefit from Infobips direct connection to more than 650 carriers worldwide. Chris Weber, corporate vice president, Small, Medium and Corporate Business at Microsoft said, All businesses need to create an open ecosystem model that makes it easy for partners to innovate and integrate with a way to monetize what they create as quickly as possible. Microsoft offers a path to connect directly with customers, share leads with Microsoft and other partner sellers, and differentiate their expertise to drive positive customer outcomes and mutual revenue. We welcome Infobip and look forward to future collaborations. Infobip is an established global expert in the fast-growing business communications and messaging space offering a cloud-based delivery model that helps organizations drive growth and loyalty through data-driven conversational customer journeys that simplify the complexity of global messaging. About Infobip Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected customer experiences across all stages of the customer journey at scale, with easy and contextualized interactions over customers preferred channels. Accessed through a single platform, Infobips omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication security and contact center solutions help clients and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications, grow their business and increase loyalty all in a fast, secure and reliable way. With over a decade of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to include 65+ offices on six continents offering natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and 'things' in 190+ countries connected to over 800 telecom networks. The company serves and partners with leading mobile operators, messaging apps, banks, social networks, tech companies, and aggregators. COLUMBIA, Maryland, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mexico Fund, Inc. (NYSE: MXF) announced that, at its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, stockholders re-elected Messrs. Marc J. Shapiro and Jaime Serra Puche as Class I Directors of the Fund for a three-year term expiring in 2024. Regarding the election of the Funds Class I Directors, the results of the Annual Meeting were as follows*: For % Outstanding % of Voted Withheld % Outstanding % of Voted Marc J. Shapiro 10,428,973 69.50% 86.66% 1,604,795 10.69% 13.34% Jaime Serra Puche 10,426,049 69.48% 86.64% 1,607,719 10.71% 13.36% *There were no abstentions or broker non-votes with regard to the election of the Fund's Class I Directors. CONTACT: Tofi Dayan +5255-9138-3350 Email: [email protected] About The Mexico Fund, Inc. The Mexico Fund, Inc. is a non-diversified closed-end management investment company with the investment objective of long-term capital appreciation through investments in securities, primarily equity, listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The Fund provides a vehicle to investors who wish to invest in Mexican companies through a managed non-diversified portfolio as part of their overall investment program. This release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding future circumstances. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Fund's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements including, in particular, the risks and uncertainties described in the Fund's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, events, and performance may differ. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Fund undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by The Mexico Fund or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. SOURCE The Mexico Fund, Inc. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! 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 appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be A Kildare girl has been named as Ireland's best young translator in an European Union competition. Alba Doherty-Madrigal from Maynooth Post Primary School is the Irish winner of this year's Juvenes Translatores (Young Translators) contest for secondary schools. She won for her Spanish to English translation on the theme of Navigating in challenging times together we are stronger'. Some 45 Irish students took part, representing 10 schools. "I am so glad I was able to take part in this competition as I have undoubtedly learned more about translating and about these languages," said Alba. "I believe learning languages is a crucial skill as they can bridge cultural and communicative gaps." The Juvenes Translatores contest is an annual event organised by the European Commission that aims to promote language learning in schools and give young people a taste of what it's like to be a translator. Staff translators at the Commission selected 27 winners (one per EU country) from among almost the 2,800 participants across Europe. In addition, 248 students received special mentions for outstanding translations. Alba will receive her award in an online ceremony in July. A St. Paddys Day thank you By early March last year, my husband and I had completely stopped going into food stores and began to rely exclusively on deliveries. With our supplies running low and deliveries unpredictable, we had to ration food. I was so concerned with utilizing every shred of perishable food in the house that I had forgotten it was St. Patricks Day. And then, unexpectedly and miraculously, as if someone had painted a rainbow right to our doorstep, we found two enormous bags of groceries on our porch. There was corned beef, Irish butter, cabbage, carrots, Guinness, St. Paddys cupcakes, dinner rolls and potatoes. I nearly cried. I had joked about our food rationing situation to my friend and neighbor, Mark McDermott, and apparently it was simply unacceptable to him that we would scrimp with twice-cooked leftovers on St. Patricks Day. He became an Irish emissary, bestowing the gifts and wonders of St. Patricks Day onto this non-Irish family. That meal, and the breakfast and lunch that followed the next day, were high points of hope and happiness for my family. So much so, that this Colombian/Lithuanian/Ukrainian/Austrian/Russian family will forever celebrate St. Patricks Day. It has become a part of us and our heritage and family history. I think thats what our town and country is all about: the beautiful blending and sharing of cultures and traditions, and a respect and admiration for the diversity we participate in. Thank you to Mark and his family for sharing with us and spreading kindness. As I have combatted the fatigue of this seemingly never-ending Covid world and toxic divisiveness, I have mantras of gratitude which help to stabilize me and enable me to see the horizon. I am grateful for my neighbors whom I love despite our many differences. I am grateful for living in Fairfield. I am grateful for the incredible kindness Ive seen take root in even the most difficult of times. Fairfield is one of the most beautiful, most blessed, places we have ever lived. Thank you to everyone who makes it so. Jill Vergara, Fairfield The instructions from voters as to what Michigan leaders should do with the newfound recreational marijuana tax revenue were clear. After paying to establish the Marijuana Regulatory Agency and licensing enforcement at a cost of about $12.4 million, the next $20 million was to fund clinical trials focused on treating veterans for pain and PTSD with marijuana, and to study the plants effects on suicide rates among military personnel, which are nearly 50% higher than among the general public, according to some studies. The Marijuana Regulatory Agency and state Treasury last week outlined how the state would disburse nearly $45 million accrued in tax, application, licensing and renewal revenue from recreational marijuana sales. None of it was slated to go to clinical trials. Some marijuana industry insiders who helped write the law became concerned and began looking for answers. While the research funding was conspicuously missing from the plan, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency has since said $20 million is now earmarked for dispersal over the next year. The $20 million has been appropriated and the (agency) is in the process of issuing the request for proposals to access funding, Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo said Monday. We expect the first round of distributions will occur this fiscal year. The fiscal year runs through September. The licensing agency said a dispersal mechanism wasnt yet in place to distribute the research funds earlier. The law states that until 2022 or for at least two years $20 million in tax revenue should go to research. We wanted to stimulate the scientific community with an influx of cash in order to help people that we recognize really did need some assistance they werent receiving, said Rick Thompson, a board member with the Michigan National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the group that advocated for recreational marijuana legalization and the studies. The initial indication that he research money wasnt there worried some, including Dr. Sue Sisley, a former Michigan resident whos currently running marijuana and psilocybin trials at the Scottsdale Research Institute in Arizona with the goal of obtaining FDA approval for the medical use of smokable marijuana. While the majority of U.S. states have some form of medical marijuana program, the federal government contradictorily still labels marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, the definition of which states there is no currently accepted medical use. The U.S. House in December passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019, which, if approved by the Senate and signed by the president, would remove the Schedule 1 limitations. After hearing Michigans clinical money is expected to be distributed this year, Sisley said some of her concerns over the issue have been alleviated. Thompson said the law was crafted with Sisleys trials in mind. The specific language of the law says the money should go to a non-profit organization or researcher within an academic institution researching the efficacy of marihuana in treating the medical conditions of U.S. armed services veterans and preventing veteran suicide. We told them exactly where the money was supposed to go, Thompson said. I was completely surprised to learn they had distributed the monies to cities, but not allocated the monies to research programs. Despite stated plans to move forward with issuing the trial money, Thompson said its an unsatisfactory answer. Its been known that this allocation was required for about two years and theyve had plenty of time to get it done, he said. Clinical trials Sisley, whose work is assisted by the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), said tax-supported clinical trials for marijuana have taken place in other states, and she hopes the selection process in Michigan remains clear and transparent. We are just one among hundreds of scientists that will be applying for this, Sisley said. We have no idea what the criteria are, we have no idea who is on the selection committee (will be). I hope that the (Marijuana Regulatory Agency) will give the public a chance to participate in the process, as they have in other states that have issued research money. It is usually a completely transparent process. Government tax revenue collected in recreational marijuana excise taxes totaled $31 million in fiscal year 2020. When application and licensing fees were added, the total jumped to $45.7 million, according to the state Treasury. Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana commerce in a 2018 law that included a 10% excise tax on all sales. Between Dec. 1, 2019, the day the first sales began, and Sept. 30, the end of the 2020 fiscal year, the industry tallied more than $330 million in sales. The law also provided a specific breakdown as to how those tax funds should be allocated: 15% to local municipalities that allowed recreational sales; 15% to counties, 35% to the education fund and 35% to the transportation fund. The municipal breakdown was prorated based on the number of retail businesses in the community versus the total number statewide, which worked out to about $28,000 in tax revenue per retail business. The transportation and education funds are slated to receive $11.6 million each, with the remaining $12.5 million headed to the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer created to regulate the market for startup and administrative costs. Based on recreational sales through December, state tax revenue from recreational marijuana this year is on pace to more than double. More on MLive: Marijuana tax dispersal to communities MLive to host cannabis industry online forum Glimpse inside Michigan marijuana retail experience Marijuana stock market may be coming to Michigan New taxes, stock market proposed to boost minority investment Michigan to increase access to marijuana market Michigan businesses licensed tow grow over 500,000 plants Marijuana thrives in market changed by the coronavirus Spouses of licensees may be able to work for government A prior marijuana conviction could be a good thing Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night praised 'our friend' Piers Morgan, commending his fellow television host for his refusal 'to let the mob make him lie', and describing him as an 'inspiration'. Morgan, a former presenter on CNN and Daily Mail editor at large, was strongly critical of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to speak to Oprah Winfrey, in an interview that aired on Sunday night in the U.S. and on Monday in the U.K. He accused Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of damaging the royal family and seeking publicity on their own terms - without accepting the responsibility and scrutiny that come with their position. He also accused the Los Angeles-born former actress of lying in the interview, saying he did not believe her version of events. Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night praised Piers Morgan for refusing to bow to a 'mob' Morgan, the host of Good Morning Britain, has been fiercely critical of the Sussexes for years Morgan left the set of Good Morning Britain following his heated argument with Alex Beresford Morgan's criticism sparked a firestorm, and he left Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, following a furious row with his co-host Alex Beresford, which saw him storm off the set. Carolyn McCall, the chief executive of ITV, had said earlier that she believed Markle 'completely'. On Wednesday, Morgan was unrepentant, and told reporters outside his West London home: 'If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.' Carlson applauded the 55-year-old's stance. 'He left his job on the British morning show after failing to be sufficiently impressed by that whiny duchess from LA complaining about how hard her life is,' said Carlson. 'Now Piers Morgan knew what the script was supposed to be - "oh, you poor oppressed duchess" - but he refused to read it, so now he's unemployed. Carlson said that Morgan was right to stick to his opinions, despite pressure to apologize Morgan spoke to reporters outside his home in central London on Wednesday The Sussexes spoke to Oprah Winfrey in the interview shown on Sunday in the United States Carlson then quoted a statement issued by Morgan on Twitter, in which he said: 'On Monday I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle and her Oprah interview. 'I had time to reflect on this and I still don't. 'If you did, okay. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on. 'Thanks for all the love and hate, I'm off to spend more time with my opinions.' Carlson compared Morgan favorably to musician Winston Marshall, who plays the banjo with British folk band Mumford and Sons. Marshall tweeted on Sunday that he had read conservative journalist Andy Ngos book Unmasked: Inside Antifas Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy. 'Finally had the time to read your important book. Youre a brave man,' he tweeted - rapidly deleting it as criticism mounted. On Tuesday he said he is 'taking time away from the band' and would 'examine my blindspots'. Carlson also said Morgan handled the criticism better than The Bachelor host Chris Harrison, who has taken a break from the show after defending a contestant who attended a plantation-themed 'Old South' college party. Winston Marshall, 33, has taken time away from Mumford and Sons for promoting a book Chris Harrison, host of The Bachelor, has stepped aside after he defended a contestant Carlson said: 'So Winston Marshall is leaving his job - another victory for the fascists on the internet. 'That's one way to handle attacks on speech, just surrender: that's what most famous people do. You see it every day. 'The guy that used to host The Bachelor may never work again. 'His crime? No one even knows what he did wrong. But he apologized for it anyway.' Carlson continued: 'Like Winston Marshall, Piers Morgan is out of a job tonight, but unlike Winston Marshall, Morgan told the truth, 'He refused to let the mob make him lie, and that is an inspiration to all of us. 'Piers Morgan just reminded the world that some things are more important than having a job. Like your dignity and your self-respect. History will treat him well. Good for you, Piers Morgan.' Prison Fellowship backs Democrat-led bill to end cocaine sentencing disparity impacting black Americans Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The world's largest evangelical prison ministry organization has voiced support for a Democrat-sponsored bill that could eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and cocaine powder in federal sentencing laws that disproportionately affect black Americans. In a reporter's roundtable on Tuesday, Prison Fellowship partnered with Families Against Mandatory Minimums to discuss the difference between how crack and powdered cocaine are punished in the criminal justice system. During the event, reporters heard from individuals who have suffered from this disparity and advocate for how the Equal Act could rectify the problem. Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., introduced the Equal Act, which would ultimately eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and apply it retroactively to those already convicted. The elimination of this disparity was a priority in President Joe Bidens campaign platform on criminal justice. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 led to a criminal justice disparity in crack and powder cocaine sentencing, even though the two drugs are nearly identical. Under this law, someone who distributed five grams of crack cocaine would serve the same five-year prison sentence as a person distributing 500 grams of powder cocaine, which is a 100:1 disparity. The Fair Sentencing Act passed in 2010 decreased the sentencing disparity from 100:1 to 18:1. Despite the change in 2010, the disparity still exists and especially affects black men since crack cocaine is more prevalent in minority communities. According to a statement from Durbin, 81% of those convicted of crack offenses between 2015 to 2019 were black. The organizations co-launched the #EndtheDisparity campaign in January and are advocating for the 117th Congress to eliminate the crack-powder disparity. Prison Fellowship President and CEO James Ackerman began the panel by saying action is needed to correct the longstanding injustice of crack cocaine disparities. God has no tolerance for disparity for dishonest scales, whether its in the marketplace or the justice system, Ackerman said, referencing Proverbs 11:1. We have seen the impact that injustice has had on communities. We believe as Christians that we are to act to correct injustices." Panelists included Ackerman, Prison Fellowship Senior Vice President of Advocacy & Church Mobilization, Heather Rice-Minus, and FAMM President Kevin Ring. Matthew Charles, one of the first prisoners released under the bipartisan FIRST STEP Act passed in 2018, and William Curtis, a prisoner given a 327-month sentence for the distribution and possession of crack cocaine, also spoke during the event. Charles shared some of his experiences while incarcerated and his life after his release. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison for non-violent drug possession and was released after 22 years since the act was retroactive. [This disparity] is something we can look at judicially and say, This still should not be. If we want to find an adjustment thats based on a racial disparity in a criminal justice system that has an ill-effect, with no real reason for being there, we can just turn to the ratio between these two drug types and yes, even at 18:1, Charles said. Curtis agreed that his crime should have been punished, but the extent of his 327-month sentence did not match the measure of his crime, especially when the sentence for cocaine powder distribution would have been remarkably less. There is no rhyme or reason for it, whether I was selling crack or whether somebody was selling cocaine, Curtis said. We were all dealing an addiction, dealing in a destruction of families, the destruction of men and women. We all deserved to be punished. But should all be punished equally. He added that the unequal 100:1 ratio for crack cocaine sentencing caused him to miss being a father to his children. I encourage this disparity to be changed, Curtis shared. Had I not been sentenced under this 100:1 ratio, I would have gone home a long time ago. . I would have been there to raise my children who are now grown. Other speakers included Frank Russo of the National District Attorneys Association and Jerry Blassingame, a South Carolina pastor and executive director of Soteria Community Development Corporation. Blassingame, a pastor who leads a reentry program, said the system needs an overhaul and the black community is experiencing a fatherless generation due to disparities. FAMM President Kevin Ring said it is important to remember the numbers involved in the justice system are more than statistics; they represent human lives. He said reform for the crack cocaine disparity is long overdue. It took too long to fix it. Im glad we did, but we havent fixed it all the way, and this is what this is all about," Ring said. This change is overdue. Frank Russo, director of government and legislative affairs at the National District Attorneys Association, said the disparity is both a moral issue but a common-sense issue. Now more than ever it is crucial that prosecutors and law enforcement are not just bystanders in efforts like this, Russo said. We need to be role leaders and show that our criminal justice system is equitable and provides those meaningful second chances to improve not only the lives of incarcerated individuals but those in those communities that theyre returning to to end the cycle of crime. Similar bipartisan legislation regarding the crack cocaine disparity is set to be soon proposed in the House of Representatives. His grandfather helped William Booth found the Salvation Army and Hudson Taylor the famous China Inland Mission. His mother Mary spent time working as a missionary in China with Hudson Taylor and with the Rev George Brown in Papua New Guinea. With such a Christian heritage it would come as no surprise when Frederick and Mary Fyshs first son was born, he was christened Hudson after the very well-known missionary pioneer to China, Hudson Taylor. Hudson was born in 1895 at Launceston, Tasmania, the oldest of five siblings: Hudson, Henry, Margaret, Mary and Graham. His childhood was marred by the failure of his parents' marriage and his father's business. Originally staying with his father, he ran away so often that eventually he was able to stay with his mother. In spite of this dysfunctional start to life he became Sir Hudson Fysh, founder of the Australian airline QANTAS. Fysh attended various schools including Launceston Grammar School and Geelong Church of England Grammar School. A poor student at school, Fysh tried to make up for his lack of training; he read voraciously, studied economics and took a course in Pelmanism (memory-training). After leaving school he became a jackaroo and a wool classer. At the outbreak of war, Fysh enlisted as a trooper in the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade. Serving in Gallipoli and in Egypt and Palestine he was commissioned lieutenant in 1916 in the brigade's machine-gun squadron before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps as an observer. Fysh proved an accurate and competent gunner. 1918 In 1918 he was heavily involved in actions against German and Turkish aircraft, airfields and ground troops. He shot or forced down a number of enemy aircraft, including two destroyed on one day. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1919. Before returning to Australia Fysh qualified as a pilot. Seeing the potential in aviation, with his partners, and using mainly war disposals aircraft, Fysh formed the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd in 1920. He remained a regular company pilot for a decade. A shy, quiet man, he had nevertheless great political acumen and a hard head for business and soon established a reputation as a stern, uncompromising taskmaster. He became managing director of QANTAS in 1923, remaining a regular pilot until 1930, when the company registered its first million miles (1.61 million km) and moved its head office to Brisbane. Grand-parents missionary endeavours No doubt the legacy of Fyshs grandfather and mothers missionary endeavours had a significant effect on his outlook on life. Fyshs friendship with the Rev John Flynn demonstrated this fact. QANTAS leased, on very favourable terms, a De Havilland 50 aircraft, the first machine available and suitable for aerial medical work. This was a refurbished war plane especially built to carry a stretcher, a doctor and the pilot. History was made and Flynn's vision for a flying doctor service became a reality on 17 May 1928 when Dr St Vincent Welch, pilot Affleck at the controls of Victory, answered the first call received by the Aerial Medical Service before it became the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Flynns motto was "For Christ and the Continent." This relationship between Fysh and Flynn was instrumental in the growth of outback Australia. In April 1931 Fysh flew the Brisbane-Darwin section of an experimental airmail service between Australia and England. In 1933, as a passenger in the British Imperial Airways monoplane Astraea, he made a survey of the route to Karachi and on 18 January 1934 QANTAS in equal partnership with Imperial Airways founded Qantas Empire Airways Ltd (QEA), with Fysh as managing director. Competition In the face of fierce competition from other local airlines and Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), the new company secured the Australian government airmail contract between Australia and England. With the opening of the England-Australia flying boat service in 1938, the headquarters was moved to Sydney. In 1940 Fysh was a founding director of Tasman Empire Airways Ltd (TEAL) which established the first air service to New Zealand. During the Second World War, Qantas, under Fyshs guidance, assisted the war effort. This included flying long routes and taking troops and equipment to New Guinea and bringing home casualties. In 1947 the Commonwealth acquired the company but Fysh remained managing director; he was chairman until 1966, by which time the company had become established as one of the worlds leading airlines. Sir Hudson Fysh passed away on April 6th 1974, aged seventy nine. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth and a son and daughter. Now Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia and its largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations. The red triangle, with a white silhouette of a kangaroo inside it, is the iconic logo of QANTAS. https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/fiftyaustralians/19 http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fysh-sir-wilmot-hudson-6263 https://atributetoaustralianchristians.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/vh-uer/ http://www.flyingdoctor.org.au Logo celebrating 100 years since QANTAS inception. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Police officers and wait in a line to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at the Brussels Expo center in Brussels, Thursday, March 4, 2021. The Expo is one of the largest vaccination centers in Belgium. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) European Union figures show that the 27-nation bloc has allowed the export of over 34 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines over the past weeks despite shortages at home as it continues to struggle to get its vaccine drive up to speed. Several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the figures said that over 9.1 million doses were exported to the United Kingdom at a time when diplomatic tensions rose over vaccine exports and the implementation of the Brexit divorce agreement. The EU had wanted AstraZeneca vaccines from Britain to make up the shortfall of the company's commitment to the EU. The figures show that even if the EU is accused of "vaccine nationalism" major exports continue from the bloc. The exports are almost as high as the roughly 45 million doses that have been distributed within the EU as of last week. One diplomat said that of over 200 authorizations for export granted only one was refused. Last week, a shipment of more than a quarter million AstraZeneca vaccines destined for Australia was blocked from leaving the EU, in the first use of an export control system instituted by the bloc to make sure big pharma companies would respect their contracts. One official highlighted that the exports were "only for the producers that respect their contract commitments" towards the EU. Another said the figures also did not include exports to poorer nations around the world. A healthcare worker administers a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to a woman at the Brussels Expo center in Brussels, Thursday, March 4, 2021. The Expo is one of the largest vaccination centers in Belgium. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) The EU has been under pressure to increase the pace of vaccinations but member nations have complained that deliveries woefully trail demand. Nowhere is the discrepancy in vaccinations more glaring than in a comparison with Britain. The last available figures show that 35 % of the U.K. adult population has had a vaccine shot while the figure in the EU stands at 9.6 %. The U.K. heads the export list, with Canada coming second with 3.917 million doses, while Mexico was sent 3.134 million. The United States came 8th in the list with export approvals standing at 953,723. The figures leave a sour taste for some, especially considering the export numbers to the United Kingdom. EU Council President Charles Michel lashed out this week saying that "the facts do not lie. The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory." Police officers and others sit in a waiting zone after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine at the Brussels Expo center in Brussels, Thursday, March 4, 2021. The Expo is one of the largest vaccination centers in Belgium. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied there is such a ban, but the EU export figures do indicate that the bloc has had a role in the success of the British drive. The figures were provided by the EU's executive Commission to representatives of member countries. Overall, the representatives have no issue with companies that respect their EU contract to continue such exports. Criticism has centered on AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish company that promised some 80 million vaccines but now says it likely fall short by over half that because of production issues. After an initial U.K. denial, Michel demanded that the U.K. provide more transparency over production and exports to other countries. The EU is a major multinational pharmaceuticals hub with massive production capacity and wants to the companies that respect their commitments to continue exporting. "The EU has never stopped exporting," said Michel. 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. remaining of Thank you for reading! This is your last free article before you will be asked to subscribe. Already have a paid subscription? Sign in Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. You're walking to your car on base when, out of nowhere, music starts blaring. You see service members stop and turn to "face the music." You panic, unsure of what to do, while also silently yelling at your spouse because here is yet another thing he or she didn't tell you about military life. You glance around, hoping to find another spouse that you can ask or copy. Oh, there's one. He's wrangling his toddler into a car seat and doesn't notice what's going on. Maybe you ignore it? There's another one; she is standing silently. You decide it's better not to move. What were you supposed to do? Bugle calls can be confusing, so let's try to make this as easy as possible. What are the military bugle calls? Back in the day, military life was dictated by bugle calls. They told service members when to wake up, when to work, when to eat, when to stop work and when to go to bed. There were as many as 25 bugle calls a day and nine on Sundays. Some bugle calls are no longer relevant, and some installations play more than others. On Army installations, there is a set time for "Reveille'' and "Retreat,'' where on Navy bases, those vary based on sunrise and sunset. The Air Force usually plays the national anthem while some Army installations play a mess call at noon. Overseas, you may not hear the bugle calls in the housing areas, especially if those neighborhoods are tucked away near cities or local neighborhoods. On bigger bases, you may not hear bugle calls at all when you're in your neighborhood. What do you do during a bugle call? Honestly, it depends on which installation and who you are. But according to a 2018 article from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, "Retreat" followed by the anthem or "To the Colors" is played at 5:30 p.m. to signify the end of the workday. At that point, personnel outside and in uniform are to stop, face the direction of the music and salute during the raising or lowering of the flag. They hold their salute through the entire anthem or "To the Colors." If in civilian clothes outdoors, service members are expected to stop, face the direction of the music and place their hand over their heart, like when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. If driving a vehicle, service members should pull over to the side of the road. Requirements for getting out of the vehicle vary by installation and service branch. At JBSA, for example, Army service members are expected to get out of their vehicle, while everyone else can stay inside. However, JBSA did not state specifically what spouses or other civilians should do -- because military regulations can't dictate their behavior. My advice is to pull over if possible, stand still when outside and not stress over what everyone else is doing. When we lived on base in Maryland, my children stopped playing and faced the direction of the music, and as soon as it was over, they anxiously peered down the street while waiting for their father to come home. The military is full of traditions, and this is one way they can be incorporated into our daily lives while living on base. Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. In a year, the coronavirus pandemic has devastated New Jerseys nursing homes, a death toll that is among the worst in the nation. The virus has killed beloved grandmothers and grandfathers, veterans of World War II and Korea, and the workers who care for them at long hours and low wages. All told, the state has reported more than 7,900 confirmed COVID-19 deaths among long-term care residents and staff in the past 12 months, nearly 40% of the states official coronavirus death count. Using data from the Department of Health and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NJ Advance Media mapped those deaths by ZIP code yellow, orange and purple splashes of heartbreak that stretch across New Jersey, from Westwood in hard-hit Bergen County to Lower Township in the southern tip of the state. Is the above map not displaying? Click here. Paramus 07652 had the most long-term care deaths, with 269 deaths reported at 10 facilities in the community. The borough houses the embattled Paramus Veterans Memorial Home, where 81 residents and one staffer died from COVID-19 and seven other deaths are suspected. In October, after pressure from lawmakers, Gov. Phil Murphy announced a leadership shakeup at Paramus and another state-run veterans home, Menlo Park in Edison, where 102 residents are believed to have died from coronavirus. Per capita, some ZIP codes had even higher rates of death, including Andover Townships 07821 in Sussex County. There, 94 deaths have been recorded at Andover Subacute and Rehabilitations two buildings, which became a symbol of problems at nursing homes after 17 bodies were discovered on Easter Sunday in a makeshift morgue. New Jerseys long-term care deaths came in two surges. In the spring, the outbreak caught facilities, the state and the country flat-footed, flooding hospitals and morgues and leading to widespread scrutiny of long-term care operators and the state regulators who oversee them. The deaths picked up again in the fall and winter, even as facilities said they were better prepared and had stockpiled protective equipment and learned to isolate residents who were sickened. But as new cases exploded in New Jersey, the virus still managed to make its way into nursing homes, with tragic results. Still, there is hope on the horizon. Long-term care residents and employees were among the first in line to receive vaccinations, and coronavirus infections in general have been falling in recent weeks as the second wave ebbs in New Jersey. Late last month, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli announced that in-person visits could resume at some nursing homes in the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Somerset, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem, noting declining coronavirus activity in those areas. Since then, three more counties Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland were added, though facilities must meet a host of conditions before they can do so. This is good news, Persichilli said at a news briefing Feb. 24. We are seeing the outbreaks in our long-term care facilities decrease. On Wednesday, federal health officials delivered good news to families that have been waiting for restrictions to be eased. The long-awaited revised guidance calls for facilities to allow responsible indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of whether they or their visitors have been vaccinated, though some restrictions remain under the federal recommendations. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Riley Yates may be reached at ryates@njadvancemedia.com. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened Wednesday to sue the city of Austin and surrounding Travis County after officials there, citing the continued threat of Covid-19, said they would continue to require residents to wear masks even when outside of their residence. Paxtons threat came on the same day the states mask mandate, which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did away with last week, officially expired. City/county leaders must not be thinking clearly, Paxton said in a Tweet. Maybe its oxygen deprivation from quintuple-masking. Whatever the case, theyve tried this before. They lost. Travis County and Austin have a few hours to comply with state law or Ill sue them. Paxton, who like Abbott is a Republican, directed the threat at Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, and ccd Dr. Mark Escott of the Austin-Travis County Health Authority. They were given until Wednesday night to comply. Adler responded to the threatened lawsuit by saying he and Brown will continue enforcing the safety mandates. "We will fight Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Paxtons assault against doctors and data for as long as we possibly can," Adler told the Austin American Statesman in a statement on Wednesday. "I believe leaders need to be clear and unambiguous in their communications and messaging about masking. Masks work! The Governor and Attorney General are simply wrong." Escott made it clear on Tuesday that, as a public health expert, he disagreed with Abbotts decision to lift the mask mandate and said Austins restrictions will stay in place until April 15. Wearing a face covering is one of the easiest ways to slow the transmission of disease in our community, Escott said in a statement released by the city of Austin. While vaccine administration is underway, we are still not in a place of herd immunity and people need to wear face coverings in public and around non-household members so we can avoid a surge of cases. Story continues Image: People have breakfast at Bill Smith's Cafe, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a rollback of Covid-19 restrictions in McKinney, Texas (Shelby Tauber / Reuters) Just 8.5 percent of the population in Texas was fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, the latest statistics showed. The city of Austins statement also included the following line: In the City of Austin, an individual must also wear a face covering when outside of their residence. Austin, which is also the capital of the Lone Star State, is not the only major Texas city that is resisting Abbotts executive order. But Austins defiance appears to go further than that of Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, El Paso and San Antonio, all of which have vowed to keep mask mandates in place, but only on city property or in public schools. The U.S. government is also continuing to require that Texans mask-up in all federal buildings and courthouses and on public transportation. Abbotts surprise announcement last week that he was ditching the mask mandate and loosening other Covid-19 restrictions was harshly criticized by doctors, who warned it could spark another surge in new cases. Political opponents accused the the governor of trying to distract voters from the states disastrous response to the deadly winter storm that shut down the power grid and left millions of Texans shivering in their homes for days. President Joe Biden called the move by Abbott, as well as the similar move by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, examples of Neanderthal thinking and a big mistake. Biden blasted both leaders for easing restrictions even after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against complacency in the face of emerging coronavirus variants. Abbott insisted the state mandates are no longer needed, although admitted Covid has not suddenly disappeared. It is now time to open Texas 100 percent, he said. Under Abbotts executive order, private businesses can fully reopen provided the rate of Covid-19 hospitalizations remain low. Abbotts directive also states clearly that local governments wont be able to fine people who refuse to wear masks in the businesses that still require them. No jurisdiction may impose a penalty of any kind for failure to wear a face covering or failure to mandate that customers or employees wear face coverings, his order reads. But Abbotts order also allows local officials to enforce trespassing laws and remove violators at the request of a business establishment or other property owner. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff in San Antonio said local law enforcement will not hesitate to do so. If a business calls and says, This guy is trespassing on my property and not following the rules that I have, will you come out and remove him ... the sheriff said he would go out and remove them, Wolff said. Masks will also be required for the already reduced number of people attending the NCAA womens basketball tournament, which San Antonio is hosting this year. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers cited Abbotts executive order in its announcement Wednesday that it plans to fill the stands this season at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington to 100 percent capacity. The Rangers are the first Major League Baseball team to do so. But the team will still require fans to wear masks unless they are eating or drinking and will give them three strikes before theyre penalized for non-compliance. Were fully confident that we can do this is in a responsible and safe way, team president and COO Neil Leibman said. There is so much pent-up demand for people wanting to go to events in a safe environment. Emily Berman, a Constitutional law professor at the University of Houston Law Center, said federal law protects Americans from discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, family status, national origin and citizenship but not mask wearing. Still, Berman told NBC News and other local news outlets, businesses can require people to wear masks and customers do not have a constitutional right to enter a particular store or a particular place of business. Businesses can have their own policies, Berman said. I mean, how many restaurants have you seen that say 'no shirt, no shoes, no service'? Texas continues to report nearly 3,000 new coronavirus cases per day and the troubling numbers have ticked upward by 1.6 percent over the last week, according to data compiled by The Covid Tracking Project, even as more and more Texans are getting vaccinated. Public health experts have warned of another possible surge of new Covid-19 infections in the wake of the wintery blast that forced many Texans to abandon their homes and head to heated shelters where there was little, if any, social distancing. Since the start of the pandemic, Texas the second most populous state in the nation after California, with nearly 29 million people has reported some 2.7 million cases and nearly 46,000 Covid-19 deaths, according to the latest NBC News figures. The majority of those infections and deaths came after Abbott did not heed the advice of public health experts and, like Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida, reopened his state after only a short quarantine. Both governors shut down bars last June and issued other public health mandates after the pandemic began rampaging through their states. In making Texas the largest state in the country to end the mask mandate, Abbott argued his state was now in a completely different position from last March when he reluctantly issued his first executive orders aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. We now have vaccines, said Abbott, adding that Texas was now vaccinating people at a rate of 1 million per week. Dr. Mark McClellan, a former Abbott advisor who previously served as U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner under President George W. Bush, disagreed. "We need to remember that we're still facing significant risk of spread among people who are at risk for complications, so (we) just want to take the foot off the brake carefully," McClellan told the Austin American-Statesman earlier this week. "There's still a lot of people who are at risk of serious consequences that aren't protected by vaccines yet. Texas has received 9.7 million doses so far, according to the most recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, and has administered 7.3 million shots. Billboards have come up in the Greater Toronto area thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing COVID-19 vaccines to Canada. The billboard read, "Thank You India and PM Narendra Modi for providing COVID vaccines to Canada. Long Live Canada-India Friendship." The billboard also mentions the Hindu Forum, Canada. Canada received the first consignment of 500,000 AstraZeneca`s "Made-in-India" CoviShield COVID-19 vaccines on March 4. India on Wednesday (February 17) approved one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for Canada. The development comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. It is produced at the Pune-based Serum Institute of India. India will be sending a tranche of 1.5 million more doses to Canada. Prime Minister Modi earlier this month spoke to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and assured him that India will do its best to support Canada's COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Expressing his appreciation, the Canadian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, "it would be significant because of India`s tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and Prime Minister Modi`s leadership in sharing this capacity with the world". The Prime Minister thanked PM Trudeau for his sentiments. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India earlier this month said that "Dear Hon`ble PM @JustinTrudeau, I thank you for your warm words towards India and its vaccine industry. As we await regulatory approvals from Canada, I assure you, @SerumInstIndia will fly out #COVISHIELD to Canada in less than a month; I`m on it!" Live TV WASHINGTON - With the coronavirus relief bill the final expected to get the final green light Wednesday in Congress, setting aside $7.17 billion to help students and teachers get online in an ambitious effort to address the "homework gap." The pandemic exacerbated long-running inequality in access to the Internet throughout the United States. The funding will allow elementary schools, high schools and libraries to purchase Wi-Fi hotspots, modems and routers for students, and also fund the Internet service that those devices use. It will be distributed through the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program, which has long helped schools and libraries obtain affordable Internet access. Geoffrey Starks, the Democratic FCC commissioner, said the funding is necessary to ensure that all students keep learning. He said he recently met with Detroit middle school students and heard firsthand about how they're being "locked out of the virtual classroom." "They told me that a large share of their classmates cannot participate, and many have quit virtual learning out of frustration with slow broadband speeds and inadequate devices," Starks told me in an email. "Those students are not alone." - - - The funding comes as a year of closed schools has highlighted the costs of the digital divide. An estimated 12 million American children lacking basic broadband were unable to connect to online school at a time when that was the only option in many districts. Those students can't get this year back - but lawmakers and advocates hope this funding will be distributed quickly so they do not fall further behind. "Throughout this pandemic, we have asked our students to shoulder an enormous burden and continue their education from home," Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said in a statement. "This funding will help ensure that the 'homework gap' does not grow into a damaging learning and opportunity gap for our children." - - - The pandemic is increasing the pressure for Washington to address the digital divide. Online services have been a lifeline during shutdowns over the past year. And even as society reopens, Americans are expected to be more dependent on the Internet than they were pre-pandemic. The money is a victory for children's advocates who have long pressed Washington to take up some programs. But they say their next goal is to ensure that the funding is effectively implemented, and that there are permanent programs to help youngsters stay online. Jim Steyer, the founder of Common Sense Media who advocates on behalf of children, told me the funding was a "huge" victory. However, he said it's imperative that Washington moves quickly to put the money to work, especially after millions of children effectively lost a year of education. He said it will be challenging to distribute devices to families this spring, but he is hopeful that they will be in a better place by fall. "We need to get the kids the devices and broadband they need, and put this money to work right away," he said. The funding is part of a broader effort to address Americans' access to the Internet during the pandemic. As my colleague Tony Romm has detailed, the last stimulus package created a program allowing low-income Americans to get $50 subsidies toward their Internet bills at a time when such connections are essential for medical appointments, signing up for vaccination and other important tasks. - - - The relief package addresses additional tech problems that arose during the pandemic. In addition to broadband, the package tackles some of the technology problems plaguing local government systems over the past year, as my colleague Tonya Riley has reported. Government websites and systems for registering for unemployment benefits have crashed because of a surge in demand for online services. The bill includes $2 billion in funding to help state unemployment systems distribute funding more effectively, which could be used to limit fraud and bolster websites to keep up with the demand for benefits. The package includes $1 billion for the General Services Administration's Technology Modernization Fund, which directs funding to federal agencies seeking to update and strengthen their technology systems. It also allocates $200 million for the U.S. Digital Service and $150 million for the Federal Citizens Service Fund. Both focus on modernizing government systems. - - - The Washington Post's Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo denied knowledge of a sixth woman who has reportedly accused him of sexual misconduct. Im not aware of any other claim, Cuomo said, adding that no one ever told me at the time that I made them feel uncomfortable. Shortly before Cuomo made this claim, Cuomo senior advisor Richard Azzopardi told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an email inquiry about the accusation: Gov will be talking about this at 4. Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo denied knowledge of a sixth woman who has reportedly accused him of sexual misconduct. The sixth accuser reportedly said the governor inappropriately touched her when she was at his mansion for work last year, an official close to the matter told the Albany Times-Union Tuesday. The publication withheld her name since she could not immediately be reached for comment, but noted that she is a member of the governors Executive Chamber staff. Cuomo said on a press call Tuesday afternoon that he was not aware of the allegation. An advisor to Cuomo, however, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an email shortly before conference that the governor would address questions about the allegation during the press call. Im not aware of any other claim, Cuomo said in response to a question about the reported sixth accuser, adding that no one ever told me at the time that I made them feel uncomfortable. About 15 minutes before Cuomo said he was unaware of the accusation, Cuomo senior advisor Richard Azzopardi told the DCNF in an email: Gov will be talking about this at 4. During a phone call following the press conference, the DCNF pressed Azzopardi about why Cuomo said he was unaware of the accusation, since Azzopardi had said that the governor would be discussing the allegations on the call. Oh ok, alright, Azzopardi said. I meant to say it was going to come up. The governors office did not further address the allegations. Acting counsel to the governor Beth Garvey said in a statement to the DCNF that all allegations that we learn of directly or indirectly are going promptly to the investigators appointed by the attorney general. The unnamed Cuomo staffer would be the sixth woman to come forward and accuse the governor of sexual misconduct. Republican New York lawmakers began taking steps Monday to introduce a resolution to impeach the embattled New York governor. Cuomo faces two separate investigations: one into his workplace behavior by the attorney generals office, and another from the Department of Justice into his role in undercounting nursing home deaths in New York. Former Cuomo aide Ana Liss came forward with her allegations in a Wall Street Journal interview published Saturday evening. Liss accused the governor of touching her lower back, kissing her hand and inquiring about her relationship status. Former Cuomo aide Karen Hinton told the Washington Post Saturday that Cuomo hugged her in an embrace that was very long, too long, too tight, too intimate in a dimly lit hotel room on a 2000 trip to Los Angeles. He was the head of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development at the time. Anna Ruch, who was not a Cuomo aide or staffer, met the New York Democrat at a September 2019 New York City wedding reception, she told The New York Times. Ruch said the governor put his hand on her bare back, moved close to her, told her she was aggressive when she removed his hand, placed his hands on her cheeks and asked her if he could kiss her. Her friend later told her that he had kissed her cheek, she said. Former Cuomo aide Charlotte Bennett told The New York Times that Cuomo asked her about her sex life, asked her whether she practiced monogamy, whether she was interested in older men, and discussed her past sexual assault with her in an uncomfortable manner. Former Cuomo staffer Lindsey Boylan accused the governor of kissing her without her consent during a one-on-one briefing, making her uncomfortable and making a number of sexually charged comments to her. By Mary Margaret Olohan From The Daily Caller News Foundation. One of three military helicopters to be used in training missions in the Okanagan for the next few weeks is unloaded from an RCAF plane at Kelowna airport on Thursday morning. Brandyn Minor walked out of the job fair at the soon-to-open Estancia del Norte hotel on Wednesday morning saying he was more than a happy man his six months of joblessness were nearly over. Month after month of unemployment, you start getting discouraged, he said. Now things are looking up. Minor, 24, landed the position of front-office manager at the San Antonio luxury hotel after two days of interviews, capping a process that began in January when he applied for the job. Its been nerve-wracking, he said. He began his job hunt in September when he was laid off from his operations manager job at the Hotel Indigo San Antonio Riverwalk amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He had worked in San Antonios hospitality industry for five years. You apply for many jobs in different places, but there are a lot of people out there with similar qualifications, he said. There are just so many people unemployed. Its hard to compete. In other words, job seekers are crowding around too few hotel positions. Hotels provided 8,293 jobs in the San Antonio area at the start of 2021, little more than half the 15,446 positions that existed in February 2020 before the pandemic hit, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The hotel industry has been the most lagging of all the industries in San Antonio, said Keith Phillips, senior economist at the Dallas Fed. Hoteliers filled only 42.7 percent of their rooms on average last year, down from 64.4 percent in 2019, according to San Antonio hotel consulting firm Source Strategies. That was the lowest 2020 rate among all metro areas in Texas. But there is hope for the industry. With more Americans getting vaccinated against COVID-19, leisure travelers are beginning to feel comfortable again taking trips, though business travelers arent expected to return in big numbers this year. Phillips estimates that about 5,000 hotel jobs could return to the area in 2021. Minor was one of 100 applicants who came to the Estancia del Norte, across from the North Star Mall on Northeast Loop 410, on Tuesday and Wednesday. He and 14 other applicants got the good news at the job fair: hired. Others have to wait a few days to find out if theyll receive an offer. The 277-room hotel, a $11 million remake of the DoubleTree San Antonio Airport Hotel, will employ 125 people when it opens in mid-April. Rene Vasquez, the hotels general manager, expects to hire another 75 workers by the summer. The positions range from housekeepers, who will earn $11 an hour, to executive positions like Minors, which can pay more than $50,000 a year. At the job fair, the hotel was hiring housekeepers, bartenders, dishwashers, hotel van drivers, front desk clerks and a sous-chef. Some applicants had worked at the DoubleTree before it closed in April 2020. Walter Contreras lost his job as a DoubleTree driver and security guard. Hed worked at the hotel for three years. Fortunately, he was able to keep a second job as a bellman at the Hilton Palacio del Rio on the River Walk. Contreras, who immigrated to the U.S. from Lima, Peru, in 2012, said working two full-time jobs helped him provide extras for his two daughters, 6 and 11 such as trips to a theme park. With one job, hes cut back. They ask, Can you take me to this place and buy me this? he said. I have to tell them, Right now, we cant. Estancia del Norte hired Contreras on the spot Tuesday. With two jobs once again, he expects to work seven days a week, but said he doesnt care about the long hours. Contreras will be meeting lots of new faces at Estancia del Norte. Vasquez said only about 30 of the 150 people who worked at the DoubleTree hotel want to come back, even though they have a leg up in hiring. They know the lay of the hotel, he said. That is an advantage. But some former employees have yet to get the COVID-19 vaccine and are nervous about going to back to work at the hotel. Others are waiting for their unemployment to run out, Vasquez said. Under the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill President Joe Biden signed Thursday, unemployment recipients in Texas will receive $719 per week on average, according to the Dallas Fed. Phillips said collecting unemployment is an attractive alternative to low-paying hotel jobs. With many laid-off hotel workers still lacking vaccinations and still receiving unemployment it might not be easy for hotel operators to find workers as check-ins rebound. If hotels see a surge in demand, the question is can hotels get their workers back? Phillips asked. For his part, William Prato is eager to get back to work. He worked for 18 years at the Westin Riverwalk San Antonio as a catering supervisor, making sure the tables, chairs and tableware were in place for events. He was laid off last March. Then he and two of his three teenage children caught COVID-19. Prato said he recovered after two weeks of coughing, gasping for breath and chills. While unemployment checks have helped him survive, Prato was thankful Tuesday after learning hed been hired as a catering supervisor at Estancia del Norte. I was getting bored at home, he said. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio hotels saw revenue drop nearly 50% in 2020 Some Estancia positions are more competitive than others. Vasquez said about 40 people applied for front-office manager, more than double the number hed expected. Weve had candidates from a lot of bigger hotels who lost their job, not only from San Antonio, but from Houston, Dallas, even South Carolina, he said. Brandyn Minor was picked from 12 finalists for the job. Minor, a car fanatic, said hed had to sell his 2018 Ford Fusion and2019 Mustang to make ends meet since losing his job. He now drives a 1997 Kia Sportage. Unfortunately, you have to pay the rent, the electricity, to put food on the table thats more important, he said. randy.diamond@express-news.net Its been 10 years since a song that dominated the year in music didnt garner a nomination at the Grammys, and that was TiK ToK, the drunken party anthem and multi-platinum debut single from pop singer Kesha. The Weeknd joins an exclusive club of songs that were crowned biggest hit of the year by Billboard but fell short at the Grammy Awards. The wattage in The Weeknds Blinding Lights wasnt strong enough to compete at the Grammys but the song isnt the only electrifying No. 1 hit that the Recording Academy snubbed. And in the last 30 years, only five No. 1 songs of the year have missed out at the Grammys. Others joining The Weeknd and Kesha are the rock-pop hit Hanging by a Moment from Lifehouse, the top song of 2001; R&B trio Nexts racy hit Too Close, which won over 1998; and the 1996 pop culture moment that was the Macarena, by Spanish duo Los del Rio. Its horrible company to be in, Ron Aniello, who produced Hanging by a Moment and discovered Lifehouse, said with a laugh. Were talking about industry people voting, were not talking about the public, so its quite different, Aniello continued. I think that was a very popular song for the general public but Im not sure how seriously (the Grammys) took the band to put them first for voting. If you remember it was their first hit. They had no history. Were going to vote for Lifehouse for best song of the year? Why should we? Who are they? They were undefined as artists, so maybe that had something to do with it. Like Lifehouse, Kesha was a new artist marking her breakthrough when her song became the years biggest hit. Though she launched multiple successes from her debut album, the girl who jokingly sang about brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels and described her personal style as a garbage chic wasnt immediately seen as a serious musician, and it didnt surprise many when she didnt earn Grammy recognition in her debut year, especially for TiK ToK. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. World powers bear responsibility for ignoring crimes against humanity that may still be perpetrated by authorities in North Korea amid a focus on its nuclear programme, a U.N. human rights investigator said on Wednesday. Tomas Ojea-Quintana urged the U.N. Security Council to refer grave violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the International Criminal Court for prosecution. He voiced concern at reports of severe punishments imposed for breaking COVID-19 lockdown measures, including alleged orders to "shoot on sight" anyone trying to cross the border. "Crimes against humanity may be ongoing," Ojea-Quintana told the U.N. Human Rights Council. He had received information confirming the findings of a landmark 2014 U.N. Commission of Inquiry on extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, rape, forced abortion, sexual violence, political persecution and "the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation" in the isolated country. "The urgency to stop violations of such a scale, gravity and nature cannot take a back seat to national interests or geopolitical interests," Ojea-Quintana told the Geneva forum. This was not justifiable under the U.N. Charter, he said, adding: "I believe that the Security Council bears responsibility for its inaction against the continuation of crimes against humanity in the DPR Korea." Ojea-Quintana presented his latest report, issued last week, which said that drastic measures taken by North Korea to contain the novel coronavirus have exacerbated abuses and economic hardship for its citizens, including reports of starvation. "We are concerned about increasing reports of starvation, imprisonment and summary executions," U.S. charge d'affaires Mark Cassayre told the council. Australia's deputy ambassador, Jeffrey Roach, said that North Korea's top priority should be improving the lives of its citizens. "Instead, the regime's focus remains on developing weapons of mass destruction and the vehicles for delivering them," he said. North Korea's mission to the U.N. in Geneva did not respond to Reuters' queries for comment. Pyongyang does not recognise the U.N. investigator's mandate and boycotted Wednesday's debate. It has previously rejected U.N. allegations of crimes against humanity. (Reuters) VANCOUVER, BC, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recent webinar poll, Clarius Mobile Health found that 81% of 364 veterinarians consider improved diagnostic accuracy as the top advantage of using ultrasound in their practice and 58% noted the benefit of starting treatment plans sooner. While adoption is growing rapidly, not every veterinary practice offers ultrasound today. Another poll clarified that a lack of training options and ultrasound knowledge are key barriers to widespread adoption. On March 31, 2021, Dr. Soren Boysen and Dr. Serge Chalhoub from a leading veterinary school in Canada will teach how to differentiate common causes of cough and respiratory difficulties in cats and dogs during a one-hour webinar: Veterinary Point-of-Care Pleural Space and Lung Ultrasound for Everyday Practice. Free registration is now open. To address this need for ultrasound training, wireless ultrasound pioneer Clarius Mobile Health has engaged ultrasound educators to deliver practical educational webinars for veterinarians. "At Clarius, we've seen a 1,300% increase in sales of handheld veterinary ultrasound scanners over the past three years. With the shutdown of medical conferences and in-person workshops this past year, we took training online to serve our growing community of veterinarian users. In our first vet webinar, we were delighted to welcome thousands of registrants seeking education," says Genese Castonguay, Marketing Vice President at Clarius. "With our new webinar series, we're delighted to work with ultrasound experts who are passionate about helping their colleagues to learn practical imaging skills and deliver better patient care." On March 31, 2021, Dr. Soren Boysen and Dr. Serge Chalhoub from a leading veterinary school in Canada will teach how to differentiate common causes of cough and respiratory difficulties in cats and dogs during a one-hour webinar: Veterinary Point-of-Care Pleural Space and Lung Ultrasound for Everyday Practice. Free registration is now open. Veterinary point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the pleural space and lung (PLUS) is commonly used as a patient-side diagnostic tool to rapidly identify underlying conditions and help direct further diagnostics and start initial therapy. The webinar will be an interactive lecture with case examples and teach easy-to-learn practical ultrasound skills that veterinarians can apply in everyday practice. "Point-of-care ultrasound has become an essential piece of the puzzle when it comes to managing veterinary patients," says Dr. Soren Boysen, Professor of Veterinary Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences. "We can actually, right there at the cage side, gain a very rapid evaluation of what's causing that patient to have respiratory difficulty or a cough within 30 to 60 seconds. That first-line evaluation with the point-of-care ultrasound, right there when the patient comes in, is hugely impactful when it comes to comforting the owners, figuring out where we're going to go, and discussing prognosis, costs, etc. It makes a huge difference on how we manage those patients." In addition to live webinars, Clarius offers previously recorded webinars for viewing on-demand. Last month's webinar was presented by ultrasonography educator Dr. Camilla Edwards, DVM, CertAVP, MRCVS: Practical Small Animal Ultrasound: Diagnosing Pathology with Intestinal Gallbladder and Spleen Exams. Dr. Edwards also contributed three new tutorial videos now featured on the Clarius Classroom at http://www.clarius.com/classroom. About Clarius Mobile Health Clarius is on a mission to make accurate, easy-to-use, and affordable ultrasound tools available to all medical professionals in every specialty. With decades of experience in medical imaging, the team knows that great ultrasound imaging improves confidence and patient care. Today, Clarius handheld wireless ultrasound scanners connect to iOS and Android devices, delivering high-resolution ultrasound images traditionally only available with bulkier, high-end systems at a fraction of the cost. More than one million high-definition scans have been performed using Clarius wireless handheld scanners. Clarius scanners are available in over 90 countries worldwide. Please contact Clarius for more information. Learn more at www.clarius.com. Media Contact: Genese Castonguay Marketing Vice President Phone: +1 (866) 657-9243 ext. 221 | Direct: +1 (604) 260-7077 SOURCE Clarius Mobile Health Related Links http://www.clarius.com New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday directly called for Andrew Cuomo's immediate resignation in light of a 'disgusting' new allegation leveled against the scandal-scarred governor. A sixth woman came forward on Tuesday to accuse Cuomo, 63, of sexual misconduct. The Cuomo aide, whose identity has not yet been made public, claims the governor called her to his Executive Mansion last year, where he reached under her blouse and fondled her. When quizzed during a daily press briefing Thursday whether, considering the latest allegation, he was now ready to publicly call for Cuomo's resignation, de Blasio let out an exasperated sigh, before adding: 'Yeah'. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Hizzoner continued: 'The latest report, and the fact that we can talk about how many people have been come forward with accusations. Its not one, its not two, its not three, its not four, its not five its six women who have come forward. 'Its deeply troubling, the specific allegation that the governor called an employee of his - someone who he had power over - he called them to a place and then sexually assaulted her is absolutely unacceptable. 'It's is disgusting to me,' de Blasio continued. 'He can no longer serve as governor. It's as simple as that.' De Blasio's demands followed in the wake of a group of 59 Democratic state legislators signing and publishing a letter similarly demanding Cuomo immediately step down earlier this morning. Scroll down for video New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday directly called for Andrew Cuomo's resignation for the first time Justifying his stance Thursday, de Blasio continued that over the last few weeks, 'so many troubling things' have emerged about Cuomo, with not only five other women accusing him of sexual harassment or misconduct, but also the controversy surrounding the nursing home scandal and alleged cover-up of death totals. 'We still don't have the truth about that,' he said of nursing home deaths. 'And their families need and deserve to know the truth. 'We know one thing: We know there was a purposeful cover-up and that alone is unacceptable and disqualifying. 'These six women have come forward with these powerful and painful stories and particularly this most recent report is just disqualifying. He just cant serve as governor anymore,' de Blasio concluded. His comments Thursday mark the first time de Blasio has publicly called for Cuomo to resign over the allegations, having continuously skirted the question during other recent briefings. Before Cuomo's sixth accuser came forward, de Blasio did allude to the idea he believed the governor should step down, saying Monday he thought 'more information' would come out that would make it harder for him to stay in office. 'Ill say it my own way,' he said. 'I just dont see how he can govern effectively when fewer and fewer people believe him. I think theres more information thats going to come out that makes it harder and harder.' Cuomo, meanwhile, has denied the allegations and has insisted there is 'no way' he will be resigning. 'I have never done anything like this,' he said of his sixth accuser's claims. 'The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report.' However, four other former aides and another woman have also accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, with the allegations ranging from making inappropriate comments, to making unwanted physical contact. The sixth accuser, who has not been named, said her incident occurred late last year at the Executive Mansion in Albany (pictured) Joining de Blasio's calls Thursday are 59 Democratic lawmakers, who all signed a letter similarly demanding his immediate resignation. The letter released by the group comes as Cuomo's grip on power in the state seems increasingly tenuous. The top Democrat in the state Assembly, Speaker Carl Heastie, said he will meet with members in conference today on 'potential paths forward' in light of mounting allegations. Nineteen senators and 40 Assembly members said in the letter that it was time for Cuomo to go. 'In light of the Governors admission of inappropriate behavior and the findings of altered data on nursing home COVID-19 deaths he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, rendering him ineffective in this time of most urgent need,' the letter said. 'It is time for Governor Cuomo to resign.' The number of signatories comprise nearly 40 percent of the Democratic Party's total membership in the Assembly and Senate, where it holds firm majorities. Of the 40 signers who serve in the Assembly, if they were all to join forces with the 43 Republicans in the Assembly, they would have seven more votes than the minimum of 76 required to impeach Cuomo. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) during a radio interview called the new claim against Cuomo 'nauseating,' but did not call for the governor to step down. Cuomo has denied the allegations and has insisted there is 'no way' he will be resigning Cuomo's sixth accuser anonymously came forward with her allegations Tuesday. The woman said she was summoned by the governor to the Executive Mansion in Albany, last year after Cuomo told her he needed help with his cellphone. With the pair alone on the second floor in his personal residence, Cuomo allegedly closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her. The woman, described as being 'much younger' than Cuomo, allegedly told him to stop. The three-term New York governor faces harassment allegations from five other women, including former aide Charlotte Bennett, 25. Bennett's attorney, Debra Katz, said in a statement released Wednesday evening that the latest allegations are 'eerily similar' to Bennett's own story. 'The Governor's sexual harassment, which Charlotte Bennett reported, was buried by his aides and never properly investigated,' Katz's statement said. 'Because of their enablement, another young woman was left in harm's way.' Bennett has said she was summoned to the Capitol on a weekend and left alone with Cuomo, who asked her for help with his cellphone. She has said Cuomo asked about her sex life and propositioned her. Similarly to Bennett, the sixth accuser also indicated that Cuomo had touched her and made flirtatious comments on multiple occasions. 'That the governor does not deny touching people, but insists he never did it inappropriately, shows he is committed to gaslighting victims and perpetuating these lies. This is exactly how abusers operate,' Katz said. Ana Liss, 35, (pictured left) previously served as Cuomo's policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015 but claims he subjected her to sexual misconduct during her time in his administration. Karen Hinton (right) claims the governor summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event in 2000 before she managed to escape Charlotte Bennett (above), 25, worked as an aide for Cuomo. She claims he sexually harassed her and left her 'terrified' Anna Ruch, 33, (left) claimed Cuomo behaved inappropriately at a Manhattan wedding in September 2019. Lindsey Boylan, 36, (right) claims Cuomo commented on her appearance inappropriately, kissed her without her consent and went out of his way to touch her on her lower back, arms and leg According to the Times Union, the latest allegations came to light as Cuomo staffers watched the governor's March 3 press conference, his first after initial sexual harassment claims made in late February. In it, he denied ever touching a woman inappropriately. The aide subsequently became emotional, and told a female supervisor who approached her about her encounters with the governor. At least one supervisor reported the allegation to an attorney in the governor's office Monday, the newspaper reported. Prior to Wednesday's report, the allegations against Cuomo include a combination of claims that he made the workplace an uncomfortable place for young women, ranging from flirtatious comments to a nonconsensual kiss. At least four accusers - Bennett, Lindsey Boylan, Anna Liss and Karen Hinton - worked for the governor in Albany or during his time in President Bill Clinton's Cabinet. Another, Anna Ruch, told The New York Times that she met Cuomo at a friend's wedding where he touched her face and asked to kiss her. Cuomo has denied inappropriately touching anyone, but said he is sorry if he made anyone uncomfortable and didn't intend to do so. Anna Ruch claimed Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her just moments after they met at a September 2019 wedding in Manhattan. After seeing the above photo, dozens on Twitter called Cuomo a 'Sexual Frankenstein' State Attorney General Letitia James has put together an investigative team to probe Cuomo's workplace conduct. The governor has called on lawmakers and the public to await the results of that investigation. Federal investigators are also scrutinizing how his administration handled data concerning COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes. Cuomo has been under fire for weeks, beginning with revelations that his administration withheld details from the public about the pandemic's death toll among residents in state nursing homes. Scrutiny of the governor - who received accolades during the height of the coronavirus pandemic for leadership that yielded a book deal and calls for a national political career - intensified when former adviser Boylan, 36, reiterated harassment claims made in December, fleshing them out in a late February blog post. A spokesperson for Cuomo has not yet returned a DailyMail.com request for comment. PORT HURON, MI -- A joint operation between police and animal control led to the rescue of 19 cats and 3 dogs from a Port Huron home where they were living in rough circumstances, police say. Central Dispatch was advised there were a number of cats, several dogs, and a raccoon inside a home at the 700 block of Tunnel Street on Monday, March 8. Officers arrived and found the residents were living in deplorable conditions, according to a Port Huron Police Department news release. Several cats were observed and the St. Clair County Animal Control was contacted for assistance. Members of the Port Huron Police Criminal Investigative Division and the divisions Animal Control and Support Services Officer, along with the St. Clair County Animal Control Shelter, executed a search warrant to conduct a joint operation at the residence on Tuesday, March 9. Employees seized a total of 19 cats and three dogs, per the release. No raccoon was found. Several of the animals were sick or diseased and a couple needed urgent care, police said. The floors were covered in animal urine and feces. The building inspector was called and deemed the residence unfit for living. A married couple who live in the home -- a 53-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man -- were cooperative and had made plans to relocate elsewhere, police said. The case remains under investigation and charges are forthcoming. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the Port Huron Police Department Animal Control/Support Services Officer at 810-984-9715 or CAPTURE (Crime Awareness and Prevention Through a Unified Reporting Effort) at 810-987-6688. Anonymous texts can also be received by texting the keyword CAPTURE and the message/tip to 847411 or by downloading the Port Huron PD app on an apple or android device. Tips can also be emailed by clicking on the CAPTURE link at www.porthuronpolice.org. Read more on MLive: Man arrested for threatening to burn down a Port Huron elementary school Police break up suspected dog fighting ring in Flint while executing drug warrant No criminal charges issued in fatal cannon explosion at Michigan baby shower Criminal jury trials in Genesee County Circuit Court on hold until April 28 Special investigate unit focusing on getting firearms, narcotics off Flint streets The Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDP-GF) has pledged to support the federal government to address insecurity and restore peace in troubled areas of the country. The Chairman of the Forum and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, said this while briefing journalists at the end of the forums first physical meeting held on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Tambuwal said the PDP governors agreed to support the federal governments initiatives in ensuring whatever would re-establish peace in Nigeria, be it discussion, negotiations or kinetic approach. This is a very productive meeting that reviewed the situation of the country, the security challenges in the country. As governors of the PDP, we have agreed and resolved to continue to work with the federal government with the sole aim of re-establishing peace in troubled areas of the federation, he said. We must not play politics with security and we must all work together to ensure that we bring back peace in our land. So we have agreed to continue to work with the federal government in that regard. Mr Tambuwal said the forum appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to continue to support state governments in the discharge of their mandates. He said, We are appealing to Mr President to reconsider certain measures by bringing more succour and relief to the people of Nigeria. He should support state governments in the discharge of their mandate, by making available resources to the states. This is important so that we can execute our mandate and ensure that we engender good governance and good conditions of living in our respective states throughout the country. Party matters On PDP, Mr Tambuwal commended the National Working Committee (NWC) initiative for constituting the National Reconciliation Committee to reconcile aggrieved members of the party across the country. We have received an interim report from that committee. They are doing very well and we are encouraging them to continue in that regard. The Governors Forum is going to back their efforts strongly so that we can possibly bring back those members of our party who have left out of anger and certain situations, he said. Mr Tambuwal also said no member of the forum was contemplating leaving PDP for another party. As you can see, most if not all of the governors of the PDP attended this meeting. This a very clear statement that no governor of PDP is contemplating leaving the party for any other party. We are brothers and we have committed ourselves to the party and to ensure that we continue to deliver on our mandate to the people of our respective states. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Tambuwal said the governors also agreed to work together with the NWC of the party to continue with what they started. On e-registration of members of the party, Mr Tambuwal said the governors appealed to the NWC to immediately set up machinery in motion to actualise it. READ ALSO: He also disclosed that the forum set up three committees on finance, legal matters and legislative interface. The committee on finance is being led by the forums Deputy Chairman and Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River; legislative matters by the governor of Bauchi, Bala Mohammed, and that of legal matters, led by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers. NLC On the protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress on alleged plans to move the minimum wage from executive to concurrent list, Mr Tambuwal described the accusation by the NLC as misplaced. He said that no governor advocated for that. Former Senate President and Chairman, PDP National Reconciliation Committee, Bukola Saraki, while speaking to journalists after the meeting, said the committee briefed the governors on its efforts to reunite the party. We briefed them on efforts we have made so far, what we have been able to achieve, our strategy, and how we are going to work together, he said. He said that the committee efforts were already yielding positive results. We had stakeholders that were not ready working together. Now theyre working together, they are meeting. We have states where we have differences. People now are coming together, Mr Saraki said. Also in attendance were governors of Abia, Delta, Oyo, Edo, Enugu, Bayelsa, Benue, Zamfara states and the deputy governor of Adamawa State. (NAN) The intensive care unit at Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona in mid-January. MASSIMILIANO MINOCRI / EL PAIS [Note: The Health Ministry has since corrected the Wednesday data, and the incidence actually fell slightly rather than rising. Please click here to read the latest story detailing the corrections.] The trend of the coronavirus pandemic and adjustments to the data after Catalonia was unable to report its figures on Tuesday led to a situation yesterday that many had feared: the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants rose in Wednesdays Health Ministry report. This key data point, which is being used to monitor the progress of the health crisis in Spain, came in at 139.59, when on Tuesday it was 139.08. The news has prompted questions as to whether this could be the start of a fourth wave, or whether it is simply one of the usual fluctuations in the curves once they hit their minimum levels. Wednesdays report added 13,459 new coronavirus cases to the total, which is a significant rise after Tuesdays low figure of 4,013 The point at which there was a change from the end of the second wave and the start of the third was seen on December 10, when the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants was 188.72. Back then there was no question about what was happening: the parameter stopped its continuous fall, which began on November 4, and then rose uninterruptedly until January 27, which is six weeks ago, when it reached 899.93 cases. Wednesdays report added 13,459 new coronavirus cases to the total, which is a significant rise after Tuesdays low figure of 4,013, partly attributable to the lack of data from Catalonia. Looking at the seven-day figure, it is clear the trend is a rising one. In the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Extremadura and the North African city of Melilla the incidence rate was up in Wednesdays report compared to the day before. The other indicators, meanwhile, are not rising. The number of deaths added to the total in yesterdays report was 234, the lowest single-day figure since January 8. The official Covid-19 death toll in Spain now stands at 71,961. Hospital occupation by coronavirus patients has fallen from 8.57% to 7.28% in seven days, while for intensive care unit (ICU) beds, the drop has been from 26.26% to 22.89%. At this point, it is practically impossible to predict how the pandemic will progress in the future. But there is an exercise that can be done with certain guarantees: a forecast of what would happen if the other factors do not change. That is what the National Distance Education University (Uned) has been doing by applying artificial intelligence to the data series so far. The team at Uned, called Precov2, has concluded that if nothing changes, the fall in cases that is currently being registered will continue for around 14 days, until it levels off at about 3,000 cases a day from that point. A model from Uned predicts that, if nothing changes, the number of deaths will slow down until it reaches around 1,300 a week which is nearly 200 a day The important thing to point out is that this prediction is based on nothing changing, says the Uned artificial intelligence professor Jose Luis Aznarte, who led the project. The model is predicting that the incidence will fall in all territories over the next seven days, apart from in the North African city of Ceuta. The model also predicts that the number of deaths will slow down until it reaches around 1,300 a week. Manuel Franco, the spokesperson for the Spanish Society for Public Health and Healthcare Administration (Sespas), argues that this level which is nearly 200 deaths a day should mean that coronavirus restrictions remain in place. Several regions are already starting to relax their measures given the improved epidemiological data. Aznarte admits that the curve predicted by his model will change with the circumstances, such as the vaccination drive or increased social contact during the upcoming Easter week. But Miguel Angel Martinez Beneito, a statistics expert from the Spanish Epidemiological Society, believes that given the nature of the pandemic and the time that new cases take to show symptoms and be tested, the progress over the next seven days will be in line with the forecast. Franco, for his part, insists that the incidence is getting to the point where there is a serious risk that the situation will worsen, and points to the vaccine drive and social restrictions as being fundamental to prevent this from happening. English version by Simon Hunter. Chahid El Hafed, March 11, 2021 (SPS) - The president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Brahim Gali, called the African Union (AU) on Monday to play a prominent role and assume its historical responsibilities, in line with its principles that provide Western Sahara people the right to independence and self-determination. In an address at a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) on Western Sahara, held by videoconference, President Ghali urged African heads of State and Government to "actively contribute to the establishment of peace between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and its neighbor, Morocco, on the basis of respect of borders, the non-acquisition of land by force, respect for the sovereignty of member states, the unity and territorial integrity of their territories and the right of African peoples, without discrimination, to self-determination, independence and sovereignty". "We make the AU face its responsibility and assume its duty," the Sahrawi leader said with respect to Western Sahara issue. "To say that the Union should not play a leading role in the Western Sahara issue alongside the United Nations is a statement that contradicts historical truth and contradicts AUs responsibility to defend its principles and objectives." For President Ghali, the African Union is not only a partner of the United Nations in the peace process, but rather a body which has worked for many years and which has made hard efforts leading to the approval of Resolution. Resolution 104 of 1983 laid the groundwork for the UN settlement plan adopted in 1991 that provides for a referendum on self-determination.SPS 125/090/TRA NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Venture capitalists across the world are making hefty investments in start-ups and businesses related to kick scooter sharing services. For instance, in 2018, Balderton Capital, a London-based venture capital firm, invested $50 million in VOI Technology AB, a Sweden-based electric kick scooter sharing firm. Similarly, Dott and Tier have received heavy funding from EQT Ventures, Naspers Ventures, Goodwater Capital, and Mubadala Capital. These investments will fuel the kick scooter sharing market advance at a CAGR of 51.3% during 20192025. According to P&S Intelligence, the market will reach $4,090.5 million by 2025 as a result of such funding. Additionally, the increasing focus on first- and last-mile connectivity will propel the demand for this shared mobility service in the coming years. The services offered by carsharing and ride-hailing companies have been unsuccessful in bridging the gap infirst- and last-mile transportation. This gap has been efficiently covered by kick scooter sharing services, as they are a cheaper option for traveling shorter distances, usually less than 3.1 miles per trip. These services are primarily provided via the station-less or dock-less model, which enables customers to drop off these scooters at any location, as per their convenience. Get the sample copy of this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/kick-scooter-sharing-market/report-sample The benefits offered by these services have lured in a large population of the millennials, who fall within the age bracket of 20 to 35 years. Millennials consider kick scooter sharing an enjoyable and fun commuting option and find these services useful for sightseeing and exploring while traveling to new places. Thus, the concept of kick scooter sharing is gaining popularity among young tourists on account of the flexibility of mobility and parking offered by it. On account of the increasing popularity, Neutron Holdings Inc. (Lime), Taxify OU (Bolt), TIER Mobility GmbH (Tier), Neuron Mobility Pte. Ltd., Skinny Labs Inc. (Spin), Bird Rides Inc. (Bird), emTransit B.V. (Dott), BYKE Mobility GmbH (Wind), Grin Scooters SAPI de CV (Grin), Waybots Inc. (Skip), Beam Mobility Holdings Pte. Ltd. (Beam), Bycyshare Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Mobycy), LMTS Holding S.C.A. (Circ), and mytaxi Polska sp. Z.o.o. (Hive) are entering the fray.For instance, Lime launched 100 kick scooters in Roanoke Island, North Carolina, in October 2019 and250 kick scootersin Montreal, Canada, in August 2019. Browse detailed report with COVID-19 impact analysis on Kick Scooter Sharing Market Research Report: By Model (Multimodal, First and Last-Mile), Geographical Outlook ( U.S., Canada, Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia) - Industry Trends and Growth Forecast to 2025 @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/kick-scooter-sharing-market Geographically, North America is expected to lead the kick scooter sharing market in the coming years due to such a strong presence of service providers such as Spin and Bird, apart from Lime. The service was first introduced in the North American countries to solve the issue of first- and last-mile connectivity. On the other hand, the European region is expected to adopt kick scooter sharing services at the fastest pace in the foreseeable future, due to their growing popularity in Spain, Belgium, Austria, France, and Switzerland. Make enquiry about this report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=kick-scooter-sharing-market Thus, the increasing focus on first- and last-mile connectivity will accelerate the usage of kick scooter sharing services in the future. Browse More Reports: Scooter Sharing Market Presently, Europe is the largest scooter sharing market, as the urban road congestion here is pushing governments to encourage people to shift to shared mobility instead of taking their own vehicles out. https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/scooter-sharing-market Micromobility Market Asia-Pacific is the most significant region for the micromobility market, as its vast middle-class population wants nothing more than a cost-effective commute. https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/micromobility-market About P&S Intelligence P&S Intelligence is a provider of market research and consulting services catering to the market information needs of burgeoning industries across the world. Providing the plinth of market intelligence, P&S as an enterprising research and consulting company, believes in providing thorough landscape analyses on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness. Contact: Prajneesh Kumar P&S Intelligence Contact: +1-347-960-6455 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com SOURCE P&S Intelligence SAO PAULO, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BRASKEM S.A. (B3: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6;NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK) announces today its results for 4Q20 and 2020. 4Q20 HIGHLIGHTS: Braskem - Consolidated: The Company's recurring Operating Result was US$833 million , 22% higher than in 3Q20, explained mainly by better spreads for resins and main chemicals in Brazil , for PP in the United States and for PE in Mexico . Compared to 4Q19, recurring Operating Result in U.S. dollar was 246% higher, due to: (i) the better spreads for resins and main chemicals in Brazil , for PP in the United States and Europe and for PE in Mexico ; and (ii) the higher sales volume of resins and main chemicals in Brazil . In Brazilian real, the recurring Operational Result was R$4,522 million , 23% and 355% higher than in 3Q20 and 4Q19, respectively, due to the depreciation in the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar. , 22% higher than in 3Q20, explained mainly by better spreads for resins and main chemicals in , for PP in and for PE in . Compared to 4Q19, recurring Operating Result in U.S. dollar was 246% higher, due to: (i) the better spreads for resins and main chemicals in , for PP in and and for PE in ; and (ii) the higher sales volume of resins and main chemicals in . In Brazilian real, the recurring Operational Result was , 23% and 355% higher than in 3Q20 and 4Q19, respectively, due to the depreciation in the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar. In 2020, the Company recorded a net loss 1 of R$6,692 million , explained mainly by the provisions related to the geological event in Alagoas in the amount of R$6,902 million and by the impact of the exchange variation on the financial result given the Brazilian real depreciation against the U.S. dollar on net exposure of US$3,400 million . of , explained mainly by the provisions related to the geological event in Alagoas in the amount of and by the impact of the exchange variation on the financial result given the Brazilian real depreciation against the U.S. dollar on net exposure of . In the year, the Company registered positive net cash generation of R$1,276 million , mainly due to: (i) strong operating result; (ii) the monetization of PIS/COFINS credits of R$1,786 million ; and (iii) the reduction of the Company's projected investments by 23%. These impacts were partially offset by the impact from working capital on cash flow in the first half of the year, given the cash consumption caused by the change in the feedstock profile, with lower volumes of imported naphtha. , mainly due to: (i) strong operating result; (ii) the monetization of PIS/COFINS credits of ; and (iii) the reduction of the Company's projected investments by 23%. These impacts were partially offset by the impact from working capital on cash flow in the first half of the year, given the cash consumption caused by the change in the feedstock profile, with lower volumes of imported naphtha. Supported by the Company's cash generation and continued commitment to its financial health, corporate leverage measured by the ratio of Net Debt to recurring Operating Result 2 in U.S. dollar was 2.94x. in U.S. dollar was 2.94x. In the year, the overall accident frequency rate with and without lost time (CAF + SAF) was 0.95 event per million hours worked, 71% below the industry average 3 . The rate is the lowest rate of the last three years and was achieved with the efforts and training under the Company's Human Reliability Program. Also, the Company achieved the best historical results in process safety with a Tier 1 accident frequency rate of 0.07 Tier 1/million hours. . The rate is the lowest rate of the last three years and was achieved with the efforts and training under the Company's Human Reliability Program. Also, the Company achieved the best historical results in process safety with a Tier 1 accident frequency rate of 0.07 Tier 1/million hours. In December 2020 , the Company concluded an important advance relating to the geological event in Alagoas and its potential impacts by entering into agreements for Compensation of Residents and for Socio-Environmental Reparations (jointly referred to as "Agreements"). After approval of the Agreements by the competent authorities, the Public-Interest Civil Actions filed against Braskem relating to the compensation of residents and social and environmental reparations arising from the geological event in Alagoas were dismissed. , the Company concluded an important advance relating to the geological event in Alagoas and its potential impacts by entering into agreements for Compensation of Residents and for Socio-Environmental Reparations (jointly referred to as "Agreements"). After approval of the Agreements by the competent authorities, the Public-Interest Civil Actions filed against Braskem relating to the compensation of residents and social and environmental reparations arising from the geological event in Alagoas were dismissed. In December 2020 , Braskem concluded the renewal of its feedstock supply agreements for its petrochemical plants with Petrobras by executing contracts for the supply of petrochemical naphtha to its industrial unit in Sao Paulo and for ethane and propane to its industrial unit in Rio de Janeiro . The purpose of the contracts, with duration of around 5 years after the end of the current contracts in December 2020 , is to supply annual volumes of up to 2 million tons of petrochemical naphtha to Sao Paulo and of up to 580,000 tons of ethylene equivalent (ethylene volume for each ton of ethane and propane) to Rio de Janeiro , with prices based on international references. , Braskem concluded the renewal of its feedstock supply agreements for its petrochemical plants with Petrobras by executing contracts for the supply of petrochemical naphtha to its industrial unit in Sao Paulo and for ethane and propane to its industrial unit in . The purpose of the contracts, with duration of around 5 years after the end of the current contracts in , is to supply annual volumes of up to 2 million tons of petrochemical naphtha to Sao Paulo and of up to 580,000 tons of ethylene equivalent (ethylene volume for each ton of ethane and propane) to , with prices based on international references. In February 2021 , the Company announced the resumption of chlor-alkali production and dichloroethane in its unit located in the Pontal da Barra district of Maceio, Alagoas, which had been shut down since May 2019 . To restart the Chlor-Alkali Plant, Braskem concluded the project to produce brine as feedstock made from imported salt, which allowed it to resume production of PVC and caustic soda with an integrated model. , the Company announced the resumption of chlor-alkali production and dichloroethane in its unit located in the Pontal da Barra district of Maceio, Alagoas, which had been shut down since . To restart the Chlor-Alkali Plant, Braskem concluded the project to produce brine as feedstock made from imported salt, which allowed it to resume production of PVC and caustic soda with an integrated model. In the quarter, recycled products sales reached 5.7 kton, up 310% from 3Q20, reflecting the stronger demand in Mexico and the start of recycled resins commercialization in Europe . and the start of recycled resins commercialization in . In the year, the utilization rate of green ethylene was 87%, an increase of 9 p.p. in relation to 2019, and Green PE sales achieved 170 kton, higher 5% in relation to the previous year, being both amounts historical records since the beginning of Company's biopolymers operations in 2010. Brazil: The recurring Operating Result in Brazil was US$680 million ( R$3,684 million ), 29% higher than 3Q20, mainly due to the higher spreads in the international market for PE, PP, PVC and main chemicals, accounting for 79% of the Company's consolidated recurring Operating Result. was ( ), 29% higher than 3Q20, mainly due to the higher spreads in the international market for PE, PP, PVC and main chemicals, accounting for 79% of the Company's consolidated recurring Operating Result. In 4Q20, in line with its strategy of prioritizing serving the Brazilian market, the Company registered resin sales volume in the domestic market of over 1,0 million tons, which is approximately 17% higher than its historical average4. United States and Europe: The recurring Operating Result in the United States and Europe was US$117 million ( R$626 million ), 12% lower than in 3Q20, mainly due to the lower products supply in both regions, and accounting for 13% of the Company's consolidated recurring Operating Result. In relation to 4Q19, the 87% increase is basically explained by better PP spreads in the United States and Europe . and was ( ), 12% lower than in 3Q20, mainly due to the lower products supply in both regions, and accounting for 13% of the Company's consolidated recurring Operating Result. In relation to 4Q19, the 87% increase is basically explained by better PP spreads in and . In the quarter, the ramp-up process of the new PP plant in the United States (Delta) improved significantly in terms of both production volume and quality of the material produced. The new plant's production was 101 ktons, representing approximately 90% of utilization rate, considering the quarterly production capacity of around 113 ktons. Mexico: The recurring Operating Result in Mexico was US$63 million ( R$350 million ), 20% lower than 3Q20 and 18% lower than 4Q19. Mexico's recurring Operating Result accounted for 8% of consolidated the Company's consolidated recurring Operating Result. was ( ), 20% lower than 3Q20 and 18% lower than 4Q19. recurring Operating Result accounted for 8% of consolidated the Company's consolidated recurring Operating Result. In the quarter, Braskem Idesa imported approximately 35,000 tons (average of 7,000 barrels per day) of ethane from the United States to complement the ethane supplied by Pemex, which represented 9% of the PE utilization rate of the Petrochemical Complex in Mexico , whose utilization rate stood at 48% in the quarter. In December 2020 , Braskem Idesa completed an expansion of the Fast Track operation, which currently has an expected capacity of 20 thousand barrels per day of ethane, or about 30% of the total ethane requirement of the petrochemical complex. to complement the ethane supplied by Pemex, which represented 9% of the PE utilization rate of the Petrochemical Complex in , whose utilization rate stood at 48% in the quarter. In , Braskem Idesa completed an expansion of the Fast Track operation, which currently has an expected capacity of 20 thousand barrels per day of ethane, or about 30% of the total ethane requirement of the petrochemical complex. In December 2020 , the subsidiary Braskem Idesa was notified by the Centro Nacional de Control del Gas Natural ("Cenagas"), the Mexican government agency responsible for the natural gas pipeline and transportation system in the region, regarding the unilateral suspension of natural gas transportation, an energy input essential for the production of polyethylene at the Petrochemical Complex in Mexico . As a result, and respecting the safety protocols, Braskem Idesa immediately suspended its operations. , the subsidiary Braskem Idesa was notified by the Centro Nacional de Control del Gas Natural ("Cenagas"), the Mexican government agency responsible for the natural gas pipeline and transportation system in the region, regarding the unilateral suspension of natural gas transportation, an energy input essential for the production of polyethylene at the Petrochemical Complex in . As a result, and respecting the safety protocols, Braskem Idesa immediately suspended its operations. On January 7, 2021 , the Company announced the partial resumption of polyethylene production by Braskem Idesa based on an experimental business model that follows all safety protocols and reduces the impacts on serving the demand from Mexico's plastics industry. , the Company announced the partial resumption of polyethylene production by Braskem Idesa based on an experimental business model that follows all safety protocols and reduces the impacts on serving the demand from plastics industry. According to Notice to the Market of March 1, 2021 , Braskem Idesa signed with PEMEX and Cenagas the following documents to enable BI continued operation: , Braskem Idesa signed with PEMEX and Cenagas the following documents to enable BI continued operation: i. a memorandum of understanding ("MoU") with PEMEX setting out respective understandings for the discussion of potential amendments to the Ethane Supply Contract and for the development of an ethane import terminal, subject to negotiation, entering into definitive documentation, approvals of BI's shareholders and creditors and with reservations of rights; and ii. an agreement for natural gas transport service with CENAGAS, with a term of 15 years, such term conditioned upon the execution of the definitive documentation referenced in item (i) above. With the execution of these documents by BI, BI commenced to receive the service of natural gas transportation, which had been unilaterally terminated in December 2020 , allowing the Company to use natural gas in its production process and electricity generation. Additionally, the existing Ethane Supply Contact between BI and PEMEX has not been modified. At the time, BI cannot predict the outcome of such discussions with PEMEX, its shareholders and creditors. The full earnings release is available on the Company's IR website: www.braskem-ri.com.br/home-en Braskem will host conference calls to discuss its Results THURSDAY, March 11 at 09:00 a.m. US ET. Additional information may be obtained from the Investor Relations Department at +55 11 3576-9531 or [email protected]. 1Based on net loss attributable to the Company's shareholders. 2Excludes the Project Finance in Mexico and based on recurring EBITDA. 3 The industry average is 3.25 per million hours worked according to the American Chemistry Council. The most recent data refers to 2018. 4Considering the historical average since 1Q10. SOURCE Braskem S.A. Epic has already filed a claim with the court against Apple on similar grounds. Sydney, March 10 (IANS) Fortnite creator Epic Games on Wednesday said that it has filed a legal claim against Google with the Federal Court of Australia, continuing what it calls "pursuit for fairer digital platforms globally". In the claim, Epic alleges that Google's anti-competitive conduct breaches the Australian Consumer Law as well as various sections of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The company has alleged that Google abuses its control over the Android operating system restricting competition in payment processing and app distribution on the Google Play Store. This harmful conduct stifles innovation, reduces consumer choice and inflates prices, Epic claimed. Epic said that for apps obtained through the Google Play Store developers are forced to use Google's in-app payment services that take a 30 per cent commission. Google also makes it "egregiously difficult to download apps directly onto Android devices, forcing the vast majority of users to obtain apps through the Google Play Store." "Google gives the illusion of being open by making arguments about the presence of alternative app stores on its platform or allowing direct downloading of apps from third party providers, but in reality these situations are so rare that they barely make a dent in the monopoly of the Android OS," Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement. "The barriers Google places on Android OS are real. In the case of direct downloading, it makes the process so difficult and scary that it deters users from downloading apps from third party-websites even though it is a totally normal way for users to get apps on a desktop." This claim complements legal proceedings already underway in the US and UK, as well as an antitrust complaint against Apple in the European Union. Epic said it is not seeking damages from Google or Apple. The Fortnite creator said it is simply seeking fair access and competition that will benefit consumers and developers. Fortnite was removed from Apple and Google's app stores worldwide after it broke rules about in-app purchases. --IANS gb/bg "This scholarship truly acknowledges and represents the best qualities in Elizabeth: her hard work and heart. Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard is honored to establish the Elizabeth Olszewski Memorial Scholarship fund at UIC John Marshall Law School. The Fund was established in memory of attorney Elizabeth R. Olszewski, a 2012 graduate of the Law School who passed away in February 2020. The Fund will provide scholarships to entering UIC Law students who are in the top 10 percent of the applicant pool with preference given to students from Wisconsin. Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard established the Fund in 2021 to honor Elizabeths legacy and passion for the practice of law. Elizabeth was an excellent student, and her hard work in law school carried through to her legal career, allowing her to become a very accomplished lawyer in a short period of time, Tara R. Devine, Managing Partner of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchards Lake County office said. Elizabeth was at the top of her class and was very proud of her achievements in law school and Wisconsin roots. This scholarship truly acknowledges and represents the best qualities in Elizabeth: her hard work and heart. Ever since her childhood years growing up in Union Grove, Wis., Elizabeth knew she wanted to be a lawyer. As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, she had her sights set on law school and received a B.A. cum laude in political science with a concentration in law and criminal justice in 2008. She then took a job working in a plaintiffs personal injury law firm in Racine, Wis. and continued working there through her time as a law student at John Marshall Law School in Chicago. A member of the Law Review, she graduated magna cum laude. In 2013, Elizabeth joined Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard as a plaintiffs personal injury attorney. During her seven years with the firm, Elizabeth had a profound impact on her colleagues, clients, and countless other people she encountered inside and outside the courtroom. In recognition of her outstanding legal work, Elizabeth was recognized as a Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers and as an Emerging Lawyer by Law Bulletin Media, an honor given to the top 2% of the lawyers in Illinois who are under 40 years old or have practiced 10 years or less. When she wasnt tirelessly working up a case for one of her clients, Elizabeth volunteered with the Waukegan 2 College program, a non-profit organization focused on providing assistance to students who have limited abilities in navigating the college application process, such as language or financial barriers. Elizabeth was also active in several professional organizations and regularly made presentations and speeches to legal groups on her trial experience at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard. UIC Law is the 16th college at the University of Illinois at ChicagoChicagos largest university and its only public Carnegie Research 1 institution. Located in the heart of the Citys legal, financial and commercial districts, UIC Law is recognized as one of the most diverse law schools in the nation and is a leader in providing access to underrepresented students. For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 372-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com CHILOQUIN, Ore. Six months after Chiloquin Elementary School became a hub for support during the Two Four Two Fire, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley recognized staff with the gift of a flag that flew over the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Two Four Two Fire started on September 7 near Collier State Park, growing during the unprecedented Labor Day winds to eventually cover more than 12,500 acres. More than a thousand structures were threatened, with 70 damaged and 35 destroyed. For a time, more than 600 homes in the area were evacuated. Chiloquin was not directly threatened by the flames, but staff at the elementary school spent the week checking in with students and their families, making sure that they were safe and offering help. The school, with the help of donations from the Klamath Tribes and others, served as a distribution hub for food, water, and other essentials. The staff rallied quickly in the face of adversity and spent days coordinating with families who were impacted, providing supplies, cooking meals, and even responding and putting out spot fires on nearby properties, Merkley said in a virtual town hall on Tuesday. More than 70 families were assisted by the Chiloquin Elementary team, and the flag is a way to symbolize our appreciation for your excellent efforts. Principal Rita Hepper and Vice Principal Janelle Emard headed the response effort, with help from Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School Principal Scott Preston. Were incredibly humbled and grateful to get this recognition, Hepper said during the presentation. It was an unexpected first week of school for us. I want to thank our Chiloquin Elementary School staff, The Klamath Tribes, local churches, family members and friends, our high school principal, Klamath County School District, Friends of the Children and many other organizations that were part of our efforts. "I feel honored I think we all feel honored to be part of such a close and amazing community. Senator Merkley traditionally awards a flag from the Capitol to a community group or program that is making a positive difference in the community, the Klamath County School District said. During the presentation, Merkley also recognized the Klamath Tribes for their efforts during the fire. The Tribes opened up lodging at the Sleep Inn hotel for fire crews and volunteers, set up a staging ground for the Red Cross, used their health clinic for rapid COVID-19 testing of emergency responders, and created a GoFundMe campaign for those impacted by the fire. New Delhi: Young voters show their forefinger marked with indelible ink after casting vote during the sixth phase of 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in New Delhi, on May 12, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Surat: Young voters show their Voter ID cards as they arrive to cast their votes for the third phase of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, at a polling booth in Gujarat's Surat, on April 23, 2019. (Photo: IANS/PIB) Image Source: IANS News Hyderabad, March 11 : With the campaigning for elections to two seats of the Telangana Legislative Council ending Friday, all the contestants were busy making their last bid attempts to woo over 10 lakh graduates who are eligible to cast their votes. The campaigning reached a feverish pitch on Thursday as leaders of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and opposition BJP and Congress and independent candidates tried to reach out to voters in Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar and Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda constituencies. Key leaders of these parties and candidates addressed a series of meetings with graduates from various walks of life, seeking their support for Sunday's polls. Major contestants also tried to catch the attention of graduates through online campaign, highlighting what they propose to do and attacking their rivals. The polls assumed significance in view of the recent victory of the BJP in the by-election to Dubbak Assembly seat and its impressive performance in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls. Concerned over the emergence of the BJP as the main opposition, the TRS is going all out to retain Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda seat and wrest Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar from the saffron party. The TRS roped in all ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other elected representatives in 70 Assembly segments spread over the two constituencies to ensure the victory of its candidates. The ruling party has once again fielded P. Rajeshwar Reddy from Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda while it has given ticket to former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's daughter Vani Devi in Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar. TRS Working President and cabinet minister K.T. Rama Rao himself is leading the party campaign. Addressing 3-4 meetings every day, he is highlighting the achievements of the TRS government during last six years, especially 1.32 lakh jobs provided in the government departments, and attacking the BJP for discriminating against Telangana and the Congress for its failures in the past. Realising that a win in the MLC polls will brighten its prospects ahead of Assembly polls in 2023, BJP is running an intensive campaign in both the constituencies. Party's central leader incharge of the state Tarun Chug addressed several meetings as part of the campaign. The party also roped in Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' for a couple of meetings in Hyderabad where BJP's N. Ramchander Rao is seeking re-election. Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy, BJP state President Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other party leaders also participated in the campaign and targetted the TRS for its failures on various fronts during last six years. The Congress is also making a determined effort to revive its fortunes in the state by wresting the two seats from the TRS and the BJP. The party has fielded former minister G. Chinna Reddy from Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-Mahabubnagar and former MLC S. Ramulu Naik from Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda. Presence of candidates of various other parties and independents has made it a tough contest. In Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-Mahabubnagar, Professor N. Nageshwar Rao is contesting as an independent candidate. He had represented the seat twice in the past and is considered popular among voters, whose numbers have doubled to 5.17 lakh since the previous election. In all, 179 candidates have filed nominations for Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar seat. The entry of Professor M. Kodandaram of Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) in Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda has made the poll battle interesting. Kodandaram had played an active role in Telangana statehood movement with Chandrasekhar Rao but parted ways after he was sidelined by the TRS following formation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014. A bitter critic of KCR's policies, he floated the TJS. A record number of 78 candidates, many of them independents, are in the fray for Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Graduates' constituency. German police say they have solved a nine-year-old burglary using DNA found on a half-eaten sausage. Officers in the western town of Schwelm said the DNA on the food matched that of a man detained in France over an unrelated crime. The 30-year-old Albanian had a bite of the sausage which belonged to the victim, police said. German police say they have solved a nine-year-old burglary using DNA found on a half-eaten sausage (file image) The break-in took place in March 2012 and detectives had been stumped for years over the mystery sausage bandit. It wasn't clear what type of sausage - known in Germany as wurst - the burglar had nibbled, though police said it was a hard variety. Investigators were recently alerted that French police had taken a matching DNA sample. Officers in the western town of Schwelm (pictured) said the DNA on the food matched that of a man detained in France over an unrelated crime A man had been arrested in France over an unrelated violent crime. But Schwelm police said the suspect remains free and, in the wurst case, he may escape punishment. The statute of limitations on the burglary has expired, meaning he will likely not be extradited to Germany. 8,312 new cases were confirmed. The number of people infected with the coronavirus in Hungary now stands at 489,172. The number of deaths stands at 16,497 while the number of those recovered now stands at 344,267. 128,408 is the number of active infected, 8,329 patients are hospitalized, 911 of them are on ventilators. Vaccination is ongoing, with 1,149,557 people already vaccinated, of which 327,428 have already received their second vaccination. We are in the ascending branch of the third wave of the epidemic, with an increasing number of active infected and hospitalized patients, which is why the government has decided to tighten the restrictions that came into effect on Monday. The vaccination program is going well, on schedule, Hungary is already second in the EU vaccination ranking. Most GPs will take over the AstraZeneca vaccine from today, and it is their job to vaccinate registered elderly people who have not yet been vaccinated in their practice. Hospital vaccination sites have Sputnik and Pfizer vaccines, which will also continue to vaccinate registered seniors submitted primarily by GPs. Vaccination of chronic patients under the age of 60 postponed last weekend with AstraZeneca will be available at hospital vaccination points between Thursday and Sunday, and those affected have already received the call via SMS. The third wave of the coronavirus epidemic across Europe is proving stronger than ever. Due to the drastically rising number of patients, the government has decided to tighten the restrictions, which came into effect on Monday. It must now be closed so that the country can reopen as soon as possible. The additional protection measures that took effect in the two weeks from March 8 to March 22 are as follows: Wearing a mask is mandatory on all streets and public areas within the residential area. If possible, keep a protective distance of at least 1.5 meters from the other person. Work is possible, but where possible, we recommend working from home. In the state administration, work from home can be ordered, except for those who contribute to the defense. The evening curfew is still in force between 8pm and 5am. One case of exemption from the curfew is work, which, however, needs to be justified. Sample certificate can be downloaded here. A call center set up for advice on the coronavirus can be reached on +36-80-277-455 and +36-80-277-456 or by email koronavirus@bm.gov.hu Source: koronavirus.gov.hu Information security management is at the heart of everything we do and the driving force behind securing ISO/IEC 27001 certification, said Conor Daly, chief technology officer at Tr3Dent. Tr3Dent, the leading global provider of an intuitive, end-to-end strategic planning platform that empowers digital transformation, today announced that it achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for information security management. This certification exemplifies Tr3Dents commitment to meeting the highest industry standard for information security compliance and keeping customer data safe. A market leader in the areas of business ecosystem modeling and strategic planning, Tr3Dent is trusted by companies of all sizes around the world with the complex and sensitive information required to achieve digital transformation. With security a top priority, completing the stringent ISO/IEC 27001 certification process validates and enhances its information security policies, ensuring the highest level of security for customers. Information security management is at the heart of everything we do and the driving force behind securing ISO/IEC 27001 certification, said Conor Daly, chief technology officer at Tr3Dent. Our diverse, global customer-base has high expectations and requirements for information security standards, and were pleased to show that our data security management is up to the task. The ISO/IEC 27001:2013 details the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system as well as assessing and treating information security risks. In completing this certification, Tr3Dent received expert guidance from Fullstream Business Services, a leading business and IT management consulting firm. About Tr3Dent: Tr3Dent empowers organizations of all sizes to quickly, easily and confidently navigate their digital transformation journey. Leveraging its expertise in visualization technology, Tr3Dents intuitive, end-to-end strategic planning platform, Transformation Accelerator, enables cross-organizational productivity and collaboration while simplifying the organization, design and management of the complex information required to enable successful digital transformations. Founded in 2014, Tr3Dent serves more than 500 organizations and partners around the world across a variety of industries, including management and IT consulting, technology, education, telecommunications, insurance, healthcare, supply chain and retail, rely on Tr3Dent to empower digital transformation. Headquartered in Galway, Ireland, Tr3Dent also maintains operations in Toronto, Canada. For more information, visit http://www.tr3dent.com and follow on Twitter @Tr3Dent. A vial with the Moderna CCP virus vaccine is displayed at the corona vaccination center at the university hospital in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on Jan. 22, 2021. (Ronny Hartmann/AFP via Getty Images) 39-Year-Old Mother Dies After 2nd Dose of Moderna Vaccine: Family A 39-year-old healthy single mother from Utah died four days after taking a second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 1. According to local news channel KUTV, her family said that Kassidi Kurill, who was a surgical technician for plastic surgeons, had more energy than most people around her and was a happy person with no known health problems. I didnt really cry when my dad died. I cry a lot for her, her father, Alfred Hawley, a former fighter pilot in the Air Force, told the outlet. She was the one who promised to take care of me. She was seemingly healthy as a horse, Hawley told Fox News. She had no known underlying conditions. Hawley said that Kurill started to have symptoms after receiving the shot, experiencing soreness at the shot location, then beginning to feel ill and complaining that she couldnt urinate despite drinking plenty of fluids. She improved slightly the next day, but then her condition worsened; she said she had headaches, felt nauseated, and still couldnt urinate. On the morning of Feb. 4, Hawley woke up to his daughters plea for help. [She] said her heart was racing and she felt like she needed to get to the emergency room, he told KUTV. He took her to the emergency room, where she got blood tests. Hawley said she became less coherent and began to throw up. In the evening, they transported her to a trauma center. They did a blood test and immediately came back and said she was very, very sick, and her liver wasnt functioning, Hawley said. The doctors attempted to stabilize her for a transplant, but her condition worsened to the point where she could no longer talk by the morning of the next day. They were trying to get her to a point where she was stable enough for a liver transplant. And they just could not get her stable, he said. She got worse and worse throughout the day. And at nine oclock, she passed. Kurills family is still waiting for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. They set up a GoFundMe page titled Kassidi Kurill and Emilia Memorial Fund, in her and her 9-year-old daughters honor. KUTV led an investigation into COVID-19 vaccine side effects and found four deaths were reported by families and caregivers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told The Epoch Times in an email that as of March 8, more than 92 million doses of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 had been administered, with 1,637 deaths occurring following the injections. The CDC states on its website, To date, VAERS has not detected patterns in cause of death that would indicate a safety problem with COVID-19 vaccines. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) was put in place in 1990 to capture unforeseen reactions from vaccines. Moderna didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. Celia Farber contributed to this report. The Government hopes the campaign will prevent vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority communities (DCMS/PA) Shareable videos of an imam, a pastor and clinicians have been created with the aim of dispelling misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine. A series of clips and images have been put together by the Government with the support of social media giants including Facebook and Twitter, in a bid to address concerns about low vaccine uptake among ethnic minority communities. Trusted community figures feature in the material, urging people to be mindful of misinformation and check before you share. The campaign is particularly aimed at countering the spread of misleading and false details via private messaging apps such as WhatsApp, where it is harder to detect. Expand Close Example of one of the posts that the Government hopes will help people think before sharing misinformation (DCMS/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Example of one of the posts that the Government hopes will help people think before sharing misinformation (DCMS/PA) It comes after Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said anti-vaccination messages are very, very cleverly, hyper super-forensically targeted at different communities with false claims about fertility proving to be sadly quite potent. The campaign is the first to be designed by the Government specifically for private instant messaging services, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said. Reverend Alton Bell, senior pastor at the Wembley Family Church, said: As a faith leader and scientist in the black community, Im lending my voice to this campaign because it is absolutely vital people get the facts about the vaccine, not rumours which could do them harm if they believe them. My message is simple: be aware of false information online and check before you share. Qari Asim, a senior imam at the Makkah Mosque in Leeds and chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, who also took part, said: Its natural that people might have questions about vaccines, but were seeing instances where theyve relied on unfounded theories or fake news to make a decision to delay taking the vaccine. We want people to be aware of the false information that is being circulated on these platforms and make informed choices based on the information from the health authorities and faith leaders. We want to harness the power of social media to tackle false information and encourage take-up of life-saving vaccines among ethnic minorities Digital and Culture Minister Caroline Dinenage The campaign carries three tips for people to follow, including checking where the information comes from, looking closely to see whether it seems trustworthy, and urging people not to share it if they remain unsure about what is claimed. Champions are also helping dispel myths around the vaccination process, using Facebook and WhatsApp groups to hold Q&As to help drive take-up of the vaccine. Digital and Culture Minister Caroline Dinenage said: We want to harness the power of social media to tackle false information and encourage take-up of life-saving vaccines among ethnic minorities. Our new toolkit and campaign will help people access reliable and factual information on vaccines and builds on the good work platforms are already doing to promote trusted quality information. Etihad Energy Services, (Etihad Esco), a subsidiary by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), has announced an agreement to upgrade lighting systems at Drydocks World facilities. This agreement represents collaboration and the strategic partnership between the two parties driving sustainable and energy-efficient solutions in refrigeration, lighting and water sectors. Etihad Esco said the scope of work includes the application of modern, smart, indoor, and outdoor lighting solutions at Drydocks World facilities with 378 lighting units to be replaced at the smithery and pipes workshop, as well as at outdoor lighting areas. Drydocks World CEO Captain Rado Antolovic said through its strategic partnership with Etihad Esco, it was committed to improving energy efficiency at its facilities, using world-class, cutting-edge technologies. As for targeted savings, the company expects that the project will save around 943,094 kWH annually, equalling to AED419,676 ($114,240) , the equivalent power consumption of 60 apartments per year a 55% of the total lighting power consumption in the targeted areas. Etihad Esco said it aims to create an energy-efficient contracting market for energy service companies by auditing and proposing energy conservation standards for contractors and developers of buildings, by retrofitting of buildings and increasing energy efficiency, in addition to solar energy projects and the provisoion of smart supervision and control solutions through measurement and verification centers. The Dewa unit also plays its role in raising the awareness, guidance, and training of all community groups and workers in this field, including contractors, consultants, and service users. Acting COO Faisal Al Raisi said: "Etihad ESCO is proud to provide a variety of energy services to Drydocks World facilities. The current project will add modern lighting solutions to the solutions package." "Etihad Esco seeks to implement several energy efficiency projects and expand the utlisation of these projecs by customers, contributing to the realization of the 2030 Demand Side Management Programme and strategy; which was developed by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), the DSM strategy and its various programs to achieve 30% reduction in energy consumption by 2030," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Press Release March 11, 2021 De Lima hits Duterte's 'staggering duplicity' in human rights policy Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has slammed President Duterte's duplicity in his government's human rights policy following his order for troops to kill all communist rebels in the country. De Lima, a known human rights defender here and abroad, said Duterte's order only proves that his previous declaration that he will protect human rights is nothing but a big lie. "When he spoke before the UN months ago, Duterte tried to deceive the world with a barefaced lie that he and his government respect and uphold human rights. Now, he flaunts his true self: 'Kill them. Finish them off. Don't mind human rights,'" De Lima said in a Twitter post. "The duplicity of the man is staggering!" added De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime. During his speech at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2020, Duterte vowed to continue to protect the human rights of Filipinos, especially from "the scourge of illegal drugs, criminality, and terrorism." However, just recently, Duterte told the police and military to "ignore human rights" in going after communist rebels as he particularly ordered them to "kill" and "finish [them] off". Prior to these, it can be recalled that Duterte in 2018 admitted that his only sin are the extrajudicial killings as part of his war on drugs, saying, "Sabi ko nga sa military, ano kasalanan ko? Nagnakaw ba ako diyan ni piso? Did I prosecute somebody na pinakulong ko? Ang kasalanan ko lang 'yung mga extrajudicial killing." De Lima, a former justice secretary, said that Duterte keeps on contradicting himself because the only thing consistent about him is his malicious and shameless lies. The International Criminal Court (ICC), in a report issued by Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda last year, said it found "reasonable basis to believe" that crimes against humanity were committed under Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign. Note that in March 2018, Duterte ordered the withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, and while the withdrawal was formalized on March 17, 2019, Bensouda proceeded with her probe. "The blood of the thousands of EJK victims are already in Duterte and his enablers' hands. They will never be able to wash it with empty rhetoric, lies, and repeated denials that EJKs are not state-sponsored," De Lima said. COPPELL, Texas, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tree Hut, the makers of America's No. 1 Body Scrubs, is now giving its loyal fans the ability to sweeten their glow from head to toe with a line of four new Sugar Face Scrubs that were developed to hydrate, brighten, purify and nourish. After decades of unmatched body exfoliation, Tree Hut is expanding and evolving its beloved body scrub formulation into gentle face scrubs after a groundswell of interest from the brand's customers for a facial exfoliation solution with the same skin-loving attributes of the original Shea Sugar Body Scrubs. Tree Hut's New Sugar Face Scrub Collection While Tree Hut has been the leader in the body scrub category for years, Millennials and Gen-Z have boosted the brand's popularity on social media in the last year after touting the Shea Sugar Body Scrubs as a must-have self-care staple making it go viral. With more than 59.7 million views on TikTok and over 150,000 five-star reviews, the popularity of Tree Hut's Body Scrubs ushered in the Face Scrub line, which mimics the glowing results of its body counterpart. "Tree Hut's Shea Sugar Body Scrubs, with quality ingredients and unique scents, have been a top-seller for years, but the reinvigorated interest in the product and brand via social media engagement has inspired us to evolve our offerings to include facial care," said Jon Song, President of Naterra International, Inc. "The incredible support from our fans has been our best resource in developing new innovations for the brand, like the Sugar Face Scrubs, featuring our beloved and classic sugar base that has exfoliated and moisturized skin for so many decades." The Tree Hut Sugar Face Scrubs come in four different formulas infused with superfoods Brightening Pineapple and Papaya, Hydrating Watermelon and Cactus Water, Nourishing Banana and Oat and Purifying Blueberry and Turmeric. All of the Sugar Face Scrubs are made with real sugar to gently exfoliate and leave a healthy-looking glow. The formulas feature Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) to help expel pore buildup and deep cleanse to remove dirt and oil while leaving the face feeling fresh and hydrated. Additionally, this Spring, the brand is expanding its iconic body care line with new Shea Sugar Scrub scents including Watermelon, Lavender, Green Tea, Sugared Fantasy, and Papaya Paradise and Whipped Body Butters in Vitamin C, Lavender and Watermelon scents. The brand is also launching a new Tropic Glow Firming line featuring a Shea Sugar Body Scrub and Whipped Butter that features Cupuacu Butter and Guarana Extracts for a firming effect on the body perfect for sealing in moisture while restoring skin elasticity. The new Tree Hut items will be available at Ulta stores nationwide and Ulta.com. All Tree Hut Face Scrubs are paraben free, vegan, cruelty-free, sulfate-free, alcohol-free and contain no formaldehyde donors and are made in the USA. To learn more about Tree Hut's Face Scrubs and other products, visit www.treehutshea.com or follow the brand on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook for more information. About Tree Hut Tree Hut believes that everyone deserves to take time in their day to feel good. The family-owned brand still produces out of Farmers Branch, TX and has spent twenty years making high-quality skin and body care at an affordable price. The now global Tree Hut brand has grown to include face, shave, lip and body collections, known for delicious scents, bright packaging and premium ingredients. With an uplifting, inclusive approach to self-care, Tree Hut has built its brand largely via word of mouth, with customers and beauty influencers alike passionately sharing their favorite products and avidly anticipating seasonal launches. SOURCE Naterra International Related Links http://www.treehutshea.com MEMOIR The Wild Track by Margaret Reynolds with Lucy Reynolds (Doubleday 16.00, 320pp) Mothers frazzled, exasperated and (lets be honest) often bored at the demands of looking after small children might have surveyed Professor Margaret Reynoldss life with envy. She was and still is a leading academic, a writer and editor, a broadcaster, an expert on opera, a lover of travel and a well-known figure in literary circles. Yet Reynolds added extraordinary layers of complication to that sophisticated lifestyle when she chose to adopt a child. Single, in her mid-40s and having experienced early menopause, Reynolds (Peggy to her friends) quietly realised that her heart yearned for one thing: motherhood. Author Margaret Reynold (pictured with daughter Lucy) began her adoption journey when she was in her mid-40s, single and having experienced the early menopause The majority of women become mothers quite casually, but for those who want to adopt, it is a long quest fraught with questions, doubts, bureaucracy, confusion, disappointment. Most of us are aware of how hard it is to adopt a child the process took Reynolds seven years of struggle but nobody would deny that utmost care must be taken. Having said that, her account of all the hoops she had to jump through, the panels she had to face, the mistakes she made, is enthralling and frustrating in equal measure. Despite volunteering in a nursery and a school, and showing that she is willing and able to rearrange her life to accommodate a child, Reynolds (like many would-be adopters) meets initial rejections. Early on she makes a colossal mistake in failing to disclose that, as well as being divorced, she has had a long relationship with a woman. The adoption process took Reynolds seven years after being initially rejected, until she adopted a six-year-old girl, whose intelligence was noted by social workers but whose early years were chaotic Her view was that it was irrelevant to her current situation, but to the social workers this was a breach of trust. Reynolds knew she had to work hard to be given a second chance and that the need for adopters was certainly there. In 2017 in England and Wales, 90 children a day were taken into care. In that year 70,000 were being fostered. Reynolds calls the care system a ghastly cycle one that leaves the children with no chance of developing the secure attachment that is so crucial in early years. Once you consider too the difficulties of inter-country adoption, which Reynolds also experienced, your head starts to reel with the knowledge that there are millions of children living in institutions across the world and also on the streets. For Reynolds, Russia was out because they have an upper age limit and she was too old; many other countries only accept married couples. But she refused to give up, hoping, she said, that the joy I see in the faces of my friends who are adoptive parents will be mine. At last it becomes clear that Reynolds must apply for a domestic adoption of an older child. A little girl is finally found a child of six whose intelligence has been noted by social workers, but whose early years were (of course) chaotic. She has to be taken from foster carers and cries all the way to the quaint little home Reynolds has made ready in the countryside. When Reynolds took Lucy from foster carers and drove her home, Lucy cried all the way and settled a couple of days later after the neighbour's dog provided accidental therapy. In the final two chapters of the book, Lucy, now an older teenager, is given her own voice The first day is ghastly as the little stranger wont settle and refuses food. A couple of days later a neighbours dog provides accidental therapy, then little Lucy picks out a toy dog from the basket of donated toys and child and toy become inseparable. The Wild Track by Margaret Reynolds with Lucy Reynolds (Doubleday 16.00, 320pp) Reynolds is exhausted by the many gulfs and gaps to negotiate, but new mother and anxious child read Anne Of Green Gables again and again, and slowly get to know each other. That child, now an older teenager, is given her own voice in the final two chapters of this beautifully written and intensely moving book. Lucys story, sparely told, is painful (I had been traumatised, neglected and moved more times than my age at the time of adoption), unsentimental and mature. The frightened child has become a self-possessed young woman. Both mother and daughter recount a magical snowy day of sledging, and Lucy notes that one powerfully joyous memory can outweigh hundreds of negative memories, even if those negative memories will never be truly erased. Lucys name is on the title page and deserves to be there. For this is the story of two women made more extraordinary by each other, who shared the resilience to carry on, and have been rewarded by a relationship almost too rich to be called love. YAKUTSK, Russia -- The Supreme Court of Russia's Yakutia region has ruled that the forced confinement to a psychiatric clinic of a shaman who tried several times to march to Moscow on foot "to drive President Vladimir Putin out of the Kremlin" was legal. Olga Timofeyeva, a lawyer for Aleksandr Gabyshev, told RFE/RL on March 11 that the court rejected her client's request for an independent expert to be present at the hearing to assess the medical conclusion on his placement in the clinic. Timofeyeva also said that the court rejected a motion to evaluate Gabyshev by medical and psychiatric experts in any other region of Russia. Gabyshev was accused by law enforcement of attacking a police officer when he was forcibly taken from his home to a psychiatric clinic in late January. Police confined him to a psychiatric clinic on January 27, less than three weeks after the shaman had announced plans to resume his trek to the Russian capital to drive Putin out of the Kremlin. Gabyshev first made headlines in March 2019 when he called Putin "evil" and announced that he had started a march to Moscow to drive the Russian president out of office. He then walked more than 2,000 kilometers, speaking with hundreds of Russians along the way. As his notoriety rose, videos of his conversations with people were posted on social media and attracted millions of views. In July that year, when Gabyshev reached the city of Chita, he led a 700-strong rally under the slogan "Russia without Putin!" At the time, Gabyshev said, "God told me that Putin is not human but a demon, and has ordered me to drive him out." His march was halted when he was detained in the region of Buryatia later in September and placed in psychiatric clinic in Yakutia against his will. His forced confinement in a clinic was equated by many with a Soviet-era practice to muzzle dissent. Shamans have served as healers and diviners in Siberia for centuries. During the Soviet era, the mystics were harshly repressed. But in isolated parts of Siberia, they are now regaining prominence. With reporting by MBKh Media Burma US Government Sanctions Myanmar Junta Leaders Adult Children Aung Pyae Sone (left) and Khin Thiri Thet Mon (right), the two adult children of regime leader Min Aung Hlaing sanctioned by the US. Washington has imposed sanctions on two adult children of the Myanmar junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The sanctions are the United States latest response to the Feb. 1 coup by the military and their subsequent use of lethal force against peaceful protestors calling for the reinstatement of the democratically-elected civilian government. U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon and six companies controlled by them. OFAC said that the pair controlled a variety of business holdings which have directly benefited from their fathers position and malign influence. The companies sanctioned include A & M Mahar Company Limited, Sky One Construction Company Limited, The Yangon Restaurant, Yangon Gallery and Everfit Company Limited. Yangon Restaurant and Yangon Gallery are controlled by Aung Pyae Son, who was awarded a 30-year permit to run them in 2013 without facing any competing bids. OFAC said that from 2013 to 2018 Aung Pyae Sone paid less than one percent of the rental rate for the businesses compared with other properties in the same township, with the Yangon regional government acknowledging that the national government dictated the low rental rates. Khin Thiri Thet Mon owns Seventh Sense, a media production business with an exclusive contract with Nay Toe, an actor who features prominently in marketing for Mytel, the mobile telephone operator established by Min Aung Hlaing. The activist group Justice for Myanmar released a list of 18 companies linked to the military in early February, calling for international sanctions to be targeted against them. The companies are linked to military members of the State Administrative Council, their immediate family members and their business associates. OFACs sanctions mean that all property and interests in property controlled by those sanctioned, either directly or indirectly, individually or with other blocked persons, which are in the US or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In the statement, the U.S also urged the military regime to release Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other civilians detained by the military. A total of 1,689 people have been detained by the junta as of Thursday, including prominent activists, journalists and anti-coup protesters, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Andrea M. Gacki, Director of OFAC, said that the use of indiscriminate violence by Myanmars security forces against peaceful protesters is unacceptable. Since the Feb. 1 coup, more than 60 civilians have been killed by the police and army during crackdowns against peaceful demonstrations protesting the military takeover. Gacki said that the US will continue to work with other international partners to press the Myanmar military and police to cease all violence against peaceful protestors and to restore democracy and the rule of law in the country. On Wednesday, the U.N Security Council agreed to condemn the use of violence against protestors in Myanmar, but avoided condemning the military takeover as a coup. You may also like these stories: Arrest Warrants Target Myanmar Activists For Encouraging Civil Servants To Strike Myanmar Military Regime Removes Arakan Army From List of Terrorist Groups Another 300 Protesters in Yangon Arrested by Juntas Security Forces One in five health and care workers suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the pandemic struck last year, a new study suggests. Almost three in five health and social care workers suffered a mental health problem during the first lockdown, figures show. Some 58% of workers in these sectors were deemed to have a mental health disorder between May 27 and July 23 last year. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. And 22% met the criteria for PTSD, according to the study led by researchers from UCL and the University of Haifa, Israel. Figures from the Frontline Covid study, published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, examined data on 1,194 health and social care workers from hospitals, nursing or care homes and other community settings across the UK. The researchers found that 47% had clinically significant anxiety and 47% had depression. Concerns raised by staff included: Fears about infecting others with Covid. Being unable to talk with their managers about how they were coping. Feeling stigmatised about their role. Concern over not having had reliable access to personal protective equipment (PPE). Researchers said that staff who were deemed to be suffering from PTSD were more likely to have been redeployed to other teams. They were also more likely to have had Covid-19 themselves. Lead author Dr Talya Greene said: Our study shows that more than half of health and social care staff surveyed met criteria for a mental disorder following the first wave of Covid-19 in the UK. Importantly, we found that rates of distress were high, not only among doctors and nurses, but across a wide range of health and social care roles, such as allied health professionals, ambulance workers, hospital porters, pharmacists and care home staff. Lets be clear: we may be on the verge of a mental health crisis across the health and social care sector. So we need to make sure that specialist help is offered and accessible across all the different roles and settings. Story continues It is important that this support is planned for the long term. Our findings highlight the urgency for immediate long-term funding for specialist mental health services for health and social care workers. Commenting on the study, Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: Frontline health and care workers could be experiencing trauma as a result of seeing extraordinary numbers of people dying or struggling to cope with the virus. Without the right psychological support in place, trauma can lead to debilitating mental health problems. To prevent a mental health crisis in the NHS and social care sector its absolutely vital that all staff are able to access the right support when they need it, during and after this pandemic. Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: Covid has inflicted deep mental scars on NHS and care staff. Theyve paid an unimaginable price for caring for the nation throughout this pandemic. High vacancy rates in health and social care have made the situation worse, Staff have been worked to the bone because of unfilled jobs. This threatens the ability of the NHS and social care to look after people properly. The Government must now help heal the damage through guaranteed access to specialist support. A decent pay increase is also essential to raise morale and recruitment. New Delhi: A CISF jawan saved the life of a CRPF man by administering him the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the Delhi airport on Thursday. The incident which was caught on camera took place at Terminal-II of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) around 4 pm on Wednesday. #CISF personnel saved a precious life by giving CPR to a passenger namely Mr S Ravi Gnanadhas @ IGI Airport New Delhi. Mr S Ravi Gnanadhas thanked CISF profusely for saving his life. CISF (@CISFHQrs) March 11, 2021 The Central Industrial Security Force control room was informed about the situation wherein a passenger was lying unconscious on the chair inside the terminal. Soon two personnel of the force, Sub Inspector S K Yadav and Constable Deepak Biswas, rushed to the spot. The unconscious passenger, identified as CRPF head constable S Ravi Gnanadhas, was then immediately administered CPR medical procedure by constable Biswas, following which he came back to his senses. Later, a doctor attended to him and he was later shifted to Safdarjung hospital. The CRPF jawan was posted in Kashmir for duty and was supposed to take an Indigo flight to Srinagar after he arrived in Delhi from Madurai. CPR is an emergency lifesaving procedure that is performed when the heart stops beating. State Secretariat for Economic Affairs Bern, 11.03.2021 - Economic forecast by the Federal Governments Expert Group March 2021. The Expert Group largely confirms its previous assessment. GDP is set to decrease in the first quarter of this year, but the easing of coronavirus measures should subsequently lead to a rapid recovery. Uncertainty remains extremely high. The tightening of measures to contain the spread of the virus have been heavily impacting the affected sectors since late 2020. This has led to a collapse in business activity in parts of the service sector. The Expert Group therefore assumes that Switzerland's GDP will fall significantly in the first quarter of this year. However, a collapse of a similar magnitude to last spring so far seems unlikely. Should the epidemiological development allow the gradual easing of coronavirus measures as intended, the domestic economy should recover very quickly. Various consumer opportunities that were largely unavailable in the winter months would reemerge and lead to turnover rising again in the affected sectors. At the same time, growing global demand is set to boost exports. The utilisation of production capacities will increase accordingly, which in turn will have a positive impact on investment activity within Switzerland. Overall, the Expert Group expects growth in GDP adjusted for sporting events of 3.0 % in 2021 (unchanged forecast). This would see the Swiss economy grow at an above-average rate by historical standards, and the pre-crisis GDP level being exceeded by late 2021. Unemployment is predicted to fall gradually and reach an annual average of 3.3 % for 2021 (unchanged forecast). This forecast is based on the expectation that the planned easing of measures from spring 2021 onwards will largely be implemented as intended, and that any tightening of virus containment measures involving significant economic impacts will no longer be necessary. Assuming these conditions are met, the economic recovery should also become more wide-spread as time goes on. Particularly vulnerable areas of the economy, such as international tourism, should also gradually find their way out of the current crisis. For 2022, the Expert Group therefore predicts an above-average growth in GDP adjusted for sporting events of 3.3 %. The international environment has become more favourable since last Decembers forecast (3.1 %), which will also benefit the Swiss export sector. Employment is expected to rise considerably as the economy recovers, and unemployment is set to fall to an annual average of 3.0% (unchanged forecast). Economic risks The most significant uncertainties are those linked to the coronavirus pandemic, the possible responses of economic players and politicians to the situation, and second-round economic effects. The recovery would be noticeably delayed if in the coming months further strict containment measures were to be introduced domestically and by key trade partners, for example due to backlogs in the coronavirus vaccination programmes. We also cannot exclude the possibility that the pandemic will continue to affect economic development into 2022, such as through the spread of coronavirus mutations against which the existing vaccines are less effective. There could also be stronger economic second-round effects than assumed in the Expert Groups forecast, such as large-scale job cuts and a high number of corporate insolvencies. The risks linked to government and company debt would also grow. However, the coronavirus situation could also develop more favourably than expected internationally, particularly due to rapid progress in the vaccination programmes. Should this happen, the economic recovery could prove to be stronger over the course of 2021 than the Expert Groups forecast predicts, particularly due to stronger catch-up effects in private consumer spending. There are also risks to the world economy due to international trade conflict. There is still a certain amount of uncertainty with regard to the relationship between Switzerland and the EU in connection with the institutional agreement. Finally, there is still a risk of more major corrections in the Swiss real estate sector. Note: Because of the great uncertainty the SECO completes the economic forecast of the Expert Group with three updated economic scenarios. They are to be found in the economic forecast section of the latest edition of Konjunkturtendenzen (in German) at www.seco.admin.ch/economic-forecasts. Address for enquiries State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO Holzikofenweg 36 CH-3003 Bern Tel. +41 58 462 56 56 Fax +41 58 462 56 00 Publisher State Secretariat for Economic Affairs http://www.seco.admin.ch 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. Hina Khans Adorable Wish For Parth Samthaan Hina Khan shared several videos from the party on her Instagram stories and wished her co-star on his birthday. Sharing one of the videos, she wrote, "Happy birthday my buddy. Wish you year full of mommy's love, good health and a lots n lots of success. @the_parthsamthaan." She was seen grooving with Arjun Bijlani and was all praise for his wife Neha Swami. Shubhaavi Choksey Writes Shubhaavi Choksey shared a picture snapped with the birthday boy and her other Kasautii co-stars- Pooja, Sahil and Uday, and captioned it as, "Happpppppyyyyy birthdaaayyyyyy @the_parthsamthaan Love you and God bless you always #hero @udaytikekar @poojabanerjeee @sahilanandofficial #birthday #friends #family #2021goals." Pooja Banerjee Pooja Banerjee also shared a few pictures and videos from the party. In one of the videos, Parth was seen making a wish and all set to cut the yummy birthday cake. In another video, Parth was seen blowing the candles, while Shubhavi and Pooja were seen cheering by wishing him 'Happy Birthday' and asking him to make a wish. Sahil Anand Sahil Anand shared a few pictures and wrote, "Sneak peek of my brother @the_parthsamthaan birthday God bless you with all the happiness " Parths Fans From Bangladesh Celebrate His Birthday With Kids Meanwhile, Parth had asked his fans not to send birthday gifts or cakes and instead give it to the poor and needy people. His fans from Bangladesh did something adorable- they celebrated his birthday with the kids there. Parth shared the video and captioned it as, "Thankyou Parthians from bangaladesh. So touching and heartwarming." (sic) Ada Hu, CEO / Managing Partner, NU Media When people see a fairly young woman enter the doors for a meeting, they dont associate this with leadership in a company. They look behind me, expecting to see someone else - Ada Hu, CEO, NU Media For the longest time, I thought you were just a pretty face. Comments like this reflect how people think, even after years of knowing the apparent truth. As a woman in the marketing industry, there are many times when demeaning words seem to be normalized, even consistent. Ada Hu, the CEO of NU Media, still receives these comments and brushes it off as the norm for her because it happens so often. Is it possible to reform the rhetoric when even the head of a company is only seen as a pretty face? There are times when incongruencies occur and the term girl power gets lost in translation. Often misidentified as an assistant rather than the boss, Ada reflects on the times where she had been overlooked and assumed underqualified. She states: when people see a fairly young woman enter the doors for a meeting, they dont associate this with leadership in a company. They look behind me, expecting to see someone else. With so many comments on success and what it looks like for a woman, achievements are in the eye of the beholder. To NU Media, it is measured through dedication, consistency and grit. Unintentionally done, NU Media is one of the only full-service marketing agencies with over 85% of their employees identifying as female. Efficient and bustling, the work produced reflects the positive atmosphere and happy staff. Entering the doors of NU Media, chairs are huddled together and inhibitions are thrown aside. Everyone feels they can rely on each other, yet no one is talked over. At NU Media, Womens History Month is celebrated daily as everyone in the immediate New York City office identifies as a woman. For more information about NU Media, visit nu.marketing About NU Media NU Media was founded in 2019 with a mission to support and serve small and mid-sized business partners with integrity and to aid their growth by providing the highest level of service and expertise. Their professional team includes a diverse group of web developers, online marketing experts, and digital strategists working from all corners of the world to deliver unbeatable results for their partners. http://nu.marketing 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. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. * Suu Kyi accepted payments of $600,000 and gold -military * At least 12 protesters killed across Myanmar * Army commanders using murderous methods -rights group Amnesty * UN Security Council fails to reach consensus on denouncing coup March 11 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta added new bribery allegations to its charges against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, while an advocacy group said security forces killed 12 protesters in one of the deadliest days since the military took power. The bloodshed came hours after the U.N. Security Council had called for restraint from the army, which has been trying to put down daily anti-coup protests and paralysing strikes since it took power on Feb. 1. Among the dead were eight people killed in the central town of Myaing when security forces fired on a protest, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said. In Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, protester Chit Min Thu was killed in the North Dagon district. His wife, Aye Myat Thu, told Reuters he had insisted on joining the protests despite her appeals for him to stay home for the sake of their son. "He said it's worth dying for," she said through her tears. "He is worried about people not joining the protest. If so, democracy will not return to the country." Adding corruption charges to the accusations against Suu Kyi could mean she faces a harsher penalty. She currently faces four comparatively minor charges - including illegally importing six walkie talkie radios and flouting coronavirus restrictions. The junta spokesman, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, said Suu Kyi had accepted illegal payments worth $600,000, as well as gold, while in government, according to a complaint by Phyo Mien Thein, a former chief minister of Yangon. "He strongly said that," the spokesman told a news conference. "We have verified those facts several times. Now the anti-corruption committee is continuing the investigation." Story continues Aye Ma Ma Myo, a member of the dissolved parliament belonging to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, rejected the claim. "It is no longer uncommon to see slander against politicians and efforts to crush the party while innocent young people are killed in public," she told Reuters in a message. FUNERAL Another funeral was held for an official from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), who died in custody after being arrested early on Tuesday. Mourners wept over the open coffin, which showed Zaw Myat Linn's badly disfigured face. Thursday's deaths brought the number of protesters killed since the coup to more than 70, the AAPP said. Some 2,000 people have also been detained since the coup against Suu Kyi's elected government, it says. The army did not respond to requests for comment on the latest deaths but the junta spokesman said the security forces were disciplined and used force only when necessary. U.N. human rights investigator Thomas Andrews told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva the military may have committed crimes against humanity. He called for multilateral sanctions on the junta and the state energy firm, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. Amnesty International accused the army of using lethal force against protesters and said many killings it had documented amounted to extra-judicial executions. "These are not the actions of overwhelmed, individual officers making poor decisions," said Joanne Mariner, Amnesty's director of crisis response. "These are unrepentant commanders already implicated in crimes against humanity, deploying their troops and murderous methods in the open." Suu Kyi, 75, fought for decades to overturn military rule under previous juntas before the start of tentative democratic reforms in 2011. She had spent a total of around 15 years under house arrest. The army has justified taking power by saying that a November election, overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi's party, was marred by fraud - an assertion rejected by the electoral commission. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun reiterated that the military would only be in charge for a certain period before holding an election. The junta has said a state of emergency will last for a year, but has not set a date for the election. The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday condemned violence against protesters and urged the army to show restraint. But language that would have denounced the military takeover as a coup or threatened possible further action was removed from the British-drafted text, due to opposition by China, India, Russia and Vietnam. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped the Security Council statement would push the military to realise it "is absolutely essential" that all prisoners are released and the results of the November election are respected. In Myanmar, state media said the junta had removed an insurgent group, the Arakan Army (AA), from a list of terrorist groups because it had stopped attacks in order to help establish peace across the country. The AA, which is fighting for greater autonomy in the western state of Rakhine, had become one of the most formidable forces in challenging an army that has been fighting various ethnic wars for seven decades. (Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Clarence Fernandez and Angus MacSwan) The U.S. Coast Guard has lifted most travel restrictions to "pre-pandemic status," according to a service-wide message issued Wednesday. Citing "current trends of the pandemic combined with the national vaccination effort," Coasties are free to move about the country, based on their vaccination status and COVID-19 conditions at their destinations. Service members still must adhere to local restrictions and guidelines when not engaging in official travel, according to ALCOAST 096/21, but they are able to take domestic leave and leisure activity without fear of breaking Coast Guard-wide rules. "All personnel must be aware of changing conditions in locations they intend to travel to and through when making travel decisions," the message states. Read Next: As the Navy Moved to Fire Capt. Crozier, Other Leaders Rallied Around Him The new guidance also allows for foreign leave and leisure travel, but personnel must get command endorsement and approval from the first flag officer or senior executive service employee in their chain of command. The change in travel status within the Coast Guard differs markedly from the other military services, which are adhering to guidance established by the Defense Department and military services based on local conditions. More than half of the 231 DoD installations -- 51% -- have lifted constraints, up from a low this year of 37% the first week of February. The Marine Corps has lifted restrictions at 88% of its installations; the Air Force, 73%; and the Army, 53%. The Navy has lifted travel restrictions at just seven of its 62 bases, or 11%. Before an installation's travel restrictions can be lifted, the state or country in which it is located must show a 14-day declining trend in symptoms and cases of COVID-19, and there can be no stay-at-home order in place. The installation then must meet additional criteria, including a health protection condition level of Charlie or below. Essential services must also be available. Once those first steps are met, a senior leader, such as a chief management officer, service secretary or combatant commander can approve lifting travel restrictions. Americans are currently barred from traveling to most overseas locations, including much of Europe. However, more than 70 countries allow Americans entry with various levels of testing requirements and quarantine restrictions. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to discourage persons from traveling, it maintains an information page on travel, including guidance and information on destination countries. Any U.S. citizen over age 2 is required to have a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous three days before returning to the U.S. Regarding permanent change of station moves, nearly all Coast Guard moves are likely to be "good to go" for the 2021 PCS season, with all household goods shipments authorized, according to a service press release from late January. "The Coast Guard is optimistic that the 2021 PCS season will go smoothly," the release states. The Coast Guard is actively encouraging members to take leave during their PCS periods and last month authorized administrative absence for Coasties serving on major cutters "to promote wellness and rejuvenation" among those who deployed and were restricted to their ships before deploying as well as during port calls. According to a message issued March 4, commanding officers are allowed to approve up to 15 days of "resiliency absence" for their permanently assigned personnel. The leave is not to be used in conjunction with a PCS move or to house hunt, the message stipulates. -- Stephen Losey contributed to this report. Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime Related: Satisfaction With Military Moves Went Up Despite Pandemic, DoD Says 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. Belagavi : , March 12 (IANS) Karnataka Police have nabbed a 31-year-old MBA graduate for allegedly issuing fake notices in the name of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to freeze the bank accounts of nine businessmen, the police said here on Thursday. The Punjab National Bank has also filed a complaint against the same person, an employee with one of its branches, accusing him of siphoning off insurance premium belonging to 12 of its customers, valued at around Rs 26 lakh, in the last two years. According to the police, the accused has been identified as Madhukar Vilas Saple, a resident of Shashtrinagar in Belagavi. Deputy Commissioner of Police (law and order), Vikaram Apte, told IANS that Saple is a BCA and MBA degree holder and comes from a highly educated background. Apte added that Saple had borrowed a huge sum of money from nine businessmen at different points of time. "Of these nine businessmen, one is from Gujarat and another is from Maharashtra. Of the remaining seven, one is from Khanapur, one from Nippani while the remaining five are from Belagavi," he said. "The accused was working as an assistant relations manager with Punjab National Bank's life insurance division. He was in-charge of multiple districts. As a result of this, he got acquainted with five businessmen in Belagavi due to his professional obligations. After knowing them well, he borrowed money from them. He also borrowed money from their friends. But he could not repay the amount," the DCP said. He added that in order to avoid repayment, Saple came up with an idea after seeing ED raids being conducted on various business houses across the state. "This gave him an idea. He fabricated ED notices and despatched them to all the banks where these nine businessmen held accounts. As their accounts got frozen, the worried businessmen sought explanation from their respective banks. Meanwhile, after freezing these accounts, the banks informed the ED about the matter," the officer said. According to Apte, the ED reverted and sought more details from the banks as it had not issued any such notice to the said branches. "After receiving this communication from the ED, the bank managers lodged a complaint with us. Our investigation revealed that Saple was behind the entire act," Apte said. The DCP added that on the same day he was arrested, the bank in which he was working also lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that insurance premium of 12 customers valued at around Rs 26 lakh was missing. "Saple's hand was evident in this case too. He had given his own account number instead of the bank's account number to all the 12 clients to credit their premium amount. This was going on for the last two years and it came to light when one of the businessmen wanted a loan on his insurance policy, which was not operational yet," Apte said. The police arrested Saple on Wednesday night and he was taken into police custody on Thursday evening. BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China's lawmakers on Thursday approved a development blueprint for the next five to 15 years at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Automobile major Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (RYCEF.PK, RR.L, RYCEY.PK) on Thursday announced the appointment of Paul Adams as a Non-Executive Director. He will join the Board with immediate effect and be a part of the Nominations & Governance Committee, the Safety, Ethics & Sustainability Committee and the Science & Technology Committee. Separately, the company announced that Board members Lewis Booth, Frank Chapman and Jasmin Staiblin would step down from the Board on May 13 and would not stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting or AGM. Both Booth and Chapman completed their nine-year terms in 2020 and were re-elected by shareholders at last year's AGM. Staiblin would be completing her nine-year term in May this year. 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. New Delhi, March 11 : President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday expressed confidence that the implementation of the New Education Policy would usher in an era of modern learning and education. The President said the policy would create a brigade of researchers and professionals who would take our country to the great heights of development, as befitting our national aspirations. Addressing the 41st annual convocation of the Anna University in Chennai, the President said that knowledge is the foundation upon which the character of each individual is built. Kovind reiterated that education is the catalyst for change and the youth is the most potent agent of social transformation. He said that educated youth, given the right direction can bring revolutionary changes in the course of history. "That is what the National Education Policy 2020 aims to achieve. The new policy seeks to implement a modern education system based on research, skill and acumen relevant to the evolving needs of the present." At the same time, the President said the policy would also include within its domain our rich cultural heritage in consonance with a futuristic outlook. "The policy focuses on inculcating moral values and promoting understanding of Indian culture." The President was happy to note that Anna University is one of the largest technological universities in the world, offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Engineering, Technology, Architecture and Applied Sciences relevant to the current and projected needs of the society. He said this university was making an impressive contribution in the field of education. That is why it figures among the top institutions in QS World and NIRF rankings. The President said that Anna University has created a conducive ambience for encouraging technological pursuits that cultivate the right learning attitude for the young students. The scientific temper that is nurtured in the students is well expressed in the projects and achievements of this university. Kovid was glad to note that this is the first Indian university to design, develop and operate a satellite in association with ISRO. He said that ANUSAT, the satellite is not just an achievement but also an inspiration for young minds across the globe to reach for the stars. Delay, deny, wait until we die. That little saying, a Gulf War veteran recently told an interviewer for the National Public Radio program Here and Now, is what youre likely to encounter when you walk into a Veterans Administration hospital complaining of debilitating symptoms from your combat experience 30 years ago. The symptoms almost surely result from your exposure to pesticides used in Kuwait or air-borne toxins from massive open-air pits, some larger than a football field, where trash and human waste were burning. Anti-nerve agents you and your comrades were ordered to take also might be culprits. Its all in your head, youre likely to hear, even though the symptoms may include chronic diarrhea, constant pain and fatigue, a persistent cough or serious breathing problems. Gulf War vets also are suffering from memory and neurological issues. Theyre dying from lung cancer. No matter. The VA, claiming the absence of sufficient scientific evidence, denies more than 80 percent of claims related to what has come to be called Gulf War Illness, according to a 2017 analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The same report noted that the VA estimates 44 percent of veterans who served in the Persian Gulf during 1990-1991 have medical issues related to the illness, and thousands of veterans who have since served in the Global War on Terror have reported similar conditions. It seems we never learn that soldiers in combat sacrifice their lives for their country, even when they survive bombs and bullets. We owe them not only the best care available but also an inclination to trust that there is, in fact, a connection between what they experienced in wartime and what theyre enduring today. The comedian Jon Stewart has become a spokesperson for service members dealing with Gulf War Illness, just as he became an outspoken advocate for firefighters and other first responders who plunged into the lethal, smoldering wreckage of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. War after war after war, we treat them as expendable, Stewart told the Washington Post in an interview last fall. And when they come home, were done with them. If an enemy did this to us, wed bomb them into oblivion. We did it to ourselves and were ignoring it. If the response to Gulf War Illness sounds like a dreary rerun, its because it is. For years, Vietnam War veterans exposed to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange had to combat similar levels of skepticism from the VA. Fortunately, things have changed for the better for the Vietnam vets. Today the VA presumes certain conditions are related to exposure based on deployment history rather than relying on veterans to prove they encountered the chemical at a certain place. The estimated 3.5 million veterans of the Gulf War or the post-9/11 Global War on Terror who were potentially exposed to burn pits and pesticides must still prove any illness is connected to their service. It creates a hurdle that many affected veterans cant get past, despite efforts by Congress over the years to improve their care. Retired Marine Capt. David K. Winnitt of New Braunfels, a disabled Gulf War veteran who has worked as a review panelist for congressionally directed medical research programs, has seen the struggle up close. On one hand you have Congress allocating millions of dollars to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs each year for Gulf War Illness research while another arm of the government (the VA) continues to make it almost impossible for veterans of that war to have their illnesses service-connected, he told the editorial board Wednesday. Ive been at both ends of the spectrum a Veteran suffering from Gulf War Illness and an eight-year programmatic review panelist. The bureaucratic BS needs to end. Legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., an emergency room physician, could signal a breakthrough. If their bill passes, the VA would drop the burden of proof and presume veterans with certain conditions had been exposed if they had service medals from either the Gulf War or the Global War on Terror or had been deployed to one of 34 countries named in the bill. U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., also has expressed support for toxic exposure-related legislation. Bost is the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee. Recently, advocates for Gulf War and Global War on Terror veterans have found another powerful advocate in the White House. President Joe Biden has said he suspects toxic exposure may have been the cause of his son Beaus fatal brain cancer. The younger Biden served with the Delaware Army National Guard at Balad Air Base in Iraq, where the U.S. military burned an estimated 140 tons of waste daily in open-air pits. He was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma. Eighteen months he lived, knowing he was going to die, Biden has said of his son, who died in 2015 at age 46. During his presidential campaign, Biden promoted a plan to expand the list of presumptive health conditions to include exposure to burn pits and other environmental toxins, extend the claim eligibility period from one to five years, and to pump $300 million into research to better understand the impact of traumatic brain injury and toxic exposures. Burn pits are our generations Agent Orange, Ruiz says. We cannot wait or delay or deny. The Gulf War ended 30 years ago last month. Later this year will mark 20 years since the first deployments following 9/11. Too many veterans are still suffering. Too many are dying. Its past time we paid attention. Its time for action. We urge Biden, who ends his speeches by asking God to protect our troops, to get busy assisting in that endeavor. Advertisement Up to 10 million extra vaccine doses could be available to the UK within days following a surge in supply, in another major boost for the country's vaccine roll-out. As the number of Britons having had their first Covid jab last night topped 22 million, figures revealed the Scottish Government now has access to around 900,000 unused doses. Though the Government has so far refused to give data on its vaccine supply, the figure from Scotland, which is given a share of the UK's total jab stockpile, means the total across Britain could be up to 10 million. The boost means the UK could increase the rate it gives out second doses, without impacting on the rate it is giving out the first doses. It will also be a boost to hopes that the Government can extend the roll-out to all over 50s later this month. It comes as Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford last night alleviated fears of over a 'dip' in the vaccination. He told the i newspaper that the dip was now over, as the UK prepares to enter what he described as a 'crucial stage' of its jab rollout. Mr Drakeford said: 'We are confident that we are past the couple of weeks where there was a dip in supply and we will be getting significantly greater volumes during the month of March.' Last month the country's highly-praised vaccination roll-out began to stall after getting off to a rapid start - which put the UK far ahead of its European neighbours. Just 192,000 people were vaccinated on Monday, February 23 and 142,000 the day before, in two of the lowest daily tolls since the mammoth operation began to gather steam at the start of the year. Ministers have repeatedly blamed the 'lumpy' supply of vaccines as being the 'rate-limiting factor' of the programme. Officials say shrinking deliveries were expected because Pfizer had to improve its key factory in Belgium at the start of the year, and AstraZeneca's production was slower to get off the ground than planned. However, both drug giants have insisted that there are no unforeseen issues with the supply chain. The vaccines boost come as everyone aged 56 and over will be invited for jabs from next Monday, NHS England announced this week. The over 60s are the group currently top of the vaccine priority list. Last night, the total number of people in the UK to receive their first dose of a Covid jab reached 22.8million. The Government has so far prioritised those in older age groups and the clinically vulnerable. It comes as last night Britain recorded another 5,926 coronavirus cases and 190 deaths as the second wave continues to shrink and Boris Johnson faced more pressure to ease lockdown sooner. Infections are down 7 per cent week-on-week even though hundreds of thousands of extra Covid tests were carried out over the past two days because of children returning to schools. Fatalities are still falling rapidly, thanks to the combined effect of lockdown and vaccines. Department of Health figures show daily deaths are down by 40 per cent on last Wednesday's toll. As the number of Britons having had their first Covid jab last night topped 22 million (pictured: Stephen Fry receives his Covid vaccine), figures revealed the Scottish Government has around 900,000 unused doses stockpiled Though the Government has so far refused to give data on its vaccine supply, the figure from Scotland, which is give a share of the UK's total jab stockpile, means the total across Britain could be up to 10 million EU concedes the UK did NOT ban vaccine exports The EU has conceded the UK did not ban vaccine exports after Boris Johnson slapped down the European Council's president in a fresh row over Covid jabs. The Prime Minister spoke out after Charles Michel on Tuesday made the astonishing claim that the UK had 'imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines.' 'Let me be clear,' Mr Johnson said at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, 'we have not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine or vaccine component.' When asked about the claims later on Wednesday, a European commission spokesman acknowledged there was no such ban, but declined to comment directly on the claims made by Mr Michel, the former prime minister of Belgium. 'We know that different countries have got different measures in place that doesn't concern vaccines, as far as we understand, coming from the UK,' the spokesman said, according to The Guardian. However, officials did point to a lack of vaccine exports coming from the UK when compared to the EU, with one saying 'we need some transparency on that'. Figures seen by The Guardian newspaper show that of the 34,090,287 doses exported out of the EU, 9,106,162 went to the UK. The EU's climb-down comes after after the EU charge d'affairs was summoned to the Foreign Office to 'clarify' the situation earlier today, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab issued a rebuttal in a letter on Tuesday night. Advertisement Another 290,000 Covid vaccines were also dished out yesterday, with 22.8million Britons now vaccinated. And 1.2million vulnerable adults have now had both doses. With Covid metrics dramatically decreasing and the jab rollout steaming ahead, there is mounting pressure from anti-lockdown Tory MPs for an earlier easing of restrictions. The PM faced fresh anger over 'moving the goalposts' today. He admitted he was under pressure to ramp up the pace of his roadmap as infections and deaths tumble, after Nicola Sturgeon revealed that she is stepping up the loosening in Scotland. But Mr Johnson warned it is not yet possible to 'get back to normal' with the levels still 'much higher than last summer'. He also delivered a stark warning that Covid is starting to 'surge' again in Europe, with infections rising quickly in Italy. France is also seeing the virus bounce back. No10's top scientists have urged ministers to abide by the cautious roadmap back to normality, which won't see virus-controlling measures completely dropped until June 21 at the earliest. One SAGE expert today warned Britain faced 'very many deaths' if restrictions were relaxed 'too quickly'. The promising figures which will inevitably be used to pile more pressure on No10 to relax restrictions sooner come after a study today claimed the Kent coronavirus variant was deadlier than original strains of the virus. Researchers analysed the lethality of the highly transmissible strain the dominant type circulating in the UK which has rapidly spread across the world. Data from around 55,000 Britons revealed the B117 variant was 64 per cent deadlier than earlier versions of the coronavirus. But scientists admitted the risk of dying may actually be twice as high for people infected with the Kent strain. Academics calculated this equated to the disease killing 0.41 per cent of everyone it infected in the study group or one in 250 people. For comparison, the original Covid strain had a lethality rate of around 0.25 per cent one in 400 people in a separate cohort matched by age and other factors which affect the risk of dying. Britain has now vaccinated 34.37 people per 100, while the EU nations have managed just 9.11 per 100 The PM today also delivered a stark warning that coronavirus is starting to 'surge' again in Europe, as he snuffed out Tory hopes of an early end to lockdown. The graph shows how infection rates have been increasing in a number of European countries recently The research, carried out by academics at the universities of Exeter, Bristol, Warwick and Lancaster, was published in the British Medical Journal. Boris Johnson says UK 'has not blocked the export of a single vaccine or vaccine component' Boris Johnson has slapped down EU president Charles Michel in a row over Covid jab exports, saying Britain has not blocked a single vaccine or component from going overseas Boris Johnson has slapped down the EU's president in a fresh row over Covid jabs, saying the UK 'has not blocked export of a single vaccine or vaccine component'. The Prime Minister spoke out after Charles Michel made the astonishing claim that the UK had 'imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines.' 'Let me be clear,' Mr Johnson said at Prime Minister's Questions today, 'we have not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine or vaccine component.' It comes after after the EU charge d'affairs was summoned to the Foreign Office to 'clarify' the situation earlier today, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab issued a rebuttal on Tuesday night. It is just the latest in a series of increasingly bitter spats between the UK and EU over vaccines, as Britain powers ahead with one of the world's fastest jabs programmes and Europe presides over one of the world's slowest. Advertisement Despite the finding being worrying for the UK, scientists are adamant the current vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Pfizer will work just as intended against the strain and other troublesome variants. The Prime Minister today slapped down the EU's president in a fresh row over Covid jabs, saying the UK 'has not blocked export of a single vaccine or vaccine component'. Mr Johnson spoke out after Charles Michel made the astonishing claim that the UK had 'imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines.' At Prime Minister's Questions today, he said: 'Let me be clear, we have not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine or vaccine component.' It comes after after the EU charge d'affairs was summoned to the Foreign Office to 'clarify' the situation earlier today, and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab issued a rebuttal last night. It is just the latest in a series of increasingly bitter spats between the UK and EU over vaccines, as Britain powers ahead with one of the world's fastest jabs programmes and Europe presides over one of the world's slowest. The PM today also delivered a stark warning that coronavirus is starting to 'surge' again in Europe, as he snuffed out Tory hopes of an early end to lockdown. Under pressure to ramp up the pace of his roadmap as infections and deaths tumble, Mr Johnson warned it is not yet possible to 'get back to normal' with the levels still 'much higher than last summer'. 'We can see the signs of a surge of Covid among some of our European friends, and we remember how we in the UK have tended to follow that upwards curve, if a few weeks later,' he wrote in an article for the Telegraph. 'We know how fast this disease can take off, and that Monday's successful return to school will inevitably add to the budget of risk. 'The overwhelming majority of people and businesses would prefer us to take steps that are cautious but irreversible, rather than go backwards again. They would rather trade haste for certainty.' However, the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs renewed its calls for Mr Johnson to move earlier, complaining that ministers are 'moving the goalposts'. CRG head and former chief whip Mark Harper pointed to the way Transport Secretary Grant Shapps stressed the importance of second vaccine doses in interviews this morning. He claimed ministers were now 'casting doubt on the efficacy of the vaccine' despite the UK's four chief medical officers saying the first dose brings 'substantial protection'. But Mr Johnson's tough line echoes that from medical and science chiefs Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance when they appeared before MPs yesterday. Amir Khan, 34, is quizzed by fans as he gets Covid vaccine, despite being a professional athlete Amir Khan, 34, has been questioned after receiving his coronavirus vaccination early Amir Khan is facing questions about how he managed to jump the queue to get his coronavirus vaccination. The former world champion boxer, 34, revealed on Wednesday that he has received his Covid jab by posting a picture on social media. 'Finally got my Covid vaccine. Feel fantastic #Staysafe #nhs #nhsstaff #thankyou,' he wrote alongside a photo of him about to get his jab from a nurse. Khan's post led to immediate questions from fans about how he got his coronavirus vaccination early when the UK's rollout only expanded to the over 60s at the end of February and he is a professional athlete. MailOnline was told by Khan's father Shah, that he was able to get the vaccine after approaching his doctor and explaining that he is visiting his mother, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Advertisement In other developments today, it was claimed that sunny Spanish holidays could be back on for Brits within weeks after the country's tourism minister revealed a vaccine passport system was planned for the middle of May. It comes after Greece yesterday announced plans to reopen to holidaymakers from mid-May and Cyprus said it would welcome fully-vaccinated Britons from May 1. But those hoping to jet off for the Early May bank holiday are set to be barred by UK authorities because No10 has said overseas leisure travel won't be allowed until at least May 17. Spain's tourism minister Reyes Maroto told a radio station: 'We could be in a position to start implementing the digital passport (when the tourism fair FITUR starts on May 19).' Under the Government's roadmap for England, this would mean holidaymakers could fly freely to Spain, providing they had their jabs and the country hadn't be added to the dreaded 'red list' from which entry to the UK is banned over Covid variant fears. However, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps did sound a note of caution today, saying that there was no cast iron guarantee that holidays abroad may be allowed from May 17. One of the Government's top scientific advisers today also warned that coronavirus will kill tens of thousands of Britons every year, just like flu. Professor Andrew Hayward, a University College London epidemiologist and SAGE member, said vaccines would stop the UK from suffering another surge of 100,000 deaths when the virus inevitably bounces back. But he claimed Covid which experts fear will strike every winter would continue to claim thousands of lives each year. Daily Covid fatalities have plummeted since the start of 2021, with fewer than 200 new victims being recorded each day, on average. It has not been that low since the end of October, before the second wave took off. Meanwhile, Amir Khan today questions about how he managed to jump the queue to get his coronavirus vaccination. The former world champion boxer, 34, revealed on Wednesday that he has received his Covid jab by posting a picture on social media. 'Finally got my Covid vaccine. Feel fantastic #Staysafe #nhs #nhsstaff #thankyou,' he wrote alongside a photo of him about to get his jab from a nurse. Khan's post led to immediate questions from fans about how he got his coronavirus vaccination early when the UK's rollout only expanded to the over 60s at the end of February and he is a professional athlete. MailOnline was told by Khan's father Shah, that he was able to get the vaccine after approaching his doctor and explaining that he is visiting his mother, who has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. WINDSOR LOCKS, Connecticut Bradley International Airport launched its inaugural Southwest Airlines flight to Nashville International Airport Thursday. The new daily flight departs Bradley at 6:10 p.m. (EST) and arrives at Nashville International Airport at 7:50 p.m. (CST). The inbound flight leaves Nashville at 7:30 p.m. (CST) and arrives at Bradley International Airport at 10:40 p.m. (EST). The flight is on a Boeing 737 jetliner. The new flight was first announced back in October. The new service comes at a time when Bradley and the airline industry are looking to rebound from COVID-19 shutdowns. Passenger volumes through Bradley International Airport fell 64% in 2020, and the airport said Tuesday the numbers are still running 65% to 70% lower in 2021 compared with pre-pandemic numbers. Related content: Archbishop and prelate of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Dr Eamon Martin. The statement from the Irish bishops says the Bill represents 'a radical transformation of the meaning of healthcare'. Photo: Mark Marlow/The Irish News The countrys Catholic bishops have expressed disquiet over the proposed Dying with Dignity Bill, describing it as fundamentally flawed and saying it represents a failure of compassion. In a statement they called on Catholics to lobby their political representatives to reject it entirely. The Bill, which is currently before the Oireachtas, wrongly proposes the deliberate ending of life as a way of conferring dignity on people with terminal illness the bishops warn, and add that what the Bill proposes is assisted suicide because it involves one person taking his or her own life, with the active participation of another. It anticipates that doctors and nurses will now be prepared to involve themselves in ending life. This would represent a radical transformation of the meaning of healthcare, and has implications for society as a whole, the bishops state. If passed, it would be a sad reflection of the unwillingness of society to accompany people with terminal illness, they said. Read More They also warn that once it is accepted in principle that one person may participate actively in ending the life of another there is no longer any logical basis for refusing this same option to any person who feels that life is no longer worth living. We are aware that, in countries where it is legally permitted for healthcare professionals to be directly involved in the taking of human life, it has very quickly been extended to include people who are not terminally ill (the elderly, people with intellectual disability, young adults on the autistic spectrum and even minors who, in other circumstances, would not be considered capable of giving legal consent). Under existing law and current best practice, people with terminal illness are supported by family members, by doctors and nurses and palliative care teams, in living life to the full until death comes naturally, the bishops said. They also dismiss the Bills provision for conscientious objection as unacceptable because it still requires healthcare professionals to refer their patients to other medical practitioners who will carry out their wishes. This means that, one way or another, healthcare professionals are required to involve themselves in something which they believe to be contrary to morality and to medical best practice. Referring to the anniversary of the arrival of Covid-19 in Ireland, and the enormous efforts that have been made across every sector of society to protect the life and health of people who are most vulnerable, they say the Dying With Dignity Bill is in clear contradiction with the shared commitment of our society. It is at odds with the common good, which it is the function of the State to promote. This Bill is fundamentally flawed. It cannot be repaired or improved, and we call on Catholics to ask their elected representatives to reject it entirely. The bishops statement was prepared at their Spring General Meeting where they also announced their decision to embark on a synodal path for the Catholic Church in Ireland leading to a National Synodal Assembly within the next five years, as recently revealed by the Irish Independent. They say they envisage the next two years as a period of prayer, listening and discernment, involving a nationwide consultative conversation within the Church. This will allow individuals and parishes, religious orders and associations as well as groups, movements and organisations both within the Church and in Irish society at large, to share their insights into the Church in Ireland past, present and future. At the Summer General Meeting next June, the bishops intend to establish a task group to plan and oversee the first steps along the synodal pathway. This task group will be made up of lay women and men, including young people, religious, priests and bishops. From April 6, an online page will be available on the Bishops Conference website for the submission of ideas and suggestions. Read More 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. Loading the player... Pfizer wants to make vaccine in India; seeks assurance on faster clearance, export freedom Pfizer Inc has told the Indian government it wants to produce its coronavirus vaccine locally if assured of faster regulatory clearance and freedom on pricing and exports. The U.S. company pulled an application last month seeking emergency approval for its product in India after the drug regulator declined its request to skip a small local safety trial. That has kept its vaccine, developed with Germany's BioNTech SE, out of one of the world's biggest drug markets. Farmer unions call for Bharat Bandh on March 26 as farm law protests complete 4 months Farmer unions protesting the three farm laws have called for a Bharat Bandh on March 26. The day marks the completion of four months of protests against the legislations at borders of Delhi, which started on November 26. Deplane flyers not wearing masks properly, put on no-fly list: Delhi HC to airlines Delhi High Court has issued guidelines for air passengers, empowering airline cabin crew to offload unruly flyers who don't wear their facemasks properly. Several travelers on the Air India flight from Kolkata to New Delhi on March 5 sported masks below their chin and manifested a "stubborn reluctance" to wear them correctly, the court said airlines are free to take action and put flyers on a "no-fly" list if they repeatedly refuse to follow COVID-19 protocol. Air India to phase out Boeing 747s marking end of an era Air India is planning to phase out Boeing 747s that it has been operating for around 50 years now. The airline got its first jumbo jet, a B747-200B named Emperor Ashoka, in 1971. For years, the airline was operating the B747-4 version that has an extended upper deck. COVID-19 in India: 17,921 fresh cases reported; Maharashtra worst affected India's COVID-19 tally reached 1.12 crore with 17,921 fresh cases reported today. While 1.09 crore people have recovered from novel coronavirus, the death toll has climbed to 1,58,063, with 133 new fatalities reported on Wednesday. India's coronavirus graph has been on the rise since the past week, with Maharashtra being the worst-hit state. Made-in-India iPhone 12 to hit stores in April-May Apple's iPhone 12, a major hit in the country, is now being manufactured locally in India. And the made-in-India iPhone 12 model will be available for purchase starting April-May this year, confirm analysts and industry sources. The iPhone 12 is being manufactured at the Indian arm of Taiwan-based Foxconn, the contract manufacturers for Apple, which already manufactures popular Apple models including the iPhone XR and iPhone 11. GOP Resolution Condemns Communist Chinas Actions in South China Sea Five Republican lawmakers have introduced a resolution in the United States Senate to condemn moves by Chinas communist regime to militarize the South China Sea as part of a contested and roundly criticized territorial grab. The South China Sea is a key trade corridor, carrying an estimated one-third of global shipping, according to a report (pdf) from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. China has claimed the vast majority of waterway as its own, seeking to solidify its claim by building up artificial islands with military installations, including airfields and missile batteries. The Communist Party of China, led by General Secretary Xi, continues to militarize the South China Sea and is eager to expand its territorial claims in the region. This aggressive and unlawful action cannot be tolerated, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said in a statement on Wednesday. Besides rebuking Chinas communist leaders for ordering a military encroachment on the trade route, the resolution hails the United States Navy and Coast Guard for operations they conduct in the South China Sea to ensure freedom of navigation. The United States and its allies routinely conduct such operations, essentially to ensure the waterway remains open for business. Arkansas State Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, said in a statement that the resolution commends the courageous Coast Guard and Navy service members who continue to promote international order in the region and sends a strong message to the Chinese Communist Party that hostility toward our allies will not be tolerated. In a recent move on the freedom of navigation front, German government officials said last week that a German frigate would set sail for Asia in August and, on its return journey, become the first German warship to cross the South China Sea since 2002. The United States hailed plans by its NATO ally to sail the warship across the contested waterway, calling the move welcome support for a rules-based international order in the region, something Washington says is threatened by China. A spokesman for Chinas foreign ministry said countries enjoyed freedom of navigation and overflight in the waterway under international law, but added, they cannot take it as an excuse to undermine the sovereignty and security of littoral countries. Yet undermining sovereigntybut by Chinese authoritieswas precisely the implication of a landmark 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague, which reprimanded Beijing for its behavior in the South China Sea, including its construction of fake islands. The tribunal found no legal basis for Chinas expansive territorial claim, rejecting Beijings argument of historic rights over most of the South China Sea. The ruling also blasted the Chinese regime for violating international law by causing irreparable harm to the marine environment with its massive dredging operations that excavate the sea bed to build up artificial island fortresses. Washington, too, has rejected Beijings disputed claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea as completely unlawful. Besides the U.S. Navy regularly carrying out freedom of navigation operations in which its warships pass close by to some of those islands, the United States has also been keen for allies to follow suit. Last month, France said a French nuclear-propelled attack submarine and warship patrolled in the South China Sea to underscore freedom of navigation. Reuters contributed to this report. CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Green Data Center Market by Component (Solutions [Power, IT, Cooling] and Services [Design and Consulting, Maintenance and Support, Installation and Deployment]), Data Center Size (Small and Mid-sized, Large), Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Green Data Center Market size is expected to grow from USD 49.2 billion in 2020 to USD 140.3 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.1% during the forecast period. The Green Data Center Market is gaining traction in various regions and has caught the eye of various organizations for deploying green data center solutions. In the present scenario, organizations have started taking green initiatives for their regular IT operations to save their money, making green data center as most popular initiatives. In an all-inclusive manner, a green data center comprises energy-efficient components, such as UPS, servers, and cooling systems. Browse in-depth TOC on "Green Data Center Market" 258 - Tables 49 - Figures 233 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1032 IT segment to hold the largest market size during the forecast period The Information Technology (IT) includes green data center servers. The previous generation of servers used in data centers focused on attaining maximum processing power packed within minimum space. But, in the present scenario, with the rising cost of electricity and environmental conscience, companies have started focusing more on the power and cooling requirement of servers. Green servers refer to the energy-efficient servers that provide higher processing power, consume lesser energy, and are environment friendly. These green servers can help companies in reducing their data center electricity consumption and associated cost. HPE, Dell, and Cisco are some of the major players in the green server space. HPE's ProLiant and Blade servers, Cisco's UCS servers, and Dell's Energy Smart servers, and Liebert Cooling Systems are some of the major offerings in this market. Chip-making giants, such as Intel, AMD, and ARM also contribute to these green initiatives by offering energy-efficient server chips for the green data centers. In this study report, green servers refer to one of the most important green data center solutions. Design and consulting services segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period Design and consulting services provide support for setting up and managing green data center infrastructure. These services provide expertise resources from the data center industry to help customers understand their green data center infrastructure better. They include identifying the requirement for electrical and power capacity, type of power solution, cooling and server solutions, along with related concerns and addressing customer requirements for better data center efficiency. Organizations are opting for consulting services for their projects that help them with mission-critical green data center infrastructure to achieve better power and IT capacity and efficient data centers. North America to account for the largest market size during the forecast period The North America region holds a major portion of the Green Data Center Market in the forecast period. This geographical region is witnessing a significant increase in the adoption of advanced techniques and designs for data centers. Similarly, the presence of several key players and increasing startups are the factors for the growth of green data centers in the region. Also, organizations in this region are facing various issues with the increasing operational costs, rising energy consumption, and constraining IT budgets. To overcome these problems, companies have started adopting new and advanced green technologies for powering and cooling their data centers. North America is witnessing an enormous deployment of green data centers and reconstruction or upgradation of the existing data centers with green technologies. Also, it is observed that high-density data centers are being accepted much widely in this region. The top countries contributing to the Green Data Center Market in North America include the US and Canada. The US is expected to hold a higher market share, owing to the presence of major market players, including Vertiv, HPE, Green Revolution Cooling, Midas Green Technologies, Cisco, and many more. These players are focusing on introducing next-generation green data center solutions to attract customers, which is expected to further fuel the North American market. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=1032 The Green Data Center Market comprises major solution providers, such as Schneider Electric (France), Vertiv (US), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (US), Green Revolution Cooling (US), Midas Green Technologies (US), Delta Electronics (Taiwan), Rittal (Germany), Eaton (Ireland), Cisco (US), Nortek Air Solutions (US), Dell Technologies (US), Asetek (Denmark), Airedale (UK),Lenovo (Hong Kong), Fujitsu (Japan), Cyber Power Systems (US), Super Micro (US), Tripp Lite (US), Inspur (China), CDP Energy (US), Bxterra Power Technology (US), ZutaCore(US), Submer (Spain), DCX The Liquid Cooling Company (Poland), and Liqit.io (Ukrain). These players adopt new product developments as their key growth strategy. Browse Adjacent Markets: Data Center and Networking Market Research Reports & Consulting About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/green-data-center-gdc-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/green-data-center-gdc.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg Ashly Johnston, a 37-year-old teacher in Madison County, said her life has changed in a variety of ways. As a teacher, I am now wearing many more hats than I did prior to the pandemic. I have students that attend classes face-to-face, but I also have students that are solely virtual. Trying to juggle teaching both, and keeping it equitable, is about the same as working two full-time jobs. I want all my students to receive the best of me, so unfortunately that often means my family sometimes isnt. As a parent of a first-grader, we have struggled with reading. Having lost the last quarter of kindergarten and then starting first grade virtually, she was really behind. We have worked diligently to fill in those learning gaps. I think masks are here for the long haul. The rollout of the vaccine has been really lacking in Alabama, but also nationwide. I dont foresee masks going away until an overwhelming majority of the population is vaccinated, and we see the long-term effects of it. I also believe virtual learning is here too. I do believe it will morph many times and will likely not look like it does today, but the need (and/or desire) has been created and will need to be filled. The pandemic has brought with it a wide array of emotions. I lost my dad on March 24, 2020 -- 10 days after we closed schools down. Trying to process grief through all of this has been one of the strangest cycles of emotion I have ever experienced. Some days it feels like its been a million years, and others it feels unreal, as if I can pick up the phone and dial him up. I am incredibly grateful for the modern technologies that we have access to. We take for granted that working from home is just a thing, or that many are still without that ability in our state. Its hard to imagine how they made it through a pandemic in the early 1900s! This is part of a series of stories by AL.com to reflect on the 1-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic reaching Alabama. Each day leading up to March 13 we will elevate the voices of those impacted. Press Release March 11, 2021 Villanueva: Vaccine roll-out must go on a fast-break to jumpstart recovery of jobs, economy The government's vaccination drive must go on a fast-break to meet its target number of beneficiaries, and loosen movement restrictions that affect workers and hamper economic activity, according to Senator Joel Villanueva. At the current pace of administering 3,887 vaccine doses daily, the government might not fulfill the President's promise of life returning to normal by 2023, Villanueva said citing data from the Department of Health. "There's a need to accelerate vaccine rollout because our economic recovery and the return of jobs lost to the pandemic depend on it," said Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee. "If this is the pace of vaccination, it will take about 44 years to hit our target of 50 to 70 million of our people." The accelerated pace of administering vaccines are largely hinged on supply, personnel, list, information, and trust, or SPLIT, explained Villanueva. Provisions of the recently-signed COVID-19 vaccination program act already cleared major blockades in the acquisition of vaccines, among them a prohibition against local government units paying in advance for vaccine doses, according to the lawmaker. Villanueva also reiterated his call for the government particularly the IATF to ensure a clear human resource plan is in place as a guarantee that there are enough qualified personnel to administer the vaccines once the supply arrives. He likewise inquired on the IATF whether it has already built its database of priority groups, which he earlier raised in January during the Senate Committee of the Whole hearings into the vaccination program. "Habang inaantay pa po natin na makarating ang supply, dapat pong malinaw na kung sino-sino ang mabibigyan ng bakuna para maiwasan po natin ang delays sa roll out," Villanueva said. Villanueva urged the government to ramp up its information drive to shore up trust in vaccines as a recent survey found that 47% of Filipinos would refuse getting vaccinated citing safety concerns. "Makipaghiwalay na po tayo kay COVID. Ayaw na po natin ng isa pang anniversary, kaya ang panawagan natin ay pabilisin pa ang roll out ng bakuna sa ating mga medical frontliners, at mga essential workers, na susi sa muling pagbabalik ng trabaho at pagbangon ng ekonomiya," Villanueva said. Chennai, March 11 : Medical syringe major Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd (HMD) has received an order for supply of 265 million auto disable syringes from Government of India, said a top company official. He said the government had issued a tender for 350 million pieces and the over Rs 650 crore turnover Hindustan Syringes was the lowest bidder. "Supplies for the new order will happen till September this year. The order value will be about Rs55 crore. We will be completing the supplies for the earlier three orders for 0.5 ml auto disable syringes totaling 177.5 million pieces from the Indian government bagged by the end of this month," Rajiv Nath, Managing Director told IANS. Nath said the company has allocated two thirds of its production capacity for Government of India orders and the balance for global UN customers. Hindustan Syringes ships out 0.1 ml and 0.5 ml auto disposable Kojak syringes for global vaccination projects in developing world whether for Yellow Fever or Measles or Hepatitis B or Pentavalent or BCG and others. This is in addition to Covid-19 vaccination requirements of 0.3 ml for Pfizer's vaccines or 0.5 ml auto disable Kojak for Astra Zeneca/ Serums or Bharat Biotech's vaccines, Nath added. Hindustan Syringes had expanded its production capacity to cater to the increased demand for auto disposable syringes at an outlay of Rs. 100 crore. "The investment for expansion which began last June will be completed in June 2021," Nath said. From 500 million pieces per annum capacity of 0.5 ml auto disposable syringes in June 2020 the company is making about 800 million pieces and plans to take touch 1 billion pieces by this June and 1.2 billion pieces by this September. The company produces over 2.5 billion assorted syringes a year and plans to scale it up to 3 to 3 billion by July this year. This is the size sought by Public Healthcare in India and most countries for Covid. For Private Healthcare the Dispovan Disposable Syringes are still popular but we see a shift by the progressive hospitals who wish to assure their patients of higher injection safety. One Injection One Syringe. "We have received orders for 240 million Kojak syringes for COVAX via UNICEF and 79 million for Brazil for Dispovan syringes via PAHO which we are executing alongside. "We had shipped 140 million Kojak syringes to Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) in last December. We have recently sold 15 million syringes to the Japanese government. In totality we serve over 120 countries worldwide," Nath said. According to him, over 440 million Kojak syringes will be supplied to Government of India's massive vaccination drive by September including 177 million by April this year alongside supplies of Dispovan syringes to the private hospitals and vaccination clinics. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. In early January 2021, a new variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified from travelers returning from Brazil. This variant, referred to as P.1, likely emerged in early-to-late November 2020, and subsequently spread throughout Manaus, the state capital of Amazonas, Brazil, over the following December. Researchers from Brazil modeled the rates of infection from susceptible individuals to exposed individuals for the P.1 variant, and found that the rate of transmission of the new variant was x2.5 times higher than the ancestral strain first identified from Wuhan. They also found that there was a low risk of reinfection for individuals who had been infected with the original wave 1 variant (6.4%). A pre-print version of the research paper is available to read in full on the medRxiv* server. Diagram extended Susceptible, Exposed, Infected, and Recovered (SEIR) deterministic compartmental (SEAIHRD) model. S: Susceptible, E: Exposed (pre-symptomatic), H: Hospitalized (severe infected individuals), I: Infected (symptomatic individuals, not hospitalized), A: Asymptomatic. D: Deceased, R: Recovered. Compartments are subdivided into 3 age classes, not represented here for simplicity. Compartments with no subindex are related to the wild-type variant, compartments with subindex 2 are related to the VOC P.1. Continuous lines represent flux between each compartment. Dashed lines represent infection pathways. Three parameters fitted by the model are indicated by the small arrows. Renato Coutinho and colleagues acquired data on Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalization cases in Manaus using the Brazilian epidemiological syndromic surveillance system SIVEP Gripe. Data for hospitalized patients between November 1st 2020 to January 31st 2021 was used to determine the rates of transmissibility and reinfection of the P.1 variant. Within this three-month period, the frequency of the variant had risen in Manaus from 0% of patients to 73%. The team also used nowcasted data to account for the period of time from 31st January up to 15th February, when the data was collected. The researchers used a deterministic compartmental model to observe rates of infection across three categories: hospitalized, infected (symptomatic but non-hospitalized), and asymptomatic. Each category was subsequently divided into three further compartments according to ages: young (under 20 years old), adult (between 20 and 60 years old), and elderly (over 60 years old). They compared the P.1 variant with the original variant to evaluate rates of transmission and reinfection. Their results confer with findings from other studies that have estimated the rate of P.1 transmissibility to be higher than that of the original strain (x1.4-2.2). The P.1 variant has been detected in at least 25 countries at present. Coutinho and colleagues note that transmissibility of P.1 might be lower than they found if waning immunity is an important aspect of COVID-19 and recognize that the study is limited somewhat by convenience-sampling and small sample size. However, they caution that serious measures of mitigation and further immunological & pathogenicity studies need to be undertaken to fully understand the extent of P.1. *Important Notice medRxiv 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. This is about supporting security, economic, and Ukraine's efforts to strengthen its own democracy U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken assures that Washington intends to strengthen its support for Ukraine. "We are very focused on supporting Ukraine, supporting its democracy, supporting its fight against corruption, and of course supporting its efforts to ward off aggression from Russia," Blinken told a House Foreign Affairs Committee March 10, reporting on Joe Biden Administration's foreign policy agenda. "I think you'll see us sustain and even deepen support for Ukraine, and we want to make sure we're doing our part in helping it continue on its democratic trajectory," the Secretary of State told the Committee members. "We strongly stand against Russia's attempted annexation of Crimea, we stand strongly against its aggression in the Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, and we're strongly in support of Ukraine. We intend to strengthen that support whether it's security, economic, or its efforts to strengthen its own democracy, which are vitally important because one of the challenges, as you know, for Ukraine is it has to face aggression from the outside, from Russia, but it also has to deal on the inside with its own challenges, including the problem of corruption. "We're determined to work on all of that," the top diplomat concluded. Anthony Blinken: Background Blinken has been viewed across Washington as someone who would be highly qualified for the top post in the Department of State, given his past tenure as the No. 2 at the State Department as well as his stints on Capitol Hill and in the Obama White House as deputy national security adviser. He had advocated for the U.S. to provide lethal aid to Ukraine to fight off Russia's invasion, Vox reported. Commenting on Russian aggression against Ukraine, Blinken separately noted that a number of Eastern European states joining NATO turned out to be a huge deterrent to Russia. Blinken has also slammed Russia for its prominent role in the Donbas crisis and failure to fulfill Minsk Agreements. It is also known that the state secretary's grandfather in the early 20th century immigrated to the U.S. from Kyiv, now the capital of Ukraine. Reporting by UNIAN Global powers bear the responsibility for sidelining the crimes against humanity that still might be perpetrated in North Korea over heightened focus on the nuclear programme, said a United Nations (UN) human rights investigator on March 10. In an interactive dialogue with UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur DPRK Tomas Ojea-Quintana on Wednesday, he called on the UN Security Council to refer to the serious violations in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the International Criminal Court for prosecution. Further, he also voiced concerns at the reports of gruesome punishments that DPRK citizens were subjected to over breaking COVID-19 restrictions including alleged orders to shoot on sight for anyone caught crossing the borders. Ojea-Quintana told the UN Human Rights Council that crimes against humanity may be ongoing in the country that has publicly not reported a single case of coronavirus infection. The UN Special Rapporteur DPRK stated that he had information confirming the findings of a landmark 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry on "extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other forms of sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, enforced disappearances and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation in the isolated country. He reiterated that the urgency to stop violations of such a scale, gravity and nature cannot take a back seat to national interests or geopolitical interests. UN expert for #DPRK, Tomas Ojea Quintana, told the #HRC that urgency 2 stop #humanrights violations in the #DPRK cannot take a back seat to national/geopolitical interests. #UNSC bears responsibility for its inaction. https://t.co/1z9QQd65AD https://t.co/0LE6xClNfd @tojeaquintana UN Human Rights in Seoul (@UNrightsSeoul) March 11, 2021 Ojea-Quintana says UNSC bears responsibility Ojea-Quintana told the Geneva forum that it is not justified under the UN Charter and said, I believe that the Security Council bears responsibility for its inaction against the continuation of crimes against humanity in the DPR Korea while presenting his latest report on DPRK which was issued last week. The report said that North Korean authorities had taken dramatic measures to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak including starvation. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Registered Health Information Technician for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 153 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 153 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Registered Health Information Technician. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-registered-health-information-technician/ 2021 Registered Health Information Technician featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Albany State University Alfred State College Arapahoe Community College Central Community College Central Piedmont Community College Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Clarkson College Collin County Community College District Columbus State Community College Dakota State University Davenport University DeVry University Dyersburg State Community College Eastern Iowa Community Colleges Edgecombe Community College Ferris State University Fisher College Franklin University Gateway Community and Technical College Great Falls College Montana State University Herzing University Hutchinson Community College Idaho State University Minnesota State Community and Technical College Moraine Park Technical College National American University North Dakota State College of Science Northeast Iowa Community College Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Northwest Iowa Community College Peirce College Penn Foster College Pitt Community College Portland Community College Rasmussen College Roane State Community College Rochester Community and Technical College Rowan College at Burlington County Saint Petersburg College Shoreline Community College Sinclair Community College St Philip's College State Fair Community College Tyler Junior College Ultimate Medical Academy University Of Alaska, Southeast University of Cincinnati University Of Northwestern Ohio Washburn University Weber State University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. (Reuters) - Myanmar's military is using battlefield weapons and lethal force in its crackdown on protesters against last month's coup, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The rights group said it had verified more than 50 videos from the crackdown, in which the United Nations says security forces have killed at least 60 protesters. It said many killings documented amounted to extrajudicial executions. Reuters was unable to reach a junta spokesman for comment. The army has said its response to protests has been restrained. The junta took power on Feb. 1, detaining elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and prompting daily protests across Myanmar that have at times drawn hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets. Amnesty accused the army of using weapons suitable for the battlefield to kill protesters. It said they were in the hands of units accused by rights groups of years of atrocities against minority ethnic groups, including Rohingya Muslims. "These are not the actions of overwhelmed, individual officers making poor decisions," said Joanne Mariner, Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International. "These are unrepentant commanders already implicated in crimes against humanity, deploying their troops and murderous methods in the open." Amnesty said weapons used included sniper rifles and light machine guns, as well as assault rifles and sub-machine guns. It called for a stop to the killings and for the release of detainees. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says nearly 2,000 people have been detained since the coup. In justifying its takeover, the army cited alleged fraud in a November election that Suu Kyi's party had won. Its accusations had been dismissed by the electoral commission. (Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing by Alex Richardson) Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleh Uruskyi has held a meeting with military attaches of foreign countries. "On March 10, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleh Uruskyi met with members of the Kyiv Association of Military Attaches (KAVA), which unites the offices of military attaches accredited in Ukraine," the press service of the Ministry of Strategic Industries reported. Military attaches from 31 countries of the world took part in the meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Strategic Industries. Uruskyi spoke about the main functions and tasks of the ministry, the results of the work and the priority areas of activity in the national security and defense sector. "Military and technical cooperation with foreign partners is a priority of the Ministry of Strategic Industry, and we are open to its deepening on a mutually beneficial basis. The Ministry has already organized and held bilateral meetings with representatives of diplomatic missions and other government agencies from more than 20 countries. A meaningful dialogue has been established with some of them, as a result of which bilateral international documents have been signed, he said. During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister also answered the questions of the military attaches about the activities of the Ministry of Strategic Industry. Uruskyi said that the Ministry expects to complete the process of implementation of the Law of Ukraine "On Defense Procurement" in March 2021. "This year's state defense order must be fulfilled in line with the new legislation, which complies with international norms," the official stressed. The event took place with the support of the Department of International Defense Cooperation of the Defense Ministry at the Central House of Officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. iy 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. Advertisement The federal government is pressuring state premiers to keep their borders open this year with an extraordinary new scheme to subsidise inter-state flights by 50 per cent. The half-price tickets will go on sale on April 1 as part of a $1.2billion package to boost the ailing tourism sector when JobKeeper finishes at the end of March. But flights within each state and territory are not included, meaning any premier who shuts their border will lock their businesses and workers out of the scheme. These are the 13 places that Australians can fly to and from on half-price tickets from April 1. But they must fly interstate Scott Morrison (pictured on a Qantas plane on Thursday) is pressuring state premiers to keep their borders open this year with an extraordinary new scheme to subsidise inter-state flights by 50 per cent Almost a million airline tickets will be go on sale at half price on April 1 under a $1.2billion package to boost the ailing the tourism sector. Flights to the Gold Coast (pictured) could be as cheap as $49 'I think it is an incentive for the states to keep their borders open. And that's important, because we can't keep on going through the yoyo of the ups and downs of that,' Qantas boss Alan Joyce said on Thursday. Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said 'premiers will have to play ball with us' and warned them not close their borders at the first sign of a Covid-19 outbreak like they did last year. 'We need states and territories to do their part by agreeing to a nationally consistent approach to using border closures and lockdowns as a last resort on medical advice,' he said. Federal government ministers voiced their frustration last year when premiers including WA leader Mark McGowan and Queensland leader Annastacia Palaszczuk repeatedly closed their borders, crippling tourism. Qantas and Jetstar had to cancel 1,500 flights when states closed to Sydney residents following a handful of cases on the Northern Beaches in December. Prime Minster Scott Morrison has insisted the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine reduces the health risk so state premiers will find it harder to justify border closures. 'In 2021, whats appropriate with state borders is completely different [from last year], particularly with the vaccination program rolling out. And both of the airlines have said pretty plainly that for this to work best the states have to keep their borders open,' he told Nine's Today Show on Thursday morning. Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said his state reserved the right to shut its border and would not guarantee keeping it open. 'We will act on the health advice... that's been consistent the position we've taken all along and of course that was endorsed by the people of Queensland in the election last October,' he told ABC Radio National. He complained that the scheme did not allow intra-state flights. 'People want to go, in Brisbane and in the southeast, they want to go to Cairns but this scheme says no. Instead, we have to go to places like Launceston, or Merimbula.' Prime Minster Scott Morrison said the package was Australia's 'ticket to recovery'. Pictured: A tourist at the Whitsundays Tickets to and from 13 holiday hotspots will be subsidised by the federal government until July 31 and airlines will ramp up their flight schedules to deal with an expected surge in demand over the next three months. The locations on offer are the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (including Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island. Some 57 routes will be covered on the Qantas and Jetstar network, CEO Alan Joyce said on Thursday morning. The discount means a return ticket from Sydney to Cairns which currently costs $233 could be as little as $116.50. A return between Melbourne and the Gold Coast, which is now on sale from $130, could cost just $65. To get their half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. The discount only applies to inter-state travel, not intra-state flights - but these could later be added to the scheme which is expected to evolve to match demand. There will be no limit on the number of tickets available but the government expects an average of 46,000 people per week - a total of about 800,000 - will fly on the subsidised flights. The areas involved have been chosen because they rely on tourism for their wealth and are particularly dependent on aviation for their visitor numbers. The scheme is part of a huge bail-out package for the tourism sector which employs 611,000 Australians and has been crippled by the Covid-induced international border shutdown. Amid a stark warning that 100,000 people could be fired when JobKeeper ends, the government will also give monthly payments to airlines to retain 8,600 international workers such as pilots and cabin crew until October 31 when the border is expected to re-open with every Australian vaccinated. Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka and Qantas boss Mr Joyce welcomed the package. 'This is great news for Australian aviation. This is great news for Australian tourism. This is great news for Qantas, but particularly for Qantas employees,' Mr Joyce said. Mr Joyce said he expects 22 of 25 Qantas international routes to restart in October alongside all 13 Jetstar routes -but he's prepared to start earlier or wait longer depending on the Covid-19 situation. To get their half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. Pictured: Kangaroo Island Also in the package, companies getting JobKeeper payments will be offered a government-backed 10-year loan of up to $5million, with no repayments due for two years. Some 350,000 employees now on JobKeeper could have their wages subsidised by the loans if their company decides to take one. Prime Minster Scott Morrison said the package was Australia's 'ticket to recovery'. 'This will take more tourists to our hotels and cafes, taking tours and exploring our backyard,' he said. 'That means more jobs and investment for the tourism and aviation sectors as Australia heads towards winning our fight against Covid-19 and the restrictions that have hurt so many businesses. 'Our tourism businesses don't want to rely on government support forever. They want their tourists back. 'This package, combined with our vaccine roll-out which is gathering pace, is part of our National Economic Recovery Plan and the bridge that will help get them back to normal trading.' Mr Tehan urged Aussies to support fellow countrymen by booking a holiday. 'The thing our tourism operators want more than anything is tourists so we need Australians to do their patriotic duty and book a holiday this year because every dollar spent on an Australian holiday is a dollar that supports a local job and a local business,' he said. Some of the discounted routes Aussies can fly on Far North Queensland Melbourne Cairns Sydney Cairns Darwin Cairns New South Wales Melbourne - Merimbula Gold Coast Adelaide Gold Coast Melbourne Gold Coast Sydney Gold Coast Canberra Gold Coast Avalon Gold Coast Tasmania Melbourne Launceston Sydney Launceston Brisbane Launceston Melbourne Devonport Melbourne Burnie Western Australia Darwin Broome Sydney Broome Melbourne Broome Whitsundays and Mackay Sydney Proserpine Sydney Hamilton Island Sunshine Coast (Queensland) Sydney Maroochydore Melbourne Maroochydore Adelaide Maroochydore Alice Springs Adelaide Alice Springs Sydney Uluru Brisbane Alice Springs Melbourne Alice Springs Perth Alice Springs Sydney Alice Springs Brisbane Uluru Melbourne Uluru Melbourne (Avalon Airport) Gold Coast Avalon Sydney Avalon Kangaroo Island Adelaide - Kingscote Flights, routes and the total number of tickets will be driven by demand and are subject to final discussions with the airlines Advertisement Tickets to and from 13 holiday hotspots such as Alice Springs (pictured) will be subsidised by the federal government until July 31 and airlines will ramp up their flight schedules to deal with an expected surge in demand 'We need states and territories to do their part by agreeing to a nationally consistent approach to using border closures and lockdowns as a last resort on medical advice,' he said. The government is also extending a range of existing support policies to help the economy recover after its first recession since the early 1990s. The $50million Business Events Grants Program will be extended by three months to help companies hold multi-day business events by covering up to 50 per cent of costs. The $94.6million Zoos and Aquarium program will be extended by six months to support zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks to maintain their animal populations where their tourism revenue has been affected by travel and social distancing restrictions. And the Covid-19 Consumer Travel Support Program will also be extended for three months beyond March 13. The policies are designed to assist businesses when the JobKeeper subsidy ends almost a full year after it began. Labor says the scheme is being taken away too soon, but the government says it distorts the economy by stopping workers filling available jobs and keeping businesses afloat that would ordinarily go under. The prime minister expressed his frustration earlier this week that 54,000 jobs in regional Australia - including at pubs cafes and farms - are going begging. How does the new loan system work? The loans will be granted under an expansion of the existing SME Loan Guarantee scheme to companies that come off JobKeeper between January and March this year. Maximum loan terms will be increased from five to 10 years, with a repayment holiday of two years. Size of eligible loans increasing from $1 million to $5 million. Maximum eligible turnover increased from $50 million to $250 million. The government guarantee will increase from the current 50/50 split between the Government and the banks to an 80/20 split. The scheme can be used to refinance existing loans. Loans must be approved between 1 April 2021 and 31 December 2021 Advertisement Some 85 per cent of jobs taken away by the Covid recession have returned and around 2.7million people at 650,000 businesses have come off JobKeeper. Around 20 per cent of the companies still heavily relying on the payment are in the sectors of Cafes and Restaurants, Travel Agencies and Tour Arrangement Services, Accommodation, and Air and Space Transport. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said this latest package of measures will tide companies over until the economy fully recovers. 'We know there are sectors and regions across the country that are continuing to do it tough, which is why we will continue to support the economy with proportionate, timely, scaleable and targeted assistance,' he said. 'Our support for the aviation sector will not just keep planes in the air but will also provide a boost to domestic tourism while our international borders remain closed. He added: 'The SME Recovery Scheme is part of the next step in our plan to help small businesses stand on their own two feet as the economy recovers from Covid-19. 'The expansion and extension of the loans will back businesses that back themselves and will help businesses who continue to do it tough build a bridge to the other side of the crisis and keep their staff employed.' What measures is the government taking to support the economy after JobKeeper ends? TOURISM AVIATION NETWORK SUPPORT o Half-price flights from April to July 31 to at least 13 locations SME RECOVERY LOAN SCHEME o Up to $5m 10 year loans with 24 month repayment holidays eligible to businesses that have graduated off JobKeeper between 4 January and 28 March INTERNATIONAL AVIATION SUPPORT o Financial support from 1 April to 31 October (when international flights are expected to resume) to help airlines to maintain an agreed core international capability (crew and aircraft) based on pre-COVID international passenger services AVIATION SERVICES ACCREDITION SUPPORT PROGRAM o To run from 29 March to 30 September and cover the cost of ground handlers maintaining their mandatory training, certification, and accreditation The following schemes are also being extended: DOMESTIC AND REGIONAL AVIATION NETWORK SUPPORTS DOMESTIC AIRPORTS SECURITY CHARGES SUPPORT AIRSERVICES FEE WAIVER INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT ASSISTANCE MECHANISM BUSINESS EVENTS GRANTS PROGRAM ZOOS AND AQUARIUM PROGRAM CONSUMER TRAVEL SUPPORT PROGRAM Advertisement It comes after an ongoing dispute between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over support for tourism. In January Ms Palaszczuk visited struggling tourism businesses in Cairns and asked the federal government to extend the $100billion JobKeeper scheme beyond March 28. But she was rebuked by Mr Morrison and criticised for crippling small companies with her sudden border shutdowns throughout the pandemic. Mr Frydenberg said the federal government has done the 'bulk of the heavy lifting' to support Queenslanders and Ms Palaszczuk should open her own wallet. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg (left) accused Annastacia Palaszczuk (right) of 'grandstanding' after she demanded an extension of JobKeeper He said the federal government has given $28.5billion to Queenslanders in the past year, while the premier has only committed $8.8billion across the next four years. Mr Frydenberg also accused the premier of 'grandstanding and petty politicking' before Ms Palaszczuk hit back and said he should visit Cairns. On Monday the treasurer flew up to the north Queensland town and met with business owners, telling a press conference that he would announce support measures later in the week. He explained that JobKeeper cannot continue because it stops workers moving to more productive roles and keeps businesses afloat that would otherwise go under even without coronavirus. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
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Chief Financial Officer David Nicholson told the school board this week.The proposed budget includes $5 million of the $14.4 million in federal funds awarded the district in January by the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund aid passed by Congress in its previous COVID-19 relief package.Land owners in the district will pay a school tax rate of $15.36 per $1,000 of taxable property value a rate unchanged from this year."We didn't want to increase taxes if we didn't have to, especially during this difficult time," Nicholson said, pointing to both the pandemic and the Aug. 10 derecho.Even though the district's rate stays the same, however, that does not mean tax bills will stay the same also.Under the state's rollback formula, a slightly higher share of a home's assessed value will be subject to taxes 56.04 percent instead of the previous 55.07 percent.The portion of a property tax bill for the school district on a $150,000 home will increase a little over $30, Nicholson said.A virtual public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 12.Federal COVID-19 relief the district received will go toward educational services for learning loss this and next summer, HVAC air quality improvements in schools, mental health support and toward paying for technology, instructional materials and school bus attendants.Nicholson said the district is working through what the educational supports for learning loss might look like from extending summer school to creating more after-school programs."Everything is on the table right now," Nicholson said. "We may not necessarily be bringing in our own teachers for that. They might be burned out."The district could amend the budget next year to provide more money for educational support if needed.The district's student enrollment more than 16,000 decreased by 614 this year, which impacts the fiscal 2022 budget. For state aid, student count runs a year behind. The district's student count in October 2020 will be used for the fiscal 2022 budget.Nicholson said the decrease in students has impacted the budget this year particularly for the special education program, "one of the driving forces to our deficit."In fiscal 2020, the special education deficit was a little over $12 million compared with the deficit in 2019 of $9.2 million."The Cedar Rapids district has the highest deficit in the state," Nicholson said. "We're doing things we can to try to bring that deficit down, and we're trying to make sure we 100 percent meet the needs of our kids."The needs of special education already were outpacing the level of aid coming in, but the pandemic worsened it in districts across the state.Like other districts, Cedar Rapids is looking at ways to address the growing gap. The district is not planning to rehire paraeducators who did not come back during the 2020-21 school year because of the pandemic.Nicholson said the district is working on restructuring some special education services to account for the decrease in paraeducators as more students are expected to return in-person this fall.The other big factor in the district's budget is the derecho, which severely damaged school buildings. The Aug. 10 storm caused about $51.5 million in damages to the district's facilities.But that is mostly covered by insurance and the district will pay a deductible of under $10,000. They Should Have Walked Him: Kale Stevenson's clutch homers spark Post 17 to doubleheader sweep Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Jakarta: A tourist bus plunged into a ravine on Indonesias main island of Java after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 27 people and injuring 39, police and rescuers said on Thursday. The bus was carrying a group of Islamic junior high school students, teachers and parents from the West Java provincial town of Subang when the accident happened on a winding road late on Wednesday, police chief Eko Prasetyo Robbyanto said. Rescuers on Thursday search for survivors and victims inside the wreckage of a bus that plunged into a ravine in Sumedang, West Java. Credit:Basarnas via AP He said the bus was on its way back to Subang from a pilgrimage site in the provinces Tasikmalaya district when it plunged into the 20-metre-deep ravine in Sumedang after the driver lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of sharp declines. Police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but survivors told authorities the vehicles brakes apparently malfunctioned, Robbyanto said. A year into the Covid-19 pandemic, Inc. asked a selection of small-business owners: What's the most surprising (or counterintuitive) thing you found yourself doing during the pandemic that you'll keep doing or will shape your business going forward? From cutting 50 percent of a company's product line to developing a new nightly bathing routine, here are five of our favorite answers. 1. Take an hourlong bath each night. --Jon Staff, founder and CEO, Getaway Staff's Brooklyn-based hospitality startup unexpectedly thrived in 2020: Turns out, people value the concept of escaping to a tiny cabin in the middle of the woods without any Wi-Fi, work, or other people amid a pandemic. The company saw a 150 percent increase in bookings compared with 2019, and nearly 100 percent occupancy rates at all 13 of its current locations throughout the year. While trying to minimize the increased workload's pressure, Staff developed a new nightly bathing routine that's here to stay. I needed a replacement for my commute. That 25-minute walk was the barrier between my workday and my after-work day. Once I started working from home, it was Zoom to Zoom to Zoom, and at the end of the day, I was still here. All the stuff I looked at all day was still here. There was no downtime to let the mind wander, process that difficult conversation from earlier, or figure out what to eat for dinner. So, in March or April, I started taking an hourlong bath every night after work. I'm not in there with my electronics. I'm not talking to anybody. The whole thesis of our business is that we need boundaries--you'll be a better worker if you get away from your work. I've come out of stressful meetings or tense conversations with colleagues, finished the day in the bath, and realized unprompted: I was, unintentionally, a jerk to that person. The next day, I call them back and say, "I'm sorry, that was rude" or "I had a new idea." My colleagues will tell you, "That's how Jon thinks best." The irony here: Getaway cabins have no bathtubs. We're going to have to correct that. 2. Cut your product line by 50 percent. --Nina Faulhaber, co-founder and co-CEO, Aday In 2015, Faulhaber and co-founder Meg He launched their New York City-based direct-to-consumer fashion startup as an intentionally minimalist brand. But the tried-and-true DTC road map often involves chasing hypergrowth at the expense of profitability, resulting for Aday in an ever-growing product list and strong temptation to enter new categories. Until, of course, Covid hit--forcing the pair to get back to their fundamentals. When the pandemic hit, a lot of brands intuitively pursued the path of chasing demand. More marketing, more sales, more messaging around buying--because we were all sitting on so much inventory. Instead, we went to our best repeat customers and asked them, "What do you actually really want?" Then, we were superduper strict in scratching the things they didn't unanimously love. We reduced our number of new and returning styles for 2020 by 50 percent. There's a metric, gross margin return on investment (GMROI), that we really made the core of our business. We only focus on products that maximize GMROI. How fast is the inventory churn? Which pieces will maximize profit at the end of the day? It took a lot of financial literacy education within Aday: We learned so much, and reminded ourselves how we can build this business in a sustainable way by focusing a lot more on efficiency and margins than revenue. Within the next 24 months, we'll definitely be profitable. Maybe within the next 12 months. That's years ahead of schedule. 3. Make time for family. --Nicole Snow, founder and CEO, Darn Good Yarn Snow's Clifton Park, New York-based wholesaler and retailer of recycled yarn, clothing, and home goods has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America the past four consecutive years. Covid threatened to end that growth streak until a hot second half of the year brought Darn Good Yarn up to $10.1 million in annual revenue, a small increase over 2019. The frantic recovery was punctuated by Snow's personal transition to a four-day workweek, prompted by a scary moment with her 4-year-old daughter. Right after Thanksgiving, one of my employees tested positive for Covid. We all had to lock down and go home. I had to FaceTime my daughter Anna from my own house--and when I came out of quarantine, she started stuttering. My therapist said little kids can show anxiety that way. One Friday, I happened to have a rare half-day, and she has Fridays off from school--so I wound up totally hanging out with her. That evening, she wasn't stuttering. The business was still hurting. We were still living day to day. But my family was more important, so Fridays now are "Mommy and me" days. I've doubled down on Mondays through Thursdays, waking up at 4 a.m. and rallying until the evening. I wake up on those days with anxiety because I have so much to do. Can I do this forever? No. But my daughter isn't going to be 4 forever, and the self-discipline makes me more productive in those four days than my old five days. Showing that vulnerability has allowed people the space to come to me if they need help. Pre-Covid, we were so focused on growth. Now, it's stability. I'd rather have employees able to focus and not half-ass things. I'm recognizing the value of employee longevity, and not just burning people out. 4. Get into TikTok. --Aaron Rasmussen, founder and CEO, Outlier.org At the beginning of the pandemic, Rasmussen felt lonely and isolated. On a lark, the Brooklyn-based virtual education startup founder made a TikTok video called "Nice Things Around the World." Thanks to his storytelling chops and film background--he's also a co-founder and ex-creative director of MasterClass--the video went viral. Interest in the 37-employee startup, which offers online college courses for credit at the University of Pittsburgh, has grown by 600 percent since pre-Covid times, Rasmussen says. And thanks to TikTok, he's learned a surprising amount about his Gen-Z audience. My TikTok is really just for my own art. And it's great--I've got 50-something thousand followers at this point. But it also means I watch a lot of TikTok, which helps me understand: How does Gen-Z feel about all of this? You see jokes about online classes. People talking about student debt. People struggling with losing one of their formative years. The most applicable insights are probably in marketing: understanding what their concerns are and speaking directly to them. Hiring off TikTok is also fascinating to me. You see these videos of Gen-Zers making jokes about entry-level positions requiring nine years of experience. How do we angle our company to get talented entry-level people who aren't turned away for that reason, especially if they're a little bit jaded? As far as hiring people directly, some of the best editing and storytelling I've ever seen is on TikTok. We've talked about launching a business account for TikToks to showcase the jobs we have open, give advice, and take in feedback. That mainline into the sentiments of another generation, from a business standpoint, isn't going to hurt. It's a huge privilege to have that perspective. 5. Produce content completely virtually. --Karla Gallardo, co-founder and CEO, Cuyana From its 2011 launch, Gallardo's San Francisco-based fashion startup grew rapidly: consistently doubling its revenue year over year, and reaching profitability while landing $30 million in growth equity financing from HIG Growth Partners in 2019. Last year brought layoffs, and marked Cuyana's first-ever year without double-digit growth--which, Gallardo says, forced her to double down on the "foundational stones" of profitability and financial sustainability. It also forced her to figure out a key question for any fashion brand: How do you produce photo shoots virtually? It's pretty terrifying to think that our first photo shoot of 2020 was when shelter-in-place started. We have photographers and models in Europe. Our team is in San Francisco. We have some people who fly in from New York and Los Angeles. At that point, the borders were shut--there was no way the team was going to come together. Photo shoots are like so many other things: You have your way of doing it, and that's the best way of doing it. How do you style the model virtually, direct the shoot virtually, deal with time zones? We figured out how to do one in London with team members dialing in from different locations. The previous day, we did hair and makeup through FaceTime. We found software to help our art director here in San Francisco watch the entire shoot live, every single photo that came in, so she could make adjustments in real time. ST. LOUIS, MO, March 11, 2021 - Two Danforth Center Principal Investigators were recently recognized with early career awards for outstanding achievement and leadership. Andrea Eveland, Ph.D., associate member, received the Marcus Rhoades Early Career Award at the 63rd Maize Genetics Conference (MGC) for her research that mixes genomics, developmental biology, and advanced bioinformatics. The MGC Marcus Rhoades Early Career award recognizes an individual who has made significant research contributions through genetic studies of maize or related species, and has been in a permanent position for eight or fewer years. Eveland has been an active member of the MGC community for 18 years, the last six of which have been at the Danforth Center. Her research is focused on genetic control of plant architecture and regulation of abiotic stress response. Eveland leads a $3.4M National Science Foundation-funded project that leverages developmental biology, genomics, and quantitative genetics to dissect the molecular networks underlying tassel branching and leaf angle in maize, two important traits underlying yield. She also leads a $2.5M Department of Energy-funded project that integrates high-throughput phenotyping with genetics and genomics to identify novel loci for drought resilience in sorghum, a small grain cereal crop that is closely related to maize. Eveland has also been a major driver in establishing Setaria viridis as a model for developmental genetics, using it to make several key discoveries in plant architecture that can be translated back to maize and sorghum. Eveland received her Ph.D. in 2008 from the University of Florida where she studied sugar signaling and drought physiology during kernel set in maize and was an early adopter of next generation sequencing technologies for quantifying gene expression in plants. In 2007, she gave her first talk at the MGC on 3' transcript profiling in maize using 454 sequencing. In 2008, she received an NSF postdoctoral fellowship to train at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory where she applied cutting-edge genomics and bioinformatics to address complex questions in maize developmental biology. Malia Gehan, Ph.D., assistant member, received the 2021 North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN) Early Career Award at the NAPPN annual conference on February 19 in recognition of academic, outreach and leadership contributions made to the phenotyping community. The NAPPN Early Career Award highlights leaders doing novel research, increasing the visibility of plant phenotyping (peer reviewed publications, presentations, social media, popular press and service), supporting research between public and private sectors, and developing (or following) data standard best management practices and/or transdisciplinary engagement. The NAPPN is an association of scientists and researchers in the rapidly evolving area of plant phenomics, formed as a regional partner of the International Plant Phenotyping Network (IPPN). The Phenome conference represents a multidisciplinary community comprising plant biologists, ecologists, engineers, agronomists, computational scientists and representatives from U.S. federal agencies who come together in a rich and diverse networking environment to foster collaboration, innovation and the initiation of multi-investigator and multi-institution projects. Gehan and team develop high-throughput phenotyping methods to identify natural variation of plants in response to temperature stress and to learn how plants interact with their environment. The Gehan lab focuses on mining natural variation for improved temperature stress resistance, which will help to improve crop productivity. The research also addresses basic questions of how plants perceive temperature. Interactions of plant genotype and the environment, especially stressful environments, are dynamic and can produce a multitude of phenotypes. Gehan has been in her Principal Investigator role at the Danforth Center since 2016. Prior to that, she was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Center funded by a NSF-PGRP Postdoctoral Fellowship, focusing her work on developing phenotyping tools. Gehan and colleagues started a Maker Group at the Danforth Center to develop low-cost phenotyping tools, and fun outreach events like the Raspberry Pi Jam. Gehan earned her Ph.D. in Plant Biology at Michigan State University, examining natural variation in freezing tolerance and the integration of the circadian clock with cold signaling. As an undergraduate researcher in Biology at Willamette University, she studied thermoinhibition of growth and development of guard cell protoplasts with Dr. J. Gary Tallman. "We are so proud of Andrea and Malia, and for all that they have achieved in the plant science field," said Jim Carrington, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Danforth Center. "They are outstanding, collaborative scientists and team leaders, and wonderful contributors to the Danforth Center community. We are lucky to have both of them here." ### About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research, education and outreach aim to have impact at the nexus of food security and the environment, and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center's work is funded through competitive grants from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter. Published: 11 March 2021 Wages and salaries higher in Uusimaa than elsewhere in the country According to Statistics Finlands Structure of Earnings statistics, the median for total earnings of full-time wage and salary earners was EUR 3,139 per month in 2019. Of the regions, median earnings were highest in Uusimaa, EUR 3,441. Median earnings were lowest in South Savo, EUR 2,829. Besides earnings for regular working hours, total earnings also include all bonuses and benefits in kind, but not one-off pay items such as performance bonuses or holiday bonuses. Medians for total earnings of full-time wage and salary earners by region in 2019 Distribution of wages and salaries is bigger in Uusimaa than in other regions The earnings of the highest earning decile (9th decile) in Uusimaa are clearly higher than in other regions. The highest earning decile earned EUR 6,000 or more in Uusimaa while in the other regions the earnings of the highest decile were EUR 4,747 or more. The earnings of the lowest earning decile (1st decile) in Uusimaa do not differ as much from the corresponding earnings level in other regions. In Uusimaa 10 per cent of full-time wage and salary earners earned EUR 2,301 or less, while in the rest of the country the lowest decile earned EUR 2,187 or less. Distribution of monthly total earnings of fulltime wage and salary earners: 1st and 9th deciles by region in 2019 In the whole country the lowest decile earned EUR 2,222 or less and the highest decile EUR 5,238 or more. As a result of the bigger dispersion of wages and salaries, pay differentials are much bigger in Uusimaa than in other regions. In Uusimaa the highest earning decile earned at least 2.6 times more than the lowest earning decile. In other regions, the corresponding pay differential varied from 2.3 in Pirkanmaa to 2.0 in South Savo, Kainuu and North Karelia. In both Uusimaa and other regions, the most common monthly earnings of full-time wage and salary earners were between EUR 2,500 and 2,999. In other regions than Uusimaa, earnings were more common in relative terms in this bracket and in the bracket below (EUR 2,000 to 2,499), while wages and salaries from EUR 3,500 up were more common in Uusimaa than in the rest of the country. Relative shares of wage and salary earners by bracket (total earnings/month) in Uusimaa and other regions in 2019, full-time wage and salary earners Differences in average earnings and dispersion of earnings between regions are partly caused by differences in the structures of wage and salary earners between regions. More people work in professional occupations in Uusimaa than in other regions. In Uusimaa, around 30 per cent of wage and salary earners worked in professional occupations, while in other regions the share was around 20 per cent. In these occupational groups the earnings level was on average higher than in other occupations. In relative terms, more wage and salary earners in Uusimaa also had tertiary level qualifications than in other regions. The top management of private sector enterprises is excluded from the Structure of Earnings statistics. This may alleviate the pay differentials described in the statistics relative to actual pay differentials especially in Uusimaa. Median earnings of wage and salary earners highest in information and communication Among the industries, the highest median earnings were recorded in information and communication activities, EUR 4,220. The median of total earnings of full-time wage and salary earners was lowest in accommodation and food service activities, EUR 2,383. The industry is determined according to the main activity of the wage and salary earner's workplace. The differences in earnings between industries are influenced, for example, by the occupational structure of wage and salary earners. The vast majority of wage and salary earners in the industry of accommodation and food service activities were service and sales workers, who typically have lower pay than those employed in associate professional and professional occupations, many of whom work in financing and insurance activities, for example. Distribution of monthly total earnings of full-time wage and salary earners: 1st and 9th deciles by industry in 2019. Median earnings in numbers in the figure. Among the industries, the largest variation in wages and salaries can be found in financial and insurance activities, where the earnings of the lowest decile were EUR 2,507 and those of the highest decile EUR 7,111. In the industry of financing and insurance activities, the ratio of earnings of the 9th decile to earnings of the 1st decile was 2.8, while in other industries it fluctuated from 2.5 in trade to 1.7 in accommodation and food service activities and to 1.8 in human health and social work activities. The data in the release derive from Statistics Finland's Structure of Earnings statistics. The Structure of Earnings statistics for 2019 provide data on the earnings of around 1.4 million full-time wage and salary earners and altogether 1.69 million full-time and part-time wage and salary earners. The Structure of Earnings statistics describe all wage and salary earners for the public sector and those working in enterprises with more than five employees for the private sector. The earnings data released in the statistics are total earnings. Apart from earnings for regular working hours, total earnings also include pay for any possible overtime and working hour supplements, premium pays, supplement for location and adverse working conditions, supplements based on duties, professional skill and years of service, performance-based pay components, compensation for standby and on-call work and benefits in kind, but not one-off pay items, such as performance-based bonuses. Total earnings are in gross, so taxes or other payments have not been subtracted from them. Source: Structure of Earnings 2019, Statistics Finland Inquiries: Hanna Jokimaki 029 551 3333, Hanna Ahtonen 029 551 3536, palkkarakenne@stat.fi Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala Publication in pdf-format (246.4 kB) Updated 11.3.2021 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Structure of Earnings [e-publication]. ISSN=1799-0092. 2019. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 2.6.2021]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/pra/2019/pra_2019_2021-03-11_tie_001_en.html This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays. People who work in technology are often incredibly smart. But that doesnt necessarily make them accurate forecasters of human and social behavior. This week, Airbnbs chief executive said that he thought more people would hop between multiple homes when the pandemic ends. Mark Zuckerberg talked about his vision of people using goggles that read their minds. A co-founder of Stripe, the digital finance start-up, spoke about a range of things, including worker productivity metrics and the need for improved medical technology. These were thought-provoking ideas, and successful tech executives have been right an awful lot. But I am asking for a little more humility from technologists and a little more skepticism from the rest of us. Being really smart and overseeing products used by millions of people doesnt make tech executives oracles. (Thats true even for the tech company named Oracle.) As tech has become more enmeshed in our lives and the economy and as tech founders have become red-carpet-worthy celebrities people want to know what technologists think about everything: the future of cities, education, health care, jobs and the environment. It makes sense. I want to hear what they think, too. Roz Bernheimer and her husband are 80 and have spent the past year sequestered at home, barricaded from most of their children and grandchildren as they awaited a vaccine. They finally got it, with the second shot taking full effect this week, meaning they are unlikely to become sick from covid-19. Bernheimer, who lives in Newton, Mass., feels tremendous relief, but that doesn't mean she is ready to open the door to unmasked, indoor visits with unvaccinated people, including some of her children and grandchildren who are pushing to see them. "A couple of them attacked us, saying, 'Well, if you can't do stuff now that you're vaccinated, you're never going to do anything,'" Bernheimer said. "Their take is, 'Now that you're vaccinated, you can do anything.' " After the pandemic began, many Americans, especially the oldest and most vulnerable, clung to the hope that a vaccine would return them to pre-coronavirus life. But after a year of surges, variants and conflicting or revised opinions from medical authorities, many are questioning - and, in some cases, arguing with loved ones about - whether the vaccine will be their golden ticket back into the wider world. It is still unclear whether vaccinated people can transmit the coronavirus, and new guidelines released this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not clearly delineate between what it is and is not safe for them to do. The guidelines said people two weeks past their final shot may visit indoors with unvaccinated members of a single household without masks or distancing. But many extended families include more than a single household. And the guidelines still discourage visits involving long-distance travel. The new guidelines "make me more confused than not," Bernheimer said. "It seemed to say one thing in one place, and then if you read down further, it negated what you had read." Unlike childhood vaccines, which provide lifelong immunity, the coronavirus vaccines are more like the flu vaccine, which needs to be administered every year and has varying degrees of effectiveness. "For so long, the vaccine was presented as a sort of 'get-out-of-home' card," said Jennifer Reich, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado at Denver and author of "Calling the Shots," a book about people who reject vaccines. But the promise of the current vaccines has been clouded by the rise of new variants that may elude them. And with four-fifths of Americans yet to get a first shot, vaccinated people have a hard time knowing how to protect themselves and their family members. "People love simple answers, but public health is complicated and we don't have all the information," said Ruth Nemzoff, a resident scholar at Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center who has been conducting workshops with grandparents around the country since the pandemic began. People who live far away from loved ones have found that different states have different rules about quarantines. Different doctors have different opinions on what is safe. And people's own inner compasses can vary wildly from those of their loved ones. "It's led to some rifts within families," said Jessica Calarco, an associate professor of sociology at Indiana University who has been following 250 mothers of young children for over two years. "There are so many different opinions of what's safe." Bernheimer said she is more worried about transmitting the coronavirus to unvaccinated family members than she is of catching it from them. So Passover with her four children and seven grandchildren will be on Zoom again this year, and aside from a daughter and granddaughter who have bubbled with them, in-person visits will continue to be outdoors and masked. That has not gone over well with all family members. "Some of them even felt like maybe we were being punishing, like we were being ridiculous and we were depriving them of the chance to see us," she said. "Others are saying, 'We're really proud that you're not backing down on the bullying.' " Bernheimer's children declined to be interviewed for this story. In other cases, it is the vaccinated grandparent who is more eager to relax the rules. Suzanne Grenager, 78, of Mill Valley, Calif., has gotten her second dose, and has started going to the grocery store, Pilates trainer, and hair salon, and socializing indoors and unmasked with other vaccinated people. She also does so with unvaccinated people if they are comfortable with it. But her daughter-in-law still wants to meet only outdoors with masks and social distancing until she, her husband and their three sons have been vaccinated. "If it were all up to me, I think I'd be tempted to be a little bit more lenient about it," Grenager said. "I don't think anyone's going to die," she said, but added that she respects her daughter-in-law's position. Grenager's vaccinated status has meant revisiting protocols the family had painstakingly hashed out earlier in the pandemic, said her daughter-in-law, Heather Hughes, 54, who lives nearby. "Those old resolved dialogues are exacerbated by the new freedoms that these older people perceive that they have with their new vaccines," Hughes said, adding that after a year of hearing about how much more risky covid-19 is for the oldest populations, it might be hard for older adults to now think of younger ones as vulnerable. "Whatever she does affects us. Her being more exposed exposes us more." Usually when people's ideas of safety are in conflict, "families have made the decision that is the most risk-averse decision," Calarco said. But as families weigh the pros and cons, health and safety can be defined in many ways. "Certainly many parents see a risk for their children of not seeing grandparents for so long, and certainly many grandparents feel a deep sense of loss of not being able to see their grandchildren." For parents who rely on outside help for child care, the calculus can be even more complicated. "For those who have babysitters of any type or send their kids to day care, those day cares have rules, and if you see anyone outside your pod for any reason, you have to isolate for a week," Nemzoff said. "Or the babysitter may say, 'Hey, wait a minute, I don't want you introducing more people to my pod.' " Patsy Goodman, 72, of Silver Spring, Md., had to stop indoors visits with her twin 6-year-old granddaughters, whom she was helping care for, after they went back to in-person private school in the fall. Goodman, who has a heart condition, has had two shots, which make her feel "like a huge weight has been lifted." But her granddaughters' school has restrictions against seeing anyone outside their household. "As much as we want to see the girls, we don't want to endanger their being in school," she said. After reading the CDC guidelines released Monday, she and her husband and their son and daughter-in-law decided they will form a pod as soon as all four adults are vaccinated. Some older people are still worried about protecting their own health, even after getting their shots. Edith Edmunds, 95, of Halifax, Va., and her daughter received their second doses of the vaccine recently, but she still hasn't socialized with anyone outside of her household. She plans to have some family members visit in April, but they will stay "only on the porch, not in the house. They will have to have their masks on." Edmunds said. "I'm not ready to have people going in and out of my house." Her daughter, Amy, 63, who lives with her, agrees that it's best to wait. She's worried about her own health, too, as a stroke survivor. "I'm very comfortable with embracing 2022 as a goal post," she said. "I think we'll be wearing masks into next year." But not all older people are as resistant to reuniting with relatives. Jen Morales, 52, of Vienna, Va., was taken aback last month by a text from her 80-year-old mother. "I feel soooo relieved!!!" her mother, Sally Morales, wrote in the text, after saying she and her husband had received their first vaccine doses and planned to get their second doses in four weeks. "When we're finished we'll come and visit you." Morales and her teenage children longed to see her mother, who lives in Rochester, N.Y., But Morales, communications director for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, had been working on a news release about the latest variant just before receiving her mother's text. She worried the vaccine wouldn't protect her parents from the new strains, and that traveling to Virginia would put them at risk. "That would be great," she replied. "Let's wait and see what we know about the variants. Fingers crossed." "Oh boy. That's right," her mother responded. "I didn't think about that." Her mother was disappointed but said she trusted her daughter's judgment. "I just couldn't live with myself if something happened to my mom," Morales said. "I just feel like we can't let up yet. We've waited this long; let's just hold our breath a little longer." Daniel Yao Domelevo has said corruption is a dangerous enemy that cannot be dealt with by an individual. According to the former Auditor-General, anybody who tries to fight corruption quietly will be finished in a minute. Speaking at his Thanksgiving service at the Christ The King Catholic Church, Daniel Yao Domelevo said, If you fight corruption alone, you wont last. Corruption is one dangerous enemy you cant fight alone, and you cant fight quietly. If you fight corruption quietly, you will be finished in a minute. Thanking all those who helped him during his time at the Audit Service, Domelevo expressed appreciation to Civil Society Organizations focused on fighting corruption in Ghana, indicating that their support was very helpful to him while he was in office. He said their support ensured that the fight against corruption was waged strongly. I must say thank you to the anti-corruption CSOs or institutions fighting corruption [in Ghana]. I am very grateful. They [CSOs] have been with me together with the press. To the press, I am very grateful to you. You have been a big support to me in all that has happened over the years. Daniel Yao Domelevo left his position as Auditor-General when President Akufo-Addo on March 3, directed that he retires from the office. The Audit Service Board before his return from a compulsory 167-day accumulated leave claimed to have found some irregularities and anomalies in his SSNIT data. The Board alleged that records at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) provided by the Auditor-General indicated that his date of birth was 1960 when he joined the scheme on October 1, 1978. They also questioned Domelevos hometown, indicating that he had written he hailed from Agbetofe in Togo; making him a non-Ghanaian. While the date of birth changed to June 1, 1961, the hometown of the Auditor-General was now Ada in the Greater Accra Region, the Board said. But explaining the anomalies, Daniel Yao Domelevo said his grandfather was a native of Ada in the Greater Accra Region but migrated to Togo and stayed at Agbetofe. On the issue of his date of birth, Domelevo said he noticed that 1960 was a mistake when I checked my information in the baptismal register of the Catholic Church in Adeemmra. However, in a press statement signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, a report from the Audit Service Board intimated that Daniel Yao Domelevo has exceeded the eligible age to remain in the workforce, for that reason, he should be retired. The attention of the President of the Republic has been drawn to records and documents made available to this Office by the Audit Service, that indicate that your date of birth is 1st June 1960 and that in accordance with article 199 (1) of the Constitution, your date of retirement as Auditor-General was 1st June 2020. 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 INVESTOR ALERT: Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP Continues to Investigate Tapestry, Inc.'s Directors and Officers for Breach of Fiduciary Duties - TPR Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP ("Scott+Scott"), an international securities and consumer rights litigation firm, continues to investigate certain directors and officers of Tapestry, Inc. ("Tapestry") (NYSE: TPR) for breaching their fiduciary duties to Tapestry and its shareholders. If you are a Tapestry shareholder, you may contact attorney Joe Pettigrew for additional information toll-free at 844-818-6982 or jpettigrew@scott-scott.com. Scott+Sctt is investigating whether Tapestry's board of directors or senior management failed to manage Tapestry in an acceptable manner, in breach of their fiduciary duties to Tapestry, and whether Tapestry has suffered damages as a result. On July 21, 2020, Tapestry announced the sudden resignation of its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Jide Zeitlin. It was later announced that Zeitlin had been the subject of a misconduct allegation relating to a past relationship. What You Can Do If you are a Tapestry shareholder, you may have legal claims against Tapestry's directors and officers. If you wish to discuss this investigation, or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Joe Pettigrew toll-free at 844-818-6982 or jpettigrew@scott-scott.com. About Scott+Scott Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and consumer rights actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Connecticut, California, Virginia, and Ohio. Attorney Advertising View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005663/en/ Over before it began Rachel Carling is adamant. With two party memberships already under her belt, the former Victorian Upper House MP is definitely not seeking to add the Liberal Party to that list. Carling (formerly Rachel Carling-Jenkins) was elected to the upper house in 2014 as a member of the Democratic Labor Party. She then joined Cory Bernardis Australian Conservatives in 2017 but turned independent after the party decided not to field candidates at the 2018 election, where she left the upper house and made a doomed tilt at the lower house seat of Werribee. There is no story, Jenkins told CBD. But there very nearly was. Carling applied to join the Liberal Party, which holds its State Assembly meeting on Friday. Due to her party history, Carling would need a two-thirds majority to be successful. A tough ask. This week party sources said she withdrew her membership application. Carling told CBD she was not trying to join the Liberal Party now or in the future. In happier news, Carling said plans for her wedding were progressing well. She is engaged to former the Liberal MP for Burwood, Graham Watt. They marry in August. Prior knowledge Finally, our largest law firm Minter Ellison went official with the news on Thursday that its board and chief executive Annette Kimmitt had decided to consciously uncouple. This was more than a week after Kimmitt fired off a firm-wide email hitting out at a senior partner for representing Attorney-General Christian Porter. Amid the fracas, chairman David OBrien has acted decisively. Well, sort of. Sources inside the firm suggest he had some contact with Kimmitt before her infamous email went out. And now the firm is refusing to answer questions on whether Kimmitt and OBrien discussed concerns of younger staff about the firm advising the Attorney-General over historical rape allegations. Porter vehemently denies the allegations. Did OBrien have any oversight of the infamous triggered hurt email before Kimmitt hit send? On Thursday the firm continued to undertake its vow of silence to respond to questions. OBrien appointed infrastructure and property partner Virginia Briggs as acting chief executive on Thursday while a search for a new chief executive begins. In marked contrast to Kimmitt, Briggs actually has a law degree. But presumably it will take more than that to clean up this mess. Researching the charm Watch out Labor. Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has had one of the partys best pollsters sniffing the wind in his Queensland electorate of Rankin. Political researcher John Utting. Credit:Illustration, John Shakespeare The ambitious frontbencher declared this week he had received the gift of data from pollster John Uttings research house, Utting Research. Its the type of disclosure to send a shiver down any party room member or leaders spine. Utting is one of Labors most trusted pollsters over the past two decades. Together with Bondi market research boss Tony Mitchelmore, Utting helped to make Kevin Rudd prime minister in 2007. Since then, Utting has gone on to advise the Victorian, NSW and South Australian Labor parties. The Albany-born statistics whizz is currently in Western Australia advising as Mark McGowan counts down to Saturdays state election. So what was he doing for Chalmers? A health check on local issues in the electorate, as simple as that Utting said on Thursday. Join Recruiter.com Group Inc, Bright Mountain Media Inc, DGTL Holdings Inc, and Earthasia International Holdings Ltd at the Proactive One2One Investor Forum on March 16 Recruiter.com Group Inc ( ) is one of four companies that will present at Proactives latest virtual investor conference on Tuesday, March 16. Hosted by Proactive's Christine Corrado, the event kicks off at 1.00pm ET. This is an online variant of the popular conference format Proactive has run for more than a decade and enables communication between investors and management from some of the world's cutting-edge businesses. Recruiter.com helps streamline the hiring process for employers and job seekers alike. The Houston-based companys diverse network of more than 27,000 recruiters helps organizations reduce recruiting costs and shorten recruiting cycles with access to on-demand recruiting and AI and video technology. Recruiter.com aggregates smaller hiring firms and independent recruiters under a common platform and provides them with access to more clients and technology. Clients include big names like , Disney, Schlumberger, and other major enterprises. The company was voted Top Tech Company to Watch by the CT Tech Council, cited as one of the Top 35 Most Influential Career Sites by Forbes, and listed by Inc as one of the 9 Best Websites for Finding Top Talent. Led by CEO Evan Sohn, who will present at the One2One forum, the $14 million company has a tight share structure with only 5.5 million shares outstanding. 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 value for shareholders The format: When I was sexually harassed as a young lawyer at a top-tier firm, even though the HR department upheld my complaint, the miserable person who departed the company a few months later was me, not my harasser. He still works there. A year later, another young female lawyer was pushed out of the same firm for having an affair with a senior partner. He still works there. Fiona Thatcher is a London-based lawyer. On Thursday MinterEllisons chief executive, Annette Kimmitt, was forced to leave the firm after she sent an email to her concerned employees about her colleague, defamation lawyer Peter Bartletts decision to represent federal Attorney-General Christian Porter over allegations of rape, which the minister denies. Bartlett remains in his job, as does Porter. Despite multiple members of Scott Morrisons cabinet being accused of misconduct over the past year, only one has ever stepped down in the face of a scandal: former sports minister Bridget McKenzie. A Portland man accused of killing two strangers about 20 years apart pleaded not guilty to murder charges Thursday as investigators detailed their suspicions that the man may have additional victims. Police arrested Christopher Lovrien in May after identifying him as a suspect in the killing of Mark Dribin, who was last seen in 1999 and whose remains have not been found. Lovrien is also accused of killing Kenneth Griffin, whose dismembered remains were found in Lovriens shed after his 2020 arrest. In a brief Multnomah County Circuit Court appearance, Lovrien stood silent in a blue jail uniform as his defense attorney entered a not guilty plea to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of abuse of a corpse, and six counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hours later, prosecutor Kirsten Snowden and Portland Police Detective Brendan McGuire told reporters they have evidence suggesting Lovrien killed or tried to kill other people. But the exact nature of the evidence remains unclear, and Lovrien has not been identified as a suspect in any other specific cases. The investigators declined to provide specific details about the evidence, saying most of it was found in and around Lovriens Southeast Portland home. The evidence also includes statements from Lovrien. Snowden and McGuire said theyre focusing on missing person cases from May 2019 to his arrest. Theyre also especially interested in the cases of people reported missing around that time who may have lived under the Interstate 205 bridge in Southeast Portland. Neither investigator would say why they were focused on that area or whether Lovrien had any connections there. They dont think Dribin or Griffin were homeless. Investigators believe the killings were random, and they have not been able to find a connection between Lovrien and either victim. McGuire also said he had no reason to believe Griffin, who was killed after Lovrien was initially questioned in Dribins death, had any connection to or information about the first killing. Dribin was reported missing in 1999, and his car was found in Southeast Portland in July of that year. That same summer, police said they found the DNA of an unknown suspect at Dribins house. The case went cold until 2019, when Dribins DNA was submitted for a forensic genealogy investigation. In February 2020, a few months after Lovrien was identified as a suspect in Dribins death, police received reports that another man, Griffin, was missing. In April, officers got a search warrant for a sample of Lovriens DNA and issued an arrest warrant for him in Dribins death. About two weeks after Lovriens arrest, police searched his home and shed. They found Griffins remains inside the shed, the district attorneys office said. Meanwhile, little information about Lovrien or his background has surfaced publicly. McGuire said the suspect had previously worked in Tualatin at a metal fabrication company. And investigators believe people who live near his home at Southeast 120th Avenue and Foster Road might recognize his cars. Lovrien often drove a 2015 white Chevrolet Camaro, but he also drove a silver and white Toyota FJ Cruiser and a silver-gray Chevrolet Silverado. The latter two cars were also newer models and in good condition, McGuire said. Detectives ask anyone with information about Lovrien, the two men who were killed, or missing people who may have been living under the Interstate 205 bridge in Southeast Portland between summer 2019 and May to contact them at 503-823-0869 or 503-823-3774. -- Kale Williams and Jayati Ramakrishnan kwilliams@oregonian.com; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com "We're proud to play a part in increasing access to the vaccine to as many people as possible to enable reopening efforts in the communities we serve," said Neela Montgomery, President of CVS Pharmacy and Executive Vice President, CVS Health. "Feedback on every aspect of the vaccination process has been incredibly positive, from the digital experience to interacting with our team of health care professionals whose incredible efforts are helping to move us one step closer towards the eventual end of the pandemic." Vaccines at participating CVS Pharmacy locations in Massachusetts will be available to individuals meeting state eligibility criteria, as well as K-12 teachers and staff and childcare workers. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app, and people without online access can contact CVS Customer Service: [(800) 746-7287]. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided. Supply for the expanded rollout in the state is sourced directly from the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Participating CVS Pharmacy locations are in the following counties: Bristol, Essex, Hampden, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, and Worcester. As more supply becomes available the company will expand to more store locations and in more Massachusetts communities. The 85 sites in Massachusetts are among nearly 1,200 CVS Pharmacy locations across 29 states and Puerto Rico where the company is administering vaccine, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. Vaccines will eventually be available at CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the country subject to product availability, with the capacity to administer 20 25 million shots per month. Multimedia assets, including b-roll and still photography from long-term care facility and in-store COVID-19 vaccinations, are available here. More information on steps CVS Health has taken to address the pandemic is available at the company's frequently updated COVID-19 resource center. About CVS Health CVS Health is a different kind of health care company. We are a diversified health services company with nearly 300,000 employees united around a common purpose of helping people on their path to better health. In an increasingly connected and digital world, we are meeting people wherever they are and changing health care to meet their needs. Built on a foundation of unmatched community presence, our diversified model engages one in three Americans each year. From our innovative new services at HealthHUB locations, to transformative programs that help manage chronic conditions, we are making health care more accessible, more affordable, and simply better. Learn more about how we're transforming health at www.cvshealth.com . Media Contact Matt Blanchette, (401) 524-6184 [email protected] SOURCE CVS Health Related Links www.cvshealth.com Two overweight teenagers have been taken into care over fears that their failure to shed pounds is damaging their health. A judge ruled that they must live with a foster family because otherwise 'their health needs will continue to be neglected and they will continue to put on weight'. The ruling is the first to have been made public in which children have been removed from their family home because of concerns surrounding obesity. District Judge Gillian Ellis said the boy aged 17 and girl of 13 were 'thoughtful, intelligent and articulate children'. But although social workers had provided them with Fitbits, gym membership and courses at Weight Watchers they had failed to lose weight. Two overweight teenagers have been taken into care over fears that their failure to shed pounds is damaging their health. A judge ruled that they must live with a foster family because otherwise 'their health needs will continue to be neglected and they will continue to put on weight' [Stock image] Sussex Family Court heard the children's mother had 'failed to instil in the children habits of healthy eating, exercise, and good self-care'. Instead she had snacked on 'crisps and ice creams' which she kept in the house. Judge Ellis said: 'I accept what she says about the difficulty of compelling teenagers to act in a certain way but, clearly, had these habits been encouraged and modelled to the children from an early age, no element of compulsion would now arise.' She added: 'The children had failed to engage consistently in exercise...The mother blamed lockdown but exercise could still be taken in the home or by walking outside. 'The attendance of the family at Weight Watchers had been inconsistent.' Social workers from West Sussex council had been involved with the family for over ten years. The children lived with their mother and their father, who left the home in 2019, and visited from time to time. Judge Ellis said: 'The case was such an unusual one because the children had clearly had some very good parenting, as they were polite, bright and engaging.' Social workers told the court that the children had also 'suffered neglect through poor home conditions and lack of guidance on personal care'. They said: 'This had resulted in them being bullied at school and in having low self-esteem. 'The children's weight had steadily increased even during proceedings.' One social worker 'believed that she had seen packets of crisps, tubs of ice cream, and fizzy drinks which were not marked as sugar-free'. The mother said she had spoken to her children about the need to eat healthily. The ruling is the first to have been made public in which children have been removed from their family home because of concerns surrounding obesity [Stock image] But the judge said: 'She accepted that for her to be eating Cheddars and ice creams as snacks was not good role-modelling for the children.' Judge Ellis ruled: 'She has failed to instil in the children habits of healthy eating, exercise and good self-care. 'I think she is deluding herself in the same way as every patient under-reports to their doctor what their alcohol intake is.' The judge said she attached no 'moral blame' and the children's health had 'driven my decision-making process'. She added: 'I am aware that this is a serious, life-changing order, and one with which many people may disagree, taking the view that issues of obesity are matters of choice and lifestyle, with which it is inappropriate for the state to interfere. 'I am satisfied that this order is both necessary and proportionate for both children, in view of the serious and lifelong risks posed to their physical and mental health if nothing is done to change their lifestyle.' Kolkata, March 11 : Injured West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday vowed to get back to canvassing for the upcoming Assembly elections within the next couple of days. Releasing a video clip from her hospital bed at SSKM where she was rushed to late Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress supremo said: "I received injuries in my leg and ligaments. Hopefully I will be discharged in a couple of days. "There will be problems in my leg but I shall not cancel any of my political programmes. I will take part in the campaigns on a wheelchair, if necessary". She also appealed to all her party workers and supporters to maintain discipline and peace across the state. "I urge everyone not to indulge in any action that will disrupt normal life," he added. Banerjee hoped that she would be able to get back to her work in the next two-three days. "I will manage it. I will not waste any of my scheduled meetings," she promised. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Bengal unit on Thursday demanded a high-level probe into the incident in which Mamata Banerjee had received leg injuries on Wednesday evening. A delegation led by BJP leader Sabyasachi Dutta and Shisir Bajoria went to the office of the Election Commission (EC) and demanded release of the original footage of the incident and the place of occurrence. "We demand the immediate release of the video footage of the incident. If that is not done the EC will be held responsible for the entire security lapse. If the chief minster of the state is not secure then what about the security of common voters in Bengal during the elections," said Dutta, praying for the Trinamool chief's speedy recovery. Purba Medinipur's District Magistrate Vibhu Guel, police superintendent Praveen Prakash and the state's deputy inspector general of police (DIG-Midnapore range) Kunal Agarwal on Thursday visited the spot near Birulia Anchal. They also spoke to locals and recorded the eyewitness' versions. Seen are the 15 U.S. luxury hotels involved in the disrupted acquisition deal between Mirae Asset Global Investments and China's Anbang Insurance Group. Courtesy of Mirae Asset Global Investments Chinese insurer may pay Korean firm more interest after 2nd trial By Park Jae-hyuk An appeal lodged by China's Anbang Insurance Group earlier this month against the U.S. court's previous ruling in favor of Mirae Asset Global Investments does not seem to be posing a threat to the Korean financial company, according to industry officials, Thursday. Mirae Asset said there stands a very minimal chance for the appeal court to overturn the ruling in the first trial. "We will cope with this issue by receiving legal advice," its official said. According to a recent regulatory filing by Mirae Asset, AB Stable VIII, a special-purpose entity established in the U.S. by Dajia Insurance Group that acquired Anbang, filed a 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) lawsuit against the Korean firm as an appeal against the Delaware Chancery Court's memorandum opinion last November and its final order and judgment last month. Mirae Asset and Anbang sued each other last year, after the former decided to cancel its takeover of the U.S. hotels, alleging the seller had failed to guarantee its ownership of some of the properties. The court ruled in the first trial that Mirae Asset's cancellation of the contract was proper due to Anbang's failure to meet contractual conditions. It ordered Anbang to return the $581 million deposit Mirae Asset paid for purchasing 15 luxury hotels in the U.S. and pay an additional $60 million to cover the Korean firm's legal fees, costs of setting up the hotel deal and pre-judgment interest. The law firms that took Mirae Asset to victory in the first trial are Peter & Kim and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in the U.S. The Korean financial firm also received advice from Korea's Yulchon and U.S.-based Greenberg Traurig, which served as advisers for Mirae Asset during negotiations on the hotel deal. Legal experts warned that the Chinese company's appeal may inflict further damage on itself as it will have to pay greater interest to Mirae Asset if it loses again in the second trial, which is likely to turn out the same as the first one. They said it will be difficult for Anbang to convince the judge, unless it comes up with entirely new evidence. During the first trial, Delaware Vice Chancellor Travis Laster agreed with Mirae Asset's claim that Anbang's legal representative, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, might have attempted to conceal problems with the properties, given the law firm also served as an Anbang adviser when it signed a contract with Mirae Asset in 2019. "Put bluntly, (Anbang and Gibson Dunn) committed fraud about fraud," the judge was quoted as saying by Reuters. Anbang worked with Gibson Dunn and Kim & Chang for the first trial, but there is a possibility the insurer hired different legal representatives for the second trial. At this moment, the Chinese firm is keeping a low profile regarding this issue. Before the first trial judgment, Anbang tried to win over the local press by releasing its statements in Korean through a global public relations consultancy, Edelman. However, it has gone virtually silent since it lost in the first trial last November. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was allegedly attacked on Wednesday, hours after she filed her nomination to contest from the Nandigram Assembly seat. Preliminary medical tests conducted on Banerjee detected severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in the right shoulder, forearm and neck, a senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital said. Here's how political leaders and social media reacted to the incident: DMK president M K Stalin criticised the alleged attack on Banerjee, saying it was "an assault on Indian democracy". "The shameful attack on Mamata Banerjee is an assault on Indian democracy. The perpetrators of such a crime should be brought to justice immediately. Election Commission of India and the police dept should take stringent action to avoid such instances in the future," Stalin tweeted. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, too, condemned the attack on Banerjee, saying those responsible should be immediately arrested and punished. Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien, too, joined in to wish Banerjee a speedy recovery. Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, on Thursday, challenged the BJP over an alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram. He said, "BJP, brace yourselves to see the power of people of Bengal on Sunday, May 2nd." .@BJP4Bengal Brace yourselves to see the power of people of BENGAL on Sunday, May 2nd. Get READY!!! pic.twitter.com/dg6bw1TxiU Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 10, 2021 Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren tweeted: "Concerned & disturbed to know about the foot injury & hospitalisation of Mamata Didi during her election campaign in Nandigram. A high level investigation should be conducted to identify those behind this incident & punished. I wish her a speedy and healthy recovery." However, the BJP claimed the 'attack' was a drama move by Banerjee to garner sympathy, and cited eyewitness accounts to claim that her injury stemmed from an accident, rather than assault. "When CM Mamata Banerjee came here, public gathered around her, at the time she got hurt in her neck & leg, NO ONE PUSHED HER, the car was moving slowly." - Somen Maity, a student gives an account of incident that happened in Nandigram which CM Banerjee says was an attack on her. pic.twitter.com/r4ByNe8lLL Priti Gandhi - (@MrsGandhi) March 10, 2021 There are many versions of the so-called attack on CM Mamata Banerjee at Nandigram on Wednesday evening. This eyewitness account recorded by ANI would indicate that her injury stemmed from an accident. It was her car door that injured her. pic.twitter.com/UDrfWIDjLd Swapan Dasgupta (@swapan55) March 11, 2021 Netizens, however, jumped at the opportunity to flood Twitter with memes and jokes. Here's a look at them: Another video of Chief Minister #MamtaBanerjee getting injured. Haters from BJP may claim that this guy is former ManUtd manager Louis Van Gaal. She is not doing nautanki or drama as alleged by her detractors. I request Election Commission to take notice.#BengalElections2021 pic.twitter.com/HCB7dIDxKc Peter Prabhakar (@HouseOfFakts) March 10, 2021 #MamtaBanerjee Stop your Nautanki @MamataOfficial and don't play this laughable victim card ( cheap political stunt ) pic.twitter.com/CUMU9f2WwL Biswajit (@Vector__V002) March 10, 2021 Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701) Today Cloudy with occasional rain showers. High 72F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. A French teacher was killed last October because his student reportedly lied about her teacher's anti-Muslim presentation. According to The Blaze, History teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by Abdoullakh Anzorov, a Chechen Muslim refugee, who learned about the student's allegations after it viraled on the net and after it caused anti-hate riots in France. The unnamed student, a schoolgirl currently aged 13-years old, has now confessed to the police that her accusations against the teacher was but a lie. The Blaze said the student told her father almost a year ago that Paty, during a lesson on free speech, presented in class the Prophet Muhammed as cartoons with his genitals exposed. The father then filed a legal complaint against Paty and launched a hate campaign against him online. The online campaign then reached Muslims who retaliated against Paty with widespread anger that resulted to him being beheaded 10 days afterwards and to violent riots on it. Prosecutors, The Blaze added, found a "direct casual link" to the teacher's gruesome death and the online hate campaign launched against him. The Blaze also said that Anzarov was shot dead by police for attempting to flee the scene after he was tracked down. In a prior report, The Blaze revealed that the hate campaign actually turned into a terrorist attack against Christians as believers inside a church in Nice, France were brutally attacked by Muslim extremists after Paty's murder. Three people died from the church incident--two men and a woman--wherein one was beheaded and another stabbed. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi called it a "terrorist attack" borne from the degrading depiction of the Prophet Muhammad by Paty. The Independent, on the other hand, said that the student told police she was actually not in school, which was in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Paris, and did not attend class. Mbeko Tabula, the girl's legal counsel, explained that she lied because was made spokesperson of her classmates. "She lied because she felt trapped in a spiral because her classmates had asked her to be a spokesperson," Tabula said. He also added that the girl's father should be the one blamed for having "excessive and disproportionate behaviour" while the girl should be protected from accusations. The Independent also cited a report from Le Parisien stating that the girl told the lie to prevent her father from discovering that she was suspended from school for not attending her lessons. "She would not have dared to confess to her father the real reasons for her exclusion shortly before the tragedy, which was in fact linked to her bad behaviour," Le Parisien stated. Le Parisien revealed that the girl told her father that Paty asked the Muslim students to line-up in the corridor before he showed them Mohammed's pictures and that she expressed her anger towards her teacher for what he's done that resulted in her being suspended for two days from class. Yet, the truth was, she was actually suspended from school a day before her History class due to repeated absences. As per the Independent, the student was charged with slander while her father was arrested for being "complicit in a terrorist killing" since it was he who accused Paty of promoting Islamophobia. The Independent explained that the visual depiction of the Prophet Muhammad is forbidden and is considered blasphemous in Islam. An Islamist preacher was also arrested by police in line with this incident, the Independent added. While Euronews reported that the said Islamist preacher is activist Abdelhakim Sefrioui who is being held in pre-trial detention together with the girl's father, Brahim Chnina. Euronews said that the family of Paty expressed anger towards the girl's admission of lying "on the offset" about the matter. Euronews added that Anzarov offered two students money to identify Paty before attacking and murdering him. Paty was honored a hero by the French goverment for giving importance on the freedom of speech and was given a hero's tribute during his burial on October 21, 2020, RFI reported. AMORY, Miss. (WTVA) -- An escapee from a Kentucky jail is back behind bars after he was arrested in Monroe County. Amory police announced on Facebook the capture of James Worner, 43, at a hotel in the city. Kentucky State Police says Worner escapced from the Larue County Jail on Friday. The Amory post said they received information he was at the hotel and the Special Response Team responded. The police statement says he was taken into custody peacefully before he could follow through with violent intentions he told family and friends he would use. Worner is currently being held in the Monroe County jail awaiting extradition to Kentucky. Trinamool Congress activists took out rallies across on Thursday, protesting against an alleged attack on Chief Minister in Purba Medinipur's Nandigram. Protests were held in different parts of Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah, Birbhum, South 24 Parganas, Jalpaiguri districts, and Trinamool Congress supporters briefly blocked roads in some areas. They shouted slogans against the BJP, accusing it of conspiring against Banerjee. The ruling party activists took to the streets and burnt tyres to protest against her political conspirators in Nadigram's Birulia Bazar area where Banerjee sustained injuries on her left leg and waist as she fell on the ground after she was allegedly pushed by unknown miscreants while campaigning for assembly elections on Wednesday. A scuffle broke out between the Trinamool Congress activists and a group of BJP workers in the Birulia area this morning but the situation was soon brought under control, police said. Prayers were held by Trinamool Congress workers in various temples and shrines of Pirbaba (Mazar) in Nandigram for her speedy recovery. She is undergoing treatment at the 12.5 special cabin of Woodburn Block of the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. Banerjee had on Wednesday alleged that she was attacked by "four-five men" in Nandigram, hours after she filed nomination as a Trinamool Congress candidate from the high-profile seat. She is pitted against her former confidante Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the BJP some time ago, in the Nandigram constituency that will go to poll on April 1 in the second phase. The eight-phased elections to the 294 seats in will be held between March 27 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 2. (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.) Ambush on personnel of Assam Rifles: NIA charges four NSCN(K-YA) terrorists India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 11: The National Investigation Agency has filed a chargesheet against four NSCN (K-YA) terrorists in connection with the ambush and killing of personnel of the Assam Rifles in Nagaland. The case was initially registered by the Tobu Police Station, Mon District, Nagaland relating to an ambush upon 40 Assam Rifles by NSCN (K-YA) in 2019. Two personnel of the Assam Rifles were martyred in the incident, while others were injured. The NIA then re-registered the case and took over the investigation. NIA charges 3 bodo terrorists for killing of additional SP The investigation into the case has established the involvement of the four accused persons along with other NSCN (K-YA) cadres in the ambush on Assam Rifles, the NIA said while adding that the probe is ongoing. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 8:19 [IST] The international community must step up its pursuit of truth, justice and reparations for the many victims of Syrias brutal civil war, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Thursday. This past decade has seen a blatant disregard for the protection of civilians by all parties, who have committed countless violations and abuses, some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Bachelet said. We owe it to the victims to ensure the next decade is one of accountability and remedy, with their rights and needs to be addressed so they can rebuild their lives," she said. Syria on Monday will mark the 10-year anniversary of the beginning of its conflict. Peaceful protests against the decadeslong Assad family rule in 2011 were met with deadly force by the government, spawning a full-blown civil war thats since killed 400,000 people, driven more than 11 million people from their homes and pushed countless more deeper into poverty. The situation remains a living nightmare, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday, adding that 60% of the Syrian population is at risk of hunger this year. A new survey by the International Committee of the Red Cross highlights the heavy toll the war has taken on young Syrians in particular. Nearly one in six had at least one parent killed or wounded during the war, and more than half missed out on some or all of their education. Bachelet called a German courts recent conviction of a former Syrian intelligence officer an important step forward on the path to justice. The landmark trial concluded last month with the sentencing of Eyad al-Gharib to four and a half years in prison for crimes against humanity. Unable to achieve justice in Syrias courts or at the International Criminal Court, where referrals at the UN Security Council are blocked by Assad-backers Russia and China, victims are making use of broad universal jurisdiction laws in third countries like Germany to hold the Syrian government accountable for the myriad human rights violations committed during the war. "It remains vital that national courts continue to conduct fair, public and transparent trials, and reduce the accountability gap for such serious crimes," said Bachelet. Anwar Raslan, a former colonel in the Syrian army accused of torturing opposition activists, is currently on trial in Koblenz, Germany. Separately, German authorities arrested a doctor in June accused of torture in one of the Syrian regimes notorious detention centers. Both France and Germany have also issued arrest warrants for Jamil Hassan, the former head of Syrias air force intelligence services. Rights organizations have continued to document the widespread abuse of regime prisoners, the fate of tens of thousands of whom is unclear, the UN says. OMAHA, Neb., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly four in five older adults in the U.S. have persevered to deepen or maintain their connections to loved ones over the course of the pandemic, according to a new survey1 by Home Instead, Inc. Despite the lockdowns, social distancing and cancelled holiday celebrations, many seniors have been able to meaningfully connect with family and friends through a use of technology and determination. "This past year has been arduous, shocking, isolating and absolutely heartbreaking and no population has felt that more than our older loved ones," explains Jeff Huber, Home Instead CEO. "But there has been light in the darkness over the last year. There have been silver linings. This new data helps us find the positive, but also gives us hope for the future." In fact, that sense of hope is shared by many older adults. Two-thirds of seniors feel hopeful about the next 12 months. But the positive data isn't limited to imagining life after the pandemic. Despite the many barriers to connection older adults have faced over the past year, more than half of seniors report they've maintained or even increased the frequency of their communications with loved ones. And, notably for the generation often patronized for their lack of tech savvy, technology played a big role in these connections. For many older adults, visits from their loved ones are the highlights of their schedule. When suddenly these visits put them at risk for COVID-19, they were forced to adapt. Whether via phone calls, texts, FaceTime, or other distanced communication, older adults who increased their use of technology during the pandemic were four times more likely to have connected with their loved ones more frequently than before the pandemic. These connections weren't just from older adults already using technology regularly. For example, 15% of seniors used video calling, such as FaceTime, for the first time in the last year. In addition, technology platforms specifically designed for older adults, including the Home Instead home care tablet powered by GrandPad, helped to simplify this shift to connecting virtually. These new skills are likely to become habits, forever changing the way seniors use technology. One in four older adults feel more comfortable using new technology than they did one year ago, and nearly three in four said they will continue to use these technologies to communicate after the pandemic. To acknowledge these positive elements of the last year, Home Instead is sharing inspiring stories of older adults connecting with their loved ones and communities in new ways at HomeInstead.com/SilverLinings. "The impact of optimistic data and stories in these hard times cannot be overstated," stresses Huber. "While we shouldn't shift our focus away from keeping everyone safe, these signs of resilience shown by older adults should give us all the inspiration to stay the course and see this pandemic through. There are silver linings today and more to come." For more information, including how to find a local Home Instead near you, visit www.HomeInstead.com. ABOUT HOME INSTEAD Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, the Home Instead franchise network provides personalized care, support and education to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today, the network is the world's leading provider of in-home care services for older adults, with more than 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises that provide more than 80 million hours of care annually throughout the United States and 13 other countries. Local Home Instead offices employ approximately 90,000 CAREGiversSM worldwide who provide basic support services that enable older adults to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. Home Instead franchise owners partner with clients and their family members to help meet varied individual needs. Services span the care continuum from providing personal care to specialized Alzheimer's care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. Visit HomeInstead.com. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. 1 Home Instead, Inc., franchisor of the Home Instead network, fielded an online survey of 1,016 American seniors aged 65 and older, including 498 ages 75 and older. The survey was fielded between Feb. 9 and 16, 2021. SOURCE Home Instead Related Links http://www.HomeInstead.com The woman who was part of the Ukrainian crew on the cargo ship that sank in the Black Sea was evacuated by a GSP helicopter, after her health condition worsened, representatives of the Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) (Petroleum Services Group) informed, according to AGREPRES. "GSP has initiated a medical evacuation operation for a member of the crew, by air, by helicopter. The only woman in the Ukrainian crew will be evacuated by a GSP helicopter, which took off at 12.35 pm from GSP Midia base. The helicopter is prepared for MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation) missions. The transport was needed as the woman's health condition got worse," the same source showed. The search operation continues as a member of the Ukrainian crew is still missing. The "Volgo Balt 179" ship sank in the Black Sea on Thursday morning, 70 nautical miles from the port of Constanta, was sailing under the flag of the Comoros Islands. Two people died, one was reported missing and ten were rescued, out of a total of 13 crew members (Ukrainian citizens). "At 4.40 am in the morning, GSP Falcon received an emergency message from the "Volgo Balt 179." The rescue operation started without delay, in extremely difficult weather conditions, with a wind blowing at 50 km/h and waves of 4 metres. The last message sent by the "Volgo Balt 179" was to abandon ship," GSP said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) - A passionate animal lover who brought her pet care company to e-commerce site Lazada snagged the Enterprising Seller Award at the app's inaugural Lazada Forward Women Awards 2021. "I feel both humbled and surprised! We are such a young company focusing on such a new and niche industry so we never expected to even be considered to receive such an award," Georgianna Carlos, founder of Fetch! Naturals told CNN Philippines. Much like exemplary entrepreneurs who recognize great business ideas when they see them, Carlos learned that a raw material found in an Italian shampoo for dogs -- neem oil -- is found in the Philippines. It not only solved the rash problem of her Bichon Frise, Drogo, but also kickstarted her sustainable pet care company. As a local all-natural brand, Fetch! supports local farmers by continuing to source local produce. Carlos also actively set up multiple refilling stations in Metro Manila and ships their products with minimal plastic. Her company also created shampoo bars, which gave consumers a plastic-free option as well. Once everything was set up, Carlos then focused on growth. She decided to join the Lazada platform to explore how else Fetch! can reach out to pet owners who lived in far-flung areas. "Since the Philippines is an archipelago, it is difficult to ship items from one area to another. However, Lazada has such a vast network when it comes to logistics that we can reach more customers through them, which, in turn, helped us scale our business," she said. When the pandemic hit, Lazada was able to future-proof her business' logistics. "We had all these orders but couldn't fulfill those who were based outside of Metro Manila because most couriers were closed. Good thing that Lazada was able to operate as an essential service during the lockdown and to bring our products to those who needed them," shared Carlos. "We are proud of Georgianna and all of our sellers across the region for being recognized at this year's Lazada Forward Women Awards. At Lazada, our goal is to empower small businesses and help them grow in the digital economy. We are happy to foster an ever-growing community of female entrepreneurs, as they continue to make their mark and uplift the industry with their inspiring stories," says Ray Alimurung, Lazada Philippines chief executive officer. Other women across Southeast Asia making waves in e-commerce honored at the first-ever Lazada Forward Women Awards were: Creative Seller Award Anne Ong, owner of Anne's Secret Recipes, Singapore Pham Thi Xuan Hong, owner of PinkShopGiayDep, Vietnam Enterprising Seller Award Lalilla Thamnita, owner of AggieHome, Thailand Georgianna Carlos, owner of Fetch, Philippines Inspiring Seller Award Hanna Suhardi, owner of Shopping Shoes, Indonesia Annie Chia, owner of NLWK Florist, Malaysia If you're a woman who may be thinking of joining Lazada as a merchant, Carlos has this advice for you: "Just do it. Maybe you'll succeed; maybe you'll fail. What matters is that you started. Should things not go smoothly, take those encounters as learning opportunities so you can adjust, pivot, and find different ways to see how your business can thrive in the platform." Her plans after winning the award? "Go on as planned which includes launching new products this year!" she said with a megawatt smile. Sign up as a seller on Lazada today: http://lzd.co/LazadaPHSellerSignUp. An Oklahoma state lawmaker has apologized after referring to colored babies during an abortion debate Tuesday. Rep. Brad Boles, a Republican from Marlow, called the comment a slip of the tongue in a statement posted to Facebook Tuesday night. I inadvertently used an offensive term during debate for a pro-life bill when suggesting abortion affects people of all races, the statement said. I apologized to several colleagues for this accidental slip of the tongue and made a public apology on the House floor. He continued, I hope you know me and my heart well enough to agree I would never intentionally say anything to offend anyone, and that as a Christian I believe God created each of us in His image. While it was truly an accident, I deeply regret the unintentional harm it caused. Please accept my sincere apology. Boles used the term while debating in favor of a bill that would outlaw abortions once a fetus had detectable cardiac activity better known as a fetal heartbeat bill, The Oklahoman reported. In 2017, 862,000 babies were aborted. Twenty-eight percent of those babies were colored babies; 240,000 Black kids, 215,000 Hispanic kids, Boles said during the debate, according to the newspaper. These kids mattered and Im here to advocate for them as well. Alicia Andrews, chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, condemned the comment. As a Black woman who is old enough to be his mother, I am shocked that someone is using the term colored in 2021, she said, according to KFOR, adding, Colored is not part of your normal lexicon. If its not part of your normal lexicon, it doesnt just come out. So, it is part of who he is. Boles took to the House floor Tuesday night to apologize after Andrews and the Oklahoma Democratic Party demanded a public apology. Tamya Cox-Toure, executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, called on Boles to commit to engaging in conversations with experts about racial equity. It is disgraceful that in 2021 we still have elected officials like Rep. Boles use racist rhetoric such as colored on the floor of the Peoples house, she said in a statement. Rep. Boles and his colleagues should not only commit to engaging in conversations about race equity work with the experts in our state, but also actively check their colleagues on problematic behavior. House Bill 2441, which was being being debated when Boles made the comment, passed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives 80-19, KOKH reported. By John J. Metzler A decade ago, winds of change and calamity blew across the Middle East. From Tunisia to Egypt, Syria, and later Libya, entrenched autocracies were challenged politically by what became known as the Arab Spring, a series of popular and quasi-democratic uprisings which shook the status quo and smashed the old order. Sadly the Arab Spring soon evolved into the Arab Winter as most of the countries with the exception of Tunisia, saw these popular uprisings hijacked by hardline Islamic fundamentalists and a motley gaggle of militant terrorist groups. Syria's turn came in March 2011 when demonstrations in provincial towns dared challenge the entrenched Assad Family regime whose power dates back to the late 1960s. Syria was a classic Arab autocracy blending nationalism, socialism and family power; it was however a secular state given the rich and competing religious currents which ran through this land since ancient times. Bashar al-Assad cracked down on demonstrators the old fashioned way, but was unable to stop the spreading political discontent and pent up social frustrations which confronted his rule. Despite heavy fighting and losses Assad's army held, and surprisingly he remains in power, propped up by a Russian military intervention in 2015 as much as by a divided opposition. Now a decade has passed with more than 500,000 people killed and millions displaced. The conflict continues in a perhaps less violent phase but what remains of society in beleaguered Syria? In one of his periodic and plaintive briefings, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock told the Security Council, "Around 60 percent of the Syrian population, that's 12.4 million people, do not have regular access to enough safe and nutritious food." He added, "An additional 4.5 million people have fallen into this category over the last year." Lowcock opined, "The increase may be shocking, but it cannot be said to be surprising." Humanitarian aid access remains a serious stumbling point; the Damascus government has allowed few border crossing points thus creating intentional humanitarian bottlenecks. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres stresses that when it comes to delivering lifesaving aid to people, "all channels should be made, and should be kept available." But as Undersecretary General Lowcock conceded, "Conditions in the north-west are now worse than they were when the Security Council decided to extend its authorization for cross-border-assistance last July." These border bottlenecks are along the Turkish frontier. Countless detailed U.N. humanitarian briefings aside and a drumbeat of Security Council deliberations over the past decade have yet to change Syria's political calculus. The U.N. Security Council has locked into an East/West confrontation regarding the Syrian conflict with Russia and China on one side facing the U.S., Britain and France on the other. Both Moscow and Beijing have used their veto to protect their client state in Damascus. Ireland's U.N. Ambassador Byrne Nason stated "Over the past ten years, this council has heard many harrowing reports. Each time, we imagine things could hardly get worse." The secretary general's report to the Security Council paints a bleak picture; "The civilian population in the Syria Arab Republic has entered 2021 amid some of the most challenging humanitarian conditions experienced in the past 10 years of conflict. Millions inside the country and millions of refugees outside are grappling with deep trauma, personal insecurity, grinding poverty and a lack of hope for the future." According to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) since the start of the conflict 5.6 million Syrians have become refugees; 3.6 million reside in Turkey and almost a million in Lebanon. A once thriving Christian community inside the country has been decimated and persecuted by anti-government Islamic militants. Modern Syria remains a geopolitical witches brew where Russian forces, Iranian militias, and Assad's beleaguered but now gaining military, battles with ISIL terrorists and remnants of armed groups such as Al Nusra jihadis. During the height of the Syrian war a few years ago, the country became the rallying point for International jihadi foreign fighters much as the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s emerged as an epicenter of competing big power play interests. Just recently Russian warplanes carried out attacks on ISIL terrorists. Equally a U.S. airstrike on pro-Iranian militias inside sovereign Syrian territory signaled the Biden administration's first but hopefully limited foray into the bewildering conflict. This is not America's war. Avoidable humanitarian disasters, millions of refugees fleeing the country, and a steady blood drip of causalities from a decade long conflict, define this sorry land exhausted from fighting itself. John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China." (here a team from the Aathal dinosaur museum in Wyoming, co-author Hans-Jakob Siber front center) often belong to different animals. Credit: (c) Sauriermuseum Aathal Fossil sites sometimes resemble a living room table on which half a dozen different jigsaw puzzles have been dumped: It is often difficult to say which bone belongs to which animal. Together with colleagues from Switzerland, researchers from the University of Bonn have now presented a method that allows a more certain answer to this question. Their results are published in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica. Fossilized dinosaur bones are relatively rare. But if any are found, it is often in large quantities. "Many sites contain the remains of dozens of animals," explains Prof. Dr. Martin Sander from the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Bonn. If the finder is lucky, the bones are still arranged exactly as in the living dinosaur. Some are even still connected to each other at their joints. All too often, however, they were pulled apart and dispersed by scavengers and flowing water before being embedded in the soil. "Assigning this pile of hundreds of fossilized bones to the respective individuals from which they originally came is then usually very difficult," stresses Sander, who is also a member of the transdisciplinary research area "Building Blocks of Matter and Fundamental Interactions". This is because, for one thing, "long bones" from the arms and legs, like the thigh bone, look remarkably similar even in different species. This means that even experts are often unable to say whether a fossil thigh bone is from Diplodocus or Brachiosaurus. And even if this could be ascertained, perhaps the excavation produced several Diplodocus specimens to which it could belong. Sander and his doctoral student Kayleigh Wiersma-Weyand have now been able to demonstrate how this can be achieved. They used dinosaur bones from the U.S. state of Wyoming as a test object. These had been excavated and partially combined into skeletons by a team from the Aathal dinosaur museum in Switzerland shortly before the turn of the millennium. And his colleague Kayleigh Wiersma-Weyand (below) plan to examine this dinosaur skeleton currently on display at the Museum Koenig, Bonn. Credit: (c) ZFMK Drilling into 150 million year old bones The Swiss researchers made their finds available to the paleontologists in Bonn for the study. Wiersma-Weyand and Sander drilled into the 150-million-year-old bones and examined the extracted core under the microscope. "This allows us to find out how old the animal in question was when it died," Wiersma-Weyand explains. For one thing, young bones are better vascularized than old ones; this means that after fossilization they have more cavities in which the blood vessels used to be. Second, bone growth proceeds in spurts. "We therefore often see characteristic annual rings, similar to what we see in trees," the researcher says. Estimating the age often makes it possible to rule out that a bone belongs to a particular skeleton. "If the left thigh bone is ten years older than the right one, we have a problem," Sander says laconically. There were no such discrepancies in the finds examined for the study. "However, we came across bones that had previously been attributed to two different animals, but probably belong to one and the same skeleton." The study addresses a problem that has begun to come into scientific focus in recent years: With many mounted dinosaur skeletons located in museums and collections around the world, it is still not clear whether their bones come from one or more individuals. This combination is often done deliberately during mounting, since dinosaur skeletons are rarely preserved in their entirety. Supplementing missing bones with finds from other specimens is therefore common practice and, in principle, not a big deal as long as it is recorded. More critical, however, is when researchers combine finds unknowingly and these then come from different species or animals of different ages. The upper arm bone of a Diplodocus. The drill hole created during the removal of the fossil bone tissue sample is clearly visible. Credit: (c) Martin Sander/Uni Bonn When the original Diplodocus has legs that are too short This becomes particularly relevant when the skeletons are so-called type specimens. This is because these are considered the "standard" for the corresponding species, similar to the prototype meter. But what if, for example, the original Diplodocus contains the lower legs of a younger (and thus smaller) Diplodocus specimen? "Then some of the conclusions we draw about its locomotion and lifestyle may be wrong," Sander points out. "Our research therefore also helps combat the much-cited replication crisis in science." Together with Kayleigh Wiersma-Weyand and Master student Nico Roccazzella, he will soon be using this method to take a closer look at a famous exhibit: the "Arapahoe" skeleton, the longest skeleton of a dinosaur in Europe, which is currently on display at the Museum Koenig in Bonn. More information: Kayleigh Wiersma-Weyand et al, Testing hypothesis of skeletal unity using bone histology: The case of the sauropod remains from the Howe-Stephens and Howe Scott quarries (Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA), Palaeontologia Electronica (2021). Journal information: Palaeontologia electronica Kayleigh Wiersma-Weyand et al, Testing hypothesis of skeletal unity using bone histology: The case of the sauropod remains from the Howe-Stephens and Howe Scott quarries (Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA),(2021). DOI: 10.26879/766 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Once allies in state government, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis and State Sen. Diane Savino had a heated back-and-forth on social media Wednesday that highlighted their divergence on both policy and politics. Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) was first to post on her Facebook page, railing against Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) for voting against the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. One Democrat and nearly all House Republicans voted against the bill, which expands various labor protections related to employees rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace. Fun fact, folks, NY11 is home to more Union Households than any other Congressional District in the state, some say the country, Savino wrote in her post. Shamefully, Nicole Malliotakis voted No on the ProAct, the most important piece of Labor Law since the New Deal! Why, you ask? Who the f*** knows? the post continued. I guess she feels she can overlook the fact that Staten Island has the highest median income in the 5 boros because we have so many card carrying Union Members, and who cares if others cant have the same thing. Fun fact, folks, NY11 is home to more Union Households than any other Congressional District in the state, some say the... Posted by Diane J. Savino on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Savino then continued: I hear some of the opposition say this bill is just a give away to Unions who are big donors to Democrats, well guess who else is a big recipient of UNION MONEY, thats right, Nicole! I guess she has some explaining to do! You cant have it both ways, you are either PRO-UNION or not, and if not, at least admit it and return their money! Malliotakis said she voted against the bill because it went too far. My father was a proud Union worker for decades and I absolutely recognize the place and importance that organized labor has in our community and country, she wrote in a statement to the Advance/SILive.com. This bill put forward by Nancy Pelosi goes too far and hurts already struggling small businesses, it sacrifices workers private information, subjecting them to potential harassment and takes away workers choice to join, or not join, a union. Hours later, Malliotakis fired back on her own Facebook page, saying Savino seems to have a lot to say but is no where to be found when it comes to the Governors inappropriate (and possibly criminal) actions, referring to the accusations of sexual harassment against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the growing controversy around how he managed nursing homes during the COVID-19 crisis. Where is State Senator Diane Savino? A growing number of Democrats from both the NY Senate & Assembly, including the... Posted by Nicole Malliotakis on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 The feud didnt end there, with Savino commenting on the post that an individual has the right to face their accuser. So, whether that individual is the former President who was accused by 33 women of everything from sexual harassment to rape, or high crimes and misdemeanors, he was entitled to that due process. I never called for his resignation, either, and neither did you, Savino wrote. In fact you proudly stood with him and accepted his endorsement. You should afford the same courtesy to others who have been accused. Malliotakis didnt see it the same way. Save it Diane. You havent called for an investigation or commented at all on the nursing home deaths, she wrote. New Yorkers deserve answers and the families deserve justice. His own chief of staff admitted there was a coverup. Earlier this month, Savino called the sexual harassment allegations against the governor deeply disturbing in a joint statement with Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island) and Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore). We agree with the call of our Legislative Leaders that there needs to be an immediate and independent investigation of these allegations, the statement read. Savino added in a statement to the Advance/SILive.com on Wednesday that she doesnt demand resignation, not until people are convicted. That is our criminal justice system. ALLIES IN STATE LEGISLATURE Savino and Malliotakis have a record of working together on several issues for Staten Island and the congresswoman said as far back as 2012 that Savino [had] become a friend. Our relationship shows that we can work together to find common ground. We do have ideological differences, but we want what is best for Staten Island. We are both passionate in our beliefs, Malliotakis said then. Savino also had kind words for Malliotakis, calling her a very dedicated, hardworking young person. People think the other party is supposed to be our enemy. That kind of bitter partisanship can cripple us. As a Democratic elected official, I do have a responsibility to the rank and file. But that doesnt mean I have to vilify her. I could support her. Anything is possible. I dont want to deal in hypotheticals, she said. State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) and then-Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) kick back to watch a 2012 presidential debate at Savino's home. Oct. 13, 2012. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) But by January of this year, there was a rift. After supporters of then-President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Savino along with Fall demanded an explanation and apology from Malliotakis. Following the deadly violence that interrupted the certification process, the newly-elected Malliotakis had voted with a group of fellow congressional Republicans who objected to the certification of electoral college votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania, two key states in President Joe Bidens victory. What we saw happening in Washington was not just more of the same; it was worse than ever imagined, Savino said at a press conference on Jan. 8. We watched as the president, who knew he had lost an election, fan the flames of division, sedition, and treason as he set a mob of people to attack the peoples house. We watched as members of Congress broke their oath of office, including our own congresswoman, pretending they had the ability to interfere in the elections that had been duly certified by the states. Malliotakis was also present at the Capitol and was taken to a secure location following the attacks. She has said that she did not intend to overturn an election with her vote, but to highlight need for a proper hearing into unconstitutional rule changes, irregularities and alleged fraud. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang takes questions from Chinese and foreign reporters after the conclusion of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress on Thursday afternoon. The press conference is virtual in consideration of epidemic prevention and control and public health protection. A federal judge ruled the city of Detroit failed to provide evidence that protesters who organized demonstrations against police brutality last summer conspired to obstruct police and destroy public property. The ruling ends a counterclaim filed by Detroit against members of Detroit Will Breathe, an activist group formed in the wake of George Floyds death, and which sued the city for alleged mistreatment by police. U.S. District Judge Laurie Michelson determined the city provided no evidence to back up claims that protesters planned to incite riots and commit acts of violence against Detroit police officers. The counterclaim was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the claims cant be brought back to court. Their allegations about planning and coordination of the conspiracy are limited to media interviews with individual plaintiffs and posts on social media about attending the protests, but not about any unlawful action, Michelson wrote in the Wednesday ruling. Most of the statements and posts that the city points to in no way suggest an agreement, let alone one to commit unlawful acts. Instead, they simply evidence DWB organizing and publicizing public protests, albeit with occasional strident and passionate language. Tristan Taylor, co-founder of Detroit Will Breathe, said he feels the ruling is important to the national Black Lives Matter movement because it disproves a narrative that protesters have an ulterior motive to do harm and cause chaos. Its a huge vindication of the demands and the issues that the protests have been raising, both about the need for accountability around police conduct but also in the ways in which the police and city have targeted protesters, Taylor said. (The counterclaim) would have put a chill on the right to protest and the actions that people take to bring the government into account. The group also put out a statement celebrating Michelsons ruling. The organization has demanded a public apology from members of the Detroit City Council who voted to spend $200,000 to defend against lawsuits in January. It is now clear that the counterclaim served little legal purpose, apart from giving the city an excuse to make statements smearing racial justice movements, DWB said in the statement. Attorneys representing the city of Detroit could not be reached Thursday. Wednesdays ruling is the latest step in a legal battle between Detroit officials and protesters who organized a series of Black Lives Matter protests last year. Members of Detroit Will Breathe sued the city, Mayor Mike Duggan and Police Chief James Craig last August over allegations that police used excessive force to quell demonstrations. Read more: Black activists: Dont compare the Capitol attack to Black Lives Matters protests Michelson instituted a temporary restraining order last September preventing Detroit police from using striking weapons, chemical agents, zip ties and chokeholds against protesters. The city of Detroit filed a counterclaim the same month. Detroit Will Breathe was founded on June 4, 2020, and incorporated as a nonprofit organization on June 23, 2020. Protests began in Detroit before the group was founded, though its leaders participated in the earlier demonstrations. Read more: The fight isnt over. Black activists ready for another year of advocating for justice. DWB describes itself as an integrated, youth-led, militant organization fighting against police brutality and systemic racism in Detroit. At the center of its legal battle with Detroit is how police reacted to marches and other demonstrations that started in May 2020. DWB alleges Detroit police responded to peaceful demonstrations with beatings, tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, sound cannons, flash grenades, chokeholds, and mass arrests without probable cause. Meanwhile, the city alleged protests endangered the lives of police and the public. There is significant dispute over the details of what happened at these protests, Michelson acknowledged in Wednesdays ruling. Detroits counterclaim highlighted the conflict between protesters and officers at specific protests from May 29 to June 2, June 28, July 10, Aug. 22 and Sept. 5 last year. Protests in Detroit started four days after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers. An estimated crowd of 1,500 demonstrators marched in downtown Detroit on May 29. Court documents show DWB states the first night of demonstrations started peacefully but police began to intimidate protesters as the afternoon wore on. Both groups agree the demonstration turned violent overnight. Detroit states in court documents that rioters threw rocks and bottles at police, injuring multiple officers. Police equipped with riot gear fired tear gas canisters and corralled protesters, who alleged officers used excessive force and taunted activists. The next day, hundreds of people again demonstrated in Detroit. Police intervened with tear gas and rubber bullets. Rioters responded by throwing back tear gas canisters and lighting fireworks. Duggan, the Detroit mayor, declared a state of emergency on May 31, 2020 and set an 8 p.m. citywide curfew. A protest that night was marked by similar clashes between police and protesters that did not abide by the curfew. Protests continued after the curfew on June 2. Detroit officers claim they issued at least seven directives to disperse that protestors failed to obey. The curfew was lifted a few days later. Hundreds of people were arrested, though Detroit dropped citations against many of them. Court documents show Detroit highlighted another incident on June 28, 2020, where the city claims a protester jumped on the roof of a police car and threatened the officer inside. DWB said in court records that the vehicle was blocking demonstrators who were ending their march and hit several protesters. On July 10, DWB organized a protest in response to the shooting of 19-year-old Hakim Littleton in Detroit. During the protest, Detroit claimed protestors ignored police directives and threw objects like rocks and bleach at officers. DWB claimed a line of police officers converged on the demonstration without provocation and began pushing down demonstrators and using pepper spray and tear gas. Both sides agreed officers had physical altercations with some of the protesters while attempting to detain them. One month later, on Aug. 22, 2020, DWB organized a protest to occupy the high-traffic intersection of Woodward Avenue and John R St. in Detroit to demand the end of Operation Legend, a federal crime prevention program. Police deployed tear gas and pepper spray against 100 demonstrators without warning, DWB stated in court documents. The judge found it was plausible to suggest DWB was planning some form of unlawful action when the group posted it would not leave until the feds leave, but also said the city itself admitted the gathering began as a lawful assembly and only became unlawful when police arrived and ordered them to leave. The final incident cited in Detroits counterclaim regards a Sept. 5, 2020 protest after the court put limits on how police could respond to peaceful demonstrations. During the march, some protestors allegedly stood on the outside dining barrier of a local restaurant and disrupted patrons dinners. Later that evening someone spray-painted a city statue. Detroit also referenced social media posts and media interviews made by DWB members that criticized police and called for Craigs removal. Ultimately, the judge found no evidence that this proved a coordinated conspiracy to disturb the police. Even if the city could allege an underlying tort or is not required to do so, its civil conspiracy claim would still fail because it does not allege sufficient facts to infer that (DWB) conspired to commit any form of unlawful activityand especially that all of the alleged coconspirators shared in a common conspiratorial objective to engage in such unlawful activity, Michelson wrote. READ MORE ON MLIVE: The fight isnt over. Black activists ready for another year of advocating for justice. They call themselves militias, but actual militias report to the governor in Michigan How riots, politics and a pandemic drove record gun sales in Michigan [March 11, 2021] Nokia to hold Capital Markets Day for investors, analysts and media on 18 March 2021 Press Release Nokia to hold Capital Markets Day for investors, analysts and media on 18 March 2021 11 March 2021 Espoo, Finland Nokia will hold its Capital Markets Day for investors, analysts and media on 18 March 2021. In this virtual event Nokia will present its new strategy, discuss action plans and share longer-term financial targets. Program and webcast registration Nokias webcast for investors and analysts will begin on 18 March 2021 at 14:00 EET (Helsinki) / 8:00 EST (New York). The webcast will last approximately 4.5 hours. Full program is available at the event webpage http://nokia.ly/CMD. Participants are asked to register and join the webcast at http://nokia.ly/CMD. Media representatives can register and listen in via the webcast link. Speaker slides can be downloaded and presentations can be atched on demand after the event at the event webpage. About Nokia We create the critical networks and technologies to bring together the worlds intelligence, across businesses, cities, supply chains and societies. With our commitment to innovation and technology leadership, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we deliver networks at the limits of science across mobile, infrastructure, cloud, and enabling technologies. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities we need for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia. Investor Enquiries: Nokia Investor Relations Tel. +358 4080 3 4080 Email: investor.relations@nokia.com Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] US network CBS today accused the British press of 'blatantly racist' coverage of Meghan Markle, using a column by Boris Johnsons sister out of context as part of its claim the Duchess had been 'vilified' by UK tabloids. The column by Rachel Johnson from 2016 had been used by Oprah Winfrey during the bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan as part of supposed negative coverage of the Duchess of Sussex. It included a MailOnline logo with the words: 'rich and exotic DNA. Miss Markle's mother is a dreadlocked African-American lady from the wrong side of the tracks'. That was again displayed on screen today during a report on CBS This Morning, with reporter Holly Williams saying: 'There's no doubt that Meghan has been vilified by Britain's tabloid papers, their coverage sometimes blatantly racist.' However, the line was never a headline, but rather a sentence penned by Ms Johnson about Harry's then-girlfriend. The sentence immediately followed her words, 'Genetically, she is blessed. If there is issue from her alleged union with Prince Harry, the Windsors will thicken their watery, thin blue blood and Spencer pale skin and ginger hair.' Later in the copy Ms Johnson went so far as to say, 'Nobody cares that Miss Markle is mixed race'. Pictured: Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) with his sister Rachel. A column by Rachel Johnson from 2016 was used by Oprah Winfrey during the bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan as part of supposed negative coverage of the Duchess of Sussex WHAT THEY SHOWED: Producers of the CBS Harry and Meghan special created what appeared to be a grab from this website with a line about 'rich and exotic DNA' written in a large typeface where the headline would normally be The same quote, resembling a headline, was displayed on a CBS This Morning segment on Thursday which alleged blatant racism in coverage of the Duchess of Sussex IN REAL LIFE: The text the show featured appeared in a column by the Prime Minister's sister Rachel Johnson. This is how it actually appeared online. The line of text that the show made appear to be the headline was in fact taken from the middle of paragraph three of the 11-paragraph piece The Mail On Sunday column - which was also published on MailOnline - appeared on screen during the CBS broadcast while a commentator discussed 'undeniable racist overtones' in media coverage. In the separate segment today, Williams also highlighted complaints by MPs about coverage of Meghan and the row over the Society of Editors' response. The report was introduced by Oprah's friend Gayle King, who said: 'All you need to do is look at the headlines, we've been looking at them all year. 'There's definitely a difference in the coverage, so at least you need to acknowledge that... now what I like is that there is a microscope on it'. Her fellow CBS This Morning presenter Anthony Mason claimed that Meghan had 'endured some really vicious attacks'. Following criticism of the column at the time, Ms Johnson explained that the article 'celebrated the fact that she was mixed race', although she admitted she regretted the phrasing. She told the Express: 'I meant that in marvellous contrast to the gingery white blood of his own blood family on his maternal side. But it didn't go down well and I hereby apologise Harry.' Ms Johnson also wrote in the column that Diana, Princess of Wales would have been 'delighted' by Meghan's humanitarian work. 'Miss Markle has an active social conscience, and anti-landmine campaigner Princess Diana would be delighted that she is the Ambassador for World Vision and has toured Afghanistan and Rwanda as part of her humanitarian effort,' she wrote. 'Like Princess Diana, she wears her heart on her sleeve, and is emotionally open.' Ms Johnson's brother, the prime minister, would not be drawn on the royal interview on Monday after Harry and Meghan alleged racist attitudes behind palace doors. The PM said he had 'always had the highest admiration for the Queen and the unifying role that she plays in our country and across the Commonwealth'. But he said that on 'other matters to do with the royal family, I have spent a long time now not commenting on royal family matters and I don't intend to depart from that'. Asked about the allegation that a royal family member had asked about the skin colour of Meghan's child, the PM's spokesman said Mr Johnson believed there was 'no place in society' for racism. The Mail on Sunday column published in November 2016 was written by Rachel Johnson, left, who is the sister of UK prime minister Boris Johnson, right Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, pictured, has plunged the royal family into one of its worst crises since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 The report was introduced by Oprah's friend Gayle King (right), who said: 'All you need to do is look at the headlines, we've been looking at them all year. The article was displayed on screen today during a report on CBS This Morning, with reporter Holly Williams (left) saying: 'There's no doubt that Meghan has been vilified by Britain's tabloid papers, their coverage sometimes blatantly racist.' Buckingham Palace later put out a careful statement saying that the allegations were 'concerning' but that 'recollections may vary' about what happened. Meghan told Oprah that the stresses of royal life had led her to contemplate suicide, saying the palace had failed to protect her from critical media coverage. Producers of the two-hour CBS special displayed numerous examples of what purported to be newspaper headlines savaging Meghan and Harry. But many of these headlines were taken out of context while more than a third of them came from American or Australian publications, not the British press. One segment showed a headline about how 'Meghan's seed will taint our Royal Family', as if implying that this was the view of the newspaper. In fact, this was a story about racist comments made by a model who was the girlfriend of then-UKIP leader Henry Bolton. The mocked-up version, which used a similar page design, included the quote but cut the remaining headline away. The Queen, pictured, said she was 'saddened' to learn of Harry and Meghan's struggles in a short statement released by Buckingham Palace on Tuesday Two of the 49million people to have seen the Harry and Meghan interview so far watch the Duchess of Sussex on their TV screen in Liverpool on Monday Meanwhile the fallout from the interview continued today as Prince William insisted that the royals are 'very much not a racist family'. William made the comment during his first public appearance since the family was thrown into one of its worst crises since Diana's death in 1997. He and the Duchess of Cambridge toured School21 in Stratford, East London, to mark the return of children to classes this week and the rollout to secondary schools of a mental health project Kate launched in primary schools in 2018. As William left, a reporter asked him: 'Is the royal family a racist family, sir?'. The Duke, with the Duchess by his side, replied: 'We're very much not a racist family.' Asked whether he had spoken to Harry since the interview aired, William replied: 'No, I haven't spoken to him yet, but I will do.' It came two days after Morgan departed from Good Morning Britain following 41,000 complaints to Ofcom about his attitude to Meghan's interview. Yesterday it emerged that Meghan herself was one of those who made a formal complaint to ITV bosses about Morgan's behaviour. Morgan stood by his comments on Wednesday, saying: 'If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly-held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.' The presenter had previously said that 'I don't believe a word she says' and that 'I wouldn't believe her if she read me a weather report'. Morgan walked off the set on Tuesday after an on-air clash with his colleague, Alex Beresford. How Oprah used doctored and out-of-context headlines to smear the British press (while a third were from FOREIGN gossip mags) By Rory Tingle for MailOnline Headlines shown on screen during the Oprah interview to paint British media coverage as hostile and 'racist' were mocked up by the production company, often edited to remove context - and a third of them came from foreign media, new analysis has revealed today. The two-hour programme, which aired on CBS This Morning, included cuttings of stories intended to confirm the Sussexes' claim that UK newspapers were guilty of peddling racist abuse against Meghan. One segment showed a headline about how 'Meghan's seed will taint our Royal Family' - without noting that the story was actually exposing racist comments made by a model. The mocked-up version, which used a similar page design, included the quote but cut the remaining headline away. Another story that appeared during the tell-all interview referred to a BBC programme that had portrayed Meghan as a 'trailer trash American'. The actual article included an interview with actress Gbemisola Ikunelo, who created the character, explaining she invented it to find 'humour in the ridiculous' because it is 'the opposite of how the Duchess really behaves'. And another appeared to use a quote from the story as if it were a headline - without showing the context behind it. Meanwhile, 11 of more than 30 headlines shown during the interview were from American and Australian publications, according research by the Telegraph. MailOnline has contacted Oprah Winfrey's network for comment. The research comes as Society of Editors chief Ian Murray tonight resigned as executive director after the body came under fire for defending the UK press against accusations of racism. WHAT THEY SHOWED: The headline read 'BBC comedy portrays Meghan Markle as ''trailer trash'' American who threatens to knife Kate Middleton'. But the character was actually meant to be the opposite of what Meghan was really like IN REAL LIFE: The article as it appeared on the Telegraph's website - with Defence spelled the English way, not how the Americans mocked it up - makes it clear that the comedienne portraying Meghan as 'trailer trash' was doing so as it was 'finging humour' in a 'ridiculous' idea How it appeared: A Telegraph article appeared in the same segment about hostile newspaper coverage, shortly after the commentator described the reporting as 'standing apart from what we've seen for any other royal'. The reality: The headline read 'BBC comedy portrays Meghan Markle as ''trailer trash'' American who threatens to knife Kate Middleton'. But the story, from June 2019, included quotes from comedian Gbemisola Ikunelo, who voiced the character and said she conceived it as the opposite of Meghan to 'find humour in the ridiculous'. 'Anybody who has seen anything of Meghan Markle in public will know that she seems incredibly agreeable and friendly, always smiling,' she said. WHAT THEY SHOWED: The mocked-up headline purported to be from this website is reduced to a single quote and appeared as a commentator discussed 'undeniable racist overtones' in media coverage IN REAL LIFE: The story - which was on the front of that day's Mail On Sunday - was a story exposing the suspension of the girlfriend of the UKIP leader for using the racist phrase that appeared in the headline. Producers removed all that context How it appeared: A Mail On Sunday article - which was also posted onto MailOnline - appeared as a commentator discussed 'undeniable racist overtones' in media coverage. The reality: It was actually a piece exposing racist remarks about the Duchess by Jo Marney, the then girlfriend of former Ukip leader Henry Bolton. The full online headline said Marney had been suspended from the party over the comments. The front page headline in print for the same story, from January 2018 - 'Vile Racist Attack on Meghan by Mistress of Ukip Chief' - was not shown in the programme. WHAT THEY SHOWED: Oprah's team reduced this Telegraph article to a headline suggesting the Duchess 'doesn't speak our language'. As they mocked up the Telegraph's website, they spelled IN REAL LIFE: The piece - an opinion column - has the subdeck that explains it is critiquing the Duchess's 'earnest gushing' which the writer finds to be 'like nails down a blackboard' How it appeared: Another Telegraph story flashed up as Oprah suggested Meghan had been the victim of media attacks soon after joining the Royal Family, and shortly after a commentator described the 'racial overtones' of media coverage. The reality: The article, by the sketch writer Michael Deacon, appeared two months ago - after the couple had left the UK. It claimed Meghan 'speaks Californian a hippie version of corporate management-speak', before listing a series of gushing 'Woke' phrases. The story was sub-headed: 'No doubt the Duchess means well. But to jaded British ears, her earnest gushing is like nails down a blackboard.' WHAT THEY SHOWED: The interview flashed up a Guardian headline apparently referring neutrally to Danny Baker talking about comparing Archie to 'a chimp' IN REAL LIFE? No such headline is immediately available on the Guardian's website. This, from the aftermath of Baker's sacking, is their story about him talking about his Tweet and apologising for it The BBC Radio 5 Live host sparked outrage after he uploaded this image of a couple clinging on to a monkey wearing a suit with the caption: 'Royal baby leaves hospital' How it appeared: Following comments about 'racist abuse' Meghan allegedly suffered from the press was a headline in the Guardian referring to a notorious tweet by BBC radio presenter Danny Baker. The reality: Baker's 2019 tweet showing a couple with a monkey tagged 'Royal baby leaves hospital' prompted an outcry and led to him being sacked by the BBC. Many viewed the tweet as racist. However, after the story was initially published, the 61-year-old broadcaster denied this and called it a 'stupid unthinking gag' about class. Baker said that he was unaware of who the mother of the baby even was: 'I didn't know which of our royal princesses had given birth. 'My go-to photo when any posh people have a baby is this absurd chimpanzee in a top hat leaving the hospital. Had it not been Meghan - perfectly good joke. I was trying to make a point about class and it's just preposterous.' Baker's response to the allegation of racism was not mentioned in the Oprah broadcast. WHAT THEY SHOWED: The producers created what appeared to be a grab from this website with a line about 'rich and exotic DNA' written in a large typeface where the headline would normally be IN REAL LIFE: The text the show featured appeared in a column by the Prime Minister's sister Rachel Johnson. This is how it actually appeared online. The line of text that the show made appear to be the headline was in fact taken from the middle of paragraph three of the 11-paragraph piece How it appeared: A 2016 column by Boris Johnson's sister, Rachel was shown as a single sentence, 'Rich and exotic DNA, Miss Markle's mother is a dread-locked African-American lady from the wrong side of the tracks...' It came in a segment describing the 'racist abuse' Meghan allegedly received. The reality: The actual comment piece, which appeared in the Mail On Sunday and was also posted on MailOnline, described Meghan as genetically 'blessed'. It said she would help the Windsors 'thicken their watery, thin blue blood and Spencer pale skin and ginger hair with some rich and exotic DNA', before lauding the duchess for her acting success and social conscience. Following criticism at the time, Rachel Johnson explained that the article 'celebrated the fact that she was mixed race' - although she admitted she regretted the phrasing. She told the Express: 'I meant that in marvellous contrast to the gingery white blood of his own blood family on his maternal side. But it didn't go down well and I hereby apologise Harry.' The mocked up version of The Sun's 'Meghan made Kate cry' headline which appeared during the Oprah Winfrey interview The real version of the Sun's headline. Both are almost the same, with pictures, and other text taken out How it appeared: 'Meg Made Kate Cry' on top of a header for The Sun newspaper. The reality: This was the same, albeit a mocked up version with the rest of the stories and furniture removed - most likely for legal purposes. The main story text and sub-headline have also been removed. The sub-head sheds more context on the alleged incident, adding that the row was due to the 'bride's strict demands' over Princess Charlotte's dress for her wedding. The Duchess of Sussex addressed the story - which was widely reported in February 2019 - during her interview with Oprah. The story claimed that in the lead-up to the wedding, Meghan had made Kate Middleton cry during a row over a dress for Princess Charlotte. In her Oprah interview, Meghan accepted there had been a row, but said Kate was the one to make her cry, and insisted the Duchess of Cambridge had apologised to her after. A version of the Express' story about Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle's rift which appeared during the Oprah interview The real version that was posted on the Express' website - with the sub head underneath How it appeared: Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle rift: Why did Kate cry during Royal Wedding rehearsal? The reality: The Oprah interview version does appear identical to the real version. However, it does crop above the sub-head, which gives more context over the row in 2018. The subhead mentions the reported 'row' between the pair - which Meghan confirmed had happened. However she claimed Kate had made her cry, and apologised for it, in her interview with Oprah. The mocked up version of Star magazine's 'Meghan is ruining my life' headline which appeared during the Oprah Winfrey interview The real version of the 'Meghan is ruining my life' published in Star magazine - an American publication How it appeared: Meghan is ruining my life! The reality: Again, the headline is exactly the same, but is clearly a composed image, rather than the real version, which appeared in Star magazine on February 11, 2019. The article, which featured a picture of the Duchess of Cambridge rubbing her eye claimed it had the 'inside' into the 'nastiest fight after Harry's wife makes her daughter Charlotte cry'. On top of this, Star Magazine is actually an American publication - and this magazine was published in the US and not in the UK. The interview showed a series of other cuttings from newspaper and magazine stories as the commentator described 'a daily onslaught of vitriol and condemnation from the UK press However, a third of the headlines shown were also taken from foreign media, according to the Telegraph's analysis How it appeared: The interview showed a series of other cuttings from newspaper and magazine stories as the commentator described 'a daily onslaught of vitriol and condemnation from the UK press.' The reality: A third of the headlines shown were also taken from foreign media, according to the Telegraph's analysis. One said 'Harry trapped in marriage from hell!' - but that was taken from the American tabloid the National Enquirer. Another National Enquirer headline was also used which said 'Monster Meghan exposed!' In total 11 of more than 30 headlines shown during the interview were from American and Australian tabloids, according to the Daily Telegraph. Of the 23 headlines from British news outlets which featured, around 14 were not published in print and only appeared online. Other foreign publications used included Us Weekly, a celebrity magazine based in New York, and the Australia-based New Idea magazine. The newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa handled with aplomb the sham kidnap episode which had been staged courtesy the Swiss embassy in Colombo on November 25, 2019 and which had certainly been meant to embarrass and undermine him internationally. by Rohana R. Wasala Sri Lankan Catholics, led by His Eminence Malcom Cardinal Ranjith, Bishop of Colombo, marked Black Sunday on March 7, with the participation of representatives from Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim religious communities, demanding justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks carried out by local Islamist Jihadists two years ago. The Archbishop threatened further activism including asking for international help unless there emerge sure signs before April 21 that the real masterminds behind the horrendous crime are clearly identified and duly punished so that no repetition of the like will occur in the future. The event was immediately provoked by what was perceived by them and members of the opposition as well as some law-makers of the ruling alliance, and sections of the civil society, as foot-dragging by the government over punishing the guilty. That questionable perception was prompted by the presidents appointment on February 19 of a six-member ministerial committee to study the Final Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Easter Sunday Attacks which had been presented to him nearly three weeks before, and also the report submitted to parliament by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security, which was also appointed by the previous government in the wake of the April 21, 2019 suicide bomb attacks. The SOC report, after about one years sittings, was presented to the yahapalana parliament in February, 2020, just eleven days ahead of the dissolution of parliament. Its recommendations were also meant to prevent the recurrence of extremist violence. I, for one, do not question the appropriateness of the presidents move; it must be part of the proper procedure he has chosen to deal with the matter. Considering the dismal history of commissions of inquiry in our country, which a past left politician in parliament once likened to a loo visit - sitting, deliberating, reporting and dropping the matter- , what is at present happening under President Gotabaya is quite efficient and quick. Significant initial progress has already been made under the new administration although people are not still aware of it. Those who are waiting to fault the government on the slightest pretext jumped to conclusions when it was revealed that 22 out of the 87 books (with a total of 69,770 pages according to Minister Wimal Weerawansa) each of an average length of 800 pages were being withheld for security reasons. True, this was something unexpected. The alleged decision to keep the information contained in the 22 books even from the attorney general sounded absurd, but most probably it was a temporary decision. Generally though, as Minister Udaya Gammanpila explained in a separate context, certain confidential pieces of information provided to the Commission by private witnesses, such as what some Muslim women told it in camera about their husbands criminal dealings with Islamic terrorists, have to be kept under wraps for the safety of those individuals. Such unavoidable censorship will not prevent that information from being made available for the prosecutors when the hearings against the suspects actually start. Anti-government detractors, especially the members of the yahapalana regime who intentionally or unintentionally facilitated the April 21 attacks, are doing their damnedest to propagate the false claim that this (probably temporary) secrecy imposed on a part of the information recorded by the PCoI is meant to conceal the present governments culpability. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is utterly wrong to suggest that the Easter Sunday attacks alone overwhelmingly contributed to Gotabayas election or the success of the SLPP at the subsequent parliamentary polls, for the SLPP swept the island-wide local government elections in February 2018, that is, more than a year before the Islamist terror attacks. The ministerial committee is required to hand over its report on or before March 15. Committee member Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said yesterday (March 8) that the report will be submitted on March 15, as scheduled. The PCoI was appointed by (previous) president Sirisena in September, 2019, and its term was extended several times by incumbent president Gotabaya without introducing any change to the composition of its membership. In fact, the president was reported to have personally asked the Cardinal whether he would like to see the composition of the committee changed; the latter had answered in the negative. It is not likely that the unacceptable practice of interfering with the judiciary or in due legal processes for which the previous yahapalanaya was severely criticised and was made to pay a heavy price in the form of a humiliating electoral defeat would be repeated by the present government, least of all by Gotabaya, given his immaculate professional record and his impeccable personal probity. (Incidentally, something I frequently observed in Gotabayas campaign speeches in Sinhala was his studied avoidance of noncommittal promissory statements containing {First Person Singular} verbs ending in the suffix -nnam, e.g., karannam {I shall/will do}; he always used the present affirmative forms like mama karanawa I do instead of the future optative karannam {Ill do} form; karanawa expresses a solemn pledge, not a casual promise. Gotabaya has already amply proved that he is a man of his word, just as much as he is a man of action.) Meanwhile it is unlikely that the Cardinal has lost his trust in the president, who had repeatedly reassured him that the culprits wont be allowed to go free, though the former has found it fit to observe a Black Sunday. That must be to provide a shot in the arm for the president and the government to reaffirm their commitment and renew their resolve for expediting the commencement of due processes for ultimately meting out justice to all affected persons; but that kind of coaxing is redundant, in my opinion. A day before the Black Sunday was marked (i.e., Saturday 6), the president held the 13th session of his Gama Samaga Pilisandara Conversation with the Country programme with the people of the village of Giribawe, Weragala, in Kurunegala. He had a copy of the Final Report (probably, a summary, still massive) and spoke turning its pages, which showed that he had a good idea of its contents. He explained to the people that he got the report on February 1, and that the commission was appointed by the previous president. President Gotabaya pointed out that the Report clearly blames the attacks on the (Yahapalana) government. It identifies governmental inefficiency as the principal contributory factor that led to the Easter Sunday attacks. He stressed the fact that the Report apportions blame not only to former president Sirisena and the ex-premier (Ranil), but also to the rajaya or the government (that they headed). President Gotabaya laid emphasis on the word rajaya (government) from the Report in this context. But today, he added, those who were in that government speak as if they werent in it. During president Mahinda Rajapaksas time, we gave priority to state security...This report makes it abundantly clear that a situation like this resulted from the discontinuance of that security framework. We completely reject the absurd, baseless allegation that our government must be held responsible for the Easter attacks...The Report has recorded who is accountable for them. It is, however, our responsibility to see them punished, because we are the government now. We will properly execute that (duty). We have not only this report, but also (reports from) the CID, the TID, and intelligence sectors. Since we came to power, we have apprehended many other new suspects. We are continuing (with this process). Punishments will be meted out to these people and those.. My feeling, for what it is worth, is that the president and the government must be allowed time and freedom to deal with the burning issues in the current unprecedentedly critical circumstances. A local, Sri Lanka bashing, propagandist tabloid has started calling the president Nandasena (from his full name Gotabaya Nandasena Rajapaksa). This is clearly meant to be derogatory, for it acoustically links him with his failed predecessor Sirisena, who in actuality, through his ungrateful 2014-November betrayal of his elder brother the then president Mahinda, has brought endless disaster to the country. Such inimical portrayal of president Gotabaya as a failure is wrong. (It is tragic that some prominent monks who helped bring Gotabaya to power, have now been duped to look away from him in apparent disillusion and defend Sirisena instead who is being justly threatened with possible prosecution in connection with the Easter attacks). With a little hindsight Gotabaya supporters may draw fresh inspiration. The newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa handled with aplomb the sham kidnap episode which had been staged courtesy the Swiss embassy in Colombo on November 25, 2019 and which had certainly been meant to embarrass and undermine him internationally. The alleged abduction and rape of a local female employee of the embassy by the unusual name of Gania Banister Francis was soon revealed by the police to have been a gimmick set up by some anti-Sri Lanka-politics driven hirelings. Having been elected president without a burdensome backpack of a professional political background, he was able to adopt a confident, unperturbed, and matter-of-fact approach to get at the truth, and suitably dispose of the filthy stuff. The naive embassy officials who had been knowingly or unknowingly taken for a ride by the plotters of the prank had egg on their faces; but the president treated them with the respect and dignity that their posts deserved, without any rancour. He even offered them a piece of friendly advice about the importance of guarding against being misled by fabrications of liars against the country (or something to that effect). Currently a worse, more damaging, drama is being acted out by the powers that be centering on the release of the Final Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday Attacks. This must be intended to bamboozle the SLPP government under Gotabayas presidency to veer off its course into floundering in the stormy seas of geopolitics. This time however, the issue that is to be tackled is not so straightforward as the silly embassy skit. It will need Gotabayas hard-nosed practical approach as well as a seasoned politicians pragmatism. Unfortunately, according to my lights, at present, Gotabaya is not getting the undivided support of those who are closest to him, but who are apparently pulling in different directions, though their loyalty may be unquestioned; this is an unacknowledged dichotomy in the governments inner circle, which is good for his and the countrys enemies. This must be remedied immediately. This unnecessary division of opinion or lack of unanimity has significantly stymied the resolution of a range of issues including the trivial burial problem fraudulently blown into international proportions by Jihadist apologists and others illdisposed towards the country and the present government. How the government ignominiously embarrassed itself through needlessly bungling the issue is now common knowledge. Mandatory cremation of Covid-19 dead was a sound scientific decision. It was just yesterday (March 8) that 9NEWS, the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia, reported Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Chris Lease revealing at a press conference held the day before (March 7) that a very strong positive COVID-19 sample had been detected in Adelaides wastewater and that in response to this South Australia had been put on coronavirus alert. Doesnt this suggest that Sri Lankan experts initial caution regarding possible contamination of groundwater was correct and still remains valid? Mandatory cremation (condemned as forced cremation by vested interests) was not politically motivated to hurt the feelings of a particular religious community. The ad hoc use of plots of land on the edge of environmentally sensitive forest reserves for rural poverty alleviation in these hard times is a process that must be strictly supervised by state officials and utilized by a properly informed, responsible civilian population with the least environmental impact. This need not be a basis for attacks on the government. Of course, it is absolutely necessary to protect the forest reserves from endless encroachments in the future by unscrupulous elements. It is the authorities responsibility to turn the local beneficiaries of the concession into committed environment protectors. This can be done by injecting into them a dose of patriotism. Issues relating to the development of important sea ports with or without foreign collaboration, and the findings and recommendations of various commissions of inquiry appointed to look into bank scams, political victimizations, and the Easter Sunday attacks of April 21, 2019, etc., should be dealt with as national issues that should not be politicised or mishandled inviting detrimental foreign intervention in our domestic affairs. NBCC (India) has executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 5 March 2021 with National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna for supervision of construction and development of institute campus, hostel and residential buildings, at NIT Patna. NBCC is the project management consultant (PMC) for this project of value Rs 468 crore. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 10 March 2021. Separately, NBCC (India) on Thursday, 11 March 2021, announced that it has awarded two separate work orders to Backbone Construction-Sangeeta Engineering & Contracts (JV) and Hayagrev Civil Engineering. The Backbone Construction-Sangeeta Engineering & Contracts JV has been awarded an order for construction of cooling tower (NDCT) CT-1 for Yadadri Thermal Power Station, (5x800 MW), TSGENCO in Telangana for a total contract value of Rs 45.26 crore. Hayagrev Civil Engineering has been awarded an order for construction of cooling tower (NDCT) CT-3 & 5 for Yadadri Thermal Power Station, (5x800 MW), TSGENCO in Telangana for a total contract value of Rs 98.74 crore. NBCC (India) provides civil engineering construction services. The firm operates through three segment viz., project management consultancy (PMC), real estate development & engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). As of 31 December 2020, the Government of India held 61.75% stake in the company. Shares of NBCC (India) fell 0.20% close at Rs 49.30 on BSE yesterday, 10 March 2021. The Indian stock market is shut today (11 March 2021) on account of Mahashivratri. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Although none of the following (calendar year) 2020 clients make up more than 33% of non-state income, and therefore do not have to be reported according to the law and guidance from the office of the inspector general, they are being reported for transparency, Rokita wrote. PARIS (AP) Numerous companies and websites in France suffered outages and disruptions to services after a fire swept through a cloud computing provider's facility. Disruption continued Thursday after OVH said the fire erupted early Wednesday in a room at one of its data centers in Strasbourg in eastern France. No one was injured in the blaze, which destroyed one of the site's four data centers and damaged another one. Firefighters were immediately on the scene but could not control the fire," CEO Octave Klaba tweeted. He advised companies to activate their disaster recovery plans. The company did not give an immediate explanation for the fire. Klaba said the company would work on restoring services and checking fiber optic connections. On Wednesday, Strasbourg Airport tweeted that due to the fire that broke out last night in the OVH Cloud company at the Rhine port, we inform you that our website is currently inaccessible. Later that day it said that the site was back up and running. The town of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin tweeted Thursday afternoon that the site cherboug.fr is still unavailable following a fire at its host. Weather site Meteociel announced via Twitter that some of its photos, images and services were unavailable because of a breakdown at OVH. The site said that OVH told them that they would have to wait until March 15 for an operational return of critical parts of the data center affecting Meteociel. Meteociel added that unfortunately a backup server and the data on the other servers in the fire seem unrecoverable. Other customers affected include video game Rust, which tweeted that some game data was lost, and Paris's Centre Pompidou arts center, which tweeted that its website went down because of the fire. Free chess server Lichess, news site eeNews Europe and cryptocurrency exchange Deribit also said they were affected. OVH operates 15 data centers in Europe and competes with giant U.S. cloud-computing rivals such as Amazon Web Services. A 10th-grader in Hanoi was found dead after she fell from the ninth floor of the CT2A apartment building on Le Duc Tho Street in Nam Tu Liem District on Tuesday. Upon being notified of the accident, the local fire brigade promptly arrived at the scene and found the girl atop the metal roof of a nearby restaurant. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Details of the accident remain vague. She was attending grade 10 and lived on the ninth floor [of the CT2A apartment building], a neighbor reported. Police are continuing their investigation into the case. Firemen stand at the CT2A apartment building on Le Duc Tho Street in Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, where a fatal fall took place on March 9, 2021. Photo: Ha Quan / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! New Delhi, March 11 : Deakin University, Australia and Jindal Global Business School (JGBS) have announced an innovative study option for Indian students which will allows them to get two degrees on successfully completing the four-year program in Business Analytics. The four-year program will allow Indian students to qualify in Business Management (MBA) and Business Analytics on the completion of four years. In the current situation when travel is suspended and students are uncertain of an overseas higher education opportunity, Deakin University, Australia and JGBS have developed the four-year program which will allow students to transfer their studies after 2 years to a campus in Australia to study for another 2 years and complete an undergraduate degree in Business Analytics. After successfully completion, students will be awarded a Bachelor of Business Administration from JGU and a Bachelor of Business Analytics from Deakin University, Australia. The program was signed off virtually by both partners in the presence of senior representatives including JGU Founding Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar and Prof. Rajesh Chakrabarti, Dean of Jindal Global Business School from along with Prof. Gary Smith, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement), Prof. Mike Ewing, Executive Dean, Faculty of Business & Law and Ms Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global) from Deakin University, Australia. The signing was witnessed by Mr Brett Galt-Smith, Counsellor (Education and Research), Australian High Commission, New Delhi. This is a one-of-its kind initiative where students will earn 100 per cent credits of prior learning at a leading Indian university before transferring to a Deakin University campus in Australia. As a part of the arrangement, students while studying the first two years of the program at O.P. Jindal Global University and will pay local India tuition fee. This simply translates into better academic success for students with global careers and an education that saves them huge costs. Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University (Prof.) Dr C. Raj Kumar, said, "The unique program fits in very well for students of our newly launched BBA - Analytics along with our existing management programs. Given the current situation, students will be able to achieve an educational portfolio that blends the best of both universities which offers a highly supportive and personalised student experience. "It will also enhance their academic qualifications by securing two degrees and also study in two campuses in India and Australia through the dual degree program. The idea of using various forms of data management solutions to address different aspects of improving strategic decision making within business, using aspects of data mining, or predictive analytics, or statistical analysis -- are not going to be only confined to the idea of business, but will be useful in a variety of settings, including public policy, governmental decision making, and many more. "Students who pursue these programs will be better situated to understand and analyse issues in various contexts and not be confined to business itself. Certain aspects will definitely include artificial intelligence and robotics, and machine learning, and hence we as academic institutions need to be dynamic, and responsive to new imperatives. Deakin University's Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement) Professor Gary Smith, said, "At Deakin University, we are continuously innovating our offering and with the current challenges presented by the pandemic COVID-19, a hybrid pathway program like this would help students keep their study and career goals on track. "The joint four-year program will allow students to study the initial part from their home-country with a pathway to achieve an international degree on-shore at Deakin University in Australia for a truly global experience. Students who are educated across two systems have an enormous opportunity to see the world from two different lenses, from two different perspectives allowing them to become culturally competent." Prof. Rajesh Chakrabarti, Dean of Jindal Global Business School said, "There is a lot of excitement around analytics programs in India today. Currently, AI and analytics are more talked about, than they are understood. Hence it is important that this program enables students to understand issues around this effectively and become employable. Students have an opportunity to study both in India and Australia, where the work being done in this sector is also on different scales, thus exposing students to a multitude of challenges and opportunities. Prof. Pavan Gandhok, Vice Dean - Outreach, New Offerings & Entrepreneurial Initiatives of the Jindal Global Business School said, "In this era when travel is difficult, this dual opportunity gives parents and students a meaningful opportunity to keep their aspirations alive of getting Australian and international exposure, and also to study and pursue a degree in the area of analytics where employment prospects are only accelerating. "This program will help students to learn how to manage data and drive insights from it and will teach them a variety of techniques to manipulate it and visualising it. Just like e-commerce, which has now expanded to include everything under its ambit, there is tremendous scope for analytics in the future and the possibility that analytics might be present in all facets of our lives." Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global) & CEO (South Asia), Deakin University said, "It's heartening to see how JGU has made a mark in India and internationally. We have a long partnership with O.P. Jindal Global University. It has been an amazing effort on behalf of the Deakin leadership to continue its very strong and committed engagement with India in these difficult times. "Australia has a very strong commitment to partner with India across all domain areas including education as a flagship sector as these partnerships are absolutely instrumental in building a strong foundation between the two countries." The GOP's national push to enact hundreds of new election restrictions could strain every available method of voting for tens of millions of Americans, potentially amounting to the most sweeping contraction of ballot access in the United States since the end of Reconstruction, when Southern states curtailed the voting rights of formerly enslaved Black men, a Washington Post analysis has found. In 33 states across the country, Republican lawmakers have proposed at least 250 laws that would limit mail, early in-person and Election Day voting with such constraints as stricter ID requirements, limited hours or narrower eligibility to vote absentee, according to data compiled as of Feb. 19 by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. Even more proposals have been introduced since then. Proponents say the provisions are necessary to shore up public confidence in the integrity of elections after the 2020 presidential contest, when then-President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims of election fraud convinced millions of his supporters that the results were rigged against him. But in most cases, Republicans are proposing solutions in states where elections ran smoothly, including in many with results that Trump and his allies did not contest or allege to be tainted by fraud. The measures are likely to disproportionately affect those in cities and Black voters in particular, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic - laying bare, critics say, the GOP's true intent: gaining electoral advantage. The rush to crack down on voting methods comes after many states temporarily expanded mail and early voting in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to the largest voter turnout in more than a century. The changes reshaped both who turned out and how they voted, with an astounding 116 million people - 73% of the electorate - casting their ballots before Election Day, according to The Post's analysis. In many states, Democrats are trying to make those expansions permanent - and broaden voting access in other ways. Congressional Democrats are also pushing a sweeping proposal to impose national standards that would override much of what Republican state lawmakers are trying to constrict, including measures that would provide universal eligibility to vote by mail, at least 15 days of early voting, mandatory online voter registration and the restoration of voting rights for released felons. The measure has passed the House but faces steep opposition in the evenly divided Senate. Republican state legislators, meanwhile, echoing Trump's false claims that the election was stolen from him, are pushing hard in the other direction. The outcome of dueling efforts will vary depending on partisan control of statehouses. The same party controls both legislative chambers and the governorship in 38 states - 23 of them Republican and 15 of them Democratic. Many of the most restrictive proposals have surfaced in states where the GOP has a total hold on power, including Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri and Florida. Some of the bills in Democratic-controlled states such as Washington, one of the first states to implement all-mail voting, have little chance of passage. But others are steaming ahead: In Georgia, for example, the House has passed a sweeping bill that would limit early-voting hours on weekends and restrict the use of drop boxes for mail ballots, among other provisions. The state Senate, meanwhile, approved a measure that would eliminate no-excuses absentee voting altogether - limiting eligibility to those ages 65 and over, people with disabilities or those who will be away from home on Election Day. Limits to early or absentee voting are the most common measures among this year's batch of proposed restrictions, with such bills on the table in 33 states. Nearly 85 million voters used one of those methods to cast their ballots in those states last year - more than half of all Americans who voted in the Nov. 3 election. And the new proposals could do more than rein in early and mail voting. Like squeezing a balloon, the measures could dramatically shift voting to Election Day. That has raised alarm among voting rights advocates that the 2022 midterm elections and 2024 presidential contest could be marred by catastrophically long waits to vote - particularly in big cities, where lines are already a common hurdle for millions of Americans. "Long lines are going to be the story of 2022 unless something is done," said Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias, who said he is preparing for a "busy year" of litigation if these laws are enacted. "We have to recognize early on in this next election cycle that this is now the defining feature of the Republican Party, in competitive states and uncompetitive states. In red states and blue states. They don't run on economic issues, or even social issues. They run on shrinking the vote." Republicans deny the bills are aimed at suppressing turnout, saying they are essential to improving public confidence in the integrity of elections, even in places where elections ran smoothly, such as Florida. "There's nothing wrong with securing a great system," said Florida state Sen. Dennis Baxley at a committee hearing Wednesday in Tallahassee, where lawmakers gave initial approval to a proposal to curtail the use of ballot boxes and eliminate automatic registration for absentee voting, which would force voters to reapply each election cycle. Other Republicans noted that some of their proposals will help speed the process. The Florida bill, for instance, would allow election officials to begin mail-ballot tabulation earlier in the election cycle - a provision state elections supervisors support because it will ensure a quicker result and fewer doubts about the outcome. In a statement, Mandi Merritt, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said that the national party "remains laser focused on protecting election integrity, and that includes aggressively engaging at the state level on voting laws and litigating as necessary." "Democrats have abandoned any pretense that they still care about election issues such as voter roll maintenance and restricting ballot harvesting that were once welcomed as reasonable and routine," she added. "The reality is that we want all eligible voters to be able to vote and vote easily - but voters must also have confidence that our elections systems have safeguards to prevent fraud and ensure accuracy. " Nevertheless, multiple scholars and historians said the proposed restrictions would amount to the most dramatic curtailment of ballot access since the late 19th century, when Southern states effectively reversed the 15th Amendment's prohibition on denying the vote based on race by enacting poll taxes, literacy tests and other restrictions that disenfranchised virtually all Black men. It took many more decades for Congress to prohibit such laws and broadly enshrine voting rights with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other anti-discrimination laws. Voting rights advocates say the avalanche of proposed restrictions flowing through state legislatures this year could undo much of that progress. "There's this risk that we're witnessing the rollback of the 'Second Reconstruction,'" said Edward Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University, using a common term for the civil rights era. "It's not exactly the same as the end of the first Reconstruction, and one has to hope that it won't be. But there are enough parallels to be nerve-racking." - - - Of the roughly 250 voting restrictions proposed in 33 states - seven times the number introduced in state legislatures by the same time last year - about half seek to limit mail voting, according to the Brennan Center. Proposals target every step of the process, including limiting who is allowed to cast ballots by mail, eliminating the option of being sent a ballot automatically each election cycle and adding ID, notary or witness requirements. Far more Democrats than Republicans voted by mail last year, in part because Trump warned his supporters to steer clear of mail ballots, falsely asserting that the process was not secure, and in part because Democrats urged their own to take advantage of the option to avoid long lines on Election Day. As a result, many of the proposed curtailments on mail balloting are expected to make it harder for Democrats to vote than Republicans. Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia are among the nine states considering limiting mail voting - or further limiting it - to narrow groups of people, such as seniors or those with disabilities. Trump contested the results in all three states last fall, claiming falsely that lax security and new rules imposed illegally by judges caused his defeat there. With electoral margins of approximately 10,000, 13,000 and 81,000, respectively, these states could easily have swung for Trump if some of the proposed restrictions were in place last year, experts say. One extraordinary proposal in Arizona would require mail ballots to be postmarked by the Thursday before Election Day, even if they arrive at election offices before polls close. No evidence has surfaced to support Republican claims of widespread fraud in the state, where President Joe Biden defeated Trump by less than 11,000 votes, and where most Arizonans have been voting by mail for more than a decade. The Republican governor, Doug Ducey, told Trump in the Oval Office last year that it is "difficult, if not impossible, to cheat" under the state's mail-voting system. Trump was open about his view that expanding mail voting would benefit Democrats, but he wrapped his grievance in a false narrative of fraud that conjured unsubstantiated beliefs among his supporters that thousands and even millions of absentee ballots were fraudulently submitted. He also falsely claimed that there was no security in place to prevent ballot theft, and that election workers had abetted a giant crime by not checking signatures on ballot envelopes; sending ballots to the deceased or to empty lots; double- and even triple-counting Democratic votes; or accepting van loads of forged ballots at counting facilities. No evidence has emerged to substantiate any of those claims. But Trump's attacks on voting through the mail led many Republicans to shy away from using mail ballots, and they opted instead to vote in person on Election Day. In Pennsylvania, Biden won 76% of the absentee vote, while Trump won 65% of the Election Day vote. In Georgia, Biden won 65% of the absentee vote, while Trump won 60% of the Election Day vote. Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida, noted that the main reason Trump's supporters don't believe U.S. elections are secure is because Trump and his allies have drummed that point into them. Their claim of wanting to improve perceptions of voter integrity, he said, is an excuse to enact suppressive legislation that would disproportionately affect Democrats. "If Republicans truly wanted to increase confidence in elections, they would stop saying, 'Don't trust the elections,'" McDonald said. - - - Some of the GOP proposals would strain the overall election system - particularly in states with a history of disenfranchising voters of color, who often experience long lines in their precincts, among other hurdles. In Georgia, for instance, Democrats say the Republican proposal to curtail early voting on weekends is a direct broadside at "Souls to the Polls," the get-out-the-vote program that encourages Black voters to cast their ballots after church on Sundays during early voting. Fewer early-voting hours would transfer more pressure onto Election Day resources. The same is true for another proposal that would prohibit election officials from accepting grants from nongovernmental entities. Such philanthropic grants are widely credited with helping election officials prepare for the surge of mail balloting and set up safe in-person voting amid the pandemic. "There is no justification for that. None," said Georgia state Sen. Elena Parent, a Democrat from the Atlanta area. "All it will do is lead to longer lines." As for the Republican rationale that limiting early-voting hours is an equity issue for smaller counties with fewer resources, Parent said: "It's not an equity issue when one county has a million people and others don't. The equity issue is preventing the very populous counties from making voting accessible for their people." Georgia Republicans have also proposed banning "line-warming" activities such as passing out water and blankets to voters standing in long lines. Supporters of the measure, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, say the practice encourages illegal campaign activity if volunteers are advocating for their preferred candidate and handing out free goodies in the process. Opponents say such activities are necessary to ease the discomfort that many voters face in cities that regularly struggle with long lines. As one epicenter for the voting wars this year, Georgia's debate over election restrictions has prompted impassioned speeches from Black lawmakers and civil rights leaders about the echoes of racist voter suppression they see in the Republican proposals. "Today is a dark, dark day in our state," Rep. Nikema Williams, the chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, said on March 1, the day the House approved its elections bill. "Republicans voted as a caucus to enact the most blatantly racist attacks on voting rights in the South since Jim Crow, after losing an election they planned, built and oversaw." Georgia state Rep. Barry Fleming, the top Republican booster for the sweeping House election bill, said during debate over the measure that day that the proposed law would "begin an effort to restore confidence in our election system by the voters of the state of Georgia." Fleming did not respond to a request for an interview. In Alabama, a proposal is under consideration to eliminate straight-ticket voting, which critics said is yet another example of a measure that would create longer lines. In Tennessee, Republican state Sen. Janice Bowling proposed eliminating early voting entirely - but withdrew the bill when she found no one to take it up in the House. Bowling explained her rationale for the measure to the Herald Chronicle of Winchester, Tenn.: "There was a time in the not-too-distant past where we didn't have early votes," she said. "People went to their precinct on Election Day and they cast their ballot, which is one of the most important things citizens can do." Tennessee is among the states considering stiff new restrictions even though it is a deeply red state where no one contested the results last year. Another is Iowa, where Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds this week signed legislation that reduces early- and Election Day voting hours and moves up the deadline for mail ballots to arrive at local election offices. Such red-state initiatives also suggest that many Republicans feel compelled to propose restrictions to signal their loyalty to Trump and his supporters - and to avoid a primary challenge in their next elections. "No one questioned the legitimacy of anything that happened in our state election," said Sharon Steckman, a Democratic state representative in Iowa and a leading critic of the Republican election bill. "They won. They won overwhelmingly. We had no fraud in Iowa." Steckman thinks the restrictions could hurt Republican voters, too, especially with so many first-time voters coming out to support Trump last year. "We have a lot of rural Iowa that went solidly for Trump," she said. "We lost a Democratic seat we had for 40 years. I'm not sure how it's going to play out, but there were a lot of people we had never seen before at the polls - young men, most of them. Young, White men." Iowa Republicans defended the new measures. David Kochel, a longtime GOP strategist in the state, said a provision that would prevent local election administrators from unilaterally changing their counties' voting rules is reasonable. "Auditors took advantage of the pandemic to do things outside their statutory authority," Kochel said. "This just makes sure every voter in every county has the exact same access as the person in the neighboring county or neighboring town." Kochel also said curtailments of early voting and Election Day voting are unlikely to produce long lines in his state, where waits are rare. - - - The Republican-backed bills are causing some angst inside the party, as some worry that support for the measures could hurt lawmakers in competitive districts. One GOP strategist in Georgia, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal party strategy, said state Republican leaders gave lawmakers "the green light to drop whatever bill they wanted" to placate Trump loyalists and avoid a primary challenge. The plan was to prevent most of the measures from actually reaching the House and Senate floor, the strategist said. But now both the Georgia House and Senate have passed substantive bills. That is forcing Republican lawmakers from more competitive districts to choose their poison: risk a primary challenge by voting against the measures, or risk a general-election challenge if they support them. If many of the measures proposed across the country pass, legal scholars and voting advocates alike say some will be difficult to defend in court. Foley, the law professor at Ohio State, said taking away a previously granted voting right will prompt scrutiny of the law's rationale - with the burden on the government to justify a new hurdle for voters. Democrats will also be armed with the fact that until Trump launched his campaign against mail voting, Republicans were champions of the practice, passing legislation in Florida, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and developing sophisticated ballot "chase" operations to encourage their voters to request, fill out and return mail ballots. Arguing that some of the proposals could disproportionately affect people of color is a trickier legal prospect because of the federal bench's history of narrowly defining racist intent under the Voting Rights Act. Laws that return states to pre-coronavirus standards will also be harder to challenge given the extraordinary circumstances that prompted voting changes in 2020. But there is little question that a new wave of election-related litigation will follow quickly if any of these measures are enacted. "We are actively monitoring every state's legislature to see whether they are going to enact suppressive voting legislation," said Elias, the Democratic lawyer. "I can promise those Republican legislatures that if they violate the rights of their voters in an effort to curry favor with a failed one-term president, we will see them in court." - - - Data on proposed bills to restrict voting is from the Brennan Center for Justice's State Voting Bills Tracker and LegiScan. Election results and vote counts for the 2020 presidential election are from Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. The Survey of the Performance of American Elections from MIT Election Lab was used for share of voting method by state. [March 11, 2021] Playwire Welcomes Heather Hromoho as Vice President of Partner Success NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Playwire, a global technology company specializing in revenue amplification for publishers and content creators, announced today that Heather Hromoho had joined the executive team as Vice President of Partner Success. Hromoho is an accomplished customer success executive in the digital media space and has worked with some of the worlds largest publishers and advertisers developing long-term client relationships. Hromohos addition to the team continues Playwires industry-leading focus on customer success. "Im eager to lead the Partner success team at Playwire and elated to have the opportunity to play an influential role during their dynamic growth as a company. The timing could not have aligned better, said Heather Hromoho, VP Partner Success at Playwire. Hromoho brings over a decade of experience in the AdTech space and has a proven track record of delivering scalable solutions to streamline processes and driving data transparency in both start-up and billion-dollar enterprise environments. She will be responsible for solvingoperational challenges and help increase partner successes through their topline revenue and overall profitability to new partners globally. Hromoho recently served as Head of US Customer Success for Sigma Software, where she was responsible for the growth of Sigma's global developer practice and expansion into North America. Earlier in her career, Hromoho was Vice President, Client Services and Inventory Operations at Millennial Media where the company scaled to a successful IPO. Heather Hromoho is a true client success professional, and were thrilled to welcome her to our team, said Jayson Dubin, CEO at Playwire. Her experience in maintaining top-notch customer service while growing and leading a global team is particularly relevant for our own growth strategy in the coming months. About Playwire Playwire is a global revenue amplification company with the knowledge and technology content owners need to maximize revenue. The companys portfolio includes management of over 500 websites, serving 20 billion video and display ads, and streaming one billion minutes of video each month. Playwires exclusive partner relationships help brands to connect and engage with their desired audiences safely and authentically. Playwire is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, with business operations and satellite offices spanning from San Francisco to Singapore. For more information, please visit playwire.com. Contact: Emily Riley Riley Strategic LLC 914-330-1128 Emily@rileystrategic.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. The ESB describes as comprehensive a review of the risk to water at the proposed Coolnabacca power substation. The State-owned company claims that the proposed development will not impact on local water sources and poses no significant risk. The company also contends that the study backs up previous studies undertaken on the development in the Ratheniska Timahoe area which involves an investment of over 100 million. The independent review concludes that substantial thickness of low permeability clay on the site eliminates any significant pathway developing to then bedrock aquifer, and hence the Kyle spring, says the ESB. The statement continues: ESB Networks, as well as EirGrid, recognise that some local concerns remain about this project, and the commissioning, publishing and implementation of this independent review should enhance further the safeguards to protect the local water supply, it says. The company reached these conclusions in a statement issued following the completion of the study by Carlow-based environmental consultants IE Consulting which was appointed by ESB Networks and published online last week. The ESB says the review was conducted to follow through on a recommendation from Irish Rural Link, who assessed community understanding of the project in a comprehensive independent report published last year. The electricity company believes the findings should allay concerns about the risk to supply. The report alleviates a concern among some in the local community in relation to drinking water sources, suggesting that the proposed mitigation measures are best international practice and that the proposed infrastructure and operational protocols afford the optimum security for the prevention of loss to the environment. The report author recommends additional works to better understand shallow groundwater flows which may help improve a tufa springs habitat, says the statement. The ESB outline the key recommendations: - An additional geophysical survey to better understand the subsoil profile; - The installation of five shallow (3m) groundwater monitoring points in the vicinity of the site; - A round of groundwater samples from the shallow wells nearby; - An in-depth ecological assessment of the tufa springs in line with National Parks and Wildlife Service guidelines; - Review of the design of the stormwater management system to ensure it is optimised to support the tufa springs (depending on the outcome of the study); - Monitoring of groundwater quality from the proposed supply well twice a year; - ESB Networks fully takes on board the findings in the review and is committed to implementing all its recommendations in full. This will be built into the project plan and ESB Networks will access the site to undertake the necessary works in due course. The ESB's statement says work to build the substation is not a risk either. The independent hydrologist has confirmed no adverse effects will ensue due to enabling works proceeding on the site in advance of the outcome of the studies on shallow groundwater. These works would include the diversion of the Athy - Portlaoise 110kV line and construction/ strengthening of access roads. This independent hydrogeology review is the latest rigorous scrutiny of the potential impacts of the development to water supply. A thorough evaluation of the risk to groundwater was conducted by An Bord Pleanala as part of the planning hearing in 2014 and followed by a 2015 High Court Judicial Review. The latest review provides a further safeguard to the community that there is no significant risk to the water supply in the area posed by the development, says the ESB. Pittsfield Council Not Ready for In-Person Meetings PITTSFIELD, Mass. A majority of the City Council is not ready to discuss a return to in-person meetings just yet. The council on Tuesday filed a petition from former mayoral candidate Craig Gaetani requesting the it vote on a plan to resume in-person meetings 8-3 with Ward 4 councilor Chris Connell, Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi, and Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon voting in opposition. A motion to approve was originally on the floor for discussion but the motion to file took precedent. President Peter Marchetti explained that he put this petition on the agenda because he knows there is a mix of opinions among council members. "I want you to know that I continue to look at what our colleagues across the state do," he added. "We're not meeting remotely because we've chosen to meet remotely." Marchetti has reached out to the Massachusetts Municipal Councilors Association to ask how many colleagues are conducting in-person meetings and has not yet received a response. He said when given the guidance to do so, it is his intention to find a way to go back into chambers when it is safe. One area of concern is violation of the Open Meeting Law if residents are restricted from in-person meetings after the state-mandated allowance of 50 people per gathering is exceeded. City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta confirmed that turning away a 51st person would be an OML violation unless the meeting is closed and rescheduled for another day. "My concern councilors, especially as we approach the budget season, there's been a lot of communication in regards to the department budget and there's always a lot of communication in regards to the School Department budget," Marchetti said. "I don't want to schedule a budget hearing and then have to cancel it because I have to turn people away and we have an Open Meeting Law violation." Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law new legislation on Tuesday which will ban all abortions except to save the life of the mother. The law does not provide exceptions for rape or incest, and threatens those found in violation of the law with a fine of up to $100,000 and up to 10 years in prison. The law will not go into effect until 91 days after the end of the current legislative session on May 3, providing plenty of time for legal challenges to the law to be heard in court. Arkansas Governor Aka Hutchinson (Wikimedia Commons) This is the latest attempt by Republican-run states to contest the 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade. Arkansas bill SB6 is specifically designed to violate the ruling and bring a challenge before the US Supreme Court. Governor Hutchinson said of the bill, SB6 is in contradiction of the binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law. At least 14 other states have attempted similar legal challenges this year according to Politico, but all have seen their laws struck down by lower courts. The Arkansas law follows similar legislation passed in South Carolina last month which was struck down by a federal judge. It revisits another attempt by the Arkansas legislature to pass a ban on abortions after 18 weeks in 2019 before that was also struck down by courts. The current wave of anti-abortion laws comes after three right-wing Supreme Court justices were appointed by the President Donald Trump. The appointment of Brett Kavanaugh in the summer of 2018, giving the Supreme Court an openly anti-abortion majority, emboldened those seeking to challenge Roe v. Wade through the courts. Now that the appointment of Any Coney Barrett has given the ultra-right a 63 majority, Republican leaders believe that they have an even better chance of succeeding. However, any one of the numerous anti-abortion laws that have been struck down across the country could be taken up by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. But Republican legislatures continue to pass such laws, even when they are almost guaranteed to be overturned by federal courts, in a continuous effort to manufacture a semblance of mass public support for overturning abortion rights across the country. Arkansas State Senator Jason Rapert, who sponsored the bill, said that he hoped the law would compel the court to respond to a very broad, widespread public outcry on the issue. However, there is no such mass support for banning abortion. Research from Gallup indicates that the proportion of Americans who support total bans on abortion have remained around just 20 percent of the population since 1975. While many support some restrictions on abortion, 60 percent oppose overturning Roe v. Wade and 58 percent oppose fetal heartbeat laws. Even in southern states the majority does not support such laws, with just 47 percent in favor. A May 2018 Gallup survey also found that 60 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal within the first three months of pregnancy. Despite the lack of support for total bans on abortion, the Republican Party has based its assault on abortion rights on appeals to the most conservative and fervently religious sections of American society. It must be stressed that the Republican Party has done nothing to protect the lives of working class Americans after they are born, and its policies of war and the persecution of immigrants betrays even the name pro life. If the Republican Party truly cared about the lives of unborn children then it would invest heavily in social programs and womens health to ensure that every child is born into conditions where it will not have to suffer from poverty, hunger or abuse. Instead, the Republican Party has made it a point of public policy to cut as many social services as possible. For its part, the Democratic Party has also cut social programs and has failed to seriously defend abortion rights. The Democratic Party has consistently shied away from fighting to make abortion a permanent legal right. Instead, they have channeled all support for abortion rights behind Roe v. Wade and used appeals to protect a revocable court ruling to garner electoral support. Life in Jammu and Kashmir can be a challenging one, with constant Internet shutdowns to boot. However, one of the biggest challenges is having access to constant electricity. Since most of J&K villages are situated in mountainous areas, setting up a conventional electricity plant is easier said than done. IIT Bombay To bridge this gap, the Indian Army, Aseem Foundation and Pune-based GS Lab, under the guidance of Mr Ganesh Hegde, senior PhD student at CTARA, IIT Bombay has successfully commissioned and handed over 1 KVA Micro Solar Grid at Gaggar Hill in Jammu and Kashmir. The first of its kind solar microgrid has been installed in the remote village, roughly 6,000 feet above sea level. The solar power grid has now been given over to the residents of the village that have experienced losses from cross-fire at LoC over the years. This project complements the existing energy sources and provides a reliable electricity supply. Jammu-Kashmir solar power grid The solar grid is state of the art and actually the first of its kind in the nation which comes with a built-in power limiter and bifacial half-cut modules. The Indian Army, aware of the issues faced by the common man in these areas listed out the areas that needed a system like this and teamed up with Aseem foundation who was responsible for sourcing and deploying the system on the ground with their technical team. IIT Bombay The army said in a statement, The pilot project is a huge leap towards greater reliance on renewable energy and will mitigate the deprivations in regular power supply due to frequent cuts and vagaries of weather and also reduce the carbon footprint to some extent. The unique solar power grid project in Jammu-Kashmir village was dedicated to the village by Commander Pir Panjal Brigade among the presence of the officials of the Department of Rural Development, BDO Boniyar as well as BDC members. (@ChaudhryMAli88) District Health Development Centre have vaccinated 189 citizens above 60 years of age during first day of corona vaccination for senior citizens in the district MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :District Health Development Centre have vaccinated 189 citizens above 60 years of age during first day of corona vaccination for senior citizens in the district. This was disclosed by Assistant Commissioner City Khawaja Umair Mahmood during his visit of corona vaccination centre here on Thursday. He said that provincial government was going to provide more dozes of corona vaccination for senior citizens. He said that four separate counters have been setup in the centre for both male and female categories while separate observation centres have also been setup for the citizens. He said that best cleanliness arrangements were being ensured in the centre and coronavirus standard operating procedure (SoP) was also being followed strictly. Several years after scientists discovered what was considered the oldest crater a meteorite made on the planet, another team found it's actually the result of normal geological processes. During fieldwork at the Archean Maniitsoq structure in Greenland, an international team of scientists led by the University of Waterloo's Chris Yakymchuk found the features of this region are inconsistent with an impact crater. In 2012, a different team identified it as the remnant of a three-billion-year-old meteorite crater. "Zircon crystals in the rock are like little time capsules," said Yakymchuk, a professor in Waterloo's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. "They preserve ancient damage caused by shockwaves you get from a meteorite impact. We found no such damage in them." Additionally, there are multiple places where the rocks melted and recrystallized deep in the Earth. This process--called metamorphism--would occur almost instantaneously if produced from an impact. The Waterloo-led team found it happened 40 million years later than the earlier group proposed. "We went there to explore the area for potential mineral exploration, and it was through close examination of the area and data collected since 2012 that we concluded the features are inconsistent with a meteorite impact," Yakymchuk said. "While we were disappointed that we weren't working in a structure that was the result of a meteorite hitting the planet three billion years ago, science is about advancing knowledge through discovery, and our understanding of the Earth's ancient history continues to evolve. Our findings provide scientific data for resource companies and Greenlandic prospectors to find new mineral resources." ### The study, Stirred not shaken; critical evaluation of a proposed Archean meteorite impact in West Greenland, by Yakymchuk and an international team of scientists from Canada, Australia, Denmark, Greenland and the United Kingdom, appears in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / TPT Global Tech Inc. (OTCQB:TPTW) www.tptglobaltech.com today announced that the company and its strategic partner Thomas Scientific executed a contract with the State of Nevada to provide COVID-19 testing. The contract includes mobile testing sites, facility-based specimen collection, and community-based testing sites for State agencies and other governmental entities in Nevada on an as needed basis. Specifics related to usage are being discussed. These contracts shall be permissive for State agencies located in geographic regions serviced by the contract. The contracts could potentially include university and community college systems, the court system, the Legislative Counsel Bureau as well as State political subdivisions (i.e., cities, counties, school districts, etc.). Tribal nations may take advantage of the contract(s) as well, however, they are not required to do so. At the direction of a customer, and in accordance with a Service Agreement, the contractor will: (1) stand up and operate mobile testing site(s); (2) stand up and operate mobile facility team(s) to conduct on-site specimen collection at facilities identified by the customer such as long-term care centers and manufacturing plants; and/or (3) assume responsibility for operation of an existing community-based testing center. The location and duration of the mobile testing sites and community-based testing sites (collectively, "testing sites") will be at the customer's direction in accordance with a Service Agreement and will vary within the term of the service agreement depending on need. "We are proud of the joint effort made with Thomas Scientific to secure these contracts and the potential they hold for both companies. This is but another demonstration of the value and acceptance of our already being deployed end-to-end technologies that address Covid-19 immediate needs and for future use," said TPT Global Tech CEO Stephen J. Thomas, III. About TPT Global Tech TPT Global Tech Inc. (TPTW) based in San Diego, California, is a technology-based company with divisions providing telecommunications, medical technology and product distribution, media content for domestic and international syndication as well as technology solutions. TPT Global Tech offers Software as a Service (SaaS), Technology Platform as a Service (PAAS), Cloud-based Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS). It offers carrier-grade performance and support for businesses over its private IP MPLS fiber and wireless network in the United States. TPT's cloud-based UCaaS services allow businesses of any size to enjoy all the latest voice, data, media and collaboration features in today's global technology markets. TPT Global Tech also operates as a Master Distributor for Nationwide Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) and Independent Sales Organization (ISO) as a Master Distributor for Pre-Paid Cell phone services, Mobile phones Cell phone Accessories and Global Roaming Cell phones. For more information about how TPT Global's technologies and to schedule call with CEO Stephen Thomas, please contact Shep Doniger at 561-637-5750 and sdoniger@bdcginc.com. For all IR inquiries, please contact Frank Benedetto at 619-915-9422. About Thomas Scientific, LLC Thomas Scientific (ThomasSci.com) is the third largest, fast-growing distributor of laboratory products and equipment used by the scientific and research community. Thomas Scientific distributes nearly 1,000,000 products from more than 1,300 suppliers to over 9,000 customers in all 50 states and internationally. The robust catalog of product includes laboratory equipment, consumables, chemicals, as well as cleanroom/safety and diagnostic products. Thomas Scientific and all of its employees are committed to offering a quality product portfolio while catering to the unique needs of the individual customer. Our experienced Sales and Management Team is backed by industry experts who take a personal and consultative approach to support the ever-changing needs and challenges our customers face. Since 1900, dedication to providing the best products with personal, efficient service sets Thomas apart from the competition. Whether work is done in a lab setting or performed in the field, Thomas Scientific provides best in class in both product and service. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of various provisions of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, commonly identified by such terms as "believes," "looking ahead," "anticipates," "estimates" and other terms with similar meaning. Specifically, statements about the Company's plans for accelerated growth, improved profitability, future business partners, M&A activity, new service offerings, and pursuit of new markets are forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements should not be construed as fact. The information contained in such statements is beyond the ability of the Company to control, and in many cases, the Company cannot predict what factors would cause results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements. All forward-looking statements in the press release are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. SOURCE: TPT Global Tech, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/635054/TPT-GLOBAL-TECH-INC-and-Strategic-Partner-Thomas-Scientific-sign-Contract-with-the-State-of-Nevada-to-Utilize-the-Companys-QuikLab-QuikPASS-End-to-End-Covid-19-testing-and-Vaccination-Platforms NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Keen.com Review, Testing the Best Keen Psychics to See How Accurate They Are, A Closer Look on Keen Psychic Advisors by Psychic Experts. Does Keen Psychic Network provide Accurate Psychic Readings or Fake? How to Get the Best Psychic Reading Experience with Keen Psychics. Keen Psychics has been evaluated as the most authoritative psychic reading online platform for the present year 2021 by Psychic-Experts.com. What We Like: Introductory offer with10 minutes for $1.99 with most experienced Keen psychic advisors with most experienced Keen psychic advisors 24/7 customer service and satisfaction guarantee Wide range of specialties and price points Click Here For Accurate Psychic Readings With Keen Gifted Psychics Psychic experts.com is an online evaluation website that regularly evaluates all the psychic reading platforms that are providing psychic reading services on the online platform. The team at Psychic experts critically assesses all the features that a psychic reading website claims they hold and present a report based on their evaluations. Moreover, Psychic experts.com has presently released the review of Keen Psychics and declared it as the most authentic and reliable psychic reading site for the year 2021. The life of a human being is always filled with intricacies and it cannot be wrong if it gets compared to a roller coaster ride. People in their life undergo many situations. Sometimes the situations can be easy and most of the times the situations are challenging and it can further drain a person mentally. During such challenging times, many people no matter where they live across the world look for some guiding light that can show them the path that they must choose to walk forth in life. There are countless individuals encompassing the world who feel that psychic readings are just a pass time thing that they can seek for having a fun time or maybe just a random encounter which is not true. However, this is the biggest myth or misconception that people bear in their mind and this notion about psychic readings is completely false. Psychic readings in the present times have completely transformed themselves and it has grown into a concept or phenomenon that can help people in finding out what they were looking for over a long period of time and too in the most accurate way backed by scientific explanations. Psychic readings in modern times have completely shifted to the internet and now it has become easier for people to acquire these online readings from anyplace crosswise the globe. 10 Minutes For $1.99 With Keen Gifted Psychics - Right Here A psychic reading when performed in an accurate way can give amazing outcomes and it can even answer the most difficult questions that keep running in the minds of people and which often makes them anxious when thought about. These questions can vary from person to person as some people might be enduring an obstacle in their love life and some in their professional life and numerous more. Getting a psychic reading online can be the best way of dealing with all such life problems as skilled psychic readers can assist and guide people in what steps and measures they must take in order to make their life more peaceful and happy. However, the word 'skilled' here plays the most significant part. As it is known that there are a multitude of psychic reading platforms available online, hence it becomes a tiresome task for individuals to discern which platform holds the most skilled psychic readers. Hence, to overcome this delusion, people can take help of this detailed review that consists of the most accurate online psychic reading platform for this year. Keen Psychics Most suited for: Keen Psychic reading platform is suitable for presenting all discrete varieties of psychic readings online. However, this platform holds a distinguished name for rendering the best love psychics readings. 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Another factor that makes Keen Psychics divergent from other similar platforms is their strict hiring and recruiting process. The team at Keen Psychics is very strict and strenuous when it comes to employing the psychic reader as Keen feels that they must only recruit top-notch psychic readers who are most brilliant and skilled in their particular field and on whom people can have faith blindly. Along with recruiting the best in class psychic readers, Keen also makes sure that the specialist they choose is completely verified and they do not just go around sharing the secluded information of their clients to any of their competitors or even marketing agencies whose primary job is to collect data. Hence the users can be completely assured that they will acquire the most confidential and off the record psychic readings and consequently they can discuss all their private matters without any doubt or hesitation. 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The experts at Keen Psychics explicate that there is nothing horrifying about the obscurity of the future and that these are just possibilities unexplored, and if a person holds the determination to see past them, then they can possess everything. Hence it can be concluded that psychic readings can act as the key that can open and unlock the locked box of all our problems and future ambiguity. The psychic profiles at Keen further interpret that their expert chain of spiritual advisors can be taken on. Most of the psychics hold glimmering reviews, with millions of individuals unhesitant to believe these psychics to proffer them a marvelous encounter and interpret their most secret enigmas. Keen is extremely sure of the top quality assistance as that they additionally present a 100% gratification guarantee refund policy. 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About Psychic-Experts.Com Psychic experts.com is the most trusted and reliable online review platform that evaluates all the psychic reading platforms out there to assist the individuals in making a righteous decision when it comes to picking the most accurate psychic reading online platform. The skilled and expert squad at Psychic experts.com always ensure that they meticulously review all the psychic reading platform by keeping a close eye even to the slightest details to present people with the most elaborated, just and impartial reviews that they can take into consideration while picking an online psychics reading platform. SOURCE Psychic Experts Related Links https://psychic-experts.com/ Super rich Kenyans might soon be subjected to wealth tax as the government looks to plug revenue holes in its Sh3 trillion 2021/22 budget. Treasury Principal Secretary Julius Muia said discussions are ongoing to introduce higher taxes on High-net-worth individual and high-income earners. We are looking at fiscal changes that will go into the Finance Bill and we are in discussions over the wealth tax among many other fiscal reforms to boost revenues, Dr. Muia told the Business Daily Tuesday. The PS explained the wealth tax money would be channeled to the recovery of the economy, which was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is too early to comment on how it will look because we are still consulting to bring people on board. The complexity of budget proposals undergo a lot of simulation, structured stakeholder consultations, considering a lot of aspects, looking at facts without nuance before policy is implemented, Dr Muia said. He said they were contemplating introducing the wealth tax for the high net worth individuals (HNWI) who will remit a small share of their net worth (assets minus liabilities) or a higher tax rate for those who earn huge amounts of money. The Finance Bill, which outlines Treasurys plan for new taxes, duties, and relief for the year, is set to be tabled in Parliament next month. 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 model boat maker's plan to sail his toy vessel on his local pond with his elderly father have been sunk by health and safety chiefs who said the water is 'too dense'. Stephen Best, 57, had hoped to float the boat on Crammer Pond in Devizes, Wiltshire, with his elderly father and rekindle his memories from his youth. The pond, also known as 'Moonrakers' because of its links to smuggling 200 years ago, lies next to a children's playground and is only a few feet deep but Mr Best's local council said it was too dangerous because of the 'density' of the water. Stephen Best (right, with fellow enthusiast Dave Whelan), 57, had hoped to float the boat on Crammer Pond in Devizes, Wiltshire, with his elderly father and rekindle his memories from his youth Devizes councillors ruled he can only do so if he organises a 'regatta' style toy boat event - with proper health sand safety procedures. Council officers feared sailing toy boats would 'encourage others to similarly use the pond in a less organised way'. They said the density of water 'could prove fatal if anyone fell in whilst trying to hook out a toy boat'. A decision was eventually made to only allow Mr Best to use his toy boat as part of organised events. The council ruled that way it would ensure organisers can control the health and safety of the sailings. The pond is also known as 'Moonrakers' because of its links to smuggling 200 years ago. It lies next to a children's playground and is only a few feet deep but his local council said it was too dangerous because of the 'density' of the water Father-of-two Mr Best, an architectural model maker from Devizes, said: 'I'd thought I should ask permission first and was surprised when I was told no and read the reasons why. 'For one, there's no life vests or safety equipment around the Crammer if it is so dangerous. 'In terms of safety - there's a play park located right next to the water and you have to cross two busy roads to get to it.' Mr Best thinks the council's trepidation around the pond stems back to previous disputes. There have been fallings out over use of boats on the pond dating back decades. On one occasion a man who lived in a cottage opposite lost patience with the electric boats that were causing disruption to his TV aerial. He eventually decided to launch bricks at the floating toys. They have ruled he can only do so if he organises a 'regatta' style toy boat event - with proper health sand safety procedures A statement from Devizes Town Council said: 'Mr Best will be invited to book the Crammer so that he can organise regatta style events, exclusively for sailing boats (being sail-powered only) for which he must be responsible to ensure the conditions of hire are met as well as Health and Safety and general management.' The council added the permission would be reviewed in six months' time. Cllr Andy Geddes also feared the decision would stifle any sort of sailing at all. Speaking after the meeting, he added: 'It's like expecting trainspotters to cause disruption to railways. 'It's simply not in the nature of the people who would be sailing boats to cause bother. 'The last problems were virtually from half a century ago and as I said in the meeting, I felt some of the arguments against this were contrived.' Father-of-two Mr Best, an architectural model maker from Devizes, said: 'I'd thought I should ask permission first and was surprised when I was told no and read the reasons why Councillor Jane Burton also recalled the fact she, and her brother, used to sail boats on the pond. 'I must be a rebel, as I've done it, I've sailed boats on the Crammer,' she said. 'I don't think this is any more dangerous than walking across the canal towpath, where you're more likely to get people falling in rather than falling in the Crammer. 'And if we go back to our youth, I think we've all done that.' The pond is thought also to be the origin of the Moonrakers story involving the moon and excise men. The story goes back to the 18th century when smuggling was rife and there were many secret routes through Wiltshire from the coast. It is said local people had hidden contraband barrels of French brandy from customs officers in the Crammer. While trying to retrieve it at night, they were caught by the revenue men. Their excuse was, by pointing to the moon's reflection, that they were trying to rake in a round cheese. The legend gave way to the name Wiltshire people are still referred to as today: 'Moonrakers.' The Maritime Coordination Center under the coordination of the Romanian Naval Authority sent, on Thursday, to the General Staff of the Naval Forces an intervention request for the search and rescue of a missing person in the Black Sea, following the sinking of the ship "Volgo Balt 179," with the Comoros flag, about 77 nautical miles northeast of the head of the southern dam of the port of Constanta. According to a release from the Ministry of National Defense, Rear Admiral Mihai Panait, Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces, immediately ordered measures to move the frigate "Regina Maria" to the place of the sinking of the ship "Volgo Balt 179" and to participate in the search and rescue mission of a missing person at sea. The frigate "Regina Maria" has on board a Puma Naval helicopter, equipped with special rescue and survival equipment, as well as a group of divers prepared for intervention, states the quoted source.The Ministry of National Defense brings to mind that the Romanian Naval Forces are able to carry out missions to search and save human lives at sea, in special conditions and in case of catastrophes, at the request of public authorities with responsibilities in the field.Two people died, one is missing and ten were rescued, out of a total of 13 crew members (Ukrainian citizens) of the cargo ship that sank in the Black Sea on Thursday.The leader of the Free Union of Navigators (SLN), Adrian Mihalcioiu, told AGERPRES that the ship "Volgo Balt 179" was carrying coal from the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don to the port of Constanta. Advertisement Advertise With Us Another emergency room in rural Manitoba is on the chopping block. A spokesperson for Southern Health-Sante Sud said the Lorne Memorial Hospitals emergency department will be shut down after March 15. Both physicians at the small hospital, located in the community of Swan Lake within the Municipality of Lorne, are leaving after that date. The municipality is approximately 140 kilometres southeast of Brandon and roughly 35 kilometres northeast of Crystal City. This will also affect the primary care clinics in Somerset and Swan Lake as well as the emergency department at Rock Lake Health District Hospital, where those two physicians provided on-call emergency coverage. The plan for Lorne Memorial Hospital is to institute a nurse practitioner-led care model for medical care. According to an email from the Southern Health spokesperson, "Most patients visiting Lorne Memorial Hospital for same-day care are unlikely to be affected by the transition to a low-acuity urgent care department." They stated that 90 per cent of all patients seen at the hospitals emergency department over the past two years were considered non-urgent or less urgent cases that could be treated by a nurse practitioner. Recruitment of three additional nurse practitioners for the facility is currently underway, with all other services at the hospital being maintained in the changeover. Southern Health stated that most of the inpatients at the hospital are waiting to be placed in a personal care home or are receiving palliative or respite care, and those services will continue with the same bed count as before. Additionally, they stated that many cases with higher-acuity needs are often cared for elsewhere than at the hospital. Craig Soldier, a resident of Swan Lake First Nation, told the Sun on Wednesday that while hes glad nurse practitioners will be maintaining services, hes concerned about what this could mean for locals in emergencies. "Ambulance service basically anywhere in our area is minimum 20 minutes before arrival," he said. "And then you look at the 10- to 15-minute assessment or whatever its going to take and then instead of going back to our hospital, it may take another 25-30 minutes to arrive at another emergency room. When you talk about strokes and heart attacks, the first hour is the most important. You know what, the first hour is wasted already waiting for your ambulance and then riding your ambulance to the hospital." In an email to the Sun, a spokesperson from the office of Health Minister Heather Stefanson stated they believed the move would stabilize services in the region. "The recruitment and retention of staff is an ongoing challenge dating back decades in Manitoba, particularly in rural communities," they wrote. "Thousands of Manitobans regularly receive care from nurse practitioners, who are highly capable of providing many of the same services as physicians. We have confidence that the plan the region has developed will stabilize health services in the area over the long term while providing a more consistent and predictable level of care that is less vulnerable to staffing disruptions." Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew told the Sun via phone on Wednesday that his party has been hearing concerns from people in and around Swan Lake about what this will mean for their health care going forward. "Any time youre forcing people to drive further or to change what theyre used to, I think those concerns always come forward," Kinew said. "For us, beyond what weve been hearing for the folks in the area, for a long time weve been raising the alarms about phase two of the governments plans to cut health care and to consolidate health care in rural Manitoba. The opposition leader said he respects nurse practitioners and the important role they play in Manitobas health-care system, but a community losing doctors always raises concerns. "Health care is always something you want in your hometown or home area, so you can enjoy a good quality of life," he said. "This will definitely have an impact on where patients go for treatment in the broader area and as a result, you are going to see more people heading to the remaining emergency rooms. We saw that in Winnipeg after they closed ERs here ... it led to chaos in the remaining emergency rooms." The reeve of the Municipality of Lorne, Aurel Pantel, declined to comment on the situation, saying that discussions on the topic are still underway. The Sun was unable to reach Swan Lake First Nation Chief Jennifer Meeches for comment. cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark Until Thursday, Myaing, a small town in central Myanmar, was best known for its production of thanaka, a bark that is ground for use as a cooling cosmetic. But in the late morning of March 11, the town, which can be traversed in 10 minutes, became synonymous with the brutality of the military that seized power last month. Myaings rain-slicked streets were mottled with blood as police officers shot into a cluster of unarmed civilians, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 20, according to witnesses and hospital officials. U Myint Zaw Win was among the crowd that scattered with the bursts of live ammunition in the late morning, outside Myaings police station. When he looked back, he saw a body with half its head blown apart, on a street that he has walked all his life. He did not know whose body it was, but he said a mason and a bus driver were among the dead. They were shooting people like shooting birds, Mr. Myint Zaw Win said of the police officers, some of whom he said he knows personally because Myaing is a small town where almost everyone knows each other. Burundi's Ministry of Commerce has banned maize grain and flour imports for the next six months starting 8 March. A statement from the ministry said recently imported maize was "not good" and could affect peoples health. It didn't specify which countries the imports were from. While this grain and flour is being rejected by neighbouring countries we need to make sure that it does not enter the country, said Jeremie Banigwaninzigo, the permanent secretary in Burundis commerce ministry. The move comes after Kenya last week banned maize from Uganda and Tanzania over safety concerns. Most of Burundis maize imports are from Uganda and Zambia - but its not clear to what extent the country relies on imports to satisfy its needs. The central African nation had a good yield from the last crop season, the official said, reassuring consumers that the commodity would be available even with the ban. Maize is a staple food in parts of Burundi while its bran is used to feed cattle. 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. Featured Video This is why Hong Kong people support improving electoral system Xinhua) 08:41, March 11, 2021 -- According to a survey conducted by the think-tank Bauhinia Institute, more than 80 percent of local people recognize the necessity of upholding the "patriots administering Hong Kong" principle and nearly 70 percent support the central authorities in improving Hong Kong's electoral system and closing institutional loopholes. -- With an improved electoral system of the HKSAR, the Hong Kong society will be allowed to refocus on economic development and promote the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems." -- An improved electoral system will help the LegCo of the HKSAR resume normal operation and the HKSAR government carry out policies to improve Hong Kong residents' livelihoods. Aerial photo taken on March 6, 2021 shows citizens displaying China's national flag and the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in support of implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" at Tamar Park in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Li Gang) HONG KONG, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Running a small cafe alone in Hong Kong, single mother Kate Lee found the thing that depressed her most was not the COVID-19 outbreak but the endless political upheavals. After speaking out against the violence in a pro-police rally in 2019, Lee became a target of vicious online attacks and hateful telephone calls. Frequent bogus complaints made about her cafe also dealt a heavy blow to her business. As social unrest and COVID-19 delivered a double whammy to Hong Kong's economy, Lee, like many people struggling amid the epidemic, pinned high hopes on the fast rollout of government subsidies so that her 40-square-meter eatery could stay afloat. So, when she heard that opposition lawmakers filibustered repeatedly to block the second round of the anti-epidemic fund during a Legislative Council (LegCo) session on April 17, 2020, she felt devastated and left adrift. "They just opposed (the bill) for the sake of opposing (it)," Lee exclaimed. Citizens display China's national flag in support of implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" at Tamar Park in Hong Kong, south China, March 6, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Gang) Starting in October 2019, the House Committee of the LegCo of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), which prepares legislative work for full-council meetings, was brought to a standstill for over six months due to malicious filibusters and violence by opposition lawmakers. The stalled legislative process led to an enormous backlog of bills that directly concern people's livelihoods, from tax breaks to housing, which were of paramount importance amid the epidemic. Last summer, Benny Tai Yiu-ting and others, colluding with external forces, attempted to rig the seventh-term LegCo election and assist candidates advocating "mutual destruction" to grab more than half the seats through electoral loopholes. If successful, they would have indiscriminately vetoed all major government bills to paralyze the executive authorities and force Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam to step down. Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in south China's Hong Kong. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu) As escalating political turmoil cast a dark shadow over the financial and commercial center, the collective desire for restoring a stable political and social environment was on the rise. A campaign that called for sacking lawmakers advocating "mutual destruction" collected more than 2.18 million signatures in November 2020. In an earlier movement last June, about 1.65 million people signed a petition to oppose foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs. Nicholas Muk, 29, a teacher at the Pui Kiu Middle School in the Eastern District, witnessed how street violence and political instability had impacted schools and young people in recent years and could still feel the pinch, even now. "I saw classes suspended, campuses maliciously politicized and minors involved in the disturbances during that time," he said, calling for a stable environment for education so that his students can keep their minds on studying and developing healthy values. The voice of the Hong Kong people was heard. During the ongoing fourth annual session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, national lawmakers are deliberating a draft decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR. The riot and turbulence that occurred in the Hong Kong society reveals that the existing electoral system in the HKSAR has obvious loopholes and deficiencies, Wang Chen, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said when introducing the draft decision last week. The fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Cai Yang) Anti-China, destabilizing forces and radical localists used the HKSAR's electoral platforms and the deliberation platforms of the LegCo and the District Councils, or their position as public servants, to blatantly carry out anti-China and destabilizing activities, Wang said. Necessary measures must be taken to improve the electoral system and remove existing institutional risks to ensure Hong Kong is administered by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body, he said. The decision received widespread support. According to a survey conducted by the think-tank Bauhinia Institute, more than 80 percent of local people recognize the necessity of upholding the "patriots administering Hong Kong" principle and nearly 70 percent support the central authorities in improving Hong Kong's electoral system and closing institutional loopholes. Over the past weekend, Muk and his friends set up an opinion poll station in Wan Chai and were overwhelmed by the numbers of people flocking to express their support. "More than 200 passersby stopped and signed their names in support of the NPC decision within one hour," he said. When the NPC session concludes on Thursday, the national legislature is expected to officially make the decision on improving the HKSAR's electoral system and authorize its Standing Committee to amend Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law of the HKSAR in accordance with the decision. After the amendment at the state level is completed, the HKSAR will amend relevant local laws accordingly. A citizen signs at a street counter in support of improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" in Hong Kong, south China, March 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Gang) Various sectors in Hong Kong have agreed that the improvement in the electoral system will enable Hong Kong to right the wrongs and usher in a new, brighter phase. Lau Siu-kai, vice president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said Hong Kong society will be allowed to refocus on economic development and promote the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems." As violent incidents and the epidemic dealt a one-two punch to Hong Kong's businesses, an improved electoral system will help the LegCo resume normal operation and the HKSAR government carry out policies to improve people's livelihoods, Lo Kam-yam, president of the Hong Kong Commerce and Industry Associations, said. After that, a sound business environment will be restored and residents will, once again, be able to lead a stable life, Lo said. Vietnam has emphasized the need to immediately stop the violence in Myanmar and hold a constructive dialogue to create favorable conditions for democracy process. In a press release, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this was "contribution" to the statement issued by the president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Myanmar on Thursday. Vietnam started a two-year term as a non-permanent member in January 2020. In the council, its delegate Dang Dinh Quy also called for efforts to immediately stabilize the situation and ensure civilians' safety and on all parties to exercise utmost restraint and hold a dialogue to find a solution in accordance with Myanmar's Constitution and its people's will. He apprised the other members about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s efforts to promote a dialogue and generally resolve the situation in Myanmar. "ASEAN is ready to assist Myanmar with goodwill in keeping with the principles and targets in its Charter." In the statement, the council reiterated its deep concern at developments in Myanmar following the declaration of a state of emergency by the military on February 1 and the "arbitrary detention" of members of the government, and called for their immediate release. The council "strongly condemned the violence against peaceful protestors, expressed deep concern at restrictions, expressed its continued support for the democratic transition in Myanmar, stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and uphold the rule of law." It underlined its strong support for regional organizations like ASEAN and their readiness to assist Myanmar in a positive, peaceful and constructive manner. It welcomed the statements made by the ASEAN Chair on February 1 and March 2, which recalled the purposes and principles of the ASEAN Charter, and called on all parties to exercise utmost restraint and seek a peaceful solution through constructive dialogue and practical reconciliation. The council continued to call for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, expressing concern that recent developments pose serious challenges for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons. It reaffirmed its support for the people of Myanmar and its strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, and unity of Myanmar. KYODO NEWS - Mar 11, 2021 - 13:20 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima The U.S. government on Wednesday hailed the "unwavering" friendship between the American and Japanese people on the 10th anniversary of a massive quake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan and also triggered the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. "Americans are proud to have supported Japan in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, referring to a relief operation jointly carried out by the U.S. military and Japanese Self-Defense Forces. After the magnitude-9.0 quake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, the two countries launched "Operation Tomodachi," named after the Japanese word for friend, and carried out search, rescue and recovery efforts. "U.S. forces Japan was honored to support the government of Japan and Japan's Self-Defense Forces as part of Operation Tomodachi," Lt. Gen Kevin Schneider, commander of U.S. forces stationed in Japan, said in a video message on Twitter. "As we remember the tragic events of March 2011, we renew our commitment to this important alliance." At the peak of the operation, the United States had 24,000 personnel, 190 aircraft, and 24 Navy ships supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, with Blinken calling it "a reflection of our enduring commitment to and bond with the people of Japan." "For over six decades, the U.S.-Japan alliance has been the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Blinken said, adding, "The American and Japanese people share an unwavering friendship, and we will continue to stand strong together in the face of any adversity to come." Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who will visit Japan for three days from Monday for bilateral talks, said in a tweet "10 years ago, our Japanese friends experienced one of their most difficult challenges in recent history, and they're still dealing with it today." "I look forward to visiting next week, and I hope Japan will always know that the U.S. will be ready to assist should the need recur," Austin added. "The result is PermitHub which will eventually become the largest building permit database in the US. The best part? Like our Hazard data and Replacement Cost estimates, its a buck. - John Siegman, CCA HazardHub HazardHub, the USAs fastest-growing supplier of geospatial risk data, a 2020 Gartner Cool Company, and 2020 Lloyds Lab participant announces a massive new database of building permits - PermitHub. By the end of 2021, PermitHub aims to be the largest repository of building permits in the United States. John Siegman, CCA of HazardHub explains, For the longest time, we have thought about adding building permit data to the litany of data assets available from HazardHub. Our clients use this data to help make more sound underwriting decisions by alerting them to both issues and improvements to properties. The problem is that none of the existing datasets available have met the HazardHub standard for completeness, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. So we decided to build our own. The result is PermitHub which will eventually become the largest building permit database in the US. The best part? Like our Hazard data and Replacement Cost estimates, its a buck. The task of gathering permit data is complex, as there are zero existing standards for the publishing of permit data. PermitHub will create a consistent data framework that is easily and instantly available via the HazardHub API. The initial launch of PermitHub will cover available building permits for 46% of the US population including nearly all of the state of Florida - moving to over 75% by the end of May 2021. PermitHub will include both residential and commercial permits, along with the permit type, date, amount, contractor, and status. Bob Frady, CEO of HazardHub adds, We spend a lot of time talking to our clients about data that can make a difference to their underwriting process, as we specialize in creating high-resolution data. Permit data has come up multiple times. Our clients bemoan the combination of spotty coverage and high price. Just like hazard data, we thought we could build a better, more cost-effective product that was better tuned to the needs of our clients, so weve built PermitHub. We are incredibly excited for this next generation of our business. PermitHub will be available in April 2021 via an add-on license to HazardHubs lightning-fast API. About HazardHub HazardHub is your insurance policy against property risk. Air. Fire. Water. Earth. Man-Made. HazardHub is the only third-generation provider of property-level hazard risk databases spanning the most dangerous perils in the United States. HazardHub translates huge amounts of geospatial digital data into easy-to-understand answers, providing risk scorecards that are used to make real-world decisions. Our team of scientists provides comprehensive, and innovative, national coverage for risks that destroy and damage property. With more than 30,000,000 results returned to the market, HazardHub is fast-becoming the industrys go-to vendor for property and risk data. To learn more about HazardHub please visit http://www.hazardhub.com or reach us directly at support@hazardhub.com. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. Tanzania's President John Magufuli is being treated in hospital in Kenya and is in a critical condition, opposition leader Tundu Lissu has told the BBC, citing well-placed sources. He has had coronavirus and a cardiac arrest, Mr Lissu said. Mr Magufuli, who has not been seen in public for 11 days, has faced criticism for his handling of Covid-19. The East African nation has not published its coronavirus cases since May and refuses to buy vaccines. The 61-year-old president has called for prayers and herbal-infused steam therapy to counter the virus. Earlier this month, at a funeral for a top presidential aide, Mr Magufuli said Tanzania had defeated Covid-19 last year and would win again this year. The aide died hours after the vice-president of the country's semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar, who was being treated for Covid-19. 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. Featured Video BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children 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. Married At First Sight Australia's Bronson Norrish has said that his love rival, Sam Ball, tried to warn him about his 'affair' with his then 'wife' Ines Basic. The former stripper, 35, even claimed that he and Sam, 28, who was 'married' to Elizabeth Sobinoff at the time, were 'pulled apart really quickly' by producers after he called him over to one side for a chat during the series. Fans were left shocked after Sam and Ines' 'affair' was exposed on series six of Married At First Sight Australia, which first aired Down Under in 2019, and has since become a surprising hit in the UK recently. Warning: Married At First Sight Australia's Bronson Norrish, pictured, has said that his love rival, Sam Ball, tried to warn him about his 'affair' with his then 'wife' Ines Basic Talking in a new interview, Bronson admitted he was 'blindsided' by Sam, who has since claimed that he never slept with anyone and that his romance with Ines was 'staged'. Bronson told Metro: 'I definitely was blindsided, as in I thought Sam and her were nice enough to tell me. I give Sam props, he did try to warn me. 'He didnt actually get the chance to, he pulled me aside and was about to tell me something was going on, but the producers saw us and pulled us apart really quickly. 'But I did have an underlying suspicion that Ines was like that all the way through. I did give my best shot, but I definitely got played.' 'Pulled apart': The former stripper, 35, even claimed that he and Sam, 28, who was 'married' to Elizabeth Sobinoff at the time, were 'pulled apart really quickly' by producers after he called him over to one side for a chat during the series (Sam and Ines pictured on the show) Shocking: Fans were left shocked after Sam and Ines' 'affair' was exposed on series six of Married At First Sight Australia, which first aired Down Under in 2019, and has since become a surprising hit in the UK recently (pictured) Bronson added that he wanted to leave the show on the very first week following his awkward wedding with Ines but producers 'changed his mind' and 'convinced him to stay'. The former stripper claimed that he was told that Ines' 'really likes' him and that she was just 'really nervous', but by the second week he had 'had enough' after he overheard her 'slating him'. MailOnline has contacted Channel Nine for comment. It comes after Bronson publicly voiced his support for former love rival Sam earlier this year. 'Blindsided': Talking in a new interview, Bronson admitted he was 'blindsided' by Sam, who has since claimed that he never slept with anyone and that his romance with Ines was 'staged' (Bronson and Ines pictured on their 'wedding day') Support: It comes after Bronson publicly voiced his support for former love rival Sam earlier this year (Sam and Elizabeth Sobinoff pictured on their 'wedding day) The former stripper told Express.co.uk that he 'feels sorry' for Sam over the way he's been edited on the show. Viewers were made to believe that Sam and Bronson's now 'ex-wife' Ines had an affair on the show, but since it aired in Australia, Sam has long insisted that he didn't sleep with any of his co-stars. 'I kind of feel sorry for Sam, as he is the villain in the show,' Bronson told the publication. Bronson added that Sam tried to do the right thing by warning him about his romance with Ines. Setting things straight: Sam insisted earlier this year that he didn't really cheat on his then 'wife' with Ines and claimed that his 'womanising' storyline on the show was set up 'Out of everyone in the show he did try and warn me about the affair. He pulled me aside before the affair started and let me know that Ines had contacted him, and that the producers were pushing forward and wanting them to have the affair.' Bronson claimed that he couldn't speak to Ines about it afterwards, due to the producers. Sam made headlines back in 2019 in Australia for his on-screen 'affair' with Ines, despite having 'married' Elizabeth, with the scenes recently playing out in the UK. The reality star has long insisted that he never slept with anyone on the show. Earlier this year, Sam called into Talk Radio and claimed that his 'womanising' storyline on the show was set up by producers. 'I actually really liked Sam': MAFS Australia star Ines previously branded Sam a 'f*** boy' and claimed he promised they could be together, even after he dumped her on the show He said: 'I was taken into a dark room by producers and told [the cheating storyline] was going to happen... 'I threw [Ines] onto a bed and that was it... I actually went out for a night with the boys after that.' Sam explained that he has been unable to speak out and defend himself because he was under contract. 'It's so binding, there's not much you can do at all. Your hands are tied. I couldn't talk out or do anything. I have literally been gagged for the last two years,' he claimed. He also revealed that Ines had blocked him - despite Ines previously telling MailOnline that he dumped her. Ines claimed they forged a plan to leave the TV experiment and start a new life together, but he ghosted her and they never spoke again. She told MailOnline earlier this year: 'I actually really liked Sam. I wasn't expecting that because I thought I was done for. 'Sam and I started off camera. When we finished filming we had curfews and we were allowed out for a couple of hours and I randomly walked into this bar and he was there. We just kicked it off. 'Then we went back to the hotel pool and we started hooking up. There was so much chemistry. 'He is the ultimate f*** boy': The couple's attraction for each other resulted in them deciding to leave the show, and Sam would pretend he had lost interest but he never spoke to Ines again 'The producers found out so they had to create this storyline of me messaging him on Instagram.' Viewers were made to believe Ines and Sam had sex and while they didn't go all the way, the pair did explore their temptations towards each other. But Sam has been keen to dispel the idea that his romance with Ines was genuine, after the 2019 Australian series aired for the first time in the UK. MailOnline contacted Channel Nine for comment at the time. Advocate file photo by PATRICK DENNIS -- A United Airlines flight departs Baton Rouge Metro Airport for Houston. As the number of coronavirus cases continues to drop and more people get vaccinated against the disease, business is returning to normal at the airport. The number of flights scheduled to pass through the airport in April is 80% of the figure for April 2019, said Jim Caldwell, an airport spokesman. Burklee Hill Vineyards Wins Best of Class at 2021 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition We are so passionate about our 100% Texas wine, sourced from vineyards in West Texas and the Texas High Plains AVA. To see our wine recognized on a national level by industry leaders and experts is a tremendous honor. - Elizabeth Hill, Co-Owner, Burklee Hill Vineyards Burklee Hill Vineyards was awarded Best of Class for their 2019 Reserve Tempranillo at the 2021 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) on March 5 in Cloverdale, Calif. The largest competition of North American wines in the world, the SFCWC was presided over by a distinguished panel of 48 judges, representing various North American wine regions and evaluating nearly 5,700 wines from over a thousand wineries. The 2019 Reserve Tempranillo by Burklee Hill Vineyards also received a Double Gold medal, a recognition achieved when all members of the judging panel rate the entry as Gold. Described by its makers as the undisputed pinnacle of Texas Tempranillo, the award-winning 2019 Reserve Tempranillo has aromas of red summer fruits, plum and leather. The wine spent a generous 10 months in oak barrels with 33% new French oak, which contributes to its aromatic profile and tannic structure. Proud would be an understatement, says Ben Hernandez, director of wine at Burklee Hill Vineyards. After what has been a trying first year for our new tasting room, this is truly a historic moment for us at Burklee Hill. And to have claimed the title for our touted state grape? Im awestruck. We are so passionate about our 100% Texas wine, sourced from vineyards in West Texas and the Texas High Plains AVA, adds Elizabeth Hill, co-owner of Burklee Hill Vineyards. To see our wine recognized on a national level by industry leaders and experts is a tremendous honor. About Burklee Hill Vineyards Founded in 2018 by Texas Tech alumni Chace and Elizabeth Hill, Burklee Hill Vineyards is a local winery producing 100% Texas wine, primarily sourced from the family vineyard near Levelland, Texas. In recent years, Burklee Hill Vineyards has opened Burklee Hill at The Kress, a bistro and wine tasting room in the historic Kress Building in downtown Lubbock. The results of the 2020 presidential election. The alleged dangers of the COVID vaccine. Disinformation continues to have a significant effect on almost every aspect of our lives, and some of the biggest sources of disinformation are the social platforms that we spend a large part of our lives usingFacebook, Twitter and YouTube. On these platforms, conspiracy theories and hoaxes are distributed at close to the speed of light, thanks to the recommendation algorithms that all of these services use. But the algorithms themselves, and the inputs they use to choose what we see in our feeds, are opaque. Theyre known only to senior engineers within those companies. or to malicious actors who specialize in computational propaganda by weaponizing the algorithm. Apart from hoping that the companies will figure out a solution, even if that goes against their financial interests, as it almost certainly will, is there anything we can do? We invited some veteran disinformation researchers and other experts to discuss this topic and related issues on CJRs Galley discussion platform this week, including: Joan Donovan, who runs the Technology and Social Change research project at Harvards Shorenstein Center; Sam Woolley, an assistant professor in both the School of Journalism and the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin; Anne Washington, an assistant professor of data policy at New York University and an expert in data governance issues; Khadijah Abdurahman, an independent researcher specializing in content moderation and surveillance in Ethiopia; Irene Pasquetto, who studies information ethics and digital curation as an assistant professor at the University of Michigans School of Information; and Lilly Irani, an associate professor in the department of communication at the University of California in San Diego. Donovan, whose specialty is media manipulation, disinformation, and adversarial movements that target journalists, says she believes the US needs legislation similar to the Glass-Steagall Act, which put limits on what banks and investment companies could do. This kind of law would define what these business can do and lay out some consumer protections, coupled with oversight of human and civil rights violations by tech companies, Donovan says. The pandemic and the election revealed just how broken our information ecosystem is when it comes to getting the right information in front of the right people at the right time. The way that Facebook and other platforms operate, she says, means that those with money and power were able to exert direct influence over content moderation decisions. ICYMI: What the pandemic means for paywalls The broader problem is not just the amplification of conspiracy theories about vaccines or other beliefs, says Woolley. In Myanmar and India, weve seen disinformation on social media grow into offline hate, violence, and murder,he says. The difficulty in proving that statement X led to the murder of Y shouldnt stop us from holding the platforms to account, Wooley feels. We know billions of people use these products, that they are key sources of information. If they prioritize, amplify and massively spread content that is associated with offline violence and other, societal, harms then they must be held accountable. Washington notes that users have no control, as in zero, about who they are compared to and what features are selected for that comparison. Instead of blaming people who take the wrong turn, I would instead suggest that we consider why we are building roads like that in the first place. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are often seen through a primarily Western lens, because they are based in the US and events like the 2020 presidential election draw a lot of attention, says Abdurahman, but the algorithmic amplification of disinformation is a global problem. And while Facebook in particular is happy to brag about how many users it has in other countries, it doesnt always follow through with other services that might help with moderation of content. For example, Abdurahman says, in Ethiopia there are 83+ languages. As of June there was only automated translation available for Amharic (the national language) and neither human or automated translation for any other languages. In other words, she says, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies literally could not see/hear/understand the content circulating on their platform. Facebook in particular, she says, has reached the point where it should be treatedand regulatedas a public utility. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Heres more on algorithmic amplification: Public interest : Pasquetto says we got where we are because we have been prioritizing platforms interest (i.e., profiting out of the attention-economy business model) rather than the public interest (i.e., curating and giving access to good quality, reliable information over the Internet). Also, she says, we have a cultural problem that involves blind faith in the positive power of innovation best embodied by Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerbergs famous motto Move fast and break things. The other reason we are where are now, she says , is that certain people figured out how algorithmic amplification works and made use of it to amplify their own perspectives. Bias to action : Irani says her study of innovation showed her the mechanics behind this drive to move quickly. The source of this ethos, she says, is a management theory response to a couple of changes that made long-term planning less effective, including the rapid rate of technological change and the globalization of trade. All of this led to this idea that McKinsey consultants called the bias to action,' she says . This crucially assumes the organization doesnt face the consequences of their mistakes or bear responsibility for the social costs of all that pivoting. In other words, companies get to move fast and break things without being accountable for what they broke. New rules : India is implementing new restrictions on social-media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp because of what that country says is a growing problem of hoaxes and hate speech. The new guidelines say that in order to counter the rise of problematic content, the companies must establish grievance redressal mechanisms to resolve user complaints about content, and share with the government the names and contact details for grievance officers. These officers must acknowledge complaints within a day and resolve them within 15. Russia, meanwhile, has said it is slowing down Twitter because it wont deal with negative content. Other notable stories: ICYMI: As protests grow in Myanmar, so do crackdowns on the press Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. PokerNews Podcast: WPT's Lynn Gilmartin on New Film Career, Pregnancy & More March 11, 2021 Chad Holloway On the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast, Jeff Platt, Sarah Herring, and Chad Holloway discuss the series of dramas that plagued the WPT Venetian including the seat draw controversy that had Jared Jaffee exploding on Twitter and the tweet from Fedor Holz proclaiming a Severe Emergency for Roland Rokita. The team discusses their views on Matt Savages ruling and how the tournament ultimately played out. Plus, an update on the Fedor Holz vs Limitless Challenge, the huge scores in the SuperMillions on GGpoker, the ongoing saga with Vanessa Kade, and more. Finally, guest Lynn Gilmartin shares about her new career in film and television, her pregnancy, her marriage, and the latest from the World Poker Tour as she views it down under. Big thanks to the special sponsor this week in Elite Chip Care, which you can learn more about here. Time Stamps Tell us who you want to hear from. Let us know what you think of the show tweet about the podcast using #PNPod, and be sure to follow Sarah Herring, Jeff Platt and Chad Holloway on Twitter. Subscribe to the PokerNews Podcast on Apple Podcasts here! Check Out Past Episodes of the PN Podcast Here! India and China are now discussing the modalities of the second phase of the disengagement in Depsang Plains, Gogra, Hot Springs, Demchok Adm. Philip S. Davidson, US Navy head in the Indo-Pacific Command, said Chinas expansionary territorial ambitions were on display along its western border. PTI file photo New Delhi: Chinas Peoples Liberation Army has not yet withdrawn from several forward positions at the Line of Actual Control that it had seized after the initial clashes with Indian forces, a top US military commander told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington on Tuesday. He also said the US and Indian navies are now securely sharing information, and India has substantially increased its acquisition of US defence gear. Adm. Philip S. Davidson, US Navy head in the Indo-Pacific Command, said Chinas expansionary territorial ambitions were on display along its western border, where the PLA engaged in a standoff with Indian forces along the LAC since May 2020. He said the standoff was predicated by clashes over construction activity near the disputed border, and that PLA elements subsequently forward-deployed roughly 50,000 soldiers along the LAC, leading to a counter-deployment by the Indian Army. The PLA has not yet withdrawn from several forward positions it seized following the initial clash, and the consequent escalation of tensions between China and India resulted in casualties on both sides, he told the committee. He said this large-scale PLA mobilisation -- which is particularly notable considering the elevation, terrain and distance involved -- has stoked regional concerns that China will increasingly use force to achieve its desired outcomes. Last month, Indian and Chinese troops had completed disengagement from Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh after a nine-month standoff. India and China are now discussing the modalities of the second phase of the disengagement in Depsang Plains, Gogra, Hot Springs and Demchok. Adm. Davidson said the current state of the US-India relations presents a historic opportunity to deepen ties and solidify what he considers the defining partnership of the 21st century. Work is set to begin after Covid-19 restrictions are lifted to reduce the threat of flooding in Mountrath, according to Laois County Council but a councillor says it is a disgrace how long it has taken to get clearance for the work to be done. Cllr James Kelly tabled at the recent Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District meeting calling on the Council as a matter of urgency to carry out works to help alleviate the threat of flooding by removing the old sewage pipe under the bridge at Patrick Street Mountrath Mr Simon Walton, Director of Services gave a written update. In recent months funds have been approved by Irish Water that provides for the removal and diversion of the existing water services network pipe at the bridge on Patrick Street, Mountrath, County Laois. Laois County Council has tendered for the appointment of a contractor to undertake the works and the appointment is now in place. The works will commence in the period after current public health restrictions, preventing the undertaking of such works, are removed, he said. Cllr Kelly acknowledged the allocation of 40,000 at Stillbrook and Patrick Street to remove flooding at the playground and 52,000 at Shannon Street which has affected three houses. While he did not blame Laois County Council staff, he was not pleased with the time it takes to approve projects. There have been numerous councillors who have made representations on the White Horse River in Mountrath. While I am delighted that this work is going to take place, the process is just too slow. It is a disgrace how slow it is with people living in their houses in fear of flooding, he said. Cllr Kelly cautioned that it will be July or August before any work is done on Shannon Street. He said the key problem still has to be addressed and that is the clearing of the river. When can we clean up the river properly to get this issue sorted once and for all, he said. Cllr Kelly added that many houses cannot get insurance because they are in the flood risk area of the town. A Skidmore College student has accused classmates of launching a 'cancel culture campaign' to stop her from forming a campus chapter of the conservative activist group Young Americans for Liberty. Hannah Davis railed against liberal students at the private university in Saratoga Springs, New York, in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday. Davis said she got pushback 'almost immediately' after she proposed opening a YAL chapter at the school. Critics went so far as to set up a petition to stop Davis' effort, which claimed that YAL groups are 'springboards for hate speech and bigotry disguised as political discourse'. Last week the Skidmore Student Government Association told Davis that she could not establish the chapter, citing 'concerns of hate speech and making students on campus feel unsafe'. Skidmore College student Hannah Davis accused classmates of launching a 'cancel culture campaign' to stop her from forming a campus chapter of the conservative activist group Young Americans for Liberty Davis railed against liberal students at the private university in Saratoga Springs, New York, (pictured) in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday In her Fox News interview Davis asserted that the critics didn't understand what YAL represents. 'I actually chose Young Americans for Liberty because I thought that students would be receptive to it, because it wasn't a partisan group,' she said. 'I was clearly wrong about that.' 'They were calling Young Americans for Liberty an alt-right organization, a white nationalist organization, which is just misinformation and has no truth behind it.' YAL, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, bills itself as 'the most active and effective pro-liberty youth organization advancing liberty on campus and in American electoral politics'. The organization was formed in 2008 at the end of staunch libertarian Ron Paul's presidential campaign, which had motivated hundreds of students to rally together on campuses nationwide. YAL bills itself as 'the most active and effective pro-liberty youth organization advancing liberty on campus and in American electoral politics'. Members of a chapter at UCLA are pictured above The Change.org petition against the Skidmore YAL chapter racked up more than 1,700 signatures by Wednesday. That's more than half of Skidmore's undergraduate population of about 2,600. The petition took issue with several events that have been sponsored by YAL chapters in recent years: 'In 2018 the American University YAL hosted an event originally titled "No, Don't Believe All Women", with the editor for the Daily Caller, a site that the Southern Poverty Law Center has listed on their hate-watch project for their "white nationalist problem". 'In 2018 the University of Oregon's YAL chapter hosted Milo Yiannopoulos for an event during which he stated "I don't want Muslims in the country. You have two kinds of Muslims in the country. One, you have the nice middle-class who are never going to blow themselves up in an airplane or in a public space, and the other kind of people you have in this country are terrorists, people who are here to commit terrible crimes."' 'In 2016 at UCLA a trio of students attended an event organized by the college's YAL chapter titled "An Encroachment on Liberty: How the Left Exploits Transgender Laws" carrying signs among which read "transgenderism is a mental disorder!"' 'In 2016 at a University of California Santa Barbara event organized by YAL in which members carried Yiannopoulos in on a throne. Yiannopoulos called the UCSB gender studies professors along with all gender studies professors carpet munchers and d*kes. He repeatedly returned to the right-wing mainstays that all feminists are fat and ugly. He referred to the anger of black female protestors at DePaul, saying "maybe it's cause I f**ked all their brothers."' The petition concluded: 'YAL's pattern of racism, homophobia, and transphobia cannot be disputed. Skidmore must make no space for this kind of open bigotry on campus.' Skidmore's Student Government Association voted against creating a campus chapter on March 5. The university's president, Mark Connor, told the Times Union that the decision was left completely up to the association. 'The student leaders whom our students have elected as their representatives have the right to vote to decide the outcome of this process I encourage all members of our community to exercise their freedom of speech and freedom of association and to engage with each other with patience, courtesy and respect for one another,' Connor said. But Davis argued that blocking the formation of groups like YAL blocks the freedoms Connor mentioned. 'It's not going to be easy, going forward, if the students control whether we exist on campus or not,' she said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) Metro Manila mayors will adopt uniform curfew hours, which will be from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., for two weeks beginning March 15 amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in the region. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. announced this Thursday evening after he met with local chief executives of the National Capital Region to tackle protocols needed to curb the fast-rising number of infections "Pinagkasunduan ito para hindi na malito ang tao," he said in a media briefing. "Pwede naman magkanya-kanya sila, pero kung magkakanya-kanya, mas mahirap dahil ang paggalaw sa Kalakhang Maynila ay napakabilis. Ilang minuto lang ay nasa ibang lugar ka na." [Translation: The mayors agreed on this to prevent confusion among the public. They could opt to enforce varying curfew hours, but if they do not unify their policies, it would be more difficult because movement in Metro Manila is really fast. In just a few minutes' time, you're already in a different city.] People of all ages will be covered by the order, but Abalos clarified essential workers who are on duty, or who will be going to or coming home from work during curfew hours will still be exempted as long as they present their IDs to authorities. Food deliveries will also be allowed, and restaurants are still permitted to operate 24/7. Penalties for violators will depend on the different local government units. Aside from the curfew, the MMDA chair said mayors will impose granular lockdowns in areas with clustering of COVID-19 cases. The enforcement of rules will be stricter, and testing and contact tracing efforts intensified, he added. "These will be very stringent measures dahil hindi po biro ang nakitang mga numero ng mga mayors sa mga kasong nangyayari po ngayon, at lalo na po itong UK variant at South African variant," he said. [Translation: These will be very stringent measures because the rising cases the mayors are seeing now are serious, especially those involving the UK and South African variants.] From around 360 new cases recorded in the NCR daily from February 4 to 10, Abalos said the average number has climbed to over 1,400 after a month. Health officials and OCTA members were also present in the meeting to provide a full picture of the current COVID-19 situation and guide the mayors in the policy revision. According to Abalos, the resolution to officially enforce the new directive is currently being drafted to be signed by all mayors. Metro Manila has so far logged nearly 250,000 coronavirus cases, based on the DOH tracker. This number accounts for around 41% of the nationwide total, which has already breached 607,000. The OCTA research group earlier warned single-day new cases in the region could hit as many as 3,000 before April, while the country could see up to 6,000 daily infections. ALTON An Alton couple started a scholarship and all they had to do was ask. You ask to start a scholarship, said Derrick Richardson. Lewis and Clark Community College tells you the guidelines and criteria and, if you agree, they send it through their process, He and his wife founded the Derrick and Kathleen Richardson Scholarship with the Lewis and Clark Community College Foundation Inc., providing a $1,000 scholarship to encourage African-Americans to enroll in LCCCs Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Program. Alton Fire Captain Derrick Richardson is a member of Alton Firefighters Local 1255. Kathleen Richardson works at the Alton Wastewater Treatment plant where she was the first woman hired for the six-person operation. Nowadays, most paid career fire departments in the United States require applicants to be EMTs or paramedics before they can apply for the job, Derrick Richardson said. This has created a disparity in the number of black/African-Americans in the fire service across the U.S. The scholarship is aimed at increasing the percentagee of black/African-Americans getting an opportunity to be hired into the fire service, he explained. This scholarship is open to black/African-Americans who live within Madison County and enroll in the LCCC EMT Certificate of Completion program. The program costs students about $1,500 per semester. The Richardson scholarship can be used for tuition, fees and supplies. It also can be used in conjunction with other tuition assistance programs. The scholarship is offered to students in the fall and spring semesters. To apply students can contact the LCCC Foundation at 618-468-2010 or visit https://www.lc.edu/scholarships/. To donate to the Derrick and Kathleen Richardson Scholarship, send a check to the LCCC Foundation or visit https://www.lc.edu/foundation_scholarships/. (Natural News) Many Americans are unaware of it but halfway around the world in Israel, refusing to get vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) is now a death sentence. While they are not yet chopping peoples heads off for refusing the jab (see Revelation 20:4), the Israel government has made it a requirement to get vaccinated in order to live a new normal life. When you dont take the vaccine, your life is basically over, warns Ilana Rachel in a video about what is taking place in the Holy Land. No entrance to shopping malls. No more theater visits. Children about 16 who did not take the injection are not allowed to take their exams. Protesting parties in the Knesset are brought to silence and threatened by the military. Rachel goes on to explain that the government of Israel actually revoked the medical license of an opposing party leader for speaking in defiance of the vaccine mandate, calling it medical apartheid. City council receives medical dossiers to check if you took the vaccine, Rachel further says. Israel became the hell on earth because of the Covid lie. The rest of the world will follow if we do nothing. Watch below: Getting vaccinated will decrease your resistance to and willpower against the final installments of the Mark of the Beast Rachel is part of a human rights movement that was expanded into its own political party due to the ongoing horrors surrounding the Wuhan flu and the Israeli governments draconian response to it. This political party is of course being censored by the powers that be, which include Donald Trumps friend Benjamin Netanyahu, who implemented his own Operation Warp Speed of sorts to mass vaccinate the Israeli people as quickly as possible. Fortunately in the United States, at least for now, mandatory vaccination is not a thing and hopefully it will stay that way. Unfortunately for Israel, it is a thing and people living there are having to make a tough decision. Either the Israeli people let the medical deep state jab them and reprogram their DNA in order to buy, sell and eat, or they reject the shot and be ostracized, possibly starving to death as a result. Even if the jab itself is not the full Mark of the Beast as some claim, it does, in fact, rewrite a persons genetic blueprints. This means that instead of being an organic human, a person vaccinated for the Wuhan flu becomes a GMO (genetically modified) person. It is also possible that these China virus vaccines are reprogramming recipients in such a way that later on down the road they will no longer have the willpower or understanding to reject the full Mark of the Beast, making acceptance of it their inevitable fate. Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines would seem to be Part One of the Mark of the Beast rollout, with more components and parts soon to come. Much like how a building also needs a foundation, these injections are laying the groundwork for the ongoing construction of the Mark of the Beast inside peoples bodies, or temples, which are being defiled with an abomination that makes desolate. This sounds like Holocaust 2.0, wrote one commenter on YouTube. In the EU (European Union) it is already happening with the new mandatory vaccine passport, without which you wont be able to do anything, wrote another. More related news about the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) and the rollout of the Mark of the Beast, which Chinese virus vaccines are genetically programming the world to willingly receive, can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: RumorMillNews.com BlueLetterBible.org YouTu.be NaturalNews.com This site uses cookies to ensure the best experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Our cookie policy. Commissioners react to election delay The chair of Arbory and Rushen Commissioners has welcomed the decision to delay local authority elections for a second time. Its after Tynwald members unanimously backed a motion to postpone the ballot which was due to take place on 22 April. Various options have been discussed, including holding the vote on the same day as the House of Keys election in September. Jane Glover spoke to Local Democracy Reporter Chris Cave: Media Glover Election Delay All that we could be sure of would be periodic epic mud fights between people from all over the country with competing philosophical interests in education policy and hopes of influencing how we run our schools. In the naive hope of giving interested local parents a seat at the table we would, like Los Angeles, give special interests from coast to coast a lever to yank on without definitive proof that students are better off when school boards are elected. 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. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 [March 11, 2021] Sensi.ai raises $3.5M Seed Round for its AI Quality of Care Management Platform in Senior Care Environments TEL AVIV, Israel, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sensi.AI, an AI-powered remote care quality management platform, announces the completion of a $3.5 million Seed funding round, led by Flint Capital. The investment will support Sensi's continued market expansion across US in-home care agencies and senior care facilities. The platform provides audio analytics-based insight that helps eliminate blind-spots and enables care agencies with complete visibility and transparency into each hour of care without having to rely on neither the caregiver nor the client's input. Sensi enables agencies, for the first time ever, to obtain data-based insight into each client's care needs and ensure that their caregivers are best equipped to answer those needs in the highest quality manner. Agency managers can now obtain an objective overview and take simple actions that drive staff and client retention, mitigate liability claims and help with new client acquisition. Over the past 12 months the company has been gaining traction in the American home care market. Operating across 5 states, Sensi has already onboarded 2 of the biggest homecare franchises, as well as several localized agencies, and is seeing massively growing demand. "We believe Sensi is a real game-changer for the senior care industry," says Romi Gubes, CEO, Sensi.AI. "The world population is aging and the demand for professional caregivers exceeding the supply. In-home care services have proven to be one of the most critical fields of service in today's world and at the same time - one of the most challenging to manage. In an industry that provides such sensitive, life-critical services, having to remotely manage an underqualified, distributed, high turn-over workforce - is a huge responsibility. Sensi was especially eveloped to overcome the challenges of in-home care environments." "We really do believe that Sensi will help create safer environments for our elders to age with the respect, confidence and dignity that they deserve, and that is a change that will positively impact each and every one of us," Gubes adds. "The investment opportunity in Sensi.ai came along after quite some time that we've been following the growth in the Age-Tech industry," says Adi Levanon Hazan, Principle, Flint Capital. "We were seeking to make an investment in the field because we recognized, like many others, that there is huge market potential yet to be materialized, from neither the technological, nor the financial aspect. When I met Romi and learnt how far she and the wonderful team at Sensi have already come, including onboarding major American and global agency clients, I knew there was something significant and different here from all the startups we had mapped out in the market. Long-term care for the elderly is multi-billion market, and one of the fastest growing industries in the world, so having the opportunity to lead a much-needed change in such a rapidly growing market is rather unique and we look forward to the upcoming developments." About Sensi.AI Sensi.ai is the first and only fully automatic AI-based care quality management platform for homecare agencies and senior care facilities. The platform provides audio analytics-based insight that helps eliminate blind-spots and enables agencies with complete visibility and transparency into each hour of care without having to rely on neither the caregiver nor the client's input. This enables agencies to obtain an objective overview and take simple actions that drive staff and client retention, mitigate liability claims and help with new client acquisition. Off shift, Sensi serves as a much-needed safety net, enabling the elderly with the confidence and independence of being on their own, in a safe, monitored environment without compromising their privacy. About Flint Capital Founded in 2013, Flint Capital has been investing in early stage ventures across Europe, Israel and the US, with a focus on Enterprise Software, Financial Technologies, Health Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Consumer Mobile Applications, and Marketplaces. Flint Capital's unique global positioning, enables the fund to support ventures on both sides of the ocean, as they expand into the US and other markets. This "Bridge" strategy, as well as a broad network of entrepreneurs, industry experts, and investment funds provides entrepreneurs with access to high-quality talent, capital, and business opportunities. Currently, Flint Capital is investing out of its second fund and holds over $180M In AUM. Contact Information: Naama Manova-Twito naama@sensi.ai View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sensiai-raises-3-5m-seed-round-for-its-ai-quality-of-care-management-platform-in-senior-care-environments-301245626.html SOURCE Sensi.AI [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] In the wake of US President Joe Bidens decision to rejoin the global effort to curb climate change, a special envoy for climate John Kerry on March 9 relaunched trans-Atlantic cooperation with the European Union. According to the Associated Press, Kerry travelled to Brussels and was welcomed by the EU Commission vice president in charge of climate action, Frans Timmermans. The two leaders discussed the next UN climate summit, which will be taking place in Glasgow in November, and Kerry also held talks with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen along with other EU officials during a weekly commission meeting on trans-Atlantic climate action. During his meeting with EU officials, the US special envoy insisted the partnership should even be stronger now. He said, "We face an extraordinary crisis because the science is screaming at us, the evidence grows by the year. Last year, again, the hottest year in history. ... So this is a crisis, the climate crisis. But its also a moment of the greatest opportunity that weve had since perhaps the industrial revolution. Further, the former US Secretary of State added, We have no better partners than our friends here in Europe and the EU, it is important for us to align ourselves now, which is what we will discuss today because no one country can resolve this crisis. It will take every country. US-hosted climate summit in April Earlier, Biden and von der Leyen have said that fighting global warming is among their highest priorities. To curb climate change, the United States rejoined the Paris climate accord, which commits countries to put forward plans for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The European Union leaders have also reached a hard-fought deal in December to cut the blocs net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. While the Biden administration has yet to announce a new national 2030 target for cutting the US fossil fuel emissions, the European Union, on the other hand, wants to be a leader in the fight against global warming and has already pledged to reach climate neutrality by mid-century as part of its European Green Deal action plan. During his visit to Brussels, Kerry said that Paris does not alone get the job done and further added that according to the scientists, this decade - 2020 to 2030 - must be the decade of action. Additionally, apart from discussing the UN Climate Summit, the US special envoy even planned to discuss preparations for a US-hosted climate leaders summit on April 22-23. (Image: AP) Disney, which has more than 300 stores worldwide, said it plans to improve its online store and integrate it with its Disney Parks apps and social media, while rolling out new merchandise, including adult apparel, streetwear and collectibles. The "Mydrane - Drug Insight and Market Forecast - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Mydrane is an intracameral (IC) injection containing tropicamide 0.2 mg/ml (0.02%), phenylephrine 3.1 mg/ml (0.31%) and lidocaine 10 mg/ml (1%). Mydrane is indicated for cataract surgery to obtain mydriasis and intraocular anaesthesia during the procedure, offering an alternative method of mydriasis without the need for pre-operative mydriatic drops. The two mydriatics provide a rapid, stable mydriasis for the duration of the cataract surgery. It delivers speed, stability and comfort during the cataract surgery procedure. It is marketed by Thea Pharmaceuticals. "Mydrane - Drug Insight and Market Forecast - 2030" report by the publisher outlays comprehensive insights of the product indicated for the treatment of its approved condition. A detailed picture of the Mydrane in Seven Major Markets, i.e., United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan, for the study period 2017-2030 is provided in this report along with a detailed description of the product. The product details covers mechanism of action, dosage and administration, route of synthesis, and pharmacological studies, including product marketed details, regulatory milestones, and other development activities. Further, it also consists of market assessments inclusive of the market forecast, SWOT analysis, and detailed analyst views. It further highlights the market competitors, late-stage emerging therapies, and patent details in the global space. Mydrane Analytical Perspective In-depth Mydrane Market Assessment This report provides a detailed market assessment of Mydrane in Seven Major Markets, i.e., United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan. This segment of the report provides historical and forecasted sales data from 2017 to 2030. Mydrane Clinical Assessment Story continues The report provides the clinical trials information of Mydrane covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates. Scope of the Report A comprehensive product overview including the product description, mechanism of action, dosage and administration, route of synthesis, pharmacological studies (pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics) and adverse reactions. Elaborated details on regulatory milestones and other development activities have been provided in this report. The report also highlights the drug marketed details across the United States, Europe and Japan. The report also covers the patents information with expiry timeline around Mydrane. The report contains historical and forecasted sales for Mydrane till 2030. Comprehensive coverage of the late-stage emerging therapies (Phase III) in the space with a brief snapshot of the details. The report also features the SWOT analysis with analyst insights and key findings of Mydrane. Key Questions Answered What is the prescribed dosage and strengths of Mydrane are available in the market? What are the common adverse reactions or side effects of Mydrane? What is the product type, route of administration and mechanism of action of Mydrane? What are the chemical specifications of Mydrane? How are the clinical trials diversified on the basis of the trial status? What is the history of Mydrane, and what is its future? What are the marketed details of Mydrane in the seven major countries, including the United States, Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan? How many patents have been granted to Mydrane and when these patents will get expire? What are the pros (benefits) and cons (disadvantages) of Mydrane? In which countries Mydrane got approval and when it gets launched? What are the clinical trials are currently ongoing for Mydrane? How the safety and efficacy results determined the approval of Mydrane? What are the key collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and other activities related to the Mydrane development? What are the key designations that have been granted to Mydrane? What is the historical and forecasted market scenario of Mydrane? How is the market trend of Mydrane is different in the Seven Major Markets (the United States, EU5 [Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom], and Japan)? What are the other approved products available and how these are giving competition to Mydrane? Which are the late-stage emerging therapies under development for the treatment of the indicated condition? Key Topics Covered: 1. Product Overview 1.1. Indication 1.2. Mechanism of Action 1.3. Dosage and Administration 1.3.1 Dosage Forms and Strengths 1.4. Route of Synthesis 1.5. Pharmacology 1.6. Adverse Reactions 1.7. Product Snapshot 1.8. Development Milestones of Mydrane 1.9. Marketed Details 1.10. Patent Details 2. SWOT Analysis 2.1. Analyst Views 3. Regulatory Milestones 3.1. Approvals 3.2. Research and Development 3.3. Clinical Trials Information 3.4. Safety and Efficacy 3.5. Product Developmental Activities 4. Market Assessment 4.1. 7MM Market Analysis 4.2. United States 4.3. Europe 4.4. Japan 4.5. Key Findings 5. Market Competitors 6. Emerging Therapies 7. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/intkni View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005768/en/ Contacts ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com 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 For a decade, 38-year-old Nadia Miller has barely made ends meet working as a provider at Clara's Little Lambs Preschool Academy, a daycare on New Orleans Westbank, as she cares for her three sons in their Algiers home. A single mom, Miller typically works 40 hours each week at $14 an hour. The roughly $29,000 she earns annually is just enough to cover rent, utilities, groceries and expenses for her two boys in high school, and the $150 a week tuition at Clara's Little Lambs for her 4-year-old son. But when the pandemic dealt its blow to daycares, with schools and offices shuttered and families withdrawing their children, Miller's hours and pay were cut. Some weeks there wasn't enough money left for her son's tuition. "It's definitely been a struggle," Miller said. "I would have to come to the director and say, 'I dont have enough to pay the full amount, can I please put something down on my debt and when I get paid, pay the rest?'" Miller's family is among thousands in Louisiana that will benefit from a provision of the sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus package passed by Congress on Wednesday. In addition to direct payments to most Americans, the bill also includes a change to existing child tax credits specifically aimed at helping families with children who struggle to pay their month-to-month expenses. Written into the economic relief package, which became one of the largest in the nation's history with a 220-211 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, is what some experts are calling the revolutionary reworking of current tax law. It essentially establishes a guaranteed, regular income for most families with children regardless of parents' employment status. Heres how the child tax credits will work: $3,600 for each child under 6, up from the current maximum of $2,000. $3,000 for each child between 6 and 17, up from the current maximum of $2,000. Also, households are expected to receive the credits in monthly payments of $250-$300 per child, rather than an annual lump sum in their tax refund. Those monthly payments would start in July. The larger credits are available to all low-income families. Single taxpayers earning up to $75,000 and married couples earlning up to $150,000 will receive the full $3,000 or $3,600 credit per child. The credits are reduced for people who earn more. Individuals making $200,000 and couples making more than $400,000 in adjusted income won't qualify. "It would be nothing short of historic," said Jan Moller, director of the left-leaning Louisiana Budget Project, which monitors public policy and how it affects Louisianas low- to moderate-income families. Moller said the Pelican state is particularly poised to benefit. "The only downside to this is that it's temporary." Moller pointed to the Census 2019 American Community Survey, which showed Louisiana ranked second highest in the nation in child poverty rates, with 27% of kids qualifying. Put another way, 282,300 children, or nearly one in four, lived below the poverty line, which in 2019 was an annual income of $25,750 or less for a family of four, according to the research group the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The American Rescue Plan, which also includes one-time stimulus payments of $1,400 for most Americans, drew ire from Republicans who see the bill as a dangerous welfare expansion, including members of Louisiana's delegation who voted against the bill in the Senate and House. On Wednesday, U.S. Reps. Garrett Graves of Baton Rouge, Clay Higgins of Lafayette, Mike Johnson of Benton and House Republican Whip Steve Scalise of Jefferson all voted no. Scalise blasted what he referred to as a "so-called COVID relief package," saying more than 90% of the bill isn't actually related to public health spending. Graves said that he supports the existing child tax credit, because raising kids is expensive, and it can defray some costs of the pandemic. But he said the bill passed Wednesday goes too far. 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 "With COVID-expanded-then-extended unemployment benefits alone, people can make the equivalent of more than $30k a year," Garret said in an email. "Plus all the food, transportation, housing, healthcare and other expanded programs out there, you can feather your nest without getting off the couch. Then add this new, no-minimum-threshold, fully refundable, advance-paying, aged-increased expansion of the child tax credit to the mix, and things start to feel less like temporary COVID relief and more like the Democrats are backdooring the country toward a version of universal basic income." President Joe Biden and other supporters argue that the incremental payments would bolster the economy by cutting child poverty by 45%, and by more than 50% among Black families nationwide. With the tax credits costing about $100 billion, more than 93% of children nationwide are expected to receive benefits, officials said. The advance payments are slated to begin in July, according to Garret Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning organization that conducts research on federal and state tax policy. Watson said that in addition to the tax credit increase and incremental allotments, the change does away with "phase-in" eligibility rules giving incremental credit for every dollar earned until you reach the maximum of $2,000 credit per child. That essentially barred unemployed tax filers, meaning the poorest families got no tax credit or refund for having children, and many living in poverty got less than the maximum. "This is definitely a pretty large change, not just in tax policy but in our social insurance system," Watson said. "Shifting from providing working families and households these benefits to all households is pretty large." Moller underscored that while the policy is radical for America, other countries already have child allowances. He pointed to a 2019 bipartisan study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine that concluded any exposure to poverty could be detrimental and expensive. By leaving children with less education, worsening health and fewer job opportunities down the road, child poverty actually costs the nation roughly between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion annually in terms of lost adult productivity, the report found. Michael Williamson, CEO of United Way of Southeast Louisiana, said that while 18% of Louisiana residents qualified as being impoverished, 51% still struggled to make ends meet, according to an agency report from 2018, which shows that thousands of families can't afford basic household necessities. That meant they were one emergency away from falling into poverty. Dena Marie Christy, the chief executive officer and president of Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge, a nonprofit that helps families with health care and more, said many of those low-income families were also front line workers and were hard-hit by COVID-19. "What happens when they are the breadwinner and get sick?" Christy asked, adding they would be in jeopardy of losing their jobs, income, and falling behind on bills. "Monies from the child tax credit can help those families who are struggling to make ends meet. This includes housing/rent, utilities, gas money to drive or catch the bus to work, childcare, clothing, buying medicine or receiving medical care, and food" she added. Miller, the preschool worker raising three children, agreed. "That would definitely help me a whole lot," she said. The Postal Innovation Platform (PIP), in partnership with Swiss Post, Austrian Post, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and Parcel+Post Expo, is calling for submissions to the 2021 Startup Innovation Award. ') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> PIP is inviting startups to present innovative products or solutions with a unique value proposition that may have the potential to change the postal and logistics market or even create a new market. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2021. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> In four virtual pitching events, startups will be grouped according to the type of their solution or market need it addresses. The groups will be First & Last Mile; Digital & Data; eCommerce & Cross Border; and New Business Models and Operational Processes. From each group the judges will select three startups (finalists) which will then have the possibility to present live at Parcel+Post Expo on October 12 in Vienna, Austria. The judging panel will then select the winner of each group and the overall winner of the 2021 Startup Innovation Award. For more information, including submission criteria, dates or award criteria, visit postal-innovation.com/StartupAward2021 (Photo : Youtube/ IceCube Neutrino Observatory) high-energy particle IceCube observatory A major breakthrough has been recorded by scientists after they've watched a high-energy particle speed through the Earth. The said particle fell towards Earth back in December 2016, making its way from space almost the speed of light. As the high-energy particle flew into Earth, it hit an electron buried inside an ice sheet at Antarctica, thus producing a particle that decayed into a host of secondary particles. Particle recorded by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory The particles were picked up by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a unique massive telescope buried underneath the Antarctic surface. The once-in-a-lifetime event was captured by the equipment and is known as the Glashow resonance event. This kind of event had been predicted but had never been captured before, and finally, thanks to the huge telescope, scientists can now observe the particle and confirm the deepest foundations of physics. Also Read: NASA Scientists Might Have Found a Parallel Universe 'Next to Ours' After an Antarctica Experiment This would mark the first time that an individual neutrino has been proven to have been of astrophysical origin. This shows that the IceCube equipment in the observatory, which is made up of a series of sensors that are submerged under the ice, can help examine the universe, according to NewsBreak. Glashow event The Glashow event came from Sheldon Glashow, a Nobel laureate physicist who predicted that a high-energy particle would fly by Earth back in 1960, according to IAEA.Org. In a paper that was published during his research when he stayed in Denmark, Glashow suggested that in the right conditions, an antineutrino could interact with an electron to create a never-before-seen particle through a process called resonance. The particle that Glashow talked about in 1960 was discovered in 1983 and was named the W boson. It was also much heavier than what scientists had anticipated--meaning, by producing it artificially, it would require so much energy. The production of the particle would also need a neutrino with an energy more than 1,000 times more powerful than can be produced in the European Council for Nuclear Research or CERN's Large Hadron Collider. However, researchers suggested that it could be possible to use space as a natural accelerator. There are extreme cosmic events like black holes and other objects in space, and that itself can generate the needed energy. According to researchers, the energetic antineutrino that shot through Earth in 2016 may have been sent towards Earth by a black hole or other objects in space that has the energy needed by the particle. Francis Halzen, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the headquarters of IceCube maintenance and operations, and principal investigator of IceCube, said that when Glashow was a postdoc at Niels Bohr, he never imagined that his proposal for producing the W boson would be realized by an antineutrino from space crashing into Antarctic ice. The research was published in Nature titled "Detection of a particle shower at the Glashow resonance with IceCube." The research pointed out that the Glashow resonance evidence proves there is a presence of electron antineutrinos in the astrophysical flux. It also provided validation of the standard model of particle physics. Related Article: NASA Discovers Active Asteroid That Vomits Small Rocks Into Space This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sieeka Khan 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A man believed to have died from a heart attack had been sitting in a car parked in front of a northern suburbs gourmet market for days before his body was discovered on Thursday. Witnesses said police officers wearing heavy-duty gas marks swarmed The Herdsman in Churchlands on Thursday morning after staff at the market reported the find. A market manager told WAtoday the body could have been sitting in the car for several days and could be smelled from outside the vehicle, which was parked right in front of the markets main entrance. The man, aged in his early 60s, collapsed onto the passenger seat of his four-wheel-drive, making the man hard to see. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-10 21:06:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Uganda's Minister of Health Jane Ruth Aceng shows her vaccination card after receiving a shot of COVID-19 vaccine during the launch of the vaccination campaign at Mulago Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, March 10, 2021. Uganda on Wednesday launched the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination campaign targeting high risk groups in the east African country. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) KAMPALA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Wednesday launched the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination campaign targeting high risk groups in the east African country. First Deputy Prime Minister Moses Ali launched the vaccination exercise at Mulago Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital in the capital, Kampala. Ruth Aceng, the minister of health, said the exercise targets more than 21.9 million people who face the highest risk of the infection like the health workers, teachers, social workers and security personnel, elderly and those with underlying medical conditions. "The priority groups will receive the COVID-19 vaccination in a staggered manner. The first priority group to be vaccinated will be our health workers," said Aceng at the launch. "The AstraZeneca vaccines, which we shall be administering, are safe and protective against severe forms of disease and deaths." Aceng, senior officials from her ministry, as well as Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, the World Health Organization Representative in Uganda, were among the first recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine jab. "Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to counter the disease. Let's all get vaccinated," said Woldemariam. Uganda last week received the first donation of 964,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from COVAX facility vaccine sharing program and the Indian government. Uganda requires at least 45 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to get its population of 45 million vaccinated and extra doses to cater for the refugee population in the country, according to the government statistics. The Chinese government has donated 300,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Uganda, which the Ugandan Ministry of Health is finalizing technical processes to receive. Uganda as of Tuesday had recorded 40,490 cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19, 15,075 recoveries and 334 deaths since the index case was reported on March 22, according to the Ministry of Health. Enditem ATLANTA, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New-car shoppers don't have to spend top dollar to buy a car with an impressive interior. Today there are vehicles at nearly every price point that stand out among the crowd due to high-quality interior design and technology offerings. To help everyday consumers who emphasize importance of a vehicle's interior when shopping for a new car, the experts at Autotrader recently named the 10 Best Car Interiors Under $50,000 for 2021. "A lot of car shoppers may think you can't expect a remarkable interior unless you're buying an expensive luxury vehicle, but that isn't necessarily the case," said Tara Trompeter, managing editor for Autotrader. "Many automakers have upped their game when it comes to car interiors across their lineups, whether you're talking about their entry-level model or their flagship vehicle. While people often talk about a vehicle's exterior design, the truth is that car buyers spend most of their time inside the vehicle and not just admiring it from the outside, so interior design and function is high priority for most car shoppers." Autotrader editors capped the base-model price tag at $50,000 when compiling this list, and several of the vehicles featured come in well below that figure. Shoppers who do a little research will discover you don't need to spend an arm and a leg to buy a vehicle with a notable interior. All vehicles on this year's 10 Best Car Interiors Under $50,000 list are poised to deliver an enjoyable inside-the-car experience for drivers and passengers alike. Check out the latest selections for 2021 (unranked and listed below in alphabetical order): Autotrader's 10 Best Car Interiors Under $50,000 for 2021 2021 Buick Envision A redesign for 2021 has repositioned the Envision to compete with class leaders while undercutting them on price. Step inside the new Envision and you might think you've entered a more expensive European luxury crossover. Just a few interior options include perforated leather seating, a dual-pane sunroof and a color head-up display. 2021 Genesis G80 Not only does the Genesis G80 have a striking exterior, but its interior is spacious, well-crafted and well-appointed. Everything the driver touches has a premium feel to it, and passengers will be comfortable in the roomy seats. One of the G80's many strong suits is value; you won't find another midsize sedan starting under $50k from a competing luxury brand with an interior this nice. 2021 Honda Civic The Honda Civic quite simply is one of the most well-rounded cars money can buy. On top of that, it has a great interior for its price tag, and the upper trims boast impressive interior features while keeping the price affordable. It has plenty of room for both passengers and cargo, and it uses a thoughtful interior design with good ergonomics and nice material quality. 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hyundai has been stepping up its game in just about every category including interior quality, with a prime example being the cabin of the Hyundai Elantra compact sedan. The inside of the Elantra is so nice that it puts this Hyundai on more competitive ground. The redesigned 2021 Elantra has more interior space than its predecessor and features an attractive design. 2021 Kia K5 The Kia K5 is an all-new midsize sedan, replacing the outgoing Optima with a price far below $50,000. The inside of the K5 is fantastic, especially in the sporty GT trim. On top of a performance upgrade, the GT model includes unique interior style accents you won't find in the rest of the lineup like synthetic leather sport seats. The K5 has an interior design that is premium and driver-centric, reminding us of a German sport sedan. 2021 Lincoln Corsair The interior of the Lincoln Corsair is a quiet, serene sanctuary that is comfortable for everyone inside. It also has sliding and reclining back seats, an uncommon luxury for this segment. This feature not only improves passenger comfort, but it also allows you to customize your interior to optimize passenger space, cargo space or some combination of both. 2021 Mazda3 The Mazda3 impresses in a lot of ways, including its interior. Available as a sedan or a hatchback, the compact Mazda3 has a premium look and feel without a premium price tag. Cabin materials are upscale, especially in the higher trims, and the infotainment system is one of the most intuitive in its class. 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 The Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class may have lost some of its quirkiness with its 2021 redesign, but the interior got much nicer than its predecessor. The Mercedes-Benz brand has been on a roll with top-notch interior quality in its most recently redesigned models, and we're happy that streak is continuing with its most affordable crossover. 2021 Nissan Kicks The smallest SUV in the Nissan lineup got a refresh for the 2021 model year. The Kicks' new interior is a nice improvement packed with standard features, even on the most affordable base trim, and the cargo space is above average for a subcompact crossover. New standard features include Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and available tech features include an 8-inch infotainment system, a digital instrument cluster, a Wi-Fi hotspot and more. 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 The Volkswagen ID.4 is an all-new, all-electric compact crossover that we've been patiently waiting for, and now that it has finally arrived, we're impressed with its smooth and peppy electric drivetrain and its high-tech interior. It's very tech-focused, centered on a responsive infotainment system that is truly smartphone-like. Most of the controls are touch-sensitive in lieu of traditional buttons and knobs, which is risky, but it works well in this Volkswagen. In addition to providing a resource for shoppers to help narrow down their search for the perfect vehicle, the trust and speed of Autotrader's digital shopping experience makes the process a breeze. Buying a car is now easier and safer than ever with the addition of Autotrader's Dealer Home Services, which helps shoppers buy and service a car without ever leaving the safety and comfort of their homes. To learn more about the 2021 Best Car Interiors Under $50,000 list from Autotrader, including photos, detailed vehicle information and available inventory, visit https://www.autotrader.com/best-cars/best-interiors-under-50000. For more information and news from Autotrader, visit press.autotrader.com, follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Autotrader_com (or @Autotrader_com), Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/autotrader_com/ (or @autotrader_com), like our page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/autotrader/, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/autotrader-com. About Autotrader Autotrader is the most recognized third-party car listings brand, with the most engaged audience of in-market car shoppers. As the foremost authority on automotive consumer insights and expert in online and mobile marketing, Autotrader makes the car shopping experience easy and fun for today's empowered car shopper looking to find or sell the perfect new, used or Certified Pre-Owned car. Using technology, shopper insights and local market guidance, Autotrader's comprehensive marketing and retailing solutions allow consumers to build their deal online, and guide dealers to personalized digital marketing strategies that grow brand, drive traffic and connect the online and in-store shopping experience. Autotrader is a Cox Automotive brand. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com. About Cox Automotive Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling, owning and using vehicles easier for everyone. The global company's more than 27,000 team members and family of brands, including Autotrader, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, VinSolutions, vAuto and Xtime, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with annual revenues of nearly $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com SOURCE Autotrader Related Links www.autotrader.com Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan has invited Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, leaders of parliament factions and members of the opposition Fatherland Salvation Movement to hold a meeting on March 13 to discuss ways out of the political crisis gripping the country, the presidential office reported. "Guided by state and national interests and in order to discuss the current state of affairs of to find ways out of the crisis, I invite the prime minister, leaders of parliament factions and members of the Fatherland Salvation Movement to hold a meeting in the presidential residence on March 13 at 12:00 (p.m.)," Sarkisyans statement notes. The president also stressed that the country continues to be in a political crisis which can have "unpredictable and irreversible ramifications for our state." "There are many problems, and urgent systemic changes are needed to address them, including constitutional and legislative ones. In the current situation, my only goal was to preserve the country from blows and avert a situation that could lead to unpredictable consequences," TASS cited him as saying. The statement also notes that the presidential office will wait until Thursday 18:00 for replies from the invited parties. IRKUTSK, Russia -- On March 7, 37-year-old Russian convict Yevgeny Rylsky died in a prison hospital in Irkutsk, to which he had been transferred a few days earlier from the notorious prison IK-15 outside Angarsk. "His spleen had been ruptured," said Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the prisoners' rights NGO Gulagu.net, citing several confidential sources among both prisoners and prison staff. "His collarbone was broken, and other internal organs were injured. The doctors also found bedsores. That is, Rylsky had been beaten and had been lying in bed in life-threatening condition for at least three or four days at IK-15, during the time that an inspection commission from Moscow was there." Word of Rylsky's death came just days after two senior prison officials in the Irkutsk region -- IK-6 prison warden Aleksei Arapov and the operations director of Detention Center (SIZO) No. 1 in Irkutsk, Maksim Volf -- were detained in connection with the alleged torture and rape of two other inmates, which purportedly happened at facilities under their authority. Inmate Tahirjon Bakiev was allegedly tortured and raped by fellow inmates at IK-6, while Kezhik Ondar, from the Tuva region, experienced similar abuse at the Irkutsk detention center. According to Osechkin, some of the inmates accused in the case have confessed to the authorities and have claimed they acted at the direction of prison officials. All three prisoners were serving their sentences at the maximum-security IK-15 prison near the city of Angarsk, about 50 kilometers northwest of Irkutsk, in April 2020 when a riot broke out. Dozens of prisoners reportedly injured themselves, while others set fire to prison buildings to protest alleged abuse by prison guards. After the uprising was violently quelled by riot police, dozens of prisoners were transferred from IK-15 to other prisons and detention centers in the Irkutsk region. Activists believe that many of them are being tortured in an attempt by the authorities to get them to confess to organizing the riot. About 50 prisoners, so far, have filed complaints of abuse in connection with the IK-15 uprising, says local defense lawyer Dmitry Dmitriyev, who is working on the case. "It is still too early to say where it will end," Dmitriyev told RFE/RL. "Not all of those named by victims have even been officially named as suspects, while not all those who are officially suspects have been dealt with appropriately." Volf, the arrested former official at the Irkutsk detention center, has been released to house arrest despite the seriousness of the alleged crimes that took place under his watch, Dmitriyev added. 'The Law Doesn't Work In Irkutsk' Moreover, prisoners' rights activists say the latest revelations are just part of a pattern of systemic abuse in the region's prisons dating back decades. "I was in a detention center in Novosibirsk, and it is like night and day," said Anatoly Lesnikh, a prisoner being held at SIZO No. 1 after being convicted of theft. "The guards always spoke to you using polite pronouns. If you had the right to write a letter, you wrote a letter. If you had to right to a visit, you got a visit. There was never any problem meeting with your lawyer. But everything is just the opposite in Irkutsk." "For instance, there is Article 51 of the constitution that gives the right not to testify against yourself," Lesnikh added. "In Novosibirsk, if you cite Article 51, you will sit and sit but no one will bother you. In Irkutsk, they don't even know about Article 51. They say things like: 'Don't you know? The law doesn't work in Irkutsk.' The prison system in Irkutsk is a completely separate country." Tahirjon Bakiev's wife, Anastasia Bakieva, was able to see her husband in the hospital on February 24 as he was recovering from a long operation to repair damage to his intestines and other organs. "He walks with difficulty," she told RFE/RL. "He has a colostomy bag. He is barely able to move and can't really sit down." Bakieva said her husband called her around Christmastime and told her he'd been transferred to IK-6. "His voice was normal and he asked when I could come and visit," she said. "I promised to come in February." But at the end of January, she said, she received a call from another prisoner saying that her husband was being tortured. "I tried to call for almost a month before someone finally confirmed to me that he was in the hospital at IK-6," Bakieva said. Her husband told her that in January he had been transferred to barracks No. 10, which is notorious in IK-6 as the home of the prison's "razrabotchiki" -- inmates who violently "work over" other inmates at the behest of prison officials. "After his transfer to No. 10, the razrabotchiki came up with pretexts to create conflicts with him," she said, recounting her husband's story. The conflicts quickly escalated to physical beatings. She said that when Bakiev appealed to guards for help, they instead bound his hands with tape and left him helpless together with the razrabotchiki, who proceeded to beat and torture him. "After they beat him, they raped him with a mop handle," Bakieva said. "Then they threw him under a bunk and covered it with bags and other things so that no one could see their victim. For more than two days he was lying there, and during roll calls one of the razrabotchiki answered for him." Bakieva added that her repeated requests that her husband be transferred to another hospital have been denied. Activist Osechkin said Bakiev has named six razrabotchiki who allegedly victimized him, but none of them has been charged in connection with the case. One of the men Bakiev named, inmate Denis Ryazanov, has already been convicted of the 2013 torture and murder of fellow prisoner Aleksandr Chestyunin in SIZO No. 1. "Bakiev lost no less than 75 centimeters of his intestines, turning a healthy man into a disabled person with a colostomy bag," Osechkin said. Beaten By 'Mafia' And 'Yarovoi' Pavel Fyodorov, a resident of the town of Bodaibo, about 1,300 kilometers north of Irkutsk, was in SIZO No. 1 from October 2018 until December 2019. He told RFE/RL he was tortured there by two razrabotchiki that he knew by the nicknames "Mafia" and "Yarovoi," on the orders of investigators who wanted him to confess to a crime he didn't commit. He said they stripped him naked and tied him splayed out to the side of some bunk beds. "They used a water boiler to burn my palms and my legs," he said. "All over, actually." Fyodorov said that when he tried to smuggle a letter with some of his allegations to a guard "who looked more or less normal," he was sent back into the cell with the two razrabotchiki. They proceeded to knock out most of his teeth. Fyodorov added that he requested visits by representatives of the Public Oversight Commission, an advisory body that monitors conditions in prisons, five times. "Every time, the investigators at the detention center made up some story about how I was out being questioned or something so I could not speak with them," he told RFE/RL. "They apparently believed this and meanwhile I was tied naked to the bunks." After more than a year in the detention center, Fyodorov was released without being charged. Another man from Bodaibo was not so lucky, Fyodorov said. He was convicted after "confessing" to the crime. Adam Gisayev, a native of the Chechen capital of Grozny, was in SIZO No. 1 from March 26, 2018, until December 12, 2019. He was never charged after it turned out that the crime he was accused of had been committed before Gisayev arrived in Irkutsk. "I will remember those nine months for the rest of my life," he told RFE/RL. "I was in cell No. 406 and during that entire time, with just a few breaks, I was beaten by an inmate called Mafia. He didn't rape me, but he beat me so badly that, although I weighed 96 kilograms when I arrived, I was just 69 kilos when I got out. My friends who met me couldn't recognize me. Of course, the staff at the jail knew all about it." During the investigation into the allegations of torture connected to the IK-15 prison uprising, several prisoners told investigators that they had worked as razrabotchiki, according to documents seen by RFE/RL. Inmate Sergei Shmakov testified that he agreed to participate in the torture of fellow inmates after prison guards threatened to rape him. On February 26, the body of inmate Adygzhy Aimyr-ool was found in a solitary-confinement cell in Irkutsk region prison IK-25. "His body showed likely signs of a violent death," Osechkin said, citing reports from prisoners who asked not to be identified. "But the prison administration is saying that it was suicide." The inmate's relatives say they don't believe the 26-year-old would commit suicide. The press office of the regional penitentiaries administration told RFE/RL that investigators from the police and the prosecutor's office were looking into the case. "Information about signs of a violent death on the body of the convict that has appeared in the media is false," the office's statement said. Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting from Irkutsk by Maria Chernova of Siberia.Realities Kolkata, Mar 11 (UNI) The crowd at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at historical Brigade Parade ground on Sunday last must have warmed the cockles of the BJP's heart as its strength matched that of public rallies held by former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, or even the incumbent, Mamata Banerjee. BJPs national general secretary and central observer of Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya said, This gathering proves BJP is coming to power and Didi is going out of power." This is unprecedented for a state that has for long steered clear of the ideology that forms the core of the saffron front. BJP's political graph in West Bengal has seen a significant rise since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections but the 2021 polls in the state are not going to be an easy task as Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has a record of improving its performance in the Assembly elections vis-a-vis the general elections. BJP is optimistic about 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections solely on basis of its 2019 Lok Sabha poll performance where it won 18 of the 42 seats and bagged 40.64% of the votes. This comes close to the TMC tally of 22 seats and 43.69%votes but the saffron party was still four seats and 3% votes behind. Unlike the erstwhile ruling Left Front or present TMC government, the BJP is a rank outsider in Bengal and is also considered a 'North Indian party'. The strength of the gathering at Brigade Parade Ground for Modi's rally definitely begs a question. The party's biggest weapon is Mamata's appeasement policy. This apparently earned her undivided support from Bengal's Muslim community, which constitutes 30 percent of the population. Her blatant attempts to appease minority communities with freebies, such as scholarships and stipends, clubbed with the deteriorating law and order situation in the state forced the largely secular urban Bengali voter to reconsider their unstinted support to the TMC. Furthermore, Bengal has become a fertile ground for overt Hindutva groups to take root in its soil because of the unchecked cross-border infiltration that has occurred over the decades. Over the years, illegal migration of people from Bangladesh has disturbed the homogeneity of the population in border districts, causing a demographic imbalance and giving rise to social problems. "The people of Bengal are visibly angry over this appeasement policy. The Left Front government had initiated it, and now, the TMC has taken it to another level. Towns and villages in the border districts of West Bengal, which have a large Muslim population, are facing the heat of this policy," said a Kolkata-based functionary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Besides, the BJP always had the support of a pocket of the trader community, but now, there is growing support from a new middle-class Bengali. It seems that the BJP president Amit Shah's tagline "Ebar Bangla" (this time, Bengal) has slowly, but steadily, gained ground. RSS workers have backed his campaign at the grassroots. In spite of the star power on Brigade Parade ground stage, people had come primarily to catch a glimpse of Mr Modi. An added highlight was veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty who ended all speculation and formally joined the BJP shortly before Modis arrival at the ground. After joining BJP on Sunday, Mithun said, I am proud to be a Bengali. My dream came true today as I will be sharing the stage with the prime minister of the worlds biggest democracy. Former TMC leader who recently joined BJP, Suvendu Adhikari, while addressing the gathering said, India is emerging as a powerful nation. All states barring Bengal is growing rapidly. We need a double engine government for the development of Bengal. Attacking the West Bengal chief minister, whose campaign has the legend Bengal wants its own daughter, Mr Adhikari said, No one accepts you as Bengals daughter here. MORE UNI BM AND The Chamber of Architects of Ankara is calling for suspension of construction at the site of tombs of Armenians and Catholics, Bianet reports. The Chamber stated that the construction of the state Iller Bank in Ulus district is illegal and added that workers have detected relics of humans that were probably at the cemetery belonging to a group of minorities. According to Chairman of the Chamber of Architects Tezakan Karakus Kandan, the experts of the citys museum of civilizations of Anatolia took the human bones detected during construction for expert examination. Pouring concrete on those who once lived in Anatolia is inhumane, regardless of their religion, language or race, he added. Kandan said the authorities committed a crime by giving the green light to the construction and violated the law on preservation of cultural and natural values and added that the Chamber intends to apply to the court. Nokia provides recast comparative segment results for 2020 reflecting new financial reporting structure Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 11 March 2021 at 13:10 EET Nokia today provides recast comparative segment financial information on a quarterly and annual basis for 2020, reflecting the previously announced organizational changes. Changes in reporting structure, effective from 1 January 2021 On 29 October 2020, Nokia announced the first phase of its new strategy, outlining high-level strategic principles alongside a new operating model designed to better position the company for changing markets and align with customer needs. The new operating model is optimized for better accountability and transparency, increased simplicity and improved cost-efficiency. On 16 December 2020, Nokia provided an update on its new strategic focus areas and operating model together with its assumptions for its four new business groups and Group Common and Other in 2021 and over the longer term. Accordingly, Nokia has revised its financial reporting structure to reflect its strategy, organizational structure and the way it evaluates operational performance and allocates resources. Reclassifications have been made in order to reflect the new organizational structure of the company. The new model, effective from 1 January 2021, consists of four discrete business groups responsible for their own P&Ls and aligned with customer buying behavior: (i) Mobile Networks, (ii) Network Infrastructure, (iii) Cloud and Network Services and (iv) Nokia Technologies. As of 1 January 2021, these will also be the four reportable segments. In addition, Nokia will disclose segment-level data for Group Common and Other. Within the new Network Infrastructure reportable segment, Nokia intends to provide net sales disclosure for the following businesses: (i) Fixed Networks, (ii) IP Networks, (iii) Optical Networks and (iv) Submarine Networks. Nokia also intends to continue providing separate net sales disclosure for its different customer types: (i) Communication Service Providers, (ii) Enterprises and (iii) Licensees. Story continues Changes from previous financial reporting structure to new financial reporting structure The following seven product areas were reclassified into new reportable segments: Network management was reclassified to Mobile Networks from Nokia Software Submarine Networks was reclassified to Network Infrastructure from Group Common and Other Packet Core was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Enterprise Solution Services was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Managed Services was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Network Cognitive Services was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Group Common and Other To summarize these changes, the new business groups will be comprised as follows: Mobile Networks is now comprised of Mobile Access from our previous Networks reportable segment, plus the following reclassifications: Into Mobile Networks: Network management (from Nokia Software) Out of Mobile Access from our previous Networks reportable segment: Enterprise Solution Services (to Cloud and Network Services) Managed Services (to Cloud and Network Services) Network Cognitive Services (to Cloud and Network Services) Network Infrastructure is now comprised of Fixed Access, IP Routing, and Optical Networks from our previous Networks reportable segment, plus the following reclassifications: Into Network Infrastructure: Submarine Networks (from Group Common and Other) Out of IP Routing from our previous Networks reportable segment: Packet Core (to Cloud and Network Services) Cloud and Network Services is now comprised of our previous Nokia Software business group, plus the following reclassifications: Into Cloud and Network Services: Packet Core (from Networks) Enterprise Solution Services (from Networks) Managed Services (from Networks) Network Cognitive Services (from Networks) Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT (from Group Common and Other) Out of our previous Nokia Software business group: Network management (to Mobile Networks) Finally, Group Common and Other continues to include Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), and the following product areas were reclassified into our new business groups: Submarine Networks was reclassified to Network Infrastructure Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services Recast comparative segment financial information for 2020 To provide a basis for comparison, the following summarized tables present a recasting of Nokia's segment financial information on an unaudited basis for all four quarters of 2020 separately, as well as for the full year 2020. More detailed tables are available in Excel format attached to this stock exchange release and at www.nokia.com/financials . Mobile Networks (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 2 345 2 424 2 448 3 180 10 397 Gross profit 706 848 878 1 232 3 663 Gross margin % 30.1% 35.0% 35.9% 38.7% 35.2% Operating profit/(loss) (44) 104 182 273 515 Operating margin % (1.9)% 4.3% 7.4% 8.6% 5.0% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (104) (105) (101) (103) (413) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 (2) 21 21 EBITDA 56 215 281 397 949 Mobile Networks (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 2 345 2 424 2 449 3 181 10 398 Gross profit 729 875 871 1 256 3 732 Gross margin % 31.1% 36.1% 35.6% 39.5% 35.9% Operating profit/(loss) 15 183 206 415 818 Operating margin % 0.6% 7.5% 8.4% 13.0% 7.9% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (87) (88) (85) (87) (347) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 (2) 21 21 EBITDA 98 277 289 523 1,186 Network Infrastructure (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales(1) 1 419 1 545 1 793 1 979 6 736 Gross profit 449 523 635 685 2 292 Gross margin % 31.6% 33.9% 35.4% 34.6% 34.0% Operating profit/(loss) (125) (49) 118 (102) (158) Operating margin % (8.8)% (3.2)% 6.6% (5.2)% (2.3)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (126) (131) (126) (124) (508) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 (1) 1 (1) EBITDA 1 82 243 23 349 1Fixed Networks net sales of EUR 350 million in Q1'20, EUR 439 million in Q2'20, EUR 453 million in Q3'20, EUR 517 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 759 million in Q1-Q4'20. IP Networks net sales of EUR 542 million in Q1'20, EUR 611 million in Q2'20, EUR 670 million in Q3'20, EUR 761 million in Q4'20 and EUR 2 585 million in Q1-Q4'20. Optical Networks net sales of EUR 394 million in Q1'20, EUR 363 million in Q2'20, EUR 463 million in Q3'20, EUR 474 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 695 million in Q1-Q4'20. Submarine Networks net sales of EUR 132 million in Q1'20, EUR 131 million in Q2'20, EUR 206 million in Q3'20, EUR 227 million in Q4'20 and EUR 697 million in Q1-Q4'20. Network Infrastructure (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales(1) 1 419 1 545 1 793 1 980 6 736 Gross profit 461 537 648 715 2 361 Gross margin % 32.5% 34.8% 36.1% 36.1% 35.1% Operating profit/(loss) (31) 66 212 211 457 Operating margin % (2.2)% 4.3% 11.8% 10.7% 6.8% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (50) (51) (50) (50) (200) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 (1) 1 (1) EBITDA 19 117 261 262 656 1Fixed Networks net sales of EUR 350 million in Q1'20, EUR 439 million in Q2'20, EUR 453 million in Q3'20, EUR 517 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 759 million in Q1-Q4'20. IP Networks net sales of EUR 542 million in Q1'20, EUR 611 million in Q2'20, EUR 670 million in Q3'20, EUR 761 million in Q4'20 and EUR 2 585 million in Q1-Q4'20. Optical Networks net sales of EUR 394 million in Q1'20, EUR 363 million in Q2'20, EUR 463 million in Q3'20, EUR 474 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 695 million in Q1-Q4'20. Submarine Networks net sales of EUR 132 million in Q1'20, EUR 131 million in Q2'20, EUR 206 million in Q3'20, EUR 227 million in Q4'20 and EUR 697 million in Q1-Q4'20. Cloud and Network Services (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 744 718 663 962 3 087 Gross profit 240 229 117 259 845 Gross margin % 32.3% 31.9% 17.6% 26.9% 27.4% Operating profit/(loss) (69) (54) (148) (63) (334) Operating margin % (9.3)% (7.5)% (22.3)% (6.5)% (10.8)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (38) (37) (35) (35) (146) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 1 1 2 2 5 EBITDA (30) (16) (111) (26) (183) Cloud and Network Services (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 744 718 663 962 3 087 Gross profit 255 258 130 374 1 016 Gross margin % 34.3% 35.9% 19.6% 38.9% 32.9% Operating profit/(loss) (39) (6) (119) 97 (67) Operating margin % (5.2)% (0.8)% (17.9)% 10.1% (2.2)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (30) (29) (28) (28) (115) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 1 1 2 2 5 EBITDA (8) 24 (89) 127 53 Nokia Technologies (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 347 341 331 382 1 402 Gross profit 345 339 327 380 1 392 Gross margin % 99.4% 99.4% 98.8% 99.5% 99.3% Operating profit/(loss) 280 271 263 306 1 120 Operating margin % 80.7% 79.5% 79.5% 80.1% 79.9% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (10) (10) (10) (10) (39) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 1 0 1 EBITDA 290 281 274 316 1,160 Nokia Technologies (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 347 341 331 382 1 402 Gross profit 345 339 328 380 1 393 Gross margin % 99.4% 99.4% 99.1% 99.5% 99.4% Operating profit/(loss) 280 272 264 307 1 123 Operating margin % 80.7% 79.8% 79.8% 80.4% 80.1% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (10) (10) (10) (10) (39) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 1 0 1 EBITDA 290 282 275 317 1 163 Group Common and Other (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 68 75 67 59 269 Gross profit (4) 2 5 (5) (1) Gross margin % (5.9)% 2.7% 7.5% (8.5)% (0.4)% Operating profit/(loss) (118) (103) (65) 28 (258) Operating margin % (173.5)% (137.3)% (97.0)% 47.5% (95.9)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (7) (7) (6) (6) (26) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (1) 0 0 (4) (5) EBITDA (112) (96) (59) 30 (237) Group Common and Other (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 68 75 67 59 269 Gross profit (2) 6 5 (2) 7 Gross margin % (2.9)% 8.0% 7.5% (3.4)% 2.6% Operating profit/(loss) (108) (91) (77) 26 (251) Operating margin % (158.8)% (121.3)% (114.9)% 44.1% (93.3)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (6) (6) (6) (6) (24) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (1) 0 0 (4) (5) EBITDA (103) (85) (71) 28 (232) Nokia Group (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 4 913 5 092 5 294 6 553 21 852 Gross profit 1 736 1 942 1 962 2 553 8 193 Gross margin % 35.3% 38.1% 37.1% 39.0% 37.5% Operating profit/(loss) (76) 170 350 441 885 Operating margin % (1.5)% 3.3% 6.6% 6.7% 4.0% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (285) (290) (279) (279) (1 132) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 0 20 22 EBITDA 205 466 629 740 2 039 Nokia Group (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 4 914 5 093 5 294 6 554 21 854 Gross profit 1 787 2 017 1 981 2 724 8 509 Gross margin % 36.4% 39.6% 37.4% 41.6% 38.9% Operating profit/(loss) 116 423 486 1 056 2 081 Operating margin % 2.4% 8.3% 9.2% 16.1% 9.5% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (183) (184) (178) (180) (725) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 0 20 22 EBITDA 295 613 664 1 256 2 828 Illustrative recast of Nokia Software to Cloud and Network Services The reclassifications affected our new Cloud and Network Services business group particularly significantly, and therefore we are providing an illustrative bridge. The comparable operating margin for our previous Nokia Software reportable segment was 19.2% in 2020, whereas the comparable operating margin for Cloud and Network Services was -2.2% in 2020. This was attributable to reclassifying Packet Core, Enterprise Solution Services, Managed Services, and Network Cognitive Services to Cloud and Network Services from our previous Networks reportable segment, as well as reclassifying Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT to Cloud and Network Services from Group Common and Other. In addition, Network Management was reclassified to Mobile Networks from our previous Nokia Software reportable segment. Please refer to the PDF attached to this release. About Nokia We create the critical networks and technologies to bring together the worlds intelligence, across businesses, cities, supply chains and societies. With our commitment to innovation and technology leadership, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we deliver networks at the limits of science across mobile, infrastructure, cloud, and enabling technologies. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities we need for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia. Investor Enquiries: Nokia Investor Relations Tel. +358 4080 3 4080 Email: investor.relations@nokia.com Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com Forward-looking statements It should be noted that Nokia and its businesses are exposed to various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect Nokia's current expectations and views of future developments and include statements regarding: A) expectations, plans or benefits related to our strategies, growth management and operational key performance indicators; B) expectations, plans or benefits related to future performance of our businesses (including the expected impact, timing and duration of that impact of COVID-19 on our businesses, our supply chain and our customers businesses) and any future dividends including timing and qualitative and quantitative thresholds associated therewith; C) expectations and targets regarding financial performance, cash generation, results, the timing of receivables, operating expenses, taxes, currency exchange rates, hedging, cost savings, product cost reductions and competitiveness, as well as results of operations including targeted synergies, better commercial management and those results related to market share, prices, net sales, income and margins; D) expectations, plans or benefits related to changes in organizational and operational structure; E) expectations regarding competition within our market, market developments, general economic conditions and structural and legal change globally and in national and regional markets, such as China; F) timing of the deliveries of our products and services, including our short term and longer term expectations around the rollout of 5G, investment requirements with such rollout, and our ability to capitalize on such rollout; G) expectations regarding restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, uses of proceeds from transactions, acquisitions and divestments and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, divestments and acquisitions, including our current cost savings program; H) expectations, plans or benefits related to future capital expenditures, reduction of support function costs, temporary incremental expenditures or other R&D expenditures to develop or rollout software and other new products, including 5G, ReefShark and increased digitalization; I) expectations regarding our customers' future actions, including our customers capital expenditure constraints and our ability to satisfy customers needs and retain their business; and J) statements preceded by or including believe, expect, expectations, deliver, maintain, strengthen, target, estimate, plan, intend, assumption, focus, continue, should", "will or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are based on managements best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to them. These forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and views of future events and developments and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) our strategy is subject to various risks and uncertainties and we may be unable to successfully implement our strategic plans, sustain or improve the operational and financial performance of our business groups, correctly identify or successfully pursue business opportunities or otherwise grow our business; 2) general economic and market conditions, general public health conditions (including its impact on our supply chains) and other developments in the economies where we operate, including the timeline for the deployment of 5G and our ability to successfully capitalize on that deployment; 3) competition and our ability to effectively and profitably invest in existing and new high-quality products, services, upgrades and technologies and bring them to market in a timely manner; 4) our dependence on the development of the industries in which we operate, including the cyclicality and variability of the information technology and telecommunications industries and our own R&D capabilities and investments; 5) our dependence on a limited number of customers and large multi-year agreements, as well as external events impacting our customers including mergers and acquisitions and the possibility of our customers awarding business to our competitors; 6) our ability to manage and improve our financial and operating performance, cost savings, competitiveness and synergies generally, expectations and timing around our ability to recognize any net sales and our ability to implement changes to our organizational and operational structure efficiently; 7) our global business and exposure to regulatory, political or other developments in various countries or regions, including emerging markets and the associated risks in relation to tax matters and exchange controls, among others; 8) our ability to successfully realize the expectations, plans or benefits related to any future collaboration or business collaboration agreements and patent license agreements or arbitration awards, including income to be received under any collaboration, partnership, agreement or arbitration award; 9) our exposure to direct and indirect regulation, including economic or trade policies, and the reliability of our governance, internal controls and compliance processes to prevent regulatory penalties in our business or in our joint ventures; 10) our ability to successfully complete and capitalize on our order backlogs and continue converting our sales pipeline into net sales; and 11) the scope and duration of the COVID-19 impact on the global economy and financial markets as well as our customers, supply chain, product development, service delivery, other operations and our financial, tax, pension and other assets, and the shape of the economic recovery following the pandemic as well as the risk factors specified in our 2020 annual report on Form 20-F published on March 4, 2021 under "Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk factors" and in our other filings or documents furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. Attachments Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. A bi-racial high school senior, who can pass as white, was allegedly failed by his teacher after he refused to confess his 'white dominance' during a class at his Las Vegas charter school. William Clark received a failing grade in his Sociology of Change class after he refused to categorize and label his racial, religious and sexual identities, according to a press release from Schoolhouserights.org, which supports civil rights litigation in defense of students' freedom of conscience in public education. According to a lawsuit filed by his mother, Gabrielle Clark, in December 2020, William is described as having 'green eyes and blondish hair' and 'generally regarded as white by his peers'. His mother is black and his deceased father was white, according to court documents. During the class, William was reportedly asked to publicly reveal his race, gender, religious and sexual identities and 'then attach derogatory labels to those identities'. A bi-racial high school senior, who can pass as white, was allegedly failed by his teacher after he refused to confess his 'white dominance' in class, according to his mother, Gabrielle Clark (pictured) 'Students were then asked to "undo and unlearn" their "beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that stem from oppression,"' the statement says. Now, according to his mother, Gabrielle, who sued his school Democracy Preparatory Academy at Agassi Campus in Las Vegas, they're unsure if he'll be able to graduate after being handed a failing grade. The lawsuit targets Democracy Prep for violating their constitutional free speech and due process rights. William and his mother, who is a single parent, says that he was compelled 'to make professions about his racial, sexual, gender and religious identities in verbal class exercises and in graded, written homework assignments which were subject to the scrutiny, interrogation and derogatory labeling of students, teachers and school administrators'. The lawsuit says that by asking him to reveal his identities, he was coerced 'to accept and affirm politicized and discriminatory principles and statements that he cannot in conscience affirm'. When the lawsuit was filed in December 2020, the Clarks, who are being represented by New York-based lawyer Jonathan O'Brien, claimed that William was threatened with 'material harm including a failing grade and non-graduation if he failed to comply with their requirements'. The court document says that his school 'rejected his requests for reasonable accommodation and acted on their threats'. Another image presented in the suit is one of SpongeBob SquarePants that reads: 'Reverse racism doesn't exist' Students were shown this slide that reads: 'Racism = Prejudice + Power. Therefore, people of color CANNOT be racist' William Clark attends school at Democracy Prep (pictured) in Las Vegas One of the exhibits that the lawsuit includes is a presentation slide that reads: 'Racism = Prejudice + Power. Therefore, people of color CANNOT be racist.' Another image presented in the suit is one of SpongeBob SquarePants that reads: 'Reverse racism doesn't exist.' The suit says that the Clarks are seeking 'monetary damages, including compensatory and punitive damages, for the damage done to William Clarks future academic and professional prospects, and for the Defendants' deliberate and protracted harassment, emotional abuse, and violation of Plaintiffs' Constitutional Rights'. They also want the court to prevent the school from denying William a high school diploma and accommodate him with 'an alternative non-discriminatory, non-confessional class'. Others named in the lawsuit include, the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority, the civics teacher, several school administrators, the schools board of directors and the schools Manhattan-based charter management organization, Democracy Prep Public Schools. Democracy Prep said in a statement that the school could not comment on pending litigation. However, a spokeswoman said that 'Democracy Prep stands firmly against racism'. 'Our curriculum teaches students about American democracy and movements for social change throughout our history. We strongly disagree with how the curriculum has been characterized in this filing.' US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he would look into the case of an 83-year-old Catholic priest, Stan Swamy, held in India on allegations he was linked to Maoists. Responding on Wednesday to a request from a member of the House of Representatives while he was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Blinken asked for more information and said: "We'll look into it." Juan Vargas, who is the vice chair of the House International Economic Policy and Migration Subcommittee, told Blinken while questioning him that it was "incredible injustice" that Stan Swamy, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency, has been in jail for over 130 days. Swamy belongs to the Jesuit order of priests and Vargas said that he had himself been a member of that society. He was arrested in Ranchi and taken to Maharashtra and detained in a Pune jail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on allegations that he participated in the activities of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist. The case relates to a celebration by Dalits on January 1, 2018, in Koregaon-Bhima near Pune, which was followed by violence that left one person dead. Stan Swamy has been an activist for tribal and Dalit rights. Earlier in his testimony to the Committee on President Joe Biden's Priorities for US Foreign Policy, Blinken said that in furtherance of its aims, "we held the first ministerial meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between us, Japan, Australia, and India, and we will hold a leader-level summit this week on Friday". China was the dominant theme during the hearing with Blinken declaring, "Our relationship with China, the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century". Repeatedly questioned about Biden's comment when asked on a CNN programme about Beijing treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority that "culturally, there are different norms that each country and their leaders are expected to follow", Blinken reiterated that he considers there was a "genocide" of the Uighurs and the US would continue to speak out forcefully against it. Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union third- and fourth-graders got the chance to meet Lt. Gov. Molly Gray virtually, Wednesday. The meeting was part of the bi-weekly virtual program launched in February that aims to connect Vermont classrooms and students with the state government and the legislative process. Many people dont wear face masks, and they can be fined for this. I hope people become more vigilant after hearing the number of coronavirus cases today and we help protect ourselves, our relatives, our economy and the right to education and wont have to increase restrictions. This is what Minister of Health of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan told reporters after todays government session. The government is doing everything possible to organize patients treatment and conduct tests. There is a specific plan, and we are admitting patients to hospitals as well, the minister said. Asked if the government will declare a lockdown, the minister said she doesnt know. She added that the government and the Ministry of Health have taken steps to restrain the spread of the virus. Avanesyan also stated that 901 patients are currently undergoing treatment. There are 429 patients in critical condition, 96 in extremely critical condition, and 30 patients breathe through ventilators, the minister said and informed that a few medical workers have already been vaccinated, but the Ministry of Health hasnt received a new batch of vaccines yet. I havent received the vaccine yet because Im not in the risk group. Ill get vaccinated when its my turn, she said. Today Armenia reported 784 coronavirus cases and 2 deaths. President on Thursday accused Chief Minister Yogi of taking credit for works done in the SP regime. A day after visited Bundelkhand region and took a selfie at the Lahchura dam, Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi, "Thankfully the picture is his own, though the work is of someone else!". Yadav also tagged a photograph of the CM on which it was written, "Taking a selfie in front of the Lahchura dam built in the SP regime...thank you for shining light on the work done during our time". had on Wednesday accused previous state governments of looting the wealth of the Bundelkhand region, and said it will become a paradise under the BJP dispensation. (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.) Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Los Angeles, March 11 : Actor Emile Hirsch and model-actress Paris Jackson have refuted rumours that they are dating. On Wednesday, Hirsch had posted a photo of the two together on Instagram with the caption: "Hiding out with you." This led many to believe that the two are romantically seeing each other. However, People magazine reports that the two are just friends. "They've been friends for a long time," a source close to the two told the publication. When users commented that the photo made them "uncomfortable", Jackson replied: "He's actually one of the youngest homies of mine. One of my best friends is in their 50s. You probably don't have friends older than you because elders may find you annoying or immature lol. Not to mention another close friend of mine is 76. Age is but a number, i enjoy the company of people of all ages." She added: "I am the student and teacher of people from 5 years younger than me to 50 years older than me. Nothing wrong with that." 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. When developer Borko Milosev took on the rescue effort at 505-507 Northampton St. in Easton, he had a serious challenge on his hands. Now several months out from completion, hes doubling down. After his Granary project -- another gut and reimagine job -- sold out in fewer than 10 days early last year on North 13th Street, it appeared to prove people were willing to buy apartments rather than just rent them in the city. Milosev is now considering testing that concept with his six one-bedroom, open concept apartments just west of Fifth Street in a building that seemed destined to be a parking lot. Theres a lot of demand for condos, Milosev said hes been told by his real estate people. Work that began in the middle of 2019 shut down first in December of that year when additional safety precautions were required, then due the Gov. Tim Wolfs pandemic restrictions last spring and again this winter since the building is not yet heated. But now things are ready to get going again as they sprint toward the finish, which Milosev figures will be in four to five months. Some of the rough-in inspections are complete, although the ragged exterior might be the greatest challenge the developer faces in a building that features two first-floor retail spaces. Milosevs Nazareth-based Post Road firm also has a project well underway in the Packard building at 15th and Northampton streets and to a lesser extent in the Castle building on the first block of North Second Street. The exterior of 505-507 Northampton St. likely presents the greatest challenge for developer Borko Milosev in the renovation at the blighted building in Easton's Downtown.Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com The Packard building, which is being renovated to include 12 two-bedroom apartments and about 4,500 feet of commercial space that can be divided into three businesses, is about 60% done and residential leasing is getting under way at $1,350 a month, he said. The corner apartments let in a ton of light in the building that sits just at the top of a hill rising from Seventh Street on in the citys West Ward. They are retrofitting elevators and Milosev said hes pleased with the interior design including the choice of colors and butcher block countertops. Much of the work that remains is in common spaces in the long-ago and solidly built Packard dealership, Milosev said. The companys third ongoing project in the city is at 123 N. Second, which until a year ago hosted Touch of Thai as well as several apartments. The renovation work on the 17 apartments is 20% to 30% done there, he said. The exterior of 505-507 Northampton St. likely presents the greatest challenge for developer Borko Milosev in the renovation at the blighted building in Eastons Downtown.Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com And Milosev has yet to focus on what to do with the empty commercial space, although there has been at least fleeting interest so far, he said. 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. Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a lecturer of the Central University in Accra, has called on government to amplify public education on its good policies and initiatives. Reacting to President Nana Akufo-Addo's State of the Nation Address, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah wondered why the government is silent on some of its good works that are benefiting Ghanaians. President Nana Akufo-Addo delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) before Parliament on Tuesday, March 9. He touched on various sectors of the economy and one of the sectors that, according to Dr. Otchere-Ankrah, must be in the spotlight is the agricultural sector. Speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' programme, he narrowed his discussion to the government's Planting for Food and Jobs policy. The President, in his address, recounted the benefits of the policy saying, "we have seen the dramatic turnaround of our agricultural fortunes, due to the progressive policies that have improved the living standards of farmers in the country. The excellently executed policy for Planting for Food and Jobs has laid the foundation for the agricultural transformation of our country. We are able to say that our country is now a net exporter of food, and we no longer have to import basic foods like plantain and tomatoes''. "Mr. Speaker, Ghana rice is the preferred choice in an increasing number of our homes, as the growing, processing and packaging of rice become a more established and attractive industry. During this COVID crisis, we have, mercifully, been spared the spectre of food shortages. On the contrary, thanks to Planting for Food and Jobs, food has been in abundance in our markets across the country," he added. Dr. Benjamin applauded the President for his good initiative but called for intense publicity. He shared a testimony where he as a farmer cum lecturer went to buy seeds for his farm and was told the government has subsidized the prices making it affordable for farmers due to the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative. He wondered why many Ghanaians are not fully aware of the benefits of the intiative. He noted that agriculture is one of the avenues to generate huge revenues for the country and so urged the government to educate Ghanaians on the Planting for Food and Jobs policy as well as all other good works by the President. "The publicity is on the low; let's pay attention to it. Because even if we can get more (food) to feed ourselves and not able to export, it will help us as a nation," he said. 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. Featured Video South Africa: Government expects to vaccinate 65% of population Health Minister, Dr Zwelini Mkhize, says government remains committed to vaccinate 65% of the population, or 40 million people, as per the original plan by the end of the year to help the country reach herd immunity. This, he said, is owing to vaccine doses being delivered by the manufacturing companies as per the agreed quarterly schedule when the vaccines were procured. He said this when Ministers in the Social Services cluster appeared before the National Assembly to respond to oral questions on Wednesday. We are still targeting many of the vaccines to be administered by the end of the year. As we have indicated, we are mindful that some of the supplies can be delayed by the manufacturing companies. And therefore, we will be reviewing as we go to see whether that target needs to be altered or not. But in terms of our original plan, we would like to be able to vaccinate as many of those 40 million people by the end of the year, he said. He said this as the country remains at lockdown alert level one, with 1477 new COVID-19 infections being recorded since the last reporting period. Mkhize said government has secured 43 million doses in total. Our agreements are currently with Johnson & Johnson as well as with Pfizer. The agreement with Johnson & Johnson is for 11 million does, and 20 million from Pfizer. In addition, the commission to procure 12 million doses from Covax, he said. The Minister said the delivery schedule of the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson are committed into quarters, not in monthly volumes. In other words, at the moment, all we can tell is that by this quarter, this is likely to be how much we will get. Once we have got the matter refined, we will be in a position to know month by month or even week by week supplies of what they will give us. That helps us with the planning of the vaccination programme. For the first quarter until 31 March, government anticipated 500 000 doses of Johnson & Johnson. Additionally, government anticipates receiving 600 000 doses from Pfizer. These doses will be allocated to healthcare workers. Out of those 600 000, about 110 000 of those have come from Covax. Mkhize said in quarter two up until June, government anticipates to receive eight million doses, of which five million will come from Pfizer and three million from Johnson & Johnson. These will be used to complete vaccination for healthcare workers as phase two. In quarter three, July to September, we anticipate receiving 11.6 million doses, and that is about 7.6 million from Pfizer and 4 million from Johnson & Johnson. These doses will be used to complete the vaccination for phase two and a balance for phase three. In quarter four, October to December, we anticipate 11 million doses, seven million from Pfizer, four from Johnson & Johnson. These doses will be used to complete phase three group. We have not received the final delivery schedule from Covax. Mkhize also said that government is in the final stages of closing agreements for the balance of the doses required, which should allow us to roll out the vaccine according to our plan. When we have concluded all the agreements and we are in a position to do a month to month breakdown, we will be able to announce that and also, we will be procuring a bit more vaccines so that we cover more people as we have indicated. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Oregon Health Authority announced 306 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, a significant decline from a one-day spike and a return to figures that have gradually become the new normal. State health officials also reported two new deaths, pushing the total known lives lost due to the coronavirus to 2,305. Oregon has seen its rolling seven-day case figures trend downward since the start of February from upwards of 600 daily cases to less than 300 in recent days. But the daily average has inched up since bottoming out March 7. Wednesdays report included several pieces of good numbers, as hospitalizations fell, the number of patients receiving intensive care dropped considerably day over day and the amount of new cases in people in their 70s and 80s dropped to less than two dozen cumulatively. Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday said that a record number of counties 13 were categorized in the lowest possible risk level since the state announced the metric last November. The tri-county area is classified as moderate risk, paving way for indoor businesses to accommodate 50% of standard capacity. Where the new cases are by county: Baker (1), Benton (7), Clackamas (23), Columbia (4), Clatsop, (3), Coos (19), Crook (2), Curry (2), Deschutes (17), Douglas (12), Grant (6), Jackson (21), Jefferson (3), Josephine (17), Klamath (2), Lane (15), Lincoln (1), Linn (4), Malheur (2), Marion (29), Morrow (1), Multnomah (61), Umatilla (6), Union (2), Wasco (2), Washington (36) and Yamhill (8). Who died: Oregons 2,304th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old Jackson County woman who tested positive Feb. 28 and died March 8 at Providence Medford Medical Center. Oregons 2,305th COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive Feb. 15 and died March 8 at Salem Hospital. Both women had underlying conditions, according to state health officials. The prevalence of infections: On Wednesday, the state reported 484 new positive tests out of 15,805 tests performed, equaling a 3.1% positivity rate. Who got infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew among the following age groups: 0-9 (15); 10-19 (40); 20-29 (62); 30-39 (45); 40-49 (44); 50-59 (35); 60-69 (20); 70-79 (18); 80 and older (5). Whos in the hospital: The state reported that 122 people were hospitalized with a confirmed case of COVID-19, which is 12 fewer than on Tuesday. There were 22 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, nine fewer than were in similar care Tuesday. Vaccines administered: Oregon has administered 1,204,418 first and second doses as of Wednesday. The state reported 24,924 new doses. Of those vaccines, 14,081 doses were administered Tuesday and 10,843 were administered on previous days but entered into the system Tuesday. Since it began: Oregon has reported 158,291 confirmed or presumed infections and 2,305 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 3,905,469 lab reports from tests. Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen As New York City prepares for the June primaries, the citys first major elections that will use ranked-choice voting, a series of special elections are acting almost as a testing ground for the new voting system. Now, new exit polling from this years two City Council special elections in Queens appears to indicate that voters are adapting well to the system, and that educational outreach seems to be working. Rank the Vote NYC, a coalition that advocated for ranked-choice voting and now educates people, surveyed 635 voters in Council Districts 24 and 31, where special elections were held in February. The results offer one of the first insights into how voters interacted with the new method of voting, and whether educational outreach efforts were actually working. According to the survey, over 95% of respondents found filling out a ranked-choice voting ballot to be either very or somewhat simple. That the vast majority surveyed considered it at least somewhat simple held true across gender, age and education level. The majority of voters who responded to the survey were also at least somewhat familiar with ranked-choice voting before going to vote, again something that held true across demographics. And 61% of respondents chose to rank multiple candidates on their ballots, with 31% opting to rank the max of five candidates. Among those that selected only one candidate, nearly 80% said they did so because there was only one candidate they liked. Ranked-choice voting allows people to rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins over 50% of the vote outright, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their votes get redistributed to the second choices on those ballots. This process continues until just two candidates are left. Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York and board chair of Rank the Vote NYC, said the results show that education efforts are working. The survey results show that voters are aware of the system and that they are utilizing it based on their own preferences, and their own assessment of the candidates, Lerner said. At least in these special elections, the system is working the way we expect it to work. One of the biggest concerns over the rollout of ranked-choice voting has been whether there was enough time to make sure voters are well-informed about the change. Late last year, several lawmakers and civic leaders brought a lawsuit to delay the implementation of ranked-choice voting, arguing that voters especially low-income people, older New Yorkers and people of color would be disenfranchised without more time for education. And certainly, there is still a lot of outreach that still needs to happen. A recent PIX11 News, NewsNation and Emerson College poll found that 46% of Black voters still had not heard of ranked-choice voting, along with 38% of Latino voters. And some politicians remain concerned that voters will be confused by the change. But Lerner said that Rank the Votes survey results show the success of education during a condensed time frame prior to the two special elections. The time between now and the June 22 primary is more than adequate to ensure that voters are aware of ranked-choice voting, understand how to use it and then make up their own minds about how to rank the candidates, Lerner said. She added that hopefully the survey results assuage some fears. This poll confirms our experience in other cities, the voters understand ranked-choice voting, they find it simple and straightforward, Lerner said. The poll is still limited in its scope, with a relatively small sample size of voters in the two races. It was only available in English and Spanish, which means that insights from voters who speak any other language were not taken into account. Latino voters were underrepresented in the poll, and roughly one-quarter of respondents were unfamiliar with ranked-choice voting before casting their ballots. Lerner agreed the survey had limitations, and that special elections inherently present somewhat unusual circumstances, but she noted that Rank the Vote performs education outreach in a variety of languages and said the results remained fairly consistent among different ethnic groups. We will definitely be looking at the results to see if there are things that need to be adjusted, Lerner said. But I think the bottom line is that it indicates this outreach to voters works. For an administration that prides itself on talking straight about the pandemic, the self-congratulation Wednesday went too far. President Joe Biden wrongly claimed the U.S. vaccinated a record 2.9 million people on Saturday while his special adviser on the pandemic exaggerated the share of older Americans who've been fully immunized. Biden crowed about the numbers on Thursday in a speech at the White House. 'On Saturday, we hit a record of 2.9 million vaccinations in one day in America, he said. 'And beyond the numbers are the stories: a father who says he no longer fears for his daughter when she leaves to go to work at the hospital; the children who are now able to hug their grandparents. The vaccines bring hope and healing in so many ways.' His senior advisor to the coronavirus task force Andy Slavitt also touted the figure. 'On Saturday, we set an all-time, single-day record: nearly 3 million Americans vaccinated -- a pace seen nowhere else in the world,' he said at the top of a White House task force briefing. But the claim is off base. President Joe Biden speaks at an event at the White House Thursday. He said the nation hit a record Saturday with 2.9 million doses but that included multiple days' worth of shots The government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 2.9 million doses were recorded Saturday. But that total comes from multiple days of vaccinations. Only 1.56 million doses were administered Saturday, as currently reported by the CDC. That's far from a one-day record. The most productive day for vaccinations was Feb. 26, when 2.8 million doses were administered. The 1.56 million figure is more in keeping with the daily average which has been boosted since hovering around 1 million a day when Biden first took office. Vaccinations have greatly increased overall in recent weeks. The figure was based on the number of shots 'reported administered.' Various government covid statistics include a time lag. There are also issues with claims Slavitt made about vaccinating the elderly. In this Jan. 27, 2021, image from video, Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House COVID-19 Response Team, speaks during a White House briefing on the Biden administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington The administration claimed based off 'reported administered' data that there was a new record for vaccine shots Saturday. The number later proved to be not accurate 'In terms of protecting the most vulnerable - our core duty as a nation - when we came into office, 8 per cent of people over 65 were vaccinated. Today, 60 per cent are vaccinated. And according to the CDCs new guidance, vaccinated parents can now visit and hug their grandchildren - and, in most circumstances, without wearing a mask,' he said. But his numbers are wrong. He is counting people who have received only their first dose as immune and able to mingle. Public health officials stress that only fully vaccinated people can safely be around each other and low-risk people without the distancing and masking recommended for the population at large. The CDC says 61% of people over 64 have received at least one dose but only 31% are fully vaccinated. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines each require two doses, spread several weeks apart. The newer Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose. In all cases, it takes two weeks to build immunity after being fully vaccinated. Slavitt's comment comes as top health officials are urging states not to reopen too quickly amid a leveling off of infections and deaths. The governor of Texas is lifting a statewide mask mandate, while the governor of Maryland is also lifting restrictions. Lucknow, March 11 : The state executive meeting of the UP BJP will be held on March 15. The meeting will be inaugurated by defence minister Rajnath Singh and will be presided over by UP BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also attend the meeting. The state committee will deliberate on the political scenario in the state and developments in state politics to decide the party's strategy for the upcoming panchayat elections and then the assembly elections next year. The BJP wants to feel the pulse of voters in the forthcoming panchayat elections, the results of which will give the state unit enough leads on its on its strengths and weaknesses. "BJP has to reach out to people with the performance of the UP government in last four years. The party leadership will draft a roadmap using these inputs," a senior party functionary said. The much-anticipated revamp of UP BJP's frontal units is also on the cards. The spotlight on the frontal units comes almost eight months after the party affected a reshuffle in the organisational leadership, comprising state vice-presidents, general secretaries, secretaries and regional presidents. The changes came after Swatantra Dev Singh was appointed as UP BJP chief in January last year. The party wants the frontal units to play a more visible role in the upcoming elections and this will help the party groom a new set of organisational leadership that could potentially essay consolidation of targeted voters at the grassroots. The party has seven frontal units including those for SC, ST and OBCs to work among backward communities and bring them closer to the party. While the SC morcha is headed by Mohanlalganj MP Kaushal Kishore, the ST morcha is looked after by Ramdhani Gaur. The OBC wing is looked after by Sitapur MP Rajesh Verma. Likewise, the party has dedicated morchas for minorities, farmers and women headed by Haider Abbas Chand, Chaudhary Raja Verma, and Darshana Singh, respectively. BJP's youth wing, the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BYJM), is presided over by Subhash Yaduvansh. However, he was shifted as party secretary in the last reshuffle but has been asked to continue till BJYM gets a new president is appointed. "Every state president appoints his own team of frontal organisational leaders. Therefore, a new team is expected, especially in the wake of the state executive meeting which will be attended by chiefs of morchas," a senior functionary said. UP BJP spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava said, "The chiefs of morchas are considered office-bearers who attend important meetings to take forward party activities. These morchas are like lateral extensions of the party that work with various groups of the society and strengthen the hold of the party among these groups." Mark Northway is chairman of ShareSoc, a group that champions and lobbies on behalf of individual investors. Here, he outlines what rights shareholders have over companies they own and how crucial it is to use them. Corporate culture: Using your shareholder rights will mould the character, behaviour and thinking of a company board for the better Shareholder stewardship has dwindled in recent years, allowing board director self-interest to develop to the point where many have come to regard shareholders not as owners, but as just one of many tiresome stakeholders. A clear symptom of this governance drift can be seen in the egregious increases in executive remuneration which have been a feature of listed companies for some time. The diligent exercise of shareholder rights by both individual and institutional shareholders is essential, and below I explain what those rights are and how using them will mould the character, behaviour and thinking of a company board for the better. What are the roles of shareholders and company executives? Stock market investing relies on the separation of roles between the owners, or shareholders, of a listed or quoted company and its operators, the executives. This separation allows the company to pursue its business independently of ongoing ownership changes through share transactions on the stock exchange. Oversight of the day-to-day business is delegated by shareholders to an elected board of directors. Mark Northway: Very few individual investors attend AGMs or vote their shares The board is tasked with acting in way likely to promote the success of a company for the benefit of its members shareholders as a whole. The board is responsible for the strategic direction of a company, for its culture, and for monitoring and controlling the companys executive, in all cases acting as agent for the shareholders with a fiduciary responsibility to them. Like any complex system, the successful operation of a listed or quoted company relies on a set of checks and balances. Under this system the companys executives are beholden to the board, and the board is beholden to the shareholders. The board is required to report to its shareholders on a regular basis, generally through the AGM, and the shareholders are provided with several levers of influence and control shareholders rights. What are shareholders' rights? Key amongst them are the right to attend general meetings of the company, the right to vote at those meetings, the right to propose change, and the right to call a general meeting. These are enshrined in the Companies Act 2006. However, the importance of the AGM and of stewardship in general has declined for various reasons. Shareholder rights come with corresponding stewardship obligations, and these really do matter. Yet regrettably, very few individual investors attend AGMs or vote their shares. The propensity of brokers and platforms to hold customers assets in pooled nominee accounts, combined with flaws in the Companies Act, is largely to blame for this, although shareholder indifference undoubtedly plays a part. Why does holding shares in nominee accounts affect your rights? What are nominee accounts, and how do you exercise your rights if you have one? If you own shares via an online platform, you don't automatically get a say on important company business because your stock is held on a 'pooled' basis, writes This is Money. But most platforms do have systems in place allowing you to vote if you take steps to let them know your wishes beforehand. Ian Sayers, chief executive of trade body the Association of Investment Companies, rounds up how to do so depending on which platform you use here. Under UK law, investors who hold shares via nominee accounts are not the legal owner of them, and therefore do not enjoy the rights which accompany ownership. The law provides for 'information rights' for beneficial owners, but it is the choice of the nominee as to whether these are supported. In most cases they are not. The Companies Act deals with information and voting rights under nominee arrangements. Crucially, it provides only that such rights MAY be passed to the beneficial owner. 'May' is not the same as 'must', and rights are not rights where they are subject to the discretion of an intermediary. This means that companies are not able to communicate effectively with their owners. With few exceptions, communications mandated by law for the benefit of shareholders simply never reach the beneficial owner. These owners, unless they specifically request it (often on a case-by-case basis and at a cost), dont receive annual reports, dont get invited to AGMs and dont get asked to vote. Its a nonsense, but a nonsense which has been allowed to persist for many years. Will shareholders start exercising their rights again? The good news is that the recent increased focus on 'environmental, social and governance' (ESG) issues and sustainability has sparked a renewed focus on responsible stewardship within society and within governments. Hopefully, this will translate into improvements in the legal and market framework, matched by an increased long-termism and responsibility on the part of individual investors. So, when you buy shares, please bear in mind that share ownership brings important rights, and that those rights come with equally important obligations. Its your company, and you should think and behave as an owner and as a steward. You should care how it behaves and use the levers of influence and control available to you. Its only right. YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. The parliamentary Bright Armenia opposition faction is accepting President Armen Sarkissians invitation to a discussion over the domestic political crisis, the partys leader, lawmaker Edmon Marukyan announced. On March 10, President Sarkissian said he is inviting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the leaders of all three parliamentary factions, as well as the heads of the Homeland Salvation Movement (which is staging numerous protests against Pashinyan in the streets) to a meeting to find mutually accepted solutions to the crisis. We accept the invitation and we are ready to participate in any discussion where it will be possible to restore civil solidarity and find ways to save the country from the deep crisis, Marukyan said. The other parliamentary factions, the Homeland Salvation Movement and the PM are yet to respond to the Presidents call. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a small addition to the citys tax on stays at hotels and vacation rentals in an effort to help the lodging industry recover from the coronavirus pandemic and to rehabilitate Portlands image. A 3% tax -- up from 2% -- will be levied on hotel and vacation rental stays occurring after June 30 to fund Portlands Tourism Improvement District, which is managed by Travel Portland and supports marketing campaigns to promote the citys lodging and convention industries. With the additional tax, guests staying in Portland could be assessed a total of 16% in taxes on hotel stays through various local and state lodging taxes. The City Council also voted to make the 2% base tax for the Tourism Improvement District permanent, but will review whether the new 1% tax is still necessary in 2026 and every five years after. Guests staying in a $150 hotel room would pay an added $1.50 nightly surcharge once the new tax goes into effect. Travel Portland, a nonprofit that promotes the citys tourism industry, lobbied for the new tax, contending that the money would help the tourism industry recover from the pandemic and reputational damage the city suffered during last summers protests. The group hopes the new tax could generate $3.1 million in the first year, if the tourism industry begins to rebound this summer. Travel Portland, which cut its staff by 40% last April as tourism and hotel revenue plummeted, relies on the Tourism Improvement District tax for more than 40% of its budget. Hotel operators are required to pay the tax to the Tourism Improvement District, but generally pass the cost on to guests through taxes on hotel stays. The tourism industry has been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic. Hotel occupancy in Portland plummeted from nearly 75% in 2019 to 34% in 2020. More than 160,000 group room nights were cancelled last year in Portland as large events and conventions were banned due to the pandemic, according to data from Travel Portland. Since the start of the pandemic, Oregons leisure and hospitality industry has shed 37% of its jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the pandemic might not be the only challenge facing Portlands tourism industry as it tries to recover. Portland drew national media attention last summer as demonstrators and local and federal law enforcement officials clashed in nightly protests downtown, giving the city a reputation for upheaval. In an Oct. 1 survey of 1,250 people nationwide conducted by consumer research company Engine Insights, 69% of respondents said they had generally seen Portland mentioned negatively in the media and 37% said they considered the city an unappealing vacation destination. Jeff Miller, president and CEO of Travel Portland, told the City Council last week that the new tax would be instrumental in kickstarting the tourism industrys recovery from the pandemic and helping to repair that reputational damage. Miller said the Tourism Improvement District has played a key role in spurring Portlands tourism industry through its marketing and outreach since it was established in 2012. Travel Portland estimates that out-of-town visitors spent $5.6 billion at local businesses in 2019, up from $3.9 billion in 2011. But Bakulesh Patel, president and CEO of Wilsonville-based BHG Hotels, told the City Council he was concerned that there was no formal process to receive input from hotel operators across the city about the new tax and said he felt the money had historically benefited downtown Portland over hotels in other parts of the city. We believe there is not enough transparency on how this fund is spent, Patel said. There needs to be more transparency. The City Council requested Wednesday that Travel Portland present an update in six months on where the funds from the new tax are going and how the money is helping minority-owned hotels and those outside of downtown. Portland has a strong incentive to see its tourism industry recover quickly. Five percent of the overall transient lodging taxes assessed on hotel and vacation rentals go to the City of Portlands general fund. The city received $30.8 million in general fund money from hotel room taxes in the 2019-20 fiscal year, but expects those revenues to be down 75% this fiscal year. Its important to all of us in this community that travel and tourism and hospitality does recover as quickly and safely as possible, said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. -- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com | @jamiebgoldberg Police looking for a woman missing from Brisbane for more than a week are calling for public help. Kuen Wong has been missing since March 3. Credit:Queensland Police Service Kuen Wong has not been seen since March 3, about 3.30pm at the corner of Queen and Edward streets after she left a hotel on Wharf Street about noon. Police said Ms Wong had not contacted family or friends since. She was described as Asian in appearance, 160 centimetres tall and of a medium build. 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. TASHKENT, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The strong and stable Chinese economy provides more opportunities for the Central Asian region amid the continued development of their trade and economic relations, an Uzbek expert said Wednesday. China's achievements remain very attractive especially in the post-pandemic period when the Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, are taking measures to revive their economies, Anri Sharapov, a professor at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, told Xinhua in an interview. "The driver of the expansion of Uzbekistan's partnership with China is the trade, economic and investment spheres," said Sharapov. "This is due to the fact that the strategic interests of Beijing and Tashkent at this stage completely coincide: Both sides are interested in preserving peace, stability and economic development in the region." China has achieved tremendous economic success and its victory over absolute poverty 10 years ahead of schedule as set out in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the most exciting chapter in the country's history, he noted. "All this speaks about the effectiveness of the policy of the Communist Party of China, which creatively developed the theory of Marxism and used it in a new historical era in relation to the specific conditions of China," the expert said. Noting China's large economic base and the scale of its openness, Sharapov said he believed that China will provide exceptional opportunities for the economic development of the whole world. Economic recovery in China will also boost its demand for imports of raw materials, oil and gas, and agricultural products from Central Asia that would allow countries like Uzbekistan to increase their export volumes, he added. Also, China's stable economic development will help to increase its investments in Central Asia's large strategic projects, Sharapov said. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown China's success in science and technology development, and its new technological progress will provide substantial assistance to the Central Asian countries in their economic reforms, he concluded. From the first cases in China to worldwide lockdowns and vaccination drives... Here are the 10 key moments since the Covid-19 pandemic was declared a year ago by the World Health Organization (WHO). - First deaths - On December 31, 2019, the WHO is alerted to a cluster of pneumonia cases "of unknown cause" in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. A week later, a new coronavirus is identified. China confirms on January 11 its first death in Wuhan from an illness which will be named Covid-19. On January 23 Wuhan is placed under quarantine and cut off from the world. Countries start to repatriate their citizens from China. France reports the first death confirmed outside Asia, a Chinese tourist, on February 15. - 'Pandemic' - By March 6 more than 100,000 cases have been recorded around the world. Northern Italy is locked down, quickly followed by the rest of the country. On March 11 the WHO says Covid-19 is a pandemic. Global stock markets crash. Governments and central banks roll out massive economic support measures. - Europe in lockdown - Spain (March 14) and France (March 17) order their populations to stay at home. Germany and Britain say people should avoid all social contact. The 27-nation European Union closes its external borders. On March 24 the Tokyo summer Olympics scheduled for July 2020 are postponed for a year. The following day the United Nations warns that the pandemic is "threatening the whole of humanity". - Half world confined - Lockdown measures are enforced all around the world. On April 2 more than 3.9 billion people -- half of the world's population -- are forced or called on to confine themselves, according to an AFP count. The same day the threshold of one million cases is crossed. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is infected and ends up in intensive care. The battered US aircraft manufacturer Boeing slashes 16,000 jobs on April 29. Many other airlines, car manufacturers, tourism, and department stores suffer and lay off staff. Story continues - Hydroxychloroquine row - Backed by US President Donald Trump as a potential treatment, malaria drug hydroxychloroquine showed no benefit in treating severely ill patients, according to British scientists on June 5. Trump will later suggest people inject disinfectant. - Surge in Latin America - By June 7 the global death toll reaches more than 400,000. Brazil becomes the country with the second biggest death toll after the US. Its president Jair Bolsonaro calls it a "little flu", before himself becoming infected. Fellow Covid-19 sceptic Donald Trump will also get it. - Masks and anti-masks - With cases on the increase, several European countries make mask wearing compulsory on public transport, in schools and shops and on the street. Anti-mask demonstrations are organised in London, Paris and Rome, with protesters attempting to storm the Reichstag building in Berlin on August 29. - Grim milestones - The one million deaths mark is passed worldwide on September 28. Within days infections start to spiral again in Europe, where many countries order new lockdowns and curfews, which are then eased for the end of year holidays. The pandemic picks up pace in the US, where its handling is a key issue in the bitter presidential campaign. A new spike there is reached on January 13, 2021 with 4,470 people dying in 24 hours. Half a million are dead there by February 23, with new President Joe Biden pointing to a US toll greater than that in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam war put together. - New variants - The emergence in Britain of a variant believed to be more contagious forces PM Johnson to announce a new lockdown on January 4. Other highly contagious strains are also detected in South Africa and Brazil. The number of deaths doubles in less than four months, passing the two million mark on January 15, 2021. - Vaccines bring hope - Vaccination campaigns begin in December in Britain, Russia, the US and the EU, picking up speed in early 2021. But problems with deliveries, in particular for the Swedish/British AstraZeneca, slow down the process in Europe. In early March the epidemic starts to slow in the US, but picks up speed again in Europe, while passing the threshold of 700,000 deaths in Latin America on March 9. On the same day more than 300 million doses of vaccines have been administered around the world and some countries start to ease their restrictions. burs-ot/jmy/fg/jz Arkansas senator Tom Cotton has led condemnation of the confirmation of Joe Biden's attorney general, insisting that Merrick Garland is soft on migration and backs an 'extreme open-border amnesty agenda'. Garland, 68, was confirmed on Wednesday by the Senate 70 to 30, with 20 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in supporting him. He is expected to be sworn in at the Justice Department on Thursday. Tom Cotton, the senator for Arkansas, spoke on Wednesday (pictured) about his concerns Garland was confirmed on Wednesday and is expected to be sworn in on Thursday Mitch McConnell, the most senior Republican in the Senate, who in 2016 audaciously blocked Garland's appointment by Barack Obama to the Supreme Court, was among the Republicans who voted in Garland's favor. 'I'm voting to confirm Judge Garland because of his long reputation as a straight shooter and legal expert,' he said on the Senate floor before he cast his vote. Several Republicans objected, however, including Ted Cruz, senator for Texas, and Josh Hawley of Missouri. Cruz said that despite Garland's reputation for integrity, he had 'refused to make clear that he would stand against the politicization of the department, which we saw during the Obama-Biden years.' Hawley spoke out at Garland's confirmation hearing to express concern that the veteran prosecutor, whose career-defining moment was perhaps investigating the Oklahoma City domestic terror attack, would not take what he thought was a hard enough line on violent demonstrators. Ted Cruz, senator for Texas, was concerned Garland would 'politicize' the Justice Department Cotton said that he was deeply troubled by Garland's immigration stance Cotton, known for his hardline views on immigration, spoke out against Garland on the Senate floor, ridiculing his response that he 'hadn't thought about' whether entering the country illegally should be a crime. 'It stretches the bounds of belief that a federal judge who had been on the bench for almost a quarter century hadn't thought about that question,' said Cotton. 'Judge Garland also refused to say whether illegal alien gang members or illegal aliens who have assaulted U.S. citizens should be deported, if a judge orders it. 'Judge Garland's silence shows he will, at best, meekly abide by the administration's irrational immigration agenda.' Cotton warned that Garland would 'help transform zero tolerance into total tolerance of crime'. The number of child migrants is proving particularly problematic at the moment, and the Biden administration continues to urge people not to send unaccompanied children across the border. More than 3,250 unaccompanied minors are currently being held at the border. Lacking sufficient facilities and amid coronavirus burdens, more than 1,360 have been detained beyond the three days allowed by law, according to New York Times data. Damaris, an asylum seeking migrant from Guatemala, embraces her children Kimberly, 7, and Esteban, 5, after crossing the Rio Grande into Texas on Wednesday Migrants weep as they are escorted by a Texas State Trooper on Tuesday by the Rio Grande Asylum seeking unaccompanied minors are transported in a Border Patrol vehicle on Tuesday A Honduran man in Tijuana is seen on March 1 awaiting his chance to seek asylum in the US A group of migrants ask Biden to let them in on March 2 at the Tijuana-San Ysidro crossing Nearly 170 of those being detained are younger than 13, NBC News reported. A total of 9,000 unaccompanied children crossed the border in February, according to data reviewed by the network. A wave of immigrants appears to be drawn by Biden's pledge to relax restrictions and provide a path to citizenship for people who are already living here. Cotton tweeted on Wednesday: 'The Biden administration claims they will stop illegal immigration by sending money to corrupt officials in Central America. Heres an idea: Stop illegal immigration by enforcing our immigration laws.' Child arrivals have tripled in the last two weeks, but on Tuesday the White House said they would not term the situation a 'crisis'. Republicans are demanding that Biden take action, and on Monday Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, will lead a contingent of Republicans to visit the border. Cotton concluded on Wednesday: 'As our border facilities and personnel are overwhelmed by the Biden border surge, our security will falter and even more drugs will pour into our country. 'Hardened criminals will accompany the flood of drugs. 'Thousands of confirmed and suspected gang members cross the southern border into our country, and even more will exploit the open border policies that Judge Garland will have a hand in creating. 'This will fuel skyrocketing violence in our nation.' Numerous fans miss seeing South Korean boy group ASTRO performing on stage, not to mention their exemplary music and killer dance moves. Fortunately, on Thursday, March 11, Fantagio Music finally confirmed the new comeback date of the famous boyband after they postponed their return. Fantagio Music Confirms ASTRO to Make a Comeback on April 5 The agency of Yoon San-ha, Rocky, Jinjin, MJ, Moonbin and Cha Eun Woo divulged that they are returning to the music scene on April 5, 2021. Most, if not all, fans are aware that ASTRO was scheduled to make their return earlier this month. However, for some undisclosed reasons, it did not happen. At the moment, all ASTRO members are gearing up for their imminent comeback. The boys are also busy carrying out numerous activities related to their music and solo acting careers. They are expected to drop teasers of their new music in the upcoming days. Cha Eun Woo, Moonbin, MJ, Jinjin, Rocky and Yoon San-ha are, reportedly, planning to hold a virtual fan meet-and-greet event called "2021 ASTRO AROHA Festival [Be Mine]" on March 28, 2021, at 5 P.M. All ASTRO members are expected to give some heartwarming performance, answer questions and play some games during the imminent online event. ASTRO released their seventh extended play in May 2020. Titled "Gateway," the album contained a total of six tracks, which include "When You Call My Name," "Somebody Like," "We Still," "12 Hours," Lights On" and "Knock" as its carrier single. Sanha and Moonbin also launched the subunit Moonbin&Sanha in September 2020 and released their debut EP called "In-Out" with its main track called "Bad Idea." ASTRO earned several nominations in 2020. The South Korean boyband, as a matter of fact, got multiple nominations in the Seoul Music Awards 2020. They even won the Bonsang Award and Global Artist Award in the 2020 Soribada Best K-Music Awards and was proclaimed Best Artist in Mexico in the 2021 Ten Asia Global Top Ten Awards. ASTRO Member Cha Eun Woo Lead February Brand Rankings with BTS' Jimin Meanwhile, ASTRO member Cha Eun Woo made another feat recently after he was hailed as the leading make idol members for the brand ranking reputation last month. The "Crazy Sexy Cool" hitmaker landed in the No. 2 spot after he obtained an impressive 6,785,560 brand reputation index. BTS member Jimin reigned supreme after he gained a total of score of 7,051,880 brand reputation index. Coming after ASTRO Cha Eun Woo in the third, fourth and fifth places were BTS members V, Jungkook and Jin, respectively. The Korean Business Research Institute gathered a total of 117,152,545 brand reputation index among K-pop male idol members from January 13 to February 13. Other personalities who made it to the Top 30 list include Suga, J-Hope, TVXQ member Yunho, RM, NU'EST's Minhyun, EXO member Baekhyun, Kai, Highlight member Yang Yoseob, Super Junior's Kim Heechul, D.O, SHINee member Minho, AB6IX's Lee Dae Hwi, NCT member Jungwoo, BIGBANG member G-Dragon and Jaehyun. For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Nica Vaughn We live in a society .... where the Joker can partake in civic happenings? In what may be a strange attempt to put a smile on our faces, a man by the name of Yuusuke Kawai is running for governor of Japan's Chiba Prefecture with a campaign centered around him cosplaying as a version of Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, as depicted in the villain's titular 2019 flick. Donning face paint, a red suit and a yellow pocket square, Kawai recently stopped by Japanese public broadcaster NHK to prove that despite his looks, he really is a guy with a very detailed plan -- for improving his community, Kotaku reported on Wednesday. Continue Reading Below Advertisement After first advising viewers to record his speech and post it on YouTube and TikTok, Kawai delved into describing his platform, a vision so chaotic it makes the historical Batman villain look like a lawful bureaucrat. Over the course of the video, the politician proposed the jurisdiction build a Tokyo Tower lookalike named "Tokyo Tower" as Tokyo Disneyland is actually located in Chiba, ban the word "trash," with waste management workers disposing of "star fragments" instead, and dub Makuhari Station as "Makuhari Messe Isnt Here Station," seemingly to prevent confusion with Chiba's Makuhari Messe Event Hall. Several of his points were Disney-themed, suggesting Narita Airport should be renamed "Disney Sky," the adoption of Frozen power ballad "Let It Go" as Chiba's theme song, sending collective shivers down the spines of parents everywhere, and insisting the area's famous rabble-rousers be known "by the cuter sounding Olaf," Kotaku explained. I guess the only sensible way to live in this world is with several extremely specific rules. Continue Reading Below Advertisement Alongside this magical platform, Kawai also shared some serious words of wisdom, sending a message to Tokyo's anti-masker community. "Just getting colds is not pleasant," he said, seemingly referencing their slogan of "the novel coronavirus is just a cold." Furthermore, Kawai argued that in light of spring and allergy season, masks may be helpful in preventing reactions, while some simply like covering their faces. He may be the Joker, but Kawai is definitely not joking around. By Takaki Tominaga, KYODO NEWS - Mar 11, 2021 - 14:40 | All, 3/11 Fukushima, Japan, Feature As the magnitude and complexity of natural disasters become more magnified, Japanese civil engineers are stressing the importance of preparing for future calamities from the perspective of "multihazard" risk. Kazuo Konagai, former president of the nonprofit Engineers Without Borders Japan, told Kyodo News in a recent interview that he is growing more and more concerned intense climate change-fueled natural disasters are increasing the risk of simultaneous hazardous events. "Speaking of (the influence of) climate change, for example, we face difficulties in disaster risk reductions for (several) major cities due to the combination of rising sea levels and ground subsidence," Konagai, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, said, the latter referring to the sinking of the ground due to natural events such as earthquakes, erosion, and other phenomena. Konagai, an expert on soil dynamics and seismic waves, tries to involve professionals from various fields in his current research on the mechanics of slope disasters like landslides in which he employs a special platform designed to accurately predict precipitation in mountainous regions over 24 hours. "Looking at recent heavy rain disasters in Japan, we've noticed downpours are quite extreme," he said. "So we invited meteorologists to forecast weather in our study." Without increasing efforts toward a multidisciplinary approach, Konagai believes it will become impossible to respond to wide-area disasters of the type observed in recent years and expected more often in future. The issue is particularly front of mind for the Japanese public as March 11 is the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake-tsunami event and subsequent nuclear crisis which required a complex, multifaceted response from authorities and allowed some difficult lessons to be learned. The quake disaster in the past, Konagai and others are looking to prepare for future disasters that will require a comparable response. Konagai, who conducted research on landslides in Asia, points to melting glaciers as a major multihazard concern, with the risk much exacerbated by global warming. "Glaciers loosened by warm temperatures" will only be more unstable and prone to catastrophic collapse in the event of powerful earthquakes, he said, pointing at the 2015 earthquake disaster in Nepal as a possible recent example. Echoing Konagai's global warming concerns, Mitsuyoshi Akiyama, the current president of EWBJ and a professor in Waseda University's civil and environmental engineering department, said that climate change considerations must also be at the forefront of disaster reconstruction planning, especially decarbonization and the reduction of greenhouse gases. He gives the example of efforts being made to counterbalance cement's emissions-intensive production process. "For example, we can lock CO2 in the air into concrete," Akiyama said while cautioning that such a project would still be challenging since it would require linking together experts from a wide range of fields. "It is essential that we share information on a global scale and educate each other," said Akiyama, whose expertise lies in concrete engineering. On top of rendering technical assistance to disaster-hit areas, another important mission of EWBJ, established in 2005 after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of the previous year, is providing disaster education. The organization supports the disaster risk education activities of Waseda University's student club on natural disasters and Kyoto University's corresponding group overseas and in Japan. Toyokazu Sakaki, a director of EWBJ, who spearheaded a project to dispatch senior engineers to two cities in Iwate Prefecture after Japan's 2011 disaster, has been advising the Waseda student group comprising students studying civil engineering. Taking from his experience of conducting projects in the Philippines and other countries during his tenure at Kawasaki Steel Corp. (now JFE Holdings Inc.), he has assisted the student group in providing disaster risk reduction education in the Philippines. Satoru Nakamura, 21, former vice president of the Waseda group, participated in activities held in the Philippines in 2019, where he spoke with children at elementary schools about prevention measures in Baguio on the island of Luzon, northern Philippines, and other locations of the country. "I think we were able to convey our message about the importance of awareness of disaster risk reduction, and that preparations for potential disasters start with the individual, rather than someone else or the government," said Nakamura, who is aiming to become a hydraulic engineer after recently leaving the student group. However, their main activities in Japan and abroad have been halted since last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. "We would like to resume student activities soon, once the coronavirus situation is settled, as we believe their activities are also important from the standpoint of international exchanges," Sakaki said. In addition to disaster reduction education, Akiyama and Konagai said there should be more emphasis placed on research related to infrastructure that can be quickly built when existing structures are damaged or destroyed in disasters, efforts to develop structures that will withstand disasters should also continue. Makeshift bridges, for example, could be built when actual bridges are lost to flooding or damage in a major disaster, allowing people to evacuate or for response teams to bring in relief supplies. "By using some equipment with a concept similar to Lego blocks, you can build a makeshift structure, which can transport emergency vehicles and prevent isolation of villages and people," Akiyama said. This means "effectively and swiftly executing recovery using locally available materials in disaster-hit areas," said Konagai. "Disaster-prone countries like Japan can heighten resiliency by stockpiling such equipment together with makeshift housing kits," Akiyama said. "Officials of local governments, public organizations, and construction companies have gained know-how by going through natural disasters. I would like to build a system to absorb such know-how and educate people who have not faced major disasters," Akiyama said. The idea includes sharing experience gained through the March 11 disaster with people in areas where other megaquakes could strike in the future, Akiyama said. Akhilesh Yadav makes insinuations, demands probe into 'attack' on Mamata Banerjee India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Sambhal, Mar 11: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Thursday demanded a probe into the alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during electioneering in Nandigram and hoped that people would elect her their CM once again. Accusing the BJP of hatching pre-poll conspiracies against the Trinamool Congress and Banerjee, Yadav asserted that people in West Bengal know Mamata Banerjee has been the sole popular chief minister of the state. WB elections 2021: TMC's 'khela hobe' jingle goes viral, BJP uses it to hit back Mamata Banerjee camp "The BJP may hatch as many conspiracies as they want... how many more such incidents might take place?" Yadav said while talking to reporters at the residence of his party MP Shafiqur Rahman Burq. "I hope the people of Bengal will once again elect Mamata Banerjee. The people know if there is any popular chief minister, it is Mamata Banerjee," said Yadav. Replying to a radiogram incident, "It should be investigated. The people who attacked or those at whose behest this incident took place should be exposed." The SP chief said his party is organising a training camp in Moradabad from Friday. WB elections 2021: TMC parliamentary delegation to meet EC on Friday over 'attack' on Mamata "What should be the future strategy and the way for the party to fight the BJP will be discussed among other things by leaders and workers," he said. He alleged the BJP is destroying all institutions of democracy and it is dangerous for everyone. "We are a democratic and secular country and this is the biggest identity of our country. It is a secular country where Hindus, Muslims, Sikh, Christians and all others live together. They (BJP) are working to end it. That is why the Samajwadi Party will remove this government with the help of people and youths," he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 20:03 [IST] People queue to enter an NHS COVID-19 vaccination centre in Westfield Stratford City shopping centre in east London. (Getty) An increase in vaccine supplies across the UK is set to lead to a surge in vaccinations. So far, more than 24 million people have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, with 1.2 million getting their second jab. However, vaccine numbers have dropped recently, from three million a week to two million being given out. But Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford has said that the issues with supply are now over and the UK has an extra 10 million doses available, according to The i. Members of the public receive their COVID-19 vaccinations at Lichfield Cathedral, Staffordshire. (Getty) As a result of the boost in supply, it is predicted that the rollout can go at a more rapid rate. Drakeford told the paper: "We are confident that we are past the couple of weeks where there was a dip in supply and we will be getting significantly greater volumes during the month of March. Watch: Coronavirus vaccine in numbers It is thought that the NHS will be able to offer four million jabs a week in England, enabling second doses to be administered without having any effect on the rollout of first doses. The i also reports that the increased rollout would mean the UK would be on track to offer the jab to all over-50s and those with underlying health conditions by the end of March, with the over-40s beginning vaccinations at the start of April. If supplies hold up, the 30-39 age group could start being given vaccinations towards the end of April, while 18-29-year-olds could be covered in May. The Department for Health and Social Care would not comment on the reports of a quicker rollout but a spokesperson said in a statement: Our health services across the UK are working tirelessly to vaccinate those most at risk and more than 22 million people have already received their first jab. The vaccination programme will rapidly expand in the coming weeks as we expect supply to increase substantially and more people will begin receiving their second doses. We are confident in our vaccine supplies and remain on track to offer a first vaccine to all adults by 31 July. Story continues On Wednesday, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said there would be a rapid increase in the number of people who will receive their first COVID jab before the end of March. He said there was to be a big uplift in supply in the coming weeks which will see a surge in people receiving their first dose and many of the highest risk getting their second jab. Zahawi said that the ultimate aim was to get 95% of British adults vaccinated and the offer of a jab was evergreen for people who had not yet accepted their invitation. He told the House of Commons women and equalities committee that until now supply has been finite but he was expecting tens of millions of doses to come through. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said there will be a 'big uplift' in vaccine supplies in the coming weeks. (Getty) He added: In the second half of March you will see a big uplift in supply. Up until now supply has been finite. Weve had good volumes but when your supply is finite you have to try and make sure that each region gets enough doses to do the cohort target. So when we were focused on (priority groups) one to four by the middle of February, we have to make sure that each region have that vaccine available to them. Now obviously as we see more and Im expecting tens of millions of doses to come through that becomes a little bit easier which allows us, for example, to double the number of pharmacies that will come online for delivery (from 200 to 400). The whole country will see a rapid increase in the number of people getting their first dose and getting protected whilst obviously we do second dosing at the same time. Watch: Do coronavirus vaccines affect fertility? Sinaloa Cartel Founded in 1989 by Hector Palma, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman and Ismael El Mayo Zambada, the Sinaloa Cartel today stands as one of the most established transnational drug trafficking organizations. While it has carved out a presence in 15 of the 32 Mexican states, the cartel also expanded its operations into the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. With El Chapo in prison, the cartel has been plagued by internal fighting between Zambada and three of El Chapos four sons, known as Los Chapitos. The Drug Enforcement Administration views the Sinaloa Cartel as one of the top two criminal organizations along with its rival, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The DEA said the Sinaloa Cartel 'exports and distributes wholesale amounts of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana in the United States by maintaining distribution hubs in various cities.' How they get drugs into the US: 'Illicit drugs distributed by the Sinaloa Cartel are primarily smuggled into the United States through crossing points located along the [south west border]. The cartel employs gatekeepers assigned to Ports Of Entry and controls Arizona and California area smuggling corridors into the United States.' Jalisco New Generation Cartel The Jalisco New Generation Cartel was once allied to the Sinaloa Cartel as El Chapo depended on its firepower to combat Los Zetas. Commandeered by Nemesio El Mencho Oseguera, the group set itself apart from other cartels in the country butchering its enemies and today is considered by the Mexican government as the most dangerous group in the country. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is spread out across 23 of the Mexico's 32 states and currently finds itself at war with at least ten cartels. The group has been known to have increased the power that its members have by purchasing military weapons and parts from the United States. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to the DEA, specializes 'in manufacturing and distributing large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine.' How they get drugs into the US: 'The CJNG smuggles illicit drugs into the United States by accessing various trafficking corridors in northern Mexico along the SWB including Tijuana, Juarez, and Nuevo Laredo. The CJNG also has influence over the busiest port in Mexico, the Port of Manzanillo, and utilizes that influence for the distribution of large quantities of drugs.' Beltran-Leyva Organization For a while, the Beltran-Leyva Organization [BLO] was born out of the Sinaloa Cartel and became one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico led by the Beltran Leyva brothers: Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, Mario Alberto and Hector. The Beltran-Leyva Organization was involved in a deadly war with the Sinaloa Cartel after the brothers accused their cousin, El Chapo, of being responsible for the January 2008 arrest of Alfredo. The brothers retaliated by reportedly plotting the murder of El Chapos 22-year-old son, Edgar Guzman, in May 2008. Alfredos arrest sparked one of the worst periods in Mexicos war on drugs as the BLOs new ally, the Juarez Cartel, went to war with the Sinaloa Cartel in Ciudad Juarez, a border town across from Texas. The BLO also expanded its might by going toe-to-toe with the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Cartel in the northeastern border city of Reynosa. While the cartel remains viable today, the organizations members over time split into 11 factions. How they get drugs into the US: 'BLO relies on its loose alliances with larger cartels for access to drug smuggling corridors along the [south west border].' Los Zetas and the Cartel del Noreste [Northeast Cartel] Los Zetas were created by Mexican military deserters who formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel in 1999 and based its operations in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, across from Laredo, Texas. The group quickly carved out a named for itself through its savage killings. By 2010, Los Zetas split from the Gulf Cartel. Los Zetas at one point dominated more cities across Mexico than the Sinaloa Cartel, with whom it clashed amidst a threat from the Gulf Cartel to eliminate it completely. Like some of the other Mexican cartels, Los Zetas saw some of its members split and form their own groups. Los Zetas role play in the drug trade is enforced by one of its factions, the Cartel del Noreste [Northeast Cartel]. Together, the criminal groups have set up its small, but lucrative, drug trade business into the Texas border cities of Laredo and Eagle Pass while controlling routes and turfs in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. How they get drugs into the US: 'Members smuggle the majority of their illicit drugs through the [south west border] in the areas of Laredo, Texas; Eagle Pass, Texas; and the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and parts of Tamaulipas.' Guerrero Unidos Operating in central Mexico, the Guerrero Unidos broke away from the Beltran-Leyva Organization and formed an alliance with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to traffic drugs into the United States and bring back its profits into Mexico. The cartel is accused of being behind the September 2014 disappearance of 43 students, who were kidnapped by local police in Iguala, a city in the southern state of Guerrero. How they get drugs into the US: 'The cartel has a working partnership with the CJNG and uses the same transportation networks to move drug shipments into the United States and to return drug proceeds back to Mexico.' Gulf Cartel The Gulf Cartel is considered to be one of the oldest active criminal organizations in Mexico and is believed to have close ties to other gangs in Europe, West Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and the United States. The organization started off by smuggling alcohol into the United States during the Prohibition Era. It was not until the 1980 that it got itself immersed into the drug trade. The DEA believes the Gulf Cartel has been working closely with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as it ships heroin and cocaine to the Texas border cities of McAllen and Brownsville. How they get drugs into the US: 'The Gulf Cartel focuses its drug trafficking activities on heroin and cocaine by transporting loads into the United States near the McAllen and Brownsville, Texas, areas.' Juarez Cartel and La Linea The Juarez Cartel cemented itself as one of the mayor players in the drug trade business back in the 1970s. It founder, Amado Carrillo, was known as 'El Senor de los Cielos' or 'The Lord of the Skies' due to the massive fleet of planes he owned to transport drugs, especially cocaine from Colombia and other countries in Latin America. The cartel was once allied to El Chapo before that relationship fell apart after the notorious drug lord declined to pay the Juarez Cartel for the right to use its drug smuggling routes. The Juarez Cartel has depended on its armed wing, La Linea, to transport heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas. How they get drugs into the US: 'These cartels greatest territorial influence is in the state of Chihuahua near the [south west border]. This area has profitable smuggling opportunities between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas.' La Familia Michoacana La Familia Michoacana was once linked to the Gulf Cartel before it went on its own in 2006. Between 2009 and 2010, the cartel proposed to the Mexican government that it had plans of laying down its arms as long as its home state of Michoacan was granted protection. However, President Felipe Calderon shot down their offer, which led to the cartel becoming increasingly involved in the funding of political candidates. La Familia Michoacana today maintains a relationship with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and other criminal groups as part of its drug smuggling operation. How they get drugs into the US: 'LFM has some ties to the CJNG and also works with other smaller groups to further the cartels drug trafficking activities.' Los Rojos Just like Guerreros Unidos, Los Rojos was formed as an armed wing and broke away from the Beltran-Leyva Organization. According to a 2020 Congressional report, Los Rojos 'operates in Guerrero and relies heavily on kidnapping and extortion for revenue as well as trafficking cocaine, although analysts dispute the scope of its involvement in the drug trade.' How they get drugs into the US: 'Los Rojos is involved in heroin trafficking' Although the Duchess of Sussex, the former Meghan Markle, isnt battling a mother-in-law, in essence her fight is not very different from traditional Indias saas-bahu tussle. Then, it dawned on me that so many people Americans especially would not be making whoopee over a young black girl from nowhere thumbing her nose at Britains august and ancient monarch if the defiance had not been especially significant for ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor A man who was intoxicated at Portlaoise railway station received a fine at Portlaoise district court last Thursday week. Stephen Maguire (32) of 71 Constitution Hill, Dublin 7 was charged with intoxication at the railway station on May 21, 2020. Garda Rynne told the court that Gardai called to the station at 5.10pm on the date in question and met Mr Maguire. He was highly intoxicated. The Gardai asked him to leave the area but he failed to comply with this direction and continued to shout abuse at them. He was subsequently arrested. He was fined 80. Bogota, Colombia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Medcolcanna Organics Inc. (NEO: MCCN) ("Medcolcanna", "MCCN" or the "Company"), a leading Colombian and globally integrated cannabis company, announces a shares for debt transaction whereby the Company has issued an aggregate of 3,837,440 common shares in the capital of the Company ("Common Shares") with certain trade creditors, employees and members of the Board of Directors in exchange for the forgiveness of a total amount of approximately $456,724.47 worth of debt owed to such creditors. A total of 1,812,764 of the Common Shares were issued at a price of $0.09 per share in exchange for the forgiveness of a total of approximately $163,150 worth of debt owing by the Company to some of its employees and members of the Board of Directors for director fees for Q3 and Q4 2020, such price being the 90 day volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the facilities of the Neo Exchange Inc. leading up to and including March 5, 2021. The balance of the Common Shares issued (2,024,676) are priced at $0.145 per share, the value being settled at the market price of the Common Shares as of March 5, 2021, being the last trading day prior to the date where the valuation of such shares was determined, to certain vendors and suppliers as well as members of the Board of Directors for director fees for Q1 2021. The issuance of the Common Shares allows the Company to settle certain debt owing to various creditors and preserve its working capital for growing the business as it works towards achieving self-sufficiency and being self-financing. The Common Shares are subject to a four month hold under applicable securities laws, such hold expiring on July 11, 2021. MCCN believes that this demonstrates the trust of the Employees, Consultants and Suppliers of the Company, and their commitment to the future of the Company. This issuance is considered to be a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 as several of the creditors are related parties to the Company, but the Company is availing itself of the exemptions from obtaining a formal valuation and obtaining "majority of the minority" approval due to the exemptions available in Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of said instrument. ABOUT MEDCOLCANNA Medcolcanna is a Canadian integrated medical cannabis company, whose fully licensed operations are based in Colombia. Led by a proven and successful management team, Medcolcanna has facilities in optimal growing locations which positions the Company to become a global leader in the medical cannabis market. Medcolcanna employs state of the art organic agricultural technology and innovative pharmaceutical processes to produce high-quality products. The Company's scalable production model and network of pharmaceutical partnerships globally ensures that they remain at the forefront of the medical cannabis industry. If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: https://medcolcanna.com/contact-us/ or write to info@medcolcanna.com. Additional information about Medcolcanna can be found on its web site at medcolcanna.com Medcolcanna Investor Relations Contact: Chris Reid, CFO Carrera 49b # 93-62 Bogota, Colombia Phone: +571 642-9113 Email: info@medcolcanna.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals for any proposed transaction, including those discussed herein. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Medcolcanna assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76839 Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 20:17:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close China's 14th Five-Year Plan gives China more possibilities for sustainable growth, and brings great opportunities for European investors and companies, Horst Loechel, a professor of economics at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, has told Xinhua. Loechel, who is also director of the university's Sino-German Center and a longtime China watcher, identifies "no quantitative growth goal" and the "dual circulation" theory as the two most important changes in the country's development plan for the next five years. No more quantitative growth goal in the plan gives China "more possibilities, more room, and more opportunities" for sustainable growth, and the "dual circulation" strategy shows that the government is very much intended to increase consumption and self-reliance on high tech, Loechel said. Given the five-year plan, it is more predictable for foreign companies what will happen in China in the next five years, he said. Loechel hopes China and Europe can further cooperate in areas like high-quality consumption, technology and green economy. In areas like green finance, sustainable development and pollution-free production, there is also "a huge opportunity" for Europeans and also for the Germans, Loechel said. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Many people in rural areas of the Philippines are scratching out a living after a year of coronavirus lockdowns. Baby Jane Velicaria, 23, joined an exodus from Manila and other cities when the government imposed the first of its COVID-19 lockdowns and quarantines in March 2020. She works today at her fathers tobacco farm in Balungao, a municipality in northern Pangasinan province. She used to work at a bag factory in the big city. I lost my job in the factory because of the lockdown, Velicaria told BenarNews. I went back here in March last year, and I havent had a job since. This week, authorities announced an expanded coronavirus lockdown and nightly curfews in the Philippine capital, amid reports of surging COVID-19 cases in recent days. The Philippines has the second highest number of infections and deaths from the virus in East Asia. In the second half of last year, the government gradually re-opened some economic sectors. Still, the pandemic has battered the economy, leaving millions of Filipinos without jobs. Here in the barrio, if you have crops, you would eat, Velicaria said. Our lives here have remained the same. We just cant go to the cities or towns because many things are prohibited there. However for Nestor Hilario, a 53-year-old tobacco farmer in Balungao, the lockdowns have been a minor inconvenience. He has farmed tobacco all his life. He says he would die tilling the soil, as part of a business passed on from father to son. Hilario has done relatively well during the pandemic. The health scare around the outbreak hasnt stopped buyers from out of town from purchasing his dried tobacco leaves. A farmers life is hard, but the lockdown has affected us little because we hardly go to the cities, he said. Our lives have always been difficult, as before. In the coastal community of Bani, another town in Pangasinan, the lockdowns have affected the barter trade locally known as kompra. The local fishermen trade in their catch for other goods in other towns. But the practice stopped as markets closed and communities shut down. We are not in favor of the total lockdown because the virus has not affected us, Aying Vitto, a local seafood trader, told BenarNews, while expressing hope that the government would end the health quarantines once and for all. The plan to build a new $100 million pool at the WACA ground and go ahead with a broader $1.5 billion Perth City Deal could be delayed for months over a tiff between different levels of government. City of Perth councillors will decide this month whether a business case will be prepared for the pool after concerns were raised over the design and ongoing costs associated with the future community asset. Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas has been railing against the local government being caught out with high maintenance costs for running a pool at the WACA. WAtoday understands the City of Perth is concerned state and federal governments want to push ahead with the pool when the project has not been green-lit at any council meeting by elected representatives, despite ratepayers being on the hook for at least $25 million. Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas has been vocal about not rushing into the project after it was revealed no business plan had been ticked off by the previous council administration before it became part of the city deal purportedly committed to by the local, state, and federal governments. On his show Tuesday night, Carlson railed against President Joe Bidens comments a day earlier, on International Womens Day, as he was discussing the promotion of two female generals and efforts to better accommodate women in the military with measures such as maternity flight suits and allowing more hairstyles. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) The Department of Interior and Local Government will seek the help of Congress anew to ensure that the country can tap and sustain 15,000 contact tracers until the end of 2021, an official said on Thursday. The Philippines has over 255,000 contact tracers nationwide. Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said it will be cut by 15,000 by June if the agency fails to get more funds to pay them. He said their funds to hire contact tracers, coming from the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act and their 2021 budget, was depleted in January when they hired 15,000 personnel for a six-month contract. With the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases, particularly in parts of Metro Manila, Malaya expressed the dire need to seek Congress' help to be able to pay contact tracers from June to December. "Mauubos na namin iyan (budget) sa kontrata lang na pinirmahan with contact tracers this year. Paano kung tumagal ang sitwasyon na ito? We will request from Congress this appropriation para makasiguro tayo that we will have this 15,000 contact tracers until the end of the year," he said in a media briefing. [Translation: We will exhaust our budget with the contracts signed for this year. What if the surge lasts long? We will request funding from the Congress to ensure we will have enough money to keep 15,000 contact tracers until the end of the year.] Based on the current cost, Malaya estimated the amount needed to go over P1 billion. The request will be placed under the proposed third installment of the Bayanihan law. Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, one of the authors of the Bayanihan to Arise as One bill, said there is money to fund the implementation of the proposed P420-billion stimulus package, noting the various loans taken out by the government for COVID-19 response. The DILG official said the current roster of contact tracers is more than enough to meet the standard set by the Health Department. Only 135,000 contact tracers are necessary to uphold the DOH standard of 1 tracer for every 800 contacts. Enough budget for hiring Meanwhile, DILG USec. Epimaco Densing said that local government units in Metro Manila have enough money to hire contact tracers. They have enough budget. In fact, they were allowed under the law to realign some of their local budgets to COVID-19 responses, that includes hiring of contact tracers to meet World Health Organization standard, Densing told CNN Philippines. Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro earlier said that DILG decided not to rehire 50,000 contact tracers last year due to lack of funds. But Densing said that the 50,000 contact tracers hired by the DILG last year were just for augmentation and LGUs can hire on their own using their respective budgets. The 50,000 tracers that we were able to hire in the last quarter of last year, under the Bayanihan 2, were just for augmentation to meet the standard. But they are still required to do the tracers, within the standard ratio, within the budget that they have, he added. TOKYO and CAMBRIDGE, England, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sosei Group Corporation ("the Company") (TSE: 4565) announces that Formosa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Formosa") has dosed the first patient in a 370-patient randomized Phase 3 clinical trial of APP13007 in the United States (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04739709). APP13007 is a nanoparticle formulation of a steroid in development for the treatment of inflammation and pain after cataract surgery. The milestone has triggered a US$2.5 million payment to Sosei Heptares from Formosa. APP13007 was originally designed and developed at Activus Pharma Inc. ("Activus"), formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Activus was divested in August 2017 to Formosa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Formosa Laboratories, Inc., a leading manufacturer of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients ("APIs") listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The divestment was part of Sosei Heptares' redirected growth strategy towards the design and development of new medicines originating from its proprietary GPCR-targeted StaR technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. Activus was originally developing APP13007 by applying its patented proprietary APNT ("Activus Pure Nanoparticle Technology") to the steroid to create a novel nanoparticle formulation for treating post-operative inflammation of the eye. Since the divestment, Formosa has progressed the development of APP13007 and is now aiming to begin Phase 3 trials in the United States imminently. Under the terms of the sale to Formosa in 2017, Sosei Heptares is entitled to receive undisclosed milestone payments based on progression of Activus' pipeline as well as royalties from the commercialization of certain products should they reach the market. Shinichi Tamura, Chairman, President and CEO of Sosei Heptares, said: "It is great to see the progress that Formosa has made advancing the development of APP13007. Entering Phase 3 trials is a fantastic achievement. We wish the Formosa team well in conducting this important trial and look forward to the results upon its completion." About Sosei Heptares We are an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the discovery and early development of new medicines originating from our proprietary GPCR-targeted StaR technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. We are advancing a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including neurology, immunology, gastroenterology and inflammatory diseases. We have established partnerships with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Biohaven, Genentech (Roche), GSK, Novartis, Pfizer and Takeda and additionally with multiple emerging technology companies. Sosei Heptares is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with corporate and R&D facilities in Cambridge, UK. "Sosei Heptares" is the corporate brand and trademark of Sosei Group Corporation, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (ticker: 4565). Sosei, Heptares, the logo and StaR are trademarks of Sosei Group companies. For more information, please visit https://www.soseiheptares.com/ LinkedIn: @soseiheptaresco | Twitter: @soseiheptaresco | YouTube: @soseiheptaresco Enquiries: Sosei Heptares Media and Investor Relations Hironoshin Nomura, SVP Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy +81 (0)3 6679 2178 | [email protected] Shinichiro Nishishita, VP Investor Relations, Head of Regulatory Disclosures +81 (0)3 5210 3399 | [email protected] Citigate Dewe Rogerson (for Sosei Heptares) Yas Fukuda Japanese Media +81 (0)3 4360 9234 | [email protected] Mark Swallow, David Dible International Media +44 (0)20 7638 9571 | [email protected] Forward-looking statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development and commercialization of products. Various risks may cause Sosei Group Corporation's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programs; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialization activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Sosei Heptares Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Director-General, Pavel Oimeke resigned last month as he eyes a career in politics. In a statement this week, Oimeke said he submitted his resignation to the Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter on February 16. His resignation comes after he was accused of demanding a Sh200,000 bribe to reopen a petrol station in Oyugis, Homa Bay County that had been shut down over tax violations. Oimekes first term at the helm of the energy regulator expired on August 1, 2020, but he secured another three-year term on July 27 the same year. However, one Emannuel Wanjala moved to court to block his re-appointment, accusing him of nefarious practices such as colluding with illegal LPG dealers, nepotism, tribalism and favouritism. The EPRA board had in August directed Oimeke to step aside following the suit but Justice Hellen Wasilwa dismissed Wanjalas petition for lack of merit and Oimekes immediate reinstatement. Pavel, who is out on a cash bail of Sh200,000 over bribery charges, is eyeing the Bonchari parliamentary seat in Kisii. The seat was left vacant after the death of Oroo Oyioka who passed away at the Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu on February 15, 2021 after battling a long illness. I am still consulting on which party to use as a ticket to my political leadership, he told the Nation Workforce VA watchdog cautions on pandemic hires Hiring flexibilities used to help the Veterans Health Administration cope with the coronavirus pandemic could be leaving the agency open to the misuse of veterans' information, according to an advisory memo from the VA Inspector General's Office prepared last November and released March 11. The agency has been operating with the goal of bringing in new hires within three days after making a tentative offer, the memo says, a process that's involved deferring some of the usual steps in onboarding like drug tests and fingerprinting. Before vaccines were made available, chunks of the workforce were unavailable because of COVID-19 exposure or sickness, said Richard Stone, the VHA's acting undersecretary for health at a hearing before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee in February. "We were running five thousand to six thousand employees who could not get to work," he said. The agency had hired around 80,000 more staff members with funding from the CARES Act with the help of these shortened onboarding times to bring them in faster, he told lawmakers. Although these policies have allowed the agency to fill holes in the workforce, they come with potential risks that "may threaten VHA's ability to safeguard veterans' sensitive information and ensure its workforce is suitable for serving patients at VA medical facilities," the memo says. The Office of Personnel Management issued interim guidance for hiring and onboarding in March. Since then, the VHA has used an expedited hiring process allowing fingerprinting to be deferred in certain cases, such as in the event that fingerprinting offices are closed due to the pandemic. When that happens, name-based checks with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency could be used, as opposed to a fingerprint criminal history check run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a background clearance called a Special Agreement Check. The name-based process might not catch all criminal history or search all records, the memo says. In the meantime, new employees could potentially do damage, given the access they have to sensitive information and records. The report says that 512 new hires were processed without fingerprint checks last December. "Each name-based approach constitutes an increased risk," the memo says. "While this risk might not have been realized in the past, the risk remains relevant into the future while fingerprint flexibilities remain in place." VHA comments for the report noted that fingerprint offices haven't been closed extensively across the nation. The VHA has updated the guidance in after receiving this memo in November to ensure pending onboarding tasks are properly tracked to completion, the memo says, and added that the agency "has already taken actions to mitigate the potential risks identified in this advisory memorandum." remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Former Central Minister, Kwamena Duncan has descended heavily on the Minority in Parliament over their behaviour during Tuesday's State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his first State of the Nation Address in his second term on March 9, touched on his achievements in the various sectors of the economy and the developmental projects he seeks to undertake in his second term. 2021 SONA Highlights The President stated that his ''government will continue to implement prudent fiscal measures to quicken the pace of fiscal consolidation, and, in March this year, the Minister for Finance will come to this august House to provide further details on the measures to be taken to restore our country back to the path of economic recovery. Mr. Speaker, Government, in four years, has recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy. We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals.'' ''The National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services are all part of the drive to formalise our economy, and enhance its productivity'', he emphasized. He also underscored the importance of industrialization saying we are determined to make our own things and the Akufo-Addo administration will continue the agenda of rapid industrialisation with the aim of transforming the structure of the Ghanaian economy from one dependent on the production of raw materials to a value-added industrialised economy. "Under the One District One Factory Policy, 232 projects are at various stages of completion. This includes 76 operating 1D1F companies whiles 112, including five medium-sized agro-processing factories and 63 common user facilities are under construction.'' Minority Boo Chief Justice And Second Lady When the President ended his speech, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin seized an opportunity to acknowledge dignitaries at the function. The Speaker recognized the presence of the Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah but the Minority hooted and booed him. Second Lady Samira Bawumia also got her share from the Minority when the Speaker acknowledged her. The Minority shouted; ''We want Ramatu''. National Day of Shame Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Kwamena Duncan expressed disappointment in the Minority over their conduct. He declared Tuesday's SONA as a ''National Day of Shame'' on the Minority, stressing they are an embarrassment to the nation. Where are we drifting? What sin did the Chief Justice commit? Whats Justice Kwesi Annin Yeboahs crime? Such an embarrassment in the house of our representatives!...These are our leaders. The Members of Parliament are our leaders and they must show cause that, look, we are leaders and providing leadership. Its an utter disgrace! And youre saying that, next time, when the Chief Justice has a role to play; a duty to perform in Parliament, that he will feel in his will, in his body, flesh and soul, he will feel welcome to go there, Kwamena fumed. 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. Featured Video Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - HIRE Technologies Inc. (TSXV: HIRE) ("HIRE" or the "Company"), a company focused on modernizing and digitizing human resources solutions, is pleased to announce that Simon Dealy, CEO, has joined the Toronto Chapter Board of Directors at the Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS). ACSESS is the national voice of the recruiting industry that helps to advance best practices and ethical standards through advocacy, government relations, professional development, resources, and research. As a chapter board member, Mr. Dealy will contribute to key decisions that will shape the future of the Canadian staffing industry. "I am excited to be joining ACSESS, where I will work alongside other leaders in the staffing industry to gain valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of the Canadian employment sector," said Simon Dealy. "This organization has been instrumental in shaping the industry and providing staffing entrepreneurs with support. Staffing is an integral part of HIRE's business model and it's important for us to be part of the greater conversation around policies and ethics." Mary McIninch, Executive Director of Government Relations at ACSESS, commented: "I am very pleased to welcome Simon Dealy to the ACSESS GTA Chapter Board. Simon has demonstrated strong leadership throughout his career and his industry insights will be valuable to our organization. He is committed to advancing the interests of the staffing industry and supporting the many Canadian entrepreneurs in the recruitment business." For further information about HIRE Technologies, please visit: www.hire.company. Simon Dealy, Chief Executive Officer Phone: (647) 264-9196 Email: sdealy@hire.company For more information about ACSESS please visit: www.acsess.org. Mary McIninch, Executive Director, Government Relations Phone: (905) 826-6869 Email: mmcininch@acsess.org About HIRE Technologies Inc. HIRE Technologies is building a network of staffing, IT, and HR consulting firms. We help our partners navigate the changing world through growth solutions, focusing on digital transformation. Our partnership model emphasizes our brands' identity and independence and provides the resources, support, and expertise to take their businesses further. We offer valuable advice and insights to our clients while delivering innovative solutions, enhancing their HR teams, and connecting them with the best people for their business. Neither the TSXV 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 press release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76916 Four-time Grammy winner Lionel Richie's youngest daughter Sofia shared a b&w snap on Wednesday of herself modeling a bikini at his $11.4M, 28-room mansion in Beverly Hills. The 22-year-old influencer was captured from a recent shoot by photographer Adrian Martin, whom she's worked with as far back as July. The 71-year-old American Idol judge's Italian Renaissance Revival house built in 1929 by Harry Koerner and William J. Gage. Lounging: Four-time Grammy winner Lionel Richie's youngest daughter Sofia shared a b&w snap on Wednesday of herself modeling a bikini at his $11.4M, 28-room mansion in Beverly Hills This comes after her ex Scott Disick was seen in a February 25 teaser for Keeping Up with the Kardashians asking his ex Kourtney Kardashian to marry him. Scott looks at Kourtney during an outdoor meal and says he will marry her right then and there. The move is off considering he is dating Amelia Hamlin and she is with Travis Barker. Meanwhile, Richie is doing her own thing theses days, like posing for pinup photos. In her new snap, the looker had a small waistline and toned arms as she looked straight into the camera. Her blonde hair was worn down in soft waves and she had on minimal makeup. And the Los Angeles native also wore layered of gold jewelry - multiple chain necklaces with a round pendant and stacks of bracelets. On display: The 22-year-old influencer was captured from a recent shoot by photographer Adrian Martin, whom she's worked with as far back as July (posted Tuesday) Picturesque: The 71-year-old American Idol judge's Italian Renaissance Revival house built in 1929 by Harry Koerner and William J. Gage (posted Monday) Before that, the star was seen in a color photo in the same backyard; and she used the same photographer. Richie had on a black bandeau top under a beige jacket as she added small briefs with her hair back. She had on the same gold jewelry as in the other photo as she glanced at a book. Sofia was barefoot as she showed off a black pedicure. Last month Sofia said she was 'still single.' He moved on: Her ex Scott Disick is now dating Lisa Rinna's daughter Amelia Hamlin; seen in Miami in mid February She has the same job as Sofia: Like Richie, Amelia models bikinis and lingerie The model has recently been spotted on a series of dates with the billionaire shipping heir Gil Ofer, but according to a source close to the blonde beauty, she remains a single woman. Speaking to E! News, the insider explained: 'Sofia is currently single despite her rendezvous in Miami. 'She's been seeing a few people and is truly having fun right now. She doesn't want to be tied down in a relationship and is keeping her options open. She's been going on dates with a few people and her friends have been trying to set her up.' Sofia has been enjoying her time with Gil but their situation remains 'casual'. His other ex: Scott's former partner, with whom he has three kids, is now dating again Her new man: The KUWTK star is dating Travis Barker; seen here talking to Drew Barrymore on Monday The source added: 'Sofia has been hanging out with Gil Ofer while vacationing in Miami, but it's been casual. 'They've gone on a few dates and she likes him but she truly doesn't want anything serious. Gil and Sofia met through mutual friends and have known each other for awhile now.' The romance rumours emerged shortly after Sofia suggested she'd outgrown her relationship with Scott, 37. The model recently wrote a cryptic post about love on her Instagram Stories. What? In a teaser for the next episode of KUWTK, Scott asks Kourtney to marry him even though he is dating Hamlin She is not so sure: Kourtney has told Scott they are not a fit because he has not worked on himself enough Sofia said: 'Sometimes we outgrow people we used to know and become different people. When this growth happens, some take our changes personally. Not because they have anything against us but because they do not recognize the person that we are now (sic)' Sofia - who started dating Scott back in 2017 - also suggested that she's changed significantly over recent years. She wrote: 'You're not responsible for people's assumptions about you. You're also not obliged to remain the person people remember you to be.' Meanwhile, Disick and Amelia Gray Hamlin went Instagram official in February Flashback: Single Sofia shared this image with her best pal; the image was taken last year The reality TV star and the 19-year-old actress have been linked since last year, when they were spotted at Kendall Jenner's Halloween party together and Scott has finally confirmed the romance with some pictures on his Instagram. He shared one unsmiling picture of them both with the caption, 'why so serious' before adding a happier image and writing 'just kiddin'. The pictures - showing Scott's newly dyed blonde hair - were taken during a romantic date night in Miami, Florida, where the pair have been enjoying a loved-up vacation. Scott split from longtime girlfriend Richie last summer and he is said to be smitten with Amelia. A source, who spotted Scott and Amelia on the beach in Miami, told E! News: 'They seemed to be having a very relaxing time. They looked very much in love. They were really chill and relaxed with a couple friends.' Meanwhile, it was previously claimed that Amelia's parents, 'Real Housewives' star Lisa Rinna and actor Harry Hamlin were not supportive of her romance with Scott. An insider said: 'Harry and Lisa were sad to see Amelia and Mercer Wiederhorn split because they loved Mercer. He was like family, but they understand. They believe [the romance with Scott] is just a phase.' Scott's other ex Kourtney and her new beau Travis Barker have made their relationship Instagram official in February. The 41-year-old reality star shared a photo on social media showing her hand intertwined with the Blink-182 drummer's. Although she didn't post a caption on the snap, Travis commented with a black heart emoji. Her Poosh lifestyle brand referenced on of the rock band's hit tracks as they commented: 'We're feeling this'. Kourtney's friend Addison Rae simply wrote: 'THIS.' Meanwhile, her family are said to be pleased to see the reality star dating the punk rock drummer. The insider recently said: 'Kourtney's family is super supportive of the relationship and loves Travis. 'He has been a family friend for such a long time and Kourtney has been single for a while, so they're all very happy for her and think this is the healthiest relationship that she could be in.' Last month, a source claimed that Travis, 45, is 'smitten' with Kourtney. The drummer and the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star are 'officially a couple', and he's been in love with Kourtney for some time. The source said: 'Kourtney and Travis are officially a couple. They have been close friends for years and have been dating for a couple of months. Travis is very smitten with Kourtney and has been for a while.' The celebrity duo sparked rumours after they both posted social media snaps from Kris Jenner's Palm Springs home. The romance is Kourtney's first major relationship since she split from Younes Bendjima in 2018, having separated from Disick - the father of her children Mason, 11, Penelope, eight, and six-year-old Reign - six years ago. And it's said Scott 'couldn't be happier' with his ex's new romance. A source revealed: 'Scott has been around Travis on several occasions and thinks he's a great guy. He's really happy for Kourtney and is not surprised they are dating. Kourtney has spent a lot of time with Travis and it's not shocking to him that they developed a romantic relationship. 'She hasn't dated someone in a while and Scott wants her to be happy. Kourtney and Scott are in a great place and they have come to terms that they are strictly friends and co-parents. There's no romance there and he couldn't be happier that she's moved on. As long as the kids are in a healthy situation and Kourtney's in a good place, then Scott is happy for them.' Thousands of devotees took holy dip at Har Ki Pauri ghat in Haridwar on the occasion of Maha Shivratri on Thursday morning. "Up to 22 lakh devotees have performed 'snan' till now. We are going to begin the process of emptying this ghat as 'akharas' are getting ready for 'shahi snan'," said Sanjay Gunjyal, Inspector General of Police, in Haridwar. The timing for the holy bath at 'Har ki Pauri' for akharas is from 8 am to 5 pm on Maha Shivratri. The general public can take bath before 8 am and after 5 pm. Apart from 5,000 security force personnel, CCTV cameras and drones will be used to boost security at Haridwar Kumbh. In a meeting with senior officials, Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Wednesday directed them to show flowers from helicopters on pilgrims who would come for the first holy dip on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. This Kumbh will be held from April 1 to April 30 in Haridwar. The government has decided to limit the Kumbh this year to 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maha Kumbh is celebrated in a cycle of 12 years at four river-bank pilgrimage sites across India. According to State Chief Secretary Om Prakash, people violating COVID-19 SOPs at 2021 Haridwar, will be prosecuted.All participants will have to register on the Administration's official website and upload documents including a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report, taken up to 72 hours prior, after which, an e-pass will be generated. (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.) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. President Joe Biden plans to announce his administrations purchase agreement of 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Wednesday, according to several reports. The purchase will be made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and will vastly increase the nations vaccine supply, which will likely be available later this year as the pharmaceutical company ramps up its production, CNN reported. Merck & Co., one of the largest pharmaceutical companies, is now manufacturing the single-dose vaccine following a deal brokered by the Biden administration. The deal was made using the Defense Production Act. Theres also a chance that well encounter an unexpected challenge on new need in our vaccination efforts, and were preparing for just that, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, according to NBC. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the third to receive the Food and Drug Administrations emergency use authorization in the United States, has been hailed for its convenience and durability compared to the other two immunizations made by Moderna and Pfizer. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 93,600,000 doses of the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been administered in the United States. CITY USING J&J VACCINE FOR HOMEBOUND RESIDENTS While the citys program was originally tailored toward homebound seniors, Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged during a press conference Tuesday that qualified people who are homebound, but not necessarily seniors, will also be part of the initiative. The mayor said that not just seniors would eventually be incorporated in the effort, adding, anyone who qualifies and is homebound we want to reach. However, a timeline for when that would occur remains unclear. The City Health Commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi, said, The program will serve anyone who is homebound and is eligible for vaccination, but conceded that older homebound people would be prioritized in the initiatives earlier stages. Chokshi credited the currently-limited supply of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as part of the reason for the citys limited focus concerning the homebound. FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER. NSW ministers insist Queensland should not be rewarded with tourism funding after its record on snap border closures, as the federal government prepares to expand its list of destinations amid criticism of its new support package. Flights are also likely to go on sale earlier than April as part of the federal governments $1.2 billion package, in which taxpayers will cover half the cost of airfares for 800,000 flights to 13 regions. However, the package has come under fire for being too narrow, with NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres saying Sydney and Melbourne had been ignored despite being more significantly affected than many regional areas. Bondi Beach surf school Lets Go Surfing says Sydney is suffering without tourists. Credit:Louise Kennerley Transport Minister Andrew Constance warned Queenslands bad behaviour was being rewarded. Kolkata: A Parliamentary delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) will meet Election Commission in Delhi on March 12 to talk about the 'attack' on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram on Wednesday night. The delegation will include six MPs from both the Houses who are on their way to the nation capital from Kolkata. Earlier, the TMC delegation consisting of MP Derek O`Brien, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee met the Chief Election Officer at noon in the state election commission office at 21 NS Road in Kolkata following the `attack` on TMC chief. "We met the CEO today on the attack on the Chief Minister. We condemn the way election commission remained alienated on state`s law and order situation," ANI quoted Partha Chatterjee as saying after they submitted the complaint. Though, after TMC representatives left, a BJP delegation too met the CEO asking why there was no ambulance with the CM's convoy. "Where is the ambulance? CM convoys have an ambulance. Which was the hospital that is generally allotted to the Chief Minister in case of emergency? Why she had to travel to Kolkata? The TMC said it happened after the ECI took over but what were the four IPS doing?" the BJP said. Mamata Banerjee, who was on a two-day visit to Nandigram to file her nomination where was alleged pushed by a few unidentified people during her election campaign. She was later taken to Kolkata`s SSKM Hospital, as per medical reports she has sustained "severe bony injuries" on her left foot and ankle as well as bruises and injuries on her shoulder, forearm and neck. Polls for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. The state is likely to witness a triangular contest with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Post-stabilisation notice 11 March 2021 Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. Commerzbank AG 500 million senior preferred due 2025 Post-Stabilisation Notice Commerzbank (contact: Daniela Olt-Farrelly; telephone: +49 69 136-20) hereby gives notice that no stabilisation (within the meaning of Article 3.2 (d) of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014) was undertaken by the Stabilising Managers named below in relation to the offer of the following securities. Issuer: Commerzbank AG Guarantor (if any): none ISIN: DE000CB0HRY3 Aggregate nominal amount: 500,000,000 Description: 0.10% Preferred senior Notes due 11 Sep 2025 Stabilisation Coordinator: Stabilisation Managers: Commerzbank AG BBVA CACIB Helaba Societe Generale This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said forces should be able to ban 'static' demos in the same way as protest marches Police should be given powers to ban 'static protests' by groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter, a watchdog says today. Officers sometimes fail to take into account the disruption that stationary protests cause for nearby residents and businesses, a major report found. Forces should therefore be able to ban such demonstrations in the same way that protest marches can be prohibited, said Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). Officers should also 'think very carefully' before 'taking the knee' at BLM protests because they should strive to remain neutral, its report added. Police should be given powers to ban 'static protests' by groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter, a watchdog says today. Officers sometimes fail to take into account the disruption that stationary protests cause for nearby residents and businesses, a major report found. Pictured: Extinction Rebellion protesters in London in January 2020 [File photo] Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr, who oversaw the report, said: 'Police don't always do enough to assess the impact that peaceful protests have on the lives of local residents or businesses. 'So this has sometimes caused enormous disruption, and it's tipped the balance in favour of the protesters.' The report noted that the 2019 Extinction Rebellion climate protests cost 37million to police. The 157-page study, carried out by the HMICFRS at Home Secretary Priti Patel's request, noted that the 2019 protests by environmental activists XR cost 37million to police in 2019 - double the annual budget of London's violent crime taskforce. Officers should also 'think very carefully' before 'taking the knee' at BLM protests because they should strive to remain neutral, its report added. Pictured: A Black Lives Matter protest in Brixton, London in June 2020 [File photo] Mr Parr said other examples of protests had been 'out of kilter' with the public's right to carry on with normal business - such as BLM's blockade of the M6 motorway at Coventry last June, and XR's 'swarming' of Bristol city centre in June 2019. 'It would be reasonable to say that the police didn't take sufficient account of the significant disruption that both caused, and it was deliberate on the part of the protests,' Mr Parr said. 'There will remain a considerable public interest in ensuring that a fair balance is struck. 'We have made recommendations and identified areas for improvement which are designed to help the police get the balance right.' HMICFRS commissioned a YouGov poll of more than 2,000 adults in England and Wales which found two-thirds of those questioned said it was unacceptable for protesters to cause serious disruption to residents. More than seven out of 10 said use of violence by protesters was unacceptable. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Volcanologists do what they can to provide the public enough warning about impending eruptions, but volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable. Alerts are sometimes given with little time for people to react. That may soon change. Work led by research assistant professor Tarsilo Girona, with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, has revealed a method by which scientistsand the publiccan have perhaps years of advance warning about a potential eruption. The solution lies in regular and widespread monitoring of the radiant temperature of a volcano's flanks before the appearance of any of the usual warning signs, such as glacier melting, sulfur odors, increased gas emissions, quaking and deformation. Girona is the lead author of a paper published today in the journal Nature Geosciences titled "Large-Scale Thermal Unrest of Volcanoes for Years Prior To Eruption." The paper is co-authored by Vincent Realmuto and Paul Lundgren, research scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Lundgren supervises JPL's Earth Surface and Interior Group. "This is showing that very large areas in the volcanoes are increasing the release of heat," Girona said. "It's a process which is going on in, we cannot say in the whole volcano itself, but in very large areas in the volcano. It's a large-scale process." Girona also works with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which is evaluating how best to integrate the research findings into its monitoring of Alaska volcanoes. The AVO is a cooperative organization among UAF, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. David Fee, AVO coordinating scientist at UAF, said the findings can bolster volcano monitoring. That's important for the airline industry, particularly in Alaska and especially near Anchorage and other communities potentially in the path of an ash cloud. "These results might provide critical information on how best to supplement existing monitoring networks, especially for difficult-to-monitor volcanoes in remote parts of Alaska," he said. "Any advance information on eruptions is helpful." The research focused on five volcanoes that erupted or exploded in the past 20 years, that displayed a wide range of behaviors and characteristics, and that are considered representative of volcanoes worldwide: Mount Redoubt in Alaska, Mount Ontake in Japan, Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand, Calbuco in Chile and Pico do Fogo in Cabo Verde, an island nation off the west coast of Africa. The researchers analyzed 16 years of thermal infrared radiance data collected by NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The satellite data had never been analyzed with an eye toward long-term early awareness of potential volcanic activity. Girona, Realmuto and Lundgren wanted to answer this question: Does volcanic activity underground produce a noticeable increase in radiant temperature at the surface long before an eruption? The data provided the answer for all five of the studied volcanoes: A clear "yes." The researchers wrote that volcanoes can experience thermal unrest "for several years before eruption" and that the unrest "is dominated by a large-scale phenomenon operating over extensive areas of volcanic edifices." They also found that the heat increased regardless of the type of eruption. Mount Redoubt, for example, had an increase of 0.85 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus 0.31 degrees (0.47 degrees Celsius, plus or minus 0.17), from mid-2006 to its major eruption of March 2009. Notably, the radiant temperature began increasing approximately one year earlier than the onset of other warning signs. Redoubt's radiant temperature began dropping quickly a year after the eruption and has remained low since 2014. The researchers said their findings will allow scientists to anticipate eruptions that are difficult to forecast through other geophysical and geochemical methods. "This is especially relevant for phreatic eruptions (volcanic gas explosions), such as the one at Ontake, Japan, in 2014," Girona said. "Phreatic eruptions are generally very difficult to anticipate with traditional methods." The research, which Girona began at JPL and continued after moving to the Geophysical Institute, also provides insights into the interaction between a volcano's magmatic gases and its subsurface system of superheated water. Lundgren said the new approach, combined with such tools as GPS or satellite radar measurements of surface displacements, can reveal even more about volcano processes. For example, the team integrated surface heat emissions with surface displacements in another recent publication to better understand the behavior of Domuyo, a newly discovered deforming volcano in Argentina. More information: Large-scale thermal unrest of volcanoes for years prior to eruption, Nature Geosciences (2021). dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00705-4 Journal information: Nature Geoscience Large-scale thermal unrest of volcanoes for years prior to eruption,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-021-00705-4 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. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) The Algerian president, Abdelmajid Tebboune, has welcomed the formation in Libya of a government of national unity, chaired by Prime Minister Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, and the vote of confidence by the House of Representatives (Parliament) on Wednesday, expressing his full support and will to back the government Insurers in California continued to overcharge drivers despite reduced risk of accidents during the pandemic, according to a report released today by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Lara ordered auto insurance companies to return a percentage of paid premiums in April, 2020, as more Californians stayed off the roads in response to public health stay-at-home orders. Laras order saved drivers collectively more than $1.75 billion in 2020, according to the California Department of Insurance. Lara ordered a review of data submitted by insurance companies, and found that insurance companies continued to overcharge consumers despite drastically reduced risk of accidents and loss due to the ongoing pandemic. Mark Sektnan, vice president of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said insurers took immediate action when driving was reduced in 2020, and that auto insurers voluntarily provided more than $14 billion in refunds and credits to policyholders for reduced driving during the pandemic. Insurers will review Commissioner Laras bulletin and report the appropriate data to the California Department of Insurance, Sektnan in a statement. Insurers are always looking at their book of business to manage their risk and provide accurate rates to their policyholders in a competitive marketplace. Unfortunately, highway data demonstrates some dangerous trends. Sektnan called attention to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety traffic fatalities increased significantly in the first nine months of 2020, and that various sources have indicated that miles driven have been increasing over the last few months and are approaching pre-pandemic levels. The 2020 increase in road fatalities suggests that despite improved automobile technologies and auto safety laws, driver behavior is deteriorating at a rapid pace, said Sektnan. Trends in reckless driving could prove even more fatal as traffic volume starts to return to pre-pandemic levels. These dangerous trends, combined with increasing litigation, medical, and auto repair costs impact the marketplace. Lara is now directing auto insurance companies to report by April 30 how they will return additional premium back to California policyholders that was reportedly over-collected in 2020. He is also directing commercial insurance companies to provide data about commercial policies held by California businesses. My order saved California drivers more than $1.75 billion last year the most in the nation, Lara said in a statement. But while millions of us stayed home helping to fight the spread of the virus and reducing the risk of accidents for our essential workers, insurance companies continued to collect inflated premiums. The bottom line: Insurance companies overcharged consumers and need to do more to make it right and help Californians recover. The commissioners review included the top 10 insurance groups representing 80 percent of the private passenger automobile insurance market. He found: Over seven months from March to September, insurers returned on average 9% of auto premiums, but the CDI analysis found they should have refunded nearly double that amount 17% over that period. Bodily injury claims fell by 41.7% and property damage liability claims fell by 40.4% during March to September 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. For April 2020, the first full month of the statewide stay-at-home order, the gap between the refund indicated by insurance company group data and the premium they actually returned was roughly 13% representing about $220 million in excess premium collected by insurance companies for that month alone. All of the top 10 private passenger insurance groups offered premium relief ranging from 10 to 22% for the months of March to May. However, by December, only four insurance groups were still offering any partial refunds, despite the continuing pandemic and a multitude of counties still remaining in the purple tier, or most restrictive tier. Lara issued his first bulletin directing insurance companies to provide partial premium relief on April 13, 2020, as it became clear that the pandemic was reducing traffic congestion and business losses. He extended his bulletin in May and again in December, directing insurance companies to continue to provide partial premium refunds as long as the pandemic resulted in reduced risk of loss and to report those refunds to him. The commercial insurance data is expected to be available later this summer. Related: Topics COVID-19 Carriers California Personal Auto Mumbai, March 11 : Janhvi Kapoor says every actor is plagued with self-doubt, which helps them to do better. Daughter of late superstar Sridevi, Janhvi made her Bollywood debut in 2018 with "Dhadak". The film fared below expectaion. She has since then been appreciated for her roles in the OTT-released films "Ghost Stories" and "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl". The element of self-doubt, it seems, has worked well in transforming her for the better. "Self doubt is a part of every actor's journey. I think every actor is plagued with self-doubt but at least it pushes me to do better," Janhvi told IANS. The actress currently awaits the release of the horror comedy "Roohi". She says she doesn't think about taking up scripts in accordance to genres. "There are directors I really want to work with. I don't even know if I think in accordance to genre. I want to do stories. I want to tell stories," says Janhvi. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Riverdale star Lili Reinhart glammed up in a gingham mini-skirt and yellow halter top to remotely watch the Miu Miu FW/21 Paris Fashion Week presentation from Vancouver on Tuesday. The Ohio-born 24-year-old - who boasts 33.5M social media followers - wrote via Instastory: 'Thank you for having me at your virtual show!' The Italian fashion label's eight-minute 'Brave Hearts' show - livestreamed Tuesday at 8am EST - featured models trudging through Cortina d'Ampezzo ski resort in the Dolomites. Virtual red carpet: Riverdale star Lili Reinhart glammed up in a gingham mini-skirt and yellow halter top to remotely watch the Miu Miu FW/21 Paris Fashion Week presentation from Vancouver on Tuesday Also watching all the snow suits, colorful crocheted balaclavas, and furry mukluk boots remotely was I Care a Lot actress Eiza Gonzalez from Los Angeles. And watching from London was belly-baring Emma Corrin, who just won a Golden Globe for her performance as Princess Diana in Netflix's The Crown. Lili has never modeled for Miu Miu, but she did wear their plunging b&w gown while attending the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards at LA's Shrine Auditorium last year. Reinhart was there to present the best supporting actor in a drama series trophy to Peter Dinklage for his final season as Tyrion Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones. The Ohio-born 24-year-old - who boasts 33.5M social media followers - wrote via Instastory: 'Thank you for having me at your virtual show!' '#MiuMiuMountainClub': The Italian fashion label's eight-minute 'Brave Hearts' show - livestreamed Tuesday at 8am EST - featured models trudging through Cortina d'Ampezzo ski resort in the Dolomites Boxer braids: Also watching all the snow suits, colorful crocheted balaclavas, and furry mukluk boots remotely was I Care a Lot actress Eiza Gonzalez from Los Angeles Taut tummy: And watching from London was belly-baring Emma Corrin, who just won a Golden Globe for her performance as Princess Diana in Netflix's The Crown The Swimming Lessons poet later live-tweeted Wednesday night's episode of Riverdale, titled Chapter Eighty-Three: Fire in the Sky. 'People don't formally end conversations in Riverdale, they just get up and leave,' Lili noted. 'Three's a pattern, bi***es, we got a killer on the loose!' Princess moment: Lili has never modeled for Miu Miu, but she did wear their plunging b&w gown while attending the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards at LA's Shrine Auditorium last year Man of the hour: Reinhart was there to present the best supporting actor in a drama series trophy to Peter Dinklage for his final season as Tyrion Lannister in HBO's Game of Thrones Reinhart also admitted her character 'is not the best cat owner' on The CW's Archie Comics-inspired soap. 'I'm now a year older in Riverdale than I am in real life,' the ex-girlfriend of Cole Sprouse said on the January 13th episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 'So I'm playing 25 now and I'm 24. My character Betty Cooper is working as an FBI trainee, which is very exciting for me. It's been really cool though. It's fun.' 'We got a killer on the loose!' The Swimming Lessons poet later live-tweeted Wednesday night's episode of Riverdale, titled Chapter Eighty-Three: Fire in the Sky Lili noted: 'People don't formally end conversations in Riverdale, they just get up and leave' 'So true': Reinhart also admitted her character Betty Cooper 'is not the best cat owner' on The CW's Archie Comics-inspired soap Janhvi Kapoor says every actor is plagued with self-doubt, which helps them to do better. Daughter of late superstar Sridevi, Janhvi made her Bollywood debut in 2018 with "Dhadak". The film fared below expectaion. She has since then been appreciated for her roles in the OTT-released films "Ghost Stories" and "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl". The element of self-doubt, it seems, has worked well in transforming her for the better. "Self doubt is a part of every actor's journey. I think every actor is plagued with self-doubt but at least it pushes me to do better," Janhvi told IANS. The actress currently awaits the release of the horror comedy "Roohi". She says she doesn't think about taking up scripts in accordance to genres. "There are directors I really want to work with. I don't even know if I think in accordance to genre. I want to do stories. I want to tell stories," says Janhvi. Banjul, Gambia (PANA) A two-day virtual multi-stakeholder conference on the theme, Strengthening collaboration between the media and civil society in combatting illicit financial flows (IFFs) from Africa in the COVID-19 era is underway The U.S. death rate increased by 15% last year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the deadliest year in recorded U.S. history, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention will announce, according to two senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter. The agency will summarize its findings in an upcoming issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Its analysis will detail the rates at which U.S. residents of various races and ethnicities died as a result of the virus as well as the total number of deaths in each demographic group, those sources said. Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer, the report found. Unintentional injuries is normally the third-leading cause of death, officials said. Altogether more than 3 million people in the U.S. died in 2020, the agency found. According to CDC data, the 2020 increase is the largest since 1918 - when, in the midst of World War I, hundreds of thousands of people died of a flu. By comparison, the death rate decreased in 2019 by 1.2%compared to the 2018 toll. The data used for that report was from January through June of 2020, Politico reported. More than 528,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the U.S., according to official records. About 128,000 of those deaths occurred after Biden took office. While the death rate is decreasing, the number of Covid-19 cases remain high in jurisdictions across the country. Federal health officials are urging Americans to adhere to health restrictions such as mask wearing and social distancing while in public, even after vaccination. With dual nursing home and sexual harassment scandals engulfing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, combined with still-high rates of COVID-19 and a sometimes chaotic vaccination program, one might forget that a state budget is due in less than a month. This budget season may present an unprecedented opportunity for Democratic supermajorities in both chambers to flex their influence in the traditionally executive-heavy process. But even with an emboldened Legislature and a potentially weakened governor, Cuomo still holds most of the cards in negotiations. Much remains unknown about this years budget dealings, and not only because the state is in such unprecedented times. Neither chamber has even passed their one-house budgets, the nonbinding resolutions in which legislative leaders lay out their own priorities and the changes (usually more spending) they want to see in the executive budget. And thats where the negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and the governor really begin. Until then, observers who are not in the room where it happens are really left to speculation. We are in uncharted territory when it comes to negotiating the budget under these circumstances, state Sen. Liz Krueger, chair of the powerful Finance Committee, said in a statement to City & State. Ive been around too long to think I can predict the future. Some observers expect something of a change in dynamics between the Legislature and the executive branch. The budget is generally where the governor has the most control during the legislative year and where he attempts to pass his own biggest policy agenda items. But some on the left are hoping that the new supermajorities and the scandals will embolden legislative leaders during the budget process to pass priorities for the Democratic caucuses which lean a bit to Cuomos left including higher taxes on the rich and legal marijuana. It seems that both Leader (Stewart-)Cousins and Speaker Heastie are kind of comfortable going beyond what the governor has proposed, said Charles Khan, organizing director for the Strong Economy for All Coalition, which advocates for new taxes on the wealthy. They're really leaning, in ways that they haven't before, into their own leadership. Khan referred specifically to Stewart-Cousins call for Cuomo to resign, and Heasties statement soon after that echoed her sentiments, although he did not explicitly call for resignation. And before that, they reached an agreement albeit one that was still viewed as a compromise between different factions of their chambers to curtail some of Cuomos expanded pandemic authority. Now Khan is hoping legislative leaders will push the governor on some of the new taxes, including a wealth tax and tax on second homes, as part of the budget. Cuomo is in his weakest bargaining position that we've ever seen him in kind of unimaginable the way it looked a couple months ago, Khan added. Melissa Moore, state director at the Drug Policy Alliance, is hopeful that Cuomos vulnerability will help get the Legislatures version of marijuana legalization passed, which still remains quite different than the governors version on issues of social and racial justice. The governor for the first time this year committed to using a portion of tax revenue to reinvest in communities harmed by prohibition, a significant shift on his part, but legalization advocates have said his proposal still falls short. It seems as though there is a shift in the tenor and in the dynamics from where we generally would be, Moore said. I think the next few weeks are going to be wildly interesting. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who sponsors the bill to legalize marijuana, recently suggested that it could get passed before the budget. Thats how close we are to completing a deal with the governor, she told The Buffalo News. For his part, Cuomo is insisting that the recent allegations of sexual harassment and the nursing home scandal will not affect his work on the budget. When asked about whether the scandals weaken Cuomos negotiating position, a spokesperson for the state Division of Budget referred to comments the governor made at a March 3 press conference. Im going to cooperate with the attorney generals investigation and do the budget, Cuomo said at the press conference. Remember, we did a budget last year in the spring in the heat of COVID, where it was the most intense period of my life, of this governments life, of this states life, and we did both, and well do both here. Camille Rivera, partner at the progressive political consulting group New Deal Strategies, said that its hard to deny that the governors position this budget season has been weakened. It's pretty clear that the dynamics have changed and are going to change within the budget negotiations, Rivera said. Whether or not the governor seems to want to admit that is entirely up to him, but you're going to see a stronger and bolder Legislature. Before the COVID-19 nursing home death scandal really broke open, and before multiple women accused the governor of sexual harassment, there was already evidence of Cuomo at least nominally caving to legislative pressure. Since last year, both Stewart-Cousins and Heastie said they supported increasing taxes on New Yorks wealthiest residents to raise money to address the coronavirus crisis and the revenue shortfall resulting from it. Through most of the pandemic, and the rest of his time as governor, Cuomo has resisted any increase in the state income tax and the slew of other taxes on the rich that some lawmakers are proposing. He changed his tune when he presented his executive budget in January, which included a proposal to raise taxes on those who make over $5 million. It would raise $1.5 billion annually, less than any of the taxes proposed as part of the Invest in Our New York Act supported by progressives. He still expressed reluctance about the idea, but proposing it at all represented a pivot. In January, Cuomo said that if the state got its full $15 billion request for unrestricted federal aid, then the tax hikes wouldnt be necessary, even as legislative leaders doubled down on commitments to pass new taxes on the wealthy regardless of federal aid. Initially, he presented a budget that assumed just $6 billion in federal aid split over two years. Now, with the state set to receive about $12.6 billion, Cuomo still said that tax increases are on the table. E.J. McMahon, founder of the conservative think tank the Empire Center, said that now that the governor has proposed the tax hikes, and did not remove them when he submitted his 30-day amendments, theyre all but guaranteed to remain. He proposed it as a tactic to basically he did that as a favor to the leaders, in effect, McMahon said. McMahon suggested that better-than-projected tax receipts in the past year and other federal dollars would have allowed Cuomo to present a balanced budget without any tax increases at all, even with a low-ball estimate of unrestricted funds. Earlier this month, a report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli suggested the state could even end the current fiscal year on March 31 with a $1.6 billion surplus. One long-time Albany insider suggested that regardless of the more recent scandals, Cuomo was always going to budge on some big-ticket progressive items, like having some sort of new millionaires tax, coming around to where legislators stand on marijuana legalization or breaking his own 2% cap growth of the size of the budget. But for all the talk of supermajorities and scandals, New Yorks constitution still gives the governor the bulk of the negotiating power when it comes to the budget. Regardless of all this stuff, the governor still maintains extraordinary authority in terms of the budget process, Democratic consultant Jake Dilemani said. Even with everything happening, that doesnt change. Unlike normal legislation, budget bills are written and introduced by the governor, without legislative sponsors, putting Cuomo in a position of control from the very beginning. Legislators have little recourse when it comes to changing spending bills they cant amend any of the language and can only add spending through individual line item additions, which are subject to the governors approval. And spending bills make up half the budget, with the other half, called language bills, used to make any statutory changes necessary to enact the budget. Since hes been governor, Cuomo has used these to introduce and pass any number of high-profile pieces of his policy agenda. While lawmakers theoretically have more control over these language bills, Cuomos control over the actual appropriations gives him an advantage in negotiations. Even if lawmakers tried to push through policy changes that Cuomo doesnt support, they would need to override his veto of the language bills. Moderate Democrats arent likely to want to do that, and there is no indication that the Legislature has reached the point of attempting to cut Cuomo out of the process. And no one wants to be blamed for a late budget if politics gets in the way of timely passage. I think everyone in state government is keenly aware of the fact that they want to pass a budget, and they want to do it as on time as possible, given the situation that we're in, Dilemani said. Spokespeople for Heastie and Stewart-Cousins did not return a request for comment for this story. Dilemani suggested that the scandals could prove to be something of a distraction for lawmakers, eating up limited bandwidth during budget crunch time, and that some lower-tier priorities, or complex policy that doesnt directly relate to the actual budget, could fall out of the bill as a result. That could include marijuana legalization, which has been dropped from the budget the past two years due to negotiations that couldnt be resolved. But if issues shift away from the budget to the regular legislative process, legislators might again have the advantage of addressing them on their own. For example, both chambershave passed bills to increase oversight of nursing homes in the wake of the pandemic, something that Cuomo has also proposed getting done as part of the budget. Another fact to consider is that Cuomo is a masterful negotiator, and, according to McMahon, Cuomo had already begun planting seeds for greater leverage even before his scandals emerged. He pointed to a provision buried in one of this years spending bills. Based on existing language in Cuomos proposed budget, the state can only spend $6 billion in unrestricted federal aid. That amount is the estimate from the state of the minimal amount of money it would get from Washington. Cuomo balanced his budget proposal based on that worst-case assumption, but he was asking the federal government for more to reduce the use of cuts and tax hikes. The proposed budget language has a provision to appropriate an additional $9 billion, but only if the state receives $15 billion or more in unrestricted funds from the federal government. McMahon interprets that to mean that, even with the state set to receive $12.6 billion in unrestricted aid, the Legislature cant spend a cent more than $6 billion without the governor agreeing to resubmit the bill with updated language. Power over use of that money alone puts Cuomo in a strong negotiating position. Hes totally in the drivers seat, McMahon said. Hes controlled the narrative from the start. When asked about the appropriations budget provision, as well as the inclusion of tax hikes even with greater than projected federal aid, Division of the Budget spokesperson Freeman Klopott said in a statement: The Governor made very clear the state needs $15 billion from Washington. The federal legislation provides approximately $12.6 billion to the state, however we are evaluating the bill and seeking further guidance from the federal government to better understand how this funding can be used. He added the funds are nonrecurring, and the executive branch will work with the Legislature to find solutions for the current future projected budget gaps. The combined budget hole for the current fiscal year and the upcoming one is estimated at $15 billion by the state, although other estimates are lower. The budget negotiation is always an opaque process, and often observers dont know how negotiations play out until the day the budget is passed. With everything happening in Albany right now, the state budget might get less attention from outsider observers than it usually does, but for the very same reasons, it may be an especially interesting budget season to watch. In 2017, I returned to Canada from Sweden, where I had spent a year working on automation in mining. Shortly after my return, the New York Times published a piece called, The Robots Are Coming, and Sweden Is Fine, about Swedens embrace of automation while limiting human costs. Opinion In 2017, I returned to Canada from Sweden, where I had spent a year working on automation in mining. Shortly after my return, the New York Times published a piece called, "The Robots Are Coming, and Sweden Is Fine," about Swedens embrace of automation while limiting human costs. Although Swedes are apparently optimistic about their future alongside robots, other countries arent as hopeful. One widely cited study estimates that 47 per cent of jobs in the United States are at risk of being replaced by robots and artificial intelligence. Whether we like it or not, the robot era is already upon us. The question is: Is the Canadian economy poised to flourish or flounder in a world where robots take over the tasks we dont want to do ourselves? The answer may surprise you. Robots are everywhere Modern-day robots are how artificial intelligence (AI) physically interacts with us, and the world around us. Although some robots resemble humans, most do not and are instead specifically designed to autonomously carry out complex tasks. Over the last few decades, robots have rapidly grown from specialized devices developed for select industry applications to household items. You can buy a robot to vacuum your floors, cut your grass and keep your home secure. Kids play with educational robots at school, where they learn to code, and compete in robot design teams that culminate in exciting international competitions. Robots are also appearing in our hospitals, promising to help us fight the COVID-19 pandemic and performing other health-care tasks in safer and more efficient ways. The media is abuzz with stories about the latest technical claims, rumours and speculations about the secret developments of major international corporations, including Waymo, Tesla, Apple, Volvo and GM. And NASA just landed the Perseverance rover on Mars, with an autonomous helicopter called Ingenuity attached to its belly. Oh, and there are the dancing robots too, of course. Robots behind the scenes I have been working on robotics and autonomous vehicles technology in mining since the late 1990s. As such, I have been part of an industry that is undergoing a sea change, with fully autonomous machines steadily replacing workers in dark, dirty and dangerous scenarios. This robot revolution is happening behind the scenes in other industries too. Robots fill Amazon orders, manufacture stuff in factories, plant and pick crops, assist on construction sites, and the list goes on. In fact, robots even build other robots. Will we soon run out of jobs for people? Robots in Canada There are many who paint a bleak picture of the future, where robots and AI take away all the "good jobs." Although I fully acknowledge that we must be mindful of possible inequalities and unintended outcomes that might arise as a result of new technologies, I contend that Canadians have the potential to thrive. But to make it happen, my colleagues and I agree that our country needs a "robotics strategy." In 2017, Canada launched the worlds first national AI strategy. Called the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy and costing $125 million, the strategy aims to strengthen Canadas leadership in AI by funding institutes, universities and hospitals to meet key objectives. In its 2020 list of future jobs, the World Economic Forum listed "robotics engineers" as No. 10, in close company with "AI and machine learning specialists." In Canada, I see huge potential for our robotics industry, with companies such as Clearpath Robotics, OTTO Motors, Kinova, Robotiq and Titan Medical already world leaders in the design and manufacture of robots for purposes ranging from materials handling to surgery. Beyond building robots, Canadas most significant opportunities may lie in the increased adoption of robots into economically important industry sectors, including mining, agriculture, manufacturing and transportation. And yet, Canada may be the only G7 country without a robotics strategy. The robot revelation As it turns out, there is hope. According to a November 2020 report from Statistics Canada, Canadian firms that employed robots have also hired more human workers, contrary to what you may instinctively believe. In fact, they hired 15 per cent more workers! However, this does not mean that we can all sit back and relax. Along with the increased economic activity that robots bring to businesses comes a shift in the workforce from "workers spending less time performing routine, manual tasks, in favour of non-routine, cognitive tasks." The roles of education and research and development such as new programs to train the next generation of robot-savvy Canadians and collaborative research clusters are paramount. And they need to be combined with a national robotics strategy and a progressive socioeconomic system that supports a transitioning workforce to ensure the success, well-being and happiness of Canadians, alongside our robot friends. Joshua A. Marshall is an associate professor of mechatronics and robotics engineering at Queen's University. This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca. The retail industry has undergone a revolution in the past year, presenting unique opportunities for businesses that know how to adapt quickly. "This is probably the most exciting time of retail of the last 100 years or so. There's a lot to be optimistic about," said Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, in a virtual panel at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Summit on Tuesday. Finkelstein, whose Ottawa, Ontario-based company sells software that lets users create online stores, said that rapid changes to e-commerce and direct-to-consumer sales during the pandemic have created a retail landscape that might have otherwise not existed until 2030. And while so many businesses suffered in the past year, some not only stayed afloat but grew. "When a tidal wave comes, you see two types of people. You see people that grab their surfboards, and you see people that grab their towels," he said. For retailers who want to succeed as the industry continues to evolve, he gave a few pointers and trends to look out for. Go omnichannel Instead of thinking of your company in silos or channels--say, e-commerce versus wholesale versus physical--start to take an omnichannel approach to your sales operations. Put another way, you need to give your customers options to choose their own sales experience. It's all about consumer choice and making the experience they have in each a strong one based on the customer data and feedback you've collected. "The future retail will be 'retail everywhere,'" Finkelstein said. Strengthen last-mile delivery Finkelstein predicted that the curbside pickup model that grew in popularity during the pandemic isn't going anywhere, even after vaccines eventually make social distancing less important. The same goes for expectations on fast shipping for online orders. "I think we're going to see a ton of innovation about to hit the market, frankly, in the next couple of months to help with that and make it less expensive and more convenient," he said of last-mile delivery. Shopify itself has been investing in warehouses and fulfillment centers across the U.S. in the past year, he added. Invest in AR Consumers still want to be surprised and impressed when shopping online, Finkelstein said, and augmented reality is the best technology for doing that. He used Chip and Joanna Gaines's Magnolia brand as an example. Even if you're unable to visit the company's store in Waco, Texas, you can go on its app to peruse products and use your phone to virtually place those products around your home to test them out. EQS Group-News: Nordea Bank Abp / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Nordea Bank Abp: Flagging notification 11.03.2021 / 10:35 Nordea Bank Abp: Flagging notification in accordance with Chapter 9, Section 10 of the Securities Markets Act Nordea Bank Abp Stock exchange release - Major shareholder announcements 11 March 2021 at 10.00 EET Nordea Bank Abp has on 10 March 2021 received a notification under Chapter 9, Section 5 of the Securities Markets Act, according to which BlackRock, Inc.'s indirect shareholding of Nordea Bank Abp's shares and voting rights crossed the threshold of 5 per cent on 9 March 2021. According to the notification, the total number of Nordea Bank Abp's shares and voting rights held directly by BlackRock, Inc. and its funds was 5.07 per cent on 9 March 2021. The total number of shares and voting rights in Nordea Bank Abp is 4,049,951,919. Total positions of BlackRock, Inc. and its funds: % of shares and voting rights (total of A) % of shares and voting rights through financial instruments (total of B) Total of both in % (A + B) Resulting situation on the date on which threshold was crossed or reached 5.07% 0.14% 5.22% Position of previous notification (if applicable) 4.89% 0.14% 5.03% Notified details of the resulting situation on the date on which the threshold was crossed or reached: A: Shares and voting rights Class/type of shares ISIN code (if possible) Number of shares and voting rights % of shares and voting rights Direct (SMA 9:5) Indirect (SMA 9:6 and 9:7) Direct (SMA 9:5) Indirect (SMA 9:6 and 9:7) FI4000297767 205,691,164 5.07% SUBTOTAL A 205,691,164 5.07% B: Financial instruments according to SMA 9:6a Type of financial instrument Expiration date Exercise/ Conversion period Physical or cash settlement Number of shares and voting rights % of shares and voting rights American Depository Receipt (US65558R1095) N/A N/A Physical 1,296,521 0.03% Securities Lent N/A N/A Physical 3,212,108 0.07% CFD N/A N/A Cash 1,228,558 0.03% SUBTOTAL B 5,737,187 0.14% The controlled undertakings through which the shares, voting rights and financial instruments are effectively held: Name % of shares and voting rights % of shares and voting rights through financial instruments Total of both BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd. Below 5% BlackRock Investment Management, LLC Below 5% BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited Below 5% BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited Below 5% BlackRock International Limited Below 5% BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association Below 5% BlackRock Fund Advisors Below 5% BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. Below 5% BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited Below 5% BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG Below 5% BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited Below 5% BlackRock Advisors, LLC Below 5% BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited Below 5% BlackRock (Singapore) Limited Below 5% BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V. Below 5% Aperio Group, LLC Below 5% For further information: Matti Ahokas, Head of Investor Relations, +358 9 53008011 Group Communication, +358104168023 or press@nordea.com The information provided in this stock exchange release was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 10.00 EET on 11 March 2021. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. A batch of Covid-19 vaccine is transported from cold storage at the Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) to the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases for vaccination, March 8, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa. The 30 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses bought by Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) would be handed over to the Ministry of Health on a non-profit basis. VNVC had ordered 30 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, with the first batch of 117,600 doses having arrived last month. The batch, produced by South Korean firm SK Bioscience, is being kept in VNVC cold storage to be distributed to 13 cities and provinces with recent coronavirus outbreaks. The Covid-19 inoculation campaign started Monday. A committee comprising multiple ministries on Wednesday suggested the 30 million vaccine doses be handed to the Health Ministry on a non-profit basis, with all associated costs like taxes, insurance and transportation covered. All extra fees incurred prior to the transfer would be paid by VNVC. While exact fees have yet to be disclosed, a $30 million deposit as per the firm's purchase contract has been confirmed. VNVC and AstraZeneca first began negotiations back in the second quarter of 2020, when the AstraZeneca vaccine had entered its third phase of human trials. For the past six months, VNVC has been developing its own cold chain and storage equipment to house the vaccines, besides training personnel on how to handle them properly. Its handover means the ministry will actively handle the vaccination process. Besides the 30 million doses ordered, Vietnam would receive an additional 4.1 million, also from AstraZeneca, via global vaccine access mechanism Covax by April. Another 25.9 million doses would be transported to Vietnam, also through Covax, between August and November. Vietnam is also negotiating with other vaccine manufacturers in the U.S., Russia and some other countries to ensure it could obtain a total 150 million doses this year to cover 70 percent of its population. The coronavirus tally so far in Vietnam is 2,529, with 486 active cases. Schematic diagram of magnetic reconnection between loops accelerated by a nearby filament eruption. Two groups of fibrils marked by L2 and L4 converge and reconnect with each other. Two sets of newly formed fibrils marked by L1 and L3 then appear and retract away from the reconnection region. Credit: LI Leping Magnetic reconnection shows the reconfiguration of magnetic field geometry. It plays an elemental role in the rapid release of magnetic energy and its conversion to other forms of energy in magnetized plasma systems throughout the universe. Researchers led by Dr. Li Leping from National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) analyzed the evolution of magnetic reconnection and its nearby filament. The result suggested that the reconnection is significantly accelerated by the propagating disturbance caused by the adjacent filament eruption. The study was published in the Astrophysical Journal on Feb. 20. The New Vacuum Solar Telescope (NVST) is a one meter ground-based solar telescope, located in the Fuxian Solar Observatory of Yunnan Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (YNAO). It provides observations of the solar fine structures and their evolution in the solar lower atmosphere. The NVST observed the active region 11696 on March 15, 2013, in the H channel, centered at 6562.8 angstrom with a bandwidth of 0.25 angstrom. Employing the NVST H images with higher spatial resolution, the researchers studied the evolution of magnetic loops and their nearby filament in the active region, combining the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) line-of-sight magnetograms on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO). In NVST H images, two groups of fibrils converged and interacted with each other. Two sets of newly formed fibrils then appeared and retracted away from the interaction region. "The result provides clear evidence of magnetic reconnection," said Prof. Hardi Peter from Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), a co-author of this study. In AIA EUV images, the current sheet formed repeatedly in the reconnection region in the lower-temperature channels, and plasmoids appeared in the current sheet and propagated along it bi-directionally. A filament was located to the southeast of the reconnection region. It erupted, and pushed away the loops covering the reconnection region. "The filament eruption leads to a disturbance propagating outward across the reconnection region," said Dr. Li Leping, the first author of this study. Thereafter, the current sheet became shorter and brighter, with a larger reconnection rate. It appeared in the AIA higher-temperature channels. In the current sheet, more and hotter plasmoids formed. "Comparing with the observations before the filament eruption during the same time intervals, more thermal and kinetic energy is converted through reconnection after the filament eruption," said Dr. LI. "The reconnection is thus significantly accelerated by the propagating disturbance caused by the nearby filament eruption." Explore further Spacecraft reveal new details of magnetic reconnection More information: Leping Li et al. Magnetic Reconnection between Loops Accelerated By a Nearby Filament Eruption, The Astrophysical Journal (2021). Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Leping Li et al. Magnetic Reconnection between Loops Accelerated By a Nearby Filament Eruption,(2021). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abd47e After buying more than 4.5 million computers and hot spots for students over the last several months, Texas education officials have a new goal: making free at-home internet available to every public school student beyond the pandemic. The ambitious target, laid out in interviews and statements by education leaders, suggests Texas plans to ride momentum building across the nation to close the so-called digital divide. The issue has come into stark view as many students shifted to online-only classes when the novel coronavirus began sweeping the country last March. While many details of the states plans remain in the works, Texas Education Agency officials said they are building new systems, negotiating with internet service providers and starting to work with legislators to provide at-home broadband to more than 1 million students who currently lack access. State leaders hope to begin connecting some children and families as early as August. Its totally doable, and the fact that Texas is talking about it is amazing, said Evan Marwell, the founder and CEO of EducationSuperHighway, a national nonprofit working to improve at-home technology access for students. This is a unique opportunity that we have never had before. If we dont capitalize on it, my suspicion is well never have it again. The plan would require hundreds of millions of dollars in local, state and federal funds each year an investment that Texas legislators and members of Congress have not made in the past. School districts also would have to shoulder greater responsibility for students internet service needs. The payoff, however, could prove monumental for children and their families. Students lacking at-home internet are less likely to complete numerous academic tasks, such as accessing learning materials, completing homework and finishing college applications. Given that students from lower-income families are more likely to live in homes without broadband internet, the digital access divide makes it harder for many students to match their wealthier classmates success, education and technology experts said. The learning gap we had before the pandemic was real, and the learning gap we have coming out of the other side is exponentially worse, said Gaby Rowe, project lead for Operation Connectivity, a TEA-backed coalition leading the effort to get students connected at home. We have to make sure solutions are put in place that can last for many years. State officials envision adult family members using the at-home internet, giving them access to jobs programs, telemedicine services and other web-based tools. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said the states signature pandemic technology initiative, made through Operation Connectivity, resulted in the purchase of 3.6 million computer devices and 1 million hot spots that were distributed to districts. Local school leaders also bought computers and hot spots. Hot spots provided a vital, immediate service during the pandemic, but education and technology leaders said at-home broadband internet the kind that traditionally requires a wall connection, modem and router is faster and more reliable. State officials estimate about 800,000 of Texas 5.3 million children attending public school live in homes equipped for broadband, but their families cannot afford the service or choose not to get it for various reasons. In San Antonio ISD, officials estimate about 15,000 district households lack internet access. But that number is expected to fluctuate, said district Chief Technology Officer Ken Thompson, as more families were forced to cut costs amid the pandemic. Over the course of the school year, the district issued about 20,000 hot spot devices. But those hotspots were a temporary solution that doesnt meet the demand, Thompson said, especially in households with more than one student and more than one device connected. Another 350,000 Texas students, mostly in rural areas, reside in homes without a broadband hook-up. State lawmakers and Gov. Greg Abbott said they plan to prioritize expansion of broadband infrastructure during the ongoing legislative session. In recent weeks, TEA and Operation Connectivity officials described nascent plans for how the state could help deliver at-home broadband to children already capable of accessing it. To start, state officials hope to negotiate with about 150 internet service providers operating in Texas to get fixed, regional prices on broadband service for students and their families. Rowe said price points remain in flux, though Morath has floated the potential for $10 per month. School districts choosing to participate would identify students in need of at-home broadband and buy service for them from internet providers, using the state-negotiated rate. Families would not have to pay any fees, provide any personal information, or risk falling behind on bills and hurting their credit scores. Their biggest responsibility: arranging an installation date and time. This has always been a long-term goal of ours, and the pandemic has allowed us to accelerate that, said Julia Fallon, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association. Texas officials have not yet said whether they would give school districts money to pay for students at-home internet but education technology experts expect many states will tap ample federal stimulus money to jump-start their plans. Texas schools received $6.7 billion from the first two relief packages, with another $12 billion expected to arrive from the stimulus bill signed into law Thursday by President Joe Biden. State legislators and TEA officials still are debating how to spend the money. While buzz about the states plan is trickling out, many key players remain mum or in-the-dark about the budding effort. Several of Texas most prominent internet service providers did not respond to requests for comment, declined to speak about their involvement or offered brief statements. Many providers, including AT&T and Comcast, already offer heavily discounted broadband service to lower-income families. We support the goals of the Texas Education Agencys proposed program, are hopeful that we will be able to participate and look forward to reviewing the program rules, said a spokesman for Lumen Technologies Inc., home to internet provider CenturyLink. SAISD began its efforts to switch to routers last year, issuing about 500 routers to area households using federal relief funds, Thompson said. The plan was to continue expanding the program. Thompson said he hadnt heard much about the states long-term plans to expand broadband access. But this week, he was tapped to serve on a federal task force that also aims to find solutions to student connectivity issues. While it was too soon for him to discuss details of the federal task force, Thompson said his main concern with any state or federal program would be its sustainability. There needs to be sustainability built into a model, Thompson said. One-time dollars are easy, but thats not going to sustain a model. jacob.carpenter@chron.com Staff Writer Danya Perez contributed to this report. Married At First Sight's Jake Edwards and Beck Zemek spent their first night apart earlier this week after he went partying with the other grooms. And now fresh details about Jake's night out with 'the boys' have been revealed, with a source saying his antics were 'much worse' than what was shown on TV. Furthermore, the 32-year-old charity CEO wasn't the only husband in the experiment to end up in the doghouse after they got home. In the doghouse: Married At First Sight's Jake Edwards looked glum as he stepped out for a solo lunch during filming in Sydney last year. These photos were taken around the time he was in trouble with wife Beck Zemek for going out on a rowdy boys' night A well-placed insider claimed that Beck, 27, was not impressed when Jake returned to their apartment in the early hours of the morning and threw up in the bathroom. 'Jake came back vomiting everywhere,' they said. Beck was 'disgusted' by the state her husband was in and asked producers if she could spend the night in another room. Big night: A well-placed insider claimed that Beck (right) was not impressed when Jake (left) returned to their apartment in the early hours of the morning and threw up in the bathroom Trouble: Jake had been out partying with Bryce Ruthven, Jason Engler (left, with Alana Lister) and Russell Duance. Their spontaneous decision to go out angered producers and their brides Not impressed! Melissa is also understood to have been left feeling disappointed following her own partner's decision to go out Jake had been out partying with Bryce Ruthven, Jason Engler and Russell Duance. According another source, the grooms' spontaneous decision to go out left producers and their brides furious. 'No one was impressed. Alana [Lister, Jason's wife] was the worst off. She was most upset,' they said. Melissa is also understood to have been left feeling disappointed following her own partner's decision to go out. 'Lis was so upset [with Bryce], he kept calling when he got back to the hotel so she could pick up from the lobby because he lost his hotel key.' Bad boy: Beck was 'disgusted' by the state her husband was in and asked producers if she could spend the night in another room. Jake is pictured here on October 29 Spotted: Daily Mail Australia spotted Jake out and about in Sydney's CBD around the time of his big night with 'the boys'. He went out for lunch solo near his apartment on Kent Street Daily Mail Australia spotted Jake out and about in Sydney's CBD around the time of his big night with 'the boys'. In photos taken during filming in late October, he went out for lunch solo near the apartment building on Kent Street where MAFS was filmed. During Monday's episode, Beck confessed she didn't feel supported by Jake, and explained to him why she was so upset about his decision to go out without her. 'I feel like as soon as things get tough, you run away. The experiment isn't about hanging out with the boys, it's about putting us to the test,' she told him. 'I need you to be here, and I feel like you don't choose me.' A remorseful Jake told Beck he was 'really sorry' for going out without her, and acknowledged that planning a boys' night after a commitment ceremony wasn't the best idea. The bank was set up in Shanghai in the middle of the 19th century, and has had a chequered public relations history ever since Is it just propaganda, or does it actually mean anything? Holdings PLC (LON: ) has given itself nineteen years to extract itself from the business of coal mining globally, according to a resolution that will be tabled at its upcoming annual general meeting. But if a week is a long time in politics, as Harold Wilson famously said, how long is nineteen years? In terms of business cycles, it could be several lifetimes, and almost anything could have happened by the end of this arbitrary period, or indeed very little. Another socialist, even more to the left, one VI Lenin, pointed out that there are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen. How will Greta Thunberg be behaving on Instagram in nineteen years? Indeed, will there even be an Instagram, given how bad for the environment it is to run all those banks of computers in California that support it? Nevertheless, the world has got to get off coal, and fast. HSBC resolution is written on the understanding that climate science is settled, and certainly this is a mainstream view that is now only seriously challenged on the right in America. But the semantics are important. Climate science consists in large part of a set of forecasts, and the idea that forecast outcomes can be settled in advance doesnt make sense syntactically or logically. Unless, that is, you live in a totalitarian world, where eradicating wrongspeak is more important than promoting truth. Note HSBCs use of language in terms of its goals. It talks in terms of meeting targets by certain dates, much in the same way as economic planning used to occur in Soviet Russia, and still does, to the degree that capitalism and state planning coalesce, in communist China. Is there anything actually sinister in this, though? The answer to that depends how you look at it. HSBC is just feeding the media machine the soundbites it wants to hear coal is an eighteenth century technology in a twenty-first century world. But, bear in mind who it was that laid the financial foundations for the modern and industrialised economy the country responsible for more of the worlds coal emissions than anywhere else, China. It wasnt Mao Tse-Tung or Deng Xiao-Ping. No, it goes back way beyond that, to the days when capitalism was first introduced into China by the travelling opium salesmen that ended up founding - the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. The headquarters of its old trading empire adorns the riverfront known as the Bund in Shanghai to this day. Back when HSBC was just getting going, the holy trinity in Western religion consisted of commerce, Christianity and imperialism, and the new bank did just fine. Now, the holy trinity in Western religion consists of environmentalism, equity, and kindness, and HSBC looks much more exposed. Yes, its said it will invest up to a trillion dollars surely a number pulled out of a hat by yet another proponent of corporate-speak in helping its customers de-carbonise. But investment is its business, and in a world where coal isnt wanted, why would it be investing in it anyway? When alls said and done, though, hats off to ShareAction, the activist group that has apparently forced HSBC into this undignified virtue signalling. Unlike HSBC, ShareAction at least has a vision of the kind of world it wants to build. It appears now to be able to wield the power to make some significant impact at least at the level of corporate messaging. Whether the impact will be meaningful at a deeper level and in longer-term is much more arguable. Its one thing to threaten big companies with major stock market listings that are accountable under Western legal systems. To a degree, they are likely to knuckle under. But if the pressure gets too great, a more likely outcome is that they will quit the field altogether, leaving it open to some big, nasty and unaccountable behemoths, that will have no time or interest in, and who probably wont even notice those nice liberal, middle-class pressure groups from the West. According to a recent report from the University of Chicago, the blind, filter-feeding larvae of modern lampreys are a holdover from the far past, resembling the ancestors of all living vertebrates, including ourselves, according to a recent report from the University of Chicago Canadian Museum of Nature, and the Albany Museum. In the latest fossil discoveries, ancient lamprey hatchlings resembled modern adult lampreys more closely than their modern larvae counterparts. The findings were announced in Nature on March 10th. Lamprey Lampreys-bizarre jawless, eel-like creatures-have long offered observations into vertebrate evolution, according to first author Tetsuto Miyashita, Ph.D., a paleontologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature and a recent Chicago Fellow at the University of Chicago. "Lampreys have an absurd life span," he explained. "Once the larvae have hatched, they burrow into the riverbed and filter feed before metamorphosing into blood-sucking adults. They're so dissimilar to adults that scientists mistakenly mistook them for a separate genus of fish. Miyashita added, "Modern lamprey larvae have been used as a model of the ancestral state that gives birth to the vertebrate lineages." "They seemed primitive enough, resembling wormy invertebrates, and their characteristics suited the preferred vertebrate ancestry tale. However, there was no suggestion that such a primitive type existed at the onset of vertebrate evolution." Fossil Findings New fossils found in Illinois, South Africa, and Montana are altering the narrative. The research team discovered that various stages of the ancient lamprey lifecycle had been preserved by connecting the dots between hundreds of fossils, enabling paleontologists to track their development from hatchling to adult. Soft tissue preservation also reveals the remnants of a yolk sac on some of the tiniest specimens, around the size of a fingernail, suggesting that these lampreys were caught shortly after hatching. Importantly, these fossilized juveniles resemble modern adult lampreys, with wide eyes and toothed sucker mouths, rather than their modern relatives (known as "ammocoetes"). This phenotype can be seen in several ancient lamprey species during the larval period, which is especially exciting. "Remarkably, we've got enough specimens to recreate a pathway from hatchling to adult in many independent lineages of early lampreys, and they all have the same pattern: the larval shape was like a miniature adult," said Michael Coates, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at UChicago. According to the researchers, the findings dispute the 150-year-old evolutionary narrative that modern lamprey larvae have a snapshot of deep ancestral vertebrate environments. The researchers disproved this commonly believed ancestral paradigm by showing that ancient lampreys never went through the same blind, filter-feeding period as modern species. Related Article: New Study: Prehistoric Fishes Had Limbs and Developed Lungs, Similar to Humans Lamprey Exclusion Miyashita explained, "We've practically excluded lampreys from the role of the ancestral state of vertebrates." "As a result, we now need an alternative." Since studying the fossil record, the researchers conclude that ancient armored fishes known as ostracoderms are more likely candidates for the vertebrate family tree's base. At the same time, modern lamprey larvae are a more recent invention. According to the researchers, lampreys may have colonized rivers and lakes as a part of the emergence of filter-feeding larvae. The study's fossil lampreys all come from marine sediments, but modern lampreys are mostly freshwater. Importance of the Breakthrough According to the researchers, this is the kind of breakthrough that will totally alter textbooks. "Lampreys aren't exactly the swimming time capsules we once thought," Coates explained. "They're still important and essential for understanding the deep past of vertebrate diversity, but we must also acknowledge that they've evolved and specialized in their own right." ALSO READ: Terrifying Fossils of 'Larger-Than-Humans' Giant Sandworms Found in the Ocean! For more prehistoric type news, don't forget to follow Nature World News! Gettyimagesbank The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal filed against a not-guilty verdict for the late owner of a state-run facility for vagrants. The top court ruled the acquittal of an illegal confinement charge handed down in 1989 to Park In-keun, the late owner of Brothers Home, was consistent with the criminal law, dismissing an extraordinary appeal lodged by former Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il. The court also did not accept the prosecution's claims that the verdict from three decades ago should be overruled to show the government's will to "perform its moral duty" in the human rights violation case. Moon filed the appeal in November 2018 with the Supreme Court, in a final legal procedure that seeks to obtain a conclusive criminal judgment, saying Park should be held accountable for incarcerating innocent people at the facility in the southern port city of Busan for years of forced labor. In 1987, the prosecution indicted Park on charges including embezzlement and illegal confinement, but the top court eventually acquitted him of illegal confinement in 1989, citing Article 20 of the Criminal Act that forbids punishment of acts that are conducted in accordance with the law. Park insisted that he followed a government directive to round up vagrants to beautify the country in the run-up to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Surviving victims have testified that there was persistent and widespread physical and sexual abuse and forced labor at the confinement facility. According to the facility's own records, 513 died from 1975-1987, and some of the bodies were secretly buried. But the real tally is thought to be much higher, as the whereabouts of many inmates remain unknown. Civic activists call it the Korean version of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In April 2018, the state Truth and Reconciliation Commission said the government's directive was unconstitutional and recommended the prosecution revisit the case to further investigate the allegations of severe violence and wrongful deaths there. The ensuing probe by prosecutors found that there were pervasive human rights abuses, which led to Moon's order to reopen the case. At that time, Moon apologized over the prosecution's failed investigation into the grave violations of human rights at the facility. It was the first official issuance of an apology for one of the most serious human rights violations in modern South Korean history. Despite the dismissal of the appeal, the court acknowledged the severity of human rights violation at Brothers Home. "The core issue of the case is about infringement of human dignity, the supreme value of the Constitution, not merely about infringement of physical freedom," the court said. "We hope the case helps enhance social integration, with continuing work to find the truth and heal the victims' wounds." (Yonhap) Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. A section of ruling and workers on Thursday protested against allocation of constituencies from their home turf to allies for the April 6 assembly elections and wanted them to be set apart for partymen. workers protested against giving away the Egmore segment here to ally Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, while cadres raised slogans against parting with the Ponneri constituency to Congress. The ruling party men also protested against allocation of Poonamalle and Gummidipoondi constituencies to ally PMK. Upset over omission of Labour Minister Nilofer Kafeel's name in the list so far, her supporters in Vaniyambadi said the ruling party should not expect the votes of people from the region. Similarly, in Sivaganga, Khadi Minister G Baskaran's supporters protested against him being not nominated. AIADMK workers staged protest in other places as well including Srivilliputhur, Cheyyur and Chengelpet against the official nominees and wanted them to be replaced. The AIADMK on Wednesday announced its second list of 171 candidates, taking the total nominees declared so far to 182. Airline tickets will be sold at half price to 800,000 travellers in a federal bid to help the tourism industry survive the pandemic by encouraging more Australians to book flights. The federal subsidy will run from April to July to increase flights to priority tourist destinations as part of a $1.2 billion package that answers months of industry calls for assistance. Cut-price flights will be offered to 800,000 travellers in a bid to get them to the regions. Credit:Bloomberg Customers will see the subsidy in lower prices for flights to regions including the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays, the Sunshine Coast, Alice Springs, Launceston, Broome, regional Victoria, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island. Airlines will also receive federal payments to keep about 8600 workers in jobs until international travel resumes in November, with Qantas and Virgin asked to prove their readiness to restart long-haul flights. Sorry! This content is not available in your region My family is lucky. So far, knock on wood, we have not lost anyone to the pandemic. But to say I have not felt joy or had sunny days or smiled in the last 12 months would be a lie. A special kind of pandemic closeness has grown between my wife and me. I cannot speak for her, but more than ever, I value her love and devotion. And, because we are around each other more than we have ever been in our marriage, I can observe more closely all the ways she has always made my life and ours safe, loving and, yes, joyous. Even during the pandemic. New research indicates that lockdowns to help tackle the spread of COVID-19 could be linked to an increase in symptoms associated with eating disorders. The longitudinal study, carried out by academics from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge, England, and published in the journal Psychiatry Research, examined the behaviour and attitudes of 319 health club members during the summer of 2020. The researchers followed up initial research into addictive or unhealthy behaviours, conducted in 2019, to investigate the effects of the first COVID-19 restrictions introduced in the spring of 2020. Participants, with an average age of 37, completed the eating attitudes test, called EAT-26, which involved answering questions related to statements such as 'I am terrified about being overweight', 'I have the impulse to vomit after meals', and 'I feel extremely guilty after eating'. The researchers found that average EAT-26 scores had significantly increased in 2020, post-lockdown, compared to 2019, suggesting higher levels of morbid eating behaviours such as anorexia and bulimia. However, at the same time the study found a reduction in exercise addiction symptoms post-lockdown, while levels of individual exercise increased from 6.5 hours per week in 2019 to 7.5 hours per week post-lockdown in 2020. Mike Trott, a PhD researcher at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) who led the study, said: "We can't say for certain that COVID-19 is responsible for this increase in behaviour associated with eating disorders. However, we do know that people often use food as a coping mechanism for stress, and clearly many people have been impacted by stressful events and significant changes over the last 12 months. "If future lockdowns or periods of enforced quarantine are required, practitioners working with people with suspected eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia, should monitor these behaviours closely. "Encouragingly, we also found that symptoms of exercise addiction fell following the first lockdown, but average exercise rates increased by an hour a week compared to 2019. It could be that the participants in our study were eager to restart their exercise routines post-lockdown and make up for time lost by exercising more. Regardless of motives, there are many physical and mental health benefits to regular exercise, so this is a positive finding." ### Take Maryland, for example. After years of inaction, lawmakers are now considering a sweeping housing package that includes a statewide right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction, a rental assistance fund and an increase to eviction filing fees for landlords. The pandemic definitely changed the conversation, Zafar Shah, a housing attorney at the Baltimore-based Public Justice Center, told me. Yet for all this momentum, Mr. Shah fears that his state might fall too easily back on its old ways. Landlords are eager to collect back rent, and when lawmakers in Montgomery County, a Washington suburb, recently considered a proposal to require a just cause for evicting tenants, Mr. Shah said leaders really struggled to wrap their heads around restraining rights of property owners. But the pandemic has also helped policymakers better grasp the value of giving homeless people their own independent living spaces. Last spring, cities across the country realized that crowded shelters could be hot zones for the virus and so quickly moved to rehouse thousands into newly vacant hotel rooms. Researchers at the University of Washington found that the shift from shelters to hotels improved feelings of stability among the homeless, boosted their health and well-being, and increased rates of transition to permanent housing. States and cities financed these moves with emergency stimulus funding, but as that money dries up, policymakers should explore how they might purchase hotels or distressed property and turn them into long-term, supportive housing. They should look to Austin, Texas, where the City Council did just that, voting this winter to purchase two hotels for the homeless. Diane Yentel, the president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, says she and her colleagues see an extraordinary opportunity with Mr. Biden and Congress to expand tenant rights, invest in public housing and finally authorize universal housing vouchers. Just a quarter of the people eligible for federal vouchers ever get one, with thousands languishing for years on waiting lists. Our job now is to build off this broad recognition that housing is health care, Ms. Yentel told me. When it comes to Americas criminal justice system, pressure to revert to the previous status quo has already begun. While many prison systems suspended their unconscionable medical co-pays during the crisis, at least three states have already reinstated them. And in states that allowed for early release of prisoners, many who requested it were not freed. Still, there are reasons for cautious hope. More Americans are now aware of the unsafe conditions in jails and the thousands there who are dying preventable deaths. There are more than 60,000 people age 55 and up serving life sentences in prison, because of harsh sentences we handed out like candy, said Amy Fettig, executive director of the Sentencing Project. Its incumbent on us to make sure that we show that these reforms like in New Jersey are noticed, that we can do these things safely. A Passaic County grand jury indicted a ride-share company driver on charges of sexually assaulting a young passenger, prosecutors said Thursday. Julio Mejia, 41, of Wharton, faces counts including sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child and luring or enticing a child, according to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes. The assaults allegedly occurred in Mejias vehicle in Prospect Park between Aug. 30, 2019 and Sept. 21, 2019, Valdes said in a statement. Mejia encountered the victim as a passenger during the course of his part-time employment as a ride-share driver, the prosecutor said. Prosecutors did not disclose which company Mejia worked for. Mejia was also identified by authorities as an active member of the military when the alleged assaults occurred, however, it was unclear which branch he served in. A judge denied a prosecutors motion to have Mejia held in custody ahead of trial, according to Valdes. He was released, pending an arraignment. The prosecutors office initially charged Mejia early last year. A defense attorney listed for Mejia did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. SALEM, Ore., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Oregon College Savings Plan today announced the rollout of a new tax form that will streamline the process of saving for post-secondary education and job training for tax filers in Oregon. With the Department of Revenue's OR-529 form, taxpayers can now elect to open an Oregon College Savings Plan account or deposit personal income tax refunds into preexisting Oregon College Savings Plan or MFS 529 Savings Plan accounts while filing their 2020 state tax returns. "Saving for higher education and job training expenses is now as simple as checking a box on your tax return," said Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read. "This will help make it easier for Oregonians to get the skills they need to reach their goals, and lessen the need to take on college debt." With this new option, individual taxpayers are able to deposit all or a portion of their refunds in up to four preexisting accounts. Deposits must be a minimum of $5 for the Oregon College Savings Plan and $25 for the MFS 529 Savings Plan. "We are pleased to be able to take the work out of starting the college savings journey for Oregonians," said Michael Parker, Executive Director for the Oregon Treasury Savings Network. The Oregon College Savings Plan had much to celebrate last year, bringing in over $255 million in contributions to almost 125,000 accounts and ending the year with more than $2.5 billion in assets under management. The Oregon College Savings Plan is a state-sponsored savings program that comes with special tax advantages and can be opened by just about anyoneparents, family, friends, even future students. The money saved in the Oregon College Savings Plan grows tax-free and can be used for qualified expenses at any accredited, post-secondary institution or trade school. To learn more and to open an account, please visit www.oregoncollegesavings.com or call 866-772-8464. The Oregon Treasury Savings Network, part of the Oregon State Treasury, was launched in January 2001 to administer the Oregon College Savings Plan. It has since expanded to administer the Oregon ABLE Savings Plan and national ABLE for ALL Savings Plan, and the first state-run retirement program, OregonSaves. SOURCE Oregon College Savings Plan Related Links https://www.oregoncollegesavings.com/ Mumbai, March 11 : Actor Karan Singh Grover says while the characters in "Qubool Hai 2.0" return from the earlier season, their universe is entirely different this time. "'Qubool Hai 2.0' as a universe is different, only the characters are the same. It's all based in a different universe. There are some mesmerising places we shot at and that will obviously add new flavours to what we had earlier," Karan wrote. He added that people should expect a lot of action, drama, love, suspense and all the masala in the new series. "There is a nice secret treat for the audience so that will be fun, too. I don't think love is a twisted gamble. I think love is quite simple, we kind of twist things ourselves including our thoughts. I think we are twisted gamblers in search of true love," he said. The actor will be seen playing Asad, an Indian agent on a mission. The 10-episode Ekta Kapoor production also stars Surbhi Jyoti, Mandira Bedi, Priyal Gor and Vishal Naik. President Jair Bolsanaro, who has continuously downplayed the threat of the pandemic, was pictured wearing a mask for the first time in a month on Wednesday. (REUTERS) Brazil has seen its highest daily coronavirus death toll yet, with the number of people dying from the virus in a single day surpassing 2000 for the first time. The country, which has the second highest death toll in the world and the highest in South America, recorded 2,286 deaths on Wednesday. Brazil has recorded a total of 268,370 fatalities since the onset of the pandemic. On Wednesday, the daily number of new cases in Brazil was 79,876, the third highest number recorded in Brazil so far in a single day. Experts have wanted the surge in cases is related to more contagious variants, such as the P1 variant which is thought to have originated in the Amazon city of Manaus. The news comes as Brazils healthcare system is close to breaking point, according to the countrys leading public health research institution, the Fiocruz Institute. Intensive care units (ICU) in hospitals across the countrys 27 states were all close to capacity, Fiocruz said this week, with more than 80 per cent of ICU beds in state capitals occupied. A Fiocruz report found that in at least 15 of these state capitals, ICU occupancy is over 90 per cent. President Jair Bolsanaro, who has continuously downplayed the threat of the pandemic, was pictured wearing a mask for the first time in a month on Wednesday. Last week, Mr Bolsanora told Brazilians to stop whining about the coronavirus, criticising restrictions used to curb the spread of the virus. How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? he asked at an event. Sao Paulo state and the countrys capital, Rio de Janeiro, announced their own restrictions and multiple state governors have attempted to take the vaccine rollout into their own hands, buy vaccines directly from manufacturers together rather than wait for the federal government to deliver them. Margareth Dalcolmo, a doctor and researcher at Fiocruz told the AFP news agency the country was "at the worst moment of the pandemic. Story continues On Wednesday, former leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticised Mr Bolsonaro, calling the decisions he has made throughout the pandemic "stupid". The only country with a higher death toll than Brazil is the USA. Brazil has recorded over 11 million cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began. Read More Brazil hospitals buckle in absence of national virus plan Lab test shows Pfizer Covid vaccine is effective against Brazil variant Bolsonaro tells Brazilians to stop whining after daily record Covid death toll Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 23:20:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The foreign ministers of Qatar, Turkey, and Russia on Thursday highlighted the need for humanitarian assistance in Syria amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. In a joint statement published by the ministry, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed their strong concern regarding the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Syrian health system. All sides stressed that humanitarian assistance should be provided to the Syrian population without discrimination, politicization, or any preconditions, adding that this would facilitate the political settlement process. They also called on the international community and in particular the United Nations to boost joint efforts to strengthen the humanitarian response in the region and underscored the need to "facilitate the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons." Earlier in the day, the ministers held a meeting in Doha to discuss the Syrian crisis and ways of cooperation with the aim of contributing to a lasting political solution. Enditem An employee walks into one of Amazon's fulfillment centers. Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images Amazon added new employee health clinics in two new regions, bringing its total to 17 nationwide. They serve Amazon workers and their families and are open longer to accommodate workers' schedules. Amazon is diving deep into healthcare through wearables, prescription drugs, and primary care. See more stories on Insider's business page. Amazon is adding new employee healthcare centers in Michigan and California as part of its larger effort make accessing healthcare easier for its workers. Last year, Amazon partnered with Crossover Health, a healthcare company that offers in-person and virtual care, to open employee healthcare centers nationwide. The initial pledge was 20 healthcare centers, but Crossover Health announced Thursday that they have completed their plan, scaling the total number back to 17 locations spread across Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, California, and Michigan. The newest clinics, which are called Neighborhood Health Centers, are opening near Detroit, Michigan, and in the San Bernardino and Moreno Valley regions in California. Read more: Amazon wants to provide medical care to workers at major companies. Here's an inside look at Amazon Care. The clinics are not open to the public - they are intended to serve Amazon employees and their families and get them to take advantage of their healthcare benefits, which can be difficult given their work schedule, Derek Rubino, senior program manager of workplace health and safety special programs at Amazon, told The Detroit News. "It's not always conducive to your traditional 9-5, Monday through Friday clinic," he said. "So we took these health centers and we looked at where our people lived and work and we brought it right to them and we could tailor it to how an Amazonian works since it's not open to the public." The clinics will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., according to The Detroit News. With the latest rollout, over 75% of Amazon's employees are located within 10 miles of one of the healthcare centers. Story continues Eventually, workers will be able to get their COVID-19 vaccine at the clinics. The new healthcare centers are one piece of Amazon's broader plan to push into the $3.8 trillion healthcare industry. Amazon produced a health-tracking wearables, has pushed into the prescription drug business, and is building Amazon Care, which would provide primary care to employees at other companies, not just Amazon. Jeff Becker, a healthcare analyst at Forrester, told Insider's Blake Dodge last November, that Amazon's moves into healthcare, particularly initiatives like Amazon Care, follow a standard route for the company: build tools that solve problems internally, then turn them into external products or services. "They're solving for healthcare costs the same way they were solving for infrastructure," Becker said. "And if they are able to do it, they will commercialize that. They would never just sit on it." Blake Dodge contributed reporting for this story. Read the original article on Business Insider Liam Tunney speaks to DUP councillor Aaron Callan about his family's history of service, switching allegiance to the DUP and the paradoxes of history. This is a shorter version of the full interview, which can be accessed in podcast form here. Liam Tunney: Why did you get into politics? Aaron Callan: My family has always been a family of service. My grandfather served for 35 years in the fire service and I've had cousins and family members who've served in the RUC and the army. I was never going to join the army or anything like that, so the best way I could give service was through politics and giving back to the community. I'm very proud to be from Limavady, very passionate about the area and I like to be part of the solutions and bringing some good to the area LT: What would you say has been your best achievement on the council? AC: One of the things I'm very passionate about is our local area, and seeing the play park come to fruition. Internally on the council, things that maybe aren't as important to constituents, making the running of the council better has been pleasing. For example, I pushed for a Finance Committee to be set up and I think it's helped to make the business of the council more productive. LT: What has you biggest challenge been? AC: You had four different council areas coming into one and developing those relationships, not only within your own party, but with other colleagues across the Borough has been challenging at times. Everybody is fighting for their own area, and it's making sure we get an outcome for the council as a whole. LT: You've touched on co-operation there. The council has a reputation for a lack of co-operation. How can that be improved? AC: People have their own viewpoints and discussion points, but we agree on bringing further investment, more jobs and prosperity to the area. It goes back to building relationships and making sure you can maintain them. Sometimes they are a bit fraught. It's about making sure, when we come to those decision points, we can do it in a manageable way. I miss being in the chamber and being able to have a chat with my own colleagues and other parties. LT: Politics and people are constantly evolving. You started with the UUP. Could you tell me why you started with the UUP and then why you moved to the DUP? AC: My family were always Ulster Unionist. My great-great grandfather ran for council for the UUP in Bellarena during the 1940s. The reason I changed over was because I felt the UUP was no longer favourable for unionism. The DUP was the leading voice and I also felt unionism needed to be working together more and felt I had to show myself that I could work for other unionists. Cllr Callan with former UUP leader Mike Nesbitt. The Limavady councillor began political life in the UUP. LT: You were a major driver in the Portrush Air Show plans that came to council last month. Many of your constituents in Limavady might ask 'what's in it for me?' Could you tell them? AC: The air show brings eyes to the area and means people will come and visit. It opens up the door for people to see other parts of the area. Having big events like the air show, showcases our area in a good way and it means that people who come to the air show might think they want to visit Limavady. LT: One of the main reasons for objection is the link to the Queen's Jubilee. Does the opposition frustrate you? AC: The Queen is one of the most respected people in the world. When she turned 90 she visited the area. At the time the mayor was nationalist and welcomed the Queen with open arms. You don't have to be a royalist to be part of this or celebrate what the Royal family stands for, but it would be a way of tying into a larger, significant national event. It's frustrating that people can't see the positives. I think we can create events we all can share in, but sometimes it comes down to trying to create an orange and green situation. LT: You have a big interest in local history. How has that shaped you and your politics? AC: British and Irish history is full of ironies and paradoxes. When the Act of Union came about, the Orange Order, now seen as a firm supporter of the Union, was originally opposed to it. Reading through old newspaper records, issues that have come up in council in recent years are issues that have come up in council 50 or 100 years ago. We have a very short-term institutional memory. We're focused on the here and now and sometimes it's good to have that longer perspective. LT: Council set the rate last week at 2.49%. Since then Mid Ulster have set a 0% rate. The outworking is that Kilrea's rates went up, but just down the road in Maghera they were frozen. Do you still feel the rate set is appropriate? AC: Yeah. Over the lifetime of our council, we have set the second lowest rates in Northern Ireland. We have been as prudent as we can. We are a very lean council, but there are other factors at play as well. We want to maintain services that all the community rely on and that are vital to what the community does, especially coming out the other end of Covid-19. If we had gone any lower it was going to impact on what we do as a council and what services we provide. LT: Finally, have you any goals you want to achieve in the rest of the council term? AC: There is a never-ending list of things we'd like to see done, but the Limavady play park is one I know all councillors in Limavady have been developing for the best part of four years. I think that Roe Mill Playing Area can be developed into a real hub of activity for the local community, whether you want to play football, go to the park or just do a walk. TRAVERSE CITY, MI Do not keep people in the dark about potential exposure to harmful chemicals even if an investigation hasnt provided all the answers yet. That message was delivered to state officials by members of a citizen advisory panel, who sharply criticized the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) for waiting the eight months to tell homeowners about an investigation into private well contamination from toxic forever chemicals near the Traverse City airport. As soon as you are investigating, I would want and I think most people would want to just know that theres an investigation, said Sandy Wynn-Stelt of Belmont, who sits on EGLEs citizen advisory panel for PFAS response. To allow this to go on for months and months and not notify people, I feel like its just wrong, said Wynn-Stelt, who experienced a similar disclosure delay back in 2017 during the initial stages of the investigation into drinking water contamination near her home from Wolverine World Wides House Street dump. Its just ethically wrong to do. Backlash to the states disclosure delay in northern Michigan bubbled up this month following a Feb. 28 report in the Traverse City Record-Eagle, which found that EGLE identified more than 20 homes near the airport at contamination risk last February, but waited until October to tell affected residents and start handing out bottled water and filters. Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) leaders have defended the disclosure gap, calling it routine protocol to wait for investigation data before issuing public warnings. MPART has followed consistent outreach/communication protocols for residents in communities throughout the state for several years, director Steve Sliver wrote in an email to citizen panel members on March 8, which was prompted by pointed criticism of the disclosure delay by Michigan PFAS activist and attorney Tony Spaniola in a weekend email chain. Outreach to potentially impacted residents is triggered by us having real data about a source and not by EGLE initiating an investigation of a suspected source, not all of which turn into actual contamination sources, wrote Sliver, who is retiring later this month after leading the team for two years. But Sliver and incoming MPART officials began to soften that stance during the online Citizen Advisory Workgroup (CAWG) meeting on Tuesday, March 9. Abby Hendershot, who is taking over as MPART director next month, said outreach to affected homeowners in an investigation area, as well as to the millions of people using private wells for drinking water across Michigan, will be the next really big topic for the state. How do we improve the existing process for outreach and communication, before, during and after an investigation? asked Hendershot, who has led the states response to the Wolverine World Wide pollution investigation at EGLEs Grand Rapids remediation division office. How do we keep that going so its seamless, so people feel like they know whats going on and they dont have a reason to be afraid, but theyre informed, she said. But then, to the greater community across the state, how do we reach out to all the residential well owners across the state about the responsibility of having their own residential well, and about the potential issues that can be out there, whether they live in an old farm field, or they live next to an abandoned dump or they live in downtown Traverse City, she said. Tuesdays meeting included comments from affected homeowners in the Pine Grove neighborhood, which is sandwiched between Cherry Capitol Airport and East Grand Traverse Bay in East Bay Township. Municipal water mains run through the neighborhood, but some homes never connected to them years ago when the pipes were laid. Of the 18 homes tested, seven were above state safety thresholds for PFAS exposure. Concentrations of the individual compound PFOS in one homes water was 1,300 parts-per-trillion (ppt), which is more than 81 times the states drinking water limit of 16-ppt. The contamination is believed to come from chemical-based AFFF firefighting foam used for training at the U.S. Coast Guard station, located at the airport. Municipal water hookups are occurring now. However, that hasnt stopped neighborhood residents from expressing outrage at the disclosure delay. Hillerie Rettelle said high PFAS levels were found at her home and next door, where her neighbor has two young children. That was eight months where she could have had an option to protect them and prevent them from bathing, drinking whatever, just an option, Rettelle said. Local officials also expressed some misgivings about the way the investigation was disclosed. Dan Thorell, environmental health director at the Grand Traverse County Health Department, suggested the state should develop a scoring system for sites of high PFAS contamination potential, such as a regional airport, and consider getting word out before we have data. Thorell said some of the disclosure delay was related to the pandemic hitting shortly after the investigation was launched, saying an 8-month gap is unusual. Im hopeful that were not experiencing things like that at other sites, Thorell said. But I think there needs to be a better way and some consideration on how we look at these. Bill Barnett, a workgroup member from Cadillac, called it backwards to inform a potentially responsible entity like the airport about suspected pollution but not potentially exposed people at the onset of an investigation. If thats our policy, I think it should be changed, he said. Wynn-Stelt, who works as a clinical psychologist in Kent County, gave a formal presentation during the meeting on how officials should rethink some of their risk communication strategies and techniques when dealing with communities affected by pollution. I always hear the comment we dont want people to panic, she said. I dont know where that myth comes from, that communities will panic from this. People panic when they feel like their life and their family, or their property, or their wellbeing is at risk and they have absolutely no control of the situation, she said. But when you understand things as much as you can, then you can plan and act accordingly. Wynn-Stelt said EGLE doesnt launch investigations because staff members are bored. Youre doing it because you have enough information to think theres a chance that people could be contaminated, she said. I really believe you have a responsibility to let people know. Related stories: DEQ ignored crucial warning on Wolverine dump PFAS activist says blood testing probably saved her life Huge 1996 TC-area tire fire caused a PFAS plume Michigan PFAS site list surges past 100 Michigan collects 30k gallons of toxic PFAS firefighting foam Wolverine plan to clean up PFAS dump by planting trees Biden EPA dumps PFAS review over political interference Pentagon needs culture change on PFAS pollution PFAS exposure may reduce COVID-19 vaccine potency Democrats ready to move on PFAS regulations under Biden Participants learn about silk painting in a socially distanced art lesson hosted by Rene Shoemaker at the K.A. Artist Shop, which will fully reopen its doors for in-person shopping on Friday, March 12. (Photo/Nikki Blanchard, Courtesy/Rene Shoemaker) Drivers and other passers-by had to take cover today, in Port of Spain. As, gunmen began offloading bullets on a convoy of cars. Also, over 50 more people have been arrested for breach of curfew. As the global safety and security leader, UL has developed a comprehensive test suite and set of services for the conformity assessment of Mobile ID products. Within the assessment, UL evaluates the app's conformity with global interoperability requirements for the implemented data model, communication protocols and security mechanisms. The security mechanisms in ISO/IEC DIS 18013-5, Personal identification ISO-compliant driving license Part 5: Mobile driving license (mDL) application, provide an equivalent level of authenticity and integrity validation for mobile credentials as for traditional biometric passports. The IDEMIA mID apps tested were personalized with test data by a provisioning system that is integrated with the Iowa DOT system of record. UL also performed a cybersecurity source code review and penetration test of the mobile ID applications for the Iowa DOT on iOS and Android. 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About IDEMIA IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space. Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets our identity whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries. For more information, visit www.idemia.com and follow @IDEMIAGroup on Twitter. CONTACT: Richie Roesner, [email protected] SOURCE IDEMIA Related Links https://www.idemia.com Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Advertisement Migrant families were continuing to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday, as one of Joe Biden's senior officials admitted that his more tolerant approach was likely encouraging many to try and enter, and border patrol officials spoke of their concerns about the large numbers slipping through the net. New data published on Wednesday showed that the number of migrants detained along the southern border rose in February to levels not seen since 2019, when a dramatic surge in migrant family arrivals overwhelmed border facilities. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said their agents and officers detained or processed 100,441 migrants in February. They turned away 72,113 migrants, forcing them back across the border under public health restrictions known as Title 42 to curb the spread of COVID-19. A group of migrants from Guatemala are seen in Texas on Wednesday, having crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico Sarah, from Honduras, carries her 17-month-old daughter Lucia after crossing the Rio Grande Roberta Jacobsen, a special advisor to Joe Biden on migration, addressed the issue on Wednesday The CBP said 25,000 of the migrants they encountered in February had already attempted to cross the border previously. Roberta Jacobsen, ambassador to Mexico from 2016-18 who now serves as a special advisor to Biden, admitted in a White House briefing on Wednesday that the timing of the surge was 'no coincidence'. She said: 'We've seen surges before. Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand. 'So I don't know if I would call that a coincidence.' Under Biden, the Remain in Mexico policy, which kept migrants south of the border while waiting for their hearings, as well as asylum agreements with Northern Triangle countries have ended. Biden has also narrowed ICE's criteria for arrests and deportations. The ending of the Remain in Mexico policy has opened the door to migrants, who have applied for asylum, being allowed to cross and begin their legal proceedings. Migrants who had been in Mexico under the 'Remain in Mexico' program pass a group that were just deported on Wednesday Ingrid Ramos, a Guatemalan who spent a year waiting in Mexico, hugs a friend as she readies to leave a shelter Migrants on Wednesday leave a hostel, the Albergue Para Migrantes El Buen Samaritano, in Ciudad Juarez Jacobsen said that the 'more humane policy' likely gave rise to rumors among people traffickers of leniency. The 'coyotes', as the smugglers are known, then encouraged more migrants to pay to make the journey. 'The idea that a more humane policy would be in place may have driven people to make that decision, but perhaps, more importantly, it definitely drove smugglers to express disinformation, spread disinformation about what was now possible,' she said. Jacobsen said that with a $4 billion plan, Biden hoped to tackle immigration at its root causes, working to make Latin American countries safer and more prosperous, and reduce the incentive to leave. The sharpest uptick in migrant numbers was at Texas' Rio Grande Valley, which went from 17,000 migrant apprehensions in January to nearly 28,000 in February. The area has long been the busiest crossing route on the border. Arizona also saw large increases. The two Border Patrol sectors that cover the Arizona-Mexico border, Tucson and Yuma, went from 12,372 apprehensions in January to 19,740 last month, according to AZ Central. Women in the sprawling Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, which borders El Paso in Texas, say goodbye on Wednesday Migrants who have applied for asylum prepare to cross the border on a bus into the United States Well-wishers and staff at the migrant center wave off migrants in Ciudad Juarez as they head for processing Border Patrol facilities, operating at reduced capacity due to COVID, were unable to cope and so migrants were released into southern Texas and Arizona. Mexico's government is worried the new U.S. administration's asylum policies are stoking illegal immigration and creating business for organized crime, according to officials and internal assessments seen by Reuters. 'They see him as the migrant president, and so many feel they're going to reach the United States,' Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said of Biden the morning after a virtual meeting with his U.S. counterpart on March 1. 'We need to work together to regulate the flow, because this business can't be tackled from one day to the next.' Previously unreported details in the internal assessments, based on testimonies and intelligence gathering, state that gangs are diversifying methods of smuggling and winning clients as they eye U.S. measures that will 'incentivize migration.' A shoe is surrounded by colored wristbands placed on migrants from Central America who are smuggled from Mexico into the United States by drug cartels and human traffickers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Some of the plastic wristbands were inscribed 'arrivals' or 'entries' in Spanish According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the first set of wristbands were located by CBP agents as early as February. Some of the bracelets also contained a logo, such as a devil face or turtle, the latter being the logo of choice of a human trafficking group linked to the Gulf Cartel. One Mexican official familiar with migration developments, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters organized crime began changing its modus operandi 'from the day Biden took office' and now exhibited 'unprecedented' levels of sophistication. That includes briefing clients on the latest immigration rules, using technology to outfox authorities, and disguising smuggling operations as travel agencies, assessments showed. 'Migrants have become a commodity,' the official said, arguing they were now as valuable as drugs for the gangs. 'But if a packet of drugs is lost in the sea, it's gone. If migrants are lost, it's human beings we're talking about.' Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers are using a system of colored wristbands to track migrants who pay to cross illegally into the United States, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Hundreds of colored plastic wristbands left behind by migrants have been spotted lying along the banks of the Rio Grande in the scrubby grassland near Penitas, Texas. A witness told Reuters that migrants crossing the river on makeshift rafts would rip off and dump the red, blue, green and white wristbands. Some were marked 'arrivals' or 'entries' in Spanish. Art del Cueto, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Sean Hannity's Fox News show that his colleagues were detaining people from around the world, saying they stopped Cubans, Pakistanis and Romanians. Art Del Cueto, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, said they were worried about who they failed to stop Del Cueto pointed out smuggling routes through the mountains in an area controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel He showed Fox News an infamous smuggling route, and said that they were deeply troubled by the smugglers' activities. 'Those drugs are not just affecting the border,' he said. 'They are going into middle America and across the country affecting kids. 'This is a true epidemic affecting high school kids and heroin. And it's coming through this border.' Del Cueto said that they estimated they had failed to apprehend 39,000 people so far this year, who had slipped through unchecked. 'You don't know who they are. The big issue is: who are you not apprehending?' he said. 'My biggest fear is not who we are apprehending but who we are not apprehending and Americans don't understand that.' Senator Tom Cotton leads backlash against confirmation of Merrick Garland after the new Attorney General REFUSED to say whether he believed entering the United States illegally should be a crime Arkansas senator Tom Cotton has led condemnation of the confirmation of Joe Biden's attorney general, insisting that Merrick Garland is soft on migration and backs an 'extreme open-border amnesty agenda'. Garland, 68, was confirmed on Wednesday by the Senate 70 to 30, with 20 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in supporting him. He is expected to be sworn in at the Justice Department on Thursday. Tom Cotton, the senator for Arkansas, spoke on Wednesday (pictured) about his concerns Garland was confirmed on Wednesday and is expected to be sworn in on Thursday Mitch McConnell, the most senior Republican in the Senate, who in 2016 audaciously blocked Garland's appointment by Barack Obama to the Supreme Court, was among the Republicans who voted in Garland's favor. 'I'm voting to confirm Judge Garland because of his long reputation as a straight shooter and legal expert,' he said on the Senate floor before he cast his vote. Several Republicans objected, however, including Ted Cruz, senator for Texas, and Josh Hawley of Missouri. Cruz said that despite Garland's reputation for integrity, he had 'refused to make clear that he would stand against the politicization of the department, which we saw during the Obama-Biden years.' Hawley spoke out at Garland's confirmation hearing to express concern that the veteran prosecutor, whose career-defining moment was perhaps investigating the Oklahoma City domestic terror attack, would not take what he thought was a hard enough line on violent demonstrators. Ted Cruz, senator for Texas, was concerned Garland would 'politicize' the Justice Department Cotton said that he was deeply troubled by Garland's immigration stance Cotton, known for his hardline views on immigration, spoke out against Garland on the Senate floor, ridiculing his response that he 'hadn't thought about' whether entering the country illegally should be a crime. 'It stretches the bounds of belief that a federal judge who had been on the bench for almost a quarter century hadn't thought about that question,' said Cotton. 'Judge Garland also refused to say whether illegal alien gang members or illegal aliens who have assaulted U.S. citizens should be deported, if a judge orders it. 'Judge Garland's silence shows he will, at best, meekly abide by the administration's irrational immigration agenda.' Cotton warned that Garland would 'help transform zero tolerance into total tolerance of crime'. The number of child migrants is proving particularly problematic at the moment, and the Biden administration continues to urge people not to send unaccompanied children across the border. More than 3,250 unaccompanied minors are currently being held at the border. Lacking sufficient facilities and amid coronavirus burdens, more than 1,360 have been detained beyond the three days allowed by law, according to New York Times data. Nearly 170 of those being detained are younger than 13, NBC News reported. A total of 9,000 unaccompanied children crossed the border in February, according to data reviewed by the network. A wave of immigrants appears to be drawn by Biden's pledge to relax restrictions and provide a path to citizenship for people who are already living here. Cotton tweeted on Wednesday: 'The Biden administration claims they will stop illegal immigration by sending money to corrupt officials in Central America. Heres an idea: Stop illegal immigration by enforcing our immigration laws.' Child arrivals have tripled in the last two weeks, but on Tuesday the White House said they would not term the situation a 'crisis'. Republicans are demanding that Biden take action, and on Monday Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, will lead a contingent of Republicans to visit the border. Cotton concluded on Wednesday: 'As our border facilities and personnel are overwhelmed by the Biden border surge, our security will falter and even more drugs will pour into our country. 'Hardened criminals will accompany the flood of drugs. 'Thousands of confirmed and suspected gang members cross the southern border into our country, and even more will exploit the open border policies that Judge Garland will have a hand in creating. 'This will fuel skyrocketing violence in our nation.' Education Trends 6 Ways COVID-19 and Social Justice Intersect in Higher Ed Financial pressures, political unrest, health concerns here's how the pandemic and concurrent equity challenges have impacted both institutions and their students. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted higher education in myriad ways and in particular has laid bare long-standing issues of social justice and the digital divide. Enrollments have declined as students have faced financial pressures, political and social unrest, health concerns and more. In a recent session at this year's SXSWedu conference, Mark Milliron, senior vice president and executive dean of Teachers College at Western Governors University, Suzanne Walsh, president of Bennett College, and William Serrata, president of El Paso Community College, discussed how the intersection of the pandemic and equity challenges have impacted their institutions and their students. 1) First-time college students are falling behind. The state of Texas has seen a significant reduction in the number of first-time college students particularly in community colleges, according to Serrata. At El Paso Community College this past fall, he said, "Our first-time-in-college enrollment was down 31 percent. We've offered about $500,000 more in aid to those students. And what we saw is that they accepted about $4.5 million less. So they went through the process of applying for admission, applying for financial aid, we made the offer and they just did not enroll." Many students may be waiting for the pandemic to pass for a return to "normal" before returning to school, he hypothesized. What's more, students who fail to enroll in college the summer or fall after high school graduation are far less likely to ever achieve a higher education credential. "That's a real concern that we have lost the class of 2020," said Serrata. "And quite frankly, given the length of the pandemic, we're worried that we may miss the class of 21." 2) Student health concerns have stymied reopening plans. Last June, Bennett College was the first in North Carolina to announce that instruction would take place fully online in the fall. "We are an historically Black college for women," explained Walsh. "And we know that a majority of our students come to us with the comorbidities that make them more vulnerable to coronavirus. We had to decide, when there are cases on campus, will we be able to isolate or quarantine? Will we be able to support those students when they're ill on campus?" In many ways, she pointed out, higher ed institutions have become part of the public health system, tasked with managing students' health in unprecedented times. "With that in mind, with our students' comorbidities in mind, we just can't open, we cannot provide in-person, we cannot provide that kind of space that's needed and care that's needed." 3) Campuses are under pressure to respond to political and social unrest. In the midst of wrestling with the pandemic, colleges have also had to tackle social justice issues such as the George Floyd killing in May 2020. "The first thing we had to do was have an open conversation about it, and acknowledge the tragic events of that horrible day," recalled Serrata. "We are a majority minority institution. We wanted to make sure that everyone felt comfortable in our institution, and at the same time express that we are an institution of higher learning therefore we do debate things, but we debate them with civility. And we debate them with an understanding that everyone's opinion matters." In particular, institutional leaders need time to reflect before responding to such events. "That's the tough thing during these moments everybody expects you to put out the immediate statement," said Walsh. While it's easy to say something inconsequential on day one or day two, she pointed out, "It's a lot harder to sit with the discomfort and the agony and the frustration, and then say, 'Wait, now I have something and I'm going to say something that adds to the conversation.'" The only way for companies to avoid complicity is to pull out of the region altogether, they say. The only way U.S. apparel brands and retailers can ensure they are not complicit in forced labor in Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and are complying with U.S. law when they import apparel is to cut supply chain ties to the region, experts told a Washington hearing Wednesday. Authorities in the XUAR are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a vast network of internment camps since early 2017. Under increasing international scrutiny, authorities in the region have begun to send detainees to work at factories as part of an effort to label the camps vocational centers, although those held in the facilities regularly toil under forced or coerced labor conditions. Reports of abuses have led to the U.S. designating the situation in the region as genocide, following earlier legislation that allows for sanctions of officials and entities deemed responsible for oppressive policies there, including the forced labor scheme. However, forced or coerced labor is so pervasive in the XUAR that many companies, including major international brands and retailers, are at a loss for how to completely disentangle themselves from the problem, even when they make a concerted effort to do so. On Wednesday, the bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal government body, held a virtual hearing entitled A Religious Minority Enslaved: Addressing the Complicity of U.S. Companies in Uyghur Forced Labor. During the hearing, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) delivered prepared remarks, noting that well over half a million people were compelled to pick cotton in the region in 2018 through the forced labor scheme, and that the XUAR produces more than 20 percent of the worlds cotton. But he warned that forced laborers are used to produce many other products, including tomatoes, hair products, apparel, consumer electronics, and even polysilicon used in solar panels. Let us be totally clear. There is no ability for companies to conduct business as usual in Xinjiang or where Chinese government programs have transported Uyghurs outside of the region, said Rubio. He recently reintroduced legislation known as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to the Senate to address the systematic use for Uyghur forced labor and ensure that U.S. companies are not complicit. Put another way, proper due diligence of their supply chains is just not possible. CCP (Chinese Communist Party) officials block it. As with so many issues, normal business practices do not prevail in China. The CCP refuses to play by the rules, and it ignores international norms. Rubio called for a strong and immediate response to Chinas violations in the region and warned U.S. companies to wake up to this reality. Should they choose to continue doing business where they know they may be complicit in human rights abuses, including genocide, we must call it out and do everything we can to ensure they do not make unknowing consumers complicit in their actions, he said. Rubios Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act would create what is referred to as a rebuttable presumption, through which the onus is placed on companies to provide evidence that their goods coming from the XUAR or other Chinese government labor schemes for Uyghurs are not made with forced labor. A guard watchtower rises along a perimeter fence of what is officially known as a 'vocational center' in Urumqi's Dabancheng district, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Sept. 4, 2018. Reuters Existing mechanisms meaningless Gary Bauer, a USCIRF commissioner, said that given the U.S. designation of the situation in the XUAR as constituting genocide and crimes against humanity, no government or company should ever condone or enable such crimesmuch less U.S. companies, whose supply chains in China very likely are tainted by Uyghur forced labor that the CCP approves and encourages. U.S. companies operating in China must therefore not sit idly by intentionally ignoring the evidence and pretend that they can continue to conduct business as usual, he said. Nury Turkel, a Uyghur-American lawyer who was appointed as a commissioner of USCIRF last year, noted that many U.S. and international companies continue to rely on third-party audits and inspections, assuming such measures are sufficient to clear them of any responsibility for forced labor in the region. Let me be clear: third-party audits alone cannot guarantee that there is no forced labor in these companies supply chains, he said. Given the extremely repressive environment in the Uyghur region, in fact, third-party audits and inspections are often quite meaningless, as many minority workers simply cannot tell the truth about their circumstances for fear of retaliation. He applauded U.S. government moves to adopt the genocide label and curtail Chinas coercive economic practices, including forced labor, and called on U.S. companies to follow suit by stepping up and moving beyond their existing and insufficient supply chain due diligence measures. Officials meet with workers at the Zhuowan factory in Ghulja county, in the XUAR's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, in an undated photo. RFA listener Urgent action needed Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, a Washington-based labor advocacy group, pointed out that forced labor in the XUAR is a central component of the governments policies in the region and links to abuses, including arbitrary detention, political indoctrination, family separation, torture, gender-based and sexual violence, and pervasive surveillance. U.S. companies must take urgent action to ensure that they are not complicit in these abuses, he said. Nova said that due to the XUARs outsized role in the production of cotton, and Chinas dominant role overall in the production of cotton fabric, there is a substantial risk that any element of billions of garments imported into the U.S. annually were made with forced labor. Specifically, he said, of the more than 13 billion units of cotton garments imported into the U.S. by apparel brands and retailers in 2019, roughly one in five was made, in part, in the XUAR. But he said that garments sewn in the XUAR for direct export to the U.S. are the tip of the iceberg relative to garments sewn outside the region but containing cotton or yarn from there. This means that the bulk of the Uyghur Region-related forced labor risk in the U.S. apparel market sits below the visible surface of the garment supply chain, creating serious challenges for the detection of Uyghur Region content, he said. A photo posted to the WeChat account of the Xinjiang Judicial Administration shows Uyghur detainees listening to a 'de-radicalization' speech at a re-education camp in Hotan prefecture's Lop county, April 2017. Wikipedia Due diligence nearly impossible Nova said that due diligence in the XUAR is nearly impossible because managers utilizing forced labor are not going to admit to auditors that workers are coerced, nor are they likely to maintain factory records that would demonstrate forced labor is taking place. Additionally, he said, no auditor can claim that labor is being performed voluntarily unless they are able to interview workers candidly, and that such workers can speak without fear of retribution. In the XUAR, however, it is a certainty that workers who are coerced will face severe retribution if they are found to have spoken truthfully to inspectors about their employment, Nova said. Meanwhile, a massive surveillance apparatus in the region ensures there is nowhere to interview workers outside of the workplace where they will feel safe from observation and Chinese authorities have enforced a ban on any form of civil society with any degree of independence from the Chinese state and CCP, further compromising the ability to hold factories accountable. The combination of the widespread risk of forced labor across farms and factories in the Uyghur Region, and the unavailability of viable due diligence mechanisms, leaves U.S. apparel brands and retailers with only one means to ensure that they are not complicit in forced labor and that they are complying with U.S. law when they import apparel, he said. That option is to extricate their supply chains from the Uyghur Region. A facility believed to be an internment camp located north of Kashgar, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, June 2, 2019. AFP Forcible displacement Last week, German researcher Adrian Zenz, who also spoke at Wednesdays hearing, released a report which cited new evidence from Chinese sources as showing that the forced labor scheme not only serves economic purposes but is intended to forcibly displace ethnic minority populations from their heartlands. It said that the system is aimed at intentionally reducing population density in ethnic minority regions and cites several experts in international criminal law as saying that there are credible grounds for concluding that it meets the criteria for crimes against humanity. Zenz, a senior fellow with the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, reviewed numerous public and non-public Chinese government and academic sources that detailed what his report says is part of a state-run scheme to forcibly uproot [minorities in the XUAR], assimilate them and reduce their population density. A Pennsylvania doctor has been arrested for irresponsible and dangerous prescription practices that led to the death of his patient. Agents from the Office of the Attorney General and United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested Dr. Walter Wrenn for charges relating to the death of his patient. Dr. Wrenn had a duty to care for his patients, and he failed by recklessly prescribing highly addictive medications which continue to fuel overdose deaths across Pennsylvania, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in a press release issued by his office. My office will continue to hold individuals accountable who knowingly put the lives of others at risk. An investigation revealed that on March 2, 2019, the patient filled prescriptions for 60 units of Morphine, 180 units of Oxycodone, 90 units of Alprazolam and 60 units of Temazepam. The next day, On March 3, 2019, the patient died as a result of an accidental overdose from cocaine, oxycodone and morphine. The investigation showed that Dr. Wrenn fabricated the patients diagnosis in order for Keystone First to approve filling the prescribed medications. The patients opioid prescriptions far exceeded the recommended 90 milligrams per day. On Keystone Firsts authorization form, Dr. Wrenn stated that the patient had metastatic lung cancer. A review of medical records from their family doctor, hospital admission records and the autopsy report show that the patient never had metastatic lung cancer. Keystone First relied upon this false information and approved medications that were paid with Medicaid funds. Dr. Wrenn is being charged with drug delivery resulting in death, involuntary manslaughter, violation of the Drug Act, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with public records and Medicaid fraud. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Eric Stryd. Any current patients of Dr. Wrenn who need assistance in locating a new medical provider or need assistance accessing medication should contact the Pennsylvania Department of Healths Patient Advocacy Program. Source: The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General Topics Abuse Molestation Google has hired former Deloitte Digital partner Nigel Walsh to lead its insurance business in North America. Walsh disclosed the news on Twitter and LinkedIn. He noted on LinkedIn that hell be part of a team led by Yolande Piazza, vice president of Financial Services for Google Cloud. The team includes Henna Karna, former global chief data officer at AXA XL, who was recently hired to lead Googles Global Insurance & Risk Management Industry Solutions initiative. In his LinkedIn message disclosing the news, Walsh said the timing is right for Googles focus on insurance. To my new colleagues at Google, there has never been a better time to enable an industry drive change, making Google the number one destination for insurance transformation over the next decade, Walsh said in the LinkedIn posting. He also noted that in an industry where we manufacture nothing but data, [there is] no point being anywhere but the undisputed industry leader. Previously, Walsh spent more than four-and-a-half years at Deloitte Digital, where he focused on driving insurtech, digital and overall technology transformation. Hes also been the co-host of the InsurTech Insider podcast since July 2017, his LinkedIn posting noted, and has contributed to books focused on artificial intelligence and insurtech. Karna, leader for Googles global insurance initiative, recently discussed Googles insurance plans with Carrier Management magazine. Googles newest insurance initiative is a cloud-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) data and analytics platform for insurers and reinsurers. Karna said Google goal is to partner with, not compete against, insurers. Googles value proposition is to move insurance carriers from mere transactional proficiency to become analytical powerhouses, Karna told Carrier Management. The logo of U.S. social network Twitter displayed on the screen of a smartphone and a tablet in Toulouse, southern France, on Oct. 26, 2020. (Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images) Conservative Commentator Crowder May Sue Over Twitter Suspension, Lawyer Says Bill Richmond, lawyer of conservative talk show host Steven Crowder, is considering a lawsuit against Twitter, saying the social media companys suspension of Crowders account amounts to anticompetitive behavior and false advertising because Crowder has yet to be given a reason for the suspension. Crowder was blocked from accessing his Twitter account with 1.2 million followers on March 9 because it violated Twitter Rules, according to an image of an email from Twitter that Crowder presented during his March 11 show. The email included a line saying Specifically For: followed by a blank space. Crowder received a notice that the account would be reinstated in about 12 hours, but the next morning, the notice said the suspension was to last another 6 days and 9 hours. Three hours later, the notice changed to 6 days and 21 hours, Richmond said, presenting images of both notices. That evening, the countdown stopped for a few hours at 6 days and 10 hours before resuming again. Crowder received two more emails from Twitter, with each leaving the reason for the suspension blank, Richmond said. Weve sent multiple legal notices, we went through every platform of appeal thats available, he said. This is what they say. They go, Well, theres always a way to be able to appeal it within the system. No. Not actually true. But we went through and we found other ways to be able to do it. Weve contacted their legal department directly. Weve contacted their Trust and Safety department, actually, directly. And to this moment, until right before [the show went] on air, still no response at all. They havent even given us the reason at all. Richmond said Twitter hasnt left him much other recourse besides suing. The legal system should be the last resort and unfortunately, Twitter is essentially pushing us to say, You better go to the last resort, he said. Crowder previously ran into issues with Twitter for showing that some Nevada voters are registered at invalid addresses, such as empty lots. It isnt clear, however, what the current suspension may have been about. Twitter didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, Crowder announced that hes suing Facebook over unfair competition, fraud, false advertising, and antitrust. Crowder said his Nov. 3 election livestream was cut off in the midst of his coverage. Crowder said he was never provided a reason for why the stream was taken down. Richmonds reasoning regarding Twitter follows a similar blueprint. Yall set the rules however you want to set them, but if youre going to advertise and draw in consumers from the entire United States, the entire world, creators, people who are advertising, and say, we enforce our policies in a certain way, and then you dont actually follow your own rules, that is anti-competitive, youve got one media company trying to hurt another media company, and its deceptive, he said. Tech platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have repeatedly acknowledged errors in content policing, but this argument doesnt stand scrutiny, according to Richmond. Every time they do one of these things, they go, Well, you know, a sub of a sub of a subcontractor gave it to his cousins dog and, like, he hit the wrong button. But they did the same thing with the sitting president, theyve done this thing across the board, he said. Theyve had multiple instances of their inability to handle the kind of issues that are endemic to running a large platform. Essentially, what theyre proving, day in and day out, is that they cant uphold their own policies at scale. Which means, if they cant hold the power responsibly, they cant have the power. They need to be held responsible. This kind of bad faith action is exactly what isnt protected by Section 230. Section 230 is a law that shields online platforms from liability for 3rd party content as well as for any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable. Theres a push from among Republicans and Democrats to rewrite the law, while some states are trying to counter online censorship by sidestepping it. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close London: Women in Britain poured out their fears and anger over how unsafe they feel walking the streets after the disappearance of a woman in London and the arrest of a police officer on suspicion of her kidnap and murder. Sarah Everard, 33, was last seen at 9.30pm on March 3 as she walked home from a friends house in south London. Her image, smiling at the camera or caught on CCTV that evening, has been splashed across British newspapers all week. Posters are seen along the last known route as the hunt for missing woman Sarah Everard enters its fifth day in London, England. Credit:Getty Anxiety turned to grief after news late on Wednesday that police investigating Everards disappearance had found remains in a wood outside London, resulting in an outpouring of personal accounts by women of their own experiences and fears. The disappearance of Sarah and the absolute tragedy around that has really touched a nerve with a lot of women, said Anna Birley, 31, one of the organisers of a planned Reclaim These Streets vigil to honour Everard and demand change. Tanzanias main opposition leader claimed on Thursday that President John Magufuli, an avowed Covid-19 sceptic out of public view for nearly two weeks, is in India receiving medical treatment for the virus and is in a serious condition. Tundu Lissu, who lost last years election to Mr Magufuli, cited medical and security sources in Kenya for his information that the president had been transferred from hospital in Kenya to India and was in a coma - but did not provide evidence. Tanzanian government spokesmen have stayed mum during days of speculation over the 61-year-old Mr Magufulis whereabouts and health. Representatives of Kenyas and Indias governments also contacted by Reuters have not given information either. In power since 2015 and nicknamed The Bulldozer, Mr Magufuli was last seen on 27 February looking his normal robust self during a ceremony at State House in Dar es Salaam. Mr Lissu told Reuters that Mr Magufuli was flown to Kenyas Nairobi Hospital at the start of this week and then on to an unknown destination in India. Hes comatose since yesterday morning, he told Reuters, without elaborating. Kenyas Nation newspaper cited unidentified political and diplomatic sources on Wednesday saying that an African leader, which it did not name, was being treated for Covid-19 on a ventilator at Nairobi Hospital. Hospital representatives told Reuters they had no information to disclose. Mr Magufulis director of communications Gerson Msigwa and government spokesman Hassan Abbas have not responded to Reuters messages seeking comment. Indias foreign ministry and its high commission, or embassy, in Nairobi had no immediate comment. Mr Magufuli has played down the threat from Covid-19, saying God and remedies such as steam inhalation would protect Tanzanians. He has mocked coronavirus tests, denounced vaccines as part of a western conspiracy to take Africas wealth, and opposed mask-wearing and social distancing. His Covid denialism in tatters, his prayer-over-science folly has turned into a deadly boomerang, Mr Lissu tweeted in the early hours of Thursday. According to Tanzanias constitution, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan would take over for the rest of the five-year term if the president is unable to discharge duties. Tanzania stopped reporting coronavirus data in May last year when it said it had 509 cases and 21 deaths, according to data held at the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti told a news conference on Thursday that she had no direct information on Mr Magufulis health and it would be unwise to speculate. She noted that Tanzania now recognised the danger of Covid-19 following two senior officials deaths and said more data would be welcome. Whatever is the case with President Magufuli, we can only wish him well if these stories are indeed true, and we very much reiterate our preparedness to support the government and the people of Tanzania, she said. Mr Magufuli, a former chemistry professor from the village of Chato in northwest Tanzania, rose up the political ladder fast after winning a parliament seat in 1995. Elected president in 2015, he has faced accusations from Western countries and opposition parties of eroding democracy, which he denies. TV footage showed Mr Magufuli on 8 January thanking Chinas senior diplomat Wang Yi for turning up without a mask to meet him during a tour of Africa. Mr Magufuli said that demonstrated the minister was aware Tanzania was free of Covid-19 and proceeded to shake his hand in front of cameras as both men smiled. Other Chinese officials present did wear masks. Reuters Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 PLF Stacked Logo We are incredibly grateful for Ferrings generous sponsorship as well as its ongoing partnership in the fight against CDI. Peggy Lillis Foundation for C. diff Education & Advocacy (PLF), the leading patient organization combating C. difficile infections (CDI), partners with Ferring Pharmaceuticals through a new sponsorship to help fund new and existing patient advocacy initiatives. Joining forces, PLF and Ferring are eager to continue helping people living with CDI and their loved ones. The sponsorship is aimed toward supporting the organizations National C. diff Advocacy Summit, 2021 FIGHT C. DIFF Gala, and this years See C. diff campaign, which commemorates C. difficile Infection Awareness Month in November. We are incredibly grateful for Ferrings generous sponsorship as well as its ongoing partnership in the fight against CDI, said Executive Director Christian John Lillis. We founded PLF ten years ago to fight the infection that took our mother Peggy from us. Ferrings sponsorship marks a new stage in our growth and evolution and has enabled us to grow our mothers legacy into the leading patient advocacy organization for this disease. Our Board of Directors is deeply appreciative of Ferrings commitment to combating CDI, said PLF President Jeff Pollack. Like the Lillis family, it was the death of my father that brought me to this mission. Ferrings contribution, the largest single gift PLF has received, means we can grow and broaden the movement to end harm caused by CDI. The funds will also be used to build a Peer Support Network for patients, caregivers and others affected by CDI where they can connect, be heard and receive support they may not otherwise obtain through their healthcare providers. Support will be offered by members of PLFs Advocates Council, comprised of CDI survivors and family members. In addition to emotional support, the Network will provide timely, scientifically sound information to help guide patients in finding a care provider or enrolling in a clinical trial. Other resources offered will include tips on managing symptoms, dealing with stigma and anxiety around CDI, and practical advice such as sharing proper cleaning techniques to minimize the risk of spreading CDI in a household. In 2012, I battled C. diff infection for seven months and then in 2015 my two-year old daughter was diagnosed. I was baffled by the lack of progress in new treatments and general support for patients fighting this disease, said Christina Fuhrman, co-chair of PLFs Advocates Council. I am so pleased that Ferring is not only developing a potential microbiome-based recurrent C. diff infection treatment, but is also investing in an organization that helps tens of thousands of CDI patients every year. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Peggy Lillis Foundation, an advocacy group that has done so much for the CDI community, said Dr. Edward Trott, Chief Patient Officer, Ferring Pharmaceuticals. At Ferring, we are focused on breaking the cycle of recurrent CDI and bringing hope to the patients and families who are impacted by this illness. PLFs 2021 National C. diff Advocacy Summit will be held virtually on April 20 and 22. About Peggy Lillis Foundation for C. diff Education & Advocacy Founded in response to the April 2010 death of 56-year-old kindergarten teacher, Peggy Lillis Foundation for C. diff Education & Advocacy (PLF) is the leading national organization dedicated to combating C. difficile infections through educating the public, empowering advocates and shaping policy. For more information visit http://www.peggyfoundation.org. About Ferring Pharmaceuticals Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group committed to helping people around the world build families and live better lives. In the United States, Ferring is a leader in reproductive medicine and maternal health, and in specialty areas within gastroenterology and orthopaedics. Ferring is committed to exploring the crucial link between the gut microbiome and human health, beginning with the threat of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections. With the 2018 acquisition of Rebiotix and several other alliances, Ferring is the world leader in microbiome research, developing novel microbiome-based therapeutics to address significant unmet needs. For more information, call 1-888-FERRING + (1-888-337-7464); visit http://www.ferringusa.com/ The federal government has announced the rollout of the digital switch-over in four more states, two years after it was launched in six states. The switch-over, DSO, is meant to transform the television broadcasting system across the country from the current analogue to digital mode. The first rollout was launched in Jos (April 30, 2016), Abuja ( December 22, 2016), Ilorin (December 20, 2017), Kaduna (December 22, 2017), Enugu ( February 12, 2018), and Osogbo (February 23, 2018). Delivered under the brand name, FreeTV, the DSO in this period has translated to an increasing digital television penetration and better quality television service in those states. Other benefits so far include job creation in the creative and set-top box manufacturing and retail sectors; the creation of an information outlet for the government to reach households in Nigeria and a PushVOD service that provides a secure outlet for Nollywood movies distribution to Nigerians. The acting director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission of Nigeria, Armstrong Idachaba, said under the second phase, the programme will be rolled out in Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Yobe and Gombe States. The new timetable will therefore be kick-started with a rollout in Lagos state on 29th of April 2021, Kano state on 3rd June 2021 and Rivers state on 8th July, 2021; on the heels of these states will be switch on of Yobe state on 15th July, 2021 and Gombe state on 12th August 2021, he said. Following this rollout, the signal distributors are expected to within the same period complete the installation of additional transmitters and gap fillers to attain 70% to 80% coverage in the existing six locations in phase 1. He said the first Analogue Switch Off is slated to take place on May 28 in Abuja. The remaining phase 1 states of Plateau, Kaduna, Kwara, Enugu, and Osun will follow in June, August, and September 2021. What this means is that effective from the date of analogue switch-off, television broadcast can only be received with the DSO-approved setup boxes. Adequate quantities of these boxes will be made available by the authorised set-up box manufacturers for these locations. He said a two-month period from the release of the DSO timetable has been provided for the public to be prepared for the first switch off in Abuja. Analogue switch-off for the remaining five locations in phase 1 is expected to be completed before the end of 2021. Following the commencement of Phase 2 rollout, with switch on in Lagos, Kano and Rivers states between April and July 2021; some 4 to 5 months period will be allowed before each switch off to allow for adequate public preparedness, he said. By the end of first quarter of 2022, additional 10 states would have been switched on under Phase 2 namely, Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Yobe, Gombe, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Jigawa and Ebonyi States. Phase 3 switch-on commences in December 2021 and ends with final Analogue Switch off (ASO) on December 8. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who had earlier said the DSO will yield $1.1 billion for Nigeria once completed, said Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and the Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite signal coverage will be used to determine the analogue switch-off time. Before we embark on the analogue switch off in any state, we will ensure that the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) signal has covered at least 70% of the population in that state, while the remaining 30% will be covered by Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite signal. Please note that once the analogue signal is switched off, no one on the system will receive television signals anymore. Also, because of the topography of some areas like the Federal Capital Territory, the DTT signal could not effectively cover such areas. In such cases, we will deploy DTH satellite signals to areas that are not covered by DTT signals. By complementing out DTT deployment with DTH satellite signals, we are ensuring that no one will be left out of the DSO, he said. To ensure the affordability of the decoder, the minister said his ministry will reach out to the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment to ensure a reduction in the tariff on the raw materials for the manufacture of the set-up boxes in Nigeria. We will aim at zero per cent tariff for the Completely Knocked Down components and not more than 5 per cent tariff for the Semi-Knocked Down component, against the current tariff of 5 per cent for the Completely Knocked Down components and 10 per cent for the Semi-Knocked Down components. By doing so, we will ensure that the Set Top boxes are within the reach of average Nigerians, he said. ADVERTISEMENT He also said the federal government will support the channel owners and content providers through the implementation of the audience measurement system to guarantee a sustained stream of revenue from advertising for them to invest in the development of compelling content. Muzaffarnagar: A khap panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district has barred women from wearing jeans and men from wearing shorts. Justifying its diktat, the khap panchayat said that jeans are part of western culture and suggested that people should wear traditional Indian clothes. The Rajput community panchayat also warned that those found violating the diktat will be punished and face a boycott. The panchayat was convened on March 2 in Pipalshah village under Charthawal police station. Announcing the panchayat's decision, community leader and Kisan Sangh chief Thakur Puran Singh said it was decided to bar women from wearing jeans and men from wearing shorts. He said these clothes are part of western culture. "We should wear our traditional clothes such as sarees, ''ghagra'' and ''salwar-kameez''," he said. Those found violating the order will be punished and boycotted from the community, Puran Singh said. Live TV remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Travellers who have been in Auckland in the past 14 days will be exempt from hotel quarantine in NSW and also will be able to resume flights directly into Victoria, under new rules announced by the state health departments. From 12.01am on Friday, people who have been in Auckland in the past 14 days must seek testing for COVID-19 after arriving in NSW and self-isolate in their accommodation until they receive a negative result. NSW Health will follow up arrivals from Auckland if a negative test is not recorded for them, to inform them of their obligations, NSW Health said on Thursday night. If a person has only been in Auckland airport after flying into Auckland airport from another part of New Zealand, they will not be required to quarantine or self-isolate on arrival in NSW. Right Hand A321 Window Antenna We selected Iridium Next which when combined with our Bluetooth App Network and custom gateways is the perfect formulae for delivering bursty data including, messaging, payment and telemetry. AS-IP Tech, Inc. (USOTC: IPTK) announced today installation of the first fflya Bluetooth connectivity kit onboard a Wizz Air UK Airbus A321. AS-IPs President Ron Chapman said, A key component of the installation is our revolutionary window antenna system. We wanted a certified system that was simple to install with minimal components. The installation was carried out by Storm Aviation Limited in co-operation with Wizz Air UK Technical services. The original concept of a Bluetooth passenger network connecting via Iridium utilising a window antenna was tested by AS-IP in 2010. By 2016 we had commercialised the first dual window antenna installation on a private jet. In 2018 we embarked on the airline version conducting further tests with a dual Iridium platform on an Airbus A340. AS-IP selected Iridium Next which when combined with fflya's Bluetooth App Network and custom gateways is the perfect formulae for delivering bursty data including, messaging, payment and telemetry. Next step is ground testing to support airline operational approval. About AS-IP Tech, Inc. AS-IP Tech, Inc. is leading the world in Bluetooth connectivity solutions for aircraft. The company management has a thirty-year history of flying new communication technologies worldwide. Over the past decade AS-IP Tech focus has been on creating an alternative method to connect passengers with the aim of reducing the high costs of inflight connectivity. The business jet version of fflya distributed by BizjetMobile LLC, is in operation on multiple fleets, including window equipped aircraft. The latest application launched in November called CrewX, has seen new installs in Asia, USA and Europe. Now more than ever the demand for low cost inflight connectivity is a priority. Safe Harbor Disclosure: This press release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, commonly identified by such terms as "believes," "looking ahead," "anticipates," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "intend," "project," and other terms with similar meaning. Although the company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's projections and expectations are disclosed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. About Storm Aviation Limited: Storm Aviation Ltd is a UK-registered MRO company operating under UK CAA and EASA issued Part-145 and EASA Part-147 Approvals. It provides an excellent standard of tailored line maintenance services in Europe and around the world. The company provides a tailored range of services including line & base maintenance, training (both mandatory EASA Part-145 and EASA Part-147), AOG support, cabin services, consulting, and Part-M. Its reliable services are currently valued and used by more than 50 airlines. Storm Aviation is a subsidiary of FL Technics, a global provider of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, and a family member of the Avia Solutions Group the largest aerospace business group from Central & Eastern Europe with almost 100 offices and production stations providing aviation services and solutions worldwide. For more information, visit: http://www.stormaviation.com and http://www.aviasg.com About Wizz Air Wizz Air, the fastest growing and greenest* European low-cost airline, operates a fleet of 136 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. A team of dedicated aviation professionals delivers superior service and very low fares, making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 40 million passengers in the financial year F20 ending 31 March 2020. Wizz Air is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WIZZ. The company was recently named one of the worlds top ten safest airlines by airlineratings.com, the worlds only safety and product rating agency, and 2020 Airline of the Year by ATW, the most coveted honour an airline or individual can receive, recognising individuals and organisations that have distinguished themselves through outstanding performance, innovation, and superior service. *Wizz Airs carbon-dioxide emissions were the lowest among European airlines in FY2019 (57.2 gr/km/passenger) **One-way price, including administration fee. One carry-on bag (max: 40x30x20cm) is included. Trolley bag and each piece of checked-in baggage is subject to additional fees. The price applies only to bookings made on wizzair.com and the WIZZ mobile app. Number of seats at indicated prices are limited. For more information: Ron Chapman ASIP Tech Inc Ron.chapman@asiptech.com http://www.asiptech.com http://www.fflya.com http://www.bizjetmobile.com Andras Rado; Wizz Air Group; communications@wizzair.com Follow us on Instagram: @wizzair Follow us on Facebook: @wizzair Follow us on Twitter: @wizzair remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Reuters | Jerusalem The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United Arab Emirates today, Israeli media reported yesterday, in an opportunity to showcase new Gulf ties before a closely contested election in Israel. However, it was not immediately clear if Netanyahu would also visit Bahrain, as he had planned to do during a previously scheduled one-day trip to the Gulf in February which he postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. The reports, on Israels main news websites and public radio, were not immediately confirmed by Netanyahus office or by the UAE. The reports said he would hold talks with Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and return home the same day. Israel established formal relations with the UAE and Bahrain last September - only its third and fourth normalisation deals with Arab states in over 70 years - as part of a US-brokered agreement. The three countries share common concerns about Iran. Netanyahu, largely running in politically-polarised Israels fourth election in two years on his role in its rapid COVID-19 vaccination programme, has also made his drive to forge new relations in the Gulf region a centrepiece of his campaign. Israeli tourists and business executives flocked to the UAE before a national lockdown in Israel largely closed its main international airport, in Tel Aviv, in late January. Restrictions were eased on Sunday. In an interview with Israeli Army Radio on Tuesday, Netanyahu called on voters to re-elect him on March 23 so that he could achieve more peace agreements in the area, while ensuring that Iran doesnt arm itself with nuclear weapons. More electric charging points will soon be built on motorways and anyone with a contactless card will be able to access them, new government plans outline. The Department for Transport has confirmed it aims to have at least six high powered open-access chargepoints at every motorway service area in England by 2023. This will increase to at least 2,500 high powered chargers across the strategic road network by 2030 and 6,000 by 2035. At present, one firm - Ecotricity, owned by Dale Vince - dominates the electric charging market at motorway service stations. Ecotricity is currently the only firm that has electric car charging points on the motorway This has been criticised by some electric car users who say it has outdated and unreliable hardware which makes longer journeys unpredictable for electric car drivers. The Competition and Markets Authority has launched a market study into the electric vehicle charging sector in the UK. It is considering how to develop a competitive sector while also attracting private investment to help the sector grow, including at motorway and A-road service areas. The Government will consider the CMA's recommendations once the study is complete later this year. It added it is currently running an open consultation on improving the consumer experience at public chargepoints, including at motorway and A-road service areas which loses on 10 April. This covers four key areas: making it easier to pay, opening up chargepoint data, using a single payment metric and ensuring a reliable network. Rachel Maclean, the Transport Minister, told Electrifying.com that new chargers would arrive before 2023, with at least six at each service area on motorways. She said the Government will use legislation to ensure all charging points are reliable and accessible. The points will be 150kW or above meaning customers will not have to wait around for long before their car is fully charged. The chargers are to be available to anyone with a contactless payment card and would be in addition to Tesla units which are already installed at most service stations. Larger sites will have up to 12 points providing speeds of up to 350kW. Service level agreements would ensure that the points were available for at least 99 per cent of the time, drivers have access to 24/7 customer care and there will be clear pricing information available. The Government would use legislation to enforce them if these standards are not met. Maclean said they are now looking for the best commercial offer. She also urged drivers to get in touch with their local council if there are no charging points near their home and they need one. There will soon be more electric vehicle charging points for drivers who welcome the change Rod Dennis, spokesman for RAC, said: 'This is extremely welcome news as charging electric cars at motorway service areas needs to fast, reliable and easy to pay for so drivers can make longer journeys with the minimum of fuss. 'It should also go a long way towards showing would-be EV drivers that 'range anxiety' is a thing of the past, further speeding up the switch to electric. 'Nothing is more frustrating to an electric car driver than the sight of an out-of-order charge point, so the fact there will be a commitment to having chargers 'in service' will make a big difference. 'The promise of clear pricing is also important as drivers are used to knowing what they'd be paying before filling up thanks to petrol price 'totems' on forecourts.' The RAC added it has an increasing number of patrol vans with built-in emergency mobile charging systems capable of giving an out-of-charge electric car enough power to be driven a short distance home or to a working charge point. Recently, Ecotricity's Electric Highway was rated the worst electric vehicle charging network in the Zap Map annual satisfaction rankings for 2020, with one user claiming: 'They kickstarted the market, but now they are out of date and unreliable.' The EV mapping service gave it a ranking of two stars out of five, placing it at the bottom of the pile of 16 companies. Tesla topped the charts with 4.8 out of five. The Government is currently continuing with plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030, with hybrids phased out five years later. 19 States file motion to stop Biden admin. from using Title X to fund abortion clinics Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A coalition of 19 states, led by Ohio, have filed a joint motion to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the Biden administration from scrapping a Trump administration rule that would allow federal Title X family planning funds to go to organizations that provide and promote abortions. Filed Monday, the attorneys general's motion came in response to President Joe Biden telling the Department of Health and Human Services to consider repealing a rule enacted in 2019 that barred health clinics that provide or promote abortion from receiving Title X funding. To be sure, some States provide such funding. And many advocates would like to see more public funding. But the broader national consensus against funding elective abortion remains, stated the joint motion. Title X reflects this consensus. Since its 1970 enactment, the law has funded non-abortion family planning. All the while, it has banned the use of Title X funds in programs where abortion is a method of family planning. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement that the usage of Title X money to fund or promote abortion is against the law, adding that Im intervening to stop it, no matter what the presidents personal agenda may be. The other states that joined the motion are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. "[T]he new rules eliminated the requirement that Title X recipients make abortion referrals, adopting a new policy that permits (but does not require) non-directive counseling about the availability of abortion," the court filing reads. "For another, the new rules required Title X recipients to maintain stricter physical and financial separation between abortion services and programs that spend Title X money." Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron released a statement Wednesday expressing his support for the motion. He declared that we will not stand by while the Biden Administration tries to weaken the protections against using federal dollars for abortions. Weve filed this motion to ask the nations highest court to allow us to represent the interests and values of Kentuckians by defending the Title X rules and ensure that funding from that program is not used to support abortions, he continued. In January, days after taking office, Biden issued a memorandum asking HHS to review Title X rules prohibiting funding of abortion providers. In particular, the memo cited the 2019 rule from the Trump administration that prevented the funds from being used by facilities that promote abortion as a family planning option. Biden's order stated that the previous administration's Title X rule caused the termination of federal family planning funding for many "womens healthcare providers." The nation's largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood made headlines in 2019 when it left the Title X program rather than comply with the new rule. Biden contends that the Title X rule puts "undue restrictions" on the use of federal funds and puts "womens health at risk by making it harder for women to receive complete medical information." He called on the agency to review the policy "as soon as practicable" and consider whether the rule should be suspended, revised or rescinded. "The Act specifies that Title X funds may not be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning, but places no further abortion-related restrictions on recipients of Title X funds," Biden's memorandum reads. The Trump administration's rule faced legal challenges, which resulted in split decisions from federal appeals courts. The Supreme Court last month agreed to take up the matter. Biden's memo also revoked the Mexico City Policy, a measure that prohibits federal funds from going to foreign nonprofits promoting or performing abortions. These excessive conditions on foreign and development assistance undermine the United States efforts to advance gender equality globally by restricting our ability to support womens health and programs that prevent and respond to gender-based violence, Biden's memo argued. Italy's nationwide ban of a batch of AstraZeneca comes as several European nations suspend part or all of their roll-out of the covid-19 vaccine over blood-clotting fears. The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) has issued a nationwide ban on a batch of the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine due to serious adverse events after inoculation. The agency stated that the ban refers to batch ABV2856, adding that it may consider additional measures, if required, taken in coordination with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). It is being reported that the ban follows the deaths of two men in Sicily who had recently been inoculated with the AstraZeneca batch in question. A 43-year-old navy officer died of a suspected heart attack the day after receiving the vaccine, while a 50-year-old policeman died about 12 days after his jab, after falling ill within 24 hours of being inoculated, reports Reuters. In a statement AIFA said the ban has been taken as a "precaution," stressing that at present no link had been established between the vaccine and subsequent adverse reactions. An investigation is currently underway into the batch and its related documentation, with samples set to be analysed by Italys Superior Health Institute. The move comes as a growing number of European countries including Denmark, Norway, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have suspended all or part of their AstraZeneca vaccine roll-out as a precautionary measure while they investigate concerns relating to blood clots. U.S. looking into more sanctions against Nord Stream 2 Washington will continue to oppose the pipeline completion, says Blinken Reporting by UNIAN If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter 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. Andrew Gallagher with mother-in-law Jacqueline Foster (right), his wife Nicola and their children Noah and Evie. Photo: Ciara Wilkinson A man who says he owes his life to his mother-in-law after she donated a kidney to him, says it is vital to discuss organ donation and donor cards. Andrew Gallagher (36) said: Jacqueline, my mother-in-law, donated one of her kidneys to me. I really believe she saved my life. Today is World Kidney Day and Andrew said: It is a vital day of the year as it is a world wide campaign to raise awareness of kidney health and how to look after them. Andrew, who lives near Dundalk, Co Louth, said having a day dedicated to kidney health also highlights kidney transplantation and how the act of organ donation will save lives. He had his transplant in November 2013 and said the difference it made to him was felt instantly. He had been on dialysis for two years before the operation and with his then fiance Nicola (31) had decided to bring forward their wedding to make sure he would not be on dialysis for it. His diagnosis of kidney failure had come out of the blue. A fitness test at a gym when he was aged just 24 had spotted slightly raised blood pressure and began a journey that led a year later to being told he would need a transplant. It was surreal. In the space of what felt like seven minutes, I was told I had scarring on both my kidneys and that I had about 29pc kidney function. They said I would require dialysis in the future and at end stage, Id need to seek a kidney transplant. Andrews brother and sister were both tested but found they were not suitable matches. However Nicolas mother Jacqueline contacted Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and began the process of seeing if was she a match. "The decision was very simple in that Andrew needed a kidney and I had the chance to donate one, said Jacqueline. Andrew felt different immediately after the transplantation. When I woke up after the operation Nicola said my eyes were bright, they looked snow white and they had not been that way for years. I believe Jacqueline saved my life and because of her and her generosity, myself and Nicola and our two children, Evie (8) and Noah (3), are able to look forward to a normal family life. Nicola said: It was a tough few days during the transplant having two people to worry about during the operations. I am unbelievably proud of my mother that she gave the gift of life to my husband and gave him a second chance." Jacqueline and Andrew are encouraging everyone to become a donor and carry an organ donation card. I always felt that people were nearly afraid to apply for a donor card, in case that meant they had to donate there and then on the spot, said Andrew. Having that talk about donation is 90pc of the task, he added. Leading wood and furniture companies from Portugal are showcasing their products at the ongoing Dubai Woodshow and are also seeking to forge new partnerships and inroads into the Middle East market. Nine companies are at the show taking part under the auspices of the Portuguese Association of Wood and Furniture Industries (AIMMP) presenting a wide array of product range from furniture, flooring to wood and luxury hardware. The firms are Achilles Since 1905, Castro Wood Floors, Madeipocas, MBN Collections, MF Timber, PlacaNobre, Ribadao Wood Boutique, Ronfe Classic and X8 Solutions Group. AIMMP President Vitor Pocas said: "Dubai Woodshow will offer Portuguese companies a major platform to launch their products as well as seek new business partnerships in the Middle East market." "The participation at the expo is also part of a structured intervention program, Inter Wood & Furniture, that seeks to support Portuguese companies expand into new growing international markets," she noted. Following a successful opening day, Dubai WoodShow continued to gain momentum as it reached Day 2 attracting an even bigger number of participants from across the globe and bringing together local and international participants to boost business growth, gain industry knowledge, and build mutually rewarding networks. "The large number of attendees thus far in Dubai WoodShow is a reflection of the events great reputation when it comes to generating opportunities and serving as a highly regarded platform for traders, exhibitors and buyers," remarked Dawood Al Shezawi, the president of the Organising Committee of Dubai WoodShow. On Day 1, the event recorded huge onsite deals and also succeeded in generating sales of various woodworking machineries and wood products at a substantial volume, stated Al Shezawi. "The event offered a highly dynamic environment for producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters, traders, suppliers, hobbyists and end-users through the participation of several exhibitors from different countries including Russia, Portugal, France and Turkey; informative conference sessions that discussed the latest industry trends; and numerous B2B meetings that created networking opportunities with potential business partners and key stakeholders," he added.-TradeArabia News Service By Ko Dong-hwan Gettyimagesbank Bring Your Doubts. So advised a promotional poster for one of Luis Palaus sermons, and the seekers did. For decades the Beaverton-based evangelist, known as the hot gospeler, responded to peoples doubts with wisdom and clarity and wit, and in the process won over many thousands of followers. The evangelist is the bridge between the world and the church, between the lost person and bringing them into the position of salvation, Palau told The Oregonian in 1985. Palau, one of the worlds foremost Christian advocates, died Thursday of cancer. He was 86. It is with a mixture of sadness and joy that we share with you that Dad passed away early this morning, his family said in a statement. He died suddenly and very peacefully, just as he had hoped. This is hard news, but Luis is experiencing the beauty of the Lord face to face. Palau, a native of Argentina, revealed in January 2018 that he had been diagnosed with stage-4 lung cancer. He had been suffering from what he thought was a chest cold that wouldnt go away, said his son Kevin, who now leads the Luis Palau Association, a ministry that is based in the Portland area but has a global reach. At the time of the diagnosis, Luis Palau admitted that it was a shock. I havent been in a hospital one night, except when I broke a bone back in 1984 after Mission to London. But he declared he was ready to go to heaven. My wish and my desire, he once said, is that people get right with God, settle the big question, and die happy, knowing they will be with Jesus. Luis Palau meets with young people at a 1980 National Congress On Evangelism. Palau was born in Buenos Aires on Nov. 27, 1934, the son of a real-estate developer who expected Luis to either go into business with him or become a lawyer. When Luis was 10, however, his father suddenly died, leaving the family in dire financial condition. A year later, a summer-camp counselor introduced Luis to evangelical Christianity one night as they sat on a log in the woods, thunder echoing in the sky around them. Luis wrote to himself later that night: Feb. 12, 1947. I received Jesus Christ. Palau had received Jesus, but it took him a few years to realize how God wanted him to spend his life. He was working at a bank in Cordoba when he heard a Billy Graham sermon on the radio and felt called to evangelism. In a way I often think maybe the Lord had to take my dad home, he once said, so I would leave the country and go international to preach to millions. Luis Palau in 1999. (The Oregonian) In 1960, Palau came to Portland to study at Multnomah Bible College, where he met fellow student Patricia Scofield. Palau was drawn to Pats smarts and beauty. Plus, he said, She was committed to the work of missions, and that is what I was really looking for: somebody who had the same view that life is preaching the good news. Luis and Pat soon married and started both their missionary work and a family. (They would raise four sons.) At the height of his influence, in the 1970s and 80s, Luis Palau reached millions of people through his radio sermons and worldwide tours. Many Christians viewed him as the natural heir to Graham, with whom Palau closely worked early in his career. Luis Palau, photographed in his office in Beaverton. (The Oregonian) In contrast to Graham, the forceful and decorous elder statesman of mass evangelism, The Oregonians religion writer Sura Rubenstein wrote in 1985, Palau is casual, almost folksy, delivering his message with all the genuine concern, sincerity, good humor and familiar passion of one good friend cajoling another to do the right thing. This winning style -- and his inclusive view of Christianity -- helped make Palau a popular figure in his adopted home of Portland, a city known for being one of the most unchurched in the country. In 1999, attendance for his two-day festival of faith in the Rose City topped 90,000, more than twice the turnout hed expected. Crowds as Luis Palau spoke at a festival in Portland. (The Oregonain) There are thousands of people in Portland who are hollow ... smiling on the outside but crying on the inside, Palau said during the event. Many of you have been to astrologers and healers, but Im going to introduce you to Jesus Christ, the only spirit guide worthy of knowing. Sam Adams, Portlands first openly gay mayor, spoke at one of the local faith festivals. Regardless of our differences, we have come together, Adams said. Throughout his life, Palaus missionary work remained his guiding passion. After receiving his cancer diagnosis, he immediately returned to his preaching. In many ways, I feel the Lord has much more in store for me, he wrote on his ministrys website shortly after the diagnosis. Yet whatever tomorrow holds -- Im completely at peace. Both Patricia and I are. As we look back, we praise the Lord. Fifty-seven years of marriage. How many places weve been. How many people weve reached with the Gospel. -- Douglas Perry @douglasmperry Trevor Phillips said that Oprah should have asked Harry and Meghan about the prince's own past behaviour that could be considered racially insensitive Trevor Phillips says that Oprah should have asked Harry and Meghan about the prince's own past behaviour that could be considered racially insensitive. The Monarchy has been plunged into crisis following the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' accusation of racism - a claim that Harry's brother Prince William has today strongly denied. Buckingham Palace is struggling to quiet criticism after Harry and Meghan alleged that the duchess was the victim of racism and callous treatment during her time as a working member of the royal family. The palace tried to respond to the charges, made during an interview with US TV host Oprah Winfrey, with a 61-word statement that critics called 'too little, too late.' But in 2005, a young Harry had caused a stir himself when, at just 20 years old, he dressed up for a party in a Nazi uniform, complete with swastika armband, sparking condemnation from politicians and Jewish human rights organisations. After pictures of the outfit were published, an apology was issued on behalf of Harry for his 'poor choice of costume'. In 2006 Prince Harry was recorded calling an Asian army colleague a 'P**i' - and the footage was published three years later. The prince apologised for any offence caused by the incident. Now Charles Moore, former editor of the Daily Telegraph, reveals that writer and former politician Mr Phillips contacted him to give an opinion on the incendiary Oprah interview. Writing for his diary in The Spectator, Mr Moore quotes the email from Mr Phillips, who says: 'A genuinely interesting question about race would have been to ask the couple whether they had discussed Harry's own past behaviour and remarks. During the bombshell interview, Harry accused an unnamed member of his family of racism and said the lack of support he and his wife received from the other royals was behind their decision to quit the UK How Harry, aged 20, caused a global scandal by dressing as a Nazi Prince Harry was forced to issue a grovelling apology in 2005 after wearing a Nazi uniform to a party. His choice of outfit was condemned as insensitive and tasteless by shocked Holocaust survivors. And the Queen's grandson wearing an Afrika Korps uniform caused a crisis for the Royal Family. Former royal press officer Dickie Arbiter urged him to say sorry publicly on radio or television. He told the BBC: 'It is just not good enough to behave like that. We all know history, and at 20 there is no excuse.' Harry was attending a fancy dress party thrown by Olympic show jumper Richard Meade. In 2012 the prince faced fresh accusations of bringing the royal household into global disrepute. Harry was photographed on a mobile phone in just a necklace with a naked female playmate hiding behind him having played a game of strip pool in his VIP Las Vegas suite. Another showed him giving the same topless woman a naked bear hug, which have since been seen by tens of millions across the world. As well as the embarrassment, it did raise security fears about how well the prince was protected on his Vegas trip. Advertisement 'It would've been a big positive for them to talk candidly about how they got past that history, and possibly an injunction for people to be generous.' Mr Moore then gives his own opinion: 'Yes, Harry could have helped young white men trying to tiptoe through this minefield.' Mr Phillips adds: 'That's assuming that Meghan actually knows about his past life she seems remarkably ill-informed about the family she married into, even though it is the most famous and widely reported clan in history.' Meghan said in the Oprah interview that she was so isolated and miserable as a working member of the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts. She also said Harry told her that member of the royal family had expressed 'concerns' about the color of her babys skin before the birth of their son, Archie. An impassioned Prince William today publicly hit back against Harry and Meghan's racism claims, insisting, 'We're very much not a racist family'. The Duke of Cambridge is the first royal to personally respond to the allegation during his first royal engagement since the Oprah interview, as he also revealed that he has not spoken to his brother since it came out but 'will do'. Meghan's claim that an unnamed royal raised concerns about Archie being 'too brown' was the most damaging allegation to come out of the broadcast, and caused untold damage to the Windsors' reputation around the world. Today was also the first engagement for Kate since she was accused by Meghan of making her cry in the bombshell tell-all chat. During the Oprah interview, Meghan also revealed details about their strained relationship, saying of pictures of them laughing at Wimbledon, 'Nothing is what it looks like', and said Kate being called 'waity Katie' in the press couldn't compare to the alleged racism she faced. Meanwhile, Harry revealed how he was 'on different paths' to William and spoke about his brother was 'trapped' in the Royal Family. William, who was visiting School2 in east London to promote a children's mental health programme, defended his family's reputation after being asked by Sky News reporter Inzamam Rashid, 'Is the Royal Family a racist family?' And when questioned whether he had spoken to his brother since Sunday's broadcast, the Duke of Cambridge said: 'No, I haven't spoken to him yet but I will do.' Oprah Winfrey discusses her interview with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex William, who was visiting School2 in east London to promote a children's mental health programme, defended his family's reputation after being asked by Sky News reporter Inzamam Rashid, 'Is the Royal Family a racist family?' William and Kate (pictured) signalled their intention to carry on as normal at School21 in Stratford, east London, with Kate seen speaking to pupils and teachers Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. New Delhi, March 11 : Automobile major Tata Motors on Thursday launched a new range of intermediate and light commercial trucks -- Ultra Sleek T-Series -- which it hoped will fulfill the growing demand for such vehicles in the country. According to the company, fast economic recovery has galvanised the demand for commercial vehicles. "We are seeing a gradual economic recovery happening. Headline numbers are pointing towards this recovery," Girish Wagh, President, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors told IANS. "There is both, upsurge in rural as well as urban demand." On Thursday, the company launched -- Ultra Sleek T-Series -- trucks which are aimed for urban transportation. As per the company, these trucks are available in three models - T.6, T.7 and T.9 with varied deck lengths from 10 to 20 feet to adapt to all the required applications. "Affirming its versatility, 'Ultra Sleek T-Series' has variants available in 4-tyre and 6-tyre combinations and varied deck lengths, the range is curated to suit diverse transportation needs," the company said in a statement. "It is equipped to cater to a wide variety of applications, such as transportation of e-commerce products, FMCG, industrial goods, LPG cylinders, and refrigerated containers for transportation of Covid-19 vaccine, pharmaceuticals as well as food items such as eggs, milk and fresh farm produce." The new truck range is powered by the BS6 4SPCR engine, with a 100hp power and a torque rating of 300Nm, the range provides optimum power and best-in-class fuel efficiency. "The range is fortified with a strong modular chassis designed for better durability, and radial tyres with low-rolling resistance to further boost the fuel economy," the company said. Spruce Forest opens for season through a new door With the crashing of the trees, three of the cabins were destroyed, along with damaging the village church and other buildings as well. As the latest federal pandemic relief package makes its way to President Joe Bidens desk, Americans may be wondering when the benefits will reach them. The $1.9 trillion known as the American Rescue Plan is massive, both in size and scope. It includes direct payments to most Americans, aid to small businesses, financial help for schools and much more to help the country recover from the financial ravages of the pandemic. Congress approved the landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday and Biden said he'd sign the measure Friday. The timing of its passage is crucial most notably because some pandemic unemployment benefits will be coming to an end on Sunday. Millions of taxpayers could begin see direct benefits almost immediately, some later this month and others taking several months to accomplish. Heres you need to know about the spending plan: RELIEF CHECKS The legislation provides a direct payment of $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple that files jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount, as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000. The size of the check would shrink for those making slightly more, with a hard cut-off at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married couples. Why some parents could see up to $3,600 per child under new coronavirus relief bill For a decade, 38-year-old Nadia Miller has barely made ends meet working as a provider at Clara's Little Lambs Preschool Academy, a daycare on Biden estimates that 85% of Americans will be eligible for the payment. Some groups that were not eligible for prior payments such as dependent college students and disabled adults are now eligible. Biden said the goal is to send out the payments starting this month. That means the mortgage can get paid. That means the child can stay in community college. That means maintaining the health insurance you have, Biden said. Its going to make a big difference in so many of lives in this country. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the administration is doing everything in its power to expedite payments. As such, the Treasury is working to get more payments to taxpayers by direct deposit. The agency will be able to send direct deposit payments to those who have their information on file from 2019 or 2020 tax filings or who provided it through other programs. Biden's signature will not appear on the checks, a move his predecessor made that was criticized as a delay in getting payments out. A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 30% of Americans say their current household income remains lower than it was when the pandemic began. The IRS and the Treasury Department began to issue the last round of payments by both direct deposit and check in only a matter of days after the outlays became law in late December. UNEMPLOYMENT Expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government would be extended through Sept. 6 at $300 a week. Thats on top of payments from state unemployment insurance program. 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 Despite a modest recovery, millions of Americans remain unemployed. The plan would also extend two key pandemic programs, which benefit about 11.8 million Americans. These pandemic unemployment benefits were set to expire Sunday, so if there is a delay in the bill's passage there could be a gap in benefits. But the National Employment Law Project anticipates if things are finalized this week, states and existing beneficiaries likely won't see any interruption in payments. The first $10,200 of jobless benefits would be non-taxable for households with incomes under $150,000 but only for benefits from 2020. The IRS will have to issue guidelines on how to put this into practice. Additionally, the measures provides a 100% subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums to ensure that the laid-off workers can remain on their employer health plans at no cost from April 1 through the end of September. TAX BREAKS The package contains a number of valuable tax breaks. One of the most notable is an increase in the tax credit that taxpayers can claim for dependent children. Under current law, most taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax bill by up to $2,000 per child. The bill would increase the tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under the age of 6. Families would get the full credit regardless of how little they make in a year. The aim is to deliver the money, which is an advance payment on the tax credit, in smaller monthly payments instead of one larger lump sum. The exact timing of when this money would arrive is still unclear. If the Treasury determines that a monthly payment isnt feasible, then the payments are to be made as frequently as possible. Elaine Maag, principal research associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said monthly payments could begin as soon as July but if the government opts for a quarterly payments it take until could fall. Add in the $1,400 checks and other items in the proposal, and the legislation would reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. The bill also significantly expands the Earned Income Tax Credit for 2021 by making it available to people without children. The credit for low and moderate-income adults would be worth $543 to $1,502, depending on income and filing status. The benefit of the EITC would not be felt until taxpayers file their returns for the 2021 tax year, which would typically be in the beginning of 2022. The plan does not include student loan forgiveness, but it does allow for any income from the forgiveness of student loans be to be tax-free from 2021 through 2025. By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL, AP Personal Finance Writer. AP congressional reporter Kevin Freking and staff reporter Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Local Indian restaurant chain Choolaah is set to open its first West Side spot, with a new location entering Clevelands Ohio City neighborhood this summer. Jay Nesbitt, Choolaahs chief creative officer, said that the brand plans to open the new spot at 1903 W. 25th St. in August or September. The location takes over a former Howard Hanna office, located between Mitchells Ice Cream and Townhall restaurant and bar. Itll be the second location in Greater Cleveland, following the restaurants flagship that opened in 2014 in Orange Village. Nesbitt said that he and the Choolaah team have plans to work with the buildings historic background. The Ohio City restaurant will make use of a covered back patio, with street-level dining outside in the front. Were being very respectful of the existing architecture, as opposed to going into a new build, Nesbitt said. Itll have a different but kind of unique vibe -- but itll still feel like the cool, funky, contemporary Choolaah. Choolaah offers a modern menu of customizable Indian bowls and wraps, which customers can fill with paneer, lamb, chicken and other proteins. Street foods like samosas and pav bhaji are also available to order. Since opening in Orange Village seven years ago, Choolaah has expanded to have five locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The Ohio City spot will be the chains sixth business. Still, Choolaah wants to continue expanding, with plans for more locations in Greater Cleveland, Nesbitt said. The business made some pivots during the coronavirus pandemic to focus on curbside delivery, grab-and-go items and to-go options, and those changes helped the brand stay stable, Nesbitt said. It allowed us to accelerate our development of the brand and be able to make changes quicker than we anticipated. Its sort of been a blessing in disguise. Weve been able to reposition ourselves pretty well to accommodate the new world out there. You can find more information about Choolaah at choolaah.com. Get a jumpstart on the weekend and sign up for cleveland.coms weekly In the CLE email newsletter, your essential guide to the top things to in Greater Cleveland. It will arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings - an exclusive to-do list, focusing on the best of the weekend fun. Restaurants, music, movies, performing arts, family fun and more. Just click here to subscribe. All cleveland.com newsletters are free. 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. Good personal hygiene isn't just to smell good or look good, although it's important for both. More importantly, it's a way of protecting ourselves against illnesses, the common cold, the flu, COVID, and a slew of other things. We use soap to remove the germs, shampoo to clean our hair, lotion to keep our skin hydrated, and the list goes on. We aren't acutely aware that the chemicals inside of our hygiene products are being absorbed directly into our bloodstream and affecting your overall health. It is estimated that, on average, a woman will put nearly 168 different chemicals into their bodies on a daily basis, based on the number of products they use. Men use fewer products, and therefore they are putting only 85 different chemicals into their bodies daily. Europe has over 1,300 toxic chemicals banned from beauty products, but there are only 11 ingredients banned in the US. So while you might be taking good care of your personal hygiene, your good hygiene habits can be directly affecting your overall health, filling your body with toxic chemicals. Good self-care and hygiene routines with a holistic approach have never been easier than it is today with many safe and natural alternatives to your personal hygiene products. Making these simple changes will limit the number of chemicals you put into your body dramatically and help keep you healthy. Plus, many of these natural products are environmentally friendly. Ditch the Makeup Wipes Makeup wipes are filled with chemicals and find their way into the landfill. Using reusable face and makeup remover cloths or the konjac sponge, there are no additives, preservatives, or dyes that are harmful to your skin or health. And no environmental damage is being done, which is always a plus! Eliminate Plastic Oral Hygiene Products It's not going to come as a shock to hear that plastic isn't good for our health or the environment. And toothbrushes and dental floss are plastic materials. Bamboo toothbrushes have become increasingly popular, and dental lace is made of silk. And let's not forget that toothpaste is filled with chemicals as well. Natural Exfoliators Are Better Beauty products are harmful to your health and your skin. There are a ton of natural exfoliators that you can use such as natural soaps with poppy seeds, coffee grounds, and exfoliator gloves are a great reusable option. Natural Shampoos & Conditioners Work Just As Good Switching your shampoo and conditioners can be tricky; after all, it's likely it took you a long time to find the one that doesn't dry out your hair, protects your color, and keeps your curls on point. But these products are filled with a ton of harmful chemicals, while many of the natural products will offer you the same results as the ones you are currently using. However, they just might be even better since they are free from parabens, silicone, phthalates, and sulfates, which hurt your color-treated hair. Chemical-free Makeup Alternatives Don't worry; you don't have to ditch the makeup. With more and more people becoming aware of the harmful effects chemical products play on our health, companies such as Iila and Just Herbs are making healthy beauty products. Hair and skincare products are an essential part of our daily routine and are the biggest culprit when it comes to the number of chemicals that enter our bodies. Eliminating them would never be an option, and thankfully it doesn't have to be with the many healthy, non-toxic, and chemical-free alternatives that we have. It used to be that you could only find these products online or in specialty stores, but they are easier to find with the increased health concerns. Holistic self-care is about treating our bodies and the environment well. And there's no better way to do that than by avoiding or at the least reducing the number of harmful chemicals that we put in and on our bodies is the best place to begin. 2021 Mstars News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement ROCHESTER, Minn. - Rochester Mayor Kim Norton testified before state lawmakers Wednesday in favor of a bill aiming to provide Minnesota cities with a new tool to fund road repairs. Speaking on behalf of the League of Minnesota Cities, Mayor Norton expressed support for HF 1565, a bill allowing cities to create "street improvement districts." If passed, officials would be able to impose fees on properties within the districts to finance street improvement and maintenance exclusively. "Enacting a street improvement district will allow the city to have a long-term financial plan which addresses the growing infrastructure needs, lowers the financial investment needed over time, and begins to address a significant unfunded future liability," Norton told the Minnesota House Local Government Division. The Med City mayor adds the process of creating a street improvement district would be transparent, and require ample public input. "The bill requires a robust and transparent process, including public hearings and notice to property owners. The process will ensure local elected officials will hear the concerns of impacted property owners before making the decision about whether to create a street improvement district," Norton said. The City of Rochester says it spends $9 million each year fixing Med City streets, but officials project they're still facing an annual shortfall of $23 million in order to meet road repair needs over the next 50 years. City staff say other fundraising options, such as increasing the tax levy, would place a heavy burden on Rochester residents. The city also wants to transition away from assessments, which staff say can impact property owners and businesses inequitably. The City of Rochester says it oversees more than 100 miles of streets over 50 years old. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 04:03:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Thursday received a shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine it jointly developed with Cuba for the Phase 3 clinical trials. Meanwhile, the prime ministers of Israel, Hungary and Czech Republic discussed vaccine cooperation. The shipment included 100,000 doses of the Soberana 02 COVID-19 vaccine, co-developed by Cuba's Finlay Institute and Iran's Pasteur Institute. "Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials (of the vaccine) were carried out successfully in Havana under the supervision of the Pasteur Institute of Iran and, given the positive results... the Phase 3 will be carried out simultaneously in Cuba and Iran," Iran's Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. Iran reported 8,308 new COVID-19 infections and 88 new deaths related to the coronavirus on Thursday, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 1,723,470 and the death toll to 61,016. The total number of COVID-19 patients having recovered reached 1,471,179, with 3,818 still in critical condition. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban and Czech counterpart Andrej Babis on Thursday to discuss advancing cooperation in the research, development and production of vaccines. They discussed the reciprocal acknowledgment of green passports and a possible integration of the Czech Republic and Hungary into an international initiative to build a vaccine production facility in Israel. Israel's Ministry of Health reported 2,698 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 813,806. The death toll from COVID-19 in Israel reached 5,963 after 20 new fatalities were added, while the total recoveries climbed by 4,689 to 773,034. Turkey reported 14,046 new COVID-19 cases, including 821 with symptoms, and 63 more deaths, taking its tally of infections to 2,835,989 and its death toll to 29,290. The tally of recoveries increased to 2,659,093, according to Turkish Health Ministry, which said a total of 7.83 million people have been vaccinated so far, including 272 million who have got two shots of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine. In Iraq, the health ministry confirmed 5,170 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 745,642. It also reported 26 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,671, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 3,057 to 674,345. The Iraqi Higher Committee for Health and National Safety decided to require school students to continue their online learning to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country. Lebanon registered 3,518 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total infections to 408,909, while the coronavirus-related death count rose by 50 to 5,230. The tally of recoveries in Lebanon went up by 829 to 319,629. Morocco announced on Thursday 464 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally in the North African country to 487,750. The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 474,257 after 519 more were added, while its death toll rose by seven to 8,712. A total of 4,130,606 people in Morocco have received the first vaccine shot against COVID-19, including 972,079 who have received the second dose. Morocco launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines. Jordan reported 8,300 new coronavirus infections and 63 more fatalities from the virus, bringing its total cases to 457,151 and its death toll to 5,169. The tally of recoveries from the disease in Jordan rose by 3,644 to 382,949. Kuwait reported 1,505 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 205,893. The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced four more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,148. The tally of recoveries in Kuwait soared by 1,080 to 190,235, while 14,510 coronavirus-related patients are receiving treatment. The Qatari health ministry announced 468 new COVID-19 infections and 323 more recoveries, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 168,829 and the tally of recoveries to 157,242. The total number of COVID-19 fatalities in Qatar remained at 264, the ministry said in a statement. Enditem NEWAYGO, Mich. (AP) Authorities filed charges Tuesday against the father of a teenager who accidentally detonated a homemade explosive at a western Michigan school. The explosion Monday led to a search of the mans home in Newaygo Countys Brooks Township. David Saylor was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and manufacture or possession of a Molotov cocktail. A vast array of different explosive devices were found and different materials, Newaygo County prosecutor Worth Stay said. Bond was set at $100,000. It wasnt immediately known if Saylor, 34, has a lawyer who could comment. Police said Saylors 16-year-old son brought a homemade explosive to Newaygo High School and accidentally detonated it, injuring himself, four other students and a teacher. Stay said the teen lost both thumbs. The school reopened Tuesday after vents and the heating-and-cooling system were found to be safe, the district said. Law enforcement and school administrators met with students to review the situation and share any pertinent details about what had happened, the district said in a statement. Newaygo city police Chief Georgia Andres said the student showed a severe lapse in judgment but it was definitely not something he intended. Newaygo is 35 miles (56.3 kilometers) north of Grand Rapids. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. In September 2020, the company, which claims to be the UKs third largest broadband provider, claimed to have hit a major milestone in Peterborough when it officially passed the halfway mark on its original build plan. Now, with what CityFibre says is no less than huge demand for full-fibre services, the villages of Glinton and Eye are being added to the roll out, with work starting in the areas this month. Services are now live for users across many areas of Peterborough, including Dogsthorpe, Paston, Walton, Eastfield, Park, Orton Southgate and New England.The connections in these areas are being delivered via launch partner Vodafones Gigafast Broadband service, with TalkTalk Future Fibre packages also now available. Residents in Glinton and Eye will be able to receive services from both Vodafone and TalkTalk. Granemore Group is delivering the project on CityFibres behalf and will continue to work closely with CityFibre and Peterborough City Council to manage any disruption and use modern build techniques to ensure a fast and efficient roll out.Were making huge strides in delivering full-fibre to homes and businesses across Peterborough, and were thrilled to be able to bring our best-in-class network to include those living in the villages of Glinton and Eye, said Rebecca Stephens, CityFibres City Manager for Peterborough, commenting on the new deployment. At CityFibre, we pride ourselves on being agile and flexible. There is clear demand in these villages for full-fibre and were now working quickly to ensure premises in both villages can access our network later this year."It is our goal to give as many residents and businesses as possible access to full fibre networks and reliable high speed broadband services so it is great news that residents in Eye and Glinton will be the latest to receive these services, said Councillor John Holdich, Leader of Peterborough City Council. I am sure residents in the many other parts of the city already benefiting from these services will vouch for how useful this level of digital connectivity is for businesses in particular. When the CityFibre project is complete, Peterborough will be one of the best digitally connected cities in the UK, and indeed the world. This will bring a number of positive benefits such as helping to attract and retain businesses, encouraging new investment, boosting innovation, and enhancing educational opportunities. (Newser) After 15-year-old Stavian Rodriguez was fatally shot outside an Okie Gas Express in November, police in Oklahoma City said they opened fire after the teen refused to obey commands. The district attorney, however, says the five officers shot the teen after "simultaneously giving him varying commands" after he had already put down his weapon, NBC reports. The Oklahoma County DA filed first-degree manslaughter charges Wednesday against the five officers, who shot Rodriguez a total of 13 times. Police say that after Rodriguez attempted to rob the store at gunpoint, he was locked inside by a clerk who called 911. He was shot after climbing out of a drive-through window. story continues below Graphic videos released by police show multiple officers yelling commands as Rodriguez climbs out of the window and puts his gun on the ground, the Oklahoman reports. After he reached toward his left rear pocket, Sgt. Sarah Carli fires a "40mm less lethal round," and the other five officers at the scene then "all unnecessarily fire lethal rounds ... striking him numerous times and inflicting mortal wounds," an affidavit from the DA states. Carli has not been charged. Investigators say the pocket Rodriguez reached for contained only his cellphone. The Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police says it is standing by the officers and "maintains they acted within the law." Wyatt Allen Cheatham, a 17-year-old who allegedly planned the robbery, has been charged with first-degree murder because of his accomplice's death. (Read more Oklahoma City stories.) California Department of Education News Release California Department of Education News Release State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Underscores How Rapid COVID Testing Can Facilitate Safe Reopening of Schools SACRAMENTOState Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a statewide webinar today with health experts and educators that addressed the use of rapid COVID-19 testing as a tool to safely resume in-person learning on school campuses. I strongly believe that while we wait for a full vaccine roll-out, we also need to be moving toward a strategy for the deployment of rapid COVID testing that is cost-effective for schools, Thurmond said. This is one tool in our tool boxbut an important one. Rapid COVID testing is a game-changer. With mounting data that students are suffering from mental health issues and learning disruptions, rapid testing is a real help for districts looking for ways to get students safely back into classrooms. During the presentation, Thurmond shared how the use of BinaxNOW COVID-19 Cards, which provide test results in 15 minutes at a cost of $5 per test, will be used at the California Department of Education's (CDE) three State Special Schools to safely return students to in-person instruction. Along with Superintendent Thurmond, other individuals who presented at todays webinar were: Dr. Charity Dean, Public Health Physician and past Co-Chair of the Governors Testing Task Force, who provided an overview of the BinaxNOW COVID-19 test and stressed the effectiveness of the tests. Dr. Tony Iton, Senior Vice President of Healthy Communities at the California Endowment, who provided an overview of the rapid test pilot program that is currently underway with 11 school districts. Roy Mendiola, Superintendent of the McSwain Union Elementary School District, who reported on his districts positive experience using the rapid tests through the pilot program. Lisa Constancio, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction at the CDE, who addressed funding sources available to school districts for rapid testing. Ensuring schools can access regular testing has been at the forefront of Thurmonds agenda since last fall. He has been in close contact with Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers to include those resources in the signing of AB 86, which provides $2 billion for schools to return to in-person learning by April 1. Following the presentations, a question-and-answer session covered such topics as test accuracy and false positives, school eligibility for the tests, and student privacy. The entire event can be viewed on the CDE Facebook page . School districts can find more information on funding sources for the COVID tests on the CDE CARES Act Funding web page. For questions on rapid COVID testing or the webinar, email RapidTesting@cde.ca.gov. # # # # Tony Thurmond State Superintendent of Public Instruction Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100 Last Reviewed: Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Sorry! This content is not available in your region Uzbekistan has been through significant policy changes over the past five years. Under the leadership of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country has moved from an isolated dictatorship into a young democracy, from a shadow economy into a liberalised market, from a weak state into a regional player, writes Vita Kobiela, Euractiv reports. Vita Kobiela is a communications co-lead of Volt Belgium, the first pan-European political party and movement. Being at the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan has geostrategic importance not only for a rising China or historically present Russia but also for the European Union. First of all, as a transport and transit hub, which lies at the heart of the Chinese New Silk Road Initiative, the Russian Eurasian project and the EU-Asia connectivity strategy, Uzbekistan creates a platform that connects the Eurasian continent and brings worlds economies together. The country has already managed to fruitfully cooperate with China and Russia at the same time. When it comes to Europe, even though the region (as well as Uzbekistan itself) has been for a long time neglected, surprisingly in 2019, the EU has become a top trade partner to all Central Asian states as a whole region, having 24,1% of their total trade. This is also true for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, two regional leaders that are constantly improving their trade relations with the EU27, importing more to the EU than exporting. In this sense, Uzbekistan is a perfect place for European businesses. The country has created one of the most favourable business environments in the region. It attracts foreign investors and companies that strive for more ambitious regional targets. At the moment, Uzbekistan has more than 15 free economic zones and over 100 small industrial zones established to create the best opportunities for foreign investors and entrepreneurs, exempting them from many taxes and fees for up to 10 years. Adding to this the World Bank ranking on the ease of doing business, which placed Uzbekistan high above its neighbours, and hundreds of European businesses already present in the country, shows that despite the geographic distance, massive Chinese investments, and Russian attempts to regain influence in the region, interaction and cooperation among the European and Central Asian region have continued to increase. Secondly, Uzbekistans GDP is expected to reach that of Kazakhstan in 15 years time and continue to grow. In contrast to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan strives for its own economic model and destiny, based on its human capital and economic diversification. In terms of regional cooperation, Mirziyoyevs initiatives for the settlement of problems accumulated in Central Asia (delimitation and demarcation of the boundaries between the Central Asian states, resolving water and border-crossing issues, and the first heads-of-state meeting for the fractious region in March 2018 to name but a few) show that Uzbekistan is actively coordinating the development of the region. What is more, the country has a keen interest in its stability, prosperity and freedom from external political influence. Lastly, a stable and prosperous Central Asian region, confidently and independently balancing between Russian and Chinese influence, leading by the Uzbekistani example, will become a reliable energy partner of the EU. Even today, with a complete Russian monopoly over gas export routes from Central Asia, the region is a source of significant energy imports for Europe. It will become essential for the Europeans if the central Asian countries could manage to break Russias grip on the pipelines by launching, for example, the Trans-Caspian shipping route in cooperation with the EU. This project may well serve Europe and Central Asias economies, which are capable of exporting a lot to the EU but physically cannot do it. These are only a few arguments about why the EU must increase its visibility and capabilities in the region, relying on its external policies on Uzbekistan. No one could deny, however, that the arguments presented above although they are rational are more market-oriented, and that means not convincing enough for the European audience. In terms of values, since 2016, Mirziyoyev followed an innovative policy to transform Uzbekistans decision-making processes, electoral legislation, encourage political competition, invigorate civil society, address human rights and the rule of law issues. In doing so, he has already reshaped the domestic political landscape, changed the fundamental relationship between the citizen and state. Uzbekistan is indeed confidentially and surely moving towards democracy and the rule of law, thus stabilizing its society and reassuring both its citizens and foreign investors. Uzbekistan is the ally of the European Union in supporting and promoting the principles of multilateralism. After many years of international isolation, new Uzbekistan has already initiated many UN resolutions, organised and keep organising global, international and regional forums, projects based on these principles. Uzbekistani efforts were well-noted by the international community, as for the first time in its history, the country became a member of the UN Human Rights Council, the piece of news that speaks for itself. Uzbekistan has shown a huge interest in upgrading relations with the EU. Through GSP+, support for membership of the WTO, and the negotiation of an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. Furthermore, the country has proved many times that when it comes to climate, business, digital, educational, tourism issues, it clearly prefers to cooperate with the EU. In conclusion, Europeans should acknowledge the boldness and enormous achievements of the country that is showing a political will to change its historic path and engage in important regional and global initiatives. However, for Mirziyoyev efforts to succeed, Uzbekistan needs European support. The country expects more technical and financial European assistance which is essential for research, innovation, technology and human resources training to boost its sustainable development, but above all political support, particularly in the light of the upcoming presidential elections. The EU must therefore send a strong message of support and engagement to Uzbekistan. AMERICAN FORK, Utah, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Xlear, Inc. a global leader in creating award-winning natural, convenient, xylitol-based sinus care products, announces today the registration of National Wash Your Nose Day, a day recognized on March 11, the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic. The newly registered National Wash Your Nose Day aims to educate the public about nose washing as essential for our health and hygiene as hand washing. Xlear With connections to the ears, eyes, and lungs, the nose acts as a "nest" for bacteria and viruses, which can then spread to other parts of the body, irritating these interconnected areas. By nose washing daily, we support our nasal defenses in their attempts to flush away threats, resulting in reduced problems and a proactive approach to promote nasal health and hygiene. A number of recent peer-reviewed, published studies have found that sound nasal hygiene is an important tool in countering the ongoing pandemic. "As an avid nose washer, I couldn't be more thrilled with the registration of National Wash Your Nose day to educate the masses about its long-term benefits," said Xlear Founder and CEO, Nathan Jones. "At Xlear, it has been our mission to shed light on the importance of proactively caring for the upper airway and we're so excited this registration amplifies our efforts on such a critical topic." To observe the National Wash Your Nose Day, use #NationalWasYourNoseDay. About Xlear: Founded in 2000, Xlear, Inc. is recognized as the leading manufacturer of natural, proactive health care products with xylitol. Xlear is committed to providing consumers with the highest quality products while striving to educate medical and dental professionals, as well their patients, about how using xylitol instead of sugar can help people live a much healthier and happy life. Xlear is supported by a team of doctors, hygienists and scientists who advocate the use and benefits of xylitol through continuous clinical research. Xlear, Inc. offers Xlear Nasal Spray, an award-winning, patented saline and xylitol nasal solution; a complete line of oral health products offered under the Spry Dental Defense System; and Lite&Sweet, a xylitol and erythritol sweetener used as a sugar substitute in cooking, baking and general consumption. For more information visit www.xlear.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Kristina Avena 646-453-7167 [email protected] www.konnectagency.com SOURCE Xlear Related Links https://www.xlear.com/ President Donald Trump called Georgia's elections investigator shortly before Christmas to ask her to look into 'dropped ballots' and say he was the rightful winner of the November 3 vote in her state - telling her she would be 'praised' when the 'right answer comes out.' Trump made the call two days before Christmas as part of a doomed effort to overturn the election result in the state. It came just days before his infamous call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom he asked to 'find' 11,780 votes that would make him the winner. Trump, seen on Wednesday, phoned a top election investigator in Georgia to tell her he 'won' The conversation is filled with cryptic comments where Trump claims 'something bad happened' while the state was in the midst of recount and examination efforts that would ultimately result in Joe Biden being certified as the winner. In the newly revealed audio tape, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Trump appears to be trying to court the state's top elections investigator, Frances Watson - both flattering her and alluding to claims of fraud. It was a move Raffensperger would later call inappropriate. 'That was an ongoing investigation, he told the Washington Post on January 9. 'I dont believe that an elected official should be involved in that process.' Trump on the call made repeated claims that he 'won' the state and mentioned other southern states that he did, in fact, carry. He called vote-rich Fulton County - in which Atlanta sits - the 'mother lode.' 'I won everything but Georgia. And I won Georgia, I know that,' he told Watson. He complements Watson at the start of the call, and she reveals that Mark Meadows, who at the time was the White House Chief of Staff, had met her the day before. 'Something happened. Something bad happened,' he said of the election echoing claims by his election lawyers, as well as 'Kraken' lawsuits claiming massive fraud in the state. Multiple recounts, however, determined that Biden won the state. Two Democrats were subsequently elected to the Senate from Georgia in runoff elections on January 5. Trump told Watson that Meadows 'thinks you've been great.' He continued: 'And you know, this country is counting on it because it's very interesting. 'So I won Florida in a record number, Ohio in a record, Texas in a record, Alabama by 40 40 points. And I won everything but Georgia. 'I won Georgia, I know that, by a lot, and the people know it.' Fulton County officials conduct a machine recount of the result on November 30 Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger called Trump's call to the investigator inappropriate The Watson call came days before Trump rang Raffensperger and asked him to 'find' votes 'Something happened. Something bad happened,' he said. He did not offer an explanation, but alluded to his own repeated public comments of widespread voter fraud. 'I hope you're going back two years,' he told the investigator, urging more than a 'signature check' that verifies a signed ballot matches the signature on files with state election officials. 'You're going to find things that are going to be unbelievable. The dishonesty, That we've heard from just good sources. Really good sources,' Trump said, without naming them. 'Fulton is the mother lode, you know as the expression goes, Fulton County.' The appeal appeared to catch Watson off guard. She told him she was 'shocked' that he called. 'I appreciate your comment,' she told him, without making any promises. She told him: 'We are only interested in the truth and finding the information that is based on the facts.' Trump told the investigator she had 'the most important job in the country right now,' he told her. He told her Georgia residents were 'so angry' and claimed he won by 'hundreds of thousands of votes.' 'They dropped ballots. They dropped all these ballots,' he said. 'When the right answer comes out, you'll be praised,' he told her. He also told her at the end of the call: 'Whatever you can do, Frances, it's a great thing.' He also referenced January 6 the date Congress met to count the certified votes. It was also the date of the MAGA riot in the Capitol that would result in five deaths. 'We have that date of the 6th, which is a very important date,' Trump told her. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has launched a criminal investigation into election overturn efforts. (Newser) One of the five biggest oil traders in the world paid $36 million for 6,000 tons of copper, but instead received a bunch of painted rocks. Mercuria Energy Group, a Swiss commodities trader, went to Turkish police after realizing the 300 containers shipped from Turkey to China on eight vessels contained skids of paving stones, which had been painted a copper-like color, reports Bloomberg. An inspection company confirmed blister copperan impure form of the metal, explains the BBCwas loaded into the first shipment of containers before they were sealed. Fraudsters, who apparently used real and fake container seals, broke into them after the fact, switching out the copper with paving stones, says Mercuria lawyer Sinan Borovali. This would've continued under cover of darkness every few nights, he adds. story continues below Mercuria had already sent the $36 million to Turkish supplier Bietsan Bakir by the time the containers began arriving in the Chinese port of Lianyungang from Ambarli toward the end of August. The Geneva-based trading house, which had previously done business with the supplier, went to police after discovering that all but one of Bietsan's seven insurance contracts were forged, per Bloomberg. "It's been determined that the incident is the outcome of fraud perpetrated in an organized manner," according to police, who've arrested 13 people in a series of raids. The suspects "are thought to be involved in the various parts of this organized crime against Mercuria," the trading house says in a statement, thanking the Istanbul Financial Crimes Department. (Read more fraud stories.) This $20 a month donation gives you full online access to all four of our local papers - Sonoma West, The Healdsburg Tribune, Windsor Times and Cloverdale Reveille - and will help the paper survive. This renews automatically, and we will charge your card monthly until you tell us to stop. Thanks for going above and beyond! COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Outspoken state Rep. Bill Seitz said Wednesday it was false to insinuate that corruption in the Ohio House had anything to do with the passage of House Bill 6, despite a political nonprofit and others pleading guilty to helping funnel $60 million in FirstEnergy bribery money to get the bill passed. The tainted energy law is at the center of what federal authorities have called the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history, which led to the arrest of former House Speaker Larry Householder, a Perry County Republican, and four others last summer. In a Wednesday floor speech during debate on a bill to repeal key parts of HB6, Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, also suggested that a federal judge delayed a status conference for Householders racketeering case because the case isnt strong. The case docket shows the defense and federal prosecutors jointly requested a three-month delay for the hearing so both sides could have more time to prepare. Seitz acknowledged that Householders former top political aide, Jeff Longstreth, and Generation Now, a pro-Householder nonprofit run by Longstreth, have pleaded guilty in the scheme, as has Juan Cespedes, a former lobbyist for the company that owns the nuclear plants that were to have received $1 billion in subsidies through HB6. Prosecutors have alleged that Householder secretly controlled Generation Now, which spent the $60 million to help Householder get his leadership position so he could get the bill passed, and used $400,000 of its funds for personal use, including to pay for costs associated with a home he owns in Florida. But Seitz said the defendants who pleaded guilty are not House members, and said it is a false insinuation to say anything was corrupt in this chamber regarding HB6. Householder has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. It is true that our former speaker stands indicted. But if it were such an open-and-shut case of corruption, someone should tell me why the judge in that case just extended the next pre-trial meeting from a scheduled March 10 date to June 10, Seitz said. Maybe [former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers] and the FBI arent quite as certain about the charges they brought because they certainly arent ready to bring them to court for the matter to be adjudicated, Seitz said. DeVillers, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, resigned as U.S. Attorney at the end of last month at the request of new Democratic President Joe Bidens administration. His interim replacement, acting U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel, said when asked about Seitzs comments: To be precise, a grand jury indicted, not insinuated, a RICO conspiracy alleging a bribery scheme related to HB 6. Southern District of Ohio Judge Timothy Black, in postponing the Householder hearing this week, wrote that granting the continuance outweighed any interest the defense or the public may have in a speedy trial, given the cases complex nature and its voluminous discovery, a term that refers to the process of disclosing evidence to lawyers involved in the case. The failure to grant such a continuance would deprive defendants of adequate time to receive and review the discovery, and would likely result in a miscarriage of justice, Black wrote. Seitz was a leading proponent of HB6, and a close House ally of Householder. He considered challenging current House Speaker Bob Cupp, who gained his leadership position after Householder was removed from it last year, but endorsed Cupps candidacy shortly after the November election. Seitz in December said he was involved with negotiations with Energy Harbor, the former FirstEnergy subsidiary that owns the two nuclear plants, as the company sought the option to turn down the $1 billion from HB6 for regulatory reasons. The Ohio House voted on Wednesday to rescind the nuclear subsidies, as well as different provisions that benefited FirstEnergy. Supporters said they hoped the bill would help the legislature move on from the notoriety of HB6. Seitz and Householder, who remains in office despite being removed from his leadership position, were among those who voted in its favor. Seitz called it a $1 billion rate cut for Ohio electricity customers. Cupp has called for Householder to resign from the legislature over the criminal case, but Householder has declined to do so. Cupp has explored removing Householder from office, but has said there isnt enough support among the Republican caucus to do so yet. Cupp said Wednesday he has no updates on whether Householder may be removed, including ruling it out. Asked about Seitzs comments about the federal case, including the postponed hearing, Cupp said: Those were his thoughts and his comments. Im not sure everybody would necessarily have reached the same conclusion. Former Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller has come forward to deny being one of Donald Trump's 'hatchet men' and blames the president's Jan. 6th speech for causing the Capitol riot. Miller, whose agency has come under fire for delays in scrambling National Guard forces to the Capitol when it was under attack, calls it 'definitive' that Trump's speech triggered the day's events. He stops short of saying Trump knew what would result from his words, where he urged supporters to 'fight like hell.' 'Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president's speech? I think it's pretty much definitive that wouldn't have happened,' said Miller. 'Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president's speech? I think it's pretty much definitive that wouldn't have happened,' said former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller 'It seems cause-and-effect,' he told Vice on Showtime. 'The question is, did he know he was enraging people to do that? I don't know,' said Miller. Miller gave the interview from inside a church. A clip featured dramatic music as he described the events of Jan. 6th. He was elevated after Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper just days after the election. It was one of multiple steps that had some Trump critics wondering about the president's intentions while he was seeking to overturn the election. Miller says there was never a risk of a military coup. The head of the D.C. National Guard and the former head of the U.S. Capitol Police each testified about difficulties getting the Pentagon to sign off on rushing the Guard to the Capitol after a violent mob began clashing with police, with a delay that ran longer than three hours. Miller said people would not have marched to the Capitol were it not for Trump's speech Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper days after the election In this file photo taken on January 06, 2021, supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington, DC Miller denies being one of Trump's 'hatchet' men and said he would take no unlawful orders The Pentagon has come under fire for taking three hours to provide the order to send Guard forces to protect the Capitol Miller subordinates were on group phone calls where the officials said the Pentagon raised concerns about the 'optics' of sending the Guard to protect the Capitol. Maj. Gen. William Walker of the D.C. Guard testified to the Senate earlier this month: 'At 1:49pm I received a frantic call from then Chief of U.S. Capitol Police, Steven Sund, where he informed me that the security perimeter at the Capitol had been breached by hostile rioters,' 'Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and requested the immediate assistance of as many Guardsmen as I could muster.' 'Immediately after the 1:49pm call with Chief Sund, I alerted the Army Senior Leadership of the request,' Walker says in written testimony. 'The approval for Chief Sund's request would eventually come from the Acting Secretary of Defense and be relayed to me by Army Senior Leaders at 5:08pm 3 hours and 19 minutes later.' Miller responded in the interview: 'It comes back to understanding how the military worksthis isn't a video game, it's no.' He rejected claims about Trump's military personnel moves to bring in loyalists in the final weeks of his term. 'There was a lot of concern that we were just some sort of Trump hatchet men coming in to do heinous things to the Department of Defense, which couldn't be further from the truth,' he said. He also said he would have stepped down before carrying out any unlawful orders. 'I knew that I was not going to cross any of those lines, and if asked, I would resign,' he said. 'If it's antithetical to the Constitution or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, it's an illegal order and you don't follow it.' Trump was acquitted in the Senate of 'incitement of insurrection' during impeachment trial following the MAGA riot. Dublin, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "U.S. Electric Truck Market Research Report: By Vehicle Type, Propulsion, Range, Battery Capacity, Application - Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The U.S. electric truck market is expected to generate a revenue of $15,084.3 by 2030, increasing from $211.5 million in 2019, and the market is expected to witness robust growth of 51.6% CAGR during the forecast period (2020-2030). The market is growing due to the increasing government support for the deployment of electric trucks in the country and the falling process of battery packs. In addition to this, electric trucks are cheaper to maintain and operate as compared to traditional diesel trucks. On the basis of vehicle type, the U.S. electric truck market is divided into heavy-duty truck (HDT), light-duty truck (LDT), and medium-duty truck (MDT). Out of these, the LTDs are predicted to account for the largest share of the market in 2030, owing to the increasing demand for pickup trucks in the country. In the U.S., LTDs accounted for more than 85% of the sales of commercial vehicles. Other than this, the HDT division is predicted to grow at the fastest pace during the forecast period. The supportive government policies are the major reason for the growth of the U.S. electric truck market. Governments on both the state and federal level have set strict targets for reducing carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles. Moreover, in California, which is also the largest market for electric trucks in the country, vouchers and funds are being provided for the purchase of electric vehicles. Up to $20 million are supposed to be provided for the same purpose in the state till 2020. In conclusion, the demand for electric trucks in the U.S. is growing due to the favorable government policies and expansion of the logistics sector. Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Research Background 1.1 Research Objectives 1.2 Market Definition 1.3 Research Scope 1.4 Key Stakeholders Chapter 2. Research Methodology 2.1 Secondary Research 2.2 Primary Research 2.3 Market Size Estimation 2.4 Data Triangulation 2.5 Assumptions for the Study Chapter 3. Executive Summary Chapter 4. Introduction 4.1 Definition of Market Segments 4.1.1 By Vehicle Type 4.1.1.1 LDT 4.1.1.2 MDT 4.1.1.3 HDT 4.1.2 By Propulsion 4.1.2.1 BEV 4.1.2.2 HEV 4.1.2.3 PHEV 4.1.2.4 FCEV 4.1.3 By Range 4.1.3.1 0-150 miles 4.1.3.2 151-250 miles 4.1.3.3 251-500 miles 4.1.3.4 >500 miles 4.1.4 By Battery Capacity 4.1.4.1 < 100 kWh 4.1.4.2 100-200 kWh 4.1.4.3 201-300 kWh 4.1.4.4 >300 kWh 4.1.5 By Application 4.1.5.1 Logistics 4.1.5.2 Municipal 4.1.5.3 Others 4.2 Value Chain Analysis 4.3 Market Dynamics 4.3.1 Trends 4.3.1.1 Increasing adoption of electric trucks in logistics application 4.3.1.2 Rising use of telematics services 4.3.2 Drivers 4.3.2.1 Low operating and maintenance cost 4.3.2.2 Supportive government initiatives 4.3.2.3 Declining cost of battery 4.3.2.4 Impact analysis of drivers on market forecast 4.3.3 Restraints 4.3.3.1 High cost of electric trucks 4.3.3.2 Technological challenges 4.3.3.2.1 Limited electric range 4.3.3.2.2 Long charging time 4.3.3.3 Inadequate charging infrastructure 4.3.3.4 Impact analysis of restraints on market forecast 4.3.4 Opportunities 4.3.4.1 Increasing demand for long range electric trucks 4.4 Porter's Five Forces Analysis Chapter 5. Impact of COVID-19 5.1 Impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. Electric Truck Market Chapter 6. Electric Truck Contracts and Client Wins Chapter 7. U.S. Market Size and Forecast 7.1 By Vehicle Type 7.2 By Propulsion 7.3 By Range 7.4 By Battery Capacity 7.5 By Application 7.6 By State Chapter 8. Competitive Landscape 8.1 List of Players and Their Offerings 8.2 Competitive Benchmarking of Key Players 8.3 Strategic Developments in the Market 8.3.1 Funding and Investments 8.3.2 Product Launches 8.3.3 Partnerships 8.3.4 Facility Expansions 8.3.5 Client Wins Chapter 9. Company Profiles 9.1 Business Overview 9.2 Product and Service Offerings Chanje Energy Inc. Orange EV Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. Nikola Motor Co. Tesla Inc. Ford Motor Co. General Motors Co. Workhorse Group Inc. BYD Co. Ltd. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jjmupx At the initiative of Estonia, President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian today had a telephone conversation with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, who inquired about Sarkissians health and wished him full recovery. Presidents Sarkissian and Kaljulaid exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation and talked about the coronavirus situation in both countries, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the measures to prevent the spread of the virus. The interlocutors also touched upon the post-war situation in Armenia, the new challenges that have emerged and several other humanitarian issues. President Sarkissian considered the return of Armenian captives being kept in Azerbaijan and the problems with the detection of missing persons issues that are pivotal and emphasized that Armenia anticipates the support of international partners to solve these issues. At the same time, Sarkissian expressed concern about the position that the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization expressed during and after the war. Southern California is currently experiencing some uncharacteristically rainy weather. And Scout Willis was spotted shielding her beloved pup Grandma from the downpour, while running errands in Brentwood on Wednesday afternoon. The 29-year-old daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis positioned her hands over her Chihuahua's head as they made their way towards the Brentwood Country Mart. Dog mom: Scout Willis was spotted shielding her beloved pup Grandma from the downpour, while running errands in Brentwood on Wednesday afternoon Scout carried Grandma in a beige sling that coordinated with her cozy plaid cardigan. She layered the garment over a pale blue button down shirt, which she paired with some straight-legged denim jeans and a pair of brown leather loafers. Willis wore her lengthy brunette hair in braids and a pink mask over her makeup-free face. Sweet: The 29-year-old daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis positioned her hands over her Chihuahua's head as they made their way towards the Brentwood Country Mart To accessorize her errand run ensemble, Scout slipped a few gold rings on his fingers and fastened a pair of dangly gold earrings to her ears. The Moonrise Kingdom star carried all of her essential belongings in a woven tote bag. Scout often features Grandma on her Instagram page, along with her little sister Tallulah's pup Cowboy. Puppy pals: Scout often features Grandma on her Instagram page, along with her little sister Tallulah's pup Cowboy In a post shared in August of last year, Scout gushed over Grandma and the 'devotion' she has towards the Chihuahua. 'I cannot even begin to put words together to accurately describe my devotion to this magical, mystical creature that I have the sacred privilege of caring for,' captioned the model, along with a snapshot of Grandma. 'I consider Grandma one of my closest friends and despite the fact that I when I found her I wasnt even interested in having a dog, she is the absolute dog love of my life! GRANDMAAAAAAAA I just love her so much ,' she concluded. Devoted: In a post shared in August of last year, Scout gushed over Grandma and the 'devotion' she has towards the Chihuahua Hollywood offspring: Scout is the daughter of former Hollywood couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore; Demi, Bruce, and Scout pictured in 2020 Scout is the daughter of former Hollywood couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, who also share daughters Rumer, 32, and Tallulah, 27. Demi and Bruce were married from 1987 until their divorce in 2000. Bruce is currently married to actress Emma Heming Willis, whom he wed in 2009 and shares daughters Evelyn, six, and Mabel, eight, with. Part of the funerary goods found at Grave 38 in La Almoloya. Credit: Grup ASOME-UAB Women of the ruling class may have played an important role in the governance of El Argar, a society which flourished in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula between 2200 and 1550 BCE, and which in the last two centuries of its existence, developed into the first state organization of the western Mediterranean. These are the conclusions reached by researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) who led a study analyzing the contents of a princely tomb (Grave 38), containing two individuals and a large amount of valuable items. The tomb was discovered in 2014 at the archaeological site of La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia, beneath what was later identified to be the governing hall of a palatial building. "La Almoloya and the princely grave 38 belong to these exceptional archaeological finds, which from time to time provide a glimpse into the ruling subjects and the emblematic objects of the first state societies emerging in Europe during the Bronze Age," states Vicente Lull, one of the study's coordinators. Published in Antiquity, this research has given archaeologists an insight into the political and economic power of the ruling class in El Argar. The burial, located in a large ceramic jar, featured two individuals: a man aged 35 to 40, and a woman aged 25 to 30. Next to them was a range of some 30 valuable and prestigious objects, many of which were made or embellished with silver and almost all belonging to the female. There was a very complete repertoire of jewels and personal objects: bracelets, earlobe plugs, necklaces, spirals and containers with animal offerings. The most outstanding item was a silver diadem found on the head of the female. A detailed study of the diadem found in La Almoloya and its comparison to four others found in the 19th century in the tombs of rich women at the site of El Argar, which gives name to the Argaric society and culture, points to the fact that all of them, despite being remarkedly uniform, were highly exclusive pieces. They were created in a silversmith workshop such as the one recently discovered in Tira del Lienzo, another Argaric site excavated by the same UAB team a few years ago. "The singularity of these diadems is extraordinary. They were symbolic objects made for these women, thus transforming them into emblematic subjects of the dominant ruling class," explains Cristina Rihuete, who also took part in the study. "Each piece is unique, comparable to funerary objects pertaining to the ruling class of other regions, such as Brittany, Wessex and Unetice, or in the eastern Mediterranean of the 17th century BCE, contemporary to our Grave 38." According to researchers, the opulence of the funerary goods found in the tombs of the elite women of El Argar, in which the diadems are of particular importance, is an indication of the distinguished role played by these women in the governance of some of these settlements. This is the case in La Almoloya, birthplace of the Argar society and center of the most relevant political and economic power within the region. Were the women rulers, or were the emblems of power worn by them merely of symbolic value? This is the question the research team is interested in. And their answer is that most probably they were the rulers: "In the Argaric society, women of the dominant classes were buried with diadems, while the men were buried with a sword and dagger. The funerary goods buried with these men were of lesser quantity and quality. As swords represent the most effective instrument for reinforcing political decisions, El Argar dominant men might have played an executive role, even though the ideological legitimation as well as, perhaps, the government, had lain in some women's hands," they argue. Aerial view of the settlement. Credit: Grup ASOME-UAB Biologically unrelated, but with shared offspring According to the genetic analyses conducted at the Max Planck Institute, the individuals buried in Grave 38 were contemporaneous, and died simultaneously or close together in the mid-17th century BCE. They were unrelated, but did have a daughter, who was found buried near them. The woman had several congenital abnormalities, along with markings on the ribs that could indicate she had a pulmonary infection at the time of death. Meanwhile, the male also had wear and tear on his bones indicative of extensive physical activity, possibly horse riding. A value of 900 daily wages The metal objects of Grave 38 also stand out in quantitative terms. The total weight of the silver is approximately 230 g, which is equivalent to 27.5 shekels, a currency used during the time of Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylon, in the first half of the 18th century BCE (contemporaneous with El Argar), and adapted by other Near Eastern and Aegean economies. Hence, the silver found in La Almoloya would be enough to pay around 938 daily wages or buy 3350 kg of barley. Notably, the mean weight of the three medium-sized silver spirals worn by both individuals is 8.44 g, which matches the weight of the Mesopotamian shekel (8.33 g). Furthermore, the weights of other silver spirals found in Grave 38 are practically fractions or multiplications of that figure. "This may be a random distribution or it may indicate a standardized system of weights and measures mirroring contemporaneous Eastern examples. Further research is required to determine this, but the possibility of detecting a metric system behind the silver spirals is a further indication of the extent of the economic control exercised by the dominant class in El Argar," Roberto Risch, co-author of the study, points out. Political unity among Argaric regions Contrary to the tombs found in El Argar, where there is no knowledge of the space in which they were placed, the funerary goods in Grave 38 and the diadem did offer the possibility of interpreting their location within an architectural setting. "The presence of emblematic objects buried in such an important place as is the 'parliament' of La Almoloya could represent political unity among the Argaric regions during the last period of this society, in the 17th century BCE. The building was destroyed in a fire shortly after the burials took place," explains Rafael Mico, also co-director of the project. The El Argar society and the importance of La Almoloya The El Argar society flourished from 2200 to 1550 BCE in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula (Murcia and Almeria), and represents an early Bronze Age society with urban centers and monumental constructions, a developed division of labor, intramural burials with marked asymmetries in funerary expenditure between individuals, political boundaries and institutionalized violence in the context of a class-based state society. The most important settlements are El Argar, La Bastida and La Almoloya. The discovery of Grave 38 in La Almoloya, excavated in 2014 by researchers from the ASOME (Arqueoecologia Social Mediterrania) research group, affiliated to the UAB Department of Prehistory, pointed out the unique archaeological wealth of the site. A privileged, strategic location which helped this society thrive for over six centuries. The discoveries made, including a building with political functions and Grave 38, confirmed its importance as a center of political and economic relevance within the political territory of El Argar. The diadem found in La Almoloya is the only one to be preserved in Spain. Explore further Bronze age palace and grave goods discovered at La Almoloya in Pliego, Murcia Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 01:53:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Image released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Dec. 4, 2020 shows China's national flag unfurled from the Chang'e-5 probe on the moon. (CNSA/Handout via Xinhua) "We will make the interaction in the space sector an exemplary area of bilateral cooperation in the field of high technologies," Zhang said. MOSCOW, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia will tap partnership potential in the space sector and promote practical cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said on Tuesday. "We will make the interaction in the space sector an exemplary area of bilateral cooperation in the field of high technologies," Zhang said in a written interview with Russia's Interfax news agency. Over the past 30 years, he noted, the two countries have constantly deepened and expanded areas of cooperation, and achieved substantial results in areas including Earth observation, lunar and deep space exploration, aerospace electronic components, and monitoring of space debris. Zhang recalled that China and Russia signed two pacts in September 2019 on cooperation in lunar and deep space exploration. The two documents have been efficiently implemented, which has laid a solid foundation for China-Russia cooperation in lunar and deep space exploration, the diplomat said. NEW HAVEN Heres what Mayor Justin Elicker, city Budget Director Michael Gormany and others trying to balance the city budget are up against: tax-exempt property in New Haven now represents nearly 60 percent of the grand list on which the coming fiscal years budget is based, the citys acting assessor says. For the 2020 grand list, tax-exempt property represents $8.5 billion, or 59.57 percent, compared with taxable property of $6.7 billion, according to Acting Assessor Alex Pullen. All together, the assessed value of taxable city real estate, personal property and motor vehicles grew by 1.33 percent, or $87.9 million, to an estimated total of $6.7 million, according to Pullen. This gets to the core of why it is so vital this legislative session for the state to approve Sen. (Martin) Looneys tiered PILOT proposal that will begin to address the structural financial challenges that we face, Elicker said Wednesday. When you have 40 percent of our city paying 100 percent of the real estate taxes, something is just not right, Elicker said. Elicker said the tiered PILOT proposal put forth by Looney, D-New Haven, could greatly increase New Havens revenue under the state Payments-In-Lieu-Of-Taxes program to the tune of $49 million. It is vital for the financial success of our city for both the state and Yale to ensure that our city has the ability to collect the revenue that we need to financially succeed, he said. Last years figure for tax-exempt property represented 59.74 percent of the total real estate list, according to Pullen. Contributed / Its been that way for for a number of years due to the nature of having an institution such as Yale, that is tax-exempt, as our largest property owner, Pullen said Wednesday. The other side of that coin is that while Yales tax-exempt properties account for 40.57 percent of the tax-exempt property in the city, with Yale New Haven Hospital second on the list at 14.25 percent, Yale also is one of New Havens top taxpayers third behind United Illuminating and Winstanley Enterprises, Pullen said. Yale owns about $3.5 billion in nontaxable local property, or 40.57 percent of the tax-exempt grand list, according to Pullen. Yale New Haven Hospital owns $1.2 billion, or 14.25 percent of the tax-exempt grand list. City of New Haven Other major owners of tax-exempt property include the city, itself, which has seen the value of its property increase to $2 billion as renovations have transformed and increased the value of public housing area such as Rockview and Brookside, the state with $858,000 and other tax-exempt non-profit agencies, such as Mary Wade Home, and Chapel Haven, with $842,000. City taxpayers could face a 7.75 percent tax increase with cut services if the city doesnt receive commitments for significant increases in funding from the state and Yale University, Elicker said when he presented his $695.53 million fiscal 2021-2022 budget to the Board of Alders March 1. If the city has to pass some version of the Crisis Budget, officials would look to close the East Shore Senior Center, the Mitchell Library branch of the New Haven Free Public Library in Westville and the Whitney Avenue Fire Station, Elicker said. Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media file Elicker faced with a potential $66 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year submitted two budgets: A $589.1 million Crisis Budget that would require dramatic cuts, including employee layoffs, closing a library, a firehouse and a senior center, flat funding the Board of Education and eliminating a host of vacant positions, and, A $606.2 million Forward Together Budget, which would not require a tax increase and would keep city services more or less at the current level. One key difference between them would be in how much the city receives from the state and Yale University. Yale spokeswoman Karen Peart has said: The University maintains an open dialogue with the City of New Haven to work together on a wide variety of opportunities for economic development, educational programs like New Haven Promise, and Yales community investment program. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. (AFP via Getty Images) A leading Democratic lawmaker has called on the FBI to explain why it dismissed the threat of white supremacists seeking to infiltrate law enforcement at a time when its own investigators were raising the alarm internally. Jamie Raskin, Democratic congressman from Maryland and chairman of the house civil rights and civil liberties subcommittee, wrote to FBI chief Christopher Wray to request a briefing following the leak of an internal agency report which found extremists were trying to infiltrate law enforcement and the military. "I am deeply concerned that the bureau dismissed this threat last year and instead characterized the threat of white-supremacist infiltration of law enforcement as a hypothetical problem that has not materialized," Mr Raskin wrote, referring to a 2020 committee hearing on the subject. During my ongoing investigation into this problem, the Bureau repeatedly told this Subcommittee that there was no evidence of a significant threat, he added. Mr Raskin told ABC News, which first reported the leaked investigation, that the FBI had failed to level with the American people and called for a hearing to take place before the end of the month to address what he claimed was a discrepancy between the FBIs earlier position and its own internal findings. It comes just a day after the FBI investigation, which was dated 25 February this year, was leaked to ABC News. Based on four years of investigations between 2016 and 2020, it found that white supremacists and other extremists would very likely seek affiliation with military and law enforcement entities" in order to carry out violence against minority groups. The document was titled Siege-Inspired Actors Very Likely Seek Military and Law Enforcement Affiliation, Increasing Risk of Tradecraft Proliferation and Color of Law Offenses in the FBI San Antonio Area of Responsibility." It was authored by agents and analysts in the FBIs San Antonio division, who assessed that racially motivated violent extremists almost certainly will gain access to non-public tradecraft and information, enabling them to enhance operational security and develop new tactics in and beyond the FBI San Antonio" region," the report said, according to ABC News. Story continues The report found evidence that extremists had expressed a desire to join the military and law enforcement primarily to obtain tradecraft to prepare for and initiate a collapse of society, specifically by engaging in violence against the US government and specified racial and ethnic groups. The issue of extremist infiltration of law enforcement has become more pressing since the storming of the Capitol building by supporters of Donald Trump on 6 January. At least 33 of the more than 300 arrested for their role in the attack are current or former military members and five worked in law enforcement. Mr Wray, testifying before the senate judiciary committee last week, said domestic terror was a top concern for the FBI. He added that there were currently 2,000 ongoing investigations into domestic terrorism, more than double the amount than were underway when he took over three years ago. Mr Raskin wrote in his letter to Mr Wray that the shocking participation of law enforcement personnel in the January 6 domestic terrorist attack against Congress and our Capitol Police means that the Bureau must level with the American public about the steps it is taking to combat the infiltration of law enforcement departments by white supremacists. But it is not the first time that these concerns have been raised. Eric Ward, an extremism expert and senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said extremist infiltration of law enforcement was nothing new, and not enough has been done to address the threat. About 12 years before the January 6 insurrection the DHS warned of the infiltration of law enforcement and the military by white nationalists. It was released by federal intelligence officials. That warning was blasted by the Republican Party, the report was buried and it went unheeded, Mr Ward told The Independent. That memo was circulated to every law enforcement agency in the country. Most law enforcement agencies did nothing with that report. While it is hard to get an idea of how widespread the problem of white supremacist infiltration has become, Mr Ward said that these groups had been able to gain a foothold because law enforcement agencies had not tackled the issue head on. That reluctance is down to unconscious racism in our society. The reason the FBI has downplayed it is that unconscious racism in our society always positions people of colour as more threatening in the eyes of society. We watched this play out over the last year during the George Floyd protests, where law enforcement utilised quite brutal and Draconian crowd control tactics in interactions with racial justice protesters, and a hands-off approach to far right demonstrations around the country, he said. A spokesperson for the FBI said the agency had received the letter and would make no further comment. Read More White supremacist presence within military detailed in new Pentagon report FBI releases new video after bombs left at RNC, DNC offices Mar. 11The Honolulu Fire Department suspended its search at 4 :14 p.m. today for a person reportedly swept away in the Waihona Stream in Pearl City Tuesday, an HFD spokeswoman said. HFD checked with the Honolulu police and there has no weather-related missing persons report filed, HFD spokeswoman Louise Kim McCoy said. Unless HFD receives further information, the search will not resume. Shortly before 4 :30 p.m. on Tuesday, more than 25 firefighters responded to a call by an individual who reported a small-framed person in the stream near Waihona Street. Air 3 conducted an aerial search while ground crews searched downstream until about 7 :40 p.m. The search resumed at 5 :58 a.m. today and continued with six personnel, a rescue company and Air 3, searching on foot and by air. Additional units arrived at 8 :41 a.m. with 11 more personnel. At 1 :45 p.m., HFD discontinued its drone unit search. The National Weather Service has extended the flash flood watch for all islands until 6 p.m. Friday. The fire department reminds the public to avoid flooded areas or waterways. Correction : The name of stream where firefighters were searching was incorrect in an earlier version of this story. [March 11, 2021] The Scarbrough Group Renews Identity With Website Launch and Rebrand KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Scarbrough Group has invested in its identity, its partnerships, and its future. Scarbrough is proud to announce the arrival of an all-new website featuring a reworked brand identity, innovative technology, and a host of logistics resources. This new extension of Scarbrough reflects its client-centric priorities, innovative personality, and drive for growth. From freight forwarding to fulfillment, The Scarbrough Group does logistics differently. Decades of work have positioned the logistics provider at the forefront of supply chain practices and technology. Scarbrough remains committed to personalized partnerships and people-first service. But even with a strong track record, the need to evolve is inevitable. The Scarbrough Group has taken a significant step forward with the launch of its new website. This platform displays the group's brightest attributes while engaging and informing supply chain partners. Refreshed Style During website development, the Scarbrough Group re-branded with a simplified look and renewed identity. The new website reveals the latest iteration of the Scarbrough brand elements with an intuitive interface and modern site architecture. Vibrant images, clean graphics,and signature hues of blue make a site that reflects Scarbrough's focused-yet-approachable personality. Get to Know The Scarbrough Group Companies Five distinct companies form the Scarbrough Group, each contributing a key part of a complete end-to-end logistics solution. Prime website real estate is dedicated to these five companies so visitors can understand their solutions and services. Supply chain partners can explore each company to find the support or strategies they need. Data and Analytics Technology The new website is more than a handsome home landing page. Scarbrough has integrated cutting-edge technology and industry tools into the experience. Users can access CLARITY, Scarbrough's new international freight tracking and analytics system. The site also hosts domestic tracking technology as well as ocean, air, and domestic shipping calculators. Industry News and Insights Explore the latest updates under the news section, where Scarbrough thought leaders routinely drop articles and blogs on timely industry topics. Scarbrough team members are eager to share expertise and insights with stakeholders. From logistics industry trends and tips to breaking supply chain news, the news section offers valuable information through the revamped website. About The Scarbrough Group Founded in 1984, The Scarbrough Group has grown its global logistics operation one client and one employee at a time. Whether international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, domestic trucking, or warehousing, The Scarbrough Group manages supply chains differently. Scarbrough remains a people-first organization with dedication to traditional values and support for the community. Expect More from a logistics provider. CONTACT: Scott Prewitt Corporate Communications sprewitt@scarbrough-intl.com (816) 652-0659 Related Images the-scarbrough-group-branding-and.png The Scarbrough Group Branding and Logo The Scarbrough Group logo and marketing materials show how the brand has evolved. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-scarbrough-group-renews-identity-with-website-launch-and-rebrand-301246068.html SOURCE The Scarbrough Group [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Thai officials on Thursday urged authorities in Myanmar to halt the violence and release political detainees as the military government continues its mass arrests and violent crackdown on anti-coup protesters. Myanmar has been roiled by protests and other acts of civil disobedience since the Feb. 1 coup that toppled elected leader Aung San Suu Kyis government just as it was to start its second term. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian nation after five decades of military rule. Thailand's plea came more than a week after Brunei, which heads a ten-country association ASEAN this year, issued its own chairman's statement after a video conference attended by foreign ministers. The statement called for an end to the violence and the start of talks on a peaceful solution in Myanmar. Thai Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said the country is following developments in Myanmar with much concern. He also denied media reports that Thailand had turned back those who fled over the border and said the government was taking steps to prepare facilities in case there is an influx of refugees. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Software-as-a-service start-up Icertis, which provides contract management software to customers like Airbus and pharmaceutical giant Merck, has closed an $80-million Series F round at a valuation of over $2.8 billion. The Bellevue-based firm has now raised over $280 million, and the current financing nearly trebles the valuation of its Series E round in July 2019. Its valuation had reached $1 billion in July 2019, after closing a $115-million Series E round. The latest round was led by existing investor B Capital Group, with participation from Greycroft, Meritech Capital Partners, PremjiInvest, PSP Growth, and e.ventures. The company will use this funding to invest in accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain development, expanding its sales and marketing footprint, and building its global partner network. The US-based company was founded by technology industry veterans Samir Bodas and Monish Darda in 2009. It has a major presence in Pune. In addition to the new funding, Icertis added two distinguished business executives to its board of directors. The new independent directors, Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman of PSP Partners, and former US Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration, and Karyn Smith, general counsel at Twilio Inc., will bring integral perspectives and expertise as the companys business continues to grow rapidly. It is immensely satisfying to have led the transformation of contract lifecycle management (CLM) from a nice-to-have to a critical-to-have software category, said Samir Bodas, chief executive officer and co-founder, Icertis. As our company and category enter an exciting new phase with the closing of this new round, Monish (Darda) and I are also thrilled to welcome Penny (Pritzker) and Karyn (Smith) aboard Team Icertis. Were eminently well-positioned to continue our undisputed leadership. Icertis is clearly out in front and executing on our vision to transform contracting the foundation of commerce and this is just the beginning. Icertis is experiencing accelerated growth, despite headwinds from Covid-19, highlighting the critical importance of contracts, and CLMs emergence as a must-have system of intelligence for chief experience officers. It leads the category because the Icertis contract intelligence platform digitises the contracting process, uniquely extracting the critical structured and unstructured data found in contracts. It connects this data to operational surround systems, and leverages the power of AI to ensure the intent of every contract is fully realised. Icertis has built a mission-critical contract intelligence platform that allows organisations to digitise contracts and generate business insights from contracts using AI. The worlds largest corporations across industries trust Icertis to generate value from their contracts, said Kabir Narang, founding general partner at B Capital Group. LONDON Top insurance companies, ordered by Britains highest court to pay thousands of small businesses millions of pounds in claims for COVID-19 disruption, are facing a battle with reinsurers over who should foot the bill, industry sources said. Bars, beauty parlors, nightclubs and other small companies in January won the right to business interruption insurance payments after senior judges ruled many insurance policies should cover losses caused by lockdowns in a test case brought by Britains market watchdog. But senior insurance executives said the judgment, which affects 60 insurers, has not helped to clarify whether insurers or their reinsurers companies which provide financial protection to the industry are on the hook for payments. Were left to fight it out, one senior insurance executive told Reuters. Wed expect reinsurers to take their share, but theres always a bit of pushback thats how (reinsurers) are programmed. Britains handling of this case and any subsequent wrangling with reinsurers is being watched by investors around the world, where disputes between insurers and businesses over pandemic- related claims have in many cases yet to be resolved. In the United States, for example, pandemic-hit businesses have filed nearly 1,500 individual lawsuits. Insurers have won a large chunk of cases so far. Steve McGill, CEO of insurance broker McGill and Partners, said interpreting the wording of these complex policies often boils down to how insurers and reinsurers view shades of grey. The Association of British Insurers said insurers are paying two billion pounds ($2.79 billion) for undisputed business interruption claims in 2020. But they could face billions more in claims after the Supreme Court judgment, industry sources said. Some reinsurance contract clauses will limit the amount insurers can claw back from reinsurers, investment management firm Tangency Capital said in a recent investor letter, meaning that business interruption losses will primarily be borne by insurers. Tail Risk? The British case revolved around leading insurers such as Hiscox, RSA, QBE, Argenta, Arch and MS Amlin. Big reinsurers include Munich Re, Swiss Re and syndicates in the Lloyds of London market. Hiscox has already raised its 2020 estimate for pandemic-related business interruption by $48 million net of reinsurance, bringing total claims to nearly $190 million. RSA has said that after applying catastrophe reinsurance protection, it estimates the Supreme Court judgment would cost it about 85 million pounds before applying a further group-wide aggregate reinsurance program. Chief Executive Stephen Hester told Reuters last month that the company was not in any dispute with reinsurers. MS Amlin, Argenta, Hiscox and QBE declined to comment. Arch did not respond to a request for comment. Reinsurer Munich Re said it would not question valid claims, while Lloyds welcomed clarity for policyholders. Swiss Re declined to comment. But investors remain concerned about potential disputes with reinsurers, said Colm Kelly, co-head of European insurance equity research at UBS. ...investors have asked the question is there a tail risk, however small, that some reinsurers may contest payments? he told Reuters. He also said: There are small reinsurers operating in Europe that could have a solvency event if they had to cover claims of that size and nature. Under European Union solvency rules, insurers have to maintain certain levels of capital. In an interview with Armenpress, Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan clarified the legal misinterpretations in connection with Onik Gasparyans dismissal as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (RA). In the case under discussion, it should first be noted that the suspension of the legal norm being challenged by the Constitutional Law On the Constitutional Court is possible only if failure to make such a decision may lead to irreversible or serious consequences for one of the parties or the public. This is a very high threshold, which is apparently missing in this case. Besides, a decision of suspension [of the decree on Gasparyans dismissal] by the Constitutional Courtif such a decision can be imaginedcannot apply to already completed relations, such as the dismissal of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces; it does not matter whether it is by a decree or by virtue of law. The suspension refers to the acts presumed to be implemented. It is impossible to suspend an act that does not imply implementation. Therefore, I believe such a scenario also is theoretically impossible. There are a number of RA Administrative Court decisions where the issue of suspension was not discussed when accepting proceedings, for the above-mentioned reason. In fact, it is a very simple question. If there is no implementation process, then what should be suspended? This is a result of adjusting the interpretation of legal norms for the desired result. All you have to do is read what the 'null and void administrative act' means. I think this is also a result of finding the desired [legal] interpretations and adjusting, Badasyan noted in particular. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, poses for a photo after she was released in Tehran - but she is still not allowed to come home to Britain - Reuters/Reuters Boris Johnson has demanded the immediate release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian mother detained in Iran on dubious spying charges, in a combative phone call with the regime's president. "The Prime Minister raised the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other British-Iranian dual nationals detained in Iran and demanded their immediate release," Downing Street said in a statement on Wednesday, after Mr Johnson's call with Hassan Rouhani. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe completed her five-year sentence on Sunday and had her electronic ankle tag removed, but Iran has refused to let her return to Britain. Instead, officials have summoned her to a court hearing on Sunday, where it is feared she will face further charges. "[Mr Johnson] said that while the removal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's ankle monitor was welcome, her continued confinement remains completely unacceptable and she must be allowed to return to her family in the UK," Downing Street added. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, has warned that she is being held hostage as part of an ongoing legal dispute with Britain over a tank debt from the Seventies. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in 2016 while visiting Iran and jailed over spying charges that have been widely disputed. Towards the end of her sentence, she was released from the notorious Evin prison and placed under house arrest with her family in Tehran. Iran has linked her detainment to a Seventies-era tank deal that was only partially fulfilled by Britain, and which is now the subject of a legal tussle. In 2008 an international arbitration court found that the UK owed the money, but Iran and Britain disagreed as to whether London should pay interest. The next court hearing in the case is due next month. Mr Ratcliffe says that he and the relatives of other detained British-Iranian citizens are being used as leverage to recover the debt, and is frustrated that UK diplomats do not acknowledge this. Human rights groups have also called for Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release and expressed grave concerns over the fairness of the Iranian judicial system. Story continues Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty International UK, said: "Nazanin has already been convicted once after a deeply unfair trial before a Revolutionary Court, so of course we're extremely concerned about this hearing." She added that Iranian authorities "systematically violate fair trial rights" and that it was of the "utmost importance" that UK officials were allowed to attend any court hearings. Downing Street has previously said that officials have been denied access to legal proceedings because Iran does not recognise dual nationality. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (L) posing for a photograph with her daughter Gabriella - AFP/AFP In the statement, Downing Street said Mr Johnson had also put pressure on Iran to become a less "destabilising" presence in the Middle East. "The Prime Minister also stressed that while the UK remains committed to making the Iran nuclear deal a success, Iran must stop all its nuclear activity that breaches the terms of the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and come back into compliance," it said. "He stressed the importance of Iran seizing the opportunity presented by the United States' willingness to return to the deal if Iran comes back into compliance." A senior former diplomat said this week that Britain was exploring ways of paying off the debt without falling foul of US sanctions. Lord McDonald, who was permanent undersecretary of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office until last September, told the BBC's Today programme: "We acknowledge it is Iranian money and it does have to go back to Tehran. "A key complication is that Iran is subject to very comprehensive sanctions, so how this money is repaid is part of the story." MBABANE People must understand that being released on bail does not mean being acquitted of the crime. These sentiments were shared by Principal Judge Qinisile Mabuza when she admitted former Minister of Public Works and Transport Ntuthuko Dlamini to bail yesterday. The court admitted the former LaMgabhi Member of Parliament (MP) to E50 000 bail, but ordered him to pay E10 000 in cash and provide surety for the balance. Principal Judge Mabuza said Ntuthukos submission that particularly resonated with the court was that, because of the seriousness of the offences, he had to prepare adequately for his defence by instructing senior counsel (advocate) as well as putting money together for this purpose. He has to instruct counsel in conducive surroundings and to readily access cash and assets in whatever banks they are to be found in order to pay his defence team, the principal judge said. Passport Some of the conditions that have been attached to his bail are that; he should surrender his passport at Bhunya Police Station and not apply for a new one; report to the Mbabane Police Station every Friday between 9am and 4pm. Ntuthuko had spent five months in custody after allegedly shooting and killing Andreas Tsabedze and former police officer Sikhulu Shongwe in cold blood at Mhlabubovu. The former legislator was arrested on September 7, 2020 and charged with two counts of murder, one of attempted murder and a fourth count of being found in possession of a firearm without a licence. In the charge of attempted murder, he is said to have attempted to end the life of Simon Dlamini by shooting him three times with a pistol. The charges preferred against Ntuthuko were sparked by a dispute over land which is situated at Mhlabubovu. The land is disputed over by two opposing chiefdoms, namely; LaMgabhi and Luyengweni. On the fateful day, the piece of land was allegedly being allocated by the authorities. In her judgment on bail, Principal Judge Mabuza said Ntuthuko must still stand trial and if convicted, sentenced to a custodial sentence because lives were lost. During the argument of the bail application, it was canvassed by the Crown that the applicant had no defence to the charges he was facing because there was sufficient evidence to prove premeditated murder and that he exceeded the bounds of self- defence. The applicant denied that he had no defence and stated that he was at all material times acting in self-defence. It was argued on his behalf that whether or not he exceeded the bounds of self-defence, was a question to be determined by the trial court. The Crown, on the other hand, further submitted that Ntuthuko was likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court and seek asylum in neighbouring countries, thereby evading trial. The State based its argument on the fact that the applicant was a former minister and might have made contacts that would assist him. Principal Judge Mabuza, in her judgment, said: I have a difficulty with this ground. Insufficient information has been touted to support it. The possible country of choice for the applicant has not been disclosed nor have his erstwhile former contacts been identified. She further noted that there was no indication as to what resources Ntuthuko would use to sustain himself while in the imaginary country he was likely to flee to. She said on the contrary, Ntuthuko stated that he was a liSwati by birth, had a wife and children with whom he lived at LaMgabhi. Ntuthuko, according to the court, also disclosed that he had a number of assets in the Kingdom of Eswatini, including five shopping complexes, a farming business comprising three feedlots, a piggery business and that he recently invested in an expensive irrigation programme for his farm. He had disclosed that he held a number of investments with local banks which he could not immediately cash out. It was further his argument that he could not leave his family and assets just like that. The principal judge said it seemed to her that Ntuthuko was aware of the gravity of the offences he was facing. Following the conclusion of his bail yesterday, Ntuthuko will now have to await his trial date as he was recently called to a pretrial conference. Meanwhile, during the trial, the Crown will parade 16 witnesses to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against Ntuthuko. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. Another five fresh COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Queensland on Thursday, taking the number of infected people in state quarantine to 41. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said all the new cases acquired the virus overseas and tested positive in hotel quarantine. Social-distancing markers in a Brisbane CBD lift. Credit:Cameron Atfield She announced the figures while flagging that restrictions in the state were set to ease further at the weekend. As of 1am Saturday we are lifting the numbers [of guests] you can have in your home to 100 and the numbers of people who can gather outside together to 500. Right now, the news is as busy and exhausting as a fanboy explaining to everyone why Zack Snyder needs four hours to tell a story about Joker getting laser tattoo removal or whatever. Sometimes, we, too, just want it to stop. But where there are people, there are stories, and there will always be some pretty important stories that fall under the radar because we're either too busy talking about other important stories or (still) debating who's to blame for Game of Thrones ending on with fart instead of a bang ... 5 Alden Global Capital And Hedge Funds Coming For Our News Media Randall D. Smith is founder of the New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital, and below is Heath Freeman, the president of Alden Global Capital and Smith's loyal henchman who's a hat away from looking like he's selling snake oil to cowboys: Continue Reading Below Advertisement These two guys have enjoyed relative anonymity for far too long (You'll find more real photos of Bigfoot than public images of Smith), because while the majority of people weren't paying attention, they have been gobbling up failing newspapers across the U.S. since 2009, selling off the papers' real estate assets -- oftentimes to Alden's side companies -- and cutting newsrooms into oblivion to squeeze out every cent they can get. "Vultures," as they've been dubbed, isn't even the right description because these guys actively seek out newspapers on the brink of bankruptcy, with no motive whatsoever to try and save them. They regard their roughly 200 owned papers (including the L.A. Daily News, the Boston Herald, and the Denver Post) not as a public trust but as their own personal ATMs. The company has cut around 71% of jobs in its NewsGuild-represented newsrooms, and it's been estimated that they've put 23,584 Americans out of jobs. Continue Reading Below Advertisement In Philadelphia, where a couple of papers made Alden $18 million in 2017 at a 30% profit margin, newsroom personnel complained of rats, falling ceilings, and mildew. One newsroom didn't have any hot water. And that's just the awful conditions of being placed in cheaper, rundown offices after these papers' buildings were sold off under new management. In San Jose, there was no one to report on education at The Mercury News after schools started shutting down during the pandemic. In St. Paul, Minneapolis, there was no reporter available at the Pioneer Press to cover the county board meetings where the local sheriff somehow overspent his budget by $1 million. In Vallejo, California, there was one remaining reporter left at the Times-Herald in 2019 to cover the news for the 120,000 city locals. But, you know, this is just something you should expect if your paper is in the hands of Heath Freeman, a guy who doesn't get why newspapers employ photographers. CEO Chris Taylor told investors he believes the LP Fault represents "one of the largest consistently mineralized new gold discoveries being explored today" Today's results come from ten new holes at the LP fault on 225m of strike and highlights included 29.17 g/t gold over 15.50m from a depth of 41.80 to 57.30m Ltd ( ) (OTCMKTS:GTBAF) (FRA:0G6A) has reported more high-grade results from its large LP Fault target at its flagship Dixie gold project in Ontario. CEO Chris Taylor told investors he believes the LP Fault represents "one of the largest consistently mineralized new gold discoveries being explored today". The LP Fault is basically a target with 18 kilometers (km) strike length and has been seismically imaged to extend to 14km depth. Today's results come from ten new holes at the LP fault on 225 meters (m) of strike and highlights included 29.17 grams per ton (g/t) gold over 15.50m from a depth of 41.80 to 57.30m. A deeper hole intersected 5.29 g/t gold over 29m from a depth of 397.50 to 426.50m, including high-grade core of 62.13 g/t gold over 1.60m from 405.00 to 406.60m. Great Bear said "strong continuity" of gold mineralization continues to be observed on a section-by-section basis, and vertically. Meanwhile, the company said it was also planning systematic grid drilling of the Dixie Limb and Hinge zones to depths of up to 800m as part of its current maiden resource definition drill program. In wider regional drilling, Great Bear sunk ten widely spaced reconnaissance holes between 500m and 2km from northwest of the Dixie Limb and Hinge zones and new gold-bearing quartz veins were encountered in nine of them. In addition, two larger diameter (HQ) drill holes were carried out into the LP Fault to provide material for metallurgical testing. Metallurgical sample selection and testing of high, medium and low-grade LP Fault samples are ongoing, it added. Results will be reported as they become available. Great Bear's flagship Dixie project comprises 9,140 hectares of contiguous claims that extend more than 22km. It sits about 25km southeast of the town of Red Lake, Ontario. Today's results come from its ongoing fully funded C$45 million 2021 exploration program. Broker Mackie repeats 'Speculative Buy' "Overall, we believe the results are, on balance, excellent and highlight the potential of the Dixie Project as a world-class deposit which is in line with our investment thesis," said broker Mackie in a note following the announcement. Analyst Adam Schatzker noted he was not expecting that Great Bear would be deepening the hole DL-064 to crosscut all known zones and discover a new gold zone. "We are very keen to see the results that the wedge drilling will produce as Great Bear tests the deeper portions of both the Hinge and Limb zones DL-064 will provide the platform from which that drilling will commence," he said. "We continue to have confidence that the mineralized inventory at the Dixie Project will be in line with our estimate of 9.6 million ounces," he added. "If the LP Fault zone is similar to other fault hosted, Archean gold deposits, it is not unreasonable to expect that the mineralization will continue well below the 500 m level this represents upside that has yet to be tested or included in our valuation." Mackie repeated a 'Speculative Buy' rating on the stock and a C$36 price target, which is more than double the current price of C$15.25 each. ----Updates to include broker comment---- Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com Yang, 53, who had been involved romantically with Gayle, was found guilty of Reuters murder in 2011 in a crime authorities say was motivated by jealousy. However, Yangs attorney has filed a post-conviction petition seeking to reinvestigate the crime, which Yang says will prove she did not kill Reuter. Yang is asking the court to vacate her conviction, or order a new trial. [March 11, 2021] Bitazza, Lightnet and Velo to Create Next-Generation Financial Ecosystem and to Become the "Go-to" CeDeFi Bridge BANGKOK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitazza, Thailand's leading digital asset brokerage, alongside Lightnet Group, have announced a share acquisition in Bitazza raising 6 million USD to fuel its growth expansion plans. The acquisition will seal a strategic partnership between Bitazza, Lightnet and Velo Labs to create a next-generation financial ecosystem by seamlessly connecting traditional finance to the global digital network, creating a more streamlined pathway between fiat and crypto currencies, and providing millions of Thai users with access to international markets. This collaboration aims to accelerate the mass adoption of blockchain technology in Asia, beginning in Thailand, by challenging SWIFT with a low-cost, near real time, and interoperable network, delivering more accessible and efficient financial services to Thai users. Bitazza, Lightnet Group and Velo Labs to elevate financial and investment solutions in Asia by expanding its network of partners in the region to elevate financial and investment solutions in by expanding its network of partners in the region Creation of a new financial ecosystem that will enable seamless movement between fiat and crypto currency, traditional assets and digital assets, and link Thai users to international markets by utilizing licenses, such as Bitazza's digital asset broker licenses, Lightnet Group's MPI license under the Payment Services Act (PSA) overseen by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the European Union through Bank of Lithuania . (MAS) and the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the European Union through Bank of . Velo Tokens will serve as the main bridge asset for the total ecosystem of the CeDeFi Bridge. BTZ Tokens will serve as the core utility token for Bitazza's platform of products and services serving as fuel to its infrastructure and BTZ token holders will receive various discounts, rewards and benefits across the ecosystem. This agreement between the three parties involved will contribute towards improving the financial mobility and access of millions of users in Asia. Bitazza will enable users to transition between traditional financial services, assets, and the crypto/digital assets market by leveraging their capabilities as a digital asset broker and providing users access to the most liquid and active global digital asset markets. Velo is a blockchain based financial protocol designed for borderless asset transfers as well as digital credit issuance. Lightnet is Asia's leading cross-border remittance network proider aiming to replace SWIFT by connecting to a global network of innovative FX liquidity and cross-border payments providers to reduce transaction times and lower transfer fees for users. Chatchaval Jiaravanon, Chairman of Velo Labs adds: "This agreement is a testament to Velo Labs' and its partners' continuous efforts to achieve Financial inclusion for millions in the under-served MSME lending market in Southeast Asia and illustrates our commitment towards enabling greater financial inclusion. I hope to allow Bitazza to leverage on local partnerships including True and 7-Eleven to further expand their service networks across the country." "We are delighted to be a part of this unique collaboration with trusted partners like Bitazza and Velo Labs. We are committed to providing customers from the MSME market in Thailand with another pathway to improve Financial wellness and access" said Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Vice Chairman and Group CEO of Lightnet Group Kavin Phongpandecha, Chief Executive Officer of Bitazza, states that Bitazza's plans for expansion into the Asian market, as well as the robust tokenomics underpinning the BTZ token makes Lightnet Group's investment an intuitive partnership between the parties. This collaboration also represents an opportunity for product integration between the parties involved and extends our collective reach into the various partners throughout the new investor's network. Mr. Phongpandecha also goes on to say: "Our goal is to place Thailand at the forefront of the digital and crypto asset industry. Much like Wall Street and Silicon Valley have been the epicenter of Finance and Technology respectively, we hope to shift the paradigm and push Thailand, and eventually Southeast Asia as the global frontier for next-generation financial innovation." Kevin Heng, Chief Strategy Officer of Bitazza commented, "Not only is this an opportunity for us to work towards Lightnet's commitment to serve the underbanked and unbanked in conjunction with Bitazza's mass adoption plans, but it will also raise the standards of financial mobility and access throughout Asia. With this partnership, Bitazza can materialize our vision of an interconnected trade network through direct integration and easy access to local financial institutions and custodian services. By accelerating the reach and adoption of crypto technology through better infrastructure and terms, Bitazza is positioned as a crypto asset platform with a clear pathway towards connecting the masses to the crypto asset market as a whole." About Bitazza Bitazza was founded by a team of experts in collective fields ranging from finance, information technology, creative development, and others who share a single vision in digital asset growth and adoption as part of the financial technology world. Bitazza's mission is based on a vision of how digital assets, investment banking and blockchain-based cashless payments can come together and function seamlessly in the near future. As a brokerage, Bitazza provides traders and issuers access to the most liquid and active digital asset markets, globally priced in Asian currencies. Bitazza aims to become Southeast Asia's platform of choice for listing, trading and managing cryptoassets in a regulated environment. Bitazza holds a digital asset broker license from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Thailand's Ministry of Finance. The company is the first digital asset brokerage to offer institutional grade, smart routing of domestic orders to international markets with deep liquidity, and its own digital ecosystem token which will be used as fuel for the Bitazza platform. https://bitazza.com About Lightnet Lightnet is a Singapore-headquartered fintech company with the purpose of empowering underbanked populations and MSME trade finance with an inclusive international remittance ecosystem. The Lightnet Group adopts the Velo Protocol as its blockchain protocol and positions itself as the next generation clearing and settlement network across the Asia Pacific region by leveraging blockchain and connecting existing financial systems with its network of cash agents and wallets. The Lightnet Group's initial focus will be on Southeast Asia remittances which it estimates to be in excess of USD 150 billion per annum. Lightnet was co-founded by Chatchaval Jiaravanon, a family member of the Charoen Pokphand Group, a leading conglomerate in Asia; and San Francisco-based technology company, Interstellar. https://lightnet.io About Velo Labs Velo Labs' mission is to build a Federated Credit Exchange Network, and a decentralized settlement network that allows partners to safely and securely transfer value between each other powered by the Velo Protocol. Backed by Stellar Network and CP Group, Velo Labs is currently focusing on serving partners in the Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific region. Velo Labs' vision is to complement and connect the existing banking infrastructure to the CeFi and DeFi crypto-industry. Velo's established and expansive Credit Exchange network positions it as one of the few blockchain projects with a clear path towards mass adoption. https://velo.org SOURCE Lightnet Pte. Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BANGALORE, India, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Industrial Services Market is Segmented Type(Engineering and Consulting, Installation and Commissioning, Improvement and Maintenance, Others)and End Use (PLC, SCADA, HMI, DCS, MES, Electric Motors & Drives, Valves & Actuators, Safety Systems): This report covers Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast from 2021 to 2026. This report is published on Valuates Reports in the Industrial Materials & Equipment Category. The global Industrial Services market size is projected to reach USD 32,300 Million by 2026, from USD 24,990 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 4.4% the forecast period during 2021-2026. Major factors driving the growth of Industrial Services market size are the growing need for operational excellence, increasing demand for maintenance as a service, and increasing equipment complexity. Request a Sample Copy of the Report For COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Industrial Services Market : https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Othe-1S431/Industrial_Services_Market TRENDS INFLUENCING THE INDUSTRIAL SERVICE MARKET SIZE The growing demand for predictive maintenance services is driving industrial service market size during the forecast period. In manufacturing industries, where equipment is costly, and depreciation is a major expense, asset management is important. With predictive maintenance, big cost savings are possible. Essentially, predictive maintenance is the next lever for asset management improvement. The deployment of strategies like service contracts and agreements, product developments, and expansions are fueling the growth of industrial service market size. Furthermore, the industrial services market size is expected to grow due to the effects of fluctuating oil prices. In the oil & gas industry, an immense amount of operational productivity also serves as an increasing field for this market. Operators might consider implementing the industrial services to help optimize output, which incorporates engineering and computational power to allow companies to forecast yields or maximize industry assets. The disruption in the supply chain due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge for the industrial service market players in the current situation. Governments around the world have implemented numerous rules and regulations aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, such as bans on the export and import of goods and raw materials. This has contributed to a massive disruption in the supply chain, resulting in a lack of raw materials used in different industries. However, towards the end of 2021, as new treatments are introduced to curb the spread of the virus, the industrial service market is expected to recover at a steady pace. View Report Details Before Purchasing: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-1S431/industrial-services INDUSTRIAL SERVICE MARKET SHARE The market for improvement & maintenance services is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecasted period. Ad-hoc and emergency repair, planned maintenance, and predictive maintenance is included in the improvement and maintenance services segment. These services support processes to avoid unintended faults and increase the life of equipment and systems. The MES segment is expected to hold the largest industrial service market share based on application during the forecast period. MES helps maintain updated product life cycle data, product quality, execution and dispatch of orders, resource scheduling, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) downtime management, and production analysis. In addition, MES helps to preserve all data relating to the production process, such as raw materials processed into finished products and related documents, as well as data from robots and workers. The automotive industry is expected to hold the largest industrial market share during the forecast period. The automotive industry deals with vehicle design, production, and manufacturing. In this industry, in inventory management, performance analysis, design process, and supply chain management, automation plays a critical role. APAC is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Countries in this area concentrate on large-scale industrial production and, as a result, have a large number of manufacturing plants. China is regarded as one of the world's largest manufacturing countries, thereby driving the APAC manufacturing market. Several multinational companies have developed their production facilities in APAC and are adopting higher safety standards that lead to higher demand for industrial services. Inquire for Regional Report : https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Othe-1S431/Industrial_Services_Market Industrial Services Breakdown Data by Type Engineering and Consulting Installation and Commissioning Improvement and Maintenance. Industrial Services Breakdown Data by Application PLC SCADA HMI DCS MES Electric Motors & Drives Valves & Actuators Safety Systems. Major Key Vendors in this Market ABB ( Switzerland ) ) Siemens AG ( Germany ) ) General Electric (US) Emerson Electric (US) Honeywell International Inc. (US) Schneider Electric ( France ) ) Wood Group Mustang (US) SKF AB ( Sweden ) ) ATS Automation ( Canada ) ) INTECH Process Automation (US ) Others. Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Othe-1S431&lic=single-user Buy Now for Enterprise License + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Othe-1S431&lic=enterprise-license SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the Comment Section to know about our subscription plans. SIMILAR REPORTS : - Industrial Cleaning Services Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth, Industry Analysis, Forecast 2020 to 2026. The Report contains segmentation by Type (Equipment cleaning, Shop floor cleaning, Public areas cleaning, Window cleaning), By Application (Commercial, Industrial, Residential) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Industrial Automation Service Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth, Industry Analysis, Forecast 2020 to 2026. The Report contains segmentation by Type (Distributed control systems (DCS), Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), Programmable logic control (PLC), Manufacturing execution system (MES), Others (HMI, EMI, and AM)), By Application (Project engineering and installation, Maintenance and support, Consulting services, Operational services) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Industrial Robotics Services Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth, Industry Analysis, Forecast 2020 to 2026. The Report contains segmentation by Type ( Engineering and Consulting, System Integration, Robot Programming, Installation and Commissioning, Maintenance and Repair, Training), By Application (Welding, Assembly Lline, Material Handling, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast. - Process Automation market size is projected to reach USD 12080 Million by 2026, from USD 7123.9 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 9.2% during 2021-2026. - 3D Machine Vision market size is projected to reach USD 1342.2 Million by 2026, from USD 1256.9 Million in 2020 - IoT in Manufacturing market size is projected to reach USD 1038.8 Million by 2026, from USD 567.2 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 10.6% during 2021-2026. - Predictive Maintenance for Manufacturing market size is projected to reach USD 2456.8 Million by 2026, from USD 2097.2 Million in 2020. - Smart Manufacturing Market is expected to grow from USD 157,289.47 Million in 2019 to USD 314,839.98 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.26%. - Human Machine Interface (HMI) market size is projected to reach USD 5674.8 Million by 2026, from USD 3369.8 Million in 2019, at a CAGR of 7.6% during 2021-2026. - Industrial Robots Market size was 11300 Million USD in 2018 and is expected to 24500 Million USD by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% between 2019 and 2025. - Intelligent Process Automation Market is expected to grow from USD 7,654.27 Million in 2019 to USD 15,672.44 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.68%. - Robotic Process Automation (RPA) market size was valued at USD 477 Million in 2018and it is expected to reach USD 1930 Million by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of 21.3% between 2019 and 2025. To see the full list of related reports on the Industrial Services ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains detail research methodology employed to generate the report, Please also reach to our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll-Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg SOURCE Valuates Reports Mumbai, March 11 : Actor Himansh Kohli took his first shot of Covid vaccine on February 5 and the second recently. He confesses being apprehensive about the process initially. "I won't deny that in the beginning I was hesitant. Such decisions take time. I don't think one should hurry, too. So, I took my time and gained trust as I started reading about it. The virus is much worse, anyway. At least, the vaccine is providing us protection, so why not go for it?" he told IANS. The "Yaariyaan" actor, took the vaccine in Dubai, where he has a home. "I felt sick for a day when the first dose was given, and for a couple of hours after the second dose. But, you slowly start feeling better and more confident later, thinking how Covid-19 can't affect you anymore," said Himansh. The actor will be seen next in "Boondi Raita". The comedy directed by Kamal Chandra also stars Sonnalli Seygall and Ravi Kishan, and is expected to go on floors soon. On 8 March, journalist Levent Gultekin was attacked by a group of around 20 people just a few metres away from his workplace at the Halk TV station in Bakrkoy, Istanbul. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ), along with their Turkish affiliates, the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS), the Journalists Association of Turkey (TGC), the Journalists Association (GCD) and the Broadcast and Printing Press Workers Union, strongly condemn this brutal aggression and call for thorough investigations. The IFJ and EFJ said that the roots of these attacks, namely hatred-stirring, politically motivated online threats and insults, must also be addressed. The attack took place when Gultekin was on his way to the station where he co-hosts a show at Halk TV. Via Twitter he said moments later: I was attacked by a group of 25 bandits in front of the channel. Im okay right now. Ill tell you soon on the program. Shortly after, the journalist indeed appeared on Halk TV, where he talked about the attack and video footage thereof was shown. The video, which stems from Halk TVs CCTV, shows a group of people repeatedly kicking the journalist. Gultekin suffered broken fingers as he was trying to protect his head. During the show, Gultekin stated that he had previously received numerous threats and insults via social media, including from high-tier politicians. For instance, on 4 March, Semih Yalcn, Deputy Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (NMP), tweeted about Gultekin, calling him a racist minority journalist who was in a state of insanity and hates the loved ones of this nation. Gultekin had recently been critical of the NMP and indicated that the assault might be a result thereof. Ali Ergin, board member of the Broadcast and Printing Press Workers Union, added: The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) had threatened many journalists before and this attack was not the first. There have been many attacks following the threats from MHP and for years the ruling party AKP did nothing to stop this dirty game. The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) strongly condemned the attack: We urge the authorities to immediately punish the assailants who targeted our colleague #LeventGultekin. We will not be silenced despite those who seek to strangle different opinions through hate and mobs! Turkeys democracy will not die. IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: The attack on Levent Gultekin is a cowardly and deliberate attack on freedom of expression. We urge the Turkish authorities to prosecute the perpetrators and refrain from the permanent verbal insults and attacks against media workers. EFJ General Secretary, Ricardo Gutierrez, said: Such acts of terror against media workers must be strongly condemned by Turkish public authorities. Apart from calling for thorough investigations, media-hostile politicians must change their rhetoric, as their threats and insults often motivate such acts. This brutal attack on a Turkish journalist is not an isolated case. Just in the first 15 days of 2021, TGS recorded five attacks against journalists. In general, the situation for press freedom in Turkey is precarious: Today, 65 journalists and media workers are in prison. Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, who used her social connections, organizational acumen and personal collection of hundreds of works by female painters to establish the countrys first museum dedicated to women in the arts, died on Saturday at her home in Washington. She was 98. Her death was confirmed by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which she opened in 1987 and had continued to guide as chairwoman until recently, holding weekly meetings with the museums director at her home in Georgetown. Ms. Holladay, known to her friends as Billie, was a skillful Washington networker, someone who understood how to use party invitations and seats on nonprofit boards to press an agenda. But where others might have used those talents to lobby for clients or accumulate power for its own sake, she had a different goal in mind: inserting women into art history, which she believed had too long ignored their contributions. A patrician with impeccable taste and sense of decorum, she rubbed shoulders with first ladies, lunched with Mellons and Gettys, and drew on those associations and others in Washingtons cultural establishment over the six years it took to open the museum, housed in a former Masonic temple three blocks from the White House. Sun-drenched beaches, packed crowds, and no COVID-19 restrictions in place. Galveston spring breakers, prepare for a slightly different experience this March in Galveston Island. As spring break 2021 kicks off this weekend in Galveston Island, so does the official lifting of the Texas mask mandate and the order to open to 100 percent capacity, according to Governor Greg Abbott's order. NEW COVID-19 VARIANTS: Expert weighs on 3 new COVID-19 variants now emerging in Houston Removing the mask mandate and relaxing capacity requirements as Spring Break approaches poses a dire risk for spiking infection rates in the Houston area, says Memorial Hermann CEO Dr. David Callender. "It's a powder keg waiting to happen," Callender told Chron. "One of the most difficult in terms of controlling transmission is the high rate of asympotomatic spread among young people. Many are asymotomatic. They dont know that the individuals around them have the disease. There will be a lot of people in close contact who are raising voices. We want people to understand that these are high-risk situations. Continue to wear a mask." In previous years, Galveston has welcomed more than 300,000 people for spring break, according to Galveston Island Convention and Visitor Bureau Michael Woody. "We're surveying all of our industry partners right now to get a better feel for what they are going to be asking visitors to do," Woody told ABC-13. "But I think the best course is to bring your mask along." Galveston County authorities say that they are prepared for the big surge of crowds descending upon Galveston Island. Sheriff Henry Trochesset stated that he's ramping up to keep safety protocols in place. "We're expecting large spring break crowds. We've increased deputies, especially on the Peninsula. We have a substation that we opened up," Trochesset told Chron. "Even since COVID-19, the Peninsula never really slowed down." Trochesset reiterated the need to respect property owners' rights if they require customers to wear masks in their private business. "If you're requiring a mask in a business, it's up to them. They own the business," Trochesset said. "On the beach, on the peninsula'No shoes, no shirt, no service.' If they want to extend it to masks, that's their business." Trochesset urged all Texas spring breakers to stay safe and respectful if you venture over to the island. "Please be courteous and please stay safe. We do expect large crowds," Trochesset said. "Don't drink and drive, and enjoy themselves." Agartala, March 11 : The 'Border Haats' (markets) along the India-Bangladesh boundaries would prosper the frontier villages and adjoining areas, besides economically empowering the people, especially the women, living on both sides of the borders, experts, economists and researchers said. Four Border Haats were set up along the India-Bangladesh borders in Meghalaya and Tripura in 2011, 2012 and 2015, while six more -- four in Meghalaya and two in Tripura -- have been approved by the governments of the two countries to promote local business and livelihoods of people living along the frontiers. These Border Haats, however, have remained closed since March last year as a precautionary measure against the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns, causing immense loss to the people living in the bordering villages. The Additional District Magistrate of Sepahijala in western Tripura, Subhasis Bandopadhay, who is also the co-chairman of one of Tripura's two Border Haats management committee, had told IANS that as the Covid induced situation has been largely tamed in India and Bangladesh, both the countries are keen to reopen the bordering markets. CUTS International, a Jaipur-based think-tank and NGO, which has conducted several studies on border trade and Border Haats, had also recommended to the Indian government to resume these border markets by maintaining the necessary precautions against Covid-19, including social distancing, as these markets boost the economy, fortify ties among the people of the two neighbours and also check illegal trades. The Executive Director of CUTS International, Bipul Chatterjee, said in a virtual dialogue on Thursday: "To up-scale the India-Bangladesh Border Haats initiative, we need to work much more closely with the security agencies across the borders, in state capitals and national capitals." Chatterjee underlined the need for further engagement with the border communities to identify specific issues and accordingly make policy recommendations at the local, state and national levels. Professor and Director at the Bangladesh-based Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies, Mahbuba Nasrin, said that Border Haats have facilitated the participation of women from the border areas in economic activities. "They instilled confidence in them that they are capable of running business," Nasrin said. She also mentioned that cultural identity of women and social construct of the locality along with women-friendly infrastructure can play a significant role in driving them to enhance their participation in the Border Haats. "In order to enhance women's participation, focus should be on creating a better environment by looking at a number of parameters such as financial support, flexible hours, provision for skill and capacity enhancement, awareness generation for gender sensitive community building, etc.," Nasrin said. The virtual discussion was jointly organised by CUTS International and Bangladesh's leading NGO 'Unnayan Shamannay', to discuss the 'need for up-scaling India-Bangladesh Border Haats - what, why and how'. The panellists talked about looking at the Border Haats as a nucleus for attaining cross-border peace, security, stability and prosperity. The virtual discussion was based on three recently published study papers as part of a project on India-Bangladesh Border Haats supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK, under its Asia Regional Trade and Connectivity Programme. Speaking on the occasion, Sabyasachi Dutta, Executive Director, Asian Confluence, a Shillong-based think-tank and research group, emphasised on enabling local people to witness real benefits of developmental initiatives. He said that Border Haats should be perceived as a part of 'border co-prosperity zone' promoting inclusive growth. "This generational shift can be achieved by trade, transit and tourism aiming at building better trust among the communities across the border," he added. Dutta also suggested organising curated programmes, conferences, cultural events at the Border Haats so as to create better stories for the media. "The spotlight should be on development at the border and not through the border," he said. Veteran Bangladeshi scribe Asjadul Kibria emphasised on the role of media in presenting case studies on Border Haats for generating knowledge and understanding their effectiveness among the common people. Nisha Taneja, professor of New Delhi-based Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, talked about the advantages that the Border Haats bring to the table, such as enabling cross-border exchange of goods with least procedural compliances. "The Border Haats have been a significant driver of employment in the border region, boosting cross-border economic activities. However, it remains to be seen if reservations for women traders can become a reality," she added. According to Monoj Kumar Roy, former Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry of Bangladesh, in order to escalate the benefits of the Border Haats, a demand assessment study should be conducted across the border and accordingly border communities should be capacitated so that they can easily sell the products. Tania Haque, professor at the Department of Women and Gender Studies, Dhaka University, and senior journalist from the northeast, Ratul Baruah, also participated in the discussion, and suggested to widen the business scope of the Border Haats, where diverse local produces are traded. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) On Friday, March 12, at 14.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference on the results of work of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency of Ukraine (ARMA) over 2020 with the participation of Acting Head of ARMA Vitaliy Syhydyn (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot. The press conference will be available on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Due to lockdown restrictions, the number of seats is limited. Admission of journalists requires registration until 11:00 on March 12 by phone: (044) 290 0831 or e-mail: press@arma.gov.ua. A $1.2billion federal stimulus package for the tourism industry is 'pathetic', according to Western Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his tourism minister, Dan Tehan, on Thursday announced 800,000 half-price plane tickets to an initial 13 destinations. The only WA city included is Broome. The state's border was closed to much of the country for most of last year, with WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia boasting regional towns were so full of local tourists they would not have been able to also host eastern visitors. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his tourism minister, Dan Tehan, on Thursday announced 800,000 half-price plane tickets to an initial 13 destinations. The only WA city included is Broome (pictured) The state's border was closed to much of the country for most of last year, with WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia (pictured) boasting regional towns were so full of local tourists they would not have been able to also host eastern visitors He says the federal government did not consult WA businesses on the new package. 'This program is pathetic, it doesn't focus on Western Australian business that are hurting as a result of international flights,' he told 6PR radio, two days out from the WA election. 'If Mr Tehan and the prime minister want to help Western Australia they should talk to people who know about Western Australia. They are obviously not doing that.' While operators in Broome are pleased, Tourism Council WA boss Evan Hall said other destinations like Busselton and Perth would lose visitors to holiday spots interstate. Mr Hall said one in five tourism operators risked closing their doors when JobKeeper, rent freezes and loan deferrals ended in March. The government has also listed the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region including Proserpine and Hamilton Island and the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. While operators in Broome are pleased, Tourism Council WA boss Evan Hall said other destinations like Busselton and Perth would lose visitors to holiday spots interstate (Ningaloo Reef pictured) Lasseter and Alice Springs in the NT, the Tasmanian towns of Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Avalon near Melbourne, Merimbula in NSW and SA's Kangaroo Island are also included. Return flights to eligible locations will receive a 50 per cent discount between April 1 and July 31. Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the government has chosen locations politically, based on electorates. Broome is within Durack, an expansive electorate held by the Liberals' Melissa Price. Mr Morrison has described the package as a 'ticket to recovery'. WASHINGTON Prominent attorneys Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros have been named to oversee a $500 million victim compensation fund for the relatives of 346 people killed in two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes, a spokeswoman for Feinberg confirmed on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the second crash. The fund is part of a $2.5 billion Justice Department settlement reached in January with Boeing Co after prosecutors charged the company with fraud over the certification of the 737 MAX following a Lion Air crash on Oct. 29, 2019 and an Ethiopian Airlines disaster on March 10, 2019. Boeing said it looked forward to working with Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros to ensure the prompt distribution of these funds. The Justice Department (DOJ) declined to comment. The settlement allowed Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution but did not impact civil litigation against the planemaker by victims relatives that continues. Feinberg and Biros have administered many compensation funds including for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, General Motors ignition switch crashes and numerous school shootings. In July 2019, Boeing named Feinberg and Biros to oversee the distribution of a separate $50 million to the families of those killed in the crashes. Under the Justice Department agreement, Boeing was required to propose three candidates to administer the fund. In this role, they will make recommendations about payments but the Justice Department will make final decisions on all payments. While Boeing has mostly settled Lion Air lawsuits, it still face more than 100 lawsuits in Chicago federal court by families of the Ethiopian crash asking why the MAX continued flying after the first disaster. Some relatives were commemorating the second anniversary on Wednesday with protests and vigils in Washington, and Toronto, where they have asked regulators to reconsider their decision to let the 737 MAX fly again after a nearly two-year safety ban. The DOJ settlement includes a fine of $243.6 million and compensation to airlines of $1.77 billion over fraud conspiracy charges related to the planes flawed design. Chris Moore, who lost his daughter in the Ethiopian crash, noted that the fine is only 10% of the total settlement, or the cost of about two 737 MAX planes. If this isnt a slap in the face for us I dont know what is. It definitely is only a slap on their wrist, he said. The Justice Department said in January, Boeings employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception. Some lawmakers say the government did not go far enough, while Boeing says it has taken numerous steps to overhaul its safety culture. The DOJ settlement was pathetic, said House Transportation Committee chairman Peter DeFazio in an interview Wednesday, who faulted the settlements focus on a couple employees and not the board or executive team. I think theyre still way-too Wall Street dominated. Congress ordered a major overhaul of how the FAA certifies new airplanes in December and directed an independent review of Boeings safety culture. Last month, Boeing agreed to pay $6.6 million to the Federal Aviation Administration as part of a settlement over quality and safety-oversight lapses going back years. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. India is no longer a democratic country: Rahul Gandhi slams Modi government India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Mar 11: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that India was no longer a democratic country. "India is no longer a democratic country," Rahul Gandhi said in his tweet as he shared a news clipping which read 'India now as autocratic as Pakistan, worse than Bangladesh: Sweden institute's Democracy Report'. The Wayanad MP has been consistently targeting the government over the rising fuel prices, farm laws and other issues. Recently, Rahul Gandhi accused the Modi government of pushing people in the swamp of price rise just to earn taxes. On the 100th day of farmers protest on March 5, Rahul Gandhi said that the government will have to repeal the three agriculture laws under any circumstances. COVID-19 cases: Tamil Nadu's decision on e-pass creates problems for Keralites "Those who wait patiently after sowing seeds, they are not afraid of months-long wait or bad weather. The three farm laws have to be repealed," Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi. Participating in the debate on the Union Budget in Lok Sabha on February 11, he had alleged that these legislations would damage the country's food security system and also "break the spine of farmers" and that the country is being run by only four people with a 'Hum do, Hamare do' approach. 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. MINSK -- New criminal charges have been filed against jailed Belarusian blogger Ihar Losik, his wife says, adding that upon hearing the charges he restarted a hunger strike. Losik, a consultant for RFE/RL on new-media technologies, also tried to slit his wrists in front of an investigator and a lawyer, his wife, Darya, told RFE/RL on March 11, citing his lawyer. She said the precise wording of the new charges is unknown and demanded that Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka tell her why her husband has been in prison for nine months. This comes less than two months after Losik ended a six-week hunger strike to protest charges that he allegedly helped organize riots over last years disputed presidential election in Belarus. News of the new charges against the 28-year-old father of a 2-year-old daughter prompted a response from RFE/RL President Jamie Fly, who urged Lukashenka to release him immediately so he can be reunited with his family. All of us at RFE/RL are deeply distressed by todays new charges against Ihar, and his deteriorating health situation," Fly said in a statement, adding: "Journalism is not a crime and Ihar has been unjustly detained for far too long. Ihar and his family should not be tortured in this way. Losik was arrested on June 25, 2020, and accused of using his popular Telegram channel to prepare to disrupt public order and preparation for participation in riots ahead of the presidential election on August 9. Losik on December 15 was slapped with charges that could result in an eight-year prison term if he is convicted. In protest, Losik, who has been recognized as a political prisoner by rights activists, launched his hunger strike. Losik announced the end of that hunger strike on January 25, saying he did so on my own volition. A statement issued by his lawyer at the time said he was simply moved by the unbelievable wave of solidarity." But the bloggers state of mind apparently declined soon afterward based on a handwritten letter that he wrote on February 18 and published on social media after the news of a two-year jail sentence given to two journalists of Belsat. I have no illusion. I think itll be about five more years, and by that time I will have died. I no longer have any desire to do anything, Losik wrote. So much has already been done, and all for naught: Nothing influences anybody. Ill say it honestly: I doubt anything will change. Since the presidential election, Belarus has witnessed regular demonstrations whose size and scope are unparalleled in the countrys post-Soviet history. Western governments have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote, and imposed sanctions on him and his allies, citing election rigging and the police crackdown. Lukashenka has refused to step down and says he will not negotiate with the opposition. In his letter, Losik said he believed everyone who has protested against the government will be jailed and those who arent will leave or be silenced. Russia will assist with money, and thats how it will remain for several years to come. Thats why Im thinking I have to somehow prepare myself. Because Ive grown tired of waiting and hoping for something good while, each week for the past eight months, things only deteriorate, he said. Losik wrote of a sense of helplessness, saying it was sad, but he saw no reason to believe otherwise, and said he didnt want his wife to witness a trial. Better they should just quickly shoot me, so as not to have to witness all that, he said. The Texas Rangers on Wednesday announced that they will allow 100% capacity at Globe Life Field for their home opener in Arlington. The announcement comes a week after Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced he was rescinding the state's mask mandate and opening Texas "100%." "The Rangers are encouraged that the Governor's Office has given clearance for us to fully open Globe Life Field at the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season," President of Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer Neil Leibman said in a press release Wednesday, according to CBS Sports. Liebman said all attendees will be required to wear a mask or face covering. The Rangers also plan to allow for full capacity at their final two exhibition games. After opening day, the Rangers will switch to a system where certain sections will allow for "distanced seating," according to the team's website. The stadium seats approximately 40,000 people, according to MLB.com. "We're not going to have the social distance seats available for Opening Day because we made a commitment to everybody [season ticket holders] that they could hold tickets if we would allow them for the proper Opening Day," executive vice president and chief revenue and marketing officer Joe Januszewski told MLB.com. "We're going to honor that, so in order to do that, obviously we would be at a full capacity." Fans with opening day tickets who are uncomfortable attending the game will be allowed to exchange their tickets for a future game. Track each MLB team's attendance plans here. The April 5 matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays will mark the first Rangers game at their new stadium with fans. Up to 11,500 had been allowed to attend each game of the 2020 National League Championship Series and World Series, both of which were played entirely at Globe Life Field, which served as a neutral site to keep teams from having to travel. Story continues Tony Gonsolin #46 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches to Manuel Margot #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning in Game Two of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field on October 21, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. / Credit: Getty Images No fans were allowed to attend any regular season games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLB season. While many teams have announced plans to allow limited attendance in 2021, the Rangers are thus far the only team to allow for 100% stadium capacity at even a single game. The Houston Astros announced Wednesday that they will allow a limited number of fans to attend home games at Minute Maid Park this season, CBS affiliate KHOU-TV reports. The team has not yet made a decision on the exact number of fans that will be allowed to attend. Abbott's announcement that Texas would be dropping mask mandates and restrictions on businesses was met with harsh criticism from President Joe Biden. As of Tuesday, Texas ranked 47 out of all 50 states in percentage of the population to receive at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. "I worry we're in for the perfect storm. We're lifting restrictions, the B.1.1.7 variant is here in a big way, and we're lagging behind on vaccinations. None of that is good news," said Dr. Peter Hotez, the Dean of Baylor College of Medicine. "We're going to be in a much better shape in a couple of months from now. I don't quite understand the urgency to lift restrictions." More than 45,500 people in Texas have died since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Jonathan Vigliotti contributed reporting. Japan rebuilt a city wiped out by the tsunami, but it hasn't healed CBSN Originals | What Does It Mean to Defund the Police? Biden expected to sign $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Friday BOSTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hi Marley, creators of the only intelligent communication platform built for the insurance industry by people who know insurance, today announced the company has closed a $25 million Series B financing round. The investment was led by Emergence Capital, with Founder and General Partner Gordon Ritter taking a seat on Hi Marley's Board. Returning firms Underscore, True Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures and Greenspring also participated in the round, along with additional investors including Brewer Lane Ventures. Hi Marley makes it simple for insurance carriers to seamlessly communicate with policyholders via text to increase transparency and cut through inefficiencies. By providing a smart SMS platform purpose-built for the insurance industry, inside of which the entire ecosystem of service providers can communicate, carriers delight customers, achieve faster time to resolution, and see financial results. The funding comes at an inflection point for the insurance industry. Consumers already enjoyed a tremendous amount of choice in carriers, and they've never had more power and ease to change with just a few clicks on their phones. People are also driving less, so customers are looking for products like usage-based coverage to save money, which has squeezed the industry's margins. The result is a 'perfect storm' of customer churn that in some cases has reached 40 percent. Feedback from policyholders has put pressure on carriers to interact with customers in the channels they prefer, and integrate more of the insurance claims ecosystem, such as body shops and rental agencies, as well as offer digital communications channels for services other than just claims. As a result, the number of carriers using Hi Marley's platform has doubled, and the company has seen a 4x increase in the user base. Emergence Capital specializes in backing the next generation of industry cloud companies that are hyper-focused on specific challenges within a vertical, and Founder & General Partner Gordon Ritter said the firm has been looking for the next industry stand-out cloud insurance company for a while. "Emergence is excited to partner with Hi Marley, as we believe their people, their vision, and their timing are uniquely situated to transform the insurance industry," Ritter said. "Mike Greene and the Hi Marley team have the strong industry knowledge we look for in portfolio companies, and their passion for making insurance lovable is contagious." Hi Marley's plans for the round include creating powerful new features, ensuring the platform scales across the enterprise, and adding to Hi Marley's engineering, sales and customer success organizations, among others. "Consumer's expectations have accelerated; they demand easy, modern and transparent communications with their insurance providers," said Mike Greene, CEO and co-founder, Hi Marley. "More so than ever, if it doesn't meet those expectations, they simply take their business elsewhere. In response, carriers are working at an unprecedented pace to meet policyholders where they are and we're thrilled to help them get there faster. Our goals, which Gordon and the Emergence team are poised to help us achieve, are to continue to expand across the enterprise, with new ways to communicate while surfacing valuable insights that ultimately help insurers create more lovable experiences." About Hi Marley, Inc. Hi Marley is the intelligent communication platform for the insurance industry. Built by people who know and love insurance, the platform enables hassle-free texting across the entire ecosystem, empowering insurance professionals and delighting policyholders. Hi Marley's industry leading analytics deliver novel insights that fuel continuous improvement. The solution is built for the enterprise - fast to deploy, easy to use and seamlessly integrates with other core systems. Hi Marley is empowering the world's leading insurance carriers to reinvent the customer and employee experience. Learn more at www.himarley.com. Contact: Joel Richman Escalate PR [email protected] 617/312-5942 SOURCE Hi Marley Related Links http://www.himarley.com New Delhi, March 11 : Overall revenue and operating profits of automobile dealers are set to scale back to the pre-Covid levels in FY22, Crisil Ratings said on Thursday. Accordingly, a study of 191 sector based entities rated by the agency predicted a 20-22 per cent revenue growth and 50-100 basis points (bps) improvement in operating margin expected for next fiscal. "Revenues, which were significantly impacted in fiscals 2020 and 2021, will see a steep recovery due to improved demand for automobiles across segments. "This, along with improved ancillary revenues, which is more profitable than vehicle sales, will support overall operating profitability for automobile dealers, and boost cash accruals," said the report. As per the report, over the past 12 months, the cost of ownership of passenger vehicles (PVs) and two-wheelers (2Ws) has risen 8-10 per cent following a 15-17 per cent surge in fuel prices, price hikes by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to cover Bharat Stage (BS)-VI costs, and costlier raw material. "While that affected sales, the nationwide lockdown also slammed the brakes on ancillary revenue." According to Gautam Shahi, Director, Crisil Ratings: "We are seeing a turnaround. PV and 2W dealers are expected to see revenue growth of 20-22 per cent and 15-17 per cent, respectively, in fiscal 2022." "Healthy rural demand and increasing preference for personal mobility will drive growth for PVs and 2Ws. Revenue growth for commercial vehicle (CV) dealers is expected at 35-40 per cent in fiscal 2022, supported by improving economic activity, increase in the Budget allocation for infrastructure, and low base effect." Besides, the report cited that recovery in new vehicle sales, and ancillary revenues would help restore operating profitability to pre-pandemic levels of 3-4 per cent for automobile dealers. Furthermore, automobile dealers should benefit from continued OEM support and strong demand recovery post the lockdown. "Sustenance of recovery in demand across segments, normal monsoon and inventory level at dealers' end will remain monitorable," the report said. "With improving operating performance, credit ratio is expected to improve next fiscal. This is after two years of weak operating performance which impacted the credit metrics of CRISIL Ratings' rated automobile dealers. This was evident in the credit ratio declining to 0.3 time for the sector for April 2020-January 2021, the lowest in the past five fiscals. Increased support from OEMs and moratorium availed by automotive dealers helped manage liquidity pressures." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Laurel, MS (39440) Today Showers and thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High around 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. Dermody, Burke & Brown CPAs LLC has hired three tax principals in their tax department. They include: Michele Dickey, CPA, has more than 30 years of experience in tax accounting, consulting, financial statement preparation and compliance services. She works with closely held businesses within a wide range of industries. Michele has past experience as a Certified Valuation Analyst providing business valuations for companies involved in buy/sell agreements, charitable contributions, family limited partnerships and gifting programs. Michele received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Le Moyne College. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. She serves on the Upstate Foundations Professional Advisory Council for Legacy Giving and also serves as treasurer for the Estate Planning Council of Central New York. Michele currently is a board member and treasurer for the YWCA of Syracuse and Onondaga County Inc. She was also a past board member for the Childrens Consortium and Meals on Wheels of Syracuse, and is a past member of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. Michele resides in Camillus. Michael Fralix, CPA, has more than 18 years of public accounting experience. He has worked with a wide variety of clients including manufacturing, short-line railroads, small business and high wealth individuals. Michael comes to the firm with technical expertise in various areas of taxation, including partnership taxation, corporate tax, and sale and use tax. He has presented at conferences on sales and use tax related issues and is a member of the tax technical committee at the firm. Michael received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the State University College at Oswego. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Michael resides in Cicero. Carolyn Lawless, CPA, has more than 30 years of public accounting experience. She specializes in tax advisory services including tax planning and preparation for various entities including corporations, partnerships, trusts, estates and individuals. She also performs reviews and compilations for small businesses in various industries. Carolyn received a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from Niagara University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. She serves as treasurer of the Historic Oakwood Cemetery Preservation Association, is an advisory board member of Francis Corps, a member of the Financial Planning Association of Central New York and serves on the finance committee of Our Lady of Hope Church in Syracuse. She was past president and is a current board member of the Central New York Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. She was also past president and a current member of the Estate Planning Council of Central New York. Carolyn resides in Jamesville. Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC has been serving the Central New York business community for over 60 years. With offices in Syracuse, Auburn, New Hartford and Rome, Dermody Burke & Brown is one of the largest independently locally-owned accounting and business advisory firms in Central New York. If youd like to submit an item about People in Motion at your organization, send a press release including photo, to business@syracuse.com with Company News in the subject field. See all recent Company News items. Mam | Media and Advertising Education, healthcare topped list of misleading ads in 2020: ASCI Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has said that the third quarter of 2020 witnessed a surge in number of consumer complaints after an initiative driven quarter by the Ad industry regulator to increase consumer awareness. Read More... Mam | Media and Advertising Sanjay Kaul steps down as Impact Communications CEO Impact Communications founder & CEO Sanjay Kaul has stepped down from his current position. He is an industry veteran with more than three decades of experience in rural marketing and has been instrumental in building Impact as a rural marketing practice in India. Read More... Mam | Media and Advertising #FinanciallyEqual: It's time to separate finance from gender While modern Indian women do not lack ambition or ability when it comes to financial conversations, many are still surprisingly uncertain and not confident. To date, the importance of financial knowledge for women has not been given its due significance. Read More... iWorld | Enews Priya Kumar teams up with Tarun Katial, Puneet Johar to launch Genius Inside Priya Kuma has joined hands with industry titans Tarun Katial and Puneet Johar to corporatise and scale-up her Priya Kumar's Training System (PKTS) to reach a worldwide audience through an AI-powered platform - Genius Inside. Read More... Mam | Marketing Bata ropes in Kartik Aaryan as brand ambassador Bollywood heartthrob Kartik Aaryan is not only making waves at the box-office, but with brands too. After being signed on by PepsiCo's Doritos chips, footwear brand Bata India has named the actor as the company's new brand ambassador. Read More... Mam | Marketing BL Agro signs Shilpa Shetty as brand ambassador for Nourish Edible oils and food products company BL Agro has roped in Shilpa Shetty as the face of its brand Nourish for its extensive range of flours, pulses and dry fruits. The company said that Shetty personifies fitness, health, and gels well with the brand Nourish. Read More... A San Francisco burglary suspect died after getting stuck between two buildings, police say. Officials arrived at the 2600 block of Hyde Street after reports that the man, who was identified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as Frank Madrid, was jumping from rooftop to rooftop late Tuesday night at the intersection of Hyde and Bay streets. Police eventually lost track of Madrid, a 50-year-old San Francisco resident, but found evidence of forced entry into a residential building, per a police statement. They did not provide further comment to SFGATE. After some searching, they found the suspect trapped in a tight crevice between two buildings possibly after a leap went wrong and required intervention from the San Francisco Fire Department to perform a confined space rescue to extricate him from the gap. Upon his rescue, medics immediately attempted to resuscitate him after firefighters realized he needed immediate medical attention. But their rescue efforts were to no avail; Madrid died on the scene, and the cause of his death is not clear. His death is being investigated by the citys chief medical examiner, while the burglary is being investigated by city police. His next of kin has been notified. I am 64 years old. In 2017, I had a heart transplant and recently underwent cancer surgery. In spite of that, I have not been eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine until Monday. While trying to get an appointment to get vaccinated, there were no openings available at MUSC, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS or any other potential provider listed on the South Carolina DHEC website. Not only did these locations not have the vaccine, there was not even an option or prospect to make a reservation. Why has Gov. Henry McMaster lifted the mask mandate before this state has an adequate vaccine supply? I do not see him or any other local official fighting to get this area a proper supply of the vaccines. South Carolina and the Charleston area seem to be far behind other nearby states and cities in availability of vaccines. Why is there not more public outrage at what seems to be typical mismanagement? GEORGE KELLEY Primus Road Mount Pleasant Postal Service lacking I am in complete agreement with a recent letter to the editor expressing dissatisfaction with the U.S. Postal Service. I believe that they have dropped the last S from their name as there is not much service provided. Our home is in Pennsylvania, but for 22 years our winter home is on Johns Island. The Johns Island Post Office has been certainly among the first in lack of service. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturdays. One hour? Why bother? It has a direct phone number that no one answers. It routes you through to an operator, and after many rings, you receive a busy signal. I have tried the number dozens of times with the same disappointing results. The final straw is that postal employees pick up and deliver at their own convenience. We have a common area mailbox with individual compartments for each unit. It also has a slot for outgoing mail. Our mail has remained in that outbox for as long as 10 days untouched. In the meantime, bills that we have paid are there undelivered with the potential for late fees. We also have had similar lengths of time with no mail delivery. On a visit to the Johns Island Post Office, the postmaster informed me it would not be unusual for homes to go long stretches with no mail delivered. We get mail delivered six days a week in Pennsylvania, where someone staffs the post office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and it is open all morning on Saturdays. GLENN and ERICA SCHNUR Seaforest Drive Johns Island Tech firms help business Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! The other day, I was talking with a friend who is a small-business owner. We were comparing how our businesses have done during the pandemic. The other day, I was talking with a friend who is a small-business owner. We were comparing how our businesses have done during the pandemic. One common thread ran throughout our conversation: how much weve both relied on technology to keep our businesses afloat during these crazy times. We use Instagram, Facebook and Google G-Suite tools daily to market ourselves and our offerings and to network with prospects, team members and clients around the state. The bottom line is that technology helps minimize the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our businesses. We even signed an open letter from the Connected Commerce Council recently to this effect, asking our elected officials to remember technologys role in helping small business owners like ourselves. Maybe even more importantly, we want to recognize that these tech companies are American businesses. With all things considered, were proud to support the American technological prowess and the companies that power it, and were thankful for how their tools have helped keep us in business this past year. More people should be remembering this instead of weaponizing these American technology companies as political bargaining chips. JACK ALEXANDER Long Creek Drive Columbia Trump vaccination I think its excellent that former President Donald Trump and Melania Trump were both vaccinated against COVID-19 (about 90 days after active infection, as advised by the CDC). What I dont understand is why they tried to hide that fact. SUE FLASTER Chapel Street Charleston We must do better The audacity of speculating on the skin color of the unborn child of Britains Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle. And to be spoken by the supposed elite in the English-speaking world. What a tragedy. What have we become? Is this really who we are? Perhaps we should look more closely at ourselves. We must do better. MALACHI FORRESTER Haswell Street Daniel Island When it is safe to do so! A short sentence but one that holds so much promise and carried so many possibilities. As we now enter year two of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland who would have thought that we would have been affected by the virus to such an extent or for such a length of time. Little did we know when the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar walked down the steps of Government Buildings and addressed the nation that we would be subjected to so many lockdowns of varying levels over the course of a full year. With the warning bells still ringing in our ears from the Taoiseach's address, the population by and large showed stoic determination to take on the first lockdown with a strict adherence to the guidelines that helped to curb that initial wave of infections. People tried to get on with life as best they could but it was difficult to stay apart from family members and restrict your movements. It had a particularly hard impact on the elderly who could not visit their children or grandchildren, or vice versa. We saw the news as people waved at one another through windows of their houses or peeked through the window of a nursing home in the vain attempt to catch a glimpse of a loved one. People grumbled and complained about not being able to go for a pint or out for a meal but over the course of the year people have come to realise and accept there are far more serious issues. The wet pub / dry pub debate raged for months. Stories abounded of pubs closed, pubs open, pubs open when they should be closed, and makeshift pubs open all hours. Apart from the employment aspect for the workers and the financial impact on bar owners, it really wasn't the biggest concern. To date the virus has claimed over 4,400 lives and more than 223,000 people have been infected. Many loved ones have passed to their eternal reward and have not had the send off and celebration of their life that they deserved. Restrictions on funerals strikes at the very heart of Irish people who traditionally gather in great numbers to comfort and console those families in grief. Not to be able to sympathise with someone in person or attend at a wake house, funeral parlour or church flies in the face of everything we hold dear. Of course the economic disaster that has come from the Covid-19 pandemic can't even be quantified yet but tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and are surviving on unemployment handouts from the Government. Society has also been affected in a major way. People cannot socialise outside their immediate family circle or outside a distance of 5km and that is tough to take. Children have lost their schooldays - often regarded as the happiest days of their lives - and their normal social interactions with their friends have all but disappeared. Sport, so often the great escape for so many people, has been lost to so many for so long and I'd argue needs to return immediately. These are just some of the problems that exist in the current circumstances but as with all things, there is always hope. Small green shoots of recovery are evident as the vaccinations take place among the elderly and medically vulnerable. Slow as they are at being rolled out, we can only hope that when more vaccines are supplied, the process of vaccinating our people will take place as quickly and efficiently as possible. We have kept the Covid virus under control in Co Leitrim and great credit is due to everyone for playing their part. We can look forward to better days and a time when we don't have to rely on the following sentence. When it is safe to do so! When that sentence no longer applies and you get the chance - make the most of it! Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is threatening to sue Austin health officials for its face mask order. On Tuesday, Austin and Travis County public health leaders announced they will continue requiring residents wear masks in public. The order operates as a public health mandate under the recommendations of Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott. Not long after, Paxton looked into the order, saying he will find "every avenue available to stop" Austin officials and their face mask actions. Come Wednesday, he tweeted that health authorities and officials have until 6 p.m. to rescind its mask mandate or he will sue them on behalf of the State of Texas. PAXTON PROBLEMS: Texas AG Ken Paxton's legal troubles just got the ukulele treatment The face mask drama comes after Gov. Greg Abbott lifted his mandate Wednesday. He said business owners should make the decision to enforce face masks for their customers and staff, not the state or local officials. Escott issued the order but didn't announce how they'll enforce it, as Abbott's order explicitly says that no jurisdiction can impose jail time or other penalties for not wearing a mask. In the release, it only states complaints about non-compliance should be referred to 3-1-1 (512-974-2000). According to an existing acting order by Escott, noncompliance could also result in a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,000. The order has been in place since July. BAD TWEETS: Abbott river authority appointee steps down after controversial tweets surface "Wearing a face covering is one of the easiest ways to slow the transmission of disease in our community," Escott stated in a news release Tuesday. "While vaccine administration is underway, we are still not in a place of herd immunity and need people to wear face coverings in public and around non-household members so we can avoid another surge of cases." Austin Mayor Steve Adler clarified on Tuesday that Escott is committed to defeating COVID-19 in Travis County, adding the city will employ whatever tools are available to support his orders for the sake of all Austin schools, businesses, and residents. Paxton said in his statement to Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown that the officials and their health authorities have no jurisdiction to threaten fines for non-compliance. He noted if they go to court, they will lose. In Bexar County, local officials don't plan to defy Abbott's order but are requiring businesses to post signs letting customers know whether they require masks or not, according to Joshua Fechter from the San Antonio Express-News. Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit The site of the first coronavirus cluster in a Louisiana retirement center, Lambeth House in New Orleans, has reached a number worth celebrating: 100% of its residents and staff have been inoculated. A spokesperson for the Uptown business said about 380 staff, visiting contractors and residents received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine by March 3, almost a year after the first few COVID-19 cases turned Lambeth House into an early hotspot. "Its obviously an astounding accomplishment given the sadness that occurred in March," Greg Beuerman said. The staff and residents "all viewed it as an appropriate tribute to those who lost their lives." The effort to get everyone at Lambeth House on board with vaccines began in October, months before the Pfizer or Moderna versions were available. Leadership used the time to educate residents and employees. By Dec. 31, the first jab took place at Lambeth House. 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 Who's now eligible for coronavirus vaccines in Louisiana? Here's the list of health conditions Louisiana is expanding its eligibility requirements for the coronavirus vaccine to include people 16 and up with certain health conditions. Most retirement centers were not spared from the virus' spread, particularly during the early months of the pandemic. It was only two days after Louisiana's first COVID-19 case that an outbreak was confirmed at Lambeth House, on March 11. By late April, 21 residents had died and more than 50 were infected. Beuerman said Lambeth House is the only retirement center in Louisiana to reach 100% inoculation. The state does not require nursing homes and assisted living centers to report vaccination data. The Toyota Prius is one of the pioneers of electric vehicles and hybrid technologies of the car industry, being one of the most iconic names in EV history by providing an early option to lessen carbon footprints. Initially, the car was subject to most memes and jokes, but it has been one of the most energy-efficient vehicles of its generation. The Japanese carmaker has not yet retired the Prius, as it still holds a massive spot as one of the first cars that revolutionized electric mobility in the United States region, with its cheap alternative and nimble performance. The name may have aged, but it is still under development from the company, along with its replacement parts to repair the aging problems. However, the electric vehicle, being a widely used one in the country, can be replaced with several parts from the aftermarket sellers, particularly with its 12V Battery that alternates with its petrol engine. Moreover, the electric battery of the vehicle could break due to use and with that, people are met with several options to choose from. Read Also: 'League of Legends' Patch 11.6: Akali, Hecarim, Karthus Gets Nerfed-Other Changes in New Notes Toyota Prius: 4-Way Battery Test for the Best 12V Power Cell Four brands are up against each other and pitted by Torque News' review for the best aftermarket power cell of the beloved hybrid from Toyota. Moreover, these brands are highly accessible to all Prius owners as they offer their services country-wide for most models of the Toyota Prius Hybrid. These brands include Truestart, Optima, The Super Start, and NAPA. Toyota Truestart AGM OE Battery The Truestart Battery is a direct dealership battery of the Toyota Prius, which means that this is the most recommended aftermarket power cell to replace the broken or aged battery of the vehicle. Moreover, it provides a lengthy 84-month warranty and it is available on most dealerships of Japanese automakers across the country. Price: $250 NAPA Legend Premium AGM NAPA also offers a lengthy warranty for the Prius battery, which extends up to 75 months since its original purchase date, along with 18 months for a replacement in case it malfunctions. The NAPA Legend is also one of the cheapest on this list, as all costs from the replacement service fees to the battery itself would only cost less than $200. Price: $195 (before service, before taxes) Optima Yellow Top AGM Battery According to Optima's website, the Yellow Top AGM can last up to three times longer than the average battery of the original Prius, however, Torque News begs to differ with its claims. Moreover, it offers only 24-months of warranty, which is a short period, along with a price tag that surpasses the Truestart from Toyota. Price: $249.99 O'Reilly The Super Start Platinum Battery The Super Start Platinum offers a 36-month warranty with 12 months of battery replacement if ever it malfunctions, and a 24-month prorated period. Moreover, the battery is average in terms of performance and gives that the Prius needs for its electric functions and features. Best Battery: Toyota Truestart AGM OE Battery Reason: According to Tirque News, this is the best battery for the Prius in terms of longevity, price, and performance, and it exceeds expectations for the Hybrid vehicle. Moreover, the company's batteries are also the best fit for Priuses, as it is made exactly for the vehicle. Related Article: 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro Color: Leaks Reveal New Look for Tundra, Sequioa Coming Soon Too! Farmers are needed as part of a student's research project looking at attitudes to farm safety and how to spearhead change within the industry. Farmers are being urged to give up five minutes of their time to take part in the study, with a view to helping save lives in the future. The agricultural industry accounts for just 1% of the British workforce, but is responsible for 20% of all annual workplace fatalities and is regarded as the deadliest industry. Last year, 21 people were killed on farms in the UK and the total fatalities for this year far surpasses that number. 22-year-old Emily Jones, an Agri Business student at Harper Adams University, is conducting the investigation as part of her studies looking to change this. She said agriculture was the most dangerous industry in the UK and it was clear that farmers could do better when it came to safety. I believe that no one should go through the pain of losing a loved one if the circumstances can be prevented, which, tragically, is often the case with farm accidents. This study will consider farmers attitudes to safety, how to drive widespread change and how best to engage with the industry in order to reduce accidents and improve farm safety." The research aims to determine farmers attitudes to safety, whilst considering the best ways to engage and drive change in order to improve farm safety. The short survey can be completed online and Emily is seeking as many responses as she can get. My long-term drive is to help improve farm safety, create impact and make a real difference in the sector going forward: protecting our industry and loved ones against preventable harm," she added. A Boeing 737 MAX airplane lands after a test flight at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Karen Ducey) Prominent attorneys Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros have been named to oversee a $500 million victim compensation fund for the relatives of 346 people killed in two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes, a spokeswoman for Feinberg confirmed on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the second crash. The fund is part of a $2.5 billion Justice Department settlement reached in January with Boeing Co after prosecutors charged the company with fraud over the certification of the 737 MAX following a Lion Air crash on Oct. 29, 2019 and an Ethiopian Airlines disaster on March 10, 2019. Advertisement Boeing said it looked "forward to working with Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros to ensure the prompt distribution of these funds." The Justice Department (DOJ) declined to comment. The settlement allowed Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution but did not impact civil litigation against the planemaker by victims' relatives that continues. Feinberg and Biros have administered many compensation funds including for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, General Motors ignition switch crashes and numerous school shootings. In July 2019, Boeing named Feinberg and Biros to oversee the distribution of a separate $50 million to the families of those killed in the crashes. Under the Justice Department agreement, Boeing was required to propose three candidates to administer the fund. In this role, they will make recommendations about payments but the Justice Department will make final decisions on all payments. While Boeing has mostly settled Lion Air lawsuits, it still face more than 100 lawsuits in Chicago federal court by families of the Ethiopian crash asking why the MAX continued flying after the first disaster. Some relatives were commemorating the second anniversary on Wednesday with protests and vigils in Washington, and Toronto, where they have asked regulators to reconsider their decision to let the 737 MAX fly again after a nearly two-year safety ban. The DOJ settlement includes a fine of $243.6 million and compensation to airlines of $1.77 billion over fraud conspiracy charges related to the plane's flawed design. Chris Moore, who lost his daughter in the Ethiopian crash, noted that the fine is only 10% of the total settlement, or the cost of about two 737 MAX planes. "If this isn't a slap in the face for us - I don't know what is. It definitely is only a slap on their wrist," he said. The Justice Department said in January, "Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception." Some lawmakers say the government did not go far enough, while Boeing says it has taken numerous steps to overhaul its safety culture. "The DOJ settlement was pathetic," said House Transportation Committee chairman Peter DeFazio in an interview Wednesday, who faulted the settlement's focus on a couple employees and not the board or executive team. "I think they're still way-too Wall Street dominated." Congress ordered a major overhaul of how the FAA certifies new airplanes in December and directed an independent review of Boeing's safety culture. Last month, Boeing agreed to pay $6.6 million to the Federal Aviation Administration as part of a settlement over quality and safety-oversight lapses going back years. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. 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. Evergreen Assets Management is a holding company of Evergreen Group which specialises in the fundamental approach and growth of the existing businesses in its portfolio through meticulous planning and diligence in the ASEAN region. The Evergreen Group has a 30-year business presence in Singapore, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and South Korea. It started in the timber processing and trading business before diversifying into a variety of fields that include corporate financing, real estate, and automobile business. 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. Bank Strike on 15th-16th March against Privatisation: AIBEA To bookmark you need to sign in With the conciliation meeting between bank unions and the Central government failing, about one million bank employees will strike work for two continuous days - March 15 and 16 - protesting against the government decision to privatise public sector banks, the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said on Thursday. According to AIBEA General Secretary CHVenkatachalam, the conciliation meeting held between the bank unions and the Union finance ministry on 4th, 9th and 10th March failed. The unions said they would reconsider their strike call if the government agrees to reconsider their decision to privatise public sector banks. As the finance ministry representative could not give any such commitment, the conciliation meeting did not yield any positive result, they said. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. March in Japan is a time of winding down, celebrating and preparing for new beginnings. The school year comes to a close, graduation ceremonies fill up the month and workers prepare for the annual shuffle dance of moving to a new outpost. In the backdrop, the annual ritual and spectacle of cherry blossom season bursts into view. March is a busy but feel-good month. At precisely 2.46pm on Friday, March 11, 2011, an earthquake so powerful that it shifted the world on its axis, struck Japans north-east coast. The ensuing tsunami, which devastated multiple prefectures tethered to the Pacific coastline, killed nearly 20,000 people. As is well known, the earthquake and tsunami were part of a triple blow, leading to the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima Daichi power station on the coast more than 200km north of Tokyo. Indeed, Fukushima, like the Chernobyl disaster before it, has become a byword for the pitfalls of nuclear power generation. Ten years on and the events of 3/11, as it is known in Japanese, are seared into the nations collective memory: everyone who can remembers where they were when the earth literally shook. Earthquakes, or tremors, are a regular occurrence in Japan. Disaster drills are an important part of the countrys significant disaster preparedness plans, but nothing really prepares you for the big one and with a magnitude of 9.0, the March 11 earthquake was the biggest recorded in Japan since records began around 1900. At the time I was hundreds of kilometres away in Osaka, half asleep at a desk in a teachers staff room. The entire building shook and shook again I had never, ever felt anything like it. A colleague shouted jishin earthquake and that was the first I knew of what was happening. Precisely an hour later the tsunami, measuring nine metres in places, crashed down on the coastline north of Tokyo. The images of vans fleeing the wave, of tankers and houses being knocked around like they were made of paper, were beamed around the world as it happened. Akira Yamauchi, an IT specialist now living in Cork, recalled being on the 33rd floor of a Tokyo office building. The building shook a lot, especially the top floor which shook like we were on a ship, slowly and loudly. Some people even got sick. Unable to make contact with his family, Mr Yamauchi joined thousands of other Tokyo workers on the hours-long walk home as public transport had shut down. Will Ryan, a Tipperary native who runs An Solas pub in central Tokyo, was out running in the capital when the first tremor hit and he ducked into the entrance of a bank. I remember me and the security guard looking out at the street and it was like somebody had lifted up a duvet and shook it up and down a few times. I swear to God, I absolutely Shunsuke Miwa, a close Japanese friend of Mr Ryans, was in Iwaki City, Fukushima, working at the fish-processing plant he runs. The steel frame of the building shook and the ground tore open in places. As news of the earthquake broke, a tsunami warning quickly followed. Luckily the fish factory was located a few kilometres inland, but Mr Miwa was worried about his relations who lived on the coast, all the more so because it was impossible to reach them by phone. It was the next day before he finally located his cousin, whose first floor had been submerged in water. It was devastating, Mr Miwa said, recalling the destruction from the aftermath of the tsunami. Like thousands of others he decided to temporarily evacuate from Fukushima to Tokyo, especially as he lived within a 50km radius of the nuclear power plant. That journey was fraught with difficulty: petrol stations were closed, highways blocked and the region was still in the grip of winter weather. Meanwhile, the entire country was glued to TV screens and smartphones as the meltdowns set off explosions at the power plant. On the other side of the world in Achill, Lisako Ni Chionnaith-Fukuda, orginally from Kyoto, was nursing her two-week-old daughter while watching the city of Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture go up in flames on NHK World. It was scary watching all these images, said Ms Ni Chionnaith-Fukuda. As the days went on and the situation got worse and more sad news came in, the worry I had for friends at home just kept increasing. Mina Isihara, a book binder from Osaka living in Galway, recalled how unsettling and difficult it was being so far away from her home country while being inundated with news from the disaster. Ms Ishihara said they never had a strong Japanese community in Galway prior to the disaster, but for St Patricks Day, shortly after the quake, a few got together and organised a fundraising event, which they called Japan Day. We were really well supported by local people, and it bound the Japanese community together. It was a small bit of fortune in what was a huge tragedy, she said. When I first saw the images of the tsunami on the TV, it was just surreal, recalled Miwa Watanabe, a Japanese teacher from Tokyo living in Cork. Like many, the surreal scenes reminded her of a disaster movie. My family were in Tokyo and there was no serious damage, but they told me how terrifying it was. Indeed, Tokyoites who could were leaving the Japanese capital in droves; the French embassy issued an advisory to its citizens to leave. Chief among everyones concern was the growing alarm over what was happening at the three stricken reactors at Fukushima as the TV news relayed images of helicopters doing fly-bys and dropping seawater on to the reactors. Kenro Taura, an executive director of Kiko Network, a Japanese environmental NGO, was in Osaka attending a climate change summit. The building swayed so much he thought the epicentre was nearby, when it was hundreds of kilometres away. Mr Tauras organisation had been campaigning for Japan to wean itself off its nuclear power dependency long before the quake and tsunami struck. When it did, all of Japans 54 nuclear reactors were put offline. Ten years later, less than a dozen are back online. The disaster that befell Japan has been the costliest ever in the world: the government has spent $360bn in its recovery programme. Subsidies to those most affected have been a strong part of getting people in the region to come back, or stay, and get back on their feet. Shunsuke Miwa says life for him and his family has for the most part returned to normal, but there have been significant changes. The fish sent to his processing plant are now tested for radiation to ensure safety and maintain consumer confidence. Another major concern is the radioactive water at the power plant. An avid surfer, Miwa takes to the waves off Fukushima whenever he can. But if the contaminated water is ever released back into the ocean, it will be another sad chapter to the devastating events set off on March 11, 2011. KYODO NEWS - Mar 12, 2021 - 06:03 | All, World At least 70 people have been killed in the crackdown on anti-coup protesters by Myanmar security forces since the military took control of the country last month, a U.N. expert on human rights in the Southeast Asian country said Thursday. "Credible reports indicate that, as of today, Myanmar security forces have murdered at least 70 people," Thomas Andrews said at a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. "The junta is detaining dozens, sometimes hundreds, every day," he said. "The total number of arbitrary arrests and detentions since 1 February had risen beyond 2,000, and the violence against protesters, including violence against people sitting peacefully in their homes, is steadily increasing." The United Nations Special Rapporteur said international coordination will be key in effectively imposing sanctions on Myanmar, and asked other countries not to endorse the military regime as a legitimate government. While the United States has imposed unilateral sanctions on Myanmar, China and Russia have not followed suit on the grounds that the coup is part of Myanmar's internal affairs. "The people of Myanmar need not only words of support but supportive action. They need the help of the international community now," said Andrews, a former U.S. Congressman. The Myanmar military staged a coup on Feb. 1, ousting the country's democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and detaining many government officials including Suu Kyi. The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday adopted a president's statement condemning the military's use of violence in cracking down on people protesting the coup and urged the military to "exercise utmost restraint." Voicing its "continued support for the democratic transition in Myanmar," the council stressed the need to "fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and uphold the rule of law." It also expressed "deep concern at restrictions on medical personnel, civil society, labor union members, journalists and media workers." Navalny must pay businessman Udodov $5,000 for defamation - court Moskva city news agency, Andrey Lyubimov 11:35 11/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld a lower courts ruling ordering Alexey Navalny to pay 350,000 rubles (about $5,000) to businessman Alexander Udodov in a defamation dispute, RAPSI was told in the court's press service. Moscows Lyublinsky District Court granted the businessmans lawsuit in part in December. The court recognized statements distributed by the blogger as defaming and untrue. The plaintiff demanded refutation of statements about his allegedly unjust enrichment distributed by the blogger and financial compensation in the amount of 500,000 rubles (about $7,000) for moral damage. Alexander Udodov is Russian businessman and developer. Since 2015, he has been a member of board of the Eurasian Pipeline Consortium and majority owner of several realty companies and food manufacturing enterprises. A local winery enters a float in the 2019 Westside Daze parade the last time the parade was held. The Westsides annual summer party cancelled last year by the pandemic is making a comeback this year, but it wont be with a full slate. Well have to wait till 2022 to enjoy a parade, for example. Last summer, Katherine Kitty Green received some disturbing news about the computer network at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she oversees a foundation for private donors. An outside data provider warned it had detected that hackers sneaked into the universitys systems and might have made off with sensitive personal information of its benefactors. Six months later, FGCU sent out notices to 5,498 financial supporters, offering free credit-monitoring and a hot line to call for more information. One reason it took so long is that, after consulting with technical and legal experts, the university concluded that under local laws, it would have to file different notifications in 16 different states. Every state has different questions, which makes it much more complicated to know what to do, Green said. It was definitely more time consuming than wed imagined. Each of the 50 states has its own breach notification requirements, as does the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. With more businesses, governments and organizations succumbing to cyber-attacks, the lack of a clear and effective reporting standard for threats and breaches has taken on new urgency. Over the weekend, another massive hack of businesses came to light, this time of Microsoft Corp.s widely used email software and affecting at least 60,000 known victims globally, according to a former senior U.S. official with knowledge of the matter. That announcement comes hard on the heels of the SolarWinds hack, so called because suspected Russian hackers targeted popular software from Texas-based SolarWinds Corp. As many as 18,000 of its customers received infected updates, though far fewer were targeted with secondary attacks about 100 private-sector companies and nine U.S. agencies, according to the White House. Notification Headache Amid all these attacks, notifying the public has itself become a major headache. Thats because, as data breaches have proliferated, so too has the patchwork of notification requirements. On the federal level, there are special rules for personal health records and a Securities and Exchange Commission directive that public companies inform investors of material breaches. Separately, each of the 50 states has its own breach notification requirements, as does the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. In Indiana for instance, at least three dozen organizations have filed data breach notices so far this year to alert a single resident in the state, records from the attorney generals office indicate. (FGCU filed a notice in Indiana because 34 of its donors live there, the records show.) A number of other states likewise require notification regardless of how many residents were affected. Organizations reeling from cyber-attacks must navigate a reporting maze that makes the victims lives a lot harder, said Jordan Rae Kelly, a veteran of the National Security Council and the FBI who heads FTI Consultings cybersecurity practice in the Americas. It puts them in a situation where theyre facing disparate rules. I think the federal government should step in with guidelines about data breach disclosures. Creating a unified standard for when the private sector must warn of illicit cyber activity has been proposed before but fell short. Creating a unified standard for when the private sector must warn of illicit cyber activity has been proposed before but fell short in the face of resistance from some Republicans and business groups, who described it as costly and burdensome and undercutting public-private collaboration. In 2015, the Obama administration proposed simplifying and standardizing the existing patchwork of what at the time were 46 separate state laws by instituting a single clear and timely notice requirement. Mandatory Standards The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, passed later that year, didnt go that far. Instead, it provided legal protection to organizations that shared information about cyber threats voluntarily. I dont think our traditional reporting mechanisms necessarily work, said Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, at a hearing last month where the prospect of drafting new notification standards was discussed. Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, and Kevin Mandia, chief executive officer of FireEye Inc., the cybersecurity firm that discovered the SolarWinds breach, each spoke in favor of mandatory standards for sharing suspicious network activity long before it results in public notifications. As things now stand, organizations hit by data breaches are often required to disclose them only after determining that consumer data is at risk. That can occur months after a threat is first detected and the value of issuing warnings has diminished. The complexity of state and federal notice requirements only adds to the lags. It would have been easier to create a unified disclosure regime before all the states jumped in, but the problem is now urgent enough that policy makers may finally act, said Luke Dembosky, a former deputy assistant attorney general for national security, who now heads Debevoise & Plimptons data security practice. In the U.S., we have the Frankenstein notification regime that raises costs and inefficiencies, he said. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Cyber (CNN) -- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has so far declined to issue new guidance on travel for vaccinated Americans due to concerns about travel-related surges but is "looking forward" to updating guidance once more people get protected. "What we have seen is that we have surges after people start traveling, we saw it after July 4, we saw it after Labor Day, we saw it after the Christmas holidays," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday in response to a question from CNN's Kaitlan Collins during a Covid-19 briefing. Walensky said because 90% of people remain unvaccinated they will wait to update guidance until "we have more protection across the communities and across the population." She declined to provide information for the 10% of Americans who are vaccinated and looking for guidance on whether it is safe for them to travel. The issue of air travel for the vaccinated has become a hot-button issue, with the industry pushing back against the new CDC guidelines, according to CNN reporting. In a statement, industry group Airlines For America insists being on board a plane poses a low risk of coronavirus infection because of heavily filtered air and federally mandated mask wearing. "We remain confident that this layered approach significantly reduces risk," the group said. The new guidelines issued this week by the CDC say people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can safely visit with other vaccinated people and small groups of unvaccinated people in some circumstances, but there are still important safety precautions needed. The new CDC guidance says fully vaccinated people can visit other vaccinated people indoors without masks or physical distancing, visit indoors with unvaccinated people from a single household without masks or physical distancing if the unvaccinated people are at low risk for severe disease, and skip quarantine and testing if exposed to someone who has Covid-19 but are asymptomatic but should monitor for symptoms for 14 days. The guidance notes that people who are fully vaccinated still need to take precautions in many scenarios. The guidelines say fully vaccinated people must wear a mask and keep good physical distance around the unvaccinated who are at increased risk for severe Covid-19 or if the unvaccinated person has a household member who is at higher risk and wear masks and physically distance when visiting unvaccinated people who are from multiple households. The CDC defines people who are fully vaccinated as those who are two weeks past their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines or two weeks past a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Biden administration has from the beginning pledged to listen to health and medical experts and let science lead their response to the pandemic. White House press secretary Jen Psaki made it clear during a Tuesday White House briefing that the CDC was the one driving the guidelines, not the White House. "That was a determination made by the CDC. It wasn't driven by or directed by the White House," Psaki said of the CDC guidelines when asked if Biden agreed on not issuing new guidance on travel for people who are fully vaccinated. Psaki noted the guidance is "just a first step" and said "as more people are vaccinated, they'll look at ways to ease additional restrictions." She noted 90% of the US population still remains unvaccinated. Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency room physician and former Baltimore health commissioner, told CNN that she believes the CDC is being "overly cautious." "It just doesn't make sense that you can't travel, especially if you now can get together with loved ones. I think a lot of people are eager to see their grandkids who they don't necessarily live with and so I think it's really important to give the guidance about travel," Wen told CNN's Brooke Baldwin on "CNN Newsroom" this week Wen, who is also a CNN medical analyst, added that she thinks people who are fully vaccinated should be able to travel "and that's one of those incentives that we can give as a way for restoring freedoms" for those who get vaccinated. More than 527,900 Americans have died from Covid-19 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The Biden administration is ramping up vaccination efforts, and as of Wednesday afternoon nearly 93.7 million vaccines had been administered, according to the CDC. About 9.7% of the population is fully vaccinated, the CDC says. This story has been updated with additional information. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Travel guidance won't come until more people are vaccinated, CDC says" Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Romania is actively contributing to the exercise of drawing up the second Report on the Rule of Law in the European Union, which will be published by the European Commission later this year, Justice Minister Stelian Ion said on Thursday. According to a release from the Ministry of Justice sent to AGERPRES, Justice Minister Stelian Ion attended the informal meeting of the ministers of justice and members of the European Commission and the European Parliament who are part of the RENEW political family. "Romania has strongly supported making EPPO [European Public Prosecutor's Office] operational and our efforts prove this. The first 6 delegated European prosecutors have been appointed, and the regulatory framework for the application of the EPPO Regulation is in force. We are also actively contributing to the drafting of the second Rule of Law Report in the European Union, which will be published by the European Commission later this year. Respecting the principles of the rule of law is vital for strengthening the democracies in our states," Stelian Ion was quoted as saying.The talks were attended by Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, the ministers of justice from Finland, Estonia, Belgium, Lithuania, as well as members of the European Parliament, including Ramona Strugariu, member of the European Parliament's LIBE Committee."The interventions consisted of presenting the national positions on issues that are on the agenda of the JHA Council: making the European Public Prosecutor's Office operational, the Rule of Law Mechanism, the observance of the Charter of Fundamental Rights," the quoted source said. The Michigan Senate on Thursday approved a resolution urging Congress and President Joe Biden to oppose a federal election reform bill, H.R. 1. The massive federal bill would affect how Americans register to vote, how ballots are cast and how states conduct elections. Advocates say it will improve voter access to people of color and prevent gerrymandering. Opponents say it would federalize election administration. State Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, sponsored Senate Resolution 25 which says H.R. 1 would enshrine into law many misguided election policies. H.R. 1 would impede the maintenance of accurate voter registration lists and the enforcement of sensible voter identification standards, she said. Johnson, a former Michigan secretary of state, said she fears H.R. 1 could prevent the removal of voters who have moved or died from voter rolls. She called H.R. 1 an unnecessary and reckless federal overreach. Claims of deceased voters swaying elections were often brought up during the 2020 election cycle and resurfaced recently via Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake. The Michigan Secretary of States office has been debunking those claims since November. Michigan rejected more than 15,000 ballots from the November election, including 3,469 from voters who cast absentee ballots but died before Election Day. Michigan Senate Minority Leader Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, said H.R. 1 is not misguided but sensible, voicing support for measures such as modernizing systems to better track absentee ballots, enabling notifications when polling places change and ensuring that those who have completed criminal sentences are able to vote. Shirkey supported Johnsons resolution, saying Michigan not Washington should determine Michigans election laws. He said the H.R. 1 gives the federal government authority not only over the election process but election results as well, calling it a federal opportunistic power grab. There are actually some provisions in H.R. 1 Michigan may like, he said. There are actually some provisions in H.R.1 that Michigan has already embraced and already doing. But our founders entrusted elections to our local and state governments for a reason and H.R. 1 tramples on that principle. The election reform bill passed the House along party lines and now needs at least 10 Republicans senators to support it for it to move forward. H.R. 1 can be viewed in full here. More on MLive: Bill would restrict transgender student athletes to teams of same sex Michigan House tries again on spending vetoed by Whitmer Michigan lawmakers introduce bills to keep daylight saving time all year The visit is aimed at ensuring security in the Black Sea region, deepening relations and cooperation between Ukraine and NATO. The leadership of the Ukrainian Navy and representatives of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) met in Odesa on March 10. The visit was aimed at ensuring security in the Black Sea region, deepening relations and cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, as reported by the Ukrainian Navy's press service. After the four ships moored, a protocol meeting was held between Commander of SNMCMG2, Turkish Navy Captain Yusuf Karagulle and Chief of Staff, Ukrainian Navy Deputy Commander, Vice Admiral Andriy Tarasov. Read alsoZelensky calls NATO Membership Action Plan Ukraine's immediate goal"We are grateful for the attention NATO pays to Ukraine. A vivid evidence is the visit of a permanent NATO group to our port in Odesa. Last year, a Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group entered the Black Sea with which we practiced joint PASSEX-type drills, it is very important for us to constantly gain experience, cooperate and have reliable friends," Tarasov said. He said the Ukrainian side has further plans to increase contribution to joint actions within NATO. "We are now restoring our capabilities, which were partially lost in 2014, and we hope that our participation in joint actions with NATO will only increase," he added. In turn, NATO officials noted the importance of the event and thanked the Ukrainian side for the warm welcome. According to Karagulle, mutual development and cooperation are very important to NATO, especially in the Black Sea. He added NATO plans to further develop its relations with Ukraine in the future. Reporting by UNIAN Photo: Colin Dacre Bylands Nursery in West Kelowna The B.C. government says it is extending its quarantine program for temporary foreign workers coming to B.C. for seasonal agriculture work this year. "These seasonal workers are so vital to our farming communities and play an integral role in preserving our province's food supply," said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. "Extending our quarantine program will provide peace of mind to workers, employers and communities that we are doing everything possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19. I know some of these workers leave their homes to come to B.C. year after year, many returning to the same farms where they have developed close relationships, and we are grateful for their help in growing and harvesting food for British Columbians." The province will again fund hotel, food-service costs, laundry services, wellness walks, interpretation and translation services, health screening and other necessary supports for these workers during the quarantine period. The program was developed last year in response to a number of clusters of cases within foreign farm workers across Canada. Upon arrival in Canada, temporary foreign workers will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms by federal officials. If they have symptoms, they may be placed in quarantine at the point of entry or be sent to the hospital as per the federal Quarantine Act. If asymptomatic, workers will continue on to the provincial quarantine site for 14 days. Following the quarantine period, if no symptoms develop (or once the employee is fully recovered if symptoms do develop), workers will be safely transported to their farm. The Consulate of Mexico in Vancouver issued a statement praising the program. The province spent about $17 million on accommodations, meals and laundry service for the 4,997 temporary foreign workers who came to B.C. between April 13 and Dec. 31, 2020. Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri was acquitted of all charges by a jury on Wednesday following her arrest while covering a Black Lives Matter protest last summer. Why it matters: The verdict affirms the right of journalists to document historic and occasionally chaotic protests like those in response to George Floyd's killing. Carol Hunter, the executive editor of the Register, told Axios last week that she feared the fact that Sahouri faced charges at all could have a "chilling effect" on a free press, both in Des Moines and across the country. "The fact that a reporter was arrested while doing her job flies in the face of the very language of the First Amendment," Hunter added. The state of play: Sahouri faced charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts. Spenser Robnett, her then-boyfriend who accompanied her at the protest, was also acquitted. The backdrop: Sahouri told the jury on Tuesday that she was covering a protest at Merle Hay Mall on May 31, 2020, when she saw an officer "coming at me." She raised her hands and said, "I'm press, I'm press, I'm press." Officer Luke Wilson grabbed her, pepper-sprayed her and said, "That's not what I asked," Sahouri testified. Robnett, who accompanied Sahouri to protect her, tried to explain she was a journalist and was also subsequently pepper sprayed and arrested. Wilson did not have his body camera on at the time leaving out the critical few seconds prior to her arrest. The state argued: Sahouri and Robnett failed to leave the scene after the police gave a dispersal order. Assistant Polk County Attorney Brad Kinkade said her role as a journalist should be irrelevant. Sahouri's defense argued: There was no clear dispersal order and no evidence showing them disobeying police commands. Defense attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt said police "assaulted" Sahouri while she was doing her job. What's next: Sahouri still works as a breaking news reporter at the Register. The state has the opportunity to appeal the verdict if they have a legal basis. For more stories like this, subscribe to the Axios Des Moines newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard. While agreeing that affordable housing can be an important stepping stone for people and a good alternative for retired people with fixed incomes, town Affordable Housing Executive Director Scott Hobbs is concerned with potential impacts of the proposed Right to Housing Act. Hobbs recently offered his thoughts on proposals supported by Desegregate Connecticut, which many believe is hte driving force behind the proposed zoning legislation sponsored by state Sen. Saud Anwar (D-3). I am offended that the assumption that most zoning rules are done for racist reasons, Hobbs told Hearst Connecticut Media. I reject that premise. While the people in Hartford believe they know what is best, they dont have to deal with the consequences. Hobbs calls the Right to Housing Act vague and believes the proposal, if approved, may seriously undermine local zoning regulations. The bill reads: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: 1) That the general statutes be amended to establish a right to housing, 2) including the rights to housing affordability, rehousing assistance for 3) people who become homeless and protections from housing loss. Statement of Purpose: To establish a right to housing in Connecticut. Desegregate Connecticuts proposal would bring housing with four or more units to 50% of the lot area within 1/2 mile of a fixed transit station. These could be live-work units, mixed-use developments, or straight-up multifamily housing, according to the organizations website. This provision would make it as of right to build four-unit multifamily housing near the train station. A term meaning entitled by law, thereby circumventing Planning and Zoning Commission approval. Hobbs sympathizes with the intent to give people access to transportation, but the proposal doesnt make sense in the real world. In New Canaan, the village around the New Canaan Train Station, filled with small shops and restaurants, attracts people to town, say town officials. He fears if 50 percent of that property were required to be four-unit housing, it would encourage destruction of commercial buildings to make way for residential ones. Building multi-family housing near the other train station, Talmadge Hill, near the Darien border, would present other challenges, the affordable housing head said. A development there would most likely require a new sewer line needed for multi-family housing. The nearest sewer line goes to New Canaan High School or WavenyLife Care Network, he said. The buildings are nearly a mile away from the train station. The proponents of these changes, Hobbs said, mistakenly assume that if more housing is added it will lower housing prices and make New Canaan far more affordable. The average for a single family home was $1.7 million in 2020 and sales are brisk in 2021. Hobbs does not see zoning laws appreciably changing that. The legislature is expected to include provisions for accessory building, which in the past have been considered mother-in-laws, where a homeowner can add a building or an apartment to an existing residence for a family member. We are suggesting that towns allow ADUs (Assessory Dwelling Unit) anywhere there is a single-family dwelling, and allow anyone to live in an ADU, not just a family member or employee, the desegregate website states. Hobbs is generally in favor of accessory units because they offer more affordable housing and a landlord can garner more income. They can also be helpful when someone needs a caretaker or when family members have special housing circumstances, he said. Another change Desegregate Connecticut website calls for is to Provide that 10 percent of land in towns with 5,000+ residents be zoned for two-to-four-unit small scale developments, multifamily housing or mixed-use buildings. I would say that 10 percent of land area is much worse than 10 percent of housing stock (which is the traditional state affordable housing goal), Hobb said. New Canaan is roughly 13,000 acres which would mean that 1,300 acres would be zoned 2-4 units. On the other side, there are roughly 7,500 housing units and 10 percent of which is around 750, Hobbs added. He said this would equal eight to nine developments the size of Canaan Parish or The Vue which would add up around 30 acres. The Vue is a development with 110 luxury units recently completed on the corner of Maple and Park streets. The New Canaan Housing Authority is overseeing construction to replace Canaan Parish with 100 units in two buildings at 186 Lakeview Ave.and the Millport development on Millport Avenue has 113 units. This means the town has about 213 affordable housing units recognized by the state, making up between 2 to 3 percent of housing. The Council of Small Towns, in a Powerpoint presentation available online, anticipates another clause to be considered by state legislators. This clause would authorize a housing authority to expand its jurisdiction up to 30 miles outside the municipal borders to include certain high and very high opportunity areas, as determined by the Department of Housing. I get nervous when I am unclear as to what the intent is of a new role giving more power to government agencies, Hobbs said. Why would say Norwalk Housing Authority needs the authority to do an independent project in say New Canaan, Darien or Wilton when it is likely that these towns would welcome them in as a partner on any project that makes sense for the community. Detel has announced the plan to establish a network of 150 sales partners for Detel electric vehicles by the end of this year. The company aims to strengthen its presence in the Northern region of India with its newly launched range of electric two wheelers. The domestic EV manufacturer has already established its position in States like Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu with its previously launched Detel Easy scooter. Detel is striving to build its dealership network wide enough to reach every city of India. By adding a new range of electric scooters- Detel Easy Plus and Detel Easy Loader for B2C & B2B segments, the homegrown brand has reached one step closer to spread themselves across the country to serve the customers better. The company also plans to target sub-dealers apart from the primary dealers while expanding its footprints. With an objective to manufacture 100% localised electric scooters components, Detel will soon open its assembly unit in Gurugram with an aim to produce 1,00,000 low speed e-vehicles per year. Commenting on the same, Dr. Yogesh Bhatia, Founder, Detel said, We are working furiously on our plans to open new dealership networks pan India. Our acquired dealerships will reinforce Detels mission to reach out to millions at the bottom of the pyramid with smart sustainable and affordable products. The objective of this exercise is to rapidly cover the key markets and to increase the sales and market share in the low speed EV segment. EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio East Cleveland police placed an officer on paid administrative leave after body camera footage from an April 2020 incident surfaced and sparked an internal investigation. Nicholas Foti, hired by the department in June 2016, is seen in the April 1, 2020 video and is accused of stomping on 37-year-old Redrick Wards head. East Cleveland police Chief Scott Gardner placed Foti on leave Monday, and Foit is expected to appear at a pre-disciplinary hearing scheduled for Monday. The department made video of the incident public March 1 after a request from civil rights attorney David Nacht, who represents Ward. A supervisor customarily reviews videos before releasing them to the public to ensure there is no sensitive material like phone or Social Security numbers in the footage. Gardner said the supervisor flagged the video and told command staff that video should be reviewed. The supervisor from that incident did examine Officer Fotis camera the day of the incident, as part of the use of force report, he said. However, because of the angle of the camera, you do not actually see Foti kicking the male. Nacht told cleveland.com in an interview Thursday morning that he has not yet personally received the records but saw the video after asking a media outlet to send it to him. The incident began about 2 a.m. when officers saw Ward driving on the sidewalk, Gardner said. He noted that the pursuit speeds were very slow, and officers believed him to be intoxicated. The video shows an officer telling a supervisor that Ward was going about 35 mph to as low as 10 mph during the pursuit with no traffic or pedestrians present. If hes going that slow see if somebody can get in front of him with the stop sticks, the supervisor said over the radio. Shortly after, Foti got in front of Wards car and stopped it using the stop sticks on Euclid Avenue near Alvason Road, according to police records. Officers surround the car and smashed Wards drivers window. Two police officers pulled him out and threw him face-first onto the road. Ward shouted at the officers, and while its not visible, the body cam footage contains audio of the officers tasing Ward. Foti then kicked Ward in the head, Gardner said. Paramedics took Ward to University Hospitals for medical treatment, records say. Gardner said his department found that no other officers violated the use-of-force policy in the encounter with Ward. Garnder said the officer who punched Ward, as seen in the video, was trying to get Wards hands behind him so an officer could handcuff him, Gardner said. The investigation will hopefully show if officers were aware of officer Fotis use-of-force and, if so, why they failed to report it, Gardner said. Nacht said he understands the stressful and challenging job that police have under these circumstances but added that it requires officers to act professionally even under stress. We (law firm) are in investigation mode, but its striking, he said. Often attention is paid in the wrong direction. In almost every misconduct case, theres always a denial that theres excessive force used. When a video shows something such as what this video shows, such as getting kicked in the head, there is no justification for that. Nacht said that Ward was driving home from visiting his mother in Cleveland. The encounter left Ward injured, and he now has a permanent scar on his head. I have difficulty imagining how the officer who engaged in the kicking could imagine why he had legal justification for it, he said. I viewed it as a lawyer: What was the officer thinking when he did that? When told about the polices claim that they believed Ward was intoxicated during the encounter, he said it is not relevant to the departments use-of-force and would not comment anymore about it. Since the pursuit, Ward pleaded no contest and was found guilty of speeding in a 25 mph zone and for driving with expired or unlawful license plates, according to East Cleveland Municipal Court records. A charge of physical control was dropped as part of a plea agreement, records say. He paid $125 in fines. Gardner called the incident severely disappointing. In my opinion, there was no arguable defense or reason for the force that was used, he said, later adding, The male was prone and basically defenseless on the ground. East Cleveland Mayor did not return a message seeking comment on the incident. Nacht said he is unsure whether he will file a lawsuit on behalf of Ward as he is still investigating the matter. Read more crime stories on cleveland.com: Cuyahoga County Jail officer sentenced to 15 days in jail for kicking inmates arm through door chute Berea magistrate throws out charges against woman who criticized Brook Park nursing home official on Facebook Former Summit County sheriffs deputy sues department, Akron police over firing, charges Ohio appeals court upholds firing of Cleveland police officer who killed Tamir Rice Cuyahoga County Jail medical assistant brought synthetic marijuana into jail for inmate, records say [March 11, 2021] DentalPlans.com Discusses Using Telehealth for Dental Emergencies One year after COVID-19 was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), there continues to be a shift in how fundamental needs, such as healthcare, are met. While telehealth, a socially distant way to see a medical professional, grew by 57% in 2020, many Americans may not be aware of the ways an online general practitioner can assist temporarily during an urgent dental matter. DentalPlans.com, a leading online marketplace for dental savings plans in the U.S. and part of the Henry Schein One portfolio of solutions, is committed to helping Americans understand the dangers of delaying dental treatments, especially dental emergencies, even for a short time - such as when the dentist office is closed. Quick treatment for an oral infection is critical for the best outcome, but severe toothaches or gum abscesses can occur late at night, on weekends, or over a holiday when a dentist may not be easily reached. Prior to COVID-19, people might have gone to an urgent care clinic or emergency room to see a general doctor until they could see a dentist. Now, a telehealth consultation my be the best (and safest) way to quickly access general medical care until you can see the dentist in person, so that dental care is not delayed. During a virtual consultation, a doctor can review symptoms and discuss treatment options that can help control symptoms and/or infection until you get to the dentist. It's important to remember that antibiotics can clear an oral infection but can't address the cause of the infection. So, while an online general practitioner can help a bad situation from getting worse, they can't fix it entirely. The dentist must still be seen as soon as possible. "Telehealth can often remove obstacles, such as a closed office or being away from home, that could otherwise keep you from getting the care you need, and deserve, in a timely manner," said Jenn Stoll, Chief Commercial Officer at DentalPlans.com. "This technology can help close the gap between when you experience an issue, and when you can get to the dentist, which is important to our overall health." COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of telehealth services, and is expected to remain popular beyond the pandemic. Telehealth services can usually be accessed on a direct pay basis where the patient pays a pre-set fee at the time of care. Insurance is often accepted, but uninsured people can use telehealth too. The typical cost is $50-$80 per visit. Consumers can also opt to join a health discount plan to access general telehealth services at deeply reduced rates. DentalPlans.com offers both standalone telehealth plans and dental savings plans that include telehealth. Plan members can get access to free, unlimited virtual consultations with licensed physicians 24/7. To find out more about telehealth plans, visit DentalPlans.com. About DentalPlans.com DentalPlans.com, founded in 1999, is a leading online marketplace for dental savings plans in the U.S., helping more than a million people to affordably access quality healthcare services. Our mission is to empower consumers with the tools, information, and services that they need to live happier, healthier lives. About Henry Schein One Henry Schein One, a subsidiary of Henry Schein, Inc. established in partnership with Internet Brands in 2018, is a software company providing integrated software and services to the dental industry. Headquartered in American Fork, Utah, the company offers market-leading solutions for dental practices, including Dentrix, Dentrix Ascend, Dentrix Enterprise, Easy Dental, TechCentral, Demandforce, Sesame Communications, Lighthouse360, Officite, and DentalPlans.com as well as international companies, including Software of Excellence, Logiciel Julie, InfoMed, Axium, Power Practice and LabNet, among others. For more information, visit www.henryscheinone.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005026/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] DENVER, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A Colorado natural gas producer, an infrastructure operator and local municipal utility have entered into a first-of-its-kind Responsibly Sourced Gas (RSG) pilot project with Project Canary, a Denver-based B-Corp focused on providing continuous emissions monitoring data and technologies across the energy sector. The unique wellhead to burner-tip RSG pilot extends across the energy value chain from production, transportation and marketing of RSG for consumer and community use locally in Colorado. The pilot project will consist of the following: Colorado Springs Utilities, a municipal utility in one of the state's largest and fastest growing regions, will purchase certified RSG produced by Bayswater Exploration & Production, a Colorado-based oil and natural gas development company. The certified RSG will be gathered and processed by Rimrock Energy Partners, a provider of midstream services in the DJ Basin, before being delivered to Colorado Interstate Gas Company, a Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) subsidiary, which will transport the certified RSG to Colorado Springs Utilities. As a member of the ONE Future Coalition, Kinder Morgan is part of a group of companies working to voluntarily reduce methane emissions across the natural gas value chain to 1% or less by 2025. Project Canary will provide technologies, data monitoring to measure methane emissions, and independent RSG certification. "Project Canary's solution dramatically transforms how companies measure environmental performance by combining real-time, on-site monitoring with trusted, independent verification and analysis," said Project Canary Co-Founder and CEO Chris Romer. "Sustainability progress in the energy space is evolving rapidly and this exciting pilot project builds upon Project Canary's unique position in the marketplace of delivering meaningful data-driven solutions." Project Canary has partnered with nearly two-dozen large exploration and production, pipeline, and utility companies and deployed its technology across 100 different well pads, including in Colorado, where the state has nation-leading on-site emissions monitoring regulations. "This partnership will allow us to further diversify our energy portfolio and expand our commitment to environmental stewardship," said Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Aram Benyamin. "This is the first of its kind pilot project in the nation and I'm proud to say we are at the forefront of exploring this newly-evolving Responsibly Sourced Gas market." Project Canary applies science, technology and data in providing real-time, continuous air emissions monitoring and through its TrustWell certification process, independently reviews, verifies and scores over 300 engineering and operational aspects of natural gas production and delivery categories including air, water land and community. These independent data sources provide trusted RSG certification. "This partnership with Project Canary allows us to demonstrate that we responsibly develop clean natural gas by using real-time, continuous emission monitoring data along with operational best practices," said Bayswater Exploration & Production President and CEO Steve Struna. "Stakeholders are looking to companies to enhance transparency regarding operations. At Bayswater, we have great confidence in the integrity of our field operations and aspire to continuously improve performance and minimize environmental impacts. This win-win partnership enables us to produce both oil and natural gas resources in an environmentally responsible manner while attracting new customers and markets." Bayswater has continuous monitoring on over 90 percent of its Colorado production and will aim to attain TrustWell certification of "Gold" or better for Weld County operations contributing to the pilot project. Kinder Morgan will transport gas purchased by Colorado Springs Utilities from Bayswater through its Colorado Interstate Gas Company pipeline. "Kinder Morgan has worked with Colorado Springs Utilities for over 90 years to provide reliable and affordable natural gas to communities and businesses in Colorado," said Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Pipelines Commercial Vice President Will Brown. "We are excited to be part of this industry-led pilot as we evaluate new opportunities to responsibly deliver low-carbon energy for the benefit of the people, communities and business we serve." "We recognize the importance of sustainable and reliable midstream services to our customers and community stakeholders and are proud to play a part in the low carbon transition," said Josh Cruzan, CEO of Rimrock Energy Partners. "Rimrock looks forward to making a positive impact in the gathering, processing, and marketing of RSG." ### Project Canary, an International Environmental Standards company based in Denver, Colorado, is a mission-driven B-Corporation accountable to a double bottom line of profit and the social good. Project Canary believes it is possible to create a financially successful, self-sustaining business that "does well and does good." Project Canary's goal is to mitigate climate change by helping the oil and gas industry operate on a cleaner, more efficient, more sustainable basis. Its proven solutions provide real-time emissions monitoring and rigorous independent certification of oil and gas well sites for responsible operations. Project Canary / IES solutions help energy companies Collect, Manage, Operationalize and Benefit from real-time environmental data. Project Canary partners with the Colorado School of Mines Payne Institute to develop a collaborative environment for oil and gas companies and external parties to share best practices and insights garnered through continuous monitoring. To learn more, visit www.projectcanary.com Colorado Springs Utilities: For generations, Colorado Springs Utilities has provided electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater services to the Pikes Peak region. As a community-owned utility, its customers enjoy competitive prices, exceptional hometown service, responsible environmental practices and a voice in how their utility operates. To learn more, visit https://csu.org/ Bayswater Exploration & Production, LLC.: A private oil and natural gas exploration and development company employing multiple best-in-class practices focused on emission reductions and committed to responsible energy development and the belief that the development of oil and natural gas resources and the stewardship of a pristine, sustainable environment are not mutually exclusive. To learn more, visit https://bayswater.us/ Kinder Morgan: 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. Rimrock Energy Partners: Connecting North America's energy basins to energy markets by aligning Integrity, Opportunity, Innovation and a Commitment to Excellence. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Rimrock's asset base is positioned for continued expansion in the ever-growing North American energy market. For more information, please visit: https://rimrockenergy.com/ Contacts: Project Canary Chris Romer Co-Founder and CEO [email protected] Colorado Springs Utilities Natalie Watts [email protected] Bayswater: Steve Struna President and CEO [email protected] Kinder Morgan Lexey Long Media Relations [email protected] Rimrock Energy Partners Cale Stacy [email protected] SOURCE Project Canary Related Links http://www.kindermorgan.com One could call her a role model for millions of young girls hoping to choose a career in the aviation industry, an unconventional sector for a majority of women even today. But one would agree that it is especially so for a tribal girl living in a mud house in the interior of Mancherial District, Telangana. From growing up in a community, where she witnessed girl children being killed, stolen or sold to traffickers, Ajmeera has come a long way. Today, Ajmeera, who credits her rock solid determination in helping her realise her dreams and ambitions of soaring high in the skies, also works with different NGOs in the country, hoping to help empower women from different backgrounds. Ajmeera is also one of the motivational speakers for the Tribal Leadership Program by Tata Steel. The icon tells us how flying became her passion to an extent that she decided to defy familial and societal rules. My passion for flying came about as the result of an identity crisis, she begins. The children in our community grew up mostly without any identity, with limited choices. But I was certain I wanted to expand my horizons. Back then, we knew of no career options other than IAS or IPS, doctors or engineers, which was all we saw around us. Moreover, unlike now, we didnt have the Internet or Google or the social media then, where youd find everything with a single click. I had to find my own leads and offer pep talks to myself. Flying with her dreams Ajmeeras life brought her the opportunity to learn and live more when a guest from Dubai, who was visiting her family in Mancherial, requested her company to the Begumpet airport. Being at the airport felt new and different and it got me wondering about getting into the profession, Ajmeera recalls. Then again, finding ones footing without guidance is never an easy task. Even furthering her education in a college was a fight against convention. Going against her parents wishes, Ajmeera joined the University College for Women, Koti, to pursue her BA. Subsequently, she did her MA in sociology from Osmania University. After my Masters, my father advised me to prepare for civil services so that I could secure a government job, she recalls. Instead, she enrolled herself in an MBA in Osmania University. By the time I was in my second semester, I was in a hostel and always talked about flying, aircraft, aviation, etc. After listening to me constantly yap about it almost every day, one of my friends informed me about an advertisement in the newspaper, calling for air hostesses. Ajmeera successfully completed the interview and joined Air India as an air hostess. But she had other plans. I joined thinking that being an air hostess would provide me with some idea about how to become a pilot, she shares. The fighter pilot Nothing comes easy. For one, no one believed that becoming a commercial pilot was a viable option for a girl. Though Ajmeera approached several ministers and politicians seeking aid, it was 2014 when she finally found help Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao granted her the economic aid she needed, a package close to Rs25 lakh. Finances in hand, Ajmeera and her close friends got down to researching the best institution to get her wings from. After much research, she chose to enrol in the Commercial Pilot Training License Course in the Dean International School Flight School in the USA. Once back from her training at Dean, Ajmeera cleared a test by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the regulatory body in India for civil aviation, and began her first flying job as a VIP charter flight pilot. But the timings of working with VIP charter flights were severely erratic, so I joined a domestic airline, she tells us. Her flight into her dream job, however, couldnt take off because by then the pandemic hit town. Its been in a standstill but once it gets better, Ill start flying again. Meanwhile, I plan on opening my own academy either in Hyderabad or Bangalore sometime next year, says an optimistic Ajmeera. Aviation industry in India is growing well, with many flying clubs, institutes and airlines coming up. Even airports are expanding. So I believe the opportunities are wide and varied roles. And Ive bought the entire ecosystem and am considering a partnership. Until she realises that dream, the fighter has been visiting hamlets with their sarpanchs to conduct awareness programmes in those areas. Ajmeera has also been working with the Karnataka and Assam Governments to help underprivileged girls and women, showing them what they can all aspire to become in life. Even so, Ajmeera sells no fairy tale dreams about being a pilot. Its not an easy job. Only the really interested and focused should become a pilot, for you carry the responsibility of many souls, she explains. But if you have the passion, then nothing can stop you believe in yourself first to succeed. 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. Manitoba has prioritized some adults with specific health conditions to get the first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19. Manitoba has prioritized some adults with specific health conditions to get the first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19. On Wednesday afternoon, a very small number of Manitobans became eligible to call certain pharmacies and doctors offices to start booking appointments. The priority lists apply to Manitobans with certain conditions who are between the ages of 50 and 64, and First Nations people ages 30 to 64. The first priority list includes chronic health conditions like kidney failure requiring dialysis, a small list of severe conditions of the heart, liver or lungs, as well as people with cancer receiving chemotherapy. It also includes people with Down syndrome, severe obesity and cystic fibrosis, as well as people awaiting an organ or stem-cell transplant. Physicians and pharmacists are being asked to vaccinate patients from the first criteria list, then move on to a secondary priority list. That second list includes people with HIV, tuberculosis and uncontrolled asthma. Both lists of conditions have been posted online, and can be accessed here. "I know that this list of conditions may be confusing for some Manitobans, but we do believe that creating this list is the right way to go, to save lives and prevent people from ending up in the hospital," Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead for Manitoba's vaccine rollout, told reporters Wednesday at an afternoon briefing. She said both lists were created by examining the medical conditions of Manitobans who died or become severely ill from COVID-19. "There are some people with high-risk conditions that are more likely to have serious outcomes related to COVID-19, and thats truly who we need to immunize as quickly as possible, now that were moving into this younger age group," Reimer said. The province is sending its first set of 18,000 AstraZeneca shots to 190 doctors and pharmacies, with most receiving about 50 to 200 doses. Some of them will select patients themselves using the priority list from the province, while other clinics are accepting calls from the public. The province has an online map listing which pharmacies and clinics are taking calls. Janet Forbes, the head of Inclusion Winnipeg, had mixed thoughts about the priority lists, saying it includes some people with intellectual disabilities, but not enough of them. "I am encouraged by the availably of the vaccine for our population," she said. "But Im disappointed that there still are people who should be considered a priority, but are not being included... because of their age, and because of the place that they live." For example, people who have a handful of the conditions listed as first priority still do not qualify if they are under the age of 50 (or under 30 if theyre Indigenous). People living in group homes are placed ahead of those living with family. Certain forms of autism that make it hard to understand or follow guidance around physical distancing and describe a medical issue are also not included in the list. "Yukon and some provinces have identified people with intellectual disabilities as a priority group, and I dont know why were lagging behind that." Reimer acknowledged there will inevitably be some inconsistencies in how clinicians make these decision, but said it was better to have primary care providers assess who would get the greatest benefit from a vaccine. She stressed that Ottawas promised delivery schedule would eventually mean widespread availability of doses, by which point officials would no longer need to parse who qualifies using such precise details. The first shipment of AstraZeneca doses arrived in Manitoba on Tuesday, and all 18,000 are expected to be administered by April 2. The province says approximately 500 medical clinics and pharmacies have applied to be part of the immunization campaign, using fridge-stable vaccines like AstraZeneca, as more arrive. Vaccines are still available to any Manitobans age 80 or older, or First Nations people age 60 or older. Both age categories apply regardless of medical conditions. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), in observance of 100 years of creating a more inclusive world for people who are blind or visually impaired, is launching a series of "Centennial Conversations"curated webinars focused on the most pressing issues and topics affecting the blind and low vision communities, pairing prominent speakers with younger voices. First up is Women in Leadership: A Conversation About the Intersection of Gender and Visual Impairment on March 18 at 2 p.m. EST. In recognition of Women's History Month and the legacy of Helen Keller, AFB's most famous advocate, this panel discussion will feature a diverse group of women in various leadership roles as they address the key issues facing visually impaired women, the progress that has been made, and what challenges still persist. Panelists include: Moderator Neva Fairchild , AFB national aging and vision loss specialist , AFB national aging and vision loss specialist Stephanae McCoy , founder of Bold Blind Beauty , founder of Bold Blind Beauty Janni Lehrer-Stein , AFB board trustee and disability rights advocate who has served as senior disability policy advisor to many presidential, gubernatorial, and state election campaigns , AFB board trustee and disability rights advocate who has served as senior disability policy advisor to many presidential, gubernatorial, and state election campaigns Kathy Martinez , who joined Disability Rights Advocates as president/CEO in March 2021 after serving as senior vice president and head of disability and accessibility strategy, for Wells Fargo , who joined Disability Rights Advocates as president/CEO in after serving as senior vice president and head of disability and accessibility strategy, for Wells Fargo Sam Latif , company accessibility leader at Procter & Gamble Registration details are available at afb.org/WomenLeaders. "Our own organization's founding occurred just one year after the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment," said Kirk Adams, Ph.D., AFB's president and CEO. "As we celebrate women's hard-won achievements during National Women's History Month, we are proud to highlight successful women in leadership who are also blind or low visionexploring another angle of AFB's centennial theme, 'Inclusion Knows No Limits.'" Future Centennial Conversations include: The Inclusive Power of Music: April 22 , 2 p.m. EST , Gratitude, Courage, and Joy: May 27 , 2 p.m. EST , Inclusion, Intersectionality, and the Future of Work: June 24 , 2 p.m. EST , Making Money Work: Including Disability in the Financial Equation: July 22 , 2 p.m. EST These centennial events are made possible through the generous sponsorship of partners like Hewlett Packard Enterprise, JPMorgan Chase & Co., American Printing House for the Blind, Exelon, Google, LHH, Northrop Grumman, Pepco, U.S. Bank, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Walmart, Microsoft, Verizon, Charter Communications, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, and IBM. For those interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Amanda Kolling, senior engagement and brand manager, at [email protected]. About the American Foundation for the Blind Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that creates a world of no limits for people who are blind or visually impaired. AFB mobilizes leaders, advances understanding, and champions impactful policies and practices using research and data. AFB is proud to steward the Helen Keller Archive, maintain and expand the digital collection, and honor the more than 40 years that Helen Keller worked tirelessly with AFB. Visit: www.afb.org SOURCE American Foundation for the Blind Related Links http://www.afb.org A woman has revealed her shock after a cake sent to her as a surprise from her mother was half-eaten on arrival. Tamara Johnson's mother sent her a homemade Black Forest chocolate cake to her home in London where she's living while studying at University. But the surprise gift came in a damaged bag with half the cake missing, causing Tamara to accuse the Royal Mail of theft. Taking to TikTok, Tamara revealed the unfortunate indictment which she branded 'funny and odd'. 'Weve got a cake stealer in @royal.mail,' she joked as caption in the video. Explaining her situation Tamara said: 'So this morning I got this little box in the mail, it came in one of those damaged bags with this massive chunk coming out of it. 'I was like "what is happening here?" 'So I opened it up and saw this and there was a note from my mum, and basically it was a slice of cake,' she went on. She then panned to the box showing one slice of cake in tin foil, next to scrunched up tin foil. Tamara Johnson's (pictured) mother sent her a homemade Black Forest chocolate cake to her home in London where she's living while studying at University - but it was half-eaten on arrival Taking to TikTok , Tamara revealed the unfortunate indictment which she branded 'funny and odd'. Explaining her situation Tamara said: 'So this morning I got this little box in the mail, it came in one of those damaged bags with this massive chunk coming out of it. Tamara then said her mother told her she sent two slices, meaning one had gone missing. 'In the process of this being sent to me, someone has literally ripped open the package, eaten a slice of the cake and then put the wrapper back in and still delivered it to my house,' she said. 'Royal Mail, you've got some explaining to do'. Tamara told FEMAIL that she'd been unwell the week before and her mother had sent it to her to cheer her up, but she did end up getting a laugh from the situation. Tamara then said her mother told her she sent two slices, meaning one had gone missing The video quickly racked up more than 58 thousand views, with many questioning if it was a rat of a human that took the slice. The students said she didn't think it was a rodent as the packaging was in tact, and one slice was completely untouched. Others commenting saying they'd had similar experiences. The video quickly racked up more than 58 thousand views, with many questioning if it was a rat of a human that took the slice. The students said she didn't think it was a rodent as the packaging was in tact, and one slice was completely untouched 'The audacity to not only eat a piece, but to also deliver the rubbish after eating it!' said one. 'How did they know there would be cake inside?' said one, 'Do they open all the packages looking for snacks?'. 'The same thing happened to my friend when she posted her boyfriend iced biscuits, thieves!' said another. Royal Mail's website allows those who have received damaged or tampered with gifts to be reported, with possible investigations and compensations possible. 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. Advertisement Jeffrey Epstein's Upper East Side mansion has finally sold for a steep discount from its initial $88million asking price with a $51million purchase by an undisclosed buyer on Tuesday, according to an attorney for the estate. The funds from the sale will be transferred to the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program, Dan Weiner said in a statement to CNN. New claims will begin to be issued after claim payouts were suspended from the program on Feb. 4 by the independent administrator of the EVCP, Jordy Feldman. Feldman plans to lift the suspension once she evaluates the financial situation surrounding the sale of the mansion. Jeffrey Epstein's Upper East Side townhouse where he used to lure and abuse underage girls sold for $51million to an unnamed buyer The pre-war home on East 71st street in the heart of New York City was under contract seven months after it was first put on the market, according to the Wall Street Journal Epstein outside the mansion in which he lured and abused underage girls and set up secret cameras to spy on his victims 'We are eager to resume issuing compensation offers as soon as possible,' Feldman said. 'Once we have more information about the amount of funds that will be made available to the Program and when, I will decide when we can lift the suspension and get back to full Program operations.' With a sprawling 28,000 square feet over seven floors, the mansion is described in the listing as 'a once in a life-time opportunity to own the largest single-family home in New York City.' However the mansion has a dark past as the place where Epstein would draw in girls as young as 14 and sexually abuse them. The pedophile racked up an expansive property portfolio before his death including homes in Paris, New Mexico and Florida as well as his private island Little St. James, all of which are said to have been sites of his abuse The convicted pedophile allegedly had secret cameras installed inside the sprawling property to spy on his victims while it was also fitted with unusual decor including the now-infamous painting of Bill Clinton in a dress. The deal marks one of the most expensive home sales in the Big Apple in the last year, after the pandemic sparked a mass exodus from the city and squeezed the real estate market. The sale may come as some small relief to Epstein's many victims with the proceeds from the sale of his estate going toward the victim compensation fund. The property was first put on the market for $88 million back in July, just over a year after Epstein was found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial on a string of sexual abuse charges. The price was then slashed by $23 million to $65 million in January. Sources told the Journal it was in contract for roughly $50 million, marking a staggering 43 percent saving on the original asking price after a relatively short seven-month period on the market. The mystery bidder has not been identified and it is not clear what they will choose to do with the property. The pedophile racked up an expansive property portfolio before his death including homes in Paris, New Mexico and Florida as well as his private island Little St. James, all of which are said to have been sites of his abuse. Epstein's beachfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, has been under contract since November and the prospective owner has vowed to demolish it. With a sprawling 28,000 square foot space over seven floors, the mansion is described in the listing as 'a once in a life-time opportunity to own the largest single-family home in New York City.' Pictured the balcony The convicted pedophile allegedly had secret cameras installed inside the sprawling property to spy on his victims Epstein's New York City townhouse is his most valuable property, with the billionaire reportedly snapping it up from Leslie Wexner - the man behind Victoria's Secret - for $20 million back in 1998. The 50-foot-wide, 100 feet deep property was built as New York City's largest and most luxurious French Neo-Classical Mansion, according to the listing. It boasts huge 15-foot-tall oak entry doors, imported French-limestone meticulously decorated with carvings, sculpture figures and ornamental iron works. Based in Lenox Hill, the mansion also comes with the unique promise that its view of nearby Central Park can never be blocked by new buildings. Gone are the brass initials of its previous disgraced owner 'J.E' which used to greet Epstein's victims and famous friends including Prince Andrew to the home. It was also fitted with unusual decor including the now-infamous painting of Bill Clinton in a blue dress The home has an imposing 15-foot front door, which once featured the letters 'J.E' in raised brass (seen above after the July 2019 raid) Esteemed guests who've stayed at the home include Prince Andrew, who is shown in the above image peering around the front door in December 2010 It is not clear whether Epstein's extravagant decor - which included a large taxidermy tiger and poodle, a painting of a woman exposing her breast and a painting of Clinton posing in a blue dress - remains. However the home's reputation will be harder to shake off. Epstein reportedly sexually abused dozens of girls as young as 14 inside the property. Victims have long described a massage room where the pedophile would assault them while he had also reportedly fitted the home with secret cameras to spy on his victims. The home was raided by the FBI in July 2019 as part of a sex trafficking sting. During the raid, federal authorities reportedly found thousands of graphic photos including of underage girls and a locked safe filled with compact discs labeled as 'nude girls'. They also found Epstein's massage room set up just as several of his young victims had described it from years earlier, with a table and assortment of sex toys. Hundreds of pinhole surveillance cameras were also found installed throughout the home so he could monitor his victim's 'private moments' in bedrooms and bathrooms. Epstein died by suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan August 2019 while awaiting trial. Pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell He allegedly had a media room behind a hidden door where he kept stacks of TVs playing the surveillance feeds. 'Piles of cash', diamonds and an expired foreign passport listing Epstein's residence as Saudi Arabia were also discovered in the raid. Esteemed guests at the home include Prince Andrew, who was pictured in December 2010 peering around the front door, as he reportedly waived goodbye to a brunette female he'd led out. Built in the early 1930s, the home was originally commissioned by Herbery N. Straus, an heir to the Macy's department store fortune, whose father had perished on the Titanic 18 years earlier. More recently it was owned by Leslie Wexner, chairman of L Brands, which owns retailers including Victoria's Secret, who was also a mentor of Epstein's. Epstein reportedly purchased the home from Wexner back in 1998 for $20 million - just under $7 million more than Wexner had bought it for in 1989. Epstein's beachfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, is also under contract. Proceeds from the sale of his estate will go to the victim compensation fund Epstein was found hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan August 2019 while awaiting trial. He had pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s. His death was ruled a suicide but his attorneys and some family members claim he was murdered to stop him from sharing what he knows about other high profile, powerful people. His alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell is now awaiting her sex trafficking trial in summer 2021. She has been charged with conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and two counts of perjury. Prosecutors say Maxwell groomed three girls between 1994 and 1997 for Epstein in London, Florida, New York and New Mexico. She then not only facilitated Epstein abusing them, prosecutors say, but took part in some of the abuse herself. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on the Hong Kong-related Decision Adopted by the NPC 2021/03/11 The Fourth Session of the 13th National People's Congress has voted to adopt the Decision of the National People's Congress on Improving the Electoral System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This is a major step to uphold and improve the system and institutions of One Country, Two Systems and safeguard enduring stability and security in Hong Kong. It will provide a stronger systemic guarantee for the full implementation of "patriots administering Hong Kong". Since Hong Kong's return to the mainland, the central government has been leading and advancing the development of Hong Kong's democratic system. As the highest body of state power, the National People's Congress made the decision on improving Hong Kong SAR's electoral system, a power and responsibility enshrined in the Constitution and the Basic Law. It will better uphold the overall and fundamental interests of the Hong Kong society, contribute to the constant progress of Hong Kong's democratic system and the steady practice of One Country, Two Systems. It serves China's interests and the international community's common interests that One Country, Two Systems keeps being implemented successfully in Hong Kong and that Hong Kong maintains long-term prosperity and stability. China has unswerving resolve and confidence in implementing One Country, Two Systems, and steadfast determination and will to oppose foreign interference in China's internal affairs. We remain convinced that Hong Kong's future will only become brighter. MPs have warned there is an epidemic of violence against women in the UK that is not taken seriously enough after a woman disappeared in south London. Campaigners accused the government of failing to properly fund services that tackle domestic and sexual violence, saying the 165m ministers announced for domestic abuse services in 2021-22 falls far short of the 393m required. Vigils are being held around the UK and in Clapham in southeast London on Saturday after Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, went missing after leaving a friends flat there last week. Troubling updates on Everards case human remains were discovered in Kent woodlands on Wednesday come as a survey by UN Women this week found 97 per cent of young women in the UK said they had been sexually harassed, while 80 per cent reported experiencing sexual harassment in public spaces. Researchers, who polled more than 1,000 women aged between 18 to 24, found the sexual harassment included being groped, followed and coerced into sexual activity. While domestic abuse has surged in the wake of the Covid crisis with the UKs national domestic abuse helpline seeing a 34 per cent rise in contacts and calls between April and December last year compared to the same period the previous year. Womens fears about street harassment have also soared during the pandemic, with research finding that almost three-quarters of women are scared of exercising outside in the dark, and another study revealing young women say sexual harassment became worse during lockdown. Police are now questioning a male police officer on suspicion of kidnap and murder in Everards case. Her disappearance has sparked an outpouring of anger as women have told of instances where they were threatened or sexually harassed by men while walking home alone, and MPs have noted the daily fear many women feel on the streets after dark. Jess Phillips, the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, told Radio 4s Today programme, random attacks on the street were a rarity, if that is what this was, before adding: The reality is that its not a rare crime. Since last week, since when Sarah first went missing, six women and a little girl have been reported as being killed at the hands of men. So its not particularly rare, and the fear that women live with is an everyday thing. For most women, they have had some form of experience that they feel frightened of and the message that they [the Metropolitan Police] should be sending out is not one about what women should or shouldnt do. It is about how serious violence against women and girls is and how it is an epidemic that we have to put far more attention and resource into. The politician paid tribute to 118 women killed by men in the last year by reading out their names at the annual International Womens Day debate in parliament on Thursday. Farah Nazeer, chief executive at Womens Aid, told The Independent: Violence against women and girls is a crisis of global proportions, which is driven by womens inequality in society. The pandemic has shone a light on the fact that women are not safe at home, and... they are not safe in public either. The 165m that the government has announced for domestic abuse support services in 2021-22 falls far short of the 393m that Womens Aid estimates is needed for domestic abuse alone. Ms Nazeer said the government needs to include domestic abuse within the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, otherwise we will be put in reverse. She added: We need a joined-up strategy that tackles these crimes as a cause and consequence of womens inequality. Two women a week are killed in England and Wales by a current or ex-partner, while one in four women will suffer domestic abuse at some point during their lives. Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, tweeted: I may have had three hours sleep. Getting ready to go into Parliament. For #IWD2021 debate. Im thinking about the police officer who patrolled the corridors of Westminster with guns and now he has been arrested. It totally blows my mind. The former shadow women and equalities minister added: And to think that the man, a policeman who is supposed to make people feel safe, may have done this has shaken people to their core. I have cried for Sarah today. A life so brutally taken. Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, tweeted: We dont know true scale of violence and harassment women face on our streets because it is underreported, to know whether it is thankfully rare. Its time all police forces treated women as equally worthy of protection and started recording hate we face. PC Wayne Couzens, a serving officer, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and a separate allegation of indecent exposure. The 48-year-old serves in the Metropolitan Police Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command with his chief role being uniformed patrol of diplomatic sites. Caroline Nokes, a Conservative MP who is chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, said: We must be safe to walk home alone, without needing our keys in our hand, with our headphones on if we choose, wearing what we like. Charlotte Kneer, who runs Reigate and Banstead Womens Aid refuge for domestic abuse victims at risk of murder in their own homes, told The Independent women frequently die in their own homes in Britain. She added: I have been calling for too many years for more investment in this huge issue. We need investment in early education about equality and healthy relationships. We need investment in supporting victims of male violence against women and girls. We need to stop telling women how to protect themselves and start telling men to stop hurting them. You dont need to look very far to find examples of misogyny in everyday life and everyone, especially men, should be calling that out whenever they hear it. Ms Kneer, a domestic abuse survivor whose violent partner was jailed for seven years in 2011, called for sentencing in the criminal justice system to show violence against women and girls will not be tolerated. She said: Men, instead of saying not all men do this, start saying Im going to do everything in my power to stop those that are doing it. They Should Have Walked Him: Kale Stevenson's clutch homers spark Post 17 to doubleheader sweep 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. Letting Our Voices Be Heard: COVID-19 Vaccine hesitancy in the Black community The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many multiethnic communities in Los Angeles County. This includes adverse physical, social, and mental health outcomes and a large economic burden. The Black community has not been spared. The Black community accounts for 8.2% of L.A. Countys population yet represents 13% of COVID-19 related deaths. Also, many L.A. Black residents are essential workers, increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19. In addition to these glaring statistics, COVID-19 vaccine uptake within the Black community occurs at a lower rate than the White community. To understand why COVID-19 vaccine uptake is low among the Black community, the UCLA Health, CTSI Community Engagement & Research Program, led by Dr. Arleen Brown, learned about COVID-19 vaccine acceptance from local community members. From November 2020 to January 2021, UCLA conducted 13 single-race/ethnicity virtual focus groups on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptability. Three of these focus groups were conducted with 17 L.A. Black residents from various ages, essential occupations, and low-income zip codes. ADVERTISEMENT The primary concerns raised were regarding a lack of vaccine information, a need for additional vaccine outreach, barriers to accessing vaccination, and a desire for sensitive, respectful and equitable treatment. The voices from these participants gave the UCLA Health team the tools to share their concerns with health leaders in the State of California through the UCLA led STOP COVID-19 CA initiative. What we Found The U.S. has never been 100% pro-Black, so why are we getting preferential treatment for a vaccine now? This quote reflects many concerns shared across all three focus groups with Black persons. Many participants reflected on systemic racism and mistrust of medical research. These contribute to skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine. From the ethical violations in the Tuskegee study, the unauthorized use of Henrietta Lacks cells and the biases that Black people face in the healthcare system today, the past comes up when considering future medical care. How does our community, who have experienced so much medical distress, reconcile with the implications of historical medical mistakes and a global pandemic that negatively impact the health and well-being of the Black community? There is no single answer, but we can take steps to get to a place where our concerns (collectively and individually) are addressed, we feel heard, and we are appropriately informed. An initial start here addresses the community concerns by providing accurate facts about the COVID-19 vaccine from UCLA physicians. ADVERTISEMENT Frequently Asked Questions The following are additional frequently asked questions that arose in the focus group: Why should I getvaccinated? Vaccination protects you, your family, andyour community from any symptomatic COVID-19 illness and reduces the chance of hospitalization and Being unvaccinated may increase your risk of COVID-19 and serious long-term complications. The vaccine was tested on diverse communities, including Black participants and participants with chronic disease. Each vaccine was shown to protect against COVID-19 equally in all communities, including age, race/ethnicity, and chronic illness. Should I get the vaccine if I already had COVID-19? Protection from the vaccine is safe andcan prolong your immunity. You can wait up to 90 days aftera COVID infection to be vaccinated. But you can receive it ten days after you recover. What is in the vaccine? The COVID-19 vaccine consists of four ingredients: Protein (mRNA), fats (called lipids), salt, and sugar (preservatives). The vaccinewas NOT developed using: animal products (halal), thimerosal, or fetal The J&J vaccine used cells that came from fetal tissue 40-50 years ago to help make the vaccine. The J&J vaccine has no fetal tissue in it. These vaccines do not contain any parts of the coronavirus.They cannot cause COVID-19. These types of vaccines were studied for years before COVID-19. Which vaccine is better? No one vaccine is better than the other. Individuals usually cannot choose which vaccine to take. Now with the one dose J&J vaccine people can choose if it is available. Moderna, Pfizer and J&J vaccines are equally effective against death and severe health effects from COVID-19. All vaccines have also shown to still be effective against the variants of COVID-19 in terms of reducing death and severe illness or serious side effects from COVID-19. Why are Black/African Americans being encouraged to take the vaccine? The Black community has high COVID-19 infection rates and is more likely to be hospitalizedand die from COVID-19. This is due to occupational risk as essential workers and insufficient healthcare access. Next Steps Being informed about the vaccine will help members in our community make educated and informed decisions about vaccination. Finding up-to-date and accurate information can be challenging, but the STOP COVID-19 initiative is here to help. Visit today to learn more: STOP COVID-19 CA: https://www.stopcovid-19ca.org/about-us Wanted a quiet word with you, Mamata in letter to PM while refusing to release chief secretary Spreading lies says BJP on attack on Mamata: To meet EC officials India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Kolkata, Mar 11: The BJP has said that it would complain to the Election Commission about Mamata Banerjee spreading lies about an attack on her. Mamata injured in ankle, leg, shoulder, neck: Doctor | Oneidnia News A delegation of the BJP would meet with the officials of the EC in Kolkata to complain about the CM's allegation. She had alleged that she had been pushed by around five people against her car and had the door shut on her at a time when there were no police personnel around her. Preliminary medical tests conducted on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee late on Wednesday night detected severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in the right shoulder, forearm and neck, a senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital said. Both TMC, BJP leaders to meet EC officials over alleged attack on Mamata in Nandigram Doctors at the hospital decided to closely monitor Banerjee, who has been complaining of chest pain and breathlessness since the alleged attack at Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district earlier in the evening, for the next 48 hours, he said. The Trinamool Congress chief has a slight fever and has been shifted to a special ward at the hospital's VVIP Woodburn Block soon after the MRI at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, he added. "We will keep her under observation for the next 48 hours. There will be more tests needed to be done, and after evaluating her condition we will decide on our next course of treatment," a doctor, part of the team treating Banerjee, told PTI. Doctors conducted an x-ray on the chief minister as soon as she was taken there from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district on Wednesday night. She is undergoing treatment at the 12.5 special cabin of Woodburn Block of the SSKM hospital. The state government has constituted a team of five senior doctors to treat Banerjee. West Bengal elections 2021: CM Mamata Banerjee claims she was 'attacked' in Nandigram The team consists of one cardiologist, an endocrinologist, a general surgery doctor, an orthopedist and a medicine doctor. Banerjee sustained injuries on her left leg and waist as she fell on the ground after she was allegedly pushed by unknown miscreants while campaigning for assembly elections in Nandigram. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 12:24 [IST] Pakistan to get 45 million India-made vaccine doses through GAVI Pakistan will receive 45 million India-made Covid-19 vaccine shots this year through Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), a report in The Quint said. GAVI is a public-private global alliance that works towards improving access to vaccines in poorer countries. Out of the 45 million doses, Pakistan is set to receive 16 million free doses of Covishield manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) which will cover 20 per cent of the country's population. The first batch of vaccines is due by mid-March and the rest by the end of June. Read more here Vaccination programme needs more data on adverse events: Report As the vaccination infrastructure is being scaled up, there are increasing concerns of how well adverse events following immunisation are being tracked, reported, and examined by the government, a report in IndiaSpend said that cited views of medical experts. The central health ministry's daily updates on the vaccination programme have given no information on adverse events since February 26. Even before that, the information that was provided was little and incomplete. When numbers of adverse events were mentioned, there was no detailed description of the adverse events. Read more here Researchers oppose the use of placebo trials for Covid vaccines In December, the World Health Organization's ad hoc expert panel backed the continued use of blinded placebo-controlled studies for reliable evidence, but the scientific community disagrees, a report in ThePrint said. The Indian Journal of Medical Education (IJME) has published two articles so far and is set to come out with more arguments against the use of placebo-controlled trials to develop Covid-19 vaccines. The main argument is the negative effects on access to vaccines by low-income and middle-income countries. A placebo is an inactive drug used in a clinical trial and is sometimes called a sugar pill, the report said. Read more here Women more likely to be Covid 'long-haulers': Study New research has revealed the odds of women becoming Covid-19 "long-haulers" are higher, a report ThePrint said. Long-haulers are individuals that show symptoms of Covid even after being cured of the infection. The study took into account 1,407 records of Covid-19 patients with symptoms. In a preprint research paper that was published last week, the US researchers found that the group of individuals in which the symptoms persisted for 61 days and more consisted of nearly 60% females. Read more here 103-year-old Kameshwari becomes India's oldest woman to get the vaccine Bengaluru's J Kameshwari is the oldest woman to have received the Covid-19 vaccine so far in India at an age of 103 years, a report the Hindustan Times said. Kameshwari, who was accompanied by her 77-year-old-son who also got his shot, did not report any side effects after the vaccine was administered, according to media reports. Before Kameshwari J, Mumbai's Shashikala Joshi was the oldest woman to get vaccinated at an age of 100 years. Joshi took her first jab on March 5 along with her daughter who is 75 years old. Read more here [March 11, 2021] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of United Services Automobile Association, Its Subsidiaries and USAA Capital Corporation AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A++ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of "aaa" of United Services Automobile Association (USAA) and its property/casualty (P/C) and life/health (L/H) subsidiaries. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR and the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating (Long-Term IR) of "aaa" on the medium-term note program and the senior unsecured medium-term notes of USAA Capital Corporation (USAA CAPCO). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. In addition, AM Best has affirmed the Short-Term Issue Credit Rating (Short-Term IR) of AMB-1+ on the commercial paper program of USAA CAPCO. All companies are domiciled in San Antonio, TX, unless otherwise specified. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.) The ratings of USAA and its P/C affiliates, together referred to as USAA Group, reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its very strong operating performance, very favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). USAA provides a diverse portfolio of products through its P/C and L/H insurers, as well as other financial services through USAA Federal Savings Bank, which support favorable consolidated operating results. Focused on the support of its 13 million members, USAA Group ranks in the Top 10 writers of P/C products in the United States, based on premiums written, including the Top 5 of private passenger auto and homeowner's insurance. Despite significant catastrophe activity, the group's underwriting performance has experienced sustained improvements over the past five years as the result of a series of initiatives to combat deteriorating losses in the personal auto line of business. Additionally, the organization's focus on technology and direct-to-consumer marketing has resulted in expense ratios well below the personal lines composite average. Risk-adjusted capitalization is assessed at the strongest level, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and supported by a conservative investment portfolio. Furthermore, the organization maintains favorable financial flexibility through access to Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings at the P/C and L/H insurance companies, and a medium-term notes program and commercial paper program held at USAA CAPCO. The ratings of USAA Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary, USAA Life Insurance Company of New York (Highland Falls, NY), together referred toas USAA Life Group, reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate ERM. The ratings also reflect the strategic role within the USAA organization, offering individual life, annuities, and accident and health products to USAA's members and the broader marketplace as well. The life group has sustained a long-term trend in premium growth and profitability supporting capitalization. In addition, AM Best notes that the addition of the group's annuity products to Fidelity Insurance Network's and Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.'s platforms, and the co-branding of a Medicare Advantage product with the Humana organization, increase sales opportunities and help to strengthen USAA's brand name. The FSR of A++ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICRs of "aaa" have been affirmed with stable outlooks for United Services Automobile Association and its following P/C and L/H subsidiaries: USAA Casualty Insurance Company USAA General Indemnity Company USAA Limited USAA County Mutual Insurance Company USAA Life Insurance Company USAA Life Insurance Company of New York The following indicative Long-Term IR under the universal shelf registration has been affirmed with a stable outlook: USAA Capital Corporation- -- "aaa" on the senior unsecured medium-term note program The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with stable outlooks: USAA Capital Corporation- -- "aaa" on $400 million 2% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due 2021 -- "aaa" on $400 million 2.625% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due 2021 -- "aaa" on $400 million 1.5% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due 2023 -- "aaa" on $400 million 2.125% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due 2030 The following Short-Term IR has been affirmed: USAA Capital Corporation- -- AMB-1+ on the commercial paper program This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005747/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Piers Morgan, the pugnacious British presenter who has just lost his high-profile breakfast TV slot over attacks on Prince Harry's wife Meghan, said on Wednesday he still did not believe what she had said during her Oprah Winfrey interview. Morgan, 55, left ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday after his long-running criticism of Meghan intensified in the wake of her interview with Winfrey, in which she revealed she had felt suicidal while living as a royal in Britain. Read | Piers Morgan quits show over Meghan remarks "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. If you did, OK," Morgan said in a characteristically combative Tweet on Wednesday morning. On Monday, I said I didnt believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. Ive had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still dont. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill Im happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. Im off to spend more time with my opinions. pic.twitter.com/bv6zpz4Roe Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 10, 2021 "Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I'm off to spend more time with my opinions," he told his 7.8 million Twitter followers. He added a photo of Winston Churchill with a quote on the topic of free speech. In a two-hour interview that plunged the British monarchy into crisis, Meghan said the royal family had rejected her pleas for mental health support and that someone in the household had raised questions about the colour of her unborn son's skin. The morning after the interview was aired on US television, Morgan said on Good Morning Britain, among a torrent of other criticisms, that he did not believe a word Meghan had said. In a Tweet, he called her "Princess Pinocchio". Also Read | A trauma expert puts Meghan, Harry interview in context The following morning, he stormed off the set of the live programme when challenged by a co-presenter about his stance. Later that day, ITV said he was leaving. Monday's programme attracted more than 41,000 complaints to Britain's media regulator, which announced an investigation under its "harm and offence" rules. Morgan first made his name in the cut-throat world of the British tabloid press, culminating in stints editing the now-defunct News of the World, then the Daily Mirror. He later went into television, appearing as a judge on the reality shows America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent. For three years he hosted a chat show on CNN, replacing Larry King. Abidjan, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :Ivory Coast's Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko died Wednesday following cancer treatment in a German hospital, President Alassane Ouattara said in a statement. Bakayoko had turned 56 on Monday. Ouattara called Bakayoko "my son and close collaborater, torn from us too soon," in a statement read on public television RTI. Bakayoko took over as prime minister in July last year from Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who died after returning to the Ivory Coast from two months in France where he had been treated for heart problems. But Bakayoko, who was also the country's defence minister, himself travelled to France for health reasons on February 18 and was later transferred to Germany. "Given the state of his health, he should remain in hospital for some time," Ouattara had said on Saturday, asking people to pray for the premier. Bakayoko's office had been filled in his absence by Patrick Achi, previously secretary general to the west African country's presidency. Tene Birahima Ouattara, a younger brother of the president, was named interim defence minister. Official results released Tuesday handed Ouattara's party a parliamentary majority after legislative elections held at the weekend, with observers hoping the peaceful process has broken with past outbreaks of electoral violence. Getty Images / Contributed Photo A man previously convicted for his role as a conspirator in a 2001 Norwalk homicide will spend three more years in federal prison after he tried to traffic drugs while on supervised release, according to federal prosecutors. Judge Stefan R. Underhill sentenced Anthony AP Patterson, 42, to 36 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorneys office said. A radio wave-based technology developed by the Finnish company Collo is designed to continuously monitor the state of liquids including slurries, resins, adhesives, coatings, emulsions, beer, water or other fluids during industrial processes. Collos technology is based on an electromagnetic resonator that emits a continuous radio frequency field into the liquid. According to the company, the signal reacts to interferences caused by different components, chemicals and phases in the liquid. The analyzer immediately warns technicians if the process is disturbed so that the process can be adjusted according to the data. Our sensors can be placed anywhere in the process to optimize, for instance, the use of raw materials and chemicals in critical process steps, said Matti Jarvelainen, CEO and founder of Collo, in a press statement. Our analyzer monitors the process constantly, compared with manual samples that provide a delayed snapshot of the process status at a given time. The advantage of real-time monitoring is that it takes away the guesswork when adjusting the process, which in turn can save a lot of chemicals, materials, energy and time. The technology is said to measure eight proprietary parameters of a liquid that form its fingerprint. If these characteristics change during processing, for example, if unwanted solids are formed or the chemical balance is negatively impacted. For the first time it is now possible to analyze the changes in any desired liquid in real time using our radio wave technology that penetrates liquids of any dry mass, Jarvelainen said. A brewery is an example of a typical slurry process, where solids are blended into the liquid followed by several critical steps that each has to be optimized to get an even quality. Now it is possible to measure these critical steps in real time using one single technology. See related: Scale-up Success; Untapping the Potential of Computational Fluid Dynamics Jarvelainen added, "Once adjusted, the same system can be replicated in similar processes. ...This is especially beneficial for customers that have a vast number of identical liquid processes, as they are able to achieve significant economies of scale." In addition, the analyzer reportedly requires low maintenance. When using [the] Collo analyzer, you can see when the liquid has the right properties and when adjustments are needed, Mikko Tielinen, head of sales, noted. This means you dont have to add more raw material than needed or use time and energy to blend the liquid longer than necessary, just because you cannot be sure of the consistency. This way the productivity gets a boost, and the use of energy and materials is decreased, while at the same time less waste is generated, and the final product is much less vulnerable to complaints because of quality issues. Collo is an industrial liquid process performance solution, developed by ColloidTek Oy (Collo) and founded in 2017 after extensive research in measurement technology at Tampere University by its founders and key personnel. Rajkummar Rao has been dishing out some spectacular style goals for some time now, thanks to the outfits and ensembles that he has shown up in while promoting his films. Instagram/rajkummar_rao One can safely say that he definitely is one of the best-dressed actors in India, with an impeccable understanding of fashion and style. Instagram/theanisha Recently, at the premiere of his film Roohi, he gave us yet another example of why people are in awe of his sartorial sense. His outfit was a masterclass on dressing up in Indian ethnic wear, with a bit of panache and modernity. Instagram/theanisha Seen here in a dope looking outfit that is primarily black and grey, Rajkummar looks rather swell. Styled by Anisha Jain, Rajkummar certainly managed to turn heads as he attended the premiere in an outfit, that would be fit for a modern-day prince. Viral Bhayani Rajkummar was seen wearing a rather simple but elegant looking short kurta with a floral print, a dapper-looking, contemporarily styled jacket, and a pair of black trousers. Viral Bhayani The printed short kurta is actually made out of silk. The kurta is a sublime piece, put together by the designer duo Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna for their label Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna. The kurtas white mosaic print on grey is just sublime to look at. The silhouette too, looks very ethnic, with a very subtle contemporary touch. Viral Bhayani For those interested, the kurta, also called the Printed Silk Short Kurta is listed on the labels website for Rs 12,500. Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna The jacket, on the other hand, looks straight off the runway from a European fashion week. It is called the Rock Jacket. The broad collars and the longer arms give the jacket a very elegant and European aesthetic. The pockets, panels and zippers, on the contrary, give it a very technical appeal. Viral Bhayani The jacket is again a piece from Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna and retails for Rs 34,500. Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna We also like the black slip ons hes wearing. The dual-tone finish of the shoes makes it an interesting piece, and an obvious improvement over regular kolhapuris and slippers. Viral Bhayani All in all, this is actually quite a dapper outfit, and something to seriously consider if youre looking for an outfit idea for an upcoming wedding or something. Kudos, Rajkummar, a job well done indeed. US President Joe Biden plans to invite Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to the White House for a summit meeting as soon as April, Axios reported Wednesday. If finalized, it would be Mr. Biden first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader since taking office, according to administration sources. Analysts said the talks will focus on how to deal with the "China challenge". US media reported that the meeting between Biden and Suga was intended to show the international community that the US administration takes into account the "China threat" and will position the US-Japan relationship as the foundation for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. The exact date of the meeting will be determined by the state of the COVID-19 epidemic and may be delayed beyond May. Japan Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said the US-Japan summit is expected to focus on strengthening the alliance, promoting a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and dealing with China moves in the East and South China Seas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin are planning to visit Japan in the middle of this month, although the date of the meeting between the two leaders has not been set yet, the NHK television website reported Monday. They will hold a "2+2" meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. The two will be Mr. Biden first cabinet trip to Japan since taking office. Japanese media said the two sides are likely to discuss China strategy."China is modernizing its military and narrowing the arms gap with the United States," Austin said in an interview with US media on Tuesday."China is stepping up its regional offensive and threatening America Allies. Allies are very important to the United States." Affected by The first face-talks of Joe Biden with foreign leaders, the nj310 bearing market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market rising. Bearings are an important part of modern machinery and equipment, and its downstream is widely used in industrial automation, high-end equipment, robotics, automobile manufacturing and other fields. In recent years, due to the decline in demand from downstream industries such as automobiles and machine tools, as well as the adjustment of industrial structure, the phase of transformation and upgrading, the phasing out of backward production capacity has changed the relationship between supply and demand. The number of bearing industries has declined. If you are looking for nj310 bearing or get more information about nj310 bearing, please send an email to sales@ericbearing.com Due to changes in consumer demand, import and export conditions, and various investigations on the development of nj310 bearing, the cost of nj310 bearing is constantly changing. 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The price of raw materials for bearings fluctuates continuously according to market economic conditions. Such fluctuations in raw material prices are becoming a real challenge for companies to maintain competitiveness and ensure sustainable profits. As high-grade steel and alloy steel are the main raw materials used to manufacture nj310 bearing, bearing prices are highly correlated with global steel price trends. Therefore, fluctuations in the price of raw materials have brought challenges for bearing manufacturers to compare prices and quality to manufacture bearings. In addition, the bearings require regular maintenance to avoid failures and extend their service life, which further increases maintenance costs. Therefore, factors such as raw material price fluctuations and regular maintenance costs are expected to hinder the growth of the bearing market. The market demand of nj310 bearing? The global bearing market value in 2020 is 123.34 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach 153.62 billion U.S. dollars by 2027, and the compound annual growth rate will also increase steadily. A bearing is a mechanical element that supports relative movement and helps reduce friction caused between moving parts. Bearings are widely used in various industries such as automobiles, wind turbines, construction machinery, mining machinery, agricultural equipment, and machine tools. It is used in automobiles to ensure smooth driving of automobiles, electric vehicles (EV) and other types of vehicles (such as light commercial vehicles and heavy vehicles such as trucks). Due to the increasing utilization of bearing nj310 bearing in various end-use industries, rolling mills and electric vehicles, the global nj310 bearing market has become more and more important. 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Looking for the nj310 bearing or get more information about any other bearings, please send an email to sales@ericbearing.com Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Strikes and protests are continuing after Mondays widespread work stoppages throughout Myanmar. A police raid on the staff compound of 800 striking railway workers in Yangon on Wednesday gives a small glimpse of the opposition of the working class to the February 1 military coup. The workers had joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which encompasses broad sections of doctors, civil servants, bank staff as well as transport, garment and electricity workers. Police sealed off the Mingalar Taung Nyunt neighbourhood in Yangon early on Wednesday morning where the Ma Hlwa Kone train station and housing for railway workers are located. A woman who lives on the site told the AFP news agency that around 300 security personnel are blocking the road searching for the people who are involved in the civil disobedience movement. She escaped but expressed concerns for the workers because they [the police] could beat and kill them. Protesters take positions behind a makeshift barricade as armed riot policemen gather in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, March 8, 2021. (AP Photo) The workers had barricaded themselves into the compound. A Facebook live broadcast showed people chanting: Are we staff united? Yes, we are united. A commentator said that police were trying to remove barricades and threatening to shoot. Other eyewitnesses reported that the security forces were seizing supplies donated to the striking workers. One person tweeted: Currently Yangon, Ma Hlwa Gone Railway station is like a lockdown!! The Juntas Terrorist police and military blocked all the streets and ways out, arrested the CDM workers and robbed rice that were donated for CDM workers! Residents are trying to move out the elderly!! At least three arrests were reported. The events at Ma Hlwa Gone Railway station are a microcosm of the far broader movement against the junta. The confrontation took place after 18 unions and workers associations issued a statement last weekend calling for extended nationwide work stoppages from Monday to demand an end to military rule. Well before the appeal by the unions, the Civil Disobedience Movement had drawn in broad layers of the working class as well as aid and support from others. The movement is having a significant impact on sections of the economy and the functioning of the junta, which has responded with increasingly brutal repressionnightly searches and arrests, the shooting down of protesters, and the torture and murder of prisoners. A Wall Street Journal article noted: While the young are playing a critical role, the resistance is drawing from all layers of Myanmar society, helped by an array of organizations. These organizations are combined forces of student and labor unions, civil-society groups and other networks with longstanding connections allowing for fast transmission of plans, particularly through social media. Adding to that are striking civil servants and state employeeselectrical and railways workers, banking staff, doctors and othersthreatening to bring government to a standstill. Some of the countrys 600,000 garment workers, many of whom are women, have also been involved in the stoppages. An AFP video shows a group of garment workers in Yangons Hlaing township who have been engaged in protests against the junta since the coup on February 1. Their leader, Khine Mar New, a 26-year-old mother, said that the oppressive conditions in the factory taught her the importance of standing up for her rights. Protests continued on Wednesday in cities and towns across the country, including Yangon, Mandalay, Monywa, Dawei, Myitkyina, Bago, Kalaw and Myingyan, despite the ongoing crackdown by security forces. In Yangons North Okkalapa district, press and social media reports indicated that at least 200 people were arrested. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which is monitoring arrests, says that at least 60 people are thought to have been killed in the crackdowns and nearly 2,000 arrested. The figures are almost certainly an underestimate amid reports of security forces taking bodies off the streets in order to cover up their criminal activities. In an indication of sharp divisions in their ranks, a number of police have refused to fire on unarmed protesters and have fled to India. The media has been a particular target as the junta seeks to stifle any independent reporting. The Myanmar Now news agency has reported that at least 35 journalists have been arrested since the coup, of which 19 have been released. The Mizzima news website has since reported that the Yangon offices of Myanmar Now were subjected to a nighttime raid by security forces who seized computers and other equipment. The junta has revoked the publishing and broadcasting licences of Mizzima and four other news outlets. On Tuesday afternoon, the co-founder of Kamayut Media and a colleague were arrested in Yangon. Also on Tuesday, Zaw Myat Linn, an official from the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD), died in custody after he was arrested. He is the second NLD official to die in police custody. On Sunday, local NLD official, Khin Maung Latt, died while being held by police from injuries indicating he had been severely tortured. The NLD overwhelmingly won national elections held last November and was about to form the next government on February 1 when the army seized power on the basis of false allegations of electoral fraud. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD figures were arrested and continue to be held. Shortly after the coup, a group of elected NLD parliamentarians formed the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), which denounced the militarys actions as illegal and has established what it describes as a provisional government. On February 15, the military regime charged 17 CRPH members with incitement under the penal code that carries a sentence of up to two years jail. On Tuesday, the CRPH issued a statement announcing that it had appointed Mahn Win Khaing Than, who is in hiding, as acting vice president to perform the duties of arrested President Win Myint and NLD leader Suu Kyi. It has previously announced the appointment of ministers in the provisional government. The CRPH is appealing to the major powers to intervene with sanctions to pressure the military to make concessions. Neither the NLD nor the CRPH is committed to defending the democratic and social rights of working people in Myanmar. Suu Kyi has collaborated with the military for a decade, covering up their crimes against the Muslim Rohingya minority and appealing for foreign investment to exploit the countrys cheap labour. A genuine struggle for democratic rights requires a political fight against the capitalist system that is the source of the oppression of working people. [March 11, 2021] Pitchpoint Solutions, Inc. Accelerates Growth with $4.5 Million Financing from CIBC Innovation Banking CIBC Innovation Banking is pleased to announce a $4.5M growth capital facility for Toronto-based Pitchpoint Solutions, Inc. ("Pitchpoint"), a leading provider of fraud prevention services across the US for multiple industries, including mortgage, background and tenant screening, and anti-money laundering. Pitchpoint provides a comprehensive suite of services that enables lenders to detect and mitigate fraud risk early, and ensures compliance with investor guidelines, providing business process compliance across the organization. Pitchpoint enables creditors to instantly validate loan application data, reducing the risk of approving a fraudulent loan application, and ensuring compliance with mandatory fraud prevention regulations. "Pitchpoint has a very strong competitive positioning in the US fraud verification market," said Paul McKinlay, Managing Director in CIBC Innovation Banking's Toronto office. "We are excited to work with the company and support their growth." "We are committed to providing a roduct that continues to evolve and support creditors of all types across the US," said Stephen Schrump, Pitchpoint's Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to working with CIBC Innovation Banking as we continue to grow our business." About CIBC Innovation Banking CIBC Innovation Banking delivers strategic advice, cash management and funding to North American innovation companies at each stage of their business cycle, from start up to IPO and beyond. With offices in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Menlo Park, Montreal, New York, Reston, Toronto and Vancouver, the team has extensive experience and a strong, collaborative approach that extends across CIBC's commercial banking and capital markets businesses in the U.S. and Canada. About Pitchpoint PitchPoint is a leading provider of data and analytics solutions that empower clients to make smarter and more efficient decisions through data-driven insights. PitchPoint is committed to being a premier solution provider that clients rely on for their strategic goals, superior service to their customers, and overall success by delivering best-in-class software, services, and solutions with a relentless commitment to excellence, innovation, and leadership. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005015/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Chennai, March 11 : The Tamil Nadu government's decision to make the e-pass mandatory for those entering from Kerala has caused difficulties to thousands of passengers. The border towns of Coimbatore and Nagercoil witnessed people travelling to Tamil Nadu being stopped and not allowed to enter until the e-pass registration was done. The Tamil Nadu government has made e-pass mandatory for those travelling to the state from Kerala since March 10 following the surge in Covid cases in Kerala. Many were unaware of the decision and the police detained them at the borders, which led to serpentine queues. K.M. Babu, businessman, who commutes to Coimbatore from Palakkad while speaking to IANS over the telephone said, "I was not aware of the decision even though the TN government had announced it, I had to wait for long to register for e-pass as the mobile connectivity was poor at the Walayar borders. Both the governments should have made some other arrangements as this is creating problems for people like us, who are not in a position to register under e-pass mainly owing to lack of awareness and technical handicaps". College students, who daily travel from Parasuvakkal and Parasala at the borders of Thiruvananthapuram to Nagerocoil where several engineering and other colleges are situated, were also faced with the situation of waiting in the queues for long. Vikas Nair, who daily commutes to Nagercoil from Parasuvakkal on Kerala-TN border told IANS, "I did not register under e-pass and this has wasted me a day as it was a long and serpentine queue and getting registered is a cumbersome process as the lack of data speed affects it. Anyhow, I have registered and hope that from today onwards, there will not be any problems." Goods vehicles were, however, not stopped on Wednesday but will have to mandatorily register and its crew will not be given any leniency in the days to come. M.Selvaganapathy, Station officer of Tamil Nadu Police while speaking to IANS said, "We have created proper awareness that e-pass will be mandatory since Wednesday and people ignored it. However, after we were strict, things have changed and everyone has now started to register under the site -- eregister.tnega.org and this will help". People travelling to Bengaluru, who have to cross the Tamil Nadu border towns were also subjected to checking and after registration for e-pass were allowed to move further. 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. People hold up China's national flag during a flash mob to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on the Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong, south China, Sept. 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan) HONG KONG, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC) improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has a solid legal basis and will do good to Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, Hong Kong legal professionals have said. A draft decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR was submitted last Friday to the fourth session of the 13th NPC for deliberation. Louis Chen, the secretary general of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, said that as an important part of Hong Kong's political system, the initiative of the central authorities in improving the electoral system is justified. Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the evolution of Hong Kong's electoral system has been led and decided by the central authorities. In order to improve Hong Kong's electoral system and solve relevant issues, the NPC's Standing Committee has interpreted the Basic Law of the HKSAR for several times and made relevant decisions, exercising its constitutional power at the national level, Chen said, adding that according to the constitutional order, the central authorities play a dominant role in the development of democracy and the improvement of Hong Kong's electoral system. Ronny Tong, a member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR and senior counsel, said that from a constitutional point of view, Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy comes from the mandate of the NPC, which has the power to help the HKSAR improve its system. After the NPC Standing Committee amends Annexes I and II to the Basic Law of the HKSAR in accordance with the Constitution, the Basic Law of the HKSAR, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR and the relevant decisions of the NPC, the HKSAR shall make amendments to the relevant local laws accordingly, Tong said. Retired magistrate and barrister Symon Wong Yu-wing said that according to Articles 45, 68 and 159 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR, the NPC has the power to amend Annexes I and II to the Basic Law of the HKSAR to lawfully and timely improve the method for the selection of the HKSAR chief executive and the formation of the HKSAR's Legislative Council. As for the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong", it has been included in the HKSAR Basic Law since its inception, Wong said, adding that no constitution of any country allows people who do not love the country to rule. Willy Fu, vice chairman of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, said Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and the NPC is the highest organ of state power. Therefore, the NPC's review of the draft decision is completely constitutional, lawful and reasonable. Fu hoped that after the review and passage of the bill, the HKSAR will improve its local laws as soon as possible in accordance with the contents of the bill, so as to prevent anti-China disruptors and outside forces from grabbing the power to administer Hong Kong, and ensure the steady implementation of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong. Simon Hoey Lee, a member of the HKSAR Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee, said that Article 159 of the HKSAR Basic Law stipulates in detail the power to amend the HKSAR Basic Law and its procedures in four paragraphs. Paragraph 1 clearly stipulates that the power of amendment to the HKSAR Basic Law shall be vested in the NPC. Paragraph 2 stipulates that the power to propose bills for amendments to the HKSAR Basic Law shall be vested in the Standing Committee of the NPC, the State Council and the HKSAR, Lee said. The rest of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 stipulate that specific procedures of amendments are initiated by the HKSAR. Paragraph 4 stipulates that no amendment to the HKSAR Basic Law shall contravene the established basic policies of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong, he added. Lee said that the NPC authorized its Standing Committee to make relevant amendments because the HKSAR Basic Law is a national law enacted by the NPC. The NPC certainly has the power of interpretation and amendment over the HKSAR Basic Law. In fact, from a deeper legal point of view, any organ that makes laws has the power to make changes to the laws that it enacts. Therefore, the description in paragraph 1 is both a stipulation and an explanation of legal principle, Lee said. "Since the NPC has the power to amend the HKSAR Basic Law, it is natural for it to step in when there are defects in system which cannot be solved by Hong Kong itself," Lee said. The legal professionals also said that it is of particular practical significance to improve the electoral system of the HKSAR after the social unrest. Chan Man-ki, a deputy to the NPC from the HKSAR and founding president of the Small and Medium Law Firms Association of Hong Kong, said that improving the electoral system of the HKSAR can prevent "Hong Kong independence" activists from entering the governance structure of the HKSAR and prevent outside forces in Hong Kong from interfering in China's internal affairs and the affairs of the HKSAR. Chan said it is necessary to kick out those who are not qualified and violate the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong." Fu said that after entering the governance structure of the HKSAR by exploiting loopholes in the system, the unrest instigators wantonly disrupted the operation of the Legislative Council and the District Councils, and maliciously obstructed the administration of the HKSAR government, which had a serious impact on the well-being of Hong Kong people. Therefore, it is imperative and necessary to fully implement the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," which will play a key role in safeguarding national security and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, Fu added. Chan Hiu-fung, a deputy to the NPC from the HKSAR and head of Hong Kong and Mainland Legal Profession Association, said that improving the electoral system of the HKSAR can close the loopholes in it, ensure the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong", and make sure that the principle of "one country, two systems" is fully applied in Hong Kong without distortion. In a temporary relief to homegrown auto major Tata Motors, the Delhi high court has issued a stay order on the Delhi government's decision to remove its electric compact SUV Tata Nexon EV from the list of electric cars that receive the subsidy. The court also gave the Delhi government time to file a counter affidavit on the matter. The company moved the high court on March 9 after the Kejriwal government decided to cut off subsidy on Tata Nexon EV, India's largest selling electric car, as several people complained about the model failing to meet the promised drive range. Range, the number of kilometres an electric car can travel on one full charge, is a critical component and a major stumbling block for EV due to the lack of an adequate number of charging stations in the country. The decision by the Delhi government was based on such complaints after it had served a show-cause notice to the company in December and had found its response non-satisfactory. The state government also formed a committee to look into complaints, which is still probing the matter. A Tata Motors statement said the Delhi high court has issued a notice on its writ petition and granted interim relief by directing a stay against the delisting of Nexon EV from the Delhi government's eligible list of vehicles. "The honourable high court has granted time to the Delhi Government to file counter affidavit in the matter," the auto major said. Also read: Delhi govt suspends subsidy on Nexon EV on low mileage claims; Tata says unfortunate The Delhi government on March 1 suspended subsidy on Nexon EV after it received multiple complaints from customers of low range. The suspension comes barely three days after the car won a prestigious first evergreen car of the year award at the Indian Car of the Year Awards ceremony last Friday. Launched in January 2020, Nexon EV is priced at Rs 14-16.4 lakh and has quickly become the largest selling EV in the country with nearly 3,000 unit sales and a commanding market share of 64 per cent. Part of it is due to state government subsidies like in Delhi, which goes up to Rs 3 lakh per vehicle. The vehicle comes with a 30.2 kwh battery pack, which gives it an ARAI certified range of 312 kilometres. It has, however, received flak from customers who claim to have got a much lower range of not more than 200 kilometres. Tata Motors had earlier termed the decision of the Delhi Transport Commission as "unfortunate", insisting the car had an ARAI certified range of 312 kilometres, which can be achieved under ideal conditions, adding that it would work with customers to familiarise them with the technology. Also read: Tata Nexon EV achieves 2,000 sales milestone in 10 months since launch Also Read: Tata launches new Nexon variant, price begins at Rs 8.36 lakh [March 11, 2021] Passport's Performance Highlights Client Revenue Gains and more than $2B in Mobility Payments Processed CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cities across the country are partnering with Passport, a transportation software company that supports the management of vehicle interactions with streets and sidewalks, through unique digital parking payment technology. The parking industry is benefiting from the tailwinds of economic recovery and Passport is well poised to focus on the needs of its clients base thanks to the expansion of services through critical partnerships. Khristian Gutierrez, Passport's Chief Revenue Officer, says that cities are looking at private partnerships to support their pandemic recovery efforts. "Our Operating System provides the digital infrastructure that cities need to manage and consolidate backend operations and offer more contactless payment choice to parkers," he explains. "The parking ecosystem is one piece of a city's recovery, but it's a key aspect in helping cities generate revenue after such a tumultuous year." Passport supports over 1,000 clients of all sizes in North America and has processed more than $2B mobility transactions to date. The company has seen financial growth of 457% over the past three years and is the second-fastest-growing software company in North Carolina. Deloitte applauded this growth along with the company's innovative mobility capabilities in late November, ranking the company 246th on its Technology Fast 500 for 2020 . Many cities have turned to Passport to help them generate lost revenue to gt back on track in the wake of the pandemic. Hamilton, Ontario launched Passport's mobile payment solution in July of 2020 and more than doubled its mobile payment parking transactions in less than four months. From the beginning of 2020 to the end of December, Vancouver, Washington exponentially increased its mobile payment revenue by almost 2.5 times. "The nice thing about the Parking Kitty app is that it allows people to not touch a pay-station," says Vancouver Parking Manager, Steve Kaspan. "It gives peace of mind to those who are nervous about public touch points." In late 2020, the City of Bend, Oregon began leveraging the Passport Operating System to offer Passport's mobile pay parking, parking enforcement, and digital permitting solutions. Tobias Marx, Parking Services Division Manager for Bend, explains he used to spend over half of his day manually processing appeals. Now, with a digital solution in place, it takes him 30 minutes. "Bend attracts thousands of visitors each year, so it's vital that we offer easy parking payment options and equip ourselves with technology to encourage parking compliance," he says. "We would have never been able to make these enforcement upgrades without Passport." In February of 2021, Passport also announced the expansion of Passport within Google Maps , providing even more drivers around the country with another digitized parking payment option and seamless parking experiences. "These third-party partnerships serve as a natural extension of our mission, which is to make parking payment experiences simple and accessible," says Khristian. "In working with outside vendors, we can amplify our product offerings and give cities even more capabilities in managing their parking ecosystem effectively and efficiently." A successful start to the year of new launches and key partnerships accentuated the company's value to cities and showcased the Passport Operating System's capabilities beyond seamless mobile payment transactions. To learn more about how Passport supports cities' mobility infrastructure, visit the company website . About Passport Passport sets cities in motion, helping to create more livable, equitable communities. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Passport is a transportation software company delivering the operating system that enables cities to manage vehicle interactions with streets and sidewalks. With Passport, city leaders increase convenience, efficiency, and compliance today and tomorrow. Trusted by more than 1,000 cities, universities, and agencies, including Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Miami, Passport is one of the fastest-growing companies on the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists and named to Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies for 2020. Media Contact: Allison Guthrie passport@greenbrier.partners (818) 523-8581 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/passports-performance-highlights-client-revenue-gains-and-more-than-2b-in-mobility-payments-processed-301245465.html SOURCE Passport [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The deceased has been identified as Srilatha, who was married to Shivakumar (31) in 2013. HYDERABAD: Mystery shrouds the death of a 28-year-old housewife, who was found dead in a lake under Dundigal police station limits late Tuesday night. The womans family alleged that her husband used to harass her for putting on weight. The deceased has been identified as Srilatha, who was married to Shivakumar (31) in 2013. The husband is a constable at the Sanatnagar police station. Their children are aged six and five years. According to the complaint, filed by the victims mother, at the time of marriage Shivakumar demanded dowry citing Srilatha's weight as a reason and took 25 tolas of gold and Rs 12 lakh in cash and later demanded another Rs five lakh. "After three years of their marital life, Shivakumar started harassing Srilatha for putting on weight. He also had an illegal relationship with another woman, which worsened the differences," said the complainant. When Srilatha confronted him about his illegal relationship, Shivakumar increased his harassment. On Tuesday night, Srilathas tenants informed the complainant that her daughter had gone missing. When she tried to call, the mobiles of both her daughter and her son-in-law were switched off. In a panic, the mother called Shivakumar's brother who confirmed that Srilathas slippers were found near a lake. She rushed to the spot along with other family members and found her daughter drowned in the lake. Suspecting foul-play, she lodged a formal complaint on Wednesday with Dundigal police who booked a case and began an investigation. Sidharth Shukla To Reunite With Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt For 'Dulhania' Part 3? With Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan starrer Badrinath Ki Dulhania clocking three years since its release the buzz is strong about the dulhania franchise extending with a Part 3. The posts of Alia and Varun itself starred this speculation after both the actors mentioned discussing the third part with the director on the occasion. To add to all this buzz, reports are now claiming that Dulhania 3 will bring back Sidharth Shukla on the big screen in the franchise. The Bigg Boss winner had marked his debut in Bollywood with the first film of the franchise, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. He played Alias fiancee in the movie and after the success he had gained with Balika Vadhu on TV, he had an imposing presence in the film. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) Well, if that was then, now the actor had a humongous fan following all thanks to his Bigg Boss win which catapulted him to superstardom as a TV celebrity. The reports claiming Sidharth return to the franchise will certainly be something big worth celebrating for his fans. Apart from Alia and Varuns very obvious hint about Part 3, there has been no official confirmation on new developments or Sidharths involvement. The scoop comes from the social media account Mr. Khabri which through the Bigg Boss seasons has been sharing inside updates on the show. The post goes so far as to mention that filmmaker Karan Johar will this time direct the project instead of Shashank Khaitan and the film will go on floors in November. Sidharth is currently busy with his digital debut Broken But Beautiful 3 where he will be seen opposite debutante Sonali Rathee. ---- A little less than 9 percent of Americans have been infected with the coronavirus. In the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility where immigrants are detained, however, the infection rate is more than 25 percent. Yet even with a court order, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cant seem to get vaccines to detainees most likely to become gravely ill and die should they contract COVID-19. For some reason, this problem appears to be ICEs alone. Prison advocates say no other federal agency is having trouble getting vaccines for incarcerated people. Which raises the question of whether ICEs problem is logistical or institutional in an agency that came to be the face of former President Donald Trumps anti-immigrant bigotry and inhumane policies. As the Times Unions Massarah Mikati writes, the detention facility in Batavia had to be put under court order last August to protect detainees from getting sick. Coronavirus infection and transmission is a particular concern in congregate settings where people are in close quarters and the population is fluid, and Batavia had already had a COVID-19 outbreak last March and April. The court order required that vulnerable people have individual cells and be allowed to eat meals in them, have biweekly virus testing, be able to shower alone and have access to masks, soap, and shower disinfectant. Officers and staff must wear masks when interacting with them. Those are all basic steps that ICE should not have had to be ordered to do, measures that can help hold down infection not just in the facility but the outside world. Guards and staff, remember, come and go and can take the virus out into communities. Likewise, at least some detainees with pending cases may well be released far and wide in New York and other states. Its in societys interest to try to keep them virus free. And, of course, theres the matter of simply doing whats right. It would be reprehensible to withhold vaccines from people for whom the government is responsible, and who qualify for them, simply because of their immigration status. Yet the New York Civil Liberties Union and Prisoner Legal Services of New York are back in court trying to get ICE to vaccinate eligible detainees. The groups had been trying to press ICE and state health officials to provide vaccines since the latest outbreak at Batavia erupted in February. A federal judge ordered ICE to develop a vaccination plan for eligible detainees, but the agency has yet to produce one. It claims its having trouble getting the vaccine. That may be. But given ICEs track record of mistreating immigrants the Trump administrations way of trying to discourage illegal immigration were skeptical. President Joe Biden has signaled he wants to enact more sensible and humane immigration policies. Here is a good place to start: treating detainees in Batavia like human beings. Since midnight, enemy forces have not attacked Ukrainian troops. The Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces has reported one killed in action (KIA) amid eight violations of the ceasefire agreement by Russia-controlled armed groups in the Donbas warzone on Wednesday, March 10. "In the past day, March 10, eight ceasefire violations were 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 March 11, 2021. In particular, Russia's armed formations fired automatic rifles near the village of Starohnativka. "A serviceman with the Joint Forces was seriously wounded as a result of the shelling. The defender was provided medical assistance but unfortunately, it was impossible to save him. The Joint Forces' Command expresses its sincere condolences to his family and friends," it said. Also, the enemy used hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near the villages of Pivdenne and Troyitske, as well as automatic grenade launchers near the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Vodiane in the Azov Sea littoral. What is more, the invaders fired grenade launchers of various systems and heavy machine guns near the towns of Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, and the village of Lomakine. The Joint Forces fired back, the report said. Read alsoUkraine, Germany, France develop peace plan for Donbas, awaiting approval from Russia YermakThe violations were reported to OSCE representatives through the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the ceasefire in Donbas. Since midnight, enemy forces have not attacked Ukrainian troops. The Ukrainian military say the situation is under their 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 (Natural News) In celebration of International Womens Day, Beijing Biden announced from the White House that the military is working hard on developing maternity flight suits so that soldiers who are pregnant can more easily float down into enemy territory while at war. Immediately after forgetting where he even was along with the name of the general who was standing behind him, China Joe segued into bumbling through a teleprompter script about all the ways that the military is sexist against women, which supposedly drives them not to participate in military-industrial complex wargames. Some of its relatively straight-forward work where were making good progress designing body armor that fits women properly, tailoring combat uniforms for women, creating maternity flight suits, updating updating requirements for their st [sic] hairstyle, Hunters dad mumbled slowly with many pauses and delays while he attempted to activate his brain. And some of it is going to take an uh, you know and its and an intensity, a purpose, and mission to really change the culture and habits that cause women to leave the military. You can check out the video for yourself below: Our Military is turning into a joke. pic.twitter.com/Fl63GGkKlW The Columbia Bugle (@ColumbiaBugle) March 8, 2021 Poll: Most Americans can clearly see that Biden is mentally ill China Joes display is one that Americans have come to expect from this obvious mental patient. In fact, a new Rasmussen poll found that more American voters are concerned about Bidens mental and physical decline than are confident in his ability to perform. Only 34 percent of voters say they have confidence in Bidens ability to lead the country, while 40 percent can clearly see that Biden is barely able to get through a sentence without completely losing his train of thought. Biden has yet to hold a single White House press conference, despite having been inaugurated more than six weeks ago. He barely makes any appearances at all, in fact, leaving one to wonder who is really at the helm of the ship. According to Rasmussen, 52 percent of likely U.S. voters are concerned about the fact that Biden has not yet held a press conference. Thirty-seven percent of these people say they are very concerned about Bidens inability to perform this necessary duty. And yet somehow, we are all supposed to believe that Pedo Joe received more votes than any other president in history. This mentally ill senior citizen who forgets his own name, the mainstream media insists, received more votes than Barack Obama and Donald Trump. There is simply no way in hell that this addled old man was elected, wrote one commenter at The Gateway Pundit about the theft of the 2020 election for Dementia Joe. Another commenter compared Biden to one of those old homeless guys who roams the streets shuffling and screaming about nonsense, adding that a strong breeze would likely blow the guy over, requiring an ambulance to rush him off to the hospital for a broken hip. We have a stupid, stuttering corpse running our country who knows who is actually running it, to be honest, wrote another, suggesting that things are about to get a whole lot worse once Kamala Harris takes Joes place. This has been the plan from the beginning, added another. Get him elected any way you can even if you have to cheat. Move Harris to President after the 25th Amendment is used against Biden. Then Pelosi becomes vice president. It is a horrific thought, but this commenter would seem to be correct. It is only a matter of time before this all comes to fruition. More related news about Beijing Biden can be found at Collapse.news. Sources for this article include: TheGatewayPundit.com NaturalNews.com TheGatewayPundit.com RasmussenReports.com NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said that its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate has received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or CHMP of the European Medicines Agency or EMA. The CHMP has recommended Conditional Marketing Authorization for the vaccine candidate, developed by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical, to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. The vaccine will be the fourth to be authorized for use in the European union following the Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Johnson & Johnson said that phase 3 ENSEMBLE study showed that its COVID-19 vaccine was well tolerated and demonstrated a 67 percent reduction in symptomatic COVID-19 disease in participants who received the vaccine in comparison to participants given the placebo. The onset of protection was observed from day 14 and was maintained 28 days post-vaccination. The data also demonstrated the vaccine was 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease across all regions studied, and showed protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death, beginning 28 days after vaccination. Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine received Emergency Use Authorization in the United States on February 27. The vaccine has also been granted Interim Order authorization in Canada. According to Johnson & Johnson, the COVID-19 single-dose vaccine candidate is compatible with standard vaccine storage and distribution channels with ease of delivery to remote areas. The vaccine is estimated to remain stable for two years at minus 15 degree celsius to minus 25 degree celsius and a maximum of three months at routine refrigeration at temperatures of 2 degree celsius to 8 degree celsius. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX JOHNSON & JOHNSON-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de 35 GOP Senators, Representatives Blast Democrats Bringing Back Earmarks Bringing back earmarks in federal spending is the worst way to build back trust in Congress because they are a quasi-legalized form of bribery that enables Washingtons spending addiction. Thats according to 35 Republican members of the Senate and House of Representatives who signed a March 10 letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). Members want Congress to help their communities, particularly now as the pandemic exposed so many inequalities and needs, DeLauro said in a statement announcing the return. Community Project Funding [CPF] will allow Members to put their deep, first-hand understanding of the needs of their communities to work to help the people we represent. DeLauro said that beginning in 2022, all members of Congress will be able to designate up to 10 earmarks, or CPFs, each year. Names of earmark sponsors and details of the projects to be funded are to be made public. Leahy has spoken favorably to a return of earmarks, but details remain to be worked out between Senate and House appropriators. Earmarks are special-interest spending provisions inserted into major appropriation bills and couched in vague legislative language that often make them extremely difficult to identify. The spending not infrequently benefits, directly or indirectly, a congressmans family member, former staff aide, or campaign donor. The letter-signers want no part of a return to earmarks. As you know, the 2000s were marred by infamous earmarks like the Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere, an indoor rainforest in Iowa, a Teapot Museum, and absurd research projects like analyzing Goth culture. The wide-spread practice of earmarks was corrupting, the signers told Leahy and DeLauro. The move to return earmarks is tantamount to using tax dollars to buy votes on the floors of the Senate and House, according to the Republican signers. Earmarks were used to buy and sell votes and reward favors. Earmarks brought discredit on the House and Senate and ultimately led to several Members of Congress being convicted on corruption charges. In order to restore public trust in Congress, the practice of earmarking was officially put on a moratorium in 2011 under Republican leadership, the signers wrote. Pressure has been growing in recent years to bring back earmarks as a way of overcoming the hyperpartisan gridlock that often paralyzes Congress, forcing frequent resorts to continue resolutions that force congressmen to vote for them or see the federal government shut down. Democrats are, for the most part, enthusiastic about the return, as are some Republicans. But bringing back earmarks is still a bad idea, the signers told Leahy and DeLauro. Nothing epitomizes whats wrong with Washington more than pork-barrel spending in the form of congressional earmarks. According to the taxpayer watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste, Congress has doled out more than 111,000 earmarks worth more than $375 billion since 1991, the signers wrote. Earmarks are also used as the grease to help enable Washingtons spending addiction. They have been used as a quasi-legalized form of bribery to entice members of Congress to approve large spending packages that increase our deficit and explode the national debt. In an era of trillion-dollar deficits and a $27 trillion debt, it is hard to imagine how we will ever be able to restore any form of financial responsibility if big spenders in the halls of Congress are able to use earmarks to keep spending money we dont have. We cannot imagine a worse way to build back trust in Congress than to resurrect a system that has been roundly rejected as corruptive and wasteful for decades. Republican senators signing the letter include Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). Republican representatives signing the letter include Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Marjorie Greene (R-Ga.), Bob Good (R-Va.), Greg Steube (R-Fla.), Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Lance Gooden (R-Texas), Matthew Rosendale (R-Mont.), Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.). Notably absent from the new process is an explicit ban on CPFs that benefit campaign donors or favored special interests such as environmental activists, oil and gas operators, and defense industry contractors. The new earmark procedures include a requirement that no vote be taken by the committee or one of its subcommittees until a CPF request has been publicly available at least 48 hours. Congress routinely waives similar rules it currently has that are intended to give every member at least three days to read proposed bills before voting on them. Contact Mark Tapscott at Mark.Tapscott@epochtimes.nyc New Delhi: It is a known fact that high levels of good cholesterol are considered to be beneficial for health. However, the excess of the same can put your health at risk, as per a new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. As a matter of fact, cholesterol, a lipid molecule, is important for the normal functioning of the human body. The research indicated that people who have extremely high levels of good cholesterol were found to have a higher mortality rate when compared to people with normal levels. Researchers, in order to conduct the study, analysed the data of 1,16,000 people. These people were followed by the team for an average of six years. The results were shocking as it revealed more than 10,500 deaths. For men who had extremely high levels of cholesterol, the mortality rate was 106 percent higher when compared to the normal group. In case of women with extremely high levels, the mortality rate was 68 percent higher than the normal group. Doctors are known to congratulate patients with high level of HDL (good cholesterol) in their blood. But the new research suggests it should be avoided as it is linked to higher mortality rate. This is not all. The researchers have also claimed that people who have extremely low levels of cholesterol in their blood also have the risk of mortality. People who had medium levels of HDL in their blood were found to have the lowest mortality. For women, this level was 2.4 mmol/L while for men it was 1.9 mmol/L. In July 1995, the Bosnian Serb army, under the command of Gen. Ratko Mladic, overran the town of Srebrenica, which had been declared a safe haven by the United Nations. Muslim civilians sought refuge at a nearby U.N. base, but were handed over to Mladics soldiers, who separated them by gender and loaded them into buses and trucks. Around 8,000 men and boys were murdered, their bodies buried in mass graves, in one of the worst atrocities of the wars that convulsed the former Yugoslavia for much of the decade. At the time, many in the West wondered how this could happen how genocidal violence could erupt in Europe barely 50 years after the end of World War II. Quo Vadis, Aida?, Jasmila Zbanics unsparing and astonishing new film, shows precisely how. This isnt the same as explaining why, though Zbanics granular, hour-by-hour, lightly fictionalized dramatization of the events leading up to the massacre sheds some glancing light on that question. Mladic (Boris Isakovic) is an unnervingly familiar figure. A self-infatuated bully who travels everywhere with a cameraman, he punctuates his displays of power with litanies of grievance. But the movie isnt really about him. He and his officers may be the authors of the nightmare, but the viewer suffers through it in the company of Aida Selmanagic (Jasna Duricic), who works as a translator for the U.N. 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. Ghosh said that he heard that her car driver hit a roadside post and demanded a CBI probe into her allegation to unravel what actually happened. PTI file photo Kolkata: West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Thursday mocked chief minister Mamata Banerjees high voltage claim of an attack by a group of men on her in the absence of the police in Nandigram as Nachte Na Janle Uthon Banka (A bad carpenter quarrels with his tools). Those who always made a drama of everything are not trusted by anyone. There is beautiful proverb in Bengali. It says Nachte Na Janle Uthon Banka. There were so many media! But no one could find her being attacked by so many men who also managed to flee. It is a matter of concern since she is a Z-plus category protectee. Does that mean the police and administration have become worthless? he asked. Mr Ghosh also alleged the TMC supremo resorted to theatrics knowingly as she has realised she will lose in the hot seat of the Assembly election. Anyone can lie down, to stoke public sentiments, wearing a bandage on the leg. But it will not help someone to get votes in the election, the Midnapore MP added. According to the state BJP chief: I heard that her car driver hit a roadside post. There should be a CBI probe into her allegation to unravel what actually happened. At least Ms Banerjee should allow that inquiry to happen for her own satisfaction. The truth will be out only then. He also bantered with the TMC chief and said: We want her to get fit fast. We know when someone visit a place of devotion, he or she stays well. But we do not know why it is happening the other way round. It was just a drama. More dangerous things will happen later to win the polls as those who are trailing can do anything. The people as well as the administration should stay alert. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, includes $386 million for a new job training program to assist veterans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program offers up to 12 months of cash payments to eligible veterans who enroll in job training programs for high-demand jobs. Veterans who participate in the program will receive a monthly housing allowance (MHA) that is roughly equal to the military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for a married E-5. This is the same as the Post-9/11 GI Bill MHA. Related: Check out your 2021 BAH Rates Under the new program, the Department of Veterans Affairs will pay any tuition costs directly to the school, leaving the veteran with no out-of-pocket expenses. Who Is Eligible? To be eligible for this new program, veterans must: Be between ages 22-66; Be unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; Not be eligible for any federal GI Bill program (if eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, they must have transferred their benefits to family members -- thereby having no GI Bill eligibility for themselves); Not be VA rated as totally disabled due to unemployability; Not be enrolled in any other federal or state employment programs; or Not be in receipt of any unemployment or CARES Act benefits. The program will run until either the $386 million has been allocated or 17,250 veterans are trained, whichever comes first. What Type of Training Is Covered? The new program will not cover any courses that are designed to lead to a college degree; the training must be designed specifically to lead to a job. According to the law, that means that the course must be approved either under the very popular VET TEC program, an existing GI Bill pilot program, or it must be on the list of high-demand occupations that is created by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Related: VA's New VET TEC Training Program Runs Out of Money After One Month See a list of training programs offered under VA's VET TEC program. Expect the VA to release more details soon. The VA will cover the full cost of the training. To help make sure that shady operators don't try to scam veterans or Uncle Sam out of their money, the program has a special payment plan: The VA will pay half of the tuition to the school when a veteran enrolls; Another 25% of the tuition will be paid when a veteran graduates; If a veteran finds a job within six months of completing the training, the school gets paid the final 25% of its cost. The job must be related to the training the veteran received. No job = no money. Keep Up With Your Education Benefits Whether you need a guide on how to use your GI Bill, want to take advantage of tuition assistance and scholarships, or get the lowdown on education benefits available for your family, Military.com can help. Subscribe to Military.com to have education tips and benefits updates delivered directly to your inbox. Steel maker Liberty was rocked last week by the implosion of Greensill Capital Unions have urged the Government to step in if Liberty Steel collapses. France vowed not a single job would be at risk if the company went under and Community, Unite and GMB have pressed ministers to give the same assurances to workers in Britain. Steel maker Liberty was rocked last week by the implosion of Greensill Capital, which was the biggest financer to its parent company, GFG Alliance. Metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta, which owns and runs GFG, is scrambling to find new backers. But the funding troubles could threaten the future of Libertys steel plants, which employ 3,000 people in the UK. Liberty has about 1,200 staff at several steel plants in France. This week French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said he had no worries over job losses because the government would step in to protect jobs. A spokesman for the National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee said: We look to the Business Secretary to confirm he will intervene if necessary. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it was still monitoring the situation. Plus, Inner Mongolia prepares to crack down even more on crypto mining; a new study shines a light on the potential environmental impact of 5G; and the yuan surges to a three-year high against the U.S. dollar Jun 02, 2021 03:26 PM Irish exporters have until next year to comply with UK customs rules after the British government postponed another Brexit deadline. British cabinet office minister David Frost announced on Thursday that the UK will not introduce full border controls until January 1, 2022 six months later than planned. Traders had been preparing for the phasing in of new rules from April 1, when animals, food and plant products would have required export health certificates. The full UK customs code including veterinary and paperwork checks was due to apply from July. The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) welcomed the move, but said it could cause confusion. Whilst having more time to prepare will be a relief to many Irish businesses, we have concerns about the wider issue of postponing deadlines and the uncertainty that creates in the long-run, said IEA chief executive Simon McKeever. This decision, of course, just highlights the total lack of preparation for Brexit by the UK, and I question whether they will, in fact, be ready by the end of this year." Lord Frost, the UK governments new Brexit point man who took over from Michael Gove last week said it would give traders time to focus on getting back on their feet as the economy opens up. As a sovereign trading nation outside the EU, we have freedom to take decisions in our national interest and in the interest of our businesses, Lord Frost said in a statement. We are confident that this new timetable will allow import businesses to re-establish their trading arrangements after a difficult period due to coronavirus, in the most straightforward and lightest touch way possible. The news comes a week after the UK announced a unilateral extension of grace periods for British food exports and parcel deliveries to Northern Ireland, which the EU has said is a breach of the 2019 Brexit deal. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, told RTEs Morning Ireland on Thursday that politics is "'very strained right now" in Northern Ireland because of the move. The EU is preparing infringement proceedings against the UK following its unilateral decision. Its the second time the bloc has launched the procedure. The first was following the UKs controversial internal market bill last summer. One year under pandemic: Creativity, resiliency and community at W&M A year of pandemic: Over the past 12 months, William & Mary and its community members faced unprecedented challenges, all while finding ways to support one another and the larger community. Photo by Jim Agnew Photo - of - Hide Caption One year ago today, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. That same day, William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe announced that in-person classes were suspended and that the university would move to remote modes of instruction. We are in wholly new territory and will learn as we go, together, she said. For many of us as individuals, there will be disappointments and frustrations. For some, there may be real sacrifices, unexpected challenges or burdens that are hard to see. So I ask that you hold close our core values of belonging and respect. William & Mary is a resilient community. I have seen this firsthand, particularly in recent weeks. We take care of each other. I am confident that will be the case in the coming days and weeks. Her words would prove true over the next 12 months as the university and its community members faced unprecedented trials, experiencing both challenges and successes all while finding ways to support one another and the larger community. The following is a look back at the past year and some of its significant milestones. Links within the text will take you to some of the stories that highlight how the W&M community responded to the pandemic, both on campus and abroad. Find more stories related to W&Ms response to COVID-19. The W&M community is finding creative and innovative ways to stay healthy and flourish this year. View the Gallery. Responding to a crisis March 7-15, 2020: Spring break, students are asked to not return to campus yet March 11: W&M declares a shift to remote learning, cancels events and travel March 14: Campus is informed of first known positive case, a staff member March 16: Campus closes to the general public; employees are asked to work remotely March 23: Classes begin online March 25: Undergraduate residence halls close March 27: President Katherine A. Rowe hosts first virtual community conversation April 16: Moment of silence for those who died from COVID-19 May 16: Virtual degree conferral ceremony As the country grappled with the steady spread of the virus in early 2020, William & Marys leaders approached the crisis with phased decision-making and a commitment to four goals: safeguarding the health of students, faculty and staff; ensuring students complete their classes; maintaining the universitys research and other operations; and joining in the national effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. The university announced interim guidelines on March 11. All in-person classes were suspended, with classes beginning again online or remotely on March 23. Additionally, W&M canceled all university-sponsored travel and events. A website was launched to provide online instruction, remote learning and technology resources and support for faculty and staff. The Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation offered an assortment of resources to help faculty members throughout the transition to remote teaching and learning, from daily webinars, drop-in sessions and new tutorials. Health & Wellness did a quick pivot to producing video content as the campus community started to disperse in mid-March, creating a Virtual Health & Wellness website, which launched March 19. Private support through the For the Bold campaign helped provide resources for students in need. The newly established Health, Emergencies, And Resources for the Tribe (HEART) Fund, the Edith Rohlfs Marsh Endowment, the Student Affairs Emergency Fund (non-loan) and the Janet, John and Elizabeth Osborn Emergency Fund Endowment are just a few examples of funds that were tapped to help students facing hardships during the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, students and alumni played a critical role in meeting the needs of the community. Several students stayed in Williamsburg to continue in healthcare roles. My first shift going back into the hospital after everything happened, I said to myself, OK, this is the choice that Ive made. I am not going home for the foreseeable future, said Gillian Gaunt 21, a scribe at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. Im going to stay here and help in the smallest way possible. Operating in pandemic June 12, 2020: W&M announces The Path Forward: Fall 2020, including multiple modes of learning and an early start and early end to the semester July 22: W&M announces testing requirements July 27: W&M launches Healthy Together Community Commitment Aug. 5: W&Ms campus reopens Aug. 8: First phase of move-in begins, with negative COVID tests required Aug. 19: Undergraduate classes begin online and virtual opening ceremony held Oct. 12-23: Virtual Homecoming & Reunion Weekend Nov. 25: Undergraduate residence halls close Dec. 12: Virtual Yule Log ceremony During the summer months, the university prepared for a potential return to in-person classes, shifting its efforts among changing guidelines from the state and other government entities. Classrooms were reconfigured to meet physical distancing guidelines, a testing program was established and the universitys Healthy Together Community Commitment was created to establish a set of shared norms for the universitys community. The universitys faculty found new ways to teach and conduct research, including faculty in fields like STEM and the arts, in which in-person activities are usually required. Staff also found ways to adapt, some of them stepping into completely new roles and making new connections with other employees. There was this great group conscience on campus that said we need to communicate and work together for us to succeed, said Tim Russell, university space manager in Facilities Management. Meanwhile, W&Ms leadership looked for ways to minimize the long-term consequences of the financial impact of COVID-19. Among other things, the university instituted a hiring freeze and employees were asked to curtail all purchases not considered mission critical. As the fall semester got underway, after a phased move-in, the university continued its testing efforts, adding in wastewater and prevalence testing. A case management team was established to help guide people who tested positive or were in close contact with someone who had, and Richmond Hall became the first location of quarantine housing for students. The university also launched a dashboard to provide the community the latest data on current cases among students and employees. Additionally, a Public Health Advisory Team was created to provide the COVID Response Team with expert guidance, based on medical research, scientific data, guidance from federal and state agencies and consultation with professional peers. Its easy to react and become fearful, says Amy Sebring M.P.P. 95, William & Marys chief operating officer and COVID-19 director, who chairs the Public Health Advisory Team. I appreciate this team so much because they are so knowledgeable. They also are really good at keeping us focused on the science and combatting fear. Despite everything happening at William & Mary, the universitys community never stopped looking for ways to serve the greater good. Adapting to pandemic conditions, William & Marys Office of Community Engagement transformed its ongoing programs to continue reaching out. The departments new GivePulse platform is offering students and community members ways to connect with service opportunities, and the Presidential Call to Service Council is spending this academic year exploring what service expansion could look like in the future. The universitys alumni have also played a significant role in serving the community and combatting COVID-19, many of them on the front lines of the effort to slow or stop the spread of the virus. For instance, Dr. Lisa A. Jackson 84 was part of a team that launched one of the first human clinical trials for a vaccine to block infection from the virus that causes COVID-19. Maj. George M. Chip Autry V 02 helped coordinate vaccine distribution as part of Operation Warp Speed. And Melissa J. Moore '84 has been a significant part of Moderna's efforts to produce COVID-19 vaccines as the company's chief scientific officer of platform research. Looking to the future Jan. 22, 2021: Phased move-in for the spring semester begins Jan. 27-Feb. 9: Undergraduate classes begin remotely Feb. 10: In-person and blended instruction begins Feb. 11: Virtual Charter Day ceremony Feb. 12: First spring break day of the semester Feb. 18: Community conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci March 1-8: W&M, City of Williamsburg and VDH work together to vaccinate 500 W&M employees in a week. March 2: University announces Commencement plans for Class of 2020 and 2021 William & Mary started the spring semester with another phased move-in and a plan to modify the traditional one-week Spring Break to provide students with one-day breaks throughout the semester. The universitys Charter Day ceremony was held virtually, and plans for in-person Commencement activities for the classes of 2020 and 2021 were announced. In a virtual community conversation Feb. 18, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci told the W&M community that he expected vaccines to be widely available to college-aged students in May. Fauci said he has seen many people come together to help fight COVID-19. Theres still work to be done, however. Where I would like to see it be is we have this outbreak under control and it is no longer the threat that it is, Fauci said. I believe were going to get there within this calendar year in the United States, but the problem is a global pandemic requires a global response. With vaccines now being available through the Virginia Department of Health, the COVID Response Team has been working closely with VDH and its regional partners to identify possible vaccination opportunities for employees. During the first week of March alone, the COVID Response Team was able to help more than 500 people receive their vaccination, according to a March 9 message from Sebring. It is not lost on me that the reason William & Mary is able to remain open throughout the pandemic is directly linked to our communitys ability to remain compassionate and caring, Sebring said. The Healthy Together Community Commitment is a reflection that we have a shared responsibility to one another. Time and time again, we have come together to prove that we are a resilient, and now even stronger, W&M community. 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. When asked about how the county would spend the money, Preckwinkle said there will be a similar flurry of assistance programs for small businesses, affordable housing and other COVID-19 recovery initiatives as seen last year from CARES Act funding. Cook County Health, which runs two safety-net hospitals in Chicago as well as CountyCare, the countys Medicaid expansion program, also stands to benefit. Finally, cities, townships and villages with under 50,000 residents also will get some of that $998 million, as the act only provides direct support to larger municipalities. Williamstown Police Sgt. Scott McGowan poses for a photo in 2017 outside the holding cell in the towns former police station. Last August, McGowan filed a lawsuit against two top town leaders alleging racial bias and sexual harassment within the police department, an action that shook Williamstown. On March 1 week, he was placed on paid administrative leave after being named in a complaint backed by all of the rank-and-file, full-time members of the police department. Last fall, the U.S. Air Force simulated a conflict set more than a decade in the future that began with a Chinese biological-weapon attack that swept through U.S. bases and warships in the Indo-Pacific region. Then a major Chinese military exercise was used as cover for the deployment of a massive invasion force. The simulation culminated with Chinese missile strikes raining down on U.S. bases and warships in the region, and a lightning air and amphibious assault on the island of Taiwan. The highly classified war game, which has not been previously made public, took place less than a year after the coronavirus, reportedly originating in a Chinese market, spread to the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, taking one of the U.S. Navys most significant assets out of commission. The USS Theodore Roosevelt in San Diego in 2020. (Seaman Dylan Lavin via Getty Images) Then in September in the midst of the war game, actual Chinese combat aircraft intentionally flew over the rarely crossed median line in the Taiwan Strait in the direction of Taipei an unprecedented 40 times and conducted simulated attacks on the island that Taiwans premier called disturbing. Amid those provocations, Chinas air force released a video showing a bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons carrying out a simulated attack on Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. Pacific island of Guam. The title of the Hollywood-like propaganda video was The god of war H-6K [bomber] goes on the attack! In case the new U.S. administration failed to get the intended message behind all that provocative military activity, four days after President Biden took office, a large force of Chinese bombers and fighters flew past Taiwan and launched simulated missile attacks on the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group as it was sailing in international waters in the South China Sea. Little wonder that many foreign affairs and national security experts believe the global pandemic has accelerated trends that were already pushing the United States and China toward a potential confrontation as the worlds leading status quo and rising power, respectively. This month the Council on Foreign Relations released a special report, The United States, China, and Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War, which concluded that Taiwan is becoming the most dangerous flash point in the world for a possible war between the United States and China. In Senate testimony on Tuesday, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Phil Davidson, warned that he believes China might try and annex Taiwan in this decade, in fact within the next six years. Story continues Meanwhile, a leading Chinese think tank recently described tensions in U.S.-China relations as the worst since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, and it advised Communist Party leaders to prepare for war with the United States. What many Americans dont realize is that years of classified Pentagon war games strongly suggest that the U.S. military would lose that war. More than a decade ago, our war games indicated that the Chinese were doing a good job of investing in military capabilities that would make our preferred model of expeditionary warfare, where we push forces forward and operate out of relatively safe bases and sanctuaries, increasingly difficult, Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, told Yahoo News in an exclusive interview. By 2018, the Peoples Liberation Army had fielded many of those forces in large numbers, to include massive arsenals of precision-guided surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, a space-based constellation of navigation and targeting satellites and the largest navy in the world. At that point the trend in our war games was not just that we were losing, but we were losing faster, Hinote said. After the 2018 war game I distinctly remember one of our gurus of war gaming standing in front of the Air Force secretary and chief of staff, and telling them that we should never play this war game scenario [of a Chinese attack on Taiwan] again, because we know what is going to happen. The definitive answer if the U.S. military doesnt change course is that were going to lose fast. In that case, an American president would likely be presented with almost a fait accompli. Peoples Liberation Army soldiers at a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) With Beijing continuing to tighten an iron grip on Hong Kong, engaging in deadly skirmishes with India along their shared border and routinely bullying its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea, the Biden administration recently announced a new Pentagon task force to review U.S. defense policy toward China, to be headed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Inevitably, the deteriorating security of Taiwan will be a major focus of the new task force. By the way, three of Chinas standing war plans are built around a Taiwan scenario, Hinote said. Theyre planning for this. Taiwan is what they think about all the time. In the early 2000s, China experts and military analysts at the RAND Corporation were given a trove of classified U.S. intelligence on Beijings military plans and weapons programs, and were asked to war-game a confrontation 10 years into the future. China was in the midst of an unprecedented economic growth spurt that saw its GDP increase annually by double digits, with commensurate steep increases in its defense spending. Equally worrisome, the PLA had clearly studied U.S. military operations over the course of two wars against Iraq. Both operations relied on a methodical, months-long buildup of forces to uncontested bases in the region, followed by U.S. aircraft dominating the skies and then carrying out devastating attacks on the enemys command-and-control systems. Chinas answer was a well-funded strategy that the Pentagon refers to as anti-access, area denial (A2/AD), meaning it would prevent an adversary like the U.S. from being able to carry out the sort of significant military buildup it carried during the two Iraq wars. The PLAs military plans rely on space-based and airborne surveillance and reconnaissance platforms; massive precision-guided missile arsenals; submarines; militarized man-made islands in the South China Sea; and a host of conventional air and naval forces to hold U.S. and allied bases, ports and warships in the region at risk. Because it lies only 90 miles from Taiwan, China needs only to hold U.S. forces at bay for a matter of weeks to achieve its strategic objective of capturing Taiwan. Whenever we war-gamed a Taiwan scenario over the years, our Blue Team routinely got its ass handed to it, because in that scenario time is a precious commodity and it plays to Chinas strength in terms of proximity and capabilities, said David Ochmanek, a senior RAND Corporation analyst and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development. That kind of lopsided defeat is a visceral experience for U.S. officers on the Blue Team, and as such the war games have been a great consciousness-raising device. But the U.S. military is still not keeping pace with Chinese advances. For that reason, I dont think were much better off than a decade ago when we started taking this challenge more seriously. The island of Kinmen, seen with the Chinese city of Xiamen in the background, lies inside Taiwans territory and is the closest point between Taiwan and China. (An Rong Xu/Getty Images) Part of the problem is that China advanced its A2/AD strategy while the Pentagon was largely distracted fighting counterterrorism and counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for two decades. Beijing is also laser-focused on Taiwan and regional hegemony, while the U.S. military must project power and prepare for potential conflict scenarios all around the globe, giving the Pentagon what Ochmanek calls an attention deficit disorder. Finally, there is the complacency of the perennial winner that makes it hard for senior U.S. military officers to believe that another nation would dare to take them on. My response is that Chinas growing military confidence is manifesting itself in an increasingly belligerent approach to its neighbors, the growing frequency of the PLAs violation of the airspace of Taiwan and Japan, and the bullying of other neighbors in the South China Sea, said Ochmanek. Under Xi Jinping there has been a dramatic increase in such provocations compared to a decade ago, and I think its grounded in his belief that militarily, China is strong enough now to credibly challenge us. By 2017 the Pentagon, led by then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, started to take notice. When we were developing the National Defense Strategy in 2017, the trend lines looked very bad vis-a-vis China, and got a lot worse as you projected into the future, said Elbridge Colby, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development. Yet despite that fact there were, and I think still are, a lot of people who resisted the idea that war with China is even possible, let alone losable. Thats why both strategic level and more operational war games were so important. They help show how these things are possible but also how we can redress the problem. In 2018 the Defense Department issued a seminal National Defense Strategy identifying great-power competition with China and Russia, and not terrorism, as the primary challenge to the U.S. After the lopsided Blue Team defeat in the Air Forces annual war game in 2018, senior officers and defense officials began giving a classified Overmatch Brief to select members of Congress. Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. (Steven Ferdman/Getty Images) In the most recent war game, the Pentagon tested the impact of potential capabilities and military concepts that are still on the drawing board in many cases. The Blue Team, which represented U.S. forces, adopted a more defensive and dispersed posture less reliant on large, vulnerable bases, ports and aircraft carriers in a conflict with the Red Team, which represented China. The strategy strongly favored large numbers of long-range, mobile strike systems, to include anti-ship cruise missile batteries, mobile rocket artillery systems, unmanned mini-submarines, mines and robust surface-to-air missile batteries for air defense. A premium was put on surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for both early warning and accurate intelligence to enable quicker decisions by U.S. policymakers, and a more capable command-and-control system to coordinate the actions of more dispersed forces. We created a force that had resiliency at its core, and the Red Team looked at that force and knew that it would take a tremendous amount of firepower to knock it out, said Hinote. The biggest insight of the war game, he said, was revealed when he talked afterward with the Red Team leader, who played the role of the PLAs top general. The Red Team leader is the most experienced and aggressive officer in these war games across the Defense Department, and when he initially looked at the resiliency of our defensive posture both in Taiwan and the region, he said, No, Im not going to attack, recalled Hinote. If we can design a force that creates that level of uncertainty and causes Chinese leaders to question whether they can accomplish their goals militarily, I think thats what deterrence looks like in the future. Members of Taiwans armed forces participate in a military exercise in January. (I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Despite loud alarms raised by the war games, the Pentagon has been slow to adjust its long-term spending plans or to invest in the kinds of military capabilities necessary to defend Taiwan or contested island chains in the South China Sea. Instead, older weapons systems like massive warships, short-range tactical fighter aircraft and heavy tank battalions continue to enjoy support from loyal constituencies both inside the Pentagon and in Congress. Whats needed, experts say, are bolder actions like the Marine Corps recent decision to completely divest itself of tanks and heavy armor by 2030 in order to invest in anti-ship missiles and mobile strike teams optimized for a conflict with China. On a sober note, Hinote pointed out that the Blue Team force posture tested in the recent war game is still not the one reflected in current Defense Department spending plans. Were beginning to understand what kind of U.S. military force its going to take to achieve the National Defense Strategys goals, he said. But thats not the force were planning and building today. ____ (diamonds.net) - De Beers is embarking on a tracking program for the diamonds it supplies to sightholders, as the miner seeks to enhance its use of data and ensure customers create value from the rough they buy. The company will ask manufacturers for information on polished outcomes under its new supply contract, which goes into effect in April, Rapaport News has learned. This will allow De Beers to check that manufacturers polish the goods rather than resell them, sightholders explained. It will also enable source verification, and will give the miner access to crucial market intelligence, the sources added. According to Dr. Zhang Yingbin, Trina Solar's head of product strategy and marketing department, the 670W Vertex series inherits the non-destructive cutting, high-density interconnection and other high-precision technologies of the 210mm modules; with the ultra-high module power, the single string power gets 34% higher than that of other 500W+ modules in the industry. In addition, 670W Vertex modules maximize the container space utilization in transportation, as a result of which the 12% up in the loading power and 5 - 7% down in the installation cost, creating more room for reduction of the LCOE and BOS cost. The 670W Vertex modules inherit the four 210 key technologies As a type of 210mm module, Trina Solar's 670W Vertex bears non-destructive cutting, high-density interconnection, multi-busbar (MBB) and other forward-looking innovative technologies, with low voltage, high string power and other core features, presenting efficient and reliable product performance. The MBB and high-density interconnection improve the module efficiency to up to 21.6%, while the non-destructive cutting pioneered by Trina Solar significantly reduces the risks of cell micro crack and power loss. Leading Advantages, 34% higher power generation Increasing in power of the single string is the core factor to reduce the BOS cost. At the launch of the 670W Vertex, Dr. Zhang Yingbin explained that in large-scale power plants (-20), the 670W Vertex has 28 modules on each string. Compared to other 500W+ high-power modules in the industry, the 670W Vertex module achieves a total power increase of up to 18,760W per string, 34% higher than that of the 500W+ modules. 670W Vertex module is suitable for large-scale power plants, especially the low-cost power plants which are very sensitive to investment costs, because the 670W modules can reduce the non-silicon cost of silicon wafers and cells for the upstream supply chain, and reduce the cost of trackers, pile foundations, cables and labor for the downstream. Compared to other 500W+ modules in the industry, BOS cost savings are at least 0.08-0.09 yuan per watt, hence with a significant overall advantage. Complete reliability test, 12% falls in transportation cost and 5-7% falls in installation cost At the launch conference, Trina Solar once again introduced the reliability the 670W product performed in transportation and installation. Packaging & Transportation For 600W+ series products, Trina Solar innovated the packaging method to vertical placement, so that the width of the modules is no longer limited by the height of the container. Such packaging makes the best use of the container's internal capacity. Compared with the traditional ways, the loading power increases by 12%, which introduces a 12% cost reduction in transportation. In terms of safety, first of all, the factory packaging is completed by automatic equipment to ensure safety and efficiency; secondly, in the process of transportation, the modules pallets are closely arranged inside the container, to avoid shaking; finally, stable and reliable transfer was achieved at the project site to ensure safe delivery to the customers. Installation For the stage of unpacking and installation, Trina Solar provides simple and easy-to-use auxiliary tools with standard configuration, which can be used as the support of the box body to ensure the safety in the entire unpacking process. Many empirical studies have proved that 670W modules also support traditional installation methods. Meanwhile, the number of modules can be reduced by about 24% for 100-megawatt power plant thanks to the substantial increase in module power over 100W, leading to the overall installation cost reduction by 5% to 7%. In addition, Trina Solar has started to develop automatic installation machine, retaining only the delicate manual operations such as fastening screws. This will undoubtedly improve the installation efficiency, reduce the labor costs, and drive down the LCOE. Mechanical loading performance The load capacity of Trina Solar's 670W modules is also tested. On one hand, the optimized frame design and material selection prevents the deformation even when the module area increases, and reduces the risk of micro crack. On the other hand, the non-destructive cutting ensures that each cutting surface of the cell is smooth and crack-free. Owing to these measures, the loading capacity of the 670W Vertex module can adhere to the industry mainstream standard of 5400 Pa positive load and 2400 Pa negative load. The entire industry chain, inverters, trackers, glass supply, is ready to embrace the PV 600W+ era At the beginning of this year, Huawei, Si-Neng, and Sungrow launched inverters compatible with the 600W+modules, and TBEA, GOODWE, Ginlong, Kstar, SMA and some other inverter manufacturers also announced their products compatible with high-power 210mm modules. Obviously, these 18.4A - 18.5A inverters will also be fully compatible with 670W modules. Almost at the same time, eight world-leading PV tracker manufacturers - Arctech Solar, Array Technologies, GameChange Solar, IDEEMATEC, Nextracker, PVH, Soltec, TrinaTracker - announced trackers of full compatibility with 210mm ultra-high power modules. In early March, glass manufacturers such as Xinyi, Flat, CNBM, Kibing and China Southern Glass also brought the news that they have broken through the bottleneck of width in PV glass raw materials production and started to fully adapt to the large-size 210 modules. The 210mm modules, integrating high efficiency, high reliability, high power generation and low cost have been increasingly favored by the market, with tenders for large-size modules accounting for more than 78%. By the end of 2021, 210 modules production capacity is expected to achieve 120 GW in the entire industry. At Trina Solar, 210 modules will account for 70% to 80% of its overall shipments this year. As ultra-high power 600W+ modules becoming an unstoppable trend in the PV industry, the industry will continue to deliver more support for the innovative 210 solutions both upstream and downstream. As Dr. Zhang Yingbin said, "As a leader in the industry, Trina Solar has been driven by innovative, reliable quality and customer value. The ultra-high power Vertex 670W module launched this time reveals higher feasibility in reducing the BOS cost and LCOE, which will help achieve the renewable energy goals and accelerate the PV industry's pace to embrace the era of grid parity. This is profound importance for China's PV industry to once again lead the world." SOURCE Trina Solar Teton County Reporter Previously the Scene editor, Billy Arnold made the switch to the county beat where he's interested in exploring Teton County as a model for the rest of the West. When he can, he still writes about art, music and whatever else suits his fancy. One of the best things about traveling is tasting new foods that you can't find in the States. But as we can't jump on a plane to get new flavor fixes anytime soon, we need to look for other ways to get the buzz of traveling without actually leaving our homes. Bokksu, named after the Japanese pronunciation of 'box', is a snack subscription service containing between 20 and 24 authentic Japanese snacks to your door each month with suggested tea pairings, all beautifully packaged in an elegant box. Snacks for the Bokksu March box, which is beautifully decorated with a pink blossom design, include rich and moist sakura cake, handmade sakura candy, strawberry crepes and more Each box ships directly from Japan and because Bokksu has partnered with local snack manufacturers, there is absolutely no way you would be able to find these unique and flavorsome treats in the international section of the grocery store. There's never been a better time to try your first box given that the theme for March is Cherry Blossom Season, with all snacks including some reference to the beautiful Japanese Cherry Blossom Tree. And DailyMail.com readers can claim 20 per cent off their first box with the code DailyMail20 when they make an order before March 19. Snacks for the March box, which is beautifully decorated with a pink blossom design, include rich and moist sakura cake, handmade sakura candy, strawberry crepes and more. Bokksu, named after the Japanese pronunciation of 'box', is a snack subscription service containing between 20 and 24 authentic Japanese snacks to your door each month As the snacks' packets are in Japanese, a detailed 16-page Culture Guide Magazine is included in each box, detailing each product's origin, flavors, and common allergens. This is super easy to read and includes a map so you can see exactly where your snacks originated from. You'll probably want to subscribe for at least three months as the April box, which is in celebration of Bokksu's fifth anniversary, promises to be epic. Each box ships directly from Japan and because Bokksu has partnered with local snack manufacturers, there is no way you would be able to find these treats in your grocery store April's box will give a real taste of Japan's different regions, with snacks from five different prefectures across Japan, including Jaga chocolate potato chips, a sweet and spicy mitarashi dango mochi and olive-infused seaweed tempura. Each month, there's a different theme. Previous popular themes have included Sweet Love for Valentine's Day, Tangy Citrus last summer and Golden Kanagawa to reflect the Japanese region of Kanagawa, which includes Yohkohama. Some subscribers enjoy their snack discovery so much, they report a sense of disappointment when they've finished it, and say there's always a sense of 'excitement and adventure' on the day of a new Bokksu delivery. DailyMail.com readers get 20% off their first Bokksu box DailyMail.com readers can currently get 20 per cent off their first Bokksu box by using our exclusive code. Simply enter the code DAILYMAIL20 at checkout and the discount will be applied. This offer is valid until March 19, 2021. DailyMail.com may earn commission on sales from the links on this page. MYSTIC, Conn., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Enko, the crop health company, today announced the opening of their new headquarters and research facilities in Mystic, Connecticut. The move significantly expands the company's capabilities to design safe and sustainable solutions for farmers' most urgent crop threats, from pest resistance to new diseases. Built in 1992 for Dekalb Genetics Corporation, the facility has served as an outpost for major agriculture companies, including Monsanto and later Bayer, and a site for conducting industry-defining research and development over the last three decades. Enko will now usher in a new era for this campus and apply healthcare's novel drug discovery technologies to plants. Enko's target-based approach designs molecules that bind only to select enzymes found in specific pests, eliminating these threats without harming humans or the environment. The 33,000-square feet of new greenhouse space will allow for more rapid pre-field experimentation ahead of 2021 field trials as Enko forges ahead on its current pipeline of crop health solutions for over 30 targets. This new stage of growth for Enko is accompanied by a fresh $2.2 million investment from Connecticut Innovations, the state's leading financier of innovative, growing companies. The company also raised a $45 million Series B funding round in 2020, bringing total investment to date to $68.2 million. "Crop health needs are more pressing than ever, but innovation in the agriculture industry has stalled," said Jacqueline Heard, CEO of Enko. "We're thrilled to move our talented team to this advanced facility and continue the important work of developing selective, sustainable solutions for farmers. The space will help us press our growing resources further and harvest new discoveries to advance a more sustainable age of agriculture." Centrally located in Connecticut, Mystic is an emerging technology hub in the New England area, attracting talent from Boston and Rhode Island to the north, and New York City to the south. The area has a rich academic ecosystem and a strong pedigree for biological and agricultural research. To keep scaling their success, Enko is hiring for a range of open positions . About Enko Enko designs safe and sustainable solutions to farmers' most urgent crop threats, from pest resistance to new diseases. By applying healthcare's drug discovery approach to plants, Enko is bringing an innovation model to agriculture and meeting farmers' evolving needs. Founded in 2017 and led by a team of proven scientists, entrepreneurs and agriculture industry veterans, Enko is backed by investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Anterra Capital, Finistere Ventures, Novalis LifeSciences, Germin8 Ventures, TO Ventures Food, and Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund. Enko is headquartered in Mystic, Connecticut. For more information, visit enkochem.com . Contact: Kit McDonnell, [email protected] SOURCE Enko Related Links https://enkochem.com IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) An Iowa prosecutor defended his unsuccessful pursuit of charges against a journalist who was arrested while covering a protest, saying Thursday that he believed the evidence was strong and that dismissing the case would have amounted to special treatment. Polk County Attorney John Sarcone, a Democrat who has held office since 1991, dismissed the outrage he has faced over his decision to prosecute Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri as unwarranted. A Des Moines police officer pepper-sprayed and arrested Sahouri last May while she was on assignment reporting at a chaotic Black Lives Matter protest outside a mall. Sahouri, 25, was charged with disobeying police orders to disperse and interfering with the officer who arrested her. A jury acquitted Sahouri of both misdemeanors Wednesday after a three-day trial. Outside observers said they were stunned by the weakness of the prosecution's evidence and baffled by Sarcones decision to pursue the case for nine months. We felt there was more than sufficient facts to establish the case. Based on the facts and the law, we proceeded, Sarcone told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. We bring cases to jurors and let them decide. What I have a hard time understanding is how everyone wants to short-circuit the jury process. Dozens of press freedom and civil liberties groups asked Sarcone to dismiss the charges last summer, saying Sahouri was doing her job and that journalists must be free to cover protests. They blasted Sarcone after her acquittal for pursuing what they called a disgraceful abuse of prosecutorial discretion that wasted tax dollars. Sarcone said he could not let outside pressure or criticism influence prosecutorial decisions. Dropping the case because of her status as a reporter and support from outside groups would have amounted to special treatment, he said. Sarcone denied that he had any ulterior motive in pursuing a case against a newspaper that has been critical of him over the years. He said Des Moines police investigators believed Sahouri broke the law by remaining near members of an unlawful assembly who were damaging commercial property and throwing rocks at officers after they were told to leave. His office agreed. Story continues She got arrested an hour-and-a-half after dispersal orders were given. Those are lawful orders. People cant defy those lawful orders," Sarcone said. No one is above the law. But the evidence at trial suggested those orders werent clear, and Sahouri and others testified that they never heard them. The orders were issued 90 minutes before Sahouri was arrested as police were trying to clear an intersection where protesters surrounded a squad car. Officers were also heard telling protesters to back up and protest peacefully. Sahouri continued her reporting and was later pepper-sprayed and arrested while getting away from another location where police deployed tear gas to disperse protesters. Officer Luke Wilson claimed that she briefly resisted arrest by moving her arm away as she was temporarily blinded from the chemicals. He said he failed to record the arrest on his body camera and did not notify his supervisor, which are both violations of department policy. Sahouri, who is Palestinian-American, repeatedly identified herself as a journalist but was jailed nonetheless. A white Register colleague, Katie Akin, was next to her and was not arrested. A different officer testified that he let Akin go because she seemed compliant and scared. Sarcone denied allegations that the reporters' races played a role in their treatment, saying Akin probably got lucky to not be arrested. Sahouri told the AP on Thursday that she was the only journalist arrested that day, and she said it was extremely ironic that prosecutors used footage from television reporters at the scene in their case against her. She rejected a plea deal before trial in which she would have pleaded guilty to failure to disperse and the other charge would have been dismissed, saying she was grateful that the Register funded her defense. I was doing my job while complying with police orders, she said. I literally did nothing wrong. Several Democrats vowed to find a candidate to oppose Sarcone in a primary next year if he runs for a 9th four-year term. Sarcone, 70, declined to say whether he would run for re-election, but he broadly defended his tenure as successful. Sarcone won election by defeating a Democratic incumbent in a 1990 primary in which he criticized his opponent for delegating too much power to a female deputy, Maggi Moss. He hasnt faced an opponent since. Moss, who was fired by Sarcone and later became a successful defense lawyer, said Thursday that she was disturbed by video showing Sahouri in pain from pepper spray. She said she was stunned the case was pursued in the face of common sense, the Constitution and individual rights. It leaves a bad taste. It was needless. It didnt serve any public purpose. It was sad, Moss said. Whatever legacy was there for John, I think this will forever taint it. Mary Lou McDonald has said there is "nothing unusual" about Friends of Sinn Fein placing ads in US newspapers calling for an Irish unity referendum. The New York Times and The Washington Post have carried half-page ads under the title A United Ireland Let the people have their say ahead of St Patrick's Day next week. Asked about the advertisement campaign, the Sinn Fein president said America has always been "front and centre" in the debate around a united Ireland. She said the discussion on a border poll and Irish unity is already "up and running" on the island of Ireland and beyond. "Far from it being unusual to have an American dimension to the story of Irish self-determination, America has always been front and centre, in fact, the proclamation in 1916 recalls our exiled children in America. "So the international community, the Irish diaspora have always been part of the Irish story, and they have always been part of the Irish story for freedom." The advertisements, which were organised by Friends of Sinn Fein and have the support of a number of Irish American groups, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Irish American Unity Conference, and the James Connolly Irish American Labor Coalition, appeal to the Irish Government to promote and plan for unity. The ad also focuses on the Good Friday Agreement, claiming it has changed Ireland for the better but that twenty-three years on Ireland continues to seek the full implementation. Asked about this, Ms McDonald told Newstalk Breakfast: "The Good Friday Agreement is an international agreement, it has international guarantors. The United States, again through many well-known personalities but systemically and on a bipartisan basis, was absolutely critical in securing and delivering the Good Friday Agreement." GREENWICH Every Friday is a little different in Audrey Jankiewiczs eighth-grade English class. Jankiewicz, who started working at Western Middle School at the beginning of the year, had a tradition known as First Chapter Friday while teaching in a different district. Each week, she reads her class the first chapter of a different book, exposing them over a school year to nearly 40 books. This year, titles have included A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick, Enders Game by Orson Scott Card and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. Sometimes I try to use books that relate to the unit we are studying, but other times it is more random, Jankiewicz said. I also love to accept recommendations from other teachers or students. Despite the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, First Chapter Fridays has remained a constant in Jankiewiczs class. The tradition has been a highlight of the school year for at least one student, the son of Natalie Adee, a co-president of the Western Middle School Parent Teacher Association. Adee had the idea in February to thank teachers and educators, such as Jankiewicz, who have gone above and beyond the call of duty or have otherwise worked to maintain a sense of normalcy during the pandemic. I came up with idea of trying to figure out how to do more than just regular teacher appreciation, Adee said. I wanted to do something more, especially because this year hasnt been normal. Through the Parent Teacher Association Council an umbrella group of districtwide PTA members Adee circulated a Thank a teacher/staff/administrator survey, a simple online form that allowed Greenwich parents to individually thank school staff members who have made a difference in the past year. More than 1,000 people responded. RELATED: See the notes of gratitude to Greenwich educators The response was so overwhelming that we are only seeing the wonderful results now, three weeks later, PTAC President Brian Peldunas said. I think the results speak for themselves as to the care demonstrated by the GPS team. The responses vary widely and were directed at teachers, support staff and administrators. Some of them are blanket ones, Adee said. But even in the kind and patient comments, a lot of them go much deeper into the human connection. ... So many are, They noticed my child, they reached out and talked to us personally. When schools closed last spring they made a point of having a five-minute Zoom each week with just my child. So its all about that connection with staff administrators and teachers. Adee, for instance, singled out Jankiewicz and highlighted the importance of First Chapter Fridays. And parents thanked countless other teachers for challenging their children, pushing them to succeed. Mrs. Salomon helped the class to transition with the abrupt shift to distance learning and provided ongoing individual learning and support to our daughter throughout, said one comment that celebrated Julian Curtiss kindergarten teacher Michelle Salomon. She took the time to provide one on one feedback and engagement. Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Multiple parents also thanked the nurses at Julian Curtiss, North Mianus, North Street, Parkway and Riverside schools. Making going to the nurses office the highlight of the day. For moms too, said another, addressed to Parkways nurse, Julie Prescott. Carol Rende, who works in the main office at Glenville School, was among the support staff who was thanked individually. She helps me with care and patience, every time that I call or I when to the school. She always has a smile, one parent wrote. Principals and other administrators throughout the district, too, were oft-shouted out, with Eastern Middle School Principal Jason Goldstein among them. Principal Goldstein has been a rock throughout this pandemic, hes upbeat, informative, kind and funny, a parent wrote. The survey responses have been circulated among school staff, so that each person can see what was submitted. And Adee said there has been some discussion at individual schools about displaying the positive comments in buildings. Superintendent of School Toni Jones who got her own shout out in the survey expressed her thanks for the initiative. We are so grateful to the members of PTAC for leading this initiative to thank our incredible GPS team, Jones said. Our teachers and staff always go above and beyond for our students and families, and this year their efforts are truly amplified. Im thrilled they are being recognized so thoughtfully by members of our school community for their dedication and compassion. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain As integral members of stroke treatment teams, nurses coordinate patient assessment and collaborate care among multiple health care professionals to facilitate the best possible outcomes for patients with acute ischemic stroke. Nurses also advocate for patients and their caregivers to ensure they receive appropriate information and education to successfully navigate phases of treatment in the hospital and after discharge. A series of three new Scientific Statements, "Care of the Patient With Acute Ischemic Stroke," from the American Heart Association, published today in Stroke, a journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, provide the latest evidence-based guidance for nurses working in a variety of stroke care settings, including hyperacute settings, emergency departments, intensive care units and stroke care units. Ischemic stroke occurs when a clot forms in a vessel supplying blood flow to the brain. On average, someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, and ischemic stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. As assessment tools, treatment protocols and overall care for acute ischemic stroke have evolved in recent years, best practice in nursing for care of the patient with a stroke continue to be revised and updated. Stroke care is increasingly complex, and nurses who care for stroke patients are expected to maintain levels of competency in both the acute and recovery care phases of patient care. Nursing during emergency medical services/emergency care (Prehospital and Acute Phase of Care), Susan Ashcraft et al. Emergency care for a patient with a suspected stroke centers around the "time is brain" principle due to the importance of quickly identifying patients with a suspected ischemic stroke to prevent potentially irreversible damage to brain tissue. This scientific statement recognizes the importance of the nurse's role in recognition of typical and atypical symptoms of stroke and prompt activation of the stroke response system. The "D's of Stroke Care" are identified as significant steps in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke. The steps outlining fundamental points where nurses facilitate time-sensitive care are: DetectionNurses are key to community education programs that teach risk factor awareness and recognition of early stroke warning signs. Events that target high-risk groups are especially important. DispatchEmergency dispatch personnel are often the first point of contact for someone having a stroke or someone witnessing the stroke. Appropriate training will include recommended prehospital triage, including asking when the patient's "last known normal (LKN)" was. This critical variable indicates when the person was last known to be well and can help determine appropriate routing of the patient for urgent treatment. DeliveryComprehensive assessment of a suspected stroke patient by emergency services personnel, including vital signs, current medications list, family and witness contact information, enable emergency department staff to make treatment decisions more efficiently. DoorNurses are often the link between the prehospital personnel and the emergency department team. Communication is critical to establish appropriate triage and reduce the time it takes for a patient to receive treatment. Mobile stroke units, ambulances equipped with specially trained staff and tools to provide care while en route to the hospital, can improve patient outcomes due to the ability to perform prehospital imaging, diagnosis and treatment. DataThe arrival time of a patient at the emergency department or the documented time of arrival of a mobile stroke unit is an important data point for tracking time-sensitive metrics to determine processes and options to treat a patient with ischemic stroke. Stroke screening and triage scoring systems conducted by triage nurses help quickly determine the severity of a patient's condition and the appropriate resources needed. DecisionUpdated AHA recommendations reflect a quicker patient evaluation timeframe; the goal is to begin stroke treatment within 30 minutes after arrival at the hospital. To facilitate such timing, activation of a stroke response team can be initiated by ambulance personnel or immediately after the triage assessment at the time of patient arrival. Drug/DeviceTreatment with clot dissolving medications, as well as appropriate patient monitoring during administering of the medications, are detailed. DispositionNursing interventions during transitions, such as when a patient leaves the emergency department to be transferred to an intensive care unit or stroke care unit, can successfully improve stroke outcomes. An emergency department code stroke pathway chart illustrates the key nursing responsibilities and sequence of care during this acute phase. "Stroke care has become increasingly complex as reperfusion dominates our treatment protocols, demonstrating the intensity of nursing responsibility and the expanded and critical role for nurses in providing stroke care," said Chair of the writing committee Susan Ashcraft, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., FAHA, a neurocritical care clinical nurse specialist at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Nurses are empowered leaders, facilitating change through designing and implementing improvements in the delivery of stroke care. In addition, our communities continue to demonstrate disparities affecting access to emergency stroke care, requiring nurses to take an active role at the local, state and regional levels to address these needs. Statement co-authors are Susan E. Wilson, D.N.P., A.P.R.N.; Karin V. Nystrom, M.S.N., A.P.R.N., FAHA; Wendy Dusenbury, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., FAHA; Charles R. Wira, M.D., FAHA; and Tamika M. Burrus, M.D. Author disclosures are listed in the manuscript. Nursing care throughout endovascular and intensive care unit treatment (Endovascular/Intensive Care Unit-Postinterventional Therapy), Mary L. Rodgers, et al. Nurses serve in a critical role during a patients' stroke treatment by providing communication and care prior to, during and after medical procedures. As stroke treatments and research have evolved, updated nursing procedures in this statement address current evidence, potential complications and clinical practice strategies to ensure positive patient outcomes during the procedural phase of care. "Acute ischemic stroke patients are vulnerable, and communication among various disciplines in the treatment and care of this population is critical," said Mary L. Rodgers, D.H.A., A.N.P., C.N.S., R.N., chair of the statement writing committee, quality manager for the VA Western New York Healthcare System in Buffalo, New York, and a reviewer for The Joint Commission. "Critical assessments must be done to care for and intervene for this at-risk patient population. These can help to safeguard the patient and improve patient outcomes, thus increasing the opportunity to maintain quality of life after a stroke." Treatment for ischemic stroke is clot removal so that blood flow may return to the section of the brain affected. Intravenous thrombolysisadministering medication through an IV to dissolve the clotis the standard treatment, and in 2015, mechanical thrombectomy became an additional standard of care in the U.S. for some patients with strokes caused by large blood clots. During mechanical thrombectomy, which may or may not follow intravenous thrombolysis treatment, a stent retriever device is inserted via a catheter through an artery in the groin up to the blocked artery in the brain. Once in place, the stent opens and retrieves the clot. "During treatment, the intradisciplinary team needs to know if the patient is improving, staying the same or decompensating," added Rodgers. "Nursing care and identification of patient changes is key during this time. Nursing assessments and interventions assist the team in critical decisions related to treatment efficacy and the needs of the patient." Throughout stroke procedures, interventional nurses anticipate patient needs, identify any potential complications and maintain patient safety. Their responsibilities encompass all phases of treatment care: * Prior to the procedureWhile no standard currently exists for how frequently nurses should repeat vital sign and neurological assessments, it is reasonable to do so at least every 30 to 60 minutes prior to mechanical thrombectomy procedures, and more often when intravenous clot dissolving medication has been administered. Patient evaluation using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, a systematic assessment tool that measures stroke-related neurologic deficit, is indicated. Patients with a high score, decreased mental status, a stroke in the back area of the brain, and/or existing heart or lung disease are more likely to require extra support and intubation during the procedure. * During the procedureUsing universal protocol, nurses monitor patients by assessing vital signs, pain and anxiety, and levels of consciousness. The statement authors note that goals for blood pressure levels during mechanical thrombectomy and the optimal range for good patient outcomes are topics of ongoing research. * Post procedureUpon completion of a mechanical thrombectomy procedure, nurses will closely monitor patients for any immediate concerns at the site of the catheter. Current evidence also supports nurses completing a repeat neurological assessment on a patient immediately following the procedure, and to repeat the assessment every 15 minutes for the first two hours; every 30 minutes for the following six hours; and every hour for the next 16 hours. When a patient with an acute ischemic stroke is treated with intravenous clot dissolving medication, with or without mechanical thrombectomy, they are vulnerable to developing complications that could lead to secondary brain injury and therefore typically require intensive monitoring in an intensive care unit (ICU). Recognition of post-procedure complications is necessary, as are timely and continuing neurological assessments, cardiac monitoring, vital sign checks, blood sugar monitoring and swallowing tests. Statement co-authors are Elizabeth Fox, M.S.N., A.C.N.S, A.G.-A.C.N.P., C.C.R.N., FAHA, co-chair; Tamer Abdelhak, M.D.; Lauren M. Franker, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., A.C.N.P.- B.C.; Brenda Joyce Johnson, D.N.P., C.R.N.P.-B.C., A.N.V.P., FAHA; Christina Kirchner-Sullivan, D.N.P., A.C.N.P.-B.C., A.N.P.-B.C., S.C.R.N.; Sarah L. Livesay, D.N.P., R.N., A.C.N.P.- B.C., FAHA; and Franklin A. Marden, M.D., FAHA. Author disclosures are listed in the manuscript. Nursing care for the patient after the acute care phase (Posthyperacute and Prehospital Discharge), Theresa L. Green et al. Through evidence-based best practices, nurses can positively impact patient outcomes, decrease patient length of stay, costs and the likelihood of additional strokes. "We know that what we do as nurses is important and crucial to the care of patients and families living with stroke, and this statement strengthens and supports the knowledge and provision of evidence-informed nursing care that will enhance and promote recovery and reintegration for patients transitioning across care environments to home and within their community," said writing committee Chair Theresa L. Green, Ph.D., R.N., FAHA, professor of rehabilitation nursing research at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Research confirms stroke patients have better outcomes and lower mortality rates when the medical facility has a specialized stroke unit. Of note, however, is that the research has not used consistent methodology and follow-up measures to assess outcomes, so more studies are needed. In the absence of a stroke unit, patients care consistent with best practice is important. Necessary stroke care assessments, screening tools and interventions outlined in the statement integrate evidence-based guidance from international organizations. Highlights of key guidance include: It is important to assess the swallowing ability, temperature and blood glucose levels of a stroke patient as early after a stroke as possible. Between 40% and 78% of patients with stroke experience swallowing difficulties. Glucose monitoring is necessary for patients who also have Type 2 diabetes, yet glucose monitoring is also important for patients who do not have Type 2 diabetes because patients with high blood sugar following a stroke have a three-fold higher risk of death. Better patient outcomes result when strategies are in place for early recognition and management of potential complications, including swallowing difficulties, pneumonia, cardiac complications, falls, psychological and neurological issues. One large study indicated one fourth of patients with stroke experienced at least one medical complication while hospitalized, leading to higher risk of adverse outcomes. Formal rehabilitation assessment by an expert is critical, and mobility rehabilitation is most beneficial at a level that considers the patient's anticipated benefits and tolerance. The rehabilitation needs of a patient transitioning out of the hospital are best determined based upon neurological, cognitive and physical assessments, in tandem with family/caregiver support and capacity. "There remains a lack of definition internationally about what specialized stroke nursing care entails," added Green. "There is also a lack of well-planned nursing research detailing the specific contribution nursing makes to patient and family outcomes following stroke, and whether it makes a difference to patient care and outcomes if nurses are certified in a subspecialty area such as stroke nursing. This statement provides much-needed guidance that can contribute to improved patient outcomes." All three scientific statements were prepared by volunteer writing groups on behalf of the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing and the Stroke Council, and they are endorsed by the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses. The statements reflect the most current updates to the American Heart Association's 2009 Scientific Statement, "Comprehensive Overview of Nursing and Interdisciplinary Care of the Acute Ischemic Stroke Patient." Explore further Fast treatment via mobile stroke unit reduced survivor disability Former Central Regional Minister, Kwamena has appealed to President Nana Akufo-Addo to expedite his efforts to digitize the economy. The President, in his State of the Nation Address delivered on Tuesday, touched on what his government had done and is doing in the area of digitization. The President believed digitization of the economy will help improve the living conditions of Ghanaians and also mordenize the country. "Mr. Speaker, Government, in four years, has recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy. We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals. The National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services are all part of the drive to formalise our economy, and enhance its productivity," the President said in his address. Kwamena Duncan, reacting to the President's address, emphasized that digitization is the "game changer" for the nation. He called on the government not to waste time stressing it is this which must change the course of this country . . . I tell you if we are able to do this and we must do this quickly. We must indeed not waste even any further minute; do this quickly. Kwamena Duncan said on Peace FM's flagship programme, "Kokrokoo". Listen to him in video below 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. Featured Video The Russian embassy in Delhi has dismissed the media reports stating that Russia has asked India to keep out of Afghan dialogue and stressed that Russia "always stated that India plays a very important role in Afghanistan, and its eventual deeper involvement in dedicated dialogue formats is natural". The embassy said in a statement that it had noted "the publication in the Indian media claiming that Russia allegedly 'kept India out' of the international efforts for the Afghan peace process, which seems to be based on ill-informed sources". "Dialogue between Russia and India has always been very close and forward-looking on all global and regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan. It has been intensively maintained in bilateral and multilateral formats, including the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, Moscow consultations, etc," it said. "Due to the complexity of the Afghan settlement, moving towards a relevant regional consensus and coordination with other partners, including the US, is critical. We proceed from the importance of the implementation of the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha in February 2020 and approved by a UN Security Council resolution," it added. US calls for unified approach for Afghanistan This came after the United States Secretary Antony BLinkens letter to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah. He sought a peace conference facilitated by the United Nations (UN) with representatives from six nations including India to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan. Blinken in a letter sent to Ghani on Sunday said that Turkey will be approached to host a senior-level meeting of both sides in the upcoming weeks to finalise a peace agreement. The US Secretary of State urged Ghani or his authoritative designees to attend the meeting. Blinken said that the Geneva-based organisation should convene a meeting with foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the US to discuss approaches to support peace in the war-torn country, Afghanistan. Reportedly, it also said that the US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad should share with Ghani as well as the leaders of the extremist group, Taliban written proposals "aimed at accelerating discussions on a negotiated settlement and ceasefire. These proposals reflect some of the ideas included in the roadmap for the peace process". Epic Games is now expanding its legal battle against the app store operators. The Fortnite maker has now filed a lawsuit in Australia alleging Googles anti-competitive conduct breaches the local consumer law, reports TheVerge. The company has also accused Google of breaching Australias Competition and Consumer Act of 2010. Google gives the illusion of being open by making arguments about the presence of alternative app stores on its platform or allowing direct downloading of apps from third-party providers, but in reality, these situations are so rare that they barely make a dent in the monopoly of the Android OS, said Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a post titled Australia Free Fortnite. Epic Games pointed out that Googles Android has about 20 million smartphones in Australia, and 90% of the apps on those phones are downloaded via the Google Play Store. ALSO READ: Not in business of getting around platform rules, Twitter on Google, Apple app store cut The barriers Google places on Android OS are real. In the case of direct downloading, it makes the process so difficult and scary that it deters users from downloading apps from third party-websites even though it is a totally normal way for users to get apps on a desktop. Its actions like this that illustrate Google is more interested in feigning openness than delivering choice to consumers. We believe consumers have the right to install apps from sources of their choosing and developers have the right to compete in a fair marketplace, Sweeny added in the post. The latest legal battle follows Epic Games similar efforts against Apple in Australia. The company had moved the court in November last year. It is worth noting that Epic Games is locked in similar legal battles in the UK, the US, and the European Union. Epic Games contention with mobile app store operators is the controversial 30% tax on in-app purchases. Google and Apple both levy the cut though many app developers have criticised the move. In India as well, several companies have raised concerns about such app store policies. Google had deferred its Play Store billing policy in India to March 2022. Apple, in the meanwhile, has introduced an App Store Small Business Programme with a reduced commission. More than 3.1 million Massachusetts households will receive COVID-19 stimulus checks totaling nearly $7.4 billion in the coming weeks thanks to President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. According to a congressional research memo and data shared by the offices of Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, the comprehensive relief bill set for Bidens signature Friday will spread about $7.36 billion among 3,108,170 households across the commonwealth. Stimulus checks of $1,400 or more should wind up in many Massachusetts residents bank accounts within a week or two, so long as they already have their banking information on file with the Internal Revenue Service, lawmakers and experts say. The direct payments $1,400 for adults earning less than $75,000 and couples less than $150,000, as well as $1,400 for dependents could amount to $5,600 for many families of four, Biden told reporters at the White House after the U.S. Senate passed the comprehensive aid package in a party-line vote last Saturday. The Democratic-led House passed the legislation in a nearly party-line vote on Wednesday. California looks to receive the most payments, with more than $45 billion spread among 17 million households. Florida and Texas also will see more than 10 million households receive payments. All told, the Senate Budget Committee estimated at least 145 million American households will receive payments for a combined total of almost $380 billion. Warren touted a range of other wins for the country and Massachusetts in Bidens plan, including nearly $3 billion in emergency funding to schools and higher education institutions and the largest federal investment in child care and early learning since World War II. The package includes at least $197 million in community development block grants focused on child care subsidies for Massachusetts families, including essential workers; $315 million for a child care stabilization fund for grants to providers; $13.6 million for Head Start; and $9 million for new mandatory funding for child care programs. The package also includes $176 million for Massachusetts residents in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which Warren called a vital lifeline to help families heat their homes during the cold winter months. Markey recently noted the stimulus includes a $25 billion grant program to help restaurants and bars that have been starving for support in Massachusetts and across the country. After the inclusion of a bill introduced by Markey and cosponsored by Warren, Bidens plan also includes more than $7 billion to close the homework gap by helping more American students connect to the internet through the Federal Communications Commissions E-rate program. We dont know how long its going to take for every child to be back in class every day, so thats why this is critical funding, Markey said. Related Content: KNOX COUNTY, IND. (WTHI) The Indiana House Of Representatives passed a resolution to honor 1st Lieutenant Clayton Robert Cullen. He was a Knox County native and member Of the Army's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade. In 2018, he tragically died in a helicopter training accident. LINK | Bringing Home a Hero: 1st Lt. Clayton Cullen The Indiana House of Representatives passed a resolution to honor him and his legacy. It asks the Department Of Transportation to rename part of State Road 67. This runs from East Cardinal Road To North Scepter Road in Knox County. The road would be called "Lt. Clayton Robert Cullen Memorial Highway." The resolution will move to the Senate for further consideration. remaining of Thank you for reading! This is your last free article before you will be asked to subscribe. Already have a paid subscription? Sign in ROME, MAR 11 - Gucci 'Black Widow' Patrizia Reggiani said Thursday that she was miffed that Lady Gaga had not met her as she shoots scenes for Ridley Scott's new film, 'The House of Gucci' in Italy. In the movie the American pop star and actress plays Reggiani, who served 17 years of a 26-year sentence for ordering the murder of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci in Milan in 1995. "I am rather annoyed at the fact that Lady Gaga is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without having had the consideration and sensibility to come and meet me," Reggiani told ANSA. "It is not an economic question. "I won't get a cent form the film. "It is a question of good sense and respect". (ANSA). LOS ANGELES (AP) A man accused of drowning two of his sons and trying to kill his ex-wife by driving them off a Los Angeles wharf to collect an insurance payout was sentenced Thursday to 212 years in federal prison for fraud. Ali F. Elmezayen, 45, received the maximum sentence from a judge who denounced an evil and diabolical scheme. He is the ultimate phony and a skillful liar and is nothing more than a greedy and brutal killer, U.S. District Judge John R. Walter said. The only regret that the defendant has is that he got caught. The judge also ordered Elmezayen to pay $261,751 in restitution to the insurance companies. A federal jury convicted him of mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering in 2019. After the car plunged into the water in 2015, Elmezayen was charged in the federal fraud case and accused by local prosecutors of murder, attempted murder and a special circumstance that the killings were for financial gain. The murder charges were arranged to be prosecuted after the federal case. A bench warrant has been issued and our office is evaluating the next step, Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney, said in an email to The Associated Press. Elmezayen, of suburban Hawthorne, bought more than $3 million worth of life and accidental death policies on himself and his family from eight insurance companies between July 2012 and March 2013, according to federal prosecutors. He paid more than $6,000 a year in premiums for the policies while reporting income of less than $30,000 a year on his tax returns, prosecutors said, noting that he began buying the policies the same year he exited a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Prosecutors said Elmezayen repeatedly called the companies to verify the policies were active and that they would pay benefits if his ex-wife died in an accident as well as confirm with at least two insurers that they would not investigate claims made two years after the purchases. Story continues Elmezayen drove a car carrying his ex-wife and two youngest children off a commercial fishermens wharf in the San Pedro area of the Port of Los Angeles on April 9, 2015. It was 12 days after the two-year contestability period on the last of his insurance policies expired, prosecutors said. Elmezayen got out through the open drivers side window and his ex-wife, who could not swim, was rescued when she got out and a fisherman threw her a flotation device. The boys, ages 8 and 13, were strapped in and could not escape the vehicle. Their third son was away at camp at the time. Elmezayen received more than $260,000 in insurance proceeds from two companies on policies he had taken out on the childrens lives and used some of the money to buy real estate in Egypt and a boat, prosecutors said. As protests continue in Catalonia and throughout Spain against the incarceration of rapper Pablo Hasel, the Spanish media and the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government have launched a frenzied campaign to slander protesting youth as terrorists and criminals. Hasel was jailed in February for nine months on bogus charges of insulting the monarchy and inciting terrorism in his tweets and songs. Last week, the Spanish National Police began investigating whether terrorist planning or organising had been behind demonstrations against Hasels imprisonment, according to online news site El Confidencial. Police are analysing the internal structures of groups involved in coordinating the protests to examine if their division of responsibilities, methodology and leadership bodies resemble those of terrorist organisations, El Confidencial stated. Demonstrators react as police cordon off the street during a march in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Several hundred protesters are marching in northeastern Spain's Barcelona against the crackdown that has followed the recent violent outcry over the imprisonment of Pablo Hasel, an outspoken anti-establishment artist and activist. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Tens of thousands of demonstrators, mostly aged between 16 and 25 years old, have joined protests opposing these anti-democratic attacks on freedom of speech in cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao and Madrid. The demonstrations have taken place outside the control of the main political parties and trade unions, with protesters organising through social media and Telegram channels. The demonstrators have faced unrelenting police brutality, with over 200 people injured at the hands of security forces. A 19-year-old woman lost an eye after being struck by a foam bullet fired by the Mossos dEsquadra (Catalan police). Protesters have responded by throwing bottles and stones at police, with some isolated incidents of buildings or vehicles being vandalised or burnt. At least 137 people have been arrested in Catalonia alone, with more detained elsewhere. At the start of March, the PSOE-Podemos governments Public Prosecutors Office demanded an additional five years and three months of imprisonment for Hasel, sparking further protests. The new indictment relates to Hasels participation in a 2018 protest against the arrest of deposed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont in Germany. The Public Prosecutors Office claims Hasel and 10 co-defendants tried to break into a government building in the Catalan city of Lleida. Spain is a social powder keg, with opposition mounting to mass unemployment, poverty, the PSOE-Podemos governments move to authoritarian rule and its herd immunity policy on the pandemic. Terrified that the protests will keep spreading, the entire ruling class is relentlessly demonising protesting youth and demanding a further brutal crackdown. At the end of February, Pedro J. Ramirez, the director of right-wing online newspaper El Espanol, appeared on TV channel La Sexta to denounce the revolutionary situation in Catalonia, claiming that protesters were launching attacks in which they use the techniques of urban guerrillas. Protesters come from a radicalised minority in the orbit of Puigdemont and are of a xenophobic character and are the inheritors of the old Catalan fascism, Ramirez claimed. The majority are from the extreme anti-system left. The Catalan nationalist parties echoed these hysterical denunciations. Miquel Samper, Minister of the Interior in the Catalan regional government for Puigdemonts Together for Catalonia (JxCat) party declared that groups linked to combative communism, very violent anarchism and a large number of common criminals were leading the protests. The media and the main parties have also whipped up a frenzy over an incident in which eight protesting youths set fire to a police van in which two officers happened to still be inside. The officers quickly escaped the van and were unhurt. The protesters have been imprisoned pending trial on charges of attempted murder, attacking officers, public disorder, criminal damage, illegal protesting and belonging to a criminal group. Samper responded with a tirade against the pure, uninhibited and unprecedented violence of protests in Catalonia. Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona and a leader of Barcelona en Comua coalition including Podemos and the Initiative for Catalonia-Greens (ICV)also declared her most absolute rejection, most firm and resounding condemnation of the acts of violence. The PSOEs Salvador Illa, who gained the most votes in the recent Catalan elections, took the opportunity to rant that whoever does not explicitly condemn the violence and does not support the Mossos dEsquadra and the security forces and bodies is unfit to govern. The Supreme Court has reportedly opened an investigation into Podemos parliamentary spokesperson Pablo Echenique for supposedly inciting violence in a mildly worded tweet in support of the demonstrations. On 17 February, Echenique had tweeted: All my support to the young anti-fascists who are demanding justice and freedom of speech in the streets. The violent mutilation of the protesters eye [by a police foam bullet] must be investigated and those responsible must be decisively held to account. The investigation into Echenique came at the instigation of the far-right Vox party, who lodged a complaint against the Podemos spokesperson, claiming that he was supporting terrorist acts. Two police unions, the Spanish Confederation of Police (CEP) and the Unified Police Union (SUP), also filed complaints against Echenique. Another police society, JUPOL (Police Justice), declared that Echenique had encouraged street terrorism. This hysterical campaign comes only a week after Ignacio Garriga, president of Voxs parliamentary group in Catalonia, demanded in a press conference that the anti-fascist movement must be declared a terrorist organisation. This call for the effective illegalisation of anti-fascist protests comes directly out of the playbook of US ex-president Donald Trump, who threatened to declare Antifa a terrorist organisation in 2019. Trump ramped up his campaign to brand domestic opposition as terrorism after mass protests against police brutality shook the United States last year, in response to the police killing of George Floyd. As with Trumps targeting of Antifaa loose network of anti-fascist individuals, not a clearly defined organisationVoxs demands to designate the broad anti-fascist movement as terrorist would criminalise many thousands of left-wing individuals who participate in protests against police violence, attacks on democratic rights and austerity, regardless of their views or actions. Trump subsequently launched a failed coup attempt aiming to overturn the US presidential elections on January 6, 2021. The fact that the Democratic Party and the Biden administration have covered for this coup attempt and sought to hide its implications from the public has simply encouraged far-right political forces across Europe, including in Spain, to more aggressively press attacks on democratic rights. Garriga insisted that political groups supporting violence in Catalonia should be subjected to the current law of parties. This law, passed in 2002 with votes from the PSOE, Peoples Party (PP) and numerous regional Catalan, Andalusian and Canary Islander parties, provided for the illegalisation of political groups supportive of the Basque-separatist ETA, considered a terrorist group in Spain. At the press conference, Garriga denounced youth and workers in Catalonia protesting Hasels jailing, claiming that organized bands of terrorists had carried out violent attacks in Catalonia. Garriga falsely denounced the Catalan government and the media for supporting the protests, declaring that Catalan institutions, motivated by separatism, are transferring absolute impunity to those committing violence, who are attacking shops and causing destruction in the streets. The media is hiding the real ideology of those responsible for the altercations by street terrorists, he continued, who are separatists and from the far-left. This fascistic campaign cannot be opposed by appealing to the PSOE-Podemos government, which has tacitly supported the jailing of Hasel and the brutal repression of protestors. The defence of democratic rights and the fight against fascism is by necessity a struggle for socialism. This requires a decisive political break with the pseudo-left Podemos party and its satellites and the building of sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in Spain and internationally. Nobody and nowhere is safe from car break-ins in San Francisco. Not even a member of the Board of Supervisors parked in front of City Hall. Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who represents District 11, which includes the Excelsior and Outer Mission Districts, posted a photo on Twitter Thursday morning showing the right rear window of his red Chevy Volt smashed, and he said it happened on Tuesday in front of City Hall. The photo shows the busted-out window with a pile of crushed glass in the red-brick gutter and on the sidewalk next to the car. In a subsequent tweet, Safai wrote: Theft and burglary in this city has been emboldened and rampant no one is immune to this issue. And he noted that at the time his window was being smashed, he was inside City Hall calling for a hearing on the rise of shoplifting and theft in our small businesses and anchor stores such as Walgreens, Safeway and CVS. We cannot just turn a blind eye. The supervisors tweet wasnt met with much sympathy, which probably was to be expected in a city where mounds of crushed glass litter the curbs and sidewalks and car break-ins are commonplace. Car break-ins have actually dropped, according to police data. Repondents on Twitter wondered why the supervisor doesnt ride Muni to City Hall, questioned why he left anything visible inside his car (the photo appears to show items inside on the back seat) and asked whether this was the first time his car had ever been broken into. Safai said he had two items a back cushion and container of kitty litter in the trunk and they were partially visible through the window. So they moved on, he said, though they didnt hit the cars of supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Shamann Walton, who were parked in front and behind him. Safai said it was the first time his car had been broken into. Ive never had my window smashed-in in 21 years in in San Francisco, he said. I guess I was lucky. With tourists all but gone for now, Safai said, residents are the most common victims of smash-and-grab car burglars, and he believes substance abusers are largely to blame. He said hes pushing a new program to get more perpetrators of property crimes into abstinence-based treatment which he thinks will make a dent in car break-ins. And now he shares the frustration of San Franciscans weary of finding their car windows smashed. Its something that touches a nerve with lots of San Franciscans, he said, It touches people on a daily basis. Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: ctuan Mumbai: Actor Kangana Ranaut has approached a sessions court here challenging a bailable warrant issued by a magistrate in a defamation complaint filed against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar. Ranaut's plea, filed on Wednesday, is slated to be heard on March 15, her lawyer said. The Andheri metropolitan magistrate's court had on March 1 issued a bailable warrant against the actor after she failed to appear before the court. Magistrate R R Khanhad earlier issued a summons to her in February. As the actor failed to appear, the court issued a bailable warrant against her and posted the matter for hearing on March 26. Ranaut was at liberty to approach a higher court to challenge the summons but she can not evade appearance before his court, the magistrate said. Earlier, the police had submitted a report on Akhtar's complaint, saying an offence of defamation was prima facie made out against Ranaut. Akhtar has accused the actor of making false statements about him and damaging his reputation when she spoke about a coterie in Bollywood in the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput's death last June. Kangana's lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee said her plea in the sessions court would be heard on Monday. The summons itself was issued without complying with the Code of Criminal Procedure as four witnesses named by Akhtar in his complaint had not been examined on oath, he said. The family of a Jersey City man wanted in a fatal stabbing last week is urging the man to surrender to police. Attorney Mitchell Ignatoff, speaking for the family, told The Jersey Journal Thursday morning that the family is concerned for the safety of 30-year-old Elvis Santana, who is accused in the murder of Mathew Mortimer in the vestibule of a building on Avenue C on March 2. If he doesnt turn himself in voluntarily there is a risk of violence, the Englewood Cliffs-based Ignatoff said. If its a matter of the police (finding him and) arresting him, that situation could lead to violence. On March 5, the Hudson County Prosecutors Office announced a warrant for the arrest of Santana, of Jersey City, on murder and weapons charges. The HCPO also released a photo and asked for the publics help in locating him. On Saturday multiple law enforcement agencies surrounded a building in Downtown Jersey City after Santana was believed seen there, but no arrests were made. Ignatoff said he is making the plea directly to Santana or anyone who may be aiding him. Ignatoff said Santana can call his office directly at 201-250-4714 to make arrangements to turn himself in to police. The attorney noted that the sooner Santana surrenders, the sooner he can work on his defense. The prosecutors office has advised that anyone who sees Santana should not approach him, and instead call the authorities. Anyone with information on his whereabouts may contact her office at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? 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Oswego, N.Y. Larry Silverman, a Cicero dentist whose career was cut short by a stroke, spent some of his final days on earth being mocked and abused by employees of Pontiac Nursing Home. A nurse aide had a coworker take a cellphone photo of her lying in bed with Silverman with her arm around his waist. Another employee ordered Silverman, who suffered from severe dementia, to swear while making a video of him. Silverman fell, hit his head on the floor, fractured his skull and was knocked unconscious Aug. 1, 2015 when another aide ignored Silvermans written care plan. The aide tried to walk Silverman back to his bed by herself. He was only supposed to walk when assisted by two people. He fell, and the aide mistakenly thought he was dead. She dragged Silverman back to bed, put him in it, covered him and lied to nursing home officials about how the accident happened. No one told his wife about any of this until two years after Silverman died. What happened to Silverman is part of a persistent pattern of shocking abuse and neglect at Pontiac that has people questioning why the state has allowed the troubled Oswego nursing home to stay open. Pontiacs history of endangering patients has government officials considering the extraordinary step of placing it on the list of the nations worst performing nursing homes. Facilities on that list can lose federal funding and be forced to close if they dont improve. Pontiac has already earned an undesirable distinction from the feds. It is one of 10 New York state nursing homes with a red abuse icon next to its name on the Medicare compare website. That shows it has a track record of abuse and neglect. Medicare uses a red abuse icon on its website to identify nursing homes cited for abuse and neglect. An employee of the office of the New York Attorney General called Patricia Silverman in 2017 to tell her what three former Pontiac employees did to her husband before he died Aug. 17, 2015. The AGs office investigated and brought criminal charges against the employees. Patricia Silverman was flabbergasted when she got that phone call. To be treated like that, she said. Are you kidding me? Details of what the Pontiac employees did to Larry Silverman are outlined in signed statements they gave to AGs office investigators and obtained by syracuse.com |The Post-Standard. A dismal record of care State health department inspection records show the 80-bed nursing home at 303 E. River Road has a history of poor care. A recent Syracuse.com|Post-Standard story revealed a registered sex offender living in Pontiac repeatedly sexually abused a female resident suffering from dementia last summer. The nursing home failed to protect the woman and other residents from the sex offender or report the abuse to police as required, a state Health Department investigation found. The state AGs office is investigating. Two seriously ill residents died in 2018 because the nursing home waited too long to send them to a hospital emergency room. A 2019 inspection found the two-story building dirty and in poor condition. Cobwebs and spiders were found in some residents rooms. Wheelchairs were crusted with dried food. Ceilings and walls were damaged. The City of Oswego threatened to close Pontiac in 2019 because the nursing homes roof was leaking water into many residents rooms, in violation of city building codes. Last June an inspector found staffers not wearing face masks properly and other infection control problems during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed 13 residents. This nursing home ... shouldve been shut down years ago Silverman cannot understand why Pontiac is still open, given its history. She called the recent sex abuse case at Pontiac disgusting. Oswego Mayor William Barlow said Pontiac should have been closed long ago. Anyone who has lived in Oswego or knows anything about Oswego throughout the last 20 years knows the Pontiac nursing home is nothing but trouble, poorly managed, doesnt properly care for residents and offers sub-par living and working conditions, Barlow said. I firmly believe that if every regulatory agency, at every level of government did their job, followed up and was thorough with their permitting, investigating and enforcement, this nursing home wouldve and shouldve been shut down years ago. Oswego city governments authority over Pontiac is limited to enforcing building code violations. The state Health Department and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS for short, regulate Pontiac and all nursing homes. Oswego Mayor William Barlow stands outside Pontiac Nursing Home. He says it should have been shut down years ago. N. Scott Trimble | syracuse.com When asked why it hasnt shut down Pontiac or brought in a new operator to run the place, the Health Department did not answer the question. The department provided a list of sanctions it could take against nursing homes, but did not say whether they applied any of them against Pontiac. The ultimate penalty The government rarely shuts down nursing homes. CMS nearly forced the former Vivian Teal Howard Nursing Home in Syracuse to close in 2008. It threatened to cut off Medicare and Medicaid funding to the facility because of its history of poor care. Most nursing homes cannot survive without that government funding. The federal government postponed the funding cut off to give the state time to find another operator to run the 160-bed home and avoid displacing its 160 residents. That home is now known as Central Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. The state can recommend that CMS designate a troubled nursing home a special focus facility, which subjects it to more inspections. Nursing homes that end up on the special focus facility list face the prospect of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding if they dont improve. Pontiac rakes in most of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid. The government programs paid the nursing home about $3.5 million in 2018, the most recent year for which data is available. Of the nations 15,600 nursing homes, 80 are designated as special focus facilities. Pontiac may become one of them. Only one of New Yorks 613 nursing homes is on the list. But Pontiac is one of 15 poor-performing New York nursing homes considered special-focus facility candidates. CMS said in a statement the state Health Department is now evaluating which of the 15 to add to the special-focus list. CMS recently slapped Pontiac with a $12,315 fine for violations related to the case involving the registered sex offender. Pontiac officials referred inquiries from Syracuse.com |The Post-Standard to its attorneys. Lawyer Langston McFadden issued a statement that referred only to the case involving the sex offender. He said Pontiac had no comment on the case because the " investigation into the facts underlying this matter are ongoing and may potentially lead to litigation. Pontiac " vehemently denies any and all allegations of wrongdoing and looks forward to having the opportunity to clear its name, he said. Lindsay Heckler, an attorney at the Center for Elder Law and Justice in Buffalo, would like to see Pontiac put on the list so it gets closer scrutiny. She said regulators should also consider closing Pontiac and moving its residents to better-run facilities or back into the community with home care services. Richard Mollot of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a New York City-based nursing home resident advocacy group, said the state should revoke Pontiacs license and bring in a temporary manager. Pontiac Nursing Home, 303 East River Road, Oswego Brenda Duncan | bduncan@syracuse.comBrenda Duncan | bduncan@syracuse Pontiac gets Medicares lowest overall rating, one star, which means much below average. The federal agency also rates Pontiacs level of staffing and quality of care below average. The for-profit nursing home is owned by Cosimo Mastropierro, 72, of Long Island. He bought it in 2000. Hes also listed as an owner of three other nursing homes: a one-star home in Montgomery County, a three-star facility on Long Island and a five-star home in New York City. Mastropierro did not respond to an interview request. Pontiac posted an operating loss of $545,427 on total patient revenue of $5.26 million in 2019, according to the most recent financial data available. Pontiac has reported operating losses for the last five consecutive years, according to SNFdata, a company that reports nursing home financial data. The two-story nursing home that sits on five acres was built in 1970 by the late Rocco Vivenzio, who owned the former Pontiac Hotel in downtown Oswego. Never send anyone to Pontiac Martha Wilson, 82, of Fulton, went to Pontiac in 2019 for one month of rehabilitation. Wilson was unable to get out of bed by herself because she was at high risk of falling. Wilson said she waited from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. one day before an aide came to help her to the bathroom. Every time she asked for help, Wilson said, she was told everyone was busy attending to an emergency elsewhere. I had to lay there in my waste, Wilson said. Its a horrible feeling. That day was wicked. She also said she never got a shower or a regular bath, just sponge baths in bed, the entire time she was there. They did not take good care of me at all, Wilson said. Donald Moe Hunt of Watertown went to Pontiac for two weeks in 2017 for rehabilitation after getting hip replacement surgery at the Syracuse VA Medical Center. One night a Pontiac staff member helped Hunt walk to the bathroom and didnt return, said Robin Thorne, Hunts daughter. Thorne said her father tried to return to bed on his own. He lost his balance and fell, she said. X-rays taken later that day showed he broke his other hip. Hunt was transferred back to the Syracuse VA for another hip replacement. But before he could get the surgery he had a heart attack and died Aug. 5, 2017 at age 86. Never send anyone to Pontiac, Thorne said. You dont get good care. Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Pontiac, claiming the nursing homes negligence led to his death. In court papers, Pontiac denies any negligence. Larry Silverman ran a successful dental practice in Cicero for more than 18 years. He had over 10,000 patients. He was a very simple man, his wife said. He loved his job and his patients loved him. He enjoyed driving antique cars, attending sporting events at Syracuse University and spending time with his family. The Silvermans have three adult children. He was only 48 when he had his first of several strokes. His health deteriorated. He developed severe dementia and was in several different assisted-living facilities and nursing homes. He became a resident of Pontiac in 2013. He needed help not only with walking, but with feeding, bathing, toileting and changing clothes. He died at age 66. Silverman said Pontiac misled her when it called to tell her about her husbands fall. They said, We took him to the hospital, she recalls. They made it sound like he fell out of bed. When Silverman learned from the AGs office what happened to her husband in Pontiac she said it blew my mind. She sued Pontiac in 2017. The suit alleged the nurse aides false report about Silvermans fall delayed treatment of his head injury. The suit also said one or more Pontiac managers were told of the abusive photos and videos, but failed to take action to stop it and notify Silvermans family. Pontiac settled the suit for $400,000 in 2018. An autopsy found Silverman died of brain injury complications unrelated to the fall at the nursing home. Jenna M. Boyle, 28, of Fulton, the former Pontiac nurse aide who improperly walked Silverman to his bed, said in a statement to an investigator she lied about what happened because she didnt want anyone to know she put Silverman back to bed after he fell. Angel Rood, 33, of Fulton, a former Pontiac certified nurse aide, who had a colleague take a cellphone photo of her in bed with Silverman, told an investigator, I was goofing around. Matthew Reynolds, of Oswego, a former Pontiac unit helper who made the video of Silverman, sent it to a co-worker for amusement purposes, a state Health Department document shows. Those three pleaded guilty to willful violation of health laws, a misdemeanor, on Dec. 13, 2016. Boyle was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge, 75 hours of community service and $200 in court costs. The finding that she neglected Silverman was entered in the state Nursing Home Aide Registry, prohibiting her from working in nursing homes. Rood was sentenced to four consecutive weekends in jail and banned from working in nursing homes. Reynolds did not get jail time because he was 18 at the time of the incident and not a state-licensed or certified worker. Silverman is angry the state has let Pontiac stay in business. They need to be shut down, she said. If you live, work or are a rehabilitation patient at Pontiac Nursing Home, we would like to hear about your experience. Please contact James T. Mulder at jmulder@syracuse.com or 315-470-2245. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. [March 10, 2021] FD7 Ventures' Managing Director Prakash Chand Predicts Bitcoin Market Cap of $10 Trillion, with ADA, DOT and ETH Not Far Behind According to FD7 Ventures Managing Partner, Prakash Chand, Bitcoin's market cap will reach $10 trillion in a few years, with Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT) and Ethereum (ETH) not too far behind. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310006068/en/ FD7 Managing Director Prakash Chand (Photo: Business Wire) Chand, who is the Founder of Ask The Doctor, a Bitcoin investor since 2011, and Managing Partner of billion-dollar global cryptocurrency investment fund FD7 Ventures, believes more people will continue to add cryptocurrency to their portfolio in the next two years, raising the market cap of all cryptocurrencies. "The new generation of retail investors who got burned on Robinhood will turn to the cryptocurrency markets. We will see a lot of stimulus checks inested in the crypto market over the stock market." Said Chand. "It's pretty cool to see this young generation learning to invest." Chand continued. "When I was 21, I was worried about spending all my money on a car-a depreciating asset. This new generation is so much more advanced than my generation. They love investing in crypto and find it more appealing than the regular stock market, which is dominated by conventional wall street suit-and-tie types." The catalyst for Chand's increased interest in Ethereum, Polkadot and Cardano was the many conversations he had with a friend and mentor, who is also one of the founders of Ethereum. After those discussions, Chand says, his curiosity about the altcoins deepened. While Chand does not disclose which of the founders of Ethereum he is referring to, he does note that his friend "is one of the smartest human beings living today. Listening to him is what prompted me to spend hours researching Cardano and Polkadot." He went on to say he believes Bitcoin is "a great store of value, with an excellent brand name behind it, but that is pretty much it where it stops. Cardano, Ethereum, and Polkadot, on the other hand, are platforms that are disrupting Education, Finance, Healthcare and many other industries." In the last week alone, Chand says the fund has had numerous high-net-worth individuals and institutions approach them about Cardano and Polkadot. Chand thinks it will be difficult for ETH, DOT, and ADA to beat Bitcoin in terms of market in the near term but believes in 5-7 years they will have the ability to surpass Bitcoin's market capitalization. The FD7 Managing Partner said that he does not look at short term prices for these tokens. Instead, he says a slightly longer outlook of a few years holds the possibility of Bitcoin that is 10x its current price, while Ethereum, Polkadot and Cardano have the potential to each rise by 20-30x, if not more, from their current value. FD7 has been a constant in cryptocurrency news headlines in the last few weeks with recent announcements that they were converting $750M of their funds from BTC to ADA and DOT, confirmation that they completed the $380M of funds being converted to ADA, and an announcement that they have invested in the exclusive BitcoinBlack all metal premium credit card, acquiring 33% Class A voting common shares in the company. About FD7 Ventures With offices in Toronto, Dubai, and Bangalore, FD7's team leads investments in all stages of blockchain and crypto projects and manages cryptocurrency assets for high-net-worth investors. To learn more about FD7 Ventures and their holdings, visit their website at fd7.ventures. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310006068/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. A woman who had no contact with her half-siblings for more than 30 years revealed how they reconnected after she spotted her photo while searching through newspaper articles online. Michelle Glogovac, 39, who lives in San Jose, California, met half-siblings Annette, 56, and Steven Lalor, 51, as a toddler but lost contact after their father, Bob Lalor, divorced his ex-wife. She saw her half-siblings once more in 1988, when their father was on his death bed, and began her search for them in the early 90s, hoping they could build a relationship. It took until August 2010 for Michelle to finally track down Annette, who lives in Oregon, and she described laying eyes on her sister as like 'looking in a mirror'. Seven years later, after emails back and forth, the sisters finally met face to face. Michelle Glogovac, 39, who lives in San Jose, California, met half-siblings Annette, 56, and Steven Lalor, 51, as a toddler but lost contact after their father Bob Lalor, who had children with two women, left their mother for her mother. Pictured, the sisters together Michelle (pictured) said Annette visited her family home after the death of her father in 1988, however she didn't have any interaction with her Michelle explained that her half-siblings stopped visiting when she was a toddler, after the birth of her brother Bob Lalor Jr. Pictured: Michelle as a child with her father Michelle, a publicist, said: 'I was nervous and excited at the same time because this was my sister after all, but she was also someone I hadnt truly met before. 'Our plan was to stay at her home for three days. We caught up, chatted over coffee, tea, food and we discovered our similarities were beyond what we could have ever imagined. 'We both went to the University of California, Santa Barbara, both were law majors, we owned the same coffee maker, same soap dispensers, watched the same television shows, married men who are both of Lebanese descent, the number of coincidences and sameness was odd and yet so comforting at the same time. 'We also discussed our pasts and were able to fit in the missing pieces for each other from the past 30+ years.' Bob Lalor had been married to Annette and Steven's mother for 13 years when he had an affair with Michelle's mother, Yvonne Lalor-Kidder, 74, after meeting at work in Switzerland. Michelle explained: 'My dad worked in international finance for General Electric and was often relocated around the world, having lived in Japan for a while before being transferred to Switzerland. 'My mother had been a flight attendant for KLM, Swiss Air and Lufthansa, but left the airline industry and became my dads secretary at General Electric. 'They initially met in the office and it eventually became an office romance. It was only in the past two years that I learned that my dad was still married to his ex-wife when he met my mom.' Bob divorced his first wife, the mother of his two eldest children, and remarried Yvonne in 1978. The pair settled in the US and went on to have Michelle and son Bob Jr, born in 1983. Michelle revealed the relationship with her mother has been strained since reconnecting with her sister. Pictured: Michelle and Annette with her child Michelle said she spent ages searching for her sister in the early days of the internet and the rest of her family didn't help, despite at least one of her uncles having contact. Pictured: Michelle as a child with her father Before Bob Jr was born, Bob Sr brought Yvonne and a toddler Michelle on a holiday to Bermuda with Annette and Steven. 'My half-sister was 13 years old at the time and my half-brother was about eight years old,' Michelle explained. 'He introduced her [Yvonne] as his girlfriend and informed them that he was going to try to get an annulment from the Catholic Church to marry her.' Michelle continued: 'I recall my moms version of this story which included her being upset with my dad for spending too much time with his two kids while this was to be a vacation for her. She also mentioned finding an outfit she liked and mentioning it to my dad. 'Apparently my half-sister spotted the same outfit and also liked it. She mentioned it to my dad as well, not in the presence of my mom, and ultimately my dad purchased it for my half-sister. This was the beginning of my dad not being able to navigate his way between being a dad and having a new relationship.' Michelle doesn't remember spending time with her half-siblings as a child because she was only a toddler when Bob stopped contact with his eldest children. The estrangement occurred shortly after the birth of Bob Jr. Michelle said she was able to reduce the location of her search after using Ancestry.com and then found mention of her sister in a news article. Pictured: Michelle as a child with her father 'My father stopped paying child support to his ex-wife and my mother did not get along with my half-siblings, therefore I believe that is why the visits stopped happening,' Michelle said. 'My father never fought to see his children and my mother was of the mindset that we were his new family and therefore he didnt need to have a relationship with his children from his first marriage.' Bob and Yvonne gave their children a 'happy and normal' upbringing in Paradise, California. Bob was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 1988, just weeks after his own mother died of the disease. He died 12 days later. Michelle said her father was 'pretty unresponsive' in his final days. She continued: 'During the 12 days from when my dad was diagnosed to his passing, he left the hospital and we had a hospital bed put in our living room for him to be comfortable. We had visits constantly from friends, family, the Catholic priest and more.' Michelle's most memorable visit came one afternoon after she came home from school to see two women smoking cigarettes in her front yard. She said: 'One was a younger woman with reddish hair that I knew right away was my sister. We exchanged looks, but I went inside my home, where my mom confirmed it was my half-sister and her mother and inside was my half-brother. I dont recall us ever speaking and she left with her mom.' Michelle began searching for her siblings in the early Nineties. At the time Annette didn't have a social media presence, the internet was dial-up and Google didn't yet exist. She knew her sister Annette had used her mother's maiden name before getting married and that she lived in San Francisco. 'I knew I had a brother and sister out there and I wanted to know them as people,' she said. 'I also wanted to understand why they werent looking for me (and my younger brother). 'It felt like there was a large part of my own story and life missing just by simply knowing I had relatives out there that I didnt know. Having lost my father also played a role in my want to get to know them because they were a part of him and a connection to what I had lost when he passed away.' Michelle said no one in her family would help her search for her siblings. She spent hours searching the internet and signed up for Ancestry.com to gather more facts about her family as well as potential addresses to help expand her search. 'Using the search results I got from Ancestry.com, I was able to change my search to different cities and thats how I found the news article with my sisters picture in it,' Michelle explained. 'It was on August 9, 2010 that I found this article that said my sister had just been promoted as a judge. 'She had the same hairstyle that I remembered and her face was like looking in the mirror at myself. I felt all the emotions...joy and happiness to have found her, shock to have found her after all these years, worry that reaching out would result in nothing.' Annette's contact information wasn't listed but Michelle was able to find an email address using her new place of work. She continued: 'I sent her [Annette] an email that day and told her Id been looking for her for decades and that I was hoping to get to know her, have a relationship with her, but that I also understood that if she wasnt open to a relationship, that was her choice. 'It took about six weeks to receive a reply from her because shed been out of the country on vacation. Her response was enthusiastic and yes, she wanted a relationship with me, whatever that might look like. 'We started with just emails over the course of seven years. Wed update each other on our lives, share some bits of our past, but it was mostly about getting to know each other in the present. During these seven years, I got engaged and married. 'I invited my sister to my wedding, but she declined. It wasnt until meeting her that she told me she wanted very much to attend my wedding but was concerned over how my mother might react and didnt want to ruin my day.' The sisters finally met face to face in 2017 when Michelle and her children joined her husband on a business trip to Oregon, where Annette lives. Michelle said her relationship with Annette now involves weekly emails and doing FitBit challenges together. They also enjoyed a weekend trip together on the coast of Oregon before the pandemic and hope to see each other again soon. However, she revealed the relationship with the rest of her family hasn't been as strong in recent years, saying: 'My relationship with my mother has been strained since my wedding eight years ago. I decided that I would no longer tolerate the toxic behavior that was being pushed upon me as a child and even as an adult. 'My mother was not happy about me having found my sister and talking to her when I told her. Ive only recently started talking to my mother on occasion, but we do not talk about my sister. 'My brother knows Im in touch with our sister, but he has made no effort or shown an interest in meeting her. My relationship with my sister is separate from the relationships of my immediate family. It has brought me closer to my extended family though, including my dads last remaining sibling and his family.' Despite the turmoil caused by her reunion, Michelle advises others to make an effort to reconnect with their loved ones. She added: 'Take the chance and reach out. It can be very daunting putting yourself out there like that, but if your loved one responds positively like my sister did, then it can and will be life changing for you and for your loved one. 'There are always three sides to every story; yours, mine and the truth. No matter what youve been told is the reasoning behind why you might be out of touch with someone, give them the opportunity to share their side of the story so that you can get the whole picture, instead of just some pieces of the puzzle.' New Delhi, March 11 : Motorola is back to make a dent in the affordable smartphone segment in India with two new devices - Moto G30 and Moto G10 Power. Both devices come with a waterdrop-style display notch and run on Android 11 with a near stock interface. Moto G30 is priced at Rs 10,999 for the lone 4GB RAM+64GB storage variant. The phone comes in Dark Pearl and Pastel Sky colours. The Moto G10 Power, on the other hand, carries a price tag of Rs 9,999 for the single 4GB RAM+64GB storage mode. We used Moto G30 in dark pearl colour for couple of days and here is what we think about the latest budget offering. In terms of design, the device scores good marks thanks to its build quality. The power and volume buttons are on the right side along with a button for Google Assistant. On the other side of the frame is the hybrid dual-SIM tray. At the top of the frame are a 3.5mm headphone jack and a secondary microphone, while the primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and loudspeaker are at the bottom. The smartphone features a 6.5-inch HD+ (720x1,600 pixels) Max Vision TFT display with 20:9 aspect ratio and 90Hz refresh rate. The display is impressive and you would love watching videos. The display produces bright visuals and has good viewing angles. The phone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC, along with 4GB of RAM. If you looking to buy a smartphone under Rs 15,000 for multi-tasking and playing lite games, then you can should consider this phone for yourself. There's also a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, embedded in the Motorola logo, which quite fast. Moto G30 comes with latest Android 11 and provides near-stock Android experience with an ad-free, bloatware-free experience with the latest Android 11 features like Chat Bubbles, Smart Device Controls, Categorised Notifications and more. The device is packed with Motorola's proprietary four-layer security of ThinkShield, which provides protection from hardware to software allowing consumers to have peace of mind with respect to their data security. It houses a quad rear camera that includes a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP sensor with an ultra-wide-angle, 2MP sensor with a macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor. There is also an 8MP selfie camera sensor at the front. During the tests, the device managed to click some great shots. The selfie camera was good enough. The company has provided a 5,000mAh battery on the Moto G30 that supports 20W fast charging. With the moderate usage, the battery lasted around a day. Conclusion: The Moto G30 is a good option if you are looking for a budget device. Despite strong competition from Samsung, realme and Xiaomi, the smartphone manages to create its own mark, and a nostalgia too for Motorola fans. (Md Waquar Haider can be reached at waquar.h@ians.in) An apartment building in San Franciscos Bayview district went up in flames Wednesday evening and firefighters were alerted that a 6-year-old child might be trapped inside. After an aggressive search, firefighters determined there was no one inside the building on the 1600 block of La Salle Avenue, said Lt. Jonathan Baxter of the San Francisco Fire Department. Fire crews were called to the scene at 6:22 p.m. Page Content Last November, South Dakota voters approved Amendment A, which allowed for the recreational use of marijuana by individuals age 21 and older (and for possession of up to 1 ounce). On Feb. 8, a South Dakota judge granted summary judgment in favor of law enforcement officers who filed a lawsuit on behalf of Gov. Kristi Noem challenging Amendment A. In Thom v. Barnett (No. 32CIV20-187), the court held that the proposed amendment was unconstitutional and therefore void and without effect. The Court's Reasoning The court held that Amendment A violated the South Dakota Constitution's "single subject rule." In relevant part, Article XXIII 1 of the South Dakota Constitution states, "no proposed amendment may embrace more than one subject." According to Circuit Court Judge Christina Klinger, Amendment A contained several sections that were not "reasonably germane" to the amendment's primary subject, the legalization of marijuana. For example, the court held that sections relating to the cultivation and sale of hemp were not reasonably germane to the subject of the legalization of marijuana because "marijuana and hemp are two distinct subjects." Even though the court recognized that marijuana and hemp are both derived from the cannabis plant, it found that "'[c]annabis' cannot be retroactively inserted as the main subject of Amendment A." Additionally, the court held that Amendment A was unconstitutional because it was functionally a revision to the South Dakota Constitution, not an amendment. According to the court, Amendment A instituted such "far-reaching changes to the nature of South Dakota's governmental plan" that it constituted a "revision" and must have first been submitted to a constitutional convention. Because it did not undergo the proper procedures, the court ruled Amendment A in its entirety to be void and without effect. Employer Takeaways Amendment A was scheduled to take effect on July 1, but with this decision, Amendment A has no effect. However, it is likely that the case will be appealed to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Employers may also want to note that this case does not concern the validity of Initiated Measure 26, which establishes protections for medical marijuana patients. Michael K. Clarkson is an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Boston. Andrew M. Soukhome is a 2020 graduate of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and is currently awaiting admission to the state bar of Arizona. 2021 Ogletree Deakins. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission. China's rubber-stamp parliament has approved plans to overhaul Hong Kong's election system in the latest blow to freedom in the city-state. Beijing's National People's Congress voted 2,895-0 - with one abstention - in favour of the new laws, which will allow the pro-Beijing committee which chooses Hong Kong's leader to pick MPs as well. China says the change is needed to ensure Hong Kong is run by 'patriots', but critics say it will wipe out political opposition to Beijing and make elections meaningless. President Xi Jinping votes to approve changes to Hong Kong's election system at Beijing's National People's Congress - a vote which passed 2,895-0 Thursday's vote, which came during Beijing's most important annual political conference called the Two Sessions, paves the way for laws to be drafted. Once drafted, the laws could be enacted in the next few months. President Xi Jinping and other party leaders sat on stage in front of delegates as they cast votes electronically. The NPC has no real powers but the party uses its brief annual meeting, the year's highest-profile political event, to showcase major initiatives. The changes in Hong Kong would give a pro-Beijing committee power to appoint more of its lawmakers, reducing the number elected by the public. Details have yet to be announced, but Hong Kong news reports say the committee might pick one-third of lawmakers. The mainland government has rejected complaints it is eroding Hong Kongs autonomy and says the changes are necessary to protect the territorys stability. Beijing says the change is necessary to ensure the city-state is run by 'patriots', but critics say it will wipe out political opposition to Beijing (pictured, Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters ) Also Thursday, the NPC endorsed the ruling partys latest five-year development blueprint. It calls for stepping up efforts to transform China into a more self-reliant technology creator - a move that threatens to worsen strains with Washington and Europe over trade and market access. Last year, the party used the NPC session to impose a national security law on Hong Kong in response to the protests that began in 2019. Under that law, 47 former legislators and other pro-democracy figures have been arrested on subversion charges that carry a possible maximum penalty of life in prison. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi defended the changes in Hong Kong as needed to protect its autonomy and defend its 'transition from chaos to governance.' ROME, MAR 11 - President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday honoured 28 young people for their civic bravery last year, naming them "Ensigns of the Republic". The 28 "distinguished themselves for their commitment and their brave and solidarity-based actions, and they represent, through their bearing witness, the future and hope in a year that will go down in history for the tragic events linked to the pandemic," the presidential Quirinal Palace said. Among the new ensigns are a 14-year-old writer from Marche, Riccardo Amicuzi; a nine-year-old girl from Bergamo who sent a book daily to her classmates, Silvia Artuso; a 14-year-old Genoese boy, Diego Barbieri, who conveyed a love of mountaineering despite an accident that left him lame at a young age; an 18-year-old Rovigo boy, Niccolo Brizzolari, who worked to help the elderly and save the environment; a 16-year-old Trapani girl, Maria Piera Calandra, who worked as a volunteer during the health emergency; and an 18-year-old Catanzaro boy, Giulio Carchidi, who also worked "tirelessely" during the epidemic lockdown. (ANSA). Noting that some 70% of family physicians say they plan to continue providing more telehealth services in the future, the AAFP called on lawmakers to increase equitable access to high-quality telehealth services, such as those provided by primary care physicians within a patients medical home. Congress must act to extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities and ensure telehealth is permanently recognized across payers as a valuable modality of providing primary care services. The letter was offered as testimony ahead of a March 2 hearing titled The Future of Telehealth: How COVID-19 is Changing the Delivery of Virtual Care. It was sent to Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the subcommittee and signed by Board Chair Gary LeRoy, M.D., of Dayton, Ohio. Citing joint principles for telehealth policy conceived by the AAFP along with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians, the letter cautioned that revised telehealth policy must preserve and augment the physician-patient relationship and center on strong continuity of care. With that in mind, the Academy urged lawmakers to permanently remove section 1834(m) geographic and originating-site restrictions to ensure that all Medicare beneficiaries can access care at home (as the Academy has repeatedly asked ); ); require Medicare to cover audio-only evaluation and management services beyond the public health emergency ; ; standardize coverage and payment of telehealth services across payers , with steps that include requiring coverage of in-network telehealth services and prohibiting policies that cover only telehealth services provided by separately contracted virtual-only vendors; and , with steps that include requiring coverage of in-network telehealth services and prohibiting policies that cover only telehealth services provided by separately contracted virtual-only vendors; and permanently ensure that beneficiaries can access telehealth services provided by federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics. To minimize administrative complexity for primary care practices, the Academy suggested that existing Medicare policy and definitions remain the standard where appropriate. For example, Medicare defines an established patient as one who has received professional services from a clinician in the same practice and of the same medical specialty within the last three years. This definition should be repurposed in new telehealth policies instead of creating a new definition for an established patient that could conflict with current coding guidelines. LONDON: Prince William said on Thursday that Britain`s royals were not racist after Meghan, wife of his younger brother Harry, said one unnamed member of the family had asked how dark their son Archie`s skin might be. The revelation emerged during an explosive tell-all interview Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, gave to Oprah Winfrey which was aired on Sunday, plunging the British monarchy into its biggest crisis since the 1997 death of Princess Diana, William and Harry`s mother. On a visit to a school in east London, William said he had not talked to Harry since the interview was broadcast just over three days ago. "I haven`t spoken to him yet but I will do," William, 38, said. Asked by a reporter if the royal family was racist, William said: "We`re very much not a racist family." In the two-hour show, Meghan also said the royals had ignored her pleas for help while she felt suicidal, while Harry said his father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, had let him down and that he had felt trapped. On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, the princes` grandmother, in which she said the family were saddened by how challenging the couple had found the last few years. The statement added the issues of race were concerning and would be treated very seriously, but pointedly stated "some recollections may vary". The Palace have said that it was a family matter that should be dealt with privately. During the interview, Harry laid bare how distant he had come from the other members of his family, saying his father had stopped taking his calls at one point, and saying there was "space" in his relationship with William. "Much will continue to be said about that ... as I said before, you know, I love William to bits, he`s my brother, we`ve been through hell together and we have a shared experience," he said. "But we`re on different paths." The interview was watched by 12.4 million viewers in Britain and 17.1 million in the United States. It has proved divisive among the British public: some believe it showed how outdated and intolerant the institution was, while others decried it as a self-serving assault that neither Elizabeth nor her family deserved. WA Premier Mark McGowan acknowledged the state was missing out and accused the Morrison government of punishing Western Australia for its border policy. It is very disappointing that they would ignore WA like that, he said. Id urge them to ensure that this decision is changed. Ms Beckwith said tourism operators like Live Ningaloo just wanted to be able to trade through this difficult time and said governments needed to better target and co-ordinate support. They all need to start working together, she said. Operators like us dont care about the politics because we are still in this survival mode. We all need to be more transparent about the fact that not everyone is OK and acknowledging where we are at ... the state and federal governments have the figures now, they know who is hurting, they need to acknowledge that and they need to come to the table with some real help that will assist the people that need it. Do your job and help us. Busselton Jetty chief executive Lisa Shreeve said businesses in the South West were struggling and would have benefited from subsidised flights. Theres a perception the South West has gone really well and it doesnt need any help and in part theyre right because hotels and restaurants are going gangbusters, but there is a two-speed economy and there are lots of businesses down here in the tourism industry that arent going well, Ms Shreeve said. Loading We would like to have a conversation with government about tour operators and attractions that are doing it tough so they might be able to consider us [for support] in the future. Nationwide, until interstate and international visitors come back, there are a lot of attractions that might fold. Its hard to define who is in trouble and I know the government cant keep handing out money but its important these businesses dont disappear. In Broome, Robert Dann of Kimberley Cultural Adventures said while 2020 was one of his biggest years in five years operating, other Kimberley businesses more reliant on international visitors were struggling. If we have cheap eastern states flights coming into Broome that will be good for boosting tourism for us, he said. This support is good but what we need is for the borders to stay open. The announcement comes amid fears the industry will shed thousands more jobs when the JobKeeper wage subsidy ends later this month. Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said one in five tourism operators risked closing their doors when JobKeeper, rent freezes, and loan deferrals ended in March. Mr Hall said continued financial assistance was required to help businesses survive until domestic travel returns in earnest. We urge the federal and state governments to provide direct support to all those businesses which are still facing a significant downturn due to interstate and international border restrictions and uncertainty, Mr Hall said. TCWA and Australian Hotels Association WA on Thursday called for Perth to be included in the subsidised flight destinations. It is pleasing to see Broome included but Perth must be included as a key destination as it will deliver a significant return on investment and meet the objectives of the support package, AHA WA chief executive Bradley Woods said. With the WA government providing subsidised regional airfares, the inclusion of Perth would benefit the suffering Perth accommodation industry, but also act as gateway to tourism areas throughout the state. Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan told Radio 6PR the best thing WA could do for tourism was start using border closures as a last resort. It is the biggest obstacle to confidence, Mr Tehan said. It is state border closures more than the pandemic which is now stopping people from travelling. While the industry battles on, Ms Beckwith and Ms Shreeve say the best thing individuals can do is to jump on a tour or visit an attraction while travelling in the state. People need to support the tours and attraction sector when they travel if they want these businesses here in the future, Ms Beckwith said. Everybody boasts about how tourism in Australia is so sustainable and how we are world leaders but international travellers attracted to Australia will not come here if attraction and tours, especially in the wildlife sector, are not here after this. EastEnders' Lucas Johnson is treading in dangerous waters as he uses his dead son Jordan's identity to try and win over Karen Taylor. An unsuspecting Karen (Lorraine Stanley) recently took a shine to Lucas (Don Gilet), unaware of his real identity, when they flirted in the launderette. Things appear to be heating up between the pair as they go for a drink together in Ruby's, with Karen none the wiser that 'Jordan' is not who he claims to be. Fake name: EastEnders' Lucas Johnson is treading in dangerous waters as he uses his dead son Jordan's identity to try and win over Karen Taylor Lucas recently told Denise that his son had died of a drug overdose after going off the rails. Still knee-deep in his daughter Chelsea's drugs drama, Lucas sees his date with Karen as much needed relief from his problems. Following his flirt with Karen, Lucas has more trouble with Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) as he spots her arguing with Jack and accuses her of bullying him. Chelsea tells her father if her job with Caleb (Ben Freeman) goes wrong, he will kill her, and shocks Lucas when she tells him when the job is done, they won't have to see each other again. Flirt: An unsuspecting Karen (Lorraine Stanley) recently took a shine to Lucas (Don Gilet), unaware of his real identity, when they flirted in the launderette Desperate for relief, Lucas finds Karen and asks for her name, prompting her to invite him out for a drink. Bernie (Clair Norris) and Mitch (Roger Griffiths) question an excited Karen about her date with mystery man 'Jordan' and they ask for a picture. Meanwhile Lucas probation worker tells him theyve found him a job and a flat in Newcastle but Lucas declines, saying he wants to stay with his family. At the date, Karen snaps a sneaky picture whilst Lucas' back is turned and sends it to the family chat. EastEnders airs on Thursday, March 11 on at 7:35pm on BBC One. Pro-abortion activists arraigned for disrupting pro-life mass at Ohio Catholic cathedral Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pro-abortion protestors who disrupted a pro-life themed Catholic mass at an Ohio cathedral earlier this year were recently arraigned in court for misdemeanor charges. Jordyn Close, Michelle M. Davis and Mason Hickman were arraigned Friday while Anne Morrice, another activist involved in the incident who faces a charge of criminal damage, will be arraigned on March 18, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The activists pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Pretrial hearings are slated to take place later this month and in April. As with every incident, evidence must be collected and reviewed for each defendant, said Meredith Tucker, spokeswoman for the city attorney's office, as reported by the Dispatch. After evaluating the available evidence, including surveillance videos, witness statements, and more these were the four defendants we had sufficient evidence to move forward with charges. On Jan. 22, the anniversary of the controversial 1973 United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus held their annual Respect Life mass. During the service, a group of at least eight pro-abortion activists stormed the sanctuary, holding protest signs and chanting things like two, four, six, eight, this church teaches hate. Signs held by the protestors included "Fund abortion, not clinic harassment and Abortion on demand, end Hyde now, referring to the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortion with some exceptions. The protesters continued to shout obscenities at security after being removed from the sanctuary, with one demonstrator shouting: "If Hell was real, you would burn in it. Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Columbus, who celebrated the Respect Life mass, released a statement soon after the incident thanking law enforcers for their actions. I want to express my great admiration and thanks to all those attending the Mass whose respectful and prayerful response reflects the joy, hope, and mercy that marks our pro-life witness. I also apologize to the families present whose children were exposed to this, Brennan stated at the time. On this day, in remembrance of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, I ask all to continue to pray for the unborn who died, for all those who have experienced the pain of abortion, and for those who cannot understand our divine and steadfast calling to champion this cause. The pandemic relief bill that President Biden signed Thursday afternoon will protect tens of thousands of aviation jobs, providing a lifeline to an industry that is likely to struggle for some time even as vaccinations accelerate. After Congress this week approved the legislation, which includes $14 billion for airlines and an additional $9 billion for airports and other businesses, American Airlines and United Airlines told 27,000 employees that they could ignore the furlough notices they had received in recent weeks. The airlines had issued the warnings, which are legally required in advance of sweeping cuts, as they prepared to carry out the furloughs at the end of this month when an earlier round of federal aid expired. The new bill extends that assistance through September. If you have one of those WARN Act notices we sent out in February, tear it up, Doug Parker, Americans chief executive, said in an Instagram video. There arent going to be any furloughs at American Airlines in April and, with vaccinations on the rise, hopefully never again. The relief package, which Mr. Biden has said is needed to protect the economy and workers and which many Republican lawmakers have criticized as excessive, is the third to provide funding to keep airline workers employed since the pandemic began. Last March, Congress provided passenger airlines $25 billion in loans and another $25 billion in payroll grants. It renewed the payroll funding in December with a further $15 billion and again this week. Homegrown auto major expects the commercial vehicles industry to grow over 30 per cent in the next fiscal on the back of cyclical demand uptick and overall recovery of economic activity, according to a top company official. The company, which on Thursday launched its latest range of intermediate and light commercial trucks (I&LCV) - the Ultra Sleek T-Series with price starting from Rs 13.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), is also seeking to cash in on the return of demand and enhance its market share in the segment. "One can now say that the economic recovery is well and truly in place and we see the last quarter GDP growth has been positive. The same thing is expected this year. Next year also both the government and RBI have given projections that the GDP should grow in double digits," President Business Unit, Girish Wagh told reporters in a virtual conference. He further said, the commercial vehicles (CV) industry is very closely linked to the overall economic activity. We do see that next year the CV industry should grow, do well and we should be getting into a cyclical upturn again after having two years of downturn." Commenting specifically on the growth expectations for the upcoming fiscal, Wagh said, "Next year, therefore, we are looking at growth rate in the higher 30s, that's the kind of growth rate we are looking for the overall industry." The domestic CV industry, which started to go on a slump from November 2018 due to increase in axle load norms, credit crunch and economic slowdown, coupled with BS-VI transition and the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now recovering gradually, he added. From a decline of 90 per cent in the Q1, to a dip of 24 per cent in Q2 and a low single digit drop in Q3, the CV sales have picked up momentum, he said, adding that even in the Q4, month-on-month there has been growth in sales. On the company's new Ultra Sleek T-Series, that has been designed and engineered to suit contemporary demands of urban transportation and available in three models T.6, T.7 and T.9, he said these trucks are a new landmark in urban freight transportation due to sleeker design and enabling faster movement leading to higher utilisation and revenue with more trips. While the T.6 is priced at Rs 13.99 lakh, the T.7 is tagged at Rs 15.29 lakh and T.9 comes at Rs 17.29 lakh (ex-showroom). On the expectations from the new range, Wagh said the Ultra range of CV since its launch about three years ago has sold over 20,000 units with over 50 per cent market share in the I&LCV segment. "We are certainly looking at garnering more market share," he added. When asked about plans to export Ultra Sleek T-Series range, Wagh said, "We will certainly be looking at international markets. The Ultra brand is already present and sold in quite a few countries like Africa, ASAEN and SAARC. These are the markets where we are already selling the Ultra brand....We are certainly looking at some of the markets I mentioned to take the Ultra Sleek there and make a mark." The Ultra Sleek T-Series range has been designed and developed to address the need of an emerging trend in the transportation industry, he added. These trucks are equipped to cater to a wide variety of applications, such as transportation of e-commerce products, FMCG, industrial goods, LPG cylinders, and refrigerated containers for transportation of COVID-19 vaccine, pharmaceuticals as well as food items such as eggs, milk and fresh farm produce, 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.) Image via Getty/Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency Thailands prime minister has pulled another bizarre stunt on the press. According to Reuters, the incident occurred Tuesday at the end of Prayuth Chan-ochas weekly press conference in Bangkok, when he was asked about potential changes to his cabinet. Questions of a shake-up have been swirling since last week, after three his ministers were found guilty of sedition for the roles in the 2013-2014 protests against the former government. Prayuth predictably refused to directly answer the question, and insisted he wasnt familiar with situation. Is there anything else to ask? he said at a podium. I dont know, I havent seen it. Isnt it something the prime minister should know first? Moments later, Prayuth walked away from the mic and approached the front row of reporters with a small spray bottle of sanitizer in hand. He proceeded to cover his face with a mask, and then doused the reporters with the disinfectant before walking away. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Prayuth came to power in 2014, after leading a military coup against the former government. He is known to lash out at reporters as well as employ amusing tactics to dodge tricky questions. Reuters reports he previously fondled a reporters ear and threw a banana peel at a camera crew. In 2018, he appeared in front of the press with a life-size cutout of himself and told journalists to Ask this guy before sauntering off stage. Related Articles More Complex Sign up for the Complex Newsletter for breaking news, events, and unique stories. Follow Complex on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. 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. As if COVID-19 hasn't taken enough from us, colleges across Texas have canceled or shifted spring break in light of the virus. Bummer. Texas A&M University is giving students a three-day weekend beginning March 19, as opposed to an entire week to "minimize extensive travel and allow the semester to conclude earlier for additional commencements," per KTRK-13. WHERE ARE YOU HEADED? The top 10 most-searched destinations for spring break 2021 "Definitely, no planned trips. Definitely wearing masks this year," said Texas A&M journalism major Brady Stone, as reported by KTRK. "We are kind of hunkering down and staying safe." Stone is in favor of the spring break cancelation, telling KTRK that most students will only be traveling back to their hometown anyway. Others disagree. In theory, I understand what theyre trying to do. They're trying to reduce travelbut in practicality, its going to be hard mentally on students," A&M junior Anaissa Diaz told the Houston Chronicle's Brittany Britto. "Were just going to have to power through that semester." Britto reported in November of last year that Baylor, Rice and Texas Southern universities also planned to eliminate spring break. The schools would instead give students days off throughout the year or condense the semester. TSU will give students two days on April 1 and 2, as well as the following weekend. Rice's plan involved kicking off the semester two weeks earlier and giving students five "sprinkle days" throughout the semester, two of which have already been taken. Students will also have March 16, March 26 and April 8 completely off. No assignments will be due on these days. We are just grateful in general to have those days in there somewhere. This semester has been kind of difficult not having any real breaks anywhere, Rice University sophomore Emily Elison told Britto. This tries to kind of make the best of both worlds. Prairie View A&M University students will not receive a spring break, per KTRK. University of Houston's spring break will be from March 15-20 for all campuses. College of the Mainland and San Jacinto College students will take spring break from March 15 to 21. People in Northern Ireland are suffering from potentially deadly medical conditions that have not been seen by surgeons for years due to the hospital waiting list crisis, it has been warned. The Stormont health committee has been told that surgeons are dealing with cases of perforated colorectal cancers and ruptured hearts as waiting times here continue to spiral out of control. It comes as one of Northern Irelands top health officials has warned it will take a decade to address the situation, at a cost of 1bn. Lisa McWilliams, the interim director of performance management and service improvement at the Health and Social Care Board, appeared in front of the health committee on Thursday morning for an evidence session on hospital waiting lists. Describing the waits being endured by patients prior to the pandemic as unacceptable, she said the situation has deteriorated further over the past 12 months. It is regrettable that any patient has to wait longer than they should for assessment, diagnosis or treatment and I fully understand the distress and anxiety that long waiting times cause, particularly when patients are suffering pain and discomfort, she said. Long waiting times also have a societal impact, much wider than the individuals themselves. Waiting times for patients have been unacceptable for some time and have deteriorated further as a consequence of the pandemic. During the session, the deputy chair of the committee, Pam Cameron, revealed disturbing details of an informal meeting with the Royal College of Surgeons earlier this week. She said: One of their key messages to us was patients were presenting with conditions that they had not seen for years, like perforated colonic cancers and ruptured hearts. "They also referred to waiting lists as devastating and they spoke about nursing staff being their most important resource. A perforation of the bowel is a rare complication for patients with colorectal cancer and usually requires emergency surgery. It is associated with a poorer outcome for the patient. A heart rupture is an extremely serious but relatively uncommon complication of a heart attack where the hearts muscles, walls or valves split. It can happen if the heart is significantly damaged during a heart attack and open heart surgery is usually required to repair the damage. The outlook for people who have a heart rupture is poor according to the NHS, it is estimated that one in two people die within five days of the rupture happening. Ms McWilliams warned significant ongoing investment will be required to tackle waiting lists. She said it was previously believed that it would take between five and 10 years to resolve the current crisis, but officials are now of the opinion that it will take a decade. However, she also stressed that due to the downturn in referrals during the pandemic, the true extent of those who require elective care is not known. The committee was also told that, as well as massive backlog of patients waiting for treatment, steps must be taken to address capacity and workforce issues to deal with ongoing new referrals. Alastair Campbell, director of Hospital Services Reform at the Department of Health, explained: It will take time to do this properly because its going to take investment over a long period. What I would say about the investment is that we have been in a similar position, not quite as bad, in around 2005, and we did get the waiting lists down over about four years until they were at acceptable levels. But we did focus a great deal on additionality and non-recurrent funding, because that was the funding we had available and if we do the same again, we will end up in the same position again that we will get the waiting lists down to an acceptable level and then they will continue to grow again. It comes as Health Minister Robin Swann has warned the current draft budget is not enough to allow the health service to continue to deliver core services, let alone move to address waiting lists. Last month, the Belfast Telegraph revealed some patients are waiting six years for a first outpatient appointment. She's been living in the lap of luxury during her stay at Malliouhana Auberge Resort in the Caribbean. And Kimberley Garner continued to soak up the sun in Anguilla as she uploaded stunning images to Instagram on Thursday morning. The swimwear designer, 30, commanded attention as she modelled a new set from her eponymous brand, Kimberley London. Loving life: Kimberley Garner continued to soak up the sun in Anguilla as she uploaded stunning images to Instagram on Thursday morning Highlighting her sensational figure, the former Made In Chelsea star styled her dark green top and matching briefs. The blonde's two-piece was complete with a criss-cross feature, which cinched in her slender waist. With her locks worn loose, the social media star let her naturally radiant skin breathe by going make-up free. Working it: The swimwear designer, 30, commanded attention as she modelled a new set from her eponymous brand, Kimberley London Watch her glow: The former Made In Chelsea star has been living in the lap of luxury during her stay at Malliouhana Auberge Resort in the Caribbean While international travel is currently prohibited from her native Britain, the businesswoman has been able to fly without restriction after basing herself at her second home on the Florida coast. Kimberley has previously been sunning it up in Miami with her boyfriend since late December, after spending Christmas in Barbados. But it hasn't all been carefree partying as she took to Instagram to defend herself from backlash over her international travel. The TV star said she jetted out of the UK on December 14 a week before London moved into Tier 4 to 'check on my apartment'. The London native said at the time: 'I bought my place here this time two years ago. It was a massive achievement, still really can't believe it sometimes. I run a business - I'm not an influencer. 'I am here, but I am very very strict still. I see people in Tulum and all over going to parties and it doesn't feel right to me. 'I haven't been out to any parties and turned down invites from friends as feel it's just not right to be in a crowd - it's not OK at the moment. 'I'm really lucky to be in the sun and outdoors, and am valuing that totally, but not going to live normally as it's not a normal world at the moment. 'I really think and feel for everyone home at the moment, it really sucks, please be brave, please be kind to each other.' This morning, Google is announcing the next steps in its plan to disrupt the world of education, including the launch of new certificate programs that are designed to help people bridge any skills gap and get qualifications in high-paying, high-growth job fields--with one noteworthy feature: No college degree necessary. The new tools could be a game changer for a growing number of people who consider the current educational system broken, or for the millions of Americans who are currently unemployed, much due to fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. "The pandemic has led to a truly horrible year," Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai tells Inc. in an interview. "But it has also created profound shifts along the journey to digital transformation in ways no one could have imagined." The plan includes: The release of three new Google Career Certificates on Coursera in project management, data analytics, and user experience (UX) design A new Associate Android Developer Certification course Over 100,000 need-based scholarships Partnerships with more than 130 employers working with Google to hire graduates of its certificate program A new Google Search feature that makes it easier for people to find jobs for their education level, including no degree and no experience Most enrollees will finish in six months or less, putting the cost at about $240 for U.S. students. Some may need only three months, cutting that cost in half. Google is offering 100,000 need-based scholarships in the U.S. In an exclusive interview with Inc., Google shared further details and the thinking behind the new certificate programs and the broader "Grow With Google" initiative, its plan to help accelerate economic recovery and provide millions the opportunity to find a job or grow their career or business. Why now While the shift to digital was greatly accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Google was in a unique position to observe a more gradual shift over the past several years. But as more and more digital jobs became available, it became obvious that there was a skills gap. "You can't just say the next generation will naturally have the skills they need," says Pichai. "We saw a lot of unfilled positions when it came to jobs in tech. It was a supply mismatch. Yet people were hungry to fill those positions. So we asked ourselves, 'Why is there a gap?'" One reason, explains Pichai, is that not everyone has access to a four-year degree, because of socioeconomic and other factors. For example, when analyzing the data, Google noticed that the Google IT Support Professional Certificate program, which the company launched on Coursera in 2018 and served as a model for the new courses, enrolled a high percentage of students from nontraditional backgrounds. In addition to many not having a degree, 46 percent reported being in the lowest-income bracket, reporting less than $30,000 annual income. So Google concluded it was important to offer programs that were available to as many people as possible ... and that taught in-demand, real-world skills. The programs should offer a clear path to a high-paying job and a stable career, or even be a steppingstone to starting a business. Lisa Gevelber, vice president, Grow With Google, sums up the company's ambitious goal: "How do we create economic opportunity for everyone?" The result is a continually developing plan, with the online certificate programs at its core. Each of the new certificate programs is available on the online course platform Coursera, which works with universities and organizations like Google to offer courses, certifications, and degrees in various subjects. Students will need to enroll with Coursera to take the new certificate programs. But while the new programs offer a fast track to new skills and possibly even a new job in a fraction of the time of a degree program, students shouldn't expect the courses to be a walk in the park. "Gaining a certificate is based on passing the assessments," says Gevelber. "That proves someone can do the job." And passing those assessments isn't easy. Gevelber describes them as "rigorous," with more than 100 assessments for each course. "It's not uncommon for a student to stumble even on their first assessment," she explains. "But we've worked with our course designers and a behavioral science team, along with Coursera, to make sure students know they're not alone, and help keep them from getting discouraged." How Google chose the courses In the three years since the program for the Google IT Support Professional Certificate launched, it's become the number one certificate on Coursera. It says 82 percent of graduates claim the program helped them advance their job search or career within six months, including getting a raise, finding a new job, or starting a new business. So when Google began developing the next set of programs, the company held to strict criteria. Each program had to: Provide a path to a high-demand job, with high entry-level wages Be in a field in which Google had expertise Be able to be taught in an online format The new courses seem to tick all of those boxes. According to Google, the median annual wage for the jobs connected with each course ranges from $75,000 (UX designer) to $93,000 (project manager). But Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda, who has worked closely with Google on the new initiative, identified another advantage of the new programs. "The IT Support Professional Certificate is very valuable, but it leads to a customer-facing job," says Maggioncalda. "But what if that's not appealing to you? You might say, well, I'm more creative, I'm more design-oriented. Then, the UX course might be the right fit. Or maybe you say I'm neither of those things, but I'm very organized. Then, you have the project management course available, or the data analyst course. "It's really expanding the kinds of careers people can get into." Changing Google Search When speaking with Google, I was especially curious to hear more about the additions to the search bar. After all, it's not often you come across a change to a tool that so much of the world uses every day. Here is where the pandemic likely played a major role. Google says this year alone, searches like "how to find a job with no experience" or "great jobs without a degree" spiked more than 750 percent. "Part of what motivates us is that we see people come to Google in these critical moments," says Pichai. "And we asked ourselves: How can we be more helpful? How can we make that experience better?" The answer was to add a feature to Google Search that makes it easier for people to find jobs for their education and experience level. Now, when people search for topics like "no degree jobs," they'll see a job carousel highlighting relevant opportunities. They'll also be able to filter jobs on the basis of education and experience requirements, including the phrase "no degree." Google is also working with job sites like Glassdoor and LinkedIn, along with U.S. employers, to make these requirements clearer on job postings. You can imagine how this could help those millions of Americans in need. People like Rey Justo, who, before Covid-19, was making more money than he ever had as the team lead for a fireplace installation company. But once the pandemic hit, orders plummeted. "No one wants someone entering their house who is going from one home to another," Justo says. In a short time, Justo, his wife, and his four children were sharing one room in the home of his grandparents. Justo ended up enrolling in the Google IT Career Certificate, which led to a job at Zennify, a computer software company in Sacramento. Now Justo and his family are closing on a deal to buy a house. Interestingly, Justo nearly missed his opportunity. He first learned about Google's certificate program through an email from the city of Sacramento that had an interesting subject line: Digital Upskill Program. "I almost didn't even see the email," Justo says. With the new search function, Google is hoping to make it easier for people in situations like Justo's to find the opportunities they're searching for. Disrupting the career path One of the complaints about traditional higher education is that while universities teach critical thinking skills, they often leave graduates unprepared for the working world. To help combat that problem, Google partnered with other employers to vet the respective curriculums and to make sure they provided job-ready skills. "We received feedback and input from employers like Accenture and Deloitte, including real-world exercises to reference when building our curriculum," Gevelber says. As an example, for the Data Analytics Certificate, Google referenced case-study templates Deloitte uses with its own data analysts, as an exemplar for a capstone project. Additionally, Google established the Google Career Certificates Hiring Consortium, a group of more than 130 employers working together with Google that now includes companies like Bayer, Deloitte, Verizon, SAP, Accenture, Intel, and Bank of America. Many of these employers have made commitments to hire a specific number of graduates from Google certificate programs over the next few years. Google has also partnered with Guild Education, a learning technology company that helps develop education programs for companies like Walt Disney, Walmart, and Lowe's, which in turn will be able to offer the Google Career Certificates as a tool to upskill their workforce. Pichai says a key to success will be a holistic approach: "We've focused on looking for mission-driven companies with a genuine, clear commitment to diversity and a commitment to hiring certificate graduates who don't necessarily have a four-year degree." Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. 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. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Westminster Resources Ltd. (TSXV: WMR) (FSE: 08W3) ("WMR" or "Westminster" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement on Indicative Terms with a private vendor to acquire a 100% interest in the 16-square kilometre Mostazal copper property located in the Atacama region of Chile, 80 kilometres northeast of Copiapo. The Atacama Desert is among the richest copper regions on earth, hosting some of the world's most significant porphyry copper deposits. The Mostazal property is situated within the 500-kilometre long, north-south trending Domeyko Fault System, the major structural control for the majority of Chile's largest copper mines including Escondida (BHP, Rio Tinto), Chuquicamata and the El Salvador mine (Codelco). "We set out to secure an asset that was both transformative to the Company and complimentary to our current portfolio and I believe we've achieved this," said Jason Cubitt, President and CEO. "It's rare to find a property in this jurisdiction with a technical feature set that so clearly describes a copper porphyry target - yet remains untested by drilling. And with the potential to resume and expand upon historic production this was indeed an opportunity we couldn't turn down." HIGHLIGHTS Known mineralization occurs in an area of stacked and discontinuous stratified lenses measuring 2.5km long by 2km wide and 300m deep. Reported historical production of 120,000 tons processed with average grade of 1.8% Cu. High quality geophysical targets support thesis that near-surface, copper-rich mineralization may be a distal expression of a much larger porphyry deposit at depth. Four-year Option to earn 100% interest Mineralization occurs in an area of stacked and discontinuous stratified lenses measuring 2.5km long by 2km wide and 300m deep. The supergene mineralization at Mostazal is comprised of malachite, azurite, chrysocolla, atacamite, hematite and limonite. Host rocks are porphyritic andesites. The principal sulfide observed is chalcocite that is disseminated in the rock matrix but also present as fine veinlets. Bornite, chalcopyrite and native copper are also present. The property contains several historical artisanal workings exploiting near surface, high-grade copper mineralization. Historically, the hypogene mineralization was only exploited in areas of local oxidation. The reported historic production of 120,000 tons were processed with an average grade of 1.8% Cu. In addition, a historic resource was generated for the Mostazal property: Indicated Resource of 10 million tons @ 0.95% Cu, 8 g/t Ag The original source of the presented historical estimate is from APGC Corp Chile SAP, 2015. The known parameters used to calculate the historical estimate are using 60 diamond drill holes (11,379 m), a cut grade of 0.5% Cu off for indicated Resources. It is unknown if the historical estimate uses the current resource categories as defined by CIM; the differences to the CIM categories are not known. To upgrade and verify the historical estimates the Company would need to verify the historical drilling and engage the services of a professional resource estimator. The qualified person, Derrick Strickland, has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource. The Company is not treating the historical estimates as a current mineral resource. An exploration program was undertaken in 2012-2013 by a previous operator. This work included detailed geological surveys, mapping, induced polarization (IP), ground magnetics surveys, and surface sampling of outcropped mineralization. In addition to the surface work, the drill program of 60 shallow diamond drill holes was completed for a total of 11,379 metres drilled. Although 2012-2013 drilling prioritized work on the stratified lenses, several high quality and deeper IP geophysical targets were also identified. IP geophysical targets to the south of the known stratified lenses support the thesis that near-surface mineralization may be a distal expression of a much larger porphyry system at depth. This thesis will be central to Westminster's target generation and the first ever scheduled drill testing of copper porphyry targets at Mostazal. The Company currently believes a comparable model for the project is the nearby El Salvador mine. The El Salvador mine is 40km north of Mostazal and geologically on trend with similar lithology, age (Upper Eocene), and within the same Domeyko Fault system. A reconstructed model of El Salvador shows that the secondary blanket started about 600 metres below the original uneroded surface. On January 5th 2021, Codelco announced a $1.38 billion expansion of the El Salvador mine, extending its productive life by 40 years and increasing output by 30%. The original underground reserves at El Salvador, which began operation in 1959, were approximately 300 million short tons of 1.6% copper, mostly secondarily enriched ore [Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economist Geologists, Vol. 70, No. 5 August 1975, page 857-912]. In January 5, 2021 Codelco announced a $1.38 billion expansion of the El Salvador mine, extending its productive life by 40 years and increasing output by 30%. The qualified person, Derrick Strickland, has been unable to verify the information on the El Salvador mine and the information disclosed is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the Mostazal property. In addition, the qualified person has been unable to verify the historical production on the property. Westminster is collecting and analyzing all available data which will be integrated to develop a new exploration model on the property. The Company is in the process of establishing and staffing a field office from which Mostazal and other regional assets will be managed. PROJECT ACQUISITION TERMS USD40,000 Initial Exclusivity Fee (90-day due diligence period) Cumulative $2.9m payment and $2.6m expenditure to earn 49% by third anniversary Cumulative $5m payment and $5m expenditure to earn 100% by fourth anniversary (subject to 2% NSR retained by the vendor) Year $ Payment to Vendor $ Minimum Work Expenditure $ Annual Total $ Cumulative Total 0 200,000 200,000 200,000 1 300,000 300,000 500,000 2 800,000 1,200,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3 1,600,000 1,400,000 3,000,000 5,500,000 4 2,100,000 2,400,000 4,500,000 10,000,000 All figures in US Dollars Figure 1: Mostazal Claims To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1134/76881_ce639fa5848f9929_001full.jpg Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Derrick Strickland, P. Geo., a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Cubitt President and Chief Executive Officer Westminster Resources Ltd. Telephone: 604-681-3170 info@westminsterresources.com westminsterresources.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, actual results of the Company's exploration and other activities, environmental risks, future metal prices, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76881 Former Big Brother star Tully Smyth and Bachelorette Georgia Love have been best friends for years. But the friendship appears to have soured after Georgia, 32, failed to invite Tully to her lavish Hobart wedding to Lee Elliott last week. A source close to the two women said Tully, 33, was 'fuming' over the snub, refusing to publicly congratulate Georgia. Angry: Former Big Brother star Tully Smyth (right) and Bachelorette Georgia Love (centre) have been best friends for years, but the friendship appears to have soured. Pictured with Georgia's husband, Lee Elliott (left) 'Tully was not at her wedding last week and didn't publicly congratulate her either. Which is understandable,' a source told Daily Mail Australia. 'The girls have had ''hangs'' and ''girls nights'' for years [which have been plastered all over social media].' According to the source, Tully was at a loss to explain why she didn't score an invitation. Missing out: Georgia, 32, failed to invite Tully to her lavish Hobart wedding to Lee Elliott last week The Big Brother alum apparently flew into a foul-mouthed rant over the snub calling it 'f**king rude'. Georgia has previously spoken about cutting 'superficial' friendships from her life prior to her big day. The former Channel Ten journalist failed to invite a number of influencers she has previously been 'friends' with in the past. No more cheers? A source close to the two women said Tully, 33, was 'fuming' over the snub, refusing to publicly congratulate Georgia But Tully was invited to the couple's engagement party at the Coombe, in the Yarra Valley, Victoria. Georgia and Lee, 39, held the bash in the grounds of the lush Melba Estate. Tully smiled as she cuddled up to the reality star and Lee while taking photos at the ritzy event. 'Tully was not at her wedding last week and didn't publicly congratulate her either. Which is understandable,' a source told Daily Mail Australia Georgia tied the knot with Lee in a ceremony in historic Hobart at Frogmore Creek winery. The couple, who met on The Bachelorette in 2016, were due to marry in Italy last year, but they were forced to cancel because of the coronavirus pandemic. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Georgia's representatives for comment. U.S. lawmakers from both major political parties are supporting legislation that makes it easier for media companies to negotiate deals with internet companies. The bill is aimed at making it easier for news organizations to negotiate collectively with companies like Google and Facebook. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative David Cicilline of the Democratic Party are introducing the legislation. Senator John Kennedy and Representative Ken Buck, both Republicans, are co-sponsors. The bill comes after Facebook had a legal fight with Australia over how much money publishers should make from their social media pages. During the dispute, Facebook blocked Australian news pages and only permitted their return after the government compromised. Facebook also promised a $1 billion investment in the news industry. The measure would permit print, broadcast or digital news organizations to work together to gain better deals from Facebook and Google during a period of time. During that time, they would not be subject to antitrust laws meant to prevent big companies from unfairly influencing or controlling markets. The bill would require the negotiations to aid news publishers generally rather than a small number of companies. Klobuchar said she was hopeful about the possibility of the measure becoming law. She said there is growing concern among lawmakers from both parties about monopolies, companies that control too much of a market or industry. Speaking about internet companies commonly called technology companies, Klobuchar said: Tech has no mercy. She said the bill would permit negotiations on everything from advertising revenue to access to information on subscribers. This bill will give hardworking local reporters and publishers the helping hand they need right now, so they can continue to do their important work, Cicilline said in a statement. Klobuchar noted that most people now get their news online through Facebook and Google. Social media companies use news to get the attention of users and have been accused by news publishers of not sharing advertising revenue with them. The legislation could mean that struggling news organization would receive more money for their products. Employment at U.S. newspapers has dropped by about 50 percent since 2008. One reason is that money from advertising has gone to big internet social media businesses. Those numbers come from Pew Research which also says changing media behaviors are to blame. Small publishers using Googles advertising sales technology have said for years that their bigger competitors are getting more money from the search engine. Cicilline is a chairman of the Judiciary antitrust panel in the House of Representatives. It will hold a hearing on the matter on Friday. Im Mario Ritter, Jr. Reuters reported this story. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story sponsor v. to take responsibility for something; to organize or support something revenue n. money that is made by or paid to a business access n. a way of being able to use or get something subscriber n. someone who pays money to receive a publication or service We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Flash An important lesson of Fukushima is that regulators must be strong, independent and adequately resourced, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said. Nuclear safety is the key to the expansion of nuclear power, which promises to "stabilize the climate while allowing economies and societies to thrive," said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in a statement released late Tuesday to mark the tenth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. Back in 2011, a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan's northeastern area, killing more than 15,000 people and sparking the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. "The accident galvanised the international community," Grossi said, noting that within just a few months of the accident, member states had endorsed a comprehensive action plan to strengthen the global nuclear safety framework developed by the IAEA. "Today, virtually all member states with nuclear power plants have completed 'stress tests' and many make use of the IAEA's expert peer-review missions," he said. He emphasised that since Fukushima, "a sustained and robust global safety culture" has come into being alongside the concrete improvements in the safety of nuclear sites. The director general also pointed out that scientists have found no evidence that nuclides released into the environment after the accident caused radiation-induced health effects. Security Research Meeting 'Invasions' and Rise in Malware Characterize K12 Cybersecurity in 2020 American schools suffered 408 information security attacks in 2020, according to the public disclosures they made. That was 18% higher than districts experienced in 2019. While denial-of-service attacks were the most reported type of cybersecurity incident (reported in 45% of cases), data breaches and leaks hit more than a third of schools (36%), followed by ransomware (12%) and phishing (2%). The remaining 5% consisted of every other type of incident. That data was released today in a new report, "The State of K-12 Cybersecurity: 2020 Year in Review," issued by the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center and the K12 Security Information Exchange (K12 SIX). According to Doug Levin, author of the report, the type of security events striking schools through the first quarter of 2020 followed the same pattern as set in the previous year. However, the second quarter, when most schools stopped in-person operations and adopted video conferencing tools for classes and school meetings, introduced what Levin referred to as "a new class of school cyber threats that plagued districts almost the complete exclusion of other incident types." The 67 cyber incidents reported in Q2 were made up primarily of class and meeting "invasions" and student data breaches. Those continued throughout the rest of the year, alongside the addition of ransomware and other malware and denial-of-service attacks, which had characterized the previous year. The K-12 Cyber Incident Map, which Levin maintains, documented 50 cases of ransomware among public schools. Another eight reported malware outbreaks that could have been ransomware but were never named as such by school officials. While the total was less than the count for 2019, the report stated that the ransomware events that happened were more severe, leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation to issue an alert specifically about K-12 schools and co-author an advisory on the topic. As the report noted, not only did criminals try to extort money from the districts but they threatened to begin releasing data in "criminal forums" if payment didn't come by the deadlines set. Levin stated that while no districts officially admitted to paying "extortion fees" to criminals during 2020, anecdotal evidence suggested otherwise "in some cases exceeding $1 million per incident." Beyond extortion demands, districts that were hit also faced closure, in some cases for as long as a week, or even longer, while they resurrected their computing systems and data. The report offered several recommendations for districts, starting with "investing in greater IT security capacity dedicated to the unique needs of schools." Another suggestion: doing a better job of "vetting the security policies and practices of all their vendors at the time of procurement and periodically over the life of a contractual relationship." Levin also advised districts to be ready to launch disaster recovery and business continuity plans in case their computing systems were brought down, "with a focus on IT systems used in teaching and learning and district operations." "Calendar year 2020 offered a profound stress test of the resiliency and security of the K-12 educational technology ecosystem," Levin wrote. "The evidence suggests that in rapidly shifting to remote learning school districts not only exposed themselves to greater cybersecurity risks but were also less able to mitigate the impact of the cyber incidents they experienced." As Levin noted, "While no one can predict whether another global pandemic will close schools to in-person learning, important lessons can and should be drawn from this experience to ensure that if such an event (or something like it) occurs again in the future, districts are better prepared." The report is openly available on the K12 SIX website. Levin also spoke at the recent THE IT Leadership Summit about the report. An on-demand version of that session is available with registration. WASHINGTON - A Congress riven along party lines approved the landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a major triumph on legislation marshalling the governments spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., walks from the House floor, during the vote on the Democrat's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) WASHINGTON - A Congress riven along party lines approved the landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a major triumph on legislation marshalling the governments spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill. Republicans in both chambers opposed the legislation unanimously, characterizing it as bloated, crammed with liberal policies and heedless of signs the crises are easing. Help is here, Biden tweeted moments after the roll call, which ended with applause from Democratic lawmakers. Biden said he'd sign the measure Friday. Most noticeable to many Americans are provisions providing up to $1,400 direct payments this year to most people and extending $300 weekly emergency unemployment benefits into early September. But the legislation goes far beyond that. The measure addresses Democrats campaign promises and Bidens top initial priority of easing a one-two punch that first hit the country a year ago. Since then, many Americans have been relegated to hermit-like lifestyles in their homes to avoid a disease thats killed over 525,000 people about the population of Wichita, Kansas and plunged the economy to its deepest depths since the Great Depression. Today we have a decision to make of tremendous consequence, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a decision that will make a difference for millions of Americans, saving lives and livelihoods. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leads the vote to approve a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 10, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) For Biden and Democrats, the bill is essentially a canvas on which theyve painted their core beliefs that government programs can be a benefit, not a bane, to millions of people and that spending huge sums on such efforts can be a cure, not a curse. The measure so closely tracks Democrats priorities that several rank it with the top achievements of their careers, and despite their slender congressional majorities there was never real suspense over its fate. They were also empowered by three dynamics: their unfettered control of the White House and Congress, polls showing robust support for Bidens approach and a moment when most voters care little that the national debt is soaring toward a stratospheric $22 trillion. Neither party seems much troubled by surging red ink, either, except when the other is using it to finance its priorities, be they Democratic spending or GOP tax cuts. Republicans noted that theyve overwhelmingly supported five previous relief bills that Congress has approved since the pandemic struck a year ago, when divided government under then-President Donald Trump forced the parties to negotiate. They said this one solely reflected Democratic goals by setting aside money for family planning programs and federal workers who take leave to cope with COVID-19 and failing to require that shuttered schools accepting aid reopen their doors. If youre a member of the swamp, you do pretty well under this bill. But for the American people, it means serious problems immediately on the horizon, said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., referring to the added federal borrowing the measure will force. Even so, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., touted the bill's $29 billion for the ailing restaurant industry, tweeting it would help them survive the pandemic without mentioning he had voted against the legislation. Democrats predicted this week that Republicans would do that, with Pelosi saying, It's typical that they will vote no and take the dough." Wicker told reporters, "Im not going to vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions. A dominant feature of the 628-page bill is initiatives making it one of the biggest federal efforts in years to assist lower- and middle-income families. Included are expanded tax credits over the next year for children, child care and family leave some of them credits that Democrats have signalled theyd like to make permanent plus spending for renters, feeding programs and peoples utility bills. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., signs the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., during an enrollment ceremony on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Besides the direct payments and jobless-benefit extension, the measure has hundreds of billions for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, schools, state and local governments and ailing industries from airlines to concert halls. There is aid for farmers of colour, pension systems and student borrowers, and subsidies for consumers buying health insurance and states expanding Medicaid coverage for lower earners. Whos going to help? Do we say this is all survival of the fittest? No, said House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth, D-Ky. We rise to the occasion. We deliver. The legislation would reduce the number of people living in poverty this year by around one-third, from 44 million down to 28 million, the liberal-leaning Urban Institute estimated Wednesday. The poverty rate for children would be reduced by over half, said the institute, which examined the impact of the measure's stimulus checks, jobless benefits, food stamps and tax credits for children. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to oppose the measure. He said some of the bills spending wasnt urgent. The measure was approve amid promising though mixed signs of recovery. Americans are getting vaccinated at increasingly robust rates, though that is tempered by coronavirus variants and peoples growing impatience with curbing social activities. The economy created an unexpectedly strong 379,000 jobs last month, but there remain 9.5 million fewer than before the pandemic struck. Republicans said the country will pay a price for the extra spending. Its certainly good politics to say, Hey, were going to hand you a check for $1,400,' said Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C. But what they dont talk about is what this bill costs. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found last week that 70% of Americans back Bidens response to the virus, including a hefty 44% of Republicans. According to a CNN poll released Wednesday, the relief bill is backed by 61% of Americans, including nearly all Democrats, 58% of independents and 26% of Republicans. Yet until November 2022, when control of the Senate and House will be at stake, it will be uncertain whether voters will reward Democrats, punish them or make decisions on unforeseen issues. The bills pathway has underscored Democrats challenges as they seek to build a legislative record to appeal to voters. Democrats control the Senate, split 50-50, only because Vice-President Kamala Harris gives them the winning vote in tied roll calls. They have just a 10-vote advantage in the House. Thats almost no wiggle room for a party that ranges from West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on the conservative side to progressives like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. On the relief bill, progressives had to swallow big concessions to solidify moderate support. The most painful was eliminating the House-approved federal minimum-wage increase to $15 hourly by 2025. Moderates also succeeded in trimming the emergency jobless benefits, which in an earlier version were $400 weekly, and phasing out the $1,400 stimulus checks completely for earners at lower levels than originally proposed. At some point it seems likely that progressives will draw their own lines in the sand. Working remotely is nothing new to military spouses. Theyve been doing it successfully for years, sometimes as a virtual assistant. But what exactly is that? Small Business Trends defines a virtual assistant, or VA, as "an independent worker who assists with administrative, business development, social media, marketing or other tasks." Working as an independent contractor from home means VAs can dictate their schedules and how many hours they work. What does a virtual assistant typically do? The answer varies depending on the industry and client, but overall they take care of administrative tasks like scheduling appointments, answering emails and some VAs also create online course content. Theres no universal training or certificates, but some programs help you hone skills and find clients. As with gig economy jobs, the hourly pay will range from client to client, and job to job, but the average is $16 an hour, according to Payscale. Sounds great, right? It can be. Here are five reasons that military spouses should consider becoming a virtual assistant and how they can go about doing it. Its flexible When Army wife Delilah Wieman first looked at becoming a virtual assistant, she was attracted to the flexibility. She loved doing administrative work but couldnt devote 40 hours a week to the office while fulfilling her responsibilities as a wife and a sometimes-solo parent. "They aren't babies anymore," Wieman said of her five children, the youngest of whom is 17. With her husband on an unaccompanied tour, Wieman needed to be available. "I quickly realized that I was not in a position to be able to do what would be a normal, regular, everyday job. And I actually started Googling," Wieman said. "I didn't even know virtual assistants were a thing." But after putting together her resume, she found a position with BELAY, a company that helped match her skills with her clients needs. Its portable -- for real Many military spouses struggle with jobs that say they are portable but aren't really. Some jobs require licenses in each state or special certification. But for virtual assistants, that isn't the case. Wieman hasn't moved -- yet -- with her position, but she has traveled with it successfully. "I moved one daughter home from college, and another one out to college, Wieman said. I went to take care of my mom while she was ill. And she'll experience a permanent change of station this summer when her husband returns from his tour and they move to Fort Hood, Texas. You can specialize While there are tasks that VAs commonly do, there is plenty of room for specialization, both with the types of clients and tasks. For Air Force wife Kirstin Navaroli, this was key. She met her husband right after finishing her master's in clinical psychology and was looking forward to a career when she moved to Joint Base Lewis-McChord and later to Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. "I do administrative-type customer support work for one client and do digital business management (and) operations management for another client," Navaroli said. VAs manage email accounts and calendars, make appointments and run social media. It depends on your skills, training and interests. One of Navaroli's clients is a psychological assessment company, which was a perfect fit. "I was strategically picking out things in that field, because I knew I still wanted to access that passion, she said. I went and got that degree for a reason. I'm not ready just to throw in the towel, and I wanted to still spark that part of my brain. Theres room for growth One of the best parts about being a VA is growing your business on your terms. You can specialize as Navaroli did, have flexibility and portability like Wieman does and you can grow. Wieman and Navaroli found programs to help them achieve career success. Wieman has felt supported by BELAY, both in finding clients and in the other VAs. Navaroli feels the same way about her training with 90 Day VA, a program run by military spouse Esther Inman. "She stuck with me the most because it didn't feel too commercial, Navaroli said. She was authentic and raw with her story. That layer of vulnerability from her resonated with me a lot, because it's something as a military spouse I can empathize with. You have to make really tough decisions every day for your family. There's a community available Military spouses work hard to develop and grow professional and personal networks, and Wieman and Navaroli have benefited from that. Wieman trusts BELAY to have her best interests at heart and to support her through rough times, such as when her mother died earlier this year. "I actually just sent BELAY a message and just said, 'I don't know what to do, but I know I'm not going to be able to work my hours in January, Wieman said. I think I can get back on Feb. 1 and be back to work. BELAY supported her through condolence emails and said, "You know what? Don't worry about January. Let's talk at the end of January and make sure we can get February." Wieman found that so genuine and unexpected from a company. Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox. The cement industry is set to hit a decadal high volume growth of 13 per cent in the next fiscal, helped by an expected revival in demand from the infrastructure and urban housing sectors, according to Crisil Ratings. The increased sales volume will counterweigh the impact of rising power and fuel costs on cash accruals and will keep the credit outlook of cement makers stable, the rating agency said. "While volume growth will rebound, higher cost of sales would weigh on cement profitability next fiscal," it said. Rising prices of raw materials such as diesel, pet coke or coal, and polypropylene bags may push up cost by Rs 150-200 per tonne, it said adding that freight, power and fuel constitute almost 55 per cent of the total cost of sales of cement. "Increasing share of infrastructure and urban housing means a higher proportion of sales will be from the cost-conscious non-trade channels. That would translate to marginally lower net realisation for cement companies," the agency said. Commenting on the report, Crisil Ratings Director Nitesh Jain said demand from the hinterland, which was a saviour for the cement industry in the pandemic impacted FY21, should sustain on the back of higher rural incomes. "Higher spends on infrastructure development would be in line with the 26 per cent increase in budgetary allocation for infrastructure in the Union Budget 2021-22. That, coupled with pent-up demand in urban housing, will drive volume growth," he said. Operating profits could moderate by Rs 200-250 per tonne next fiscal due to higher cost and lower net realisation, said Crisil Research Director Isha Chaudhary. However, cash accruals won't be affected as higher volumes will offset the impact of lower profit margins, she added. "Higher cash accruals will keep the net debt to EBITDA ratio salutary at 1.4-1.5 times next fiscal, despite an increase in capital expenditure," Chaudhary said. While talking about the pandemic impacted FY21 for the cement industry, the report said it would have a volume decline of up to 2 per cent. "The swift recovery after a 31 per cent contraction in the first quarter this fiscal should limit the volume decline to just 1-2 per cent for the full fiscal," it said. Companies had slowed down Capex and chose to conserve cash amid demand disruption. Besides, ample liquidity and strong balance sheets have cushioned the impact of the pandemic on the credit profiles of cement companies. "Incremental rural demand has offset the slump in urban housing and infrastructure. The demand rebound should spur expansion plans and the CAPEX run rate could return to the Rs 12,000-14,000 crore annual run rate from next fiscal," it said. The report also added that timely release of funds for key housing and infrastructure projects as announced in the budget for the next fiscal will be crucial for the anticipated demand growth. Moreover, any resurgence of COVID-19 cases could derail economic recovery and will therefore bear watching, Crisil added. Also read: Cognizant to cover COVID-19 vaccine cost of over 6 lakh employees, dependents, other workers The Centre on Thursday said the acceleration in delivering COVID-19 vaccine shots has been achieved in collaboration with the private sector which administered more than 23 per cent of the doses. Addressing a press conference, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 71.23 per cent of vaccine doses have been administered in government hospitals, while 28.77 per cent of these doses have been contributed by private facilities. "The acceleration has been achieved with active collaboration with private sector facilities," he said. The senior official said these are the private hospitals empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat Yojna, Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) and state government health schemes. "In places like Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi and Telangana, these also include such private facilities which are not covered under the above three categories. These have been permitted because they have adequate number of space, cold chain, vaccinators and arrangements to address adverse event following immunisation," he added. Talking about accelerating deliverance of vaccine doses, Bhushan said on March 4, 10 lakh vaccines were administered in 24 hours, while on March 8, 20 lakh vaccines were given in 24 hours. Asked if the pace of vaccination has dropped, the health secretary noted, "What we are looking at is a steady increase. We are not trying to win a race. He said the government has made its system flexible so that those private facilities that have the capacity can do COVID-19 vaccination 24 hours seven days a week. "While for state government hospitals, the advice is they should do it for minimum four days a week because they have other work also which is non-COVID essential facilities. The states have been given discretion, we do not want to adversely impact the non-COVID essential health services which are delivered by the same hospitals," he said. Bhushan also gave data of the states/UTs where the vaccinations in private facilities are below the national average. He also gave the data of percentage of private facilities in these areas. These states/UTs include Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. "These are the states/UTs where we requested that private hospitals need to scale up," he said. Bhushan added that till 1 pm on Thursday, 2,56,90,545 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, out of which, 67,86,086 doses were given to those above 60 years and people aged 45-60 years with comorbidities. As many as 71,97,541 healthcare workers have been given the first dose, while 40,13,890 have been given the second dose. As many as 70,55,074 frontline workers have been given the first dose, while 6,37,954 have been given the second dose, the official said. "Till yesterday (Wednesday), we completed 53 days of vaccination administration in India. According to Our World in Data, in the first 53 days, US vaccinated 3.68 crore doses which started its vaccination in December last year. India which started its vaccination programme on January 16 has given 2.56 crore vaccine doses, Brazil which started its vaccination process a day after India has administered 1.13 crore doses, while the UK which started the same on December 8 last even before the US has administered 94 lakh doses," he said. Just 0.020 per cent adverse event post immunisation has been reported with 0.00025 per cent resulting in hospitalisation in India, Bhushan 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.) An amusing list has emerged of the 'subtle traits' that define Australian culture - including saying 'nah I'm good' instead of 'no' and checking for spiders hidden inside shoes before putting them on. The most commonly mentioned features of culture Down Under included Aussie slang, drinking beer out of a shoe and running from aggressive swooping magpies every spring. 'Australian culture is explaining to your friends from other countries the true dangers of magpies, and the seemingly over-the-top strategies to remain safe from their wrath for many months a year,' one woman wrote on Twitter. An amusing list has emerged of the 'subtle traits' that define Australian culture - including saying 'nah I'm good' instead of 'no' and checking for spiders hidden inside shoes before putting them on (file image) The iconic things that define everyday life in Australia Swooping magpies Hills hoists in backyards Trolleys dumped in carparks Possums Wildlife 'slow down' signs Chicken salt Thongs Pub meals like chicken schnitzel Giant spiders Bin chickens Hungry Jack's Kangaroos Zooper Dooper ice blocks Reusable grocery bags Poker machines everywhere Sausage sizzles from Bunnings Advertisement Sharing a picture of a shoe leaning against a fan, another woman joked: 'Australian culture is drying your shoe after a shoey' Dozens believed the iconic act known as the 'shoey' - in which beer or champagne is sculled from a shoe or boot - highlighted Australian culture. 'Australian culture is doing a shoey,' one said, while another explained: 'Australian culture isn't doing shoeys. Australian culture is making tourists who come to Australia do shoeys.' Sharing a picture of a shoe leaning against a fan, another woman joked: 'Australian culture is drying your shoe after a shoey.' Many pointed out Australians have unusual phrases instead of giving a straight answer or response, baffling people around the world. 'Saying "legend" instead of "thank you",' one wrote, while another added: 'Australian culture is replying to texts with "nah I'm good" instead of "no".' 'Australian culture is running into someone and both of you saying "how are you" to the other, but neither of you reply or say anything else,' another explained. Dozens believed the iconic act known as the 'shoey' - in which beer or champagne is sculled from a shoe or boot - highlighted Australian culture (two men enjoying a shoey) One woman suggested Australian culture means eating cocktail frankfurts with tomato sauce One added: 'Australian culture is running into someone and both of you saying "how are you" to the other, but neither of you reply or say anything else.' Another expression that certainly confuses those living aboard is saying 'get f***ed' when something is 'impressive'. Saying 'too easy' is another response many say to 'literally anything' while one man explained the phrase 'no worries' represents a 'feeling of friendliness, good humour, optimism and mateship' in Australian culture. Yelling out the word 'taxi' every time someone breaks a glass at a pub or nightclub also defines the country, according to many Aussies. Other things that just about all Australians can relate to are checking shoes for spiders before slipping your feet into them or doing a deep clean of their home before having guests over. 'Australian culture is obsessively cleaning the house and then saying excuse the mess when the weekend visitors arrive just in case you missed a spot,' one wrote. Other things that define the country included eating cocktail frankfurts with tomato sauce, showing up at a party with a dessert from The Cheesecake Shop or owning a Bunnings umbrella. NSU swim coach Monanian moving on after four seasons Monanian moves on to Purdue after accepting an assistant position at their program. The Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Farouk Salim, has urged the Federal Government to allow the agency to return to the nations ports. Mr Salim made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. He explained that the move would help the organisation to effectively check the influx of substandard products into the country as trading progresses under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The DGs call is coming after a decade of the eviction of several government agencies from the ports, following what was seen as a proliferation of agencies at the ports. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the then Minister of Finance and Coordinating Ministers of the Economy, had in 2011 announced the eviction of the agencies. She said the decision was to fast-track port processes at a time the ports were battling congestion, delays in cargo clearing, which were hindering the ease of doing business policy. Mr Salim said for Nigeria to effectively curb the influx of substandard goods, especially as trading under the AfCFTA continues, the SON workforce should be allowed to return to the ports. We are supposed to ensure that the borders and the ports are monitored properly, and in doing this we protect the country from substandard goods. One of such ways is to make sure that the employees of SON are in the port of entries in the country, especially the Lagos port where majority of goods comes into this country. Our people can be efficient if we are allowed to work at the point of entry of these goods, but right now we are not allowed at the ports. They allow us once in a while to check goods but that should not be the way, because SON as an organisation should not depend on the kindness of other organisations to do its work. The 2015 Act, Section 7(30b) says the Standard organisation must be at the port of entry into this country, he said. The DG noted that although there were other agencies of government at the ports, SON has the statutory obligation and the knowledge to identify substandard products. He said if SON was given permanent access for inspection and enforcement of standards at the ports, the menace of substandard goods in Nigerian market would be greatly reduced. He however noted that the organisation was currently enjoying cordial working relationship with the Nigerian Customs Service and other sister agencies at the ports. What NAFDAC and the Customs are doing at the ports are totally different from what SON does. We get along with them very well but we dont need to depend on them because we are supposed to be in the ports by right, except if the law is changed. One of the problems we are having for not being officially allowed into the ports is the inability to provide ordinary offices for our employees. ADVERTISEMENT A typical example is in Port Harcourt where our officers are now squatting with various offices, and every now and then the persons they are squatting with have asked them to leave. We requested (for) a space to build our office but we were told we will not be allowed, so we could not build a property befitting of our organisation for our staff, he said. Mr Salim explained that the SON currently has 42 offices across Nigeria, with 1,700 employees. (NAN) We are excited to have these outdoor dining options available for patrons after the cold and rainy winter months McCrays Tavern is welcoming the spring weather by opening outdoor seating to guests starting March 8 at its locations in Lawrenceville, Midtown, Smyrna and East Cobb. The Lawrenceville location also plans to open its rooftop dining to guests later this month. We are excited to have these outdoor dining options available for patrons after the cold and rainy winter months, said proprietor Scott McCray. Especially with the past year weve had, were ready to welcome customers who may have been hesitant to dine indoors, as well as patrons who are just as excited as we are to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather. Each McCrays Tavern location features an extensive selection of menu favorites, from mouth-watering burgers to giant salads to full entrees. There are over 40 beers on tap at each location, and plenty of televisions to watch your favorite sporting events. Private dining rooms are also available at each location for special events and private parties. McCrays Tavern was established in 2007, and the restaurant chain opened its fourth location in East Cobb in 2020. Along with serving lunch, dinner, and brunch and a selection of beer, wine, and cocktails, each location has its own offering of live music, trivia, specials, and featured monthly brews. For more information about locations and hours, or to order online for to-go or delivery, visit https://mccraystavern.com. Two Imams are heading to Tauranga to engage in positive discussions with the public about Islam. The Tauranga event is part of a nationwide drive aiming to educate the public on the teachings of Islam to build lasting friendships. From Saturday, March 13, to Saturday, April 3, the team of Wellington-based Imam Mustenser Qamar and Waikato-based Imam Sabahuzafar will be stopping at different towns and cities across the country, arriving in Tauranga on Monday, March 29. We Are One was the message two years ago, after the Christchurch terror attack of March 2019. The timing of the drive is no coincidence, as he believes the unity on show two years ago highlights how New Zealanders are open to embracing all walks of life. Weve already seen that New Zealand is not immune to misunderstandings and extremism, says Imam Qamar. As we recall the horrific events from two years ago, we remember the tragedy, the loss of life, but also the coming together of the whole nation and standing against discrimination and terror. The unity displayed was unprecedented and unseen. However, he also concedes there is still work that needs to be done. Since then, there have still been racist and Islamophobic events occurring throughout the country including a recent threat to attack the same two mosques in Christchurch. Where we need to stand together, we also feel a need to educate. Ignorance leads to misunderstandings, which can lead to negative perceptions and stereotyping. We want to continue to provide people an opportunity to meet a Muslim and also, if they wish, to ask any questions they may have about our faith. Last year a team, led by the same two Imams, visited Nelson, Blenheim and Christchurch alongside other towns on the way. We did experience some verbal abuse during our campaign, says Imam Sabahuzafar. However, there were much more positives to be taken from the trip. For example, we met some people who had many questions and preferred to meet us alone. By the end of the sessions, they had completely changed their perceptions about us. We also had some people who were just intrigued about the campaign and we ended up building some lasting friendships. Throughout the tour, the group will be heading to the streets wearing shirts saying Im a Muslim ask me anything and Meet a Muslim and arranging Coffee, Cake and True Islam sessions with the hope of engaging in positive discussions and building lasting friendships. The team will also be presenting the Kuranu Tapu, the Holy Quran translated into Te Reo Maori, to maraes across Aotearoa. Imam Qamar also reveals they plan to document their journey with the hope of creating a YouTube video to spread their message even further. As well as Tauranga, the team will be visiting Rotorua, Hamilton and Taupo, as well as several other main cities across New Zealand. We invite everyone, whether you have questions or not, to just come and meet us, Imam Sabahuzafar says. Get to know a Muslim and lets continue to lead the world in showing how unity and friendship are part of the solution. More details about their tour can be found on their Facebook page True Islam NZ. A careers expert has revealed the four different types of boss you'll come across in your field of work, from the 'mercenary' to the 'believer' and the 'illusionist'. Michelle Gibbings, from Melbourne, said understanding your boss and 'what drives them and their behaviour' can go a long way towards improving your life at work - and it could even help you bag a promotion. 'Over my working life, I've come across four different types of bosses,' Michelle told FEMAIL. 'How they operate depends on their awareness of their impact, and the degree to which they care about that impact.' A careers expert has revealed the four different types of boss you'll come across in your field of work, from the 'mercenary' to the 'believer' and the 'illusionist' (Michelle Gibbings pictured) THE MERCENARY Poll Which type of boss do you have? The mercenary The believer The illusionist The liberator Which type of boss do you have? The mercenary 205 votes The believer 50 votes The illusionist 71 votes The liberator 118 votes Now share your opinion The first type of boss you might encounter is the 'mercenary', who Michelle said you will struggle with. 'With little to no awareness of their impact on others and caring primarily only about themselves, this boss operates in a bubble,' she said. They often see themselves as 'all powerful' and the 'smartest person in the room', and for this reason they have 'little interest in other people or improving' because they already think they have things nailed. Michelle highlighted that this type of boss is 'exceptionally challenging' to work for because while you need to keep your head down, do the work and stay out of the firing line, you also need to not 'come across as weak'. 'The mercenary sees weakness as a character flaw and they will use it against you,' Michelle said. 'They won't welcome feedback, so be careful of any comments that appear to undermine their superiority, but make sure you're strong and confident in the way you interact with them. The 'mercenary's' mantra: 'Don't get in the way of my success. The second type of boss you are likely to come across is the 'believer', which Michelle (pictured) said isn't necessarily bad, but just an 'ineffective leader' THE BELIEVER The second type of boss you are likely to come across is the 'believer'. Michelle said this type isn't a bad person, but just an 'ineffective leader'. 'With low self-awareness, they are largely oblivious of the negative impact they can have. In fact, they'll often think they are doing a great job in leading, because they genuinely care about their team and put their team first,' she said. Working for this type of boss can mean an opportunity for you to thrive as soon as you 'find a way to work around their limitations'. 'Seek to understand them and leverage ways to manage them,' Michelle advised. 'They are usually open to feedback, so you can talk to them about how you might better work together.' The 'believer's' mantra: 'Like me and be happy'. THE ILLUSIONIST The 'illusionist' has a high awareness of their impact on others, and cares primarily about themselves. But Michelle explained that in some ways they are worse than the 'mercenary', because they know the impact they are having, but either don't care or can't find a way to change how they lead. 'They are good at managing up and can charm the pants off you, but when things go wrong, you could find yourself thrown under the bus,' the expert said. The best way to handle this type of boss is make them look good, as this can lead to more opportunities for you. 'Like the mercenary, they won't welcome feedback, so be careful of any comments that might appear to undermine their superiority,' she said. Michelle Gibbings is the author of the book 'Bad Boss (pictured) A better way to handle them is to ask questions about how you might support them, and take care of your own needs at the same time. The 'illusionist's' mantra: 'Make me look good'. THE LIBERATOR Finally, the 'liberator' has a deep awareness of their impact on others, as well as a 'very caring attitude'. 'The liberator always puts the team first,' Michelle said. The ultimate 'good boss', they care, have good self-awareness and will want to support you and your career aspirations. 'Working for someone like this is your opportunity to be your best,' Michelle said. 'They are open to feedback or conversations, so you will learn much from them.' The 'liberator's' mantra: 'Let's work together productively'. New Delhi: The infamous ban of sale of beef in Maharashtra may be overturned by the Supreme Court's judgement on Right to Privacy, an agency report said. Right to Privacy judgement will have "some bearing" in matters related to possession of beef in Maharashtra, SC said on Friday, according to PTI. The apex court on Thursday gave a landmark judgment wherein it ensured rights to privacy to 1.25 billion Indians. The unanimous judgment delivered by nine-judge bench has not only secured privacy as a constitutional right but has also given dignity of life to LGBT community, among others. Also read: SC verdict on right to privacy a blessing for LGBT community Right to privacy verdict: Judge son corrects fathers controversial ruling of suspending Right to Life during Emergency Development is freedom to do what you value: SC quotes Amartya Sen to establish right to privacy For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. "The Burdens of the Excessive Fines Clause" | Main | US House subcommittee holds hearing on "Controlled Substances: Federal Policies and Enforcement" The Bureau of Justice Statistics yesterday released this notable new report titled "Impact of COVID-19 on the Local Jail Population, January-June 2020." Here is part of the start of the document and its listed "Highlights." Local jails in the United States experienced a large decline (down 185,400 inmates) in their inmate populations from June 30, 2019 to June 30, 2020, which can be attributed mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic (figure 1 and table 1). The inmate population confined in local jails was 549,100 at the end of June 2020, down from 734,500 at the end of June 2019. The midyear 2020 inmate population was the lowest since 1996, when 518,500 inmates were confined in local jails (not shown in tables). The impact of COVID-19 on local jails began in March 2020, with a drop of 18% in the inmate population between the end of February and the end of March, followed by an 11% drop by the end of April. By the last weekday in April 2020, the number of jail inmates dropped to a low of 519,500. By the end of May 2020, the population increased about 3% and was up another 2% by the end of June 2020. The decline in the inmate population since midyear 2019 resulted from both a reduction in admissions to jails and expedited releases in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from March to June 2020. Local jails reported 8.7 million admissions during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2020, which was about 16% lower than the 10.3 million admissions during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2019 (appendix table 10).... This special report is the first of two that describe the impact of COVID-19 on the local jail population. BJS will release a final report that will include results from July to December 2020. HIGHLIGHTS: Norton Juster, the USA TODAY bestselling author best known for writing "The Phantom Tollbooth," died Monday following complications from a recent stroke. He was 91. Dominique Cimina, Random House Children's Books executive director of publicity confirmed to USA TODAY that Juster died at his home in Northampton, Massachusetts. His first and best-known work, The Phantom Tollbooth, about Milo, a bored 10-year-old who comes home to find a magical toy tollbooth sitting in his room, would go on to win the George C. Stone Centre for Children's Book Award. The book was also made into a feature film in 1970 and later a musical. Drawings were provided by his roommate at the time, Jules Feiffer, who would later collaborate with Juster on The Odious Ogre, published in 2010. Eric Carle of The Very Hungry Caterpillar fame illustrated Justers Otter Nonsense, which came out in 1982. Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Juster studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, and spent a year in Liverpool, England, on a Fulbright Scholarship, doing graduate work in urban planning. "The Phantom Tollbooth" author Norton Juster has died at 91, his publisher confirmed. Stars we lost: Legendary reggae artist Bunny Wailer, last living founder of Bob Marley and the Wailers, dies at 73 Children's books: 6 Dr. Seuss books will stop being published due to racist, insensitive imagery After spending three years in the U.S. Navy (1954-1957), he began work as an architect in New York, eventually opening his own firm. He would later teach architecture and planning at Pratt Institute of New York and was a professor of design at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He retired from both to continue writing. "Tollbooth" began when Juster, who had just left the Navy and was working as an architect, received a grant from the Ford Foundation for a childrens book about cities. I submitted a grant to do a children's book about urban aesthetics, how you experience and use cities," Juster explained in a 2001 interview with Salon.com. "In six months I was up to my neck in 3-by-5 cards and I realized I was not really enjoying myself. I took a break to visit some friends at the beach and to take my mind off of it, and I began doing what I thought was a little story, going nowhere, just to clear my head. It just kept going When I had about 50 pages a friend took it to Random House, and they liked it and offered me a contract to finish the book. Story continues Juster was the son and brother of architects and he never turned entirely from his family craft. He continued to write books, while co-founding the architectural firm Juster Pope Associates, in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, and his stories often combined his seemingly opposite gifts for structure and absurdity. "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Mathematics is a love triangle as only Juster could have imagined between a straight and straight-laced line, a dotty dot and a swinging squiggle. (Animator Chuck Jones adapted it into an Oscar-winning short film). Stark Naked finds an undressed protagonist wandering in the town of Emotional Heights, encountering such characters as the intellectual Noel Lott and school principal Martin Nett. Justers more recent stories included The Hello, Goodbye Window, for which illustrator Chris Raschka received a Caldecott Medal, and the sequel Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie. One project he never got around to: that book on urban planning. The funny thing is that many of the things I was thinking about for that book did find their way into The Phantom Tollbooth, he wrote in 1999. Maybe someday Ill get back to it when Im trying to avoid doing something else. On the 50th anniversary of the publication of Phantom Tollbooth, Adam Gopnick, writing for the New Yorker, cited the importance of Justers work. "So to note the fiftieth birthday of the closest thing that American literature has to an 'Alice in Wonderland' of its own, Norton Justers 'The Phantom Tollbooth'with illustrations, by Jules Feiffer, that are as perfectly matched to Justers text as Tenniels were to Carrollsis to mark an anniversary that matters." Juster is survived by his daughter Emily, granddaughter Tori and several sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. His wife, Jeanne, died in 2018 after 54 years of marriage. His publisher said a "celebration of Justers life will take place at a later date." His family suggested a donation to Amherst, Massachusetts' Jones Library or the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in lieu of flowers. "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" author Mo Willems mourned Juster, his "lunch partner," who Willems said "ran out of stories and passed peacefully last night." "Nortons greatest work was himself: a tapestry of delightful tales. Miss him," he added. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Phantom Tollbooth' author Norton Juster dies at 9 As state lawmakers in Austin wrap up the latest legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday threatened to withhold their pay by vetoing a line item in the states budget because a Democratic walkout killed his priority elections bill. No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities, Abbott tweeted. Should the governor veto Legislature funding? You voted: [March 11, 2021] J.P. Morgan Wealth Management to Hire Over 100 Financial Advisors in Phoenix Metro Area by 2022 J.P. Morgan Wealth Management announced today plans to hire more than 100 financial advisors in the Phoenix metro area by 2022, highlighting the bank's commitment to growth in Arizona. The new employees will work in J.P. Morgan's growing U.S. wealth management business, with a focus on offering professional financial advice for clients who prefer to engage via video and phone. The National Branch complements J.P. Morgan's U.S. Wealth Management business offering, which currently includes advisors working in branches and offices in Arizona and across the U.S. and digital self-directed online platforms. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has over 200 branches in Arizona, and over 150 branches are in the metro Phoenix area. "National Branch adds to the exceptional service we offer from branches and offices and gives us the capacity to truly serve our clients how, where and when they want," said Boaz Lahovitsky, Head of National Branch at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. "The Phoenix metro area will play a crucial role in the expansion of our remote advice offering and shows J.P. Morgan's continued commitment to the city." Tyler Craig, Business Execution Director for National Branch, will oversee the expansion in Arizona. He has nearly 20 years of experience working in the wealth management industr in Phoenix and is a graduate of Arizona State University. "Phoenix's thriving job market, high quality of life and diverse talent pool are a natural match to J.P. Morgan's strong values, tradition and culture," said Craig. "We are looking for individuals who are passionate about building relationships with clients while helping them achieve their goals through sound financial planning and who can help us foster a culture of excellence, diversity and inclusion." JPMorgan Chase & Co. has been in Arizona for over 120 years and has strong ties to the state and local communities. The firm currently employs about 9,500 people in the state. The bank is a title sponsor of the Phoenix 10K and works closely with local nonprofits such as Fresh Start, Phoenix PRIDE, Teach for America, Dress For Success, Girls on the Run and Jobs for Arizona's Graduates. To fight the devastating effects of COVID, JPMorgan Chase & Co. contributed relief funds to the Greater Phoenix Urban League. To learn more about J.P. Morgan Wealth Management job opportunities in Arizona, go to jpmorganchase.com/careers. About J.P. Morgan Wealth Management J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Corporate and Consumer Business with $580 billion in assets under supervision, and 4,000 advisors across 3,500 branches and 21 offices. It was created in December 2019 by combining the wealth management advisors in Chase branches, J.P. Morgan Securities, and the digital investment platform. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005936/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. With a million species at risk of extinction, dozens of countries are pushing to protect at least 30 percent of the planets land and water by 2030. Their goal is to hammer out a global agreement at negotiations to be held in China later this year, designed to keep intact natural areas like old growth forests and wetlands that nurture biodiversity, store carbon and filter water. But many people who have been protecting nature successfully for generations wont be deciding on the deal: Indigenous communities and others who have kept room for animals, plants and their habitats, not by fencing off nature, but by making a small living from it. The key to their success, research shows, is not extracting too much. In the Brazilian Amazon, Indigenous people put their bodies on the line to protect native lands threatened by loggers and ranchers. In Canada, a First Nations group created a huge park to block mining. In Papua New Guinea, fishing communities have set up no-fishing zones. And in Guatemala, people living in a sprawling nature reserve are harvesting high-value timber in small amounts. In fact, some of those logs could end up as new bike lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge. An urgent Covid-19 warning has been issued after fragments of the virus were found in four wastewater treatment plants. Virus fragments were detected at the Cairns North, Marlin Coast, Fairfield and Mackay South plants. Fifty suburbs are connected to the four plants, with residents urged to get tested immediately. It comes after the virus was detected on Friday at Luggage Point, which services parts of Brisbanes Metro North district, and Kawana on the Sunshine Coast. Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said officials are concerned by the new variants that are emerging overseas. Virus fragments were detected at the Cairns North, Marlin Coast, Fairfield and Mackay South plants (stock image) QLD Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said officials are concerned by the new variants that are emerging overseas 'It is critical we detect any cases that we may not be aware of as quickly as possible through our testing system, to contain any potential spread,' she said. 'We are concerned by the new variants that are emerging overseas that are more contagious than previous variants we have seen in Queensland. 'It's also possible that this detection relates to previous Covid-19 cases that can shed viral fragments for a couple of months after they are no longer infectious.' The alert comes hours after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced updated restrictions on the gatherings at private homes, outdoors, at campsites and in elevators. From 1am on Saturday, Queenslanders will be allowed to host up to 100 people at private homes and 500 people outdoors. All limits on distancing at beachfront campsites will be lifted and six people, rather than four, will be allowed to ride in lifts. It also makes the return to workplaces and greater numbers of workers in the CBD more likely, pumping more money into sandwich bars and coffee shops. John Daniel Andries, 35, was detained last month and charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds A Marine Corps veteran charged for his part in the Capitol riot served as a crew chief for the presidential helicopter squadron under the Bush and Obama administrations. John Daniel Andries, 35, was detained last month and charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds. The Piney Point, Maryland, man pleaded not guilty to the felony charges, WUSA9 reports. Andries joined Marine Helicopter Squadron One in 2006, just two years after enlisting in the Marine Corps. While serving, his duties included aircraft maintenance as a helicopter crew chief, officials told the Washington Post. HMX-1, as the squadron is also known, overlooks presidential travel aircraft known as Marine 1 when the president is aboard. They also look over other helicopters. Members have to secure top-secret clearance and obtain a higher-level clearance known as Yankee White, according to officials. This designation is reserved for those working close with the president. Andries is said to have entered the Capitol through a broken window during the siege in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 Several clips of video footage show Andries - wearing a tan jacket - walking throughout the building, a criminal complaint states Andries is said to have entered the Capitol through a broken window during the siege in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6. Several clips of video footage show Andries - wearing a tan jacket - walking throughout the building, a criminal complaint states. Prosecutors pointed to one video that appeared to show Andries waving for a crowd of insurrectionists to come mess with police officers who were inside. Prosecutors pointed to one video that appeared to show Andries waving for a crowd of insurrectionist to come mess with police officers who were inside HMX-1, as the squadron is also known, overlooks presidential travel aircraft known as Marine 1 when the president is aboard Andries left the Marine Corps as a lance corporal in November 2009 without any combat deployments, according to his service record. So far, more than 30 veterans have been charged with crimes in connection to the riot. Most were infantry members, vehicle drivers and mechanics, according to service records. Thomas Caldwell, one suspect, served as a Navy Reserve intelligence officer. A vial 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 Biggest COVID-19 Vaccine Skeptics? Front-Line Health Care Workers Commentary What do front-line health care workers and first responders know about COVID-19 vaccines that politicians and their public health advisers dont? According to a January analysis by Gallup, 51 percent of health care workers and first responders polled in December 2020 were unconvinced of the merits of getting vaccinated, even if the vaccine was free, available, FDA approved and 90% effective. Gallup found these results especially concerning since those at highest risk of exposure to COVID-19the professionals required to meet Americas health, safety, and critical economic needs and whom the National Academies of Engineering, Science and Medicine defines as Tier 1A workerswere the likeliest to refuse vaccination (34 percent). The front-line workers proved to be as defiant as Gallups survey of their intentions anticipated. In California, more than half of Tehama Countys hospital workers at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, an estimated 50 percent of front-line workers in Riverside County, and 20 percent to 40 percent in Los Angeles County refused the vaccine, according to a report in the L.A. Times. In Georgia, according to an estimate in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, only 30 percent of health care workers have been inoculated. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine reported that 60 percent of nursing-home workers refused the vaccine. In Texas, the Texas Tribune reported in February that home-health and assisted-living agencies may not be able to service their clients because so many caregivers are refusing to be vaccinated. A CDC survey of skilled-nursing facilities published in early February found that fewer than 40 percent of staff took at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Outside the United States, frontline workers are likewise skeptical. On March 2, Reuters reported that at most half of the nursing staff in Switzerlands medical sector, only 30 percent of the staff at Germanys BeneVit Group care-home operator, and about half of the health workers in French care homes were willing to be vaccinated. PBS, on the same day, reported that since India started administering the second vaccine dose two weeks ago, half of the frontline workers and nearly 40 percent of health care workers have not shown up. In Canada, CTV provided an anecdotal report that many long-term-care workers in Montreal are flat-out refusing to be inoculated. For health care workers around the world, their dilemma is deciding who to believe. Their government employers and the pharmaceutical companies, who insist the vaccines benefits far outweigh the risks? Or their own eyes? Many front-line workers see first-hand those who fall sick or die after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, and in the absence of independent analyses judge for themselves whether the vaccine is implicated. They noted 23 nursing-home deaths in Norway and hundreds of hospitalizations in Israel following vaccination. Front-line workers also suffer from vaccinations themselves. As Reuters reported in February in an article entitled AstraZeneca Vaccine Faces Resistance in Europe After Health Workers Suffer Side-Effects, the adverse effects hitting health care workers have unexpectedly left large numbers unable to work, forcing hospitals to scramble to maintain services. In France, the safety agency advised hospitals to stagger the inoculation of team members, to avoid disabling team functions. In Sweden, two of the countrys 21 health care regions paused vaccinating their staff after 25 percent of the vaccinated suffered fever or flu-like symptoms. In Austria, inoculations with a batch of vaccines were suspended after one vaccinated nurse died and another required hospitalization. The Wall Street Journal reports that, to avoid being vaccinated, half of the health professionals scheduled in the German state of Saarland failed to show up for their appointment. In response to the many concerns raised by frontline workers, the vaccine manufacturers, care-home operators, and the public-health authorities in all these countries offer bland reassurances, such as AstraZenecas statement that the reactions reported are as we would expect and the German Health Ministers claim that I would be vaccinated with it immediately. They also plan a plethora of public education campaigns. Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care, an industry advocacy group, launched a Be Wise, Immunize campaign to educate its workforce. And all urge media and social media to be more vigilant in policing negative vaccination news. In offering pointers on how to debunk critics, the Columbia Journalism Review on March 5 told media companies that the first rule of reporting on mis/disinformation [is] dont talk about the mis/disinformation and suggested they consider the practice of pre-bunkingthat is, actively debunking or anticipating public questions and concerns rather than only reacting once false narratives have been popularized. Although studies show that such assurances and public-education campaignsalso known as propagandacan reduce vaccine hesitancy, Gallup finds their effect is marginal: The limited COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates among all occupation groups show little movement since November 2020. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis agrees, and concludes that barriers to staff member vaccination need to be overcome with continued development and implementation of focused communication and outreach strategies. Yet the CDC doesnt explain why continued focused communication and outreachi.e., more of the samewould overcome worker hesitancy, when workers dont fully trust the data, or those who deliver the data. To overcome that trust barrier and win over the front-line workerspeople who have every incentive to protect themselvesthe media would need to lift the censorship, industry would need to subject its studies to independent scrutiny, and all would need to engage in reasoned debate rather than trust-us assurances. Lawrence Solomon is a columnist, author, and executive director of the Toronto-based Consumer Policy Institute. @LSolomonTweets LawrenceSolomon@nextcity.com Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Despite the service shifting more resources toward the ARRW program last year, the missile failed its first flight test a few... Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 04:36:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his counterpart of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi on Thursday discussed over the phone the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). During the conversation, Sisi reiterated Egypt's position that calls for reaching a legally binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating the GERD before the next rainy season, in order to preserve the water rights of the downstream countries, Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady in a statement. Sisi also affirmed Egypt's support for the Sudanese proposal to form an international quartet under the chairmanship of the African Union to mediate the GERD talks. Sisi stressed his country's keenness to develop relations with the DRC at all levels, as well as strengthening close coordination between the two countries on regional issues of mutual interest. Tshisekedi, whose country currently chairs the African Union, appreciated the sincere and relentless Egyptian efforts to reach a balanced solution to the GERD issue that takes into account the interests of all parties. The phone talks came a few hours after Sisi held talks with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in Cairo, where they agreed to intensify coordination over the issue of the GERD. Ethiopia, an upstream Nile basin country, started building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of the Nile water. Sudan has recently been raising similar concerns over the 4-billion-U.S.-dollar dam. Over the past few years, the tripartite talks on the rules of filling and operating the GERD, with a total capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, have been fruitless. Ethiopia carried out the first phase of filling the dam in July 2020 and is expected to start the second phase later this year. Enditem The supporters of MLA Amman Arjunan staged protests and blocked roads in Coimbatore after the party allocated the seat to its ally, the BJP. Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan is likely to be the BJP candidate from the South Coimbatore seat. ward unit secretaries of Ramanathapuram, Ukkadam, Sungam, Gandhipuram and Flower market areas of Coimbatore, led the protests along with a galaxy of supporters, including party workers and cadres. K.Selvaraju, functionary told IANS, "Vanathi Srinivasan may be the national president of the BJP women's wing but we cannot compromise on the seat being given to her under the AIADMK seat sharing agreement. We will continue with our protests till this decision is revoked". Srinivasan was not available for comment. Meanwhile, more AIADMK supporters took to the streets in a few other constituencies where the sitting MLAs were denied seats. Supporters of S.Semmalai, who won from Mettur constituency of Salem district in 2016 took to the streets after he was denied a ticket. In Villupuram district also the party supporters led by its district leaders, conducted protest marches after the party announced the candidature of M.Senthil Kumar for the Kallakurichi constituency in the district. The cadres are demanding to give the seat to former MLA Azhaguvel Babu. The protests which commenced after the announcement of the list of 171 candidates on Wednesday evening continued on Thursday morning. The AIADMK has fielded maximum a number of candidates from the "Gounder" community in Western Tamil Nadu and had chosen not to provide much seats to the BJP in this region as the party feels that the community would support it as the Chief Minister K.Palaniswami is from the community and the first "Gounder" to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. --IANS aal/dpb (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.) Over 300 Afghan female journalists have quit their jobs in recent months due to security concerns, including a spate of female media workers' killings in the country.The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned over the critical situation of Afghan journalists and calls on the Afghan government to guarantee their safety. Hospital workers and relatives shift the body of one of three female media workers shot to death in two separate attacks, at a hospital in Jalalabad on March 2, 2021. Female journalists Mursal Wahidi, Sadia Sadat, and Shahnaz were shot dead on the very day. Credit: NOORULLAH SHIRZADA / AFP An Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, report revealed several female journalists from 34 provinces have left the country due to the threats and harassment they were suffering. The report also cites the recent wave of targeted killings as one of the main reasons for women to stop reporting. The remaining female journalists are demanding the implementation of further safety measures to continue working, while media employers claim they can't hire female journalists anymore over fears for their safety. The situation has worsened since 2 March, when three female media workers from Enikass TV were shot dead by unknown gunmen in the eastern city of Jalalabad, located in Nangarhar province. In December 2020, Enikass TV anchor Malala Maiwand was murdered in a similar attack in the same city. As a result, Enikass TV has decided not to hire any additional women reporters until the security situation in the country improves. At the same time, 10 remaining female staffwere instructed to work from home to ensure their safety. I love journalism but I also love to live, Nadia Momand, a presenter at Enikass, reportedly said. Nangarhar is a province controlled by the Islamic State (IS), which has claimed responsibility for the killings of the four Enikass female journalists. The media has also blamed the Afghan government for the lack of safety policies to protect media workers. Extremist groups and terrorists, like Daesh [Isis], try to make it impossible for us to have women in the office. The entire province is unsafe and the government is not providing security for us, Zalmay Latifi, director of Enikass, told The Guardian. Since peace talks started between the Taliban and the Afghan government in September 2020, attacks against media workers have continued to rise. The UN mission in Afghanistan has report ed that at least 11 human defenders and media workers were killed in targeted attacks in Afghanistan from September 12 to January 31, 2021. IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: The Afghanistan government must intensify its efforts to protect journalists who risk their lives every day to keep the country informed. The IFJ is deeply worried about the recent wave of violence towards female journalists, which is driving them out of the profession over security fears. RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) continues to partner with community organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties to fight for racial equality in the Inland Empire (IE). The most recent activity includes a $2,000 sponsorship to the Center Against Racism and Trauma's (CART) first I.E. Antiracist Summit. Held on March 17, this virtual event teaches IE residents about the Anti-racism Movement and how to actively fight against racism. Registration for this event can be found at destroyracism.org/events. (PRNewsfoto/Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP)) "These are conversations that are vital to addressing issues and implementing change," said Marci Coffey, IEHP community partnerships director. "We're grateful to support CART, the host committee and the Black Equity Initiative in their ability to bring them to the IE." To help strengthen Black-led and Black-empowering organizations, IEHP has also partnered with Inland Empire Community Foundation, the Black Equity Initiative, and the Inland Empire Funders Alliance providing a $50,000 sponsorship to the Inland Empire Black Equity Fund. The health plan is taking steps beyond financial support and sponsorship, working with local health and community organizations to host webinars on issues specifically affecting Black and Hispanic communities. In addition, IEHP is committed to supporting equity in all public policies by staying involved and compliant with the state's upcoming California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal Initiative, known as CalAIM. CalAIM's multi-year initiative has three main goals: to identify and manage member risk and needs through whole person care approaches and addressing Social Determinants of Health (housing, food insecurity, etc.); to move Medi-Cal to a more consistent and seamless system by reducing complexity and increasing flexibility; and to improve quality outcomes, reduce health disparities and more. "We have to face racial disparities in our communities head on," said Jarrod McNaughton, IEHP chief executive officer. "It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit residents at racially disproportionate rates, and we need to do all we can to address it. As a community-based health plan, we look forward to supporting and continuing collaborative efforts to fight for racial equality and advocacy in our own backyard and beyond." About IEHP IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid plan in the country. With a network of more than 6,400 Providers and more than 2,000 employees, IEHP serves more than 1.2 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in Medicaid or Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with Providers and Community, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to advocating for our Members and providing them with quality, accessible and wellness-based health care services. For more information, visit iehp.org. SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) Related Links http://www.iehp.org People need to be careful and do the right thing, Pritzker said after touring a National Guard-supported vaccination site at a former middle school in Morris. I dont want people spreading the virus because were just at a point here where were almost past this. Bank KYC Menace: No Penalty on Banks for Failing in KYC Updating, Says RBI While the harassment, humiliation and mental agony of customers in the name of know-your-customer (KYC) updating continue unabated by banks, the regulator has not penalised any lender for failing to adhere to its KYC updating guidelines. Further, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has no information about communication between banks and the regulator for KYC updates of customers in the high-risk, medium-risk and low-risk categories, as shown by a reply received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. In the RTI application, I had asked RBI to provide a list of banks against whom it acted and levied a penalty for failing to comply with KYC updating from 1 April 2019 till date. In its reply on 8 March 2021, Abhay Kumar, central public information officer (CPIO) of RBI says, "We have not imposed monetary penalty on any bank for failure to adhere with KYC updating related guidelines, during the period April 2019 till date." However, in practice, customers are routinely harassed in the name of KYC updating with banks threatening to freeze the account, which has severe consequences on the financial life of the customer. According to a top banker, banks are supposed to classify customers on the basis of their risk profile and the KYC harassment is reserved for those who are seen at higher risk. However, the nature of complaints that one sees on social media reveal that depositors, who would logically have the lowest risk profile for instance, senior citizens living on savings and pensions, current accounts of companies that are used for routine business and salary payments also suffer harassment and threats to freeze accounts. Neither banks nor RBI are willing to clarify the basis of risk classification. Although banks claim that they are harassed by RBI, and the regulator blames the finance ministrys money laundering regulations for this, victims of such coercive action have no answers or redress. For example, one of our readers, a senior citizen, has banking relations with a public sector bank (PSB) since the past 50 years. One fine day, he received an SMS saying, "You have not submitted KYC documents in account no. XXxxxx. Please submit KYC document immediately to avoid debit freeze. No withdrawal will be permitted form the above a/c till submission of KYC document." There is no date mentioned by which time the customer is required to submit his KYC. This customer had opened the bank account while he was staying in the locality. He moved to the suburbs several years ago, and this fact is known to branch officials. Yet they are demanding that this senior citizen to travel all the way from the suburb to the branch during COVID time and update his KYC. How does this customer fit in a higher risk profile requiring updation of KYC, when he is in contact with the bank? Many depositors have expressed their anguish over bank KYC practices on social media. @AxisBankSupport w.r.t service request number 66177012 my account has been blocked since Friday last week due to the negligence from the bank officials. I have submitted my KYC 10 times in past 1 year and bank has blocked my account reason re KYC . This is the worst bank amit kosaria (@AmitKosaria) March 11, 2021 @ICICIBank_Care 15 mail exchanges, 30 days and to date , problem of KYC not solved, but my bank account locked. I get a call after 30 days of pursuing and am told ICICI does not have my mail Id. Whom were you taking to till now?? Guys so much for ICICI cares....cheers amit singh (@raidthemind) March 11, 2021 @TheOfficialSBI done my kyc from home branch malegaon main branch (00418) .after some days I think bank done my kyc so I decided to withdraw the money from atm . See same problem happen ???? Plz help as soon as possible No excuse....... pic.twitter.com/699tXkoBI5 Paras Gawali (@ParasGawali) March 8, 2021 @AxisBankSupport @AxisBank @CIBIL_Official pathetic services by axis bank, stopped my mothers account for kyc verification without intimation and now taking weeks to verify that, payments gonna bounce, trust me if this affects my mothers cibil i will close my locker, tushar singhal (@tushsinghal) March 9, 2021 Read: RBI Allows Video-based KYC for Regulated Entities like Banks, NBFCs ) While RBI has allowed online digital channels for customer identification process (CIP) by regulated entities (REs) like banks and other lenders, many, especially PSBs, require the customer to visit the branch and physically submit KYC documents. ( @TheOfficialSBI What's the benefit of using #YonoSbi & #InternetBanking if the customer has to go to the concerned bank to update kyc. Disgusting service ?? ???? ??????? ??? (@debabratapdas) March 11, 2021 Hi Nitin, we would like to inform you that for the full KYC process, kindly contact the base branch for further assistance. Thank you! Canara Bank (@canarabank) March 11, 2021 Attention customers! To comply with the guidelines on Know Your Customer, you are requested to submit mandated KYC documents along with the latest colour photograph to the home/nearest branch. pic.twitter.com/lkSzqXdrT2 IDBI BANK (@IDBI_Bank) March 10, 2021 In the era of Central banking system SBI still asks the customers to visit the home branch to submit KYC documents (which anyway I have submitted long back anyway but they need again) this is something I as a customer expect to be done at any branch. (2/2) Pulkit Kumar Gupta (@pulkit_k_gupta) March 10, 2021 Hi! Currently, video KYC is only applicable to new Kotak customers. Existing Kotak 811 customers may go to our mobile banking app to book their full KYC appointment or walk into the nearest bank branch with the necessary documents. (1/2) KotakCares (@KotakCares) March 9, 2021 Coming back to the RTI reply, which shows that, while a bank can take any measure against its own customers for KYC, there is not much action against banks from RBI. Interestingly, the reply from the CPIO about RBI imposing no penalty on banks since April 2019 for KYC updating, is not true. On 2 July 2019, RBI imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1.75 crore on four banks for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions on KYC norms, anti-money laundering (AML) standards and opening of current accounts. Punjab National Bank (PNB), Allahabad Bank and UCO Bank were fined Rs50 lakh each, while a penalty of Rs25 lakh was imposed on Corporation Bank, a release from RBI shows mandate periodic updating to be carried out at least once every two years for high-risk customers, once in every eight years for medium-risk customers and once in every 10 years for low-risk customers. In case of low-risk customers when there is no change in status with respect to their identities and addresses, a self-certification to that effect shall be obtained. The updated master direction issued by RBI on KYC mandate periodic updating to be carried out at least once every two years for high-risk customers, once in every eight years for medium-risk customers and once in every 10 years for low-risk customers. In case of low-risk customers when there is no change in status with respect to their identities and addresses, a self-certification to that effect shall be obtained. Risk categorisation is undertaken based on parameters such as customers identity, social and financial status, nature of business activity, and information about the clients business and their location. Without prejudice to the generality of factors that call for close monitoring, RBI says some types of transactions necessarily should be monitored. This includes large and complex transactions including RTGS transactions, and those with unusual patterns, inconsistent with the normal and expected activity of the customer, which have no apparent economic rationale or legitimate purpose, transactions which exceed the thresholds prescribed for specific categories of accounts, high account turnover inconsistent with the size of the balance maintained and deposit of third-party cheques and drafts in the existing and newly opened accounts followed by cash withdrawals of large amounts. RBI says, "While considering customers identity, the ability to confirm identity documents through online or other services offered by issuing authorities may also be factored in. Provided that various other information collected from different categories of customers relating to the perceived risk, is non-intrusive and the same is specified in the KYC policy." In the RTI application, I had also asked RBI to share its correspondence with all banks about KYC update of customers in high-risk, medium-risk and low-risk category. The CPIO of RBI replied in one sentence, "The information sought is not available with us." Does this mean, there is simply no record of correspondence between RBI and banks about KYC updating? How is this possible, when banks continue to harass customers for KYC updating? When asked, banks point the finger towards mandatory regulatory requirements imposed by RBI. And the regulator says it does not have information. So, which of the two is not telling us, the bank customers, the truth? Supplies of Covid vaccines will become steadier over the course of the year, experts said today. Manufacturing blips saw Britain dish out fewer doses in February, sparking fears that lockdown may have been needed for longer. The inoculation drive must go smoothly for No10 to relax restrictions over the coming months. Pharmaceutical bosses today said difficulties in scaling up manufacturing quickly at the start of year resulted in a bumpy supply. But they claimed both Pfizer and AstraZeneca have now ironed out the kinks in their processes, which should result in a smooth delivery pattern. It comes after it was revealed up to 10million extra vaccine doses could be available to the UK within days following a surge in supply. Vaccine supply will become more steady over the course of the year, pharmaceutical bosses have claimed Viability of glass vials for Covid vaccines must be addressed, says expert Consideration will have to be given to how vaccines continue to be manufactured as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, an expert has said. Vaccines are currently produced in multiple-dose glass vials, but given the speciality of these, they may not be a viable option going forward as billions of people require jabs every year. Dr Ian Muir, chief executive of Porton Biopharma and lead for the contract manufacture team of the UK's Vaccine Task Force, said there are only a few manufacturers in the world who can make the specialised vials the vaccines are currently delivered in. He told a press briefing: 'We realised very early on in the Vaccine Task Force that this would be a key component and thinking ahead. 'And so, as the UK and with the companies involved we made very definitive moves to make sure that we secured large quantities of vials and the stoppers.' He added the supply chain for the vials is getting longer as demand for them grows around the world. Dr Muir said: 'As we look forward more globally, I think the question that needs to be addressed is whether 10-dose glass vials are really the answer for seven billion people and whether we need to look at other delivery systems.' Advertisement Ministers have regularly blamed drops in the rollout across the UK on 'lumpy supply', with batches not all yielding the same number of doses. Last month Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, described the process as like making beer. Speaking at a press briefing today Steve Bagshaw, the non-executive director of the Centre for Process Innovation, which is part of the national taskforce to develop vaccines, said manufacturers have already steadied the ship. He said: 'I think the steadiness of supply has been established and as you see 2021 unfold I think there it will be much more consistent.' And Dr Dave Tudor, the managing director of Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre which develops pharmaceuticals said AztraZeneca has 'smoothed out the bumps' in its manufacturing. He said: 'The AstraZeneca vaccine is a complex biological process so I think the work it has done in the last few months has been extraordinary. 'They've very quickly smoothed out the bumps in the road and got it running now.' The AstraZeneca vaccine is based on a genetically engineered virus made to look like the coronavirus so must be grown naturally. The cells needed to make the jab will only reproduce as fast as they naturally can, and astronomical quantities of them are needed, which means the process will always take a minimum amount of time. AstraZeneca says it takes three months, on average, to make each batch of the vaccine. Numerous ones are made at the same time but this means that there is an upper limit to how much or how fast one plant can make jabs. And the yields of these natural batches are also not entirely controllable the company said it had not produced as much as it had hoped at the start of the production. But rather than haggle with Republicans who wanted to scale back the package, Democrats fast-tracked their own measure through the House and Senate without pausing to court Republican support. They stayed remarkably united in doing so, with just one Democrat, Representative Jared Golden of Maine, voting against the final measure. This is the most consequential legislation that many of us will ever be a party to, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said at a news conference after the bills passage. On this day, we celebrate because we are honoring a promise made by our president, and we join with him in promising that help is on the way. Earlier, she had dismissed the lack of Republican support and said opponents would not hesitate to claim credit for the popular elements of the plan, saying, Its typical that they vote no and take the dough. As if to make her point, Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, tweeted approvingly just hours after the bill passed about the $28.6 billion included for targeted relief for restaurants. His post did not mention that he had voted no. Im not going to vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions, he later told reporters. The nearly party-line vote reflected a gamble for both Democrats and Republicans, rooted in the lessons of 2009 when Congress raced to address the Great Recession in the opening months of the Obama administration. Back then, Democrats toiled to win at least some Republican backing for what was at the time the largest stimulus initiative to be considered by Congress, whittling down the package in the process. Economists widely agree that the $787 billion stimulus law that resulted, which attracted scant Republican support anyway, was too small to address the crisis, and Democrats lost the House in the following midterm elections. Chandigarh, March 11 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on his birthday and prayed for his long and healthy life. In a tweet, Modi said, "Best wishes to Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singhji on his birthday. Praying for his long and healthy life. @capt_amarinder." The chief minister has over the past few months heavily criticised the central government for its apathy towards the farmers' stir over the three contentious farm bills. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Izabella Genin has been waiting for months to see her 97-year-old mother, a resident of Staten Island Care Center in New Brighton, in-person. On Wednesday, she got her chance. We were waiting for this day, said Genin, whose mother, Maria Yudin, will turn 98 in just two months. Finally, I saw her. New York state expanded visitation guidelines to enable nursing homes to allow visitors in nursing home facilities that have been free of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases for 14 days in conjunction with a rapid test that can be conducted in the facilities. Staten Island Care Center reached that milestone through hard work and perseverance, said Jackie Kreismann, a spokeswoman for the facility, and Genin, a Tottenville resident, was the first visitor allowed back into the home. The residents were thrilled and excited, said Kreismann. But the staff were the ones who cannot wait to welcome these families back, they cannot wait for normalcy to return, they cannot wait for that interaction with the families. The way the staff came together today to make this happen, you would think they were lining up for their own childs graduation, she said. Everybody had tears in their eyes, everybody was cheering it was a beautiful sight to see. Genin called the past year a roller coaster, adding, When they told me you cannot come here, you can only do the phone calls or the window visits, it was not an easy adjustment. That adjustment was also not easy for her mother and other residents of nursing homes who suffered from feelings of isolation and depression, said Genin. When Genin was contacted by Staten Island Care Center indicating she could see her mother, she said she was willing to do whatever she needed to have a face-to-face visit. If I had to drive 100 miles, I would, she said in a phone interview with the Advance/SILive.com at Staten Island Care Center. And on Wednesday, Yudin was wheeled down the hallway of the facility to the applause of an emotional staff that has battled through a year of the pandemic. Im excited, everyone here is excited, said Genin. I saw her face, she said of her mother. She was smiling ... she was the happiest woman in the world. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! The issue that Mr. Smith seeks to appeal is whether the statement taken from him several days after his arrest before he had seen a judge and after he had requested to go in front of the judge, and based on the fact that he was mentally disabled, was given voluntarily, Harper said in the document. Stewart, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Decade Resources Ltd. (TSXV: DEC) ("Decade" or the Company) announces that it has received most of the assays and check assays for a further 20 drill holes from the 2020 program on the Del Norte property, located 34 km east of Stewart in BC's "Golden Triangle". It was optioned from Teuton Resource Corp. in January of 2020 with terms allowing the Company to earn up to a 55% interest in the property by spending $4 million over a five year period. The Company can an earn an additional 20% interest by carrying the property to commercial production. This portion of the 2020 drill program was designed to test a number of targets generated by a comprehensive review of past work on the property and augmented by prospecting discoveries made early in the field season (such as the Eagle's Nest). The greatest success came in the realization that the Argo zone is a separate mineral system carrying appreciable gold-silver values with robust widths up to 30-50m. It does not appear to outcrop within the project area. The deformation corridor, is composed of argillites and lapilli tuffs, brecciated and sheared with quartz-carbonate-sulphide cemented breccias, replacement zones and veins. Breccia fragments, composed mostly of argillite are very angular ranging in size from less than 1 cm to 10 cm across. Mineralized zones host sulphides including pyrite, sphalerite, galena and tetrahedrite mineralization along with sections mineralized by fine acicular arsenopyrite. It is near the volcanic - sediment contact in rocks analogous to those hosting the Eskay Creek mineralization. Ed Kruchkowski, President of the Company comments; "The Company was very successful in outlining numerous silver rich areas for further exploration. Our drilling was restricted to available rock islands but with the recession of glacial ice, these will have become bigger for this year's program. The newly identified Argo zone will be the focus of exploration in 2021. At the start of the past season's program there were 2 main silver bearing trends outlined and at the conclusion of 2020 exploration, the Company had defined 6 different systems. The zones show great continuity and grades over long distances. At the start of the 2020 field season exploration, new interpretations had indicated a possible wide zone of mineralization, that was named the Argo zone. It does not outcrop and is at depth just to the west of the LG vein. The shallow 2020 holes did not intersect this zone but the deeper holes were successful in confirming the zone as well as indicating the presence of appreciable mineralization. Work in 2021 will aim at expanding the area of this deeper mineralization with much closer spaced holes as well as testing new zones. Recommendations from the Company consultants include a program costing 2 million dollars" Highlights of drilling into the Argo zone include: 1049.64 g/t Ag eq over 6.03 m in DDH DN20-18, included within an interval grading 119.95 g/t Ag Eq over 58.37m 2128.48 g/t Ag eq over 2.46m in DDH DN20-20, included within an interval grading 221.03 g/t Ag eq over 34.09m Both DDH DN20-18 and 20 were the deepest intersections on the Argo zone and as they were collared 500m from each other indicate excellent potential for establishing tonnage with continued drilling in 2021. Further drilling on close spaced intervals will expand on the new zone. The 2020 drilling was also designed to establish the relationship of the LG vein to the Kosciuszko zone and to test any new mineralization such as the Eagle's Nest that was found during the program. Drilling in 2020 took place from 5 different rock islands (nunataks) located in the South Nelson glacier area. Drilling was west of the LG vein area which received testing in 2003-2006 drill programs. DDH DN20-3 to 9 was from Pad #2 and DDH DN20-10 to 15 was from Pad #3. The area tested was roughly 600m N-S and 400m E-W. Because of the reconnaissance nature of the drilling testing multiple targets and also partially because of the limited opportunities to site a drill pad, not every hole intersected mineralization. The holes with significant assay results are shown below: DDH # Zone From (m) To(m) Width (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Ag g/t eq DN20-10 Eagle's Nest 90.68 96.93 6.2 5.3 35.88 433.38 DN20-11 Eagle's Nest 21.87 22.25 0.38 2.39 79.0 258.25 and 132.74 135.64 2.9 0.085 77.20 83.575 DN20-15 Eagle's Nest 26.21 29.26 3.05 0.94 108.04 178.54 DN20-18 Argo 192.18 250.55 58.37 0.86 55.45 119.95 Incl 227.91 231.65 4.95 6.03 597.39 1049.64 DN20-19 Argo 154.84 161.85 7.01 5.3 86.39 483.89 DN20-20 Argo 109.2 143.1 34.09 2.02 69.53 221.03 Incl 109.2 111.48 2.46 17.5 815.98 2128.48 Incl 139.67 143.1 3.43 4.14 38.6 349.1 DN20-21 Argo 150.30 151.22 0.91 3.52 50.2 314.2 and 177.59 179.88 2.29 1.51 99.8 213.05 Analytical values have been rounded. True widths are unknown at this time. *Silver-equivalent values for gold and silver only (no base metals), calculated assuming 100% metal recovery. Assumptions: US$25/oz silver, US$1800/oz gold: 1:72 ratio. Analysis were performed by Activation Laboratories Ltd in Kamloops BC. Ed Kruchkowski, P. Geo., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 is responsible for the contents of this release. E. Kruchkowski is not independent of Decade as he is the president of the Company. Decade Resources Ltd. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company actively seeking opportunities in the resource sector. Decade holds numerous properties at various stages of development and exploration from basic grass roots to advanced ones. Its properties and projects are all located in the "Golden Triangle" area of northern British Columbia. For a complete listing of the Company assets and developments, visit the Company website at www.decaderesources.ca which is presently being updated. For investor information please call 250-636-2264 or Gary Assaly at 604-377-7969. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DECADE RESOURCES LTD. "Ed Kruchkowski" Ed Kruchkowski, President "Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." "This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements." To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76827 Help India! At-least 168 Rohingya refugees living in Narwal area of Jammu in India were taken to detention centres on March 6. The move whipped up fears among the violence-stricken community that they will be forcibly deported back to Myanmar, where they had fled following mass violence. Rohingyas who spoke to TwoCircles.net maintain the move cannot be seen in isolation, as a Hindutva campaign calling for their deportation has long existed in Jammu and blame the campaign for the latest move and threat of deportation. Auqib Javeed, TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles Jammu: Abdul Rohim, 43, a Rohingya refugee living in Jammu, has not slept. The calls from the government for deporting him and the other members of his community is making him anxious. Rohim and his fellow refugees from Myanmar have been living in the area in Jammu the winter capital city of Jammu and Kashmir, since 2009, and some others from 2012, when they fled their home country Myanmar following the violence perpetuated on them, which was termed a human rights nightmare by the Secretary General of the United Nations. Hundreds of Rohingya refugees fled relief camps in Jammu on Sunday, March 7, where they had been staying for almost a decade. Fleeing from relief camps came a day after over 168 of them were detained by the Jammu and Kashmir government.The development comes after the Government issued a notification on March 5 under Section 3(2)e of the Foreigners Act, and set up holding centers in Hiranagar of Kathua in J&K, that will house the Rohingyas who are illegally staying in the region. The 168 Rohingyas who were detained include children and women, who will be kept in this sub-jail that the government calls holding centers. On Saturday, videos of the refugees vacating their camps went viral on social media. Reports said that the refugees were brought from Jammu to the sub-jail in buses on Saturday evening. The sub-jail had been prepared for keeping the Rohingya refugees staying illegally nearly a week ago when all the prisoners and undertrials lodged there were shifted to other jails. We havent heard about our family members who were detained. We dont know what will happen to them, Rohim told TwoCircles.net. He says its better for the Indian government to kill them here rather than deporting them back to Myanmar. The army is once again ruling the country in Myanmar. How can we go and live there, who slaughtered us brutally, Rohim says. According to sources, the process has been halted as of now due to overcrowding of the refugees in the holding centre . However, the refugees are apprehensive that it might be resumed soon and they may be deported to their country. Many other Rohingya refugees who spoke to this reporter allege that the the latest threat of their deportation is politically motivated It may be noted that in the past the right-wing parties in the Hindu-dominated area in Jammu and social organizations have demanded repatriation of the Rohingyas several times. The narrative of the Rohingya being a security threat was initially supported by the BJPs Jammu and Kashmir unit. The regional Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) later joined the cause calling for Rohingya Muslims to leave Jammu. In February 2017, the party put up billboards that said, Dont save Rohingyas and Rohingyas go back had surfaced in many areas of Jammu. The party said that the Rohingya are a threat to the demography of Jammu. Many also came forward to support the campaign. State president of Shiv Sena Dimpy Kohli and other party leaders made an appeal to the people of Jammu, especially the Hindus, to wake up and unite to save the history, culture and identity of Dogras. In September 2017, the BJP-led government submitted before the Supreme Court that it sees Rohingya refugees as a potential security threat for the country. The Central government said that the Rohingya are being used by the Kashmiri militants and could also potentially join ISIS or spy for Pakistans Inter-Service Intelligence Agency (ISI). In February 2018, a top BJP leader and then Jammu and Kashmir assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta blamed the Rohingya refugees for a militant attack in the Sunjwan area of Jammu. In January 2020, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the governments next move would be regarding the deportation of Rohingya refugees as they will not be able to secure citizenship under the new law. On March 6, a local newspaper carried a front-page advertisement, paid for by members of political parties and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Jammu, underlining the need to remove Rohingyas from the region. Threat of the Rohingyas loom large over the heads of peace loving Jammuites. Lets all unite to save Jammu, read a full-page advertisement issued by Rajeev Mahajan, president of Shri Ram Sena, in a local English newspaper, Early Times on March 6. The advertisement had a picture of Mahajan and the colours of the Indian flag in the background. Many among these refugees work and live in rented accommodations away from the refugee camps but they fear being ousted from the city. Salamutallah, another Rohingya refugee, who lives in Narwal area of Jammu TwoCircles.net that they were facing the threat since last 4 years from different political and right-wing parties to leave Jammu. The latest move was taken to please the Hindutva voting bank in the region, who were demanding the deporting of the refugees, Salamutallah said. Shuja Zafar, chairman, Jammu Muslims Front (JMF) also agrees with the refugees saying that the move is politically motivated. The refugees were living here with proper documents. However I heard some of them were living illegally and authorities decided to deport them. But there is politics behind it, Zafar told TwoCircles.net. Many Rohingya refugees, who spoke to me on phone, maintain that they have identity cards issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, acknowledging their status as refugees and granting them protections under international law. On Sunday, Bharatiya Janata Partys Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Ravinder Raina told The Indian Express that the police action was taken following a request from Myanmars External Affairs Ministry to deport the Rohingya back for resettlement. Anyone who has to leave his native land will certainly be happy to return home, Raina said. IGP (Jammu) Mukesh Singh told The Indian Express, that they have begun an exercise to collect details of Rohingya in Jammu. IGP Singh said that 168 Rohingya, including women, have been held as they were staying here without any valid documents. The next step, he said, was to contact their embassy for verification of their nationality and then initiate the process for their deportation. 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. HOUSTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UBS announced today that a six-person team, "The Fortney Group," joined the Private Wealth Management division of the firm in Houston, Texas. The team manages approximately $1.1 billion in assets and is led by financial advisors Grant Fortney, Scott Fortney and Michael B. Nichley, CFA, who have more than 50 years of industry experience combined working with Ultra-High Net Worth individuals, families, and executives. Brandon Frey, Tami Grove, and Mary Patranella also join as part of the team. "I'm extremely excited that The Fortney Group are joining the firm," said Craig Vandegrift, Managing Director and South Texas Market Head at UBS Wealth Management USA. "Together, they represent a high-quality team focused on creating the best possible client experience and outcome for the families they serve." Grant Fortney joins as a Managing Director, after serving as a Managing Director in the Private Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley. He was recognized on the Barron's Top 1,000 Advisors list in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2019, and 2020. He was also named to the Forbes/SHOOK Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list in 2021 for the state of Texas. Grant received his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and his M.B.A. in Finance from Texas Christian University. Scott Fortney joins as a Managing Director, after serving as a Managing Director in the Private Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley. He was recognized on OnWallStreet's Top 40 Under 40 list in 2008, as well as the Barron's Top 100 Advisors list in 2010 and 2011. Scott received his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. Michael B. Nichley, CFA, joins as a Senior Vice President, after previously serving as First Vice President in the Private Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley. Michael received his B.B.A. in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Brandon Frey joins as a Senior Wealth Strategy Associate after previously serving as Portfolio Management Associate in the Private Wealth Management division of Morgan Stanley. Brandon graduated from the Swiss Finance Academy with a certification in Investment Banking. He received his B.B.A. in Finance from Texas Christian University. Tami Grove and Mary Patranella join UBS as Senior Registered Client Service Associates. Tami has over 22 years of experience and Mary has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Notes to Editors About UBS Global Wealth Management As the world's largest wealth manager, UBS Global Wealth Management provides comprehensive advice, solutions and services to wealthy families and individuals around the world. Clients who work with UBS benefit from a fully integrated set of wealth management capabilities and expertise, including wealth planning, investment management, capital markets, banking, lending and institutional and corporate financial advice. About UBS UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. UBS's strategy is centered on our leading global wealth management business and our premier universal bank in Switzerland, enhanced by Asset Management and the Investment Bank. The bank focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their targeted markets, are capital efficient, and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook. UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 31% in Switzerland, 19% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 20% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs over 68,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Media Contact: Elysa Nelson Pierpont Communications [email protected] 713-627-2223 Kaitlin Ross Pierpont Communications [email protected] https://www.ubs.com UBS 2021. All rights reserved. The key symbol and UBS are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. SOURCE UBS Global Wealth Management Related Links https://www.ubs.com Influential US Senators have introduced a slew of resolutions in the Senate, condemning China's rising actions to militarise the and also to tackle Beijing's economic practices that distort global markets and hurt the American businesses. Introduced by Senators Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Thom Tillis and Roger Wicker on Wednesday, the first resolution applauded the American Navy and Coast Guard for their efforts to ensure freedom of navigation operations and send a clear message that the US will not tolerate Communist China's extension of power in waters beyond its legitimate territorial sea boundaries. The Communist Party of China, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping, continues to militarise the and is eager to expand its territorial claims in the region, Scott said during the introduction of the resolution. This aggressive and unlawful action cannot be tolerated. I'm proud to lead my colleagues today in a resolution to applaud the hardworking men and women of the US Navy and Coast Guard for working to defend our freedoms, and to send a clear message to General Secretary Xi that his aggression cannot continue, he said. Sullivan alleged that in recent years, China has ramped up its aggressive actions against neighbouring peaceful nations both to expand its influence and subvert the rule of law in the The alarming, belligerent behaviour of Xi Jinping cannot continue. This resolution commends the courageous Coast Guard and Navy service members who continue to promote order in the region and sends a strong message to the Chinese Communist Party that hostility toward our allies will not be tolerated, he said. According to Tillis, the brave men and women of US Armed Forces deployed in the Indo-Pacific play a critical role in protecting access to vital commercial corridors like the South China Sea. China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both maritime areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade. China's claims to sovereignty over the South China Sea are unfounded and threaten the order. The US must hold Beijing accountable for its unauthorised expansions, and I applaud the US Navy and Coast Guard for working to maintain the balance of power in the Pacific region, Wicker said. Similarly, a group of eight Republicans on Wednesday re-introduced the Strengthening Trade, Regional Alliances, Technology, and Economic and Geopolitical Initiatives Concerning China Act (STRATEGIC Act) to advance a comprehensive strategy for US competition with China. Key provisions of the STRATEGIC Act are tackling China's economic practices that distort global markets and hurt US businesses, especially Intellectual Property theft and mass government subsidisation and sponsorship of Chinese companies, and confronting tech competition by increasing technology collaboration with allies and partners. It also seeks to safeguard institutions from malign and undue Chinese influence and strengthen US posture in the Indo-Pacific to protect its interests, allies, and partners. The legislation was re-introduced by Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Mitt Romney, Todd Young, Dan Sullivan, Mike Rounds, Roger Wicker, Marco Rubio, Bill Hagerty, and Rob Portman. The Chinese Communist Party presents an unprecedented threat to not only US values and interests, but also to the free and open system characterised by individual freedom and the rule of law something the United States has carefully built over seven decades, said Risch. Any legislation that aims to confront this threat must address the full range of challenges posed by the CCP and marshal broad bipartisan support, he said. That is why I am proud to re-introduce the first comprehensive legislative package on competition with the People's Republic of China with several colleagues that have strong records on China, Risch continued. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik reintroduced the Stop Higher Education Espionage and Theft (SHEET) Act. It will counter espionage and influence operations at American colleges and universities by allowing the designation and removal of hostile actors that are deemed a foreign intelligence threat to higher education by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In the Senate, an identical bill was introduced by Senator Ted Cruz. As I have repeatedly said, China is the single greatest geopolitical threat facing the United States and a profoundly malign influence in our universities, he said. The SHEET Act advances US security by countering espionage and propaganda targeting American higher education. I remain committed to fundamentally reassessing the US-China relationship and holding China accountable for their widespread espionage, censorship, and human rights violations, Cruz said. Congresswoman Stefanik recently cosponsored similar legislation, the End College Chinese Communist Partnerships Act, that would block taxpayer funds from going to American colleges and universities with Confucius Institute partnerships. (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.) Photo: Angus Reid Institute Premier John Horgan continues to have the highest approval rating in Canada, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, finds that the B.C. premier's approval rate has increased since last quarter. Horgan had an approval rating of 64 per cent in the December 2020 survey; he has a rating of 66 per cent this March. Horgan survived a "politically risky announcement that the now $16-billion Site C hydroelectric dam would indeed be completed," note report authors, adding that the province's mass immunization plan aided his recovery. They note that the new strategy made Canada-wide headlines for extending the time between first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine to four months. After initial conflict over this timeline, other provinces announced theyd adopt or study the same four-month spacing. While Horgan's rating has improved, however, it has dropped by four points since the survey was conducted in the summer of 2020. Back then, his approval rating was nearly 70 per cent. Angus Reid notes that premiers will be judged over the next three months on how they execute their vaccine distribution plans. "For now, however, Canadians are still more inclined for the most part to give their provincial leaders better assessments than worse in terms of approval," note report authors. Indeed, five of Canadas premiers receive the endorsement of at least half of their respective provincial constituencies, including B.C.s John Horgan. Quebecs Francois Legault is approved of by 62 per cent of Quebec residents. After imposing uniform restrictions and curfews across the province in January, Quebec returned to its colour-coded, regional system of restrictions in February. "This has meant the reopening of stores, restaurants, and movie theatres in parts of the province, though not the densely populated red zones." In Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moes approval slips four points over the last quarter to 57 per cent. "The Premier who won re-election handily last fall has been under pressure to tell an electorate that skews towards fiscal conservatism when the province will emerge from a period of deficit spending and return to balanced budgets," adds Angus Reid. You know a musical brand is strong when you you can refer to the music / songs within it and people instantly know the name of the musical. In the case of Wicked, the best known song Defying Gravity exemplifies the peak of the protagonists journey. As always, spoiler alert! Wicked compared to the Wizard of Oz Wicked follows the background story to the already well-known character the Wicked Witch of the West, from Frank L Baums The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This literary classic from 1900 helped to propel Baums world of Oz into the minds of kids all over the world. In the original storyline, Dorothy was the protagonist innocent and the heroine who defeated the big bad encapsulated in the Wicked Witch of the West. We should acknowledge the artistic influence of the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) live-action adaptation of the story. It has been said that Margaret Hamiltons green depiction of Elphaba aka the Wicked Witch of the West was given a whole backstory. Indeed, much about Wicked inverts our understanding of the traditional Wizard of Oz story and characters. The biggest difference is that in Wicked, we can identify with Elphaba. Consider particularly as a child watching the Wizard of Oz, MGM reinforced the whole stereotype for villians versus good guys. Glinda was all pink and pretty whereas the Wicked Witch was ugly. In Wicked, Galinda (her former name) and Elphaba were instead best friends. In Wicked we see Elphaba was largely misunderstood and her tragic journey led to the creation of most of the characters we love from the Wizard of Oz Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Defying Gravity: Wicked Encapsulated To understand the full context of the song, you need to understand Elphabas journey up until that point (the song closes the first act of the show). Elphaba had grown up being resented and avoided by people due to her green skin. She hoped to meet and work for the Wizard, a very revered figure in Oz, who she idealized; she was sure he would see beyond her outward appearance and acknowledge her true potential in magic. Then the rest of the world would accept her too. Along the way, she made an unlikely and initially uneasy friendship with her schoolmate and roommate Galinda/simplfieid to Glinda - the popular girl who was the model citizen in Oz. She also formed a strong friendship with her professor, Dr. Dillamond, an Animal (talking animal) who told her that Animals everywhere are losing their power of speech for some unknown reason. Being an outcast her whole life, she deeply sympathized with their plight. When Elphaba finally met the Wizard, she soon learnt that he was a powerless fraud who only utilized the power of press and branding to reach and maintain his current position of leadership. More importantly, he was also the one behind the suppression of Animals. The song Defying Gravity is the culmination of her experiences, relationships, and self-discovery. Just before the song starts, Elphaba released the Wizards enslaved monkeys who became the famous flying monkeys and the Wizards press secretary spread the news that Elphaba was wicked. Friendship sacrificed for convictions The song opens with the two friends getting snippy with each other (a part too often left out by covers!). Glinda wanted Elphie to keep low and not revolt against the Wizard, for she knew it would be hard and even endanger her dear friends life. Meanwhile, Elphaba was disappointed that Glinda was content to feign ignorance despite having learned everything just like Elphie did. Glinda asked Elphaba to reconsider, to remember that all she wanted was to work with the Wizard. In return, Elphaba pleaded her case. After all she learned, she could not and would not stay silent and submit to Ozs and the Wizards unjust rule. She could not go back to the life she had before. Though she knew it was rife with uncertainty and danger, she decided she would take the risk for the sake of justice. In this way, it is testament to Elphabas conviction, for she would leave everyone she knew and loved. The best friends agreed to disagree, knowing they couldnt change each others minds. The sad thing is, they understood each other. So there was only one thing Elphaba and Glinda could do - wish each other the best in their chosen life. TL;DR Defying Gravity is an anthem of empowerment and standing up for what you believe in. Themes within the song reflect the entirety of Wicked it is better to be true to yourself instead of trying to conform to societal pressure. Lessons from Wicked: An application for believers A parallel can be drawn between the need for authenticity and morality as exemplified by Elphaba, and the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. The standards of moral behaviour are elevated, and God sees our heart and knows our motivation. Perception versus reality is also a good reminder from Wicked. Let us not put on masks of perfect and hide our faults as we outwardly pursue righteousness, at least without balancing our efforts to maintain purity, morality and authenticity. The greater sin is not in being declared Wicked (like Elphaba), but in accepting appearances of goodness. Let us ensure our understanding of what is truly good aligns with the Bible. WASHINGTON, DC, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) thanks President Biden and both houses of Congress for the passage and signing of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (American Rescue Plan) which includes a record $3 billion in relief for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The American Rescue Plan, similar to the other COVID-19 relief bills, includes a specific set-aside for HBCUs, PBIs and other MSIs within the total of $40 billion allocated to higher education as a whole. In addition, the American Rescue Plan includes $350 billion in state and local aid along with maintenance of effort and equity provisions which are specifically designed to prevent potential reductions in state appropriations to higher education in an attempt to offset any COVID-related, federal supplemental relief funding received by our schools. With the passage and signing of the American Rescue Plan, the Biden Administration and the 117th Congress are off to a strong start as it relates to supporting HBCUs, PBIs, and their students. From this bill alone, HBCUs will prospectively receive more than $1.5 billion in direct aid from the federal government, said Dr. Harry L. Williams, President and CEO of TMCF. At the start of this unprecedented health emergency, the uncertain future that faced all institutions of higher education were even more magnified at HBCUs and PBIs, where we enroll a significantly higher percentage of low-income students and our balance-sheets are markedly more tuition-dependent than many of our counterparts. Despite our particular challenges, the hard work and commitment of our champions has provided us with the support necessary to allow our institutions to continue to pursue their life-changing work. This was truly a Herculean achievement of which all involved, especially the Bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus, should be proud. Across the country, higher education students are struggling to afford basic necessities and to scrape together the money they need for tuition, and institutions are grappling with rising costs to implement critical public health measures and budget shortfalls. But these challenges are even more severe for historically under-resourced institutions like HBCUs and for students with low incomes and students of color who have long-faced inequities in our higher education system, said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairwoman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The American Rescue Plan includes $40 billion for higher education, including additional relief specifically for HBCUs in order to get students much-needed financial aid and ensure HBCUs can weather this storm. We must keep working to ensure higher education is a tool to address inequality, not reinforce itand thats exactly what the American Rescue Plan will help achieve. Investing in our HBCUs and MSIs, their students, faculty, and staff, is vital in supporting communities of color, especially as our nation recovers from COVID-19, said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee. I am thrilled the American Rescue Plan once again prioritizes these institutions and will help them continue the process of responding to and recovering from this pandemic. I will continue to fight for strong investments in HBCUs and MSIs to ensure they have the tools they need to educate our future leaders. The Presidents American Rescue Plan provides ample evidence that he is fully aware of what needs to get done: keep our communities safe, protect the least advantaged among us, and bring our country together, said Dr. Tony Allen, President of TMCF Member-School Delaware State University. That is particularly clear in his plans to provide a long-term, substantive foundation for some of our nations most important institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions. The $3 Billion allocated to our schools is not only historic, but also helps preserve our collective mission of delivering a high-quality, low-cost higher education accessible to ALL. We are thankful for promises kept and will be good stewards of what is invested with us. ### ABOUT THE THURGOOD MARSHALL COLLEGE FUND Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nations largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending black colleges and universities. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education space. The organization is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs. TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization. For more information about TMCF, visit: www.tmcf.org. Attachment A new Covid-19 vaccine soon to be approved in Australia appears to be even better than all others on offer, with new data showing it could prevent all deaths from the virus. Trial data from the UK shows the Novavax jab stops 96 per cent of infections and 100 per cent of serious illness and death from the original version of coronavirus. Australia has ordered 51 million doses of the jab, but it has not yet been approved by regulators. Trial data from the UK shows the Novavax stops 96 per cent of infections and all serious illness and death from the original version of coronavirus The vaccine was also about 86 per cent effective in stopping the more contagious UK strain of Covid-19, which has caused havoc in several Australian hotel quarantine systems. It was about 90 per cent effective overall, combining data from people infected with both versions of the coronavirus. In a smaller trial conducted in South Africa - where volunteers were primarily exposed to another newer, more contagious variant widely circulating there and spreading around the world - the Novavax vaccine was only around 55 per cent effective at stopping infection but still fully prevented severe illness and death. Results from the final analysis of the UK trial were largely in line with interim data released in January. Australia is currently rolling out the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs, which are both very effective at stopping serious illness. People who have received a vaccine can be given another type of jab later if it proves to be a more effective combination. It comes after Health Department boss Brendan Murphy confirmed all Australians will not get both jabs by October. But Professor Murphy said a solitary shot of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 jab - rather than two - will be enough to 'completely vaccinate' the population by then. Speaking on Thursday, Professor Murphy admitted the target of four million vaccinations by next month also won't be achieved. He said 'global supply issues' with a number of European countries - including Italy blocking the export of a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia - was the reason for the delay. Australia had been expecting 3.8 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Europe in March, but so far only 700,000 doses have arrived - leaving a 3.1 million shortfall. 'It would be impossible to predict exactly when we (Australia) will hit four million (vaccinations) until we actually know what the international supplies will be like,' Mr Murphy said. 'But it will be done as quickly and safely as we can with the available vaccines.' About 125,000 Australians have so far received the jab. Doubt over the inoculation time-frame comes as GPs said the October target was unrealistic. Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy has conceded all Australians will not be vaccinated before October Many private and public practices are anticipating they will struggle to vaccinate the hundreds of people per day required to meet targets set by the federal government. Several GPs believe a more viable target is the early months of 2022. Australian Medical Association president Omar Korshid said having the population fully vaccinated by October is unlikely. 'It will be very difficult to achieve,' he said. 'Aiming to have the first dose administered by the end of October is more realistic.' Australian GP Alliance deputy chairman Mukesh Haikerwal went a step further, declaring 'phones will literally melt in front of us with the calls coming through once a vaccine is readily available'. Borders are in the news as never before. After millions of young, Muslim, and mostly male refugees flooded into the European Union last year from the war-torn Middle East, a popular revolt arose against the so-called Schengen Area agreements, which give free rights of movement within Europe. The concurrent suspension of most E.U. external controls on immigration and asylum rendered the open-borders pact suddenly unworkable. The European masses are not racists, but they now apparently wish to accept Middle Eastern immigrants only to the degree that these newcomers arrive legally and promise to become European in values and outlookprotocols that the E.U. essentially discarded decades ago as intolerant. Europeans are relearning that the continents external borders mark off very different approaches to culture and society from what prevails in North Africa or the Middle East. A similar crisis plays out in the United States, where President Barack Obama has renounced his former opposition to open borders and executive-order amnesties. Since 2012, the U.S. has basically ceased policing its southern border. The populist pushback against the opening of the border with Mexico gave rise to the presidential candidacy of Donald Trumppredicated on the candidates promise to build an impenetrable border wallmuch as the flood of migrants into Germany fueled opposition to Chancellor Angela Merkel. Driving the growing populist outrage in Europe and North America is the ongoing elite push for a borderless world. Among elites, borderlessness has taken its place among the politically correct positions of our ageand, as with other such ideas, it has shaped the language we use. The descriptive term illegal alien has given way to the nebulous unlawful immigrant. This, in turn, has given way to undocumented immigrant, immigrant, or the entirely neutral migranta noun that obscures whether the individual in question is entering or leaving. Such linguistic gymnastics are unfortunately necessary. Since an enforceable southern border no longer exists, there can be no immigration law to break in the first place. Todays open-borders agenda has its roots not only in economic factorsthe need for low-wage workers who will do the work that native-born Americans or Europeans supposedly will notbut also in several decades of intellectual ferment, in which Western academics have created a trendy field of borders discourse. What we might call post-borderism argues that boundaries even between distinct nations are mere artificial constructs, methods of marginalization designed by those in power, mostly to stigmatize and oppress the otherusually the poorer and less Westernwho arbitrarily ended up on the wrong side of the divide. Where borders are drawn, power is exercised, as one European scholar put it. This view assumes that where borders are not drawn, power is not exercisedas if a million Middle Eastern immigrants pouring into Germany do not wield considerable power by their sheer numbers and adroit manipulation of Western notions of victimization and grievance politics. Indeed, Western leftists seek political empowerment by encouraging the arrival of millions of impoverished migrants. Dreams of a borderless world are not new, however. The biographer and moralist Plutarch claimed in his essay On Exile that Socrates had once asserted that he was not just an Athenian but instead a citizen of the cosmos. In later European thought, Communist ideas of universal labor solidarity drew heavily on the idea of a world without borders. Workers of the world, unite! exhorted Marx and Engels. Wars broke out, in this thinking, only because of needless quarreling over obsolete state boundaries. The solution to this state of endless war, some argued, was to eliminate borders in favor of transnational governance. H. G. Wellss prewar science-fiction novel The Shape of Things to Come envisioned borders eventually disappearing as elite transnational polymaths enforced enlightened world governance. Such fictions prompt fads in the contemporary real world, though attempts to render borders unimportantas, in Wellss time, the League of Nations sought to dohave always failed. Undaunted, the Left continues to cherish the vision of a borderless world as morally superior, a triumph over artificially imposed difference. Yet the truth is that borders do not create differencethey reflect it. Elites continued attempts to erase borders are both futile and destructive. Bordersand the fights to keep or change themare as old as agricultural civilization. In ancient Greece, most wars broke out over border scrubland. The contested upland eschatia offered little profit for farming but possessed enormous symbolic value for a city-state to define where its own culture began and ended. The self-acclaimed citizen of the cosmos Socrates nonetheless fought his greatest battle as a parochial Athenian hoplite in the ranks of the phalanx at the Battle of Deliumwaged over the contested borderlands between Athens and Thebes. Fifth-century Athenians such as Socrates envisioned Attica as a distinct cultural, political, and linguistic entity, within which its tenets of radical democracy and maritime-based imperialism could function quite differently from the neighboring oligarchical agrarianism at Thebes. Attica in the fourth century BC built a system of border forts to protect its northern boundary. Throughout history, the trigger points of war have traditionally been such borderlandsthe methoria between Argos and Sparta, the Rhine and Danube as the frontiers of Rome, or the Alsace-Lorraine powder keg between France and Germany. These disputes did not always arise, at least at first, as efforts to invade and conquer a neighbor. They were instead mutual expressions of distinct societies that valued clear-cut bordersnot just as matters of economic necessity or military security but also as a means of ensuring that one society could go about its unique business without the interference and hectoring of its neighbors. Advocates for open borders often question the historical legitimacy of such territorial boundaries. For instance, some say that when Alta California declared its autonomy from Mexico in 1846, the new border stranded an indigenous Latino population in what would shortly become the 31st of the United States. We didnt cross the border, these revisionists say. The border crossed us. In fact, there were probably fewer than 10,000 Spanish-speakers residing in California at the time. Thus, almost no contemporary Californians of Latino descent can trace their state residency back to the mid-nineteenth century. They were not crossed by borders. And northsouth demarcation, for good or evil, didnt arbitrarily separate people. What we might call post-borderism argues that boundaries even between distinct nations are mere artificial constructs. The history of borders has been one of constant recalibration, whether dividing up land or unifying it. The Versailles Treaty of 1919 was idealistic not for eliminating borders but for drawing new ones. The old borders, established by imperial powers, supposedly caused World War I; the new ones would better reflect, it was hoped, ethnic and linguistic realities, and thus bring perpetual peace. But the world created at Versailles was blown apart by the Third Reich. German chancellor Adolf Hitler didnt object to the idea of borders per se; rather, he sought to remake them to encompass all German-speakersand later so-called Aryanswithin one political entity, under his absolute control. Many nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century German intellectuals and artistsamong them the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, historian Oswald Spengler, and composer Richard Wagneragreed that the Roman Empires borders marked the boundaries of civilization. Perversely, however, they celebrated their status as the unique other that had been kept out of a multiracial Western civilization. Instead, Germany mythologized itself as racially exceptional, precisely because, unlike other Western European nations, it was definable not only by geography or language but also by its supposed racial purity. The fairy-tale origins of the German Volk were traced back before the fifth century AD and predicated on the idea that Germanic tribes for centuries were kept on the northern and eastern sides of the Danube and Rhine Rivers. Thus, in National Socialist ideology, early German, white-skinned, Aryan noble savages paradoxically avoided a mongrelizing and enervating assimilation into the civilized Roman Empirean outcome dear to the heart of Nazi crackpot racial theorist Alfred Rosenberg (The Myth of the Twentieth Century) and the autodidact Adolf Hitler. World War II was fought to restore the old Eastern European borders that Hitler and Mussolini had erasedbut it ended with the creation of entirely new ones, reflecting the power and presence of Soviet continental Communism, enforced by the huge Russian Red Army. Few escape petty hypocrisy when preaching the universal gospel of borderlessness. Barack Obama has caricatured the building of a wall on the U.S. southern border as nonsensical, as if borders are discriminatory and walls never work. Obama, remember, declared in his 2008 speech in Berlin that he wasnt just an American but also a citizen of the world. Yet the Secret Service is currently adding five feet to the White House fencepresumably on the retrograde logic that what is inside the White House grounds is different from what is outside and that the higher the fence goes (higher and stronger, the Secret Service promises), the more of a deterrent it will be to would-be trespassers. If Obamas previous wall was six feet high, the proposed 11 feet should be even better. In 2011, open-borders advocate Antonio Villaraigosa became the first mayor in Los Angeles history to build a wall around the official mayoral residence. His un-walled neighbors objected, first, that there was no need for such a barricade and, second, that it violated a city ordinance prohibiting residential walls higher than four feet. But Villaraigosa apparently wished to emphasize the difference between his home and others (or between his home and the street itself), or was worried about security, or saw a new wall as iconic of his exalted office. Youre about to graduate into a complex and borderless world, Secretary of State John Kerry recently enthused to the graduating class at Northeastern University. He didnt sound envious, though, perhaps because Kerry himself doesnt live in such a world. If he did, he never would have moved his 76-foot luxury yacht from Boston Harbor across the state border to Rhode Island in order to avoid $500,000 in sales taxes and assorted state and local taxes. While elites can build walls or switch zip codes to insulate themselves, the consequences of their policies fall heavily on the nonelites who lack the money and influence to navigate around them. The contrast between the two groupsPeggy Noonan described them as the protected and the unprotectedwas dramatized in the presidential campaign of Jeb Bush. When the former Florida governor called illegal immigration from Mexico an act of love, his candidacy was doomed. It seemed that Bush had the capital and influence to pick and choose how the consequences of his ideas fell upon himself and his familyin a way impossible for most of those living in the southwestern United States. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg offers another case study. The multibillionaire advocates for a fluid southern border and lax immigration enforcement, but he has also stealthily spent $30 million to buy up four homes surrounding his Palo Alto estate. They form a sort of no-mans-land defense outside his own Maginot Line fence, presumably designed against hoi polloi who might not share Zuckerbergs taste or sense of privacy. Zuckerbergs other estate in San Francisco is prompting neighbors complaints because his security team takes up all the best parking spaces. Walls and border security seem dear to the heart of the open-borders multibillionairewhen its his wall, his border security. This self-serving dynamic operates beyond the individual level as well. Sanctuary cities, for instance, proclaim amnesty for illegal aliens within their municipal boundaries. But proud as they are of their cities disdain for federal immigration law, residents of these liberal jurisdictions wouldnt approve of other cities nullifying other federal laws. What would San Franciscans say if Salt Lake City declared the Endangered Species Act null and void within its city limits, or if Carson City unilaterally suspended federal background checks and waiting periods for handgun purchases? Moreover, San Francisco and Los Angeles do believe in clearly delineated borders when it comes to their right to maintain a distinct culture, with distinct rules and customs. Their self-righteousness aside, sanctuary cities neither object to the idea of borders nor to their enforcementonly to the notion that protecting the southern U.S. border is predicated on the very same principles. More broadly, ironies and contradictions abound in the arguments and practices of open-borders advocates. In academia, even modern historians of the ancient world, sensing the mood and direction of larger elite culture, increasingly rewrite the fall of fifth-century AD Rome, not as a disaster of barbarians pouring across the traditional fortified northern borders of the Rhine and Danubethe final limites that for centuries kept out perceived barbarism from classical civilizationbut rather as late antiquity, an intriguing osmosis of melting borders and cross-fertilization, leading to a more diverse and dynamic intersection of cultures and ideas. Why, then, dont they cite Vandal treatises on medicine, Visigothic aqueducts, or Hunnish advances in dome construction that contributed to this rich new culture of the sixth or seventh century AD? Because these things never existed. Academics may now caricature borders, but key to their posturing is either an ignorance of, or an unwillingness to address, why tens of millions of people choose to cross borders in the first place, leaving their homelands, language fluency, or capitaland at great personal risk. The answer is obvious, and it has little to do with natural resources or climate: migration, as it was in Rome during the fifth century AD, or as it was in the 1960s between mainland China and Hong Kongand is now in the case of North and South Koreahas usually been a one-way street, from the non-West to the West or its Westernized manifestations. People walk, climb, swim, and fly across borders, secure in the knowledge that boundaries mark different approaches to human experience, with one side usually perceived as more successful or inviting than the other. Western rules that promote a greater likelihood of consensual government, personal freedom, religious tolerance, transparency, rationalism, an independent judiciary, free-market capitalism, and the protection of private property combine to offer the individual a level of prosperity, freedom, and personal security rarely enjoyed at home. As a result, most migrants make the necessary travel adjustments to go westwardespecially given that Western civilization, uniquely so, has usually defined itself by culture, not race, and thus alone is willing to accept and integrate those of different races who wish to share its protocols. Many unassimilated Muslims in the West often are confused about borders and assume that they can ignore Western jurisprudence and yet rely on it in extremis. Todays migrant from Morocco might resent the bare arms of women in France, or the Pakistani new arrival in London might wish to follow sharia law as he knew it in Punjab. But implicit are two unmentionable constants: the migrant most certainly does not wish to return to face sharia law in Morocco or Pakistan. Second, if he had his way, institutionalizing his native culture into that of his newly adopted land, he would eventually flee the resultsand once again likely go somewhere else, for the same reasons that he left home in the first place. London Muslims may say that they demand sharia law on matters of religion and sex, but such a posture assumes the unspoken condition that the English legal system remains supreme, and thus, as Muslim minorities, they will not be thrown out of Britain as religious infidelsas Christians are now expelled from the Middle East. Even the most adamant ethnic chauvinists who want to erase the southern border assume that some sort of border is central to their own racial essence. The National Council of La Raza (the race; Latin, radix) is the largest lobbying body for open borders with Mexico. Yet Mexico itself supports the idea of boundaries. Mexico City may harp about alleged racism in the United States directed at its immigrants, but nothing in U.S. immigration law compares with Mexicos 1974 revision of its General Law of Population and its emphasis on migrants not upsetting the racial makeup of Mexicoeuphemistically expressed as preserving the equilibrium of the national demographics. In sum, Mexican nationals implicitly argue that borders, which unfairly keep them out of the United States, are nonetheless essential to maintaining their own pure raza. Migration has usually been a one-way street, from the non-West to the West or its Westernized manifestations. Mexico, in general, furiously opposes enforcing the U.S.Mexican border and, in particular, the proposed Trump wall that would bar unauthorized entry into the U.S.not on any theory of borders discourse but rather because Mexico enjoys fiscal advantages in exporting its citizens northward, whether in ensuring nearly $30 billion in remittances, creating a powerful lobby of expatriates in the U.S., or finding a safety valve for internal dissent. Note that this view does not hold when it comes to accepting northward migrations of poorer Central Americans. In early 2016, Mexico ramped up its border enforcement with Guatemala, adding more security forces, and rumors even circulated of a plan to erect occasional fences to augment the natural barriers of jungle and rivers. Apparently, Mexican officials view poorer Central Americans as quite distinct from Mexicansand thus want to ensure that Mexico remains separate from a poorer Guatemala. When I wrote an article titled Do We Want Mexifornia? for City Journal s Spring 2002 issue, I neither invented the word Mexifornia nor intended it as a pejorative. Instead, I expropriated the celebratory term from Latino activists, both in the academy and in ethnic gangs in California prisons. In Chicano studies departments, the fusion of Mexico and California was envisioned as a desirable and exciting third-way culture. Mexifornia was said to be arising within 200 to 300 miles on either side of an ossified Rio Grande border. Less clearly articulated were Mexifornias premises: millions of Latinos and mestizos would create a new ethnic zone, which, for some mysterious reason, would also enjoy universities, sophisticated medical services, nondiscrimination laws, equality between the sexes, modern housing, policing, jobs, commerce, and a judiciaryall of which would make Mexifornia strikingly different from what is currently found in Mexico and Central America. When Latino youths disrupt a Donald Trump rally, they often wave Mexican flags or flash placards bearing slogans such as Make America Mexico Again. But note the emotional paradox: in anger at possible deportation, undocumented aliens nonsensically wave the flag of the country that they most certainly do not wish to return to, while ignoring the flag of the nation in which they adamantly wish to remain. Apparently, demonstrators wish to brand themselves with an ethnic cachet but without sacrificing the advantages that being an American resident has over being a Mexican citizen inside Mexico. If no borders existed between California and Mexico, then migrants in a few decades might head to Oregon, even as they demonstrated in Portland to Make Oregon into California. Removing borders in theory, then, never seems to match expectations in fact, except in those rare occasions when nearly like societies exist side by side. No one objects to a generally open Canadian border because passage across it, numbers-wise, is roughly identical in either directionand Canadians and Americans share a language and similar traditions and standard of living, along with a roughly identical approach to democracy, jurisprudence, law enforcement, popular culture, and economic practice. By contrast, weakening demarcated borders between diverse peoples has never appealed to the citizens of distinct nations. Take even the most vociferous opponents of a distinguishable and enforceable border, and one will observe a disconnect between what they say and dogiven the universal human need to circumscribe, demarcate, and protect ones perceived private space. Again, the dissipation of national borders is possible only between quite similar countries, such as Canada and the U.S. or France and Belgium, or on those few occasions when a supranational state or empire can incorporate different peoples by integrating, assimilating, and intermarrying tribes of diverse religions, languages, and ethnicities into a common cultureand then, of course, protect them with distinct and defensible external borders. But aside from Rome before the fourth century AD and America of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, few societies have been able to achieve E pluribus unum. Napoleons transnational empire didnt last 20 years. Britain never tried to create a holistic overseas body politic in the way that, after centuries of strife, it had forged the English-speaking United Kingdom. The Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian Empires all fell apart after World War I, in a manner mimicked by the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in the 1980s and 1990s. Rwanda and Iraq dont reflect the meaninglessness of borders but the desire of distinct peoples to redraw colonial lines to create more logical borders to reflect current religious, ethnic, and linguistic realities. When Ronald Reagan thundered at the Brandenburg Gate, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! he assumed that by 1987, German-speakers on both sides of the Berlin Wall were more alike than not and in no need of a Soviet-imposed boundary inside Germany. Both sides preferred shared consensual government to Communist authoritarianism. Note that Reagan did not demand that Western nations dismantle their own borders with the Communist bloc. Something there is that doesnt love a wall, Robert Frost famously wrote, That wants it down. True, but the poet concedes in his Mending Wall that in the end, he accepts the logic of his crustier neighbor: He says again, Good fences make good neighbors. From my own experience in farming, two issueswater and boundariescause almost all feuds with neighbors. As I write, Im involved in a border dispute with a new neighbor. He insists that the last row of his almond orchard should be nearer to the property line than is mine. That way, he can use more of my land as common space to turn his equipment than I will use of his land. I wish that I could afford to erect a wall between us. The end of borders, and the accompanying uncontrolled immigration, will never become a natural conditionany more than sanctuary cities, unless forced by the federal government, will voluntarily allow out-of-state agencies to enter their city limits to deport illegal aliens, or Mexico will institutionalize free entry into its country from similarly Spanish-speaking Central American countries. Borders are to distinct countries what fences are to neighbors: means of demarcating that something on one side is different from what lies on the other side, a reflection of the singularity of one entity in comparison with another. Borders amplify the innate human desire to own and protect property and physical space, which is impossible to do unless it is seenand can be so understoodas distinct and separate. Clearly delineated borders and their enforcement, either by walls and fences or by security patrols, wont go away because they go to the heart of the human conditionwhat jurists from Rome to the Scottish Enlightenment called meum et tuum, mine and yours. Between friends, unfenced borders enhance friendship; among the unfriendly, when fortified, they help keep the peace. Top Photo: The ruins of a boundary fortress designed to separate Athens from Thebes; in ancient Greece, most wars broke out over territorial disputes. (HERVE CHAMPOLLION/AKG-IMAGES /THE IMAGE WORKS) Editor Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the Best Editorial Writer Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the CNMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His three books are available on amazon.com The courthouse in Majuro that houses the High Court, the Traditional Rights Court and the District Court. Photo by Hilary Hosia This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. As the Syrian war reaches the end of its first decade, the government has stifled revolutionary activity, reports North Press. Jawad Haidar (a pseudonym), a civil activist from the city of Salamiyah in the Hama countryside in central Syria, said on Tuesday that the arrests of activists in Syria have not stopped over the last ten years, the latest round of which was during the 2020 protests in Suweida. In a few days, the Syrian war will arrive in its first decade, and many Syrian provinces, cities, and towns took the form of a peaceful civil movement at the beginning of the war. Haidar told North Press, as the tenth anniversary of the Syrian revolution approaches, its people stress the need to not abandon it until its goals of freedom, justice, citizenship, and the overthrow of the regime [are achieved]. He pointed out that in 2020, activists in Salamiyah removed the regimes images and symbols from the citys streets, and emphasized the continuity of the revolution by raising the flag of the Syrian revolution in the middle of it near the government palace building. After that, Syrian government forces launched a massive campaign of arrests, affecting many dissidents and activists. Today, the city suffers from the decline of revolutionary action due to the tight security grip, Haidar said. The work of the activists is limited to relief activity for the remaining displaced people from the villages and the neighboring countryside who reside within the city. 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. The has released a list of 26 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam, and appointed senior leaders Mohan Prakash and Jaydev Jena as special observers. The elections are scheduled to be held in three phases in Earlier, the had released a list of 40 candidates. According to the new list, Pradyut Kumar Bhuyan will contest from Nalbari while Misbahul Islam Laskar will be trying his luck from Borkhola. legislative party leader Debobrata Saikia will contest from Nazira and former Minister Rakibul Hussain will contest from Samaguri. The Congress had on March 7 announced 40 candidates for the Assembly polls. The party has named Congress chief Ripun Bora from Gohpur, Ram Prasad Sharma from Barchalla and Anuj Kumar Mech from Tezpur. The party has also fielded Bismark Gogoi from Khumtai and Rana Goswami from Jorhat. According to the poll panel, of the total 126 Assembly seats in Assam, eight are reserved for SC candidates and 16 for ST nominees. The Congress in Assam is contesting in alliance with All India United Democratic Front and Bodoland People's Front. --IANS miz/pgh (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.) Ukraine and Brazil have held the first interdepartmental cyber consultations, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. "On March 10, the interdepartmental cybersecurity consultations between Ukraine and Brazil took place for the first time in the history of bilateral relations," reads the report. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the delegations, headed by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brazil Fabio Marzano, included also representatives of relevant ministries and agencies responsible for cybersecurity. The parties presented national cybersecurity systems, exchanged information on cases of malicious activities in cyberspace. Bodnar told about the cyber attacks of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as an element of the ongoing hybrid war. He stressed the need for uniting forces with the international community to effectively combat cyber threats. A separate topic of the consultations was the provision of cybersecurity during the national elections. In addition, the delegations outlined promising areas for further cooperation in the field of cybersecurity. As Ukrinform reported, Ukraine and Spain held the first interdepartmental consultations on cybersecurity. iy This undated photo taken in April 2018 shows China's sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning (front), sailing with other ships during a drill at sea. (-/AFP via Getty Images) War Game Simulation Shows US Would Lose Fast if China Invaded Taiwan: US General A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be devastating to the U.S. military as a result of Beijings aggressive military development in recent years, according to a U.S. Air Force general. The outcome was based on a classified Pentagon war game simulation carried out over the years, Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote said in a recent interview with Yahoo News. He said that U.S. forces were losing more quickly in recent simulations after taking into consideration the Chinese regimes new military capabilities. After the 2018 war game, I distinctly remember one of our gurus of wargaming standing in front of the Air Force secretary and chief of staff, and telling them that we should never play this war game scenario [of a Chinese attack on Taiwan] again, because we know what is going to happen, Hinote said. The definitive answer if the U.S. military doesnt change course is that were going to lose fast. In that case, an American president would likely be presented with almost a fait accompli. Around September 2020, the U.S. Air Force gamed out a conflict set more than a decade in the future, which started with a Chinese biological-weapon attack on U.S. ships and bases in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the outlet. Using military drills as a cover, Beijing then deploys an invasion force to attack Taiwan, while targeting U.S. bases and ships in the region with missile strikes, the outlet said. Since President Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20, the Chinese Communist Party has escalated its war-mongering toward Taiwan, a democratic self-ruled island that Beijing claims as a part of its territory. In late January, a Chinese military official threatened war against the island. Beijing also has sent military planes into Taiwans air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on a nearly daily basis since the start of this year. Most recently on March 10, a Chinese anti-submarine warfare aircraft entered southwestern Taiwans ADIZ, according to Taiwans Ministry of National Defense. Earlier this week, Adm. Philip Davidson, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, warned during a Senate hearing that the Chinese regime could invade Taiwan in the next six years. When asked by a senator about the United States ability to defend Taiwan, Davidson said, I think our conventional deterrent is actually eroding in the region, citing the Chinese militarys vast advances in size over the past decade, and also in capability. The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is now larger than the U.S. Navy. By 2025, the PLA is projected to have three aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific to the United States one, 12 amphibious assault ships to the United States four, and 108 modern multi-warfare combatant ships to the United States 12, according to estimates by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command submitted to Congress. Hinote told Yahoo News that certain adjustments are needed to tilt a possible war with China in favor of the United States. They include moving away from relying on large military bases, ports, and aircraft carriers while fighting the Chinese military, as well as deploying dispersed and mobile forces with large numbers of long-range, mobile strike systems, anti-ship cruise missile batteries, mobile rocket artillery systems, and unmanned mini-submarines, according to Hinote. Whats more, the adjustments call for greater use of surveillance and reconnaissance sources to allow U.S. policymakers to make quicker decisions. If we can design a force that creates that level of uncertainty and causes Chinese leaders to question whether they can accomplish their goals militarily, I think thats what deterrence looks like in the future, Hinote said. Air Force officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. Cathy He contributed to this report. Four men have been found guilty of killing a Brisbane pair who were submerged in a river while trapped inside a toolbox. Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru's decomposing bodies were found in a large metal box at Scrubby Creek, south of Brisbane, on February 11, 2016. Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were lured to a Kingston apartment complex on January 24, brutally tortured and beaten for hours. Cory Breton's (left) and Iuliana Triscaru's (right) decomposing bodies were found in a large metal box at Scrubby Creek, south of Brisbane, on February 11, 2016 Their decomposing bodies were discovered 18 days later when police dredged the large metal box (pictured) from the bottom of Scrubby Creek dam Outside Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, Mr Breton's widow Miranda Parkinson told reporters she can begin her grieving process now that the trial is over They were bound and forced into the toolbox at knife point before it was dumped in the waterway alongside the Logan Motorway. Their decomposing bodies were discovered 18 days later when police dredged the large metal box from the bottom of Scrubby Creek dam. A pathologist earlier ruled the pair died from either asphyxiation or drowning. During the trial star witness Lelan Harrington, a friend of Mr Breton, told the jury he saw the pair being attacked with a knife and pole. On Thursday, a jury deliberated for just two hours before finding Stou Daniels, Trent Michael Thrupp, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and guilty of two counts of murder each. A fourth man, Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, news.com.au reported. The four men had each pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp also pleaded not guilty to two counts of torture. Sobs and cries came from the packed public gallery as guilty verdicts were handed down. Victoria Duga (2nd from left), mother of victim Iuliana Triscaru, Detective Inspector Damien Hansen (centre) and Miranda Parkinson (right), partner of murder victim Cory Breton are seen with with family members outside the Brisbane Supreme Court They were bound and forced into the toolbox at knife point before it was dumped in the waterway alongside the Logan Motorway Outside Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday, Mr Breton's widow Miranda Parkinson told reporters she can begin her grieving process now that the trial is over. 'Now we have some sort of closure (and) we can actually mourn in our own way,' Ms Parkinson said. 'We would like to thank everyone, the public prosecutors, the detectives and everyone for their help in getting this outcome. Now we can finally start to move on.' All four men will be sentenced next week. The popularity of K-pop continues to grow as more and more South Korean acts dominate music charts and audio streaming sites worldwide. On Tuesday, March 10, Gaon revealed the albums that were able to get the greatest number of sales by individual buyers last month. Keep on reading to know if your favorite artists made it to the list. BTS' 'BE' and SHINee's 'Don't Call Me' Are the Top Best-Selling K-pop Albums in February 2021 As expected, "BE" by BTS made it to the top again. The latest album of Jin, Jimin, Jungkook, J-Hope, Suga, RM, and V sold more than 610,200 copies in February 2021 alone. The said EP, which is the group's fifth full-length studio album, has sold more than 2.66 million copies already since its release on Nov. 20, 2020. Coming in second place is none other than "Don't Call Me" by SHINee. The South Korean all-male group, which is composed of Taemin, Onew, Key, and Minho, was able to sell more than 83,000 copies of their most recent album last month. "Don't Call Me" is the carrier single of the said EP. The "NCT 2018 Empathy" album of NCT nabbed the third spot after it was purchased more than 51,700 times in February. The EP, with the carrier single "Black on Black," has already sold 387,500 copies worldwide since its official release on March 14, 2018. "ONF: My Name" by ONF and "We Boom" by NCT Dream wrapped up the Top 5 in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. As per Gaon's records, the first full-length studio album of ONF sold more than 32,300 copies in February 2020 while the third mini-album of NCT Dream was bought 25,200 times. Other K-pop albums who made it to the list include "The First" by NCT Dream at No. 6 with 24,300 sold copies, "On the Track" by J.Don at No. 7 with 21,400 sold copies, "Hello Chapter : Hello, Strange Dream" by CIX at No. 8 with 20,300 sold copies, "Day by Day" by Yang Joonil at No. 9 with 19,900 sold copies and "Love Synonym Pt.2: Right For Us" by Wonho at No. 10 with 17,700 sold copies last month. BTS' 'Dynamite' and BLACKPINK's 'Lovesick Girls' among the Most Streamed K-pop Songs on YouTube Music Meanwhile, "Dynamite" by BTS reigned supreme as the most-streamed K-pop song on YouTube Music as of February 2021. The track, which is part of the "BE: Deluxe Edition" album, was streamed more than 100 million times on the said platform. The song has helped BTS earn new titles and break records in various music charts around the world. "How You Like That" by BLACKPINK secured the second spot after it was streamed more than 87.5 million times as of this press time. Most, if not all, fans are aware that the said song is part of Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo, and Rose's "The Album" EP, which was dropped on June 26, 2020. Other K-Pop songs with the most streams on YouTube Music include "Pretty Savage" by BLACKPINK with a total of 84,800,000 streams, "Love to Hate Me" by BLACKPINK with 55,900,000 streams, and "Boy with Luv" by BTS with more than 52,200,00 streams. For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Nica Vaughn MONTREAL, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Across Canada, but particularly in Quebec, long-term care facilities have accounted for a disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths. The Government of Canada, through its COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), is supporting a new $2.7 million study aimed at identifying the factors putting each person at risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms and medical complications that may lead to a fatal disease. We still do not understand why some long-term care residents have gotten so sick and died of COVID-19, whereas others, at the same facility, have had milder versions of the disease or have not been infected at all, says Donald Vinh, MD, an infectious disease and immunity expert at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and an associate professor at McGill University. Our study brings together immunological, biochemical, and psychosocial expertise to identify key factors that determine severe COVID-19 symptoms and complications in the elderly. If we can identify elderly people at greater risk of developing medical complications from COVID-19, it can guide better infection control measures and prioritize medical care to increase the chance that these people will have better treatment outcomes. The hope is to help avoid unnecessary hospitalization and in so doing, reduce the use of health care resources. The research team is multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary, involving the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), Universite de Montreal, Institut Universitaire de Geriatrie de Montreal (IUGM) and its Research Center (CRIUGM), Douglas Research Centre, McGill Universitys Department of Psychiatry, and Concordia University's Department of Psychology. The study is being carried out in partnership with two health networks (CIUSSS Centre Sud and CIUSSS de lOuest-de-lIle-de-Montreal). The study aims to recruit 850 participants in public residential and long-term care facilities and in private seniors homes in Montreal. The team will take blood samples to compare the immune response in residents who were never infected, residents who were infected but had no or few symptoms, residents who had moderate cases of COVID-19, and residents who had severe cases of the disease. Story continues The study will also look at the relationship between immune status, markers of inflammation, psychosocial factors and the severity of COVID-19 symptoms. In public residential and long-term care facilities, a large proportion of patients present some form of cognitive impairment, explains Jean-Philippe Gouin, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychology, Concordia University. We will first examine whether there is a correlation between psychosocial issues and more severe cases of COVID-19, and second, Dr. Gouin continues, whether a COVID-19 infection is associated with increased psychiatric symptoms, sleep disturbances, and cognitive impairment among long-term care residents. Cardiovascular issues, including arterial hypertension and coagulation dysfunction (not being able to properly control blood clotting), can lead to more severe cases of COVID-19. According to a study published in the European Heart Journal1, patients with high blood pressure admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are twice as likely to die as those without the condition. It is estimated that almost 20% of patients with COVID-19 have significant coagulation disorders. In addition, some vaccinated patients may develop blood clots (thrombosis) after healing from COVID-19. A team led by Helene Girouard, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Universite de Montreal, will seek to identify measurable indicators associated with high blood pressure and coagulation dysfunction that could be predictors of more severe COVID-19 cases. This will inform treatments to prevent COVID-19 complications. COVID-19 has been catastrophic among the elderly in long-term care facilities and studies like this one are needed so that we can better protect them going forward, says Dr. Catherine Hankins, CITF Co-Chair. Vaccines will help to make an enormous difference in protecting Canadians from COVID-19. Vaccines are being rolled-out in long-term care facilities across Canada to help protect the elderly, who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, says Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadas Chief Public Health Officer. This study will help provide greater insight into the early immune response of elderly Canadians to this viral infection, and how the immune responseand the subsequent severity of COVID-19 and variants of concernis affected by cardiovascular and psycho-social factors. About the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force In late April 2020, the Government of Canada established the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force with a two-year mandate. The Task Force is overseen by a Leadership Group of volunteers that includes leading Canadian scientists and experts from universities and healthcare facilities across Canada who are focused on understanding the nature of immunity arising from the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. To that end, the CITF is supporting numerous studies to determine the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Canada (in the general population as well as in specific communities and priority populations), understand the nature of immunity following infection, develop improved antibody testing methods, and help monitor the effectiveness and safety of vaccines as they are rolled out across Canada. The Task Force and its Secretariat work closely with a range of partners, including governments, public health agencies, institutions, health organizations, research teams, other task forces, and engages communities and stakeholders. Most recently, the Task Force has been asked to support vaccine surveillance, effectiveness and safety as part of its overall objective to generate data and ideas that inform interventions aimed at slowingand ultimately stoppingthe spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Canada. For more information visit: www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca . Media contacts: COVID-19 Immunity Task Force media@covid19immunitytaskforce.ca Rebecca Burns, Cell: +1.438.871.8763 Caroline Phaneuf, Cell: +1.514.444.4532 1 Association of hypertension and antihypertensive treatment with COVID-19 mortality: a retrospective observational study, by Chao Gao et al. European Heart Journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa433 California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that a new color-coded tier will soon be added to the state's reopening framework, as infection rates in the state continue to plummet and the vaccine rollout accelerates. Newsom didn't provide specifics on the new tier, but implied that it will be a level indicating a county has very little, if any, virus circulating and 100% reopening can occur. We are working, quite literally, on a green tier and have been now for a number of months, in anticipation of this bright light now at the end of this tunnel, Newsom said from a Southern California vaccination site at a Wednesday press briefing. "And so we're working on that. We'll begin to socialize that." Newsom went on: "Twenty-four of our 58 counties are now out of our [most] restrictive tiers. ... As we start to reopen, as we get to 10, 15, 20 million vaccinations, get closer and closer to herd immunity, then we will start to make it clear that these tiers were temporary, they're not permanent, and there's something beyond orange and yellow and that green tier will present itself." It has been more than a month since Newsom lifted the regional stay-at-home order, permitting Bay Area counties to reopen several business sectors, including outdoor dining and some indoor personal services such as haircuts. When the order ended Jan. 25, all nine counties in the region moved into the purple tier in the governor's color-coded reopening framework and they are now slowly moving into the more lenient red tier. Alameda, Napa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Solano are all in the red tier. Sonoma and Contra Costa remain in the purple tier. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Tuesday that San Francisco may move into the orange tier in two weeks on March 24. Breed said that the city's rapidly declining case and test positivity rates should allow for further reopening in two weeks' time. The state's system sorts counties into four tiers "purple" (widespread), "red" (substantial), "orange" (moderate) or "yellow" (minimal) that measure the spread of COVID-19 and dictate what types of businesses and activities are allowed to open. The structure allows counties to be more restrictive and move more slowly than the state in reopening, if they wish. A county's tier assignment is based on three metrics: the adjusted case rate (number of new cases per 100,000 residents, adjusted based on testing volume); the positivity rate (percentage of people who test positive for the virus of all individuals who are tested); and a health equity metric. Counties in the purple category are reporting more than seven new daily cases per 100,000 residents and have positivity rates above 8%. For a county to move into the red tier, it must report an average of four to seven daily cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity of 5% to 8% for 14 consecutive days. The orange tier requires one to 3.9 cases per 100,000 and a test positivity of 2% to 4.9%, and the yellow less than one case per 100,000 and lower than 2% positivity. Newsom didn't share what the requirements would be for a county to move into a green tier. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. 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. Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Raos strategy and minister K.T. Rama Raos effective execution have helped the ruling TRS turn tables on the Opposition in the high-decibel campaign for Graduate MLC polls that ends on Friday. Although the MLC elections turned out to be a fight of TRS versus the rest, pollsters see a clear edge for the ruling party after Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao decided to directly strategize for the polls for the first time. TRS leaders and cadre believe Chandrashekar Raos strategy in garnering the support of government employees and graduates boosted the party's winning chances. As the election-day approached, these segments have openly announced they would rally behind the TRS. Although the TRS swept all the elections since the formation of Telangana state in 2014, it suffered setbacks in the MLC polls. In the past, TRS could win MLC seats only on the basis of the strength of its MLAs in the assembly as well its strength in the local bodies. It could not register wins in MLC polls in which graduates, employees and teachers only vote. TRS did not even field candidates for the MLC polls in March 2019 and extended support to others. The results showed that these TRS-supported candidates lost. Now came the Graduate MLC polls for two seats. Though Chandrashekar Rao announced much earlier that sitting MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy would be TRS candidate for Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda MLC seat, he kept the name of Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahbubnagar MLC candidate pending till two days before the filing of nominations. This triggered speculations whether the TRS would contest this seat at all. However, from this stage, TRS emerged stronger in MLC polls. The Chief Minister stepped in with his shrewd political strategies and working president KT Rama Rao executed these strategies effectively at the ground level with active involvement of ministers, TRS leaders and cadre. The situation turned in favour of TRS after the CM succeeded in bringing various employees and students unions to the party's fold with assurances on 29 per cent PRC fitment, a three-year retirement age hike and filling of 50,000 government job vacancies soon after the MLC polls. Chandrashekar Raos strategy to support the anti-privatization agitation linked to the Vizag Steel Plant was well-received by the Seemandhra voters in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts who are emotionally attached to the VSP. Georgetown Law has fired one white professor and placed another on administrative leave after a video of their discussion about a black student was condemned on social media. Dean Bill Treanor anounced on Thursday that the school had ended its relationship with Professor Sandra Sellers, 62, after the video showed her complaining on Zoom that black students were predominantly at the bottom of her class. She was speaking to Professor David Batson, who was placed on leave on Thursday for not correcting Sellers pending a further investigation by the prestigious law school, which was attended by former first daughter Tiffany Trump. The interaction happened at the conclusion of a negotiations class around February 21, which was being recorded so that students could watch it later, according to the Washington Post. The professors had stayed on Zoom to discuss the students after they left and where unaware that it was still recording. It was online for two weeks until students noticed the conversation between Sellers and Batson at the end and reported it to the school on Monday. 'They were a bit jumbled. It's like let me reason through that, what you just said,' Sellers said of a student's performance, who the Black Law Students Asssociation claims is the only black person in the class. 'You know what? I hate to say this, I end up having this angst every semester, that a lot of my lower ones are blacks,' the adjunct professor of mediation and negotiation continued. Scroll down for video The Black Law Students Association called for Professor Sandra Sellers to be terminated after the video in which she said black students were the bottom of her class Georgetown Law has launched an investigation into the video and her comments A statement from Dean Bill Treanor on Thursday confirmed that Sellers had been fired Professor Sandra Sellers: Intellectual property and high tech dispute expert who has served as a Director of the International Trademark Association Sandra Sellers is an adjunct professor of mediation and negotiation at Georgetown University Law Center and previously at George Washington University Law School. According to her bio on the American Bar Association, she mediates intellectual property, domain name, software, contract, and other business disputes and is President of Technology Mediation Services in Virginia. She has served as a Director of the International Trademark Association, and chair of its ADR Committee. Sellers is also a member of the panels of neutrals of US District Court for the District of Columbia, the US International Trade Commission, International Trademark Association, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center; and other local panels. Advertisement 'It happens almost every semester, and it's like, oh, come on. You know, we get some really good ones but there also usually some of them that are just plain at the bottom,' Sellers concludes. Batson, also a mediation law expert, does not initially respond but simply looks down and nods in the short 43-second clip, which was allegedly leaked to social media by a student. He subsequently returns to discussing the student in question, stating, 'what drives [him] crazy is...the concept of how that plays out in whether that is [his] own perceptions playing in here with certain people' or '[his] own unconscious biases playing out in the scheme of things'. The school was immediately called on to act as the video of the interaction spread. The dean said Thursday that Sellers told him she had intended to resign when they met to discuss what he branded as the 'reprehensible statements concerning the evaluation of Black students'. She also issued a statement to the Post on Thursday in which she apologized for the 'hurtful and misdirected remarks'. 'I would never do anything to intentionally hurt my students or Georgetown Law and wish I could take back my words,' Sellers said in the resignation letter. 'Regardless of my intent, I have done irreparable harm and I am truly sorry for this.' The Zoom call was posted to online database Panopto, where students, who have been attending classes virtually because of the pandemic, can access the recordings. According to Hassan Ahmad, who is on the school's admission committee, it was discovered on Panopto by one of the students in the professors' negotiation class. It is not known if it was the student being discussed in the conversation. Part of the conversation was recorded from Panopto by a student and was shared on social media before its removal. It is not clear if the student who first identified the controversial recording was the same person to share the video further online. The Black Law Student Association had been among the groups calling for Sellers' resignation and an apology from Batson. The group issued a statement on Wednesday in which they claimed that the recorded conversation is proof of Sellers' bias in her grading of black students. 'These racist statements reveal not only Sellers' beliefs about black students in her classes, but also how her racist thoughts have translated to racist actions. Professor Sellers' bias has impacted the grades of black students in her classes historically, in her own words,' the statement said. The school also issued a statement on Wednesday after the video went viral but initially did not name the professors involved. 'We learned earlier this week that two members of our faculty engaged in a conversation that included reprehensible statements concerning the evaluation of Black students,' Dean Bill Traynor said as he promised a full investigation into the video. 'We are responding with the utmost seriousness to this situation. I have watched a video of this conversation and find the content to be abhorrent. 'It includes conduct that has no place in our educational community. We must ensure that all students are treated fairly and evaluated on their merits.' There are also calls for Professor David Batson to apologize after he failed to condemn Sellers' remarks in the Zoom conversation that had been posted to the school's database Former first daughter Tiffany Trump (pictured) is a graduate of Georgetown Law Dean Treanor issued an update on Thursday in which he confirmed that 'Sellers is no longer affiliated with Georgetown Law'. Batson will remain on leave until the investigation by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Affirmative Action is complete. 'Until the completion of the investigation, Professor Batson will have no further involvement with the course in which the incident arose,' Treanor said. 'This is by no means the end of our work to address the many structural issues of racism reflected in this painful incident, including explicit and implicit bias, bystander responsibility, and the need for more comprehensive anti-bias training,' the Dean continued. 'This is a matter of great concern to me. I will be writing to you soon with a range of actions and changes that we will implement to address these issues.' Dean Bill Traynor issued a statement Wednesday calling the comments 'abhorrent' The Black Law Students Association has issued a list of demands following the video The BLSA had claimed that the immediate termination of Sellers was the only option for the controversy. 'We demand nothing short of the immediate termination of Sandra Sellers as adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Not suspension. Not an investigation. The University must take swift and definitive action in the face of blatant and shameless racism,' it said. 'Not only is this situation revealing of Sellers' true beliefs about Black students, it is also illustrative of the conscious and unconscious bias systemically present in law school grading at Georgetown Law and in law school classrooms nationwide. The difference is that Sellers was caught, and her racism was broadcast for the world to see.' The association also called for an apology from Batson for failing to condemn Sellers after she made the comments, a review of Sellers' past grading, and a commitment to hiring more black professors. It said that Batson's comments showed more awareness but that 'his actions were still altogether insufficient to address the blatant racism that he was an audience to'. 'He had an obligation to report her, and he did not. We demand that Batson publicly apologize for his role in enabling and supporting Sellers' behavior,' the group added. It is not known if Batson plans to make an apology. Alumni took to social media to call for Sellers' resignation (as pictured) Alumni criticized Georgetown Law for not immediately firing Sellers 'The despicable sentiments of these #GeorgetownLaw professors are most certainly felt by their Black students,' wrote Janai Nelson from the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. Some social media users accuse Sellers of bias in her work There were many calls for Sellers to be fired after the comments Others criticized Batson for not responding to the statements Their statement was supported by other BLSA chapters from universities around the country and by other minority law groups within Georgetown, as well as being signed by hundreds of students and alumni. Georgetown Law alumni were also among those who hit out at the video on social media. 'This "message" is inadequate @GeorgetownLaw. Fire her,' wrote graduate Natalie Smith. 'I graduated from @GeorgetownLaw in 2004. How is this being addressed?' another wrote on Twitter. 'This will definitely have bearing on my decisions when Student Giving calls me asking for money. I'm also rethinking my decision to assist with admissions interviews. I've got questions.' Other social media users claimed that it showed Sellers's bias in her classes. 'Narrator: 'She didn't hate to say it,' one commenter joked. 'The despicable sentiments of these #GeorgetownLaw professors are most certainly felt by their Black students,' wrote Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. 'Blk ppl know when we are under-estimated, stereotyped & mocked even when the mask is up. That we still succeed in these environments is a testament to pure grit and will.' And other commenters had criticism for Batson. 'Watch how the other professor just sits idly, offering no rebuke, content to let the lady's racism stand. A wasted Batson challenge if I've ever seen one,' wrote civil rights lawyer Angelo Guisado. DailyMail.com contacted Professor Sellers for comment but the request has not yet been returned. New York : The United States provided some information, cold-weather clothing and some other equipment to India during its recent border crisis with China, which has adopted an increasingly assertive military posture to exert pressure and expand its influence across the region, a top Pentagon commander has told American lawmakers. Admiral Philips Davidson, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, also told the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that China's recent activities along the Line of Actual Control have opened India's eyes to what cooperative effort with others might mean for their own defensive needs as he observed that New Delhi, in the very near term, will deepen its engagement with the Quad. "India has long had an approach called strategic autonomy, you know, a nonaligned approach with others, but I think certainly the activities along the Line of Actual Control with China has opened their eyes to what cooperative effort with others might mean for their own defensive needs," Admiral Davidson told lawmakers during the Congressional hearing. "We have provided some information to India in that crisis, cold-weather closing, clothing, some other equipment, some things like that, and over the last several years, we have been deepening our maritime cooperation," he said. China moved over 60,000 well-armed troops who were mobilised for annual exercises, to contentious areas like Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh in May last year, prompting India to match the PLA's mobilisation which led to an over eight-month long standoff. After lengthy rounds of talks, the two sides simultaneously withdrew troops from Pangong Lake area last month while talks are on for the withdrawal of soldiers from the rest of the areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. "I think you will see India in the very near term, you know, remain committed to their non-aligned approach, but I think they will deepen their engagement with the Quad, and I think that's a key strategic opportunity for us, Australia, and Japan," Davidson said, ahead of the maiden Quad Leaders' Summit involving the top leaders from Australia, India, Japan and the United States on Friday. US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the first Leaders' Summit of Quad in a virtual format on Friday along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga. During the summit, the Quad leaders will discuss regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. The Admiral was responding to a question from Senator Angus King. "That would be a geopolitical major development if India more closely aligned with those other countries," King said responding to the answer from the admiral. "India has always been a neutral country, if you will. Are we developing a stronger alliance with them? You mentioned them as part of the Quad. Do they consider themselves a member of something of that nature?" King asked. In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence. The US has been favouring making Quad a security architecture to check China's growing assertiveness. Admiral Davidson also said that the current state of US-India relations presents a historic opportunity to deepen bilateral defence ties and solidify what he described as the defining partnership of the 21st century. The US and Indian navies are now securely sharing information, and India has substantially increased its acquisition of US defence equipment, he said. The United States strongly supports India's establishment of an information fusion centre focusing on maritime domain awareness, which will improve maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region and Bay of Bengal, he said. The two countries, he said, concluded several agreements, including the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement in 2018, which has greatly enhanced information sharing and interoperability. The Industrial Security Annex, signed in December 2019 allows for the transfer of technologies in support of defence production while the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement allows sharing of unclassified geospatial information. The two countries also signed in October 2020 an agreement on Navy-to-Navy Information Sharing. "Defence sales are at an all-time high with India operating US-sourced platforms such as P-8s, C-130Js, C-17s, AH-64s, CH-47s, Precision Guided-Excalibur Munitions, and M777 howitzers," he told lawmakers adding that in February, India agreed to acquire Apache and MH-60R multi-mission helicopters worth $3.1 billion and is considering other US systems. USINDOPACOM defines the security relationship with India as a strategic imperative, Davidson said. "We expect substantial progress on interoperability and information sharing, service-level and joint military-to-military cooperation and exercises like TIGER TRIUMPH and MALABAR, and an increase in quadrilateral collaboration between India, Australia, Japan, and the United States as the relationship continues to mature, he said. HARRISBURG, Pa., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), H.R. 842. Of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation, ten Representatives co-sponsored the legislation: Brendan Boyle, Matt Cartwright, Madeleine Dean, Mike Doyle, Dwight Evans, Brian Fitzpatrick, Chrissy Houlahan, Conor Lamb, Mary Gay Scanlon, and Susan Wild. The officers of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, President Rick Bloomingdale, and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder issued the following statements: "Working people across the Commonwealth and the Country have made their voices heard, and today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the PRO Act for the second time. Union members present and future are beyond excited to seize this opportunity to fight for economic justice in the 21st century. This is the most significant piece of Labor Law reform to expand workers' rights on the job in nearly eight decades," stated President Rick Bloomingdale. "This is a time for action. Pennsylvania has a legacy of worker power and the courage to fight for what's right. It was in my hometown of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where the United States Supreme Court upheld the National Labor Relations Act's constitutionality. The PRO Act is the next step in what has been a painfully slow process to ensure workplace justice is a reality for all," remarked Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO urges our U.S. Senators to support the swift passage of the PRO Act. Senator Bob Casey serves as a co-sponsor in the Senate, and we are proud of his constant support for workers' rights. SOURCE PA AFL-CIO Related Links www.paaflcio.org On Wednesday, signs at a Walmart store on the East Side told customers and employees that they had to wear face masks still. George Dunn gladly complied. Dunn, 86, didnt wear just any mask. His featured air filters hed added himself. He also wore plastic gloves. We can only do things that we can control, he said. Gov. Greg Abbotts orders lifting Texas mask mandate and occupancy limits at businesses took effect Wednesday. Yet many San Antonians continued donning face coverings during their trips to the store. And some retailers still required shoppers and store employees to mask up despite the controversy thats raged over masks rules in the last year. Theyve also kept in place signage and floor stickers reminding patrons to social-distance. Operators must display whether masks are required at the entrance to their businesses under orders by Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Mayor Ron Nirenberg. We think its important to the person coming to that business to know whether theyre entering a safe environment or not and let them make that decision, Wolff said Tuesday at his daily COVID-19 media briefing with the mayor. On ExpressNews.com: Lifting of coronavirus rules splits business owners South Park Mall will continue requiring visitors and employees to wear masks, and most of its tenants are, too, said general manager Christina Crouch. The same goes for shops at the Pearl. Customers must wear masks while ordering inside the Bottling Department food hall, though they can order mask-free outside and have food delivered to their table, said Elizabeth Fauerso, the Pearls chief strategy and marketing officer. Brookfield Properties, which operates North Star Mall and the Shops at La Cantera, is strongly encouraging visitors to wear face coverings. While we are adhering to the government mandate, we ask our community to make smart, safe decisions when coming into our centers, spokeswoman Rachel Wille said. Our retailers make their own decisions within their spaces, and we support their policies. We ask that our guests be mindful and considerate of other shoppers while visiting our center, she said. For his part, Dunn said he was surprised Abbott decided to lift the mandate. Hed received both vaccine shots, and plans to keep wearing a mask. Dorothy Gallanos does, too. She wore a turquoise mask to an H-E-B store on the North Side. I love this, she said, pointing to the mask. I dont care what they say. You dont have to. Yes, you do. Gallanos, 85, said she generally likes Gov. Abbott but is a little irked about his order undoing the mask mandate. You think about other people, too, she said. Im not going to spread something to them. Of course, not everyone favors mandatory mask-wearing. At another H-E-B store on the North Side, shopper Juan Flores said wearing a mask should be up to the individual. However, he doesnt take a hard line on face masks. Flores said he will abide by stores mask policies and he will continue requiring employees at his business to wear masks. There are a lot of people for not wearing a mask and there are a lot of people who still want to protect themselves, said Flores, 50. You just have to respect what their feelings are. Wongs Bodega in the Southtown area is strongly encouraging customers to wear masks and requiring employees to do so. Owner Raul Martinez-Salinas said he and his staff have had friends and family members sickened by COVID-19. Some died. I think were at a point right now where everybody gets it, he said. Everybodys really respectful. Harjeet Ghuman, owner of Himalayan Bazar on Frederickburg Road, requires customers and his employees to wear face masks. No exceptions, he said. It is too soon. No one got surly about mask-wearing at his shop on Wednesday, Ghuman reported. A year into the coronavirus pandemic, many San Antonians are used to putting on face coverings whenever they leave the house. Oralia, who was shopping at a H-E-B store on the South Side, said its part of her routine. And if its protecting her and those around her, shell continue wearing it. Im OK with it, said Oralia, who declined to give her last name. Vangie Jimenez, 67, knew the elimination of the states mask order was coming. As she loaded items into her car at a Walmart Supercenter on the South Side, she said she plans to keep wearing a mask for her own safety and also for those around her. To me, its much better, she said. Though it took about a day and a half to get appointments, she and her husband have both been vaccinated for COVID-19, she added. Citing the growing number of Texans who have received COVID-19 vaccinations and decreasing infection rates, Abbott said March 2 that he would end the states mask mandate and allow all businesses to operate at full capacity. Public health experts and elected officials in San Antonio blasted his decision. Access to vaccines is still limited, they said, and rolling back safety measures now is dangerous. On ExpressNews.com: Here's what to know as Gov. Abbott lifts COVID mask restrictions today Were going to have a lot more people die and were going to have a lot more people getting sick, Wolff said last week. The end of the mandate is dividing local business owners. Some are overjoyed that Abbott lifted the requirement; they long for a return to normalcy and better economic times. Others fear Abbotts move comes too soon and will spark confrontations between customers and staff. Youre always darned if you do and darned if you dont, said Aaron Blanco, owner of The Brown Coffee Co., last week. I have had, through the past year, people pull me aside and say, Why the hell is no one wearing a mask in this place? And then Ive also had people say, Why are you forcing everybody to wear a mask? H-E-B is asking customers to wear masks, offering free masks to those without one and keeping signs and announcements about mask-wearing at stores. Most of the time customers comply, said spokeswoman Dya Campos. Mask-wearing isnt a choice for H-E-B employees and vendors. The San Antonio-based company requires them to cover up. Target will continue requiring customers to wear masks and providing disposable masks. Employees stationed at store entrances, signage and announcements will remind them to put on face coverings, a spokesperson said. Nichole Hayes, who stopped by a Target store on the West Side, said she plans to keep wearing a mask regardless of stores policies. Until the pandemic fades away, I have zero issues wearing a mask, said Hayes, 25. madison.iszler@express-news.net Avanesian issued the warning after health authorities registered the largest single-day number of cases in more than two months. The Armenian Ministry of Health reported in the morning that 748 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past day, sharply up from an average of 183 cases a day recorded in February. The daily number of officially confirmed infections averaged 407 in the first ten days of March. As we predicted last week, we have a major increase in the disease, Avanesian told a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. Right now there are 6,772 active cases and 901 of these people are hospitalized. Avanesian said that the nine Armenian hospitals treating COVID-19 patients currently have about 100 vacant beds and the authorities are setting up more such beds to cope with the growing number of serious cases. But I want to warn that the number of beds is not unlimited and everything must be done to make sure that the number of patients does not exceed our [hospital] capacity and that we again dont have patients who cannot be hospitalized and have to stay at home, she said. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian expressed concern at the worsening epidemiological situation in Armenia. He urged citizens to comply with sanitary rules set by his government following the onset of the pandemic last year. Pashinian did not say whether the authorities are planning to resume a strict enforcement of those rules, which include mandatory mask-wearing in all public areas. The authorities largely stopped fining people not wearing masks following the September 27 outbreak of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The daily number of new COVID-19 cases reported by them grew rapidly as a result. It began steadily falling in mid-November. Few Armenians now wear masks not only on the street but also in shops. Cafes and restaurants across the country have remained open since last May. Health experts believe that recent rallies held in Yerevan by both the Armenian opposition and the government have also contributed to the resurgence of coronavirus cases. On March 6, the Center for Childrens Literature at Bank Street College of Education in New York City hosted a virtual mini-conference on Latinx childrens literature. The conferences third edition focused on Mexican American themes and featured David Bowles as the keynote speaker, who is the recipient of the Bank Street Childrens Book Committees 2019 Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry for They Call Me Guero and two Pura Belpre Honors. Whole Neighborhoods Inside Us: Community and Belonging in Picture Books Alexandra Aceves, editor at Junior Library Guild, served as moderator for the first panel, starting off by introducing each author before interrogating the very idea of Mexican American identity, asking: What does Mexican American mean to you and where do you find yourself situated within that category? How does it shape your work, if it does? Panelist Matt de la Pena, author of Last Stop on Market Street and several other picture books, and YA novels including Mexican WhiteBoy, talked about his experience growing up with teenage parents by the border in San Diego, where he was mostly raised with the Mexican side of his family while also being half-white. I guess the position I often write from is feeling on the margins of that experience, he admitted. I was the lightest. My Spanish wasnt very strong. I was always on the side of things wishing I could be more in the middle of it in a time when we were taught to assimilate. Its a very complicated background. I love what I see now. Its different; I think theres an embrace of culture. Donna Barba Higuera, Pura Belpre Honor recipient and author of Lupe Wong Wont Dance and El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!, revealed that she related to a lot of what de la Pena said. I grew up in central California, she said. Its very much agriculture and oil-filled so theres a big migrant community, but my family had been there quite some time. I also had one parent who was Mexican American, second-generation, while my mothers side was white and Native American. I spent time with both sides so there was a switching back and forth, an assimilation. There were certain situations where I couldnt speak Spanish because where I grew up it could be dangerous. Yuyi Morales, six-time Pura Belpre winner and author-illustrator of Dreamers, along with many other picture books for children, offered a different perspective on what it means to be Mexican American. I grew up in Mexico and I only became something else when I got to the United States, she began. I remember Isabel Campo speaking once and using [the term] Latina for herself. I thought, Why do I call myself Latina? Thats something that only happens when we get to the United States. Only then do you begin to see yourself as part of a Latinx community. Although we look for similarities to find our strength, it makes me wonder what happens when we look at the differenceswhen we see those differences not as something we have to defend against but [as something] that we are curious about and celebrate as a part of our connections. Isabel Quintero, author of Gabi, A Girl in Pieces and most recently the picture book My Papi Has a Motorcycle, agreed with Morales. I think even when we talk about being Mexican American there are differences everywhere, she said. My experience as a light-skinned Chicana is going to be different from my brother, who is moreno, or my mom or my dad. Growing up, I never saw myself as American. In my household, my mom would talk about los Americanos and mean white or Black folks. I was made aware of my position as Other at a very young age from them and my classmates. What does it mean to be Mexican Americanoutside of nationalism, imperialism, or all these things that other ourselves? This is who I am in this country, these are my experiences, and this is how I see the world. Aceves was interested in exploring the tensions inherent within an umbrella term like Latinx, asking panelists where on that Mexican vs. Pan-Latinx spectrum they were drawing from in making these books. Morales opened up about how in creating Dreamers she drew a lot from her Mexican-specific experience immigrating to the United States. Everything I am is always going to show in my books, she said. Higuera revealed that the seed of her picture book El Cucuy Is Scared, Too! came from a personal prompt to write about what scared her the most as a child. In writing the book, she said, she realized how common the mythological figure is in Latinx folklore, while it still retains its own differences and particularities. Quintero brought up salient points on writing with specificity as there is no universal Latinx story. Pena agreed, saying, In being specific and writing what you know, youre trusting the reader to take what they need to from it. Morales had the last word, which was a poignant one. Sometimes we have this attitude towards children where we feel like we are the saviors who are bringing them the books that they need, so they can become better people, she explained, especially when you are talking about children who come from all the way down the continent. We think they will come to the United States and receive our literature and finally become something they were not when they were in their countries of originor when they only had the wisdom and knowledge of their families. We should not go into this thinking we are going to save children from their own lives, their own identities. To me, children are perfect. We should be learning from children, not trying to transform them into what we think they should be. Middle Grade Stories of Resistance and Healing Carla Espana, course instructor at the Bank Street College of Education, moderated the next panel and stated that in order to acknowledge both the weight and possibility of this moment together she would ask the panelists: what is a current source of healing for you, whether it be a practice, a song, or a memory? The wound is big; the wounds are many, Aida Salazar, arts activist and author of The Moon Within and Land of the Cranes, replied. Im always in the process of healing: using my life, how I move in the world, and the projects that I embark on as a source of healing. Ernesto Cisneros, author of 2021 Pura Belpre winner Efren Divided and a teacher for 20 years, who teaches in his hometown of Santa Ana, Calif., admitted that its been a difficult time. Last week, some of the detention centers reopened and I made the mistake of listening to some of the things being said. I was really hurt. So one way Im healing is [through] events like this and watching the industry slowly changing a little bit for the better. Alexandra Diaz, author of the ALA Notable and Pura Belpre-nominated middle grade novel The Only Road, along with its sequel The Crossroads, said, I wish I could say Im doing the same things that Aida and Ernesto are. My healing is usually being outside, walking the dogs, and I am fortunate I live in an open space. There are many places you can be in nature and be alone, which has always been very important to me. After Espana asked each of the authors about the spark behind their books, she asked: Can you walk us through some of your writing rituals or routines, the ways you navigated this process of developing these characters and experiences? How do you navigate that writing process while also taking care of yourself? Thats a tough one, Cisneros said with a laugh. I dont have the smartest way of going about this. I just embrace that [discomfort] and I put myself through those experiences. For example, Efren from Efren Divided is U.S.-born and I was also U.S.-born. I had family who werent. I always wondered why I was afforded that special right, a certain life that they werent. Im a method writer; I write from the heart. My agent calls it underwear writing, where you just bare it all. Ive lived a lot of these experiences, I re-live them as I write them. Its devastating. I wasnt at my healthiest point after writing this book. And it took its toll. Salazar said, Part of my writing process is listening. I have to be a really, really good listener in order to be able to conveywith authenticity, with heart, with emotionall the things that I want to. Ive been listening for a long time, intently. Ive wanted to be a writer since I was a child. So I think practicing that and studying a lot of craft and reading and deconstructing books are all strategies I use to write. However, Land of the Cranes came not from these traditional ways of practice but a deeper, higher consciousness. It came through me and all the people Id listened to in my life from my family, my ancestors, my tia, my tio, who all informed it in different ways. I agree with a lot of what Aida said about listening to your surroundings and yourself, Diaz expanded. I often put myself into my characters shoes and its very hard, like Ernesto said. Its challenging and heart-wrenching. You make yourself vulnerable as well when youre writing these stories. For me, that is such a big part of the creative process, asking myself, how would I behave in these kinds of situations? What are some of the things that would affect me? What would scare me or not scare me? But also you have to realize your characters are individuals. There will always be a part of you in the characters you write and at the same time they are not you. They need to make their own choices, their own mistakes. Espanas final question was about the appearance of influential teachers in all the authors books and what from their life informed these characters. Diaz admitted she spent her childhood being homeschooled so didnt have many good teacher role models. I write teachers I wish I had when I was younger. Salazar mentioned that shes a former teacher and currently homeschools her children. I found that my students always learned through the arts in more powerful ways than intellectual, non-project-based work. So I wanted my character to be a product of arts integration. Cisneros explained he created the character of Mr. Garret for two reasons. First, to give a shout-out to teachers, especially one of his high school teachers, who was the first teacher he felt cared about him. Sometimes, you have to believe in the people that believe in you and sometimes that is enough. And second, after 20 years of teaching, he needed a reminder to himself of why he was teaching. The panel ended with Espana requesting the panelists share any organizations they could recommend people support and follow in order to take the work off the page. Aida mentioned Tsuru for Solidarity, a Japanese American multi-generational organization that is helping to shut down detention centers formed by survivors or descendants of survivors of the WWII internment camps that detained Japanese-Americans. Ernestos choices were Never Again Action, a Jewish organization doing similar work, and Border Angels, which organizes various activities such as bond programs, day-laborer outreach, and collaborations with Water Drop that ensure undocumented migrants have access to water when traveling through the desert. Alexandras recommendation was Libras Para el Viaje, a book drive started by adult author Denise Chavez to provide books for people who are detained or awaiting trial. Literary Dignity: Centering Latinx Kids in Books and Boardrooms David Bowless titles include the graphic novel Rise of the Halfling King: Tales of the Feathered Serpent and The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande, which he co-authored with Adam Gidwitz. Bowles delivered closing remarks as the keynote speaker. He touched on where we are, where were going, and where the focus should be. I dont want to belabor the point, weve all seen the stats, Bowles began. Less than 8% of the books published for kids each year are written by authors from communities of color. Yet 25% of these books feature protagonists of colors. Were facing a two-pronged problemequity and representation. Its hard to decide which one we should address and we often try to do both. What is representation? Bowles asked. One mistake that publishingand some authorshave made is to imagine that #OwnVoices must represent an entire community. Thats impossible. Its really depressing that publishing and readership expect this of authors. Personally, I cant tell a story that is universally applicable to every Mexican American, much less every Latinx person. But I can draw on my identity and experience to construct a story about a very specific character or group of characters, while I put in the work that is required. It is work at the end of the day. Even for those books that are #OwnVoices. Then, not only through cultural lens specifics, but also through character-level specifics, readers of all backgrounds will recognize the universal truths that emerge from specificityalthough no book can be a perfect mirror. Individual actors are not the main cause behind the representation and equity problems we are facing, Bowles said. Rather, it is the publishing industry itself. White hegemonys strangle grip on the literary establishment is [the problem.] That is what needs to be addressed before taking marginalized authors to task for imperfect representation. Big Publishing isnt willing to do what needs to be done: redistribute resources, retire older white professionals, actively recruit BIPOC authors and editors. Instead, [publishing is] shifting the responsibility to the author in an ugly inversion of responsibility. Thats where we need to startequity. If 18% of the U.S. population is Latinx then, in an equitable society, roughly an equivalent amount of books for kids, 25% of whom are Latinx, would be published. If that were the case, we [as authors] wouldnt be shouldered with the responsibility of representing every Latinx in the country, and be freed up to write stories that reflect the vast diversity of this community. Bowles concluded by saying, The work has really only begun. WALLOON LAKE, MICH. -- The quiet Northern Michigan village where famed American author Ernest Hemingway spent his boyhood summers is planning a years worth of activities and special events in honor of his connection to the region. Walloon Lake, which sits along a lake of the same name between Boyne City and Petoskey, is home to Windemere cottage the simple summer home of Hemingways parents, Clarence and Grace, that still is owned by family descendants. Hemingways early experiences in the areas woods and waters are credited with shaping his life and writing. The region is featured prominently in his posthumously published book, The Nick Adams Stories. Those short stories are to be highlighted in the first of Walloon Lakes 2021 Hemingway activities Walloon Lake Reads: The Nick Adams Stories, which kicks off on Thursday, April 1 and runs through mid-May. A Hemingway Birthday Celebration is also planned for Wednesday, July 21, to commemorate the date of Hemingways birth in 1899. The celebration will include a handful of family-friendly events. The main Hemingway Homecoming event will be held Labor Day weekend, September 3-6, and will feature the unveiling of historical installations in downtown Walloon Lake. The installations will be focused on Hemingway and other aspects of the villages development and growth at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. Throughout the year, various Walloon Lake businesses specifically Hotel Walloon, Walloon Lake Inn and Barrel Back Restaurant will be showcasing various foods and beverages in honor of Hemingway. Themed lodging packages will focus on activities that the Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning author enjoyed, such as fly fishing. More information and updates on the events can be found on the Village of Walloon Lakes website at WalloonLakeMi.com and on Facebook at Facebook.com/WalloonLakeMi. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was allegedly pushed by unknown miscreants while campaigning for West Bengal assembly elections in Nandigram, has suffered severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, right shoulder, forearm and neck, a senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital said in a medical bulletin issued late Wednesday night. After the preliminary medical tests conducted on the TMC supremo, the doctors at the hospital decided to closely monitor Banerjee, who has been complaining of chest pain and breathlessness since the alleged attack at Nandigram in Purba Medinipore district earlier in the evening, for the next 48 hours. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee brought to SSKM Hospital, Kolkata The CM Banerjee claims she suffered an injury after a few people pushed her at Nandigram pic.twitter.com/UnZVSQVPzT ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2021 "The Trinamool Congress chief has a slight fever and has been shifted to a special ward at the hospital's VVIP Woodburn Block soon after the MRI at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences," he added. "We will keep her under observation for the next 48 hours. There will be more tests needed to be done, and after evaluating her condition we will decide on our next course of treatment," a doctor, part of the team treating Mamata Banerjee, was quoted as saying by PTI. Doctors conducted an X-ray on the Chief Minister minutes after she was taken to the Kolkata hospital from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district on Wednesday night. She is undergoing treatment at the 12.5 special cabin of Woodburn Block of the SSKM Hospital. The state government has constituted a team of five senior doctors to treat Banerjee. The team consists of one cardiologist, an endocrinologist, a general surgery doctor, an orthopedist and a medical doctor. Banerjee sustained injuries on her left leg and waist as she fell on the ground after she was allegedly pushed by unknown miscreants while campaigning for assembly elections in Nandigram. The TMC chief has alleged that she was attacked by some unknown miscreants from the back and called it a conspiracy by BJP. However, local residents and some eye-witnesses have outrightly rejected the claim and said that she was not "attacked." Earlier, Banerjee had filed her nomination to contest the ensuing assembly elections from the Nandigram seat. Meanwhile, Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal Minister said, Cowards have been trying to stop Mamata Banerjee but no one has been able to. Firstly, state ADG Law & Order was removed then DG & now with this... I'm surprised to see how EC, who made all changes, is silent. They must take responsibility. Cowards have been trying to stop Mamata Banerjee but no one has been able to. Firstly state ADG Law & Order was removed then DG & now with this... I'm surprised to see how EC, who made all changes, is silent. They must take responsibility: Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal Minister pic.twitter.com/eJUuN7I0ff ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2021 We (TMC party leaders) have decided that on March 11 we will go to the Election Commission and keep this matter in front of the constitutional authority, Partha Chatterjee said. The opposition BJP and Congress leaders have called it an emotional political drama by Mamata Banerjee to win the sympathy of the voters in Nandigram. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar sent across a message calling for peace and harmony soon after the incident was reported. On the other hand, the state election commission has sought a detailed report in this regard. After the alleged attack on the West Bengal Chief Minister, protests and demonstrations have also erupted in parts of the state. Live TV What the automotive world got from Bill Mitchell and Harley Earl were more than designs they were almost the exaggeration of design, he said, referring to two mid-20th-century General Motors designers. Expressive, glamorous, the essence of America. Or Hollywood. To illustrate his point, he revealed that he had bought a 1956 Chevy from eBay Motors, late one night on an impulse. I clicked on Buy It Now the seller was in Cleveland, he said. He was extremely surprised at who wanted to buy it and where I wanted it shipped. But he agreed. Mr. Callum subsequently heaped an enormous amount of love, and subtle design and engineering improvements, upon that cherry-red classic, and perhaps that helped point him toward his newest venture. (His private collection also includes a 32 Ford and a 93 Mini.) Mr. Callums first reimagined design involved bringing forward his own work on the award-winning Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish V12 cars that were in production largely unchanged from the early 1990s to 2018. Thats an eternity in the automotive world. The Vanquish was perfect for its time, but it could be better, he said. I know, because I designed it. So he has tried to visualize how the design and engineering could be advanced, unconstrained by corporate edicts on model life spans and the pence-pinching of an accounting department. The result is the Vanquish 25, of which as the number suggests 25 are being built and made available for sale. The asking price is negotiable, because prospective buyers can suggest bespoke details. Figure the bottom line would be somewhere north of half a million dollars. Despite that, Mr. Callum characterized business as brisk. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 13:59:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - - NEW DELHI, March 11 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 11,285,561 on Thursday as 22,854 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 158,189 as 126 COVID-19 patients died since Wednesday morning. There are still 189,226 Active Cases in the country, while 10,938,146 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment. - - - - WINDHOEK -- The COVID-19 variant identified in South Africa is now present in Namibia, an official confirmed on Wednesday. Ben Nangombe, executive director of Namibia's Health Ministry, made the remarks in an update of the genomic sequencing results for COVID-19 variants in Namibia. - - - - LOS ANGELES -- California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, could loosen restrictions against COVID-19 as early as this weekend. However, local authority said the county would release its own operating guidelines. According to the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy issued last August, counties in California must have fewer than 10 new infections cases a day per 100,000 people and the state as a whole must distribute 2 million vaccine doses to underserved populations, to move into less-restrictive "red" tier, which permits local businesses to partly reopen. - - - - BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina registered 7,693 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the national tally to 2,169,694, the Ministry of Health said. The ministry also reported 107 more deaths from the disease, taking the nationwide death toll to 53,359. - - - - PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia on Thursday reported 39 more local COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infected people linked to the third community transmission to 652, said a Ministry of Health (MoH) statement. Of those new cases, 22 were found in capital Phnom Penh, nine in Kandal province, six in Prey Veng province, one in Preah Sihanouk province and one in Battambang province, the statement said. - - - - BOGOTA -- Colombia registered 3,588 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking its nationwide tally to 2,285,960, said the Ministry of Health and Social Protection on Wednesday. The country reported 97 more deaths, raising the national death toll to 60,773, said the ministry. - - - - SEOUL -- South Korea reported 465 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 94,198. The daily caseload was slightly down from 470 on the previous day, staying above 400 for three straight days. The daily number of infections hovered above 100 since Nov. 8 owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases. - - - - ULAN BATOR -- Mongolia recorded 80 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, raising its national count to 3,561, the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Thursday. Seventy nine of the latest cases were detected in the capital Ulan Bator, the country's hardest hit region, while another one was reported in the central province of Tuv, the NCCD said in a statement. - - - - RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil reported on Wednesday record high daily COVID-19 deaths at 2,286 in 24 hours, bringing the national toll to 270,656, said the Ministry of Health. Brazil broke its own record for daily COVID-19 deaths the second day in a row, after 1,972 related deaths were reported on Tuesday. Enditem Lufthansa said it will expand its train-to-flight services and starting in December, extra-fast high speed trains called Sprinter will also travel to Frankfurt Airport for the first time in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn (DB). Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said: "With this joint initiative, we are strengthening the offer of mobility in Germany, thus bolstering the local economy. By intelligently linking rail and air transport, we offer our customers a seamless and convenient travel network, benefiting consumers and the environment. DB Board Member Berthold Huber said: "A good cooperation is now turning into a comprehensive partnership, the likes of which have never been seen before between Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn. At the end of the year, DB will expand the links between Germany's largest hub and the new Sprinter connections. Travel by rail will be faster and more comfortable." Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa already offer 134 daily feeder trains to Frankfurt Airport from 17 German cities. In the second half of 2021, another five cities will be added. Starting in July, for the first time, it will be possible to travel to Frankfurt Airport with Lufthansa Express Rail from Hamburg and Munich, and commencing in December from Berlin, Bremen and Munster. In addition, new Sprinter connections will make their debut from December. The rail journey between Munich and Cologne will be shortened to less than four hours. From and to Munich and Nuremberg, there will be direct trains to Frankfurt Airport twice a day in three and two hours respectively, with no additional stops in between - half an hour faster than today and precisely timed with the departure and arrival times of flights at Lufthansas hub. Enhanced comfort and more flexible booking All the tried-and-tested features of the Lufthansa Express Rail program, such as reserved seats on-board trains, connection guarantee, mileage accrual for the train journey as well as 1st class travel and access to the DB lounges for Business as well First Class customers, will of course continue to be available. Additional services will be added in the future. Express Rail trains will be easier to identify thanks to joint DB-LH branding on many railcars. LH information can also be accessed on the train via the free WLAN. Passengers booking Business or First first class, enjoy DB Premium service in 1st class and free on-board catering. Luggage transport and storage will also be easier: Deutsche Bahn prefers to use the latest generation of trains with large luggage compartments. As soon as traffic at the airports picks up again, Lufthansa Express Rail customers will be given access to the fast lane at the security checkpoint. Furthermore, when landing at Frankfurt Airport, Express Rail customers' suitcases will be prioritized. Booking Lufthansa Express Rail tickets will become even more flexible. From April 2021, feeder trains will be bookable as long as the associated connecting flight is bookable. At the same time, it pays to book early, which means tickets can be cheaper. A special highlight this year: Miles & More customers will receive double status miles on all Lufthansa Express Rail journeys, as they do on all flights. TradeArabia News Service The decision has practical implications. It will help people pursue cause-related litigation in cases where actual money damages are minimal to all but nonexistent. It also may make it somewhat more difficult for a defendant to avoid an adverse judgment by giving the plaintiffs what they want, although as Justice Kavanaugh suggested in a concurring opinion, and the chief justice agreed in his dissent, a defendant in that position could end the case by handing the plaintiff whatever paltry sum was at stake. Warning that the decision would lead to a major expansion of the judicial role, the chief justice wrote: Until now, we have said that federal courts can review the legality of policies and actions only as a necessary incident to resolving real disputes. Going forward, the judiciary will be required to perform this function whenever a plaintiff asks for a dollar. Beyond those practical implications, what makes the decision notable is what it says about conservatives current view of courts. The question of standing is an important aspect of the larger question of who gets access to the courts, and until recent years, conservative judges took a narrow view of standing. That was consistent with their constrained view of the role of the federal courts. A wide-open courthouse door was seen as an invitation to judicial activism. Once part of the conservative DNA, that attitude began to change as judicial activism, once an epithet, morphed into judicial engagement, now a laudable goal in conservative circles. After all, the courts are increasingly friendly. Why avoid them? Why not use them? I dont think its a coincidence that this case involved not just speech, but religious speech. The case was brought to the court by Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian-right litigating organization best known for representing bakers and other vendors who refuse to do business with same-sex couples celebrating their marriages. Given the reflexive deference that the current Supreme Court majority pays to any claim that comes dressed in religious garb, its easy to see the appeal of this case as a vehicle for keeping open the courthouse doors. And its not hard to see why the courts liberals, Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor, went along for the ride. Religion is not at the top of their agenda, but retaining the ability of people to vindicate all kinds of rights through access to courts certainly is. Still, their acquiescence to this decision presents a puzzle. The Trump administration appointed more than 230 judges to the federal courts. Im afraid the liberal justices may be living in a time warp if they retain the view they doubtless absorbed in law school that courts are inevitably a rights-seekers friend. This brings me back to the chief justice. His opinion was pure John Roberts: pithy, smart, with deep historical analysis leavened by a touch of sarcasm. The court sees no problem with turning judges into advice columnists was his description of what will happen with courts no longer limited to deciding live controversies. No law clerk wrote that sentence. The view of standing that Chief Justice Roberts expressed in this opinion has always been his view of standing. It was the view he expressed in one of his earliest opinions, DaimlerChrysler v. Cuno, within months of taking his seat on the court. It was the view he took in one of his most important dissenting opinions, in the 2007 case Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency. 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. BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Department of Education announced the eight school systems that will receive $50,000 Fast Forward regional planning grants. The Fast Forward initiative is designed to increase the number of high school graduates who earn an associates degree or participate in a high-demand apprenticeship program before graduation. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved the allocations today during their March meeting. In January, the Department released a request for applications to support the development of new student pathways as part of its Fast Forward initiative. Planning grants are being awarded to a lead regional secondary school system and its higher education partner in each of the states eight regions. The Department and Board of Regents each contributed $200,000 for the total grant cost of $400,000. We must be intentional in connecting students to their lives beyond high school graduation, said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. By further personalizing the high school experience, we will better prepare students and be responsive to the needs of our communities and state. The Fast Forward regional planning grant recipients are: Assumption Parish Schools DeSoto Parish Schools East Baton Rouge Parish Schools Jefferson Parish Schools Rapides Parish Schools Richland Parish Schools St. Landry Parish Schools Vernon Parish Schools Each lead school system will collaborate with postsecondary institutions, business partners and economic development organizations. The funds will be utilized to create pathways that allow students to earn a Jump Start TOPS Tech Career Diploma or a TOPS University Diploma while simultaneously earning an associates degree or participating in a staterecognized preapprenticeship/apprenticeship opportunity. Im both excited and thankful for the relationships being developed between PK-12, higher education and the workforce, said Dr. Brumley. This initial opportunity holds promise to improve Louisiana as a whole in the long term. Fast Forward was developed to blur the lines between high school, higher education and the workforce as part of a redesigned high school experience. The initiative creates opportunities for students to earn an associates degree or gain meaningful work experience through a high-demand apprenticeship program. Students on this pathway would spend grades 9 and 10 on their high school campus earning required diploma coursework in core academic areas. Students would then have the opportunity to spend grades 11 and 12 on a postsecondary campus, a high school postsecondary satellite campus or fully immersed in a state-recognized pre-apprentice or apprentice program. The initiative offers up to three pathways to students aside from traditional high school options. The Jump Start 2.0 Associates Degree Pathway allows students who plan to enter the workforce after high school to graduate with an associates degree. The TOPS University Associates Degree Pathway allows college-going students to earn two years of college credit while in high school. The High-Demand Apprenticeship Pathway allows students to enter the workforce after high school with certification in a high-demand field. Details of the initiative were first shared during Decembers joint meeting of BESE and Regents. The initiative received support from both boards. Enhancing pathway opportunities to improve career and college readiness is a shared goal of the Board of Regents, BESE, the Dual Enrollment Task Force and the Louisiana legislature and has garnered national attention. Associates degree opportunities for high school students have been underutilized in Louisiana. While the number of school systems offering an associates degree program in high school has increased, the number of students taking advantage of this opportunity remains small. Graduation cohort data from 2019 shows that only 159 out of 42,650 graduates earned both a high school diploma and an associates degree upon graduation from high school. An urgent recall has been issued for a popular milk brand after several products were found to be contaminated with a deadly bacteria. Kenilworth Dairies full cream milk in the three, two and one litre sizes with a best before date of March 15, 2021, have been recalled across Queensland due to E. coli contamination. Food Standards Australia has renewed its urgent recall of the brand after authorities first issued an alert on March 5. Kenilworth Dairies full cream milk in the three, two and one litre sizes with a best before date of March 15 have been pulled from the shelves 'Food products contaminated with E.coli may cause illness if consumed,' the recall notice states. 'Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice and should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.' The affected milk products were sold at independent grocers and the Kenilworth Dairies Cafe in Queensland between March 1 and 5. E. coli is a bacteria that can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps usually three to four days after being exposed to contaminated water or food. Consumers with any concerns is urged to contact Kenilworth Dairies on (07) 5446 0144 or email info@kenilworthdairies.com.au. The affected milk brand is sold across Queensland. Pictured is Kenilworth Dairies headquarters on the state's Sunshine Coast Is it possible that a woman who can terminate the life in her womb with no qualm or regret is at risk of withholding the love and empathy needed by the life she allows to come into the world? It may be hard to believe that there are such women, until you witness the bizarre reactions of some, hooked on pro-choice, when you bring up the subject of abortion. To the everlasting dismay of hardcore pro-choicers, the dead-end wall of legality constructed by judges who pretend to follow the Constitution does not stop the hard questions that they refuse to face regarding the termination of human life. The time is past overdue, however, to face those questions squarely and honestly. And I ask one rarely asked: How are love and empathy central to the wellbeing of human life switched on and off? Im reminded of the mental switch that allows a hunter to kill a deer yet remain locked against harming a fellow human being. In the case of human life and death, a matter that tops all others, the separation of mind and feeling that allows a woman to accept or reject the baby developing in her womb is a direct and immediate threat to a human life. A mind so blurred or dulled by pro-choice rhetoric as to bypass the instinct to protect human life has entered a twilight zone where sanity is absent. 9-month fetus (photo credit: Jason Wilson CC BY 2.0 license) So, for instance, if a woman wants what is developing in her womb, its a baby; if she doesnt want it, its not a baby. Huh? Well, this is what pops out when you remove the mask of pro-choice. I do wonder at times if the woman who can hold such a bizarre notion ever thanked her mother for not thinking that way when she was in the womb. The person who can believe that snuffing out human life is a right making the value of human life depend on a private decision could receive a moment of truth when facing the barrel of a gun held by someone who agrees. She or he who can detach human life from human value with such complete unconcern has been so desensitized or washed of common sense as to have become a zombie-walking member of the cult of death rolled out by phony liberals after the middle of the twentieth century. Major credit for including infants in the death cult must go to justices of the Supreme Court who, with their heads in the shadows of a penumbra, issued a formal death warrant on unborn children in 1973. Their shadowy Roe v. Wade decision was a ruling that they believed justifies the killing of unwanted babies, something that now occurs every 89 seconds...in the United States, adding to the rising death toll of more than 60 million preborn lives claimed under the guise of reproductive healthcare... . [source] Ultimate responsibility for putting an unborn child to death rests with the woman who so decides. Whatever the specific reason for it, such deliberate intervention against that childs life is an act of violence that devalues human life. Modern feminists may make some believe that the fetus is disposable tissue, like a tumor or an appendix. But to the everlasting rage of radical feminists, nature dispels that view and reveals the centrality and importance of motherhood to human wellbeing. Before the liberation of women in the last century, fringe feminists apparently never stopped to wonder why mothers have been revered in word, deed, affection, literature and art for centuries. The resulting war on the family that heated up in the 1970s became part of the culture war in America, now hotter than ever. The great many who have taken on the fight even as they are gagged, canceled, threatened with violence and/or death elected the first president in American history to seriously challenge the cultural assaults on families, on unborn children, on common sense, on common language, and on the wide-ranging adulteration of reality by false liberals in hopes of imposing their deranged way of life on everybody. But the distortions of reality from fake liberals regarding abortion must, however much they fight it, face the heat of truth. Ending a babys life because the woman carrying it doesnt want it will not stand because it has no real ground in justice. The fake claim to justice in the phrase its a womans body equating a fetus to a tumorous growth or some extraneous tissue does not alter the reality that what is being rejected and expelled is the body of someone else. This is a fact proven over and over by every person who survives that crucial step in their life. Words, thoughts, and feelings do not transform a fetus into a lump of disposable tissue for which we must all be grateful. I must ask a few more important questions: How is the deliberate extinguishing of a human life inside the womb less barbaric than killing a baby outside the womb, or less barbaric than killing an innocent adult by murder or decree? How does legalizing such termination of innocent humans differ in its brutality from sanctioning any wanton homicide? How do words like reproductive right cancel the evil of ending a human life? What stronger evidence of the intent to kill a human being is there than the infanticide committed when a baby that survives an abortion is put to death because it isnt wanted? Those who wake up in time to see the truth that deliberate abortion is a form of homicide and accept the children that come from their love-making or, unable or unwilling to care for them, offer them for adoption are acting out of a love of humanity and justice. Tacitly or outspokenly, they are rejecting the warp on reality pushed by elites with no moral sense, backed by a complicit media. The vast majority of Americans follow their hearts, even if at times they are confused about the right thing to do. For she or he who loves children will not willingly harm them at any stage of their development. They know that trashing innocent human life is no part of being human. Anthony J. DeBlasi is a lifelong culture warrior UPDATED at 3:40 A.M. EST on 2021-03-11 As protests and violent suppression by troops grind on in Myanmar, coup opponents are stepping up a campaign to make China rethink its support for the military junta, including a boycott of imports from their giant neighbor and threats against a major Chinese energy pipeline and port. China, along with Russia, have been seen as the main stumbling blocks to a meaningful response to the Myanmar crisis at the U.N. Security Council, which last month voiced concern over the state of emergency and called for the release of all those detained, but stopped short of condemning the coup. Late on Wednesday, the Council issued its strongest statement since the Feb. 1 coup. The Security Council strongly condemns the violence against peaceful protestors, including against women, youth and children, the statement said. It expresses deep concern at restrictions on medical personnel, civil society, labor union members, journalists and media workers, and calls for the immediate release of all those detained arbitrarily. The Council calls for the military to exercise utmost restraint and emphasizes that it is following the situation closely, said the statement, which was agreed after accepting the objections of China, Russia, and Vietnam to language calling the takeover a coup. Myanmar activists' threats to attack the dual oil and gas pipelines, which run from southwest Chinas Yunnan province to a U.S. $1.3 billion deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu in southern Rakhine state along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, have emerged on social media. The pipeline and port are part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a key component of Beijings multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of trade-facilitating infrastructure projects worldwide that is the signature initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Perceptions that China supports the coup among Myanmars population, which was angered when Beijing official media called the Feb. 1 ouster of Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government a cabinet reshuffle, drew hundreds to protest at Chinas embassy in Yangon last month. Following the blockade and arrests of protesters by soldiers and police in Yangons Sanchaung township on Monday, posts appeared on Facebook saying that China is providing support to Myanmars military regime, which is using lethal force to quell peaceful protesters. Some posts warned that there could be no guarantee for the security of the Kyaukphyu pipelines. The military that is trying to crush us violently has great fear of China. Every word from China counts, said a young man from Kyauktada township in Yangon. We very well know that they are afraid that plans with China will be disrupted, he said of the military regime. And since we have no weapons to fight the military, we want to let them know we can cause disruptions in our own way to the give-and-take relationship with China. Anti-junta protesters shout slogans against Myanmar's military regime during a demonstration in North Dagon township, Yangon region, March 10, 2021. Credit: RFA No goods from China An online campaign calling for a boycott of Chinese goods in protest of Beijings support for Myanmars military junta has begun in the Southeast Asian country. We feel sorry for the traders who have already imported Chinese goods, but we will try to boycott Chinese imports, said a young man from Yangons Insein township. We will only buy fruits and vegetables locally produced or imported from other countries, but not from China. Merchants should be frank and honest and tell their consumers which produce is from China and which is not, he said. We want to advise them not to import any more from China during these difficult times. Traders in the border town of Muse in northern Shan state said there now are nearly no fruit imports from China. Usually, we will see a lot of trucks bringing in fruits like oranges during this time of the year, but now we hardly see any, said a produce wholesaler from the area. The truck drivers also told us there are very few fruit trucks coming in from the other side, he added. Actually, the goods that come in depend on orders from Mandalay and Yangon, and I think the trucks now are not coming in due to the lack of orders. RFA was unable to obtain comparative trade statistics across the Myanmar-China border, which has been closed or restricted for long periods over the past year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some urban residents said they would join the boycott and stop buying Chinese products. A young man from Yangons Yankin township said that he asks shop owners where their merchandise comes from before he buys a product. If the shop is selling Chinese imports, then I wont buy anything from it, he told RFA. I don't mind products from Taiwan or Hong Kong, but I dont want anything from mainland China. An unnamed man from a Yangon IT store said nearly all the products in local markets are from China. But now with this Boycott China program, we are not buying Chinese software, he said. We dont want our money or information about us going to them. Anti-coup activists have been shunning products, such as Myanmar Beer, Andaman Gold Beer, Mandalay Rum, MyTel mobile phone service, and Ruby cigarettes, made by domestic military-related industries since February. Last month, the activist group Justice For Myanmar listed major Chinese business partners of the military junta, including big arms suppliers, mining firms, and textile companies. A Dirty List published by the Burma Campaign UK listed 12 Chinese companies as having ties to the Myanmar military. Myanmar railway workers stand by a roadside after being forced out of their homes by security forces in Yangon, March 11, 2021. Credit: RFA Raids on railway worker housing Police and soldiers continued violent crackdowns across the country on Wednesday, arresting at least 150 people in Myanmars largest city, Yangon, were they sustained the use of tear gas, smoke bombs, and live ammunition against defiant protesters. Residents in urban areas and towns have become incensed over reports of soldiers stealing rice, jewelry, and gold from homes they raid while searching for protesters in hiding. They also complain about security forces firing their rifles indiscriminately and throwing flash grenades to terrorize them. Police and soldiers also have been entering private homes to arrest protesters sheltering inside as well as the families who gave them a place to stay, locals said. Policemen raided the housing units of state railway workers in Yangon on Wednesday and drove the occupants out of their homes for refusing to quit the broader civil disobedience movement (CDM) of strikes and other actions that have supported the street protests. Authorities arrested 17 rail workers who had joined the CDM when hundreds of police and soldiers raided the staff quarters at the Mahlwagone Railway Station, though they could not find train conductors already in hiding elsewhere. We are angry that they used force to pressure those of us who have not committed any wrongdoings, said a relative of one of the railway workers. The junta warned workers who joined the CDM to leave their housing quarters, previously provided by the Railways Department. They underestimated us when they took over state power, said one of the striking workers. We joined the protests because we want our president U [honorific] Win Myint and the state counselor [Aung San Suu Kyi] to be freed. We will carry on with the movement until our leaders are released. Police and soldiers not only made the arrests but also took away rice supplies and foodstuffs distributed by NGOs to support workers who joined the CDM, witnesses said. Myanmar police seal off a major street in Sanchaung township, Yangon region, March 10, 2021. Credit: RFA Protesters chased in North Okkalapa Anti-junta protestors meanwhile continued their rallies in other townships in Yangon region. Several demonstrators were injured when police and soldiers cracked down on them with tear gas and stun grenades in Yangons North Okkalapa township. Some 150 protesters, mostly teenagers, who ran into nearby houses were chased down and arrested. Most people in houses along the streets called in the young protesters and closed their doors, said an area resident, adding that he saw police breaking down the door of one house and taking away student protesters and three family members. They also ransacked the house and took cell phones and other stuff, he said. In Sanchaung township, scores of young people gathered on Baho Street and chanted anti-military slogans in protest, though no incidents were reported. Several groups of protesters in Mandalay staged cat-and-mouse demonstrations as soldiers patrolled the main roads in large numbers. A group of people participating in a sit-in was dispersed quickly by police, witnesses said. Police in Mandalays Myingyan township used gunfire to break up a protest march of over 20,000 people, injuring one man in the face and another in the thigh, witnesses said. Security forces in Pathein, Ayeyarwady region, confronted and violently dispersed a large protest column comprising university students and ethnic Karen youths. Police broke up another column of protesters under a Spring Revolution banner, using motorcycles to track down those hiding in nearby streets, witnesses said. They were no reports of casualties or arrests. In Hpa-an and Kawkareik townships of Kayin state, hundreds of people continued anti-regime marches in nearby villages as police and soldiers occupied main roads in the cities. Similar marches also were reported in the towns of Ye and Kyaikto of neighboring Mon state. In Magway, capital of Magway region, police and soldiers used tear gas to disperse anti-military protesters and arrested at least four demonstrators, witnesses said. Striking Myanmar railway workers cross some tracks after being forced out of their homes by security forces in Yangon, March 10, 2021. Credit: RFA Not ordinary human rights violations The extreme violence committed by police and soldiers against peaceful protesters and other civilians violates the law and human rights, activists said. Groups of policemen and soldiers who severely beat protesters with batons and iron rods or arrest people who turn up dead a day later are committing serious human rights violations, said activist Nickey Diamond from the Southeast Asia-based Fortify Rights. If we are to use human rights terminology, these are crimes against humanity, he told RFA. These are not ordinary human rights violations. Under international laws, we have terms like genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, he said. These three are used to prevent crimes against ordinary people using extreme violence or brutality. Punishment for these crimes can be meted out at the International Criminal Court. In November 2019, the International Criminal Court, which tries individuals, authorized an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Myanmar military against Rohingya Muslims during a brutal crackdown in 2017 that drove 740,000 members of the minority group into Bangladesh. Myanmar also faces genocide-related charges at the International Court of Justice, the U.N.s top court, which settles disputes between nations. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Aerial photo taken on Dec. 15, 2020 shows a solar thermal electricity project in Gonghe County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Hainan in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang) WASHINGTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- There is a "huge scope" for economic cooperation, commercial and technologies exchanges between the United States and China in addressing global climate change, a renowned U.S. scholar has said. It is "tremendously important" for the world that the United States and China, currently two major emitters, to work together "in not just trying to mitigate carbon emissions, but completely transform the economic structure of the way we live," Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies, told Xinhua recently. Gupta expressed his appreciation that China's top legislature is deliberating the country's 14th Five-Year Plan which also set out a de-carbonization blueprint, peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon-neutrality by 2060. He noted that under the administration of Joe Biden, the United States has rejoined the Paris Agreement on climate change and put tackling climate crisis one of its top priorities. "I think the two sides have very well teed up to seek out these opportunities and to make immense commercial and political gains from the process," he said. "Considering that China has already gone down that line, I think there is a huge scope for economic cooperation and commercial exchange in these sectors between the United States and China," he added. Beyond that, the two sides can set "a completely new paradigm of how carbon trading (works) and how carbon intensive goods are traded across borders," the expert suggested. Gupta emphasized that climate change, like the COVID-19 pandemic, "requires everybody to be on the same page." "These are threats which one country cannot face. One continent even cannot face by itself, and it's required kind of all parties, stakeholders to come together to find solutions," Gupta said. "One must understand, reducing carbon emissions is in world's costs. It's not a free lunch. It requires sacrifices. So changes are not easy to do," he said. "Behavioral changes of the magnitude required to reduce carbon emissions are going to be very difficult." Being environmentally conscious brings about "immense business, commercial opportunities," he said, citing the emerging market of new energy vehicles in China. "This (Biden) administration in particular is looking at carbon remediation and reductions as a business opportunity (of) how to change the entire structure of the economy at a time when there's a lot of public investment required to dovetail green growth and public growth, public investment growth simultaneously," said Gupta. WATCH: Government delays bringing in Brexit import checks 'in the nick of time' The UK government has delayed the introduction of full border control processes by six months to enable businesses to focus on their recovery amid the pandemic. The development comes as a survey found that one in five directors of companies trading with the EU said they have stopped doing so in January after the Brexit trade deal was announced. Institute of Directors (IoD) survey of 900 directors published on Thursday found around 20% of companies have halted their trade with the EU. "The government has listened to businesses who have faced an unprecedented challenge during the pandemic and will now introduce full border control processes on 1 January 2022, six months later than originally planned," the Cabinet Office said. It explained that this will provide businesses with more time to prepare for changes at the border and minimise disruption as the economy gradually reopens, recognising the challenges businesses have been facing in adjusting to the new requirements, at the same time as dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. This is a positive step as it recognises what everyone in business has known for weeks now: UK-EU trade has faced, and continues to face, significant disruption and difficulty," said Adam Marshall, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce. But he said this can only be a temporary solution and "what businesses want to see is an end to the damaging political rhetoric from both sides, and a focus on improving border flow for the long-term. The UK and the EU must get back around the table and thrash out the remaining structural problems in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement." Andrew Opie, director of food & sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: "With many of the key Border Control posts currently little more than a hole in the ground, the six month easement comes in the nick of time." Story continues READ MORE: UK and European Union strike historic Brexit trade deal "We welcome the governments decision, which will ultimately reduce the impact on consumers from 1 April, who might otherwise have seen empty shelves for some products," he said, adding that the government "must not rest on its laurels, and the next six months must be used to establish and communicate the new systems with UK retailers and EU suppliers. The government also said that the latest management information shows that overall freight volumes between the UK and the EU have been back to their normal levels since the start of February. The IoD report, meanwhile, found that companies that have halted trade with the EU were narrowly split between those that indicated they had stopped trading temporarily and those who said the decision was permanent. IoD head of policy Roger Barker said the findings should serve as a call to action for government. While still a minority, the hit to trade with our largest and nearest market needs to be addressed to ensure it does not become a permanent dent in our global ambitions. Those in financial services were far more likely to be permanently stopping EU trade. Businesses said they are clearly focused on the more immediate challenges still posed by the impact of the end of transition. About 62% said they see no opportunities arising out of Brexit, while 23% said they do and 15% said they don't know, reflecting the degree to which the UK is still early on in the adjustment phase, the report said. Chart: IoD Among the 77% of IoD members who trade internationally in some form, just over a quarter indicate they have actively increased or plan to pursue more opportunities with non-EU markets in light of Brexit. A third said they were doing this regardless of the UKs exit, while 40% say Brexit will have no impact on their wider trade. Engagement with the EU to smooth and enhance our new trading arrangements is urgently needed. Now that the UK is independently sovereign, proactive cooperation on an equal footing must be the priority," said Barker. Business wants to see a twin-track approach to stabilising and repairing our trade with the EU, while robustly pursuing new deals with other countries that will unlock new markets and cut costs to trading with old friends," he added. Earlier, it was reported that three in four UK manufacturers are facing export delays due to Brexit. Make UK, the industry group for the manufacturing sector, said 74% of its members had faced delays in the past three months and many were still struggling to get goods through ports. WATCH: 10 ways to Brexit proof your finances Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. LJUBLJANA (dpa-AFX) - Slovakia's trade surplus rose in January, as exports rose and imports increased, data from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic showed on Thursday. The trade balance registered a surplus of EUR 241.2 million in January from EUR 5.5 million in the same month last year. In December, the trade surplus was EUR 150.6 million. Economists had forecast a surplus of EUR 116.0 million. Exports fell 0.1 percent annually in January and imports declined 3.6 percent. On a seasonally adjusted basis, trade surplus was EUR 214.9 million in January. 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. DEGEGLUXID pocket inhaler is effective both as prophylaxis and as a therapy Swiss startup, DG-Nika AG research team has developed a solution for a new approach to protecting the population from a serious illness, a pocket inhaler containing the active ingredient 2-DG (2-Deoxy-D-glucose). The DEGEGLUXID pocket inhaler is effective both as prophylaxis and as therapy. The device by DG-Nika AG solution is similar to asthma spray. The formulation consists of 2-DG, a well-known molecule from the glucose family, and is inhaled in tiny particles through the mouth into the respiratory tract. 2-DG disrupts the energy balance in the infected host cells along the entire path to the lungs. This means that virus reproduction is blocked or severely restricted, allowing the body's immune system to combat the infection or to keep it at a low level. Successful tests in animals The molecule 2-DG (2-Deoxy-D-glucose) is the active ingredient in this novel approach to therapy, operating as a "Trojan Horse" by blocking the synthesis of virus particles and leading to the cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 dying off. Professor Piotr Kuna, chairman of Department II for Internal Medicine at the Medical University in odz and head of the department for Internal Medicine, Asthma and Allergies at the Barlicki University Hospital in odz, is assisting the DG-Nika AG international development team. Comprehensive testing has proceeded with the greatest success, the research leader says. "By disrupting the cell's metabolism and blocking the signaling pathways for glucose, we achieve a huge reduction in virus production, along with the apoptosis of the host cells." The tests on the respiratory epithelium show both prophylactic and therapeutic effects. Cleared European Medical Agency EMA In vitro and animal, tests have both shown that the 2-DG approach has a sound basis in science. A report from the European Medical Agency (EMA) sets out that the path proposed by DG-Nika AG is credible and should be pursued further. The idea was patented in April 2020, with DG-Nika AG holding exclusive global rights. The aim is for the pocket inhaler containing the active ingredient 2-DG to be available from the second half of 2021 under the trade name DEGEGLUXID. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Staten Island, NY, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tunnel to Towers Foundation Chairman and CEO Frank Siller issued the following statement in response to the 9/11 Memorial & Museums plans to resume the traditional reading of victims' names at the World Trade Centers memorial plaza this year. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation applauds the 9/11 Memorial & Museum for giving the families of 9/11 victims the opportunity to read their loved ones' names aloud. Tunnel to Towers ensured this tradition continued in 2020 in response to the outcry from so many 9/11 victims families. We promise that should the need arise we will ensure this solemn tradition continues. Tunnel to Towers believes an in-person reading of the names of those lost on that tragic day is an essential and irreplaceable tribute, one that must be a part of the memorial ceremonies not just on the 20th anniversary, but every year. - Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is observing the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by hosting a series of events to inspire and unite all Americans. This summer, Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller will travel by foot from the Pentagon to Shanksville, PA, and then on to NYC in an act of remembrance called the NEVER FORGET Walk. Over 36 days he will walk 500 miles through six states. Along the way he will be joined by 9/11 victims' families, families of fallen first responders, catastrophically injured veterans, and Gold Star families. At the end of August, Tunnel to Towers will host a NEVER FORGET Concert" in the New York City area, featuring a soon-to-be-revealed iconic lineup of musicians to celebrate our nations heroes. Following 2020s successful Towers of Light tributes at the Pentagon and Flight 93 Memorial, the Foundation will continue this new tradition in 2021 by bringing the lights back this year. Tunnel to Towers is committed to ensuring all 2,977 lives lost on September 11, 2001 are never forgotten and honored and remembered every year. You can learn more about the Foundations anniversary plans at Tunnel2Towers.org. About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. For 20 years the Foundation has supported our nations first responders, veterans, and their families by providing these heroes and the families they leave behind with mortgage-free homes. For more about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its commitment to DO GOOD, please visit tunnel2towers.org. Follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @Tunnel2Towers. LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- President and Co-Founder of Mr. Tortilla, Anthony Alcazar, found strength and encouragement to not give up during the hardest times he faced in business. While struggling to penetrate the highly competitive tortilla industry he listened to Joel Osteen, Senior Pastor of America's largest church, Lakewood Church, and never lost faith. Competing for retail shelf space with larger companies was not an easy task, there were many times the company wanted to sell everything or just give up. "Every time I was about to throw in the towel...God spoke to me through Joel Osteen. Every time I needed strength to continue...God would make me listen to Osteen on TV, radio, and social media. It was incredible...I would love to share our story with Lakewood," said Alcazar. After a decade of overcoming major obstacles and challenges, Mr. Tortilla managed to become the #1 seller of tortillas online in the World. The company found its niche and made tacos healthy with its 1 net carb 15 calorie taco tortilla and has become a staple in the Keto community. As one of the fastest growing companies in Southern California, they're proud to employ adults with special needs and practice an all-inclusive company culture. ABOUT MR. TORTILLA Anthony and Ronald Alcazar founded Mr. Tortilla in Los Angeles, California. They felt compelled to provide a healthy and affordable tortilla, without sacrificing flavor. Growing up in Los Angeles, just like many other families, they couldn't think of a meal without tortillas and now they're causing a disruption in the tortilla industry. After graduating from UCLA and many years in development, they have finally created the world's first 15-calorie tortilla, with only one net gram of carbohydrates. The low-carb tortillas have become a staple in the low-carb, Diabetic, and Keto community. Mr. Tortilla has since become the #1 best-selling tortilla online and one of the fastest-growing companies in Southern California. For more information go to 1carb.com . Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Mr. Tortilla Related Links https://mrtortilla.com 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. Vote View Results BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The Philippines will on Friday release January numbers for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In December, imports were down 9.1 percent on year and exports fell an annual 0.2 percent for a trade deficit of $2.2 billion. Japan will see Q1 results for the large manufacturing index from BSI; in the previous three months, the index score was 21.6. New Zealand will see February numbers for the manufacturing PMI from BusinessNZ; in January, the index score was 57.5. China will provide February figures for foreign direct investment; in January, FDI was up 4.6 percent on year. Hong Kong will see Q4 numbers for industrial production; in the three months prior, industrial production sank 7.4 percent on year. 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. Its been nearly four months since Rupinder Kaurs husband has been away from home. Some of us (women) are used to living without men, who are guarding our frontiers. For the rest, its a different border where the men are. And all of us have learnt to live on the edge, says the woman from Doraha in Ludhiana, Punjab. Her husband, like thousands of other protesting farmers, has been camping in Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur on the borders of Delhi, vowing not to concede ground to what they call monstrous farm laws. This has left women across ... Even though they come from around the world, they are bonded by their mutual confidence, efforts and aspirations to conquer the sky. They are female pilots of Vietnams privately-owned budget carrier Vietjet Air. Maria Cristina Maldonado is the first female Colombian pilot working in Vietnam and among the first American captains operating 'Iron Bird' Airbus A320 in Southeast Asia. She started her career at Colombias flag carrier Avianca, flying for them for 20 years before heading to Vietnam to work for Vietjet. Maldonado got the first glimpse of the budget carrier in a local newspaper, learning it was a much-loved company in Vietnam. Vietjet is an international airline," said Maldonado. "They have witnessed the impressive development of aircraft and expansion of both domestic and inner-Asian routes. "I wondered how they can quickly win over customers and become one of the best workplaces in Asia. "The more I searched for it, the more I got interested. She was surprised and inspired knowing Vietjet was established and operated by talented women, chairwoman Nguyen Thanh Ha and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, for example. The image of a woman who leads fits my ideal," Maldonado recalled the decision-making moment. "I must come to Vietnam." She is now an excellent pilot for the carrier who has participated in repatriation flights bringing Vietnamese citizens stranded overseas due to COVID-19 as well as delivering humanitarian aid to the central region of Vietnam during the historic flood in October 2020. A miracle world in cockpits Park Ji Young from South Korea had four years serving as a cabin attendant. I flew on a flight operated by a female pilot and was impressed by her style and aura," Park observed. "She became a role model for me to pursue a career as a pilot." Park Ji Young is among Vietjets foreign pilots. Park started her new journey at the age of 33. At the time, her family and friends advised her to think over it again, saying that everything seemed to be too late and she should have focused on marriage like many other Korean women. It took her a long time to think and persuade her parents before leaving for the U.S. to study. Working at Vietjet enlightens Park about gender equality. Women and men are present at every position, from pilots to cabin attendants, mechanics to engineers," said Park. "No matter where we come from, we speak the same language. Her most memorable flight was from Incheon to Ho Chi Minh City because her parents were among the passengers. They burst into tears of pride hearing her name announced in the list of cabin crew members. Similar to Park, Kang Min Hee had an amazing 'take-off' from a cabin attendant to a pilot. Pilot Kang Min Hee, in a white shirt, used to be a cabin attendant before deciding to switch her career path. Anytime I looked into a cockpit, I was amazed by how pilots could remember and work with hundreds of buttons, switches, and joysticks," said Kang. "The world inside a cockpit is wonderful and appealing. "I had a desire to take that position. Most of the trainees at her aviation school were men. It seems to have an invisible barrier preventing women from pursuing this job," she said. "However, more and more women are breaking the long-existing prejudice to join the industry, which was supposed to be exclusive for men." Leaving South Korea to work at Vietjet, Kang was proud of the family-like working environment there. Recalling a night in Khanh Hoa Provinces Cam Ranh City, when she got a fever and received tender care from the other crew members, Kang said she realized the airline was her second home. She also admires CEO Thao the companys 'captain' who always nurtures big dreams and inspires her employees to make them come true. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Over the past year, Congress passed five bipartisan and targeted relief bills totaling $3.7 trillion to sustain our economy, support our hospitals, save small businesses and fund the development and distribution of life-saving vaccines. Now, Democrat Leadership pushed through a $1.9 trillion package that the White House Chief of Staff has deemed the most progressive domestic legislation in a generation. At a time when we should be focused on economic recovery, getting our children back to school and vaccine distribution, Washington Democrats are more concerned with appeasing their far-left base than working with Republicans to solve the serious issues that face our country. Previously passed relief packages have succeeded in supporting our economy through the worst of this crisis and more funds remain available to fuel our continued recovery. Democrats contend that this bill is necessary to defeat COVID-19, but just 1% is directed for vaccine distribution. I am supportive of additional funding where it is needed, including for restaurants, families who suffered employment loss, nursing homes and anything necessary to reopen our schools, but this package fails to recognize that many entities will receive more than is needed. For instance, the vast majority of stimulus checks will be sent to those who havent missed a paycheck during this crisis and this proposal would actually give felons, including currently incarcerated murderers, a stimulus check paid for by the taxpayers. (This is accurate.) Out-of-work Americans have received significantly supplemented unemployment compensation for much of the past year, but Democrats want to extend this benefit through September. All the while, businesses need employees to return to the workforce and fill open positions. Congress has already appropriated $74 billion for schools, and this proposal would allocate an additional $130 billion, with no requirements for in-person learning. States will receive $350 billion, on top of the $500 billion theyve already been provided, despite the fact that in many states, like California, revenue is up. Democrats even included a provision for only federal workers to receive up to $35 an hour in addition to their full salary to care for a child who is learning from home. Clearly, federal workers are a very important special interest voter for the Democrats. President Joe Biden took office promising unity, but this package is a clear indication that such rhetoric was not sincere. Ten Republican senators went to the White House to negotiate a compromise, yet nothing they suggested was included in the final text. In the House, I offered amendments that would have provided flexibility for the Paycheck Protection Program, and to allow funding allocated to the states to be used by state and local governments for rural broadband and infrastructure. Both amendments were rejected. Fortunately, the Senate bill added $10 billion for rural broadband development. Since Democrats took control of government in January, executive orders were issued that have rattled the energy industry and driven up gas prices an average of 46 cents, disproportionately affecting low-income Americans. A reversal of policies from the Trump administration has led to a serious and avoidable crisis at the southern border, and now we have enormous bailouts that will have to be paid for by future generations. To solidify this form of governing and their policies, House Democrats passed HR 1, which should be called the Washington Politicians Act as it allows for taxpayer-funded campaigns, and usurps the U.S. constitutional authority of state legislatures to determine their election rules, such as voter ID laws. It is now more important than ever that the American people inform their Democratic members of the House and Senate that these bills are not in the interests of the vast majority of Americans and are being sold as something that they are not. These policies cater to special interests and will only result in enormously expanding our national debt and the role of the federal government in our lives. (Meuser represents the 9th Congressional District of Pennsylvania) by Vladimir Rozanskij The network accused by the cyber surveillance agency of failing to fulfil 2,500 of the 28,000 requests for deletion of content relating to suicide incitement among adolescents, child abuse images and information on the use of narcotics. Moscow (AsiaNews) - March 10 Russian authorities decided to limit the activity of the social media platform Twitter, accusing it of numerous infringements and of not deleting prohibited information. The Twitter network is being subjected to slowdowns, applied under norms governing the "Sovereign Runet", the Russian variant of the internet. The Russian cyber surveillance agency, Roskomnadzor, justified its charges against Twitter and communicated the blocking measures, which were extended to all mobile devices and 50% of stationary ones, due to the non-compliance of to meet the demands of the Russian authorities. The measure adopted resulted in a general blocks on access to all state sites, from the Kremlin to the government and parliament, which were reactivated in fits and starts during the day. The problems arose from the use of "channellers" to block Twitter, as explained by the Ministry of Finance. The technologies activated allow authorities to slow down or prevent the loading of photo and video content, without limiting written texts, with the declared intention of "minimizing setbacks for Twitter users". This is the first time that these decisions, which have been repeatedly threatened, have been applied in Russia. Since 2017, the authorities have sent over 28,000 requests for content deletion to the Twitter network. As of March 10, 2021, over 2,500 of these requests remain unanswered, including suicide incitement among adolescents, images of sexual abuse of children and information on the use of narcotics. If Twitter continues to ignore Roskomnadzors requests, its application could be totally blocked in Russia, the agencys executives said. In addition to many ordinary internet users, the complaints lodged by many companies that use Twitter for work matters, such as banks, have stood out, which have had serious problems in sending wire transfers and in other services, given that Twitter also serves as a financial market source. Even the Facebook network has been defined as "the next candidate" for reduction of traffic in Russia, as Antonij Gorelkin, a member of the parliamentary committee on information policy, told Interfax. He noted that Facebook, unlike Twitter, "at least occasionally tries to explain something, in response to the demands of the Roskomnadzor," but still persists in retaining information that contradicts Russian laws. Gorelkin adds: "Twitter does not take down anything under the guise of politics, and for this reason it keeps accounts linked to the drug and child abuse mafia, refusing to give explanations of the criteria with which it works and even ignoring, in a demonstrative way, the miserable fines that are imposed". Gorelkin assures that "our authorities are objective and very patient, and intend to regulate these problems with rigorous legal mechanisms". The slowdown in activity greatly affects Twitter's advertising traffic, leading its customers to choose other platforms; "Twitter will lose a lot of customers, because the Russian segment of internet advertising is highly competitive," the deputy added. The war on social media platforms, coupled with the ongoing cyber warfare against Americans and Chinese, could lead Russia to global cyber isolation, similar to the condition of North Korea. The US president, Joe Biden, said that the biblical principle "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" will be applied to Russia in the field of information technology, as reported by the New York Times last March 7. Eric Cooper assumed the man wearing military fatigues at the San Antonio Food Bank was there to volunteer. About 40 members of the Texas National Guard have been assigned to the food bank since April, assisting with logistics and grocery distributions. Cooper, the food bank's president, asked the man in uniform if he, too, was there to help. The man said no. He was there to get food. READ ALSO: No lettuce for San Antonio man who sued H-E-B alleging cashier whacked him with cucumber The encounter struck a chord with Cooper. He says that the percentage of people with military connections served by the San Antonio Food Bank has more than doubled from 15 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic to 37 percent. "It's just humbling for us to have this opportunity to serve someone who has a connection to the military either active or former because of the sacrifices that they've made for all of us," Cooper said Thursday. About 45,000 of the roughly 120,000 people the food bank feeds each week across South Texas are either active duty, veterans, or military family members. Hunger can be "camouflaged" in the military, Cooper said. "They're so strong and independent and self-sufficient that many people assume there's not a need," Cooper said. "They forget that behind the uniform is an individual and a family. Sometimes those families are having a hard time and can find themselves struggling, as many do. Our privilege is that we're able to do what we can to help." While members of the military have a steady paycheck, they were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, Cooper said. Because families move so frequently, spouses often work in the hard-hit hospitality industry. Veterans who may be struggling with PTSD or the transition to civilian careers were also affected. One silver lining was that the magnitude of the food insecurity crisis highlighted by images like the Express-News drone photograph was so visible it reduced the stigma in asking for help. About 2.5 million people live in the 16 counties served by the San Antonio Food Bank. Cooper estimated that 900,000 of them are potentially food insecure. The food bank has provided food, in many cases biweekly, to about 625,000 people. The number of people seeking groceries at the food bank surged by 40 percent during the Texas winter storm. The organization, after pivoting to providing meals because residents without power could not cook, served 75,000 people in one three-day stretch. A flood of volunteers answered the food bank's call during the storm, like they have throughout the pandemic. "It's been humbling to see the amount of support that is coming," Cooper said. "And even more humbling to see the demand." Hyderabad, March 11 : Hyderabad police on Thursday night closed almost all flyovers of the city in view of 'Shab-e-Meraj' or the holy night. Except Greenland's Flyover, PVNR Express way and Langar house Flyover, all other flyovers were closed for vehicular traffic. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said in order to relieve traffic congestion, to maintain smooth flow of traffic and to ensure public safety, flyovers will remain closed on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. He said this was done to avoid any untoward incidents, road accidents and for the safety of commuters. He appealed to citizens to cooperate with the traffic police. Special congregations are held at mosques to mark 'Shab-e-Meraj', a significant event in Islamic history. It is celebrated on 27th day of month of Rajjab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. Literally meaning night of ascent, 'Shab-e-Meraj' marks the journey of Prophet Muhammad from Grand Mosque in Mecca to Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and from there to heavens. Mosques in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana were illuminated for 'Shab-e-Meraj'. After the night prayers (Namaz-e-Isha), congregations were held where the Islamic scholars highlighted the significance of 'Shab-e-Meraj' and the Prophet's teachings. Chennai, March 11 : Puducherry LG Tamilisai Soundararajan has cleared all the pending projects which were held up her predecessor Kiran Bedi including the grant-in-aid (GIA) to 33 schools for the payment of salaries and pension of around 800 staff members and 300 pensioners. Several welfare schemes, salary disbursals and other payments were kept in abeyance by Bedi for the past four years. The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is trying to break grab the power in the poll-bound state, is upbeat at the decision of the LG and finds that the decisions of the LG have gone down well with the public and would do good to the party. A Namasivayam, senior leader of the state, who resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP told IANS, "The new LG understands the pulse of the people and sanctioning the GIA is a humanitarian decision. The staff and the pensioners were suffering from the last 14 months and now it is the time for them to rejoice." Soundararajan has also sanctioned open bars and distilleries which were shut down owing to irregularities during the Covid period. However, around 15 bars were not allowed to function as irregularities were not cleared. The roads which were destroyed during the cyclones, Nivar and Burevi, were not being repaired as the then LG Kiran Bedi didn't cleared the files. She had refused to approve the new rates fixed by the V Narayananswamy government. The new LG has now sanctioned an amount of Rs 80.40 crore for the road project in Puducherry and Karikkal taking loans from NABARD. BJP Puducherry unit president Swaminathan said, "The LG has done her duty and her decisions are benefitting the common people. Sanctioning of GIA is a great initiative which has directly benefitted 800 serving teaching staff and 300 retired staff." Soundararajan had also made news by travelling in public transport and interacting with people, especially women and tried to understand their problems. On the one-year anniversary of the nations first covid-19 pandemic-enforced lockdown, President Joe Biden has signed into law the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that will form the basis of his administrations coronavirus response. "This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation, working people, middle class folks, people who built the country, a fighting chance," Biden said shortly before signing the legislation. "That's what the essence of it is." The signing was initially thought to be scheduled for Friday but White House officials have confirmed that the swift process in the House of Representatives this week has allowed them to get the bill on the Presidents desk earlier than previously thought. There are now hopes that the first of the $1400 stimulus checks could be sent out this weekend. Stimulus bill signed into law ahead of time Thursdays news brings to an abrupt halt months of negotiations and discussions in Washington about the future of the Americans Recue Plan, the huge stimulus bill first unveiled by Biden in January. The bill was first passed by the House, before moving to the Senate where some elements of the provisions and eligibility requirements for support were altered in the face of tough Republican opposition. The amended bill then returned to the House on Tuesday for a second vote but it was soon passed by the Democrat-led chamber. Despite being signed slightly ahead of schedule the White House signing event is still going ahead on Friday, when Biden will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris in the Oval Office. Harris played a key role in the passing of the bill, using her tie-breaking vote in the Senate to allow the legislation to reach the floor for a vote. Bidens key legislative priority successfully passed in Congress The Georgia Senate runoff elections in January gave the Democrats unified power in Washington, meaning that they held the White House as well as both Houses of Congress. However their slender majority in the Senate meant that they had to keep all Democratic senators on side to ensure that the bill was passed. In both the House and in the Senate, not a single Republican voted in favour of the package, with most arguing that the amount of federal spending involved was too great. This view was at odds with the majority of the American public who overwhelmingly supported the American Rescue Plan. A study from Politico/Morning Consult in February found that 76% of all voters and 60% of Republican-leaning voters thought that Congress should pass the new stimulus bill. The bill aims to tackle both the public health and the economic consequences of the pandemic that has ground societies around the world to a halt, and has taken more than 500,00 American lives. For millions who are struggling with the economic fallout of the pandemic, the $1,400 stimulus checks will be the most pressing concern and it is thought that some will begin receiving the support as early as this weekend. For all of the latest updates on the stimulus check payments as they go out, follow our dedicated live feed. ROME, MAR 11 - Two thirds of Italy's population will have had their first dose of the COVID vaccine by the start of the summer, Health Undersecretary Pierpaolo Sileri told Italian radio Thursday. BY October, he said, two thirds of the population will also have had the second shot of the jab. Sileri also said the government would impose further restrictions in areas where infection risks are higher but there would be no sudden moves such as those occasionally taken by the last government. Stressing that all fresh restrictions would be based on the scientific recommendations of the COVID task force, Sileri said "there won't be a lockdown from one day to another, but there will be time to prepare". Former premier Giuseppe Conte's government came in for particular criticism for suddenly slamming the door shut on ski operators after they had been gearing up to resume activities. (ANSA). A look at Thursday's major share movers on the London Stock Exchange PLC ( ) dipped 4% to 427.6p before close as the banking sector continued to be damaged by bond yields losing ground. The bank was the largest faller in the FTSE 100 index after Investec downgraded it to sell. An already bad day of trading wasnt helped by an employee testing positive for COVID-19 in the Hong Kong office, so the group had to vacate an entire floor of its headquarters and ask staff to work from home unless necessary. 2.45pm: Rolls-Royce moves higher despite posting 4bn full-year loss Rolls-Royce PLC ( ) moved 2% higher to 114.95p in the afternoon despite posting an underlying loss of nearly 4bn in 2020. Investors were perhaps relieved to see that early action regarding durability issues on the Trent XWB announced in August did not result in any grounded aircraft, with no extra charge. Operating profits for 2020 were in fact boosted by a 620mln provision write-back for the ongoing Trent 1000 repair programme due to Covid-19 in a rare bit of good news from the pandemic. The engine maker added it expects a gradual market recovery in 2021, with a slow start to the year but accelerating in the second half as global vaccine rollouts progress and travel restrictions ease. 1pm: Blackbird surges after agreement with Australian edu-tech group Typsy ( ) surged 8% to 25.48p at lunchtime after establishing a three-year agreement with Typsy, an Australian educational technology group. The AIM-quoted firm will provide its cloud-based video editing platform for e-learning content designed for the hospitality industry. From our perspective, e-learning and corporate communications video content are high growth verticals and ones for which Blackbird is a strong and effective solution, commented Ian McDonough, Blackbird chief executive. 11.55am: Mining, Minerals & Metals lower after potential strategic investment falls through ( ) declined 12% to 7.5p at lunchtime after discussions with a potential strategic investor have ended. The company, which was developed to acquire businesses involved in natural resources exploration, announced in December these talks may have resulted in the potential investor acquiring over 30% in the voting rights. It added that it is reviewing a number of potential opportunities in the natural resources space and hopes to make progress on finding a suitable acquisition. 10.55am: Cannabis shares Cellular Goods and Kanabo see high demand Cannabis shares ( ) and ( ) continued to show more than mere green shoots of growth for shareholders, rising more than 6% and 1.5% respectively in the late morning. Fastforward Innovations Ltd ( ), a backer in the fervent floats of both shares in recent weeks, this morning revealed quickfire returns on investment. The investment group realised gains of 315% and 223% respectively as it sold its entire shareholdings having previously been disappointed by smaller than hoped for holdings in both, as the IPOs of each were significantly oversubscribed. Following a stellar start to publicly traded life for both, FFWDs share sales provide a 194,414 gross profit on funds committed in late February and early March. It comes on the back of FFWDs record 1.9mln investment profit, announced on Wednesday, as it agreed to sell out of another cannabis play under the influence of regulatory factors created by looming acquisition of the investee by a North American group with interest that include recreational cannabis products. 10am: Clear Leisure drops after court hearing suffers COVID-19 delay ( ) dropped 18% to 2.55p in mid-morning after the hearing due to be held on Wednesday was rescheduled to May 26 because of COVID-19 delays at the Court of Venice. The investor said it remains confident of the outcome of the litigation against Sipiems previous management and internal audit committee. Given the advanced stage of the process, the remaining legal work will require very limited involvement of the company's management, allowing the main focus of the company to be its new cryptocurrencies investment strategy, executive chairman and chief executive Francesco Gardin commented. Elsewhere, ( ) slipped 11% to 124p after forecasting a 10% fall in revenues to 4.6mln for the year to January 31. The software provider said its markets in Australia and New Zealand remain strong, the US has held up well while the UK is beginning to show signs of recovery. It plans to focus sales efforts on higher value customers in the mid-market where there is potential for revenue expansion through cross-sell and multiple location sales. 8.40am: 7digital rises early on contract with Chinese social media giant Kuaishou 7digital Group PLC ( ) was an early riser on Thursday, surging 35% to 1.725p after inking a two-year contract with Chinese social media giant Kuaishou. The end-to-end digital music solutions firm will provide mobile apps with licensed music globally. The AIM-listed company said the contract strengthens its revenue visibility as it includes a set-up fee, a monthly recurring access fee and a usage fee. Talking about contracts with Asian behemoths, ( ) jumped 21% to 1.94p on the back of a three-year collaboration with Manufacturing. The gasification technology company has been called in to look at a waste-to-energy solution for Toyota's engine manufacturing plant between Chester and Liverpool. The Deeside RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) project seeks to provide the local community, Toyota and other potential users with a decentralised energy source, with EQTEC acting as land developer and technology provider. Proactive news headlines BATM Advanced Communications (LON:BVC; TASE:BVC) has launched a new self-collected saliva-based coronavirus test that significantly improves the sample collection process and turnaround time while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. ( ) said there were no safety or data issues around its lead compound, which is being used treat people in acute respiratory distress, including those with severe coronavirus. ( ) and ( ) proved to be fruitful investments for FastForward Innovations Ltd (LON: FFWD) which today confirmed the profitable exit from its shareholding in both companies. ( ), the gasification technology company, has been called in to look at a waste-to-energy solution for Toyota's engine manufacturing plant in Deeside. EQTEC is already working on a refuse-derived fuel project to be located next door to Toyota's Deeside plant in Flintshire, Wales. Esken Limited ( ), the aviation and energy infrastructure group, saw its shares rise in early deals after reporting an encouragingly low level of cash burn. Thanks to strict financial division, cash burn excluding the Stobart Air and Propius parts of the business was just 9.4mln in the six months to the end of February. ( ) said it has seen high grades of gold and copper from further drilling at the Havieron deposit in Western Australia. Work primarily focused on infill drilling of the South East Crescent and Breccia Zone and all 26 new drill holes intersected mineralisation. ( ) was upbeat on the results of an air-core drilling programme at the northernmost Fare prospect of the Senala project in Senegal. ( ) told investors that drilling has now begun for the Merlin-1 exploration well in the North Slope area of Alaska. ( ) said eight high priority drill targets had been highlighted at the Kalaka gold project in Mali following the completion of an induced polarisation (IP) survey. ( ) said higher potash prices will increase its financing options as its moves to take the Khemisset potash project in Morocco into production. The company plans to start building the potash mine, Africa's first, by the end of 2021 and to commence production in 2023. ( ) said it has signed a commercial agreement with IQONIQ, a fan engagement platform, to become its official esports and gaming partner for the next three years. ( ) shares traded higher in Thursdays early deals as it was selected by Australia headquartered educational technology group Typsy, which will use the AIM-quoted firms cloud-based video editing platform via a three-year agreement. ( ) said inSignals Neurotech, in which it holds a 33% stake, has received a 100,000 investment from Portugal Ventures, a leading Portuguese venture capital firm. ( ) said two scientists from its hVIVO unit have had their article published in the Journal for Clinical Studies. Entitled Hot Topics - Vaccine Solutions for Tropical Diseases, it was written by Adrian Wildfire, hViVOs director of scientific and business strategy and Bruno Speder, VP of regulatory affairs and consultancy services. ( ) has appointed Emma Fox as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect. Currently CEO of Berry Bros & Rudd, Fox has over 30 years of experience in the retail, leisure, and drinks sectors. ( ) has moved its annual shareholder meeting to 11.30am on Wednesday, 7 April 2021. Oy ( ) chief executive Dr Markku Jalkanen will present at the virtual Oppenheimer 31st Annual Healthcare Conference on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 10:40am ET (3.40pm GMT). An audio webcast of the presentation will be available in the Investors section on Faron's website. New Delhi: A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee 'injured' her ankle during campaigning in Nandigram on Wednesday, a whole sympathy wave is being created in favour of the sitting CM. The state will go to polls from March 27 and it is expected to be a neck-and-neck contest between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Thursday did an analysis on the claims made by Mamata Banerjee about the alleged attack and how the whole issue has become a political drama. On Wednesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that she had been attack causing serious injury to her left foot. As per latest reports she has suffered a fracture in her ankle but the TMC chief will resume campaigning in the state on a wheel chair from March 13 onwards. As Mamata Banerjee's 'injury was being discussed all across the country, people shared pictures of her lying on a stretcher, and several opinions were shared about the alleged attack which seemed to be confining the whole election to this one incident. Things were happening so fast that people found it difficult to comprehend what was happening and what to believe. West Bengal is not new to violence during elections, earlier in seperate incidents, BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and MP Babul Supriyo were also attacked. While BJP president JP Nadda's convoy was attacked three months ago in Kolkata's Diamond Harbor, in which he narrowly escaped. Notably, Mamata Banerjee had not condemned the attack then but now she is ready to give this incident a political spin. Though, Mamata Banerjee's political career is riddled with such incidents involving injuries and camera and how she benefited from them. In 1989, Mamta Banerjee had a fight with the Left Front and an injured had grabbed headlines even then. Mamata Banerjee was attacked on August 16, 1990 in which she suffered a severe injury to her forehead. In the year 1993, she entered the Writers' Building in Kolkata even then her pictures were very much discussed. This politics of playing the sympathy card can generate votes but is like a weak thread which gets tangled and is not easy solve. Here no one is asking Mamata Banerjee for her report card in the last 10 years, no one is asking about what she has given to Bengal instead everyone is talking about the alleged attack on her and some people support her. If by doing so some people believe that all this is part of politics and this alleged attack can also become the turning point of the election of West Bengal. The first Quad summit between the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States on Friday is likely to come out with something on coronavirus vaccine, a top American diplomat indicated Wednesday. "We have a Quad summit meeting on Friday with President (Joe) Biden, and I expect we'll see something on vaccines coming out of that summit. There are other things that we're looking at that we're working on in the days and weeks and months ahead to make sure that we are a leading international actor in creating greater access to vaccines," Secretary of State Tony Blinken told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing. Blinken was responding to a question from Indian American Congressman Dr Ami Bera during a Congressional hearing convened by the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee. "I want to recognise the importance of the Quad and the importance that the administration has played on our Quad relationship in the region with Japan, Australia, and India. But I'm a doctor first, and, you know, my interests have always been as a physician on global health pandemic preparedness," the Indian American lawmaker said. "First, we have to stop COVID-19 and restore and strengthen our global health security. And as such, I will really appreciate the early aggressive actions by the president as well as the administration to ramp up vaccine production here, to ramp up distribution with the bill that we passed today, the American Rescue Plan," he said. Also read: 'Quad example of US, India pulling together for free, open Indo-Pacific region': Biden administration Bera said he knew in his dialogue with others around the world, they understand that American companies are in a transparent way producing some of the best and most effective vaccines coming out of Moderna, Pfizer, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, and potentially Novavax and others coming soon. "I would be curious, as we start to think about once we've stopped COVID here domestically or at least gotten vaccines to the US population, how we're going to directly engage and counter some of what China is doing, in a coercive way, frankly, with what I think is a worse vaccine," Bera said. Blinken said the US has joined COVAX. "We are contributing significant resources, to billion dollars, initially with additional resources to come," he said. "We have to make sure that every American is vaccinated. And that is our number one priority. That is job one. As we're doing that, we're looking at ways to accelerate access to vaccines around the world. As we discussed a little bit earlier, it's in our national security interest to do that because, as long as the virus is replicating, it's mutating. As long as it's mutating, it could come back to bite us. So, we have a strong interest in doing that," Blinken said. "And of course, if a big chunk of the rest of the world is not vaccinated and their economies continue to suffer, there's human suffering that goes with that, but there's also an economic deficit for us because we lose partners. So, we have a real interest in doing that," Blinken said. He said that the Biden administration held the first ministerial meeting of the quadrilateral security dialogue between US, Japan, Australia, and India. "And we will hold a leader level summit this week on Friday," he said. Congressman Brad Sherman, Co-Chairman of the House Indian Caucus, said that he is pleased that President Biden will be participating in the quad summit just this Friday with the heads of state of India, Australia and Japan. The Congress's Central Election Committee in on Thursday finalised candidates for the Bokajan and Diphu constituencies for the second phase of the forthcoming Legislative Assembly polls. As per a statement from the All India Congress Committee, Raton Engi will contest the seat in Bokajan and Sum Ronghang will contest in Diphu. Earlier in the day, the party announced a list of 26 candidates for the second phase of the legislative Assembly elections in the other districts. The party has also appointed Mohan Prakash and Jayadev Jena as All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. The main opposition party had on Saturday released the first list of 40 candidates for the upcoming three-phase election for the 126-member Assembly. Polling to elect 126 MLAs to the 15th Legislative Assembly is scheduled to take place in three phases from March 27 to April 6. The results will be announced on May 2. (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 COVID-19 vaccine may not be mandatory for military personnel, but service members and employees at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, are finding that their freedoms will remain curtailed as long as they aren't vaccinated. Col. Anthony Mastalir, commander of the 30th Space Wing, issued a public health directive Feb. 21 spelling out the base's continued restrictions under the pandemic -- an effort to further reduce the spread of the coronavirus and maintain readiness. However, some of the guidelines, such as allowing travel outside Vandenberg's surrounding counties only for those who have received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, are being perceived as strong-arm tactics by some. Read Next: America's Trust and Confidence in the Military is Decreasing, New Survey Finds According to the directive, personal travel for all military service members at Vandenberg remains restricted to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. But fully vaccinated individuals are exempt and can resume normal leave and pass procedures. Commanders have the discretion to decide whether their approval is needed for fully vaccinated personnel to travel. Also under the directive, unofficial gatherings are limited to 25 people indoors or 50 people outdoors. Official gatherings are limited to 100 people, indoors or outdoors. Fully vaccinated individuals -- defined as being two weeks past their second dose of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccines -- don't count toward gathering limitations, so they can gather in larger groups or attend parties and events at will. The U.S. military does not disclose the number of coronavirus cases for specific bases. The directive comes as the number of daily new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. has declined 75% since Jan. 12's seven-day average of 229,296, with a seven-day average of 58,530 as of March 10, according to The New York Times. The average number of new daily cases has also dropped below the averages seen during the second surge of the pandemic in the U.S. in July. But Mastalir said the threat remains, with the potential of a virus mutation that could "defeat our current defenses." "It will still take several months before the entire community is vaccinated and we can safely put this pandemic behind us. Some have predicted infection rates may spike again toward the end of March," he wrote. Some have objected to Mastalir's decision to split the community into the "haves" and "have nots." Pam Long, a former member of the U.S. Army's Medical Service Corps who writes a column for the anti-vaccination organization Children's Health Defense, said the directive may violate California statutes that give individuals the opportunity to "decide to consent or not to consent to a medical experiment without the intervention of any element of force, fraud deceit, duress, coercion or undue influence on the subject's decision." "Clearly, Mastalir's policy has overstepped into coercion," wrote Long in an article in the Defender, the news publication of Children's Health Defense, an organization founded by vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She added that it potentially violates federal law, which requires individuals to provide informed consent to receive a product distributed under a Food and Drug Administration emergency-use authorization. Long obtained a memo penned by the administrator of the 30th Medical Group, Lt. Col. Joseph Rountree, saying he would consider travel requests on a case-by-case basis. But, according to the memo, "[Bottom Line Up Front], if people are not vaccinated, I likely will not approve travel outside California." Rountree wrote. "Military personnel deserve evidence-based medicine that also honors medical ethics. Evidence and ethics are currently being ambushed by compliant commanders," Long wrote in response. Roughly one-third of troops have declined the vaccine, according to the Pentagon, and officials say the vaccines will remain voluntary for personnel as long as they are distributed under an emergency-use authorization. That could change, however, once the vaccines receive full FDA approval. Navy leaders have already openly discussed their desire to make the vaccine mandatory. Last month, Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of U.S. Second Fleet, told reporters that the Navy is "probably going to make it mandatory as soon as we can, just like we do with the flu vaccine." The service also is allowing ships to relax strict coronavirus rules if all crew members get vaccinated. Current restrictions include pre-deployment quarantining, mandatory social distancing and restrictions on port calls. The emergency-use authorization designation is expected to last up to two years while the FDA assesses the vaccines' efficacy and side effects. In a video posted on Vandenberg's Facebook page to promote vaccine compliance aboard the base, the three airmen interviewed for the announcement cited travel as a primary reason for choosing to get the shots. In response to the video, Vandenberg resident Courtney Dowling described the situation as "really sad." "This vaccine is NOT yet FDA approved and therefore not mandatory for service members. To withhold their hard earned leave unless they comply and take an experimental, voluntary vaccine is abhorrent," she wrote. Mastalir said the vaccines are the "weapon of choice in this battle, forged from medical technology 30 years in development." He added that the new policy has been reviewed by physicians and attorneys to ensure that it is "relevant and lawful." "Exceptions for fully vaccinated individuals identified in this directive have been found to be medically permissible, legally sufficient, and consistent with the current directives of higher authorities," Mastalir wrote. Since the start of the pandemic, the U.S. Air Force has recorded 28,736 cases of coronavirus. One airman, Tech. Sgt. Michael Morris, died, although the service said it is awaiting results of an autopsy before tying the death to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Morris's family has said he tested positive for the virus. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: Texas Air National Guard Member Dies of COVID-19 By Humeyra Pamuk and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday condemned Chinese moves to change Hong Kong's electoral system and forecast "difficult" talks with Beijing's top diplomats next week, when the genocide Washington says China is committing against minority Muslims will be an issue the U.S. side plans to raise. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan would not hold back when they meet with the Chinese diplomats in Alaska on March 18 and 19, "whether it's on Taiwan, or ... efforts to push back democracy in Hong Kong, or on concerns we have about the economic relationship." "Addressing the genocide against Uighur Muslims is something that will be a topic of discussion with the Chinese directly next week," she added. In response, China's foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, urged the United States on Friday to stop interfering in China's affairs, including Hong Kong. "China hopes both sides can focus on cooperation and manage differences," he said, adding that both sides should understand each others' policy intention correctly. China rejects U.S. charges that it has committed genocide against Uighur and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region and calls criticism of its behavior toward Hong Kong and self-ruled Taiwan unwarranted interference in its internal affairs. China's parliament on Thursday approved a draft decision to change Hong Kong's electoral system, further reducing democratic representation in the city's institutions and introducing a mechanism to vet politicians' loyalty to Beijing. State Department spokesman Ned Price called the changes "a direct attack on Hong Kongs autonomy, its freedoms and democratic processes." "There will be some difficult conversations I would expect," he said, referring to the talks Blinken and Sullivan plan to hold in Anchorage with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and State Councillor Wang Yi, the first high-level in-person contacts between the two sparring countries under the Biden administration. {nL1N2L825Q] Story continues Price said Washington would explore areas for cooperation with China where it was in the U.S. interest, including climate change, but called on Beijing to change if it wanted to improve the frayed relationship. "We're not looking to engage in talks for the sake of talks," he said. "We are looking for Beijing ... to demonstrate that seriousness of purpose, to demonstrate that it seeks to live up to its own oft-stated desire to change the tone of the bilateral relationship." President Joe Biden's administration has committed to reviewing elements of U.S. policies toward China, as the world's two largest economies navigate relations that sank to their lowest depths in decades during Donald Trump's presidency. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first phone call as leaders last month and appeared at odds on most issues, even as Xi warned that confrontation would be a "disaster" for both nations. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that China and the United States had common interests and many areas for cooperation and that Beijing hoped ties could develop in a healthy way based on respecting each other's core interests, win-win cooperation and non-interference in internal affairs. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Peter Cooney and Timothy Heritage) Eagle-Con 2021 to Honor Critically Acclaimed Talents George Takei, Wynn Thomas and Nnedi Okorafor Actor, activist and Eisner winner, George Takei, headlines the honors at this years Eagle-Con, a virtual sci-fi and fantasy conference hosted by Cal State LA and the Art Directors Guild. This years Eagle-Con theme, Possibilities Imagined Here, celebrates diversity and addresses accessibility, underrepresentation and pushing boundaries in science fiction and fantasy genres over a series of three days, March 11-13. Takei (Star Trek, They Called Us Enemy) joins celebrated production designer, Wynn Thomas (Mars Attacks!, Hidden Figures) and best-selling author, Nnedi Okorafor (the Binti trilogy, Black Panther: Long Live the King) as this years awardees. They have long been barrier breakers for other writers and artists, building impressively varied careers that have impacted millions. ADVERTISEMENT Takei will be honored with the Prism Award for outstanding contributions to diversity in science fiction and fantasy across media on March 12, Thomas will be presented the Imaginator Award for wondrous achievement in visual conceptualization on March 13 and Okorafor will receive the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Award on March 11. Takei is a social justice activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: During World War II, Takei spent his childhood in United States internment camps along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans. He now serves as chairman emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museums Board of Trustees. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton, and, in 2004, was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to the U.S.-Japan relations. In 2016, Takei received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cal State LA. Wynn Thomas is the first African American production designer in the history of films. As a production designer, Thomas has worked with some of the most important film directors of the late twentieth century, including Spike Lee, Ron Howard, Barry Levinson, Harold Ramis, and Tim Burton. Wynn has been production designer on such landmark films as Hidden Figures (2016), Mars Attacks! (1996), Da 5 Bloods (2020), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and Do The Right Thing (1989). He has been a proud member of United Scenic Artist (local 829) for 35 years. He is the first African American production designer to become a member of the Art Directors Guild in Los Angeles and the first African American nominated for the Art Directors Guild award for his design work on Tim Burtons Mars Attacks! He is a proud member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This years free event also features an online exhibition spotlighting the work of Art Directors Guild members including the work of Imaginator Award honoree Wynn Thomas, with drawings from movies such as Mars Attacks!, Hidden Figures and Get Smart. Nnedi Okorafor is an international award-winning novelist of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. Her works include Who Fears Death (in development at HBO as a TV series), the Binti novella trilogy (in development at Hulu as a TV series), The Book of Phoenix, and the Akata series and Lagoon. She is currently adapting Octavia Butlers Wild Seed for TV with Amazon Studies. She is the winner of Nebula, World Fantasy, Eisner, and multiple Hugo Awards and her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker, which won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. Eagle-Con is co-founded by the College of Arts and Letters and the University-Student Union at Cal State LA and the Art Directors Guild. Together they work to educate the students of Cal State LA and members of the Greater Los Angeles community about the history, impact and continued necessity of the contributions of women, BIPOC, the LGBTQIA-identified, the differently abled and the variously aged to the science fiction and fantasy genres. To attend and view the full schedule, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eagle-con-3-day-experience-tickets-143842810719. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Asadabad : , March 11 (IANS) Twenty-five militants on Wednesday surrendered to the government authorities in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, the province governor said. "A total of 20 Taliban militants and five militants of Islamic State (IS) outfit surrendered to provincial directorate of National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan's national intelligence agency on Wednesday," Governor Mohammad Iqbal Sayyed told the Xinhua news agency. The incident occurred amid military pressure mounted by Afghan security forces on militants in the country's mountainous region. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Thanks for visiting ! The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Thank you for your support! The idea was so far-fetched it seemed like science fiction: create an observatory out of a one cubic kilometer block of ice in Antarctica to track ghostly particles called neutrinos that pass through the Earth. But speaking to Benedickt Riedel, global computing manager at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, it makes perfect sense. "Constructing a comparable observatory anywhere else would be astronomically expensive," Riedel explained. "Antarctica ice is a great optical material and allows us to sense neutrinos as nowhere else." Neutrinos are neutral subatomic particles with a mass close to zero that can pass through solid materials at near the speed of light, rarely reacting with normal matter. They were first detected in the 1950s in experiments that operated near nuclear reactors, which also generate these particles. They were further found to be created by cosmic rays interacting with our atmosphere. But astrophysicists believed they were likely widespread and caused by a variety of cosmic events, if only they could be detected. Importantly, scientists believed they could be critical clues to other phenomenon. "20 percent of the potentially visible Universe is dark to us," Riedel explained. "That's mostly because of distances and the age of the Universe. High energy light is also hidden. It is absorbed or undergoes transformation that makes it hard to trace back to a source. IceCube reveals a slice of Universe we haven't yet observed." An Important New Tool in the Multi-Messenger Astronomy Toolbox Multi-messenger astronomy describes an approach that combines observations of light, gravitational waves, and particles to understand some of the most extreme events in the Universe. Neutrinos play an important part in this type of research. Prior to 1987, with the explosion of Supernova 1987a, all extra-solar astronomical observations were photon-based. Today, additional detection systems add to our view of the cosmos, including all sky surveys and gravitational wave detectors. However, most observatories can only look at a small portion of the sky. IceCube, because of the nature of neutrinos, can observe these particles' flights from any direction, and therefore act as a full-sky sentinel. The block of ice at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica -- up to a hundred thousand years-old and extremely clear -- is instrumented with sensors between 1,450 and 2,450 meters below the surface. As neutrinos pass through the ice, they may interact with a proton or neutron, producing photons which then travel through the ice, and can be detected by a sensor. The sensors transform these signals from neutrino interactions -- a handful an hour -- into digital data that is then analyzed to determine whether they represent a local source (Earth's atmosphere) or a distant one. "Based on the analysis, researchers are also able to determine where in the sky the particle came from, its energy, and sometimes, what type of neutrino -- electron, muon or tau -- it was," said James Madson, executive director at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center. In 2017, IceCube detected a neutrino with an energy of 290 teraelectronvolts (TeV) and sent out an alert. The detection triggered an extensive campaign involving more than twenty space- and ground-based telescopes. They identified a blazar 3.5 billion light years away, identifying a high energy cosmic ray source for the first time and launching a new era in multi-messenger detection, according to Riedl. "We continuously search our dataset in near-real time for interesting neutrino events," he explained. "We found one and sent out an email alert to the community. They followed up with all these other electromagnetic observations, pinpointing a known gamma ray source. They also found, over the course of a month, an increased activity from the source." IceCube Discovers Evidence of High-energy Electron Antineutrino On March 10, 2021, IceCube announced the detection of a Glashow resonance event, a phenomenon predicted by Nobel laureate physicist Sheldon Glashow in 1960. The Glashow resonance describes the formation of a W? boson -- an elementary particle that mediates the weak force -- during the interaction of a high-energy electron antineutrino with an electron, peaking at an antineutrino energy of 6.3 petaelectronvolts (PeV). Its existence is a key prediction of the Standard Model of particle physics. The results further demonstrated the ability of IceCube to do fundamental physics. The result was published on March 10 in Nature. While this energy scale is out of reach for current and future planned particle accelerators, natural astrophysical phenomena are expected to produce antineutrinos that reach beyond PeV energies. The news of the Glashow resonance discovery, "suggests the presence of electron antineutrinos in the astrophysical flux, while also providing further validation of the standard model of particle physics," the authors wrote. "Its unique signature indicates a method of distinguishing neutrinos from antineutrinos, thus providing a way to identify astronomical accelerators that produce neutrinos via hadronuclear or photohadronic interactions, with or without strong magnetic fields." Neutrino detections require significant computing resources to model the detector behavior and differentiate extra-solar signals from background events created from cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere. Riedel serves as the coordinator for a large community of researchers -- as many as 300 by his estimates -- who use the Frontera supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded resource for the national community. IceCube was awarded time on Frontera as part of the Large Scale Community Partnership track, which provides extended allocations of up to three years to support long-lived science experiments. IceCube - which has collected data for 14 years and was recently awarded a grant from NSF to expand operations over the next the next few years -- is a premier example of such an experiment. "Part of the resources from Frontera contributed to that discovery," Riedl said. "There's years of Monte Carlo simulations that went into it to figuring out that we could do this." IceCube uses computing resources from a number of sources, including the Open Science Grid, the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), their own local supercomputing cluster, and recently the Amazon Web Services cloud. Frontera is the largest system utilized, however, and can handle a large part of the computational needs of the neutrino community, reserving local or cloud resources for urgent analyses, Riedel says. "A lot of the computing on Frontera may not be directly associated with discoveries, but it helps down the road, to discern signals better and develop new algorithms," he said. Modeling Ice and Following Up on Promising Signals The projects that IceCube scientists use Frontera for vary, but they typically either involve calculations to better understand the optical nature of the ice generally (so the trajectory and other characteristics of neutrino detections can be accurately determined); or computations to analyze specific events that are deemed significant. The first type of computation uses primarily ray tracing to calculate the path of the light in the ice from high-energy electrically charged particles produced when neutrinos interact. The rays can scatter or be adsorbed by defects in the ice, complicating analysis. Using graphics processing units (GPUs), Riedel has found, can speed up the simulations to studying light the light propagation in the ice by hundreds of times. The IceCube team is among the largest users of the Frontera GPU subsystem that includes NVIDIA RTX GPUs. The second type of computation occurs when scientists receive an alert that says they have received an interesting signal. "We kick off a calculation to analyze the event that can scale to one million CPUs," Riedl said. "We don't have those, so Frontera can give us a portion of that computational power to run a reconstruction or extraction algorithm. We get those type of events about once a month." "Large scale simulations of the IceCube facility and the data it creates allow us to rapidly and accurately determine the properties of these neutrinos, which in turn exposes the physics of the most energetic events in the universe," said Niall Gaffney, TACC Director of Data Intensive Computing. "This is key to validating the fundamental quantum-mechanical physics in environments that cannot be practically replicated on earth." Today's astronomers can observe the universe in many different ways, and computing is now central to almost all of them. "We've moved from the traditional view of a guy with a telescope looking up at the sky, to large scale instruments, to now particle physics and particle observatories," Riedl said. "With this new paradigm, we need large amounts of computing for short periods of time to do big time sensitive computing, and big scientific computing centers like TACC help us do our science." ### GRAND RAPIDS, MI Class of 2021 graduates of Grand Rapids Community College will be able to take part in the time-honored tradition of walking across the stage in a cap and gown to receive their diploma this spring. GRCC will offer four indoor, in-person commencement ceremonies in May, with limited attendance and safety precautions amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The college is splitting up the ceremonies to minimize crowd sizes. There will be two ceremonies held on April 30 for students graduating from the School of Arts and Sciences, and two ceremonies on May 1 for graduates from the School of Workforce Development, GRCC announced Thursday. The events will also be live-streamed for those who cannot participate in-person. Every commencement is a celebration, and this one even more so, as students have faced the challenges of a pandemic and emerged stronger, GRCC President Bill Pink said in a prepared statement. We want to pay tribute to their determination, rejoice in their success, and recognize the faculty, staff, family and friends who supported our graduates and encouraged them to move forward. The college is working with Kent County health officials to make sure the events adhere to all pandemic safety protocols, according a college news release. The four ceremonies will be held in the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse, 111 Lyon St., which seats 4,000 people. Social distancing measures will be in place during the indoor events. The School of Arts and Sciences ceremonies will take place at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, April 30. The School of Workforce Development ceremonies are planned for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 1. Around 450 students are eligible for graduation this spring, college spokesperson David Murray said. College officials said ceremony dates and times will be assigned to students, but staff members will do their best to honor preferences. This is a special moment in the lives of our students and their families one theyll remember always, said Tina Hoxie, associate provost and dean of Student Affairs, in a prepared statement. It is the best day ever, celebration of the incredible accomplishments of the students, as well as the faculty and staff who guided and assisted them and the friends and family who supported them. Im thrilled we can provide an in-person experience for everyone to enjoy. The college will host another drive-through GRADfest this year, when students can pick up their caps and gowns and take care of other commencement-related matters. That will take place from 3-6 p.m. March 30 in the DeVos Campus parking lot. Last years commencement ceremony was held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. More details about the spring 2021 commencement will be posted at grcc.edu/commencement as they become available. More on MLive: GRCC sees huge rise in financial aid applications, bucking national trend GRCC basketball players, coaches getting weekly COVID-19 tests through Ferris State partnership More than 19K Michigan residents apply for tuition-free community college in first 24 hours A Portland man has been indicted on 35 charges related to human sex trafficking, including kidnapping, rape and compelling prostitution, prosecutors announced Wednesday. Johnel Johnson, 32, was taken into custody March 1 after police served search and arrest warrants in the 3700 block of Southeast 166th Avenue, according to the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office. The investigation began in February when police received a report that a suspect, later identified as Johnson, had used weapons to kidnap, rob and sexually assault an unidentified victim, the office said. Prosecutors also said Johnson forced the victim to engage in prostitution. While investigating that incident, prosecutors said police learned of a report about another similar incident in November. Investigators believe there may be additional victims and asked anyone with information to contact Detective Kyffin Marcum at 503-823-0462 or Detective Scott McCollister 503-823-0424. -- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale KALAMAZOO, MI -- A handful of Kalamazoo students protested Thursday the lack of in-person learning in the district. The small group of students and one grandparent held signs and waived to cars honking in support outside the Kalamazoo Public Schools Administration Building Thursday, March 11. The protest was started by a Kalamazoo Central High School senior who earlier this year started a petition urging district leaders to reopen school buildings. KPS is the only district in Kalamazoo County and one of the last large districts in Michigan to remain in fully virtual mode through the remainder of the school year. Humberto Zamora, 17, said he started the petition and organized the protest because he and his classmates are struggling with virtual school and being away from peers and teachers. Virtual school has only gotten worse, Zamora said. People are losing focus for school and looking forward to summer. Related: Kalamazoo Public Schools lost nearly 700 students in the last year The high school senior said he was not surprised by the districts decision to remain virtual for trimester three but was disappointed because he was hopeful they would return to school this year. Zamora said those protesting virtual school dont want to force everyone to return to school but would like in-person to be an option. But, holding in-person school would force teachers, who voted largely in favor of staying virtual, back into the classroom, he admitted. I think when they take the responsibility of choosing to give their children and the next generation an education, they should do it properly, Zamora said. Nate and Abby Evans, twins who attend Kalamazoo Central, said they attended Thursdays protest because they want students to have the choice of in-person school. The 15-year-old freshmen said it was boring and nothing special to start high school in virtual school. The twins were eighth grade students when the pandemic first started and they were sent home from school. Nate Evans said virtual school is a repetitive pattern of busy work and feels meaningless. The siblings said they werent learning anything in the virtual mode. If the district had chosen the hybrid model for trimester three, students would return to classroom for only less than 20 days of the remaining school days, Superintendent Rita Raichoudhuri said. The superintendent also called a COVID-19 outbreak in the district, which would cause closures and quarantines, a matter of when not if. In hybrid mode, students would also only have face-to-face instruction two days per week. The remaining days would be spent doing independent learning without interaction with teachers, the teachers union president said. The Evans siblings said they arent sure the protest will change the minds of administrators for this current school year, but they are hopeful they are putting pressure on district leaders to ensure school will be in-person in the fall. Raichoudhuri has said on multiple occasions that school will be in-person full-time beginning in August. The superintendents initial decision on remaining in virtual learning only was based on a weighted formula that considered research, data from the Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Community Services and the stakeholder surveys to make the decision, Raichoudhuri said. Parents were split about 50/50 on the question of whether to go back, but teachers leaned heavily in favor of remaining virtual, according to the results of a survey of parents and staff conducted by KPS. A group of parents are also working together to try and change the districts mind about in-person learning. Raichoudhuri reaffirmed her decision to keep the district in virtual mode for the third trimester, which begins March 15, and was backed by a majority vote of the KPS Board of Education during a meeting Feb. 25. Trustee Ken Greschak was the sole opposing vote. The district said Thursday that teachers and staff are still waiting on additional vaccine appointments with the Kalamazoo County Department of Health and Community Services. Due to some appointments not used by other districts in our county, we were able to secure vaccines for some employees working in a face-to-face capacity with our students and families in various departments and buildings, KPS spokesperson Susan Coney said in a statement to MLive. Other employees have been able to obtain vaccines in other counties or at other locations. There are hundreds of KPS employees who still want the vaccine but have not yet had that opportunity, Coney said. The board meets virtually again Thursday at 7 p.m. and is expected to hear another update from the superintendent. To help you navigate this complicated school year, were pleased to offer you a simpler way to get all of your education news: Our new Michigan Schools: Education in the COVID Era newsletter delivered right to your inbox. To receive this newsletter, simply click here to sign up. Also on MLive: Two-thirds of Ann Arbor students opt for in-person classes as district prepares for return Flint Board of Education approves student return to classrooms by mid-March More than half of Portage students still learning virtually despite in-person option An urgent appeal has been launched to track down a woman who vanished from her home in Sydney's south-west. Donna Napper, aged 54, was last seen leaving her home in Bengal Crescent, Elderslie around 8am on Thursday. Camden Police began inquiries into her whereabouts late Thursday night, after concerned family members raised the alarm 14 hours later. Inquiries have led police to believe Ms Napper may be in the Wollongong area south of Sydney. Friends and family have grave concerns for Donna Napper (pictured) over her disappearance, which was described as out of character Police and family have grave concerns for Donnas welfare as her disappearance is considered out of character. 'Please share this around. Donna and her family are close family. Praying she is found safe,' a concerned relative posted on Facebook. Another friend posted: 'Please let her be OK, such a beautiful person and friend.' Donna is described as Caucasian, about 160cm tall, slim build, with shoulder-length, blond hair and brown eyes. Police believe she was driving a 2016 grey Subaru wagon with NSW registration DHM56D. Police urge anyone with information about her whereabouts to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Your browser does not support the video tag. Mar. 10The margin was smaller than usual, but officials at Coeur d'Alene Public Schools were grateful for solid voter support in Tuesday's levy election. "The Board of Trustees is grateful for their continuing support of our public schools," school board chair Jennifer Brumley said Wednesday after the district won 60% approval for a supplemental levy. "We thank the voters for extending this critically important funding over the next two years," Brumley said. Coeur d'Alene's levy proposal totaled $40 million over two years, beginning July 1. The estimated annual cost is $145.54 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. The current supplemental levy is authorized for the same amount $20 million per year meaning that based on current market conditions, the tax will be unchanged. Lakeland narrowly passed its levy by just 54 votes, while Post Falls failed by the narrowest of margins 33 votes to pass a two-year, $9.91 million levy. Post Falls is the only district in Spokane and Kootenai counties that failed to pass a levy this year. "We are disappointed the levy failed by such a small margin," Post Falls Superintendent Dena Naccarato said in a statement Wednesday. The district will try again in May. "The levy is fundamental not supplemental, so we owe it to our students to try again," Naccarato said. School administrators stressed that the levies cover basic educational necessities and supplement inadequate state funding. They crafted tax proposals that wouldn't increase taxes. But the levies ran into stiff opposition from the Kootenai County Republican Party, which campaigned stridently against all three. Though Coeur d'Alene's levy passed easily, the district's support fell considerably from the 2019 levy, which was approved with 70% support, and the 2017 levy, which was got 79% support. Turnout was up significantly from levy votes two years ago. In the Coeur d'Alene district, 9,711 voters cast ballots 58% more than in 2019. In the Post Falls district, 2,889 voters participated. That's well over twice as many voters as in 2019. Story continues The final count in Post Falls was 1,428 in favor and 1,461 against. "The school district has enjoyed overwhelming community support for many years, and we wonder if some of our supporters took the success for granted and did not get to the polls," Naccarato said. The estimated average cost of the proposed supplemental levy was an annual tax of $102.18 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, based on current conditions. Post Falls' current overall tax rate is $1.70 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value. Lakeland, which includes Rathdrum and most of northern Kootenai County, won approval for $9.52 million per year for two years, beginning July 1. It will cost $222 annually per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. The margin was slim, however, with 2,701 in favor and 2,647 opposed. "Much gratitude for your support of our educational and extracurricular programs," Superintendent Becky Meyer said in a statement Wednesday. The current supplemental levy is Coeur d'Alene is authorized for the same amount $20 million per year meaning that based on current market conditions, the tax will be unchanged. The $20 million represents about one-quarter of the district's annual operating budget, said Coeur d'Alene Public Schools spokesman Scott Maben. Coeur d'Alene has traditionally given strong support to levies, which require only a simple majority for passage. No levy has failed since 1986. In all districts in Idaho, supplemental levies cover a variety of programs and initiatives, including campus safety, nurses and mental health resources, classroom supplies, sports, music and other extracurricular activities and technology support. ALBANY The New York office of the National Organization for Women, long a staunch ally of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, on Thursday issued a statement calling for him to resign immediately in the face of increasing sexual harassment allegations. "It has become untenable for the governor to remain in office. Regardless of whether the Governor heeds calls to resign, NOW-NY and its members are adamant that a full and thorough investigation goes forward," the office said in a statement. "As women, listening to these firsthand accounts is like a punch in the gut. ... This behavior cannot be tolerated in any workplace, much less in the halls of our state Capitol by those entrusted to set the standard and the laws for all of us." NOW's statement was issued as Cuomo's support in his own party is slipping quickly as it emerged this week a female aide had accused him of groping her in his private residence at the governors mansion late last year. Two Capital Region Assembly members stopped short of calling on him to resign but said that he should step aside at least temporarily to allow Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to take over. That proffer was issued by John McDonald of Cohoes and Patricia Fahy of Albany both of whom had initially issued statements that said Cuomo should remain in place while an investigation of the sexual harassment allegations proceeds. That probe is being overseen by the office of Attorney General Letitia James. Hours after the Times Union reported new details on Wednesday of a female aide's allegation that Cuomo groped her late last year at the Executive Mansion, McDonald said Hochul should "serve as acting governor until the attorney generals investigations or any other potential inquiries reach a conclusion or a removal determination under the law is made." Fahy's statement said the woman's new claim "rises to an entirely new level, and at minimum, alleges deeply disturbing behavior on behalf of the governor." But Fahy also listed a number of the other scandals placing Cuomo's administration in crisis. "At the same time, allegations continue to grow regarding the states handling of nursing home reports, as well as questions regarding the safety of the Mario Cuomo Bridge," she said. "While these various investigations are underway, we have a state budget to negotiate, vaccines to administer, schools to open, and an economy to revive. "Moreover, these investigations and allegations have continued to erode my confidence in the governor and to disrupt our time-sensitive work noted above," Fahy said. "I understand the governor does not want to resign, but for the good of the state of New York and those New Yorkers we collectively serve, he should step aside and let our well-respected Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul step in while these investigations are underway. Also Wednesday evening, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan issued a statement that said city police are prepared to "assist any victim who seeks to come forward." "The act of speaking out after being victimized can be a deeply painful and traumatic experience," the mayor wrote in a Twitter post Wednesday evening. "The young woman referenced in recent reports has the right to determine who she speaks to regarding her experience and when." Sheehan noted that state Attorney General Letitia James is investigating allegations Cuomo sexually harassed current and former members of his administration. The latest staff member to report an incident whose identity is being withheld by the Times Union had been called to the mansion on Eagle Street under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor with a minor technical issue involving his mobile phone. They were alone in Cuomo's private residence on the second floor when he closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her, according to a person with direct knowledge of the woman's claims. "At this time, no criminal complaint involving this matter has been filed by the victim with the Albany Police Department but Chief (Eric) Hawkins assures me this evening that APD stands ready to assist any victim who seeks to come forward," Sheehan said. The aide is the sixth woman to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior. Initial details of her account were first reported Tuesday by the Times Union; the revelation that Cuomo allegedly reached under her blouse was disclosed by the newspaper on Wednesday. The person briefed on the case, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the woman who is much younger than Cuomo told the governor to stop. Her broader allegations include that he frequently engaged in flirtatious behavior with her, and that it was not the only time that he had touched her. Cuomo, who insists he will not resign, issued a statement after the Times Union's article was published online Wednesday: "As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report. Cuomo faces calls to step down from state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie issued a statement Sunday questioning Cuomo's ability to remain an effective leader. Republicans in the Legislature have called for impeachment hearings. Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt on Tuesday characterized the latest allegation as "a disturbing pattern of predatory pattern behavior by Gov. Cuomo, not to mention a pattern of lies and broken public trust." The woman's story was revealed within the governor's Executive Chamber on March 3, as staff members watched his first news conference in the week since Lindsey Boylan published an online essay detailing her own allegations against Cuomo. In the news conference, the governor denied ever touching any women "inappropriately." Hearing those remarks, the female aide became emotional. At least one female supervisor came to her assistance and asked why she was upset. The female aide subsequently told the supervisor about what she said had been inappropriate encounters with Cuomo, the source told the Times Union. (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta added new bribery allegations to its charges against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, while an advocacy group said security forces killed 12 protesters in one of the deadliest days since the military took power. The bloodshed came hours after the U.N. Security Council had called for restraint from the army, which has been trying to put down daily anti-coup protests and paralysing strikes since it took power on Feb. 1. Among the dead were eight people killed in the central town of Myaing when security forces fired on a protest, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said. In Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, protester Chit Min Thu was killed in the North Dagon district. His wife, Aye Myat Thu, told Reuters he had insisted on joining the protests despite her appeals for him to stay home for the sake of their son. "He said it's worth dying for," she said through her tears. "He is worried about people not joining the protest. If so, democracy will not return to the country." Adding corruption charges to the accusations against Suu Kyi could mean she faces a harsher penalty. She currently faces four comparatively minor charges - including illegally importing six walkie talkie radios and flouting coronavirus restrictions. The junta spokesman, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, said Suu Kyi had accepted illegal payments worth $600,000, as well as gold, while in government, according to a complaint by Phyo Mien Thein, a former chief minister of Yangon. "He strongly said that," the spokesman told a news conference. "We have verified those facts several times. Now the anti-corruption committee is continuing the investigation." Aye Ma Ma Myo, a member of the dissolved parliament belonging to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, rejected the claim. "It is no longer uncommon to see slander against politicians and efforts to crush the party while innocent young people are killed in public," she told Reuters in a message. Story continues FUNERAL Another funeral was held for an official from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), who died in custody after being arrested early on Tuesday. Mourners wept over the open coffin, which showed Zaw Myat Linn's badly disfigured face. Thursday's deaths brought the number of protesters killed since the coup to more than 70, the AAPP said. Some 2,000 people have also been detained since the coup against Suu Kyi's elected government, it says. The army did not respond to requests for comment on the latest deaths but the junta spokesman said the security forces were disciplined and used force only when necessary. U.N. human rights investigator Thomas Andrews told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva the military may have committed crimes against humanity. He called for multilateral sanctions on the junta and the state energy firm, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. Amnesty International accused the army of using lethal force against protesters and said many killings it had documented amounted to extra-judicial executions. "These are not the actions of overwhelmed, individual officers making poor decisions," said Joanne Mariner, Amnesty's director of crisis response. "These are unrepentant commanders already implicated in crimes against humanity, deploying their troops and murderous methods in the open." Suu Kyi, 75, fought for decades to overturn military rule under previous juntas before the start of tentative democratic reforms in 2011. She had spent a total of around 15 years under house arrest. The army has justified taking power by saying that a November election, overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi's party, was marred by fraud - an assertion rejected by the electoral commission. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun reiterated that the military would only be in charge for a certain period before holding an election. The junta has said a state of emergency will last for a year, but has not set a date for the election. The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday condemned violence against protesters and urged the army to show restraint. But language that would have denounced the military takeover as a coup or threatened possible further action was removed from the British-drafted text, due to opposition by China, India, Russia and Vietnam. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped the Security Council statement would push the military to realise it "is absolutely essential" that all prisoners are released and the results of the November election are respected. In Myanmar, state media said the junta had removed an insurgent group, the Arakan Army (AA), from a list of terrorist groups because it had stopped attacks in order to help establish peace across the country. The AA, which is fighting for greater autonomy in the western state of Rakhine, had become one of the most formidable forces in challenging an army that has been fighting various ethnic wars for seven decades. (Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Clarence Fernandez and Angus MacSwan) Flash China's top diplomats will hold a high-level strategic dialogue with their U.S. counterparts in Alaska on March 18 and 19 at the invitation of the U.S. side, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian confirmed Thursday. 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, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will attend the meeting scheduled to be held in Anchorage. China's position on China-U.S. relations is clear, Zhao said in response to a relevant question. China urges the U.S. side to view China and China-U.S. relations in an objective and rational way, abandon the Cold War and zero-sum mentality, respect China's sovereignty, security and development interests, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, focus on cooperation and manage differences in accordance with the spirit of the conversation between the two heads of state, and bring China-U.S. relations back on the right track of sound and stable development, he said. Vietnams Ministry of Heath has warned of fraudulent schemes related to the sale of COVID-19 vaccines in the country. Many local and foreign organizations and businesses have contacted the Vietnamese Ministry of Health offering to supply COVID-19 shots from such producers as Moderna and AstraZeneca, the ministry said in an announcement on Wednesday. These producers, however, have yet to authorize such organizations and businesses to sell their shots. On March 1, AstraZeneca sent a letter to assert that it had not authorized any other organizations to distribute its vaccine in Vietnam aside from the COVAX scheme, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC). Moderna has also said that the firm has yet to authorize any organizations to import or sell its COVID-19 jab in Vietnam. Other producers, including Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, already have branches in Vietnam, which eliminates any need for middlemen. Regarding Russias Sputnik V vaccine, the Embassy of Russia in Vietnam stated that the import, sale, or cooperation related to the vaccine must be discussed with the Russian Direct Investment Fund. China and India have confirmed that the purchase and import of their COVID-19 vaccines must be approved by their governments. In an announcement on February 15, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) warned all governments of potential scams in the sale of COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine sale fraud could come in many forms, according to OLAF. For example fraudsters may offer to sell large quantities of vaccines, deliver a sample in order to pocket the first advance payment and then vanish with the money, said Ville Itala, Director-General of the OLAF. They may deliver batches of fake vaccines. Or they may falsely purport to represent legitimate business and claim to be in the possession of or have access to vaccines. The Vietnamese health ministry has encouraged competent businesses to negotiate with their partners to import COVID-19 vaccine into the country, but these businesses are advised to be cautious while verifying cooperation offers in order to ensure legal and commercial safety. Businesses can also seek assistance from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Security, or diplomatic and trade agencies in verifying necessary information. The negotiation and purchase of COVID-19 vaccine should be promptly reported to the health ministry so that the import, management, and vaccination process can be carried out in line with regulations. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! How To Cook A Camel and 101 Delicious Recipies: a compendium of the authors family favorites and the recipes he has developed while working with some of Vancouvers most celebrated chefs. How To Cook A Camel and 101 Delicious Recipies is the creation of published author Richard Joseph Forde, a writer who is one of the most dynamic personalities in the Vancouver Culinary Scene and is a classically-trained, professional Red Seal chef and former honors graduate of the Dubrulle Culinary Institute. Forde writes, Camel meat has been consumed for centuries, with early records dating back to ancient Persian banquets. It is still prominent in cuisines from certain regions, including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and other parts of West and Northeast Africa and West Asia. Camel meat is also a growing feature in Australian cuisine. This quote from the opening of the book explains that Camel meat has been a staple for many countries and ethnicities for millennia. As they do not have a heard of Alberta grass-fed beef in the back 40 to draw from, Camel is one of their main proteins. As the title states, in How to Cook a Camel, Rick Forde says, I have always said I could cook anything. Just show me where the stove is until I ran across this feast. I wanted to bring to the Western world the assimilation between eating moose meat and eating camel meatnot so different, both huge beasts, albeit in different parts of the world. I asked someone, Would you have a problem with a cookbook titled How to Cook a Moose? They replied, Of course not. I have a moose in my freezer. I wonder what Camel tastes like. I said, Try the tagine. The other hundred delicious recipes are a few originals scattered with recipes I have ripped out of magazines in the dentist office or seen on TV and quickly wrote down on a scrap paper and a few popular nostalgic recipes, even some from my elementary school (Stuart Wood Elementary) cookbook. We put together the recipes, written exactly how they were submitted. I published this book for the new family and the old family. The recipes are easy enough for kids to get into and start cooking with reckless abandon. Enjoy! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Richard Joseph Fordes new book provides readers with extraordinary recipes that they will surely enjoy. Here, not only will the readers learn how to cook unique dishes, but they will also come to know the various stories behind each dish. View a synopsis of How To Cook A Camel and 101 Delicious Recipies on YouTube. Consumers can purchase How To Cook A Camel and 101 Delicious Recipies at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about How To Cook A Camel and 101 Delicious Recipies, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. People who live in Montmorency, in Melbournes outer north-east, often say the green, hilly suburb, which is full of walking paths and parks, feels more like a country town. However, resident Damian Magner is worried the area is at risk of losing one of its environmental assets, after locals discovered that a patch of remnant bushland, about to be cleared as part of level crossing removal works, is home to the endangered Eltham copper butterfly. Jane Oldfield and Damian Magner are concerned the habitat of the endangered Eltham copper butterfly is being removed in Montmorency to make way for level crossings works. Credit:Eddie Jim Mr Magner said a friend who did not want to be identified was walking through the bushland area looking for orchids when a butterfly flew past him. He immediately identified it as an Eltham copper butterfly, and hes been back there over a number of weeks, observing them on plants. He estimates the population is 30 to 40 animals. Representative Image Cairo [Egypt], March 11 (ANI/Sputnik): Twenty people were killed and at least 23 others were injured as a result of a fire that emerged at a garment facility in the Al Qalyubia province in northern Egypt, the province's administration said on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Al Ahram newspaper reported 12 fatalities and 19 injuries. "The death toll from the fire that occurred in the Al Obour city increased to 20, 23 were injured," the administration said. More than 10 fire brigades were sent to the scene, effort to extinguish the fire continues. (ANI/Sputnik) With the amazing camera on todays iPhone 12, we all fancy ourselves a photographer these days. If youd really like to up your photography skills, you can learn from the pros from the comfort of your couch at home thanks to Photo School: Learn Photography & Photoshop from Hollywoods Masters. Professional photographers will walk you through 13 courses packed with 20 hours of content. Though they would all typically set you back $5,760, theyre available now in this bundle in the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub for a massive 96% off at just $99.99. Master photography and photoshop under the professional guidance of teachers like Patrick Hoelck, the co-founder of Photo School. Patrick is known for his celebrity portraits and teaches courses like Natural Light with Patrick Hoelck and In the Studio with Patrick Hoelck, which teaches you everything you need to know about studio shoot setups. Instructor Jess Herman teaches Processing and Retouching in Photoshop, a course that will school you on what to do after that photoshoot. And international photographer Estevan Oriol walks you through a course about street photography, among many other info-packed courses included. Get the tools to become a professional photog with the Photo School: Learn Photography & Photoshop from Hollywoods Masters bundle. Its just $99.99 in the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub today. Prices subject to change. A 35-year-old man who decapitated his mother in her Louth home has been jailed for life after he pleaded guilty to murder this morning. Tomasz Krzysztof Piotrowski, who had previously lied to psychiatrists in an attempt to get a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a lesser sentence, was arraigned before and sentenced by the Central Criminal Court less than a week after he was deemed fit to stand trial. Piotrowski, originally from Poland but with an address at Cherrybrook, Ardee, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to murdering his mother Elzbieta Piotrowska (57) on January 8, 2019 at her home in Clonmore, Ardee. Read More Mr Justice Michael White noted the case was the second in a matter of months where long-term drug addiction had led to a drug-induced psychosis that resulted in "the most horrific of tragedies". Ms Piotrowska's decapitated body was found in her home that morning. She had suffered a significant number of stab wounds and an axe and a number of blood-stained stanley knives were found close to her body. Piotrowski was arrested on the same day and was subsequently deemed unfit to be tried having been assessed by psychiatrists at the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) in Dundrum, Dublin. However, Mr Justice White deemed Piotrowski fit to stand trial last Friday after hearing evidence from two consultant psychiatrists who had disagreed on the issue. Delivering judgment, the judge said he was satisfied that the Polish man could find his way around navigating a plea, follow the evidence and make a proper defence. Expand Close Tomasz Piotrowski has been charged with the murder of his mother, Elzbieta Piotrowska / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tomasz Piotrowski has been charged with the murder of his mother, Elzbieta Piotrowska Giving evidence today, Superintendent John O'Flaherty said Ms Piotrowski's friend had found her body lying in a quantity of blood in the hallway of her house. The head had been removed from the body and it was further down the hallway, he said, adding that a broken part of the knife's blade was also found on the deceased. There were multiple stab wounds to her shoulder, neck and right arm and the cause of death was decapitation. Sentencing Piotrowski to the mandatory term of life imprisonment, Mr Justice White said this was the "most tragic of cases" and Ms Piotrowski and her husband of forty years had come to Ireland as hard-working Polish people in 2008. There was no doubt from the evidence that Piotrowski had intentionally set out to murder his mother and had planned to do so, he said. "This is the second case in a matter of months where it's obvious that long-term drug addiction induces serious problems for those who engage in it including a form of psychosis which is drug induced and this led to the most horrific of tragedies," he added. At a hearing last December, prosecution counsel Dominic McGinn SC, with Tom Neville BL, told the court that Dr Mary Davoren had decided Piotrowski was fit to stand trial following a consultation with him the previous month. During the consultation, Piotrowski accepted that he had lied to psychiatrists in order to get a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a lesser sentence. In her evidence, Dr Davoren said she was satisfied that the accused was able to describe the various plea options available to him, had a good understanding of them and met the criteria for fitness to stand trial. The doctor said Piotrowski had told her that he had considered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity but said he did not want to spend a long time in the CMH. However, consultant psychiatrist at the CMH Dr Conor O'Neill disagreed. He told counsel for Piotrowski, Roisin Lacey SC, that he believed the accused was still suffering from delusional beliefs, that his symptoms are most likely the result of paranoid schizophrenia and that he was not fit to plead at his trial. Dr O'Neill said the defendant continued to hold a range of delusional beliefs including that the deceased is not his real mother but a witch who used black magic to harm him. He said the accused was actively psychotic, did not have the capacity to instruct counsel and was not fit to be tried. A look at Thursday's major share movers on the London Stock Exchange PLC ( ) dipped 4% to 427.6p before close as the banking sector continued to be damaged by bond yields losing ground. The bank was the largest faller in the FTSE 100 index after Investec downgraded it to sell. An already bad day of trading wasnt helped by an employee testing positive for COVID-19 in the Hong Kong office, so the group had to vacate an entire floor of its headquarters and ask staff to work from home unless necessary. 2.45pm: Rolls-Royce moves higher despite posting 4bn full-year loss Rolls-Royce PLC ( ) moved 2% higher to 114.95p in the afternoon despite posting an underlying loss of nearly 4bn in 2020. Investors were perhaps relieved to see that early action regarding durability issues on the Trent XWB announced in August did not result in any grounded aircraft, with no extra charge. Operating profits for 2020 were in fact boosted by a 620mln provision write-back for the ongoing Trent 1000 repair programme due to Covid-19 in a rare bit of good news from the pandemic. The engine maker added it expects a gradual market recovery in 2021, with a slow start to the year but accelerating in the second half as global vaccine rollouts progress and travel restrictions ease. 1pm: Blackbird surges after agreement with Australian edu-tech group Typsy ( ) surged 8% to 25.48p at lunchtime after establishing a three-year agreement with Typsy, an Australian educational technology group. The AIM-quoted firm will provide its cloud-based video editing platform for e-learning content designed for the hospitality industry. From our perspective, e-learning and corporate communications video content are high growth verticals and ones for which Blackbird is a strong and effective solution, commented Ian McDonough, Blackbird chief executive. 11.55am: Mining, Minerals & Metals lower after potential strategic investment falls through ( ) declined 12% to 7.5p at lunchtime after discussions with a potential strategic investor have ended. The company, which was developed to acquire businesses involved in natural resources exploration, announced in December these talks may have resulted in the potential investor acquiring over 30% in the voting rights. It added that it is reviewing a number of potential opportunities in the natural resources space and hopes to make progress on finding a suitable acquisition. 10.55am: Cannabis shares Cellular Goods and Kanabo see high demand Cannabis shares ( ) and ( ) continued to show more than mere green shoots of growth for shareholders, rising more than 6% and 1.5% respectively in the late morning. Fastforward Innovations Ltd ( ), a backer in the fervent floats of both shares in recent weeks, this morning revealed quickfire returns on investment. The investment group realised gains of 315% and 223% respectively as it sold its entire shareholdings having previously been disappointed by smaller than hoped for holdings in both, as the IPOs of each were significantly oversubscribed. Following a stellar start to publicly traded life for both, FFWDs share sales provide a 194,414 gross profit on funds committed in late February and early March. It comes on the back of FFWDs record 1.9mln investment profit, announced on Wednesday, as it agreed to sell out of another cannabis play under the influence of regulatory factors created by looming acquisition of the investee by a North American group with interest that include recreational cannabis products. 10am: Clear Leisure drops after court hearing suffers COVID-19 delay ( ) dropped 18% to 2.55p in mid-morning after the hearing due to be held on Wednesday was rescheduled to May 26 because of COVID-19 delays at the Court of Venice. The investor said it remains confident of the outcome of the litigation against Sipiems previous management and internal audit committee. Given the advanced stage of the process, the remaining legal work will require very limited involvement of the company's management, allowing the main focus of the company to be its new cryptocurrencies investment strategy, executive chairman and chief executive Francesco Gardin commented. Elsewhere, ( ) slipped 11% to 124p after forecasting a 10% fall in revenues to 4.6mln for the year to January 31. The software provider said its markets in Australia and New Zealand remain strong, the US has held up well while the UK is beginning to show signs of recovery. It plans to focus sales efforts on higher value customers in the mid-market where there is potential for revenue expansion through cross-sell and multiple location sales. 8.40am: 7digital rises early on contract with Chinese social media giant Kuaishou 7digital Group PLC ( ) was an early riser on Thursday, surging 35% to 1.725p after inking a two-year contract with Chinese social media giant Kuaishou. The end-to-end digital music solutions firm will provide mobile apps with licensed music globally. The AIM-listed company said the contract strengthens its revenue visibility as it includes a set-up fee, a monthly recurring access fee and a usage fee. Talking about contracts with Asian behemoths, ( ) jumped 21% to 1.94p on the back of a three-year collaboration with Manufacturing. The gasification technology company has been called in to look at a waste-to-energy solution for Toyota's engine manufacturing plant between Chester and Liverpool. The Deeside RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) project seeks to provide the local community, Toyota and other potential users with a decentralised energy source, with EQTEC acting as land developer and technology provider. Proactive news headlines BATM Advanced Communications (LON:BVC; TASE:BVC) has launched a new self-collected saliva-based coronavirus test that significantly improves the sample collection process and turnaround time while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. ( ) said there were no safety or data issues around its lead compound, which is being used treat people in acute respiratory distress, including those with severe coronavirus. ( ) and ( ) proved to be fruitful investments for FastForward Innovations Ltd (LON: FFWD) which today confirmed the profitable exit from its shareholding in both companies. ( ), the gasification technology company, has been called in to look at a waste-to-energy solution for Toyota's engine manufacturing plant in Deeside. EQTEC is already working on a refuse-derived fuel project to be located next door to Toyota's Deeside plant in Flintshire, Wales. Esken Limited ( ), the aviation and energy infrastructure group, saw its shares rise in early deals after reporting an encouragingly low level of cash burn. Thanks to strict financial division, cash burn excluding the Stobart Air and Propius parts of the business was just 9.4mln in the six months to the end of February. ( ) said it has seen high grades of gold and copper from further drilling at the Havieron deposit in Western Australia. Work primarily focused on infill drilling of the South East Crescent and Breccia Zone and all 26 new drill holes intersected mineralisation. ( ) was upbeat on the results of an air-core drilling programme at the northernmost Fare prospect of the Senala project in Senegal. ( ) told investors that drilling has now begun for the Merlin-1 exploration well in the North Slope area of Alaska. ( ) said eight high priority drill targets had been highlighted at the Kalaka gold project in Mali following the completion of an induced polarisation (IP) survey. ( ) said higher potash prices will increase its financing options as its moves to take the Khemisset potash project in Morocco into production. The company plans to start building the potash mine, Africa's first, by the end of 2021 and to commence production in 2023. ( ) said it has signed a commercial agreement with IQONIQ, a fan engagement platform, to become its official esports and gaming partner for the next three years. ( ) shares traded higher in Thursdays early deals as it was selected by Australia headquartered educational technology group Typsy, which will use the AIM-quoted firms cloud-based video editing platform via a three-year agreement. ( ) said inSignals Neurotech, in which it holds a 33% stake, has received a 100,000 investment from Portugal Ventures, a leading Portuguese venture capital firm. ( ) said two scientists from its hVIVO unit have had their article published in the Journal for Clinical Studies. Entitled Hot Topics - Vaccine Solutions for Tropical Diseases, it was written by Adrian Wildfire, hViVOs director of scientific and business strategy and Bruno Speder, VP of regulatory affairs and consultancy services. ( ) has appointed Emma Fox as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect. Currently CEO of Berry Bros & Rudd, Fox has over 30 years of experience in the retail, leisure, and drinks sectors. ( ) has moved its annual shareholder meeting to 11.30am on Wednesday, 7 April 2021. Oy ( ) chief executive Dr Markku Jalkanen will present at the virtual Oppenheimer 31st Annual Healthcare Conference on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 10:40am ET (3.40pm GMT). An audio webcast of the presentation will be available in the Investors section on Faron's website. District 47 - West TN Northern DYER COUNTY, SR-3 (US-51): The repair of bridges on US 51 (SR 3) over SR 211 in Dyersburg will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. *Speed limit has been reduced to 55 MPH. DYER COUNTY, SR-3 (US-51): The repair of bridges on US 51 (SR 3) over the South Fork Forked Deer River will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. Restrictions: Beginning January 25, 2021, Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction with a 12 6 lane restriction. DYER COUNTY, SR-20: The repair of bridge on US 412 (SR 20) over Hogwallow Road will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. *Speed limit has been reduced to 55 MPH. HENDERSON COUNTY (New Lexington By-Pass): The grading, drainage, construction of bridges and retaining walls, signals and paving on US 412 (SR 459) from US 412 (SR 20) west of Lexington to near SR 22 south of Lexington. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. HENRY COUNTY, SR-54: The grading, drainage, construction of bridges, retaining wall and paving on SR 54 from near Rison Street to near Smith Road. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. *Speed limit has been reduced to 35 MPH. OBION COUNTY, Future I-69 (Phase 3): Grading, drainage, construction of bridges and paving on future I-69 from west of SR 21 to US 51 (SR 3) will cause possible lane closures throughout the project. Tuesday, October 13, 2020: Bethlehem Road north from Clifford Rives Road to Lindenwood Road will be closed. Claude Tucker Road north from Cloys Road to Section Line Road will be closed. Detour routes are posted. WEAKLEY COUNTY, US 45E (SR-43): The repair of bridge on US 45E (SR 43) over the North Fork Obion River and Overflow will cause temporary lane closures throughout the project. TDOT District 47 MAINTENANCE: Wednesday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 17, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures at various locations in Region IV in order to repair pavement on an as needed basis. District 48 - West TN Middle/Southern CROCKETT COUNTY, SR-20 (US 412) (Non-TDOT work): Wednesday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 17, 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures on SR 20 (US 412) east and westbound in Bells, TN at SR 88, for the installation of a turning lane in the median and shoulder upgrades. HARDIN COUNTY, SR-69: The construction of a Bulb Tee bridge over Doe Creek along with grading, drainage, and paving may cause temporary lane closures on SR 69 at LM 10.06. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. HARDIN COUNTY, SR-128: The grading, drainage and paving on SR 128 from south of Pyburns Drive (LM 3.11) to north of SR 226 (Airport Road) (LM 6.54). Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. HAYWOOD COUNTY, SR-19 (Brownsville Bypass): The construction of an I-Beam bridge along with grading, drainage, and paving may cause temporary lane closures on SR 19 (Brownsville Bypass) from east of SR 87 to west of Windrow Rd. One lane will remain. Motorists should watch for trucks entering and exiting the roadway. Speed limit is reduced to 45 MPH within the project limits. Shaw Chapel and King Road are closed at SR 19 and a detour put in place. . Haralson St (Old SR19) is now open. HENDERSON COUNTY, SR-22: The repair of the bridges on SR 22 over Big Beaver Creek (LM 19.51) and Little Beaver Creek (LM 20.01). Motorists should watch for crews and equipment in the roadways. One lane will remain open in both directions. Restrictions: Beginning February 1, 2020 there will be a 12 width restriction put in place. MADISON COUNTY, I-40: The widening of I-40 east of US 45 (SR 5) MM 82.0 to east of US 70 (SR 1) MM 87.0 in Jackson, including bridges, retaining walls and installation of TDOT Smartway Intelligent Transportation System. Wednesday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 17, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures from Exit 82 to Exit 87 AS NEEDED for pothole repair. Thursday, March 11, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures from MM 82.3 to MM 88.0 for pothole repair Wednesday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 17, 7:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Campbell St. will be down to one lane in each direction over I-40 for Phase 1 bridge construction activities. Closed until Summer of 2021: Old Henderson Rd. Bridge over I-40 will be closed to thru traffic for Phase 1 bridge demolition activities. Detours will be posted for traffic. Closed until Summer of 2021: Watson Rd. Bridge over I-40 will be closed to thru traffic for Phase 1 bridge demolition activities. Detours will be posted for traffic. LOOK AHEAD Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures from Exit 82 to Exit 87 AS NEEDED for pothole repair. Wednesday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 24, 7:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Campbell St. will be down to one lane in each direction over I-40 for Phase 1 bridge construction activities. **Friday, March 26, 7:00 p.m., through Monday, March 29, 6:00 a.m.:** I-40 both east and westbound will have intermittent lane closures from MM 82.5 to MM 84. Median crossovers will be utilized during this time frame to allow crews to safely demolish the Henderson Rd. overpass bridge. For a majority of the weekend either eastbound or westbound traffic will have 2 through lanes, depending on which portion of the bridge is being demolished. For example, if the South portion of the bridge is being demolished, eastbound traffic will be reduced to one lane and use the temporary crossover to shift to the westbound side, while westbound traffic will still have 2 through lanes. If the North portion of the bridge is being demolished, westbound traffic will be reduced to one lane and use the temporary crossover to shift to the eastbound side, while eastbound traffic will still have 2 through lanes. MADISON COUNTY, SR-186 (US 45 Bypass) and I-40: Interchange improvements on SR 186 (US 45) north and southbound from the I-40 ramps to Old Hickory Blvd for paving and construction of retaining walls. Widening of I-40 from just east of Exit 79 to just east of Exit 82. Thursday, March 11 and Friday, March 12, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. Monday, March 15 through Wednesday, March 17, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. LOOK AHEAD Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. Monday, March 22 through Wednesday, March 24, 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m.: SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will have intermittent left and right lane closures both north and southbound from Vann Drive to the Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection for signal installation activities. Friday, March 26, 6:00 p.m. through Monday, March 29, 6:00 a.m.: FULL CLOSURE SR 5 (Highland Avenue) will be CLOSED both north and southbound from Vann Drive to Carriage House/Ridgecrest intersection as well as temporary lane closures for Vann Drive intersection for signal installation. Exit ramps at exit 82 on I-40 both east and westbound will be CLOSED for striping and switching traffic to new ramps. TDOT District 48 MAINTENANCE: Wednesday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 17, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures at various locations in Region IV in order to repair pavement on an as needed basis. TDOT REGION IV GUARDRAIL: Monday, March 15 and Tuesday, March 16, 8:00 P.M.6:00 A.M.: There will be nigh time lane closures at various locations on I-40 east and westbound between MM 44.0 and MM 134.00 in Benton, Decatur, Carroll, Henderson, Haywood, and Madison Counties. TDOT REGION IV On-Call Retrace: Wednesday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 17: There will be moving lane closures for the installation of lane lines with paint along SR 186 (US-45 Bypass) from North of SR 1 US 70 (LM 0.27) to Old Hickory Blvd. (LM 2.77) the concrete pavement section in Madison Co. where it will be retraced with thermo in the spring under the new contact District 49 - West TN Southwest FAYETTE COUNTY, I-40 : Resurfacing on I-40 from MM 27.0 to 35.0 and repair of bridges over Overflow at MM 29.72. Friday, March 12, 7:00 p.m. through Monday, March 15, 6:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound at MM 29.72 will have a lane closure of the right lane for bridge repair activities over Overflow. Speed limit will be reduced to 60 MPH during active closures. Weather Permitting. Restrictions: Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction with a 12 0 lane restriction. Friday, March 12 through Thursday, March 18, 7:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m.: I-40 east and westbound will have intermittent left and right lane closures from MM 27.0 to MM 35.0 for resurfacing operations. Speed limit will be reduced to 60 MPH during active closures. Weather Permitting. FAYETTE COUNTY, SR-196: The repair of bridge over Shaw Creek will cause a lane closure with temporary traffic signal near MM 7.0. SHELBY COUNTY, I-240 & I-55: ITS Regional Maintenance Contract Thursday, March 11, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be lane closures in Shelby County to perform routine ITS maintenance on I-55 southbound between the TN/AR state line and MM 1.0. Weather Permitting. Friday, March 12, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be lane closures to perform routine ITS maintenance in Shelby County on I-40 eastbound between the TN/AR state line and Exit 1 - Front Street. Traffic will be reduced to two lanes eastbound. Weather Permitting. SHELBY COUNTY, I-40: Mississippi River Bridge Lighting Repair LOOK AHEAD: Wednesday, March 17 through Friday, March 19, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: INTERMITTENT lane closures on I-40 east and westbound at MM 0.00 on the Hernando Desoto Bridge to allow for bridge lighting repairs. Weather Permitting SHELBY COUNTY, I-40; Interchange at Whitten Road (Eastbound Exit Ramp, Exit 14): Ramp repairs. Thursday, March 11, 8:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: There will be a temporary lane closure on the I-40 Eastbound exit ramp (Exit 14) in the outside left turn lane at Kirby Whitten Road to allow for the installation of barrier rail. One left turn lane and one right turn lane on the ramp will remain open at all times. Weather Permitting. Monday, March 15 and Tuesday, March 16 will be used as back-up dates. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-14: The grading, drainage, construction of concrete Bulb-Tee and I-beam bridges, signals and paving on SR 14 from east of Old Covington Pike to SR 385 will cause possible lane closures throughout the project. *Speed limit has been reduced to 45 MPH. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-14: Construction on SR 14 for a widening project from SR 385 to east of Kerrville Rosemark Rd. There will be possible temporary lane closures throughout the project. Access to SR 14 from McCalla Rd West will be permanently detoured to Donnell Rd. *Speed limit has been reduced to 45 MPH. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-14: Bridge Repair Over Wolf River Overflow. Construction on SR 14 to complete bridge repairs over the Wolf River. There will be lane closures and traffic shifts throughout the project. Detours will be in place. Advisory speed limit 30 MPH. SHELBY COUNTY, SR-385: The signalization and safety modifications on Ridgeway Road from Mt. Moriah Road to Quince Road in Memphis, including grading, drainage and paving. Monday, March 15 and Tuesday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. 6:00 a.m.: At the EB SR 385 Off Ramp onto Ridgeway Rd and SB Ridgeway to WB SR 385 On Ramp there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd. intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Wednesday, March 17 and Thursday, March 18 will be used. Weather Permitting. Wednesday, March 17 and Thursday, March 18, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: At the SR 385 EB Off ramp to Ridgeway, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Monday, March 22 and Thursday, March 23 will be used. Weather Permitting. LOOK AHEAD: Monday, March 22 and Tuesday, March 23, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: At the SR 385 EB On ramp from NB and SB Ridgeway, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25 will be used. Weather Permitting. Wednesday, March 24 and Thursday, March 25, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: At the SR 385 EB "On ramp from NB and SB Ridgeway, and the NB Ridgeway to WB SR 385 On ramp, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Monday, March 29 and Tuesday March 30 will be used. Weather Permitting. Monday, March 29 and Tuesday, March 30, 7:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: At the SR 385 WB Off ramp to Ridgeway, there will be nightly ramp closures to construct ADA ramps at the Ridgeway Rd intersection. Ramps to be opened by 6:00 a.m. each morning in case of rain back-up dates of Wednesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 1 will be used. Weather Permitting. TIPTON COUNTY, SR-59: The emergency slide repair of SR 59 near MM 1.0 will cause a road closure with full detour signed. TDOT District 49 On-Call Guardrail/Concrete Barrier Rail Repair Wednesday, March 10 through Tuesday, March 16, 8:00 p.m.6:00 a.m.: There will be nighttime lane closures at various locations on SR 3 (Shelby County), SR 385 (Shelby County), SR 14 (Shelby County), I-40 (Fayette and Shelby Counties), I-269 (Shelby and Fayette Counties), I-55 and I-240. One lane will be CLOSED to repair damaged guardrail. THP will assist with traffic control. Weather Permitting. Wednesday, March 10 through Tuesday, March 16, 8:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: There will be nighttime ramp closures in Shelby County at I-55 SB EXIT 6B to I-240 NB, I-55 NB ON ramp from Metal Museum Drive, I-240 WB EXIT 25A to I-55 SB, and intermittent closures on I-55 NB to continue I-55 NB (St. Louis) at I-55 NB/ I-240 WB junction. Weather Permitting. If weather prohibits, the closures will be on the next available night. Thursday, March 11, through Wednesday, March 17, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be daytime lane closures at various locations in Lauderdale County, SR 3, MM 7.0MM 21.0, and Tipton County, SR 206, MM 2.302.37. Flagmen will be used to direct traffic where necessary. Weather Permitting. LOOK AHEAD: Wednesday, March 17 through Tuesday, March 23, 8:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.: There will be nighttime ramp closures in Shelby County at I-55 SB EXIT 6B to I-240 NB, I-240 WB EXIT 25A to I-55 SB, I-40 EB EXIT 8 On ramp from SB SR 14, I-40 WB EXIT 18 on ramp from SR 15 (US 64), and intermittent closures on I-55 NB to continue I-55 NB (St. Louis) at I-55 NB/ I-240 WB junction. Weather Permitting. TDOT District 49 MAINTENANCE Thursday, March 11 through Wednesday, March 17, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.: There will be possible lane closures on all interstates and state routes in District 49 for routine maintenance activities on an as needed basis. TDOT Region IV On-Call Retrace: Wednesday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 17: There will be lane closures for the installation of stop lines and cross walks in Shelby County at various intersections along SR 1 (US 70) from Shelby County Line (LM 30.82) to Florida St. (LM 0.29). From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone for travel information, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511 for statewide travel or for West Tennessee follow https://twitter.com/NicLawrenceTDOT . As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for your destination. Drivers should never tweet, text or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel. In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Transportation lost three workers in the line of duty. All three were struck by passing motorists. Those tragedies bring the total number of TDOT lives lost to 112. We dont want to lose another member of our TDOT family. Were asking you to WORK WITH US. Click on the WORK WITH US logo to learn more. Seasoned Digital Advertising and Recruitment Marketing Leaders to Drive Company's Expansion in Europe LONDON, March 11, 2021, the global leader in programmatic recruitment advertising technology, appointed Raja (Raj) Balachandran as its General Manager, UK, and Karim Jelatat as its General Manager, France. Raj and Karim will spearhead Joveo's growth, customer success, and partnership initiatives in Europe. Raj brings with him close to a decade of programmatic advertising experience, having been associated with the demand and supply side in both advertising technology companies as well as recruitment marketing agencies. In his previous role at Penna, one of the UK's top recruitment media agencies, he pioneered the use of programmatic advertising for recruitment in the region across several channels, including display, video, and audio, to enable employers to target and attract the right talent, while enhancing candidate experience. Prior to joining Penna, Raj led partnerships at digital advertising technology companies, where he delivered significant revenue growth across their strategic clients. "I'm delighted to be joining Joveo at such an exciting time," said Raj. "Recruitment marketing leaders in the UK and Europe are increasingly adopting performance-based approaches, while continuing to leverage pay-per-post channels, as they seek higher efficiencies and predictability. As the only independent, media-agnostic, and transparent programmatic job advertising platform, we are experiencing unprecedented demand for our solutions in the region. I look forward to delivering extraordinary results for our customers in the UK, while exponentially scaling our market footprint." Karim is a seasoned recruitment marketing executive with 15+ years of experience driving sales, customer success, and partnership teams in highly dynamic environments. Prior to joining Joveo, he was General Manager and Vice President at Figaro Classifieds, a leading digital media company in France. Before Figaro, Karim served as Global Account Director EMEA at Indeed, where he was instrumental in establishing their business in the French market. He began his professional career in telesales at Monster, before becoming Sales Director in 2008. "I am thrilled to be a part of the stellar team at Joveo," said Karim. "As talent acquisition and recruitment marketing leaders in France are looking to do more with less, they are in dire need of a platform like Joveo's to drive a higher volume of relevant applicants, reduce cost-per-hire, and get complete transparency into the performance, cost, and ROI of their campaigns." In 2020, the European market delivered record contributions to Joveo's revenue as the overall media spend in the region grew by almost 400% compared to the previous year. "We are excited to have Raj and Karim join our global leadership team," said Kshitij Jain (KJ), Founder and CEO of Joveo. "The recruitment ecosystem in Europe is at a watershed moment, where the adoption of pay-for-performance job advertising is growing, as is the need to support pay-per-post strategies with a single platform, which also provides the ability to seamlessly switch between multiple currencies and languages. Raj and Karim's deep digital and recruitment advertising expertise will help guide the market through this transformational shift. We are committed to the European market for the long haul and couldn't have better leaders to drive our growth in the region." For more information about Joveo's award-winning platform, visit www.joveo.com . About Joveo Joveo, the global leader in programmatic job advertising, is changing the way recruitment media buying is done. The Joveo platform enables businesses to buy, manage, and track recruitment media, including job sites, social and search marketplaces, and the whole World Wide Web, to attract and hire the most relevant applicants on time, within their budget. Powering more than 20 million jobs every day, Joveo's data-driven recruitment advertising platform uses advanced data science and machine learning to dynamically manage and optimise talent sourcing and applications across all online channels, while providing real-time insights at every step of the job seeker journey from click to hire. For more information, visit www.joveo.com . Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter . US Ambassador Earl Miller calls on Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen Dhaka, Mar 11 (UNI) The Ambassador of the United States in Bangladesh Earl R Miller called on Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen on Wednesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They discussed about Dr Momen's recent visit to Washington DC in February 2021. Dr Momen termed his visit to the US as a successful one, and stated that he had a very fruitful discussion with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The US Ambassador also informed that he received good feedback from Washington about the meeting. Foreign Minister Dr, Momen also informed the Ambassador about his talks, during the visit, with US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and five US lawmakers; and about his participation in three events organized by the US Chambers, Newlines Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) respectively. The Prize recognises the best works of literary fiction from the EBRDs regions translated into English Longlist features work translated from eight languages Winner of 20,000 prize to be announced in May The EBRD Literature Prize 2021, launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to promote translated literary fiction from its regions of operations, announces its selected longlist today. This is now the fourth year of the EBRD Literature Prize which celebrates the very best in translated literature from the nearly 40 countries where the Bank invests: from central and eastern Europe to Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the southern and eastern Mediterranean. The 20,000 Prize is awarded to the best work of literary fiction originally written in a language from one of these countries, which has been translated into English and published by a UK or a Europe-based publisher. The international prize was created in 2017 by the EBRD with funding provided by the members of the EBRD, in cooperation with the British Council. It is one of the few international literature prizes which recognises both author and translator in equal measure. The independent panel of judges for the EBRD Literature Prize 2021 has selected 10 novels that they consider outstanding works of storytelling. In total, eight languages feature on the selected longlist, which represents a fascinating mix of cultures from across the EBRD regions of operations. Toby Lichtig, Chair of the Judges, said: Given the diversity of territories covered by the EBRD, it is perhaps unsurprising how varied and culturally rich this longlist is, both thematically and stylistically. The ten books move us from 1930s Warsaw to 1950s Czechoslovakia to contemporary Ukrainian no mans land; from a Kafakaesque tale of judicial injustice to an absurdist tragicomedy of human smuggling; from the dying days of the Ottoman Empire to an alternative Balkans hauling itself into the present day. Taken together, they give a picture of an Eurasian region riven with the scars of war and displacement, cruelty and carelessness, and teeming with human resilience and ingenuity. And love. Each book is unique, each translation brilliantly realised. The longlist titles, in alphabetical order by author, are: Love in the Days of Rebellion by Ahmet Altan, translated by Brendan Freely and Yelda Turedi (Europa Editions). Language: Turkish. Country: Turkey. The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili, translated by Elizabeth Heighway (Peirene Press. Language: Georgian. Country: Georgia. Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk (MacLehose Press, an imprint of Quercus). Language: Russian. Country: Ukraine Carbide by Andriy Lyubka, translated by Reilly Costigan-Humes and Isaac Stockhouse Wheeler (Jantar Publishing Ltd). Language: Ukrainian. Country: Ukraine Hana by Alena Mornstajnova, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood (Parthian Books). Language: Czech. Country: Czech Republic. No-Signal Area by Robert Perisic, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac (Seven Stories Press). Language: Croatian. Country: Croatia. The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse by Ayfer Tunc, translated by Feyza Howell (Istros Books). Language: Turkish. Country: Turkey. The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch, translated by Sean Gasper Bye (Amazon Crossing). Language: Polish. Country: Poland. Mr K Released by Matei Visniec, translated by Jozefina Komporaly (Seagull Books). Language: Romanian. Country: Romania. Your Ad Could Go Here by Oksana Zabuzhko, translated by Nina Murray, Marta Horban, Marco Carynnyk, Halyna Hryn, and Askold Melnyczuk (Amazon Crossing). Language: Ukrainian. Country: Ukraine. The EBRD Literature Prize is a project of the Banks Community Initiative, a programme which provides a framework for the engagement of staff and the institution in philanthropic, social and cultural activities in the regions where the Bank works. The Chair of the Community Initiative, Kazuhiko Koguchi, said today: The Literature Prize reminds us of the wealth of creativity and cultures across our regions of operations, and highlights the role of storytelling in connecting us all and building bridges across borders. The finalists (three authors and their translators) of the EBRD Literature Prize 2021 will be announced on 3 May 2021. All will be invited to attend the award ceremony later that month (date to be determined), where the winner of the EBRD Literature Prize 2021 will be announced. About the Judges Toby Lichtig (Chair of Judges) is the Fiction and Politics Editor of the Times Literary Supplement (TLS). He is also a freelance editor and writer, and writes for a range of publications including the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian. Toby has appeared as a guest critic on various television and radio programmes. He also freelances as a documentary producer. He was chair of judges of the 2018 JQ-Wingate Prize and was a jury member of the 2019 EU Prize for Literature. Twitter: @TobyLichtig Anna Aslanyan is a freelance journalist and translator from Russian. She writes for the London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) and other publications. Her translation of Egor Kovalevsky's 1848 travelogue, A Journey to Inner Africa, is forthcoming with Amherst College Press in November 2020. Her popular history of translation, Dancing on Ropes: Translators and the Balance of History, will be published by Profile Books in May 2021. Twitter: @anna_aslanyan Julian Evans is a biographer, travel writer and translator. He established himself on the literary scene with Transit of Venus (1992), an account of his journey across the Pacific Ocean to the US's nuclear-missile test range at Kwajalein Atoll. His most recent book is Semi-Invisible Man, an authorised biography of the writer Norman Lewis. Julian has written and presented radio and television documentaries and writes for English and French newspapers and magazines including the Guardian, Prospect, Daily Telegraph, Granta, Conde Nast Traveller, and LAtelier du Roman. He translates from French and German and is a recipient of the Prix du Rayonnement de la Langue Francaise from the Academie Francaise. He is a Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow. Twitter: @thejulianevans Kirsty Lang is an experienced journalist and broadcaster with a special interest in foreign affairs and the arts. She spent many years as a foreign correspondent reporting for the BBC and the Sunday Times from eastern Europe and later Paris. Shes been a presenter on Channel 4 News, BBC World, and the Radio 4 daily arts programme Front Row. She chaired the Orange Prize for Fiction, and was a judge of the Independent Prize for Foreign Fiction in Translation. She has been a visiting Professor in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York and teaches a writing course at University College London. She is also Chair of the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead and a former Trustee of the British Council. Twitter: @bbckirstylang A fake Uber driver who prowled one of Brisbane's busiest party precincts and sexually assaulted women on the ride home has been jailed for at least 18 months. Sampath Sandaruwan Samaranayake posed as an Uber driver to lure women into his car in the early hours of September 2018. The 44-year-old was found guilty in the Brisbane District Court on Thursday of 18 counts, including sexual and indecent assault and deprivation of liberty. A jury took less than three hours to find Samaranayake assaulted five women in separate attacks, forcing them to touch him on the ride home. He also touched, kissed and exposed himself to the women, with some trapped in the car. Samaranayake denied the claims, saying it was impossible to force women to touch his genitals because he needed both hands to hold his stomach out of the way. Sampath Sandaruwan Samaranayake, 44, has been jailed for at least 18 months after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting five women while posing as an Uber driver The father-of-two took the stand on Wednesday, admitting Uber rejected his application because his 2007 Land Rover was considered too old. The full-time chef said he was under financial pressure and needed a second job to pay to have skin folds removed when he started his own rideshare scheme. He would trawl the nightclub precinct looking for passengers waiting for Uber drivers and offered to take them home for a cash fee. Samaranayake would discuss his weight loss and how conscious he remained about the 25 to 30 kilos of skin folds left on his body. He claimed the women enjoyed chatting, and his alleged victims tried to touch him to comfort him. In sentencing submissions, crown prosecutor Sandra Cupina said Samaranayake had previously been convicted of assaulting a teenage girl in Victoria. Jessica Small, who was a victim of Samaranayake, is pictured talking to the media outside the Brisbane District Court on Thursday He had been working as a delivery driver in 2010 when he lured the 15-year-old girl into his van, told her he had a 'small penis', and made the girl touch him while he masturbated. His behaviour had since escalated, Ms Cupina said. 'He has deliberately prowled the Fortitude Valley area in the early hours of the mornings and late at night to target young women,' she said. 'He has deliberately exploited both the vulnerability and their humanity of young women in order to obtain sexual gratification.' She said Samaranayake had shown no remorse for his victims, who were left traumatised. 'He seems to blame the women and, in fact, he feels unfairly treated, so his prospect of rehabilitation is limited.' In sentencing, Judge Tony Moynihan said it would have been a terrifying experience for the victims. He acknowledged the bravery of victim Jessica Small, who was present in court for the verdict and gave permission to be identified when speaking outside court about her ordeal. A Brisbane District Court jury took less than three hours to find Samaranayake (pictured) assaulted five women in separate attacks, forcing them to touch him on the ride home Ms Small (pictured) was present in court for the verdict and gave permission to be identified when speaking outside court 'I am just really relieved to have all this over and done with. It's finally over,' she said outside the court. 'It has definitely taught me to think a little before I blindly trust strangers. 'You would like to think everyone has best intentions but it is worth being safe - that's what I took away from this.' Ms Small met Samaranayake's four other victims at the start of the trial and said there was some comfort knowing she was not alone. 'It was a little bit of a relief to know I'm not the only one to experience this. It was kind of nice to have other women backing me up and telling the same story.' Samaranayake was sentenced to three years imprisonment and will be eligible to apply for parole after serving half his sentence. He is expected to be deported to Sri Lanka after release. Brent crude gained 0.56% to settle at US$67.90 per barrel on Wednesday as upbeat forecasts for global economic recovery supported prices. The US bond market digested a US$38 billion auction of 10-year Treasury bonds without a spike in volatility. S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) was trading near the flatline with a 0.15% fall by about 1.50 pm as Sydney property prices are back above the peak last hit in 2017 and currently sit at record highs, according to CoreLogic data. This follows a 15% fall in prices between July 2017 and May 2019. Source: www.corelogic.com.au Iron ore stocks were continuing to decline, with BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) shares falling 1.39% after iron ore prices eased 6.1% on Wednesday. The technology sector was also struggling, down 2.17% with Afterpay ( ) declining 2.7% to $112.17. Top gainers Todays top gainers on the ASX include ( ) (+20.00%), ( ) (+11.54%), Carnavale Resources Limited ( ) (+12.50%), Domacom Australia Ltd ( ) (+13.40%), ( ) (+10.00%), ( ) (+10.00%) and ( ) (+12.82%). Proactive news headlines: Antipa Minerals identifies 12 new targets for Wilki farm-in exploration in Paterson Province ( ) has identified new targets for exploration at the Wilki farm-in Project with Newcrest Mining Ltd ( ) in the Paterson Province in Western Australia off the back of new 2020 drill results. MMJ Group investees raise equity as cannabis continues to be a bullish sector s ( ) publicly listed portfolio companies have taken advantage of continued positive news on the regulatory front for cannabis. Imguene to present on CF33 and HER-Vaxx immunotherapy programs at American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting ( ) ( ) will present on two key novel immunotherapies that seek to activate the immune system of cancer patients to treat and eradicate tumours - the CF33 oncolytic virus program and HER-Vaxx cancer immunotherapy program - at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2021 annual meeting in April. VRX Silica plans grade control drilling to upgrade Arrowsmith North resource as mining preparations continue ( ) will begin a 130-hole aircore grade control drilling program later this month aimed at upgrading the 11.3 million tonnes resource at Arrowsmith North Silica Sand Project around 270 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia. Nanoveu higher as it gains further international momentum for antiviral protection technologies s ( ) suite of NanoshieldTM antiviral protection technologies continue to develop international momentum with further in-bound enquiries leading to a growing list of international distribution partners. Mako Gold intersects further wide high-grade gold at Tchaga prospect on path to maiden resource ( ) has intersected further wide high-grade gold during ongoing drilling at Tchaga prospect within the flagship Napie Project in Cote dIvoire enhancing the company's plan to outline a maiden resource at the prospect. Marvel Gold enhances relationships with local Malian communities through social investment ( ) (FRA:GR2) has completed and commissioned the first community initiative in Mali since beginning exploration at Tabakorole with the installation of a solar-powered water pump and elevated water tank storage for the village of Tabakorole. Alto Metals well funded with around $7.8 million in cash after raising $2.1 million from conversion of options ( ) has received $2.1 million in cash and issued 30 million fully paid new company shares through the conversion of 30 million unlisted options at an issue price of 7 cents per share. Tortora Brayda The wealth of experience and strategic acumen of our Task Forces is enabling our Think Tank to be a true game-changer in shaping a better, safer and fairer future. Tortora Brayda Partnership Excellence, a non-profit international organization for public-private partnership development, today announced four new Task Forces addressing critical topics identified by the organizations Think Tank. The organizations Think Tank meetings rapidly established ground for further work to address the critical topics that the council members selected at the meetings. Members with passion for the topic and vision for how partnerships can make a difference in this area, come together in the Task Forces to drive the change. The wealth of experience and strategic acumen of our Task Forces is enabling our Think Tank to be a true game-changer in shaping a better, safer and fairer future," said Carlo Tortora Brayda, Founder and Chairperson at Tortora Brayda Partnership Excellence. "Our Task Forces operationalize the Think Tanks strategic deliberations and are deeply transformative. The Task Forces are formed by Expert Council members of Tortora Brayda and guided by a Chair and a Co-Chair and about a dozen expert members from the private sector, public sector, academia and former government officials. Their goal is to effect positive change. The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the cybersecurity ecosystem is a force multiplier, supplementing operational efforts across all phases of the cybersecurity lifecycle. In a world of rapidly evolving threats, AI can transform tasks like monitoring and adversarial attack detection while reducing security costs, said Michael Thiessmeier, CEO at Allied Cyberpartners and Co-Chair of the National Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity ISAO (NAIC ISAO) Task Force. The current Task Forces are: National Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity ISAO (NAIC ISAO) - AI technology is deficient in cybersecurity controls, regulations, and the policies to govern it. While AI benefits cybersecurity, it also presents new risks and threats. AI is vulnerable to exploitation and weaponization by bad actors & cybercriminals. AI systems require ethical and technical guardrails to ensure integrity. The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity requires the framework, policies, laws, and solutions to support it. Our ISAO maintains a technological advantage while defending against threats, it adopts a whole-of-nation approach and operates with cohesion across all sectors. The National Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity ISAO (NAIC ISAO) addresses these challenges and supports National Security, promotes innovation, and cultivates cyber diplomacy with our allies. Autonomous Government This Task Force drives to create new models of digital democracy, utilizing AI, Big Data and Machine Learning, wrapped in extreme cybersecurity. Its goal is to develop and promote new and innovative ways to support our inclusive democratic processes, in particular, it is exploring new models of Pure Democracy, enacted through digital direct means, pushing the boundaries of narrow artificial intelligence. AI and Cyber Security Talent Gap Aimed at promoting the development of best practices to address the talent gap within cyber security and AI. The task force will look into particular models, training programs, and innovative ways to promote these job opportunities with diversity and inclusion at the top of mind. As international cyberattacks have grown in sophistication and frequency, companies have had trouble finding qualified applicants and recruiting skilled cybersecurity experts. Tortora Brayda Think Tank sees this talent gap as an issue of national security importance and seeks to help to close the gap. AI for Good Global Summit - Silicon Valley Innovation Factory - This Task Force organizes the Silicon Valley Innovation Factory in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. This is an initiative by the AI for Good Global Summit, which is the United Nations platform for AI supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. Participating entrepreneurs pitch their AI solutions to a judging panel composed of mentors from the AI for Good community. The competition takes place annually and is designed to foster innovation in artificial intelligence as a force for good. "The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity requires the framework, policies, laws, and solutions to support it. To maintain a technological advantage while defending against threats, we must adopt a whole-of-nation approach and operate with cohesion across all sectors," said Jennifer Gold, Co-Chair of the National Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity ISAO (NAIC ISAO) Task Force. "To tackle these challenges, we have launched the NAIC ISAO Task Force to build an organization that will support National Security, promote innovation, and cultivate digital diplomacy with our allies. The organization has a steady pipeline of critical topics for their upcoming Think Tank meetings and expects additional Task Forces to be formed, as a continuing success of its think-and-do policy. To be part of, and impact the changing future through technology innovation, you can apply to become a Tortora Brayda member here. About Tortora Brayda Tortora Brayda Partnership Excellence is an International Organization for Partnership Development. The organization engages business, cultural, government, and thought leaders worldwide to reshape and develop collaboration and partnering practices with a view to improving and securing business and economies. It is established as a not-for-profit entity and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. To learn more about Tortora Brayda, visit https://www.tortorabrayda.org/. About ITU AI for Good Global Summit The AI for Good Global Summit series is the leading action-oriented, global & inclusive United Nations platform on AI. The Summit is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with XPRIZE Foundation in partnership with close to 40 Sister United Nations agencies, Switzerland and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The goal is to identify practical applications of AI and scale those solutions for global impact. To learn more about AI for Good, visit https://aiforgood.itu.int/. Contact: Susanne Runald Media Relations Tortora Brayda media@tortorabrayda.org Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Definition: Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) is a highly versatile synthetic rubber, which exhibits excellent resistance to oxygen, ozone, polar materials, and sunlight and is highly resistant to steam, heat, and water. It is used across diverse industry verticals for a wide range of applications. Market Research Future (MRFR) has added the global COVID-19 Impact ON Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market to its existing portfolio, which is a compilation of the key dynamics affecting the market. As per the report, COVID-19 Impact ON Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market is expected to catapult to USD 6.5 Bn by the end of 2025 from USD 3.9 Bn in 2019, at a CAGR of 6% over the forecast period of 2019-2025. Get a Free Sample of This Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2767 Market Scenario and Growth Factors: EPDM experiences significant demand from the automotive industry, where its properties such as excellent resistance to heat, UV rays, and ozone is highly desirable. They help in reflection of UV rays and reduce polymer degradation due to which they are used in engine mounts, vehicle glazing systems, moisture barriers, valves, and pumps. They are used in the manufacturing of seals & gaskets, weather-stripping, brake parts, radiator, tubing, belts, windshield wipers, and others. Expanding the automotive industry and increasing the production of vehicles is supporting the growth of the market. EPDM is also used in the construction industry for waterproofing applications. They help in lowering air-conditioning costs as well. The booming construction industry in the developing countries of Asia Pacific is favoring the growth of the market. Other factors supporting the growth of the market include numerous rainwater harvesting initiatives undertaken in various countries and increasing adoption of green cities. On the other hand, the growth of the market might be hindered by the volatile price of raw materials. Competitive Landscape: Firestone Building Products Company (US), Exxon Mobil Corporation (US), SABIC (Saudi Arabia), Dow (US), Carlisle Companies Inc. (US), JSR Corporation (Japan), SK global chemical Co., Ltd (South Korea), Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Japan), Lion Elastomers (US), LANXESS AG (Germany), KUMHO POLYCHEM (South Korea), Johns Manville (US), Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd (Japan) Segmentation: The Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Market has been segmented based on application and end-use industry. By application, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into seals & gaskets, weather-stripping, tires & tubes, wire & cables, roofing membranes, electric insulation, radiators, oil additives, and others. By end-use industry, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into automotive, building & construction, aerospace & defense, electrical & electronics, consumer goods, medical, and others. Regional Analysis: Region-wise, the ethylene propylene diene monomer market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa (MEA), Europe, and Asia Pacific (APAC). The largest share of the market was captured by APAC in 2019. The region is in the midst of rapid industrialization, and various end-use industries of EPDM are expanding at an accelerated pace in the region, which is generating constant demand within the market. The prolific growth of the automotive industry in the UK, Germany, Italy, and France are supporting the growth of the EPDM market in Europe. Besides, the European Union (EU) has laid down stringent regulations for environment protection, which works in favor of the EPDM market. The region is investing significantly in the medical sector, which is inducing the growth of the market. North America EPDM market is likely to exhibit substantial growth in the coming years. Demand will be generated from the automotive, electrical & electronics, construction, and healthcare industries. The growth of Latin America EPDM market can be attributed to the fast track industrialization in countries such as Brazil and Chile. The MEA market growth is driven by the GCC countries. Construction activities are going on at a torrid pace, which is inducing high demand within the market. Access Complete Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer-market-2767 Medical syringe major Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd (HMD) has received an order for supply of 265 million auto disable syringes from Government of India, said a top company official. He said the government had issued a tender for 350 million pieces and the over Rs 650 crore turnover Hindustan Syringes was the lowest bidder. "Supplies for the new order will happen till September this year. The order value will be about Rs55 crore. We will be completing the supplies for the earlier three orders for 0.5 ml auto disable syringes totaling 177.5 million pieces from the bagged by the end of this month," Rajiv Nath, Managing Director told IANS. Nath said the company has allocated two thirds of its production capacity for Government of India orders and the balance for global UN customers. Hindustan Syringes ships out 0.1 ml and 0.5 ml auto disposable Kojak syringes for global vaccination projects in developing world whether for Yellow Fever or Measles or Hepatitis B or Pentavalent or BCG and others. This is in addition to Covid-19 vaccination requirements of 0.3 ml for Pfizer's vaccines or 0.5 ml auto disable Kojak for Astra Zeneca/ Serums or Bharat Biotech's vaccines, Nath added. Hindustan Syringes had expanded its production capacity to cater to the increased demand for auto disposable syringes at an outlay of Rs. 100 crore. "The investment for expansion which began last June will be completed in June 2021," Nath said. From 500 million pieces per annum capacity of 0.5 ml auto disposable syringes in June 2020 the company is making about 800 million pieces and plans to take touch 1 billion pieces by this June and 1.2 billion pieces by this September. The company produces over 2.5 billion assorted syringes a year and plans to scale it up to 3 to 3 billion by July this year. This is the size sought by Public Healthcare in India and most countries for Covid. For Private Healthcare the Dispovan Disposable Syringes are still popular but we see a shift by the progressive hospitals who wish to assure their patients of higher injection safety. One Injection One Syringe. "We have received orders for 240 million Kojak syringes for COVAX via UNICEF and 79 million for Brazil for Dispovan syringes via PAHO which we are executing alongside. "We had shipped 140 million Kojak syringes to Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) in last December. We have recently sold 15 million syringes to the Japanese government. In totality we serve over 120 countries worldwide," Nath said. According to him, over 440 million Kojak syringes will be supplied to Government of India's massive vaccination drive by September including 177 million by April this year alongside supplies of Dispovan syringes to the private hospitals and vaccination clinics. --IANS vj/in (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.) Italian government expected to tighten covid-19 restrictions at weekends and over Easter. Italy is expected to introduce tighter covid-19 restrictions, based on the advice of the government's technical scientific committee (CTS), amid rising infections fuelled by virus variants. The new measures proposed by the CTS experts include shutting all non-essential shops and businesses at weekends - similar to the restrictions imposed over the Christmas holidays - in a bid to reduce social contact between people, even in lower-risk yellow zones, and an extension of the inter-regional travel ban, currently in place until 27 March. The possible new restrictions, which could see a nationwide clampdown over Easter and tougher measures in high-risk red zones, are set to be announced on 12 March and take effect from this weekend, reports Italian news agency ANSA. The coalition government of Mario Draghi is reportedly divided on the tightening of restrictions, however, with further talks expected with regional leaders before the premier convenes his cabinet on Friday to decide how to proceed. "Our scientists are asking us to take stricter measures and I believe that it is right" - said health minister Roberto Speranza - "We have weeks ahead of us that won't be easy but we also have the confidence of vaccines that are finally available." Speranza's view was echoed by foreign minister Luigi Di Maio who said in recent days: There is no alternative to stricter measures. The talks come days after Italy passed the grim milestones of 3 million covid-19 cases and 100,000 fatalities, one year after the country was placed under its first nationwide lockdown. Earlier this week Draghi committed to accelerating the country's sluggish vaccination campaign, promising that "an exit path" is not far away. For official information relating to the covid-19 situation in Italy see health ministry website. Photo Wanted in Rome. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been admitted to SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, after she was injured during her two-day visit to Nandigram. Banerjee was in Nandigram to campaign for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections and file her nomination from the constituency. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief has sustained "severe bone injuries" on her left foot and ankle as well as bruises and injuries on her shoulder, forearm and neck. "Initial examination suggests severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot along with bruises and injuries in the right shoulder, forearm and neck. The Chief Minister complained of chest pain and breathlessness. She is kept under close watch for 48 hours," Dr M Bandopadhya of SSKM hospital told news agency ANI. The TMC chief will undergo a CT scan on Thursday. She also developed a slight fever and has been shifted to a special ward at the 12.5 special cabin of SSKM hospital's VVIP Woodburn Block after the MRI at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences. The West Bengal government has constituted a team comprising 5 senior doctors - a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, a general surgery doctor, an orthopedist, and a medicine doctor to treat Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee said when the incident took place, she was standing near her car and praying on seeing a temple. She alleged this is when few people came near her car and pushed the door. The door hit her left leg and caused swelling. "No police official was present. Four-five people intentionally manhandled me in the presence of the public. There were no police officials for four to five hours in such a huge public gathering, not even the SP. It was definitely a conspiracy," Banerjee added. Mamata Banerjee's nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee shared a picture of Mamata Banerjee from the hospital and tweeted, "@BJP4Bengal brace yourselves to see the power of people of Bengal on Sunday, May 2nd. Get Ready!!" .@BJP4Bengal Brace yourselves to see the power of people of BENGAL on Sunday, May 2nd. Get READY!!! pic.twitter.com/dg6bw1TxiU a Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 10, 2021 Minister Partha Chaterjee told the media, "Cowards have been trying to stop Mamata Banerjee but no one has been able to. Firstly, state ADG Law and Order was removed then DG and now with this... I'm surprised to see how the EC, who made all the changes, is silent. They must take responsibility." MK chief and Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly MK Stalin, Jharkhan Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the attack on West Bengal chief minister. The Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly tweeted, "The shameful attack on Mamata Banerjee is an assault on Indian democracy. The perpetrators of such a crime should be brought to justice immediately. ECI and the police department should take stringent action to avoid such instances in the future. I wish Mamata ji a speedy recovery!" Also read: Farmer unions call for Bharat Bandh on March 26 as farm law protests complete 4 months Also read: Vaccination phase 2: Govt renegotiates Covishield price at Rs 157.5 from Rs 210 earlier 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. Riverboats Return to Paducah this Spring By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - The American Queen Steamboat Company and American Cruise Lines will resume making riverboat stops in Paducah in April.The American Queen Steamboat Company, owners of the ships American Duchess, American Countess, and American Queen, has revealed its SafeCruise health and safety protocols. Guests will be required to comply with health and safety guidelines set forth by the company.Beginning on July 1, all crew and guests will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccination before coming aboard.American Cruise Lines, operators of the ships American Jazz, America, and Queen of the Mississippi, will resume services at a reduced capacity. Additionally, they will require a negative COVID test for all guests and crew members.A certified medical officer will be aboard each ship to conduct a health-screening of each guest.While visiting Paducah, the passengers will learn about Paducah's origin and prosperity attributed to the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. They will also experience Paducah's River Discovery Center, National Quilt Museum, and more."Paducah is delighted to welcome steam boaters back to the riverfront," said Mary Hammond, executive director of Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Since COVID-19 has prevented these cruisers from visiting Paducah for the last year, they will be eagerly welcomed back to the city's attractions and businesses. I am especially pleased with the safety standards these cruise lines are implementing as we are intent on the safety of our citizens."You can learn more at the link below.On the Net: To the Editor: We are long-standing advocates for our city schools, their children, teachers, staff and administrators. This advocacy reflects our participation in Parents for Public Schools which sponsored initiatives to spark local accountability for our schools and advocated for fair funding from New York state. As members of the Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse, we also sought to increase enrollment in full-day pre-K classes. Now we write as concerned citizens. It appears that Syracuse City School District (SCSD) has withdrawn its support for a lawsuit brought by New Yorkers for Students Educational Rights (NYSER). The court case addresses the fact that students in low-wealth school districts like Syracuse are not receiving the opportunity for a sound basic education, as defined by the state Constitution, because of the inequitable funding formula that currently exists in New York state. This issue has been moving through the courts for decades. In preparation for the next step in the NYSER lawsuit, representatives from a number of low-wealth school districts, including Syracuse, have been deposed. Apparently, during these depositions, SCSD administrative staff did not make a robust case for additional funding. Instead, those deposed stated that the school district could provide a sound education for all students within the existing funding structure. As a result, Syracuse students will no longer be represented directly in the lawsuit. We find the school districts response remarkable in light of public statements which district officials have made regarding the level of unmet needs within the district. Lack of adequate funding has thwarted efforts to: restore the full complement of teaching assistants that have been lost over the past 20 years; restore the hard-won but temporary accomplishment of smaller classes K-3; ensure that all students are equipped with the technology they need to participate in remote learning; provide outreach workers to build partnerships with difficult-to-reach families; increase mental health services to match the impact of increasing poverty and violence in our city; provide comprehensive services for all children with special needs; ensure Pre-K access for all families; ensure transportation based on safety, not distance. It is our hope that SCSD will reinvigorate their initial efforts to participate in this court case so that our children can receive the appropriate education that they deserve and so desperately need, as the above listing of resources needed attests to. Peter Knoblock Pamela Percival Syracuse Also in Opinion: Union: Address teacher concerns before fully reopening schools (Commentary) An ice jam on the Buckland River has sent water over the village of the Buckland in Northwest Alaska. Buckland, a village of about 400 residents, is 75 air miles southeast of Kotzebue. Photo courtesy of Charles Esmailka But in the space of two weeks the Facebook page has more than 28,000 members. More than 40 protest marches known as Womens March 4 Justice are planned nationwide when Parliament resumes on Monday, March 15. Marches are planned in Melbourne, Sydney and other major cities, plus country towns including Toowoomba, Bunbury, Wollongong, Ballarat and Cairns. Within three days I put together this amazing team of women in PR, strategy, law, socials and its just grown from there, Ms Hendry said. The Australian Council of Trade Unions has endorsed the marches, which are attracting international media attention. Australian TV presenter Julia Zemiro will MC the Canberra protest. Marque Lawyers tweeted they would be at the Sydney march en masse. Former federal MP Julia Banks, who quit the Liberals after saying she had been badly bullied by colleagues, also promoted the marches on Twitter as did independent MP Zali Steggall. Employment lawyer Josh Bornstein tweeted he would be marching for justice because sometimes those with all the power dont want to share it. Ms Hendry said the speakers are still being confirmed but will be a diverse line-up from different backgrounds. Author and political commentator Jamila Rizvi, the chief creative officer of Nine Networks Future Women, will be among the speakers at the protest march in Melbourne. Protesters will be asked to wear black clothes and face masks to be COVID-safe. I think that this is a really pivotal moment in time, Ms Hendry said. One of my team shared with me a quote from Lenin: There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen. And we are in that space of weeks. Julia Zemiro will MC the Canberra march. Credit:Edwina Pickles Zemiro said she wanted to help after being impressed by the courage of young women including Ms Higgins and Australian of the Year Grace Tame, a sexual abuse survivor. Ive been to many marches all my life from uni onwards, and I sometimes feel that marches are one of the few ways we have left to physically show media, politicians that we care enough to get on the bus to come to Canberra, we care enough to leave work at lunchtime and take to the streets. Zemiro recalls standing at a bus stop when she was 14 and a man coming up and saying Do you want a f---? I was so shocked by the whole thing, by the violence of the word and the intention behind it. It [harassment] starts then, let alone where it will come later. I just want women to be able to go about their day, to live, work, love, in safety. Zemiro believes protesters holding hands around Parliament House will be a powerful image and symbol that will be seen across the world. Were surrounding the house that runs the country and its our job as women to remind people in that house that we are worth just as much as men, Zemiro said. We dont want to be worried about going to work. The Womens March 4 justice will present a petition to Parliament demanding action on gendered violence. The petition, which is addressed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, makes 10 demands. Loading It requests four immediate actions: Independent investigations into all cases of gendered violence. Fully implementing the 55 recommendations in the Australian Human Rights Commissions Respect@Work report of the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces 2020. Lifting public funding for gendered violence prevention. A federal Gender Equality Act. Gender Equity Victoria chief executive Tanja Kovac said one demand had already been met with Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins asked to lead an independent inquiry into Federal Parliaments workplace culture. 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. A father has slammed Lidl for selling 'offensive' Union Jack doormats as he believes they encourage people to use the flag as a 'rag for wiping their feet'. Chris Dixon, 55, was doing his weekly shop in the discount store in Blackpool, Lancashire, on Monday, when he came across the novelty doormat in the middle aisle. The mechanical engineer did a double take when he spotted the red, white and blue coir mat and was repulsed by what he viewed as disrespect for the nation's flag so took a picture and shared it online. The father-of-one blasted the item on sale in the Devonshire Road branch as 'disrespectful and offensive' claiming it encouraged people to 'use our nation's flag as a rag for wiping their feet'. The Union Jack doormats available for sale in Blackpool's Devonshire Road branch of Lidl Blood bike volunteer Mr Dixon is urging the store to stop selling the mat but social media users hit back blasting him as a 'gammon' - which he admits he didn't expect but said people were 'entitled to their own opinion'. Mr Dixon, from Blackpool, said: 'I've travelled all around the world with work and I think this is the only country that seems to have this hatred for their own national values. 'In some countries, for instance Saudi, where I've worked, or Myanmar if you did that with their flag you'd be in jail. 'One of the comments on Facebook was 'well whose flag do you want to wipe your feet on?' which I thought was a bit of a weird question. Chris Dixon, 55, was doing his weekly shop in a Lidl in Blackpool, Lancashire, on Monday, when he came across the novelty doormat in the middle aisle 'I don't want to wipe my feet on anybody's flag, the point is to show respect for it. 'I think this is the only country that seems to have a problem with you actually flying your flag as well. 'Being exposed to the rest of the world, I've seen the different way people respect it rather than the way they do here. 'I didn't think I'd get so badly trolled when I put it on Facebook, but people are entitled to their own opinions.' Mr Dixon's Facebook post reads: 'I find the selling of our country's flag as a doormat to be both disrespectful and offensive. 'How can you encourage people to use our nation's flag as a rag for wiping their feet? Mr Dixon's Facebook post reads: 'I find the selling of our country's flag as a doormat to be both disrespectful and offensive.' 'I don't see you encouraging people to wipe their feet on any other flags of the world, why is that?' While browsing the shelves, Mr Dixon and his Azerbaijani wife spotted the doormat in the 'Middle of Lidl' aisle. Mr Dixon said: 'I was in Lidl with my wife who's from Azerbaijan, we were just wandering around doing our usual shop, and funnily enough she was the one who pointed it out. 'She said "that's wrong". I hadn't seen it at first but when did I said "you're right it is". 'I took the picture and shared it with Lidl just to highlight it, we're all entitled to our comments. 'When I was younger it wasn't that easy to contact a company to say 'this is wrong' but social media certainly made that easier. 'In a way it's good, in another way it's bad we now seem to be in a position where the complaints start to get ridiculously bad about things. 'There was a Lidl comment saying they were going to discuss it with their sales and marketing team. 'I'd like to see it [the doormat] removed, that's all. 'If you go to a different country they'll burn other countries' flags as a sign [saying] 'we do not respect your country', but we encourage it by turning our flag into a doormat. 'A lot of people don't realise it represents your nation, it represents your culture, it represents you as a person.' A Lidl spokesperson said: 'At Lidl GB, it is never our intention to upset or offend anyone. 'This product is part of a range that has always been well received by customers, however we are sorry for any offence the customer may have felt and we have passed their comments onto the relevant department for future consideration.' Nokia provides recast comparative segment results for 2020 reflecting new financial reporting structure Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 11 March 2021 at 13:10 EET Nokia today provides recast comparative segment financial information on a quarterly and annual basis for 2020, reflecting the previously announced organizational changes. Changes in reporting structure, effective from 1 January 2021 On 29 October 2020, Nokia announced the first phase of its new strategy, outlining high-level strategic principles alongside a new operating model designed to better position the company for changing markets and align with customer needs. The new operating model is optimized for better accountability and transparency, increased simplicity and improved cost-efficiency. On 16 December 2020, Nokia provided an update on its new strategic focus areas and operating model together with its assumptions for its four new business groups and Group Common and Other in 2021 and over the longer term. Accordingly, Nokia has revised its financial reporting structure to reflect its strategy, organizational structure and the way it evaluates operational performance and allocates resources. Reclassifications have been made in order to reflect the new organizational structure of the company. The new model, effective from 1 January 2021, consists of four discrete business groups responsible for their own P&Ls and aligned with customer buying behavior: (i) Mobile Networks, (ii) Network Infrastructure, (iii) Cloud and Network Services and (iv) Nokia Technologies. As of 1 January 2021, these will also be the four reportable segments. In addition, Nokia will disclose segment-level data for Group Common and Other. Within the new Network Infrastructure reportable segment, Nokia intends to provide net sales disclosure for the following businesses: (i) Fixed Networks, (ii) IP Networks, (iii) Optical Networks and (iv) Submarine Networks. Nokia also intends to continue providing separate net sales disclosure for its different customer types: (i) Communication Service Providers, (ii) Enterprises and (iii) Licensees. Changes from previous financial reporting structure to new financial reporting structure The following seven product areas were reclassified into new reportable segments: Network management was reclassified to Mobile Networks from Nokia Software Submarine Networks was reclassified to Network Infrastructure from Group Common and Other Packet Core was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Enterprise Solution Services was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Managed Services was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Network Cognitive Services was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Networks Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services from Group Common and Other To summarize these changes, the new business groups will be comprised as follows: Mobile Networks is now comprised of Mobile Access from our previous Networks reportable segment, plus the following reclassifications: Into Mobile Networks: Network management (from Nokia Software) Out of Mobile Access from our previous Networks reportable segment: Enterprise Solution Services (to Cloud and Network Services) Managed Services (to Cloud and Network Services) Network Cognitive Services (to Cloud and Network Services) Network Infrastructure is now comprised of Fixed Access, IP Routing, and Optical Networks from our previous Networks reportable segment, plus the following reclassifications: Into Network Infrastructure: Submarine Networks (from Group Common and Other) Out of IP Routing from our previous Networks reportable segment: Packet Core (to Cloud and Network Services) Cloud and Network Services is now comprised of our previous Nokia Software business group, plus the following reclassifications: Into Cloud and Network Services: Packet Core (from Networks) Enterprise Solution Services (from Networks) Managed Services (from Networks) Network Cognitive Services (from Networks) Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT (from Group Common and Other) Out of our previous Nokia Software business group: Network management (to Mobile Networks) Finally, Group Common and Other continues to include Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), and the following product areas were reclassified into our new business groups: Submarine Networks was reclassified to Network Infrastructure Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT was reclassified to Cloud and Network Services Recast comparative segment financial information for 2020 To provide a basis for comparison, the following summarized tables present a recasting of Nokia's segment financial information on an unaudited basis for all four quarters of 2020 separately, as well as for the full year 2020. More detailed tables are available in Excel format attached to this stock exchange release and at www.nokia.com/financials . Mobile Networks (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 2 345 2 424 2 448 3 180 10 397 Gross profit 706 848 878 1 232 3 663 Gross margin % 30.1% 35.0% 35.9% 38.7% 35.2% Operating profit/(loss) (44) 104 182 273 515 Operating margin % (1.9)% 4.3% 7.4% 8.6% 5.0% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (104) (105) (101) (103) (413) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 (2) 21 21 EBITDA 56 215 281 397 949 Mobile Networks (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 2 345 2 424 2 449 3 181 10 398 Gross profit 729 875 871 1 256 3 732 Gross margin % 31.1% 36.1% 35.6% 39.5% 35.9% Operating profit/(loss) 15 183 206 415 818 Operating margin % 0.6% 7.5% 8.4% 13.0% 7.9% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (87) (88) (85) (87) (347) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 (2) 21 21 EBITDA 98 277 289 523 1,186 Network Infrastructure (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales(1) 1 419 1 545 1 793 1 979 6 736 Gross profit 449 523 635 685 2 292 Gross margin % 31.6% 33.9% 35.4% 34.6% 34.0% Operating profit/(loss) (125) (49) 118 (102) (158) Operating margin % (8.8)% (3.2)% 6.6% (5.2)% (2.3)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (126) (131) (126) (124) (508) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 (1) 1 (1) EBITDA 1 82 243 23 349 1Fixed Networks net sales of EUR 350 million in Q1'20, EUR 439 million in Q2'20, EUR 453 million in Q3'20, EUR 517 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 759 million in Q1-Q4'20. IP Networks net sales of EUR 542 million in Q1'20, EUR 611 million in Q2'20, EUR 670 million in Q3'20, EUR 761 million in Q4'20 and EUR 2 585 million in Q1-Q4'20. Optical Networks net sales of EUR 394 million in Q1'20, EUR 363 million in Q2'20, EUR 463 million in Q3'20, EUR 474 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 695 million in Q1-Q4'20. Submarine Networks net sales of EUR 132 million in Q1'20, EUR 131 million in Q2'20, EUR 206 million in Q3'20, EUR 227 million in Q4'20 and EUR 697 million in Q1-Q4'20. Network Infrastructure (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales(1) 1 419 1 545 1 793 1 980 6 736 Gross profit 461 537 648 715 2 361 Gross margin % 32.5% 34.8% 36.1% 36.1% 35.1% Operating profit/(loss) (31) 66 212 211 457 Operating margin % (2.2)% 4.3% 11.8% 10.7% 6.8% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (50) (51) (50) (50) (200) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 (1) 1 (1) EBITDA 19 117 261 262 656 1Fixed Networks net sales of EUR 350 million in Q1'20, EUR 439 million in Q2'20, EUR 453 million in Q3'20, EUR 517 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 759 million in Q1-Q4'20. IP Networks net sales of EUR 542 million in Q1'20, EUR 611 million in Q2'20, EUR 670 million in Q3'20, EUR 761 million in Q4'20 and EUR 2 585 million in Q1-Q4'20. Optical Networks net sales of EUR 394 million in Q1'20, EUR 363 million in Q2'20, EUR 463 million in Q3'20, EUR 474 million in Q4'20 and EUR 1 695 million in Q1-Q4'20. Submarine Networks net sales of EUR 132 million in Q1'20, EUR 131 million in Q2'20, EUR 206 million in Q3'20, EUR 227 million in Q4'20 and EUR 697 million in Q1-Q4'20. Cloud and Network Services (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 744 718 663 962 3 087 Gross profit 240 229 117 259 845 Gross margin % 32.3% 31.9% 17.6% 26.9% 27.4% Operating profit/(loss) (69) (54) (148) (63) (334) Operating margin % (9.3)% (7.5)% (22.3)% (6.5)% (10.8)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (38) (37) (35) (35) (146) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 1 1 2 2 5 EBITDA (30) (16) (111) (26) (183) Cloud and Network Services (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 744 718 663 962 3 087 Gross profit 255 258 130 374 1 016 Gross margin % 34.3% 35.9% 19.6% 38.9% 32.9% Operating profit/(loss) (39) (6) (119) 97 (67) Operating margin % (5.2)% (0.8)% (17.9)% 10.1% (2.2)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (30) (29) (28) (28) (115) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 1 1 2 2 5 EBITDA (8) 24 (89) 127 53 Nokia Technologies (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 347 341 331 382 1 402 Gross profit 345 339 327 380 1 392 Gross margin % 99.4% 99.4% 98.8% 99.5% 99.3% Operating profit/(loss) 280 271 263 306 1 120 Operating margin % 80.7% 79.5% 79.5% 80.1% 79.9% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (10) (10) (10) (10) (39) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 1 0 1 EBITDA 290 281 274 316 1,160 Nokia Technologies (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 347 341 331 382 1 402 Gross profit 345 339 328 380 1 393 Gross margin % 99.4% 99.4% 99.1% 99.5% 99.4% Operating profit/(loss) 280 272 264 307 1 123 Operating margin % 80.7% 79.8% 79.8% 80.4% 80.1% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (10) (10) (10) (10) (39) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures 0 0 1 0 1 EBITDA 290 282 275 317 1 163 Group Common and Other (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 68 75 67 59 269 Gross profit (4) 2 5 (5) (1) Gross margin % (5.9)% 2.7% 7.5% (8.5)% (0.4)% Operating profit/(loss) (118) (103) (65) 28 (258) Operating margin % (173.5)% (137.3)% (97.0)% 47.5% (95.9)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (7) (7) (6) (6) (26) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (1) 0 0 (4) (5) EBITDA (112) (96) (59) 30 (237) Group Common and Other (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 68 75 67 59 269 Gross profit (2) 6 5 (2) 7 Gross margin % (2.9)% 8.0% 7.5% (3.4)% 2.6% Operating profit/(loss) (108) (91) (77) 26 (251) Operating margin % (158.8)% (121.3)% (114.9)% 44.1% (93.3)% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (6) (6) (6) (6) (24) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (1) 0 0 (4) (5) EBITDA (103) (85) (71) 28 (232) Nokia Group (reported) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Reported Reported Reported Reported Reported Net sales 4 913 5 092 5 294 6 553 21 852 Gross profit 1 736 1 942 1 962 2 553 8 193 Gross margin % 35.3% 38.1% 37.1% 39.0% 37.5% Operating profit/(loss) (76) 170 350 441 885 Operating margin % (1.5)% 3.3% 6.6% 6.7% 4.0% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (285) (290) (279) (279) (1 132) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 0 20 22 EBITDA 205 466 629 740 2 039 Nokia Group (comparable) Q1'20 Q2'20 Q3'20 Q4'20 Q1-Q4'20 EUR million Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Comparable Net sales 4 914 5 093 5 294 6 554 21 854 Gross profit 1 787 2 017 1 981 2 724 8 509 Gross margin % 36.4% 39.6% 37.4% 41.6% 38.9% Operating profit/(loss) 116 423 486 1 056 2 081 Operating margin % 2.4% 8.3% 9.2% 16.1% 9.5% Other segment items Depreciation and amortization (183) (184) (178) (180) (725) Share of results of associated companies and joint ventures (4) 6 0 20 22 EBITDA 295 613 664 1 256 2 828 Illustrative recast of Nokia Software to Cloud and Network Services The reclassifications affected our new Cloud and Network Services business group particularly significantly, and therefore we are providing an illustrative bridge. The comparable operating margin for our previous Nokia Software reportable segment was 19.2% in 2020, whereas the comparable operating margin for Cloud and Network Services was -2.2% in 2020. This was attributable to reclassifying Packet Core, Enterprise Solution Services, Managed Services, and Network Cognitive Services to Cloud and Network Services from our previous Networks reportable segment, as well as reclassifying Digital Automation and Analytics & IoT to Cloud and Network Services from Group Common and Other. In addition, Network Management was reclassified to Mobile Networks from our previous Nokia Software reportable segment. Please refer to the PDF attached to this release. About Nokia We create the critical networks and technologies to bring together the world's intelligence, across businesses, cities, supply chains and societies. With our commitment to innovation and technology leadership, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we deliver networks at the limits of science across mobile, infrastructure, cloud, and enabling technologies. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities we need for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia. Investor Enquiries: Nokia Investor Relations Tel. +358 4080 3 4080 Email: investor.relations@nokia.com Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com Forward-looking statements It should be noted that Nokia and its businesses are exposed to various risks and uncertainties and certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect Nokia's current expectations and views of future developments and include statements regarding: A) expectations, plans or benefits related to our strategies, growth management and operational key performance indicators; B) expectations, plans or benefits related to future performance of our businesses (including the expected impact, timing and duration of that impact of COVID-19 on our businesses, our supply chain and our customers' businesses) and any future dividends including timing and qualitative and quantitative thresholds associated therewith; C) expectations and targets regarding financial performance, cash generation, results, the timing of receivables, operating expenses, taxes, currency exchange rates, hedging, cost savings, product cost reductions and competitiveness, as well as results of operations including targeted synergies, better commercial management and those results related to market share, prices, net sales, income and margins; D) expectations, plans or benefits related to changes in organizational and operational structure; E) expectations regarding competition within our market, market developments, general economic conditions and structural and legal change globally and in national and regional markets, such as China; F) timing of the deliveries of our products and services, including our short term and longer term expectations around the rollout of 5G, investment requirements with such rollout, and our ability to capitalize on such rollout; G) expectations regarding restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, uses of proceeds from transactions, acquisitions and divestments and our ability to achieve the financial and operational targets set in connection with any such restructurings, investments, capital structure optimization efforts, divestments and acquisitions, including our current cost savings program; H) expectations, plans or benefits related to future capital expenditures, reduction of support function costs, temporary incremental expenditures or other R&D expenditures to develop or rollout software and other new products, including 5G, ReefShark and increased digitalization; I) expectations regarding our customers' future actions, including our customers' capital expenditure constraints and our ability to satisfy customer's needs and retain their business; and J) statements preceded by or including "believe", "expect", "expectations", "deliver", "maintain", "strengthen", "target", "estimate", "plan", "intend", "assumption", "focus", "continue", "should", "will" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are based on management's best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to them. These forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and views of future events and developments and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) our strategy is subject to various risks and uncertainties and we may be unable to successfully implement our strategic plans, sustain or improve the operational and financial performance of our business groups, correctly identify or successfully pursue business opportunities or otherwise grow our business; 2) general economic and market conditions, general public health conditions (including its impact on our supply chains) and other developments in the economies where we operate, including the timeline for the deployment of 5G and our ability to successfully capitalize on that deployment; 3) competition and our ability to effectively and profitably invest in existing and new high-quality products, services, upgrades and technologies and bring them to market in a timely manner; 4) our dependence on the development of the industries in which we operate, including the cyclicality and variability of the information technology and telecommunications industries and our own R&D capabilities and investments; 5) our dependence on a limited number of customers and large multi-year agreements, as well as external events impacting our customers including mergers and acquisitions and the possibility of our customers awarding business to our competitors; 6) our ability to manage and improve our financial and operating performance, cost savings, competitiveness and synergies generally, expectations and timing around our ability to recognize any net sales and our ability to implement changes to our organizational and operational structure efficiently; 7) our global business and exposure to regulatory, political or other developments in various countries or regions, including emerging markets and the associated risks in relation to tax matters and exchange controls, among others; 8) our ability to successfully realize the expectations, plans or benefits related to any future collaboration or business collaboration agreements and patent license agreements or arbitration awards, including income to be received under any collaboration, partnership, agreement or arbitration award; 9) our exposure to direct and indirect regulation, including economic or trade policies, and the reliability of our governance, internal controls and compliance processes to prevent regulatory penalties in our business or in our joint ventures; 10) our ability to successfully complete and capitalize on our order backlogs and continue converting our sales pipeline into net sales; and 11) the scope and duration of the COVID-19 impact on the global economy and financial markets as well as our customers, supply chain, product development, service delivery, other operations and our financial, tax, pension and other assets, and the shape of the economic recovery following the pandemic as well as the risk factors specified in our 2020 annual report on Form 20-F published on March 4, 2021 under "Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk factors" and in our other filings or documents furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proven to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. Attachments Postal services provider TTPost yesterday shut its branches in Port of Spain and San Fernando after dozens of people rushed to collect senior citizen pension and public assistance grants and would not adhere to physical distancing rules. Eventually, police were called to disperse the crowds. Several elderly people at the St Vincent Street branch in Port of Spain complained about not being able to collect their pension cheques because other unruly ones refused to socially distance and abide by the law amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Stella Griffith, 68, of Diego Martin, said she was adhering to rules of social distancing, but there were other people who came for their public assistance and disability grants and were refusing to listen. For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. FAIRBURY, Neb. (AP) There's a new sheriff in town. Jefferson County officials appointed Nick Georgi as the county's new sheriff after the former sheriff, Matthew Schultz, announced he was resigning just five months into the job. 03/10/2021 Chris Marker in September 2019. Photo by Matt Reynolds. Chris Marker, former head of the JSU Department of Applied Engineering, died on March 9 following a long illness. He was 49. The news comes at a difficult time for Markers departmental colleagues, who are still grieving the loss of his predecessor - Terry Marbut - who passed in October. Chris was a talented manufacturing engineer who brought a wealth of experience to the Department of Applied Engineering, said Dr. Dana Ingalsbe, current head of the department. His mechanical design expertise was invaluable to countless students over the years as they prepared for successful careers in manufacturing engineering. Not only this, but Chris was a mentor and friend to many students and colleagues. My thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. A JSU alumnus, Marker earned a bachelors in electronics technology and masters in manufacturing systems technology from the university. His family has a long history with JSU, including his father, business professor emeritus Dr. Michael Marker, and his sister Mica Marker Mecham, a current English instructor. Marker joined the university in 2015 as an engineer for the Center for Manufacturing Support. He served as head of the Department of Applied Engineering from 2017 to 2019. His 25-year engineering career included work in microwave system design, high power induction heating design, large industrial/automotive equipment design, automotive race chassis design and robotic laser work cell design. I am saddened to learn of the death of Mr. Marker, whose contributions and innovations as a gifted engineer will long be remembered, said President Don. C. Killingsworth, Jr. On behalf of the entire JSU family, I extend our deepest condolences to the Marker family, whose connection to JSU goes back decades. Services will be held on March 12 at Covenant Christian Church in Hokes Bluff (located at 3150 Appalachian Highway), with visitation from 12-2 p.m. and the funeral at 2 p.m. By STEVE KARNOWSKI and AMY FORLITI, The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A judge on Thursday granted prosecutors request to add a third-degree murder charge against the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyds death. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill reinstated the charge after the former officer, Derek Chauvin, failed to get appellate courts to block it. Cahill had earlier rejected the charge as not warranted by the circumstances of Floyds death, but an appellate court ruling in an unrelated case established new grounds for it. Chauvin already faced second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Legal experts say the additional charge helps prosecutors by giving jurors one more option to convict Chauvin of murder. The dispute over the third-degree murder charge revolved around the conviction of another former Minneapolis police officer in the unrelated killing of an Australian woman. The appeals court recently affirmed Mohamed Noors third-degree murder conviction in the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, and the state used that affirmation to argue that it established new justification for the charge in Chauvins case. Cahill agreed that the precedent has now been established. I feel bound by that and I feel it would be an abuse of discretion not to grant the motion, he said. A protester holds a sign with an image of George Floyd during protests Wednesday, May 27, 2020, in Minneapolis against the death of Floyd in Minneapolis police custody earlier in the week. (Christine T. Nguyen/Minnesota Public Radio via AP, file)AP Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against the Black mans neck for about nine minutes. Floyds death sparked sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond, leading to a nationwide reckoning on race. The ruling came ahead of resumption of jury selection Thursday. Five jurors have been seated after just two days of screening by attorneys and the judge, who has set aside at least three weeks to fill the panel. Attorneys have given considerable attention to the jury pools attitudes toward police in the first two days of questioning, trying to determine whether theyre more inclined to believe testimony from law enforcement over evidence from other witnesses to the fatal confrontation. The first juror picked Wednesday, a man who works in sales management and grew up in a mostly white part of central Minnesota, acknowledged saying on his written questionnaire that he had a very favorable opinion of the Black Lives Matter movement and a somewhat unfavorable impression of the Blue Lives Matter countermovement in favor of police, yet somewhat agreed that police dont get the respect they deserve. He said he agrees that there are bad police officers. Are there good ones? Yes. So I dont think its right to completely blame the entire organization, he told the court under questioning from prosecutor Steve Schleicher. He also said he would be more inclined to believe an officer over the word of another witness. But he said he could set aside any ideas about the inherent honesty of an officer and evaluate each witness on their own. The second, a man who works in information technology security, marked strongly agree on a question about whether he believes police in his community make him feel safe. His community wasnt specified jurors are being drawn from all over Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis and many of its suburbs. In my community, I think when there is suspicious activity the police will stop by, they will ask a question, he said. I think that sense of community is all we want right? We want to live in a community where we feel safe regardless of race, color and gender. Schleicher noted that the man also stated in his questionnaire that he strongly disagreed with the concept of defunding the police, which has become a political flashpoint locally and across the country in the wake of Floyds death. While I necessarily might not agree with the police action in some situation, I believe that in order for police to make my community safe they have to have the money, he replied. The questionnaire explores potential jurors familiarity with the case and their own contacts with police. Their answers have not been made public, and the jurors identities are being kept secret. Their racial backgrounds often arent disclosed in open court. This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, shows Derek Chauvin, from left, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by him and the other Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Kueng, Lane and Thao have been charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP, file)AP Chauvin and three other officers were fired. The others face an August trial on aiding and abetting charges. The defense hasnt said whether Chauvin will testify in his own defense. Schleicher used a peremptory challenge Wednesday to remove from the panel a woman who has a nephew whos a sheriffs deputy in western Minnesota. She said she was dismayed by the violence that followed Floyds death. I personally didnt see any usefulness to it, she said. I didnt see anything accomplished by it, except I suppose bring attention to the frustrations of the people involved. But did I see anything useful coming out of the burning of Lake Street and that sort of thing? I did not. DENVER and BENGALURU, India, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys BPM, the business process management arm of Infosys (NYSE: INFY), today announced a five-year extension to its strategic collaboration with Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT), the world's largest gold mining company, to standardize and digitize delivery models across its mine sites. Through this renewed engagement, Infosys BPM will drive operational excellence leveraging automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and design thinking, to deliver increased business value for Newmont. As part of the engagement, Infosys BPM will provide an enhanced end-to-end digital service to Newmont with its analytics-driven platform-as-a-service offering. Infosys BPM will leverage DigiTran, a solution applying advanced techniques like knowledge management, simulation, and best-in-class processes. DigiTran enables remote transition of services and establishes a sound standard operating procedure (SOP) knowledge base to deliver transparent and harmonized processes. Infosys BPM will also improve Newmont's touchless invoice processing across their Accounts Payable processes and provide a Digital Command Center for real-time visibility into process health metrics and analytical models to identify root causes, and thus boost performance across its operations. "We are pleased to continue to partner with Infosys BPM in standardizing and digitizing supply chain processes across our regions. Infosys BPM's strong leadership commitment and clear understanding of our operations will enable significant productivity improvements, service levels improvements, and cost savings," said Ryan Plourde, Group Executive Supply Chain, Newmont Corporation. Anantha Radhakrishnan, MD & CEO, Infosys BPM, said, "Infosys BPM is delighted to extend our strategic collaboration with Newmont to standardize and digitally transform processes across mine sites in different geographies. This engagement leverages our deep digital and domain expertise and will fast track Applied AI and RPA (Robotic Process Automation) adoption in mining. This is a testament to our capabilities in digital technology and human-ware, i.e. harmonization, continuous improvement, design thinking, business domain expertise, and empathy. The success of this digital transformation attests to Infosys BPM's longstanding relationship with Newmont and can be a real game-changer in the sector." About Infosys BPM Infosys BPM, the business process management arm of Infosys, was set up in April 2002. Infosys BPM's technology heritage and investment in business domain centers of excellence, and its holistic approach of end-to-end transformative BPM (Business Process Management), delivers transformational benefits to its clients through the use of innovative technologies such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Predictive Analytics, Rich Content Visualization, and Mobile Technologies. Infosys BPM employed 34,366 people, from 80 nationalities as of September 30, 2017, operating across 32 global locations. Visit www.infosysbpm.com to learn how Infosys BPM can help your enterprise navigate your next. For more information contact [email protected] About Infosys Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in 46 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With nearly four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg SOURCE Infosys Mar. 11Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat in Congress to break with his party and vote against the COVID-19 relief bill on Wednesday, arguing that a more-targeted approach would have saved money that is needed to invest in the nation's infrastructure and health care system. Golden, who represents the state's 2nd District, joined members of the Republican Party, including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, in voting against the $1.9 trillion rescue package. Republicans characterized the bill as bloated and crammed with liberal policies. The two other members of Maine's congressional delegation, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, supported the package, which provides up to $1,400 direct payments to most adults, extends $300 per week emergency unemployment benefits into early September, provides aid to schools struggling to reopen during the pandemic and provides funds to local governments trying to compensate for a decrease in revenues. Golden, in a statement issued Wednesday, said his vote should not be construed as "an unwillingness to support my constituents and the economy through this pandemic." He said he supports a more targeted bill aimed at extending unemployment benefits, funding vaccine distribution and increasing investment in public health infrastructure. "Borrowing and spending hundreds of billions more in excess of meeting the most urgent needs poses a risk to both our economic recovery and the priorities I would like to work with the Biden administration to achieve, like rebuilding our nation's infrastructure and fixing our broken and unaffordable healthcare system," Golden said. Democrats, including Maine Gov. Janet Mills, praised the American Rescue Plan. Mills issued a statement describing the American Rescue Plans as landmark legislation, saying it will protect public health, vaccinate more Maine people and drive the state's economic recovery. Story continues "Federal support continues to be critical in Maine's fight against the pandemic," the governor said. Golden and Collins were sharply criticized Wednesday by the Maine Service Employees Association for voting against the American Rescue Plan. The MSEA represents more than 13,000 Maine workers. "Congressman Jared Golden and Senator Susan Collins let all of us down with their votes against the American Rescue Plan," Allison Perkins, MSEA vice president, said in a statement. This is not the first time that Golden has broken ranks with his fellow Democrats. During the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, Golden was the only House member to issue a split decision on the two articles of impeachment. Golden, 38, represents a district that takes up almost four-fifths of Maine's land area. It's one of the most rural districts in the United States, and it's geographically the largest district in the country east of the Mississippi River. The 2nd Congressional also is a swing district that is home to many members of the state's traditional industries, such as timber and lobster fishing. It was the sole congressional district in New England to support Trump in the 2020 election. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 New Delhi: Actor Aamir Khan was spotted with his kids Junaid and Ira outside a restaurant in Mumbai. The star along with his kids stopped and posed for the paparazzi. The 'Dil Chahta Hai' actor was casually dressed in a blue t-shirt and track pants. His daughter Ira was wearing a bright yellow t-shirt with black shorts and slider slippers. Junaid, who is rarely photographed, was wearing a blue shirt and green pants. He was also smiling for shutterbugs. Junaid is also expected to make his Bollywood debut soon. His sister Ira, who is very active on Instagram, earlier shared the news with a long post for her brother. "Junnuu!This wasn't his first play or his first show or our first play together but.. today is his first day! Of shoot. And I love this picture. He's been acting for a few years now but its still new for me. He even acted my play so I should be over it... but I've been his younger sister longer than any of the other things. His professionalism is unparalleled. I'm super excited for him. Can't wait till he blows everyone away. And irritates them a little with his properness (HE REFUSES TO TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE FILM. SO IRRITATING. I WANT INSIDE SCOOP) and then I can go to set and embarrass and trouble him!," wrote the loving sister. Ira Khan is also an advocate for mental health and has opened up about her personal battle with depression on the social media platform. Speed is the key when it comes to hiring top tech talent LONDON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In an article published on Business Reporter, Joseph Liberatore, President of Kforce, describes the rapid changes in the staffing market brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 companies are striving to accelerate their digital capabilities, and to monetise the new datasets created by digital interactions. At the same time, they are reimaging how their capabilities can be deployed in remote working environments. With human-to-human interaction vastly reduced, technology has become the way that companies interact with customers. It is the central driving force in removing friction between customers and product purchase. However, as the pandemic unfolded last year, it became clear that significant gaps existed in the ability of many organisations to execute projects or hire the talent needed to build new digital capabilities. One way of solving this problem has been to build teams with embedded leadership: the deployment of "talent as a group." This approach has given organisations space to recruit the teams they need. Industry has seen "digitalisation at scale and velocity." One result of this is a massive shift in the skills needed to operate effectively. For example, more than three quarters of businesses in the USA plan to increase spending over the next two years on data analytics capabilities. As more companies focus on technology, fewer people are needed in offices. More professionals are working remotely than ever before, and this has resulted in productivity increasing during the pandemic. In this evolving, boundaryless environment, a national presence supported by local expertise is needed to provide access to the best talent for high-demand skillsets. To learn more about using technology to drive recruitment, read the article. About Business Reporter Business Reporter is an award-winning supplement published in the Sunday and Daily Telegraph, City AM and online, delivering news and analysis on issues affecting businesses to a global audience. It also hosts conferences, debates, breakfast meetings and exclusive summits. www.business-reporter.co.uk About Kforce Kforce delivers on business objectives by combining a global KNOWLEDGEforce-our namesake-with flexible solutions and an unmatched drive for excellence in the areas of Technology and Finance & Accounting. Each year, we provide opportunities for more than 30,000 highly skilled professionals who work with cutting-edge clients, including 70% of the Fortune 100. Kforce.com Sources https://business-reporter.co.uk/2021/03/01/how-advancement-of-tech-is-forcing-companies-to-get-the-jump-on-hiring-top-talent/ New research findings suggest that consistently strong protections for endangered predators like Mexican wolves lead to reduced poaching, contrary to theories that legalizing lethal removal might reduce the motivation to poach. Credit: PIXABAY Mexican wolves in the American Southwest disappeared more quickly during periods of relaxed legal protections, almost certainly succumbing to poaching, according to new research published Wednesday. Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that Mexican wolves were 121% more likely to disappeardespite high levels of monitoring through radio collarswhen legal rulings permitted easier lethal and non-lethal removal of the protected wolves between 1998 and 2016. The disappearances were not due to legal removal, the researchers say, but instead were likely caused by poachers hiding evidence of their activities. The findings suggest that consistently strong protections for endangered predators lead to reduced poaching, contrary to theories that legalizing lethal removal might reduce the motivation to poach. Instead, the scientists say, strong protections could signal both the value of endangered predators and the government's intent to enforce protections. However, exactly how government policies ultimately influence poaching activity remains unclear. "Top predators are very important to healthy ecosystems," says Adrian Treves, a UW-Madison professor of environmental studies who oversaw the new research. "They are imperiled globally by human activities. And among human-caused mortality, poaching is the leading cause." Treves, graduate student Naomi Louchouarn and postdoctoral researcher Francisco Santiago-Avila published their findings March 10 in the Royal Society Open Science journal. They collaborated with David Parsons, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent and a member the Project Coyote science advisory board, to perform the analysis. The new report comes on the heels of the federal government's delisting of the gray wolf in November 2020 under the Endangered Species Act, which reduced protections for the carnivores. The Mexican wolf population, a subspecies of the gray wolf, is an ideal candidate for studying the effect of government policies. Thanks to intensive reintroduction efforts, more than half of the wolves are monitored through tracking collars, which provide high-quality data on the fate of individual wolves. Policies changed multiple times over roughly two decades, creating a natural experiment that researchers can use to observe how more relaxed or stringent protections affected wolf populations. The Treves lab asked how two distinct changes in federal protections for Mexican wolves affected the mortality of the predators in the ensuing years. From 2005 to 2009, and again from 2015 until the end of the study period in 2016, federal regulators relaxed protections for the wolves. These new policies allowed agencies to more readily remove by lethal means wolves that were deemed threats to people or livestock. Public hunting was never legalized. The researchers found that the only cause of lost wolves that changed significantly during times of reduced protections was a category known as lost-to-follow-up, or LTF. The LTF category includes all wolves that can no longer be accounted for. LTFs can be caused by radio collar battery failures, or by wolves migrating beyond the monitored area. Yet, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found few, if any, migrants out of the recovery area and LTF events occurred significantly earlier than the expected battery life of radio collars. Those results mean that these two common causes of LTF status likely can't account for the large increase in wolves lost-to-follow-up during years of relaxed protections. The Treves group also found no evidence of changes in diseases or climate that correlated with policy changes and would increase disappearances. Instead, they believe that the increased risk of disappearance comes from poachers who act to hide their activities by destroying radio collars and hiding carcasses. Without that evidence, however, federal agencies can't confirm a cause of death, forcing them to declare the wolves lost-to-follow-up. Agency removal of wolves and confirmed poaching activities did not vary significantly based on policy period. "The fact that these changes line up with these periods really tells you a lot. The wolves don't understand that policy changed, but people do," says Louchouarn. "Yet the disappearances did increase, so somebody was changing their behavior. These methods really helped us to make that connection to likely poaching." To reduce sources of bias, the researchers developed their methods and submitted them to peer review before completing their analysis. This pre-review encourages more transparent publishing of scientific findings, regardless of the final results. "Our findings suggest that there is no evidence for the tolerance killing hypothesis, where allowing the killing of more individuals is going to increase the tolerance for the species and therefore reduce killings," says Santiago-Avila, who originally developed the data analysis methods to study Wisconsin's wolf population. "There is a very minimal reduction in the poaching that gets reported. But that's only because the poaching gets translated to lost individuals, which we believe represents underreported poaching." The researchers say government agencies should reassess their assumptions that lethal removal can ultimately lead to better outcomes for the wolves. Federal policies are developed based on scientific research, so reports like this one and a previous study of Wisconsin's wolf population could help federal agencies reevaluate for the future. "Protection is the thing that's reducing poaching," says Treves. Explore further Groups fight to keep gray wolf protections for most of US More information: Naomi X. Louchouarn et al. Evaluating how lethal management affects poaching of Mexican wolves, Royal Society Open Science (2021). Journal information: Royal Society Open Science Naomi X. Louchouarn et al. Evaluating how lethal management affects poaching of Mexican wolves,(2021). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200330 Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! 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Manitoba has reached several vaccine milestones this week, according to the provinces implementation task force co-lead, Johanu Botha. Advertisement Advertise With Us Manitoba has reached several vaccine milestones this week, according to the provinces implementation task force co-lead, Johanu Botha. That includes activating the distribution model and pop-up clinics in rural areas. "Our goal is to be able to give 1.5 million doses of vaccine by the end of the second quarter, the second quarter beginning on April 1 and lasting for three months. To achieve that, our daily maximum capacity has to be 20,000 doses," said Botha. "As of today, with the sites and locations we can open today, we are built for 18,973 doses. This includes our super sites, the distributed model with doctors and pharmacists, focused immunization teams and pop up clinics." In addition, the amount of Pfizer and Moderna the federal government is delivering in the next 28 days is double what the province expected. "Were projecting giving approximately 4,300 doses a day through the supersites, the pop-ups that are coming up and focused immunization teams over the next 28 days using approximately 120,000 over that time period," said Botha. "Of course, there are more doses than that coming into the province over that time that our First Nation partners use to administer vaccine on First Nations communities." The AstraZeneca/Covidshield vaccine reached the province, with an initial 18,000 doses delivered Tuesday. Those are for the distribution model that will see clinics and pharmacies receiving doses today. The eligibility list and guidelines created for clinics and pharmacists shows these initial doses are for people with underlying conditions for people aged 50 to 64 and for First Nations people aged 30 to 64 and can be found at gov.mb.ca/covid19/vaccine/eligibility-criteria.html This first rollout is for people at increased risk of experiencing serious illness requiring hospitalization or death related to COVID-19. "Im certainly hopeful that as our supplies increase, that we wont have to continue to identify people by health conditions, but this will be a temporary way that we use this small number of doses to target people in the short term," said Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the task force. "Once we get big supply coming in of AstraZeneca well be able to open up much broader than just having a list of conditions." The task force has created a map, or vaccine finder, so that people can see which clinics and pharmacies are accepting appointments green means they are and red means they are not. According to the map on Wednesday afternoon, pharmacies taking appointments in Brandon are the Loblaws Pharmacy on Victoria Avenue, Shoppers Drug Mart on 18th Street and on Victoria Avenue East, the Brandon Clinic Pharmacy on McTavish Avenue East and The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy on Eighth Street. The only clinics listed in Brandon providing vaccines to patients were the Brandon Clinic Medical Corporation on Dennis Street and Harmony Medical Centre on Sixth Street. Patients are asked not to contact these clinics directly to set up appointments. Both clinics state that staff will contact priority patients directly. Virdens Super Thrifty was also listed as taking appointments. The Boissevain Medical Clinic was listed, but that clinic will be contacting priority patients directly. The interactive map can be found at manitoba.ca/covid19/vaccine/finder.html The 18,000 doses were divided as follows among the health regions: Interlake Eastern, 9.64 per cent; Northern, 5.60 per cent; Prairie Mountain, 12.51; Southern, 15.02; and Winnipeg, 57.23 per cent. Some remaining doses, after the per capita allocations, were provided to large, high-volume clinics and pharmacies, primarily in Winnipeg, identified as serving urban Indigenous populations. Reimer said anyone who is already eligible for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, such as health-care workers aged 18 to 64, are also eligible to receive the AstraZeneca/Covidshield COVID-19 vaccine. But she said anyone who has already received a dose of the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines must use the same product for their second dose, and should not receive the AstraZeneca/Covidshield vaccine. Reimer and Botha also announced two pop-up sites in the Prairie Mountain Health region. Those are scheduled for March 18 and 19 in Dauphin and March 24 and 25 in Swan River. People who are currently eligible for the vaccine at supersites can make an appointment at a pop-up clinic beginning today, by calling toll-free at 1-844-MAN-VACC (1-844-626-8222) from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. People are asked to have their health card ready when they call. "The Selkirk supersite opened on Monday this week, which is an important addition to our network of supersites. Our extension at the Winnipeg supersite at the RBC Convention Centre is also ready to launch once we have enough vaccine for that to be needed," said Botha. "I can also confirm that the supersite in Morden, located at the Access Event Center, will open on March 22." Appointments for the Morden location were available as of yesterday. Appointments are also available for all supersites in Brandon, Selkirk and Winnipeg. "I would encourage everyone to get the vaccine as soon as they are eligible, to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Vaccines are safe, effective and will protect you and the people you love," said Reimer. "Once people get the vaccine, it is important to continue to follow public health measures because we do not yet know whether or not COVID-19 may still be able to spread to others even if you have been vaccinated and do not get sick." Botha said, at a separate technical briefing Wednesday morning, that the low-range vaccination scenario initially unveiled is slowly creeping toward the high-range scenario. However, some of that progress can be attributed to the province following national guidelines, which are allowing the Pfizer double doses to be given four months apart rather than 21 days apart. Pfizer signalled earlier this week that it had not been consulted on that change, and that the company is sticking to its 21-day time span between doses. When questioned, Reimer defended the decision, saying that studies from other parts of the world are showing 70 to 80 per cent protection after a first dose and the second dose should be thought of like a booster shot. Some have called the four-month time frame between doses an experiment. "I wouldnt say that this is an experiment any more than anything else is in a pandemic. This is a virus that weve never faced before. These are vaccines we havent used before. Everything were doing, were doing for the first time, and the whole world is doing this at the same time. We have some information from other jurisdictions that might have a few months more data than we do, so were using as much information as we possibly can to make the best decisions we can," said Reimer. "When we have a limited supply, its really important that now that we know that that first dose does provide that 70 to 80 plus per cent protection, its really important that we get that available for as many Manitobans as we can as quickly as possible, so that we can move towards what we call herd immunity." She added herd immunity means Manitobans start protecting each other because once a person is not able to carry the virus, they cannot spread it to others. The full vaccine technical briefing can be viewed at gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/covidvaccine/vaccine-briefing-03102021.pdf mletourneau@brandonsun.com Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism. The Rajasthan Subordinate and Ministerial Services Selection Board (RSMSSB) is going to release the admit cards for the phase one recruitment exam for Stenographer on Friday (March 12). RSMSSB will be releasing the admit cards for the phase one recruitment exam for Stenographer on its official website. The candidates who have applied for the post of stenographer will need to go to the rsmssb.rajasthan.gov.in to download their admit cards. The Rajasthan Subordinate and Ministerial Services Selection Board (RSMSSB) will be conducting the Stenographer recruitment examination on Sunday (March 21). According to the board, the examination will be conducted in two shifts. Paper one for the examination will be there from 8 am to 11 am. Paper two will take place from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Follow these steps to download the admit card for the Stenographer examination 2021 - Candidates will need to visit the official website rsmssb.rajasthan.gov.in - Candidates will require to click on the download the admit card tile - Candidates need to enter credentials such as registration number and date of birth and will need to log in - The RSMSSB Stenographer admit card 2021 will be displayed on the screen. The candidates are suggested to take a print out of this admit card. Live TV by Francis Khoo Thwe Today alone, there were 7 deaths in Myaing, 3 in Myeik, 1 in Mandalay, 2 in Bago, 1 in Myingyan, 1 in North Dagon, a neighbourhood near Yangon. Since the beginning of the demonstrations, there have been at least 60 deaths, including killed and tortured, hundreds of injured and about 2 thousand arrests. The UN Security Council condemns the violence, but not the coup d'etat following opposition of China, Russia, India, Vietnam. Hypothesis of a federation between all the armed ethnic groups to counter the junta. Yangon (AsiaNews) - At least 17 people have been killed in various cities of the country where crowds gathered to demonstrate against the military coup that has lasted since February 1. The junta is using violence and lethal bullets in an attempt to smother protests: many victims have gunshot wounds to the head. According to news from social media groups, seven people were killed in Myaing (in the center of the country) at the very beginning of the protest. The policemen tried to arrest some of the demonstrators and a fight ensued, which ended with the military firing on the crowd and killing some of the participants. Those killed are between 36 years of age (the oldest) and under 30 years old. Other deaths are counted in Myeik (3), Mandalay (1), Bago (2), Myingyan (1), North Dagon-Yangon (1). Since the beginning of the demonstrations, there have been at least 60 deaths, including killed and tortured, hundreds of injured and about 2 thousand arrests. Meanwhile, the strikes of the civil disobedience movement have spread throughout the country. Last night, the UN Security Council condemned the violence against unarmed demonstrators, demanding more the military exert greater calm. But the Council did not denounce the coup, nor threaten sanctions due to the opposition of China, Russia, India, Vietnam. China has since been subjected to an avalanche of criticism on Burmese and international social media, for always siding with the junta. Last night, however, the Chinese ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun issued a statement saying it is time for Myanmar " to proceed with a de-escalation" and that "it is time to dialogue", claiming to have participated in the Security advice in a "constructive" way. There are more and more calls for the various armies linked to the countrys ethnicities (Shan, Kachin, Karen, Chin, Arakan, ...) to form a single federal army to fight the national army led by the junta. Almost in response to this move - and perhaps to confuse the situation - the junta today removed the Arakan Army, which fought with the Kachin in the north, but also in Rakhine against the local population and the Rohingya, from the list of terrorist groups. If this direction consolidates, a civil war will be inevitable. A newspaper advertisement campaign calling for a referendum on Irish unity, that ran in both the New York Times and Washington Post yesterday, was paid for solely from funds raised in the US, Sinn Feins US fundraising arm has said. Friends of Sinn Fein (FOSF) said it could not provide a total cost for the half-page ads that were published in the New York Times and Washington Post yesterday as well as full page ads that will run in Irish-American newspapers like the Irish Echo and Irish Voice during St Patricks week. An advertising rate card for the New York Times indicates that a half-page ad in the main publication would typically cost more than $50,000 (42,000). Industry sources indicated tens of thousands of dollars would have also been spent on a half-page ad in the Washington Post. The initiative is endorsed by leading Irish-American organisations and solely funded through Friends of Sinn Fein fundraising here in the US, a spokesperson for FOSF told the Irish Independent last night. Our fundraising efforts are ongoing, and we are waiting for final bills to come in so I hate to give you a preliminary number. The spokesperson added that details of the advertisement campaign will be reported in its next US regulatory filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) which covers groups representing overseas political organisations that are active in the US. Read More The advert, entitled A United Ireland let the people have their say, noted that the unionist electoral majority in the North is gone. It also appeals to the Irish Government to promote and plan for Irish unity and urges the British government to set a date for a referendum on Irish unity. With your support, we can be the first generation of Americans to visit a free and United Ireland, the advert states. The ad campaign is supported by a number of Irish-American groups, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Irish American Unity Conference and the James Connolly Irish American Labour Coalition. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald welcomed the move, saying: Irish America has been central to the signing and safeguarding of the Good Friday Agreement. The most recent FARA filings show that Friends of Sinn Fein raised nearly $300,000 (251,000) in the six-month period to April of last year. The majority of the organisations funding comes from an annual fundraising dinner where tickets have typically been priced at $500-a-plate (420). Speaking about the ad campaign yesterday, Northern Irelands First Minister and Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle ONeill said it was a timely initiative given the debate under way on unity that has never been witnessed before. Partition has failed every single person who lives on this island. It created two conservative states, it has failed people time and time again, she said. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar criticised Sinn Fein, saying while he did not have a problem with the ads, he believed the party was an obstacle to unity. In the Dail, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said Sinn Fein needed to be more accountable about how it is financed and described some of its funding as a shady enough transaction that would make even a stockbroker blush. Ms McDonald, who had raised questions about the Davy stockbrokers controversy, said the comments were pathetic. One of the Army's top armored vehicle modernization generals said Wednesday that the service would be needed to face down China's massive armored force in a Pacific land war. China has 7,000 tanks and 3,000 infantry fighting vehicles, "so 10,000 vehicles that will be decisive if we are not there," Maj. Gen. Richard Coffman, director of the Army's Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, told an audience at a Center for Strategic & International Studies event. "In order to be decisive, we have to be there with armor to prevent the Chinese from getting into a position of relative advantage," he added. Read Next: Americans' Trust and Confidence in the Military Is Decreasing, New Survey Finds Coffman is not the first general to defend the Army's relevance in the Pacific, a theater that many experts say is more suited for the Navy and the Marine Corps. But his comments come two days after China's Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang made a provocative statement about the likelihood of war with the United States. "The top uniformed soldier in China, chairman of China's Central Military Commission, stated that war with the United States is inevitable," Coffman said. "That is the first time China has made that statement publicly." Coffman, who oversees development of armored vehicles in the Army's modernization effort, such as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, warned that the Chinese are known for using armored forces and that they are likely to be the aggressor in a potential future conflict. "If you are the head uniformed general in the Chinese military and you say 'it's inevitable,' what does that mean?" Coffman said. "I think that means that you are willing to strike first because, if it's inevitable, why would you wait for your adversary to strike first?" The Marine Corps, which is preparing for island-hopping missions in the Pacific, began getting rid of its M1A1 tanks last year, a move that some experts say will put the burden on the Army to back them up with armored support. Coffman argued that Chinese military forces "use armored vehicles every time." "The reason why you need the land component in [the Pacific] is because it's the only component that will be decisive," he said. "If you want to take land, if you want to hold land, if you want to clear land, you need the ground element." Nothing sends a message of a will to win like tanks and armored vehicles, Coffman added. "When you send an armored brigade combat team anywhere in the world, you just voted; you voted that you have made a strategic decision to fight and win," he said. Part of the Army's modernization plan is to field lighter armored vehicles that are easily deployable but still protect soldiers in battle. "We want to go lighter; we want the lightest vehicle we can [get] while protecting our soldiers," Coffman said. The current version of the M1 tank weighs approximately 80 tons, making it more difficult to transport by air. "But an M1 can be flown with the [C-17 Globemaster]," Coffman said. "Four C-17s for a platoon of M1s, in the right spot -- decisive." -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related: Marine Corps Plan to Ditch Tanks Could Burden the Army, Experts Say The Piaggio Group on Thursday announced the launch of Aprilia's SXR 160 in Nepal. The premium scooter went on sale in India in December 2020 and the deliveries started later in January this year. The Aprilia SXR 160 is based on the SR160 moto-scooter. It has been priced at 1,25,997 (ex-showroom, Pune) in India and boasts a slew of premium features including a large multifunctional all-digital cluster display, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), ventilated disk brakes, etc. (Also Read: Piaggio, KTM, Honda, & others join hands for EVs' swappable batteries consortium) After the great success achieved in India in just a few months since its debut, we are delighted to launch the long-awaited Aprilia SXR 160 premium scooter on the Nepalese market," said Piaggio India CEO Diego Graffi. The Noale manufacturer claims that its scooter provides an ergonomic riding position thanks to its oversize saddle and flat footboard. Furthermore, the scooter is said to offer a number of features to enhance the overall riding experience such as LED lights, 12-inch and 5-spoke alloy wheel rims. The Aprilia SXR 160 is a synonym for style, outstanding performance, and superior comfort. It was designed in Italy and we believe that, together with Vespa, it will set high standards on the top-end two-wheeler market in Nepal and pave the way for further expansion of the Piaggio Group in the country." (Also Read: 2021 Aprilia RSV4 breaks cover: All you need to know) In India, the maxi-scooter is sold with a 160 cc single-cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled, fuel injection engine which pumps out 11 PS of power at 7100 RPM. The powertrain comes mated to a CVT gearbox. For Nepal, the scooter will be available with a 160cc and a 125cc engine. Top U.S. and Israeli national security officials met Thursday by secure video conference for their first round of talks on Iran and other regional issues as the Biden administration looks to avoid antagonizing Israel while attempting to resurrect the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal. The first virtual U.S.-Israel Strategic Consultative Group meeting led by national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat, comes as President Joe Bidens national security team has stepped up efforts to engage the Israelis about his Iran efforts. Sullivan has also held at least two lengthy calls with Ben-Shabbat prior to Thursdays meeting. National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement that the two sides shared perspectives on regional security issues of mutual interest and concern, including Iran, and expressed their common determination to confront the challenges and threats facing the region. There was no immediate Israeli comment on Thursdays talks. The talks came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his first appearance before Congress stressed that Biden is committed to consulting with Israel, and other Gulf nations, regarding anything that we might do going forward on that agreement" with Iran. We need to be engaged with them since it affects them on the takeoff, not on the landing, Blinken told members of House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. And were committed to doing that. Biden is trying to avoid the sort of strain that President Barack Obama faced in the leadup to the signing of the Iran nuclear deal, in which Tehran agreed to eliminate its enriched uranium stockpile, open itself to monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency and more in exchange for sanctions relief. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu savagely criticized the deal, including during an address to Congress where he called Obamas effort a farewell to arms control. President Donald Trump, who counted Netanyahu as one of his closest allies among foreign leaders, withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018. Story continues Biden announced last month his administration is ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 deal, in a sharp repudiation of Trumps maximum pressure campaign that sought to isolate the Islamic Republic. White House officials have said the U.S. is prepared to return to the nuclear deal as soon as Tehran shows strict compliance with terms of the deal. Iran, however, has held firm to demands that there be a full lifting of the sanctions Trump reimposed before it will return to the negotiating table. Netanyahu recently hinted that Israel might resort to military action against Iran. We are not pinning our hopes on any agreement with an extremist regime such as yours, he said in a recent speech directed at Iran. With or without agreements we will do everything so that you will not arm yourselves with nuclear weapons. Senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz, have meanwhile said Israel is upgrading contingency plans to strike Iran if it appears to be escalating its nuclear activities. Israel views Iran as its greatest strategic threat because of the nuclear program, Tehrans support for armed groups in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and the harsh rhetoric of Iranian leaders, who often predict Israels demise. Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, said days after Biden's inauguration that military options have to be "on the table. White House press secretary Jen Psaki following Thursday's meeting stressed that Israel will be regularly briefed if this diplomatic track moves forward. Asked about Israeli officials comments, Psaki downplayed concerns about the U.S. being drawn into a military conflict. We feel the best path forward is a diplomatic path and thats why we are working with our European European partners to see what is possible along that front, Psaki said. A health-care worker registers people for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site inside the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Photo: Micah Green/Bloomberg via Getty Images When the coronavirus arrived last March, Joe Pepper hunkered down in his home in Orangeburg, South Carolina. A retired military veteran in his 70s, in constant pain due to arthritis, he lives alone and he doesnt have a car, relying on his twin sister to get around. I dont hardly go anywhere because Im scared of the virus, he said. So when Pepper heard that vaccines were starting to become available in December, like many others, he was excited to get the shot and soon became eligible because of his age. His sister is steadfastly helping him to find appointments, but theyre few and far between in the states rural, impoverished communities. And even if he finds one, theres the matter of getting there. Pepper says he knows of a nearby pharmacy that is administering the shots. Its not really walking distance, but its reasonable. I know itd take me a long time now because my back bothers me a lot, he said. By the time Ive walked about a mile, I have to sit down. Theres a state-run service that could provide him with transportation, but it would require him to notify them three days in advance. Its very frustrating, he said. I dont like to beg and Ive got too much pride. With the help of the Lord Im going to make it, really. Im struggling now, but Im a fighter. About an hour northwest of Charleston, Orangeburg County, where Pepper lives, is one of the poorest in the state and has limited health resources, with one hospital serving people in four surrounding counties. More than half of its population of 86,000 is Black and has suffered over 200 deaths from the coronavirus. In this small, rural part of South Carolina, the COVID-19 shot has been hard to come by. According to state data, just over 12,000 of the countys residents have been fully vaccinated. As the nations vaccine supply grows, the next challenge will be getting shots to these harder-to-reach communities, which is necessary to reach herd immunity and bring the virus under control. Public-health experts call these areas vaccine deserts, where eligible people often poor people and people of color, such as Pepper, who is Black do not have easy access to vaccinations. A recent analysis found that 111 rural counties have no pharmacy that can give the vaccines. Vaccine deserts arent unique to rural areas. Urban areas, like some New York City neighborhoods, often lack a single vaccination hub. In Missouri, a consulting firm hired by the state earlier this year found vaccine deserts were expanding across a swath of St. Louis and Kansas City in some areas, people were seven miles from the nearest provider. One reason for the deserts is a wave of rural hospital closures since the early 2000s, according to Janice C. Probst, director emerita of the University of South Carolinas Rural and Minority Health Research Center. Health care facilities make money based on the patients they serve, Probst told Intelligencer. Where you dont have the requisite number of patients who can pay, you lack services. Rural manages to ring both of those bells: too few people, and not all of them can pay. Hospitals were especially important during the initial stage of vaccination, with the first approved shot from Pfizer requiring their ultracold freezers. In a 2007 report, Probst found that half of the trips made by Black Americans for medical care nationally took more than a half-hour, compared with 25 percent of trips white people made. Its almost like a double jeopardy of racial and ethnic issue disparities, as well as disparities related to living in rural areas, said Dr. Saundra Glover, an Orangeburg resident who has spent more than three decades at the University of South Carolina, helping address the health-care needs of vulnerable populations. Thats part of why the vaccine rollout has already been uneven. Only ten states have vaccinated at least 10 percent of their Black population, while 40 states have already achieved that protection threshold for their white residents, according to Bloomberg News, despite the disease ravaging minority populations at a disproportionate rate. Five states have already vaccinated 20 percent or more of their white population. Despite headlines about vaccine hesitancy, an earned mistrust in the U.S. health-care system among communities of color, theyve rapidly joined the ranks of people who want a shot, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Its survey found that 41 percent of Black adults say they want a vaccine or have already received their first dose, up from 20 percent in December. For Hispanic adults, 52 percent were eager to get the vaccine, compared to Decembers 26 percent. When doses do find their way into rural counties, spotty broadband service about 650,000 South Carolinians do not have high-speed internet access, for instance and a lack of reliable transportation can make it cumbersome to schedule and keep an appointment. One potential solution is using churches as pop-up vaccination sites. Since early January, Glover has been working with community-based organization Hold Out the Lifeline to get information out about the virus. Now, these efforts are focusing on actually getting shots in arms. In most rural counties in South Carolina, you will find an AME church, a Methodist church, or a Baptist church, Glover said. Beginning March 11, for example, Brookland Baptist Church in South Carolinas West Columbia County, will host a clinic for those who are eligible to receive the vaccine. Other states are working on similar efforts to get vaccines to underserved populations. Were having to find creative ways to utilize other infrastructure and communities that dont have hospitals or pharmacies or clinics that can manage, says Thomas LaVeist, dean of Tulane Universitys School of Public Health and co-chair of Louisianas COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. Were looking at things like schools, community centers, churches, community-based organizations, and other nontraditional infrastructure. He said that since last week thousands of Louisianans have lined up at a pop-up clinic run by the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging at Living Faith Christian Center in North Baton Rouge to get vaccinated an effort LaVeist hopes the state can use as a model to get more vaccines into Black communities. Distribution of the vaccine is also getting easier. New data from Pfizer suggests their vaccine can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, rather than deep-freeze conditions, for up to two weeks. Modernas vaccine only needs to be frozen at regular freezer temperatures, and Johnson & Johnsons recently approved single shot can be stored in a regular refrigerator, making it easier to transport to hard-to-reach areas. As efforts to vaccinate South Carolinians ramp up, Pepper is prepared to do whatever it takes to get the shot. [If] Ive got to stay all day in a long line, Im going to do it, he said. After the shot, he expects hell be doing the same thing hes been doing for the past year Ill just wear my mask, stay safe, and stay where I am, he said, though after being vaccinated, hes looking forward to being able to help his neighbor, who is diabetic. And with three authorized vaccines currently available, he is not exactly picky. Ill just take the first one that I can get. LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The new documentary, Medical Racism: The New Apartheid, is co-produced by Children's Health Defense (CHD), Centner Productions, Kevin Jenkins of the Urban Global Health Alliance, Rev. Tony Muhammed and author/historian Curtis Cost. Directed by Academy Award nominee David Massey, the film chronicles the medical cartel's long history of targeting minorities for unethical experiments, the acquiescence of regulatory agencies and medical ethicists, and the silence of physicians who allow these atrocities to continue. "Medical Racism: The New Apartheid is the most powerful and important documentary ever produced on medical experimentation and other abuses against African Americans and people on the continent of Africa," said Curtis Cost. "I'm extremely proud of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for having the courage to produce this desperately needed documentary. It was Senator Ted Kennedy who brought the Tuskegee syphilis experiments to an end. It was President John F. Kennedy who had the courage to send troops to defend the civil rights of African-Americans. Now, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. continues that tradition with this film. As an African-American, I am extremely proud to be part of this film and of all of the amazing people who contributed to making it possible." While many Americans are familiar with the historic medical atrocities by CDC at Tuskegee , by the father of American gynecology, Dr. J. Marion Sims on South Carolina slave girls , and the continuing medical larceny against Henrietta Lacks , they are likely unaware of the routine medical barbarism that persists today. The film pulls back the curtain on atrocities hiding in plain sight and takes viewers on an unprecedented journey to unearth the truth. It shows viewers: That medical racism has happened before, and awareness will help ensure it doesn't happen again How racism in the drug industry impacts the Black community Why, when our bodies and risk are involved, it shouldn't be about governmental control How to feel empowered to have a voice about health choices On March 6th, Medical Racism: The New Apartheid was shown at the Jubilee Film Festival which provides a venue for films exploring current social problems and solutions. CHD Chairman, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was part of a panel discussion after the film. The film festival is a part of the annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma, AL, an event which commemorates "Bloody Sunday," March 7, 1965, when peaceful demonstrators were brutally attacked by Alabama state troopers as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It's crucial that Medical Racism: The New Apartheid reaches as large an audience as possible to ensure that these abysmal practices will finally end. The film is free to watch at MedicalRacism.org "By learning from the misdeeds of the past, we can avoid repeating them in the future," said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Contact: Rita Shreffler Children's Health Defense 202-599-1461 SOURCE Children's Health Defense Related Links http://www.childrenshealthdefense.org Chronicle file On Travis, between Bell and Clay, used to sit Trinity Methodist Church, one of the earliest black congregations in Houston. On this day in 1949, it was announced that the site that was home to the church since the 19th century would be sold to First Methodist. The building there, constructed in 1900 after an earlier structure was destroyed in that year's hurricane, was likely going to be demolished. The head of the EU delegation to the UK, Joao Vale de Almeida The EU's ambassador to the UK today extended a Brexit olive branch to Britain as he said both sides need to 'give up on trying to score points on disputes of the past'. Joao Vale de Almeida, who took up the role at the start of February, said 'we need to make an effort to change the mindset' so Brussels and the UK can 'make the most out of' the new arrangements. His comments came amid a rumbling row over the Northern Ireland Protocol which has seen the EU launch legal proceedings against the UK Government because of a dispute over border checks. The protocol was agreed by the EU and UK as part of the Brexit divorce deal and it is designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. It achieves that by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods, with regulatory checks and inspections now required on agri-food produce moving into the region from the rest of the UK. The new arrangements have caused some disruption to trade since the start of the year as firms have struggled with new processes and administration. Unionists are opposed to the protocol, claiming it undermines Northern Irelands place in the UK internal market. The EU is launching legal action against the UK Government as part of a rumbling row over border checks in Northern Ireland. Boris Johnson is pictured in the House of Commons on March 10 The UK Government unilaterally decided to extend a post-Brexit grace period on some goods checks in Northern Ireland. The port of Larne is pictured on February 2 What is the Northern Ireland Protocol? The Northern Ireland Protocol is enshrined in the Brexit divorce deal. It is the solution agreed by the EU and the UK to avoid a return to an Irish land border. To avoid disrupting cross-border trade and a return of checkpoints along the politically sensitive frontier, they essentially agreed to move new regulatory and customs processes to the Irish Sea. That means the checks are now focused on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with goods continuing to move freely within the island of Ireland. Trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is largely unaffected by the protocol. The red tape applies on movement in the other direction because while Northern Ireland has to stay closely aligned to EU trade rules, the rest of the UK does not. Since December 31, a range of regulatory animal and plant safety checks have been in operation, including physical inspections for a proportion of arriving freight at new port facilities. Customs declarations are also required for incoming commercial goods. Northern Ireland remains in the EU single market for goods. The region also applies EU customs rules at its ports, even though it is still part of the UK customs territory. The protocol also sees Northern Ireland follow certain EU rules on state aid and VAT on goods. Unionists and loyalists are opposed to the protocol because they believe it creates a barrier between the region and the rest of the UK, undermining the Union, while checks have also resulted in disruption at the border. Advertisement Amid growing tensions in Northern Ireland, the UK Government last week moved to unilaterally delay full implementation of the protocol, by extending some grace periods that currently limit the level of checks and declarations required. In response, the EU is taking legal action, accusing the UK of breaching the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement. Mr Vale de Almeida told journalists during a briefing this morning that he wants the two sides to work together 'in a constructive way, in a positive way, in a fruitful way'. He said the world is 'facing serious problems' and the EU and the UK have both strategic interests and common values. He said: 'For all this to happen in a constructive way, in a positive way, in a fruitful way, I think we need to make an effort to change the mindset and give up on trying to score points on disputes of the past and focus ourselves on doing what we can do on making the most out of the agreements that we made, the Withdrawal Agreement on one side, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the other. With coherence, with consistency, with common willingness to work together. 'We will have differences and I think the last few weeks have shown some of those differences, we have to approach not in a confrontational way, not in a conflictual way but in a way that aims at the output, aims at what we can bring to our citizens and to our businesses. They should be the focus of our actions. For all that we need to have high levels of trust, mutual trust. Trust is maybe the most important commodity in international relations. When there is no trust, when levels of trust go down, you are less capable of finding solutions. It came after Mr Vale de Almeida told ITV's Peston programme last night that he never thought Boris Johnson would become prime minister when they knew each other in Brussels 30 years ago when the latter was working as a journalist. He said: No, to be very frank, no. But maybe he never thought I would be ambassador to the UK post-Brexit. Asked if he had seen qualities in Mr Johnson that would make him suited to being prime minister, he said: Well, that is up to the British people to decide, not for me. 'But we had a good understanding, a good relationship, and even friendship and I remember we were quite younger at that time, I can confirm that. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES KELOWNA, British Columbia, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GTEC Holdings Ltd. d/b/a GTEC Cannabis Co. (TSXV:GTEC) (OTCQB: GGTTF) (FRA: 1BUP) (GTEC, the Company or GTEC Cannabis Co.) a multi-licensed producer of handcrafted, high quality cannabis, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a revised agreement with Desjardins Capital Markets and Eight Capital (the Underwriters) to increase the size of the previously announced bought deal short form prospectus offering of units of the Company (the Units) to 25,000,000 Units at a price of $0.80 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $20,000,000 (the Offering). Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (each a Common Share) and one Common Share purchase warrant (each a Warrant). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $1.04 for a period of 36 months following the closing of the Offering; provided that in the event the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) for any 10 consecutive trading days following the closing of the Offering is equal to or greater than $2.00, the Company may, upon providing written notice to the holders of the Warrants, accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to the date that is 30 days following the date of such written notice. The Company has agreed to grant the Underwriters an over-allotment option (the Over-Allotment Option) to increase the size of the Offering by up to 15% of the aggregate number of Units sold under the Offering, such option being exercisable in whole or in part at any time up to 30 days after and including the closing date of the Offering, to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes. In the event that the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering to GTEC will be $23,000,000. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to repay indebtedness, fund expansion of the Companys operating capacity, fund international expansion opportunities and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Units will be offered by way of short form prospectus to be filed in all of the provinces of Canada, except Quebec, pursuant to National Instrument 44-101 Short Form Prospectus Distributions. The Offering may be also sold in such other jurisdictions as the Company and the Underwriters may agree. The Offering is expected to close on or about March 30, 2021 and is subject to market and other customary conditions, including but not limited to, approval of the TSXV, and the entering into of an underwriting agreement between the Company and the Underwriters. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. United States and U.S. person are as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act. About GTEC Cannabis Co. GTEC Cannabis Co cultivates, markets, and distributes handcrafted, high quality cannabis products. The Company has four operational facilities licenced by Health Canada and is currently distributing cannabis through medical and recreational sales channels. GTECs premium quality recreational cannabis brands includes; BLK MKT , Tenzo , Cognoscente and Treehugger, which are crafted from unique cultivars, and sold in British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Yukon. The Companys medical cannabis brand, GreenTec, is distributed nationwide to qualified patients through its GreenTec Medical website and various licensed partners. GTEC is a publicly traded corporation, listed on the TSXV (GTEC), OTCQB Venture Market (GGTTF) and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (1BUP). The Companys headquarters is located in Kelowna, British Columbia and has operations in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. To learn more about the Company or to access the most recent Corporate Presentation, please visit the Companys website at www.gtec.co. For additional information, please contact: GTEC Cannabis Co. 1-800-351-6358 contact@gtec.co Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains statements which constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words may, would, could, should, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect or similar expressions including: the completion of the Offering; the anticipated Closing Date; the expected gross proceeds of the Offering; the use of proceeds from the Offering; the receipt of regulatory approvals; the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option and future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects managements expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the Company. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; potential conflicts of interest; the Canadian regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, including political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; changes in applicable laws; compliance with extensive government regulation; public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry; infectious diseases, including the COVID-19 pandemic; reliance on the Companys licenses; failure to obtain the necessary licenses; reliance on the Companys facilities; and anticipated effects of actions of third parties such as competitors, activist investors or federal, provincial, territorial or local regulatory authorities, self-regulatory organizations, plaintiffs in litigation or persons threatening litigation. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. Alabamas community college students wont see tuition increases this fall as the system attempts to resume normal, in-person instruction on its campuses. The Alabama Community College System announced the plans on Wednesday after its monthly board of trustees meeting. The tuition rate freeze applies to both residents and out-of-state students, System spokesperson Rachel Bunning said. Tuition for in-state students will remain $133 per credit hour for the fall. Rates for non-residents will stay at $266 per credit hour. Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker cited the states struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic during the past year as he made the announcement. This year has been difficult for many Alabamians and access to education and skills training shouldnt be something that makes it harder, Baker said in a statement released by the system office. By freezing tuition and ensuring online, in-person, and hybrid classes are available at Alabamas 24 community colleges, were doing our part to expand opportunities for coursework and training to help Alabamians build a better future. The chancellor noted the declining number of new reported COVID-19 cases and expanding access to vaccines while making the simultaneous announcement that the system anticipated its 24 campuses would resume normal, on-campus operations this fall. From the beginning of the pandemic, our number one priority has been the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff, and it will continue to be our primary focus as we work to safely reopen our campuses across the state, Baker said. The announcement by the two-year system comes a week after the University of Alabama System said it would return to traditional in-person instruction in the fall. Scott Stafford has been a reporter, photographer, and editor at a variety of publications, including the Dallas Morning News and The Berkshire Eagle. Scott can be reached at sstafford@berkshireeagle.com, or at 413-496-6301 and on Twitter at @BE_SStafford. The 49-year-old woman, Maral Najarian, was flown from Baku to Beirut via Istanbul immediately after her release demanded by the Armenian and Lebanese governments. The Armenian parliament speaker, Ararat Mirzoyan, on Thursday thanked the speaker of Russias upper house of parliament, Valentina Matvienko, for helping to secure Najarians release. In a statement, Mirzoyan said Matvienko raised the issue with Azerbaijani authorities after appeals from him and female members of Armenias parliament. Like hundreds of other Lebanese nationals of Armenian descent, Najarian and her sister Ani migrated to Armenia following last Augusts devastating explosion at Beiruts port. They decided to relocate to Karabakh just days before the September 27 outbreak of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Najarian did travel to Karabakh together with a Lebanese-Armenian friend, Viken Euljekian, on November 10 hours after a Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the six-hour war. They were detained in the Karabakh town of Shushi (Shusha) and taken to Baku. Najarian says they did not know that Shushi was captured by the Azerbaijani army earlier in November. Euljekian, who lived in Shushi and worked as a taxi driver before the war, is still held in an Azerbaijani prison, facing terrorism charges condemned by the Armenian government and human rights groups. Najarian risked similar accusations, with Azerbaijani media still portraying her as an enemy combatant. They suspected that Im a spy because of my knowledge of Turkish, she told RFE/RLs Armenian Service on Thursday. I thought I am going to die there, she said, speaking from her Beirut home via video link. I wasnt tortured there but I suffered psychological damage. We are very grateful to everyone: Armenia, Lebanon and Russia, said her sister remaining in Yerevan. Najarian also said that she was held in solitary confinement in three different Azerbaijani prisons and never saw any other Armenian prisoners. Several other Armenians were also captured by Azerbaijan troops when they travelled to Karabakh from Armenia on November 10. A senior Karabakh official said in late December that at least 40 Karabakh Armenian civilians remain unaccounted for after the war. He expressed hope that most of them are still alive. Azerbaijan is also believed to be holding more than 100 Armenian prisoners of war in what the Armenian side considers a gross violation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Moscow. Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos Getty/Facebook Just weeks after Facebook purged its own Black History Month ads by mistake, Womens History Month ads are also being flagged and deleted. Though the tech giant received media praise for its refreshing Black History Month content, it was one of dozens of advertisers that saw its ad campaigns about Black history removed from the social network in February. Among the others were a Fortune 500 energy company, the Chicago Bulls, the city government of Denver, a church, a grade school, health-care providers, a book store, universities, and history museums. The cycle appears primed to start again, this time targeting Womens History Month ads. Facebook eliminated a Feb. 26-Mar. 1 campaign on the womens suffrage movement created by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. Promotions focusing on women from AmeriCorps, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Connecticut Office of Tourism, a New Zealand salmon brand, a tutoring company, and a historical museum have also been erased since the start of March. Facebooks moderation system flagged and removed 14 Facebook celebrates Black History Month promotions run via the companys main page, according to the Facebook Ad Library. The ads were axed for appearing without disclaimers noting they concerned social issues, elections or politics. All featured photos and videos of Black women speaking about their work and their livesone as a therapist, others as skaters, another as a doula. One of the deleted ads began, Ashley M. is writing Black History by progressing free mental health for the Black community. Ashley started the Washington Therapy Fund Foundation to help clients and therapists eliminate barriers to Black healing. When contacted by The Daily Beast, Ashley McGirt, the analyst in the advertisement, did not know that some versions of the ads she appeared in had been flagged and pulled from the platform. Facebook a Hotbed of Child Sexual Abuse Material With 20.3 Million Reports, Far More Than Pornhub Story continues Another promotion showcased FroSkate, an organization that aims to encourage Black participation in skateboarding: Skateboarding is typically a very white male-dominated space, explains Karlie T. So when they see this Black girl on a skateboard flying past them, its shocking. Theres power in that. Yet another axed ad appeared with what seems to be benign copy about Black leaders and their use of Facebook: These movements have transformed into mantras for every generation. As we explore the stories that hero [sic] the beauty of natural hair and the bravery of natural leaders, we are inspired by the Black women who use their voices on our platforms to redefine the future. via Facebook All the ads appeared above a link reading, Facebook celebrates Black History Month that led to about.fb.com/community, a page created by Facebook with the header: Black history is written every day. People are using Facebook to connect and strengthen their communities. The site touts Facebooks fundraising and donation features and its support for small businesses. It is unclear what elements of these advertisements triggered Facebooks moderation systems or what about skateboarding, if anything, is political. The ads, which cost Facebook around $11,000, reached roughly 2.5 million people in total before they were taken down. A spokesperson for Facebook told The Daily Beast that the takedowns of the companys campaigns were a mistake and that the ads did not concern political issues, adding that Black History Month and Womens History Month/International Womens Day are not political matters under Facebooks definition. To be designated an issue ad, a campaign must weigh in directly on legislation, an election, a petition, or a similar affair. The spokesperson noted Facebooks enforcement of the social issues policy and disclaimer is not perfect and that many Black History Month campaigns ran successfully, with many advertisers opting to preemptively use the disclaimer. The spokesperson emphasized that the phrases Black history and womens history do not automatically put an ad up for moderator review. Some of Facebooks own ads were reinstated, but not all of them, according to the spokesperson. They will still show up in the Ad Library because of their original removal. Likewise, some of the Black History and Womens History Month ads reappeared on the social network after the decisions to remove them were overturned, but not all. Facebooks review of ads is partly done by automated computer programs and partly by human content moderators. The company requires ads touching cultural third railssocial issues, elections, or politicsto appear with acknowledgments that the subject matter is sensitive. Ads with such labels require a higher standard of transparency and allow Facebook users to click through to see who paid for the ad and what demographics and regions the promotion targeted. If an ad runs without such a disclaimer and Facebooks post facto review determines the content does concern such material, it is taken down, and the advertiser is given the opportunity to resubmit the promotion. The submission of Facebooks ads without such labels implies that their creators believed the banners did not need them, that they thought the bulletins were not about social issues, elections or politics. It is unclear how or why Facebooks own employees tripped over the advertising system designed by their company. Other versions of the same ads remain on Facebooks main profile. The removals echo a point Black activists have made for yearsthat simply existing while Black is politicized. In the case of the ads featuring a therapist and the doula, the featured women argue that Black people deserve to be healthy. Disparities between Black Americans and other racial groups, most starkly white people, have been well-documented for decades. Activists targeting medical inequalities have often taken up the Black Lives Matter banner as their own, tweaking the slogan to Black Health Matters. If Facebook is axing its own Black History Month ads, other promotions on the same topic appear to run an even greater risk of removal. The term Black history alone seems to bring down the wrath of Facebooks moderation. via Facebook Throughout the month of February, dozens of advertisers saw their Black History Month content removed from Facebook for appearing without social issues disclaimers, according to a Daily Beast review of the Ad Library. Denvers city and county government ran ads from its verified profile honoring the citys Black firefighters on Feb. 18. That ad was taken down. Insurer Blue Cross bought ads about racial inequities in health care that appeared from Feb. 28 to Mar. 1. Those were taken down. Southern Company Gas, a Fortune 500 power company that covers much of the American South, created multiple ads featuring Black employees that ran from Feb. 23 to Feb. 28. Those ads were removed for running without disclaimers as well. A series of Chicago Bulls ads done in conjunction with Crown Royal and focused on recognizing Black creatives were cut from the platform. A campaign by Eagles Nest Church in Alpharetta, Georgia promoting a conversation with a Black pastor about Black History Month was also removed. Brown Physicians Inc., led by Brown University medical school faculty, saw ads about its own Black doctors taken down. Adventist Health, a hospital network, similarly had its ads about Black physicians in American history removed. The United Autoworkers Union purchased promotions about its first Black International Representative that were flagged. The University of Arizona ran a campaign from Feb. 19-Feb. 28 reading, Our Black History is an anthem for a world that can be better. The ad was removed for running without a disclaimer. Trinity Christian Academy, a school in Addison, Texas, had its ads about teaching fourth graders Black history taken down. A group called Facing History and Ourselves, which describes itself as using lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate, bought ads promoting an event with Dr. Tommie Smith, who famously gave the Black power salute on the Olympic podium in 1968, that was cut. WSS, a Southern California clothing store, created a promotion with Puma that featured historically Black colleges; it too was removed. A promotion by Santa Barbara Historical Museum on Mammy dolls was removed. Haymarket Books, a Chicago publisher, had its ads for a discount on books about Black activism removed. In January, the Chicago History Museum ran a campaign on its virtual programming on Martin Luther King Jr.s impact that was taken down. March has seen organizations create ads celebrating women and womens history but encounter the same problems others did during Black History Month. Since the start of March, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, AmeriCorps, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Connecticut Office of Tourism, a New Zealand salmon brand, a tutoring company, and a historical museum have all run ads celebrating women's current and historical impact on various industries and areas of expertise only to see those campaigns removed by Facebook. None of the advertisements focused on existing legislation or elections. The FDR librarys ad read, Womens History Month: A Conversation on Womens Suffrage... From the convention at Seneca Falls to the passage of the 19th Amendment, the fight for equality laid the foundation for the work of Eleanor Roosevelt and the UDHR. Visit Connecticuts ad read, Connecticut is rich with stories of women who powerfully influenced American historyand March is the perfect time to honor them. And the Mormon churchs ad read, We say thank you on this International Womens Day to all women who lift and serve as Jesus Christ did. Facebook has made similar blunders before. In 2018, the company removed ads that contained the words Black, African-American, Hispanic, or LGBT for running without political disclosures despite containing no political point of view. In 2019, The Daily Beast reported that the social network had repeatedly disabled ads from hospitals and state health departments about vaccines but allowed paid bulletins from anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Leading disposable syringe maker Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd (HMD) has received a fresh government order for supply of 265 million AD (auto disposable) syringes. The supplies have to be carried out by September 2021. HMD will complete its earlier orders for 177.5 million 0.5 ml AD syringes by the end of March, the company said. "This is in addition to our ongoing global commitments to support global vaccination projects for 0.1ml and 0.5 ml AD Kojak syringes in the developing world," Rajiv Nath, Managing Director of HMD said. The syringes are used for vaccinations against a host of diseases like yellow fever, measles, hepatitis B, etc. The company also supplies syringes for Covid vaccination requirements - 0.3ml for Pfizer's vaccines and 0.5 ml AD Kojak for AstraZeneca or Serum and Bharat Biotech. Also read: Vaccination phase 2: Govt renegotiates Covishield price at Rs 157.5 from Rs 210 earlier "We are allocating two third capacity of KOJAK to the government of India and one third to our regular global UN clients. We are happy to complement vaccines diplomacy with syringes diplomacy and raise the Brand India flag in over 120 countries worldwide," Nath said. The company said it has been readying to tap the global opportunity arising out of the need for the right kind of syringes for Covid vaccine from April 2000 itself. "We have successfully retooled our existing Dispovan disposable syringes production lines to use them to make KOJAK Auto Disable Syringes. We have had to rehire the 1,000 people to replace those who had left us during the onset of Covid and train them the skills and quality consciousness. Fortunately, our technology permits this flexibility of switching between these designs and we have a capable and motivated team to take on these challenges of spike in global demand and scramble for the humble 3 cent (approximately Rs 2 ) syringes that's needed for drug delivery of relatively expensive vaccines that cost 100 to 1000 times. HMD initiated investment of over 15 million dollars (approx Rs 100 crore) in May 2020 to mass produce specialty syringes even before purchase orders were even in sight," Nath said. From 500 million pieces per annum capacity of 0.5 ml AD Syringes in June 2020, the company is today producing 800 million per annum and trying to achieve capacity of 1 billion by June and 1.2 billion per annum by September this year. Also read: HMD to produce 1 billion syringes by 2021 to push COVID-19 vaccination Daylight Saving Time begins in 2021 on Sunday when clocks will spring forward one hour and we lose an hour of sleep overnight. Though its been staying light out a little later each day since the winter solstice on Dec. 21, the big change will occur at 2 a.m. on Sunday with the shift to Daylight Savings Time. The sun will set at around 6:03 p.m in New Jersey on Saturday and the following day sunset is at 7:04 p.m. Daylight Saving Time starts in 2021 on Sunday, March 14. The clocks will spring forward one hour.file photo The tradeoff is that sunrise will be an an hour later 7:10 a.m. on Sunday after it was 6:12 a.m. a day earlier. During winter, each day has roughly two-and-half more minutes of daylight than the previous day, with sunset slightly earlier and sunset slightly later until the summer solstice on June 20. At that point, the sun will begin to set a bit earlier each day. What is the history of Daylight Saving Time? The modern idea of Daylight Saving Time was first proposed in 1895 by George Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist (the study of insects) and astronomer. Some credit William Willett, an English architect, for first proposing the idea in 1907. However, it was Hudson who came up with the idea nearly a decade earlier after becoming annoyed with the little amount of daylight during the summertime, which was interfering with his study of bugs. He believed that there must be a way to make better use of the days light by shifting the clocks by two hours in the summer and then two hours back in the winter. However, when Hudson presented the idea to the Wellington Philosophical Society, he was ridiculed by many society members. Willett was also disregarded when he proposed a similar idea to Parliament in 1907. Why do we spring forward during Daylight Saving Time? Daylight Saving Time is a roughly century-old practice in the U.S. centered around making better use of the days light by shifting an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. When is the first day of spring? Does it match with Daylight Saving Time? The first day of spring, otherwise known as the vernal equinox, is Saturday, March 20, 2021. While Daylight Saving Time is often referred to by its reminder spring forward or spring ahead, it actually occurs before spring starts each year. What states in the U.S. dont observe Daylight Saving Time? While most states change clocks for Daylight Saving Time, there are some holdouts. Arizona and Hawaii do not observe Daylight Saving Time. In addition, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not participate in Daylight Saving Time. There is a proposal in Congress, called the Sunshine Protection Act, to make Daylight Saving Time year round. It has not been passed, though. Meanwhile, Michigan lawmakers are considering abolishing Daylight Saving Time. Daylight Savings Time in 2021 is 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14. People sometimes referred to it as spring forward to remember it as the day clocks move forward one hour.AP What role did Benjamin Franklin play in Daylight Saving Time? Franklin is credited with coming up with the notion of making better use of the days light. While visiting Paris in 1784, Franklin came to believe that sunlight was being wasted during the day. In a joking letter to the editors of a Paris newspaper, Franklin proposed a tax on all Parisians whose windows were closed after sunrise. He believed that this would encourage the economy of using sunshine instead of candles, according to Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. What is the origin of modern Daylight Saving Time? During World War I, the German Empire hatched an idea that most resembles the Daylight Saving Time that we observe today. Believing that it would conserve fuel during the war, the German Empire in 1916 became the first to switch its clocks to save daylight. When did the U.S. adopt Daylight Saving Time? In 1918, the U.S. enacted the first Daylight Saving Time law as a way to conserve fuel. It was reintroduced during World War II. In 1973, President Nixon signed into law the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act, which made DST permanent in the U.S. This helped reduce confusion throughout the country with some regions of the U.S. participating in the practice and some regions opting out. Wasnt Daylight Saving Time created for farmers? A common misconception is that Daylight Saving Time was implemented as a way to improve farming practices. However, this is a myth. During the early adoption of the practice in the U.S., farmers were among the biggest opponents of Daylight Saving Time, believing that it would disrupt their farming practices. Does Daylight Saving Time actually conserve energy? Not really, even though that was cited in the 2005 Energy Policy Act that extended Daylight Saving Time by a month. A study three years later by the U.S. Department of Energy determined that the extended daylight throughout the year of 2005 saved a mere .5 percent in electricity use per day and only about .3 percent over the entire year. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. In todays world, the power of artificial intelligence is everywhere. From agriculture to healthcare, from shopping to dating, from the vehicles we drive to the way we do business, our experiences are increasingly shaped by AI. This is true even when it comes to whiskey tasting, although in this case the intelligence is driven by our senses and our reasoning rather than sophisticated algorithms. This is a topic that is close to my heart, given that Im a director of AI, data analytics and high performance computing sales who moonlights as a whiskey sommelier. I often have occasion to reflect on the amazing parallels between the principles of AI and the process of tasting whisky. With that thought in mind, lets look at 10 of the ways in which artificial intelligence and whiskey tasting share common ground. Deductive reasoning When online retailers look for patterns in clickstream data, they engage a practice known as deductive reasoning. I see this and I see that, therefore, this other thing is highly correlated. Ask people at Walmart why they stock strawberry Pop-Tarts in the front of the store before a hurricane. They will tell you it was because they saw a pattern. Same is true for experiencing whiskey. An active whiskey drinker analyzes the experience. Is there a familiar herb like heather in Speyside single malts? Looking to establish a premise AFTER collecting data, no one wants to make a grand statement like all Speyside single malts must have heather after tasting just one. Inferring generalities from specifics then running experiments to prove the theory is inductive reasoning. Feature detection AI pursues feature detection to find what will predict an outcome. Features are like column headers in a spreadsheet. Lenders inspect aspects of home mortgage applications to see what attribute or combination of attributes will shine a light on those who will pay the money back. This process is like whiskey tasting. Consider tasting wheels. They are just circular spreadsheets. Each spirit can be ranked in intensity to those specific flavors. Those features originate from grain selection, fermentation, distillation, barrel type and aging. These are puzzle pieces that whiskey lovers adore assembling in their minds. They are getting to know the whiskey like characters in a novel. Classification One of the short cuts to dealing with large populations is to bucketize them into groups. The Boomer, Gen-Xer and Millennial labels are nothing more than a classification exercise based on birth years. We make generalizations about each groups interests. This classification technique works well with whiskey comparisons too. Bourbon, by law, needs to have 51 percent corn. So, in a blind test comparing spirits from different grains, look for the candy corn aroma. Its a signature to this class of whiskey. Propensity Propensity is a fancy term to describe what might likely happen. Its how AI deals with the unknown. We see a drop in the price of oil and the propensity rises for Houstonians to leave the family cell phone plan. The same principle underpins whiskey when it comes to food pairing. Chicken piccata, an Italian dish served with a lemon and caper sauce, is likely to go well with a Rye. Why? Because the rye grain has lemon on the nose. Therefore, the propensity for such a match is high. Iteration Data scientists, just like master distillers, like to experiment before they lock down on a data model. They have ideas and tweak as they go. Internet properties like Facebook play with the shade of blue to see which gets the most clicks. Why not expect that with whiskey? Whiskey blenders like Compass Box continue to push the envelope for their blended malts. They were famously cornered by the Scottish Whiskey Association for a rather unconventional aging process in the original recipe of Spice Tree. Establishing a baseline (supervised learning) We know a normal blood pressure reading because doctors have measured this vital sign for years. More than that, they have correlated both positive and negative outcomes to the data. They know a patient is high risk because of the histories of hundreds of thousands of patients. The role of AI in this context is to determine what is "normal" based on a given dataset. However, normal becomes useful when we know the outcome of a certain event as well. In the land of AI, when we establish a baseline with known outcomes and ask algorithms to pick out factors that predict the future, we are engaged in supervised learning. The act of building a baseline for whiskey tasting comes from personal experience. Blind tasting after blind tasting helps the taster single out the single malts from the blends. A corn mashbill from rye or barley. Secondary casking versus single. The more a whiskey taster experiences, the bigger the sample set, the broader the foundation, the more the taster knows. This foundational knowledge helps whiskey tourists know when they have left the paved road for an adventure. Anomaly detection Anomalies get a bad rap. That is until you understand that all parents want their kids to be normal, but never average. Being above average earns gold medals on the downhill and early acceptance to that hard-to-get-into college. This is not normal. Seeking anomalies is the job of talent scouts. It is also core to artificial intelligence because its something from which we learn. It might be the use of a product the designer never expected. Ask the Pfizer about its original intent for Viagra. The world of whiskey tasting presents a similar opportunity. Greenspot Irish Whiskey has green apple all over it. Westland Single Malt tastes like chocolate. And Hudson Four Grain has a barnyard quality to it. You can almost hear the sheep. When you hang notes in the air like Pavarotti, you get noticed. Anomaly detection is a different kind of appreciation. Whiskey aficionados aim for this. Normalization Eighty percent of a data scientist's time is spent wrangling data filling in the missing elements in a table so the columns and rows are ready to be analyzed. It is hard to draw conclusions when artifacts are missing. And this same rigor is pursed by the whiskey trade. Evaluating whiskey must be done if and only if the spirits are served in the same way and the same time. We know that wine oxidizes in the glass. An angry glass of cabernet becomes approachable after an hour once it breaths. Time also plays into whiskey, except oxygen is not the factor. When alcohol evaporates from the glass precious olfactory volatiles escape with them. A whiskey freshly poured might be feisty at five minutes and friendly at 50. So, it's important that we treat data and whiskey with the same level of consistency: same glass shape, same pour size, same time out of the bottle. Enrichment Business data only gets better when we add diverse data types like geo-spatial, event-related or weather data to it. When a person shops online at happy hour while the sun is out and the cart was abandoned, there should be no surprise. Maybe the band was more interesting This context-driven awareness adds a deeper understanding. Modern analytics, driven by AI, is all about enriching structured data with unstructured to gain a better experience. Likewise, distillers are aging whiskey in second or third casks. They take a completed product and finish it off in wine, sherry, port, rum or Sauternes casks. Or it might take the form of the blenders' art like Johnny Walker, Dimple or Compass Box. These distillers ladder up the experience by marrying whiskeys from different places. Hudson Four Grain ages the same spirit in three different sizes of barrels each with a different char to get that exact expression. Shaped by taxation Fans of history have no trouble remembering when Alexander Hamilton rode to Western Pennsylvania in 1794 to help his boss lay down the Whiskey Rebellion. This was before Mr. Hamilton was a Broadway sensation. He was the first US Secretary of the Treasury and was hungry to pay down the national debt with a whiskey tax gasp! Our friends in Scotland struggled with same issue in the mid-18th century where distillers were taxed based on still size and not production. In 1787, taxation was the tipping point in the split between the Lowlands and the Highlands. Religion, language and affiliation with England may have proper historians talking, but a true Gaelic Highlander knew the real argument was over whether blended whiskey was a real whiskey. Likewise, analytics in the English-speaking world found its voice because of taxation. First appearing in Britain in Roman times, the practice became a consistent effort in 1801. Its mission was for allocating precious resources. And since counting people one by one takes longer than a single decade, statistics found its place in economics. So the next time you raise a Glencairn glass of the water of life , just remember that as you ponder notes of heather, sea air and the smell of warm biscuits, you might actually be thinking like a data scientist. Cheers. To Learn More For additional information on Dell Technologies data analytics solutions, please visit: Delltechnologies.com/analytics. Explore more AI solutions from Dell Technologies and Intel. The Vice President of the Republic, Mahamudu Bawumia, on Wednesday, 10th March 2021, paid a visit to Abdul-Malik Kweku Baako and his family. The visit was to commiserate with him over the passing away of the veteran journalists mother, Madam Gloria Aba Addison whose sad event occurred on Saturday, March 6, 2021, at the Ghana Maritime Hospital. Expressing his condolences and that of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia assured Mr Baako of the nation praying for him and his family in these difficult times. According to Dr Bawumia, even though Madam Gloria was advanced in years, her death was a sad one since the vacuum her absence will create can never be filled by anyone. The news about the demise of Madam Gloria Aba Addison was broken by Gordon Asare-Bediako, one of the sons of the ace media practitioner on his Facebook timeline on the afternoon of 6th March 2021. The Vice President was accompanied by a few people from the Presidency to visit Mr Baako over the departure of his mum. Full funeral arrangements will be announced later. Source: Myabclive.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 Mother and daughter were asleep inside the bungalow on Hermitage where they lived with other renters and roommates. One person who lived there was awake and in the kitchen when she suddenly saw smoke coming from the porch outside, Murphy said. The woman, who tried to rescue the girl and her mother but was unable to, also tried to extinguish the fire but flames engulfed the house in minutes, Murphy said. AUSTIN, Texas, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo, LLP , one of the most respected and successful eminent domain law firms in Texas, today announced the addition of attorney Andrew York as partner. York brings 13 years of experience working on complex litigation matters, with a focus on real estate and commercial disputes. Founded in 1983 with a focus exclusively on protecting landowner rights, Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo has long been recognized as one of the most highly regarded eminent domain law practices in Texas. The firm offers more than 100 years of combined experience, focused on eminent domain, condemnation, inverse condemnation and regulatory takings matters. Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo represents a variety of landowners, including Fortune 500 companies, individual property owners, business owners, ranch owners, tenants and public agencies and entities. "We're able to fight for landowners across Texas because of the dedication and hard work our attorneys bring to every case," said Partner Christopher Oddo. "We always strive to hire the best and brightest, and we're pleased to have Andrew join our team and bring his passion for protecting property rights to our clients." York joins Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo from Armbrust & Brown, where he worked as a commercial trial and appellate litigator based in Austin, Texas. He holds degrees in mathematics and economics from the University of Virginia, and he graduated with honors from The University of Texas School of Law. "It's an honor to join the experienced eminent domain attorneys at Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo, and I look forward to working alongside the team to help Texas landowners," said York. "One of the many things that drew me to this firm is its proactive approach to educating Texans about their rights as property owners, and I'm excited to help further that work." In addition to providing comprehensive representation to clients and vigorously fighting to protect the property rights of business and landowners, Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo also devotes an extensive amount of time to educating the public regarding eminent domain and land use issues. With offices in Austin and Houston, the firm represents more clients in more Texas cities than any other firm of eminent domain attorneys. For more information, visit BarronAdler.com . SOURCE Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo, LLP Related Links https://www.barronadler.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. Syrias foreign ministry has described the EUs Syria stance as colonial, writes SANA. The Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said on Wednesday that the EU, with its applied policy, is only a continuation of colonialism, reiterating that statements of some EU officials on its role and conditions in the reconstruction process clearly indicate a misunderstanding of what is going on in Syria. In a statement recited by Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Ayman Sousan, the ministry said that some EU officials occasionally release statements about the EUs role and basic conditions regarding the reconstruction process and relations with Syria. He affirmed that repeating those statements, which are built on the illusions and dreams of EU officials, clearly indicate their misunderstanding of what is going on in Syrian and the region. The statement pointed out that the EU had never offered donations to Syria, only loans that were paid periodically from the Syrian people. It added that all facilities which Syria had contracted with the EU before the war in the field of electricity and health have been stopped due to the EU blockade and sanctions on Syria, which negatively affect Syrian citizens and cause an increase in fatality rates. The statement stressed that the EU has departed from Syria just as colonialism did and it wont return under any name, as neither a political process nor elections satisfy them. It added that if there are conditions to be laid, then it is Syria who should lay them, asserting that the only binding condition is the return of Syria mainly through the gate of Syrian sovereignty and interests. The statement concluded by maintaining that the EU officials should not waste their time in drafting statements which only carry their dreams and illusions, as for Syria, the policy of the EU and that of the Islamic State (ISIS) are two sides of the same coin, which is the US coin. 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. Hong Kong: COVID-19 vaccine info to be updated (To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.) The Government will provide more clinically relevant information on COVID-19 vaccines so that the public will have a better idea about whether they are suitable to receive the vaccine or not. At a press briefing this afternoon, Under Secretary for Food & Health Dr Chui Tak-yi said the move was made following feedback from the operators of the community vaccination centres and people who were inoculated in the first two weeks of the vaccination programme's launch. Dr Chui said it is necessary for people to go through the information on COVID-19 vaccines, available on a dedicated webpage and in the form of a fact sheet, before they make bookings for the vaccine. About the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, the preparation of the programme itself is a very thorough process and part of the preparation includes gathering information that is very vital for potential recipients to note before they decide whether they will receive the vaccination. So we have gathered from information from drug companies, information that is available in published studies or in phase three trials or in other governments that have launched these vaccination programmes with particular vaccines. This information is quite abundant already. So when an individual decides to consider to book one of the vaccination sessions, he or she has to visit the website or get one of these hard copies of the vaccination fact sheets and go through every detail before he or she gives consent for the vaccination. He added that the Government is working with clinical experts to provide further information to the programme partners as well as members of the public. Now it has been two weeks after the launch of the vaccination programme and we have gathered feedback from those who run the vaccination centres and recipients of vaccinations that they might need to have more information and that information may be more clinically related. So I understand that colleagues in the Department of Health have been communicating with clinical experts recently. When the information is ready, they are going to distribute more clinically relevant information for partners who provide vaccination and also for the public to consider. This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Army Corps of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on Wednesday urged coastal residents affected by the proposed $2 billion Mid-Barataria sediment diversion project to participate in a 60-day public comment period that will include three days of public hearings in April. Any comment we receive will be addressed in the [final version of] the environmental impact statement, said Jeff Varisco, a Corps senior project manager overseeing the report. +4 Huge Louisiana coastal project receives positive report from the Corps of Engineers Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion could create 28 square miles of marsh in rapidly eroding Barataria Basin "The phrase we've been using in the coastal program during the last few weeks is 'productive participation,'" said authority chairman Chip Kline. "If you have concerns about the diversion, participate in the process, force the Corps to respond to your concerns." The Corps' draft environmental impact statement, and a draft restoration plan developed by the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment programs Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group to outline why it thinks the diversion is needed to repair or compensate for the effects of the 2010 BP oil spill, were released on Thursday. Public comments are being jointly collected for both. The environmental report is the result of a four-year effort by the Corps and other federal agencies and the state, and is used by the federal agencies to decide whether the project should receive federal permits under the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbor Act. Those laws govern major infrastructure projects involving water resources and federal levees. While the official comment period is scheduled to end May 4, Varisco said it might be extended by 15 days to assure all public comments are received. A final version of the environmental report will be completed in early 2022, with a section that will include all comments and responses to each from the Corps. That version will again be subject to public comments in March 2022, and a final record of decision by the Corps, either granting or denying the permits, is to be completed by April. A final version of the restoration plan also is to be completed in early 2022. It is intended to confirm the reasons the trustees support using money from the BP spill damage assessment program to pay the $1.45 million cost of building the diversion. Another $305 million is to be spent to make up for permanent damage to wildlife and nearby communities, according to state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority officials. And $81 million in criminal fine money from the BP spill was used in designing the project. The states plan for the diversion calls for it to move a maximum 75,000 cubic feet per second of water, sediment and nutrients from the Mississippi River into the Barataria Basin on the West Bank of the River near Ironton. The diversion would include a 1,600-foot-wide channel corridor protected by guide levees at river mile mark 60.7. The diversion would operate in winter and spring months when the Mississippi River flow is greater than 450,000 cubic feet per second at Belle Chasse, and would be closed when the water flow drops below that level. Marsh creation comparison Coastal authority officials showed these two maps during Wednesday's meeting to show the difference between land area without the Mid-Baratari Environmental news in your inbox Stay up-to-date on the latest on Louisiana's coast and the environment. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Based on a high estimate of future sea level rise, the diversion is expected to create or protect 17,300 acres of wetlands at the end of its first 30 years, with continued sea level rise expected to reduce that amount to 13,400 acres at 50 years. The dramatic increase in freshwater caused by the river redirection into the basin will have major effects on existing commercial fisheries, including oysters, and brown shrimp, said Bren Hasse, executive director of the coastal authority. Recent scientific reports by fisheries service scientists also warn the freshwater is likely to kill an estimated 34 percent of the more than 2,000 bottlenose dolphins that live in Barataria Bay. Haase said those studies also conclude that after the first 10 years, the number of dolphin deaths would likely decrease, and that in the last 10 years of the 50-year project, fewer dolphins would die with the project operating than if it were not built. Proposed diversion could kill 34% of bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay, new report says Up to a third of the bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay could die because of dangerously low salinity levels when the proposed Mid-Barataria Haase said studies of the effects of freshwater on a similar group of bottlenose dolphins in Galveston Bay after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 indicated that many of those dolphins avoided the lowest salinity areas there. That could indicate the Barataria dolphins might learn to avoid exposure to freshwater when the diversion is turned on. Capt. George Ricks, president of the Save Louisiana Coalition of fishers opposed to the diversion, said the environmental impact statements conclusions and the dolphin studies confirm his groups view that the diversion will devastate a major state industry on which a large part of south Louisianas residents depend. He said the $33 million the state plans to set aside for mitigation of fishers is not enough, when compared to the economic size of the commercial fisheries. In 2018, brown shrimp landings in Louisiana totaled $36.4 million, and 32 percent was from Barataria Bay, Ricks said. Mid-Barataria Diversion Structure diagram Artist rendering of the Mid-Barataria Diversion Structure The proposed mitigation efforts range from creating new public oyster seed grounds in areas less affected by freshwater to assisting oyster growers to transition to off-bottom farming of oysters. The state also would provide grants to install refrigeration units on shrimp vessels, so they could travel farther to capture shrimp. The state also plans to fund a fishery market program and provide business training and, if necessary, workforce training to help fishers to find jobs in other industries or to move to markets where fish will still be available. When the diversion is operating, it also is likely to increase water levels outside of local hurricane levee systems for several communities between Myrtle Grove and Happy Jack, and for the Bayou Barataria and Lafitte communities to the north. State officials have identified about 530 properties, including permanent homes and vacation camps, that might need mitigation assistance such as elevating roads or buildings, or even buyouts. Rising water will affect these communities This map shows communities that might be affected by higher water levels because of the diversion. The state plans mitigation efforts includin Bill Bubrig, a Plaquemines Parish insurance agent who sits on the coastal authority board, warned that the property owners might be confused by the different options listed in the report, since each property might be offered a different option. Haase said authority officials already have explained their mitigation thinking to the homeowners, but he also recommended that they express their preferences and their concerns in public comments on the impact statement. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the duration of the public comment period. CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 14-20, 2021), the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) announces a new way for patients to identify a cosmetic surgeon with a particular focus on safety: Cosmetic Surgery Patient Safety (CSPS) certification. Cosmetic Surgery Patient Safety certification signals to patients that their board certified cosmetic surgeon puts their safety first. "While all of our board certified cosmetic surgeons are already required to understand and meet high safety standards, this added credential shows patients the surgeon has gone above and beyond in prioritizing safety matters," explained Dr. Wilbur Hah, Texas cosmetic surgeon and president of the Board. To display the Cosmetic Surgery Patient Safety badge, board certified cosmetic surgeons must pass a specialized, in-depth Patient Safety Exam in addition to the fellowship training and rigorous exams they completed to become a board certified cosmetic surgeon. The CSPS logo is intended to reassure patients that not only is their surgeon highly trained in cosmetic procedures: they are also up to date on the latest research-driven best practices for patient safety. To find a surgeon with Cosmetic Surgery Patient Safety certification, patients should look for the CSPS badge on a board certified cosmetic surgeon's ABCS member profile , on their social media or website, or at their practice. Dr. Hah explained that it is imperative for patients to understand their surgeon's qualifications and experience to safely achieve excellent results, whether it is with nonsurgical treatments or surgical procedures. Safety concerns have arisen in recent years around topics such as a recalled model of breast implant, unsafe Brazilian butt lift techniques, and unqualified providers of injectables. All of these issues point to the necessity of board certified cosmetic surgeons, whose training emphasizes both safety and achieving excellent aesthetic results. "Choosing a board certified cosmetic surgeon with extensive experience, the highest level of training, and very safe practices is within reach. Once patients realize that, they will settle for nothing less," he said. He urged patients to take advantage of the free resources available on the board's website and patient safety blog as they search for a provider of surgical or nonsurgical procedures. About American Board of Cosmetic Surgery: The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS) is the only board dedicated exclusively to excellence in cosmetic surgery. For over 40 years, the ABCS has demonstrated the highest standards of training, knowledge, and expertise in cosmetic surgery, in addition to promoting safe and ethical practice. You can find more information about the ABCS online at www.americanboardcosmeticsurgery.org Media Contact: Dr. Wilbur Hah, (425) 689-5665 SOURCE American Board of Cosmetic Surgery 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. 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak at a meeting with ambassadors of the G20 countries noted the importance of observing the ceasefire as a fundamental condition for advancing negotiations in the Normandy and Minsk formats, the presidential press service said. "For this purpose, additional measures will be discussed to strengthen control over the ceasefire regime, in particular, in the security sphere of the working group of the Trilateral Contact Group," the press service said in the statement. Yermak told diplomats about the current situation in Donbas. According to him, for several months after the ceasefire was introduced, the lives of many Ukrainian soldiers were saved, but recently the "silence regime" is increasingly being violated by the enemy. He also thanked France and Germany for their proposals and efforts to achieve peace in Donbas. Yermak said that a videoconference of advisers to the leaders of the states participating in the Normandy format will take place in the near future, at which the settlement of the conflict [in Donbas] will be discussed. At the same time, Yermak informed the ambassadors about the holding in Ukraine on the eve of the 30th anniversary of independence of the constituent summit of the Crimean Platform, which was initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The head of the President's Office expressed hope for the presence of a large number of partners of Ukraine at this event. He said the president's team looks with great prospects at expanding diplomatic, political, economic horizons of interaction with the G20 countries, and proposed to consider the possibilities and new options for Ukraine's participation in regional formats for greater integration with neighboring European states. In turn, Deputy Head of the President's Office Ihor Zhovkva said the Crimean platform, to which the leaders of the G20 countries are invited, is, first of all, a tool for returning issues on Crimea to the international agenda. "President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to talk about specific tools for the de-occupation of Crimea, the protection of the rights of people living on the peninsula. Ukraine intends to present a working tool, and we are very actively working on the development of this tool around the clock," Zhovkva said. According to the presidential press service, in the coming months Ukraine will be able to successfully resolve key issues in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "The President's Office and the government are focusing their attention on the anti-corruption policy, reform of the fiscal service, judicial reform," the press service said, citing Deputy Head of the President's Office Yulia Svyrydenko. In addition, "Yulia Svyrydenko stressed the importance of reducing the influence of oligarchs on the Ukrainian economy, announced the introduction of tools to facilitate business access to credit resources, as well as the creation of an agency for foreign investment." "We want to involve institutional and private investors, so that Ukraine can become an interesting market for foreign investment, increasing its human potential through the development of experience, knowledge, skills and relations. We will travel and represent Ukraine on all continents and will be glad if you will be able to facilitate the establishment of contacts with your investment funds and financial development institutions," Yermak said, addressing the G20 Ambassadors. Published on: 11 March 2021 Research has shown that the public support taking action on climate change Research has shown that the public support taking action on climate change The climate emergency is the most important issue facing governments across the world but can Britains democratic institutions cope with a challenge on this scale? Hosted by Dr Robert Saunders, Reader in British History, Queen Marys Mile End Institute brought an expert panel together to discuss these issues. Watch the full discussion on YouTube. Hillary Benn (former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Caroline Lucas MP (former leader of the Green Party), David Runciman (University of Cambridge and Talking Politics podcast) and Rebecca Willis (expert lead, UK Climate Assembly), explored the relationship between the future of democracy and the future of the planet. Climate change, a challenge to democracy In his opening statement Hilary Benn said that he believes climate change creates challenges to democracies in the world. Drawing on parallels between the global response to Covid-19 and climate change, he advocates for a more urgent and radical approach. He said: How do we get our countries to respond in the same way as they did to Covid 19? Governments around the world have been able to do things in the Covid crisis. It reminds us of what we can do in an emergency, when others have said things are not possible. Hilary Benn also emphasised that those who make decisions need to be held to account, a view shared by Caroline Lucas MP. I dont believe we can succeed in tackling the climate change emergency without democracy, she said. The Green Party MP also warned that democracy was under threat with the spread of misinformation and disenfranchised electorates around the world. She also pointed to the global response to the Covid-19 as an example of how action can be taken urgently when needed. Caroline Lucas said: We need to pay early attention to the science [] governments have been unprepared when it came to the pandemic. It is only because of the brilliance of our scientists that we can return to some version of normality. Caroline Lucas highlighted the amount of vested interests which have meant that progress on climate change has been slow, and in some cases, stifled. New ways of doing democracy Rebecca Willis explained that in her view, there is a disparity between government commitments to climate changes and the decisions they take. There is a deep frustration that democratically elected governments are failing to tackle climate change, she said. The decision to lower air passenger data was held up as an example of the inconsistency between pledges and action. Rebecca Willis also discussed her recent research which showed that politicians from all parties felt that they did not have a mandate to tackle climate change. The work also revealed that public support for action on climate change is often underestimated. She referred to this as a break down in the social contract between the electorate and the democratic institutions they are represented in. During the webinar there was a discussion about changing democratic processes and institutions. The future must be constructed on the foundations of a thriving democracy, said Caroline Lucas. She set out a range of reforms that she proposes including proportional representation, an enshrined constitution and lower voting age. David Runciman believes that the risks associated with making changes to democratic institutions are overplayed. Our democratic institutions are more robust than this. I think in the US we have seen this, Trump was not the end of democracy, he said. David Runciman also emphasised the urgency of action on climate change, challenging the notion that changes to democracies was destabilising. I dont think its as dangerous as people think [] destroying our natural habitat is what is dangerous, he said. More information Fox News host Tucker Carlson has an open invitation to visit an Army recruiter's office. The photo showing a soldier offering Carlson a seat in a recruiting office is one of many responses from service members to the conservative commentator's claims that updated hair regulations and new maternity uniforms for female troops are making "a mockery of the U.S. military." Im not going to say anything revolutionary that hasnt already been said about @TuckerCarlson. I just want to reaffirm that women in our ranks and make us a better organization. But also tucker before you open your mouth about my sisters in arms again pic.twitter.com/5hQsm4lOUP MEDPROS Center of Excellence (@first_sausage) March 11, 2021 "Pregnant women are going to fight our wars," Carlson scoffed Tuesday night. "... While China's military becomes more masculine as it has assembled the world's largest navy, our military needs to become -- as Joe Biden says -- more feminine." Read Next: Some Complain After Air Force Base CO Lifts Travel Restrictions for Vaccinated Personnel Only Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby denounced Carlson's remarks during a gaggle with reporters Thursday, adding that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shares the "revulsion" many are expressing. "What we absolutely won't do," Kirby said, "is take personnel advice from a talk show host or the Chinese military." The military's diversity, he added, is one of its "greatest strengths." "I've seen it for myself, in the long months at sea and in the combat waged by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Kirby, a retired admiral whose wife also served as a Navy officer. "... I see it every day." Senior leaders have been responding publicly to Carlson's comments in defense of their female comrades. Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston said Carlson's words are "divisive" and don't reflect military values. "Women lead our most lethal units with character," Grinston tweeted Wednesday night. "They will dominate ANY future battlefield we're called to fight on." Gen. Paul Funk II, head of Army Training and Doctrine Command, also hit back in defense of the thousands of women who "serve honorably every day around the globe." "They are beacons of freedom and they prove Carlson wrong through determination and dedication," Funk wrote. "We are fortunate they serve with us." Maj. Gen. Patrick Donahoe, commanding general of the Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, said Carlson couldn't "be more wrong" in his assessment of the military. Donahoe led a reenlistment ceremony for a female soldier this week. Others cited flying combat missions with women in Afghanistan that made the U.S. "more combat ready," getting bailed out by a female soldier when their unit was ambushed in Iraq, and the "badass" women serving in the Army's 434th Field Artillery Brigade. Some also pointed out that they chose to serve in the military, while Carlson did not. "Please explain to me how my existence is a 'mockery' of the U.S. military," asked a woman who deployed to combat zones three times during more than a decade of service, which included a pregnancy. Drama TV - my response to Mr. Carlsons comments on women in the Armed Forces. @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/acix7CFLO9 U.S. Space Command, Command Senior Enlisted Leader (@US_SpaceComCSEL) March 11, 2021 Fox News did not respond to a request for comment in response to service members' reactions to the segment. Carlson shared a clip of President Joe Biden giving remarks from the White House on Monday while flanked by two women -- Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson -- he recently nominated to lead U.S. combatant commands. Van Ovost has been nominated to head U.S. Transportation Command and Richardson to take over U.S. Southern Command. Their nominations were held back by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper out of fear that the Trump administration would halt their progression. Retired Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson, the former head of U.S. Northern Command, is the only woman to lead a combatant command. "We need the young women just beginning their careers in the military service to see it and know that no door will be closed to them," Biden said Monday in honor of International Women's Day. "... We need little girls and boys both who have grown up dreaming of serving for their country to know that this is what generals in the United States armed forces look like." Biden also noted that the military, nearly two decades after heading into Afghanistan, is designing body armor that properly fits women, creating maternity flight suits and updating other policies "to really change the culture and habits [that] cause women to leave the military." Most of those initiatives started or were implemented before Biden got into office. Kirby acknowledged that the military has a lot more to do to become more inclusive and respectful, particularly for women in uniform, and to provide more opportunities for women to serve as senior leaders. "We pledge to do better, and we will," he said. Still, Carlson shared a photo of an airman in the new maternity flight suit on his show, an effort dating back to 2019. "The bottom line is it's out of control, and the Pentagon is going along with this," Carlson said. "Again, this is a mockery of the U.S. military and its core mission, which is winning a war." When asked whether he felt Carlson owes an apology to women serving in the military, Kirby said he hopes the host is taking note of the reaction he's getting from troops. "I would hope ... that he'll realize the mistake he made and express some regret about the manner in which he essentially demeaned the entire U.S. military, and how we defend and how we serve this country," he said. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Related: Navy OKs Ponytails, Locks and Other Hairstyles for Female Sailors A review of Less Favoured Areas policy has shown significant progress made in delivering stability for farmers and crofters in Scotland's most remote areas. Led by NFU Scotland, the review outlines achievements since the publication of its Less Favoured Areas Delivering for Scotland, in October last year. This document outlined policy proposals needed to ensure Scottish LFA farms and crofts continue to thrive and deliver for the rural economy. The union made the case for 'continued and refined support' for active farming and crofting across the LFA. Concerns were raised about the future of availability of funding, which is seen as vital in securing farmers and crofters' livelihoods. Figures show that some 86 percent of the total agricultural land area in Scotland is designated as Less Favoured Area. The new review has, however, identified positive progress in terms of securing the future of support available through the Less Favoured Areas Support scheme (LFASS), which provides income support to farmers in remote and constrained rural areas. In particular, the effective reinstatement of LFASS 2020 support levels to 100 percent of funds available in 2018 and the guaranteed retention of LFASS from 2021 to 2024. Progress has also been made in ensuring proportionality for penalties in relation to vital voluntary coupled schemes such as the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme (SUSSS) and the Scottish Suckler Beef Calf Scheme (SSBSS). These two schemes provide additional support, on top of the Basic Payment Scheme, to sheep producers who farm in Scotland's rough grazing areas. NFU Scotland's LFA Committee Chairman, Robert Macdonald said that stability was vital to ensure that farmers and crofters in remote areas could plan and invest. This review of LFA policy has identified that significant progress has been made by NFU Scotland in delivering stability to LFA businesses in the coming years," he said. In last years policy document, the committee outlined the need to rebase LFASS if we are to target that precious support more effectively. "We are also looking to have concerns around the ewe hogg scheme addressed and would welcome progress in these areas. The positive outcomes delivered through discussions with the Scottish government are welcome and we look to extend those to other policy priorities going forward." (Newser) Denmark is suspending use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for 14 days from Thursday following reports of "severe cases of blood clots." Health Minister Magnus Heunicke stresses the move is a "precautionary measure" as the fatal or life-threatening blood clots reported in a handful of vaccine recipients have not been definitely linked to the vaccine. Still, the move comes "in the middle of the largest and most important vaccination rollout in Danish history" and at a time when "we need all the vaccines we can get," Soren Brostrom, director of the National Board of Health, tells CNN. It also comes days after Austria suspended use of a particular batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, use of which has also been paused in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg, per the BBC. story continues below The batch, dubbed ABV5300, includes 1 million doses delivered to 17 European Union countries. Austria temporarily suspended its use after a 49-year-old woman died with multiple blood clots on Sunday, 10 days after she was vaccinated. A death has also been reported in Denmark, per CNBC. But the BBC describes only three other reports of thromboembolism tied to the vaccine batch as of Tuesday. Just 22 thromboembolic events have been reported among the 3 million people given any batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine across the European Economic Area. The European Medicines Agency, which is investigating, notes the number of cases "is no higher than that seen in the general population." AstraZeneca says "the vaccine is generally well tolerated." (Read more Denmark stories.) The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting said Thursday that he held a meeting with The Digital Publishers Association to discuss the newly notified rules for "In a follow up to meeting with OTT platforms, held an interaction with Digital Publishers Association today. Discussed the new rules for They welcomed the new rules and offered few suggestions which I have noted," the minister tweeted. The association includes media organisations such as India Today, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Times of India and so on. The new rules have asked for a three-tier grievance redressal for addressing grievances of citizens. These would consist of digital publishers and self-regulatory bodies constituted by them. The digital news publishers would also be required to furnish some basic information to the Ministry in a simple form, which is being finalised and periodically they would be required to place in public domain the grievance redressal undertaken by them, the ministry said in a statement. He (Javadekar) stated that print media and TV channels have digital versions whose content is almost the same as that on the traditional platforms. However, there are contents which appear exclusively on the digital platform. This apart there are several entities which are only on the digital platform. Accordingly, the rules seek to cover the news on Digital Media so as to bring them at par with the traditional media, the ministry said further. The participants welcomed the new rules, but added that TV and news print media have been following the norms of the Cable Television Network Act and the Press Council Act respectively for a long time. Further, for publishing the digital versions the publishers follow the existing norms of the traditional platforms. The publishers said they feel they should be treated differently than those news publishers who are only on a digital platform. The minister had met with OTT platforms' representatives last week, clarifying that there will be no government appointed member in the proposed self-regulatory body for OTTs that will address complaints under the new rules. The rules were notified on February 25, called the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, which will govern social media firms like Facebook, Twitter, Google and so on, messaging apps like WhatsApp and also OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar and so on. The rules related to social media will be administered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, while those for OTTs and digital media will be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The meetings are a follow up to the rules with the minister addressing concerns of the impacted organisations. The rules set up a classification of publishers of news and current affairs content (digital news portals) as part of digital media, and seek to regulate these news portals under Part III of the Rules (Impugned Part) by imposing Government oversight and a Code of Ethics. On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court issued notice to the Centre on a petition filed by the Foundation for Independent Journalism which, it said, seek to dictate content to digital news media platforms go beyond the scope of what is permissible under the IT Act and need to be struck down. Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Gov. Kate Brown this week signaled she will consider trimming the sentences of inmates who helped battle historic wildfires last year, including some violent offenders, as a reward for serving our state in a time of crisis. The Department of Corrections has identified 164 people who are eligible. Jennifer Black, a department spokeswoman, said hundreds of incarcerated men and women worked extremely hard to protect people, property and natural resources during last years wildfires. She said agency leaders are reviewing the fire crew lists to see who meets all aspects of the Governors criteria. Black said that review process will extend until mid- or late April. The Governor recognizes that adults in custody who participated on fire crews during the historic 2020 wildfire season served our state in a time of crisis, Brown spokeswoman Elizabeth Merah said in an email Thursday to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The Governor believes that these adults in custody should be rewarded and acknowledged for their contribution to this historic firefighting response. Under Browns plan, Black said, inmates may see up to 12 months cut from their sentences, which may not translate into immediate release for everyone who qualifies. Oregons prison population stands at 12,369 -- the lowest level since 2004, according to data provided by the department. Though the governor has over time expanded the criteria for early prison releases as a result of the pandemic, her spokeswoman said the plan addressing fire crews is not part of that effort and is a one-time potential reduction in recognition for their contribution to the wildfires. A policy analyst with the Department of Corrections alerted district attorneys in an email Wednesday that Browns proposal may apply to some inmates serving time for person-to-person crimes. Some of those include people serving time under Measure 11, the states mandatory minimum sentencing law. Jon Hansen, the department policy analyst, told prosecutors in an email obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive that the governor has asked the agency to review any incarcerated individual who participated in the wildland firefighting efforts. People approved under the governors plan will be let out of prison no earlier than May 6, Hansen said in his email. Those eligible worked the 2020 wildfire season, had a record of good conduct for the past 12 months, have a housing plan for post-prison life and do not present an unacceptable safety, security, or compliance risk to the community, he said. Hansen noted in his email: Please note, person-to-person crimes are eligible for this commutation group. Hansen asked prosecutors to notify the Department of Corrections if they have any objections or specific public safety information related to the crime or the individual. The deadline for prosecutors to object to a persons release is March 18, he told them. Merah said while some Measure 11 offenders may be eligible, officials dont expect the Department of Corrections to forward many on to the governor for final approval. Merah said typically offenders convicted of serious Measure 11 crimes dont make it through the screening process for a spot on the fire crews. Additionally, those assigned to fire crews have shown a commitment to good behavior, are within four years of release and corrections officials have already determined they do not pose a public safety risk, she said. Advocates of prison reform hailed Browns effort to review the sentences of offenders who helped battle fires. When people whove caused harm have been held accountable and have demonstrated their willingness to contribute to the community by fighting the fires that ravaged our state, that certainly warrants review of the length of their sentence, said Shannon Wight, deputy director of the Partnership for Safety & Justice, in a message to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Her organization has pressed for reforms to the criminal justice system. Its the right way to use carrots, not just sticks in our prisons. She said she trusts Brown has prioritized public safety when making decisions about who gets rewarded with shorter sentences and hopes victims receive timely notification and the resources they need. But district attorneys on Thursday pushed back against Browns plan, saying trimming sentences of some violent offenders puts the community at risk and betrays victims trust in the criminal justice system. This list is extremely concerning to me from a victim safety standpoint, said Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson, who also serves as president of the Oregon District Attorneys Association. She said reducing sentences by up to a year for offenders, particularly those serving mandatory minimum sentences, undermines the faith and confidence that victims have that offenders are going to serve the sentences they get. From a public safety standpoint, she said, these are really serious crimes. Yamhill County District Attorney Brad Berry said the Department of Corrections asked him to review two candidates for possible sentence reductions. One involves a former sheriffs deputy who is serving time for an assault conviction stemming from beating a young child. He could potentially get out 58 days early under the governors plan, Berry said. He said the other is a man who was convicted of killing someone while under the influence of intoxicants. He would see one year trimmed from his sentence. Both are serving time under Measure 11. These two are both pretty egregious, he said. Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton called Browns latest plan bad public policy. They had their day in court and they should serve their time and when they have done that, they can join the rest of us in the community but not beforehand, he said. Over the past year, Brown has approved early release for inmates who meet certain criteria as part of her response to the pandemic and the spread of COVID-19 in the states 14 prisons. At the start of the pandemic, the commutation criteria applied only to medically vulnerable inmates. But it has expanded over time to include people approaching the end of their sentences. As of Thursday, 3,552 inmates have tested positive for the virus and 42 have died. The Department of Corrections said that it is on track to vaccinate 69 percent of inmates. -- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie Continue Reading Below Advertisement Yet even with what appears to be a glowing celebrity endorsement, not every element of his endeavor was so glamorous -- especially when nature inevitably called. "The big thing that people asked was 'What are you going to do when it comes to going to the restroom?'" he told Reuters, chest-deep in beans. "I do have a funnel that's connected to me right now so any time I do have to go No. 1, that is connected to a bag thats attached to my body. For No. 2, that is a different story. We will just have to wait and see." However, it seems this erm, extreme dedication although sometimes gross, may have actually helped win the hearts and minds of some passerby's. "He's going to sit in that for 24 hours, it's totally crazy," Los Toros customer Rick Brantley said. "I wouldn't do it but you know what? If it's going to help Los Toros and the community, I'm all for it." So folks, a hero's got to do what a hero's got to do -- and sometimes a hero's just got to take a nice long soak in a tub full of beans. For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ and on Twitter @TennesAnyone. An Iowa State University researcher says the pandemic has accelerated the need for digital literacy education. Credit: Iowa State University Parents would never give their children the keys to the car without supervised training and driver's education. An Iowa State University researcher says parents and educators need to take a similar approach before handing children a keyboard to access the digital world. ISU psychology professor Douglas Gentile worked with the DQ (Digital Intelligence) Institute, an international think tank, to design a framework for digital literacy education. In a commentary, published by the journal Nature Human Behaviour, Gentile and his colleagues outlined how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to implement this global standard for digital literacy. "Children are exposed to various risks online, and COVID increases the odds because now they're online more than ever," Gentile said. "If children haven't had the training to know what to look out for, they're perhaps subject to more risks." Gentile and colleagues Joshua Jackman, assistant professor with Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea; Nam-Joon Cho, professor with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore; and Yuhyun Park, founder of the DQ Institute, examined the responses of more than 145,000 children and adolescents from 30 countries, finding that 60% were exposed to cyber risks such as cyberbullying, gaming disorder and violence. Gentile says the results show this is a universal problem that needs a global solution. Despite extensive efforts to create digital skills programming, the researchers wrote that the impact has been limited because a common framework did not exist and there was weak coordination between programs. In response, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards Association last fall approved the DQ framework as the standard for digital education. The DQ framework focuses on digital skills education across eight competencies, including identity, use, safety, security, emotional intelligence, literacy, communication and rights. Gentile says approval of the framework is just a first step toward getting digital literacy education in K-12 classrooms. He says it is imperative that students have the tools to become savvy digital consumers, especially with the growing number of risks and misinformation online. "If anyone can post information online, whether it's true or false, we need to give consumers the skills to detect it and guard against it," Gentile said. "Digital literacy will not eliminate the risks online, but it will develop good digital citizens who have the skills to work within the system so they can gain the benefits, without the harms that the risks might pose." 1 Billion Digital Skills Project Gentile and his colleagues are calling on academic researchers, educators and others to join the efforts of the Coalition for Digital Intelligence (see sidebar for partners) to support the 1 Billion Digital Skills Project. As the name suggests, the project aims to equip one billion people, primarily K-12 students, teachers and parents, with digital skills within 10 years. The coalition is working to achieve the following objectives: Build a global network to develop/implement digital skills education and training. Develop a certification system to evaluate digital skills programs. Develop microbadge credits students can earn to incentivize learning. Create an online assessment platform to measure digital skills. Support ongoing improvement of DQ standards and evaluation of educational programs. Gentile says achieving these objectives will require state and federal investment to train K-12 teachers and provide programming in schools. The return on the investment is twofold, he said. The training will not only protect children from online risks, but help prepare the future workforce. "More and more jobs include an online component," Gentile said. "If we train people to be good digital citizens, we'd likely have fewer breaches in corporate America. There is a financial incentive to put resources into our schools to provide this training." Explore further Digital skills positively affect children's learning outcomes More information: Joshua A. Jackman et al, Addressing the digital skills gap for future education, Nature Human Behaviour (2021). Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour Joshua A. Jackman et al, Addressing the digital skills gap for future education,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01074-z 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. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Upco International Inc. (CSE: UPCO) (OTC Pink: UCCPF) (FSE: U06) ("Upco") is pleased to inform shareholders about corporate update and the strategies. These documents can be accessed from the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Upco International Inc is pleased to announce the following Corporate Updates: Upco International Inc is expanding its acquisition pipeline, currently at over 2 target Telecom companies ranging from early due diligence to signed Indication of Interest. Typical target acquisition profile: Leading telecom wholesale player in a desirable niche market Revenue of $US 10 million to $US 50 million EBITDA of $US 0,5 million to $US 5 million Multi-year track record of revenue growth and profitability 1) Wholesale Division Upco Systems inc, wholly owned subsidiary of Upco International Inc. has completed an extensive rebranding effort in response to company growth and a renewal to its corporate vision. At the heart of this rebranding is a change of the company name to Oktacom Inc. and an update to the corporate logo. Upco International Inc, announced that Mr. Juan Ramos Taboada has been named as President and Chief Executive Officer of Oktacom inc. Oktacom inc. expects in fiscal 2021 to deliver strong organic net sales growth, driven mainly by the Wholesale telecom sectors. 2) Digital Division Upco International Inc is currently creating the brand identity reflecting Upco app being an innovative, forward-thinking and people-centric digital technology company. Upco is currently shortlisting a strategic marketing partnership with the sets of goals in common to work towards valuable ideas and provide innovative information for customers and merchants through up-coming cognitive marketing plan before to launch in the market the expected UpcoPay. Upco is evaluating to introduce multi-tenant licensing model for its own app, through this initiative, the company aims to offer flexibility to its partners and resellers in terms of purchasing the kind of licenses they need. The licensing model Upco offers required partners and service providers to buy and distribute to their networks aiming to gain market shares rapidly for the upcoming UpcoPay. 3) Team Upco International Inc. is reinforcing the team and for this reason we are welcoming Maite Anson Bush as our new Financial analyst," said Upco International Inc, President, Andrea Pagani. "Maite brings a wealth of knowledge from financial management perspective" states Pagani. And Raphael Luces, as Wholesale Director in Oktacom Inc, wholly owned subsidiary of Upco International Inc. The shareholders of Upco International Inc., are hereby given notice of the Annual General Meeting to be held on April 22, 2021. Due to the coronavirus, the Board of Directors has decided that the Annual General Meeting should be conducted without the physical presence of shareholders, representatives or third parties and that the shareholders before the meeting should be able to exercise their voting rights only by post. Information on the resolutions passed at the meeting will be disclosed on April 23, 2021, as soon as the outcome of the postal voting has been finally confirmed. Upco International is pleased to announce that it has granted stock option agreements to its officers for the right to purchase up to 75,000 common shares of the Company, exercisable at the price of $0.29 per share for three years, subject to regulatory approval. The option agreements to be issued will be granted in accordance with the Company's Stock Option Plan and if necessary, will be subject to the CSE four (4) month hold period. About Upco International Inc. Upco International Inc. is a cloud-based mobile service company which provides high-quality voice termination to a market driven by the growing activity in online communications and commerce. Upco is a licensed Global Telecom Carrier within the international VoIP (voice over IP) wholesale business. Upco has designed a software application for Apple iOS and Android, similar to SKYPE and WhatsApp. With the forthcoming addition of the Upco e-Wallet using Blockchain Payment Services, users will be able to: send invoices, approve payments, transfer international funds, convert international currencies, and track transfers and payments. The application will also allow vendors to securely share account information with their clients. Please visit www.upcointernational.com for further information. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Andrea Pagani, CEO and Director office@upcointernational.com +1 (646) 7661275 Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward- looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward- looking information is typically identified by words such as: "will" "may" "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "development", "forthcoming", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Upco cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by Upco is not a guarantee of future results or performance. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76869 The following deadlines are for the 2021-2022 application cycle. Three letters of recommendation will be needed with your application, at least one from a licensed Physical Therapist is recommended. Before submitting your application you must complete a minimum of 16 hours in three different types of practice settings including at least one inpatient care facility. The inpatient care facility can be an acute care hospital, a nursing home or an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Complete a minimum of 80 hours of paid or volunteer observation experience under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. 7 out of 9 of the prerequisite courses need to be complete at the end of fall semester of application, including at least one course from both the chemistry and physics class sequences. A minimum GPA of 3.0 for both cumulative and prerequisite GPA's. Scores older than 5 years will not be accepted The minimum GRE scores are 146 in both verbal and quantitative and a 3.0 for the writing score The GRE must be taken before Oct 15, 2021 and submitted directly to UM This form can be found in the PTCAS application and the completed form will need to be uploaded into the designated section of the PTCAS application. This fee is separate from the PTCAS fee. The link to the on-line payment can be found in the UM school specific questions in the PTCAS application or here UM supplemental questions can be found in the PTCAS application Completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution is required prior to entry into the program. Anatomy & Physiology - Minimum of two semesters or equivalent quarters totaling a minimum of 8 semester credits of human anatomy & physiology course sequence. *A comparative anatomy course and an animal physiology course may be substituted for human anatomy and physiology. It is preferred that a non-virtual cadaver lab accompany Anatomy and/or Physiology courses. Chemistry - Minimum of two semesters or equivalent quarters totaling a minimum of 8 semester credits of a chemistry sequence including labs. Physics - Minimum of two semesters or equivalent quarters totaling a minimum of 8 semester credits of a physics sequence including labs. Statistics - Minimum of one semester or quarter of statistics. Social Sciences - Minimum of two semesters or three quarters totaling a minimum of 6 semester credits of social/behavioral science classes. These classes can include courses offered by Psychology, Educational Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Anthropology, Ethics, Philosophy, Communications, and Womens Studies departments. Seven of the nine prerequisite courses need to be complete by the end of fall semester in which you apply. The courses must include the first course in both the chemistry and physics class sequences. All prerequisite courses must be passed with a 2.00 or better. A letter grade of C- or lower will not be accepted. Additional Information It is strongly recommended that students complete a course in microbiology, neuroscience, biomechanics and exercise physiology. AP credits are accepted for prerequisites only if a letter grade appears on the official college transcript. If a college grade is not assigned to the course, the sequence needs to be completed in college to complete the prerequisite. It is recommended that prerequisite coursework ten years of age or greater be retaken. Upper-division undergraduate or graduate-level coursework in the same subject may be substituted for a prerequisite course or prerequisite course sequence. This upper-level coursework must have at least the equivalent number of credits as the prerequisite lower-level coursework. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close A B.C. man is heading to court for breaching a gag order in relation to the case of his child undergoing gender transition. (The Canadian pressDarryl Dyck) Father of BC Transgender Teen Returns to Court A British Columbia father whose teenaged child transitioned from female to male without the fathers consent is facing new charges for breaching a gag order. Court orders dictate that the names of the father and mother, the child, and the medical professionals involved in the gender transition cannot be disclosed by media or the father himself. The father will be in court on March 16 for an alleged breach of these conditions. According to supplemental disclosure obtained by The Epoch Times, the alleged breach relates to a GoGetFunding page made in the fathers real name. As late as March 2, the page allegedly included embedded videos and articles that disclosed his childs name and that of one of the doctors involved in the childs transition, contrary to court orders. A warrant was issued for the fathers arrest in early March. However, according to his lawyer, Carey Linde, the warrant is being held and he wont be arrested until the court appearance on March 16. In 2018, when the teen was 13, the father sought a court injunction to stop the teen from scheduled testosterone treatments for gender transition. After that bid failed in February of 2019, the father granted an interview to The Federalist, despite conduct orders not to talk to anyone. The father is slated to appear in court for those breaches from April 12 to 16. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, represented by Jay Cameron, was an intervener in the fathers case in September 2019. The B.C. Court of Appeal subsequently ruled that the fathers disagreement with his childs transition and his communications with the media to tell his story did not amount to family violence. However, the judges said when interacting with his child, the father must use the male name that the child has chosen and refer to the child as a boy. In addition, he can discuss the matter with family and close friends, but not allowed to have his name published by media. If you are only able to spout what is now orthodox dogma with respect to gender identity, if thats all you can say, then that is the oppression, that is the co-opting of government by ideology, Cameron said in an interview. We think that the issue of parental rights and the right to educate and to bring up your child, in accordance with your best judgment, is increasingly under attack in Canada. And there are freedom of speech issues as well. There needs to be more transparency with respect to who these doctors are and what theyre doing to peoples children. Linde says he has been involved in such cases for the past two years, and its been an education in and of itself. Its been my doorway into the postmodern social justice woke delusions, which are sort of coming out of the universities and infecting so much of Western enlightenment principles and is now making its way into the court system. Linde says the actions of the father he is now representing are in the line of classic civil disobedience and that what follows Aprils proceedings could be serious. Hes aware that the sentencing that he may get, if hes found to be in contempt, could go anywhere from Dont do it again, to a fine or a term of imprisonment. People like to say, Oh my God, that man could go to jail for five years. Extremely unlikely. But he knows that thats the risk that he runs, says Linde. Whats below is a conversation with members of the Black Reconstruction Collective, which came together during the past year and a half, in tandem with an exhibition now at the Museum of Modern Art called Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America. The collectives members are the 10 architects, artists and designers in the exhibition. The show includes some mind-bending, beautiful work, on view through the end of May. But the collective emerged to serve longer-term, more radical goals. It taps into a legacy of Black collectives from earlier eras. In 1893, Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass joined to publish The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the Worlds Columbian Exposition. Seven years later, W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington and Thomas J. Calloway organized a display of charts and photographs about the African-American experience to counter depictions of Black Americans at the worlds fair in Paris. These were necessary responses to a system of cultural exclusion that, time and again, erased, demeaned and denied Blackness. By the 1960s, in the wake of the Black Power movement, a variety of Black artists collectives had coalesced, among them Spiral, which included Norman Lewis and Romare Bearden; Amiri Barakas Black Arts Movement; and AfriCobra, a Chicago-based Black artists commune. [March 11, 2021] Davis Wright Tremaine Honored with U.S. Bank's "Invested in Diversity" Award Davis Wright Tremaine LLP was honored today by U.S. Bank's Law Division with its "Invested in Diversity" award. The firm is the second recipient of the annual award, which recognizes one of the bank's preferred law firms that has made a significant impact on advancing diversity in the legal profession. "U.S. Bank is committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion both within our company and within the broader legal profession," said Jim Chosy, U.S. Bank's senior executive vice president and general counsel. "We remain focused on building and promoting diverse professionals to help us perform optimally, now and into the future, and to begin to address historic inequities within the profession. We're proud to congratulate Davis Wright Tremaine for showing exemplary work to further diversity, and we strive to work with others who share these same ideals." Last year, U.S. Bank selected a talented group of diverse professionals from Davis Wright Tremaine to present at its Spotlight on Talent program, which gives early-career women and diverse lawyers from outside law firms the opportunity to learn more about U.S. Bank, meet with the Bank's legal team, and present educational content to the entire legal department. The topic - "Diversity and Inclusion in Coastal Big Law: the Inside Story" - was timely and the DWT team gave a presentation that was both thought-provoking and practical. The team comprised a group of associates and counsel that included Christina Antoun, Maryam Casbarro, Juliana Gerrick, Xiang Li, Jonathan Mark, Danielle Toaltoan and Dsu-Wei Yuen, with input from partner Tiffany Switzer. Davis Wright Tremaine has been a legal industry leader in diversity, equity and inclusion for years, having been recognized by clients and industry groups for putting in place effective programs to recruit and help retain and develop diverse lawyers and to promote them into leadership. The firm's decision to hire Yusuf Zakir as its first chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer is the culmination of the firm's efforts to date under its strategic plan to more deeply embed DEI into the firm's operations. The firm has also committed to ensuring an inclusive workplace in the legal profession by becoming Mansfield Certified Plus in 2020. "Davis Wright Tremaine has been inspired by the leadership of our clients in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. U.S. Bank is a fantastic exemplar of that leadership. As is the case with U.S. Bank, DEI are part of the fabric of Davis Wright Tremaine - central to who we are and what we do," Zakir said. "We're honored by this recognition from a leading partner like U.S. Bank, and we will continue to be intentional in our efforts to create a more inclusive environment where all of our lawyers and staff have equitable opportunities to succeed." Added Switzer: "We are grateful for our continued partnership with U.S. Bank, which has encouraged us to continue advancing these principles while creating professional opportunities for our team." U.S. Bank has been recognized as a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion and most recently launched U.S. Bank Access Commitment, a long-term approach to help build wealth while redefining how it serves diverse communities and provides more opportunities for diverse employees. Under Chosy's leadership, the company's Law Division has shown a particular focus on building and promoting diversity, to strengthen its own culture and also help further a more equitable legal profession. About U.S. Bank U.S. Bancorp, with nearly 70,000 employees and $554 billion in assets as of December 31, 2020, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The Minneapolis-based bank blends its relationship teams, branches and ATM network with digital tools that allow customers to bank when, where and how they prefer. U.S. Bank is committed to serving its millions of retail, business, wealth management, payment, commercial, corporate, and investment customers across the country and around the world as a trusted and responsible financial partner. This commitment continues to earn a spot on the Ethisphere Institute's World's Most Ethical Companies list and puts U.S. Bank in the top 5% of global companies assessed on the CDP A List for climate change action. Visit usbank.com for more. About Davis Wright Tremaine Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with more than 550 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.dwt.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005775/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. 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. Donald Trump has found himself being praised for his part in the roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine from an unexpected quarter - before then characteristically doubling down and hailing his own contribution. As Joe Biden revels in the rapid pace of the roll-out that is set to deliver its 100millionth dose in the coming days, even the New York Times said the former president's administration needs to take some of the credit. Trump, though, not to be outdone released a statement in which he claimed that without him, people may not be getting protection from the virus 'at all'. Issuing the statement under the letterhead of The Office of Donald J. Trump, he said: 'I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the Covid-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful shot for five years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all.' Donald Trump, pictured, sought to take credit for America's vaccine success after some of the available jabs were developed under his presidency Trump issued the statement under the letterhead of The Office of Donald J. Trump but it read like one of the tweets he has been unable to send since his social media ban Writing in the New York Times, Sharon LaFraniere said the current success of the roll-out of the vaccine in the U.S. needed examining. She wrote: 'A closer look at the ramp-up offers a more mixed picture, one in which the new administration expanded and bulked up a vaccine production effort whose key elements were in place when Mr Biden took over for President Donald J Trump. 'Both administrations deserve credit, although neither wants to grant much to the other.' She also said that Mr Biden had 'benefited hugely from the waves of vaccine production that the Trump administration had set in motion'. Trump's boast was backed up by his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who accused Biden of 'denying the successful operation Trump left him'. 'President Trump put in place an unprecedented vaccine operation that paved the way for President Biden,' she said. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines passed clinical trials and were approved while Trump was president, giving the US a head start on many other nations. But Pfizer developed its vaccine without any research funding from Operation Warp Speed, the federal jab program touted by the Trump administration. Other vaccines such as the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab were developed at similarly impressive speed without any help from Trump or the US government. Nonetheless, while in office, Trump asked future historians to 'remember that these great discoveries which will end the China Plague all took place on my watch'. Trump last month told his supporters at CPAC to 'get your shot', but is absent from two new public announcements featuring every other living former president. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama will appear in the public service announcements with their respective first ladies, the Ad Council says. Joe Biden, pictured, is on track to reach his goal of vaccinating 100million people in his first 100 days in office - but Trump wants people to give him credit 'The science is clear. These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease,' said President Bush in one of the adverts. 'That's the first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward,' Obama says. When asked about Trump's absence, a spokesman for the Ad Council said one of the PSAs was filmed at Biden's inauguration in January which Trump did not attend. While Trump and his allies claim credit for the rapid roll-out, the Biden White House says it has nearly doubled the number of jabs being delivered per week. Press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this month that the number of doses available per week had risen from 8.6million to 15.2million since Biden took office. Biden promised 100million doses in his first 100 days in office, a mission which is comfortably on target with nearly 96million jabs handed out so far. The daily rate of vaccinations now averages more than two million shots, and more than 75million doses have been administered since Biden was sworn in. Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will appear in public service announcements about the Covid-19 vaccines, but Trump will not Under pressure to set a more ambitious target, Biden indicated after taking office that he might raise the goal to 150million. The rapid progress has put America near the top of the world rankings, with a rate of 28 doses administered per 100 people comparing favorably to other rich nations. Around 18 per cent of the population has received at least one dose, behind Britain's 33 per cent but well ahead of the European Union figure of seven per cent. Nearly 10 per cent of Americans have had two doses, a figure bettered only by Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to research by Our World In Data. On Wednesday, Biden said the US would start exporting surplus jabs once 'Americans are taken care of' as he unveiled plans to buy another 100million doses. We're going to start off and ensure Americans are taken care of first, but we're then going to try to help the rest of the world,' Biden told reporters. 'If we have a surplus, we're going to share it with the rest of the world,' Biden said, adding that 'we're not going to be ultimately safe, until the world is safe. The electric vehicle industry in India is picking pace with 100% FDI possible, new manufacturing hubs, and increased push to improving charging infrastructure. The global automotive industry is undergoing a paradigm shift at present in trying to switch to alternative/less energy intensive options. India, too, is investing in this electric mobility shift. The burden of oil imports, rising pollution, and as well as international commitments to combat global climate change are among key factors motivating Indias recent policies to speed up the transition to e-mobility. Electric Vehicle Industry in India: Growth targets The Indian automotive industry is the fifth largest in the world and is slated to be the third largest by 2030. Catering to a vast domestic market, reliance on the conventional modes of fuel intensive mobility will not be sustainable. In an effort to address this, federal policymakers are developing a mobility option that is Shared, Connected, and Electric and have projected an ambitious target of achieving 100 percent electrification by 2030. By making the shift towards electric vehicles (EVs), India stands to benefit on many fronts: it has a relative abundance of renewable energy resources and availability of skilled manpower in the technology and manufacturing sectors. According to an independent study by CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF), the EV market in India will be a US$206 billion opportunity by 2030 if India maintains steady progress to meet its ambitious 2030 target. This would require a cumulative investment of over US$180 billion in vehicle production and charging infrastructure. Another report by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) projects that the Indian EV market will grow at a CAGR of 36 percent till 2026. The EV battery market is also projected to grow at a CAGR of 30 percent during the same period. Existing EV ecosystem in India and investment outlook Regardless of the countrys ambitious targets, Indias EV space is at a nascent stage. However, looking at it differently India offers the worlds largest untapped market, especially in the two-wheeler segment. 100 percent foreign direct investment is allowed in this sector under the automatic route. Responding to this opportunity, leading players like OLA Electric Mobility Pvt, Ather Energy, and Mahindra Electrics are rapidly growing their market presence. Moreover, certain states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are rolling out innovative and timely investor-friendly policies besides building necessary infrastructure. Recently, the American electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla Inc. marked its entry into India by incorporating its subsidiary, Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd, in Bengaluru. In February 2021, Ather Energy, Indias first intelligence EV manufacturer moved its US$86.5 million factory from Bengaluru (Karnataka) to Hosur (Tamil Nadu). Ather Energys factory is said to have an annual production capacity of 0.11 million two-wheelers. This week, Ola Electric, the subsidiary of the unicorn Indian ride-hailing start-up, also announced that it would be setting up the worlds largest electric scooter plant in Hosur (which is a two and a half-hour drive from Bengaluru) over the next 12 weeks, at a cost of US$330 million, and aiming to produce 2 million units a year. By 2022, Ola Electric wants to scale up production to pump out 10 million vehicles annually or 15 percent of the worlds e-scooters. There have also been positive developments in the expansion of charging infrastructure across the country states like Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Telangana are setting impressive targets for the deployment of public charging infrastructure to increase uptake of electric vehicles in the country. Recently, Sterling and Wilson Pvt Ltd (SWPL), Indias leading engineering, procurement, and construction company announced its entry into the electric mobility segment in India. It has signed a 50-50 joint venture with Enel X, to be incorporated on April 1, 2021, to launch and create innovative charging infrastructure in India. The key reasons why these states are doing better than others are local fiscal sops, better logistics, an investor-friendly government policy, business facilitation through easier access to authorities, supply chain connectivity, and the availability of suitable land. Karnataka was the first state to introduce a comprehensive EV policy and has emerged as a hotspot for EV businesses in India, both in EV and EV ancillary manufacturing as well as R&D segments. Tamil Nadu is also leaping forward at a commendable pace, owing to its supply ecosystem, larger land parcel, proximity to ports, and proactive investor support through administrative portals like Guidance Tamil Nadu. Nevertheless, while growth in the EV industry is on an upward tick, it has much ground to cover to be able to realize the governments ambitious 2030 target. The COVID-19 pandemic not only slowed the industrys progress, but also dampened overall market demand. Still, market sentiment has retained positivity in some segments. In FY 2020, EV sales for two-wheelers in India increased by 21 percent. For EV buses, the sales for the same period increased by 50 percent. In contrast, the market for electric cars remained grim, registering a five percent decline. As for total EV sales, after suffering an initial setback in 2020, sales appear to be slowly picking up. In January 2021, 15,910 units of EVs were sold in India, and out of these, the maximum units were sold in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar and Delhi. Indias EV market: Growth projections and government policy Projections In April 2019, Niti Aayog, the federal think tank, published a report titled Indias Electric Mobility Transformation, which pegs EV sales penetration in India at 70 percent for commercial cars, 30 percent for private cars, 40 percent for buses, and 80 percent for two- and three- wheelers by 2030. These targets, if achieved, could lead to a net reduction of 14 exajoules of energy and 846 million tons of CO2 emissions over the deployed vehicles lifetime. Electric vehicles sold until 2030 can cumulatively save 474 million tons of oil equivalent over their lifetime, worth US$207.33 billion. This will help India fulfil its global commitments to lower carbon emissions and increase use of cleaner sources of energy and transportation as required by the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and EV30@30. Policy measures Federal policy Several fiscal and non-fiscal measures have been put in place to facilitate the adoption of electric mobility. They are as follows: National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 (NEMMP): It was launched in 2013 by the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) as a roadmap for the faster manufacture and adoption of EVs in India. FAME Phase I: As part of the NEMMP 2020, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme was notified in April 2015, to promote the manufacture of electric and hybrid vehicle technology. It has mainly focused on four aspects demand creation, technology platform, pilot projects, and charging infrastructure. For demand creation, incentives have mainly been disbursed in the form of reduced purchase prices. FAME Phase II: Launched in 2019 for a period of three years, this scheme has an outlay of US$1.36 billion to be used for upfront incentives on the purchase of EVs as well as supporting the development of charging infrastructure. FICCI has asked for continuation of FAME II till 2025, along with short-term booster incentives to enhance demand. Ministry of Power: It has clarified that charging EVs is considered a service, which means that operating EV charging stations will not require a license. It has also issued a policy on charging infrastructure to enable faster adoption of EVs. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: It has announced that both commercial as well as private battery-operated vehicles will be issued green license plates. It has also notified that all battery operated, ethanol-powered, and methanol-powered transport vehicles will be exempted from the commercial permit requirement. Department of Science and Technology: It has launched a grand challenge for developing the Indian Standards for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. Niti Aayog: The National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage has been approved by the cabinet, and the inter-ministerial steering committee of the Mission will be chaired by the CEO of Niti Aayog. The Mission aims to create a Phased Manufacturing Program (PMP) for five years till 2024, to support setting up large-scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell-manufacturing giga plants in India, as well as localizing production across the entire electric vehicle value chain. States/union territories policy As of today, 27 states and UTs have formulated strategy plans for transforming mobility to provide their citizens with safe, inclusive, economic, and clean transport options. While some states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have had a head start due to preplanned public policies, targeted investor incentives, as well as support infrastructure, other states too have drafted policies to stimulate market demand and create infrastructure. Challenges faced by EV industry Insufficient charging infrastructure: In 2019, there were only 650 charging stations in India as against over 0.3 million in China. Lack of sufficient charging infrastructure is one of the primary reasons why customers often refrain from purchasing EVs. High costs: Along with the range anxiety (kms/charge), another major concern among the potential customers is the current high price of EVs. As compared to lower-end (internal combustion engine) ICE cars, electric cars in the same segment tend to be more expensive. This is mainly because of the higher cost of technology used in the EVs, which constitutes a substantial portion of the cost, not leaving much scope for other features usually available in premium cars. It is expected that in future, with increased R&D and market competitiveness, the price factor will be rationalized to suit the price sensitivity, which in India is a primary factor influencing purchase, especially in the lower-end car segment. Limited options: Since it is still a budding industry in India, customers have a very limited range of products to choose from. Increased investment in the sector will make it more competitive in due time and this will help create further demand. Lower mileage: Since the industry is young, there is immense scope for R&D. As of today, EVs in India are not cost competitive to an average customer as internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles prove to be more cost effective. Higher dependency on imports: Reliance on imports of battery as well as other components is also one of the factors adding to the cost of EVs in India. Grid challenges: Another concern is regarding the price of charging EVs at private charging stations once EVs become mainstream. According to Brookings India, projections for 2030 show that even with a fair penetration of EVs, the increase in demand for electricity is likely to be about 100 TWh (tera watt-hours) or about four percent of the total power generation capacity. So, increasing methods of power generation are necessary to meet that growth in demand. Key takeaways Ultimately, the scope of Indias EV market growth rests on availability of capital for original equipment manufacturers, battery manufacturers, and charge point operators as well as improvements to infrastructure and diversified options for consumers. Realizing Indias EV ambition will also require an estimated annual battery capacity of 158 GWh by FY 2030, which provides huge investment opportunities for investors. Enabling policy support measures are a critical need at this juncture. A bowl of Pho Bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) HCM City - The American news channel CNN has named pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) second on the list of 20 best soups in the world. The beef in the soup is simmered for hours with cinnamon, star anise and other warm spices to create a wonderfully aromatic base for this rice noodle soup, according to CNN. CNN described pho bo as a bowl of flat, soft rice noodles dipped in a fragrant beef or chicken broth flavoured with condiments. The soup is considered a national dish and can be found all over the country though it originated in the north before being taken to the south, where people have added their own influences to the dish. Pho has been getting rave reviews from global travel magazines for decades, and no visitor to Vietnam fails to mention it. French bouillabaisse, Spanish gazpacho, Chinese Lanzhou beef noodle soup and Thai Tom yum goong were also on the list. CALHOUN COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - It has been one year since health care workers confirmed the first case of the Coronavirus in Mississippi. On this one year anniversary, nearly 284,000 Mississippians are presumed recovered by the Mississippi State Department of Health. Dalton Russell of Calhoun County explains on WTVA 9 News TODAY how his family is doing on their road to recovery. BARCELONA, Spain, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Openbravo, the global omnichannel platform vendor for agile and innovative commerce, today announced its 2020 results. Despite the pandemic, the company achieved a +30% retail software revenue growth of its omnichannel platform for retailers, compared to 2019. In France , revenues multiplied by 3x , revenues multiplied by 3x Cloud revenues, corresponding to customers of the Openbravo Managed Cloud service, also increased by more than 60% in part driven by a 31% increase in the number of customers. Growth supported by the omnichannel imperative and the new role of physical stores In a highly uncertain environment, Openbravo was able to respond to the new challenges imposed by the pandemic that have rapidly become critical priorities in the new retail reality. In particular, helping retailers to leverage the exponential online commerce growth through the transformation of the physical stores to deliver new services, such as Click and Collect, even during lockdown periods, and more secure in-store shopping experiences. Openbravo cloud-native capabilities enabled also to continue with the execution of ongoing projects, with all preparation, deployment and support tasks fully executed remotely. Consolidated positioning in France and growth in Spain 2020 results were especially positive in France, where Openbravo has rapidly become a retail software provider of choice in less than 3 years. New customers like Caroll, agnes b, Weldom and Conserverie la belle-iloise, have been added to a growing list of leading French brands and retailers, who have preferred Openbravo to accelerate their digital transformation and omnichannel strategies. The relationship with already existing customers like BUT, Decathlon or Zodio (Adeo group) has also been consolidated during 2020. In Spain, new names like e-commerce player Colvin or Lanzarote's tourism agency CACT (Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo de Lanzarote) have also been added, all together with the further strengthening of strategic relationships like with Toys "R" Us Iberia. Extended omnichannel offer and new strategic alliances The company also announced important additions to its cloud-based omnichannel platform offering. These included amongst others a new order management system, a new reporting and analysis system as well as improved versions of its multi-store management solution and warehouse and inventory management system. New cloud options like Microsoft Azure for Openbravo Cloud were also added. The company also closed new strategic partnerships with leading international technology companies like Adyen, Zebra, Avalara or VTEX, which help to extend the value offered by Openbravo's cloud-based omnichannel platform to customers. "2020 has been a very challenging year for retail. At Openbravo we are very proud to have been able to help our clients to progress in their digital transformation and omnichannel initiatives. Our results, especially in France, clearly show that our value proposition resonates exceptionally well with brands and retailers, in today's market probably even more than ever before," said Marco de Vries, CEO of Openbravo. About Openbravo Openbravo is the omnichannel software platform of choice for brands and retailers seeking to accelerate their digital transformation and omnichannel strategy. Flexible, cloud-based and mobile-enabled, it allows integration between the online and physical channels, personalized, convenient and safer store shopping experiences, as well as intelligent order management with a single and real-time view of inventory. International brands like BUT, Caroll, Decathlon, Rubaiyat, Sharaf DG, Toys "R" Us Iberia and Zodio prefer Openbravo, which today counts over 18,000 back office users and 60,000 point of sale terminals. To learn more visit openbravo.com. Xavier Places, Marketing Director, +34 607 676 568, xavier.places@openbravo.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/703504/Openbravo_Logo.jpg (Reuters) - Heavy rains breached a dam on the Hawaiian island of Maui, causing floods that damaged homes and bridges, while spurring authorities to open evacuation shelters after ordering everyone to leave the vicinity. The rains led to the cresting of the Kaupakalua dam in the island's northern region of Haiku, state emergency management officials said in a statement. "Failure of the dam will produce life-threatening flooding as well as significant property damage in areas downstream," weather officials in Honolulu, the state capital, said in a statement. Evacuation shelters were being opened at a community centre and a high school, Governor David Ige said. "Maui county officials have been informed that Kaupakalua dam has been breached," Ige said on Twitter late on Monday, announcing that evacuations had begun. Maui Mayor Michael Victorino said six homes were heavily damaged or destroyed after the dam flooded the Haiku area. Two bridges were also destroyed, a reporter for Fox affiliate KHON2 News said on Twitter. The earthen dam, dating from 1885, is 57 feet (17.4 m) high and 400 feet (122 m) long, and belongs to the East Maui Irrigation Co. The owners received a deficiency notice about the dam last year from the state, KHON2 News said in a report. It was one of nine cited as being in poor or unsatisfactory condition. The state land department is charged with inspecting about 135 registered dams statewide. In 2006, seven people died after the Ka Loko dam collapsed on the island of Kauai. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / TPT Global Tech Inc. (OTCQB:TPTW)www.tptglobaltech.com today announced that the company and its strategic partner Thomas Scientific executed a contract with the State of Nevada to provide COVID-19 testing. The contract includes mobile testing sites, facility-based specimen collection, and community-based testing sites for State agencies and other governmental entities in Nevada on an as needed basis. Specifics related to usage are being discussed. These contracts shall be permissive for State agencies located in geographic regions serviced by the contract. The contracts could potentially include university and community college systems, the court system, the Legislative Counsel Bureau as well as State political subdivisions (i.e., cities, counties, school districts, etc.). Tribal nations may take advantage of the contract(s) as well, however, they are not required to do so. At the direction of a customer, and in accordance with a Service Agreement, the contractor will: (1) stand up and operate mobile testing site(s); (2) stand up and operate mobile facility team(s) to conduct on-site specimen collection at facilities identified by the customer such as long-term care centers and manufacturing plants; and/or (3) assume responsibility for operation of an existing community-based testing center. The location and duration of the mobile testing sites and community-based testing sites (collectively, "testing sites") will be at the customer's direction in accordance with a Service Agreement and will vary within the term of the service agreement depending on need. "We are proud of the joint effort made with Thomas Scientific to secure these contracts and the potential they hold for both companies. This is but another demonstration of the value and acceptance of our already being deployed end-to-end technologies that address Covid-19 immediate needs and for future use," said TPT Global Tech CEO Stephen J. Thomas, III. Story continues About TPT Global Tech TPT Global Tech Inc. (TPTW) based in San Diego, California, is a technology-based company with divisions providing telecommunications, medical technology and product distribution, media content for domestic and international syndication as well as technology solutions. TPT Global Tech offers Software as a Service (SaaS), Technology Platform as a Service (PAAS), Cloud-based Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS). It offers carrier-grade performance and support for businesses over its private IP MPLS fiber and wireless network in the United States. TPT's cloud-based UCaaS services allow businesses of any size to enjoy all the latest voice, data, media and collaboration features in today's global technology markets. TPT Global Tech also operates as a Master Distributor for Nationwide Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) and Independent Sales Organization (ISO) as a Master Distributor for Pre-Paid Cell phone services, Mobile phones Cell phone Accessories and Global Roaming Cell phones. For more information about how TPT Global's technologies and to schedule call with CEO Stephen Thomas, please contact Shep Doniger at 561-637-5750 and sdoniger@bdcginc.com. For all IR inquiries, please contact Frank Benedetto at 619-915-9422. About Thomas Scientific, LLC Thomas Scientific (ThomasSci.com) is the third largest, fast-growing distributor of laboratory products and equipment used by the scientific and research community. Thomas Scientific distributes nearly 1,000,000 products from more than 1,300 suppliers to over 9,000 customers in all 50 states and internationally. The robust catalog of product includes laboratory equipment, consumables, chemicals, as well as cleanroom/safety and diagnostic products. Thomas Scientific and all of its employees are committed to offering a quality product portfolio while catering to the unique needs of the individual customer. Our experienced Sales and Management Team is backed by industry experts who take a personal and consultative approach to support the ever-changing needs and challenges our customers face. Since 1900, dedication to providing the best products with personal, efficient service sets Thomas apart from the competition. Whether work is done in a lab setting or performed in the field, Thomas Scientific provides best in class in both product and service. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of various provisions of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, commonly identified by such terms as "believes," "looking ahead," "anticipates," "estimates" and other terms with similar meaning. Specifically, statements about the Company's plans for accelerated growth, improved profitability, future business partners, M&A activity, new service offerings, and pursuit of new markets are forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements should not be construed as fact. The information contained in such statements is beyond the ability of the Company to control, and in many cases, the Company cannot predict what factors would cause results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements. All forward-looking statements in the press release are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. SOURCE: TPT Global Tech, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/635054/TPT-GLOBAL-TECH-INC-and-Strategic-Partner-Thomas-Scientific-sign-Contract-with-the-State-of-Nevada-to-Utilize-the-Companys-QuikLab-QuikPASS-End-to-End-Covid-19-testing-and-Vaccination-Platforms One of the many things that Lockdown has left us with is excess time on our hands; with no theatres and no galleries to attend our ability to stimulate the mind has been thwarted as we do everything we can to defeat the virus by staying at home. Many have used the extra time to catch up on the latest binge worthy series on Netflix, but others have tried to learn a new skill, with the Creative Sparks Studio in Dundalk trying to help those potential artists through their series of online classes. Through videos they have been able to offer taster sessions, giving prospective students a chance to see what the course will be like for just 5, while also becoming a platform to see what does and doesnt work, changing their offerings accordingly. With our panel of tutors, we had a little brainstorming session when we came back after Christmas recalled their managing Director Sarah Daly. We just thought we should start with these half hours or 45-minute blocks and just see what people think. It gives them the opportunity to tell us they didnt like this or found that hard or they dont have the equipment needed and so it allows us to design courses that people will be able to access and work through with confidence. Through the Summer, classes onsite were available but limited to just six students at a time due to social distancing requirements, but unfortunately this was only for a short period as further government restrictions again limited their ability to provide in person classes. The longevity of the lockdowns was what kickstarted the initiative to bring the classes online and despite early teething problems, such as students needing their own materials, people have been very resourceful in making their own concoctions at home to make the classes work. Daly believes that the courses will be more than just videos, stating an interactive element is necessary in a time where so many of us are left feeling isolated and alone. These tasters are videos that you can access any time once you have the passcode for them but if we do go online the idea would be that it would be live sessions, that they would be able to chat to others in the class and chat to the tutor as well. I think we are a bit sick of being on our screens all alone watching content so we would very much want it to be an interactive type of session. I believe it is particularly important as we are feeling a little lonely and bored at home. The move to an online environment has seen the Louth creative centre engage with people from all over the country, who have taken up courses that would not be available to them if they needed to make the journey to Dundalk. It has been interesting that the first adult one that went out last month, illustrations with Mai Lin Chung, we had quite a few participants from all over the country, the likes of Cork, limerick and Galway who wouldnt normally drive to Dundalk for a half day course. Pottery for Beginners, Rocket Painting for children and Nature Painted illustrations are just some of the tasters currently available online with more information available on the Creative Sparks website and Facebook page. 1. A $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill is heading to President Bidens desk. Congress gave final approval to the sweeping stimulus package that includes a vast expansion of the countrys social safety net. Opposition by Republicans, who have argued the bill was bloated and unaffordable, was unanimous. Above, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer at the U.S. Capitol after the bills passage. The passage of the American Rescue Plan, which Mr. Biden is expected to sign on Friday, will result in one of the largest injections of federal aid since the Great Depression. It includes $1,400 direct payments to many Americans, extends federal jobless benefits and provides billions of dollars to distribute vaccines, among other initiatives. The legislation also contains a substantial, though temporary, expansion of health care subsidies. The plan has been billed as the countrys most ambitious antipoverty initiative in a generation. It will bring a big economic lift to middle-income families, too. LONDON She was married to the spirited strains of a gospel choir, her veil embroidered with the flowers of Britains former colonies, a rare image among rows of white princes and princesses of the post-racial, immigrant society that some imagined Britain to be. And then that vision came apart at the seams. Meghans account of racism in the royal family, delivered last week from a wicker chair outside a California mansion, did more than open new wounds at Buckingham Palace. It also called into question whether the family and, indeed, the country were as embracing of Black people as her 2018 wedding had signaled they could be. The revelations have rippled across the so-called Commonwealth family, a group of largely nonwhite ex-colonies headed by Queen Elizabeth II, prompting calls for a re-evaluation of royal ties and, in Australia, for casting off the British crown entirely. At home, among Britons who identified with Meghan and her son, Archie, biracial newcomers in a very white family, the interview has had a different resonance, spotlighting the hard limits of the countrys racial progress. A California father-of-three was sentenced on Thursday to 212 years in federal prison for intentionally driving his ex-wife and two autistic sons off of a wharf, and drowning the children to collect on accidental death insurance policies he had taken out on them. In imposing the maximum sentence on 45-year-old Ali Elmezayen, US District Judge John Walter called out the defendant's 'evil and diabolical scheme' and described his actions as 'vicious and callous.' 'He is the ultimate phony and a skillful liarand is nothing more than a greedy and brutal killer,' Judge Walter said. 'The only regret that the defendant has is that he got caught.' Ali Elmezayen, 45, was sentenced on Thursday to 212 years in federal prison for intentionally driving his ex-wife and two autistic sons off of a wharf, and drowning the children as part of a life insurance scheme (pictured in a courtroom sketch in 2019) On April 9, 2015, Elmezayen drove his car carrying his family into the water, killing sons Elhassan, 13, and 8-year-old Abdelkarim, who were, severely autistic Elmezayen swam out the open drivers side window of the car within 30 seconds. He was treated by paramedics at the scene Elmezayen, an Egyptian national, also was ordered to pay $261,751 in restitution to the insurance companies that he defrauded. During a nine-day trial in October 2019, a federal jury found the divorced dad from Hawthorne guilty of four counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and five counts of money laundering. Federal prosecutors lacked jurisdiction to file federal murder charges against Elmezayen, but he still faces state capital murder counts. That case is still pending. 'Mr. Elmezayen conceived a cold-blooded plan to murder his autistic sons and their mother, then cash in on insurance policies,' said Acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. 'He now has ample time to reflect from the inside of a federal prison cell on where his greed and self-interest took him. 'We continue to grieve for those two helpless boys who deserved better from their father, who will never again walk among us as a free man.' The bodies of Elmezayen's sons were pulled from the car by rescue divers (pictured above) From July 2012 to March 2013, Elmezayen bought from eight different insurance companies more than $3million of life and accidental death insurance policies on himself and his family. Elmezayen paid premiums in excess of $6,000 per year for these policies even though he reported income of less than $30,000 per year on his tax returns. Elmezayen began purchasing the insurance policies the same year he exited a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. After taking out the policies, Elmezayen repeatedly called the insurance companies sometimes pretending to be his ex-wife to make sure that the policies were active and that they would pay benefits if his former spouse died in an accident. Elmezayen also called at least two of the insurance companies to confirm they would not investigate claims made two years after the policies were purchased. These telephone calls were recorded and were played for the jury. On April 9, 2015, Elmezayen drove a car with his ex-wife, Rehab Diab, and his two severely autistic sons, 13-year-old Elhassan and 8-year-old Abdelkarim, off a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles. The site of the crash was a loading dock and worksite for commercial fishermen. The man's ex-wife, Rehab Diab (right), could not swim but was pulled from the water by a fisherman Elmezayen swam out the open drivers side window of the car within 30 seconds. His ex-wife, who did not know how to swim, escaped the vehicle and survived when a nearby fisherman threw her a flotation device. The couple's special-needs son were strapped into the car and drowned. A third son was away at camp at the time and was not in the car at the time his father drove it into the water. 'Fathers are supposed to protect their children but instead, Elmezayen drove his boys straight to their certain death in exchange for cash,' said Kristi Johnson, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office. 'The defendant maliciously planned the death of his autistic sons and gave them virtually no chance of survival.' Elmezayen then collected more than $260,000 in insurance proceeds from Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance and American General Life Insurance on the accidental death insurance policies he had taken out on the childrens lives. He used part of the insurance proceeds to purchase real estate in Egypt and a boat. During the trial, prosecutors told jurors that Elmezayen beat his wife and had called her parents in Egypt threatening to send her home in a coffin. He also filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Port of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, blaming his children's deaths on the city in a bid to collect even more money, but lost, reported ABC7. FBI agents arrested Elmezayen in November 2018 and he has been in federal custody ever since. His surviving son, 20-year-old Elhussein Diab, spoke at a sentencing hearing, telling the court that his father had treated his brothers' graves 'as a bank account.' Equalities ministers Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch have been accused of vilifying the trans community by one of three of the Governments LGBT advisers to quit their posts. Jayne Ozanne resigned from the LGBT advisory panel on Wednesday blaming Boris Johnsons administration for creating a hostile environment for LGBT people. She was followed by James Morton who had reportedly been very concerned for several months that Ms Truss and her junior ministers are not committed to LGBT equality. Whitehall sources confirmed on Thursday that Ellen Murray had also quit the panel and is said to have accused the Government of hostility towards LGBT people. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. Ms Ozanne, who describes herself as a gay evangelical Christian, said that Government pledges to take action to end the controversial practice of conversion therapy only referred to sexuality and not gender identity. Sadly there has been never any mention of protecting our trans friends who are twice as likely to be offered and to be forced to go through conversion therapy, she said, speaking on Good Morning Britain. I fear its this Governments attitude to the trans community that is right at the heart of this. They need to embrace the trans community and protect them rather than vilify them which, Im afraid, both Liz Truss and Kemi (Badenoch) seem committed to doing. In an earlier interview with ITV she said Ms Truss and Ms Badenoch were known in the LGBT community as the ministers for inequality. And she said she had become increasingly concerned about what is seen to be a hostile environment for LGBT people among this administration. Mr Morton said he had been very concerned for several months that Liz Truss and her junior ministers are not committed to LGBT equality, the BBC reported. It doesnt appear that theyre doing anything useful or helpful for trans people, in terms of Government policy, he added. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, who chairs the Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee, said she was disappointed the Government was rowing back on legislation to ban conversion therapy. She wrote on Twitter: Listening to @JayneOzanne on @GMB this morning about her experience of so-called conversion therapy. I am so disappointed that Government rowing back from legislating to ban it, last July we were given the impression it would be done. The resignations came as a group of nearly 20 LGBT+ organisations have reportedly written to Ms Badenoch to express their deep concern at her response to calls to ban conversion therapy. Signatories to the letter co-ordinated by Ms Ozanne and including campaigner Peter Tatchell and the organisation Stonewall accused the minister of inaction after the Conservative Partys pledge in 2018 to eradicate the controversial therapy. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. They said they fail to understand why after nearly 1,000 days coming forward with meaningful legislation is taking so much time. The BBC reported that the signatories also wrote that they were extremely troubled after the minister made no mention during the debate of protection for trans people, despite this group being the most likely to be at risk. A Government spokesman said on Wednesday: The Government is committed to building a country in which everyone, no matter their sexuality, race or religion, is free to live their lives as they choose. We have repeatedly made clear that we will take action to end conversion therapy and we are working to bring forward plans to do so shortly. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told Mr Johnson to fix the blind spot on LGBT issues. He said: The Government has clearly got a blind spot here. Its got a problem and the Prime Minister needs to address it, not least because its a pattern of behaviour. Sir Keir said he would absolutely ban conversion therapy by law, adding: Its abhorrent and were 100% against it. New Delhi, March 11 : Ubiquitous technology and social media platforms have led to the rise of "disruptive" leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron as they have been able to "speak directly to their citizens", who get the "illusion that they are being listened to", but whether they deliver is a different question, says a new book that examines the new levers of state power in the modern context. The rise of such leaders "is an interesting and potentially disruptive phenomenon in the development of governments and states. To some extent it is a consequence of the new world of ubiquitous technology and social media platforms that we see," Jaideep Prabhu, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Centre for India & Global Business at Cambridge Judge Business School, and author of "How Should A Government Be? - The New Levers of State Power" (Profile Books), told IANS in an interview. "But it is also a response to two other trends: 1) that citizens are increasingly restless and demanding of their leaders, i.e., they want more and better from the state, faster and cheaper, and 2) they are increasingly empowered to make these demands. "Recognising these two trends, we see that some leaders around the world have found a way to speak directly to their citizens, often using social media like Twitter to great effect to do so. This gives the citizens at least the illusion that they are being listened to and that their leaders are responding to their needs and concerns. Of course, if that is actually the case, remains to be seen," Prabhu added. Trump, of course has been voted out of office when he caused more disruption than delivering on his promises. "Macron is being pulled in contrary political directions, swerving both left and right, as he seeks to work out the political trajectory most likely to secure him re-election next year", a commentary by Jamie Dettmer of the Voice of America said on March 2, adding that Liberation, France's leading left-wing daily newspaper, has warned that many on the left, who backed Macron in 2017, handing him a landslide election win over far-right leader Marine Le Pen, won't do so again next year. Keriwal's Aam Aadmi Party won 62 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections in 2020 to give him a second successive term in office and has scored some notable success in the recent civic elections in Delhi and Surat. It sees this as a signal to expand pan-India but the jury is out on that, with most political analysts suggesting Kejriwal stick to the national capital. The book is Prabhu's third from a career spent in studying innovation in the private sector. "In the first part of my career, I studied innovation in large western companies. I then turned my attention to emerging economies like India where I had grown up. From my study of India and related countries in Asia and Africa, I developed an interest in jugaad and frugal innovation. I wrote two books about this phenomenon: 'Jugaad Innovation' (2012) and 'Frugal Innovation' (2015). "Every time I would speak about these books to audiences from around the world, people would ask me: But what does this mean for governments? How does the ability to use new technology and organise in new ways impact the way that governments work? They would then go on to tell me about innovations in government too. Over time, I began to think of researching and writing about such frugal innovation in the public sector and that's what led me to write this book," Prabhu explained. Speaking about the research that went into the book, he said a lot of it was similar to that which went into his previous books. "I didn't just want to write an 'academic' account of the subject. Rather, I wanted to ground everything I said in actual cases from around the world. So I set out writing to and interviewing public servants and policy makers from both emerging economies (such as India, Bangladesh and Kenya) and developed economies (like the UK, US, Canada and Denmark)," he said. At Cambridge, where he teaches, he also became involved with a number of training programmes for senior and mid-career civil servants from around the world. For instance, he was the programme director from 2012 to 2019 of a senior leadership programme for Indian civil servants. He also taught on an MPhil for early career civil servants interested in technology and policy. "Finally, Cambridge has a centre for science and policy that links UK and European policy makers with academics in the university, and over the years I met with over a 100 of these fellows of the centre. All these conversations provided me with ideas and material for the book. In addition to all this data, I also read books on political theory, especially about the long debate that has existed about how big the state should be and what its role in society is," Prabhu elaborated. His key argument is that governments around the world can now use new technologies and forms of organisation to be more effective and efficient in delivering for their citizens but that in the process they might also increase their power to be more controlling and authoritarian. To balance effectiveness and efficiency with freedom and liberty, governments need to adopt five principles in how they operate: "They need to be responsive to their citizens (i.e., operate outside-in rather than inside-out); they need to be inclusive (i.e., be able to serve the interest of multiple competing groups); they need to be experimental (i.e., constantly trying new ideas, testing them and then scaling them up); they need to be entrepreneurial (i.e., engaging in a proactive way with the private sector and NGOs and cultivating the economy); and they need to be innovative (i.e., constantly improving how they function internally)," Prabhu explained. Citizens play a major role in this process. "It is citizens in the end who provide the constant pressure for governments to get better, and so it is crucial that they perform this role well. Doing so involves citizens being informed and engaged and knowing how to choose their political leaders and teams well. But it also means they have to hold their governments to account at all times, either through movements from outside or even better by joining the government and working for its improvement from within," Prabhu said. What next? "I will probably return to my main area of interest and expertise, namely businesses and how they operate. There is a huge revolution going on in terms of what businesses are for. For a long time the view was that businesses existed for shareholders and investors (i.e., the owners) and that the sole responsibility of the firm is to maximise shareholder wealth. That view is now coming under a lot of pressure, and many argue that firms should balance wealth creation with wellbeing for customers and employees as well as nature. I will probably write about this topic next," Prabhu concluded. (Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in) Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 20:54:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JERUSALEM, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled his planned historic visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) scheduled on Thursday amid a diplomatic raw with Jordan, the Prime Minister's office said. According to a statement from the office, the cancellation is due to Jordan's refusal to give permission to the flight to its airspace. "Netanyahu was expected to visit the UAE today, but due to difficulties in coordinating his flight over Jordan's airspace, the visit has been postponed," said the statement. The office believes that Jordan imposed the restrictions probably because Israel canceled on Wednesday a planned visit by Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site in annexed East Jerusalem which is holy to both Muslims and Jews. Bin Abdullah's visit was canceled due to "a dispute over security and safety arrangements at the site," according to the statement. Later on Thursday, Jordan announced it would allow the Israeli prime minister to fly over Jordan, but Netanyahu and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed decided to reschedule the visit for another time, according to Israel. It is the fourth time Netanyahu has postponed his first official visit to the UAE. Israel and the UAE signed a normalization agreement in the White House on Sept. 15, 2020. UAE and Bahrain became the first Gulf countries to agree to form official relations with Israel. Enditem WASHINGTON The House approved a sweeping pandemic relief package over Republican opposition on Wednesday, sending it to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The milestone political victory would provide $1,400 checks for most Americans and direct billions of dollars to schools, state and local governments, and businesses. Democrats said their "American Rescue Plan" would help the country defeat the virus and nurse the economy back to health. Republicans criticized the $1.9 trillion package as more expensive than necessary and they complain it inflates the national debt and sends money to projects not directly tied to the pandemic. The measure follows five earlier virus bills totaling about $4 trillion that Congress has enacted since last spring. +5 Congress approves $1.9T coronavirus relief bill with $1,400 stimulus checks WASHINGTON A Congress riven along party lines approved a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and D A look at some highlights of the legislation: AID TO THE UNEMPLOYED Expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government would be extended through Sept. 6 at $300 a week. That's on top of what beneficiaries are getting through their state unemployment insurance program. The first $10,200 of jobless benefits accrued in 2020 would be non-taxable for households with incomes under $150,000. Additionally, the measure provides a 100% subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums to ensure that laid-off workers can remain on their employer health plans at no cost through the end of September. MORE CHECKS The legislation provides a direct payment of $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple that files jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount, as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000. The size of the check would shrink for those making slightly more, with a hard cut-off at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married couples. Most Americans will be getting the full amount. The median household income was $68,703 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Biden said payments would start going out this month. MONEY FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS The legislation would send $350 billion to state and local governments and tribal governments for costs incurred up until the end of 2024. The bill also requires that small states get at least the amount they received under virus legislation that Congress passed last March. Many communities have taken hits to their tax base during the pandemic, but the impact varies from state to state and from town to town. Critics say the funding is not appropriately targeted and is far more than necessary with billions of dollars allocated last spring to states and communities still unspent. AID TO SCHOOLS The bill calls for about $130 billion in additional help to schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The money would be used to reduce class sizes and modify classrooms to enhance social distancing, install ventilation systems and purchase personal protective equipment. The money could also be used to hire more nurses, counselors and janitors, and to provide summer school. 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 Spending for colleges and universities would be boosted by about $40 billion, with the money used to defray an institution's pandemic-related expenses and to provide emergency aid to students to cover expenses such as food and housing and computer equipment. AID TO BUSINESSES A new program for restaurants and bars hurt by the pandemic would receive $28.6 billion. The grants provide up to $10 million per company with a limit of $5 million per physical location. The grants can be used to cover payroll, rent, utilities and other operational expenses. The bill also provides $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, a tiny fraction of what was allocated in previous legislation. The bill also allows more nonprofits to apply for loans that are designed to help borrowers meet their payroll and operating costs and can potentially be forgiven. TESTING AND VACCINES The bill provides about $50 billion to expand testing for COVID-19 and to enhance contract tracing capabilities with new investments to expand laboratory capacity and set up mobile testing units. It also contains more than $15 billion to speed up the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines across the country. Another $1 billion would go to boost vaccine confidence. And $10 billion would be used to boost the supply of medical devices and equipment to combat the virus under the Defense Production Act. HEALTH CARE Parts of the legislation advance longstanding Democratic priorities like increasing coverage under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. Financial assistance for ACA premiums would become considerably more generous and a greater number of solid middle-class households would qualify. Though the sweetened subsidies last only through the end of 2022, they will lower the cost of coverage and are expected to boost the number of people enrolled. The measure also dangles more money in front of a dozen states, mainly in the South, that have not yet taken up the Medicaid expansion that is available under the ACA to cover more low-income adults. Whether such a sweetener would be enough to start wearing down longstanding Republican opposition to Medicaid expansion is uncertain. The bill would also provide abut $3 billion for states to help address mental health and substance use disorders, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. More than $14 billion is directed toward increased support for the Department of Veterans Affairs. BIGGER TAX BREAKS FOR HOUSEHOLDS WITH AND WITHOUT KIDS Under current law, most taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax bill by up to $2,000 per child. In a significant change, the bill would increase the tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under the age of 6. The legislation also calls for the payments to be delivered monthly instead of in a lump sum. If the secretary of the treasury determines that isn't feasible, then the payments are to be made as frequently as possible. Families would get the full credit regardless of how little they make in a year, leading to criticism that the changes would serve as a disincentive to work. Add in the $1,400 checks and other items in the proposal, and the legislation would reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. The bill also significantly expands the Earned Income Tax Credit for 2021 by making it available to people without children. The credit for low and moderate-income adults would be worth $543 to $1,502, depending on income and filing status. RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER ASSISTANCE The bill provides more than $30 billion to help low-income households pay their rent and to assist the homeless. States and tribes would receive an additional $10 billion for homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payments and other housing costs because of the pandemic. Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu and his counterparts from eight other EU member states - Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Slovakia and Slovenia - wrote a letter to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, calling for a strategic discussion on the Western Balkans to be included with the agenda of the April Foreign Affairs Council meeting. "The letter to the High Representative of the nine European Foreign Ministers comes in the context of the many changes that have taken place in the Western Balkans region recently. Thus, the Foreign Ministers emphasize the importance of a strategic discussion on this issue, given a number of domestic developments in these states, overlapping with the new challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated the already existing tendencies, some of them with geopolitical implications. The letter mentions the fact that the EU should approach the region not just from the perspective of the enlargement but also from a more ample perspective of foreign affairs, in order to better answer to the domestic developments and for a more active commitment in the relation with third states. Moreover, the European Ministers pleaded for a good coordination with the United States, a key partner in the region, and emphasized the growing importance of a common and effective European standpoint. European officials underscored in the letter that the EU continued to consistently support the region during this period, but that more effective communication was needed," reads a statement issued by the MAE to AGERPRES on Thursday. According to the same source, "Romania will continue to play an active role in promoting lines of action likely to outline a visible and effective engagement of the European Union in the Western Balkans region, both in terms of EU enlargement policy and as an instrument meant to ensure peace, stability and welfare in the region, as well as in terms of the EU support in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic management efforts." George Clooney has revealed he once played the ultimate prank on close friend Richard Kind by defecating in his pet cat's litter tray. The Hollywood star, famed for being something of a joker on set, was a young jobbing actor when Kind allowed him to move into his one-bedroom flat after he broke up with a girlfriend. But Clooney, 59, admitted boredom got the better of him as he sat in the cramped apartment with Kind's cat between auditions, resulting in him deciding to play a joke on his unsuspecting friend. Opening up: George Clooney has revealed he once played the ultimate prank on close friend Richard Kind by defecating in his pet cat's litter tray Recalling the bizarre incident during an appearance on Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes' SmartLess podcast, Clooney revealed Kind - now a hugely successful actor in his own right - failed to see the funny side. 'He was working and I'm waiting for an audition, and I go into the bathroom and there's a kitty litter box next to the toilet and it's got cat s**t in it' he said. 'And I scoop it up and I flush it down the toilet. 'And the next day, the cat takes a s**t, I flush it down the toilet and Richard checks, and it goes on for like three or four or five days.' Old times: The Hollywood star was a young unemployed actor when Kind allowed him to move into his one-bedroom flat after he broke up with a girlfriend (pictured together in 1987) The notorious prankster admitted his joke quickly escalated after Kind - unaware that his flatmate had emptied the litter tray - expressed concern that the cat had not had a bowel movement for days. Worried for the cat's health, he eventually took it to see a vet, who prescribed it laxatives that Clooney claims made it 's**t 15 times a day.' However the actor kept the prank going until he had a 'lightbulb moment' regarding how he could take it to the next level, and prolong his flatmate's understandable anguish. Not happy: Recalling the bizarre incident, Clooney revealed Kind - now a hugely successful actor in his own right - failed to see the funny side (pictured together with Ellen Barkin in 2006) He said: 'Then the light bulb goes off, and I realise what I must do... which is take a s**t in the cat box. 'Now, there is this moment, when I'm squatted down over a cat box, where I'm going, "Really?!"' Fortunately for Kind he soon realised Clooney had been duping him because the actor struggled to keep a straight face whenever he mentioned the cat's lack of toilet activity. 'He realises I've been shovelling the cat s**t out and he gets madder and madder,' Clooney recalled, with the actor revealing a disgruntled Kind screamed at him: 'I understand humour, defecation doesn't make me laugh!' Hot water: The two-time Oscar winner also revealed his wife Amal just started watching episodes of ER recently, and that his character's reputation as a ladies man has gotten him 'in a lot of trouble' Iconic: Clooney became a household name thanks to his role as heartthrob doctor Doug Ross The two-time Oscar winner also revealed his wife Amal just started watching episodes of ER recently, and that his character's reputation as a ladies man has gotten him 'in a lot of trouble.' 'We were getting something like 42 million people to watch the show, and those are numbers that are just unheard of when we had 150 channels,' he said of the series' ratings. 'My wife is watching them now and it's getting me in a lot of trouble,' the 59-year-old said of Amal, 43, before sharing about his character's ladies man reputation. 'I'd forgotten about all of the terrible things I was doing -- picking up on women and all those things.' Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) -Hill Street Beverage Company Inc. (TSXV: BEER) ("Hill Street" or the "Company") today announces the launch of its first Cannabis-infused beverage, (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler; formerly announced as (V)ia SPRIZA. This product will be marketed under the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Hill Avenue Cannabis Company. (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler is produced by its co-packing partner Molecule Holdings Inc. ("Molecule") (CSE: MLCL). Molecule has committed to a pipeline fill to the OCS, shipping to the distribution centre by March 25, 2021. The OCS anticipates issuing further follow-up purchase orders, one and two weeks after launch. Lori Senecal, Hill Street's Interim Co-CEO says, "The launch of the (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler is a milestone moment for Hill Avenue Cannabis Company, as this is the first CPG Cannabis-infused product to be launched under the Company's umbrella. It is an important step in expanding our award-winning craft beverage portfolio into the high demand Cannabis space." The beverage's formulation is based on Hill Street's best-selling products already sold across Canada without cannabis. Unlike any beverage currently available through the OCS, (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler is a flavour-forward beverage with 10mg THC, but absent any cannabis taste or aroma. It is expected to hit Ontario shelves in time for the annual Cannabis celebration, "420 Day" on April 20th. Hill Street expects this bright, bubbly beverage to become the go-to for celebrating 420 Day and all of life's social moments in the future. (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5205/76870_ce8d73e6f44c29fd_002full.jpg "We are so pleased to have partnered with Molecule on the development and delivery of this revolutionary product," states June Nicholson, Chief Operating Officer of Hill Street, "What excites us the most is the incredible marriage of intense flavour impact and a reliable Cannabis experience. We firmly believe that this is a groundbreaking new beverage." The Company anticipates having "Pink's companion product, (V)ia RegalTM White Grape Sparkler available in the near future as well as increasing distribution into other provinces as permitted. (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler joins other beverages produced by Molecule for order fill at the OCS. Forming a key element in Molecule's "craft shelf" strategy, (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler helps to define the quality portfolio. "This is a very exciting day for the Molecule team as this marks an important new chapter for Molecule's commercialization. The Ontario market is experiencing such explosive growth with new points of distribution opening throughout the province every day, and having (V)ia RegalTM Pink Grape Sparkler among the first products to shelf reinforces our unique product lineup commitment," said Molecule president and CEO Philip Waddington. About Hill Street Beverage Company Inc. (TSXV: BEER) Hill Street Beverage Company is a leading and award-winning company focused on alcohol-free beer, wine, and adult-format beverages. Hill Street's brands include Hill Street Craft Brewed Lager, and Vin(Zero), and have won numerous medals and accolades around the world. Hill Avenue Cannabis, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, will produce and sell Cannabis-infused adult beverages and other Cannabis products with expected distribution at licensed outlets in 2021. Check out Hill Street's award-winning line-up and order product to be delivered straight to your home at www.hillstreetbeverages.com. For further information: Lori Senecal, Interim Co-CEO, Hill Street Beverage Company Inc., lori@hillstreetbevco.com Craig Binkley, Interim Co-CEO, Hill Street Beverage Company Inc., craig@hillstreetbevco.com Follow Hill Street on Twitter https://twitter.com/hillstreetbevco and on Facebook http://facebook.com/hillstreetbevco FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this press release may contain forward-looking information. Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects", and similar expressions. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances, such as future availability of capital on favourable terms, may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by securities law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Not For dissemination in the United States of America. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76870 Like many other countries in the region, Vietnam is seen as an attractive market for online education startups. Nguyen Manh Dung is one of the leading experts in the field of startup investment. He worked for 13 years with CyberAgent Capital as director of the firms investment fund in Vietnam and Thailand. After leaving CyberAgent Capital, he founded Do Ventures. Dung talks with VietNamNet about Vietnams online education market. Vietnam has great potential to develop online education Vietnam is one of the countries that pays great attention to education. Vietnam's total education spending in 2018 stood at $20 billion. With a turnover of about $200 million, the online education sector currently accounts for only about 1% of the total market revenue. In 2019, Vietnam was in the top 10 of the fastest growing online education markets globally with an annual growth rate of 44.3%. According to Ken Research, the online education market in Vietnam could grow about 20.2% in the period of 2019-2023. Vietnam is in the top 10 of the fastest growing online education markets globally. In fact, during the Covid-19 epidemic, the digital transformation trend has accelerated as many schools had to close due to social distancing. Regarding the potential of Vietnam's online education, Dung said that Vietnams EdTech (educational technology) market has attracted a lot of attention from foreign investors over the years. According to a recent report by Do Ventures, EdTech is the third most invested field in Vietnam in the past eight years in the technology sector. The total venture capital investment in Vietnams EdTech is $103 million, just behind the payment field ($462 million) and retail ($416 million). However, the field of EdTech and digital transformation of education in Vietnam is still at its beginning. According to Dung, Vietnam's EdTech development potential follows the development trend of Asian and Southeast Asian markets. Besides China and India, Southeast Asia is a region that has favorable conditions for the development of EdTech, such as its young population, fast-growing economy, competitive wages, and increasing number of smartphone users and good Internet coverage. What barriers exist for digital transformation of VN education? Dung said that each education market will have its own characteristics, mainly due to users' habits. In some Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, China or Vietnam, study results are seen as a competitive advantage to build a career. This factor leads to a large education market. As for the online education sector, there are still hurdles in Asian countries. Asian students sometimes lack persistence if they have to study on their own. They are familiar with the classroom environment and sometimes need motivators such as parents, teachers, and friends to study effectively. Statistics for investments in technology start-ups in Southeast Asia since 2013 show that education is currently ranked in the top 3 in terms of total investment capital, only after payments and retail. Data: Do Ventures According to Dung, the online education sector currently accounts for only about 1% of total education spending in Vietnam. Therefore, Vietnam is considered a golden land in the eyes of venture capitalists. In Asia, China and South Korea are the booming markets for online learning. For another developed country, Japan, the online learning market seems to be less explosive. If looking closely at the regional context, even before the Covid-19 pandemic, online education thrived in only some countries such as South Korea and China, with big names such as ST Unitas, SmartStudy, and VIPKid. Although Vietnam was behind these countries, the transition to an online learning environment is an irreversible trend. The Covid-19 pandemic has been an opportunity for the EdTech market to boom in Vietnam. With the trend of digital transformation in the education sector and the habits of using technology of young people, the online learning market will become more popular and accessible in the near future. Online-offline model to promote online education Nguyen Manh Dung - the founder of Do Ventures. Dung told VietNamNet that in order for online learning to be more effective, Vietnam create a link between online and offline learning models to combine the advantages of both types. Manabie, a Japanese online education startup invested in by Do Ventures, is such a model. This model helps students study from anywhere while they interact offline with individual counselors and those who learn together through education establishments. However, according to Mr. Dung, in this model, online learning is still the focus. The offline centers will play a role in facilitating better interactions as well as increasing brand coverage and visibility. From a broader perspective, whether online or offline, learning quality and efficiency are still the main factors that help a business develop in the education sector, especially EdTech. If EdTech companies ensure that their education programs are on the right track and that the system works effectively, this will be an advantage to help answer the question of whether the company is able to compete and grow in the EdTech market. Experience in investing in EdTech models of Do Ventures shows that it is not difficult for learners to become familiar with the online environment. The key is the founder's experience in implementing products and maintaining the quality of education in the long run. Trong Dat Vietnam embraces digital transformation, online teaching in education sector Thai Van Thanh, director of the Nghe An Education and Training Department, said if there are favorable conditions, online teaching will bring big benefits, especially in remote areas. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 New Delhi, March 11 : The Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into the death of a rape victim's father in Utter Pradesh who allegedly died in a road accident. Congress Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate addressing the media on Thursday said, "First the rape of a 13-year-old girl, which in itself should shake the collective consciousness of our society, but what we see after that is even more shameful, even more disturbing. Her father is crushed by a moving vehicle and this is a script that gets repeated in Uttar Pradesh." She demanded answers from the Chief Minister and added, "Yogi Adityanath has the time to go and campaign in West Bengal and talk about crime against women, what about your own track record, Sir? What is happening in UP and who is going to be responsible for that, right under your nose? Your information officers, your senior police officials, your MLAs, your Ministers, their first attempt is to deny rape; and when they failed to do so they start assassinating the character of the victim herself." "We demand a judicial inquiry and we demand that the insensitive government wakes up and owns up its moral responsibility. This is not just a gang rape; this is murder of the father, playing with evidence in some sense, also annihilating those who can fight for her rights against injustice." According to reports the father of the gang rape victim in Uttar Pradesh died on Wednesday after being hit by a truck in Kanpur outside a hospital, where his daughter was being examined. The incident took place a day after the father of the victim had alleged that the brother of the accused had threatened him with dire consequences if the matter was taken to the police. One of the accused's father is said to be a policeman. DIG Kanpur, Preetinder Singh, said in a video statement: "The main accused in the gang rape case has been arrested. A search is on to nab those who threatened the family members and the other accused involved in the crime." "The death of the victim's father is tragic. The accident took place when the medical examination of the victim was underway and the father stepped out for a cup of tea." "After some time, we got to know that he met with an accident by a truck. He was immediately taken to a Kanpur hospital, but was declared brought dead by doctors. We have filed an accident case and we are probing the matter." The family members of the victim and villagers have alleged that the incident in Sajeti police circle was actually a planned murder by one of the rape accused. According to Kanpur police, the father met with the accident outside the hospital where the girl was taken for a medical examination. (Natural News) SpaceX founder Elon Musk is proposing the creation of a city named Starbase in Texas, where the company could build rockets to launch its Starlink satellites and other space projects. Creating the city of Starbase, Texas, Musk tweeted on Tuesday, March 2. From thence to Mars, And hence the Stars. As part of this, a SpaceX representative made a casual inquiry about the requirements to incorporate Boca Chica and rename it the City of Starbase. According to Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, county commissioners have been notified of the discussions about Boca Chica, the small, unincorporated community where SpaceX is building its Starship launch vehicles. Sending a tweet doesnt make it so, Trevino said. They have a lot of hoops and hurdles to go through before they can make it so. Musk deepening Texas ties following announcement of Starlink plant Incorporating Boca Chica into a city would further deepen Musks ties to Texas. SpaceX already has other facilities in the state, including a rocket test range in McGregor, Texas, near Waco. In addition, the company is also building a new, state of the art manufacturing facility in Austin to build more satellites for the companys Starlink space-based internet service. As part of this, the company has already posted new job openings for engineering positions at the factory. (Related: Musk claims SpaceX Starlink internet speed will double this year.) In addition to SpaceX, Musks other company, Tesla, is building a massive factory in East Austin. The new factory is set to be used to build Teslas Cybertruck, the automakers futuristic electric pick up truck. The Musk Foundation has also moved from California to Austin. Since its foundation in 2002, the charity has made over 350 grants in support of renewable energy research, human space exploration and other causes. Musk himself has also said that hes moved to Texas, though he still spends time in California. SpaceX investing heavily into Boca Chica As for incorporating Boca Chica into Musks proposed Starbase city, that process is handled under Texas law by Cameron County commissioners. As part of this, the process would include the creation of utilities for the town. Currently, the town doesnt even have a public water system. Instead, water for Boca Chica residents is trucked from nearby Brownsville and stored in tanks at each home. The effort required has caused some to state that Musk and SpaceX may be underestimating the effort needed to incorporate. I think they may be getting a little ahead of themselves, stated Judge Trevino. But the process of incorporating Boca Chica and all of the steps needed to do so, such as the creation of utilities, could actually benefit SpaceX. The company is investing heavily into the town. Its bought dozens of properties in Boca Chica specifically those surrounding the Starship factory through two limited liability companies (LLC) it has created: Dogleg Park and Lone Star Mineral Development. In addition, Lone Star is also looking to lease two inactive gas wells outside Boca Chica to extract methane, one of the two propellants used to fuel Spaces launch vehicles. With all this in mind, SpaceXs expansion plans in Boca Chica would likely have required the creation of the communitys missing utilities in the first place. As such, incorporating the town into Musks proposed City of Starship is likely just a natural extension of this, one that further cements his ties to the state. Follow ElonMuskWatch.com for more on Musks investments in Texas. Sources include: CapacityMedia.com Bloomberg.com TheVerge.com In addition, Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued an executive order that requires contractors to submit quarterly reports on how often they use women- and minority-owned vendors to fulfill their city contracts. The order also requires contractors to provide an annual diversity plan on how they do business outside their contracts with vendors owned by women and people of color. Glanbia and Lakeland Dairies have both announced milk price rises for Febuary supplies. Glanbia will pay its Member milk suppliers 36.1 cent per litre (cpl) (including VAT) for February creamery milk supplies at 3.6pc butterfat and 3.3pc protein. Glanbia Ireland (GI) will pay a base milk price for February of 32.68 cpl (including VAT) for creamery milk at 3.6pc fat and 3.3pc protein. This is an increase of 2 cpl from the January base price. In addition to the base price, a Seasonality Bonus of 3 cpl (including VAT) will be paid on all creamery milk supplied in February. Farmer Members will also receive a 0.42 cpl (including VAT) payment from Glanbia Co-op on all milk supplied this month as their Share of GI Profit. The Glanbia Ireland base price, Seasonality Bonus and Co-op Share of GI Profit payment will be adjusted to reflect the actual constituents of milk delivered by suppliers. The Glanbia milk price for February creamery milk, based on LTO constituents of 4.2pc butterfat and 3.4pc protein, is 39.40 cpl. Lakeland Dairies also announced an increase in its milk price for February. In a statement, it said its suppliers in the Republic of Ireland will recieve a base price of 33.34c/L (including VAT/Lactose) will be paid for milk supplied in February. This is an increase of 1c/L on January. According to the processor the normal out of season bonus of 5c/L applies for February, while it added that a special unconditional Lakeland Bonus of 1c/L (plus VAT) will also be paid on all February milk (this was also paid for January, December and November milk). Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, its suppliers will receive a base price of 27.25p/L for February milk. This marks an increase of 0.7p/L on the January price. In addition, the processor said a special unconditional Lakeland Bonus of 1p/L will also be paid for all February milk. A spokesperson for Lakeland Dairies said: As the European peak season is commencing, there is currently strength in the global market with the dynamic between the supply of milk being produced and the demand for dairy products from customers largely in balance at present. "Covid-19 continues to influence buyer sentiment as the potential reopening of economies across the world remains under consideration. Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the market closely in the coming weeks. Glanbia Ireland Chairman John Murphy said: Dairy market sentiment in recent weeks has been boosted by a combination of factors, including lower than forecast milk supply volumes in key production regions and strong Asian demand. "Other factors include continued Government support measures and optimism linked to the tentative easing of Covid restrictions in some countries. It is also welcome to see the US and Europe announce a four-month suspension of all tariffs linked to the Airbus and Boeing dispute. The Board will continue to monitor developments on a monthly basis. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Many of those who signed a petition calling for the BBC to cancel Stephen Nolans radio and television shows were "anonymous and made-up names," the broadcaster has said. Mr Nolan criticised dark forces for instigating abuse on social media, during a broadcast of his BBC Radio Ulster Nolan show on Tuesday morning. A petition set up in February on the website change.org has over 13,000 signatures and demands that BBC NI should cancel the Nolan show. Read More During his Wednesday show a caller to the show said he had issues with Mr Nolan's comments on the petition after the presenter claimed it was one of the biggest untold stories in Northern Ireland, that Twitter accounts were being directed to attack politicians and other figures as part of sophisticated machines. Challenging Stephen Nolan a caller named Willy claimed many of those signing the petition were taxpayers who pay their TV license ... and who pay your wages. In response, Mr Nolan said he stood over what he said about the twitter account believed to have set up the petition. Im here every day of the week. You are entitled to say you dont like it and there will always be a place for you to do so, said Mr Nolan. Im absolutely comfortable with giving you a platform to criticise me and criticise this show. I am not comfortable talking about some anonymous entity which has launched a tirade of abuse against women from that anonymous account. That has celebrated the fact that they have trolled many, many people including Arlene Foster. It is an account that has celebrated the fact that they have trolled many people. Thats the bottom line. There is a big conversation to be had in Northern Ireland about people who get abuse online. South Africa: President: We will not abandon our students In the aftermath of the passing of bystander, Mthokozisi Ntumba, during a student protest on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa says government will not abandon its students. He said this when he addressed the National House of Traditional Leaders in Parliament on Thursday. We will not abandon our students. We will fund their education because it is their right. They have a right to education and our government, as much as we are facing enormous difficulties and challenges, will continue to find solutions because funding education is an investment, he said. The President said this not long after Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, announced that Cabinet had agreed funding should be reprioritised from the departments budget in order to ensure that all deserving NSFAS-qualifying students are able to receive funding support for the 2021 academic year. The President, in his address, extended his deepest condolences to Ntumbas family. Ntumba was reportedly on his way from receiving medical attention when he was allegedly caught in the crossfire as police were dispersing protestors near WITS University in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The President said the circumstances that led to Ntumbas death must be thoroughly investigated and the law must take its course. The President said in as much as government is faced with enormous challenges and difficulties, education is a top priority for government. When the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande, came to me and informed me that we are facing a huge problem in that the funding that we have for NSFAS is not going to be sufficient to fund the new intakes and also to extend those who are already in the system and there was a huge gap that ran into billions and I said to him Minister, we have to find a solution. The process of addressing this was then commenced and there was good interaction between Higher Education and [National] Treasury. The President said fortunately the matter was properly discussed by Cabinet yesterday and the relevant decision was taken. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Suspecting the contentions of Revenue authorities of taking over the said lands, the high court directed the collector to file an affidavit with all relevant documents. PTI file photo HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday expressed apprehensions over the state government taking possession of land from the owners of assigned lands by applying the provision of Unconditional Razinama to the lands (Relinquishment) by farmers or landowners, which is prescribed in Rule 16 of A.P. (Telangana Area) Land Revenue Rules, 1951. Chief Justice Hima Kohli sought a detailed affidavit from the Collector of Siddipet on a complaint that Revenue authorities have taken over the land of 6.37 acres in Survey number 692 of Duddeda village, Kondapak mandal, Siddipet district (erstwhile Medak District), without issuing any notice to the landowners. The division bench, comprising the Chief Justice and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with an appeal by Balagoni Saikiran and three of his family members, challenging the single-judge order, which had upheld the Revenue authorities stand. The contention of the appellants was that they had never executed such Razinama in the said survey number. With fabricated papers, the authorities are saying that we relinquished the land. In fact, we never gave up the properties, the appellants said. Their counsel H. Venugopal argued that Rule 16 of 1951 Act was no more prevalent and appellants were not in such an economic position that they would relinquish their rights over the lands. Citing the guidelines prescribed in the Mekala Pandu case, in which the court had clearly mentioned that every assigned land owner should be paid compensation as per the existing Land Acquisition Act, the counsel said that without notices, the land was forcibly taken over from the appellants and handed over to a third party. The government explained that the said land was given to a third party on the ground of providing alternative land to third partys land in which double bedroom houses have been built by the government. Suspecting the contentions of Revenue authorities of taking over the said lands, the court directed the collector to file an affidavit with all relevant documents. 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. Huntington, WV (25701) Today Cloudy with showers. High 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The adorable 'lil one is already being recruited by Texas Tech and now baby momma starts training with social media as well. Take a look . . . When former U.S. Sen. Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, made the decision to resign in January 2018, the spotlight turned to his party, which turned out to be bitterly divided over his fate. In the wake of mounting allegations of sexual harassment, many prominent Democrats had called for him to step down, and they were led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the junior senator from New York, who has championed womens rights causes in the Senate. In her letter demanding his resignation, she linked his actions to the painful but necessary reckoning occurring at the time, calling it a watershed moment bigger than any one industry, any one party, or any one person. Gillibrand has had to answer for it ever since in the debates during her candidacy for president and in the media. Now, as the governor of her state and from her own party faces similar allegations to those that felled Franken unwanted touching, and, in Cuomos case, inappropriate comments to subordinates Gillibrand has been reluctant to let history repeat itself. In 2019, a story published in The New Yorker, where Franken said that he regretted his decision to step down before an investigation could get underway, revealed that one of his accusers, conservative talk radio host Leeann Tweeden, was friendly with Fox News Sean Hannity. Notorious conservative operative Roger Stone told Jane Mayer that a Fox News executive tipped him off to the forthcoming allegations. In her report, Mayer stopped just short of calling Tweedens accusation a politically coordinated attack. Although many observers think it harmed her presidential campaign, Gillibrand stands by her decision. There is no prize for someone who tries to hold accountable a powerful man who is good at his day job, Gillibrand said at Mics 2020 Town Hall Series in July, 2019, in New York, responding to Frankens comments. But we should have the courage to do it anyway. Since late February, six women have come forward with allegations of sexual impropriety against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, just shy of the seven allegations against Franken before Gillibrands statement four years ago. As of yet, Gillibrand has declined to ask the governor to resign, even as a growing list of New York politicians one disproportionately made up of women has called on Cuomo to do so. Gillibrands official response has been to encourage an investigation of the allegations, which is underway. These allegations are serious and deeply concerning, she said in a statement responding to reports about former 25-year-old staffer Charlotte Bennett, who in the New York Times gave a detailed account of a series of personal comments and questions made by the governor that she believed to be intended to groom her for sex. As requested by Attorney General James, the matter should be referred to her office so that she can conduct a transparent, independent and thorough investigation with subpoena power. Gillibrands office did not respond to a request for comment. That Gillibrand and not, say, her colleague Chuck Schumer, who is the states senior senator and the Senate majority leader is the one expected to lead on holding male politicians accountable for alleged sexual misconduct, is perhaps a reflection of the gender politics that have emerged in the Democratic Party in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Some women in elected office say they understand these issues in a different way than men and many are advocates for accusers. But some, including Gillibrand, contend that its an unfair burden. I really resent the fact that.. the news media calls on every woman elected to (judge) every single time, she told Yahoo! Finance recently. Its a point so valid that its almost possible to lose sight of the fact that, in many ways, the complicated political reality Gillibrand finds herself in is one partially of her own making. For the past several years, Gillibrand has been intentional in developing a reputation as a champion of women in the political sphere. Its fair to say her presidential campaign was itself a product of a resurgence in a particular type of feminism. Gillibrand herself helped build the cult feminist vehicle she hoped to steer, Alexis Grenell, a New York-based political consultant, recently wrote in The Nation, charting Gillibrands path to becoming a feminist warrior of the Trump era. While her swift response to Franken may have cost her support among some in her party, it had initially seemed like a savvy move, elevating her as a leading feminist candidate in the presidential race, despite starting her career as a relatively conservative Democrat from upstate. As The New York Times observed in February 2019, Gillibrand and her advisers see an opportunity to ride a wave of womens political energy right into the White House. While multiple women are serious contenders for president for the first time in American history, Ms. Gillibrand is the only one who is making running as a woman, for women, the central theme of her candidacy. And so it is inevitable that eyes turn towards her when her home state is enmeshed in a scandal so reminiscent of Frankens. This is an area that she has carved out for herself as a leader, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University. This is why people are looking to her at this moment and wondering where she is on this. Of course, Gillibrand isnt alone in using the attorney generals investigation to avoid calling for immediate action. On Sunday, Schumer refused to say whether Cuomo should resign, instead expressing faith in James, telling reporters at a briefing, I believe that she will turn over every stone and I believe she will make sure there is no outside interference. Longtime Cuomo ally Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, who is chair of the House Democratic caucus, has also said he await(s) the results of the investigation. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an outspoken progressive who is not known for being shy about criticizing other politicians, hasnt weighed in since initially calling for an independent investigation. Rep. Kathleen Rice became the first Democratic member of Congress to ask Cuomo to step down, tweeting after a third accuser came forward, The time has come. The Governor must resign. Her tweet was met with a chorus of detractors online, arguing Innocent until proven guilty! #dems are now eating their own without investigation or trial! and that We lost a great Senator in MN because of the resign cry. However, the more women that come forward, the harder it will be for prominent New York Democrats to hold out for the results of the investigation. Its worth noting that an investigation can proceed into the governors conduct, without him holding onto his job. As with Franken, it is up to the governor to decide to resign, regardless of who calls for it. The demand itself is merely an acknowledgement, on behalf of officials, that he can no longer be relied on to lead effectively. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins statement is notable in this respect, in that it was not an assertion of Cuomos guilt, but rather the impossibility of good governance under the crush of bad press. For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign, Stewart-Cousins said. Assembly Speaker Carl Heasties comments reflected that sentiment. We have many challenges to address," he said, and I think it is time for the Governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York. In light of past Democratic comments about not just Franken, but alleged sexual misconduct more broadly whether by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, or the serial sexual abuser who appointed him being perceived as soft on Cuomo, particularly for Gillibrand, could create a risk of being seen as inconsistent or hypocritical. Its also potentially a silent admission that within the party, the prevailing opinion is that they moved too quickly on Franken a particularly damning admission for Gillibrand, even if only by implication. Thus Gillibrand is damned if she does, or if she doesnt, inevitably disappointing either feminist activists or mainstream, partisan Democratic voters. Still, its hard to say whether these are lessons learned from Frankens ouster, or plain old New York politics. I think that one of the things youre seeing with Andrew Cuomo that is different (than Franken), is that he is known to be powerful and a take no prisoners kind of guy unlikely to forgive and forget. So, I think there is, in general, in the state of New York, among Democrats, kind of a cautiousness, Walsh explained. He is such a force, and you can see it playing out now: People are fearful of him. And if he doesnt go, what can he do to folks? There are politicians who have survived even worse accusations: after the infamous recording of then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump bragging about his habit of sexually assaulting women was released in the fall of 2016, many Republicans abandoned him, only to come crawling back after he won the presidency. Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, has been accused of rape by two women but has not resigned and he is now running for governor. So, for New York Democrats, the safe, middleground is to say, Lets have the investigation. However, the calculus for Gillibrand is slightly more complicated because of the ground she staked out for herself by not waiting for an investigation of the accusations against Franken. It makes sense that she resents the burden. Why should the spotlight be on the women of the state, when a man is accused of sexual harassment instead of solely on the accused and his alleged enablers? As Gillibrand once noted, after learning this through experience, there is no prize for being an outlying voice in holding a man accountable. Correction: Franken resigned in 2018. Florida COVID whistle-blower Rebekah Jones says she was fired for not altering the state's data Florida COVID whistle blower Rebekah Jones has claimed she received death and rape threats after being fired, allegedly for refusing to alter the state's damning pandemic numbers. Jones was a data analyst for Florida's Department of Health but was fired in May 2020. The state said she was fired for insubordination for accessing the data system and changing numbers without permission. She maintains that it is because they had been trying to convince her to play down the numbers for months. Now, she is suing the state for raiding her home as part of a cyber crimes 'investigation', claiming it infringed on her first amendment rights. In an interview with Cosmopolitan that was published on Thursday, she said that after the raid, she was left 'terrified' in her home. 'The police released my home address and my cell phone number and the school my son went to. I got death threats to my home mailing address. 'I had a couple a**hole reporters who would not leave my house no matter how much I politely asked them to,' she said, telling the magazine she had to hire a bodyguard. 'I was actually terrified,' she claimed. Jones maintains that she was fired for refusing to 'manipulate' data. A packed Florida beach earlier this week. Jones says she was fired for trying to lift the lid on how bad the problem there was 'I was fired for refusing to manipulate data to drum up support for the governors plan to reopen. 'Knowing how many people were going to get killed and that any model we did would undercount them [if we changed the data] and it not mattering to the people in charge,' she said. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Florida has always been one of the most relaxed states when it comes to COVID restrictions In November, an unauthorized hacker sent an email from the state's system to 2,000 employees saying: 'You know this is wrong. You dont have to be a part of this. Be a hero. 'Speak out before its too late.' Jones maintains that it was not her. But she does say that last year, she was told under no uncertain terms to alter the data by half to make it look like Florida's COVID problem wasn't as bad as it was. 'There were counties that had, like, 18 or 20 percent positivity. And she was like, "well, just change it to 10,"' she said. She now claims she is being made out to be a villain by Governor Ron DeSantis. Jones was a state health department data scientist credited with leading a team in the creation Florida's COVID-19 dashboard early on in the pandemic, before she was fired. Now, she runs a nationwide dashboard. Land use-induced spillover. Credit: CABI CABI scientist Dr. Arne Witt has shared his expertise on invasive alien plant species as part of a new paper which argues that healthy ecosystems are vital in reducing the risk of future pandemicssuch as coronaviruses (including COVID-19) - that threaten human health. The paper "Land use-induced spillover: priority actions for protected and conserved area managers" is published as part of a special issue by the journal PARKS entitled "COVID-19 and Protected Areas: Essential Reading for a World Haunted by a Pandemic." Lead author Dr. Jamie K. Reaseralong with a team of researchers from institutions including the African Wildlife Foundation, the University of Oklahoma and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areasrecommend practices to reduce the risk of future pandemics through 'protected and conserved area management." They rightly state that pandemic prevention 'requires that human health be regarded as an ecological service' and call upon multi-lateral conservation frameworks to recognize that 'protected area managers are in the frontline of public health safety." The scientists highlight that land use change 'drives the emergence and spread of micro-organisms (pathogens) that infest wildlife and humans with severe consequences for environmental, animal and human health." The authors underscore the fact that "The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, demonstrates society's inability to respond it a timely manner to novel pathogens. The result is mass human suffering and mortality, bringing substantial moral, ethical and economic dilemmas." "A protected and conserved areas are the most widely used approaches to securing species and ecological integrity, they have a crucial role to play in safeguarding public health." Invasive alien plants have reduced the habitat quality of the Mauritian flying fox, resulting in increased foraging in agricultural lands and urban environments. Credit: Pixabay "From our perspective, a 'healthy' ecosystem is one in which wildlife-pathogen interactions are in balance, wildlife are not overly stressed or concentrated together by land use-induced changes." The scientists say that the strategic removal of invasive alien plants, that support populations of zoonotic pathogens, vectors or hosts, can function as an ecological countermeasure. Dr. Witt said, "In Mauritius, for example, invasive alien plants have reduced the habitat quality of the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), resulting in increased foraging in agricultural lands and urban environments." "Krivek et al. (2020) showed that non-native plant invasions reduced native fruit production and that weeded forests provide a better habitat for flying foxes. They conclude that their study lends support to invasive alien plant control as a management strategy in mitigating human-wildlife conflicts." Dr. Reaser and the team of researchers put forward a series of proposals that reinforce existing conservation strategies while 'elevating biodiversity conservation as a priority health measure." The proposals include conducting surveillance about the occurrence of pathogens, or their clinical diseases, in animal or human populations as well as fostering 'landscape immunity' in conserved and protected areas. The latter of which can be achieved, the scientists suggest, by measures including not disturbing landscapes and 'retaining a full complement of native species and their inter-relationships." Dr. Reaser and her colleagues conclude by arguing that, "Nations can no longer treat conservation as a second order priority. COVID-19 shows that we should now recognize that protected areas are at the frontline of public health infrastructure and that their managers are vital to disease prevention." "Looking ahead, we have to conserve nature as if our lives depended on it." Explore further Protected areas worldwide at risk of invasive species More information: Reaser, J. K. et al. Land use-induced spillover: priority actions for protected and conserved area managers. 11 March 2021, PARKS, 27, Special Issue, 161-178. Reaser, J. K. et al. Land use-induced spillover: priority actions for protected and conserved area managers. 11 March 2021,, 27, Special Issue, 161-178. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2021.PARKS-27-SUKR.en Provided by CABI With the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, organizations across the globe are gradually flattening their recessionary curve by leveraging technology. Many businesses will go through response, recovery, and renewal phases. Building business resilience and enabling agility will aid organizations to move forward in their journey out of the COVID-19 crisis towards the Next Normal. This post-pandemic business planning research will aid clients to: Adjust their strategic planning to move ahead once business stability kicks in. to move ahead once business stability kicks in. Build Resilience by making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. Conceptualize scenario-based planning to mitigate future crisis situations. Download the Post-Pandemic Business Planning Structure Key Considerations for Market Forecast: Impact of lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, demand destruction, and change in customer behavior Optimistic, probable, and pessimistic scenarios for all markets as the impact of pandemic unfolds Pre- as well as post-COVID-19 market estimates Quarterly impact analysis and updates on market estimates Related Report on Industrials Include: Global Ball Bearings Market - Global ball bearings market is segmented by product (deep groove, angular contact, self-aligning, and others), end-user (automotive industry, heavy industry, aerospace and railway industry, and others), and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report Global Bearing Isolators Market - Global bearing isolators market is segmented by end-user (oil and gas, chemical processing and manufacturing, mining and metal processing, paper and pulp, and food and beverage), material (non-metallic bearing isolators and metallic bearing isolators), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report Major Three Bearings Market Participants: ASAHI SEIKO Co. Ltd. ASAHI SEIKO Co. Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Insert Ball Bearing Units and Linear Motion Products. The company manufactures ball bearings for all applications. C&U GROUP Ltd. C&U GROUP Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Bearing Products and Other Products and Services. The company manufactures all types of bearings, covering approximately 3,000 kinds of large, middle, small, and mini-sized product series. JTEKT Corp. JTEKT Corp. operates its business through segments such as Steering Business, Driveline Business, Bearing Business, and Machine Tools & Mechatronics Business. The company manufactures different types of bearings for all application through its brand, Koyo. If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Get report snapshot here to get a detailed market share analysis of market participants during COVID-19 lockdown: https://www.technavio.com/report/bearings-market-industry-analysis Bearings Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Bearings market is segmented as below: Product Anti-friction Bearings Magnetic Bearings Other Bearings Geography APAC Europe North America South America MEA End-user Automotive Aerospace Railway Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Other Industries The bearings market is driven by demand for high-quality bearings. In addition, other factors such as an increase in adoption of additive manufacturing are expected to trigger the bearings market toward witnessing a CAGR of almost 3% during the forecast period. Get more insights about the global trends impacting the future of the bearings market, Request Free Sample @ https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43275 Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Related Links http://www.technavio.com/ Kate Middleton has shown her support for the British high street during the coronavirus pandemic by donning a 65 pink jumper from Boden for her first in-person engagement this year. The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, who has returned to the capital after spending lockdown in Norfolk with Prince William, 38, and their three children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, visited a school in east London today to promote a mental health programme for children. The mother-of-three cut a stylish figure as she paired a bright pink jumper with a 389 blush coat from Max and Co. She finished her outfit with 130 high-waisted Jigsaw trousers, which she first wore during a visit to the Henry Fawcett Childrens Centre in Lambeth in 2019. Kate Middleton has shown her support for the British high street during the coronavirus pandemic by donning a 65 pink jumper from Boden for her first in-person engagement this year The Duchess of Cambridge, who spent lockdown in Norfolk but has now returned to London, paired the jumper with a blush Max and Co coat and a pair of high-waisted Jigsaw trousers The mother-of-three swept her hair in a bouncy pony tail, and kept her make up natural for the occasion. The royal completed her bold outfit with a simple black belt and black handbag. Perfect for the winter to spring transition, Kate's scallop hemmed jumper is described online as cosy yet 'extra feminine'. It features scalloped detailing at the neckline and cuffs, as well as a 'sophisticated semi-fitted shape.' The blush pink jumper from the quintessentially British brand features scalloped detailing and is described online as cosy yet 'extra feminine' While known as a quintessentially British brand, it may also have been chosen by the Duchess for its credentials in sustainability. The brand has proved itself to be a favourite of the Duchess during the coronavirus pandemic. In May, the royal selected a 120 baby blue wrap dress from the label for a virtual visit to a maternity ward. Meanwhile in August, photographs were released of the Duchess wearing for a 112 green shirt dress from Boden as she made a private visit to a baby bank. The Duchess swept her hair back into a ponytail for the appearance at the east London school and opted for a natural makeup look The cardigan is not the only British label the royal wore during the virtual appearance. The mother-of-three paired the pink ensemble with her pair of Jigsaw wide-leg trousers, which have become a fast favourite in her wardrobe. Throughout the pandemic, the Duchess has been flying the flag for British brands by opting for High Street stalwarts and independent labels. Last year, stylists told FEMAIL Kate's lockdown wardrobe is not only impeccably stylish and practical, but as a way of showing her dedication to her royal duties. Susie said that Kate had a clear message with her outfit choices during the lockdown, saying: 'By choosing to wear outfits from home-made brands, she is supporting, and putting her weight behind, an industry which is currently struggling. Meanwhile the Duchess opted to recycle her wig-leg Jigsaw trousers for the visit, which have become a fashion favourite for the royal in recent years (pictured left, last March, and right in March 2019) 'The message is that if these brands are good enough for the future queen to wear, it's time for everyone else to follow suit and champion British-made too.' The visit marks the first public appearance for the couple since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's bombshell interview at the weekend. The Cambridges are said to be deeply upset by the way they were attacked by the Sussexes, with Meghan accusing Kate of making her cry during a bridesmaid dress fitting ahead of the royal wedding. The visit marks the first public appearance for Kate since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's bombshell interview at the weekend The Duchess could be seen leaning in to speak with children and staff spending time in the playground during the visit And as a couple who has long campaigned on the issue of mental health, they will be finding allegations that Meghan was driven to consider suicide by her treatment by the family tough to swallow. During today's visit, William and Kate spoke to teachers about new mental health resources for schools and how they were adapting to the school's re-opening this week. The emphasis on mental health may feel prescient in the light of the Duchess of Sussex's claims that the palace failed to help her when she was feeling suicidal, but most royal visits are planned months in advance. CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunker Labs is now accepting applications for the next cohort of Veterans in Residence, which kicks off in July 2021. Veterans in Residence, a partnership of WeWork and Bunker Labs, is a six-month, early-stage business incubator that provides veteran and military family member entrepreneurs with community, a national business network, and resources to grow their business. Historically (and now contingent on public safety guidelines), each location also provides in-person WeWork coworking space and meeting rooms. Veterans in Residence is offered in cities nationwide, as well as through a virtual cohort for interested entrepreneurs without a local Veterans in Residence. Strong candidates are military veterans and military family members who have already formed a legal business entity or startup and are looking for a peer group and resources to help fuel their growth. To date, the Veterans in Residence, a Bunker Labs and WeWork partnership has had 750 veteran-owned businesses participate. Based on data from cohort 19A (which ran in the first half of 2019): 89% of veteran-owned businesses reported the program accelerated their company's growth 38% hired additional employees 44% increased run rate revenue during the program 23% raised funding between months 1 and 6 Program alumni have also gone on to win pitch competitions and accolades including the grand prize in the Bob Evans Heroes to CEOs pitch competition and funding from Google for Startup Black Founders Fund. "We are particularly excited to see applications from entrepreneurs who have formed their business and have made a few sales, but are still under $100,000 in annual revenue," said Bunker Labs Director, Entrepreneurship Ann Cardona. "Early-stage entrepreneurs who have a clear vision for the future and are working on realizing that vision are in a great position to leverage the community, resources, and accountability that Veterans in Residence offers." Apply Today: Interested startup teams and solo entrepreneurs can find more program information and application at: https://bunkerlabs.org/veterans-in-residence . For a full list of locations and current participants, visit: https://online.bunkerlabs.org/stories/veterans-in-residence-21a-cohort . About Bunker Labs: Bunker Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a national network of veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs dedicated to helping the military-connected community start their own business. Bunker Labs is committed to seeing that every entrepreneur, including small business owners, in the military-connected community has the network, tools, and resources they need to start their own business. Learn more about Bunker Labs: www.bunkerlabs.org About WeWork: WeWork is a global leader in flexible space, providing businesses of all sizes with the space, community, and services they need to help run and grow their business. With 859 locations in 151 cities and 38 countries around the world, WeWork delivers flexible space solutions to its 542,000 members worldwide. SOURCE Bunker Labs Related Links bunkerlabs.org (TNS) Honolulu, Hawaii's $11 billion rail project has a budget shortfall of $3 billion and the new interim CEO sees no clear path to plugging the deficit.The money gap comes even as the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation expects a $70 million infusion of federal COVID-19 relief funds to make up for HART's 2020 drop in general excise and transient accommodations taxes, HART's new interim CEO and executive director Lori Kahikina told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's Spotlight Hawaii online video program Wednesday.The Federal Transit Administration extended HART's deadline to come up with a financing plan from Dec. 31, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2021, for building and paying for the final leg of the 20-mile, 21-station project to Ala Moana Center.A draft of HART's response last week showed that "what we're looking at is about a $3 billion shortfall, " Kahikina said. "It's not all due to COVID. ... The majority is the increase in cost and construction costs and how we do things. There's a huge gap that we need to fill. ... I don't have the answers how to fix it." HART's board knew that bids to build the final, 4-mile, eight-station segment to Ala Moana Center came in more than $1 billion over HART's $1.4 billion budget. But board members have not been told by Kahikina that the project is $3 billion short and were surprised by her announcement Wednesday.Two HART board committees are scheduled to meet today, including the project oversight committee, and the full board is scheduled to meet on March 18.Kahikina, HART's seventh leader since voters approved the transportation board's concept in 2010, said she wants the job permanently.From her first day at HART just over two months ago, Kahikina said she has identified inefficiencies and redundancies, canceled the contract for the problem-plagued route down congested Dillingham Boulevard and is planning unspecified job cuts to HART staff, consultants and contractors.Kahikina expects to have all job decisions made by the end of the month but some already have been made."We seem to have multiple layers of consultants, contractors and our own staff doing review upon review so we've already cut some of our own staff, we've cut some of the high-paid consultants, " she said.And she's canceled the contract to build rail through Dillingham Boulevard, which is plagued by issues of burying utility lines in a tight corridor where HART does not yet have access to needed property.The original $400 million Dillingham contract ballooned to $650 million so "I did stop that, " Kahikina said. ".... The way we contracted that project was not the correct vehicle to use."Instead of running rail's overhead guideway straight down Dillingham Boulevard, Kahikina said the guideway is now planned for the mauka side, which will eliminate the need to put both makai and mauka Hawaiian Electric Co. power lines underground.But the shift means that HART will have to work with the University of Hawaii and Kamehameha Schools for rights of way to use their land.Making HART more efficient and cutting costs will not plug the $3 billion deficit, Kahikina said, but will hopefully make the rail project more attractive to getting more federal assistance, possible private support and give taxpayers greater confidence."I can't possibly ask for additional funds if we're not being prudent internally, " she said. "... People have a right to be skeptical and not trust HART. It's a tall order for our new team to overcome."The entire project was supposed to be finished by January 2020."At the risk of being shot by the public and other stakeholders, we are actually estimating maybe 2031 that everything is complete, " Kahikina said.Asked about her initial observations of HART, Kahikina said, "I do see quite a bit of redundancies and inefficiencies."She spoke of "layers upon layersof whether it's consultants, staff and the way we procure things with the contractors. It's not the most efficient way. That's the most surprising thing I've found here."But she repeated HART's position that the project has to be built all the way to Ala Moana Center, the state's busiest transit hub, and to fulfill its original funding agreement with the FTA."A lot of the feedback from the public is, 'Just kill it. Just kill it at Middle Street, '" Kahikina said.But ending rail earlier than planned would make it "a train to nowhere, "Kahikina said, while putting $800 million in federal funds in jeopardy."We have to make it, " she said, "we have to make it to Ala Moana." ADVERTISEMENT David Ijalaye, an Emeritus Professor of Law, has passed away at age 91. Although details of his death could not be ascertained at the time of this report, President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the death of the law scholar. Mr Buhari, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, on Thursday night, condoled with the academia, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and National Judicial Council (NJC) over the passing of Mr Ijalaye. President Buhari commiserates with family, friends and associates of Prof. Ijalaye, who devoted his life to the teaching and practice of law, putting in more than 34 years in service before his retirement in 1998, and devoting the rest of his life to consulting, counselling and service of humanity. The president assures that the legacies of the legal luminary will always be preserved, acknowledging that he left distinguished results as Dean, Faculty of Law, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Postgraduate Studies of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (FNIALS) and Fellow of the Nigerian Society of International Law (FNSIL). President Buhari also prayed that the Almighty God will receive his soul and comfort his family. Amongst the several posts held during his lifetime, Mr Ijalaye was the Chairman Board of Trustees of Achievers University. Last year, the legal icon lost his wife, Eunice Ijalaye, who also passed away at the age of 91. President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion economic relief package on Thursday afternoon, ushering in an aggressive infusion of federal aid in a far-reaching effort to address the toll of the coronavirus pandemic. This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country, Mr. Biden said, and giving people in this nation, working people, middle-class folks, people who built the country, a fighting chance. Mr. Biden had originally been scheduled to sign the bill on Friday, after it had been reviewed again and printed. But the president and his advisers, aware that low- and middle-income Americans are desperate for the round of direct payments that the bill includes, moved up the timeline to Thursday afternoon. Minutes after Mr. Biden signed the relief package, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said, People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend. Giving at scale by the super-wealthy has done little to redistribute wealth from rich to poor, helping perpetuate social inequalities rather than remedying them, while paying considerable dividends to donors in the form of privilege and influence in society and politics, new research shows. In the research paper 'Elite philanthropy in the United States and the United Kingdom in the new age of inequalities' researchers at the University of Bath School of Management and Newcastle University Business School also conclude that giving by the super-wealthy has failed significantly to benefit poor countries in the developing world, contrary to popular belief. "This is a difficult area for many to come to terms withit can be argued that any philanthropy is a good thing and that holds true if it is genuinely altruistic. But what we have identified is that elite philanthropy may actually be perpetuating inequality by favouring elite causes, by increasing the influence and power of the super-rich, and by increasing tolerance of inequalities by ordinary people," said Professor Mairi Maclean of the University of Bath School of Management. Maclean said the research shows how elite philanthropy conspicuously increases the social standing of the super-wealthy, with donors receiving honours, distinctions and favourable media coverage. She said much elite philanthropy supports elite causes and institutions, a source of prestige for donors but a factor in sustaining or even increasing social inequality. Maclean acknowledged that some very wealthy people have given away sizeable parts of their fortunes but said the research shows that most of their peers do not, with combined donations amounting to only a small percentage of the total wealth of the super-rich. "The fact is most super-wealthy people give very little relative to their means." Her co-researcher at Newcastle University Business School, Professor Charles Harvey, said, "The greater part of funding stays at home in developed countries. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of a handful of foundations to embrace international development, but even in this case much of the spend is on research and development in developed countries. Development funding by philanthropic foundations is in fact dwarfed by taxpayer funded spending on overseas development assistance." The research shows that funding frequently comes with strings attached, with the super-rich able to pursue personal and political agendas through major charitable foundations. Some, by dint of their financial clout, are able to influence governments and the prestigious educational institutions that attract a major part of high-end donations. "Universities like Harvard and Yale in the United States, and Oxford and Cambridge in the UK gobble up the lion's share of philanthropic funding, conferring on them a significant competitive advantage and arguably sustaining social inequality," Maclean added. Maclean said the research team identified several incentives for elite philanthropists, including the amassing of 'social and cultural capital', such as receiving honours like as knighthoods in the United Kingdom for their services to charity. Viewed in this light, donors can effectively buy their way into circles of influence and networks. Tax advantages also play a part. "In both the US and UK, philanthropists have their giving power boosted by being able to offset their donations against their tax bills. This looks, on the face of it, like a good thing to encourage giving. But it means those funds can be diverted into areas in which they have an interest or wish to exert influence or gain prestige. They, rather than governments, are effectively deciding how and where their taxes should be spent," Harvey said. Maclean said attempts to reform this tax issuemost notably an initiative by former British Chancellor George Osborne to put a cap on tax relief on donationshad failed in the recent past. Philanthropists had almost universally opposed any changes to a system that many critics believe is an unjustifiable form of state conferred elite privilege. "It is easy to be cynical about this. We do accept that many elite philanthropists act sincerely to improve the lives of others and that there are many generous and outstanding philanthropists, but we suggest that altruism alone does not explain their actions. It is far more likely that philanthropy yields substantive rewards beyond the emotional satisfactions of beneficenceand our research bears this out," Maclean said. More information: Mairi Maclean et al, Elite philanthropy in the United States and United Kingdom in the new age of inequalities, International Journal of Management Reviews (2021). Mairi Maclean et al, Elite philanthropy in the United States and United Kingdom in the new age of inequalities,(2021). DOI: 10.1111/ijmr.12247 The company reported a standout intersection of 21.5m grading 5.6 g/t gold, including 6.3 g/t over 16.7m and 37.3 g/t gold over 1m ( ) (OTCPINK:RFHRF) (FRA:9RR) revealed new results earlier this week from a 2020 drill campaign at its Parbec deposit in Quebec. The company reported a standout intersection of 21.5 metres (m) grading 5.6 grams per ton (g/t) gold, including 6.3 g/t over 16.7m and 37.3 g/t gold over 1m. The interval occurs within the pit wall of a May 2020 resource estimate on the project and represents new mineralization, according to Pickering, Ontario-based Renforth. According to a statement, the company said it expects the interval, as well as other results from the campaign, will have a positive impact on recalculating the resource estimate for Parbec. The holes drilled in the 2020 program were designed to fill in data gaps in the resource model or test for the extension of mineralization to greater depths, the company said. Highlights from other assays released this week included 1.5 g/t gold over 7.3m and 1.2 g/t gold over 3.9m. Renforth CEO Nicole Brewster told investors the company was pleased with the results from Parbec so far. We continue to generate positive, accretive data, at times with notable intervals, and with notable grade, from our shallow, open pit gold deposit on the Cadillac Break, beside Canada's largest gold mine, road accessible in an excellent jurisdiction, Brewster said in a statement. We are currently drilling at Parbec and look forward to reporting on assays for the next while from this program which, when complete, will total approximately 15,000m of new drilling and data, exceeding our previous drill total at Parbec of just under 8500m, made possible by our excellent financial position. We look forward to a resource recalculation at Parbec in the near future and getting a much clearer picture of the potential and value of this asset." Renforth said there are still another 20 holes awaiting results. An ongoing 2021 drill program at Parbec has completed 4,095m over 15 holes so far. Parbec is a wholly-owned, road accessible open pit gold deposit in Quebecs Cadillac Break, contiguous to Canadian Malartic, Canadas largest gold mine. Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas MONTVILLE The public information officer for the Chesterfield Fire Company has been charged in connection with crash scene photos he took without permission and posted to his agencys Facebook page last month, according to an arrest warrant. Steven E. Frischling, 45, of Carriage Hill Drive in Niantic, was charged with two counts of illegally taking or transmission by first responders of images of crime or accident victims, according to a warrant for his arrest. Someone convicted of this offense faces a fine of up to $2,000, up to one year in jail or both, according to statute. It was genuinely surprising, Frischling told Hearst Connecticut Media on Thursday regarding his arrest. Frischling, who is still actively serving in his PIO role with no changes to his duties or responsibilities, said hes very familiar with the law and does not believe he violated it. The statute says that first responders are prohibited from photographing a person and disseminating the images without the consent of that person or of a member of that persons immediate family other than in the performance of his or her duties. Those 10 words define my job, Frischling said. My duties as a PIO are to inform the public on what their firefighters are doing, what their EMTs are doing. It is not to harm somebody thats been involved in an accident, which is why when you look at the photographs, you cant see a victim. Frischling, a fire company member for three years and public information officer for more than a year, said he holds multiple certifications from state, federal and other entities in public information, social media in emergency management, external affairs and communications. He said he takes great care ... to make sure there are no victims in my pictures. He said he shared the photos with the description of the crash to inform people of what happened, especially since the collision shut down a major intersection for more than an hour. Montville police began investigating a post Frischling made Feb. 7 on the fire companys Facebook page regarding a two-car crash on Route 85 at Grassy Hill Road where three people were taken to the hospital with injuries, according to the warrant. The warrant said Frischling is accused of posting photographs of victims at an accident scene on social media without their permission. Frischling was taken into custody Tuesday and was released on a $1,000 bond. He is expected in court on April 15. While the photos Frischling posted on Facebook appear to be similar to ones from other crash sites posted on the page, the warrant states he did not receive permission from the victims involved in the Grassy Hill Road accident. Photos are also usually blurred to cover license plates or to protect the identities of the victims. In the Grassy Hill post, Frischling included a disclaimer: Images may have a digital blur to obscure portions of a patients identity and their license plate. Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said that while he couldnt speak to the specifics of the law, he had concerns that criminal charges were brought against Frischling for photos that he said could have been taken by any member of the public. Regardless of his position, criminalizing that type of action is a real concern, Silverman said. But Montville Police Lt. David Radford wrote in the warrant that Frischling posted the victims photos without consent. Radford said the driver of one of the vehicles involved in the accident had to be extricated. The pictures of the scene included occupants of the vehicles, and in one particular picture, the victim was still in the vehicle being extricated, Radford wrote in the warrant. A second photo also depicted a male standing next to an individual being strapped to a stretcher for transports. On March 3, Radford met with the victims attorney who said their client was still in a rehabilitation facility after the crash, the warrant said. The attorney told Radford, the victim would not want his information posted on social media and the victim did not give anyone permission to post his picture on Facebook or any other social media, the warrant said. The lawyer claimed a juvenile family member was affected by the crash because of the post. The images and accident summary remain on the fire companys Facebook page. Ultimately what you have here is a law thats criminalizing the publication of photos that are taken in a public space and that involve a newsworthy incident like a car accident, and that is the concern, Silverman said. This is a PIO whose duty is to inform the public, and he was doing so by taking these photographs and posting them. On March 5, Radford met with Frischling at Montville Town Hall. When questioning Frischling about the photos, Radford asked if he obtains permission from victims to take the images and post them. The accused stated that for one, permission in the right of the public view is not required and any face is blurred, the warrant said. Frischling told Radford there is no requirement to obtain any permission from a victim in the right of the public view in any photo, according to the warrant. It said he also referred to the victims faces as pixelated and unidentifiable. Frischling told Radford the Chesterfield Fire Company has an internal policy to pixelate or blur any photos that show a victims face, the warrant states. On Thursday, Fire Chief Keith Truex, who accompanied Frischling when he was interviewed by Radford, confirmed that Frischling was not on administrative leave nor has any action been taken against him due to his arrest. There were no court records on the states judicial website for Frischlings case as of Thursday. United Nations: The UN Security Council unanimously called for a reversal of the military coup in Myanmar on Wednesday (March10), strongly condemning the violence against peaceful protesters and calling for "utmost restraint" by the military. A presidential statement approved by all 15 council members including Myanmar's neighbor and friend China was formally adopted at a very brief virtual meeting where US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the current council president, announced that the statement had been agreed. A presidential statement is a step below a resolution but becomes part of the official record of the UN's most powerful body. The British-drafted statement calls for the immediate release of government leaders including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint who have been detained since their ouster in the February 1 military coup. It supports the country's democratic transition and "stresses the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence, fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and uphold the rule of law." China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said in a statement that "it is important the council members speak in one voice," and declared that it's now time for de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue. Thomas-Greenfield also stressed that all council members "spoke with one voice to condemn the ongoing violence against peaceful protesters." "We commend their courage and determination in the face of continued, brutal attacks by military and security forces," she said in a statement. "The United States will continue to work with a broad coalition of international partners to promote accountability for the coup and those responsible for violence, and will work to restore the democratically-elected government." The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under strict military rule that led to international isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grip, culminating in Suu Kyi's rise to power after the 2015 elections, the international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investment into the country. Lawmakers from Suu Kyi's party, which won 82 percent of the vote in November elections, were about to take their seats in parliament when the coup took place on February 1. Its leaders claimed electoral fraud, allegations the electoral commission had rejected. Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the United Kingdom proposed the statement in light of "the deteriorating situation in Myanmar to send a unified message from the Security Council" to build on its February 4 press statement. It strongly backed a return to democracy and called for the immediate release of Suu Kyi and all those arbitrarily detained by the military. Opposition to the coup is being spearheaded by young people who lived in freedom for 10 years, and it has wide support throughout the country from civil servants, railway workers who were targeted Wednesday (March 10), Buddhist monks, and people of all classes and ages. Security forces have responded with mass arrests and at times lethal force. At least 60 protesters have been killed since the military takeover, according to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Authorities have also moved to shut down independent reporting, both through arrests of journalists and the closure of media outlets but the protests have continued despite the crackdowns and increasingly violent tactics of security forces. The presidential statement which all council members signed on to Wednesday is weaker than the initial draft circulated by the United Kingdom which would have condemned the military coup in Myanmar and threatened "possible measures under the UN Charter" UN language for sanctions "should the situation deteriorate further." Diplomats said council members China, Russia, India, which is also a neighbor of Myanmar, and Vietnam, which is a member of the 10-nations Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN, along with Myanmar, objected to provisions in stronger earlier drafts of the statement. Nonetheless, it will be the first presidential statement on Myanmar adopted since 2017 and reflects council unity in trying to reverse the coup. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed hope the statement will make the military realize "that it is absolutely essential to release all prisoners, it is absolutely essential to respect the results of the elections, and to allow for a situation in which we move back to a democratic transition." Despite all the "imperfections" in Myanmar's democracy, which was under heavy military control, Guterres told reporters "I believe that it is important to go back to where we were before the coup." The council statement also addressed the military crackdown in 2017 against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State involving mass rape, murders and the torching of villages that led more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. It "highlights that the current situation has the potential to exacerbate existing challenges in Rakhine state and other regions." The statement also expresses concern that recent developments pose particular serious challenges for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons." "It is vital that the rights of minorities are fully protected," it stressed. Live TV Northrop Grumman, a Virginia-based company, specializing in defense and aerospace technologies, is reportedly making an M230 chain gun known as the Sky Viper. Moreover, it is also in the process of developing the so-called "suicide drone," a new loitering munition. These high-tech defense technologies were created in conjunction with the Future Vertical Lift effort (FVL) of the Army, which aims to produce the most modern aircraft equipment to replace the old helicopters. Development of Suicide Drone and Sky Chain Viper Gun According to a report by The Drive, the information came from the contractor of Northrop. During the media roundtable, which happened on Mar. 10, details about the automatic cannon and suicide drone were revealed. Besides the new weapons, there are also two big programs on the way. The first one is the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft or the FLRAA, which is said to be replacing the UH-60 Black Hawk family. The second one is the armed scout helicopter known as the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft or FARA. Furthermore, the FARA is set to be equipped with a 20mm cannon. This is a part of the Army's plans for their mission in seeking the best aircraft technology. Meanwhile, the Sky Viper, together with the GD XM915 gun, has undergone an evaluation of the DEVCOM AC (Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center). On the other hand, Northrop said that the suicide drone is part of the ALE program's requirement. It is said that it is made of the Hero 400 and Hero 120 suicide drone components, which both came from the UVision of Israel. When the two are merged, the product will now be called Hero ALE (Air-Launched Effect). The two Hero 400 designs, which UVision offered, are aimed at a specific target during combat. They made use of electrically-operated Hero 400EC, which weighs more than 88 lbs. The said equipment is also powered by gasoline. Read Also: Electromagnetic Drone Defense System Unveiled By UK Defense Firm Suicide Drone and Sky Viper Chain Gun Features Israel is the leading pioneer when it comes to loitering munitions. They are described as small unmanned aircraft that are also incorporated with old-fashioned missiles. Usually, the equipment uses the man-in-the-loo-type control system, enabling the lookers to view what the drone sees using the onboard sensor for surveillance and blasting capacity. There is also a sensor turret located in the nose where infrared and electro-optical cameras are installed. Now that defense tech companies are continuously improving their products, the said equipment also comes with high accuracy when aiming at mobile targets. The detected strike can also be stopped at the desired period, like in the case of the target's disappearance. Using loitering munitions is a safe way to spy on an enemy or a target without human involvement. It benefits from its sensors where the target's particular location can be detected through communication nodes or radars for fast-tracking. This is what the Army wants to achieve, and this is also part of the outline for future ALEs. On the other hand, Guns Operating Unity deputy director of Northrop, Quinn Canole, said that the 20mm cannon is expected to display an impressive capability that could surpass other Gatling guns. Besides, Canole stated that they also aim to lighten its load and improve its recoil system regarding the requirements set by FARA. Northrop is also reported to be focusing on chain gun technology because it provides a more accurate focus over other weapon mechanisms. As per Defense News, Canole further said that the newly-launched gun could come at part with Apache in terms of an improved fire rate. "To go into a little bit more detail on that, we have performed risk reduction testing on non-firing prototypes. We have physical prototypes, we've been able to function and ensure that all of the subsystems of the weapon are operating the way we intend them to," Canole said. In comparison to Gatling gun, they are headed to revamp the accuracy level so only fewer but more accurate shots will be fired at the target. This article is owned by Tech Times. Written by Joen Coronel 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. JEE Main 2021 Admit Card news: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the admit card for JEE Main March 2021 exam. Candidates can access and download their admit cards from jeemain.nta.nic.in. The NTA site has three links for downloading the admit card. In case one link is not functional due to heavy load or any other technical glitch, students can download their admit cards using the alternate links. Here's how to download JEE Main admit card Step 1: Visit the official website-- jeemain.nta.nic.in Step 2: Click on the "Download JEE (Main) 2021 March (Session-2) Admit Card Paper-1" link Step 3: After this, you will be redirected to a new window Step 4: Fill in details like application number, date of birth and mentioned security pin. After this, hit the submit option Step 5: Download and take a printout of the admit card for future reference The JEE Mains admit card 2021 will consist of details like the name of the candidate, roll number, exam centre, reporting time, and exam instructions. Candidates will have to carry their admit card, hand sanitiser, passport size photograph, valid photo ID proof, self-declaration form, PwD certificate if needed, and a transparent water bottle. JEE Mains March session 2021 exam will be conducted from March 15-18, 2021. In order to get the latest updates, students are advised to visit the official website. Also read: Shillong Teer Game result March 11: Timings, Where and how to check Also read: Two-day bank strike: SBI, Bank of Maharashtra services likely to be hit; here's what you should do Supporter of pro-democracy activists cries after court grants bail to 15 of 47 democracy activists charged with subversion over national security law at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, in Hong Kong, China, on March 4, 2021. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) Hundreds of Hong Kong Civil Servants May Lose Jobs for Refusing to Pledge Allegiance to CCP Many public servants in Hong Kong may be forced to quit their jobs because they refused to pledge an oath of loyalty to the Chinese regime. All Hong Kong civil servants were required to take an oath or sign a declaration to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) by the end of February. On March 8, Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, the secretary for the Civil Service, stated in a press conference that nearly 200 civil servants are about to leave their jobs as they have refused to sign the declaration and pledge of allegiance. Nip said that civil servants must know that being patriotic is to love the Peoples Republic of China, and the governing body of the Peoples Republic of China is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As we dont have faith in civil servants who refuse to sign the declaration, we will go through relevant procedures and ask them to resign, he added. According to official figures from the Civil Service Bureau, there are more than 177,000 civil servants in Hong Kong, excluding judges and judicial staff, officers at the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and locally engaged staff working in Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices. Many civil servants participated in the pro-democracy protests when millions of citizens took to the streets in recent years to oppose an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial. The extradition bill has since been scrapped. These civil servants also organized their own rallies to speak out against the bill. On June 30, 2020, Chinas rubber-stamp legislature unanimously passed a new national security law for Hong Kong. Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong could face four types of charges under the new billsecession, subversion of state power, terrorism, and collusion with foreign powers. Starting at the end of 2020, Hong Kong civil servants have been required to sign a declaration to pledge allegiance to the Basic Law and SAR government, and senior servants must take an oath. According to Nips statement at the time, these were job entry requirements for new civil servants, and current government employees who refused to sign would be suspended from their post. China affairs commentator Zhuge Yangming said he believes that pledging loyalty to the Hong Kong government is equivalent to pledging loyalty to the CCP. Western countries are likely to further impose sanctions on Beijing and Hong Kong, as Chinese central authorities have broken their promise to the people of Hong Kong, he said. Early Retirement or Emigration A Hong Kong resident surnamed Xin (a pseudonym) told The Epoch Times that her husband is a senior contract engineer for a government project, but he doesnt plan to renew his contract when the project is completed. Xin said they plan to emigrate to the United Kingdom in the summer over concerns of her job as a media professionalshe may inadvertently violate the national security law, causing trouble for everyone in the family, especially their children. Although its going to be a new environment, and there will be many unknowns after we leave Hong Kong, its still better than having our kids grow up in Hong Kong facing constant brainwashing at school, Xin said. A government employee who only gave her first name, Nicole, revealed to the publication that many of her colleagues have privately said that they didnt want to sign the declaration. However, some employees received official notices, which requires them to provide a formal explanation for refusing to sign and warned of a disciplinary investigation and hearing if they insisted to refuse. We do not dare to openly express our views, as Hong Kong is no longer a safe place for free expression, Nicole said. Only pro-Beijing groups dare to comment on political affairs. I heard that the Hong Kong government started to check social media comments of all civil servants, getting ready to punish pro-democracy employees. Nicole said that she eventually gave in and signed the declaration. One of her colleagues also waited until the last minute to sign and has decided to emigrate to Australia or the UK soon. Nicole noted that the number of employees leaving from their jobs this year is much higher than last yearthe information was based on data that was posted on a bulletin board at her workplace. They are using various excuses to resign, such as early retirement or emigration, she said. Nicole has decided to leave Hong Kong at some point, for the future of her children. But for now, she cannot leave the city because she has to take care of her parents. Hong Kong is a completely different place now. It has become a big prison, and anything crazy can happen in this city, she said. Investigations editor Larry Parnass, investigations editor, joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant and CommonWealth Magazine. Republicans believe that their ticket to a House majority in 2022 is playing up the southern border crisis. On Thursday, House GOP leadership and more than a dozen of their members gathered outside the Capitol Building for a press conference about 'Biden's Border Crisis,' as the signage put it. 'It's disorder at the border by executive order, to channel Dr. Seuss,' said Rep. John Katko, one of the speakers. He also charged the Biden administration with 'twisting itself into a pretzel to avoid saying the dreaded word "crisis."' House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy gathered GOP House leadership and more than a dozen members Thursday morning to hold a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on 'Biden's Border Crisis' President Joe Biden is being hammered by Republicans for the uptick of migrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans on Capitol Hill believe the border 'crisis' can be their ticket back to the majority in the House President Joe Biden ended the emergency order that had green-lit funding for former President Donald Trump's border wall. Now a construction site in Sunland Park, New Mexico is mostly abandoned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who took the podium first, said Biden's policies created said crisis. 'Because on his very first day of this administration there wasn't a plan to open up American business or American schools, President Biden announced it was his priority to offer citizenship to 11 million undocumented immigrants,' McCarthy said. 'What did he think would happen?' the top House Republican mused. McCarthy also pointed out that more than 100,000 migrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in February. 'That's a larger populartion than President Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania,' he noted. Earlier in the day, Punchbowl News reported that Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, had spoken at the Republican Study Committee's lunch on Wednesday and said the situation at the southern border will be the key to the GOP taking back the House in next year's midterms. Cotton urged his Republican colleagues to drill it into Americans' heads that Biden's policies created a 'crisis' at the border. A new CNN poll shows immigration as the subject area where Biden is getting the lowest marks, with 49 per cent disapproving of the Democrat's handling, compared to 43 per cent who approve. By comparison, Biden received 60 per cent approval on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. About a third, 34 per cent, disapproved. Former President Donald Trump implemented hardline immigration policies - including using an emergency order to construct portions of a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Biden canceled that emergency. Trump also changed the U.S.'s asylum policy and made migrants waiting for their cases to be heard to 'wait in Mexico.' Biden plans to bring them in. The White House has been taking incoming for days over the uptick in border crossings, including an influx of unaccompanied minors. The Biden administration decided to house the unaccompanied minors instead of sending them back, leading to facilities having to be more lax about COVID occupancy rules. Biden officials have tried to avoid calling the situation a 'crisis.' 'I'm not trying to be cute here, but I think the fact of the matter is: We have to do what we do regardless of what anybody calls the situation,' Southern Border Ambassador Roberta Jacobson said at the briefing Wednesday. 'And the fact is, we are all focused on improving the situation, on changing to a more humane and efficient system.' Trump, in his remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference late last month, used Biden's immigration policies to drag his former political rival over the coals. 'It took the new administration only a few weeks to turn this unprecedented accomplishment into a self-inflicted humanitarian and national security disaster,' Trump said, noting that his wall 'helped us a lot.' While the House's No. 2 Republican Steve Scalise warned Thursday that there were 'superspreader caravans' coming to the United States, Trump and Republicans used similar scare tactics in the run-up to the 2018 midterm election without success. In that election, Democrats took back the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years, giving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the gavel once more. Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. 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. Federal officials are considering temporarily housing unaccompanied migrant children at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. The Department of Health and Human Services and NASAs Ames Research Center, that owns and operates Moffett Field, are coordinating a site assessment of some currently vacant property to determine whether certain facilities at the site might be suitable to temporarily provide shelter space in the future, a spokesperson from Ames Research said. "This effort will have no impact on NASAs ability to conduct its primary missions," the statement said. The Department of Health and Human Services wasn't immediately available for comment on this story, but Ames Research said the federal department has requested federal agencies to determine whether they have vacant properties available and suitable for potential future use as influx care facilities to provide temporary emergency shelter and services. Mofffett Field is former U.S. Naval facility now serving as a civil-military airport that's spread across a massive swath of land at the south end of San Francisco Bay Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images The number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the U.S. southwest border has surged to levels not seen since before the pandemic, a challenge for President Joe Biden as he works to undo the restrictive immigration policies of his predecessor. Statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the number of children and families increased by more than 100% between January and February. Kids crossing by themselves rose 60% to more than 9,400, forcing the government to look for new places to hold them temporarily. The surge has been seized on by Republicans and former President Donald Trump as a line of attack on Biden, though his administration is turning back nearly all single adults, who make up the majority of border-crossers, under a public health order imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration is temporarily holding children and families, mostly from Central America, for several days. They are generally then allowed to enter the U.S. while authorities evaluate their claims to asylum or see if they have any other legal right to stay in the country. U.S. officials say that early Biden administration moves on immigration have likely been portrayed by smugglers to migrants that they will be able to cross the southwest border more easily than under Trump. Most people are still turned back. Nearly three-quarters of the more than 100,000 total people encountered at the southwest border in February were single adults, records show, and the vast majority were quickly sent back across the border to Mexico under the public health order. The Associated Press contributed to this story. I have long believed that some crimes are so horrendous as to demand the penalty of death. As an attorney general of Alabama in the 1970s, I led the effort to bring back Alabamas death penalty after the U.S. Supreme Court ended capital punishment nationwide in 1972. As a lifelong defender of the death penalty, I do not lightly say what follows: An innocent man is trapped on Alabamas death row. His name is Toforest Johnson, and Alabama must not execute him. Johnsons murder trial was so deeply flawed, the evidence presented against him so thin, that no Alabamian should tolerate his incarceration, let alone his execution. This is why I have joined eight former Alabama prosecutors and two former chief justices of Alabama in calling for Johnsons conviction to be set aside. In my opinion, two standards must be met to warrant capital punishment. First, the crime must be sufficiently heinous. That certainly applies here: Jefferson County Sheriffs Deputy William Hardy, wearing his uniform, was shot in the head and killed shortly after midnight on July 19, 1995, in the parking lot of the hotel where he was working a second job as a security guard. However, the second prerequisite has not been met: Before putting someone to death, we must be absolutely certain of their guilt. In this case, the facts point to the outright innocence of the defendant, Johnson. No physical evidence links him to the crime. Alibi witnesses place him across town at the time of Hardys death. The only witness against him was paid $5,000 for her testimony (which was that, while eavesdropping, she overheard someone she thought was Johnson admitting to the crime). The defense was not informed of this payment. Most shockingly, though, the prosecution presented five completely different theories of who killed Hardy at different court proceedings. I first learned of this case from my son, an attorney, who had heard about it from a colleague. Over the course of my career, I had received many requests from people wanting me to speak out against certain executions. I couldnt help them because when I looked at the facts, I found the crimes to be heinous and the accused to be guilty beyond any doubt. I assumed Johnsons case would be the same, and at first I ignored it. My son persisted, though, and when I finally examined the facts, I was so shocked that I could hardly believe that this had occurred in our states court system. In my 56-year career as an Alabama lawyer, only twice have I discovered that an innocent man was sentenced to die. The first case was that of Clarence Norris the last survivor of the Scottsboro Boys, nine Black teenagers accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. I was elected attorney general almost 40 years after Norris was sentenced to death. Convinced of his innocence, I lobbied then-Gov. George Wallace, a Democrat, to pardon Norris, which he did in 1976. Johnsons case is the second time I have been moved to take action. I know most of the people involved in this case, including judges and attorneys on both sides, and I believe them to be good people. Somehow, though, this case came off the tracks. Good people sometimes make serious mistakes. But its not too late to correct them. Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, whose predecessors in the office prosecuted Johnson 22 years ago, spent nearly nine months reviewing the facts of the case, talking to witnesses and consulting with the family of the victim. He concluded last June that Johnson deserved a new trial, and he asked the court to grant one. Now, so have I. Before I became attorney general, I was a district attorney, so I understand Carrs responsibility to pursue justice. If I were the district attorney and I were presented with the facts as we now know them, I would not seek to authorize charges. If I were a judge presiding over a case with these facts, I would not let the question of guilt go to the jury. If I were a juror and heard these facts, I would not vote to convict. Given where the case now is, if I worked for the state of Alabama and there was anything I could do to correct this injustice, I would do it immediately. I never have known anyone in Alabamas courts or law enforcement who would knowingly go along with executing an innocent man. But unless Johnson is granted a new trial, we risk doing so. This would be an offense against all Alabamians even those who, like me, believe in the death penalty. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 19:11:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A man receives a shot of China-aided vaccine in Conakry, capital of Guinea, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua) "If the weakest link is in some faraway country wherever the COVID-19 is still ... prevalent, we will all have ... mutations of COVID-19 which will defeat the vaccines already exist," said a renowned U.S. expert. WASHINGTON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China's pledge and action to make its COVID-19 vaccine a global public good will help strengthen "the weakest link" in the world's battle against the pandemic, a renowned U.S. expert has said. "I think China's doing about it the right way," Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies, told Xinhua recently, when talking about China's dispatching vaccines to countries in dire need. "If the weakest link is in some faraway country wherever the COVID-19 is still ... prevalent, we will all have ... mutations of COVID-19 which will defeat the vaccines already exist," he said. As vaccine researchers are working around the clock to offer stronger and broader protection against COVID-19, preliminary data from a study in Brazil indicates that a type of vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech is effective against the P1 variant first detected in Brazil, Sao Paulo State Governor Joao Doria confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday. A health worker holds a dose of CoronaVac, a vaccine against COVID-19 from China, on the first day of inoculation for people over 90 years old, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Rahel Patrasso/Xinhua) Gupta expressed the hope that China will continue proceeding forward with distributing vaccines "as widely as possible in the developing world" under the World Health Organization's COVAX framework. As a steadfast advocate for equitable vaccine distribution, China has joined COVAX, under which China has undertaken to provide an initial 10 million doses of domestic vaccine for emergency use in developing countries. China has also donated vaccines to peacekeepers from various countries and is ready to work with the International Olympic Committee to provide vaccines to Olympians, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a press conference on Sunday. So far, China has donated or is donating COVID-19 vaccines to 69 developing countries in urgent need, and is exporting vaccines to 43 countries, Wang said, noting that China has worked in real earnest to improve vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries. "In the long arc of things, the truth will be understood by people who ultimately get the jab," said Gupta. Gupta also slammed the so called China's "vaccine diplomacy" invented by some Western politicians and media outlets. A medical worker receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital on the outskirts of Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Feb. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal) "I think that it's been an unfortunate (thing that) the way even good deeds ... have been framed in an adversarial way," he said. Many rich countries, Gupta said, claimed to practice multilateralism in vaccine distribution, but they are "very unilateral," and stuck to their own national priorities, keeping "excessive stockpiles at their ends, without thinking of other poorer people." "It really doesn't matter if a Western media house is trying to create an alternative narrative about that, it is about people on the ground and their health matters," he said. The majority of developing countries have been unable to administer a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while rich nations have vaccinated their citizens at a rate of one person per second over the last month, said the People's Vaccine Alliance, a global coalition of organizations and activists, on Tuesday. "Vaccines are a powerful weapon against the virus and bring hope for saving lives. They should serve the entire world and benefit all humanity," Wang told reporters on Sunday. "We hope that all capable countries will do what they can to provide vaccines to countries in need, especially developing countries, so that people all over the world will have access to affordable vaccines, vaccines that truly benefit people," he said. Newcomb Sex Abuse, Drug Case Continued to April By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - A Paducah man facing numerous sex and drug-related charges was in court on Wednesday.According to the McCracken Circuit Court Clerk, 19-year-old Joseph Newcomb appeared for a pretrial conference, which was continued to April 19.He was arrested on September 30 after someone reported seeing two people in a vehicle smoking marijuana. Newcomb reportedly told police the girl with him was his 14-year-old cousin but later admitted they were not related. The girl told police she was 12-years-old.Officers said Newcomb exchanged marijuana for sexual contact with the girl. They also searched the vehicle and both people's phones.Newcomb was charged with second-degree sexual abuse, promoting a minor in a sexual performance, use of electronics to procure a minor for sex, second-degree sodomy, unlawful transaction with a minor, tampering with evidence, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to use a turn signal. Youre hoofing your way up perfectly spaced switchbacks when the thought hits you. Man, this trail is... perfect. But that perfection takes work. A lot of work. And this week on the Peak Northwest podcast, we talk with two representatives from Trailkeepers of Oregon, a nonprofit that organizes trail work parties and is dedicated to preserving and improving the hiking experience in our state. Some highlights: Amariah Jean-Baptiste and Susan Schen tell us about their organization and the importance of maintaining Oregons trails. We discuss how folks can get involved with Trailkeepers of Oregon and what trail work looks like in the COVID-19 era. We discuss other ways to give back, aside from doing physical trail work. Amariah tells listeners how to get in touch with Trailkeepers of Oregon. We review the features of OregonHikers.org , an excellent resource for you guessed it Oregon hikers. Heres the full episode. Subscribe to Peak Northwest on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Follow Peak Northwest on Instagram at @PeakNorthwest. -- Jim Ryan and Jamie Hale Public Safety Minister Bill Blair rises during question period in the House of Commons on Nov. 27, 2020. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Blair Grilled Over Quarantine Hotel Safeguards After Reports of Alleged Sexual Assaults Public Safety Minister Bill Blair claimed he has no say regarding the operation of quarantine hotels at a parliamentary committee hearing on March 10, during which he was grilled by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs over safeguards for guests at federally approved quarantine hotels. The operation of the designated quarantine facilities is entirely under the authority of the Public Health Agency of Canada. I actually have no jurisdiction over those matters, Blair testified before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. Blair was replying to a question from Stubbs as to whether risk assessments on the safety and security standards at quarantine hotels were done to protect the Canadians made to stay there to comply with federal travel restrictions. Operators have been telling single women not to tell people of their location and to leave their doors unlocked, and that in some cases there are no locks on the doors within those quarantine facilities at all, Stubbs said. Blair said he has no jurisdiction over the file, saying Stubbs is simply misinformed as to his role. Thank you for the condescension, Stubbs replied. I do expect though, that almost every single Canadian would hope that the minister of public safety of this country would avail it of himself to ensure that Canadians are safe and secure within facilities or at home trying to comply with rules that the federal government has set. A government order that took effect Feb. 22 requires all non-essential travellers entering Canada by air to stay at a federally approved hotel for up to three nights at the start of a 14-day quarantine. Travellers pay up to $2,000 for the accommodations and can leave once a COVID-19 test taken at the airport comes back negative. Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs rises during question period in the House of Commons on March 8, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) On Feb. 24, the Conservatives called on the Liberal government to scrap the federal quarantine hotel program after reports of two women being sexually assaulted related to quarantine measures. One of the incidents allegedly happened at a quarantine hotel in Montreal on Feb. 16, while the other was tied to a compliance check at a womans home in Oakville, Ont., on Feb. 18. Police have arrested two men in relation to the cases. Stubbs asked Blair if any background check is conducted on quarantine screening officers before they are hired. He again said the question should be directed to PHAC, but said he took the allegations seriously. The events that are alleged are criminal in nature, they must be thoroughly investigated, perpetrators must be held to account, he said. I can assure this committee that I understand these matters are being investigated by the police .. and that our agencies, in particular the RCMP, will provide support in that ongoing investigation as required. Minister of Health Patty Hajdu speaks during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa, on Dec. 4, 2020. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Health Minister Patty Hajdu, who also testified before the committee, was repeatedly asked by Conservative health critic Michelle Rempel Garner whether the federal government has data showing the quarantine hotel program is more effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 variants than at-home quarantine coupled with pre- and post-arrival testing. Hajdu didnt answer Rempel Garners question directly and there was a back-and-forth between the two, leading to Liberal MP Angelo Iacono accusing the health critic behaving like a bit of a bully. I would argue that the woman who experienced sexual assault at the quarantine hotel due to this lack of data would in fact be the woman who would have experienced bullying, Rempel Garner retorted. Hajdu eventually said that the data is incomplete internationally. We are as a world trying to figure out what the best approach is to prevent the importation of COVID-19, the combination of quarantine, and testing, and it is under study, she said. When Conservative MP Glen Motz asked Hajdu to table the data to the committee regardless of it being incomplete, she clarified, No, what Im saying is that the data is incomplete to determine the best approach at the border to manage COVID-19. On March 8, the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF), an advocacy group, announced it has launched a legal challenge against Ottawas hotel quarantine policy, arguing it violates Canadians fundamental rights. The CCF has filed an application with Ontarios Superior Court of Justice along with five individuals who have just returned from travelling or imminently need to travel. It notes in a press release that while there are exemptions from quarantine hotels for travellers entering Canada for compassionate reasons, there are no specific exemptions for travellers who must leave Canada for compassionate reasons. The individual applicants in this challenge must leave Canada for incredibly compassionate and sympathetic reasons. Their need to travel is unimpeachable, said CCF litigation director Christine Van Geyn. It is frankly bizarre and cruel that the federal government provides specific exemptions for compassionate travel into Canada, but not for the reverse situation of individuals travelling out of Canada for compassionate reasons. Thats why we are bringing this constitutional challenge. The application names the Attorney General of Canada as the defendant. With files from The Canadian Press. Nadine Dorries today claimed nurses will understand the proposed 1 per cent pay rise because it could help their partners continue to bring in a wage via the furlough scheme. The health minister and former nurse said she would pay NHS professionals millions 'if it was up to me' amid a furious response to the controversial proposal. She claimed that Downing Street has been forced to make 'tough choices' throughout the pandemic, including continuing the furlough scheme until September. Speaking to BBC Woman's Hour, she said: 'If I could quote a nurse manager of a vaccine centre that I spoke to on Saturday, this is what she said: "We have two children in our house, two of us, two wages coming in and one mortgage going out." '"If I had to choose between my husband being furloughed until the Autumn and a pay rise, I would choose my husband being furloughed any day, because now we have the security that our mortgage can be paid". 'And she also said: "I completely get it".' Nadine Dorries (pictured) claimed she would pay medical professionals millions 'if it was up to me' amid a furious response to the controversial proposal The former nurse added that she thinks most nurses understand why the pay rise is smaller than hoped, adding: 'They understand that is a very important decision we had to make and it was also an incredibly expensive decision to the public purse.' Ms Dorries said: 'We all know the position the economy is in at the moment and we all want to see that economy recover because without a strong economy we can't fund the NHS. 'What I would hope is that nurses will stick with us, and I'll go back to my vaccine centre manager who told me 'Nurses get it'. They actually get it.' It comes as Boris Johnson yesterday hinted at a shift on NHS pay as he suggested nurses could be treated 'exceptionally'. Mr Johnson wriggled as he was berated by Labour's Keir Starmer during a tetchy PMQs session, with the Labour leader comparing the proposed 1 per cent for health staff to the 40 per cent hike for ex-aide Dominic Cummings. She claimed that Downing Street has been forced to make 'tough choices' throughout the pandemic, including to continue the furlough scheme until September Boris Johnson wriggled as he was berated by Labour's Keir Starmer during a tetchy PMQs session on Wednesday Sir Keir demanded that MPs be given a vote on the 'real-terms cut'. Unions have threatened strikes over the 'insulting' increase while Tories are restive. Ministers have so far argued that the bump is all the country can afford with coronavirus sending national debt soaring towards 2.8trillion, and pointed out that the rest of the public sector is facing a freeze. But the premier fuelled speculation of a shift on Wednesday by stressing that the pay review body will consider the evidence. 'Of course we will look at what the independent pay review body has to say exceptionally about the nursing profession for whom we particularly value,' he told MPs. Sir Keir accused Mr Johnson of clapping for carers last year before choosing to 'shut the door in their face at the first opportunity' via the 1 per cent pay rise. NHS workers staged protests over the pay move outside Downing Street at the weekend The Labour leader told the Commons: 'There are currently 40,000 nursing vacancies and 7,000 doctors vacancies. How on Earth does he think a pay cut will solve that? 'Frankly, I'd take the Prime Minister a bit more seriously if he hadn't spent 2.6million of taxpayers' money on a Downing Street TV studio or 200,000 on new wallpaper for his flat. 'They say charity starts at home but I think the Prime Minister is taking it a bit too literally.' But Mr Johnson denied that staff will be 'hundreds of pounds worse off a year' because of the Budget moves, and insisted the Conservatives are the 'party of the NHS'. 'We're increasing pay for nurses, we're massively increasing our investment in the NHS,' he said. 'We're steering a steady course, whereas he weaves and wobbles from one week to the next.' HAMDEN Authorities are still investigating the cause of a fire that claimed a mans life on Hill Road Tuesday night, as well as the circumstances surrounding his death. Chief Medical Examiner James Gill said Thursday his office also was looking into the cause and manner of Frank Mangieros death, and both remained pending. Fire Marshal Brian Dolan said Thursday the cause of the fire at 775 Hill St. remained under investigation. Dolan said in a prior email that the Fire Department was dispatched at 10:16 p.m. Tuesday after the fire was called in by numerous neighbors. Assistant Chief Charles Lubowicki reported heavy fire in the breezeway and garage that was spreading into the house, Dolan said in the email. Two occupants of the home were able to safely evacuate the home. One exited the home through a bedroom window. Another occupant exited through the front door and notified fire department personnel that another person was still inside the house, Dolan said. Rescue crews began an aggressive interior search of the home while other crews worked to extinguish the fire. Dolan has said the Hamden Fire Marshals Office, Police Department, and Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit were called to the scene to investigate the cause and origin of the fire. Two unidentified people were hospitalized to be treated for smoke inhalation, then released, Dolan said. Two cats perished in the fire. Mangiero was found inside the home. He was remembered as a devoted family man, former deli owner and a joyous person who would just befriend anyone Wednesday, as family and friends grappled with the loss. Mangiero was a funny, joyous man, an excellent cook, known and respected in the Free Mason community, Steven R. Mullins, past master of Annawon Lodge 115 in West Haven, said. He was quick with a joke and wore a smile even in stressful situations. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this, he said. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report. On Sunday, March 14 at 3PM CT, the Tennessee Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee will be holding a weekly meeting. The WSWS encourages teachers from across the state to register for the event and attend to discuss the unsafe reopening of all Tennessee school districts. On March 8, Shelby County Schools (SCS) in Tennessee completed its return to in-person classes for all grades. The school district serves the Memphis metro region and is the largest district in the state, as well as the 25th largest in the US, with roughly 111,000 students. The reopening of SCS schools also marks the complete reopening of all districts across Tennessee, despite the continued spread of COVID-19 throughout the region. In order to force the reopening, Republican Governor Bill Lee threatened to withhold school funding to districts that remained completely virtual, with SCS and Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) specifically being targeted. A school classroom (Flickr/woodleywonderworks) While the initial claim has been that in-person classes had to be offered to provide a quality education, the rushed reopening in Shelby County has caused an immense crisis for educators, students and parents. Many teachers have shared stories on social media describing that the internet and applications used within their classroom are unable to handle the return of students. The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke with a veteran Memphis teacher with over 25 years of experience about the conditions around the reopening of schools in Shelby County. To protect her anonymity and avoid retaliation from the district her name has been changed to Lisa. She elaborated about the experience of SCS reopening, stating, We were really pushed into schools following a meeting with the superintendent. We were given basically no time to prepare. We were told that we would need to start asynchronous learning in a little over a week and that classes would start in-person on March 1. Asynchronous learning meant that we would need to show up to our classrooms and prepare the work that students would do at home. There was a boil water alert because of a storm the first day that we were supposed to be back in the building, so we all had to work from home. But, face-to-face learning was not delayed and still started on March 1. We had no time to prepare for everything. We had to get our classrooms in order in a few days, and you had teachers setting up shower curtains around their desk so that they would have a divider. People were buying face shields or making their own. Teachers had extremely short notice to get childcare for their kids and had to spend a lot of money for a babysitter. It is also more difficult since some schools have changed the schedules. Teachers are coming in half an hour earlier because they need to check students temperature. Commenting on the districts indifference to teachers opinions and thoughts on reopening, Lisa said, The reopening is really a slap in the face to us. We took a survey in the fall, and we had to choose if we would teach in-person or remote. Now the district is just disregarding the survey, and everyone needs to be in-person. I called human resources and sent an email to the Office of Professional Standards because I have health issues. I got an email back in 45 minutes denying my request to teach virtually. They are denying teachers requests to be fully virtual. We have teachers with sickle cell anemia, immune deficiencies or who are care givers, and they have all been denied. Lisa described the conditions at her school, stating, The classes are also a mess. We have about 30 percent of the students learning in-person, and the school WiFi cant support all of them. The kids who are in-person cant share their work, their video is dropping out, or the teachers video is failing. Ive heard of one class, where only one student is in-person and the rest of the class is remote. The reality is that teachers have been viewed as babysitters for a long time, and now they have just gone out and said it. They should not have to put my life or other teachers lives at risk. Asked what she thought about the claims that students learn better in-person given the current state of Memphis schools, she added, Kids are going to do their work or theyre not going to do their work, and that is true if they are in-person or remote. I think some subjects are going to suffer, but the students are also learning important life lessons. They are going to be more technologically savvy. Some students feel more comfortable remote. Other students are not good remote and I have contacted their parents. They just need a little more help on that side of the screen. After some discussion about the recent reopening in Tennessee and across the US, she added, Memphis and Nashville are both blue areas [Democrat-controlled] and governor Lee basically did an executive order to force them to reopen. But, I have heard Biden make statements that he wants all the schools open in-person in his first hundred days in office. Politics and parties aside. Biden wants students back and Lee is a big Trump man, but you just have to follow the money. Biden can give the money to states for education and Lee wants that, but we teachers dont ever see it. It goes somewhere else. Ive taught in a few different states. When they found a way to make money from this, education went downhill. That is why you have this huge focus on testing since there is money in that. The teachers are picked on, possibly more than any other profession. We are evaluated two times a year, and I dont know any other job that does that. The newer teachers that are starting now get piddly wages. A lot of them who have been working less than ten years have other jobs. I think they really suffered during the pandemic because they work in restaurants, and that whole industry was impacted. Asked if there was anything she would like to say to other teachers, she added, We need to build each other up and stick together. Nobody else is going to come to help us. There is strength in numbers and we are those numbers, and we need to rely on each other. By Sachin Ravikumar and Rajendra Jadhav BENGALURU/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India reported its worst single-day increase in COVID-19 cases since late December on Thursday, as the western state of Maharashtra battled a fresh wave of infections and imposed a lockdown in one of its most densely populated cities. A total of 22,854 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said. It was the highest daily rise since Dec. 25, according to a Reuters tally. Deaths rose by 126 to reach 158,129. Fatalities have been rising by a daily average of roughly 100 since early February. India's overall caseload of 11.3 million - the world's biggest outside the United States - had been falling steadily since a peak in late September, but increased public gatherings and travel are causing a spurt at a time when a majority of Indians have yet to be vaccinated. The figures are still well below September's peak of more than 90,000 a day. Fresh outbreaks in Maharashtra forced officials to announce a lockdown - including a curfew and an order to shut most offices and shops - in the commercial and logistics hub of Nagpur from March 15-21. Decisions on whether to impose curbs in other areas will be made in the next couple of days, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray told reporters. Government health official Vinod Kumar Paul told a news conference authorities were "very worried" about the rising cases in Maharashtra. The state is also home to the financial capital of Mumbai and accounted for almost 60% of daily new cases across India. "In districts ... where the virus is seemingly on the rise in a significant way, the vaccination of eligible individuals in those areas should be intensified," Paul said. (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Editing by Euan Rocha and Andrew Heavens) New Delhi , March 11, Thirty-seven years after it was stolen and subsequently landed in the US, a stone stele of Lakshmi-Narayan, depicting the Hindu deities of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, is finally returning to its original home in Patan, a city located just across the Bagmati river from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Last week, Yuba Raj Khatiwada, the Ambassador of Nepal in Washington, received the statue of Vasudeva-Kamalaja (also known as Lakshmi-Narayan) handed over from the representative of the US Government Timothy Dunham, Deputy Assistant Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in a ceremony organized at the Nepalese embassy. The statue was reported stolen from Narayan temple in Patan, Lalitpur district of Nepal, in 1984 and was illegally transported to the US in the late 80s. The historical artifact had since 1990 been on display at the Dallas Museum of Arts in Texas, one of the largest art museums in America. The museum said that the 10th/11th-century stele was previously on loan from a private collection soon after it was auctioned at Sotheby's in New York and now, with the full support of the object's lender, is being transferred to its original owners. Kathmandu to Dallas via New York and back How the stele ended up at the Dallas Museum of Art remains a long story, good enough to be converted into a mystery novel some day, as lakhs of devout Hindus back home in the Kathmandu valley worshipped a replica for decades. While the mention of the theft has been documented in Krishna Deva's 'Images of Nepal' (1984) and 'Stolen Images of Nepal', a book written by Lain Singh Bangdel in 1989, it was only in November 2019 that new information became available concerning the provenance of the stele. In a series of tweets last November, Erin Thompson, an Art Crime professor at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, detailed how artist Joy Lynn Davis, who paints photorealistic images of stolen deities from Nepal, did an image search of the Lakshmi-Narayana after it was highlighted by Nepali writer and activist Kanak Mani Dixit as one that meant the most to him. While Nepal had banned the export of historic statues of deities through its Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1956, it is estimated that thousands of Nepalese antiquities have been plundered and sold in a multibillion-dollar global black market since the country opened its borders to tourists the same year. "This art soon began to disappear from Nepal - first small pieces, like ritual paraphernalia, then free-standing, bronze statues of deities. Finally, even difficult-to-transport stone sculptures became worth the while of thieves and smugglers," Thompson wrote in an article for Brooklyn-based art forum Hyperallergic in January. "Dixit had discovered that the statue had been auctioned at Sotheby's New York on March 22, 1990 (Sale 5987: Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, lot 278), but he didn't know where it had gone from there. We now know that same year, Osley lend it to the Dallas Art Museum. It was displayed there as a long-term loan for nearly 30 years." The statue was removed from view by the Dallas museum authorities in December after Thompson's twitter post. With the lender's support, the museum contacted officials at the Nepalese Embassy, who provided provenance information on the stele. The museum authorities and the lender were subsequently contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and worked cooperatively and responsibly to reach a mutual resolution and effectuate the transfer of this important object to Nepal. Damador Gautam, the current Director General of Nepal's Department of Archaeology, also swung into action to bring back the artefact to its original place. "The Dallas Museum of Art?is?committed to responsible stewardship of the objects in our care?and rigorous provenance standards.?As soon as we?became?aware of?additional?information on the stele, we began?working with the lender and with the Embassy of Nepal to?determine an ethical and appropriate course of action," said Agustin Arteaga, the Eugene McDermott Director of the museum. On March 2, officials from the Dallas FBI Field Office and the Dallas Museum of Art transported the stele of Lakshmi-Narayan to Washington and then returned to Nepali custody on March 5. Carved in gray stone, the stele depicts Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi in a dual form, bearing attributes and holding symbolic objects that identify both gods. Lord Vishnu's mace and discus are held in the figure's two upper, proper right hands, and the conch and lotus in the lower hands. Goddess Lakshmi's left hands hold a mirror and a container of jewels. The stele measures 33.5x 19.25 inches approximately and probably dates to the 10th or 11th century. "Along with the FBI's Art Crime Team, the Dallas FBI is grateful for the Dallas Museum of Art's determination to assist in the safe return of the Stele of Lakshmi-Narayana to the Government of Nepal. The FBI has developed significant relationships with our foreign partners that are committed to the protection of cultural property," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. The cooperation on the restoration of the artifact took place within the framework of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property. As per the Nepal embassy, the statue will be transported to Kathmandu in due course and installed at appropriate place. However, as the ancient stele starts its journey back home, an uncertain fate awaits thousands of such artefacts. As Thompson stated in her interview with Texas art magazine Glasstire: "My larger concern is that there could be so many more sacred sculptures stolen from Nepal, or antiquities in American Museums where we don't happen to have this clear of evidence of theft. And we need to as museums do better in trying to figure out where the objects come from." (This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/ ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW SUPERVISORY BOARD CHAIRMAN AND PROPOSAL OF TWO NEW SUPERVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Flow Traders N.V. ("Flow Traders") (Euronext: FLOW) announces the nominations of Linda Hovius and Ilonka Jankovich for appointment as new members of the Supervisory Board and the reappointment of Rudolf Ferscha as member of the Supervisory Board. Eric Drok is handing over the Chairmanship of the Supervisory Board to Rudolf Ferscha and intends to step down from the Supervisory Board at the upcoming AGM. Linda Hovius and Ilonka Jankovich will be appointed to the Supervisory Board as new independent members within the context of the Corporate Governance Code with an effective date of 23 April 2021, subject to shareholder approval. Regulatory approval for their proposed appointments has been obtained from the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). Linda's extensive focus on board leadership and governance matters along with Ilonka's substantial technology and venture capital experience will strengthen the Supervisory Board's profile by broadening its overall expertise and knowledge. With Eric Drok having conveyed to the Supervisory Board his intention to hand over the Chairman role, and his intention to step down from the Supervisory Board at the upcoming AGM, the Supervisory Board in its meeting today has unanimously appointed Rudolf Ferscha as Chairman of the Supervisory Board with immediate effect. Eric has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Flow Traders since July 2015. Rudolf Ferscha was also appointed as a member of the Supervisory Board in July 2015. He has since served as Chairman of the Remuneration & Appointment Committee, and as a member of the Trading & Technology Committee and of the Risk Committee. Rudolf will be reappointed to the Supervisory Board as an independent member within the context of the Corporate Governance Code with an effective date of 23 April 2021, subject to shareholder approval. Regulatory approval for Rudolf's proposed reappointment has been obtained from the DNB. Flow Traders will propose these appointments to its shareholders at the upcoming AGM, scheduled for 23 April 2021. As of 23 April 2021, subject to shareholder approval, the Supervisory Board of Flow Traders will comprise the following members: Rudolf Ferscha (Chairman); Jan van Kuijk (Vice-Chairman); Olivier Bisserier; Roger Hodenius; Linda Hovius; and Ilonka Jankovich. Flow Traders will therefore meet the proposed Dutch legislative requirement that at least one-third of its Supervisory Board consists of women and one-third consists of men. Jan van Kuijk, Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board said: "As Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Eric has made a tremendous contribution to the growth and prosperity of Flow Traders during the first six years of its life as a public company. Under his guidance, our business has broadened its regional footprint in Asia, UK and Italy as well as expanded its US presence, with net profit growing from 68 million in 2014 to 464 million last year, and the number of employees having increased from 200 to more than 550. During this time, his main focus was on establishing sound and robust governance. In addition, under his leadership, the composition of both the Management and Supervisory Boards have been continuously adjusted to reflect the evolving needs of the company. Everyone here at Flow Traders would like to thank him for his leadership and guidance over the years and we all wish him well for the future. I am also delighted to welcome Linda and Ilonka as new members of the Supervisory Board and look forward to them applying their wealth of combined knowledge and experience to the future success of Flow Traders. "Last but not least, I would like to congratulate Rudolf on his new role as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. His contributions and advice since our IPO are highly valued, and so is his profound knowledge of our industry, both from a leadership as well as from a professional investor perspective. We all look forward to supporting him and our new generation of Supervisory Board Members in guiding Flow Traders going forward" Eric Drok, Chairman of the Supervisory Board said: "After nearly six years as Chairman and safe in the knowledge that the Supervisory Board has the right composition to fulfil the tasks ahead, I have concluded that now is the appropriate time for me to pass the baton. I am particularly pleased that the company is welcoming two new highly experienced female Supervisory Board members. I have always believed that Flow Traders is a special and unique company, with extraordinary employees, and I am truly confident that it is well positioned for a great future ahead." Rudolf Ferscha is a founding partner of financial infrastructure and technology investors Gledhow Capital Partners and of fund management firm Mainberg Asset Management. His experience includes Management Board positions at Goldman Sachs Bank in Frankfurt and at Deutsche Boerse AG, as Chairman of the Management Board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and as CEO of derivatives exchange EUREX, as well as non-executive roles at credit rating agency Moody's and on the Public Oversight Board of the UK Financial Reporting Council. Linda Hovius is an independent boardroom consultant, focusing on leadership alignment, board assessment and governance issues. She was founder and managing partner of Aberkyn Change Leadership Partners. Before that, she worked for 20 years with McKinsey & Company in Amsterdam. She is currently also a member of the Supervisory Boards of Royal FloraHolland and Triple Jump and Vice-Chair of the KHMW. She previously held non-executive and advisory board positions with a.o. Frans Hals Museum, NV HMS, Stichting Lezen & Schrijven, Max Geldens Stichting, Vereniging Rembrandt and Stichting De Nieuwe Kerk. Linda Hovius studied History of Art and Law in Amsterdam and holds an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management/Wharton School. Ilonka Jankovich is a serial entrepreneur and investor. After a successful legal career, she built two market leading companies in the HR space, which were acquired by Monster and Randstad. In 2013, she became an investor in the Worktech space by starting the corporate venture fund for Randstad. For three years, she was on the Supervisory Board of NS, the Dutch National Railways. She currently serves on the Supervisory Boards of Crunchr, Brazen, Shiftboard and Exact. Recently, she co-founded Taptrove Ventures, a venture fund focussing on investing in Worktech start-ups in Europe and the US. Ilonka Jankovich studied Law at the University of Leiden. Further details will be announced in the Convening Notice for the upcoming AGM. Contact Details Flow Traders N.V. Jonathan Berger / Investor Relations Officer Phone: +31 20 7996799 Email: investor.relations@flowtraders.com Important legal information This press release is prepared by Flow Traders N.V. and is for information purposes only. It is not a recommendation to engage in investment activities and you must not rely on the content of this document when making any investment decisions. The information in this document does not constitute legal, tax, or investment advice and is not to be regarded as investor marketing or marketing of any security or financial instrument, or as an offer to buy or sell, or as a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell, securities or financial instruments. The information and materials contained in this press release are provided 'as is' and Flow Traders N.V. or any of its affiliates ("Flow Traders") do not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the information and materials and expressly disclaim liability for any errors or omissions. This press release is not intended to be, and shall not constitute in any way a binding or legal agreement, or impose any legal obligation on Flow Traders. All intellectual property rights, including trademarks, are those of their respective owners. All rights reserved. All proprietary rights and interest in or connected with this publication shall vest in Flow Traders. No part of it may be redistributed or reproduced without the prior written permission of Flow Traders. Flow Traders expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law. By accepting this document you agree to the terms set out above. If you do not agree with the terms set out above please notify legal.amsterdam@nl.flowtraders.com immediately and delete or destroy this document. Market Abuse Regulation This press release may contain information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Attachment The Metro Council on Wednesday rejected an attempt by the lawyers representing Alton Sterling's five children to make a quicker payout of the proposed $4.5 million settlement of their wrongful death lawsuit against the city-parish. Now the attorneys will either have to accept the five-year payment plan in the original settlement council approved or take their chances in a jury trial. Hanging over the negotiations are accusations the council violated the state's open meetings laws when it approved the original settlement last month. The council's action Wednesday came after much discussion and a series of somewhat confused votes over whether they would agree to the quicker payment schedule the plaintiffs wanted or defer the item for two weeks until the Louisiana Attorney General's office completed its investigation into the council's previous vote. "If we find out that we violated public meetings law, that vote will be null and void," Councilwoman Jen Racca said during Wednesday's night discussion on the item. Racca asked the council to put off its decision on the counter-offer by two weeks. But that motion failed by a 6-6 vote. Council members Denise Amoroso, LaMont Cole, Carolyn Coleman, Erika Green and Brandon Noel supported Racca's motion. Council members Laura Adams, Chauna Banks, Cleve Dunn, Rowdy Gaudet, Dwight Hudson and Aaron Moak voted in opposition. Councilman Cleve Dunn and LaMont Cole motioned to approve the counter-offer after Parish Attorney Andy Dotson assured them that receiving counter offers isn't out of the ordinary in legal negotiations. That motion failed by a 5-7 vote. Banks, Cole, Coleman, Dunn and Green voted in favor, while Adams, Amoroso, Gaudet, Hudson, Moak, Noel and Racca voted against it. The Metro Council originally agreed to a $4.5 million settlement offer that would have paid $1 million up front and then the remaining money in equal installments over the next four years. Lawyers for Alton Sterling's children propose counter settlement with quicker payout schedule Lawyers for Alton Sterling's five children are willing to settle their wrongful death lawsuit against the city-parish for $4.5 million, but on The attorneys for Sterling's kids countered by asking for $2 million upfront, with the remaining $2.5 million doled out over a two-year period. The original approved settlement would be allocated from the city-parish's Insurance Reserve Fund, with the remaining payments pulled from the annual operating budget. The revised offer never specified where the funds will come from. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has advocated for settling the lawsuit out of court, saying it would help the community "move forward." Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The high-profile lawsuit was originally scheduled to go to trial on March 1, but was pushed back to June 21 after the Louisiana Supreme Court extended a moratorium on jury trials due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The council's vote to offer a settlement has been called into question by local activist Mary Jane Marcantel, who accused the body of violating the state's open meetings laws in a 17-page complaint. Marcantel, a paralegal, said in her Feb. 18 letter filed with Attorney General Jeff Landry's office that the council violated state law by posting the public notice and agenda for the council's Feb. 10 meeting at different times. She also argued that amendments made to the agenda item during the meeting that lowered the proposed settlement from $10 million to $4.5 million were handled improperly, and should have faced a preliminary vote of approval from the Metro Council before a final vote on its passage could be held. Separately, Marcantel questioned whether the Metro Council's discussions in executive session were within the scope of the agenda item. Councilman Hudson disputed Marcantel's claims, clarifying previous statements he made on a local radio talk show regarding the settlement's vote, which Marcantal referred to in her opposition to how the council handled the matter. "I do not believe this council violated any open meetings laws; the way the executive session was conducted was great and above board," he said Wednesday night. "To use the process as justification to go and invalidate the vote is an attack on this council...and totally out of order." Other council members also expressed similar sentiments. How the Baton Rouge council says it arrived at a $4.5M offer to Alton Sterling's family After they and their predecessors debated and rejected the idea of settling a lawsuit filed on behalf of Alton Sterling's five children, some City-parish officials said Wednesday the matter is still under review by the state Attorney General's Office and had no idea when that would conclude. Sterling was fatally shot by Baton Rouge police responding to a complaint of a man with a gun outside a convenience store on North Foster Drive in 2016. Widespread protests followed after cellphone video of the encounter was spread online. The lawsuit, filed in 2017, seeks punitive damages against the city-parish for allegedly violating Sterling's civil rights. It also claims that the city-parish was negligent in its hiring, training and supervision of Blane Salamoni, the officer who fired the six shots that killed Sterling. Police Chief Murphy Paul, who was not leading the department at the time of the shooting, said later that Salamoni should never have been hired. Federal and state prosecutors declined to press charges against the officers. Federal officials said they could not say whether Sterling was reaching for a gun while on the ground, and the state's attorney general said the incident "took place very quickly and involved two officers who had good reason to believe that Mr. Sterling was armed with a firearm." The National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, the umbrella body of all traditional rulers in the country, has called on the federal government to urgently address the nations security challenges. The traditional rulers, who made the appeal at the end of a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja on Thursday, expressed concern over cases of kidnappings and banditry in some parts of the country. The Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of the traditional rulers, said their meeting with the president harped on the need for the government to urgently curb the menace. He said: We gathered ourselves and feel that yes, there is a need for us to come and let the president know that the situation is telling very hard on our people and there is a need to take urgent and immediate steps to actually check the situation. According to him, the royal fathers have decided to go back to the old tradition of identifying visitors in their domains and also share intelligence with security agencies, so as to ameliorate the situation. He said they offered to help the government address the problem by sharing intelligence with security agencies. Mr Abubakar said, We commiserate with the president on current happenings, especially banditry activities, killings, kidnapping and destruction of lives and property in the country. We discovered that the situation is getting too much on our people, our land, our culture and tradition. So, we feel as traditional leaders, we are close to our people and we know what is happening to them. So, we narrated stories of this banditry and other crimes to the president, as we see it in our domains. We requested that the president should consider and put us in a position whereby we can directly or indirectly help the situation so as to curtail these excessive insecurity activities. Mr Abubakar commended the Buhari administration for its efforts aimed at uplifting the quality of life of the citizens. Marching orders Premium Times earlier reported how the president on Thursday in Abuja said security chiefs have received marching orders to go harder on criminals, including to shoot anyone found illegally with AK-47. The President spoke at the meeting with the traditional rulers at the State House. The council is co-chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar III and the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. The meeting was attended by security chiefs including the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, the Director-General of Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, and the Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar. The President, who apprised the meeting with efforts by the government to improve the security situation in the country, said his administration has recorded appreciable successes in the North-east and South-south parts of the country. But what surprises is what is happening now in the North-west where the same people, with the same culture are killing each other, taking their livestock and burning properties. As a result of that, we had a four-hour meeting of the National Security Council attended by the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Service Chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and others and we gave clear instructions. One thing that got to the press which I read myself was that anyone with an AK-47 will be shot. ADVERTISEMENT This is because AK-47 is supposed to be registered and it is only given to security officials. We closed the borders for some years but the intelligence report Im getting on a daily basis is that those who are conducting the abductions, the killings and so on are still not short of arms and ammunition, he said. The President also expressed dismay on the attacks on police stations and killings of security personnel by criminals, warning that no investor will invest in a country that is unsafe. Many parts of the country are currently ravaged by insecurity and crime in the midst of the apparent helplessness of security agencies to nip the menace in the bud. (NAN) ATLANTA, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Juvare , the leader in crisis and emergency management technology, is adding to its support of COVID-19 vaccination efforts with RE-PLAN, a dynamic vaccination POD planning application that helps public health agencies ensure the timely availability of vaccines for communities in need. Using RE-PLAN, planners can identify local capabilities and resources in the context of available infrastructure and demographic data to determine how to move the COVID-19 vaccine from loading docks to arms. "With the disparities in death rates and people contracting the coronavirus over the past months oftentimes in underserved communities strategic POD planning is of the utmost importance, and there is no time to waste," said Robert Watson, CEO of Juvare. "RE-PLAN can help identify those areas with an absence of health care services and resources and mobilize COVID-19 vaccination efforts quickly and efficiently making the greatest impact for the populations most in need. This is invaluable as we work towards the eventual end of the pandemic." Developed by a team of researchers at the University of North Texas, RE-PLAN assesses data from various sources to help public health agencies create response plans to use during an epidemic. These response plans include locations where medications or vaccines will be distributed, overlayed on top of socieo-economic and GIS data. The platform uses detailed population information to place resources and services in the proximity of people who need them including those with disabilities, who do not speak English, or may not have cars. "With time-sensitive COVID-19 vaccination efforts, it's all about helping public health departments understand where they need to put resources and how many resources they need," said Marty O'Neill, Director of UNT's Center for Computational Epidemiology and Response Analysis. "These decisions must be made with respect to the specific needs of the populations they're serving, so having access to the right data and being able to act on it is mission-critical in POD planning. In simple terms, not having access to a vehicle should not prevent a person from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine." In addition to identifying which areas might need translators, transportation accessibility, or more vaccination clinics, RE-PLAN can also identify areas where there are high rates of uninsured populations. In regions where COVID-19 vaccinations are being distributed to physician offices, health agencies will need to understand how to make vaccines available to their uninsured populations who may not have a medical provider. "It's about making vaccination plans equitable," continued O'Neill. "We're not going to successfully fight this disease if pockets of people are left out of vaccination plans." Originally designed to create emergency response plans for bioterrorism events involving anthrax or smallpox, RE-PLAN has been used by the Texas Department of State Health Services and by Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California. Planners from all eight Texas DSHS service regions have expressed interest in using the system for COVID-19 vaccination planning. To learn more about RE-PLAN, visit juvare.com/replan. Media Contact: Josh Byrd VP, Marketing Juvare [email protected] ABOUT JUVARE Juvare is a worldwide leader in crisis and emergency management software. Juvare solutions empower government agencies, corporations, healthcare facilities, academic institutions, and volunteer organizations to leverage real-time data to manage incidents faster and more efficiently, protecting people, property, and brands. For more information, visit www.juvare.com . ABOUT UNT UNT is one of the nation's largest public research universities with nearly 41,000 students. Ranked a Tier One research university by the Carnegie Classification, UNT is a catalyst for creativity, fueling progress, innovation and entrepreneurship for the North Texas region and the state. UNT students earned 10,000 degrees last year from its 14 colleges and schools and the university offers 109 bachelor's, 94 master's and 36 doctoral degree programs, many nationally and internationally recognized. SOURCE Juvare Related Links https://www.juvare.com Xi Jinping arrives for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed the way for China, which is at a historic development juncture, by expounding on a wide range of topics at this year's "two sessions," a key political event slated to close on Thursday. -- Xi took part in deliberations with other lawmakers from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, and attended a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force. He also joined national political advisors from education, medical and health sectors in a joint group meeting. -- 2021 marks a historic juncture for China as it embarks on a new quest for fully building a modern socialist country. Xi's speeches at the sessions provide insights into China's development trajectory. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed the way for China, which is at a historic development juncture, by expounding on a wide range of topics at this year's "two sessions," a key political event slated to close on Thursday. The two sessions are the country's annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, participated in deliberations with national legislators and joined discussions with political advisors at the two sessions. He took part in deliberations with other lawmakers from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, and attended a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force. He also joined national political advisors from education, medical and health sectors in a joint group meeting. 2021 marks a historic juncture for China as it embarks on a new quest for fully building a modern socialist country. Here are some key takeaways from Xi's speeches at the sessions that may provide insights into China's development trajectory. GREEN GDP Xi has always stressed adopting "a holistic approach" to conserving mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands. This time, he brought "deserts" into the picture. Top-level design and comprehensive measures are needed to protect the eco-systems in mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts, said Xi, an NPC deputy himself. Highlighting the concept of "green GDP," Xi said that maintaining a good ecological environment is of enormous value. ETHNIC UNITY Xi stressed cementing the sense of community for the Chinese nation. He called for promoting standard spoken and written Chinese language and the use of state-compiled textbooks. Efforts should be made to facilitate more comprehensive understanding of the Party's policies concerning ethnic groups, especially among young people, Xi said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) PEOPLE'S HEALTH AS "STRATEGIC PRIORITY" Xi has stressed giving "strategic priority" to safeguarding people's health and focusing on tackling major diseases and problems that affect people's health. The country's public health protection network should be fortified, and efforts should be made to promote the high-quality development of public hospitals, he said, demanding comprehensive health care for the people at all stages of life. The fight against COVID-19 has once again proved that prevention is the most economical and effective health strategy, Xi said, calling for reforming and improving the disease prevention and control system. Xi also urged the preservation and development of traditional Chinese medicine and breakthroughs in core technologies in key areas, as well as more protection, care and support for health workers. QUALITY BASIC PUBLIC EDUCATION On education, Xi said China must strive to build a high-quality and balanced basic public education service system. He emphasized the socialist orientation in running schools, the non-profit nature of education and developing education that people are satisfied with. Education is essential to the country and the Party, Xi stressed. He called for efforts to train more talents who can contribute to the country's high-quality development and high-level self-reliance. Teachers are the central pillar of education, and strengthening the professional ethics of teachers must be a top priority, Xi said. Music teacher Yang Hao (1st R) holds a weekly field training session for members of Yantian Primary School's melodica band in Gaocun Town, Wanzai County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Sept. 3, 2020 (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi) HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT &PEOPLE'S WELL-BEING Xi noted that high-quality development is the general requirement for all aspects of economic and social development. It will not only be the requirement for developed regions, but will also be the requirement that entails implementation by all regions, Xi said, urging each region to pursue high-quality development based on local conditions. He urged efforts to integrate high-quality development with action in meeting people's aspiration for a better life. Xi stressed efforts to strengthen areas of weakness in people's well-being, unfailingly meet the basic living needs of the people and improve the availability and equality of basic public services. He asked local authorities to promote coordinated development between rural and urban areas, advance rural vitalization on all fronts, improve people's well-being, and build a new socialist countryside that is beautiful, prosperous and harmonious. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, speaks when attending a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Gang) COMBAT READINESS Xi stressed achieving a good start in strengthening national defense and the armed forces during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period. Development of the armed forces must focus on combat readiness, he said. Xi demanded efforts to step up building high-caliber strategic deterrence and joint operation systems. He called for intensified efforts and more concrete measures in the pursuit of independent innovation in science and technology, to fully leverage the role of science and technology as the strategic support for military development. Highlighting the "instabilities" and "uncertainties" in China's current security circumstances, Xi said the whole armed forces must always be ready to respond to all kinds of complex and difficult situations, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and provide strong support for fully building a modern socialist country. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] FORT WORTH, Texas, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lon Smith Roofing kicked off another year of its celebrated "Roof for Vets" program that honors one local veteran each quarter by building a new roof at their home at no charge. Today, Lon Smith honored James Owens, an Army veteran who lives in Fort Worth. "Once a quarter, we honor a local veteran who needs a new roof but may not be able to afford one," Lon Smith President Shawn Michael said in a ceremony in front of Mr. Owens' home in the Wedgwood section of Fort Worth. "And we honor that veteran by installing a new roof at absolutely no cost. Today, we are honoring James Owens, a veteran who spent six years in the United States Army, where he served as a paratrooper." Mr. Owens has lived in the same house in Fort Worth since 1995. He has needed a roof for some time now but has been unable to get insurance to pay for one. Today, Lon Smith workers began early in the morning constructing a brand-new roof that will be completed by nightfall. "Mr. Owens, you have taken care of so many people," Michael added. "Today, Lon Smith Roofing is going to take care of you. By tonight, our workers will be done, and you will have a brand-new roof above your head. It's our way of saying thank you for what you have done and thank you for who you are." Joining in the ceremony was Fort Worth City Councilman and military veteran Jungus Jordan. "What an honor to be here today and what a great company Lon Smith is," Jordan said. "This is exactly the kind of company and exactly the kind of program that makes Fort Worth great." For more information about Lon Smith Roofing or the Roof for Vets program, please visit www.lonsmith.com SOURCE Lon Smith Roofing Related Links http://www.lonsmith.com EUGENE, Ore. Two mass action lawsuits were filed on Wednesday, blaming Pacific Power parent company PacifiCorp for the damage caused by the Beachie Creek Fire in 2020. Local law firm Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton is partnering with Edelson PC, which helped win a $13.5 billion settlement from PG&E over the Camp Fire in northern California. The suits involve 100 individual claims filed on behalf of people harmed by the fire. They allege that PacifiCorp failed to safely design, run and maintain infrastructure, causing the fire. The suits also claim the company failed to pay attention to warnings of historic winds and dry conditions. Christopher Dore, a partner at Edelson PC, said he doesn't think the company took the proper steps. "The appropriate thing would be to depower their lines in these areas. And as we allege in the complaint, they did not do that," Dore said. "And as a result, many of those lines went down and significantly contributed to these fires. An official cause of the Beachie Creek Fire has yet to be released. An earlier lawsuit filed by Linn County demanded that the U.S. Forest Service turn over documents related to the start of the fire. When asked for comment regarding the case, PacifiCorp denied comment, stating it's "company policy" not to discuss the pending litigation. The lawsuits are seeking more than a billion dollars to help wildfire victims recover from historic losses. "We've been working with [the plaintiffs] over the last several months to try and help them and to put together this lawsuit to try and get real, meaningful compensation," Dore said. He also said the firm hopes to work out a settlement prior to litigation. By the time the Beachie Creek Fire was contained, it had grown to 193,000 acres. Several small communities were destroyed. Eight people died. A similar lawsuit, also powered by lawyers tied to the historic Camp Fire settlement, has been filed against Pacific Power for the Archie Creek Fire. The Biden administration is telling migrants attempting to make the journey to the U.S. that the "border is not open." CBS News correspondent Mireya Villarreal spoke to "Red and Blue" host Elaine Quijano about how the White House is trying to balance easing immigration restrictions with the influx of people coming to the southern border. Video Transcript ELAINE QUIJANO: The Biden administration is urging people not to migrate to the Southern US border, as apprehensions there rise and officials struggle to house unaccompanied children. US Customs and Border Protection says it carried out more than 100,000 apprehensions last month. That was up 28% from January. Border agents also took nearly 10,000 unaccompanied children into custody-- the most since May 2019. It's posing a challenge for the Biden administration which has been scrambling to meet 72-hour holding deadlines to find bed space for children and teens. Here's President Biden's head of Southern Border Policy for the National Security Council. ROBERTA JACOBSON: [SPEAKING SPANISH] The border is not open. Neither this announcement nor any of the other measures suggest that anyone, especially children and families with young children, should make the dangerous trip to try and enter the US in an irregular fashion. The bord-- ELAINE QUIJANO: CBS News Correspondent Mireya Villarreal has been following this closely. And she joins me now with more from Los Angeles. Hi, there, Mireya. So both Ambassador Jacobson and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledge that the Biden administration is easing President Trump's immigration restrictions. How are they trying to convince people not to make the journey to the US in spite of that? MIREYA VILLARREAL: I think ease is the key word in the situation here, Elaine. But they're not necessarily doing away with all of the policies that were implemented by the Trump administration. A good example and probably an answer to your question would be Rule 42. Story continues It's also known as the Trump rule that basically says because of the pandemic, we are going to immediately deport everybody that comes in that has come through here illegally and is not necessarily seeking asylum. Or they're going to wait in Mexico for their court dates. This right now, there is a leniency, right? So there is-- the Trump administration basically said, everybody is going back. Everybody is being deported. What the Biden administration has done is said, we are going to take a step back. We are going to show compassion in the situation. And we're not going to apply this rule to children. However, again, they didn't completely do away with this. So I think there is still policies in place that they are utilizing from the previous administration. That's one way. I think also they're trying to work very closely with their counterparts in Mexico and also in Latin America to try and explain through education that right now is not the time to come to the US. They're not saying you will never come. You will never be allowed into the US. What they're saying is take a beat. Let's figure out the situation. And let's figure out how to do it the right way and the safe way. ELAINE QUIJANO: Well, Mireya, another new immigration change from the Biden administration. They're no longer enforcing the Trump-era public charge green card rule. What is that rule? And what impact will that change have? MIREYA VILLARREAL: So public charge was actually a rule put in place during the Trump administration that kind of quietly got moved through the system. It was supposed to go into effect in late 2019, but it was met with a lot of resistance and was taken all the way up to the US Supreme Court. Last year in 2020, it was agreed upon that they would allow this rule to be in place. So public charge basically is kind of this test. It takes a look at a person who is seeking asylum or a green card. And it says, OK, what exactly will this person bring to the US? Will they be dependent on government subsidies? Will they be dependent on government help? So that could include anything from food stamps to help with rental assistance. And if that person is, could that affect their situation here in the US? Will they be a good candidate to be someone here in the US? The Biden administration has said, we will not be using the public charge test as of right now. So, again, we are seeing some compassion in these situations. But clearly, we're not seeing a ton of movement when it comes to fixing the problems within the immigration system. ELAINE QUIJANO: You know, Mireya, we know that immigration policy carries with it some profound human consequences. And you show this in your reporting this week. You spoke to a 15-year-old reunited with her mother in Los Angeles. And she'd spent three weeks in a government facility. What was their experience? MIREYA VILLARREAL: First, we have to say this is very reminiscent of what we saw back in 2013 and 2014 during the Obama administration. And the reason why it's important to point that out is because President Biden was around during that time and has very intimate knowledge of what this could become-- what it quickly became back in 2014. There were over 70,000 unaccompanied minors that came through in a one-year period back in that time frame. And I think there is a fear that that could happen again if we don't quickly act if-- and by we, I mean, obviously the administration. What these children are experiencing is having to cross the border alone in a lot of different places. Whether you're in California or in Texas, it is a dangerous trek and journey. You're talking about these very young children. This girl in particular, for example, 15 years old, crossing the Rio Grande River by herself in a raft with three other children who are also alone. And the only person on that raft that is not a child is the smuggler that they have paid. So the journey and the dangerousness and their safety being in jeopardy doesn't end there. Then they get picked up by border patrol. They get put in detention facilities. They get processed. And then they're in a holding pattern within the ORR situation which is Office of Refugee and Resettlement. Until they can find their parents and ensure that they will be safe with a sponsor or a guardian in the US, they are not going to be released. And to process all of these children quickly, it's just not happening. The system is overwhelmed and quickly filling up. We are seeing these shelters in Homestead, Florida and in Carrizo Springs, Texas be re-opened, because there is an expectation that this is far from over. And we will see more children sleeping on the floors, being given blankets made of foil. That's exactly what this young girl told us. And while she felt she was OK, she was obviously with her mom at the time we spoke with her. So, of course, she's not going to give all of the information of what happened to her on her journey right in that moment. So I think we will see a lot more of this happening over the next few months. ELAINE QUIJANO: Now, Mireya, I know you have traveled extensively along the border-- across the border to bring us these stories. It really does paint a different picture when you see things at that kind of micro level, as we talk about this broader immigration policy. Mireya Villarreal for us. Mireya, thank you so much. MIREYA VILLARREAL: Thank you so much, Elaine. I appreciate it. Great Barrington Dog License Renewals Due GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. Dog owners have until March 31 to renew their annual dog license with the Town Clerk. Dog license renewal forms and fee information can be found here, or at townofgb.org/town-clerk . You may also pick up or drop off a license form at Town Hall by calling ahead, (413) 528-1619 ext. 2100. License applications received after March 31 are subject to a late fee of $10 per dog. Owners of dogs that are unlicensed after May 1 will be assessed a $25 late fee. A $50 ticket for an unlicensed dog will also be issued by the town's Animal Control Officer. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. 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. Gucci 'black widow' miffed by Lady Gaga snub Patrizia Reggiani 'annoyed' star didn't meet her (ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 11 - Gucci 'Black Widow' Patrizia Reggiani said Thursday that she was miffed that Lady Gaga had not met her as she shoots scenes for Ridley Scott's new film, 'The House of Gucci' in Italy. In the movie the American pop star and actress plays Reggiani, who served 17 years of a 26-year sentence for ordering the murder of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci in Milan in 1995. "I am rather annoyed at the fact that Lady Gaga is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without having had the consideration and sensibility to come and meet me," Reggiani told ANSA. "It is not an economic question. "I won't get a cent from the film. "It is a question of good sense and respect". Reggiani said "I think that in order to be able to play me best it is really essential that Lady Gaga should come and meet me. "Patrizia Reggiani is much more than what she (Gaga) may have read or seen, or what her authors may have told her; I myself, still today, have not stopped discovering myself, and I continue to do so day after day!". (ANSAmed). (ANSA). STAMFORD A local man charged with killing his girlfriend in a shooting that happened on the citys West Side last spring was ordered held Thursday on $1 million bond. Gary Greig, 67, appeared before Judge John Blawie on a murder charge stemming from the slaying of his girlfriend, 50-year-old Staci Magazzi, in May. Assistant States Attorney Elizabeth Moran said evidence led investigators to believe that Greig shot Magazzi at point-blank range at his West Main Street apartment on May 29. According to his warrant, Grieg called his roommate after the incident and confessed that he had killed his girlfriend. His roommate, in turn, called police and asked for a welfare check. At the scene, police found Magazzi face down in a pool of blood and Grieg laying nearby, intoxicated and with a revolver in reach, according to the arrest warrant. Grieg, who police noted was acting erratically, claimed Magazzi had killed herself, the warrant said. At the time, Grieg, a convicted felon who has been found guilty of murder in the past, was arrested on an illegal gun possession charge, according to police. An autopsy conducted by the medical examiner found that Magazzi was likely involved in some type of struggle prior to her death, the warrant said. The autopsy, coupled with the fact that the fatal gunshot was fired in close proximity to the mouth but not inside it, pointed to a homicide, Sgt. Jennifer Lynch wrote in the warrant. Police also found Greigs DNA on the gun that delivered the fatal shot, the warrant said. Public defender Barry Butler, who represents Greig, argued Thursday that the $1 million bond placed on his client was excessive. Greig, he explained, has been imprisoned since May due to his inability to pay the $500,000 bond that was originally placed on him for the illegal gun possession charge. The bond is academic at this point, Butler said. Moran argued that the state believed Grieg, who has ties in New York, was a flight risk. Ultimately, Blawie sided with the prosecution and upheld the bond at $1 million. Grieg was next scheduled to appear in court on May 3. Myanmar migrant-worker families sit on the sidewalk while passing their time under lockdown at the Samut Sakhon Shrimp market in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand, Jan. 26, 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has stigmatized and stranded migrants who should be vaccinated promptly and valued as essential to the regions economic recovery, a senior United Nations official said Wednesday as an international conference on migration opened in Bangkok. The Asia-Pacifics migrant workforce which comprises 40 percent of the worlds migrants symbolizes the regions dynamism, said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, a U.N. undersecretary-general and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The effects [of the pandemic] on migrants have been devastating. They have lost jobs and livelihoods, Armida said in a speech to open the three-day intergovernmental meeting here. They have been stranded by closed borders. They have been forcibly returned to countries of origin and have faced discrimination, stigma and xenophobia. Migrants faced all these problems even as they were more susceptible to being infected by COVID-19 because of the kind of work they do, Armida added. Migrants will be crucial to the long-term recovery of countries and their contribution to our society must be recognized and valued. They must be included in vaccination programs because we are only safe when everyone is safe, she said. In Thailand and its neighbors, shutting the borders was the main method of controlling the pandemic, but poor messaging implied that the migrant community was a threat to public health, Don Pramudwinai, Thailands foreign minister, said in a speech at the forum. Cross-border movement was halted when the challenges in migrants began in earnest. In fact, this pandemic has increased [migrants'] vulnerability, especially the obstacle to access health care and social security, Don said. Worse still, misinformation and insensitive messaging in some cases have cast migrants as a threat to public health and security. This must be rectified. In December, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and health officials had said that foreign workers who entered the country illicitly were the likely source of a record outbreak of coronavirus cases detected then at Thailands largest seafood market complex. The complex in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok is staffed mostly by hundreds of migrants from Myanmar, many of whom were found infected with COVID-19. Thailand hosts some 2.2 million legal migrant workers. BenarNews contacted Samut Sakhon health officials to find out whether, and how many, migrants had been inoculated against coronavirus since vaccinations began in late February, but they did not have that information. As of Wednesday, some 70,000 doses of the two-dose Sinovac vaccine have been sent to the province, and 33,621 people there have received the jab, officials said. The meeting in Bangkok, which goes through Friday, aims to review progress and identify challenges in implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, a non-legally binding intergovernmental agreement struck in 2018 under the auspices of the United Nations, organizers said. The compact is the first-ever U.N. global agreement on a common approach to international migration. It aims to ensure that migrants have sustainable livelihoods, are provided basic services and are not discriminated against. In 2019 alone, there were almost 65 million international migrants in the region, according to ESCAP. Thailand is a regional magnet for migrants who come from neighboring countries including Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Thailands next-door neighbor to the south, Malaysia, attracts large numbers of migrants from Bangladesh and Indonesia. Burmese migrants enter Thailand Thai authorities, meanwhile on Wednesday, defended their decision to block eight people from Myanmar from entering Thailand this week, saying they were being illegally smuggled across the border and that three of them showed signs of fever a symptom of the coronavirus disease. With regard to the incident, officials found them illegally entering the country without medical screening, therefore, the officials enacted disease prevention measures and deported them to where they were from, Col. Sirichan Ngathong, the Thai armys deputy spokeswoman, told BenarNews via text message. We do the same at all border fronts to prevent COVID's spread. According to a statement from Human Rights Watch on Wednesday, Thai authorities intercepted eight Burmese as they were crossing the border from Myanmars Tachileik district into Thailands Chiang Saen district in Chiang Rai province. HRW did not say the eight Burmese nationals were asylum seekers, but noted that Thai authorities did not verify whether anyone in the group was fleeing the ongoing violence in Myanmar after last months military coup. Thai authorities have closed land borders with Myanmar and other neighboring countries, HRW said, citing the countrys pandemic response. However, this policy violates international refugee laws non-refoulement principle, which provides that no one should be returned to a country where they are likely to face persecution, torture, or other serious harm, even during a pandemic. HRW said that Thai media reported that the government had set up facilities along the border to accommodate asylum seekers from Myanmar, but that these facilities were empty. The Thai Ministry of Foreign affairs responded to that claim, saying there had been no sign of asylum seekers from Myanmar entering the country. To date, there is no indication of any large groups seeking asylum across the border in relation to recent developments in Myanmar, Tanee Sangrat, a spokesman for the ministry, told reporters on Wednesday. Rest assured that preparations are being made in terms of different scenarios that would warrant a closer look at the reasons for fleeing over the Myanmar border, as we have always done in the past, according to our humanitarian tradition, Tanee said. Our security agencies are monitoring the situation closely and preparing accordingly. For more than 30 years, Thailand has maintained nine temporary shelters for Burmese that currently host 90,000 displaced from the country, he said, adding this is a solid testament to that and our resolve to offer solace to displaced persons in need. WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act. These lifesaving bills close serious loopholes in the background check system by ensuring that background checks are completed before weapons are sold and that dangerous individuals who should not be in possession of weapons are unable to purchase them. The U.S. Conference of Mayors has a long history of advocating for measures that will reduce gun violence in communities and sent a letter to every member of the House urging passage of the bills. Following House passage, USCM President and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer released the following statement: "Gun violence is an epidemic in the United States. Keeping our children and our cities safe from that violence has been a priority for mayors for decades. It may be mass shootings that make the headlines, but the daily drumbeat of gun-related violence has left a lasting void in virtually every community in the country. "While it is impossible to undo this terrible daily toll, these two bills provide the promise of a tomorrow where gun violence is the exception, not the norm. Mayors urge the Senate to act quickly on this legislation." About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors Related Links www.usmayors.org Ireland has a "steep mountain to climb" in a "challenge beyond compare" when it comes to reducing emissions by 50% by the end of the decade. Those were some of the stark conclusions made by the new chairperson of the Climate Change Advisory Council, Marie Donnelly, and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan at an event by the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce, as they addressed companies and stakeholders in the energy sector. Ms Donnelly said that while companies formed a large part of the challenge, it was also up to individuals to play their part, especially around transport. Roughly speaking, one third of emissions from transport comes from you and me. It is what we do in our journeys, and our choice of journeys. "Changing the emissions profile of one-third of the transport sector has to be undertaken by us as individuals. "I think this is one of the real challenges in talking about community. This is one of the areas where for people to understand what they are actually emitting in their daily lives, and to have access to alternatives and choices, will be a key issue going forward. Transport sector "It isn't to say that big business and large transport can't do more of course not but one third is still a fairly big chunk of the transport sector that you and I can have an impact on, and this would be one of the opportunities." Ireland is following what is now seen to be the emerging good practice in five-year carbon budgets and annual action plans breaking down the sectors, she said. "The challenge we are going to face in Ireland is going to be very significant. Just to give headline figures, we are currently at about 60 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions. By 2030, we will need to get to 30. The current action plan adopted in 2019 will save 16 of those. Steep mountain to climb "So we need another 14, which effectively means we will have to double our efforts vis-a-vis what we thought we were going to do in order to achieve our objective by 2030. It's a very steep mountain to climb, it is going to be challenging, but this is the opportunity for us to really deliver on that," she said. Mr Ryan said cooperation between Ireland and Britain would be crucial in achieving the "challenge beyond compare" of reducing emissions by 50%, because the environment does not recognise borders or the Irish Sea divide. Cork, Dublin, Rosslare and other Irish ports would be key in connecting renewable power supplies across Europe. Weathering of silicate rocks is part of the so-called carbon cycle that maintains a temperate climate on Earth over long periods of time. Credit: University of Bern, Illustration: Jenny Leibundgut The weathering of silicate rocks plays an important role to keep the climate on Earth clement. Scientists led by the University of Bern and the Swiss national center of competence in research (NCCR) PlanetS, investigated the general principles of this process. Their results could influence how we interpret the signals from distant worldsincluding such that may hint towards life. The conditions on Earth are ideal for life. Most places on our planet are neither too hot nor too cold and offer liquid water. These and other requirements for life, however, delicately depend on the right composition of the atmosphere. Too little or too much of certain gaseslike carbon dioxideand Earth could become a ball of ice or turn into a pressure cooker. When scientists look for potentially habitable planets, a key component is therefore their atmosphere. Sometimes, that atmosphere is primitive and largely consists of the gases that were around when the planet formedas is the case for Jupiter and Saturn. On terrestrial planets like Mars, Venus or Earth, however, such primitive atmospheres are lost. Instead, their remaining atmospheres are strongly influenced by surface geochemistry. Processes like the weathering of rocks alter the composition the atmosphere and thereby influence the habitability of the planet. How exactly this works, especially under conditions very different from those on Earth, is what a team of scientists, led by Kaustubh Hakim of the Centre for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern and the NCCR PlanetS, investigated. Their results were published today in The Planetary Science Journal. Conditions are decisive "We want to understand how the chemical reactions between the atmosphere and the surface of planets change the composition of the atmosphere. On Earth, this processthe weathering of silicate rocks assisted by waterhelps to maintain a temperate climate over long periods of time," Hakim explains. "When the concentration of CO 2 increases, temperatures also rise because of its greenhouse effect. Higher temperatures lead to more intense rainfall. Silicate weathering rates increase, which in turn reduce the CO 2 concentration and subsequently lower the temperature," says the researcher. However, it need not necessarily work the same way on other planets. Using computer simulations, the team tested how different conditions affect the weathering process. For example, they found that even in very arid climates, weathering can be more intense than on Earth if the chemical reactions occur sufficiently quickly. Rock types, too, influence the process and can lead to very different weathering rates according to Hakim. The team also found that at temperatures of around 70C, contrary to popular theory, silicate weathering rates can decrease with rising temperatures. "This shows that for planets with very different conditions than on Earth, weathering could play very different roles," Hakim says. Implications for habitability and life detection If astronomers ever find a habitable world, it will likely be in what they call the habitable zone. This zone is the area around a star, where the dose of radiation would allow water to be liquid. In the solar system, this zone roughly lies between Mars and Venus. "Geochemistry has a profound impact on the habitability of planets in the habitable zone," study co-author and professor of astronomy and planetary sciences at the University of Bern and member of the NCCR PlanetS, Kevin Heng, points out. As the team's results indicate, increasing temperatures could reduce weathering and its balancing effect on other planets. What would potentially be a habitable world could turn out to be a hellish greenhouse instead. As Heng further explains, understanding geochemical processes under different conditions is not only important to estimate the potential for life, but also for its detection. "Unless we have some idea of the results of geochemical processes under varying conditions, we will not be able to tell whether bio-signaturespossible hints of life like the Phosphine that was found on Venus last yearindeed come from biological activity," the researcher concludes. Explore further Narrowing the universe in the search for life More information: Kaustubh Hakim et al. Lithologic Controls on Silicate Weathering Regimes of Temperate Planets, The Planetary Science Journal (2021). Kaustubh Hakim et al. Lithologic Controls on Silicate Weathering Regimes of Temperate Planets,(2021). DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/abe1b8 A board member for the Brazos River Authority has resigned, according to Gov. Greg Abbott's office, after a rocky confirmation hearing Monday at the Texas Capitol. TWEET STORM: Twitter sues Texas AG Ken Paxton, asks court to halt his investigation Darren Yancy, who Abbott appointed to the board in 2019, was largely unapologetic as Democrats on the Senate Nominations Committee questioned him about two tweets he posted attacking Democratic politicians. One of them, posted earlier this month, suggested President Joe Biden was trying to kill U.S. citizens because he "wants illegals coming with potential viruses and other health issues to spread and infect." The other tweet accused former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of using "SS tactics" to run the chamber, referring to the paramilitary force in Nazi Germany. Toward the end of the questioning, state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, asked Yancy if he had "any regrets with regard to your public discourse." "No," he replied. Yancy was part of the 21-member board that oversees the Brazos River Authority, a quasi-public state agency that controls much of the water in the river that cuts across Texas. He is not unknown in Texas politics he ran for Texas Senate in 2010. During that run, he advocated for using deadly force on U.S. borders, and it came out that his real estate license had been temporarily suspended starting the prior year. Darren Yancy. Credit: Linkedin Profile While only two of his tweets came up at the hearing, Yancy's account is filled with explicit diatribes again Democrats, including regular taunts involving sexual descriptions. At Monday's hearing, Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, said she supported free speech but added she was concerned about Yancy's "thought process on illegal immigrants and COVID" and questioned whether the views expressed on his Twitter account would "cloud your judgment and decision-making" at the river authority. Alvarado then said "the people that you're talking about some of them might reside" and Yancy interjected. "If they reside in the state of Texas, they're gonna get the same treatment as everyone else," Yancy said. Alvarado asked how she could be sure of that "because when I look at your post, I don't get that feeling." "M'am, I can't do anything about your feelings about a post," Yancy replied. Next up was Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, who asked Yancy about the anti-Reid tweet. Gutierrez asked Yancy if it was fair to say he "misspoke [or] overreached" with the tweet. Yancy replied that the tweet probably reflects how he felt at the time, and "now if I have to go back and reexamine it, possibly." MIXED SIGNALS: Gregg Abbott recommends masks after throwing out mask mandate But given multiple opportunities by Gutierrez to say he would refrain from such rhetoric going forward, Yancy declined. He said it "depends on the action of the federal government" and argued the hearing was not the right venue to raise the issue. Gutierrez disagreed and continued to press Yancy if he would make any further Nazi comparisons. "What I do in terms of social media, which is in regard to a broadcast or a podcast, is separate from what I do with the BRA," Yancy said. "If a federal government employee, regardless of party, does things where they can be compared and contrasted to prior regimes, then it may elicit a comment. That has nothing to do with the tenacity and commitment to being sure that we've got water coming through and the BRA." After Yancy's exchanges with Alvarado and Gutierrez, the two other Democrats on the committee spoke up. First was Eckhardt and then came Sen. Borris Miles of Houston, who said he would "like to have a private conversation with [Yancy] in my office before we take any vote." It was unclear if the two did privately meet. Yancy's nomination would have needed a majority vote from the nine-member committee to advance to the Senate floor. The committee adjourned before voting on any nominees, and Yancy resigned afterward. The two tweets that were raised at the hearing do not appear to be online anymore. However, they were read to Yancy at the hearing, and he did not dispute them. Reached by email Tuesday afternoon, Yancy said he had nothing to add to his comments from the hearing. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/09/brazos-river-authority-appointee-resigns-tweets/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. China has passed new laws that will see Hong Kongs opposition effectively wiped out, drawing immediate international condemnation as it cements its control over the political and legal circles of the city. The draft legislation, which will empower Hong Kongs 1500-strong electoral committee to directly elect a pro-Beijing leader, passed by 2895 votes to 0 on Thursday. My way or the highway: Beijing commuters travel past a screen broadcasting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaking at the National Peoples Congress. Credit:Bloomberg Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the purpose of the decision was clear cut in his first and only major press conference of the year after the conclusion of the National Peoples Congress on Thursday. It is to adhere and improve the systemic structure of one-country, two-systems and uphold the principle of patriots administering Hong Kong, he said. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with killing two people and injuring another during demonstrations on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, listens to defense attorney John Pierce during an extradition hearing in Lake County in Waukegan, Ill., on Oct. 30, 2020. (Nam Y. Huh/Pool via Reuters/File Photo) Wisconsin Judge Delays Trial for Kyle Rittenhouse to November CHICAGOThe trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with the fatal shooting of two men in Wisconsin last summer during protests, will start on Nov. 1, a judge ruled on Wednesday, giving lawyers on both sides more time to prepare. The 18-year-old is charged with first-degree homicide and five other criminal counts related to the Aug. 25 killings of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber in the Wisconsin city of Kenosha, and the wounding of a third man, Gaige Grosskreutz. Jury selection in the case had been scheduled to begin on March 29. But during a hearing over Zoom on Wednesday, Kenosha Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder pushed back the date after attorneys asked for more time for discovery and jury logistics, online court records showed. Schroeder also scheduled a final pre-trial hearing for May 17. Kenosha erupted in violent protests over police brutality following the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was left seriously wounded. Two days after the shooting, Rittenhouse traveled from his home in nearby Antioch, Illinois, in a self-appointed role to protect Kenosha businesses. Rittenhouses legal team has said their client, who is hispanic, feared for his life when he fired his semi-automatic rifle, and have indicated they plan to argue self-defense. In February, Schroeder ruled that Rittenhouse could remain free on bond and had no obligation publicly disclose his whereabouts, denying prosecutors requests. By Brendan OBrien Abby Connect Although storefronts and offices shut down for companies that went remote, business owners that used Abby Connect as their answering service never felt their doors close. And, neither did their callers. Abby Connect, the premier provider of live virtual receptionist services for small businesses in the US and Canada, is proud to have answered over one million calls during 2020 and the height of the COVID pandemic. No one could have imagined the impact that COVID19 would have on small businesses in the US and throughout the world. CEO Nathan Strum remarked, Our way of life, as we knew it, changed dramatically. And, for better or for worse, Abby was there to answer the call. Strum stated that, Abby's focus on compassionate, clear, and consistent communication paired with a 24/7 answering service for small businesses helped keep many businesses not just stay open but even helped them grow. As the effects of the pandemic settled in, some small businesses started to go under and even close their doors for good. But clients of Abby Connect had a much different experience. Although storefronts and offices shut down for companies that went remote, business owners that used Abby as their answering service never felt their doors close. And, neither did their callers. As experts in customer excellence, receptionists at Abby know how to make your callers feel like they just stepped through your lobby and right up to the front desk. "Callers never feel the disconnect that they get from calling businesses that use other answering services," said Strum. "And, we can assure you that we understand the challenges of making big changes like this and all while pushing through the effects of the pandemic." While businesses had to move their offices to remote locations, Abby Connect had to make a big move, too. In the spring of 2020, Abby Connect moved to a larger location. Abby Connect was expanding and needed more room. The move occurred the weekend prior to the city of Las Vegas issuing the necessary restrictions to aid in reducing the spread of COVID19. Abby Connect's new large office was quickly transformed into a COVID-safe working space and they worked with technical and personal challenges having some staff at home. Marianne Mlechick, Vice President of Operations, explained, The pandemic presented a great challenge. At Abby Connect, we believe it's best that our family-like team works under one roof. Remote working isn't something we do very much of around here. And, there is a good reason for that. Unlike other answering services, we at Abby have a training program and team structure that surpasses any other format of operations for live answering services. We understand firsthand how hard it was getting through those first weeks of quarantine. No matter what the challenge was though our team and CEO pushed forward, our leadership supported us all, our business prevailed, and so did our clients' businesses." There was nothing more confusing for business owners that went remote than figuring out exactly how to get the quality of work from their office implemented into their homes. At least, for those that didn't already have their home offices set up, which applied to the majority of office workers in the US. Abby Connect took away those concerns SMB owners felt towards their business phone lines. As leading experts in phone systems from all top carriers, Abby was able to forward lines and set up services for clients fast and efficiently. This seamless act helped control the gap that many SMB owners began to feel in their sales margins when they chose to take all their business calls on themselves or rely on their voicemail. Many businesses that went remote also relied on their company's website and online search engines to bring them their customers. Sam Schwartz, Director of Marketing, shared, "Although it is a great place to start, many online visitors start looking elsewhere once they see that there isn't a clearly posted phone number on your site that they can contact. Resorting to chat or contact forms, these businesses drive a great wedge between them and their buyers. People want to talk to people. Not a machine or auto-responder. At Abby, we put a human touch on every call. Our receptionists receive empathy training and constant support from leadership to help them in providing the most genuine experiences one can have over the phone. When you speak with an Abby receptionist, it feels like you just stepped through the lobby and right up to your front desk. This is how we kept our clients' doors and businesses open." Most companies, before switching to an answering service, in 2020 had a very traditional office setup. All of which had the staple position of receptionist operating within the company. A receptionist that, just like everyone else in the office, worked a certain shift. These offices, never having a receptionist stay longer than the traditional eight-hour workday, suddenly began to realize the benefits of having someone answer your calls twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days out of the year. With their phone lines always being attended by stellar receptionists, Abby Connect's clients saw major growth within their sales margins. And, it wasn't just Abby Connect's clients that experienced this growth. Abby Connect also grew as high-quality services increased in demand from those SMBs seeking out the very best for virtual receptionists. In 2020, Abby Connect was listed in the annual Inc. 5000 for 2020 and the team is proud to be represented among the top fastest-growing private companies in America. About Abby Connect Abby Connects virtual receptionists help busy professionals save time so they can focus on running and growing their businesses. Abby's receptionists are top-rated on Clutch.co and ConsumerAffairs.com, and are professional, friendly and become a natural extension of our customers teams. Abby Connect's founders maintain that having tight-knit company culture which emphasizes team building and personal development, will extend into creating a better service for clients. We make working with an offsite receptionist team seamless for our customers, with an easy to use Mobile App and Portal, dedicated Customer Success Managers, and a unique 14-day free trial. As a result, we help our customers capture more calls and improve communication with existing contacts, which leads to more business. Burma Myanmar Military Regime Removes Arakan Army From List of Terrorist Groups Arakan Army leader Major General Tun Myat Naing (second from the right) attends an ethnic armed organizations peace conference in Kachin State in July 2016. / The Irrawaddy Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. The Tennessee Historical Commission on Tuesday voted 25-1 in favor of removing the bust of Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol, per the Tennessean. Why it matters: "This is the first time the state has contemplated the removal of a monument or statue in the capitol under the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act," the state's Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said in a statement sharing his concerns over the precedent, per News Channel 3. A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. Dozens of Confederate symbols have been removed, relocated or renamed since anti-racism protests began over George Floyd's death last year. Driving the news: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) asked the State Capitol Commission last July to consider placing the bust of Forrest in the Tennessee State Museum "where it can be part of an exhibit that can be studied, learned from, and seen in full context." Following the vote and an hours-long meeting on the issue, the statue will now be moved to the museum. Lee tweeted Tuesday that "this process should begin as soon as possible." What they're saying: The ACLU of Tennessee said in a statement Monday calling for the monument's removal that when visitors to the state Capitol are "greeted by a monument to slavery and white supremacy, it sends a clear message that our government endorses the oppression and inequality that the bust represents." Catalina Aguirre, 35, who is due to have her second child in May, has spent much of her pregnancy trying to plan around COVID-19. She and her husband intended to start trying to become pregnant last March; with information scarce about how COVID-19 might impact pregnancy, and now with limited data surrounding vaccines, they and their toddler hunkered down. (Newser) Sad news today for anyone who ever recorded a mixtape off the radio (complete with DJ interruptions and cut-off songs) or knows what this picture means. Lou Ottens, a Dutch engineer who invented the cassette tape, has died at the age of 94, per NPR. Local media reports Ottens died Saturday in Duizel, in the North Brabant province. Ottens, who was an engineer heading product development in Belgium for the Philips electronics company, was tasked in the early '60s with shrinking large reel-to-reel tapes to a size that was portable and affordable. "Trying to envision something that didn't yet exist, Ottens used a wooden block that was small and thin enough to fit in his pocket" as a rough model, NPR notes. Per the Guardian, the cassette tape was introduced at a Berlin electronics fair in 1963 with the tagline: "Smaller than a pack of cigarettes!" "Lou wanted music to be ... accessible," says Zack Taylor, director of a documentary about the format. story continues below Taylor tells NPR that Ottens pushed for Philips to distribute the license for cassettes so they could become a global standard that everyone could enjoy. The caption for the documentary's trailer notes Ottens had "mixed emotions" about his creation. He went on to play a big role in the development of CDs, and when cassette tapes started recently making a resurgence, he called the trend "nonsense," saying CD sound quality was much better, per Rolling Stone. Ottens has said that his biggest regret is that Sony, not Philips, came out with the hand-held device to play cassette tapes: the Walkman. As for that wooden block Ottens used as his inspiration, Olga Coolen, the director of the Philips Museum, says "it was lost when Lou used it to prop up his jack while [changing] a flat tire." More on Ottens at NPR, which has a remarkable anecdote about how a cassette tape led to the creation of one of the Rolling Stones' greatest hits. (Read more cassette tape stories.) Jayne Millard, Turtle & Hughes Executive Chairman of the Board These extraordinary women leaders have devoted their careers to championing women as employees and business partners. It is fitting that in Womens History Month we can re-imagine possibilities for our organizations and each other as sisters in innovation and growth. --Turtle & Hughes' Jayne Millard Jayne Millard, Executive Chairman of the Board of Turtle & Hughes, made womens history of her own this month with her induction last night into the Womens Business Enterprise Hall of Fame (WBEHF) in a virtual ceremony hosted by the American Institute of Diversity & Commerce (AIDC). As a fourth-generation woman business leader of one of the largest privately-held electrical and industrial distribution companies in the nation, Millard was recognized for driving the companys 21st century growth while deepening its commitment to diversity and inclusion among its employees and suppliers. Jayne Millard is a rare leader who has set a nearly 100-year-old company on the path to even greater achievements. While sustaining Turtle & Hughes history of women in management, she has also kept the company agile and inventive in a changing marketplace, said Tom Trotter, AIDC Chairman and retired IBM executive, presiding over the ceremony. I am honored to join the extraordinary women leaders who have devoted their careers to championing women as employees and business partners. It is fitting that in Womens History Month we can re-imagine possibilities for our organizations and each other as sisters in innovation and growth, Millard said. Now in its 12th year of celebrating women-owned businesses and their positive impact on the economy, the WBE Hall of Fame recognized 14 women who are both accomplished in their industries and outstanding advocates for womens business development. Members of the Womens Business Enterprise Hall of Fame include respected leaders from corporations, womens businesses and nonprofits dedicated to economic growth through diversity. Millards dedication to ensuring diversity and economic opportunity among Turtle employees was inspired by her mother who led the company before her, and great-grandmother who presided for 40 years after her husbands death. Today, women make up one-third of Turtles workforce exceeding industry averages and extend to top management with CEO Kathleen Shanahan at the helm. Under Jaynes leadership, the company has doubled in employees, ushered in a digital transformation and forged a new partnership to serve thousands of hospitals and health care centers across the country. At the same time, she has overseen a recreated workplace that has enhanced our productivity while ensuring the safety of our employees, Shanahan said. Inducting Millard into the WBE Hall of Fame were AIDC Vice Chairman Cheryl Stevens and Board member Betty Manetta who remarked on Millards commitment to nonprofit growth. Jaynes skilled guidance extends to organizations she has long believed in as a member of the board of The Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance and Make-A-Wish International. Having served in numerous roles over her three decades at Turtle, Millard became CEO in 2010 and Chairman in 2016, sharing the Co-CEO position with Shanahan in 2018, and last year becoming Executive Chairman of the Board, on which she has served since 1986. For this dynamic impact in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Millard received the 2020 Women in Industry Trailblazer Award from the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED). For its collaborative culture, Turtle & Hughes was named the 2020 recipient of a Best Place to Work Award by NJ BIZ. Millard received the 2012 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in New Jersey, and has served as a National Judge in this prestigious event. Millard is a graduate of the Harvard University Owner/President Management Program (OPM). She received an M.B.A. from Dominican University of California and is a graduate of the Eugene Lang School of the Arts. She is also a member of the Women Presidents Organization and the Committee of 200 renowned for fostering, celebrating and advancing women's leadership in business. Turtle & Hughes is a Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)-Certified Womens Business Enterprise (WBE), certified through the Women Presidents Educational Organization (WPEO)-NY. About the WBE Hall of Fame The WBE Hall of Fame (WBEHF) is a nonprofit organization launched in 2009 to recognize the contributions of women entrepreneurs in their communities, as well as their accomplishments within their industries. Through a network of womens business development organizations, corporate and government advocates and women-owned enterprises, WBEHF spotlights best practices and insights, as women create businesses that help build a stronger economy. wbehf.org About the American Institute of Diversity & Commerce Dallas-based American Institute of Diversity & Commerce (AIDC) is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization that focuses on education, research, best practices, validation and recognition of performance in diversity and inclusion. AIDC was established to recognize and honor individuals and organizations nonprofit and for-profit that demonstrate outstanding performance in these areas. About Turtle & Hughes Turtle & Hughes has close to 100 years of market experience and ranks among the top 20 electrical distribution companies nationwide. It is an independent, woman-owned business that services the industrial, construction, commercial, electrical contracting, export and utility markets. Turtle & Hughes Integrated Supply division (THIS), services Fortune 100 companies operating nationwide, and in Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Danish group BioMar is using its newly-acquired stake in Viet-Uc tp grow its high-end feed operations After a comprehensive due diligence process, BioMar and Viet-Uc have signed an agreement for the former to acquire the majority of the latter's feed business. Through this acquisition BioMar establishes a partnership with one of the leading seafood groups in Vietnam. The ambition is to grow the market for high-end feed products focusing on sustainability, traceability, quality, and performance. The acquisition is subject to customary approvals by the authorities. With this partnership, we open an important door into the Vietnamese market, one of the worlds leading shrimp producing countries with a production close to 500,000 tonnes of shrimp. Considering the performance and agility of the Vietnamese shrimp industry during the last decade and not at least during this last year of the pandemic, I am sure the market holds a great potential for growth, explains Carlos Diaz, CEO of BioMar Group. Looking at market forecasts and the increasing consumer focus on healthy and sustainable seafood, BioMar expects there will be an increasing market share for high-end feed, ensuring customers can capture value by delivering certified and tailored products towards global retail channels. Building upon the BioMar business model of promoting local market agility in combination with global excellence, BioMar will shortly be able to turn research and knowledge within shrimp feed into new product and service offerings to the Vietnamese market. By acquiring a majority ownership in Viet-Uc's feed business, BioMar is ready to pursue a position in high-end shrimp feed in Vietnam BioMar is already a significant shrimp feed producer in South and Central America and it is our ambition to continue the journey to become a major player within high-end shrimp feed. Within the past five years, we have established a significant production of shrimp feed in Ecuador and Costa Rica in partnership with large-scale local farmers. Now, adding Vietnam into the equation will enable us to build a strong relationship both to the market in Vietnam but also to the nearby countries, and at the same time creating benefits from the relation between genetic and nutritional development. Partnering with one of the leading companies within this field in order to develop high-performance feeds, concepts, and value chain collaborations makes a lot of sense in order to promote a positive development of the shrimp industry," concluded Carlos Diaz. Since 2012, BioMar has been engaged in the development of feed and technical services for shrimp utilising the capabilities of global research and development in combination with trial facilities around the world, most recently through the advanced internal feed trial unit in Ecuador dedicated to shrimp and local trials in Vietnam. Moving into Asia will strengthen the position of BioMar in the global shrimp industry and make it possible to share knowhow and best practice across the continents. For months, domestic travelers to New York were warned to quarantine upon arrival for as long as two weeks. But starting April 1, domestic travelers will no longer be required to quarantine, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday, though the state will still recommend they do so as an added precaution. The quarantine requirement remains for international travelers, and all travelers must continue to fill out the states traveler health form, he said in a statement. Despite the move, it is not an all-clear for New Yorkers to let their guard down, Mr. Cuomo said, adding that people should continue following health precautions, including mask-wearing and social distancing. The governor has been loosening some pandemic restrictions even as New York continues to be among the states leading the nation in the rate of new coronavirus cases per capita. An anti-coup demonstrator sprays a fire extinguisher as he runs away from a barricade during a protests in Yangon (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta added new bribery allegations to its charges against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, while an advocacy group said security forces killed 12 protesters in one of the deadliest days since the military took power. The bloodshed came hours after the U.N. Security Council had called for restraint from the army, which has been trying to put down daily anti-coup protests and paralysing strikes since it took power on Feb. 1. Among the dead were eight people killed in the central town of Myaing when security forces fired on a protest, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said. In Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, protester Chit Min Thu was killed in the North Dagon district. His wife, Aye Myat Thu, told Reuters he had insisted on joining the protests despite her appeals for him to stay home for the sake of their son. "He said it's worth dying for," she said through her tears. "He is worried about people not joining the protest. If so, democracy will not return to the country." Adding corruption charges to the accusations against Suu Kyi could mean she faces a harsher penalty. She currently faces four comparatively minor charges - including illegally importing six walkie talkie radios and flouting coronavirus restrictions. The junta spokesman, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, said Suu Kyi had accepted illegal payments worth $600,000, as well as gold, while in government, according to a complaint by Phyo Mien Thein, a former chief minister of Yangon. "He strongly said that," the spokesman told a news conference. "We have verified those facts several times. Now the anti-corruption committee is continuing the investigation." Aye Ma Ma Myo, a member of the dissolved parliament belonging to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, rejected the claim. "It is no longer uncommon to see slander against politicians and efforts to crush the party while innocent young people are killed in public," she told Reuters in a message. Story continues FUNERAL Another funeral was held for an official from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), who died in custody after being arrested early on Tuesday. Mourners wept over the open coffin, which showed Zaw Myat Linn's badly disfigured face. Thursday's deaths brought the number of protesters killed since the coup to more than 70, the AAPP said. Some 2,000 people have also been detained since the coup against Suu Kyi's elected government, it says. The army did not respond to requests for comment on the latest deaths but the junta spokesman said the security forces were disciplined and used force only when necessary. U.N. human rights investigator Thomas Andrews told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva the military may have committed crimes against humanity. He called for multilateral sanctions on the junta and the state energy firm, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. Amnesty International accused the army of using lethal force against protesters and said many killings it had documented amounted to extra-judicial executions. "These are not the actions of overwhelmed, individual officers making poor decisions," said Joanne Mariner, Amnesty's director of crisis response. "These are unrepentant commanders already implicated in crimes against humanity, deploying their troops and murderous methods in the open." Suu Kyi, 75, fought for decades to overturn military rule under previous juntas before the start of tentative democratic reforms in 2011. She had spent a total of around 15 years under house arrest. The army has justified taking power by saying that a November election, overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi's party, was marred by fraud - an assertion rejected by the electoral commission. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun reiterated that the military would only be in charge for a certain period before holding an election. The junta has said a state of emergency will last for a year, but has not set a date for the election. The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday condemned violence against protesters and urged the army to show restraint. But language that would have denounced the military takeover as a coup or threatened possible further action was removed from the British-drafted text, due to opposition by China, India, Russia and Vietnam. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped the Security Council statement would push the military to realise it "is absolutely essential" that all prisoners are released and the results of the November election are respected. In Myanmar, state media said the junta had removed an insurgent group, the Arakan Army (AA), from a list of terrorist groups because it had stopped attacks in order to help establish peace across the country. The AA, which is fighting for greater autonomy in the western state of Rakhine, had become one of the most formidable forces in challenging an army that has been fighting various ethnic wars for seven decades. (Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Clarence Fernandez and Angus MacSwan) AMSTERDAM, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EclecticIQ, a global threat intelligence, hunting and response technology provider, has partnered with Applied Cyber Defense Systems (ACDS) to expand its offering as a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP). The partnership follows EclecticIQ's acquisition of endpoint security platform, PolyLogyx, last year, helping to realize the company's vision as a true innovator within the space. ACDS provides Managed SOC services, and its next-generation security mechanisms are supported by Intercept, a platform engineered to deliver some of the most sophisticated defenses in the world. Paired with Polylogyx's technology, EclecticIQ and ACDS can offer sophisticated threat intelligence services for both businesses and end users. "There has been a significant increase in the number of cyberattacks since the onset of the pandemic," commented Joep Gommers, EclecticIQ's co-founder and chief executive officer. "It's time to double down on security because threat actors are looking to exploit the situation. In order to protect themselves, companies need to focus their cybersecurity resources and ensure they choose the right solution to maintain cybersecurity posture." "We're really pleased to be partnering with ACDS to draw on their expertise and expand our offering into the Middle East and Africa, where the demand for threat intelligence services is ever increasing. In the longer term, we hope to integrate our XDR detection and response technologies to deliver a sophisticated, best in class solution." Andrew Chester, chief executive officer at ACDS, commented; "Africa is a hotbed for cyber attacks and offensive operations, with very little intelligence-based defensive capability and operations being given the correct amount of attention." "We are taking the fight directly to advanced advisories throughout the EMEA market. We will no longer be satisfied being one step behind the advisory, instead we will be taking a proactive, intelligence driven approach to defensive security operations for our customers." About EclecticIQ EclecticIQ is a global threat intelligence, hunting and response technology provider. Its clients are some of the most targeted organizations, globally. To build tomorrow's defences today, they have to understand the threats against them and align their efforts and investments to mitigate their risks. EclecticIQ helps governments, large enterprises and service providers manage threat intelligence, create situational awareness and adopt an intelligence-led cybersecurity approach. EclecticIQ extended its focus towards hunting and response with the acquisition of Polylogyx's endpoint technology in 2020. Founded in 2014, EclecticIQ operates globally with offices across Europe, North America, and via value-add partners. More info: www.eclecticiq.com About Applied Cyber Defense Systems (ACDS) ACDS is a South African managed cybersecurity & advisory consulting firm, offering boutique Cybersecurity services across the African continent. ACDS has built global threat intelligence networks, and provide proactive monitoring, detection, response and security solutions to clientele & partners within the SME & Enterprise markets. Founded in 2013, ACDS has grown from a cybersecurity startup, to a leader in the industry by constantly innovation, training exceptional cybersecurity talent & providing constant value-add services and solutions to their market. More info at acds.io Photo(s): https://www.prlog.org/12861359 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE EclecticIQ After Kerala Congress leader PC Chacko resigned from the party citing lack of democracy within the fold, the Opposition has termed the senior leader's exit as the 'failure of the grand old party. Reacting to the development ahead of Kerala Assembly Elections, senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari said Congress is facing 'tough times' as many people are quitting the party all over the country. He called on the Congress leadership to take action against the series of exits. Meanwhile, BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said, while Chacko's resignation is an internal matter of the Congress, it cannot be denied that the party is weakening day by day. Attacking the opposition, BJP's Shiv Pratap Shukla said, "Congress thinks about the progress of the (Gandhi) family whereas BJP thinks about the countrymen." Congress leader PL Punia said he was unaware of the reason behind Chacko's sudden decision. He said the senior leader may have been dissatisfied with regard to the Kerala elections. PC Chacko quits Congress In a big blow to Congress ahead of Assembly polls, senior leader PC Chacko announced his exit from the party on Wednesday. The fierce loyalist of Rahul Gandhi called Congress a 'total failure' claiming that there is 'no democracy' in the party. Speaking to Republic TV after his resignation, he stated that the Kerala Congress had sent nominations to the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) without discussion. Chacko said groupism in the party prevails to an extent that two alleged factions - Congress (I) and Congress (A) - sent their own list of candidates to the high-command without any deliberations. He has dismissed any plans of joining the LDF or the BJP. Elections will take place in a single-phase in Kerala, with the polling of votes on April 6 followed by counting and declaration of results on May 2. Feature Article SuperCam sends first data back to Earth from the Perseverance Mars Rover Results show that SuperCam is in good condition and giving its first impressions of Mars DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory Photos of 'Yeehgo,' the second rock target analyzed with SuperCam's various imaging capabilities. LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 11, 2021--Following the successful landing of NASA's Perseverance rover in Jezero Crater on Mars, the SuperCam operational teams at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) received the first results showing that SuperCam is in good health and giving its first impressions of the crater. "It's amazing to see SuperCam working so well on Mars," said Roger Wiens, the lead scientist on SuperCam at Los Alamos. "When we first dreamed up this instrument eight years ago, we worried that we were being way too ambitious. Now it's up there working like a charm." Located at the top of the Perseverance rover's mast, SuperCam is currently undergoing a series of tests designed to verify its systems' operating status. The tests are part of an overall rover check-out phase that will last nearly three months. The data collected by the engineers and scientists at the controls of SuperCam provide a very positive assessment of its health and capabilities. Hailed by NASA as a "Swiss Army Knife" of instruments, SuperCam brings together five remote techniques intended to study the geology of Mars and help select samples that will be collected by the mission. SuperCam uses a focused infrared laser beam to remove dust and material from rock surfaces in a technique called Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). The energy burst from each five-nanosecond pulse creates a flash; its optical spectrum (specific colors) reveals the elemental chemistry of targets up to about 25 feet away. The first SuperCam LIBS spectra were acquired on a target named Maaz, which means Mars in Navajo. The high-quality LIBS spectra show that the rock has a basaltic composition. "On Earth, basalts cover the ocean floors and characterize some continental lava flows," said Wiens. "It's too early to tell whether the Maaz target is an igneous (volcanic) rock, or is composed of fine-grained igneous sediments that were cemented together in a lake or stream." SuperCam's Raman spectroscopy technique uses a green laser beam to analyze rock mineralogy on Mars, making it possible to precisely characterize the molecular structure of minerals up to about 25 feet from the rover. It can also to detect certain organic molecules. "Many research groups have spent more than 20 years developing Raman spectroscopy for planetary exploration," said Sam Clegg, senior scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. "For the first time, SuperCam can remotely determine sample mineralogy. Being able to remotely measure both mineralogy and chemistry of the same sample location is very powerful. I am absolutely thrilled to be part of the team to collect the first Raman spectrum from the surface of Mars." Visible and near infrared reflectance (VISIR) spectrometry analyzes sunlight that is reflected from the rock targets. This technique, which is already widely used in Mars orbit, makes it possible to describe the mineralogy of Martian rocks, in particular, their alteration in the presence of water to form clay minerals. SuperCam covers the 1.3-2.6 micron range for the first time from Mars' surface. VISIR spectroscopy will also be used to study the constituents of the atmosphere. SuperCam is also equipped with a color camera that takes high-resolution images used to understand the geological context of targets and help interpret the chemical and mineral analyses. "The first images show the expected quality and resolution and indicate that the imager is in perfect working order," said Wiens. This Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) will provide among the highest resolution images from Perseverance. In addition to the four optical techniques, SuperCam has a scientific microphone that records the zapping sounds generated by the laser impact of LIBS on rocks up to a distance of about 12 feet, which in turn provides information about the rock's physical properties. This microphone can also record wind noise and sounds produced by the rover itself. "With the SuperCam microphone, we now have an opportunity to study Martian rocks and atmosphere in an entirely new way," said Nina Lanza, planetary scientist and team lead for Space and Planetary Exploration at Los Alamos. "The acoustic signal from our rock-vaporizing laser can tell us how hard a rock is or whether it has a coating on it, both of which give us even more information about what Mars rocks are made of and the environmental conditions they have experienced on the Martian surface." Listen to the Martian wind here. Working with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA's Deep Space Network of Interplanetary Communications, SuperCam's check-out commands are developed and sent from centers in Los Alamos and Toulouse, France. Every few days, American scientists and engineers pass the baton to their French counterparts who, in turn, adjust to Martian time (24 hour, 38 minute day/night cycles) to bring this new technology to life. "Our team has been working long shifts, often for twelve hours at a time, and largely through the nights since the landing," said Tony Nelson, SuperCam's lead electrical engineer at Los Alamos. "Our teams on both sides of the Atlantic have been collaborating superbly to ensure that SuperCam is operated safely to enable excellent science returns for years to come." NASA relies on Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the development of the Mars 2020 mission. SuperCam was jointly developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, operated by the Department of Energy, and a consortium of laboratories funded by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and associated with French universities and research establishments. Several Spanish universities led by the University of Valladolid directed development of SuperCam's calibration targets on the rover. Other contributors included the University of Copenhagen and the University of Winnipeg. Numerous scientists around North America and Europe are contributing to SuperCam's operations and science. About Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns. About CNES CNES is the French Space Agency, a governmental organization founded in 1961. As a program-focused agency and center of technical expertise, CNES is responsible for shaping and implementing France's space policy within the framework of international cooperation, particularly within Europe. CNES is a major source of proposals which aims at maintaining and developing France's and Europe's competitiveness and ensuring that they remain key players in the space domain. 'LA-UR-21-22361' Former Washington attorney Patrick Kim was charged in King County Superior Court with three counts of first-degree theft and 10 counts of second-degree theft, all felonies, involving clients insurance settlements. Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidlers Criminal Investigations Unit investigated the case after a referral by the Washington State Bar Association. Kim was the managing partner at United Law Firm in Bellevue until he resigned from the state bar in September 2017 after its investigation into his conduct. According to the WSBA, United Law Firm specialized in criminal law, immigration and naturalization, personal injury and traffic offenses. Kreidlers detectives reportedly found evidence that Kim stole $1.8 million from clients who received settlements from at least 15 insurance companies. The investigation allegedly found he improperly recorded fees and other accounting records and misrepresented amounts to his clients. This is a case of an attorney abusing the trust of his clients, many of whom had a language barrier, Kreidler said in a statement. It appears that Mr. Kim used that to his advantage in siphoning off settlement money that should have gone to his clients and, in some cases, the insurance companies. Topics Fraud Abuse Molestation Washington Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Page Content California employers are prohibited from rounding time-clock punches for employee meal periods, according to a recent ruling by the state's high court. Employees in the Golden State generally must receive a 30-minute unpaid meal break for every five hours they work. "The meal period provisions are designed to prevent even minor infringements on meal period requirements, and rounding is incompatible with that objective," wrote Justice Goodwin Liu for the California Supreme Court on Feb. 25. Additionally, the court said, if time records show evidence of noncompliant meal periods, the court will assume a violation was committed unless the employer proves otherwise. "The ruling is significant," said Mark Payne, an attorney with Troutman Pepper in Orange County, Calif. "It provides a clear direction that any kind of rounding practice related to recording meal periods is prohibited." Strict Meal Break Rules Employees in California must receive a 30-minute unpaid meal break for every five hours they work; they can waive their right to take a meal break only if they work no more than six hours. A second break must be provided after 10 hours but can be waived if the employee works no more than 12 hours and the first break was taken. In limited circumstances, an employee may be permitted to have an "on-duty" meal period, but the time must be paid at the worker's regular rate of pay. Employees are entitled to one hour of pay for each day a meal period rule wasn't followed. So, if an employee doesn't receive a full meal break, the employer will need to pay the employee a one-hour premium. "To avoid liability, an employer must provide its employees with full and timely meal periods whenever those meal periods are required," the California Supreme Court said, noting that "even a minor infringement of the meal period triggers the premium pay obligation." The question in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC was whether an employer could have a neutral practice that rounded employee time-clock punches to the nearest 10-minute increment. The employer's time-keeping system included a dropdown menu for employees to list whether their meal break was short, missed or delayed, but the system didn't show whether the time was rounded up to 30 minutes. "The California Supreme Court declared that compliance with the 30-minute meal period requirement must be based on precise actual time with no rounding permitted," explained Mark Terman, an attorney with Faegre Drinker in Los Angeles. The court also held that "records showing noncompliant meal periods raise a rebuttable presumption of meal period violations." This means that employers should be prepared to prove that they provided the full meal break. While the court restated its existing view that employers need not police meal breaks, Terman said, it also said employers need to give employees a mechanism for recording their meal periods and ensure that employees are using that mechanism properly. [View the 25+ state changes in 2021 already and learn about the printed and electronic labor law poster services.] Review Policies and Practices Employers should be doing everything they can to ensure they can prove meal period compliance, Payne said. "It's not enough to have a policy that says the company provides meal periods before the fifth hour of work," he explained. "The employer has the obligation to keep accurate records." Employers have to record the actual length of the meal breaks. If an employee's meal period was short, the employers should be able to show it was the employee's choice and not because of anything the employer did, he noted. Allyson Thompson, an attorney with Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck in Los Angeles, said employees should be accurately recording their own time every day. "If a supervisor is recording meal breaks every day at exactly 12:00, it's a red flag." The actual time an employee clocks out for lunch may be 11:59 or 12:02. So a timesheet that reflects a 12:00 to 12:30 meal period each day may signal to a court that the time was rounded. Employers can have great policies and time-keeping software, Thompson said, but someone needs to ensure that employees are actually getting their full breaks. An employee in HR should be trained to look through time-keeping records to identify short breaks, she noted. Employees who received short breaks should be given the one hour of premium pay, and paystubs should clearly designate the payment as a meal break premium. Although the court addressed only meal period rounding, employers may want to eliminate rounding practices altogether. "Rounding is still allowed for purposes of calculating wages," Payne said. "But the day may be coming when the court is less tolerant of rounding wage calculations, even when the practice is neutral and doesn't disadvantage employees." He noted that computerized time-keeping systems make it easier to precisely record time. In AMN Services, the California Supreme Court noted that "technological advances may help employers to track time more precisely" and "employers are in a better position than employees to devise alternatives" to rounding time-clock punches. Terman observed that rounding practices are already targeted in wage and hour class actions in California. "This ruling accelerates the risk of claims, such as missed meal period premiums, for employers who do not pay to the time-punch minute and provide at least a 30-minute, duty-free and uninterrupted meal period." Said Thompson: "The golden rule is to pay for all hours worked." Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. A number of local councillors have supported a call for the NI Executive to extend a Covid-19 student support scheme to NI students studying outside the jurisdiction. The councillors were speaking in response to a deputation from Ellen Fearon, President of the National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI), at the Council's Policy and Resources Committee last week. Ms Fearon urged councillors to let their constituents know about the support the Union provides and about the current campaign. Magherafelt councillor Christine McFlynn thanked Ms Fearon for the work the NUS-USI have been doing and said it was a difficult time for students. We will continue to help the students and all young people because I know a lot of students are under pressure mentally, she said. They can't get into the social aspect of it and if they're first years, they can't get into the experience of true uni life. Carntogher councillor Sean McPeake said students living outside the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland were the 'forgotten sector'. I do feel for the students who have been left behind during the pandemic. They are the forgotten sector, but their bills haven't been forgotten because they keep mounting up, he said. I just hope that those outstanding sectors, the ones that are out of the country, across the water, down South or whatever, get the money too. Their costs are even more substantial than the ones in the North here. Those gaps should be filled. Lithium prices are surging, sparking concerns about limited supplies of the battery metal that is crucial to the electric-vehicle boom. Chinese prices for lithium, considered a bellwether because of the markets higher liquidity and active spot market, have soared since the start of the year. Lithium carbonate, a compound of the silvery metal used in the batteries that power most of Chinas electric-car fleet, has jumped 68% since the start of the year to $11,250 a metric ton, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. The price rally marks a sharp turnaround for lithium. A wave of investment in new mines until 2018driven by overexuberant expectations of demand for electric carscreated a glut of the metal that depressed prices. But analysts and industry executives say the pandemic has proved to be a reset point for the market. The gradual end to lockdowns has unleashed a wave of pent-up demand for electric cars that has whittled down surplus stocks of the metal, while governments have emerged from recessions with pledges to invest in clean-energy projects. The whole dynamic is completely changed, said David Archer, chief executive of Savannah Resources, which is seeking to develop Western Europes first major lithium mine. While battery-powered vehicles were once regarded as a niche product, they are now seen as the future of transport, providing solid future demand for lithium, he said. Chinese electric-vehicle sales more than tripled in January from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In Europe, sales of alternatively powered carswhich include those that use batteries, hybrids and biofuelseclipsed those of diesel-engined vehicles for the first time in the third quarter of 2020 and now account for a third of new passenger cars, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Government incentives have also been a boon for lithium demand, said Scott Yarham, who leads battery-metals pricing at S&P Global Platts. Some European governments offer subsidies to electric-car buyers, while President Biden has pledged to build half a million charging stations, addressing a primary concern buyers face: getting stuck without power miles from a plug-in point. The things EVs need to tick before consumers start switching to them is chargeability, durabilitythe long-road-trip anxietyand cost, Mr. Yarham said. The supply-and-demand balance for lithium fell into deficit in 2020 for the first time in years, according to commodity analysts at CRU. For 2021, the firm is forecasting lithium demand of about 450,000 metric tons, exceeding supply by roughly 10,000 metric tons. You will find there is a sold out sign on every operating mine at the moment, Mr. Archer said. There will be some bad moments in the coming years where there will be a shortage of lithium production. Miners invested heavily in new projects as global lithium prices boomed until 2018. Supply comes mostly from miners in Australia digging up a mineral called spodumene, which contains lithium, and companies extracting it from salt lakes in Chile and Argentina. But a run of declining prices ever since has dissuaded new investments, leading to expectations of even tighter supplies in the future. A fresh price surge could unleash a new wave of extraction. There has been very little investment in the supply chain, said Caspar Rawles, head of price assessments at Benchmark. While we have been saying for some time that demand is coming, everyone has been looking at yesterdays price. His firm expects global lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices to hit highs of about $16,100 and $18,800 a metric ton, respectively, in 2024. Rising prices are likely to draw in new investors hoping to bet on the global push toward environmentally friendly technologies, said James Jeary, an analyst at CRU. But miners would have to be cautious if they wanted to keep prices high, he added. Everyone is preparing for the moment when the next wave of new investment comes in, he said. Its almost like the calm before the storm. : wsj.com - Will Horner Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of 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. Manchester Center, VT (05254) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Sammy Wilson says the flag issue is the latest example of how the agreement was cutting Northern Ireland off from the rest of the UK. (Liam McBurney/PA) A selection of electrical goods sold in Northern Ireland will continue to bear the EU flag on energy efficiency labels despite the rest of the UK moving to the Union flag, it has emerged. The symbol currently appears on a number of appliances, including fridges and televisions. According to the Daily Telegraph, such items will continue to carry the EU flag because of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The DUPs Sammy Wilson said the issue was the latest example of how the agreement was cutting Northern Ireland off from the rest of the UK. The very fact it will be an EU flag, although weve supposedly left the EU, is an illustration of how were treated differently, he told the Daily Telegraph. What we need to do is ensure that EU legislation no longer applies to Northern Ireland, except where we are exporting goods to the EU and we have to abide by their regulations, just as we have to with the US. Why are we going to finish up with a situation where everyone who buys a washing machine or a fridge finds themselves buying something which is designed to meet EU requirements rather than the UKs regulations? The East Antrim MP also highlighted recent changes made by the Treasury meaning that boat owners who use their vessels for leisure will be banned from fuelling them with cheap red diesel while sailing in Northern Ireland. There will be no such prohibition on boat owners in the rest of the UK. UUP leader Steve Aiken said the labelling issue raised concerns around the possibility of the EU diverging from the UK on product standards in the future, leading to knock-on effects for Northern Ireland. We could end up with UK goods not being acceptable in Northern Ireland, the South Antrim MLA said. The protocol was supposed to be about protecting trade, but yet again its being expanded out to areas that nobody expected. It just underlines what a ridiculous and absurd thing the protocol is. Mr Aiken also pointed out that UK was moving rapidly towards net zero carbon emissions. The UK is looking to increase environmental standards, which will probably outpace those of the EU before long. Does that mean Northern Ireland has to have lower standards than the rest of our nation? he asked. TUV leader Jim Allister said he had raised the labelling matter with Economy Minister Diane Dodds. Its part of the fact that we are under EU laws that we didnt make and cant change. British laws that are made within the UK cant apply to us, the North Antrim MLA said. The issue is a manifestation that the laws made under it dont apply to us. The laws that apply to us are made under the EU flag. Thats the constitutional issue at the heart of the protocol. Westminster announced new energy efficiency legislation last Thursday, mirroring the system introduced in the EU. It means products in the UK and the EU have to meet the same standards. Only the labelling is affected. The UK labels are identical to their EU counterparts, only they have a Union flag in the top left corner instead of an EU one. The changes will provide more accurate information on energy efficiency, incentivising manufacturers to go further, the Government said. They are also designed to encourage consumers to buy more energy-efficient products and boost peoples confidence in the environmental credentials of the products they are buying. Now the UK is an independent nation outside the EU, the EU emblem on energy efficiency labels has been replaced with the Union flag. A separate spokesperson confirmed Northern Ireland would continue to follow EU rules on energy labelling. They said the protocol was a unique solution that would uphold the Good Friday Agreement and safeguard Northern Irelands integral place in the UK. The agreement has caused widespread anger in the unionist community, triggering a push to overturn the protocol. The Loyalist Communities Council, which represents groups including the UVF and UDA, has withdrawn its support for the Good Friday Agreement over the dispute. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Scattered showers are likely throughout much of the day Wednesday. Otherwise, we will be mostly cloudy and a bit cooler than average. It will be muggy, though. Into the afternoon, a few storms could be strong or even severe. Radar Temperatures Severe Weather Even the Goggleboxers are hating on intruders in The Amazing Race Australia, questioning the fairness of dropping in contestants halfway through the race. Its a complaint thats been levelled by fans on social media but while 10 has noticed the feedback it also points to the difficulties of producing a show under severe restrictions last year. The race had to be adjusted by producers Eureka to meet the stripped show requirements. We did make it during COVID. The producers have done a phenomenal job and its holding up very well against very strong competition, says Beverley McGarvey, Chief Content Officer & EVP, ViacomCBS Australia & New Zealand. In an ideal world, would we have done things a little bit differently? Absolutely. The way the race works today, theres only a certain amount of contestants you can start with, so you can actually engage with them. You cant have eliminations in every episode or youd have to start with, you know, 50 people. Its just the nature of the format. In the same way Survivor episodes have twists and turns, as opposed to direct elimination. Challenged by border limits and quarantine rules, the series filmed across Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and the ACT. Despite the limitations the series has won praise for casting diversely and showcasing the country. It was a very challenging series to make but its been phenomenal to be able to show Australia off. I think probably the audience are used to seeing something that they perceive to be a bit more exotic and chaotic, she continued. We are thrilled with this seasons performance. Were really glad that we got to make an Australian series, because the situation forced us to do it. We might not have otherwise considered it. But I think in the future, wed like to get it out of Australia. Related Trafficking, forced marriages of Christian women on the rise worldwide, Open Doors reports Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Persecution of Christian women worldwide has risen dramatically in the last year as a new study released by Open Doors International found that forced marriages have increased by 16%, and physical violence against women has increased 31%. Global persecution watchdog group Open Doors International released the 2021 Same Faith, Different Persecution report on gender-specific religious persecution ahead of International Women's Day finds(GSRP) to detail the plight of the global persecuted Church and how this especially affects women. GSRP has risen to the highest level recorded in the three years since the report was first issued in 2018, as women face a higher potential risk of religious persecution than men. The report's data comes from the top 50 countries on the group's annual World Watch List between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sep. 30, 2020. Helene Fisher, a global gender persecution specialist for Open Doors International and one of the authors of the report, told The Christian Post that the increased threat to women is often because women have fewer rights in most of the top 50 countries for religious persecution. Because [women] have fewer rights and fewer protections, theyre just an easier target, Fisher said. They can also be targeted with impunity, which means that if there is a population that doesnt want the Christians to thrive, they can go after the women and girls. And there arent consequences for those aggressors. So, it is a question of the women and girls having fewer rights for legal protections. [Women] are more vulnerable in the society, and they are just the easiest way to disable the Christian population. Fisher and the other authors of the report Eva Brown, Elizabeth Lane Miller and Rachel Morley highlight that faith, combined with their gender, puts women more at risk. The five most common pressure points among women in the top 50 countries on the World Watch List for religious persecution are forced marriage, sexual violence, physical violence, psychological violence and forced divorce. Each category increased since last years study. Ninety percent of the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted report forced marriage as a pressure point, and 86% of countries report sexual violence. Reports of psychological violence among women in these countries rose from 40% to 74% from the 2020 report to the 2021 report. Forced marriages increased by 16%, and physical violence increased by 31%. Women are often used as pawns to target the Christian community. Persecutors often target the daughters of pastors to weaken the core of the church community. It is a well-documented fact that rape can be used as a weapon of war, the report reads. Womens bodies essentially become the second battlefield. The capture of women in a community demonstrates to the men that they were unable to protect them. Persecutors are seen as dominant. In the midst of using these women as pawns, of course, real women are violently abused. Targeting women, the child bearers, and forcing them to convert is a tactic used to destabilize the future generation of the Church, the development of families and the raising of Christian children. Trafficking women as a form of religious persecution is on the rise, particularly in Asia and Africa, the report finds. Christian refugees or internally displaced peoples are especially vulnerable to this. Trafficking as a form of religious persecution continues to pose a threat in all regions on the World Watch List and it is rising, particularly in Africa and Asia. Globally, 17 countries (up from 10 the previous year) reported incidents of trafficked women and girls, the report adds. Countries engaged in conflict were most likely to report instances of sexual violence and trafficking. Extremist groups in the Middle East and North Africa often weaponize trafficking by forcing or seducing Christians into marriage or sexual slavery and forced conversions to Islam. Women who are able to escape their captors often struggle to reintegrate into their home society due to shame, stigma and damaged self-worth. A young Nigerian girl named Ester was abducted by Boko Haram and was impregnated by one of her captors, the report chronicles. When she returned home, she was shunned, and the community called her baby Boko after the militants who abducted her. This tactic of shame is sometimes part of the extremists goal. Fisher said the narrative in Christian communities in response to this should use biblical truth to fight the false narrative Islam seeks to spread through the shame of rape and sexual exploitation of women. Doing so will foil the persecutors strategies, she said. Our value is not determined by what has been done to us, but is determined by what has been done for us by Jesus Christ. Just holding on to that truth can radically change the future of a community, Fisher shared. In China, the shortage of women due to gender-biased sex selection of males and the one-child birth policy has led to human trafficking webs that force women into marriages to produce male children. The U.S. State Department reported that traffickers increasingly sent girls to China for arranged marriages from impoverished Christian communities. In its 2020 Trafficking Persons profile on Pakistan, the U.S. State Department noted that traffickers increasingly targeted impoverished Christian communities to send females to China for arranged marriages. The persecution of men and women presents itself very differently due to structural vulnerabilities. Since women are more confined to the home, their persecution is less visible in nature. The religious persecution against men is focused, severe, and visible, whereas the religious persecution of women tends to be complex, hidden and violent, Fisher explained. Men are more likely to face imprisonment and are pressured by the government in the workplace or public sphere. But women are often held hostage in their own homes, Fisher stated. Men are also likely to be killed or forced to join the military, while women are likely to be trafficked, forced to flee the country and have an increased chance of being abducted. When they are going after the women, they can accomplish the same ends in a much less visible manner. Now, if its less visible, its less of a risk to the persecutor , Fisher said. We find that a lot of the ways women and girls are targeted tends to be hidden because its in the domestic sphere. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the situation as levels of persecution, especially domestically, have risen to produce a shadow pandemic. The pandemic has also led to a rise in abductions due to decreased security. We have noticed of course that COVID has made the vulnerable even more vulnerable, Fisher shared. In Latin American and sub-Saharan Africa, criminal groups especially intensified criminal activity against Christians during the vulnerabilities of the pandemic and lockdowns. Oftentimes, Christians in heavily persecuted countries are met with backlash from the government when they report persecution inflicted on them. When governments turn a blind eye to violence, it takes tremendous tenacity from the Christians to even be acknowledged. [Governments] doing nothing is failing to provide justice and protection. That is doing something that is effectively aggressive against Christians by not providing those basic citizenry services or human rights services, Fisher said. And we do find that around the globe, we have so many cases where it is difficult for Christians to bring a case of individual attacks against someone. The attacks against Christian women especially target the family unit, marriage and the individual by targeting the womans worth. The GSRP report concludes that a multi-faceted solution is required to address such a complex problem. The GSRP analytical team suggested that local faith actors develop a faith-based approach to respond to the toll on the church, family and community. Although someones choice to convert to Christianity may expose them to persecution, that faith can also be a resource for strength, comfort and forging a path forward as a response to the persecution and discrimination they might encounter as part of a minority religion, the report stated. Research from the World Watch List shows more than 340 million Christians globally endure high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, which amounts to one in eight Christians around the world. Health officials have sounded a "note of caution" about the prevalence of Covid-19 in the community, warning that the country remains in a "precarious" state despite a gradual decline in case numbers. While many of the virus indicators are trending in the right direction, increased mobility and the planned return to school for many students next week is causing concern among health officials. Some 592 new cases of Covid-19 were announced last night, in addition to a further 10 deaths. There were 359 Covid-19 patients in hospital, including 87 in ICU. Speaking at a health briefing last night, Philip Nolan, the chairman of the Nphet epidemiological modelling group, said hospital numbers have declined from over 2,000, but still remain higher than at any stage of the second wave of the virus. The R number is stable at 0.6-1, he said. Mobility data also shows that traffic levels are around 60% of a normal workday, which is in sharp contrast to last April, when they were at just 25%. There is a risk this could lead to increased infections, he said, though he noted that the number of close contacts for confirmed cases remains low. We are sailing very close to the wind here a gust of wind in the wrong direction, and we are in big trouble", said Prof Nolan. "It is essential over the next few weeks that we stay home, continue to limit our contacts, and suppress transmission." Dr Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer, called on parents to continue working from home when children return to school. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn and Professor Martin Cormican, clinical lead for antimicrobial resistance and infection control, HSE. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin I would appeal to parents please do not take that as a signal to go back to work," he said. "Please stay at home, work from home if at all possible. We have to protect the gains we have made. He said he is aware of the burden these restrictions place on workplaces. But, he warned: If there are employers telling employees to come into work when they dont need to, they are putting the progress we made at risk. The vaccines are having a phenomenal effect, Dr Glynn said. He said: We are looking at two to three months where we have got to stick with this barring unforeseen events, there is a reasonable expectation we will have a good summer. In the short-term, there will be a vaccine bonus for the elderly and vulnerable who have lived restricted lives, Prof Nolan said. This view was supported by Professor Karina Butler, chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee. She said vaccinated older people could visit with young children two weeks after their second dose but she stressed that visiting and hugging are not the same. The question everyone is asking is: 'When can grandparents get the hug from their grandchildren?', said Prof Butler. Once the grandparents are protected, and when the rates in the community are down to that residual risk in the community and in the child; its brought very low to negligible, then thats the time when they can get together." Thursday marks one year since medics reported Ireland's first death related to Covid-19. More than 4,500 people in Ireland have since lost their lives to the disease. The departure of controversial and outspoken presenter Piers Morgan prompted a sell-off in ITV shares yesterday. The broadcasters stock fell 3.8 per cent, or 4.8p, to 121.55p after the Good Morning Britain host quit amid a backlash against comments he made about the Duchess of Sussexs interview with Oprah Winfrey. Morgan had been credited with boosting GMBs viewing figures since he joined in 2015. ITV's stock fell 3.8 per cent after Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan quit amid a backlash against comments he made about the Duchess of Sussexs interview with Oprah Winfrey Russ Mould, investment director at stock broker AJ Bell, said his departure would cost ITV a high-profile and highly-effective broadcaster and polemicist. Neil Wilson at Markets.com added: Investors may be a little worried about the loss of ratings for GMB it wasnt exactly doing that well before he joined and its prime-time slot will have repercussions for ads. Love or loathe, Morgan boosted ratings. It could also be that investors are worried about an investigation over comments made by Morgan on air. But City analysts were upbeat about ITVs prospects as they weighed up its full-year figures which were published on Tuesday but somewhat overshadowed by the Morgan furore. The numbers showed profits dropped almost 40 per cent to 325million last year as turnover fell 16 per cent to 2.8billion. But there were encouraging signs advertising was bouncing back. Stock Watch - Tritax Big Box Tritax Big Box saw record demand for space in its warehouses in 2020 as online shopping boomed. The landlord which counts Tesco, Apple, Amazon and DHL among its customers collected 99.4 per cent of rents due last year and expects to receive the remaining 0.6 per cent in 2021. Profits ballooned by 218 per cent to 450million after its properties were revalued. Shares in the company, which has more than 33m square feet of space and land for another 40m, rose 2.4pc, or 4.2p, to 183.2p. Barclays brokers raised their target price on ITVs stock from 115p to 125p on the basis that advertising revenues are set to rise. And analysts at Berenberg, JP Morgan and Societe Generale all raised their target prices too. Shares in major miners tumbled for a second day as the prices of key metals continued to lose ground. Price of copper and iron ore, an ingredient used to make steel, fell by 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent respectively yesterday, as traders digested data on Chinas imports for the first two months of the year which were less rosy than expected and environmental curbs placed on a major steel making city. BHP fell 3 per cent, or 66p, to finish at 2134p, while Rio Tinto dropped 2.9 per cent, or 170p, to 5649p, Chilean copper miner Antofagasta by 3 per cent, or 53p, to 1688p, and Glencore by 0.5 per cent, or 1.55p, to 283.35p. Anglo American wasnt spared from the gloom, but fell by less than its peers after it sold 400million of diamond sales at its De Beers business, in the second of ten auctions. This was up from 260million in the second cycle of 2020. Shares fell 1 per cent, or 28.5p, to 2857p. The drop across the industrial miners tipped the Footsie into the red, with the FTSE 100 closing down 0.1 per cent, or 4.74 points, to 6725.6. The FTSE 250, which is more focused by domestic UK stocks, rose 0.1 per cent, or 24.2 points, to 21406.67. It was a mixed day for construction groups Balfour Beatty, Breedon and Ibstock. Balfour shares fell 2.1 per cent, or 6p, to 285.8p, despite the company predicting that profits would return to 2019 levels this year after slumping in 2020. In full-year results, the company said its order book is in good shape bolstered by winning HS2 contracts last year. Balfour pledged to repay 19million of furlough cash. Concrete and asphalt-maker Breedon also believes the future is bright with bosses saying it will benefit from infrastructure spending and long-term demand for housing. But its stock slid 2.8 per cent, or 2.6p, to 89p, after it revealed 2020 profits halved to 48million. Brick-maker Ibstock was met with a warmer reception, even as revenues were cut by almost a quarter to 316million after its housebuilding customers were forced to shut sites during the first Covid lockdown. But shares crept up 0.5 per cent, or 1.2p, to 242.4p. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb held his weekly COVID-19 press conference on Wednesday. State health officials were unanimous in expressing optimism regarding Indianas COVID-19 trajectory. Governor Holcomb says Indianas first mass vaccination site went flawlessly at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend. Over 16,000 Hoosiers received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box says this was a turning point for Indiana. The number of fully vaccinated Hoosiers surpassed the number of COVID-19 cases the state has seen since March 2020. Nearly 750,000 Hoosiers are fully vaccinated. News 10 reported on Tuesday the updated CDC guidance for those who are fully vaccinated. Dr. Box says the state has issued new guidance for long-term care facilities as well. If folks who live in those facilities leave and are back in less than 24 hours, they do not have to quarantine upon their return. In addition, facilities must allow visitation if their counties have positivity rates at 10% or below. Indianas positivity rate is down to just 3.1% and Hoosier hospitalizations are down to just 75 per day. Governor Holcomb says its time to look ahead. I intend on, over the next week or two weeks, delivering a statewide address talking about where we were, where we are, and where we are going and well look at all of our policies, Holcomb said. Chief Medical Officer with the Indiana Department of Health Dr. Lindsay Weaver says Indiana received their 2,000,000th dose of vaccine this week. She outlined Indianas plan moving forward with COVID-19 vaccine rollout efforts. During the next three weeks, there will be three more mass vaccination sites open to Hoosiers. Dr. Weaver says the state will also deploy mobile vaccine units beginning on March 22nd. This is for Hoosier counties that are overwhelmed with vaccine appointments. Over the past couple of weeks, the state has opened up vaccine eligibility to Hoosiers who have specific conditions putting them at a higher risk of death due to COVID-19. Dr. Weaver said on Wednesday that this list has expanded. The IDOH or FSSA is contacting healthcare providers of Hoosiers with the following conditions to arrange vaccination: Intellectual developmentally disabled individuals receiving home or community-based services Early childhood conditions that are carried into adulthood Cystic Fibrosis Muscular Dystrophy People born with severe heart defects, requiring specialized medical care Severe Type I diabetes, requiring hospitalization in the past year Phenylketonuria (PKU), Tay-Sachs, and other rare inherited metabolic disorders Epilepsy with continuing seizures, hydrocephaly, microcephaly, and other severe neurologic disorders Severe asthma, requiring hospitalization in the past year Alpha and beta-thalassemia Spina bifida Cerebral palsy People who require supplemental oxygen and/or tracheostomy Pulmonary fibrosis, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, combined primary immunodeficiency disorder, HIV, daily use of corticosteroids, use of other immune weakening medicines, receiving tumor necrosis factor-alpha blocker, or rituximab Additionally, starting on Monday eligibility in the State of Indiana will open statewide to educators and support staff. Dr. Weaver says this is per direction from the White House. She says she is pleased with the direction Indiana is heading, and eligibility expansion is on the horizon. After we make this group eligible, we will continue to expand access to the vaccine as quickly as supplies permit, Dr. Weaver concluded, Our plan is to next open eligibility incrementally to the 40-49-year-old age group. Dr. Weaver says the state was notified that it would be receiving an additional 16,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. However, Indiana is still unsure when another shipment of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will become available. Those doses are being allotted to the mass vaccination sites in the coming weeks. Indian American Rep. Pramila Jayapal speaks during a March 1 news conference with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (left) to announce legislation that would tax the net worth of America's wealthiest individuals. Citing growing inequalities during the coronavirus pandemic, Jayapal, Warren and Rep. Brendan Boyle introduced the bill that would apply a two percent tax on people worth more than $50 million and an additional one-percent surcharge for net worth above $1 billion. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) President Biden said on Wednesday that he was directing the federal government to secure an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnsons Covid-19 single-shot vaccine, a move the White House said could help the country vaccinate children and, if necessary, administer booster doses or reformulate the vaccine to combat emerging variants of the virus. Mr. Biden made the announcement during an afternoon event at the White House with executives from Johnson & Johnson and the pharmaceutical giant Merck, where he praised them for partnering to ramp up production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a deal brokered by the White House. During World War II, one of the countrys slogans was, We are all in this together, Mr. Biden said. And the companies took that slogan to heart. In announcing the agreement between Merck and Johnson & Johnson last week, Mr. Biden said that the United States would now have enough vaccine available by the end of May to vaccinate every American adult roughly 260 million people. But Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Wednesday that the administration was trying to prepare for unpredictable challenges, from the emergence of dangerous virus variants to manufacturing breakdowns that could disrupt vaccine production. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says about 270,000 Michiganders were unemployed in January. Yet, Michigan paid unemployment to at least 600,000 unemployed workers during each week in January including the final week, when 991,000 Michiganders got benefits. The difference is largely because of varying definitions of unemployed, with one count leaving out those whove stopped actively searching for work, and the other including those who have left the workforce. Michigans unemployment rate dropped from 8.2% in December 2020 to 5.7% in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the state announced Thursday, March 11. Thats the largest drop in the unemployment rate since last July, when it went from 14.1% to 9%. The number of unemployed Michiganders went from 400,000 in December to 270,000 in January. Of the 130,000 fewer people on unemployment, only 10,000 became employed. The other 120,000 left the labor force. Thats why some experts say the current unemployment rate is misleading. The sharp drop in Michigans January unemployment rate was mainly due to a reduction in the size of the workforce, as the number of employed in Michigan increased only modestly over the month, said Wayne Rourke, from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget in a news release. The states labor force fell by 2.5% in January. People arent considered unemployed if they havent looked for work in four weeks and arent expecting to be recalled to their old job. But many have been able to collect benefits, even if theyre not searching for work, under temporary rules implemented during the pandemic. That largely explains why more than 1 million people received benefits in Michigan during the week of Feb. 13. The number of Michiganders getting benefits has yo-yoed in recent weeks from 600,000 to nearly 1 million, then back to 600,000, back to 1 million and around 600,000 for the week of Feb. 20. New income verification requirements that started in February could have had something to do with one of the dips, a UIA spokesperson said. More swings could be coming, as Michigan ended its Extended Benefits program this week for nearly 100,000 people after the unemployment rate dipped low enough that the program could no longer be used. The change also cuts seven weeks for those in the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. All federal unemployment programs are set to expire this weekend, however, the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday reinstates the programs for six months. In the past, it took Michigan a few weeks to reimplement renewed federal programs, resulting in a delay for many people to get their money. The UIA hasnt yet responded to an inquiry about whether people on federal unemployment will see a delay in benefits again, starting next week. RELATED STORIES One Michigan unemployment program ends suddenly, kicking thousands off benefits Michigan tops 1 million unemployment claims for first time since October Feds send Michigan money to find unemployment fraud 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. Global consulting company iLink Digital has announced their acquisition of a majority stake in Platinum Salesforce Consulting Partner Dazeworks. Since their inception in 2015, Dazeworks has been working to empower organizations with the right strategy, solutions and talent through the power of the Salesforce platform. With the acquisition, iLink is set to deepen their Salesforce expertise as part of their strategic growth plan for 2021. This partnership will enable iLink to leverage the skills, experience and expertise within Dazeworks to provide advanced Salesforce implementation services, admin & developer support services, managed services and integration and data migration services. iLink will have the advantage of gaining deeper expertise in the Salesforce stack to expand their overall digital transformation capabilities and accelerate the integrated Salesforce experience for current and potential customers. iLink Group CEO Sree Balaji knew that enterprise customers today look for technology specialization and this strategic partnership will empower iLink to deliver. iLink is focusing on growth this year. We are continuing to expand our portfolio, and this acquisition is a big part of that. The leaders and the team at Dazeworks are motivated to grow rapidly along with us and were delighted to work alongside them, said Sree Balaji. iLinks vision for the future positions them as a comprehensive digital transformation hub for businesses across all industries. Through their world-class delivery of next-generation software and integration solutions, they have won a place in the Inc 5000 list of fast growing companies four times in a row. Dazeworks was founded with the vision of bringing together the best minds in Salesforce to solve the digital transformation challenges of ambitious organizations. Their six year long journey has been studded with several iconic milestones which includes collaborating with Fortune 50s within the first year, becoming a Platinum Salesforce Partner in 2019, having the greatest number of Salesforce MVPs under one organizational umbrella in the world, and so on. Shivanath Devinarayanan, CEO of Dazeworks, said, Our relationship with iLink Digital is the latest and the biggest yet. Our conversations with iLink stemmed from the remarkable synergies between the company DNAs, company cultures, and leadership values. With the vast experience, knowledge, and complementary facets of technologies that the iLink team brings in, we believe this powerful partnership will help us achieve our combined goals and emerge stronger. We are excited about joining the iLink Family and all the possibilities in store for both organizations. The runway ahead of us is much longer than the runway behind us. About iLink Digital iLink Digital is a CMMI Level 3 and ISO 9001:2008 Certified Global Software Solution Provider and Systems Integrator. iLink delivers next-generation technology solutions to help clients solve complex business challenges, improve organizational effectiveness, increase business productivity, realize sustainable enterprise value and transform businesses. iLink integrates software systems and develops custom applications, components, and frameworks on the latest platforms for IT departments, commercial accounts, application services providers (ASP) and independent software vendors (ISV). iLink's solutions are used in a broad range of industries and functions, including healthcare, insurance, telecom, government, oil and gas, education, and life sciences. For more information about iLink, visit https://www.ilink-digital.com About Dazeworks Established in 2015, Dazeworks is a Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner offering development, implementation and architectural guidance to SMBs and large enterprises across verticals. Their expertise includes app development, integration and migration to Force.com as well as Salesforce.com services such as dedicated administrators, customization, data integration and support services. They configure and customize across the product suite including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Community Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Pardot, Einstein Analytics, FSL, CPQ and Lightning. Their team of Salesforce certified developers, consultants and architects are spread out across India, Sri Lanka, USA, UK, Canada and UAE. For more information about Dazeworks, visit https://dazeworks.com/ Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 23:43:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close -- Chinese lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to adopt a decision on improving Hong Kong's electoral system. -- The Election Committee of the HKSAR will be reformed in its size, composition and formation method, and will be given more power. -- A new committee will be set up to vet the qualifications of election candidates. -- The decision will help form a new democratic electoral system suited to Hong Kong's realities and with Hong Kong characteristics. BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature Thursday adopted a decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), unveiling a series of measures that will reform how the region's chief executive and local lawmakers are elected to ensure the financial hub is run by patriots. The decision was endorsed by an overwhelming majority vote at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC). Lawmakers attending the session at the Great Hall of the People burst into thunderous applause after it was passed. It came months after the NPC Standing Committee enacted the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR, which has helped Hong Kong make the transition from chaos to stability. "The decision will help form a new democratic electoral system suited to Hong Kong's realities and with Hong Kong characteristics," said Qi Pengfei, a researcher on Hong Kong at the Renmin University of China. The closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th NPC is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) According to the decision, the NPC Standing Committee will amend two annexes to the HKSAR Basic Law, which govern the selection method of the HKSAR chief executive and the formation method of the Legislative Council (LegCo), respectively. To become more "broadly representative, suited to the HKSAR's realities, and representative of the overall interests of its society," the Election Committee of the HKSAR will be reformed in its size, composition and formation method, and will be given more power. The Election Committee, expanded to 1,500 members from 1,200, shall be responsible for electing the Chief Executive designate and part of the members of the LegCo, as well as for nominating candidates for the Chief Executive and LegCo members, said the decision. The LegCo shall be composed of 90 members in each term. Members of the LegCo shall include members returned by the Election Committee, those returned by functional constituencies, and those by geographical constituencies through direct elections, according to the decision. A candidate qualification review committee of the HKSAR will be set up to vet and confirm the qualifications of candidates for the Election Committee members, the Chief Executive, and the LegCo members. The HKSAR is required to improve the system and mechanisms related to qualification review, amend local laws in accordance with the decision and the amended Basic Law annexes, and organize and regulate election activities accordingly. In a statement, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she would like to pledge "staunch support" for and "sincere gratitude" to the passage of the NPC decision. "I, together with the HKSAR government, will render our full cooperation in facilitating the amendments, and press ahead with the necessary amendments to the relevant local electoral legislation thereafter," Lam said. Explaining a draft of the decision to lawmakers at the start of the week-long session, senior legislator Wang Chen said the rioting and turbulence that occurred in the Hong Kong society in recent years reveals that the existing electoral system in the HKSAR has clear loopholes and deficiencies, which the anti-China, destabilizing elements jumped on to take into their hands the power to administer the HKSAR. Necessary measures must be taken to improve the electoral system and remove existing institutional risks to ensure the administration of Hong Kong by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body, said Wang, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee. In a statement issued Thursday, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said it firmly supports the decision and will resolutely implement it in the work, adding that implementing "patriots administering Hong Kong" is the key to improving the electoral system. Hong Kong residents display China's national flag and the flag of the HKSAR in support of implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" at Tamar Park in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Li Gang) The decision fits the common expectations of Hong Kong residents and will help Hong Kong end chaos and usher in good governance, said Lo Sui-on, an NPC deputy from Hong Kong. According to a survey by think-tank Bauhinia Institute, more than 70 percent of Hong Kong residents support the NPC decision and believe that the move will create better conditions for the HKSAR government to focus on developing the economy and improving people's livelihood. "I strongly support the NPC decision," Jacky Ko, a young social network influencer of Hong Kong, said. "We are really angry at troublemakers entering Hong Kong's executive, legislative and judiciary organs as they caused the legislative chaos and obstructed projects that concern people's livelihoods, which made ordinary people suffer," he said. (Video Reporters: Zhao Xu, Xia Zilin; Video Editor: Wu Yao) Denton, TX (76205) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early. Scattered thunderstorms developing later at night. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. 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. Belfast Crown Court was told that the defendant had more than 30 previous convictions on his appalling record. A DISQUALIFIED driver called back to prison after leading police on a 70mph chase in a stolen car was handed a 18-month sentence on Thursday. Ryan Devlin, from Whitewell Road in Newtownabbey, was out on licence for robbery when he was arrested in October last year. The 24-year-old drove a Seat Leon taken in an aggravated burglary along the Antrim Road in north Belfast and into the Whitewell area of Newtownabbey, all of which have 30mph limits. Belfast Crown Court was told that the defendant had more than 30 previous convictions on his appalling record. Judge Donna McColgan QC gave him a 30-month sentence, with the nine-month custodial element to begin immediately. She said that had he not pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, he would have been handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence. While Devlin will complete the custodial element of his term this year, he will remain in jail because of his previous crimes. He pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including aggravated vehicle taking, disqualified driving and driving without insurance. A judge erred in not admitting a cellphone video as evidence and a prosecutor took advantage of it, compounding a mistake that denied a Jersey City man a fair trial in 2017, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The high court overturned the conviction of Gabriel Garcia and ordered a new trial for the 35-year-old, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence. He was convicted of aggravated assault for slashing a mans face during a fight that started over a honking horn. The video showed Garcias relatives trying to explain their side of the September 2016 incident to Jersey City police officers, who dismissed them and said repeatedly, Take it to court. They did, and without the jury present, the video was played in court, but the judge dismissed it as hearsay. The prosecutor went on to exploit its absence by portraying the relatives who had taken the stand as untruthful and weaving a false story that they had made no effort to give their account to police. The video also contradicted testimony from the investigating detective, Janixza Domenech, that she had canvassed the area for witnesses. But without it in front of the jury, the errors tipped the scales of justice away from Garcia, the Supreme Court wrote. The combination of the trial courts erroneous evidentiary ruling and the prosecutors inappropriate remarks during summation had the clear capacity to cause an unjust result, the justices wrote in the 7-0 decision. The trial was in front of Judge Mark J. Nelson. Marcia Blum, the assistant deputy public defender, who argued the case on Garcias behalf, said the decision serves as a reminders to prosecutors that their job is not merely to convict. Their overriding duty is to do justice, she said. The September 2016 fight was a contradictory event from the start, and was kicked off by Garcia honking his horn three times in front of his mothers Sip Avenue home at 1 a.m., the decision says. Garcia was picking up family members, and the victim was nearby with his wife, saying goodbye to a relative. The alleged victim told police he gestured for Garcia to keep it down, and Garcia responded by approaching with a box cutter. The victim told police Garcia slashed his face and finger with the blade and his wife called police. However, Garcia said it was self-defense, a position he argued at trial too. The alleged victim, Garcia said, was the aggressor. He approached Garcias vehicle and banged on the roof and then chased him with two other men. Garcias mother, stepfather and sister were roused by the ruckus, and came outside. His mother tried to stop the assault and was pushed. Garcia said he pulled out the box cutter from his belt, which he used for work, and flung his hand in fear, slashing the mans face. Garcia ran to his car for safety and pulled up the block, while his family fled inside their home. The victim then banged on his familys door, threatening to kill them. According to Garcia, the man attacked him again when police arrived and had to be pulled away by officers which his family witnessed. As Garcia tried to explain, cops told him to shut up. And his family members said Jersey City police wanted nothing of their story. They just wouldnt listen, one testified. When the family members tried to speak up, they were told to back up, back off. Garcias mother saw the detective at the scene with a notebook, but she never asked us anything, she said. Garcias uncle videotaped the familys interactions with police on his phone, which ended with one saying, Take it to court. Okay? At trial, the video would have been key, as it directly contradicted testimony on the stand, the Supreme Court said. The detective, Domenech, spoke to the victim and took a formal statement from his wife, and testified she canvassed the area for witnesses but found none and no others came forward. To her, the case was pretty cut and dry. The uncles video, though, shows her at the scene, walking in the background. And once the judge said it could not be admitted, the prosecutor ran roughshod over the testimony of the Garcias relatives, who came to court to give their side. The court had harsh words for the prosecutor, who was not identified in the decision, but was previously reported as Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Roe. The prosecutors closing argument, which specifically targeted Garcias mother, was improper and a synthetic argument, the Supreme Court determined. He urged the jury to believe they were liars because they did not come forward and give their accounts to police at the scene which the video would show was not true. He also intimated that it was preposterous to think that the police would not take information from an available witness. The prosecutor exploited a favorable evidentiary ruling to strike an unfair blow at the defense and give a misleading presentation to the jury untethered to the truth, the court wrote. Deputy Public Defender Joseph J. Russo, who manages appeals statewide, said the decision harkens to a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court case, which found a prosecutor may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. The New Jersey Supreme Court certainly recognized the importance of this principle in the Garcia case. Reversal of Mr. Garcias conviction was clearly warranted, Russo said. The Hudson County Prosecutors Office declined to discuss the Supreme Court decision in detail. As this matter has been remanded for a new trial and therefore is still pending in the court, we reserve any comment, said spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com She's seen a lot of journalists and media personalities move on from their careers with Channel Seven in her 24 years with the network. And on Thursday, Kylie Gillies, 53, said goodbye to Sunrise host Samantha Armytage. In a post shared to Instagram, Kylie appeared to be having a ball as they laughed at Samantha's farewell lunch. Bubbles for everyone! The Morning Show's Kylie Gillies shared a glass of Champagne with Samantha Armytage as she bid farewell to Sunrise on Thursday 'We'll always have... champagne. Love you Sam,' Kylie captioned the upload of the duo embracing one another while holding a glass of champagne each. The veteran broadcast presenters were captured blissfully enjoying the moment, with Kylie smiling while bending down to hug a sitting Samantha from the side. Her post followed Kylie acknowledging the departure of 'absolutely fabulous Sammy' earlier in the day, by uploading a series of pictures of their time together as friends and colleagues on Channel Seven. 'You are ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Sammy! We'll miss you. It's not goodbye. But see ya' later Darl. Xxx,' she wrote. Showcasing memories: Her post followed Kylie uploading a series of pictures of their time together as friends and colleagues on Channel Seven 'You are ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Sammy! We'll miss you. It's not goodbye. But see ya' later Darl. Xxx,' Kylie wrote Blossoming friendship: The broadcasters have been close since Samantha started working on Channel Seven's Sunrise in 2013 Samantha tearfully announced her resignation live on air on Monday, after hosting Seven's top-rating breakfast show for eight years. She said: 'The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise. I have always been brave and fearless in my career and this decision is no different.' The TV host explained she was leaving of her own choosing, and was looking forward to life away from the spotlight after a 'bittersweet' year that included the death of her mother, Libby, and her marriage to businessman Richard Lavender. Gone girl: Sam tearfully announced her resignation live on air on Monday, after hosting Seven's top-rating breakfast show for eight years 'I want to step out of this public world for a while and take some time and calm things down, enjoy a bit of slow living, and spend some time with my precious family, my husband and [dog] Banjo,' she said. 'I go out of this job at a time of my own choosing and on top of the ratings, which not many people on television can say they do. 'I'm extremely proud of my almost eight years at the helm of Sunrise, my seven years before that at Weekend Sunrise, and my almost 18 years with the Seven Network.' 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 Another ten people have died after contracting Covid-19 and 592 new cases were announced, the Department of Health confirmed today. This brings the total number of cases in the state to 225,179 and the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 4,509. One previously confirmed case has since been denotified and this is reflected in the total figure. Eight people died in March, one in February and one in January. The median age of those who died was 75 years and the ages of the deceased ranged from 0 - 84 years. Of the cases notified today: 299 are men / 288 are women 72% are under 45 years of age The median age is 32 years old 253 are in Dublin, 52 in Kildare, 35 in Donegal, 33 in Meath, 28 in Galway and the remaining 191 cases are spread across all other counties As of 8am today, 359 people were in hospital with the illness, 87 of whom were in ICU. There were 32 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. As of March 8, 536,617 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in Ireland 382,528 people have received their first dose 154,089 people have received their second dose Read More This comes as the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine has become the latest to be approved for use in Europe, in what promises to be a game changer for the inoculation programme in Ireland. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has cleared the way for the EU to approve the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen. It is expected that Ireland will receive 600,000 doses of this new vaccine will arrive between April and June. In total, 200m doses are set to be delivered to the EU. The vaccine is now the fourth one to be approved for use in the EU, and is slightly different from the other ones as it only requires one dose. Additionally, it is easier to transport as it doesnt have to be frozen, and it is effective for all age groups. The vaccine had already been approved in the US, with the Food and Drug Administration giving the go ahead 12 days ago. Now that the EMA has approved it, the European Commission will have to authorise its use, which they could do as soon as tomorrow. Other potential Covid-19 vaccines are also under rolling review by the agency. However, they have not yet applied for authorisation. These include the Curevac vaccine, Novavax vaccine, and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Speaking today with RTE Radio One, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that the UK and US do not yet have spare vaccines to offer to Ireland. I think its been made very clear that there are not mountains of vaccines or spare vaccines available right now, he said. I think there will be as we move through the summer, as countries vaccinate their populations, and they have a lot of spare vaccines left over. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access (Natural News) New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that the vast majority of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients who require hospitalization or who die are either overweight or obese. A whopping 78 percent of people who require a ventilator or who pass away after testing positive for the Chinese virus are simply too large for their own good. This suggests that poor eating habits and bad lifestyle choices, rather than other peoples refusal to wear a mask or social distance, are the true culprits behind the plandemic. According to the latest CDC data from 2018, nearly half of the American population is now considered to be obese, meaning a person has a body mass index (BMI) score of 30 or more. Overweight people, who are slightly less fat than obese people, have a BMI of between 25 and 30. Among the 148,494 adults in America who received a Wuhan flu diagnosis during an emergency room or inpatient visit at one of 238 hospitals analyzed between March and December of last year, 71,491 of these individuals had to be hospitalized. More than half of them were determined to be morbidly obese, while another nearly 30 percent were overweight. Only a very small percentage of healthy-weight people develop complications after testing positive for Chinese germs, on the other hand. According to the CDC, people with a BMI under 25 rarely need to be hospitalized or admitted to an ICU for Chinese virus complications. Even fewer die after testing positive. As clinicians develop care plans for COVID-19 patients, they should consider the risk for severe outcomes in patients with higher BMIs, especially for those with severe obesity, the CDC warns. The latest news about the Chinese virus can be found at Pandemic.news. Black Americans are the fattest demographic, says the CDC What this all means, of course, is that being fat is directly linked to also becoming seriously ill or dying from the Wuhan flu. No amount of trying to force others to wear a mask or social distance will help a fat person survive in the event that he or she develops an infection, in other words. These statements may not be politically correct, but they are the truth. The CDCs own data clearly shows that fat people are the ones developing serious complications after receiving an affirmative nose javelin diagnosis, which is on them and nobody else. Because of this, the CDC is now quietly emphasizing the importance of good nutrition and regular physical activity as deterrents against developing COVID-19 complications. The thinner and healthier a person is, the less likely he or she is to get sick or die period. As it turns out, non-Hispanic black people are the fattest demographic in America, according to the CDC, followed by Hispanic adults. Trailing them are non-Hispanic white people, the agency says. It is also important to note that being obese means that ones immune system is critically suppressed, making that person more susceptible to infection. Fat people also have decreased lung capacity, which inhibits their ability to properly ventilate oxygen in the same way as thinner people. The plus-size community had better start moving and eating better if its members want to live, in other words. Developing an obesity-related illness such as a COVID-19 infection would seem to be the sole fault of the obese, having nothing to do with a fat persons neighbor who refuses to wear a mask or stay home. Last April, research from French professor Jean-Francois Delfraissy found the same thing: Unhealthy fat people are the ones getting sick and requiring specialized care due to the Chinese virus not healthy thin people. Sources for this article include: CNBC.com NaturalNews.com Whitefish, Montana--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the leading media network dedicated to the global legal cannabis, CBD and psychedelics industries, today announced an article covering The Delic Holdings Inc. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF). The Delic Holdings Inc. To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6612/76808_337d018584beea52_001full.jpg Investors have many different options when it comes to building exposure into the psychedelics sector within their portfolios. While some companies are undergoing large-scale and years-long clinical trials to prove efficacy, others are opening wellness clinics or cultivating mushrooms in legal jurisdictions. Delic Holdings Inc. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) is a relatively new player to the psychedelics public markets space, but its management team has previous deep experience in another highly-regulated industry-cannabis-as former high-level executives at High Times. With its recent flurry of acquisitions, the team's vision for the future of psychedelics is becoming increasingly clear and compelling to investors and the capital markets. Let's take a look at some of the recent acquisitions and why investors may want to take note. Starting a Home Cultivation Movement DELIC recently acquired a legacy counterculture distributor of psychedelic media and creator of one of the first self-contained mushroom grow kits. Before developing and selling tens of thousands of mushroom kits around the world, Homestead Book Company was one of the earliest distributors for High Times and other counterculture publications. The acquisition enables DELIC to increase the products available on Reality Sandwich, which attracts over 200,000 unique visitors each month. In March, the company expects to launch a new mushroom kit that will have a modern interpretation of the company's storied history and will include everything a consumer needs to become an at-home mycologist. Story continues The company's overarching goal is to become a leader in the home cultivation movement by leveraging a combination of educational content, innovative products and complementary products. With psychedelics limited to clinics at the moment, home cultivation could be a cornerstone of the mindfulness and meditative side of the movement. Click here to receive an investor presentation and corporate updates Building a Network of Ketamine Clinics DELIC has also been targeting the "right-now" clinical side of the psychedelics industry with the acquisition of Ketamine Infusion Centers LLC last month. With two ketamine infusion treatment clinics in Arizona and California, the company offers ketamine as a mental health treatment for chronic mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, alcoholism, PTSD, and a range of other mental health disorders. Supported by clinical trials and peer reviewed studies, evidence of the efficacy of ketamine infusions is quickly growing. By leveraging its existing media assets and connections, Delic hopes to supercharge the ketamine clinic business and scale up over time. DELIC's access to the public markets could also support a more rapid expansion of the business, which has been growing quarter by quarter. More recently, the company appointed Kyle Snook, former COO of Actify Neurotherapies, to its Board of Advisors. Actify Neurotherapies was a venture-backed startup that was formerly the largest provider of IV Ketamine Therapies nationwide. Combined with an MBA from Harvard Business School, Snook's experience in the business will be instrumental to DELIC's growth. Amassing a Psilocybin IP Portfolio to Drive Value DELIC is equally focused on building shareholder value through the acquisition of intellectual property in the psychedelics space with the acquisition of Complex Biotech Discovery Ventures (CBDV). In addition to being a profitable business with over 50 cannabis and psychedelics clients, CBDV's licensed psilocybin and cannabis research lab is well-equipped for the development of IP. The company aims to build out an IP portfolio of psilocybin analogs, novel compounds and deliver mechanisms that could pave the way for future medical treatments for depression, anxiety, PTSD and opioid substance abuse. With plans to apply for a dealer's license, the company could also commercialize its research and IP portfolio over time. The CBDV acquisition also adds strong scientific talent to DELIC's overall management team. Dr. Markus Roggen brings a wealth of knowledge and industry experience that's hard to find given the industry's nascent stage. This leadership and expertise could help transform other businesses that DELIC acquires and better inform its long-term strategy in the space. Click here to receive an investor presentation and corporate updates Looking Ahead Delic Holdings Inc.'s (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) flurry of meaningful acquisitions over the past two months crystalizes its forward vision in the psychedelics space. With a broad focus on education, home cultivation, ketamine wellness clinics and IP psychedelic development, the company provides shareholders with diverse exposure to the industry and what could become a near-term path to profitability for investors. For further information: Investor Relations Contact, Daniel Southern-Dwyer, Corporate Development, dsd@deliccorp.com About CFN Enterprises Inc. CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN) is a digital media and ecommerce company focused on advancing businesses and brands in highly regulated emerging industries across the globe. CFN connects investors with new market opportunities while helping consumers find innovative products that enhance their lives. Learn more at www.cfnenterprisesinc.com. CFN Enterprises Inc. Media Contact: CFN Enterprises Inc. +001 (833) 420-CNFN investors@cfnenterprisesinc.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT Use of Forward-looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements from CFN Enterprises Inc. within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and federal securities laws. For example, when CFN Enterprises Inc. describes Delic's business, and uses other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will" and similar expressions, CFN Enterprises Inc. is using forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of CFN Enterprises Inc. only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: regulatory and licensing risks; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; the regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, including political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; changes in applicable laws; compliance with extensive government regulation; public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry; we may be unable to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products and services; or, loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition, which could cause the actual results or performance of CFN Enterprises Inc. to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, CFN Enterprises Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. For a more detailed description of the risk and uncertainties affecting CFN Enterprises Inc., reference is made to CFN Enterprises Inc.'s reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76808 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) President Rodrigo Duterte has revealed his plans to further open the economy within weeks, but stressed that more people have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 first. I have to reopen the economy. Ive given a timetable of just weeks, Duterte said at the inauguration of Dumaguete Citys Port Operations Building on Thursday. We cannot forever be in the strict protocols People are hungry. People have to work to eat, to survive, he added. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, four million Filipinos or 8.7% of the workforce were unemployed in January despite efforts to gradually resume the operations of more sectors and businesses. The economy has been in recession since last year following months of strict community quarantine. The President, however, acknowledged that the government has yet to fully implement the countrys COVID-19 vaccination program. The country has so far received 1.125 million doses of the vaccines developed by Chinese firm Sinovac and United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca, which are donations from China and the global COVAX facility, respectively. READ: Duque: 76% of available vaccines deployed, but vaccination journey still long Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said a total of 114,615 individuals have been vaccinated so far as the country targets to immunize 1.7 million health care workers first before the rest of the priority sectors. Kung makita ko na mag-abot na ng milyon ang mga vaccinated, then probably, especially around the towns and big cities, okay na. But hanggang ngayon, I am as I said in a quandary on what to do, Duterte said. [Translation: If I see that the number of vaccinated reaches a million, especially around the towns and big cities, thats okay for me. But as of now as I said Im still in a quandary on what to do.] Earlier, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the President wants some two million shots rolled out before placing the entire country to modified general community quarantine or the lowest restriction level. Metro Manila and nine other areas remain under the stricter general community quarantine this March, but unified curfew hours and border control measures may be implemented in the capital region due to the surge in COVID-19 infections. Starting February 25, the country has been seeing around 2,000 to more than 3,000 infections daily, majority of which were being recorded in Metro Manila. If the trend continues, the country could record as many as 6,000 COVID-19 cases daily nationwide by the end of March, with Metro Manila contributing to up to 3,000 of these infections, according to the latest OCTA projections. The independent research group is calling for stricter mobility restrictions, saying compliance with minimum public health standards alone is no longer enough at this point due to the dramatic surge in infections. Photo: Pexels The provincial government has announced it is removing gendered language from various regulations in B.C. Roughly 600 instances of gendered language across 15 ministries have been updated to reflect the diversity of the people, says the province. The changes were made to ensure residents have equal access to government services, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race or cultural beliefs. "Language matters. It allows people to feel recognized and affirmed," says Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. "By upholding inclusive language, our government is taking steps to protect British Columbians' human rights. We believe outdated language that prevents people from being seen for who they are should be removed to help tackle gender bias," Kahlon adds. Gendered language amendments have been made through the annual regulatory process, says the government. The government says gendered words have been changed to inclusive language that acknowledges gender equity and diversity. For example, terms like "he" or "she," "brother" and "wife" have been updated with more neutral language to consider all gender identities. Elijah Zimmerman, executive director at Victoria Sexual Assault Centre says, "Being intentional with inclusive language is a form of welcoming and belonging, and a positive step toward uplifting gender-diverse experiences." Australians are some of the most prolific gamblers in the world, spending about double the average of other Western countries. Seventy per cent of us participate in some form of gambling each year. Poker machines have been shut in Australia for almost two months. Credit:Bloomberg For some, gambling is entertaining; an occasional recreational activity. But for others it destroys their lives. Problem gambling is a serious issue that tends to fly under the radar in WA because, unlike other states, WA historically doesnt have pokies outside our one casino. SAN DIEGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VOXOX , a 5G-enabled AI cloud communications company, today announced its partnership with YouMail who provides security-first, cloud-based communication services for mobile phones. YouMail, Inc. protects consumers, enterprises, and carriers from harmful phone calls. VOXOX, which processes billions of calls and texts monthly, will be using YouMail's sophisticated Robocall Mitigation Service and patented technology to block robocalls and phishing messages, protecting users from spam, identity theft, stalkers, and corporate fraud. YouMail's robocall mitigation services protect carriers from originating, carrying, or terminating bad traffic on their networks, and have helped shut down numerous illegal robocalling campaigns, which allows carriers like VOXOX to quickly prevent bad calls from reaching peers or consumers and proactively shut down fraud. "We believe security is of utmost importance. We are excited to team up with YouMail to provide trustworthy security and mitigation to all our users, " says Cleve Adams, CEO of VOXOX. VOXOX is empowering small businesses to stay connected with their customers and enhance communications by turning any phone or group of phones into a virtual cloud-based phone system with unlimited virtual receptionists, intelligent call routing, unlimited employee extensions, custom greetings, virtual phone numbers, and a robust AI-supported SMS marketing platform with automation. "We're thrilled to have VOXOX using our robocall mitigation services," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "This will help ensure that far fewer illegal overseas-initiated calls harm American consumers." This partnership will provide carriers with the monitoring and alerting necessary to find illegal traffic originating from, terminating on, or traversing their networks. This is a big win for VOXOX customers and partners as YouMail uses its massive content-based sensor network to have zero-hour accurate identification of illegal robocall calling campaigns, which allows carriers like VOXOX to quickly prevent bad calls from reaching peers or consumers and proactively shut down fraud. Together, VOXOX and YouMail will help consumer-facing enterprises find and shut down imposter traffic that can lead to financial or brand damage. 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 About YouMail YouMail, Inc. protects consumers, enterprises, and carriers from harmful phone calls. YouMail protects consumers with app-based call protection services. YouMail protects carriers with robocall mitigation services that detect when they are originating, carrying, or terminating bad traffic on their networks. YouMail protects consumer-facing enterprises by helping detect and shut down imposter traffic that can lead to financial or brand damage. YouMail's communications platform handles over a billion calls per year for over 10 million users, and the YouMail Robocall Index, since its launch in September 2015, has emerged as the nation's definitive source on robocalling data for telecom carriers, smartphone and app companies, and public policymakers. YouMail, Inc. is privately funded and based in Irvine, California. For more information about YouMail, please visit https://www.youmail.com. Media Contact: Staci Wallace [email protected] 1-800-350-6187 SOURCE VOXOX Related Links https://www.voxox.com Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer has had a three-month reprieve on two court cases, including one involving criminal charges laid by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Mr Palmer has been charged with two counts of fraud and two counts of violating the Corporations Act for allegedly dishonestly using his position as a director of his mining company, Mineralogy. Clive Palmer got what he wanted in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, but his legal woes are far from over. Credit:Attila Csaszar ASIC alleges that from August 5 to September 5, 2013, Mr Palmer authorised a $10 million transfer from Mineralogy for the benefit of the Palmer-owned Cosmo Developments and his then-eponymous political party, the Palmer United Party (now the United Australia Party). ASIC also alleges that between August 31 and September 3, 2013, Mr Palmer authorised a transfer of almost $2.2 million from Mineralogy to Media Circus Network, again for his partys benefit. The working of the State Bank of India (SBI) is likely to be affected on 15 and 16 March due to a 2-day nationwide bank strike. The bank employees' unions have called a strike to protest against the government's move to privatise public sector banks. In an exchange filing on 10 March, SBI said, "...we have been advised by Indian Banks Association (IBA) that United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU)... has given a call for all India strike by bank employees on 15th & 16th March 2021." While the country's top lender has made all the arrangements to ensure normal functioning in its branches and offices, it is likely that the work in the bank may be impacted by the strike, it said. So, if you have some urgent bank work that needs to be done, do it today or tomorrow. As banks will be closed on 13 March (Second Saturday), 14th is a Sunday, then 15th 16th (Monday, Tuesday -bank strike). Also Read | Dissecting Olas audacious electric dreams The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions called for a bank strike across the country on March 15 and 16. UFBU comprises of nine major unions -- All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Federation (INBEF), Indian National Bank Officers' Congress (INBOC), National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organisation of Bank Officers (NOBO). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting Budget 2021-22 had announced the privatisation of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as part of a disinvestment drive to garner 1.75 lakh crore. "Other than IDBI Bank, we propose to take up the privatization of two Public Sector Banks and one General Insurance company in the year 2021-22," she had said. Later in one of the post Budget interactions, the Finance Minister had said the government will work with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the execution of the bank privatisation plan announced in the Union Budget 2021-22. The government last year consolidated 10 public sector banks into four and as a result, the total number of PSBs came down to 12 from 27 in March 2017. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is set to expire at the end of this month and business groups and the lending community are pressing the Biden administration for an extension. Citing delays that have dogged the program from the start of this latest round and last-minute changes requested by the Biden administration on February 22, the groups have issued a flurry of letters calling for lawmakers to either craft an immediate extension or offer an allowance for applications that were submitted prior to the deadline. In a March 5 letter to lawmakers, the American Bankers Association (ABA), along with other lending groups, notes "serious concerns" about the number of PPP loans that are on hold as a result of the Small Business Administration's application system, which unlike in past rounds offers increased fraud and data checks. Many of those holds are destined to remain unresolved past the program's March 31 end date, which the lenders note will be problematic. The SBA previously stated that it intends to shut down its system on March 31, without regard to loans that may be pending or in the pipeline. As a result, some lenders are moving to shut down their PPP offerings early. Bank of America stopped taking new applications this week and Chase is closing its operation on March 19. "Banks of all sizes must operate within the guidelines and process established by the SBA for this program. They want to ensure that all small businesses that apply for this program can have their loans successfully approved before the program closes on March 31," Ian McKendry, a spokesperson for the ABA, tells Inc. "Unfortunately, we continue to see operational issues that are delaying the approval process for too many small businesses, which is why banks are being very careful with the approaching deadline. The only thing worse than a business that misses the application deadline altogether is a business that applies in a timely fashion, but still fails to get their loan approved in time because the SBA process took too long." The SBA's PPP automatic loan system reportedly creates as many as 40 different error codes that contribute to the delays. During a House Committee on Small Business hearing on Wednesday, the American Institute of CPAs's vice president of firm services, Lisa Simpson, noted that the error codes can take two to six weeks to resolve. And that's on top of the changes to the PPP requested by the Biden administration, which sent the SBA and lenders scrambling to adapt their platforms with just a few weeks left in the program. "With an impending March 31, 2021 deadline for the PPP, there is very little time for small borrowers to determine their loan amount eligibility, file an application and resolve any potential error codes and hold codes generated by the current system--all the while operating their business in the midst of local stay-at-home orders, ongoing supply chain issues and customers' pandemic-related needs," said Simpson during the hearing. For its part, the AICPA is requesting an immediate 60-day extension, which the group says can be achieved with the passage of a standalone PPP reform law. Banking organizations, including the ABA, are asking to be permitted to clear the thousands of loan holds and requesting that any application that has been submitted to the SBA by March 31 be eligible for subsequent approval. Meanwhile, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), a trade group representing small lenders, is also asking to allow borrowers with loans that have been forgiven in the first round to apply for a loan increase and allow those applying for a first draw in 2021 to apply for a second draw before the March 31 deadline. "No applicant should be left stranded because of bureaucratic red tape," said Alice P. Frazier, president and CEO of Bank of Charles Town, West Virginia on behalf of the ICBA, in her testimony before the Small Business Committee. 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You are here: China China is willing to continue working with the World Health Organization (WHO) on tracing the origin of COVID-19, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday. Li said China had maintained communication with the WHO and provided the WHO mission support during their work in China concerning the origins of the virus, stressing that the Chinese side has acted in a fact-based manner and with an open, transparent and cooperative approach. He expressed firm confidence that humanity can win the battle against COVID-19, a common enemy of humankind. China to further shorten negative list for foreign investment China will further shorten the negative list for foreign investment and expand opening up of its service sector, Li said. China will continue to uphold free trade built around the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, he stated. A growing Chinese market with rising domestic demand will bring great opportunities for foreign products, services and investment, the premier added. China still a developing country China is still a developing country, and there is still a long way to go before it can achieve modernization, Li said. The fundamental purpose of China's development is to enable the Chinese people to lead a better life, and China's development will be a major contribution to world peace, stability, development and prosperity, he said. China to continue spurring vitality of market entities An important purpose of China's reform agenda is to spur the vitality of market entities, Chinese Premier Li said. China will continue to keep its policies well-aligned with the needs of market entities and further streamline government administration to better help market entities survive and thrive. Market regulation ensuring fairness and justice is key to helping market entities develop their creativity, Li told a press conference. China will maintain the continuity and sustainability of macro policies this year to keep the operation of the economy within an appropriate range, he said. China will increase spending on basic research, which is key to enhancing the country's innovation capacity, he added. China to spend more on people's livelihoods The Chinese government will spend more on people's livelihoods this year, especially on compulsory education and primary-level medical care, Premier Li said. An expansion in employment as a result of steady economic recovery will further promote sound growth of China's economy, he pointed out. Employment is the foundation of people's well-being and development as well as a source of wealth, Li said at a press conference after the closing of the annual national legislative session in Beijing. China still faces mounting pressures in boosting employment this year, as about 14 million urban people will enter the labor market, including a record 9.09 million college graduates, and over 270 million migrant workers also need job opportunities, Li said. The country will continue with the job-first policy this year and take more measures to stabilize and boost employment, the premier said. China aims to create no less than 11 million new urban jobs in 2021, Li said. China, U.S. should strive for sustained, healthy development of ties China and the United States should strive for sustained and healthy development of their relations, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday. China hopes the two countries would act in the spirit of the recent phone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs, Li told a press conference. Li said he hopes China and the United States can have dialogues in multiple areas and at various levels. China and the United States have extensive common interests, he pinted Thursday, adding that the two countries can cooperate with each other in many areas. "China and the United States, as the world's largest developing country and the largest developed country, will gain from cooperation but lose from confrontation," Li told a press conference. Taiwan compatriots welcome to share development opportunities of mainland China will continue to enable Taiwan compatriots to share in the development opportunities on the mainland and promote cross-Strait integrated development, Premier Li said. The Chinese mainland welcomes exchanges and dialogue with any political party, group or personage from Taiwan on the basis of the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, Li said. Improving Hong Kong electoral system to ensure "one country, two systems" The decision made by China's top legislature on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will help ensure "patriots administering Hong Kong" and the steady and sustained development of "one country, two systems," Li Keqiang said. Li expressed the hope that Hong Kong people from all walks of life will join hands to overcome COVID-19 at early date, achieve economic recovery, and improve people's well-being for long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong. "The central government will continue to provide full support," he said. China to promote sci-tech cooperation on basis of IPR protection China is ready to enhance cooperation in science and technology with other countries on the basis of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, Li Keqiang said. Growth target of over 6% not low A growth target of over 6% in 2021 is not low considering the size of the Chinese economy, and the target is set to guide expectations to consolidate economic recovery foundation and pursue high-quality development, said Premier Li Keqiang Thursday. The growth target is not set in stone and China may achieve even faster growth in its delivery, Li said during a press conference. Noting that the economy is growing on an incomparable base from last year and there is much uncertainty in global economic recovery, Li said that the target should be fully aligned with what the country can accomplish next year and the year after next so as to avoid wild swings in economic performance and keep market expectations stable. "A growth too fast will not be a steady one. You need a steady pace to sustain China's development for the long run," he said. China aims to expand its gross domestic product (GDP) by over 6% year on year in 2021, with more efforts on reform, innovation and high-quality development, according to the government work report approved by the national legislature Thursday. In 2020, China emerged from the epidemic-induced slump with a 2.3% GDP growth, making it the world's only major economy to attain positive growth. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. YEREVAN. The government does not accept President Armen Sarkissian's objections to the Prime Minister's proposal to appoint Artak Davtyan to the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, and this motion will be sent backwith justificationsto the President. The press service of the government informed Armenian News-NEWS.am about this. According to the Constitution, if the competent body does not accept the objection, the President signs the relevant act, or petitions to the Constitutional Court. If the President does not carry out any of the aforementioned, the said act enters into force by virtue of law. Earlier, the President returnedwith his respective objectionsto the Prime Minister the latters proposal to appoint Artak Davtyan as the new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. PM Nikol Pashinyan had petitioned to the President with such a proposal on Wednesday, when he had announced that the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Onik Gasparyan, was considered to have been relieved of this post by virtue of law. By the order of the Minister of Defense, Artak Davtyan on Tuesday was appointed Senior-Officer-at-Large. On November 16, 2020, and by the decision of the Prime Minister, he was relieved of the post of Chairman of the Military Industry Committee to which he was appointed on July 17. On June 8, Davtyan was relieved of the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces to which he was appointed on May 24, 2018. The reason for his dismissal from the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces was the celebration of his son's wedding during the days of quarantine in Armenia due to the coronavirus pandemic. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. The mainstream media silent on the Marxist ideology, violence, and militancy of groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) deceptively reported that the protests they inflicted on over 200 U.S. cities in 2020 were mostly peaceful. It deceitfully transformed the mayhem into a summer of love. Widespread rioting, looting, arson, murder, assaults, and destruction of property and businesses went unreported. Such abject failure explains why polls consistently rank the media among Americas least trusted institutions. Given media complicity with radical groups, its not surprising that the Los Angeles Times dismissed Andy Ngos Unmasked: Inside Antifas Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy as unserious, supremely dishonest, and self-serving. While video-recording left-wing protests as part of his independent reporting in 2019, Ngo was assaulted and hit with a milkshake containing quick-dry cement. But the Times dismissed his allegation of a brain injury from that attack. It says hes fixated on the imaginary threat of Antifa and ignores the real danger from far-right extremists. Ngos book is a riveting expose of the background, structure and workings of the collectivist militant group, set on destroying capitalism and Americas history, culture, and institutions. He presents an accurate, well-researched picture of this insurrectionist movement, its widespread network and its hostility to the rule of law and democracy. Antifa origins trace back to 1932: it began as Antifascist Action, a paramilitary faction of the German Communist Party. It emerged in America in the 1980s as a marginal group, remaining so through the 1990s and 2000s. About five years ago, it surfaced in earnest, and now counts students, academics, journalists, lawyers, and politicians among its members and supporters. They use sophisticated methods of propaganda, outreach, recruitment, fundraising, and reconnaissance. They strategize violent protests with full security. Even the name is a deception, for Antifa strives to overthrow liberal democracies and abolish capitalism. The group draws on dogma from Herbert Marcuse of the Frankfurt School, considered the father of the New Left. It believes that there is no objective reality or truth; that tolerance means suppression of the intolerant; and that unacceptable opinions are violent. Large factions of the Left sympathize with Antifa; some in academia, corporations, and Big Tech assist it in silencing opponents. Antifas recent rise coincides with that of BLM, which draws on the black power movement of the 1960-70s. Now linked, they share the goal of upending liberal democracy and the rule of law while purporting to fight racism, sexism, homophobia, and capitalism. They aim to abolish law enforcement, property rights, national borders, American jurisprudence, free markets, and free speech. Antifa advocates window-breaking, looting, and arson as valid and powerful protests, deeming such actions self-defense against an unjust system. Typically, Antifa announces a gathering to oppose an event it disagrees with through social-media blasts. Members arrive in intimidating and protective black bloc black clothing, ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, and helmets. The use of pepper spray, batons, bats, brass knuckles, frozen water bottles, and milkshakes is encouraged. Many carry weapons and are trained to gouge out eyes, break ribs, and deliver hits to the liver and kidneys. After George Floyds death in Minneapolis in May 2020, Antifa and BLM spread disinformation with the help of a complicit media. Floyds extensive criminal history and his resistance to arrest were overlooked. In fact, the autopsy showed no evidence of strangulation but revealed a fatal level of fentanyl in his blood. Riots were fueled with the hackneyed trope of an innocent black murdered by racist police. Widespread violence, arson, looting, and assaults escalated. But police were prevented from responding. When a mob surrounded the Minneapolis Third Precinct, the mayor ordered the evacuation of the police station. Antifa and BLM replicated such planned violence in dozens of American cities. Besides Antifas systematic violence, Ngo reports on its targeting of perceived enemies through tactics such as doxing: victims find highly personal, sensitive information amplified online, leading to harassment, assault and job loss. Other intimidation tactics include community alerts that broadcast the real-time whereabouts of a person or group online. A nationwide network of bookstores where selling books is clearly not a priority serves as a front for Antifa training in street violence, coordinated attacks, and psychological tactics. Radical propaganda is available, but the bookstores main function is to spread radicalization, destabilize communities, and delegitimize the authority of local government. Ngo reports that Antifa fields and crowdfunds candidates in elections and organizes voter fraud. Going undercover, Ngo reported on Antifas occupation of a large, densely populated area of Seattle in the same month as the Minneapolis riots. Antifa members designated the area as the country of CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone). There was complete lawlessness: assaults, robberies, six shootings, two homicides, and an attempted rape took place. The mayors edict against the use of tear gas rendered police impotent. Ngo debunks claims that it was an anti-racist zone: he exposes segregation there and writes that CHAZ ended up with a 100 percent black victim shooting rate. The city administration refused to restore order; instead, it provided street barriers, cleaning services, washing stations, and portable toilets to the occupiers. The city council was sympathetic to Antifa and never condemned the anti-police violence. In Portland, Oregon, the Antifa-BLM attacks sparked by Floyds death went on for weeks, Ngo reports in his book. Rioters started at the Justice Center, moved downtown, smashed windows, broke into stores, started fires, looted everything in sight, brought down statues, and attacked police vehicles. The city council fanned the flames, accusing the police of racism and brutality. Police held back in the face of the allegations, so shootings and homicides skyrocketed. Mainstream media called the riots spontaneous. In fact, they were well-organized and funded by Leftist groups. Supplies such as water, food, street medics, and phone access were provided as well as projectiles and weapons. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised online over four months. Leftist lawyers and organizations filed 21 protest-related lawsuits against the police. The local media supplied favorable coverage. The progressive district attorney went easy on the violence: between May and October 2020, there were an estimated 1,000 protest- and riot-related cases, but the D.A. rejected 90% for prosecution. There were no arrests for vandalism. Radical politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of the Democratic Socialists of America, too, have helped mainstream Antifa. She participates in its events and supports its call for defunding the police, ending capitalism, and abolishing the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement. AOC promoted a bail fund for rioters and urged her 6.5 million Instagram followers to donate to an Antifa propaganda outfit. Together with journalists, academics, and left-leaning intellectuals, Ocasio-Cortez and her ilk justify rioting and looting in the name of racial justice. Some city councils sympathize with and legitimize Antifa-BLMs violence. In 2019, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) sponsored a resolution to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, saying it represents opposition to the democratic ideal of peaceful assembly and free speech for all. Ngos book provides rigorous documentation that shows the senators fears are real. It warns of the influence amassed by this destructive movement and cautions against an insurrection proceeding with impunity. Image: Screen shot from video from KPTV Fox 12 Oregon, via shareable YouTube. Improving Hong Kong's electoral system constitutional, lawful and justified: Chinese envoy Xinhua) 09:46, March 11, 2021 People attend a national flag raising ceremony at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong, south China, Sept. 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Gang) LONDON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is constitutional, lawful and justified, and is purely China's internal affair which no foreign country has the right to interfere in, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Britain Yang Xiaoguang said Tuesday. Yang made the remarks at an online press briefing after a draft decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) was submitted Friday for deliberation to national lawmakers during the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC). Yang said Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China and how to develop and improve its electoral system is purely China's internal affair, which no foreign country has the right to interfere in. Yang pointed out that improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong SAR and ensuring "patriots governing Hong Kong" is necessitated by the need to advance "One Country, Two Systems" and maintain long-term stability and security in Hong Kong. "It is a constitutional power and responsibility of the NPC, and is constitutional, lawful and justified," Yang said. In recent years, anti-China, destabilizing forces and radical localists in Hong Kong have openly clamored for "Hong Kong independence," Yang said, adding that they have used the election platforms of the Hong Kong SAR or their position as public servants to blatantly carry out anti-China, destabilizing activities to paralyze the functioning of the Legislative Council and obstruct the law-based governance of the Hong Kong SAR government. Some foreign and external forces have brazenly interfered in Hong Kong affairs, and openly provided support for those anti-China, destabilizing forces in Hong Kong, Yang said. These moves and activities have severely jeopardized the constitutional order and the rule of law in the Hong Kong SAR, put China's sovereignty, security and development interests into serious jeopardy, and severely disrupted the social stability of Hong Kong, he said. These moves and activities reveal that the existing electoral system and mechanisms of the Hong Kong SAR have obvious loopholes and deficiencies, which were exploited by the anti-China, destabilizing forces to seize the power of governance of the Hong Kong SAR, he said. In light of such a situation, China must take necessary measures to improve the electoral system of Hong Kong and remove existing institutional deficiencies and risks, Yang said. "This will ensure the governance of Hong Kong by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body, safeguard law-based and effective governance in Hong Kong, keep the implementation of "One Country, Two Systems" on the right track, and lay a solid foundation for sustained stability and prosperity in Hong Kong," Yang said. In response to questions by Chinese and foreign media, Yang said the Chinese side has realized that some countries have expressed so-called "concerns," or that some countries have even threatened sanctions against China. "The so-called concerns are totally unacceptable. We firmly oppose any sanctions, and the so-called concerns are groundless and unreasonable. Hong Kong is part of China. Hong Kong affairs are totally China's internal affairs," he said. "China does not interfere in other countries' internal affairs, neither can we allow other countries to intervene in our own affairs. This kind of concern in whatever form is basically a kind of intervention in China's internal affairs. We will never accept that," he added. Yang stressed that the reform of the election system is to improve the situation in Hong Kong, which will guarantee the long-term stability of "One Country, Two Systems" and the functioning of the Hong Kong SAR government. "This will also provide a peaceful and stable environment for all businesses. Businesses like predictability. We believe that with further predictability, and peace and stability ensured in Hong Kong, foreign investors will have more confidence in Hong Kong," he said. Journalists from 17 media agencies in Britain attended the online press briefing, including BBC, Sky News, Financial Times, The Economist, Associated Press and AFP. Germany has recorded a sharp rise in coronavirus cases as the country's top disease expert warned a third wave of the disease has started. There were 14,356 new cases of Covid reported in Germany on Thursday, the Robert Koch Institute said, up from 9,146 cases the previous day. Deaths also increased from 300 reported Wednesday to 321 reported Thursday. Germany has suffered a total of more than 2.5million Covid cases and 72,810 deaths 'Europe should be worried,' RKI chief Robert Wieler said as the figures were revealed. The rising infections come amid Europe's slow vaccine drive, which has seen just seven per cent of people given at least one jab compared to 33 per cent in Britain. Germany has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours as one of its top disease experts warned that a third wave has started and Europe 'should be worried' Deaths had been steadily declining in Germany, but with a sudden rise in cases there are fears that more fatalities will soon follow As a result, Covid cases and deaths in the UK have fallen dramatically and the government is planning a full-scale easing of lockdown measures even as European countries tighten theirs. Germany's surge in cases comes after it began gradually easing partial lockdown measures from late February. Some of the youngest school pupils have been allowed to return to classes across the country while some non-essential shops have been allowed to reopen. Rising infection totals have now put that reopening under threat, and means that measures might have to be reversed. Measures to curb the pandemic have already been tightened in neighbouring Poland and Czech Republic, which have two of the highest infection rates in Europe. Warsaw has imposed stricter mask-wearing rules in public while the Czech Republic has closed nurseries and schools and banned moving between districts. Meanwhile France has started imposing local lockdowns in Covid hotspots, while lockdown-free Sweden has brought in extra government powers that will allow leaders to clamp down if the situation deteriorates further. Politicians in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Italy have all vote to extend current measures until later in the spring when it is hoped cases will have fallen. Only a select few countries including Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands have begun trying to ease measures. The UK is one of only a handful of European countries - including the likes of Spain, Portugal and Iceland - where Covid cases are declining. Europe is seeing a third wave of coronavirus begin amid a slow vaccine roll-out which has fallen well behind the likes of the UK, where cases are now consistently falling Falling cases in Britain are largely thanks to the success of the country's vaccination drive, which has emerged as one of the fastest in the world. A third of the population have now been given at least one dose of vaccine which has allowed the government to announce a roadmap out of lockdown that began with the complete reopening of schools on March 8. If the government holds to its plans, then all social distancing measures should be lifted on June 21 - with every adult in the country due to be vaccinated by June 31. Meanwhile, most European leaders have been unable to say when lockdowns will end and while the EU insists that all adults will be vaccinated by September, hitting that target looks ambitious. The continent has given at least one dose of vaccine to just seven per cent of its population so far, and is vaccinating at a rate of just 0.25 people in every hundred each day. Continuing at that rate would mean people going unvaccinated well into 2022, though the pace is expected to increase dramatically from next month. Britain, meanwhile is vaccinating at more than twice that rate - 0.52 people in every hundred each day - which the government says will increase further still. Europe's vaccine drive has been stalled by bureaucracy and EU red tape that delayed signing contracts for vaccines and has led to supply bottlenecks. In response, the EU has passed laws allowing it to block vaccines from heading overseas until its own orders are filled. Lockdown measures have been tightened in many European countries as cases soar, with the Czech Republic forced to send patients overseas (pictured) as space in hospitals runs out Italy became the first country to use the new laws last week, with Brussels' blessing, which it stopped a shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca jabs from going to Australia. Canberra described the move as 'disappointing' but the EU has rejected accusations of vaccine nationalism, saying it is only acting in line with other countries. This week, EU council president Charles Michel made an extraordinary accusation that the UK had imposed 'an outright ban' on vaccines leaving its own shores. But he was quickly slapped down by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who 'corrected' him, saying that Britain 'has not blocked the export of a single vaccine'. Brussels was later forced to admit that no such ban exists though Michel refused to apologise, instead accusing the UK of using measures other than a ban to stop jabs from leaving its shores. Lockdowns are already being tightened in some countries were infections are rising, such as France and the Czech Republic. Wieler said the positive effects of vaccination are being seen in Germany's elderly population, which are among the select few to have been given jabs so far. 'We see effects already in those who are over 80. The incidence (rate of infection) is on the decline, tremendously,' he said. If 'everything doesn't run completely out of control... we will have control in Germany this autumn. I am absolutely convinced,' he said. CHANTILLY, Va., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VTG, an industry-leading provider of force modernization and digital transformation solutions, announced today that it has begun work on a three-year, $13 million prime contract to support the Naval Digital Integration Support Cell in its effort to integrate data and technology into all areas of naval operations, fundamentally changing how the Navy delivers maritime dominance. "Our team is honored and immensely proud to be the Navy's partner-of-choice for this critical mission," said John Hassoun, VTG president and CEO. "The Naval Operational Architecture is foundational to achieving Distributed Maritime Operations and maintaining our competitive advantage at sea. We welcome the opportunity to leverage our growing digital expertise to support the DISC, especially in model-based systems engineering and DevSecOps." VTG will support the DISC by performing research, operational analysis, specialized engineering, and development of the digital platform for Navy and Marine Corps MBSE, readiness, and DevSecOps. This includes developing objective architectures, standards, and processes for integrated naval capability, decision tools, MBSE, digital pilots, and artificial intelligence through coordinated experiments with the fleet. The contract was awarded to DELTA Constellation Group, VTG's joint venture with Constellation Software Engineering, under the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center's multiple-award contract vehicle. DoD IAC MAC task orders are awarded by the US Air Force's 774th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron to develop and create new knowledge for the enhancement of the Defense Technical Information Center repository and the research & development and science & technology community. Last year, VTG embarked on a market expansion strategy focused on delivering innovative technologies and digital solutions to a growing portfolio of national security customers. The company bolstered its systems, software, and digital engineering capabilities with the December 2020 acquisition of Intelligent Shift, and more recently rolled-out the VTG Battle Lab, an industry-integrated MBSE environment for next-generation warfare systems. "VTG will continue to make investments in capabilities and technologies that give our customers a competitive edge," said Sunil Ramchand, VTG chief growth officer. "The Navy is already leveraging the VTG Battle Lab to develop the future state of the Naval Operational Architecture and optimize interoperability across the fleet. We look forward to offering similar digital capabilities to other customers in the defense enterprise and intelligence community." About VTG VTG delivers force modernization and digital transformation solutions that expand America's competitive advantage in the modern battlespace. Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, VTG provides full lifecycle engineering for naval, aerospace, network, and digital requirements. Whether at sea, in the air, on land, or in cyberspace, VTG delivers Tomorrow's Transformation Today. For more information, visit us at www.VTGdefense.com. About the DoD IAC Program The Department of Defense Information Analysis Center, sponsored by the Defense Technical Information Center, provides technical data management and research support for DoD and federal government users. Established in 1946, the IAC program serves the DoD science & technology and acquisition communities to drive innovation and technological developments by enhancing collaboration through integrated scientific and technical information development and dissemination. Disclaimer: This material is based upon work supported by the DoD IAC, sponsored by the DTIC under Contract No. FA807519D0022. Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DoD. SOURCE VTG Related Links http://www.VTGdefense.com Oscar winner Mira Sorvino to star in new faith-based film The Girl Who Believes in Miracles Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino, Emmy Award-winner Peter Coyote and God's Not Dead actor Kevin Sorbo are the stars of the new faith-based film The Girl Who Believes in Miracles, which highlights the miracle-working power of God. The Girl Who Believes in Miracles was created by 98-year-old Laurence Jaffe, who decided to start a new career as a filmmaker much later in life. When Sara hears a preacher say faith can move mountains, she starts praying, the synopsis reads. Suddenly people in her town are mysteriously healed! But fame soon takes its toll can Saras family save her before its too late? Jaffes first feature film brought together a star-studded cast, including Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite, Do You Believe?) Austyn Johnson (The Greatest Showman, The Post), Sorbo (Let There Be Light) and Coyote (E.T. The Extraterrestrial, A Walk to Remember). The Christian movie will premiere in theaters nationwide on Easter weekend. I guess Ive never been one to look back, only forward. Thats the secret to a full life. Jaffes said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. Both young children and old people possess the same innocent and beautiful quality: they trust. I think that after the year weve all endured, the world needs an uplifting movie like this to give us the capacity to trust once more. The nonagenarian, who's now making movies in Hollywood, has been known to take risks. He joined the Marine Corps during World War II because he wanted to serve with the toughest and the best. Following the war and his service with the medical units, he received a masters degree from Columbia University. He then began a career in marketing during the Mad Men era with his bride of 72 years by his side. She died in October 2020. The trailer of The Girl Who Believes in Miracles shows Saras childlike faith. Her prayers are seen helping several animals come back to life, a lame boy walk, and a girl gets cured of cancer. Im just a lucky girl who God decided to visit, she says in the film. Truth is, all you have to do is believe in God and pray to Him. Hes listening. The 98-year-old filmmaker revealed that he hopes to use the money generated by the film to help the poor through a program he created to help disadvantaged children in Gainesville, Florida. My dream is to close the gap in income disparity that threatens the social fabric of our democracy, he said. That would truly be a miracle to me and for so many others. Despite his age, Jaffe said he intends to continue making films. The joke on the set was that Moses and I went to Hebrew school together, he shared. I may not be a spring chicken, but I am still clucking. She loves a laid back look. And Katie Holmes put her effortlessly chic fashion sense on display once again on Thursday while making her way around the Big Apple solo. The mother-of-one, 42, was both comfortable and cute donning a pair of faded green Dickies overalls with a forest-hued face mask to match. Great in green: Katie Holmes looked cute in a pair of green Dickies overalls with a matching mask while out in NYC on Thursday Keeping things simple, Katie tossed on a chunky grey cardigan and tied her dark locks up into a messy bun as she chatted on the phone. White sneakers and a crossbody bag completed the look. While it wasn't clear who Katie was talking to, the Dawson's Creek star has been nearly inseparable from boyfriend Emilio Vitolo Jr. since they went public in September of last year. Ring ring: Keeping things simple, Katie tossed on a chunky grey cardigan and tied her dark locks up into a messy bun as she chatted on the phone Things have happened fast for the couple, as a source previously told People: 'Since Katie is not working, they have had time to really get to know each other.' 'Emilio thinks their relationship will continue to be strong in the new year. When things return to a more normal and Katie is working again, they will figure it out. 'For now, they enjoy all their time together in New York City,' the insider added. Holmes' last dated actor Jamie Foxx but the pair were intensely private about their relationship, only ever attending one public event as a couple. Attached at the hip: Though the Dawson's Creek star was solo today, she has been nearly inseparable from boyfriend Emilio Vitolo Jr. since they went public in September of last year. They're seen in February above Before that the Logan Lucky star was married to Tom Cruise, who is the father of her 14-year-old daughter Suri. They began dating in 2005 and were engaged seven weeks into their relationship. Less than a year after their daughter was born, the couple were married during a Scientologist wedding at the Castello Orsini-Odescalchi in Bracciano in November 2006. They divorced in 2012. A driver accused of speeding through a COVID-19 regional checkpoint in the days after Perths lockdown was on bail at the time for allegedly assaulting a police officer. Jasmine Jones, 26, is accused of being drunk behind the wheel of a stolen Ford Falcon when it flew down the wrong side of Toodyay Road on February 10, reaching speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour as it drove through a COVID vehicle inspection point in Morangup narrowly missing several workers. The checkpoint was at the border between Perth and the Wheatbelt, set up when Perth and Peel residents were banned from travelling to WAs other regions following a five-day COVID-19 lockdown. After being in custody for a month, on Thursday in Perth Magistrates Court Ms Jones was unsuccessful in her attempt to apply for bail to attend a relatives funeral. ROYAL DUTCH SHELL APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHAIR AND OTHER BOARD AND COMMITTEE CHANGES CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENT The Board of Directors of Royal Dutch Shell plc (the "Company") has announced the appointment of Sir Andrew Mackenzie as the new Company Chair with effect from the conclusion of Shells 2021 Annual General Meeting, scheduled for May 18, 2021. Andrew will succeed Chad Holliday who will step down on May 18 having served as Chair for six years and as a Board Director since September 2010. Andrew Mackenzie, a British national, joined Shells Board in October 2020, after a distinguished career in the energy, petrochemicals and resources sector, latterly as Group CEO of BHP from 2013 to 2019. From 2004 to 2007, at Rio Tinto, he was Head of Industrial Minerals and Diamonds. Prior to this, over a 22-year career at BP, he held senior leadership roles in exploration, research and development, and chemicals. His contributions to geochemistry and earth science led to his appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014, and he received a knighthood in 2020 for his services to business, science and technology. Andrew brings to Shell his experience of leadership, his global outlook, and a deep understanding of the energy business and climate action. The search for the new Chair was led by Euleen Goh, Deputy Chair and Senior Independent Director. The thorough and robust process included engagement with some of Shells larger investors, seeking input on the skills, attributes and sector knowledge that they considered important for the role. In addition to proven experience of leading a large, complex international organisation, the requirement was for someone with significant experience in capital discipline and with the ability to balance, and judge the timing, of the transformational changes that Shell needs to make. Chad Holliday said: I am delighted to welcome Andrew as my successor. I have nothing but confidence in Shells bright future the challenges of the past year only strengthened my conviction in the Company as I watched colleagues across the business find strength to sustain vital energy supplies in the most exceptional circumstances. Andrew brings a wealth of leadership and sustainability experience, scientific curiosity and commercial acumen that ideally equip him to help Shell navigate the energy transition and deliver on the far-reaching Powering Progress strategy. His track record in business performance transformation also means he brings all the skills and rigour needed to guide Shells management in all their most significant decisions. Andrew said: "It is a privilege to be appointed Chair of this great Company, particularly at such a pivotal time for the industry and wider society. I am honoured to succeed Chad, whose chairmanship of the Board I have much admired and who I know will be warmly remembered. I have been delighted already to have played a part in the shaping of the compelling strategy that Shell has recently unveiled. I believe Shell has an exceptional portfolio of future-facing assets and I look forward to working with Ben van Beurden and the Board to profitably accelerate Shells transition into a net-zero emissions energy business that continues to generate substantial value for shareholders, customers and communities alike. Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Royal Dutch Shell plc, said: Chads first-class frontline business experience, tireless commitment to the highest standards and clear vision were all instrumental in making Shell the resilient business we have shown ourselves to be. We thank him for his leadership over the last decade. I am looking forward to working with Andrew. We are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic with a clear and distinct strategy that I believe will enable us to seize the opportunities presented by the energy transition. I cannot think of anyone better than Andrew to take this role. DIRECTOR CHANGE The Company announced that Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Non-executive Director, Chair of the Safety, Environment and Sustainability Committee and member of the Nomination and Succession Committee, will not stand for re-election at the 2021 AGM, having served as a Director for nine years. The Company also announced its intention to propose to the 2021 Annual General Meeting that Jane Lute be appointed a Non-executive Director of the Company with effect from May 19, 2021. Chad said: I would like to thank Nigel for his contribution to the Board. His distinguished track record in public policy offered a unique perspective on important matters, including sustainability, that have come to form an intrinsic part of our strategy to power progress. I would also like to welcome Jane who brings diverse experience from the military, from security and public policy leadership roles in the United Nations and the US government, and most recently a focus on the critical risk area of cyber-security. She will be a valuable addition to the Board. If the proposed changes are approved by our shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, the Royal Dutch Shell plc Board will, for the first time, consist equally of men and women. BOARD COMMITTEE CHANGES Safety Environment and Sustainability Committee Catherine Hughes, a Non-executive Director, has been appointed as Chair of the Safety Environment and Sustainability Committee with effect from May 19, 2021. Catherine succeeds Sir Nigel Sheinwald in this role. Nomination and Succession Committee Dick Boer, a Non-executive Director, has been appointed as a member of the Nomination and Succession Committee with effect from May 19, 2021. Notes to Editors Chad Holliday was appointed Director on September 1, 2010 and Chair on May 19, 2015. Sir Andrew Mackenzie - biography Born in 1956, Andrew is a British national who joined the Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc in October 2020 and was previously Chief Executive Officer of BHP. Andrew joined BHP in 2008, becoming Group CEO from 2013 to 2019, when he systematically simplified and strengthened the business, and created options for the future. From 2004 to 2007 at Rio Tinto, he was Head of Industrial Minerals, then Head of Industrial Minerals and Diamonds. Prior to this, Andrew spent 22 years with BP, joining in 1982 in research and development, followed by international operations and technology roles across most business streams and functions principally in exploration and production and petrochemicals, including as Chief Reservoir Engineer and Chief Technology Officer. Latterly he was Group Vice President for Chemicals in the Americas, then Olefins and Polymers globally. From 2005 to 2013 Andrew served as a Non-executive Director of Centrica. He has also served on many not-for-profit boards, including public policy think-tanks in the UK and Australia. He was knighted in 2020 for services to business, science, technology and UK-Australia relations. Andrew is a highly experienced leader who has managed major international FTSE 100 businesses, and has more than 30 years experience in the oil and gas, petrochemicals and minerals industry. Following early academic distinction, Andrew made important contributions to geochemistry, including groundbreaking methods for oil exploration and recovery. He was recognised as "one of the worlds most influential earth scientists" and made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2014. Having lived and worked in five continents, Andrew applied his deep understanding of the energy business and geopolitical outlook to create public-private partnerships and advise governments around the world. As an earth scientist, Andrew has consistently pursued sustainable action on climate change in the interests of access to affordable energy and global development. Andrew brings the wealth of his experience and insights to Shell, where his expertise is already contributing to help Shell navigate the energy transition. Andrew is also a committed champion of gender balance, the rights of indigenous peoples, and of the power of large companies to support social change all of which align well with Shells purpose, strategy and values. Jane Lute biography Born in 1956, Jane is a US citizen and an experienced leader of organisations focused on security risks. Following a 16-year career in the US Army, she joined the Carnegie Corporation as an Executive Director of its Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. Between 2000 and 2009 she held roles at the United Nations in peacekeeping, field support and peacebuilding. In 2009 she was appointed as Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security. Since 2013 Jane has focused on cyber-security, first as the founder of the Council on CyberSecurity, then as Chief Executive of the Center for Internet Security, and latterly as President and Chief Executive Officer of the North American operations of SICPA security inks. Jane is a Non-executive Director of Marsh & McLennan and the Union Pacific Corporation. Cautionary Note The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement Shell, Shell Group and Royal Dutch Shell are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words we, us and our are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. Subsidiaries, Shell subsidiaries and Shell companies as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as joint ventures and joint operations, respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as associates. The term Shell interest is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest. This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on managements current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing managements expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as aim, ambition, anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, goals, intend, may, objectives, outlook, plan, probably, project, risks, schedule, seek, should, target, will and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shells products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shells Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, 11 March 2021. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has asked the Ministry of Public Security and Hanoi authorities to quickly investigate and strictly handle sexual assaults and harassment against foreign women in the West Lake area. In its document sent to the agencies, the MIC said that recently it had observed negative information about the image of Vietnam and Hanoi in particular which came from reports about a number of sexual harassment cases targeting foreign women in the West Lake area, Quang An ward, Tay Ho district, Hanoi. This affects the safety of people and foreigners living and working in Vietnam and harms the reputation and image of the country. The MIC requested the Ministry of Public Security and the People's Committee of Hanoi to direct the Hanoi City Police and relevant agencies to quickly investigate and handle the situation. The three men involved in sexual assault or harassment against foreign women. Photo: Hanoi Police It is reported that between late January and late February, some youngsters wearing face masks and driving motorbikes near West Lake assaulted many foreign women, as well as Vietnamese girls. The assaults and attacks on foreigners in this area has scared many foreign women about the West Lake area and discouraged them from going outside in the evening. Specifically, Tay Ho District authorities received reports from four foreign women saying that they were sexually assaulted by young males driving motorbikes with covered licence plates. Hanoi Mayor Chu Ngoc Anh immediately directed the Hanoi Police to urgently investigate and strictly deal with these cases. Hanoi police immediately started an investigation and tracked down a group of people accused of sexually harassing at least four foreign women in West Lake area. On March 5, Hanoi police summoned three young men suspected of being involved in these cases. They are all male juveniles, including a 15-year-old and two 16-year-old boys residing in Cau Giay District in Hanoi. They confessed to committing the acts as reported by victims, the police said. The police are expanding their investigation. Tay Ho Police said they are deploying police officers in plain clothes and setting up more surveillance cameras in some target locations in West Lake to avoid similar incidents. Also on March 5, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh asked the Hanoi Peoples Committee to direct agencies to quickly investigate and strictly handle the perpetrators, and publicize their investigation results. Mai Trong Thang, head of Tay Ho Districts police division noted that it is hard to catch criminals if victims refuse to report the case to the police. He called on those who were victims of similar attacks to report immediately and coordinate with the investigation agency to find the culprit. Tay Ho district remains a popular place among Hanois expat community, with many foreigners and foreign organizations renting property to live or work there. Moc Mien An app developer has sued Apple for copyright infringement, alleging that the company started making emoji with different skin tones years after she developed her own application that did the exact same thing. As a third-party developer, Katrina Parrott was the first to put out diverse emoji through her own app, iDiversicons, in 2013. The black, Houston-based entrepreneur was inspired to create multiple skin tones for emoji after her daughter lamented she couldn't properly represent herself on keyboards. Parrott had no technical experience when she took on her project, but as a former NASA contract worker in logistics, she knew how to put together a team. In an interview in December 2020, Parrott said of her pioneering app: 'We said we don't want to do just an app for African Americans. We want to represent the world because everybody was feeling the lack in emoji.' 'We did African American skin tone, we did Asian, Caucasian, folks from India and those who are Latino and Hispanic. We covered all the bases.' Katrina Parrott (pictured in 2019), a Texas-based app developer, has sued Apple for copyright infringement, alleging that the company started making emoji with different skin tones years after she developed her own application that did the exact same thing Parrott says that iDiversicons was the first to offer diverse emoji (top section) not Apple, which launched their diverse emoji in February 2015 (bottom section) She said building the app took about six months and it was launched as an iPhone application that allowed users to copy and paste emoji with five different skin tones into their messages. Parrott told The Washington Post that she saw an opportunity to build momentum and began putting her savings into the app's growth. 'What I learned in business is if you come up with an idea that nobody else has and you're the first on the scene, it gives you a real good opportunity to be successful,' Parrott told the newspaper. But Parrot, who filed the lawsuit in Texas federal court last year, says that's not how it happened. Parrott said she was left $200,000 in debt and heartbroken when Apple and other technology companies incorporated skin tone options into their operating systems. The incident led to Parrott's lawsuit, which according to the Post, highlights how app creators are easily copied and pushed aside by tech giants. Her lawyer, Todd Patterson, told the newspaper: 'The woman who was trying to improve inclusion gets excluded.' An Apple spokeswoman claimed that the company did not copy Parrott's work and that Parrott has no claim to the copyright of the skin tone emoji. During her presentation in front of an Apple representative, Parrott said she showed 536 diverse emoji for consideration, including ones that represented then-President Barack Obama (left) and former South African president Nelson Mandela But after her presentation, an Apple representative Parrott said she received an email that reads: 'Apple has its own team of human interface designers who want to handle all aspects of the emoji design' Apple's lawyers have argued that 'copyright does not protect the idea of applying five different skin tones to emoji because ideas are not copyrightable'. In October 2013, iDiversicons was available for download in the App Store. At the time, more than 300 emoji were available in the app, which was also registered with the US Copyright Office. She also applied for three patents for the idea. That same year, Parrott says she submitted a proposal to Unicode requesting they incorporate more diverse emoji options. Unicode then provided her with the opportunity to present her ideas. That presentation came in May 2014 when Parrott stood before representatives across different companies and brands, including Apple. During the presentation, she showed 536 diverse emoji for consideration, including ones that represented then-President Barack Obama and former South African president Nelson Mandela, according to the Post. Parrott said that she met Peter Edberg, a senior software engineer who is still employed by Apple, after her presentation. According to the Post, Edberg told Parrott that the company was interested in creating more diverse options and wanted her to come to their headquarters in Cupertino. After speaking with Apple representatives, Parrott said she felt good about the meeting. But in October 2014, her dreams were crushed when Edberg told her that Apple wouldn't be working with her. Edberg emailed her to say: 'Apple has its own team of human interface designers who want to handle all aspects of the emoji design.' 'I was really crushed,' Parrott told the Post. Just months later in February 2015, Apple announced its diverse emoji, making Parrotts iDiversicons app unnecessary. When the news was announced, Parrott took to Instagram to write: 'iDiversicons is the first to offer diverse emoji not Apple. Which do you prefer? Let's take a bite out of the Apple.' County library to unveil story walk project in Vanderbilt The Otsego County Library is hosting a ceremony Saturday to formally open the latest story walk project. Russian authorities have slowed down Twitter's internet speed and threatened to block the site altogether for failing to take down 'banned' content. Officials say Twitter has been punished for failing to remove material about suicide, drugs and child pornography. But it comes after authorities lashed out against social networks which Kremlin critics have used to organise protests over Alexei Navalny's imprisonment. Regulators called on Twitter to 'take a constructive stance' but warned that if could be blocked entirely if it failed to abide by Russian law. Vladimir Putin's authorities have lashed out at social networks which have been widely used by critics of the Kremlin to organise protest rallies Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said the speed of uploading videos and photos to Twitter would be deliberately slowed down as punishment. Vadim Subbotin, deputy chief of Roskomnadzor, said in televised remarks that Twitter is the only social platform that has 'openly ignored the Russian authorities' demand to remove the banned content'. Russian authorities have assailed social media platforms for failing to remove calls for children to join opposition protests which is against the law in Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the government has 'no desire to block anything,' but added that it was necessary to enforce compliance with the law. The move against Twitter is part of ongoing efforts by the government to tighten control over social platforms. In 2014, the authorities adopted a law requiring online services to store the personal data of Russian users on servers in Russia and have since tried to make Facebook and Twitter to comply with it. Both companies have been repeatedly fined, first small amounts of around $50 and last year the equivalent of $63,000 for not complying. Vladimir Putin last year signed a further array of laws giving Russia new powers to restrict US social media giants that 'discriminate' against its media. Supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny demand his release after he was arrested and imprisoned on his return to Russia from Germany Twitter currently labels some Russian outlets as 'state-affiliated media', a move decried by Moscow. One new law introduces hefty fines for sites that repeatedly fail to remove banned content. The fines would be calculated at up to 20 per cent of the firm's Russia-based turnover in the previous year. The government has stopped short of outright bans even though the law allows it, likely fearing that the move would elicit too much public outrage. Only the social network LinkedIn, which was never especially popular in Russia, has been banned by the authorities for the failure to store user data in Russia. As the Russian authorities moved Wednesday to slow down Twitter, some Russian government websites suffered outages and access problems. It were not clear if those were connected, and some experts suggested they could have been the result of unrelated cyberattacks. Russia's ministry of digital development acknowledged that some government websites suffered outages, but charged that they were linked to equipment problems at communications provider Rostelecom. A ship with 13 Ukrainian sailors on board sank in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania, the News.ro publication said. "Two sailors were killed, one is still wanted and ten were rescued after the sinking of a ship that flew the Ukrainian flag. Ten rescued sailors are on the GSP Falcon and will be taken to the port of Constanta," the News.ro publication said on Thursday. As noted, an emergency message from the Volgo Balt 179 vessel was received at 04:40 on Thursday. According to Radu Petrescu, spokesperson for Grup Servicii Petroliere, the rescue operation started immediately, in extremely difficult weather conditions. Ten rescued are in the hospital of the GSP Falcon and receive all the necessary assistance. Another crew member has not yet been found. The rescue operation continues. At the same time, according to HotNews.ro, the ship was flying the flag of the Comoros and left the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don, heading for Constanta. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) The chairman of the Metro Manila council on Thursday expressed concern over a proposal to bring back quarantine passes for residents, saying the policy may affect the countrys already struggling economy. In an interview with CNN Philippines, MMC Chair and Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the issue has not yet been tackled in the councils previous meetings. Napakadami na pong walang trabaho, may mga negosyo na hindi nagbubukas, Olivarez told The Source. Kapag tayoy nag-implement ng quarantine pass na isa lang per household, which na ginawa natin noon pong ating ECQ [enhanced community quarantine], talaga yung ating economy will be affected. [Translation: There are a lot of people who lost their jobs, there are businesses which remain closed. So when we implement this quarantine pass wherein only one person per household can go outwhich we did during ECQour economy will really be affected.] For Olivarez, a strict and full implementation of minimum health protocols wearing of face masks and face shields and observing physical distancing may be the better way to go for now. Yan po ang dapat nating gawin, lahat po ng siyudad sa Metro Manila (Thats what we should do in all cities of Metro Manila), he said. For its part, the Interior Department said it was not prepared to make recommendations for the return of the quarantine pass policy. The MMC is set to meet on Thursday afternoon to tackle and decide on uniform COVID-19 policies in the capital region, including the implementation of curfew hours and border control. This comes amid the reported spike in virus infections in NCR which stands at 247,935 to date. President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked Kenyas development partners to support public programs that directly benefit wananchi such as the Kazi Mtaani youth employment initiative. The President said Kazi Mtaani had not only created gainful employment for thousands of youth but also helped develop their entrepreneurial and financial skills through training. The Head of State spoke Wednesday during separate meetings with four heads of international organizations who paid him courtesy visits at State House, Nairobi. President Kenyatta held meetings with Director-General of UNON Zainabu Bangura, UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya Dr Stephen Jackson, World Bank Country Director for Kenya Keith Hansen and the UN Under-Secretary-General for Operations Atul Khare. Except for Mr Khare who is visiting the country as part of his working tour of the region, the rest of the Presidents visitors were recently posted to Kenya and were meeting the Head of State as part of their induction. President Kenyatta welcomed the newly posted officials to Kenya and assured them of the Governments full support as they settle into their respective responsibilities. In the meeting with Ms Bangura, the President said Kenya will continue to raise Africas voice in global affairs and thanked the UN for the support the country continues to receive in various sectors. He said the Government supports UNONs ambition to transform Kenya into the UNs regional logistics hub for development, humanitarian and emergency activities. On her part, the new UNON boss thanked the President for Governments support in the construction of the Shs 846 million UN hospital in Nairobi, the first of its kind in the developing world. She said the 150-bed capacity hospital has in recent months grown to become one of the busiest such facility in the UN system catering for patients from across the world. The new UN Resident Coordinator Dr Stephen Jackson told the President that Kenya had distinguished itself as a progressive and open society in a difficult region. Dr Jackson, an Irish national who first came to Kenya in 1986 as a development worker, said his office will continue partnering with the Government in the implementation of projects that support the Big 4 Agenda and the Presidents legacy. Mr Khare, who arrived in the country on Sunday evening from Khartoum, briefed the Head of State on the ongoing UN operations in the region including plans to reposition Kenya as his agencys regional logistics hub. The President welcomed the UNs decision to set up the logistics hub in the country and said the Government will soon unveil a raft of incentives in support of the initiative. The new World Bank County Director Keith Hansen congratulated President Kenyatta for Kenyas handling of Covid-19 saying the multilateral lender will support the countrys post pandemic recovery efforts. Mr Hansen said he was particularly impressed by how the country continues to support household incomes through cash transfer initiatives such as Kazi Mtaani during the tough economic times occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. He thanked the Government for implementing far reaching fiscal and structural reforms saying Kenya had become a regional model and a valued partner of the World Bank. On his part, President Kenyatta challenged the new World Bank Country boss to focus beyond large infrastructure projects and invest more in community initiatives with the highest human impact. Giving the example of how the Government through the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) is transforming the lives of city residents by constructing hospitals, sinking boreholes and opening up roads in informal settlements, the President said such projects benefit wananchi directly. The President was accompanied in the meetings with his United Nations visitors by Foreign Affairs CS Amb Raychelle Omamo while Treasury CAS Nelson Gaichuhie and his PS Dr Julius Muhia joined the Head of State in the meeting with Mr Hansen. Also present in the meeting between President Kenyatta and the new World Bank Country Director were Head of Public Service Dr Joseph Kinyua and State House Deputy Chief of Staff incharge of Strategy Mrs Ruth Kagia. False-colour scanning electron micrograph of device A (upper panel) and its schematics (lower panel). Side gates and contacts are Cr/Au (10 nm/100 nm). The Al shell thickness is approximately 10 nm. The substrate is p-doped Si, acting as a global back-gate, covered by 285 nm SiO2. The two tunnel-gates are shorted externally, as are the two super-gates. Scale bar, 500 nm. Credit: Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038/nature26142 A team of researchers at a Microsoft laboratory in the Netherlands, who published a 2018 paper in the journal Nature, has now retracted that paper, citing a lack of evidence to support their previous conclusions. The study involved trying to prove the existence of the fermiona theorized particle that could possibly be both matter and antimatter. The retraction came after Sergey Frolov, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, found that another quantum phenomenon could mimic the results found by the original research team. After a re-analysis of their work, the researchers agreed with Frolov and contacted Nature to ask for a retraction. Physicists have theorized that the Majorana fermion, if it does exist, could be used to build a true quantum computer because it would be topological, which means that groups of them would be able to remember their interaction historythis was why Microsoft became interested in them and how they might be used. Finding proof of their existence, unfortunately, has proven to be very challenging. Several groups have tried and failed, but technology companies like Microsoft are not waiting for proof of their existencethey are more interested in finding out if they could be used to build a quantum computer. Back in 2012, a physicist at Delft University, Leo Kouwenhoven, found small hints that suggested such a computer might be possible. In 2016, Microsoft hired him and several others to work on a project geared toward the development of a Majorana fermion-based quantum computer. Their approach involved creating Majorana fermions inside of a type of nanowire. The trick was in detecting themno one knows how to directly detect Majorana fermions, so the researchers used a smoking-gun approachmeasuring sudden peaks in conductance. It was the smoking-gun effect that ultimately led to trouble for the team. Frolov found that Andreev states in the system could just as easily be what the researchers were observing, not evidence of Majorana fermions. The original researchers have apologized for the mistakes that were made in their work, noting that there was "insufficient scientific rigor." But they also suggest that such mistakes should not detract from the progress to date to prove the existence of Majorana fermions or dash hopes of using them to create a quantum computer. Explore further Majorana highway on a chip More information: Hao Zhang et al. RETRACTED ARTICLE: Quantized Majorana conductance, Nature (2018). Hao Zhang et al. RETRACTED ARTICLE: Quantized Majorana conductance,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/nature26142 P. Yu et al. Non-Majorana states yield nearly quantized conductance in proximatized nanowires, Nature Physics (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-020-01107-w Journal information: Nature , Nature Physics 2021 Science X Network We couldnt find anything at this address. Please check the URL or go to the homepage Rape survivor tied and paraded along with accused in MP Russia's Sputnik V vaccine to get approval from Indian regulator in next few weeks: Dr Reddy's Bengaluru gangrape case: Two accused shot in the leg while trying to escape Victim, who was tortured and gangraped in viral video, traced in Kozhikode, brought to Bengaluru Raped by 3, married woman forced to drink alcohol India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 11: Three people have been arrested for allegedly making a married woman drink alcohol and raping her in Puranpur Kotwali police station area here, police said on Wednesday. A case was registered in this connection on Wednesday against Pawan Kumar, Chote and Umesh, Superintendent of Police Jai Prakash Yadav told media. In the complaint given to the police, the woman alleged that one of the accused from her neighbourhood offered to take her to her parents' house. She said he made her drink liquor and raped her along with two of his companions. Not rape: SC says on consensual sex in live in relationship The accused later dumped her at a deserted place, police said. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News Sorry! This content is not available in your region [March 11, 2021] EdTech Startup Mokusei Intelligence seeks Partners, Collaborators, and Reviewers for its Upcoming Pilot Program BANGALORE, India, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mokusei Intelligence has announced that it is actively seeking partners and collaborators, especially from the education and travel sector. The Company said that its ideal partner would be an entity or individual with an active network of young people and one that is open to experimentation or exploration. The newly launched startup expressed a clear preference for partnering young startups and educators. A couple of such partnerships, the company said, are already in the pipeline. In a statement, Ashish Bohora, Founder of Mokusei Intelligence, said, "We are happy to partner or collaborate with entities bigger and larger than us. But those entities must be open to working with a startup that is still learning and evolving as it grows. They should be able to adapt themselves to unpredictable, quickly changing situations and real-time improvisation as necessary for the pilot program or joint project." The Company said that it needs to finalize partnerships before March 31, 2021, so process changes and updates can be incorporated in tech development for its upcoming pilot program, and the vallued.ai app can be redesigned in sync with the partnership or collaboration agreements. Mokusei emphasized that its partners need not be Indian entities alone. They can be based out of any part of the world and are most welcome as long as they are official and legally established entities. "Those who are interested in partnering with us are requested to visit https://www.vallued.ai /about . The website can get tricky and confusin to understand. This design is purposeful and intentional, however. It is not meant to be understood in a single visit. It has been designed to pique the curiosity of visitors and elicit questions. They may feel free to reach out to Mokusei directly in case of any questions, doubts, or queries," said Ashish Bohora. "Interested partners are requested to understand about vallued.ai when they reach out to discuss partnership or collaboration opportunities. Mokusei would love to hear from them, in fact, in case they too have ideas and proposals for partnerships in mind based on their understanding of the Mokusei model," Bohora added. Meanwhile, Mokusei Intelligence also announced that it is actively seeking journalists and members of the press from the print, electronic and digital media - preferably with international contacts and press networks - as reviewers for its website and pilot program. Interested individuals are encouraged to visit, explore and review https://www.vallued.ai so they can spread the word about vallued.ai and Mokusei's funding initiative for education or travel. The Company had initially planned to shortlist the first 36 reviews and opinion pieces about vallued.ai website and the Mokusei model. This shortlist has now been extended & widened to include the first 100 reviews and opinion pieces worldwide. The company has taken this decision to accomodate journalists and press reviewers from all over the world. Writers and journalists interested in collaborating as reviewers can reach out and connect with Ashish Bohora directly to get their questions, queries, and doubts addressed. For more details, they can access the company's press releases on https://www.vallued.ai/news, and check the following link for additional details: https://fuonews.com/mokusei-intelligence-invites-journalists-bloggers-podcast-hosts-social-media-influencers-to-explore-www-vallued-ai/ About Mokusei Intelligence: Incorporated on 17 February 2021, Mokusei Intelligence received official Startup Recognition from the Government of India on 25 February 2021. Mokusei Intelligence, founded by Ashish Bohora, is a social impact and education centric tech company focused on developing AI/ML based solutions to address social challenges. The company's first flagship product cum service is a digital mobile-only online 'cheating-detection' assessment app platform called vallued.ai which is set to launch in May 2021. This young startup is officially registered in Bangalore and has its team spread across geographies. Media Contact: Ashish Bohora ashish@vallued.ai +91- 9890536269 Founder & Director Mokusei Intelligence Private Limited [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] But this year, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the charge could be used in cases where only one person was in danger as it was in the conviction of a police officer, Mohamed Noor, for a fatal on-duty shooting. Prosecutors asked to reinstate the charge, but Judge Cahill refused, saying he was not bound by the higher courts ruling because Mr. Noor could still appeal. The appeals court disagreed. On Wednesday, in a second day of long conversations between lawyers and prospective jurors in the Chauvin case, the questions touched on divisive issues in contemporary America such as racial justice protests and coronavirus restrictions that were designed to reveal political biases. One man, a Minnesota Vikings season-ticket holder, was asked about N.F.L. players who have protested racial injustice by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. He said he did not believe that the gesture which had become a conservative rallying cry disrespected the police or military because they serve to protect our right to believe what we want to believe. The man, who is white, works in sales and appeared to be in his 30s, said he had an awakening about racial issues while studying the civil rights movement in college. The man, identified as Juror 20, was seated on the jury despite one misgiving: He was supposed to get married on May 1 in Florida, when deliberations could still be taking place. The jurors will remain anonymous throughout the trial to shield them from pressure and threats. Like nearly every prospective juror questioned so far, Juror 20 had seen the viral video of Mr. Chauvin kneeling on Mr. Floyds neck as he gasped for breath. He reacted negatively, he said, but is open to hearing both sides. He said his negative reaction to seeing Mr. Floyd die on a street corner could be counterbalanced by learning why he was placed in custody. 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. BIGGER IS BETTER Trends come and go, but the puff sleeve has proven its shelf life to be longer than most. Bursting onto the fashion scene in 2018, this season it's bigger and more popular than ever. What began as a girly nod to an Eighties party dress is now a full-blown love affair. And walking around with an elaborate sleeve is just what we need to lift us out of the gloom of lockdown. Camila Ridley-Day shares advice for embracing this season's tabards trend at any occasion (pictured: Lexie cotton dobby blouse, 70, aspiga.com, Reiss's 165 pleated skirt and 50 chain earrings, and Mint Velvet's 139 suede ankle boots) EXAGGERATED ELEGANCE There's a romantic feel to this sleeve, whether that's the subtle Bridgerton version or the overblown style of Emma Corrin's Miu Miu dress at the recent Golden Globes. Designers have embraced it in both polished and relaxed ways. On the catwalks, Isabel Marant's pink blouse was all bohemian elegance, while Altuzarra gave a smart twist to a classic trench coat. ARM YOURSELF Who'd have thought that being back on the school drop-off would feel like a reason to dress up? I'll be giving myself some va-va-voom (and disguising less-than perfectly toned arms) in this dobby blouse top I'm wearing. It gently flares at the cuffs too, which creates a slimming effect for the whole arm. STYLE IT RIGHT There's only one downside to puff sleeves: coats. Stuffing extra material into them is never a good look; pulling them out squashed and flat even less so. Choose a cover up which isn't too tight try a sleeveless crewneck or a cardigan. They're versatile whether on a blouse teamed with jeans or as the focal point of a dress when it's time to party. Fabric plays its part a soft cotton on Boden's T-shirt gives a hint of volume whereas the stiff denim on Essentiel Antwerp's balloon-sized version shouts go big or go home. NOW SHOP THE TREND... 404 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Cheap and easy to store, the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine has given a significant boost to the global fight against coronavirus but also been hit by controversy. Here are five facts about the much-anticipated vaccine. Practicality The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine has the major advantages of being inexpensive, costing about 2.50 ($3.40, 2.75 euros) per dose, and easy to store. It can be kept at normal refrigerator temperatures of between two and eight degrees Celsius (36-46 Fahrenheit), making it ideal for large-scale vaccination programs, with both India and Argentina recently approving its use. By contrast rival jabs like the Moderna vaccine needs to be stored at minus 20C, while the Pfizer/BioNTech product must be kept at minus 70C. The US Food and Drug Administration said last month that frozen vials of the Pfizer jab may be stored at temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for up to two weeks. Suspected blood clots Denmark said on Thursday it would suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as precautionary measure over fears of blood clots of in vaccinated people. The country's national health agency emphasized it was not yet possible to conclude a link between the vaccine and clots. An AstraZeneca spokesperson said the vaccine had been "extensively studied in Phase III clinical trials". They added "peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine has been generally well tolerated". Austria announced on Monday it had stopped administering a batch of vaccine produced by the British laboratory, after the death of a 49-year-old nurse who succumbed to "severe bleeding disorders" days after receiving it. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Luxembourg suspended vaccinations with doses from the same batch, which has been delivered to 17 countries and included one million vaccines. Delays in delivery The vaccine was first approved for use in the general population in Britain, which ordered 100 million doses of the jab. In the EU, delays to delivery have led to strong criticism of the Anglo-Swedish firm as stock continued to reach Britain's vaccine programme. AstraZeneca announced in January it could only deliver one third of the 120 million doses initially promised to the 27 EU member states in the first quarter. Tensions boiled over into diplomatic relations in the same month when the EU invoked a Brexit deal protocol over export controls on coronavirus vaccines. It quickly retreated from the move following protests from London and Dublin. More recently, Italy blocked the export of a 250,000 dose shipment of AztraZeneca vaccine to Australia, citing "persistent shortage" and "delays in supply". European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that other countries could block exports. She said that AstraZeneca had delivered less than 10 percent of the doses ordered between December and March. Chimpanzees The vaccine is "virus-vectored", meaning it is a version of a virus that normally infects chimpanzees and has been modified with a portion of the Covid-19 coronavirus called the "spike protein" to fire the immune system. Once in human cells, the vaccine should help stimulate the production of antibodies that recognise the virus. The vaccine is "safe and effective", according to data published by The Lancet medical journal on December 8, with only one of the of the 23,754 volunteers who participated in the trials experiencing "possibly-related severe side effects". This was a case of a rare neurological condition, transverse myelitis, that forced the temporary suspension of trials. Result confusion The British laboratory announced in interim findings in November that its vaccine was on average 70 percent effective, compared with more than 90 percent for Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The efficacy of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine was 90 percent for volunteers who first received only a half dose and then a full dose one month later, but only 62 percent for those in another group who were vaccinated with two full doses one month apart. The injection of a half dose was conducted by accident, raising criticism over the robustness of the results and prompting the company to conduct additional studies. The vaccine's efficacy in those over 65 has also been questioned in Europe due to a lack of data and before further studies were completed. Nations such as Germany and Italy have finally authorized it for the age group in hopes of accelerating their vaccination campaigns. A study conducted by health authorities in England has shown protection of between 60 percent and 73 percent against Covid symptoms in people over 70 years old, with a single dose. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP Senator Marsha Blackburn introduced legislation along with Senators Josh Hawley (RMo.), Kevin Cramer (RN.D.), Thom Tillis (RN.C.), Marco Rubio (RFla.), and Roger Marshall (RKans.) "to shed light on the 157 sister city partnerships between U.S. and Chinese communities." Congressman Chip Roy (RTex.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Chattanooga is a Sister city to Wuxi, China. Senator Blackburn said, Sister cities are strategic partnerships that Beijing brokers to create a foothold in American communities. These partnerships are yet another tool in Beijings campaign to infiltrate our culture to achieve their economic ends. In the past, China has used a sister city partnership to force a local government to abide by Chinese policies or face economic retaliation. It is imperative we shed light on these partnerships to determine whether they leave American communities vulnerable to foreign espionage and ideological coercion. Right now sister city partnerships can too easily be abused by the Chinese Communist Party, a regime intent on spying on Americans, stealing American ideas, and targeting Americans for propaganda, Senator Hawley said. The Sister City Transparency Act addresses this threat by demanding transparency from sister city partnerships and identifying best practices for ensuring Beijing cant use these relationships to advance its own malign agenda. The Chinese Communist Party regularly exploits its sister city partnerships around the world to aggressively advance its own agenda, said Senator Cramer. Our bill would give us a better understanding of Chinas reach into the United States and allow us to address that accordingly. As China becomes a larger threat to the United States, we must have proper oversight and review of practices over sister city partnerships, said Senator Tillis. With proper insight, we can see the true nature of these partnerships and mitigate the risk of any corruption or destructive activity. I am proud to work with my colleagues on this legislation to protect our cities from any potential threat of espionage the Chinese Communist Party may impose. Beijing has a history of conducting its malign activities by exploiting cultural and economic partnerships, Senator Rubio said. This means that sister city partnerships require further scrutiny. Its in our national and economic security interest to better understand, and counter, Chinas growing malign influence at the state and local level. I look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle to pass this bill, which will provide greater transparency on the CCPs on-going efforts to conduct influence operations in the U.S. The Chinese Communist Party is a direct, existential threat to America's national security and the way of life that we hold dear, said Congressman Roy. At the very least, we must ensure that our own American cities are not supporting a regime that wants to destroy us while leaving us vulnerable to foreign espionage and influence. The Sister City Transparency Act would create a GAO report on sister city partnerships operating within the U.S. More specifically, the bill would direct the Comptroller General to conduct a study on such partnerships involving foreign communities in countries with significant public sector corruption e.g., the Peoples Republic of China and the Russian Federation. The study would: Identify the oversight practices that U.S. communities implement to mitigate the risks of foreign espionage and economic coercion within sister city partnerships; Assess the extent to which foreign communities could use sister city partnerships to conduct malign activities, including academic and industrial espionage; and Review best practices to ensure transparency regarding sister city partnerships agreements, activities, and employees. Click here for more information on the Sister City Transparency Act. A Harare man has admitted to conning the father of the murdered Murehwa boy Tapiwa Makore, of money he wanted to use in hiring a car to Malawi to track the missing head of his child. Prince Gerald Mukumba admitted to duping Mr Munyaradzi Makore of $4 500 and US$125 he paid him towards hiring the car to travel to Malawi. Mukumba told Harare magistrate Mr Sheunesu Matova that he failed to secure the car for Mr Makore because of the Covid-19 national lockdown. I was given the money to hire the car to travel to Malawi, but failed because of the lockdown, he said. The matter has been briefly stood down for plea recording. Herald Any suggestion that the airbrushing of the 1916 Padraig Pearse surrender photograph was done to exclude Elizabeth OFarrell from the image, because she was a woman, is not true. (Painting of woman airbrushed from GPO Rising surrender unveiled in Seanad to mark International Womens Day, Independent.ie, March 8). Elizabeth OFarrell stated in a later interview that she decided to step back when she became aware that a British Army officer was taking a photograph. She was obscured, apart from her feet, by Pearse in the resulting image. So, in fact, there is no image of OFarrell on the original negative to begin with. The photograph was bought and published on the front page of the Daily Sketch (May 1916). It was a sub-editor who decided to paint out the feet, purely for aesthetic reasons. There was no gender-based or political agenda for that alteration. Later published versions of the photograph show the unaltered image. However, the painting does provoke a couple of questions. Was it right to include OFarrell in such a way as to partially obscure Pearse? It is doubtful that she would have been happy with this. Another concern is the portrayal of the two British officers, erect and head held high, while Pearse and OFarrell are depicted with heads lowered in submission. Jim OSullivan Rathedmond, Sligo Closing churches a clear mark of disrespect to Christians The decision by Government to further delay opening churches for public worship until Easter Monday, immediately after the most sacred week in the Christian liturgy, lacks any medical or civic justification. The Governments continued imposition of empty churches across the country, right into the heart of Easter, makes no sense. It shuts down communal and family worship. It shuts out the hope and promise of Easter for a demoralised country. It should be seen for what it is gratutiously disrespectful to Christians. Ray Kinsella Ashford, Co Wicklow If used in the wrong place, renewable energy is a threat In response to Ciaran Cuffe (Ireland must tap into its renewable energy sources, Letters, March 4), renewable energy may be an opportunity, in the right place. But it is also a threat in the wrong place, causing erosion, landslides, river contamination and large-scale fish kills. Scepticism about the value of onshore wind energy is based on an increasing understanding that the mature technology and economic value are not the whole story. There are high-carbon emissions from physical activities and the resources involved (mining and transport of ore, steel forging, concrete). Additionally, lovely areas, even those of outstanding natural beauty, become threatened with huge turbines, new roads, infrastructure and transmissions to the grid. Meanwhile, we are relying on high-carbon natural gas as the basis for a growing proportion of wind and solar. We need to understand what proportion of which energy will be the most technically and economically efficient, least environmentally damaging, low-carbon and sustainable. Rather than increasing destruction of the countryside, SMRs could gradually replace high-carbon gas plants with infrastructure and transmissions already in place. Anne Baily Co Tipperary Royal familys hands are tied by ancient laws on Catholicism Keith Nolan tells us that the UK monarchy is an archaic institution (Need we be surprised by allegations of royal racism?, Letters, March 10) which prohibits a Roman Catholic from becoming monarch. However, there is a reason for this ancient law. James II was a devout Catholic king who sought to enforce his religious beliefs on a country whose population was primarily Anglican. The king catholicised the army and the judiciary as he believed in the divine rule of kings. Members of Parliament panicked and asked William of the Netherlands to become King of England. James II, who was also Williams father-in-law, abdicated and fled to France. The Bill of Rights in 1688 formally established parliament as the supreme authority, thus creating the first constitutional monarchy in the world. The Act of Settlement in 1701, which was passed by parliament, prohibited Roman Catholics from ever succeeding to the throne. Kieran O Regan Dublin 9 People right to question RTE for buying television interview I hope Pat Stacey would be as quick off the mark condemning our Government as he was in disagreeing with those who objected to RTE shelling out 10,000 for an interview with Harry and Meghan (Ignore the showboating politicians criticising RTE for airing the Meghan and Harry interview, Independent.ie, March 10). Barry Lyons Dublin 9 Ho Chi Minh Citys metro system will hope to ease traffic congestion for the citys nine million people On the sidelines of the Hanoi Expressway linking Ho Chi Minh Citys centre and the east, a 500m road section was not cleared due to local residents not agreeing with the compensation a bottleneck that has been existing for a long time without resolution. In the front of Pham Van Dong Boulevard, the so-called thousand billion boulevard of the city which was expanded recently with investment capital of more than VND8 trillion ($347 million), some houses remain which are 4m in length but less than one metre wide only. Local authorities cannot move them because they were not included in the compensation plan and their residents also do not want to move, since the value of their homes have increased 10-fold. Land clearance and compensation have long been the most difficult subjects for both local authorities and developers because they delay hundreds of projects and waste untold amounts of money. With a fast growing population, high urbanisation rate, and strict regulations on planning and construction of high-rise buildings in the inner city, land funds are becomes scarcer. In 2019 Ho Chi Minh City reached a population of nine million, with a density of 4,292 people per square kilometre. Population pressure has led to an increase in demand for housing, becoming a lever for strong real estate growth in the following years. In 2020, in spite of the negative effects of the pandemic that has seriously affected the growth of industries, real estate has somewhat weathered the storm. Although the economy faces many difficulties, the real estate price range in large urban areas like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi still recorded remarkable growth and show no signs of slowing down. Explaining this, experts say that there are many factors that make real estate a solid and durable investment channel because the mechanical population growth trend is increasing in big cities. Mechanisms to create land Ho Chi Minh City is compensating residents and collecting land plots located on the two sides of the metro line and ring roads to develop urban areas. After being collected, these land plots will be auctioned to private developers to invest in commercial projects. According to the plan recently approved by Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee, local authorities will repossess land larger than the space required for a certain project. The residents whose land is acquired will be resettled on-site, and the excess land area after resettlement will be re-planned and auctioned to finance the project itself. The additional land for acquisition and resettlement will be discussed with the affected communities. This new policy aims to create a clear land fund to develop urban development projects and beautify the citys landscape, wiping out small houses left after the construction or expansion of infrastructure projects. Michael Piro, COO of Indochina Capital said, Sensible planning and effective land use create a conducive environment for economic growth and social development. However, effective land use depends on the legal framework that shapes a governments ability to effectively manage the ownership and use of land. Piro had further added that it is challenging to translate a vision and planning into concrete rules and reality, and comparing the regulation on land compensation in some other countries, Vietnams should be more flexible. According to Piro, public discontent against compulsory land acquisition and resettlement can be observed around the globe, but some countries have avoided the worst of the negative outcomes. Laws in more mature economies such as Australia and Canada take into account various inconveniences and non-monetary costs to owners that the broader market does not attribute value to when determining compensation. On a regional level, in Singapore, the mandate for the government to acquire private land with payment of market value compensation is stated and defined in legislation, he said. Meanwhile, Catherine He, associate director for Research in Southeast Asia for CBRE, said that in Singapore under its land acquisition act, landowners whose lands are acquired are paid market value compensation. In addition, for certain cases where public housing is acquired, affected owners are offered alternative housing options nearby with priority and subsidies, she said. Careful implementation Despite a new mechanism being considered to bring fairness for all sides, delicate implementation is being urged. Former deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture Vo Kim Cuong said that it should divide clearer benefits between local residents and government in every project. When a project is set up, it must take careful research and a detailed investment plan. The current and future price of land and all of those factors should be composed into the compensation price for removal of residents, Cuong said. To do this, the prerequisite is to build a specific and detailed legal corridor that clearly explains to people their interests and responsibilities in contributing to the implementation of projects with the government. Meanwhile Su Ngoc Khuong, senior director from Savills Vietnam, said that in many cases the compensation price was the most important factor for getting the nod from local people to move away. However, the transparency of the removal plan and the living habits of those residents must be of most interest. The new location must be as good as their current residences or even better, otherwise they would not agree to move, Khuong said. The issue of compensation and resettlement is a problem deeply related to urban characteristics and peoples consensus, and it is not enough to solve it from a financial perspective alone. If it is a project that benefits the community such as parks, hospitals, schools, there is usually a great consensus from the people, but if it is used for commercial purposes, it must be transparent in the interests of the people, said Khuong. Piro from Indochina Capital added that it would be beneficial for Vietnam to revise its legal framework on land acquisition and resettlement while forming an interagency coalition to improve communication and coordination between government agencies and land users. As Vietnam is developing and growing at high rates, the government has and is making efforts to find a balance between effectiveness, sustainability and fairness. The proposed coalition will assist with supporting policymakers to link land acquisition and resettlement with other pillars of sustainable socioeconomic development such as urban development, public housing, retirement planning, infrastructure, and communications, he said. [March 11, 2021] WeInvoice Enables a Smooth Freelancing Invoice Experience SINGAPORE, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In most cases, invoicing can be a hassle that most individuals and businesses wish to avoid, especially freelancers, who generally find that they waste a lot of time generating invoices for their clients. In response to that, WeInvoice, based in Singapore, has announced a dynamic invoicing platform that provides user-friendly invoicing solutions for freelancers. Making the invoicing process simple and efficient is the primary mission of WeInvoice. As such, it allows even non-techies to generate multiple invoices in a short time. This process can be achieved by either utilizing Weinvoice's invoice generator, or customizing one from its collection of crafted invoice templates. Invoice Generator WeInvoice allows users to create well-formatted invoices highlighting the most critical aspects, thereby preventing usual invoice errors and quickening up the payments. Users can easily add a header, company details, client details, invoice number, and description to their invoices. Easy to Use The interface of the tool is clean and user-friendly. Also, users can access it on the Web without needing to download any software. Additionally, overseas transactions are quickly taken care of as Weinvoice has features available in multiple languages. Users can simply get started by editing the necessary fields in the invoice provided. Legal Validity Legal cmpliance is ensured with every invoice generated by WeInvoice. One can even add extra sections if necessary to ensure the invoice's validity. Invoice Templates Not only does Weinvoice offer blank invoice templates where users can design in a way they prefer, but the platform also offers 100 templates in various formats, including Word, Excel, PDF, and Google Docs. Multiple Payment Methods WeInvoice accepts multiple payment cards, thereby allowing clients to make timely payments quickly and easily. It also affords users the freedom to append payment terms on the invoices that are generated. Addresses and all other details can be customized on the invoice to suit one's business needs. Instant Alerts The tool offers real-time tracking to users so that they are notified as and when their invoices are viewed. This invoice generator also keeps a neat record of incoming and outgoing payments that helps one manage finances better. WeInvoice also cares about enhancing businesses' bookkeeping efficiency and reducing their bookkeeping costs. Its approach is to provide automated invoice options to make the process even simpler. Such options eliminate the need for businesses to spend time on repeated trivialities by scheduling regular invoices on fixed dates. Businesses can also establish a strong brand presence by adding a brand logo in the invoice. WeInvoice is committed to helping freelancers, businesses and brands level up on professionalism with well-designed, professional, and customizable templates for all sorts of business invoices. Users can generate their first invoice for free. To create your own invoice, visit https://weinvoice.com/invoice-generator To select an invoicing template, visit https://weinvoice.com/invoice-templat e To get further details about WeInvoice, contact: support@weinvoice.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weinvoice-enables-a-smooth-freelancing-invoice-experience-301245586.html SOURCE WeInvoice [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Saudi Arabia said it would guarantee global energy security and deter further attacks on its infrastructure, days after a missile and drone assault on the worlds largest oil-export terminal. The attack on the kingdoms Ras Tanura port on Sunday caused a brief spike in oil prices and was claimed by Iran-backed Houthi fighters in neighboring Yemen, who are battling a Saudi-led coalition. The missiles were intercepted but the incident marked a serious escalation and has further stirred regional tensions at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden is aiming to re-start nuclear diplomacy with Tehran. The kingdom will take necessary and deterrent measures to protect its national resources," Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in Riyadh, alongside visiting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The failed attempts to target the port of Ras Tanura do not only target the security of the economy and Saudi Arabia. They target the global economy and its oil supplies." The international community needs to take a strong stance to prevent such attacks, Prince Faisal said, blaming Iran for supplying the Houthis with ballistic weapons. Shrapnel from one projectile landed close to a residential compound for employees of Saudi Aramco, which operates Ras Tanura on the kingdoms east coast. Russia Oil Ties Benchmark Brent crude has surged 75% since early November to $68 a barrel as the OPEC+ cartel restricts supplies and major economies roll out coronavirus vaccines. It briefly topped $71 on Monday in the wake of the attacks and after the alliance -- comprising members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and others including Russia and Mexico -- surprised markets last week by deciding against raising output in April. Moscow had tried earlier this year to convince Riyadh to increase production, fearing that higher prices would lead rival shale companies in the U.S. to pump more and boost their market share. Yet Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia and Saudi Arabia, the two de facto leaders of OPEC+, were still aligned on energy policy. We do not see any events that will negatively impact our will to continue cooperating," he said. This is the reality and it will remain so for the long-term." Yemen War The Saudi coalition intervened in Yemens civil war on the side of the United Nations-recognized government six years ago. The UN says the conflict has caused the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. The Houthis have claimed regular attacks on Saudi cities and ports in recent years. The Shia group said it was responsible for striking Aramcos Abqaiq oil-processing plant and Khurais field in September 2019. Armed drones temporarily knocked out about half of Saudi Arabias production capacity. The UN concluded those missiles were probably of Iranian origin. Houthis have stepped up their attacks this year. Last week, they said they bombed an air base in southwestern Saudi Arabia and hit an Aramco fuel depot in Jeddah, the kingdoms second-biggest city. They targeted Riyadh, the capital, late last month with drones and missiles. Extreme Restraint Former U.S. President Donald Trump classified the Houthis as a terrorist organization last year, shortly after a number of attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea. Biden rescinded that designation, saying it was hindering the efforts of aid workers to provide food and shelter to Yemenis living under Houthi control. The kingdom is committed to ending the war in Yemen through a political resolution, but on the other side of this conflict is a group driven by the extremist ideology of the Iranian regime," Saudi Arabias ambassador to the U.S., Princess Reema bint Bandar, said in a statement Tuesday. We are exercising extreme restraint in the face of a daily barrage of weaponized drones and ballistic missiles." Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Sri Lanka: ComBank confirms support to Phase 2 of Koggala mangrove restoration project March 11,2021 | Source: Colombo Page A protective boundary of 3,750 mangrove saplings is to be planted around Kath Duwa, an island in the Koggala Lake, with the continued support of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon to the Koggala Mangrove Restoration and Conservation Project of Wildlife and Ocean Resource Conservation (WORC) of Sri Lanka. Phase 2 of this project follows the immense success of the first phase, during which the Bank funded the planting of 2,000 mangrove plants, 750 mangrove associates and 500 terrestrial plants on this 13.5-acre island in Habaraduwa, which is situated close to Madol Duwa, the island made famous by Martin Wickramasinghes novel of the same name. Phase 2 seeks to prevent marsh-edge erosion and will continue to utilize the barrel planting method which proved efficient in the first phase. Ms. Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealths Blue Charter Action Group commended the project on her visit to Sri Lanka in 2019 and identified it as the best mangrove planting site in the country, the Bank said. The first phase took two years to complete in conformity with conservation and habitat restoration methods, as promised by WORC. The primary objective of the project is the restoration of the degraded ecosystem and to inspire a culture and community of environmental stewardship in the area. Besides funding and monitoring the restoration project, Commercial Bank has also supported WORC to build partnerships with local communities, raise education and awareness, and collaborate with the organization to identify sustainable livelihoods and business opportunities associated with the project and help kick start related activities. These contributions enable the Bank to play a part in the development of eco-tourism in the Koggala lagoon by supporting the lagoon community through reducing the impact of erosion and providing education on how to carry out activities in a more environmentally responsible manner. The Koggala Lagoon has a surface area of approximately 7.27 km and is largely fed by several connected streams. Thanks to its rich biodiversity and ecosystem, it is one of the main attractions for tourists visiting the Southern coast. It sustains a few scattered small islands with mangrove swamps along their shorelines. Human activities and high tide have caused severe lagoon bank erosion and brought about destruction to the ecosystem of mangroves in the past few decades. The Koggala Mangrove Restoration and Conservation Project that is implemented in Kath Duwa seeks to remedy part of this problem. Mangroves are evergreen shrubs that grow in coastal saline or stagnant water. They are important because they have a large capacity to absorb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and trap them in flooded soils. It has been found that the carbon dioxide storage capacity of a mangrove forest is more than twice that of a tropical rainforest. Mangrove ecosystems also play a vital role in buffering the force of the strong waves and in protecting the human inhabitations in addition to performing vital hydrological functions and serving as breeding grounds for fish and other marine species. Mangrove systems covering an area of 8000-12000ha are interspersed along the coastline of Sri Lanka. Wildlife and Ocean Resource Conservation is a not-for-profit organization focused on conservation and ecosystem restoration in Sri Lanka. It supports community-based sea turtle conservation in Panama and Pottuvil, mangrove forest conservation and restoration in Koggala, and coral reef conservation and restoration in Rumassala. WORC offers travel experiences in all of these areas and all income from ecotourism is used to fund ongoing conservation and restoration work. (ANSA) - ROME, MAR 11 - Russia's Ambassador to Rome Sergey Razov said Thursday that he was disconcerted by the accusations that have been directed at Moscow after the news that an agreement had been reached for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to be produced in Italy. "The interpretations that have appeared in some Italian media organs about a sort of diplomatic-propaganda offensive to introduce the Russian vaccine and even (talk of) vaccine colonization (of Europe) are frankly disconcerting," Razov told ANSA in an exclusive interview. "Russia does not intend to impose Sputnik on anyone. "Cultivating phobias, including Rossiphobia, is not very productive". Razov said the Russian embassy in Rome had not been involved in the negotiation between Adienne and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to produce Sputnik in Italy Razov said that the EU's policy towards Moscow was being held "hostage" by a "well known and small group of countries". "We see that the principle political parties in Italy, which we are bonded to by traditional relations of friendship, agree on the importance of normalizing and improving relations between Russia and the EU," he added. "We paid attention to the words uttered by Premier (Mario) Draghi in his speech in the Senate about the importance of strengthening mechanisms of dialogue with our country". (ANSA). The unanimously called for a reversal of the military coup in on Wednesday, strongly condemning the violence against peaceful protesters and calling for "utmost restraint" by the military. A presidential statement approved by all 15 council members including Myanmar's neighbor and friend China was formally adopted at a very brief virtual meeting where US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the current council president, announced that the statement had been agreed. A presidential statement is a step below a resolution but becomes part of the official record of the UN's most powerful body. The British-drafted statement calls for the immediate release of government leaders including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint who have been detained since their ouster in the February 1 military coup. It supports the country's democratic transition and "stresses the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence, fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and uphold the rule of law." China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said in a statement that "it is important the council members speak in one voice," and declared that it's now time for de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue. Thomas-Greenfield also stressed that all council members "spoke with one voice to condemn the ongoing violence against peaceful protesters." "We commend their courage and determination in the face of continued, brutal attacks by military and security forces," she said in a statement. "The United States will continue to work with a broad coalition of partners to promote accountability for the coup and those responsible for violence, and will work to restore the democratically-elected government."The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under strict military rule that led to isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grip, culminating in Suu Kyi's rise to power after 2015 elections, the community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investment into the country. Lawmakers from Suu Kyi's party, which won 82 per cent of the vote in November elections, were about to take their seats in parliament when the coup took place on February 1. Its leaders claimed electoral fraud, allegations the electoral commission had rejected. Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the United Kingdom proposed the statement in light of "the deteriorating situation in to send a unified message from the Security Council" to build on its February 4 press statement. It strongly backed a return to democracy and called for the immediate release of Suu Kyi and all those arbitrarily detained by the military. Opposition to the coup is being spearheaded by young people who lived in freedom for 10 years, and it has wide support throughout the country from civil servants, railway workers who were targeted Wednesday, Buddhist monks, and people of all classes and ages. Security forces have responded with mass arrests and at times lethal force. At least 60 protesters have been killed since the military takeover, according to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Authorities have also moved to shut down independent reporting, both through arrests of journalists and the closure of media outlets -- but the protests have continued despite the crackdowns and increasingly violent tactics of security forces. The presidential statement which all council members signed on to Wednesday is weaker than the initial draft circulated by the United Kingdom which would have condemned the military coup in and threatened "possible measures under the UN Charter" -- UN language for sanctions -- "should the situation deteriorate further." Diplomats said council members China, Russia, India, which is also a neighbor of Myanmar, and Vietnam, which is a member of the 10-nations Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN, along with Myanmar, objected to provisions in stronger earlier drafts of the statement. Nonetheless, it will be the first presidential statement on Myanmar adopted since 2017 and reflects council unity in trying to reverse the coup. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed hope the statement will make the military realize "that it is absolutely essential to release all prisoners, it is absolutely essential to respect the results of the elections, and to allow for a situation in which we move back to a democratic transition." Despite all the "imperfections" in Myanmar's democracy, which was under heavy military control, Guterres told reporters "I believe that it is important to go back to where we were before the coup." The council statement also addressed the military crackdown in 2017 against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State involving mass rape, murders and the torching of villages that led more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. It "highlights that the current situation has the potential to exacerbate existing challenges in Rakhine state and other regions." The statement also expresses concern that recent developments pose particular serious challenges for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons." "It is vital that the rights of minorities are fully protected," it stressed. (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.) Okon Abang, a judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, explained why he signed the subpoenas requested by the chairperson of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina. Mr Maina, who is being prosecuted before the court on N2billion money laundering charges, had applied to the court to issue separate subpoenas on over 10 individuals, including the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to testify in his defence. PREMIUM TIMES reported that following Mr Mainas requests, the judge, had summoned Mr Malami, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, a former chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),Ibrahim Magu, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and some others. Although the subpoenas were signed by the judge on March 8, the summons ordered them to be in court on March 9 to 11. Mr Falana, accompanied by Omoyele Sowore, Sahara Reporters publisher, appeared before the court on Thursday. I read in the newspapers that I was summoned to testify in the ongoing case. I have not been served with a copy of the subpoena but I came out of respect for the court, Mr Falana said after the judge expressed surprise to see him at the proceedings. It is doubtful if Mr Maina has served others with the subpoenas he obtained from the judge on Monday. Subpoenas signed in obedience to Appeal Court judgment The judge told Mr Falana on Thursday that he would ordinarily not have endorsed the requests for the subpoenas if he had his way, especially because of the short notice. I signed it based on the Court of Appeals decision that compelled me to sign it in the matter of Olisa Metuh Vs. Federal Republic of Nigeria. In the case referred to by the judge, he had refused to sign the subpoena as requested by Mr Metuh, a former spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party, to be issued on the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. But the Court of Appeal in Abuja later ordered the judge to sign the subpoenas as his refusal to sign it to enable the defendant to bring the desired witness to testify in court amounted to a breach of his right to fair hearing. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Mainas first defence witness, Ngozika Ihuoma, had mentioned the names of the subpoenaed witnesses in the course of his testimony last week. Mr Ihuoma claimed, for instance, that the AGF was aware that Mr Maina helped the Federal Government to recover huge sums of looted funds. He also accused the EFCC of mismanaging 222 sets of property which Mr Maina-led PRTT allegedly recovered and handed over to the commission. Although, Mr Ihuoma later claimed he had no document to back his claims, he alleged that one of the houses on Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja said to be worth N6billion was sold at an undervalued price of N1billion to Mr Falana. Mr Falana denied the allegation, saying he had never bought any property from the EFCC. Subpoenaed witnesses to appear March 17, 18 ADVERTISEMENT Mr Abang after explaining why he signed the subpoenas on Thursday, asked the court registrar to lead Mr Falana to the registry to get the original copy of his subpoena. Meanwhile, Mr Mainas second defence witness, Charles Emoakemeh, a retired Superintendent of Prison Officer, opened his testimony on Thursday. Mr Emoakemeh was led in evidence by Mr Mainas lawyer, Abel Adaji, who took over the defence after Sani Katu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, abandoned the defence team. The foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Qatar gathered in Doha today, the first trilateral meeting of its kind in which the parties stressed the importance of preserving Syrias territorial integrity. Their message appeared to be targeting the United States, which is defending the Syrian Kurds autonomous government in the energy-rich northeast of the country with hundreds of special forces and has no plans to leave. Turkey will continue to defend Syrias territorial integrity, protect civilians and fight terror groups, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference. He was referring in particular to the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which is the US-led coalitions top partner in the fight against the Islamic State but are also linked to Kurdish militants waging an armed insurgency against Turkey. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov concurred that separatism posed a threat to Syrias neighbors. Our common goals of Russia, Turkey [and] Qatar are reflected in the joint statement that we have just approved, which confirms our determination to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, to counter separatist plans that undermine the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, which threaten the security of neighboring countries, he said. Qatars Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said a mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid across the whole of Syria needed to be established. There is a crucial need to lessen the suffering of the Syrians, he said. The so-called Doha process, with the next meeting scheduled to be held in Ankara, seems pretty incongruous. Qatar and Turkey back Syrian rebels who unsuccessfully sought to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has helped keep Assad in power through its military intervention in Syria in 2015. That is when Ankara made a dramatic U-turn and began working with Russia in exchange for its support in grabbing territory from the YPG Kurds. However, Ankara remains opposed to engaging with Assad, a point Cavusoglu reiterated in Doha. Thani backed the Turkish diplomat, saying the reasons for Syrias suspension from the Arab League in 2011 remain. Russia is pushing to end Assads isolation and has found an ally in Turkey and Qatars regional bugbear, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Lavrov was in Saudi Arabia a day earlier lobbying on behalf of Assad. Russian and Chinese vetoes at the UN Security Council severely hamper the flow of humanitarian supplies to Syria and heightened the misery of Syrians, which Thani said needed to be eased. So where do the trios common interests lie? Opinions vary. There are a lot of moving parts involved in this joint statement, all relating to the individual interests and capabilities of each of the signatories, noted Charles Lister, a senior fellow and director for the Middle East Institutes Syria program, in emailed comments to Al-Monitor. For Qatar, this presents another opportunity to act as mediator and facilitator for resolving a major conflict, just like its doing on Afghanistan and attempting to do between the US and Iran. Its also an opportunity for the Qataris to push back against Emirati positioning on Syria by facilitating a negotiated settlement rather than a full embrace of the Assad regime as Abu Dhabi seems to want. Lister continued, For the Turks, engaging in a trilateral process alongside Qatar offers an opportunity to heighten leverage against their peer rival Russia, with whom Ankara maintains a delicate relationship based on balance and deterrence. For Russia, meanwhile, this trilateral group could feasibly offer a more realistic platform with which to bring a potential resolution to Syria to the Americans without the complicating factor of initial Iranian involvement, Lister added. Dareen Khalifa, senior Syria analyst for the International Crisis Group, argues, however, that Qatars role in the conflict has receded significantly in recent years as it grappled with economic sanctions slapped on by the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood. These were lifted in January and diplomatic ties between the fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members were restored, but tensions remain. Qatars involvement in Syria has been mostly confined to limited assistance to [the rebel-held province of] Idlib and part of the Syrian opposition, Khalifa told Al-Monitor. Galip Dalay, a Richard von Weizsacker fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy and associate fellow at Chatham House, said the Qatar meeting was essentially between Turkey and Russians, who remain the principal foreign military actors in Syria. The Russians provide access to the Turks to pursue their Syrian Kurdish foes. Turkey, through its mentorship of the notionally non-extremist Sunni rebel opposition, allows Russia to position itself as a good-faith actor as it pushes albeit it fruitlessly for a deal between the two sides at UN-sponsored talks in Geneva. The Qataris are more window dressing, financial actors, who add a layer of Arab legitimacy to the mix, Dalay contended. Turkey is nervous about getting sidelined as the push to rehabilitate Assad accelerates even though the United States is pressuring the Emiratis to ditch such plans. Turkey has gone from a position of seeking regime change to one of accepting change within the regime, he said. Whether Turkey bites the bullet and goes beyond sporadic assignations with Syrian intelligence and begins normalizing relations Damascus will very much depend on how its rocky relations with Washington evolve, Dalay added. These have grown notably frostier under the Joe Biden administration, which is signaling that things could get worse unless Turkey permanently mothballs S-400 missiles it recently bought from Russia. Cavusoglu, however, repeated Ankaras line in Doha, saying it would do nothing of the sort. He blamed the United States for the impasse, saying it had refused to sell its own Patriot missile system to Turkey. Should this remain unresolved, the likely outcome is that Turkey will move further into Russias orbit, Dalay predicted, and a gradual thaw with Damascus might ensue. From Bloomberg columnist Joe Nocera in 2018: One way the Postal Service hoped to save money was by ending Saturday delivery. Congress said no. At a time when it was losing billions in 2011 and 2012, it proposed closing rural post offices and moving mail delivery to local stores. Congress said no. A few years ago, the Postal Service suggested offering banking services, especially to people of moderate means. Congress said no. It suggested a series of other proposals to move into other lines of business. This is something postal services in Europe have done with great success. Congress said no. The University of Miamis Department of Political Science will host a virtual discussion about the future of the Republican Party at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 16. The event will feature panelists associated with the GOP from the South Florida area, including Al Cardenas, former chair of the Florida Republican Party; Mercedes Schlapp, former White House director of strategic communications for former President Donald J. Trump; Carlos Curbelo, former member of Congress; and Nelson Diaz, immediate past chair of the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County. The discourse will be led by a moderator, and the panel will also address questions from the audience at the end. It is the second in a series of politically-themed virtual events, which included a preview of the Congressional agenda with former Congresswoman Donna Shalala in January and will feature a review of President Joseph R. Bidens first 100 days in April. Gregory Koger, department chair and professor of political science, is the main organizer of the event. According to Koger, its a conventional thing for the losing party of a presidential election to engage in some self-reflection. But on top of that, he said, theres a greater need for this discussion. I think there's special urgency for the Republican Party to think about where it's at and where it wants to be going forward, said Koger. The Trump presidency is over. But he continues to be a leading force in the party. That in itself brings with it certain liabilities that they [Republicans] might want to think and talk about. To what extent is the core ideology of the party going to be like going forward? And then the elephant in the room is the insurrection. The virtual discussion is open to everyone. In past discussions in the series, Koger said, there have been upward of 400 attendees. One of the challenges we face as a country is that our political conversations have been increasingly separated so that progressives and conservatives have their own media spaces, said Koger. Coming together and politely discussing major issues is a model for how we can talk about politics. Koger also added that although the event is geared toward the University of Miami community, plenty of people beyond students, faculty, staff, and alumni could take something away by attending. I think this is a conversation that has tremendous public importance, he said. This is a two-party country and one of the two parties is in a moment of crisis and needs to decide what it wants to stand for. And we have excellent guests who are having a conversation about where the Republican Party ought to go from where it is. To join the event, register here. Johannesburg, March 11 : A 35-year-old man died on Wednesday during a student protest in the main campus of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Braamfontein, a central suburb of Johannesburg, said the university in a statement. Initial reports suggested that the civilian was caught in clashes between protesters and local police, the statement said. "At this stage, we do not have confirmation of the cause of his death," it said. "Two student reporters were injured, and three protestors were arrested and taken to the Hillbrow Police Station," it added. Protests began this week as students who owe the university have not been allowed to register for the new academic year, the Xinhua news agency reported. According to media, the man got shot with rubber bullets by police officers firing at a group of protesting students when he was coming out of a clinic. Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande said later on Wednesday at the National Assembly that the exact circumstances that caused the man's death are under investigation. Bill Huey It seems that all Gods children gotta have a climate strategy or a sustainability schtick these days, and Big Oil is no exception. ExxonMobil and Chevrontwo of the nations largest and once best-capitalized operatorshave embraced the goal of decarbonizing the economy or getting to zero emissions by the year 2050. But how will they do it? Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC recently that his company would employ a combination of carbon reduction processes and carbon credits to achieve zero net emissions. Pay attention to that last part, because using carbon credits to achieve zero net emissions is like Donald Trump using dodgy accounting methods to pay a pittance in taxes on his vast real estate holdings. Carbon credits work like this: A company knows its emissions are going to be higher than the goal, so they purchase credits from some do-gooder organization (and there are dozens of them out there) that allow them to claim a much lower number. Its like the old practice of selling indulgences in the Catholic Churchto cut your time in Purgatory, purchase some indulgences for your sins. The modern version originated in the Reagan Administration. Thats right: Old Pappy was selling indulgences or at least sanctioning them. Back then, it was to make up for the blatant, outright kind of air and water pollution that was causing acid rain and fouling public water supplies. Today, it is much more sophisticated and amounts to selling air or Wall Street derivatives. Carbon credits are traded on exchanges by the ton. Defenders of carbon credits will say that the setup is replanting rain forests and restoring wetlands, besides helping the Korowai tribe in New Guinea establish schools and end their cannibalistic ways, but honest accounting is honest accounting, and carbon credits are a dodge like any other dodge. So next time you see a warm and fuzzy television commercial about the great strides being made by these companies, switch your PR radar to high beam and look closely at the real numbers. *** Bill Huey is president of Strategic Communications and the author of Carbon Man (Kindle, 2010). Texas Attorney General demands Austin City to drop their mask mandate, saying that legal actions might pursue if the Democrat mayor of the city does not adhere to Governor Greg Abbott's no mask Texas movement. Despite the lifting of wearing a mask in public, Austin City remains to enforce the protocol and other restrictions among their constituents and business establishments. According to KENS5, the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the authorities in Austin of defying and resisting Governor Abbott, along with trying to "buck state law." ALSO READ: No Mask Texas: Biden Blasts Abbott for 'Neanderthal Thinking' in Ending Mask Mandate Paxton vs. Austin City Texas Attorney General Paxton posted in Twitter his letter to Austin. "We have already taken you to court under similar circumstances. You lost," the letter warned. Paxton furthered that if the city pursues to be defiant against the law that should apply in the whole state of Texas, their office will have no choice but to put them again in the court, meeting their "loss once again." Paxton also reiterated that the liberty to decide whether to pursue or not the enforcement of mask mandate is directed only to business establishments only. This means that the City of Austin or Travis County has no jurisdiction or right to ignore the law enacted by the governor. Paxton also emphasized that the city has no authority to threaten fines nor compliance against their people. PAxton gave Austin City and Travis county until 6 p.m. to enforce the no mask Texas mandate in their local jurisdictions. KENS5 mentioned Austin City Mayor Steve Adler, saying that "Judge brown and I will continue to do everything within our power, continuing existing health authority orders." Adler added that they will also utilize every tool within their reach to diminish the spread of the virus and "keep many people alive as possible." However, Texas Tribune mentioned Governor Gregg Abbott said that the announcement of no mask mandate does not set aside the safe practices that Texans have mastered over a year. He also argued that the announcement is a reminder that every Texan has their role to play when it comes to their own and others' safety. Austin Mask Mandate Austin City's decision to remain and continue to enforce the wearing of masks is rooted and in accordance with the City's Interim Medical Director and Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott. As Texas Tribune quoted Adler, Escott's opinion is based on science and data "which further support CDC guidelines" who have been consistent and is reflected in the previous actions mandate he ordered in their city. It can also be remembered that the lifting of mask mandate as announced by Abbott is based on the data showing a significant decrease in daily positive cases of COVID-19 and COVID-19 related death in the state. RELATED ARTICLE: Several Texas Business Establishments Will Still Require Masks Despite the No Mask Mandate WATCH: Texas workers protest Gov. Abbott lifting the mask mandate - from KVUE (Newser) Human remains have been found in the search for Sarah Everard, the London woman who went missing last Wednesday on her way home from a friend's house. The remains, which have not yet been identified, were found by investigators searching a wooded area in Kent, the Guardian reports. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police officer who was arrested on suspicion of abducting the 33-year-old has been identified. Wayne Couzens, 48, has also now been arrested for murder, and is also being questioned on a separate allegation of indecent exposure, the BBC reports. Couzens serves in an elite unit that works in parliamentary and diplomatic protection; officers in that role are typically armed and vetted, and Couzens mainly worked protecting diplomatic premises. story continues below "The news today that it was a Metropolitan police officer who was arrested on suspicion of Sarahs murder has sent shockwaves and anger through the public and through the Met," the police commissioner said Wednesday. "I speak on behalf of all my colleagues when I say that we are utterly appalled at this dreadful, dreadful news. Our job is to patrol the streets and to protect people." A woman in her 30s, who was arrested the same night as Couzens on suspicion of assisting him, remains in custody, CNN reports. (Read more missing woman stories.) Hospitals across the country are looking to Eagle for guidance to help transition telemedicine programs which were set-up to respond to COVID-19 into long-term solutions that deliver cost efficiencies and high quality healthcare. Eagle Telemedicine announced today that Dr. Sheetal Patel has accepted the role of Regional Medical Director and welcomes Donna Jennings as Regional Director of Business Development. Dr. Patel joins Dr. Ellie Basaly as Eagle Telemedicines second Regional Medical Director, which will allow the company to work more closely with administrators and medical directors at hospitals using telemedicine services. In this role, Dr. Patel will: Advise and consult with hospital administrators and medical directors on the use of telemedicine. Develop processes and guidelines as necessary for Eagle Telemedicine physicians to allow ensure consistent and high quality patient care. Perform clinical oversight of Eagle Telemedicine programs located in the southeast. Train of new telemedicine providers. With four years of service as a telehospitalist at Eagle, Dr. Patel has demonstrated her commitment to providing exceptional patient care and ability to train new physician, said Dr. Talbot Mac McCormick, Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Telemedicine. This role will allow her to develop and deploy clinical strategies to better serve Eagle Telemedicine clients, their patients, and communities. During Dr. Patels tenure at Eagle Telemedicine, the company launched training initiatives, developed technology to improve the efficiency of remote care, and expanded protocols to work more effectively with onsite clinical teams and the patients they serve. Dr. Patel is responsible for training and onboarding many Eagle physicians. She also has experience guiding onsite and remote staff on hospital procedures and performing in-depth training on various the electronic medical records (EMR) systems. I was lucky to have a mentor to guide me through my first night as a telemedicine physician. Mentorship is very beneficial, says Dr. Sheetal Patel. Now, I lead the effort to mentor physicians transitioning to telemedicine. There are specific protocols for how and when to use telemedicine at each hospital. I train new providers on these protocols. In their everyday work with hospital partners, Eagle physicians, like Dr. Patel, are integrated into the clinical workflow at each facility. The remote physicians adapt to the unique needs of each location, and become part of the hospitals medical staff, trained to document, chart and order like local physicians. The regional hospitalist medical director acts as a conduit between the facility and the telehospitalists to guarantee seamless patient care in a virtual environment. The companys focus on healthcare leadership and clinical experience also prompted the selection of Donna Jennings for the role of Regional Director of Business Development for the southwestern United States, including Arizona, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Donna has more than 20 years of experience as a healthcare leader, clinical operations specialist and telemedicine consultant. She is also registered respiratory therapist. As the co-founder of a telemedicine programming solutions company, I worked with hospitals and health systems to implement primary and specialty care telemedicine services, says Donna Jennings. This experience combined with my work as a respiratory therapist allows me to relate to both the needs of administrators and the staff that will coordinate with the telemedicine physicians to provider patient care. Hospitals across the country are looking to Eagle for guidance to help transition telemedicine programs which were set-up to respond to COVID-19 into long-term solutions that deliver cost efficiencies and high quality healthcare, said Jason Povio, President and Chief Operating Officer at Eagle Telemedicine. Donnas consulting background and clinical experience will advance our goal of designing telemedicine programs that meet the needs of our hospital partners and expand access to patient care. Dr. Patel has been practicing hospital medicine for almost 20 years and telemedicine for four years. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and licensed in 9 states. She completed an Internal Medicine residency program at Berkshire Medical Center in western Massachusetts in 2003. Dr. Patel served as an associate professor of medicine with the University of Massachusetts and as a medical director for a large health system in North Carolina prior to her transition into telemedicine in 2016. Dr. Patel is currently beaming in to provide telehospitalist coverage from the Charlotte, N.C. Donna Jennings was co-founder VALIS, Inc., a telemedicine programming solutions company. She has served in numerous quality and performance improvement; clinical operations; and compliance roles during her career. Donna served as the chief operating officer and vice president of ancillary services at Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Norton, Va. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Bluefield State College and a Master of Business Administration from Averett University. These positions will accelerate Eagle Telemedicines ability to provide hospitals with solutions and tools to optimize patient outcomes. About Eagle Telemedicine Eagle Telemedicine provides technology-enabled care. Eagle Telemedicine was one of the first companies to emerge in the telemedicine physician service arena and is still pioneering the industry a decade laterdesigning, managing and operating telemedicine programs to acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals and long-term acute care hospitals. Eagles solutions help facilities offer specialized care to underserved communities, eliminate locum support costs, prevent burnout, manage coverage gaps, reduce unnecessary transfers, and increase patient census. Multiple specialties include Hospitalist Medicine, Stroke and Acute Neurology, Psychiatry, Critical Care, Cardiology, Infectious Disease and a range of other specialties in a wide variety of service models. Eagle is truly differentiated in the marketplace and focuses on delivering care through small pods of telemedicine providers that become long-term members of a hospitals medical staff family. For more information, visit http://www.eagletelemedicine.com. Find us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/eagle-telemedicine/ Washington: US President Joe Bidens top foreign affairs officials will raise a long litany of complaints about Chinas behaviour including economic pressure on US allies such as Australia when they meet their Chinese counterparts for the first time next week in Alaska. The meeting comes as top Democrats consider making a package of reforms aimed at helping the US out-compete China their top legislative priority after the passage of a massive COVID-19 economic relief bill this week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet next week for the first time with top Chinese officials in Alaska. Credit:Bloomberg Following a trip to Japan and India next week, US Secretary-of-State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, with Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi and top diplomat Yang Jiechi. We will certainly not pull any punches in discussing our areas of disagreement, State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a briefing on Friday (AEDT). The Peoples Democratic Party has expressed readiness to take over power from the All Progressives Congress and the President, Major General ... The Peoples Democratic Party has expressed readiness to take over power from the All Progressives Congress and the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in 2023. This was contained in the resolution of an emergency meeting of the PDPs Board of Trustees obtained on Thursday. In the resolution signed by Secretary, Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, the PDP leaders noted that the crisis rocking the party would soon be resolved. The resolution read, The Board of Trustees meeting reviewed and discussed in detail, as it usually does from time to time, the situation of our Party- PDP- nationwide. This emergency meeting has been particularly necessary at this time of heightened political and economic tension in the country, to ensure stability of all the organs of our party and to place them on alert and in sharp focus as we prepare to take over national political power once again for the best over all interest of our nation. In this regard the meeting recognized with appreciation the ongoing work of the Reconciliation and Strategy Committee led by Senator Bukola Saraki. The meeting was briefed on the outcome of zonal congresses held over last week end. Three out of the six congresses have been successfully concluded. The Board of Trustees in playing its statutory role as the conscience of the party, will work earnestly towards ensuring that the highest level of morality exists in all its activities and that all the members of our party live up to expectation. The board is therefore fully committed not to allow any mischievous trends or strain to clog the working relationship between all members, particularly at the top management level of the party. With a determination to do all that is necessary to ensure that we fulfill the overwhelming desire of the vast majority of the people of Nigeria that the PDP regains national power in 2023 the board is unequivocally committed to ensuring that normalcy and peace prevail through all the organs of the party to permit the development and implementation of well-structured plans. In this regard, the Board of Trustees will ensure that a fluent and uninterrupted operation of all the organs of the party particularly the National Working Committee NWC remains in place leading up to a successful convention in December 2021. The Board of Trustees will also ensure that very harmonious relations exist between the organs of the party and in this regard, a detailed meeting between the BoT and the National Working Committee NWC is being planned to be held soon. Finally, the Board is very appreciative of the commitment of our governors to the Party and the exemplary roles they have all been playing to keep the party at the optimum operational level. The board will consult with the Governors forum on necessary measures towards solidifying the party. (TNS) Clearview AI has amassed a database of more than 3 billion photos of individuals by scraping sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google and Venmo. It's bigger than any other known facial-recognition database in the U.S., including the FBI's. The New York company uses algorithms to map the pictures it stockpiles, determining, for example, the distance between an individual's eyes to construct a "faceprint."This technology appeals to law enforcement agencies across the country, which can use it in real time to help determine people's identities. It also has caught the attention of civil liberties advocates and activists, who allege in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the company's automatic scraping of their images and its extraction of their unique biometric information violate privacy and chill protected political speech and activity.The plaintiffs four individual civil liberties activists and the groups Mijente and NorCal Resist allege Clearview AI "engages in the widespread collection of California residents' images and biometric information without notice or consent." This is especially consequential, the plaintiffs argue, for proponents of immigration or police reform, whose political speech may be critical of law enforcement and who may be members of communities that have been historically over-policed and targeted by surveillance tactics. The plaintiffs argue Clearview AI enhances law enforcement agencies' efforts to monitor these activists, as well as immigrants, people of color and those perceived as "dissidents," such as Black Lives Matter activists, and can potentially discourage their engagement in protected political speech as a result.The lawsuit, submitted in California Superior Court in Alameda County, is part of a growing effort to restrict the use of facial-recognition technology. Bay Area cities, including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda, have led that charge, and were among the first in the U.S. to limit the use of facial recognition by local law enforcement in 2019.Yet the push comes at a time when consumer expectations of privacy are low, as many have come to see the use and sale of personal information by companies like Google and Facebook as an inevitability of the digital age. Unlike other uses of personal information, facial recognition poses a unique danger, argues Steven Renderos, the executive director of MediaJustice and one of the individual plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "While I can leave my cellphone at home [and] I can leave my computer at home if I wanted to," he said, "one of the things that I can't really leave at home is my face."Enhancing law enforcement's ability to instantaneously identify and track individuals is potentially chilling, the plaintiffs argue, and could inhibit the members of their groups or Californians broadly from exercising their constitutional right to protest."It doesn't have to be pictures that I'm posting of myself," said Renderos. "It could be images if I'm at an event, which I do a lot of in my role as an executive director of a nonprofit. ... Those images are also potentially susceptible to being scraped." He also argued the company was "circumventing the will of a lot of people" in the Bay Area cities who voted to ban or limit facial-recognition use.The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction that would force the company to stop collecting biometric information in California. They are also seeking the permanent deletion of all images and biometric data or personal information in their databases, according to Sejal R. Zota, a legal director at Just Futures Law and one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the suit. The plaintiffs are also being represented by Braunhagey & Borden LLP."Our plaintiffs and their members care deeply about the ability to control their biometric identifiers and to be able to continue to engage in political speech that is critical of the police and immigration policy free from the threat of clandestine and invasive surveillance," Zota said. "And California has a Constitution and laws that protect these rights."In a statement Tuesday, Floyd Abrams, attorney for Clearview AI said the company "complies with all applicable law and its conduct is fully protected by the 1st Amendment." It's not the first lawsuit of its kind the American Civil Liberties Union is suing Clearview AI in Illinois for violating the state's biometric privacy act. But it is one of the first lawsuits filed on behalf of activists and grassroots organizations "for whom it is vital," Zota said, "to be able to continue to engage in political speech that is critical of the police, critical of immigration policy."Clearview AI faces scrutiny internationally, as well. In January, the European Union said Clearview AI's data processing violates the General Data Protection Regulation. Last month, Canada's privacy commissioner, Daniel Therrien, called the company's services "illegal" and said they amounted to mass surveillance that put all of society "continually in a police lineup." He demanded the company delete the images of all Canadians from its database.Clearview AI has seen widespread adoption of its technology since its founding in 2017. Chief Executive Hoan Ton-That said in August that more than 2,400 law enforcement agencies were using Clearview's services. After the January riot at the U.S. Capitol, the company saw a 26% jump in law enforcement's use of the tech, according to Ton-That.The company continues to sell its tech to police agencies across California as well as to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the lawsuit, in spite of several local bans on the use of facial recognition. The San Francisco ordinance that limits the use of facial recognition specifically cites the technology's proclivity "to endanger civil rights and civil liberties" and "exacerbate racial injustice." Studies have shown that facial-recognition technology falls short in identifying people of color. A 2019 federal study concluded Black and Asian people were about 100 times more likely to be misidentified by facial recognition than white people. There are now at least two known cases of Black people being misidentified by facial-recognition technology, leading to their wrongful arrest.Ton-That previously told The Times that an independent study showed Clearview AI had no racial biases and that there were no known instances of the technology leading to a wrongful arrest. The ACLU, however, has previously called the study into question, specifically saying it is "highly misleading" and that its claim that the system is unbiased "demonstrates that Clearview simply does not understand the harms of its technology in law enforcement hands."Renderos argues that making facial recognition more accurate doesn't make it less harmful to communities of color or other marginalized groups. "This isn't a tool that exists in a vacuum," he said. "You're placing this tool into institutions that have a demonstrated ability to racially profile communities of color, Black people in particular. ... The most neutral, the most accurate, the most effective tool what it will just be more effective at doing is helping law enforcement continue to over-police and over-arrest and over-incarcerate Black people, Indigenous people and people of color." (CNN) The allure, and controversy, surrounding princess play is a familiar story. Girls want to be princesses. Parents fret over their daughters wanting to be princesses. Few adults feel as though banning a category of play altogether is the right move. Kids' imaginations need freedom, and kids want to be accepted by their peers. Caring about romance isn't a fatal flaw. The laws of nature are such that a parental taboo ups the appeal of any particular activity by approximately 10,000%. Also, sometimes a frilly dress really is just a frilly dress for girls and, increasingly, boys. Still, to let children play princess and watch stories about princesses without any thought of the ways the implicit, and not so implicit, gender and racial narratives might impact them is to do us all a disservice. These are the mass-marketed messages that beauty is paramount, and marriage to a man equals living happily ever after, with which popular culture has managed to seduce generations of women. Beauty, in this case, is often synonymous with whippet-thin Whiteness. Meghan's recent revelation about what life was like for her as the Duchess of Sussex, during which she has dealt with racism, and loneliness and suicidal thoughts, is the latest, and devastating, example of the dark underbelly of princess life. In her interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired on CBS March 7, she compared herself to Princess Ariel from Disney's "The Little Mermaid." "I was sitting in Nottingham Cottage and 'The Little Mermaid' came on. And who, as an adult, really watches 'The Little Mermaid' but it came on and I was like, 'Well I'm here all the time, I might as well watch this,' and I went, 'Oh my God, she falls in love with the prince and because of that she loses her voice,'" Meghan explained, realizing that she was suffering a similar fate. While not necessarily cause to pull the plug on all princess play, Meghan's story is a reminder for adults to be thoughtful about how the children in their household perceive princess life. As parents and guardians, we are their castle knights and their esteemed advisers, charged with the tasks of protecting, educating and defending them from some of the more sinister forces at play. We should also help them imagine what happily ever after really looks like for them, and everyone else in the kingdom. Old, and new, questions While questions about how children's play influences their gender identity took off during Second Wave feminism, heightened scrutiny of princess culture is largely a product of the last decade. This was following Disney's push to market all things princess as much as they can. Cultural critics and researchers have taken a closer look at princess play, focusing on the way idealization may negatively affect girls' self-image. Meghan's story injects the element of race, which hasn't been as thoroughly interrogated by mainstream culture. "With Markle, many people saw a Black woman elevated to a status that is so privileged, rarified and glamorous as breaking an ultimate glass ceiling, and that story felt really good and hopeful," said Peggy Orenstein, author of "Cinderella Ate My Daughter" and other books on kids and gender. But the difference between the message sent by her inspiring wedding day and the racism the duchess experienced from the media from the onset of her relationship with Prince Harry and in the palace afterward diminished these hopes. It was a development many are more sensitive to at this cultural moment. "Race and racism are perennially important issues, but the racial reckoning of this moment makes Markle's story particularly salient," Orenstein said. Black families are glad to see more people doing what they have long done: dissecting princess culture through the lens of race. "For many Black girls, princesses are not the typical or most important role model. It just isn't how we see ourselves," said Seanna Leath, assistant professor of psychology at University of Virginia. The very White, very European, monarch fantasy, as interpreted by popular culture, has historically held less appeal "and space for the 'magic' of Black girls." "The Markle interview may have been surprising to folks who are not Black, but a lot of the conversations that I've seen within Black communities is that the monarchy's racism was not surprising." The enduring, and evolving, princess Princess culture is fueled by the almost subconscious and completely natural desire for parents and children to believe their children are special. "'Princess' becomes a shorthand for expressing that our girls are precious, a wish to protect them from pain. We don't want them to know sorrow. We want them to live happily ever after," Orenstein said. The good news is that our ideas of "special" when it comes to princess types have evolved. Recent movies like "Moana" and "Frozen" feature protagonists for whom romantic love is not the main obstacle; their happy endings are, respectively, about heroism and sisterly love. The character Moana even has proportions that are physically possible for a human woman. This is a huge win. "Parents have been becoming increasingly critical of princess cultures for a while now. I don't think princess play is quite the indomitable force that it was," said Rebecca Hains, professor of media and communication at Salem State University in Massachusetts and author of "The Princess Problem." The lock pink tulle has had on the imagination of the American girl is on the wane. Also, there has been some backlash to the anti-princess backlash, as we've begun to reckon with some of the internalized sexism in feminism, particularly how it trickles down to kids. Princesses like clothes, are invested in relationships and value empathy. Me too. Facebook prompts for this article yielded a number of comments in which moms defended princess play -- for their sons. And why shouldn't our boys enjoy a little glamor and, perhaps, romance? Navigating princess play Few of us have the desire, let alone the will, to tell our children: "No more princesses." We don't have to. "From a parent's perspective, if kids love the fun and fantasy of princess play that is great, but it is a parent's role to diversify their interests," Hains said. "Make sure to give them other toys and other movies." Parents should also remember that "kids are never too young to talk about racism and sexism," Hains added, suggesting that parents appeal to their kids' innate sense of fairness. If you tell your kids that some people think other people are not as good because of their gender and race, they can understand that. Also, when appropriate, it can be OK to explain to kids that not all real-life princesses are happy, and talk about why, Hains said. While suicide is too heavy for young princess fans, sadness is a relatable and appropriate topic of discussion. Direct, open-minded conversations with kids can help parents suss out what kind of narratives are fueling this play for them. Is it about beauty? Being rescued by a man? Or something else? "Ask your kids why they want to be a princess. What do princesses do? Why do you like them?" Leath advised. "There is nothing inherently negative about wanting to be princess, but if it is tied to them feeling that they should be something other than who they are, then that is a problem," she said. "If I am having a conversation with my daughter, and she said she only wants to look like Elsa (from "Frozen") and she wants to be blond, it's time to talk." Diversifying role models matters; girls of all races and backgrounds should be exposed to brilliant women of other races and backgrounds. Also, when it comes to parents of color and other minorities, their girls should be exposed to role models who look like them. Adults should have active conversations with kids on the accomplishments -- and challenges -- of women like US Vice President Kamala Harris, inaugural poet Amanda Gorman and activist Malala Yousafzai, to name just a few. This isn't likely to happen through osmosis, as popular culture still skews white. Why these conversations matter Seemingly small conversations about princesses can make a big difference at home and, ultimately, the world at large, said Nerissa Holder Hall, a Black mom of twins, and founder of Mirror Mirror Books, which publishes books aimed at helping kids process difficult moments. "Parents should bring awareness and intentionality to the ways they are preparing their children to enter the world," she said. For her, this will include helping her children see Meghan's courage and sense of justice, which she admires. "It starts with self-awareness. What is your place in society? What are your responsibilities given who you are and what space you occupy?" Tiaras can symbolize joy, as they do for Holder Hall's daughter. Tiaras can symbolize oppression, as they did for Meghan and many other princesses, real and imagined. Conversation is what will help our kids understand the difference in their lives, and the world around them. This story was first published on CNN.com How Meghan should, and shouldn't, influence princess play 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. OTTAWA The military will send soldiers to a remote Manitoba reserve whose chief has blamed residents' lax attitudes for a staggering rise in COVID-19 cases. OTTAWA The military will send soldiers to a remote Manitoba reserve whose chief has blamed residents' lax attitudes for a staggering rise in COVID-19 cases. The Canadian Armed Forces will deploy 41 personnel to Pukatawagan, the seventh Manitoba reserve that has received military help during a large outbreak. Known as Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, the reserve of roughly 3,000 went from having 10 cases to more than 100 in just a week. "CAF support will continue until the situation has stabilized and is manageable through local and provincial resources," spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande wrote. Staff from CFB Shilo and the CFB Petawawa in Ontario started arriving in the the community, 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, on Wednesday. More are expected Friday. They will help with patient care, provide limited assistance with potential COVID-19 immunization, check in on people who are isolating and set up an isolation site. The military said it will "support public awareness on health measures in effect and COVID-19 vaccination programs." That is in response to locals who let their guard down by socializing with one after after several community members were vaccinated. "When we first got our needles, that's when everything went out of control," Chief Lorna Bighetty said Tuesday. Not all community members have been immunized. IN addition, vaccines take a few weeks after being administered to become effective. "They just went out and about, visiting each other, having their parties, just like nothing was wrong." Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller called that troubling, and urged residents to follow public health guidance from the province and band councils. "The federal government's been engaged in ensuring that people know that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but there's a whole heck of a lot of tunnel left," Miller said, in response to questions from the Free Press. "Until everyone's vaccinated, none of us is particularly that safe." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca The Apple logo is seen on the window at an Apple Store in Beijing, China, on Jan. 7, 2019. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) More Big Tech Hypocrisy: Apple Blackballs Parler Again! Commentary One more thing! How many times have the millionsor is it billionsof Apple geeks across the globe thrilled to those words as the geniuses from Cupertino unveiled yet another dazzling product? Sometimes these new gizmos arrived a little late but almost always with a better result for the user than their competition. They were usually more elegantly designed as well. Steve Jobs changed our lives with the Apple II, the iPhone, and the rest, continuing into the present day when so many of us are hooked on what Apple does. (Are you ready for the Apple Car? When do we get our new AR goggles?) Too bad the company is such a reactionary, morally narcissistic organization, admonishing and lecturing the world to be what they decidedly are not, while censoring those with whom they disagree. The latest display of this nauseating hypocrisy came from them denying entry to the app store for the conservative-leaning social media site Parler, not once, but now twice. From the fan site AppleInsider: The Cupertino tech giant pulled the app in the wake of the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. At the time, Apple said Parler could return to the App Store if it changed its moderation guidelines to comply with its terms of service. As it came back online, Parler changed its community guidelines to new policies written by Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff. But an App Store review found that the updated policies and moderation practices were insufficient to comply with Apples rules, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. After having reviewed the new information, we do not believe these changes are sufficient to comply with App Store Review guidelines. There is no place for hateful, racist, discriminatory content on the App Store, Apple wrote to Parler on Feb. 25. Commenters on AppleInsider pointed out the painfully obvious hypocrisy here, of which many readers of The Epoch Times are, Im sure, well aware. Facebook and Twitter were loaded with at least as manyI would bet hugely more due to their sizeincendiary posts before the Jan. 6 Capitol event than Parler. Someone using the amusingly apropos handle 1984called put it this way: You have got to be kidding. Apple, seriously, putting out this statement and yet they allow Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and just take a look at the top hip hop songs on Apple Music. Disgusting. Apple is spitting in your face and telling you its raining. Not bad. That about says it all about their naked partisanship but dare I say it One more thing! Applelike its Big Tech brethrenhas an horrendous record when it comes to the Peoples Republic of China. For many years, until others pointed it out, Apple cooperated completely with the communist regime in order to manufacture its products in China. The astonishingly onerous working conditions for their Chinese employees would never have been tolerated in most Western countries, but why would Apple have cared? Its all about the bottom line. And after all, they didnt seem to mind that the same regime was well knownIm certain to high level and undoubtedly educated Apple executivesto have concentration camps in Xinjiang Province reeducating and doing far worse (rape, torture, forced organ transplants) to their Uyghur and Tibetan populations as well as to Christians, political dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners, and others who dare to question them. For a long time, Apple barely even criticized this. I dont even know if they have now. And yet they take offense at social media sites like Parler, playing the censorship game as if they had some kind of moral high ground. How shameful. How repugnant. How opposed to the Bill of Rights. But, alas, one more very depressing thing. The Apple hypocrites have us trapped. Those of us, like me, who have been on their ecosystem for years (I went on around 2003 when we were developing Pajamas Media and my co-founder, who handled the tech end, put us on Macs. Im writing this on a MacBook Air.) We could go off, but where we would we go? Are the other systems any better? Microsoft? Android? Oh, please. Not only that, transferring to another system with all our devices and storage is a difficult task for most people, fraught with the possibility of losing valuable documents and information of all sorts, not to mention consuming tremendous amounts of time and incurring considerable expense. Apple knows that. So they go on their merry way. What are we to do? The problem with Big Tech in general is that it evolved through people with great technical expertise and monumental ambition, but little knowledge of history and less knowledge of the human soul. 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. 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. The companys antiviral technology has been independently demonstrated to be a highly effective agent for the eradication of viruses and has been proven to eliminate 99.99% of OC43, a viral strain affecting humans that is also a surrogate for COVID-19, in 30 minutes. New Nanoshield distribution agreements have been signed for Turkey and Hong Kong. s ( ) suite of NanoshieldTM antiviral protection technologies continue to develop international momentum with further in-bound enquiries leading to a growing list of international distribution partners. The company has executed an exclusive distribution agreement with Vital Medikal Konfeksiyon Teksil San ve Tic Ltd Sti for distribution in the Republic of Turkey, as well as a non-exclusive distribution agreement for Hong Kong with Asia Pro Lab Limited. Shares up 45% Investors responded positively with shares as much as 45% higher this morning to 7.2 cents. The agreement with Vital Medikal is effective immediately for a term of 12-months and while there are no guarantees of product sales, an annual US$575,000 purchase target has been agreed for Vital Medikal to maintain exclusivity for Turkey. The agreement with Asia Pro Lab includes an initial, non-material purchase of NanoshieldTM product effective for a period of 12 months with an automatic renewal process, unless either party provides written notice 30 days prior to the rollover date. Global demand for products Nanoveu executive chairman and CEO Alfred Chong said: We are continuing to see an expansion of our distribution network across the globe, which is reflective of the momentum Nanoveu has built. It is clear that there is immense desire for greater protection against bacteria and viruses and this demand is not just from first-world countries it is a global phenomenon. The company will continue to target further distribution agreements in major markets, which permit greater avenues to generate sales revenue from NanoshieldTM products. Vital Medikal distribution Vital Medikal is a specialist medical equipment distributor with more than 25 years experience supplying Turkish hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities with high-quality devices. The distributor has an established track record throughout Turkey, already distributing a number of major brands including US-based multinational medical device company and MedXL a supplier of prefilled syringes to more than 50 countries. Nanoveu believes the Nanoshield products are complementary to Vital Medikals established B2B customer base, offering Turkish medical facilities the ability to deliver stronger protection against viruses and bacteria. Asia Pro Lab agreement Asia Pro Labs is a supplier of detailing and customisation for the enthusiast automotive industry, typically through the use of vinyl wrapping. The supplier offers customisation for both the interior and exterior of vehicles and through this agreement will be able to utilise NanoshieldTM to deliver enhanced antiviral and antibacterial protection. Establishing distribution partnerships Nanoveu intends to continue its strategy of establishing distribution partnerships in major markets, which enhance sales capabilities without having to deploy significant amounts of capital. In addition, the company is continuing to promote direct-to-consumer sales through its online sales portal and is pursuing additional B2B opportunities with a number of prospective organisations. NanoshieldTM antiviral technology The companys flagship product is its NanoshieldTM antiviral protection which is available in a variety of mobile phone screen covers, mobile phone cases and as a commercial film capable of being applied to a number of surfaces. The product is a clear plastic containing a layer of charged copper nanoparticles that have antiviral and antimicrobial properties. It is commercially available and sold in a number of countries via Nanoveus channel partners. A man wanted in connection with a sexual assault of a 9-year-old in 1988 was taken into custody in Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. U.S. Marshals in Puerto Rico arrested Hermes Rivera, 67, in Aguada, Puerto Rico around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. He was held on a fugitive from justice charge pending extradition to Connecticut, Deputy Matthew Duffy, the public information officer for the District of Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force said. Duffy said Rivera is the suspect in the sexual assault of a 9-year-old in the summer of 1988 in Connecticut. Authorities here intend to charge Rivera with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. Now 33 years later, Duffy relayed that the victim said they felt relief after learning of the arrest. I was hoping to someday have closure to this horrific chapter in my life, and I was hoping he would not die before being arrested, the victim said in a statement to authorities that they asked be shared publicly. The victims mother contacted local authorities in Connecticut to report the sexual assault in 1988. Federal authorities in Connecticut have been searching for Rivera, who fled the state after the incident, ever since the report. In October 2020, Connecticut State Police enlisted the help of the states U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force to find and apprehend Rivera. U.S. Marshals in Connecticut worked with marshals in Puerto Rico to track Rivera to a semi-remote area of the island. Authorities learned Rivera got a Puerto Rico drivers license under his brothers name and had been living under that name for some time, Duffy said. For a list of resources for sexual assault survivors in Connecticut, visit uwc.211ct.org/sexual-assault/. Claire Foy is set to star opposite Paul Bettany as the embittered Duke and Duchess of Argyll in a BBC series based on their explosive legal battle. The actors will play the warring couple whose divorce became one of the most turbulent court cases of the 20th Century as it became fraught with forgery, theft, violence and drugs. The series, titled A Very British Scandal, which will come from the same team behind A Very English Scandal, which dramatised the Jeremy Thorpe saga that rocked the UK government in the 1970s. Coming soon: Claire Foy is set to star opposite Paul Bettany (right) as the embittered Duke and Duchess of Argyll in a BBC series based on their explosive legal battle Set under the veil of the 1960s, a time rife with sexual rebellion and social scandal, the beautiful and charismatic Duchess of Argyll Margaret became a fixture on the front pages thanks to her explosive divorce. The socialite's split was plagued with accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery and an explicit Polaroid picture taken to expose the Duchess' infidelity. Previously known by her name Whigham, Margaret married the Scottish peer Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, in 1951, but within a few years their union quickly crumbled, with the aristocrat quickly accusing his wife of infidelity. Dramatic: The actors will play the warring couple (pictured during happier times at their 1951 wedding) whose divorce became one of the most turbulent court cases of the 20th Century Tense: The Crown star Claire (L) will play Margaret Whigham (R), a socialite who was vilified by her peers during her divorce battle, when a racy Polaroid image exposed her infidelities Among his key pieces of evidence were a racy nude photograph of Margaret with the so-called 'headless man' whose face was not visible in the photograph and this his identity remained a secret. Eventually the couple's divorce was granted on the grounds of adultery, and Campbell died in 1973, with Margaret following 20 years later. A Very British Scandal will pick apart her and Scottish peer Ian Douglas Campbell's divorce after a 12-year marriage, at a time when such negotiations would normally be kept within the walls of the courthouse. Dark: Wandavision's Paul (L) will play Scottish peer Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll (right), who demands divorce after learning of his wife's affairs The series will particularly focus on the attitudes towards women at the time, as Margaret was particularly vilified throughout her divorce battle for refusing to go quietly despite being betrayed by friends and publicly shamed by society. A Very British Scandal will be penned by Sarah Phelps, who previously penned The Pale Horse, Dublin Murders and the 2012 miniseries version of Great Expectations. She said: 'Writing the story of Margaret's life and the events leading up to and including her divorce from the Duke has been a passion project of mine since 1993 when I first heard her name and started learning about her. 'I felt very strongly that she'd been punished for being a woman, for being visible, for refusing to back down, be a good girl and go quietly. This drama is my tribute to her.' Done: Eventually the couple's divorce was granted on the grounds of adultery, and Campbell died in 1973, with Margaret following 20 years later (pictured during their marriage) Claire, who starred as Queen Elizabeth II in the first two series of The Crown, said: 'I'm so excited to work with Anne, Sarah and Paul on this extraordinary project, and to explore through this story, how often shame, judgement and controversy surrounds a woman's sexuality.' Paul, who most recently starred in Wandavision and Solo: A Star Wars Story added: 'I'm delighted to be working with the remarkable Claire Foy to tell the fascinating and scandalous story of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and their very complicated lives. 'I'm also extremely happy to get the chance to once again be working with the wonderful teams at the BBC and Amazon Studios.' Pete Czernin, co-founder of Blueprint Pictures, said: 'We're thrilled to be able to bring together the uniquely brilliant voices of Sarah Phelps and Anne Sewitsky with the class of Claire Foy and Paul Bettany. 'Uniting their outstanding talents, A Very British Scandal will shine a new light on the scandalous divorce of Margaret Argyll for a 21st century audience.' Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama, said: 'Argyll v Argyll was one of the defining scandals of the 1960s. In the face of vilification in the press, Margaret fought valiantly but often in vain to control the narrative around her. 'With the help of our incredible writer Sarah Phelps, director Anne Sewitsky, the perfect casting of Claire Foy and Paul Bettany and the team at Blueprint, we are delighted to be able to shine a new light on these events and reframe the life of this infamous character.' The three-part series will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and be available on Amazon Prime Video in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Filming for A Very British Scandal take place across the UK later this year, with further casting to be announced in the coming months. It comes following the success of A Very English Scandal, which depicted MP Jeremy Thorpe's homosexual relationship with Norman Josiffe, and the fallout which sparked the end of his political career. The series was penned by It's A Sin's Russell T Davies, and earned critical acclaim for stars Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! India has asked the other Quad members to invest in Indias vaccine production which can counter Chinas increasing vaccine diplomacy as Beijing has committed that it will be distributing its vaccines from Asia to Africa, Europe and Latin America. The first Quad Summit meeting between India, Australia, Japan and the United States on Friday is expected to reach a decision on Coronavirus vaccine The first Quad Summit meeting between India, Australia, Japan and the United States on Friday is expected to reach a decision on the Coronavirus vaccine, commented a top diplomat. India has also asked the other Quad members to invest in Indias vaccine production which can counter Chinas increasing vaccine diplomacy as Beijing has committed that it will be distributing its vaccines from Asia to Africa, Europe and Latin America, according to the calculations of Reuters. Secretary of State, Tony Blinken said, We have a Quad summit meeting on Friday with President (Joe) Biden, and I expect well see something on vaccines coming out of that summit. There are other things that were looking at that were working on in the days and weeks and months ahead to make sure that we are a leading international actor in creating greater access to vaccines. Blinken added, First, we have to stop Covid-19 and restore and strengthen our global health security. And as such, I will really appreciate the early aggressive actions by the president as well as the administration to ramp up vaccine production here, to ramp up distribution with the Bill that we passed today, the American Rescue Plan. We have to make sure that every American is vaccinated. And that is our number one priority. That is job one. As were doing that, were looking at ways to accelerate access to vaccines around the world. As we discussed a little bit earlier, its in our national security interest to do that because, as long as the virus is replicating, its mutating. As long as its mutating, it could come back to bite us. So, we have a strong interest in doing that. Also Read: Pakistan, Uzbekistan vow to bolster bilateral ties, former offers access to its ports to latter Also Read: US slams Chinas direct attack on Hong Kongs autonomy; condemn Xis move to overhaul HK elections Dr. Ami Bera, the Indian American Congressman remarked, I want to recognize the importance of the Quad and the importance that the administration has played on our Quad relationship in the region with Japan, Australia, and India. But Im a doctor first, and, you know, my interests have always been as a physician on global health pandemic preparedness. I would be curious, as we start to think about once weve stopped Covid here domestically or at least gotten vaccines to the US population, how were going to directly engage and counter some of what China is doing, in a coercive way, frankly, with what I think is a worse vaccine. Blinken commented that a leader level summit would be held on Friday. Brad Sherman, a Congressman stated that he is pleased of Mr. Bidens presence in the Quad Summit this Friday, along with the heads of Australia, India and Japan. Also Read: PM Modi inaugurates Maitri Setu connecting India and Bangladesh Credit Suisse Group froze four more funds that invested in the banks $US10 billion ($12.9 billion) supply chain finance strategy, adding to the widening scandal surrounding the banks exposure to Greensill Capital. The additional funds have about $US1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) in assets, some of which they had put into the four Greensill-linked funds that Credit Suisse is now liquidating. The bank suspended them effective March 1, the same day it froze the supply chain finance strategy. It posted the decision in an investor update on its website dated March 9. Their suspension compounds a crisis thats forced Credit Suisse to seek outside help to deal with regulators queries and threatens to saddle the bank with losses from a loan that it made months before the collapse of Greensills empire Credit:Bloomberg The largest of the additional funds are the $US701 million Credit Suisse (Lux) Multi Strategy Bond Fund and the $US303 million Credit Suisse (Lux) Multi Strategy Alternative Fund. Their suspension compounds a crisis thats forced Credit Suisse to seek outside help to deal with regulators queries and threatens to saddle the bank with losses from a loan that it made months before the collapse of Greensills empire. For chief executive officer Thomas Gottstein, its arguably the worst reputational hit since taking over about a year ago in the wake of a damaging spying scandal. The Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories plans to introduce a mechanism for monitoring the environmental situation in the temporarily occupied territories using satellites. "At the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, chaired by Deputy Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov, a meeting was held to create tools for monitoring and analyzing environmental problems that exist in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and adjacent territories," the ministry's press service said. It is reported that topical tasks that the Ministry of Reintegration faces regarding the monitoring of environmental situation, engineering and transport infrastructure, assessment of risks of hazardous man-made events, including the creation of an Integrated System for Remote Monitoring and Management of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine and adjacent territories were discussed at the meeting. "The Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, together with partners, plans to use satellite images, which are the most reliable sources of information about the territory of Ukraine, where state authorities are temporarily not fulfilling their powers," the message says. In particular, it is envisaged: the use of satellite images to solve environmental problems (control of the development of landfills and their reclamation, preservation of soil from degradation, improvement of water quality); use of images to monitor changes in the engineering and transport infrastructure (updating the cartographic base, monitoring the development/degradation of infrastructure; modeling of existing systems); the use of satellite images for monitoring emergency situations (identifying areas of emergency situations, monitoring the development of emergency situations, forecasting and assessing losses). Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 23:20:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 3,994,030 as of Thursday noon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 106,712, while 3,576,363 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease. (Africa CDC-COVID-19-Cases) - - - - COTONOU -- Benin received its first batch of coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, joining the list of African countries that have received their first doses via the COVAX initiative. Receiving vaccines is "a turning point" in Benin's national response to the pandemic, said Health Minister Benjamin Hounkpatin as he welcomed the 144,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines here at Cardinal Bernadin Gantin International Airport. (Benin-COVID-19 vaccine-COVAX) - - - - TRIPOLI -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Wednesday commended Libya's House of Representatives for granting confidence to the new Government of National Unity. "UNSMIL congratulates the Libyan people on the approval of a new unified government and applauds the House of Representatives, its leadership and its members for coming together on this historic day and for upholding the interests of their country and people," UNSMIL tweeted. (Lybia-New Government) - - - - CAIRO -- At least 20 people were killed and 24 others wounded on Thursday as a massive fire engulfed a four-story clothing factory in Egypt's El Obour city, north of Cairo, according to a statement of the Qalyubia province. It added that 15 fire engines and 10 ambulances hurried to the scene, including some from the nearby provinces of Cairo and Sharqiya. (Egypt-Fire-Qalyubia) Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 07:49:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Twenty six people were killed, and dozens of others wounded after a bus carrying 62 people plunged into a ravine in Indonesia's western province of West Java on Wednesday night, a local official told Xinhua by phone. Enditem [March 11, 2021] Veolia Nordic Selects ServiceMax For Digital Cloud Field Service Management LONDON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ServiceMax , the leader in asset-centric field service management, today announced that Veolia Nordic , part of the Veolia Group, the global leader in optimized resource management for water, waste and energy management solutions, has selected ServiceMax's field service management platform. ServiceMax will support the digitization of Veolia's industrial services in the cloud, creating a cloud service execution platform for greater collaboration and knowledge sharing across business units, increased automation and efficiencies of manual processes, better cost control, stringent adherence to safety and compliance in hazardous environments, as well as providing common processes to support sustainable business growth. Veolia's field service operation provides outsourced maintenance, planned factory shut-downs, cleaning processes and onsite service support for customers, such as steel mills, factories, utilities and water treatment plants. The ServiceMax platform replaces IFS Mobile Workorder, Flow, and provides seamless integration with Veolia's existing Salesforce CRM and service cloud investments for better case management, greater visibility into service metrics, improved technician utilization, reduced leakage and days to invoice, and support for all business units with the ability to reuse existing infrastructure nvestments. "ServiceMax gives us common standardized processes to easily digitize, track and manage customer service levels across the business, including Industrial Services, Utilities and Technical Management," said Jenny Regner, CIO of Veolia Nordic. "ServiceMax keeps simple processes simple while also supporting the complex environments and service demands of our customers. ServiceMax is an integral part of our digital service strategy to further improve customer outcomes, increase service revenue and drive NPS scores. By digitizing our service operations, we can sync our business lines with one system to support the processes of all of our business units." The ServiceMax platform will go live in April 2021 to more than 700 Veolia service technicians across the Nordics and will be deployed on Android mobile devices. The announcement builds on ServiceMax's existing commercial relationship with Veolia's Water Technology Division already deployed across the UK and France. Register for Maximize 2021, the 10th annual global field service conference, to learn what you can do to support your business goals today, and how you can prepare your service team for the challenges of the future. Maximize 2021 will be held virtually from March 16 17. About Veolia Nordic Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With nearly 179,000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions which contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them. In 2019, the Veolia group supplied 98 million people with drinking water and 67 million people with wastewater service, produced nearly 45 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 50 million metric tons of waste. Veolia Environment recorded consolidated revenue of 27.189 billion in 2019 (USD 29.9 billion). www.veolia.com In the Nordic region, Veolia has around 1,200 employees with operations in Sweden, Norway and Finland and sales of SEK 3.6 billion in 2019. About ServiceMax ServiceMax's mission is to help customers keep the world running with asset-centric field service management software. As the recognized leader in this space, ServiceMax's mobile apps and cloud-based software provide a complete view of assets to field service teams. By optimizing field service operations, customers across all industries can better manage the complexities of service, support faster growth and run more profitable, outcome-centric businesses. For more information, visit www.servicemax.com . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/veolia-nordic-selects-servicemax-for-digital-cloud-field-service-management-301245287.html SOURCE ServiceMax [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Few spirits have a cult following like peated whisky. If youre particularly taken by smokier spirits or youre in the mood for something different there will be a bottle for you on this list. Considering peat is a dark, partially decayed organic matter formed in the wetlands, youd be forgiven for thinking it wouldnt create the most appetising of flavours. But youd be wrong. It takes thousands of years for this flammable substance to form and over that time it acquires an array of flavour and complexity. And every time you dry barley with peat in a kiln during the whisky-making process, it infuses with the grain, bringing all that goodness to the eventual spirit. Peat can be divisive, but like all good acquired tastes, once you get an appetite for it youll want it more and more. Thats why distilleries famous for smoky single malts like Bruichladdich, Lagavulin and Laphroaig develop such a devoted cult following. Depending on where and how the whiskies are made, peated malts encompass a whole range of smoky flavours, the best-known of which come from Islay. Now, however, there are producers across Scotland, as well as in Ireland, England, Scandinavia, Japan, America and more. But we cant fit them all into one blog. Heck, theres at least 10 we could have included from just Islay itself. So what we have here is a wide range of smoky treats, from the mellow and aromatic to the full-bodied and fierce. Remember, everyone likes peated whiskey. There are just some folks who havent tried the right one yet Our pick of bargain peated whisky Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 10 Year Old Cask Strength (Batch 02) No messing about here. To kick things off were going straight for the spectacular with a single malt Scotch whisky bottled at cask strength, a hefty 56% ABV. Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire took the brakes of its flagship 10-year-old expression and the result is all those smoky, sherried and fruity notes are ramped up a notch. Think of it like Mario turning into Super Mario when he gets those mushrooms. Only better. Because its delicious whisky. What does it taste like? Rockpools and burning turf, mixed with wafts of fresh orchard fruit, salted peanuts, chilli flakes, chocolate digestives and dates. Ardbeg 10 Year Old Ardbeg 10 Year Old is a firm favourite of peated whisky fans because it does a sublime job of showcasing the flavours Islay and the distillery itself are famous for. As well as all that smoke and sea, however, youll also taste an array of sweet, citrusy and fruity elements thanks to the depth of the spirit and the balance ex-bourbon casks bring. What does it taste like? A ridge of vanilla and caramel leads to a mountain of peat capped with citrus fruits and circled by clouds of sea spray. The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey Dont be surprised to see more and more delicious smoky spirits coming out of Ireland in the future. The Emerald Isle is home to mountains of peat and distilleries like Sliabh Liag are taking advantage of it with expressions like Dark Silkie. A triple-distilled peated single malt matured in sherry casks, this bottling is then blended with a bourbon-matured single malt, as well as a grain whiskey that rested in virgin oak to make a dram full of subtle smoke, ripe fruit and sweet spices. What does it taste like? Salted dark chocolate, oaky vanilla and orchard fruit sweetness veiled by dry smoke, cigar box and spicy oak. Highland Park 10 Year Old Viking Scars Highland Park makes full use of its Orkney home when making its signature whisky, from the mineral-rich springs that provide quality water to the coastlines salty air which aids maturation. But the most significant contribution is Orkneys peat. Its made of heather and sphagnum moss that dates back as much as 9,000 years. Its aromatic, light and slightly sweet profile has a profound and welcome effect on the whiskys character. Plus, Vikings are pretty cool. What does it taste like? Subtle heathery smoke, sherry sweetness, sea salt, crushed black pepper, ginger and waxy orange peel. High Coast Timmer Peat Smoke Were going further afield now to Sweden, which is no stranger to peaty delights. As well as Mackmyras Svensk Rok, you can get your smoky Scandie fill from the High Coast distillery and its Timmer bottlings, which is made up of 100% peated malt. The expression, which takes its name from the Swedish for timber, spends at least six years in first-fill bourbon barrels and pairs generous bursts of warming smoke with ripe fruit, aromatic spice and some classic bourbon-cask sweetness (think vanilla and caramel etc.). What does it taste like? Through grassy, creamy malt theres tropical fruit, citrus zest and crystallised ginger. Then, milky coffee, crumbly vanilla biscuits and layers of elegant peat smoke. Caol Ila 12 Year Old Another Islay classic that we just cant get enough of. Caol Ila 12 Year Old has beautifully measured and mellow smokiness that allows all kinds of complex flavours to come together beautifully. Its fresh, coastal and briney elements will transport you to the sea while the fruity, citrus notes add great depth. This is a persistently popular peated whisky for good reason. What does it taste like? Rubbed peppermint leaves, damp grass, lemon peels at the harbour, boiled sweets and elegant smoke. Benromach 10 Year Old Were going in a completely different direction here. Because this is one for those who arent sure yet that they want the smoke. Benromach only uses a portion of light, sweet peat when it makes it whiskies. That means this is a sweet, fruity and rich dram that has just a hint of smokiness. Its a great all-rounder thats fantastic value and serves as a measured introduction into peated whisky. What does it taste like? Sweet spices, prune, maple fudge, ground ginger, subtle smoke and dry sherry. The English Smokey Yes, there is peated whisky in England too. And this tasty treat is one such example. The English Smokey is from St. Georges distillery, which released the first legal English whisky in over a century in December 2009. The innovative brand has since embraced the smokier things in life. And you can bet this bottle is full of grassy peat, buttery cereal, autumnal spice and rich fruit. What does it taste like? Smoked malt, blueberry muffins, cinnamon, buttered bread and stem ginger. Monkey Shoulder Smokey Monkey In need of something smoky for your cocktails? Then this should be perfect. A variant of the excellent and versatile Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt, Smokey Monkey retains all the smooth, creamy, supple elements from the original that make it so good for mixing while adding a soft peaty hint. Add soda or ginger ale for a delightful and distinctive Highball. What does it taste like? Honeydew melon, flamed orange peel, a touch of Frazzles, vanilla, Toffee Crisp bars and the last wafts of drying smoke. Kilchoman Sanaig A deep, dark and rich dram, Kilchoman Sanaig demonstrates how peated whisky can shine when matured in different cask types. This bottle combines the best of bourbon and sherry casks, adding dried fruit, chocolate and spice to its smoky core. What does it taste like? Pineapple chunks, toffee, dark chocolate raisins, white grapes and fresh coffee carry the earthy, subtly spicy peat. Bonus ball: The Character of Islay Whisky Company Tasting Set Cant decide on which peated whisky to pick up because they all sound so tasty? Then you can always help yourself to a tasting set. Drinks by the Dram scooped up the Character of Islay Whisky Companys wonderful range of spirits and popped it in one handy location so you can go on a pleasantly peaty journey without having to break the bank. 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 young mother who was shot in the chest and the arm in a flats complex in south inner city Dublin last Saturday is expected to survive but is facing long-term medical complications, it can be revealed. She is still gravely ill and it was touch-and-go whether she would survive this at all over the weekend. She will require long term medical attention, a senior source said. Sinead Connolly (30) remains in intensive care at St Jamess Hospital while the man who is suspected of shooting her is also being treated on a ward of the same hospital for apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Armed gardai are monitoring him and he is expected to be arrested as soon as he is discharged from hospital. Read More Meanwhile, a manhunt is continuing for a suspect from the Bluebell area who gardai want to arrest in relation to the attempted murder. This person is suspected of providing the handgun used in the shooting and also driving the suspected shooter to hospital last Saturday afternoon. A number of properties linked to the small-time criminal were raided by gardai over the weekend but there was no sign of him. The belief is that he is more worried about dissident associates of Sineads brother Sean Connolly than he is of gardai, but either way there has been no sign of him, a senior source said. Gardai are confident there will be two further arrests in this case sooner rather than later, the source added Sinead Connolly is the sister of Real IRA killer Sean Connolly, who is serving life for the December 2012 murder of crime boss Eamon Kelly. However, the Connolly family said in a statement, which they issued online earlier this week, that Sean is not intent on avenging the attempted murder of his sister. The attack is rooted in a long-standing local dispute. Sinead was shot by a person known to her. Despite press reports, there is no link between it and Seans imprisonment, the statement reads. Sean has called for calm and for no one, no matter how aggrieved they might feel, to even think about engaging in any sort of tit for tat. He is adamant that what happened to Sinead be visited on no other family. He insists that after many years of reflection he has come to the realisation that violence has no place in society and can never be a way to settle grievances or differences. Sinead is a single parent, not a republican activist of any hue. Far from being the result of an IRA dispute the backdrop to the incident was a local culture of bullying, it stated. On Tuesday, Dublin District Court heard that Ms Connolly suffered "catastrophic injuries" when she was shot in front of her seven-year-old daughter after a gunman opened fire in her home. She barricaded herself into her kitchen but was critically wounded when shots were fired through the door at the weekend. A man who was her childhood friend, Paul Mooney (32), has been accused of picking up the weapon left by a fleeing gunman and "carefully" disposing of it. He was refused bail after Dublin District Court heard he maintained he had no prior knowledge of the shooting and had been "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Mr Mooney, with an address in the south inner city, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. [March 11, 2021] TeraGo Expands Product Portfolio with Managed Networking Services TORONTO, March 11, 2021 /CNW/ - TeraGo Inc. ("TeraGo" or the "Company") (TSX: TGO) (www.terago.ca), is expanding its networking portfolio with the addition of TeraGo's Managed Networking Services. The artificial intelligence-driven managed service allows TeraGo to continue providing business customers with best-in-class support for their network infrastructure. TeraGo Managed Network Services enables business customers to optimize performance, reduce outages and reduce costs on their network infrastructure by leveraging TeraGo's advanced management systems and team of network experts. The service provides business class support for customer Internet and WAN connections. The turn-key and scalable offering includes: Proactive Monitoring - 24/7 continuous monitoring of network connections and equipment, with TeraGo network professionals proactively triaging service incidents and affecting repairs before they cause significant issues; - 24/7 continuous monitoring of network connections and equipment, with TeraGo network professionals proactively triaging service incidents and affecting repairs before they cause significant issues; Advanced Reporting and Analytics - a rich set of advaced analytics and reporting that allows network managers to fine-tune and optimize their application and network performance; and - a rich set of advaced analytics and reporting that allows network managers to fine-tune and optimize their application and network performance; and Network Device Management TeraGo provided network devices that are fully managed and maintained by TeraGo network professionals. TeraGo has partnered with a leader in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring market, to deliver this service. TeraGo will continue to focus on delivering premium networking solutions to businesses. For more information about TeraGo Managed Networking Services or our other services that may be suitable for your business, please call 1.866.837.2465. You may also visit our website at www.terago.ca. About TeraGo TeraGo owns a national spectrum portfolio of exclusive 24 GHz and 38 GHz wide-area spectrum licences including 2,120 MHz of spectrum across Canada's 6 largest cities. TeraGo provides businesses across Canada with cloud, colocation and connectivity services. TeraGo manages over 3,000 cloud workloads, operates five data centres in the Greater Toronto Area, the Greater Vancouver Area, and Kelowna, and owns and manages its own IP network. The Company serves business customers in major markets across Canada including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa and Winnipeg. For more information about TeraGo, please visit www.terago.ca. SOURCE TeraGo Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Universal Studios theme parks have had a fair share of movie-based food products over the years, from Krusty Burgers to Butterbeer to Doc Brown's Chicken, the only fried poultry with a disgraced, virtually homeless, physics professor's personal seal of approval. Now Universal Studios Japan is celebrating its 20th year of existence with a wide range of foods themed around famous Universal films ... and they're real weird-looking, you guys. For starters, there's the "Jaws Dog," which, let's not beat around the bush here, is the shark from Jaws with a giant wiener sticking out of its mouth. It's as if the culinary wizards behind this promotion took inspiration from both the film and one of our old articles. Continue Reading Below Advertisement And maybe we're just seeing dicks everywhere at this point, but the "E.T. Chocolate Crunch Sundae" looks like they Google image-searched "E.T." and accidentally modeled the ice cream treat off of an erotic DeviantArt sketch of Spielberg's beloved alien. Continue Reading Below Advertisement There's also a churro featuring the Back to the Future DeLorean, a Minion burger (for those curious about what Minion meat tastes like) and weirdly a Terminator "beef bun" -- presumably titled as such because the first two are good and any more than that will make you feel like garbage. Weirdest of all, there's a "Backdraft Super-Smoked Turkey Leg" -- which is just a large bag of meat seemingly cooked in the smoldering heat from the fire that killed Kurt Russell in the 1991 Ron Howard movie. Continue Reading Below Advertisement While these all look like photoshopped April Fool's Day jokes, they are apparently real things you can buy and eat beginning on March 12th. Maybe we'll make the trip if they decide to offer some "Jurassic Pork Rinds" or "Pasta and the Furious" or the "Waterworld Recycled Kevin Costner Urine Cocktail." You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter! And check out the podcast Rewatchability. Top Image: Universal Studios Japan STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. About two years ago, while dining at DaNoi on Fingerboard Road, Michael Musto overheard owner Edward Gomez talking about a bar he wanted to sell. Mustos ears perked up. When he found out the name of the place, Musto was stunned. He remembered how enthused he was over the news. Cargo! I used to live in that place, he told Gomez. And now, hes an owner. Yes, Gomez is still involved, but more emotionally and as a silent partner busy with his two DaNoi locations and Salad Junkie/The Burrito Shop in St. George. Cargo Cafe's new owner is Michael Musto. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri) For Musto, Cargo Cafe is a first restaurant venture, a journey that began last January. He said, I grew up coming to Cargo. I was a loyal customer and patronized this place so often. It became a meeting ground to meet friends and make new ones. I have to give props to Eddie and my sister Lorraine for always believing in me, supporting me. Crab-stuffed shrimp is new to the Cargo menu. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri) Musto reflected on the restaurant over Chicken Teriyaki, a new dish on the menu by Cargos 28-year veteran chef, Farrington Coogne. Over the year, Coogne has added Mac n Cheese Balls, a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Roll, Crabmeat Stuffed Shrimp, Seafood Stew and Fried Lentil Cakes. Cargo loyalists still can expect pierogi and other eclectic bites like Country Fried Fish on a roll and the Chipotle Pork Wrap. Executive chef Farrington Coohghe, left, and Cargo's owner Michael Musto (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri) Farrington complimented his new boss on keeping the restaurant going through the COVID-19 crisis. He was thankful for the continuity of work and for the service it provided in the community. I knew this place was going to keep going so I had to keep it alive. I stayed open for pickup and delivery during COVID times. I had the vision to expand and redo the yard. We put together a new menu and an amazing, new trustworthy staff who help keep this place running, said Musto. Mixed Seafood Stew by Farrington is a new dish. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri) But its not just the food for which guests come its the conviviality, said Musto. And, the pool table beckons. Fried lentil cakes is a fresh item on the menu. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri) At the side of the restaurant in an alcove, Ruth Gonsalves and Jason Sammon were shooting a game. Ruth Gonsalves loves pool and is happy to be back at Cargo. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri) A smiling Gonsalves said, Im so glad to be back out! She missed the watering holes fellow regulars and, happy once again to reconnect with friends. One day it will be side-by-side at the bar. But for now, shell have a drink with a fellow guest while seated at a table. Cargo Cafe is located at 120 Bay Cafe, St. George; 718-273-7770, Cargocafe.nyc. Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com. Jamaican Jerk Chicken Roll (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri) New Jerseys recovery from the coronavirus pandemic took another incremental step forward Wednesday as Gov. Phil Murphy announced that restaurants and many other indoor businesses can increase their capacities from 35% to 50% next week. Bars, casinos, gyms, personal care services and amusement venues will also be able to be half-filled starting at 6 a.m. on March 19. The limit on private gatherings will also increase to 25 people indoors and 50 outdoors. Religious services or ceremonies, political events, weddings, funerals and memorial services have higher limits. Indoor dining capacity was originally reopened at 25% just before Labor Day weekend. Murphy increased that capacity to 35% in early February. The governor said the limits are being increased due to the sharp decline in hospitalizations in the past month. The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals has decreased by about 1,000 since Feb. 5. As of 10 p.m. Thursday, there were 1,936 patients in the states 71 hospitals with the coronavirus or a suspected case, down from 1,961 in the previous 24-hour period. There were 392 people receiving intensive care, with 230 on ventilators. Hospitalizations have decreased 45% since Jan. 1. On Wednesday, Murphy disclosed 3,047 more COVID-19 cases and 56 additional deaths. At least 2,711,524 vaccine doses around the state have been administered as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Heres a roundup of the latest coronavirus news in New Jersey and elsewhere: Coronavirus claims the lives of 3 veteran NJ Transit bus employees: Three NJ Transit bus employees, who served for decades, died from complications due to the coronavirus, officials said. The announcement came a day after NJ Transit posted a tribute video on social media to the employees that the agency lost due to COVID-19 and to thank employees who kept service operating during a full year of the coronavirus. COVID closes Oakland MVC agency, bringing total shuttered statewide to 12: The state Motor Vehicle Commission lost another agency Wednesday that had to close due to an employee testing positive for the coronavirus. But the scales could even out for drivers on Thursday when another agency is scheduled to reopen. The MVC closed the Oakland licensing center Wednesday afternoon after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. After sanitizing, contact tracing and any needed employee quarantining, it is scheduled to reopen on March 23. 21 school districts brought students back for in-person learning this week. See the list.: Twenty-one districts brought students back into classrooms part-time this week, as schools continue to change learning formats during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As of Monday, 543 districts were hybrid, 127 remote, and 109 were fully in-person. Twenty-one districts made the switch to hybrid learning this week, while the number of fully in-person districts decreased by two. Thirty-three districts have different educational formats for different schools. Every N.J. kid now has a laptop for online school, Murphy says: Nearly one year after ordering all schools to close, Murphy announced Wednesday that every New Jersey student should now have a laptop and internet access for online classes. The closing of the states digital divide comes as about 367,000 students remain in all-virtual instruction. Another 831,000 students attend schools that offer hybrid in-person learning, meaning close to 1.2 million students (about 89%) currently spend at least part of the school week learning from home. N.J. confirms 1st case of more contagious South African COVID variant. Total variant cases up to 145.: New Jersey health officials announced Wednesday the first case of the more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa has been confirmed in the state. The case in Hudson County brings the total number of variant cases found in New Jersey to 145, state Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said. U.S. cases: At least 529,267 of the approximately 29.1 million to test positive for the coronavirus in the U.S. have died as of 7 a.m. Thursday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide cases: As of 7 a.m. Thursday, the coronavirus has led to at least 2,621,986 million deaths in 192 counties, according to the center. More than 118.1 million have been infected since the outbreak started in December 2019. At least 66.9 million have recovered. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. NJ Advance Media staff writers Matt Arco, Adam Clark Nick Devlin, Larry Higgs and Katie Kausch, contributed to this report. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Research Future Published a Half-Cooked Research Report on Global Microcrystalline Cellulose Market. Market Definition: Microcrystalline cellulose is a partially depolymerized, naturally occurring cellulose form wood pulp. It has properties such as anti-caking, bulking, and texturizing that are majorly required for keeping processed food fresh. The unique properties such as powder porosity, moisture sorption, and swelling capacity. Being a chemically inert substance, it has very less absorption capacity and does not dissolute during digestion. Due to this reason, it is highly used in excipient production in pharmaceuticals and is the major driver of the global microcrystalline cellulose market. The other driver for the global market growth is it being a fat substitute, primarily used in low-fat processed food. Market Scenario: The increasing demand for pharmaceuticals with the growing population consumes a major quantity of microcrystalline cellulose followed by food and beverage industry. The global Microcrystalline Cellulose Market Size growth is also driven by the cosmetic and personal care industry. The unique properties of extender, binder, and texturizer are extensively used in personal care products. The growing demand for personal care products with the concerned grooming and self-care population is expected to increase the market growth. Competitive Analysis Some of the prominent players of the microcrystalline cellulose are: FMC Corporation (the U.S), Mingtai Chemical Co. Ltd. (Canada), DFE Pharma (Germany), Dupont (the U.S.), Avantor (the U.S.), Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (Japan), Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan), Blanver (Brazil), JRS PHARMA (the U.S.), FrieslandCampina (the Netherlands), Accent Microcell Pvt. Ltd (India), Sigachi Industries Pvt. Ltd. (India), Libraw Pharma (India), Huzhou City Linghu Xinwang Chemical Co., Ltd (China) and Shandong Xinda Biotechnology Co., Ltd (China) among others. Market Segmentation The global microcrystalline cellulose market is segmented as per the raw material, end-user, and region. There are only two raw material sources available, namely wood based and non-wood based. Out of these, the non-wood based raw material source is likely to dominate the market due to the excessive demand for synthetically produced and cheap products. Based on end-user, the market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, cosmetic & personal care, and others. Regional Analysis The global microcrystalline cellulose market is segmented into five key regions namely North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is the major contributor to the market growth due to the increasing food & beverage industries. The increasing number of pharmaceutical and food & beverage industries in this region in expected to fuel the market growth in near future. The regulatory association named the U.S Pharmacopeial Convention has identified microcrystalline cellulose as an excellent excipient, which has propelled the market growth. The U.S contributes significantly to the market share in terms of revenue followed by Canada. Europe is another substantial region contributing to the market growth owing to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries in this region. Asia Pacific is expected to hold a considerable share of the market in coming years. Countries such as China are concentrated to the production of microcrystalline cellulose due to the low raw material and labor cost. The U.S is the major producer of microcrystalline cellulose followed by China. In Latin America & Africa, the growing medical support and availability of pharmaceutical at ease is expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period. However, poor health and safety standards may hinder the market growth in this region. BROWSE RELATED REPORT @ https://www.abnewswire.com/pressreleases/fiber-optic-sensor-market-size-and-global-trends-2020-covid19-business-impact-industry-analysis-sales-revenue-opportunities-top-leaders-and-regional-forecast-to-2022_505731.html https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/fiber-optic-sensor-market-size-and-global-trends-2020-covid-19-business-impact-industry-analysis-sales-revenue-opportunities-top-leaders-and-regional-forecast-to-2022-2020-09-07 http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4797814 https://www.wboc.com/story/42598499/fiber-optic-sensor-market-size-and-global-trends-2020-covid19-business-impact-industry-analysis-sales-revenue-opportunities-top-leaders-and-regional-forecast-to-2022 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Aguila American Gold Limited (TSXV: AGL) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E) ("Aguila" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of a detailed remote sensing study for the WUSA Gold Project in southern Oregon. This work has generated a structural, geological and exploration target map on a scale previously unavailable for the property. The study processed and interpreted various satellite datasets to provide direct targets based on alteration signatures, and indirect targets based on domal and structural positions. Furthermore, the Company advises that on the basis of expenditure, drill metres and landholder payments completed to date, it has earned a 51% interest in the WUSA Gold Project as per the agreement signed August 5th 2020. "As we await the Company's first drill results from the Scorpion-Cinnabar project, we have greatly advanced our understanding of the WUSA Gold Project with this regional precious metal targeting study," said Mr. Mark Saxon, President and CEO. "While COVID-19 distancing policies and a very busy North American gold industry has delayed receipt of drill assays much longer than we anticipated, we remain very optimistic about the local and regional potential at WUSA. We have earned the first tranche of project equity and are now initiating the 2021 seasons work." The remote sensing study integrated a range of regional datasets with the intent of prioritizing gold mineralization at the Walker Creek and Scorpion-Cinnabar prospects and identifying new prospective targets. Once the data from the fall 2020 drill program is received this will be integrated to provide a greater understanding of the project. ASTER, Sentinel-2 super spectral, Lidar and NASA's STRM digital elevation data were processed to provide direct targets based on alteration signatures, and indirect targets based on domal and structural positions. While the WUSA Gold Project itself exceeds 70,000 Ha, an area more than four times this size was studied for context and to highlight regional opportunities. As the surface and mineral rights for the WUSA Gold Project have been held by a single landholder without significant exploration for more than 150 years, historic exploration data is very sparse, and this study provides a much needed regional understanding. The study has identified zones of mixed alteration potentially indicative of epithermal fluids, and zones of structural complexity that crosscut the volcanic/volcaniclastic pile. Domal features may suggest shallowly buried syn-volcanic intrusions that are commonly associated with epithermal gold mineralization. These areas will be integrated with existing geochemical data and form immediate targets for surface follow up. 2021 Exploration Program Aguila will commence the 2021 field season at WUSA with semi-regional soil and stream sediment sampling in March. The fall 2020 drill program assay results will be incorporated into project planning and released when they become available. The 2021 program will include field checking and testing of the alteration and structural targets, and mapping and sampling at the Walker Creek prospect. Target Areas Scorpion-Cinnabar is a low-sulphidation mineralization system defined by a gold in soil geochemical anomaly across a 2.2 km long and up to 400-metre-wide area. More than 1200 soil samples have been collected associated with highly acid altered volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. Gold in soil ranged from below detection limits (3 ppb Au) up to 5.51 g/t Au with 91 samples exceeding 0.1 g/t Au. The site lies only 1.8km south of the historic Black Butte mercury mine, providing strong evidence of the potential for epithermal mineralization. One hole was drilled at Scorpion in 2018 which intersected 0.6 metres @ 3.25 g/t Au, 27.3 g/t Ag, 6680 ppm As, 485 ppm Sb, 2.8 ppm Te from 21.3 metres. Aguila completed 4 holes to December 2020, results from which are awaited. Walker Creek is a high-level maar-type low sulphidation epithermal alteration developed over an area of more than 3 square kilometres. 10 vertical RC holes were drilled in early 1990's which intersected anomalous gold including 12.2m @ 1.41 g/t Au. No further work was completed after drilling. The Cascade Range in Oregon is underlain by Eocene to Holocene intermediate to felsic volcanic and volcaniclastics rocks erupted along the western margin of North America. Immediately adjacent to the WUSA project lies a well-mineralized district containing multiple mineral deposits including polymetallic veins (Bohemia, a gold-rush mining area discovered in 1858) and historic hot-spring style mercury mines. Placer gold mining is still undertaken within the option area. The qualified person for the Company's projects, Mr. Mark Saxon, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has reviewed and verified the contents of this release. About Aguila American Gold Ltd (TSXV: AGL) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E) Aguila American Gold is an emerging gold company enhancing shareholder value through exploration and discovery. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, "Mark Saxon" Mark Saxon President & CEO For further information, please contact: aguila.gold 1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7 info@aguila.gold Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76823 Pathway is tailor-made for remote learning. - Phil Solomon Pathway by FolderWave offers students, school districts, community-based organizations, and adult learners a proven comprehensive platform to research and plan a students path for success, whether through college or a job-oriented technical education. The journey begins with self-discovery and Pathway offers a clear route to get there. The platform, which is utilized by students and school counselors across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as MEFA Pathway, offered by MEFA (the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority), guides secondary school students through a pathway of ongoing exploration. Students can shape their future while learning key skills on the way to adulthood. The journey starts with fun assessment tests where the answers students provide reveal careers that may be of interest to them. Through deeper career exploration, students can begin to narrow the possibilities for them after high school, whether it be via college or other avenues. Pathway also introduces students early to the importance of financial literacy and teaches them essential skills such as analysis (through college cost comparisons), budgeting (through cost calculation tools), and decision-making based on wants versus needs. We are proud to offer a product, in partnership with FolderWave, that supports students across the Commonwealth as they plan for college and career, said Tom Graf, Executive Director at MEFA. Beyond Massachusetts, Phil Solomon, Director of Secondary Schools, West Warwick Public Schools in Rhode Island which currently uses Pathway by FolderWave said, The assignments are more concrete, and the tool helps motivate the students, especially getting the middle schoolers in the right head space to guide them. Phil went on to say Using Pathway has been especially helpful with remote learners, since they are on a hybrid schedule. The kids are kind of in limbo when working from home. Now they have assignments they can work on independently. Learning how to be self-directed is so important in remote learning, not just during this pandemic, but anytime. In Pathway they are always able to work on something. Pathway is tailor-made for remote learning. Pamela Brennan, Executive Director of Client Success at FolderWave , reflects on the countless hours she has spent gathering feedback from clients. The feedback we are receiving from both educators and students is exciting! The common message heard is that the platform is comprehensive and it aligns with Individual Learning Plans. The tool is easy to use and the students really like it. To learn more about how Pathway by FolderWave can help your school or organization, contact us at info@folderwave.com or to view a product video and learn more go to http://www.folderwave.com/about-pathway/ or visit the video links below: https://youtu.be/dzSMLIk0Rhw https://youtu.be/IIgT9zJgfg4 About FolderWave, Inc. FolderWaves cloud-based products and services are designed to significantly improve complex, high-volume, and time-dependent process and data management operations in many operational areas of Higher Education and K-12 Education. FolderWave is driven to empower students and lifelong learners to seek their own paths to achieve their goals. Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed the way for China, which is at a historic development juncture, by expounding on a wide range of topics at this year's "two sessions," a key political event slated to close on Thursday. The two sessions are the country's annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, participated in deliberations with national legislators and joined discussions with political advisors at the two sessions. He took part in deliberations with other lawmakers from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, and attended a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force. He also joined national political advisors from education, medical and health sectors in a joint group meeting. 2021 marks a historic juncture for China as it embarks on a new quest for fully building a modern socialist country. Here are some key takeaways from Xi's speeches at the sessions that may provide insights into China's development trajectory. Green GDP Xi has always stressed adopting "a holistic approach" to conserving mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands. This time, he brought "deserts" into the picture. Top-level design and comprehensive measures are needed to protect the eco-systems in mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts, said Xi, an NPC deputy himself. Highlighting the concept of "green GDP," Xi said that maintaining a good ecological environment is of enormous value. Ethnic unity Xi stressed cementing the sense of community for the Chinese nation. He called for promoting standard spoken and written Chinese language and the use of state-compiled textbooks. Efforts should be made to facilitate more comprehensive understanding of the Party's policies concerning ethnic groups, especially among young people, Xi said. People's health as 'strategic priority' Xi has stressed giving "strategic priority" to safeguarding people's health and focusing on tackling major diseases and problems that affect people's health. The country's public health protection network should be fortified, and efforts should be made to promote the high-quality development of public hospitals, he said, demanding comprehensive health care for the people at all stages of life. The fight against COVID-19 has once again proved that prevention is the most economical and effective health strategy, Xi said, calling for reforming and improving the disease prevention and control system. Xi also urged the preservation and development of traditional Chinese medicine and breakthroughs in core technologies in key areas, as well as more protection, care and support for health workers. Quality basic public education On education, Xi said China must strive to build a high-quality and balanced basic public education service system. He emphasized the socialist orientation in running schools, the non-profit nature of education and developing education that people are satisfied with. Education is essential to the country and the Party, Xi stressed. He called for efforts to train more talents who can contribute to the country's high-quality development and high-level self-reliance. Teachers are the central pillar of education, and strengthening the professional ethics of teachers must be a top priority, Xi said. High-quality development & people's well-being Xi noted that high-quality development is the general requirement for all aspects of economic and social development. It will not only be the requirement for developed regions, but will also be the requirement that entails implementation by all regions, Xi said, urging each region to pursue high-quality development based on local conditions. He urged efforts to integrate high-quality development with action in meeting people's aspiration for a better life. Xi stressed efforts to strengthen areas of weakness in people's well-being, unfailingly meet the basic living needs of the people and improve the availability and equality of basic public services. He asked local authorities to promote coordinated development between rural and urban areas, advance rural vitalization on all fronts, improve people's well-being, and build a new socialist countryside that is beautiful, prosperous and harmonious. Combat readiness Xi stressed achieving a good start in strengthening national defense and the armed forces during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period. Development of the armed forces must focus on combat readiness, he said. Xi demanded efforts to step up building high-caliber strategic deterrence and joint operation systems. He called for intensified efforts and more concrete measures in the pursuit of independent innovation in science and technology, to fully leverage the role of science and technology as the strategic support for military development. Highlighting the "instabilities" and "uncertainties" in China's current security circumstances, Xi said the whole armed forces must always be ready to respond to all kinds of complex and difficult situations, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and provide strong support for fully building a modern socialist country. Michael Cohen, the one-time personal attorney for Donald Trump, said that on Wednesday he met with prosecutors from the Manhattan DAs office for the seventh time. Image: Michael Cohen arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill on Feb. 27, 2019. (Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images file) The meeting, which Cohen said happened over Zoom and lasted two and a half hours, comes as the sprawling investigation into the former president's taxes and finances intensifies. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the Manhattan DAs probe a witch hunt. Cohen says he spoke with lead investigator Mark Pomerantz, an expert on white-collar crime who put away mob boss John Gotti and other organized crime figures. Also on the call was Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, General Counsel Carey Dunne and Assistant DA Solomon Shinerock, according to Cohen. Earlier this week, Trump made a quick visit to Trump Tower in New York and left with boxes of files before heading back to Mar-a-Lago in Florida. On March 1, the Supreme Court ruled that the Manhattan DA could obtain Trumps tax records from his accountants at Mazars USA, and soon after millions of pages of documents were handed over to the DA. Vance sought the tax returns covering eight years for a grand jury investigation of hush money payments and other financial transactions. The investigation began after it was disclosed that while Trump's lawyer, Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her claim that she had an affair with Trump, an allegation he has denied. Cohen also alleged to Congress that the Trump Organization sometimes lied about its financial condition to evade taxes or obtain favorable loan terms. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to making secret payments to women who claimed they had affairs with Trump, and lying to Congress about the president's business relationships in Russia. He was released last spring from his sentence because of concerns of the coronavirus. A spokesman for the Manhattan DA declined to comment Wednesday. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Stena, Latsco and UECC on practicality of decarbonisation Senior representatives of Latsco, Stena Teknik and UECC shared perspectives on the practicality of decarbonising shipping, at a webinar organised by DNV GL. Harry Robertsson, technical director of Stena Teknik, Stenas internal technical advisory company, said he was optimistic about the shipping industry reaching IMOs 2050 greenhouse gas target. This is on the basis that with each newbuilding, the company generally achieves a 30 per cent improvement, in comparison with the ships being replaced. Stenas fleet totals 149, owned, chartered and managed vessels and drilling rigs, including new buildings. This includes 81 tankers, 3 shuttle tankers, 3 LNG tankers, 2 drilling rigs, 4 drill ships, 34 ropax vessels and 10 roro vessels. Some of the ships we are ordering today will be around in 2050, possibly running on bio or [other] fossil free fuel, he said. There's a lot of technology needed for 2050 reduction targets that is already in place. We will see other types of arrangements. Propulsion will be most probable by electric motors, powered by batteries, fuel cells or ordinary gensets running on some kind of fossil free fuel. Although he noted the most efficient decarbonisation is fuel which is not consumed. There will be developments in ship design and trading patterns which show that speed will be reduced. That will reduce consumption from ships even more. Improving ships We are working continuously to make sure ships are running as efficient as possible, he said. Stena has already tried methanol fuel and biofuels, and batteries. We are evaluating almost everything you can imagine, trying to turn every stone, he said. Its vessel Stena Jutlandica has a 1MWh battery on board, enough to run bow thrusters and to manoeuvre in port. The battery pack has worked excellent since day 1, he said. The ultimate goal is for the Stena Jutlandica to operate fully on battery power, requiring an estimated 50 MWh of stored energy for the 3 hours and 25-minute crossing from Gothenburg (Sweden) to Frederikshavn (Denmark). Were looked at fully electric ropax for routes up to 50 nautical miles. [But] we haven't found an economically feasible solution to run the ship on electricity through the Archipelago. For longer routes, if the company decides to go for zero carbon propulsion, we think we'll go for fuel cells, he said. We have been running the world's biggest ROPAX on methanol without any problems. We think methanol is an excellent fuel, with the same characteristics as LNG, except a higher energy consumption when we produce it. It is easier to store and handle. Methanol can be produced in many ways. So definitely a pathway to non-fossil shipping. We're running LNG carriers on LNG with good experience. But we haven't been able to find any suitable Stena routes to run on LNG. The investment in existing ships is too high and logistics [LNG supplies] is not fully developed in our areas. Biofuels have been successful, no problem at all, he said. The company reported a successful trial with biofuel replacing ordinary fuels on 50,000 dwt tanker Stena Immortal, running for 10 days in Spring 2020. We think biofuel might be the lowest hanging fruit to decarbonise our existing fleet, he said. The main challenge is availability, standardisation and price. In terms of IMOs 2050 rules, the overall ambitions are well known. Now we need to know how it will be measured - by ship, country, by company or some other way, he said. This is not only a technical issue. [Commercially] we are not able to cover this huge transition by ourselves. We are operating in a world that is changing dramatically. But we have always been operating in such a world. In the 1980s, shipping looked very different to today. I have a personal example - in the beginning of the 1980s my father was master of a newbuild chemical tanker 35,000 dwt. There were difficulties to find a terminal that could handle that size of vessel. Today 35,000 dwt is quite common. Latsco Marine Management Kostas Vlachos, COO, Latsco Marine Management, said that decarbonising shipping is a very big challenge, when currently only a tiny number of ships have dual fuel engines. Latsco Marine Management operates 29 vessels - 18 product tankers and 11 gas carriers. The expectations are that only 20-40 per cent of the world shipping will be fitted with a dual fuel engine by 2050. With the switch from diesel to LNG power meaning a 20 per cent drop in CO2 emissions, this would mean a 4 to 8 per cent reduction, not a 50 per cent reduction. This, along with all the other measures that already have to be taken - operation and technological measures - make me not to be optimistic that by 2050 the aspirations of IMO will be fulfilled, he said. The owners need to invest and therefore they are looking to the customers (charterers), the regulators, the financial people, to see if they will support this common action, he said. Otherwise these aspirations will not be fulfilled. In conclusion, what is needed, other than regulations, is financiers to get the risk appetite to fund, we need clarity on which fuels will be used in future, we need regulations on targets and a timeline as soon as possible. Technology For all our new buildings built after 2012, we have applied all the technological improvements that exist in the market. Main engine improvements, auxiliary system improvements, waste heat recovery, air lubrication [of hulls], hull coating, shaft generators. With all of them we have succeeded to reduce 18-20 per cent CO2. The companys project to use air lubrication under the hulls is working together with a shipyard, class society and oil major. We are in the process and really we have made good progress to reduce the capital cost, he said. The cost is $12m more than a conventional vessel. We are trying to reduce this barrier. The company has a project to explore the use of LPG as fuel, for the LPG vessels. We have found a lot of obstacles in that decision, he said. Classification societies are not ready [with a rules system for LPG fuel]. What's disappointing to me, the flag state or class society is not proactive in welcoming the new fuel and seeing through its implementation, he said. That's a barrier we've encountered. We need the support of charterers. Not from a financial point of view, but from understanding we have to change something in commercial operations, to use part of the cargo as the fuel. These are matters we believe will be resolved. Mr Vlachos said that he does not believe that we will see a replacement for the combustion engine before 2050 for ships. Technologies are not yet proven. As everybody knows, for a new technology, we need 10 years for the breakthrough, another 20 years for testing. I am not pessimistic but looking at the data we have currently on the table, we need a faster growth in order to see this replacement in 2050. There could also be fire concerns related to batteries, he said. ETS Mr Vlachos is not an enthusiast of the European Union planning to bring shipping into its Emission Trading Scheme. We have seen in this major matter, unilateral decisions by the EU. This unilateral solution is a big obstacle to the pathway for decarbonisation, this is my opinion. I don't go to the discussion why the decisions are taken, but I go to the result. It is not only the different timelines, the most important is the different standards. UECC Daniel Gent, energy and sustainability manager, with United European Car Carriers, based in Oslo, said that the IMOs targets are ambitious but not impossible. UECC has 16 medium sized pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) with loading capacity ranging from 1,060 to 4,750 car equivalent units, including two dual fuel LNG vessels. It is building 2 more LNG battery hybrid LNG vessels. We're starting to see gains in carbon intensity, heading towards the 2030 target with some of our vessels, he said. Having targets can be helpful. Shipping is a very traditional kind of market, it has something that has worked well for a long time - and hasn't wanted to move without a push. Shipping has made some big steps already. What we put on our vessels now would be unthinkable a few years ago, in particular biofuels. We found we could do it without great changes to CAPEX. The way we need to look at it - the vessels which we're building today are likely to be operating in 2050. So the ships we build today need to be ideally [capable of] operating carbon neutrally. We also need to invest in fuels. When asked what he thought the biggest barriers to low carbon shipping were, Mr Gent said cost. Decarbonisation won't be cheap. It certainly hasn't been so far for us. It would help if customers could get involved, as well as port authorities, who would be needed to get supplies of new fuels encouraged in their ports. It would be helpful to see a shift in end user attitudes towards decarbonisation, so they are willing to spend money on it. It is one of the things consumers are willing to talk about. But they don't want to support it in a meaningful way, he said. Mr Gent thinks it is unlikely we'll see an end to use of internal combustion engines by 2050. The ICE has worked well. On a much smaller scale - below 2000 or 3000 dwt, maybe a bit of a different question. Also, we need to be careful not to close doors too early for alternative fuels, he said. We've proven the engines can handle all kinds of fuel and do so in a carbon neutral way. On the introduction of shipping to the EUs Emission Trading Scheme, Mr Gent said localism isn't a new thing in our industry. We've had emission control areas for over a decade. We've seen other [non global] regulations come in, discharge of water from vessels operating in scrubbers, Ballast discharge. But of course, it can make a shipowner nervous, to invest in complying with one regulation when another regulation can come into force. YEREVAN. The passive behavior of the President of Armenia during the [recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war raises questions. Former Deputy Defense Minister Artak Zakaryan told this to a press conference on Thursday. In his opinion, no other president in any other parliamentary country would have behaved like that. The opposition member noted that battles are fought by armies, whereas warsby countries. In the case of the Armenian side, the army did its best, but there was no state, diplomacy, social or economic support behind it. "Instead, the Prime Minister made 50 contradictory statements during the war, and at the same time aimlessly wasted the pan-Armenian resource," Zakaryan stressed. The former official stated that he has always taken the institution of the President seriously, which starts to function in times of crisisin terms of resolving the situation, but today no one trusts the President of Armenia because he is engaged in a shuttle political trade that leads to nothing. "Now the situation in Armenia is such that one can even resort to misusing official powers for the state and necessity," Artak Zakaryan added. But he did not rule out the possibility of the need to conduct mediation negotiations with the President, but the opposition has not yet made such decision. 404 Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine over concerns about patients developing post-jab blood clots, as the manufacturer and Europe's medicines watchdog insisted the vaccine was safe. Denmark was first to announce its suspension, "following reports of serious cases of blood clots" among people who had received the vaccine, the country's Health Authority said in a statement. It stressed the move was precautionary, and that "it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots". As of March 9, 22 cases of blood clots had been reported among more than three million people vaccinated in the European Economic Area, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said. Read: AstraZeneca vaccine effective in over-80s, says study Austria announced on Monday that it had suspended the use of a batch of AstraZeneca vaccines after a 49-year-old nurse died of "severe blood coagulation problems" days after receiving an anti-Covid shot. Four other European countries -- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg -- have also suspended the use of vaccines from this batch, which was sent to 17 European countries and consisted of one million jabs. Denmark however suspended the use of all of its AstraZeneca supply, as did Iceland and Norway in subsequent announcements on Thursday citing similar concerns. On Wednesday, the EMA said a preliminary probe showed that the batch of AstraZeneca vaccines used in Austria was likely not to blame for the nurse's death. "This is a super-cautious approach based on some isolated reports in Europe," said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Read: Will the coronavirus ever go away? "The risk and benefit balance is still very much in favour of the vaccine," he said. AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish company which developed the vaccine with Oxford University, defended the safety of its product. "The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in phase III clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine has been generally well tolerated," a spokesman for the group told AFP. Britain, whose widely-praised vaccine rollout has been largely underpinned by the AstraZeneca jab, also defended it as "both safe and effective". The Danish suspension, which will be reviewed after two weeks, is expected to slow down the country's vaccination campaign. Denmark now expects to have its entire adult population vaccinated by mid-August instead of early July, the health authority said. "We are of course saddened by this news," said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Frederiksen, who has pushed for the production of more vaccines and has formed a controversial alliance with Austria and Israel to do so, defended the Danish health authorities' decision. "There is always a risk associated with vaccines," she told reporters. "Things have gone well in Denmark, but there are some risks linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine that need to be examined more closely. That seems to me to be the right way to proceed." Danish Health Authority director Soren Brostrom stressed that "we have not terminated the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, we are just pausing its use". "There is broad documentation proving that the vaccine is both safe and efficient," Brostrom said. "But both we and the Danish Medicines Agency must act on information about possible serious side effects, both in Denmark and in other European countries." Denmark said one person had died after receiving the vaccine. The EMA has launched an investigation into that death. In the Scandinavian country of 5.8 million, around 25 percent of those who have received a first dose were given the AstraZeneca jab. In total, 3.8 percent of the population has received two doses of vaccine and 13.4 percent at least one dose. (HealthDay)For patients with in-hospital acute kidney injury (AKI), those with COVID-19-associated AKI have a greater rate of decrease in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) after discharge, according to a study published online March 10 in JAMA Network Open. James Nugent, M.D., M.P.H., from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study at five hospitals from March 10 to Aug. 31, 2020. The rate of change in eGFR after hospital discharge was compared for patients with and without COVID-19 who experienced in-hospital AKI (182 and 1,430 patients, respectively). The researchers found that compared with those without COVID-19, patients with COVID-19-associated AKI were more likely to be Black (40.1 versus 15.7 percent) or Hispanic (22 versus 8.8 percent) and had fewer comorbidities, but they had similar rates of preexisting chronic kidney disease and hypertension. In the unadjusted model and after adjustment for baseline comorbidities, patients with COVID-19-associated AKI had a greater decrease in eGFR (11.3 and 12.4 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively). After controlling for comorbidities, peak creatinine level, and in-hospital dialysis requirement, in the fully adjusted model, the eGFR slope difference persisted (14.0 mL/min/1.73 m2). COVID-19-associated AKI was associated with reduced kidney recovery during outpatient follow-up in the subgroup of patients who had not achieved AKI recovery by discharge (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.57). "A better understanding of COVID-19-associated AKI should provide opportunities for clinical trials to improve outcomes and inform the guidelines of post-COVID-19-associated AKI outpatient management," the authors write. One author disclosed financial ties to Efference LLC, a medical communications company; a second author reported owning a patent for System And Methods for Diagnosing Acute Interstitial Nephritis. Explore further Acute kidney injury ups risk for death in COVID-19 patients Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved. MIAMI, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After launching its first Miami flights last November, Southwest Airlines expanded its route network from Miami International Airport today by adding daily service to four more destinations: Atlanta; Dallas; Denver; and Nashville. The new routes increase Southwest's already strong presence at MIA to a total of 16 daily flights. Southwest's twice-daily flights to Atlanta, Denver and Nashville provides Miami passengers with another travel option to those cities, while its daily service to Dallas Love Field Airport establishes a new route from MIA. Southwest already serves both Baltimore and Houston Hobby with four daily flights and Chicago Midway with a daily flight. "I'm thrilled to see Southwest Airlines expanding their operations at MIA so soon after their first flights just four months ago," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. "Southwest's arrival in Miami-Dade County is helping to fuel the safe recovery of our tourism industry, and I welcome this expansion offering even more options for residents and visitors." Prior to Southwest's expansion, its weekly flight schedule was already projected to generate an economic impact of more than $853 million in local business revenue and 6,788 jobs within the local economy annually. "We deeply appreciate Southwest's decision to strengthen their commitment to MIA and the Miami market with a new total of 16 daily flights," said Lester Sola, MIA Director and CEO. "Their launch in November is part of the reason why our daily passenger totals continue to reach new highs each month." Last July, Southwest was recognized as a winner of four awards in the 2020 Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Awards for Airlines, based on a full year of Tripadvisor reviews. Southwest Airlines was recognized as: Best Airline in North America; Best Airline in the U.S.; Best Economy in North America; and Best Low-Cost Airline in North America. Subscribe here for more MIA news Connect with us on: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Linkedin MEDIA CONTACT: Greg Chin 786.251.0588 [email protected] www.iflymia.com SOURCE Miami International Airport Related Links http://www.iflymia.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. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. An eighth-grade student has been hospitalized after being attacked by a group of teenage boys in front of his school in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai. The victim is N.T.H., an eighth-grade student of Vo Truong Toan Middle School in Tan Bien Ward, Bien Hoa City, director of the local bureau of education and training Vo Van Minh confirmed on Wednesday. Preliminary information showed that the incident happened after classes on March 5. H. had just exited the school when he was approached by a group of three unidentified teenagers. Following a short conversation, the three started punching and kicking H. until he collapsed on the ground. Many other students were also present at the scene but no one dared to interfere. H. was later brought to the hospital by his teachers. The violence was caught on CCTV, and the footage has sparked outrage among viewers after being uploaded to social media. Doctors stated H. suffered multiple soft-tissue wounds and the boy was discharged from the hospital following his two-day treatment. Although the bullies have not been identified, the Bien Hoa education bureau confirmed that they were not students of Vo Truong Toan Middle School. It has asked local police to hunt for and impose suitable punishments upon the assailants, as well as to ensure safety for all students of the school. Officers in Tan Hoa Ward said on Wednesday they were working with the school board and H.s doctors, and collecting information from eyewitnesses. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The big four bank chiefs have welcomed the federal governments revamped small business loan scheme, claiming it will provide a lifeline to the hardest-hit industries once JobKeeper payments are cut off. The government significantly expanded its loan scheme for small-to-medium sized businesses on Thursday, increasing the size of eligible loans from $1 million to $5 million and raising the turnover threshold from $50 million to $250 million. The loans are available to around 350,000 businesses and will be 80 per cent backed by the government, compared to the 50 per cent backing under the last iteration that saw little take-up. The big four banks have welcomed the governments expanded small business loan scheme. Credit: National Australia Bank chief executive Ross McEwan said the package would be particularly useful for businesses that were healthy before the pandemic but have struggled through the lockdowns. Students in remote learning environments need to be engaged in self-motivated planning, organization, goal-setting, self-regulation, and the effective management of competing activities. These challenges are markedly amplified for students with ADHD. The Stroud Foundation, a Washington, DC-based foundation dedicated to DC-area kids with learning differences and their families, and CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), the leading national nonprofit organization supporting the ADHD community, are pleased to announce that Professor Andrea Chronis-Tuscano, PhD, and her team at the University of Maryland ADHD Program, have received a Stroud Foundation grant to study online learning interventions for children with ADHD. Dr. Chronis-Tuscano and her team were selected through a competitive application process and thorough review by a committee of experts in ADHD representing both the Stroud Foundation and CHADD. During the past ten months, the Stroud Foundation has deeply considered our purpose and how we can best serve our community during this highly unusual time in world history, said Dr. Brooke Stroud, President of the Stroud Foundation. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the daily lives of children and families, locally and globally. Were delighted to partner with CHADD and the experts at the University of Maryland to deliver high-yield, low-cost, real-world support for families of children with ADHD. Students in remote learning environments need to be engaged in self-motivated planning, organization, goal-setting, self-regulation, and the effective management of competing activities, said Robert Cattoi, Chief Executive Officer, CHADD. These challenges are markedly amplified for students with ADHD, who require more structure and ongoing support to be successful. Unfortunately, these needs may not be met in virtual environments. Dr. Chronis-Tuscano agreed, stating, Not surprisingly, recent research in the U.S. and Australia shows that adolescents with ADHD report fewer routines, more remote learning difficulties, and magnified emotional and behavioral difficulties than their non-ADHD peers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, adolescents with ADHD and their parents are in desperate need of evidence-based skills and strategies to support success in the virtual learning environment during these challenging times. In response to this need, Dr. Chronis-Tuscano and her team will utilize the grant to develop 10 brief, animated videos teaching evidence-based skills for young people with ADHD and those who support them, including parents and educators. The videos and accompanying materials will focus on such skills as structuring the day, implementing a calendar system and prioritized task list, setting up a remote workspace, staying socially connected, and managing frustration. The entire series will be available in English, Spanish and Chinese, for distribution to youth and families across the U.S. and worldwide, free of charge. The English version is anticipated for release in the spring of 2021, while the translated versions are expected to be released this summer. Dr. Chronis-Tuscano and her team will be evaluating the efficacy of the series in the months that follow. This initiative promises to serve as a cost-effective, easy-to-share approach to teaching evidence-based skills to youth with ADHD, their families, and educators, said Cattoi. CHADD is very enthusiastic about working with the Stroud Foundation, and confident about the support this will provide to so many members of the ADHD community who are struggling with the challenges of online learning. About ADHD Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 17 million children and adults in the United States. It is characterized by a persistent pattern of inappropriate levels of attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, resulting in daily impairments at school and work, and with family and friends. ADHD is highly manageable with an individualized, multimodal treatment approach that can include behavioral interventions, parent teacher and patient training, educational support, and medication. About the Stroud Foundation The Stroud Foundation is a tax-exempt public charity established in 2008 to honor the memory of pediatrician Dr. Frank Stroud. The foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children with learning differences and their families in the DC area, with a particular focus on children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Stroud Foundations project areas include supporting existing organizations and schools that identify and treat children with learning differences, or that offer special programs for children with learning disabilities. Goals of the Stroud Foundation include creating awareness of learning differences for families, teachers, and professionals; and building dialogue between existing organizations, government, professionals, and schools to share best practices. About CHADD CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is the leading resource on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), providing support, training, education, and advocacy for the 17 million children and adults in the United States living with ADHD, their families, educators, and healthcare professionals. As home to the National Resource Center on ADHD, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CHADD is the most trusted source of reliable, science-based information regarding current medical research and ADHD management. To learn more, visit http://www.CHADD.org or call 310.306.7070. Schools in New Jersey will continue giving out free meals to children, regardless of their familys income, through the end of the summer, the federal government announced Thursday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture extended several waivers that will allow meals served through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) together known as summer meal programs to be made available in all areas at no cost through Sept. 30. The program was set to expire after June 30, but the date has been pushed back due to COVID-19. We want everyone to know these meals are available to every child in New Jersey, NJDA Secretary Douglas Fisher said in a news release. The extension of these waivers for the summer feeding programs will allow this essential need to be met for all students. Each district creates their own individualized plan for the year about where and when food pick-up or delivery happens. Meals are also available to people over age 18 with mental or physical disabilities. In New Jersey, schools and non-profit organizations that participate in the programs can be found here, along with the locations, dates and times meals are provided. Lakewood Township School District will continue to give out a box of free meals every Wednesday though September, said school district attorney Michael Inzelbuch. Pick-up is from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Lakewood Middle School and Clifton Avenue, he said, and is open to all children in Lakewood, not just public school children. Every Wednesday, he said, the district distributes more than 90,000 meals. Since the beginning of the pandemic last spring, Inzelbuch said they have provided around 4 million meals. We continue to provide these much needed meals, Inzelbuch said. Toms River Regional School District Spokesman Michael Kenny says the districts Food Services Department is interested in taking part in the extended program this summer. Meals are currently available on Fridays either for delivery at any time during the day or for pick from 10 a.m. to noon, he said. Kenny said the district has made a point to promote the program on social media and with weekly robocall reminders to families. Weve worked hard to promote our meals program to all of our families, he said. The coronavirus pandemic has worsened childhood hunger in New Jersey. About 400,000 children in New Jersey are currently food insecure, or about 1 in 5 kids, according to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. That is up from 1 in 7 kids before the pandemic. COVID-19 has caused an estimated 56% increase in food insecurity overall in New Jersey and an estimated 75% increase among kids, specifically, the anti-poverty organization said. Im pleased that the USDA will extend free meals for children through the summer, which is a difficult time of year for struggling families under normal circumstances, said Carlos Rodriguez, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Now, with the effects of the pandemic resulting in an estimated 75% rise in childhood hunger in New Jersey, programs that ensure kids access to nutritious food are more important than ever. 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. The Galapagos Islands, also known as the Columbus Archipelago or Isla Galapagos in Spanish, is an island group in the Pacific Ocean administered by Ecuador. It comprises 18 major islands, three smaller islands, and numerous islets and rocks. These islands, islets, and surrounding areas are rich in endemic species and have been called a living museum and showcase of evolution. The islands contributed immensely to scientist Charles Darwins evolution theory and natural selection concept. Galapagos National Park, a wildlife sanctuary established in 1935, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos archipelago is a site for protecting indigenous species and promoting scientific research. Contents Where Are The Galapagos Islands? Map of Ecuador showing the Galapagos Islands of the country. Galapagos is an island group located in the eastern Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,000 km off Ecuador's coast. The islands straddle the equator and are located on both Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere, with the volcanoes Ecuador and Mount Whiton (highest peak on the Galapagos) located on the equator. Administratively, the island group is a province of Ecuador known as Galapagos Province. Geography A land iguana sitting on a rock in the South Plaza Island of the Galapagos. The Galapagos Islands are scattered over an estimated area of 45,000 km2 of the ocean. The islands themselves have an estimated total land area of 7,880 km2. The largest island, Isabela, covers almost three-quarters of the archipelagos total land area and more than twice the size of the second-largest island. The archipelago sits at the Galapagos Triple Junction, an area where three tectonic plates meet. The three tectonic plates are the Pacific, Nazca, and Cocos plates. The islands sit specifically on the Nazca Plate and over the Galapagos Hotspot, a volcanic hotspot where mantle plume is melting the Earths crust, leading to volcanoes. The Galapagos Islands are volcanic islands, some of which are still active. The first of the islands formed at least 8 million years ago and possibly earlier, while the younger islands, Fernandina and Isabela, are still forming. Some of the oldest islands have been submerged below the sea. Since the islands developed from lava piles, most are characteristically rugged and arid and consist of high volcanic peaks, cliffs, and craters. The highest point of the Galapagos is Mount Whiton on Isabela Island at 1,707 meters. Islands Beaches on Bartolome Island in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. The Galapagos Archipelago is made up of 18 islands spanning at least 1 km2. Eight of the islands have a land area of at least 14 km2. Isabela Island, named after Queen Isabella I of Castile, spans 4,640 km2. Resembling a seahorse, the island was formed following the merging of six volcanoes into one large landmass. Isabella hosts close to 1,750 people. Santa Cruz Island, located in the middle of the archipelago, is the second-largest island, spanning 986 km2. The oval-shaped island is 32 km long and 40 km wide. Its English name, Indefatigable, was derived from a British ship known as the HMS Indefatigable. The islands capital, Puerto Ayora, is the most populous town in the Galapagos. Fernandina Island, named after King Ferdinand II of Aragon, covers 642 km2. It rises 1,476 m above sea level and last erupted on May 13, 2005. A small eruption from a fissure in the side was also recorded in 2009. Punta Espinoza, a narrow strip of land on the island, is considered a biodiversity hotspot. Santiago, or Saint James, is the fourth-largest island, covering 585 km2 and rising to 907 m. San Cristobal Island is the fifth-largest island, spanning 558 km2. It is one of the archipelago's oldest islands and the first visited by Charles Darwin in his voyage to the archipelago. Other major islands are Floreana (173 km2), Espanola (60 km2), Baltra (21 km2), and Genovesa (14 km2). The minor islands include Roca Redonda, Nameless Island, Daphne Major, and South Plaza Islands. Climate Rain in front of a tourist shop in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz island, Galapagos Islands. Image credit: NadyaRa/Shutterstock Although the Galapagos Islands straddle the equator, the Peru (Humboldt) Current greatly influences the archipelagos weather patterns by bringing cold water to the islands. The current is responsible for most drizzles throughout the year, although the rainfall is very low. El Nino events, occurring every 3-7 years, also influence the weather. During El Nino events, the sea surface becomes warm, sea-level rises, and wave actions become greater, leading to water nutrient depletion. During the June-December season, known as Gurua, the sea temperature is around 22 C (72 F), with a steady cold wind blowing from the south. There are also frequent drizzles and dense fog, sometimes concealing most islands. December to May is a warm season, with sea temperatures rising to 25 C (77 F). During this season, the wind is scarce and rains are sporadic and strong. As altitude increases, temperature decreases, while rainfall increases due to high moisture content on the slopes and summits. Brief History Although the Indigenous inhabitants of South America visited the Galapagos Islands during the Pre-Columbian era, they did not establish permanent settlements. The Europeans discovered the archipelago in the 16th century, when Fray Tomas de Berlanga, a Spanish Bishop of Panama, was sailing from Peru to settle a dispute. His vessel drifted to the islands on March 10, 1535. 35 years later, the islands appeared on Abraham Ortelius and Gerardus Mercators maps as Insulae de los Galopegos, "Islands of the Tortoise," probably because of the giant tortoises found on the islands. In 1593, Richard Hawkins became the first English captain to reach the islands. Several Spanish voyagers also passed by the islands while transporting commodities from South America to Spain. English pirates also used the islands as hideouts to rob the Spanish treasure fleets. The Galapagos flora and fauna were described in 1793 by James Colnett, who also suggested that the islands could be used for whaling. Patrick Watkins became the first known resident on the archipelago when he was marooned there between 1807 and 1809. He survived by growing vegetables, hunting, and fishing. The areas around the archipelago became popular whaling ground in the early 19th century, leading to the establishment of a post office where whaleships and whalers stopped to pick up or drop off letters. Ecuador annexed the Galapagos Islands as part of its territory in February 1832 and gave them the name Archipelago of Ecuador. General Jose de Villamil, Galapagos first governor, brought convicts on Floreana Island to populate it. Farmers and artisans later joined the convicts on the islands. Darwin came to the Galapagos when the HMS Beagle surveyed the islands in September 1835. Human Settlement Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz island, Galapagos Islands. Although South Americans were the first people to visit the Galapagos Islands, permanent settlements were only established by the Spanish in the 16th century. By 1959, about 1,000 people called the islands their home. In the 1980s, over 15,000 people inhabited the islands. According to the most recent census, the archipelago has a population of about 25,000 people. Only five of the Galapagos Islands are inhabited: Isabela, Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Floreana, and Baltra. Santa Cruz is the most populated island with 12,000 people, and 99% of the island's population lives in Puerto Ayora. San Cristobal has about 6,000 people. Isabela, the largest island, has only 1,750 people. Administratively, the Galapagos Archipelago is part of the Galapagos Province, Ecuador. The province has three cantons: Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Isabella canton. Each canton also covers other islands. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, a town in San Cristobal, is the provincial capital. The Galapagos Province is Ecuadors smallest province by population and 12th smallest by land size. Biodiversity And Protection Galapagos sea lions. The Galapagos Islands are rich in unique biodiversity, helping in popularizing Darwins theory of evolution and natural selection. They are geographically located at the junction of three ocean currents, making them one of the worlds richest marine ecosystems. The archipelagos extreme location and isolation made plant and animal life on the islands unusual. The Galapagos Marine Reserve is an unusual marine ecosystem, with abundant marine animals, including sharks, corals, and marine mammals. It contains endemic species, such as land iguanas, giant tortoises, flightless cormorants, and Darwins finches. Other species on and around the archipelago are land snails, mockingbirds, sea lions, sea birds, rays, and whale sharks. The island also has numerous endemic and native plant species, including 500 vascular plants, of which 180 species are endemic. About 97% of the Galapagos Islands land area is considered a National Park. The Galapagos National Park was declared Natural Heritage for Humanity by UNESCO in 1979, making permanent conservation possible. However, some of the threats on the archipelago include invasive species introduction, illegal fishing, increased tourist activities, and population growth. Weak, stolen, or reused passwords are the #1 cause of data breaches and hacks. This is why it's essential for people and businesses to have a different password for every accountensuring if one is breached other accounts remain secure. Yet research shows that password reuse is real; a recent Verizon study revealed nearly 70% of people admitted to reusing passwords. Password Changer seamlessly logs users into compatible websites, generates strong, unique passwords, then changes the passwords for those sites on the user's behalf in one-click. Now, Password Changer has been rebuilt from the ground up to improve its reliability and website coverage. Every website has its own flows to log in or reset a password, and these change quickly and without notice. The new Password Changer inherently follows these flows, autofilling common blockers like captchas and two-factor authentication codes for a fast, simple, and secure user experience. True to Dashlane's zero-knowledge promise, all passwords are changed locally on every device, ensuring data is secure, private, and accessible only to the user. These foundational innovations will also help increase the product's long-term potential for people and businesses alikefrom changing passwords when an employee leaves an organization to revoking a friend's access to a Netflix account. Moving to Machine Learning The power behind Dashlane and Password Changer has always been invisible to users. The company's proprietary semantic engine offers the most accurate page analysis on the market, enabling Dashlane to autofill and login across every website universally. By bolstering this technology with machine learning, Dashlane has achieved a weighted F-Score of 92%, a gold standard for accuracy, across English, French, and German websites. These successes follow the company's move to a web-first experience alongside support for iOS and Android apps. Outperforming desktop apps on autofill and user experience, on average the extension recognizes online forms in 15 milliseconds, far faster than the 100ms threshold for an interaction to feel instantaneous. "We've always known that to meaningfully impact the security of our customers and enhance their experience online, our autofill experience needed to be faster, more reliable, and more convenient than typing memorized passwords or other insecure, convenience-based habits," said Derek Snyder, Chief Product Officer at Dashlane. "Powering Dashlane with machine learning and completely refactoring Password Changer are significant steps toward our goal of helping all individuals and businesses avoid the pain of managing access. We look forward to hearing feedback on the beta as we continue to enhance the best-in-class autofill, category-leading capabilities, and great experience our users have come to expect." Dashlane's Password Changer and new autofill machine learning engine are now available in beta with approximately 100 domains, including popular social media, streaming, shopping, and news sites. Sign up at: https://www.dashlane.com/beta . About Dashlane Dashlane is a web and mobile app that simplifies password management for people and businesses. We empower organizations to protect company and employee data, while helping everyone easily log in to the accounts they needanytime, anywhere. A better digital future starts with secure access. Our team in Paris, New York, and Lisbon is united by a strong sense of community and passion for improving the digital experience. Over 15 million users and 20,000 businesses in 180 countries use Dashlane for a faster, simpler, and more secure internet. SOURCE Dashlane Related Links https://www.dashlane.com/ The International SOS Foundation today launched the annual Global Duty of Care Awards to recognise organisations and honour their investment and innovation in protecting the health, safety, security and wellbeing of their global workforce. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311006022/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) This year's theme is Empowering the Future of Workforce Resilience: Redefining Duty of Care in a COVID-19 World. There are three new Award categories; COVID-19 Ambassador (individual contributor), COVID-19 Agility Response and Inclusion Diversity. The Awards will be supported by a panel of sector-leading expert judges* and a host of internationally recognised organisations. The International SOS Foundation is proud to present Chubb, the world's largest publicly traded property casualty insurance company, as Gold sponsor of the 2021 Duty of Care Awards Summit. Joe Vasquez, Head of Chubb's Global Accident and Health business says, "The last twelve months have presented significant challenges to organisations to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their people. Duty of Care is an essential mechanism in redefining business resilience. We are delighted to participate in the advocacy of Duty of Care and recognising organisations who have made superior achievements." Kai Boschmann, Executive Director of the International SOS Foundation said, "The world has drastically evolved due to COVID-19. Duty of Care, now more than ever, sits in the spotlight of organisations' top concerns globally. Recognising businesses that have demonstrated resilience and agility during such turbulent times is incredibly important. Sharing their expertise can help to shape the business world, providing insight into critical health and safety best practice for resilient workforces. Information for Entering the 2021 Global Duty of Care Awards To learn more, visit www.dutyofcareawards.org. Organisations and individuals may enter here. The awards entries close on Friday 30 April 2021 The awards shortlist will be announced on Monday 14 June 2021 One winner will be selected and presented an award for each category. Winners will be announced during the Summit Awards taking place virtually 21-23 September 2021. The 2021 Global Duty of Care Awards will be presented in the following categories: COVID-19 Ambassador (individual contributor) *NEW COVID-19 Agility Response *NEW Inclusion Diversity *NEW Communications Innovation Remote Resilience Sustainability Organisation Judge name Judge Title Location ASIS International Peter O'Neil CEO United States Birkbeck University Dr Rachel Lewis Professor Occupational Psychologist United Kingdom The Employee Mobility Institute Deborah de Cerff Founder Australia Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Karla Guerrero Lozoya Stakeholder Council Chairwoman Mexico International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) John Denton Secretary General France International Organisation of Employers (IOE) Pierre Vincensini Senior Adviser Switzerland Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, State of Minnesota Nancy Leppink Senior Advisor United States UN Global Compact Network Australia Kylie Porter Executive Director Australia The 2021 Duty of Care Awards will take place during the Duty of Care Summit, held on 21-23 September 2021. Now in its fourth year, the Summit brings together industry-leading experts for discussion, debate, practical case studies and invaluable networking on protecting mobile workers and mitigating risks. Register here to be among the first to receive the full agenda and access to tickets. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311006022/en/ Contacts: Suzanne Withers Group Head of PR, International SOS t +44 (0)20 8762 8494 m +44 (0)7825 425 500 Email: suzanne.withers@internationalsos.com Police on Wednesday identified the 42-year-old man who was gunned down on the edge of a busy North Portland park as Titus L. McNack. McNack was killed in an attack Tuesday afternoon at Dawson Park, marking the citys 15th shooting death so far this year, Portland police said. An investigation continues, and no arrests have been announced. McNack had been with a cousin at the park and the cousin turned around and heard shots when the shooting occurred, according to his aunt Maria McNack. There had been some sort of fight, and those involved may have fled from the park in a car, according to area residents. The cousin immediately called family, and the 42-year-olds aunts, daughter, and cousins quickly arrived at the scene. They huddled behind police tape with crisis response workers near the corner of North Williams and Stanton Street Tuesday afternoon into early evening, as detectives photographed the scene and looked for evidence and deputies from the medical examiners office arrived. Titus McNack was pronounced dead at the scene, his body shielded by a yellow tarp on the south sidewalk at the edge of the park along Stanton Street. NcNack had a grown daughter and son and two young children, his aunt said. The circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, but a woman who lives in the area said she heard four gunshots. Lt. Greg Pashley, a Portland police spokesperson, called the killing a brazen, broad daylight shooting on a sidewalk in a crowded park. Portland has recorded 20 homicides so far this year the same number of killings the city had in all of 2016. Fifteen of this years homicides, including Tuesdays killing, have been the result of gun violence, Pashley said. Police ask anyone who has information about Tuesdays fatal shooting to contact Detective Rico Beniga (Rico.Beniga@portlandoregon.gov; 503-823-0457) or Detective Jennifer Hertzler (Jennifer.Hertzler@portlandoregon.gov; 503-823-1040.) The Oregonian/OregonLive Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East A podium with the logo for the CDC. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Federal Judge Strikes Down CDCs Nationwide Eviction Ban A federal judge struck down a nationwide eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ruling the 2020 ban was beyond the agencys authority. The ruling in the lawsuit, known as Skyworks Ltd. v. CDC, came on March 10. The ruling consisted of a declaratory judgment but not an injunction. Its unclear if the Biden administration will appeal. The legal action was filed Oct. 23, 2020, in federal court in Ohio, as The Epoch Times previously reported. Among the plaintiffs were Ohio landlord Skyworks Ltd. and the National Association of Homebuilders. Attorney Luke Wake, who represented a group of landlords in the lawsuit, was pleased with the courts decision. This vindicates the rights of landlords but it also speaks to what weve been saying all alongthat CDC had no authority to do this, Wake, a lawyer at the Sacramento, California-based Pacific Legal Foundation, said in an interview with The Epoch Times. They have authority to pursue conventional disease control measures but not an overarching, floating authority to do anything that they happen to think might be helpful. They cant tell landlords that they cant evict non-paying tenants and they cant just make up rules governing businesses. There are limits to what CDC can do. The CDC argued the eviction ban was needed to curb the spread of the CCP virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, although tenants could invoke the ban whether they suffered from virus-related hardships or not. Congress enacted a nationwide moratorium on evictions that expired July 24, 2020. Weeks later, then-President Donald Trump directed his administration to consider whether such a measure should be part of efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 moving forward. In response, the CDC ordered a moratorium on some, but not all, evictions. That moratorium differed from the one Congress enacted and was to expire on March 31. In the legal complaint, PLF argued Congress authorized the CDC to take certain actionsinspection, fumigation, disinfection, and sanitation, among othersto stop the spread of infectious disease across state lines. Nowhere does it authorize the CDC to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium. Although the pandemic poses a significant threat to many Americans and a serious challenge to government at all levels [it] does not suspend the normal operations of constitutional government. Under our Constitution, Congress makes the law and the executive branch enforces it. The CDCs moratorium represents a sweeping assumption of power by an administrative agency that it simply does not possess, altering the contractual relationships of perhaps millions of people across the country. It forces one segment of the populationlandlordsto bear a disproportionate share of the costs of the pandemic because they provide the rental housing that so many Americans need. U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, weighed in. The case turns on whether Congress has authorized the CDC to adopt a nationwide eviction moratorium, the judge wrote. Although effective pandemic response depends on the judgment of reliable sciencenot political science that obvious truism does not empower agencies or their officials to exceed the mandate Congress gives them. The Court determines that the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions orders exceed the agencys statutory authority provided in Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and the regulation promulgated pursuant to the statute, and are, therefore, invalid. A similar lawsuit succeeded in Texas last month. In Terkel v. CDC, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker, a Trump appointee, ruled against the eviction moratorium in a declaratory judgment on Feb. 25. Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution, Barker wrote. The CDC order exceeds the power granted to the federal government to regulate Commerce among the several States and to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution that power, he wrote, citing provisions of the Constitution. Today, the court held that the federal government cannot interfere with private property rights or citizens access to the courts to exercise their rights under state law, said Texas Public Policy Foundation general counsel Robert Henneke. The CDC attempted to use COVID-19 as an opportunity to grab power and the court rightfully corrected this egregious overreach. This case puts down a marker. There are real, meaningful, limits to federal power under our Constitution. And pandemic or not, federal courts have a virtually unflagging obligation to impose those limits in cases brought before them, he said, quoting from the decision. The Texas Public Policy Foundation and Southeastern Legal Foundation jointly represented a coalition of residential landlords and property managers in the legal proceeding. The U.S. Department of Justice attorneys listed in the courts docket as counsel of record for the government in the Skyworks case didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. 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. Fossil fly, Hirmoneura messelense from the Messel Pit. Credit: Senckenberg An international team of scientists with Fridgeir Grimsson from the University of Vienna has found a previously unknown fossil fly species in old lake sediments of the Messel Pit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Germany. In the stomach of the fossil insect, pollen from various plants could be detected, which allows rare insights into the feeding behavior, the ecology and the role of the fly as a pollinator. The study was published in Current Biology. It was not the fly itself that caught the scientists' attention, but its bulging abdomen suggesting it was still full with the fly's last food intake. Surprisingly, analysis of the stomach content revealed it was full with pollen from different plants. The fossil pollen from the fly's stomach was used to reconstruct the ancient environment inhabited by the fly, the biotic interactions between plant and fly, and the fly's behavior during feeding. Flies as pollinators Today, bees, butterflies and bumblebees are the typical pollinators, which are also known to feed on pollen. That flies also play an important role in pollination is rarely addressed. "The rich pollen content we discovered in the fly's stomach suggests that flies were already feeding and transporting pollen 47 million years ago and shows it played an important role in the pollen dispersal of several plant taxa," says Fridgeir Grimsson from the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research of the University of Vienna. "Flies were major pollinators in ancient (sub-)tropical equivalent ecosystems and might even have outshined the bees," the scientist concludes. Fossil Hirmoneura messelense from the Messel Pit and extant Hirmoneura maculipennis. Credit: Senckenberg Fossil pollen from the stomach of the fly. Scanning Electron Microscopy. Credit: Fridgeir Grimsson Short-distance flights for food The extracted pollen was dominated by grains of Decodon (waterwillow) and Parthenocissus (virgin ivy). Today, the waterwillow is a sub-shrub growing in wetlands and the shallows of lakes, suggesting open low canopy habitat. The co-dominance of virgin ivy also suggests that the fly fed on plants growing at the forest margin surrounding the ancient Messel lake. "It is likely that the fly avoided long-distance flights between food sources and sought pollen from closely associated plants," says Grimsson. Explore further Variety: Spice of life for bumble bees More information: Sonja Wedmann et al. The last meal of an Eocene pollen-feeding fly, Current Biology (2021). Journal information: Current Biology Sonja Wedmann et al. The last meal of an Eocene pollen-feeding fly,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.025 Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here That evening, the US president Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office, announcing restrictions on travel from Europe that set off a trans-Atlantic scramble. Airports flooded with unmasked crowds in the days that followed. Soon, they were empty. And that, for much of the world, was just the beginning. Today, thanks to her vaccination, Maggie Sedidi is optimistic: By next year, or maybe the year after, I really do hope that people will be able to begin returning to normal life. Maggie Sedidi, a 59-year-old nurse at Sowetos Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital, receives the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine last week. Credit:AP But it is a hard-earned optimism. Sedidi, a 59-year-old nurse at Sowetos Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital, the largest hospital in South Africa and the entire continent, recalls she was devastated when the first cases appeared there last March. And she recalls being terrified when she got COVID-19. Her manager fell ill at the same time and died. South Africa has had by far Africas worst experience with the virus. The country of 60 million people has had more than 1.5 million confirmed cases, including more than 50,000 deaths. You can imagine, I was really, really frightened. I had all the symptoms, except dying, she said, with a survivors grim smile. Her recuperation period was lengthy. I had shortness of breath and tightness of the chest. It lasted for six months, she said. I didnt think it would ever go away. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video But she mended, and shes back at work in the surgical ward. Others have not been so lucky. In the United States the worlds most COVID-wracked country 29 million have been infected, and 527,000 have died. Latoria Glenn-Carr and her wife of six years, Tyeisha, were diagnosed at a hospital emergency room near their home outside Detroit on October 29. Despite Latorias qualms, they were sent home. Tyeisha, 43, died in bed next to her wife three days later. I woke up on Sunday, and I didnt feel a pulse, Glenn-Carr said. One month later, COVID killed Glenn-Carrs mother, too. With the pandemic came hard times to so many places. In Nepal, the stream of foreign adventurers arriving to climb Mount Everest stopped a disaster for guides like Pasang Rinzee Sherpa. Sherpa has scaled Mount Everest twice and spent 18 years helping climbers up the highest Himalayan peaks, generally earning about $US8000 ($10,000) a year. In the past 12 months, he had no income. Pasang Rinzee Sherpa, 33, in Kathmandu, Nepal, last week. Credit:AP Sherpa had to beg his landlord in Kathmandu to waive his rent. He borrowed money from friends, cut down on expenses, stopped sending money to his parents, who have a small farm. He lives on two simple meals a day, cooking them in his room. Its been difficult. We are mountain people who are used to walking freely in nature, Sherpa said. But for months during lockdown we were forced to be confined in a room in Kathmandu city. It was mental torture for us. In Mozambique, one of the worlds poorest countries, domestic worker Alice Nharre remembered the desperation of people forced to stay home for a virus that some initially thought was not real. People were thinking: Were going to stay at home, with no help from the government - how are we going to survive? she said. The southern African countrys government pledged that relief pay of the equivalent of $US20 would be given for three months to those thrown out of work. It never happened, said Nharre, 45. My mother signed up, but the money never arrived. We dont know what happened to it. With a delivery from the global COVAX initiative this week, the country has nearly 700,000 vaccine doses for its 30 million people. Its not clear when they will be widely available. Maybe, its for doctors, and the big people. For us, the little people, we dont know, she shrugged. When Trump began calling COVID-19 the China virus, Joyce Kuo tensed up. Soon after, 36-year-old furniture manufacturer from Greensboro, North Carolina, recalled taking her three children to the dentist, a white woman in the waiting area pulled her daughter close and loudly instructed: You need to stay away from them. They probably have that virus. More than once during the pandemic, Kuo and others in her family encountered that kind of racism. Though born in America, she was unnerved by reminders that others felt she did not belong there. Life pivoted for Darelyn Maldonado last March during her library class. She recalls sitting at a table with her close friends, talking with the teacher about COVID-19. The teacher told them their school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, would be shutting down briefly, she said. In the 12 months since, she has lived in limbo and online. There is a light at the end of her tunnel. Parents in her city waged a pressure campaign to reopen schools, and she is due back in the classroom on March 16. A year from now, on March 11, 2022, she pictures herself doing all the things she missed in this endless pandemic year. Playing outside with friends, playing softball with the dog, she said. Being with the people that I love most. Others, however, still have a long way to go. In Brazil, COVID-19 infections and deaths are accelerating, not declining like in most nations previously hit hard. In the 24 hours to Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), the country broke all previous records to count 2286 people dead from the virus, according to the Health Ministry. The total death toll of 270,656 is the second-highest after the US. People collect food donated by aid groups in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday. Credit:AP New infections tallied 79,876 on Wednesday to bring the total to more than 11.2 million. The Pan American Health Organisation said infection rates in Brazil were worrying, spurred by a new and more contagious variant known as P1, and called for much stricter public health measures. She is nominated for a Grammy Award this weekend in the comedy album category. And Tiffany Haddish got to celebrating a few days early. The 41-year-old comedian was seen leaving celeb-favorite Catch LA in the wee hours of Thursday morning after a pre-Grammy celebration at the hotspot. Out and about: Tiffany Haddish was seen leaving celeb-favorite Catch LA in the wee hours of Thursday morning after a pre-Grammy celebration at the hotspot On the town: The 41-year-old star appeared to be worse for wear as she was assisted by two men while leaving the seafood restaurant She appeared to be worse for wear as she was assisted by two men while leaving the seafood restaurant. Tiffany seemed to be in good spirits as she slurred while joking with photographers as she commented on several different topics including her comedy album nod and the Meghan Markle/royal family drama while hopping into a blue Tesla. As Markle and Prince Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah has been the hot topic of conversation in recent days, Haddish couldn't help but chime in with her opinion on the matter. Lots to say: Tiffany seemed to be in good spirits as she slurred while joking with photographers as she commented on several different topics Good spirits: Sh talked about her comedy album nod and the Meghan Markle/royal family drama while hopping into a blue Tesla She was asked if she believed 39-year-old Markle's allegations about racism in the royal family as Haddish replied: 'I believe anything a Black woman says.' Haddish also added that she believes that Meghan respects Queen Elizabeth II despite all of the drama with the royal family. The comedian said: 'She didn't lie on the Queen. She respects the Queen. That's our queendom.' Interesting: She was asked if she believed 39-year-old Markle's allegations about racism in the royal family as Haddish replied: 'I believe anything a Black woman says' 'She didn't lie on the Queen. She respects the Queen. That's our queendom': Haddish also added that she believes that Meghan respects Queen Elizabeth II despite all of the drama with the royal family Tiffany kept her look casual as she sported a burgundy bomber jacket over a grey top. She also wore light blue jeans ripped at the knees along with all-white Adidas Forum mid sneakers. The Girl's Trip star accessorized with a large black designer bag and bandanna which was also used as a face covering. Her brunette tresses were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she showed off her natural beauty by wearing complementary make-up. Relaxed: Tiffany kept her look casual as she sported a burgundy bomber jacket over a grey top Covered up: The Girl's Trip star accessorized with a large black designer bag and bandanna which was also used as a face covering Stunning: Her brunette tresses were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she showed off her natural beauty by wearing complementary make-up Tiffany is up for a Grammy Award this weekend in the comedy album category for Black Mitzvah. She faces heavy competition including Patton Oswalt (I Love Everything), Jim Gaffigan (The Pale Tourist), Bill Burr (Paper Tiger), and Jerry Seinfeld (23 Hours to Kill). The Grammy Awards are taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this Sunday, March 14 and will air live on CBS and streaming service Paramount+ beginning at 8pm EST/5pm PST. Tiffany has proved herself to be quite the triple-threat as last week she put on quite the sultry display as she was a featured model in fashion label Monots 003 campaign photographed by Micaiah Carter which debuted on Friday. Smoldering: Tiffany has proved herself to be quite the triple-threat as last week she put on quite the sultry display as she was a featured model in fashion label Monots 003 campaign photographed by Micaiah Carter which debuted on Friday. Tiffany's most eye-popping look was a low-cut black leather jacket dress which featured a very high split which showed off her thighs. The Girls Trip star's cleavage was on full display in the high-fashion number which she teamed with black stilettos. She smoldered as she posed looking away from the camera with her fingers slightly grazing her buzzed head. Simply stunning: As if she didn't already turn the heat up enough, the 41-year-old South Central Los Angeles native also donned a slinky black gown Wow factor: She smoldered as she posed looking into the camera with her fingers slightly grazing her buzzed head As if she didn't already turn the heat up enough, the South Central Los Angeles native also donned a slinky black gown. The number featured a cutout from the hemline to the chest and showed plenty of skin as it was held together by a long string which Tiffany proudly grabbed. Though it may be seen as an unconventional choice, Tiffany was certainly the perfect choice to model the racy look inspired by Madonna's iconic 1992 book titled Sex. Designer of the third collection, Eli Mizrahi, wanted models who would exude being confident, unapologetic, and brave. Eye-popping: The number featured a cutout from the hemline to the chest and showed plenty of skin as it was held together by a long string which Tiffany proudly grabbed Of Tiffany's inclusion in the campaign, Mizrahi said: 'I wanted to shake things up even more with this collection. It is a revival of the Monot woman who is ready to come back stronger than ever. 'I chose to cast women like Tiffany Haddish for the show because she embodies everything Monot represents a woman who portrays inherent strength and confidence.' Lebanese-born Mizrahi founded the fashion label which has been at the forefront of the fashion industry's push to become more inclusive and all-embracing in 2019. It has been quite a fashionable week for Tiffany as she stunned in a reflective off-the-shoulder dress as she hit the red carpet at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills on Sunday. Sparkler: It has been quite a fashionable week for Tiffany as she stunned in a reflective off-the-shoulder dress as she hit the red carpet at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills on Sunday Her chic dress was made up of sheer dark fabric, which was decorated with gleaming hexagonal mirror panels. The eye-catching outfit also had amber jewels sewn in between the mirrors for some added color. The Girls Trip star framed her elegantly made-up face with dangling hoop earrings, and she sported a close-cropped blonde-dyed hairdo. Lit up: Tiffany's chic dress was made up of sheer dark fabric, which was decorated with gleaming hexagonal mirror panels Splash of color: The eye-catching outfit also had amber jewels sewn in between the mirrors for some added color. She rounded out the winning look with a gold clutch, and she elevated her 5ft6in stature with pointy black heels She rounded out the winning look with a gold clutch, and she elevated her 5ft6in stature with pointy black heels. Ernesto Casillas created Tiffany's impeccable glam with Shiseido's Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation. Stylist Ray Christopher kept Tiffany's hair short and sculpted her blonde tendrils with SH-RD. The comedian and actress was on hand to present the award for Best Animated Motion Picture, even though she was critical of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's lack of Black members. Short hair, don't care: The Girls Trip star framed her elegantly made-up face with dangling hoop earrings, and she sported a close-cropped blonde-dyed hairdo Big prize: Tiffany was featured early in the evening when she presented the award for the year's best animated film We are very proud of our members who have brought their firms to this level of excellence and also continue to push for continuous improvement, especially with the constraints felt from this pandemic, said Alan Deichler, president of CPAmerica. Accounting Today, the premier publication of the certified public accounting industry, has named several CPAmerica, Inc. firms as national and regional leaders in their March 2021 Top 100 listing. Three firms were featured in the Top 100, two firms were recognized as firms to watch, and 15 firms were recognized as regional leaders. We are very proud of our members who have brought their firms to this level of excellence and also continue to push for continuous improvement, especially with the constraints felt from this pandemic, said Alan Deichler, president of CPAmerica. We want to congratulate our firms on all of their achievements. Frazier & Deeter, LLC, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., ranked 49 in the Top 100. Frazier & Deeter, also a leader in the Southeast region, was recognized as a pacemaker in growth with revenue increase by over 11 percent. Since joining CPAmerica in 1989, Frazier & Deeter has grown more than 108 million in revenue. Aldrich, headquartered in Salem, Ore., ranked 72 in the Top 100. Aldrich, also a leader in the West region, saw revenue growth of more than nine percent in the past year. In 2020, Aldrich elected a new CEO in July, and launched a new service line to help clients transition business ownership. Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C., headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, ranked 90 in the Top 100, and was also recognized as a regional leader in the Midwest region. Anglin Reichmann Armstrong, P.C., headquartered in Huntsville, Ala., was recognized as a regional leader in the Gulf Coast region and saw revenue growth of more than 11 percent. Cg Tax, Audit & Advisory, headquartered in Tinton Falls, N.J., was recognized as a regional leader in the Mid-Atlantic region. DMJ & Co., PLLC, headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., was recognized as a regional leader in the Southeast region and saw revenue growth of more than 11 percent. EFPR Group, LLP, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., was recognized as a regional leader in the Mid-Atlantic region. GRF CPAs & Advisors, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., was recognized as a firm to watch, and as a regional leader in the Capital region and saw revenue growth of more than three percent. Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP, headquartered in Canton, Mass., was recognized as a regional leader in the New England region and saw revenue growth of more than 12 percent. Kushner LaGraize, L.L.C., headquartered in Metairie, La., was recognized as a regional leader in the Gulf Coast region and saw revenue growth of almost two percent. Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C., headquartered in Holyoke, Mass., was recognized as a regional leader in the New England region and saw a revenue growth of more than three percent. Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP, headquartered in Austin, Texas, was recognized as a firm to watch, and as a regional leader in the Southwest region and saw revenue growth of more than eight percent. McGowen Hurst Clark Smith, headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, was recognized as a regional leader in the Midwest region and saw revenue growth of more than three percent. Robinson, Grimes & Co., headquartered in Columbus, Ga., was recognized as a regional leader in the Southeast region. Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C., headquartered in Norfolk, Va., was recognized as a regional leader in the Capital region. For more information on Accounting Todays 2021 Top 100 Firms and Regional Leaders, please visit: https://www.accountingtoday.com/report/the-top-100-firms-and-regional-leaders. About CPAmerica, Inc.: An accounting association made up of independent certified public accounting firms that built on four key goals: to continuously improve; to make more money; to strengthen relationships among member firms; and to bring prestige to firms both domestically and internationally. As a member of the eighth largest global accounting network Crowe Global, CPAmerica expands to over 285 independent accounting and advisory services firms in 130 countries, and has a combined firm revenue of $4.4 billion. Learn more about CPAmerica at http://www.cpamerica.org. Samsung Electronics said Thursday it will launch another budget smartphone model in South Korea this week as the global tech giant eyes beefing up its handset sales against rivals. The Galaxy A32 will be released in South Korea on Friday with a price tag of 374,000 won (US$330). The budget smartphone is already available in select markets in Europe and India. The LTE-supporting model comes with a quad rear-camera setup with a 60-megapixel (MP) main shooter, 8MP ultra wide lens, 52MP depth sensor and 5MP macro camera. It also has an 20MP selfie camera. The Galaxy A32 features a 6.4-inch display and packs a 5,000mAh battery. The world's largest smartphone vendor announced earlier this week that the Galaxy A42 will be also launched in South Korea on Friday and will be the cheapest 5G smartphone in the country at 449,900 won. In addition to its flagship Galaxy S series and foldable smartphones, Samsung has been aggressively promoting the Galaxy A series, which covers the mid-range and low-end segments, to increase its handset sales. According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, Samsung defended its leading status in the 2020 smartphone market, but its market share dropped from 20 percent to 19 percent as its shipments declined from 296.8 million units to 255.7 million units. The company recently announced that it will hold an "Unpacked" event for its upcoming new Galaxy A models, predicted to be the A52 and the A72, next week. Usually, Samsung has not hosted large-scale introduction events for the Galaxy A models. (Yonhap) (Natural News) Air pollution remains among the highest in the Western Hemisphere in several cities in Chile. It gets even worse in the winter months when people burn more wood to heat up their homes. Major cities like Santiago, the capital of Chile, are often shrouded in smog and face alarming levels of air pollution. In its latest attempt to mitigate air pollution, the Chilean government unveiled a program that aims to convert Santiagos fleet of gas-powered taxis into electric vehicles (EVs). The program, presented by Chiles Energy Ministry in January, will subsidize only 50 EVs for now. Eventually, the government will convert all 22,400 gas-powered taxis in Santiago into EVs. Government officials says that the program aims to convince taxi drivers that using EVs is more cost-effective than driving gas-powered cars, especially if they drive more than 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles) every year. Chile also has cheaper electricity prices, thanks to investments in wind and solar energy plants across the country. Taxi drivers stand to save more money on gas and upgrade to a more cost-efficient vehicle by trying out an electric taxi. Its already cheaper, for highly active vehicle fleets, to switch to electricity, said Gabriel Prudencio, head of the sustainable energy division at Chiles Energy Ministry during a webinar last Feb. 4. The government will work with the Chinese automobile manufacturer BYD to procure a BYD e5, a compact all-electric car listed for 21.7 million pesos ($30,000). The government will shoulder as much as eight million pesos ($11,000) under the program, while the driver would shoulder the rest. To make the program more attractive to taxi drivers in Santiago, the government would also install charging equipment at the drivers homes. They would also be exempt from paying a special carbon emission green tax. The plan is to entice taxi drivers to exchange their current gas-powered vehicles for a subsidized BYD e5. Taxi drivers not enthusiastic about governments plans But even with the subsidy, the government might have a hard time convincing Santiagos taxi drivers to trade in their current gas-powered vehicles for EVs. (Related: The big electric vehicle LIE: Electric cars are not zero emissions, and their ecological impact is actually dirtier than diesel trucks.) In the current situation, this program doesnt make sense for any taxi driver, said Luciano Lillo, 60, who has driven taxis in Santiago since 1982. Lillo added that an eight million-peso subsidy is still too low. He said taxi drivers would have to take out loans to cover the remaining balance of the new vehicles. But securing a loan is an uncertain scenario for most drivers in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which has introduced new challenges to taxi drivers. One challenge is the lack of passengers due to the lockdowns. Lillo said taxi drivers need to go out every day and hope they make enough money. It became even harder over the past few months with most people staying indoors or driving their own vehicles to go places for fear of contracting the dreaded virus. Additionally, the standard gas-powered taxi is much cheaper than EVs. A brand-new Nissan Versa, a popular model used in Santiago for taxis, starts at 10.9 million pesos ($14,800). Lillo also noted the fact that BYD e5 is a brand new model, as such users would be dependent on the manufacturer for spare parts and repairs. If the government were offering an electric version of an ultra-popular model, like Toyota or Hyundai, I would maybe consider it, explained Lillo. BYD said they would help maintain the new vehicles. The manufacturer also assured drivers that the BYD e5 has batteries that are good for 500,000 km over a 16-year lifetime. The car also has a 400-km range. Therefore, drivers shouldnt be too worried about maintaining the car or taking it in for repairs. Follow RoboCars.news to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of EVs. Sources include: Undark.com Bloomberg.com The car driven by a 24-year-old woman who led gardai on a high speed chase which she live streamed on Instagram is now part of a Garda money laundering probe. Gemma Greene, from Coolock, was arrested by gardai last Monday after she live streamed a lengthy chase from Dublin to Wicklow and back before the pursuit ended in Ballymun. She is currently in Spain where she has shared a series of clips and videos on social media of herself and a friend from a holiday in Barcelona. However it can be now revealed that the Mercedes C220 car that she was driving during the dramatic car chase is being held by gardai as part of a major money laundering investigation The car was originally seized from her due to the alleged road traffic offences that she committed but gardai are now holding onto it because it could be important evidence in an ongoing money laundering investigation, a senior source said. Some of Ms Greenes close associates are suspected of being heavily involved in criminality in Ballymun, the source added. The young woman has been officially warned by gardai of an active threat against her life and because of this it is unclear whether she will be fined for breaching coronavirus regulations by going on holiday to Spain. Level 5 restrictions currently ban international travel for non-essential reasons. Expand Close Gemma Greene / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gemma Greene Read More It is a tricky one in terms that she was given an official notification of a serious threat against her. It could be argued that this means that she is entitled to leave the country and therefore not face a fine for doing so but the matter is unclear, the source pointed out. Gardai are also investigating Ms Greenes claims that the Mercedes that she was driving was modified. If this is the case she would haver been obliged to tell her insurance company, the source pointed out. "My car has 300 brake so it's chipped, so it'd be faster than any of their cars," she claimed in a recent newspaper interview. Everything she says in the media and on social media is being looked at, the source added. Ms Greene was arrested after the dramatic motorway chase on the evening of March 1 last and gardai said she is due to appear at Dublin District Court in connection with the incident, which is still under investigation, later this month. At one point a helicopter from the Air Support Unit and around 20 vehicles, including 4x4s from the Armed Support Units (ASU), were involved in the chase. During the Instagram livestream, she can be heard singing along to music and boasting about how shes outrunning gardai in her car. This week Ms Greene shared a series of clips and videos on social media of herself and a friend from a holiday in Barcelona. Her pal is a 28-year-old man from Belclare Park in Ballymun. Under a picture of herself and her friend, Greene wrote: Ballymuns [sic] very own Bonnie & Clyde. In one clip showing off a rooftop pool area, she can also be heard saying: Not a bad life, darling. This is me for the day. THE family of shooting victim Sinead Connolly say the incident was linked to a long-running local dispute and they dont want any revenge attacks. The young mother (30) was seriously injured in gun attack in her flat in Bluebell, south Dublin, last Saturday. She is a sister of dissident republican Sean Connolly who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of veteran criminal Eamon Kelly in Killester in 2012. Sineads family released a statement this week saying she is not a republican activist and the shooting had no link to her brother Sean. On Saturday March 6, our daughter and sister, Sinead, was critically injured in a gun attack in her home. She is a single mum and was with her daughter when the attack took place. She was shot as she sat on her settee. Friends of her partner were also in the apartment at the time. One of them dragged the daughter out of view of the attacker while another immediately applied emergency first aid after the gunman had left. "His prompt actions saved her life and gave her a fighting chance in hospital where, despite sustaining injuries that were critical, she is now recovering. We are eternally grateful. They said the shooting wasnt linked to an internal IRA feud. The only people in the apartment at the time were Sinead, her daughter, and her partners friends. "Whatever political allegiances the friends had was not a factor in the attack. The family said the attack was rooted in a long-standing local dispute. Sinead was shot by a person known to her. Despite press reports there is no link between it and Seans imprisonment. Gardai have yet to arrest the gunman. Expand Close Sineads brother, Sean Connolly, is an IRA killer / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sineads brother, Sean Connolly, is an IRA killer They are currently waiting for medical clearance to speak to a man who they suspect may have accidentally shot himself during the incident at Sineads flat. In their statement Sineads family say Sean Connolly has asked that there be no retaliation for the shooting. Sean has called for calm and for no one, no matter how aggrieved they might feel, to even think about engaging in any sort of tit for tat. "He is adamant that what happened to Sinead be visited on no other family. "He insists that after many years of reflection he has come to the realisation that violence has no place in society and can never be a way to settle grievances or differences. Sinead is a single parent, not a republican activist of any hue. "Far from being the result of an IRA dispute the backdrop to the incident was a local culture of bullying. That said, it is not our familys intention to harbour hostility towards the attacker or his family. We thoroughly discourage the onset of such sentiment. "The attacker has his issues, created in no small part by the conditions that dictate life in an under-resourced and deprived community scourged by a significant drug problem. There are many young people growing up in communities where drugs and deprivation seem as natural as the dole queue. "Let what happened to our sister and daughter, Sinead, be a salutary lesson to our youth. Drugs offer no escape, violence offers no solution. Finally, we would like to thank the first responders from An Garda Siochana and the Health Service for their prompt assistance. "We also are grateful to friends and neighbours of Sinead who have flooded us with messages of support and well wishes. Read More Sean Connolly, who at the time was a member of the New IRA, is currently serving life for the murder of Eamon Kelly in December 2012. The killing came two months after New IRA gang boss Alan Ryan was shot dead in north Dublin by north Dublin criminals and it is believed Kelly was shot by dissident as a show of strength following Ryans murder as he was seen as an easy target. Connolly was placed in protective custody in Portlaoise Prison after he pleaded guilty to the murder. There were suggestions at the time that Connolly pleaded guilty as he did not want statements he made to gardai following his arrest being read out in court. He was then placed in protective custody in prison amid suggestions fellow republicans suspected Connolly of being an informer. However, he convinced his comrades he wasnt an informer and was allowed back on the republican wing of the prison. He was kicked off the republican wing once again in 2018 after a visitor scheduled to visit him in Portlaoise was caught trying to bring drugs into the prison. The visitor was a chronic drug user known to Sean. At the time the New IRA issued a statement saying: The Irish Republican Army have instructed its volunteers in Portlaoise Gaol to eject an individual from its landings with immediate effect. The Irish Republican Army has a zero tolerance in regard to drugs. Connolly said he had not idea the man known to him was planning to bring in drugs and said they were not destined for him. In November 2020, the company acquired an option on 100% of the Destiny Project, a gold project located in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt Founded in 2019 and publicly listed on the CSE in July 2020, Clarity Gold ( ) has the objective to acquire and develop gold projects that have been overlooked or underfinanced. Headed by chief executive officer James Rogers, Claritys management team has certainly proven its ability to identify, evaluate and execute transactions, having collectively completed over 100 resource project deals. In November 2020, the company acquired an option on 100% of the Destiny Project, a gold project located in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt, which extends from Wawa, Ontario to Val-dOr, Quebec. In addition to Destiny, Clarity has three 100% owned projects on its books in British Columbia: Empirical, a gold, copper and molybdenum project located 12 kilometres south of Lillooet; Tyber, a gold, copper and silver project located 18 kilometres south of Parksville; and Gretna Green, a gold, copper and silver project located 24 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni. Rogers spoke recently with Public Entrepreneur about his views on building a company in the resource sector and what the future holds for his industry and Clarity shareholders. Lets start by delving into Clarity Golds mission statement and your guiding principles. Claritys objective since inception has been pretty clear weve been entirely focused on gold in North America, with an emphasis on Canada. Our mandate has been to become an explorer concentrated on discovering and building ounces in stable jurisdictions within North America. British Columbia was our starting point, and weve grown by establishing a strong foothold in Quebec with the Destiny Project. Destiny is a project you acquired in November and it is in the famous Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Tell us about your decision to obtain a 100% option on this project. Destiny is an exciting gold project on a lesser-known structure in the belt. The Abitibi is an important jurisdiction in Canada, and in the world, really. It is one of the most prolific greenstone belts there is. The Abitibi is comprised of six dominant structures. The 400-kilometre-long structure that the Destiny Project is located along is called the Chicobi. It is a less-explored structure that is proving to have gold mineralization associated with it, just like on the Cadillac and other well-known structures through the Abitibi. This is one of the reasons we were attracted to it. Dominant structures play an important part in controlling gold mineralization within the Abitibi. When we look at the main structures in the south, they are largely near-surface. Nobody really found the Destiny Project until 1998 because it has a thin veneer of overburden and till it is just not on the surface. It started in 1998, which kicked off multiple campaigns totalling over 50,000 metres of drilling, culminating in a historic resource in 2011. And it has basically lain dormant since 2012. Our mandate is to take a fresh look at this, peeling back the previous data and thinking more about this projects optionality as a high-grade, structurally controlled gold deposit. You also have three projects in British Columbia. How do these fit into your near-term plan? We started with Empirical, which was our flagship project in British Columbia. We then acquired two more grassroots projects in the province. My background is in project generation and one of my strengths is keeping an eye open for new opportunities and projects. When our team saw Destiny, we recognized the opportunity for a more advanced project to create value in a jurisdiction that we're comfortable working in and understand really well. We see the best opportunity to create near-term value for the company in advancing Destiny, but will continue to maintain and advance the rest of our portfolio. How are you funded to move forward with the planned work following your recent private placement? We just finished a $4.5 million financing. The next step for us is two-fold. We are financed to carry out exploration to advance Destiny but are also on the lookout for more projects with a similar profile where we could add value with our expertise. Destiny is a foothold it is really our first step into a large gold camp where we have experience operating. You have somewhat of a different background than the typical junior company CEO in that you run a large services company for the industry as well. What do you consider is your main strength as head of Clarity Gold? Id say looking at data and coming up with an idea. A cool stat is that during the hunt for Destiny, I compiled 200,000 drill holes in Quebec and Ontario inside of the Abitibi and started thinking a bit about why the Chicobi structure just hadn't been looked at the same as the others and why this is an important and underexplored part of the Abitibi story. Bear in mind, the Abitibi has produced more than 180 million ounces of gold, which is an incredible number. Its actually hard to keep track of the number of headframes you pass as you drive from Val-dOr to Timmins. One of my strengths is definitely looking at data but also in executing. I come from an exploration background, running a services company where our specialty is grassroots exploration and running drill programs, up to say 70,000 to 100,000 metres of drilling in a year. But when we get in and take a look at data, and we're able to manipulate and think about things differently, that's where we find things that get exciting. Where things have been overlooked or interpreted in a different way. Then we're able to bring a fresh perspective to something and bring it to life. Lets finish up with a look at what investors should expect from Clarity in 2021. This year is going to be big. It will include our maiden drill program on Destiny, which should be kicking off before winters end. We'll start with about a 10,000-metre program, which will then carry on into subsequent drilling as we get results and continue to move it forward. Rite Aid will offer coronavirus vaccine appointments only to educators, school employees and child care workers over the next two days in seven states, including New Jersey, the pharmacy chain announced. The company said teachers, school staff and child care workers are being prioritized to comply with a directive from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The vaccine appointments can be scheduled Thursday and Friday in New Jersey, New York City, Pennsylvania, California, Michigan, Ohio and Washington state. Teachers and school employees are cornerstones of our communities, and we truly appreciate all the hard work and dedication they continue to put into educating our children as we battle this pandemic, Rite Aid chief operating officer Jim Peters said in a statement. In support of the HHS directive for provider partners to prioritize the vaccination of educators, school staff and licensed childcare staff, we are proud to do our part in protecting school communities and returning educators, staff and students safely back into classrooms. Appointments can be scheduled on Rite Aids website. Other people eligible for vaccinations can resume trying to make an appointment on Saturday. A list of sites offering vaccines can be found here. At least 2,743,157 in New Jersey have received a vaccination dose as of 9 a.m. Thursday. More than 925,000 are fully vaccinated. 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. Advertisement Its black and white these pictures are mightily impressive. They are the winning and shortlisted images in the Black and White Minimalist Photography Prize 2020, which was founded by B & W Minimalism Magazine. Judges sifted through 1,470 entries and whittled them down to a top three before declaring British photographer Tim Nevell the winner. He impressed with his incredible drone shot of a remote road in Iceland and wins a $1,000 cash prize. Other entries that caught the judges' eyes and made the shortlist of the top 50 images included an incredible shot of a lone snowboarder's pristine track in Japan, a serene picture of Tarn Hows in the Lake District and a stunning photo of a pair of cyclists on Canyon Beach in Oregon. Milad Safabakhsh, founder and editor-in-chief at the magazine, said that the winning and shortlisted images were taken by photographers who can be 'considered as the best contemporary black-and-white minimalist photographers on the planet'. Scroll down to see the stunning winning image and MailOnline Travel's pick of the top 50 entries... The winning image in the Black and White Minimalist Photography Prize 2020, which was taken by British photographer Tim Nevell. He said: 'This image was shot with my Mavic2 Pro drone on a winter trip to Iceland. We were travelling to Myvatn in the north of the island and this was a scene about 50 miles from the village. I loved the desolate volcanic landscape covered in snow and the distant endless horizon perspective' The runner-up spot was claimed by Pierre Pellegrini thanks to this striking snap that he took in his home country, Switzerland. He called the shot 'Sit Down, Free Thoughts' This haunting snap of bare trees in the Sossusvlei salt and clay pan in Namibia was taken by Tokyo-based photographer Hector Izquierdo Seliva. He came third in the contest American Nathan Wirth is the man behind this stunning shot. He snapped it in Marin County, Northern California, and described the picture as showing a tree watching 'light pour through clouds that open as if they were curtains' This beautiful photo was taken by Seattle-based photographer Scott Rinckenberger on Norikura, a 9,927ft (3,026m) mountain in Japan. It shows a track etched in the snowy landscape by a lone snowboarder A mesmerising picture of an abandoned bus buried in snow in the Japanese city of Shibetsu taken by Japan-based photographer Roy Iwasaki. He said he was 'impressed by the mysterious sight' Photographer Alan Marco Castillo captured this serene scene on Canyon Beach in Oregon. He explained: 'I was meditating and looking at the rocks drowned by the ocean when these two guys appeared on the scene' This eerie foggy scene was captured by photographer Krystian Kozminski in Poland. He called the image 'Milky Way' British photographer Tony Johnston is behind this ethereal image of Tarn Hows in the Lake District, taken on a misty January morning LEFT: This incredible snap of a coastguard cottage in Suffolk was taken by London-based photographer Costas Kariolis. He said: 'The sun managed to break through the wispy clouds, shimmering on to the darker waters below. I used the curve of the single shoreline to guide the eye up the frame to this solitary building - a coastguard cottage. I waited for the opportune moment for the chimney to point directly up towards the setting sun. I could not have timed this any better. Bliss.' RIGHT: This beautiful image of a recently harrowed field drying in the scorching sun (in an unknown location) was snapped by Robert Kovacs A stunning photo of a small waterfall flowing down a mountain in the Westfjords region of Iceland taken by photographer Hang Chen Australian photographer Allen Koppe is behind this ethereal image taken on a sand dune in an unknown location. He said: 'The wind was blowing the sand from the other side of the dunes creating a curved high light' MOU targets second quarter of 2021 to sell automotive specialty insurance products on the DRIVRZ platform in North America with a focus on electric vehicle specialty products. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / PowerBand Solutions Inc. (TSXV:PBX) (OTCQB:PWWBF) (Frankfurt:1ZVA) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with Allianz Partners, a global leader in B2B2C assistance and insurance solutions, to sell automotive specialty insurance products on the DRIVRZ virtual transaction platform. The non-binding MOU allows Powerband, its partner D&P Holdings Inc. and Allianz Partners to market a wide range of Finance & Insurance products at the start of the second quarter of 2021 for the U.S. and Canadian markets. The companies will initially seek out opportunities in North America to expanding lease financing facilities, with an emphasis on electric vehicles (EVs). The intention is to expand offerings globally, through DRIVRZ. DRIVRZ is a virtual marketplace that allows drivers and automotive dealers to buy, lease, sell and trade electric and non-electric vehicles from any digital device, from any location. DRIVRZ has access to 4.5 million vehicles available for sale or lease, as well as millions of consumers and thousands of automotive dealers, through its partnerships. "Allianz Partners is a global player, offering automotive insurance and finance products and services for electric and non-electric vehicles. This is one of the most important achievements yet for DRIVRZ," said PowerBand CEO Kelly Jennings. "Allianz Partners understands and supports our vision to offer a virtual marketplace to buy, sell, trade, lease and insure electric and non-electric vehicles." "This MOU has great potential," added John Armstrong president of D&P Holdings. "Adding Allianz Partners early in the second quarter of 2021, means we can quickly scale DRIVRZ to the North American electric and non-electric vehicle market." Allianz Partners, D&P Holdings and PowerBand intend to cooperate on offering automotive specialty insurance and related products and services with a focus on EV, passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks and motorbikes. Products included in the MOU target: automotive manufacturing; direct and indirect commercial and consumer lending and leasing; consumer-to-consumer vehicle transactions; dealership business; auctions; importer business; including our non-OEM business partners. The non-binding MOU outlines the intention of all parties to cooperate on the above-mentioned business opportunities as we finalize our definitive agreement. About PowerBand Solutions, Inc. PowerBand Solutions Inc., listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the OTCQB markets, is a fintech provider disrupting the automotive industry. PowerBand's integrated, cloud-based transaction platform facilitates transactions amongst consumers, dealers, funders, and manufacturers (OEMs). It enables them to buy, sell, trade, finance, and lease new and used, electric and non-electric vehicles, on any device. PowerBand's transaction platform - being trademarked under DRIVRZ - is being made available across North American and global markets. About D&P Holdings, Inc D&P Holdings, Inc. was established in 1989 for the purpose of bringing creative insurance solutions to their clients. Headquartered in Spring (Houston), Texas, D&P's ownership and management have extensive experience within the warranty industry. They have developed programs for two (2) national aftermarket warranty programs, but now they are coming direct to the producers to provide a transparent selling process. D&P has exclusive rights to sell/market/administrate F&I Products for several large A rated carriers. About Allianz Partners Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C insurance and assistance, offering global solutions that span international health and life, travel insurance, automotive and assistance. Customer driven, our innovative experts are redefining insurance services by delivering future-ready, high-tech high-touch products and solutions that go beyond traditional insurance. Our products are embedded seamlessly into our partners' businesses or sold directly to customers and are available through four commercial brands: Allianz Assistance, Allianz Automotive, Allianz Travel and Allianz Care. Present in 76 countries, our 21,500 employees speak 70 languages, handle over 65 million cases each year, and are motivated to go the extra mile to help and protect our customers around the world. For further information, please contact: John Armstrong President of D&P Holdings E: jfa@diversicare.com T: 281 364 8300 Kelly Jennings Chief Executive Officer, PowerBand Solutions E: info@powerbandsolutions.com T: 866 768 7653 SOURCE: PowerBand Solutions Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/634960/PowerBand-Allianz-Partners-and-DP-Holdings-Inc-dba-Auto-Trac-System-Have-Entered-Into-a-Memorandum-of-Understanding-to-Take-Steps-Toward-Joining-the-DRIVRZ-Platform Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government's decision to postpone the MPSC exams came under fire from the opposition as well as leaders of the ruling alliance. Maharashtra Public Service Commission on Thursday (March 11) postponed the preliminary examination for government jobs scheduled for March 14 in view of the rising COVID-19 cases in the state. The Relief and Rehabilitation Department announced the decision in a circular. Earlier the examination was to take place in April last year but was delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan questioned the wisdom of the decision. Speaking to reporters in Pune, he said, "If the government can permit weddings, hold budget session and conduct exams for the health department, then it is wrong to cancel the MPSC examination." It was an injustice to the candidates, the former chief minister said, adding, "How much longer they should prepare for MPSC? If the government can allow other events, it should not apply a different yardstick for MPSC." BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis demanded that the decision be reversed. "The exams have been pushed forward already and it would result in the loss of opportunity for many students who invest their best years in preparation," he tweeted. Rohit Pawar, NCP MLA and grandson of party chief Sharad Pawar, tweeted that the examination can be conducted in a fair and safe manner. Meanwhile, a large number of students took to the streets in many cities in the state and created a ruckus to protest against the government's move. The protests were seen in Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Jalgaon. They demanded the exams not be cancelled. The protests happened in Navi Peth, Pune and at Sakkardara Chowk in Nagpur. In Kolhapur too, the students created a ruckus and demanded the government to reconsider the decision to postpone the exam. A large number of students crowded the Court Chowk in Jalgaon, disrupting the movement of vehicles. Protests were also carried out at Jyotiba Phule Chowk in Aurangabad. Live TV The provisions come at an urgent moment for the millions of jobless: Democrats had been racing to get the bill signed into law before federal unemployment benefits begin to lapse on Sunday. Under its terms, a $300 weekly supplement to other unemployment payments will be extended through Sept. 6. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program will be available for at least 79 weeks, up from 50, and run through Sept. 6. In addition, individuals with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less and married couples filing jointly with incomes of $150,000 or less will receive direct payments of $1,400 per person. Economists say the road ahead remains bumpy. States have faced challenges with processing payments and combating fraud as unemployment programs have ramped up, and it is unclear if they will be plagued by similar difficulties with the new round of aid. But now that states have had test runs, there is tentative optimism that such hiccups will not occur. Were hoping that states wont see any break in benefits, and for those in the midst of receiving benefits, that there will be no disruption, said Nicole Marquez, director of social insurance at the National Employment Law Project, a research and advocacy group. That would be a particularly welcome development for the legions of long-term unemployed. According to government data, the number of those jobless for at least six months grew in February to 4.1 million, representing more than 40 percent of the total number of unemployed. Still, despite the lingering apprehension about the condition of the economy, recent data has fueled renewed hope in the staying power of the rebound. MADRID - The Spanish government, trade unions, and employers' associations have agreed to a labor law that grants food delivery workers employed by global digital platforms such as Deliveroo or UberEats the status of "permanent staff" instead of self-employed. The announcement was made on Thursday by the labor ministry. These workers "are now staff and can benefit from all the protections" deriving from this status, Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz said, underscoring that Spain was the first EU country to draw up a law on the matter. El Pais reported that the law consists of a single page with only one article on it. Five months were needed to reach an agreement on it. The first section obliges companies to provide information to business committees on algorithms and artificial intelligence systems that will influence working conditions. The second states that workers will receive salaries as staff and not as self-employed individuals. The first section was not expected to be included at the beginning of the talks: that of the obligation for companies to inform workers representatives of the parameters on which algorithms or artificial intelligence systems are based, used ever more to assess work, assign tasks, or even decide whether or not to hire someone. The new law will have a three-month transition period for its application, giving companies the time to adapt to the new situation. Nikkei Asia Taiwanese Apple supplier Foxconn will start to assemble the iPhone 12 in India, marking the first time the flagship device has been made outside of China. Apple's new 5G-enabled iPhone will be produced at a factory in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu that already makes older models. An estimated 7% to 10% of Chinese production will be relocated to India, which competes with such destinations as Vietnam for job-creating investment from manufacturers spreading their capacity beyond China. Foxconn declined to comment on the move Wednesday through a spokesperson. Nikkei Asia reported in January that Apple was looking at India and Vietnam as alternative production bases. Apple contracts all iPhone manufacturing to three Taiwanese companies: Foxconn, which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry; Pegatron and Wistron. They make about 200 million units a year, with Foxconn accounting for roughly 60% of the total. Most of the production takes place in China, but Foxconn looks to cut its exposure to the nation's rising labor costs and the impact of Sino-U.S. tensions. The company has been negotiating with Apple to shift capacity out of China. India has become a prime destination for relocation. As U.S.-China tensions rose last year, the Indian government quickly rolled out incentives for multinationals looking to transfer capacity away from China. Major smartphone manufacturers will receive annual subsidies equal to 4% to 6% of added sales for the next five years. Pegatron decided last year to expand to India, while Wistron has similar plans. Indian iPhone production is trending upward as a result. A similar pattern can be seen in Vietnam. Starting this year, Foxconn will make iPads outside of China for the first time in the Southeast Asian nation. Vietnam also will host MacBook production. Pegatron expanded to Vietnam in March 2020. Nikkei Asia reported Wednesday that Apple has told its suppliers in China and Taiwan that it is cutting orders for all iPhones for the first half of 2021 by around 20% compared to its plans in December, with the majority coming from the iPhone 12 mini, its cheapest 5G-enabled phone. An analyst told Nikkei that the iPhone 12 mini's small battery was one reason customers are staying away from the phone. 5G phones, like the iPhone 12, generally consume more power. This story was first published by Nikkei Asia Contact editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com) Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go. Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database. Beth Feldman has been promoted to director of campaign and affinity groups at Jewish Federation of St. Louis. In this new role, Feldman, who has been with Federation for three years, will oversee all fundraising for the Annual Campaign as well as manage the staff of Womens Philanthropy, Professional Society and Young Professionals affinity groups and the corporate partnership program. She attends United Hebrew Congregation. Stacey Newman will receive an honorary degree from Eden Seminary at its commencement ceremony in May. Newman, a former Missouri state legislator, is the executive director of ProgressWomen, a statewide social justice group focused on justice and equality issues. She attends Central Reform Congregation. Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose of Congregation Bnai Amoona will receive an honorary doctoral degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). This prestigious honor is awarded to only a select group of rabbis to recognize their important achievements and thank them for their leadership. Rose will receive his degree during the JTS virtual convocation ceremony June 6. ADVERTISEMENT The Family Business Consulting Group has welcomed Richard J. Wolkowitz as its new vice president, serving as a primary resource for the family enterprise community and the advisers who serve them. Wolkowitz brings deep experience to his role, overseeing the firms external growth, operations and key relationships. Alan Taxman, wealth management adviser with Merrill Lynch in Clayton, has been named a Forbes magazine Best-in-State Wealth Advisor for 2021. The list includes about 30 wealth advisers in Missouri. Taxman is a member of Bnai Amoona. Hilary Gan has joined the Jewish Community Center as director of literary arts. Gan will be the driving force behind the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival and Used Book Sale. She and her husband and daughter moved to St. Louis from Los Angeles in 2018 to enjoy the numerous free cultural attractions and improve their access to T-Ravs. She is originally from Olean, N.Y. Land Litwack & Associates have received the 2020 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chairmans Circle Diamond Award. Matthew Litwack and his team, including Karen Polishuk, are the top agents in the Clayton office of BHHS Alliance and rank in top half of the top 1% of the entire Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network. Litwack attends Temple Israel. Polishuk attends Bnai Amoona. Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis, has been elected chair of the cabinet of Interfaith Partnership of St. Louis, an organization that is dedicated to promoting better interfaith relations, diversity and social justice. She attends Bais Abraham Congregation. Liessa Alperin, director of innovative learning and engagement at Congregation Bnai Amoona, has been selected a Professional UpStart National Changemaker. UpStarts change accelerator program equips intrapreneurs the bold leaders making meaningful change within our communitys Jewish institutions. Dr. Ryan C. Fields is the inaugural recipient of Washington University School of Medicines Kim and Tim Eberlein Distinguished Professorship, which was established by Paul and Elke Koch, longtime benefactors of WU. Fields, who attends Temple Israel, is chief of the section of surgical oncology in the department of surgery. His career is focused on surgical oncology patient care, teaching and research. The Congregation Bnai Amoona Mens Club has announced its award winners for Man of the Year, Youth of the Year and Medallion Awards. They will be honored at a Mens Club Shabbat virtual event March 20. Mark Givarz was awarded Man of the Year. He joined the temples mens club and became its president in 2007. He remains a very active member, participating and leading many club events, advising the club leadership and being an advocate for the club in the Bnai Amoona community. Mark is also an active floor gabbai for Shabbat and High Holidays services. Leetal Cohn, a senior at Ladue Horton Watkins High School, was named Youth of the Year. She is serving her second year as captain of the Ladue Sparkle Effect, a cheer and dance team for students with and without disabilities, and has been a captain of a Special Olympics team at her school. She is an alumnae of Cultural Leadership Class 14 and is a group leader in the JCRCs Student to Student, an organization in which Jewish students teach other high schoolers about Judaism. Madeleine Ryan, a senior at Parkway North High School, and Charlie Rosenzweig, a senior at Parkway Central High School, are recipients of the Medallion Award. Ryan is captain of both the Girls Cross Country and State Champion track teams. She is also secretary and treasurer of the National Honors Society and a peer teacher in the Safe and Drug Free Program. She also is part of the Student to Student program. Rosenzweig is also involved in National Honor Society, serving as chapter treasurer, FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), where he has competed at the regional, state and national FBLA competitions, and was a member of Cultural Leadership Class 15. Newsmakers is a compilation of local Jews newsworthy professional and academic accomplishments. Submit your news to [email protected] Call 314-743-3669 for more information. Published the first print edition of each month. This story is part of "Living Hell," a new investigation by the Houston Chronicle. Read it here. The sewage problem at Sandpiper Cove seemed as if it would never go away. Every few months, tenants complained: Sewage bubbled out of pipes in the complex, leaving a smell and a trail of toilet paper. Like so many properties of its kind, the privately owned complex where rent is federally subsidized is a half-century old and has frustrated local lawmakers and its tenants for decades. So when The Millennia Companies took over Sandpiper Cove Apartments in Galveston in 2015, executives told City Council they would make upgrades and overhauls including a fix of the sewage problem. Five years later, the property is still rife with safety and health hazards. Millennia is putting it up for sale and getting out of town. Tenants still complain about sewage. The Texas company set to take over created its own presentation of upgrades. Among them: fixing the sewers. Millennia, based in Cleveland, Ohio, owns and manages affordable properties as well as luxury developments. Tenants in the affordable properties around the country have complained about sewage backups, air quality problems, mold, pest infestations and fire safety, allegations often backed up by inspectors. The problems have persisted for years, enabled by breakdowns at the federal, state and local levels of government, a Houston Chronicle investigation found. Now Playing: Video: Houston Chronicle Millennia is one of the biggest contractors of its kind with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The company has more than 250 properties in the U.S., and its failures reveal the crisis in affordable housing that is deepening as the pandemic-fueled economic struggles of many middle- and low-income families means more pressure than ever on the countrys limited housing stock. Through its project-based Section 8 properties alone those such as Sandpiper Cove, privately owned with HUD subsidizing tenants rent the company takes in at least $137 million a year in HUD contracts for rent subsidies, a Chronicle analysis shows. It has continued to win new contracts with HUD despite problems at its properties and repeated failures to fulfill the terms of agreements with the federal government. The Chronicle conducted a 12-month investigation of Millennia and HUD, interviewing tenants and advocates and reviewing tens of thousands of pages of HUD, state, county and local inspections, internal emails, and court records. Among the findings: Inspectors have found potentially dangerous health violations such as mold, expired fire extinguishers and inoperable smoke detectors. Public school staffers have contacted local officials with concerns about pests and a lack of hot water in childrens apartments. Tenants say they ask for repairs that do not materialize. One night I was laying in the bed and a rat was on the covers, Tashanequea Culpepper, a tenant in a Millennia property in Opa-locka, Florida said. She complained, and said the problem was not fixed. A federal audit of a Kansas City property found Millennia owed HUD tens of thousands of dollars and had processed paperwork for a dead tenant. (Millennia disputed HUDs auditing methods and the amount of subsidy owed back.) A federal audit of a Kansas City property found Millennia owed HUD tens of thousands of dollars and had processed paperwork for a dead tenant. (Millennia disputed HUDs auditing methods and the amount of subsidy owed back.) A former Millennia employee in Florida gave a sworn statement alleging her manager persuaded a tenant to testify for Millennia in exchange for favors such as job interview prep, babysitting and clothes. A former Millennia employee in Florida gave a sworn statement alleging her manager persuaded a tenant to testify for Millennia in exchange for favors such as job interview prep, babysitting and clothes. A former employee in Kansas City alleged the company ignored work orders for issues such as mold. A former employee in Kansas City alleged the company ignored work orders for issues such as mold. Contractors allege the company does not pay on time, if at all. A contractor in Galveston said the company did not pay him for so long that he almost lost his home. Small contractors have filed lawsuits or turned to housing officials for help. Contractors allege the company does not pay on time, if at all. A contractor in Galveston said the company did not pay him for so long that he almost lost his home. Small contractors have filed lawsuits or turned to housing officials for help. A fractured system of housing enforcement leaves tenants without recourse and allows each level of government to blame others. Agencies even fail to communicate among themselves: As HUD audited a Millennia property and another HUD official complained of a shoddy rehab at that same property, a third HUD official told a congressional staffer that Millennia was fixing its problems. HUD has done a pretty terrible job of keeping track of the owners of many older project-based Section 8 apartment developments, said John Henneberger, co-director at low-income housing advocacy group Texas Housers. Its dysfunctional and disrespectful. HUD declined to make any officials available for interviews or to answer a list of 32 questions from the Chronicle. How we got the story In its yearlong investigation, the Houston Chronicle filed more than 2,000 records requests at the federal, state, county and local levels to get complaints, inspections and internal emails between officials. The Chronicle reviewed court records and interviewed tenants, local officials and housing experts from across the country. The scenes described were either witnessed by the reporter or written based on documentation of the events described and extensive interviews. The Millennia Companies owns and manages HUD-subsidized properties across the country under contracts worth millions. Decades-old complexes are plagued by insect infestations, mold, sewage issues and other problems. The Houston Chronicle investigation documents a system that fails tenants and taxpayers and stymies local officials. See More Collapse Along with its affordable properties, Millennia owns market-rate properties and has an in-house general contractor. The company consistently comes in at the top of the trade magazine Affordable Housing Finances biggest players: The magazine named Millennia its third-biggest affordable apartment owner in 2019, with 27,183 units in 246 buildings. The 2020 rankings have not yet been released. The companys CEO and founder, Frank Sinito, got his start in affordable housing in 1985 with one apartment complex in Lakewood, Ohio. By 1995, he had formed Millennia Housing Management and Millennia Housing Development; 11 years later, he formed American Preservation Builders, the Millennia-owned contractor the company has used on its rehab projects. In a letter from Sinito sent by Millennia after Chronicle inquiries, he wrote: Millennia is committed to preserving affordable housing, despite the challenges that are associated with purchasing deeply distressed and declining apartment developments. We believe the preservation of this housing stock is critical so that individuals of all income levels have an affordable and quality place to live; as a demonstration of that commitment, we have included examples of successful transformations and updates on the apartment developments such as Englewood Apartments. Additionally, to the extent to which there are areas for us to improve, we have done so and are committed to do so going forward. He added that the company could not comment on lawsuits or personnel matters. More from Sarah Smith Investigations Living Hell: As HUD pays private company millions,... SEE MILLENNIA'S RESPONSE TO THE CHRONICLE INVESTIGATION Better living quarters for their hogs By the time Dan Fowler finished his first walk-through of a Millennia complex called Englewood in Kansas City, Mo., he was livid. The city councilman had stepped in human feces in a vacant unit and had to pull up the hood of his windbreaker to avoid cockroaches falling down his back. He went into an occupied unit with carpet so wet it squished and what looked like black mold around the A/C unit. He saw a family living in a top-floor unit with a collapsed ceiling. When he got back to his office after his first tour of Englewood in the summer of 2018, he fired off an email to Kansas City colleagues, including the city attorney, code officials and health department leaders: Most farmers have better living quarters for their hogs. To let people live in those conditions its less than human, Fowler said in an interview. In the presentations Millennia has used to persuade cities to endorse its tax credits, the company shows pictures of successes. In the PowerPoint for Galveston City Council in 2016, it showed a complex in Indiana, now with new bathrooms and gleaming windows, and a DeSoto, Mo., complex with neatly painted window trim. It was exactly what everyone wanted for Sandpiper Cove. Sinito wrote to the Chronicle that the company has implemented rehabilitation at 103 complexes around the country. Despite the example properties, hundreds of inspections over five years found problems ranging from property conditions pests, fire hazards, mold and more to allegations of fraud. Among them: broken smoke detectors and loose rails in Cleveland, mold in Florida, 71 fire violations in Durham, N.C., 196 open work orders and broken smoke detectors in Arkansas. Allegations levied against the company extend beyond tenant living conditions: Vendors across the country allege that they have problems getting paid, and many have sued for their money. In Galveston, a contractor alleged in August 2019 he wasnt paid for his work on the Sandpiper Cove apartments and the loss made him nearly homeless (he was paid, eventually, after a Chronicle story). A contractor in Missouri emailed a state housing agency, alleging that American Preservation Builders, Millennias contracting arm, owed $25,832. Former employees have come forward alleging more mismanagement. A then-employee at Stonybrook in Riviera Beach, Fla., said in a January 2020 sworn statement that her boss had given favors such as job interview help and babysitting to the former vice president of the tenants union in exchange for pro-Millennia statements. In her sworn statement, the employee, who was working for the company at the time, alleged the property manager put tenants in units that had mold and retaliated against tenants who asked for costly repairs by going into their units and finding a way to give them a lease violation over something such as housekeeping. She alleged that the company still charged HUD for tenants who had moved out and was closing out work orders without doing them so our reports look good. When inspecting the units, she said, I was told that when we see missing smoke detectors, just to write it on a notepad and not write it on the inspection sheets and also not to create a work order so it doesnt show that were not providing smoke detectors. Similar accusations surfaced in Kansas City. Just after Kansas City inspectors found dangerous living conditions at the Englewood complex, an employee reached out to the local Fox TV affiliate and showed them a lease allegedly signed by a tenant who had died; the signature on a lease the tenant had signed while she was alive did not match the one after her death. The accusation sparked an audit by the HUD Office of Inspector General. HUD officials looked through two years of Millennias books, a period in which Englewood collected $2.2 million in tenant subsidies. They found that, over the two years, the company collected at least $401,295 in housing payments that were either erroneous or likely erroneous. The audit criticized Millennia for failing to inspect units, not asking tenants for proof of income and a high turnover in property managers. Millennia contested the findings. In his reply to the Chronicle, Sinito said most of the Englewood rehab work to improve properties was done in late 2020 and that the company had adjusted some of its practices. While owning Englewood, Millennia has instituted greater oversight to ensure the regular inspection of vacant units, hired a new property management and maintenance team, and underwent monitoring and assessments by local building inspectors, Kansas City agencies and HUD to ensure that the construction work complies with all codes and industry standards, he wrote. A Kansas City HUD official emailed colleagues about the audit in July 2020. He pointed out a recommendation for HUD to take appropriate administrative actions, up to and including debarment. If debarred, Millennia would no longer be able to do business with HUD. Nothing has happened. Trapped in the system After his first inspection of Englewood, it crossed Dan Fowlers mind that the city could revoke Millennias landlord license. If it did that, Millennia would no longer have been able to operate in Kansas City. But that wasnt a fix, he thought. It would put the tenants on the streets. We have a severe shortage of affordable housing, Fowler said. So we dont want to displace anybody. But you cant have them living in that kind of condition. In Texas, where Galveston officials also have cited the lack of affordable housing options in the city, the tenants of Sandpiper Cove are hoping for a different option. Lone Star Legal Aid sued HUD on June 30, 2020, over conditions at Sandpiper Cove. The complaint alleged leaking roofs, mold, doors without locks and constant sewage backups, and said that HUD failed to force Millennia to make repairs. Lone Star Legal is asking for tenants to receive vouchers that would let them live elsewhere on the island. The physical conditions have simply gotten worse, said Texas Housers John Henneberger. Many of these properties were built in really bad locations to begin with. They were built in a time when HUD had very little to no direction offered, in some cases no direction to owners as to where to put properties. They werent built to good standards. But HUD has challenges of its own as it administers growing programs with shrinking budgets. The project-based Section 8 program began in 1974 with the Housing and Community Development Act and now serves 1.2 million low-income households. Much of the housing stock was built five decades ago and is now long outlasting its intended lifespan and is in need of costly repairs. HUDs budget cannot keep up. In 2000, HUD decided to outsource some of its inspections to contractors in each region, including both public agencies and private companies. The agency had to consolidate in 2013 because of budget problems, hoping the changes would save about $40 million to $45 million annually: The employees of the multifamily division, which oversees the project-based Section 8 properties, were consolidated from 50 offices around the country to 10 offices reporting to five hubs. HUDs staffing levels fell more than 49 percent from 1991 to 2018, according to a 2018 HUD Office of Inspector General report. Tenants who live in HUD-subsidized apartments are there because they have nowhere else to go. At project-based Section 8 properties such as Sandpiper Cove, HUD enters into a contract with the private owner and subsidizes tenant rent. Tenants pay a minimum of $25 or up to 30 percent of their income. The subsidy is tied to the complex itself. The tenants cannot take the subsidy with them if they want to leave. When Tina Harris, a resident of Sandpiper Cove, went to Galveston City Council in December 2019 to tell council members about the conditions at the apartments, she tried to explain that she had no real choices. I cant afford to go out here on my own, she said. If I do, Im gonna end up on the streets with my daughter. She left the meeting feeling like shed gotten nowhere. No enforcement power Tenants all over the country run into the same problem Harris did in Galveston. They complain to their government only to be told the complaint is another agencys problem. In February 2019, Millennia tenants in two different states complained about the same problem: sewage. They got vastly different results. The city of Kent, Ohio, cited the Villages at Franklin Crossing, a 129-unit building, for backups on the first of the month. Six days later and 900 miles south, a Jacksonville, Fla., code officer wrote this on an intake about a sewage complaint from the 200-unit Calloway Cove: We do not have jurisdiction. The question of which levels of government have enforcement power over HUD properties is answered differently everywhere, creating a system in which agencies can point fingers at each other instead of fixing a problem. HUD will say up here, you just have a minimum housing standard, said Ladi March, a former code official for Riviera Beach, Fla. And it is the bare minimum. With the impression that the state is going to implement and write building code. And then that the city is going to enforce that code and even put more things in place to protect its community. She had red-tagged dozens of units at a Millennia complex in the city and eventually was ousted over unrelated disputes about permits she issued. (The city contends she did not pass the required tests for licensing and issued improper permits to other developers; she contends the city fired her in retaliation for regulating developers and has filed a wrongful termination suit.) Millennia at the time said it was just the manager in the process of taking ownership and could not do anything; some city officials, March included, said that managers were responsible for basic habitability. In December 2014, as Millennia prepared to purchase Sandpiper Cove, Galveston City Council discussed the incoming change of ownership. Then-City Councilman Norman Pappous complained: We have no enforcement power here; we just dont. When tenants went to council five years later about living conditions to complain about mold, air quality and sewage backups, council members stuck to the same answer: They could not do anything. The most the city officials believed they could do was tell Millennia they would not support its tax credits going forward. Low Income Housing Tax Credits, administered by states, subsidize acquisition and development on affordable housing. Part of the competitive process for getting them is a local endorsement. One council member, Jason Hardcastle, wrote the city manager, asking to set a meeting with HUD during HUDs planned inspection, noting, Im tired of the city shouldering most of the blame. He was angry that HUD escaped the blame for the situation, he told the Chronicle. In Kansas City, Mo., officials faced a similar dilemma in 2018 when they inspected Englewood: Nothing in their newly passed inspection ordinance allowed the city to force a HUD property into compliance. So they rewrote it, with HUDs approval, to give the city jurisdiction. Dan Fowler gives Millennia credit: From the outside, at least, Englewood looks significantly better after a rehab effort, yet behind the scenes, HUD officials chastised Millennia in emails for the continual delays to the rehab and workmanship issues, including reusing old and damaged material. But another Millennia-owned property in Kansas City, Gabriel Tower, is now the subject of news stories and city meetings after tenants allege similar conditions to Englewood: broken air conditioners, unremediated mold and tense relationships with management. When a city board debated what to do with the building, one council member, Andrea Bough, said she was sick of having to be a babysitter to the company and wondered why it had taken public outcry for Millennia to announce fixes. Sinito did not respond directly to questions about Gabriel Tower but said the company would consider how fast it could rehab a property as it decided which complexes to purchase. He added: When purchasing apartment developments that are distressed and in need of rehabilitation, it can take time to improve operational performance and physical conditions, especially as it relates to physical inspections that occur prior to the start of construction. But Fowler and other Kansas City officials want change, faster. HUD needs to look at its regulations and start enforcing them, Fowler said. Why in the flying hell did it get in that place, that condition in the first place? Jordan Rubio contributed to this report. Maungdaw (Myanmar): At least 89 people including a dozen security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmars authorities said on Friday, triggering a fresh exodus of refugees towards Bangladesh. The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled and perceived as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 77 militants the highest declared single day toll since fighting broke out last year. Fridays fighting exploded around Rathedaung Township which has seen a heavy build-up of Myanmar troops in recent weeks, with reports filtering out of killings by shadowy groups, army-blockaded villages, and abuses. Some 20 police posts came under attack in the early hours of Friday by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmars military said. The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist Bengali terrorists, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Facebook, using the states description for Rohingya militants. One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night. We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house, the resident said by phone, asking not to be named. Footage obtained by AFP showed smoke rising from Zedipyin village in Rathedaung township where fighting was ongoing Friday. Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence. But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh. A Twitter account (@ARSA_Official) which purports to represent the group confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmars military in the area and accused the soldiers of carrying out atrocities in recent weeks. Myanmar says the group is headed by Rohingya jihadists who have trained abroad but it is unclear how large the network is. Suu Kyis office posted pictures of weapons that had been taken from militants, mainly home-made bombs and rudimentary knives and clubs. Fridays violence pushed new waves of Rohingya to flee towards Bangladesh. But border guards there said they would not be allowed to cross. More than a thousand of Rohingya women along with children and cattle have gathered near the land border between Myanmar and Bangladesh since this morning, Manjurul Hasan Khan, commander of Ukhiya towns border guards, told AFP. The flare-up came just hours after former UN chief Kofi Annan released a milestone report detailing conditions inside Rakhine and offering ways to heal the festering sectarian tensions there. Commissioned by Myanmars own government, it urged the scrapping of restrictions of movement and citizenship imposed on the roughly one million-strong Rohingya community in Rakhine. In a statement, Annan said he was gravely concerned by the latest outbreak of fighting. The alleged scale and gravity of these attacks mark a worrying escalation of violence, he said. The UNs top official in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, called on all sides to refrain from violence, protect civilians (and) restore law and order. The wedge of Rakhine closest to Bangladesh has been in lockdown since October 2016. Deadly attacks by the militants on border police sparked a military response that left scores dead and forced some 87,000 people to flee to Bangladesh. The UN believes the military crackdown may have amounted to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. But the army and Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government vehemently deny allegations of widespread abuses, including rapes and murders. They have so far refused to grant visas to UN investigators tasked with probing the allegations. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations. Kern County business developers have seen a surge of interest lately from companies looking to build waste-to-energy projects that could creat Months after Alibaba founder Jack Ma's crackdown, China on Friday declared plans to increase the overseeing of the nation's huge financial technology (fintech) sector and bolster its anti-monopoly drive. Beijing has in the past few months looked to rein in its booming fintech companies to address a concerning debt mountain in the country. They also deflated the ambitions of high-flying business leaders considered to have stepped out of line with the Communist Party. Jack Ma's Crackdown Effects In nearly 40 years, China has significantly opened up its economy and became one of the globe's primary growth engines. President Xi Jinping is now implementing pioneering plans to advance ahead of rivals by turning his nation into a digital powerhouse. However, Xi's drive advancing toward tech dominance is being threatened by an unprecedented speed bump: China's imposed crackdown on Jack Ma's business empire. The sudden fall from the success of the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder has cast concern over parts of China's technology sector, said local entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. This is notwithstanding Xi preparing to pour trillions of dollars into making China self-sufficient from semiconductors to software, reported NDTV. Beijing recently looked to rein in its bolstering financial technology companies to address a concerning debt mountain in the country. This is simultaneous with deflating the ambitions of high-flying business leaders regarded to have stepped out of line with the Communist Party. Policymakers are becoming increasingly worried regarding its $53 trillion financial industry and have clamped down on some areas, including property loans and peer-to-peer lending, reported ABS-CBN News. A draft plan on Friday for development from 2021 to 2025 indicated China would "steadily develop fintech." This is while advancing in areas including risk evaluation for applications of tech and financial innovation. Officials would also navigate into building a "correction and suspension mechanism" for inventive products. Also Read: Jack Ma, Alibaba Founder, Not Missing But Lying Low After Economic Reform Speech According to one startup founder in Ma's home province of Zhejiang, he no longer anticipates Alibaba-size success, worrying the risk of unwanted government attention. Another remarked he had stopped speaking in public and is looking to focus on expanding his robotics business abroad. Officials are also looking to navigate building a "correction and suspension mechanism" for innovative products. According to Premier Li Keqiang addressing the National People's Congress, increased supervision on fintech and financial holding firms was targeted at ensuring financial innovation is conducted under "prudent regulation." According to Li, "We will improve the mechanism for managing financial risks... and ensure that no systemic risks arise. Financial institutions must uphold their duty of serving the real economy," reported The Manila Times. A venture capitalist who has supported dozens of startups stated the Ma saga would make entrepreneurs less forceful. This is particularly those who compete against state-owned companies. They requested anonymity to voice out freely regarding a politically sensitive subject. A round of measures has been introduced in the past few months to curb the power of China's fintech giants. This involves tougher checks on payments and credit scoring while imposing new rules on online microlending. The largest casualty of Beijing's crackdown is Alibaba's fintech arm Ant Group. It had a record-breaking $35 billion Hong Kong-Shanghai initial public offering pulled from under it at the end of November. Related Article: Jack Ma of Alibaba Suspectedly Missing For Two Months @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New Delhi: Linking of PAN with biometric identifier Aadhaar will continue as previously directed and so will quoting of the 12-digit ID number for availing various government subsidies, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Thursday. The Supreme Court verdict holding privacy as a fundamental right has in no way stopped quoting of Aadhaar for various schemes as well as filing of income tax returns, Pandey said. The Aadhaar Actwhich entails its quoting for services ranging from getting subsidised cooking gas to opening bank account and obtaining a new phone numberhad been drafted keeping in mind privacy as a fundamental right, he said. We are very confident the Act will pass the test of privacy being a fundamental right, Pandey told PTI. Supreme Court judgement has not said anything about the Aadhaar Act so the Aadhaar Act is a valid Act passed by the Parliament (and) is the law of the land, he said. Section 7 of the act prescribes that for getting certain subsidy or benefit the government can insist on an Aadhaar number. That position holds today, he added. Read | Supreme Court's nine-judge bench upholds Right To Privacy as fundamental right Asked if anyone can refuse to give their details in the backdrop of todays order, he said, As of today, no. Because Aadhaar Act is a valid Act and this judgement has not commented anything on Aadhaar Act. Pandey said Aadhaar enrolment will continue unhindered. On the linking of Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) alloted to income tax payers, he said such a linkage has been mandated by an amendment to the Income Tax Act. The linking will continue under that Act and law. There is no change in that, he said. Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act entails requirement of the 12-digit unique number for availing government benefits or services and that continues, he said adding the deadlines prescribed for such linkages would continue to be valid as well. Those deadlines have been prescribed in pursuance of provisions in Aadhaar Act or Income Tax Act or money laundering rules. Since those laws are valid therefore those deadlines will also have to be adhered to, he said. The UIDAI CEO added that Aadhaar Act protects privacy of people as a fundamental right and its provisions provide for safeguarding of personal data and how such data can be used. The data will not be shared without the consent of the person. So there are number of privacy protection provisions inbuilt into the Aadhaar Act itself, he said. He noted that core biometric can never be shared with anyone for any reason whatsoever, except in particular circumstances which too has to be cleared by a committee headed by cabinet secretary. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Some of New Zealands best musical talent will be coming to KatiKati next weekend to perform works by American, English, French and Russian composers. The Auckland Youth Orchestra, made up of 75 players aged 16-26, will play at the KatiKati War Memorial Hall on Sunday, March 21, at 2pm, featuring Soloist Jim Wu. Treasurer of the orchestra Helen Lewis says the orchestra of outstanding young musicians. The programme is full of famous works which we believe will be enjoyable for many. They will perform Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland, The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Wiliams, Ravels Pavane for a Dead Princess and Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky, which according to the orchestra, is one of the most brilliant showpieces in the orchestral repertoire. Jim holds a LTCL from the Trinity College in London and has played with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra, as well as performed in festivals in Europe. The orchestra is led by Antun Poljanich who, following post-graduate musical studies in Austria, won a scholarship which took him to Leningrad for a three-year Master Course in Conducting at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. He has since worked with several prominent orchestras in Russia and Europe including the Leningrad State Symphony Orchestra, the Veneto Philharmonia, the Slovene and Croatian National Orchestras. Tickets are $20 for adults and seniors, or $10 for students and children. Tickets are available at the door or via eventfinda. COVID-19 testing information for west-central Illinois counties: Morgan County Jacksonville Days and times: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Location: Drive-through testing site located at Dunlap Court and Morgan Street. Details: No appointment necessary. Photo ID and insurance card requested but not required. Brown County Mount Sterling Days and times: By appointment. Location: Brown County Health Department, 120 E. Main St. 217-773-2714 Details: Testing eligibility determined by telephone screening. Cass County Beardstown Days and times: Monday-Friday 9-11:20 a.m. Location: Cass County Health Department, 8590 St. Lukes Drive. 217-323-2182 Virginia Days and times: Monday-Friday 1-3 p.m. Location: Cass County Health Department, 331 S. Main St. 217-452-3057 Details: Testing by appointment only and is limited to those who live or work in Cass County. Schedules subject to change. Greene County Carrollton Days and times: By appointment. Open seven days a week. Location: Boyd Rural Health Clinic, 800 School St. 217-942-3600 Details: Testing performed if medically indicated, pre-op with doctors order, or return to work. Must call and leave message with name and callback number. Jersey County Jerseyville Days and times: By appointment. Location: Jerseyville Community Hospital Walk-in Clinic, 903 S. State St. 618-498-2273 Details: Testing performed if medically indicated. Macoupin County Gillespie Days and times: By appointment. Location: Maple Street Clinic, 109 E. Maple St. 217-313-5078 Details: Drive-through free testing. Register by phone or online at mcphd.net. Pike County Pittsfield Days and times: By appointment. Location: Quincy Medical Group, 320 N. Madison St. 217-277-4001 Details: Testing performed if medically indicated. . Days and times: Monday-Saturday 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Location: Illini Express Clinic, 101 E. Washington St. 217-277-3504 Details: Testing performed if medically indicated. Register upon arrival. Scott County Winchester: Days and times: Mondays and Fridays 9-11 a.m. Location: Scott County Health Department, 335 W. Cherry St. Details: Schedule subject to change. See Facebook page for updates. NEW YORK Restaurants devastated by the coronavirus outbreak are getting a lifeline from the pandemic relief package thats awaiting President Joe Biden's signature. The bill that gained final congressional approval Wednesday adds money to the Paycheck Protection Program and provides indirect help to small businesses in general through stimulus payments and unemployment benefits. But restaurants got the biggest share of direct help: $28.6 billion in grants for restaurants whose revenue fell in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. The bill calls for grants equal to the amount of restaurants' revenue losses, up to a maximum of $10 million per company and $5 million per location. Eligible companies cannot own more than 20 locations, and they cant be publicly traded. The bill sets aside $5 billion for the smallest restaurants, those whose annual revenue is $500,000 or less. +4 Most Louisiana adults can get a coronavirus vaccine, but who can't? Some essential workers When Louisiana expanded vaccine eligibility earlier this week to anyone over 16 with a long list of medical conditions, the state shifted over Industry groups welcomed the grants. The National Restaurant Association, an industry organization, noted that the Senate added $3.6 billion to the $25 billion allocated in the original House bill. While the $28.6 billion in the bill was only about a tenth of the amount of money the industry has lost during the pandemic, the restaurant group sees it as a win. Its going to keep doors open. The smallest and hardest hit are going to get the help theyve needed the most, said Sean Kennedy, an executive vice president at the group. Restaurants were decimated by the pandemic that led to government-ordered shutdowns and that is still keeping many diners away. As of Dec. 1, over 110,000 U.S. restaurants were closed either temporarily or permanently, according to the National Restaurant Association. Thats 17% of the number of restaurants in business before the pandemic. In January, industrywide revenue was down more than 16% from a year earlier, the group said. Small business advocates were pleased with the overall bill, and said the $1,400 stimulus payments to individuals and families as well as continued unemployment benefits will give consumers more money they can spend at small businesses. Anytime youre putting money in the hands of consumers, regardless of how it gets there, it helps small businesses, said Keith Hall, president of the National Association for the Self-Employed, noting that Main Street businesses like hair salons will likely benefit. 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 Congress added more than $7 billion to the $800 billion allotted to the latest round of the PPP that began Jan. 11. The Small Business Administration has approved about $680 billion in loans so far during this round, and a total of $1.2 trillion since April. But small business advocates are concerned because the bill did not extend the program, which is scheduled to end March 31. Congress can still extend the PPP it previously passed extensions after two earlier rounds of funding ended but Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, called the bill a missed opportunity for improvements to small business pandemic relief. Kerrigan was also concerned because lawmakers didnt increase a $150,000 limit on SBA economic injury disaster loans that many companies sought during the virus outbreak. The bill also includes $100 million for SBA-sponsored Small Business Development Centers and other organizations that offer free advice and education to small businesses. It also contains $10 billion for the State Small Business Credit Initiative, a program aimed at helping states support lending to small companies. Why some parents could see up to $3,600 per child under new coronavirus relief bill For a decade, 38-year-old Nadia Miller has barely made ends meet working as a provider at Clara's Little Lambs Preschool Academy, a daycare on Kerrigan was optimistic that the bill would have a positive effect on the economy and in turn, small businesses. We do anticipate an overall lift that helps to fuel the momentum and confidence that is building on Main Street, she said. But she warned, rather than spend their stimulus payments, many individuals and families will use the money for savings or pay down debt. Therefore, small businesses must continue to compete fiercely for available consumer dollars, she said. By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG, AP Business Writer. While aggressively exploring for high-grade MSV opportunities, the company has continued to perform infill drilling on the Ban Phuc DSS orebody. The ongoing exploration at King Snake prospect continues to intersect MSV mineralisation ( ) ( ) (FRA:B9S) has received several batches of assay results, including from maiden drill holes, at King Snake prospect in Vietnam that confirm high-grade massive sulphide nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGE) mineralisation. King Snake, a massive sulphide vein (MSV) prospect, has strong and growing potential to add to the companys mining inventory and support restarting the existing 450,000 tonnes per annum concentrator at Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE Project in Vietnam's north. This MSV prospect is around 1.5 kilometres east of the processing facility at Ta Khoa and is one of a number of regional targets. High-grade results The first two drill holes at King Snake returned: 0.6 metres at 2.79% nickel, 3.81% copper, 0.10% cobalt and 4.85 g/t PGE from 193.05 metres; and 5.88 metres at 1.22% nickel, 0.49% copper, 0.04% cobalt and 4.67 g/t PGE from 131.74 metres, including 1.81 metres at 0.77%, 0.44%, 0.03% and 12.53 g/t from 131.74 metres and 1.18 metres at 3.72%, 0.84%, 0.12% and 2.41 g/t from 135.47 metres. "Some of highest tenor" results to date Managing director Scott Williamson said: The first results from King Snake represent some of highest tenor massive sulphide intersections that Blackstone has achieved to date. This new discovery remains open and we are dedicating resources to ensure that we test the full extent of mineralisation at King Snake and build a mining inventory to be included as part of ongoing studies. Additional assay results for the Ban Chang MSV prospect have also been received. Ban Chang is around 2.5 kilometres southeast of the processing facility and the Ban Phuc deposit adjacent to the Chim Van-Co Muong fault system. High-grade Ban Chang results The results will underpin Blackstones strategy to delineate a maiden resource in the first half of 2021 to supplement ongoing studies. Substantial intersections include: 1.92 metres at 1.03% nickel, 0.60% copper, 0.06% cobalt and 0.44 g/t PGE from 66.65 metres, including 0.91 metres at 1.99%, 0.92%, 0.12% and 0.84 g/t from 66.65 metres; 7.10 metres at 0.66% nickel, 0.45% copper, 0.06% cobalt and 0.18 g/t PGE from 56 metres, including 0.85 metres at 1.91%, 0.60%, 0.13% and 0.29 g/t from 58.45 metres; and 5.40 metres at 0.60% nickel, 0.47% copper, 0.05% cobalt and 0.20 g/t PGE from 89.20 metres, including 22.2 metres at 0.92%, 0.53%, 0.08% and 0.24 g/t from 91.38 metres. With resource estimation underway at Ban Chang, King Snake has become the companys highest priority MSV exploration target. Multiple drill rigs are currently on-site and will continue to test the extent of the mineralisation. Drilling at Ban Phuc is in its final stages and it is expected that the market will be provided with an updated mineral resource estimate late in the first halt of 2021. Washington, March 12 : US President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the $1.9-trillion Covid-19 relief bill into law, after weeks of partisan fighting in the Congress, marking the first legislative victory for Biden since he took office. The signing came one day after the House of Representatives approved the measure in a starkly partisan vote of 220-211. Last week, the evenly split Senate narrowly passed the bill by a vote of 50 to 49, Xinhua news agency reported. Meanwhile, a survey recently released by the Pew Research Center showed that there is broad public support for the relief package, with 70 per cent of Americans saying they favor the legislation. "The United States, in the Congress is more polarized than the American people," Jeffrey Sachs, economics professor at Columbia University and senior United Nations advisor, told Xinhua on Wednesday. "The American people have actually a broad consensus, let's get on with our lives. Let's have the control of the pandemic. Let's have an increased role of government, but the political divide between the Democrats and Republicans is very strong," Sachs said. The measure, the sixth coronavirus-related legislation since the outbreak more than a year ago, includes funding for COVID-19 vaccination and testing, extra unemployment benefits, direct payments to working Americans, support for small businesses, state and local governments, along with schools. Calling it a historic legislation with overwhelming support from Americans, Biden said at the White House Oval Office that the bill will help rebuild the "backbone of this country." "Quality entrepreneurs must be met with capital and services to build great companies." Today, Rev1 Ventures, the startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate, is launching Future Value Fund I (FVF), a new $10MM for-profit investment fund focused on building the Central Ohio startup ecosystem. The Fund is the company's most significant pre-seed fund to date and the largest pre-seed stage fund in Columbus history. The Ohio State University joins Rev1 to invest in the Fund, with the Ohio Third Frontier Pre-Seed/Seed Plus Fund Capitalization Program providing an $5 million loan to bring the total fund capitalization to $10 million. According to the National Venture Capital Association, startups in the U.S. raised nearly $157 billion in venture funding last year. However, pre-seed investment remains a gap, especially in the Midwest, where venture capital formation still lags coastal cities. The Future Value Fund is designed to provide pre-seed-stage companies with the resources to bridge this gap. The Fund enables companies to effectively and efficiently validate their product with key customers and markets, identify and recruit early key talent, and provide critical insights for entrepreneurs in building and then scaling their businesses. The Fund will invest in up to 15 companies in digital health, healthcare IT, HR technology, fintech, insurtech, data analytics, and enterprise Software-as-a-Service. The Fund will also invest in spinouts from The Ohio State University in Advanced Materials, Alternative Energy, Sensors and Hardware, and Ag and Food Tech. "Weve proven the tremendous opportunity to build and scale high-tech, high-growth startups in Central Ohio; however, the capital gap for entrepreneurs is real. Quality entrepreneurs must be met with capital and services to build great companies," said Tom Walker, CEO of Rev1 Ventures. "Our region knows what it takes to support early-stage companies. By collaborating with Ohio Third Frontier and Ohio State, FVF will allow us to broaden our resources to even more entrepreneurs and fuel Ohio's economy." The FVF will build upon Rev1's success in managing more than $100MM in capital, which has generated over $4B in capital creation since 2014. The FVF will leverage Rev1's industry-leading startup studio to efficiently source and nurture a growing volume of deal flow, thereby increasing the probability of success and optimizing the brightest startup companies' growth in the region. "Our collaborations with Rev1 have helped commercialize research-based breakthroughs from Ohio State, and we recognize that capital and support early on is critical," said Cheryl Turnbull, senior director for the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship at Ohio State. "We have committed capital to FVF because we recognize such funds are necessary to support the technologies and entrepreneurs that are propelling the startup ecosystem in Ohio." "As an early-stage company, Rev1 has been vital in helping us better understand the landscape in Ohio while accelerating our time to market," said Samuel Baddoo, founder and CEO of Fleri."Funding and expertise are more important now than ever before, so we are especially grateful that Rev1 is in our backyard." Last year, Rev1 funded 25 companies, making it one of the most active investors nationally. About Rev1 Ventures Rev1 Ventures is the startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate. Based in the Midwest, Rev1 aligns innovators and founders with corporate and research partners to access customers and markets, helping entrepreneurs build great companies. With a proven track record Rev1 is one of the more active investors in the nation. For more information, visit http://www.rev1ventures.com. About The Ohio State University The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 following the Land-Grant College Act of 1862. Today, Ohio State is among the largest and most respected public research universities in the nation, with more than 67,000 students on six campuses and 15 colleges. The universitys research expenditures in FY20 total $968.2M, and the university consistently ranks in the top five among all U.S. universities based on industry-sponsored research. More than 100 active startup companies have been spun out of university technologies. About Ohio Third Frontier Ohio Third Frontier is committed to transforming the state's economy through the accelerated growth of diverse startup and early stage technology companies. Businesses and entrepreneurs have access to a statewide network of resources through this nationally-recognized initiative. The network provides access to business expertise, mentorship, capital and talent to help turn great ideas into thriving companies and well-paying jobs. ADVERTISEMENT Ebonyi State Government has given N1 million each to families of four police officers who died in a road accident while returning from a peacekeeping mission in the state. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Aliyu Garba, who presented the money on Wednesday in Abakaliki to the families, hailed Governor David Umahi for the gesture. The police officers died on February 3, 2021 after their peacekeeping mission to Ezza-Effium communities in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state. The two communities have been in crisis due to the leadership tussle within the National Union of Road Transport Workers in the area. Mr Garba noted that the police officers were committed to their duties and had contributed immensely to the strengthening of security in the state and in Nigeria. Regrettably, our personnel were not defeated at the battle zone. Rather, their untimely departure is as a result of an unfortunate ghastly motor accident on February 3, 2021, while returning from Effium, the crisis area between Ezza and Effium. Today, I invite the families and relatives of the police personnel to formally commiserate and render them the generous gestures of the state governor, Chief David Umahi. On this note, on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, I formally present the cash donations to the families of the deceased, who are all present here, the police commissioner said. (NAN) Those looking to enjoy a summer holiday abroad this year should book a package trip with a test included to protect themselves from paying through the nose if pre-booked private test results get lost, Which? advised (Heathrow Airport last month, pictured). Millions of British families are facing crippling bills and risk being priced out of foreign summer holidays or reunions with loved ones due to exorbitant private testing costs. Tests are required to travel abroad under the 'traffic light' quarantine system - which sees countries categorised into red, amber and green lists (bottom right) based on travellers' risk of importing cases. And the list of countries on the green list - countries deemed the safest to visit - is set to grow before the end of June. Arrivals from green nations - such as Australia, New Zealand and Gibraltar - need to take a Covid test before flying into the UK and a second test on or before the second day after they land. Those arriving from amber countries need to quarantine at home for ten days and take a test on or before day two and on or after day eight - as well as prior to flying. The current private testing system is 'struggling' and will be 'carnage' when travel starts up again, consumer watchdog Which? said. The family of a soldier missing for seven months have asked the US Army to increase a reward for information to $50,000 as searches for him continue on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Private Richard Halliday, 21, was last seen on July 24, 2020 by soldiers at the Fort Bliss base in El Paso, Texas although his family have been told he was subsequently spotted in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez. Relatives of Halliday and volunteers started searching around Ciudad Juarez on Wednesday, as his parents called on the Army to double its $25,000 reward for information on his whereabouts. The family is also asking the government to grant immunity to anyone who comes forward with information about his whereabouts. Halliday hasn't been seen since July. In October the search for Halliday extended across the border into Juarez, Mexico where a missing person's report has been filed with the local attorney general's office Activists, volunteers and relatives of missing persons take part in a search for American soldier Richard Halliday, who according to his family went missing in El Paso, Texas, U.S., since July 2020 and they believe he crossed into Mexico, on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Wednesday A man digs as part of the search in the border town for Halliday The family said Halliday was 'begging for money' when he was seen in Ciudad Juarez. David Pena, a lawyer for the Action Group for Human Rights and Social Justice, said Halliday's family told officials in the state of Chihuahua that they had received information that he may be in Ciudad Juarez. Authorities said they did not have the resources to carry out any searches so on Wednesday about 40 people, armed with picks and shovels, began to search an area about 12 miles from the border. Halliday family representative Sammy Carrejo told laprensalatina.com there was information the soldier may have been attacked at a property in the area. Halliday's mother Patricia appeared in a social media video in October last year revealing she had learned her soldier son had allegedly been seen in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez 'looking pretty bad, even asking for money for food.' Speaking on a Facebook Live video on Wednesday, she said: 'Today is day 230 since Richard disappeared, vanished from the barracks right there at Fort Bliss.' Halliday disappeared after his family said he grew unhappy with the leadership in the Army and intended to leave. Before vanishing he had been in trouble for violating orders. But his parents only found out he had gone missing and was considered a deserter on August 28. Officials said they still lack answers in the disappearance of the Fort Bliss Army private, despite more than 500 man hours going into the search for him. They have carried out searches in the area around Fort Bliss, including sinkholes, water sewage systems, canals, homeless shelters and approximately 20 miles of trails in the Franklin Mountain State Park and Indian Peak Trail. An in-depth forensic search of his barracks room has found no indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances. Halliday's father Rob and mother Patricia (pictured)are asking the U.S. Army to double its $25,000 reward to help find out what has happened to their son Volunteers search for missing U.S. soldier Richard Halliday on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez onWednesday In October the search for Halliday first extended across the border into Juarez, Mexico, where a missing person's report had been filed with the local attorney general's office. KTSM-TV reported then that the Interpol and the U.S. Consulate in Mexico have joined in on the search for him. Halliday was adopted from Poland when he was five years old. Speaking to Dateline, Mrs Halliday explained how he was home-schooled and learned to speak German and Korean. He also played the piano and held a black belt in karate. The last confirmed sighting of Halliday was on Fort Bliss. Halliday is a white man, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and weighs 162 pounds Richard's mother Patricia Halliday pictured praying as she continues to raise awareness about her son's disappearance outside of Fort Bliss on Thursday October 8, 2020 Halliday's family have also asked the U.S. Government to grant immunity to anyone with information to solve the mystery of where the soldier, pictured with his mother, is He had a bright start in his military career, finishing as number one in basic training and winning three Army Achievement medals in less than 14 months, according to his father Rob. After the first 14 months, Patricia said that her son 'seemed different' and unhappy, but they encouraged him to finish. Halliday started to run into problems with the Army following his return from Qatar, which included driving under the influence of alcohol despite being under the legal drinking age of 21. The Hallidays were only made aware of their son's disappearance on day 36, or August 28 after they were informed by his commander in order that he had reportedly deserted the military. 'We were told our son was no longer there, that he was a deserter,' Patricia said. 'By then, it was day 36. So much time had passed. So much time wasted.' After he was missing his parents later learned that he had been disciplined for drunken driving. El Paso police arrested him on January 25 on a DWI charge. The parents of missing 21-year-old Fort Bliss Pvt. Richard Halliday (above) reveal the Army told them their son had disappeared 36 days after he was last seen On March 28 he was also disciplined for unintentionally crossing the border into Mexico. The couple say though there have been reported sightings of Richard, they have seen the tips and don't believe them to be true. The last actual confirmed sighting of Halliday was on Fort Bliss. A GoFundMe page set up by Pvt. Halliday's family in the wake of his disappearance has so far raised $16,360. 'Where is Richard? We need to look for him now. We need reward money to get more help,' the page reads. 'We need to create a crowd to attract attention, to create an echo to let Richard know we are here for him, he has a hope and a future. We need to travel and stay in El Paso. 'We need fliers and banners.' Darwin residents and tourism leaders are furious after initially being snubbed by the Morrison Government's discount airfare scheme. An estimated 800,000 government-subsidised tickets will be offered over the scheme's duration, which includes the Easter and winter school holidays, to encourage interstate travel amid the pandemic. Initially, the government listed Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region including Proserpine and Hamilton Island and the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Alice Springs and Uluru were included as part of the initial 13 routes, causing fury among Darwin tourism operators after their city was left off the list. Darwin (pictured) residents are furious after initially being snubbed by the Morrison Government's discount airfare scheme Alice Springs and Uluru were included as part of the initial 13 routes, causing fury among Darwin tourism operators after the city was left off the list Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan later on Thursday clarified that Darwin wasn't left off the list. 'When it comes to the Northern Territory, Darwin, Ayers Rock and Alice Springs will all be part of the incentive to get people travelling again,' he told local radio station Mix 104.9. 'There will be half price flights that will be available to go to Alice Springs, Ayers Rock and to Darwin.' But when the media contacted Mr Morrison's office to clarify the matter, it was revealed Darwin wasn't in fact included in the scheme. Even more confusion was piled on hours later when NT CLP Senator Dr Sam McMahon confirmed Darwin was now on the list of destinations. 'I spoke to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack last night and demanded Darwin be added to the list after it was initially not included in the 13 destinations eligible for half price tickets as part of the Covid-19 recovery plan,' Senator McMahon said. 'I insisted that Darwin be added to the list and he has confirmed to me today that it will be part of the package.' Despite Darwin now being included, Tourism Top End General Manager Glen Hingley said the city missed out on early publicity due to the confusion. 'This has been a terrible day... to hear it's on, it's off, it's on, it's off,' he said. 'My heart really goes out to all of our tourism operators who their wellbeing today has been unnecessarily played with. 'We're going to be working hard on behalf of our industry and working closely with Tourism NT and the folk at Austrade to be able to claw our position back.' Return flights to eligible locations will receive a 50 per cent discount between April 1 and July 31. The discount means a return ticket from Sydney to Cairns which currently costs $233 could be as little as $116.50. A return between Melbourne and the Gold Coast, which is now on sale from $130, could cost just $65. Despite Darwin now being included, Tourism Top End General Manager Glen Hingley said the city missed out on early publicity due to the confusion Even more confused was piled on hours later when NT CLP Senator Dr Sam McMahon confirmed Darwin was now on the list of destinations Return flights to eligible locations will receive a 50 per cent discount between April 1 and July 31 To get their half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. The discount only applies to inter-state travel, not intra-state flights - but these could later be added to the scheme which is expected to evolve to match demand. There will be no limit on the number of tickets available but the government expects an average of 46,000 people per week - a total of about 800,000 - will fly on the subsidised flights. ST. LOUIS, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Spirit of St. Louis will fly higher than ever once Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) arrives in the Gateway to the West. Today the carrier announced plans to add St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) to its route map with nonstop daily service to five cities in the Spirit of Lindberg's historic nonstop flight. The airline plans to start flying on Thursday, May 27, with flights to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX) and Pensacola (PNS). Images and videos can be found here. "Spirit Airlines comes to The Gateway to the West in a big way with non-stop service to five popular destinations," Spirit Airlines Vice President of Network Planning John Kirby said. "Our new St. Louis Guests will love Spirit's combination of friendly, reliable service and low fares, making it easy for them to plan a vacation or quick getaway." Flights from St. Louis (STL) Destination Flights Available: Launch Date: Fort Lauderdale (FLL) Daily May 27, 2021 Las Vegas (LAS) Daily May 27, 2021 Los Angeles (LAX) Daily May 27, 2021 Orlando (MCO) Daily May 27, 2021 Pensacola (PNS) Daily June 10, 2021 St. Louis is the seventh new city added to Spirit's network in the past year. The airline continues to seize growth opportunities as demand for air travel increases, having announced new service to Louisville, Milwaukee and Pensacola in the past two weeks. The airline continues to seize that kind of growth opportunity as demand for air travel increases. Last month, the carrier announced an accelerated delivery schedule for new Airbus aircraft joining Spirit's Fit Fleet, which is among the youngest in the industry. "Growing our airline partnerships and offering more destinations is a key part of STL's strategic plan and we could not be more proud to bring Spirit Airlines to our city," said Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, STL Director. "We look forward to these added flights and the opportunity they bring to our region." Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Orlando are three of Spirit's biggest cities, which means nonstop flights from STL come with easy connections to a variety of destinations. Fort Lauderdale is also Spirit's largest gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America. This year is off to a great start at Spirit Airlines. In January, the carrier launched its new Free Spirit loyalty program, which is the fastest way to earn rewards and status.* Spirit is also one of only three U.S. airlines listed on FORTUNE's 2021 list of World's Most Admired Companies, which measures companies with the strongest reputation within their industries. Spirit also earned "Platinum" status by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Health Safety initiative powered by SimpliFlying. Guest Safety Spirit's commitment to Safe Travels includes a multi-layered safety approach that requires all Guests and Team Members to wear face coverings. Each passenger agrees to that policy as part of a health and safety acknowledgement prior to boarding the aircraft. Every plane in our Fit Fleet uses state-of-the-art, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that capture 99.97% of particles and filter the air for contaminants every 3 minutes. Between each flight, enhanced cleaning procedures focus on high-touch areas such as tray tables and armrests. Spirit also uses two EPA-registered fogging treatments. The first applies a safe, high-grade disinfectant that's effective against coronaviruses. The second uses an antimicrobial product that forms an invisible barrier on all surfaces that kills bacteria and viruses on contact for 30 days. Please visit Spirit's COVID-19 Information Center for more information on safety enhancements. *Based on points earned on published fares (excluding sale fares) and optional services using the Free Spirit Credit Card (the "Card"), and includes status qualifying points earned by spending on Spirit and everyday purchases using the Card. About Spirit Airlines: Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to delivering the best value in the sky. We are the leader in providing customizable travel options starting with an unbundled fare. This allows our Guests to pay only for the options they choose like bags, seat assignments and refreshments something we call A La Smarte. We make it possible for our Guests to venture further and discover more than ever before. Our Fit Fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the U.S. We serve destinations throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, and are dedicated to giving back and improving those communities. Come save with us at spirit.com . About St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL): STL is the primary commercial airport for the St. Louis metro area and parts of eastern Missouri and southern Illinois serving nearly 15.9 million passengers annually. STL is an Enterprise Fund Department of the City of St. Louis. It is wholly supported by airport user charges. No general fund revenues are used for the operation, administration, promotion or maintenance of airport facilities. For more information on STL, log onto www.flystl.com. SOURCE Spirit Airlines, Inc. Related Links https://www.spirit.com Carphone Warehouse, which has 82 stores around the country, has been dealt a blow with the news that the countrys largest operator, Vodafone Ireland, is to stop selling its phones and plans in the chain. The move will kick in from April. Customers who bought their Vodafone phones or plans through Carphone Warehouse will continue to be supported, a spokesperson told Independent.ie. A Vodafone spokesperson said that the operator is concentrating on its own sales channels from now on. We continuously review our business models and processes, a Vodafone spokesperson told Independent.ie. We have taken a decision not to renew our commercial contract with Carphone Warehouse. The operator, he said, is focused on providing a simplified, omni-channel approach to sales and service through our online sales channels and through our network of Vodafone retail stores across the country. Its a significant setback for Carphone Warehouse, a sister company of Currys and which is owned by Dixons Carphone. The company trades on the strength of being a one stop shop for all of Irelands biggest operators. It means that it now has a minority of mobile operator brands on board, with Three, Eir, Virgin and Lyca. This comes at a time when new budget entrants such as GoMo, 48 and Clear Mobile are chipping away at largest brands, while other players such as Tesco Mobile have built up substantial market share in Ireland. Carphone Warehouse is still licking the wounds of a 20m loss on its own mobile operator, iD Mobile, launched in 2015. After struggling to gain customers, it folded in 2018. A spokesperson for Carphone Warehouse said that it remains committed to its mobile business in Ireland. Anyone who has a Vodafone contract through Carphone Warehouse can continue to have it serviced through the retailer for the duration of the contract. After a successful partnership spanning nearly two decades, our contract to sell Vodafone pre and post-pay in Carphone Warehouse Ireland will come to an end in April, the spokesperson told Independent.ie. Were committed to our mobile category and were underway with our strategy for mobile in Ireland as we move to a truly omnichannel approach, to provide our customers with the amazing tech they want, whenever and wherever they want it. Well continue to offer our customers market leading connectivity and broadband offers through our partners Three, Eir, Sky, Virgin and Lyca Mobile as well as an extensive range of top branded handsets and accessories. Our support for customers currently on a Vodafone connection are unaffected by the news. He could have said nothing at all. In the circumstances, it would not have been surprising. The Royal Family do not normally respond to shouty potshots from the media on the basis that a) it only encourages more of the same and b) they are not politicians with an opinion on everything. This week, however, has been anything but normal. And the Duke of Cambridge is in a uniquely sad and painful position. His once-doting brother and his sister-in-law have landed a series of wounding blows on him, his family and his wife. They are accusations which will linger and fester for years to come. The most serious of them all racism has been presented in a manner so nebulous as to be almost unanswerable. All things considered, is it any wonder that when that was thrown at him point blank yesterday, he replied: 'We're very much not a racist family'. To which, I have no doubt, the vast majority of people in this country will say: 'Amen to that'. This sensible, steely intervention will be long-remembered in years to come. The Royal Family do not normally respond to shouty potshots from the media on the basis that a) it only encourages more of the same and b) they are not politicians with an opinion on everything When the Prince of Wales had a similar question tossed at him from the media pen on Tuesday, he declined to comment. That was wise and appropriate. The monarchy, like the country, was still digesting the Sussexes' remarks from the night before and the Queen had yet to release her statement. However to coin a phrase responses may vary. By yesterday, many people wanted to hear a member of the family say something. Indeed, they probably needed to hear from Prince William the person torn in more directions than anyone in the current royal crisis. This was not a stage-managed intervention. Under lockdown rules, only a handful of media are permitted to attend royal engagements (they take turns according to a rota system and not, as the Sussexes have claimed, by dint of some chummy cartel). Those who were allotted slots at yesterday's visit to an East London school had specifically been told that the duke would not be answering questions. They were also warned, rather primly, to remember that they were on school premises (where, presumably, no one ever misbehaves). Yet, one TV reporter decided that the world wanted an answer and raised his voice. The duke was happy to oblige. This week, however, has been anything but normal. And the Duke of Cambridge is in a uniquely sad and painful position Prince William also revealed the depth of the royal fault lines when he said that he had not spoken to his brother since the Oprah Winfrey interview. This was honest, not evasive. Needless to say, social media was soon ablaze. The usual ranks of the perpetually offended were thrilled to take fresh offence. 'How dare Prince William talk about racism!', shrieked the same people who had just been attacking the monarchy for not talking about racism. While they were rattling around in their echo chambers, however, the silent majority that overwhelming and constant 75 per cent of the population who have always preferred a monarchy to a republic will have seen yesterday's remarks for what they were: welcome words from a taciturn man understandably goaded beyond endurance. For, just as the wartime generation came to know and love a pair of very close, very different royal siblings the quiet, serious Princess Elizabeth versus the wilder, cheeky Princess Margaret so later generations would come to feel the same about William and Harry. It makes it all the more significant that the quiet, serious Duke of Cambridge spoke out in the way he did. These ostensibly casual remarks amount to an intervention reminiscent of the Queen's words outside Crathie Church in 2014. Shortly before the Scottish referendum, she told worshippers she 'hoped people would think very carefully about the future'. Yesterday was also a reminder of Prince William's coolness in a crisis. This week brings echoes of one of the most febrile situations I have witnessed in Britain in recent years. In the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, all forms of authority were targets of visceral hostility. Both the Prime Minister, Theresa May, and the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, had to be escorted off the premises. It was a highly volatile situation, stoked by a toxic racial dimension. Everyone was shaking fists. And then, all of a sudden, everything fell silent. I was standing outside the emergency rescue centre, underneath the A40 flyover, as the State Bentley pulled up unannounced. Out stepped the Queen and the Duke of Cambridge. It was as if a switch had been flicked. The pair could offer no solutions, of course. But here was the sovereign and future sovereign, showing support and very visibly moved by it all. After meeting people inside the centre, they emerged. At which point, emotions started to crackle. 'What about the children? Queen?' yelled a man in the crowd, and kept on shouting. It was an ugly moment until Prince William, ushering his grandmother in to the car, addressed the heckler. 'I'm sorry, I've got to go. I'll be back,' he shouted. 'I'll come back.' And he did. In years gone by, Palace staff had a phrase for a typical royal response in times of crisis: 'going ostrich'. Judging by yesterday's firm but measured response from the Duke of Cambridge, no one is sticking their head in the sand this time. SUGAR LAND, Texas, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation ("Noble" or the "Company") today announced that its report of drilling rig status and contract information has been updated as of March 11, 2021. The report, titled "Fleet Status Report," can be found on the Company's Website www.noblecorp.com, under the "Investor Relations" section of the Website. About Noble Corporation Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The Company owns and operates one of the most modern, versatile and technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry. Noble and its predecessors have been engaged in the contract drilling of oil and gas wells since 1921. Currently, Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 19 offshore drilling units, consisting of 7 drillships and semisubmersibles and 12 jackups, focused largely on ultra- deepwater and high-specification jackup drilling opportunities in both established and emerging regions worldwide. Noble is an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability with registered office at P.O. BOX 31327, Ugland House, S. Church Street, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104. Additional information on Noble is available at www.noblecorp.com . SOURCE Noble Corporation Related Links www.noblecorp.com Rabat: A Moroccan court has decided to extradite Osama al-Hasani, a dual Australian-Saudi citizen, to Saudi Arabia, his wife said, in a case that has concerned rights groups. Hasani was arrested last month upon arrival in Morocco, where he had travelled to join his wife and baby daughter. His wife, Hanae, cried as she told Reuters by phone on Thursday (AEDT): I did not expect this verdict. An image of Saudi-Australian Dr Usama al-Hasani in a statement of support by Prisoners of Conscience. Credit:Twitter/Prisoners of Conscience A court in Saudi Arabia this week sentenced Hasani, a businessman who previously worked at a Saudi university, in absentia to two years in prison. This file photo shows a train carrying young North Korean men on their way to join the Korean People's Army. More and more North Korean youth are dodging mandatory military service, because ruling party membership and all its perks are no longer as automatic for those who finish lengthy stints in the armed forces, sources in the country told RFA. Membership in the Korean Workers Party is seen as a status symbol that can also be a gateway to better housing, employment, education and food in the impoverished country. Every male citizen must serve an average of 10 years in the military, and under previous regulations most could expect to join the party upon discharge. RFA reported in late January, however, that authorities tightened the partys entry barriers to the dismay of many serving soldiers, including many who are set to finish their service this year. A resident of North Hamgyong province in the countrys northeast told RFAs Korean Service this week that although the spring sign-up season was approaching, the youth were less than excited as they had been in previous years. At this time of year, the students who have just graduated from high school and those in their late teens usually visit the Military Mobilization Office to prepare for enlistment, said the source, who requested anonymity to speak freely. But this year, as the number of applicants for enlistment has significantly decreased, the officials of the Military Mobilization Office are busy preparing countermeasures, the source said. In previous years most boys older than 17 would voluntarily enlist, usually to demonstrate loyalty to the state. Authorities generally did not need to hunt people down for refusing to appear for military service, because the consequences for not serving were too great. Enlistment had been a joyous occasion seen almost as a coming of age, but now that party membership is no longer a given, youngsters are looking for ways out. One of the most popular ways of dodging military service is to be declared medically exempt. The source said young people were secretly sharing with each other advice on how to fail medical exams. People with hepatitis or tuberculosis are excluded from the initial recruitment, so some people were found trying to get rejected at the physical examination by drinking a whole bottle of soy sauce to abnormally increase liver function, the source said. But after decades of food shortages many North Koreans dont need any help to appear medically unfit for service. Since 2019, the minimum height for military service is 150 centimeters (about five feet) and the minimum weight is 50 kilograms (110 pounds). Many of this years recruits have not received enough nutrition to be in the military so their height and weight are less than standard, the source said. Some of the healthy young people go so far as to bribe the physical examiners. Another source, a resident of South Pyongan province, north of the capital Pyongyang, confirmed to RFA Monday that youth there were also trying to get out of serving. The party encourages military service, calling it an advance guard of national security, but the youth these days are avoiding service by any means possible. Since there are no benefits and no opportunity to join the party after 10 years of service, they are avoiding enlistment, said the second source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. Most of the recruits are high school senior boys, and this year there is an average of only four or five people from a single homeroom [of about 50 students] applying for enlistment, the second source said. Last year, about half of the graduates wanted to enlist, so this year things are cooling down. This is why the authorities have come up with a plan to increase enlistments among the graduates to normal levels, the second source said. Enlisting in the military is a financial burden on a soldiers entire family. The second source said that the government does not keep the military adequately supplied, so soldiers families send them money for food and other necessities for the duration of their entire time in the military. The sacrifice had been seen as worthwhile because party membership for the soldier upon discharge was virtually guaranteed. Starting this year, on the orders of the Highest Dignity the percentage of party memberships coming out of non-military roles has increased, and the percentage of memberships coming out of the military is down, so thats why young people war avoiding enlistment, the second source said, using the honorific title for leader Kim Jong Un. Some recruits are even envious of the children of people who escaped North Korea. According to policy, the children of those who have betrayed the country are excluded from the privilege of enlistment if one or both parents escaped the country to live in China or South Korea. However, the youth see this not as punishment, but an added perk, according to the second source. Not only do the children of escapees get out of military service, they also live well on money sent back by their traitorous parents. The change in eligibility for party membership for soldiers is a result of economics. The central government has observed that collecting so-called loyalty funds for Kim Jong Un and the party center is easier when party members have more money, and soldiers are generally cash poor. RFAs Korean Service previously reported that under previous membership schemes, 90 percent of the partys new members typically came from the military with about 10 percent coming from society. Kim Jong Un recently ordered a change in the ratio to about 70 percent coming from the military and 30 percent from society, with fewer memberships awarded overall, saying that soldiers had come to expect party membership as a matter of course. There are about 1.3 million personnel in the North Korean military, making it the worlds fourth-largest standing army after China, India and the United States. Reported by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. San Mateo, Calif., San Francisco's Police Department Bay Area San Francisco Lindsay Life Cloudflare San Francisco The South San Francisco Unified School District Peter Feng The Fremont Union High School District Christine Mallery Mills College Morgan Hill Unified School District Mission Dolores Academy San Francisco Menlo College Community College District Stanford University School of Medicine Julie Greicius University of the Pacific San Francisco Liam Connolly The Sunnyvale Public Library Jennifer Garnett Sunnyvale Office of the City Manager Redwood City Jennifer Yamaguma Police Department Alameda Health System Tesla China California Aaron Peskin San Francisco Board of Supervisors Lee Hepner ACLU ACLU of Northern California Technology Matt Cagle Tillie Kottman (TNS) A wide-ranging breach ofsecurity camera technology company Verkada appears to have compromised the security of thousands of private and public institutions across the world, including some in the San Francisco Bay Area.city government seems to have been spared, however, due in part to a 2019 ordinance banning the use of facial recognition technology by the city'sand other agencies.The intrusion was first reported by Bloomberg.The Chronicle obtained a supposedly leaked list of Verkada customers. While it could not be independently verified, the list contained detailed information about companies and public agencies including somemunicipalities and school districts.security and user identification software company Okta was among those on the list. In an emailed statement, spokeswomansaid the company's service had not been affected by the Verkada breach."After conducting further investigation, Okta determined that five Verkada cameras were compromised. These cameras were isolated and separate from Okta's production and company networks. Okta does not employ facial recognition technology, and there is no evidence that any live streams were viewed during the limited access that occurred. Okta employs Verkada technology only in office entrances," Life said.In a blog post,online security companysaid it used Verkada cameras in itsoffices and other locations. The company included screenshots from the cameras in the post and said it shut the cameras down when it became aware of the breach.was included in the list, but spokesmansaid in an email, "The district has purchased a handful of Verkada units for evaluation but has not deployed them." He said that they had not heard from Verkada and that the school district uses a different manufacturer for its camera systems, although he declined to say which."The information regarding the security breach will certainly be taken into consideration during our evaluation," of the Verkada cameras, Feng wrote.was another school district included on the unverified list. Chief Business Officer and Associate Superintendentsaid in an email that she was not aware of the situation and did not respond to a follow-up email., also included on the list, said in an email that the school does use Verkada cameras but had not been notified they were part of any breach.Other educational institutions listed, but that could not be reached for comment, included theinand San Jose EvergreenAn email address that appeared to be linked to thealso appeared on the list, although spokeswomansaid in an email that the school and its hospitals do not use the cameras and were not affected.The private, which has a campus in, was listed, but spokesmansaid in an email that the school does not use Verkada cameras on any of its campuses and was not affected.was also on the list., communications officer for the, said in an email that she was checking with staff when asked if the library or other city departments used the cameras.appeared on the list. Spokeswomansaid via email that thethere does not use Verkada equipment or software, nor does any city department.Thewas also listed but did not respond to questions about the hack.Some facilities of electric-car makerinandwere also accessed during the hack, according to a report. The company did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.District Three Supervisor, who sponsored the ordinance banning facial recognition technology from being used in San Francsico, said the legislation had been intended to protect people from being unfairly profiled or having their privacy invaded.Asked if he had thought about the potential to avoid hacks like this when working on the legislation, Peskin said he hadn't. He said his concerns were more focused on the technology having "biases that disproportionately identified women and people of color.""Even if it is perfect, I don't know if that's something we want in our society," Peskin said.Under the ordinance, city agencies that access surveillance data have to have a plan for how the information will be used, retained and deleted, a process that is ongoing at the, according to Peskin legislative aideGroups like thehave fought against the use of facial recognition technology by public agencies. In an emailed statement,and civil liberties attorneysaid the hack is an example of the privacy risks posed by surveillance."The danger doesn't end at hackers," Cagle said. "When cities and businesses surround streets and buildings with corporate surveillance systems especially those with facial recognition capabilities they are setting people up to be targeted by racist policing and predatory agencies like ICE who are eager to pry away control and co-opt these systems."It was not clear from the list which cameras used the company's facial recognition technology, although Verkada's website alludes to those features being standard. Company marketing materials claim its software is secure and allows cameras to be accessed on any device anywhere in the world.The intrusion has been attributed to a group that includes a Swiss hacker who goes by. Kottman said in a message to The Chronicle that they were able to log in with superadministrator-level access and view any cameras on Verkada's network, along with archived footage."We have disabled all internal administrator accounts to prevent any unauthorized access," a Verkada spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Our internal security team and external security firm are investigating the scale and scope of this issue, and we have notified law enforcement." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his trip to the United Arab Emirates this morning shortly before he was due to depart. Israeli officials first said there were two reasons for postponing the trip the prime ministers wife Sara's hospitalization yesterday with appendicitis and Jordans delay in approving Netanyahus flight path over Jordanian skies en route to Abu Dhabi. A statement from Netanyahu's office mentioned only the second reason, saying Amman was retaliating for the cancelation yesterday of a visit by Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah to Al-Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount. Netanyahus visit was postponed due to difficulties in coordinating his flight in Jordanian airspace. These difficulties apparently stemmed from the cancellation of the Jordanian crown princes visit to the Temple Mount due to a disagreement over security procedures at the site. The prime ministers office added that eventually Jordan agreed for Netanyahus flight to use Jordanian airspace, but due to the delay the prime minister and Emirati Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed agreed to reschedule the visit. Israeli reports claimed that the visit of the Jordanian crown prince had been coordinated with Israeli security well ahead of time. However, the prince arrived at the Allenby Bridge border crossing with more armed guards than had been agreed upon. Israel refused to let the additional guards enter and Hussein canceled his visit. Other reports said the dispute between the security teams erupted before the crown prince arrived to the crossing point and that Israel had blocked certain roads in preparation for the prince's convoy and that two buses carrying the prince's staff arrived to Jerusalem before the incident. Reacting to the affair, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said, At the last minute Israel wanted to impose new things and change the plans so that they would limit Muslims [visiting the Temple Mount] The crown prince canceled his visit out of respect for the worshippers. Safadi added, Al-Aqsa Mosque and all of its territory are a place of worship for Muslims. There is no Israeli sovereignty over it. It is in occupied Jerusalem. We will not accept any Israeli intervention in its matters. Safadi also said that peace would be difficult to achieve as long as Israel flaunts international law. He called to halt the construction of any new settlements and any actions that could hurt the holy sites in Jerusalem. Reports late February claimed Defense Minister Benny Gantz had visited Jordan and met with King Abdullah II. On Feb. 26, Gantz hinted of contacts with Jordan, and blamed Netanyahu for sabotaging bilateral relations. I think Jordan is a great asset to Israel, and I think that our relationship with Jordan could be a thousand times better. Unfortunately, Netanyahu is an unwanted figure in Jordan, and his presence harms [relations between the countries], Gantz said. Tweeting after Safadi's statement, Gantz said, Jordan is Israel's strategic partner and our security and political relations are a cornerstone of our national security concept. Unfortunately, in his conduct in recent years, Netanyahu has severely damaged relations with Jordan, which led to the loss of significant assets for the State of Israel security, political and economic. I personally and the entire defense establishment will continue to work to strengthen relations with Jordan at all levels. Earlier today, Israels ambassador to Amman, Amir Weissbrod, posted a video showing himself voting early in the Israeli general elections and explaining the process in Arabic. Weissbrod expressed excitement at voting at an Israeli embassy in an Arab country. The experienced diplomat took the position in 2018, a low point in diplomatic relations, and established fruitful contacts with his Jordanian interlocutors. Yesterday's two incidents and today only add to his already complicated mission of restoring bilateral ties. Press Release March 10, 2021 "CLIMATE OF KILL, KILL, KILL?" GORDON DEMANDS PROBE ON ACTIVIST CRACKDOWN THAT KILLED 9, ARRESTED 6 Senator Richard Gordon called for due process and a prompt investigation on the bloody crackdown that killed nine activists and arrested six across the Calabarzon Region on Sunday, questioning the "culture of elimination" and "climate of kill, kill, kill" seemingly perpetrated by uniformed officials. Gordon was disgruntled at the joint operations conducted by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, where the former reported they were serving search warrants. "When they have surrounded the house and they have a search warrant, the search warrant is not a license to come in and go in with guns ablazing." Among those who were killed on what critics call "Bloody Sunday" were BAYAN-Cavite secretary general Manny Asuncion, Batangas fisherfolk leaders Chai Lemita-Evangelista and Ariel Evangelista, and Rizal urban poor group members Melvin Dasigao and Mark Lee Coros Bacasno. Raids in Cabuyao and Calamba, Laguna ended in the illegal arrests of labor leader Esteban Mendoza, BAYAN-Laguna spokesperson Elizabeth Camoral, Karapatan paralegal to political prisoners Nimfa Lanzanas, and COURAGE-Rizal member Eugene Eugenio. "It does not do well for our armed forces and police that these things are happening," Gordon said, also referring to the stabbing of human rights lawyer Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen, and the encounter that killed Calbayog City, Samar Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and five others. "And followed by this incident again yesterday, nalulungkot po ako at nangangamba na hindi dapat mangyari 'yan." He also reprimanded Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. for his pronouncements on red-tagging, directives which Gordon said soldiers might follow strictly. "This is where the importance of diplomacy, and military policy comes in. It is only when diplomacy fails that the military goes to war. We are still a democracy, that diplomatic efforts in police and military operations are imperative as these will result in a more peaceful and less violent way, and will not foster fear of the enforcers." Gordon suggested it would be "safer to tell [Parlade] to calm down, or at least transfer him to a position where perhaps he doesn't have to come up with all those statements." He warned that letting the reins loose on policies would result in dangerous situations for all. Gordon sought a prompt investigation on the deadly crackdown, and enjoined his fellow lawmakers in the Senate to speak and act on these cases. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Syracuse, N.Y. -- After four years of turbulence, Rick Cavallaro is looking for something like normalcy this year at his place on Port Bay, on Lake Ontario. Record-high levels in Lake Ontario in 2017 were followed by still-high levels in 2018, and another wet year in 2019 brought yet new record flooding. The novel coronavirus pandemic last year shut down businesses and gatherings. Normal hasnt happened in four years, Cavallaro said. Were hoping for some normal this year. Fortunately for Cavallaro, and everyone who owns property along, or slips their boat into, Lake Ontario, normal is looking more likely all the time. As Covid-19 cases fall and the pace of vaccination soars, crowds will be able to gather again on lawns and in restaurants along the lake. And after three years of extraordinarily high levels on Lake Ontario that flooded properties and marinas, theres little chance of flooding this year, says the agency that controls lake levels. The International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board said in December there was a 28% chance of flooding; thats since been reduced to 8%. The risk of high water on Lake Ontario in 2021 remains a low possibility and is much lower than the risk was at this time last year, the board said in a news release. Thanks to a relatively dry year in the Great Lakes basin, Lake Ontario is 26 inches lower than early March 2020, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The current level is nearly 5 feet less than the record highs set in the summer of 2019. The flooding and high water levels in 2017 and 2019 damaged shoreline properties and made it impossible to get boats in the water, destroying an economic lifeline for shoreline communities. Another hopeful sign for this year is that levels on the upper lakes are also falling. Michigan, Huron and Erie are all substantially lower than a year ago, when they set record highs for March. Lake Erie is 15 inches lower than a year ago. About 80% of Lake Ontarios inflow comes from Lake Erie via Niagara Falls. The river boards assurances arent enough to make Fair Haven Mayor James Basile comfortable. Flooding also seemed unlikely at this point four years ago, he said. In 2017 the lake level was low, but we had the most extreme flooding on Lake Ontario since, I think, they were keeping records, Basile said. Im cautious about saying that were out of the woods. Basile and others blame the boards revised lake regulation plan, called Plan 2014, that went into effect in January 2017, just before record rainfalls inundated the Great Lakes basin. Heavy rain and snowmelt caused flooding that year not just in Lake Ontario, but also downstream, in the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. Those flood waters threatened to swamp Montreal, an island city of nearly 2 million people at the confluence of those two rivers. That restricted how much water the board could release into the St. Lawrence through the Moses-Saunders Power Dam. Releasing enough water to lower Lake Ontario by 1 inch means raising water levels at Montreal by nearly a foot. When docks were submerged over the past few years, Cavallaro often couldnt put his boat in the water. If this year is too dry and the water level too low, he fears boaters could have the opposite problem. That has happened in the past, where the water was so low that come September and October there wasnt enough water to take your boats out, he said. We might be asking for higher water this year. READ MORE Is climate change to blame for Lake Ontarios alarming water levels? Katko, Brindisi bill opens door to lawsuits over Lake Ontario flooding Is Plan 2014 getting a bad rap for Lake Ontario flooding? The Knesset approved March 10 a first reading of a bill requiring those returning to Israel from abroad to self-isolate at home with an electronic bracelet, not unlike those worn by people detained under house arrest. The bracelet would be worn either on the wrist or on the ankle. It would monitor the wearers location via Bluetooth and GPS, connected to a provided mobile phone number. Returning Israelis who refuse to wear the bracelet or are unable to isolate at home would be required to stay at a government-run quarantine hotel. These measures would apply to all returning citizens over age 14. Around 100 people participated in an electronic bracelet pilot program earlier this month. Only travelers who have completed a two-shot coronavirus vaccination or those who have recovered from the coronavirus can skip quarantine. Still, like all other travelers, they must provide proof of a negative coronavirus test result prior to embarking, and also have a negative test upon arrival. Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch said several elements were taken into account when formulating the bill. First were the demands of returning citizens to isolate at home instead of entering government-run quarantine hotels. Then there were difficulties faced by police in efficiently enforcing home isolation. There also was the decision by the government last week to reopen Israeli skies for nationals, authorizing the arrival at the airport of 3,000 Israelis per day, as opposed to only a few dozen previously. These measures will enable us to ensure that the person wont leave his home [during isolation]. But for that to really happen, each person must be vigilant about isolating. He/she should not meet other people at his own home. So there is also the element of personal responsibility, said Kisch. The bracelet bill now goes to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee before it is sent back to the Knesset plenum, where it requires two more votes to become law and be enacted. A previous law forcing people returning to Israel to stay in government-run quarantine hotels expired March 6. For the time being, people returning are required to self-isolate. The police are authorized to check on the returnees' whereabouts. Debate at the Knesset on the bracelet bill comes in parallel with another debate about Israelis who wish to return to Israel to exercise their right to vote in the March 23 general elections. Israeli law allows only diplomats and seamen to vote outside the country. The isolation period and the 3,000-person limit obviously renders things difficult for Israelis residing abroad who are coming back to vote. One proposal being discussed is to install voting booths at the airport for the travelers to vote upon arrival. Slovakias minimum wage might be actually worse than in Romania A Romanian with minimum wage can buy more goods and services than a Slovak, analysts say. Font size: A - | A + The minimum wage in Slovakia is worse than the one in Romania, given the purchasing power. This stems from a recent analysis of the Association of Socio-Economic Analysts. Career & Employment Guide Source of contacts and up-to-date content for anyone who wants to learn more about the Slovak HR sector. For more details visit our online shop. The minimum wage in Slovakia for 2021 was set at 623, while in Romania it is 458. This makes a difference of 20.7 percent. However, given the purchasing power parity, the Slovak minimum wage is 14.4 percent lower. A Romanian with a minimum wage of 458 will buy more goods and services than a Slovak with 623, said analyst Jan Kosc, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Several differences The analysts also point to several inaccuracies in the claims that Slovakia has the highest minimum wage of the entire Visegrad Group (V4) countries in 2021. One of the problems are the exchange rates. MPs passed the increase in minimum wage Read more Poland has the highest hourly minimum wage with 3.64, while in Slovakia it is only 3.58, according to Germanys Hans Bockler Foundation. Another problem lies in the purchasing power parity, used to compare the income in countries with different price levels. Some minimum wage critics often claim that the minimum wage in Slovakia is too high, that while in Germany it is 40 percent below the average wage, in Slovakia it is up to 50 percent, according to Tomas Zelinsky of the Technical University of Kosice. Related article Career Guide: Exploring Slovak labour market trends and human resources in the wider EU context Read more They fail to add that income in Germany is more than double compared with that in Slovakia (in purchasing power parity), Zelinsky said, as quoted by TASR. If only people working in industry are taken into account, the difference is much bigger, Zelinsky added. 11. Mar 2021 at 11:22 | Compiled by Spectator staff BACKED BY Mayor Joyce Craig, Manchester school Superintendent Dr. John Goldhardt has gone big in an attempt to restart high school in the Queen City. To be sure, Manchesters schools are struggling but Goldhardt and Craig would have us believe that the way to turn things around is to lau Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Jordan Peterson talks of Jesus, the Gospel, leading Christian fans to speculate about his faith journey Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Author and speaker Jordan Peterson choked up in tears as he spoke about Jesus Christ in a recent podcast, leading some of his Christian fans to pray for his faith journey. In a March 1 episode of his podcast, the Canadian thought leader spoke with Jonathan Pageau, an icon carver and the editor of Orthodox Arts Journal, about a variety of philosophical and spiritual themes, including the conscience and Judeo-Christian narrative. Speaking of the Christian line of thinking that links the conscience with divinity, which is shaped by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and other views of how the conscience can be understood, Peterson explained that biology and psychology can only take one so far. To some degree, because we are so social, if we dont manifest an appropriate moral reciprocity, were going to become alienated from our fellows and we wont survive. Well suffer and die. We certainly wont find a partner and have children successfully. To some degree, the conscience can be viewed as the voice of reciprocal society within, and thats a perfectly reasonable biological explanation, he said. Yet the deeper one goes into biology it shades into something religious because, once the fundamental structure of the human psyche is analyzed, it becomes something with a power that transcends your ability to resist it." Responding to a critic who asserted that the Christian Gospel is no more significant than the dying-and-resurrection stories of other mythological gods, the Canadian professor pointed out that Jesus was a real person who actually lived in addition to a narrative, and in a sense, Christ is the union of those two things. "The problem is, I probably believe that. And I am amazed at my own belief and I don't understand it," he said. Because Ive seen sometimes the objective world and the narrative world touch. Thats Jungian synchronicity. And Ive seen that many times in my own life and so in some sense I believe it's undeniable," he continued, choking up in tears. Though the narrative world and the objective world are not the same, they intersect and the ultimate example of that in principle is supposed to be Christ. And that seems to be oddly plausible," he said. "I still don't know what to make of it, partly because it's too terrifying a reality to fully believe. I don't even know what would happen to you if you fully believed it." Petersons bestselling 2018 book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos contains many references to Scripture. The podcast elicited responses from Twitter users who found his comments moving, urging people to pray for the clinical psychologist to come to faith. Peterson, who was also a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, has reemerged in recent weeks following a lengthy battle with severe health problems. In an 8-minute video he released in October, Peterson explained he had been suffering due to use of benzodiazepines, drugs such as Valium, which are often used to treat anxiety. He was prescribed the medications, but then stopped taking them and the withdrawal led to neurological damage. That then set in motion an international search for specialists worldwide who could provide the appropriate treatment. Thats put me in and out of hospitals for much of the past year, he said at the time. Peterson initially made waves and gained international prominence following his refusal to use opposite-sex pronouns when speaking about transgender-identified people and his public objections to Bill C-16, which enshrined the nebulous notion of a self-declared gender identity as a category into the national human rights charter and criminal code. Peterson, who was raised Protestant and is unapologetically a "Jungian" named after Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung told Roman Catholic author and podcaster Patrick Coffin in a February 2018 interview that he needed "three more years" before he could say whether he believed Jesus rose from the dead. remaining of Thank you for reading! This is your last free article before you will be asked to subscribe. Already have a paid subscription? Sign in New Delhi: Night curfew is set to kick in starting from March 12 in the Patiala district of Punjab. The state government took the decision in view of the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. According to the government's order, the curfew will be in place from 11 pm to 5 am. The restrictions will remain in force until further orders. During the restricted period, only the essential services will be allowed to function, including medical emergency services. The government officials have also been exempted. Police and army personnel on duty, government officials/employees, essential services/medical emergency and any other emergency related to the safety of the public/property, would be exempted from the purview of these orders. 1,422 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in Punjab on Wednesday, taking the overall tally to 1,92,040. The death toll from the disease has reached 5,978. The number of active cases also increased from 8,522 on Tuesday to 9,402 on Wednesday. A total of 496 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 1,76,660. The states health bulletin stated that there are 20 critical patients who are on ventilator support, while 176 are on oxygen support. A total of 52,63,900 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state. Earlier, Punjab's Jalandhar administration imposed a night curfew in the district from March 6 to tackle an upsurge in COVID-19 cases. Live TV MBABANE About 90 employees at the United States of America (USA) Embassy have been vaccinated for COVID-19. The employees were vaccinated late last month using the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine as confirmed by US Embassy Spokesperson Stephanie Sandoval. Worth noting is that Pfizer Inc., the company that manufactures the vaccine, is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation and it has manufacturing sites in Saint Louis, Missouri, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, Puurs, Belgium among others. Responding to a questionnaire sent to the embassy on the rollout of the vaccine to the employees, Sandoval said the Department of State was engaged in the deployment of vaccines to personnel around the world and this allowed the Department to advance US national security interests and ensure Americas essential diplomacy continued unimpeded. Promoting Protecting and promoting the health, safety and security of the departments workforce is our priority so that we can continue to carry out our mission on behalf of the American people. Employees of the US Embassy in Eswatini who chose to receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine have been offered this opportunity, she responded. The rollout of the vaccine for the US Embassy employees comes at a time when the country is still waiting to receive its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku, when giving an update on the arrival of the vaccine in the country through a report tabled in Parliament on Monday, stated that government was expecting delivery of some COVID-19 vaccines before the end of the week. He said a vaccination plan had been completed and was ready for execution and that they needed to ensure that the vaccination of healthcare workers would have begun within the next two weeks. Sandoval, in her response to this publication, stated that combating this virus required collective commitment and effort, and any increased immunity would help limit the spread in Eswatini. We are proud to be doing everything we possibly can to contribute to the health and well-being of our staff and the community, she said. Also incorporated in the response was that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the US had provided $5.87 million (E90.12 million) in emergency assistance to Eswatini. We continue to work closely with the Government of Eswatini to respond to COVID-19, for example, by addressing Eswatinis medical oxygen shortage, better equipping healthcare workers to respond to the health crisis and supporting national vaccine implementation.COVID-19 has shown that no nation can act alone in the face of a pandemic. Last month, President Biden announced that the US will be contributing up to $4 billion (E58.5 billion) to COVAX to support the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Eswatini will be a direct beneficiary of this support, added Sandoval. Received SADC countries were offered over 8.6 million COVID-19 doses courtesy of the COVAX Facility and Eswatini, Comoros and Mauritius were among those that would receive the least. The COVAX Facility stated that countries would receive doses in proportion to their population size. These doses are expected to reach about 3.3 per cent of the total population of the 145 facility participants during this timeframe. Vaccines are expected to go to the most vulnerable populations, including healthcare workers. Mauritius received the least number of doses, which stood at 100 800 and both Eswatini and Comoros would receive 108 000. South Africa, which has the largest population in the region, received 2 976 000 doses followed by Mozambique which received 2 424 000. The COVAX Facility will also distribute 1.2 million of the 40 million expected doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the first quarter of this year. When speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris swept aside concerns about Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's growing sexual harassment controversy. Kamala Harris ignored questions about Gov.Cuomo's sexual harassment case After House lawmakers approved the Senate edition of President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on a party-line vote, Harris met briefly with reporters. As the case came to an end, a writer asked Harris for her opinion on the charges raised against Cuomo. The reporter asked, "Madame Vice President, do you have any comments on Governor Cuomo?" Without reacting to the question, Harris left the briefing room. In recent days, Cuomo has received calls to resign after several women accused him of sexual harassment and other unethical conduct. Cuomo reportedly harassed a female former aide during an encounter at the governor's mansion last year, as per the Albany Times-Union. Critics also challenged Harris to condemn Cuomo because of her strong stand on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Democratic Senator Al Franken as they confronted sexual assault charges. Read also: Billboard Urges NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Resign 'Now' amid Sexual Harassment Allegations During a press briefing last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki discussed Harris' position on the issue. Letitia James, the New York State Attorney General, has opened an investigation into the allegations. Cuomo has confirmed that he will not resign and is innocent of any misconduct, as per Fox News. Cuomo replied to the Times-Union article by saying, "Like I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. This report's specifics are devastating. Given the pending inquiry, I would not elaborate on the particulars of this or any other accusation, but I am confident in the results of the Attorney General's investigation." Read also: President Biden's Dogs Moved Out of White House Harris won't condemn Cuomo amid sexual harassment scandal Despite urging former Sen. Al Franken to resign amid similar charges, Vice President Kamala Harris will not condemn Andrew Cuomo until an investigation into the charges is concluded, the White House said Friday. According to NY Post, despite not speaking out about Cuomo's supposed actions, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Harris supports the probe into the allegations raised by New York Attorney General Tish James at the daily White House press briefing. Psaki said, "I think the vice president's opinion is she believes a woman should be treated with respect. Their voices should be heard. They should tell their story." When Franken was accused of sexual harassment, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, "sexual assault should not be tolerated by anyone and should not exist anywhere," responding to a query from Fox News correspondent Kristin Fisher. Three women have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, including Charlotte Bennett, 25, who alleged in a CBS interview Thursday night that the governor wanted to "sleep with me" during a one-on-one meeting. Read also: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Responds to Sexual Harassment Allegations, Offers Apology @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. His father Richard Wilkins has enjoyed a very colourful love life over the years. But the Channel Nine star's son Christian says he is happy to stay single for now. In a new interview with Sunday Life, the 25-year-old socialite said he is focused on prioritising his blossoming acting career. Hopeless romantic! Christian Wilkins, 25, has revealed why he has never been in a relationship 'I have never been in a relationship. I am a bit of a hopeless romantic,' he told the publication ahead of Mardi Gras weekend. 'There were periods of my life when I was quite upset about not being in one, but despite everything, 2020 was a period of self-discovery for me,' he added. Christian has been forging a career as a TV star over the past couple of years, including filming a new series for Stan. 'I did Dancing with the Stars and filmed my first acting role in Eden, which was great,' he said. Career focused: In a new interview with Sunday Life , the 25-year-old socialite said he is focused on prioritising his blossoming acting career 'I dont have a lot of close friends, but the few I do have, we have such intense love for each other. I feel just as rewarded from their companionship as I would from a relationship.' The openly gay star also revealed that his first kiss actually took place in a fleeting moment during Mardi Gras at age 16, with a Frenchman he didn't know at the time. First kiss: The openly gay star also revealed that his first kiss actually took place in a fleeting moment during Mardi Gras at age 16, with a Frenchman he didn't know at the time. Pictured, Christian at this year's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney In 2019, the fabulously dressed socialite revealed he 'never came out as gay'. At the time, he praised his family's acceptance, explaining there was 'never an expectation [he] was straight'. 'Both my parents, my family, my school, always really kind of accepted me and always pushed me to be authentically me,' he told Who Magazine. 'It was never this expectation that I was straight': In 2019, the fabulously dressed socialite revealed he 'never came out as gay'. At the time, he praised his family's acceptance, explaining there was 'never an expectation [he] was straight'. He is pictured here with his father, Channel Nine star Richard Wilkins 'Both my parents, my family, my school, always really kind of accepted me and always pushed me to be authentically me,' he said. Pictured, Christian with his mother Michelle Burke and friends 'I never even 'came out' because it was never this expectation that I was straight until I was gay,' he added. 'It was just "be who you are".' Christian came out publicly in the March 2018 issue of a now debunk Cosmopolitan, for the Magazine's Pride issue. 'I've now taken it upon myself to become the best damn gay I can be!' he said at the time. 'I've now taken it upon myself to become the best damn gay I can be!' he said at the time. 'It's taken me a while to really celebrate my own sexual identity.' Christian will be appearing in the new Stan series, Eden. DURHAM, N.C. - Engineers at Duke University are leading a nationwide effort to develop a camera that takes pictures worth not just a thousand words, but an entire encyclopedia. Funded by a five-year, $7.5 million grant through the Department of Defense's Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) competition, the team will develop a "super camera" that captures just about every type of information that light can carry, such as polarization, depth, phase, coherence and incidence angle. The new camera will also use edge computing and hardware acceleration technologies to process the vast amount of information it captures within the device in real-time. Joining Duke on the new project are researchers from the California Institute of Technology, City University of New York, Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania. "Detection of many of these properties of light have been demonstrated in the past to a limited degree, but multiple properties are rarely, if ever, captured simultaneously," said Maiken Mikkelsen, the James N. and Elizabeth H. Barton Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke. "This idea -- even the ability to pursue it -- is really quite new and has the potential to revolutionize the sensing field." Current cameras for advanced optical sensing typically can only focus on one property of light at a time and rely on bulky and costly scanning systems, which severely limits their usage. And even if they were capable of capturing more information, the computational processing power required to make sense of it all on-site would make them even bulkier. The new MURI team will exploit breakthroughs in the fields of metasurfaces, computational design, fundamental modal optics and information theory to create an imaging system that can handle both sensing and processing, while simultaneously streamlining its size and weight. The imaging side of the technology will be based on metasurfaces -- flat devices that harness electromagnetic phenomena that occur due to the material's structure rather than its chemistry. For example, Mikkelsen specializes in a field called photonics and makes nanostructures that boost electromagnetic activity by trapping light on tiny silver nanocubes that are placed near a thin layer of metal. In 2019, Mikkelsen demonstrated a plasmonic metasurface's ability to capture six frequencies of light, ranging from infrared to ultraviolet, in a few trillionths of a second on a single inexpensive chip. The goal of that work was to create a small, inexpensive hyperspectral camera for applications such as cancer surgery, food safety inspection and precision agriculture. That work used multiple grid-like cells, each tailored to capture a specific frequency of light. While the new work might also use a cell-based approach, Mikkelsen says it could also use stacked layers, where each layer provides a specific function. But regardless of its configuration, the new imaging device will need to extend far beyond simply detecting different frequencies. "We will need to make some critical breakthroughs to be able to gather more of the information that is difficult to capture, such as coherence or depth," said Mikkelsen "But that's why we've put together such a fantastic team." Working to develop new approaches to metasurface-enabled sensing are Mark Brongersma, professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford, and Federico Capasso, the Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering at Harvard. And focusing on new nanophotonic detection concepts along with Mikkelsen will be Harry Atwater, the Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at CalTech. As the team develops a thin, lightweight metasurface capable of capturing all of this information, they also need to develop new methods for quickly processing it on the same small device. For this, the researchers plan on turning to edge computing -- the concept of performing processing locally rather than sending data to the cloud and back -- and hardware acceleration, the idea of baking some of the processing directly into the hardware architecture. For example, a specific metasurface could extract the outline of an object to aid in object identification. Developing the theoretical framework and modeling to enable their edge computing ideas are Stanford's Shanhui Fan, professor of electrical engineering and applied physics and director of the Edward L. Ginzton Laboratory, and David Miller, the W. M. Keck Professor of Electrical Engineering. Working on the front-end optical processing and computing challenge are Nader Engheta, the H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering at Penn, and Andrea Alu, director of the Photonics Initiative at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, Einstein Professor of Physics at the CUNY Graduate Center and professor of electrical engineering at The City College of New York. Two international collaborators also provide valuable expertise and capabilities for computing metasurfaces and nanoscale optical characterization (Albert Polman, AMOLF, The Netherlands) and optical image processing, photonic neuromorphics, non-line-of-sight- and quantum- imaging (Daniele Faccio, University of Glasgow, UK). Put together, the project represents a new research frontier at the intersection of nanoscience, photonics and information science that will lay the foundation for advanced imaging in an on-chip platform critical for a range of DoD missions demanding ultra-small size, weight and power. "I am really excited to be able to work with this amazing dream team of world-leading scientists," said Mikkelsen. "This support over a five-year period allows us to tackle bigger challenges and completely re-think how sensing and imaging could be done. It holds the potential for transformative breakthroughs for a wide variety of technologies, from defense, environmental and medical applications to consumer products. "It is hard to predict exactly where the biggest impact will be--but that is also one of the exciting aspects about fundamental research," she said. ### Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. 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. MIDDLETOWN A Torrington EMTs conduct with a patient led to his suspension hours before police say he set off Molotov cocktails at several emergency services facilities and fleeing to Pennsylvania where he was captured, according to arrest warrants released Wednesday. Richard White, 37, was brought back to Connecticut Tuesday to face charges after police said he fled to Pennsylvania hours after the fires on Feb. 27 in Meriden, Old Saybrook and Roxbury. White was ordered held on a combined $400,000 bond after a brief appearance Wednesday in Superior Court in Middletown. Officials said White will be arraigned Thursday in Meriden court for separate charges filed by police there. Courtesy of Old Saybrook Police / Contributed Photo White, who appeared via video conference for the hearing, said little as the state and his defense attorney, Angela Anastasi, discussed bond. Senior Assistant States Attorney Kevin Shay told Judge Kevin Murphy the cases against White were very serious matters. They are not only dangerous to begin with, all arsons are dangerous, but they threatened each one of these communities in terms of emergency response, Shay said. Anastasi, in asking the judge for a lower bond, said it should be noted that White voluntarily waived extradition proceedings before his return to Connecticut. She said he has no means to post high bond. Murphy kept the bonds as set, $150,000 for the charges in Old Saybrook and $250,000 for charges in Meriden. Theres a significant risk of flight, Murphy said. Hes already shown that by fleeing to Pennsylvania. A woman who attended the hearing on Whites behalf declined to comment outside the courthouse. Old Saybrook police, who took him into custody Tuesday at Northumberland County Jail in Pennsylvania, have charged White with third-degree arson and third-degree burglary. Meriden police have charged White on two warrants one with criminal attempt at first-degree arson and manufacturing of bombs and the other with breach of peace and third-degree criminal mischief. State police said White is also suspected of setting fire to the Roxbury EMS and fire headquarters and a nearby house. The towns fire marshal said White used to live in the house. State police have yet to file charges against White in these incidents, but said they were working with prosecutors to secure arrest warrants. According to warrants in the Meriden and Old Saybrook incidents, White appeared for a disciplinary hearing at the Hunters Ambulance headquarters where he was suspended the morning of Feb. 27. The Meriden arrest warrant indicates White was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into his conduct earlier during the day while treating a patient. Authorities did not provide further details about the incident. Hunters Ambulance Chief Operating Officer David Lowell on Wednesday said that while the actions that led to Whites suspension are confidential, they did not directly involve a patient. Lowell did not provide further comment. The warrant states that as White left the Meriden facility that day around 10:15 a.m., he was seen on surveillance video reaching into the drivers side of an ambulance where he appears to attack a male employee who is sitting in the driver seat of the ambulance. At this time, other employees intervened and stopped the assault. The employees escorted White to his vehicle, the warrant stated. The Meriden police warrant said White blamed the other employee for the investigation being done against him that led to his administrative leave. In connection with the incident with his co-worker, Meriden police have asked the courts to set conditions if White is released on bond. Police are requesting the court to prohibit White from making any threats, harassment or violence toward the other person and to stay away from the Meriden Hunters facility. Several hours after the altercation in Meriden, police said White went to the Hunters Ambulance facility in Old Saybrook and threw an ignited device into the common area around 4:15 p.m., the arrest warrant states. William Heiney, a fire investigator and career firefighter paramedic, saw a light smoke condition in the large garage bay and started to search and clear the building, the warrant states. Heiney found a glass jar on the carpet in the common room, which consists of a sitting area with couches, a television, a small kitchen and a table area, the warrant stated. He put out the fire with a water can, according to the warrant. Officers arrived and found the evidence indicated someone threw the Molotov cocktail while standing close to the doorway of the common area, the warrant said. The investigating officer contacted White, who refused to come to the police station because he needed more time to cool off, according to the warrant. Less than an hour after the Old Saybrook incident, police said White returned to the Meriden facility and threw an ignited device out his car window at the ambulance bay around 5 p.m., the Meriden warrant states. A Hunters employee at the Meriden facility found the device and put it out with a fire extinguisher. The warrant said investigators found a fire starter block and a liquid substance in the glass jar that mirrored the one in Old Saybrook. Investigators said they connected White with the Meriden incident by surveillance footage that showed him and his vehicle, the warrant states. An hour after the Meriden incident, authorities were called to a fire at the Roxbury EMS and fire headquarters. A second call came in shortly afterward for a fire at a nearby house, state police said. White has not been charged in the Roxbury fires, however, police said the evidence in those blazes is consistent with the ones that occurred in Meriden and Old Saybrook. White was arrested by Pennsylvania state police around 10 p.m. that night, about 230 miles from Roxbury. He was held in Pennsylvania until Tuesday as a fugitive from justice, authorities said. The warrant related to the Meriden fire incident requests White be placed under 24/7 GPS surveillance and only allowed to attend pre-approved court and attorney meetings if hes released on bond. The warrant from Old Saybrook police states that White has no relevant convictions. A bond commissioner said in court Wednesday that White had a criminal matter that resulted in a diversionary program in 2015. They did not specify what he was charged with at the time. Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Bahrain, one of the leading Islamic banks and an integral contributor to the evolution of Bahrains Islamic Financial sector, has announced the launch of the first-of-its-kind Sharia compliant mortgage-backed securities. The launch involves the issuance of sukuk against a portfolio of Ijara (lease) financing contracts related to the Mazaya social housing finance scheme, in which the sukuk holders become the ultimate beneficiaries of the financing portfolio, said a statement. It is a pass-through structure where all the risks and rewards are transferred to the investors. The Mazaya social housing scheme is a well-established and successful program by the Ministry of Housing, Eskan Bank, and local banks, which has been beneficial to the Kingdom of Bahrain, making it an attractive asset class for investors to own. This is the second issuance under the Securitization Program and follows the success of its first issuance, which was well received by the market. Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat, Managing Director and CEO at KFH - Bahrain, said: We are pleased with the successful launch of this issuance, which is primarily attributed towards the regulatory and professional support from the Central Bank of Bahrain, the efforts of our Wealth Management team, and the trust of our investors in the bank. The issuance of mortgage-backed securities would greatly stimulate the housing market, which is considered one of the largest contributors for economic growth. All stakeholders would benefit from this, as financial institutions can increase their ability to finance housing units, while development plans can be accelerated, which ultimately makes the market more efficient and gives customers greater access to capital. Furthermore, the continuous launch of asset-backed securities will positively contribute to the development of the capital markets in Bahrain by having diverse products for eligible investors. Rashid Alkhan, Head of Wealth Management, commented: Mortgage-backed securities are well-established in global markets, and we are honoured to be the first Islamic retail bank to launch this in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It gives our clients an opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio and improve their returns by distributing their exposure across a portfolio of assets. Giving our clients access to an investment backed by a portfolio of tangible and well-collateralized assets is very timely in light of the current volatility of the global financial markets. This product is considered a valuable addition to the suite of wealth management products and services at KFH-Bahrain. TradeArabia News Service The staff and students of Glenboro School are putting the issue of food security front and centre by partnering with the Saras Pantry initiative and using a provincial grant to kick-start a new fresh fruit program. Advertisement Advertise With Us The staff and students of Glenboro School are putting the issue of food security front and centre by partnering with the Saras Pantry initiative and using a provincial grant to kick-start a new fresh fruit program. According to a Wednesday news release, Glenboro School principal Ryan Diehl had been involved with Saras Pantry for months before the group started providing community members with healthy food hampers in January. "I attended an initial meeting just to find more information from a community member standpoint," Diehl told the Sun over the phone. "And from that initial meeting, I started thinking about how the school could possibly become involved." Around that same time, Glenboro School also received a $5,000 grant from the provinces Healthy Together Now program, which will allow Saras Pantry to help deliver daily fresh fruit and healthy snacks to students starting next week. "Were going to start it off as a program with our kindergarten to Grade 8s, with the hopes of expanding into our high school students as well," Diehl said. Once this program gets rolling, the Glenboro School principal also wants to get students involved with the logistics of delivering the food, in the hopes of hammering home the prevalence of food insecurity in rural Manitoba. "I think there is sometimes this idea that food not being on the table is an urban issue," he said. "But its happening everywhere, even in our small town. So we wanted to make sure that our kids are certainly aware of that." Grade 10 Glenboro student Sophia Anderson has already taken this idea to heart, since she took it upon herself to launch an Instagram account for Saras Panty (@saras.pantry) that is designed to highlight its various distribution dates and services to the public. Not only will Anderson be responsible for managing the online presence of Saras Pantry until she graduates, but shes also working with Diehl to create a permanent student position for the Instagram account. "Im grateful to have the opportunity to help out for such an important cause," the Grade 10 student said in Wednesdays news release. "I love helping people, so being able to be a part of an organization that is going to make a difference in and around the community is something Im thankful for." Overall, Diehl hopes that this new partnership with Saras Pantry will also seep its way into Glenboro Schools classrooms and lesson plans, especially since the issue of food insecurity is more visible than ever due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Learning about food security and the importance of building your community up together are important life skills," he said. "Being a part of Saras Pantry provides excellent learning opportunities for our students." The community of Glenboro is located roughly 80 kilometres southeast of Brandon. kdarbyson@brandonsun.com Twitter: @KyleDarbyson ALBANY An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he groped her in the governor's residence, a newspaper reported Wednesday, in the most serious allegation made yet by a series of women against the embattled Democrat. The Times Union of Albany reported that the woman, who it did not name, was alone with Cuomo late last year when he closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her. The newspaper's reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the woman's accusation. The governor had summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying he needed help with his cellphone, the newspaper reported. "I have never done anything like this," Cuomo said through a spokesperson Wednesday evening. "The details of this report are gut-wrenching," Cuomo said, adding that he would not speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation, given an ongoing investigation overseen by the state attorney general. The three-term governor faces harassment allegations from several other women and increasingly urgent calls for his resignation or impeachment from at least some fellow Democrats. Cuomo has repeatedly said he won't resign. Upcoming political events in the Bay Area. Events take place online unless otherwise noted: SATURDAY Schools rally: A march and rally to commemorate one year of school buildings being closed. Sponsored by Decreasing the Distance: A San Francisco parent collective. 11 a.m. march from Alamo Square Park, Hayes and Steiner streets, to City Hall for noon rally. More information is here. AAPI rally: A rally against hateful actions targeting Asian Americans and those of Pacific Island descent. Speakers include state Assembly Member Evan Low and San Jose City Council Member Pam Foley. 11 a.m., San Jose City Hall rotunda, 200 East Santa Clara St. More information is here. MONDAY Commission on Status of Women: The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women NGO Forum holds several days of events and discussions on empowering women and girls and eliminating bias against women, through March 24. More information and agenda are here; registration is here. TUESDAY Return to normal: Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to President Bidens COVID-19 response team, on what the country has learned during the yearlong coronavirus pandemic and what it will take to return to normal. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. 9 a.m. More information is here. THURSDAY Vaccinations: A pair of programs on vaccinations in the U.S., hosted by the Commonwealth Club At 9 a.m., Bechara Choucair of President Bidens COVID-19 response team describes the administration's national vaccination campaign. More information is here. At 9:30 a.m., Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of UCSFs Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistic, discusses equity issues in the vaccine rollout. More information is here. Diversity and entrepreneurship: A summit of small-business owners and advocates on the pandemics effect on small businesses owned by women and people of color and how to support diverse entrepreneurs in California. Hosted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. 11 a.m. Register here. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier: Concord Democrat holds a town hall meeting on small business issues. 11:30 a.m. Submit a question in advance here; join meeting here. Abolitionist leadership: A discussion on abolitionist leadership with urban education expert Crystal Laura and Muhammad Khalifa, professor of educational administration at Ohio State University. Hosted by the Department of Educational Leadership at Cal State East Bay. 5 p.m. More information is here. THURSDAY Nondisclosure agreements: Getting around nondisclosure agreements that can hinder whistleblowers from exposing discrimination in corporations, with Ifeoma Ozoma, founder and principal of Earthseed. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here. MARCH 19 Don Lemon, Valerie Jarrett: CNN host discusses his new book, This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism, with Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama. Hosted by the Commonwealth Club. Noon. More information is here. MARCH 22 Rep. Ro Khanna: Fremont Democrat holds a town hall meeting. Submit a question in advance here; join meeting here. To list an event, please email Chronicle politics editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com The 11th ASEAN Military Operations Meeting (AMOM-11) was held via videoconference on March 10 under the chair of Brigadier General Haji Abdul Razak bin Haji Abd, Joint Force Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. The Vietnamese delegation at the meeting. (Source: qdnd.vn) The 11th ASEAN Military Operations Meeting (AMOM-11) was held via videoconference on March 10 under the chair of Brigadier General Haji Abdul Razak bin Haji Abd, Joint Force Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. Major General Nguyen Duc Can, Director of the Operations Department under the General Staff of the Vietnam Peoples Army, led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the event. At the meeting, ASEAN military operations chiefs exchanged views on the regional and global security situation, especially traditional and non-traditional security challenges that are directly affecting the ASEAN region. They reviewed the outcomes of and set out orientations for cooperation among ASEAN armies, including their operations forces, in the time ahead. The officers also discussed the updating of the ASEAN armies' work plan for 2021-2022, which was adopted in 2020 when Vietnam took over the role as ASEAN Chair. Addressing the meeting, Can stressed that amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-traditional security challenges remain a permanent factor of uncertainty, requiring countries enhance ties in sharing information, controlling borders, and coordinating activities of operations agencies. As the bodies in charge of planning military activities, the operations departments of ASEAN armies should prioritise the maintenance of their central role in building trust among the ASEAN armies while reinforcing practical and effective cooperation via joint activities, he suggested. Can added that Vietnam supports the draft update to the work plan for 2021-2022, which will be submitted to the 18th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting (ACDFM-18) for approval. Concluding the meeting, the chairmanship of the AMOM-12 was handed over to Cambodia, which will be Chair of ASEAN in 2022. VNA RAMALLAH, West Bank Fatah's decision to expel longtime senior member Nasser al-Qudwa has highlighted divisions within Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' party ahead of parliamentary elections. In early March, Qudwa, one of the movements most prominent leaders and nephew of late President Yasser Arafat, had announced his intention to form a separate electoral list that he would lead to run against Fatah's own candidates in the May vote. On March 11, Fatah released a statement saying that it had given Qudwa 48 hours to reverse this decision or be expelled from the party, yet he failed to comply. Fatah has been trying to play up the party's unity in the lead-up to the elections. In a statement issued by the Fatah Central Committee following a meeting March 8, the movement said it will run in the upcoming Palestinian elections in a unified list that garners the support of the movements members. Yet the statement did not mention the disagreements between some of the Central Committee members over the formation of this list, and also had ignored Qudwa's announcement on his own list . The committee's statement also did not mention conditions set by another leader, namely Marwan Barghouti, for him to support the unified list. The dispute over the Fatah unified list and the mechanism of its formation emerged as soon as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the legislative, presidential and Palestinian National Council elections dates, respectively, in mid-January. As preparations to form lists for the legislative elections scheduled for May kicked off, consultations began between Fatah and Barghouti, member of the Fatah Central Committee who is currently serving a life sentence in Israeli prisons. Barghouti had announced his intention to run in the presidential elections against Abbas, whom the movement announced as its only candidate. Whats more, Barghouti explicitly declared that he would not support the Fatah movements list unless it met his conditions, and he conveyed this to the movement during a Feb. 11 visit that Hussein al-Sheikh, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, who is close to Abbas, paid him in prison. Although Barghouti has yet to announce his support for Qudwas list, both men disagree with the movement leaders, specifically Abbas, and they both desire change and internal reforms within the movement. Internal differences within the movement are not limited to said lists, as Nabil Barghouti, a Fatah leader, announced his intention to run with a list to be formed by former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Also, dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan is forming a separate list. The Fatah movements lists in the elections reflect the disagreements plaguing the movement. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper had cited March 8 sources from the Fatah Central Committee as saying that Abbas gave Qudwa 48 hours to backtrack on his decision to run under a separate list and return to the movements official lists. Otherwise, the necessary measures will be taken against Qudwa and he will either be dismissed from the movement or his membership will be frozen, the sources added. But Qudwa continued moving ahead with the formation of his list, which shows that he is far from backtracking on his decision. The same newspaper reported that during a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council held Jan. 26, Abbas issued threats against the leaders and members of Fatah who nominate themselves outside the official Fatah movement list. Hatem Abdel Qader, who is close to Marwan Barghouti and a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, told Al-Monitor that Barghouti is still waiting for his conditions to be met with a list that would guarantee a change in the Palestinian arena. Otherwise, he said, he might root for another electoral list and still run for president. Abdel Qader said that Barghouti wants a unified list with the Fatah movement chosen on democratic, objective and integral grounds to set a new model for the Palestinian street. He believes that it is not up to the Central Committee to see whether or not it wants to meet these conditions. Despite these differences, Abdel Qader refuses to label involved individuals as defectors, but rather people who have a different perception of the leadership of the movement. Abdel Qader said that the fact that Fatah figures are forming electoral lists does not infer that these are Fatah lists, and stressed that the official movement list is formed by the movement's Central Committee. Khalil Shaheen, a researcher and political analyst at the Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies - Masarat, believes the opposite. He told Al-Monitor that these differences and the means of dealing with them through threats and dismissals could crack the movements structure and future cohesion. Shaheen said, What we are witnessing is a natural result of the lack of a central vision capable of bringing together all members of the movement. He said that it is a natural result of the failure to provide specific answers that respond to the Palestinian reality, be it in terms of dealing with division, the occupation or the Palestinian economic and social conditions, for which Fatah is to blame, being the cornerstone of the authority. Shaheen said that Fatah derived its strength from the diversity of opinions within it, but given the marginalization of its institutions and the monopoly in the decision-making process, it became difficult to contain these differences that emerged. Such differences appeared as rebellions, and these will most certainly weaken the movement, he noted. According to Shaheen, some Fatah leaders have been unable to make changes, which pushed them to resort to Palestinian independent figures and national figures to form separate lists from Fatahs official list. Through these elections both Fatah and Hamas are seeking to entrench the reality that has resulted from division, by maintaining Fatahs hegemony in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and they are planning the elections to have this very outcome not to bring about change or national achievements, he added. Shaheen said that this situation will weaken Fatah in the elections, as such lists will divide the movements votes and weaken the official list of the movement. This, he concluded, requires a different approach from Fatah, which needs to find common ground with those who are forming separate lists following the elections. Tripadvisor has released its 2021 list of top beaches in the United States, and only one Northeast beach makes the cut and nabs a spot in the top ten. Maines Ogunquit Beach in Ogunquit is the lone Northeast beach and is listed at number seven, situated between a mix of tropical beaches in Hawaii, several West Coast beaches and one Florida beach. This beach is impeccably clean, and has a smooth, sandy floor, Tripadvisor writes. At low tide the beach is probably the widest beach ever. At high tide you can walk out hundreds of feet and still be only waist high. Alice Pearce, the executive director of Ogunquits Chamber of Commerce, told NECN, If you think about the number of beaches -- Cape Cod, the Delaware beaches, the Outer Banks -- to be ranked above all those beautiful places is just an honor. Last year, the Maine beach was listed at number 15, behind Race Point Beach in Provincetown, which was the only other New England beach to land on the top 25 list. Menemsha Beach, located on Marthas Vineyard, was named the best beach on the East Coast last year by Rough Guides, a global travel brand that provides travel advice. Related Content: Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 SUGAR LAND, Texas, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HCSS, a leading provider of innovative solutions that help heavy civil businesses streamline their operations, introduces myField, a mobile employee engagement and time tracking solution for heavy construction operations. The easy-to-use mobile solution allows workers to stay on top of their work while in the field or at the job site. myField Mobile App for Heavy Construction "HCSS believes in getting tools in the hands of those who need them, whether in the field, office or at the job site," said Rateb Almasri, Manager of Growth, HCSS. "myField empowers workers to document their own hours across various jobs, record safety observations, monitor meter readings and send maintenance requests, improving efficiency and productivity." HCSS myField is designed for operators, laborers, flaggers, truck drivers, craftsmen, and office personnel. Instead of verbally communicating with the foreman, myField allows crew members to directly clock in or submit their time and information about what they worked on that day. Once submitted, the foreman receives a copy and can review events and times per employee. The solution can also be used for: Time Management - Individual time tracking of employees with the ability to log lunches, breaks, and capture signatures. Equipment Inspections - Perform quick safety inspections on mobile devices. Cost Code Work - Employees note what they worked on and cost code their work. Documentation - Quickly capture daily information from easy-to-answer questions. Safety Observations - Record unsafe conditions with photos, description, and severity. View My Hours - Employees can view the hours they logged and compare them to what has been approved including pay classes and overtime. GPS Location - All clock in/out locations are stamped with longitude and latitude. Maintenance Requests - Submit equipment issues to the shop for immediate review and action. HCSS myField integrates with the HCSS solutions suite of job management, safety, equipment, and dispatching software. ABOUT HCSS Since 1986, HCSS has been developing software to help construction companies streamline their operations. Today, we are recognized as a pioneer and trusted leader in estimating, operations, and fleet software, serving thousands of construction companies across the nation. Visit www.hcss.com to learn more. For More Information, Contact: Becky Boyd MediaFirst PR Office: 770.642.2080 x 214 Cell: 404.421.8497 Email: [email protected] Related Images myfield-screen-shot.jpg myField Screen Shot myField Mobile App for Heavy Construction Related Links HCSS Heavy Civil Construction Software myField SOURCE HCSS WILLIAMSTOWN An idea floated this week in Williamstown might wend its way to a wider debate: Would paying a stipend to serve on the Select Board encourage more residents to seek office, particularly those less affluent? Member Jeffrey Thomas thinks so. Though his proposal received lukewarm responses Monday from others on the panel, several supported having the question go to town meeting. Its an interesting approach, said member Hugh Daley, who supports seeing it discussed by townspeople. Let our bosses decide how they want to incentive people to be on this board. In a late addition to the sessions agenda, Thomas proposed paying regular members $3,500 a year to serve on the board, with its chair getting $5,000. Any such payment would not apply to current members of the board, he said, and would, if enacted, be available only after officials stand for reelection. Thomas provided a chart of what other Berkshire County towns pay Select Board members. According to Thomas research, of the communities listed, only Lenox and Williamstown do not provide a stipend. Thomas said the goal is to enable people who already work multiple jobs, or must find child care for evening duties in municipal government, to view board service as a possibility. To broaden the range of community members who can consider serving on this board, said Thomas, who is leaving the panel in May, with one year left on his term. Cloud 85, a co-work, public office space, to open in North Adams (copy) Jeffrey Thomas, who will step down from the Williamstown Select Board in May, is proposing that the town begin to provide stipends for service Thomas said the suggested that payments were only a starting point for discussion. The biggest stipend in the county is paid by Egremont, Thomas research shows, which pays board members $5,101 a year. Stockbridge pays $4,545; Monterey, $4,914; Peru and Otis, $4,000; West Stockbridge, $2,500; and Becket, $2,200. Member Andrew Hogeland noted that since Williamstown has a town manager, its Select Board generally isnt called to shoulder the same workload as some other towns, though he said this past year has been an exception because of the volume of the boards business. Hogeland said he views work on the Select Board as akin to volunteering for a nonprofit. And he observed that, in some Berkshire communities, the stipend is actually the towns contribution to health insurance. Thats the case in Great Barrington, which has a town manager and pays board members $4,700 a year, the amount needed to cover an employees share of premiums in the communitys health insurance. Hogeland and member Anne OConnor said that members of other panels in town, including the School Committee and Planning Board, devote a lot of time to their work as well. How do we weigh the rationale of the Select Board getting a stipend and not other committees? OConnor asked. Why is our workload any more than the Planning Board? Hogeland asked. Nonetheless, he said he is open to having the town discuss the merits of stipends. No vote was taken. In other work for the town, Thomas has helped update the towns master plan, pushed to increase the supply of housing for working-class families and worked to diversify the towns economy. He is a past member of the towns Community Preservation Committee and Economic Development Committee. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Japanese counterpart Motegi Toshimitsu held a telephone conversation yesterday to review the latest international developments. The two sides exchanged views on strengthening and developing amicable relations between the two countries and discussed the latest regional and international developments including Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). While emphasizing on exploring avenues to expand relations between the two countries, Japanese Foreign Minister stressed his countrys support for JCPOA and fulfillment of commitments by all parties involved in Irans nuclear deal. Turning to the outbreak of the coronavirus global pandemic, Toshimitsu expressed his hope that he will visit Iran in near future with the improvement of coronavirus conditions. The Iranian Foreign Minister, for his part, welcomed the expansion of bilateral relations between Iran and Japan and emphasized that Iran is ready to resume its commitments under JCPOA if other parties involved in the talks fulfill their obligations especially with the lifting of sanctions imposed against Iran, Mehr News reported. Referring to the constructive role of Islamic Republic in containing regional crises, Zarif explained the dimensions of measures taken including cooperating with UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Yemen Affairs. The area where the COVID-19 patents reside has been blocked (Photo: VNA) Hai Phong The northern city of Hai Phong is promptly tracing people who had close contact with two local residents who were tested positive to coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 when arriving in Australia. The patients included a 42-year-old woman and her child, born in 2003, residing on Nguyen Cong Tru street of Le Chan district. They travelled to Hanoi on February 26 where their samples showed negative results. They flew to Australia on February 28 and arrived in the country on March 1 after transiting in Singapore. The child tested negative to the virus on March 3, while the mother was declared to infect with disease three days later. The citys authorities have asked people who had contacts with the two patients from February 20-28 to contact medical centres in their residential areas or the hotline of the Hai Phong Health Department, 0978 789 499, 0902 210 218, or 0912 498 366 to receive support. So far, the city has found five F1s and 35 other people who had contact with the patients, and put them under quarantine. Their samples have been taken for testing. The government on Wednesday amended telecom licence norms that will enable it to control the installation of network equipment from non-trusted sources. With effect from June 15, telecom operators will be required to take permission from the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) for up-gradation of existing networks, utilising the telecom equipment not designated as trusted products. According to the license amendment, the NCSC will be the designated authority that can impose conditions for the procurement of telecom equipment on the grounds of "Defence of India" or matters directly related to national security. "Designated authority shall notify the categories of equipment for which the security related to Trusted sources are applicable. For the said categories of equipment designated authority shall notify the trusted sources along with the associated telecommunication equipment (trusted products)," according to the amendment. It will help the government control sourcing of products from China and other non-friendly countries. The NCSC may also notify a list of designated sources from whom no procurement can be done. "With effect from June 15, 2021, the licences, shall only connect trusted products in its network and also seek permission from the designated authority for up-gradation of an existing network utilising the telecommunication equipment not designated as trusted products. "However, these directions will not affect ongoing annual maintenance contracts or updates to existing equipment already induced in the network as on date of effect," the amendment notification said. While the government has not barred procurement of equipment from Chinese companies, it amended the general financial rules (GFR) 2017 to enable the imposition of restrictions on bidders in public procurement from countries that share a land border with India on grounds of defence of India, or matters directly or indirectly related thereto, including national security. Public companies need to scrap tenders if a qualified bidder is from a country that shares a land border with India, which includes China. J Sagar Associates partner Tony Verghese said that the amendment of the telecom licenses by the DoT regarding the procurement of telecom equipment was an expected move in light of the 5G auctions. "The recent incidents allegedly by Chinese hackers have definitely hastened the process with the government inclined towards a new national strategy to strengthen the country's security. "Telecom equipment's play a vital role in telecom connectivity and data transfer, which has a direct impact on the national security of India. Therefore, such a policy decision, which definitely impacts significant market players, clearly conveys the government's stand on national security," Verghese said. Also Read: Realme 8 Pro will have one special feature that even Redmi Note 10 Pro Max does not have Nigerias health authorities Thursday evening through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) moved quickly to douse growing anxiety around the suspension of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, produced in partnership with Oxford. Early Thursday, four European countries citing blood clotting difficulties and a suspected death arising from the usage of the vaccine, suspended its use. In a statement signed by Mohammed Ohitoto, the head of its public relations unit, the NPHCDA said while we await the outcome of the investigations, it is important to clearly state that Nigeria did not receive any doses from the batch of vaccines which is at issue, implying that the vaccines are in batches. While the agency stated the batch in question as ABV5300, it, however, did not state that of Nigeria. The agency emphasised the Nigerian governments confidence in the vaccine, saying the government will not discontinue its use. We are satisfied that the clinical evidence indicates the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to be safe and effective. Our assessment is in line with countries such as Spain and the UK who have indicated that they will continue to administer the vaccine, because it remains an important tool to protect against COVID-19. Nigeria took delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine in early March and has since begun administration to prioritised groups. Denmark, Iceland and Norway have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution amid reports of blood clotting in some people who have received it. The Danish health authority said that there was a reported death in the country but that at present, it cannot be concluded whether there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots. Use of the vaccine will be suspended until further notice, the health authority said on Thursday, but the decision will be reviewed in two weeks time. Shortly after the Danish announcement, Iceland followed suit. Hours later, the Norwegian health authority also said they too would suspend vaccinations after the report from Denmark. This comes after Austria suspended a batch of the vaccines following the death of a woman due to multiple blood clots and the hospitalisation of another person with a blockage in the arteries of the lungs. France and the UK have, however, ruled out the following suit for now, stressing the suspension in other countries is a precautionary measure. The European Medicines Agency said it was reviewing the incidents as well as all other conditions related to blood clots but a preliminary review suggested there was no specific issue with the batch. As of Tuesday, the medicines regulator said, there were 22 cases of blood clotting reported among the three million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the European Economic Area. We are in the middle of the largest and most important vaccination rollout in Danish history. And right now we need all the vaccines we can get. Therefore, putting one of the vaccines on pause is not an easy decision, said Sren Brostrm, Director General of the Danish Health Authority. But precisely because we vaccinate so many, we also need to respond with timely care when there is knowledge of possible serious side effects. We need to clarify this before we can continue to use the vaccine from AstraZeneca. The change means that people who have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Denmark will have to wait before they receive the second dose, the health authority said. ADVERTISEMENT Frontline health staff aged 65 or over will continue to receive vaccination appointments with one of the other two vaccines, they specified. The authority said they are not opting out of the AstraZeneca vaccine but just putting it on hold. There is good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective, Brostrm said. A senior official at the National Institute of Public Health, Geir Bukholm, told reporters on Thursday afternoon: We are taking a break in Norway from vaccination with AstraZeneca. We are waiting for information to see if there is a link between the vaccination and this case of blood clots. It is the precautionary principle, Bukholm said, stressing that no link had yet been established between the Anglo-Swedish laboratorys vaccine and the cases of thrombosis, including one fatality, reported in Denmark. In a statement issued in reaction to the Danish announcement, Britains government said people should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so. It has not been confirmed that the report of a blood clot, in Denmark, was caused by the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, Dr Phil Bryan, Safety Lead at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said. Frances Health Minister, Olivier Veran, told a press conference late afternoon that according to the nations High Authority for Health, there is no reason to suspend vaccinations with AstraZeneca. OCALA, Fla., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HiBid.com is the leading auction platform for buying and selling assets spanning hundreds of categories, including art, antiques, jewelry, household items, toys, tools, and real estate. In last week's sales, a total of 1,023 auctions generated more than $28.9 million in gross auction proceeds (GAP). Approximately 964,000 bidders placed an average of 1.6 million bids per day. As a result, more than 400,000 lots sold across the platform's webcast and online-only auctions. HiBid is fully integrated with Auction Flex, providing auctioneers a comprehensive auction management platform that supports webcast auctions, internet-only auctions, and absentee bidding. March 1st-7th HiBid.com Highlights Gross Auction Proceeds: $28,940,484 Gross Merchandise Volume: $54,077,511 Lots Sold: 401,950 Online-Only Auctions: 953 Webcast Auctions: 70 Average Bidders Per Day: 964,000 Average Bids Per Day: 1.6 million Current Auctions The following list represents a mere sampling of the hundreds of auctions currently open for bidding on HiBid.com. Site visitors can click the Find Auctions menu at the top of the page for links to the latest Featured and Hot auctions, or use the search box to find auctions nearby. Across these and other events, bidders can bid now on collectible coins, barbecue grills, antiques, fine jewelry, real estate in Tennessee, and much more. Jewelry, Antique Ceramics and Decorations Online-Only Auction Seller: Global Heritage Auction Co., Limited Dates: February 28th-March 15th, 2021 Lots: 604 View Auction Items Jimmy Buffett & Elvis Premium Coins Online-Only Auction Seller: Bumblebee Auction Dates: January 19th-March 16th Lots: 785 View Auction Items Catholic Charities Online-Only Benefit Auction Seller: Schmid Auction & Realty Co. Dates: March 1st-17th, 2021 Lots: 48 View Auction Items 104.75 Acres in Tennessee Online-Only Auction Seller: United Country Clinch Mountain Realty & Auction Dates: February 12th-March 27th, 2021 Lots: 1 View Auction Items If you're looking to sell through HiBid.com, click here to describe what you wish to sell, and a local HiBid auctioneer will help you get started. Interested in receiving updates from HiBid? Sign up to receive newsletter emails, and follow HiBid Auctions on Facebook and LinkedIn. About HiBid & Auction Flex HiBid is an online auction platform supporting webcast auctions, internet-only auctions, and internet absentee bidding. It is available as both a private-label solution and a portal. HiBid is integrated with Auction Flex, the market leader in auction software for live auctions, with capabilities that include cataloging, clerking, cashiering, accounting, mailing list management, inventory management, and multi-parcel. HiBid and Auction Flex were built from the ground up to function together seamlessly. They are products of Sandhills Global, the technology company behind AuctionTime.com and numerous industry-focused brands. Contact Us 352-414-1947 [email protected] SOURCE HiBid & Auction Flex Related Links https://www.sandhills.com Adapting to teaching and learning during the pandemic means longer hours for many education workers. (Graph: Center for State and Local Government Excellence at ICMA-RC) Risks and Rewards Are Out of Synch A Lot of Discouraged Workers K-12 workers (blue bars) are much more likely to have child-care responsibilities while at work than other public-sector employees (yellow bars), a reflection of the fact that three-fourths of K-12 workers are women. (Graph: Center for State and Local Government Excellence at ICMA-RC) Support for Reopening After a year of reshaping teaching and learning to contend with COVID-19, K-12 education workers are worried and worn out. A new report from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE) at ICMA-RC finds that their stress levels and health concerns are greater than ever, and that nearly 40 percent have considered changing jobs.This is an unwelcome indicator of instability in what is by far the largest segment of the public workforce. According to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau, 8.3 million of the 14.2 million persons employed by local government work in education, primarily at the elementary and secondary levels.Extended disruption of normal school operations has distressed parents, students and political leaders. Full economic recovery is not possible without functioning schools, and the possibility of a rush to leave school jobs concerns government leaders.State and local governments were already having challenges with recruitment and retention of teachers before the pandemic, says Rivka Liss-Levinson, Ph.D., senior research manager for SLGE and author of the report. Now there are a new set of problems in terms of how youre going to keep K-12 workers when they have low morale and so many safety and financial concerns.SLGE analyzed responses from 494 K-12 employees with demographic characteristics that were consistent with the national workforce profile in this sector. It compared the responses collected from education workers to those from other public-sector workers.Personal safety was a major concern, with 60 percent of education workers believing they are at risk of COVID-19 exposure at work, compared to 38 percent of other government employees. Following from this, 6 in 10 expressed concerns about keeping their families from contracting the virus, compared to 4 in 10 from other sectors. More than half feel that their compensation is not in line with the risks they are taking.As an earlier SLGE report found, stress and burnout levels are high among all public-sector workers as a result of the pandemic, but 40 percent of K-12 employees stated that their morale was somewhat or strongly negative. This represents about 3 million state education workers.Changes required by the shift to alternative methods of teaching have also added pressure. Four in 10 workers reported they are working more than they did before the pandemic, from causes including the extra demand of online and remote learning (78 percent), more meetings and communication with parents (52 percent), more meetings with colleagues (50 percent) and problems with technology (38 percent).Almost three-fourths of K-12 employees are women, and one survey finding in particular underscores that they are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Sixty percent of respondents said that they have worked from home for lengthy periods while caring for children, as compared to 39 percent of non-education workers.Jurisdictions need to think about what can be done to help these workers, says Liss-Levinson. They dont have the schedule flexibility that other state and local government employees do, she says. If youre teaching a class, you cant be helping your kids.Mark Joraanstad, Ed.D, executive director of Arizona School Administrators, oversees a network that includes 1,400 public school administrators in the state, from superintendents and district officials to principals, assistant principals and teachers who are aspiring administrators. The report from SLGE mirrors what he has seen.There are a lot of discouraged workers in education, he says. The teaching and the classified staff have borne enormous burdens this year, and theres a feeling that what theyve done has not really been valued.Teachers have made heroic efforts to provide instruction in-person as well as in various hybrid and virtual situations, often at risk of their own health, says Joraanstad. Even so, the public seems focused on what they have not been able to do.The teaching profession was already bracing for a silver tsunami, and COVID-19 has only made retirement more appealing. A lot of people have retired during the school year this year, says Joraanstad. Theyve said it isnt worth the risk.The rollout of vaccinations will help, and he expects most of the teachers in Arizona to get two shots by the end of March. Still, theres no question that the pandemic has exacerbated the severe teacher shortage that already existed in the state.These survey results illuminate what we know to be true: this pandemic has wreaked havoc on our communities and our lives, says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). It has upended our sense of normalcy and made already stressful working conditions even more unbearable.Weingarten is convinced that the lack of a coherent national plan for schools made things worse.Imagine if we had implemented the guardrails recommended by the AFT in the early days of the pandemic the road map of layered mitigation, testing and vaccines that so many of us now see as the path to safe return.The new administration has expressed commitments to both science and reopening schools, but there are still questions about how soon schools will be able to comply with guidelines from a newly empowered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).No matter what comes next, the situation wont improve for educators or students if school budgets become default targets for deep cuts. When schools return to in-person instruction, the costs associated with ongoing remote learning, social distancing and other public health mandates could increase their expenses. Assisting those who need to continue working from home during an extended return to in-person teaching, recognition of service, or even financial wellness programs could foster job loyalty.There needs to be a lot of consideration of the impact of making cuts in certain areas, thinking about the workforce, says Liss-Levinson. There should be a long pause before making these decisions, really thinking through the short, medium and long-term impacts.Federal support can provide a buffer. The relief package Congress passed in December includes $54.3 billion for public schools. The $1.9 trillion relief package that President Biden will sign this week will give them $126 billion more. Joraanstad is happy to see these developments, but hopes they wont cause states to decide that they dont also need to support the work of school administrators and staff.Some good has come from this period, he says, in which educators pivoted, tried new teaching methods and found new ways to use technology. But schools wont go back to operating as they did before the pandemic.That wont happen, adds Joraanstad. We have improved how we teach and learn together with our students and families schools will be better than they were before. New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs West Bengal unit has refused to abide by the decision of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to restrict immersion of idols on October 1 due to Muharram. RSS said Hindus will immerse the idols of Durga and its governments duty to ensure both Hindu and Muslims are able to perform their religious rituals. Hindus will immerse the idols following Shastra guidelines. It is the governments duty to ensure both communities are able to perform their rituals as per religious guidelines. Hindus will immerse idols after 6 pm on Bijoya Dashami as the almanac allows it, The Hindustan Times quoted Jisnu Basu, general secretary of RSS south Bengal as saying. The statement from RSS came after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to maintain peace and avoid possible clashes, ordered that no immersions will take place on October 1 due to Muharram. There will be no immersions on October 1 due to Muharram. However, immersions will resume on October 2 and continue till October 4 the day before Lakshmi Puja. This year Durga Puja and Muharram have fallen at the same time. We have to maintain peace during the festivals. I will ask the police to talk to puja and Muharram committees. Barricades will be set up at places where Muharram processions will be taken out so that processions of both communities do not mix up. The puja committees will have to play a vital role in this regard. You have to ensure that no untoward incident takes place. We will not allow anyone to incite riots, she added. The BJP accused Mamata of appeasing the minorities by putting restrictions on Hindu celebrations and said the party will move to Court against the order. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent. Our reporting is free for everyone, but its not free to make. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. California's more than 200,000 farmworkers are now eligible to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. But getting the vaccine to these essential workers can be difficult, given their long work weeks and distance from major vaccine clinics. To speed things up, the United Farm Workers Foundation teamed up this past Sunday with the Ventura County Health Department to give 500 field hands their first dose of the Moderna vaccine. The need to keep things outdoors and socially distanced meant this particular vaccine clinic would take place in the alley behind the UFW Foundation's office in old downtown Oxnard. In line waiting for her shot was Regina Francisca Isidro, 52. She laughed nervously as she waited, choosing first her left arm for the vaccine, then changing to her right. Isidro came to the U.S. from Mexico on a temporary worker visa. She had just finished a two-week quarantine after arriving, and would soon be harvesting celery, strawberries and raspberries. She got her shot, to the applause of the nurse, a translator and a volunteer who was shepherding her through the various stations of the clinic. Now that she's vaccinated, the odds are good she won't get COVID-19. But many of the farmworkers at the clinic had already been infected. Farmworkers line up for a coronavirus vaccine. (Sharon McNary/LAist) 'IT JUST ELEVATES THE RISK' Farmworkers in this area often live in crowded houses and apartments, carpool to the fields and work elbow-to-elbow in the strawberry rows, said the UFW's Roman Pinal. "It just elevates the risk for farmworkers," he said. Pinal pointed out that infections and coronavirus deaths in Ventura County have been concentrated in farmworker communities. "If you add up some of the farmworker zip codes -- 93030, that's Colonia, where Cesar Chavez Elementary school is and where Cesar Chavez lived, and a couple other zip codes, that's probably half the infections for the whole county," he said. Oxnard accounts for about 40% of the county's COVID-19 infections, said Rigoberto Vargas, director of the Ventura County Public Health Department. Those who got their first dose of vaccine at the clinic left with a card showing their appointment for a second shot, as well as a gift bag from the UFW Foundation containing a box of face masks, a bottle of hand sanitizer and a few cans of food. Abel Aragon Perez, after receiving his vaccine at the clinic co-sponsored by the UFW Foundation and Ventura County. (Sharon McNary/LAist) 'I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT MY KIDS' Abel Aragon Perez has worked the fields in Salinas and Oxnard for 30 years. He learned he was positive for COVID-19 right after Christmas. Suffering headaches and body aches, for two weeks he tried his best to stay away from his wife, his 5-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son, although they all live together. He wore double face masks and gloves and carefully cleaned the bathroom. "As a father, I have to think about my kids, and keep from infecting my family," he said. Aragon Perez couldn't even kiss them good night. His symptoms eased up after a few weeks. One of the difficulties his family has faced during the pandemic has been having kids at home learning online, and Aragon Perez says he's not really good at using computers. But he didn't have to go online to get his vaccine appointment. The UFW texted messages to farmworkers -- most have phones and are comfortable with text messaging apps. MORE OUTREACH WORKERS Last week, Aragon Perez got a text asking if he wanted the vaccine. He texted back that he would, and the UFW gave him the time and place to show up. On Sunday, he got his shot. Having already suffered through a bout of COVID-19, he wasn't worried about the side effects from a vaccine to keep him from getting it again. Aragon Perez is the first in his family to get the vaccine. His wife works at an onion packing plant, and she's still waiting to get an appointment. Many farmworkers are in the fields six days a week, taking only Sundays off, so it can be even more difficult to book a shot. Some clinics shut down on Sundays. The 500 farmworkers who received the vaccine on Sunday represent a tiny fraction of the field laborers who need protection from the coronavirus. Advocates like the UFW want to see more outreach to workers from health officials, and from the growers and labor contractors who hire them. Samantha Hernandez, a high school student from Bakersfield, volunteers handing out gift bags containing boxes of face masks (Sharon McNary/LAist) Ventura County plans to add Sunday vaccine clinics, mobile vaccine teams and employer-based clinics as well as volunteers to help farmworkers sign up for shots. To his fellow field workers, Aragon Perez says, if you have access to the vaccine, get the shot as soon as you can. "It's good to be protected," he said. When EFH reaches 80% Rolls-Royce said it will be generating cash of around 750mln a year. Around 7,000 jobs have been cut out of the planned 9,000 reductions Rolls-Royce PLC ( ) posted an underlying loss of nearly 4bn in 2020 and said it expects the pace of recovery in air travel to be slower than previously expected. The aeroengine maker slashed its workforce and raised 7.3bn through loans, export credits and a 2bn share issue to keep going during the pandemic which saw hours flown by its engines fall to 43% of the 2019 level. Around 7,000 jobs have been cut out of the planned 9,000 reductions, it said. In 2021, Rolls-Royce said it expects engine hours (EFH) to recover to 55% of the 2019 total, which will mean a further cash outflow of 2bn, with hours flown to rise to 80% in 2022. Previously, Rolls said it had expected to be flying at 90% in 2022. The groups power systems arm should recover much quicker and be back to 2019 levels at the start of 2022, while defence activity is expected to be stable. Revenue in the year to end-December fell by 29% to 11.8bn while underlying losses soared to 3.96bn (583mln profit) which included 1.7bn for unwinding a hedge position. Operating losses were 2.1bn though this was helped by a release of 620mln from the provision to rectify the problems with the Trent 1000 engine. More than 4.1bn of cash flowed out of the business during the year, Rolls-Royce added, though due to the fundraises and cost-saving it closed the year with 9bn of liquidity including cash of 3.5bn. When EFH reaches 80% Rolls-Royce said it will be generating cash of around 750mln a year. Warren East, chief executive, added: We have made a good start on our programme of disposals and will continue with this in 2021. We continue to invest in developing market-leading technology and low carbon opportunities in all our end markets, to create value for our stakeholders and ensure we are well-positioned to take advantage of the transition to a lower-carbon economy. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 07:16:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- In a move that may reshape decision and policy-making towards sustainable development, the United Nations on Wednesday adopted a new framework that includes the contributions of nature when measuring economic prosperity and human well-being. The new framework - the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) - was adopted by the UN Statistical Commission and marks a major step forward that goes beyond the commonly used statistic of gross domestic product (GDP) that has dominated economic reporting since the end of World War II. This measure would ensure that natural capital - forests, wetlands and other ecosystems - are recognized in economic reporting. Experts emphasize that while a statistic such as GDP does a good job of showing the value of goods and services exchanged in markets, it does not reflect the dependency of the economy on nature, nor its impacts on nature, such as the deterioration of water quality or the loss of a forest. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the adoption of the new economic and environmental framework. "This is a historic step forward towards transforming how we view and value nature. We will no longer be heedlessly allowing environmental destruction and degradation to be considered economic progress." The new framework can also underpin decision-making at two crucial conferences later this year - COP15 on Biodiversity in Kunming and the Glasgow Climate Conference, COP 26. According to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report, "Making Peace with Nature," the global economy has grown nearly fivefold over the last 50 years, largely due to a tripling in extraction of natural resources and energy that has fueled growth in production and consumption. Over the same time, the world population has increased by a factor of two, to 7.8 billion people, and though on average prosperity has also doubled, about 1.3 billion people still live in poverty and some 700 million are hungry. "This is a major step forward," said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. "The new framework can be a game changer in decision-making. By highlighting the contribution of nature, we now have a tool that allows us to properly view and value nature. It can help us bring about a rapid and lasting shift toward sustainability for both people and the environment." The adoption comes at a time when climate change continues its relentless march and the world is on track to reach new highs of warming, climbing to at least 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2020 was in a dead-heat to be one of the three warmest years on record, and 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record, with the warmest six years all being since 2015. And the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, together with climate change and pollution will undermine our efforts on 80 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goal targets. And yet countries continue to make decisions on the economy without consideration to environmental impacts. Governments are still directing more than 5 trillion U.S. dollars in annual subsidies to fossil fuels, non-sustainable agriculture and fishing, non-renewable energy, mining, and transportation. The new framework recognizes that ecosystems deliver important services that generate benefits for people. In essence, they are assets to be maintained, similar to economic assets. For example, forests play a role in providing communities with clean water, serving as natural water filters with trees, plants and other characteristics, such as soil depth, that help absorb nutrient pollution like nitrogen and phosphorus before it can flow into streams, rivers and lakes. More than 34 countries are compiling ecosystem accounts on an experimental basis. With the adoption of the new accounting recommendations, many more countries are expected to begin implementing the system, though a significant number of countries will require assistance and additional resources for statistical data collection. Enditem Acting Premier James Merlino went on the front foot over the half-price flights initiative on Thursday. Credit:Joe Armao Epping Gardens, one of the worst-hit aged care homes in the state during the second wave of the coronavirus and the subject of a class action, was placed under temporary lockdown as health authorities undertook further testing. The positive test was later deemed to be as a result of shedding, meaning the resident was no longer infectious and restrictions were lifted at the home by 6pm. Mr Merlinos disappointment on the travel package was matched by his counterparts in NSW, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted the 14 airports were only an initial list which would probably grow once the travel industry responded to the announcement. The 50 per cent discount on the airfare gets combined with a hotel deal, a tour out on the reef or wherever you happen to go, and you package it up, and thats how the travel industry works and theyre very, very good at it, he said. In the absence of Premier Daniel Andrews, who faces an extended recovery period after breaking ribs and fracturing a vertebra, Mr Merlinos offensive was backed up by Tourism Minister Martin Pakula, who said he would be writing to Mr Tehan. Somewhere in the Canberra bubble there seems to be a misunderstanding of how Victorian tourism works, and a failure to understand that capital cities have felt the absence of international visitors every bit as much as the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and the Whitsundays, Mr Pakula wrote on Twitter. We want to get Aussie visitors to our ski fields, our wineries, our hotels, our restaurants and laneway bars, our rugged coastline and our incredible regional culinary and cultural offerings. But this inequitable package from the Commonwealth doesnt do it, and it needs to change. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The NSW government complained that Queensland was getting an unfair share of the program especially given its record on snap border closures and childish behaviour over quarantine bills. Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said that unlike some states, NSW has always acted in the national interest and shouldnt be subsiding the economies of others. NSW had avoided snap border closures, Mr Perrottet said but Queensland was now being rewarded by the federal government despite not striking the balance between protecting people and saving jobs. Announcing the package on Thursday morning, Mr Morrison repeated his message to state governments that vaccinations had changed the threat of COVID-19 in 2021. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and deputy Michael McCormack want a less conservative borders approach. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen For this to work best the states have to keep their borders open, he said. Mr Morrisons deputy Michael McCormack went further, demanding premiers avoid knee-jerk, hasty decisions at a moments notice to have snap border closures. Mr McCormack signalled that there could be an extension to the program, with more destinations added at a later date. The keyword there is initial, he said. So well look at what we can do and well work with the airlines. Well work with the tourism operators to see what other destinations may well be potentially added to the list. James Merlino will likely be deputising in Premier Daniel Andrews absence for several weeks. Credit:Joe Armao Mr Joyce said all state leaders had told him that the risk of borders closing would be extremely low once phases 1a and 1b of the vaccination program made up of seven million high-risk people including hotel quarantine workers plus aged care residents and staff were completed. Federal Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy said on Wednesday that he was aiming for phase 1 to be completed by the middle of the year before the entire population is vaccinated by October. The Victorian government will release its latest batch of $200 travel vouchers on Friday, which for the first time will be allowed to be used in Melbourne as well as the regions. Loading Victorian businesses suffered as the state shut its border to New South Wales over the Christmas period and most jurisdictions closed to Victoria during last months five-day lockdown. Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani pointed to those as evidence Australians remained reluctant to travel and risk being at the other side of a snap border closure. This federal package fails to address the key issue of consumer confidence, she said. Mr Merlino said discussions were ongoing at national cabinet regarding border guidelines but we want our borders to be open. His scepticism on the federal tourism package was echoed by Accommodation Australia chief executive Dean Long, who said capital cities such as Melbourne, where 80 per cent of the market was from international and corporate travellers, needed more immediate support with hotels running at less than 10 per cent capacity. Justin Giddings, chief executive of Avalon Airport Victorias big winner from the federal announcement told The Age that he disagreed with Mr Merlinos logic. When we do catchment surveys, Im always surprised by the number of people from Melbourne and beyond about 55 per cent of arrivals go on to Melbourne, he said. Victoria only has two main airports, Mildura could be included perhaps but none of Australias other capital cities have been included in the program. Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra questioned why Tasmania got the first-class treatment of three airports compared with Victorias one. As good as coming into Avalon is it doesnt help the CBD, it doesnt help the Mornington Peninsula, it doesnt help East Gippsland, he said. Herbert Alford was convicted of second degree murder in 2016. He was exonerated and freed from prison last year after Hertz finally provided the receipt A Michigan man who spent nearly five years in prison for a murder he didn't commit is suing Hertz for taking three years to produce a receipt that proved he was renting a car 20 minutes away from the crime scene. Herbert Alford, 47, was convicted of second degree murder in 2016. He was found guilty of shooting dead victim Michael Adams, 23, after arguing over marijuana in a shopping plaza parking lot in South Lansing in 2011. At the time, Alford was in fact eight miles away, renting a car at the Capital Region International Airport. It's unclear why prosecutors targeted him. His attorneys asked Hertz to produce proof of his rental after he was arrested in 2015 but they couldn't find it. It wasn't until 2018 that they located the record, and he was finally exonerated in 2020. Now, he is suing the company, claiming they could have kept him out of jail. 'There is no question that (Alford) would have avoided going to prison had they produced this documentation,' his attorney said. Alford in his mugshot (left) and victim Michael Adams (right) who was killed over marijuana, according to prosecutors He later told The New York Times: 'This man wasnt asking to produce all their records for six months. He just wanted his receipt.' He is now seeking unspecified damages. Hertz said it was 'deeply saddened' by what happened 'We cant put a dollar amount on years of your life and your reputation,' his lawyer said. Hertz said it's 'deeply saddened' about what happened to Alford. 'While we were unable to find the historic rental record from 2011 when it was requested in 2015, we continued our good faith efforts to locate it,' spokeswoman Lauren Luster said Wednesday. 'With advances in data search in the years following, we were able to locate the rental record in 2018 and promptly provided it.' Alford was convicted of second-degree murder in 2016 in the shooting death of Michael Adams, White said. Hertz has already gone into administration which is likely to hamper his efforts in seeking compensation. (Natural News) According to the American Psychological Association (APA), anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. Experiencing anxiety occasionally is a normal part of life and may even be useful in certain situations, but some people deal with feelings of anxiety frequently. Those with anxiety disorders suffer from intense and persistent worry and fear that could disrupt their day-to-day activities. There are many signs and symptoms of anxiety. The most notable of which include feeling nervous and restless, hyperventilating, sweating, having trouble concentrating or thinking and having a sense of impending danger or doom. Although experts still dont fully understand what causes anxiety disorders, traumatic events often trigger symptoms, especially in people who are prone to anxiety. But in a recent study, researchers at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine found that a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula known as xiao yao san (XYS) can alleviate anxiety-like behaviors in rats. They reported that XYS exerts its effects by altering the expression of genes involved in the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway. This pathway plays a role in the induction of chronic stress. The researchers reported their findings in an article published in the journal Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. XYS is an effective treatment for anxiety Xiao yao san means happy, carefree powder in TCM. Its most well-known use is as a treatment for menopausal anxiety and depression. Some reports also suggest that when combined with acupuncture and moxibustion, XYS relieves anxiety and depression following procedures such as placenta transplantation and test tube fertilization. According to TCM records, XYS is composed of eight different medicinal herbs, namely, Bupleurum chinense (Chinese thorow wax, chai hu), Angelica sinensis (female ginseng, dang gui), Paeonia lactiflora (white peony, bai shao), Atractylodes macrocephala (white atractylodes, bai zhu), Poria cocos (poria mushroom, fu ling), Zingiber officinale (ginger, sheng jiang), Mentha piperita (Chinese peppermint, bo he) and Glycyrrhiza uralensis (licorice, gan cao). Several clinical trials have found that the combination of these TCM herbs is more powerful than modern antidepressants. In their previous study, the researchers reported that XYS exerts anxiolytic effects in rats subjected to two weeks of chronic immobilization stress (CIS). They hypothesized that these effects may be attributed to the influence of XYS on JNK, a stress-activated enzyme. Different types of stressors are known to activate the JNK signaling pathway, which can ultimately lead to cell damage and apoptosis. To test their hypothesis, the researchers employed 40 rats and divided them into five groups: the control group, which received deionized water; the model group, which also received deionized water; the SP600125 group, which underwent surgery; the per se group, which also underwent surgery; and the XYS group, which received 3.9 g/kg XYS daily. The researchers injected 1 percent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) citrate buffer solution and SP600125 separately and bilaterally into the rats (via the brains ventricular system) in the two surgery groups. They then subjected all the groups except for the control to 14 days of CIS. (Related: Relieve anxiety with essential oils.) On Day 15, the researchers measured the bodyweight of the rats and subjected the animals to the elevated plus maze (EPM) and novelty suppressed feeding (NSF) tests. They then examined JNK signaling pathway indices, including phosphorylated JNK (P-JNK), JNK, phosphorylated c-Jun (P-c-Jun) and cytochrome C (cyt-C). The release of cyt-C into the cytosol of cells is said to trigger programmed cell death, or apoptosis. Based on body weight and behavioral analyses of the model rats, the researchers confirmed the successful induction of anxiety-like behaviors in the animals. They reported that CIS altered the expression of P-JNK, JNK and P-c-Jun in the hippocampus of the model rats. However, treatment with XYS and SP600125, a known JNK inhibitor, for 14 days changed rat body weight and behaviors, along with P-JNK, JNK and P-c-Jun expression levels, for the better. Both XYS and SP600125 had no effect on cyt-C. These results suggest that XYS reduces anxiety-like behaviors induced by CIS by inhibiting JNK signaling in the hippocampus. Sources include: Science.news APA.org MayoClinic.org Hindawi.com JStage.JST.go.jp Nature.com Seen above is an updated YouTube tax policy posted on its help center. Screen capture from Google By Lee Min-hyung Gap confirmed in January the store, closed for months because of the pandemic, would not reopen. Both the Water Tower Place store and a Gap on Michigan Avenue are among the 350 Gap and Banana Republic stores the company plans to close by 2023. Another Gap brand, Banana Republic, had a store at Water Tower Place in 2019 that has since closed. Srinagar, March 11 : The Jammu and Kashmir Police have filed a chargesheet against a terrorist and three terrorist associates of proscribed outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, officials said on Thursday. The police said a chargesheet was submitted in a case pertaining to an incident on September 14, 2020 when Ganderbal police along with the army busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module and arrested three terrorist associates identified as Arshid Ahmad Khan, a resident of Wayil Wudder, Majid Rasool Rather and Mohd Aasif Najar, both residents of Beehama Ganderbal, for hatching a criminal conspiracy for terrorist acts, harbouring terrorists and giving support to the proscribed terrorist organisations. "The investigation revealed that the arrested trio had came in contact with a Pakistan-based Kashmiri terrorist, namely Fayaz Ahmad Khan, a resident of Gutlibagh, and were being handled by him from across the border to take up various terrorist and subversive activities in the district," the police said. The police said that after the conclusion of the investigation, necessary government sanction was obtained and accordingly a chargesheet has been filed before the competent court against the four accused persons. 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. Vote View Results (EPA) The White House is facing growing pressure from the airline and travel industries to throw its support behind vaccination passports, a proposal with the goal of eventually allowing Americans who have received their coronavirus shots to fly freely for work and leisure. President Joe Biden signed an executive order shortly after taking office earlier this year which instructed federal agencies to explore how Covid-19 vaccine records can be digitised and potentially used on international immunisation cards. But the administration has not yet fully backed the concept, amid concerns over how the immunisation cards might impact privacy and human rights, and questions surrounding the equity of the vaccine rollout nationwide. Nearly 30 travel groups and major US airlines wrote a letter to COVID-19 Recovery Team Coordinator Jeff Zients on Monday urging the White House to serve as a leader in the development of temporary vaccine health credentials. He added: The current diverse and fragmented digital health credentials used to implement different countries air travel testing requirements risk causing confusion, reducing compliance, and increasing fraud. Vaccination certificates have previously been employed by the US and other countries to certify travellers have received immunisations for smallpox, typhoid, cholera and other diseases. Some countries still require certificates proving travellers have yellow fever immunisation. Asked on Tuesday about the letter from the airline industries, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki quipped: Vaccine passports, I believe theyre calling it, right? We recognise that as many Americans get vaccinated, questions will come up, and theyre already starting to come up, as to how people will be able to demonstrate they are vaccinated, she said. I think its important to remember only about 10 per cent of the American population is vaccinated at this point. Weve obviously made progress, but we have more work to do. Story continues Ms Psaki continued: Right now, our focus, as the US government, is on getting more people vaccinated. And well think about how people can demonstrate they are vaccinated as we get more people vaccinated. But thats where were putting our energy and resources toward. The press secretarys comments did not directly indicate whether the White House was planning to move forward in supporting some form of international vaccination certificate for international travel. However, she said the administration understood the private sector was concerned and added: What Im conveying is there are lots of ideas that will come from the private sector and nonprofits. We welcome those. But our focus from the federal government is on getting more people vaccinated, and thats where we feel we can use our resources best. Despite the presidents initial executive order announced in January, he has not yet indicated any additional support for the use of vaccine certificates in travel. Some advocates for vaccine cards have said equity issues would soon be largely resolved as vaccines became readily more available to the entirety of the US public. State officials have even called for the use of vaccine cards to help reopen bars and restaurants as more people are vaccinated across the country. However, some public health experts remain sceptical about the use of vaccination certificates for travel. In a Zoom media conference earlier this month, WHO executive director Dr Michael Ryan said things like vaccine passports should not yet be considered because quite simply vaccination is just not available enough around the world and is not available certainly on an equitable basis. The Biden administration was set to announce on Wednesday it had secured an additional 100 million vaccines from Johnson & Johnson after the company had its one-shot vaccine approved for use by the FDA. Read More When can we travel again? Key lockdown easing dates Whats in Joe Bidens Covid stimulus bill? House set to vote on huge economic rescue package Airline industry pushes US to standardize health papers This article appears in the March 12, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. Is This Your Future? In Yemen, Twenty Million People Face Starvation [Print version of this article] This statement is excerpted from Helga Zepp-LaRouches weekly internet dialogue with Harley Schlanger. The full video is available here View full size UN/Evan Schneider March 4We should be conscious of the incredible double standard which is being pushed by the mainstream media. If you listen to or read those news outlets, the Western countries are all about human rights and democracy, and the countries of Russia and China are all the dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. But I think if you look at the situation in Yemen and also Syria, this is hypocrisy such that it makes you sick to the stomach. What we are now seeing in Yemen is genocide, in which about 20 million people are in various phases of starvation. This is not new. This has been coming. This has been coming for more than a year: UN authorities, the UN World Food Program has been warning about it, and nothing has happened. On March 1 there was the so-called donor conference which is a farcical expression given the fact that they dont really give anything. UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres said that what is required for the situation in Yemenwhere a very large part of the population is completely food-aid dependent because the Saudis are blocking the ports and airports and food aid and medical aid cannot be brought inis $3.8 billion immediately for food and medical programs to save the population. View full size UN News And what was the result? It was a ridiculous $1.7 billion which is less than last year. And if you think about the trillions of dollars and euros which are being wasted and spent to save the speculators, to save a bankrupt banking system, then $1.7 billion is less than the proverbial peanuts. Then there are reports that 400,000 children under the age of 5 are already in the process of starving to death, that their skin is like parchment, that they have hollow eyesI mean, this is incredible! It would be so easyand I dont want to hear the words democracy and human rights any more from anybody, who is not mobilizing to change the fate of these Yemeni people. It would be so easy to bring in ships to the ports of Sanaa, and basically say this food will be delivered, and there is no resistance permitted by Saudi Arabia. There would be means to pressure Saudi Arabia to allow this food to go through! View full size UN OCHA The fact that this is not being done cries to Heaven. And I think this is a complete declaration of bankruptcy for Europetheyre not doing anything about itnor the whole so-called West. Syria Flashpoint Now, not very different is the situation in Syria, where reports are that one-third of the population is suffering hunger, many of them are going towards starvation if this is not changed. And that is the result of the long war waged by the United States in particular, betting on the al-Qaeda and Al Nusra for regime change against Assad. Last year everything was completely made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. So you have a country reduced to rubble and torn apart by the effects of the pandemic. So, what is now happening? Israel has been making airstrikes against Damascus for weeks! We had eyewitness reports from people in Damascus who said that theyre absolutely horrified, and the pretext is that these [strikes are against] groups which are associated with Iran. View full size Tulsi Gabbard So this is now reaching a critical point, because the special envoy for Syria of President Putin, Alexander Lavrentiev, said that the patience of Russia is running out, also of Syria, naturally, but especially of Russia, and there could be some counterstrikes against these strikes on Damascus. Now, that would obviously, immediately have the potential to flare up the conflict, and one should see that in the light, also, that the Biden administration launched its first military strike last week, on the Syrian side of the Iraqi-Syrian border, also supposedly hitting some groups associated with Iran in retaliation for an attack on the U.S. and coalition forces inside Iraq, a few days earlier. Now this was completely illegal, because if that was the case, that there were these attacks, the proper way to deal with it, would have been to take it to the UN Security Council: There was no immediate danger, it was several days afterwards, and therefore it fulfills the criteria of a revenge strike. Tulsi Gabbard, who is one of the few people with guts in the United States, it seems, said it was laudable that some of her former colleagues in the Congress attacked that, but that they failed to attack the larger policy of regime change against Assad, which is still going on, where the United States, again, is working with al-Qaeda and Al Nusra to accomplish that. I think this is really terrible, because this is the first major indication that the Biden administration is going back to the policy of humanitarian interventions, of regime change, and that has been also demonstrated by [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken, who had a phone discussion with the self-appointed president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, saying that he would work with him in order to return Venezuela to democracy. Now, it is that policy of regime change, of intervention in foreign countries for the so-called purpose of democracy, but instead creating havoc, which has brought the world to the present point of total crisis. This should be condemned, and I think we need to absolutely seek a different policy, because if you continue that, it is only a question of time, before this will really explode into a big confrontation. It really comes back to the question, is this policy of permanent war really in the interest of the United States, or not? I would say it is not: It would be much more in the interest of the United States to reconstruct the United States itself, to spend all of that money to retool all the firms which are now producing for the war machine, retool them, and get them going for the domestic reconstruction of the United States. I think this would be better for the United States and it would be better for the world. The Great Power Solution There are tiny signs of hope. One is the zoom conference discussion between Zhong Nanshan, the main person in charge of fighting the pandemic in China, and Dr. Anthony Fauci. And they emphasized that the coronavirus and pandemic are the enemy of all of mankind, and therefore the efforts to fight it must be put together and united. And I think this is the right spirit. At the 5th China-U.S. Sub-National Legislatures Cooperation Forum, which was the first national-level dialogue to be resumed between China and the U.S. in two years, Chinas Ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, told the assembled legislators, We need to be aware that people in the world share the same future and countries have common stakes. Only by upholding the vision of a community with a shared future, can we defeat our common enemies and build a better home. As two major countries in the world, China and the U.S. stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We have a thousand reasons to make the relationship work and none whatsoever to let it fail. The forum included legislators from many Chinese provinces and American state legislative leaders from Alabama, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, and Tennessee. So, one would hope that on that level there is a return to a different approach, of cooperation. We have so many problems in the world right now. Think about the unbelievable misery in many countries. If people were to change and have an agapic approachthat we are one human speciesit would be so easy to get rid of famine. Can we not shift the orientation? Stop geopolitical confrontation which is really the method which led to two world wars in the 20th century, and which will lead to annihilation in the 21st century because of thermonuclear weapons if it is not stopped. Let us take a step in a different direction and define the common aims of mankind: the defense against asteroids or comets, the idea that you can detect earthquakes through especially the exploration of space, that space research and development has so many beneficial side aspects for dealing with the problems on Earth. We have to absolutely make this jump. And given the fact that we had, in February, three Mars missions which so far have all been extremely successful, where a high degree of international cooperation occurred in each single mission, why not take that a step further? And rather than trying to militarily divide space up, which some people are clearly thinkingand which also makes nuclear war only more likely, because of the time for delivery of nuclear weapons is shortened by such policieswhy not really go and make a huge leap, go to a new paradigm in thinking? And rather than destroying each other on Earth, that we find a new paradigm of tackling the challenges which confront all of civilization? So, I think there is hope, absolutely, but it requires a major shift in policy. Washington D.C., March 11, 2021 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Denver resident for his role in a fraudulent scheme to gain control of Airborne Wireless Network, promote its stock, and defraud investors. According to the SEC's complaint, Kalistratos "Kelly" Kabilafkas secretly purchased essentially all the outstanding stock of the shell company now known as Airborne, then distributed millions of shares among himself and his associates, including defendant Nicholas Kabylafkas. As alleged, Nicholas Kabylafkas participated in Kelly Kabilafkas's scheme by recruiting and falsely completing share transfer paperwork for at least one investor. In exchange, Kelly Kabilafkas allegedly gave Nicholas Kabylafkas Airborne shares and money. The complaint alleges that, at Kelly Kabilafkas's direction, Nicholas Kabylafkas deceived Airborne's transfer agent as well as a broker dealer in order to have those shares transferred into his own name, deposited in a brokerage account, and cleared for sale to the public. The complaint also alleges that Nicholas Kabylafkas then sold a portion of those shares for approximately $22,000. The SEC previously charged Kelly Kabilafkas and others in connection with this alleged scheme. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Nicholas Kabylafkas with violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. Kabylafkas has consented, without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, to the entry of a final judgment ordering injunctive relief and a penny stock bar, as well as disgorgement, plus prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty in amounts to be determined by the court upon motion of the Commission. The proposed settlement with Kabylafkas is subject to court approval. The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by Paul J. Bohr, Jennie B. Krasner, Drew Dorman, Jeffrey Anderson, and Robert Nesbitt, with the assistance of the Enforcement Division's IT Forensics Lab, and supervised by Peter Rosario, George Bagnall, and Jennifer Leete. The litigation is being led by Daniel Maher and David Misler, and is being supervised by Stephan Schlegelmilch. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, British Columbia Securities Commission, Ontario Securities Commission, Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Quebec Autorite des Marches Financiers, Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, Hellenic Capital Market Commission, and United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority. The aide never filed a formal complaint about the encounter; the governors counsel learned about the allegation earlier this week from other employees in the office, according to The Times Union. The newspaper has based its reporting on an anonymous source with knowledge of the allegation. The new allegation is certain to aggravate the most tumultuous crisis of Mr. Cuomos political career. The governor is facing intense scrutiny of his conduct toward women and is under escalating pressure to resign after two former aides, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, accused him last month of sexually harassing them. Ms. Boylan, who is running for Manhattan borough president, published an essay on Feb. 24 outlining a series of unsettling experiences with Mr. Cuomo, including an instance when she said he kissed her on the lips without her consent after a private meeting in his New York City office in 2018. Mr. Cuomos office has denied the allegations. Shortly after, Ms. Bennett told The New York Times that Mr. Cuomo, 63, made sexual overtures during a one-on-one meeting in his State Capitol office in June amid the pandemic. Ms. Bennett, now 25, said the governor asked her whether she had sex with older men and whether she had intimacy issues because of her experience as a sexual assault survivor. Disturbed by the remarks, Ms. Bennett told the governors chief of staff about the encounter and provided a lengthy statement to a special counsel to the governor. She was transferred to another job farther away from the governors office before quitting in November. The allegations and those of other women who have since described other inappropriate conduct from the governor have rocked Albany, leading a growing number of Democrats to join Republicans in calling for the governor to be impeached or to step down. On Sunday, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the majority leader in the State Senate, became the most powerful Democrat in the state to call on Mr. Cuomo to resign, leading many others in her conference to follow suit. The governor, a third-term Democrat, has apologized for workplace remarks that he says may have hurt or offended women, insisting he never meant to make anyone feel uncomfortable and never touched anyone inappropriately. CLEVELAND, Ohio - The number of coronavirus cases involving Ohio nursing home patients dwindled to 614 this week, down more than 2,100 in the last two months. The Ohio Department of Health on Wednesday night in its weekly update for long-term-care facilities also reported 177 deaths, though most if not all of these deaths occurred long ago as the state has moved to a slower death reporting system. The state targeted nursing homes in the first round of coronavirus vaccinations and has made age a major factor in vaccine priority. The state is reporting 6,790 nursing home deaths since the onset of the virus last year, though late-February reporting before the health department made its changes had said there were 7,462 deaths. Overall, Ohio is reporting 17,662 deaths. This weeks total for current cases of 614 is down from 733 last week and 795 the week before that. On Jan. 6, the health department reported 3,785 current patient cases. Current cases are defined as those active during the seven-day period ending Tuesday. This weeks report also said there were 438 staff cases, down from 520 a week ago. The state began tracking nursing home cases by facility on April 15. There have been 48,597 patient cases and 34,365 staff cases since then. The health department each week releases updates on deaths by county and cases by facility for the long-term care centers. No information is released regarding the number of deaths by facility. Facility-by-facility case details can be found below. If you are having trouble viewing the list, use this link instead. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. More COVID-19 numbers How to claim your unemployment tax break under new stimulus; other coronavirus-related tax matters - Thats Rich! Ohio casino, racino action recovers some in February, but still down from a year ago amid lingering coronavirus limits Big milestones for coronavirus in Ohio; hospital patient count stays below 1,000, and other trends and update New Delhi: An individuals right to refuse life-prolonging medical treatment or terminate life is a freedom which falls within the zone of the right to privacy, the Supreme Court said on Thursday. Similarly, tapping of telephones and internet hacking of personal data is another area which falls within the realm of privacy, it said. Justice J Chelameswar, who wrote a separate but concurring judgement, also touched upon other aspects like consumption of food and a womans freedom of choice on whether to terminate the pregnancy. Concerns of privacy arise when the state seeks to intrude into the body of subjects. Corporeal punishments were not unknown to India, their abolition is of a recent vintage. Forced feeding of certain persons by the state raises concerns of privacy. An individuals rights to refuse life-prolonging medical treatment or terminate his life is another freedom which falls within the zone of the right of privacy, Justice Chelameswar said in his 44-page verdict. He, however, said he was conscious of the fact that this issue was pending before the apex court. Also Read | Rahul Gandhi takes jibe at BJP, says SC's privacy verdict blow to fascist forces The Supreme Court recently termed as sensitive the issue of right to have a living will to refuse life support in the last days of an ailing person by declining to adjudicate it and leaving it for the government to take a call. A womans freedom of choice whether to bear a child or abort her pregnancy are areas which fall in the realm of privacy, he said. I do not think that anybody would like to be told by the State as to what they should eat or how they should dress or whom they should be associated with either in their personal, social or political life, Justice Chelameswar said. He apparently referred to the Aadhaar scheme in which biometric data of individuals is collected by the government. Telephone tappings and internet hacking by the State of personal data is another area which falls within the realm of privacy. The instant reference arises out of such an attempt by the Union of India to collect biometric data regarding all the residents of this country, he said. He cited various examples and observed that the decision-making process regarding the freedom of association, travel and residence were purely private and fell within the realm of right of privacy. All liberal democracies believe that the State should not have unqualified authority to intrude into certain aspects of human life and that the authority should be limited by parameters constitutionally fixed, Justice Chelameswar said. Insofar as religious beliefs are concerned, he said that a good deal of the misery our species suffer owes its existence to and centres around competing claims of the right to propagate religion. He said fundamental rights were the only constitutional firewall to prevent the governments interference with those core freedoms constituting liberty of a human being. The right to privacy is certainly one of the core freedoms which is to be defended. It is part of liberty within the meaning of that expression in Article 21 (the Right to Life and Personal Liberty of the Constitution), Justice Chelameswar said. He also made it clear that no legal right, including right to privacy, could be absolute. Every right has limitations. This aspect of the matter is conceded to at the bar. Therefore, even a fundamental right to privacy has limitations. The limitations are to be identified on a case to case basis depending upon the nature of the privacy interest claimed, he said. He also referred to the importance of the Constitution and said it could not be seen as a document written to replace one legal regime by another. Also Read | Supreme Court's nine-judge bench upholds Right To Privacy as fundamental right It is a politically sacred instrument created by men and women who risked lives and sacrificed their liberties to fight alien rulers and secured freedom for our people, not only of their generation but generations to follow, Justice Chelameswar said. A nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar has unanimously ruled that right to privacy is an intrinsic part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 and entire Part III of the Constitution. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. In just over a month's time, billions of cicadas are gearing up to invade the east coast of the United States this spring after being buried underground, alive, for nearly 17 years. It's going to be a sight unlike anything we've seen in close to two decades, very similar to the locust swarms that invaded India last year. Getty Images ALSO READ: Locust Swarm Attacks Prayagraj, Video Of Terrifying One-Kilometre-Long Swarm Goes Viral Curious case of the cicadas Normally surviving on tree roots underground, as the ground will start getting hot (over 17 degrees celsius), billions of these giant flying bugs will come to the surface to mate. This hibernation and re-surfacing of cicadas is a ritual that repeats every seventeen years in the United States of America. Very similar to the locust swarms that took over Northern India last year. University of Maryland entomologist Mike Raupp explained in a Washington Post article, We are at the epicentre of an event that happens nowhere else on the planet except here in the Eastern United States. Its going to be pretty remarkable, come the latter half of May. The densities of these things is going be phenomenal, about 1.5 million per acre. It blows your mind. High-decibel cicada mating call There are three cicada species that are going to be a part of this phenomenon -- Magicicada Septendecim, Magicicada Cassini and Magicicada Septendecula. As they surface, some of these cicadas will become prey to the animals nearby, but with the crazy population of these cicadas, eventually animals will stop consuming them -- similar to humans in an all-you-can-eat-buffet. The survivors in these cicada swarms then will start singing their very own mating song, from different trees to attract mates and copulate. According to Raupp, the mating songs of cicadas can reach as high as 100 decibels and sound similar to a chainsaw or a lawnmower. Getty Images Cicadas dont survive after mating, the female puts their eggs in trees and perishes in a few moments. These eggs then hatch after some time and then fall to the ground. At this time these newborn cicadas dig into the Earth and go towards the trees to chew on the tree toot for nearly 17 years until they are ready to re-emerge. The cicada population will be prominent in southern states like Georgia, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia among several others in the east coast of the nation. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com University of Bahrain students have presented several ideas and strategies to help institutions cope with the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on their activities. It was part of the Creativity World programme organised by the INJAZ Bahrain Foundation. The coordinator of the joint programmes of the University of Bahrain and INJAZ Bahrain Foundation, Dr Israa Ahmed Wali, said: Three hundred students in the two courses, the Small Business Administration and Human Resources Management, within the Bachelor of Entrepreneurship major took the challenge as part of the study requirements. The students worked in groups to put forward innovative ideas to revitalise the sectors most affected by the pandemic, such as cafes, restaurants, cinemas, travel and tourism offices, and others. The students, supervised by 10 professors of the College of Business Administration, presented various ideas, which focused on developing marketing plans to attract customers, by making use of the capabilities of social networks, through a virtual meeting using visual communication technology. The groups ideas were presented after about four hours and discussed by specialised arbitrators. The students formulated several solutions to reopen cinemas appropriately in light of the increasing cases of infection. They also suggested encouraging the vaccination campaign carried out by the Health Ministry by restricting entry to holders of a vaccination certificate, which can be easily shown through the conscious society application. A Chicago suburb is on its way to becoming the first in the country to fund reparations for its black residents with a pledge of $10million over 10 years, but some say it isn't enough. Evanston's reparations fund, established in 2019, is focused on housing inequities, using a 3 per cent tax on recreational marijuana sales to help black residents with homeownership, including mortgage assistance and funding for home improvements. In November, a Reparations Fund was created and adopted as part of the city's 2020 budget. The City Council committed to utilize tax revenue collected from sales of recreational cannabis to support reparations in Evanston with a pledge of $10million over 10 years. However, some residents believe that more work still needs to be done. 'Reparations is the most appropriate legislative response to the historic practices and the contemporary conditions of the Black community. And although many of the anti-Black policies have been outlawed, many remain embedded in policy, including zoning and other government practices,' Robin Rue Simmons, an alderman in Evanston, who introduced the legislation, told NBC News. Chicago's suburb, Evanston, could become the first in the country to fund reparations for its black residents with a pledge of $10million over 10 years after Robin Simmons (pictured) proposed the legislation In November, a Reparations Fund was created as part of the city's 2020 budget. The City Council committed to utilize tax revenue collected from sales of recreational cannabis to support reparations in Evanston (aerial view) Evanston officials are expected to vote on March 22 about whether the first $400,000 will be dedicated to addressing housing needs 'We are in a time in history where this nation more broadly has not only the will and awareness of why reparations is due, but the heart to advance it,' Simmons said. Evanston officials are expected to vote on March 22 about whether the first $400,000 will be dedicated to addressing housing needs. Under this portion of the program, residents would get $25,000 to use toward homeownership, home improvement and mortgage assistance. In order to qualify, residents must have lived in Evanston between 1919 to 1969. Residents can also qualify if they are the direct descendant of a black person who lived in Evanston between 1919 to 1969 and suffered discrimination in housing. During that time period, many Evanston banks refused to lend money to black people to buy homes on certain blocks and real estate brokers practiced informal racial zoning that only allowed black residents to live in a section of west Evanston. In other parts of the US, Evanston is being used as a model for other cities to move forward with reparations. Professor Edwin Driver, 96, shared his story about arriving in Amherst in 1948 as one of the first black teachers hired at a flagship state university in the country. But the 23-year-old sociology instructor at what would become the University of Massachusetts Amherst says he was denied pay raises for decades, despite being one of its most published professors. Driver and his wife, who was from India, also encountered roadblocks trying to buy a house in the mostly white college town. Their three children faced racism from neighbors and school officials alike. 'There's a lot of people in Amherst that have not gotten a proper share of things,' the now professor emeritus said at his home in nearby South Hadley on Wednesday. In other parts of the US, Evanston is being used as a model for cities to move forward with reparations. Professor Edwin Driver (pictured), 96, shared his story about arriving in Amherst in 1948 and being denied pay raises for decades Driver, who was a 23-year-old sociology instructor at what would become the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said: 'I ended up being the lowest paid professor in the department, but also its most productive' 'I ended up being the lowest paid professor in the department, but also its most productive.' Driver and other current and former black residents may one day be compensated for their hardships. Amherst, some 90 miles from Boston, is among hundreds of communities and organizations across the country seeking to provide reparations to black people. They range from the state of California to cities like Providence, Rhode Island, religious denominations like the Episcopal Church and prominent colleges like Georgetown University in Washington. The efforts, some of which have been underway for years, have gained momentum in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd last May. President Joe Biden has even expressed support for creating a federal commission to study black reparations, a proposal that's languished for decades in Congress. Kamm Howard, co-chair of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, said the wide-ranging approaches could provide models for a national reparations program. He's also not surprised Amherst, long a liberal bastion, is tackling the issue. 'It validates that every community in America, no matter the size, is a microcosm of the broader problem,' Howard said. 'You're going to find these things, if you dig.' Amherst's effort started with a petition launched last summer by two white yoga instructors, which led to a town council-approved resolution in December committing Amherst to a 'path of remedy' for black residents 'injured or harmed by discrimination and racial injustice'. Michele Miller and Matthew Andrews, who led the petition effort as co-founders of the group Reparations for Amherst, said they wanted to provide something 'tangible and healing' for local black families amid nationwide protests and turmoil. They argue that Amherst, a college town of nearly 38,000 residents, didn't become more than 75 per cent white and just 5 per cent black by accident. For decades, restrictive housing policies prevented Black families from purchasing homes in desirable parts of town, according to Miller and Andrews' research. Black people were also shut out of jobs and educational opportunities at UMass Amherst, one of the state's largest and most prominent institutions. As a result, the median income for Amherst's white families is more than two times that of Black families, and more than half its black population lives below the poverty line. 'Amherst likes to think of itself as progressive, but that idealism isn't always borne out,' Andrews said. 'The economic and social disparities are clear.' Kathleen Anderson, a former president of the Amherst NAACP chapter, said she's encouraged that white residents initiated the reparations effort. But the next step needs to come from the black community, she said. Anderson and other black residents are taking part in virtual conversations this spring to talk about what reparations should look like. Kathleen Anderson (pictured), a former president of the Amherst NAACP chapter, said she's encouraged that white residents initiated the reparations effort. Anderson and other black residents are taking part in virtual conversations about what reparations should look like A former school committee member, Anderson would like to see the process address a broader, systemic need, such as racial disparities in the public schools. Black teachers, she said, have complained of racist harassment and hostile work environments for years A former school committee member, Anderson would like to see the process address a broader, systemic need, such as racial disparities in the public schools. Black teachers, she said, have complained of racist harassment and hostile work environments for years. 'Reparations can be more than a check,' Anderson said. Amilcar Shabazz, a professor of Africana studies at UMass, said he'd like to see better recognition of the local black community in town landmarks and monuments. Celebrated authors Chinua Achebe and James Baldwin both taught at UMass but aren't recognized anywhere in town, he noted. 'We have a lot to talk about,' he said. 'I wonder if the town is ready for this. Can these scars be healed? Can you put a price tag on trauma?' Driver believes the town's higher education institutions - UMass Amherst, Amherst College and Hampshire College - should be part of the solution because of the role they've played in the town's racial divide. By the late 1960s, some 20 years after Driver was hired, UMass Amherst had just six black faculty members and 36 Black students in a student body of nearly 17,000, according to university historical records. Black students were also excluded from living on campus at nearby Amherst College during his early years in town, Driver recalled. The three institutions expressed support for the town's effort in separate statements to The Associated Press, but stopped short of committing any resources. Driver said he'd also personally like to be compensated for years of being underpaid. He earned tenure in 1954, but remained the lowest paid professor in his department until the 1970s, when a new department head sought to rectify the imbalance. 'We are in a position of having to admit that Driver is an extremely impressive professional with an outstanding scholarly record whom we have not sufficiently recognized locally,' wrote Thomas Wilkinson to other school officials in 1970. Driver continued to lead a distinguished career. The graduate of Temple and the University of Pennsylvania has written numerous books and is currently at work on another. He served as a visiting professor at UCLA and other top colleges. He even had stints as a United Nations advisor in Iran and consulted and taught in France, India and elsewhere. Throughout, Driver remained firmly rooted at UMass, where he retired in 1987. 'If reparations could make up the lost salary, I would appreciate it,' Driver said. 'I would enjoy it. I would celebrate it, but I dont think thats going to ever happen.' He hopes UMass can at least acknowledge the contributions pioneering Black professors made. Driver already has a building in mind: the historic Old Chapel where his first office was located, down in the basement by the furnace, in a place where the janitor didn't even bother to empty the trash bins. 'If they would rename that after me,' Driver said. 'That would be the ideal reparation.' Vaccinations started on Tuesday, March 9 for 1,200 employees at Yuma, Arizona facility SALINAS, Calif., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Taylor Farms is proud to announce COVID-19 vaccinations started on Tuesday, March 9, for over 1,200 employees at the Yuma, Arizona facility as a result of a successful partnership between Yuma County Department of Public Health, with assistance and support from the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Department of Emergency Management. With the second vaccination day this Thursday, March 11, Taylor Farms Yuma employees, from the farmworkers to employees who work in the processing facility, will be fully vaccinated in the coming weeks. All employees will receive their second dose in April before the migration to Salinas begins. This is a critical step to protect employees, their families and communities in which they live and work. Taylor Farms Yuma, AZ Covid-19 Vaccination "We have been and will continue to fight to get vaccines for all of our essential workers, and this is an important first step to protect our employees," said Bruce Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms. "Our essential agriculture workers are working hard daily to ensure fresh foods continue to be available to consumers across North America, and I'm proud that the community and organizations in Arizona prioritize and recognize these everyday heroes with us." Located at the Taylor Farms Yuma facility, Yuma County provided the vaccinations, logistics and coordination for an onsite clinic with 14 stations. Vaccines were administered by Yuma County Health Department with assistance from the National Guard. On day one, an average of 35 individuals were vaccinated every 15 minutes, highlighting the success of the walk-through vaccine site. Employee consent forms were filled out ahead of time to increase efficiency for vaccine distribution and the multiagency team proved the process was working by consistently being ahead of schedule throughout the day. In addition to administering the vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Yuma County Health are working side by side to map out migrant worker travel to advocate for more vaccines in key locations where these individuals travel to and from. Story continues Taylor Farms will continue efforts to ensure all company employees across the country have the opportunity to be vaccinated and is committed to protecting employees and local communities during this ongoing pandemic. For videos and additional information, please visit: https://www.taylorfarms.com/media-assets/. ABOUT TAYLOR FARMS Taylor Farms is a leading North American producer of salads and healthy fresh foods. Taylor Farms is grounded in a commitment to quality, innovation, sustainability and food safety. Taylor Farms is family owned and based in "The Salad Bowl of the World" Salinas, California. www.taylorfarms.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/taylor-farms-and-yuma-county-department-of-public-health-partner-with-national-guard-to-vaccinate-employees-301245136.html SOURCE Taylor Farms Sometimes, it takes a crisis to unveil the true spirit of a community and opportunities for growth. Our community exhibited a unified spirit during Februarys winter storm while mobilizing in extraordinary circumstances. Like many San Antonians, I never imagined having to melt snow to flush toilets or being unable to travel because roads were impassable due to ice and snow. Like many, I mistakenly thought our state had the reliable infrastructure to prevent mass power outages and water disruptions, and to safeguard roads. As the power outages extended beyond the brief increments communicated to us, the San Antonio Housing Authority, or SAHA, contacted the city of San Antonio and Office of Emergency Management to find emergency housing for our elderly and disabled residents. Many of our dedicated team members were in their automobiles charging their cellphones to maintain communication to ensure the safety of the agencys 60,000 residents and 100 properties while prioritizing the immediate needs of approximately 3,000 elderly and disabled residents. The city responded to our request to establish emergency housing by arranging stays at a downtown hotel for our elderly. SAHA staff went door to door at those properties for the elderly that experienced the longest time without electricity and encouraged residents to go to the warm hotel. Despite our pleas, many preferred to shelter-in-place out of concerns about their pets or the risk of COVID-19 exposure. Nonetheless, some 80 elderly residents transferred to buses provided by the city and were transported to the emergency housing, where they were greeted with food and water provided by the San Antonio Food Bank. It was a herculean effort, and together we all got it done. The winter storm brought out the best of San Antonio in every way. From distributing thousands of hot meals donated by local and Texas restaurants, to securing donations of blankets and drinking water, numerous nonprofit partners worked incessantly to help our residents. When water was scarce, we contacted Coca-Cola in Atlanta, which graciously delivered thousands of bottles of water to SAHA. The city followed up with additional water, and SAHA staff delivered more than 100,000 water bottles to SAHA residents. Top hits: Get San Antonio Express-News stories sent directly to your inbox A crisis of this magnitude creates opportunities for agencies and organizations to assess their preparedness and response mechanisms. While I believe we did the best we could with all the unknowns and limited resources in a statewide emergency amid a global pandemic, we need to ask ourselves and our city and state leaders some critical questions: Could satellite phones have helped in coordinating the emergency response since cellular service was unreliable? Can the city invest in emergency generators for use at properties with vulnerable populations during extreme weather, both in the winter and summer? Can the city and SAHA invest in snow chains for tires, so staff can commute in winter weather conditions? Can CPS Energy work with the state to include vulnerable populations in the critical electric grid used by hospitals, nursing homes and prisons? How can we recover from decades of government underfunding to ensure residents have adequate home insulation and modern infrastructure to withstand extreme weather? There are many important questions we must ask and resolve before the next crisis is upon us. As power outages become more common, especially in the summer due to extreme heat and hurricanes, the next one is likely around the corner and so we must act quickly. The crisis was a hard lesson for many, but it also did something quite remarkable: It reaffirmed how special our community is as demonstrated by the many acts of kindness to help SAHA residents when they needed it the most. Thats leadership with heart. Corazon. Ana Margarita Cha Guzman is chair of the San Antonio Housing Authority board of commissioners. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A garda on crime patrol observed a vehicle at a lay by on the M9 motorway and following a search discovered almost 1,000 ecstasy tablets. Detective Garda Brian Whitty gave evidence at Kilkenny Circuit Court that on June 24, 2018 he was on patrol in the area when he observed the vehicle parked in a layby at Lachtbrack. The detective carried out a search of the vehicle and found 997 ecstasy tablets, with an estimated street value of 9,870. Detective Garda Whitty said that the defendant was co-operative and made admissions. Brian Barry, 12 Yew Woods, Youghal, Co Cork had previously pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply contrary to section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. He also admitted having the drugs in his possession for his own personal use. The defendant has on previous conviction under section 3 of The Misuse of Drugs Act. The defendant stated during his interview with gardai that he had been used as a drugs mules and was making a trip to pay off a drug debt. Det Gda Whitty told the court that he was satisfied that the defendant was transporting drugs to pay off a drugs debt. Defence barrister, Adrian O'Higgins said that his client was a 35-year-old, father of four and was currently in employment and has structure in his life'. At the time of the offence the defendant was under significant duress over a drugs debt and that his family had to pay off his debt. A probation report was before the court which stated that the defendant is at low risk of reoffending and has significant family support and is no longer addicted to illegal substances. Urine samples have also been provided at a medical centre which show that the defendant is clear of all substances. The barrister said that there had been a significant transformation of his client who has turned his life around but added that obviously drugs are a scourge on society. Judge Patrick Meghan said that he had to consider the effect of the crime on society and the prospect of rehabilitation of the offender and added that there were a number of aggravating factors in the case including the value of the drugs seized and the fact that the defendant has a previous conviction under section 3 of The Misuse of Drugs Act. Judge Meghan also remarked that there were mitigating factors in the case including the defendants early plea and the fact that he is in employment. Judge Meghan convicted the defendant under section 15 of The Misuse of Drugs Act and sentenced him to three years in prison which he suspended for five years on condition the defendant enter a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour and refrain from using any non-prescribed drugs. A 91-year-old man in Ohio, Victor Smith, who had already had one Covid shot weeks earlier, accidentally received his second shot twice in one day, four hours apart. He then went into shock. Smith was staying in a rehab facility to recover from a fall, which happened right after his first Covid shot in January. After the facility took him to a vaccination site to get his second shot, they later brought vaccines to patients in the rehab center and, thinking he was a different Victor, gave him a third shot. From LiveScience: "They transported him to get his shot, and when he came back, I spoke to him, he was good," his daughter Dawn Smith Theodore, told WLWT. That same day, patients at his rehabilitation clinic were also being vaccinated. There was a mixup between patients with similar names at the rehab facility, and Smith received yet another dose of the COVID-19 vaccine his third "I guess a city firefighter came in [to the rehabilitation facility] and said they have a shot for Victor, and the nurse said 'Victor Smith?' and he said 'Yes' so they gave him the room number" where her dad was, Theodore said. "My dad said, 'I got two vaccines.'" Smith went into shock and was hospitalized, where he is now recovering. Image by DepositPhotos There are more than 40,000 cases of various COVID-19 variants reported in Turkey, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said as he asked the public to adhere to preventative measures in wake of normalization period. Following a Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Committee meeting late Wednesday which he presided, Koca issued a written statement on Twitter, warning that the new virus strains had started to spread faster. "Though this does not affect hospitalization in parallel, it has the potential of (causing) more cases and more patients," he said. "Let's protect our limits. You never know when the virus will attack," read Koca's statement. He revealed that there were 41,488 cases of the B.1.1.7, or the British variant, and 61 cases of the South African B.1.351 variant in Turkey, while the New York B.1.427 and the Brazilian P.1 variants were seen in two and one cases respectively. The last week's data showed that people should be more careful about measures not to cause a rise in case numbers, Koca noted. "Caution and vaccines are still our best weapons in fight against these more infectious variants," said Koca and added, "That doesn't mean our weapons are insufficient. However, there are difficulties with both of them." Meanwhile, Turkey on Wednesday reported 14,556 more coronavirus cases, including 814 symptomatic patients, according to the Health Ministry. The country's case tally stands at 2.82 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 29,227, with 67 fatalities over the past day. As many as 9,193 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, with the total number of recoveries passing 2.64 million, Daily Sabah reported. More than 34.54 million coronavirus tests have been conducted in Turkey to date, with 145,130 since Tuesday. The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition stands at 1,309. BERKELEY (BCN) An application will not be filed to make U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' childhood home in Berkeley a historic landmark, the man working on the application said Wednesday. Steven Finacom, a member of Berkeley's Landmarks Preservation Commission, heard from the property owners Tuesday who are concerned greater attention to the home will disrupt the lives of neighbors. Finacom said the property owners are part of a family that has been in Berkeley for a long time, and he thinks they place a high value on the connections they have with their neighbors. "Berkeley does not require owner support for landmark designations, but in this case, and given the tumultuous times, I'm happy to honor the request of the owners and will not pursue submitting the landmark application," Finacom wrote in an email. Last Friday, City Councilmember Kate Harrison announced a resolution she said the council would consider Tuesday related to the landmarking of Harris's home. The resolution aimed to clarify that homes like Harris's are eligible for historic landmark status. But Harrison said earlier this week she was withdrawing the resolution after receiving clarification from city staff. Harris was born in Oakland but spent most of her childhood in Berkeley. She was part of the city's first voluntary school integration process, according to Harrison's office. Finacom said he will continue his research on the home Harris spent part of her childhood in "because it's a fascinating piece of Berkeley history, dating back to about 1910 and there are stories of other Berkeley families to be told, along with the Gopalan-Harris family." While it was unclear to some whether Harris's home qualified for Berkeley's historic landmark status, Finacom referenced a city statute that makes it clear. Under Section 3.24.110 of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, structures qualify if they have either educational or historic value. "History may be social, cultural, economic, political, religious or military," the ordinance says. Some people have mocked "the idea of recognizing the childhood home of Kamala Harris as a City of Berkeley Landmark," Finacom said. People "should keep in mind that there are scores of formally designated historic buildings and sites around the country that honor the birthplaces, homes, and other sites associated with past Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the United States, and other notable political figures," he said. "Many of those buildings have some of the highest levels of national preservation recognition, as National Historic Landmarks, or National Historic Sites," he added. The U.S. Department of the Interior is now considering George W. Bush's home in Midland, Texas, for adoption into the national park system. So, considering Harris's Berkeley home for a historic designation is fully mainstream, Finacom said. "In fact, discussion of this contributes to an important and necessary process of expanding that mainstream to honor and preserve places associated with the lives of People of Color," he said. Often, those places in Berkeley are very humble "such as small homes, apartment buildings and modest storefronts, usually in the Berkeley flatlands," he said. Harris's home in Berkeley "is a physically undistinguished and rather ordinary home in far west Berkeley," according to Finacom's email. "There is as much value in, and as much to learn from, that little stucco rental home where Kamala Harris grew up as there is in Abraham Lincoln's childhood log cabin or Franklin Roosevelt's opulent family estate on the Hudson," he said. Copyright 2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Coal-fired power plants in 31 states may soon face a new set of regulations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently proposed a plan to cut pollution. (Jeff Haynes/Getty Images) Energy Australia Announces Early Closure of Victorias Largest Coal-Fired Power Plant Energy Australia announced on March 10 that it will close Victorias largest power station in mid-2028four years earlier than scheduled. The move has raised concerns from the federal government over electricity prices and reliability in the national power grid. In a statement, Energy Australia Managing Director, Catherine Tanna, said the company approached the Victorian Government with the plan to retire the Yallourn power station, and to transition to cleaner energy. While the announcement may have surprised some of our people, its context didnt, Tanna told reporters. We are acutely aware that the world of energy is rapidly changing as we transition to cleaner forms. In response, Energy Minister Angus Taylor said power reliability and prices will be affected if the plants closure is not adequately replaced with dispatchable energy. We have already seen this happen with the closures of Northern in South Australia and most recently Hazelwood in Victoria, where wholesale prices skyrocketed by 85 percent, Taylor said in a statement. The Hazelwood power station shut its operations in 2017 with less than six months notice. As an essential service, the Commonwealth Government expects the market to step up to deliver enough dispatchable generation to keep the lights on and prices low once Yallourn closes, he said. Yallourn power station currently supplies 22 percent of Victorias electricity and 8 percent of the national market. For years, the power station has been under pressure to meet the Victorian governments emissions reduction goals, such as the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Closing the plant will instead reduce Energy Australias carbon emissions by 60 percent, Tanna said. Victorian State Shadow Minister for Energy and Renewables Ryan Smith has criticised the Victorian Labor government for having no plan for the state to transition out of coal, thereby leaving Victorians in the dark. Labors lack of planning means will be more susceptible to blackouts over our hot summers and Victorian families will pay more on their energy bills, Ryan said. Another concerns is the loss of 500 jobs, which Victorian Minister for Energy, the Environment and Climate Change Lily DAmbrosio says can be managed given the early announcement. The 2028 closure date announced today by EnergyAustralia gives us time to do thatand it gives us time to manage this transition properly for workers, including contractors and casuals, DAmbrosio said. Seven years notice will mean our people at the power station and mine site will have the time to plan, reskill and retrain. To compensate for the loss, Energy Australia said it will build a 350-megawatt battery near one of its gas power plants by 2026 as it transitions to more renewables. AAP contributed to this report. [March 11, 2021] AHF: Victory! 45 Below Market Units Included in Luxury Tower in Hollywood AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and the Coalition to Preserve LA (CPLA) are claiming a victory for affordable housing in the never-ending battle to preserve, create and secure affordable housing in Southern California, one of the most rent-burdened areas in the country. The two nonprofit groups reached a legal settlement this week with the developer of Hollywood's Sunset Gordon Tower, a 22-story apartment complex in the heart of Hollywood. Under the settlement, 5929 Sunset (Hollywood) LLC (a project of CIM Group), agreed to lower the affordability levels of the 45 rent restricted units that are set aside in the 299-unit building. They also agreed to provide AHF and CPLA copies of reports they are required to send to Los Angeles Housing & Community Investment Department (LAHCID) with the affordability levels so there may be a third-party mechanism to ensure oversight and accountability. "This is a welcome victory in the ongoing battle to try and preserve and create affordable housing solutions across Los Angeles," said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF. "Given the dire state of housing affordability today, we thank 5929 Sunset LLC for its flexibility and for significantly reducing income thresholds tied to area median income for the 45 units set aside as affordable housing at Sunset Gordon. We remain deeply concerned about gentrification and its impact on long-established communities, particularly low-income and communities of color. Nevertheless, this settlement allows both sides to claim victory, as the project may now also move forward to completion and occupancy." Under the legal settlement reached earlier this week, income thresholds for the 45 affordable apartments will be lowered as follows: Very-low Income tenants : the maximum allowable income for 15 units drops from 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) to 40% of AMI. So, for example, these units must be affordable to an individual makng $29,320 per year as opposed to the prior limit of $36,650 per year. : the maximum allowable income for 15 units drops from 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) to 40% of AMI. So, for example, these units must be affordable to an individual makng $29,320 per year as opposed to the prior limit of $36,650 per year. Moderate Income tenants : the maximum allowable income for 15 units drops from 120% of AMI to 80% of AMI so, for example, these units must be affordable to individuals making $58,640 per year as opposed to the prior limit of $87,960. : the maximum allowable income for 15 units drops from 120% of AMI to 80% of AMI so, for example, these units must be affordable to individuals making $58,640 per year as opposed to the prior limit of $87,960. Work Force Income tenants: the maximum allowable income for 15 units drops from 150% of AMI to 110% of AMI Background on AHF and CPLA's Legal Action Against Sunset Gordon In July 2019 and then in December 2019, AHF filed writs of mandate against the developer of Sunset Gordon Tower, the City of L.A and its Community Redevelopment Agency, challenging Sunset Gordon under California's Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and under the Hollywood Community Plan and Redevelopment Plan for its inadequate affordable housing. A prior lawsuit by La Mirada Homeowners Association vs the prior developer In February 2012, the developer demolished the buildings on the site, which included the Old Spaghetti Factory and its significant architectural components. In May 2012, the La Mirada Homeowners Association sued, and the judge issued a writ of mandate revoking the approvals and enjoining further action at the site until a full environmental impact report (EIR) was completed and the approvals were redone. January 15, 2019: The Coalition to Preserve LA, which AHF funds, gets involved: The Coalition to Preserve LA filed writ petition for violations of CEQA and the Hollywood Redevelopment Plan. The lawsuit challenged the new approvals. The court granted CPLA the ability to file an amended writ with additional causes of action stemming from actions of the Director of Planning and the City Council from July - September 2019. CPLA filed this amended writ in September 2019. This amended writ added causes of action relating to the improper delegation of legislative approvals for the project to City staff and the failure to abide by the Hollywood Community Plan's requirements for affordable housing percentages, as well as the City's failure to make findings about those percentages areawide. As part of the settlement agreement, AHF and CPLA will dismiss their lawsuit and not continue to pursue an appeal. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.5 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook (News - Alert) : www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) : @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311006037/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Photo: The Canadian Press Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance watches a news conference from the front row of seats in Ottawa on May 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his staff knew about the existence of an allegation of sexual misconduct by then-defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance in 2018, but that they only learned the specific details following a media report last month. The prime minister made the comments in the House of Commons on Wednesday following weeks of questions and opposition criticism over the Liberal governments handling of the allegations against the former Canadian Armed Forces commander. It was the first time Trudeau has confirmed that his own office was brought into the loop after then-military ombudsman Gary Walbourne first flagged an allegation against Vance in a meeting with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan three years ago. Sajjan previously declined to confirm the discussion with Walbourne, citing confidentiality. When the ombudsman came forward to the minister to say he had heard allegations, the minister directed him to those independent authorities who could follow up on an investigation, Trudeau said. My office was aware of the minister's direction to the ombudsman, but my office and I learned of the details of the allegation through news reporting over the past months. Global News first reported last month an allegation that Vance had an ongoing relationship with a subordinate that started more than a decade ago and continued after he became Canadas chief of the defence staff in 2015. Global has also reported that Vance allegedly sent a lewd email to a much younger soldier in 2012, before he became defence chief, suggesting they go on a clothing-optional vacation. Global has reported this is the allegation Walbourne raised with Sajjan. Vance has declined to respond to repeated requests for comment from The Canadian Press, and the allegations have not been independently verified. However, Global has reported that Vance denies any wrongdoing. Walbourne told the House of Commons defence committee last week that he brought the allegation to Sajjan in confidence looking for advice on how to proceed, and that the minister referred the matter to the Privy Council Office against his wishes. Trudeau argued referring the matter to the Privy Council Office, the bureaucratic operation that supports the Prime Ministers Office, was the right call, saying: Those are the people who need to do the independent, rigorous investigations. In this case, there was not enough information to continue with the independent investigation. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole demanded to know why the government opted to keep Vance on as commander of the Canadian Armed Forces despite knowing of an allegation of sexual misconduct against him. Everyone around this prime minister was aware of the sexual harassment allegations in 2018, OToole said. Why in 2019 did the prime minister extend the contract of the chief of defence staff and give them a promotion? Military police have confirmed they launched an investigation in 2015 into Vances conduct during a posting in Italy the previous year, but that there was not enough evidence to lay any charges. O'Toole was a cabinet minister in the Conservative government that appointed Vance as chief of defence staff in 2015, but said Tuesday he wasn't involved in that decision. Vance announced his plan to step down as chief of the defence staff last July after more than five years in the top job, during which time he oversaw the militarys efforts to eliminate sexual misconduct from the ranks. He formally handed command over to Admiral Art McDonald in January, weeks before Global reported on the allegations against him. Military police have since launched investigations against both Vance and McDonald, who temporarily stepped aside last month following an unspecified allegation of misconduct against him. In Arizona a Republican state senator worried aloud that his party's proposed voter identification requirements might be too cumbersome. But he voted for the bill anyway. In Iowa, the states Republican elections chief put out a carefully worded statement that didn't say whether he backs his own partys legislation making it more difficult to vote early. And in Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan left the room as Senate Republicans approved a bill to block early voting for all but the GOP's most reliable voting bloc. Duncan instead watched Monday's proceedings from a television in his office to protest. This is what amounts to dissent as Republican lawmakers push a wave of legislation through statehouses across the nation to make voting more difficult. The bills are fueled by former President Donald Trumps false claims of widespread voter fraud and many are sponsored by his most loyal allies. But support for the effort is much broader than just Trump's hard-right base, and objections from GOP policymakers are so quiet they can be easy to miss. It's appalling whats happening, said former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele who condemned the silence of the GOP's elected officials. There have been no provable, obvious, systemwide failures or fraud that would require the kind of legislative remedies that Republican legislatures are embarking on. What the hell are you so afraid of? Black people voting? Experts note that most changes up for debate would disproportionately affect voters of color, younger people and the poor all groups that historically vote for Democrats. But Republicans are also pushing restrictions with the potential to place new burdens on GOP-leaning groups. It's a startling shift for a party whose voters in some states, such as Florida and Arizona, had embraced absentee and mail voting. Several Republican strategists note the party may be passing laws that only box out their own voters. There are multiple states and in multiple demographics where Republicans consistently outperform Democrats in early voting and absentee voting, and they need to be very careful because they could be shooting themselves in the foot to restrict that and make it more difficult,," said Terry Sullivan, a Republican strategist. If elected Republicans share these concerns, they have done little so far to slow the momentum of major legislation in competitive states like Georgia, Arizona, Florida and Texas, where Republicans control the state legislature and the governor's office. Democratic officials, civil rights leaders and voting advocates are horrified. Martin Luther King III said he spent last weekend in Selma, Alabama, celebrating the 56th anniversary of his father's bloody march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Instead of being a day of celebration, he said, there was a sense that the civil rights movement was sliding backward because of the Republican voting proposals. Theres no question about this being a higher level of Jim Crow, King said in an interview. He said he's worried that little can be done to stop the Republican effort in the short-term. Im not sure what would make Republicans change other than they lose (in upcoming elections, King added. There has to be a maximum effort so that does happen. Theyre going to get very few votes from community of color. Republicans championing the changes insist they're simply trying to help restore public confidence to the U.S. election system. There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020, but polls suggest that many Republicans doubted the outcome of the election after Trump repeatedly declared, falsely, that he was the victim of illegal voting. In an interview, Trump ally Ken Cuccinelli used an expletive to describe King's suggestion that the new laws are designed to disenfranchise African Americans. I take great offense to the idea that Im trying to keep anybody from voting, Cuccinelli said. Theres no reason anybody, no matter what color they are, cant access this system if theyre a legal and appropriate voter." In Georgia, the state Senate has voted to limit access to absentee mail ballots to people 65 and over, those with a physical disability and people out of town on Election Day. Legislation passed by the state House would also dramatically reduce early voting hours, limit the use of early-voting drop boxes, and make it a crime to give food or water to voters standing in line. During Monday's Senate vote, several Republicans who represent competitive metro Atlanta districts didnt vote, including Sen. Brian Strickland. He had tried to amend the bill in committee to remove provisions scrapping no-excuse absentee but was unable to muster enough support. If ultimately approved by both chambers of the legislature, the change would end broad no-excuse absentee voting put in place in 2005 by a Republican-led legislature, after more than 1.3 million people voted absentee by mail in November. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, on Monday signed a GOP-backed bill that requires voting sites to close an hour earlier and shortens the early-voting period to 20 days from the current 29. Voters will be also removed from active voting lists if they miss a single general election and dont report a change in address or re-register. Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate, who contradicted Trumps references to widespread voter fraud last fall and expanded mail-in voting during the pandemic, did not oppose the new law, but he offered no ringing endorsement either after a Latino advocacy group sued Tuesday to stop it from taking effect. My office will continue providing resources to help every eligible Iowan be a voter and understand any changes in election law," Pate said. "Our goal has always been to make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat. And in Arizona, Republicans introduced dozens of bills to impose new restrictions on voting, many of them targeting the vote-by-mail system that accounts for about 80 percent of Arizonas ballots. Some of the most aggressive proposals have died unceremoniously. House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican, quietly buried a bill that would have allowed the Legislature to overturn presidential election results and appoint its own Electoral College representatives. But other measures are advancing, some with the support of Republicans who acknowledge discomfort. The Arizona Senate this week voted to require identification such as a drivers license number or a copy of a utility bill to be included with mail ballots. Republican Sen. Tyler Pace said he worried it would reduce ballot secrecy and pose a serious barrier to the many voters who dont have a printer at home. The problem is every single way you look at that it gets cumbersome, Pace said during the bill debate. Meanwhile, Steele warned Republican officials that they would face a fierce political backlash in next year's midterm elections and beyond if they continue to make it harder for some voters to participate in elections. If youre silent, youre complicit. Youre complicit in disenfranchising African American voters in key jurisdictions across the country, Steele said. They will rue upcoming elections if they stay on this course." ___ Peoples reported from New York and Cooper reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report. YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. A stable operational situation with no incidents maintained along the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line of the Armenian state border overnight March 9-10, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Defense Ministry of Armenia. According to the information by the Armenian National Security Service, no border incidents registered in Vorotan-Davit Bek section of the Goris-Kapan inter-state road which is under the responsibility of the NSS border troops. The Armed Forces of Armenia and the NSS border troops confidently control the border situation along the entire borderline. ROME, MAR 8 - The health ministry on Monday gave the the all clear for the AstraZeneca vaccine to be given to over-65s, except those that are "extremely vulnerable" because of medical conditions. The AstraZeneca jab was initially only approved for adults aged 55 or under in Italy, but that age limit had been recently raised to 65. (ANSA). Less than four per cent of art sold at art auctions worldwide is by female artists, despite evidence that artwork by women is on average more expensive and perceived to be of higher quality. Women artists are also mostly absent from the upper echelons of auction art sales (where sales are greater than $1 million, and where 40 per cent of all art sales come from) with just one female artist Amercian abstract impressionist painter Joan Mitchell cracking the top 50 best-selling artists. The painting Edrita Fried 1981 by Joan Mitchell Credit:Henning Kaiser/picture alliance via Getty Images These findings have emerged from a new academic study of the price differences for male and female artists in the global fine art market. Co-authored by researchers from Monash University, the Netherlands Maastricht University and Artnet Worldwide from NYC, the report, published in the international Journal of Cultural Economics, looked at sales from more than 1800 auction houses between 2000 and 2017. After three months of wishing they were back at school, the return day is finally upon us and Im finding myself getting misty-eyed at the thought of my children not being around all day every day. Im watching them more closely now the end is in sight. When they ask me to look at the free-style Lego sculpture theyve built or the hat theyve put on the dog, Im leaning in now rather than telling them through gritted teeth that Im working, for the hundredth time. This phase of parenting two not-so-small boys in a pandemic reminds me of the newborn phase. The house is constantly in a mess. Regular mealtimes seem to have disappeared into one long grazing session as theyre constantly starving. There are no clear demarcations between downtime and whatever the opposite of downtime is. Bedtime is a moveable feast. For months, Ive lurched between the laundry and the lunch while trying to help with maths and meet my work deadlines. If Ive turned my back to take a phone call, my children who I left doing schoolwork at the kitchen table have bolted for the woods. My feelings over this time have oscillated wildly between loving them fiercely for their antics and being ready to explode at having to march them back to the work station again while counting to 10. My sons are really looking forward to going back to school. No offence Mammy, but youre not really great at the homeschooling, the 12-year-old tells me. The nine-year-old nods furiously in agreement. Theyre not wrong there. But what I wasnt expecting to feel was any conflict about the actual return. Now as I round up the stray school ties and the PE trousers, buried at the bottom of a drawer, Im left wondering did I do enough over this time to make it all OK for them. Did their dad and I spend enough time with them? Did we do things as a family enough? Now the end is in sight, Im wondering if I batted them away when they wanted to show me something one too many times because I needed to do something else. The concept of the good-enough parent isnt a new one. But I find myself wondering, was I even good enough? When I drop them to the school gates on Monday and watch them run up the path how can something so normal sound so alien? I know that these feelings will come thick and fast. I also know the house will feel quiet with just their dad and I rattling around again, working from home. But heres the point, it should feel empty. They should be in school. Even though this return is bringing up a lot of the same feelings as sending them off on the first day of school, its where they need to be. Cocooning at home with their parents is not where they need to be right now. A Stanford study suggested that the average student has lost at least a third of a years worth of learning in reading and three-quarters of a years worth of learning in maths. Leaving the academic side of learning aside, Dr Colman Noctor, child and adolescent psychotherapist, says while there may be feelings of the empty nest about the return to school, from a childs social development point of view they need to be with their peers. Theres nothing to be gained from any more time locked down at home, he says. Children have an innate sociability they need to practice its like a muscle. The exposure to structure outside of the home and the stimulation of different people are crucial parts of their development, says Dr Noctor. And while he says many parents are grappling with the feeling of missing their children now the schools are filling up again, this is misplaced. Even if you break up from a bad relationship, you still miss the company. Whats familiar isnt always right. Its about having hope that this is the right thing to do, similar to that first day in school, he adds. Weve got so used to the abnormal that a return to school is a big deal. These unusual times have left us so frazzled that were even feeling remorse for what we never wanted in the first place. The highs and lows weve all felt are normal. It wasnt possible to do all the crafts projects we promised our kids wed do, or the hobbies wed pledged to find the time to delve into. When we were asked to do the impossible work, homeschool, Zoom, dog walk, clean and get outdoors of course we were destined to fail. How could we not? Before they head back out to school, theres a few things Ive promised my sons Ill do. Top of their list is sitting me down to watch a soap-cutting video, which they say is deeply satisfying. (Google it its a thing.) They have plans for me to walk along bubblewrap in my bare feet which Im told is very nice. I also have to visit a new den theyve built in the woods for the full-guided tour. I will do all of these with a full heart, because on Monday I plan on several quiet cups of tea with no disruptions. Economic reality has a way of cutting through politics. Even when it comes to the acrimonious debate over climate change. That was certainly the case with the early closure of the Yallourn coal-fired power plant. For all the threats the Morrison government has directed at power companies to deter them from shutting down coal-powered plants, the financial bottom line was always going to speak with a louder voice. Baseload electricity prices in Victoria have crashed 70 per cent from about $80 a megawatt-hour in March 2020 to $24 this month, putting most coal-fired plants into the red. The price drop has been driven largely by the pandemic-led downturn in energy demand, a cooler-than-usual summer and the accelerating rollout of wind and solar farms and rooftop solar panels. EnergyAustralia will close the Yallourn power station in Victorias Latrobe Valley in mid-2028. Credit:Joe Armao It is an industry in the midst of the biggest transition in generations. While coal and gas-fired generation remain the dominant source of the states energy supply, the move to renewables is only picking up speed. Victorias energy regulator is dealing with a 300 per cent increase in applications from renewable energy developers over the past four years. Along with the declining cost of producing renewable energy, much of the new investment is being driven by the Andrews government, which has legislated a target for the state to reach 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030. The government has also committed more than half a billion dollars to fund six new renewable energy zones and fast-track new projects. The Minority in Parliament say they are disappointed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo failed to tell Ghanaians the true state of the economy. They said the President was silent on the current debt plaguing the country, as well as the true number of Ghanaians who had been made jobless as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and the banking sector clean-up. My first major disappointment is the Presidents silence on our national debt. We have a national debt of about GH287 billion, meaning about 78 per cent of gross domestic debt (GDP), which is worrying, the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, stated. Tell us true debt Speaking to the press in reaction to the Presidents State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday, the Minority Leader said when the President delivered his 2017 SONA, he was quick to tell the nation how much debt he inherited. So today too, President Akufo-Addo must be quick to tell us how much he has inherited from his previous administration in terms of our national debt, he stated. Unemployment Mr Iddrisu, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, said Ghanaians needed to know the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic had contributed to unemployment in the country. On the contrary, he added, the President only gave an indication of people whose wages had been reduced, instead of the number who had been made jobless. We need to know how many people are sitting at home because of COVID-19, how many are home because of the banking sector clean up, the Minority Leader said. The Tamale South Member of Parliament stated that the President was also silent on the number of people who were killed through military excesses during the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ablekuma in the Greater Accra Region, Techiman in the Bono East Region and Savelugu in the Northern Region. He said as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghanaians expected President Akufo-Addo to have instigated some investigations into those matters, while the families were compensated, with those responsible for the excesses punished. That is how you can keep the peace and security of the country; you just do not come and say we have peace and security. There must be a basis, and justice is one basis for stability, peace and security, he said. Campaign promises questionable Questioning the Presidents assertion that the government had fulfilled a number of its campaign promises, the Minority Leader pointed out what he said were inconsistencies in some of the claims by the President and the Minister of Trade and Industry in relation to the governments flagship programme, the One-district, One-factory (1D1F). Mr Iddrisu said while the President claimed that 232 1D1F projects were at various stages of implementation, Mr Alan Kyerematen had told the Appointments Committee that 259 of such projects were at various stages of completion. Who should we believe, as 76 were already existing factories which are not new? So who is deceiving who? he asked. He also accused the government of hiding information about the implementation of the $1 million, one constituency programme. Were still against Agyapa Reiterating the Minoritys stance against the Minerals and Income Investment Fund Royalty (Agyapa), Mr Iddrisu questioned the urgency with which the President still wanted to push the Agyapa Royalty back to Parliament for approval. What do they need $500 million urgently for, and what is the justification that you have to securitise our mineral royalty for 25 years and create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which is suspicious and which gives us room to be worried about corruption if we are to believe the Special Prosecutor appointed by them? Bring Domelevo back Touching on the forced compulsory retirement of the immediate past Auditor-General, he said the move by the President was an indication of somebody who does not seem to fight corruption. He said the Presidents forcing of Mr Daniel Domelevo to retire set a bad precedent for all constitutional bodies. Message gives hope The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Assin South, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, however, said he was happy that the President had given a true reflection of the state of affairs in the all sectors of the economy. He said with the advent of the Ghana Card and digitisation, Ghanaians were already reaping the benefits by enjoying services provided via integrated systems. The message has given a lot of hope. Although Ghana was down due to COVID-19, as the Black Star of Africa, we have risen to the occasion and we are fast recovering in all spheres of our economy, Rev. Fordjour said. The NPP MP for Ejisu, Mr John Kumah, was of the view that the President had told Ghanaians exactly everything that was right with the nation and the challenges. He has told us how his government has managed to address problems with galamsey, COVID-19 and the reopening of schools, he said. 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 Brian brings 20+ years of brand-side experience to Traction. He previously held the positions of Vice President Marketing for Nordstrom, Senior Vice President & Global Head of Digital Marketing for Citi, Vice President of Marketing for Experian, as well as digital leadership roles for Intuit and Sony Electronics. Additionally, Brian co-founded e-commerce fashion brand, Hypeach, in 2020 with his wife, Marlo, to disrupt the fast fashion model. According to Traction CEO Adam Kleinberg, "Brian was our client at Intuit and was hands down one of the best clients we ever had. I'm so excited to be able to offer this level of talent to our performance marketing clients." "I'm extremely excited to join Adam and the leadership team as Traction evolves into the next generation agency model, and to have the opportunity to build out a world-class performance marketing capability on top of the strong capabilities that have forged Traction's strength of reputation in-market, "said Brian, "I first had the opportunity to work with Adam and the Traction team as his client during my time at Intuit and it's been impressive seeing Traction's growth and diversity of brand name clients over the past decade. Traction has a long-standing reputation as an award-winning agency that leads with its client's business objectives, KPI's and consumer insights when developing strategy and execution in multiple verticals across B2C and B2B. This highly aligns with my experience and approach to strategic marketing and problem solving. With its SME (subject matter expert) consulting approach Traction can provide increased efficiency, flexibility and scalability for its clients with seasoned marketing leaders managing the account (not just in the pitch), which is a true differentiator in the agency space." Tractionwhich will celebrate its 20th anniversary this monthhas counted Apple, Lenovo, Bank of America, and Adobe among its list of clientshas been on a roll recently picking up five brand assignments in the past quarter. Brian joining Traction coincides with the company announcing their most recent win, becoming the first-ever Accelerator of Record for Wristcam ( www.wristcam.com ), the first ever camera band for Apple Watch. According to Matt Frischer, CMO of Wristcam, "We knew we were ready to accelerate our growth and Traction was the obvious partner for us to engage with. Their level of talent and expertise on the team sets them apart from so many others. Leveraging them to extend our reach and performance within our channels is very exciting" Traction announced the pivot of its business model from an agency into a marketing accelerator consultancy at the end of 2019. "Brian joins during a period of strategic growth. We're seeing momentum in the market; we are seeing the impact of our new approach to helping in-house teams tackle challenges from brand-building to product and experience design," said Kleinberg, "We're excited to add a brilliant mind like Hovis' to the team to lead our performance marketing initiatives. He's best in class." About Traction Traction is a consultancy that is a growth accelerator for in-house marketing and product teams of the world's greatest consumer and B2B brands. The firm was founded in 2001 and has since provided service to a diverse range of clients including Apple, Adobe, Alibaba.com , Bank of America, Lenovo, and McCormick. Learn more at http://www.tractionco.com . SOURCE Traction Related Links http://www.tractionco.com U.S. officials announced Wednesday they'll hold their first high-level, in-person summit next week with China and cyberattacks, human rights and Chinese actions in Taiwan and Hong Kong are likely on the agenda. Why it matters: China's leaders may see the current moment as a window of opportunity to persuade a new administration the United States has much to gain from supporting Beijing's global goals and much to lose if the U.S. tries to thwart them. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. Relations between the world's two nuclear-armed superpowers are at their lowest point in decades. The Biden administration has said it views China as a major strategic rival, and the National Security Council has made the Indo-Pacific region its top focus. On the table: In Anchorage, Alaska, next week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan are likely to bring up recent cyber intrusions attributed to Chinese-backed actors, China's recent aggression toward Taiwan and the genocide that China is perpetrating against its Muslim minorities. State Councilor Wang Yi and Director Yang Jiechi are likely going to demand that the U.S. cease interfering in what they perceive as issues of Chinese territorial sovereignty. They are also likely to object to what they perceive as attempts at regional containment, such as the planned Quad summit involving officials from the U.S., Japan, Australia and India. Both the Biden administration and Chinese officials hope the U.S.-China relationship can accommodate some degree of cooperation, so potential areas of partnership such as on climate change and pandemic preparedness also may come up. My thought bubble: Yang and Wang undoubtedly hope to win a detente. Biden has so far upheld most of the Trump era's tough China measures in a sort of holding pattern, as the administration conducts a comprehensive review of America's China policy. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. China's foreign trade will maintain its momentum of fast growth this year, analysts predicted. The country's imports and exports surged 32.2 percent year on year in the first two months of 2021, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on March 7. Notably, exports skyrocketed 50.1 percent year on year and in February alone, exports soared 139.5 percent from a year earlier. Photo shows Nansha Terminal of Guangzhou Port in south China's Guangdong province. (Photo/Chinanews.com) China's exports will be further boosted by the global economic rebound and robust demand from the overseas market. Wang Tao, head of Asia Economic Research with UBS Investment Bank, said that the global economy is expected to rebound significantly this year as global COVID-19 cases look set to decrease sharply from the second quarter due to high vaccination coverage. This, he said, will help spur China's exports. Zhong Zhengsheng, chief economist with Ping An Securities, also believed that Chinese exports would continue to expand this year thanks to the rising demand for Chinese products from overseas markets. Zhong forecast that the consumer demand in the U.S., spurred by massive fiscal stimulus and increasing real estate investment in the country, would lead to a higher demand for Chinese products, giving a strong boost to Chinese exports in the next one or two quarters. Meanwhile, higher COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Europe is expected to fuel China's exports gradually in the next two or three quarters, Zhong added. China's imports will be further facilitated by its accelerated economic recovery, which will help expand the country's domestic market. Last year, China was the only major economy in the world to show positive growth. Many economists believe that the Chinese economy may continue to outperform other countries this year and grow by more than 8 percent, and the robust economic recovery is expected to help expand imports. According to the latest annual government work report, China will continue to provide policy support to beef up foreign trade growth. The country has rolled out a series of policies and measures to stabilize its foreign trade, including increasing credit supply to support small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises and expanding the coverage of export credit insurance. 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 mum-of-six who stole more than $5,500 in goods from multiple stores was struggling to cope with a crippling drug addition after her husband left her for her best friend at the time of the shoplifting spree, a court has heard. Leah Michelle Floyd pleaded guilty to more than a dozen shoplifting offences in Wyong Local Court on the New South Wales Central Coast on Monday. The court heard Floyd stole products from stores including Kmart, Officeworks, David Jones and Priceline between July 2020 and January this year, the Central Coast Express Advocate reported. During the six-month crime spree, the 37-year-old stole baby products worth $611 from the Kmart store at Bateau Bay Square and shoplifted a $700 six-piece cook set from Robins Kitchen. Wyong Local Court ordered Leah Michelle Floyd (pictured) to pay back more than $5,500 in stolen goods after she pleaded guilty to more a dozen shoplifting offences She also took a $249.95 Remington gift set from the San Remo Priceline. In a letter provided to the court, Floyd said she was struggling to deal with a breakdown in her marriage and her drug habit which led to her becoming homeless. Floyd said she had been living a 'normal life' as a stay-at-home mother to her six boys. But in May 2018 she was rocked by her eldest son's biological father dying and her husband of 15 years walking out to start a relationship with her best friend. 'After months of grief I was struggling with nightmares, major depression, the loss of my son's father and my husband walking out, I began to self medicate with drugs to block out the emotion and become a very numb, yet functioning mum,' Floyd's letter said. Floyd stole goods from the Kmart store at Bateau Bay Square (left) and the David Jones store at Westfield Tuggerah (right), both of which are located on the New South Wales central coast Floyd was sentenced to a six-month intensive corrections order and a 12-month community corrections order. Magistrate Caleb Franklin also ordered Floyd to repay a total of $5,541.40 to stores which had sought compensation for the stolen goods. On Monday, King was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a non-parole period of five months after being convicted of 30 fraud offences, 18 shoplifting and larceny offences and driving charges including stealing a car. One morning in the summer of 1999, Graham Finn woke up in the childhood bedroom of rapper LL Cool J, in Queens, New York. A question flashed through his mind: how did I get here? LL Cool J had kept the house he grew up in, says Cork-born Finn from his home in Green County in Upstate New York. There was a studio in the basement. If he was working with an artist he would put them up there for the week. I slept in his childhood bed. It was very surreal. As one third of electro pioneers Bass Odyssey, Finn is a central figure in one of the most fascinating chapters in Leeside music. Blending break beats, the Bristol trip hop sound and an experimental spirit that was uniquely Cork, the trio had one foot in the future. But were also an instant time-capsule for the drum and bass scene that had recently made landfall in Cork. Drum and bass swept through the music world in the mid-Nineties, when stars such as Fabio and Grooverider were frequent headliners, and Comet Records on Washington Street heaved with white label 12 inches. Bass Odysseys music created reverberations that travelled all the way to New York. It was there I Need Love rapper LL Cool J tapped them up to contribute to the soundtrack to 1999 guilty pleasure shark movie Deep Blue Sea (in which he was starring). You may remember it as the one where Samuel L Jackson is eaten by a CGI Jaws 20 minutes in. Remote Control Soul had already become a headphones favourite back home. And now here it was, literally lit up in Hollywood lights and featuring both on the Deep Blue Sea soundtrack and in the film itself (playing in the background as LL Cool Js character bonds with his parrot). This is the story of that tune how it came to be and its impact on Irish clubbing culture. EARLY DAYS Finn, originally from Ballyvolane in Cork, had played guitar in indie band Emperor of Ice Cream. Bass Odyssey began when Finn struck up a writing partnership with producer and DJ Alan OKeeffe, from Pouladuff Road. Their friendship went back to their school days at Colaiste Chriost Ri (Finns family having made the fateful journey from the Northside to the Southside). This was the mid-Nineties, by which time Cork music was evolving. Corkchester, as the UK music press dubbed it, was dead. But something new was filling the void. With Sir Henrys on South Main Street and Greg Dowling and Shane Johnsons Sweat night, in particular, at the epicentre of Irish electronic music, Cork was already plugged into global club culture. And now a new music was coming out of London: drum and bass. This was characterised by fast breakbeats and heavy bass and sub-bass lines. Around Cork, it quickly become an obsession for many former indie-heads. I was buying a lot of drum and bass, atmospheric jazz and jungle stuff, recalls OKeeffe, who today works in set production in New York on shows such as The Affair and Narcos. I was DJing at a cafe on Washington Street Thursday and Fridays. And I would often be in the Brog [a bar on Oliver Plunkett Street], where all the Emperor lads hung out. Finn and OKeeffe started DJing together around town, and came to the attention of local promoter and mover/shaker Joe Kelly. Joe said why dont you do something in the back room in the Half Moon, says OKeeffe. It was a night called Cabaret Deluxe. I was only supposed to be a one off soundsystem, recalls. Finn. It all came out of Joe Kelly and that gig at the Half Moon Club. GROWING HYPE The Half Moon show in 1996 brought Bass Odyssey to the attention of Donal Scannell, Brian Spollen and Ray ODonoghue, who had worked with U2 on their Kitchen nightclub in Dublin and were in the process of launching the Quadraphonic drum and bass label. Along the way, the promoters also struck up an unlikely association with David Bowie, who had become obsessed with drum and bass and would regularly attend Quadraphonic gigs in Dublin. But now here was something new to dazzle them: an OKeeffe and Finn composition called Twilight. If the idea to start the label didn't come from hearing the Twilight track it was definitely accelerated by it, recalls Scannell. Having a label was just what drum and bass people did. It was the culture, so this track coming into our orbit was a 'wow this is real' moment and it led to great things for everyone. SXSW and shows in New York and beyond plus their music ending up in LL Cool Js Deep Blue Sea. Drum and bass was still relatively niche. Yet for those in the thick of it, it seemed as if they were taking on the world. It felt huge when you were in it but it was very underground, continues Scannell. All of the world's top DJs came and played here but the biggest gigs were for about 800 people. It never crossed over, nor did it ever try to. Bass Odyssey playing the Cork Opera House was one of the biggest Irish drum and bass gigs ever. While Bowie was showing up at other Quadraphonic events, it was a different pioneer who impressed Bass Odyssey. "I have to mention that Alan's hero was Fabio. Meeting him was bigger than Bowie. One of the Quadraphonic catchphrases was a line Alan said to him that we repeated ad infinitum - I Love You Fabio. TWO BECOME THREE The core duo of Finn and OKeeffe expanded to a trio as they brought in Chris ODriscoll, aka MC Strict, as frontman. We knew it was going to be a hit and planned it that way, says Scannell of Remote Control Soul. You have to remember that drum and bass is speeded up hip-hop so there was such strong links between them. I think we all realised that for Bass Odyssey to be bigger they needed songs so they brought in Chris/Mc Strict and he added a whole new dimension. "He would have already been MCing at their live gigs so having him on record was going to happen anyway. But we knew that radio wouldn't happen with instrumentals. We didn't really see it a hip-hop track, though we just saw it as Bass Odyssey. Alan O'Keeffe and Graham Finn of Bass Odyssey in Spector Studios, with sound engineer Martin Bohane. Picture: Eddie O'Hare Remote Control Soul was originally recorded in 1998 at Spector Studios - which no longer exists in Cork, says Finn. We basically lived in that place. The song happened by accident when I loaded the wrong sampler patch on a song and it played back the samples at the wrong speed. It sounded really cool, so I refined it and it became the song we now know as Remote Control Soul. MC Strict did an incredible job with the lyrics, this was his first real chance to shine on a Bass Odyssey record and he nailed it! Malvina McCarthy sang a stunning vocal for the chorus. ONWARDS TO NEW YORK Remote Control Soul generated huge airplay and is a fitting legacy for the group, who drifted apart in the early 2000s owing to creative differences after a farewell gig in the Lobby, Cork (Not everyone was comfortable with the direction it was going in, says Finn). The song had by then come to the attention of LL Cool J, via Cork-born, New York-based producer and engineer John OMahony. I was on vacation in Spain and I got a call, recalls Finn. They said, what are you doing?. I was like, Im in Spain. And they said, well youre in New York next week. Alan was supposed to come but he had broken his leg. And with that he was off to meet LL Cool J (and stay in his childhood home). Bass Odyssey's energy, enthusiasm and wit was what set them apart, says Donal Scannell. They were infectious and unforgettable. They were the most fun people you'll ever meet. Being around them was sheer joy. No one who ever met them in full flight will ever forget that experience so we never thought about genres or anything like that with them. They were Bass Odyssey and that was that. I hope this article kicks off a comeback. Who wouldn't want to go to a Bass Odyssey gig? WHAT CAME NEXT Graham Finn works in New York managing a number of bars. He has also played and recorded with Depeche Modes David Gahan. He recently finished an album with former Rollerskate Skinny / August Wells frontman Ken Griffin, as The High Leaves; and his old Cork band, Emperor of Ice Cream, have been rereleasing their music. Alan OKeeffe is involved in set production in New York, and has worked on shows such as The Affair and Narcos. He has recently started producing drum and bass tracks again. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine over concerns about patients developing post-jab blood clots, as the manufacturer and Europe's medicines watchdog insisted the vaccine was safe. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) told AFP that information available so far indicated the risk of blood clots in those vaccinated against COVID-19 was "no higher than that seen in the general population." It also said that European countries could keep using the AstraZeneca vaccine while the issue was investigated, concluding that "the vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks". Denmark, the first to announce it was suspending the jab, stressed that the move was precautionary. "It has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots," the country's Health Authority said. As of March 9, 22 cases of blood clots had been reported among more than three million people vaccinated in the European Economic Area, the EMA said. Austria announced on Monday that it had suspended the use of a batch of AstraZeneca vaccines after a 49-year-old nurse died of "severe blood coagulation problems" days after receiving an anti-COVID shot. Five other European countriesEstonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg and Italyhave also suspended the use of vaccines from this batch, which was sent to 17 European countries and consisted of one million jabs. On Wednesday, the EMA said a preliminary probe showed that the batch of AstraZeneca vaccines used in Austria was likely not to blame for the nurse's death. Denmark however suspended the use of its entire AstraZeneca supply, as did Iceland and Norway in subsequent announcements Thursday citing similar concerns. 'Super-cautious' "This is a super-cautious approach based on some isolated reports in Europe," said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "The risk and benefit balance is still very much in favour of the vaccine," he said. AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish company which developed the vaccine with Oxford University, defended the safety of its product. "The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in phase III clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine has been generally well tolerated," a spokesman for the group told AFP. AstraZeneca's share price was however down 2.28 percent in mid-afternoon trading in London. Britain, whose widely-praised vaccine rollout has been largely underpinned by the AstraZeneca jab, also defended it as "both safe and effective", while Sweden and the Netherlands said they would continue to use it. The Danish suspension, which will be reviewed after two weeks, is expected to slow down the country's vaccination campaign. If Denmark were to move on without AstraZeneca, its health authority said it expected to have its entire adult population vaccinated by mid-August instead of early July. "We are of course saddened by this news," said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Frederiksen, who has pushed for the production of more vaccines and has formed a controversial alliance with Austria and Israel to do so, defended the Danish health authorities' decision. "Things have gone well in Denmark, but there are some risks linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine that need to be examined more closely," she told reporters. "That seems to me to be the right way to proceed." Health Authority director Soren Brostrom stressed that Denmark was pausing use of the AstraZeneca jab, not terminating it. "But both we and the Danish Medicines Agency must act on information about possible serious side effects, both in Denmark and in other European countries," Brostrom said. The EMA has launched an investigation into the death of one person who died after receiving the vaccine in Denmark. Allan Randrup Thomsen, a virologist at the University of Copenhagen, told AFP that so many people were being vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab "that it's hard for me to believe there should be a real problem". "But it's very important that a thorough investigation is performed," he added. Around 25 percent of those who have received a first dose in Denmark, a country of 5.8 million, were given the AstraZeneca jab. In total, 3.8 percent of the population have received two vaccine doses and 13.4 percent at least one dose. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP The pledge is being coordinated by Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, which has laid out a framework to help investors align their portfolios in a manner to achieve net zero emissions Several major pension funds, including those of PLC ( ), PLC ( and the Church of England, have committed to reducing the carbon emissions of their portfolios to net zero by 2050 or sooner. The pledges, which include pension funds with assets worth over 870bn, have been coordinated by the organisation Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), which has laid out a framework to help investors align their portfolios in a manner to achieve net zero emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to a 1.5 degree rise in global temperatures. Some 35 investors managing around US$8.5 trillion (6.1 trillion) in assets are already putting the framework to use, including funds such as Scottish Widows, and an organisation covering local government pension scheme funds for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire, the IIGCC said as it announced the framework on Wednesday. The global investment community has been called on to play its part in the transition to net zero and it is answering that call. This new swathe of net zero commitments from asset owners demonstrates the growing determination from investors to make important decisions to support a net zero and resilient future, said IIGCC chief executive Stephanie Pfeifer. Commitments are vital, but only meaningful for the long-term when realised. The net zero transition itself requires an ongoing transition from making commitments to delivering impact. The Net Zero Investment Framework, developed with and for investors, is a blueprint for action that will enable and support investors in reaching these goals, the CEO added. The scheme has also been backed by the UK government, with pensions minister Guy Opperman welcoming the frameworks ambition and hugely practical guidance. In the run-up to [the United Nations Climate Change Conference on November 1], more countries than ever are signing up for net zero. This creates huge opportunities, but also risks, for institutional investors such as pension schemes. That is why were the first major economy to legislate to require pension schemes to set targets to manage their own climate risks, Opperman said. Shares in Lloyds rose 0.3% to 41.2p in mid-morning trading on Wednesday, while was down 0.4% at 831.2p. Like many children of Russian immigrants who settled in Chattanooga, Moses Lebovitz realized the American Dream of rising from poverty to substantial wealth. Mr. Mose was born in Chattanooga in 1905 and died June 27, 1991 at the age of 86. He was a graduate of Chattanooga High School on 3rd Street and then studied business and finance at the University of Chattanooga. Subsequent to that period he served his country in the United States Army. His first entrepreneurial success came in the movie theater industry when he became a partner in Independent Theaters which owned and operated many properties in the Tri-State region and the South. Locally his company operated the State/Martin Theater downtown, The Brainerd Theater, and several area drive-in theaters. Recognizing the trend towards shopping malls and the increasing competition with television that was adversely affecting the movie theater business, he and his son, Charles B. Lebovitz, and Jay Solomon founded Independent Enterprises in 1961. The Brainerd Theater was sold to a local night club operator, Billy Hull, who had also purchased the Brainerd Bootery, from former Hamilton County Sheriff and city of Chattanooga Fire and Police Commissioner James B. Bookie Turner and had created an English styled pub, The Lion's Den. Hull immediately knocked a hole in the wall separating the two businesses and used the massive venue of the theater to create the Castaways Club that catered to live rock n roll entertainers such as Little Richard, The Platters, Wayne Cochran and others. Independent Enterprises subsequently became a national leader in the development of shopping centers after starting three regional malls in Chattanooga at Eastgate (1962), Northgate (1972) and the massive Hamilton Place (1987) along with 21 other shopping centers around Chattanooga. Estimates of the creation of some 15,000 jobs in those 24 properties helped the employment market in the area. In the 1970s Mr. Lebovitz became a senior vice president with Arlen Realty & Development Corporation, a New York based company when the two companies merged. Arlen Realty owned several shopping centers on the East Coast of the United States. During his 30-year career in the industry he allegedly was involved in the operation of more than 200 shopping centers primarily in the Southeast and Northeast areas of the United States. The Lebovitz family continued in the leadership and substantial ownership in the conglomerate when Moses son, Charles Lebovitz, and five associates formed CBL and Associates, Inc. in 1978. The family ownership ties remain today under the leadership of Charles sons, Stephen D. and Michael Lebovitz. The company continued to expand and acquire new properties and at one point was among the top five shopping center owners in the country with assets in the billions and millions of square feet of retail space. In addition to his business contributions Mr. Mose was heavily involved in the community in several capacities. His was an active member of the BNai Zion Congregation, a member of the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation, The Elks Club, Shriners and a life member of Chattanooga Lodge 199 F&M and an original member and director of the Young Mens Hebrew Association. His entrepreneurial legacy was recognized by the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga when he along with four other distinguished Chattanoogans were indicted into the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2002. The solutions of the current financial problems affecting CBL caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could well benefit from the wisdom of the late Mr. Mose. * * * 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) Last years St. Patricks Day parade in Albany was scheduled on March 14 the same week that the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, and just days before New York state shut down. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan was about to announce that the parade would go on, and instead ended up making the last-minute decision to cancel. Now, as we enter the second year of the pandemic, the parade has become one of the first big events in the region to be canceled twice. But the United Irish Societies of the Capital District (UISCD), which organizes the parade, was determined to find a way to mark the events platinum anniversary. Its such a big day in Albany, and we didnt want the 70th year to go unnoticed, said Tim Carey, president of the UISCD, which comprises eight area organizationsthe Albany and Watervliet chapters of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) and Ladies AOH, the North Albany Limericks, the Menands St. Patricks Club, the Celtic Hall, the South End Irish and the Colonie Irish. So, in lieu of floats, color guards and pipe bands marching along Washington Avenue, the UISCDs parade committee has put together a virtual event, interspersing musical performances, guest speakers and vintage photos. The link to the prerecorded show will be available at albanysaintpatricksdayparade.com beginning Friday afternoon. A traditional Mass will also be streamed live from Blessed Sacrament Church at 10 a.m. Saturday. The parade committee made the official decision to go virtual on Jan. 1, but they began proactively planning the event six months ago, tapping local talent and dignitaries. Musical acts include the Brothers Flynn, Jimmy Kelly, Whos Your Paddy, Don Kelly, Geo Doody, John Hagerty, Mike Donegan and Spancilhill. Mayor Sheehan, former New York state Assemblyman Jack McEneny and former Albany County comptroller Michael Connors are among the featured speakers, and Elizabeth Stack, director of the Irish American Heritage Museum, will speak about the history associated with the holiday. Viewers will also hear from Michael Whalen of M&T Bank, a major sponsor of the event, and Mark Quant, director of the Northeastern New York Regional Food Bankto which UISCD made a $5,000 donation last year after the parades cancellation. What brought so many of our relatives from Ireland was the Great Hunger in the 1940s, so the cause of feeding the hungry is near to our hearts, Carey said. Caused by a fungus that destroyed Irelands potato crops between 1845 and 1852, the Great Hunger brought more than half a million Irish immigrants to the United States, most of whom embarked in New York City. Today, 18 percent of Albany residents have Irish ancestry, a higher percentage than any other major city, according to Wikipedia. St. Patricks Day is a remembrance of that time as well as an homage to Irelands patron saintwho was actually born in Britain. In his autobiography, The Confessio, he tells of being kidnapped by pirates at age 16, transported to Ireland and enslaved for six years as a shepherd. He eventually escaped and made his way back home, but a message from an angel in a dream inspired him to return to Ireland to spread Christianity. For the next 40 years, he traversed the country, baptizing thousands of people, before his death on March 17 in the year 461. St. Patricks Day has been observed on this date in Ireland for over 1,000 years, but the first related parade took place in the United States, in St. Augustine, Fla., in 1601. South Korea has authorized AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for citizens aged 65 and over, the decision is based on the UK research, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said SEOUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2021) South Korea has authorized AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for citizens aged 65 and over, the decision is based on the UK research, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The vaccine was previously approved for South Korean citizens aged between 18 and 65. A decision on senior citizens vaccination was due to be made in the beginning of April, when AstraZeneca was expected to provide additional data on the clinical trials involving senior people. However, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun asked the health authorities to study the possibility to allow vaccination of those aged 65+ earlier, citing experience of other nations. "The expert panel on vaccination recommended using AstraZeneca vaccine in people aged 65 and over, based on results of the research conducted in the United Kingdom and Scotland, as it was proven effective in preventing hospitalizations and severe symptoms," KDCA said in a statement. In line with KDCA recommendations, South Korea should inoculate around 376,000 senior patients and staffers in nursing homes across the country by the end of March. South Korea launched its phased vaccination campaign in late February. Healthcare staff and patients in nursing homes receive the AstraZaneca vaccine, while doctors specializing in coronavirus patients get the Pfizer vaccine. Immunization of support healthcare staffers and residents aged 65+ will start in the second quarter of the year, while most of the other citizens will be inoculated in the third quarter. According to KDCA, health authorities plan to allow inoculation for those whose work envisions regular foreign travel but does not imply mandatory quarantine starting the second quarter of the year. These include flight attendants. (Newser) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo now has six accusersand the allegations raised by the most recent one are "the most egregious" so far, per the Albany Times-Union, going beyond sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior to conduct that could possibly be prosecuted as sexual assault. Sources familiar with the allegations tell the newspaper that the female aide, who has not been publicly named, was summoned to the governor's mansion late last year to help Cuomo with something involving his cellphone; they were allegedly alone together in the governor's private residence when he shut the door and started to grope her under her shirt. State Attorney General Letitia James' office is handling the probe into the allegations against the governor, and as of Wednesday night, at least 85 state lawmakers had called on Cuomo to resign or be impeached, Fox News reports. story continues below The woman, who is significantly younger than the governor, says she told him to stop, the source says. She also alleges that Cuomo was frequently flirtatious toward her and had touched her before. The source says the aide got emotional on March 3 as staffers in Cuomo's Executive Chamber watched him give a news conference in which he denied ever touching anyone inappropriately; a concerned supervisor asked what was going on and the woman revealed her allegations. Cuomo told the newspaper Wednesday night in response to questions about the latest accusation, "As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report." (Read more Andrew Cuomo stories.) More than 500 birds have been seized in Sydneys south-west, as part of an ongoing investigation into what is alleged to be one of the states largest illegal cockfighting syndicates. Police executed a search warrant on Thursday at a property at Horsley Park, where officers located roughly 540 fighting cockerels, roosters and chickens, as well as cockfighting paraphernalia. More than 500 fighting roosters have been located at a south-west Sydney property. Credit:NSW Police The discoveries came after investigations by NSW Police alongside RSPCA NSW led to charges being laid against 34 men allegedly involved in the syndicate in December. The men are accused of promoting, organising or attending an animal fight. They will face Moss Vale Local Court on April 1. Legendary Mexican masked wrestler Blue Demon Jr., who is running for mayor of a Mexico City borough, has been accused by his wife of abusing her and making death threats against her. The shocking allegations were made public by Monica Carrillo's during her appearance on the online gossip show, Chisme No Like, on Monday. Carrillo, who has three daughters with the iconic 54-year-old brawler, said she recently filed a report with the Mexico City Attorney General's Office. 'It is an extremely difficult situation because you have my 20-year marriage with him, you have my family, you have all the close people who have witnessed many things,' Carrillo said. 'I decided to do it because I am worth a lot and I do not deserve to be trampled by anyone and less by a person who justifies himself to be worth a lot, who has a lot of powerful people around him and [who thinks] I am not going to do anything. 'I think that is not fair. I believe that we are at a time when there must be equality for all people,' she added. 'I have been abused in many ways. I am tired that because I am behind a person who is famous that I have to shut up. I did this more than for myself because I have three daughters.' Monica Carrillo (left) made an appearance on Mexican online gossip show, Chisme No Like, and revealed that she had filed a report with the Attorney General's Office in Mexico City and accused her husband and legendary wrestler, Blue Demon Jr. (right), of abuse and threatening to kill her. The couple is pictured above attending the 2013 Univision's 'Premio Lo Nuestro A La Musica Latina' show Blue Demon Jr. is the son of the iconic Blue Demon. The 54-year-old has been wrestling for 35 years. He announced in January his intentions to run for the mayoral seat of the Mexico City municipality of Gustavo A. Madero. Elections are set for June 6 Monica Carrillo (left) said she decided to press charges of spousal abuse against her husband of 20 years, Blue Demon Jr., because she was 'tired that because I am behind a person who is famous that I have to shut up. I did this more than for myself because I have three daughters' Carrillo said that the threats against her and her family have continued since the Attorney General's Office alerted Blue Demon Jr. 'The situation worsened when he was notified. Now I have more harassment in my business, which is a business that belongs to both. Phone calls harassing me. Pictures of me being taken all the time and phone calls all day long telling me that they are going to kill me, that they're going to disappear me, that they don't know who I'm messing with,' she said. Carrillo alleges that there are other women who were also victims of Blue Demon Jr.'s abuse, but have never stepped forward to accuse him out of fear. She said that some of the victims have approached her 'because they are scared of him.' 'He says that he is going to kill my family, that he is going to kill whoever comes in front of him, for me not to dare to get in his way,' Carrillo said. 'Obviously, I have evidence of everything I am telling you. I have audio, texts, photographs of blows, which at the time I did not [report] because I was a coward.' Monica Carrillo alleges she continues to be harassed and spied on ever since her husband, Blue Demon Jr., was informed of the spousal abuse charges that she had filed with the Mexico City Attorney General's Office Blue Demon Jr. has vowed to govern with his mask on if he is elected as mayor of the Mexico City municipality of Gustavo A. Madero DailyMail.com has attempted to reach out to Blue Demon Jr. for comment. In January, Blue Demon Jr., whose father was known as the iconic Blue Demon, entered the 2021 mayoral race for Gustavo A. Madero, one of the 16 municipalities that make up Mexico City. The elections are set to take place in June 6 and Blue Demon Jr. has vowed to govern with his mask if he is elected to office. In an interview with Mexican news outlet Milenio, Blue Demon Jr. said that his wrestling name of 35 years would appear in the ballots, instead of his real name, which is protected by the National Institute for Transparency. He said that he would only have to show his face to officials from the National Electoral Institute. Blue Demon Jr. also promised that he will not retire from the squared circle as mayor of Gustavo A. Madero. TORONTO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UTU Technology Inc. continues to attract and register influential personalities onto its networking platform with the announcement that hip-hop producer and songwriter Shane Lindstrom, known as Murda Beatz, is set to join the App that is preparing to launch in the coming months. Murda Beatz joins UTU.ONE Murda Beatz has worked on eight Grammy-nominated albums and more than 20 Billboard No. 1 albums. His biggest hits include "Nice For What" by Drake, "Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, and most recently, "Motive" by Ariana Grande featuring Doja Cat. Beatz has created his own record imprint called Murda Beatz Recordings and, in 2021, was honored in the Forbes 30 Under 30 listing under the music category. He belongs to a new wave of hip-hop producers leading the way to redefine the music industry by forming a strategic partnership with UTU and leveraging the tech company's advanced blockchain technology and customized NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) that UTU will provide and design to protect artists and their IPs. The platform also gives creators more control, allowing them to release music on their own timeline. "UTU is a game-changer for the industry and will force it to change its tune," says Beatz. NFT ensures the authenticity of an artists' creation while protecting it so it cannot be forged. UTU's advanced integrated system and the immutable digital provenance that an NFT brings to a digital creation can be used to attribute value to music recordings in a way that was not possible pre-blockchain technology. "It's time for artists to take back their own music, and in the end, the fans win too." The UTU Platform is currently in its Beta Test Stage with several influential names already signed on as the company prepares for its official App launch. Users can preregister through the following link: UTU beta sign-up link: https://utu.one/BetaTest About UTU Technology Inc. - The company was originated in both Australia and Canada with a group of experts in Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, with business executives from IBM, Alibaba, Apple, and Deakin University's Blockchain Innovation Lab. The company developed the world's first DAC app for iOS and Android on EOSIO, in addition to many other blockchain business solutions and decentralized applications. In 2020, UTU technology Inc. made the strategic decision to establish its HQ in Toronto, Canada, to further the company's business expansions worldwide. Information on the company can be found at: https://www.utu.one For all media inquiries, contact: [email protected] Related Images the-sound-of-beatz.jpg The Sound of Beatz Murda Beatz joins UTU.ONE SOURCE UTU Technology Inc. You are here: China China's law-enforcement and related authorities have vowed crack down on false-litigation, with a view to upholding judicial justice and authority while promoting social ethics. The nation's top court, the top procuratorate, and the ministries of public security and justice released a set of guidelines Wednesday on further strengthening punishments in criminal cases of false litigation. The crime of false litigation refers to concocting civil disputes based on fake evidence and fabricated facts and initiating civil litigation in the people's courts, leading to disruption of the justicial order or serious infringement of others' legitimate rights and interests. The guidelines provide a list of civil cases prone to false litigation crimes, including disputes over private lending, property and contracts, and require people's courts and procuratorates to pay special attention to such cases. The document also clarifies the punishments that judicial personnel and lawyers should face for taking part in false litigation. Kelly Mi Li and Andrew Gray have now called it quits after five years of dating, all after reconciling on Bling Empire's season finale, which aired in January. The former lovebirds, whose rocky romance was documented on Netflix's hit reality show, announced their breakup in nearly identical statements shared to their respective Instagram accounts on Tuesday. 'Over the past 5 and half years, Andrew and I have shared some incredible times together. 'I have a tremendous amount of respect and love for him and will always cherish the memories we made,' the 35-year-old film producer captioned a selfie of her and Gray hugging on a rocky beach. Breakup: Bling Empire's Kelly Mi Li and Andrew Gray have called it quits after five years of dating after reconciling on the reality show's season finale She continued: 'However, we have made the difficult decision to officially separate at this point in our lives. ' They both agreed to feeling 'so grateful to have experienced a relationship that allowed' them to 'grow and learn so much.' 'Moving forward, Andrew and I plan to continue working on becoming the best versions of ourselves individually,' the star noted. 'We want to express our appreciation for your continued support and thank you for allowing us to share our journey.' Like Li, her ex, who is best known for his role as Troy Burrows, the Red Megaforce Ranger in Power Rangers Megaforce, requested privacy during 'this time of transition.' Parting ways: The former lovebirds announced their breakup to their respective Instagram accounts on Tuesday 'Over the past 5 and half years, Andrew and I have shared some incredible times together. I have a tremendous amount of respect and love for him and will always cherish the memories we made,' the 35-year-old film produce began Additionally, Gray shared a snap of him holding her above his head on a hike to his Instagram Story with a brief, but heartfelt note. 'Allow others to bring out the best in you. Thank you. @kellymili,' he wrote, before expressing his gratitude to their supportive fans. 'I want to let you guys know that God is good and he has a plan for us all,' the Spanish-American actor, 34, said. 'He keeps revealing himself in so many ways.' He went on to 'give a shout-out to all the people' in his life, who have supported him and Li throughout their relationship. 'I love you, Kelly. I love you, guys. You guys have been unconditional, just like we have to each other,' he told his 108,000 followers. No hard feelings: They both agreed they are 'so grateful to have experienced a relationship that allowed' them to 'grow and learn so much' Gray concluded: 'Thank you, thank you, thank you. I recommend to all men and women out there, if you need help, be the change you want to see in the world. It is tough, but hard work always pays off. God is good, guys.' Viewers previously saw them try couple's counseling before parting ways and move into separate living situations. That separation didn't last long as they ended up reigniting their romance amid the COVID-19 pandemic and, just last month, Gray praisined Li for teaching him 'what true love is.' 'The first moment I saw you, you completely took my breath away. You had me in the palm of your hands and still do,' he wrote on Instagram. 'Almost 6 years later, my heart still skips a beat every time you walk in the room.' He also called her 'incredible from head to toe' and admitted to being 'amazed' by her kindness, patience and 'passionate endless love' for him. Caught off guard: Last month, he called Li 'incredible from head to toe' and admitted to being 'amazed' by her kindness, patience and 'passionate endless love' for him 'Living through a breakup and one of the darkest times of our lives, especially on international television, was not easy,' he reflected, adding he has grown a lot since his verbal outburst in 2018 on their trip to Paris. Gray continued: 'Thank you for not giving up on us. You are my best friend, my soulmate, and the love of my love.' In mid-February, they were pictured holding hands at their costar Cherie Chan's birthday at the Chinese restaurant J. Zhou in Tustin, California. Li was previously married to Lin Miao, who was arrested for 'stealing $50 million from mobile phone customers,' according to The Sun. Their breakup came just one day before Netflix confirmed Bling Empire was renewed for a second season. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Regulatory News: VALBIOTIS (Paris:ALVAL) (FR0013254851 ALVAL eligible for the PEA/SME), a Research Development company committed to scientific innovation for preventing and combating metabolic diseases, today presents its 2021 financial communication calendar. March, 17: Annual Report (after market closing) May, 27: General Meeting (terms of participation to be specified later) September, 30: Half-year Report (after market closing) ABOUT VALBIOTIS VALBIOTIS is a Research Development company committed to scientific innovation for preventing and combating metabolic diseases in response to unmet medical needs. VALBIOTIS has adopted an innovative approach, aiming to revolutionize healthcare by developing a new class of nutritional health solutions designed to reduce the risk of major metabolic diseases, based on a multi-target approach and made possible by the use of plant-based ingredients. Its products are intended to be licensed to players in the health world. VALBIOTIS was founded in La Rochelle in early 2014 and has formed numerous partnerships with top academic centers. The Company has established three sites in France Perigny, La Rochelle (17) and Riom (63). VALBIOTIS is a member of the "BPI Excellence" network and received "Innovative Company" status awarded by BPI France. Valbiotis has also been awarded "Young Innovative Company" status and has received major financial support from the European Union for its research programs via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). VALBIOTIS is a PEA-SME eligible company. Find out more about VALBIOTIS: www.valbiotis.com Name: VALBIOTIS ISIN code: FR0013254851 Mnemonic code: ALVAL EnterNext PEA-SME 150 DISCLAIMER This press release contains forward-looking statements about VALBIOTIS' objectives. VALBIOTIS considers that these projections are based on rational hypotheses and the information available to the company at the present time. However, in no way does this constitute a guarantee of future performance, and these projections may be reconsidered based on changes in economic conditions and financial markets, as well as a certain number of risks and uncertainties, including those described in the VALBIOTIS registration document, filed with the French Financial Markets Regulator (AMF) on 31 July 2020 (application number R 20-018). This document is available on the Company's website (www.valbiotis.com This press release, as well as the information contained herein, does not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe to, or a solicitation to purchase or subscribe to, VALBIOTIS' shares or securities in any country. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005429/en/ Contacts: VALBIOTIS CORPORATE COMMUNICATION Carole Rocher Marc Delaunay +33 5 46 28 62 58 media@valbiotis.com ACTIFIN FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION Stephane Ruiz +33 1 56 88 11 14 sruiz@actifin.fr The state of Alabama is suing the U.S. Census Bureau, arguing the bureau is unconstitutionally delaying the release of vital population data to states, and that a new method for protecting privacy is changing, or even falsifying the numbers. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Wednesday filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, which aims to force the Bureau to release redistricting data by the end of this month, instead of on September 30, when the data is currently scheduled to be handed over to states. The suit also aims to force the Bureau not to use something called differential privacy, a new and controversial method for privacy protection announced for the 2020 Census. The Bureau announced earlier this year it would miss the deadline to report redistricting data to states. Alabama is now the second state to sue over the delay. Redistricting data effects nearly everything in state and federal government, from the way U.S. and state congressional districts are drawn, to how many representatives a state has in congress, to federal funding for healthcare, roads, education and more. Alabamas constitution states that it must complete redistricting in the year following the Census. That means it has to redraw the lines in 2021. Since Alabamas last scheduled meeting of the state Legislature is July 31, if the Bureau doesnt send data to Alabama until Sept. 30, a special session will be required for redistricting. And there wont be much time to get it done. The COVID-19 pandemic played a part in the Bureau missing its initial deadline. But differential privacy is at the center of Alabamas suit - and U.S Rep. Robert Aderholt says the new practice seems to be playing a role in the delay. Differential privacy is new to the 2020 Census and was announced in 2018. It uses complex math to add noise to data reported by the Bureau for the 2020 Census, in an aim to protect the privacy of the people counted by the Bureau. That noise is only shown in public facing data - the Census Bureau still counted each person living in the country in 2020, as it is constitutionally obligated to do. That noise will in effect change the count for certain subsets of the population. Some areas and groups - especially minorities and people living in rural areas - are likely to be more affected than others. Differential privacy applies a statistical algorithm to the census data that scrambles the data to minimize the chances of identifying any individual person, Rep. Aderholt, who represents Alabamas 4th district in north Alabama and who joined the suit, said in a press release on Wednesday. However, the problem is that when the data gets scrambled, it also becomes inaccurate and useless. The Census Bureau has always made changes to its reported data - the data that is made available to the public - in an effort to protect privacy. But the new method has drawn questions and criticism from both political parties and various civil rights groups and demographers. Since the 2000 Census, the Bureau has used something known as data swapping, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That practice involved moving populations around among different geographies. And the Bureau has not yet settled on the exact math it will use for the 2020 numbers. Basically, it hasnt yet decided how much noise it will add to the data. The Census is only carried out once every ten years and is vital for redistricting, federal allocation of tax dollars and for many other public and private uses, Aderholt said. Therefore, it is critical that the numbers be as accurate as possible and not be simply generated by computer algorithms and guess work. The bureaus practice of differential privacy is just that, guess work. Furthermore, rural areas will be affected the most, because the smaller the population of an area the more the data will be skewed in order to ensure privacy according to this policy. Contacted by Al.com on Wednesday, a representative from the Census Bureau said the Bureau doesnt comment on pending litigation. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) The Philippine government is expected to hold formal negotiations with India-based company Bharat Biotech to buy doses of its Covaxin vaccine, the South Asian countrys ambassador said on Thursday. In an interview with CNN Philippines, Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran said the companys local representatives have been in contact with concerned officials for this possible purchase, adding they would be ready to supply an initial batch of at least 8 million vaccine doses. Eight million is definitely achievable, Kumaran told The Source. Were looking at anything upwards of 8 million, over a period of time. Over a period of a year to 18 months we could even go up to 20 million doses. It really depends on the kind of agreement that we can reach. The earlier we have these negotiations, the earlier we close the term sheet, the larger the number of vaccine doses that may be available, he added. Bharat Biotech has also already shared an indicative price for its product, Kumaran noted. The Covaxin, which has reported an efficacy rate of 81%, was the fourth product to apply for emergency use approval in the Philippines an issuance needed for it to be legally rolled out in the country. However, its application remained pending, with the Food and Drug Administration waiting for the vaccines Phase 3 clinical trial data. Kumaran said this was already submitted to the FDA. That data with regard to the interim efficacy trial was shared earlier this week. That now completes to our mind the documentation requirements to make the EUA possible in a very urgent timeframe, the envoy stressed, adding that the company may be able to supply a significant number of doses by April or May if everything goes well. The Covaxin vaccine is jointly developed by Indias leading manufacturer Bharat Biotech together with the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research. Several millions of doses of the product have already been administered in India, Kumaran said. Aside from talks with Bharat Biotech, government officials and experts also flew to India this week in a bid to secure the anticipated 30 million doses of Novavaxs vaccine. Nearly one year after hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents lost their jobs en masse following closures of businesses and restaurants across the state to fight the coronavirus pandemic, thousands continue to file new unemployment claims. The state Labor Department reported 9,840 new unemployment claims were filed for the week ending March 6. It is the fourth straight week of declines and the lowest since COVID-19 hit the state. That brings the total claims to 2,044,177 an unprecedented number and the state has distributed $23.9 billion in funds, the Labor Department announced Thursday. The average claimant has received more than $16,000 in benefits. Its a welcome sign to see new unemployment claims fall back to a level not seen since COVID-19 ravaged our workforce, said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. But, it would be a mistake to think the workforce has rebounded. Too many workers are still reeling from the pandemic, and they are anxiously awaiting a new rescue package from Congress. President Joe Biden on Thursday is expected to sign the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief stimulus package passed by Congress Wednesday. The bill signing means most New Jersey claimants will transition seamlessly to new extended benefits. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage The new package will continue funding the weekly $300 supplemental checks and federal unemployment programs, including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs, through Sept. 6. The new bill also includes a federal tax break to people who received unemployment benefits, retroactive to payments received in 2020. The current stimulus package expires Sunday, which means benefits would lapse if the stimulus package is not signed before then. That happened in December, when former President Trump signed the second stimulus package one day after benefits lapsed, which left 75,000 New Jerseyans without payment for weeks. Labor spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi told NJ Advance Media the department has been working to update new programming for weeks to avoid any delays. The Department of Labor continue to process new batches of FEMA-funded Lost Wages Assistance payments for claimants who became eligible since the last time payments were processed. The NJ Politics Newsletter: Nobody knows Jersey politics like NJ.com. Add your email now and dont miss a story. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips 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. TECO 2030 ASA plans to establish Norways first large-scale production of hydrogen-based fuel cells in Narvik in Northern Norway. (Earlier post.) We plan to establish a combined innovation center and factory in Narvik. The plant will be able to produce fuel cells with a capacity of more than one gigawatt per year, equivalent to several billion NOK of annual turnover. Tore Enger, CEO of TECO 2030 ASA Through the initiative in Narvik, the company contributes to the Norwegian governments ambition that Norway should build a complete value chain for the utilization of hydrogen as an energy carrier. Narvik Bay TECO 2030 ASA considered a number of different potential locations for the giga factory and had initially planned to build the factory in Eastern Norway. However, Narvik turned out to be the best option, and the factory will be established in a facility that previously was home to a plant operated by solar company REC. After it was announced that we were planning a factory in Norway, we received close to 30 serious suggestions for possible locations. We truly appreciate the interest and all the input, but the former REC building is highly advanced and perfect for us. This is why we ended up choosing Narvik. The building is completely finished and ready to be put to use, and this is obviously an advantage for the project. We also note that Narvik has a positive attitude towards industry and business development, and we hope and believe that this initiative will create significant ripple effects in the city and region related to hydrogen, an energy carrier recognized to have great potential. While the neighboring city of Harstad is the oil capital of Northern Norway, our goal is now that Narvik becomes Norways hydrogen capital. Tore Enger The plan calls for a gradual increase of the plants capacity. Work on the site is planned to start in 2021, and the first production is expected next year. Total investments of up to NOK 1 billion (US$116 million) are expected over a ten-year period. During this period, up to 500 jobs may be created in Narvik within development, pilot production and full-scale industrial production. TECO 2030 ASA expects to have 100 employees at the factory by the end of 2025. The development of the technology is done in collaboration with the Austrian technology company AVL, which will also contribute to the planning and construction of the proposed facility. TECO 2030 ASA is evaluating various financing alternatives for the new giga factory. The company is in talks with the Norwegian public environmental body ENOVA and other institutions to evaluate the financing options. The former REC building previously belonged to state-owned SIVA - The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway but was recently purchased by the real estate company Kubera AS, which will rent it out to TECO 2030 ASA on a long-term lease agreement with purchase option. A 21-year-old man who bundled a pensioner into the boot of his car while she was out walking early on a winters morning has been jailed for six years. On Tuesday the court heard through the 70-year-old womans victim statement that she looked into Martin Gallaghers face as I lay in that boot. I was afraid for my life. She was walking along a Dublin Street around 7.30am on a January morning when Gallagher grabbed her from behind and threw her into the open boot of his parked vehicle. He made several attempts to close the boot on the woman, slamming it onto her shins but she continued to sit back up and he failed to shut it. Gallagher then pulled the woman out of the boot and attempted to put her into the front of the car but she continued to fight him off and scream. He ultimately threw her against a wall, smashing her head off it before he sped off in the vehicle. Gallagher later told gardai in interview that the attack was a joke that went wrong. He said he had been drinking all the previous day and he had mistaken the woman as she walked by for his friend Alex. He said he thought it would be funny to give Alex a fright and throw him into the boot of his car. He got a fright when he realised the person was a girl and said he pushed her to one side. Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, defending Gallagher, said her client has a very limited intellectual capacity and was intoxicated to an extraordinary extent that morning. She said he is desperately sad for what he has done and he knows he has to take the medicine from the court. Gallagher of Rusheeny Avenue, Hartstown, Dublin 15 pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm and false imprisonment at Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin on January 6, 2020. He has one previous conviction for speeding. Judge Martin Nolan had adjourned the case overnight to allow him time to consider it. He said on Wednesday that this was a terrifying experience for the woman and the man attempted to kidnap her. He said it seems it is a pretty sinister crime and that we do not know what was going on in his mind. Judge Nolan said he found Gallagher's explanation for the crime implausible and disregarded it. He noted that the accused is at a low-level of intellectual ability, but said there is no doubt that the accused is bright enough to know the difference between right and wrong. He said Gallagher deserved a pretty long time in custody and sentenced him to six years imprisonment. After passing sentence, Judge Nolan told the woman, who was present in court, that she behaved very bravely and he thinks she surprised the accused with her resilience and strength. He said he hoped she got over the incident and wished her luck. Detective Sergeant Maeve Ward was nominated by the woman to read out her victim impact statement in which she said that her life changed that day in a way that she never thought it would. The former swimming teacher, who was acting as full-time carer for her husband who had been suffering from dementia, would regularly get up early to go for a walk before her husband would wake. Her husband died in October last year. She said that God was on her side that day and he knew that she had to get out of the car boot. She said she can still to this day feel the pain from being thrown to the ground by Gallagher before he sped off in the car. She said she still has scars on her shins from where he repeatedly tried to slam the boot on her and her face was left black and blue from the struggle. For a long time, she could not walk because of the pain in her shin bones and she had internal bruising in her chest from Gallagher trying to push her back into the boot. The woman said when she walks outside now my heart jumps every time a runner goes by. She suffers from nightmares. She described Gallagher as waiting for her to walk past before he grabbed her from behind. Referring to a passing motorist who stopped his car after he saw Gallagher struggling with what he thought was a child at the car, she said only God knows what could have happened if that man had not seen my legs. The woman said that every day life is only a vision of what I was and added that she suffers flashbacks many times a day. She said her son returned home from abroad to care for both her and her husband as she was no longer able to meet the mans needs. He (her husband) didnt know why I was crying all the time. He was only used to seeing me smiling. I would play him music and he would give me the thumbs up, the woman continued. She described being happy before the attack, saying that she was a wife, a mother and a grandmother. She said she was a fit woman, having previously been a swimming teacher and was doing 10km walks and 2km swims before the attack. She said her level of fitness was the reason she got out of that car boot. He took me from behind. I looked into his face as I lay in that boot. I was afraid for my life, she concluded her statement. Additional evidence Detective Garda Paul Kirwan told Antonia Boyle BL, prosecuting, that he got a call to attend at the womans home and arrived at 7.45am on the morning of the attack. The motorist who had stopped his vehicle, Eric Doran, had taken the woman home. Det Gda Kirwan took a statement from the woman but when she started to experience some pain an ambulance was called for her and she was taken to hospital. She was later treated in accident and emergency for various bruising and a cut above her right eye was closed with skin glue. Her observations were considered normal and she was discharged with head injury advice. Before the woman left for the hospital, she gave gardai a grey top that she had taken from the boot of Gallaghers car. Gardai also took finger nail scrapings from her and kept her clothes for forensic analysis. Gallaghers DNA was later found in those scrapings. Cotton fibres matching the clothes Gallagher had been wearing were found on her clothing, allowing forensic scientists to conclude there was moderate support to the fact that Gallagher and the victim had been in a struggle. Mr Doran told gardai that he had been driving on Blackhorse Avenue when he saw a car with its boot open. He was later able to provide gardai with a description of the car and a number of digits and letters from the registration plate. He said he saw a man and thought he was in a struggle with a child. He heard a lot of screaming and although he had driven passed, he decided to reverse his vehicle back before he saw the man get into the vehicle and drive off at speed. Mr Doran then spotted the woman on the footpath, went to her assistance and called gardai. Det Gda Kirwan said that same evening gardai spotted a car matching Mr Dorans description and bearing some of the digits from the registration plate details he had provided. Gardai spoke with Gallagher, who was in the drivers seat, and took him in for questioning. He denied the allegations and claimed he had gone to bed the previous night at 8pm and had not got up until 4.30pm that day. He said that injuries that the gardai noticed on his arm were due to a domestic with his girlfriend. Det Gda Kirwan said Gallagher was arrested again two days later after the forensic results confirmed that his DNA was found under the womans fingernails. It was at this point that he made admissions claiming that he believed the woman was his friend Alex and he had tried to put the person into the boot as a joke. Gallaghers girlfriend later confirmed that the hoodie that the woman had taken from the boot of the car belonged to her son and she had put it in the boot after she bought it for him. Photographs of the injuries sustained by the woman were handed into court. Ms Lawlor told the court that her client had written a letter of apology to the victim but he knows that he cannot reverse what happened. She said he has true remorse for what he has done. She said it is hoped that the manner in which her client has dealt with the case, in that he had entered an early plea of guilty, would be something of a solace to her (the victim). Ms Lawlor said a psychological report concluded that Gallagher was at the very bottom of the scale in terms of his intellectual capacity and that 98 percent of adults would score higher than him. She submitted that this would have to be thrown into the mix with consumption of intoxicants at the time. Counsel said that her client was one of eight children, from a family that has never come to garda attention. He suffered a head injury from a car accident when he was between three and five years old which could have contributed to his intellectual capacity issues, she said. Ms Lawlor handed in a number of documents into court and said that Gallagher has been attending an addiction counsellor while on remand and is doing well. Trade between the UK and Germany crashed in January amid chaos caused by Brexit and the pandemic. In the first full month after the transition period ended, Germanys imports from the UK more than halved compared with the same time a year ago, tumbling 56 per cent to 1.4billion. The data indicated Germanys trading relationship with the UK was hit far worse than its dealings with other countries. Its imports from non-EU states besides Britain fell by 13.9 per cent. In the first full month after the transition period ended, Germanys imports from the UK more than halved compared with the same time a year ago, tumbling 56 per cent to 1.4billion (file image of trucks at Cherbourg Harbour on January 21, 2021) German exports to the UK slipped by 29 per cent to 3.7billion as new customs checks led to disruption and delays at borders, figures from the countrys national statistics arm showed. Alex Altmann, a partner at accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg and Brexit analyst, said: We are currently in the midst of a bitter divorce from the EU, which has left large parts of our economy struggling with more red tape, higher compliance costs and less opportunities to trade. Frances customs office said imports from the UK slid by 20 per cent in January. For Italy the fall was an even more dramatic 70 per cent. Ports chaos caused by the pandemic also hit trade. UK businesses had already been warning that cross-border trade had collapsed in January, as firms tried to get to grips with the new rules hammered out by Boris Johnson in his trade agreement with Brussels. The fall in trade activity will come as a worry to British companies which export to the EU, as well as to Government officials who are trying to support the economy by broadening trade agreements with other countries The Covid pandemic, which has led to chaos at ports as lockdowns meant ships were in the wrong place for the time of year, has worsened Brexit issues. Manufacturers in the UK were experiencing the third-biggest increase in supplier delivery times in February since records began in 1992, according to a closely watched survey of business activity from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. The fall in trade activity will come as a worry to British companies which export to the EU, as well as to Government officials who are trying to support the economy by broadening trade agreements with other countries. As the data from France came out earlier this month, the Government said: The latest available data shows that overall freight volumes between the UK and the EU are back to their normal levels. Advertisement Jill Biden concluded her three-part tour of West Coast military installations on Wednesday with a visit to the US Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California - where she joked about almost suffering a wardrobe malfunction. The first lady touched down at Lance Cpl Torrey Gray Park just before noon and stepped off an Osprey helicopter wearing a knee-length frock, Stubbs and Wootton slippers and a Veronica Beard jacket. Biden fought to keep the hem of the dress from flying up in the wind as she made her way across the park. She addressed the near-mishap during remarks to military spouses at the Brass & Rockers officers and staff club on the base. 'Note to self, next time I come to the desert, no skirt,' Biden told the socially-distanced group, according to the Deseret News. Jill Biden concluded her three-part tour of West Coast military installations with a visit to the US Marine Corp Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, on Wednesday (pictured) The first lady touched down at Lance Cpl Torrey Gray Park just before noon and stepped off an Osprey helicopter Biden fought to keep the hem of her knee-length frock from flying up in the wind as she made her way across the park to the Child Development Center on the base. She paired the dress with Stubbs and Wootton slippers and a Veronica Beard jacket Biden also touted the news that her husband's $1.9trillion coronavirus relief bill had passed the House earlier in the day and said he would be signing it on Friday. Prior to meeting with the spouses, Biden visited the new Child Development Center on the base. When she walked into the center she was welcomed by a chorus of 14 pre-school children who cheered: 'Good morning, first lady!' 'Good morning. Nice to see you all,' a smiling Biden replied from behind her mask, adding: 'Call me Jill, please.' She walked around and talked to the children about their craft projects before departing for her second stop. When she walked into the Child Development Center Biden was greeted by a chorus of 14 pre-school children Biden walked around and talked to the children about their craft projects Biden looks on as children play at the Child Development Center at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Biden's second stop at the base was the Brass & Rockers officers and staff club, where she delivered brief remarks Biden joked about the wind that almost caused a wardrobe malfunction upon her arrival, telling six military spouses: 'Note to self, next time I come to the desert, no skirt' Twentynine Palms was Biden's final stop on her two-day tour of military bases in California and Washington ahead of her relaunch of Joining Forces, the program supporting military families that she and former first lady Michelle Obama started in 2011 when she was second-lady to then-Vice President Joe Biden. 'These visits are part of the first lady's ongoing efforts to listen and learn directly from military families about the unique challenges they are facing and the support they need, especially during the pandemic,' Biden's office said in a press release before the trip. Twentynine Palms was Biden's final stop on her two-day tour of bases in California and Washington ahead of her relaunch of Joining Forces. She is seen during the first stop at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, on Tuesday The first visit was to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, where she was joined by Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday morning. Speaking to military families, Biden joked that she was still on East Coast time and had been up since 4.30am. But, she added, she enjoyed watching the sunrise come up over the mountains - Mount Rainier and the Cascade Range are in the Tacoma area where the first lady spent the night. Biden highlighted the relaunch of her Joining Forces program, which she described as a 'nationwide initiative to support our service members, veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors' that is 'focused on three areas, employment, education, and wellness'. Accompanied by Gov Inslee, she visited a children's museum for military families where she saw several exhibits designed to stimulate a child's sense. She checked out the Invention Space, which included a spaceship crawl jungle play structure with slides rimmed with LED lights, and a sensory room with water exhibits. And then she saw the Calm Room, a quiet space for children with disabilities. A staff member explained they have a large amount of children on the autism spectrum, one of the largest amounts in the country, at the base. Jill Biden walks with Tanya Durand, right, executive director of the Children's Museum of Tacoma, as part of her tour of military bases ahead of her Joining Forces relaunch Jill Biden views a water activity table at the new children's museum at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington Biden's next stop was Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Washington, on Tuesday afternoon. She got a closeup look at a US Navy EA-18G 'Growler' electronic warfare attack warcraft. The jet tail was painted red with the insignia of the 'Scorpions' squadron. She also watched a Navy helicopter fly by with the mountains visible in the distance. As she did in Tacoma, Biden met with a small group of military families to talk about Joining Forces. 'We certainly never imagined how a global pandemic might affect circumstances, ranging from access to childcare to having a safe place to live, to keeping food on your table, to building a career,' Biden said. 'The men and the women of our armed forces can't be at their best when they are worried that their families are struggling.' The first lady has made military families, children and education her priorities in her first six weeks in her new role. She has hit the ground running, holding virtual events with military children around the world, and making solo trips to promote her issues, including visiting a cancer center in Richmond, Virginia, and schools that have reopened in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Jill Biden gets a tour of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island as part of her relaunch of Joining Forces When you design your own home from the ground up, the skys the limit when it comes to design. You get to choose the architectural style, the floor plan, and all the flourishes that make this place uniquely, well, you. Sounds fun, right? It is, but figuring out what you want to build can also be incredibly intimidating. Before you start picking out tile and light fixtures, you need a plan. In this final installment of our Guide To Building Your Own Home, we'll help you focus on the joysand potential pitfallsof designing your space. We'll show you where to get inspiration, how to narrow down your needs versus wants, ways to make trade-offs to stay on budget, and much more that will help your architectural plans come to life with as few hiccups as possible. Where to get home design inspiration You probably already have a picture in mind of your dream homeits style, feeling, and design. If not, scour sites like Pinterest and Houzz for visual ideas, suggests Elizabeth Sanchez Vaughan, creative principal at In-Site Interior Design. These sites often let you create idea books and save images you like. When you look at all these images as a whole, you will start to see a pattern of the things that you like, and it will inform your style decisions, she says. If theres an element that repeats itself within those images, then chances are good that its really something you will like to live with. This process will at least give you a starting point. Sharing these images with your builder and designer will also help them get to know your style so that they can guide you through the process. Questions to ask before you build a floor plan Dont get ahead of yourself when designing your dream home. Justin Riordan, interior designer, architect, and founder of home-staging company Spade and Archer Design Agency, suggests thinking broadly first. Some questions to consider: Who will be living in the home and what will the home be used for? Are you planning to grow your family, or will you become an empty nester soon? Will you be working from home for the foreseeable future? The answers will help you choose a functional layout that will meet your needs now and in the future. Once all of these questions are answered, you can then start to create a bubble diagram to show how the spaces needed will be laid out to best accommodate the various uses of the house, Riordan says. This will guide the schematic design, which includes a floor plan. And a budget and timeline for construction can be set based on these drawings. The biggest mistake people make when building a home is not spending enough time planning, Vaughan says. You may be eager to break ground and start the construction, but dont skip the prep stage. After all, this is when the budget is set and gets everyone on the same page. If the plan is 100% right, then the rest of the construction process will go smoothly and not require time-consuming changes, she says. Really have the professional walk you through the space and describe what the flow will be. And don't make these decisions alonemake sure your builder, designer, and anyone else on your team is involved, says Amala Raj Swenson, an interior designer working in Los Angeles and San Diego. Designers, architects, and the builder will all have knowledge specific to their trade that can help the other plan details more accurately. Don't pick trendy designs you might regret Have you fallen in love with the latest home design trends on Instagram? Think twice before incorporating them all in your new home. Think about your long-term needs and whether youll get sick of decor fads down the road. I recommend a mix of long-term classic style incorporated with more trendy, modern styles, Swenson says. I find that adding accessoriessofas, throw pillows, and lightingthat are more trendy makes it easier to change in the long run, if you want to update anything. A big mistake homeowners make, she adds, is focusing on a specific aesthetic and not considering the functionality of the home. Its so important to consider the use of the space, just as much as the look of it, Swenson says. Functionality should drive the design, not the other way around. Make trade-offs to keep your home construction on budget If you have expensive tastes but a modest budget, you might have to rethink some of your design choices to avoid spending too much. Thats why making a list of needs, wants, and like-to-haves and setting a budget early on are such important steps. All homes need a roof, for example, but Riordan says an inexpensive composition roof accomplishes this need, even if you have your eye on a pricier option like slate. Maybe youd rather spend that extra money elsewhere. Home fixtures and features like appliances, lighting, countertops, tile, and flooring come in all price ranges. Most likely youll find something you like thats also budget-friendly. If you need to make trade-offs to stay in budget, I would focus on putting the finances toward anything that is structural, she explains. I advise against cutting corners on items like cabinetry, flooring, or paneling because these are the long-term items that will cost more in the long run to update or change. And keep revisiting your priority list. Vaughan says itll help you make all the important decisions along the way. Check in on your construction site often Building a home is a huge investment, so you should keep tabs on how its progressing. Vaughan suggests scheduling regular meetings with your builder, designer, and any contractors involved. Make sure you spend time in the spacewithout the contractor, as well as with themjust after framing and just after sheetrocking, says Vaughan. This is so critical to make sure the flow of the rooms feels right, as well as the size of the rooms. At this stage, think about how you might arrange your furniture and where electrical outlets should be placed. Visit more frequently when finishes are being placed to make sure everything is correct. Regular check-ins can save you time and money in the long run, since your questions and concerns are being addressed along the way, Swenson says. The best way to have fun and not get too stressed about everything being Pinterest-perfect is just to remember what an achievement and blessing it is to be able to build your home, she adds. Have fun with the process, and truly take time to enjoy and take in all the details of options, layouts, and materials that are out there. The post How To Design Your Dream Home: Tips To Bring a Blueprint to Life appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com. The MPI has proposed the expansion plan of Dien Bien Phu Airport for approval The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has also proposed the prime minister to assign Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to develop the project. The expanded airport would have a total investment capital of VND1.547 trillion ($67.26 million). The airport is expected to have an annual capacity of 300,000 passengers and 500 tonnes of cargo and an apron that can accommodate three A320 and A321 aircraft. The construction is expected to be implemented within 34 months of the project's investment planning being approved. The MPI also proposed the prime minister to assign Dien Bien Peoples Committee to be in charge of land clearance while simultaneously monitoring the construction process. The Ministry of Transport would be in charge of co-operating with and guiding ACV in completing the dossier for the pre-feasibility report and exploit the project with maximum efficiency, the MPIs proposal read. Previously, both Vietjet and ACV submitted documents to the MoT and Dien Bien Peoples Committee to express interest in developing the project. ACV claims they have arranged sufficient capital to develop comprehensive infrastructure for the project, including a flight and civil aviation area, fully in compliance with the planning of the project. Meanwhile, Vietjet proposed sourcing over VND1.85 trillion ($80.43 million) from the state budget (41.5 per cent of the capital requirement) and contributing nearly VND2.61 trillion ($113.5 million or 58.5 per cent) from its own equity. Under this arrangement, Dien Bien Peoples Committee would be in charge of land clearance and resettlement, as well as constructing the runway. Regarding the terminal segment, Vietjet proposed developing it under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. Advertisement Weekly totals of coronavirus cases and deaths in the United States are continuing to decline as the mass vaccination campaign picks up speed. Over the last seven days, the nation has reported 402,824 new infections, which is the lowest weekly total recorded since October 18. It also represents a 9.5 percent decline in the weekly totals, dropping from 445,579 last week, a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins data shows. Meanwhile, weekly deaths linked to COVID-19 fell below 12,000 for the first time since December 2. Over the last week, 11,361 fatalities were reported, a decline of 11 percent from the 12,896 deaths recorded the prior week, with a seven-day rolling average of 1,623. On Wednesday the U.S. recorded 58,611 new infections - 1,000 higher than the day before but also equivalent to figures not seen in five months - and 1,564 deaths. Forty-two states are seeing a decline or a plateau in cases, Johns Hopkins data reveal, with just Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont and the District of Columbia, on the upswing. It comes on the heels of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) marking the one year anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring coronavirus a global pandemic. Despite the gains that have been made, health officials are worried that U.S. could see another wave of cases due to more infectious variants of the virus, which have been found in every state except South Dakota. The U.S, saw a 9.5% decline in new coronavirus cases from 445,579 new cases last week to 402,824 new cases this week The seven-day total of deaths linked to COVID-19 fell 11% from 12,896 last week to 11,361, the first time deaths have fallen below 12,000 since December 2 On Monday, the U.S. recorded 58,611 new infections and 1,564 fatalities, some of the lowest figures seen since mid-October Forty-two states are seeing a decline or a plateau in cases, with just Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont and the District of Columbia, on the upswing, according to Johns Hopkins CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky (pictured) marked the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring a global pandemic and warned that infections have not fallen far enough yet and that the U.S. 'must remain vigilant' as the nation scales up vaccine distribution In a statement released on Thursday, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky commemorated the grim milestone. At the time, the U.S. had just 1,135 cases and 36 deaths, a DailyMail.com analysis of local, state and federal data found. Currently, more than 29 million infections have been reported and more than 529,000 lives have been lost, according to Johns Hopkins University. 'After a year of this fight, we are tired, we are lonely, we are impatient,' Walensky said in her statement. 'There have been too many missed family gatherings, too many lost milestones and opportunities, too many sacrifices.' She noted that the death toll, which is higher than the number of Americans killed in World War I and World War II combined, is more than just a sad figure. 'These are grandparents, parents, and children,' Walensky said. 'They are siblings, friends, and neighbors. They are our loved ones and our community. We join together to grieve these losses and intensify our efforts so they were not in vain.' During a press briefing on Wednesday, Walensky said it appears that cases, hospitalizations and deaths are on the decline after hitting a plateau. As of Thursday afternoon, 18.8% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose and 9.9% are fully immunized The U.S. is currently administering an average of two million shots per day last week, up from an average of 1.6 million shots in the prior week Some health officials are worried that U.S. could see another wave of cases due to more infectious variants of the virus, which have been found in every state except South Dakota (above) 'While these trends are starting to head in the right direction, the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths still remain too high and are somber reminders that we must remain vigilant as we work to scale up our vaccination efforts across this country,' Walensky said. So far, 62.4 million Americans - 18.8 percent of the population - have received at least one dose and 32.9 million - 9.9 percent - are fully immunized, according to the CDC. An average of about two million people in the U.S. are being vaccinated every day, up from 1.6 million being done the previous week. In a recent ad, former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter urged Americans to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, both Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc have begun clinical trials testing whether or not booster shots will generate more immunity against highly infectious variants. Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN that the U.S. is currently at a 'perfect-storm moment.' He referred to the B.1.1.7 variant, first detected in the UK, which has been linked to 3,283 cases in 49 states, according to the CDC. The variant has 'transmission unlike I've seen any at all since this pandemic began' he told CNN's New Day. And, remember, this is coming at us at the very same time we're opening up America as if there is nothing else happening. I think the dynamics of the virus right now, I'm afraid, are going to beat us at the vaccination game.' LONDON It was something politicians spent an age debating, diplomats devoted years to negotiating and officials spent a fortune preparing for. But on Thursday Britain made the embarrassing admission that it is still not fully ready for Prime Minister Boris Johnsons biggest political project, Brexit. Almost five years after Britons voted to leave the European Union, the government said it would wave through some goods arriving at British ports from the continent until January 2022 a tacit admission that it lacks the capacity to perform the border checks required by Brexit. The latest postponement to the Brexit process came as a relief to British businesses because it averts the risk of supermarkets running out of fresh produce, or car factories missing out on parts supplies. Former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, who led a landmark review of the treatment of women in the military, says workplace dynamics have permanently changed and anyone who doesnt understand that doesnt belong in one. Organisations can no longer expect if they have a problem with sexual harassment it will stay secret, and politicians cant use the excuse that parliament is a unique environment as an excuse for not acting on the issue, she said. Former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick says politicians cant use the unique nature of Parliaments workplace as an excuse for not acting on sexual harassment. Credit:Tim Bauer Ms Broderick has also backed better consent education but says young Australians need to drive their own gender equality initiatives too. In her first print interview since former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins rape allegations sparked a national conversation about the culture of Parliament, Ms Broderick said sexual harassment doesnt jump out of nowhere but rather happens in cultures which allow demeaning attitudes about women. HULL Two Missouri men who were instrumental in rescuing several people after a 2019 accident on the Mississippi River near Hull have received one of the highest awards for civilian heroism. Robert J. Bobby Whitley of New London, Missouri, and James W. Jamie Whitley II of Hannibal, Missouri, received the Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission after helping to save the lives of five people by pulling them into their boat. We were surprised, Bobby Whitley said of the award. Its a big honor. Jamie Whitley said they knew nothing about the award or what a big honor it was until they researched it. Seeing the things people have done prior to us, we knew this was something very special, Jamie Whitley said. We were both pretty blown away by it. When it first happened, we both just kept pretty quiet about it. We didnt want the recognition. They received their award from Illinois Conservation Police Officer Mike Blazinic, the case officer who responded to the accident and nominated them for the award. The cousins were fishing on the Mississippi River when they saw a boat carrying seven people collide with a barge and capsize. The occupants of the boat, including a 2-year-old girl, either dove into or were thrown into the river. The Whitleys pulled closer to the barge, nearly capsizing themselves as they pulled the 2-year-old from the river. After we saw that little girl we knew we had to try to get her, Bobby Whitley said. After our boat got pulled in, I said we couldnt go back in there, but Jamie was like, We have to or those people are going to die. In total, the cousins pulled six people from the river, though one already had died. The body of the seventh was found the next day. Those people were helpless, Jamie Whitley said. If we had stepped away, I dont think I would have ever forgiven myself. If it happened again, Id do it again. Jewels Phraner, outreach and communications coordinator for the Carnegie commission, said the award is given to those who put their lives at risk to save others. The commission has awarded more than 10,000 medals. They entered the exact same danger that overturned the victims boat over and over again, Phraner said. Without their quick action, more people would have lost their lives that day. Blazinic wanted the Whitleys to be honored for their deed, he said. Without the world watching and with no obligation to help, they went in and pulled them out, he said. When I first heard what they did, it was like something out of a movie. Even with their boat almost sinking twice, they still went back. The cousins also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and were given an award from the state of Missouri. Its great what these guys did and Im so happy I was asked to present them with this award, Blazinic said. These guys put their necks out there for others. Jenny Cudd has filed motions to sever her case from co-defendant Eliel Rosa and move her trial to West Texas, citing prejudice from the potential jury pool in Washington, D.C. Cudd and Rosa are each charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building, disruptive conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Theyre facing up to 20 years in prison for the obstruction charge, a felony, as well as up to three years in prison for the misdemeanor charges. In a motion filed Wednesday, Cudds attorney Marina Medvin argues the prosecution is attempting to create the appearance of a conspiracy by joining the defendants cases. She notes that neither Cudd nor Rosa have been charged with conspiracy. There is no evidence of communications or a plan between the two to enter the Capitol, Medvin writes in the motion. Instead, the evidence is purported to be that they were at the same place, at the same time, followed a crowd into the open doors of the Capitol building, then walked out. Cudd and Rosa traveled to the District of Columbia together and were with each other during protests before the riots, according to posts and videos on their since-deleted Facebook pages. Medvin also states that joining the cases allows the government to enter evidence against Cudd that would not be permitted otherwise. Rosa gave a statement to F.B.I. agents before his arrest which the prosecution intends to introduce as evidence against Cudd, according to Medvin. This statement would normally not be admissible in a trial of Ms. Cudd without Mr. Rosa taking the stand to testify and give Ms. Cudd an opportunity to cross examine Mr. Rosa, Medvin writes. But if the cases are joined, the statement can be introduced against Mr. Rosa, and hence be presented at the trial of Ms. Cudd, without Mr. Rosa needing to take the stand and without Ms. Cudds counsel having the opportunity to cross examine Mr. Rosa on that statement. Additionally, the defense plans to call on Rosa to testify on Cudds behalf, which would not be possible in a joint trial, according to Medvin. The same day the motion to sever the defendants cases was filed, Medvin filed a motion to move Cudds case to the Western District of Texas, claiming Cudds right to a fair trial will be violated if the case proceeds in D.C. Ms. Cudd asserts that detrimental pretrial publicity and community prejudice in Washington D.C. is so likely to have affected the jury pool that the venire must be presumed as tainted, Medvin writes. She states that Cudds pro-Trump statements would bias a D.C. jury against her, noting that 95 percent of D.C. voters voted against Donald Trump in the 2020 election, compared to 77 percent of voters in Midland County who voted for the former president. Medvin also writes that the presence of 26,000 National Guard troops in D.C. following the Capitol riots and statements by Democratic leaders referring to the events of Jan. 6 as an attempted insurrection and act of domestic terrorism have tainted a potential jury pool. The government objects to both separating the defendants cases and moving Cudds trial, according to the motions. A status hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. NSU swim coach Monanian moving on after four seasons Monanian moves on to Purdue after accepting an assistant position at their program. Canada's immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, announced new ambitious immigration targets for the next three years. The plan is to welcome over 400,000 newcomers in 2021 - 2023 to bolster economic recovery in the country. This means that 1.23 million new immigrants will call Canada home by 2023. The great news came as a beacon of light during a dark time for hundreds of thousands of hopefuls looking for better opportunities abroad. However, with the border still closed for most travelers and visitors, it is a confusing time for potential applicants who want to secure their spots in Canada but are left wondering: "What are the COVID-19 effects on Canadian immigration in 2021?" Well, the good news is that the evidence is strongly suggesting that things are returning back to normal, and potential applicants should not shy away from pursuing new lives in the Great White North. How is COVID-19 Affecting Canadian Immigration? Canada Continues to Process Immigration Applications The fantastic news is that Canada accepted and processed most immigration applications during the pandemic and is not losing speed anytime soon. The popular Express Entry Immigration System is responsible for the majority of Canada's immigrant intake annually (read here for more information about the Express Entry program). In fact, the Express Entry held a record-breaking draw on 13 February 2021, inviting a whopping 27,332 candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residency. The International Experience Canada (IEC) 2021 season also opened for many countries on 1 March 2021. Candidates can, however, expect slight delays in processing times because there is a backlog of applications due to COVID-19. Currently, Express Entry applications submitted the week of August 12, 2020, are being processed. Express Entry Favors CEC and PNP Candidates The majority of Express Entry draws have been restricted to Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates and those who have applied through a Provincial Nomination Program (PNP). The reason for this is because approximately 90 percent of CEC candidates are already living in Canada. This means that they are unaffected by the travel restrictions. When will the Express Entry draw get back to normal? This is the pressing question on everyone's mind and especially candidates who qualified for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Trades Worker Program (FTWP), two of the three Express Entry programs aimed at skilled foreign workers without Canadian work experience. No one really knows when Express Entry draws will consider FTWP and FSWP candidates, but the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) previously stated that they are increasing their efforts to help more skilled foreign workers already living in Canada obtain permanent residency. Extended Deadline for Immigration Documents The major COVID-19 effect on Canadian immigration for applicants is the inability to collect certain supporting documents such as police certificates, biometrics, and medical exams during this time. The good news is that the IRCC will not close or refuse immigration applications that are in progress, and will give applicants an extra 90 days to submit their documents. Travel Restrictions May be Lifted by 21 April 2021 The current travel restrictions stop most discretionary or non-essential travel to Canada. Foreign nationals with valid work and study permits can enter Canada. In addition, agriculture and healthcare workers are being given priority processing for work permits. When will Canada lift the travel restrictions? As Canada's mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign accelerates, it is expected that the border will open on 21 April for all travelers. Should You Apply for Canadian Immigration in 2021? It may be the best time to apply to immigrate to Canada, especially with the new high immigration targets set specifically to make up for the economic disruptions that have been caused by COVID-19 in 2020. Canada relies on immigrants to fill job and labor shortages across the country, where there is a high worker to retiree ratio. It's important to keep in mind that the entire Canadian immigration process can take about 12 months for applicants and their families, depending on their chosen immigration program. So the sooner you start, the better your chances! The evidence strongly suggests that life is returning to the 'new normal'. Yours can only get better in Canada that's rated as the 2nd best country in the world. For more information on how COVID-19 affects Canadian immigration and how you can move to Canada, visit CanadianVisa.org. @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / Tinka Resources Limited ("Tinka" or the "Company") (TSXV:TK)(BVL:TK)(OTC PINK:TKRFF) announces the results of the Company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on March 11, 2021 (the "AGM"). A total of 162,821,951 common shares were represented in person or by proxy at the AGM, representing 47.78% of the votes attached to all outstanding common shares of the Company as at the record date. All the matters submitted to the shareholders, as set out in the Notice of Meeting and Information Circular dated February 4, 2021, were voted in favour, including fixing the size of the Board of Tinka to six, the ratification of the Company's 10% rolling stock option plan and the appointment of D&H Group LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as the auditors of the Company for the ensuing year. Messrs. Ben McKeown, Graham Carman, Nick DeMare, Pieter Britz, Raul Benavides and Ms. Mary Little, were re-elected to serve as directors of the Company. Subsequent to the AGM, the Board re-appointed Mr. McKeown as Non-Executive Chairman, Dr. Carman as President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Alvaro Fernandez-Baca as Vice President of Exploration, Mr. DeMare as Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Mariana Bermudez as Corporate Secretary and Mr. Luis Romero as HSEC Manager. Messrs. McKeown, DeMare and Ms. Little were appointed as members of the Audit Committee. On behalf of the Board, "Graham Carman" Dr. Graham Carman, President & CEO Investor Information: www.tinkaresources.com Rob Bruggeman 1.416.884.3556 rbruggeman@tinkaresources.com Company Contact: Mariana Bermudez 1.604.699.0202 info@tinkaresources.com About Tinka Resources Limited Tinka is an exploration and development company with its flagship property being the 100%-owned Ayawilca zinc-silver project in central Peru. The Ayawilca Zinc Zone has an estimated Indicated resource of 11.7 Mt grading 6.9% zinc, 15 g/t silver & 0.2% lead and an Inferred resource of 45.0 Mt grading 5.6% zinc, 17 g/t silver & 0.2% lead (dated November 26, 2018). The Colqui Silver Zone (oxide) has an estimated Indicated resource of 7.4 Mt grading 60 g/t silver, and an Inferred resource of 8.5 Mt grading 48 g/t silver occurring from surface (dated May 25, 2016). A Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Zinc Zone was released on July 2, 2019 (see release). Dr. Graham Carman, Tinka's President and CEO and, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has reviewed and verified the technical contents of this release. Forward Looking Statements: Certain information in this news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and expectations of Tinka as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Tinka's management. Such statements reflect the current risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including, without limitations: timing of planned drill programs and results varying from expectations; delay in obtaining results; expectations regarding the Ayawilca Project PEA; the potential impact of epidemics, pandemics or other public health crises, including the current coronavirus pandemic known as COVID-19 on the Company's business, operations and financial condition; changes in world metal markets; changes in equity markets; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; equipment failure, unexpected geological conditions; imprecision in resource estimates or metal recoveries; success of future development initiatives; competition and operating performance; environmental and safety risks; delays in obtaining or failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from local authorities; community agreements and relations; and, other development and operating risks. Should any one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein. Although Tinka believes that assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Tinka disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement. 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 SOURCE: Tinka Resources Limited View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/635043/Tinka-Announces-AGM-Results 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 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. HERAT, Afghanistan -- Jamila Azimi says her hopes of seeing an end to her countrys four-decade war are fading a year after the peace agreement between the Taliban and the United States led many to believe that peace in Afghanistan was around the corner. "All our hopes have been dashed, she told Radio Free Afghanistan while reflecting on how during last years International Womens Day celebration on March 8 last year in hometown Herat, a city in western Afghanistan, women were brimming with expectations. We had just witnessed the signing of a peace agreement and were very hopeful and there was some enthusiasm to celebrate it, she added, alluding to the February 29, 2020, agreement that requires Washington to withdraw troops in return for Taliban counterterrorism guarantees, power-sharing talks with the Afghan government, and discussions on a comprehensive cease-fire. But once again, we are in a state of war and crisis, Azimi noted. She vividly remembers life under the hard-line Taliban, which closed schools for girls and severely restricted mobility for Afghan women after overrunning Herat in September 1995. "I was a fourth grader but had to comply with restrictions imposed on adult women, she said of life under the Taliban. "When I went to the market with my mother, I was constantly stared at and repeatedly threatened. After several trips, my mother stopped taking me outside the house. Like many Afghan women, Azimi was married off as a teenager and soon became a mother. Today, she feels the Talibans closure of schools denied her key opportunities in life. Manizheh Bahareh, another Herat resident, was also deprived of education during the Taliban rule in the late 1990s. But she returned to school soon after the demise of the Taliban regime in late 2001 and never looked back. She now holds a masters degree in sociology from Turkey and represents the educated middle class that has thrived since the fall of the Taliban thanks to international aid and government support for education and womens rights. Bahareh is also worried about the increasing violence against targeted professional women. She hopes the Afghan government and the Taliban can find a way to reduce violence and preserve the achievements of the past two decades. "The right to education, employment, key freedoms, and other political and social rights of women are part of our red lines that should not be crossed, she told Radio Free Afghanistan. "We would also like to see more attention to the empowerment and development of women. While the Afghan government celebrates womens empowerment, education, careers, and rights as its key achievements, the Taliban has offered only vague promises of granting women rights in accordance with Islamic injunctions. The hard-line Islamist movement has no female leaders, and no women work at its political office in Qatar or as field commanders. Likewise, its shadow government in Afghanistan and vast network there and in Pakistan -- where the movement has largely sheltered since being routed from Afghanistan in late 2001 solely comprises men. This deeply troubles Afghan womens rights advocates who fear their achievements and rights will be sacrificed for the sake of making peace with the Taliban, whose military machine has made large territorial gains since 2014 but has showed little interest in abandoning its ultraconservative worldview. Maria Bashir, a lawyer and rights defender in Herat, says she is optimistic about the progress Afghan women have made during the past two decades but peace should not come at the cost of abandoning them. "If a [new] government is formed hastily and does not take into account half of the Afghanistans population, it is likely that our achievements will be reversed, she told Radio Free Afghanistan. Amid a stalemate in peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, Washington now appears to be pushing to jump-start the peace process. But its new alleged peace proposals, outlined in a reported plan distributed to Afghan leaders and an alleged leaked letter by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, calls for the formation of an interim power-sharing government with the Taliban, a cease-fire, and a conference of Kabuls neighbors and regional powers. Kabul has strongly opposed the proposals while Western diplomats and independent experts have questioned whether they can really help restore peace in Afghanistan or will serve to further complicate the worsening conditions of a possible U.S. military withdrawal by May 1 as stipulated by Washingtons agreement with the Taliban. Shaharzad Akbar, head of Afghanistans Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), says sustainable peace in Afghanistan will require that women be heard and given a say in the peace process. Everything affects women. The economy, politics, the fate of the political system, the proposed cease-fire, and a reintegration of the insurgents all impact the lives of women, she told a gathering in Kabul on March 8. One year after the landmark deal, Afghans and women in particular have not seen a respite from violence. In recent months, female journalists, activists, and government workers have become the main target of an insurgent assassination campaign that officials and observers say aims to weaken the media and civil society. With high-profile diplomatic conferences expected to be held in Turkey and Moscow this month, Afghanistan will be at the center of heightened international diplomacy. The prospects for preserving the rights of Afghan women now loom large over such diplomatic initiatives and the larger peace process aimed at ending the Afghan war. Abubakar Siddique wrote this story based on reporting by Radio Free Afghanistan correspondents in Herat and Kabul. ATLANTA, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orlando-based vertical farming company Kalera (Euronext Growth Oslo ticker KAL, Bloomberg: KSLLF), one of the fastest-growing and largest vertical farming companies in the world and a leader in plant science for producing high-quality produce in controlled environments, today announced that it has completed construction of its newest facility in Atlanta, Georgia on-time and on-budget. Its largest farm to date and the largest vertical farm in the Southeastern United States the facility is 77 thousand square-feet and has the capacity to produce over 10 million heads of lettuce per year. Located in Forest Park, GA, the project was completed in just eleven months thanks in large part to the companys modular building approach. Planting has already begun and first harvest is expected in April, with a gradual production ramp-up over the course of 2021. In Q2 2021, Atlanta-area customers, which include foodservice and retail leaders across the region, will begin receiving delivery of Kaleras locally grown clean, safe, nutritious, price-stable, long-lasting greens. Kalera plans to open five additional large-scale facilities across the US by early 2022, including locations in Houston, Denver, Hawaii, Columbus, and Seattle, making it one of the fastest-growing vertical farming organizations in the country. Kalera also recently acquired Vindara Inc., the first company to develop seeds specifically designed for use in vertical indoor farm environments as well as other controlled environment agriculture (CEA) farming methods. About Kalera Kalera is a technology driven vertical farming company with unique growing methods combining optimized nutrients and light recipes, precise environmental controls, and clean room standards to produce safe, highly nutritious, pesticide-free, non-GMO vegetables with consistent high quality and longer shelf life year-round. The companys high-yield, automated, data-driven hydroponic production facilities have been designed for rapid rollout with industry-leading payback times to grow vegetables faster, cleaner, at a lower cost, and with less environmental impact. To learn more visit www.Kalera.com. Media Contact Molly Antos Phone: (847) 848-2090 Email: molly@dadascope.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7247674b-786b-4617-988f-d13567af001c Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy M12 in India for people looking for a budget smartphone. The Galaxy M12 has all the bells and whistles that you would normally expect from a budget phone and then some. It has a high refresh rate display, quad cameras on the back and a large capacity battery. At its asking price, the Galaxy M12 goes up against the likes of the Redmi Note 10 that launched earlier this month in India. While Samsung does manage to under Xiaomis offering, lets take a look at how the Galaxy M12 compares against the Redmi Note 10. Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 10: Price and availability Samsung Galaxy M12 is priced starting at Rs 10,999 for the base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage while the 6GB+128GB variant is priced at Rs 13,499. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 10 is priced starting at Rs 11,999 for the 4GB+64GB variant and Rs 13,999 for the 6GB+128GB storage option. Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 10: Design and Display The Galaxy M12 and the Redmi Note 10 are both budget phones and have a similar plastic build. The Samsung Galaxy M12 has a textured finish while the Redmi Note 10 has a glossy back panel. The Galaxy M12 measures 9.7 millimetres in thickness and weighs 221 grams while the Redmi Note 10 has 8.3 millimetres thickness and weighs 178.8 grams. The Samsung Galaxy M12 features a 6.5-inch HD+ (1600x720 pixels) resolution display that supports a 90Hz high-refresh-rate and has a waterdrop notch cutout on top. The Redmi Note 10, on the other hand, has a 6.43-inch Full HD+ (2400x1080 pixels) resolution display that uses a Super AMOLED panel with a punch-hole notch cutout in the centre. The screen is topped with a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection. Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 10: Under the hood Samsung Galaxy M12 is powered by the Exynos 850 processor with an octa-core CPU running at upto 2.0GHz and Mali-G52 GPU. This is paired with upto 6GB RAM and 128GB storage options to choose from. It runs on One UI 3.0 out-of-the-box which is based on Android 11. The Redmi Note 10 has Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 under the hood that has an octa-core CPU running at upto 2.2GHz and Adreno 612 GPU. This is also paired with upto 6GB RAM and upto 128GB storage options to choose from. The Redmi Note 10 runs on MIUI 12 based on Android 11. The Galaxy M12 has a single loudspeaker unit while the Redmi Note 10 has stereo speakers. Both phones have a power button that doubles up as the fingerprint reader. Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 10: Cameras The Samsung Galaxy M12 has a 48MP primary camera with an f/2.0 aperture, 5MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 123-degree field-of-view, 2MP macro camera and 2MP depth sensor. There is an 8MP selfie camera and the rear cameras can record in 1080p at 30FPS. Xiaomi has equipped the Redmi Note 10 with a primary 48MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 118-degree field-of-view, 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The rear cameras can record in 4K at 30FPS and 1080p at 60FPS. Theres a 13MP selfie camera on the front as well. Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 10: Battery The Samsung Galaxy M12 has a large 6,000mAh battery that supports 15W fast charging while the Redmi Note 10 has a 5,000mAh battery at its disposal that supports 33W fast charging out-of-the-box. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE After winning approval in the Senate, a bill banning the trapping of fur-bearing animals on New Mexico public lands is facing a race to navigate the House in just over a week to end up on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams desk for final approval. Supporters of the bill, Senate Bill 32, were optimistic about their chances on Wednesday, a day after the Senate passed the bill in a late-night vote. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Although similar legislation has been proposed in past years, the Tuesday vote marked the first time such a bill has cleared either legislative chamber. Its a monumental step forward for this effort thats taken place over the past decade, said Jessica Johnson, chief government affairs officer for Animal Protection Voters. The bill would ban trapping of fur-bearing animals using snares, traps or wildlife poisons. Advocates for the bill argue that such methods are cruel and that domestic dogs and protected wildlife are often targeted by mistake. While the measure is sponsored by Democratic Sens. Roberto Bobbie Gonzales of Ranchos de Taos and Brenda McKenna of Corrales, voting on it has not been strictly partisan. The Senate approved the bill on a 23-16 vote in which four Democratic senators cast no votes and two Republicans join other Democrats in voting yes. Most Democrats who voted against the bill represented more rural districts, while Republicans who voted in favor tended to be from more urban areas. The measure got just one House committee assignment Wednesday to the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee although several Republicans urged that a second assignment to the House Agriculture and Water Resource Committee be added. Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, chairman of the agriculture committee, said hes still on the fence about the trapping ban. I know that many of the agricultural and ranching communities have issue with it because of the nature of predators and their livestock, Lente said. He also said hes wondering if banning trapping on public lands could raise the price of pelts for Native Americans in the state. For her part Johnson said she disagrees that theres an urban-vs.-rural divide when it comes to who supports the bill, claiming many rural New Mexicans support the proposal. Journal Capitol Bureau reporter Dan McKay contributed to this report. Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko is out on bail after being indicted on a rape charge that has sparked violent protests across the country over the past week. Sonko has dismissed the charge as politically motivated and has called for more protests against the countrys president. The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As per a report by P&S Intelligence, the global acetic anhydride market is expected to attain a revenue of $4,950.4 million by 2030, ad is predicted to progress at a 2.3% CAGR during the time period 20202030. The market is being driven by the swift expansion of the pharmaceutical industry in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and rising investments by drug manufacturers for developing new application of acetic anhydride. The compound is increasingly utilized as a synthesizer for producing aspirin and acetaminophen. P and S Intelligence Logo Get the Sample Copy of this Report at @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/acetic-anhydride-market/report-sample On the basis of application, the acetic anhydride market is divided into reagents, synthesizers, coating materials, plasticizers, and others. Out of these, the synthesizers division is predicted to advance at the fastest CAGR in the years to come, which can be ascribed to the large consumption of acetic anhydride as a synthesizer for producing cellulose acetate. As the demand for cellulose acetate from end-use industries is rising, the demand for acetic anhydride is increasing as well. When geography is considered, the APAC region is predicted to dominate the acetic anhydride market in the near future, because of the surging consumption of this compound for the production of tobacco filters, textile fibers, food additives, plastic products, and several other products. Since the investments in the domain is increasing by these end user industries, the demand for acetic anhydride in APAC is predicted to be high. Browse detailed report with COVID-19 impact analysis on Acetic Anhydride Market Research Report: By Application (Synthesizers, Reagents, Plasticizers, Coating Materials), End-Use Industry (Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture, Textiles, Food & Beverages, Tobacco, Plastics) - Global Industry Analysis and Demand Forecast to 2030 @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/acetic-anhydride-market Story continues In terms of end-use industry, the acetic anhydride market is categorized into plastics, tobacco, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture, and others. Out of these, the tobacco industry is predicted to account for the largest share of the market in the near future, which is because of the increasing requirement for cellulose acetate in the production of cigarette filters. Acetic anhydride is utilized in the manufacturing of cellulose acetate, which is why its demand is rising. The companies operating in the domain are engaging in strategic partnerships and agreements for enhancing their market offerings and for expanding their share in the market. For example, BP p.l.c. and Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (ZPCC) signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2019. The memorandum aims on a joint venture for a plant of acetic acid in Eastern China, with capacity of 1 million tons pa. Make enquiry about this report at @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=acetic-anhydride-market Some other major companies operating in the acetic anhydride market include Eastman Chemical Company, Celanese Corporation, Jiangsu Danhua Group Co. Ltd., Saudi International Petrochemical Company, Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd., Lonza Group Ltd., China National Petroleum Corporation, BP p.l.c, RLG Group, Merck KGaA, Daicel Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited, and Vizag Chemical International. About P&S Intelligence P&S Intelligence is a provider of market research and consulting services catering to the market information needs of burgeoning industries across the world. Providing the plinth of market intelligence, P&S as an enterprising research and consulting company, believes in providing thorough landscape analyses on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness. Contact: Prajneesh Kumar P&S Intelligence Contact: +1-347-960-6455 Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com Cision View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acetic-anhydride-market-revenue-worth-4-950-4-million-by-2030-says-ps-intelligence-301245255.html SOURCE P&S Intelligence The final day of the World Government Summit Dialogues saw healthcare and political leaders from around the world explain the urgent need for equitable vaccination distribution that could see the entire population of the Earth immunised against Covid-19 by 2022. A roster of high-profile guest speakers also discussed the perils of leaving poor countries behind as vaccine nationalism sets in, how the global economy has shifted towards Asia, the importance of powering the economic recovery with renewable energies to drive the global energy transition, and the possibilities and perils of space exploration, among other pressing topics. The second day of the virtual event opened with a keynote from the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus. Vaccine nationalism will only prolong the pandemic, and the human and economic suffering that goes with it, he said. And although vaccines will help, we will still be left with many of the same challenges we had before. Health must be seen not as a cost to be contained but as an investment in productive and resilient populations, and a key to sustainable development. Health is not simply a product of strong and prosperous nations its the foundation of social, economic, and political stability, he added. Meanwhile, Executive Director of Unicef Fore said: We have been asking the world for more funding [...] for Unicef and our distribution to countries we still need about $1 billion. We still need to do more the UAE has supported the Covax Facility in the actual distribution in Ghana last week, it provided 2,500 fridges to help in the cold chain. We, as one world, need to ensure equitability, and although we are off to a good start with the target of 2 billion doses a year, it is likely to be at least end-2022 before we vaccinate a majority of the population particularly in the least developed countries. Licensing is equally a challenge here. Following that, Rajesh Subramaniam, President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx, explained how Covid has acted as innovation accelerator for logistics platforms, in discussion with CNBCs Hadley Gamble. We have a birds eye view on global supply chain - as we currently move close to 20 million packages every single day. We see that supply chain patterns across the globe are evolving. Resilience is key and technology has a significant role to play in facilitating the demands of the global supply chain. A lot of companies are looking to not be single threaded in their global supply chains, theyre looking to diversify their manufacturing base from one country to two or three countries. Second, theyre trying to shorten their supply chains, get it closer to where their final sale is. The next session, Navigating 2020s Data for A Prosperous 2021, heard from Global Strategy Advisor and Founder of FutureMap, Dr Parag Khanna, in conversation with Saeed Al Gergawi, Director of Dubai Future Academy, on how the world economy will become increasingly Asia-centric. It was a disruptive year, and what needs to be emphasised is that the economic rebound in the Asian countries has been strong almost all of them managed Covid better than the rest of the world. This prompts us to think that the world economy is becoming increasingly Asia-centric, he said. He added: I would largely break this into three sets of values that Asians have in common: Technocratic governance with a license to pursue independent, apolitical, nonelectoral way largely; Mixed Capitalism government directing and steering investments; and Social Conservatism incremental approach to a liberal social order. Looking ahead, in our new fiscal policies for the future, enabling the SMEs is paramount as it will help the overall health of the countries. Meanwhile, Damian Bradfield, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of WeTransfer and WePresent, and Divyank Turakhia, founder of Media.net agreed that investors must be ready with the requisite capital to finance startups and new industry 4.0 technologies pointing specifically to telemedicine as the pace of automation across all sectors will only accelerate over the next decade, as it has in the last 12 months since the pandemic struck. Now is the time, they said, that entrepreneurs to change the world. Divyank Turakhia said: This radical change, and our use of these applications that we have tested on a large scale, encourages us to adopt many of them in our daily lives in the future, as the adoption of fifth generation communication technologies and satellite Internet communication achieves greater access to the requirements of the business sector. This requires greater attention from governments, because the sooner they adopt these technologies, the better equipped they are to give their economies and business sectors an advanced competitive edge over others, he added. For his part, Bradfield said: Cryptocurrencies have become noticeably more prevalent, and the prices of many of them have doubled in a very short period of time, some reaching $50,000 per unit of currency. Many have also turned towards stock trading and testing the financial markets for the first time. This has been one of the unexpected positive aspects of the Covid-19 challenge, despite its many negative repercussions on the lives of many people and on specific economic sectors. However, we will see in the coming stage more positive transformations. From entrepreneurship, the focus shifted to energy. Dr.-Ing. Christian Bruch, President and CEO of Siemens Energy, then joined CNNs John Defterios for a discussion on Powering the Decade with Renewables. Bruch highlighted that though renewables proved resilient during the pandemic the real test for the energy sector is in planning for the next crisis, saying global crisis is a wake-up call to the energy sector to get its act together. Citing an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) report, which states that US$12.5 trillion is needed from 2021 to 2045 to get the global energy transition underway and tackle the last billion people without regular energy access, Dr Bruch said the worlds leading industry players are clearly divided on their priorities. You see a pretty divided world. On the one side there is sufficient capital in the world and it is a question on how to deploy it. There is a lot of uncertainty this balance of investing somewhere, giving people access to electricity and energy how is this working out? One thing is clear, the old mechanisms are not going to work, he explained. Dr Janine Benyus, Co-Founder of Biomimicry Institute, said recreating the biochemistry of nature in our daily work environments is key to tackling mental health crisis. Due to Covid, we have realised that planetary health is public health. How are we making our world? The goal is to create products, processes, and policies that solve our greatest design challenges sustainably with all life on earth. We need to mimic natures chemistry textbook. Life is the original circular economy. We can create conditions conducive to life, just like nature does, she said. In the penultimate session of the event, Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chair of the UAE Space Agency, said the development of a private space sector would be crucial for the UAE in the future. Our first advent into planetary exploration is to transfer and expedite the transfer of knowledge into the space sector of the UAE, she explained. She added: What we're currently designing and developing is how do you transfer that onto a private sector for Earth observation as well as providing a value proposition for the private sector to exist and aid [space] exploration. The final session of the event, The Race to Space and Humanity's Future, saw Astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson and The Rt. Honorable Lord Martin Rees, Astrophysicist, Cosmologist, and 60th President of the Royal Society, explore the possibilities and perils of future space exploration. The two world-leading scientists also explained how the foundations of tomorrows economy will pivot on innovations in the STEM fields, and how decision-makers must excite people to enter the STEM fields, through space exploration and development programmes. Lord Rees said: The only reason for humans to go to space would be for adventure. To live on Mars is not going to be easy. Mars has a hostile environment. So, the idea of Elon Musk to have a million people settle on Mars is a dangerous delusion. Living on Mars is no better than living on the South Pole or the tip of Mount Everest. Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson said: To ship a billion people to another planet to help them survive a catastrophe on earth seems unrealistic. If you want to call Mars home, you need to terraform Mars, turn it into Earth. It is so much easier to make Earth return to Earth again rather than terraforming Mars. There is no force on Earth as potent as the exploration of space that impacts our thoughts and ambitions. Thinking about the future is half of what drives the future. Space will always remain as an inspiration for young people and it is an area we need to support, he added. The next generation has a broader view of the world. They think globally and have embraced technology like never before. I cannot wait for them to take over the Earth and fix the problems of this world. The edge of the Earth is space and with resources available and the spirit adventure, I have high hopes of all that the next generation will bring us. Lord Martin Rees also said: Space exploration costs have come down and many nations can now join in. The big question here is what do we want to find here? Do we want to find out if there is life out there? The Earth has an amazing biosphere to find life on Mars or anywhere else will be crucially important as it then tells us that life isnt a rare fluke and it might exist in a billion places in the galaxies. Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, added: Space is for everyone and the Solar System is the worlds backyard. So, its great to see that collaborations are becoming important in space exploration and countries are coming together to share knowledge and resources. -- Tradearabia News Service Sophi.io, a suite of artificial intelligence-powered tools developed by The Globe and Mail, is nominated for ground-breaking print automation and fully dynamic, real-time paywall technology TORONTO, March 11, 2021 , The Globe and Mail's artificial intelligence-based optimization and prediction engine, was named a finalist in 5 categories of the Global Media Awards run by the International News Media Association (INMA): Best Product and Tech Innovation Best Initiative to Register Users Best Initiative to Acquire Subscribers Best Use of Data To Drive Subscriptions, Content, or Product Design Best Use of Data to Automate or Personalise "The INMA Global Media Awards focus on excellence across all areas of the media business," said Phillip Crawley, Publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail. "I'm particularly pleased that Sophi for Paywalls' fully dynamic, real-time paywall was recognized in 4 categories, and that Sophi's ground-breaking automated print laydown technology was nominated for its use with Naviga and Agderposten." The nomination in the Best Product and Tech Innovation category is shared with Naviga for Naviga Publisher powered by Sophi.io, and Agderposten, a regional daily newspaper that serves over 25,000 readers in print across Norway. Sophi provides cutting edge AI/ML technology that, along with Naviga Publisher, fully automates the end-to-end print production workflow that lets editors prioritize stories and press a button to automatically generate a print laydown without any templates. Agderposten was the first customer to use the automation technology. This year's competition drew 644 entries from 212 news brands in 37 countries. The judges consist of 44 media experts from 22 countries focused on breakthrough results, unique concepts, strong creativity, innovative thinking, and winner synergies across platforms. The first place winners will be announced on June 3. Sophi is an artificial-intelligence system that helps publishers identify their most valuable content and leverage it to achieve key business goals. Sophi for Paywalls' fully dynamic, personalized, real-time paywall - SmartGate- uses natural language processing (NLP) to analyse both content and user behaviour to determine when to ask a reader for money or an email address, and when to leave them alone. It can optimize for multiple outcomes simultaneously (such as different bundles or price points) and also works in cold-start situations. Publishers on three continents now use Sophi's AI/ML technology to power paywall decisions, website automation and print automation. Last year, Sophi also won the Online Journalism Awardand the North American Digital Media Award awarded by The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in the category of Best Digital News Start-up. About Sophi.io Sophi.io (https://www.sophi.io) was developed by The Globe and Mail to help content publishers make important strategic and tactical decisions. It is a suite of AI-powered tools that includes Sophi Automation and Sophi for Paywalls as well as Sophi Analytics, a decision-support system for content publishers. Sophi is designed to improve the metrics that matter most to your business, such as subscriber retention and acquisition, engagement, recency, frequency and volume. Sophi also powers Naviga Publisher for one-click automated laydown of print and ePaper publishing. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- President Joe Biden today signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law, which provides $360 billion in direct financial relief for state and local governments. Since COVID-19 first befell the nation, cities have been on the frontlines of this public health crisis. They have faced rising expenses to fight the virus, growing budget deficits due to the resulting economic pain and increasing demand for city support services. The American Rescue Plan will help millions of Americans, fund our cities' efforts to beat COVID-19, ensure public services will remain robustly funded, and aid cities in their efforts to get the nation's economy back on track. Following President Biden's signing of the bill, USCM President and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer released the following statement: "For a year now, cities and towns across the United States have been grappling with the very real pain of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayors including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents have been unified in their calls for Congress to provide direct fiscal assistance for all cities, not just some. President Biden heard those calls and has prioritized support for cities and their residents since he came into office. We are grateful for his leadership. This critically needed legislation paves the way for our nation's recovery, and it says to the millions of Americans who have been struggling during this pandemic, and to the mayors who lead them: help is finally on the way." About The United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors , or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors . SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors Related Links www.usmayors.org It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be US president Joe Bidens ambitious $1.9trn coronavirus relief package is expected to clear a vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, even without Republican support, following its narrow 50-49 party-line passage through the Senate on Saturday. Assuming it lands on the Resolute Desk for Mr Bidens sign-off, the Democratic-led American Rescue Plan will be the second-largest economic stimulus bill in US history and aims to kickstart the recovery from the devastation wrought by the pandemic over the last year. Its approval will mark a major win for the new administration less than two months into its first term and signal that a more collegiate, less partisan spirit of cooperation is possible on Capitol Hill following the curtailing of the bitter and divisive Donald Trump era. What does the bill contain? Although the first iteration of the American Rescue Plan unveiled in January has had to be modified in the interests of compromise notably narrowing eligibility for stimulus cheques, reducing its boost to unemployment benefits and abandoning a progressive move to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which was never likely to fly with Republicans it contains much to encourage American citizens that a brighter day is just around the corner. The 628-page bills headline policy action remains its provision of $1,400 monthly bailout cheques, which will be dispatched to individuals earning less than $75,000 a year and couples earning less than $150,000 a year, providing additional income to 90 per cent of US households. Originally, $80,000 and $160,000 were the intended cut-off points. White House press secretary Jen Psaki has pledged the cheques will be sent out within the month and will not include Mr Bidens signature, which slowed the dispatch of Mr Trumps cheques last year. We are doing everything in our power to expedite the payments and not delay them, which is why the presidents name will not appear on the memo line of this round of stimulus cheques, she said. The cheques will be signed by a career official at the bureau of fiscal service. This is not about him. It is about the American people getting relief. Unemployment benefits will receive a $300-a-week boost as part of the relief bill, down from the $400 initially proposed, while two key programmes the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme for freelancers and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programme will be extended until 6 September 2021 to support out-of-work Americans. At a national level, the bill will also provide $350bn to states, local governments, territories and Native American tribes to bolster the economic recovery at a county level while schools, colleges and universities will receive $170bn and $8.5bn will be made available to support struggling rural hospitals. Small businesses will benefit from a new $15bn Emergency Injury Disaster Loan programme, while $25bn is being pledged to help bars and restaurants recover from loss of earnings in lockdown. A dominant characteristic of the bill is its emphasis on initiatives geared towards assisting lower and middle-income families. Households will be supported by a 15 per cent increase in food stamp benefits, for instance, while $20bn will be put aside to help low-income homes cover their overdue rent and utility bills and $10bn made available to help homeowners meet their mortgage, utility and property tax commitments. As part of a bid to combat poverty, the bill proposes to expand child tax credit to $3,600 for each child under six and $3,000 for each child under 18. Currently, families that qualify receive up to $2,000 per child under 17. Approximately $39bn will be made available to support childcare providers. On healthcare, the bill will make federal premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act policies more generous, ensuring that enrollees pay no more than 8.5 per cent of their income towards coverage, down from nearly 10 per cent at present, while those earning more than the current cap of 400 per cent of the federal poverty level about $51,000 for an individual and $104,800 for a family of four would be made eligible for help. Lastly, the bill will provide $14bn to research, develop, distribute, administer and strengthen confidence in Covid-19 vaccines. An estimated $7.7bn will go towards hiring 100,000 people to help with the vaccination push, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency will receive a further $50bn, some of which will be used to support the inoculation drive. What are both sides saying? While the Democrats might have only just forced their advantage in the Senate to get the bill passed with Mr Biden having to make a timely, personal intervention to keep West Virginias conservative-leaning Joe Manchin on side they have been keen to talk up the stimulus effort as a landmark accomplishment. It is so exciting, as you know, because of what it does: vaccines in the arms of the American people, money in their pockets, children safely in schools, workers safely back to work, House speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday. It is a remarkable, historic, transformative piece of legislation, which goes a very long way towards crushing the virus and solving our economic crisis. New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said the push showed: Leadership matters. Vaccinations are up, infections are down, $1,400 survival checks are on the way, and that is only the beginning. House Republicans though have indicated that not a single one of their number will support it. Its not focused on Covid relief. Its focused on pushing more of the far-left agenda," complained House minority whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana. We know that the result of that package is going to be middle-class tax increases, added Wyomings Liz Cheney, who recently angered the Trump loyalists in her party by breaking ranks to vote for the former presidents second impeachment over the Capitol riot. Even more condemnatory was the American Action Network, a PAC tied to House GOP leaders, which has released adverts online attacking the Democrats and calling the relief bill a freight train of frivolous spending to bankroll their liberal cronies. Not all Democrats are satisfied either, with progressive congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington State calling the dropping of the minimum wage boost infuriating. But Biden treasury secretary Janet Yellen issued an impassioned and optimistic call for the bill on Tuesday night, saying: If we do our job, I am confident that Americans will make it to the other side of this pandemic and be met there by some measure of prosperity ... It will finally allow us to do what most of us came to government for not simply to fight fires and resolve crises, but to build a better country. Will President Biden address the nation? Yes. Mr Biden is scheduled to deliver a televised primetime speech on Thursday evening in response to the bills expected passage. According to Ms Psaki, the president will use the address to talk about Covid, what we have been through as a country, and what the path forward looks like. CNN suggests Mr Biden is then expected to hold his first presidential news conference before speaking to a joint session of Congress and hopping aboard Air Force One to promote his stimulus message as part of a cross-country tour the likes of which the pandemic has made impossible over the last 12 months. The president reportedly believes his old boss Barack Obama was too modest in touting the success of his $800bn Recovery Act in 2009 and is seeking to avoid a repeat of the same error. However, the sheer size of and scope of the American Rescue Plan means that, should it fail to achieve its goals, Mr Biden can expect to find himself the fall guy. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A total of 100 illegal migrants were intercepted, rescued and returned to Libya by the Libyan coastguard in the first week of March, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has announced A growing unionization movement is afoot among booksellers and publishing workers across the country. On Wednesday, employees at Moes Books joined their ranks, announcing that they have formed a union and joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Twenty of the Berkeley, Calif.-based bookstores 21 employees have signed on. The union was immediately recognized by store owner Doris Moskowitz. Moe Moskowitz opened the store in 1959. It has long been helmed by veteran booksellers, some of whom have worked there for four decades. But during the pandemic, bookseller Noah Ross said some booksellers departed, and newer employees were hired. When employees proposed ideas for how the store should reopen to foot traffic, Ross said their requests were not heeded by management. With unionization, Ross hopes the booksellers will be able to bargain effectively with one voice. I think the union will be very positive for the store overall, he said. Were doing this because we love Moes. In a statement, the union said, The most immediate goal of the Moes Books union will be to get fair and equal input on the formation and enforcement of safety protocols, without fear of dismissal or retaliation. Doris Moskowitz welcomed the effort by her employees. "Unionization is an opportunity for Moe's Books," she said. "We are entering into negotiations with our current staff to establish a union workplace where worker concerns are heard and responded to. We recognize that health concerns are an issue, and we're working with front-line staff on that." "Moe Moskowitz, my dad, was proud of his own radical history and tried to create jobs that people really liked to do," she said. "I hope that we can continue this tradition going forward." Moes booksellers made an unsuccessful attempt to unionize 10 years ago. This time, they sought advice before taking any steps to organize, reaching out to fellow booksellers at Bookshop Santa Cruz and Elliott Bay Book Company, both of whom unionized in the last year. The ultimately selected the IWW because it will allow them the flexibility to create their own contracts during negotiations with the bookstores. Currently a seven-member committee will run the union until it takes further steps to create a long-term structure. The effort at Moes comes amid a broader movement in labor organizing among book workers nationwide. Employees at Verso recently unionized, while bookseller unions at the Strand Bookstore in New York City and Powells Books in Portland, Oregon, have actively worked to push back against cuts during the pandemic. Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are also making an effort to unionize, which garnered support from President Biden. At Moe's, Ross said book workers' efforts are understandable. Booksellers are often underpaid and vulnerable, he said. The trade has long run on the idea that if you love books, youll put up with a lot of bullshit. But while the union begins to engage with management on serious workplace matters, they also asked customers not to take steps that will hurt the stores bottom line. Moe's has to be open for there to be a union, Ross said emphatically. The best way for you to support the Moes Books union right now is to come to Moes, union members wrote in their statement. [B]uy a book, and tell the staff how excited you are that theyre unionizing. 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. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Pasofino Gold Limited (TSXV: VEIN) (OTCQB: EFRGF) (FSE: N07) ("Pasofino" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Hummingbird Resources (Liberia) Inc. received results for seven infill holes, these being the first to be drilled at the Dugbe F deposit since 2014. Dugbe F is one of two deposits on the Dugbe Gold Project, in which the Company has an option to earn a 49% economic interest (prior to the issuance of the Government of Liberia's 10% carried interest). Highlights - Dugbe F Infill drilling All 7 of the new drillholes intersected gold mineralisation of the expected range of thickness and grade. Gold bearing intersections being up to 26.7 meters in thickness. These are the first holes drilled at Dugbe F since 2014. The holes support the continuity of the deposit. Intersections of the flat to gently undulating layer include; 26.7 metres at 1.44 g/t gold from 86.9 metres in DFDC338 10.0 metres at 1.48 g/t gold from 67.9 metres in DFDC335 14.6 metres at 1.30 g/t gold from 102.0 metres in DFDC335 4.1 metres at 2.17 g/t gold from 16.9 metres in DFDC334 The current 'infill drilling' is aimed at 'upgrading' the Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate with the objective of achieving an Indicated Mineral Resource of between 0.6 and 1.0 M ounces. The current Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate for Dugbe F is 5.8 Mt with an average grade of 1.46 g/t Au containing 273 k oz gold. The current Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate is 16.3 Mt with an average grade of 1.57 g/t Au containing 823 k oz of gold. Additional shallow mineralized intervals are present above the main zone within the southern part of the deposit (figures 1 and 2) and have the potential to add to the resource as this mineralisation was not part of the most recent Mineral Resource Estimate. Ian Stalker, CEO, commented; "These intersections and the rate at which we are progressing the drilling puts us on track to achieve our target of a 0.6 to 1.0 M ounces in the Indicated Category at Dugbe F, which would bring the project total closer to 3 Moz in the Indicated Category. We have 3 rigs turning 24/7 now and are completing 8 to 10 holes per week. Two rigs will move over to the larger Tuzon deposit as soon as access is ready." Corporate Update A Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA') has been initiated and is to be released in due course, prior to the release of the Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS'). The Company is pleased to advise that the option to acquire the strategically located Bukon Jedeh license -figure 1 (Area Under Option) has been approved by the Government of Liberia and incorporated into the Mineral Development Area (MDA) increasing the MDA footprint from 2,355km2 to 2,559km2. Figure 1. Dugbe Gold Project Mineral Development Area. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6283/76860_908a3846f4ca69bd_001full.jpg On track to achieving the target of delivering the increased Indicated Mineral resource These reported Dugbe F Intersections put the Company on track to delivering an increased Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate to support the current Feasibility Study planned for release in Q4 2021. The presence of shallower mineralized intervals in addition to the main mineralized layer in some areas of the southern part of the deposit has the potential to add to the Mineral Resource Estimate as this mineralization falls within the existing conceptual pit shell. These intervals are shown in figure 2. Ongoing drilling and results are needed to further define the extent of these zones. It is of interest that drillhole DFDC338 is 'open at depth', mineralization is expected to extend several metres beyond the reported interval. Results for these samples and for an additional 10 drillholes are expected during late March or early April. Figure 2. Cross section through the southern part of Dugbe F. New intersections are highlighted yellow. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6283/76860_908a3846f4ca69bd_002full.jpg Table 1. All intersections from the reported 7 holes. Drillholes are estimated to be true thickness or close to true thickness (within approximately 10%). *Note results below 113.6 m depth in DFDC338 are pending. BHID From m To m Interval (m) Au g/t DFDC334 16.9 21.0 4.1 2.17 DFDC335 46.5 60.0 13.5 0.49 and 67.9 77.9 10.0 1.48 and 102.0 116.6 14.6 1.30 DFDC336 67.0 73.5 6.5 1.15 DFDC337 86.6 100.0 13.4 0.86 DFDC338 70.4 72.8 2.4 1.20 and 86.9 113.6* 26.7 1.44 DFDC340 48.0 49.0 1.0 7.20 and 71.6 76.0 4.4 1.08 DFDC347 28.7 33.6 4.9 1.15 Figure 3. Plan view map showing the Dugbe F deposit and drillholes and line of the cross-section of figure 2. To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6283/76860_908a3846f4ca69bd_003full.jpg Dugbe F deposit The deposit length as defined by the dimensions of the conceptual pit is 2.5 km. The width of the deposit ranges from 1.3 km in the south to 200-300 m in the north. The Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate at Dugbe F currently stands at 5.8 Mt with an average grade of 1.46 g/t Au containing 273 k oz gold. The Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate is 16.3 Mt with an average grade of 1.57 g/t Au and has contained gold of 823 k oz. The current drilling program is mostly infill drilling aimed at upgrading the Inferred Mineral Resource. The gold is hosted by a flat to undulating layer (figure 2) which outcrops along the western side of the deposit and dips gently southeast to a maximum of 120 m below surface within the conceptual pit. The host rock is orthopyroxene gneiss with increased sulphide content (visible pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and pyrite) and seems to be a largely stratiform layer close to the contact with overlying quartz biotite gneiss. There is no discernable shear-related or other structural control. The rocks are high grade metamorphic, and structural controls may have been obliterated by later ductile deformative events. Pegmatites may be found within or bounding the mineralized layer but appear to be largely parallel or subparallel with it. The construction of the 50 m span bridge to access the nearby Tuzon deposit is in the final stages and rigs are now expected to move in during March. The Tuzon deposit has an Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 41.9 Mt with an average grade of 1.51 g/t with contained gold of 2.03 M oz. Drilling there will be aimed at upgrading some of the Inferred Mineral Estimate Resource and potentially extending the deposit. Drilling procedure and Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC) The new holes were positioned using a handheld GPS and lidar data for elevation. Downhole orientation surveys were completed for all holes and core was oriented to assist with interpretation. All drilling and logging was completed in adherence to industry standard operating procedures. Core recovery is over 95% for all mineralized intersections. Core was drilled NQ (47 mm diameter) size. Samples were all half core, analyzed by ALS in Burkina Faso, a facility compliant to ISO 17025:2005 for the analytical methods used for the samples. Samples range from 1 kg to over 5 kg depending on the length of each sample. Within every 20 core samples submitted a certified standard and blank was inserted. The results of these samples show acceptable levels of variance. Duplicate (other half of the core) samples were inserted 1 in every 20 core samples to check on precision. Sample weights on dispatch and received sample weights were examined to monitor for sample swaps. All samples were stored and transported to the laboratory securely and accompanied by a company representative until arrival at the laboratory. Similar QAQC measures were undertaken for the previous drillholes reported herein; those samples were analyzed by ALS in Loughrea, Ireland which is an ISO 17025:2005 compliant facility for the analytical methods used for the samples. All samples were analyzed by fire assay with atomic absorption finish on a sample with 50g nominal weight. Table 2. Collar positions of the new drillholes. Coordinates are UTM zone 29N, WGS84 datum. BHID Easting Northing Elevation Total Depth Dip Azimuth DFDC334 550148 562446 122.2 50.4 -80 295 DFDC335 549897 561933 123.8 143.6 -80 295 DFDC336 549803 561898 125.5 85.8 -80 295 DFDC337 549966 561997 117.0 104.3 -80 190 DFDC338 549791 562015 136.0 143.6 -80 295 DFDC340 549742 562156 129.6 100.5 -80 295 DFDC347 549494 562137 139.9 39.4 -80 295 Table 3. Collar positions of the previous drillholes shown on figure 3. Coordinates are UTM zone 29N, WGS84 datum. BHID Easting Northing Elevation Total Depth Dip Azimuth DFDC145 549550 562085 143.6 73 -60 25 DFDC147 549691 562018 144.4 122.1 -60 25 DFDC149 549839 561959 124.1 122.1 -60 25 DFDC151 549991 561882 108.9 155.1 -60 295 DFDC165 550153 561829 103.5 131.1 -60 295 DFDC173 550288 561760 104.6 131.1 -60 295 Qualified Persons Statement Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to exploration results was prepared and approved by Mr. Andrew Pedley. Mr. Pedley is a full-time consultant of Pasofino Gold Ltd.'s wholly-owned subsidiary ARX Resources Limited. He is a member in good standing with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) and is as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. About the Dugbe Gold Project The 2,559 km2 Dugbe Project is located in southern Liberia and situated within the south westmost part of the Birimian Supergroup, which is host to the majority of West African gold deposits. To date, two gold deposits have been identified on the Project: Dugbe F and Tuzon. The deposits are located within 4 km of the Dugbe Shear Zone which is thought to have played a role in large scale gold mineralization in the area. A large amount of exploration in the area was conducted by Hummingbird, including 74,497 m of diamond coring. 70,700 m of this was at the Dugbe F and Tuzon deposits, discovered by Hummingbird in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Both deposits outcrop at surface and may be amenable to open-cut mining. In addition, there are a number of prospects within the Project, including 'Sackor' where gold mineralization has been intersected in drill-holes and where additional drilling is planned. No other prospects have been drill-tested to date. At some prospects extensive trenching identified anomalous levels of gold that require drill-testing. An aggressive exploration program to test the prospects is planned by the Company. In 2019, Hummingbird signed a 25-year Mineral Development Agreement ("MDA") with the Government of Liberia providing the necessary long-term framework and stabilization of taxes and duties. Under the terms of the MDA, the royalty rate on gold production is 3%, the income tax rate payable is 25% (with credit given for historic exploration expenditures), the fuel duty is reduced by 50%, and the Government of Liberia is granted a free carried interest of 10% in the Project. Over $70 million has been spent by Hummingbird on the Project. Table 4. Mineral Resource Estimate for the Dugbe Gold Project using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade. Category Tonnes (million) Au Grade (g/t) Contained Gold (000 ounces) Tuzon Deposit Indicated 41.9 1.51 2,032 Inferred 10.4 1.31 439 Dugbe F Deposit Indicated 5.8 1.46 273 Inferred 16.3 1.57 823 Totals TOTAL INDICATED 47.7 1.51 2,304 TOTAL INFERRED 26.7 1.47 1,262 Rounding errors may be evident when combining totals in the table but are immaterial. The effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is August 19, 2020 as reported in "Dugbe Gold Project, Liberia NI 43-101 Technical Report, Effective Date 19 August 2020," a report prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited. The Qualified Person is Mr. Martin Pittuck (CEng, MIMMM). The Mineral Resource has been classified under the guidelines of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council (2014), and procedures for classifying the reported Mineral Resources were undertaken within the context of the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). The estimates are stated using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have no demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, marketing, or other relevant issues. Mineral Resource estimates are stated within conceptual pit shells that have been used to define Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE). The pit shells used the following main parameters: (i) Au price of US$1700/ounce; (ii) plant recovery of 90%; and (iii) mean specific gravity of 2.78 t/m3for fresh rock and 1.56 t/m3for oxide material for Tuzon, and for Dugbe F a mean specific gravity of 2.73t/m3. About Pasofino Gold Ltd. Pasofino Gold Ltd. is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V (VEIN). Pasofino is earning a 50% interest in the advanced-stage Roger Gold-Copper Project located in Quebec's prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Through its recently announced acquisition of ARX Resources Limited, Pasofino has an option to earn a 49% economic interest (prior to the issuance of the Government of Liberia's 10% carried interest) in the Dugbe Gold Project. For further information, please visit www.pasofinogold.com or contact: Ian Stalker, President & CEO T: 604 367 8110 E: istalker@pasofinogold.com Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "aim", "plan", "expect", "project", "seek", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the ability to raise the funds to finance its ongoing business activities including the acquisition of mineral projects and the exploration and development of its projects. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to, the ability to successfully file and obtain approval for the Qualifying Prospectus, the ability to obtain all requisite regulatory approvals in respect of the Qualifying Prospectus, the results of exploration activities; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms and those risk factors outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis as filed on SEDAR. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76860 Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. The last day of April this year will see the introduction of the countrys first Minister without portfolio. Justice Minister Helen McEntee will assume the role as she takes paid maternity leave for six months before returning to her own position in six months time. In the interim, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys will assume the duties and responsibilities of Minister for Justice. She will be assisted by Fine Gael Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton, who will be designated new responsibilities from the Department of Justice while also remaining in her current position in the Department of the Environment. Fianna Fail Minister of State James Browne, who already serves in the Department of Justice, will be given additional responsibilities. The maternity-leave ministerial shake-up announced in the Dail by Taoiseach Micheal Martin is a significant day for Irish politics, but it is only a sticking-plaster solution. Read More First and foremost it gives Minister McEntee and her husband Paul some peace of mind as they focus on raising their first child. But it does not resolve the ministerial maternity-leave quandary for any future female Cabinet minister who becomes pregnant while serving at the highest level of Government. The Taoiseach acknowledged legislative or even constitutional changes will be necessary to ensure other female ministers, or indeed TDs, are faced with a workable situation. We want to make sure that having a family is in no way in conflict with pursuing a career in public life, Mr Martin said. The constitutional requirement for the Cabinet to be made up of strictly no more than 15 ministers is the main stumbling block to introducing a more permanent solution for ministerial maternity leave. Various Government departments are examining the issue and the Citizen Assembly on Gender Equality will also debate possible solutions. The decision to appoint Ms Humphreys as an interim Justice Minister was made after the issue gained publicity when Ms McEntee announced she intended on taking her full maternity leave. Appointing Humphreys to the ministry is interesting in itself. She is already a Cabinet minister with two busy portfolios Social Protection and Rural and Community Development. Fine Gael naturally wanted to keep the party political balance at Cabinet and were not keen on a Fianna Fail TD or even the Taoiseach taking on the Justice responsibilities. Gender was not the only issue but Fine Gael sources say replacing a female Cabinet minister, who is going on maternity leave, with another woman rather than male colleagues sends a better message to women considering a career in politics. Humphreys is the longest-serving female Fine Gael Cabinet member and has vast amounts of political experience. In Fine Gael, she is considered both a workhorse and a steady pair of hands. It is also hoped the Cavan/Monaghan TDs links to the border means she will have a unique understanding of the issues facing the region during a difficult time in Anglo Irish relations. Cross-border policing may prove tricky over the coming months if tensions continue to escalate over the Northern Ireland protocol. The enforcement of Covid-19 restrictions could also become a headache if the appalling vista of a fourth national lockdown emerges. There is also the possibility of a Garda investigation into Tanaiste Leo Varadkar over his decision to leak a State contract. At the same time, Ms Humphreys will have to address the ever-increasing social welfare bill linked to pandemic payments and make a decision on whether or not to increase the State pension age next year. The budget for both her ministries will need to be decided before Ms McEntee returns from her maternity leave. It will be no small order keeping the two departments afloat. is fighting to save his sprawling empire after Greensill Capital, its biggest lender, collapsed into administration. While the markets for GFG Alliances steel mills and aluminum smelters are buoyant, a court filing revealed on Monday that Guptas group had told Greensill in February that it would be insolvent without its funding. That casts a shadow over operations that employ about 35,000 people across 30 different nations. Some of those assets may be snapped up, but for others Gupta dubbed the savior of steel was the only bidder last time they were offered for sale. These are the most important assets and their significance for both local economies and international markets. UK Gupta bought his first steel mill in the U.K. eight years ago, and is now the countrys third-biggest producer with a dozen sites. Many of his Liberty Steel plants provide products tailored to local manufacturers, potentially leaving them exposed if they shutdown, especially given Brexit trade upheaval. Some of the assets are strategic as its the only supplier of that kind of steel in the UK, said James Campbell, a steel analyst at consultancy CRU Group. There are definitely going to be buyers for some Liberty assets. Gupta also bought an aluminum and hydro-power plant in Scotland from Rio Tinto. That deal came with a guarantee from the Scottish government, the terms of which remain confidential. France Guptas most strategically important asset is probably the Dunkerque aluminum smelter in France, which he acquired for $500 million in 2018. One of Europes biggest smelters, its a critical supplier to the regions automakers. Thats something French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire may have had in mind when he pledged to support GFG employees and its industrial sites if they were threatened by Greensills collapse. Trafigura Group is one of the Dunkerque plants most important commercial partners. The trading house is prepaid for supplying the smelter with alumina, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trafigura is also a secured lender, alongside a number of banks, via the $350 million loan GFG used to fund the acquisition from Rio Tinto. That relationship could put Trafigura in pole position to buy the plant, echoing its acquisition of troubled zinc smelter Nyrstar in 2019. A spokeswoman for Trafigura declined to comment. Eastern Europe In his biggest deal, Gupta acquired seven steel sites for 740 million euro ($880 million) from ArcelorMittal in 2019. The largest were in Eastern Europe, including the Ostrava and Galati integrated mills in the Czech Republic and Romania. The buying spree, which also involved assets in North Macedonia, Belgium and Luxembourg, was financed by loans from Greensill. Finding buyers for these assets may prove difficult, given the potential level of debt attached and as some struggled to consistently deliver profits when run by ArcelorMittal. That suggests government bailouts may be needed. Gupta was not in a bidding war for any of the assets he bought and I cant think who today would step in to buy anything in either aluminum or steel, said Christian Georges, senior analyst at Societe Generale SA in London. So its going to be a real headache for all governments. Australia Guptas Australian assets are among the most stable in his empire and, along with the Dunkerque smelter, the easiest to attract buyers in the short term. The iron ore operations he owns in the Middleback Range supply the steel businesses he acquired in 2017. The Whyalla steelworks, about 400 kilometers (249 miles) north of Adelaide, is a crucial supplier of rail steel in the country. Gupta also owns InfraBuild, which remelts scrap metal and is a key supplier to the construction industry. As recently as January, there were fresh reports that Gupta had revived plans to list InfraBuild. In 2019, InfraBuild was forced to pay 12 per cent on a five-year bond, even after Gupta pledged to kick in $150 million of equity to appease prospective lenders. US GFG took its first steps into America with the acquisition of the Georgetown Mill in South Carolina, before adding a rod and wire mill in Illinois. Gupta touted the possibility of taking the US business public in 2019, though the plans never came to fruition. COVID-19 has created unprecedented financial challenges for schools throughout the country. ... Its never been more essential to ensure public schools particularly those that serve high numbers of Black and Latinx students from low-income households are equitably funded and have the resources necessary to address the unprecedented needs brought on by the pandemic, CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a Thursday statement. NAIROBI, Kenya As unrecorded numbers of Tanzanians succumbed to the coronavirus, the countrys president consistently downplayed the pandemic, dismissing protective measures, scoffing at vaccines and saying God had helped to eliminate the virus. Now, President John Magufulis unusually lengthy absence from public view is fueling speculation that he himself is critically ill with Covid-19 and is being treated outside the country. The rumors started swirling this week after Tanzanias leading opposition figure, Tundu Lissu, said Mr. Magufuli was infected with the virus and was being treated in a hospital in neighboring Kenya. In a text message, Mr. Lissu said he had it from fairly authoritative sources that the president was flown to Kenyas capital, Nairobi, on Monday night and checked into Nairobi Hospital, one of the largest private facilities in that country. On Tuesday, Mr. Lissu demanded that authorities disclose the whereabouts of the president, who has not appeared in public for almost two weeks. On Wednesday, he said that Mr. Magufuli was transferred to a hospital in India to avoid social media embarrassment in case the worst happened in Kenya. KOLKATA: The main opposition BJP has alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was trying to turn a "simple accident" into a "pre-planned conspiracy" after she claimed that she was allegedly attacked by some unknown miscreants in Nandigram on Wednesday evening. The saffron party has demanded a CBI investigation into the matter. "It can happen that she met with an accident but to claim that she was deliberately pushed is not acceptable. She has a lot of security personnel guarding her round the clock," BJP's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said. "Such tactics to gain sympathy are unacceptable. I think the matter should be handed over to the CBI for an investigation," he added. State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said such "tactics to gain sympathy" by Mamata Banerjee would not work this time. "Mamata Banerjee is the police minister of the state and if she is not safe then she should immediately resign from the post," he said. CPI(M) candidate from Nandigram Minakshi Mukherjee wished her a speedy recovery but asserted that "people would not be fooled this time". Several leaders from across the country condemned the alleged attack on the chief minister. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that those responsible should be immediately arrested and punished. Bihar's opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav said that those responsible should not be spared as he asserted that the West Bengal police is now under the control of the Election Commission. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the incident. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has sought a report from the state police on the alleged attack. Mamata Banerjee alleged that she was attacked by "four-five men" in Nandigram, injuring her left leg, hours after she filed nomination from the seat where the BJP has pitted her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari. The incident happened around 6.15 pm when Banerjee was about to leave the Birulia area near Reyapara after praying at a local temple. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee suffers severe bone injuries after alleged Nandigram attack, kept under observation "I was standing outside my car with the door open. I was praying from there on seeing a temple. Few people came around my car and pushed the door. The door hit my leg," she told reporters. Banerjee, who appeared shaken and in pain, alleged that she was pushed by four-five men while she was trying to get into the car, following which she fell flat on her face. The chief minister said that her leg got swollen because of the injury and she was feeling feverish, besides having chest pain. Pointing to her leg, she told reporters, "See how it has swollen." "Some people deliberately did it. Of course, it is a conspiracy. There were no local policemen around me, neither the district police superintendent was present at the spot," she alleged. The chief minister also has severe pain in the waist, TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who is at present in Nandigram, said. Mamata Banerjee was seen being carried by her security personnel to the backseat of her SUV from the front seat, which she usually occupies during travel, as she was in pain. A white cloth was also wrapped around her injured leg. The incident triggered a security scare as the Chief Minister gets Z-plus protection. Banerjee, who was supposed to stay the night in Nandigram in the Purba Medinipur district, was rushed back to Kolkata, around 130 km away, through a green corridor. The chief minister was taken to the state-run SSKM Hospital for treatment where she underwent X-ray imaging. Later, she was taken to the Bangur Institute of Neurology for an MRI. The state government constituted a team of five senior doctors to treat Banerjee. In the team were a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, a general surgery doctor, an orthopedist and a medical doctor. The chief minister's nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, and state ministers Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim and Sujit Bose were present at the hospital, besides scores of party supporters who were shouting slogans against the BJP. Governor Jagdeep Dhakhankhar also visited the hospital but faced "go-back" chants from the TMC supporters. Trinamool Congress supporters took to the streets across the state to protest against the alleged attack, blocking roads, burning tyres and raising slogans blaming the BJP. Protests were held in different areas of Kolkata, including Chetla and Sovabazar. Besides, demonstrations were also held in Howrah, Bankura, Jalpaiguri, Paschim Bardhaman, Paschim Medinipur and North 24 Parganas, among others. Banerjee was in Nandigram over the last two days to campaign for the upcoming elections. Earlier in the day, she filed her nominations in Haldia. From temple-hopping to visiting a holy shrine of the Muslims, Banerjee left no stones unturned in the high-stakes battle for Nandigram where she will be fighting Adhikari. West Bengal will be voting in eight phases, starting March 27. The votes will be counted on May 2. Live TV The European Medicines Agency has authorised Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine, giving the European Union's 27 nations a fourth licensed vaccine to try to curb the pandemic amid a stalled vaccination drive in the bloc. In a decision issued Thursday, the EU medicines regulator said it was recommending the vaccine be authorized after a thorough evaluation of J&J's data found it met the criteria for efficacy, safety and quality. With this latest positive opinion, authorities across the European Union will have another option to combat the pandemic and protect the lives and health of their citizens, said Emer Cooke, EMA's Executive Director. (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 firm which made the Grenfell Tower cladding was warned that a fire in a building fitted with the product would kill 60 to 70 people a decade before the disaster. Gerard Sonntag, a former marketing manager at Arconic, sent an internal memo in 2007 with the chilling prediction made by a building expert at a conference. Mr Sonntag suggested Arconic stop selling the flammable version of its cladding to avoid any catastrophic consequences. But it continued to sell the panels to the UK construction market and they were fitted to Grenfell over 2015 and 2016. The cladding helped cause the rapid spread of the fire at the tower in west London in June 2017, which claimed 72 lives. The firm which made the Grenfell Tower cladding was warned that a fire in a building fitted with the product would kill 60 to 70 people a decade before the disaster. Pictured: The Grenfell Tower as seen from Silchester Road on February 16, 2021 The public inquiry into the disaster was yesterday shown internal company documents obtained by investigators. Richard Millett QC, counsel to the inquiry, said Mr Sonntag had been very impressed by a presentation on fire safety by cladding expert Fred-Roderich Pohl at a conference in Norway. Mr Pohl highlighted the risks of using aluminium composite cladding (ACM) with a polyethylene core, which he said had the same fuel power as a lorry full of oil. He told the conference: What will happen if only one building made out of polyethylene core is on fire and kills 60 to 70 persons? What is the responsibility of the ACM supplier? Last month the inquiry heard Arconic was repeatedly warned about the fire risks of the cladding. The inquiry continues. It came as insurance companies were accused of profiteering from the crisis by hiking premiums by up to 3,000 per cent for those living in unsafe homes. The cladding helped cause the rapid spread of the fire at the tower in west London in June 2017 (pictured), which claimed 72 lives In a Westminster debate yesterday, Tory MP Bob Neill said insurers had made unreasonable profits, while Labour MP Margaret Hodge accused firms of profiteering. The Association of British Insurers rejected the claims, saying: Insurers are committed to working with the Government and property owners to see reforms that will [reduce] premiums. The Daily Mail is campaigning to end the cladding scandal. Around 1.3 million flats are unsellable unless they pass safety tests after guidance issued post-Grenfell. Mannion also criticized the Cuomo administration for withholding the true COVID-19 death toll in nursing homes for months. While the state Department of Health released the number of confirmed and presumed deaths that occurred in nursing homes, the tally did not include residents who were moved to hospitals. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal published stories last week that revealed the number of residents who died at hospitals was removed from a July report released by the state health department. That report blamed employees for bringing the virus into facilities, not a March 25 advisory that has been panned because nursing homes could not deny admission solely on the basis of a COVID-positive diagnosis. Mannion said the lies about COVID-19 in nursing homes and the attempted cover-up are "unforgivable and indefensible." "These issues rise above the level of partisan politics or ideological fights maintaining the public's trust in government requires those of us in elected office to hold ourselves to a higher standard of conduct," Mannion said. "The governor has clearly failed to meet that standard. The ability of the governor and his aides to lead New York is compromised. It's time for them to do the right thing and step aside for the sake of all New Yorkers." Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Impactio, a leading academic impact analytics and networking platform just reached a significant milestone: there are now 10,000 scholars coming together and building the academic community on Impactio. Only 10 months after launching the platform, Impactio has become the most powerful emerging network for academic communities. Impactio's newest revamping, coming on the heels of the 10,000 users celebration, strengthens the network among scientists and researchers even more than its already impressive features did. The enhancements include the addition of Connections, Invitations, and Explore Network features and the optimization of Messenger and Post features. These new features empower users with additional connections in professional research fields, but they do even more than that. As the COVID-19 pandemic era continues to shift the way the world is run, Impactio breaks geographical boundaries and catalyzes more interaction online. Go HERE to explore Impactio's new features immediately. It has always been Impactio's mission to strengthen networks and connections between scientists and researchers. Impactio empowers researchers with more collaborations in academic research fields by offering revolutionary work and new features. But now more than ever, it's essential for academic researchers to break down those regional borders and make the most of online interactions. Impactio's rollout of the redesigned platform includes processes that make it easier for scholars to interact and engage in an academic-based community of like-minded individuals. What's New: Custom Personal Profile Visibility: Control what your public profile looks like. Discover Feed: Explore relevant posts, interact with peers, and follow the research trends. Write a Post: Share research accomplishments, news, or thoughts with the community. Explore Network: Build a professional network by connecting with researchers and sending instant messages. Create Lab Page: Showcase scientific work and make connections with labs worldwide. More powerful engagement and management tools are part of Impactio's new networking design, making it easier to discover global researchers by viewing academic contributions, impact analytics, posts, and other important information. It also makes it simpler to connect with scholars and boost the growth of collaborations. Your opportunities to share your research increase. Whether you're looking to connect with prospective employers, research agencies, universities, grant review committees, partners, or colleagues, it's all streamlined with Impactio. Impactio continues to develop one of the most emerging academic impact analytics and professional networking platforms for global academics. By regularly improving and innovating its platform to address researchers' needs, it has grown rapidly and continues to expand. In 2021, we look forward to more academic professionals joining us on Impactio. Researchers will discover outstanding team members through the platform, and exciting new projects will be initiated worldwide with teams in our Impactio Lab. About Impactio, Inc. Founded in 2018, Impactio is America's leading platform of academic impact analytics and reputation management designed for scientists and researchers. Impactio catalyzes global scientific and technological advancement by developing various innovative cloud-based software and services to make scientific communication more effective, ultimately helping scientists and researchers be more productive and successful. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Impactio is made with love and passion for technology by alumni from the EECS Department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Stanford University, and Rice University. History of Impactio As a PhD candidate and research fellow at the EECS department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Lawrence Shay realized the needs and advantages of using visualized charts and quantitative metrics to demonstrate the academic impact of highly achieved individuals. However, there was no such tool available at the time. Shay later founded Impactio with his technology team in 2018 and launched its flagship website service in early 2020. The vision of Impactio is to integrate various innovative online services within its flagship platform catering to technological professionals to help them be more productive and succeed. Shay was admitted to patent bar and is an active patent practitioner licensed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to practice in patent cases. The ripples around the Impactio logo represent the research contributions that impact the scientific and academic community. Learn more at: https://www.impactio.com/. Media Contact: Impactio, Inc. Public Relations Department 1.415.287.0187 [email protected] https://www.impactio.com/ Related Images image1.png image2.png SOURCE Impactio, Inc. Human Rights Activists to Protest at NBC Headquarters in New York City, Calling for Them NOT to Broadcast the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games Because of China's Human Rights Abuses Reverend Mahoney Being Arrested in Tiananmen Square During the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics NEWS PROVIDED BY Christian Defense Coalition March 11, 2021 NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /Standard Newswire/ -- The protest will be on Friday, March 12, at 1:00 PM at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The name of the project is, "NBC Say No To The 'Beijing Genocide Games.'" Here is a link to the Facebook Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/132489442013592 It would be unconscionable for NBC to broadcast the Beijing Games while China is committing genocide against the Uyghrus, oppressing Hong Kong, bulldozing churches, persecuting all religious minorities and trampling free speech and human rights against their own citizens. "NBC Say No To The 'Genocide Games'" is part of a march larger global campaign of human rights organizations, politicians, activists and international leaders calling for the boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Here is a link to a news article of 180 worldwide human rights groups urging a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics: https://thehill.com/policy/international/537363-180-human-rights-groups-urging-boycott-of-beijing-olympic-games. Lead Organizer Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition in Washington, D.C., has been an outspoken critic of the human rights abuses in China for over 40 years. In 2008, he was involved in an effort to boycott the Beijing Summer Olympics and was arrested in Tiananmen Square (pictured above) during the Olympics speaking out for human rights. He was threatened with six months in prison and is currently banned from China. Rev. Mahoney states; "It would be unconscionable for NBC to broadcast the Beijing Olympic Games while China is committing genocide against the Uyghrus, oppressing Hong Kong, bulldozing churches, persecuting religious minorities and crushing free speech and human rights against their own citizens. "We call upon NBC not to give the Chinese Communist Party an international propaganda platform before billions of people worldwide for a China that does not exist. The 'real China' is one that the government would never allow NBC to broadcast. That is, a country where Uyghurs are living in concentration and forced labor camps, Hong Kong democracy leaders are sitting in prison with no bail, Christian Churches are bulldozed, political and religious dissidents are daily being brutalized and persecuted and so many more atrocities. "Simply stated, 'NBC Say No To The Beijing Genocide Games.'" Kris Keating, President of Bright Mercy, adds; "Hosting the Olympics is an honor that is endorsed by those countries that participate. In 1980, the United States stood on principle and boycotted the Olympic Games hosted in the Soviet Union. As China refuses to cease the oppression and genocide of minorities, I ask that the United States again stand against tyranny and oppression by boycotting the Olympic Games in China. "This is an unprecedented opportunity to hold China to a higher and better standard for safeguarding human rights for people in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The United States government must also be an advocate for a return to democracy in Hong Kong. We must loudly urge against any compromises with respect to the human rights abuses occurring under Chinese authority." For more information or interviews call: Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741 SOURCE Christian Defense Coalition CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741 Visitors watch photos of the school before the disaster displayed at the ruins of the Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki, Japan, March 9, 2021. A public elementary school in Miyagi Prefecture lost more than 80 lives in the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake in northeastern Japan. Ten years on, the ruins of the school building still tell the unimaginable tragedy of the calamity. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi) ISHINOMAKI, Japan, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A public elementary school in Miyagi Prefecture lost more than 80 lives in the tsunami following the March 2011 earthquake in northeastern Japan. Ten years on, the ruins of the school building still tell the unimaginable tragedy of the calamity. Okawa Elementary School, located on the bank of the Kitakami river and about 4 km off the coast, were engulfed by the tsunami as the pupils and teachers began evacuating to a nearby hill. Finally, only 34 out of the school's 108 students and one out of 11 teachers survived the tsunami. A sign at the site showed that the earthquake occurred at 2:46 p.m on March 11, 2011, and the tsunami reached the school 51 minutes later. The only surviving teacher explained that the school, which had been designated as a local shelter, had instructed students to run out of the building and wait on the playground after the earthquake. After receiving the tsunami warning, the school began to evacuate, but the students were engulfed in the rushing water. The tsunami was 8.6 meters high and hit halfway up the hill to the south side of the school. If the teachers and students had reached the hill top in time, they might have survived. A 21-year-old visitor called Kogawa told Xinhua, "The campus of Okawa Elementary School is so close to the mountain behind it. It is a pity that the pupils and teachers did not take refuge there." "If there had been an evacuation route to the mountain, this tragedy might not have happened," Kogawa added. In March 2016, Ishinomaki City Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama said that it was necessary to turn the Okawa Elementary School into a memorial site. "It will help future generations remember the dangers of earthquakes and tsunamis and keep vigilant. It will also help to carry out disaster prevention education in these places," he said. A 29-year-old woman who volunteered to clean up at the school told Xinhua that she hopes people from all over the world will come and have a look around the school, especially those who know nothing about the earthquake and tsunami disaster. "No one can say that they will not be confronted with the same disaster in the future, so we hope that everyone can make preparations in advance," she added. Kogawa, the visitor, said, "While these ruins may evoke sad memories for the families of the victims, for teachers who want to learn how to protect the lives of their students, being on the scene is a way to learn something that is not in the disaster prevention manual." He added that his hometown Niigata, also a prefecture on the coast, may also face tsunamis and heavy rains sometime. He wants to be a local civil servant in the future and contribute to the disaster prevention work in his hometown. Nowadays, a memorial hall is under construction on the opposite side of the school. Meanwhile, a park with the theme of disaster prevention and relief education will be built around the school site. HEATHER Humphreys will take over as temporary justice minister when Helen McEntee goes on maternity leave at the end of April, the Taoiseach has confirmed. Micheal Martin said Ms McEntee will take paid maternity leave from her role with effect from April 30 for six months. She will remain a member of the government without portfolio for that period. Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys will be assigned responsibility for Department of Justice from the period May 1 to October 31. Junior transport minister Hildegarde Naughton will become a temporary Minister of State at Department of Justice in addition to her current responsibilities, while Minister of State in the Department of Justice, James Browne, will continue in the same role. There will be a "significant delegation of functions" to the two ministers of state in the Department, Mr Martin said. Ms McEntee will resume her role as Minister for Justice on November 1 following maternity leave. Ms McEntee and her husband Paul Hickey are expecting their first child in May. She is the first serving Cabinet minister to be pregnant while in office. The Meath East TD had already announced she will take six months leave when her baby is born. However, there is currently no provision for politicians to take maternity leave and the issue of cabinet ministers being able to take such leave without resigning their office is likely to require a future referendum. More to follow 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. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 21:12:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WINDHOEK, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Namibia is eyeing raising red meat exports to China and the Middle East with the view of broadening its market access and hiking agriculture export earnings, the state-owned Meat Board of Namibia (MBN) said Thursday. MBN Chief Marketing Officer Desmond Cloete said Namibia engaged the services of North-West University in South Africa to conduct a desktop market survey targeting China and the Middle East with the view of increasing red meat with special focus on beef, mutton and lamb exports to those destinations. The survey, which focused on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and China, showed that those markets are lucrative and will go a long way in allowing Namibia to withstand market competition from other African producers, according to Cloete. "The next step would be to select a clear market entry approach and the study proposed the following strategies including exporting under a private label/brand: This can either be under a local brand name of an importer or supermarket in the importing country or under a brand established in the exporting country and building the product in the targeted market," he said. Cloete said Namibia should organize trade missions that can visit China and the Middle East working together with the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development, the MBN or foreign missions in the region to create the needed synergies for more red meat product exports in those markets. He also called for Namibia to target participating trade shows such as Gulfood in Dubai, Sial in Abu Dhabi, Foodex Saudi in Jeddah, Kuwait International Agro Food Expo and Sial China in Shanghai to position their meat brands as a first option in those markets. Enditem Boys & Girls Club Receives Grant Funding The Boys & Girls Club of Hill County recently received $250,000 from the Sunderland Foundation and a $100,000 Challenge Grant from the Mabee Foundation to support the Building Hope a Home campaign. Funds will help to construct a dedicated clubhouse for the youth of Hill County. The Sunderland Foundation, based in Overland Park, Kansas, was established in 1945 by Lester T. Sunderland and after more than seven decades, the foundation continues to be led by Lester T.'s descendants. Grants from the foundation help build the places where families in distress find help and healing, where young minds grow and thrive and where communities come together for celebration and inspiration. The Mabee Foundation, based in Midland, was established in 1948 by John and Lottie Mabee. The generosity and commitment to wise philanthropy of John and Lottie Mabee continues to inspire others and to enrich the lives of many today. In order to receive the $100,000, the Boys & Girls Club must raise an additional $250,000 by January 12, 2022. In November, the Hillsboro City Council approved a 30-year lease agreement with the club for two acres of land in the northeast corner of the city park to construct the facility. Due to the beneficial services offered to the communitys youth, the club will only be charged $1 per year for the property. The new clubhouse will be 20,000 square feet with a technology lab, gymnasium, media room, commercial kitchen/cafeteria and outdoor amenities to provide year-round youth development programs and activities to the youth of Hill County. The Boys & Girls Club has played an integral role in Hill County since 1996, providing daily programs and services to over 300 young people. The club is open Monday through Friday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for after school programming, and summer hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The club offers programs that emphasize character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation. To learn more or make a contribution, visit the website at www.bgchillcounty.org; contact Lynne Garcia, Chief Executive Officer at 254-205-2046; or email lynne@bgchillcounty.org. Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a lecturer of the Central University, has called on the government to take Ghana's tourism seriously. He reminded the President of the huge benefits of tourism to the country stressing "tourism is one of the greatest avenues to generate revenues for the country". He appealed to President Nana Akufo-Addo and the tourism authorities to revitalize the country's tourism sector to attract many tourists into the country. He was commenting on the President's State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Dr. Benjamin urged the President to well-resource and equip the tourism sector of the economy. "Let's maintain it well, the washrooms and do proper roads leading to the tourist sites. Let's be serious with our maintenance culture. We should do proper marketing of the country to attract foreigners because if every year, many people come into the country because of tourism and they bring their dollars, it will help strengthen our currency," he said on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo". Watch video below 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. Featured Video Parents of children with food allergies face significant worry, severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress - according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Between six and eight per cent of children suffer a food allergy - with eggs, milk, and peanuts being the most common causes. They can cause vomiting, cramps, hives, swelling, eczema, breathing problems and in severe cases anaphylactic shock, which can lead to hospitalisation or death. A new study published today finds that more than 80 per cent of parents face 'significant worry' about their child's food allergy, while 42 per cent met the clinical cut-off for post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and 39 per cent reported moderate to extremely severe anxiety. Parents whose children have had to have an adrenaline auto-injector (for example an Epipen) administered were seven times more likely to experience PTSS. Judith Young, from UEA's Norwich Medical School and Addenbrooke's Hospital, noticed in her work as an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist that parents were describing psychological distress related to their child's allergy, but that there was little research into this. Dr Kate Roberts carried out the study as part of her doctoral thesis at UEA, in collaboration with Judith Young, Dr Alex Brightwell from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Prof Richard Meiser-Stedman, from UEA's Norwich Medical School. Dr Roberts said: "Caring for a child with a food allergy can be really challenging - not least because they can be exposed to the foods they are allergic to, even with very careful management. "We wanted to see how the parents of children with food allergies were affected by anxiety, worry and PTSS. And we also evaluated whether the level of anxiety and stress experienced was linked to factors such as the severity of the child's allergy." A total of 105 parents of children with medically diagnosed food allergies completed online questionnaires about their experiences. Around half of the children had been rushed to hospital at least once because of an allergic reaction. As well as considering the level of the child's allergy, the team also looked at the parents' intolerance of uncertainty - how they manage unforeseen events, like the fact that they cannot completely control their child's exposure to food they're allergic to. They also assessed the parents' 'self efficacy' - their confidence in allergy management. Dr Roberts, who now works at Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn, said: "We found that a large proportion of the parents - 81 per cent - reported clinically significant worry and 42 per cent reported significant trauma symptoms related to their child's food allergy. "Parents who reported their child to have had an adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) administered, were around seven times more likely to report clinically significant PTSS. "Greater intolerance of uncertainty and lower food allergy self-efficacy were associated with poorer psychological outcomes. But we found mixed results for the relationship between allergy severity and parent mental health, with PTSS observed in parents of children with both life-threatening and milder allergies. "This really highlights the need for greater awareness about the mental health problems that parents of children with food allergies may be experiencing. "Knowing which factors could predict different psychological outcomes is important because it could help identify those parents who may be struggling with their mental health and help them overcome some of the problems they may be experiencing," she added. Dr Alex Brightwell, Consultant Paediatrician, said: "I am delighted to have had the opportunity to work with UEA in this important area to contribute to an emerging body of evidence and ongoing research about the impact of food allergies on families. Anxiety and worry about having a child with food allergies is something we are seeing on a day to day basis. We are looking forward to working with UEA on further research to develop tools to support families affected by food allergy." ### The research was led by UEA in collaboration with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 'Parental Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Pediatric Food Allergy' is published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology on March 11, 2021. Saharsa : , March 11 (IANS) An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) in Bihar was found in an intoxicated state by the DIG while he was on a surprise inspection following which the ASI was arrested. The incident has been reported from the Saurabazar police station in Bihar's Saharsa. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Pranav Kumar Praveen of the Kosi area upon reaching there for a surprise inspection found the ASI, Omprakash Ram, drunk. Subsequently, the DIG directed the Station House Officer to take prompt action. Saharsa Superintendent of Police Lipi Singh said that the ASI was examined at the Sadar Hospital where it was confirmed that he was drunk. According to sources, clarification has also been sought from the accused ASI. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had recently instructed that if a policeman is found in a state of intoxication, strictest action should be taken against him. The liquor ban law has been in force since 2016 in Bihar. The law prohibits the sale and consumption of any kind of liquor. 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. Residents in a wealthy Atlanta community are trying to create their own police force as part of a push for secession as the city is rocked by a crime wave with murders up 80 percent so far this year. The Buckhead Exploratory Committee, made up of residents of the city's richest neighborhood of Buckhead, are looking to break away from the city in the wake of a surge in violent crime that has left people 'genuinely concerned for their safety.' In recent months, home surveillance footage captured the moment a man sprinted to reach the safety of his home as a car pulled up with a man brandishing a rifle. Meanwhile, one woman was thrown to the ground on her driveway and had a gun held to her head before robbers made off with her purse and cellphone in the affluent area, often dubbed the 'Beverly Hills of the South.' The violence claimed the life of the area's youngest victims back in December when a seven-year-old girl was shot in the head and killed during a Christmas shopping trip with her family. The surge in crime in Buckhead is part of a wider surge across the city in the last year after around 200 officers left the force in the wake of the shooting death of black man Rayshard Brooks by a white cop in June. Brooks' death and the unrest that marred the city amid a nationwide reckoning calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism led many officers to quit. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms admitted in December she doesn't know how to stop the alarming wave of violence and is 'open to suggestions.' Home surveillance footage shows a man sprinting to reach the safety of his home as a car pulled up outside with a man touting a rifle The Buckhead Exploratory Committee told The Wall Street Journal residents want to create their own police force because they no longer feel protected while going about their day-to-day lives. 'Our residents are genuinely concerned for their safety and the safety of their family members,' they said. 'Residents must be wary and 'on guard' continuously, even when doing routine tasks like going to the gas station, nearby shopping mall, shopping at the grocery store or just pulling into their driveways, mindful if anyone is lurking in the bushes.' The proposal had been put forward prior to the recent crime wave but gained new ground in 2020 as residents voiced concerns over a rise in street racing and crime. City officials have opposed the idea to separate the wealthy, largely white neighborhood from the rest of Atlanta, which is predominantly black, arguing it would siphon away much of the city's tax base and, in turn, its budget. Buckhead's population is 73.5 percent white and 23.9 percent black. This compares to the wider Atlanta population which is 50.7 percent black and 38 percent white, according to Data US. Aside from secession, other residents are planning to move out of Buckhead to quieter parts of the suburbs to get away from concerns around rising crime. One woman told WSJ she and some of her friends are planning to move after she lost her 'sense of security' in her own home following an armed robbery on her driveway in January. Across Atlanta, homicides were up 80 percent in the period running January 1 to February 20 compared to the same period last year, shootings were up 32 percent and robberies 17 percent BUCKHEAD, GEORGIA: ONE OF THE NATION'S WEALTHIEST ZIP CODES Buckhead is known as Atlanta's commercial and residential district, famed for its high-rise buildings and shopping centers, hotels and mansions. The neighborhood is a historically wealthy district and was once ranked the ninth richest zip code in the country with a median price of homes of $1,460,595, according to Forbes. American suburban luxury home in Buckhead, Atlanta Bloomberg named Buckhead the 20th richest zipcode in the nation in 2011, when the average household net worth there was $1,353,189. The average household income was $280,631. Because of this, Buckhead is often called the 'Beverly Hills of the East/South', in reference to the upscale city in California. Buckhead is also known to have a few notable residents, including Georgia Republican Kelly Loeffler. Loeffler was among the wealthiest members of Congress until she lost her seat in January. In 2009, she and her husband spent more than $10million on a European-style mansion named Descante in the Buckhead neighborhood. Advertisement Lauren Lenoir, a 43-year-old restaurant general manager, said she pulled into her home after a shift one night when two men appeared and threw her to the ground. They allegedly held a gun to her head before running off with her purse and cellphone. 'He had no regard for my life. They've stolen something that I cannot get back, and that is my sense of security,' she said. Another man, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2002, said several of his neighbors are also considering moving after he was followed home after buying takeout pizza for his family last summer. Shocking surveillance footage captures the moment he arrives home and the man following him pulls up and takes out a rifle. The victim is seen running into his home where he calls 911, causing the man to flee. 'You kind of are hopeful that this is a near-term trend,' he told the WSJ. 'At first it's just a one-off, but then it keeps happening and you wonder, are we just stupid for staying here?' One of the most shocking crimes in the neighborhood came just before Christmas when seven-year-old Kennedy Maxie was fatally shot in the back of the head while riding in a car with her aunt and mother in Buckhead. The young girl had just finished Christmas shopping with her family at the Phipps Plaza mall in the affluent Atlanta suburb when several men in a nearby parking lot got into a fight that led to gunfire. Kennedy died of her injuries five days later. The violence continued into the new year with a man shot at a Buckhead nightclub in the early hours of February 28. Crime data from Atlanta Police Department shows robberies increased 40 percent in the period running January 1 to February 20 compared to the same period last year in zone two which covers Buckhead. Aggravated assaults also increased 35 percent, auto theft 63 percent and larceny from auto theft 32 percent. Overall year to date offenses were up 13 percent. However, there were two murders and two rapes by this time last year compared to one murder and two rapes so far this year. In the fall, local leaders and organizations in the community introduced the Buckhead Security Plan to protect businesses and residents in response to growing concerns with the spate in crime. The proposal, which was backed by the police department, the Atlanta Police Foundation, members of the Fulton County Commission, and a member of Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms' administration, aims to increase public safety using law enforcement officers from local and state agencies. The plan is divided into two major categories, the first being 'Deterrence & Enforcement,' which seeks to install more license plate readers and cameras to cover all major intersections in the neighborhood. Back in December, seven-year-old Kennedy Maxie (pictured) was fatally shot in the back of the head while riding in a car with her aunt and mother in Buckhead The surge in crime in Buckhead is part of a wider surge across the city in the last year with Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (pictured) admitting in December she doesn't know how to stop the alarming wave of violence and is 'open to suggestions' It also calls for a coordinated security patrol which would consist of extra-duty officers from the APD, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and private security firms, according to the website. Under its second category, titled, 'Policy & Procedural Change', the proposal calls for 'new approaches' to ongoing issues and crackdowns on noise, 'street racing' and 'spot checking overcrowding at problematic establishments'. 'We are taking action to reverse recent trends in crime, hold lawbreakers accountable, and restore citizen confidence that Buckhead is safe and secure,' said Jim Durrett, president of Buckhead Coalition and executive director of Buckhead Community Improvement District. 'The partners collaborating on this effort understand the urgency of the situation and are committed to responding in ways that meet the needs of this moment and put Buckhead on a solid footing for years to come.' But the spate of violence stretches further than Buckhead with homicides up 80 percent across Atlanta in the period running January 1 to February 20 compared to the same period last year, crime data shows. Rayshard Brooks (pictured) was shot dead in the drive-thru lane of an Atlanta Wendy's by a white cop back on June 12 Shooting incidents also rose 32 percent, robberies 17 percent and aggravated assaults and auto thefts were both up 47 percent. 2020 also marked the deadliest day the city has seen in more than two decades with 157 people murdered, up from 99 the year before, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Experts and officials have put the crime surge down to the pandemic and fewer cops on the streets after hundreds left the force in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests. More than 200 cops quit in 2020 as protests erupted calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism following the Memorial Day alleged murder of black man George Floyd at the hands of white cop Derek Chauvin. One month after Floyd's death, police killings of black men and women hit closer to home when Rayshard Brooks was shot dead by a white cop in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant in downtown Atlanta. Brooks death ignited protests over Floyd's death further in the city. Garrett Rolfe, the cop who shot Brooks dead, was fired and he was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and violation of oath by a public officer. Police Chief Erika Shields stood down in June and hundreds of cops railed behind their cop colleagues with a 'blue flu' protest. There are now around 1,700 officers on the force compared to 2,046 it is authorized to have at one time. Stark research released in January shows a crime wave rocked most cities across America last year, as the pandemic pushed many into poverty while the police killing of George Floyd sparked both distrust in law enforcement and many cops to resign Bottoms and Interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant announced a raft of measures in January including training officers in new policing methods, a new focus on recruitment and more resources into tackling gang and gun violence. Stark research released in January shows a crime wave rocked most cities across America last year, as the pandemic pushed many into poverty while the police killing of George Floyd sparked both distrust in law enforcement and many cops to resign. Homicides rose in 29 of 34 cities surveyed in the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice report, with homicide rates up 30 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 as an extra 1,268 people were murdered. The report called for immediate action to tackle the trend, writing: 'Subduing the pandemic, increasing confidence in the police and the justice system, and implementing proven anti-violence strategies will be necessary to achieve a durable peace in the nation's cities.' FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the coronavirus pandemic as well as police staffing issues have played a key part in the rise in crime. 'The violent crime problem over the last year in particular, 2020, is something that is a great concern that we are very warily keeping our eye on,' he said. State miner Coal India has approved as many as 32 new coal mining projects worth a total investment of US$6.4 billion, as one of the worlds largest coal consumers looks to reduce reliance on imports as its coal demand continues to grow. A total of 24 of the 32 projects will be for the expansion of existing operations, while eight will be greenfield projects, Indian media quoted the company as saying this week. The combined incremental peak capacity of these projects is expected at 193 million tons per year, which is a record capacity addition for Coal India in its history. While major developed economies look to reduce reliance on coal as part of emission reduction goals, India, which will be the key driver of global energy demand in the coming decades, continues to rely heavily on coal, and its demand is expected to continue to rise. Despite its renewable and low-carbon push, India continues to bet big on coal, and the share of coal in total primary energy consumed has been broadly stable, around 56 percent in recent years, according to BPs Energy Outlook 2020. Related Video: Institutional Investors Hold $1.03 Trillion In Coal Indias lockdown to contain the pandemic reduced its coal demand last year, but coal use is anticipated to increase by 3.8 percent this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual Coal 2020 report in December. In the medium term (to 2025), India has one of the highest potentials to increase coal consumption as electricity demand rises and more steel and cement are required for infrastructure projects, the IEA said. In the energy mix in India, coal accounts for 70 percent, while the country is expected to be the biggest driver of global energy demand over the next 20 years as its population continues to increase fast and affluence spreads, the IEA said in a report last month. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: RTHK: Blinken set for Alaskan meet with Chinese officials US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with top Chinese officials on March 18 during a stop in Alaska, the State Department said on Wednesday, marking the first high-level in-person contact between the two countries under the Biden administration. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will join the meeting in Anchorage with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and State Councillor Wang Yi. The meeting will follow Blinken's first overseas trip to US key allies Japan and South Korea. The two sides will discuss "a range of issues," the department said in a statement without giving further details. China's embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment. President Joe Biden's administration has committed to reviewing elements of US policies toward China, as the world's two largest economies navigate frosty relations that sank to their lowest depths in decades during the Trump administration. Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, held their first phone call as leaders last month and appeared at odds on most issues, even as Xi warned that confrontation would be a "disaster" for both nations. Blinken told Yang in a phone call earlier in February that the United States would stand up for human rights and democratic values in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. He also pressed China to condemn the military coup in Myanmar, and reaffirmed that Washington will work with allies to hold China accountable for efforts to threaten stability of Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait. The talks with China will follow a visit by Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea next week, as well as an online summit on Friday between Biden and the leaders of Japan, India and Australia. That will be the first leader-level meeting of the four-country group, known as the Quad, seen as part of US efforts to boost its diplomacy in Asia to balance China's growing military and economic power. Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said holding the meeting after the engagements with partners in Asia would send the message to Beijing that US alliances are strong. "The Biden administration has crafted this arrangement to signal that it is engaging from a position of strength," Glaser said, adding that she expected discussions to focus on areas of disagreement, including China's policies toward Hong Kong, its pressure on Taiwan, its treatment of Uighurs, and what Washington sees as economic coercion against Australia. "If the Chinese repeat their messages contained in recent speeches that the US is to blame for the problems in the US-China relationship and therefore the ball is in the US court, then nothing positive will come of this meeting," she said. Reuters) ______________________________ Last updated: 2021-03-11 HKT 03:46 This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A group of Minneapolis police-reform advocates expressed concerns Wednesday about the makeup of the jury in the trial of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin. Five jurors had been seated by the end of the day three white men, along with a woman of color and a Black man, in a case that has sparked a national reckoning over racial bias in policing. Nine more jurors will be chosen before opening statements begin in the trial over George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police. "We need people of color on the jury, we need Black elders on the jury," lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong said. "We need people who have a history of understanding the context for what is happening in this country." Jess Sundin of Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar said she is concerned that already three selected jurors have personal relationships with police. "To me that's already tilted," Sundin said. The advocates also hoped to raise awareness around a number of bills introduced this legislative session that they said would be starting points in holding police officers accountable in Minnesota. "This week many families, many people across the state of Minnesota and across this country are looking to our state and to the trial of officer Chauvin," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The eight proposed bills include access to footage within 24 hours of critical incidents, the elimination of the statute of limitations for wrongful-death lawsuits, civilian oversight and a ban on no-knock warrants. They also seek an end to qualified immunity that can shield government officials from lawsuits, an end to prosecution for false reporting of police brutality, the formation of an agency to investigate and prosecute critical police incidents as well as police liability insurance and mobile mental health crisis response teams. Story continues Levy Armstrong and Michelle Gross, of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said they worried about parallels with the trial of former St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, acquitted in the death of Philando Castile in 2016 during a traffic stop. Many people thought the Yanez case would be a slam dunk for a conviction, Levy Armstrong said, but the majority of the jury was white, with just two young Black people. She questioned whether she would have buckled under pressure at 18 or 19 years old. "Would I have been able to withstand being on a jury in a complicated situation where police officers are rarely if ever charged, and be able to stand against white people who typically have the opinion that officers are there to protect and serve?" Levy Armstrong said. "Anybody who had any sympathy for the movement for people fighting for justice, they were waived from the jury," Gross said. "It was then that I knew there would be no conviction." Much of what happens in a trial is dependent on jury selection, said Gross. "It is a huge part of this trial; it is not an afterthought," she said. "Who sits on that jury means everything, and I'm deeply fearful just watching what I'm seeing so far." Zoe Jackson covers young and new voters through the Report For America program, supported by the Minneapolis Foundation. 612-673-7112 @zoemjack Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Strategic Industries Oleh Urusky at a meeting with members of the Kyiv Association of Military Attaches (KAVA) spoke about the main functions and tasks of the Ministry, the website of the government portal reports. "Military-technical cooperation with foreign partners is a priority for the Ministry of Strategic Industries, and we are open to deepening it on a mutually beneficial basis. The Ministry has already organized and held bilateral meetings with representatives of diplomatic institutions and other state structures from more than 20 states. A substantive dialogue has been established with some of them, the result of which is the signed bilateral international documents," Urusky said. He also spoke about activities of the Ministry of Strategic Industry, in particular, that in March 2021 the ministry expects to close the process of implementing the law of Ukraine on defense procurements. "The state defense order of the current year must be fulfilled according to new legislation that complies with international standards," the official said. It is reported that the meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Strategic Industries was attended by military attaches from 31 countries of the world. He told officers he was driving home when he saw on his phone app a man approach the camera in his bedroom and turn it facedown to block the view, the complaint alleged. The burglar appeared to have done the same thing with two other cameras in the home, he said. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE: FMAN SALMON, Idaho, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Freeman Gold Corp. (CSE: FMAN) (FSE: 3WU) ("Freeman" or the "Company") is pleased to provide assay results of core from an additional 11 of 34 diamond drill holes on Freeman's 100% owned Lemhi Gold Project located in Idaho. The objective of the 2020 Phase 1 drill program was designed to confirm historical mineralization and allow the use of over 355 historical drill holes in a maiden National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate. The drill program focused on infill and step-out drilling within the known mineralized body to increase confidence and maximize the potential resource. All holes drilled to date have intersected high-grade shallow oxide gold. Selected highlighted results from the additional 11 holes are 2.6 g/t Au over 14.1m (FG20-005C); 1.6 g/t Au over 86m, including 2.2 g/t Au over 20.2m (FG20-007C); 0.9 g/t Au over 174.2m, including 3.9 g/t Au over 18.5m (FG20-008C); and 3.5 g/t Au over 9.5m (FG20-013C). Gold mineralization extends to at least 210 meters and is open at depth. FG20-014C was drilled to test mineralization beneath the intrusion. Mineralization discovered below the intrusive unit encountered 1.2 g/t Au over 21.8m demonstrating that the mineralization not only continues at depth but to the east. This drill hole was the easternmost hole drilled during the 2020 campaign. This new zone remains open on strike. In addition, drill hole FG201-008 ended in mineralization (181.93m to 182.97m contained 2.39 g/t Au), suggesting either additional mineralized stacks at depth and or proximity to a feeder zone. The results are being interpreted by technical staff for future follow up activities. Table 1 Significant Drill Results Drill Hole ID Azimuth, Dip (degrees) Total Depth (m) Depth (m) Interval (m) Average Grade (g/t Au) From To FG20-004C 298 -75 223 0 27.4 27.4 0.4 and 93.0 167.0 74 0.7 including 93.0 107.2 14.2 1.8 and 208.2 209.9 1.7 5.2 FG20-005C 360 -90 210 43.0 57.1 14.1 2.6 including 49.0 57.1 8.1 3.5 and 66.9 123.5 56.8 0.5 FG20-007C 360 -90 182 7.4 181.7 174.3 0.8 including 15.8 36.0 20.2 2.2 including 90.0 97.5 7.5 6.3 including 14.9 100.9 86.0 1.6 FG20-008C 360 -90 184 9.4 183.6 174.2 0.9 including 64.7 71.8 7.1 3.8 including 82.1 100.6 18.5 3.9 FG20-009C 360 -90 197 16.5 183.1 166.6 0.3 including 155.1 162.0 6.9 2.6 FG20-010C 360 -90 173 100.0 136.9 36.9 0.6 including 108.0 113.1 5.1 1.7 FG20-011C 360 -90 173 12.1 153.0 140.9 0.3 including 118.1 122.0 3.9 5 including 118.1 132.0 13.9 1.9 FG20-012C assays pending FG20-013C 360 -90 184 106.9 127.2 20.3 2.1 including 109.1 118.6 9.5 3.5 including 110.2 116.9 6.7 4.3 FG20-014C 360 -90 286 70.0 75.0 5.0 1.1 and 157.9 179.7 21.8 1.2 including 159.0 163.0 4.0 2 FG20-015C 360 -90 201 35.0 59.0 24.0 1 including 49.0 51.0 2.0 4.8 and 113.0 124.0 11.0 2.1 including 113.0 117.0 4.0 4.9 and 146.0 168.0 22.0 0.3 FG20-016C 360 -90 164 64.8 101.1 36.3 0.25 including 71.0 72.0 1.0 4.3 *Intervals are core-length. True width is estimated between 90-95 percent ("%") of core length. Will Randall, President and CEO, commented, "These drill results continue to demonstrate the consistent high grade, near surface nature of the gold mineralization at Lemhi. We have now received assay results, which have exceeded expectations, for half of the holes drilled by Freeman. In particular, we are very pleased at the response to drill testing the high-grade structures which are behaving in a consistent and predictable manner. We are also encouraged by FG20-014C which is our first drill hole to explore possible repetitions of the flat lying structures at depth below a predominant intrusive body. We now have confirmed that gold mineralization continues at depth and will be working on follow up work to maximize this discovery." Geologically, the Lemhi Gold Project lies within the Idaho-Montana porphyry belt, a northeast-trending alignment of metallic ore deposits and mines related to granitic porphyry intrusions. These extend north-easterly across Idaho and are related to the Trans-Challis fault system, a broad (20-30 km-wide) system of en-echelon northeast-trending structures extending from Boise Basin more than 270 km into Montana. At Lemhi, gold mineralization is hosted in Mesoproterozoic quartzites and phyllites within a series of relatively flat-lying lodes consisting of quartz veins, quartz stockwork and breccias. Mineralized lodes are associated with low angle faults, folding and shear zone(s). The mineralized zones have varying amounts of sulphides (pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite, molybdenum, and occasionally arsenopyrite) where free gold is common. Gold mineralization at Lemhi is open at depth and on strike. All drill core and rock samples are sent to ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada, an independent and fully accredited laboratory (ISO 9001:2008) for analysis for gold by Fire Assay and multi-element Induction Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy (select drill holes). Freeman has a regimented Quality Assurance, Quality Control ("QA/QC") program where at least 10% duplicates, blanks and standards are inserted into each sample shipment. Core photos and drill sections can be found at www.freemangoldcorp.com. Drill holes are not analyzed in order but as shipments were logged in at the laboratory. The technical content of this release has been reviewed and approved by Dean Besserer, P. Geo., VP Exploration for the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About the Company Freeman Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the development of its 100% owned Lemhi Gold property (the "Lemhi Project"). The Lemhi Project comprises 30 square kilometers of highly prospective land. The mineralization at the Lemhi Project consists of shallow, near surface primarily oxide gold mineralization that has been identified over 355 drill holes and is open at depth and in multiple directions. The Company is completing an initial Phase 1 diamond drill program for a maiden NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate. On Behalf of the Company William Randall President and CEO Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited to statements relating to its future business plans. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that 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 from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law. Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Freeman Gold Corp. Related Links https://freemangoldcorp.com/ Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The pandemic has been devastating to restaurants, as well as the rest of the hospitality industry. But as damaging as it's been, the ensuing shutdown has shown that restaurants have worked creatively to keep serving food to an eager audience and now have the opportunity to change up the employee dynamic to benefit both the workers and industry. Wilson addresses the plight of restaurant workers in his new book Front of the House, Back of the House: Race and Inequality in the Lives of Restaurant Workers. Drawing on his research at high-end restaurants in Los Angeles, he chronicles two unequal worlds of work that exist within the upscale LA restaurant scene. He shows what keeps these workers apart, explores race, class, and gender inequalities in the food service industry, and highlights why these inequalities persist. He points to discriminatory hiring and supervisory practices that ultimately grant educated whites access to the most desirable positions. Additionally, he shows us how workers navigate these inequalities under the same roof, making sense of their jobs, their identities, and each other in a world that reinforces their separateness. "My students sometimes ask me 'How do I go about studying social inequality?' I tell them, that's easy: Start by looking more closely at the everyday places where you eat, shop, play, and work," Wilson observed. Using the research he did for his book, Wilson has written two articles as supplements. In an article he wrote last year called "Pandemic Inequalities: Assessing the Fallout in the Restaurant Industry," Eli Wilson, a professor at The University of New Mexico Department of Sociology and Criminology, highlighted the breadth of issues that affected the service sector that works in restaurants. Kitchen workers (who are often undocumented) and front-of-the-house (FOH) workers (who are often young, white, and middle class) at takeout places and sit-down restaurants had different distressing experiences during the pandemic. Undocumented workers, who usually work behind the scenes with low wages and few benefits, couldn't access assistance without proper paperwork, despite the fact that they had paid into the taxes funding that aid. Front house workers who often depended on tips for a good part of their wages, such as hosts, servers, bartenders, baristas, and cashiers, also suffered because fewer customers meant fewer hours and fewer tips. "Tips thus function as racialized and classed forms of income because they flow primarily to front-of-house workers who are often young, white, and highly educated and stop short of the Brown and Black workers in the kitchen. Under the hood of hospitality, the reproduction of social inequality feelsand lookslike business as usual," he said. The article captured media attention as the country plunged into pandemic isolation, restaurants closed, people turned to new ways to "eat out," and employees were pitched into job instability and loss. In his new article, "Can Restaurants Become Drivers of OpportunityNot Inequality?" published in Zocalo Public Square, an Arizona State University journalism syndicate, Wilson suggests eateries will now have to reckon with these issues as the pandemic restrictions lift and they reopen. To their benefit, he hopes. "Restaurants have been hit from all sides during the pandemic, and I feel for all the small business owners who have lost or nearly lost their life's work," Wilson remarked. "But if returning to 'normal' means returning to paying workers, particularly underprivileged Black and Brown workers, near minimum wage with little chance to move up, we need to absolutely make the effort to imagine a new normal." "[The] current disruption in the restaurant industry, for all the pain and economic loss it's caused, provides an opening to disrupt the established models, and reckon with both the decline of hospitality and the reality of restaurant inequality. To recover and thrive in the years ahead, this essential American business will need to bring its time-honored cultural traditions into greater alignment with the social movements that define our times," he writes in the article. He notes in his article the importance of the hospitality industry and how the food service industry stepped up in new ways to continue to serve their clientele, citing delivery platform options, meal subscriptions, and online storefronts with offsite "ghost kitchens." Takeout and drive-through sales skyrocketed too. But behind these innovations is an army of precariously and inequitably employed people. As the hospitality industry opens back up, he argues, more needs to be done to combat the inequalities. Restaurateurs, Wilson says in his new article, are in a unique position to help make their places of business more equitable places of employment. Continuing the old norms could be bad for business as social-savvy diners are more aware of the "exploitative and racially unequal norms of the past" for the people fixing and serving their food. He reasons that it would behoove restaurants to expand training and advancement opportunities, value worker input, and provide employees with a stake in the success of the places where they work. In turn, restaurants can use these efforts to market to the socially aware patronage they hope to attract, and thrive "as the engines of opportunity, not inequality." Wilson suggests that diners support these efforts at restaurants practicing "high road" employment standards like living wages, racial equity, and advancement opportunities. He introduces a new Yelp-like app that features these businesses, although coverage is currently limited. "Today we have a growing number of people who care deeply about the industry and its workers dovetailing with concerned consumers, as well as a national movement for equity and inclusion. If we hit this issue from enough angles, hopefully it'll budge the foundation in a more positive direction," Wilson concluded. Wilson will soon publish a new article derived from his new research on the craft beer industry and efforts under way to making breweries more inclusive spaces. Explore further Sociology professor examines pandemic effect on restaurants More information: Can Restaurants Become Drivers of OpportunityNot Inequality? Can Restaurants Become Drivers of OpportunityNot Inequality? www.zocalopublicsquare.org/202 ovid-19/ideas/essay/ The nephew of Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond is in critical condition in hospital following a head on collision on the family's ranch in Oklahoma. Caleb Drummond, 21, was seriously injured when a fire truck he was driving crashed into another fire truck driven by Ree's husband Ladd Drummond. The pair had been responding to a grass fire that was encroaching on the rural property on Wednesday, according to local CBS affiliate News On 6. Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's husband Ladd was involved in a crash on the family ranch in Oklahoma on Wednesday that left the couple's nephew in 'critical condition' Caleb Drummond, 21, was behind the wheel of a fire truck when he collided head on with a fire truck driven by Ladd as they responded to a grass fire about eight miles west of Pawhuska The crash happened on a country road about eight miles west of the town of Pawhuska, according to People. Citing the Oklahoma highway patrol, the outlet said the trucks hit one another 'head-on' due to 'high winds on a gravel road' that caused visibility to be decreased. Caleb, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was reportedly ejected from the truck and thrown 70 feet as a result of the impact. He suffered head, arm, leg and internal injuries, according to the OHP report, and is being cared for at the St. John Medical Center in Tulsa. Ladd Drummond, 57, declined medical treatment at the scene. High winds and smoke had led to reduced visibility at the time of the collision which happened at about 1:43 p.m. local time, according to local CBS affiliate News On 6 Caleb, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was reportedly ejected from the truck and thrown 70 feet as a result of the impact. He suffered head, arm, leg and internal injuries and is being treated at St. John's Medical Center in Tulsa Ladd Drummond, 57, pictured with wife Ree in 2017, declined medical treatment at the scene, according to reports According to local news outlet Fox23, firefighters in the area have been battling grass fires across northeastern Oklahoma since Monday. The Drummond family is one of the largest landowners in the U.S., owning 433,000 acres of property, and Ree and Ladd have raised their four children on their ranch in Pawhuska. Ree Drummond, 51, became famous for her popular cookbooks, blog and Food Network show. She also opened a Pioneer Woman-themed boutique hotel, a restaurant and a store in Pawhuska and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of fans flocked to the small town each week. Ree Drummond, 51, who married Ladd in 1996, became famous for her popular cookbooks, blog and Food Network show, all under her Pioneer Woman brand. Ree opened a Pioneer Woman-themed boutique hotel, a restaurant and a store in Pawhuska and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of fans flocked to the small town each week Ladd is now a key player at Drummond Land & Cattle Co, the notoriously private family-held company that Frederick Drummond started after arriving in this country from Scotland in the late 19th century. In addition to the money they bring in from their cattle and horse endeavors, Drummond Land has also received $23.9 million from the federal government via he Bureau of Land Management since December 2006. These contracts are awarded to the family to keep wild horses and burros on their massive property, with government records stating that they need the land to 'support animal protection.' Ree also came from money, growing up as the daughter of a surgeon on a country club in Bartlesville, about 20 miles east of Pawhuska. She left for school at the University of Southern California and, a few years after graduating, planned to move closer to home, to Chicago. Her plans took a detour when she stopped for a visit in Bartlesville and meet her Marlboro Man, who she wed in 1996, paving the way for the birth of her alter ego. It is now expected that the Five Tribes have greater power to levy taxes after the McGirt decision, but there are concerns about concurrent tax liabilities tribal citizens might face. Brian Lee The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, N.Y. (TNS) State attorney general Letitia James is suing David Elmendorf, the former owner of Bumpys Polar Freeze, alleging he used racist intimidation tactics against peaceful protesters last summer. The lawsuit marks the first such suit brought by the Attorney Generals Hate Crimes and Bias Prevention unit under new authority granted by the state Legislature last year, officials said. The lawsuit against Elmendorf aims to stop discrimination, harassment, violent threats, and what she said were false, race-based police reports, her office announced Wednesday. The suit further aims to hold him responsible for multiple racist and discriminatory actions he took in violation of the law shortly after the Upstate New York ice cream shops allegedly racist hiring practices came to light last year, James said in a statement. The lawsuit comes after Elmendorf was accused of saying in text messages that he doesnt hire Black people that brought protesters to the establishment on several occasions last summer, urging a boycott. He was then arrested and charged then with pointing a weapon that turned out to be a pellet gun at demonstrators and, in October, he was arrested on a felony charge after being accused of assaulting a process server outside his home. In altercations with peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters, Elmendorf brandished several weapons and made death threats in an effort to stop legal protests, while using a number of offensive, racial epithets when referring to Black protesters, James alleged. Following the altercations, Elmendorf called the police and falsely claimed protesters were brandishing weapons as he used their race and color as reasoning for the call. James said the lawsuit is the first brought by her Hate Crimes and Bias Prevention Unit, and it seeks to make use of new authority granted to James by the state legislature last year against those accused of making false, race-based police reports to local police. The turmoil at Bumpys came just months after the infamous Central Park Karen incident involving a white woman who falsely accused a black birdwatcher of threatening her, officials noted. In that case, Amy Cooper was accused of lying to New York City Police that an African-American man threatened her and her dog. The incident was caught on cell phone video in May 2020. The black man, Christian Cooper (no relation) had told her to leash her dog, per park rules. Charges against Amy Cooper were dismissed after she completed therapy sessions designed for introspection and progress. After the Central Park case, the state legislature passed a law giving James the authority to sue any person who, when motivated by racial or other bias, summons a police officer without reason to suspect a violation of the penal law. Those who make racist and violent threats will be held accountable by my office with the full weight of the law, James said. The charges against David Elmendorf should serve as a warning that hate crimes will not be tolerated on my watch and we will not allow any individual to use the color of someones skin as a weapon. Today, we are utilizing new authority, for the first time, to bring charges against an individual who filed false, race-based police reports. We must continue to remain vigilant against hate and bias in our communities, and I encourage anyone with information about a potential hate crime to contact my office. In June, text messages allegedly written by Elmendorf circulated on social media, revealing his use of racial epithets and refusal to hire Black people. Black Lives Matter and other groups protested against Elmendorf on private property near his ice cream stand. In a two-day span, the AG alleged, Elmendorf terrorized peaceful protesters by making several armed, racist death threats with both a .22 caliber air rifle and a baton. Elmendorf called local police and made false reports claiming protesters were armed, when, in fact, no protesters were carrying any weapons, James said. The AGs lawsuit seeks to force Elmendorf to pay a penalty of up to $500 for each instance where he attempted to violate a protesters right to peacefully protest, the statement read. The ice cream operation has since been sold to new owners and a new store is expected to reopen soon at the site under a new name. 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. Jeffrey Epsteins Manhattan mansion has been sold to an unidentified buyer for about $51 million, which will go to a fund providing restitution for the disgraced financiers sexual abuse victims. A lawyer for Mr. Epsteins estate said the seven-story mansion on East 71st Street was sold earlier this week although for considerably less than the initial $88 million asking price. The sale was completed after a judge in the U.S. Virgin Islands rejected an attempt by the territorys attorney general to freeze the sale of any further asset by his estate, which is now worth about $240 million. Once valued at nearly $600 million, the estate has been paying out expenses including taxes and contributions to the restitution fund, which has distributed about $55 million to dozens of Mr. Epsteins accusers. The attorney general, Denise George, requested the asset freeze after the estate said a cash crunch was preventing it from providing new money to the restitution fund. The judge overseeing the administration of Mr. Epsteins estate ruled that Ms. George did not have legal standing to request the asset freeze. PLYMOUTH, Mass., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With Massachusetts legalizing the use of legal marijuana for 21 years old above for residents in MA. Estrovia Medical Cannabis Research becomes one of the medical research websites for weeds to aid people needing cannabis use. The Estrovia Medical Cannabis Research aims to be the number one research website facility in the United States that is an avenue for patients asking for medical help in terms of weed-use. The Estrovia Medical Cannabis Research, founded by James David and professional medical experts of medical use of Cannabis, is a platform built to aid people needing the medicinal function of Cannabis. Cannabis has been long proven to have medicinal properties, which originated around 400 AD. The long history of the therapeutic use of Cannabis has been denied and banned. But passionate about the mission, the team from Estrovia selects the best and most professional medical experts to handle patients' assessments to give them the best advice for treatment. Many patients are looking for better therapeutic remedies for their ailments. As such, they look for alternatives that would give them a good night's sleep, stress-free mood and help them live a better life in the future. The Estrovia medical experts have selected the best products through extensive research that the Estrovia are most confident with. Alongside these products are the right prescriptions given to patients. The Estrovia also assures that the offered Cannabis should be FDA-approved Cannabis only and that the possession of Cannabis aligns with the existing laws of Massachusetts. It is a breakthrough for Estrovia that Massachusetts legalizes Marijuana, unlike any other states where it gives the medical experts an avenue to go through with medical use of Cannabis without fearing legal implications. Having the liberty to undergo such a process empowers the Estrovia.org to provide a 100% confidence level to the patients needing help. To learn more about the Estrovia Medical Cannabis Research, visit estrovia.org. About Estrovia Medical Cannabis Research. The Estrovia Medical Cannabis Research is an online website that helps promote a positive environment to patients who need professional help regarding cannabis medical use. The research facility aims to provide access to qualified patients of medical Cannabis for their treatment. The website has informative research papers concerning medical Cannabis. The website, with the help of professional experts, promotes a tranquil and positive environment for patients. Medical professional helps patients need. Learn more via www.estrovia.org Media contact: Sharon D. Haris 555-746-0834 SOURCE Estrovia Medical Cannabis Research Related Links https://estrovia.org Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said strict lockdown measures will be enforced in some parts of the state to contain the spread of COVID-19. Thackeray, 60, was speaking after receiving the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 at the government-run J J Hospital here. on Wednesday recorded 13,659 new cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state's caseload to 22,52,057. The state has so far reported 52,610 deaths due to the disease, as per official data. "Some areas of will witness strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the infection. The government is going to hold a special meeting with officials before coming out with the lockdown measures," Thackeray said. He said the government has been requesting people to wear mask, maintain physical distance and avoid moving out unnecessarily. Earlier in the day, minister Nitin Raut announced a "strict lockdown" in the Nagpur police commissionerate limits from March 15 to 21. Raut is the guardian minister of Nagpur. Last month, lockdown was enforced in Amravati, while certain restrictions were imposed in some other districts of the Amravati division. Meanwhile, the chief minister took the first shot of 'Covishield' vaccine at the J J Hospital here on Thursday. His wife Rashmi Thackeray and mother-in-law also received the vaccine doses. The CM was accompanied by his son and state cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray. (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.) Join Bright Mountain Media, Recruiter.com, DGTL Holdings, and Earthasia International Holdings at the Proactive One2One Investor Forum on March 16 Inc (OTCMKT:BMTM) is one of four companies that will present at Proactives virtual investor conference on Tuesday, March 16. Hosted by Proactive's Christine Corrado, the event kicks off at 1.00pm ET. This is an online variant of the popular conference format Proactive has run for more than a decade and enables communication between investors and management from some of the world's cutting-edge businesses. Bright Mountain Media is an end-to-end digital media and advertising services platform, connecting brands with targeted consumer demographics. Through the removal of middlemen in the advertising services process, the Florida-based company not only links brands and consumers but maximizes revenue for publishers as well. Bright Mountain Medias assets include Bright Mountain LLC, MediaHouse (f/k/a NDN), Oceanside (f/k/a S&W Media), and Wild Sky Media, including 24 owned and/or managed websites as well as 15 CTV apps. The company generates advertising services revenue from advertisements (ad impressions) placed on its owned and managed sites, as well as from advertisements placed on partner websites, for which the company earns a share of the revenue. Bright Mountain Media also generates advertising services revenue from facilitating the real-time buying and selling of advertisements at scale between networks of buyers, often called DSPs (Demand Side Platforms) and sellers, often called SSPs (Supply Side Platforms). 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 value for shareholders The format: The E.U. exports millions of vaccine doses Despite being accused of vaccine nationalism and protectionism, the European Union has exported 34 million doses of coronavirus vaccines in recent weeks to dozens of countries, even as it trails behind the United States, Britain and Israel in its own vaccine drive, according to internal documents seen by The Times. That news, E.U. officials conceded privately, was bound to outrage European citizens in 27 nations who were still waiting for their shots while watching people in other countries race past them to reopen their economies and resume safer, more normal public lives. By the numbers: Just 6.5 percent of people in the E.U. have received at least one shot, compared with nearly 58 percent of Israelis, 33 percent of Britons and 19 percent of Americans. CNN) -- The $1.9 trillion coronavirus package contains a wide range of benefits to help Americans who are still struggling with the economic fallout of the pandemic. The House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday, paving the way for President Joe Biden to sign it into law later this week. Here's how Americans could benefit from the legislation: If your family makes less than $160,000 a year The bill provides direct payments worth up to $1,400 per person to married couples earning less than $160,000, heads of households earning less than $120,000 a year and individuals earning less than $80,000 a year. The stimulus payments will phase out faster this time than they have in the past -- but for those who do qualify, the new payments will top up the $600 checks approved in December, bringing recipients to a total of $2,000 apiece. Individuals earning less than $75,000 will receive the full $1,400. Married couples earning less than $150,000 a year will receive $2,800 -- and families with children are eligible for an additional $1,400 per dependent. Heads of households earning less than $112,500 a year will also receive the full $1,400 plus another $1,400 per dependent. The income thresholds will be based on a taxpayer's most recent return. If they've already filed a 2020 return by the time the payment is sent, the IRS will base eligibility on their 2020 adjusted gross income. If not, it will be based on the 2019 return or the information submitted through an online portal set up last year for people who don't usually file tax returns. If you are unemployed The jobless will receive a $300 weekly federal boost to unemployment benefits and get those payments through September 6. Also, two key pandemic jobless benefits programs will be extended for the same period. The bill also calls for making the first $10,200 of unemployment payments tax-free for households with annual incomes under $150,000. Freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors and certain people affected by the pandemic can receive benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, while the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program increases the duration of payments for those in the traditional state unemployment system. Out-of-work Americans will start running out of benefits in the two programs this weekend, when provisions in December's $900 billion relief package begin phasing out. The $300 enhancement that was part of the December deal also ends this weekend. If you are hungry Food stamp recipients will see a 15% increase in benefits continue through September, instead of having it expire at the end of June. And families whose children's schools are closed may be able to receive Pandemic-EBT benefits through the summer if their state opts to continue it. The program provides funds to replace free- and reduced-price meals that kids would have been given in school. If you're behind on your rent or mortgage The bill will send roughly $20 billion to state and local governments to help low-income households cover back rent, rent assistance and utility bills. It authorizes about $10 billion to help struggling homeowners pay their mortgages, utilities and property taxes. The bill also provides $5 billion to help states and localities assist those at risk of experiencing homelessness by providing safe, socially distant housing, for example. Another $5 billion goes to emergency housing vouchers for those who are homeless. If you have children Many families with minor children will be able to claim a larger child tax credit for 2021. Low-income parents, in particular, would benefit. Qualifying families can receive a child tax credit of $3,600 for each child under 6 and $3,000 for each one under age 18, up from the current credit of up to $2,000 per child under age 17. The enhanced portion of the credit will be available for single parents with annual incomes up to $75,000 and joint filers making up to $150,000 a year. The tax credit will also become fully refundable so that more low-income parents could take advantage of it. Plus, households can receive payments monthly, rather than a lump sum once a year, which is aimed at making it easier for them to cover their expenses. Families paying for child care services can receive some additional aid. The bill will provide $39 billion to child care providers, some of which must be used to help families struggling to pay the cost. If you're sick If you're sick, quarantining or caring for an ill loved one or a child whose school is closed, the bills may provide your employer an incentive to offer paid sick and family leave. Unlike Biden's initial proposal, the bill does not reinstate mandatory paid family and sick leave approved in a previous Covid relief package. But it will continue to provide tax credits to employers who voluntarily choose to offer the benefit through October 1. Last year, Congress guaranteed many workers two weeks pay if they contracted Covid or were quarantining. It also provided an additional 10 weeks of paid family leave to those who were staying home with kids whose schools were closed. Those benefits expired in December. If you need health insurance More Americans can qualify for heftier federal premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act policies for two years. Enrollees will pay no more than 8.5% of their income towards coverage, down from nearly 10% now. Also, those earning more than the current cap of 400% of the federal poverty level -- about $51,000 for an individual and $104,800 for a family of four in 2021 -- will become eligible for help. Lower-income enrollees can have their premiums eliminated completely for two years, and those collecting unemployment benefits can sign up for coverage with no premiums in 2021. Also, laid-off workers who want to remain on their employer health insurance plans through COBRA will not pay any premiums from April through the end of September. If you own a small business The bill provides $15 billion to the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program, which provides long-term, low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration. Severely impacted small businesses with fewer than 10 workers will be given priority for some of the money. It also provides $25 billion for a new grant program specifically for bars and restaurants. Eligible businesses may receive up to $10 million and can use the money for a variety of expenses, including payroll, mortgage and rent, utilities and food and beverages. The Paycheck Protection Program, which is currently taking applications for second-round loans, would get an additional $7 billion and the bills would make more non-profit organizations eligible. Another $175 million would be used for outreach and promotion, creating a Community Navigator Program to help target eligible businesses. Who is out of luck? Workers being paid at or just above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour will not see a boost in pay. The Senate parliamentarian ruled in late February that increasing the hourly threshold to $15 does not meet a strict set of guidelines needed to move forward in the reconciliation process, which would allow Senate Democrats to pass the relief bill with a simple majority and no Republican votes. The-CNN-Wire & 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Wits' response to the national higher education financial crisis Professor Zeblon Vilakazi unpacks the issues and details Wits support for students. The issue of student funding is a national, system-wide issue, which Wits cannot solve alone, says Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University. The state and other social actors have a critical role to play in resolving this crisis. We need an urgent national debate on this crisis and our students need long-term, definitive solutions to funding higher education. Vilakazi also clarified issues related to registration and the 2021 academic year; student support; engagement with the SRC; the provision of financial aid, scholarships and bursaries by; and concessions made to enable students to access higher education. Student Debt It is worrying that student debt amounts to approximately R1 billion now, almost double what it was at the end of 2017, adds Vilakazi. But we remain committed to assisting as many academically talented students as possible to register, within the possibilities of the resources that we have available. We have to ensure that the University remains financially sustainable and that we continue to offer quality higher education. Student Exclusions and Debt It is not true that Wits has excluded 6 000 - 8 000 students, says Vilakazi. This number refers to all the students who owe Wits money over the last seven years, including some of whom have dropped out and others who have been academically excluded for failing multiple times, and who have lost their bursaries as a result. About 1 200 students have requested financial assistance from the Wits Hardship Fund in 2021 and Wits has already assisted 750 of these students who meet the criteria. Registrations Wits has registered 95% of its 2021 student cohort (35 841) out of about 37 500 students, including most first year students. There are still two postgraduate intakes in July and September. Wits has extended registration to 19 March 2021 for undergraduate students and to 12 March 2021 for postgraduate students, to provide students with more time to register, and to fully benefit from the academic programme. Academic programme and student support The academic programme commenced on Monday, 8 March 2021 with 25 000 students logging on to the new learning management system. Students who needed laptops were loaned devices that Wits couriered to their homes, along with 30GB of data per month. Engagement with the SRC Wits management representatives have had several meetings with the SRC since January. The University has repeatedly reached out to students and remains committed to engaging with students. The University has responded in writing to the SRCs demands. Read Wits SRCs Demands and Managements Response. Student financial aid, scholarships and bursaries Approximately 27 000 of the Universitys 37 500 students are on some form of financial aid, scholarship or bursary. Wits administers over R1 billion in financial aid and scholarships every year, of which R100 million is funded from the Wits Council budget. Concessions The University has made the following concessions to help students facing hardship to register: Established a Wits Hardship Fund worth R10 million to assist students who are experiencing financial hardship and who have historical debt (up to R120 000) to register and to secure accommodation, provided that they meet the criteria. In 2021, Wits received approximately 1 200 applications for assistance, of which more than 750 have already registered. The SRC has also been empowered to bring any special cases to the Wits Hardship Fund Committee for consideration. Established a once-off R10 million Vice-Chancellors Covid-19 Student Relief Fund to assist students who have been adversely affected by the pandemic Bridged the gap for students who are still awaiting for NSFAS funding (some R300 million) Allowed students who owe less than R10 000 from the previous year to register Allowed students to pay 50% of the debt (if above R10 000) to register Charged no interest on fees accrued in the 2020 academic year Provided significant rebates to students for the 2020 academic year Allowed students who are unable to pay the full amount owing to enter into a payment plan by signing an Acknowledgment of Debt agreement with the Fees Office. This payment plan enables students to pay off their fees over the remainder of the year. Students who meet the obligations of the payment plan are not charged interest. Wits remains committed to enabling access and to assisting students as far as possible within the resources that are available. We must keep the doors of learning open and remain financially sustainable, concludes Vilakazi. The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Thursday criticised the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for not enquiring about the health of injured Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital for almost 24 hours now. "Mamata Banerjee happens to be the only woman Chief Minister in the country. She was injured on Wednesday. But neither did the Prime Minister, nor the Union Home Minister enquire about her health since last night. This is quite surprising. How can they ignore such an incident," asked veteran Trinamool leader Lok Sabha MP Sougata Roy at a press conference here. Trinamool's Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said: "They (Narendra Modi and Amit Shah) could have at least shown some courtesy by showing some concern about her (Banerjee's) health". BJP Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee, and party leaders Samik Bhattacharya and Tathagata Roy, on the other hand, went to the SSKM Hospital on Thursday to see Banerjee. The trio was denied entry to the Woodburn building as they had reached there after the visiting hour, hospital sources said. "We came to see the Chief Minister at the hospital. We have enquired about her health. But we couldn't see her," said Roy. Wishing the Trinamool supremo a 'speedy recovery', Chatterjee said that she had spoken to Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien and asked about the CM's health updates. Throughout its life, the Chinook suffered many changes, but it pretty much stayed true to the engine family that powered it ever since conception. T55 is how the family is called; it was made first by Lycoming and presently by Honeywell Aerospace.At the beginning of this week, Honeywell said it was awarded by the U.S. Army a $476 million contract to keep supplying new and spare T55 engines until 2024. The company will also have to provide the control units for these powerplants.Supporting the U.S. Army Chinook Program is a bedrock principle for Honeywell Aerospace, said in a statement Steven Williams, vice president of Defense Aftermarket, Honeywell Aerospace. Our mission is manufacturing, maintaining, and modernizing T55 engines for the critical heavy-lift mission, and we take this mission seriously. We are very proud to continue our strong relationship with PEO Aviation, the U.S. Army and our warfighter.The T55 engine first appeared before the Chinook came onto the scene in 1955. In its early incarnations, it developed 1,600 shaft horsepower, but that increased with every version.The engines Honeywell is tapped to keep making are of the T55-GA-714A variety. They are capable of developing 4,800 shaft horsepower (22 percent more power than the preceding version, while using seven percent less fuel) and can take the Chinook to top speeds of 196 mph (315 kph).Since its introduction, over 6,000 T55 were made, flying for a combined 12 million hours. In the ongoing war in Afghanistan, this particular helicopter has the most recorded crashes to its name, including from hostile fire, more than the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache. When Jenna Roman of Vancouver, British Columbia, created a GoFundMe to track down her sons favorite waffles, she never dreamed of what it would become. Romans 10-year-old son, Jerico, is autistic and struggles with extreme oral aversion and complex eating challenges, including a highly sensitive gag reflex. He was diagnosed with autism at two years old, the single mom-of-three told TODAY Food. Hes struggled with this eating challenge since eight months ago. We have worked with so many feeding therapists, but he regresses when he is sick and we have to start all over again. Related: Since mid-March, Crystal MacDonald's daughter Ashlyn has been unable to eat anything else. Last winter, Jerico got extremely sick and stopped eating and drinking. He does [this] with any sickness, even the simple cold, Roman explained. But this time it was so hard on him and traumatic [that] he stopped eating for 12 days and stopped drinking for five days. During that time, he regressed so badly, he had to re-learn how to eat and drink again, which was so upsetting to him. The only food Jerico could stomach? Waffles. [They are] Jericos lifeline, Roman said, adding that Natures Path Maple Cinnamon Waffles were his brand of choice. Unfortunately, Roman soon learned that the brand discontinued the product and she told TODAY she felt sick to her stomach about what to do next. My desperation turned to social media to help me locate the remaining waffles, she said, adding that at the urging of a friend, she set up a GoFundMe to help cover waffle transportation costs. I was just hoping that people could look at their local stores to see if the waffles were there and could grab them for me so I could pay them and get them picked up. Related: To overcome food allergies, a mom gets down to work in the kitchen and forms a bond with her autistic son in the process. It wasnt long before the Canadian organic food brand learned about Jerico. Story continues We first heard about Jericos story last month after a few people reached out to us on social media, Ratana Stephens, CEO & Co-Founder of Natures Path, told TODAY. We heard how much he loved our Maple Cinnamon waffles, and how his mom Jenna was having a hard time finding them in stores, and we were really touched and wanted to help. Stephens shared that Natures Path made it their mission to track down any available waffles remaining in stores. We did a search across North America, and found eight remaining cases in our freezer warehouse in Illinois, she said. So we had those cases shipped up here, and then personally delivered them to Jenna and Jerico. But the brand wondered: What would happen when Jerico ran out of waffles? These were the last ones ever made, Stephens shared. So our incredible research and development team started working on adapting our commercial recipe for home use. The Natures Path team admitted modifying the recipe was more complicated than they anticipated. We use a lot of commercial ingredients in our production process that arent available at your local grocery store, and of course we wanted the ingredients to be easy to find, Stephens said. And we had to scale the amounts in the recipe way down. But our research and development team was determined to do it. They really went above and beyond, testing and tweaking the recipe. Related: Break out the waffle iron, mix up some batter and enjoy the best of breakfast all day! Start to finish, the process took about a month to develop before a waffle recipe was handed over to Roman and her family. They have come up with the perfect recipe that tastes just like the Natures Path Cinnamon Maple Waffles you used to be able to buy in the grocery store, Stephens said. It means the world to us to be able to help Jenna and Jerico. Many of us at the company were really affected by their story, and we are so happy we were able to help in some small way. As for Jerico, he has yet to try the new recipe and Roman intends to keep it that way. Honestly he has no clue any of this is going on, because it would trigger more anxiety for him around eating, she said, adding that she doesnt intend on telling him when the homemade waffles enter the rotation. I just am so appreciative for all the support, empathy, care from the community and really around the world now. This is just amazing how far Jericos story has gone. Related: The All India NR Congress (AINR Congress) headed by former Chief Minister N. Rangaswamy has entered into a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP and the combine for the April 6 Assembly elections in the Union Territory. As per the agreement, AINR Congress will contest 16 seats while the BJP- combine will contest 14 seats in the 30-member Assembly. Rangaswamy will be the Chief Minister if the combine is voted to power. It may be noted that Congress Chief Minister V. Narayanaswamy had resigned last month after several party MLAs, including senior minister A. Namasivayam and Congress working president A.K.D. Arumukham, had quit the party and joined the BJP. With Rangaswamy leading the front, the AINR Congress, BJP and combine has increased their strength but there are undercurrents with Namasivayam also reportedly eyeing the CM's post. The picture will be clear only after a few days. The DMK-Congress combine had contested the last Assembly elections in 21 and 9 seats, respectively, winning a total of 17 (15+2) seats to rule the state, defeating the AINR Congress. AIADMK, which went solo in the last Assembly elections, had managed four seats while the BJP had drawn a blank. BJP state president Swaminathan told IANS, "We have signed an electoral pact with the AINR Congress, which will contest 16 seats while our combine will fight 14 seats in the 30-member House." Leaders of the BJP and the AINR Congress were skeptical of the alliance getting through, but sources told IANS that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directly intervened in this as Rangaswamy is a powerful leader who can swing the elections in his favour. --IANS aal/arm (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 Biden administration took steps on Wednesday to address surging migration to the border, restoring a program allowing some Central American children to apply from their home country for admission to the United States and searching for additional housing for the increasing number of young migrants who have been detained after crossing from Mexico. Facing intensifying pressure over the prolonged detention of migrant children, Roberta S. Jacobson, a special assistant to President Biden overseeing border issues, announced the restart of an Obama-era program that allowed children in Central America to apply for protection in the region and avoid making the dangerous journey north to join parents already in the United States. That program and a $4 billion investment in Central America have been framed by the administration as crucial tools to addressing the poverty, persecution and corruption that have for years pushed vulnerable families to seek sanctuary in the United States. But the long-term strategy to deter illegal migration is running up against the immediate challenge of how to process thousands of migrant children at the U.S. border a situation that has drawn swift backlash from Republicans and Democrats. Troy Miller, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said on Wednesday that 9,457 children, including teenagers, were detained at the border without a parent in February, up from more than 5,800 in January. Detentions of unaccompanied minors in February more than doubled compared with the same period in 2020. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Nearly 1 million Michiganders have completed either their one or two-dose COVID-19 vaccine regiment through almost three months of rollouts. The state has administered 2,753,502 total shots, including 1,768,849 first doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and 984,653 second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna shots. In total, 990,330 residents were considered fully vaccinated as of the end of the day Tuesday, March 9, according to data published Wednesday evening by the Department of Health and Human Services. Vaccinations have sped up in recent weeks. Michigan administered 52,032 shots per day over the last week, up from 43,075 two weeks ago. The state has surpassed its goal of 50,000 shots per day two consecutive weeks. On Wednesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Michigan -- the 10th most populous state -- ranked 10th in the nation in vaccines in arms. Im proud of the progress we are making to equitably vaccinate Michiganders and Im confident we will reach our goal of administering shots to 70% of people ages 16 and up. The Biden administrations recent announcement that we will have enough doses for 300 million Americans by the end of May is nothing short of a miracle, and with three safe and effective vaccines and more on the way, were going to get through this together. Related: Vaccinated people can gather without masks, CDC says in new guidance Residents 50 years and older with underlying health conditions and disabilities became eligible for the vaccine on Monday, March 8, and all residents 50 to 64 years old will become eligible on Monday, March 22. Other groups already eligible include health system employees, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, first responders, school and childcare staff, corrections staff, agriculture workers and residents 65 years and older. Residents 65 years and older account for almost 54% of the vaccines that have been administered to date, while an additional 20% have gone to residents 50 to 64 years old. Data remains incomplete for breakdowns by demographic with about 35% of vaccines going to residents without data available on their race. Nearly 50% of vaccines have gone to white residents, while less than 5% have gone to Black residents, and about 10% have gone to residents of other races. Hospitals account for 1,044,389 doses administered to date, followed by 933,603 from local health departments and 565,473 from pharmacies. Oakland County leads all other counties with 367,011 doses administered, followed by Wayne with 294,198, Macomb with 218,858 and Kent with 199,884. However on a per capita basis, the Upper Peninsula and other Northern Michigan counties lead the way. Michigan has seen an increase in new cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. The state is averaging 1,362 cases and 20 deaths per day over the last week, and on Wednesday hospitals were caring for 929 patients with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. Read more on MLive: Tracking a year of coronavirus in Michigan At least one Michigan hospital isnt using its extra coronavirus vaccine doses Walk-in clinic aims to vaccinate more than 1K veterans in single day in West Michigan COVID-19 one year later: This is our life now Dairy co-op Dale Farm has redesigned its brand to better communicate its farmer co-operative credentials as part of its three-year growth strategy. The Northern Irish co-op said it had revamped its consumer facing brand to 'reflect a more contemporary style' after 50 years of its previous branding. The new design brings farming to the forefront visually, as well as incorporating the brand mission Sharing Goodness Everyday. Its corporate identity has also been redesigned to align with the new look, using the strapline Your Dairy Cooperative to place focus on the role of the 1,300 farmer suppliers. Nick Whelan, group chief executive of Dale Farm, said the new look celebrated the central role of farmers in its products. We carried out extensive consumer research aligned with our ambitious business growth plans and our desire to compete at a high level in todays marketplace. The results showed that it was time to refresh our identity. The brand has been known and loved for generations yet has not been reinvigorated for half a century." Dale Farm's three year growth plan will see the dairy co-op grow its presence within existing and new markets. It will also see the co-operative deepen its presence in a variety of dairy product categories. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An appeals court on Thursday declined to reinstate former Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014. The city of Cleveland didnt fire Loehmann for any action he took during the November 2014 killing of Rice, but rather for lying on his initial application about his reason for leaving his previous job at a suburban police department. A three-judge panel at the 8th District Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County on Thursday held unanimously that the Cleveland Police Patrolmans Association, which appealed the decision, failed to formally serve the citys attorneys with a copy of its application to vacate the arbitration award upholding Loehmanns firing within three months. The courts, therefore, did not have jurisdiction to hear the unions challenge, the appeals court found. Judges Mary Boyle, Eileen A. Gallagher and Eileen T. Gallagher, made the decision. The courts official opinion has not yet been published. Tamirs mother, Samaria Rice, released a statement through her attorney Subodh Chandra. I am relieved that the officer who killed my child is not going to come back and be a police officer in Cleveland, Samaria Rice said in the statement. Chandra attacked the police union in a statement of his own. The Cleveland police unions unabashed efforts to re-inflict on the public an officer who slew a child and lied on his application displays that organizations continuing contempt for our community and corrupt character, Chandra said. Fortunately, its relentless immorality is exceeded only by its breathtaking incompetence. CPPA president Jeff Follmer told cleveland.com that the union will appeal the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court. Its disappointing that the decision wasnt on the merits of the appeal, Follmer said. We feel that the city was notified correctly. We have a timeline where everything was notified to the city. A City of Cleveland spokeswoman said in a statement that the city is pleased with the courts ruling. The City has consistently maintained throughout this process that Loehmanns termination was justified, the statement said. Thursdays ruling is the latest development in the years-long legal battle that followed the boys shooting. Tamir was playing with an airsoft pistol outside the Cudell Recreation Center on Nov. 22, 2014, when someone called 911. The 911 dispatcher told officers that a guy with a gun was outside the rec center and Loehmann and his partner, Frank Garmback, drove to the park. Garmback drove the car up over the curb beside a gazebo where Tamir sat and Loehmann jumped out of the car and shot the boy as he approached the car. A criminal investigation into the shooting lasted more than a year until Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty announced in December 2015 that a grand jury chose not to charge Loehmann or Garmback in the killing. Outrage over the decision sparked protests and led to McGintys defeat in the 2016 primary. The U.S. Department of Justice in December quietly closed a federal review into whether the officers violated the boys civil rights without filing charges. The city paid a $6 million settlement to Tamirs family, which is likely the largest settlement the city has paid in a police-shooting case. Loehmann had joined Cleveland police months before the shooting, and Garmback served as his field training officer, a position where more senior officers are partnered with rookie officers to get them acquainted with the job. Records released after the shooting showed that Loehmann left his previous job at the Independence police department after a supervisor determined Loehmann was unfit to be a police officer following a series of incidents, including a mental breakdown on the gun range. Several other departments rejected Loehmanns applications before he applied for a job in Cleveland. On his application to the Cleveland police department, Loehmann wrote that he left his job in Independence on his own accord. The city of Cleveland also later acknowledged that they did not request Loehmanns personnel file from Independence that would have included a copy of a letter detailing the supervisors findings. The city announced in October 2016 that it fired Loehmann and suspended Garmback for 10 days. The union appealed the citys decision to an arbitrator, arguing that the city waited too long to discipline Loehmann over his application. The citys collective bargaining agreement gives the department one year after an incident to file disciplinary charges but allows the city to delay that process while a criminal investigation is taking place. The union argued that Loehmanns discipline over the application was never part of the criminal investigation, and therefore the city missed its deadline to discipline Loehmann over it. The city argued that the entire disciplinary review of Loehmann did not begin until the grand jurys decision closed the criminal investigation. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the city and upheld Loehmanns firing. The union appealed the decision to a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge. In addition to defending Loehmanns firing, the city also argued that the unions challenge should fail because its attorneys failed to properly serve a private attorney it hired to represent it in the case. Ohio law says anyone appealing an arbitration decision must formally serve the attorney of record for the other side within 90 days of the arbitrators award. The union argued that it properly served the city of Cleveland, and because the private attorneys were working for the city, that should count as proper notice. The appellate court sided with the city. Read more stories Cleveland police union to appeal judges ruling that upheld firing of ex-Cleveland cop who killed Tamir Rice Judge upholds Clevelands firing of Timothy Loehmann, ex-officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice Tamir Rices mother delivers petitions with 170,000 signatures demanding union stop challenge to Timothy Loehmanns firing Justice Department officially closes case involving Tamir Rice without bringing charges against police officers Attorneys for Tamir Rices family blast Justice Department over decision not to convene grand jury into boys death Mangaluru : , March 11 (IANS) The Customs officials at the Mangalore International Airport on Thursday seized 2.41 kg gold, valued at around Rs 1.10 crore, from a woman passenger who had concealed the yellow metal in her undergarments. According to a release, the accused has been identified as Mohammed Ali Sameera from Kasaragod in Kerala. She was nabbed by the Customs officials after she arrived here from Dubai in an Air India flight. The statement added that the accused "tried to smuggle gold by concealing it in both her inner garments, including sanitary pads, and also in her socks." She was also carrying foreign brand cigarettes in violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, which were seized from her possession. The team which seized the gold was led by Kapil Gade, Deputy Commissioner, Air Customs, Mangaluru, the release said, adding that an investigation is on. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is seeking Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs in-principle approval for the investment in expanding Dien Bien Airport in Dien Bien City, located in the namesake northern province. The project includes the construction of a new runway of 2,400 meters long and 45 meters wide, thereby increasing the current Dien Bien Airports capacity to 500,000 passengers a year and enabling it to accommodate A320 and A321 planes or equivalents for a lifetime of 70 years. The state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam, which manages 22 airports in the country, will be responsible for the investment of nearly VND1.55 trillion (US$67.4 million) into the airport upgrade. The deadline for the project is 34 months since the date of the prime ministers approval. The current Dien Bien Airport was restored from the French-built Muong Thanh Airport. It has only one runway of 1,830 meters long and 30 meters wide together three airplane parking lots. The airport terminal is capable of receiving 300,000 passengers a year. Due to the airports short runway and elementary instrument landing system, only small turboprop aircraft like the ATR72 can land and take off there at present. VASCO, a subsidiary of flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, is now the only airline operating flights between Hanoi and Dien Bien Airport. The expansion of Dien Bien Airport is expected to create a driving force for economic, cultural, and social development and ensure national security and defense in Dien Bien Province in particular and the northwestern Vietnamese region in general. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A recently divorced couple and their 18-year-old daughter have been found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, Arizona police say. Ruben Sanchez, 51; his ex-wife Ana Guerra, 49; and their 18-year-old daughter Amy Sanchez were found dead at a home in Mesa, Arizona. The couple's 12-year-old daughter, Andrea Sanchez, was wounded and fled to a neighbors house, where cops were called. Officials have not revealed who they believe the shooter to be. Detective Brandi George said officers responded to the home in Mesa around 8:30 p.m. Monday after being alerted by a 12-year-old girl who ran to the home of her neighbors, AZ Family reported. Police found the bodies of Ruben Sanchez, 51, and his ex-wife, Ana Guerra, 49. Authorities did not immediately say who they believe fired the shots that resulted in the deaths Amy Sanchez was killed in a shooting police characterized as a murder-suicide. The photo is featured on a GoFundMe page set up by a friend of Sanchez's sister, Andrea, who escaped the shooting with an injury Andrea Sanchez, pictured after the shooting, was wounded in the arm and likely suffered a concussion, her uncle said. He added that she underwent surgery Tuesday but does not remember the shooting Sanchez and Guerra, who police said were married, were found lying on the first floor of the home among large amounts of blood. Their teenage daughter, Amy, was found on the second floor, George said. All three had gunshot wounds. Investigators found a handgun and ammunition in the house. '[This] tragic incident appears to be a case of murder-suicide,' George said Tuesday. The girl who ran from the house suffered a gunshot wound to the wrist, George said. A neighbor who called the 911 emergency line said they grabbed the girl as she approached their home in the suburb about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Phoenix, the state capital. 'We pulled her into our front porch, sat her down because she was bleeding really good,' the neighbor said. 'And then we heard a gunshot, so we grabbed her, pulled her inside the house... continued to stay on [with] 911.' Police also found a weapon and ammunition inside the home in Mesa, a suburb east of Phoenix Police found the bodies of Ruben Sanchez, right, and his ex-wife, Ana Guerra Amy Sanchez, right, was found dead on the second floor of the home The events leading up to the shooting were unclear and detectives have not yet said who they believe fired the gunshots. Marco Sanchez, an uncle of the 12-year-old survivor he identified as Andrea, said the girl is 'strong.' 'She's surrounded by good friends and family and hopefully we'll pull her through,' Sanchez said. The girl was shot in the arm and likely suffered a concussion. She underwent surgery Tuesday and does not remember what happened, Sanchez said. Sanchez said his brother, Ruben, went through a difficult divorce from Guerra about a year ago, but no one expected violence. The teenage sisters lived in the Mesa home together, but Sanchez said it was unclear why the parents were at the house at the time. 'How do you say love your children? How do you say that,' Sanchez said. 'Love your kids. Think twice.' A friend of Andrea established a GoFundMe page to collect donations for the family's funerals and her friend's medical expenses. Neighbors gathered outside the Arizona home where police found Ruben Sanchez, 51, his ex-wife, Ana Guerra, 49, and Amy Sanchez, 18, dead with apparent gunshot wounds SIMUNYE A maintenance case of a child ended in tragedy. The Simunye Magistrates Court yesterday resembled an execution zone after two people were gunned down immediately after exiting the court house. Just 10 metres away from the courts entrance, a senior police officer stationed under the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) at Simunye, is alleged to have drew his service pistol and gunned down the mother of his child, who was in the company of a male companion and later turned the gun on himself at his flat. The nature of the relationship between the baby mama and the male companion could not be confirmed as others said it was her uncle while others claimed he was just a friend. He was also killed seconds after the baby mama had been shot. It is believed they both died on the spot. Parking The duo was shot at the courts parking lot just after exiting the courthouse. The officer suspected to have shot the duo, *Peter, holds the position of Inspector. He had been hauled to court by the mother of his child over maintenance. The baby mama, *Nompilo, is said to have gone to court to request more funds as maintenance for their minor. The age of the child could not be immediately ascertained. According to a source who witnessed the gruesome murder, Peter was allegedly irked that Nompilo demanded E2 500 during their discussions over the maintenance case. However, Magistrate Nxumalo ruled that Peter should pay a monthly maintenance fee of E2 000. The initial maintenance fee could not be confirmed. Unconfirmed reports were to the effect that Nompilo did not appreciate the fact that Peter was doing more for his other child, believed to have a disability. Allegations are that Peter did not take kindly to the verdict that he should pay more for maintenance because he viewed the whole thing as being spiteful. After the court had made its pronouncement, the trio left the courtroom and were seen talking while exiting the courthouse. It is claimed that Nompilo said something about the verdict, which further irked the police officer. Peter then went straight to his vehicle, a sedan which was parked at the courts parking lot, and drew his service pistol. By that time, Nompilo and her companion were about to board their car. However, before they could do that, Peter fired shots at Nompilo, which hit her in her upper body, something that sent shivers down the spine of her companion. While he (companion) was still shocked at what had just happened, he was also shot in the process, alleged the source. Thereafter, Peter left the scene and went straight to his flat, which is about 100 metres from the court and locked himself in there. Onlookers, who comprised of other police officers and people who had come to court for other business, were left shocked. This reporter visited the scene of crime and was met by police officers inspecting and gathering evidence. At the time, the bodies had been put in a building close to the parking area where the incident happened while they waited for the arrival of a car from the Forensics Department. Colleagues According to some of his colleagues, Peter called his friends after murdering the duo and informed them about what he had done. He is believed to have also called family members and related the matter. Thereafter, he shot himself in an attempt to commit suicide. Upon hearing the gunshots, other officers rushed to his flat and tried to break the door, however, they failed. After an hour, the OSSU unit came and broke down the door and took him to the Simunye Clinic, where it was found that he had lost a lot of blood and was transferred to the Good Shepherd Mission Hospital (GSMH) in an ambulance, said the source. The source further mentioned that doctors at the Good Shepherd advised that he must be taken to the Mbabane Government Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU). While driving to Mbabane, the medical team noted that he was no longer breathing. At this point, they were at Malindza. They then took a decision to take him back to Good Shepherd Hospital where he was confirmed dead, said the source. Blood What was also observed at the scene at the magistrates court was that the law enforcers made attempts to wash the blood stained tarmac. However, the officers asked this reporter not to take pictures. A fire where one of the victims was shot was lit to ensure that the blood stains were almost totally removed. Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Inspector Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the matter. There is a report of a police officer who shot two people at Simunye, she said. National Commissioner of Police Willian Dlamini confirmed that the officer died while being transported to Mbabane. On Tuesday, this publication reported about 30 members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) who had been taken to court by the mothers of their children for maintenance. Others were in arrears as they failed to pay even after the court had pronounced that they should contribute towards the welfare of their children. *Not real names as families could not be reached. Lucknow, March 11 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to develop Ayodhya into a Vedic City as it was the focal point of faith of millions of people across the globe. The Chief Minister, who was reviewing the pace of projects in Ayodhya on Wednesday night, said that since Ayodhya was globally known as the city of Lord Ram, buildings coming up here must be in sync with the tradition, legacy and culture of India. The Chief Minister told officials to take feedback from all stakeholders, including seers, religious leaders and even pilgrims, on developing Ayodhya as a Vedic City. According to the government spokesman, the Chief Minister's vision for Ayodhya rests on two principles -- it should be developed into a world class city with its soul untouched and the religious, historical, cultural and spiritual identity of the city should also be preserved. Yogi Adityanath said: "Every project should be complete before the Ram Temple is ready and stakeholder departments must work in unison to achieve targets." He also told officials to ensure that projects related to Ayodhya should be taken up on priority. Assessing progress in land acquisition, he directed district officials, who joined the meeting through video-conferencing, to expedite the process to allow launch of projects. He asked officials to divide tasks into small, medium and long-term projects so that a timeline can be finalised and progress against each can be monitored diligently. On projects related to pilgrim amenities along the Panchkosi, Chaudah Kosi and Chaurasi Kosi Parikrama Marg, the Chief Minister said that since devotees travel on foot, best facilities should be extended to them to make their movement comfortable. CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Aircraft Transparencies Market by End Use, Application (Windows, Windshields, Canopies, Landing Lights & Wingtip Lenses, Chin Bubbles, Cabin Interior, Skylights), Material (Glass, Acrylic, Polycarbonate), Aircraft Type and Region - Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Aircraft Transparencies Market size is projected to grow from USD 1.0 billion in 2020 to USD 1.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2020 to 2025. The market is driven by various factors, such as increase in number of aircraft deliveries and adoption of aircraft transparencies to increase aircraft performance, efficiency and safety. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=241023638 The aircraft transparencies market includes major players PPG Industries, Inc. (US), GKN Aerospace (UK), Saint-Gobain (France), General Electric Company (US), and Gentex Corporation (US). These players have spread their business across various countries includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well. Industry experts believe that COVID-19 could affect aircraft transparencies production and services by 710% globally in 2020. High transparency, softness, and ductility to drive the demand for polycarbonate segment The polycarbonate segment is expected to be the largest market by value. The growth of the polycarbonate segment of the aircraft transparencies market can be attributed to the characteristics of polycarbonate such as increased toughness, excellent dimensional stability, increased optical clarity, high heat resistance, and excellent electrical resistance. The windows segment is projected to witness a higher CAGR during the forecast period Based on application, the windows segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. The growth of the windows segment of the aircraft transparencies market can be attributed to the increased demand for aircraft and the type of aircraft produced. The commercial aviation segment is projected to witness a higher CAGR during the forecast period Based on the aircraft type, the commercial aviation segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. The commercial aviation segment includes narrow body aircraft, wide body aircraft, regional transport aircraft, and commercial helicopters. This growth can be attributed to factors such as increasing air travel, rise in disposable income of the middle-class population, and increased international trade and tourism across the globe. Strong growth in this sector has resulted in an increased number of aircraft orders to address the increasing air passenger traffic. Browse in-depth TOC on "Aircraft Transparencies Market" 557 Tables 39 Figures 369 Pages Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=241023638 The OEM segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period Based on the end use, the OEM segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. Over the years, there has been a significant rise in demand for single-aisle aircraft across regions. As per the recent press release by Airbus in January 2020, it delivered 863 commercial aircraft to 99 customers in 2019, outpacing its previous output record set in 2018 by 8%. The North America market is projected to contribute the largest share from 2020 to 2025 North America is projected to be the largest regional share for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. The key factor responsible for North America, leading the aircraft transparencies market owing to the rapid growth of the technologically advanced transparencies in the region. In North America, the increase in aircraft orders and supplies is encouraging manufacturers of aircraft transparencies to increase their sales year on year. Moreover, increasing demand for commercial aircraft and presence of some of the leading players operating in the market, such as PPG Industries (US), Lee Aerospace (US), Nordam Group (US), Gentex Corporation (US), and GE Aviation (US), are expected to drive the growth of the aircraft transparencies market in North America. These players are focusing on R&D to increase their product lines and using advanced materials, such as acrylic and polycarbonate, for manufacturing aircraft transparencies. Related Reports: Aircraft Cabin Interiors Market by Type (Aircraft Seating, IFEC, Aircraft Cabin Lighting, Aircraft Galley, Aircraft Lavatory, Aircraft Windows & Windshields, Aircraft Interior Panels), End User, Aircraft Type, Material, Region - Global Forecast 2025 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. 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Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/aircraft-transparencies-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/aircraft-transparencies.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Jeep Command-Trac 4x4 part-time, two-speed transfer case with a 2.72:1 low-range gear ratio 17-inch Rubicon aluminum wheels in Silver Finish with all-terrain tires Rubicon Rock Rails Uconnect 4 with a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Dual-zone temperature control Exterior details include a Tiki Bob hood decal; interior details include a Ceramic White mid-bolster and black cloth seats with an embroidered Islander logo and Surf Blue accent stitching Available white three-piece hardtop Optional Islander Plus Package by Mopar adds front/rear grab handles, cargo tub liner, solid sunbonnet top and Tiki Bob soft spare-tire cover Jeep Active Drive full-time 4x4 system 19-inch Silver Alloy wheels with all-season tires Dual-pane panoramic sunroof for ultimate open-air freedom Uconnect 4 with a 7-inch touchscreen includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Exterior details include a Tiki Bob hood decal; interior details include premium black cloth seats with an embroidered Islander logo and Surf Blue accent stitching Keyless Entry with panic alarm Remote start system Available Alpine White painted roof - With spring just around the corner, fun in the sun is on the horizon thanks to two new Jeep special editions. First introduced as a special edition in 1988, the new Jeep Wrangler Islander is back for the 2021 model year. Making its debut for the 2021 model year is the new Jeep Renegade Islander special edition. Both deliver Jeep 4x4 capability paired with unique, beach-themed accents, upbeat style and summer-fun features.Our Jeep enthusiasts expect legendary Jeep 4x4 capability, and they also embrace the Jeep brands fun go anywhere, do anything adventure lifestyle, said Jim Morrison, Head of Jeep Brand - North America. With Surf Blue accent stitching, Islander-embroidered front seats and available white three-piece hardtop on the Wrangler, you cant help but think summer and the beach life when you see these new Islander special editions.The 2021 Jeep Wrangler Islander edition marks the return of the Islander after an 11-year hiatus. Based on the Wrangler Sport S, it is available with either two or four doors and comes standard with:The Jeep Wrangler Islander is available in Billet Silver, Black, Chief, Granite Crystal, Bright White, Firecracker Red, Hellayella, Sarge Green, Snazzberry and Sting-Grey.For the first time, the Renegade Islander edition joins the Jeep lineup. Based on the Renegade North 4x4, the special-edition vehicle features standard and available content, including:The Jeep Renegade Islander is available in Bikini, Jetset Blue, Glacier and Omaha Orange.The Jeep Wrangler Islander and Renegade Islander special editions are now available through local Jeep dealers. The 2021 Jeep Wrangler Islander has a starting Canadian MSRP of $42,715 for two-door models and $46,565 for four-door models (all prices exclude $1,895 destination). Starting price for the 2021 Jeep Renegade Islander is $34,140.Built on 80 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV with capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence. Jeep Wave, arriving in Canada with the all-new 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, is a premium owner loyalty and customer care program filled with benefits and exclusive perks to deliver owners the utmost care and dedicated 24/7 support.The Jeep vehicle lineup consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Renegade and Wrangler. To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models sold outside North America are available in both left- and right-hand drive configurations and with gasoline and diesel powertrain options. Jeep is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis , please visit www.stellantis.com Stellantis is one of the worlds leading automakers and a mobility provider, guided by a clear vision to offer freedom of movement with distinctive, affordable and reliable mobility solutions. In addition to the Groups rich heritage and broad geographic presence, its greatest strengths lie in its sustainable performance, depth of experience and the wide-ranging talents of employees working around the globe. Stellantis will leverage its broad and iconic brand portfolio, which was founded by visionaries who infused the brands with passion and a competitive spirit that speaks to employees and customers alike. Stellantis aspires to become the greatest, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders, as well as the communities in which it operates. 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. Astronomers have discovered an unusual type of stellar explosion located near the center of the Milky Way. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered a supernova remnant called Sagittarius A East (Sgr A East), the first known type of a white dwarf explosion in the Milky Way galaxy, according to Samantha Mathewson with Space.com. EARTH-SHAKING METEOR: Meteor explodes with the force of 440 pounds of TNT A supernova is the explosion of a star, according to NASA. "It is the largest explosion that takes place in space." NASA While a supernova only burns for a short amount of time, it provides vital information about the universe, NASA said. Ping Zhou, from Nanjing University in China, described the significance of the discovery in a statement from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. "While we've found Type Iax supernovae in other galaxies, we haven't identified evidence for one in the Milky Way until now," Zhou said. "This discovery is important for getting a handle of the myriad ways white dwarfs explode." Supernovas come in various types but white dwarf explosionsaka Type Ia supernovaedisperse key sources of chromium, iron, and nickel into the universe, according to NASA. Shing-Chi Leung, the co-author of the study from the California Institute of Technology, describes the importance of the results found. This result shows us the diversity of types and causes of white dwarf explosions, and the different ways that they make these essential elements," Leung said. "If were right about the identity of this supernovas remains, it would be the nearest known example to Earth. Data from Chandra's observation showed Sgr A East wasn't just an ordinary supernova. It belongs to a unique group of supernovae referred to as Type lax supernova because it produced a less powerful explosion and different amounts of essential elements than most supernovas do, NASA said. Astronomers such as Zhiyuan Li, co-author of the study from Nanjing University, are inspired by the findings. "We finally may have worked out what this object is and how it came to be," Li said. A man from South Korea receives $2.2 million after spending 20 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction. Urged to compensate after wrongfully convicted of murder A 53-year-old man will earn W2.5 billion ($2.2 million) in compensation after spending 20 years in jail for the death of a woman who was actually the victim of a suspected serial killer. Yoon Sung-yeo, who was wrongfully guilty of the murder of serial killer Lee Chun-eighth Jae's victim. Lee was sentenced to life in jail in 1990 and completed his sentence before confessing to his crimes last year after DNA evidence pointed to him. Yoon sued the state in January, seeking compensation, and the court granted him the full amount he requested, Chosun reported. According to a court source, the decision took into account the form of detention and extent, damages suffered due to imprisonment, and psychological distress. Read also: Hawaii Placed Under State of Emergency Yoon's missed basic daily salary was then measured using the 2020 minimum wage of W68,720. Compensation is limited to five times the minimum monthly wage or W343,600. The number was also compounded by Yoon's time in prison, which was 7,326 days. The court made its ruling on March 5, but Yoon would have to wait longer to collect the money. Yoon also seeks to sue the National Forensic Service and the police for wrongdoings in the investigation of him and the state for the psychological harm his relatives suffered as a result of his arrest. Yoon Sung-yeo was sentenced to life in jail in South Korea for an offense he did not commit. Since a suspected serial killer confessed last year, he was able to clear his name. The acquitted man, was sentenced to life in prison in 1989 for the murder of a young girl in Hwaseong, a county south of Seoul, the previous year. According to the New York Times, Mr. Yoon was incarcerated for two decades before being released on parole in 2009. Read also: Schoolgirl Admits Lying That Leads To Death of Teacher He would have served the remainder of his days as a convicted criminal if it hadn't been for a stunning twist in South Korea's longest unsolved serial murder incident. Last year, police revealed that a man serving a life sentence for raping and murdering his sister-in-law in 1994 had confessed in the so-called Hwaseong serial killings, in which ten women were brutally murdered across the county from 1986 to 1991. Lee Chun-Jae, the confessed serial murderer, has admitted to killing four other people, including a 13-year-old teen. Mr. Yoon demanded a fresh trial right away. "It was a false verdict based on wrong investigations," Park Jeong-Jae, a district court judge in Suwon, south of Seoul, said in his ruling on Mr. Yoon's case on Thursday. Yoon's fans burst into applause and greeted him with flowers as the decision was confirmed. Prosecutors took the decision not to file an appeal. The Hwaseong murders terrorized South Koreans for decades. After being raped, the women, ranging in age from 7 to 71, were often strangled to death. Their mouths had been stuffed with their own stockings, bras, or socks before their bodies were discovered. Umbrellas, forks, and shaving blades were used to mistreat some of the bodies. Over the years, more than 21,000 men were interrogated in the hunt for the killer, which involved two million police officers. The murders were also the inspiration for the 2003 blockbuster film "Memories of Murder." When advances in DNA analysis allowed forensic experts to extract samples from some of the evidence collected at the crime scenes, the cases remained unsolved until last year. Mr. Lee's DNA was found in the samples, and he later confessed to the murders. According to one of the former police detectives who investigated his case during his retrial, Mr. Yoon was beaten and deprived of sleep for three days as he was forced into a confession. The court said that the case against Mr. Yoon was based on illegal detention and torture and no reliable evidence. Read also: Women's March in Mexico Turns Violent, 81 Injured @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The skyrocketing crude prices and the resultant increase in cash flow of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producing company, are expected to speed up its deal with Reliance O2C Ltd, say sources in the know. As the Brent crude price hovers near $70 a barrel -- it was at $38 in early November -- Bank of America (BoA) estimates that Aramco would generate close to $100 billion in cash flow in 2022. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, announced in 2019 that Aramco would pick up 20 per cent stake in the newly floated subsidiary Reliance O2C for $15 billion. But Aramco's subdued public issue of shares and oil price crash in April last year have forced the companies in delaying the deal. ALSO READ: Future Retail receives operational support from Reliance as deal lingers in courts "Aramco sees Reliance O2C as the dedicated buyer of its crude. When the uncertainties rule the oil world, building a relation in one of the largest oil consuming countries will solidify its position for future," said an executive. BoA analysts said that Aramco would offer more than the promised $75 billion as dividend in this year. Aramco is now gearing up for a second public offering of shares. However, in India, there is a discontent against the OPEC+ countries, who decided to continue the production cut to hold the oil prices at higher levels. Last week, the OPEC+ group surprised the market by deciding not to lift collective crude oil production from April. ALSO READ: Mukesh Ambani's RIL gets SEBI approval to demerge O2C business The O2C business of RIL includes the twin refineries in Gujarat's Jamnagar and the adjacent petro chemicals complex, besides the petroleum retail joint venture of RIL-BP Plc. The deal also ensures a dedicated market for Aramco's crude in India. As part of the deal, O2C will sign to buy 500,000 barrels of crude oil every day (28 per cent of the company's Jamnagar refinery requirement) on a long-term basis from Aramco. Besides, the O2C business will be a value-creating proposition for both the giants as it focuses to channel 70 per cent of the refined crude for manufacturing high value chemical products. ALSO READ: RIL announces demerger of oil-to-chemical biz as talks with Aramco resume A map of China is seen through a magnifying glass on a computer screen showing binary digits. (Edgar Su/File Photo/Reuters) Chinese Hack on Microsoft Poses Imminent Threat to Australian Security: Expert The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) sounded the alarm on March 3, urging organisations to follow tech giant Microsofts instructions to patch vulnerable systems which came under threat by a state-sponsored Chinese cyber attacker. This comes after Microsoft announced on March 2 that a cyber actor based in China, which they called Hafnium, hacked its email server software, Microsoft Exchange. The extent of Hafniums operations in the United States included the targeting of a multitude of sectors for the purposes of exfiltrating important information. These sectors included infectious disease researchers, law firms, higher education institutions, defense contractors, policy think tanks, and NGOs. The Microsoft logo at the International Cybersecurity Forum in Lille, France on January 28, 2020. (Denis Charlet/AFP via Getty Images) On March 9, ACSCs further analysis identified ongoing extensive targeting and compromises, the ramifications of which involve private data and emails falling into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ACSC released the update detailing that a large number of Australian organisations have yet to update their systems, leaving them openly exposed to compromise. The Australian Department of Defence issued a severe warning on March 10, with Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie expressing concern over organisations handling of the issue. Australian organisations cannot be complacent when it comes to cybersecurity, which is why all users of Microsoft Exchange are being urged to patch their vulnerable systems, Hastie said. Andrew Hastie during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra on Nov. 27, 2019. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) Microsoft, though quickly deploying an update for the security exploits, warned that many nation-state actors and criminal groups will move quickly to take advantage of any unpatched systems. Matthew Warren, director of the RMIT Centre of Cyber Security Research and Innovation, has provided insight into how and why the attack occurred, as well as what it means for Australias future in the sphere of cybersecurity. The issue is that Chinese hackers gained access to organisations Microsoft email accounts through vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server email software, Warren told The Epoch Times in an email. This means the attackers were able to remotely download emails and attachments, Warren said. Warren further reiterated the importance of organisations taking heed to ACSCs advice, without which the organisations face a greater risk of a breach in their email data. He also noted that once Microsofts vulnerabilities became public, systems around the world came under attack via the same exploit. But to Warren, the attack comes as no surprise. Its how the Chinese operate from a cyber espionage perspective, they look at opportunities to steal vast amounts of data, he said. Once the data is stolen, it can be analysed to determine confidential information, Warren added. It can even be used to work out the relationships of people within governments and corporations. However, this attack is by no means the last of its kind. Warren pointed out that Australia, like every other country in the developed world, is dependent on systems and software. All these systems and software contain a whole range of vulnerabilities that can be exploited by threat actors, whether state based or criminal groups. Fortunately, Australian organisations using cloud-based Microsoft Exchange were not impacted by the attack, and Warren said that in the future more companies will move to cloud-based systems. According to Microsofts announcement, this is the eighth time in the past 12 months that Microsoft has publicly disclosed nation-state groups targeting institutions critical to civil society. Other targeted activity includes healthcare organizations fighting the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, as well as political campaigns and those involved in the 2020 elections. Glamour model Chloe Ayling's kidnapper has had his sentence reduced from 16 years to five years and eight months after an appeal. An Italian judge ruled that Micha Herba's sentence should be downgraded from 'kidnapping for extortion purposes' to just kidnapping. Last year, his brother Lukasz also had his sentence reduced by nearly five years because he 'acted compassionately' and 'out of love' when he released her. The jailed pair have consistently claimed the kidnapping was a publicity stunt for the model to boost her career, allegations which the Italian courts dismissed. Glamour model Chloe Ayling's kidnapper has had his sentence reduced from 16 years to five years and eight months after an appeal An Italian judge ruled that Micha Herba's (pictured) sentence should be downgraded from 'kidnapping for extortion purposes' to just kidnapping Chloe, 23, from Coulsdon, south west London, was snatched by the brothers when she turned up for a bogus photoshoot and injected with ketamine. The Polish nationals kidnapped her in Milan and drove her to an isolated farmhouse squeezed inside a holdall in July 2017. Chilling images show the model drugged on the floor before she was kidnapped Both were jailed the following year for kidnapping the former Celebrity Big Brother star. Last January, an Appeal Court ruled Lukasz should serve 12 years and one month instead of the 16 years and nine months he was originally given. Now a judge has similarly reduced the sentence of Michal although he rejected an appeal over the use of ketamine, according to the Milano Corriere. His attorneys claimed in the appeal that Chloe had taken the tranquiliser herself and was not drugged. But Judge Ichino dismissed their claims at the hearing in Milan on Wednesday. Chloe broke down in tears in court in 2019 as she described being grabbed and drugged by a man wearing a balaclava who said he was part of a shadowy gang called Black Death who threatened to auction her as a sex slave. The brothers have frequently claimed the kidnapping was a publicity stunt carried out by the mother-of-one to boost her modelling career. She told the court: 'I tried to get away. There was a hand over my mouth and I could not breathe. I was trying to get the hand off my face, but I could not fight much longer. Lukasz Herba (pictured) was jailed in June 2018 after being found guilty of kidnapping Chloe but has now had his sentence reduced by nearly five years An Italian police officer demonstrated how Ms Ayling could have been kept in a bag as part of the evidence in the kidnap trial Model Chloe Ayling later appeared on Celebrity Big Brother after her kidnapping ordeal 'Straight away I felt drowsy and I fell to the floor unconscious. When I started to wake up I was in a restricted space, I was in a black duffel bag. 'I had tape all around my mouth and I had handcuffs on my wrists and handcuffs on my ankles.' Chloe published a diary of her time in captivity which revealed a softer side to Lukasz saying he taught her how to play Battleships to pass the time. Despite their claims of innocence, email exchanges between the brothers were retrieved from a computer used by Lukasz in the kidnap planning. In one email Lukasz talked about getting hold of bag that would be big enough to hold Ayling. Ayling was released after six days when Herba dropped her at the British consul in Milan where he was immediately arrested After she was injected with ketamine, she was photographed semi conscious while being held at the farmhouse near Turin. The day before being released Ayling was captured on CCTV cameras walking hand-in-hand with Lukasz. These images and her apparent calm demeanour in later interviews led to speculation she was involved in the elaborate kidnap plan. Ayling was released after six days when Herba dropped her at the British consul in Milan where he was immediately arrested. Prosecutors said Herba was a fantasist who had came up with the kidnap plan to persuade Ayling to fall in love with him Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that current vaccination levels indicate the United States could reach pre-pandemic levels of "normal life" by late August or early September. Fauci made the comment during a virtual news briefing on herd immunity by the White House COVID-19 Response Team. Fauci said their best estimates regarding when herd immunity would be reached and enough people are considered immune from the virus range between 70 percent to 85 percent of the U.S. population. He said at current vaccination rates, that level should be reached at the end of the North American summer. But he also said that if the nation is vaccinating 2 million to 3 million people a day, society is increasingly more protected. "You don't have to wait until you get full herd immunity to get a really profound effect on what you can do," he said. Fauci said as the pace of vaccination ramps up, and the most vulnerable to the virus are protected, some government restrictions could be lifted. Caitlin McCarthy rises at the unusually early hour of 3 a.m. each morning. In addition to being a high school teacher in Worcester, shes also a writer, and mornings are when she can get work done. McCarthy hoped logging online so early would be helpful in trying to secure an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccine. What followed, she said, was hours of stress waiting in a virtual line. Before Thursday, McCarthy had been checking the CVS website every morning, looking for an appointment with no luck. The company opened up appointments for Massachusetts teachers last week following a directive from President Joe Biden to prioritize teachers for the vaccine. It feels like Christmas is dangled in front of you and then its canceled. Every time that you think that youre getting close to getting the gift of an appointment, somebody takes it away, she said. Thursday morning on the states site, she saw a message that 101,914 people were ahead of her. Then the page updated, showing 13,693 people ahead in line, but with fewer than 2,000 available shots remaining. She had multiple computers going, trying to find an appointment. It didnt take long on Thursday for the states 40,000 first-dose appointments to be booked. Im up very early and Im checking frequently before work starts, because, again, you cant be doing this while youre working, refreshing all day long, she said. After McCarthy needed to start teaching her class at 7:10 a.m. at Worcester Technical High School, her nephew was able to get online and secure an appointment for her to get the vaccine at the site Gillette Stadium, she said. Lauren Hotz, an associate principal at Hampshire Regional High School, said she felt lucky to score an appointment. Hotz said she had a few different waiting rooms open on her computer and got through on one of them. It was the luck of the draw, I think, Hotz said. Hotz said its important to her to see staff get vaccinated soon, especially because kids have been learning in person for much of the year. Ive been keeping a running list of the teachers who are looking for help getting their vaccines and theyve sent me all of their information so whenever Im able to get an appointment, I have their info ready to go and I can just do it for them in that moment and thats been really helpful, she said. Luck wasnt in the cards for everyone. Educators across the state Thursday morning have reported waiting for more than an hour to find no available appointments. Some teachers are using more than one laptop to try and find an appointment, logging on from their classrooms. For some, it has been easier to get an appointment at CVS. But, some teachers have said they check the CVS website every morning, each time seeing no available appointments. Educators will have another shot on Friday when the state launches a new vaccine pre-registration website, which will include appointments for four days the state is designating the inoculate K-12 employees and childcare workers. Some 400,000 educators, staff and child care workers will be able to get an appointment at one of the states super vaccination sites on March 27, April 3, April 10 and April 11, weekend days that dont overlap with school times. The state last week estimated that it would take a month for all eligible K-12 workers to secure a first appointment based on the current vaccine supply. Educators unions have been pushing the state to speed up teacher and staff vaccinations for weeks. Given the supply and demand, it may not be possible for some teachers to get one or both shots before the return to full-time learning next month. The Massachusetts Teachers Association has called for the state to work on a union proposal called the Last Mile Program, which would bring vaccines directly into communities for K-12 workers. The administration of Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday said it was dismayed that teachers unions are pushing to take vaccines away from the states the sickest, oldest and most vulnerable residents, who are also currently eligible to be vaccinated. Building an entirely new, exclusive, teacher-only, school by school distribution system would make Massachusetts vaccination system slower, less equitable and far more complicated. The Administration implores the unions to do the math: the state only gets 150,000 first doses every week, said Tim Buckley, a senior advisor. There are about one million eligible residents comprised of educators, older adults and people with serious health conditions. Diverting hundreds of thousands of vaccines to an exclusive, teacher-only distribution system would deny the most vulnerable and the most disproportionately impacted residents hundreds of thousands of vaccines. Massachusetts ranks first for doses administered per capita among states with 5 million people as well as first for total doses administered, first and second, per capita among states with 5 million people, the state noted, citing Bloomberg and the CDC, respectively. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley is requiring districts to have in-person learning five days a week for elementary school students by April 5 and by April 28 for middle schoolers. Parents, however, can choose to keep their children home for remote learning through the rest of the school year. Riley expects to determine a return date for high school students next month. By the next academic year, fully in-person schooling is expected for all age groups, Riley said. As of last month, about 80% of districts had a form of in-person learning. And as of March 10, there are 177 school districts, charter districts, and collaboratives that have applied to participate in a pooled COVID-19 testing program currently paid for by DESE. That number includes more than 1,000 schools and 325,000 students, state officials said. The initial data from those pooled tests indicate a low level of the virus in schools, officials said. In the first month of the program, vendors have conducted more than 8,500 pools across the state at elementary, middle and high schools. Just 0.7% of those pools have been positive, officials said, and because most pools have contained only one positive individual, the prevalence among the tested school population is likely <0.2%. Trying to get a vaccine as a teacher in Massachusetts be like pic.twitter.com/iH4u2zK6Ii Tayl (@TaylorDrysdale) March 11, 2021 Thank you to @cvspharmacy for vaccinating teachers in Massachusetts when our governor wouldnt The rollout here is painfully slow. We need vaccines for our retail and transportation workers desperately, as theyve been working throughout the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/6RQsQANOoy Corrie P, M.A.T. (@coripop) March 10, 2021 It is not lost on me how lucky I am to have had the means to book and get to my first vaccination shot. Thank you to @POTUS for making teachers eligible in Massachusetts. The process at @cvspharmacy was seemless. @govbaker give local communties access to vaccines. pic.twitter.com/oDpu5dcAw2 Lisa McNeil (@lovetoteach1209) March 8, 2021 Related Content: "Vietnam aspirations" roundtable We must promote innovation in the public sector, and a state management system that is flexible and adaptable in order to utilize all resources in society. In the last part of the online roundtable "Vietnams aspirations", Dr. Nguyen Van Dang from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Professor Le Anh Vinh from the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences speak with VietNamNet about the role of science-technology and innovation in national development. Building a digital economy: trend of the times VietNamNet: If the documents of the 11th and 12th Party Congress, the concept of "digital economy" was not mentioned, in the documents submitted to the 13th Party Congress, "digital economy" was repeated many times. The development of the digital economy has been identified as one of the key tasks, as well as a strategic breakthrough in the 13th term. What do you think about this, Prof. Vinh? Prof. Le Anh Vinh Prof. Le Anh Vinh: I think this is the right direction. Vietnam has potential. We have good human resources, especially in science and technology. We can completely meet the development in the coming period if we focus on the development of the digital economy. VietNamNet: All countries have policies to take advantage of the trend of the 4.0 industrial revolution. What platforms does Vietnam platforms need to take advantage of opportunities from this revolution? Dr. Nguyen Van Dang: Building a digital economy is one of the solutions to make a breakthrough for the Vietnamese economy. This is a trend of the times. In 2014, the Politburo issued a resolution on promoting the development of information technology. In 2016, the Government issued a resolution on tax incentives to promote information technology development and application. In 2017and 2018, we established the National e-Government Committee. In 2019, the Politburo issued a policy to actively participate in the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, and then Resolution 52 set the target that by 2025 the digital economy will reach 20% of the countrys GDP. That is, in terms of awareness and policy, we have been very proactive. In fact, a number of international research organizations have evaluated the conditions and potential for the future of the digital economy in Vietnam. Secondly, as Professor Vinh said, our human resources in terms of technology are quite good and in fact the economy has made very clear movements. It is important to further promote the movement towards the digital economy in the coming time to take advantage of Vietnam's strengths, and especially the trends and development rules of modern society. Science-technology and innovation breakthroughs VietNamNet: According to Prof. Vinh, what role will science-technology and innovation play in realizing the goal of developing a prosperous and happy country? Prof. Le Anh Vinh: I think science-technology and innovation will play a decisive role. We have been very active and prepared in response to scientific and technological innovation in recent years. Many policies have been put in place to promote this. As for education, in the past three years, innovation and reform in universities, encouraging start-up among students has achieved very encouraging results. The number of enterprises originating from universities has doubled in the past two years. Students projects have achieved great success through startup fairs at the national level. Many universities have added entrepreneurial innovation in their curriculum. This is a very good orientation. VietNamNet: How do you see the current high-tech human resources in Vietnam? Prof. Le Anh Vinh: Vietnamese students have good competencies in math and science subjects. When they are trained in science and technology schools, they have met the needs of employers well. Five years ago, we had no schools in the top ranking of universities in the world, but we recently had 4 schools in the top 1,000 and 11 schools in the ranking system of Asia. I also see a shift in distance preparation, in particular general education. Under the general education program that has been implemented since 2020, technology and informatics have been added to the curricula for students beginning in the 3rd grade. With that proactive preparation, in the next 5-10 years, we will have human resources to meet the development requirements of the country, especially as science-technology and innovation are defined as breakthroughs for economic development. VietNamNet: So what are the challenges in building highly qualified human resources, Dr. Dang? Dr. Nguyen Van Dang: Dr. Nguyen Van Dang: I agree with Professor Vinh that in the field of human resource quality, science and technology human resources, we have tried to innovate. However, to further develop this force, the concept of innovation must be associated with the public sector. That is how we manage and use these people so that they can promote creativity. Innovation in the public sector is a much more complex and difficult process than in science and technology. The first obvious challenge is that we must have a flexible and adaptive administrative and state management system to the current context in order to utilize all resources in society. How to innovate so that the government and the state can join hands with businesses, people and social organizations to realize Vietnam's aspirations for prosperity. Institutionalizing policies VietNamNet: From your experiences in developed countries, can you speak about solutions to promote and develop high-quality human resources in Vietnam? Prof. Le Anh Vinh: I think that in order to promote and attract high quality human resources, there are three models. First, develop local human resources like some European countries did. They invested heavily in education, infrastructure, and socio-economic development conditions in order to best develop local talent. Another model is America. They have good working conditions and good growth opportunities and attract outstanding talent from all around the world. A model that we can also learn from is Singapore: developing talent through training and fostering "lifelong learning". I think we need to harmoniously combine these three models. Dr. Nguyen Van Dang: I also agree with Professor Vinh that the environment is extremely important. Referring to models of other countries and territories, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, I see what helps them attract the dedication of those with outstanding abilities is to give them opportunities and create a favorable working environment for capable people so that they feel they are valued, recognized, honored and rewarded if they bring changes to society. From the perspective of research on public governance, for people with outstanding capacities having a sustainable foothold in the public governance system of the country in general, I highlight the institutional factor. That is, we institutionalize guidelines and policies into rules, principles, recruitment process, appointments and promotions... Then, talented people, capable people will see their opportunities and will know how to contribute to society. Then, not only this generation but also the next generation, we will have a stable institutional process, which operates objectively and minimizes the intervention of human subjective and emotional factors. VietNamNet Vietnam and Aspirations VietNamNet has organized an online roundtable with the theme "Vietnam Aspirations". * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! New Delhi, March 11 : The first Shahi Snan on the auspicious festival of Mahashivratri was celebrated on Thursday. To make the occasion even more special, the Uttarakhand administration showered flowers from a helicopter on the sadhus and the pilgrims assembled at Haridwar. The shower of flower petals was organised to welcome the sadhus to Kumbh and they appeared to be happy with the gesture. Speaking on the occasion, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that his government was committed to organising a divine, grand and safe Kumbh this year. The Shahi Snan of the saints from the akhadas at Haridwar was special. The sadhus began bathing amid the chanting of mantras and shlokas. After their snan was complete, people from other walks of life and pilgrims from various parts of the country also took the holy dip. Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat also reached Haridwar on the occasion of the Shahi Snan coinciding with Mahashivratri. After reaching Har Ki Pauri, he prayed for the prosperity and peace of the people of the state. The pilgrims and saints assembled here on the occasion welcomed the chief minister. People had begun to assemble on the banks of the Ganga to take a holy dip on the pious occasion of Mahashivratri since Wednesday night itself. The CM said there are no special restrictions for the pilgrims on the occasion, but they must follow the guidelines in place for the Covid-19 pandemic, wear masks and observe social distancing. People are celebrating Shahi Snan for Mahashivratri and Somwati Amavasya at Haridwar on March 11 and March 12 respectively. Devotees will have to follow the Corona protocol and SOPs on the occasion. The devotees coming to Haridwar for these Shahi Snans must bring with them the Corona test report not older than 72 hours. However, there will be no thermal screening of the sadhus. The duration of the Kumbh fair being held in Haridwar this year will be 28 days in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. This has been decided by the Uttarakhand government after discussions with the sadhus and religious leaders in akharas. The Kumbh will be held from April 1 to 28. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. According to a recent article titled Nagorno-Karabakh: a preliminary investigation opened by France, written by a doctor of political science Sebastien Boussois, and published in a reputable French magazine General de Europe, France has already started an investigation into the illegal involvement of its citizens in the second Karabakh war. The author indicates that such an activity is strictly forbidden by international law and states that Yerevan was legally obligated to halt these violations immediately, which the latter not only failed to do, but also actively incentivized. The author also mentions the fact that the Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) in the second half of 20th century committed a number of terrorist attacks, contextualizing the above-mentioned events. Roza Asgarova, a research fellow at the Center of Analysis of International Relations in Baku, writes in her article for Eurasiareview that Armenian diaspora organizations at home and abroad played a key role in the Second Karabakh war, contributing manpower and financing to Armenian military, and the involvement of foreign fighters by the Armenian side throughout the conflict has received wide coverage in both local and international media. Armenian organizations all over the world circulated ads for the recruitment of military forces, and one such organization named VoMA (short for Armenian the art of staying alive), operating in Yerevan, launched accelerated military training courses with the aim of establishing a mountain rifle battalion under the command of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. As a result, at the end of the war the Azerbaijani side petitioned relevant law enforcement agencies to launch investigations into the illegal participation of their citizens in the military actions in Karabakh. As foreign combatants recruited for the purpose of undermining the territorial integrity of a State fall under the definition of mercenaries, deployment of these fighter is considered a violation by the Armenian side of the international laws of war under the Article 47 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Articles 1 and 5 of the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries of 1989. According to several media agencies, an indeterminate number of French citizens joined the military operations against Azerbaijan, among them a French Armenian by the name of Artur Oganisyan, who, in his interview to Russian outlet mentioned that he and his two brothers arrived in Armenia, received automatic assault rifles without providing any identification or requiring any permissions, and were swiftly added to the army. Such cases were also highlighted by the France24 news agency, which published video materials validating the stories of a number of volunteers heading to Armenia to join military action, among them a veteran referred to as Vardan and a 28-year-old French citizen Sipan Muradyan. Information on the French citizen Marc de Cacqueray-Valmenier participating in military training by the Armenian military forces was disseminated by The French Liberation news agency. A photograph published on social media by Cacqueray-Valmenier, a notorious neo-Nazi and the leader of the far-right group Zouaves Paris (ZVP), verified his presence in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Accordingly, the embassy of Azerbaijan to the French Republic appealed to the states prosecutors office to launch an investigation into the potential violations of local and international laws committed by French citizens of Armenian descent who fought in Karabakh for several weeks. As was publicly reported, Armenian government spread the information on the recruitment of foreign citizens of Armenian origin into the army. Among those who joined the trainings were citizens of Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the US. The diaspora organizations widely disseminated the calls to join military operations among their members. For instance, despite the fact that the Article 208(2) of the Criminal Code of Russian Federation prohibits the participation of its citizens in an armed force that is not ordained by a federal law, and states that such actions may carry up to five years in prison, the head of the Armenian Union of Russia ( ) Ara Abramyan on 28th of September 2020 announced that 20 thousand Russian Armenians were eager to fight for the Armenian separatist regime in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result, on 29th of September, members of Armenian diaspora in Russia, including a few representatives of the ARF Dashnaksutyun party, traveled from Sochi to Yerevan with the aim of joining military operations as volunteers. Similar cases took place in several European states: according to the Sputnik Hellas news agency, at least 30-35 Greek Armenians, as well as 10-15 ethnic Greeks departed for Armenia to join the military actions against Turkish armed forces. A similar case was covered by the Spanish El Confidencialnews agency. Additionally, an information leak revealed that members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from Syria and Iraq, as well as 1,500 Kurdish mercenaries joined the Armenian military. The materials published in the above-mentioned reports and articles strongly imply that Armenian armed forces employed mobilized diaspora members from foreign states in the Second Karabakh War in violation of both the international law and the criminal codes of the diaspora members host countries. Whether this investigation will be mirrored by other states or result in sanctions against the Armenian government and diaspora organizations remains to be seen. Investigation of potential violations of this sort are the fallout of the enduring war over the Karabakh region -and potentially the last few steps on the path to peace. This study is the first to examine the effect of a surgeon's mask on communication with patients in the clinic setting. CHAPEL HILL, NC - A first-of-its-kind study out today in JAMA Surgery suggests that patients have a more difficult time understanding and building trust with their surgeons when they cannot see the surgeon's entire face due to masking requirements. These findings have major implications for not only how surgeons are viewed and rated by their patients, but also how well a patient does during and after a surgical procedure. "At beginning of pandemic I had a patient say, 'Dr. Kapadia, it's odd you've taken out a big part of my colon and I don't even know what you look like,'" Muneera Kapadia, MD, the study's senior author said. "It made me realize we don't have much information on how masks are effecting surgeon-patient communication and relationships." Kapadia, an associate professor of surgery in the UNC School of Medicine, found a way to study how the new masking protocols during pre-operative meetings are affecting patients' perception and trust of their surgeons. Study organizers utilized clear masks so that patients could see a surgeon's entire face, while still following safety protocols. The randomized clinical trial included 200 patients that were recruited from 15 surgeon's clinics, spanning seven subspecialties. Surgeons were randomized to wearing clear masks versus covered masks for each new patient clinic visit. After the clinic encounter, patients completed a verbal survey including validated Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG-CAHPS) questions, and additional questions about surgeon empathy and trust, and the patient's impression of the surgeon's mask. "When surgeons wore clear masks as opposed to traditional masks, patients rated their surgeon significantly higher in how well they provided an understandable explanation, knew the patient's history, demonstrated empathy, and built trust," said Ian Kratzke, MD, a resident in the department of Surgery at the UNC School of Medicine, and first author of the study. Patients reported improved communication when surgeons donned a clear mask, suggesting that not seeing the surgeon's face may have negative consequences on the surgeon-patient relationship. And simply put, patients prefer to see their surgeon's face. While donning clear masks for these interactions can be a solution, Kapadia says the study is more about raising awareness. "Our face is how we connect with other people," Kapadia said. "We react to people with facial cues, which are being covered by the masks, and that's having a big impact on communication." "We need to be cognizant that patients are having more difficulty connecting with us as providers. I think knowing that before interacting with them will help mitigate the issue by reminding us to spend more time getting to know our patients, and making sure they understand what we are trying to convey." ### This study was sponsored by the Department of Surgery in the UNC School of Medicine. Jordan says al-Aqsa mosque reason for disaccord with Israel Polemics after Prince Hussein visit annulled (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, MARCH 11 - At the origin of the annulment yesterday of a visit to Jerusalem by Prince Hussein of Jordan was, according to Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, "an attempt by Israel to change the agreements concerning his visit to the al-Aqsa mosque", reported the Ammon News website. Speaking in Paris, Safadi said that the son of King Abdallah had intended to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim religious commemoration of al-Israa wal Miraj. "We were surprised," he continued, "when we learned that Israel wanted to change the modalities in such a way that would have led to restrctions for Palestinian Muslims of Jerusalem." As a result, the prince decided to call off the visit. Israeli radio reported that Safadi had added that Israel does not have sovereignty over the al-Aqsa Mosque, "which is a place of Muslim prayer". Israel added that this incident had immediate consequences when on Thursday Jordan prevented Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu for hours from flying in its airspace despite his planned trip to the UAE, which he was then forced to call off as a result.(ANSAmed). (ANSA). WASHINGTON - One Capitol Hill lawmaker is ramping up the pressure on President Joe Biden to begin reopening the Canada-U.S. border. The Canada-U.S. border near Lacolle, Que., is seen on Friday, March 20, 2020. One Capitol Hill lawmaker is ramping up the pressure on President Joe Biden to begin reopening the Canada-U.S. border. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz WASHINGTON - One Capitol Hill lawmaker is ramping up the pressure on President Joe Biden to begin reopening the Canada-U.S. border. New York congressman Brian Higgins wants the White House to prioritize easing border restrictions by the Memorial Day long weekend at the end of May. Higgins tells CTV News that he wants Biden to make fully reopening the border by July 4 his next "No. 1 priority." Higgins is chairman of the Congressional Northern Border Caucus, a group of lawmakers from northern states whose regional economies have been hit hard by the border closure. The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to non-essential travel for nearly a year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. Higgins says since Biden expects most Americans to have access to a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May, that's a good date to begin lifting border restrictions. "Sometimes you have to push, and there's a lot of priorities," Higgins said in an interview with CTV. "My job is to make the opening the U.S.-Canadian border a No. 1 priority for this administration." Even though his New York district is directly across the Niagara River from Ontario, "the distance to Canada is now further than it has ever been in my lifetime," Higgins writes in a letter to Biden. "Given the economic and social costs the border closure has had on the region, we must prioritize efforts to expand essential traveler exceptions and plan for an incremental reopening now." Business leaders, local politicians and academics have been urging both governments for months to begin thinking about how to lift the restrictions, which prohibit incidental travel while allowing essential workers and trade to continue to cross. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2021. SEATTLE Facing the nations first widespread coronavirus outbreak, some of Washington States top leaders quietly gathered on a Sunday morning last March for an urgent strategy session. The virus had been rampaging through a nursing home in the Seattle suburbs. By the time the meeting began, the region had recorded most of the nations first 19 deaths. New cases were surfacing by the hour. As the meetings presentation got to the fifth slide, the room grew somber. The numbers showed a variety of potential outcomes, but almost every scenario was a blue line pointing exponentially upward. My God, what on earth is going to happen here? the King County executive, Dow Constantine, said he was thinking as those in the room, increasingly uneasy about meeting in person, left the pastries untouched. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Lauren Goodger has said the new TOWIE cast 'have had so much work done' while reflecting on her own time appearing in the hit reality show. The pregnant star, 34, who was in the series from 2010 to 2012, spoke about her experiences and regrets while on Robert Hisee's The MindKite podcast. Comparing her time on the show to the more recent series, Lauren said her day was 'more real and genuine', adding that the girls used to do their own hair and makeup as well as take their own clothes to shoots. TOWIE alum: Lauren Goodger has said the new The Only Way Is Essex cast 'have had so much work done' while reflecting on her own time appearing in the hit reality show Lauren, who is currently expecting her first child with beau Charles Drury, said: 'It was so much more innocent and genuine. Now, youve got these 19-year-olds theyve had so much work done. 'We didnt we came on and did our own make-up. Theyve got hair and make up, stylists, extensions we were real, no extensions no nothing. It was what it was. 'We done all our own make-up, everything. Even the adverts, we did our own make-up and took our own clothes.' Lauren continued that she also didn't make much money from the show and instead relied on appearances at clubs and events. How it's changed: The reality star, 34, said back in her day the girls would do their own makeup and hair for shoots and the series was more 'genuine' (pictured, Chloe Brockett 20. Lauren did not name anyone while discussing the newer seasons) She continued: 'They didnt supply anything. Never got paid, nah 50 a day. 'We used to make money out of PAs. Instagram wasn't about when I first started. I used to hate it. Two or three [a night]. It was always me and Arg always. 'He never drove and I used to drive. I remember driving to Hull or somewhere mad, but I would never stay in a hotel and I didnt drink. Id want to get home. I used to stand there and you just had queues of people, "Can I have a photo?".' She added: 'We won a Bafta for the first series it was such a hit we use to get millions of views, for these people meeting us in clubs must have been surreal. Now, theres so many reality stars Jesus, I dont even know half of them!'. New era: Lauren also told the podcast how she didn't make money from Instagram as it wasn't really a major thing when she was appearing on the show (pictured left, Ella Rae Wise, 20, and right, Kelsey Stratford, 20, - Lauren did not name anyone while discussing the newer seasons) 'Theres so many reality stars': She also chatted about how there's now several reality shows and influencers, joking that she 'doesn't know half of them' (Amber Turner, 27, pictured- Lauren did not name anyone who appears on the recent series while discussing the newer seasons) MailOnline has contacted a representative for TOWIE for a comment. Lauren also admitted she missed the peak of her reality star days, saying: Yeah, I liked earning the money, the work side of things. I spent every month in Scotland doing beauty shows and flying to Marbella, I was busy, so so busy. The mum-to-be also chatted about how things used to be at the start of the long-running series, saying at the beginning everyone was 'obsessed' with the show. She said: 'At the beginning we helped with the production, it was real! We did go places and we did row... And when it came out it was more banter, at the nail shops, there's not so much of that now- they just meet In the street and have a row!' Speaking about whether she would change anything, Lauren said she'd do a few things different with money and who she trusted but added: 'I don't regret any of it.' No regrets: Lauren also admitted she missed the peak of her reality star days, saying: Yeah, I liked earning the money, the work side of things' (pictured in April 2011) Lauren also told the podcast: 'I wish I'd got into property, really regret not buying first place... the money I was getting [back then] 25K a photoshoot and that does not exist anymore.' The pregnant beauty also admitted she's had to 'grow a thicker skin' to deal with all the criticism and attention which came with her reality fame. She said: 'Back then we didn't really speak about mental health, and because we were innocent and it was a whole new to world, we didn't go in with game plan - like to get on Love Island and get famous - we were genuine. 'Obviously we wanted to do well, we got the lifestyle out of it, but it was a job. I did it for just over two years and filmed every day nearly. 'Everyone wants to be famous, but I don't understand why. As much as it's a good time and I'm grateful there's a lot to come with it and it's not what you think. So be careful what you wish for. Life changing: The beauty also admitted she's had to 'grow a thicker skin' to deal with all the criticism and attention which came with her reality fame (pictured with Mark Wright in 2011) Elsewhere in the podcast, Lauren chatted about the importance of having goals and admitted she loved making her fitness DVD and doing a beauty course. She explained that doing an aesthetics course made her feel like 'a normal girl' and said she loved working in a salon - something she wouldn't be opposed to doing again in the future. However Lauren shut down any idea of appearing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, telling host Robert: 'I just can't do it, I will die. 'I sit there at home and my hands are sweating, imagine if I was there!' Lauren is now preparing for the arrival of her first child, with the star now being 20 weeks pregnant. Just last month, Lauren admitted that she found the first three months of her pregnancy 'quite difficult' due to sickness and nausea. Differences: Lauren also said there was more 'banter' in the earlier seasons compared to now where its very dramatic with rows (pictured in March 2011) During an Instagram Q&A, she answered questions about her journey into motherhood, including her baby's name, a gender reveal and plans for labour. She also responded to criticism regarding her decision to share her private life online, as she teased a potential return to reality TV. Lauren said: '[I] Found it quite difficult for the first three months. It's just over as well and it's just starting to get better so yeah, just tired still, but not the sickness.' Later on, she elaborated on her feelings of nausea: 'I felt very, very sick but wasn't actually sick all the time. I have been sick a few times, or just had the feeling, I would rather have been sick because it's a mental release.' Lauren confirmed her relationship with Charles last year and moved him into her Essex pad, just three weeks after dating. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Vaccinate or no salary in this UP village Why start vaccination centres if 2nd jab of COVAXIN not available: HC raps Delhi govt PM's picture excluded from COVID-19 vaccine certificates in poll-bound states India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Mar 11: The Union Health Ministry has applied filters in its Co-Win platform in poll-going states and a union territory to exclude the picture of the prime minister from the COVID-19 vaccine certificates, sources said on Thursday. In a letter to the Election Commission on March 9, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan is learnt to have said that "technical measures to comply with the directions of EC have been explored promptly." "Necessary filters" in Co-WIN have been applied for the vaccination centres situated in the four states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Union Territory of Puducherry, as suggested by the Commission. Following a complaint by the Trinamool Congress, the Commission had asked the health ministry to follow the model code in letter and spirit. PM Modis mother receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine It had suggested use of filters in the Co-Win platform to exclude the picture of the prime minister in COVID-19 certificates being given to people in the poll-bound states and the UT. Sources aware of the correspondence between the Election Commission and the ministry said the panel has not referred to any individual or personality but had asked the health ministry to follow the provisions of the model code in letter and spirit. The poll panel had suggested use of filters to comply with the provisions of the poll code. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News The model code had come into force in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry on February 26, the day the EC announced polls in these four states and union territory. Auburn, IN (46706) Today Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain for the afternoon. High 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A state appeals court has refused to consider the American Civil Liberties Unions claim that California law bars local district attorneys from taking part in a legal dispute about execution procedures in cases they prosecuted. Three district attorneys, including Steve Wagstaffe of San Mateo County, have asked federal courts to let them intervene in a long-running suit by Death Row inmates over whether lethal injection procedures in California are so flawed that they violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The prosecutors are seeking to speed up future executions and contend Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has declared a moratorium on executions, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra are failing to defend the states death penalty law. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in September on the prosecutors appeal of a federal judges ruling that denied intervention and said it was up to the governor and attorney general to represent the state on death penalty issues. Last Friday, the ACLU and civil rights groups asked the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco to step in and rule that California law prohibits district attorneys from taking part in such cases. The Legislature has not authorized the DAs intervention in statewide civil rights litigation concerning the constitutionality of the manner of execution, ACLU attorneys told the court. On Tuesday, the court, without seeking a reply from the district attorneys, dismissed the ACLUs claim in a one-line order without further comment. That leaves the issue up to the federal appeals court, at least for now, although the ACLU is not ruling out another effort in state court, either a local Superior Court or the California Supreme Court. California law makes it clear that when any private party files a federal lawsuit against the state, the attorney general is the one responsible for defending the public interest, ACLU attorney Emi MacLean said Wednesday. Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the nonprofit Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, said the ACLUs argument was bewildering, since the federal appeals court is preparing to rule on the prosecutors intervention. Scheidegger was an author of Proposition 66, the 2016 initiative aimed at speeding up executions by changing court procedures and limiting appeals. The district attorneys say it also gives them a role in execution cases. The prosecutors want to challenge an agreement Becerras office made with lawyers for Death Row inmates who originally filed the suit in 2006. After Newsom declared his moratorium and shut down the states execution chamber in March 2019, the inmates and Becerra agreed that they would dismiss their suit over lethal injection procedures but would reinstate it if the moratorium ended and would not face execution until the legal issues were resolved. Both of them (Newsom and Becerra) are actively seeking to ensure that the law is not followed, Robert Brown, chief deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County, told the federal appeals court panel. No one else may remember the victims in this case, but we do. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Washington: The battle that flared in Australia between news publishers and Alphabets Google and Facebook is moving to the US this week. Lawmakers plan to reintroduce legislation on Thursday (AEDT) to allow news organisations to band together to negotiate with the technology companies over payment for content and the data the companies have about readers. Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline has introduced the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act in the last two Congresses. Credit:AP The legislation, which is being proposed in the Senate and House with bipartisan support, would make the US the next front in the news industrys war against Facebook and Google. Publishers scored a major victory last month when Australia passed a law to force the companies to pay for news content. In Europe, publishers have been lobbying European Union lawmakers to copy parts of the Australian law. Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs poses for a portrait at City Hall in 2019. (Max Whittaker/ For The Times) When Michael Tubbs was ousted as Stockton's mayor in November, many wondered how the young Democratic favorite backed by national supporters who in the past have included former President Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Kamala Harris and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes might pen his next chapter. It seems that Gov. Gavin Newsom will help with the writing. Prior to an expected official announcement Thursday, Tubbs said that he has accepted an unpaid advisory role with Newsom to help coordinate economic mobility and opportunity in California, with a focus on the Central Valley. Tubbs briefly flirted with a White House job before accepting the position under Newsom. In an interview, he said the state gig would involve acting as a liaison between state and local governments on issues of equity. "Economic mobility speaks to real opportunity, how to make sure that a child born in California has the opportunity to one day be governor, or one day be mayor, or one day be a CEO," Tubbs said. "How do you make sure that no matter what part of California you live in, you have the opportunity to meet your potential?" Tubbs takes the new role as the Central Valley plays an increasingly important role for Newsom's political future. The effort to recall Newsom has been especially popular in the conservative-leaning inland counties. These are the same areas where the coronavirus hit hard, and where agricultural and small businesses have struggled, with some entrepreneurs refusing to follow state-mandated closures. With the recall poised to qualify if about 1.5 million of its signatures are verified by state authorities, the health of Central Valley residents, both economically and physically, could have a significant effect on voters. Newsom recently changed the state's vaccine distribution plans to increase doses in the Central Valley, saying it improved fairness to give the shots to communities who have suffered the most from the virus, including farmworkers and others deemed essential. Story continues Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio pointed out that equity was a strong theme in Newsom's State of the State speech Tuesday, but added that without a staff and budget, Tubbs' role would be limited. "It keeps him in the mix, which is always important if you want a future career in politics," Maviglio said. "I'm sure it's a good launching pad for whatever he does next." Tubbs said he was offered a similar economic mobility role with the Biden administration, but decided to turn it down in order to remain in California. In an earlier interview with The Times, Tubbs said he intended to run for office again and didn't want to move to Washington. Although he hasn't yet discussed specific policies he will pursue in California, he said, one possible program is "a set of incentives for businesses to locate in Stockton or Fresno or Bakersfield instead of going to Texas or Florida." Tubbs is best known nationally for championing another economic idea universal basic income. He helped start a pilot program in Stockton that gave cash payments to needy residents with no strings attached, but said he has no immediate plans to pursue basic income elsewhere. Tubbs, long considered a rising star in the Democratic party, lost a reelection bid in November for a second term. The upset put Republican challenger and political novice Kevin Lincoln in office. After the defeat, Tubbs said he "took it very personally." Critics of the former mayor said Tubbs had spent too much time on national affairs instead of local issues, promoting causes outside of Stockton, while leaving the city without solutions to problems including homelessness. Tubbs credited part of his loss to a "four-year misinformation campaign" by a Facebook page and social media site that was intent on his removal. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday asked the Ugandan authorities to take immediate steps to end the ongoing abductions by suspected state agents and cease the unlawful detention without trial of opposition supporters For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. Press Release March 11, 2021 SENATE UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTS GORDON RESOLUTION HAILING ABU DHABI CROWN PRINCE The Senate on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution filed by Senator Richard J. Gordon expressing profound appreciation to Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, for being a friend to Filipinos - both to those living in the United Arab Emirates and in the Philippines, in times of disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic that is plaguing the world at present. Senate Resolution No. 671, to which all the senators sought to be made co-author, hailed the Sheikh, who is also Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates, for his compassion, concern, friendship, solidarity and support to the Filipinos. "There is an Arab saying that goes "A friend is known when needed." We also have an English saying, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is truly a friend of the Philippines. Upon his instructions, assistance had been sent for various disaster-struck areas in our country," Gordon said in his sponsorship speech. "Our dear friend His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be celebrating his 60th birthday tomorrow. He was born on March 11, 1961. It is timely that we show to him, our people's appreciation for his gestures of friendship by the recognition of the Senate of the Philippines..." he added. Under the Sheikh's directive, the UAE, through the Emirates Red Crescent, worked with the Philippine Red Cross in building a P19-million worth health center in Dolores, Eastern Samar after typhoon Yolanda struck the Visayas and rebuilt schools, amounting to AED 27-million. After typhoon Rolly hit the country, the UAE government allocated $9.5 million for the communities affected. When Taal Volcano erupted last year, the ERC sent a humanitarian mission to coordinate with the PRC in providing assistance to the affected residents and launched a donation campaign for their benefit. When COVID-19 reached the country, the UAE sent seven metric tons of PPEs and medical aid that benefited approximately 7,000 Filipino medical front liners fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Filipinos in UAE also deeply felt the Crown Prince' caring and support after he gave the highest honor to Filipino medical frontliners serving in the fight against the disease in the UAE; personally checking on their conditions; and providing free vaccination to all UAE residents, including close to .7-million Filipinos there. On the second day of an inquest into the tragic death of Tecra Muigai, a bodyguard attached to the deceased Keroche heiress took the stand Wednesday revealing details about her relationship with Omar Lali. Eric Bett Cheruiyot, a former Kenya Defence Force(KDF) Officer, painted the picture of a troubled love affair saying for the nine months he worked for Tecra, she never lived peacefully with her lover. Cheruiyot, who also worked as Tecras driver, said Lali was a jealous, possessive and protective man, who twice threatened him. The former soldier testified that he often accompanied the pair on various trips and tours to Nyeri, Meru, Nanyuki, Kisumu, Lamu, and Dar es Salaam. Cheruyoit said most of the time Lali would retreat to a solitary table and stay alone for hours while Tecra would join her friends for business engagements which annoyed her lover. Leave Tecra Alone You Are an Old Man During a trip to Dar es Salaam for Tecras brothers birthday, a confrontation ensued that saw Lali allegedly threaten the former army man. At the party held at a hotel in Dar, Cheruiyot said Omar kept to himself and refused to join the rest in the birthday celebrations even after Tecra prodded him. When Cheruiyot confronted him about being antisocial, he said he wasnt pleased with the company. The court heard that after the party, the girlfriend of Tecras brother James Karanja grabbed Tecras handbag from Lali and handed it over to the bodyguard. Leave Tecra alone you are an old man and she is a young woman, James girlfriend Victoria reportedly barked at Lali. This enraged Lali who told Victoria: You and Cheruiyot are up to sinister motive. Lali Hured Unprintable Insults at Tecra Senior principal magistrate Ms Zainab Abdul heard that Lali also verbally abused Tecra at the party. He called her B****, M******, I*****. I couldnt take it. I told Omar that she was my boss and he couldnt call her those names, said the bodyguard. It is during this confrontation that Lali allegedly threatened: You do not know me, I will make you disappear and your children will never see you again. Cheruiyot said he dared Lali to make good on his threat here and now not in the future. You cannot abuse my boss in my presence. Tecra intervened and cooled down both Lali and Cheruiyot. She reportedly brushed off the threat, telling Cheruiyot to go to sleep. Lali and Tecra would later that night fly to Zanzibar leaving Cheruiyot in Dar. She called him from Zanzibar to arrange his flight back to Nairobi. The lovebirds then flew from Zanzibar to Lamu, with Tecra asking Cheruiyot to fly there. The bodyguard said he was reluctant to join them due to the Dar incident. Also Read: Tabitha Karanja Reveals the Millions Tecra Sent to Omar Lali Second Threat In Lamu While in Lamu, Cheruiyot said Lali threatened him again, reminding him about their confrontation in Dar es Salaam. Youre now in my hometown? I will never forget what you did to me in Dar es Salaam. You dont know me. Your kids can miss you, the bodyguard recounted Lalis threat. The guard said he reported the alleged threats to Tecra and later quit citing a hostile working environment because of Lali. Cheruiyot also told the court Tecra had once kicked Lali out of her Naivasha home, leaving the 51-year-old in tears. He said he had arrived for duty when a house help gossiped to him that she found Lali crying in the morning with his luggage thrown outside. I came in the morning and the domestic worker asked me what had happened the night before because she found Omar crying, he said. Adding: I asked the house help why Lali was crying then she told me he had been kicked out of the Naivasha residence of Tecra. He said the Keroche heiress directed him to take Lali to the airport but she changed her mind after the lovebirds talked on the balcony for two hours. Tecra Slapped Omar Lali Cheruiyot also narrated an incident where Tecra slapped Lali outside a Naivasha hotel. Lali had refused to board her vehicle to proceed to another hotel where she was to meet some friends. Tecra grabbed Mr Lalis shirt and forced him to board their vehicle but he resisted. Its then I heard Tecra unleash a heavy slap on Mr Lali then he boarded the vehicle, Mr Cheruiyot narrated. He said Lali had warned Tecra against meeting some two friends whom he claimed were not good people. Tecra once asked him (Lali)how do you want me to work if I cannot meet and discuss business with my friends. Cheruiyot said Tecra had vowed to leave Lali but it never came to pass. Eric Cheruiyot worked for Tecra Muigai between May 2019 and January 2020. The inquest continues. Kim Cattrall received her first coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday after the state of New York expanded the jab eligibility to over-60s. The Sex And The City star, 64, took to Instagram to share a photo of herself receiving the vaccination as she praised NY for the development amid the pandemic. In the photo, Kim, who owns a lavish apartment in Manhattan, wore a black face mask as a medical professional administered the jab into her arm. Shots And The City! Kim Cattrall received her first coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday after the state of New York expanded the jab eligibility to over-60s The actress penned: 'Theyve expanded the vaccine eligibility age in New York! Made my appt yesterday and got the shot this morning. Good work NY! .' Kim did not share what vaccine she received although it is believed that the following Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna are available to residents. It was announced earlier this week by governor Andrew Cuomo that the state of New York had expanded the jab eligibility to over-60s. The new development means pharmacies can vaccinate anyone eligible with the roll out starting on Wednesday. Praise: The Sex And The City star, 64, took to Instagram to share a photo of herself receiving the vaccination as she praised NY for the development amid the pandemic NY resident: Kim, who owns a lavish apartment in Manhattan, did not share what vaccine she received although it is believed that the following Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna are available to residents (pictured in February) Kim joins a collection of stars who have been vaccinated against coronavirus with Stephen Fry, Phillip Schofield, Lorraine Kelly and James Norton also getting their jabs back in the UK this week. The US is now vaccinating a sustained two million people a day, according to data from Bloomberg. Two million COVID-19 shots were administered earlier this month, keeping the seven-day rolling average of doses administered a day to two million for the second day in row. It puts the Biden administration well ahead of the president's goal of giving 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. Ready! Stephen Fry received his first coronavirus vaccination at Westminster Abbey in London on Wednesday Protection: Phillip Schofield, 58, and Lorraine Kelly, 61, (L-R) became the latest celebrities getting their Covid vaccinations back in the UK this week It is a feat that was well within reach even before vaccine makers increased supplies and third shot, Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine, was authorised at the end of February. More than 82.5 million doses have been administered since the US vaccine rollout began on December 14. More than half of seniors 65 or older have gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, White House officials announced on Friday. Only recently, it was revealed that A Sex In The City revival titled And Just Like That... was confirmed. Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays show lead Carrie Bradshaw, promised fans a new SATC adaptation that properly reflects the times we live in. COVID and the City: Only recently, it was revealed that A Sex In The City revival titled And Just Like That... was confirmed (Kim, far right, pictured with the original cast in throwback show still) She confirmed that the HBO Max miniseries will address the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it has had on the show's iconic setting of New York City. Sarah also recently clarified that there will not be a fourth main character replacing Kim's Samantha Jones, after the British actress refused to return to the franchise. In perfect Carrie Bradshaw fashion, she told YouTuber Adam Glyn: 'We're not looking to create a fourth character, we have New York City as a fourth character and it will be an interesting new character that we are excited about.' Candace Bushnell, 62, who wrote the 1996 book on which the show is based, said the new instalment will work without Samantha, recently telling Page Six: 'You know what, I think it's fine. Kim is a grown woman. 'She is 64 and she's made a decision that I'm sure she has 10 very good reasons for and I respect her for that.' She added: 'Kim should be happy and I think she is happy. I think that her character Samantha is always going to be an inspiration to them. So somehow, I imagine she'll be there in spirit and as an inspiration.' Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. Mike DeWine will hold his regular coronavirus briefing this afternoon as signup begins for the new Cleveland mass vaccination site. Ohioans can sign up for the site at gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. Today also is the first day that Ohioans 50 and older, plus those with Type 2 diabetes and end-stage renal disease, will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines under new criteria DeWine announced earlier this week. Previously, general eligibility cutoff was age 60 and up. In Cleveland, the mass vaccination clinic begins March 17 at the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. It will operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for eight weeks. The site will be able to vaccinate up to 6,000 people a day. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending officials to Cleveland to assist the state and local providers in operations. DeWines briefing is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. To watch, visit The Ohio Channel or watch the video from the Ohio Channel embedded below. Spruce Forest opens for season through a new door With the crashing of the trees, three of the cabins were destroyed, along with damaging the village church and other buildings as well. CASPER, Wyo. - President Joe Bidens bid to tackle climate change is running straight through the heart of the U.S. oil and gas industry -- a much bigger, more influential foe than Democrats faced when they took on the coal industry during the Obama years. An oil well is seen east of Casper, Wyo., on Feb. 26, 2021. President Joe Biden's administration is at odds with the petroleum industry in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond for imposing a moratorium on leasing federal lands for oil and gas production. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver) CASPER, Wyo. - President Joe Bidens bid to tackle climate change is running straight through the heart of the U.S. oil and gas industry -- a much bigger, more influential foe than Democrats faced when they took on the coal industry during the Obama years. Coal dominated U.S. power generation for decades, with the bulk of that fuel coming from the massive strip mines of Wyomings Powder River Basin a market that collapsed in recent years as utilities switched to natural gas. Fast forward to 2021 and oil and gas have eclipsed coal to become the biggest human source of greenhouse gas emissions from public lands and waters, federal production data indicates. Thats made government fuel sales an irresistible target for Democrats as they try to rein in climate change. Bidens election has put big oil companies on the defensive after largely having their way in Washington under President Donald Trump. But in taking on petroleum companies with a moratorium on oil and gas lease sales, Biden picked a foe that spent lavishly over decades to secure allegiance from Republican lawmakers. The industry is also deeply enmeshed in local economies -- from Alaska and the Gulf Coast to the Rocky Mountain drilling hub of Casper, Wyoming -- posing a challenge to the Democrat as he tries to navigate between strong action on the climate and recovering from the pandemic's financial devastation. Youre not hurting the big guys that are doing all the development. Youre hurting these little guys that are dreaming up where no one else thought there was any oil and gas, said Steve Degenfelder, land manager for family-owned Kirkwood Oil & Gas in Casper, a community of about 60,000 known as The Oil City. Trumps final months in office saw a huge spike in new drilling permits after his administration sped up approvals. As a result, some companies with the biggest presence on public lands have announced that they are ready to weather changes under Biden. An executive from Devon Energy told investors last month that the company was ready to roll with the punches and has about 500 drilling permits in hand. That will last the company for years in Wyoming and New Mexico. They expected this....They prepared for it, said University of Oklahoma Associate Professor Robert Lifset, who teaches history of the U.S. energy industry. But the difference now is going to be stark. (Oil and gas companies) dont get to run energy and environmental policy in the way they once did. Gone from power in Washington are former industry lobbyists including Trumps Interior Department secretary, David Bernhardt, who oversaw a loosening of rules for drilling. Theyve been replaced in many instances with environmentalists and industry critics. Bidens nominee for Interior secretary, New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, has a history of anti-oil activism. Just a week after his inauguration, Biden announced the sales moratorium while officials review potential climate impacts and whether energy companies are paying enough. He's following a familiar template -- a 2016 Obama-era moratorium on federal coal sales that Trump and other Republicans seized on as evidence of a war on coal by Democrats. That last war was against a retreating army: Coal production in Wyoming peaked in 2008 and by the time of the moratorium, most major coal companies had gone bankrupt and scuttled plans for major expansions. The oil industry stumbled last year during the coronavirus pandemic and a price war, but now companies such as Devon, EOG Resources and Occidental Petroleum are poised to expand their presence on public lands, including in the Powder River Basin. Less insulated against the policy changes are smaller companies such as Kirkwood Oil & Gas, operating in downtown Casper since it was founded by William Kirkwood in 1965. It's now run by his sons with about 40 employees and drilling in several western states. A company like Kirkwood can spend years piecing together federal leases like a jigsaw puzzle and assessing the profitability of oil and gas deposits as market conditions and oilfield technologies evolve, said land manager Degenfelder. But after last year's price drop and now the leasing moratorium, its plans to further develop areas such as western Wyomings Upper Green River Basin home to two of the most productive U.S. onshore gas fields are on hold. While some countries move away from fossil fuels, brothers Steve and Bob Kirkwood are on the lookout for places that aren't, such as Colombia, They're also considering private lands in west Texas and exploring other options such as mining metals used in electric car batteries. Oil from federal and tribal lands makes up about about a quarter of U.S. production. Oil and gas companies and their supporters gave about $136 million in the last election cycle, mainly to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Kirkwood's owners and their wives donated more than $15,000 to Trumps re-election campaign and other GOP causes, records show. Trump supported the U.S. oil business, Steve Kirkwood said. Biden will support it in Saudi Arabia, Iran everywhere else. Taxes on energy production and infrastructure in Wyoming help bankroll schools, roads and public services. In the Powder River Basin, petroleum operations now provide most of the property tax base in some counties. Last year, the government sent $457 million to Wyoming from lease sales and energy production on U.S. lands in the state second only to New Mexico. Even with Trump gone, the oil and gas industry still has formidable allies in Congress, who say the moratorium would cost tens of thousands of jobs. Republican Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming blocked immediate consideration of Haalands nomination on Thursday, citing her past statements against the oil industry. A final vote is expected Monday. Benefits to the climate from a ban on new oil and gas leases could take years to realize, according to economic analysts. Like Kirkwood Oil & Gas, companies could respond by shifting some of their activities onto private lands in the U.S., and more oil would likely come in from overseas, said economist Brian Prest, who examined effects of a long-term leasing ban for the research group Resources for the Future. As a result, almost three-quarters of the greenhouse gas emission reductions from a ban could be offset by oil and gas from other sources, said Prest. The net reduction would be about 100 millions tons (91 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide annually. Pressures on the oil and gas industry are growing along with concern over climate change, said Lifset, the Oklahoma history professor. Foremost are recent plans by major vehicle makers including Volvo and GM to transition to electric vehicles from gasoline, which takes up almost half the U.S. crude oil on the market. The real threat is not the government limiting production,'' Lifset said. Its the economy and the culture moving away from consuming oil and shrinking the market. __ Brown reported from Billings, Mont. __ On Twitter follow Mead Gruver: @meadgruver and Matthew Brown: @MatthewBrownAP Few specifics of the possible Chicago program were discussed at Thursdays meeting of the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development. Villegas, who is the committees chairman, noted that giving 5,000 families each $500 per month would cost $30 million per year, less than 2% of the federal recovery money Chicago ought to receive. The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination has crossed 2.56 crores coverage, the union health ministry informed on Thursday evening. "A total of 2,56,90,545 vaccine doses were administered in the country, as per the provisional report till 1 pm on Thursday," Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan informed during the weekly press conference of the ministry here. "Acceleration in vaccination has been achieved with the active collaboration of private facilities. 71 per cent of the total number of doses are administered in public health facilities and almost 29 per cent has been contributed by private facilities," Bhushan said. AEFI (Adverse event following immunisation) reported so far are 0.020 per cent of the total immunisation done. Bhushan further said, "Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Mumbai, Bengaluru urban, Ernakulam, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nasik and Aurangabad districts have the highest number of active cases." "Maharashtra has more than one lakh active cases. Out of 10 districts with the highest number of COVID-19 active cases in the country, eight are from Maharashtra," he said. "Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana are at the tipping point. We have had three meetings with these states where they have been told to pull up their socks," he added. Daily new deaths (seven-day moving average) remains low despite rise in COVID-19 active cases. India reported 22,854 new COVID-19 cases, 18,100 recoveries, and 126 deaths in the last 24 hours. The cumulative cases in the country reached 1,12,85,561 including 1,89,226 active cases and 1,09,38,146 recoveries. The death toll due to COVID-19 has mounted to 1,58,189, the health ministry said on Thursday morning. (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 half of the American churchgoers said that the pandemic has caused them to grow in their faith, while the majority are planning to attend church physically once COVID-19 is over. Lifeway Research conducted a study on Feb 5-18, comprising 1,000 Protestant churchgoers in the United States. Scott McConnell, the research center's executive director, addressed the pastors' concern about church members who have yet to return attending in-person worship services. "Two-thirds of pastors whose churches were open for in-person worship in January saw attendance of less than 70% of their January 2020 attendance. Many of these pastors are wondering if those who haven't returned ever will. Nine in 10 churchgoers plan to when it is safe to do so," McConnell said. 91% of the respondents said that, after the pandemic, they plan to attend in-person worship services as much as they did before. 6% said that they will attend less than before, 2% stated that they will rarely attend and only 1% responded that they will completely stop attending in-person worship services. 94% said that they greatly value attending worship services with others, while only 4% disagreed. 43% of young adults, ages 18-29, said that they will attend church more often after the pandemic than they did before. 28% of the respondents who said that they will attend services more after the pandemic are evangelicals, while those who are not evangelicals agreeing to such is just 19%. Majority of the churchgoers stayed with their churches. 87% said they have done such, 5% switched to other churches, 3% transferred to another church because of a move and those who no longer belong to a church is 5%. When the churches opened in January 2021, 51% did not attend in-person services, wherein 22% of them said that they were not offered by their church while 30% chose not to attend. 83% said that they have watched livestreamed worship services at least once in 2020. 71% of the respondents considered themselves as "devout Christians with a strong faith," while 23% considered themselves as Christians but not devout and 5% said that they are Christians but not practicing the faith. 54% responded that the pandemic has made them grow in their relationship with God, while 39% are on status quo and 7% stated that they have become more distant. 87% said that they have kept their faith, while only 11% stated that they are questioning their belief. "The faith of most churchgoers remains resilient despite a year filled with much uncertainty and fewer options for meeting in person with others from church. During these trying times, churchgoers were almost eight times more likely to relate to God more than less," McConnell noted. 37% of the young adults said that they became closer to God, but 24% of this group also said that they are questioning their faith. 8% of the churchgoers were diagnosed with COVID-19, while 42% said that someone in their church was diagnosed with the disease and 18% stated that someone from the church died from it. 15% lost income due to the reduced working hours, while 6% lost their jobs. The survey also showed that churchgoers were helping each other during the pandemic. 41% said that they have checked on others in church, while 38% stated that their fellow church members have checked on them. 10% said that they have received tangible needs from their church, while 15% stated that the pandemic has given them opportunity to share the gospel to others. "Like other Americans, churchgoers have seen the effects of COVID-19 first-hand. Many churchgoers have also felt the benefits of being part of a church as members checked on them or provided assistance," the executive director observed. Teachers will be crucial frontline as they help students overcome effects of pandemic and re-focus on learning Crisis Response, Classroom Re-Culturing and De-Escalation Skills Training Part of Federal COVID Relief Funding Available to Schools MILWAUKEE, WI / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / As many U.S. teachers, students, and parents alike prepare for or begin full-scale re-entry to in-person learning, a new study commissioned by Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) shows 84% of teachers anticipate that students will face post-traumatic challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic that will require varying degrees of focus to re-establish routines, classroom behaviors, and education-conducive learning environments. With that insight in mind, CPI today announced it is customizing its accredited verbal de-escalation training to also offer supplemental educator-specific content to help ensure teachers and administrators have the proper tools to best assist returning students following a trauma-centered year. The additional training elements are being developed by CPI, the global leader in de-escalation training, in partnership with national education trauma expert Dr. Lori Desautels. "Students and families, as well as teachers and administrators, have faced major adversity in the past year, and as schools return to full-time, in-person learning, America's educators are rightly concerned," said Susan Driscoll, president of CPI. "Many students have faced significant trauma ranging from home isolation and loss of family members to changes in or lack of routine. Simply restarting school won't erase the after-effects. School staff, and thankfully our lawmakers, are anticipating those challenges and looking at how to best be prepared to re-establish learning and connections and continue classroom achievement." According to Driscoll, she is encouraged with the federal government's support to help school districts of all sizes and circumstances prepare for success through the COVID CARES Act. Those federal funds, available now, are for education-related needs, such as for this educator training, through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant Program. With its person-centered focus, CPI training for teachers and school staff will help schools prepare to manage, and more importantly, prevent crisis moments during and after re-entry. CPI training programs Nonviolent Crisis Intervention and Verbal De-escalation will also help schools comply with legal mandates that apply to each state, including restraint reduction standards and training requirements. Dr. Desautels, acclaimed author of "Connections Over Compliance: Rewiring our Perceptions of Discipline," is working in partnership with CPI to design the educator-specific training content that will be offered along with CPI's flagship and ESSER-aligned training programs at no additional cost to help schools prepare. "In as much as healthcare workers have been our heroes on the frontline of the pandemic, so too will be our teachers and those in education as they are faced with many students who have been traumatized now returning to classrooms," said Driscoll. "Recovery from trauma and neglect is all about relationships - rebuilding trust, regaining confidence, and returning to a sense of security," said Dr. Lori Desautels. "Our teaching moments need to support and prioritize safety and connection. The good news is that CPI de-escalation training emphasizes the co-regulation skills that can help teachers to be more confident and students to be more ready to learn." The nationwide study, commissioned by CPI, queried approximately 600 educators who have classroom culture, behavior, and de-escalation expertise and who are CPI-certified in de-escalation training. The survey, completed in early March, has a margin of error of +/- 3%. CPI offers a range of trainings, free resources, and tips on de-escalation in the classroom, workplace, community, and organizations. Learn more at www.crisisprevention.com. About Crisis Prevention Institute Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc. is an international training organization committed to the best practices and safe behavior management methods that focus on prevention. Founded in 1980, it has been their mission to reduce the likelihood and severity of workplace violence incidents. Over 17,000 facilities, 37,000 Certified Instructors, and 15 million trained professionals worldwide trust CPI to help create more confident and productive employees. CONTACT: Alicia Wilson 608-577-4717 alwilson@laughlin.com SOURCE: Crisis Prevention Institute View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/635048/84-of-Teachers-Anticipate-Trauma-Related-Challenges-As-Students-Transition-Back-to-Full-In-Person-Learning-in-US-Schools A White House official will not rule out the possibility that President Joe Biden could sign an executive order or his administration could take other action to add a third gender option to federal identification documents. The topic came up during a White House press briefing Monday, which included remarks from a White House Gender Policy Council member. A reporter reminded White House Gender Policy Council Executive Director Jennifer Klein that "the president and the vice president campaigned during the election on giving a third gender option on federal government IDs to individuals who want them." He asked, "Does the president see value in signing an executive order to make that happen?" Source:The Christian Post New Jersey may have hundreds of McDonalds locations. But for a limited time, it will also have a McDowells. You read that right. McDowells, the McDonalds knockoff from the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America, is coming to New Jersey for a little more than a week in April as a pop-up eatery. Tickets are required to attend the pop-up, which can be purchased here. The promotion, which comes after the sequel Coming 2 America hit Prime Video on March 4, will take place at the Cherry Hill Mall from April 16 to 25. The menu features the Big Mick (all the fixings of a Big Mac without the sesame seeds on the bun), Chicken Chunks (not nuggets), the Meatless Mick with an Impossible Burger patty, and the Magnum Mick featuring eight patties and eight slices of cheese on a long (non-seeded) roll. Come experience the fun of McDowells! the pop-ups website says. We are more than just our amazing food. We also have fun photo ops, merchandise, and displays! Coming to America stars Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and John Amos among others. Murphy plays Akeem Joffer, the crown prince of fictional African nation Zamunda who comes to America searching for love. He (hilariously) works at McDowells in the film. This isnt the first movie-related burger pop-up to come to New Jersey. Moobys, the burger joint from Kevin Smiths films, came to Red Bank in September. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here. El presidente @FSagasti, junto con los representantes de @ONUPeru, @OPSOMSPeru y @UNICEFperu en nuestro pais; y acompanado del viceministro de @CancilleriaPeru, Ignacio Higueras, recibe el primer lote de vacunas contra la COVID-19 del mecanismo Covax Facility. pic.twitter.com/IaLTWFgtXt [March 10, 2021] Yuktix GidaBits, early warning system for plant diseases is launched for farmers in Karnataka BANGALORE, India, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yuktix a provider of data intelligence tools for agriculture has launched its plant disease forecast platform, Yuktix GidaBits. The platform provides advance disease warning and management advice to farmers. The Gidabits platform uses Yuktix IoT technology and ankiDB data analysis software to predict weather linked diseases in advance. Most of plant pathogens thrive in certain conditions. Gidabit used the accurate 24x7 weather and soil monitoring along with crop specific disease models to deliver advance warning about impending diseases to grower phones. Yuktix mobile app provides right chemical recommendations and best R&D package of practices for the specific crop. Farmers can also take pictures and share with a researcher via Yuktix platform for disease management recommendations. The losses from pest and disease attacks account for more than 20-25% ( around INR 50,000 crore ) of the crop losses. With a changing climate and shifting weather patterns, the problems are only going to be acerbated in the future. There is a significant body of research linking changing weather patterns to occurrence of diseases. There are many early warning systems hosted by research organizations using statistical models. https://www.business-sandard.com/article/news-ani/india-loses-15-25-pct-potential-crop-output-due-to-pests-weeds-diseases-116072000250_1.html https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/crops-worth-rs-50000-crore-are-lost-a-year-due-to-pest-disease-study/articleshow/30345409.cms?from=mdr However, the current systems are unidirectional. Research organizations have websites dispensing the advice but there is no feedback coming from the farm. The advice is dispensed and forgotten. There are no feedback loops and hence there is no learning in the system. The cost of delivery is high and there is no out-of-the-box experience. Yuktix Gidabits is an interactive system. The forecast is half the story. A grower also needs the right recommendations from the system as well as a trained researcher. A system with feedback will also improve the forecast accuracy. Yuktix Gidabits is a hassle free experience for the growers. They just have to call a help line number (available in Kannada and English) to get the installation done. The Yuktix IoT device is a proven technology that is in use at major agri companies and NGO setups. The Yuktix IoT devices are solar powered sensor devices that relay accurate field data 24x7 to Yuktix ankiDB cloud. The IoT devices are like a black box that just needs to be put in the field and does not require any expertise to operate. Shailendra Singh, the co-founder of Yuktix, said that this is the first system to provide disease forecast in snack sized subscription so anyone can join. The on boarding is extremely simple. Farmers just have to call a number. Further, all the interactions for grower is via a mobile app only. We are using sage ML pipeline on AWS for analyzing the images and data along with the statistical packages available in Yuktix ankiDB sdk. We are a firm believer in the need of domain expertise so the app allows the growers to interact directly with a research expert if required. The tools also allows an expert to quickly shift through the farms data along with recommendations and scribble his own. The system is going online with Tomato, capsicum and Guava. About Yuktix Yuktix is a provider of digital tools for farm digitization. Yuktix manufactures IoT devices for capturing micro weather and soil conditions that along with Yuktix ankiDB cloud provides expert guidance to growers at each stage of crop life cycle. Youtube link - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq53oREIZsL_GX039MMeliw Link for registration - https://yuktix.swipepages.net/GidaBits-NextGen-agriculturrfarms Photo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1453620/Yuktix_GidaBits.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-10 22:12:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisory body, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, concluded its annual session on Wednesday, a day before the conclusion of the annual session of the National People's Congress. During the "two sessions," President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, joined national lawmakers and political advisors in deliberations and discussion on four occasions. The following are some highlights of his remarks: -- High-quality development will remain the theme for China's economic and social development in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period and beyond, and it concerns the overall situation of the country's socialist modernization drive. -- High-quality development is the general requirement for all aspects of economic and social development. -- We should step up the green transformation of key industries and areas, foster cleaner production and accelerate green and low-carbon development. -- Top-level design and comprehensive measures are needed to protect the eco-systems in mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts. -- Education is essential to the country and the Party. -- Teachers are the central pillar of education, and strengthening the professional ethics of teachers must be a top priority. -- Efforts should be made to facilitate more comprehensive understanding of the Party's policies concerning ethnic groups. -- Prevention is the most economical and effective health strategy. -- Chinese women have actively devoted themselves to the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and played an important role in "supporting half of the sky" with no less courage or effort than men. -- Innovation in defense-related science and technology must be significantly boosted. -- The whole armed forces must always be ready to respond to all kinds of complex and difficult situations, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and provide strong support for fully building a modern socialist country. Over celebrating on Mothers Day and St Patricks Day could delay any potential return to full time education for thousands of young people, the deputy First Minister has warned. Michelle ONeill told Thursdays Covid-19 media briefing that people still need to be very careful with two big dates in the calendar coming up over the next few days. Thats why were appealing to the public to be very careful, said Mrs ONeill, with the R-rate of infections currently standing between 0.75 and 0.95 and Mothers Day and St Patricks Day approaching. We understand Mothers Day is a significant time for all of us. Families want to get together its just not going to be possible this year because of the current situation. She said that the new variant of Covid means that the virus spreads faster than ever, even among a small number of people gathered together. Were asking people to bear with things for a bit longer, she said. Her comments came after thousands of children across Northern were again left waiting to be given a date when they will be allowed to return to school. No decision was reached at the Executive meeting on Thursday on the full return of all pupils to the classroom, but First Minister Arlene Foster did confirm that P1 to P3 pupils will now be allowed to remain in class beyond March 22. In the Executives original plan, the youngest pupils would have reverted to remote learning from that date to allow those in post primary exam years 12-14 to return to school. Exam year pupils will still return on that date. The Education Minister had argued that it did not make enormous sense to withdraw P1-P3 from school just nine days after returning and had asked for those year groups to be allowed to continue with face-to-face learning. The Executive will discuss the full return to school again next Tuesday. We have consistently said as an Executive that we have a shared focus on the education and well-being of young people and we have prioritised getting them back into school, said Mrs ONeill. It was great to see the youngest children returning to school this week and we look forward to all children being back in the classroom as soon as possible. The signs are all very positive but we need continued support to keep us going in the right direction and keep things in check. The message today is still very much steady as you go, she continued. But we are approaching a number of occasions over the next week that we know are very important to families and communities. Mrs ONeill added that the situation in the Holyland area of Belfast would be watched carefully while First Minister Arlene Forster added: Please enjoy the festival within your own home, please be responsible and do not break the law. We continue to collaborate around the situation in the university area and we will continue to have those conversations over the coming days. She also said she had hoped to go further towards a full school return, but that the Executive will aim to provide clarity and certainty on Tuesday. I would have liked to have moved a bit further in relation to other cohorts but what were doing is looking at this in a strategic way and we will make announcements on P4-P7 and Years 8-11 on Tuesday. Weve seen the joy from P1 to P3 and thats what we want to see, our young people back at school, she added. Mrs Foster also confirmed an extension in rates relief for another 12 months for around 30,000 businesses in a package worth 230m. That will allow rates relief for retail, hospitality, airports, newspaper production and childcare settings. A further package to support travel agencies was also announced. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden announced the U.S. Government's plan to buy additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine. The US Department of Health and Human Services would make the purchase to ensure maximum flexibility during the pandemic time. The timing of the supply is yet to be announced. At a White House event attended by the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck, which is collaborating to expand production of the single-dose vaccine, Biden said, 'There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of this past year, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume victory is inevitable. ...There's always a chance that we'll encounter unexpected challenges or will - there will be a new need for a vaccine effort or vaccination effort. A lot can happen. A lot can change. And we need to be prepared.' Biden in early March had announced that his administration was on track to have enough anti-coronavirus vaccine supply for every adult in the U.S. by the end of May. Biden further arranged for Merck's support in production of J&J vaccine and also invoked the Defense Production Act to equip two Merck facilities to safely manufacture the vaccine. He also asked the Department of Defense to provide daily logistical support to strengthen Johnson & Johnson's efforts. Johnson & Johnson, which received an emergency use authorization for its Janssen COVID-19 vaccine from the FDA in late February, had indicated that it was likely to fall short of vaccine production guidance. Richard Nettles, the vice president of U.S. medical affairs at J&J unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals that develops the vaccine, recently informed lawmakers that around four million doses would be ready for shipment following an EUA, much lower than its federal commitment. However, the company still expects to supply 100 million doses to the U.S. by the end of June. The US already has ordered 300 million doses each from other two approved vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna. The Government expects to ultimately help other countries with vaccine distribution if there's more vaccine doses than required in the country. Almost 9.8 percent of the population in the U.S., where people are now getting two-dose vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, are fully vaccinated, while nearly 19 percent received at least one vaccine dose, the CDC said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX JOHNSON & JOHNSON-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de (LR) Disability Inclusion Minister Carla Qualtrough, Justice Minister David Lametti, and Health Minister Patty Hajdu announce new legislation that would expand access to medically assisted dying, in Ottawa on Feb. 24, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Disability Community Worried About Assisted Dying Expansion Taylor Hyatt has cerebral palsy and advocates for people with disabilities. She recalls an occasion where acute breathing problems brought her to a hospital emergency room in Ottawa. When a doctor asked her if she wanted oxygen, she replied, Of course I do. The doctor then asked, Are you sure? I was floored, Hyatt told The Epoch Times. It was a real eye-opener for me about the way people trust doctors to be a guide to maybe frightening situations. Hyatt is concerned that a health system already inclined to present death to those with disabilities will veer even more in that direction if Bill C-7 becomes law. If this bill goes through, and it probably will, I am thinking that I dont want to be in the hospital alone ever again. Who knows what kind of judgments will be made? And unfortunately, what disabled people have to say about the value of their own minds and the support they need instead of the facilitation of their deathall of that is being pushed aside, she said. Bill C-7, which has had its second reading in the House of Commons, would expand medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to the disabled or mentally ill. People living with disabilities who testified during Senate committee hearings on the bill in February 2021 said they had already had experiences in which medical practitioners pressured them to die. Jonathan Marchand, who has muscular dystrophy, testified that several doctors pressured me to adopt euthanasia, comfort care as they called it, after severe pneumonia put him in intensive care. I never asked for this. I spent the next few weeks thinking and crying my eyes out. My life is really over? The thought had never crossed my mind. A statement submitted by Gabrielle Peters, who described herself as a disabled, poor woman, said: Decades of dire warnings about how old and disabled people are going to burden our health care and society has been matched by marketing MAiD as a heroic, brave, self-sacrificing, and honourable death. You would be shocked at the number of times I have been called selfish by health-care professionals for wanting health care. At least 15 similar incidents have been made public. CTV news released two recordings made by Roger Foley where health-care providers in London, Ont., presented him with assisted death instead of assisted home care. Foley, who has cerebellar ataxia, a brain disorder that leaves him unable to care for himself, launched a lawsuit as a result. The accounts disturbed Manitoba Senator Don Plett, leader of the Opposition in the Senate. I have a real problem with, in my opinion, clearly singling out the disabled community and telling them that their life is not worth living, Plett said in an interview. I just think it is a sad, sad reflection on our society when we do not offer people the help that they need. We should spend our time making living with dignity a higher priority than having dying with dignity the priority. Plett sought to have the bill amended to make it a criminal offence for medical practitioners to discuss assisted dying with patients who did not request it. The amendment was defeated 6618 with one abstention. Bill C-7 was prompted by the 2019 decision of Quebec Superior Court Justice Christine Baudouin, a case whose plaintiffs included Jean Truchon, who had cerebral palsy. He can no longer live on his own. He says he has been dead since 2012, Baudouin wrote. Senators voted 5721 on Feb. 11 to amend the bill to add mental illness as an eligible condition for MAiD. Plett called it a brutal amendment to horrible legislation. I believe that making mental illness as a sole reason for asking for assisted suicide is just, its just absolutely going way too far, he said. Last November, an Angus Reid poll commissioned by the Cardus think tank found that 69 percent of Canadians were concerned that an expanded MAiD could lead those with mental health issues to choose death instead of dealing with their condition. Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said the Netherlands and Belgium allow euthanasia for mental illness, but with stricter conditions, including a years wait. In that one year, you must try all effective known treatments, he said. Canadas Bill C-7 does not require that you at least try effective treatments, so if youre not terminally ill you can die within 90 days if youve been approved. Bill C-7 says that if someones death is reasonably foreseeable, he or she can request MAiD and receive it the same day, whereas such a request would require a 90-day wait in other circumstances. Schadenberg says the bill leaves itself vulnerable to legal challenges to further expand euthanasia because the phrase reasonably foreseeable has never been defined, and some conditions require a wait while others dont. Except for its exclusion of minors, C-7 is the most liberal euthanasia legislation in the world, he said. Schadenberg added that MAiD has already caused substantial grief. It leaves a lot of people behind who have great, great pain related to the fact that a family member whom they dearly loved died in a way that they thought was absolutely wrong, he said. Theyre not happy about it, but theyre also emotionally distraught by the situation, and they dont want their stories told. Health authorities in Denmark and Norway said on Thursday they had temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine shots after reports of the formation of blood clots in some who have been vaccinated. The move comes after Austria stopped using a batch of shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. Danish health authorities said the country's decision to suspend the shots for two weeks came after a 60-year old woman in Denmark, who was given an shot from the same batch that was used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died. Danish authorities said they had responded "to reports of possible serious side effects, both from Denmark and other European countries." "It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days in Denmark. "This is a cautionary decision," Geir Bukholm, director of infection prevention and control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), told a news conference. FHI did not say how long the suspension would last. "We ... await information to see if there is a link between the vaccination and this case with a blood clot," Bukholm said. Also on Thursday, Italy said it would suspend use of an batch that was different to the one used in Austria. Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be administered and that the cases of blood clots corresponded with the rate of such cases in the general population. "This is a super-cautious approach based on some isolated reports in Europe," Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters. "The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence," he said, adding that the COVID-19 disease was very strongly associated with blood clotting. AstraZeneca on Thursday told Reuters in a written statement the safety of its vaccine had been extensively studied in human trials and peer-reviewed data had confirmed the vaccine was generally well tolerated. The drugmaker said earlier this week its shots were subject to strict and rigorous quality controls and that there had been "no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine". It said it was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support their investigation. The European Union's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said on Wednesday there was no evidence so far linking AstraZeneca to the two cases in Austria. It said the number of thromboembolic events - marked by the formation of blood clots - in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine is no higher than that seen in the general population, with 22 cases of such events being reported among the 3 million people who have received it as of March 9. EMA was not immediately available for comment on Thursday. Four other countries - Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia - have stopped inoculations from the batch while investigations continue, the EMA said. The batch of 1 million doses went to 17 EU countries. Swedish authorities said they did not find sufficient evidence to stop vaccination with AstraZeneca's vaccine. Sweden has found two cases of "thromboembolic events" in connection with AstraZeneca's vaccine and about ten for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. "We see no reason to revise our recommendation," Veronica Arthurson, head of drug safety at the Swedish Medical Products Agency, told a news conference. "There is nothing to indicate that the vaccine causes this type of blood clots." Spain on Thursday said it had not registered any cases of blood clots related to AstraZeneca's vaccine so far and would continue administering the shots. (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.) 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. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 02:36:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BISHKEK, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Kyrgyz Parliament on Thursday approved a law to hold a constitutional referendum on April 11. The law was approved by 94 lawmakers, while 6 voted against it during the parliament's meeting on Thursday. A total of 100 deputies out of 120 attended the meeting. The draft of the new constitution was published on the website of the Kyrgyz Parliament on Feb. 9. The main difference in the new draft Constitution is that it is proposed to switch to a presidential form of government and increase the powers of the president. The law proposes to introduce the People's Kurultai (Council), as a consultative and coordinating body. The document also proposes to reduce the number of parliament members from 120 to 90. Kyrgyzstan will also hold elections of deputies of local councils on April 11. Enditem (Adds updated AstraZeneca statement) COPENHAGEN, March 11 (Reuters) - Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine following reports of the formation of blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated. Austria earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. Still, the European medicine regulator EMA said the vaccine's benefits outweighed its risks and could continue to be administered. Europe is struggling to speed up a vaccine rollout after delivery delays from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, even as a spike in cases amid a more contagious virus variant has triggered fresh lockdowns in countries like Italy and France. Denmark suspended the shots for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said. Their response was also prompted by reports "of possible serious side effects" from other European countries. "It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days in Denmark. "This is a cautionary decision," Geir Bukholm, director of infection prevention and control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), told a news conference. FHI did not say how long the suspension would last. "We ... await information to see if there is a link between the vaccination and this case with a blood clot," Bukholm said. Iceland on Thursday suspended jabs with the vaccine as it awaited the results of an investigation by the EMA. Italy, also on Thursday, said it would suspend use of an AstraZeneca batch different to the one used in Austria. Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be administered and that the cases of blood clots corresponded with the rate of such cases in the general population. Story continues "The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence," Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters. Evans added that the COVID-19 disease was very strongly associated with blood clotting. Phil Bryan, head of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said reports of blood clots so far didn't exceed what would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population. "Available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause," he said. More than 11 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine have so far been administered across the UK. In a statement, AstraZeneca said it had found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in safety data of more than 10 million records, even when considering subgroups based on age, gender, production batch or country of use. "In fact, the observed number of these types of events are significantly lower in those vaccinated than what would be expected among the general population," it added. The drugmaker said this week there had been "no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine". It said it was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support their investigation. The European Union's drug regulator, the EMA, said on Wednesday there was no evidence so far linking AstraZeneca to the two cases in Austria. It said the number of thromboembolic events - marked by the formation of blood clots - in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine was no higher than that seen in the general population, with 22 cases reported among the 3 million people who have received the shot as of March 9. EMA said it understood the decision by Denmark and Norway was taken as a precaution. Four other countries - Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia - have stopped inoculations from the batch while investigations continue, the EMA said. The batch of 1 million doses went to 17 EU countries. Swedish authorities said they did not find sufficient evidence to stop vaccination with AstraZeneca's jab. "There is nothing to indicate that the vaccine causes this type of blood clots," Veronica Arthurson, head of drug safety at the Swedish Medical Products Agency, told a news conference. The Danish Medicines Agency said it had launched an investigation into the vaccine together with corresponding agencies in other EU countries and the EMA. So far, 138,148 Danes have received a shot with AstraZeneca's vaccine in a country of 5.8 million. The Nordic country, which also uses vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, is set to receive 2.6 million doses from AstraZeneca over the coming months. Denmark's Health Authority said the final date for when it expects all Danes to have been fully vaccinated would be pushed back by four weeks to Aug. 15. Spain on Thursday said it had not registered any cases of blood clots related to AstraZeneca's vaccine so far and would continue administering the shots. (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen, and Victoria Klesty in Oslo; Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, Crispian Balmer in Rome and Kate Kelland in London. Editing by Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie and Bernadette Baum) 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 Gold Coast man who collected native frogs in his backyard and then sold them online has been fined after he mailed them to pet shops across south-east Queensland. Queensland's Environment Department fined the man $4,401 after his illegal enterprise was discovered by sharp-eyed Australia Post workers, who had noticed some of the packages were damp, slimy and 'croaking'. The man from Gaven had collected more than a hundred frogs, mostly tiny Graceful tree frogs, and advertised them at up to $100 each on Gumtree. The tiny Graceful tree frog is native to eastern Queensland and north-eastern NSW The man collected up to 100 frogs from his backyard before trying to mail them to buyers It's illegal to take or keep native animals from the wild, unless they are sourced from a person or business who has permits to keep the animal and prove its origins. '[The frogs] can easily pass away if they're in a situation where they can't get the air they need or the moisture they need,' Tina Tugwell of Currumbin Wildlife Hospital told 9 News Gold Coast. 'The native frogs have since been released back into the wild at a suitable location close to where they were taken from,' said the Department. It is illegal to take or keep native animals from the wild, however, with the appropriate wildlife authority, it's possible to keep a native animal bought from a registered seller. Queensland's Environment Department warned of heavy penalties for taking native animals A wildlife expert said the frogs are likely to dry out and suffocate if posted through the mail There had been a number of incidents of people illegally keeping native animals in Queensland in recent years. In November 2020, police seized three echidnas from a private property near Warwick, where a warrant was being executed in relation to another matter. Two of the animals were in such poor condition they were later euthanised but an adult female recovered and was re-released into the wild. In December 2020, wildlife rescuers were forced to euthanise a juvenile magpie after it was found malnourished and tied to a lead inside a small cage in a home. The highly talked about Mammootty-starrer The Priest, has finally seen the light of the day. Also starring Manju Warrier in the lead role, the murder mystery film has released today (March 11) after much delay. Notably, the film released after several postponements owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. The Priest was initially scheduled to release in August 2020. The team yet again delayed the release from March 2, 2021, until the government gave its green signal for night shows in the state. Interestingly, The Priest has become Mollywood's first big film (of a superstar) to release in theatres. Well, with its massive release, the film has been garnering huge appreciation from critics and audiences alike. The Mammootty-starrer has undoubtedly proved that the film's release was worth the wait. The Superstar's never-seen-before avatar has also become the talk of the town. Though Mammukka's role intrigued many upon the teaser release of the film, his characterization and the way he portrayed Father Benedict's role with utter ease in The Priest has indeed impressed the audience. Manju Warrier, who plays a pivotal role in the film has also garnered love from the audience. As it marks her maiden collaboration with the one and only Mammootty, the film has undeniably become a double feast for the audiences on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. Directed by debutant Jofin T Chacko and backed by B Unnikrishnan and Anto Joseph under their respective production banners RD Illuminations and Anto Joseph Film Company, The Priest features an ensemble cast including Nikhila Vimal, Sreenath Bhasi, Saniya Iyappan, Jagadish, Madhupal, Baby Monica, TG Ravi and Ameya Mathew. With story penned by Shyam Menon and Deepu Pradeep, the film has music by renowned composer Rahul Raj. Well, as The Priest gets a green signal from theatres, let us see what Twitterati has to say about the Mammootty-starrer. @kunjhan369 First half Fire Acting Empire #Mammootty #ThePriestDay #ThePriest ibnu_369@ibnu_369 #ThePriest first Half Fire Waiting For 2 nd Half Machans Media TM@TrollMachans #ThePriest Interval Quality making from a debutant director Jofin T Chacko Decent Bgm and songs. Rahul Raj Well executed thrilling mood and bunch of suspenses john morvin@morvinedward #ThePriest #Mammootty first half - takes time to build up and is pretty slow as well but pre interval portions 10-15 min movie has changed its gear and if second half keeps the tempo will be a sure hit. Kerala Movie Club@KeralaMovieClub #ThePriest . Twist and turns Quality making from a debutant director Best Bgm and songs Well executed thrilling mood and bunch of suspns pre interval portions 15 min movie has changed its gear and if second half keeps the tempo will be a sure BB Rating 4.6/5 Sanjay CineKidTelevision @SanjayDevaraj5 #ThePriest 1st Half Over Thumbs up So far It's Good Case No 27 started Intervel Potion Turnout to Be The Stunner BGM is ok! Story gets interesting Scene by Scene 2nd Half Need to Pickup the Movie to Next Level @mammukka @Nikhilavimal1 #Mammootty #Priest manikandan @Mkp0487 First half started slow but Last 10 mins Ok hand All eyes on 2nd half #ThePriest Also Read: The Priest Advance Booking Is Open; The Mammootty Starrer To Hit The Screens On March 11 Also Read: The Priest Teaser 2 Is Out: Mammootty Sets The Screens On Fire As Fr. Benedict! A former lawyer in Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams law firm pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor federal tax charge stemming from the same Internal Revenue Service probe that spawned the 11-count indictment pending against Williams and law partner Nicole Burdett. The guilty plea by Robert Hjortsberg, who also managed both of Williams' winning campaigns for City Council, marks the second conviction from that investigation. Henry Timothy, a Westwego tax preparer who is the governments star witness in the case against Williams and Burdett, pleaded guilty in January to filing his own false tax return. Hjorstberg pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of willful failure to file a federal tax return. In a video hearing before U.S. District Judge Lance Africk, Hjortsberg admitted he didnt file for the 2017 tax year, when he received a gross income greater than $100,000, according to the charge filed in January by prosecutors in the Western District of Louisiana, based in Lafayette. With his plea, Hjortsberg, 38, agreed to pay $31,651 in restitution to the IRS. The charge carries a maximum one-year prison term. Africk scheduled sentencing for June 16. Hjortsberg left Williams law firm after more than a decade last year, months before a federal grand jury in New Orleans indicted Williams and Burdett in an alleged conspiracy to inflate Williams business expenses by more than $700,000 over five tax years. Prosecutors claim Williams directed Timothy, through Burdett, to claim a variety of bogus write-offs that resulted in driving down his overall tax liability by about $200,000. Timothy implicated Hjortsberg along with Williams and Burdett in his testimony last summer before a federal grand jury, claiming Hjortsberg asked him to inflate expenses on his returns, although that's not alleged in the charge he admitted. Williams and Burdett face a conspiracy charge along with five counts each of aiding in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns and failing to properly report cash receipts. They claim that Timothy hiked up those business expenses on his own, not just in their case but across his stable of tax clients, while falsely holding himself out as a certified public accountant. 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 Attorneys for Williams and Burdett point to government records showing that many of Timothys other clients filed for steep business deductions as well, though none face charges over it. Williams won election in a December runoff and assumed office Jan. 11, all while under indictment. A trial expected to run for two weeks is scheduled to begin Nov. 1 in front of U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman. That trial may or may not also wrap in separate tax-fraud charges against Burdett for allegedly fudging her own tax returns over the four tax years ending in 2017. Prosecutors allege that Burdett claimed more than $280,000 in "false and fraudulent" business expenses for those years, while earning just shy of $500,000. In recent court filings, prosecutors say their case against Burdett includes evidence of Medicaid fraud as well. They claim that Burdett paid no federal taxes over four years while she qualified for the earned income tax credit. They also allege that Burdett falsified addresses to allow her and her husband to each improperly claim head of household status, a designation normally for single parents. In addition to the favorable tax position of receiving tax refunds despite not paying a cent in taxes, she then used the information on these fraudulent returns to receive Medicaid benefits for herself and her children, prosecutors allege. Burdetts attorney, Michael Magner, responded to those allegations in a statement. Ms. Burdetts only error is that she relied on a tax preparer who falsely represented himself as a CPA but in fact was a charlatan and a fraud, Magner said. The government has given this man a complete pass on this fraud despite the fact that he victimized over 300 individuals and businesses precisely the same way. She relied on this man who had prepared her familys tax returns. Magner said that Burdett qualified for Medicaid more than a decade ago as a young law student and fledgling attorney and mother, including under expanded maternity benefits. She accepted those benefits just as any other citizen of Louisiana would, Magner wrote. What this is really all about is the Governments shameful efforts to embarrass Mrs. Burdett and strongarm her into testifying in a way that fits their false and misleading narrative. BEIJING, Mar. 11 -- The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has entered a new era, said Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui in a written interview with Russia's Interfax on March 9. In the interview, on the question of "Whether Beijing is interested in further military technology cooperation with Russia?", Amb. Zhang pointed out that China-Russia military technology cooperation is an important support for the bilateral relations and has maintained a high level of development. The cooperation not only conforms to the core interests of the two countries, but is also conducive to regional peace, stability and development, and is an essential guarantee for maintaining international strategic balance and world peace as well. The military technology cooperation between China and Russia embodies the strategic mutual trust and coordination. Amb. Zhang stressed that with the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia, the military technology cooperation will undoubtedly endow the bilateral relationship with new connotations in the new era. A recent allegation against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has been reported to the Albany Police Department. After the Times Union reported that a female Cuomo aide alleged the governor "aggressively groped" her at the Executive Mansion last year, The New York Times reported Thursday that the Albany Police Department was notified about the allegations, an incident that officials said may have risen "to the level of a crime." Beth Garvey, the governor's acting counsel, confirmed to the Times she reported the allegations, saying that "as a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department," and if they decline to do so, "the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves." Garvey added that the accuser "did not want to make a report," so the state provided police with their attorney's information. An Albany police spokesperson told the Times it had reached out to a lawyer for the accuser. Cuomo has been facing allegations of sexual harassment from multiple women, and he previously apologized for making "anyone feel uncomfortable," but he denied that he ever "touched anyone inappropriately." The new groping claim was the "most serious allegation made yet," the Associated Press noted. Cuomo denied the allegation, saying, "I have never done anything like this." The Times noted that although it was standard procedure for the groping allegation to be referred to police, the step emphasized "the potential criminal exposure" the governor could face were the accuser to pursue charges. More stories from theweek.com Stimulus checks are already out the door 7 scathingly funny cartoons about Andrew Cuomo's political peril North Korea is reportedly giving the Biden administration the silent treatment Bank of Ireland (BOI) is believed to have appointed IBI Corporate Finance to advise on a possible acquisition of Davy Group. No formal approach has yet been made by the bank for the investment firm and a bid is not believed to be imminent, but a deal between BOI and Davy could be beneficial to both parties. BOI and IBI declined to comment. However, it is understood the corporate finance house is laying the groundwork for a potential bid. Davy interim chief executive Bernard Byrne, who was elevated Saturday after the resignation of CEO Brian McKiernan, deputy chairman Kyran McLoughlin and head of bonds Barry Nangle, is keen to stanch the bleeding at Davy over a 2014 bond deal that landed the firm with a 4.13m fine last week. The former AIB boss moved quickly on Monday to close the firm's bond desk in response to Davy's suspension as a primary dealer in Irish government bonds. Sources said Mr Byrne is focused now on preserving Davy's lucrative corporate brokerships and sees movement towards a sale as key to saving the firm's reputation among listed companies and institutional investors. However, Mr Byrne and the Davy board cannot take a decision on the ultimate future of the firm without direction from the shareholders, which include the three senior figures who resigned on Saturday, as well as dozens of other past and present Davy employees. Nonetheless, those shareholders are said to be conscious that the share overhang is likely to depress the valuation of the firm as long as they remain owners, and so are motivated to sell. Buying Davy would almost certainly be value-enhancing for BOI, bringing Ireland's biggest wealth manager into its fold along with its valuable corporate relationships. Takeover by a pillar bank would instantly eliminate Davy's complicated ownership quandary and wipe the slate clean on perceived cultural problems at the firm, as well as its troubled relationship with the Central Bank. IBI, Ireland's leading corporate finance advisor, was owned by BOI until a 10m management buyout in 2017. Read More [March 11, 2021] U.S. Companies Bullish on Global Expansion, According to Standard Chartered Despite ongoing uncertainties in the current operating climate and varied rates of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of U.S. companies expect an increase in global expansion over the next 6-12 months, according to the latest Standard Chartered Borderless Business Study. Recognizing the ongoing value in conducting business globally, 49% of U.S. companies surveyed saw their best growth opportunities outside of their home region, compared to 35% in June 2020. Outside of North America, Europe has become a more important growth target for U.S. companies. 52% now identify as Europe as their most important region for outbound investment. This is followed by Asia, which continues to be identified as a major growth market. Over 85% of U.S. companies surveyed are already conducting or considering a wide range of activities, including sourcing, exporting, and manufacturing. Countries like Japan, China, Australia, and India drive the most interest. In addition to Asia (42%), responses also indicated an increased focus on Africa (15%) and the Middle East (37%) given their rich resources and high potential consumer bases. In Africa, it is unsurprising that South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria are the primary growth targets, and the three top oil-producing nations - UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar - are the primary focus for U.S. businesses in the Middle East region. The survey also explored companies' concerns and challenges when expanding internationally. Top barriers to global expansion The most significant challenges highlighted by the U.S. businesses is understanding local regulations (41%). Other challenges include: Building relationship with suppliers and adapting supply chain logistics (19%); Sourcing funding and managing liquidity (10%) and managing FX or currency risk (10%). When looking at liquidity issues, 54% of U.S. respondents believed continued access to existing credit facilities or meeting increased collateral requirements to be the most difficult challenge. Other challenges include: The inability to rapidly mobilize liquidity (50%); Supply chain failure or interruption (46%). "In today's global economy, overseas expansion is a necessity and U.S. companies are looking to the rest of 2021 with increased confidence," said Jeremy Amias, Vice Chair at Standard Chartered Americas. "As international expansion evolves, we expect that understanding regulations and closing the knowledge gap to maximize the growth potential of these regions will remain a key point to address in U.S. companies' international growth story." Note to Editors About the Borderless Business Study Conducted between November and December 2020, over 1,000 CFOs and senior treasury professionals of companies with a turnover exceeding $500m located in USA, UK, Germany and France took part in the survey. Each country was equally represented with 25% of respondents. 50% of respondents represented companies with a turnover of $500m - $1bn; the remaining 50% represented companies with a turnover exceeding $1bn. The technology sector comprised 16% of responses. Thereafter, other industry sectors' representation varied between 6-8%. Financial services were excluded from the survey. Standard Chartered We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world's most dynamic markets, and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good. Our history in the U.S. dates back to 1902, and we are currently present in eight locations throughout the Americas. Our Americas franchise focuses on financial institutions and select corporates and plays a key role in facilitating trade and investment flows between the Americas and Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005278/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 23:36:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NAIROBI, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's postal corporation plans to partner with Chinese e-commerce firms in order to boost China-Kenya trade, an official said on Thursday. Dan Kagwe, CEO of state-owned Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) told journalists in Nairobi that the parastatal is keen to establish a direct link with the Chinese e-commerce platforms that are popular with Kenyan consumers. "We want to lower the cost and time of online transactions between China and Kenya for the benefit of consumers," Kagwe said when the PCK and National Transport and Safety Authority signed an agreement on business cooperation. PCK is also holding talks with cargo consolidators in China in order to streamline the movement of goods between the two countries. "We have the largest network of logistics centers among all couriers in Kenya so we have the capacity to be the most cost efficient in terms of last mile delivery," he added. Kagwe noted that the cooperation with China's digital platforms will also ensure that Kenya's goods can access the Asian nation. He revealed that currently bilateral trade between China and Kenya involves many third party intermediaries who increase the cost of imports and exports. PCK said that it will invest in technology in order to ensure seamless integration into the logistic networks of international e-commerce platforms. He noted that currently Africa accounts for a small portion of the global e-commerce trade but through leveraging on partnerships, the continent can increase its contribution to global online sales. Enditem Lawton, OK (73501) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 77F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. [March 11, 2021] MetLife Investment Management Originates $15.7 Billion in Private Placement Debt and Private Structured Credit In 2020 MetLife Investment Management (MIM), the institutional asset management business of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), today announced it originated $15.7 billion in private placement debt and private structured credit across 215 transactions in 2020. This included $3.6 billion of investments originated on behalf of third party institutional clients. This origination activity, which added 85 new credits, helped grow MIM's total private placement debt and private structured credit portfolio to $102.1 billion1 as of December 31, 2020. "During a year in which companies all over the world were impacted by the pandemic, we continued to provide timely, bespoke financing solutions for issuers that provided liquidity and financial certainty during difficult times," said Nancy Mueller Handal, head of Private Fixed Income & Alternatives at MIM. MIM's private placement origination for 2020 included $9.0 billion, $3.7 billion, and $3.0 billion in corporate, infrastructure and structured credit transactions, respectively. Notably, nearly $4.0 billion of this origination was completed in March and April last year. John Wills, global head of Private Placements at MIM, noted: "Our strong corporate relationships and ability to source attractive financing and investment opportunities for our clients around the world were key factors in a strong year for MIM. During the worst of the pandemic-driven dislocation, MIM continued to work closely with new and existing issuers to provide solutions that helped companies and equity sponsors pay down debt, boost liquidity and operational cash, and ultimately, create a financial buffer against the uncertainty caused by the pandemic." Scott Waterstredt, head o Private Structured Credit at MIM, added: "Macro-economic uncertainty due to the pandemic effectively closed the broadly-syndicated, asset-backed market for a period during the year. The private structured credit team worked with a number of asset owners to provide financing and liquidity solutions that were attractive for both the asset owner and our clients." Corporate origination was well-diversified by industry sector, led by investment in the Professional Services and Healthcare & Life Sciences sectors, which, together, accounted for roughly one-quarter of the $9.0 billion in origination. Infrastructure origination was led by Renewable Power transactions, which accounted for approximately one-third of the $3.7 billion in origination, supporting sustainability objectives. Private structured credit investments focused on residential mortgage and alternative asset financing transactions. Mueller Handal concluded: "Looking ahead, we will continue to support issuers and investors with solutions that ensure they manage through the later stages of the pandemic, and we look forward to providing expansion capital for new opportunities as global economic growth resumes post-pandemic." 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 had $659.6 billion2 in total assets under management. 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 "continue," "ensure," look forward," "looking ahead," "resumes," "seek," and "will," 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. Endnotes 1 At estimated fair value. Includes all corporate and infrastructure private placement debt and private structured credit investments managed by MIM. 2 Total assets under management is comprised of all MetLife general account and separate account assets and unaffiliated/third party assets, at estimated fair value, managed by MIM. L0321011883[exp0921] View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311006018/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] There was something jarring in the summary of the story of George Floyd that the New York Times published to refresh our memories on the eve of what promises to be a gripping event the televised trial of Officer Derek Chauvin who knelt on George Floyd's neck, eventually killing him. It was not even the Times' fault the article was a bare, straightforward chronological enumeration of events and did not offer any opinion. What was jarring was the reaction of Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey it quoted the reaction that defined the tragedy for the protesters and sympathizing press: "Being Black in America should not be a death sentence," distilling what happened into a single word: racism. This was jarring because up to that point in the Times' narrative, it was clear that George Floyd's death was caused by not one, but two wrongs, racism being neither one of them. One wrong was that someone forged a $20 bill, which, by unlucky chance, landed in George Floyd's wallet, combined with George Floyd's refusal (that may have been induced by yet another wrong: his use of drugs) to cooperate with the police. The second wrong was Officer Chauvin's, who grossly miscalculated the amount of force needed under the circumstances. Per the Times' account, those were two wrongs that caused George Floyd's death and Officer Chauvin's trial. Where is the racism? This is not the only instance of such strange, illogical, Kafkaesque conflation of two wrongs into a single, unrelated wrong. Resisting arrest for illegally selling loose cigarettes, Eric Garner was put into a lethal choke hold by a New York police officer. Again, there were two wrongs: Eric Garner's violation of law and refusal to cooperate with the police on one hand, and excessive police force on the other. Which wrong got pilloried? You guessed it: racism. An woman, Breonna Taylor, was killed by police fire in a botched arrest of her boyfriend, who was a wanted drug-dealer. Again, there were two wrongs drug-dealing on the one hand and poor control of the firearm by an officer on the other. Yet to hear the reaction, only one wrong was involved racism. It seems that in our pursuit of racial fairness, we've lost the ability to be fair. We refuse to see wrongs that are there; instead, by some unconscious political alchemy, we conflate those real wrongs into one wrong that just isn't there. I've heard before of two wrongs being wrongly treated as one right, but not of two wrongs being treated as one wrong the wrong that is not even one of the actual two. I hope Officer Chauvin's trial will be free of accusations of racism. He should answer for his actual wrong, that of using excessive force but not for the imagined wrong that had nothing to do with George Floyd's death. If the wrong of racism will again get invoked, invoking it will be a terrible wrong, indeed. Image via Needpix. Attorney General Ken Paxton made good Thursday on his threat to sue the city of Austin for requiring face coverings after the governor ordered that masks be strictly voluntary. Paxton, a Republican who is the states top law enforcement officer, said he filed litigation against the Democratic-led city after it failed to comply with a warning letter sent Wednesday. They blew me off, Paxton tweeted. So, once again, Im dragging them to court. The petition, filed in Travis County District Court, accuses Austin of unfairly trying to constrain businesses and residents. Defendants know this is wrong, it says. AUSTIN BUCKS: Austin will keep enforcing rules with fines, defying Abbotts order Leaders in Austin had planned to defy Gov. Greg Abbotts order rescinding the mandate, explaining that they believe it to be in the best interest of public health. Mayor Steve Adler said several business owners had asked the city to keep the rule in effect as a shield for them against having to set their own mask policies. Refusing to comply with a local health order is punishable with fines up to $2,000. We will fight Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Paxtons assault against doctors and data for as long as we possibly can, he said in a statement late Wednesday. State leaders have previously stepped in to quash local health directives that were not in line with Abbotts rules, which he has enacted throughout the pandemic via emergency order. Paxton sued the city of Austin in December and won after local leaders declared a curfew for indoor dining services over the New Years holiday weekend. That restriction, however, was not enacted by the local health authority. jeremy.blackman@chron.com New Delhi, March 12 : The Delhi government said on Thursday that various special measures have been taken in the Budget for the next financial year to empower women. A statement from the Deputy Chief Minister's Office said that the Budget 2021-22, much like the previous budgets, has put a special emphasis on empowering women, while Deputy CM Manish Sisodia has also brought several schemes for the same. "It is because of such initiatives and schemes that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has such a large share of female voters," it said. The statement said that the Budget emphasised on establishing 100 'Mahila Mohalla Clinics' so that every woman in the national capital can access special services of gynaecologists and related diagnostic tests. It said that Delhi government has planned that in the first phase, 100 Mahila Mohalla Clinics will be established in different parts of the city, which will be progressively increased to at least one clinic in each ward. The statement further stated that to economically empower women, some new schemes have been planned and one important initiative among them is the 'Saheli Samanvay Kendra', under which 500 Anganwadi hubs shall be set up in various parts of the city, to be used by women from the nearby areas for four hours every morning. "These hubs can be used for incubating individual startups and to promote the self-help group 'Samriddhi'. Special arrangements in the hubs will be made for the women and required training will be imparted to open micro-economic units and for holding meetings of self-help groups," it said. The statement mentioned that since 2019, Delhi government has been able to provide 19.2 crore free bus rides to women of the city. "Continuing this initiative, the Delhi government will ensure that women travel safely, using free bus rides in DTC and Cluster buses. Further, to ensure safety, all DTC and Cluster buses of Delhi have CCTV cameras installed along with bus marshalls to prevent any untoward incident," said the statement. Delhi government is further working on installing CCTV cameras at tourist spots and LED lights will be placed in areas that are not well lit, it said. "Delhi government is also planning to establish 33 Mahila Support Centres for women and girls who are unable to access information on the various schemes. A counsellor will be present in these support centres to help the women with issues concerning government initiatives," it said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Pamela Cooper, 49, had worked a 15-hour shift the night before she stopped breathing in her first week back on the job A Phoenix 911 operator who was forced to work a 15-hour shift in the same week she returned to work after battling COVID-19 had told her boss that she was feeling ill and 'I might die' - the night before she stopped breathing and passed away. Pamela Cooper, 49, was on her first week back on the job after being off for six weeks battling coronavirus. She stopped breathing the night after working the 15-hour shift. Cooper, a 20-year dispatch veteran, was still ill but had run out of her six weeks of paid leave. She returned to work because she had to support her mother, a widow on social security, and her husband - who had run out of unemployment, the Phoenix New Times reported. She was was rushed to a local hospital after working the long shift, but stopped breathing the next day and later died after she was taken off life support, KPNX-TV reported. Her family has now taken the first steps to file a $35million lawsuit against the city claiming she was overworked. Jonathan Michaels, the attorney representing her family, said he has filed a Notice of Claim to help support her family and call for change for her fellow workers. 'This never should have happened. Certainly no one should have to die for their job,' Michaels told KPNX-TV. Phoenix requires 911 operators to work extra hours to cover the emergency lines if there aren't enough people unless an employee tells a supervisor they feel sick - in which case they should be sent home, the outlet reported. Cooper had returned to work despite feeling ill still to support her husband and mother when her paid leave ran out Dispatch messages show that Cooper had complained to her boss that she wasn't feeling well during the hellish shift. The last messages Cooper sent during the 15-hour shift have been preserved in the dispatch center's computer system and were shared with the Phoenix New Times by the dispatcher's union, AFSCME Local 2960. In one message exchange, someone who appears to be her supervisor tells her that she is needed on the clock until 11.30pm. 'I might die, but ok,' Cooper said. The apparent supervisor responds: 'Please don't. Not on my watch. I appreciate you getting back to me quick. Please help yourself to the Mando Mart [free food] over there.' 'I just came back from COVID for a month I can barely walk or breathe. I will stay sitting :(.' Cooper responded back. Cooper's husband Joel blasted the city for forcing his wife to work the long shift despite her illness. 'They could have sent her home when she wasnt feeling well because thats protocol,' Joel said. 'They overworked her.' Phoenix officials told KPNX-TV that the city is down 50 full-time dispatchers out of a potential 344 on staff as of Wednesday and that they have lost 11 police operators since the start of 2021. It would take almost a year to train new recruits even if the vacancies were filled immediately - so workers will continue to have to work overtime so the center can operate around the clock. Spokespeople for the city told the outlet that its human resources department will investigate Cooper's situation in the wake of her death and that extensive measures had been put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Dispatchers between two call centers with alternating work stations, plexiglass barriers had been added and the center was offering free COVID-19 testing. However, three dispatchers who spoke to the New Times said that more could have been done and that supervisors did not always take COVID-19 seriously. A Belfast man arrested for allegedly exposing himself at a fast-food restaurant had a Kinder Egg full of drugs hidden inside his body, a court was told on Thursday. Police claimed John Goddard removed a capsule containing cannabis from his backside and put it in his mouth. The 48-year-old is also accused of kicking a PSNI officer in the face during a struggle on Wednesday night. Goddard, with an address at The Mount, appeared at Belfast Magistrates Court charged with indecent behaviour, breach of an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO), possession of class B drugs and assault on police. Under the terms of an ASBO, he is prohibited from drinking alcohol in public. Goddard was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and causing disturbances at Botanic Avenue in the south of the city. The defendant was observed in Subway with his penis exposed, a PSNI officer said. Deputy District Judge Liam McStay was told that a quantity of cannabis was discovered on the accused while in custody. He was taken for X-rays amid suspicions that items were concealed in his rectum. When he returned from hospital, he was observed by police to remove a Kinder Egg from his backside and place it in his mouth, the officer said. It was seized following a struggle (where) the defendant kicked a constable to the mouth. Inside the Kinder Egg capsule, more cannabis was found. Seeking bail for his client, defence barrister Michael Boyd acknowledged that he faced a difficult task. Hes an inveterate alcoholic and street drinker, he said. Mr Boyd argued, however, that Goddard faced losing his accommodation if kept in custody. He is asking the court to give him one final chance to observe the conditions of the ASBO. Its a very sad, depressing situation, he told the court. But refusing bail, Mr McStay held that the circumstances showed Goddard could not abide by conditions imposed on him. His offending behaviour is offensive to the public and presents considerable risk to the public, the judge said. Goddard was remanded in custody to appear again by videolink in four weeks. PRINCE William has defended the British monarchy against accusations of racism made by Meghan Markle, saying: Were very much not a racist family. William made the comment during his first public appearance since highly damaging claims of bigotry and a lack of support were levelled at the royal family by Harry and Meghan in their interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey. Read More He and the Duchess of Cambridge toured School21 in Stratford, east London, to mark the return of children to classes this week and the rollout to secondary schools of a mental health project Kate launched in primary schools in 2018. As William left, a reporter asked him: Is the royal family a racist family, sir? The duke, with the duchess by his side, replied: Were very much not a racist family. The reporter asked whether there has been any communication between the royal brothers, whose relationship is known to have been troubled in the past. He asked William: Sir, have you spoken to your brother since the interview?, and the duke replied: No, I havent spoken to him yet, but I will do. Williams comments are the first public statement by a member of the royal family about the allegations made by the Sussexes which have severely damaged the reputation of the monarchy. In last weekends interview, Meghan Markle discussed some of the racial tensions she experienced alongside her husband Prince Harry while they were in Buckingham palace. There were several concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born, she said. The couple would not say who raised these concerns, although Oprah Winfrey later revealed it was not Queen Elizabeth or her husband Prince Philip. British Labour leader Keir Starmer said allegations of royal racism made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are a matter now for the family. Asked at his local election campaign launch, the Labour leader said: The issue that Meghan raised of race and mental health are serious. The palace has now responded and I do think it is a matter now for the family and I do hope it is resolved as soon as possible. But the wider issues in society about race and mental health are something for all of us to take seriously. For full access, please log in, register your subscription or subscribe. Try for 99 a month for two months, cancel or pause anytime. An Arab man is in federal custody after the agencies arrested him in connection to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January. Federal court documents show authorities arrested Joshua A James on one count of Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting, and one count of entering a Restricted Building or Grounds. Federal authorities arrested James on Tuesday, March 9th in Arab. The affidavit says James was in Washington D.C. on January 5th and 6th. It says he was "equipped with military-style attire and gear, including apparel emblazoned with a patch related to the Oath Keepers Militia." The document includes photos of James and a number of the same Oath Keepers he was with, walking throughout Washington D.C. and then towards the Capitol. 7 day print subscribers enjoy unlimited access to yakimaherald.com Enter the LAST NAME and the 7 DIGIT phone number on your print subscription account to connect your print subscription to your yakimaherald.com account. The meeting came just hours after Pashinian completed the sacking of Colonel-General Onik Gasparian, the chief of the armys General Staff. Gasparian condemned his removal as unconstitutional and said he will challenge it in court. The army top brass issued, meanwhile, a separate statement that voiced support for the general and reiterated its demands for the prime ministers resignation. In his opening remarks at the meeting, Pashinian made no explicit mention of those demands rejected by him as a coup attempt. He indicated that he has no plans to fire other top military commanders. I believe that together we will manage to overcome this crisis and our state and armed forces will emerge stronger from this crisis, Pashinian said. I want to ask everyone present here to continue their military service as generals, officers of the armed forces and as pillars of the structure serving as the guarantor of Armenias security and territorial integrity, he said. I trust in you and believe that you have served the country in good faith. I want to repeat that your services are worthy of highest marks and that this evaluation cannot vanish under any circumstances. Pashinian went on to promise to have a more detailed conversation with the generals after President Armen Sarkissian approves his pick for the new chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Artak Davtian. In this situation, unity is the most important thing needed by Armenia and its people, added the embattled premier. Pashinians office did not divulge other details of the meeting held amid continuing opposition demonstrations in Yerevan aimed at forcing him to resign over his handling of last years war with Azerbaijan. The Homeland Salvation Movement, an opposition alliance staging the protests, has hailed the militarys February 25 statement demanding Pashinians resignation. The countrys Minister of Finance AHM Mustafa Kamal said the approval came during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which was held virtually on March 10 under his chair. Accordingly, the meeting gave approval to a proposal in principle to import 50,000 tons of white rice from the Southern Food Corporation (VINAFOOD) in Vietnam. It also approved to procure 150,000 tonnes each of non-basmati boiled rice from the Punjab State of India, to meet emergency purposes, and from the Sakonnakhon National Farmers Council in Thailand. Speaking with reporters, Kamal said the government was trying to procure rice from different sources so that no problems arise in the future. The minister added that Bangladesh ambassadors in Vietnam, India and Thailand would negotiate with the related companies and organisations to fix the price of the rice to be imported. Credit: CC0 Public Domain On March 9, 2021, Microsoft patched a zero-day security vulnerability related to memory corruption in its browser, Internet Explorer. Labeled CVE-2021-26411, this vulnerability allowed an attacker to deceive a user into visiting a uniquely crafted, malicious website hosted on Internet Explorer. Additionally, an attacker could compromise existing websites by posting malicious advertisements on webpages allowing user-hosted content. While the attacker would first have to use email or instant message to convince the user to engage with these advertisements and websites in order to compromise the victim, malicious actors from across potentially the entire Internet could take advantage of this exploit. Because the vulnerability existed on the network stack, this CVE qualified as remotely executable. Moreover, the attacker did not require any special escalated privileges to exploit the vulnerability. Once an attack proved successful, an attacker could potentially modify any accessed files and other user information, thus placing the user's content integrity at significant risk. Perhaps most interestingly, the hackers in this case spent weeks building trust specifically with security researches as their target. Since discovery, researchers have traced the attack back to North Korea. The attackers developed a working connection by contacting researchers via an original research blog and created Twitter personas to request collaboration on a project. The fake social media profiles would then prompt the researchers to visit a webpage. From there, even a fully patched Windows 10 machine would end up installing a malicious service and in-memory backdoor to communicate with an attacker-controlled server. Google has attributed the attack to the North Korean government, specifically a threat group called Zinc, linked to the better-known Lazarus. Related to the devastating 2017 ransomware campaign WannaCry, Lazarus has allegedly ranked in $2 billion for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program. In addition to Internet Explorer, this vulnerability also impacted Edge, Microsoft's more secure browser. Furthermore, researchers eventually found that the attackers supplemented their watering-hole attack using malicious websites with a fraudulent Visual Studio Project evidently containing source code for a proof-of-concept exploit. This alleged project actually housed custom malware that contacted the hackers' control server. As of now, the vendor has released an official fix and upgrade for this vulnerability. Those Microsoft users who desire immediate updates can visit Start > Settings > Updates & Security > Windows Update on their system. Explore further Bug bounty company PingSafe AI discovers iPhone call recording app vulnerability More information: "Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability." Security Update Guide Microsoft Security Response Center, Microsoft, 9 Mar. 2021, "Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability." Security Update Guide Microsoft Security Response Center, Microsoft, 9 Mar. 2021, msrc.microsoft.com/update-guid ility/CVE-2021-26411 Goodin, D. "Critical 0-Day That Targeted Security Researchers Gets a Patch from Microsoft." Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 9 Mar. 2021, arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/0 -target-researchers/ 2021 Science X Network Despite the enormous militancy and courage shown by over 3,000 striking workers attached to two Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) plants near Bengaluru, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, the more than three-month-long strike against speed-ups and witch-hunts against militant workers by management has ended in defeat. The company successfully engineered a split in the leadership of the TKM Employees Union (TKMEU) to conclude the sell-out earlier this month. Toyota workers and Karnataka farmers stage joint procession in Bengaluru After the company persuaded a faction of the TKMEU executive committee to sign an undertaking on company terms, management declared on March 1 that the union had agreed to end the strike. Although the rest of the TKMEU leadership initially rejected the companys claims and vowed to fight on, the union performed an about-face two days later and ordered workers back to work as of March 4. This meant the three-month strike came to a conclusion without a single demand being won, including the reinstatement of 70 workers who were vindictively suspended by management. The TKM workers began their sit-in strike November 9 against managements summary suspension of Umesh Gowda Alur, a TKMEU leader who raised various grievances raised by workers. The workers main concern was a gruelling speed-up regime requiring workers to produce a vehicle every two and a half minutes, compared to the previous target of three minutes. Management reacted by declaring a lockout, claiming that the strike was illegal. It imposed a series of lockouts over subsequent months and victimized over 70 striking workers. Despite this, the TKM workers continued their valiant struggle against speed-up and workplace victimization. The Toyota strike was seen as a threat by the ruling class, which feared that the job action would spark similar protests among other sections of workers, who all confront ruthless attacks on their wages and living conditions. On November 17, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, of the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP)-led state government, issued a prohibit order on the ongoing strike. Highlighting the Indian ruling class broader aim of developing India as a cheap labour platform for global capital capable of competing with China, Narayan justified the back-to-work order by commenting, The whole world is looking at India as an alternative to China, and countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are eager to set up shop in Karnataka. Under such a situation, there should not be any talk of strikes and lockouts. B.C. Prabhakar, the President of the Karnataka Employers Association, sent a letter to state Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar in late November to demand repressive measures against the ongoing strike. These included the immediate declaration of a curfew around the premises of TKM, the arrest of troublemakers and the imposition of prohibitions on entering the Bidadi area. The employers association president bluntly stated his fear that the strike could vitiate industrial relations throughout the entire region, i.e., encourage workers to rebel en masse against brutal exploitation and low wages. As part of their joint effort to break the Toyota strike, the TKM and the BJP-led state government, in line with demands from the employers as highlighted in Prabhakars letter, issued threats of mass firings and arrests. However, they ultimately decided to avoid such an open confrontation due to their fear that it could trigger an explosion of anger among the working class more broadly. The prospects for the Toyota workers struggle to serve as the catalyst for an expansion of strikes and protests by the working class in November were extremely propitious. On November 26, tens of millions of workers throughout the country joined a one-day general strike against the Modi governments pro-investor economic reforms and associated austerity measures. On the same day, hundreds of thousands of farmers launched an agitation demanding the repeal of the Modi governments pro-agribusiness farm laws. Pushing Modis BJP government into a serious political crisis, tens of thousands of farmers continue to protest on the outskirts of Delhi more than three months on. The TKM strikers were prevented from giving a lead to this swelling social opposition through a combination of state repression and the strangling of their struggle by the union leadership and its Stalinist-affiliated parties. TKM management, with the full backing of the BJP state government, sought to bully and intimidate workers to return to their jobs and sign an undertaking of good conduct. The company insisted that none of the suspended workers would be reinstated until a company-orchestrated inquiry against them was complete. The company subsequently revised its position to allow the TKMEU to sign the good conduct undertaking on behalf of the entire workforce. The employer was able to proceed so arrogantly because the TKMEU systematically isolated the striking autoworkers. They made no effort to broaden the struggle of the TKM strikers throughout Karnatakas industrial factories, let alone to the millions of industrial workers labouring across India in similarly exploitative conditions. This was because the unions chief concern was to reach an accommodation with company management that would guarantee its position as the bargaining agent within the plant, not secure the workers demands. Having isolated the determined workers for close to four months, the TKMEU leadership as a whole bears considerable responsibility for creating the conditions in which the joint efforts of TKM management and the state government to foment divisions in the union to sabotage the strike could succeed. On March 1, the four defectors signed an undertaking demanded by the company and submitted it to the state government. This prompted TKMs March 1 announcement that the strike had been called off. Gangadhar, the media secretary for the TKMEU, initially contradicted the company statement, declaring, We have officially not called off the protest. Four executive committee members went to the management and gave an undertaking. The executive committee members are those below the office bearers. However, the TKMEU rapidly capitulated. In a desperate attempt to save face, the TKMEU stated March 3, Since the workers and union were firm on not giving any undertaking and since the management issued notice for workers to report for duty without undertaking, the union has advised its members to report for duty as it was a moral victory for the union. In an attempt to contain worker anger over its betrayal, the TKMEU made a vague promise to carry out further protest and strikes. Through their three-month-long strike in defiance of the governments back-to-work order and the companys threats, TKM workers showed their readiness to fight against the slave labour conditions to which they have been subjected. However, the TKMEU sought throughout to subordinate the workers to fruitless appeals to company management and the institutions of the capitalist state apparatus. The union leadership rejected any attempt to broaden the struggle precisely because social anger in India is at a boiling point and they did not want to risk the TKM strike from triggering a mass worker-led mobilisation that would have rapidly escaped their control. No appeals were made by the TKMEU for solidarity strikes and protest actions by workers in other industrial facilities. Instead, the TKMEU sowed illusions among the strikers that the leaders of the pro-investor opposition parties, including the Congress Party and Janata Dal (secular), would come to the aid of the striking workers. Chief political responsibility for the isolation and ultimate betrayal of the TKM strike lies with Indias Stalinist parties. No action to support the TKM strikers was forthcoming from the Joint Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU), which is aligned with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the trade union affiliates of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM, and the Communist Party of India (CPI). The JCTU made no call for the mobilisation of workers throughout Bidadi or in other industrial areas of India, even though the TKM strikers enjoyed widespread support. No call was issued to autoworkers engaged in similar class battles, like at Magna Cosma and Motherson in Tamil Nadu, where workers have shown their great militancy by continuing their strikes in the face of harsh repression by the government and companies. The treacherous role of the Stalinists flows from their policy of politically subordinating the working class to Indias bourgeois opposition parties and the institutions of the capitalist state. Faced with a powerful expression of working class anger at the Modi government in the form of two general strikes during 2020 involving tens of millions of workers, the Stalinist parties endeavoured to tie this opposition to the Congress Party so as to block it from developing into an open challenge to Modis right-wing agenda of pro-investor austerity and militarism. The TKM workers bitter experience underscores the need for workers to break politically and organizationally from the unions and Stalinist parties, and form their own independent action committees to take forward their struggle for decent working conditions against the onslaught of the government and companies. Above all, they must adopt a program aimed at uniting workers across India and internationally against the multinational giants like TKM and the capitalist system as a whole. As the World Socialist Web Site explained in the first month of the strike, The struggle against multinational giants like Toyota and the attempt by Indias ruling elite to offer up workers as cheap labour requires above all an international socialist strategy. Striking workers must strive to unify their struggles with their class brothers and sisters in the United States, Europe, and Japan, who confront the same attacks on their wages and working conditions by the same corporations and ruling elites who are no less ruthless in their insatiable pursuit of profit. Amid confusing reports about the control of the proposed bad bank, a brokerage has called for government ownership, saying state-funding is more capital efficient apart from speeding up implementation and also lowering the credit cost/loss for the The government owning the proposed bad bank will not only be more capital efficient but also not impact the fiscal numbers, as otherwise, it will have to keep on recapitalising the state-owned lenders as they will be the biggest beneficiaries of the proposed bad bank, Bank of America Securities India said in a report. Again, such a set-up can lower the credit charge on to a fifth in the worst-case scenario from the 100 per cent now, the report added. As of March 2020, the net non-performing loans of stood at 2.8 per cent or Rs 2,89,500 crore, which is 1.3 per cent of the GDP, according to the report. This will go up considerably 13.5 per cent by this September, a two-decade high, given the impact of the pandemic on the companies and banks, according to the Reserve Bank of India. In January, a stress test by the central bank showed that public sector banks' gross NPAs might rise from 9.7 per cent in September 2020 to 16.2 per cent in September 2021, while private banks' from 4.6 per cent to 7.9 per cent, and foreign banks from 2.5 per cent to 5.4 per cent, taking the system-wide bad loans to 13.5 per cent by September this year. The given understanding is that the proposed asset reconstruction company or ARC will be funded by state-owned banks/FIs. According to the report, the proposed ARC taking over the bad loans of banks presents an opportunity for improving asset quality when real lending rates are falling. But, the question is who will fund it? If state-run banks/FIs fund it the ARC will largely take over their bad loans, which was 2.8 per cent in March 2020. In this scenario, banks would then transfer their NPAs against security receipts issued by the ARC, it said. But the house economists at the brokerage feel that a fully government-funded ARC will not only be faster to set up but may also be more capital efficient. More importantly, the capital charge on the banks may come down to 0-20 per cent from 100 per cent now if these security receipts are issued by a fully-owned government company, which will be effectively guaranteed by the state. On the fiscal side, this will not impact as anyway the government has to ultimately recapitalise banks, and so the potential fiscal impact is similar and it can easily draw down the RBI's revaluation reserves to recapitalise banks in a fiscal-neutral and liquidity-neutral transaction, the report said. State funding may be faster and more capital efficient, it added. The capital requirement of the ARC will depend on whether it is asked to maintain a CRAR of 9 per cent of RWA as applied to banks or 15 per cent as applied to NBFCs. If the government provides equity as it will have to anyway recapitalise the write-offs either as the owner of the ARC or the owner of the state-run banks. Also, it is not clear if bank balance sheets can bear the hit of delayed recovery. In any case, the government will end up implicitly guaranteeing recapitalisation of PSBs at the least. (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.) By Brendan J. Lyons | Times Union, Albany Albany, N.Y. Members of the state Assembly Republican conference are calling for a federal investigation into the structural integrity of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge after an eight-month Times Union investigation raised questions about the thoroughness of the states response to an alleged cover-up of bolts that broke in significant numbers during the construction process. Members of the chambers minority conference wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportations inspector general requesting an immediate investigation to ensure the bridge is safe and that state officials, private contractors and others involved in the bridges completion acted appropriately, according to a news release. READ MORE: Structural problems on Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge were covered up (report) Based on conversations with individuals involved in both the bridges construction and attorney generals investigation, the Times Union report raises serious and numerous concerns over the bridges safety and whether political intervention influenced the investigation, the letter states. The slow movement of the inquiry, the unusually low financial settlement reached with (Tappan Zee Constructors, the consortium that built the bridge for the state Thruway Authority), the political considerations at play in finishing the project as quickly as possible and the failure to publicly release the conclusions of the states findings all raise serious concerns about the integrity of the investigation. Read the full letter: In 2017, the New York state attorney general launched an investigation into concerns raised by a whistleblower regarding the structural integrity of bolts used in the construction process of the bridge. That investigation, conducted by the Thruway Authority and the state Inspector Generals office, recently resulted in a $2 million settlement with the state, although most documents in the case remain under a sealing order. Tappan Zee Constructors has appealed the recent decision by the judge in the case to lift the seal. Democratic Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti, who represents Westchester County, said that he is in the process of gathering more information about the investigations that were conducted by the state and the whistleblowers legal team. I want to talk with the other people who represent this area and work on a strategy to ensure that this bridge is safe, Abinanti said. I want to review what the Republicans are suggesting and I want to talk to the other state elected officials on this and see if we can arrive at a uniform and joint approach. Earlier this week Tappan Zee Constructors issued a statement affirming its position that the bridge is safe. TZC unequivocally stands by the quality of our work and the safety of the bridge. The construction companies that make up TZC and its bridge designer have built many of the major crossings in the New York area, including the former Tappan Zee Bridge, and have a long history of excellence, the company said. TZC performed additional testing and inspection measures of the high strength bolts on the bridge. This was in addition to the independent sampling and testing methods completed as part of the fabrication, construction, and quality assurance processes. The testing, including the testing performed by the laboratory retained by the state as part of its investigation, has confirmed that the bolts are in conformance with applicable industry standards. Jamey Barbas, the Thruway Authoritys project director for the bridge work, issued a statement this week disputing the bridge has any structural issues. Upon learning of the allegations of bolt failures in 2016, not only did the Thruway Authority immediately inform the inspector general, we spent more than ($1 million) and engaged world-renowned subject matter experts, developed a testing program, conducted extensive studies, and tested well over five hundred bolts, Barbas said. The tests confirmed that the bolts met or exceeded the requirements set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The very small number of bolts that were broken is not a cause for safety concern on such a large bridge consisting of more than one million bolts. The state Inspector Generals office released a statement Monday defending the thoroughness of its investigation. The deficiencies of the Mario Cuomo Bridge, as outlined by the Times Union expose, are not only an extreme danger to public safety, they also serve as a microcosm for the lack of transparency and accountability exhibited by the government, said Assemblyman Dave McDonough, R- Long Island. " ... I have deep concerns about the timetable in which this project was completed, and the quality of the bridges structural integrity. The investigation into the fraudulent activities surrounding the construction and alleged shortcuts demands unbiased and thorough attention. Further, experts suggest the bridge is likely to deteriorate faster as more bolts break, McDonough continued. State officials have been aware of the deficiencies for years and have failed to act on it, neglecting to publicly release the conclusions of the states findings and essentially waiting for a disaster to occur. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks as he concludes a four-day workshop or "short training course" for chief secretaries of the city and county party committees, March 6. Yonhap By Kang Seung-woo While COVID-19 has brought suffering to the whole world, North Korea seems to have become a beneficiary of the pandemic as the combined military drill between South Korea and the United States has been downsized due to the deadly disease. On Monday, Seoul and Washington kicked off their joint military training, but the nine-day exercise is proceeding as a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) only with no outdoor drills after the allies decided to scale it back, citing the coronavirus. Last year they canceled both spring and summer drills. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in China in December 2019, North Korea quickly sealed off its borders to prevent the spread of the disease, but the border closing with China has been dealing a heavy economic blow to the country. However, the pandemic is easing the North's security concerns, given that Pyongyang routinely denounces the full-scale joint drill as a rehearsal for invasion. The North Korean regime seems to be happy about the scaled-back exercise as it has been holding back its criticism this time, unlike the past when it issued bellicose rhetoric and promises of catastrophe toward the allies. "South Korea and the U.S. have not conducted a field training exercise for four years and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) questions the actual effectiveness of the computer-simulated command post training," Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the main opposition People Power Party wrote on Facebook. "Kim Jong-un is the biggest beneficiary of the COVID-led curtailed joint military exercise." Until just before the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff announced the drill schedule on Sunday, one day ahead of its kickoff, the South Korean unification and foreign ministers said the government was required to come up with a flexible solution to the exercise issue to avoid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. "North Korea usually protests the conducting of large Korea-U.S. combined exercises, calling them as rehearsals for an invasion of the North and has often conducted short-range missile launches to demonstrate its unhappiness," U.S. Naval War College professor Terence Roehrig said. "It is not clear why Pyongyang has not given its usual response, even if confined to a verbal protest. The answer may be due to internal economic challenges or North Korea is simply biding its time. It is also not entirely certain how much the exercises truly upset North Korean leaders or if these are largely useful occasions for criticizing Washington and Seoul." Some are also concerned that should the North take a forward-looking attitude toward a scaled-back drill, the South Korean government may agonize over whether to once again downsize or cancel the next combined training in the second half of the year as part of its plan to engage the North, raising more concerns from Washington over the lack of proper exercises and putting Seoul's plan at stake to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean troops from the U.S. Helicopters are parked at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, when Korea and the United States began a combined military exercise. Yonhap New York, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market Research Report by Device Type, by Test Type, by Type, by Distribution Channel - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06034042/?utm_source=GNW Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. 1. The Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market is expected to grow from USD 1,578.57 Million in 2020 to USD 2,182.65 Million by the end of 2025. 2. The Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market is expected to grow from EUR 1,384.12 Million in 2020 to EUR 1,913.78 Million by the end of 2025. 3. The Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market is expected to grow from GBP 1,230.48 Million in 2020 to GBP 1,701.36 Million by the end of 2025. 4. The Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market is expected to grow from JPY 168,473.41 Million in 2020 to JPY 232,944.06 Million by the end of 2025. 5. The Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market is expected to grow from AUD 2,292.29 Million in 2020 to AUD 3,169.49 Million by the end of 2025. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Device Type, the Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market studied across Digital Devices and Line-indicator Devices. Based on Test Type, the Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market studied across FSH Urine Test, LH Urine Test, hCG Blood Test, and hCG Urine Test. Based on Type, the Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market studied across Fertility Rapid Test Kits and Pregnancy Rapid Test Kits. Based on Distribution Channel, the Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market studied across Drugstores, Gynecology & fertility clinics, Hypermarkets & supermarkets, Online, and Pharmacies. Based on Geography, the Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market including About, Inc., Atlas Medical International Inc, bioMerieux S.A., Church & Dwight Co., Inc., EGENS GROUP, Eurofins Scientific SE, Everlywell, Inc., Expedient Healthcare Marketing Private Limited, F6S Network Limited, Genea Limited, General Electric Company, Geratherm Medical AG, Novartis AG, Partners-Lab, Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc., Progyny, Inc., Quidel Corporation, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmBH, Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH;, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Female Fertility & Pregnancy Rapid Test Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06034042/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker 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. __________________________ The Ministry of Health is reporting no new Covid cases in the community. There are six new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation to report today. March air crew case update All contacts of the air crew member have returned a negative result so far, with three results still pending. Up-to-date information on testing locations in metro Auckland There are six community testing locations available in Auckland today. These are in Wiri, Otara, Balmoral, New Lynn, Henderson and Northcote, says a statement from the MOH. For up-to-date information on testing locations in Auckland, visit https://www.arphs.health.nz/ and all testing locations nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website. New border case details Arrival date From Via Positive test day/reason Managed isolation/quarantine location 4 March India United Arab Emirates and Malaysia Around day 5/ Contact of a case Auckland 6 March India To be determined Around day 3 / routine testing Auckland 6 March India United Arab Emirates and Malaysia Around day 3 / routine testing Auckland 9 March Brazil Qatar and Australia Around day 0 / routine testing Auckland 9 March Japan Singapore Around day 0 / routine testing Auckland 9 March India To be determined Around day 0 / routine testing Auckland One previously reported case has recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 85. NZ's total number of confirmed cases is 2060. The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,801,771. On Wednesday, 6448 tests were processed, says the MOH. "The seven-day rolling average up to yesterday is 7167 tests processed per day. "Todays managed isolation case numbers again underscore the value of having early testing in place. "All people arriving into New Zealand must remain in their rooms until those day 0/1 tests results come back. "Its also not uncommon to see some of these cases reclassified as historical cases, which are not infectious. This is why we are continuing to publish the cumulative number of historical cases, as below." Historical cases Since January 1, there have now been 37 historical cases, out of a total of 249 cases. NZ Covid Tracer NZ Covid Tracer now has 2,745,999 registered users. Poster scans have reached 215,893,872 and users have created 8,384,868 manual diary entries. There have been 1,469,320 scans in the last 24 hours. "Its critical to keep track of where youve been and the Covid Tracer app is an easy way to do this," says the MOH. "Please continue to scan QR codes wherever you go and turn on Bluetooth tracing in the app dashboard if you havent already done so." 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. New vaccination centres Major vaccination centres will be created at the Royal Exhibition Building and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, in order to vaccinate more people in the 1b priority group, which includes police, firefighters and emergency service workers. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Health Minister Martin Foley said in the first week of operation, each of those centres would be able to complete 4000 inoculations. In the second week we hope to scale that up safely to 10,000 a week, he told ABC Melbourne. Then well build on those numbers once the vaccines made available and well keep going for as long as it takes to make sure our proportion of the Victoria population that the Commonwealth allocated to us to vaccinate are all delivered. All states, including Victoria, are meeting our targets and well grow this carefully and safely. A high-volume vaccination centre located at the former Ford factory in Geelong is also planned. Allocation of Pfizer vaccine to be exhausted by Sunday Victoria is set to exhaust its first allocation of Pfizer coronavirus vaccines by Sunday and has started administering AstraZeneca shots, the states COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said. The state is averaging about 1441 vaccine shots per day, with about 26,000 jabs delivered so far. We always said we would aim to do 30,000 vaccinations in the first three weeks [and] were ahead of schedule at the moment. I think well be at 30,000 either end of play today or tomorrow, Mr Weimar told radio station 3AW on Friday morning. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video We received 30,000 or so Pfizer allocations for the first three weeks. Well have burned all that up by the time we get to Sunday when we get our next delivery. Weve also now got some additional AstraZeneca so were starting to use that we started using that a couple of days ago. That will get us up to I think about 45 - 50,000 by the end of next week. We are using everything thats coming through. Mr Weimar said some Victorians would start receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, following the next delivery. People who had their first dozes two and a half weeks ago start getting their second doses on Monday. This program is building very rapidly, he said. About 10,000 healthcare workers have received their first vaccine dose so far, Mr Weimar said. I would expect certainly all health service workers to have been done as we get into April and maybe early May. He said very, very few people had experienced adverse reactions to their first shot. Weve had one significant incident so far [where] someone had an anaphylactic reaction yesterday ... fortunately she is well and it was very well handled by her local health service, he said. Mr Weimar was also asked about grey nomads who intend to hit the road after receiving their first vaccine dose. He said it would be very challenging for those people to get their second shot interstate and advised would-be travellers to speak to their GP. With the AstraZeneca vaccine which most of us will be getting, its three months between doses. So theres a pretty good road trip you can have between your first and second dose, he said. New Zealand travellers return to Victoria Kiwi travellers can again fly from Auckland into Victoria after border controls changed at midnight on Friday. Victorias borders were closed due to a recent coronavirus outbreak in New Zealands largest city. Passengers arriving from Auckland will need to apply for an orange zone permit, must get a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of landing in Victoria and remain isolated until the result is negative. In another effort to bolster travel with Australia, airline tickets will be sold at half price to 800,000 travellers in a federal bid to help the tourism industry survive the pandemic. The flights to 14 airports in 13 regions from April to July including just one in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Western Australia but five in Queensland headlined a $1.2 billion scheme announced by the federal government on Thursday to help the tourism industry recover from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic. Its like they are looking at the Melbourne and Sydney markets and using them as the source for markets across the rest of the country. It is not fair, and we are disappointed, Mr Merlino said. You only have to look at the numbers. Five in Queensland, three in Tassie, two in the Northern Territory, just one in Victoria. This is not a great outcome for tourism operators, other than those who will be serviced by flights to Avalon. with David Estcourt, Timna Jacks Prominent evangelical scholar wouldn't publicly support Biden if election were held today Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment After signing a letter expressing disappointment with the new administration, a pro-life evangelical scholar who voted for President Joe Biden said that while he would vote for Biden again if the 2020 presidential election were held today, he would not make his support public. Richard Mouw, president emeritus of Fuller Seminary in California and a member of Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden, spoke to The Christian Post Tuesday, days after his group issued a statement in response to the president's support for a coronavirus relief package that did not include a longstanding provision that prevents the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. "We are very disappointed about the COVID-19 relief package's exclusion of the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding, bipartisan policy," they wrote. "We're even more upset that the Biden administration is supporting this bill." As a result of Biden's support for the bill, the group contended that they feel "used and betrayed." Mouw told CP that he and other members of Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden group knew that Biden had been "shifting" his position on the Hyde Amendment when they released a statement in support of Biden's candidacy last October, one month before the 2020 presidential election. He maintained that conversations they had with campaign officials who now help the administration with faith outreach were reassuring. "We made ... clear that we would offer support with the understanding that they would urge the White House to have serious conversations with Catholics and evangelicals who are right-to-life people," he recalled. "The problem is that we haven't had those conversations, and leaving the Hyde Amendment out of this particular package, this latest COVID package, is a signal that ... there really ... is no room for that kind of conversation." Mouw confirmed that an official from the Biden administration reached out to him on Monday. "We're going to have a meeting later this week," he said. Mouw and Ronald Sider, another member of Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden, will sit down with two members of the White House faith outreach office to address their concerns. When asked if he would vote for Biden again and issue a statement in support of his candidacy if the 2020 presidential election was still forthcoming and he knew that Biden would support a coronavirus relief bill that excluded Hyde Amendment protections, Mouw responded that he would "vote the same way" while adding, "I would not give my public support." Mouw indicated that while he disagrees with Biden's position on abortion, there are other areas where he has found common ground with the new administration, specifically on the issues of global warming and immigration. Acknowledging that he received "a lot of angry messages from right-to-life people," some of whom called him "naive" due to his support for Biden and subsequent feelings of betrayal, Mouw still defended the object of his previous remarks in support of Biden. He said they would be necessary to provide reassurance to the "many younger evangelicals who are not happy about ... the way in which their parents and grandparents have endorsed and defended the Trump administration." "We ... don't want to lose them to evangelicalism because of what is perceived as a mean-spirited, highly partisan commitment on the part of the older generation of evangelicals who voted 81% ... in the presidential election before this last one for Mr. Trump," he said. "We thought it was important to hold up the right to life position and at the same time, say it's OK to be concerned about a broader range of issues such as global warming and children at the border separated from their parents and those kinds of questions. And so, we wanted to use our own access through the Biden campaign people to at least get them to stay in conversation with people like us." In addition to explaining that he was "less optimistic" about the possibility of Biden and the Democratic Party building a "bigger tent" to accommodate pro-lifers, Mouw expressed concern about the president's support for another major legislative initiative: The Equality Act. According to Mouw, the legislation puts "the rights of Christian institutions to preserve commitments to traditional biblical teaching regarding sexuality without being penalized in terms of federal grants, federal loans for students" in jeopardy. "A lot of Christian colleges and universities are well over 50% dependent in their tuition income on students getting federal loans," the Fuller Seminary president emeritus added. Mouw warned that making "the sexuality issue" an eligibility requirement for "receiving students with federal loans" would deal a "huge blow" to faith-based schools. Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, Biden had vowed to push for the Equality Act's passage within his first 100 days in office. Biden indicated that he would work to codify Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, into law. Biden's documented public support for policies widely opposed by evangelicals has led some conservatives, like former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, to conclude that "'Evangelicals' for Biden are getting exactly what they voted for." The outlook for electricity distribution segment remains negative with continued weakness in financial position of most state-owned distribution utilities (discoms), according to a report by This is due to a mix of issues including a high level of technical and commercial losses, inadequate tariffs in relation to their cost of supply and delays in receiving shortly from state governments. The discom finances have been adversely impacted by a sharp decline in revenues from commercial and industrial customers in Q1 FY21 because of lockdown restrictions. Besides, lack of tariff revisions is estimated to widen the revenue gap for discoms at all-India level by Rs 30,000 crore in FY21. While discoms will be able to claim the revenue gap from the decline in volume sales under cost-plus tariff principles at the time of true-up, timely realisation remains to be seen in subsequent tariff orders, said the report. Notwithstanding an expected demand recovery in FY22 and likelihood of upward tariff revisions to liquidate large regulatory asset position, discom losses are likely to remain significant at more than Rs 75,000 crore. This is due to inadequate tariffs, high distribution losses and additional interest cost on loans availed under the liquidity support scheme. The large accumulated losses along with revenue gap in FY21 led to a build-up in dues from discoms to power generation companies during FY21 which increased from Rs 99,000 crore as on March 2020 to about Rs 1.27 lakh crore as of December 2020. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, the government has announced liquidity support of Rs 90,000 crore (now increased to Rs 1.25 lakh crore) for state in the form of loans against receivables from Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation. (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.) Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. A motorcyclist was killed in a crash Wednesday morning on Interstate 5 south of Woodburn, and troopers are looking for information about an involved car. The driver of a black SUV made contact with the motorcyclist, who went off the northbound interstate and hit a center cable divider, the Oregon State Police said, citing an early investigation. The driver of the SUV didnt stop. The motorcyclist, 30-year-old Meagan Brumley of Keizer, suffered fatal injuries. Troopers are seeking information about the SUV, which should have damage to its front drivers side, according to the state police. Troopers ask anyone who saw the crash or otherwise has information to call 1-800-442-0776 or *OSP. Tipsters should leave information for Trooper Michael Iacob. The Oregonian/OregonLive [March 11, 2021] Innophys to Launch Promotional Campaign for Wearable Work-assisting Robotic Suit MUSCLE SUIT Every in Taiwan TOKYO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Innophys Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Innophys") is set to release an online video advertisement on its wearable work-assisting robotic suit "MUSCLE SUIT Every" exclusively for Taiwan on Friday, March 12, 2021, as part of its promotional campaign for the product in the region. Image1: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106291/202103051908/_prw_PI1fl_yZ5yyqOy.jpg The campaign is aimed at getting the MUSCLE SUIT series widely known to local people working in a wide variety of working environments that give a heavy load on their back. Innophys will stream a comical video ad on web media such as Facebook to show various specific scenes where MUSCLE SUIT Every can be utilized in a blitz intended to draw attention to its attractiveness in a way it is understandable to ordinary people. For the video ad, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWTRg2NGO7w - Website exclusively for Taiwan to be set up In conjunction with the release of the online video ad, Innophys will open a special website on MUSCLE SUIT Every exclusively for Taiwan to briefly explain the functions of the robotic suit and specific scenes where the product can be used. Image2: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106291/202103051908/_prw_PI2fl_9le035fY.jpg Those who wish to buy the product or try on it can contact nearby local sales agents listed on the website. Special website on MUSCLE SUIT Every exclusively for Taiwan: https://musclesuit.tw/ About MUSCLE SUIT Every: MUSCLE SUIT Every is a wearable robotic suit to assist movements, such as maintaining a half-crouching position and lifting a person or a heavy item, and lighten the load on the worker's back. The product's capacity is up to 25.5kgf of assistive force, and its weight is only 3.8 kilograms. As of the end of December 2020, the MUSCLE SUIT series had sold a total of over 16,000 units, including older models. All MUSCLE SUIT Every units are produced in Japan. Image3: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M106291/202103051908/_prw_PI4fl_E3r7JztS.jpg The device can be used at various work sites, including manufacturing, farming, nursing care, logistics and construction, since its artificial muscle uses compressed air to provide assistive force without relying on electric power. SOURCE Innophys Co., Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Sam and Billie Faiers have paid a touching tribute to their grandfather Mick following his tragic death, just six weeks after their Nanny Wendy. The Mummy Diaries star, 30, and TV personality, 31, took to Instagram on Thursday to pen emotional messages honouring their granddad, and also included a number of snaps with Mick over the years. In her tribute, Sam wrote: 'Our Grandad Mick last night you was reunited with your queen, our Nanny Wendy. Exactly 6 weeks without her by your side. 'Grateful I had you in my life': Sam and Billie Faiers shared moving tributes to their grandfather Mick on Thursday following his tragic death just six weeks after their Nanny Wendy 'We love you soo much Grandad. Weve all had the best times together over the years, Im so grateful I had you in my life. 'You was life and soul of every party, kind, caring, the best grandad in the world. You always had time for us no matter what, you loved us all unconditionally 'Ill miss you and nanny like you cant believe, it just doesnt feel real that youre both not here anymore. I dont think its actually sunk in yet.' Looking back: Sam and Billie penned emotional messages honouring their granddad, and also included a number of snaps with Mick over the years Moving: In her tribute, Sam wrote: 'We love you soo much Grandad. Weve all had the best times together over the years, Im so grateful I had you in my life' Sam went on: 'You will both always be in my thoughts and prayers forever. I find so much comfort knowing that youre back with your Wendy Woo 'See you in heaven Grandad.. ps make sure you get the pie & mash in (sic).' Billie also shared a number of photos with Mick and Wendy, and said of the patriarch: 'My wonderful Grandad Mick Words cant explain the heartache I feel losing you, my wonderful grandad mick. 'You are the best grandad I could ever wish for, kind, caring, funny, loving, life and soul, unforgettable, A True Legend. Emotional: Sam added, 'Ill miss you and nanny like you cant believe, it just doesnt feel real that youre both not here anymore. I dont think its actually sunk in yet' Family: Sam went on: 'You will both always be in my thoughts and prayers forever. I find so much comfort knowing that youre back with your Wendy Woo' (pictured together) Adorable: Sam shared a photo of Mick holding up a baby Paul Jr who was sat on his knees 'I can only find comfort that you feel no more pain and that you are now in heaven with our beautiful nanny Wendy 'I thank you and nanny for teaching and encouraging me to always live life to the full! And to love life ! Just like you and nanny always did 'Trying to imagine life without you both feels impossible, but I know you will be together in heaven with a glass of vina sol and a Pina colada watching down on on us and guiding us ' Tribute: Billie also shared a number of photos with Mick and Wendy, and said of the patriarch: 'Words cant explain the heartache I feel losing you, my wonderful grandad mick' Sweet: Sam shared a video of her granddad Mick singing a song with the family Close: Sam also shared a picture of Mick with her partner Paul Knightley Billie concluded: 'I love you so much grandad, I miss you terribly already .... until we meet again' On Wednesday, it was revealed Sam and her sister Billie had been left 'heartbroken and devastated' after losing their grandfather Mick. It is understood The Mummy Diaries stars' grandfather passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. Happy memories: Billie shared a photo with her grandfather and grandmother on holiday Thankful: Billie wrote: 'You are the best grandad I could ever wish for, kind, caring, funny, loving, life and soul, unforgettable' (Mick pictured with Billie's kids Nelly and Arthur) Thoughts: 'I can only find comfort that you feel no more pain and that you are now in heaven with our beautiful nanny Wendy,' Billie added A source close to the family told MailOnline: 'The girls have been grieving the loss of their nan and now that their grandad has passed away in such short space of time, the girls are absolutely heartbroken and devastated.' It comes just six weeks after the reality TV siblings lost their nanny Wendy, 77, who passed away on January 27 after a short battle with pneumonia. Sam previously shared a snap with both of her grandparents ahead of a series of The Mummy Diaries returning. Beloved: Billie shared a photo from her childhood as she and Sam posed for a photo with Mick Inspiration: Billie also wrote, 'I thank you and nanny for teaching and encouraging me to always live life to the full! And to love life ! Just like you and nanny always did' So sad: On Wednesday, it was revealed Sam and her sister Billie had been left 'heartbroken and devastated' after losing their grandfather Mick (pictured with their grandparents) Mick could be seen beaming as he was surrounded by the sisters and their mum Suzie as well as his late wife Wendy. Mother-of-two Sam penned: '#MummyDiaires season finale TONIGHT! Big thank you to everyone who tuned in this series! We a had ball! Bring on series 7 @itvbe 9pm x (ps love u nanny & grandad) x.' (sic) After Wendy's death in January, Sam paid a heartwarming tribute, sharing collage of snaps to Instagram as well as a sweet message which read: 'I will love you forever'. Family: It's understood that the sisters' grandfather sadly passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer (pictured alongside their mum Suzie and both late grandparents) 'Love u nanny & grandad': Sam previously shared a lovely family picture with her grandparents Her tribute came hours after older sister Billie, 31, also honoured their beloved nanny, with a moving message and a throwback Karaoke video of Wendy singing. Former TOWIE star Sam captioned her post: 'Nanny Wendy, a week today the lord called you home to heaven. 'I will love you forever nan, you was such a huge inspiration to Billie and I. From day one we was your Miss Worlds you spoke positivity over us our whole life. You loved us unconditionally. You truly was the best nan ever.' So missed: Both sisters paid heartwarming tribute to their nanny Wendy after her death at the age of 77 in January (pictured with Wendy and their mum Suzie) She continued: 'I can hear your voice everyday, hello my darling, how are you. You would call us almost everyday for a chat, you would come to all the parties and events with us, I have thousands of special memories with you, nan you are a legend.' Going on to detail the impact Wendy had on her, Sam concluded: 'Im so blessed that I had you in my life, you was infectious, everyone loved you. 'I will continue to make you proud nannny. Until we meet again.. for a coffee and doughnut or a Pina colada.' [sic] Sam's message came shortly after sister Billie shared her own touching tribute to her grandmother, sharing a clip of Wendy singing karaoke to her Instagram alongside a sweet message saying how much she missed her relative. Looking back: Sam shared a collage of throwback snaps to Instagram in honour of her nanny well as a sweet message which read: 'I will love you forever' following her sad passing Lovely words: Captioning her post, which she also shared on her stories, Sam penned: 'Nanny Wendy, a week today the lord called you home to heaven' The reality star uploaded a heartwarming video of Nanny Wendy singing karaoke just two days before Billie's Maldives wedding to Greg Shepherd in 2019. In the clip, a confident Wendy took centre stage as she belted out her 'favourite song', Crazy by Patsy Cline, to rapturous applause from the crowd. Writing alongside the video, Billie paid a touching tribute to 'My beautiful nanny Wendy'. She penned: 'I struggle to understand why you have been taken from us so soon. Memories: While Billie remembered the happy times with Wendy, sharing a sweet clip of her belting out her 'favourite song', Crazy by Patsy Cline, to rapturous applause from the crowd 'All I can hold onto in my heart are the many amazing memories with you nanny and this one has to be one of my favourites that I will cherish forever Here you are in the Maldives just 2 days before my wedding, singing your favourite song, only you could capture a crowd like this my precious nanny wendy ' The former TOWIE star went on to say how much she cherished many years with her beloved nan, adding: 'I am so grateful I had you in my life for 31 years, you have been the most encouraging, loving, funniest, one of a kind, special nanny that we could ever wish for... 'Your Miss worlds you would always call Samantha and I, I know how proud of us you are, you told us every day. I miss you terribly and Im heartbroken. I will love you forever and ever .' Billie also did not feature in that week's Dancing On Ice show following the tragic loss. The star later withdrew from the series after suffering a concussion. WASHINGTON The House on Thursday approved a pair of bills aimed at expanding and strengthening background checks for gun purchasers, as Democrats pushed past Republican opposition to advance major gun safety measures after decades of congressional inaction. In two votes that fell largely along party lines, the House passed legislation that would require background checks for all gun purchasers and extend the time given to the FBI to vet buyers flagged by the national instant check system. Despite being widely popular with voters, the measures face what is expected to be insurmountable opposition in the Senate, where Republicans have resisted imposing any limits on guns, including stricter background-check requirements. The House voted 227-203 to approve the expansion of background checks and 219-210 to give federal law enforcement more time to vet gun purchasers. Both pieces of legislation are aimed at addressing gaps in existing gun laws, including the so-called Charleston loophole, which restricts to three days the time period for the FBI to conduct a background check, allowing many purchasers to evade them. The provision allowed Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine people in 2015 at a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, to buy a handgun even though he should have been barred from purchasing the weapon. The bill would extend the amount of time the FBI has to complete a check for an additional week, to 10 days. The other measure passed Thursday would require purchasers shopping for firearms online or at gun shows to have their backgrounds vetted before they could receive the weapon. They are not currently required to do so, although in-person purchasers, who make up the majority of such transactions, are. Lets not add more names to this registry of grief, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat, said, reading from a lengthy list of recent mass shootings and noting that they had sharply fallen in the past year. Lets not rely on a pandemic to do what we ought to have done so long ago. Lets pass these bills and reduce gun violence the right way. Democrats first passed the legislation in 2019, shortly after they recaptured control of the House, making it a centerpiece of their agenda as they sought to capitalize on an outpouring of student activism in favor of stricter gun safety measures after a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Polling then and now, conducted by multiple firms, shows that over 80% of voters support the legislation. Last month, President Joe Biden called on Congress to enact the bills in a statement commemorating the three-year anniversary of the Parkland shooting. This administration will not wait for the next mass shooting to heed that call, he said. On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many other House Democrats wore orange clothing or face-masks in solidarity with the gun safety movement, erupting in applause on the floor when the bills passed. Still, the legislation will join a growing stack of liberal agenda items that are widely popular with voters but appear destined to languish in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats must win the support of 10 Republicans to pass most major measures. It is part of a concerted strategy by Democrats to increase pressure on those in their ranks who are resistant to eliminating the legislative filibuster, and to force Republicans to take politically unpopular votes before the 2022 midterm elections. A vote is what we need, not hopes and prayers, said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader, at a news conference Thursday. We will see where people stand. In a statement, Brian Lemek, executive director of the Brady political action committee, which supports candidates who endorse universal background checks, said the group would make sure every voter knows and doesnt forget who did and did not vote for this lifesaving piece of legislation. The group plans to spend upwards of $10 million in the coming midterm election cycle, a spokeswoman said. House Republicans almost uniformly opposed the measures, arguing that the legislation would not make it harder for criminals to improperly receive weapons, but would impose a significant burden on law-abiding citizens attempting to purchase a firearm. These rights protect my life, liberty and property, said Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah. They were granted to me by God; they cannot be taken away from me by D.C. bureaucrats. Eight Republicans voted to advance the universal background legislation, while one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, opposed it. Two Republicans supported extending the length of checks from 3 to 10 days, while two Democrats, Golden and Ron Kind of Wisconsin, broke with their party to oppose it. Gun sales have surged in the past year, requiring the FBI to conduct more background checks than before, according to data obtained by Everytown for Gun Safety, an anti-gun-violence nonprofit. That data showed that over the span of 10 months in 2020, the FBI reported 5,807 sales to prohibited purchasers through the Charleston loophole, more than in any other entire calendar year. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Michael Gove today announced Britain will delay the introduction of post-Brexit border controls on some imports from the European Union because of coronavirus disruption. The Government had agreed to phase in customs requirements for GB imports from the EU over a six-month period in the first half of 2021. But the Government has now extended the timetable by a further six months after businesses said they needed more time to prepare. Full border control processes will now be introduced on January 1 2022 six months later than originally planned. Mr Gove, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, told MPs the initial timetable was based on the impact of the first wave of coronavirus, but that 'we know now that the disruption caused by Covid has lasted longer and has been deeper than we anticipated'. Michael Gove today announced Britain will delay the introduction of post-Brexit border controls on some imports from the European Union because of coronavirus disruption The Government had agreed to phase in customs requirements for GB imports from the EU over a six-month period in the first half of 2021 In a written statement, he said: 'Although we recognise that many in the border industry and many businesses have been investing time and energy to be ready on time, and indeed we in Government were confident of being ready on time, we have listened to businesses who have made a strong case that they need more time to prepare. 'In reviewing the timeframes, we have given strong weight to the disruption which has been caused, and is still being caused, by Covid, and the need to ensure that the economy can recover fully.' Under the revised timetable, pre-notification requirements for products of animal origin, certain animal by-products and High Risk Food Not Of Animal Origin will not be required until October 1 2021. Customs import declarations will still be required, but the option to use the deferred declaration scheme has been extended to January 1 2022. And from March 2022, checks at border control posts will take place on live animals and low-risk plants and plant products. Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost of Allenton said: 'As a sovereign trading nation outside the EU, we have freedom to take decisions in our national interest and in the interest of our businesses. 'We will now introduce border controls broadly six months later than planned to give traders time to focus on getting back on their feet as the economy opens up after a difficult year. 'We are confident that this new timetable will allow import businesses to re-establish their trading arrangements after a difficult period due to coronavirus, in the most straightforward and lightest touch way possible.' Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said he welcomed the delay but said it can 'only be a temporary solution'. He said: 'What businesses want to see is an end to the damaging political rhetoric from both sides, and a focus on improving border flow for the long term. 'The UK and the EU must get back around the table and thrash out the remaining structural problems in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement. 'For some UK firms, the continued problems with EU trade are threatening their very existence. 'It should not be the case that companies simply have to give up on importing from, or exporting to, the market next door.' The move came as the food industry warned of further barriers to trading with the EU and Northern Ireland, which largely follows Brussels' rules under the terms of the Brexit deal. Measures coming into force on April 21 will require a far wider range of goods sent to the bloc from 'third countries' such as the UK to have an export health certificate. The Food and Drink Federation's Ian Wright said: 'Right now we don't know how many products will be affected because the EU hasn't been specific yet or definitive on what the list will include. 'But it will include a whole range of what are called composite products things like cheese and onion crisps and indeed items like chocolate biscuits which will need a vet's stamp and an export health certificate and an attestation as to where the milk in the product was pasteurised.' He told BBC Radio 4's World at One: 'I think it will mean particularly in relation to Northern Ireland that many exporters will just decide it's not worth the candle.' Northern Ireland could lower its tax rate to attract post-Brexit business from the Republic and Britain, AIBs chief economist has said. Oliver Mangan said Northern Irelands unique access to both the EU and UK markets could make it a real competitor for the Republic of Ireland. Certainly, if Northern Ireland were to have a look at its corporation tax rate and opt for a lower rate keep the rate at 18% or go even lower and it has unfettered access to the UK and EU single markets, it would become a very attractive destination for foreign direct investment and certainly a real competitor to the South, Mr Mangan told a webinar this week. After the 2015 Fresh Start political deal, Northern Ireland pledged to lower its corporate tax to 12.5%, in line with the Republics, but it has yet to do so. But UK chancellor Rishi Sunak announced last week that the UKs overall corporation tax would rise from 19% to 25%, starting from 2023. That will make it a lot less attractive destination for foreign direct investment, said Mr Mangan. The UKs unilateral decision to extend grace periods on British exports to Northern Ireland has caused a rift with the EU and led to uncertainty about the application of the 2019 Brexit protocol that governs trade between the two islands. At a joint event organised by the Newry and Dundalk chambers of commerce, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the protocol provides real opportunities for Northern Ireland. There are real opportunities for Northern Ireland in its implementation, with access to Great Britain but also to 450 million European Union consumers, said Mr Martin. As we all adjust to the new trading circumstances, every effort will need to be made within the framework of the protocol to meet and resolve challenges. It is in all of our interest to make it work as well as possible. Northern Irelands finance minister Conor Murphy, a Sinn Fein MLA, said that both sides should work through their differences on the protocol in a mature way. He said US investors, in particular, were looking to Northern Ireland as a place to do business. "If we continue to major on the difficulties that were facing, then those people will sit back and say that this isnt somewhere to come and invest. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Thesis Gold Inc. (TSXV: TAU.V) ("Thesis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the signing of a Communications and Engagement Agreement with the Tahltan Central Government, (the "Agreement") covering the Company's 100% owned Ranch Gold Project located in a road-accessible area of the Golden Horseshoe, British Columbia, Canada. The Agreement provides a framework for a co-operative and collaborative working environment between the parties, based on open dialogue and transparent communications, with regards to the Company's exploration activities at the Ranch Project. Ewan Webster, President and CEO of Thesis commented, "We are pleased to have entered into this agreement with the Tahltan Nation. Establishing this important relationship before our inaugural 2021 exploration program better positions Thesis to make plans that align both parties' interests while moving our company and project forward in a mutually beneficial manner." About the Ranch Project The 178 km2 Ranch Gold Project is located about 300 km north of Smithers, BC within the prolific Golden Horseshoe. The region is host to multiple copper-gold porphyry and high-grade gold-silver deposits including Benchmark's Lawyers gold-silver epithermal deposit and Centerra's Kemess gold-copper mine 60 km to the southeast. Highlights include: 21 known near surface high-sulphidation epithermal gold deposits and prospects with potential link to a deeper porphyry system, deposits and prospects with potential link to a deeper 34,117 m of historical core drilling from 433 holes - Large historical dataset from 433 holes - Drill highlights include 29.90 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 25.60 metres (see NI 43-101 Technical Report (Sept 18, 2020), (see NI 43-101 Technical Report (Sept 18, 2020), Historical production from 3 small open pits; 10,000 oz of gold produced @ 9.2 g/t Au (Cheni Gold Mines Inc., 1991, 1992), Road accessible, existing road network, and proximity to existing mines in a proven and profitable mining jurisdiction. About Thesis Gold Thesis Gold is a Vancouver based mineral exploration company focused on proving and developing the resource potential of the 178 km2 Ranch Gold Project located in the "Golden Horseshoe" area of northern British Columbia, approximately 300 km north of Smithers, B.C. On behalf of the Board of Directors Thesis Gold Inc. "Ewan Webster" Ewan Webster Ph.D., P.Geo. President, CEO and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's recently completed financings, and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. For further information: Nick Stajduhar Director Telephone: 780-701-3216 Email: nicks@thesisgold.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76783 DALLAS, March 11, 2021 -- Discriminatory housing policies that restricted the sale or purchase of homes by race in certain neighborhoods across the U.S., called 'redlining,' which were established nearly a century ago and outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, were associated with higher rates of stroke in the same neighborhoods in 2017, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. "Differences in stroke rates, whether we are studying ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, are usually attributed to biological differences or differences in underlying conditions," said lead study author Jeffrey J. Wing, Ph.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of epidemiology in the College of Public Health at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. "Yet, our findings suggest the difference we found in the Columbus area may actually be the result of structural racism." Beginning in 1936, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation began restricting the sale of homes in certain neighborhoods across the country by redlining or marking neighborhoods by "risk for investment," which equated to race. As a result, residents who lived within these redlined areas were denied home loans, which lowered tax revenues in these communities, thereby reducing investment in schools and services, and creating numerous inequities for residents for multiple generations. "Even though redlining was abolished in 1968, redlining is a form of structural racism that perpetuated segregation and racial inequities. Accumulating evidence shows this divisive and exclusionary housing practice continues to have long-term effects on the health of many people, even today - more than 80 years later," said study co-author Helen Meier, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant research scientist at University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. "Our study is one of the first to link historic redlining in a U.S. city to frequency of stroke." Researchers examined the association between the discriminatory housing policies of redlining and stroke rates in Columbus, Ohio neighborhoods in 2017. They calculated historic redlining scores for neighborhoods within the boundaries of Columbus based on the degree of redlining. Thus, the greater the redlining, the higher the redlining score. Researchers then matched the redlining scores with stroke rates measured in the same neighborhoods from the 500 Cities Project. The 500 Cities Project is from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reports on 27 chronic disease measures for the 500 largest American cities in all 50 states, quantified by city and census tract-level data. They assessed the association between historic redlining scores and stroke rates across neighborhoods in Columbus in 2017. Researchers found: Higher historic redlining scores were associated with greater rates of stroke, when comparing the highest to the lowest quartile of historic redlining scores. Neighborhoods in the highest group of historic redlining scores had a 1.48% higher stroke rate, compared to those with the lowest redlining scores. "As different cities across the country declare racism as a public health crisis, it's important to have more research that shows the link between racism and health disparities," Wing said. "Our research has the potential to help change how we treat and care for all individuals and promote equitable access to care that can lead to improved health outcomes." "Health disparities in stroke are going to persist until we address the legacy of structural racism, of which historical redlining is one form," Meier said. "It's important to document the significant, negative impacts of structural racism on health." Study limitations include people who had a history of stroke may not have always resided in the same census tract, leading to unmeasured variability in redlining exposure. In addition, this is an ecologic-designed study, where redlining exposure was combined with stroke rate to a neighborhood level, which limits the assessment of individual associations, Wing added. The American Heart Association recently published a presidential advisory that names structural racism as a cause of poor health and premature death from heart disease and stroke. The advisory, titled "Call to Action: Structural Racism as a Fundamental Driver of Health Disparities," reviews the historical context, current state and potential solutions to address structural racism in the U.S. and outlines steps the Association is taking to address and mitigate the root causes of health care disparities. ### Co-authors of the study are Emily E. Lynch, M.P.H.; Sarah E. Laurent, Ph.D. candidate; Bruce C. Mitchell, Ph.D.; and Jason Richardson, M.A. The authors' disclosures are listed in the abstract. Meier's work was funded in part by the Shaw Scientist Award from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Wing reports no study funding. Additional Resources: Statements and conclusions of studies that are presented at the American Heart Association's scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association's policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers are available here, and the Association's overall financial information is available here. The American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference (ISC) is the world's premier meeting dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. ISC 2021 will be held virtually, March 17-19, 2021. The 3-day conference features more than 1,200 compelling presentations in 21 categories that emphasize basic, clinical and translational sciences as they evolve toward a better understanding of stroke pathophysiology with the goal of developing more effective therapies. Engage in the International Stroke Conference on social media via #ISC21. About the American Stroke Association The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke -- the No. 2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association officially launched in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit stroke.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Austin, TX, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As more COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to Central Texas, nearly two-thirds of Sendero Health Plans members responding to a survey said they plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to them. In the first study of its kind in Central Texas to measure support for getting the COVID-19 vaccine, Sendero members were asked to respond to the statement I plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available. Some 64.1 percent of respondents said yes, compared to 35.9 percent who said no, were unsure, or preferred not to answer. In addition, the overwhelming majority of those who responded to the survey, 88.9 percent, answered yes to the question I believe that wearing a mask can protect me against COVID-19. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has lifted the statewide mask mandate, effective March 10. A total of 1,648 Sendero Health Plans members in Central Texas responded to the survey, which was conducted between November 11 and December 22, 2020. Sendero provides health insurance to residents of eight Central Texas counties. The majority of respondents were from Travis, Williamson and Hays Counties. Knowing basic demographic information about who is likely to obtain the vaccine is key to having a successful vaccination strategy and in reaching vaccine-induced herd immunity in our community, said Dr. John R. Litaker, PhD, the principal researcher for this study. For instance, we know from these results that women and individuals who identified as Black or African American are less likely indicate that they plan to obtain the vaccine. Knowing this information can help with community outreach, education and building awareness. For example, females are 19 percent less likely than males to say they plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Likewise, Blacks are 47 percent less likely than non-Blacks to say they plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals identifying as Mexican, Mexican American, or Chicano are 15 percent less likely to say they plan to get the vaccine than those who do not report an ethnicity. Similarly, those with a high school diploma or below are 21 percent less likely to say they plan to get the vaccine than those with a bachelors degree or higher. Finally, those with a household income of less than $30,000 per year are 11 percent less likely to say they plan to get the vaccine than those with household incomes of greater than or equal to $30,000 per year. Sendero CEO Wesley Durkalski said: This scientific study provides key insights into Central Texans intent to be vaccinated, and Sendero is working with local decision-makers to leverage this data in improving our local response. Our goal is to understand vaccine hesitancy concerns so we can work with our members and the community to help them make informed decisions about their health, and to assist local public health officials in developing effective engagement and delivery strategies for this vaccination campaign across the entire Austin community. The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Wednesday that people 50 and older eligible to be vaccinated beginning March 15. Three vaccines are currently approved for emergency use: the two-dose vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and the one-dose vaccine by Johnson & Johnson/Janssen. Sendero has already conducted follow-up surveys and collected data to better explore the reasons why people chose to get or not get the COVID-19 vaccine. That data will be released in April 2021. The results were presented in a webinar briefing Wednesday titled Equity Gaps in COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake: A Community Conversation and included comments from panelists Cynthia Valadez, of LULAC and the Central Health Board of Managers; Stephanie Hayden-Howard, Director, Austin Public Health; and Dr. Mary Carol Jennings, Chief Medical Officer, Sendero Health Plans. This study is part of ongoing population health research at Sendero Health Plans that seeks to improve the health and well-being of members and the community. Previous research has looked at vaccine doses for COVID-19 to reach heard-immunity, strategies to increase mammography screening, strategies to identify and treat members with hepatitis C, and improving eye care for members with diabetes. The full set of findings from this study will be published in a peer-reviewed public health journal to be published later this year. About the lead authors: John Litaker, PhD, MSc., MMedSc is a public health expert and research scientist with degrees in pharmacoeconomics, public health, and medical science from the University of Texas at Austin, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the University of Hong Kong, respectively. He has spent 20 years working as a scientist and public health expert in public health emergency preparedness and the last five years applying his skills as a scientist and researcher in the health insurance industry. Richard Taylor, PhD, MPH is an infectious disease epidemiologist who previously worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an epidemic intelligence service officer and career epidemiology field officer. He worked at the Texas Department of State Health Services as the manager of strategic preparedness and is currently a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin where he teaches epidemiology and other public health courses. # # # ABOUT SENDERO HEALTH PLANS Sendero Health Plans Inc., formed in 2011, is a community-supported nonprofit Health Maintenance Organization affiliated with the Travis County Health District, known as Central Health. Sendero is dedicated to improving the health of the community by providing affordable, quality healthcare coverage, especially for low-income Travis County residents. Sendero offers its IdealCare plans on the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace and is available in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, Burnet, Fayette, Lee and Caldwell counties. URBANA, Ill. - As the global population grows, the demand for food increases while arable land shrinks. A new University of Illinois study investigates how rice production in India can meet future needs by adapting to changing climate conditions and water availability. "Rice is the primary crop in India, China, and other countries in Southeast Asia. Rice consumption is also growing in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world," says Prasanta Kalita, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at U of I and lead author on the study. "If you look at where they traditionally grow rice, it is countries that have plenty of water, or at least they used to. They have tropical weather with heavy rainfall they depend on for rice production. Overall, about 4,000 liters of water go into production and processing per kilogram of rice," he states. Climate change is likely to affect future water availability, and rice farmers must implement new management practices to sustain production and increase yield, Kalita says. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates the world population will grow by two billion people by 2050, and food demand will increase by 60%. "We will need multiple efforts to meet that demand," Kalita states. "And with two billion more people, we will also need more water for crop production, drinking water, and industrial use." Kalita and his colleagues conducted the study at the Borlaug Institute for South Asia's research farm in Bihar, India. Farmers in the region grow rice during the monsoon season, when heavy rainfall sustains the crop. The researchers collected data on rice yield and climate conditions, then used computer simulations to model future scenarios based on four global climate models. The purpose of the study was to estimate rice yield and water demand by 2050, and evaluate how farmers can adapt to the effects of climate change. "As the weather changes, it affects temperature, rainfall, and carbon dioxide concentration. These are essential ingredients for crop growth, especially for rice. It's a complicated system, and effects are difficult to evaluate and manage," Kalita states. "Our modeling results show the crop growth stage is shrinking. The time for total maturity from the day you plant to the day you harvest is getting shorter. The crops are maturing faster, and as a result, you don't get the full potential of the yield." If farmers maintain current practices, rice yield will decrease substantially by 2050, the study shows. But various management strategies can mitigate the effects of climate change, and the researchers provide a series of recommendations. Traditional rice farming involves flooding the fields with water. Rice transplants need about six inches of standing water. If fields aren't level, it requires even more water to cover the crops, Kalita says. However, if farmers use direct-seeded rice instead of transplants, they can increase production while using significantly less water. Another practice involves soil conservation technology. "The soil surface continuously loses water because of temperature, humidity, and wind. If you keep crop residue on the ground, it reduces the evaporation and preserves water. Furthermore, when the crop residue decomposes, it will help increase soil quality," Kalita explains. The researchers also suggest implementing strategies to prevent post-harvest crop losses. FAO estimates about 30% of crops are lost or wasted after harvest, so efforts to reduce those losses can further increase crop availability and food security. Overall, the best approach to achieve a 60% increase in rice production while minimizing additional irrigation needs is a combination of conservation strategies and a 30% reduction in post-harvest loss, the researchers conclude. ### The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering is in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and the Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois. The article, "Predicting the water requirement for rice production as affected by projected climate change in Bihar, India" is published in Water. Authors are Ranjeet Jha, Prasanta Kalita, Richard Cooke, Praveen Kumar, Paul Davidson, and Rajkumar Jat. This research was partly funded by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Sorry! This content is not available in your region Temecula, CA, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corcoran Global Living today announced it has welcomed Rancon Real Estate of Temecula Valley, California, as part of its growth across the state. Adding more than 100 associates into its family of real estate professionals, Corcoran Global Living continues to broaden its market share and consumer reach across California and Nevada with more than 1,600 associates across 44 offices, and annual combined sales of $6.4 billion. "Were excited to have this highly-regarded brokerage join the Corcoran Global Living family. Were united in our vision and culture, and together were building something remarkable, commented Michael Mahon, CEO and Founder of Corcoran Global Living. Were empowering our family of associates to truly elevate the real estate experience across Temecula Valley and all along the West Coast. When like-minded leaders, associates and staff come together, we can make a powerful difference in the communities we call home. Todays announcement advances Corcoran Global Livings footing across Temecula Valley, with presence in Temecula and Murrieta. This latest expansion includes the leadership of Dan Stephenson (CEO and founder of Rancon Real Estate) joining as a partner, as well as Mike Diaz and Sandy Tyler, joining the leadership team and bringing a wealth of experience to Corcoran Global Living. We are honored to be joining such an inspirational top brokerage, said Dan Stephenson. We have always run a very agent-centric business, and joining Corcoran Global Living allows us to amplify these efforts by providing the best marketing and technology tools to our team. With Temecula Valley/Riverside County being one of the most rapidly growing areas, and Menifee specifically recognized as the sixth fastest growing in all of Southern California, this venture further solidifies Corcoran Global Livings dedication to and significant growth all along the I-15 corridor from San Diego to the south into San Bernardino County to the north. CGLs market reach across all of Southern California has been explosive since initially launching in the region less than a year ago. About Corcoran Global Living Founded on the principle of putting people first, Corcoran Global Living, an affiliate of The Corcoran Group, serves the California and Nevada markets with 44 strategically located offices in Northern California, Southern California and Reno/Lake Tahoe. Corcoran Global Living is well positioned to provide exceptional service to its very loyal customer base, with more than 1,600 dedicated, professional agents and gross annual sales of $6.4 billion. With a forward-thinking leadership team and deep roots in real estate and notable private investment backing, Corcoran Global Living is poised for exponential growth into additional metro areas in the states where they operate. From luxury homes and income properties to vacation getaways and first-time homes, Corcoran Global Living has the experience, insight and expertise to achieve and surpass clients highest expectations. For more information, visit CorcoranGL.com. Attachment McCarthy Asks Pelosi to Explain When Capitol Will Return to Pre-Pandemic Operations House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has challenged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over her decision to continue to enforce COVID-19 restrictions at the U.S. Capitol. McCarthy is urging Pelosi to reconsider her restrictions and re-open the U.S. Capitol to pre-pandemic operations given that more and more Americans are now receiving the vaccination aimed at mitigating the spread of the pandemic. Today, we have multiple vaccines with significant efficacy rates. COVID-19 cases and deaths are falling nationally. And experts predict a return to normalcy may be closer than we think, the Republican leader wrote in his letter. He cited a newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline that provides recommendations for how and when a fully vaccinated individual can visit other people who are fully vaccinated and with those who are not vaccinated. According to those guidelines, fully vaccinated people can visit other vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or social distancing, visit unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk of contracting severe the virus, and can be exempted from quarantine and testing after an asymptomatic exposure. The guidelines also recommend individuals to continue taking precautions in public. Roughly 75 percent of House members have been fully vaccinated or will be by the end of this week, McCarthy noted. He asked the House speaker whether she has any plans to reopen Congress, end the practice of proxy voting in the House, when in-person committee work can return to full time, and when visitors will be allowed to tour the U.S. Capitol and view Congress from the gallery. He also questioned her about the current security measures put in place following the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol. Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that around 2,300 National Guard troops will stay in Washington at the Capitol through to May 23. At a press conference on March 9, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the extension serves to address law enforcement concerns and support the Capitol Police. The Capitol Police had requested the additional help from the Pentagon. Its not just about a threat assessment, its about assisting and supporting capabilities that the Capitol Police may now lack and may need to look at improving on their own, he said, adding that Capitol Police and their capabilities may not be at the level where [they] need to be, given the fact that were in sort of a new environment in this country. Republicans have been critical of the Democrats decision to continue with their security posture, saying that there were no more credible threats to the Capitol. I think were way overreacting to the current need, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters. Im extremely uncomfortable with the fact that my constituents cant come to the Capitol with all this razor wire around the complex. It reminds me of my last trip to Kabul [Afghanistan]. McCarthy ended the letter arguing its time that we return to regular order. House Republicans are eager for the chance to reopen the Peoples House, restore Americas voice in Congress, and work day in and day out to address the many concerns our constituents face, he wrote. Pelosis office did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment. Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report. Australian security agencies will give universities an expanded list of emerging technologies that should be protected from foreign interference as concern grows about local academics giving China access to their critical research. The list will go beyond the military or dual-use technologies that Australian universities have traditionally been told to protect from foreign governments. ASIO boss Mike Burgess says his agency is only concerned with covert, clandestine and deceptive means to obtain Australian research. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Universities will also be told to protect research that would likely promote the economic, social and political goals of foreign states at the expense of Australias national interest. Federal Parliaments powerful intelligence and security committee is holding an inquiry into foreign interference at Australian universities, including the role of the Chinese governments talent recruitment programs. 2021-03-10 Maeci On 10 March, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, spoke at the meeting Towards the Conference on the Future of Europe held at the Senate. The Minister stated that the Conference shall be an opportunity for all participants to exchange views, develop a better understanding and share projects to build a European Union that is closer to its citizens. Mr. Di Maio also stressed how inclusion and representativeness are necessary for the common future of Europe beyond the pandemic. VANCOUVER, BC, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - NexGen Energy Ltd. ("NexGen" or the "Company") (TSX: NXE) (NYSE: NXE) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced bought deal financing (the "Offering"). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued 33,400,000 common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at a price of $4.50 per Common Share for gross proceeds of approximately $150 million. NexGen has granted the Underwriters (as defined below) a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 5,010,000 Common Shares. The Offering was completed through a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and Canaccord Genuity Corp., and including Eight Capital, Raymond James Ltd., TD Securities Inc., Cormark Securities Inc., Haywood Securities Inc., Sprott Capital Partners LP, and PI Financial Corp. (collectively the "Underwriters"). The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general corporate purposes, including the continued development of the Rook I Project and general working capital The Company filed a preliminary short form prospectus on February 25, 2021 (the "Preliminary Prospectus") and an amended and restated preliminary short form prospectus (the "A&R Preliminary Prospectus") on February 26, 2021. The Company filed a final short form prospectus (together with the Preliminary Prospectus and the A&R Preliminary Prospectus, the "Prospectuses") on March 8, 2021. The Prospectuses were filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada, except Quebec. The Prospectuses were also filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of the Company's Registration Statement on Form F-10 (File No. 333-253512) in accordance with the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System established between Canada and the United States. Copies of the Prospectuses can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and a copy of the registration statement can be found on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Copies of such documents may also be obtained from any of the following sources: BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Attn: Equity Syndicate, telephone: 800-414-3627 or by email at [email protected] and Canaccord Genuity Corp., Attn: ECM, telephone: 416687-5284 or by email at [email protected]. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the Common Shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction. About NexGen NexGen is a British Columbia corporation with a focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of Canadian uranium projects. NexGen has a highly experienced team of uranium industry professionals with a successful track record in the discovery of uranium deposits and in developing projects through discovery to production. NexGen owns a portfolio of prospective uranium exploration assets in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, including a 100% interest in Rook I, location of the Arrow Deposit discovered in February 2014 which is in development. SEC Standards Estimates of mineralization and other technical information included or referenced in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The definitions of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves used in NI 43-101 differ from the definitions in SEC Industry Guide 7. Under SEC Industry Guide 7 standards, a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report Reserves, the three-year historical average price is used in any Reserve or cash flow analysis to designate Reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. As a result, the Reserves reported by the Company in accordance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "Reserves" under SEC standards. In addition, the terms "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource" are defined in and required to be disclosed by NI 43-101; however, these terms are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and normally are not permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into Reserves. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Additionally, disclosure of "contained pounds" in a Resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian securities laws; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "Reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measurements. Accordingly, information contained or referenced in this news release containing descriptions of the Company's mineral deposits may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Forward-Looking Information The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Forward looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the use of proceeds of such Offering. Forward-looking information and statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about NexGen's business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Forward-looking information and statements are made based upon numerous assumptions, including among others, that the proposed transaction will be completed, the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price of uranium, the cost of planned exploration activities, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment, supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct NexGen's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward looking information or making forward looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of NexGen to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of NexGen expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others, negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of the availability of additional financing, the risk that pending assay results will not confirm previously announced preliminary results, imprecision of Mineral Resource Estimates, the appeal of alternate sources of energy and sustained low uranium prices, aboriginal title and consultation issues, exploration risks, reliance upon key management and other personnel, deficiencies in the Company's title to its properties, uninsurable risks, failure to manage conflicts of interest, failure to obtain or maintain required permits and licenses, changes in laws, regulations and policy, competition for resources and financing, and other factors discussed or referred to in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 11, 2020 under "Risk Factors". Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE NexGen Energy Ltd. Related Links http://www.nexgenenergy.ca/ Congress House passes Rescue package with TMF funding The House of Representatives passed the Senate's version of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act Plan on Wednesday. The vote was 220-211. The signature elements of the bill include money for direct individual payments to Americans, expanded tax credits for children, an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits as well as public health measures to speed the acquisition and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. But for the federal IT community, the bill will also be remembered for its dramatic expansion of the Technology Modernization Fund. The bill adds $1 billion to the $175 million capitalization of the revolving fund that agencies can use to upgrade their information technology. So far, the fund has been used in relatively small projects to acquire cloud email or digitize citizen services, but the addition of $1 billion through fiscal year 2025 means that the fund can support more substantial projects and address more applicants for funds. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a co-sponsor of the 2017 legislation that established the fund, noted the link between outdated technology and poor service delivery on the part of government. "Throughout this global health crisis, millions of Americans facing illness, unemployment, food insecurity, and an inability to pay their mortgages or rent have looked to the federal government for help," Connolly said in a statement. "Yet despite urgent congressional action to provide unprecedented levels of economic assistance, those in need have had their misery exacerbated by a broken IT infrastructure that has prevented them from receiving timely support." Former Federal CIO Suzette Kent told FCW that the $1 billion addition to TMF "would be an incredible accelerator for digital citizen services, cybersecurity tools, advancing the data agenda, cross agency shared capabilities and end-to-end hardening of some of the remote work and online services put in place rapidly as part of COVID response." The bill also features a number of other technology investments, including $650 million for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security. Brandon Wales, CISA's acting director, told House Appropriators on Wednesday that the money is a "down payment" on rolling out new tools that expand the agency's ability to hunt for intrusions on federal networks. Other tech items include $200 million for the U.S. Digital Service, $150 million for the Federal Citizen Services Fund and $25 million for the Department of Agriculture to improve the technology behind the delivery of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to modernize benefits transfer and to push for more mobile access. The bill also contains $7.6 billion to improve internet connectivity at the nation's schools and libraries, via the Federal Communication Commission's E-rate program. President Joe Biden will sign the bill on Friday, according to a statement from Press Secretary Jen Psaki. This is another blow for the pro-democracy opposition. Only one NPC delegate abstained while 2,895 voted in favour. The pro-Beijing Election Committee, which elects the chief executive, will appoint a certain number of members of Hong Kongs Legislative Council. For Carrie Lam, the latter will not be hostage to politics anymore. The UK slams China for not fulfilling the commitments made in 1997. Beijing (AsiaNews) The National People's Congress (NPC) almost unanimously passed a resolution today paving the way for a thorough overhaul of Hong Kongs election system. For Chinese leaders, elections in the semi-autonomous city must be democratic but with local characteristics. After the national security law was passed in June, critics say electoral reform is a new expedient to eliminate the pro-democracy opposition in the former British colony. On the final day of the annual session of Chinas parliament, 2,895 delegates voted in favour, no one against and only one abstention. Together with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPCPC), which has already come out in favour of reform, the NPC is called upon to rubberstamp decisions already taken by President Xi Jinping and the other leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. The details of the reform will be finalised by the NPC Standing Committee; this will involve changes to Hong Kongs Basic Law, which came into effect when the territory returned to China in 1997. The changes grant new powers to the Electoral Committee (already under Chinese control) which chooses Hong Kongs chief executive (head of the administration). Some 300 delegates from the NPC and CPCPC will be added to the committee, which will be expanded from 1,200 to 1,500 members. The Legislative Council (LegCo) will go from 70 members to 90. The Committee will elect some LegCo members; the others will be chosen directly and indirectly from representatives of industry, labour and the professions. The authorities will also set up a committee to scrutinise candidates for the Electoral Committee and LegCo in order to block candidates who are not considered 'patriotic', namely members of pro-democracy groups. It is not yet clear whether district councillors (mostly pro-democracy) will be part of the enlarged Electoral Committee. Some media claim that the 117 seats on the Election Committee elected by district councillors will be scrapped; others such as the state-run Xinhua news agency report that district organisations will still be represented, without specifying whether they will include district councils. Quoted by the South China Morning Post, NPC Standing Committee Chairman Li Zhanshu said that the National Security and Electoral Reform laws are two legal punches to protect Hong Kongs constitutional order after anti-government riots in 2019. Hong Kongs chief executive Carrie Lam thanked the NPC for the reform. According to Lam, with the changes that will be introduced, LegCo will no longer be hostage to politics. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom reacted negatively. British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said this morning that the changes to the election law are yet another step by mainland China to curb Hong Kong's democracy. According to Raab, this is a violation of the commitments China made in 1997, which will further undermine the international community's trust in Chinese leaders. As many as 29,378 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Ukraine, according to data published on the Vaccination against COVID-19 portal of the Health Ministry. Over the past day, 5,898 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Ukraine. In particular, people vaccinated with one dose - 5,898, fully vaccinated people (received 2 doses) - 0, reads the report. On March 10, 109 mobile immunization teams operated across the country to conduct vaccination. The highest number of vaccinations was carried out in Ternopil region - 500 injections. Since the start of the vaccination campaign in Ukraine, the highest number of vaccinations was performed in Donetsk region 3,504. On February 24, 2021, Ukraine launched the coronavirus vaccination campaign. Medical workers and military personnel were the first to get their shots of the Covishield vaccine, manufactured in India under the license of Oxford/AstraZeneca. As reported by Ukrinform, on February 23, 500,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca (Covishield) vaccine, purchased at the expense of the state budget, were delivered to Ukraine. The Health Ministry expects to receive another 1.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine by March 31. As many as, 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are expected to be delivered to Ukraine as part of the global COVAX Facility. On March 10, the Health Ministry approved a decision on the state registration of emergency medical use of CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac. iy A string of famous faces stepped out to attend the ever-glamorous Melbourne Fashion Festival on Thursday night at the National Gallery of Victoria. Kate Waterhouse, Rebecca Harding and Brooke Hogan led the arrivals at the glitzy affair, which reignited live fashion catwalks across the country after the event was cancelled last year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Australian racing heiress Kate oozed glamour in a thigh-skimming brown dress from Bianca Spender, which retails at $625. On your marks! Australian racing heiress Kate Waterhouse oozed glamour in a thigh-skimming brown dress from Bianca Spender, which retails at $625 The sultry number cinched in at the waist of the journalist and TV presenter, who appeared confident as she flashed a glimpse of her leg while posing for the camera. The 37-year-old teamed her look with a tiny Oroton handbag, and a pair of stunning strappy sandals. Meanwhile, Rebecca Harding looked gorgeous in a silky black frock from Anna Quan. Stunner: The sultry number cinched in at the waist of the journalist and TV presenter, who appeared confident as she flashed just a glimpse of her thigh while posing for the camera Gorgeous: The 37-year-old teamed her look with a tiny Oroton handbag, and a pair of stunning strappy sandals Exquisite: Meanwhile, Rebecca Harding looked gorgeous in a silky black frock from Anna Quan Delightful: The 28-year-old girlfriend of comedian Andy Lee looked confident and sassy as she posed for the camera, wearing minimal make-up on her gorgeous visage to just slightly enhance her natural beauty The 28-year-old girlfriend of comedian Andy Lee looked sexy and sassy as she posed for the camera, wearing minimal make-up on her gorgeous visage to slightly enhance her natural beauty. Instead of heels, Rebecca opted for a pair of black Dr. Martins to add an edgy vibe to her vampy look. Another stunner who certainly drew attention on Thursday was Australian model Brooke Hogan. Pretty in pink! Another stunner who brought the red carpet to a halt on Thursday night was Australian model Brooke Hogan Grabbing attention: She opted for a wildly gorgeous Camilla and Marc pink blazer and trousers combo - which retails for $1350 for the set - which she teamed with a vibrant Louis Vuitton handbag Picture perfect: The striking beauty whipped her hair into a tight bun, and wore very dewy make-up on her flawless skin She opted for a wildly gorgeous Camilla and Marc pink blazer and trousers combo - which retails for $1350 for the set - which she teamed with a hot pink Louis Vuitton handbag. The striking beauty whipped her hair into a tight bun, and wore very dewy make-up on her flawless skin. Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), 33, looked nothing short of sensational in a black Dion Lee dress worth $1990, as she made a rare solo red carpet appearance at the fashion event. The mother-of-three - who only recently returned to her home country of Australia in January - dressed her svelte figure in the slinky black gown, which featured flesh-flashing cut-outs around her decolletage and waist. Wow: Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), 33, looked nothing short of sensational in a black Dion Lee dress worth $1990, as she made a rare solo red carpet appearance at the star-studded event Va-va-voom! Victoria Lee stole the show on Thursday as she stepped out in sultry floor-length piece, which was very low cut at her front and trimmed in at the waist Surprise! Victoria then surprised guests by changing her outfit completely, while modelling for Toni Maticevski during the Gala Runway event Model Victoria Lee looked equally as beautiful in a sultry floor-length piece, which was very low cut at her front and trimmed in at the waist. She then surprised guests by changing her outfit completely, while modelling for Toni Maticevski during the Gala Runway event. The ladies weren't the only ones who brought the glamour with them to the National Gallery. Margot Robbie's younger brother Cameron - who recently scored the role of a lifetime on Neighbours - looked vibrant and quirky in an orange blazer and matching trousers. Good looks run in the family! Margot Robbie's younger brother Cameron - who recently scored the role of a lifetime on Neighbours - looked vibrant and quirky in an orange blazer and trousers He teamed the look with a wild patterned shirt and a pair of clunky black shoes. Like his Hollywood actress sibling, he knew exactly how to achieve the best angles as he placed his hand on his hip and gave a cheeky pout to the camera. Meanwhile, former AFL star Tom Derickx was dripping with sex appeal in a navy blazer and matching trousers. The bearded hunk - who in the past has been linked to the likes of Shanina Shaik and Gigi Hadid - teamed his look with a crisp blue shirt and black shoes. Bringing the heat! Former AFL star Tom Derickx was dripping with sex appeal in a navy blazer and matching trousers Model behaviour: Meanwhile, Jack Steele and Matt Ford, who created Instagram page The Inspired Unemployed, looked ravishing in burgundy and blue velvet blazers Jack Steele and Matt Ford, who created Instagram page The Inspired Unemployed, also looked ravishing in burgundy and blue velvet blazers. Popular presenter and 60 Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort looked smart and confident in a white T-shirt, open blazer and matching navy trousers. He added a more casual vibe to his look with a pair of box-fresh white trainers. Another sporting great, AFL legend Adam Goodes, rocked up to the event alongside his beautiful wife Natalie Croker. News just in! Popular presenter and 60 Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort looked smart and confident in a white T-shirt, open blazer and matching navy trousers Quite the team: AFL legend Adam Goodes and his wife Natalie Croker rocked up to the fashion event together on Thursday night Couple goals: He donned a grey blazer and black trousers, while his stunning wife opted for an ankle-length black dress and matching heels Glowing: Also in attendance was former Neighbours star Sarah Ellen, who stunned in a beautiful pastel-coloured frock and patterned bag Sophisticated: Fellow model Bella Thomas looked elegant and stunning with flowing off-white frock, which she teamed with some strappy sandals He donned a grey blazer and black trousers, while his stunning wife opted for an ankle-length black dress and matching heels. She whisked her hair into a bouffant-style up-do, and drew attention to her piercing eyes with a thick black liner. Also in attendance was former Neighbours star Sarah Ellen, who stunned in a beautiful pastel-coloured frock and patterned bag, while model Cameron Stephens looked sexy and sultry in a floor-length silk gown in a royal blue. Fellow model Bella Thomas looked elegant and stunning with flowing off-white frock, which she teamed with a pair of strappy sandals. Giving it their all! The group then strutted their stuff - posing on boxes and balls - with Jack Steele (left) and Matt Ford (second from left) Wags Will Tell You that the lower water in lakes and streams will make it easier to catch fish because they will be more concentrated. I disagree; the real problem of low water is the huge amount of shoreline spawning grounds are left high and dry. Those sloping shallow stretches that have brush and weeds are where the bait fish hide, and sport fish rearing their young will be out of the water. Guides are going to have to learn new tricks to find fish in 2021. Thats why you dont want to go with a novice guide, or one that you havent been able to check out. There are thousands of good California fishing guides. Weve been lucky to have long and fruitful relationships with ours. By now you know their names, and many have already tried them out. * I have fished with Clear Lake bass guide Bob Myskey (349-4460) for 15 years; he has fished three generations of Ryans and is great with new anglers. If he is booked, dont be afraid to let him book you with one of his proteges we fished with two of them without missing a beat. The impassioned fight to save River Oaks Theatre just got a promising glimmer of hope as fresh negotiations are now underway, Landmark Theatres COO and President Paul Serwitz said Wednesday. The fate of cherished Houston icon, River Oaks Theatre, remains in jeopardy after Weingarten Realtyowner of the propertyand tenant Landmark Theatres failed to reach an agreement over a lease renewal. River Oaks Theatre's lease comes to end on March 31. "We had a meaningful dialogue Tuesday with Weingarten," Serwitz told Chron. "We're putting together a proposal at their request to try to find a solution. That's where it is. It's preliminary and early, but it gets the ball rolling. We're hopeful that they will respond positively." 'HISTORY IS NOT FOR SALE': Protesters rally to save River Oaks Theatre Serwitz believes that Houston's community involvement has significantly helped in the battle to keep the treasured venue operating. "It's a preeminent art-house theater in a major market. It's a great theater for filmmakers," Serwitz said. "It's very clear Houstonians love it from all the public outcry. It's a great theater for Landmark. We love what it represents to a city like Houston." During 2020, more than 7,000 cinemas all across the U.S. went dark, after struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "COVID-19 pandemic literally shut down our company for 6 monthsthe corporate office, everything," Serwitz said. "We've operated at a serious cash loss." Serwitz said that in every situation where a historic cinema has been threatened, he's seen this amazing outpouring from the public. "We have our fingers crossed," Serwitz said. "At the root of the Landmark's DNA is the voice of independent theater because we know it is unique. I'd love to be associated with River Oaks theatre staying in play for all the right reasons." For all Houstonians who wish to show their support for the River Oaks Theatre, the Houston Film Critics Society has launched an effort dubbed "Operation: Save Houston Cinema." Houstonians are invited to buy tickets for online or in-person screenings this Saturday, March 13 of "The Father" starring Anthony Hopkins or "Minari." Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. About 1 in 5 Americans say they lost a relative or close friend to the coronavirus, highlighting the division between heartache and hope as the country itches to get back to normal a year into the pandemic. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research illustrates how the stage is set for a two-tiered recovery. The publics worry about the virus has dropped to its lowest point since the fall, before the holidays brought skyrocketing cases into the new year. But people still in mourning express frustration at the continued struggle to stay safe. We didnt have a chance to grieve. Its almost like it happened yesterday for us. Its still fresh, said Nettie Parks of Volusia County, Florida whose only brother died of COVID-19 last April. Because of travel restrictions, Parks and her five sisters have yet to hold a memorial. Parks, 60, said she retired from her customer service job last year in part because of worry about workplace exposure, and now she is watching with dread as more states and cities relax health rules. Only about 3 in 10 Americans are very worried about themselves or a family member being infected with the virus, down from about 4 in 10 in recent months. Still, a majority are at least somewhat worried. Theyre letting their guard down and they shouldnt, Parks said. People are going to have to realize this thing is not going anywhere. Its not over. COVID-19s toll is staggering, more than 527,000 dead in the U.S. alone, and counting. But its hard to conceptualize the true danger if you dont know it personally, said Dr. K. Luan Phan, psychiatry chief at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. For those who lost a loved one, that fear is most salient in them. Theyre going to be a lot more cautious as businesses reopen and as schools start back, Phan said. And without that first-hand experience, even people who heeded health officials pleas to stay masked and keep their distance are succumbing to pandemic fatigue because fears tend to habituate, he said. Communities of color were hardest hit by the coronavirus. The AP-NORC poll found about 30% of African Americans like Parks, and Hispanics know a relative or close friend who died from the virus, compared with 15% of white people. That translates into differences in how worried people are about a virus that remains a serious threat until most of the country -- and the world -- gets vaccinated. Despite recent drops in cases, 43% of Black Americans and 39% of Hispanics are very or extremely worried about themselves or a loved one getting COVID-19, compared to just 25% of white people. (For other racial and ethnic groups, sample sizes are too small to analyze.) While vaccines offer real hope for ending the scourge, the poll also found about 1 in 3 Americans dont intend to get their shot. The most reluctant: Younger adults, people without college degrees, and Republicans The hardest-hit are also having the hardest time getting vaccinated: 16% of Black Americans and 15% of Hispanics say they already have received at least one shot, compared to 26% of white people. But majorities in each group want to get vaccinated. Currently demand for vaccines still outstrips supply, and about 4 in 10 Americans, especially older adults, say the sign-up process has been poor. John Perez, a retired teacher and school administrator in Los Angeles, spent hours trying to sign up online before giving up. Then a friend found a drive-thru vaccination site with openings. When I was driving there for the first shot, I was going through a tunnel of emotions, the 68-year-old said. I knew what a special moment it was. Overall, confidence in the vaccines is slowly strengthening. The poll found 25% of Americans arent confident the shots were properly tested, down somewhat from 32% who expected they wouldn't be in December, just before the first ones were cleared. We were a little skeptical when it was first coming out because it was so politicized, said Bob Richard, 50, of Smithfield, Rhode Island. But now, he said his family is inclined to get the shots -- if they can sort through the appointment system when its their turn. The poll found two-thirds of Americans say their fellow citizens nationwide havent taken the pandemic seriously enough. The conflict with people who dont take it serious as I do, its disappointing, said Wayne Denley, 73, of Alexandria, Louisiana. Early on, he and his wife started keeping a list of people they knew whod gotten sick. By November, theyd counted nine deaths and dozens of infections. He'd share the sobering list with people doubtful of the pandemics toll, yet still would see unmasked acquaintances while running errands. Im glad I wrote them down -- it helped make it real for me, Denley said. You sort of become numb to it. There are exceptionally wide partisan differences. Most Democrats, 60%, say their local communities failed to take the threat seriously enough and even more, 83%, say the country as a whole didnt either. Among Republicans, 31% say their localities didnt take the pandemic seriously enough, and 44% said that of the country. But another third of Republicans say the U.S. overreacted. The differences translate into behavior: More than three-quarters of Democrats say they always wear a mask around others compared to about half of Republicans. And the divisions have Phan, the psychiatrist, worried. Weve survived something that we should be grateful for having survived it. How do we repay or reciprocate that good fortune? The only way to do it is to be stronger in the year after the epidemic than before, he said. ___ Neergaard reported from Alexandria, Virginia, and Renault reported from New York. Associated Press journalist John Seewer contributed to this report. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,434 adults was conducted Feb. 25-March 1 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. A 31-year-old woman identified as Yesutor Elizabeth Akpalu, has died after she was allegedly assaulted by her fiance. It was gathered that the deceased, a 300 level student of the Evangelical Presbyterian University College, was rushed to the Ho Teaching Hospital by her friends on Sunday, March 7, after she complained of severe pain in the chest, ribs and neck. She died in the early hours of Monday, March 8. According to the Volta Regional Police Commander, DCOP Oduro Kwateng, the victim had complained to her friends about being physically assaulted by her boyfriend, Phillip Ceasar, said to be the Deputy Director of Youth Employment Agency (YEA) at Akatsi North. Medical reports sighted by journalists allegedly indicates that the deceased had injuries on her left shoulder as well as swollen eyes as a result of the assault. Her friends alleged the suspect has been assaulting the deceased for a long time but she refused to report to the police because her wedding was pending and she did not want to ruin her relationship. Further investigation by Ghanaian Times revealed that the suspect allegedly tortured the deceased in December 2020 and again in February 2021. Kwateng confirmed that the suspect was arrested by the Ave-Dapka police on Tuesday, March 9. He was later moved to the Volta Regional Headquarters in Ho, where he is in custody while further investigations are ongoing. "The suspect is in police custody and we have begun investigations into the matter." he added. Also confirming the incident, spokesperson of the Volta Region Police, Prince Dogbatse, said he said the got a call from the Ho Teaching Hospital about the case. "The Volta Region Police Command has initiated investigations into the incident. Currently, bits and pieces of information that we have picked from the students and some other individuals suggest that the deceased suffered from assault from her boyfriend," Dogbatse stated. "We have picked that boyfriend and he is in our custody assisting in investigations. As is normal with death, we are waiting for the pathologists report." he added. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Chicago-based Boeing had to revise the system before the FAA and other regulators would allow the plane to fly again, but Jacobsen wrote that more needs to be done Boeing, he said, merely improved the planes design from an F to a D. His letter was first reported by The Seattle Times. Image: Luis Palau Association Luis Palau was an evangelist. While for many he was far more, to Palau there was no greater compliment. Addressing a diverse collection of over 10,000 pastors, church leaders, and evangelists from across the globe in 1986, Luis Palau reflected on the kind of legacy he wanted to leave behind. If I'm remembered for anything when I die, I want it to be this: that I had a heart and life which burned with the love and power of the Holy Spirit. A heart afire with love for God and for people. A message aflame with power to convict the souls of men and win them to Christ. That is my reason for living. That is my purpose in being an evangelist. As an evangelist, Palau demonstrated the two enduring commitments that fueled his success. He was constantly innovating and adapting, shifting his strategies of evangelism to match cultures and to keep pace with time. Most notably, Palau changed his revivals from stadiums to city-wide festivals and community service events. Yet, coupled to this adaptability of method was a rigidity of message. Palau never veered from the orthodox teachings of the gospel, staking his ministry on his conviction that the want of the world was the risen Christ. The result of these twin commitments was untold thousands professed faith in Christ through his ministry. Perhaps just as important as his public ministry was Palaus personal integrity. As stories continue to flood in, a consistent thread is memories from family and friends of a man who carried no pretense but displayed a genuine humility regardless of who was watching. His dedication to evangelism led him to forge partnerships where others saw rivalry and engage in dialogue where others saw opponents. He had a singular focus on sharing the good news of the gospel wherever he went. A regular partner in our work at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, Palau often spoke in our Amplify Conference. In 2016, he inspired us to all to dream great dreams. In 2017, he focused on clarifying our mission by reminding us that no matter how lonely and inadequate we feel, the power of the resurrected Christ is real. It speaks to Palaus global legacy that both these addresses to his fellow evangelists provoked standing ovations. He was an evangelist among evangelists. Evangelicalism Many eulogies will likely celebrate him as the Billy Graham of Latin America, and their relationship is worth noting. Palau looked to Graham as his mentor, a role model not only for his effectiveness in mass evangelism but for his personal humility. Palau had served as Grahams interpreter for several evangelistic campaigns before beginning his own revivals. Years later as Palau began to lead revivals in North America and Europe, Graham proved one of his strongest supporters. But to limit Palau to the scope of Latin America fundamentally misunderstands his impact and vision. In a 2007 New York Times profile, Palau commented on his dissatisfaction with the moniker. Far from being angered at the comparison to Graham, Palau was instead frustrated by its narrowness. Instead, Palau responded, I want to be the Billy Graham of everywhere. An Argentinian by birth, Palau led revivals across South America before expanding across the globe. From Helsinki in 1982 to Jakarta in 1990 to Chicago in 1996, Palaus scope rivaled that of his mentor. In the process, Palau represented a critical transition in global Christianity. For if the legacy of Billy Graham is inextricably tied to the diffusion of evangelicalism across the globe, Luis Palau represents the global evangelical world taking hold of the movement as its own. His legacy of evangelism and the enduring relationships he established on every continent are reminders to Western Christians of the shifting center of the global church. As recently as 2015, 68% of global Christianity and 84% of global evangelicalism was comprised of people of color. As Asbury Seminarys Stephen Offutt argues, these new global centers of evangelical life and thought are becoming socioeconomically diverse, better connected internationally, and increasingly socially engaged these trends and activities are recreating evangelical identity, and they are reorienting the movements social and political location. Palau, along with a host of many other men and women of faith, are a significant reason for this growth. Calling the Church to Evangelism Palaus passing comes at a time where evangelism, particularly in the Western world, appears to be on the decline. The church is rapidly progressing from the challenge of equipping and mobilizing Christians for evangelism to having to defend the practice entirely. Sharing the truth of the gospel is increasingly at odds with a culture centered on pluralism, subjectivity, and individualism. Despite this growing resistance, Palau maintained that a central calling on the life of the believer was to show and share the good news of Jesus. For Palau, even his death was an opportunity to share Christ. In his February 16 update on his fathers health, Andrew Palau wrote: As you might suspect, Dad is famous at the hospital truly loved by all and pointing each and every one to the Savior every chance he gets. The number of stories and reports from the medical staff sharing how much of an encouragement and blessing he was to them while there was such a blessing, yet also not a surprise. He is a true champion for the Gospel and a great example for us all. From his hospital bed, Palaus example reminds the church that we have been given the words of life in the midst of a dying world. Celebrating Christ In recent months as his health deteriorated, Palau sent a surprise message to guests at our most recent Amplify Conference. Speaking of the pandemic, Palau focused on the opportunities to proclaim the gospel in the midst of a generation that is suddenly facing the reality of death and fear and eternity. Knowing that pastors and church leaders were hurting as well, Luis then turned his final words to offer an exhortation out of his own perseverance in suffering: I will tell you, you have no regrets where you spent your life proclaiming the whole counsel of God in the local church and through the local church, but particularly focusing on the good use gospel of the cross, the blood, the burial, the resurrection, the essential, and they're coming again of Jesus Christ. Well done, Luis. We look forward to celebrating Christ with you when we are together again. On Demand We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet. In-Room VDO The High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) definitively rejected on Thursday the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA)'s request to place former minister Elena Udrea under judicial control, with a ban on leaving the country, in the case in which she was convicted by the first court to eight years in prison. The supreme court rejected, as unfounded, the prosecutors' appeal, after Udrea also received a favorable decision at the Bucharest Court of Appeal. Elena Udrea was sentenced, on March 2, by the Bucharest Court of Appeal to eight years in prison for committing crimes of instigating bribe taking and money laundering, in the case regarding the financing of Traian Basescu's 2009 election campaign.The decision is not final, but after a few days the DNA requested that Udrea be placed under judicial control, with a ban on leaving the country, given the statements she made about the judge who convicted her, but also the possibility that she leaves Romania before being definitively convicted, as it happened in 2018, when she fled to Costa Rica. The company will present on the CF33 oncolytic virus program and on the HER-Vaxx cancer immunotherapy program during the prestigious association's annual meeting. Imugene is developing a range of novel immunotherapies that seek to activate the immune system of cancer patients. ( ) ( ) will present on two key novel immunotherapies that seek to activate the immune system of cancer patients to treat and eradicate tumours - the CF33 oncolytic virus program and HER-Vaxx cancer immunotherapy program - at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2021 annual meeting in April. A presentation on the CF33 oncolytic virus program will be made by City of Hopes Dr Yanghee Woo, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery and director Gastroenterology Minimally Invasive Therapy Program. This will be titled Subcutaneous Intratumoral Administration of a Novel Oncolytic Virus Leads to Eradication of Peritoneal Disseminated Pancreatic Cancer in Nude Mice' A presentation on the HER-Vaxx cancer immunotherapy program will be made by Imugenes chief medical officer Dr Rita Laeufle. The abstract presentation is entitled 'A Phase 1B/2 Open-Label Study with Randomization in Phase 2 of IMU-131 HER2/NEU Peptide Immunotherapy plus Standard of Care Chemotherapy in Patients with HER2/NEU Overexpressing Metastatic or Advanced Adenocarcinoma of the Stomach or Gastroesophageal Junction'. Virus developed in two constructs IMUs CF33 oncolytic virus (OV) was developed in the lab of Professor Yuman Fong, an internationally recognised surgeon and scientist at City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and treatment centre for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases based in California. CF33 has been developed in two different constructs - one version of the OV is armed with an immune checkpoint inhibitor inserted in the virus, which is known as CheckVacc and the other an unarmed construct, known as Vaxinia. The content of the presentation is embargoed until the start of the conference and will be made available online after the start of the meeting and on the Imugene website. HER-Vaxx presentation Imugenes HER-Vaxx is a B-cell peptide cancer immunotherapy designed to treat tumours that overexpress the HER-2/neu receptor, such as gastric, breast, ovarian, lung and pancreatic cancers. The immunotherapy is constructed from several B cell epitopes derived from the extracellular domain of HER-2/neu. IMU's presentation will be made by Dr Laeufle at the Virtual AACR annual meeting with the content also set for embargo until the start of the conference. The company has a market cap of approximately A$456.9 million and shares today have been as much as 10% higher to A$0.11. First patient dosed in phase-I trial Imugene last month notched up a key milestone with dosing of the first patient in cohort-2 in the phase-I clinical trial of its checkpoint immunotherapy candidate, PD1-Vaxx. The first patient in the mid-dose (50g) cohort-2 was dosed at the Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, USA, and the first-in-human, Phase-I multi-centre dose escalation study of PD1-Vaxx is recruiting patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Medical investigators will test three different doses of PD1-Vaxx. The primary aim of the phase-I trial is to determine safety and an optimal biological dose as a monotherapy (mOBD). Efficacy, tolerability and immune response will also be measured. In the United States, routine vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) is recommended for adolescents aged 11-12 years, and catch-up vaccination is now recommended for both males and females up to age 26 years. Although an HPV vaccine has been licensed for use up to age 45 years in the United States, the health impact and cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination for older individuals are unclear. A study published in PLOS Medicine, by Jane Kim of Harvard University, United States and colleagues suggests that HPV vaccination of men and women over age 26 years provides limited health benefits at a high cost. To inform national guidelines on expanding HPV vaccination beyond age 26 years, researchers utilized two mathematical models - from Harvard University and Cancer Council New South Wales, Australia - that simulated HPV infection and cervical cancer, as well as six noncervical HPV-related cancers and genital warts. Using these models and data from the United States, they projected the lifetime costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of extending HPV vaccination to both women and men up to age 45 years. To determine long-term outcomes associated with extending HPV vaccination to people up to age 45 years, the authors projected the lifetime health and economic consequences for vaccinated and unvaccinated older adults taking into account historical HPV vaccination in younger cohorts and current cervical cancer screening among women. The researchers calculated the medical costs of vaccination, cervical cancer screening, and HPV-related diseases in U.S. dollars and estimated health benefits using quality-adjusted life years. Findings from both models suggest that HPV vaccination beyond age 26 years has limited health benefits and is not cost-effective, even when making favorable assumptions about vaccine effectiveness and duration of protection in both adult males and females. The study has several important limitations, however, including the potential changes in the disease burden of noncervical cancers over time. The authors pointed to a lack of trial data on vaccine effectiveness for males older than 26 years and noted that future studies will be needed for more accurate assessments of health outcomes in older populations receiving HPV vaccine. According to the authors, "The results from our two independent models suggest that HPV vaccination for adult women and men aged over 26 years is unlikely to represent good value for money in the US." The study results reported here contributed to the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to not recommend catch-up vaccination beyond age 26 years given the limited public health benefit, and recommending instead shared clinical decision making in individuals aged 27-45 years. ### Research Article Peer-reviewed; Simulation/modelling In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://journals. plos. org/ plosmedicine/ article?id= 10. 1371/ journal. pmed. 1003534 Funding: JJK, KTS, JK, MAS, EAB, SS, CR, KC received grant support from the U.S. National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (grant number U01CA199334). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: KC is the co-principal investigator of Compass (NCT02328872), an unrelated trial of cervical screening, which is conducted and funded by the VCS Foundation, a government-funded health promotion charity. The VCS Foundation has received equipment and a funding contribution for the Compass trial from Roche Molecular Systems but neither KC nor her institution on her behalf have received funding for this trial or any other project. MAS receives salary support from the National Health & Medical Research Council (Australia) and Cancer Institute NSW. KTS receives salary support from the Cancer Institute NSW. All other authors declare no conflicts. State officials have struck a deal with The United Illuminating Co. for a $46.5 million COVID-19 relief bill credit from the Orange-based company, a move that Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said Wednesday will decrease and stabilize electric rates into 2023. The deal between the utility and the state will only result in about a $1 average decrease on a typical residential customers monthly bill, depending upon how much electricity they use. But UI has also told state officials they will not seek an increase in distribution rates until sometime after May 2023. The last time the electric distribution company changed its distribution rates was in July 2019. The agreement is subject to review and approval by the states Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). United Illuminating serves 341,000 customers in 17 municipalities in the Bridgeport and New Haven areas. For families and businesses who have been struggling with high energy costs during the pandemic, this agreement promises more affordable, predictable rates, Lamont said in a written statement. When I signed legislation to reform utility accountability, I called on the utilities to put ratepayers above profits. Todays settlement, achieved through ratepayer-focused negotiations by our state agencies, represents a positive step by UI in that direction. Tong said the Connecticut residents pay far too much for our energy. Families need and deserve stability as we emerge from this economic and public health crisis, he said. United Illuminating came to the table prepared to make real concessions, including contributing millions of their own dollars to ease the burden on local ratepayers. It makes such a difference to have corporate leadership firmly committed to Connecticut. Frank Reynolds, president and chief executive officer of UI, said the settlement allows us to provide meaningful benefits to our customers, many of whom continue to be impacted by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. If approved, it will not only avert a bill increase in the near term but will also help keep rates stable in the foreseeable future, Reynolds said in a statement. The monthly savings will come in the form of a bill credit based on the number of kilowatt hours used each month, according to Ed Crowder, a UI spokesman. If PURA approves the agreement, credits will begin appearing on bills starting May 1 and will last through Dec. 22, 2022, state officials said Crowder said officials at the utility had initially anticipated an increase of between 6 and 8 percent in federally mandated charges that UI is required to collect, which would cover the costs associated with using the electric transmission grid as well as a power purchase agreement that the utility has with the owner of the Millstone nuclear plant. But that was before the negotiations began in earnest. UI contributed $5 million to support customers, in addition to an accelerated return of $41.55 million of accumulated savings from federal tax cuts to offset that would have resulted in the increase, according to state officials. The increase would have begun in bills on May 1. Katie Dykes, commissioner of the state Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP), said the relief to UI ratepayers comes not a moment too soon. This bill credit will help to offset pressure on other parts of the energy bill, while better enabling PURA to implement performance-based regulation of UI, Dykes said in a statement. Richard Sobolewski, the states acting Consumer Counsel, said the plan allows for the costs that were deferred last summer to be recovered without a bill increase. Sobolewskis office represent the states consumers in utility rate cases. Further rate relief is on the way for UIs residential customers, according to state officials. On Tuesday, PURA ordered UI to provide an updated filing on how it plans to distribute $3.6 million in overearnings that is due to residential ratepayers. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com With image of Mamata lying on bed with a case, TMC says, brace yourself India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Kolkata, Mar 11: The Trinamool Congress after sharing an image of Mamata Banerjee lying on a hospital bed with a cast on her leg said, 'brace yourselves to see the power of the people of Bengal. May 2nd. Get ready.' Mamata injured in ankle, leg, shoulder, neck: Doctor | Oneidnia News The image was posted by Trinamool Congress MP, Abhishek Banerjee who is the nephew of Mamata Banerjee. The BJP has said that it would complain to the Election Commission about Mamata Banerjee spreading lies about an attack on her. .@BJP4Bengal Brace yourselves to see the power of people of BENGAL on Sunday, May 2nd. Get READY!!! pic.twitter.com/dg6bw1TxiU Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 10, 2021 A delegation of the BJP would meet with the officials of the EC in Kolkata to complain about the CM's allegation. She had alleged that she had been pushed by around five people against her car and had the door shut on her at a time when there were no police personnel around her. Spreading lies says BJP on attack on Mamata: To meet EC officials Preliminary medical tests conducted on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee late on Wednesday night detected severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in the right shoulder, forearm and neck, a senior doctor of the state-run SSKM hospital said. Doctors at the hospital decided to closely monitor Banerjee, who has been complaining of chest pain and breathlessness since the alleged attack at Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district earlier in the evening, for the next 48 hours, he said. The Trinamool Congress chief has a slight fever and has been shifted to a special ward at the hospital's VVIP Woodburn Block soon after the MRI at the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences, he added. "We will keep her under observation for the next 48 hours. There will be more tests needed to be done, and after evaluating her condition we will decide on our next course of treatment," a doctor, part of the team treating Banerjee, told PTI. Doctors conducted an x-ray on the chief minister as soon as she was taken there from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district on Wednesday night. She is undergoing treatment at the 12.5 special cabin of Woodburn Block of the SSKM hospital. The state government has constituted a team of five senior doctors to treat Banerjee. Both TMC, BJP leaders to meet EC officials over alleged attack on Mamata in Nandigram The team consists of one cardiologist, an endocrinologist, a general surgery doctor, an orthopedist and a medicine doctor. Banerjee sustained injuries on her left leg and waist as she fell on the ground after she was allegedly pushed by unknown miscrean. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 12:41 [IST] Toronto, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yesterday, the House of Commons debated an opposition motion calling on the Government to include measures to support the charitable sector in the next federal budget. Today, the motion passed with support from the four opposition parties. Imagine Canada welcomes this strong, multi-party show of support for targeted measures to help the charitable sector. We are also grateful to the many Members of Parliament who spoke about the valuable social and economic contributions that charities and nonprofits make to their communities, as well as about the strength of our women-majority workforce. As our research and recent polling by Abacus data demonstrate, government support measures have not adequately addressed the challenges the charitable and nonprofit sector is facing. The data on the pandemic experience of the charitable sector shows: The average revenue shortfall for those experiencing a decline is 43%, and demand for nonprofit services continues to exceed our capacity to provide them; The long term sustainability of our organizations is at-risk as many organizations are focused on addressing immediate needs over revenue generation or fundraising; and The diversity of the sector is under threat as smaller organizations serving targeted localities and populations are less able to adapt to pandemic-related challenges as larger ones. In April 2020, we acknowledged the announcement of the Emergency Community Support Fund, a $350 million program to support organizations in meeting rising demand in mission areas linked to the pandemic response. However, we maintain that the program support offered through these grants is limited compared to the losses facing the charitable sector, that it is only applicable to narrow segments of the sector, and that it does not offer the core funding that our organizations desperately need. Charities and nonprofits are key to achieving an equitable recovery for all communities, so the challenges organizations are facing across the country should give everyone pause. In the coming federal budget, we are asking for a three-pronged approach to support for our organizations: emergency support measures extended and adjusted to fit our needs; core operating support particularly for those organizations left behind by current supports; and finally a matching program to incentivize donations. Story continues Today the House of Commons demonstrated that there is a broad consensus in support of the inclusion of targeted measures for the charitable sector in budget 2021. Were calling on the Government to heed this call and include much needed support in the upcoming budget to a sector that has provided crucial support to our communities throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Bruce MacDonald, President & CEO of Imagine Canada 30 - Imagine Canada Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is Canadas charities. Our three broad goals are to amplify the sectors collective voice, create opportunities to connect and learn from each other, and build the sectors capacity to succeed. Attachment CONTACT: Emilie Pontbriand Imagine Canada (416) 597-2293 x 319 epontbriand@imaginecanada.ca The coronavirus, domestic divisions and fears that political violence might erupt topped the list of Americans' greatest concerns facing the nation, according to the latest survey from the Ronald Reagan Institute. The Reagan National Defense Survey, conducted last month, found a decline in Americans' overall attitudes almost across the board -- including declining trust and confidence in the military. But it said such results were unsurprising. "With all that has happened in the last year, it is understandable that Americans are experiencing a sense of pessimism," the institute said in a summary of the survey results. Read Next: Seoul Agrees to Pay More for Hosting American Troops in 2021 The survey found significant concerns about threats emanating from within the United States, with 61% of Americans believing they are equal to or greater than external threats. Most members of both parties hold those concerns, with 55% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats feeling that way. The survey came after a year of national trauma, including more than half a million deaths due to the pandemic, a nationwide reckoning with race and police violence and the protests that followed, a bitter presidential election, and growing concerns about extremism in America, culminating in the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Amid it all, the public's trust and confidence in the military and other institutions continues to slide. In 2018, 70% of Americans said they had a great deal of trust and confidence in the military, but that has declined to 56%. The population group with the greatest concerns about the military is people under 30, only 38% of whom have a great deal of confidence in it. That is a drop of 15 percentage points from 2018. Just 44% of Black voters, 48% of Democrats and 51% of women also had a great deal of confidence in the military. Even the number of Republicans with great confidence in the military -- although still very high at 70% -- recorded a 17-point decline since 2018. Even with that drop, the military is still by far the most trusted institution in America, the survey found. And the institute said it found large majorities of Americans still feel the military should play a role in many domestic emergencies, including natural disaster response and pandemic control. However, fewer Americans feel the military should be used to control violent protests, respond to domestic terrorism or respond to insurrection by U.S. citizens. The only other institution with a comparable decline in trust was law enforcement, which saw an 11 percentage point drop over that period. But law enforcement remained the second-most trusted institution, at 39%. Other institutions, such as the presidency, Supreme Court, public schools, news media and Congress, either saw trust levels remain steady or go up since 2018. And the public's view of which problems are most pressing has changed considerably over the last two years. When asked an open-ended question about what they consider the most important problem facing the country to be, 29% of respondents identified the coronavirus pandemic, more than any other problem. Politics and partisanship was the second-most common response, with 17% calling it the most important problem. That is down considerably from previous surveys in which it topped the list, at 22% in November 2018 and 25% in October 2019. The survey found a marked increase in concerns about the economy and jobs, a year after the pandemic battered both. Last month, 15% of respondents called the economy and job market the most important problem, nearly twice the 8% who felt that way in 2018. And concerns about immigration and health care both fell sharply to 3% each. In 2018, 12% felt immigration was the nation's most important problem; 9% thought it was health care. Systemic racism appeared on the list for the first time, with 6% of respondents calling it the nation's top problem. But while 1% felt domestic terrorism is the top problem this year, overall terrorism didn't even register. There are signs of optimism for the future. The percentage of Americans who feel the nation is generally headed in the right direction has steadily increased, from 37% in November 2018 to 42% last month. Similarly, the percentage of people who feel the nation is headed in the wrong direction dropped from 54% to 51% over that time period. And even though confidence in the military is declining, the Reagan Institute says Americans are not making a shift to isolation. The survey found that 51% of Americans think the United States should take the lead on international events and be more engaged around the world, which is roughly what it was in 2019. And the number of people who feel the U.S. should be less engaged and more reactive fell 6 percentage points to 27%. The survey also found broad support for an overseas military presence, with 63% saying the U.S. should maintain its bases abroad to deter attacks and respond quickly when needed. This also has strong bipartisan support from more than 60% of both Republicans and Democrats. However, there is less support among young people, with 48% of those under 30 supporting overseas bases. Sixty percent of Americans have a favorable view of NATO, the survey found. But a majority felt NATO allies need to do more to share the burdens of defense, with 48% of respondents feeling the same about Indo-Pacific allies. The institute said the findings show "President Reagan's legacy lives on" among many in the public who share his view that America needs to take a leading role among nations. "We see that there's strong support for a Reaganesque outlook, in terms of how President Reagan viewed the world and America's role in the world," Reagan Institute Director Roger Zakheim said in a briefing with reporters. "The belief in peace through strength, and commitment to America as a beacon of freedom in the world, really seem to be something that this entire poll shows that not just a plurality, but a majority of Americans, continue to believe is important." Half of Americans think that troop levels in Afghanistan should be increased or left at current levels, the survey found, and 39% want to see more troops brought home. Support for troop declines in Afghanistan was strongest among Republicans, with 47% saying they wanted to see levels decrease. About 33% of Democrats and 36% of independents felt the same about troop levels. But Americans are largely worried that the U.S. is falling behind on technologies vital to national security, while China is making significant strides. Three in four Americans are worried about China's development of artificial intelligence capabilities, and 55% of Americans feel the U.S. relies on non-allies too heavily for key national security materials. Americans are most likely to be concerned about China's human rights violations, with technology theft coming in second. A wide swathe of the population -- 88% -- is greatly concerned about cyberattacks on both personal computers and accounts, as well as government computers and grids, the survey found. And when it comes to Russian threats, Americans are more likely to report being concerned about its cyberattacks than other forms of malign activity, including election interference. In all, 82% of Americans have some degree of concern about Russian cyberattacks. -- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey. Related: Extremism 'Has Reared Its Head' in Air Force Special Operations, General Says Myanmar's military are likely to be committing crimes against humanity, the United Nations said today, adding that 70 protesters had been 'murdered' since last month's coup. Another seven demonstrators were shot dead today prompting widespread international condemnation for the crackdown - with even traditional ally China calling for 'de-escalation.' The UN's top expert in the country, Thomas Andrews, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva of growing evidence the top brass are directing crimes including 'murder, enforced disappearance, persecution, torture, and imprisonment.' The junta responded to the international condemnation with a propaganda offensive against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi who it accused of accepting 430,000 in cash and 24 pounds of gold (490,000 worth) from a now-detained lawmaker. Ousted and jailed former leader Aung Suu Kyi was today accused of accepting 430,000 in cash and 24 pounds of gold from a now-detained lawmaker Seven people were killed in protests across the country on Thursday including 25-year-old Chit Min Thu who was shot in the head in Rangoon's North Dagon neighbourhood Anti-coup protesters retreat from the frontlines after riot policemen fire sound-bombs and rubber bullets in Rangoon on Thursday The military, which alleges voter fraud in the recent election, claimed that the chief minister of Rangoon (Yangon) admitted to giving Suu Kyi the bribes. Oxford-educated Suu Kyi, detained since the February 1 putsch, is already facing several criminal charges including owning unlicensed walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions by staging a campaign event during last year's election. The fresh charges came as the United Nations condemned the use of live rounds on protesters on Thursday. Six demonstrators were shot dead and another eight people were wounded, including at least one who was in critical condition, in central Myanmar's Myaing township. There was also a fatality in Rangoon's North Dagon neighbourhood, where Chit Min Thu, 25, died after being shot in the head. His wife, who is two months pregnant, was filmed sobbing as she held a boy in her arms. 'He went out everyday,' she said. 'This morning I told him not to go. We have another child, this child and another in my womb. 'I said "what if something happens" and I told him not to go. But he went out everyday. He said it's worth dying for and what if everyone didn't go out for reasons like his.' Min Thu believed he wouldn't get the democracy the country deserved unless he went out to demonstrate. His mother told AFP: 'I recently learnt that his wife is two months pregnant ... 'No one will be in peace until this situation ends. They were so cruel with my son. I never expected my son would be shot in the head... I'm worried about all the unarmed youth, they will be in trouble.' On Thursday, state-run newspaper the Mirror carried an announcement that the Arakan Army (AA) - which fights for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population in northern Rakhine state - was no longer considered a terrorist organisation. The AA has been locked in battle with the military for nearly two years in a conflict that has left hundreds dead and forced some 200,000 civilians to flee their homes. A demonstrator hides behind a shield during an anti-coup protest in North Dagon, Rangoon Protesters carry metal material to build a barricade as they take part in an anti-coup protest in Rangoon Policemen leave after destroying makeshift barricades made by anti-coup protesters in Rangoon Policemen and soldiers leave after destroying barricades set up by protesters in the capital today Herve Lemahieu, a Myanmar expert from Australia's Lowy Institute, said the move was likely because the military - known as the Tatmadaw - wanted to end the distraction of fighting the AA so it could focus on the protests. 'The Tatmadaw has many enemies, they don't want to operate on too many fronts at once and the most pressing front at this point in time is against the ethnic Burman majority in the major urban centres,' he told AFP. As the crackdown continues, the Sanchaung township in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon had another sleepless night, as security forces raided apartments searching for lost police weapons. 'They used sound bombs on every street,' said one resident. Another part of Rangoon, North Okkalapa, was also reeling after 300 arrests on Wednesday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group. An anti-coup demonstrator sits behind a makeshift barricade in the capital on Thursday Protesters use large sections of pipe to form a makeshift barricade in the capital An Amnesty International report on Thursday accused the military of using 'battlefield weapons' on unarmed protesters and carrying out premeditated killings orchestrated by their commanding officers. The rights group catalogued the security forces' use of firearms that are 'completely inappropriate for use in policing protests', including light machine guns, sniper rifles and semi-automatic rifles. With international condemnation so far seemingly ignored by the junta, the United States applied fresh pressure with sanctions against two adult children of coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing. And the Asian Development Bank announced it had temporarily suspended funding for government projects in Myanmar 'as the international community assesses the evolving situation'. Veteran actor Simi Garewal who had lashed out at Meghan Markle on her social media account after the latter's interview with Oprah Winfrey has now called her 'calculating' instead of evil. The talk show host had stated that she does not believe in Meghan's revelations in the interview. Not only that, but Simi had also written that Meghan is lying to make herself a victim. Simi Garewal had further stated that Meghan Markle is playing the race card to gain sympathy, referring to the latter's revelation about her son Archie facing racism even before his birth. The Do Badan actor went on to conclude the tweet by calling the Suits actor 'evil'. Her tweet read as "#OprahMeghanHarry I don't believe a word Meghan says. Not a word. She is lying to make herself a victim. She is using the race card to gain sympathy. Evil." Also Read: Simi Garewal Reveals Raj Kapoor Never Said Well Done To Rishi Kapoor, The Bobby Actor Was Terrified Of His Dad However, Simi Garewal was quick to share another tweet wherein she reconsidered her choice of adjective for Meghan Markle. The actor stated that she withdraws using the word evil for the latter. Simi called evil an excessive word to describe Meghan and wrote that calculating would be a more suitable word to describe her. Her tweet read as "I withdraw the word 'evil'. It was excessive. Calculating would have been more appropriate." Take a look at her tweets. #OprahMeghanHarry I don't believe a word Meghan says. Not a word. She is lying to make herself a victim. She is using the race card to gain sympathy. Evil. Simi Garewal (@Simi_Garewal) March 8, 2021 I withdraw the word 'evil'. It was excessive. Calculating would have been more appropriate... Simi Garewal (@Simi_Garewal) March 8, 2021 Simi Garewal also shared a news article which was written by Piers Morgan and the latter had called Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah to be a "nauseating two-hour whine-athon." When the actor's opinion about Meghan Markle started gaining an excessive buzz, she decided to close the topic by tweeting, "Enough of Oprah/Meghan/Harry!!!. Tomorrow is another day. We have our own lives to navigate." Also Read: Simi Garewal Changes Opinion On Kangana Ranaut; 'Disgusted By Those Who Exploited Sushant's Death' Talking about Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey, she made several revelations which included her not being well-informed about the Royal Family. Meghan also opened up about her mental health revealing that she had suicidal thoughts after feeling isolated. One of the most shocking revelations made by her was that her son Archie was refused the title of the prince as there were concerns about his skin colour from before his birth. Earnhardt Hyundai North Scottsdale offers an attractive lineup of Hyundai Certified Pre-Owned vehicles. Phoenix and Scottsdale drivers looking for their next vehicle may be looking for an option that is more budget-friendly than a brand-new vehicle. Earnhardt Hyundai North Scottsdale offers local shoppers attractive used vehicles from a variety of manufacturers as well as Hyundai Certified Pre-Owed vehicle options. Certified Pre-Owned Hyundai vehicles from Earnhardt Hyundai North Scottsdale must meet certain criteria in order to earn their certified title. To qualify for the Certified Pre-Owned title, a Hyundai vehicle must be no more than five years old, have a clean and non-branded title and pass a comprehensive 173-point quality assurance inspection performed by a Hyundai technician. Each Certified Pre-Owned vehicle from Earnhardt Hyundai North Scottsdale comes backed by a manufacturer-backed warranty, the remainder of the 5-year/60,000-mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty, a CARFAX Vehicle History Report, 10-Year/Unlimited Mile Roadside Assistance and more. Shoppers around the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas can find their next Hyundai Certified Pre-Owned vehicle at Earnhardt Hyundai North Scottsdale. At the time of publication, the dealership has 15 Certified Pre-Owned models in stock, with fan favorites such as the Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Tucson and Hyundai Santa Fe available. The entire lineup of Hyundai Certified Pre-Owned vehicles at Earnhardt Hyundai North Scottsdale can be viewed on the dealerships website, northscottsdalehyundai.com. The dealership is located at 8445 E Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd in Scottsdale, AZ, and is open seven days a week. Members of the Earnhardt Hyundai North Scottsdale team are available by phone, 888-316-9966, to answer any questions prospective buyers may have about available models or the Certified Pre-Owned program. SCHENECTADY A proposed elementary charter school in the city, which is still under review by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, would target more marginalized neighborhoods like Hamilton Hill, Vale and Eastern Avenue, which its founders identified in paperwork as the most in need of high-quality free education. The application for Destine Preparatory Charter School (Destine Prep) submitted to the institute shows the school would initially open with about 104 students in kindergarten and Grade 1 in the fall of 2022 and then successively add a grade each year for the next four years until it serves 390 students through Grade 5. A public hearing on the proposal will take place March 24. The application lists ReShawn Rogers, who identified himself as a school administrator, as the lead applicant and founder. He would serve as the head of school. Rogers, who according to the application, is a fellow with the national non-profit BES Felowship, was unavailable for comment. Destine's website indicates he has been an educator for over a decade, serving as a teacher and school leader before joining the BES Fellowship, a non-profit that identifies and prepares leaders to transform education in their communities. We believe that all scholars and families deserve to choose a school that prepares their child for life and career success, the application states. To make its case, Destine points to what it says are the Schenectady public school district's low achievement in reading and math in 2019, rankings in the bottom 50 percent of elementary schools and its struggles to elevate graduation rates, particularly for Black and Hispanic students, and students with disabilities. Destine Prep exists to close opportunity gaps for students across Schenectady, specifically students residing in Hamilton Hill, Vale, and Eastern Avenue, the application states. The saturation of low-performing elementary schools, no charter school options, and generational poverty have plagued our target community." The more than 404-page proposal states that Destine Prep "will fill an academic need in the community by providing a program that is rich in scholar support" and employ a two-teacher model ... to allow the needs of every scholar to be met." On Wednesday, Karen Corona, a city schools spokeswoman, said Acting Superintendent of Schools Aaron Bochniak would not be responding to any of the content or claims in Destine's proposal but would instead "do what is required of us at this time, which is to hold a public hearing" and then provide the feedback to SUNY. A virtual public hearing on the charter school proposal is scheduled to take place from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on March 24 , Corona said. Earlier this week, a spokesman with the Charter Schools Institute said the group will consider the strongest proposals. "Any proposal that we recommend for approval will be on the agenda for the June SUNY Charter Schools Committee, which will make the final determination and vote on approval," said Mike Lesczinski, spokesman for the Institute. John Foley, president of the Schenectady Board of Education, said Wednesday that he had not seen the proposal. However, he said that boosting graduation rates "has been an area of focus for the district." He pointed to redistricting a few years ago, the earmarking of more monies to the older school buildings, as well as an emphasis on equity as ways the Schenectady district is working to ensure that all neighborhoods are equally served. "The whole emphasis on equity is to make sure you don't have pockets of underserved children, and that the services you give the children are based on their need," he added, noting that the district has for years been short-changed when it comes to state aid. He did not know the formula but explained that a "portion of the district's funds" would go to the charter school if it gains approval. Destine's proposal indicates the total expected revenue from the district in the charter school's first year would be approximately $1.53 million with that figure jumping to $5.8 million in the fifth year. In 2008, the state ordered the K-4 International Charter School of Schenectady to close, leaving the city school district scrambling to provide enough class space that fall for the 460 children who were displaced. The SUNY trustees closed the charter school, which was located just across the city line in Rotterdam in the former Draper school, because of financial mismanagement and poor curriculum planning. In 2012, there were plans to open up another elementary charter school, Eximius Academy, with the founders promising a longer school day and five more school days than the regular 180-day public school calendar. The proposal never got off the ground. Your first tip is: Start before Match Week to have a contingency plan in place. Step 1: Shake the Feeling of Stigma Your ego is probably feeling a little bruised and your identity may feel challenged. Dont let those feelings take root. Youre in for a few stressful days, but in the end, you still have a chance to find a great match. Many great residency programs dont fill for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with quality. Family medicine is a growing specialty with many new programs. Family medicine programs are also much more likely than programs in other specialties to be located in the communities they serve, and therefore more family medicine residency programs are not connected to large academic health systems and may be less known. These are some of the hidden gems you can uncover this week. The COVID-19 pandemic is going to have a strong influence on this years Match because programs and applicants navigated a virtual process for the first time. Although we cant predict exactly what will happen, we do know that many people applied to and interviewed at more programs than they would in a typical year. Programs are likely to have ranked more of those same applicants than in other years, resulting in more unfilled/unmatched spots. But even before a pandemic threw the residency recruitment process for a loop, we saw evidence that SOAP candidates turn out to be great residents and physicians. We recently examined the SOAP experience in a network of more than 30 family medicine residencies across five states. We asked program directors about their experiences and about the residents who came to their programs through SOAP. We were pleased to find that the vast majority of those residents performed great in their programs. They fit in, they met the goals of the programs and almost all of them were highly recommended for future practice by their program directors. What we learned is that program directors can be reassured that they will get great residents through the SOAP and that students will find wonderful programs. Step 2: Figure Out Your Strategy Start by taking a deep breath. Analyze why you didnt match. Talk with mentors, your dean of students, people whose opinion you value and decide your next steps. Family medicine has a lot to offer and may meet your future practice goals even if you thought another field was what you initially wanted. Why consider family medicine? Variety in ultimate practice is a key component and one of the strengths of family medicine. If you wanted emergency medicine, for example, you can still get training in many family medicine programs, especially rural ones, that prepare you to work in emergency and urgent care settings. The same applies for obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and other fields. Look for programs with strengths in the areas you want for your future practice. If you have restrictions on locations, this may be more challenging. Look for regional programs that meet your needs. Family medicine programs are not all the same. Evaluate the ones you are interested in based on their offerings. Visit the AAFPs SOAP resources to find the AAFP Residency Directory and search programs by specific attributes, and look at the other resources there, like interview questions and application tips. This is also the time to make sure you understand the SOAP process. Visit the SOAP information page from the Association of American Medical Colleges, watch the National Resident Matching Programs five-minute SOAP video for applicants , and download the AAMCs checklist of Electronic Residency Application System tasks for SOAP . Clear your schedule for Monday and Tuesday of Match Week. Youll need Monday to get your application updated and sent to programs, and youll need all day Tuesday for interviews. Make sure whatever commitments you have Wednesday and Thursday will allow you to respond to SOAP offers within the two-hour windows. Step 3: Update Your Application and Apply Choose programs to apply to where you would be happy and have your future practice needs met. If you arent sure what you really want to do, choose a transitional year program to get more experience and decide. Its extremely unfair to a program to choose it to just get experience and then jump ship. Make sure youre honest with yourself about what you want, and be honest with the programs you are applying to, as well. Send your applications early! Have them ready to go to the programs when ERAS opens for the programs Monday afternoon. The number of applicants each program receives is enormous, and you want to be in the first group reviewed. Use all of your 45 submissions right off the bat. You are unlikely to get a call from a program if you submit your application in a later round, so dont hold any back. Programs typically arent calling new applicants after the first group they review; there are too many applicants to keep adding them along the way. Put most of your submissions in for your desired field, but consider putting a few in for transitional year positions because this will allow you to get experience and letters for next years Match. Step 4: Interview Programs will interview you, likely by phone first and then virtually. It will be rapid-fire because the programs are trying to see if you are a good match for them, just like you are trying to see if the program is right for you. In the SOAP, programs will ask you about what you applied to previously and why you think you didnt Match. Make sure you are open and honest about this. The programs want to know that you have reflected and are ready to move forward on your new path. And they want someone committed to train for all three or four years in their program. Follow all Match rules! Do not reach out to a program that has not contacted you, and dont let any faculty or mentors reach out on your behalf either! This is a Match violation and will come back to haunt you. Its also a big red flag regarding professionalism that could lead to your removal from SOAP now and in the future. Only speak with programs with whom you have applied and that have contacted you first. Once a program has contacted you, feel free to ask follow-up questions even after you interview. This indicates interest, and programs are in a situation where they want to make their best offers in the first round of SOAP. Be genuine dont lie about your interest but if a program knows you are interested, you will have a much better chance of getting an offer in the first round. We all want to have a first-round Match so we can celebrate! Programs Should Prepare, Too Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, is always good advice, especially leading up to the Match. Preparation may be even more important for new program directors or rural programs that have fewer applicants. Learn about the SOAP process ahead of time and have a plan. Familiarize yourself with the SOAP resources from the AAMC and NRMP . Similar to its video for applicants, the NRMP also has a five-minute video for programs , as well as a downloadable guide . Programs can take some steps to prepare for SOAP just in case. That includes clearing schedules for staff and faculty, having faculty ready to do interviews and reviewing the ERAS criteria that you use to sort applicants, because youll get a new group of applicants through the SOAP. Diana Heiman, M.D., C.A.Q.S.M. is a Residency Program Solutions consultant and vice chair for academic and faculty affairs in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Before joining UK, she was residency director of the East Tennessee State University Johnson City Family Medicine Residency, where she participated in the SOAP process on multiple occasions and matched with excellent residents. Frederick Chen, M.D., M.P.H., is director of the WWAMI Family Medicine Residency Network, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and chief of family medicine at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close A Norway House man who admitted to forcing his way into a house and assaulting a 12-year-old girl has been spared from jail and was instead fined $2. A Norway House man who admitted to forcing his way into a house and assaulting a 12-year-old girl has been spared from jail and was instead fined $2. A judge said the case highlights "very troubling and concerning shortfalls" in how justice continues to be administered in Manitobas north. "I am satisfied that one of the biggest contributors to the problems in this case is related to workload and resources," said provincial court Judge Mary Kate Harvie in a written decision released Tuesday. Howard Andrew Budd, 48, was arrested on Sept. 5, 2018, on suspicion of break and enter and sexual assault. He later pleaded guilty to forcible entry and assault, admitting he, in an "intoxicated state," entered the girls Norway House home through an unlocked door, looking for her mother. According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, Budd entered the girls bedroom before 8 a.m. with the intention of waking her up, "but due to his intoxicated state, his hand actually land(ed) on the breast of the child." The girl jumped out of bed and ran to her brother, at which point Budd left the house, telling the children to "say hi," to their mother. Prosecutors had urged Harvie to sentence Budd to four months jail, but defence lawyer Rohit Gupta argued repeated delays and violations of Budds Charter rights, which resulted in him spending a week in custody before he was released on bail, justified a suspended sentence. No memory of conversation with lawyer Following Budds arrest an hour or so after the incident, he talked to Gupta on the phone, but was so intoxicated he had no memory of the conversation. After spending much of the day sleeping in a holding cell, Budd repeatedly requested an opportunity to call his lawyer to discuss bail. It was here, in Harvies words "that matters became complicated." A police officer contacted Gupta and told him he would not be allowed to speak to Budd as his right to counsel had been satisfied by the earlier phone call. His request to talk to his lawyer denied, Budd provided a police statement and an hour later appeared by telephone before a judicial justice of the peace, who told him he could apply for bail on his own or wait until the next morning, when a lawyer could help him apply for bail in Thompson. It is abundantly clear that the overwhelming workload in Thompson and the surrounding areas was a major contributor to the problems in this case. Judge Mary Kate Harvie "A transcript of the proceedings clearly indicates that the accused was having difficulty understanding the proceedings and the opposition to his release," Harvie said. Denying Budd a second opportunity to talk to his lawyer represented "a significant breach" of his Charter right to counsel, Harvie said. "I note that there was a 13-hour delay between the arrest of the accused and his (appearance before a justice of the peace), and that this delay was coupled with problems related to intoxication of the accused," Harvie said. "In this instance, it is hardly surprising that the accused required a second call to counsel to fully understand his rights and options." Denied right to timely bail: judge Budd was not told he had the option of having a lawyer appear on his behalf that night to apply for bail, and agreed to apply for bail in Thompson the following day, a Thursday. "This (was) clearly a misstatement of the options which were available to the accused that evening and obviously left the impression that he had to agree to the adjournment in order to access counsel," Harvie said. For reasons that remain unclear, Budd was not transported to Thompson for his scheduled bail hearing. At the time, bail courts in Thompson did not sit on Fridays, so Budds bail application was adjourned to the following Monday, Sept. 10. Justice delayed is the reality for many northern Manitobans caught in an overburdened legal system Click to Expand A sign points to the court office, a 48-seat courtroom in northern Manitoba. (Katie May / Winnipeg Free Press) Posted: 7:00 PM Apr. 18, 2019 In northern Manitoba, the justice system struggles to uphold rights most Canadians would take for granted. Overwhelming poverty, addiction and intergenerational trauma feed into some of the highest violent-crime rates in the country. Court sessions are often snowed under figuratively and literally by the task of delivering justice across vast geography with grossly inadequate resources. And systemic racism thrives. Read Full Story Harvie said she was satisfied Budd did not legally consent to the two bail hearing adjournments and was denied his Charter right to reasonable and timely bail. The Sept. 10 bail hearing went ahead as scheduled, with a judge agreeing to release Budd on conditions that he live in Winnipeg and his mother sign as a surety. "Again, for reasons that are concerning," Budd was not released from custody until the following day, Harvie said. Budd was not told that his mother could sign the surety documents at a Winnipeg court that evening and he spent another night in custody at The Pas Correctional Centre. He was released late the next day and placed on a bus to Winnipeg. Arresting officers cited workload issues for the 13-hour delay in getting Budd before a justice of the peace. Court was told multiple messages from the defence to the Crown went unanswered prior to Budds first scheduled bail appearance. "Concerns about the challenges surrounding the resourcing of the justice system in rural areas, and particularly in northern Manitoba, are not new," Harvie said. "It is abundantly clear that the overwhelming workload in Thompson and the surrounding areas was a major contributor to the problems in this case." Harvie said the appropriate remedy for the Charter breaches was a reduction in Budds sentence. Harvie fined Budd one dollar for the forcible entry and another dollar for the assault and sentenced him to one year of supervised probation. "I remain concerned that the accused requires further support to assist with his rehabilitation," Harvie said. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca A paraplegic inmate at a St. Louis, Mo., jail hasnt been able to shower for more than five months because the facility isnt equipped to accommodate people who need wheelchairs, advocacy groups argue in a new federal lawsuit. Anthony Tillman, 39, was given a wash basin and rag, but hes unable to use them to fully clean himself because of his physical limitations, according to the lawsuit filed on Tillmans behalf. The St. Louis City Justice Center, where Tillman has been jailed since Oct. 5, has no showers for people in wheelchairs, which violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the lawsuit, which seeks a court order requiring the lockup to provide access to a shower that accommodates Tillmans disability. I just want to be treated fair, like how everyone else is supposed to be treated, Tillman said in a news release issued by one of the advocacy groups, ArchCity Defenders. City spokesman Jacob Long has declined to comment on the lawsuit. The suit says Tillman has a bullet lodged in his back from a 2017 shooting. It says that during a previous stint in the jail on different charges, he fell in the jail shower in February 2020 and cut himself, leading to a blood infection and other complications. Tillman is now jailed on charges alleging that he fired on a vehicle that had a child in it. The jail has had three inmate uprisings since December, including a violent outbreak in February, when 117 inmates set fires and tossed items out of windows. Advocates said the inmates were upset about jail conditions and lax COVID-19 protocols. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Ma Huijuan is an author living in the countryside of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In recent years, she published multiple books about the poverty alleviation stories in Xihaigu, a largely mountainous region in Ningxia once inflicted by deep poverty and labeled the "most unfit place for human settlement" by the United Nations in the 1970s. Since she became a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislative body of China, the rural cultural sector has always been a focus of her work. "Reading and writing changed my life, so I want reading to change the lives of other rural residents," she said. Ma lives in Hongsibu District, Wuzhong in central Ningxia. It is a settlement area of ecological migration projects for poverty alleviation. After years of ecological development and construction, forest coverage in the district surged from less than 5 percent to today's 39 percent, and the per capita annual disposable income of rural residents also spiked to nearly 10,000 yuan ($1,537) from 500 yuan. "Poverty alleviation is not only about materials, but also cultural and ethical progress," Ma noted, adding that it's a great time to advance cultural and ethical construction given the remarkable progress achieved in poverty alleviation. Three years ago, Ma received a message from a rural resident complaining about the insufficient rural libraries. Upon investigation into the cultural construction in her hometown, Ma discovered the dated facilities at some county-level libraries and cultural clubs. Such cultural services were even absent in some places, she found. Therefore, she collected nearly 10,000 books and established a rural reading club in her village, calling on villagers, especially women to read books and learn what was happening in the outside world. She also organized a group that taught illiterate villagers to read. "There were only 20 members at first, including two illiterate ones," Ma recalled, saying that made her better realize what was on her shoulders. In recent years, the book club has become a place where she fulfills her duties as an NPC deputy. There, she always gives lessons to the villagers and helps them to learn more general knowledge. Sometimes she would explain to the villagers how knowledge can build one's future with her personal experiences, to encourage them to study and pursue their dreams. Besides, she also exchanges ideas with the villagers to learn about their needs for intellectual and cultural activities. Under the guidance of Ma, more and more villagers are placing high importance on literacy education. "I couldn't even write my name, or keep accounts of my shop," said Ming Xiaolan, a frequent participant of Ma's reading club from Chaoyang village of Hongsibu District. She said she was glad that she finally recognized characters, which was like a dream coming true. Yang Furong from Yuchi village is a skilled hat weaver who knows nothing about marketing. Now, she comes to the reading club every day, saying she will open an online store once she's literate enough. Now, Ma is planning to promote the reading club mode across Hongsibu District, to create more opportunities for residents to study and communicate. She's also focusing on rural cultural and ethical progress during this year's "two sessions," hoping to both increase the wealth and enrich the knowledge of rural residents during the process of rural revitalization. Former president Donald Trump allegedly pressured the top investigator in last years Georgia mail-in ballot to find fraud, telling her that she would be praised for overturning the election in his favour. The audio of the call obtained by the Wall Street Journal is the latest in the line of Mr Trumps extraordinary efforts to influence the poll outcome in Georgia which he lost to his Democratic challenger Joe Biden by 11,779 votes. Earlier in January, several media outlets had reported about the telephone conversation between Mr Trump and Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger during which the then-president tried to pressure him into finding enough votes to reverse his loss in the state. The recently reported conversation between Mr Trump and the Georgia election investigator has further drawn attention to the criminal investigation launched by a Georgia prosecutor into the alleged efforts to overturn the states election results. In the now reported six-minute-long phone call, Mr Trump repeatedly told the chief investigator Frances Watson that he won the election in Georgia and that something bad happened. When the right answer comes out, youll be praised, he told Ms Watson. I can assure you that our team and the [Georgia Bureau of Investigation], that we are only interested in the truth and finding the information that is based on the facts, Ms Watson reportedly replied. According to the WSJ, Mr Trump made the calls in December when Mr Raffensperger had launched an investigation to determine if election officials in Cobb Country had accepted mail-in ballots that did not match those on files. The allegations of ballot fraud were eventually determined to have no merit. Mr Trump reportedly told Ms Watson to review the signatures going back several years. I hope you are going back two years as opposed to checking one against the other, CNN quoted Mr Trump as saying on the call. Because that would just be a signature check that didnt mean anything. In the calls, Mr Trump did not offer any evidence of the electoral fraud, noted the WSJ report. Ari Schaffer, the spokesperson for Mr Raffenspergers office, told WSJ: This phone call is just one more example of how Secretary Raffenspergers offices public comments also reflect what was said in one-on-one conversations: We would follow the law, count every legal vote and investigate any allegations of fraud. Thats exactly what we did, and how we arrived at the accurate final vote tally. The criminal investigation launched by the Georgia prosecutor is now looking into both the calls that Mr Trump made to Mr Raffensperger and Ms Watson, reported CNN citing sources. Mr Trumps representatives did not respond to the request for comments from the WSJ. Earlier in February, Mr Trumps adviser Jason Miller had said, There was nothing improper or untoward about a scheduled call between President Trump, Secretary Raffensperger and lawyers on both sides. If Mr Raffensperger didnt want to receive calls about the election, he shouldnt have run for Secretary of State. Barkby Group PLC - Abingdon, England-headquartered company with businesses in real estate, consumer & hospitality and life sciences - Subsidiary Cambridge Sleep Sciences signs collaboration agreement with Parkinson's Concierge to help address sleep issues associated with Parkinson's disease. Notes it has developed SleepHub, a device that helps to improve sleep for people with insomnia. Says it will work with Parkinson's Concierge to assess the efficacy of SleepHub in people with Parkinson's before undertaking formal clinical trials. "People living with Parkinson's commonly experience disrupted sleep, and when Parkinson's Concierge advised us of anecdotal reports that SleepHub had improved sleep in some of their members, we wanted to explore this further. Parkinson's Concierge, with their global community of members, made the natural partnership with which to investigate the potential benefits," says Cambridge Sleep Sciences Executive Chair Chris Dickson. Current stock price: 24.11 pence, down 5.5% on Thursday Year-to-date change: up 9.6% By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Recognizing the need to make instructional resources about the CHamoru language and culture more accessible to the community, Inetnon Lalahen Guahan -- the Young Men's League of Guam -- presented the University of Guam with a $25,000 grant on March 3 to develop an online open-access database for such resources. The multi-phased project will include: collecting, organizing, and digitizing CHamoru language and culture learning resources that have been produced over the last 50 years; making the materials available by grade level and subject categories in an online database; and working with a cadre of CHamoru language instructors to create and edit existing resources that meet the immediate needs of CHamoru language instruction in the Mariana Islands. The University of Guam will partner with the CHamoru studies divisions of both the Guam Department of Education and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System to gather, archive, and digitize the resources they have created for CHamoru instruction. The university will also seek to partner with other organizations, government agencies, language experts, and educators who produce language and cultural resources that can be included in the database. "As a non-profit, we have always focused on what can we give to our people," YMLG President Johnny P. Taitano expressed during the grant presentation. "We're humbled to be a part of this project." YMLG has a long history of supporting the promotion and perpetuation of the CHamoru culture, language heritage, and identity through active engagement with the community and support of other cultural groups and organizations. In 2019, the YMLG Committee on Cultural Preservation, headed by Carlos T. Lagua'na and Wilfred Leon Guerrero, approached Monique Storie, dean of University Libraries at the University of Guam, and Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, the managing editor of the UOG Press, with an interest in creating a program that ensures resources that teach the CHamoru language are accessible to educators through a centralized source at the university. Over the last two years, they have worked together to develop this project with the goal of providing accessibility to existing language and cultural resources and preserving the rich cultural knowledge found in them. The database, which will take about three years to develop, will allow the university and YMLG to actively promote the availability of CHamoru language and cultural resources to the local, regional, and worldwide communities. ### First-years can expect a holistic Faculty experience The Dean welcomes first-year and new students to the Faculty of Health Sciences in a virtual Welcome Day ceremony. The University of the Witwatersrands Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) has this week, welcomed its 2021 first-year intake to their respective programmes of choice. In a welcome address by the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Shabir Madhi, he congratulates new students and acknowledges the different journeys that led them to their choice of study. For you to have achieved this milestone, is one of significance. More so, achieving this milestone under the immense pressure that you experienced during 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic makes it even more of an achievement, said Professor Madhi. Highlighting the new students deserving opportunity and accomplishment by gaining entry into one of the top two Faculties in Africa and top 100 universities globally; Professor Madhi notes that the Faculty received over 14 000 applications for medicine alone from which only 230 posts were available. "I dont think many of us could appreciate the amount of pressure that youve been under; the amount of work that you needed to do and the way you needed to adjust to being able to ensure that you were successful with your matric results. So congratulations on having gained entry to this faculty. The FHS is widely recognised as a leading institution and contributor to COVID-19 research and innovation. In preparing students for the prospects ahead in the careers, Professor Madhi notes that the COVID-19 pandemic indicated and expresses the magnitude, expertise and skill that exists within the Faculty in South Africa, certainly, and globally. He tells the students to expect a holistic experience during their time of study which will not only be brought about by the teaching and learning material but also through social engagements. Although the 2021 academic year already poses the same circumstances as that of 2020 due to the pandemic, the responsibility remains to commit academically. He stressed that the Faculty of Health Sciences and the University would be there to support students and their endeavours. In reminding them of the rewards ahead, Professor Madhi wished the students success during the course of this year and for the rest of their studies, hoping that in a few years he would be able to address them again as graduates. Labour has slammed Downing Street for spending taxpayers' money for a 'propaganda' documentary about the vaccine roll out. No10 shared a dramatic trailer for the official documentary on Britain's race for a Covid-19 jab, titled A Beacon of Hope: The UK Vaccine Story. Set to intense music, the 50-second advert features clips from interviews with leading UK scientists Jonathan Van-Tam, Sir Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty. Professor Van-Tam describes Britain as having been 'on a mission' to make a vaccine, while Sir Patrick speaks about the 'extraordinary, unexpected, fantastic' achievement. But Labour figures have condemned the video, which does not currently have a release date. Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party said: 'Sorry for the spoiler, but we already know the plot twist will be the Prime Minister choosing to cut the pay of the same nurses delivering the vaccine to the British people, while handing out billions in contracts to Conservative Party donors and cronies.' Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner called on the Government to share how much money was spent on the documentary, saying it would have been better spent on 'pay rises for the NHS staff who have been saving lives throughout the pandemic' Ms Rayner called on the Government to share how much of taxpayers' money was spent on the documentary 'and for what purpose'. A Downing Street source told The Guradian the video was taxpayer-funded, but said it was all made in-house. Ms Rayner added: 'Surely the money would be better spent on pay rises for the NHS staff who have been saving lives throughout this pandemic and are now rolling out the vaccine.' Referring to the NHS pay dispute, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds tweeted yesterday: 'Is the twist that the Conservatives cut the pay of the people delivering the vaccine?' Labour MP Taiwo Owatemi wrote: 'Nurses made this rollout a success so give them a pay rise.' Prof Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, said in the trailer: 'Back in March, we're heading into lockdown. The NHS is coming under extreme pressure. 'We were on a mission, and the mission was to get vaccines for the UK. It's just a colossal effort that I don't think people will realise has happened behind the scenes.' Sir Patrick Vallance, who is Chief Scientific Adviser, said in his interview: 'Most vaccines don't make it, they fall over at some point along the way' Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said: 'We were not absolutely confident at all that any vaccine would be possible' Sir Patrick, who is Chief Scientific Adviser, said in his interview: 'Most vaccines don't make it, they fall over at some point along the way.' He later added: 'Extraordinary, unexpected, fantastic - it was one day of real joy and thinking, yes, there's a way out of this.' And Mr Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said: 'We were not absolutely confident at all that any vaccine would be possible.' The trailer also includes a flashback clip of Prime Minister Boris Johnson telling the country: 'You must stay at home.' The release date has not yet been confirmed, but the @10DowningStreet Twitter account said it was 'coming soon' after posting the trailer about 3pm today. The idea for the show is said to have come about in No10 'after the broadcasters showed little interest in telling the story themselves', according to the Spectator. The official documentary revealed yesterday is called: 'A Beacon of Hope: The UK Vaccine Story'. Downing Street offered no release date, instead promising it was 'coming soon' The trailer also includes a flashback clip of Boris Johnson saying: 'You must stay at home' The advert was also criticised and lampooned by other social media users, who posted a series of memes of people looking unimpressed. One tweeted an image of Mr Johnson and wrote: 'This success with the NHS vaccine program doesn't outweigh his 'apparent success' with Covid. 'Quick to claim the credit but finds it impossible to take the blame he's culpable for our worst death toll and no UNDESERVED headlines change that.' Another tweeted: 'Money for this and 37billion for a failed track and trace system but not for nurses? Really? You really are obnoxious and out of touch with reality.' And a third said: 'A Beacon of Hope in an otherwise s*** storm of failure and incompetence. 'But hey, you make a little marketing video and convince yourself that you're great. I look forward to the video explaining how the failed test and trace system cost us 32billion.' Data up to March 8 shows that of the 23,773,959 jabs given in the UK so far, 22,592,528 were first doses - a rise of 215,273 on the previous day. Last week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget included an additional 15billion for Test and Trace, taking the total bill to more than 37billion over two years. It comes as a cross-party group of MPs said there is 'no clear evidence' that the Test and Trace scheme contributed to a reduction in coronavirus infection levels. The Commons Public Accounts Committee, which was behind a critical report, urged the Government to justify the 'staggering investment of taxpayers' money'. The MPs said ministers had justified the vast expenditure on preventing a second national lockdown, but noted England is currently living under its third in questioning the programme's effectiveness. Meanwhile Sir Keir Starmer demanded MPs be allowed to vote on pay increases for NHS workers, as he accused the Prime Minister of 'breaking promise after promise'. Mr Johnson repeatedly claimed a pay increase would be delivered for NHS workers and defended his Government's spending record. A Beacon of Hope: The UK Vaccine Story will be released on a date to be confirmed A group of global lawmakers have called on governments to hold to account for abuses against minority women in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XUAR), amid reports of systematic in detention and violations of reproductive rights. According to Radio Free Asia, lawmakers from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on (IPAC) issued a statement Monday recognizing the plight of women in the region, where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a vast network of internment camps since early 2017. "Today these women are experiencing a brutal, state-sponsored persecution," the lawmakers said in a video posted to Twitter, as quoted by Radio Free Asia. "There is mounting evidence that hundreds of thousands of minority women in Xinjiang have been subjected to forced sterilizations and forced abortions ... Those who refuse face imprisonment in Xinjiang's vast prison camp network," they added. In addition to restrictive "family planning" policies in the region, former detainees have given testimony that women in the camps have endured and torture, including situations in which men pay guards to rape women held there. Radio Free Asia reported that Experts say that taken together, such abuses could amount to genocide and crimes against humanity, as a group of judges in the UK said in a legal opinion last month. The administration of US President Joe Biden has labeled China's policies in the region as such, while parliaments in Canada and the Netherlands recently adopted non-binding resolutions carrying similar designations. "The perpetrators of these abuses cannot continue with impunity," Monday's statement said. "We as parliamentarians from across the globe call on our governments to take urgent action to hold the Chinese government to account ... We must pursue all domestic and avenues for legal investigations into the alleged crimes against humanity and genocide taking place in the region." Rahima Mahmut, IPAC advisor on Uyghurs, called this year's Women's Day "a day of mourning for women." "The mass sterilization of women, forced abortion of Uyghur children, and gang rape of Uyghur women ... prove beyond reasonable doubt that Uyghur women are facing the most brutal campaign of persecution from the Chinese government," she said. "That's why we launched the campaign today to raise global awareness of China's crimes against humanity committed against the Uyghur women and to urge governments to take action." Beijing had initially denied the very existence of the camps, but now claims that they are educational and vocational centres and that everyone has "graduated." Uyghurs make up most of the one million people who the UN estimates have been held in camps in Xinjiang as part of what the central government calls a campaign against terrorism.Also, Beijing has rejected calls for an independent UN investigation into Xinjiang's internment program. Journalists and diplomats are not allowed access to the camps outside of tightly controlled government tours. US President Joe Biden's administration has called China's treatment of Uyghurs genocide, a position recently adopted by Canada and the Netherlands. faces sanctions such as a ban on US purchases of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang and calls from some Western lawmakers to boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. (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 LEADING Limerick clinician is marking World Kidney Day this Thursday with an appeal for everyone to continue to play their part in suppressing Covid-19 by getting the vaccine as soon as it is available to them. Dr Liam Casserly, Lead Nephrologist in the Department of Renal Medicine at University Hospital Limerick was speaking on behalf of the chronic kidney disease patients he has treated at the hospital for the past 25 years, who are part of the population that are most vulnerable to the effects of the highly infectious coronavirus. He was speaking within days of the Governments announcement that kidney patients, including dialysis and transplant patients, as well as other immunosuppressed patients and those with advanced kidney disease, have been moved up to Phase 4 in the adult immunisation schedule for Covid-19. This is great news for our patients, said Dr Casserly, who is delighted with the response from dialysis patients so far to calls for vaccination. There has been no hesitation in opting for the inoculation, Dr Casserly reported. UL Hospitals Group vaccination teams on Tuesday began administering the first doses of the vaccine to kidney patients in the clinical setting of Groups satellite haemodialysis clinic, at the Fresenius Medical Care Centre on Limericks Dock Road. For kidney patients who have been cocooning for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Governments reprioritisation announcement has been a particularly welcome breakthrough on the first anniversary of the detection of the first cases of the coronavirus in the Mid-West. On #WorldKidneyDay, Dr Liam Casserly, Lead Clinical Nephrologist, University Hospital Limerick encourages patients to 'play your part in this phase of the pandemic and get the vaccine when it becomes available."@IrishKidneyAs | @worldkidneyday | @HSELive | @casserly_liam pic.twitter.com/hMt7IXLM0I UL Hospitals (@ULHospitals) March 11, 2021 Dr Casserly paid tribute to the efforts of society as a whole in the Mid-West, and the sacrifices they have made to help break the transmission of the disease, in particular during the pandemics most challenging surge phases. He added that opting to receive the vaccine is another vital contribution towards protecting ourselves and those we love from Covid-19, especially the most vulnerable people in the community such as his patients at University Hospital Limerick. Were just coming through the third surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, and once again, the numbers have fallen, thanks to peoples adherence to public health guidelines. Nevertheless, its been very clear that the third surge has had a particularly severe impact on kidney patients in Limerick and nationally, Dr Casserly added. Its great news that kidney patients have been moved up in the immunisation schedule, and Im delighted to report that so far there has been a unanimously positive response by patients to the calls for vaccination. I think it now falls on all of us in the time ahead to once again play our part in the pandemic, by getting the vaccine when it becomes available, he said. Dr Casserly stated: Keeping that in mind today, and being prepared to receive the vaccine when it becomes available, would be the best World Kidney Day gift you could give to any of the vulnerable patients in our department. Nationally, kidney disease affects 10% of the population, and is caused by diabetes, high blood pressure, nephritis or inherited disease. It impairs the functions of the kidneys, including their ability to cleanse 180-litres of blood in the average human body every day, control blood pressure, produce hormones to regulate haemoglobin levels and Vitamin D, and stimulate production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. The most effective treatment for chronic kidney disease is transplantation, but due to the average wait times of 2-4 years, the best option is dialysis, whether haemodialysis (by which the patients blood is filtered and cleansed via external machine) or peritoneal dialysis (a process involving the extraction of excess water and waste products from the blood internally, via the peritoneal membrane). While treatments in-centre at UHL and its Fresenius satellite clinic are running at approximately 17,500 per annum, the logistical demands are formidable, requiring at least three weekly visits lasting up to four hours per visit. More patients are experiencing the benefits of dialysis treatment at home. During the pandemic, the benefits of home-based dialysis have become clearer than ever, and Dr Casserly and his colleagues continue to encourage it. The pandemic has been challenging, but patients undertaking their treatment at home have been better able to protect themselves from the risks of Covid-19. Its just one advantage of home-based dialysis. Its certainly not a primary reason to opt for it, but its a particularly clear benefit, and, as Ive said previously, it brings fresh meaning to the phrase, No place like home, Dr Casserly concluded. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Presently, various types of neonatal monitoring, assistance, and therapeutic care equipment are available commercially. Demand for neonatal infant care equipment is increasing across regions owing to rising prevalence of preterm birth complications and incidence of jaundice in neonates. Technological advancements along with improvements in available neonatal infant care equipment have benefitted manufactures and users alike. Demand has been increasing significantly across both, developed as well as emerging economies. There is especially high demand for thermoregulation devices such as warmers, incubators, eye masks, and monitoring systems. According to a revised report published by Persistence Market Research, the global neonatal infant care equipment market was valued at US$ 1.9 Bn in 2019, and is predicted to witness an impressive CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period (20202030). Key Takeaways from Market Study Based on product, thermoregulation devices are expected to represent more than 50% of the revenue share. By end user, hospitals account for a major revenue share of 52.8%, and the trend is projected to continue during the forecast period as well, due to availability advanced facilities, point of care services, and presence of skilled professionals. Availability of a wide range of advanced neonatal equipment, rising prevalence of preterm births, and increasing healthcare expenditure are factors aiding market growth. North America , followed by Europe , are leading regions in the global neonatal infant care equipment market. , followed by , are leading regions in the global neonatal infant care equipment market. The market in the U.S. is projected to expand at a CAGR of nearly 7%, while that in the U.K. at 6.5%. Both, China and India , are projected to experience a CAGR of more than 7%, on back of high birth rates in the countries. Get Sample PDF of Report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4157 "New product approvals and launch of advanced neonatal equipment, along with growing demand for jaundice management in newborns, are factors aiding market expansion," says a Persistence Market Research analyst. Collaborations and Acquisitions by Key Players Prominent players in the global neonatal infant care equipment market are firming their product ranges through acquisitions and collaborations to reach out to emerging markets. Leading manufacturers are actively focusing on technological advancements as well. Manufacturing capacity expansion is expected to remain a crucial trend over the coming years. For instance, in February 2021 , Medtronic plc announced the results of the prospective observational study comparing the efficacy and reliability of two pulse oximeters Nellcor Bedside SpO2 Patient Monitoring System and Masimo Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeter. The study was carried out in collaboration with global healthcare communities. Ask an expert for any other query: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ask-an-expert/4157 Increasing Focus on Distribution Network Neonatal infant care equipment manufacturers are following a collaborative approach, between companies and nursing homes or maternal hospitals, which is expected to enhance their distribution networks across regions. Multinational companies such as GE Healthcare and Fanem Ltda. have signed strategic alliances with hospitals for supplying neonatal infant care equipment, to improve their distribution network in emerging markets. Get Full Access of Report: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/4157 What Does the Report Cover? Persistence Market Research offers a unique perspective and actionable insights on the neonatal infant care equipment market in its latest study, presenting historical demand assessment of 2015 2019 and projections for 2020 2030. The research study is based on product (thermoregulation devices [radiant warmers, neonatal incubators, and neonatal cooling systems], phototherapy devices [LED phototherapy units, CFL phototherapy units, and phototherapy eye masks], monitoring systems [neonatal ventilation, brain monitoring, blood gas monitoring system], hearing screening and vision screening) and end user (hospitals, pediatric & neonatal clinics, and nursing homes), across seven key regions of the world. Browse Research Release at: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-reports.asp Browse End-to-end Market: Healthcare Related Reports: Neonatal Neurosonography Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/neonatal-neurosonography-market.asp Neonatal Hearing Screening Devices Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/neonatal-hearing-screening-devices-market.asp About Persistence Market Research Overview: Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes. Contact Rajendra Singh Persistence Market Research U.S. Sales Office: 305 Broadway, 7th Floor New York City, NY 10007 +1-646-568-7751 United States USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661339/Persistence_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd. AUSTIN, Texas, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nano Cures Inc. ("Nano"), a clinical stage biotechnology and infectious disease immunity platform company, today announced a $90M pre-IPO funding round. The investment will be led by a $20M commitment from Opulence Capital Management, a Dubai based private investment fund, with existing and new investors participating. The investment will accelerate the global scale up of Nano's Cures Platform for Covid-19 variants, including vaccines and persistent immunity delivery. Nano's novel self-administered technology moves delivery beyond syringes and shots, to an array of nasal, dermal, ophthalmic, sub-lingual, and oral options. Nano will open up its Cures Platform to other pharmaceutical companies and their vaccines, providing dynamic new ways to conquer the pandemic and deliver billions of doses directly to those in need. "As Covid-19 has made abundantly clear, a 21st century technology-enabled approach is needed that refreshes how we proactively solve public health challenges and threats. The opportunity to do so is likely the largest value creation opportunity in the world today. The Nano Cures Platform for Covid-19 variants is the solution," said Steve Papermaster, Nano's Chief Executive Officer. Nano is accelerating plans to bring its Cures Platform for Covid-19 (and variants) to emerging regions such as GCC, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Central/Southern Europe. The breakthroughs in disruptive delivery methods beyond shots will be a gamechanger for improving access and vaccine delivery to people of all regions. "We are proud to support and partner with Nano as they bring this Cures Platform to market. We believe they are delivering a highly unique set of proactive health and safety solutions to address the current global pandemic, as well as safeguard against the next one," said Alexander Vanderhey, Chairman of Opulence Capital Management. "With this investment, we are envisioning a safer, healthier future for the world." Salman Khan, a Director on the Board of Opulence Capital Management with extensive experience in implementing technology in the MENA region added, "GCC countries, especially the United Arab Emirates, have already shown that they are more than capable of acting effectively to contain the health and economic impacts of the pandemic within their own borders better than most developed nations, their aggressive approach towards managing the pandemic and maintaining essential services by frequently communicating with the public and keeping all citizens and residents informed clearly paves a way forward for us to initiate immediate set up of Nano in the UAE and other GCC countries to further support the MENA region." Furthermore, Nano is developing universal pan coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics for annual protection against known and emerging coronaviruses, which will be critical to successfully avoiding future global and regional public health and economic threats. "The rollout of the Nano Cures Platform will help to heal the world from the current devastating Covid-19 pandemic, and shield the world from future pandemics, epidemics, and unnecessary death from infectious diseases," said Papermaster. About Nano Nano is dedicated to improving the health and safety of our global community by delivering it's Cures Platform consisting of breakthrough technology and therapies for protection against pandemic health threats. For more information about Nano, please visit http://www.nanocures.com/ SOURCE Nano Cures Inc. Related Links http://www.nanocures.com Gibraltar Maritimes 2020 This year the Gibraltar maritime sector made a great contribution to the crew changes challenge, offered face to face tuition in its university, had steady business in dry docks, and saw some expansion in services. The International Ship Managers Association (InterManager) credits Gibraltar for how well it supported crew changes during COVID. I have checked with our members and all are singing praises, says Captain Kuba Szymanski, secretary general of InterManager. Gibraltar is well suited and geared up to do crew changes. Gibraltar should be thanked for their attitude and support extended to shipping and our seafarers. More leaders like Gibraltar please. I wish Singapore was that pragmatic. Very much comparable situation and location and two very different approaches. Seafarers were allowed to enter Gibraltar throughout 2020, to board a ship from an aircraft, or leave a ship to board an aircraft. They needed to have a passport and a Letter of Employment or Letter of Guarantee from the shipping company, but no visas required provided they were flying from Gibraltar. A shipping agent was required to meet the crew at the port or airport and handle transportation. A limitation was the number of flights available out of Gibraltar (for example in November there were only 2 flights a week to London with BA), although there was plenty of hotel space available. There are two nearby airports in Spain, Malaga, and Sevilla, but Schengen transit visas were needed to fly through these. University The University of Gibraltar offers a course BSc (Hons) Maritime Science (Nautical) with Deck Cadetship programme and BSc (Hons) Maritime Science (Engineering) with Engineer Cadetship programme, both 3 years. It also offers an online course BSc (Hons) Maritime Science (Engineering) and BSc (Hons) Maritime Science (Nautical). Early 2021 brings the launch of basic STCW and STCW refresher courses. In the medium term, the Gibraltar Maritime Academy hopes to offer a full range of maritime training courses including specialist yacht-related training and LNG courses. The University of Gibraltar says it saw enrolments of 200 students across all its courses in September 2020, compared to 120 last year. It says the growth is in part because it is offering face to face classes, where most universities around the world are doing virtual classes. As Gibraltar is part of the UK, most of the students are British, but there were 20 non UK students, from Canada, Guatemala, Germany, Nigeria, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Morocco, Spain and the USA. Tuition fees for the Maritime Science (Nautical) with Deck Cadetship programme are 9250 for UK/EU students and 12500 for non UK/EU, plus additional fees for the cadetship. Self-catered accommodation is available for 150/ week. Gibdock In October 2020, shipyard Gibdock said that ship repair activity was "rock solid", with high occupancy levels and scheduled dry dockings booked into 2021. Much of the work over the summer was with offshore support vessels and seismic survey vessels. Also environmental refits, including installation of scrubbers and ballast water systems. Richard Beards, managing director of Gibdock, described Gibraltar as a "tight knit business community", with close relationships with the Port Authority, the Director of Public Health, ship agents, hotels and transport providers. Sandvik Electronics Sandvik Marine Electronics of Gibraltar reports that it has 150 vessels signed up for its shore based maintenance (SBM) service to receive complete technical management of all of the equipment on the bridge, including 24 hour support and worldwide service. Its engineers can complete any tasks onboard whether about navigation, communication or connectivity, the company says. New clients include Synergy of Mumbai and Thomas Schulte Shipmanagement of Hamburg. As an example of the services, at the time of writing in early November it had one technician flying out to Malaysia to assist with LNG Enugu and LNG Oyo in a shipyard, with the trip requiring a 2 week quarantine stay in a hotel before being allowed to attend. It has added the Korean Register to the list of class societies for which it performs long approvals for radio and voyage data records. Business has been steady in 2020 but now getting back to normal, says John M King, World Service Manager with Sandvik. Bunkering According to Gibraltar government statistics, there were 435 vessels per month on average calling in Gibraltar for bunkering during 2020. This is a small decline from 449 per month during 2019 and 486 during 2018. In July 2020, bunker supplier Monjasa Ltd published a notice in the Gibraltar Gazette stating that it intended to apply for a "port operator license", as a bunkering operator. Shell announced plans to apply for a LNG bunkering license in Gibraltar in July 2019. It follows Shell and Gasnor opening a LNG regasification terminal in Gibraltar in May 2019, enabling Gibraltar state to switch from power generation by diesel to power generation by gas, with a new 80MW gas fired plant. The LNG for ship fuel is taken directly from the LNG delivery vessel, not from the shore LNG storage for the power generation. E-closed tanker handed over One of the first tanker ships to be purchased remotely, the 40,000 Cape Beira (now renamed Rolls I, was handed over in Gibraltar in May 2020. The transaction was handed by Zoom, with online release of all documentation including exchange of guarantees, payments and confirmation. It involved a seller in Singapore, a buyer in Monaco, a buyers bank in Switzerland, the sellers bank in Hamburg, the attorneys of the buyer in Genoa, and attorneys of seller in Singapore. The vessel is owned by international investors and managed by Sea World Management. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor More than 30pc of restricted herds in 2020 were dairy herds The Department of Agriculture has found evidence linking the countrys increased rate in bovine TB in recent years to dairy herd expansion, it has been stated. Eoin Ryan, a senior superintending veterinary inspector at the Department, told this week's sitting of the Agriculture Committee that of the 4,620 herds restricted last year, 1,491 were dairy which equates to approximately 32pc. It was outlined that 2020 saw the highest rates of TB in a decade with over 23,000 reactors identified in other words, since 2018, the Department says an additional 14 farm families per week have to deal with the worry and uncertainty that a TB restriction represents. While committee members and farm organisation stakeholders including ICSA, ICMSA, IFA and Macra na Feirme called on the Department to put greater emphasis on the transmissive role of wildlife (namely badger and deer) in its latest eradication strategy, Mr Ryan said the main factors behind the spread of TB are cattle and badgers. There is no doubt that deer get infected with bovine TB and can infect cattle. Many studies over the years in Wicklow [a county with a high deer population] have shown that its usually around 10-12pc. But in areas outside Wicklow, we dont find that level of TB in deer. "However, we do know the principle factors responsible and the most important ones are cattle-to-cattle spread and badger-mediated spread of TB into cattle in direct transmission through contamination, he said. Furthermore, the inspector stated that there is evidence that the increase in bovine TB in Ireland is linked to increased intensification in dairy farming over recent years. We have carried out scientific research on this, most recently in 2020, and the most important factor in increasing TB risk is the increase in herd size. Dairy herds are at a higher risk of TB. A higher number of dairy herds are restricted at any given time compared to suckler or beef herds. 55pc of all reactors in 2020 came from dairy herds. While the number of contiguous herds or number of farm fragments are also contributing factors, the inspector said overall its herd size there is no doubt. We had 4,620 herds restricted in 2020, 1,491 of those were dairy so its very disproportionate. "Combined with that we have 2.8 million cattle movements every year, so that is playing a role too. We have to base what we do on evidence and science and we have to be blunt about these things and say lets address the risk and tackle the risk. Careful planning In his opening statement to committee, Hugh Farrell ICSA animal health chairman said its important to keep commentary on the increase in reactor numbers in 2020 in context. We have a rapidly increasing dairy sector and the establishment of new herds, along with the increased intensification linked to the ending of quotas, cannot have been expected to have had no impact on TB figures. "However, the state is a significant beneficiary from increased exports, tax receipts and economic activity in rural areas and this expansion is in keeping with successive agri-food strategies. "It is therefore to be expected that there would be some increase in TB costs, but they are more than adequately mitigated from an exchequer point of view by the expansion, he said. Lorcan McCabe ICMSA deputy president said that reducing cattle-to-cattle spread is a central part of the new strategy and, given the ongoing increase in herd size in the dairy herd, he said this aspect will need careful planning and consideration. The Department has indicated that there will be a new targeted risk-based policy which will specifically address the risk of recurrence in herds, herds experiencing restrictions significantly more than the average, inconclusive animals, and increased look at biosecurity. A tailored bovine TB risk management plan for those herds will most likely be designed by a veterinarian familiar with the herd and the local context. ICMSA believes such plans should be reviewed at defined intervals to evaluate their progress and should be agreed with the herd owner. It is essential that appropriate supports are in place for the farmers impacted by these additional measures and we will be outlining these in the upcoming group meetings, he said. Programme finances Although the Department projects that the sector will successfully eradicate TB over the next decade through a combination of vaccinating badgers and black-spot culling and practical steps that can be taken by farmers to reduce risk by badger-proofing feed stores, raising troughs, fencing off setts etc. it was nonetheless highlighted that the TB eradication programme has been in place in Ireland since the 1950s. In recent years almost 100 million has been spent on the programme annually by farmers (35m), taxpayers (57m) and the EU (4m). But with a significant rise in TB experienced since 2016, the committee was informed that the EU Commission has communicated to the Department its intention to phase out its financial support for the programme. It is understood that testing costs 35m, compensation costs 21m, the wildlife programme costs 4.6m and research 2.2m on an annual basis. However, in addition, the Department puts its costs at 34 million up from 26 million a few years ago, according to figures presented by ICSA. The committee were told that the new Bovine TB Eradication Strategy 2021-2030 sets out how the Department and stakeholders will continue to engage on actions such reducing cattle-to-cattle spread, tackling disease transmission at the wildlife/cattle interface, local area action plans, improving communications, legislative changes and finances. McCabe added: Farmers remain to be convinced that the proposals set out by the Department will be effective but ICMSA will work with all stakeholders to ensure that effective measures to reduce and eliminate bovine TB from Ireland will be successful. "The Department proposals would effectively mean that further restrictions and/or testing for farmers and ICMSA feel there must be further financial supports in place for farmers impacted by the new regulations. DUBLIN, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Canada Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics (Databook): Spend Analysis by Digital/e-Gift Card, Retail & Corporate Consumers, Top Retailers, Distribution Channel, Occasions, and Demographics - Jan 2021 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Overall spending on gifts remained stable in Canada in 2020, despite economic slowdown and reduced celebrations due to lockdowns and people staying away from gatherings. The overall spending on gifts recorded a decline in 2020, with a shift towards gift cards. This has resulted in increased penetration for gift card. Gift card growth over the next 4 quarters in 2021 is expected to improve significantly with improved business and consumer sentiment. Despite a challenging near-term outlook, the gift card industry in Canada is expected to experience steady growth over the medium term, starting Q2 2021. This will be driven by consumer confidence and retail spending in the country along with increased adoption of corporate incentive and loyalty cards. In the wake of COVID-19, gift card adoption due to additional use cases. For instance, the Province of Prince Edward Island has partnered with Sobeys to offer gift cards to Islanders who have been laid off due to the pandemic. The Employee Gift Card Program will offer approximately US$ 78.11 (C$100) Sobeys gift card to individuals who are undergoing economic hardships. According to the publisher's Q4 2020 Global Consumer Gift Card Survey, over 43% of Canadians prefer gifting/receiving gift cards. This is significantly higher than previous year, when gift card was seen as a last minute gifting option. Gift card adoption in sectors such as travel and restaurants sector is expected to increase as companies leverage discounted gift cards to attract consumers. Interestingly, adoption of digital gift cards and digital channel recorded strong growth in 2020, with Canadian customers reflecting a fundamental shift in behaviour. This trend is expected to continue over the short to medium term. Moreover, technology is also transforming the way people use gift cards in Canada. In particular, millennials are increasingly purchasing digital gift cards (such as Starbucks) and loading them onto the corresponding retailer app. Increasing number of Canadians are showing a preference for mobile apps that allow for reloading gift cards on their devices compared to carrying around traditional plastic gift cards. The gift card market in Canada is seeing entrance of international players. Miconex, a Scottish based FinTech firm announced plans expand its footprint to offer gift card programmes in Canada, the US and Ireland, in October 2020. Miconex is engaged with Food Island Partnership to provide Food Island gift card programme for Prince Edward Island. The Food Island Gift Card allows visitors and locals to spend on the Island which could boost tourism. According to the publisher's Q4 2020 Global Gift Card Survey, gift card industry in Canada is expected to grow by 9.5% on annual basis to reach US$ 6312.2 million in 2021. Despite near-term challenges in 2021, medium to long term growth story of gift cards in Canada remains strong. The gift card industry in Canada is expected to grow steadily in H1 2021 and record a strong growth in H2 2021. The growth momentum is expected to continue to grow over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 7.3% during 2021-2025. The gift card market in the country will increase from US$ 5764.6 million in 2020 to reach US$ 8368.4 million by 2025. Below is a summary of country level trend analyses covered across gift card segments: Total gift market: This report provides detailed view of overall spend on gifts, broken down by retail and consumer segments. For both retail and consumer segments, this report provides a breakdown of spend on gifts by product categories (13 segments) and retail sectors (7 segments). Gift cards: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report provides in-depth analysis of opportunities in both open loop and closed loop prepaid gift card categories. Assesses consumer behaviour by type of consumer (retail and corporate - SMB, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise), gifting occasion, digital gift card (e-gift card), and market share by retail sectors. Details six essential KPIs: number of cards in circulation, load value, unused value, average purchase value, average value per transaction, and value of transactions. Corporate incentive & loyalty cards: This report provides detailed market dynamics of corporate incentive cards, broadly segmented in three categories - consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card. It details market size and forecast at category level, by functional attribute (open loop and closed loop), and by corporate consumer segments (small scale business, mid-size business, and enterprise business). Digital gift card (e-gift card) analysis: Provides market size and forecast for digital gift cards, broken down by retail and corporate buyers. It also includes gift card spend by occasion (retail - festivals & special celebration days, milestone celebration, self-use, other; Corporate incentive cards -consumer incentive card, employee incentive card, and sales/partner incentive card). The report also includes digital gift card adoption by company size. Open loop and closed loop: Provides market estimates and forecasts to assess opportunities in open loop and closed loop gift and incentive card segments across consumer segments. Consumer attitude and behaviour: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report identifies and interprets key KPIs related to gift card dynamics including spend by age, gender, and income level. Retail spend: Breaks down retail spend across retail sectors (7 segments) to provide detailed insights on consumer behaviour and changing dynamics of gift card spend. Market share by retailer: Provides market share of closed loop gift cards by key retailers in Canada . . Distribution channel analysis: Provides market share by distribution channel - online vs offline sales and 1st party vs 3rd party sales (sales through outlet of other retailers). Closed Loop Gift Card Market Share by Key Retailers. Key Retailers Covered Include: George Weston Ltd Wal-Mart Stores Inc Empire Co Ltd Costco Wholesale Corp Metro AG Canadian Tire Corp Ltd Home Depot Inc, The Liquor Control Board of Ontario Hudson's Bay Co Home Hardware Stores Ltd Best Buy Co Inc Apple Inc For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tmqw8m About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. 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 Plainville Police Chief Matthew Catania has died. The department shared the news of his passing on its Facebook page. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Chief, Matthew Catania. He will be greatly missed. He was a legend in policing and well known throughout the state. His legacy will live on, the March 10 social media post states. Throughout his career he provided the best possible police services to the communities he served. We will continue to honor him and strive to deliver the quality of police services he instilled in us. We will miss him. Catania led the Plainville Police Department for more than a decade and in 2019 was named Chief of the Year at the first annual Connecticut Law Enforcement Awards and Recognition dinner. Catania was nominated for the award by Town Manager Robert Lee, who told the awards committee he had seen the departments reputation, transparency and expertise grow under Catanias leadership. Lee noted one incident where Catania returned to Plainville while on vacation in Rhode Island in order to back his officers. It is that type of dedication that stands him above most other civil servants that I have observed in my 40 years of working in local government, Lee wrote in his nomination. Other municipal employees who joined Lee in extolling Catanias leadership said he not only worked with them to improve the physical security of their buildings, but tended to any issues they brought to him. Plainville Public Library Director Trish Tomlinson wrote about an instance where her staff noticed there appeared to be a number of patrons coming to the library under the influence and leaving drug paraphernalia in bathrooms. She notified Catania and within minutes an officer arrived to gather information and form a plan to have regular, interactive patrols established. By the end of the week, Tomlinson said the problem had been resolved for good. This is one of those milestones Ill never forget, Catania said of the Chief of the Year recognition. Im only as effective as I am because the officers here respond to my leadership style, he said. That style focused on building bonds of trust with the community. When your police department is user-friendly, your community feels confident that they can reach out to the police, said the chief. To that point, during the summer 2020, as Americans took to the streets to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, the Plainville Police Department stood in solidarity with marchers. The Plainville Unity March, held June 5, drew hundreds of attendees; Catania among them. Chief Catania was incredibly supportive, and he spoke at the rally. He marched with us, said Plainville resident Sarah Doyle, who helped organize the local march, I think that was a very substantial gesture on the part of the Plainville Police Department, and I know it was very well-received by our community. Citizen report Merrick Garland addressed Justice Department employees for the first time as the new attorney general vowed the agency would apply 'equal justice' following a tumultuous four years under Donald Trump amid ongoing sensitive probes. Among them is an investigation of President Joe Biden's son Hunter over tax matters, an an investigation into alleged FBI misconduct during the Russia probe which Trump regularly called a 'witch hunt' while demanding those who went after him be 'locked up.' The Hunter Biden probe is 'active and ongoing,' two sources told Fox News last week. New Attorney General Merrick Garland told DOJ employees Thursday they will will show the nation that the 'Department of Justice pursues equal justice, and adheres to the rule of law' 'All of us are united by our commitment to the rule of law, and to seek equal justice under law. We are united by our commitment to protecting our country, as our oath says, from all enemies, foreign and domestic. And by our commitment to enforcing our country's laws and to ensuring the civil rights and civil liberties of our people,' said Garland. He spoke a day after two DOJ whistleblowers wrote lawmakers and an IG claiming a top Trump political appointee relied on politics to elevate a favored employee to a high-level post in the final days of the Trump administration. They accuse Jeffrey Bossert Clark, who reportedly spoke about aiding Trump's effort to overturn the election results, of conducting a 'sham' job search. He claimed a New York Times report about his actions on the election overturn distorted his statements. BAGGAGE: Garland takes over an agency that endured repeated controversy during the Trump administration. His nomination to serve on the Supreme Court got killed in the GOP Senate under President Obama. He has ultimate authority over a Hunter Biden probe A federal investigation into Hunter Biden tax issues is ongoing Former AG Bill Barr designated John Durham a special counsel for his probe of alleged FBI misconduct The largest DOJ investigation involves the Jan. 6th Capitol riot He did not mention the controversy that that wracked the agency during the tenures of AG's Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr, as well as acting AG Matthew Whitaker. Before leaving the agency shortly before Christmas, former AG Bill Barr designated U.S. Attorney John Durham as special counsel for a probe into alleged FBI misconduct, protecting him from firing other than for cause. Garland, the former top justice on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, was confirmed on a bipartisan 70-30 vote Wednesday. He never got a hearing when Barack Obama nominated him for the Supreme Court. 'The only way we can succeed and retain the trust of the American people, has to adhere to the norms that have become part of the DNA of every Justice Department employee,' Garland said, referencing predecessor Edward Levy, who served as AG after Watergate. 'As I said at the announcement of my nomination, those norms require that light cases be treated alike. That they're not being one rule for Democrats, and another for Republicans. One rule for friends and another for foes, one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless. One for the rich and another for the poor. Or different rules, depending upon one's race or ethnicity. 'I too know that this department has, and always has had such dedicated people. I am honored to work with you once again. Together we will show the American people by word and deed that that the Department of Justice pursues equal justice, and adheres to the rule of law. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... WASHINGTON A new agreement with South Korea on sharing the cost of keeping U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula is early evidence that President Joe Biden is shifting Americas approach to alliances in Asia and beyond. It shows he will cut allies a break to build unity in competition against China and Russia. President Donald Trump had demanded South Korea pay billions more to keep American troops on its soil. In his view, the United States was getting fleeced by what he suggested were freeloaders masquerading as allies. Initially, Trump insisted the South Korean government pay five times as much as it previously had. Seoul balked, diplomacy went nowhere, and relations with a treaty ally began to fray. Biden, by contrast, settled for a 13.9% boost and follow-on increases that put the issue to rest. Bidens view is that well-functioning alliances are central to competing with China, which his administration sees as Americas biggest long-term security challenge, along with Russia. Bidens promise to focus more on Asia mirrors commitments by the two previous administrations with both having their plans stymied by persistent turmoil in the Mideast. In a sign that Biden could faces similar obstacles, his first known military attack was against extremist targets in Syria. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ In what the White House called a sign of Bidens commitment to partnering in the Asia-Pacific region, on Friday he will meet virtually with the leaders of three other regional powerhouses India, Australia and Japan. Biden also is sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea next week for security consultations; on his way home Blinken will join Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, for talks with Chinese officials in Alaska. A few days before the election last November, candidate Biden foreshadowed his intentions toward Seoul in an opinion article he wrote for South Koreas Yonhap news agency. He praised the South Koreans role in an alliance forged in blood, and he pointedly promised a new approach to Seoul if he were to win. Words matter and a presidents words matter even more, Biden wrote. As president, Ill stand with South Korea, strengthening our alliance to safeguard peace in East Asia and beyond, rather than extorting Seoul with reckless threats to remove our troops. He promised principled diplomacy. He might also have mentioned quick diplomacy. Last weekend, U.S. and South Korean negotiators reached an agreement that, if ratified by the South Korean national assembly, would end an impasse over Seouls share of the cost of keeping approximately 28,500 U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula. The troops serve as a symbol of the U.S. commitment to a defense treaty born of the 1950-53 Korean War. The new cost-sharing deal comes after a stopgap one-year arrangement by the Trump administration in March 2019 that required Seoul to pay about 1 trillion Korean won, the approximate equivalent of $910 million. Trump then demanded a five-fold increase starting in 2020. The South Korean government refused. Biden took office in January with what he apparently viewed as a chance to end the acrimony, and the State Department team of negotiators quickly wrapped up a multiyear deal that requires a 13.9 percent increase in Seouls payments this year, followed by four years of increases tied to rises in its defense budget. This administration is trying to say alliances are important for us, said Bruce Bennett, an Asia specialist at the RAND Corp., adding that this goes beyond South Korea to include other traditional Asian allies like Japan. Biden officials know theyve got a substantial issue trying to deal with the Chinese threat. So making their relationship closer with allies is a key part of the strategy for doing that. Japan and South Korea for decades have been linchpins of the U.S. defense strategy in the broader Asia-Pacific region, which the top U.S. commander there, Adm. Philip Davidson, has called the most consequential region for Americas future. Last month, the U.S. and Japan agreed to a one-year extension of their cost-sharing agreement for the U.S. troop presence; the State Department said this allowed more time to negotiate a longer deal. Part of the backdrop to the speedy deal with Seoul is Bidens focus on Chinas military modernization, its ambitions to be a global power, and its potential to help contain North Koreas nuclear weapons program. There is a widely held view in the Biden administration that the U.S. should deal with China from a position of strength, which requires strengthening our alliances as well as renewing our own country, said Bonnie S. Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Trump was hardly the first president to push allies to pay more of the cost of hosting American forces. The difference was that Trump took an unbending some would say insulting approach to European and Asian allies that was at odds with his Pentagon chiefs, starting with Jim Mattis, who put a high value on alliance cooperation. This difference was a key reason Mattis resigned in December 2018. In addition to trying to squeeze more money out of Seoul, Trump had questioned the need for U.S. military exercises with South Korea, calling them wasteful and an affront to North Korea. Jonathan D. Pollack, an East Asia policy expert at the Brookings Institution, said its no surprise that Biden would move quickly to make a cost-sharing deal with Seoul and ease strains from the Trump administration. If the administration is serious, as I think they are, about trying to restore some modicum of normalcy to alliance relations, this is a very good way to do it, Pollack said. He thinks this applies also in Europe, where U.S. relations with NATO allies were strained by Trump demands over sharing the burdens of defense. I do think its indicative of the way I expect Biden will proceed on other fronts as well with respect to alliance enhancement, he said. STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Nokia has struck a deal with Samsung to license patents covering its innovations in video standards, the Finnish telecom company said on Thursday. While the companies did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement, Samsung will make royalty payments to Nokia. Nokia's patent portfolio is composed of around 20,000 patent families, including over 3,500 declared essential to 5G. The deal comes months after rival Ericsson filed a lawsuit in the United States against Samsung in a dispute over royalty payments and patent licenses. The U.S. International Trade Commission said last month it would open an investigation after Ericsson claimed Samsung had infringed on some of its patents in 4G and next generation 5G wireless cellular communications infrastructure systems. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Anil D'Silva) 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 Massachusetts Senate unanimously voted to extend mail-in voting through June 30 after adding an amendment meant to offer accommodations for voters with disabilities. The bill extends the mail-in voting option to the general public due to COVID-19 past March 31. It also lets cities and towns with a municipal caucus before June 30 to postpone the caucus up to Aug. 1. Local officials could also vote to eliminate a municipal caucus thats happening before July 30 and rely on nomination papers to nominate candidates, according to the bill. The proposal is meant to give lawmakers more time to debate permanent election reforms, including whether the expanded mail-in voting option should stay or whether the state should offer same-day voter registration. I am also hopeful, as I know many of you are, that later this session we will make these voting reforms permanent, Sen. Jason Lewis, a Winchester Democrat, said during Thursdays session, and I very much look forward to having that discussion and debate with all of you. The mail-in voting bill now goes back to the House to vote on final passage. The Senate vote, 40-0, came after discussions about potential barriers affecting voters with disabilities. The Disability Law Center raised the issue in testimony submitted to the Senate Ways & Means Committee before the Senate took up the bill. The amendment requires local election officials, when notified or requested, to make accommodations for voters with disabilities every way possible, to every extent possible, said Senate Ways & Means Committee Chairman Michael Rodrigues. The centers testimony was one of 145 pieces of correspondence sent to the committee regarding the bill. Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, who along with other Republicans called for a hearing, thanked leadership for taking input from the public. The House voted on the matter without a hearing, though state representatives and senators proposed multiple election reforms that are expected to undergo review, and potentially public hearings, during this legislative session. I would suggest that if we did not have the opportunity for the public review that we did, that issue might not have been identified, Tarr said. Massachusetts voters broke turnout records despite the threat of COVID-19, which has killed thousands of residents in the Bay State alone. In the Nov. 3 election, more than 3.65 million people voted, breaking the 2016 record of 3.3 million votes. Lawmakers, voting right advocates and Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin attribute that in part to the expanded mail-in voting option. Mail-in voting became available after lawmakers passed a COVID-19 voting law in July to allow for remote voting and early voting with safety safeguards in place. The law expired at the end of 2020, but lawmakers tacked a mail-in voting amendment onto the fiscal 2021 budget to allow that option through March. Related Content: RTHK: US judge adds murder charge in George Floyd trial A Minnesota judge on Thursday added an additional murder charge against Derek Chauvin, the police officer on trial for the death of George Floyd. Chauvin, 44, is already facing charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with Floyd's May 25, 2020 death in Minneapolis. Prosecutors had asked the Hennepin County judge hearing the case to reinstate a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin in the high-profile trial. Judge Peter Cahill agreed to reinstate the third-degree murder charge on Thursday after higher courts ruled he should do so. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison while third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. Jury selection in the case began on Tuesday and five jurors have been selected for the panel so far. Twelve jurors and two alternates will hear the case. A video of Chauvin, who is white, kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, sparked a summer of protests against police brutality and racial injustice across the United States. Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis police force, has pleaded not guilty. Opening arguments in the trial are expected on March 29 with a verdict at the end of April. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Attending the working session were Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung, representatives of the project management boards of the two countries and officers and soldiers of Army Corps 11 the projects construction unit. Major General Nguyen Quoc Dung, Commander of the Army Corps 11, reported that despite difficulties caused by the rainy and hot weather in Laos, as well as impacts of the COVID-9 pandemic, the unit has so far completed most of the works. He said the Corps and other units participating in the project are doing their best to be able to hand over the works before March 22, while providing operation training for the Lao side. In his speech, Sisoulith said he was impressed and appreciated the efforts to overcome difficulties, responsibility and skills of soldiers and officers of the Corps to complete a huge amount of work with good quality. The Lao leader expressed his belief that all the items that will be used for the first session of the 9th National Assembly of Laos will be put into operation on schedule, and remaining ones will also be completed soon. The building, the gift of the Vietnamese Party, State and people to their Lao counterparts, will last for at least five centuries, deserving a symbol of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, he stressed. Covering an area of 23,400sq.m, the new building is built on the foundation of the old one with an investment of over US$100 million. It is located in the middle of Thatluang Square in Vientiane. Photo: CTV News UPDATE 10:45 a.m. Canadian health authorities are keeping a watchful eye on European investigations of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of blood clots following inoculations, but say there is no evidence they were caused by the vaccine. At least nine European countries are pausing their use of AstraZeneca's doses some entirely, and others only on specific batches pending further investigation of the clots. The European Medicines Agency is probing the issue but says 30 blood clots in more than five million patients who received the vaccine is not out of step with the normal rate of blood clots in the general population. Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease doctor at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, says that Health Canada is constantly reviewing data on vaccines and it is a normal part of the post-approval process to see these types of investigations occur. He says he will give the vaccine as planned to his patients unless Health Canada changes its current decision that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. Canada's first 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in provinces this week, but they were made in India, not in the same European facilities where the doses in question were produced. The Canadians Press ORIGINAL 10:10 a.m. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been suspended in Denmark for the next two weeks as they investigate reports that some patients developed blood clots after being inoculated. CTV News is reporting that Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said Thursday authorities were looking into "signs of a possible serious side effect in the form of fatal blood clots," though he made clear it was a "precautionary measure," saying it was not possible yet to conclude whether the clots were linked to the vaccine. The Danish Health Authority also confirmed the suspension in a statement, saying its investigation would include looking into one death in Denmark. "We are in the middle of the largest and most important vaccination rollout in Danish history. And right now we need all the vaccines we can get. Therefore, putting one of the vaccines on pause is not an easy decision. But precisely because we vaccinate so many, we also need to respond with timely care when there is knowledge of possible serious side effects. We need to clarify this before we can continue to use the vaccine from AstraZeneca," Sren Brostrm, director of the National Board of Health, said in the statement. -with files from CTV News Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) aims to provide livelihood assistance to nearly 49 million people in 2021 KYODO NEWS - Mar 11, 2021 - 12:12 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi vowed Thursday to do all he can to have the remaining food import restrictions imposed by foreign countries in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident lifted based on science. "It is extremely regrettable that some countries and regions continue to impose restrictions on imports of Japanese food products, even a decade after the disaster," Motegi said in a statement on the 10th anniversary of the crisis, which was triggered by a massive quake and tsunami. "The government of Japan will make its utmost efforts, based on scientific evidence, to have the restrictions lifted as early as possible and advance further efforts to increase Japanese exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products," he said. Of the 54 countries and regions that introduced import curbs on Japanese food products following the nuclear accident, 15 including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the European Union maintain restrictions. The three Asian economies were among Japan's top five food export destinations in 2020. Motegi pointed out that farm exports from Fukushima Prefecture recovered to pre-disaster levels in 2017 and have continued to hit record highs for three straight years since then. In the statement, the minister also acknowledged the support and "countless messages of encouragement" that were sent to Japan from around the world following the disaster, noting cash donations, the dispatch of personnel to search for missing people and support for those who were in need. In the aftermath of the calamity, Japan received cash donations totaling more than 17.5 billion yen ($161 million) as well as relief and other goods from 128 countries, regions and organizations, according to the Foreign Ministry. A total of 23 countries and Taiwan as well as five international organizations sent teams to help with rescue, recovery and medical support, it said. "The Japanese people will never forget the generosity shown and the support kindly provided by the people of the world in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake," he said. As international cooperation through disaster prevention is becoming more critical due to the frequency of natural disasters, "Japan remains committed to working strenuously for the peace and security of people all over the world," he said. NORWALK The city is seeking local input on a $100,000 branding effort to attract more businesses and visitors to Norwalk. Residents can complete an anonymous online survey, open until March 26, choosing between two different color schemes and three different logo types for the citys tourism website and marketing materials. Prior to the development and tourism department, created in 2019, there was no city branch dedicated to attracting businesses and visitors to Norwalk, Director of Business Development and Tourism Sabrina Church said. Nobody was focused specifically on tourism, Church said. We thought it was a good idea to pull together to get people to visit Norwalk. To help with the effort, the city hired Bloomfield-based Dornenburg Kallenbach Advertising. A request for proposals was submitted to fill the marketing role, and 13 responses were received, Church said. As part of the branding campaign, Mayor Harry Rilling suggested the city receive resident input. No one knows our community better than the people who live and work here, Rilling said. The survey only takes a few minutes and I encourage our residents and business owners to share their thoughts. Your opinions are important and will help shape how we move forward. A committee of city employees and businesses, including a representative from the Maritime Aquarium, was established to aid in the design decision-making, Church said. We wanted to do a holistic outreach that gets some clout behind it, so we show the public we care what they think, she said. When we did the city rebranding, we didnt involve the public as much as staff. We wanted to take a larger reach this time, to make sure were getting as much input as we possibly can. The tourism website, visitnorwalk.org, will include Norwalk attractions, restaurants and lodging. While the website is currently operational, it is in the beginning stages and will be filled in as the advertising campaign progresses, Church said. We wanted to create an asset free to businesses to be able to promote themselves, she said. Church and her team decided it was an opportune time to begin the marketing campaign, as COVID-19 restrictions are easing, and vaccine dissemination is increasing. Theres all this pent-up demand for people to travel and get out where theyre from, and probably still drive for the most part, Church said. We are doing the legwork to attract those visitors. The $100,000 tourism branding project is funded through a capital budget request from the current fiscal year, she added. Once the logo and color scheme are selected later this month, work will begin on the website and is expecting to take about a month to complete. By the time summer is here, well hopefully have a great tool we can all use and take pride in, Church said. abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 16:37:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SEOUL, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Eight more U.S. soldiers and one civilian in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. The USFK said in a statement that nine USFK-affiliated individuals were confirmed with the COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between Feb. 22 and March 8. Four service members arrived at the Osan Air Base on U.S. government-chartered flights from the United States on Feb. 22, 24, and March 8. The Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul. Four service members and one contractor arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on international commercial flights on Feb. 23, and March 4 and 5. The confirmed patients have been transferred to designated isolation facilities at the U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys and the Osan Air Base, both of which are located in Pyeongtaek. The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 783, according to Yonhap news agency. In the latest tally, South Korea reported 465 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 94,198. The daily caseload stayed above 400 for three straight days. "Despite the recent confirmed cases, USFK remains at a high level of readiness with less than 1 percent of its active-duty service members currently confirmed positive with COVID-19," the USFK said. Enditem The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. The home of a Mongols bikie has been targeted in a drive-by shooting while a heavily-pregnant woman and her daughter were inside - as fears grow of an all-out turf war between rival gangs. Neighbours in Port Kennedy in Perth's outer-south heard banging and shouting about 2.50am on Thursday, March 11 police said. The property on Sirius Place is understood to belong to Mongols identity Jason Gastarov - who previously defected to the gang from the Rebels. A pregnant woman and her five-year-old old daughter were believed to be sheltering inside the home at the time. Thursday's shooting follows Rebels bikie kingpin Nick Martin, 51, being shot dead at the Perth Motorplex in Kwinana Beach on December 12. Mongols bikie Jason Gastarov (pictured third from right) is believed to be the owner of a home that was peppered with bullets on Thursday morning Martin (pictured) died on December 12 at the Perth Motorplex in the arms of his wife Amanda as she tried to give him CPR. His last words were: 'babe, I've been shot' Pictured: Dayne Brajkovich - whose Perth home was hit with bullets last Tuesday. He attacked Rebels bikie Nick Martin at a bar two weeks before he was murdered Then on Tuesday, March 9, the home of Hells Angels bikie Dayne Brajkovich in Ascot in the city's east was hit with bullets about 7.15pm. A stolen Porsche was later found burned out in the nearby suburb of High Wycombe. Those inside reportedly fired on Brajkovichs home after camping out for an hour and a half waiting to pull the trigger. Brajkovich had previously punched Martin in the head repeatedly during a brawl at a bar on November 24. Thursday morning's shooting happened a short distance away from a primary school, The West Australian reported. Dozens of detectives were canvassing the area for witnesses later in the day. WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said police are dealing with a rise in tension between bikie gangs in the wake of Martin's public execution 'that should concern everyone'. Brajkovic was charged over a brawl in November - two weeks before Martin's death - in which the pair fought in a busy bar in the Perth beachside suburb of Scarborough Police have not revealed any new leads since the murder despite several arrests and raids immediately following the shooting. Authorities have posted a $1 million reward for information but have not yet said if they have identified any suspects in the gangland killing. A photograph taken on the opposite side of the racing lanes from where Martin was sitting with his family, on the edge of a grandstand, shows a clear line of sight a sniper could have used to kill his target. Another man, convicted drug dealer Ricky Chapman, was injured in the shooting at the Kwinana raceway, south of Perth. The chaos at the racetrack on December 12 in Perth after Martin was executed is pictured One of the possible shooter locations previously identified at the Perth Motorplex. A long shot would indicate a sniper, experts say Police said the same bullet that killed Martin had passed through to hurt Chapman - and a bullet fragment was recovered from his arm. Queensland University of Technology associate professor of criminology Mark Lauchs, an expert on outlaw motorcycle gangs said if the shot was taken from a distance then it was likely by a professional sniper as bikies don't typically have great marksmanship skills. 'If it's from a long way away, I would assume it's not bikie related as that's not how bikies do things,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Police are so far tight-lipped about whether they have identified any suspects in the public execution of Nick Martin (pictured) 'It may be associated with things other than a bikie war.' Professor Lauchs said a deliberate execution of this type would be more likely to do with organised crime than an inter-club bikie war or an internal club dispute. WA Police are reportedly trying to work out whether the sniper shot the bikie from an area close to bushland on the edge of the motor complex. It is thought that surveillance cameras at the complex might yield some clues to the public killing that shocked the nation, with a toilet block 20 metres from where Martin was sitting thought to be the most valuable. Rebels bikie Nick Martin is taken to Pinnaroo Cemetery in a coffin covered in pictures of $100 bills during an extravagant bikie funeral Rebels bikies embrace at the funeral of Nick Martin in Perth on December 23 A $1 million reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the shooter who killed Nick Martin, 51, (pictured with wife Amanda) More than 200 bikies from the Rebels and other clubs attended Martin's funeral Hundreds of mourners gathered on December 23 to farewell the former Rebels president at his Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park funeral - the majority turning up in patched Rebels colours. Martin's coffin was covered in pictures of $100 bills and Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower played as bikies took turns to walk up and touch it as it was brought in under a marquee for the service. The public execution sparked fears of an bikie war, and WA Police launched Taskforce Ravello to find the killer. Bikie compounds and properties were raided across Perth in December but no leads have been made public. This includes an interactive map of corruption-related offenses. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention has presented an updated Unified state register of persons who committed acts of corruption or corruption-related offenses (Register of corrupt officials). NACP Chief Oleksandr Novikov and Head of the NACP's Department of Prevention and Detection of Corruption Serhiy Derkach presented the update, while the event was also attended by Ukraine's foreign partners, an UNIAN correspondent reported. Read alsoU.S. Embassy lists two main challenges hindering Ukraine's developmentAccording to Novikov, 59% of Ukrainians believe opening data on corrupt officials is one of the main measures to prevent corruption; before the update, the Register of corrupt officials remained a formality given an inconvenient search tool and categorizing issues. "Today we are presenting a new register. Now you can see how many persons have been held accountable for corruption. Among them, in particular, how many were charged with criminal offenses, how many with administrative offenses, and how many are subject to disciplinary liability. We've also made a convenient search tool, and now by entering a name or type of the offense committed, anyone may analyze data," Novikov said. The official added that the update includes an interactive map of offenses. "Now you can see the number of persons who have committed corruption offenses in any area with a breakdown for each category of offenses," Novikov said. Now all participants in public procurement processes will be able to check whether officials or legal entities with whom they intend to do business have been put on the Register of corrupt officials, he said. Being on that register disallows participation in procurement transactions, Novikov added. Constitutional crisis in Ukraine: Background On October 27, the Constitutional Court, on the motion of 47 MPs, adopted a decision repealing Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code, which had provided for liability for inaccurate declaration of assets by government officials. The Constitutional Court also recognized unconstitutional the provisions of laws on the verification of e-declarations, and abolished the powers of the NACP to verify such declarations and identify conflict of interest. President Volodymyr Zelensky tabled bill No. 4288 in parliament to terminate the powers of all Constitutional Court judges. The document states, in particular, that the decision of the Constitutional Court of October 27 is "null and void" (such that it does not create legal consequences) as such that was adopted by the Constitutional Court judges in conditions of a real conflict of interests." Zelensky proposes the termination of the powers of Constitutional Court judges, suggesting that actors authorized to appoint new judges immediately begin the competitive selection. The Venice Commission has acknowledged that the Constitutional Court's decision of October 27 "lacks clear reasoning, has no firm basis in international law, and was possibly tainted with a major procedural flaw an unresolved question of a conflict of interest of some judges." On January 25, 2021, the Ambassadors of the G7 countries (the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan) in Ukraine provided advice to the Ukrainian authorities on how to reform the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) and conduct judicial reform in general. According to the G7 Ambassadors, they provided a set of priority actions that should restore public confidence in the Ukrainian judiciary and anti-corruption infrastructure and trust in them, as well as significantly contribute to the advancement of Ukraine on the path to achieving a prosperous, secure democracy. Reporting by UNIAN If Texas goes forward with the STAAR exam, taxpayers will spend $90 million to learn what they already know: Texas students are in crisis. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott should cancel or postpone the STAAR test. Where is the compassion for students and educators, many of whom are not only dealing with COVID-19 but also suffered through a winter storm without water or electricity (or both), some losing a week of instruction? Prioritizing STAAR is callous when its clear students most basic needs are not being met and educational inequities have been exacerbated by the pandemic. The U.S. Department of Education has given states significant flexibility with their assessments to balance student needs with safety and prioritizing learning time. Proposals range from shortening or offering remote assessments to extending testing into the summer or the beginning of next school year. So far, nine states have submitted federal waiver requests to cancel or postpone state assessments. Yet Abbott has only paused the A-F school ratings. Remote students are required to take the STAAR, and passing five STAAR subject tests by the time they graduate remains a requirement for high school students. Safety must come first. Asking students 44 percent of whom were remote as of Jan. 29, according to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to crowd into classrooms starting April 6 with educators who just recently became eligible for vaccines when COVID-19 is still a threat is the antithesis of showing concern. And if many remote learners dont show up for the exam, then the data will be incomplete and substantially flawed. There is also the question of time. Texas teachers and students will waste precious school days on drill-and-kill STAAR prep. Texas is focused on collecting data that will tell us what we already know: Students are far behind. Students are stressed, and thousands have given up. Last week, Morath shared data from an optional beginning-of-year assessment during the Texas House public education committee hearing. It identified 3.2 months of instructional loss due to COVID, in addition to 2.3 months of summer learning loss. Texas schools are down 153,662 students since last year, including 10,000 juniors and seniors since October. The declines are sobering, but solutions wont be found in a high-stakes test. School districts and teachers know their students, and they are working to help them regain whats been lost they dont need STAAR data. Asked if the social, emotional and mental health of students have been tracked or addressed, Morath answered: The short answer is, not really. We do know that the degree of stress, emotional traumas and to some extent staff as well is high. He shared a story about a superintendent who wondered if in-person learning could have saved a teenager who committed suicide. Even pre-COVID, experts and leaders questioned the validity, fairness and cost of the STAAR test. Now the education agency wants students some of whom havent stepped foot in a classroom to take a STAAR test. They are living in a fantasy land the STAAR wont be remotely diagnostic. There are too many variables to have any level of validity or reliability, said Texas American Federation of Teachers President Zeph Capo. At least push it out to August and that will also give teachers a chance to get vaccinated. In November, state Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, penned a letter signed by a bipartisan group of 68 Texas House representatives that called on Morath to cancel or not use STAAR to rate schools or districts. Texas Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, who advocates postponing the STAAR until the fall, sent a letter to Morath on March 1 that shared results from an online survey of more than 13,000 Texans, finding 97 percent of parents and 96 percent of educators were in favor of canceling the STAAR. Abbott canceled STAAR on March 16 last year and requested a waiver for the federal testing requirement, saying: Your health and safety are top priorities. On July 27, he waived grade promotion requirements. Whats different now? The agency charged with supporting schools and improving outcomes for all students must focus on academic progress but also student health and well-being. Does the STAAR exam achieve this? Every decision must begin with caring for students. BANGALORE, India, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The UV Stabilizers Market is Segmented by Type (HALS (Hindered Amine), UV Absorber, Quenchers, by Application (Packaging, Automotive, Agriculture, Building & Construction, Adhesives & Sealants, Plastics, Others), by Application (BASF, Songwon Industrial, Clariant AG, Solvay S A, ALTANA, Adeka, Addivant, Valtris Specialty Chemicals, Lycus): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2026. This report is published on Valuates Reports in the Chemical Industry . The global UV Stabilizers market size is projected to reach USD 1443.7 Million by 2026, from USD 1108.7 Million in 2019, at a CAGR of 3.8% during 2021-2026. Major factors driving the growth of UV stabilizers market size are: Growing demand from packaging and automotive application. The rising demand for wood and plastic coatings for protection against UV radiations The ongoing development of the housing and construction industries in as Asia-Pacific region Request a Sample Copy of the Report For COVID-19 Impact Analysis on UV Stabilizers Market: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-14S4253/Global_UV_Stabilizers TRENDS INFLUENCING THE UV STABILIZERS MARKET SIZE The growing preference towards packaged foods is expected to drive the growth of UV stabilizers market size. As food contact materials are often exposed to solar UV light, to avoid degradation, UV stabilizers are applied to the polymer material. To avoid the rapid deterioration of the food packaging material and the foodstuff found inside, UV stabilizers are used. Many UV stabilizers function as UV screens that absorb harmful UV light. They are invisible and safeguard both food and packaging materials. Other UV screens are based on organic substances and act as inhibitors of ultraviolet degradation. Increasing application of UV stabilizers in the Automotive industry is expected to increase the growth of UV stabilizers market size. Automotive components are constantly exposed to harsh environmental conditions, such as sunlight, heat, and moisture. Such environments require materials that can withstand exposure and sustain high performance. UV light stabilizers prevent microcracks from forming and restrict color fading to preserve the physical and aesthetic properties of automobiles. Growing construction spending in emerging countries is expected to increase the UV stabilizer market size during the forecast period. Growth in the construction industry has been fostered by ongoing infrastructure development in developing economies like Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, Russia, and Brazil. In these economies, construction companies opt for low-cost alternative raw materials, such as plastic and wood materials. These materials can be conveniently formed into several forms, resulting in substantial demand for applications for flooring, decking, and fencing. Since these materials get exposed to high sunlight exposure, it leads to corrosion effects. UV stabilizers have been added as a coating substrate to these materials in order to mitigate such effects. Increasing use of nanocomposites in UV stabilizers is expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for the market players. Nanotechnology plays a key role in the market for UV stabilizers. Nanocomposite materials have the ability to enhance the properties of coating systems by improving the UV stability and scratch-resistance of the coated product. Conventional UVA are organic stabilizers that have a tendency to degrade over the period, making nano-based inorganic UVA an additional advantage of greater long-term protection. View Report Details Before Purchasing: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-14S4253/global-uv-stabilizers UV STABILIZERS MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS Based on type, the HALS (Hindered Amine Light Stabilizers)segment is expected to hold the largest UV stabilizer market share during the forecast period. HALS is used in thin and thick applications due to its ability to protect polymers from degradation under UV light exposure while providing durability and long shelf life. The increasing demand in the automotive, packaging, and furniture & construction industries for non-degradable, durable, and high-performance products has fueled the growth of HALS in the market for UV stabilizers. Based on application, the packaging segment is expected to hold the largest UV stabilizers market share during the forecast period. UV stabilizers are capable of shielding packages and their contents from the discoloration and adverse effects of UV radiation. Based on the region, the Asia Pacific region is expected to hold the largest UV stabilizers market share during the forecast period. This dominance of the Asia-Pacific region is attributed to the presence of a large number of UV stabilizer manufacturers, increasing government support, rising foreign investments, and growing demand for HALS and UV Absorbers from plastics, polymers, and automotive industries. Inquire for Regional Data: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-14S4253/Global_UV_Stabilizers_Market UV STABILIZERS MARKET SEGMENTATION Following are the segments covered by the report are: HALS (Hindered Amine) UV Absorber Quenchers. By Application: Packaging Automotive Agriculture Building & Construction Adhesives & Sealants Plastics Others. The Key manufacturers that are operating in the global UV Stabilizers market are: BASF Songwon Industrial Clariant Solvay Altana Adeka Addivant Valtris Specialty Chemicals Lycus Mayzo. Buy Now for Single User: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-14S4253&lic=single-user Buy Now for Enterprise User: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-14S4253&lic=enterprise-user SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the Comment Section to know about our subscription plans. SIMILAR REPORTS : - UV Light Stabilizer Market size is projected to reach USD 393.2 Million by 2026, from USD 310.3 Million in 2020, at a CAGR of 4.0% during 2021-2026. - UV Stabilized Films Market is Segmented by Type Plastic Material, Metals Material, by Application Automobiles, Building & Construction, Agriculture, Others and by various regions. - UV Additives Market is Segmented by Type Heat Stabilizers, Light Stabilizer, UV Absorber, by Application Anti-oxidation, Heat Resistant and by various regions. - UV Stabilizers in Plastics Market is Segmented by Type HALS, UV Absorbers, Quenchers, Others, by Application Automotive, Packaging, Agriculture, Building & Construction and by various regions. Click Here To See Related Reports On UV Stabilizers Market ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. 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CONTACT US: Valuates Reports sales@valuates.com For U.S. Toll-Free Call 1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp: +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg Update 11:50 a.m.: Syracuse University issued a statement Thursday morning disagreeing with the judges ruling and defending its suspension of fraternity Alpha Chi Rho: We respectfully disagree with the courts opinion. To be clear: students and student organizations are responsible for the conduct of the guests they bring to campus. In this particular case, the panel found that the guest engaged in a verbal assault on a member of our community. We will not tolerate hate on our campus not from our community members and not from their guests. We will continue to hold the hosts of guests accountable, especially when their actions jeopardize the safety and well-being of our students. Original story: Syracuse, NY A Syracuse University fraternity, suspended in 2019 over allegations of racist behavior, had no role in the incident in question and was not given a fair shot to defend itself against punishment, a state Supreme Court Justice ruled Wednesday. Alpha Chi Rho must be reinstated as a SU fraternity immediately, Judge Scott DelConte ruled in a nine-page opinion. The record is clear: Alpha Chi Rho did nothing wrong, DelConte wrote. Instead, it was an SU administrator who erred in overturning a university appeals board decision that had reinstated the fraternity over a year ago, the judge ruled. That administrator, E. Dolan Evanovich, SUs senior vice president of enrollment and the student experience, had rejected the clear and well-reasoned decision made by the Appeals Board in reversing the fraternitys suspension, DelConte wrote. Evanovichs decision in March 2020 came at the height of protests surrounding racist graffiti and other activity on campus that led to a long sit-in at the universitys administrative building. When Alpha Chi Rho was first suspended in November 2019, SU Chancellor Kent Syverud said there was substantial evidence against members and guests of the fraternity. That turned out not to be true, according to DelContes ruling. In fact, the only person accused of hurling a racial epithet was not a member of the fraternity, did not reside in Syracuse and made the allegedly offensive statement off-campus, the judge said. The association with the fraternity came in that the person had a friend in the fraternity and had been in the fraternity earlier that day, the judge said. No members of the fraternity were involved in the racial incident or witnessed what happened. Given that, theres nothing in SUs rules that would allow the university to kick out the fraternity, DelConte ruled. There is no provision in the Fraternity and Sorority Affairs policy, or the Code of Student Conduct, that allows the University to punish fraternities for the independent, off-campus actions of former guests, DelConte wrote. Fraternities cannot police the statements of their former guests who leave campus, and it would be unreasonable to have, or apply, a policy that punishes fraternities, or other student social organizations, for conduct they cannot control. Evanovich and the university argued that there was an expectation for a fraternity to keep its guests from engaging in such behavior, the judge noted. And the university also argued that a judge should defer to the administrator of the private institution. But the judge ruled that arguing that a fraternity should be responsible under these circumstances has no rational basis. It doesnt even live up to the universitys own rules, he added. Lastly, the judge faulted SU for not giving the fraternity the chance to be represented by a lawyer at a hearing involving allegations of sexual harassment. That violates the universitys own rules allowing an attorney advisor under those circumstances, DelConte said. As with the Appeals Board, the Court finds these actions troubling, particularly in light of the fraternitys claim that the charges against it were motivated by factors other than their merits, the judge concluded. The appeals board is made up of three people, drawn from students, faculty, staff or external professionals, as determined by the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Its unclear who served on the fraternitys appeals board. Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070. New Delhi, March 11 : A war of words ensued in West Bengal over the alleged attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with the BJP terming it fake and a political stunt to gain voters sympathy. The party questioned how it could happen despite so much security. On Wednesday evening, Banerjee claimed she was attacked in Nandigram where she had gone to file nomination papers for assembly polls. The BJP claimed that Chief Minister Banerjee, a Z-plus protectee, has a total of 18 vehicles in her cavalcade which includes four pilot cars, other vehicles and presence of senior police officials. "The question is, how could this incident happen despite so much security?" the West Bengal unit of the party asked on its official Twitter handle. In a series of tweets, the West Bengal unit of the BJP claimed that eyewitnesses have refuted Banerjee's claim that she was attacked. "Did Mamata Banerjee fake the 'attack'? Eyewitness accounts seem to suggest that," the West Bengal BJP said. In another tweet, the West Bengal BJP said, "Not one eyewitness seems to corroborate the 'attack' version. The people of Nandigram are upset and angry at her for blaming them and bringing disrepute. Clearly she is nervous about her prospects in Nandigram and has now lost confidence, if any, of the people too." "She is trying to gain sympathy votes in an already-lost battle," the party said. The West Bengal BJP claimed that the people of Nandigram are angry with Banerjee as she is blaming them for an attack which was at best an accident as several eyewitness accounts suggest. "Can Nandigram ever trust her to be fair to them?" asked another tweet. HOUSTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas-based energy company, Max Midstream, today was selected by the Calhoun Port Authority for an exclusive bunkering rights agreement at the port. The agreement takes effect immediately and will last for the next 50 years. "We are honored the Calhoun Port Authority has chosen Max Midstream to provide bunkering services at the port," said Todd Edwards, President and CEO of Max Midstream. "Now, not only will Max be able to connect the Permian and Eagle Ford Basins to the Port of Calhoun, but we will also be able to service ships entering the port and provide fueling support. This gets us one step closer to offering a comprehensive package of servicesfrom transporting oil across Texas, to getting it to the port, to fueling the ships that will take the product to the European market." Launched in 2020, Max Midstream is a Houston-based energy company that acquired the Seahawk Pipeline and Terminal from Oaktree Capital at the Port of Calhoun last year. Eventually, Max Midstream will connect the port directly to both Eagle Ford and Permian Basins and will transport 20 million barrels a month. The company is also partnering with the Calhoun Port Authority and investing $360 million to finance the deepening and widening of the port by 2023. Max Midstream now expects to export Texas oil to the European market perhaps as soon as Q2 in 2021. For more information on Max Midstream and this project, please visit www.maxmidstream.com. SOURCE Max Midstream Related Links http://www.maxmidstream.com BALTIMORE, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Transamerica announced today that it has received three prestigious 2021 Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards for two funds advised by Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. The funds receiving awards are: Transamerica MLP & Energy Income, class I2 shares Best Fund out of 24 Over Three Years, Energy MLP Funds category Best Fund out of 21 Over Five Years, Energy MLP Funds category Transamerica Asset Management, Inc., Investment Manager; Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., Sub-Adviser Transamerica International Equity, class R6 shares Best Fund out of 48 Over Three Years, International Multi-Cap Value Funds category Transamerica Asset Management, Inc., Investment Manager; Thompson Siegel, & Walmsley LLC, Sub-Adviser The Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards acknowledge funds that have consistently delivered strong, risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. Based on the results of the independent Lipper Leader for Consistent Return rating, the fund with the highest value in its category receives the Refinitiv Lipper Fund Award. "Transamerica is honored to receive these Refinitiv Lipper Awards" said Tom Wald, Chief Investment Officer for Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. "They reflect our dedicated and disciplined process of selecting best-in-class managers for our funds and we are excited Refinitiv Lipper has recognized our results." For more than three decades, the Refinitiv Lipper awards have recognized funds and fund management firms for their consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. Based on Lipper's quantitative, proprietary methodology, the awards reflect an independent assessment of fund performance. "This year's Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards recognized the steadfast resolve of award-winning managers and firms who successfully navigated one of the sharpest market downturns and recoveries on record, enabling investors to maintain a level of economic confidence amidst a backdrop of uncertainty," said Robert Jenkins, Head of Research, Lipper, Refinitiv. "In a year that endured the impacts of an unprecedented global humanitarian crisis, in which markets reflected investors' emotions of shock and optimism, there was a degree of solace in having one's financial fortunes overseen by the stewardship of professional money managers. We congratulate the 2021 Refinitiv Lipper Fund Award winners and wish Transamerica continued success." About Transamerica With a history that dates back more than 100 years, Transamerica is recognized as a leading provider of life insurance, retirement, and investment solutions, serving millions of customers throughout the United States. Recognizing the necessity of health and wellness during peak working life, Transamerica's dedicated professionals work to help people take the steps necessary to live better today so they can worry less about tomorrow. Transamerica serves nearly every customer segment, providing a broad range of quality life insurance and investment products, individual and group pension plans, as well as asset management services. In 2020, Transamerica fulfilled its promises to customers, paying more than $49 billion in insurance, retirement, and annuity claims and benefits, including return of annuity premiums paid by the customer. Transamerica's corporate headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland, with other major operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Denver, Colorado. Transamerica is part of the Aegon group of companies. Based in the Netherlands, Aegon is one of the world's largest providers of life insurance, pension solutions and asset management products, operating in more than 20 markets worldwide. For the full year of 2020, Aegon managed over $1.1 trillion in revenue generating investments. For more information, please visit www.transamerica.com. About Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. The funds advised and sponsored by Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. include Transamerica Funds, Transamerica Series Trust and DeltaShares exchange-traded funds. Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. has total assets under management of more than $88 billion as of December 31, 2020, and is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon N.V., an international life insurance, pension, and asset management company. About Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., founded in 1984, is a leading alternative investment management firm focused on infrastructure (including renewables and energy), real estate, credit, and private equity. Kayne has been investing in North American energy infrastructure since 1998 and has been investing in global renewable energy infrastructure since 2013. Kayne's investment philosophy is to pursue niches, with an emphasis on cash flow, where our knowledge and sourcing advantages enable us to deliver above average, risk-adjusted investment returns. As responsible stewards of capital, Kayne's philosophy extends to promoting responsible investment practices and sustainable business practices to create long-term value for our investors. Kayne manages over $32 billion in assets (as of 12/31/2020) for institutional investors, family offices, high net worth and retail clients and employs over 350 professionals in five offices across the U.S. About Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC (TSW) is a Delaware limited liability company and SEC registered investment adviser. TSW manages long-term investment assets for institutions including corporations, public funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, Taft-Hartley and sub-advisory, as well as individuals. The firm works closely with investors and advisors and acts as a sounding board in the development of suitable investment objectives and policies. TSW provides a full range of investment management strategies including fixed income, U.S. large, mid, small/mid (SMID), Small Cap Value equity, International and International Small Cap Equity, alternative, Multi-Asset Income and balanced portfolio strategies. For each of these products, TSW's singular objective is to outperform client benchmarks, net of fees over a 35-year time period. TSW products are managed by experienced teams of investment professionals working in a collaborative environment. Although performance objectives are paramount, TSW distinguishes itself through personalized client services. About Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards For more than 30 years and in over 17 countries worldwide, the highly-respected Refinitiv Lipper Awards have honored funds and fund management firms that have excelled in providing consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers and focus the investment world on top-funds. The merit of the winners is based on entirely objective, quantitative criteria. This coupled with the unmatched depth of fund data, results in a unique level of prestige and ensures the award has lasting value. Renowned fund data and proprietary methodology is the foundation of this prestigious award qualification, recognizing excellence in fund management. Find out more at www.lipperfundawards.com. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Mutual Funds are sold by prospectus. Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. This and other important information is contained in the prospectus. Please go to www.transamerica.com or contact your financial professional to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Please read it carefully before investing. The Refinitiv Lipper Fund Award is for the indicated share class only. Other share classes of the fund may have different performance and fee characteristics. Investing in MLPs involve risks related to limited control, cash flow changes, dilution risks and risk linked to the general partner's right to require unit holders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price. The energy industries can be significantly affected by fluctuations in energy prices and supply and demand of energy fuels, energy conservation, the success of exploration projects, and tax and other government regulations. The Fund is subject to certain MLP tax risks. As the Fund is registered as a Regulated Investment Company, the Fund does not pay taxes. Changes to government regulations may impact future returns. The Fund is classified as "non-diversified", which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers or sectors than a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests its assets in fewer issuers, the Fund will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those issuers. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company's financial condition and overall market and economic conditions. If the market prices of the equity securities owned by the fund fall, the value of the fund will decline. The prices of securities the sub-adviser believes are undervalued may not appreciate as anticipated or may go down. Investments in global/international markets involve risks not associated with U.S. markets, such as currency fluctuations, adverse social and political developments and relatively small size and lesser liquidity of the markets. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial market disruption and dislocation around the world including the U.S. During periods of market disruption, which may trigger trading halts, the fund's exposure to the risks described elsewhere in the prospectus will likely increase. As a result, whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries directly affected, the value and liquidity of the fund's investments may be negatively affected. Transamerica Funds are advised by Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. (TAM) and distributed by Transamerica Capital, Inc. (TCI), member of FINRA. Transamerica companies and other entities referenced here are not affiliated. 1801 California Street, Suite 5200, Denver, Colorado 80202 Media inquiries: [email protected] Erin Yang (303) 383-5295 Julie Quinlan (303) 383-5923 SOURCE Transamerica Related Links http://www.transamerica.com Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. INDUSTRY INSIGHT COVID raises the stakes for digitally accessible documents COVID-19 has changed how we do just about everything, from banking to shopping to schooling to working -- even personal communications. One silver lining is the increased attention to the importance of digital channels, as well as the accessibility of those channels. Thats because an estimated 26% of the U.S. population has some form of disability vision, hearing, cognitive or limited motor mobility. Many organizations have made progress updating their websites and apps to be digitally accessible to people with disabilities. The same cant be said, however, for other forms of electronic content such as PDFs, which are increasingly used by services like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local governments to convey vital information and updates to the general public. One relevant example: Our audit from late October revealed that 43 states PDF-based applications for mail-in voting had critical challenges to accessibility. This meant that across the country, many with disabilities -- who, by virtue of their conditions, tend to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 -- were likely thwarted in their first attempt to apply for mail-in voting for the 2020 presidential election. The ubiquitous PDF offers many benefits as a communications vehicle. The format is easy to view and share, tends to have a small file size, works on any operating system and integrates non-text elements like images easily. However, PDFs face many of the same accessibility challenges as HTML web pages. Luckily, there are numerous fixes for the most common accessibility roadblocks: Missing alt text Images usually add to a visitor's contextual experience; however, they can be highly problematic for blind and low-vision persons who rely on screen readers -- user-side software that reads a pages text aloud and helps users navigate around the page. When a photo lacks a meaningful alternate text -- known as alt text -- the screen reader may read out "image623.jpg" or another equally unhelpful file name. Even more descriptive alt text like "increase in Massachusetts COVID-19 cases" fails to detail the results of the chart for someone who cannot see the graphic. Either situation can be frustrating to those who are blind or have vision impairments, but such scenarios are unfortunately very common. The use of clear, easy to understand alt text is straightforward. In cases where images convey information, alt text must go beyond describing what an image is and actually describe its content or purpose. For example, effective alt text for a chart image would be "chart showing 3% increase in Massachusetts COVID-19 cases in January." As a guideline, if the alt text does not make it easy to understand what an image is conveying, it is not clear and simple enough. Improper headings A well-structured PDF, including proper heading tags (not just large text) enhances accessibility for all. Headings provide structure and function as an outline for a document. A PDF without headings is like a textbook without a table of contents, chapters and page numbers. Users who lose their place would have to re-read page the entire file to find where they left off. This is what many people with disabilities encounter when attempting to navigate electronic documents using screen readers. Documents devoid of headings force a screen-reader user to listen to the contents from top to bottom to understand it. With properly formatted headings, a screen-reader users can skim through headings and subheadings to quickly determine what content in a document is relevant. Headings should be numbered in a way that represents increasing degrees of indentation, enabling those using screen readers to easily conceptualize the outline of the document. Improper semantic mark-up for forms and lists Lists can be a useful way to organize information. When a screen reader comes to a properly marked up list within a document, it will notify the user to the list and say how many items are in it as a way to orient the information. This is a better approach than a fake list that has been styled to look like a list by using the line break element. When the screen reader comes upon this type of content, it will not announce that its a list. This practice may be acceptable for short lists, but it would be confusing for screen-reader users coming upon a very long list without knowing what to expect. Additionally, when agency content creators build a PDF form, they should listen to how a screen reader interprets it. If it sounds odd, the form structure likely needs changed. Screen readers and/or keyboard-only users will have problems if forms do not contain clearly labeled form fields and buttons. All elements of a form such as instructions, cues, required fields and field formatting requirements should be clearly identified. The order of elements should be logical and accessible, which is especially essential for assistive technologies that navigate by using the tab key to jump to the next element. Besides these key points, there are easy ways agencies can ensure their PDFs are more accessible. First, whenever possible, content reviews should be done in Microsoft Office, because Office 365 and Office 2016 have built-in accessibility checkers. When using PDFs as a final form, agencies should convert these files directly from these authoring sources. Adobe Acrobat features a wizard which can get about 25% of the way to an accessible document. Digitally accessible documents like PDFs are just as important as accessible web pages. It is vital that content creators are educated and organizations place an equal emphasis on the content contained within a site and that disseminated via electronic means. Even the most accessible websites may be of little help if their most critical documents are not assistive technology-friendly, which is why all content creators should be educated in accessibility basics. A group of hackers named Advanced Persistent Threat 69420 stated that they had accessed a massive pile of security-camera data collected by Silicon Valley startup Verkada Inc. On Wednesday, Twitter has blocked a member of the said group who claimed responsibility for breaching the security camera company. Twitter Blocked Member of Advance Persistent Threat 69420 Newsweek reported that the Twitter accoiunt of a member of the Advanced Persistent Threat 69420 Twitter has been suspended. The group member named Tillie Kottman was removed from the social media platform after the group disclosed how it had access to live feeds from more than 150,000 of Verkada's security cameras. Verkada claims to offer "powerful security technology" and says that all of its cameras comes with artificial intelligence-powered analytics, giving its customers the ability to conduct facial recognition, vehicle detection, and heatmaps. In 2019, the company stated in its blog post that users could search and filter based on many different attributes, including gender traits, clothing color and even a person's face. The Advanced Persistent Threat 69420 Group Bloomberg first reported the hacking and showed footage exposing a variety of users, including police departments, prisons, schools, hospitals, and businesses, with the most high-profile appearing to be Tesla and Cloudflare. Kottman told the publication that the hacking had infiltrated Verkada's network via super admin account after credentials were left vulnerable. That gave the group control over the cameras, meaning they could easily be accessed and viewed. Also Read: Dangerous Hackers Who Were Eventually Hired To Work For Major Companies This hacking method showed the type of impact on email-based breachings, such as spear-phishing attacks that use social engineering to fool a company's employees to hand over credentials. The hacker added that data was carried out by an international hacker collective and was intended to show the pervasiveness of video surveillance and the ease with which systems could be broken into. Kottman stated the reason for its group's actions was curiosity, fighting for the freedom of information and against intellectual property, a dose of anti-capitalism, anarchism and also "just too much fun not to do it." Tillie Kottman is one of the hackers responsible for breaching chipmaker Intel Corp. and carmaker Nissan Motor Inc. Places the APT 68420 Hacked The Advanced Persistent Threat 69420 claimed that the group had hacked security cameras from inside Florida hospital Halifax Health, appearing to show eight hospital staffs pinning down a man and then restraining him to bed. The hacker group also found their way into a Tesla production factory in Shanghai, showing workers on an assembly line. The hackers claimed that they had controlled over 200 cameras in the facility and warehouses. The APT 69420 had access to a police station in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Besides that, the hackers had also breached the security cameras of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Alabama; cameras of multiple locations of the luxury gym chain Equinox; surveillance footage from the ICU of Wadley Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Texarkana, Texas; and cameras at Tempe St. Luke's Hospital in Arizona. Related Article: The Most Dangerous Cyber Criminals Of All Time Heeia River area road is flooded, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Torrential rains have inundated parts of Hawaii for the past several days. (Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP) Heavy rains are part of the winter wet season in Hawaiian Islands. But the downpours triggering flooding that destroyed homes and bridges and set off mass evacuations on multiple islands this week are also an example of the more intense rainstorms officials and climate scientists say are occurring more frequently as the planet warms. Two key ingredients came together in Hawaii in recent days to deliver the rain: an upper-level disturbance and extra moisture in the lower layers of the atmosphere. The downpours first affected Maui, moved northward up the island chain to Oahu and Kauai, then circled around and hit the southernmost part of the Big Island. Meteorologists on Wednesday extended a flash flood watch for the entire state through Friday because of the potential for more rain and because the ground was already saturated. The onslaught destroyed and heavily damaged two Maui bridges, along with at least six homes on the island. The rain filled a 138-year-old reservoir once used to irrigate sugar plantation fields that has recently been kept empty as its owners prepare to dismantle it this summer. So much water accumulated it started overflowing from the 57-foot (17.4-meter) high structure at one point Monday, and county officials ordered people downstream to evacuate amid fears the earthen dam could breach. Ultimately, the reservoir didn't fail, and water levels dropped as the rain let up. A house on Haleiwa Road is surrounded by floodwaters Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Torrential rains have inundated parts of Hawaii for the past several days. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP) The National Weather Service reported 13.2 inches (33.5 centimeters) fell over eight hours in the vicinity of the dam in Haiku on Maui's north coast. "This is really an example of climate change in the present day," Suzanne Case, the head of the state agency that regulates the dam, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said in a statement. "We have a flood emergency because of the heavy rain bomb. And we're seeing these more and more across the island chain more frequent and more extreme events." On Oahu, flooding covered roads and yards in towns on the eastern coast. Rising waters in the Opaelua Stream, which carries waters from the mountains down to the ocean, set off an evacuation order for the small town of Haleiwa, a mecca for big-wave surfers. Honolulu firefighters on Tuesday rescued a 27-year-old man after his truck was swept down a stream. They found him standing on the truck's roof. On Wednesday, they suspended another search for an individual a witness saw in a stream in Pearl City. A bridge off Peahi Road is overcome by floodwaters above the Kaupakalua Reservoir and Dam after heavy rainfall on Monday in Haiku, Maui, Hawaii, on Monday, March 8, 2021. Heavy rains caused a dam to overflow on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and and nearby residents in the community of Haiku are being evacuated, county officials said Monday.(Kehaulani Cerizo/The Maui News via AP) Overall, Hawaii has had less rain in recent decades and at times has been battling drought. Just Tuesday, the U.S. agriculture secretary approved a drought disaster declaration for parts of Maui County. A 2010 report from the University of Hawaii's Sea Grant College Program said rainfall declined 15% over the prior 20 years. Yet the same report said between 1958 and 2007, rain events with the heaviest downpours increased 12%, underscoring that more intense rainstorms are growing in number. Pao-Shin Chu, a University of Hawaii professor and the state's climatologist, said theoretical studies suggest that for every one-degree Celsius increase in sea surface temperatures, there is likely to be a 7% increase in atmospheric moisture. Hawaii is experiencing some of this increased moisture already. In 2018, Kauai set a national record for the amount of rain recorded in a 24-hour period when 49.69 inches (1.26 meters) fell from April 14 to April 15. The same storm set off landslides and blocked the only highway connecting small Kauai north shore towns to the rest of the island. People stand at the edge of floodwaters along Haleiwa Road on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Torrential rains have inundated parts of Hawaii for the past several days. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP) A mudslide leaves Kamehameha Highway coated near Pokole Point on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, near Kahaluu, Hawaii. The entire state was under a flash flood watch amid heavy rains expected to last through Wednesday morning. (Craig T. Kojima/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP) Floodwaters sweep over Hana Highway near West Kuiaha Road in Haiku, Maui, Hawaii, on Monday, March 8, 2021. Heavy rains caused a dam to overflow on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and and nearby residents in the community of Haiku are being evacuated, county officials said Monday.(Kehaulani Cerizo/The Maui News via AP) The frequency of intense rains like that one and this week's are an indication people should be prepared for such events more often, Chu said. "Don't think that this is like a once-in-a-hundred-years event that you'll only see once in your lifetime. It is changing," Chu said. Less time is lapsing between them, he said. "So it could be once every 30 years. Who knows?" Chu said. To better prepare for future disasters, he said it will be important for scientists to understand how weather was interacting with a warming climate to cause so much rain to fall in such a short period. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said the city will need to work with state partners to keep waterways clear of debris to help prevent flooding. "We need to get used to climate events like this," Blangiardi said. "A tremendous concentration of rain in a small amount of time in focused areas is going to result in flooding anywhere. If we have situations like that, then we need to really approach and attack." Explore further GPM data used to evaluate Hawaii's flooding rainfall 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A new restaurant promising epic tacos, among much more, is headed to Huntsville. Agave & Rye, a Tequila and Bourbon Hall plans to open April 28 in Bridge Street Town Centre. The interior will seat 170 guests, with 40 of those seats at the bar. Outdoor seating will be available for up to 100 guests. The look of the Huntsville location will be unique, said Agave & Rye Founder and CEO Yavonne Sarber. The interior of the restaurant will evoke a style that blends soothing and contemporary decor all unique to this location. A blue, like the sky on a summers night, will color the high, lofty ceilings, Sarber said. The restaurant plans to hire between 50 and 60 employees to take care of this large number of guests. The restaurant already is popular in seven other locations, with this being its first in Alabama. Get an advance look at what you can expect by visiting the restaurants website HERE. Sarber said the restaurant is ... built with heart and passion. We truly feel weve created an escape, and weve started calling Agave & Rye a playground. Were creating something that causes guests to want to leave their homes to experience something amazing and one-of-a-kind. Sarber said the restaurants concept walks an intriguing line between fine art and street art, which gives it the feel of urban grunge with an eclectic mix of music that spans everything from 80s pop hits to todays essential tracks. The menu itself sets Agave & Rye apart from the traditional taqueria, with traditional Mexican street favorites and unique tacos such as The Crown Jewel, featuring truffle mac n cheese and lobster, The Sensai, featuring soy and ginger kangaroo, hosin, and rice noodles; and The All Nighter, featuring duck confit. Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. SEATTLE, WA Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Small Business Management Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 210 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 210 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Small Business Management Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-small-business-management-degree-program/ 2021 Small Business Management Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Alderson Broaddus University Arizona State University Auburn University The Baptist College of Florida Bemidji State University Bluefield State College Bowling Green State University Bradley University Brandman University Brigham Young University Hawaii Bryan College Bucks County Community College Calumet College of St. Joseph Carroll University Champlain College Christian Brothers University Cleary University College of the Ozarks Columbus State Community College Concord University Coppin State University Craven Community College Crossroads College Cumberland University Delta College Dickinson State University Dillard University Great Basin College Herkimer College Illinois Central College Lake Area Technical Institute Lindenwood University Madison Area Technical College Maharishi International University Mesa Community College Milwaukee Area Technical College Mitchell Technical Institute Mohave Community College North Arkansas College North Hennepin Community College Northcentral Technical College Northern Virginia Community College Northwood University Polk State College Seminole State College Stark State College Tidewater Community College University of Arizona West Virginia State University William Woods University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. A woman pretending to be a contact tracer reached out to an Evesham Township plumber and threatened to shut down the business by falsely claiming it had not followed coronavirus isolation and cleaning protocols, authorities said. Jennifer Strumph, 32, of Evesham Township, was charged March 4 with computer crime, criminal coercion with intent to harm reputation and assuming a false identity, according to a joint statement from the Evesham Township Police and the Burlington County Prosecutors Office. An investigation that was launched late last year allegedly revealed that Strumph had contacted the unidentified business and impersonated a Burlington County Health Department contact tracer, the office said. She created a fake email address to make her impersonation believable, the office said. The business owner then paid employees more than $5,100 in overtime to comply with the requirements she set forth, police said. The criminal ruse was exposed after employees ultimately became suspicious and contacted police, who confirmed with Burlington County Health Department officials that the name Strumph had been using was not someone who was employed by the department, the office said. Strumphs motivations in the alleged scheme are still under investigation, officials said. She was arrested and released following a first appearance in Burlington County Superior Court, authorities said. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Press Release March 11, 2021 Senate adopts reso appreciating friendship, support of Abu Dhabi crown prince The Senate on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, adopted a resolution expressing its profound appreciation for the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for his gestures of compassion, concern, friendship, solidarity and support for the Filipinos in times of natural disaster and during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate President Vicente Sotto III handed over a copy of Senate Resolution No. 671 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy Charge d'Affaires Sheikh Saoud Al-Mualla. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Richard Gordon, was adopted to coincide with the birthday celebration of Sheikh Mohamed. Gordon said the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) humanitarian mission arrived in the country in January 2020 upon the directive of Sheikh Mohamed to assist the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) in providing assistance to Filipinos affected by the Taal Volcano eruption. He said the ERC also partnered with the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi to launch a donation drive which benefited 200,000 families displaced by the Taal eruption. According to Gordon, the ERC, also upon the directive of Sheikh Mohamed, worked with the PRC to establish a P19.9 million community health center in Dolores, Eastern Samar to serve 124,000 people affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda and rebuilt 18 schools in Eastern Samar destroyed by the same typhoon, at a cost of 17 million United Arab Emirates dirhams to accommodate 9,828 students in 102 classrooms with 15 indoor playgrounds and 12 auditoriums. The UAE leadership also dispatched a special flight to the Philippines on April 29, 2020 to transport seven metric tons of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and medical aid that benefitted 7,000 medical frontliners in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Gordon said the UAE, upon the directive of the crown prince, also allocated $9.5 million in humanitarian assistance for the victims of Typhoon Rolly on November 3, 2020 and dispatched a delegation to the Philippines to study on how best to provide assistance in the aftermath of the Category 5 super typhoon. "His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has, on many occasions, given the highest honor to Filipino medical frontliners serving in the fight against coronavirus in the UAE, calling them personally, checking on their conditions, and assuring them of his support," Gordon said. He said Filipinos felt the care and commitment of the UAE leadership through the benevolent policy of providing free COVID vaccination to all UAE residents, including 700,000 Filipinos working in the host country. "The Senate recognizes with deep appreciation the continued friendship of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and for extolling the heroism of Filipinos in the UAE in a genuine and humanitarian manner, through public media, for their contributions as an integral part of the UAE society in overcoming the challenges of the pandemic, thus further strengthening and deepening the friendly relations that long existed between our two peoples and our two nations," Gordon said. A state judge ruled on March 10 that Texas can remove Planned Parenthood and its affiliates from its Medicaid program. Texas had previously given Medicaid recipients using Planned Parenthood a Feb. 3 deadline to find new health care providers. Planned Parenthood challenged that in its recent lawsuit, which argued that the state didnt follow the law when it issued a 30-day notice of termination to the organization. Judge Lora Livingston from Travis County said in her ruling that the groups were unable to demonstrate their claim that the state had failed to provide proper notice in January when it gave the organization a deadline to find new health care providers, according to Austin American Stateman. This decision is not made lightly, the ruling stated, according to media outlets that have reviewed the ruling. In the light of the ongoing public health crisis, the risks of the individual losing health care and medical attention requires increased attention and scrutiny. The facts underlying the termination, in this case, give me great pause. However, Relators selected the federal courts as the forum to contest the merits of their claims, and they are now not able to revive their administrative remedies as the deadline to seek that relief has long since passed. The merits of their claims must be determined by the federal courts. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in 2020 that Texas and Louisiana could withhold taxpayer funds from Planned Parenthood clinics. At the time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton welcomed the ruling, saying that the appeals court correctly rejected Planned Parenthoods efforts to prevent Texas from excluding them from the states Medicaid program. Undercover video plainly showed Planned Parenthood admitting to morally bankrupt and unlawful conduct, including violations of federal law by manipulating the timing and methods of abortions to obtain fetal tissue for their own research, he said. He added that the organization isnt a qualified provider under the Medicaid Act, and shouldnt receive funding through the states Medicaid program. The organization was previously the subject of a scandal after the nonprofit Center for Medical Progress released covertly shot videos of its undercover investigation, which showed Planned Parenthood executives discussing the practice of providing body parts of aborted babies for research. The organization has disputed the claims. Following the federal court ruling, the state gave Planned Parenthood and its affiliates a deadline to find new health care providers. The pro-abortion organization subsequently filed an emergency request to the state court on Feb. 3 to prevent Texas from going through with its decision to withhold federal funding to Planned Parenthood clinics, which provide wider access to abortion, birth control, and other procedures. The judge at the time agreed to grant a temporary restraining order that delayed the state from withholding funds from Planned Parenthood. Dyana Limon-Mercado, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, responded to the ruling by accusing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of failing to do whats best for the people of Texas. The 8,000 Planned Parenthood patients who rely on Medicaid should be able to access care at the provider they know and trust. Planned Parenthood will do everything it can to protect and fight for its patients, Limon-Mercado said in the statement. Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin led the countdown Wednesday night as the neon sign was turned on at the historic A.G. Gaston Motel adjacent to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Its the motel where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed and led strategy sessions for civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham in the spring of 1963. On May 12, 1963, two bombs exploded near Kings room, destroying most of the motels facade. Woodfin joined representatives from the city and the National Park Service to light the sign, marking the completion of Phase 1 of the restoration of the historic site. The A.G. Gaston motel sign served as a beacon to black families traveling through the segregated South, Woodfin said. Its a sign that will now shine in remembrance of Dr. A.G. Gastons legacy a legacy of black prosperity, equal opportunity, Southern hospitality and freedom. The A.G. Gaston Motel is included in the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, which was established in 2017 by President Barack Obama. A multi-phase restoration began in 2019 on the 1954 wing of the hotel. This wing includes Room 30, known as the War Room, where Project C was strategized by King, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and other civil rights leaders. Exterior restoration of the 1954 wing is now complete. This is a major milestone in the restoration of the A.G. Gaston Motel. We now look forward to the completion of the 1968 wing and courtyard of the motel, said Denise Gilmore, senior director of the citys Division of Social Justice and Racial Equity. This affirms our collaborative partnership with the National Park Service and represents a significant step in preserving the culture and history of the civil rights movement in Birmingham. The completion of Phase 1 is an exciting achievement for all of us, said Kristofer B. Butcher, superintendent of Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. Its an important step in preserving the Gaston Motel and standing up operations and visitor services at Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. We are immensely proud of our partnership with the City of Birmingham and look forward to continuing our work together. " The original Z shaped sign on the motel was reconstructed and installed using historic photographs as a guide. Original 1954 drawings of the motel building exist but do not contain information about the original sign. The size of the sign was determined by identifying clues in the photos, such as counting brick courses and alignments with the building soffit. The lighting of the reconstructed sign is LED, which will have a longer service life and consume less energy while capturing much of the character of the original neon sign. Phase 2 restoration is currently underway on the exterior of the 1968 wing and courtyard of the motel. Work is expected to be complete in early summer 2022. The Gaston Motel opened with 32 guest rooms on June 30, 1954, in time to host guests of the National Baptist Convention Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress. Aiming to be Top Tier gold explorer Working in highly favorable mining jurisdictions Johnson Tract asset is very high grade and akin to advanced-stage discovery What Mining does: Mining Inc ( ) ( ) has two wholly-owned projects, which are found in the well-established mining jurisdictions of Alaska and Timmins, Ontario Management has a track record of finding, growing, and advancing mineral resources, the company says. The company is a spin-out of the gold assets of Constantine Metal Resources and its shares began trading on Toronto's Venture exchange in September, 2019. Shares also began trading in January, 2020 on the US over-the-counter market. The flagship property is the high-grade polymetallic Johnson Tract gold project in southcentral Alaska, which the firm says has 'tremendous' exploration upside potential. This asset was acquired as part of a lease agreement with CIRI, a native Alaskan firm. is targeting a potential multi-million ounce, multi-deposit system. Under a lease deal, must pay US$10 million over 10 years with a minimum of US$7.5 million payable in the first six years. Upon completing a feasibility study and a positive decision to construct a mine, CIRI has a one-time buy back-in right to a 25% participating interest. Elsewhere, at the famous 100-plus million ounce Timmins gold mining camp in Canada, has a strategic footprint of 200 square kilometres (km) in an area along the Porcupine-Destor Fault, which has generated over 110 million ounces. The firm wants to apply new exploration ideas to a mature district. Its main Munro Croesus property area in Timmins now spans 32 square kilometres, or 3,187 hectares, and includes the past-producing Croesus mine that yielded some of the highest grade gold mined in Ontario. Elsewhere, the company's Golden Mile property covers 8,600 hectares on the Pipestone Fault System and lies 9km from Newmont's multi-million-ounce Hoyle Pond deposit, while the Golden Perimeter property covers around 12,000 hectares and played host to around 10,000 meters (m) of past drilling in the 1980s. How is it doing: Last year, HighGold unveiled a maiden resource for Johnson Tract which positioned the property as among the highest-grade undeveloped gold projects in North America. Notably, it is open for expansion. The higher confidence Indicated resource was 2.1 million tons grading an impressive 10.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 750,000 gold equivalent ounces. The NI 43 101 Inferred resource was pegged at 600,000 tons of 7.2 g/t for 134,000 gold equivalent ounces. Notably, nearly 80% of the total resource tonnage is in the Indicated category, including 85% of the total gold equivalent ounces. And this year, the company has already released some eye-catching exploration results from Johnson Tract. In January, the company said drill assays from last year's program of 16,418 metres (m) in 32 holes underlined the potential to expand the resource at the JT deposIt, showing up-plunge extents of the deposit and also a continuity of the deeper Footwall Copper-Silver Zone (FCZ). And on February 11, it announced the discovery of a new high-grade silver-gold-zinc vein field four kilometers (km) northeast of the JT deposit (JT) at the Johnson Tract project, which augurs well for the potential of the property's wider 21,000 acre area. Sampling at the Difficult Creek (DC) prospect had uncovered the new field over a 250 metre (m) by 700m area, with assays including 1,800 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 0.4 g/t gold and 0.5% zinc in a rock grab sample, it revealed. Most recently, the explorer has said drilling at its Northeast Offset (NEO) target at its flagship Johnson Tract project in Alaska, had shown the area to be a distinct mineralized zone separate from the JT deposit. Its released assays hail from two holes, which showed significantly new VMS-style mineralization in one, with highlights including 7.8 meters (m) at 6.1% zinc, 1.6% lead, 0.2% copper, 0.7 g/t gold and 36 g/t silver. The company said drilling of this more easterly target this year will focus along a 600m long gap between the main JT Deposit and NEO, which has, as yet, been subject to little to no testing. In March, HighGold also told investors it plans to systematically explore and generate multiple drill targets at its Munro-Croesus gold project in Timmins, Ontario, having consolidated its ground, such that its asset area now spans 32 square kilometres or 3,187 hectares. Among work already completed at Munro-Croesus is a property-wide airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey (VTEM Survey) and geological mapping, sampling and mechanical trenching of known quartz veins. Among programs now planned is a compilation of all geological and geochemical data across the new package and a ground IP geophysical survey, said HighGold. "The 2020 Phase 1 orientation drill program successfully confirmed the near-surface continuity and orientation of both the #4 Vein and #2 Vein structures as well as the potential of the near-mine environment around the historic Croesus Gold Mine workings," the company added. Inflection points: More exploration results from Alaska and Ontario Precious metals moves What the boss says: CEO Darwin Green spoke to Proactive's Steve Darling following the Northeast Offset (NEO) target drilling news and also highlighted the broader potential of the company's Alaska property. "The main deposit's open, we've got new VMS mineralization, and then further afield this is a property that has multiple other prospects that we'll also be drill testing this year," he said. Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com. New Delhi: Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar on Thursday (March 11) met with members of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) to discuss the new rules for OTT platforms. Following the meeting, Javadekar said the OTT representatives welcomed the new rules and offered a few suggestions. "In a follow up to meeting with OTT platforms, held an interaction with Digital News Publishers Association today. Discussed new rules for digital media. They welcomed the new rules & offered few suggestions which I have noted," Javadekar was quoted as saying by ANI. DNPA includes media organisations such as Times of India, Hindustan Times, NDTV, Dainik Bhaskar etc. Last week, Javadekar interacted with representatives of various OTT platforms including Alt Balaji, Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Jio, Zee5, Viacom18, Shemaroo, MxPlayer, etc. The government has done several rounds of consultation with the OTT players in the past and stressed the need for self-regulation. Javadekar said he had received representations from cinema and TV industries that while there were regulations for them, none existed for the OTT industry. It was decided that the government would come out with a progressive institutional mechanism for OTT players and develop a level playing field with the idea of self-regulation. Informing the industry representatives about the provisions of the rules, the Minister had said it merely requires them to disclose information and that there is no requirement of registration of any kind with the Ministry. He also said that a form for this will be ready soon. Furthermore, the rules focus on the self-classification of content instead of any form of censorship. Further, OTT platforms are expected to develop an effective grievance redressal mechanism. The Minister had also clarified that in the self-regulating body, no member will be appointed by the government. Live TV All told, 41 percent of Massachusetts residents who voted in the 2020 general election opted to use mail-in voting and another 23 percent voted early in-person, according to Secretary of State William Galvin's office. Australian airfares could surge by 20 per cent on pre-Covid levels after the government's widely-touted half-price holiday scheme ends, experts fear. From April 1, Australians will be able to buy airline tickets at 50 per cent off to 13 popular destinations including the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and more out-of-the way places such as Alice Springs, Kangaroo Island and Broome. Travellers will be required to travel interstate - something out of reach for months because of border closures - as part of the $1.2billion federal government subsidy package for the Covid-hit aviation and tourism sectors. Fat Prophets head of research Greg Smith warned that after the taxpayer subsidies ended on July 31, domestic and international airfares could surge by 20 per cent on pre-Covid levels. This is because the scheme will likely allow Qantas to claw back revenue lost during the pandemic, giving it a greater market dominance over its rivals - and putting it in a better position to increase prices later. Australian airfare prices could surge by 20 per cent on pre-Covid levels after the half-price holidays end, experts fear. Pictured is a Qantas plane landing in Sydney in February 2021 Where you can fly to at half the price Gold Coast Sunshine Coast Whitsundays and Mackay region in north Queensland, home to Proserpine and Hamilton Island Lasseter and Alice Springs, central Australia Launceston, Devonport and Burnie in Tasmania Broome in Western Australia Avalon in Geelong Merimbula on the New South Wales South Coast Kangaroo Island in South Australia Advertisement 'I don't think there's going to be a price war, if anything it's going to go the other way,' Mr Smith told Daily Mail Australia. 'You could expect ticket prices to sort of go up, potentially 10 to 20 per cent - there's going to be a lot of pent-up demand.' Last year, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce bragged the flying kangaroo's market share would grow as its rival Virgin Australia shrunk to survive - meaning less competition in the market. 'In fact, over time, our domestic market share is likely to increase organically from around 60 per cent to around 70 per cent, as our main competitor changes its strategy,' he told the company's annual general meeting in October. Mr Smith said that without sufficient competition from Virgin, and more demand for air travel as borders reopened, Qantas would be in a position from August 2021 to recover its pandemic costs with higher airfares. 'If they're getting 70 per cent market share, that certainly bodes well for them and this is going to enable them to leverage that domestic recovery even more,' he said. 'Having more market share, it may be in a better place to do that. 'The industry will obviously want to recoup some of the losses they incurred in 2020.' Mr Joyce last year also lobbied the government against bailing out Virgin Australia, as it teetered on the verge of collapse before US private equity group Bain Capital bought it in September. Last year, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce bragged the flying kangaroo's market share would grow to 70 per cent as its rival Virgin Australia shrunk to survive Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka previously ran Qantas budget subsidary under Mr Joyce. Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Allan Fels, now a professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne, said the airfares subsidy would do very little to help Virgin become more competitive against Qantas. 'I wouldn't expect it to alter market shares significantly,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Mr Joyce said the airfares subsidy would cover 57 routes will be covered on the Qantas and Jetstar network. The discount means a return ticket from Sydney to Cairns which currently costs $233 could be as little as $116.50. A return between Melbourne and the Gold Coast, which is now on sale from $130, could cost just $65. Experts fear after the taxpayer subsidies end, domestic and international airfares could surge by 20 per cent on pre-Covid levels as crude oil prices increased. Pictured is Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast - one of the 13 destinations where flights are half price thanks to a $1.2billion federal government program To get their half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. The Qantas share price surged by 2.5 per cent to $5.30 on Thursday, following the federal government announcement. Mr Smith said airfares would increase as a global economic recovery pushed up crude oil prices back towards $US70 a barrel for the first time since 2019 before the pandemic. 'I'm not so sure you'll be seeing gouging - it will be costs that have to be passed on to the consumer,' he said. 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 Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Rome, March 11 : Italy will get over half a million more Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of March under a new European Union scheme, premier's office sources said after reports of new delays and shortfalls. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has negotiated the acquisition of a further four million doses from producers including BioNTech-Pfizer, the sources said, above and beyond what was already envisaged by the first quarter delivery programme. "For Italy that amounts to an additional quota of 532,000 doses which will be delivered in the last two weeks of March," the sources said. They said these additional shots would "help tackle the emergence of new contagions and variants", the Xinhua news agency reported. Italian drugs agency AIFA, meanwhile, said that a higher number of doses should be got from each phial of vaccine. And Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said that Italy must guard against infiltration of the vaccine business by criminal groups. Earn your Associate of Applied Business in Business IT (BIT) degree online from the University of Cincinnati. This program can be completed fully online, with curriculum customized to fit your schedule, interests and how quickly you want to complete your degree. Application deadline July 1, 2021. Learn More Amazon gets a new chief executive this summer. The company's founder, Jeff Bezos, plans to step down from that role and transition into a new job -- executive chair of Amazon, the company announced Tuesday. The chief of Amazon's cloud computing division, Andy Jassy (above, pictured right), will become Amazon's new chief executive. Jassy served in that post in a temporary capacity along with another Amazon executive in recent years. The change will be effective in the third quarter, which starts in July. In recent years, Bezos unofficially stepped out of the daily operations at Amazon to spend time on several other personal and business projects. He returned to head up the daily operations at Amazon when the pandemic hit. Bezos on Tuesday told employees in correspondence that his intention is "to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives" for the company built into one of the world's most valuable companies. He intends to remain as a driving force behind the company's continued innovative growth. The deep responsibility as chief executive is time consuming and leaves him little time "to put attention on anything else," Bezos explained. In his new role he will be able to stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives. That will also give him the time and energy needed to focus on his other projects that he owns or oversees. Those include the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and his other passions. Bezos said that his executive move is not about retiring. Rather, it is a result of his being "super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have." Bezos served as founder, chair, and CEO and owns an 11.1 percent stake in Amazon. In 2019, the company earned $280.5 billion in revenues and a record $11.5 billion in net profit. Amazon's financial success will no doubt see little or no negative impact from the executive changes, suggested Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. "I don't expect many, if any changes, as Bezos steps away from the CEO role. As Amazon's earnings report [yesterday] demonstrated, the company is firing on all cylinders. Jassy may be in the driver's seat as CEO, but you don't change the trajectory of a company heading in the right direction," King told the E-Commerce Times. Company Cameo News of Bezos' shift in executive status came as part of Amazon's fourth-quarter earnings report. That report offered details of Amazon exceeding Wall Street analysts' projections for both sales and profit. Despite the pandemic, the company's retail and cloud business profits soared. Amazon's stock grew nearly 69 percent in the past year. Today, the Amazon global mega marketplace is worth $1.7 trillion. Bezos' personal wealth also soared to $188 billion, which was surpassed only last month by Elon Musk, who heads Tesla and SpaceX among other companies. Bezos conceived of the warehouse concept for direct-to-consumer sales 27 years ago on a road trip to Seattle. Before that venture began, he started out founding an online bookseller with the same name in 1994. He built Amazon into a global digital storefront that sells books, household goods, cloud computing services, and other products. When the pandemic hit, the company swerved around supply chain issues. Bezos revved up its operations to meet the growing demand of consumers forced to stay home and not shop in brick and motor stores. Amazon hired 175,000 additional workers to meet the soaring consumer demand. The company faced criticism from U.S. senators and the general public for its reportedly less-than-ideal treatment of warehouse workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Why the Sudden Move? Jeff Bezos will be stepping down as CEO of Amazon following a year of record growth for the e-commerce giant for more than better time availability for Bezos, according to Jason Boyce, CEO and founder of Avenue7 Media and author of "The Amazon Jungle." This is a strategic move to avoid antitrust scrutiny, Boyce told the E-Commerce Times in a written statement. Jassy's experience as chief executive of Amazon's cloud computing division positions him to guide Amazon into more cloud services, noted Boyce. The selection of Jassy to replace Bezos could indicate what comes next for the marketing giant's business focus. "Bezos will move behind the curtain at Amazon and push poor Andy Jassy into the antitrust hot seat," said Boyce. "Jassy bleeds Amazon blue, and the company won't miss a beat. But Bezos isn't going anywhere. He'll continue to drive the vision and future of Amazon." Boyce does not expect Amazon's approach to technology to change as Jassy is a clone of Bezos. The company will continue to focus on its continuous improvement and feedback loops. Retail, especially the third-party marketplace, drives more profit dollars to Amazon's line than Amazon Web Services (AWS). This is Amazon's biggest secret, according to Boyce. Amazon hides just how profitable the third-party market is for two reasons. One is antitrust concerns, and the other is not wanting competitors to know how profitable their marketplace business is, he explained. Clarifying the Issues Jassy is an interesting choice for the CEO slot because his background aligns with Amazon's goals. He fits into how Amazon sees its future as a software services provider, according to Boyce. "Amazon is already a service and tech business. Even its marketplace could be considered a tech and services business. I believe that if Jeff Wilk hadn't stepped down, he may have become the next CEO. Since he's gone, Jassy is the next logical fit," Boyce said. Wilk, who was the chief executive of Amazon's Consumer Worldwide, announced his decision to retire recently. It is not that Andy is just an interesting choice. With Jeff Wilk stepping down, he is the only logical choice, Boyce added. Boyce expects Amazon to expand into more AI technology. Amazon will continue to iterate on its market-leading products and services, and Jeff Bezos will still be driving the vision of the company. "He's not going anywhere and will be 100 percent focused on the next five-to-10 years of Amazon, while Andy [Jassy] runs day-to-day and deals with things like antitrust and unionization," Boyce predicted. Amazon Next With Bezos stepping out of daily operations, the executive team will have to figure out where they want to expand, according to Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group. They are already exploring more vertical integration focused on buyer delivery and using drones. "Product lines like Echo continue to expand, and they are likely to brand other popular products in the future. Besides, they have to weather the antitrust challenges in front of them. Near term, these three efforts will likely consume executive focus," Enderle told the E-Commerce Times. How smoothly the executive transitions go, including who replaces Jassy, is anybody's guess. Bezos is known to be very engaged in decisions within the units he manages, Enderle noted. "We likely won't get a sense of the new CEO's real priorities until Bezos fully steps out of the CEO role in 6 months," he said. Companies rarely get through their first CEO transition well because succession is often not a priority, he offered. That is particularly the case for someone as engaged in day-to-day operations as Bezos is. "That typically makes transitions like this very painful because the CEO job is very different from any other company job," Enderle said. Defining Moments It is almost as if Bezos built Amazon and AWS for just this moment, with people and businesses shifting massively toward working and shopping online, noted Pund-IT's King. "Given the continuing disruptions of the pandemic, I expect Amazon and AWS will continue to operate in gangbusters fashion. The longer those disruptions continue, the more likely it will be that many of the Amazon-supported processes consumers and companies adopted temporarily will become permanent," he observed. 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. Midland Mayor Maureen Donker gave perhaps her most challenging State of the Address update yet on Wednesday, March 10. She was tasked with reflecting on a year which brought historic flooding and a deadly pandemic, as well as highlighting the many accomplishments Midland saw in 2020. 2020 was an unprecedented year in Midlands history, Donker said. ... It has taken self-discipline and collaboration to redefine our way of life. At last years annual luncheon event, news of the spreading novel coronavirus had just made its way to Midland and friendly elbow bumps replaced handshakes. With the events of the COVID-19 pandemic that have since unfolded, the annual Midland Business Alliance event was appropriately held in a virtual format this year. Todays event, our annual State of the City Address, was the last, large in-person event hosted by the Midland Business Alliance in 2020 on March 10. As I recall, it may well have been the last time I wore a tie before today, joked Tony Stamas, MBA president and CEO, about last years luncheon. He added, We had no idea at the time that we would be spending the next 12 months interpreting dozens of executive orders, hosting COVID-related events, engaging more than 400 communications to help support our members, create toolkits, and process over 1.3 million in grants to small businesses." Prior to Donkers speech, a grim poem filled the screen in a scrolling format that offered sentiments such as Midland is not a place where everyone thrives and I refuse to believe that last year made us stronger. However, it was then read backwards, and the carefully crafted poem became a positive message. Isnt it amazing how a shift in perspective can change everything, Donker said. That is the same shift that we saw last year, all year long, as we were faced with some incredible obstacles. She spoke about the challenges ahead, the accomplishments behind, and the initiatives underway. She highlighted city accomplishments such as conducting three elections in a pandemic, welcoming a new K-9 German Shepherd to the police department and breaking ground on the new accessible Miracle Field. And, she spoke of whats to come, such as identifying funding for sewer improvement projects and the Center City Streetscape redevelopment. Some things to look out for this year include the new Eagle Ridge Nature Preserve, the return of pedestrian plazas downtown, a new summer event Art Seen Festival and volunteer opportunities at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in July. In addition, the We Hear you Coalition will front diversity, equity and inclusion efforts this year, and the City Planning Commission will spearhead the master planning process, branded as City Modern. We are better together. We did not let the difficulties and challenges set us back, Donker said. I am so grateful to be a member of a community that is so resilient, so caring, so innovative and so determined. The Midland Area Community Foundation also presented its annual Citizenship Award on Wednesday, to Daniel Buzzell, co-owner of Ace Hardware & Sports. He is the youngest winner yet to win the award, which recognizes someone whos unselfishly committed to making Midland a better place. MACF President and CEO Sharon Mortensen, who presented the award, said Buzzell is fair, respectful and mindful of others. Daniel exemplifies what it means to be a citizen who goes about setting an example on how to carry out business in a respectful, inclusive manner, Mortensen said. His ongoing service and conduct are an example for all of us. He is also chair of Midland Downtown Business Association; engages in downtown events; and was integral to starting the popular Movies on Main series. While he always gives great ideas and solutions for downtown discussion, Daniel spends his time listening for the real problems in things and then goes about offering a way to make a difference, said someone who suggested Buzzell for the award. Unusual seismic activity in a volcanic zone near Iceland's capital Reykjavik that has been dormant for almost 800 years has left experts stumped and searching for clues as to whether an eruption is imminent. The eerie cone of Mount Keilir rises up over the lunar-like landscape, just 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Reykjavik, looming over the area now being closely monitored by vulcanologists for the first signs of an eruption. Iceland has been on high alert since last week after a series of small earthquakes and tremor pulses related to increased magma flow in the Krysuvik volcanic system, with the chances of an eruption seen as pretty likely last week. But since then, with no eruption forthcoming, doubts have arisen about whether there will be one after all. The Civil Protection Agency on Monday said "we must continue to assume there is a possibility of an eruption." "This always has to be taken seriously because it can change very fast," Thorbjorg Agustsdottir, a seismologist at Iceland GeoSurvey, told AFP. The latest data indicate the magma is just about a kilometre from the Earth's surface. "That's very shallow. This magma is most likely coming from a source of at least eight to 10 kilometres, it could even be 20-plus kilometres," said University of Iceland vulcanologist Thorvaldur Thordarson, though magma like this does not always break through the Earth's surface. According to experts, any eruption would most likely occur in a fissure located between Mount Keilir and Mount Fagradalsfjall, in an uninhabited zone that poses no risk to human life or material damage. New cycle of eruptions? Krysuvik is a so-called volcanic system, with no central volcano. The system last erupted in the 12th century, while the last eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula was in 1240. Small signs of a reawakening on the peninsula first appeared more than a year ago, but it was a large 5.7-magnitude earthquake on February 24 that signalled a major seismic event could be about to happen. Since then, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) has registered more than 34,000 tremors on the peninsula, a number unseen since digital monitoring began in 1991. Ash and steam billow out from the crater of the Grimsvotn volcano in May 2011. Photo: AFP After a two-day lull, seismic activity intensified again overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. "As we have learned, this may be going through phases, but that indeed is a very high activity level for this year," said Sara Barsotti, the IMO's volcanic hazards coordinator. Iceland is Europe's biggest and most active volcanic region, and is studied extensively by experts who have a vast monitoring network on the North Atlantic island. But the volcanic zone on the Reykjanes peninsula remains nonetheless an enigma. "We don't know how the magma systems on the Reykjanes peninsula prepare for an eruption. What kind of unrest signals are associated with this? How long does it take? We don't know. Because we've never been able to measure it," said Thordarson. But one thing is certain: in the event of an eruption, it would be a limited burst of lava, and not much ash. In other words, nothing like the 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano, whose massive plumes of ash disrupted air traffic for weeks in Europe and left millions of travellers stranded. "The eruptions on this volcanic zone, they are generally quite peaceful. These are lava effusions and not really terribly big for most of them," said Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland. Geological studies show that the tiny peninsula is home to five volcanic systems which all appear to show signs of life about every 800 years. The most recent volcanic activity in the region lasted for three centuries, with several eruptions lasting more than a decade. "We may be heading towards a new erupting period on the Reykjanes peninsula," suggested Thordarson. This would not be the first time a dormant volcanic zone reawakens in Iceland. One early morning in 1973, fountains of lava surprised inhabitants of the island of Heimaey, in the Westman Islands, erupting from a fissure just 150 metres (yards) from the town centre, in that volcano's first eruption in 5,000 years. More recently, experts warned in June 2020 that the Grimsvotn volcano under the Vatnajokull glacierIceland's most active volcanowas getting ready to erupt, but so far that has not happened. She was swamped last month by rumors that she was retiring from acting, only for her manager to deny them. And Emma Watson looked as if she was getting back into the swing of things when she visited a tailor in Beverly Hills on Wednesday to plan out her next chic ensemble. The 30-year-old Harry Potter star looked casual as she planned out her wardrobe. New look: Emma Watson, 30, was spotted out in Beverly Hills on Wednesday as she visited a tailor Emma was spotted as she left the tailor shop after spending a few hours there for a fitting. She was dressed in a relaxed and comfortable gray sweater, along with low-key black sweatpants. She had a large cream-colored handbag slung over one shoulder and kept up her casual look with black strappy sandals. The 5ft5in Little Women star showed off her slightly messy brunette bob while wearing a black mask to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. No fuss: Emma was dressed in a relaxed and comfortable gray sweater, along with low-key black sweatpants Relaxed style: She had a large cream-colored handbag slung over one shoulder and kept up her casual look with black strappy sandals Emma was seen stepping out of the shop with two gentlemen, including one with a tablet who was finishing up business with her. She also carried half of a panini out on a paper plate while she finished off her drink. Emma most recently earned critical praise for her supporting role in Greta Gerwig's critically and commercially successful adaptation of Little Women in 2019, but she hasn't had any film or television projects announced since then. New 'do: The 5ft5in Little Women star showed off her slightly messy brunette bob while wearing a black mask to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus Yum! Emma carried half of a panini out on a paper plate while she finished off her drink On the move: Emma strolled out into the sunshine beside the two gentlemen Her publicity team kicked off rumors that she was in semi-retirement after noting that she was 'dormant.' However, her manager denied those rumors later in February, explaining to EW that Emma's 'social media accounts are dormant but her career isn't.' Only days earlier, a source claimed that 'Emma has gone underground,' adding that 'she is settling down with Leo.' 'They're laying low. Maybe she wants a family,' they said. Staying safe: Everyone wore face masks in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus Time off: In February, her publicity team kicked off rumors that she was in semi-retirement after noting that she was 'dormant' after not having a role since 2019 Setting the record straight: However, her manager denied those rumors later in February, explaining to EW that Emma's 'social media accounts are dormant but her career isn't' Emma and her boyfriend Leo Robinton, who have been dating for 18 months, were rumored to have spent much of the pandemic in Ibiza, Spain, before returning to Los Angeles in January. The Bling Ring star also reportedly introduced her beau to her lawyer parents, adding to their seriousness. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the two lovebirds jetted down to Mexico to spend Valentine's Day together in the sun and heat. Little Women: Emma last graced screens in 2019 in Greta Gerwig's film adaptation of Little Women; Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen pictured Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said the proposed sale of Arm to Nvidia for 30bn was still 'very much under consideration' Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has hinted that ministers are prepared to intervene in the American takeover of British chip maker Arm. Speaking to journalists, Dowden said the proposed sale of Arm to Nvidia for 30billion was still 'very much under consideration' by officials, who are looking at whether the deal can be referred on grounds of national security. At the same time, the takeover is also being probed on competition grounds by the Competition and Markets Authority. Cambridge-based Arm, which designs microchips used in most of the world's smartphones, was bought by Japanese giant Softbank for 24billion in 2016. Critics fear Nvidia could throttle rivals' access to Arm's designs. The US firm rejects those claims. When asked whether he now regretted Arm becoming a 'plaything' of two major foreign companies, Dowden replied: 'I would not say we have dropped the ball. 'What I would say is this is a takeover situation where the Government is assessing how and whether it will exercise its power in respect of that transaction.' Diver Captures Stunning Photos of WWII Flying Fortress Wreck on the Ocean Floor off Coast of Croatia A diver has taken a set of striking images showing downed WWII planes off the coast of Croatia. One of the planes, a bomber, took its last flight in November 1944, while en route to Vienna. But before it could reach its destination, it sustained too much damage and had to be forcibly landed in the Adriatic Sea, some 50 kilometers (approx. 31 miles) from the Croatian coast. Martin Strmiska, 40, from Vietnamska, Slovakia, took a trip to Vis island, Croatia, last year, hoping to be able to photograph the B-17 bomber, dubbed the Flying Fortress, and managed to capture some jaw-dropping images from the ocean depths. A B-17 bomber wreck in the Adriatic Sea, some 50 kilometers from the Croatian coast (Caters News) Photographer Martin Strmiska has taken a set of striking images showing downed WWII planes off the coast of Croatia. (Caters News) The professional photographer and diver was able to capture the bombers ghostly remains. The images show a plane stood in time, slowly being swallowed up by the underwater biosphere. I always look for things that have a story behind them and this dive was perfect for that, Martin said. The plane went down during WWII and has been preserved incredibly well because it has just sat underwater. The remains are located near Vis island, which Martin says is quite accessible and a great location for diving. The planes wrecks are authentic, said Martin, and have been there since they crash landed nearly 80 years ago. The bomber took its last flight in November 1944 to Vienna, before taking too much damage and having to be forcibly landed in the Adriatic Sea, some 50 kilometers from the Croatian coast. (Caters News) The B-17 is very well preserved because its over 60 meters deep and absolutely beyond the limits of recreational diving, the photographer said. Because of this its basically untouched, the feeling of being under there is quite overwhelming. You constantly want to see whats behind the next corner. Because its so deep the atmosphere is really vivid, you descend down and all you see is blue until about 50 meters down when you start to see the silhouette of it. The visibility in the water is what really brings it alive. In person, one fathoms the scale of the wreck, Martin said, its enormous. Martin Strmiska made the trip to Vis island, Croatia, last year, hoping to be able to photograph the B-17 Flying Fortress. (Caters News) Scattered about, one can find amidst all the debris items such as boots belonging to the pilots. I was down there for about 90 minutes, and spent 30 minutes on the wreck, a really striking moment was seeing a pilot boot in the cockpit, Martin shared. As you swim around it you can see the wheels starting to sink into the sea bed, it made me wonder how long the opportunity to see this wreck was going to last. Martin says that at some point the wreck will be gone entirely, and he is thrilled to be able to photograph it and show the images. Strmiska managed to capture some jaw-dropping images of the giant bomber. (Caters News) The main wreck, the Boeing B-17, was developed in the 1930s and became a favorite for pilots due to its sturdy build. The bomber was nicknamed the Flying Fortress. The sturdy plane took damage and was urgently landed on water while on its way to Vienna in November 1944. Adds Martin, The great thing about a dive like this is that the dive alone isnt the main attraction of the site, being able to wonder around a moment in history that is so rich really brings the photos to life. Im always looking for things to photograph that have a tale to tell and I would definitely make a second trip here. The images show a plane stood still in time, allowing the professional photographer and diver to tour the ghostly plane in its underwater grave. (Caters News) Along with the B-17, Martin also photographed a fallen B-24 Liberator, nicknamed Tulamerican, which was discovered in 2009. This one is different, you can barely tell its a fighter plane but it made for great pictures anyway, the photographer recalled. There was something even spookier about seeing one in such poor condition and wondering what happened to it. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report. 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 at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday zeroed in on the need for family planning, saying rapid population growth made it harder for some Filipinos to observe physical distancing to prevent COVID-19 transmission. There are so many Filipinos that are crammed in the urban areasSo, at the very least, (wear) mask, face shield for the maximum protection, he said in a speech at the inauguration of development projects at the Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport in Negros Oriental. But the other (protocols), especially social distancing, I dont think we can force our people really tobecause its impossible, he added. In 2017, Duterte signed an executive order providing funds and support for family planning in a bid to make modern methods available to the poor by 2018. Four years later, the family planning program has not been fully implemented, he said, citing opposition from the Catholic Church. Lalagyan mo ng mga contraceptives, eh ayaw ng Simbahan [Youll distribute contraceptives, but the Church objects to that], he said. Its not because I want to fight the Church... But its something to [do] with the higher policy of family planning sana [hopefully]. But while he noted the difficulty, especially in densely populated areas, the President still appealed to the public to continue abiding by prescribed health protocols as advised by health experts. These include keeping at least a meter-long distance from other people and properly wearing face masks, which means both the nose and mouth are covered. In indoor spaces, the World Health Organization recommended to keep an even greater distance from others to reduce risk of infection when someone coughs, sneezes or speaks. RELATED: 9 in 10 Filipinos wear face masks, but fewer observe social distancing OCTA survey According to the Commission on Population and Development, the country's population is seen to hit 110.8 million by the end of 2021. Dr. Juan Antonio Perez, executive director, earlier noted the Philippines has one of the highest population growth rates in ASEAN, adding the long-term lockdowns and disrupted family planning services due to the pandemic may also lead to a rise in unplanned pregnancies, which may cause the population to swell at 111.1 million next year. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children The following are three more solidarity letters from the UK to the ground workers at Frankfurt Airport who went on hunger strike to defend their jobs. Use this contact form for more statements of solidarity. We will forward them to the workers and publish them on the WSWS. --- The first day of the hunger strike at Rhein-Main Airport (WSWS) As a key worker in the UK, I would like to voice my solidarity for the workers struggle in Frankfurt, Germany, against WISAG. Expressed in the principled act of a hunger strike, their protest is against unfair dismissals, wage theft, and the companys unsafe coronavirus policy. In December, fully 230 workers were arbitrarily dismissed, including 31 bus drivers denied wages since October. The hunger-striking workers slogan, Us today, you tomorrow!, is at once a warning about the immediate future and an indication of the shared nature of this struggle, based as it is on common roots. From increased wage cuts to job reductions to the worsening of working conditions, workers alike are subjected to the same conditions of exploitation and oppression under capitalismtrends witnessed globally and accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. The WISAG workers protest expresses, in a concrete form, the growing anger and outrage felt by workers the world overforced on the one hand to continue working in unsafe conditions, without necessary safety measures against the spread of the virus, and subjected on the other to intensified exploitation, in the form of job cuts and wage reductions, under cover of the pandemic. Despite this gross and explicit attack on workers, the services union Verdi, complete with leading members on the WISAG board, is attempting to confine opposition to ineffective forms (as by appealing to the Wisser family, the super-rich owners of WISAG ) and thereby eliminate its revolutionary potential (from another angle, the bourgeois media is maintaining silence and thereby segregating the protest from the broader mass of working class support). Hence the need, identified, analysed, and promoted by the WSWS, for the full, undiminished political independence of the working class, in this struggle as in all othersfrom the trade union bureaucracy, from the bourgeois parties, and from the pseudo-left formations. In solidarity, James Crump Your heroic struggle is not going unnoticed. Take heart, dont give up! You are at the forefront of a fightback against appalling worker exploitation. I applaud you. Where you lead others will follow. Fraternal greetings from Yorkshire, UK. David This is what it has come toin an attempt to keep your job you have to put your life on the line by going on hunger strike, while the employers cash in on the COVID-19 threat. And you then have to risk your life and/or your nearest and dearests lives by going into work under the threat of contracting the deadly disease. WISAG workers have to take a new course; the capitalist class cannot offer the working class a future, it has to be done away with. Unity with workers across Germany and internationally through building workers committees is the only course of action in defence of its own independent interest. John Farmer White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki arrives at a daily press briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on March 11, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) White House Still Refusing to Call Border Surge a Crisis Reporters on Thursday again pressed the White House over the surge of illegal immigrants and unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S-Mexico border as they questioned why the administration has repeatedly refused to call it a crisis. At one point in the daily briefing, Kaitlan Collinsthe chief White House Correspondent for CNNbrought up the fact that there are reportedly over 3,700 unaccompanied minors in Border Patrol custody. Collins noted many of the minors are spending on average four days in the facilities and asked press secretary Jen Psaki, How can you say thats not a crisis? What Ive conveyed is it doesnt matter what you call it, it is an enormous challenge, it is something front and center for the president, Psaki responded. While there are no final policy decisions, there are variety of actions under consideration, including identifying and assessing other licensed facilities that can help add safe capacity for these children, she added. The president is very focused and very in the weeds on the operational details here and pushing his team to take every step that can be taken to address exactly what you noted. Psaki acknowledged the facilities are not meant for permanent residence, and noted they are focused on shortening the time minors spend there. Our focus here is on getting to the roots of the issue we dont need to feel the need to play games with what its called, Psaki added. On average, over the last 21 days, Customs and Border Protection encountered 435 unaccompanied children daily, up from a previous average of around 340 children. In February, despite a week of freezing weather, Border Patrol apprehended 100,441 illegal border-crossers along the southern border, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Another 26,000 people evaded capture, according to Jaeson Jones, a former Texas Department of Public Safety captain who received the provisional CBP data from internal sources, which was reviewed by The Epoch Times. At another point in the briefing, one reporter asked Psaki for her response to the comments made recently by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Obrador said of Biden the morning after a virtual meeting with him on March 1 that: They see him as the migrant president, and so many feel theyre going to reach the United States. We need to work together to regulate the flow, because this business cant be tackled from one day to the next. Psaki in response said that Mexico is an important partner in ensuring were addressing the flow of migrants from central America through Mexico. The press secretary acknowledged there has been a large flow of children across the border, we recognize that But the facts are the vast, vast majority of people who come to our border are turned away. We certainly also recognize that because the president and our administration has made a decision that the way to humanely approach immigration is to allow for unaccompanied minors to come and be treated with humanity and be in a safe place while were trying to get them into sponsor homes, that more may have come to our border. On Wednesday, the White House expressed a desire to expand safe and legal avenues to the United States, as it announced the restarting of a program to help minors be reunited with a parent legally in the United States. Special Assistant to the President & Coordinator for the Southern Border Ambassador Roberta Jacobson announced at the time that they are restarting the Central American Minors Program, which Jacobson said helps children to be reunited with a parent who is legally in the United States. Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report. COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine following reports of the formation of blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated. Austria earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. Still, the European medicine regulator EMA said the vaccine's benefits outweighed its risks and could continue to be administered. Europe is struggling to speed up a vaccine rollout after delivery delays from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, even as a spike in cases amid a more contagious virus variant has triggered fresh lockdowns in countries like Italy and France. Denmark suspended the shots for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said. Their response was also prompted by reports "of possible serious side effects" from other European countries. "It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days in Denmark. "This is a cautionary decision," Geir Bukholm, director of infection prevention and control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), told a news conference. FHI did not say how long the suspension would last. "We ... await information to see if there is a link between the vaccination and this case with a blood clot," Bukholm said. Iceland on Thursday suspended jabs with the vaccine as it awaited the results of an investigation by the EMA. Italy, also on Thursday, said it would suspend use of an AstraZeneca batch different to the one used in Austria. Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be administered and that the cases of blood clots corresponded with the rate of such cases in the general population. Story continues "The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence," Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters. Evans added that the COVID-19 disease was very strongly associated with blood clotting. Phil Bryan, head of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said reports of blood clots so far didn't exceed what would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population. "Available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause," he said. More than 11 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine have so far been administered across the UK. In a statement, AstraZeneca said it had found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in safety data of more than 10 million records, even when considering subgroups based on age, gender, production batch or country of use. "In fact, the observed number of these types of events are significantly lower in those vaccinated than what would be expected among the general population," it added. The drugmaker said this week there had been "no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine". It said it was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support their investigation. The European Union's drug regulator, the EMA, said on Wednesday there was no evidence so far linking AstraZeneca to the two cases in Austria. It said the number of thromboembolic events - marked by the formation of blood clots - in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine was no higher than that seen in the general population, with 22 cases reported among the 3 million people who have received the shot as of March 9. EMA said it understood the decision by Denmark and Norway was taken as a precaution. Four other countries - Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia - have stopped inoculations from the batch while investigations continue, the EMA said. The batch of 1 million doses went to 17 EU countries. Swedish authorities said they did not find sufficient evidence to stop vaccination with AstraZeneca's jab. "There is nothing to indicate that the vaccine causes this type of blood clots," Veronica Arthurson, head of drug safety at the Swedish Medical Products Agency, told a news conference. The Danish Medicines Agency said it had launched an investigation into the vaccine together with corresponding agencies in other EU countries and the EMA. So far, 138,148 Danes have received a shot with AstraZeneca's vaccine in a country of 5.8 million. The Nordic country, which also uses vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, is set to receive 2.6 million doses from AstraZeneca over the coming months. Denmark's Health Authority said the final date for when it expects all Danes to have been fully vaccinated would be pushed back by four weeks to Aug. 15. Spain on Thursday said it had not registered any cases of blood clots related to AstraZeneca's vaccine so far and would continue administering the shots. (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen, and Victoria Klesty in Oslo; Additional reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, Crispian Balmer in Rome and Kate Kelland in London. Editing by Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie and Bernadette Baum) Shortly after President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill into law on Thursday, Americans got some word on when they can expect to see their $1,400 stimulus payments. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said some people could start to see direct deposits of their payments as soon as this weekend, March 13 and 14. Psaki said the IRS is building on lessons learned from previous rounds to increase the number of households that will get electronic payments, which are substantially faster than checks. While it took about two weeks for the first stimulus payments to go out via direct deposit last April, the second stimulus payments in December went out much faster. That bill was signed into law on Dec. 27 and people started to see direct deposits just two days later. On Dec. 30, the IRS started to mail paper checks to eligible people. This time could be a little more challenging because the IRS is in the middle of the busy tax season. Its not yet known if the IRS will reopen the Get My Payment tool so people can monitor their payments delivery time, or if it will reopen the Non-Filer tool so that people who dont normally file tax returns can give the agency their direct deposit information. To get the full $1,400 payment, singles need to have adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less. Those who earn up to $80,000 would get a partial payment and above that amount, you are no longer eligible. Married couples who earn up to $150,000 are eligible for $2,800, and those who earn up to $160,000 would get a partial payment. After that, you are no longer eligible. Families will also receive $1,400 for each dependent no matter their age, so it includes college students and older relatives who didnt receive the first two stimulus payments. The payments will be based on your 2020 tax return if youve already filed one, or the IRS will use your 2019 return if thats all it has available. Use our updated stimulus calculator to see how much you may receive. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Congress seeks judicial inquiry into charges against Nitin Gadkari India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Mar 11: The Congress on Thursday demanded a judicial inquiry into the allegation that a Swedish firm gave a luxury bus to a company linked to union minister Nitin Gadkari, who has denied the charge as "malicious, fabricated and baseless". Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the reports of the bus contract scam are "indeed very disturbing". She said the prime minister who used to speak about probity in public life is today "forced to be silent. He does not even want to talk about this". "We demand a judicial inquiry into this. We demand that the Government of India take this into cognisance and issue a statement clarifying its position," she told reporters. "We demand an inquiry into this and we hope that the government will take this into cognisance and not brush it under the carpet just like many other scams under its regime...," she also said. Tamil Nadu elections 2021: TTV Dhinakaran to contest from Kovilpatti The Congress leader also released pictures of Gadkari with the company's top officials including CEO. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's office issued a statement denying the reports and said "these accusations are malicious, fabricated and baseless". "Since the entire episode of Scania bus was an internal affair of the Swedish company, the statement of Scania spokesperson has made it clear that Shri Gadkari and his family members have absolutely nothing to do with purchase or sale of any Scania bus. Nor do they have anything to do with any firm or individual who might be linked with the purchase of the bus," Gadkari's office said in a statement. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 21:15 [IST] 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. The Cisco caste discrimination case is a major milestone in the transnational anti-caste movement, Ajantha Subramanian, Indian American professor of South Asian Studies at Harvard University, said. Above: a sign in front of the Cisco Systems headquarters on Aug. 17, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) [March 11, 2021] New Survey Finds More Than Two-Thirds of Companies Leave Valuable Data Untapped While data-driven decision making is the number-one indicator of success for today's businesses, a new global study conducted by Dimensional Research for Fivetran, the leading automated data integration provider, shows organizations largely unable to leverage the ever-increasing amount of data they have on hand. According to the study, 44 percent of respondents say that key data is not yet usable for decision making and 68 percent say additional business insights can be extracted from existing data if they only had more time. This is largely attributed to inefficiencies faced by data engineers, who are responsible for transforming data throughout an organization into a format that can be easily analyzed. Fivetran is unveiling these and many other findings from an online survey of 543 data professionals across five continents during today's Data Engineer Appreciation Day, a live virtual event that brings together engineers and professionals from around the globe to discuss the state of the industry, share valuable insights, and celebrate data engineers. Inefficiencies are blamed for data engineers' woes. According to the survey: Nearly all participants (98 percent) have problems building pipelines to access their data. 98 percent of participants also say their pipelines break, with 51 percent stating it happens more frequently than once a month. Respondents who reported pipelines breaking daily cite source availability and data schema changes as the top reasons. "Data engineers are the forces behind revenue-impacting business decisions, yet they are still burdened by the limitations of brittle, hard-to-maintain data pipelines. Companies should be aware of the challenges these valuable employees face so they can deliver reliable data more easily to business stakeholders," said George Fraser, CEO of Fivetran. "Fivetran provides reliable access to data through fully managed data pipelines and SQL transformations -- with 99.9 percent guaranteed uptime. This allows companies to put data to work and make decisions faster, instead of spending valuable resources on building and maintaining pipelines themselves." For large enterprises and small-to-mid size organizations alike, having immediate and reliable access to data is critical for decision-making. The study indicates that pipeline challenges for data engineers continue to strain the process, and businesses lose out on valuable insights as a result. Additional findings from the survey include: 79 percent of companies plan to hire more data engineers within the next year 72 percent of organizations move source data daily or more frequently 59 percent of companies use 11 or more data sources 91 percent say source availability problems are the reason why pipelines break daily 55 percent say it takes longer than one business day to repair pipelines 86 percent use multiple solutions to build new data pipelines 41 percent say a lack of data strategy (policies, processes, standardized technology) is the top data-related challenge their organization faces To register for today's event which begins at 9:00 AM PT, please visit Data Engineer Appreciation Day 2021. For additional survey insights and images, please visit the Fivetran blog. About Fivetran Fivetran, the leader in automated data integration, delivers ready-to-use connectors that automatically adapt as schemas and APIs change, ensuring consistent, reliable access to data. Fivetran improves the accuracy of data-driven decisions by continuously synchronizing data from source applications to any destination, allowing analysts to work with the freshest possible data. To accelerate analytics, Fivetran automates in-warehouse transformations and programmatically manages ready-to-query schemas. Fivetran is headquartered in Oakland, California, with offices around the globe. For more information, visit fivetran.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005295/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children Winston Watusi Music Plus I have all sorts of titbits for you this week: reviews, gigs, gossip... yep it's more action-packed than an Oprah interview. First up, let's revisit the past couple of weeks, during which I've written about Grant Haua and the band Electric Universe, both of whom are making waves with extraordinary on-line numbers and, in Grant's case, sales and praise across Europe for his new album Awa Blues. It has now occupied the top spot in both Germany and the Netherlands blues charts while being chosen as Album Of The Week in France's Rolling Stone magazine. Being a public-minded type I inserted the RS review into Google translate with the thought of sharing it. I figure this could be instructive, a view of how well-heeled Europeans see us poor antipodean cousins. The whole thing is a bit long but here's the second half: Elevated and haunting, the twelve songs that make up Awa Blues mix blues roots, rock groove and Cajun music. His fluid playing and his virtuosity on the neck of his six strings, inspired by Albert King or Robert Cray, made of clawed riffs and resounding slaps, naturally prevail on "Got Something" or "Addiction". His texts tattooed with a hot iron, haunted by Maori culture, stick to your skin (This Is Place), carried by a powerful voice that harpoons you in a lap, like the meeting of Tom Jones and John Hiatt. An "old-fashioned" blues-rock record, masterful and stunning that is already rising to the level of the best songwriters of the genre. Definitely essential. TOM JONES? Wow. That's a helluva review. The French are certainly poetic in their praise. Tom Jones? Hmmm... But I was particularly struck by: a powerful voice that harpoons you in a lap. What? I've listened to the album more than a few times so far and have yet to be harpooned in my lap. Better put it on again, just in case. Meanwhile Electric Universe are amassing praise and extraordinary listener numbers on-line with their two current 70s-inflected hard rock singles being viewed and listened to many thousands of times. And Rock Hard Mag gave second single Right On Time a 5 star review. This was their verdict: Reeks of Deep Purple and some nice clean old school production techniques... Nice work from down under. The band are barely pausing for breathe and are releasing a third single, Sometimes, on 26 of this month. Watch for the video. OK. A coupla gigs. This weekend, March 14, the wonderful Caitriona Fallon is at the Entertainers Club. If you haven't heard her you really should. Originally from Ireland, Caitriona began her singing career in Riverdance, performing lead vocals with the world touring company. That's pretty high cotton whoever you are. Her band comprises Leon Gray (piano), Aaron Wright (guitar), Wayne Melville (bass) and Marc Anderson on drums, which is a pretty impressive ensemble. A MIX It'll be a mix of a little Irish plus popular covers but the band's approach is pretty classy with some really interesting arrangements lifting them above regular cover band fare. This show has been postponed twice now but looks like it might sneak in this time between restrictions. 5pm, upstairs at the Citz Club on Cameron Rd, $15 on the door. And here's another show, one that I reckon will be sensational. At the Jam Factory next week, Saturday March 20, are Yaw Asamadu and Ozi Ozaa. Ozi Ozaa. You might be thinking... what? Here's a snippet from Phil Jackson, BBC specialist music presenter, describing Yaw Asamadu, who is a master drummer, composer, African flautist, bass guitarist and xylophone player: "A joyful and jaw dropping fusion of afro-grooves and jazz that hits you like a burst of sonic sunshine". In 2018 Ghanaian master musician Yaw Asamadu moved to New Zealand and formed a new band, which is a 9-piece outfit revelling in funk and jazz along with highlife grooves and traditional African rhythms. Led by Yaw, the band members' CVs include Batucada Sound Machine, The Jews Brothers Band, Mamaku Project, The Scribes of Ra, and many others. Things will kick off at 7pm and cost a mere $15 via Eventspronto. Automobile manufacturer Dacia announced on Wednesday that it ill open, starting with March 20, preorders for its first electric model, which will be sold in Romania with prices between 16,800 and 18,100 Euro. "Starting with March 20, Dacia will open online preorders for its "Comfort Plus" version of its first electric model. It will be available for the unbeatable price of 18,100 Euro (VAT included). Dacia Spring holds an electric engine of 33 KW (45 HP), coupled with a 26.8 KWh battery and can be charged with a household outlet of 220V, as well as at a Wall Box, or, optionally, at a DC bollard," according to a press release sent to AGERPRES. According to the same source, the model has a 230 km autonomy, according to the WLTP cycle and 305 kilometers according to the WLTP City cycle, which only contains the urban part of the approved cycle. Dacia Spring benefits from numerous safety equipment, among which: speed limiter, ABS, ESP, electronic brake force allocator, six airbags, emergency call (SOS button), automatic headlamp ignition and emergency automatic braking. The warranty offered is 3 years or 100,000 kilometers for the vehicle and 8 years or 120,000 kilometers for the electric battery. "Preorders will be opened later for the "Comfort" version, available for the price of 16,800 Euro (VAT included). A variant targeted to fleet clients will also be available for the same price: 16,800 Euro (VAT included)," the car manufacturer informs, adding that Dacia Spring can be acquired by Romanian clients through the "Rabla Plus" program. The first deliveries are scheduled for the month of September 2021. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. In the early 1960s a young man was stalking people on the beach at Coney Island not with ill intent, but with a camera. He took countless pictures, the subjects unaware that they were being photographed. I liked the big, fat men, the photographer, Aaron Rose, told Popular Photography many years later. When they laid down, their bellies stuck out and bulged out. I just find it very comical, very cartoonish. But the big-bellied men, and all the others whose images he captured, need not have worried about being exposed in galleries or some museum show, at least not for more than half a century. Mr. Rose was an innovative and prolific photographer, making tens of thousands of one-of-a-kind images over the course of his career. But for most of that time he showed his work to no more than a small circle of acquaintances. Only in 1997, when he was persuaded to have some of his photographs included in the Whitney Biennial in New York, did the broader world begin to appreciate his extraordinary body of work. Even after that, though, he didnt exhibit often. The surreptitious Coney Island work didnt see the light of day until 2014, when the Museum of the City of New York exhibited 70 of the pictures in a show called In a World of Their Own: Coney Island Photographs 1961-1963. The batch of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine at the centre of an investigation by health authorities in Denmark after reports a number of people who got the jab formed blood clots was administered here in February. Two cases of people who got the vaccine forming blood clots here have been reported to the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA). Denmark has suspended the vaccine for two weeks pending a investigation. This has been followed by Norway and Iceland. Read More The European Medicines Agency said there was no evidence linking the vaccine to two cases of thromboembolic disease marked by the formation of blood clots. Asked about the situation in Ireland Dr Colm Henry, the HSE's chief clinical officer, said that "in any vaccine programme there will be events that happen that are unrelated to the vaccine programme". An event can be associated in time with vaccination, but there is not necessarily a cause or link between the two. He said the European Medicines Agency met this morning as a "matter of urgency". The agency concluded there is no signalling of thromboembolic disease linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. The investigation is ongoing. He said the batch of vaccine under review was used here around February 22. The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has had two cases of thromboembolic disease reported after the vaccine. "It happened around the time of vaccination. It does not imply a cause and effect," he added. "In any medication you are balancing risk and benefit and there are undoubted benefits to the vaccine." The HPRA will be guided by the conclusions of the assessments, he said. Earlier, HSE chief Paul Reid said a notice will go out to hospitals in the coming days to start resuming non-Covid services on a phased basis. Waiting lists have escalated as hospitals were swamped with Covid-19 patients since December leaving hundreds of thousands of patients needing outpatient and other care on hold. St James's Hospital is to resume more services for cancer patients. Mr Reid said the target for the roll-out of vaccines next week is 75,000 to 85,000. A number of weeks ago, the public expectation was that it would be 100,000 a week in March. However, this has been lowered because of a fall in delivery of doses from AstraZeneca and Moderna. He said the uncertainty over AstraZeneca supplies is hugely frustrating and, as an example, described how an expected delivery of 52,000 vaccines could end up being 10,000 with 24-hours notice. "We are being told we are missing our targets, which is bizarre," he said. He said talks are underway now around deliveries next week. Dr Henry said the direct benefit of vaccination was seen in the fall in infection and deaths in nursing homes as well as a steep reduction in cases in healthcare workers. It is expected there will be an easing of restrictions on visits to nursing homes but they will be very controlled and cautious. Levels of virus circulating are still high and we are seeing over 400 cases a day double the figures in early December after the last lockdown. A proportion of these cases will end up in hospital or intensive care. Dr Henry said work is ongoing in identifying people with underlying conditions who are at very high risk if they catch the virus. Hospitals are drawing up lists but it will also be necessary to look elsewhere, including GPs. There are believed to be around 150,000 very high-risk candidates who will be vaccinated during March and into April. So far over 100,000 people over 70 have been vaccinated. A former chemistry teacher at a suburban Chicago high school was convicted of pouring liquid nitrogen on a student and injuring him during a botched science demonstration in 2018. A jury found Garry Brodersen, 66, guilty of of reckless conduct and endangering the health or life of a child on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. Brodersen was performing a science demonstration in front of a class at Bartlett High School in May 2018 when he poured liquid nitrogen on a male student's chest and groin area, prosecutors said. The state's attorney's office said the student suffered burn injuries to a finger and his groin during the botched experiment at the school, which is located 33 miles west of Chicago. The student has fully recovered, the prosecutor's office said. Garry Broderson, who was convicted of two misdemeanor counts connected to pouring liquid nitrogen on a student during a science demonstration at a suburban Chicago high school Bartlett High chemistry teacher suspended for burning student's groin with liquid nitrogen @WGNNews at 5:00 pic.twitter.com/cCn0foHy9H Dana Rebik (@DanaRebikWGN) May 25, 2018 Both charges Broderson was convicted of are misdemeanors. The six-member jury deliberated for four hours following a two-day trial before DuPage County Judge Judge Paul Marchese. 'Mr. Brodersen displayed extremely poor judgment when he doused a student with a dangerous chemical during a science demonstration,' DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. The student, pictured, lay on the floor in the classroom during the science experiment while Broderson poured liquid nitrogen on his chest. He then poured the liquid nitrogen on the student's groin area, burning him Bartlett High School, where Garry Broderson poured liquid nitrogen on a student Authorities say the student has fully recovered The student volunteered to participate in the demonstration, but believed the nitrogen would only be poured over his chest area, not on his groin, the state attorney's office said. He lay on his back in a classroom before Brodersen poured the liquid onto his chest, followed by a larger amount onto his groin. A cellphone video reportedly showed the student jumping to his feet in pain after the chemical was poured on his groin. Nitrogen is a gas that takes a liquid form when kept between negative 196 and negative 210 degrees Celsius (negative 320 and negative 346 Fahrenheit). At those temperatures, the substance rapidly freezes skin tissue and eye fluids. Nitrogen is a gas that takes a liquid form when kept between negative 196 and negative 210 degrees Celsius (negative 320 and negative 346 Fahrenheit) Brodersen resigned from his position and voluntarily surrendered his teaching certificate in June 2018, said School District U-46, which includes Bartlett High School. 'We acted quickly to address the incident internally, recognizing the severity of the breach of conduct,' a district spokeswoman said in an email to the Chicago Tribune. The district board approved a resignation agreement with Broderson in July 2018. The Carpentersville resident remains free on bond and is scheduled to return to court March 18 for post-trial motions or sentencing. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. Electron micrograph of a negatively stained human papilloma virus (HPV) which occurs in human warts. Credit: public domain Vaccinating adults age 26 and older against the human papillomavirus (HPV)the virus that causes more than 90% of cervical cancers as well as several other cancersmay not be cost-effective, according to a new study led by researchers at the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health. "Our study found that the added health benefit of increasing the vaccination age limit beyond 26 years is minimal, and that the cost-effectiveness is much lower than in pre-adolescents, the target age group for the HPV vaccine," said Jane Kim, K.T. Li Professor of Health Economics and lead author of the study. The study will be published March 11, 2021, in PLOS Medicine. HPV vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in preventing HPV infections that are associated with cervical, anal, oropharyngeal, vulvar, vaginal, and penile cancers, as well as genital warts. Current U.S. guidelines recommend HPV vaccination for girls and boys at age 11 or 12, and catch-up vaccination for people through age 26 if they were not vaccinated when younger. For adults beyond age 26, the guidelines don't specifically recommend catch-up vaccination but suggest that, for people aged 27-45, clinicians and patients make decisions about HPV vaccination on an individual basis. The new study, undertaken to inform these national guidelines, used two mathematical modelsfrom Harvard and Cancer Council New South Wales, Australiathat simulated scenarios of extending HPV vaccination to women and men up to age 45 years. Using U.S. data, the models projected cost and health outcomes of the six HPV-associated cancers and genital warts, taking into account historical and future vaccination uptake in younger people, cervical cancer screening practices among women, vaccine efficacy, and vaccination costs. The researchers sought to determine whether the benefits of HPV vaccination at older ages would have an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) that was in line with a commonly-cited upper threshold of $200,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). QALYs are a measure of life expectancy adjusted to account for quality of life associated with health conditions and events. The researchers found that HPV vaccination beyond age 26 in the U.S. would provide limited health benefit at the population level, at a substantial cost, given current HPV vaccine prices. Their analysis showed that the ICER for vaccinating people up to age 45 years ranged from $315,700 to $440,600 per QALY gained. Kim noted that current HPV vaccines are prophylactic and therefore most effective when given prior to HPV exposure, which can happen soon after sexual initiation; once someone is exposed to HPV, the vaccine won't clear those infections. "By the time you vaccinate individuals in their 30s and 40s, many have already been exposed to HPV, so the health benefit really decreases at these older ages," she said. "It's also important to emphasize that cervical cancer screening remains an effective and cost-effective way to protect women from cervical cancer." The study results, which were previously reported to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, helped inform the committee's June 2019 recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on HPV vaccination. "Other countries that are considering extending the upper age limit of HPV vaccination to include older adults should consider the opportunity costs of doing so," said Kim. Explore further American Cancer Society updates guideline for HPV vaccination More information: Kim JJ, Simms KT, Killen J, Smith MA, Burger EA, Sy S, et al. (2021) Human papillomavirus vaccination for adults aged 30 to 45 years in the United States: A cost-effectiveness analysis. PLoS Med 18(3): e1003534. Journal information: PLoS Medicine Kim JJ, Simms KT, Killen J, Smith MA, Burger EA, Sy S, et al. (2021) Human papillomavirus vaccination for adults aged 30 to 45 years in the United States: A cost-effectiveness analysis.18(3): e1003534. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003534 Riot police officers hold down a protester as they disperse protesters in Tharkata Township on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmars military-controlled government is seeking to suppressing media coverage of protests against their seizure of power as journalists and ordinary citizens strive to keep people inside and outside of the country informed about what is happening.(AP Photo/File) Amnesty International has accused Myanmars military government of increasingly using battlefield weapons against peaceful protesters and conducting systematic, deliberate killings. Myanmar has been rocked by protests and other acts of civil disobedience since a February 1 military coup that toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi just as it was to start its second term. The coup reversed years of slow progress towards democracy in the south-east Asian nation after five decades of military rule. The military is using increasingly lethal tactics and weapons normally seen on the battlefield against peaceful protesters and bystanders across the country, Amnesty International said in a report. By verifying more than 50 videos from the ongoing crackdown, Amnesty Internationals Crisis Evidence Lab can confirm that security forces appear to be implementing planned, systematic strategies including the ramped-up use of lethal force. Many of the killings documented amount to extrajudicial executions, the report said. BREAKING: We verified more than 50 videos from the ongoing #MyanmarCoup crackdown. Today we're releasing new research which shows the military deploying their murderous methods & troops to the country's cities & towns.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar *warning: graphic content* pic.twitter.com/SXxOkaMDDC amnestypress (@amnestypress) March 11, 2021 Security forces have used live ammunition against protesters, causing the deaths of about 60 people. There were new but unconfirmed accounts of additional deaths on Wednesday and Thursday as police attempted to break up anti-coup protests in cities and towns across the country using tear gas and other weapons. As widespread protests against the takeover continue, the junta is facing a new challenge from the countrys ethnic guerrilla forces, which until recently had limited themselves to verbal denunciations of last months coup. Reports from Kachin, the northernmost state, said guerrilla forces from the Kachin ethnic minority attacked a government base on Thursday and were in turn attacked. The armed wing of the Kachin political movement is the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA. This morning in Hpakant township, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO/KIA) attacked a military council battalion based in Sezin village, and the KIO/KIAs Hpakant-based 9th Brigade and 26 battalions were attacked by helicopter. Both sides are still investigating, The 74 Media reported on Twitter. Expand Close Anti-coup protesters hold images of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Anti-coup protesters hold images of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi (AP) A Facebook page for the Kachin Liberation Media said the KIA had overrun the government outpost and seized ammunition. It warned the government against using lethal force to break up anti-coup protests in the Kachin capital, Myitkyina, where two demonstrators were killed this week. The reports could not be independently confirmed, and ethnic guerrilla armies as well as the government often release exaggerated information. However, even making such an announcement amounts to a sharp warning to the government. The Kachin actions come a few days after another ethnic guerrilla force belonging to the Karen minority announced it would protect demonstrators in territory it controlled. The Karen National Union deployed armed fighters to guard a protest in Myanmars south-eastern Tanintharyi region. Myanmar has more than a dozen ethnic guerrilla armies, mostly in border areas, a legacy of decades-old struggles for greater autonomy from the central government. Many have formal or informal ceasefire agreements with the government, but armed encounters still occur. The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously called for a reversal of the military coup that ousted Ms Suu Kyis government and strongly condemned the violence against peaceful protesters. When in doubt, turn to Jim Halpert. On Wednesday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler responded to the lawsuit threat from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with not only a statement but a tweet that included a GIF from the iconic show "The Office." In the tweet, Adler said, "From the people who brought you no water and electricity: no masks." The GIF featured showed a clip of Jim Halpert blowing air into frenemie Dwight Schrute's face. The tweet came after Paxton threatened to sue Austin health and local officials for defying Gov. Greg Abbott's mask order. Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott released a public health mandate Tuesday that ordered residents to still wear face-coverings. RELATED: Texas AG is threatening to sue Austin heath officials for enforcing face masks Escott issued the order but didn't announce how they'll enforce it, as Abbott's order explicitly says that no jurisdiction can impose jail time or other penalties for not wearing a mask. In the release, it only states complaints about non-compliance should be referred to 3-1-1 (512-974-2000). According to an existing acting order by Escott, noncompliance could result in a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,000. The order has been in place since July. Not long after, Paxton tweeted that health authorities and officials have until 6 p.m. to rescind its mask mandate or he will sue them on behalf of the State of Texas. Paxton said in his statement to Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown that the officials and their health authorities have no jurisdiction to threaten fines for non-compliance. He noted if they go to court, they will lose. READ ALSO: Mask on: Restaurants and shops in San Antonio that are keeping mask requirements In Adler's statement, he said he and Judge Brown will fight Abbott and Paxton's assault against doctors and data for as long as they possibly can. He noted they will continue to back any existing public health orders to help slow the spread in the county. "The Governor's order and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's efforts to end mask mandates creates ambiguity about masks where none should exist," he stated. "I believe leaders need to be clear and unambiguous in their communications and messaging about masking. Masks work! The Governor and Attorney General are simply wrong." Austin City Council Member Gregorio Casar also tweeted on the matter, stating "We'll see you in court" to Paxton. So far, as of Thursday morning, Paxton hasn't responded on social media to the response from Austin leaders. Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre Many of these efforts will no doubt fail to reach the ballot. But still, voters are jumping to the nuclear option awfully quickly too quickly. If you dont like Newsom, wait until the regularly scheduled election next year! to vote him out. The recall became part of the California constitution in 1911. But many believed it would be used sparingly. They hoped that the mere threat of removal from office would help keep officials in Sacramento accountable and honest and help unlock the grip of special interests, such as the Southern Pacific railroad. The recall was a tool with roots as far back as ancient Rome, and had been used in parts of Switzerland since the 19th century. I do not wish to use the recall if it is possible to avoid doing so, said Theodore Roosevelt, a supporter of the process. Woodrow Wilson also saw it as a safeguard: It is seldom used outside the municipalities. I do not remember an instance of its use on a state officer. It is merely a gun behind the door. For the first 83 years in California, only three recall elections of state elected officials successfully reached the ballot. In the subsequent 27 years, its happened seven times. Gray Davis was the first governor to be removed in California, and the second in the countrys history. Now were trying again. Based on the success of the mega performance at the Asian Culture Carnival on the stage of Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing in May 2019 a worldwide production that featured Andrea Bocelli Eltingvilles father-and-son team of Julius and Frankie Nasso were called upon again to reprise their role as co-directors. Back then, in addition to Bocellis masterful concert, performers from all the countries of Asia performed music, dance and martial arts, as well as other cultural experiences. Fast forward to 2021 and this time the international superstars performance would be virtual and broadcast directly from his home in Italy as a way to celebrate Chinese New Year the year of the ox. They asked us to produce and co-direct this amazing event this time for the Chinese New Year, said Frankie Nasso. It was virtual and the performance was done in Beijing. And Andrea Bocellis incredible performance came from his home and filmed live to China and all of the world to see live, he added. Andrea Bocelli with Frankie Nasso. (Courtesy/Frankie Nasso) And the magic that is Andrea Bocelli not only mesmerized his audience of more than 1.2 billion viewers, but was enhanced with the accompaniment of his son, Matteo, who at 23 years-old has inherited his dads musical genes. The global music icon performed O Sole Mio, followed by an original dad-and-son duet titled, Fall On Me, for Chinas national television Spring Festival Gala Evening -- a Chinese tradition since 1983 and considered the largest television broadcast event in the world. The younger Nasso whos been in the music industry for 16 years and whose directorial work has been viewed over a billion times on Youtube explains he and dad Julius were ready to travel to China to direct and present the performance live. But due to the pandemic, the country wasnt allowing foreign performers to enter. They know we have a friendship with Andrea and Matteo one that comes from many years of trust and respect, said Nasso who explains both he and his dad are grateful to be producers and co-directors for a portion of the biggest televised event that happens only once each year. Julius R. Nasso and Andrea Bocelli (Courtesy/Julius R. Nasso) Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance We are longtime friends and we do this through the love and respect we have not only for the Bocelli family but also for Chinese culture. In May a few years ago we co-directed an Asian Cultural Carnival for all the countries of Asia for music, dance, and martial arts and other cultural experiences, he continued. So this time collectively we came up with the idea for Andrea and Matteo to give fans an intimate show direct and live from the Bocelli home. And it was simply spectacular. Frankie Nasso in China. (Courtesy/Frankie Nasso) Matteo sings contemporary music extremely well, Nasso added. Hes just released a tune where he sings in Mandarin and it was his gift to China after they welcomed him to the biggest stage in the world for the Chinese New Year Gala. And he did a really did a sensational job. And the people in China are really absolutely loving it. Hes all over social media in China and the Chinese are really praising his version of the song. Nassos experiences between his own father throughout the years was indeed influential in the entire team coming together to create something spectacular between dads and their sons. Frankie Nasso and his dad, Julius R. Nasso. in China.(Courtesy/Julius R. Nasso) Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance THE NASSOS CONNECTION TO BOCELLI I first met Mr. Bocelli at a performance I attended with then co-CEOs of Warner Brothers, Terry Semel and Bob Daily, said the elder Nasso. Then 15 years later a friend of mine, Tony Renis, re-introduced us. Knowing how philanthropically-minded I was, he thought there might be some synergy between my work and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. With a mission of empowering people and communities in areas of poverty, illiteracy and distress, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation promotes and supports national and international projects that help those in need overcome barriers and reach their potential. It is perhaps best known for its work in Haiti and Italy following catastrophic earthquakes. Julius brought talent like Armand Assante and Chaz Palminteri to various events in an effort to show support and generate attention. And it was there Bocellis wife, Veronica, spoke to Jules about performing in China. Veronica said Andreas dream was to perform in the Forbidden City. But due to political and cultural factors it was too difficult to obtain permits. She knew I had contacts there and I asked her if shed like my help, he said. Bocelli said he was open to exploring a series of concerts in the country as it continued to open up towards the Western world. Entrusting Frankie Nasso, who worked in the music industry for 16 years as a head creative and video director to hundreds of artists, the pair headed to China to scout locations and determine how to proceed with a three-city tour. They made a proposal to Veronica and as they say the rest is history! CAREER HIGHLIGHTS When queried about his career as a movie producer, Julius noted: My best experience in filmmaking were three projects: After making action films I wanted to move in different genres. The first was a movie based on a book written by Evan H. Rhodes, The Prince of Central Park, a must read in many high schools across the country, a film for families since it was about a little boy who grows into early stages of adulthood. And it presented an opportunity to work with Frankie. The second highlight, he said, was producing the amazing Harry Belafontes and his life story documentary, Sing Your Song an incredible experience. Julius R. Nasso and Harry Belafonte. (Courtesy/Julius R. Nasso) Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance The society we live in today is a result of Mr. Belafontes hard work. It opened up in the biggest film festivals in the world: Sundance, Robert Redfords Berlinale Film Festival in Germany and Robert Diniros Tribeca Film Festival, just to name a few. And as a result, the film was shortlisted for the Academy Award and number 11 when selected. Frankie Nasso and Harry Belafonte. (Courtesy/Julius R. Nasso) Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance And my best achievement was being the recipient of the Maltese Cross and being knighted as a Cavaliere of the Vatican. And last but not least, working with my son Frankie on Andrea Bocellis concerts that continue to break records. Julius R. Nasso, right, is knighted by the Vatican. (Courtesy/Julius R. Nasso) Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance 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. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Nursing homes residents in Ireland will be able to receive up to two visits a week on compassionate grounds, ministers said (Danny Lawson/PA) Nursing homes residents in Ireland will be able to receive up to two visits a week on compassionate grounds, ministers said. This will be possible following two weeks after full vaccination of approximately eight out of 10 of all residents and healthcare workers in the home. There is no requirement to limit visits to less than one hour under the plan. Nursing Home Update! From 22nd March residents will be able to have 2 visits each week where there is high vaccine coverage in the Nursing Home @NursingHomesIre @DonnellyStephen @roinnslainte pic.twitter.com/L4EAgkXT6D Mary Butler TD (@MaryButlerTD) March 11, 2021 Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and the Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, said: It is recognised that the necessary public health protective measures, such as the need to reduce social contacts, has effects on social, psychological and emotional wellbeing. The availability of vaccines brings great hope and will play a critical role in protecting the population, especially those most at risk such as older people, against Covid-19. The advanced stage of the vaccination rollout in nursing homes provides an opportunity for cautious incremental changes in some public health measures, including on visiting. The new guidance incorporates early learning from the positive impact of the vaccine rollout nationally and internationally and will provide enhanced opportunity for visiting in nursing homes. To allow time for making arrangements and planning for the implementation, the rule change comes into effect from March 22. Meaningful contact with family and friends is important at all times which is why these additional grounds will be facilitated Stephen Donnelly Mr Donnelly said: While the previous guidance had provided for visiting on critical and compassionate grounds this new guidance now expands the scope of visiting on general compassionate grounds. Meaningful contact with family and friends is important at all times which is why these additional grounds will be facilitated. Compassionate grounds could be for example to see a family member or friend as prolonged absence is causing upset or for personal reasons, to make financial or other arrangements or to advocate on their behalf. Ms Butler added it had been an incredibly difficult time for those living in homes. She said: The ongoing reduction in Covid-19 cases across the community and the significant progress made in vaccinating the majority of nursing home staff and residents will now result in a loosening of current visiting restrictions. Moving forward under levels, three, four and five, residents will be able to receive two visits every week, under compassionate grounds where there is high vaccine coverage in a nursing home. Comerica Bank Appoints Summer Faussette National African American Business Development Manager Comerica Bank announced it has appointed Summer Faussette as its National African American Business Development Manager supporting its ongoing commitment to building strong relationships with African American business leaders, entrepreneurs and communities across all markets. These responsibilities are an extension of Faussettes current role as vice president, External Affairs Arizona. As National African American Business Development Manager, Faussette will collaborate with Comericas African American Business Resource Groups, Chief Diversity Officer Nate Bennett, and Chief Community Officer Irvin Ashford, Jr. on building external partnerships with African American nonprofit organizations across the banks national footprint. Summer brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge, which will benefit us as we continue to support initiatives that engage African American communities across our markets, said Ashford, Jr. Comericas hallmark is building relationships and this role will allow us to continue strengthening partnerships with nonprofits and community leaders who do so much for our communities, said Faussette. I am also honored to accept these new responsibilities and broaden Comericas reach in our communities. ADVERTISEMENT A veteran of more than 17 years in the financial services industry, Faussette will continue to oversee Arizonas Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) activities, which include CRA volunteerism, civic and community relations, internal and external CRA strategic planning, and fostering community partnerships and investments. Pivotal to the external affairs teams outreach includes the Business Bootcamps and Comerica Money $ense programs that have gone virtual since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comericas impact on local communities in 2020 was felt through the more than 110 of the business bootcamps hosted across its markets, assisting 1,250 small businesses. And, more than 35,000 low- to moderate-income individuals took part in financial education sessions and in 2021 it looks to increase its reach. In late 2020, Comerica also moved $10 million in deposits to Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), as well as established mutual mentoring relationships with these institutions. MDIs assist minority and underserved communities and foster economic viability in their communities. Specifically, Comerica allocated $2.5 million to each selected MDI, including First Independence Bank in Detroit, Mich.; Broadway Federal Bank in Los Angeles, Calif.; Unity National Bank in Houston, Texas; and Commercial Bank of California in Irvine, Calif. Summer has demonstrated a passion for working in our communities and will serve to play an instrumental role in developing ways to strengthen our racial equity efforts internally and externally, said Bennett. Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $88 billion as of Dec. 31, 2020. Customs and Border Patrol agents prepare to question a motorist at a checkpoint in Campo, California, in an undated file photo. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) CBP Confirms Some Highway Checkpoints in Arizona Closed Due to Shifting Trafficking Patterns Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed on Wednesday that some highway checkpoints in Arizona are closed. A CBP spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email on March 10 that the checkpoints were closed in January due to shifting trafficking patterns Specifically an increase in single adults in the Tucson and Three Points stations. A skeleton presence remained for security. Recently, the equipment has been removed from the sites to free up those agents to return to law enforcement duties. We expect to reopen these checkpoints as manpower and activity levels dictate, the spokesperson added. The spokesperson didnt say how many checkpoints are closed, though various media reports say three of them have been shut down. The Biden administrations southwestern border coordinator, Roberta Jacobson, told reporters during a White House briefing Wednesday that the administrations more humane immigration policies may be driving the migrant surge at the southern border and encouraging smugglers. Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was a significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand, Jacobson said. Jacobson reiterated that the U.S.Mexico border is not open, while also expressing a desire to expand safe and legal avenues to the United States. We are trying to convey to everyone in the region that we will have legal processes in the future But at the same time, you cannot come through irregular means. Its dangerous and the majority of people will be sent out of the United States because that is the truth of it, she said. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott authorized the deployment of 500 National Guard troops to the southern border due to the significant increase in illegal immigration. Border Patrol apprehended about 90,000 people in the Rio Grande Valley in all of 2020. There have already been 108,000 apprehensions so far in 2021, Abbott said. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 2, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Miss.) on March 9 criticized the Biden administration in response to a report that CBP had shut down three highway checkpoints in Arizona. How much more will it take for the Biden administration to admit there is a crisis on the border? Cruz wrote on Twitter on March 9, citing a tweet about the development in Arizona. The border is approaching full-blown crisis, and the Biden admins response is nothing, Hawley wrote on Twitter on March 9. Masooma Haq, Bowen Xiao, Allen Zhong, and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. New Delhi: Though banking activities on mobile and internet will remain uninterupted, several bank branches will remain closed on account of holidays and the upcoming proposed strike by banking associations in March. Bank unions have called for a two-day strike starting March 15, to protest against the proposed privatisation of banks. Banks will be closed for two-day strike on March 15 (Monday) and March 16 (Tuesday), while the previous two days March 13 is a second saturday while March 14 is a Sunday. Thus, to sum it up, banks will remain closed for four days in a row. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mentioned some days when the banking operations will remain closed in the month of March 2021. However, it must be noted that the bank holidays vary in various states as well not observed by all the banking companies. Banking holidays also depend on the festivals being observed in specific states or notification of specific occasions in those states. In total, banks would be closed for 5 days. Reserve Bank of India places its Holidays under three brackets --Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act; Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday; and Banks Closing of Accounts. Meanwhile, considering two second saturdays and 4 sunday weekly offs, the total number of days when bank will be closed amounts to 11. Here is an elaborate list of bank holidays falling in the month of March 2021. Check out the list. Chapchar Kut: March 5 Mahashivratri (Maha Vad-13): March 11 Bihar Divas: March 22 Holi (Second Day) - Dhuleti/Yaosang 2nd Day: March 29 Holi: March 30 Holidays of the mentioned days will be observed in various regions according to the state declared holidays, however for the gazetted holidays, banks will be closed all over the country. Live TV #mute If you keep a track of these holidays, you would be able to plan bank transaction activities in a better way. For long weekends, you can even plan your holidays well. 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. MIAMI, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medivico , a health and medical supply company delivering the highest quality products from certified manufacturers around the world, celebrates its first anniversary this month. Founded in March 2020 by Arnold Thorstad, Roberto Delli, Jay Ajmera and Nicolas Isopo in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting global PPE shortage, Medivico is the newest company within Invico , an international network of visionary and supply chain companies. Since then, Medivico has provided millions of PPE and medical supplies to government and healthcare institutions nationwide, ensuring essential workers can safely do their jobs. In the last year, Medivico has provided millions of PPE and medical supplies to government and healthcare institutions nationwide, ensuring essential workers can safely do their jobs. Following years of experience operating global supply chains, Medivico quickly became a trusted and reliable medical supplier in the United States. The team navigated a complicated logistics process as the world endured an unprecedented shortage of shipping transportation by at least 30 percent due to an equally unprecedented increase in consumer goods spending. Managing the high demand and low supply became integral to Medivico's day-to-day strategy and, in turn, increased Invico's buying power with the ability to capture the best prices to procure transportation. Additionally, Medivico donated thousands of supplies to renowned hospitals and government entities including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the State of Illinois, Advocate Hospital and St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago. "Being a new supplier in the industry proved challenging and involved significant trust building," said Thorstad, co-founder and President of Medivico and Invico. "Our ability to immediately leverage our supply chain experience and networks gave us a head start, and ultimately execute on qualified PPE deliveries, providing new and repeat buyers." Looking ahead, Medivico will continue growing its supply and customer base to support healthcare and essential workers through COVID-19 and beyond. As the vaccine is administered globally, the number of postponed or elective surgeries will return to normal and people will begin their routine doctor's visits, leading to additional healthcare supply needs. Medivico products are sourced from several countries worldwide through manufacturing facilities that hold only the highest standards and certifications to meet the needs of medical and essential workers. Products available include N95 respirators, masks, gloves, gowns, disinfectants, sanitizers and more. For more information, visit www.medivico.com . ABOUT MEDIVICO: Medivico is a health and medical supply company that delivers the highest quality medical supplies and safety products from qualified manufacturers efficiently and effectively so healthcare and essential workers can do their jobs without concern. Established in response to the growing demand for high quality PPE in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the company is backed by years of experience successfully operating supply chains across the globe and is committed to providing personal protective equipment and other healthcare supplies to ensure those on the medical frontlines continue to save lives. For more information, visit Medivico.com. MEDIA CONTACT Carleigh Rinefierd Mekky Media Relations [email protected] 614-446-2952 www.medivico.com SOURCE Medivico Related Links http://www.medivico.com FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UACJ Automotive Whitehall Industries, a leading supplier of precision extruded aluminum automotive components and assemblies, will take over the former Walgreen's distribution center in Flagstaff for a new plant that will manufacture parts for electric vehicles. The expansion of the company, based in Ludington, MI, is anticipated to bring 120 high-paying jobs to the region over the next year and 350 within five years, said Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECoNA) President & CEO Gail Jackson. "UACJ Whitehall plans to invest as much as $60 million dollars here," Jackson said, noting that the average wage at the company will be 60% higher than the County per capita income. Company President and COO David Cooper said Flagstaff was selected because it is strategically located to serve UACJ Whitehall's electric vehicle customers. "Northern Arizona makes sense for us because of location, ease of transportation, and an already well-established manufacturing sector within the community," Cooper said. "We also look forward to partnering with North Arizona University as our processes are highly automated and technical." UACJ Whitehall has begun retrofitting a portion of the Walgreen's building and is expected to start hiring employees and launch operations in April. "What a fantastic win this is for Flagstaff and our northern Arizona communities," said Governor Doug Ducey. "Our electric vehicle industry in Arizona is booming with only further opportunity on the horizon. My thanks goes to UACJ Whitehall for choosing Arizona and to all our regional and state partners for their work on this exciting announcement." A business attraction "core strike team" of the City of Flagstaff, Kinney Construction Services, Coconino County, the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) and ECoNA worked to bring the company to Flagstaff over the past five months. "Today's announcement represents a historic investment for Northern Arizona and our entire state," said ACA President & CEO Sandra Watson. "As an industry-leading producer of electric vehicle parts, UACJ Whitehall will further bolster Arizona's reputation as a global hub for electric vehicle manufacturing. We look forward to supporting UACJ Whitehall's growth and success in our state." Whitehall Industries began in 1974 manufacturing precision components for the copying and printing industry. It began aluminum extrusion operations for the auto industry in 2001. In 2016 it was acquired by UACJ Corporation, a Japanese-based aluminum manufacturer. SOURCE Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECONA) Related Links https://econa-az.com/ Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. In the midst of a pandemic, millions in the Harris County area found themselves without power during one of the most intense winter storms in Texas history last month, Winter Storm Uri, compounding the economic effects of COVID-19. On March 10, the statewide mask mandate and business capacity restrictions were lifted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Nonprofit and community organizations in Cy-Fair, such as Northwest Assistance Ministries and Cypress Assistance Ministries, work to fill in gaps for local families with food, supplies and financial assistance while recovering from the storm themselves. Food Assistance Cypress Assistance Ministries , a nonprofit for low-income families in need of assistance is seeking donations and volunteers in order to continue providing for the local community, including financial donations and help with food distribution. Janet Ryan with CAM said the nonprofit was seeing more walk-in clients soon after the storm. Residents needing assistance can come during walk-in hours from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday and Friday for aid. Appointments are required for help Monday through Wednesday. CAM is also accepting Operation Jobs clients in person, requiring they register online or by calling 281-955-5895. Operation Jobs helps clients learn how to write their resume, sign up for receiving job leads and how to interview well. CAM is also in need of financial donations to help clients with bills and food. The CAM food pantry is located at 11265 Huffmeister Rd. in Cypress. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/cypressassistance. Cy-Hope is a nonprofit benefiting low-income students in Cy-Fair ISD. Cy-Hope is in need of volunteers for bagging food each month. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/CyHopeTx. Cy-Hope Executive Director Lynda Zelenka said the nonprofit is seeing a need for plumbers, water and food from clients in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri. Cy-Hope will be hosting their annual Clay Shoot event at Westside Sporting Grounds, 10120 Pattison Road in Katy, on April 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants can register at www.cy-hope.org/events/cy-hope-clay-shoot . Cy-Hope is in need of volunteers for their backpack program. Sign up can be found at www.signupgenius.com/go/805054aa8aa2ea7fd0-backpack. Cy-Fair Helping Hands , a nonprofit dedicated to homeless and low-income communities, also provides food for Cy-Fair area families. On HoustonChronicle.com: Jersey Village leaders discuss unity seen during Winter Storm Uri On Monday, Thursday and the first and third Saturdays of the month Cy-Fair Helping Hands accepts donations of nonperishable foods from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the back door of their office. For more information, including how to donate, visit www.facebook.com/CYFAIRHELPINGHANDS. Northwest Assistance Ministries , or NAM, serves hundreds of in-need families a week through their onsite food pantry with both nonperishable and perishable foods and is using a drive-thru model. NAM is still accepting rent and mortgage assistance applications online at namonline.org. We can use volunteers to call clients and help in Meals on Wheels and our food pantry, Carr said. We always can use financial and food donations. NAM is providing food assistance Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at their main building and accepting donations between 8 a.m.-3 p.m. NAM is in need of food and financial donations. Frozen meat, fruit and vegetables, and canned and dry goods are needed for the food pantry. Northwest Assistance Ministries has seen a consistent increase in requests for rent and food assistance, Carr said. NAM will be hosting a food fair March 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Joanne Watford Nutrition Center. The first come, first serve event will provide free fresh groceries to families in their vehicles. Volunteers and staff will be wearing masks. The NAM Resale warehouse is also accepting donations, such as furniture and household appliances. NAM Resale warehouse will be accepting donations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. The NAM Resale Boutique, at 15555 Kuykendahl Rd., is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. NAM is also accepting registration for fall classes until June 14. For more information, visit www.namonline.org/learning. NAM is located at 15555 Kuykendahl Rd. in northwest Houston. Financial services NAM also provides financial assistance for clients needing help with bills or other expenses after losing their job due to COVID-19. Because of the way our funding is structured, our advice to our clients is to use the unemployment (payments) for your utilities, for your prescriptions, for some groceries and allow us to subsidize the rent because we can make that one payment to the landlord and get that caught up, Carr said. NAM has launched an online application process for rent and mortgage assistance, where applicants can submit all appropriate documents without visiting the nonprofit. The Training and Learning Center is also registering students for spring 2021 online classes. To check qualifications for a scholarship call 281-885-4523. Registration for the Training and Learning Center fall classes begins June 14. For more information, visit www.namonline.org. Operation Frozen Cupid: Cy-Fair Fire Department ran more than 1,800 calls during Winter Storm Uri The Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce has a community resources page, www.cyfairchamber.com/wearecyfair, where small businesses can apply for SBA loans, catch up on the most recent mandates on COVID-19 from the state government and individual instruction for navigating loan and benefits applications. For more information, visit www.cyfairchamber.com. Mental health assistance Shield Bearer counseling sessions are being held through remote teletherapy sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit works with different financial situations to provide counseling for a variety of mental health challenges including grief, abuse, addictions and relationship issues. According to the organizations Facebook page, Shield Bearer has experienced an increase in the demand for mental health services and is seeking financial donations to help the organization continue meeting clients needs. For more information, visit www.shieldbearer.org. Igniting Gods Vision Ministry Senior Pastor Floyd Smith said the 19-year-old Cy-Fair area ministry has continued to operate the recently launched Turning Peer Pressure to Peer Power program and counseling for the local community. Weve launched this ministry enough to where were already dealing with the issues they are struggling with, he said. Our goal is to save money to get our own building or land so well be able to bring them and go through the counseling process. My concern is on the counseling side and what people are going through at this time not only with the teens but also with the pandemic. Cy-Hope also offers counseling and speech therapy both in-person and through telehealth. In-person appointments require clients to wear a mask, practice social distancing and wait in their car until the beginning of the appointment. To schedule an appointment, call 713-466-1360. For more information, visit www.cy-hopecounseling.org. chevall.pryce@chron.com The three state senators representing Cayuga County have reached the conclusion that Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct. State Sens. Pam Helming, John Mannion and Peter Oberacker said late Wednesday or Thursday that Cuomo should step down. Their statements follow an Albany Times Union story detailing the latest allegations against the governor. According to the Times Union, a woman employed as an aide to Cuomo is accusing him of reaching under her blouse and groping her at the Executive Mansion late last year. The aide said that the governor requested her assistance with his phone, which is why she went to the mansion. It is the sixth allegation of sexual harassment or misconduct against Cuomo, most of which involve either current or former aides. The governor has denied the accusations. But with the increasing number of allegations, state lawmakers believe Cuomo can no longer serve as governor. Helming, R-Canandaigua, and Oberacker, R-Schenevus, joined other Senate Republicans in issuing a joint statement calling for Cuomo's resignation. In her own statement, Helming said Cuomo has "shattered the public's trust." New Delhi: After the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examinations were postponed, students took to the streets in many cities in the state and created a ruckus. A large number of students hit the streets in Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and Jalgaon. Students demanded the exams not be cancelled. The MPSC examination was scheduled to be held on Sunday (March 14). The state government postponed the examination in view of the increasing cases of coronavirus. Many students raised slogans against the government. The protests happened in Navi Peth, Pune and at Sakkardara Chowk in Nagpur. In Kolhapur too, the students created a ruckus and demanded the government to reconsider the decision to postpone the exam. A large number of students crowded the Court Chowk in Jalgaon, disrupting the movement of vehicles. Protests were also carried out at Jyotiba Phule Chowk in Aurangabad. Earlier, on Tuesday Mumbai Guardian Minister Aslam Shaikh said if coronavirus cases continue to rise in the city and the possibility of a night curfew or partial lockdown is high. Additionally, a three day 'Janata curfew' will be imposed in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district. Live TV The vessel sailing under the flag of the Comoros left the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don and was heading for Romania's Constanta. Two Ukrainian sailors out of 13 onboard have been killed as the Volgo Balt 179 vessel sunk in the Black Sea. That's according to the Romanian media outlet HotNews with reference to Grup Servicii Petroliere, which is involved in the rescue operation. One of the Ukrainians was found by the Falcon rescue ship, while another one is still at sea. Searches for another sailor are underway. The vessel sailing under the flag of the Comoros left the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don and was heading for the Romanian port of Constanta. The crew consisted of 12 men and a woman. Read alsoUkrainian Navy leaders, NATO officials meet in OdesaOf the 10 people rescued, a woman is reportedly injured, while remaining in a stable condition. The rescue operations took place poor weather conditions. All the rescued are in the hospital now, receiving the necessary assistance. The total carrying capacity of the ship was 3,500 tonnes, with the length of 114 meters, according to vesselfinder.com. Volgo Balt 179 was built in 1973. The initial information provided to News.ro by representatives of the Romanian Agency for Human Life Rescue at Sea indicated that the ship was Russian. ARSVOM officials said the ship sank in the Black Sea, about 70 nautical miles from the Constanta port. The Artemida vessel owned by ARSVOM has been dispatched to the scene. Reporting by UNIAN 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. TOKYO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Electro-Communications publishes the March 2021 issue of UEC e-Bulletin The March 2021 issue of the UEC e-Bulletin includes a video of UEC Associate Professor Yuichi Sei, describing his Web Internet of Things for analyzing data while protecting privacy. The research highlights are, 'A candidate excitonic insulator under pressure,' Kazuyuki Matsubayashi; and 'Improving the counting capability of Internet-of-Things systems,' Yuichi Sei. The Topics section describes an "Innovative outlook for treating lazy eyes: Integrating polarized spectacles and smart tablets offers promising long-term treatment for children's amblyopia". The News and Events features the Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to Japan, H.E. Mr. Rwamucyo visits UEC on 17 February 2021. March 2021 issue of UEC e-Bulletin http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/ Research Highlights http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/research-highlights/202102/a.html Solid state physics: A candidate excitonic insulator under pressure http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/research-highlights/202103/a.html Insulators, by definition, do not conduct electrical current (in theory), and have a high electrical resistivity. Still, physicists distinguish between various types of insulators, differing in how the insulating states come about. The most common insulators are materials in which electrons cannot flow freely; too much energy would be required to 'unbind' them. Other types include Anderson insulators, in which electrons are 'stuck' because of quantum interference effects, and topological insulators, which are actually conducting at their surface. But one type of insulator, the so-called excitonic insulator, is particularly special because it has never been unambiguously observed. In an excitonic insulator, a low number of normally mobile electrons spontaneously bind (to so-called electron holes, having a positive charge) and become immobile. They were predicted to exist in the 1960s, and have been looked for in experiments ever since. Recently, encouraging possible signatures of the elusive excitonic insulating state have been observed in a layered material containing tantalum, nickel and selenium, with the chemical formula Ta2NiSe5. Now, Kazuyuki Matsubayashi from the University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan, and colleagues have probed the properties of this material under pressure. Their results help to close in on settling the question whether Ta2NiSe5 is an excitonic insulator or not and excitingly, they show that it probably is. First, the researchers measured the electrical resistivity of a Ta2NiSe5 crystal along the three main (crystallographic) directions at ambient pressure while varying the temperature. For all three directions, the resistivity dropped with increasing temperature, with an anomalous 'kink' at around TC = 53 C, the alleged temperature marking the transition to the excitonic insulating state. The scientists then measured the temperature dependence of the resistivities with increasing applied pressure. Up to around 3 GPa, they obtained the same qualitative picture as before. But for higher pressures, resistivities first increased with increasing temperature, after which an anomalous decrease set in at around T* = -100 C. The results of Matsubayashi and colleagues led to two insights. First, the anomalies at Tc and T* probably have the same origin, suggesting that also at high pressure, the insulating excitonic state can develop. Second, by looking at the temperature dependence of the resistivity ratios, it becomes clear that dimensionality aspects play an important role in the formation of excitons within certain layers of atoms, the conductivity is significantly different from that in the perpendicular direction. Rightly so, the researchers concluded that "these results deserve further high-pressure study to complete the phase diagram on Ta2NiSe5" Figure: http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/topics/assets_c/202103/img1.png Caption: Pressure dependence of (a) normalized resistivity (P)/(0 GPa) and (b) anisotropy ratio at room temperature. b/a and c/a denote in-plane and inter-plane anisotropy, respectively. Solid lines are a guide to the eyes. References H. Arima et al, Resistive anisotropy of candidate excitonic insulator Ta2NiSe5 under pressure, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1609 012001, (2020) DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/1609/1/012001 Machine learning: Improving the counting capability of Internet-of-Things systems http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/research-highlights/202103/b.html Devices being able to automatically recognize objects, animals or people are becoming more and more widespread. Such automatic recognition usually involves sensors or cameras that are part of an Internet of Things (IoT) system, which connects to a neural network. Examining and classifying an object is then done based on machine-learning techniques. Quite often, the required information behind automatic recognitions is a count for example, the number of deer caught on a camera trap. Normally, the accuracy of such a count would depend on the accuracy of the machine learning model's recognition ability. For the camera trap example: if deer are recognized with low accuracy, the total deer count would also be of low accuracy. But now, Yuichi Sei and Akihiko Ohsuga from the University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan, have shown that it is possible to get good total count accuracy even with low recognition accuracy. The researchers' trick lies in using a so-called confusion matrix, a table of percentages expressing how well the IoT system can distinguish recorded objects. For example, if the objects are deer, cats and dogs, the matrix contains information on how many times a deer is correctly recognized as such, or falsely as a cat, or a dog, and so on for all possible cases. The confusion matrix comes into play after the IoT has been 'trained'. The latter means that from a large set of example images, of which the IoT is 'told' what is on it (for example a deer), the IoT's machine-learning model develops a procedure for deciding what is on a previously unseen image. Applying such a trained IoT is referred to as a baseline. Sei and Ohsuga developed a way to compensate, as effectively as possible, estimated overall counts obtained in a baseline run for errors in individual object recognitions. They applied Bayes' theorem, a mathematical formula giving the probability of an outcome taking into consideration conditional probabilities that are relevant to the outcome in question. In the case of IoT object recognition, these conditional probabilities are related to the numbers in the confusion matrix. The scientists applied their method using images of objects from a few image databases (for training, generating the confusion matrix, and testing) in six tests. On average, they found that the estimation errors were reduced by 64 % compared to the baseline runs. The work of Sei and Ohsuga is innovative. Whereas previous studies have aimed to improve the classification accuracy for each individual observation, the present study aimed to improve the accuracy of total counts instead. Figure http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/topics/assets_c/202103/img2.png Caption: Objective of the research. Reference Yuichi Sei and Akihiko Ohsuga, "Count Estimation with A Low-Accuracy Machine Learning Model", Journal: IEEE Internet of Things Journal (early access) Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1109/JIOT.2020.3038273 Researcher Video Profiles http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/researcher-video-profiles/202103/a.html Yuichi Sei Associate Professor, Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, University of Electro-Communications. Web Internet of Things for analyzing data while protecting privacy Associate Professor Yuichi Sei's research is focused on analyzing data while protecting privacy. The background is to resolve privacy issues that arise due an increasing number of businesses using personal data that is collected from individuals, including voice, viewing, health, location, and train ticket gate data. More http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/researcher-video-profiles/202103/a.html Topics http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/topics/202103/a.html Innovative outlook for treating lazy eyes Integrating polarized spectacles and smart tablets offers promising long term treatment for children's amblyopia Amblyopia also known as "lazy eye" is an eye disorder that results in poor vision of one eye. It is prevalent in children and young adults with 3% of newborn babies affected across all races. The most common treatment is covering the healthy eye with a "patch" and thereby forcing the other affected one to work harder to improve neurological connections with the brain. However, eye-patching can lead to both psychological stress and physical skin rashes. So it is challenging to encourage children to wear an eye-patch for the long periods of time that is required for effective treatment. More http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/topics/202103/a.html News and Events Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to Japan, H.E. Mr. Rwamucyo visits UEC http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/news/202103/a.html On February 17, 2021, His Excellency Mr. Ernest RWAMUCYO, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda visited the University of Electro-Communications (UEC). Read more http://www.ru.uec.ac.jp/e-bulletin/news/202103/a.html Further information University of Electro-Communications 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo 182-8585 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.uec.ac.jp/ About the University of Electro-Communications http://www.uec.ac.jp/ The University of Electro-Communications (UEC) in Tokyo is a small, luminous university at the forefront of pure and applied sciences, engineering, and technology research. Its roots go back to the Technical Institute for Wireless Commutations, which was established in 1918 by the Wireless Association to train so-called wireless engineers in maritime communications in response to the Titanic disaster in 1912. In 1949, the UEC was established as a national university by the Japanese Ministry of Education and moved in 1957 from Meguro to its current Chofu campus Tokyo. With approximately 4,000 students and 350 faculty members, UEC is regarded as a small university, but with expertise in wireless communications, laser science, robotics, informatics, and material science, to name just a few areas of research. The UEC was selected for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Program for Promoting the Enhancement of Research Universities as a result of its strengths in three main areas: optics and photonics research, where we are number one for the number of joint publications with foreign researchers; wireless communications, which reflects our roots; and materials-based research, particularly on fuel cells. Website: http://www.uec.ac.jp/ SOURCE University of Electro-Communications Anantnag, Mar 11 (UNI) Two militants, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were killed on Thursday by security forces in an encounter that ensued during a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in this south Kashmir district on Wednesday evening, official sources said. The operation was still going on when the reports last came in, they said mobile internet remained suspended since last evening as a precautionary measure to prevent rumours. Official sources said today that on a tip-off about the presence of militants, troops of Rashtriya Rifles (RR), CRPF and Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police launched a joint CASO at village Kandipora Bijbehara, Anantnag, Wednesday evening. However, when the security forces were moving towards a particular area in the village, militants hiding there opened fire with automatic weapons, they said adding security forces also retaliated ensuing in an encounter, they said. Hiding militants were repeatedly asked to surrender but they refused. Later, security forces suspended operation due to darkness to avoid any civilian killings, they said adding additional security forces were deployed in the area to foil any militant attempt to escape. Security forces also installed lights in the area to keep a close vigil. However, with the first light, this morning security forces again resumed search operation in the area. Again this morning militants were asked to surrender and they will not be harmed. However, militants refused and continued fire, they said adding security forces also retaliated. Two militants were killed, they said adding the operation is over. A senior police official told reporters at the site of the encounter that both the militants are killed. He said they belong to the JeM outfit. Meanwhile, mobile internet has been suspended in Anantnag as a precautionary measure to prevent any rumours. UNI BAS RHK1324 Government 'expecting tens of millions of doses to come through' There is to be a rapid increase in the number of people who will receive their first Covid-19 jab before the end of March, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawihas said. He added there was to be a big uplift in supply in the coming weeks which will see a surge in people receiving their first dose and many of the highest risk getting their second jab. He said that the ultimate aim was to get 95 per cent of British adults vaccinated and the offer of a jab was evergreen for people who had not yet accepted their invitation. So far 24,064,182 jabs have been given in the UK, including 1.2 million second doses. Mr Zahawi told the Women and Equalities House of Commons Committee yesterday (Wednesday) that until now supply has been finite but he was expecting tens of millions of doses to come through. He added: In the second half of March you will see a big uplift in supply. Up until now supply has been finite. Weve had good volumes but when your supply is finite you have to try and make sure that each region gets enough doses to do the cohort target. So when we were focused on [priority groups] one to four by the middle of February, we have to make sure that each region have that vaccine available to them. Now obviously as we see more and Im expecting tens of millions of doses to come through that becomes a little bit easier which allows us, for example, to double the number of pharmacies that will come online for delivery [from 200 to 400]. The whole country will see a rapid increase in the number of people getting their first dose and getting protected whilst obviously we do second dosing at the same time. It comes as: Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said he is hopeful that people will be able to travel abroad this summer but warned there were no cast iron guarantees. Greece is making plans to reopen to UK holidaymakers in May. Surge testing has been rolled out in some parts of South West London after the South African variant has been found. New research suggests that the Kent variant of the virus may be up to twice as deadly as previous strains. People are waiting up to six hours in Heathrows immigration halls because of the time coronavirus tests are taking to be carried out. Analysis of official figures show there has been 147,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has been forced to defend the Test and Trace programme after a damning report concluded that there was no clear evidence it had cut coronavirus infections. During Prime Ministers Questions, Boris Johnson backed the programme, telling MPs: Its thanks to NHS Test and Trace that were able to send kids back to school and begin cautiously and irreversibly to reopen our economy and restart our lives. Last week, Chancellor Rishi Sunaks Budget included an additional 15 billionfor Test and Trace, taking the total bill to more than 37bn over two years. But a report from the Commons Public Accounts Committee has called on the Government to justify the staggering investment of taxpayers money. Mr Zahawi said that an estimated 94 per cent of the UK adult population had said they were likely or very likely to take up the coronavirus vaccine. He said: When I took this job on back in mid-November, I think if you look at the ONS data or other published polls, vaccine positivity was in the high-70s, touching 80 per cent. Its now at 94 per cent of the UK adult population saying that they are likely or very likely to take the vaccine. He added: But in terms of uptake, this is the highest uptake I think in the history of vaccinations or any vaccine deployment in the United Kingdom. He added that as each vaccination cohort progresses, efforts will be made to recontact those in the previous group who did not take up the offer of a jab. In terms of second chance for a jab, the offer is evergreen, he said. In the sense that even if you were hesitant or you didnt go first time around, the offer is always there for every cohort that is eligible. He added that as more data becomes available on transmission, the narrative could change to encourage people to take up their jabs to protect their loved ones. As we get more and more positive data around the impact of the vaccination programme on transmission, I think that will also play into that narrative, Youre doing it because youre going to protect your family, your friends, their family and your community, he said. I think we also have to remember that were only a third of the way (through) phase one. [We will] keep refreshing and flexing our messaging as we see the evidence emerging so that we do ultimately get to where we all want to get to which is that sort of 94/95 per cent of the adult population vaccinated. These 4 Sisters Took The Same Picture For 40 Years - Don't Cry When You See The Last One!FunStoryz|Sponsored Remember Pierce Brosnan's Wife? Take A Deep Breath Before You See What She Looks Like NowCrowdy Fan|Sponsored Astra Griffin Edition.Vauxhall|Sponsored LEARN MORE A Day At The Beach Gone WrongFlight 10|Sponsored Remember Rachel Stevens From Pop Group S Club 7? 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HELPFUL LINKS Advertise Contact Us and KM offices RSS feeds Send us your story Sitemap Terms and conditions What's On Buy a Photo Privacy Policy KentOnline Kent Business KMTV My Kent Family Kent Wedding Day Destination Kent kmfm Kent Jobs Kent Homes Fresh Start Dating Local Businesses KM Digital Solutions KM Media Group LOCAL NEWS Ashford Canterbury Dartford Deal Dover Faversham Folkestone Gravesend Herne Bay Hythe Maidstone Malling Medway Romney Marsh Sandwich Sevenoaks Isle of Sheppey Sittingbourne Tenterden Thanet Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells Weald Whitstable This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) KM Group 2021 A new online system to record movements of organic manure between holdings has been launched by the Department of Agriculture. It is expected that the new system will replace the almost 16,000 paper forms submitted annually by farmers through a number of measures including: simplifying the system of reporting of movements and giving farmers access to more prompt information on their compliance with the Nitrates limits where they are exporting or importing manure. Under the Nitrates Regulations farmers are obliged to farm within the limit of 170kgs of nitrogen per hectare (or 250kgs/N/ha for those who hold an approved derogation). One of the measures farmers can take to reduce nitrate levels is to export slurry to another holding. Previously, these movements had to be declared to the Department on a paper form by December 31 annually (or October 31 for derogation holders.) On the move the Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said: This is a new development will replace the thousands of paper forms submitted to the Department annually while offering farmers a simple approach to maintaining their records. This year also saw the launch of an improved online application system for Nitrates Derogation applications. This system is open until March 31 for 2021 applications and the Department said it encourages farmers to engage with their advisors to determine if they should apply for a Nitrates Derogation. Avoiding penalties In terms of navigating the system, to use the on-line system farmers must be registered to use the Departments online portal. The exporting farmer will log the movement on the portal and a text message will issue to the importing farmer alerting them to log onto the online system to accept the movement. The minister added: The online system is aimed at simplifying the application process and assisting farmers to avoid penalties. Rather than remembering to post a form at year end, farmers can manage this though the year as the movements happen, allowing them to plan more effectively to remain within the Nitrates limits, thus avoiding penalties. Several farmers incur penalties each year because they did not submit the Record 3 Form by the deadline of December 31. To facilitate the transition, the Department said it will accept both online declarations and paper forms until July 1 this year, after which date use of the new on-line system will be mandatory. The Department will be engaging with advisors and farmers in the coming weeks to explain and bring this new facility to their attention. SEATTLE, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CareListings, the nation's most comprehensive resource for families and caregiver job seekers exploring senior living and home care options online, has launched a new portal which provides detailed nursing home and salary information for every city, state, and facility in the United States. The salary information is based upon nearly 12 billion hours of employment data systematically assembled from tens of millions of data points from annual nursing home filings with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid for fiscal years ending in 2013-2019. It builds upon the capabilities of the platform to connect families and caregiver job seekers to over 140,000 senior care providers in the United States. "Twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, pandemic or not, nurses are caring for over one million people at nursing homes every day. It is a privilege to help connect so many caregivers and nurses with great employment opportunities, but it is abundantly clear that nursing homes and other senior care employers need more help in providing livable wages to the direct care worker heroes," says the founder and CEO of CareListings, Carl Rogers. CareListings now contains salary information for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), and Registered Nurses (RN) across all U.S. states and major cities from 2013 to 2019 based on 11,954,263,238 hours of wage data reported by Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes. With a single click, anyone can see the average level of salaries being paid to caregivers and compare city-level data to state-level data. About CareListings CareListings is the nation's most comprehensive resource for families and healthcare professionals exploring senior care options online, with direct contact information for over 140,000 long-term care providers for free - including assisted living homes, home care & home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities, dialysis facilities, and other types of senior care providers. Employers hiring nurses and caregivers have the ability to update the listing information for their business, post free job listings, and browse nearby caregiver job seekers at no cost. CareListings' Premium Listings are subscription-based and allow providers to reach even more families and source more candidates directly, without referral or placement fees. Caregivers and nurses exploring nearby job opportunities in senior care can create a centralized profile on the platform and notify hiring managers of their interest in available positions. CareListings is based in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, and serves families, caregiver job seekers, and senior care employers across the United States. Learn more at carelistings.com. Media Contacts: Carl Rogers, Email: [email protected] Courtney Clayton, Email: [email protected] Related Images carelistings.png CareListings Nursing Homes, CNA, LPN/LVN, RN Salaries and Jobs on CareListings Related Links Nursing Homes CNA, LPN/LVN, RN Salaries SOURCE CareListings Related Links http://carelistings.com JERSEY CITY, N.J., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --A ElectrifAi, one of the world's leading companies in practical artificial intelligence (AI) and pre-built machine learning (ML) models, today announced that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Machine Learning Competency status in the new Applied Artificial Intelligence (Applied AI) category. This designation recognizes that ElectrifAi has demonstrated deep experience and expertise in building or integrating practical ML solutions on AWS. AWS Partners recognized as part of the AWS Machine Learning Competency expansion help customers take advantage of intelligent solutions to drive business optimization, customer revenue growth and cost reduction. This is done by creating, automating, and managing end-to-end ML workflows with machine intelligence. The AI and ML driven applications are maturing rapidly and creating new demands on enterprises. AWS is keeping pace and continuously evolving AWS Competency Programs to provide customers an ability to engage enhanced AWS Partner technology and consulting offerings. AWS launched two new Categories within the AWS Machine Learning Competency, Applied AI and ML Operations (ML Ops), to help customers easily and confidently identify and engage highly specialized AWS Partners with Applied AI and/or ML Ops capabilities. With this program expansion, customers will be able to go beyond the current data processing and data science platform capabilities and find experienced AWS Partners who will help productionize successful models (ML Ops) and find off-the-shelf packages for their business problems (Applied AI). Achieving the AWS Machine Learning Competency in the Applied AI category differentiates ElectrifAi as an AWS Partner with deep domain expertise and proven customer success. "Now more than ever, businesses are looking to transform themselves with the latest ML and AI solutions on AWS. To help customers make the right choices when finding the most qualified AWS Partner for the job, we've expanded the AWS Machine Learning Competency to help customers easily identify expert AWS Partners in the areas of Applied AI and ML Ops," said Julien Simon, Global AI & ML Evangelist, AWS. "These AWS Partners are vetted by AWS for their technology capabilities and have a solid track record of success, and we are delighted to include ElectrifAi in the launch of the new AWS Machine Learning Competency Categories. We look forward to innovating together and continuing to serve our customers with innovative and validated AWS Partner technology and consulting offerings." "We are proud and elated to earn the AWSA Machine Learning Competency designation for Applied AIA aA one of theA firstA companiesA to earn this prestigious status.A As leaders in pre-builtA machine learning models, we consider ourselvesA the vanguard ofA practical enterprise AI, which in essence isA whatA Applied AIA is all about,"A said Jim McGowan, SVP of Cloud Partners, ElectrifAi. AWS is enabling scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify AWS Partners with deep industry experience and expertise. Amazon SageMaker bringsA AI/ML capabilities that fit seamlessly into any AWS environment. ElectrifAi is designed to enhanceA Amazon SageMaker's capabilities by accelerating a client's time-to-value with pre-built (including pre-trained, pre-structured, and brand new) machine learning models. Customers can get machine learning models working in a fraction of the time it would take them toA build modelsA themselves and without the need to build additional infrastructure. As an AWS Partner, ElectrifAi customers can run their data through ElectrifAi's ML Model Factory on Amazon SageMaker without having to migrate their data from the current environment. ElectrifAi's pre-built models drive revenueA growth andA cost reduction as well as profit and performance improvement.A A "With ElectrifAi's solutions, OXIO will be able to serve its customers with the best-in-class Data Science and AI capabilities, unmatched in the telecommunications industry today. ElectrifAi's AI capabilities will help OXIO reshape the telecommunications industry as we know it by opening the door to completely new business models, and we are looking forward to broadening this cooperation in other fields," said Gilles Louwerens, Head of Customer & Business Intelligence, OXIO. About ElectrifAiaa ElectrifAi A is a global leader in business-ready machine learning models. ElectrifAi's missionais toahelp organizations change the way they work through machine learning: driving revenue uplift, costareductionaas wellaasaprofit and performance improvement. Founded in 2004,aElectrifAi boastsaseasoned industryaleadership,aaaglobal team of domain experts, andaaaproven record ofatransforming structured and unstructured data at scale.aA large library ofaAi-basedaproductsareachesaacrossabusiness functions, data systems, and teams to drive superior resultsain record time. ElectrifAi has approximately 200 data scientists, software engineers andaemployees with a proven record of dealing with over 2,000 customer implementations,a! mostly fo r Fortune 500 companies. At the heart of ElectrifAi's mission is a commitment toamakingaAi and machine learning more understandable, practical and profitable forabusinesses andaindustries across the globe. ElectrifAi is headquartered in Jersey City, withaoffices located in Shanghai and New Delhi.aa Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1321884/ElectrifAi_Logo.jpg A Angela Weiss/Getty The walls are closing in on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, despite his desperate attempts to spin things in his favor. Reports that his aides altered a state health department report to hide the number of COVID-19 deaths in New York nursing homes (after he ordered nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients) intensified calls for his resignation last week. State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says that for the good of the state he should consider resigning. And Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said its time to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York. To make matters worse, Cuomo is also reeling over allegations of a cover-up involving shoddy structural problems plaguing a bridge named after his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomonot to mention the growing list of (now five) women who have accused him of sexual harassment. The latter allegations represent morally appalling behavior given the asymmetrical power dynamic, not to mention utterly hypocritical behavior from the man who founded the Womens Equality Party, who signed with fanfare what he boasted was the nations strongest workplace anti-harassment law in 2019, and who underwent the training that the law required of all state employees before going on to give one staffer an unwanted kiss at work while trying to groom another for a sexual relation that he absurdly tried to spin as mentoring. Cuomo Is Not Your Dad. Hes Your Dads Asshole Boss Nevertheless, Cuomo is stubbornly refusing to resign, reiterating on Sunday that I was elected by the people of the state. I wasnt elected by politicians. Im not going to resign because of allegations. This line of defense is smart. Because the people elect politicians, its hard for anyone else to fire them. Just ask the Democrats who twice impeached Trump. The only real check on political leaders seems to be re-election. In my opinion, this is insufficient. Part of the problem is the death of ethics and norms. Ideally, we would have a code of honor where leaders self regulate or fall on their sword (and be publicly shamed) if they dont. But those days are long gone (to the degree they ever existed), and in the absence of a self-policing culture, its absurd to think that Cuomo will voluntarily throw himself on the pyre. He wont. From a purely Machiavellian political standpoint, Cuomo is handling this crisis just as the experts might advise. Fighting back is smarter than doing what was once considered the honorable thing. Story continues Consider, for example, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Cuomos former partner on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who (like Cuomo) was a former prosecutor. The Bridgegate scandal shut down two of three lanes on the George Washington Bridge (for political revenge) and eventually destroyed his approval ratings, but it didnt stop him from coasting to re-election two months laterand it certainly didnt force his resignation. Or consider the case of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who was only held accountable after term limits forced him out of office (and he was later convicted of corruption). Sex scandals seem to work the same way. Anyone who thinks otherwise should probably consider a comparison of Gary Hart and Bill Clinton. Hart was the presumed frontrunner in the spring of 1987, but he dropped out of the 1988 race after journalists reported on his affairs. Today, hes little more than a cautionary tale. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton, who lied and denied, left office with sky-high approval ratings. A more recent case study involves the stories of former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. (Unlike the Cuomo scandal, the Northam and Franken offenses were both committed before they held public office.) Franken, as you might recall, was accused in 2017 by a talk radio host and former model of giving an unwanted kiss. There was also a photo of her sleeping while on a USO tour, which showed Franken (who was then a comedian) pretending to grope her as she slept. Several other women (some of whom remained anonymous) came forward to allege similar charges. Amid the Believe Women #Me Too zeitgeist, almost all of Frankens Senate colleagues, led by New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, called on him to resignand he did. After a New Yorker investigation cast doubt on the accusations, Franken now symbolizes (to some) the risk of hasty judgment and mob justice. In 2019, a photo surfaced of Northam from his 1984 medical school yearbookhe appeared to be wearing blackface and posing with someone in a Ku Klux Klan robe. After apologizing, he later claimed neither person in the photo was him. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Julian Castro, and Elizabeth Warren all called on him to go, as did various progressives groups like NARAL, the NAACP, and (ironically) MoveOn. Today, Northam is still governor of Virginia. And every day, Northam accomplishes something that will contribute to his legacymaking the scandal just one data point in his lifes narrative. Heck, now hes even endorsing other Virginia political candidates. One suspects that Franken could have likewise stuck it out. To be sure, these examples are not perfectly analogous. One is about race and the other is about sex and power. Northams political survival was aided by the fact that his next two successors were disqualified; Virginias lieutenant governor simultaneously faced accusations of sexual assault, while the states attorney general also admitted to wearing blackface in the past. Good luck replicating those circumstances. Unlike Franken (a legislator who was trapped in D.C. with his antagonists), Northam was an executive living more obscurely in Richmond, Virginia, and he had greater ability to sign legislation, change the narrative, and weather the storm. This brings us back to Andrew Cuomo. Like Northam, Cuomo is a governor. But unlike Northam (who faces term limits), Cuomo could conceivably run for re-election. Even if recent events preclude that, the odds are that Cuomo will pull a Northamthat he will continue being governor until his term expires. And during that time, he will burnish his legacy. Hell pass a budget. When he visits Watertown, people will still say, Welcome, Governor! and roll out the red carpet. Resigning makes the scandal the last word about you. And even if the culmination of these scandals means that Cuomos political career is over, hes much better off if his last day is in January of 2023, not March of 2021. The incentives are, perhaps, perverse. But you get what you incentivize, and what we get is what we got. Resigning is for saps. If youre taking bets, history suggests the smart money is still on creepy Cuomo to survive. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Capt. Tiarra McDaniel is a dual-military, active-duty Army officer with two children. Recent case reports and media coverage have sparked many recommendations to improve the Army's Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention, or SHARP, and Equal Opportunity, or EO, programs. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that addressing the problems in both programs is a "leadership issue," adding, "We must not be afraid to get creative." Reports of sexual assaults in the ranks have gone up steadily, according to the Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. The number of sexual assault reports from service members increased by 3% from 6,053 to 6,236 in fiscal 2019 compared to the previous year. The focus on sexual harassment and sexual assault was magnified in 2020 following the disappearance and murder of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen at Fort Hood, Texas. As a result, the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee was appointed to examine the base's command climate and culture. Its groundbreaking report revealed a lack of soldier confidence in the SHARP program, which is meant to help them. The report highlights a lack of confidence in reporting because of "fear of retaliation, ostracism, embarrassment, and breach of confidentiality" and concerns about false accusations. Fiscal 2020 Army active-duty demographics report that 55% of soldiers are white, 21% Black, 16% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and 3% other. More than half of minority service members say they have seen or experienced racism among their fellow troops. Military Times released a poll showing that more than half of minority service members and one-third of troops overall had personally witnessed white nationalism and white supremacy within the ranks. The Fort Hood report also revealed that 3% to 5.5% of soldiers experience racial and sexual discrimination at certain Army installations. This data was collected by the Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Survey, or DEOCS, from 2014 to 2019. However, the Fort Hood Review Committee determined that the results, interviews and other forms of data collection were insufficient to conclude that current practices are ineffective. Consequently, the aforementioned data hints at possible inconsistencies and a need for equal opportunity to receive further attention. SHARP/EO military professionals are an integral part of the Army's success, but manning for and utilization of both programs must be addressed. Manning for Equal Opportunity Advisers, or EOAs, is governed by the Military Table of Organization and Equipment. Army Regulation 600-20 sets forth the requirements for personnel interested in serving in those positions. Because of the priority set on the services provided by EOAs, manning is visible Army-wide. The credentialing process for an EOA includes an 11-week course at the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, and EOA personnel are usually stabilized at one location for three years. In contrast, SHARP assignments show their lack of priority within the Army. SHARP personnel come from borrowed military manpower. They are command selected, and there is no visibility Army-wide. The SHARP program allocates a single full-time sexual assault response coordinator and victim advocate to each brigade. The credentialing process and six-week SHARP Career Course leave little time for the representatives to perform their valuable services because they have only a two-year stabilization period. The current Army SHARP/EO program structure does not allow career continuation or progression; rather, they are nominative positions open to volunteer applicants who meet predetermined criteria. So, what are the long-term implications of continuing the current structure? Right now, we use the DEOCS to capture data on possible EO issues within formations. But is this enough to identify and combat grass-root issues? No regulation or Department of the Army pamphlet directs formal career progression possibilities for military SHARP/EO professionals. As one can imagine, continuing the current program structure means no continuity or growth of knowledge -- instead, there is a lack of experience and expertise. I believe we need to create functional areas and military occupational specialties specifically for SHARP/EO professionals. A functional area is a grouping of officers by technical specialty or skill and requires education, training and experience. An officer usually receives their functional area between years five and six of service. Currently the Army has three Functional Categories: Maneuver Fire and Effects, Operations Support and Force Sustainment. Functional Categories consist of officer branches and functional areas; warrant officer and enlisted military occupational specialties; and civilian occupational series. It is my belief that the Force Sustainment category should house the functional area because its focus is to train, supply and maintain fellow soldiers. Currently, Force Sustainment is the only area without any established functional areas. The programs should target applicants with a degree in psychology, social work or sociology. Recommended certifications should include -- but not be limited to -- diversity and inclusion, cultural sensitivity, and human behavior. Applicants must be command (O-6) recommended, with a screened background history and completed mental evaluation before approval to continue. Candidates should be able to maintain a top-secret security clearance. In addition to the training required to certify as a SHARP/EO professional, there should be required on-the-job training (a minimum of six months) before releasing them to the field. Soldiers in the rank of staff sergeant promotable and above should have the option to reclassify in the SHARP/EO MOS. The schooling should be longer than the average four months it takes to certify any other MOS. After completion, certified and qualified SHARP/EO personnel should work in a structure similar to Trial Defense Services, with integrators located or deployed to work at brigade and battalion level. Service members should be required to recertify on a no-notice basis every two years. These recommendations are not an immediate solution; however, I think this is a risk the Army should be willing to take. The long-term effects of creating and implementing this career opportunity include sustainability, growth, continuity and a better posture for our force as we continue to navigate this complex environment. We must create a plan that will pass the test of time and not falter between generations. -- 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. The issue received bids for 240.27 crore shares as against 1.50 crore shares on offer. The initial public offer (IPO) of Easy Trip Planners received bids for 240.27 crore shares as against 1.50 crore shares on offer, according to the stock exchange data. The issue was subscribed 159.33 times. The non-institutional investors category was subscribed 382.21 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 77.53 times. The retail individual investors category was subscribed 70.40 times. The issue opened for bidding on Monday, 8 March 2021, and closed on Wednesday, 10 March 2021. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 186-187 per share. The IPO comprised an offer for sale (OFS) of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 510 crore (including anchor portion of 1,22,72,727 equity shares). The post-issue promoter's shareholding in the company will decline to 74.9% from 100%. The company expects that listing of the equity shares will enhance visibility and brand image and provide liquidity to shareholders and will also provide a public market for the equity shares in India. Ahead of the IPO, the company on 5 March 2021 allotted 1,22,72,727 shares to anchor investors at Rs 187 per share, aggregating to Rs 229.49 crore. Easy Trip Planners is the second ranking online travel company in India in terms of booking volume in the nine months ended December 2020 and third in terms of gross booking revenues in FY2020. It is also the only profitable online travel agency among the Key Online Travel Agencies in India and its consistently profitable since its incorporation. The company's three distinct distribution channels, namely Business to Customers (B2C), Business to Enterprises (B2E) and Business to Business to Customers (B2B2C) channels, provides it with a diversified customer base and wide distribution network. The company offers a comprehensive range of travel-related products and services for end-to-end travel solutions, including airline tickets, hotels and holiday packages, rail tickets, bus tickets and taxis as well as ancillary value-added services such as travel insurance, visa processing and tickets for activities and attractions. On a consolidated basis, the company reported a net profit of Rs 30.54 crore and sales of Rs 49.27 crore in the nine months ended on 31 December 2020. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The company said the 100,000 investment will help to accelerate the validation and development of inSignals technology to aid deep brain stimulation surgery on patients suffering from Parkinson's disease Frontier IP Group PLC (LON:FIPP) said inSignals Neurotech, in which it holds a 33% stake, has received a 100,000 (86,000) investment from Portugal Ventures, a leading Portuguese venture capital firm. The intellectual property investor said inSignals will use the funds to accelerate the validation and development of its patented technology to aid deep brain stimulation surgery on patients suffering from Parkinson's disease as well as other applications in neurology. The funds will also allow inSignals to expand preliminary clinical trials, strengthen its intellectual property position and grow its team, Frontier said, adding that the investee is entering collaboration agreements to extend multi-centre clinical studies in Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. inSignals, a spin out from the Portuguese Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science with the support of Sao Joao University Hospital, part of the University of Porto, develops wireless wearable devices to precisely measure wrist rigidity to help surgeons place brain implants more accurately to achieve the best clinical results during surgery. The investment from Portugal Ventures forms part of the firms Call INNOV-ID initiative, which is focused on investing in science and technology projects or companies in pre-seed, seed or early stage where the technology is still at a prototype, proof of concept or product market fit validation stage. The initiative was launched in response to a request from the Portuguese government to support technology companies through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "We are delighted inSignals has been able to attract this investment from one of the major venture capitalists in Portugal. It provides a strong endorsement of the company and the potential of its technology, which is already attracting interest from leading neurologists across Europe", Frontier IP chief executive Neil Crabb said in a statement. New York, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "North America Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul Distribution Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product, By End-use And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06034136/?utm_source=GNW North America MRO Distribution Market Growth & Trends The North America maintenance, repair & overhaul distribution market size is expected to reach USD 178.85 billion by 2028 registering a CAGR of 2.9%. Increasing product penetration in the manufacturing industry on account of standardization of critical services and equipment is expected to drive the market growth. Moreover, increasing product demand from other end-use industries is also likely to support market growth. The periodic maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities help reduce overall costs and enhance the productivity of the industrial operations, which is expected to drive their demand. The MRO distribution or supply chain was traditionally considered an indirect component of the industrial operations.The lack of focus and investments in MRO processes in the past resulted in the slow growth of the industry. However, the recent global pandemic has contributed to raising awareness regarding crisis management of the supply chain in the manufacturing industry, which is expected to benefit the market growth.The value chain of this market includes manufacturers, specialists, generalists, partnerships, integrated supply, and retailers. Manufacturers play a major role across the value chain, by possessing definitive control over the market as they monitor the product pricing. They usually command pricing on a customer-by-customer basis rather than on a distributor-by-distributor basis. North America MRO Distribution Market Report Highlights Power transmission-pneumatics are expected to witness the fastest growth from 2021 to 2028 on account of the rising utilization of automated transmission in manufacturing facilities The food, beverage, & tobacco end-use industry accounted for a revenue share of 13.24% in 2020 owing to the increased focus of key companies on improvements in machine capabilities for enhanced food production Minnesota and Missouri were the major contributors to the regions overall product demand owing to increased investments in the manufacturing and transportation sectors The manufacturing sector in Canada is anticipated to witness the fastest growth as the majority of the manufacturers are planning to invest in new equipment and machinery to gain a competitive advantage Moreover, manufacturers are trying to expand their customer reach through e-commerce platforms to access a wide range of categories, with significant expertise in the industry Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06034136/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker 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. __________________________ "They are going to die in a foreign jail, if the magic key doesn't work for them," Hernandez added. The Honduran leader has reiterated that the drug traffickers and confessed murderers that have been extradited and others surrendered directly to the United States authorities seek to lower their sentences, return to Honduras to recover their assets and operations with the "magic key" based on false testimonies and lies, to reestablish their kingdoms and drug trafficking. This delicate situation sets adrift the close alliance in the fight against transnational crime that the Hernandez Administration has championed with the support of other governments and security agencies including the United States. In less than eight years, the government of President Hernandez has managed to reduce the air traffic of drugs by 87 percent according to reports of the United States government, and the homicide rate has been reduced by almost 60 percent, a task carried out by justice operators, security institutions and defense of the Honduran State. The Bureau of international Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs from the State Department published the new report on March 2021 and stated that "the political will of the Government of Honduras continues to work with US law enforcement to combat drug trafficking." The report added that "the Government of Honduras doesn't, as a matter of government official policy, encourage or facilitate illicit drug production or distribution, nor is it involve in laundering the proceeds of the sale of illicit drugs." The President of Honduras addressed last week the Congress to present new laws and reforms to toughen the fight against transnational crime and stated "he will not stop fighting against evil until the last day of his mandate" "The false testimonies of the drug traffickers are obvious lies. The drug traffickers in their sworn testimonies stated that for $25,000 they bought total impunity. Then I ask, why ten days after I was elected the Cachiros decided to abandon their kingdom of billions of dollars to negotiate their surrender directly with the United State authorities" stated President Hernandez. It is noteworthy that under Hernandez leadership as President of the National Congress and President of Honduras the Military Police for Public Order (PMOP) was created; the Extradition Law, Confiscation Law of all assets of the drug lords and many others laws to fight transnational crime were approved. The extradition of 24 Hondurans to the United States has been possible due to the war against drug trafficking and transnational crime President Hernandez has been leading. Source: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/International-Narcotics-Control-Strategy-Report-Volume-I-FINAL-1.pdf SOURCE Government of Honduras After a year of hybrid classes, USC Aiken will be back to normal in the fall. The university announced it will return to face-to-face instruction and resume normal campus operations in fall 2021. The school briefly ceased in-person instruction last March, when it moved to entirely remote instruction. In fall 2020, students returned to campus for a mixture of face-to-face, online, and blended courses, with mask wearing and on-campus testing. For the 14-day period ending March 4, only two of the 24 on-campus housing beds reserved for quarantined students were in use. While most of our students have been on campus throughout the current academic year, we are looking forward to a full and exciting on-campus education and student life experience, Darren Timmons, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in a statement. Timmons credited an increase in vaccinations and decrease in the spread of COVID-19 for making this return possible. We will remain vigilant in combating the spread of COVID-19, while returning to the same level of in-person instruction we maintained before the pandemic hit," Timmons said in the release. USC Aiken's fall semester will begin Aug. 19. The university will continue to follow its Ready, Set, Return protocols, which can be viewed online at www.usca.edu/pacer-ready. Students, faculty and staff will be required to wear masks on campus until further notice. Paolo Santalucia/AP NEMI, ITALYFor the last four years, Italian antiquity restorers have been trying to remove tea and coffee stains from a large 2,000-year-old mosaic tile that graced the floor of Emperor Caligulas palatial orgy ship. The 4.5-foot square mosaic made of red porphyry and green and white glass and marble had ended up in the posh Park Avenue living room of Italian-Americans Nereo Fioratti, a journalist with Italys newspaper Il Tempo and his art collector wife Helen Fioratti, who was apparently no great fan of coasters. The Search For Caligulas Sunken Orgy Ship The orgy ship mosaics journey from Italy to New York and back to Italy where it was unveiled on Thursday began on the floor of Lake Nemi outside of Rome. Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was so enamored with Caligulaknown as much for sleeping with his sisters and wives of his allies as for cutting out the tongues of his naysayers and naming his horse as a consulthat he drained the lake and fished two of the emperors party cruisers off the muddy floor in the late 1920s and built a museum on the shoreline to house their riches. The orgy ships were sunk when Caligula was assassinated in 41 A.D. The museum, which was used as a bomb shelter during World War II, was torched by retreating Nazis, but by then Caligulas orgy ship mosaic was already gone. A third party ship is the object of great intrigue, and Nemis mayor said they are using high-tech sonar to see if they can locate it under centuries of mud and silt. The ships were not meant for navigation but were stationary in the lake, which intrigued Caligula because of its association to the Roman goddess Diana, held in high esteem by the emperor. The last known photo of the mosaic was taken in 1955 and ended up in a book by Dario Del Bufalo, an Italian expert on ancient marbles. The mosaic was considered stolen since its whereabouts had not been officially known for more than half a century. Del Bufalo, who attended Thursdays unveiling in Nemi, recalled presenting his book, which featured a photo of the mosaic, to art experts in Manhattan in 2013. I was sitting there signing books and suddenly people started saying, Oh look, isnt that Helens coffee table? when they got to the photo of Caligulas lost mosaic, he told The Daily Beast. It wasnt just one person, but it seemed everyone had seen the table. In fact, Fiorattis famous coffee table was featured in a photo spread in Architectural Digest and thus had become the envy of the elite New York City collector set. Story continues As luck would have it, an Italian art theft official with Italys elite Carabinieri Art Squad had also attended Del Bufalos talk and overheard the attendees gushing that the Fiorattis coffee table was now at the center of international intrigue. The Fiorattis details were given to the police who then started an investigation that eventually led to the sequestering of the mosaic but not to any charges against Fioratti who assured police that she had obtained the mosaic in good faith in the 1960s. She said they bought it from an Italian aristocratic family in a deal brokered by none other than a member of Italys art theft police squad. It was an innocent purchase, she told The New York Times in 2017. It was our favorite piece and we had it for 45 years. Italys National Museum Director Massimo Osanna said that the mosaic had apparently been smuggled out of Italy to the U.S. in a diplomatic pouch, though no receipt of purchase or import papers have ever been coughed up. Until the mid-2000s, it was common for Italian art to show up in museums around the world. Marion True, then curator of the Getty Museum of Los Angeles, stood trial in Italy for nearly a decade for allegedly selling art stolen by tomb raiders in Italys vast archeological parks to collectors and museums. Hundreds of pieces of such stolen art have been returned to Italy in recent years. But it took four years for Italian authorities working with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance to verify that it was the original orgy ship mosaic. Fioratti said that she would not fight the sequester, and that in fact she should be rewarded for taking such good care of it. I felt bad they took her table, Del Bufalo told The Daily Beast. She really loved it. Vance said in a statement announcing the authenticity of the orgy ship mosaic, These items may be beautiful, storied, and immensely valuable to collectors, but willfully disregarding the provenance of an item is effectively offering tacit approval of a harmful practice that is, fundamentally, criminal. Fioratti, who is now in her 90s, has never been charged with any crimes though several search warrants of her home on Park Avenue and antiquities studio LAntiquaire & The Connoisseur suggest authorities were certainly suspicious. The mosaic was returned to Italy in 2017 with a cache of other looted art but only unveiled on Thursday at the new naval museum that the directors say will one day feature a lifesize recreation of the orgy ships. It has taken nearly four years to remove what Italys National Museum Director Massimo Osanna said were remnants of domestic life including coffee and tea stains, which contain tannin that easily stains natural stone. The Fiorattis also used it for flower vases and cocktail tumblers, which left calcium markings from the water. It was clearly a well used table, Osanna said. It is really a miracle it has made it back to Lake Nemi. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Ohio's Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has announced the passing of Unga, a 29-year-old bonobo chimpanzee, whose journey to the United States is partially made famous in the Broadway musical Come From Away. Unga was born on February 22, 1993, at the Wild Animal Park Mechelen Planckendael in Belgium. As she was being transferred to her new home at the Columbus Zoo on September 11, 2001, her plane was suddenly diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, following the terrorist attacks that morning. During the unplanned five-day stop, the people of Gander, including Bonnie Harris, manager of the local animal shelter, cared for Unga, her keeper, and another female bonobo, Kosana, who was being transferred to the Milwaukee County Zoo. As mentioned in the musical, Unga was pregnant at the time, but lost her baby. On Friday, March 2, 2021, Unga suffered what appeared to be a stroke after she became unable to move her right side. She passed away shortly thereafter, with initial findings pointing to the stroke, along with significant heart disease, leading to her sudden decline. She had been receiving medication and regular monitoring and physical therapy after previously suffering a stroke in January 2015. Male bonobos traditionally live to be around 31.5 years, and there is insufficient data about female life expectancy. One of the rarest great ape species, with only 5,000-50,000 estimated to be living in the equatorial forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the bonobo is listed as endangered, primarily due to habitat destruction through logging and bush meat hunting. The Columbus Zoo is one of only eight facilities in North America that currently house bonobos. To commemorate the community's kindness to Unga, the Columbus Zoo staff named her first offspring Gander. The baby was delivered in December 2003 and still lives at the Columbus Zoo along with Unger's other children, Jerry and Elema. Days after a fire devastated the Similipal forest division in Odisha, Union Minister and other MPs from the state on Wednesday met handed over a memorandum to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, demanding his intervention in the issue of in the state. The government on March 3 claimed no loss of life in the Similipal Park fire, which has been raging for around a week and continues to rage the forest area, according to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The statement came after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the situation a day after Union Environment, forest and Climate Change Minister Javadekar sought a report on the devastating fire at the park, one of the major biospheres in the country. According to an official release by the CMO, a high-level meeting with senior government officials was held in which Patnaik instructed officials to be vigilant and take all precautionary measures to combat the forest fire. The Chief Minister said that "Shimlipal is not only a treasure trove of or India but also an invaluable asset of the whole world, CMO said in a release. Additional Chief Secretary Department of Forests and Environment, Mona Sharma informed that the blaze has been brought under control. Sharma said that no casualties were reported so far and standard operating procedures have been issued to control the fire and no major trees have been damaged. She also informed that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Wildlife is monitoring the situation and preventive steps at the spot. Earlier on Tuesday Union Minister Pradhan had tweeted that "Distressed to learn about the raging in Simlipal Tiger Reserve from social media platforms. Request the urgent attention of Union Minister for Environment & Forest, and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on this alarming situation at one of the most important biosphere reserves of the country." Later Union Minister informed through a tweet that he has ordered officers to take immediate action to report the issue. Press Release 11 March 2021 Lyon, France - Euronews, Europe's leading international news channel who recently launched Euronews Travel, has released results from an exclusive poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Euronews in Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain, looking at Europeans' attitudes towards travel and vaccine passports: Advertisements A large proportion of respondents across the board support or strongly support the introduction of the so-called vaccine passports : 53% in Germany, 65% in Italy and 69% in Great Britain, with a smaller proportion in France (39%) : 53% in Germany, 65% in Italy and 69% in Great Britain, with a smaller proportion in France (39%) Those who oppose or strongly oppose the measure are in the minority: 25% in Germany, 32% in France, 19% in Italy and 12% in Great Britain. Around a fifth of respondents neither support nor oppose the initiative. 55% in Germany, 63% in Italy and 69% in Great Britain say they would be willing to carry this vaccine passport for "all circumstances". The French are more divided: 31% would carry the certificate for all circumstances, 31% only for international travel and 38% would not carry the passport at all. Britons support or strongly support restricting travel abroad only to those who have been vaccinated against the virus (69%); a support which drops to 35% in Germany, 42% in France and 40% in Italy. (69%); a support which drops to 35% in Germany, 42% in France and 40% in Italy. Four in ten participants in Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain say they do not intend to travel anywhere for holiday this year (46%, 43%, 39% and 46%, respectively). (46%, 43%, 39% and 46%, respectively). When they do intend to travel, the results paint a mixed picture: French and Italian respondents prefer to travel domestically (27% and 39%, respectively said they would travel domestically) with a minority inclined to go abroad (18% and 13%, respectively). Germans are split: 21% plan to travel domestically and 21% prefer to go abroad. A small minority (12%) claim they intend to do both. While in Britain, 25% said they would travel domestically and 20% said they would travel abroad. For detailed results, please check the tables below . You will find information on the survey's methodology at the end of this release. To what extent, if at all, would you support or oppose the introduction of a vaccine passport to verify that an individual has been vaccinated? Euronews and Redfield & Wilton strategies Would you be willing to carry a "vaccine passport" with you to demonstrate you have been vaccinated? Euronews and Redfield & Wilton strategies To what extent, if at all, would you support or oppose restricting travel abroad only to those who have been vaccinated against coronavirus? Euronews and Redfield & Wilton strategies Do you currently intend to travel for holiday at some point this year? Euronews and Redfield & Wilton strategies Methodology New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday expressed concern over the rising COVID-19 cases in some states urging people to not lower their guard as the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over. NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul in a press conference termed the current coronavirus situation, as "worrisome". Talking about the lockdown situation in Maharashtra's Nagpur from March 15 to 21, he said the situation is such that measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19 are being brought back. "We are very worried about the rise in cases in Maharashtra. Don't take this virus for granted. It can come up unexpectedly. If we have to remain free of this virus, COVID-appropriate behaviour, containment strategy as well as vaccination has to be brought in," he said. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan informed that Nagpur, Pune, Thane, Mumbai, Bengaluru Urban, Ernakulam, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nashik and Aurangabad districts have the highest number of active COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said strict lockdown measures will be enforced in some parts of the state as it witnesses an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases. The government has decided to take essential measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. CM Uddhav Thackeray, 60, speaking to reporters after receiving first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the J J Hospital in Mumbai. Maharashtra on Wednesday (March 10) recorded 13,659 new coronavirus cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state's caseload to 22,52,057. On the hand, Paul also gave a word of caution for Delhi and the national capital region as it sees a rise in positivity rate, so Gurgaon, Faridabad and to an extent Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad need to be careful. "Be careful, be watchful. We still have a huge population at risk of this virus. This pandemic is not yet over. Be vigilant," he said. Sounding a word of caution for Delhi and its neighbourhood, Paul said the national capital is seeing a rise in positivity rate, so is Gurgaon, Faridabad and to an extent Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad. The national capital on Thursday recorded 409 new COVID-19 cases which is the highest single-day rise in nearly two months, while the death toll climbed to 10,934 with three more fatalities, the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department stated. The "sudden rise" in cases can be attributed to people turning complacent and not following COVID-19 protocol with a feeling of "all is well now", as per health experts and doctors quoted by PTI. As of Thursday 1 pm, 2,56,90,545 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered which includes 67,86,086 for the elderly and those aged 45-60 with comorbidities, Health Ministry informed. The Japanese automaker says theres a growing need for deeper, meaningful experiences that promote wellbeing. We think its just another way of creatively turning the global health crisis-induced stress into something positive. It's also a neat way to promote the newly released 2021 Lexus IS , of course.But its okay because we can always use more ideas for recharging our batteries that get easily depleted because of how fast weve grown used to living our lives. Its the first time Lexus has a go at the idea, so its not starting on a large scale.Instead, alongside its partner mindbodygreen (a lifestyle media brand centered around the idea of healthy living and well-being), Lexus proposes a series of five-day (four nights) adventures. Those will include scenic routes to be enjoyed alongside a 2021 Lexus IS while the guests drive between the companys selected luxury hotels.These days, the desire to escape on the open road to rejuvenate mind and spirit has never been more enticing, says Vinay Shahani, Lexus vice president of marketing. Of course, it helps when one does it in a brand-new compact executive sedan, and at the end of the day, theres luxurious lodging prepared in advance.For now, the program includes stays of two nights at each of the premium hotels that partnered with Lexus, and theres an average three-hour drive between each location. There are three separate retreats prepared in California already. From later on this spring, Lexus fans that reside on the East coast will also have a new route between XV Beacon and Chatham Bars Inn in Massachusetts at their disposal.Naturally, the Retreats in Motion escape from routine isnt exactly cheap, starting from $2,700 for two guests. Well, at least there are interesting things to be done (aside from enjoying the IS and the hotels), such as self-care discussions, in-vehicle sound bath, meditation, guided breathwork and more. Uttar Pradesh president Ajay Kumar Lallu on Thursday accused the of spending crores of rupees on advertisements and event management to hide its failures and mislead people. "The Adityanath government is running only with the help of PR, hoardings, branding and false event management," he said in a statement here. "The government is constantly trying to mislead the public by spending crores of rupees of hard earned money of the people on advertisements and events while the situation in the state has gone from bad to worse," Lallu claimed. The came to power by using false propaganda and catchy slogans, but it neither lived up to the confidence shown in it by the people nor fulfilled its promises, the leader claimed. The government is engaged in branding itself through slogans and big hoardings to hide its failures, Lallu said. The UPCC president claimed that a tweet and a video recently released from the official handle of the Chief Minister's Office regarding recruitment of 'lekhpals' was a blatant and cruel joke on the unemployed youth of the state who would definitely give a befitting reply to it in the Assembly polls. The tweet was removed when the exposed the reality, he claimed. Lallu also targeted the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party over their silence in the issue, and asked if they had reached an understanding with the The had promised to provide 70 lakh jobs in five years but the chief minister himself admitted that the government has given only four lakh jobs till now, the state Congress chief said. Of the 24 different types of recruitment advertised by the government, 22 are still pending, Lallu 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.) The regulatory body overseeing the police said that it had opened an investigation into whether two officers had responded appropriately to a report last month that a man had exposed himself at a fast-food restaurant in south London. The body, known as the Independent Office for Police Conduct, said in a statement that the investigation was in connection with the arrested officer. The Metropolitan Police said Wednesday that the officer had been arrested on suspicion of murder and kidnapping, and a separate allegation of indecent exposure. The police conduct body also said it had opened an investigation into police contact with the arrested officer, who was treated in the hospital after sustaining a head injury while in custody on Wednesday. It did not provide further details. The developments came as the British branch of U.N. Women reported this week that over 70 percent of women in Britain had experienced sexual harassment in public. Its devastating, Maya Tutton, a founder of Our Streets Now, which calls for measures against public sexual harassment, said of the reports findings. It starts with sexist jokes and ends with femicides, Ms. Tutton said. Its just crucial that we tackle that. Officials including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mayor Sadiq Khan of London expressed sadness over Ms. Everards disappearance. Commissioner Dick called the situation every familys worst nightmare. Online, women offered countless testimonies about facing catcalls, unwanted attention, threats and assaults in public spaces. As Ms. Everards name trended on Twitter in Britain on Thursday, stories included recollections of anxious walks, of being followed in the streets and having to run and of being harassed in a public space. Kerrymaid has lost a long-running EU trademark battle with rival brand Kerrygold. Yesterday, an EU court shot down a bid by Kerry Group to register the Kerrymaid label outside of Ireland and the UK for products such as butter and cheese. The court said that although Kerrymaid and Kerrygold peacefully coexist on shelves in Ireland, they could confuse people in non-English speaking parts of the EU. A large part of the case hinged on what Europeans know about County Kerry. Kerry Group argued that the region is widely known for its dairy products as well as its "rich political, literary, artistic and sporting heritage, and because of that, EU customers would be able to tell the two brands apart. But the court said that tourist numbers, internet searches and foreign language brochures were not proof that people outside of Ireland identify Kerry as a geographical indication. Ornua, which owns a trademark for its billion-euro Kerrygold butter brand in the EU, has opposed its rivals trademark bid since it was first lodged in 2011. The current case dates back to 2014, when Ornua asked the Spanish courts to stop Kerry Groups Spanish distributor from marketing products under the Kerrymaid brand. The Spanish court found against Ornua, saying the only similarity between the two brands was the word Kerry - which refers to the Irish county known for cattle breeding and pointed out that they sold side by side in Ireland and the UK. But in 2017 the European Court of Justice effectively ruled that brand recognition does not hold for the entire EU, leading to a 2019 decision in Ornuas favour by the EUs intellectual property office (EUIPO). In its judgment yesterday, the EUs General Court dismissed an action by Kerry Luxembourg, a Kerry Group company, against the EUIPO decision and ordered the company to pay all legal costs, including Ornuas. Kerrygold became Irelands first food brand to reach 1bn in annual retail sales in 2019. It is a hugely lucrative brand for Ornua and a leading Irish product in the US and the EU markets. Kerry Group, which owns Dairygold butter, said last month that it is conducting a strategic review of its dairy-related businesses in Ireland and the UK. Under CEO Edmond Scanlon, Kerry Group is looking at selling its consumer food brands to become a pure global ingredients company, unlocking shareholder value. [March 11, 2021] Lead Marvels Expands Presence in Accounting Industry With Its Digital Content Hub Solution NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lead Marvels, a content-syndication and lead generation solutions provider, is continuing its roll-out into the accounting industry with its Digital Content Hub solution, adding five more CPA associations over the last few months. The company now has launched its solution in collaboration with 15 states. Most recently, Lead Marvels has launched its Digital Content Hub Solution with the Arkansas Society of CPAs, Florida Institute of CPAs, South Carolina Association of CPAs, Virginia Society of CPAs and Washington Society of CPAs. These five new associations join the Illinois CPA Society, California Society of CPAs, Connecticut Society of CPAs, Kansas Society of CPAs, Michigan Society of CPAs, Nevada Society of CPAs, Ohio Society of CPAs, Oklahoma Society of CPAs, Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and Texas Society of CPAs. The solution, which is called a "Knowledge Hub", helps generate non-dues revenue for the state association and increases website usage and member engagement, while attracting net, new members. In addition, the solution provides marketers, vendors, and suppliers with a turn-key way to engage with CPAs and accounting professionals, by publishing downloadable content such as white papers, e-books, case studies, guides, and more. When a CPA engages and downloads the content, a qualified sales "lead" is delivered in real-time, as well as stored in an online dashboard for tracking and reporting. "In addition to the 15 states that are currently live, we are in the process of launching with seven additional state, for a total of 22 states, which collectively reach more than 275,000 CPAs and accounting professionals," said Jeff Schottland, co-founder and chief executive of Lead Marvels. "More than 20 advertisers are currently running content syndication and lead generation programs on our platform, with more signing up regularly," he said, adding that in the month of February 2021 alone, nearly 1,000 leads were generated and delivered to advertisers. "As part of our Center for Innovation, the VSCPA is dedicated to driving value for our members by connecting them with future-forward resources in an evolving digital world, especially around technology and talent," said Tina Bates, CAE, Vice President of Innovation at the Virginia Society of CPAs. "Our online Knowledge Hub has been a great addition to our content strategy in these areas, and we're excited to partner with Lead Marvels to make it happen." Added Jeanette Kebede, Director of Communications of Washington Society of CPAs, "Our new Knowledge Hub powered by Lead Marvels is proving to be an innovative way to engage and connect with our audience of CPAs, controllers, CFOs and other finance executives during this pandemic. In addition to our existing array of conferences, events, and print and electronic advertising, we're excited that we now also have a content marketing and lead generation solution to support our advertisers and sponsors," she said. Lead Marvels also enhanced its platform with the launch of two new services, including a new "sales engagement" tool that enables the state associations to easily identify and engage with new, potential advertisers for their Knowledge Hub, as well as a "lead nurturing" solution for advertisers to receive "callback requests" when a CPA or accounting professional engages and downloads their content. To learn more about how Lead Marvels can power your lead generation and content syndication programs for your organization or association, please go to: www.leadmarvels.com . Media Contact: Michael Palacios President, Lead Marvels 845.445.7210 mpalacios@leadmarvels.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lead-marvels-expands-presence-in-accounting-industry-with-its-digital-content-hub-solution-301245378.html SOURCE Lead Marvels, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A woman who was killed and placed into a freezer at her home in Sydneys upper north shore was stabbed to death by her husband after telling him she wanted a divorce, an inquest has been told. Chan Chen, 35, also known as Vivien, was discovered inside her Pymble home on November 27, 2019, after her husband, Haoling Luo, left a message for his colleague which said: I was a little mentally abnormal a few days ago and accidentally killed my wife during a fight with her. Chan Chen, pictured on her wedding day, was killed in 2019. Credit:NSW Police Neighbours had called triple zero on November 24 after hearing raised voices and children screaming about 11.45pm. However, when multiple police responded and patrolled the apartment building, they were unable to hear any further noises. The next morning, Ms Chens employer received a text message from Ms Chen saying she wouldnt be at work for several weeks. When the employer called her, Mr Luo answered and said his wife couldnt come to the phone. Sinn Fein has launched an advertising campaign calling for a referendum on whether or not there should be a United Ireland in American newspapers. The adverts were taken out in the New York Times and the Washington Post. The half page ads are entitled 'A United Ireland let the people have their say'. The advertisements, which have been launched ahead of St Patrick's Day, cite the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which they claim has created a 'peaceful and democratic pathway' towards a United Ireland. The advert also claims that the 'Unionist (pro-union with Britain) electoral majority in the North is gone. Read More 'Their rights, and the rights of all, are guaranteed in a United Ireland. It will be a welcoming home for all.' 'A new Ireland is emerging, and more and more people are looking beyond the divisions of the past. I knew Ireland that is seeking to undo the damage of the undemocratic partition of Ireland 100 years ago and the recent British government imposed Brexit.' It adds: 'We appeal to the Irish government to promote and plan for unity. 'As Americans, we call upon our government and public representatives to urge the British Government to set the date for the Unity Referendum.' The advertising campaign, it is understood, has been organised by Friends of Sinn Fein and is supported by a number of Irish-American groups such as the James Connolly Irish-American Labor Coalition and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. As well as the mainstream newspapers, the advert will run in Irish-American publications such as the Irish Echo. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form New Delhi, March 11 : While the effect of Covid-19 is well known on cardiovascular diseases or lungs, health experts on Thursday warned that Covid-19 patients with kidney problems need to be highly cautious too, or it may damage their kidneys. According to the experts, many individuals who develop Covid-19 experience kidney damage, or acute kidney injury (AKI), also known as acute renal failure (ARF). AKI is a sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days. It causes a build-up of waste products in the blood and makes it hard for kidneys to keep the right balance of fluid in the body. It can also affect other organs such as the brain, heart and lungs. "Kidneys get affected in cases where Covid-19 infection is severe. It further causes AKI in about 10 to 20 per cent of hospitalized patients," Deepak Kalra, Additional Director-Nephrology, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi, told IANS. A study, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, showed that in patients with Covid-19, AKI was uncommon but was linked with a high risk of in-hospital mortality. The researchers found that the in-hospital mortality rate was 10 per cent in patients without AKI versus 72 per cent in patients with AKI. "Covid-19 directly attacks immunity and organs which adds to the same severity of the virus-borne disease and seriousness of the disease itself," said Rajesh Aggrawal, Senior Consultant and Chief of Action Kidney Transplant and Dialysis Department, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, New Delhi. "A kidney patient needs complete care and prevention from every sort of infection," said Agarwal on the occasion of World Kidney Day, which is observed on March 11. The factors associated with a higher risk of AKI include severe Covid-19 disease, high blood levels of creatinine (an indicator of kidney dysfunction), low blood levels of certain immune cells and high blood levels of a protein fragment indicative of elevated blood clot formation and breakdown. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Duchess of Vastergotland (R) and her husband Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland, meet with Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency in Sarajevo, on Nov. 5, 2019. (Elvis Barukcic/AFP via Getty Images) Updates on CCP Virus: Swedish Crown Princess Victoria, Husband Test Positive Swedens Crown Princess Victoria, next in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, and husband Prince Daniel have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the royal court said on Thursday. The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel display mild symptoms, but are feeling well considering the circumstances, the Swedish Court said in a statement, adding that the couple were in quarantine with their two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. 4 More Cases of Brazilian CCP Virus Variant Found in England Four more cases of the Brazilian variant of the CCP virus, known as P.1, have been found in England, Public Health England (PHE) announced on Thursday. The latest cases brought the UK total of P.1 variant cases to 10, including seven in England and three in Scotland. All of 10 cases either have direct links to travel to Brazil or have been in contact with a previously confirmed case that has travelled to the South American country. Denmark Pauses AstraZeneca Vaccine Use to Probe Blood Clots Denmark has temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine after reports of blood clots in some people. But its health authority said Thursday it has no evidence the vaccine was responsible. Other experts pointed out that of the millions of AstraZeneca vaccine shots administered elsewhere, including in Britain, there have been no reported cases of the vaccine causing blood clots or related problems. Denmarks Health Authority said its decision was based on a precautionary principle and that one person who developed a blood clot after vaccination had died. Some Americans Could Get $1,400 Stimulus Payments by Weekend White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that individuals could receive $1,400 direct payments in their bank accounts as soon as this weekend after President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package into law on Thursday. People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend, Psaki told reporters at the White House. More payments will be issued over the next several weeks, she said, adding that more than 158 million households should expect to receive them. This is, of course, just the first wave, Psaki stated, adding that payments to eligible Americans will continue throughout the course of the next several weeks. The quickness in which the payments are being sent out is similar to how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued $600 stimulus payments in December after a prior stimulus measure was passed and signed into law by then-President Donald Trump. EU Study Finds 6 Million Jobs Wiped Out by Virus Response The response to the first wave of the CCP virus pandemic wiped out some 6 million jobs in the European Union, according to a study released on Thursday, with temporary contractors, young and female workers at times hit harder than in the 2008-09 financial crisis. The Eurofound study said teleworking, short-time work schemes and other state support helped protect some jobs but also meant more people slid into protracted professional inactivity rather than figuring in unemployment statistics. India Sees Worst Increase Since Christmas as Western State Battles Surge India reported its worst single-day increase in CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases since late December on Thursday, as the western state of Maharashtra battled a fresh wave of infections and imposed a lockdown in one of its most densely populated cities. A total of 22,854 new COVID-19 cases, the disease caused by the CCP virus, were reported in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said. It was the highest daily rise since Dec. 25, according to a Reuters tally. Poll: 1 in 5 in US Lost Someone Close in Pandemic About 1 in 5 Americans say they lost a relative or close friend to COVID-19, highlighting the division between heartache and hope as the country itches to get back to normal a year into the pandemic. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research illustrates how the stage is set for a two-tiered recovery. The publics worry about the virus has dropped to its lowest point since the fall, before the holidays brought skyrocketing cases into the new year. A Year On, WHO Still Struggling to Manage Pandemic Response When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic one year ago Thursday, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining that the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the UN agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of the CCP virus, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where theyre needed most. Researchers: CDC Misinterpreted Analysis on Reopening Schools, Should Immediately Loosen Rules Researchers whose analysis the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cited in recent school reopening guidance say the agency misinterpreted their findings and should immediately loosen the recommendations. Four doctors said in an op-ed this week that the guidance is an example of fears influencing and resulting in misinterpretation of science and harmful policy, arguing it does not take into account the data we have regarding little disease transmission in schools. Alexander Zhang, Jack Phillips, Zachary Stieber, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report. One year ago, the coronavirus entered our lives and changed the Auburn and Skaneateles community forever. Businesses were closed, schools transitioned to remote learning, and we all learned exactly how far 6 feet measured. Fear, anxiety, and depression set in for many of us as we were forced into isolation, unable to see our family and friends. While the recent announcement by Governor Cuomo to increase capacity at restaurants to 75% is a positive sign for our community, it also highlights the inconsistent decision-making by the Governor. If indeed we are relying on science and data to inform decisions, then why would the Governor continue to restrict capacity at YMCAs when contact tracing has shown that zero cases of COVID-19 originated at the Y, and just 11 of our 45,756 visitors had been positive before coming to the Y. After keeping our health and wellness activities closed for nearly six months, and enforcing onerous capacity restrictions, the Governor must afford YMCAs with equal opportunities that other industries already have. YMCAs are fighting for their survival, seemingly on an uneven playing field. In 2020, YMCAs in New York State lost an estimated $275 million in revenue. These losses, coupled with a 64% decrease in usage at our facilities, have threatened our ability to provide programs and services to underserved and vulnerable residents. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers a government work report at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) The Two Sessions of 2021 are in the spotlight. At the centenary of the Communist Party of China, how will China kickstart the 14th Five-Year Plan and what policies will be introduced on COVID-19 response, economic development, and reform and innovation. These are topics that are followed closely at home and abroad. On the morning of 5 March, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered the Report on the Work of the Government at the Fourth Session of the 13th National Peoples Congress. The main projected targets for development this year are as follows: GDP growth of over 6 per cent; over 11 million new urban jobs; a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 per cent; CPI increase of around 3 per cent; steady increases in both the volume and quality of imports and exports; a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments; steady growth in personal income; a further improvement in the environment; a drop of around 3 per cent in energy consumption per unit of GDP; a continued reduction in the discharge of major pollutants; and grain output of over 650 million metric tons. These targets have taken account of such factors as economic recovery, base figures and the need for sound and sustained growth. This will help maintain the continuity, stability and sustainability of macro policies, advance reform, encourage innovation and promote high-quality development. China will take a multi-pronged approach to pursue high-quality development. A container ship sails through a container dock of the Tianjin Port in east China's Tianjin Municipality, Nov. 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue) China will spare no effort to contain the virus and at the same time drive economic and social development. Despite some progress made, the global fight against COVID-19 has not yet come to an end. Domestically, China will further improve containment routines, strengthen emergency response capacity, and prevent clusters of infection and transmission caused by sporadic cases. The development of vaccines and the free vaccine program will be steadily advanced for more science-based and targeted COVID-19 response. Internationally, China will set up joint response mechanisms with more countries and open more fast tracks and green lanes to facilitate the flow of people and goods to contribute to global economic recovery. A technician tests an electronic microscope at the Lubrication and Friction Testing Center, Tsinghua University Tianjin Research Institute for Advanced Equipment, in north China's Tianjin, Feb. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue) China will prioritize reform and innovation to boost development with greater vitality. Reform holds the key to addressing development challenges. Be it state capital and SOE, market-based allocation of production factors or government functions, Chinas reform is picking up pace across the board. Through reform, China will foster a world-class, market-oriented business environment governed by a sound legal framework, reduce operating costs, and facilitate the common development of enterprises under diverse forms of ownership. Such efforts will further energize the market and serve Chinas overall development. Innovation is the primary driving force for development. In WIPOs Global Innovation Index, Chinas ranking moved up to the 14th in 2020 from the 29th in 2015. In the course of COVID-19 response, new business forms such as telemedicine, online learning, sharing platforms, collaboration systems and live streaming commerce have burgeoned. China will accelerate the application of scientific and technological breakthroughs and information sharing and ensure an average annual growth of more than 7 per cent in R&D spending during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. China will nurture high-tech businesses and industrial clusters supported by innovation demonstration areas and high-tech zones. China will strengthen science and technology to provide strategic underpinning for the countrys development and strive to become a front-runner among innovative countries, a long-range goal China has set for itself. China will further unleash its market potential to foster a new development paradigm. To pursue high-quality development, China will develop a scientific analysis of this new development stage, act on the new development philosophy, and move faster to build the new development paradigm. Committed to expanding domestic demand as a strategic move, China will step up efforts to develop the Internet economy, encourage the consumption of physical goods, explore new models of services consumption, and scale up support to manufacturers. China will further grow its domestic market and keep unleashing the driving force from within to build a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other. Aerial photo taken on June 7, 2020 shows the Tawan Xingshun International Night Market in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong) This new development paradigm promises more development opportunities and greater market space for all countries. Pursuing all-round opening-up at a higher level, China will further shorten the negative list for foreign investment and implement the catalog of industries where foreign investment is encouraged. China will continue to vigorously develop pilot free trade zones, conclude high-standard FTAs, and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to establish a new system of open economy of higher standards. This will put China in a better position to tap into domestic and global markets and resources, generate impetus for its own economic growth and contribute to global economic recovery. Like an express train with greater driving force, China welcomes all countries to get on board and move toward a future of shared prosperity. At a historic stage of realizing the first centenary goal and moving on toward the second one, China is well poised to make sound progress at the new starting point. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his 2021 New Year Address, The road ahead is long and arduous, and we must forge ahead. We can expect continued efforts by China to open a new chapter in its high-quality development. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. [March 10, 2021] Likee carries out 'Likee Star' contest to award the best content creator BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on data from the Cisco Annual Internet Report , the trend of short video content will increase by 82% until 2022. The development of short video platforms makes it easier than ever before for people who want to be well-known to the public. One of the leading short video-making platforms based in Singapore, Likee, just held the "Likee Star" contest, to find the most talented content creators. The event was held recently and Likee selected five talented content creator stars in Latin America. No. 1 in Diamond ranking on Likee Star Crolina Guerrero, a 24-year-old girl from Colombia, loves to create comedy for social networks and has almost 5 Million followers on Likee. She joined Likee in 2019 and with her most viral audios such as "the factoryof heights", the girl captivated a lot of fans by her voice. In the moment the girl met the Likee Star competition, she hadn't hesitate to participate. "It was my opportunity to renew my place in Likee and show I could be a Likee star. Without my followers, I wouldn't have achieved anything, so this first place belongs to everyone, and I am very happy and grateful to be a Likee star," said Carolina. No. 1 in Platinum ranking on Likee Star Ignacio Orellana is a 19-year-old creator who has been on the platform for less than 1 year. He said, "Since I was 8 years old, I dreamed of winning a talent competition and thanks to Likee I was able to achieve it. I love creating comedy and family-themed content and Likee is my favorite app. People here are wonderful and engaging." Likee Super Star Caro Rojas from Argentina Many people feel that they have a marked path since they were born and this seems to be the case of Caro Rojas from Argentina who, at young age, has already participated in cinema films, international miniseries, video clips of Latin American and European artists. The girl came to Likee more than two years ago because of her extensive career, and since that day she hasn't stopped generating original content, with passion and happiness. With more than 680k followers and more than 2 million likes, she shows her acting talent for lipsync and comedy, and stands out for her simplicity when it comes to exploiting all the creative potentialities that Likee offers, with her brilliant tutorials. Other winners of the competition also include Lionshly with over 200k followers on Likee as well as Aranza. Cisne, a cute girl with her mother, with more than 121k likes on Likee. In the future, Likee will hold more star-making contests to present and reward those gifted content creators. "We believe that the hard work and the talents should be appreciated and they deserve to be a shining star in the public," said spokesman of Likee Latin America. SOURCE Likee [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] " " A small pack of carnivorous Dilophosaurus dinosaurs ranges around looking for prey during Earth's Jurassic period. Mark Stevenson/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images By now, if you've been reading our dinosaur articles, you're probably fed up with the gripes about 1993's "Jurassic Park." Look, we're all fans of that movie but it did get some things wrong. The onscreen Velociraptor are way too big and there's no reason to think T. rex couldn't see objects unless they were moving. Perhaps no other beast has been more wildly mischaracterized by this franchise than the crested predator Dilophosaurus. Ironically, it was also one of the few dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park" that lived in the actual Jurassic period. Advertisement Times Change All of the non-avian dinosaurs were confined to a geologic era called the Mesozoic. This was divided into three periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. The latter went out with a bang; a mass extinction marked the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago. Birds were the only dinosaurs who survived the catastrophe. Their brethren had a good run. The earliest dinosaurs evolved around 243 to 231 million years ago during the Triassic period. A time of great reptilian diversity, the Triassic gave way to the Jurassic about 199 million years before the present. Prior to that transition, most carnivorous dinos were small-bodied. Dilophosaurus was a sign of bigger things to come. The beast roamed what's now Southwestern North America early in the Jurassic period, about 183 to 193 million years ago. Dilophosaurus measured over 20 feet (or 6 meters) long, making it the biggest known North American land animal alive at the time. Compared to many of the flesh-eating dinosaurs who'd existed beforehand, this thing was a giant. So it's weird that the "Jurassic Park" Dilophosaurus is small enough to ride shotgun in actor Wayne Knight's jeep. Advertisement Nedry's Nightmare Knight played disgruntled computer programmer Dennis Nedry in the original "Jurassic Park" movie. After betraying his boss and endangering lives, Nedry gets his just deserts when a stray Dilophosaurus eats him in the front seat of a park vehicle. The villain meets a similar end in Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" novel, of which the film is an adaptation. In the book, our protagonists are told: "Scientists thought [Dilophosaurus'] jaw muscles were too weak to kill prey, and imagined they were primarily scavengers. But now we know they are poisonous." " " Models of the Dilophosaurus with a Scutellosaurus in its mouth stand in Saurierpark dinosaur park in Kleinwelka, Germany. picture alliance/Getty Images Stephen Spielberg's creative team gave their cinematic Dilophosaurus a cowl-like neck frill similar to the ones modern frilled lizards use to scare enemies away. After unfurling this accessory, the little dinosaur makes like a spitting cobra and sprays venom into Nedry's eyes. Advertisement A Carnivore's Toolkit There's no evidence to suggest the real Dilophosaurus carried poison or venom or had a movable neck frill. The toxic killer who slays Dennis Nedry has been described as "the most fictionalized of all Jurassic Park's dinosaurs." But let's take another look at that quote from the novel. Crichton didn't pull the scavenger hypothesis out of thin air. Samuel P. Welles, the paleontologist who named Dilophosaurus in 1970, thought the creature might've had an affinity for eating carrion. Below the dinosaur's nasal openings, you can see a distinctive notch on either side of its upper jaw. The "subnarial gap" (as this feature is called) lies at the meeting point of two separate jaw bones, both of which bear teeth. Welles thought the notches implied these bones were weakly connected and, therefore, Dilophosaurus didn't have a very strong bite. By the time Crichton's book came out, there'd been a lot of debate about this dinosaur's eating habits. " " This life-size model of a Dilophosaurus dinosaur (foreground) can be found in the Germendorf Animal, Leisure and Prehistoric Park in Oranienburg, Germany. alliance/Getty Images Pointing to the supposedly "weak" jaws, some experts suggested Dilophosaurus mainly ate corpses. Another hypothesis imagined Dilophosaurus as a fishing specialist that used its long teeth and jaws to snatch up wriggling fishes. Advertisement Modern Reassessment New research has cast the animal in a different light. On July 7, 2020, the Journal of Paleontology published a study that reevaluated five specimens of Dilophosaurus. Co-authors Adam D. Marsh and Timothy B. Rowe found the maxilla-premaxilla connection was stronger than Welles had supposed. They also observed scaffold-like attachment points for strong muscles on the lower jawbones. All this tells us Dilophosaurus actually had powerful jaws at its disposal. (Bite marks found on the remains of one Sarahsaurus a large contemporary herbivore may have been left behind by a peckish Dilophosaurus.) Advertisement Strange Headgear Marsh and Rowe called more attention to the dino's trademark feature: its flashy head crests. The name Dilophosaurus means "two-crested lizard." This is in reference to a pair of bony ornaments running down the creature's skull. It's unclear what the top of each crest looked like; scientists don't have any complete specimens to go on. In their paper, Marsh and Rowe wrote that the crests were "almost certainly covered in keratin or keratinized skin." For the record, keratin is a fibrous protein found in hair, hooves, horns, fingernails, claws and other animal body parts. Some modern birds like the dangerous cassowary have bony head crests sheathed in a layer of keratin-based material. These coverings can make the crest as a whole significantly taller than the underlying bone. So who knows? Dilophosaurus could've looked even more flamboyant than its naked skeleton might suggest. " " The fossilized remains of a Jurassic twin-crested Dilophosaurus at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. Kevin Schafer/Getty Images Advertisement Tracing the Past If you're wondering what the dino's twin crests were for, join the club. Attracting mates is one popular explanation, though it's also possible the crests helped regulate body temperature. Dilophosaurus' place on the tree of life is another big conversation topic. Pointing to shared anatomical features, Marsh and Rowe argued this dinosaur was related to two other crested predators: Zupaysaurus of Argentina and the Antarctic Cryolophosaurus. One can see the footprints of large, predatory dinosaurs at Early Jurassic dig sites all over the world from the Rocky Mountains to New England to eastern Europe. Some may have been left behind by Dilophosaurus itself. Advertisement Finding Fossils Most of our Dilophosaurus knowledge comes from discoveries made on Navajo Nation land. In 1940, a Navajo man named Jesse Williams became the first person in recorded history to lay eyes on a Dilophosaurus skeleton. Two years later, a group of visiting scientists contacted Williams. He then took them to a Jurassic graveyard where three Dilophosaurus lay exposed. Today, multiple specimens of this dinosaur which legally belong to the Navajo Nation are held in trust at the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Samuel P. Welles had a long and fruitful career there before his death in 1997. As you'll recall, Welles was the person who gave Dilophosaurus its name. He was also one of those visitors Jesse Williams guided in 1942. Welles proved you can appreciate a good dinosaur movie despite its scientific faults. After "Jurassic Park" hit theaters in '93, he didn't shy away from pointing out the Dilophosaurus-related inaccuracies. Even so, Welles went on the record as saying, "I enjoyed the movie thoroughly and was very happy to find Dilophosaurus an internationally known actor." Now That's Interesting Connecticut chose Dilophosaurus as its official state dinosaur in 2017. Trackways made by an unidentified meat-eating dino from the early Jurassic have been found there and it's possible Dilophosaurus (or a close relative) was the predator in question. Originally Published: Mar 20, 2008 Caregiving, especially for family, can be stressful and often overwhelming, but a free workshop starting on March 30 can help caregivers reduce stress as well as provide tools and strategies to better handle unique caregiving challenges, said officials. Classes are now being offered online. Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a national evidence-based education program designed to help family caregivers take care of themselves while caring for a relative or friend. This program helps family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence, communicate feelings better, balance their lives, increase their ability to make tough decisions and locate helpful resources. You will benefit from this class whether you are helping a parent, spouse, or friend; no matter if they live at home, in a nursing home, or across the country, said Christin McWhorter, community outreach manager. Caregivers often have to be reminded that being exhausted, stressed or burned out can actually diminish the quality of care that they can provide. The workshop will equip caregivers with tools that can enable them to give the best care they possibly can for their loved ones and show them how to thrive, not just survive during their caregiving journey. The Powerful Tools for Caregivers workshops are free and open to any unpaid caregiver; however, class size is limited, and pre-registration is required. Each participant will receive a book, The Caregiver HelpBook, developed specifically for the class. This course is being offered by the Area Agency on Aging and Disability, in partnership with Orange Grove Center. For more information or to register, please contact Patti Wade at 605-0307. These workshops are sponsored by the Southeast Tennessee Area on Aging and Disability which is a program of the Southeast Tennessee Development District, in partnership with Orange Grove Center. This project was supported, in part by grant number 90ADPI001001, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday voted to allow the return of craps games, and an additional seat at blackjack tables at MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor as sought by the casinos under improved coronavirus statistics. The return of craps games by a 4-0 commission vote occurs as the casinos reached the one-year anniversary of the pandemic this week. The pandemic shut down all state casinos for four months with mass layoffs, followed by a scaled back reopening in July with severe reductions in patrons and revenues. In addition, the commission voted 3-1 to allow the casinos to expand blackjack from three people at a table, allowed previously, to an additional fourth chair at the blackjack table. There is a lot of comfort in knowing that our enforcement measures are heightened... and we will continue to rely on the compliance efforts of the two licensees here, said Cathy Judd-Stein, commission chairwoman. Commission staff said the expansion of the gaming options will allow significant increases in employees and expand gaming opportunities for the patrons. Other casinos including those in Connecticut have craps for their players, officials said. Stein and members Enrique Zuniga and Gayle Cameron voted for the expansions of gaming requested by the casinos, saying they were satisfied the approved conditions and casino enforcement will safely protect players and dealers. Commission member Eileen OBrien voted for the return of craps, but was opposed to the added blackjack player at this time, due to the continuing pandemic. Regarding the craps tables, there will be three players permitted on each side of the table, for a maximum of six players, under the commission-approved conditions. There will be plexiglass partitions separating the players and partitions for the three dealers at each table, and a minimum distance will be required of approximately four feet separating seats. No patrons will be allowed to stand or congregate around the craps tables, and the dice shall be sanitized between shooters. Regarding blackjack, the plexiglass partitions will continue to be upheld with fourth seat added, and there will be a minimum of three feet between player positions. The casinos will continue to be under a limit that allows 40% of capacity. The casinos have had patrons significantly below the 40% cap since reopening in July, commission representatives said. OBrien said her concerns include that patrons when seated, are allowed to raise their face masks. Cambodian leaders including President of National Assembly Heng Samrin, President of Senate Say Chhum, Deputy PM of National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin and Deputy PM of Foreign Affairs (Prak Sokhonn) on Thursday received the first shot of AstraZeneca's 'Made-in-India' CoviShield COVID-19 vaccines. "Cambodian Leaders got the1st shot of @makeinindia vaccine #AstraZeneca- President of National Assembly, President of Senate, DPM of National Assembly-Senate Relations and DPM of Foreign Affairs," tweeted the Embassy of India in Phnom Penh. On February 6, India had approved the supply of 1,00,000 doses of C OVID-19 vaccines to under the Vaccine Maitri initiative. The supply was approved in response to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen's request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for assistance in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier on Wednesday, Cambodian PM Sen and the First Lady received a shot of the Made-in-India vaccine. From January 20 onwards, New Delhi has supplied vaccines to several countries including Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Bahrain, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. (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.) Some Australians may have to wait until early next year for their second shot of a COVID-19 vaccine due to supply problems, although the government still hopes to be finished by the end of October. Top government health officials also said it was impossible to predict exactly when the first 4 million people would receive their first dose, a milestone initially expected by the end of the month. Vaccine supply had been a significant issue in the early stages of the vaccine program, Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy told a parliamentary COVID committee hearing on Thursday afternoon some people might have had only their first dose by the end of October. The great majority of people will have had two vaccines by then, and everyone will have had one, and its a semantic difference where there are a small proportion who have to come back a little bit later for their second dose, he said. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Galveston, TX (77553) 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 84F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 76F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. A judge has denied a restraining order filed by Nicole Young against her estranged husband Dr. Dre, after a song released by the rapper prompted her to fear for her safety. Young, 51, requested the emergency domestic violence restraining order against her ex, 56, after he released a song last month in which he referred to her as a 'greedy b*tch' and a 'perjurer', according to TMZ. Young claims that while none of this is new, she is now concerned for her safety after the release of the song, and alleges 'he has upped the ante and is now outright threatening me to keep my mouth shut or else.' Denied: A judge has denied a restraining order filed by Nicole Young against her estranged husband Dr. Dre, after a song released by the rapper prompted her to fear for her safety Dre discusses having a health crisis in the newly released song, which is a collaboration with KXNG Crooked and DJ Silk. 'I see you trying to f*** me while I'm in surgery, in ICU death bed on some money s***,' he raps. 'Greedy b****, take a pic, girl you know how money get,' it is also sung. Despite Young believing the new song and her previous allegations of spousal support warranted the order, the judge ultimately denied her request due to 'insufficient evidence.' Responding to her allegations, Dre insisted the only time he had seen Young since the divorce filing was when she visited him in the hospital following his brain aneurysm in January 2021. Legal matters: Young, 51, requested the emergency domestic violence restraining order against her ex, 56, after he released a song last month in which he referred to her as a 'greedy b*tch' and a 'perjurer', according to TMZ Aside from that, Dre insists he has had no contact with her, and has denied all her allegations of abuse. Since she came forward with her claims, he 'realized he had no idea who the woman he was married to was and he wanted nothing to do with her.' Ever since Nicole filed for divorce in June last year, their split has become more and more contentious. In October, Dre accused his wife of criminal conduct in 'embezzling' more than $350,000 from one of their bank accounts. Happier times: The exes pictured in Sacramento, California in 2014 In January DailyMail.com revealed that Nicole filed court documents accusing Dre of violent and emotional abuse during their 24-year marriage. The music tycoon held a gun to her head, punched her in the face and slammed her against a wall, lifting her off her feet by her neck, she declared. Shortly after her scathing declaration to the court, Nicole's legal team huddled with Dr Dre's lawyers and the end result was that Dre - reportedly still in his hospital bed after suffering a brain aneurysm - signed an agreement to pay Nicole a lump sum of $2million in temporary support till April. Dre had been paying Nicole $293,000 a month in support, but she is asking the court to force him to pay her almost $2million a month, plus another $5million for attorney fees. Nicole - who claimed in legal documents that Dre has more than $260 million on hand in cash and Apple stocks - contends that she has a right to continue the lavish lifestyle she had as Mrs. Andre Young - which she said cost around $2.3million per month. Michel'le, who dated Dre in the 1990s, has repeatedly accused him of physical abuse which he denied in 2016 while threatening suit over a Lifetime movie about the subject. TV host Dee Barnes has also written that he beat her up at a party in 1991. The much-awaited official trailer of Mammootty's One, the upcoming political drama, is finally out. One official trailer was revealed by the cast and crew members through their official social media pages, recently. The promising official trailer of the Mammootty starrer hints that a high voltage political drama is in store for the Malayalam cinema audiences. The 2 minutes long official trailer of One begins with an incident that has created a huge stir in the socio-political atmosphere of Kerala. At the same time, Chief Minister Kadakkal Chandran, played by Mammootty, faces threats from both the opposition party and his own party. Some of the leaders even humiliate Chandran, calling him a "barber's son". Unlike the official teasers which were solely concentrated on Kadakkal Chandran's character, the supporting cast leads the way in the trailer. Chandran's role is unveiled through the descriptions of the other prominent characters, and Mammootty makes an entry much late in the trailer. From the trailer, it is evident that One depicts how the position of the Chief Minister changes the life and career of a politician. Apart from Mammootty, the actor who makes the most impact in the One official trailer is unarguably Murali Gopy. The actor-writer looks simply brilliant as Marampally Jayanandan, the opposition leader and a cunning politician. Murali Gopy's character notably says at one point in the trailer "Politics is no longer about serving the country; it is an industry." Along with Mammootty and Murali Gopy, the supporting cast of One including Joju George, Sudheer Karamana, Jagadish, Nimisha Sajayan, Alencier Ley Lopez, P Balachandran, Gayathri Arun, and others also made noticeable appearances in the trailer. From the trailer, it has been confirmed that this Santhosh Viswanath directorial, which is scripted by Bobby-Sanjay, is going to be an intense political drama. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 04:56:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BRASILIA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's state-owned National Supply Company (Conab) on Thursday said it expects 6 percent growth in the 2020/21 grain harvest, for a total of 272.3 million tons, 15.4 million tons more than in 2019/20 season. A Conab report showed cultivated area is estimated to grow 3.6 percent compared to the previous harvest, for a total of 68.3 million hectares. Soybean, Brazil's main agricultural export product, may see 4.1 percent growth in output compared to the previous cycle, to reach 135.1 million tons. Soybean exports are estimated to reach a record 86.1 million tons, or 3.7 percent more compared to last year. Corn is also expected to see record output, of over 108 million tons, or 5.4 percent more than the last harvest. Corn exports should reach 35 million tons, practically the same as last year. Rice and cotton are both expected to see a drop in production, of 1.9 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively. Enditem Global evangelist Luis Palau dies from lung cancer at 86 Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Luis Palau, the notable preacher and Argentina native, known for leading massive outdoor evangelist gatherings, has died at age 86 after a lengthy battle with cancer. In an email sent to supporters on Thursday, Palaus children explained that he died earlier in the morning, having been recently moved to hospice care. It is with a mixture of sadness and joy that we share with you that Dad passed away early this morning. He died suddenly and very peacefully, just as he had hoped. Mom and the family are doing well, they stated. This is hard news, but Luis is experiencing the beauty of the Lord face to face. Love to you from the family. Well share more news and updates in the days ahead. The Palau family added that while it's too early for details on a memorial service, they plan to have a small, private service here in Portland that will be streamed online in the near future. The family has also launched a memorial website that includes an official obituary and allows people to leave comments in appreciation of the late evangelist. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1934, Palau moved to the United States in 1960 to engage in ministry work, eventually headquartering the Luis Palau Association in Portland, Oregon. Palau was known for gathering large numbers of people for outdoor revival events that include music and preaching, often cooperating with local congregations. In 2015, for example, Palau brought together more than 1,000 New York City churches to organize around 60,000 people in Central Park for an evangelism event. In 2010, Palau held an event celebrating 50 years of ministry at the Oregon Convention Center, which was attended by Portland Mayor Sam Adams and contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman. In 2018, the same year that the autobiographical film "Palau the Movie" was released depicting the evangelist's life story, Palau announced that he had lung cancer. To me, the first thing you do is cry, Palau stated in the announcement. I think, 'oh wow, I can be gone in a few months,' and one silly thought that came to mind is that I won't be able to pick up the phone and talk to the boys and hear their voice and talk to my wife. "So everything is ready, and if the Lord wants to take me home in the next two months or two years, then I'm ready." Palau continued to battle over the next couple of years. The evangelist reported in February 2020 that he was actually feeling quite well, with the disease being kept at bay. On March 1, Palaus son, Andrew, announced on the Luis Palau Facebook page that his fathers health had worsened and he was being transferred to hospice care. We dont know exactly how much time we have left with Dad, but the end seems near, the son noted in the Facebook announcement. He is in good spirits and not in pain. We know this is probably hard for you to hear. Please know that the entire family is so thankful for your encouragement, prayers, and friendship. In a message emailed to ministry partners not long before his death, Palau said, "God is good," and he had "no major regrets." "There is nothing better than serving Him and sharing His Good News Gospel," said Palau. "Dont ever forget that truth. God delights in using you. He takes pleasure in your service. He is smiling down on you." Palau is survived by his wife, Patricia, sons Kevin, Keith, Andrew, and Stephen, daughters-in-law Michelle, Gloria, and Wendy, sisters Matilde, Martha, Catalina, Margarita, and Ruth, brother Jorge, and 12 grandchildren. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 79F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. (Newser) If a crystal ball in a Wisconsin home had been capable of predicting the future, it would have said, "I'm going to set your house on fire." Fire officials in Delton say the ornamental ball started a fire that caused around $250,000 in damage to a home in the town on Monday afternoon, Today reports. Nobody was injured. Investigators say the crystal ball was on a table in direct sunlight next to a sofa, reports WBNG. Sunlight that came through a large set of windows was intensified by the ball, which ignited the couch. The homeowner called 911 after she arrived home and found thick smoke throughout the house. story continues below "Homeowners should keep items such as crystals, mirrors, glass ornaments, and even bottles away from direct sunlight and particularly away from anything flammable," the Delton Fire Department said in a Facebook post. "These items can act just like a magnifying glass and focus sunlight so that the energy, which would normally be spread out over a wide area, is delivered to a much smaller point." (Read more house fire stories.) Head of the Institute of Caribbean Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Dr. Sonjah Stanley Niiah, says Jamaica might need to undergo another Reggae Revival very soon, as the genre is under threat of being arrogated by other countries, as it appears the nations artists are once again steering clear of recording songs within the genre. Considered a breath of fresh air from the abrasiveness which had taken a stranglehold on dancehall, Jamaicas Reggae Revival movement began around 2010 to give life to what many had described as a dying genre, which was losing its appeal and was no longer capable of captivating the youth who were moving towards hip hop and trap music. The Reggae Revival saw artists such as Chronixx, Protoje, Iba Mahr, Jesse Royal, Kabaka Pyramid, Jah 9, at the forefront of a style of music that essentially infused elements of 1980s Dancehall into Roots Rock Reggae, to spread positivity as well as shed light on the social ills of Jamaican society through its lyrics. But during a recent interview surrounding the preservation and documenting of Reggae music and culture on the Two Live Crew with hosts Dahlia Harris and Wesley Burger on Radio Jamaica, Dr. Stanley Niaah said Jamaican Reggae faces an imminent threat due to the actions of its own countrymen, in both academia and the music industry itself. The senior lecturer whose publications include the books Dancehall: A Reader on Jamaican Music and Culture, Reggae Pilgrimages: Festivals and the Movement of Jah People and Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto, said whilst the UWI was doing a large body of work through the Reggae Studies Unit, other institutions in Jamaica at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, must also do their part in teaching about Reggae. It cant be up to institutions like The University of the West Indies alone and the Institute of Caribbean Studies, to be able to offer programmes in Reggae studies. We have a minor in Reggae studies with various courses that cover different aspects of music and the business of music in particular. But every single institution should be looking at how it is going to transmit knowledge about Jamaican music, maybe under the banner of culture, but certainly, there has to be some focus on what Jamaicans have given the world, the university lecturer said. Because guess what? In a few years, time we will be hearing that Japan, France, Germany all of these places all of the major festivals are happening in these places and as soon as COVID is over and the festivals go back into full swing, and the production of Reggae music gets back into focus; because Jamaica is no longer interested in producing Reggae for example, or we need another Reggae Revival you gonna hear about those countries as the centres of Reggae production and consumption, Dr. Stanley Niaah added. She said the Reggae Studies Unit has undertaken the mandate to create full courses on Jamaican music legends and their contributions, with one such course being Bob Marley and His Music, which is lectured by her, but noted that there is a lot more that needs to be done. Focus needs to be placed on preservation, certainly documenting. I for example am writing, publishing. We have different audiences that we read to when we publish books. At least somebody can say when I have passed for example that I will leave a legacy of writing, I will leave a legacy of programmes that I have developed a the Institute of Caribbean Studies at the UWI, she said. And it is incumbent upon us. Children in Jamaica must not grow up and not know who a Bunny Wailer was; not know who Peter Tosh was not know who these people are. Because what other gold do we have that we are mining in this country? What other gold do we have? It is our foreign currency; it is our gold; it is our food; it is our soothing for our soul when we are in times of need. This is our gold and I am affirming that every Jamaican must know what we have given the world, she said. Kate Garraway reported for duty at Global Radio studios on Friday, shortly after defending former Good Morning Britain co-host Piers Morgan following his abrupt departure from the show. The presenter, 53, greeted onlookers with a polite wave as she made her way into the studio on London's Leicester Square ahead of her mid-morning slot on Smooth Radio. Opting for a smart navy coat over kick-flare jeans and distinctive white boots, Kate caught the eye as she made her way inside with a small travel case in tow. Here she comes: Kate Garraway reported for duty at Global Radio studios on Friday, shortly after defending former Good Morning Britain co-host Piers Morgan In accordance with current health and safety guidelines the presenter wore a protective face covering while travelling from ITV studios to her second job in the heart of the city. The appearance comes just hours after Kate spoke up for beleaguered former colleague Piers, whose departure from the show following a successful six-year run was confirmed on Tuesday. The divisive host, who helped transform the once struggling breakfast show into a ratings juggernaut, quit his role following backlash over his negative response to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's explosive CBS interview. Upbeat: The presenter greeted onlookers as she made her way into the studio on London's Leicester Square ahead of her mid-morning slot on Smooth Radio Appearing on Thursday's Good Morning Britain alongside fellow host Ben Shephard, Kate credited old friend Piers for his support after her husband Derek Draper fell gravely ill with COVID-19. She said: 'He is very passionate. He does fly kites and have debates but it always comes from a place of authenticity and he always believes in what he says. 'He's decided to quit and as he put it himself, fall on the sword of free speech. But as you rightly say, I've known him a long time, before he started working on this programme. Looking good: Opting for a smart navy coat over kick-flare jeans and distinctive white boots, Kate caught the eye as she made her way inside with a small travel case in tow 'Our friendship will go on, our personal friendship, and he's been very supportive of me personally. But yeah, it's a different show, isn't it? But the show goes on.' Piers made the decision to walk away from Good Morning Britain shortly after storming off set during a heated argument with weatherman Alex Beresford over his condemnation of Meghan. ITV later confirmed he would not return to the show in an statement issued later that evening. On side: The appearance comes just hours after Kate spoke up for beleaguered former colleague Piers, whose departure from the show was confirmed on Tuesday Close: 'Our friendship will go on, our personal friendship, and he's been very supportive of me personally,' she told Good Morning Britain viewers on Thursday 'Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add,' it read. The presenter's reaction to Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey on Monday morning's show has received more than 41,000 complaints to TV regulator Ofcom. It's understood that Meghan Markle also wrote to ITV's boss to complain about Piers hours before the GMB co-host quit following an on-screen row with Alex Beresford. Colleagues: Kate and Piers worked closely with one another on the show alongside co-host Susanna Reid His departure from ITV's breakfast show, which he helped transform into a ratings hit that beat its BBC rival for the first time this week, came amid the fallout from the extraordinary Oprah interview that has caused the Royal Family's worst crisis since Edward VIII's abdication in 1936. Hours after it was broadcast Piers branded Meghan 'Princess Pinocchio' after the Duchess said she was suicidal while five months pregnant but was denied any help by the palace. The presenter is understood to have been ordered to apologise - but he refused and quit instead saying he had the right to tell viewers his 'honestly held opinions' and declaring: 'Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on'. A former Government minister has called for the widening of the Covid jab intervals. Richard Bruton said it would allow a first vaccine to be given to more people, allowing for 80pc protection. And this in turn could allow for earlier reopening of society and the economy, said the former Education Minister and current chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party. Should we not now be considering extending the gap between doses, because we could increase the number reached by 40pc if we had a longer delay between the doses for the vaccine, Mr Bruton asked Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in the Dail. Read More Longer intervals until the booster jab would be better, allowing the State to move more quickly down through the priority groups, he said, thus making a greater impact on the risk of the of the virus. NIAC, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, is studying the intervals question, the Health Minister said. It was an excellent question, he said. The Government would study any recommendation that emerged, he added. Asked about the UK pushing out the intervals to a booster shot in order to give wider coverage to the population, the acting Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn told the Irish Independent three weeks ago that there was a concern that interval delay could allow vaccine-beating virus variants to emerge. Mr Bruton said however that the dramatic de-risking of the virus through greater initial coverage could change the trigger points for a re-opening of the economy. He said: Clearly the risk associated with say 300 cases per day is very different, if 80 per cent of the risk has been removed. We need to level with people if were to sustain their support. He commended citizens on the progress made. The number of cases, since the peak is down 90 per cent. Hospitalisations are down by over 75 per cent, and ICU admissions are down over 50 per cent. Thats the result of people up and down the country observing these obligations. Despite the frustration with the stop-go nature of the vaccine programme, there was now probably be 600,000 people vaccinated, an increase of a fifth in a week, he said. By the middle of next week all of the over 80s would be jabbed, and that will take out 63pc of the risk of fatalities from this virus. As we move to the group with high risk conditions, we will take even more out, particularly in in the risk of people being admitted to ICU. So we should we now be considering extending the gap between doses. Mr Donnelly said the very hard regimen of anti-virus measures was working, even with this awful B 117 variant, and week by week Ireland was steadily reducing the number of cases to now the fourth-lowest in Europe. Some concerns have been raised on extending the intervals between first and second shots, he said, in terms of a fall-off in effectiveness or levels of protection if the interval is too long. It's something NIAC is is paying attention to, and obviously if they make any recommendation, that's something we will we will we will certainly look at. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When Californians learned in October that the waters off Santa Catalina Island once served as a dumping ground for thousands of barrels of DDT waste, the ocean science community jumped into action. A crew was swiftly assembled, shipping lanes cleared, the gears set in motion for a deep-sea expedition aboard the Sally Ride, one of the most technologically advanced research vessels in the country. By Wednesday, the ship was ready to leave San Diego and head for the San Pedro Basin, where 31 scientists and crew members will spend the next two weeks surveying almost 50,000 acres of the seafloora much-needed first step in solving this toxic mystery that the ocean had buried for decades. "We want to provide a common base map of what's on the seabed at a high enough resolution," said Eric Terrill of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who is leading an effort made possible by the many scientists and federal officials who helped fast-track this expedition. "There were a lot of heroics pulled by quite a few people ... to make this happen." Public calls for action have intensified since the Los Angeles Times reported that the nation's largest manufacturer of DDT once dumped its waste into the deep ocean. As many as half a million barrels could still be underwater today, according to old records and a recent University of California, Santa Barbara study that provided the first real glimpse of this pollution bubbling 3,000 feet under the sea. "These barrels are full of toxic chemicals that could be causing illness among ocean wildlife and even humans. Ignoring it or claiming it's just too difficult to deal with is not an option," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who has pushed numerous agencies to make this issue a priority. "The Biden administration has indicated it's interested in taking action, and I intend to stay on them." The expedition this month will deploy two high-tech robots that will comb large swaths of the ocean floor with sonar"think of them as underwater Roombas," Terrill said. They will yield high-resolution data that will help his team of oceanographers, engineers and hydrographers determine where to send the robots back down for more detailed photos. Terrill, who specializes in developing technology for deep sea exploration, had already agreed to test these robots as part of an ongoing effort to advance the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's underwater data-gathering programs. Rather than conduct a more scripted test run, the team agreed to apply this exercise to a real-world needespecially when the DDT question started reverberating across government and academia. As a result, a deep-sea expedition that would usually take at least two years to coordinate came together in less than five months. Officials and scientists marveled at how quickly the logistics fell into place: finding a ship that wasn't already booked, mapping the expedition, assembling a crew that could operate the technology and process the immense amounts of data. (Pulling this off amid the COVID-19 pandemic was a feat of its own: Thirty-one people had to go through rigorous testing and strict isolation before they set sail.) Each robot can run autonomously underwater for about 12 to 16 hours before needing half a day to recharge. Terrill and his team have choreographed a NASCAR-like system, in which one robot will always be mapping the seafloor while the other recharges, offloads its data and is recalibrated by the scientists on deck. "We're going to have a 24/7 cadence while we're at sea," said Terrill, who directs the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps. (He also co-founded another deep-sea effort, Project Recover, which uses similar underwater techniques to find downed warcraft and repatriate Americans missing in action since World War II.) The plan, in fact, is to post the data almost immediately onto a NOAA-run repository usually used for live-time hurricane updates, oil spills and other major disasters. And within 30 days of the expedition, more polished data will made available on the National Centers for Environmental Information's website. "It's important to get this data up and shared as quickly as possible," said Rear Adm. Nancy Hann, who oversees the research fleet for NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. "This is an opportunity for us to apply those resources quickly, to a real-world problempractice launching, practice recovering, go through the process of: How can we use these vehicles to most efficiently provide answers that are needed?" David Valentine, whose UC Santa Barbara research team first came across the barrels, said this map will help scientists figure out where to focus further sediment and chemical studies. "There's a real need to look at the extent to which these materials, the DDT in particular, are working their way back into the active biosphere. We're not there yet, because we don't understand the distribution," said Valentine, who has been inundated with calls and emails since October. One critical question whose answer remains elusive is how much the DDT dumped in the deep ocean has been harming wildlife. Trying to answer that question anew is Allan Chartrand, an eco-toxicologist who first estimated the extent of the dumping in the 1980s, when he was a regulatory scientist for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. Chartrand has been reexamining his old reports that found high levels of DDT in three species of deep-water fishpuzzle pieces from the past that could help inform the questions still haunting the public today. Fellow scientists continue to find significant amounts of DDT-related compounds in Southern California dolphins, and a recent study concluded that cancer growth in sea lions is somehow exacerbated by all the DDT and other persistent chemicals accumulating in their blubber. Scientists at the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations program, which has maintained an enormous database of underwater specimens for the last 70 years, have also started reviewing decades of archived samples with fresh eyes. One of the program's most extensively sampled stations could be next to, and possibly on top of, part of the DDT dumpsite. "The rediscovery of the massive DDT dumping ground off Southern California is certainly a disaster in need of contexthow has the DDT, leaked from thousands of sunken barrels, made its way to the parts of the food chain that Californians rely on?" said Brice Semmens, program director and an associate professor of marine biology at Scripps. Once hailed as a wonder pesticide, DDT saved crops and combated malaria across the world. The U.S. banned its use in 1972, but the chemical is so stable it continues to poison the environment and accumulate up the food chain. For decades, the nation's largest DDT maker operated its plant on the border of Los Angeles and Torrance. A $140 million Superfund battle in the 1990s exposed the company's disposal of toxic waste through sewage pipes that poured into the seabut all the DDT that was dumped into the deep ocean had drawn comparatively little attention. Renewed outcry has focused on both the dumpsite and the Superfund site, which is still awaiting cleanup after more than 20 years of meetings and high-level studies. Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell, a Long Beach Democrat, recently introduced a joint resolution calling on Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action. In a statement to the Times, an EPA spokesperson said the issue was particularly complex and involved more than one contaminated site, as well as numerous agencies: "Since October 2020, EPA has shared information with our federal and state regulatory partners on this drum disposal issue." As for the Superfund site, the agency pointed to its continued outreach programs "to minimize public exposure to DDT- and PCB-contaminated fish while final cleanup actions are being developed and implemented." State leaders have also had numerous high-level meetings on the issue, said Mark Gold, who had championed the DDT problem as a marine scientist since the 1990s and currently serves as California Gov. Gavin Newsom's deputy secretary for coastal and ocean policy. "The Scripps, NOAA effort will really shed light on what needs to be done next," he said. Environmental groups have been fielding questions from the community and calling on those in power to ensure better monitoring and accountability. "We also need to find out who can still be held liable for the deeper pollution," said Shelley Luce, president of Heal the Bay. "I want to know: Who's going to pay? For the studies, the education, and ideally, remediation." Luce worries about the people who continue to feed their families with contaminated fish caught off local piers. Ultimately, she hopes this moment of outrage will lead to laws that better regulate all the pesticides, flame retardants and other questionable chemicals still polluting our environment today. "It's a very insidious poisoning of our ecosystem and of human beings," she said. "And the public doesn't know it's happening until too late." Explore further How the waters off Catalina became a DDT dumping ground 2021 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Novavax Inc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine is safe and 96 percent effective at preventing infection, but possibly not against all variants, trial data shows. On Thursday, the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company released results from two clinical trials, one held in the UK and the other in South Africa. Both countries have seen highly infectious variants crop up in recent months that have spread around the world. Across both trials, the vaccine candidate, called NVX-CoV2373, demonstrated 100 percent protection against severe disease, including all hospitalization and death. In the Phase III UK trial, the vaccine was found to be 96.4 percent effective against mild, moderate and severe disease caused by the original coronavirus strain. It was also 86.3 percent effective against the variant frist identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7. But in South Africa's mid-stage study, the Novavax shot was not as protective and was found to be just 55.3 percent effective its variant, which is called B.1.351. It remains unclear if the data will be enough for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant Novavax's shot emergency use authorization In a late-stage UK study, Novavax's coronavirus vaccine was shown to be 96% effective against the original COVID-19 strain and 100% effective at preventing severe disease. Pictured: Dr Stephaun Wallace (left) receives his second injection from Dr Tia Babu during the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trial in Seattle, Washington, February 2021 Novavax's vaccine uses synthesized pieces of the surface protein that the coronavirus uses to invade human cells and spurs antibody production (file image) The Novavax shot was 86.3% effective against the UK variant but just 55.3% effective against the South African variant. There are more than 3,000 cases of all variants in the U.S. 'We are very encouraged by the data showing that NVX-CoV2373 not only provided complete protection against the most severe forms of disease, but also dramatically reduced mild and moderate disease across both trials,' said Stanley Erck, president and CEO of Novavax, in a press release. 'Importantly, both studies confirmed efficacy against the variant strains. 'Today marks one year since the WHO officially declared the COVID-19 pandemic, and with this data in hand, we are even more motivated to advance our vaccine as a potential weapon in the fight to end the suffering caused by COVID-19.' Novavax, which has not produced a vaccine before, was one of six vaccine candidates to be given funding for research and development by the Trump's administration's Operation Warp Speed last summer. However, no contracts were signed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to supply doses of the vaccine. Its shot contains synthesized pieces of the surface protein that the coronavirus uses to invade human cells. The idea is that the protein will cause human cells to spur production of antibodies to fight the infection. This technology is a more traditional method of administering vaccines compared to the newer technology in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that has never been used before. The biotechnology company has been running trials in Britain, South Africa, the U.S. and Mexico. The UK trial involved more than 15,000 participants between ages 18 and 84, including 27 percent who were over the age of 65. Overall, there were 106 cases of COVID-19 in the trial, with 10 in the vaccine group and 96 in the placebo group. In volunteers who were 65 year old or older, there were 10 cases of coronavirus, nine of which were among those who received the placebo. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the effectiveness of the variant, which is now linked to more than 90% of cases in Britain Researchers determined the vaccine was 96.4 percent effective against the original strain and 86.3 percent against the variant circulating in the UK. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the effectiveness of the variant, which is now linked to more than 90 percent of cases in Britain. 'Really encouraging results from @novavax tonight on its efficacy against variants,' he tweeted. 'We've ordered 60 million doses & if approved by the medicines regulator it will be another boost to the UK's vaccination rollout as we work to overcome this virus.' However, the U.S.-based, late-stage trial did not begin until December after Novavax had issues in scaling up the vaccine's manufacturing. The South Africa trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in 2,665 healthy adults. In total, 51 cases of COVID-19 were identified the vaccine group and 96 in the placebo group - the vast majority of which were linked to the South African varaint. Researchers determined this demonstrated 55.3 percent efficacy against strains in South Africa. The news come less than two months after Novavax released data from an interim analysis shows. That data showed, that the vaccine was 95.6 percent effective against the original virus and 85.6 percent effective against the B 1.1.7. variant. At the time, the mid-stage study in South Africa found that the shot was just 49.3 percent effective against that country's variant. Sara Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister's wife, was hospitalised Thursday with an appendix infection at Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to fly to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, a historic trip meant to cement new diplomatic ties between the Mideast nations and boost the embattled Israeli leader's re-election hopes. But his wife's hospitalisation casts doubt on whether the trip will take place. Netanyahu is locked in a tight race against a field of challengers in Israel's fourth election in two years, and is sure to use the trip 12 days before Israelis go to the polls to his own political advantage. The UAE became the third Arab nation after Egypt and Jordan to establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel in August. Netanyahu has cast himself as a seasoned statesman uniquely qualified to lead the nation through turbulent times. Thursday's visit, which has been delayed several times due to coronavirus restrictions, could help him divert attention from his upcoming corruption trial and anger over the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis. Flash U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will travel to Japan and South Korea next week, the U.S. State Department confirmed on Wednesday. The State Department said in a statement that Blinken and Austin will attend the "2+2" meeting in Tokyo and Seoul with counterparts of the two allies from March 16 to 18. The trip will be the first in-person overseas visit by cabinet officials of the Joe Biden administration. The Pentagon said Austin will travel to India after his trip to Japan and South Korea. President Biden on Friday will meet virtually with leaders of Japan, India, and Australia. It will be the first time that "the Quad" meet at the leader level. Kalyan Jewellers India Limited will open its initial public offer of equity shares of the face value of Rs 10 each on March 16. The three-day public issue will conclude on March 18 and the bidding for anchor investors would open on March 15, Kalyan Jewellers announced in a virtual press meet today. Kalyan said the IPO offer, with a price band of Rs 86 to Rs 87 per equity share, comprises issuance of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1,175 crore, including fresh equity aggregating up to Rs 800 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) worth Rs 375 crore. Kalyan Jewellers' promoter TS Kalyanaraman would be offloading equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1,25 crore and Highdell Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, would sell up to Rs 250 crore worth of shares through the OFS route. Also read: Kalyan Jewellers gears up to open IPO Half of the issue is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 35 per cent for retail investors and 15 per cent for non-institutional bidders. The offer also includes a reservation aggregating up to Rs 2 crore for subscription by eligible employees. Bids can be made for a minimum of 172 equity shares and in multiples of 172 equity shares thereafter. The company proposes to utilise the funds towards funding working capital requirements of the company and general corporate purposes. Axis Capital Limited, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited, ICICI Securities Limited and SBI Capital Markets Limited are the global co-ordinators and book running lead managers to the IPO offer. BOB Capital Markets is the book running lead manager to the IPO offer. At the end of June 2020, Kalyan Jewellers had 107 showrooms across 21 states and union territories in India, and 30 showrooms in the Middle East. Kalyan Jewellers designs, manufactures and sells a wide range of gold, studded and other jewellery products. Also read: Upcoming IPOs in March 2021 in India: Kalyan Jewellers, Easy Trip Planners, MTAR Tech and more Also read: MTAR Technologies IPO to open on March 3; should you subscribe? Also read: SBI Mutual Fund IPO slated for this year; gears to raise $1 billion Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. YES By Tanith Carey Not long ago, I spoke to a lovely mum who had received a life-changing call from her GP. The doctor explained that the woman's 13-year-old daughter had just been to see her. The girl felt so hopeless about the bullying she was getting at school, and told the doctor she had hatched a detailed and imminent plan to kill herself. Tanith Carey (pictured) argues teenagers should be able to see their GPs in private in order to take charge of their own healthcare Because the mum had always put her child's wellbeing first, she'd assumed mental health problems were something that affected other families. Until that shattering moment, she had put her teen's low mood down to a mix of the usual friendship issues and hormones, assuming they were nothing a cup of tea and a piece of cake couldn't fix. It was a call no parent ever wants to receive. But the fact the girl was able to see her GP on her own ultimately saved her life. We all like to think our children will tell us everything. And most of the time, when kids fall ill or are in pain, we are the first people they turn to. But sometimes, out of embarrassment, a need for privacy, or a reluctance to hurt us, they don't. And that's why I agree with the draft guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which recommend people under 17 have the right to speak to a doctor without a parent present. It's no different from the way children have confidential access to helplines such as Childline. Because, of course, the other uncomfortable truth is sometimes parents are part of the problem. In some families, children feel their cries for help are not being heard. Or they may have parents with authoritarian views who would deny them access to contraception or punish them for being sexually active. Doctors already keep it confidential when children ask to see them, unless their life is at risk. NHS figures show that every year, thousands of underage girls already get contraceptive implants without the need for parental consent. They should take charge of their own healthcare But these NICE guidelines go one step further. They are designed to get young people to actively take charge of their own healthcare. We're already behind as it is. In the U.S. it has long been recommended that appointments with paediatricians for children aged 13 and over include time without the parent in the room, so youngsters feel they can speak more openly if they want to. Let's not forget that taking charge of your health is not something we know how to do overnight. It takes practice, and it's a skill our children can never learn too soon. If you need support, call the Samaritans on 116 123. NO By Melanie McDonagh So, your 14-year-old daughter is out. A few days later, a well-wisher lets you know that, unbeknown to you, she was at the doctor's, going for an appointment. How would you feel? I can tell you how I'd feel if it were my 14-year-old: I'd be furious. You're responsible for your children, not just morally but legally. And how are you meant to know what they're up to if they can receive medication and health advice without your knowledge? While Melanie McDonagh (pictured), disagrees, saying that she would be furious if her 14-year-old saw their GP in private The first thing that would occur to most parents is that she was looking for contraception, though I should say that my own daughter, mercifully, isn't in that world yet. But you should know about it, because if she's in a sexual relationship before it's even legal, you ought to be aware that it's happening and then stop it. As for doctors giving advice to young people about changing gender, it should be inconceivable without parental consent. But that's what the Government's advisory body, NICE, is suggesting that minors under the age of 17 should be able to see a doctor without a parent present, and surgeries should be able to text or phone them directly. I would be furious if my 14-year-old did this The draft guidelines recommend that children and young people should be given 'opportunities to express their opinions about their health needs independently'. It goes on: 'This may include asking them about the extent to which they want their parent or carer to be involved in their healthcare, and offering to see them separately from their parents or carers for part of the consultation.' I would hate that to happen to me. It is already hard enough to parent teenagers. Certainly, there are times where social services or schools think that a child is being abused at home, by a parent, step-parent or sibling; in these cases, it may be right to allow a child to have access to a doctor alone. But ideally a school nurse, without being allowed to prescribe for a child, should be able to ask them confidentially about what's happening at home and if there's cause for concern, it's police and social services who should be involved. Prescribing contraception for underage girls without their parents' knowledge may be simply enabling abuse to happen. My own daughter isn't keen on seeing a doctor alone, either. 'Doctors can abuse girls,' she said. You know, that never even occurred to me. [This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.] BRISTOL, UK (11th May, 2021)The developers of the worldwide smash hit Plague Inc. have released Weekly Challenges for Rebel Inc. for Mobile and PC! In this new game mode, you can compete for high scores across two separate challenges in Standard and Brutal difficulties. Each challenge features a region with preset governors, advisors, tactics and features. These unique challenges are refreshed every week and can be replayed as much as you like in that time. Were looking forward to seeing your scores! That's not all, we've added new advisor art and a total of over 150 Map Features, Player Tactics and Insurgent Tactics to Campaign mode, also available in Weekly Challenge, including Private Military Contractors, Soviet Bunkers, Propaganda Teams, Oil Surveys and More! About Rebel Inc. Rebel Inc. is the brand new game from the creator of Plague Inc. - one of the most popular paid games ever with over 130 million players. Brilliantly executed with beautiful graphics and critically acclaimed gameplay - Rebel Inc. offers a deeply engaging, strategic challenge inspired by the complexities and consequences of modern counter insurgency. Rebel Inc. is sophisticated and engaging. It shows the complexity of war and insurgency with interesting options to achieve success through stability and peace." - H.E. Said T. Jawad, Ambassador of Afghanistan to the UK About Ndemic Creations Ndemic Creations is a leading, independent game studio dedicated to making intelligent, sophisticated and ultra-high quality strategy games. It has achieved extreme success with its first game Plague Inc. a global hit which is one of the most significant mobile success stories ever with over 130 million players and it continues to top charts worldwide today. Ndemic Creations is self-funded and based in Bristol, UK. It was founded in 2012 by James Vaughan (initially as a hobby!). Useful links: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1088790/Rebel_Inc_Escalation/ iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/rebel-inc/id1439187947 Official website: Facebook: Twitter: Contact (press enquiries) Samuel Mottershaw [email protected] Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ndemiccreations.rebelinc&hl=en_GB&gl=US Official website: www.ndemiccreations.com/en/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebelincgame/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/NdemicCreations Contact (press enquiries)Samuel Mottershaw Healthcare employers in the Kansas City region need help keeping roles filled, especially with the impact of COVID-19. NEXTAFF, an industry leader in identifying healthcare talent, announced the recent opening of a new staffing agency location in Kansas City. Operated by Tom Moreland, the new office provides healthcare and nurse staffing solutions to healthcare facilities in Kansas City and the surrounding areas. Moreland brings a master's in health services administration and more than 20 years of long-term care experience to NEXTAFF Kansas City. "Were honored by the welcome weve gotten in the Kansas City Market. Healthcare employers in the region need help keeping roles filled, especially with the impact of COVID-19. The need for qualified people is growing, Moreland said. This new office enables us to serve even more healthcare professionals, facilities and communities. "The NEXTAFF operating model provides everything my team needs to run a successful staffing franchise, while fueling success for our clients and candidates," continued Moreland. "Whether you're an employer with an urgent need for licensed, screened nurses, or a healthcare professional looking for high-paying opportunities where you can thrive, one call to NEXTAFF does it all. NEXTAFF offers a proprietary recruiting method called X-FACTOR, which combines hiring methodologies that are statistically proven to outperform what typical staffing agency competitors and HR departments traditionally do. This methodology, combined with a robust back-office support structure, allows a staffing franchise office many distinct advantages over someone looking to start their own staffing agency. We are excited to open the Kansas City office. Tom is committed to NEXTAFF and the communities he serves, said Cary Daniel, co-founder and CEO of NEXTAFF. He has decades of healthcare experience, bringing welcome expertise to the growing Kansas City market. His partnership with NEXTAFF gives him the support and infrastructure he needs to serve the healthcare industry and communities in the Kansas City area. "Toms continued success is evidence of the value of his dedication and expertise, as well as the proven NEXTAFF system, said Mr. Daniel. "With Toms experience, tremendous staffing success in his other locations, and NEXTAFF's unique methodology, the Kansas City location is sure to be a success. The office is located at 11101 Switzer Road, Suite 110, Overland Park, KS 66210. More information can be found at https://www.nextaff.com/locations/kansas-city-mo-healthcare/. We look forward to using the proven NEXTAFF process to recruit, screen and hire quality employees in the Kansas City Market, said Tom. My goal is to establish lasting partnerships with employers looking for a higher level of candidate and service from their healthcare staffing provider. About NEXTAFF NEXTAFF helps companies recruit, screen and hire quality talent through our proprietary X-FACTOR model. Our comprehensive approach is designed to considerably outperform a traditional temp agency supplier model. Each NEXTAFF office is locally owned and operated, which allows our clients to work directly with owners in finding quality employees. NEXTAFF offers a variety of custom solutions in commercial, information technology and healthcare industries. NEXTAFFs goal is to enable clients to concentrate on their core business activities while we partner to improve and simplify their hiring process. For more information about NEXTAFFs services, visit https://www.nextaff.com/. Those interested in franchise opportunities can visit https://www.nextaff-franchise.com/. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade is undaunted by a Senate panel recommendation to kick him out as spokesman of the government's anti-communist task force, claiming he actually favors the plan. "It's just a recommendation from the Senate, that's fine with me. It's a welcome move actually because I'm performing dual hats as SolCom commander and NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict)," he told CNN Philippines on Thursday. Despite his nonchalance, Parlade insisted there is no conflict of interest should he keep his top post in the Armed Forces and the NTF-ELCAC. "I know the delineation of my job as spokesperson of the NTF-ELCAC. When it's not NTF-ELCAC, I don't speak about it," he said. "I understand my job, so what's the problem with that?" He said there are at least 50 other active military officials who are also part of the task force, explaining that NTF-ELCAC is an ad hoc body that is not even a government agency nor a civilian task force as claimed by Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation chairman Senator Panfilo Lacson. He said it is a convergence of all government agencies handling the communist insurgency. The Senate panel on Wednesday adopted a committee report recommending the removal of Parlade in the task force because it is illegal for an active military officer to hold another office. This was introduced as an amendment to the Senate National Defense and Security Committees report after conducting an inquiry on the issues raised against the Duterte administration's incessant red-tagging. The panel said Parlade is violating Article 16, Sec. 5 (4) of the 1987 Constitution, which provides: "No member of the Armed Forces in the active service shall, at any time, be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the government, including the government owned or controlled corporations or any of their subsidiaries." Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who is a member of the task group, is backing Parlade. He said the NTF-ELCAC is composed of military and police officers, so if the same principles apply, they should all be removed from the controversial task force. "Kung tanggalin mo si Gen. Parlade ay tanggalin mo na rin kami dyan," he said in a media briefing. "Wala akong nakikitang violation of the Constitution." [Translation: If you remove him, you should remove all of us. I don't see any violation of the Constitution.] He argued the anti-communist task force is utilizing and benefiting from Parlade's "expertise." Parlade has red-tagged several human rights groups and even famous personalities like Catriona Gray, Liza Soberano, and Angel Locsin, whom he accused of supporting communist rebels. He repeatedly denied this in his interview with CNN Philippines. The five Oklahoma City police officers charged with first-degree manslaughter after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot while allegedly attempting to rob a convenience store have been pictured for the first time. Stavian Rodriguez was shot 13 times by officers responding to reports of an attempted armed robbery at a convenience store on November 23 last year. The officers who have been charged after firing lethal rounds are: Bethany Sears, Jared Barton, Corey Adams, John Skuta and Brad Pemberton. If convicted, they could face up to life in prison. A sixth officer, Sarah Carli, was the first to fire a 'less-lethal' weapon and will not be charged, cops said. Surveillance video obtained by KOCO appears to show Rodriguez attempting to cooperate with police when he was shot. Scroll down for video The officers who have been charged after firing lethal rounds are: Bethany Sears, pictured, Jared Barton, Corey Adams, John Skuta and Brad Pemberton The officers who have been charged after firing lethal rounds include : Bethany Sears, Jared Barton, left, Corey Adams, right, John Skuta and Brad Pemberton The officers who have been charged after firing lethal rounds are: Bethany Sears, Jared Barton, Corey Adams, John Skuta, left, and Brad Pemberton, right Stavian Rodriguez, 15, was shot after he was allegedly a part of an armed robbery 'Show us your hands, sir. Nobody has to get hurt,' cops tell Rodriguez over a speaker. Rodriguez is seen climbing out of the drive-thru window with his hands raised, as cops scream: 'Hands!' The boy then slowly moves his hand to his waistband and lifts his shirt to show cops that he is removing the weapon tucked into his jeans. 'Get face down on the ground,' cops order as Rodriguez removes the weapon and drops it to the floor. 'Oh, don't do that!' a male officer says to the kid as a female cop orders him to get on the ground and 'drop it.' Rodriguez then reaches in his pocket in what appears to be an attempt to remove something else, as cops scream and multiple gun fire shots are heard. Video footage shows Stavian Rodriguez attempting to cooperate with police when he was shot The boy lifts his shirt to show cops that he is removing the weapon tucked into his jeans. Rodriguez then reaches in his pocket in what appears to be an attempt to remove something else, as cops scream and multiple gun fire shots are heard. Rodriguez is pictured on the ground after being shot at by officers Eventually, a commanding officer orders the cops to 'cease fire.' Another video taken by KOCO's news crew, which was at the scene when the shooting happened, shows another view of the shooting. 'He had dropped his f**king gun. He had dropped his f**King gun!' a woman's voice is heard screaming. Wyatt Cheatham has also has been charged with first-degree murder for Rodriguez's death after he admitted to being involved in the robbery but was there when cops killed Rodriguez, KOCO reported. A suspect can be slapped with felony murder charges in Oklahoma if someone dies while certain felonies are being committed Master Sergeant Gary Knight told the outlet immediately after the incident that: 'He came out with the gun in his hand, he did not follow officer's instructions while he came out with the gun in his hand. Ultimately, he was shot.' Oklahoma City District Attorney David Prater has charged five of the responding officers with first-degree manslaughter. After being shot with the 'less-lethal' round, five officers 'unnecessarily fire lethal rounds at Rodriguez, striking him numerous times and inflicting mortal wounds,' Prater's investigator, Willard Paige, wrote in an affidavit. An autopsy determined Rodriguez suffered 13 gunshot wounds, Paige wrote. Officials have not yet revealed which officer fired the fatal shot. It was also not immediately clear whether any of the officers had attorneys who could speak on their behalf, but John George, president of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, defended their actions. 'Officers must make life and death decisions in a split second, relying on their training. When an armed robbery suspect did not obey police commands, five officers perceived the same threat and simultaneously fired their weapons,' he said. 'A loss of life is always a tragedy and we know these officers did not take firing their weapons lightly. The OKC FOP stands by these officers and maintains they acted within the law.' Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater has charged five officers with manslaughter Cops investigate the scene where Rodriguez, 15, was shot and killed by Oklahoma City police after they said he tried to rob a gas station at gunpoint in November The officers have been on administrative leave since the shooting. Police also released the officers' body camera footage after the boy's mother sued for it last month. Another boy, 17-year-old Wyatt Cheatham, has also has been charged with first-degree murder for Rodriguez's death after he admitted to being involved in the robbery but was there when cops killed Rodriguez, KOCO reported. A suspect can be slapped with felony murder charges in Oklahoma if someone dies while certain felonies are being committed. Cheatham is still being held without bond in the Oklahoma County Jail, where his supporters have rallied multiple times claiming he should be charged with robbery - not murder, according to KOCO. 'He needs to be charged appropriately, charged with the robbery of the store. Not murder,' supporter Yolanda Meekins said. An autopsy determined Rodriguez suffered 13 gunshot wounds after five cops shot their lethal weapons The 15-year-old was also hit with a 'less-lethal' weapon from a sixth officer who will not be charged, cops said. Each year, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) sponsors the Rhodes Academy-ICPC Submarine Cables Writing Award for a deserving paper addressing submarine cables and their relationship with the law of the sea. With the award, the ICPC seeks to foster scholarship regarding submarine cables and the law of the sea and promote the rule of law as applied to submarine cables. In 2020, the selection jury chose Mr Yang Wenlan as the winner for his paper "Protecting Submarine Cables from Physical Damage under Investment Law." Rhodes Academy. Each year, the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy brings together approximately 50 mid-career professionals from around the world to study and learn from leading ocean law and science scholars, judges, and practitioners (including ICPC representatives) about the law of the sea and its key legal instrument, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It is organised by a consortium of research universities and institutes, led by the University of New Hampshire. The Rhodes Academy's twenty-fifth session will convene virtually from 4-14 July 2021. Numerous students affiliated with ICPC Members have graduated from the Rhodes Academy. The ICPC is proud to support the Rhodes Academy. For more information about the Rhodes Academy (including application procedures), see https://marine.unh.edu/academics/rhodes-academy. The Award. The award winner will receive either guaranteed admission and a full scholarship (covering the attendance fee, travel expenses, and shared hotel room) to a future Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, or for a graduate of the Rhodes Academy from a prior year, a cash award of GB 4,500. The winner will also be invited to speak at the ICPC Plenary meeting in 2022. Eligibility and Process. The Rhodes Academy-ICPC Submarine Cables Writing Award is open to: any person aspiring to attend the Rhodes Academy (the candidate must meet the admissions requirements), or a Rhodes Academy Graduate from a prior year. Papers should be suitable for publication in a scholarly international law journal and must consist of 7,500 10,000 words (excluding footnotes). To register to compete for the award, interested candidates should send an abstract (no more than 300 words) and a short biography to the Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore, lawtmd@nus.edu.sg, which administers the competition on behalf of ICPC and the Rhodes Academy. Papers must be submitted to CIL, also at lawtmd@nus.edu.sg, no later than 1 April 2021. Papers will be reviewed anonymously by the selection jury, consisting of three members designated by the Rhodes Academy and one by the ICPC. About the ICPC: The ICPC is the world's premier submarine cable protection organisation. It was formed in 1958 to promote the protection of international submarine cables-the infrastructure of the Internet-against human and natural hazards. It provides a forum for the exchange of technical, legal and environmental information about submarine cables and engages with stakeholders and governments globally to promote submarine cable protection. The ICPC has over 170 Members from over 60 nations, including cable operators, owners, manufacturers, industry service providers, as well as governments. For further information about the ICPC, see www.iscpc.org and www.linkedin.com/company/icpc-ltd/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005878/en/ Contacts: ICPC: Kent Bressie, International Law Adviser, ICPC +1 202 730 1337 kbressie@hwglaw.com Manchester Center, VT (05254) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. WKCTC Ranks in Forbes Magazine Top Ten By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - West Kentucky Community and Technical College were named one of the top ten community colleges in the nation by Academic Influence and reported by Forbes Magazine this week.A team of academics and data scientists released its first-ever ranking of the best 50 American community colleges derived from an initial list of 839 community colleges in the U.S.WKCTC was the only college in Kentucky on the top 10 and the only one on the top 50 list. The top 10 community colleges in the nation according to Academic Influence's list of the top 50 are:Anne Arundel Community College (Maryland)Roxbury Community College (Massachusetts)Eastern Maine Community CollegeSpringfield Technical Community College (Massachusetts)College of Marin (California)Los Angeles City CollegeLamar Institute of Technology (Texas)Kennedy-King College (Illinois)West Kentucky Community and Technical CollegeLamar State College-Port Arthur (Texas)The ranking listed in Forbes differs from the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence in which WKCTC was also named one of the top 10 community colleges in the nation. The Aspen Prize of $1 million will be awarded in May 2021.Academic Influence's college rankings system uses intelligence technology to search massive databases and to measure the impact of work by individuals who've been affiliated with colleges and universities throughout the world."I am profoundly thrilled and excited for the WKCTC family and the hard work of our faculty and staff to receive yet another prestigious top ten national ranking!" said Dr. Anton Reece, WKCTC president. "It is particularly rewarding as we continue to navigate COVID-19's impact on enrollment and delivery of instruction. These national rankings continue to raise the profile of our college and the stellar reputation for academic and student success excellence, which parents, students, faculty and community stakeholders view as a powerful factor for choosing WKCTC as a guaranteed return on investment." On March 8, Twitter user Carl Zha posted a combo photo and captioned it with the words "US vs China: Congress edition". The tweet prompted heated discussions over the totally different fates of two men - one a white American wearing indigenous clothing to try to look more authentic, the other a Chinese representative of his ethnic group wearing a traditional roe deer hat. The American in the left photo wearing a furry hat is Jacob Chansley, who was arrested after storming the U.S. Capitol, while the man in the right picture is Dai Xiyuan from the Oroqen ethnic group, who was seen attentively taking notes at a plenary meeting of the delegation from north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region during China's "two sessions", a key event on China's political calendar. According to Dai, the roe deer hats are no longer being made, as the animal has been put under level-two state protection and has become an intangible cultural heritage item in China. The photo also served as a vivid rejection of the groundless accusation of "genocide" against ethnic minorities in China fabricated by certain Western politicians and media outlets. Some net users claimed that what the U.S. did to native Indians constitutes actual genocide. On March 8, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying posted a tweet that said: "Every year representatives of ALL ethnic minorities in #China attend #Two Sessions (over 13% of all deputies), proudly dressed in traditional costume. Wonder anyone seen such multi-ethnicity in congress of those countries smearing China?" In fact, the Oroqen ethnic group has not only kept its traditional culture, but also embraced improving livelihoods with the help of the central government. As China's last hunting society, the Oroqen ethnic group has undergone remarkable changes in its economic and social outlook over the past years. From 1951 to 1958, the Oroqen people have become completely settled. Between 1958 and 1988, the Oroqen people began to engage in agricultural production and various types of businesses. In 1996, the Oroqen Autonomous Banner implemented a hunting ban, showing that they had completely abandoned their hunting lifestyle. Since 2018, under the guidance of the targeted poverty alleviation policy, the banner has been getting rid of poverty. The former hunting society, which has lived in the mountains for generations, is gradually boarding the fast train of modernization, and has embarked on a new journey towards a well-off society in all aspects. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The 10 outstanding young Vietnamese and the 10 promising ones in 2020 have been chosen and announced by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the award council. Hoang Tuan Anh (centre), born in 1985, Director of the HCM City-based Vu Tru Xanh Joint Stock Company, is among 10 outstanding young Vietnamese in 2020. He is one of the two persons honoured in the field of social activities. (Photo: VNA) The 10 outstanding young Vietnamese and the 10 promising ones in 2020 have been chosen and announced by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the award council. The exemplars come from nine areas, namely learning, scientific research innovation, labour and production, business startup, national defence, security and order, sports, culture and arts, and social activities. There arent any nominees in the category of state administrative management this year. Among the outstanding young Vietnamese, Doan Le Hoang Tan, born in 1987, Deputy Director of the Centre for Innovative Materials & Architectures at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, was honoured in the field of scientific research innovation. He designed and created a spongy and biodegradable nano-material capable of carrying anti-cancer agents to tumours in a precise manner and controllably releasing drug, helping to limit side effects and improve the effectiveness of drug during the cancer treatment process. Tan has had 30 articles published on prestigious science magazines in the world. Doctor Tran Anh Tu, born in 1989, from the department of infectious disease control at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, was named a role model in labour and production thanks to his active participation in the COVID-19 fight. He obtained prominent achievements in the research and application of science technology to analysing epidemiological information to help with contact tracing for COVID-19. The honoree in the business startup category is Pham Ngoc Anh Tung, born in 1989, CEO of FoodMap an e-commerce platform linking farmers with small- and medium-sized producers and consumers. FoodMap successfully raised 500,000 USD in funding from the Singaporean-based early-stage venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners last year. Meanwhile, Hoang Tuan Anh, born in 1985, Director of the HCM City-based Vu Tru Xanh Joint Stock Company, is one of the two exemplary persons in the field of social activities. He made use of exiting machinery to invent rice dispensers, also called rice ATMs, and face mask ATMs, which have proved effective in the COVID-19 combat. VNA Ten outstanding Vietnamese youths in 2019 announced Ten winners of the Vietnam Outstanding Young Faces Award 2019 were announced on March 3. Workers who favor joining a union demonstrate outside Amazon's warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., on Friday. (Megan Varner / Getty Images) Timmy Johnson, a 23-year-old dockworker for Amazon, was skeptical when he first heard about the push to form a union at his warehouse. Scanning boxes and taking them to trucks was exhausting, but $15.55 an hour was more than he had earned as a stacker at Lowes, and he didnt see the point of paying nearly $500 a year in dues. Then he spoke to his father, a former coal miner. He said it was a good thing for us to have, Johnson said. He told me my job would be secure and they wouldnt be able to fire me for no reason. So Johnson voted to unionize Amazons vast 855,000-square-foot warehouse in this predominantly Black blue-collar city about 15 miles southwest of Birmingham, Ala. In doing so, he joined the largest band of American workers to challenge the powerful, multinational retail company since it was founded more than a quarter of a century ago. U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), left, talks with reporters after visiting the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bessemer on Friday. The union effort has drawn the attention of lawmakers, as well as President Biden, who recently delivered a pro-union video message. (Megan Varner / Getty Images) A victory for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is not assured: More than 5,800 workers have the opportunity to vote. And after Amazon hired an aggressive union-busting firm, some workers say they are undecided or already have voted no. But the union has cleared a major hurdle in getting more than 2,000 workers to sign cards supporting a union election more than any other Amazon workplace in the country. This month, President Biden delivered a major boost when he gave workers in Alabama a shout-out and stressed unions historic role in building the middle class. Unions put power in the hands of workers, Biden said in a video message. They give you a stronger voice, for your health, your safety, higher wage, protections from racial discrimination and sexual harassment. Unions lift up workers, both union and non-union, but especially Black and brown workers. Alabama may seem an unlikely place for workers to take on the trillion-dollar company founded by Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world. A conservative right-to-work state where workers do not have to pay dues to unions that represent them, it is home to the worlds only non-unionized Mercedes-Benz plant. But the Birmingham metro area was once the largest iron and steel producer in the Southeast, and it has a strong and distinct legacy of workers coming together to improve job conditions. Story continues When Amazon and Jeff Bezos looked at Bessemer, they saw one of the poorest cities in the state of Alabama, said Michael Foster, 41, a lead organizer for RWDSU. What they failed to uncover is that this was a union city of steelworkers and coal mine workers. These people know about unions, even though this is a red state. If a majority of Amazons workers in Bessemer vote to form the companys first labor union in the U.S. before the March 29 deadline, it would be a major setback for the company, which has seen record profits and hired more than 500,000 workers during the pandemic. A victory in Alabama could inspire a rush of organizing in Amazon warehouses across the nation including states that are more union-friendly, such as California, Michigan and New York. Nobody thought we would get this far. We had people tell us we were crazy, just going up against Amazon, period, Foster said. Amazon is a powerful beast right now and only getting more powerful. If we dont fight back, were going to be swallowed up. The move to set up a union began just months after Amazon opened its Bessemer warehouse last March. Amazon worker Darryl Richardson says the pace of his job leaves him sore and weary. (Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times) Darryl Richardson, 51, was excited when he got hired at Amazon after losing his unionized job at an auto parts supplier. But as he scrambled to work as a picker, pulling hundreds of items out of large metal bins that robots brought to him and putting them in totes on a fast-moving conveyor belt, it did not take him long to decide they needed a union. Its very stressful, he said. You aint got time to breathe, aint got time to stop. You be hoping you could catch up and a robot pause, so you can take a deep breath. But the robots dont stop. His shoulders ached. His hands cramped up. Working from 7:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., with few breaks, he began to feel like a robot. After eight months, he is paid $15.55 an hour substantially lower than the $23.58 he earned at his last job. Its kind of sad to work for the richest man in the United States of America and he dont want to pay his employees fairly for what they do, he said. I dont understand how a person can be so greedy. After seeing co-workers terminated for not keeping up with Amazons relentless productivity demands or leaving their stations too often to go to the bathroom, Richardson clicked on the RWDSU website, filled out a form and asked: Who do I talk to about union organizing? For RWDSU, the stakes are higher than just one warehouse or one company. A pro-union sign outside Bessemer's Amazon Fulfillment Center. (Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times) We are concerned that Amazon is setting the model for the future, said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the union, which has played a key role in organizing poultry workers in Alabama. This is really about the future of work. People are managed by an algorithm. Theyre disciplined by an app on their phone. And theyre fired by text message. People have had enough. This is as much of a civil rights struggle as it is a labor struggle, he added, noting that Amazons Bessemer workforce was about 80% Black. Amazon declined requests for interviews with company leaders. We dont believe the RWDSU represents the majority of our employees views, a spokesperson said in a statement. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire, and we encourage anyone to compare our total compensation package, health benefits, and workplace environment to any other company with similar jobs. On its anti-union website, the company touts high wages (starting pay is about $15 an hour, more than twice the federal minimum wage) and healthcare benefits. It also warns workers that paying union dues will prevent them from buying dinner, gifts and school supplies, even though union dues are not mandatory in Alabama. Workers who were union members in 2020 had median weekly earnings of $1,144, compared with $958 for their non-union peers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the warehouse, tensions are high as union activists stand outside the sprawling facility every day, wielding placards that say, Stronger Together. Inside, Amazon bombards workers with anti-union texts and signs saying, Where will your dues go? Before voting started, the company required workers to attend anti-union informational meetings. One manager last week questioned the work ethic of those pushing for a union. Some people just have a hard time keeping up, said Lynn Bray Jr., 36, a project manager and floor supervisor who started out as a floor tech. My thing is, if you work hard, somebody will see you, and at some point, youll definitely get an advancement. Some workers are tired of the barrages of messages not just from Amazon but also RWDSU. This union stuff getting on my nerves, one worker posted on Facebook, noting that she planned to send in a blank ballot. Let it be March 30th already!!! I swear! a friend responded. Dude walked up to my car, I mouthed Im good. It is not Bessemers first high-stakes union battle. In the 1930s, thousands of workers walked off the job at the citys largest iron and steel companies, demanding union recognition and higher pay, according to Robin D.G. Kelley, a professor of history at UCLA and author of Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression. The governor called in the National Guard after gun battles erupted between workers and company police. At least two strikebreakers were killed. While many unions were segregated across the Deep South, Black workers held most middle- and low-level leadership positions in the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in Bessemer. According to Kelley, the prevalence of Black workers and the unions egalitarian goals gave the movement an air of civil rights activism. Nearly a century later, the regions industrial power and its union membership have dwindled, and Bessemer is a struggling city with a median household income of just $32,301. Workers opinions of Amazon are mixed. While some workers have a family history of union membership, RWDSU leaders worry that many have been swayed by the companys union-busting messaging. On his breaks, Richardson tries to reach out to younger workers, who he says do not understand what unions can do. I tell them, We got to stick together, cause theyre treating us wrong and theyre firing you for no reason, he said. Just think about it like this: If the union was so bad, why is the company doing everything it can to keep it out of here? Jasmine Thomas, 30, an order packer from Birmingham, was still undecided as she left the warehouse one afternoon last week. Although the work was strenuous and fast-paced, she said, she earned $5 an hour more than at her last job at Walmart, and she hoped to move up in the company. Im still half and half, she said. I feel pretty comfortable as I can just go up and talk to my manager anytime I want. Everybodys like, The union can get more for us, but what do we not already have? Union officials Randy Hadley, left, and Curtis Gray carry signs outside the Bessemer, Ala., Amazon warehouse. (Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times) Some workers said they had already voted against the union. Lester Charles Samuel, 18, a stower, voted against the union last week, because his experience at the warehouse had been positive and he was making $15.30 an hour nearly double the $8 he earned at his last job at a university cafeteria. I dont have to overwork myself or strain my back, he said. I feel we dont need a union. Brittainy Harlins, 34, also a stower, said her experience with unions in her last job as a team leader at an automotive parts supplier in Tuscaloosa was not positive. Its pretty much me paying my money for them to go on vacation thats how I feel, she said as she stopped at a gas station before her night shift. Like, I didnt see a difference with my union rep going in there with me, versus me going in there by myself. But Catherine Highsmith, 24, a worker who recently landed an unpaid promotion as a troubleshooter on the robotics floor, rejected co-workers arguments that they would be better off without a union. As much as she liked her job, she wanted to know that, if she had a serious problem, a union would back her and put pressure on Amazon. Listen to what theyre saying, she said of co-workers who questioned the union. Its me, me, me. I, I, I. The culture at Amazon is hyper-individualistic. They want you to think about yourself and yourself only. Thats why they hate the union so much. They dont want people thinking of themselves as a whole unit together. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Another user in the same thread said he named his son Elon to express his admiration. The user did not reply to a message seeking further comment. Teslas giant factory near Shanghai started production in 2019 and helped ramp up the companys manufacturing capacity. When Teslas share price hit a new high in January, making Musk the planets wealthiest man, Chinese fans claimed credit. (Musks reaction to the news Well, back to work was liked 22,000 times on the Chinese social platform Weibo.) Later that month, as Musk endorsed the run-up in GameStop shares, many in China were riveted, drawn to the drama by the same distrust of big financial institutions. Occupy Wall Street could never be copied in China, said Suji Yan, an entrepreneur and investor in Shanghai. To do that, youd have go on the streets, he said. Buying protest stocks is safer. The dispiritedness that many Chinese tech workers have for their industry is compounded by their feeling that it is no longer really inventing or innovating. While Musk is off building futuristic cars and colonising the cosmos, they see the best minds of their generation designing cellphone games, figuring out how to put more ads on social media and speculating in real estate. China doesnt have Silicon Valley madmen anymore, Yan said. Tech bosses have all become cardboard cutouts, he said, and investors will not touch ideas that seem remotely crazy. China is one of Teslas biggest markets. Credit:Bloomberg Musks acolytes are a passionate bunch everywhere. But in China, his popularity is helped by the authoritarian governments embrace of Tesla and vice versa when the United States and China have never trusted each others high-tech companies less. Musk has praised the intelligence of the Chinese officials he met while preparing to open the Shanghai factory. The company, in a first for a foreign carmaker in China, has been allowed to run its plant without a local partner. People in China marvelled at the way Musk handled the countrys hard-nosed authorities. They have been more critical of the ways he has sometimes treated his own workers. He lashed out last year at California health officials who demanded that a Tesla factory there remain closed out of coronavirus concerns. The company has also come under scrutiny for workplace injuries and racial discrimination. Musk and Tesla did not respond to emails requesting comment. The frustration with Big Tech is part of a wider malaise in China. For many young people, decades of breakneck economic growth seem to have resulted in only fiercer competition for opportunities, less stability and less say over the direction of their lives. On the Chinese internet, the term that has captured the mood is involution, previously used by anthropologists to describe agrarian societies that grew in size or complexity without becoming more advanced or productive. The feeling among young Chinese people that they are fighting harder for a slimmer chance at material gain is leading them to hope to reorganise life in a different way, said Biao Xiang, who studies social change in China and is director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany. Beyond criticising the tech industrys high-pressure work culture and the gig economys labor abuses, young Chinese people are more sceptical of the vast influence that internet platforms like Alibabas wield over commerce and finance. Still, Xiang believes people in China have not turned against businesses that deliver technological advancements of a more tangible nature, which is why Musks industrial optimism still has appeal. Loading Theyre not really against tech, Xiang said. Theyre more against this kind of platform-style manipulation of social relations. China does not lack outspoken tech tycoons. It is just that their careers never seem to go very far without running into trouble. There is Justin Sun, the cryptocurrency whiz who paid $US4.6 million to dine with Warren Buffett but later apologised for excessive self-promotion. Or Jia Yueting, who set out to best Apple in smartphones and became buried in debt. Even Ma of Alibaba appears to have helped catalyse the governments crackdown against him by speaking a little too frankly at an event about his annoyance with regulators. Married At First Sight will soon welcome its first bisexual groom. Daily Mail Australia can reveal that prison case manager Liam Cooper, 29, will set tongues wagging when he discloses his sexuality at his wedding reception. The Brisbane native apparently surprised his 'wife' Georgia Fairweather while filming their nuptials when he told her he'd dated men and women in the past. Meet Married At First Sight's first bisexual groom: Prison case manager Liam Cooper, 29, will set tongues wagging when he reveals his sexuality at his wedding reception An insider said Liam had concerns his bride 'would not react to the news well', but after getting over her initial surprise, Georgia was apparently very accepting. 'It all panned out in the end,' they said. The source explained that while Liam is attracted to both sexes, he is looking to settle down and start a family with a woman. According to his official bio released by Nine today, Liam describes himself as an 'Aussie bogan' who grew up on a farm riding horses Unexpected: The Brisbane native apparently surprised his 'wife' Georgia Fairweather (right) while filming their nuptials when he disclosed he'd dated men and women in the past Born in country New South Wales, Liam moved to Brisbane five years ago. His last relationship was six years ago and he hasn't dated much since because 'people find him too much'. Liam's 'wife' Georgia, 25, is set to bring plenty of personality to the experiment. Fears: A source explained that while Liam is attracted to both sexes, he is looking to settle down and start a family with a woman. Pictured with Georgia during filming in October Bio: Born in country NSW, Liam moved to Brisbane five years ago. His last relationship was six years ago and he hasn't dated much since because 'people find him too much' Georgia runs her own successful bikini business, and also works as an events manager alongside her mother. It comes after Daily Mail Australia revealed three new couples would be joining the Channel Nine dating show next week. Liam and Georgia will be joined by brand manager Jaimie Gardner, FIFO worker Chris Jensen, actor Johnny Balbuziente and occupational therapist Kerry Knight. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine A decision by Denmark to temporarily halt use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is a precautionary measure and people should continue to get their jab, the UK regulator has said. Danish authorities have paused vaccine rollout after a small number of blood clots and one death were reported, though they have said there is no confirmed link to the vaccine. The UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said evidence had not confirmed the vaccine caused the problems, and said people should still go and get their Covid-19 vaccine when asked to do so. (PA Graphics) Dr Phil Bryan, MHRA vaccines safety lead, said: Vaccine safety is of paramount importance and we continually monitor the safety of vaccines to ensure that the benefits outweigh any potential risks. It has not been confirmed that the report of a blood clot, in Denmark, was caused by the Covid-19 vaccine (from) AstraZeneca. The Danish authorities action to temporarily suspend use of the vaccine is precautionary whilst they investigate. Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK. Reports of blood clots received so far are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population. (PA Graphics) Dr Bryan said the safety of the public always comes first and the issue is being kept under close review but available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause. Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said: Vaccine safety is critically important. Our UK regulator, the MHRA, review all reports of adverse events for both vaccines as they are reported. The public should have confidence that both vaccines used in the UK vaccination programme are safe and highly effective at preventing severe disease, including the prevention of blood clots caused by Covid. Story continues Asked about the report from Denmark, Prime Minister Boris Johnsons spokesperson said: Weve been clear that its both safe and effective and when people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence. It comes as Public Health England (PHE) said four more cases of the P1 Covid-19 variant first identified in Manaus, Brazil, had been found in the UK. Three in South Gloucestershire are all close or household contacts of the two existing P1 cases in the area, while one case in Bradford, West Yorkshire, involves a person who tested positive in late February after travelling back from Brazil via Paris. Contact tracing teams have followed up close contacts of this individual and advised them to isolate and get a test. (PA Graphics) The latest cases bring the total number of P1 variant cases in the UK to 10 seven in England and three in Scotland, all of which have links to travel or to a previously confirmed case that has travelled to Brazil, PHE said. Earlier this week, the European Medicine Agency said Austria had suspended the use of a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine after a person was diagnosed with blood clots and died 10 days after vaccination. Another was admitted to hospital with pulmonary embolism (blockage in arteries in the lungs) after being vaccinated. As of March 9, there have been two other reports of cases linked to clots for the batch, the agency said. It added: There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side-effects with this vaccine. (PA Graphics) Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg are also reported to have suspended the use of the same batch over the concerns. In a statement, AstraZeneca said patient safety was its highest priority and regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine. The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in phase three clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine has been generally well tolerated, it said. Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency has authorised Johnson & Johnsons one-dose coronavirus vaccine for use. The MHRA is considering its use for the UK. Lochem, 11 March 2021 ForFarmers publishes agenda Annual General Meeting of Shareholders 2021 ForFarmers N.V. publishes the agenda for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders today. The Annual General Meeting of shareholders will be held) under Investors / General Meeting of Shareholders. Note to the editor / For additional information: Caroline Vogelzang, Director Investor Relations T: 0031 573 288 194 M: 0031 6 10 94 91 61 E: caroline.vogelzang@forfarmers.eu Company profile ForFarmers N.V. ('ForFarmers', Lochem, the Netherlands) is an internationally operating feed company that offers total feed solutions for conventional and organic livestock farming. ForFarmers gives its very best "For the Future of Farming": for the continuity of farming and for a financially secure sector that will continue to serve society for generations to come in a sustainable way. By working side-by-side with farmers ForFarmers delivers real benefits: better returns, healthier livestock and greater efficiency. This is achieved by offering tailored and Total Feed solutions and a targeted approach with specialist and expert support. With sales of around 10 million tonnes of feed, ForFarmers is market leader in Europe. ForFarmers has approximately 2,500 employees and is active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom. In 2020, revenues amounted to approximately 2.4 billion. ForFarmers N.V. is listed at Euronext Amsterdam. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) The National Bureau of Investigation said it would launch a crackdown on persons behind the hacking of the Philippine government's main website. NBI Cybercrime Division chief Victor Lorenzo on Thursday assured that the agency will arrest individuals involved in a distributed denial-of-service attack on the national government's main portal www.gov.ph. The intention was to overwhelm the site with so much traffic that it would crash. "There was a massive cyber-attack in 2012 on government websites and we addressed this by arresting a very notorious hackerThis will be our approach also," Lorenzo said during a Palace briefing. He added that the hackers remain unidentified as the Department of Information and Communications Technology is still "doing proper attribution." The NBI said it was just waiting for relevant information from the DICT before it could start a formal investigation. On Wednesday, the site was brought down by a group claiming to have launched a "political cyber-attack" after the controversial Calabarzon crackdown on Sunday that left nine activists dead. RELATED: 9 dead as police crackdown vs activists in Southern Tagalog READ: Group claims cyber-attack on PH govt site over human rights issues CNN Philippines attempted to access the site at 5:53 p.m., but to no avail. It only showed "This site can't be reached" or "Bad Gateway" on the website page. The NBI Cybercrime Division chief however said any claims that data files were stolen from government sites need to be validated first. "There were claims na meron silang exfiltration of certain databases, but this has yet to be proven. They could easily say that. Minsan nagba-brag lang sila (sometimes they are just bragging). One of the motives in hacking, defacing websites is for bragging purposes or plain and simple, hacktivism," he added. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened to sue local officials who don't comply with Gov. Greg Abbott's latest coronavirus-related executive order, which lifted mask mandates across the state. Paxton's ire was specifically directed at Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who said Tuesday that masks were still required inside businesses in the city and county and violators would remain subject to a $2,000 fine. They argued keeping the local mandate was allowable because it was developed by a public health authority, rather than the city council or Travis County Commissioners Court. But Paxton pushed back on that idea and said he would give them until 6 p.m. CT to reverse course or else he'll take them to court, sarcastically wondering on Twitter whether they were suffering from "oxygen deprivation" because of their masks. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Abbot's order not only rescinds the mask mandate, but allows all businesses to operate at full capacity, a decision that has been met with skepticism from critics, including Adler and Brown, who believe the state has not reached a high enough vaccination rate to warrant easing pandemic restrictions so quickly. Read more at The Austin-American Statesman. More stories from theweek.com The latest recording of Trump calling Georgia election officials was found in the official's trash folder The media is missing the point about Meghan Markle 7 royally funny cartoons about Harry and Meghan's tell-all interview Photo: (Photo : Getty Images:Nathan Howard / Stringer) More than a hundred anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers in Idaho's Boise burned face masks in a shocking incident to protest coronavirus restrictions levied on cities. The mask burning, which took place in front of the Idaho Capitol on Saturday, March 6, included children whose parents persuaded them to do so. READ: Coronavirus: Should My Family Wear Face Mask? According to videos posted on social media, adults can be seen encouraging children to throw masks into a fire inside a trash can outside the state Capitol's steps. The protestors claim that wearing masks denies them their freedom and privileges and restricts their actions. Anti-mask protesters also targeted President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A protestor set fire to a surgical mask that read, "Joe Biden Sucks." "No masks, no mandates," read a sign held by one protestor at the site. "Our face, our thoughts." "Those who give up liberty to buy safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," said Benjamin Franklin in another. Another organizer leads the flagship crowd of about 150 people. As the police told protesters to put the fire out, the officers said, "get out of here." ALSO READ: 5 Easy Ways to Wear Face Masks Comfortably (Even During Summer) Parents and children's rallies in Idaho against facemask despite COVID-19 The rally happened despite reports that Idaho has been hit harder by the pandemic than any of its surrounding states. In the county, 105 people died for every 100,000 people, compared to 54 in Oregon and 66 in Washington. The state registered its first case of COVID-19 on March 13, 2020. Further, Idaho's Republican Governor Brad Little blasted his own party's attempts to reverse his COVID-19 emergency declaration, which he issued in late January 2021. Republicans dominate both the statehouse and the state senate. "I believe in my heart that what the Idaho Legislature is doing is detrimental to our people and incorrect for Idaho," Mr. Little said, adding, "I urge my partners in the Legislature to stop the political gains and do what is right for the people of Idaho." Governor Brad Little, though, has never issued a statewide mask law, but mask laws exist in seven counties and 11 towns. Little said the state's declaration to receive federal support was "critical." The state senate subsequently supported the idea of ending the declaration of emergency. READ MORE: Dad Shared How He Got Son to Wear Face Mask Looking back at his actions over the past year, Mr. Little said, "We could have better prepared some federal programs that we had known before." He added, "The one thing I know would certainly have been a disaster for a no-action alternative. No one did that. You had to act given the magnitude of the pandemic." Mr. Little was asked whether he would open the government as fully as Texas and Mississippi; he answered, "Texas and Mississippi open up where we are now. People are removing their masks. We have no mandate. They open up companies we have opened. In Idaho, the only real problem is to get bigger, and while we check the hospitals to make sure that they're all right, that's the next thing." Little also argued the bill would penalize states like Idaho, which remained mostly free during the pandemic, lasting President Joe Biden's $1.9tn COVID-19 relief bill passed by the Senate on March 6. The majority of netizens condemned the mask-burning videos, expressing shock and outrage at the act, more so, for including children in such a dangerous event. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 23:44:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MACAO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR and the Office of the Commissioner of Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Macao SAR on Thursday voiced their support for the adoption of a decision by the National People's Congress (NPC) on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong SAR. Noting that electoral system is a key part of political system, the SAR government said in a statement that the NPC improving the electoral system of the SARs at the constitutional level is an exercise of the central government's overall jurisdiction over the SARs. The NPC, China's highest organ of state power, adopting the decision on improving Hong Kong's electoral system in line with Hong Kong's realities is a legal move, said the statement, adding that it is a necessary step to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and to improve the institutional system for a steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems," while bearing great and far-reaching significance to ensuring Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability as well as the fundamental well-being of the Hong Kong residents. Voicing its firm support for the NPC decision, the liaison office of the central government in the Macao SAR said in a statement that the decision in accordance with the Constitution, HKSAR Basic Law and Law on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR, reflects the common will of all Chinese people including the compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao. The decision is made on solid political and legal basis, it noted. The decision lays out the basic principles for and core elements of the improvement of the electoral system of the HKSAR in light of Hong Kong's realities and practical needs as well as the internationally recognized fundamental political ethics, said the statement. It noted that the NPC decision provides a solid institutional guarantee for promoting the development of a democratic system suiting Hong Kong's realities, for fully implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong," and for ensuring the power of administering Hong Kong will be held in the hands of patriots. The move will help plug loopholes and eliminate potential risks in Hong Kong's existing electoral system in order to form a democratic electoral system reflecting overall interests of the Hong Kong society and guaranteeing broad and balanced political participation of Hong Kong residents, said the statement. Voicing support for the NPC decision on improving Hong Kong's electoral system, a spokesperson of the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Macao SAR noted that Hong Kong affairs are part of China's internal affairs. The spokesperson highlighted the fact that nearly 100 countries have recently reiterated at the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council their support for China to practice "one country, two systems" in the HKSAR and stressed that non-interference with the internal affairs of a sovereign country is an important principle of the UN Charter and a basic norm governing international relations. The countries have also urged respect for China's sovereignty as well as an end to meddling in China's internal affairs including Hong Kong affairs, said the spokesperson. This showed that the Chinese government's stance and measures on affairs related to Hong Kong have won widespread understanding and support in the international community, said the spokesperson. Enditem Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. On February 21, 1821, the 25-year-old English poet John Keats died of tuberculosis in Rome. To mark the bicentenary, the British School at Rome streamed a production of Pele Coxs 2014 play Lift Me Up, I Am Dying about the poets last weeks, as he was tended to by the artist Joseph Severn. Posthumous portrait of John Keats by William Hilton. National Portrait Gallery, London The play was first produced at Romes Keats-Shelley museum, located in the house near the Spanish Steps where Keats died. When a proposed anniversary performance was cancelled because of the pandemic, Cox redrafted it as a short film. The actors filmed themselves in lockdown, with Cox, Art Director Fabio Barry and Assistant Director/Editor Thomas Painter editing the footage together for streaming at the time of the anniversary. The play intercuts poetry with quotations from letters and journals by Keats (Christian Roe), Severn (Nicholas Rowe) and Percy Bysshe Shelley (Damien Lewis). It is a moving tribute to the poet, and to Severns devotion to him. Italy, says Severn, offered the only possibility of saving Keatss life, so he must accompany him, otherwise he must be alone, and one shall never hear anything of him if he dies. Coxs film takes for granted what Severn and Shelley wanted to ensure, Keatss enduring fame as a lyrical poet of genius. The films deft handling of the tragic finale makes it necessary to understand what went before. Keats-Shelley Memorial House in Rome (where Keats died) Keats was born October 31, 1795 in London, the son of livery stablekeeper Thomas Keats and his wife Frances Jennings. Three younger siblings also survived. Romanticisminfluenced by the French Revolution among other events and processesemerged in Britain with the publication of Lyrical Ballads (1798) by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Keats, like other leading second wave Romantic poets, developed in an intimate if critical relationship with the older figures. Keatss parents could not afford to send John and his brothers to Eton (like Shelley) or Harrow (like Lord Byron), so John was sent to a liberal boarding school with a more progressive curriculum. Here he encountered many of the subjects which informed his poetry, including classical and Renaissance literature. The influence is plain in his earliest surviving poem, An Imitation of Spenser (1814). The siblings were close, but their family life was marked by tragedy. When Keats was eight his father died after falling from his horse. Their mother married again two months later but separated from her new husband shortly afterwards. When Frances Jennings died of tuberculosis in 1810, her mother took custody of the children. That year John, then 14, began a three-year apprenticeship with a surgeon and apothecary. After the apprenticeship he enrolled as a student at Guys Hospital in 1815. His quick promotion to assisting operating surgeon suggests real ability. He does seem to have been seriously considering a career as a doctor, but he was even more serious about his writing. Keats was deeply conflicted, trying to balance family financial problems with medicine and his determination to become a writer. Unsurprisingly, he became depressed. His brother George wrote that John feared that he should never be a poet, and if he was not he would destroy himself. In 1816, when he was awarded his apothecarys licence, Keats declared he would be a poet, not a surgeon. Leigh Hunt, a critic, essayist and poet, published one of Keatss poems for the first time, the sonnet O Solitude!, confirming his ambition and promise. Keats was closely studying literature and writing, particularly sonnets. This period also sees him turn to letter writing. His correspondence is as passionate, intelligent and readable as his verse. In October 1816, he finally met Hunt, a close friend of Byron and Shelley. Keatss excitement was plain, writing that this would be an Era in my existence. Hunt influenced Keats, whose first collection, Poems (1817), was dedicated to him and included the sonnet Written on the Day that Mr Leigh Hunt Left Prison (for referring unflatteringly in print to the Prince Regent George, the future George IV). Poems was more than a precocious statement of promise. It includes one of Keatss most enduring sonnets, On First Looking into Chapmans Homer. It was not, however, a success. His publishers were unenthusiastic, so Keats moved to Taylor and Hessey immediately and began discussing a new volume. Taylor and Hessey also alleviated some money anxieties by paying him an advance. Poems by John Keats, 1817 He spent much of 1817 working on a longer poem, Endymion (which begins, A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: / Its loveliness increases; it will never / Pass into nothingness), revisiting the Greek myth of the shepherd beloved by the moon goddess. He was ambivalent about publication, describing the poem as a feverish attempt, rather than a deed accomplished. That attempt was part of the development of his poetic and artistic thinking, which he formulated at this time as What imagination seizes as Beauty must be truth. Keats explained his thinking in a letter to Hessey: In Endymion, I leaped headlong into the sea, and thereby have become better acquainted with the Soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks, than if I had stayed upon the green shore, and piped a silly pipe, and took tea and comfortable advice. I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest. Shelley later wrote to Keats of the treasures of poetry [Endymion] contains, though treasures poured forth with indistinct profusion I feel persuaded that you are capable of the greatest things. Keats similarly criticised Isabella (1818) as weak-sided. Although he is sometimes dismissed for not touching directly on political subjects, Keats remained, through association with Hunt and others, part of a generally progressive liberal milieu. His work does contain glimpses of wider social concerns. Stanzas 14-15 of Isabella, wrote George Bernard Shaw, contain all the Factory Commission Reports that Marx read, and that Keats did not read because they were not yet written. Keats wanted to explore the holiness of the Hearts affections and the truth of the imagination. He summarised his difference with Byron as: He describes what he seesI describe what I imagine. Mine is the hardest task. Or, as he wrote to Shelley, My Imagination is a Monastry and I am its Monk. Byron unsurprisingly did not share Shelleys enthusiasm for Keatss verse, but Hunt was right in seeing them overall as a new school of poetry. Hunts view of the new school, and the still developing young poets importance within it, was confirmed by hostilities launched against Keats in 1818. In 1817, Blackwoods Magazine had attacked Hunt and his circle as the Cockney school. A savage 1818 review of Endymion renewed that charge and was widely seen as having delivered Keats a fatal wound. After Keatss death, Shelley denounced the critic in the preface to Adonais, saying, Nor shall it be your excuse, that, murderer as you are, you have spoken daggers, but used none. Byron was simultaneously generous and insensitive: John Keats, who was killd off by one critique, Just as he really promised something great, If not intelligible Tis strange the mind, that very fiery particle, Should let itself be snuffd out by an article. Walking in Scotland in 1818 Keats caught a violent cold. This was possibly when he contracted tuberculosis, as he suffered repeatedly from sore throats even after the cold had abated. Later that year, as he nursed his brother Tom, dying of tuberculosis, he met Fanny Brawne, the love of his life. He gave her one of his most beautiful efforts, Bright Star (Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art), as a declaration of love. Ambrotype of Fanny Brawne taken c. 1850 (photograph on glass) He may have begun the poem before they met, when he was still close to Isabella Jones, whom he met in 1817. Jones may also have inspired other major poems, although there is no mention of her after Keats met Brawne, on whom All his desires were concentrated, in one biographers words. Jones remained important, being one of the first in Britain to be notified of his death. Keatss feelings for Brawne were reciprocated, but his personal circumstances were an obstacle. His financial straits precluded marriage, but there seems to have been some informal engagement. The relationship was not consummated, and Keats remained sick and depressed. Through 1819, under these conditions, he produced some of his greatest works, and some of the most beautiful poetry in the English language. Some poems, like the ballad La Belle Dame Sans Merci, with its knight in thrall to the beautiful fairy figure, blended the love and death that haunted him. His six great odes brought his experimentation with verse form to new lyrical heights while crystallising his earlier reflections. Ode on a Grecian Urn concludes: Beauty is truth, truth beauty,that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. Ode to a Nightingale transcends its melancholy (I have been half in love with easeful Death) through the beauty of the birdsong: Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down. This towering work, and the passion evident in all his correspondence, is all the more poignant given his rapidly deteriorating health. Early in 1820, when these poems were being published to some acclaim, his fatal illness began. He continued trying to write, but his health situation was now critical. Keats was told he had to go somewhere warmer for the winter. He and Severn sailed for Rome in September. Keats wrote the last version of Bright Star on board the ship. He declined rapidly. At the end, Severn spent four sleepless nights watching his friend. At about 4 p.m. on February 23, 1821, Keats said, SevernIlift me upI am dyingI shall die easydont be frightenedbe firm, and thank God it has come! He died at 11 p.m. He was buried three days later in Romes Cemitero Acattolico. His tombstone bears the legend: This grave contains all that was mortal, of a young English poet, who, on his death bed, in the bitterness of his heart, at the malicious power of his enemies, desired these words to be engraven on his tomb stone: HERE LIES ONE WHOSE NAME WAS WRIT ON WATER. John Keats's grave in Rome The tragedy of Keatss end is bitter enough, but its continued impact today rests on what the extraordinary young poet had achieved in his brief life. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 21:22:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China's trade growth in the first two months of this year has made the country a driver of the global economy under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Argentine government adviser Lucas Gualda has said. China's total goods imports and exports expanded 32.2 percent year on year to 5.44 trillion yuan (about 838.16 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months, according to the Chinese General Administration of Customs (GAC). "China is not only an importer and a purchaser of world's agrifood, but also an exporter of products of quality," Gualda said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "China is the only country in the world whose economy had a V-shaped rebound, so we can say that they are back on their feet following the blow of COVID-19," he said. China also continued with its plans to improve the quality of people's livelihood, he noted. After a week of deliberations, Chinese lawmakers on Thursday adopted the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC). "Those are good decisions made by the Chinese government for its people, and it is something that the entire world economy will benefit from," Gualda said. Asked about the impact on Latin America of China's increases in foreign trade, Gualda said the region's export products were in optimal demand from China. China's new five-year plan also pointed out that it would continue a high degree of development of the Belt and Road Initiative, he noted. "Undoubtedly, China's trade growth indicates that the trade between these countries and China would advance by leaps and bounds," he said. Latin American and the Caribbean countries should spearhead a national and regional strategy to take advantage of the "historic opportunity," Gualda said. Enditem Both pieces of legislation are aimed at addressing gaps in existing gun laws, including the so-called Charleston loophole, which restricts to three days the period the F.B.I. has to conduct a background check, allowing many buyers to evade them. The provision allowed Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed nine people in 2015 at a historically Black church in Charleston, S.C., to buy a handgun even though he should have been barred from doing so. The bill would extend the amount of time the F.B.I. has to complete a check for an additional week, to 10 days. The other measure passed on Thursday would require those buying firearms from private sellers online or purchasing them at gun shows to have their backgrounds vetted before they could receive the weapon. They are not currently required to do so, although in-person buyers, who make up the majority of gun purchases, are. Lets not add more names to this registry of grief, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat, said, reading from a lengthy list of recent mass shootings and noting that they had fallen sharply in the past year. Lets not rely on a pandemic to do what we ought to have done so long ago. Lets pass these bills and reduce gun violence the right way. Democrats first passed the legislation in 2019, shortly after they recaptured control of the House, making it a centerpiece of their agenda as they sought to capitalize on an outpouring of student activism in favor of stricter gun safety measures after a school shooting in 2018 in Parkland, Fla. Polling then and now, conducted by multiple companies, shows that over 80 percent of voters support the legislation. Last month, President Biden called on Congress to enact the bills in a statement commemorating the third anniversary of the Parkland shooting. This Oct. 26, 2017 file photo shows the corporate logo of LG Electronics in Goyang, South Korea. LG Energy Solution says it will invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business by 2025 as automakers ramp up production of electric vehicles. The Korean company, which has a joint venture with General Motors, said the investment will help create 10,000 jobs. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) LG Energy Solution will invest more than $4.5 billion in U.S. battery production by 2025 as more automakers commit to churning electric vehicles sooner than anyone had expected. The Korean company, which has a joint venture with U.S. automaker General Motors, said the investment will help create 10,000 jobs, including subcontractors. GM and LG are currently building a $2.3 billion battery factory in Lordstown, Ohio, near Cleveland, that will employ about 1,000 people when it is completed in 2022. The site is fairly close to GM's two other designated electric vehicle plants, one in Detroit and the other north of the city in Orion Township, Michigan. The companies hope to have a decision on a second site in the first half of the year. General Motors has vowed to make its entire global fleet largely electric by 2035, even changing its corporate logo to include the likeness of an electric plug. The 112-year-old Detroit automaker has promised to roll out 30 new battery-powered vehicles globally within five years. That means GM is likely to need far more battery capacity. The consulting firm LMC Automotive predicts that U.S. battery powered vehicle sales will exceed 1 million annually starting in 2023, and exceed 4 million by 2030. Not only is the administration of President Joe Biden laying out plans to tackle climate change, it's also prioritizing new supply chains which it now considers a national security concern. That includes everything from computer chips to batteries, most of which are built in China and other countries. "The goals of the U.S. president and automakers will be a propelling factor in the growth of the country's electric vehicle and energy storage systems markets," said Jong Hyun Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution. "LG Energy Solution is dedicated to expanding its battery production capacity and structuring a stable, localized supply chain that provides everything from R&D to production." LG also makes batteries for Chevy's electric Bolt. Explore further GM looking to build 2nd US battery factory, Tennessee likely 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Australian schools will soon be provided with more material about consent, respectful relationships and sexual abuse for students from prep to year 12. Former Sydney school student Chanel Contos, 22, has launched a petition called Teach Us Consent, which advocates for earlier and improved sex education. Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge says he admires the courage of Ms Contos and others who have shared stories after being encouraged by her petition. 'I've got to say I've been quite shocked at the extent of the number of people who are coming forward,' he told Sky News on Thursday. The petition has sparked almost 3,000 testimonies from women who experienced sexual abuse or misconduct at school. Former Kambala student Chanel Contos, 22, (pictured) started the petition when she realised last year she and her friend were both sexually assaulted by the same person as teenagers Several of Australia's top same-sex schools' were repeatedly mentioned among the disturbing testimonies, including Scots College (pictured), Cranbrook, Sydney Grammar, Waverley College, Kambala, Monte Sant Angelo and Pymble Ladies' College Mr Tudge said the federal government would in coming weeks nationally distribute Respect Matters, a suite of education material. It will include information about respectful relationships, consent and sexual abuse. 'This is an issue for the entire community to do better at,' Mr Tudge said. The government is under immense pressure over the treatment of women after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague in a minister's office. Ms Higgins coming forward triggered national debate about sexual assault and the workplace culture inside Parliament House. Ms Contos said Kambala High School (pictured) gave her a 'great consent education but they gave it too late' Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also refusing to launch an independent inquiry into rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter from when he was at high school. Mr Porter emphatically denies the alleged incident happened and is now on mental health leave. Ms Contos' petition has garnered more than 30,000 signatures and prompted states to review education about sexual consent. The Kambala School alum launched the petition demanding students be taught about consent on February 18 after reflecting on her own sexual assault as a youth. The petition rapidly went viral, with thousands of girls from both private and state schools across the nation since coming forward to share their own experiences. While the alarming stories hailed from all sorts of institutions, several of Australia's top same-sex schools' names were repeatedly mentioned- including Scots College, Cranbrook, Sydney Grammar, Waverley College, Kambala, Monte Sant Angelo and Pymble Ladies' College. An ALP elder or union heavyweight is sent out to give the tap on the shoulder. The message is simple, but unequivocal: for the good of the party, your time is up. But this is the Liberal Party. The home of individual freedom and free enterprise, which makes it all the more harder. There is a growing frustration in Liberal land about who should deliver the message to the seven or so MPs singled out by colleagues as having little more to offer and no chance of returning to the frontbench. Victorian Opposition Leader Michael OBrien is under pressure to freshen up the ranks. Credit:Luis Ascui Party administrators want Opposition Leader Michael OBrien and his leadership team to deliver the blunt message, claiming its not up to them. On Spring Street, there is a general consensus that its the job of the party machine to call time on these careers. One Liberal MP recently mused that perhaps the party might benefit from some workplace reforms to encourage underperforming MPs to work a little harder, and dump those who dont. The proposal would see politicians who boost their margin offered protection from preselectors. Additionally, MPs who landed a blow on their opponents or contributed to policy formation would be rewarded with promotions or parliamentary positions that offer a little more cash. Conversely, the party would encourage eager young Liberals to challenge pollies caught coasting. Think of it as a tiered reward scheme, but for Liberal politicians. To the rest of us, this doesnt sound so radical. Work hard and youll be looked after. In fact, it almost sounds like a Liberal Party slogan. Traditionally conservative MPs froth over incentive schemes or performance targets when it comes to public service, but not themselves. Premier Daniel Andrews and Opposition Leader Michael OBrien in Parliament. Credit:Jason South During the week, former National Party leader John Anderson, who served as deputy prime minister under John Howard, revealed he wants to re-enter politics due to grave concerns he holds for Australias future. Andersons announcement added to the growing concern in Victorian Liberal circles that a number of rejected MPs those voted out in 2014 or 2018 want to make a comeback. If social media is anything to go by, it appears the humiliation of losing a seat once held by Jeff Kennett has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of former Burwood Liberal Graham Watt. Watt, who was dumped by voters in 2018, has spent the best part of 18 months acting like an MP in exile, ready to come back at any time. No community event or photo opportunity has been safe. In the nearby seat of Ringwood, former Liberal MP Dee Ryall, who lost her seat despite a 5 per cent buffer, has published more opinion pieces in this citys news media since leaving office than most of OBriens frontbench. While their work ethic should be commended, the Liberal Party should resist the urge to revive the political careers of all those knocked out at the last election. The voters have had their say. Exceptions exist here too. Former MP John Pesutto was considered a leadership contender before losing his seat at the last election. Credit:Justin McManus Dumped MP John Pesutto was regarded as a leadership contender before he lost his safe seat of Hawthorn at the last election. He is one of a growing number of MPs expected to recontest in the November 2022 election. In this case, it might just be worth the risk given the skills and professionalism he would bring to the frontbench. Loading CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Artificial Intelligence In Genomics Market by Offering (Software, Services),Technology (Machine Learning, Computer Vision), Functionality (Genome Sequencing, Gene Editing), Application (Diagnostics), End User (Pharma, Research) - Global Forecasts to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global AI in Genomics market is projected to reach USD 1,671 million by 2025 from USD 202 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 52.7% between 2020 and 2025 Browse in-depth TOC on "Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market" 141 Tables 24 Figures 154 Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=36649899 The need to control drug development and discovery costs and time, increasing public and private investments in AI in genomics, and the adoption of AI solutions in precision medicine are driving the growth of this market. However, the lack of a skilled AI workforce and ambiguous regulatory guidelines for medical software are expected to restrain the market growth during the forecast period. Machine learning to dominate the AI in Genomics market in 2019 Based on technology, the Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market is segmented into machine learning and other technologies. The machine learning segment dominated this market in 2019, as pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and biotechnology companies have widely adopted machine learning for drug genomics applications. This is because machine learning can extract insights from data sets, accelerating genomic research. Diagnostics segment accounted for the largest share of the AI in Genomics market, by end user, in 2019 Based on application, the Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market is segmented into diagnostics, drug discovery & development, precision medicine, agriculture & animal research, and other applications. Diagnostics was the largest application segment in genomics market in 2019. The large share of this segment can be attributed to the increasing research on diseases and the decreasing cost of sequencing. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=36649899 North America is the largest regional market for AI in Genomics in 2019 In 2019, North America accounted for the largest share of the AI in Genomics market, followed by Europe. The large share of North America can be attributed to the increasing research funding and government initiatives for promoting precision medicine in the US. Prominent players in the Artificial Intelligence in Genomics Market are IBM (US), Microsoft (US), NVIDIA Corporation (US), Deep Genomics (Canada), BenevolentAI (UK), Fabric Genomics Inc. (US), Verge Genomics (US), Freenome Holdings, Inc. (US), MolecularMatch Inc. (US), Cambridge Cancer Genomics (UK), SOPHiA GENETICS (US), Data4Cure Inc. (US), PrecisionLife Ltd (UK),Genoox Ltd. (US), Lifebit (UK), Diploid (Belgium), FDNA Inc. (US), DNAnexus Inc. (US), Empiric Logic (Ireland), Engine Biosciences Pte. Ltd. (US) Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=36649899 Browse Adjacent Markets: Healthcare IT Market Research Reports & Consulting Browse Related Reports: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Drug Discovery Market by Component (Software, Service), Technology (ML, DL), Application (Neurodegenerative Diseases, Immuno-Oncology, CVD), End User (Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology, CRO), Region - Global forecast to 2024 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/ai-in-drug-discovery-market-151193446.html Genomics Market by Product & Service (System & Software, Consumables, Services), Technology (Sequencing, PCR), Application (Drug Discovery & Development, Diagnostic, Agriculture), End User (Hospital & Clinics, Research Centers) Global Forecast to 2025 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/genomics-market-613.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. 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Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/artificial-intelligence-in-genomics-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/artificial-intelligence-in-genomics.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets By Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, Pa. A phone call that appeared to be coming from Johnson and Johnson has riled some county residents who answered and instead got a GOP petition drive recording this weekend. Several people posted on social media warning others that the calls werent actually from the company with a recently approved coronavirus vaccine. The calls were from the Bucks County Republican Party. One Perkasie poster said their elderly parents picked up the phone expecting to hear some announcement about the vaccine, but were instead asked to attend two petition signing events for the May 18 municipal primary. Bucks County Republican Committee Chairwoman Pat Poprik apologized for the confusion Monday morning, calling the problem an unintended technological error. The call had asked residents to attend two petition drives, one in upper Bucks County on March 5 and another in Doylestown Borough on March 7. Tuesday is the final day candidates can circulate and file nomination petitions to appear on the upcoming ballot. The county GOP endorsed candidates last week for the May 18 primary. Poprik said a third-party vendor was hired to make the calls, and one of their phone numbers was previously listed as the pharmaceutical company in some areas. We share the frustration of Bucks County families resulting from the uncertain and delayed statewide vaccine rollout. We deeply apologize for any confusion caused by this unintended technological error, Poprik said Monday. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Russia slowed down the speed of Twitter in a move to restrict the microblogging website but accidentally shut down Kremlins own website and other government agency sites, reports The Guardian. The state communications regulator, Roskomnadzor said that it was retaliating over Twitters alleged failure of removing the banned content over nationwide protests in support of Russian President Vladimir Putins critic Alexei Navalny. Russian authorities had previously even threatened to entirely block the American platform if it did not comply with its deletion demands. Also Read: Russian 'Popeye' Faces More Surgery To Remove Implants After Injecting Arms With Petroleum Jelly The move to slow down Twitter was viewed as the most serious measure yet by Russia's government against the platform. Russia has generally taken a much more hands-off approach to the internet compared with China, largely refraining from banning major foreign platforms. MoscowTimes Russian President Vladimir Putin has been incensed at the role played by social media websites in mobilising support for the jailed opposition leader and his staunch critic. Alexei Navalny, Putin's best-known critic was jailed in January just after he flew back to Moscow. His arrest sparked the biggest anti-government protests in the country in a decade. Marches were witnessed reportedly in at least 150 Russian cities. Twitter Russia is also suing five social media giants including Twitter, Google, Facebook for allegedly failing to delete posts motivating children to take part in illegal protests, reported Interfax news agency on March 9 quoting Moscow court. Twitter, Facebook, Google have three respective cases against them and are punishable by a fine of up to 4 million roubles or around $54,000. Also Read: Female Passenger Tied To Seat on Russian Flight After She Repeatedly Tried Taking Off Her Clothes The report also said that cases have been filed against TikTok and Telegram as well. Moscord has taken a crucial step on the path to establishing itself as maritimes Amazon with the launch of technology rewriting the rulebook for ship supply. The global maritime e-marketplace has partnered with Denmarks leading digital commerce firm, Impact, to create Apollo a backend solution that streamlines product ordering, payment and fulfilment into one simple, seamless action; from request, to products delivered and paid. For the first time ever in the world of shipping, vessel crew can select exact products for reliable, worldwide last mile delivery with a click of a button, while suppliers gain direct access to customers. The result is greatly reduced cost, full transparency, predictable fulfilment (with far less returns), and enhanced efficiency and sustainability. Moscord founder and CEO Freddy Ingemann calls it a new paradigm for the world of ship supply. Weve spent four years building shippings first full-service, multi-sided marketplace, he comments. A place where customers can choose from over 200,000 essential products to fit their individual price and quality specifications and suppliers can cut out the middlemen to forge valuable, direct relationships. The front-end of the platform is only the tip of the iceberg, so weve focused our time and energy, and Impacts considerable expertise, on creating a back-end that delivers a seamless no touch transaction flow. The result is Apollo. We now have the epitome of a lean e-commerce platform that delivers exactly what customers and sellers want, with the minimum of fuss and inefficiency, and maximum trust and transparency. This is a new way of doing business for a new age of smarter, more sustainable and digitally connected shipping. As well as uniting the market on a single platform, greatly simplifying the supply chain, Moscords business model allows customers to take control over procurement defining catalogues of standardised products, where applicable, and accessing data that can be the bedrock for automated processes and potentially predictive ordering. This reduces the need for warehousing requirements, cuts waste and, with more efficient purchasing, is both commercially and environmentally more sustainable. The lean processes make products on Moscord around 20% cheaper than through traditional ship supply channels. Its a proposition that appealed to Impacts Ask Ullerup, who took ownership in the business (alongside two fellow Impact partners) and now sits as Acting CTO. Moscord is on its way to becoming an e-commerce unicorn, he states. Here we have a very rare opportunity, the possibility to create a true digital first marketplace for an important industry niche with a turnover of billions. Digitalisation is already transforming the way shipowners and operators do business, opening their eyes to huge efficiencies on the horizon. By exploiting our established e-commerce expertise, allied to the Moscord teams inside out knowledge of ship supply, we can seize on that and really lead the way into an age of smart digital procurement. I really do see this as an Amazon moment. Moscord can change this sector for the better, and for good. Ullerup adds that the global pandemic has accelerated the move to e-commerce, rewiring consumer behaviour to view online purchasing as the natural choice. This is as applicable to shipping as it is elsewhere, he notes. Once users have experienced how much more efficient, simpler and cheaper new ways of purchasing are why would they possibly go back? This makes the opportunity even greater for Moscord. Its no longer a question of selling or explaining a concept. It simply makes perfect sense. Apollo is fully integrated into Moscord.com to deliver an effortless transactional process, covering all services in the supply chain. The site offers a comprehensive array of quality products, ranging from consumables to provisions, spare parts, safety equipment, electronics, tools and PPE. A whos who of leading brands, including Schneider, RS Components and Lyreco, amongst others, supply their products directly through Moscord.com. Impact is recognised as Denmarks number one digital commerce specialist, with over 200 staff and a client list boasting names such as Arla, Ganni, Wurth, Hummel and Nemlig.com.-- Tradearabia News Service Colombo: Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay offered prayers at Ram Setu in Sri Lanka on Thursday (March 11). Baglay was seen praying with a holy man who was assisting him with the rituals. High Commissioner offered prayers at Ramsethu the connecting bridge between India & Sri Lanka for centuries. He prayed 4 reinforcement of strong bonds between the people of India & Sri Lanka, recalling their millennia-old links & the role of historical structures in creating these links," tweeted by the High Commission of India in Colombo. High Commissioner offered prayers at Ramsethu -the connecting bridge between #India & #lka for centuries. He prayed 4 reinforcement of strong bonds between the people of #India & #lka, recalling their millennia-old links & the role of historical structures in creating these links pic.twitter.com/wgltjESBZO India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) March 11, 2021 Earlier in the day, Baglay also visited the Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Northern Province and attended Shivratri pooja today in Sri Lanka. Live TV Java could get a smaller object header, thus improving memory usage, under a proposal being floated in the OpenJDK open source Java community this week. Known as Project Lilliput and led by Red Hats Roman Kennke, the effort would explore ways to shrink the object header, with a goal of reducing it to 64 bits. Currently Java objects have a 128-bit object header in the 64-bit HotSpot VM, with a 64-bit multipurpose header word and a 64-bit class pointer. With average object sizes of five to six words, the current object header size is significant, the proposal states. Reducing header size would greatly reduce memory pressure, reducing overall CPU and memory usage for all Java workloads, whether in a large in-memory database or a small containerized application. Specific benefits cited for Project Lilliput include: Reduced heap usage. Higher object allocation rate. Reduced garbage collection activity. Tighter packing of objects. Other goals include making the header layout more flexible and allowing some build or even runtime configuration of how bits are used. As a secondary goal, it may be possible to reduce the object header to 32 bits. The proposal states that the object header has been used (and overloaded) for such purposes as indicating the locking state of an object, tracking the age of each object in garbage collection, storing identity hash code, and type information. The proposal cites a number of techniques to explore for allocating and downsizing header fields, such as compressing pointers and backfilling fields known at compile time. There are constraints, though, such as requiring a change in assembly across supported platforms. There also might be issues with other Java projects, such as Panama, for bridging between Java and C/C++; Loom, intended to decrease complexity in concurrent applications; and Leyden, to address Java issues such as slow startup time. The immediate goal of the initial work plan for Lilliput is to brainstorm, collect ideas, and devise a proof of concept as quickly as possible. 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. WASHINGTON The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Michael S. Regan, the former top environmental regulator for North Carolina, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and drive some of the Biden administrations biggest climate and regulatory policies. As administrator, Mr. Regan, who began his career at the E.P.A. and worked in environmental and renewable energy advocacy before becoming secretary of North Carolinas Department of Environmental Quality, will be tasked to rebuild an agency that lost thousands of employees under the Trump administration. Political appointees under Donald J. Trump spent the past four years unwinding dozens of clean air and water protections, while rolling back all of the Obama administrations major climate rules. Central to Mr. Regans mission will be putting forward aggressive new regulations to meet President Bidens pledge of eliminating fossil fuel emissions from the electric power sector by 2035, significantly reducing emissions from automobiles and preparing the United States to emit no net carbon pollution by the middle of the century. Several proposed regulations are already being prepared, administration officials have said. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Respiratory Therapy Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 155 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 155 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 50 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Respiratory Therapy Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-respiratory-therapy-degree-programs/ 2021 Respiratory Therapy Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Albany State University Allegany College of Maryland Alvin Community College American Career College Andrew College Antelope Valley College Augusta Technical College Augusta University Baltimore City Community College Baptist Health Sciences University Bellarmine University Bergen Community College Boise State University Canisius College Cardinal Stritch University Carlow University Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Concordia University, Saint Paul CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College Dalton State College East Tennessee State University Ferris State University Florida National University Gannon University Genesee Community College Georgia Southern University Georgia State University Highline College Independence University Jacksonville State University Kent State University Kentucky Community and Technical College System Kettering College Liberty University MIdwestern State University, Texas Missouri Southern State University Nebraska Methodist College Northern Arizona University Oregon Institute Of Technology San Joaquin Valley College Siena Heights University Texas State University University of Cincinnati University of Kansas University Of Mary University of Michigan-Flint University of Missouri University of North Carolina, Charlotte University Of Southern Indiana Youngstown State University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. Irate New Zealanders have slammed a report from Nine News which compared deported criminals being booted from Australia to 'taking out the trash'. The exclusive report by Queensland crime reporter Jordan Fabris aired earlier this week after he was granted access to the tarmac by the Australian Border Force. The airliner was being used to transport New Zealand nationals home who had been convicted of serious crimes in Australia, including murder, sexual assault and drug trafficking. Host Melissa Downes introduced the controversial segment to viewers, also stating it was Australia's blunt way of 'taking out the trash'. Nine News Queensland crime reporter Jordan Fabris has angered many viewers in New Zealand 'Tonight, we are revealing the secret prisoner plane booting foreign criminals out of Australia. From murderers to child abusers, these people have no place in our country,' Downes said on camera. Those being deported, with the majority in handcuffs, were hounded by Fabris, who asked cutting questions such as 'how does it feel to get kicked out Australia?'. One thoroughly unimpressed woman told the reporter to 'f*** off'. 'Our country doesn't want you, are you excited to go home?' he asked another convicted criminal. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also featured in the report, stating it was 'serious offenders' leaving Australian shores. 'Our country's safer for having deported them,' he said, before also adding it was a form of 'taking the trash out, so we can then make Australia a safer place'. The report came under heavy criticism across the Tasman, with many Twitter users declaring the network should be 'ashamed' of itself. 'This is absolutely disgraceful reporting. You should be profoundly ashamed of yourself of baiting and humiliating people,' one person wrote, according to Yahoo News. 'Disgraceful, sickening and humiliating behaviour,' another fumed. Other New Zealanders accused the news program of promoting 'government propaganda and bullying'. Those being deported were not impressed at Jordan Fabris' brutal interview style when speaking to Kiwi deportees Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Ms Ardern criticised the coalition's deportation of Kiwi criminals back to New Zealand (pictured with Scott Morrison) New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern has previously criticised the policy, which she claims sends back Kiwis who have little or no links to her country. Australia's deportation laws send Kiwi criminals back to New Zealand no matter how long they have lived overseas. More than 1,000 New Zealanders have been deported from Australia since 2014 when changes were made to the Migration Act. Drug offences, assault and child sex offences are the most common charges that result in deportation. The law means even if an individual is an Australian permanent resident, and has lived and worked in the country for decades, they can still be deported. In the name of national security, they can be ejected on 'bad character' grounds if they are sentenced to 12 months or more in prison. New Zealanders are thought to be the largest group to have had their visas cancels and be held in Australian immigration detention centres. Abortion Bans from from December 1, 2018, through March 1, 2021. Credit: Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University Even as the United States mounts more than half a million deaths from COVID-19, states continue to pass laws restricting access to reproductive health care, according to newly updated data released by the Center for Public Health Law Research Policy Surveillance Program on LawAtlas.org. Analysis of the data, which capture state statutes, regulations, and court rulings in 15 different legal areas related to abortion across 16 datasets, from December 1, 2018, through March 1, 2021, finds changes in the legal landscape restricting access to abortion services. It also shows legal barriers to medication abortion and telemedicine that could otherwise be used to safely expand access during the pandemic and in general. "We are now in our fourth update of these datasets since 2018, and we're consistently seeing state legislatures chip away at access to essential abortion services," said Adrienne Ghorashi, JD, program manager at the Center and lead researcher on the Abortion Law Project. "Instead of working to ease the burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic, some states have chosen to continue adding legal, financial, and logistical hurdles to abortion care, particularly for those communities most impacted by this public health crisis." As of the latest update on March 1, 2021, the researchers report: Medication Abortion Reversal Laws . Ten states now have "medication abortion reversal" laws that require providers to inform patients it may be possible to reverse a medication abortion, regardless of the fact that there is no medical consensus on whether that is possible or safe. These laws have been enjoined in three states: North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. . Ten states now have "medication abortion reversal" laws that require providers to inform patients it may be possible to reverse a medication abortion, regardless of the fact that there is no medical consensus on whether that is possible or safe. These laws have been enjoined in three states: North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Access to Medication Abortion . On January 12, 2021, the US Supreme Court reinstated the FDA in-person requirement for mifepristone, again requiring patients to visit a clinic to obtain medication abortion. There are currently seven states where telemedicine for medication abortion is explicitly prohibited, thirteen states where the provider must administer medication abortion in-person, and ten states where a provider must conduct an in-person exam before administering the medication. These laws may still apply even if the federal government lifts the mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) requirement. . On January 12, 2021, the US Supreme Court reinstated the FDA in-person requirement for mifepristone, again requiring patients to visit a clinic to obtain medication abortion. There are currently seven states where telemedicine for medication abortion is explicitly prohibited, thirteen states where the provider must administer medication abortion in-person, and ten states where a provider must conduct an in-person exam before administering the medication. These laws may still apply even if the federal government lifts the mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) requirement. Fetal Heartbeat Bans . Nine states have fetal heartbeat bans, which ban abortion before many people even know they are pregnant, but all of these bans are currently unenforceable. South Carolina passed a fetal heartbeat ban just last month, which was also immediately blocked by a US District Court. . Nine states have fetal heartbeat bans, which ban abortion before many people even know they are pregnant, but all of these bans are currently unenforceable. South Carolina passed a fetal heartbeat ban just last month, which was also immediately blocked by a US District Court. Reason-Based Bans. Fifteen states now have laws banning abortion based on specific reasons, such as race, sex, fetal anomaly or disability, or a Down syndrome diagnosis. One-third of those bans have been enjoined by the courts. State Abortion Laws as of March 1, 2021. Credit: Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University Massachusetts recently expanded access to abortion services. The state's ROE Act, passed in December 2020, guarantees a statutory right to abortion, removes parental consent requirements for 16 and 17 year olds, removes a law that permitted only physicians to provide abortion services, removed a 24-hour waiting period, and added an exception that would allow termination in the case of fetal anomaly after 24 weeks of pregnancy. "In an ongoing pandemic, it would be our hope that more state and local governments act to increase access to critical health care for their residents, as Massachusetts recently did," said Ghorashi. The Abortion Law Project is maintained by the Policy Surveillance Program of the Center for Public Health Law Research in collaboration with subject matter experts from Resources for Abortion Delivery (RAD), Guttmacher Institute, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), National Abortion Federation (NAF), and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Access the 16 datasets by visiting abortion-laws" target="_blank">lawatlas.org/datasets/abortion-laws . Explore further Updated abortion law data show continued litigation and increased legal restrictions despite ongoing pandemic More information: Center for Public Health Law Research. Abortion Laws. Retrieved from Center for Public Health Law Research. Abortion Laws. Retrieved from lawatlas.org/datasets/abortion-laws A class action seeking an estimated $150million in damages has been launched on behalf of hundreds of victims of the bushfire that raged through the Adelaide Hills in December 2019. Filed in the SA Supreme Court by Maddens Lawyers, it will argue that power company SA Power Networks should have done more to ensure its protection devices responded immediately to any faults on its network. The 23,000-hectare blaze, which destroyed 98 homes and damaged hundreds of other buildings and vehicles, also claimed one life with the body of a man found in his burnt-out home in the small town of Charleston. Known as the Cudlee Creek fire, it was sparked when a large pine tree fell on high voltage conductors. The 23,000-hectare blaze destroyed 98 homes and damaged hundreds of other buildings and vehicles - as well as taking a man's life (pictured, firefighters defending a home in blaze) One of the live conductors then came into contact with a wire fence and the ground, igniting the blaze on what was a day of catastrophic fire danger and total fire bans. A state government investigation found the tree was beyond the prescribed clearance zone and that its failure could not have been identified before the event. But Special Counsel Brendan Pendergast said the conditions on December 20 were forecast in advance and weren't unexpected given the conditions in the days prior. 'More could and should have been done by SA Power Networks to ensure their protection devices responded immediately to any faults on their network,' he said. 'These steps could have easily been implemented and wouldn't have cost SA Power Networks a cent.' SA Power Networks said while it had not yet seen the detail of the claim, it would defend its actions (pictured, a burnt-out car found in the Adelaide Hills) Lead plaintiff Kris Thrower, who lost his house and most of his possessions, said the fire changed his life and the life of his family forever. 'I worked so hard to establish myself and now I've stepped back all the way to zero with absolutely nothing,' he said in a statement on Thursday. 'It still gives me nightmares. I'd like to think that someone is held accountable for the devastation to my life, my family's life, the environment around us and all the animals that perished. 'Mentally, I'm anxious. I used to be one of the calmest people I know, now every day I'm looking on the horizon for a fire. 'It changes you. My life has been flipped upside down and I personally don't have any closure on it.' Mr Pendergast said the class action process was a secure and low-risk way for residents and businesses marred by the fire to recover compensation for the significant loss and damage they suffered. 'There is great strength in a community making a collective stand,' he said. SA Power Networks said while it had not yet seen the detail of the claim, it would defend its actions. 'An independent government report concluded the fire start was due to a tree falling from outside the clearance zone and that SA Power Networks had acted in accord with its bushfire and vegetation management procedures and equipment settings,' the company said. The episcopate released a message for the tenth anniversary of the great quake that was followed by the Fukushima accident. The prelates are grateful to all those at home and abroad whose solidarity represented a beacon of hope, noting however that 40,000 people are still displaced. The prelates also call for the abolition of all nuclear power plants in Japan since we have felt the limits of human wisdom and knowledge. Tokyo (AsiaNews) The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan released a message titled A bond of solidarity becomes a beacon of hope to mark the tenth anniversary of the disaster of 11 March 2011. In their statement, Japans Catholic bishops state that they will continue to stand by the communities affected 10 years ago by the triple catastrophe while renewing their call on the government to immediately abolish nuclear powerplants. It has been 10 years since an unprecedented catastrophe struck eastern Japan, mainly along the Pacific coast of Tohoku. Nearly 20,000 people died, the fates of more than 2,500 people remain unknown, and more than 40,000 people continue to live as evacuees. We continue to pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and extend our deepest sympathies to all the victims. In the face of damage far greater than we could have imagined, many people not only in Japan but from all over the world rushed to support us, reads the statement. The bonds of solidarity that have spread throughout the world [. . .] have led to further relief activities in various parts of the country that have experienced disasters since then. For this reason, the bishops are deeply grateful to all the donors who have sent funds and to the volunteers, humanitarian organisations, local administrations and social services who over the past few years have worked with Caritas Japan. To those all over the world who have supported the reconstruction of the affected areas, the bishops also ask for your continued prayers for our brothers and sisters in the disaster area. As a locally rooted presence even before the disaster, [. . .] the Catholic Church has worked and will continue to work with the affected communities to create hope for life. When the Catholic Sendai Diocese took the lead in reconstruction assistance, it set as its motto A New Creation and chose to move forward with hope. The Churchs reconstruction assistance activities shall not end at the 10-year milestone. The message notes that in November 2019, in his meeting with Tohoku residents during his visit to Japan, Pope Francis said that We should not let this action be lost with the passage of time or disappear after the initial shock; rather, we should continue and sustain it. Inspired by these words, the Catholic Church in Japan will continue to journey with the people of Tohoku as friends, brothers and sisters. We will provide not just material support, but a bond of solidarity that spreads throughout the world and raises our horizon and our hope. With respect to the future of nuclear plants in Japan, the bishops reiterate what they said in November 2011, eight months after the disaster, namely we called for the immediate abolition of nuclear power plants from the standpoint of believers who protect life, the gift of God. Unfortunately, we feel that over time the situation is moving in a different direction from this call. Ten years after the accident, we renew our call for the immediate abolition of nuclear power plants and a review of lifestyles. The Catholic Church believes that human life is a gift from God. The theme of Pope Francis visit to Japan was Protect All Life. Responding to the popes call, we want to bring about a society in which all life is protected without exception, its dignity is preserved, and no one is forgotten. For Japans bishops, the world should learn from the experience of ten years ago and apply the lessons to the current pandemic. When we were struck by that unprecedented disaster, we felt the limits of human wisdom and knowledge. Before the power of nature, we understood how weak we are. At that time, we engraved on our hearts the importance of helping each other, the importance of solidarity to protect life, and the importance of a caring heart. Now, 10 years after the great earthquake and tsunami, the world surely needs to think about that importance. San Francisco, March 11 : Apple has announced to invest nearly $1.2 billion in Munich, Germany to create 5G and future wireless technologies through the seamless integration of hardware and software engineering. Apple will make Munich its European Silicon Design Center, adding hundreds of new employees and a new state-of-the-art facility focused on connectivity and wireless technologies. Munich is already Apple's largest engineering hub in Europe, with close to 1,500 engineers from 40 countries working in a variety of areas including power management design, application processors, and wireless technologies. "I couldn't be more excited for everything our Munich engineering teams will discover - from exploring the new frontiers of 5G technology, to a new generation of technologies that bring power, speed, and connectivity to the world," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. The teams have created custom silicon, delivering greater performance and better efficiency for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac with the M1 chip. Over the past decade, Apple's innovation in energy efficiency has reduced average product energy use by over 70 per cent. The new facility will be home to Apple's growing cellular unit, and Europe's largest R&D site for mobile wireless semiconductors and software. In the past five years, Apple said it has spent over 15 billion euros with more than 700 companies of all sizes across Germany. This includes the chip manufacturer Infineon, battery company Varta, and the family-owned chemical company DELO, which is delivering resin for Face ID technology in Apple's newest products, including iPhone 12 Pro. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - Vietnam needs to increase the proportion of wind power, especially offshore wind power, in the total power capacity targeted in the National Power Development Plan for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2045 (Power Development Plan VIII), so as to attract more foreign investors in the field, according to businesses and experts. The country is considered an offshore wind power centre of the world and holds substantial potential for development. Developing offshore wind power has been assessed as one solution that would help Vietnam ensure the sufficient supply of electricity at lower prices, gain independence from imported fuel, increase the localisation rate, generate more jobs, and cut greenhouse gas emissions, as the Government has committed. The Power Development Plan VIII only sets a target of 2-3GW of wind power capacity by 2030, however, accounting for 1.45-2 percent of total power capacity. In this plan, the proportion of renewable energies, excluding hydropower, will make up nearly 30 percent in 2030, with the capacity of wind power to increase three-fold compared to the figure in the adjusted Power Development Plan VII, but be mainly inshore and near-shore. The World Bank (WB) assesses that Vietnams offshore wind power has the potential to generate 475GW, while the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) says the country possesses a long coastline and has the potential for 160GW of wind power within a radius of 5-100 km from the shore. Therefore, the two organisations have proposed that Vietnam increase the capacity of offshore wind power to 10GW by 2030. According to the draft Power Development Plan VIII, Vietnam will need about 128 billion USD in investment in electricity by 2030. The Vietnam Energy Association said that with investment of 2.5-3 billion USD per gigawatt of offshore wind power, Vietnam is likely to attract hundreds of billions of USD over the course of the next decade. The on Thursday demanded a judicial inquiry into the allegation that a Swedish firm gave a luxury bus to a company linked to union minister Nitin Gadkari, who has denied the charge as "malicious, fabricated and baseless". spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the reports of the bus contract scam are "indeed very disturbing". She said the prime minister who used to speak about probity in public life is today "forced to be silent. He does not even want to talk about this". "We demand a judicial inquiry into this. We demand that the Government of India take this into cognisance and issue a statement clarifying its position," she told reporters. "We demand an inquiry into this and we hope that the government will take this into cognisance and not brush it under the carpet just like many other scams under its regime...," she also said. The leader also released pictures of Gadkari with the company's top officials including CEO. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's office issued a statement denying the reports and said "these accusations are malicious, fabricated and baseless". "Since the entire episode of Scania bus was an internal affair of the Swedish company, the statement of Scania spokesperson has made it clear that Shri Gadkari and his family members have absolutely nothing to do with purchase or sale of any Scania bus. Nor do they have anything to do with any firm or individual who might be linked with the purchase of the bus," Gadkari's office said in a statement. (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.) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 QARAQOSH, Iraq Pope Francis urged Iraqs Christians this past Sunday to forgive the injustices against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild as he visited the wrecked shells of churches and met ecstatic crowds in the communitys historic heartland, which was nearly erased by the Islamic State groups horrific reign. Fraternity is more durable than fratricide, hope is more powerful than hatred, peace more powerful than war, the pontiff said during prayers for the dead in the city of Mosul, with the call for tolerance that has been the central message of his four-day visit to Iraq. At each stop in northern Iraq, the remnants of its Christian population turned out, jubilant, ululating, and decked out in colorful dress. Heavy security prevented Francis from plunging into the crowd as he would normally. Nonetheless, they simply seemed overjoyed that he had come and that they had not been forgotten. It was a sign of the desperation for support among an ancient community uncertain whether it can hold on. The traditionally Christian towns dotting the Nineveh Plains of the north emptied out in 2014 as Christiansas well as many Muslimsfled the Islamic State groups onslaught. Only a few have returned to their homes since the defeat of ISIS in Iraq was declared four years ago, and the rest remain scattered elsewhere in Iraq or abroad. It is almost as if we have more churches than people, Ashur Eskrya, president of Assyrian Aid SocietyIraq, told CT. This is our chance to show what is happening, and to stop the bleeding. Bells rang out for the popes arrival in the town of Qaraqosh. The road to a full recovery may still be long, but I ask you, please, not to grow discouraged, Francis told a packed Church of the Immaculate Conception. What is needed is the ability to forgive, but also the courage not to give up. The Qaraqosh church has been extensively renovated after being vandalized by ISIS militants during their takeover of the town, making it a symbol of recovery efforts. Iraqs Christian population, which has existed here since the time of Christ, has dwindled from around 1.5 million before the 2003 US-led invasion that plunged the country into chaos to just a few hundred thousand today. Franciss visit this past weekend aimed to encourage them to stay, rebuild, and restore what he called Iraqs intricately designed carpet of faiths and ethnic groups. Dressed in white, Francis took to a red carpeted stage in Mosul on his first stop of the day, surrounded by the grey hollowed-out shells of four churchesSyriac Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Chaldeannearly destroyed in the war to oust ISIS fighters from the city. It was a scene that would have been unimaginable years earlier. Mosul, Iraqs second largest city, was at the heart of the ISIS so-called caliphate and witnessed the worst of the groups rule inflicted on Muslims, Christians, and others, including beheadings and mass killings. He deviated from his prepared speech to emphasize the plight of Iraqs Yazidi minority, which was subjected to mass killings, abductions, and sexual slavery at the hands of ISIS. How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, Francis said, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of peopleMuslims, Christians, Yazidiswho were cruelly annihilated by terrorism and others forcibly displaced or killed. In advance of his visit, the Iraqi parliament approved the long-awaited Yazidi Women Survivors Law, establishing a mechanism for justice and rehabilitation. But 46 Iraqi and international civil society organizationsincluding Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern, and the Religious Freedom Institutecalled for reparations and support for all survivors. ISIS inflicted atrocities against all communities, including Muslims, during its three-year rule across much of northern and western Iraq. But the Christian minority was hit especially hard. The militants forced them to choose among conversion, death, or the payment of a special tax for non-Muslims. Thousands fled, leaving homes and churches that were destroyed or commandeered by the extremists. Mosul, Iraqs second largest city, became ISISs bureaucratic and financial backbone. It took a ferocious nine-month battle to finally free the city in July 2017. Between 9,000 and 11,000 civilians were killed, according to an AP investigation at the time, and the war left a swath of destruction. Many Iraqis have had to rebuild on their own amid a years-long financial crisis. Priest Raed Kallo was among the few Christians who returned to Mosul after ISIS was defeated. My Muslim brothers received me after the liberation of the city with great hospitality and love, he said on stage before the pontiff. Before ISIS, he had a parish of 500 Christian families. Now only 70 families remain, he said. But today I live among 2 million Muslims who call me their Father Raed, he said. Gutayba Aagha, the Muslim head of the Independent Social and Cultural Council for the Families of Mosul, invited all our Christian brothers to return to this, their city, their properties, and their businesses. Throughout his four-day visit, Francis has delivered a message of interreligious tolerance to Muslim leaders, including in a historic meeting Saturday with Iraqs top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. But Christians say it will take real changes on the ground for them to be able to return and stay, saying they face discrimination and intimidation from Shiite militias on top of the economic hardships suffered by all Iraqis. Long-term solutions are needed, Nadine Maenza of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, told CT. So while Qaraqosh is the success story, only 5 miles south the traditionally Christian city of Bartallah is threatened with demographic change. It maintains the harshest militia presence, she said, some of which have been sanctioned by the US government. I want to be optimistic, Maenza said. But it is hard to imagine that only one visit will change anything. Qaraqosh resident Martin Auffee, however, said he was overjoyed by the popes visit and appreciated that he showed he was with Christians as he urged them to endure. But the 27-year-old said many of the young in his area have grown weary of lack of opportunity. We dont know for how long they can cling onto hope and continue to stay in Iraq because theres a lot of pain, unemployment, and uncertainty, he said. My whole life has been filled with pain, misery, war, persecution, and displacement. Things are difficult for those living here. At Qaraqosh, Francis urged its residents to continue to dream, and forgive. Forgiveness is necessary to remain in love, to remain Christian, he said. One resident, Doha Sabah Abdallah, told him how her son and two other young people were killed in a mortar strike August 6, 2014, as ISIS neared the town. The martyrdom of these three angels alerted the other residents to flee, she said. The deaths of three saved the entire city. She said now it was for the survivors to try to forgive the aggressor. Francis wrapped up the dayand his visitwith a Mass at the stadium in Irbil, in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region. An estimated 10,000 people erupted in ululating cheers when he arrived and did a lap around the track in his open-sided popemobile, the first and only time he has used it on this trip due to security concerns. On the makeshift altar for the Mass was a statue of the Virgin Mary from the Mar Adday Church in the town of Keramlis, which was restored after ISIS militants chopped off its head and hands. Religion is love, grace, forgiveness, said Louis Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, in advance of the visit. Religion is a message, and humanity is its core. [And] as for us, we are staying until the end. But perhaps some Iraq Christians have a vision for even more. This is a time of healing for our country, Farouk Hammo, pastor of Baghdad Presbyterian Church, told CT. But we are still praying for a visitation by the Lord Jesusa revivaland it will happen. Kullab reported from Baghdad. AP Religion Correspondent Mariam Fam contributed. Additional reporting by Jayson Casper of CT. The Janssen vaccine - the first single-dose formula on the market - has been authorised for distribution by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and it now joins the army of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines to fight the worldwide coronavirus crisis. Spain expects to receive a total of 21 million doses of the vaccine from the Belgian subsidiary of the North American giant Johnson & Johnson. Although Minister of Health Carolina Darias announced in February in parliament that the distribution of Janssen doses would begin in April, there are doubts about the exact dates since the laboratory warned last week of readjustments in its production for the EU. But Darias said today, 11 March, she is convinced that Spain will receive at least 5.5 million doses from the pharmaceutical company "in the second quarter". In tests, involving almost 44,000 volunteers, the level of protection from the Janssen formula against moderate and severe Covid-19 ranged from 72 per cent in the United States to 66 per cent in Latin America and only 57 per cent in South Africa. That is well below the claimed 95 per cent Pfizer-BionTech and Moderna vaccines but it has the advantage that it is a single dose and its transport and storage is very straightforward. It can be stable for two years at -20 degrees centigrade, and for at least three months in most standard refrigerators. Spain has played an important role in the development of this vaccine, since phase two and phase three trials were run in hospitals in Madrid, Barcelona, Santander and Pamplona. 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. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 06:31:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on March 10, 2021 shows a notice of mandatory mask requirement at the entrance of a Macy store in Frisco, a suburban city of Dallas, Texas, the United States. As statewide mask mandate ended on Wednesday, some businesses and public places in the U.S. state of Texas still require face coverings and other safety practices to contain the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua) HOUSTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- As statewide mask mandate ended on Wednesday, some businesses and public places in the U.S. state of Texas still require face coverings and other safety practices to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week issued orders to lift the mask mandate in the state and increase capacity of all businesses and facilities to 100 percent capacity starting from March 10. "Businesses and families in Texas have the freedom to determine their own destiny," Abbott said when announcing the orders. He said that with the help of COVID-19 vaccines, new cases and hospitalization have dropped. That's way state mandates were no longer needed. However, health officials still emphasized the importance of wearing face masks to contain spread of the virus, along with handwashing and social distancing. Local media reported that some businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores and shopping malls are still asking their employees and customers to wear face coverings. In Houston, the fourth largest city of the United States, about 70 percent restaurant owners surveyed by the Texas Restaurant Association are asking their staff members and customers to wear masks. "Our goal is to take care of employees, take care of our customers and our community," said Melissa Stewart, executive director of Greater Houston Restaurant Association, a Chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association. In a shopping mall southwest of Houston, Xinhua reporter found on Wednesday that all staff and customers wore masks. There were signs in the mall asking people to wear face coverings and keep social distance. Other places such as airport and public transportation, as well as some hospitals, supermarkets and gyms, haven't changed their safety policies. Abbott's remarks were criticized by President Joe Biden, who said it was a "big mistake" to end the mask mandate. Three of Abbott's four coronavirus medical advisers said they had not been directly consulted before he lifted the mandate. In addition, mayors in some Texas big cities said mask mandates would continue in municipal buildings after the statewide mask order ended. Cities such as Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and El Paso still require people to wear masks when they enter city-owned indoor spaces like libraries, police and fire department headquarters, convention centers and transportation hubs. Meanwhile, date models showed that COVID-19 daily deaths and new cases in Texas would both increase without a mask mandate, local media KTRK reported. Texas hit a peak of daily deaths in mid-January, losing between 300 and 350 people per day. The figure dipped below 300 deaths per day in February and is projected to continue to decline into the spring with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. According to data models from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, at current rate, there could be fewer than 25 deaths per day as soon as June. However, projections show the lifting of a mask mandate, assuming a worst-case spread, may cause the death rate to stall and stagnate at 100 deaths per day into the summer. Looking at new cases, if a mask mandate stays in place, the models predict that new cases could be as low at 1,000 per day by June. Without a mandate, worst-case projections show at least 10,000 Texans to be diagnosed per day in the summer. Enditem The Armenian Ministry of Health reported in the morning that 340 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, significantly up from the daily number of new cases officially confirmed in early and mid-February. The ministry also recorded five more fatalities caused by the disease, bringing to 3,237 the official death toll in the county of about 3 million. The figure does not include the deaths of 834 other people infected with the coronavirus. According to the ministry, they were primarily caused by other diseases. Romela Abovian, a senior official from the ministrys National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the daily number of COVID-19 infections has nearly doubled in the last two weeks. Abovian warned that more than 3,000 new cases will be registered in the next few days unless appropriate measures are taken to make Armenians again wear masks in public, observe social distancing and stick to other safety rules set by the government. If things continue like this we could be faced with a serious problem, she told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. Health Minister Anahit Avanesian likewise expressed concern last week about the resurgence of the respiratory disease. She said health authorities have to set up more hospital beds for COVID-19 patients. According to Abovian, over 90 percent of about 1,000 such beds currently available at hospitals across the country are already occupied by patients. More than 550 of them are in a severe or critical condition, added the official. Deputy Education Minister Zhanna Andreasian said, meanwhile, that government officials have already discussed implications of the worsening epidemiological situation for Armenian schools. We had a discussion in the government with our colleagues from the Ministry of Health, said Andreasian. The issue of switching all schools back to online classes was not discussed. There is no such decision. We just need to again strictly follow the existing simple rules: wear masks, frequently wash hands, she said. Andreasian also stressed the need to comply with the Ministry of Healths safety protocols for schools introduced last year. The government most recently shut down the schools on October 15 following a surge in coronavirus cases. It reopened all of them by December 7. Two highly prospective gold projects in premier mining region Both show potential to host high-grade epithermal and porphyry mineralization Experienced management team in the region What Kainantu Resources does: ( ) is an Asia-Pacific focused gold mining company with two highly prospective gold projects in a premier mining region, the high-grade Kainantu gold district of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Both of the companys projects - KRL North and KRL South - show potential to host high-grade epithermal and porphyry mineralization, as seen elsewhere in the Kainantu district. KRL North lies on the boundary of K92 Minings five-million-ounce gold mine with some of the highest head-grade being recovered in the world at the moment. KRL South also lies in close proximity to K92s acreage, about 25 kilometres to the south-west. The K92 project continues to produce interesting drill hits, and in 2019 accounted for the fourth richest drill hit of the year, according to a survey conducted by the Mining Journal, and this year it was awarded the 2021 PDAC award for best gold discovery in the world. As well as high-grade regional geology, Kainantu has local and national support from the government and the Mineral and Resource Authority (MRA) in PNG. The company is also working with a strong local partner in Asia Pacific Energy Ventures, a successful PNG focused EPC business; with a track record of delivering outcomes for government and institutions. The company has assembled a highly experienced board and management team with a proven track record of working together in the region. Kainantu chairman Marcus Engelbrecht has plenty of regional know-how gleaned during his tenure at Archipelago Resources, while CEO Matthew Salthouse is based out of Singapore and has also held executive roles at , Archipelago and at , a commodities house with Indonesian interests. The company's shares commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on December 8, 2020, having closed its qualifying transaction with PLB Capital Corp. and a private placement of C$4.1 million. Kainantu said the listing and private placement put it in a strong financial position for a targeted field programme in 2021 and beyond, as the company advances its exploration efforts towards drilling and a potential initial resource. How is it doing: The immediate focus for Kainantu is on KRL South, where studies to date indicate mineralisation hosting a range of structures, including skarns, epithermal, and porphyrys. For now, the potential epithermal systems are getting the attention, and recent fieldwork, has, according to CEO Salthouse, been highly encouraging. In addition to petrology and geochemical work, trenching is ongoing, and when the results are compiled Kainantu will move onto geophysics, after which it expects to progress with a drilling programme. The company currently has cash in the bank, following the fundraise that took place at the end of last year. It also enjoys the support of a strong base of high-net-worth individuals in Vancouver, as well as some boutique institutions and backing from PI Financial and Haywood Securities. With one of Kainantus key strengths being its regional expertise, the plan over the medium and longer-term is to build up the company with assets in and around Papua New Guinea, as a broader regional play. Inflection points: Newsflow from KRL South project Build into broader regional play What the boss says: In a recent interview with Proactives Alastair Ford, Matthew Salthouse CEO of Kainantu Resources said: What were looking to do is create a platform for a cornerstone business that brings together expertise in the highly prospective Asia-Pacific region. He added: All the data weve seen so far makes us more confident in working there. The focus is on the apparent epithermal system at KRL South around the Tirokave area, which we anticipate will yield encouraging early-stage results. "We expect a consistent flow of news from KRL South as we progress through the year, Salthouse concluded. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.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. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Good morning, North State. Here's what you need to know to start your day on Thursday, March 11. Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, Dems A $1,400 check could soon be on its way to your wallet. The House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, approving direct payments for adults who qualify, as well as jobless benefits, and money for schools. President Joe Biden is set to sign that bill into law Friday. How to watch Biden's first prime-time presidential address Tonight, President Biden will hold his first prime-time address since taking office, marking one year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. White House officials said the president will also discuss the impact of coronavirus on the U.S. and the "path forward" through the pandemic. North State COVID-19 vaccine tracker Action News Now is tracking vaccine distribution across the North State. Butte County has administered nearly 65,000 vaccine doses. Shasta County has administered almost 36,000 doses. More than 11,000 have received their shot in Tehama County. Nearly one-third of Modoc County has now been fully vaccinated. Shasta County working on plans to distribute newly received Johnson & Johnson vaccine Shasta County Public Health said Wednesday it is still planning on how to best distribute the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. Shasta County received about 1,400 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week. Health officials said they will have more time to plan as the vaccine is much easier to store than other options and can be stored at temperatures like a regular refrigerator. Public Health also said this vaccine would be ideal for people who are homebound or lack transportation. Butte County to host North Complex fire recovery meeting An important meeting for anyone impacted by local wildfires is scheduled for this afternoon. Butte County is set to hold a virtual meeting, discussing the topic of hazardous tree removal and wildfire especially for homes and properties affected by the North Complex fires. The meeting kicks off at 4 p.m. on the Butte County Facebook page. Judge reinstates 3rd degree murder charge for Derek Chauvin Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin now faces an additional murder charge in the death of George Floyd after a Hennepin County judge reinstated a count of third-degree murder on Thursday. Chauvin already faced charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter, and jury selection in his trial began Tuesday. He has pleaded not guilty. The added charge provides prosecutors a third potential pathway to conviction in the closely watched case at the heavily fortified Hennepin County Government Center. ALBANY A female aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo alleges he aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after she had been summoned to the Executive Mansion late last year, according to a person with direct knowledge of the woman's claims. The staff member, whose identity is being withheld by the Times Union, had been called to the mansion under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor with a minor technical issue involving his mobile phone. They were alone in Cuomo's private residence on the second floor when he closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her, according to the source. The allegations by the female aide, who is the sixth woman to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, were first reported Tuesday by the Times Union. The additional details describe the most egregious behavior attributed to the governor to date conduct that could potentially be pursued as a misdemeanor sexual assault charge. The person briefed on the case, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the woman who is much younger than Cuomo told the governor to stop. Her broader allegations include that he frequently engaged in flirtatious behavior with her, and that it was not the only time that he had touched her. The woman's story was revealed within the governor's Executive Chamber on March 3, as staff members watched his first news conference in the week since Lindsey Boylan published an online essay detailing her own allegations against Cuomo. In the news conference, the governor denied ever touching any women "inappropriately." Hearing those remarks, the female aide became emotional. At least one female supervisor came to her assistance and asked why she was upset. The female aide subsequently told the supervisor about what she said had been inappropriate encounters with Cuomo, the source said. In response to the Times Union's questions about the allegations, Cuomo on Wednesday evening issued a statement to the newspaper: "As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report. State Attorney General Letitia James' office is overseeing an investigation of multiple harassment allegations against Cuomo. In the most recent case, at least one of the woman's supervisors reported the allegations to an attorney in the governor's office on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon, several hours after Cuomo's office had been asked about the matter by the Times Union, the governor said in a news conference, "I'm not aware of any other claim," when he was asked by a reporter about the new story, which by then had been published online. That story included a statement from his acting counsel, Beth Garvey, who said that "all allegations" of sexual harassment made against the governor were being referred to the attorney general's office. "As I said last week, this is very simple: I never touched anyone inappropriately," Cuomo said Tuesday. "I never made any inappropriate advances ... (and) no one ever told me at the time that I made them feel uncomfortable. Obviously, there are people who said after the fact they felt uncomfortable." The woman has not filed a formal complaint with the governor's office. Aides to the governor on Tuesday said the governor stands by his statements that he never touched anyone inappropriately. They would not explain the governor's statement that he was unaware of the latest allegation against him. This week, the attorney general's office announced its investigation will be handled by two private attorneys: Joon H. Kim, a former acting U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District in Manhattan, and Anne L. Clark, who specializes in labor law and sexual harassment cases. On Wednesday morning, the attorney general's office declined to comment in response to detailed questions about how that office, which does not have statutory jurisdiction on any criminal component of the case, would be handled. The March 1 referral letter from Garvey to James authorizing the probe invoked a section of Executive Law that empowers the attorney general's office to conduct a civil investigation with the aid of office subpoenas, but not to pursue a criminal case or to bring the allegations before a grand jury. If a criminal complaint is made, by Boylan or the female aide who alleges Cuomo groped her at the mansion, those cases could potentially by handled by the offices of Albany County District Attorney David Soares or Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. The new allegations that came to light Tuesday immediately intensified the pressure from many lawmakers including Cuomo's fellow Democrats for the governor to resign. He had already faced calls to step down from state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie had issued a statement Sunday questioning Cuomo's ability to remain an effective leader. Republicans in the Legislature have been more forceful in their remarks. Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt on Tuesday characterized the latest allegation as "a disturbing pattern of predatory pattern behavior by Gov. Cuomo, not to mention a pattern of lies and broken public trust." The initial allegations were made by three women Boylan as well as Charlotte Bennett and Anna Ruch, who did not work for Cuomo but told the New York Times last week that the governor grabbed her and attempted to kiss her at the 2019 wedding of one of his senior aides, Gareth Rhodes. Bennett told the New York Times that Cuomo, during an encounter in his Capitol office last June, talked about being lonely during the pandemic and that he had missed being able to hug someone. She said that the governor never tried to touch her. Bennett, in another interview with CBS News, also recounted being alone with Cuomo at the mansion and said that he had asked her probing questions about her personal life but did not touch her. Debra Katz, Bennett's attorney, issued a statement in response to this story late Wednesday saying the allegations by the female aide are "eerily similar" to Bennett's experience. "Charlotte was summoned to the Capitol on a Saturday, left isolated with the governor and asked to help him with minor technical issues with his phone. Charlotte reported this behavior and the governors sexual proposition to his most senior aides, including his Special Counsel, Judith Mogul. In response, those aides failed to report Charlottes claims to the Governors Office of Employee Relations, as they were legally required," Katz said. "Had the governors staff taken Charlotte Bennetts allegations and their legal obligations seriously, perhaps this woman would have been spared of this sexual assault," she added. "That the governor does not deny touching people, but insists he never did it inappropriately, shows he is committed to gaslighting victims and perpetuating these lies. This is exactly how abusers operate." Over the weekend, in stories published by the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, two more women came forward and described what they characterized as inappropriate behavior by Cuomo, including Karen Hinton, who worked with the governor more than two decades ago at the U.S. Housing and Urban Development agency. blyons@timesunion.com Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) was practically dripping with elegance as she posed at the Melbourne Fashion Festival on Thursday. The model, 33, looked nothing short of sensational in a black Dion Lee dress worth $1990, as she made a rare solo red carpet appearance at the star-studded event. The mother-of-three - who only recently returned to her home country of Australia in January - dressed her svelte figure in the slinky black gown, which featured flesh-flashing cut-outs around her decolletage and waist. Sheer beauty: Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) was practically dripping with elegance as she posed at the Melbourne Fashion Festival on Thursday in a black Dion Lee dress worth $1990 The long-sleeved number draped down to her ankles, and she teamed the frock with a pair of strappy black heels. Lara, who was a special guest of David Jones, whisked her hair into a stylish updo, clearly to draw attention to her exquisite makeup. She emphasised her striking blue eyes with a rim of black eyeliner, yet softened the look with a stunning beige eyeshadow. Picture perfect: Lara, 33, whisked her hair into a stylish up-do for the occasion, to bring attention to her simply exquisite make-up Stunning: The actress emphasised her striking blue eyes with a rim of black eyeliner, yet softened the look with a stunning beige eyeshadow Show-stopper: The mother-of-three dressed her sensational figure in a slinky mesh gown, which featured flesh-flashing cut-outs around her decolletage and waist She opted for a dewy glow and highlighter on her already flawless skin, and painted her nails with a pretty brown polish. Other stars in attendance at the event included Victoria Lee and Rebecca Harding. Lara seems to appear on the red carpet less and less in recent years, and is notoriously private when it comes to her romance with husband Sam Worthington. Glowing: She opted for a dewy glow on her already flawless skin, and painted her nails with a stunning brown polish Private: Lara seems to appear on the red carpet less and less in recent years, and is notoriously private when it comes to her romance with husband Sam Worthington The pair married in 2014, and share sons Rocket and Racer together. The loved-up couple also welcomed their third child, a baby boy, in June last year, but have yet to reveal his name. Lara only recently returned to Australia in January, after being based in the US with her family for years. According to Who magazine last year, the couple decided to relocate back to their native Australia for an 'extended stay.' The publication reported that the pair will be temporarily moving Down Under while Sam performs in the Sydney Theatre Company's production, Appropriate. Srinagar, March 11 : Two unidentified terrorists were killed in an ongoing encounter between the terrorists and security forces at Bijbehara in South Kashmir's Anantnag district, officials said on Thursday. The gunfight took place after the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of a specific information about the presence of terrorists. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where the terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter. "Two unidentified terrorists have been killed in Anantnag encounter. Operation is going on," police said. The encounter started on Wednesday evening. The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has said it will not field a candidate in the upcoming Senate by-election in Garissa county. Garissa Township MP Aden Duale said the party that is associated with DP Ruto will stay out of the poll in honour and respect of the late senator Yusuf Haji. Duale said UDA will instead back the son of Yusuf Haji who will vie on a Jubilee ticket. The former Majority Leader in the National Assembly said community leaders, elders, and professionals have resolved to back Abdikadir Mohamed Yusuf Haji as an unopposed candidate to replace his father. Duale noted that while UDA is the party of choice in the county, it was resolved that since the late senator was elected on Jubilee, his son should complete the journey in the same party. As as the DP ordered in Huruma ward, Uasin Gishu county, we agreed that due to the position as respect that we have for our former senator, we unanimously agreed that our candidate will be Abdul, Duale told the Star. The lawmaker, however, said in the next general elections, he will rally the pastoralist community to switch to UDA. For now, the party is not that critical factor compared to the interests of the community. We are optimistic that once the term of this government comes to an end, we will embark on a new journey where we know the aspirations and development agenda of our people will be taken care of, Duale said. The Garissa by-election is slated for May 18. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 18:45:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TOKYO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Somber mood has hung over Japan since early morning Thursday and will be throughout the day and beyond as the nation mourns the lives lost 10 years ago when a massive earthquake-triggered tsunami devoured a nuclear plant, triggering the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. People in the hardest-hit northeastern regions got up early on Thursday to head to seafront vigils to pay their respects to the almost 16,000 people who died as a result of the triple disasters and pray for the souls of the 2,525 who remain unaccounted for. At 2:46 p.m. local time, precisely the moment the magnitude-9 "mega quake" struck 10 years ago, people across the nation observed a moment of silence. The ceremony at the National Theater in Tokyo was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, The Imperial Couple, as well as some family members of the victims of the disasters. Suga said in his address that 2,000 people still live in temporary housing despite the reconstruction effort "entering its final phases." The Japanese premier reiterated the government's commitment to spearheading reconstruction efforts in regions yet to have fully recovered from near evisceration when hit by the full-force of mother nature's fury and the worst possible "man-made" disaster. "The government will continue to provide seamless support to affected citizens. In areas affected by the nuclear disaster that need mid- to long-term help," Suga said in his address. "The government will advance measures to improve living conditions for people to return home, and bolster the revitalization of industries. We will do our utmost to fully reconstruct and revive Fukushima and complete the reconstruction of the Tohoku region," he went on to say. The Japanese leader added that due to Japan's history of natural disasters, the people had grown resilient and he pledged that the nation would follow in the footsteps of history's examples of displaying "courage and hope." Having previously visited the areas affected by the disasters and offered prayers and words of hope and encouragement to survivors and mourners, Emperor Naruhito said that despite progress being made with reconstruction efforts, he felt that a number of problems still remain. He said that when his mind turns to those who were forced to struggle through the dark days after the disasters, his heart aches. "It is a matter of great importance, I believe, that we all keep ourselves united, and everlastingly maintain the will to stand by the afflicted people so that the progress of the reconstruction will steadily bear fruit from now onwards in order to help all of them regain their peaceful daily lives in less than no time without leaving even a single soul behind in this difficult situation," Emperor Naruhito said. "I, together with the Empress, would like to continue to listen to the voices of those in the afflicted regions and stay close to them," he added. Over the past decade, more than 30 trillion yen (277 billion U.S. dollars) have been spent on reconstruction projects, with the function of the Reconstruction Agency to oversee reconstruction efforts extended by the government last year for 10 more years to 2031, owing to rebuilding targets not being met. While the number of displaced people has dropped from a peak of 470,000, around 41,000 people have still not returned to their home towns since fleeing the disasters. Enditem (AFP via Getty Images) American Airlines has informed 13,000 employees who received furlough notices that they can now "tear them up" following the US House passing President Joe Biden's $1.9tn American Rescue Plan. "For our 13,000 colleagues who received Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices last month, those are happily cancelled you can tear them up!" wrote CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom in a letter to employees. Congress passing the American Rescue Plan provided businesses like American Airlines with necessary funding through the Payroll Support Program (PSP), therefore preventing the company from needing to furlough the 13,000 employees. President Joe Biden said he would be signing the American Rescue Plan into law on Friday after it passed successfully through the Democratic-run House and Senate. "It will extend the commitment that all US-based American Airlines team members will continue to receive pay and benefits through 30 September, 2021," the letter continued. Read more: Follow live updates from the Biden administration Prior to the passage of the bill, the 13,000 employees would be furloughed starting on 1 April. Airlines in total got a $15bn boost following the passage of the American Rescue Plan. The airline industry was one set of businesses targeted given how much traveling has depleted in the last year due to the pandemic. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Other industries have also celebrated the passing of the American Rescue Plan on Wednesday. The restaurant and bar industry will receive $28.6 billion for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which provides debt-free support to restaurants, bars, and other similar businesses that assist in covering expenses like payroll, mortgage, rent, and utilities. "Today Congress spoke with one voice in support of the restaurant industry. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund will keep doors open in restaurants large and small in every community," said Sean Kennedy, National Restaurant Association executive vice president of public affairs. Story continues The alcohol industry, another industry deeply impacted during the pandemic, also celebrated the additional funding. "Our nation's restaurants, bars and distilleries are in desperate need of relief, and this bill is a great place to start," the Distilled Spirits Council said in a statement. Some of the general public would also receive $1,400 stimulus checks, which could hit bank accounts as early as next week after Mr Biden signs the bill on Friday. Experts have anticipated these stimulus checks will encourage consumer spending and help fuel the economy. Read More Democrats will triumph as Covid bill passes but the work has just begun Congress passes $1.9 trillion Covid relief package that will lift millions of Americans out of poverty amid pandemic What's inside the $1.9T COVID-19 bill passed by Congress Channel Seven identities farewelled Samantha Armytage at a swanky lunch on Thursday after she made a tearful departure as host of Sunrise. The 44-year-old was feted by friends and now former colleagues at Catalina Restaurant in Rose Bay, but there was no sign of several big names. Samantha's former co-host David Koch was not pictured at the goodbye party, and ex-colleagues Edwina Bartholomew and Sam 'Mac' McMillan were not sighted either. Sunrise news presenter Natalie Barr - hot favourite to take over Samantha's hosting duties - was also conspicuously absent. The leaving lunch came a few hours after Samantha used her final episode to launch an attack on the media for perceived unfair treatment during her TV career. Final goodbye: Just hours after going to air for the last time as host of Sunrise, Samantha Armytage hosted a star-studded farewell lunch in Sydney on Thursday. Pictured with husband Richard Lavender 'I do want to say that I never fully understood some of the scrutiny and the snarkiness and the bullying from some aspects of the media,' she said during her farewell address on Sunrise on Thursday. I don't think any of us want to do the same thing forever,' Armytage said. 'There's a lot about television that's all about you and that's an awful way to live your life. TV isn't a place that's necessarily very healthy. 'It's full of sociopaths and narcissists it can be a dangerous environment, let me tell you. 'But today we move on from that, because there is a new chapter starting and it has been overwhelmingly a good experience in my life.' Among those at the exclusive luncheon was Samantha's husband of almost three months, Richard Lavender, who she arrived with hand-in-hand. Turnout: The 44-year-old TV host gathered with friends and former colleagues at Catalina Restaurant in Rose Bay. Pictured with Sunrise executive producer, Michael Pell Power couple: Among those at the exclusive luncheon was Samantha's husband of almost three months, Richard, who she arrived with hand-in-hand The Morning Show's Kylie Gillies was also in attendance, along with Sunrise's executive producer, Michael Pell. But there were a few notable absences too, although they may have met up with the group later on. Not pictured at the star-studded lunch were several of her Sunrise colleagues, including her former co-host, David Koch. Colleagues: The Morning Show's Kylie Gillies (pictured) was also in attendance, along with Sunrise's executive producer, Michael Pell Making claims: It comes after Samantha earlier accused 'some aspects of the media' of treating her unfairly during her career on TV According to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, sources claimed Samantha's relationship with David, 65, had hit an 'all time low'. Sources said the stars barely spoke off-camera, and the dynamic became 'untenable' to the point where Samantha announced her resignation on Monday. There were also no sightings of Natalie Barr, Sam 'Mac' McMillan, and Edwina Bartholomew, who had earlier farewelled Samantha, referring to her as a 'big sister'. High praise: Edwina Bartholomew (right) praised her former Sunrise colleague in a heartfelt post on Instagram on Thursday Edwina, 37, praised her former Sunrise colleague in a heartfelt post on Instagram earlier on Thursday. 'Thanks for your friendship (and all the clothes I stole from your wardrobe over the years),' she wrote. 'You have been like a big sister to me and I know the next chapter will be even better than the last.' United front: Michael, 37, and Samantha put rumours of a falling out to rest, happily mingling inside the event Teaming up: The pair stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they posed for photos, holding hands and smiling for the cameras Michael, 37, and Samantha put rumours of a falling-out to rest, happily mingling inside the event. The pair stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they posed for photos, holding hands and smiling for the cameras. Inside the restaurant, they could be seen chatting intimately as they stood between tables, before sharing a warm hug. Talking it over: Inside the restaurant, they could be seen chatting intimately as they stood between tables, before sharing a warm hug Hug it out: Michael praised Samantha after she announced she was leaving Sunrise on Monday after eight years as host 'Her warm and genuine nature, combined with her journalistic excellence, has made her a winner with viewers,' he said in a statement to Sunrise But Samantha failed to mention Michael in her farewell speech on Sunrise, while name-checking several of her other colleagues. Samantha and Michael became close friends while working on Sunrise together, but their relationship is rumoured to have cooled recently. Despite that, Michael publicly praised Samantha after she announced she was standing down after eight years as host. Telling: Emerging from a white car, a smiling Samantha carried a straw clutch purse, aptly embroidered with the word, 'Ciao' Stepping out in style: She looked chic in a black and white patterned sundress with frills, which she paired with tan-coloured T-bar sandals and round sunglasses 'Her warm and genuine nature, combined with her journalistic excellence, has made her a winner with viewers,' he said in a statement to Sunrise. 'There really is no one else like her. But all good things must come to an end, and after years of being such an important part of so many lives, it's time for Sam to focus on her own.' He added: 'She goes out on top, with Sunrise on top. I think it's her humour I'll miss the most.' Sad farewell: Samantha was all smiles at the luncheon, despite getting teary-eyed during her final moments on Sunrise Samantha was all smiles at the luncheon, despite getting teary-eyed during her final moments on Sunrise. She looked chic in a black and white patterned sundress with frills, which she paired with tan-coloured T-bar sandals and round sunglasses. Emerging from a white car, a smiling Samantha carried a straw clutch purse, aptly embroidered with the word, 'Ciao'. Bearing gifts: Kylie, 53, arrived clutching a bouquet of flowers, believed to have been a gift for Samantha Casual chic: She stepped out in a pair of wide-leg blue jeans, which she paired with an asymmetrical blue and white pinstripe top Plenty to talk about: Michael and Kylie were seen chatting as they sat alongside each other at a table inside the restaurant Her shoulder-length blonde hair was worn loose and styled straight, and she walked into the restaurant with Richard at her side. The 60-year-old businessman donned dark blue jeans, a light blue button-up shirt and brown leather brogues. Meanwhile, Kylie, 53, arrived clutching a bouquet of flowers, believed to have been a gift for Samantha. Handsome: The 60-year-old businessman donned dark blue jeans, a light blue button-up shirt and brown leather brogues Making an entrance: Her shoulder-length blonde hair was worn loose and styled straight, and she walked into the restaurant with Richard at her side She stepped out in a pair of wide-leg blue jeans, which she paired with an asymmetrical blue and white pinstripe top. The veteran TV host rounded out her ensemble with a pair of silver pointy-toe stilettos with bow detailing at the front. Channel Seven is yet to reveal who will replace Samantha, but it's believed an announcement will be made sometime next week. Turkey violated international law and its obligations to NATO in the Eastern Mediterranean by its actions against Greece, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted. According to him, bilateral disputes should be resolved peacefully and diplomatically, not militarily and certainly not provocatively. He noted that they criticized actions, including by Turkey, that violate international law and its obligations to NATO, including its provocative actions against Greece and the violation of its airspace. He said the United States welcomes the resumption of diplomatic contacts between Athens and Ankara to resolve their differences. Blinken added that the resumption of Turkey's cooperation with the European Union and other countries in a more productive way helped to reduce tensions. The United States is watching the situation in the eastern Mediterranean with concern, he added. According to him, Washington should play an active role in helping to strengthen stability there. Blinken also said Washington would support a long-term solution to the Cyprus problem through a bipartite and bicommunal federation. 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. BUDAPEST -- Hungary's media regulator on March 11 rejected an application from one of the country's last independent news radio stations to regain its broadcasting frequency in what the International Press Institute (IPI) called yet another afront to press freedom in the European Union member state. Klubradio, whose news and talk content is often critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orbans government, has been broadcasting online since mid-February after a court upheld a previous decision by the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) not to extend its broadcasting license. The radio station applied on an open tender to regain a frequency it lost last month, but the NMHH denied its request -- despite it being the only applicant -- arguing that the application contained errors and did not meet basic requirements for radio broadcasting. Klubradio has 15 days to appeal the decision. The radio station called it unlawful and vowed to continue broadcasting online. Critics accuse the NMHH -- whose members are all Orban's supporters -- of exercising political bias in its decision making. The government denies interfering in media issues. Scott Griffen, deputy director of the Austrian-based IPI, said in a statement that the latest arbitrary decision by the captured media regulator shows the lengths to which the Hungarian authorities will go to ensure Klubradio is blocked from returning to the airwaves before next years parliamentary elections. Griffen urged the European Commission to immediately intensify its engagement with the Hungarian authorities and investigate whether the decisions by the Media Council in this and other cases contravene EU law. The European Commission has urged the country to take action to allow Klubradio to continue broadcasting, saying the loss of the station's frequency had occurred on the basis of highly questionable legal grounds. On March 10, the European Parliament debated the erosion of media freedom in Hungary -- as well as in Poland and Slovenia. Hungary is under EU investigation for undermining the independence of the judiciary, media, and nongovernmental organizations, and risks losing access to tens of billions of euros in funds from the bloc. The country is ranked 89th out of 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. Only Bulgaria, 111th, is ranked lower among the EU's 27 member nations. With reporting by AP [March 11, 2021] The UNH InterOperability Lab Expanding 'Wi-Fi' Performance Testing to Include New Broadband Forum TR-398 Issue 2 Test Plan and Wi-Fi 6 Requirements The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of broad-based testing and standards conformance solutions for the networking industry, today announced an expansion of its "Wi-Fi" performance testing services to now include the new Broadband Forum TR-398 Issue 2 test plan and Wi-Fi 6 requirements defined in the IEEE 802.11ax standard1. The testing is crucial for validating the consumer- and enterprise-grade IEEE (News - Alert) 802.11 stations and access points used in broadband deployments. Verifying performance can help reduce support expenditures and customer complaints due to poor Wi-Fi caused by badly performing devices. The UNH-IOL will detail the updated testing offering in a webinar at 10 a.m. ET on March 31. Broadband gateway vendors and service providers in Europe (particularly in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK), North America and the Asia-Pacific region (including Australia) are especially encouraged to attend. To register for the upcoming UNH-IOL webinar, please visit the webinar registration page. "Service providers will be looking to our device suppliers for TR-398 results and reports. These reports will allow service providers to better understand the performance of the developed product prior to release, which will be crucial to ensure customer experience. Service calls associated with Wi-Fi performance issues have emerged as one of our industry's biggest pain points," said Mike Talbert, Associate Fellow, Verizon (News - Alert) . "It's not only that there's a terrific cost savings to be realized if those issues can be caught before devices go into the field; there also is the opportunity to enhance customer satisfaction and reduce churn." The Broadband Forum's (News - Alert) TR-398 test plans, both Issue 1 and the new Issue 2, represent a first in the industry to define absolute requirements on device and Wi-Fi performance in a way that is repeatable and allows direct comparisons between devices and testing results. TR-398 testing encompasses a set of performance metrics in different scenarios and focuses on Wi-Fi router performance. The performance test plan measures an access point's performance against expectations of broadband service providers. Issue 2 increases the testing coverage, specifically adding testing for new IEEE 802.11ax technologies in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. In other test cases, the Broadband Forum has also increased the required performance for access points to successfully pass the test plan. "Our updated Wi-Fi performance testing services enable service providers and device manufacturers to validate the devices used in their broadband deployments before those devices ever reach field deployment. Testing also can apply to new software versions for existing devices," said Lincoln Lavoie (News - Alert) , senior engineer, broadband technologies, the UNH-IOL. "These are valuable benefits for the industry in terms of reducing customer support costs and enhancing satisfaction." To learn more about the UNH-IOL and their testing services, visit their website. About the UNH-IOL The UNH-IOL is dedicated to being the world's premier data networking resource. Beginning in 1988, the UNH-IOL has built a multimillion dollar testbed and developed testing solutions to help companies efficiently and cost effectively deliver products to market. UNH-IOL's services fit the needs of the market, while maintaining broad, comprehensive interoperability and conformance testing of networking, data, telecommunications, and storage products. The industry relies on UNH-IOL's extensive staff experience, standards-bodies participation, 28,000+ square foot facility, and 100+ students who represent the future of interoperability testing and verification. www.iol.unh.edu | Twitter (News - Alert) @UNH_IOL | Facebook @UNHIOL LinkedIn @UNH InterOperability Lab | Instagram @unhiol 1EE 802.11ax, IEEE Approved Draft Standard for Information technology-- Telecommunications and information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan area networks--Specific requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications Amendment 1: Enhancements for High Efficiency WLAN View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005070/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Drivers and other passers-by had to take cover today, in Port of Spain. As, gunmen began offloading bullets on a convoy of cars. Also, over 50 more people have been arrested for breach of curfew. Photo taken on Jan. 20, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua) In a statement released on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump blasted Biden's handling of the emerging "border crisis," claiming the United States is being "destroyed" by the recent surge of illegal migrants at the border. WASHINGTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Facing stressful challenges on immigration, the White House said Tuesday it is looking at new facilities to house a record number of unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks. "We don't want them to be in the CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) facilities," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. "We want them to be in shelters as quickly as possible and ultimately in families and homes where their applications can be processed." Psaki said President Joe Biden's administration is considering additional facilities to move thousands of children out of temporary CBP facilities and into housing managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, where children will have access to education, health care and legal services. "The people who are being let in are unaccompanied children," she added. "That was a policy decision we made because we felt it was the most humane approach to addressing what are very difficult circumstances in the region, and that means there are more children, kids under the age of 18, coming across the border." The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Still, Psaki told reporters that the White House is "continuing to work to convey to the people in the region that this is not the time to come, that the majority of the people who come to the border will be turned away." The number of unaccompanied migrant children in CBP facilities has exceeded 3,200 and thus hit a new high, according to internal agency documents dated Monday. Among them, some 2,600 were awaiting placement in shelters suitable for minors, but there were just over 500 beds available to accommodate them, said a CNN report published Tuesday. Furthermore, nearly half of unaccompanied migrant children have exceeded the CBP's three-day deadline to be moved into a proper children's shelter. On average, unaccompanied migrant children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are held in CBP custody for 77 hours, longer than the 72 hours permitted under U.S. law, local media reported last week, citing CBP internal documents. The fast growing number of unaccompanied migrant children is just one of the challenges the Biden administration is facing. Border agents encountered a migrant at the border about 78,000 times in January, more than double the rate at the same time a year ago and higher than that in any January in a decade, said a report on Monday by The New York Times. The data revealed the continued bottleneck in the U.S. immigration system, with more migrant children coming into custody than the government is prepared to care for, local analysts said, noting grim realities of migration patterns that have roiled the globe for years. "We're at an inflection point," said Theresa Cardinal Brown with independent research group Bipartisan Policy Center. "How quickly can the government process people safely and humanely?" People stand behind the border fence that divides the U.S. and Mexico in San Diego, California, the United States, Nov. 17, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong) In a statement released on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump blasted Biden's handling of the emerging "border crisis," claiming the United States is being "destroyed" by the recent surge of illegal migrants at the border. So far, the Biden administration has refused to call the situation at the southern U.S. border "a crisis," and has been trying to overhaul the nation's decades-old immigration system and offer paths to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants in coming years. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on March 1 that the Biden administration will allow migrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border due to Trump's policies to reunite inside the United States. "The prior administration dismantled our nation's immigration system in its entirety," Mayorkas said, calling the separation of thousands of migrant families under the Trump administration "the most powerful and heartbreaking example of the cruelty that preceded this administration." However, Mayorkas said migrants need to wait and should not come to the United States now, citing travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and his department's unfinished work to rebuild its asylum and humanitarian programs. 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. One year ago, school classrooms closed across the Bay Area. In San Francisco and many other districts, they have yet to reopen. We asked for readers to tell us their experiences with distance learning, hybrid learning or in-person school. In just over a week, we received over 200 responses, an outpouring of stories from parents, grandparents, concerned residents and teachers from all over the Bay Area. Many of the messages contained real hope for the path ahead. An SFUSD teacher wrote in to say: I can be in the classroom tomorrow. Let's make it happen. Many more expressed anxiety, frustration and fear for what has been lost in the past year, but also what the risks of reopening might be. A parent wrote of her teenage son: He's learned that California cares more about takeout than it does about education. A teacher told us:I dont see the faces of over 90% of my students. Some parents wrote in to say that school closures have forced them out of San Francisco. Here are some of the stories we received, which have been edited for length. I'm a Latina mom; my English is not perfect. My daughter is in elementary school. I have a baby, too. My daughter is so frustrated with me because I can't explain to her the assignment, because I have no idea of the subject, because I didn't go to school here in S.F. She tried to reach out for help with her friends but everyone is doing their own thing. I have reached out to the teachers for help, but the district doesn't have that much of a tutoring program and I end up with only one day a week of help for my daughter. At this point, I have given up with homework . Last week she finally snapped and cried uncontrollably that she wanted to go back to school. It broke my hearts into pieces. I kept telling her she will be back one day, and she asked when? And that is my same question, when? *** I am a nurse practitioner and a solo mother of two 1st graders in the Berkeley public school system. Schools have shuttered their doors for the past year and with this closure, an integral cornerstone of the American social contract has been broken. As a nurse practitioner, I think public health is a valid reason for this rupture, but the closures have remained, despite public health departments giving clearance for schools to reopen. . As a parent and essential worker, I feel like the ground has fallen out from under me. I have continued to go to work throughout the pandemic and have struggled to find childcare at the same time. My family has taken on additional risk as my children have funneled through a variety of childcare situations with different groups of kids and adults. I see my children falling behind and losing motivation for learning, (despite the herculean efforts of their teachers online) as I watch my debt climb to cover childcare costs. My hope is that schools reopen for in-person learning as soon as possible, that we are back to full-time learning in the fall, and that we can begin to rebuild what has been broken. *** I am a teacher. I wish the district and school board started right away, around late March 2020, to set the course for reopening strategies. Instead, we saw the district and school board launch an exhaustive and sloppily handled school name change campaign, we saw a gay parent volunteer denied membership to a parent volunteer group because the school board felt like his gay identity didn't meet a particular diversity standard (as a gay teacher I find that deeply offensive, dismissive, and wrong), we saw the district declare that acronyms are a symbol of white supremacy. SFUSD should be the gold standard of public education in the nation and I think we can be with the right leadership. Until then, I fear that our desire to woke signal anti-racist policy measures is largely performative and doesn't result in actually helping our most marginalized and at-risk students learn. I want our SFUSD students to develop crucial skills. I want them in the classroom. I want to teach them in the classroom. And as long as we are abiding by CDC and SF DPH covid guidelines, I can be in the classroom tomorrow. Let's make it happen. *** This is my 13th year as a SFUSD middle school teacher. I live in a small apartment with a partner who is also working from home. This has been very difficult. Researching for, planning, and implementing virtual lessons has been the hardest task Ive ever faced as a teacher. On top of that, the hours of grading, communicating with families, meeting with our staff, attending required professional developments, and doing every little thing while tied to a computer has been exhausting and demoralizing. Attempting each day to bring life to the many black screens on Zoom is something I would not wish on my worst enemy. All that said, I am beyond grateful that myself, my students, my colleagues, and my community have been kept safer due to virtual learning. I dearly miss the interactions and relationships that make teaching middle school so worthwhile. *** My husband and I have a 7 year old who attends SFUSD. We both work for local non-profits and are considered low income for SF. My husband is a music teacher and I am a veterinary nurse and essential worker. For an entire year now, one of us works while the other is home supporting our son's distance learning. We have no childcare support. We are beyond exhausted from being fully employed workers, parents, educators, playmates, and spouses, with no real break in the juggling madness and no end in sight. Currently, many other states and even counties surrounding San Francisco have gone back or are going back to school. The private school next door to our home has been in-person since the fall. We see many happy kids coming and going to school each day and this is devastating to our son. *** I teach in San Jose. Last year I saw my seniors lose the rest of their year, stopped seeing my freshmen grow, and had to finish a yearbook virtually. Remote learning kept everyone safe, even if it wasnt ideal. I've spent a ton of time talking to my fellow senior teachers, working on the weekend, making common assessments, and adjusting to a new schedule. But when my board held its meeting, so many parents were so angry at us for holding up bringing everyone back. We love our kids. We just wanted to be vaccinated first and make sure that we AND the kids who go back aren't walking into a death trap. It's going to be hard to go back knowing so many of them hate us. *** Some communities care about and prioritize children as part of a healthy city. Marin County and Palo Alto schools are open. Children are valued and prioritized there. San Franciscos children are the city's absolute lowest priority. We have the smallest proportion of children of any major city in the United States, and it shows in our citys priorities. We are leaving San Francisco, a city we love, because it is so clear to us that children are unwelcome here. *** I am a public middle school teacher in San Francisco. Teaching middle school any year is challenging. In a normal school year, I have 240 minutes a week for in-person teaching with each of my classes. In the virtual world I have 160 minutes. I teach about thirty students in each class. At most three students have their cameras on where I can see their faces. Think about that, Im a teacher and I dont see the faces of over 90% of my students. I recently offered a variety of topics for an essay. Most students chose why Zoom learning is ineffective. The arguments were profound, salient and heartbreaking. I can do my best to manage these challenges as a teacher. What I find demoralizing is the lack of leadership by those in charge. *** I am the principal of a public middle school located in the Bay Area. We have been open five days a week for the past four months. We spent all summer and fall planning for reopening and we were scared, but we did it because it was the right thing to do for students and for our community. Some teachers were freaking out and really angry, but most were grateful to be back in the classroom doing what they love. Students are SO HAPPY and so glad to be in school again. We have had zero in-school transmission at any of the schools in our TK-12 district because we have followed all CDC and county guidelines religiously. Many, many family members and students have tested positive, but because we require anyone with even one symptom to quarantine and log on remotely, there has been no in-school transmission. *** Im a parent of a first grader at Glen Park Elementary (in San Francisco). We love our school, teachers, and the community, and miss being in person terribly. My daughter is coping pretty well, though she wants more than anything to be in-person with her teacher before the school year is over. I hear a lot of parents making private school plans for next year, and talking about losing faith in SFUSD. But I believe in the importance of strong public schools and I cant abandon ours now we need engaged parents more than ever to overcome the losses of the past year. Its not just about me and my kids, its about making sure that all kids get the opportunity for a great education. *** Im a first-year teacher and this has been such a tough year. I teach 1st grade at a wave 3 school and I feel so conflicted about re-opening. On one hand, I feel so excited at the possibility of being in-school and being with my kids. On the other hand, Im burnt out, angry and frustrated with the blame being placed on teachers raising concerns about going back. Im not even talking about health concerns. Im talking about what the classroom routines will even look like. Teachers want to go back just as much as anyone else, if not more. Im tired of being on Zoom from 8:30-2:00. Im tired of not being able to help my kids in-person. But if people think in-person learning is going to be the same as it was before, with peace and love, theyre in for a rude awakening. *** Our five-year-old son has autism. Before schools closed he was thriving at an SFUSD preschool, receiving individualized services to help him with speech and social emotional skills. He was happy and enjoyed his time at school. After the pandemic forced schools to close, we could see all the progress he made slowly fade. He was more anxious, and everyday we dreaded turning on the computer. We tried to recreate school at home buying books and school supplies, doing all kinds of research on what we should be doing to support him, but it never could replace the joy and value of human connection he got at school. This is time we will never get back and we wont know how it will affect him later. Were scared and angry. *** I am a teacher who is married to a teacher and it is upsetting the lengths to which unions and teachers will go to in order to avoid school being in-person in some way. The impact on our students is so upsetting and as it stands we are setting kids up for failure. It is a complete dereliction of duty to push for no in-person school. If essential workers and early childhood professionals have figured it out, so should teachers. I feel that districts should play hardball and release teachers from contract if they refuse to come in. *** Distance learning has been a disaster for my family. I have four kids, ages 15,12, 8 and 1 year-old. At every point one of them has been in a bad place. My 8-year-old has been the most isolated. Hes missed running around with other kids, playing and being an 8-year-old boy. He will only work if I sit over him. My 12-year-old has gone from an A student to Ds and Fs last quarter and she stopped logging onto school. She pretended she was going but was playing games instead. Shes been so bored and depressed. My 15-year-old ran away last week. She went missing for 24 hours, the worst 24 hours of my life. She was contemplating suicide. All of this is so out of character for my bright happy family and kids. We are literally just holding on. Just. Just. We cannot keep holding on like this. I cant afford private schools so were talking about moving. *** My teenagers only social interaction with other kids is through video games with strangers online. He has lost weight and is lonely. He says he doesn't know how to make friends even if school is open so what's the point of going back to school anyway. This breaks my heart. *** My daughter is a second-grader in Oakland. This year has been a disaster. She gets, on average, 60-90 minutes of live instruction over Zoom daily and is left on her own the remainder of the day. I am a psychiatrist with a heavy patient burden, given the stress of the pandemic, and have been forced to cut my schedule to 50% time so I can help my daughter with school throughout the day. In the past year she has had periods of high anxiety as well as OCD-like symptoms. My daughter was previously a social and outgoing kid and it broke my heart when she couldn't think of any friends she had when asked to write about an autobiography. As a psychiatrist I fear for her mental health, and all the other kids who arent as lucky to have a parent who was able to cut back on their work hours. We are failing our kids and no one seems to care. I believe this will stay with us for many years to come. *** I am the solo parent of a kindergartner. Since school closed last March (my child was in TK), I have been unable to work full time. My child does somersaults on the sofa during Zoom classes, sits silently starting at the screen during breakout groups, and cries when we have school assemblies on Zoom. The disconnect from classmates is damaging. He said last week, I don't have a single friend in my class. My son was reading in May, then he stopped reading refused, his own boycott of the conditions, until about a month ago. When staying home from school was medically necessary I committed to making it work. Now that there is no evidence that school transmission is a serious risk, vaccination rates are accelerating, and this generation of children is suffering, I can no longer "make it work." We have to open schools before we open restaurants, gyms, churches. *** I am a parent in the OUSD system, which was beset by challenges before the pandemic. I am distressed and sad to see continued delays on getting back to any in person instruction for even the youngest grades. I think that the learning and social/emotional impacts on students will be felt for years, that we are losing some students completely, and that the district will see greater enrollment challenges due to the delay; many families are already leaving the district. I support public education as a core of our community (micro and macro), and I am worried that these delays are going to destabilize the district in ways that will harm Oakland and its families for many years to come. *** My senior has worked through most of the pandemic, but hasn't been in a classroom since last March. He's learned that California cares more about takeout than it does about education. I still feel fortunate, as a parent, because hes handling the school situation pretty well, and will graduate in the spring. A lot of his friends are really struggling, and a few have dropped out entirely. It seems like the most vulnerable kids -- the ones who are living in tiny apartments with eight other people, the ones who (used to) eat breakfast and lunch at school -- are the ones who are really suffering the most from school closures. *** I'm studying for my credential to teach high school English. It's been infuriating to listen to the reopening debate rage on as if the answers are easy. Teachers are blamed, while systemic inequities and a legacy of underfunding plague our schools. I think what most people dont realize is how terribly difficult it is to learn and teach online. How lesson plans have to be not merely modified but completely reimagined. The drumbeat in the media hammers on about learning loss and teachers must be reasonable... but not about funding schools, or kids mental health. Kids are falling behind who? Other kids affected by the pandemic? Or is it that the Black and brown and poor children that our society consistently fails are falling behind the rich and/or white children who started with an advantage? Is this supposed learning loss more important than caring for the well-being of our students? Than fixing the systems that consistently fail them? Should we be blaming teachers, or the voters who rejected Prop 15 in November? When we go back to school, how will we ensure there is wellbeing and joy, rather than more tests, more stress, more blame, more urgency to catch up to those who started the race leagues ahead? With all the anger directed at districts and teachers and school boards, where is the anger directed at systemic failures? At the choices voters make to pay fewer taxes at the expense of our kids? *** I've been very grateful to SFUSD for everything they have done for families, teachers and staff during this horrific time. They have rightly put health and safety first. I completely support all the standards set by the labor unions, including vaccines and ventilation. I dont want teachers and staff back in those buildings until they feel safe being there. *** Distance learning has been very difficult. My 7 year old, previously the happiest child you would ever meet, is making the same comments that a suicidal adult would make. I'm scared he is going to harm himself and I don't know what to do. When I hear people mock and dismiss parents wanting their kids to go back to school as just wanting a babysitter I want to scream. I am scared for my 7-year-old's life. Don't dismiss us. Don't dismiss the children. Their lives are at stake. Barcelona were a different team to the one who lost to Paris Saint-Germain at the Camp Nou, as they drew 1-1 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. They rebelled and fought, but they still fell short as they lacked a final touch in front of goal and came up against an excellent Keylor Navas. After scoring an incredible goal, Lionel Messi missed a penalty as Keylor denied him. But Ronald Koeman's side didn't stop there. They had chances, and Messi was at the centre of everything, looking like the captain of a new Barcelona team. It's their first time getting knocked out this early in the Champions League since 2006/07, but they were a different team to the one who were hammered by PSG a few weeks ago. Now, Messi has a decision to make and he has to decide if he's on board at the Camp Nou. The Argentine can see that there is hope for the future, and they could still win two trophies this season. Messi was able to do the most difficult thing imaginable with his goal, sending a stunning 30-metre strike into Keylor's top corner. Then, he missed from the penalty spot, with the Costa Rican turning his shot onto the crossbar. Messi will be haunted by that penalty for a long time, but there was enough on show to believe that the Catalans can compete moving forward. Keylor was at his very best, and his performance would have been enjoyed by Real Madrid fans. He turned a Sergino Dest shot onto the crossbar and denied Ousmane Dembele a number of times, as well as Sergio Busquets and others. Dembele just couldn't finish. Just like in the first leg, and against Liverpool two years ago, he was forgiving in front of goal and wasted chance after chance. He was eventually taken off in the 78th minute. Clement Lenglet is having an awful season. He keeps conceding penalties and making costly errors, and it was the Frenchman who gave away Wednesday's spot kick that allowed Kylian Mbappe to open the scoring. Oscar Mingueza had a similar night to what happened in Seville. He was up against Mbappe and got booked early on. That led to Koeman taking him off in the first half to avoid taking the risk of seeing him sent off. Two family members of Radio Free Asia (RFA) editor, Eset Sulaiman, have been confirmed as detained by Chinese authorities as part of an intimidation tactic for his coverage of human rights abuses of Chinas Uyghur community. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns the detainment and forced disappearances of the family members in retaliation for the RFA journalists reporting. Following confirmation from Xinjiang authorities, RFA reported on March 3 that RFA editor Eset Sulaimans brothers had been detained since 2018. Ehet Sulaiman (57) and Ehmet Sulaiman (39) served as the director of the Tengritagh Township Teaching District and the deputy head of Kumul prefectures Gherbiytagh township, respectively, but local officials whom the brothers worked with told the US-funded news station that their positions had been replaced after they went missing that year. At least five other relatives of Eset Sulaiman were also reported to be the subject of forced disappearances by the Chinese authorities since 2017, at around the same time that the Chinese government started large-scale and systematic incarceration campaigns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the name of combatting religious extremism and promoting vocational training. At least 50 family members of RFAs Uyghur Service staff have faced detention, according to the news station. The intimidation schemes to silence journalists is typically aimed at journalists reporting outside China. A US Congressional report published in December 2020 estimated that up to 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Hui had been arbitrarily detained by the Chinese authorities. Rights groups and international media reports shed light on the internment camps in the Xinjiang region, where inmates are subjected to rape, torture, forced labor, and political indoctrination. The IFJ said, Targeting journalists for their reporting through the detention of their family members is a serious violation of human rights. The IFJ is gravely concerned about the growing number of Uyghurs detained in the internment camps in XUAR, which shows Chinas continual breach of its obligation to protect human rights as a member of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and a signatory of the UN Genocide Convention." Christian recording artist Lecrae responded to his critics who accused him of endorsing Democrat candidates when he joined and performed in the "Get Out the Early Vote Rally & Concert" event. He said he accepted the mayor's invitation to perform because he thought it's a bipartisan event. Back in December, Lecrae attended an outdoor rally in Atlanta, Georgia arranged for senatorial candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff who happened to be both Democrats. "We all have a very unique opportunity to continue making a difference in this city, continue making a difference in this country and that's exercising our right to vote," Lecrae was quoted saying at the event. His appearance at the rally caused a stir among conservatives including Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative group Turning Point USA, who went as far to suggest that Lecrae "should never be allowed" to perform in religious venues again, says The Christian Post report. On Phil Vischer's Holy Post podcast, Lecrae explained his side on the issue. He was told that both candidates will be at the event. "Now, I'm thinking it's bipartisan - both candidates. I'm not thinking, 'Oh both Democratic candidates.' I didn't realize that," he said. Lecrae added that he attended the rally to perform his single, "Set Me Free" and to encourage people to vote. He did not endorse any of the two candidates, but because they happen to be both Democrats, Lecrae said that his critics assumed he's helping the Democratic party in their campaigns. As a pro-life advocate himself, Lecrae said it pains him how some Christians could get nasty over politics. He maintained that African Americans are "pretty conservative," too, in their political perspectives. "They're beginning to make their allies their enemies," he said adding that "a house divided can't stand." As for Charlie Kirk's assumptions, Lecrae told Vischer the need for "research to understand" instead of demonizing him over their differences with regard to their political responses. "I think it would behoove folks in that circle like Charlie Kirk to do their research to understand why, by and large, African American Christians vote progressive - why do they do that?" he said. " By and large, white Christians vote conservative. Do the research to understand why that is and say, 'Maybe Lecrae is processing these particular things [differently]' versus saying he's the Antichrist." Lecrae also said that "there are wonderful Christians on both sides of the political aisle." On another podcast interview, Higher Learning Podcast with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay, Lecrae bemoaned the apparent "racist rhetoric" in Charlie Kirk's words, Christian Headlines reported. "I don't think people see the amount of racist rhetoric that comes out they mouth when they try to cancel," he said. "You represent one of the largest majority white institutions and organizations out there and you're saying, 'Don't invite this black man into another church again?' All the white supremacy wrapped up in that is crazy that they don't even see it. That's wild to me." In response, Kirk said he'll discuss the issue with Lecrae privately. Chandigarh, March 11 : The UN Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety has appreciated the initiative launched by the Haryana Police for reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by road accidents on the Sonipat-Ambala National Highway 44. Under this initiative, the police have fixed the target of reducing the number of road accidents and deaths on the 187-km stretch passing through Haryana by 33 per cent in the current year. In this context, Director General of Police (DGP) Manoj Yadava addressed a webinar of UN Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety wherein he highlighted the various components of this initiative. He mentioned that in 2018, 743 people had died due to road accidents on this stretch, which is more than the total number of deaths in the entire Netherlands and the UAE during that year. He explained that the police had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) for carrying out road safety audits of every kilometre of the highway passing through Haryana. The road engineering related improvements suggested by the IRTE will be implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as part of the special understanding by the police and the state department of transport. Since a large number of road fatalities involves pedestrians and cyclists, the police along with the other stakeholder authorities will create underpasses and foot overbridges at points where large number of pedestrians cross the road, particularly at the busy points in Sonipat and Panipat districts. Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of technology giant Lenovo and a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), recently called for greater promotion of China's computing infrastructure to support the high-quality development of the country's digital economy. In the era of digital economy, "computing power and economic growth are closely connected," Yang said in an interview with China.org.cn during the fourth session of the 13th NPC. "In the future, computing power will become the primary driving force for the development of the digital economy, the foundation of intelligent development and a core strength of a country." "In 2020, China's technological innovation drove the rapid development of the digital industry, and innovation of business formats and models empowered the digitization of traditional industries," Yang explained. "This served as an economic anchor' for mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and hedging risks." During the past year, China has been gearing up digitalized development in various ways including undertaking projects to steadily advance the construction of new types of infrastructure such as 5G networks, data centers and the industrial internet. The 2021 draft plan for national economic and social development delivered on March 5, 2021, stresses that China will develop the digital economy, develop the digital industry and transform industries with digital technologies, and create internationally competitive digital industry clusters. "China's 14th Five-Year Plan highlights promoting the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy," Yang said, noting that "new IT" infrastructure plays a big part in promoting this integration. Yang explained that the term "new IT" refers to "intelligent transformation" technologies, services and solutions needed for all industries to realize digital transformation, based on intelligent IoT terminals, edge computing, cloud computing, 5G networks and industry intelligence. The application of "new IT" will help accelerate intelligent transformation and significantly improve the efficiency of technological innovation and the commercialization process of individual enterprises and the economy as a whole, Yang said. In the age of information explosion, he believes that enhancing "new IT" and computing power can better help get value out of data as the means of production. Therefore, Yang stressed the need to construct new computing power infrastructure that is diversified, intelligent and efficient by strengthening the top-level design and overall planning, so as to support the high-quality development of the digital economy. The Ministry said in a statement that the US Defense Secretary, Llyod Justin would be visiting India as part of his international tour on 19th and 20th March, the Ministry of Defense on Saturday. India is believed to procure 30 armed drones, namely 30 MQ-9 Reaper from the US which is worth $3 Billion. To counter China, India is believed to procure 30 armed drones, namely 30 MQ-9 Reaper from the US which is worth $3 Billion. The approval will be finalised during Defense Acquisition Meeting led by Rajnath Singh which will be further strengthened by Lloyd Justins visit. The US Defense Secretary, Llyod Justin would be visiting India as part of his international tour on 19th and 20th March, said Ministry of Defense on Saturday. He is expected to meet Rajnath Singh, the Defense Minister and other signatories of the government, the Ministry said in a statement. The Ministry said that Austins visit to India as part of his overseas travel emphasizes the strength of the US-India strategic partnership and both sides were expected to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral defense cooperation and exchange views on regional security challenges and maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. It said that discussions regarding defense cooperation would also focus on how both countries could consolidate military-to-military cooperation and defense trade and industry cooperation. Also Read: Nepal ruling party splits; top court quashes the formation of NCP Also Read: PM Modi, US prez Joe Biden to virtually participate in first-ever Quad leaders summit on Friday Austin would be visiting the headquarters of US Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii on the 13th of March followed by visits to Japan, Republic of Korea and India. This will be the first Cabinet-rank official visit since Joe Biden assumed office. Chinas expansionary territorial ambitions are also on display along its western border, where the PLA has been engaged in a standoff with Indian forces along the Line of Actual Control since May 2020, commented Admiral Philip S Davidson, US Navy Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command. He remarked that the PLA has not yet withdrawn from several forward positions which it seized during the initial clash and the escalation of tensions between India and the PRC has led to casualties between both sides. Also Read: British royal family displays racist undertones: Should it surprise Indians? Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of 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. The UN Security Council on March 10 condemned the Myanmar militarys use of violence against peaceful anti-coup protesters. According to Nikkei Asia, the diplomats said that the UNSC strongly condemns the use of violence against protesters, including women, youth and children. It is worth noting that the term condemn has been used for the first time in the councils response to the situation in Myanmar. The UNSC diplomats, however, did not use the word coup or mention the possibility of international sanctions if the generals who seized power last month do not halt their repression. In a previous statement, the UNSC had expressed deep concern at the declaration of the state of emergency imposed in Myanmar by the military. It had also called for the immediate release of all those detained arbitrarily. Further, the Council called for the military to exercise utmost restraint and emphasised that it is following the situation closely. Myanmar military coup Meanwhile, more than 1,700 protesters have been detained by the military junta to date, while hundreds have been killed during violent crackdowns. On Sunday, the Air Force reportedly flew five fighter jets over the city of Mandalay in an attempt to intimidate protesters. The international community has condemned the militarys action, with the United Nations demanding restoration of full democracy in the country. Myanmar is witnessing one of its biggest protests of the decade with people pouring on the streets in large numbers to oppose last month's military coup. Burmese people started protesting against the military coup days after the junta overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's government and arrested political leaders, including the President. The protests were largely peaceful for the first couple of weeks before the military started using violent measures to clampdown on demonstrators. Amid the political tension in the country, the Myanmar military has also revoked the license of five media outlets for their coverage of anti-coup protests. the Military Council revoked the licenses of Myanmar Now, Mizzima, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), Khit Thit media, and 7 Day. The military also intensified its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. (Image: AP) Sorry! This content is not available in your region Sorry! This content is not available in your region Georgias Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is expected to pay a working visit to Azerbaijan, Ambassador of Georgia to Baku Zurab Pataradze said. According to Pataradze, a business forum is expected to be held within the framework of the Azerbaijani-Georgian Economic Commission's meeting. The ambassador also congratulated the Azerbaijani people on the victory in the 44-day Patriotic War, adding that the liberation of Shusha city was good news for him. He noted that its necessary to use the existing opportunities for the further development of economic relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 04:56:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Thursday announced 2.2 million U.S. dollars over the next two years to serve the city's Black and African-American transgender community. This is the first city funding dedicated to providing services to the Black trans community and is part of the newly announced Dream Keeper Initiative. The Dream Keeper Initiative, announced by Breed, is a citywide project that reinvests 120 million dollars over two years in redirected funding from law enforcement into San Francisco's Black and African-American community. "With the Dream Keeper's significant investment in the Black community, we knew that it was critical to provide dedicated funding to address the unique needs in the Black transgender community," said Breed. The 2.2 million dollars over the next two years will go toward technical assistance and capacity building for nonprofit organizations serving this community, so that they can be better positioned to work with the city in developing and implementing programs within the Dream Keeper Initiative and other City programs, according to the announcement. Enditem 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 Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. 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Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. France has announced it will ease its border restrictions with the UK, raising hopes for summer holidays later this year. Tourism Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said arrivals from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Israel and Singapore will no longer need a 'compelling reason' to travel due to low or falling cases in those countries. Lemoyne said other restrictions, including the need for a negative test taken 72 hours before departure, will remain in place. UK rules banning people from leaving without a legitimate reason will also remain in place until at least May 17, meaning breaks to France will have to wait for now. Summer holidays in France came a step closer today border restrictions were relaxed, with UK travellers no longer needing a 'compelling reason' to visit Boris Johnson has said he will consider lifting the travel ban in May at the earliest, pending a review by the Global Travel Taskforce which is due to report in April. Currently, Britons are only allowed to travel abroad for work, volunteering, education, on medical grounds or for funerals. Travellers have to fill out a form stating their reason for travel and bring it to the airport. Without it, they may be denied boarding and fined 200. Lemoyne said a decree laying out new French border restrictions will be published on Friday. It is not clear when the rules will come into effect. Rules for non-European travellers from other countries will also be relaxed slightly, he added. While those travellers will still need a 'compelling reason' for travel, the list of reasons is being expanded to include students coming to take an exam in France, people returning to their principal residence, and families of children in France. UK arrivals into France have been tightly restricted since the emergence of the Kent variant of coronavirus late last year, amid fears it could spread and worsen infection rates elsewhere. While the variant is now widespread in the UK, Mr Lemoyne said there is little danger from relaxing border measures because the variant is also widespread in France. But he added that, in general, he still strongly recommends limiting international travel as much as possible. France is not the only country to have announced that it is relaxing border restrictions for Britons. Tourism Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne announced the move Thursday, though UK tourists will still be banned from leaving their own country until at least May 17 From May 1, Cyprus will allow fully-vaccinated people from the UK to enter - though Britons will still be banned from leaving their own country at that point. Greece and Spain have also said they plan to have 'vaccine passport' systems up and running from mid-May, when UK restrictions relax. The passport system would allow fully-vaccinated Britons to enter the country freely. Unvaccinated people would still be allowed to enter, according to draft proposals, but may have to take tests or self-isolate for a time on arrival. EU leaders have agreed to work together on vaccine certificates to kick-start the tourism industry. British ministers, while reluctant to talk about using digital passports domestically, have said they will help people to get a letter from their doctor if it is needed for travel. But they have warned that the Continent's woeful vaccine rollout could mean that freedom of movement is limited. On Tuesday, Greek tourism minister Harry Theocharis said the country would be open on May 14 to international tourists who are vaccinated, have antibodies or can show proof of a negative Covid test. Addressing the ITB Berlin trade show, Mr Theocharis said: 'Our only ambition is to ensure Greece is open to allow anybody who wishes to visit to be able to do so.' He added that all holidaymakers will be subject to random testing. It is thought tourists will be able to enter restriction-free after their first jab and children will need to arrive with a negative test. But the final details are still being sorted. It comes after Greece (pictured), Spain and Cyprus all announced plans to relax border measures with the UK, allowing travel to resume as soon as the British government allows Greece joined Cyprus which announced a similar proposal for British tourists last week. The Cypriot deputy tourism minister Savvas Perdios said on Thursday: 'We have informed the British government that from May 1 we will facilitate the arrival of British nationals who have been vaccinated ... so they can visit Cyprus without a negative test or needing to quarantine.' Visitors would need to be inoculated with vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, the tourism minister said. And the second dose of the vaccine must have been administered at least a week before travel, Perdios added. Millions of Britons visit Spain, Greece and Cyprus each year to escape to sunny beaches and their tourism industries, ravaged by Covid, rely heavily on British support. In a single summer month, nearly 10 million Britons can land in Spain, and Brits provide more tourists than any other country. Nearly four million British tourists normally visit Greece each year, contributing more than 2 billion to the economy. And in Cyprus, more than a million Britons visit each year - more than from any other country - and the tourism industry accounts for 13 per cent of the Cypriot economy. Arrivals and earnings from the sector plunged on average 85 per cent last year. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! DOHC The Porsche, if you were wondering, rocks 325/30 ZR21 rubber. Corvette Blogger says that we are most likely looking at the first Corvette to come with a staggered wheel setup of 20 inches up front and 21s in the rear, translating to more grip and traction in the twisties and off the line.Spied by a Corvette Blogger reader, Z06 prototypes are benchmarked by General Motors against the 911 GT2 RS from the previous generation. That speaks volumes about the newcomer's performance potential, and the same can be said about the flat-plane crankshaft V8 powerplant.As opposed to traditional pushrods, the motor'svalvetrain and rev-happy nature will make the Corvette a little more sophisticated than before. Based on the 5.5-liter engine in the C8.R endurance racer, the LT6 in the Z06 is expected with more than 600 horsepower on tap.Torque is another mystery at this point. For reference, the LT2 free-breathing V8 makes 470 pound-feet (637 Nm) while the LT4 supercharged V8 belts out 650 pound-feet (881 Nm). If the torque rating falls within this range, then Chevrolet could use the TR-9080 with minimal modifications.As a brief refresher, the dual-clutch transmission supplied by Tremec can handle up to 590 pound-feet (800 Nm) at up to 7,500 revs. The flat-plane crankshaft and double overhead camshaft arrangement enable a redline of more than 8,000 revs, hence the minimal mods mentioned earlier.When is the Golden Bowtie going to spill the beans on the all-new Corvette Z06, you ask? According to Estero Bay Chevrolet sales specialist Marcus Veiga, the veil will come off sometime in July. Coincidence or not, 2021 model year production is rumored to end on the week of July 19th. Sonipat (Haryana) [India], March 11 (ANI/NewsVoir): IndiaDeakin University, Australia, and Jindal Global Business School (JGBS) have announced an innovative study option for Indian students which will allow them to get two degrees on successfully completing the four-year program in Business Analytics. The four-year program will allow Indian students to qualify in Business Management (MBA) and Business Analytics on the completion of four years. In the current situation when travel is suspended and students are uncertain of an overseas higher education opportunity, Deakin University, Australia and JGBS have developed the four-year program which will allow students to transfer their studies after 2 years to campus in Australia to study for another 2 years and complete an undergraduate degree in Business Analytics. After successful completion, students will be awarded a Bachelor of Business Administration from JGU and a Bachelor of Business Analytics from Deakin University, Australia. The program was signed off virtually by both partners in the presence of senior representatives including JGU Founding Vice-Chancellor Professor (Dr) C Raj Kumar and Professor Rajesh Chakrabarti, Dean of Jindal Global Business School from along with Professor Gary Smith, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement), Professor Mike Ewing, Executive Dean, Faculty of Business and Law and Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global) from Deakin University, Australia. The signing was witnessed by Brett Galt-Smith, Counsellor (Education and Research), Australian High Commission, New Delhi. This is a one-of-its-kind initiative where students will earn 100 percent credits of prior learning at a leading Indian university before transferring to a Deakin University campus in Australia. As a part of the arrangement, students while studying the first two years of the program at O P Jindal Global University and will pay local India tuition fees. This simply translates into better academic success for students with global careers and an education that saves them huge costs. Founding Vice-Chancellor of O P Jindal Global University (Professor) Dr C Raj Kumar, said, "The unique program fits in very well for students of our newly launched BBA - Analytics along with our existing management programs. Given the current situation, students will be able to achieve an educational portfolio that blends the best of both universities which offer a highly supportive and personalised student experience. It will also enhance their academic qualifications by securing two degrees and also study in two campuses in India and Australia through the dual degree program. The idea of using various forms of data management solutions to address different aspects of improving strategic decision making within the business, using aspects of data mining, or predictive analytics, or statistical analysis -- is not going to be only confined to the idea of business, but will be useful in a variety of settings, including public policy, governmental decision making, and many more. Students who pursue these programs will be better situated to understand and analyse issues in various contexts and not be confined to the business itself. Certain aspects will definitely include artificial intelligence and robotics, and machine learning, and hence we as academic institutions need to be dynamic, and responsive to new imperatives." Deakin University's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) Professor Gary Smith, said, "At Deakin University, we are continuously innovating our offering and with the current challenges presented by the pandemic COVID-19, a hybrid pathway program like this would help students keep their study and career goals on track. The joint four-year program will allow students to study the initial part from their home country with a pathway to achieve an international degree on-shore at Deakin University in Australia for a truly global experience. Students who are educated across two systems have an enormous opportunity to see the world from two different lenses, from two different perspectives allowing them to become culturally competent." Professor Rajesh Chakrabarti, Dean of Jindal Global Business School said, "There is a lot of excitement around analytics programs in India today. Currently, AI and analytics are more talked about, than they are understood. Hence it is important that this program enables students to understand issues around this effectively and become employable. Students have an opportunity to study both in India and Australia, where the work being done in this sector is also on different scales, thus exposing students to a multitude of challenges and opportunities." Professor Pavan Gandhok, Vice Dean - Outreach, New Offerings and Entrepreneurial Initiatives of the Jindal Global Business School said, "In this era when travel is difficult, this dual opportunity gives parents and students a meaningful opportunity to keep their aspirations alive of getting Australian and international exposure, and also to study and pursue a degree in the area of analytics where employment prospects are only accelerating. This program will help students to learn how to manage data and drive insights from it and will teach them a variety of techniques to manipulate it and visualising it. Just like e-commerce, which has now expanded to include everything under its ambit, there is tremendous scope for analytics in the future and the possibility that analytics might be present in all facets of our lives." Ravneet Pawha, Deputy Vice President (Global) and CEO (South Asia), Deakin University said, "It's heartening to see how JGU has made a mark in India and internationally. We have a long partnership with O P Jindal Global University. It has been an amazing effort on behalf of the Deakin leadership to continue its very strong and committed engagement with India in these difficult times. Australia has a very strong commitment to partner with India across all domain areas including education as a flagship sector as these partnerships are absolutely instrumental in building a strong foundation between the two countries." This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) DISCLAIMER (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. The man, who said his favorite team is the Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, said hes also a fan of true crime podcasts and TV shows. He acknowledged under questioning from defense attorney Eric Nelson that he had a very negative impression of Chauvin. The man wrote on his questionnaire that he had seen the widely viewed bystander video of Floyd desperately screaming that he couldnt breathe even as other officers stood by and bystanders shouted that Chauvin was killing Floyd. BAY CITY, MI Two Bay County siblings are being lauded by police for turning over a bag they found that contained a grand in cash stolen in a bank robbery. On Jan. 25, Elisabeth Lys Kunz, 14, and her brother Aiden Kunz, 12, were exercising outdoors in Williams Township as part of their schools virtual gym class, Sheriff Troy R. Cunningham said. While outside, they began picking up trash along the roadside. The siblings came across a discarded potato chip bag containing $1,000 in cash, Cunningham said. First, I panicked, Elisabeth told MLive. And then I waved my brother over to figure out what to do from there. We ran back home and told mom, then we drove back down the road and got it. The siblings parents, Andrew and Samantha Kunz, notified the sheriffs office of their childrens discovery. They said, We found a bunch of money; whatre we supposed to do? Samantha Kunz recalled. There wasnt a thought in our mind about keeping it. There was a little bit of worry, you know: Whered it come from and why? Investigators subsequently determined the cash came from a Jan. 22 robbery of Fifth Third Bank, 3870 State Street Road in Bangor Township. In that incident, a man pulled up into one of the drive-thru lanes and passed the clerk a note and a Taco Bell bag, according to police. The note said, put the money in the bag, the teller told police. She said on seeing the note, she triggered an alarm and began placing loose and banded cash from drawers into the bag. She then returned the bag, which still contained the note, to the robber, she said. Asked why she did so by deputies, she said she was scared if she didnt give the subject money he would harm the customers outside in the drive-thru or come inside the bank itself, according to deputies reports in court files. The vehicle fled after its driver received the bag of cash. In all, he had received $5,180, deputies reports state. Elisabeth Lys Kunz, 14, and Aiden Kunz, 12. The siblings found a bag containing $1,000 in cash stolen during a bank robbery in Bangor Township. At some point, the robber tossed the chip bag out his car window, Cunningham said. The day after the robbery, a Pennsylvania State Police trooper pulled over a vehicle without a license plate driving 88 mph through Allegheny County. The driver, identified as 34-year-old Shane W. Gillette from his Michigan drivers license, said he was moving to North Carolina, then went on to say he had robbed a bank in Bay City. Gillette produced a bag containing cash bearing Fifth Third Bank bands, reports state. Gillette was arrested and has since been extradited to Bay County, where he has been charged with one count of bank robbery. The charge is a life offense. Cunningham said he wanted to recognize the outstanding morals and ethics instilled in Elizabeth and Aiden by their parents and their selfless actions to do the right thing. Elisabeth, Aiden, and their parents are exemplary roles models and deserve to be recognized for their honesty and integrity. Cunningham went on to say his office has partnered with the Walmart at 3921 Wilder Road in Bangor Township to show appreciation for the Kunzes. Walmart donated two mountain bikes and a $50 gift card, items deputies plan to give to the Kunzes. We told Walmart about it and said wed like to do something for the kids for doing the right thing, he said. They were real glad to step up and partner with us. Samantha Kunz also praised her childrens selflessness. There wasnt even a hesitation from them to try to find the rightful owners, she said. Clearly, they didnt know they would get any attention from it. They were just trying to do the right thing. When I found it was from a bank robbery, I thought that was super cool, Elisabeth added. Before that, I thought it was drug money or something. She said the discovery has been a talking point among her peers. My friends think its pretty cool; Aidens friends do too, she said. Read more: Arrested in Pennsylvania, Michigan man now charged in drive-thru bank robbery Suspect in Bay County drive-thru bank robbery caught in Pennsylvania Bank robbed through drive-thru window, Bay County sheriff says Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Prices of LED TVs are set to rise further from April as the cost of open-cell panels has gone up in the global markets by up to 35 per cent in the past one month. Brands including Panasonic, Haier and Thomson are considering to increase prices from April this year, while some like LG have already raised prices due to hike in prices of open-cell. Panasonic India and South Asia President and CEO Manish Sharma said, "Panel prices are rising continuously and so are the prices of TVs. It is likely that TV prices may increase further by April." When being asked about the quantum on increase, he said, "Seeing current trends, it might go up 5-7 per cent more by April." Expressing similarly, Haier Appliances India President Eric Braganza said there is no other way than to increase the prices. "The prices of open-cell have gone up tremendously and the trends are that it would keep on increasing," said Braganza adding that "if that continues, we would have to continuously increase prices". The open-cell panel is an important part of TV manufacturing and covers around 60 per cent of the unit. Companies import television panels in an open-cell state, which require further assembling with value addition before being shipped to market for sale. Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL), the brand licensee for French brand Thomson and US-based brand Kodak, said there is a scarcity of open cell in the market and the prices have almost gone up by three-folds in the past eight months. "From the past eight months, there has been a month-on-month increase in panel prices, we have witnessed more than 350 per cent spike in LED TV panels. Globally, panel market has slowed down. Despite that, there has been an increase of 35 per cent in the past 30 days," said SPPL Chief Executive Officer Avneet Singh Marwah. He added that the per-unit cost of TVs would go up by at least Rs 2,000-3,000 starting from April. Videotex International, which owns Daiwa and Shinco brands, said the industry has never seen or expected such a price increase of open-cell. "Since 32 inch is the most-sold size in India, the price of a 32-inch screen size is expected to go up by Rs 5,000-6,000," said Videotex International Group Director Arjun Bajaaj. While South Korean brand LG said it will not increase the prices of its TV panels. "We are not going for any price increase now for TV. We have already increased the prices by around 7-4 per cent in January and 3 per cent in February, because of the hike in panel prices," said LG India Vice-President (Home Appliances) Vijay Babu. Marwah added that the open-cell market is dominated by Chinese manufacturers and alleged that TV makers from China are getting better prices from them. "Currently, there is no alternative apart from China where all panel manufacturers are present. It has been closely observed that only Chinese brands are getting better supply and price. "This has been the narrative especially after the pandemic, where Chinese TV brands, which have been flooded in the Indian market to counter Indian manufacture brands by better price and supply," he added. The government should bring TV manufacturing under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, a move which will make the Indian TV industry more competitive on the global stage, Marwah added. Last year, the government had restored the import duty on open cell. It had re-imposed 5 per cent customs duty on the import of open-cell for TVs from October 1, 2020, after having nil duty for a year. Besides, the government had also put imports of TV under a restricted category from free to promote domestic manufacturing. Now, importer of TV has to seek a licence from the commerce ministry's DGFT for the imports. TV is one of the largest segments under the entire domain of appliance and consumer electronics, accounting for a volume of almost 17 million with an estimated sale value of almost Rs 25,000 crore. According to a joint report by the industry body, CEAMA and Frost & Sullivan, the is expected to grow to 284 lakh units in 2024-25 from 175 lakh units in 2018-19. It further said that the open cell panel and the chips of the TV are predominantly imported from China besides some other markets as Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam and only the last-mile assembly is done in India. (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.) Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 05:55:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIEV, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Four ships of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) entered the waters of the Odessa seaport in southern Ukraine, reported the press service of the Ministry of Defence on its official website on Wednesday. The group of ships entering the Black sea belongs to Turkish, Spanish and Romanian navies and is led by Sokullu Mehmet Pasa (A577) Turkish Navy Training Ship. During the visit, the NATO fleet representatives plan to hold the meeting with the representatives of the Ukrainian fleet command, as well as hold joint training with the Ukrainian Navy in the Black Sea. Earlier this year, the Ukrainian naval forces held a passing exercise (PASSEX) together with an American destroyer and a support ship in the Black Sea. NATO has been increasing its naval presence in the region sending multiple ships to the Black Sea. Enditem Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Research Future has published a Cooked Research Report on the Diphenylamine Industry Trends Research Report - Global Forecast till 2025 Market Definition and Growth Factors: Also, the increasing application of DPA in nitrocellulose-based explosives pertaining to its antioxidizing property is also expected to fuel the growth of the global market. Lubricants are produced with the help of advanced additives that enhance the efficiency of the engine and exhibit properties such as high durability, cleanliness, and strength. The moving components are always in contact with air (oxygen), which results in degradation of the lubricants. Oxidation is a common process and arises when the lubricating oil chemically reacts with oxygen to form oxidized products, which result in sludge and deposit formation, corrosion of engine parts, and wear and tear of moving parts. To ensure easy functioning of vehicles and inhibit oxidation of lubrication oils, a class of chemicals known as antioxidants are used. Antioxidants control oxidation by preventing oil breakdown and thickening, which helps the engine to run smoothly for a long period. The most commonly used antioxidant is diphenylamine (DPA), which reacts with the free radicals generated by oxidation and prevents oxidative decomposition of the lubricating oil. Diphenylamine falls under a class of radical scavengers that stop chain propagation by blocking or reacting with free radicals created in the initiation step of oxidation. Diphenylamine is a viscous, lightweight hydrocarbon that is soluble in oil. Diphenylamine antioxidants are produced by reacting DPA with an olefin of the desired functional group. These antioxidants have low vapor pressure and water solubility, which are essential in protecting engines. Due to the superior antioxidant synergism of the antioxidants in the oil system, DPA and alkylated DPAs are considered as ideal solutions to enhance the durability and performance of engines. Also, they enhance the antioxidant efficiency and offer the required alkalinity. Diphenylamine Industry Trends is estimated to be valued at USD 527.7 Million by 2025 and record a CAGR of over 4.06% during the forecast period. The growing demand for DPA as an antioxidant in lubricants is expected to be the primary factor driving the growth of the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends. Furthermore, the antioxidant properties help to increase the shelf life of engine oils and provide maximum oil compatibility. Thus, the increasing demand for DPA in the lubricants used in automobiles owing its excellent antioxidant property is expected to boost the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Furthermore, single-base nitrocellulose propellants are hygroscopic in nature and are most susceptible to degradation. To avoid the accumulation of degradation products, stabilizers such as DPA are most commonly used in nitrocellulose-containing propellant powders and explosives. Due to the excellent antioxidizing property of DPA, it is used as a stabilizing compound in mono-, di-, and tri-base propellants of missiles and explosives. It has the potential to bind with the degradation products, which develop during long-term storage such as NO, NO2, and HNO3 to extend the storage time. Thus, due to the antioxidizing property of DPA and highly unstable nature of nitrocellulose-based materials, the demand for DPA to inhibit the degradation of explosives is increasing, which is projected to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period. Watch Video @https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/videos Get a Free Sample of This Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4550 However, diphenylamine is a chemical compound from the third European Union (EU) list of priority pollutants. In studies carried out on laboratory animals, DPA has proved to be slightly toxic by the dermal, oral, and inhalation routes and has been registered under the Toxicity Category III (second lowest of four categories). It can cause severe irritation to the eyes and affect the liver and kidneys on long exposure. It targets the red blood cells and can result in abnormal erythropoiesis in the spleen, and thus congestion of the spleen and hemosiderosis. It is not likely carcinogenic based on the evidence. However, an impurity of technical grade DPA, diphenyl nitrosamine is regarded as a probable human carcinogen. Diphenyl nitrosamine is produced when DPA comes in contact with high temperature. Moreover, there is a tolerance level set by the US EPA10 ppm for apples and 0 ppm for milk and meat. The DPA residue levels obtained were far below 10 ppm, and thus in 1997, the EPA approved the reregistration of DPA and determined that the assessed tolerances met the safety standards under the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). However, in 2012, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that the study has not provided authentic information to ensure safe consumption of DPA in apples and pears. Thus, the European Commission restricted the usage of DPA in the European Union. In March 2014, the European Commission reduced the allowable tolerance level of DPA on imports to 0.1 ppm. Thus, the health risks and stringent EPA regulations pertaining to DPA are likely to hamper the global market growth during the assessment period. Kay Players: Market Research Future (MRFR) recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends: BASF SE (Germany), Huntsman International LLC (US), LANXESS (Germany), The Lubrizol Corporation (US), Merck KGaA (Germany), Seiko Chemical Co. Ltd (Tokyo), Eastman Chemical Company (US), Duslo a.s. (Slovakia), SONGWON (South Korea), Nantong Xinbang Chemical Technology Chemical Co, Ltd (China), Jiangsu Feiya Chemical Industry Co. Ltd (Austria). Key Findings of the Study: The Global Diphenylamine Industry Trends was valued at USD 397.6 million in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of 4.06% to reach around USD 527.7 Million by the end of 2025 . was valued at and is expected to register a to reach around . Based on application, the antioxidant segment held the largest share of 2% by value in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of over 4.5% during the forecast period. and is expected to register a during the forecast period. By end use, the automotive segment is estimated to be the largest segment of the global aluminum oxide market, which accounted for 7% value share in 2018. value share in 2018. The Asia Pacific market accounted for the largest share of 2% by value in 2018. Segmental Analysis: According to MRFR analysis, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been segmented based on application, end use, and region. Study Infographics @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/infographics By application, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been categorized into antioxidants, fungicide, and chemical intermediates, and others. Among these, the antioxidant segment accounted for the largest share of over 59.2% by value in 2018, predominantly due to the large-scale adoption in nitrocellulose-based propellants, explosives, and gun powders, which are essentially unstable materials that decompose on aging with the evolution of oxides of nitrogen. The decomposition is autocatalytic and can lead to failure of the ammunition or untimed explosions. Antioxidants control the oxidation of lubricants and ensure smooth functioning of engines for a long period. The antioxidant property of DPA increases the operational life of engine oil by reducing breakdown that can result from the formation of sludge. The chemical intermediate segment is expected to register a CAGR of over 3.5% during the forecast period. On the basis of end use, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been classified into automotive, agriculture, cosmetics & personal care, general industry, plastics and rubber, and others. The automotive segment accounted for the largest share by value in 2018 due to the use of DPA as an antioxidant in lubricants, and other functional fluids such as engine oil, hydraulic fluids, metalworking fluids, compressor oil, gear oil, refrigeration oil, transmission fluids, and turbine oil, among others. The growing production of automobiles is propelling the demand for lubricants for the efficient functioning of engines, which consequently is expected to drive the demand for DPA as an antioxidant. Regional Analysis: Geographically, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been segmented into Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. As per MRFR analysis, Asia-Pacific was the dominant regional market, accounting for the largest share of over 55% in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of over 4.5% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is followed by North America, which accounted for the second-largest share of the global foundry coke market in 2018. The North American market is expected to exhibit a share of around 20% in 2018. The Latin America and the Middle East & Africa markets are also likely to witness moderate growth during the forecast period, 20192025. Browse key industry insights spread across 449 pages with 177 market data tables & 24 figures & charts from the report, Diphenylamine Industry Trends: Information by Application (Antioxidants, Chemical Intermediate, Fungicide and Others), End-Use (Automotive, General Industry, Agriculture, Plastics & Rubber, Cosmetics & Personal Care and others) and Region - Forecast till 2025 in detail along with the table of contents @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/diphenylamine-market-4550 Some Australians may have to wait until early next year for their second shot of a COVID-19 vaccine due to supply problems, although the government still hopes to be finished by the end of October. Top government health officials also said it was impossible to predict exactly when the first 4 million people would receive their first dose, a milestone initially expected by the end of the month. Vaccine supply had been a significant issue in the early stages of the vaccine program, Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Health Department secretary Professor Brendan Murphy told a parliamentary COVID committee hearing on Thursday afternoon some people might have had only their first dose by the end of October. The great majority of people will have had two vaccines by then, and everyone will have had one, and its a semantic difference where there are a small proportion who have to come back a little bit later for their second dose, he said. Cementir sees strong regional sales in Turkey 11 March 2021 Cementir Holdings consolidated results for 2020 saw a surge in Turkish local cement demand and exports. This saw an increase in revenues of 53 per cent in local currency and a rise of 39 per cent in overall clinker and cement sales volumes. Turkish sales volumes in the domestic market grew by 27 per cent. Exports of cement and clinker more than doubled with new markets of Africa and the Middle East. Ready-mix concrete volumes rose by 47 per cent compared to 2019. Overall revenue totalled EUR141.8m, an increase of 11 per cent compared to 2019. EBITDA grew by more than 390 per cent to EUR6.8m compared to EUR-2.3m in 2019. In Egypt sales volumes of white cement in the local market increased by 13 per cent compared to 2019. Exports of white cement rose by 18 per cent mainly due to higher sales in Europe. Egyptian sales revenue grew by more than 21 per cent to EUR43.4m from EUR35.8m in 2019, while EBITDA rose by more than 54 per cent to EUR9.8m. Denmark Regional sales in Denmark reach EUR384.2m, up 3.9 per cent on 2019 mainly due to an increase of both grey and white cement in the domestic market. In some segments, such as paving and retail sales, the lockdown generated an increase in sales. Average sales prices in Denmark saw an increase, while exports of white cement rose by five per cent compared to 2019. Higher white cement deliveries were recorded to Poland, Germany, Finland and France. Meanwhile, grey cement exports fell by nine per cent due to lower deliveries to Norway and Iceland. Average selling prices for grey cement increased but contracted for white cement. Ready-mix concrete volumes increased modestly compared to 2019 while aggregate volumes rose mainly due to infrastructure projects. EBITDA in 2020 totalled EUR131.4m compared to EUR112.2m in 2019. Norway and Sweden In Norway, ready-mix concrete sales volumes fell by 11 per cent YoY although volumes recovered in the final months of 2020. In Sweden ready-mix concrete and aggregate sales volumes rose by seven per cent compared to 2019. In 2020 total sales revenue in Norway and Sweden amounted to EUR176.4m compared to EUR193.4m in 2019. EBITDA fell to EUR17.4m from EUR20.1m in 2019. Belgium In Belgium cement sales volumes fell by three per cent compared to 2019. Ready-mix concrete sales volume declined by nine per cent in Belgium and France. Aggregates sales volumes fell by 7.5 per cent compared to 2019. Overall sales revenue in Belgium fell by 3.2 per cent to EUR253.2m from EUR261.7m in 2019. North America North American white cement sales volumes rose by three per cent. Total sales in the USA rose by 13 per cent to EUR153m compared to EUR151m in 2019 while EBITDA declined by 11.5 per cent to EUR21.3m. China In China sales revenues increased by 3.2 per cent to EUR54.9m from EUR53.2m in 2019. EBITDA rose by nine per cent to EUR17.1m from EUR15.6 per cent in 2019. Malaysia Malaysia saw white cement volumes fall in the domestic market by 24 per cent. Exports fell by nine per cent with the contraction in Australian clinker exports being slightly offset by exports to other southeast Asian countries. Sales revenue in Malaysia fell by 10 per cent to EUR39.9m from EUR44.4m in 2019. EBITDA fell by 14.3 per cent compared to EUR7.9m in 2019. Published under * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 It seems to me in this whole conversation were talking about all of the needs to keep policing the way it is, Walker-Peddakotla said. Its all, to me, out of fear. Its all we need it because of guns, because of crime, because of all these fear-based reasons. The pain I see and the pain I always see is the pain of young Black people and the young Black organizers who come to the village board and say I get stopped by police for riding my bike or I get four cop cars stopping me and I wasnt doing anything wrong. That pain hits deeply. Those stops cause trauma too. 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. COLUMBUS, OhioThe Ohio Department of Health announced Wednesday it will no longer issue weekly out-of-state travel advisories for states with above a 15% test positivity rate for coronavirus. The reason is that The Atlantics COVID Tracking Project, which state officials have relied on for data to determine the states travel advisories, ended on March 7, according to ODH spokeswoman Alicia Shoults. As each states formula for measuring and reporting testing and positivity can vary slightly, the COVID Tracking Project gave Ohio a unified way to compare states. With that apples-to-apples data from the COVID Tracking Project coming to an end and no longer being available, Ohios Travel Advisory Map will not be updated, Shoults stated in an email. Instead of the state-by-state advisories, which have been regularly issued since last summer, the state health department encouraged Ohioans in a release to carefully review general Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance when considering travel. The CDC recommends that people not travel at all during the coronavirus crisis, as it increases peoples likelihood of contracting the virus. Its guidance also offers basic precautions to take, including wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and washing hands often. Last weeks travel advisory identified five states with a test positivity rate higher than 15%: Idaho (24%), South Dakota (24%), Iowa (20.1%), Alabama (17%) and Kansas (17%). Read more Ohio politics and government stories: Ohio House passes its version of bill rescinding nuclear subsidies Senate confirms Rep. Marcia Fudge as President Bidens Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ohio utility regulators expand FirstEnergy audit to see whether customers should get refunds State may lift the cap on the number of Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries Ohio legislature advances bill limiting Gov. Mike DeWines power on health orders Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. situation in Maharashtra is very concerning and the trend is worrisome, said the union health ministry on Thursday, adding that the reduced testing, tracing and inappropriate behaviour has led to the surge in infections. "Maharashtra has shown a worrisome trend, the mutant strain has not been found incriminating in this surge in cases. It is just related to reduced testing, tracking and tracing and Covid inappropriate behaviour and large congregations," ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said at a briefing. "We are very worried about Maharashtra. This is a serious matter. This has two lessons- don't take the virus for granted and if we have to remain Covid free, then, we need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, said Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog. Sounding a word of caution for Delhi and its neighbourhood, Paul said the national capital is seeing a rise in positivity rate, so is Gurgaon, Faridabad and to an extent Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday warned that strict lockdown measures will be enforced in some parts of the state to contain the spread of Covid-19. "Some areas of Maharashtra will witness strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the infection. The government is going to hold a special meeting with officials before coming out with the lockdown measures," Thackeray said. He said the government has been requesting people to wear mask, maintain physical distance and avoid moving out unnecessarily. Earlier in the day, complete lockdown has been announced in Nagpur city area from March 15 to March 21 in view of the rising infections. However, essential services will be allowed during this period, Guardian Minister for Nagpur Raut said after chairing a high-level meeting with of top district officials. He said that people should not move out unnecessarily. On Wednesday, Maharashtra recorded 13,659 new cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state's caseload to 2,252,057. Speaking on the coronavirus situation in the country, the health ministry also urged the states seeing spike in coronavirus infections to pull up their socks and contain the spread of the virus. "Today, Maharashtra has more than 100,000 active cases. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana are at the tipping point. We have had three meetings with these states where they have been told to pull up their socks, union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said. He also clarified that there is no vaccine shortage in any state in the country. Free editor's pick centerpiece featured On unmasking day, Texans, businesses split on what to do stuartvillanueva / STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Paxton Groom, an employee at Christmas on The Strand, writes a sign Wednesday, March 10, 2021, asking customers to continue to wear face coverings inside the shop in Galveston. stuartvillanueva / STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News A woman wearing a mask pushes a child, also masked, into the Walmart store in Kemah on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. stuartvillanueva / STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News file photo A sign asking customers to wear face coverings hangs inside of Surf Styles on The Strand in Galveston on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. stuartvillanueva / STUART VILLANUEVA/ The Daily News Mark Chalk says that he will wear a face mask if asked to do so inside of a business but is happy to see the statewide mask mandate lifted. stuartvillanueva / STUART VILLANUEVA/ The Daily News Fisayo Olamihoke says he will continue wearing face masks in public despite the lifting of the statewide mandate. KEMAH Mark Chalk wasnt happy when the greeter at Walmart in Kemah asked him to put on a mask when he entered the store Wednesday morning. Wednesday was the first day since July 2020 that Texans werent required by state mandate to wear face masks in public places. If no one was telling him to wear one, Chalk, who lives in San Leon, wasnt going to do it, he said. But the Bentonville, Arkansas-based mega-retailer had declared before Wednesdays widely publicized, controversial rollbacks that it would still require masks in its Texas stores. Chalk said he would respect that. I wore the mask, Chalk said. I dont like it. I dont care for it and I think its going against my rights. WHAT IS THAT MASK RULE? Around Galveston County, businesses and the public were easing into life without a state mandate. Part of that adjustment was figuring out what the rules were at different places. In announcing the end to the statewide COVID restriction last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott allowed individual people to choose whether to wear face coverings in public spaces and business operators to determine the rules about masks and social distancing on their private property. Those options have led to a hodgepodge of rules that can vary from door to door. Some restaurants have announced they would open their dining rooms to 100 percent capacity while still requiring employees to wear masks. Some retail stores, like Walmart, require customers to wear masks inside, whereas others are encouraging rather than requiring customers to do so. TOO SOON At the Surf Styles clothing store on The Strand in Galveston, owner Sarah Moore Click said she would require customers to wear masks in her store at least through the end of spring break next week because of the larger vacation crowds. Its just too much too soon, Click said. Click hadnt had any confrontations with customers on Wednesday, she said. But a few customers did get upset about the mask rule last weekend, even though the state order still was in effect, she said. One thing lost with the rollback is the ability to blame mask rules on someone else, she said. Its way easier to say its a state mandate, than I dont want you to come in here without a mask on, Click said. SHOPPERS CHOICE Not every store on The Strand is following the same strategy. John Taylor, owner of Jammin Sportswear, 2314 Strand St., is letting his customers decide, he said. If customers are all wearing masks, Ill throw it on, Taylor said. Most people entering the shop Wednesday had masks on, he said. But Taylors shop is big and people can keep distance from each other, so hes not worried about some customers not wanting to mask up, he said. ALLS QUIET There were no reports of confrontations in Galveston caused by mask disagreements in the early hours of the rollback, and police officials said they hoped it stayed that way. In a statement, Galveston Police Chief Vernon Hale reiterated that businesses have the right to refuse service and he hoped police wouldnt have to diffuse disagreements caused by masking rules. There are no criminal charges for not wearing a mask in Galveston and the individual businesses can refuse service, Hale said. If a customer refuses to leave the business after a request, it may lead to criminal trespass charges. The Galveston Police Department would prefer the situation be settled by those parties. TOO SOON TO KNOW Shoppers were wary of potential conflicts, too. Its probably a little too soon, said Valerie Athey, visiting Galveston from Lake Jackson. It makes me a little nervous. Athey is a teacher and worries her chance of catching COVID-19 at work could increase, she said. She would probably walk out of a store if many people werent wearing masks, she said. In Kemah, Fisayo Olamihoke walked through the Walmart parking lot with a mask on. Hed forgotten the rules had changed, but he had mixed feelings about the new rules, he said. Ill just wait, Olamihoke said. Not because Im told to, but because its the right thing to do. The more I wear it, the less chance I stand of catching the disease, especially in a congested area. ONE in eight 13-year-olds are suffering significant levels of social-emotional difficulty, according to a study. The Growing Up in Ireland report provides insights into the mental health and well-being of 13-year-olds, in the context of how they were doing at age nine, exploring a range of contributory factors from puberty to relationships. The majority (88pc) were doing well, and some who were struggling at nine got through that bad patch. For others, difficulties were only emerging as they entered their teens. The report expresses particular concern for the 7pc who had difficulties at both nine and 13, warning that their problems were likely becoming more entrenched. The study, based on interviews with more than 7,400 children and their families, covered the years 2008-2013, at the height of the financial crash. It involved a consortium of researchers led by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Trinity College, which has been collecting information on children since 2007. Among the findings were that girls who experienced a transition from a single-parent to a two-parent household between aged nine and 13 were almost 10 times more likely to be at high risk in terms of poor well-being. Conflict and low levels of closeness with mothers were important predictors of higher depressed mood among girls. For boys, it was conflict with fathers, rather than with mothers that mattered more. Timing of puberty was found to be a factor, and early maturing girls had poorer outcomes and tended to have higher depressive scores, higher anti-social behaviour and to have smoked cigarettes and consumed alcohol. On the other hand, late-maturing boys had significantly higher depressive scores than early maturers, but lower anti-social behaviour scores. A key finding was that social-emotional and behavioural difficulties can affect youth in all social contexts. Study author Dr Elizabeth Nixon, Assistant Professor in Psychology at Trinity, said: Helping parents to understand the teenage transition and how they can support adolescents sense of autonomy is likely to yield positive outcomes, both in terms of the parent-child relationship and in terms of youth outcomes. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Steppe Gold Limited (TSX: STGO;OTCQX: STPGF), a gold and silver producer, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Steppe Gold Limited upgraded to OTCQX from the Pink market. Steppe Gold Limited begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "STPGF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com. Upgrading to the OTCQX Market is an important step for companies seeking to provide transparent trading for their U.S. investors. For companies listed on a qualified international exchange, streamlined market standards enable them to utilize their home market reporting to make their information available in the U.S. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. "The Steppe Gold team is proud to have qualified to trade on the top level of the OTC market, the OTCQX Best Market, by meeting its rigorous financial and governance requirements," said Matthew Wood, Chair of Steppe Gold. "This is a key milestone for us and allows prospective US investors to easily access Steppe's offerings, as an emerging gold and silver explorer and producer in Mongolia". Securities Law USA, PC acted as the company's OTCQX sponsor. About Steppe Gold Limited Steppe Gold owns gold and silver exploration, development and production assets in Mongolia. About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com. OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed Media Contact: OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected] SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc. Related Links http://www.otcmarkets.com The human mind is capable of great things and this cop's sense of alertness has helped save the life of another person. A cop is being hailed as a hero after a video of him saving a passenger from being crushed under a moving train was posted on social media. The clip was shared on the official Twitter profile of the Indian Railways. The footage also conveys the much-needed advice that no one should ever board to deboard a moving train, no matter what. Also read: Man-Animal Conflict Continues As Tiger Is Run Over By Train Inside Navegaon-Nagzira Reserve Twitter 'Life saving act by RPF personnel at Vasco station in SWR!' the department's account tweeted on the microblogging website. The Indian Railways Department explained how the incident occurred in the post. It read, 'At Vasco station,a passenger tried to board the moving train 02741 Vasco-Patna express &slipped into the gap between Platform and train. Passengers are requested not to board/deboard a moving train. It may risk your life.' Watch the video here: Also read: Massive Explosives Recovery From Train In Kerala, Woman Held With 117 Gelatin Sticks, 350 Detonators Life saving act by RPF personnel at Vasco station in SWR! At Vasco station,a passenger tried to board the moving train 02741 Vasco-Patna express &slipped into the gap between Platform and train Passengers are requested not to board/deboard a moving train. It may risk your life. pic.twitter.com/zkIva0rAkJ Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) March 11, 2021 Since being shared on social media, the video has almost 9,500 views and more than 600 likes. People took to the comments section to praise the cop's alertness. One user commented, 'Time & again Railways are putting up videos to warn passengers of the dangers of boarding a running train but nobody heeds. Such passengers who do this must be penalized as a deterrent.' Another said, 'Develop the system of Automatic Door Lock and Unlock like Metro IN every train to ensure the safety of the Passengers... The only way to stop such mishap!!' One more user wrote, 'In our India the strict rules itself not follwed by our public so it is necessary to take some change in the infrastructure to prevent this type of incidents. (overcrowding and to get seat in compartment they are getting into running train )' Also read: Haryana Woman Cheats Death By Lying Down On Tracks After Getting Trapped Under Moving Train Twitter Be careful. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 10 held talks via videoconference with his counterparts from Cambodia, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds talks via videoconference with his counterparts from Cambodia, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith on March 10 (Photo: VNA) The talks were held following an initiative of PM Hun Sen aimed at maintaining and reinforcing the traditional friendship between the three neighbouring countries and between senior leaders in particular. The PMs underlined that the special friendship and solidarity is a valuable treasure and motivated the three to work together during past national struggles for independence and in the ongoing cause of national construction and development. They shared a belief that the younger generations will continue to nurture and promote this fine tradition. PM Phuc congratulated Laos and Cambodia on their achievements in COVID-19 prevention and control, and thanked leaders of the two countries for their congratulations to Vietnam on the success of the 13th National Party Congress. He also congratulated Laos on the success of the 11th National Congress of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and the recent general elections. He underlined that thanks to its determination in implementing the twin targets of pandemic control and economic development, Vietnam maintained macro-economic stability and recorded growth of nearly 3 percent in 2020, while basically controlling the third outbreak of COVID-19. The country is striving to successfully implement the socio-economic plan for the next 10 years and a vision to 2045. Meanwhile, the Lao and Cambodian PMs lauded Vietnams socio-economic and pandemic control achievements, while briefing each other on their current situation and future development orientations. Regarding the relationship between the three countries, the PMs expressed their pleasure at cooperation in politics, security, defence, border management, economy, trade, investment, and education and training. They underscored the significance of strengthening the education of the younger generations in the three countries on the traditional friendship. They reached consensus on continuing to maintain and promote the efficiency of cooperation mechanisms, while bolstering partnerships and exchanges between 13 border localities and improving coordination in protecting shared border security and combating trans-border crime. It is necessary to speed up the implementation of the plan to connect the three economies of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) until 2030, with a focus on optimising resources from developed countries to build an expressway network linking Hanoi and Vientiane, railway lines linking Vientiane and Vung Ang and also Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, along with border markets and goods distribution and transit centres, they agreed. The three PMs also agreed to accelerate cooperation and mutual support in controlling COVID-19 as well as in continuing to create favourable conditions for customs clearances for people and goods passing over borders and for investment cooperation activities. They agreed to work closely in increasing access to vaccines for developing countries, while effectively conducting initiatives approved within the ASEAN 2020 framework, including the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies and the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement (TCA). The three leaders highly valued the fruitful cooperation between the three countries at sub-regional, regional, and international forums, and affirmed their commitments to working with other ASEAN countries in speeding up the building of the ASEAN Community, coordinating ASEAN sub-regional cooperation, and associating Mekong cooperation with ASEAN cooperation strategies and plans. Laos and Cambodia congratulated Vietnam on successfully performing the roles of ASEAN Chair in 2020 and non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure. Vietnam affirmed that it will support Cambodia in organising the 7th Summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), which is slated for this month, while completing the role of host of the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit later this year and assisting Laos in fulfilling its tasks as the host of the Chair of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) in the 2021-2022 tenure. Regarding regional issues of shared concern, the leaders expressed their hope that the Myanmar situation will stabilise shortly with the peaceful settlement of disputes, for the benefit of Myanmar and for a peaceful and stable regional environment. They agreed to continue supporting the central role and efforts of ASEAN. The three leaders stressed the need for maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, and agreed to coordinate in building a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that is practical, effective, and suitable with international law. They also agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation in managing and using the Mekong Rivers water resources, while coordinating in settling issues related to the development of hydropower projects in the mainstream and strengthening cooperation in developing green and renewable energy. Concluding the talks, which took place in a sincere, open, and practical atmosphere, the three PMs agreed to assign their respective ministries, sectors, and localities to implement the agreements reached during the talks, thus accelerating their friendship and enhancing the efficiency of cooperation between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia./.VNA Ronaikel Brito, 16, is the third generation of a family of scavengers, a job that provided enough resources for them until the extended economic crisis in Venezuela made valuable trash meager in landfills. The Pavia landfill, where Brito and his family live, is located in an arid place near Barquisimeto, a city west of the capital Caracas. In Pavia, where water is scarce and finding daily sustenance is hard work, its inhabitants do not fear the new coronavirus. Barely anyone wears a mask or maintains a physical distance. Unconcerned about contracting the coronavirus, Ronaikel makes his way at first light every day through the dusty roads that lead him to the vast wasteland. He carried a metal bar with a sharp tip, a sack to keep whatever he finds and the hope of having a new stroke of luck. Three weeks earlier, he found gold in the trash and made 20 dollars selling it; this in a country where most Venezuelans earn an average salary of two dollars a month. The acute economic crisis in Venezuela and the restrictive quarantine imposed for the past year to break the chain of contagions of COVID-19 has reduced production activities to a minimum and has meant that reusable waste is now very scarce and more difficult to find. In recent months children and adults who go to the dump every day take longer to find waste materials to sell or discarded food in good condition to take home or feed animals such as horses, goats, or pigs. "The reality today is that you don't get as much stuff as you used to," Ronaikel said while inspecting the scraps he separated during the day. Waste has been drastically reduced during the pandemic, particularly food from homes, restaurants, and wholesale markets, which were among the most coveted by garbage collectors in Barquisimeto once a thriving agro-industrial city where food waste was notorious. Marbelis Brito, mother of Ronaikel and 7 other children, vouched for the change of times in the area. She has lived near the landfill almost all her life, and at the age of 5 began to help her mother in the garbage collection. "Nowadays, people are not throwing almost anything away because they can't afford to do it like before," said Marbelis. Despite the hardships, she stills considers the Pavia landfill "a blessing" where she can daily find scraps to sell or even some food. But now that has changed and the jerks of luck where children can sell something of value with just hours of searching has reduced to rare episodes. Henkel Garcia, director of Econometrica, a company dedicated to economic and financial reports and studies, said the case of Brito family is backed by the reduction of Venezuelans' consumption in the past decade. This drop amounts to a quarter of the average of 2013. "We are already hitting rock bottom," said Garcia. Yet, in the isolated dry land of Pavia, little do the children care about economic forecast. They dive into the landfill every day, hopeful to find something of value that can, maybe, earn them a few dollars to buy at least something to eat. (Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com) Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images/MediaNews Group via Getty Images Salesforce, the citys largest private employer, has canceled its 325,000-square-foot lease at the unbuilt Parcel F tower in San Franciscos Transbay neighborhood, as first reported by the San Francisco Business Times. The company announced in February that more than half of its workforce will continue working remotely or on a flexible schedule after the pandemic is over. It is also subleasing part of its offices at 350 Mission St., according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (SFGATE and The San Francisco Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of one another.) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / LINK GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES INC. (CSE:LNK)(FRA:LGT)(OTC PINK:LGLOF) ("LINK" or the "Company"), an innovative power and infrastructure solutions provider for Bitcoin mining and data hosting operations, is pleased to announce that the Company has fully commissioned the 10 megawatt (MW) Bitcoin mining operating site in Alberta, the third operating site in the Province. The company recently commissioned 8.75 MW of power generation over two initial sites in Alberta (3.75 MW in eastern Alberta and 5 MW in western Alberta). Further to the news release of February 22, 2021, the Power Purchase Agreement for this 10 MW site is now in effect. This site will be supplying enough power to energize over 3,000 new-generation Bitcoin mining rigs and is estimated to generate additional monthly revenue of over CAD$350,000. LINK's platform excels in its ability to access low-cost, reliable power generated from dormant and natural gas assets, therefore mining Bitcoin cost-efficiently. For every 10 MW of operational power, LINK and its partners can generate approximately 180,000 terahash (TH) of computing power or approximately 1.2 Bitcoins (BTC) per day. Link President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Jenkins commented, "The commencement of operations at our third operating site is an impressive milestone for LINK. The crew has worked diligently through one of the coldest winters to complete this site's commissioning and development. Support from the local community and press has been outstanding. We have formed a relationship with the community where the mutual benefit is quite evident. The completion of this facility will more than double LINK's monthly revenues." Jenkins further states, "more and more companies are starting to take notice of our business model and are approaching LINK regarding future assets and opportunities. With three sites now operational, we are now turning our attention on the completion of several new power generating sites in the near future." Story continues About Link Global Technologies Inc. Link is engaged in providing infrastructure and operating expertise for digital mining and data hosting operations. Link's objectives include locating and securing, for lease and option to purchase, properties with access to low-cost, reliable power, and deploying this low-cost power to conduct digital mining and supply clean energy and infrastructure for other data-hosting services. On behalf of Link Global Technologies Inc. Stephen Jenkins Chief Executive Officer & Director For more information visit http://linkglobal.io/ or contact: Steve Jenkins stephen@linkglobal.io +1-877-770-6545 For investor information please contact: info@linkglobal.io +1-833-707-8708 The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "forecast", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "would", "could", "should" or "might" occur. Forward-looking statements made in this news release include, but are not limited, to: statements with respect to agreements and the terms and potential benefits thereof; and other statements regarding the business plans of the Company. All such forward-looking statements are based on factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including assumptions based on historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Since forward-looking statements relate to future events and conditions, by their very nature they require making assumptions and involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions that although it is believed that the assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances, these risks and uncertainties give rise to the possibility that actual results may differ materially from the expectations set out in the forward-looking statements. In the case of the Company, these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors include, without limitation: that actual results from the relationship with Neptune Digital may differ materially from the parties' expectations; those set out in the Company's most recent MD&A, fluctuations in the price of electricity, fluctuations in the price of digital currencies/Bitcoin, the future potential halving of Bitcoin, increases in the network difficulty rate and price of digital currencies/Bitcoin, negative changes in the level of digital currency/Bitcoin rewards per block, the securing of economic rates for the purchase of power, the opportunities for acquiring digital currency mining hardware, unanticipated changes in laws, regulations or other industry standards affecting the business of the Company, reliance on key management personnel, the Company's ability to implement its business plan, litigation risk, stock price volatility, the effects of general economic and other factors beyond the control of the Company, and other matters that may occur in the future. Given these risks, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date hereof. Other than as specifically required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise, and the Company does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein. SOURCE: Link Global Technologies Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/634907/Link-Global-Technologies-Energizes-Third-Alberta-Site-with-10-Megawatt-Bitcoin-Mining-Operation-Generating-Additional-Monthly-Revenues-of-over-CAD350000 To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! U.S. President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan, India and Australia will meet virtually later this week for the first summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. The group of countries, also known as the Quad, will likely discuss Chinas vaccine diplomacy and other regional issues. An image of Sarah Everard, 33, shared by London's Metropolitan Police. Met Police Sarah Everard, 33, was last seen walking home from a friend's house in London on March 3. On Friday, UK police identified human remains found in the search as Everard. Metropolitan Police has charged one of its officers in connection with her disappearance. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A UK police officer was charged in the murder of Sarah Everard on Friday evening, days after authorities found the woman's remains in a wooded area outside London. Metropolitan Police Officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with Everard's murder and will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, the BBC reported. Everard, 33, disappeared while walking home from a friend's house in London's Clapham neighborhood on March 3. According to the BBC, Everard left her friend's house around 9 p.m. on March 3, and had planned to take a 50-minute walk to her home in the neighboring Brixton. She was last spotted on security footage at 9:30 p.m., and, according to the Evening Standard, spoke with her boyfriend for about 15 minutes during the walk. An image from a security tape showing Sarah Everard, 33, seen in London on March 3, 2021. Met Police In the days since, the Metropolitan Police had searched hundreds of houses looking for Everard, before finally finding her body in a wooded area in Kent on Wednesday, the BBC reported. Couzens, who was recently suspected of indecent exposure in a separate case, was taken into custody on Wednesday on suspicion of Everard's abduction and murder. An unidentified woman was also detained in the Everard case, on suspicion of aiding the offender, The Guardian reported. Everard's family said in a statement last week that her disappearance was "totally out of character." "We are so grateful to the police and all our friends for all they are doing," they said in a statement shared by the Met Police. "We are desperate for news and if anyone knows anything about what has happened to her, we would urge you to please come forward and speak to the police. No piece of information is too insignificant." Story continues Police search teams work their way through the reeds in Mount Pond on Clapham Common as the hunt for missing woman Sarah Everard enters its fifth day, on March 09, 2021 in London, England. Leon Neal/Getty Images Word of Everard's disappearance sparked a wave of grief online, leading many women to share stories on Twitter of men harassing or attacking them. Among the women taking part in the social media conversation was Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Sturgeon tweeted Thursday that "there will be few - if any - women who don't completely understand and identify" with a tweet from Sky News political correspondent Kate McCann, who said Everard's disappearance "hit home hard for so many women because we make the calculations she did every day too." "We take the longer, better-lit route, push the fear aside for the voice that says 'don't be daft, you've every right to walk home alone at night and be safe'," McCann wrote in a thread. "You're a grown woman and in no other area of your life do you feel so vulnerable. You resent it even though you understand there is a risk - however small. It is frustrating and tiring and constant. And yet sometimes, despite all those calculations, it still isn't enough." Read the original article on Insider 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. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. NEW DELHI (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will embark on a three nation tour in the Indo-Pacific region this week to discuss the strengthening of existing partnerships and alliances there. The Defense Department announced that Austin will depart on Saturday to visit the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii, followed by visits with officials in Japan, South Korea, and India. This will be Austin's first international trip as US Defense secretary. 'This trip is about working to revitalize our alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, in particular with Japan and South Korea,' Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said during a briefing Wednesday. 'We want to reenergize our commitment to those treaty alliances. And that's really the message going forward; we know we need strong allies and partners and friends in that part of the world,' he added. In both Japan and Korea, the secretary of defense will be accompanied by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken during meetings with government officials. The U.S. maintains positive relations with both South Korea and Japan, but in recent years, these two nations have experienced some diplomatic challenges that could weaken security cooperation in the region. In 2011, South Korea announced plans to not renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA - an intelligence-sharing agreement between the two countries. While South Korea later reconsidered that decision, tensions still exist between Japan and South Korea. 'Recognizing that there are tensions between those two countries, we still encourage them to work together, and we look forward to exploring trilateral ways where we can all work together to address security challenges in the region,' Kirby told reporters. 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. Top Poker Vlogs Of The Week: Mar 1-7 March 11, 2021 Jesse Fullen Check out our favorite Poker Vlogs from the last week. If we missed any of your favorites from that last week, let us know on social media! Greg Goes All In I make poker memes and poker vlogs for degenerates like you. Greg showcases his excellent sense of humor in all of his uploads. If youre new to his channel, smash that subscribe button. Follow Greg on Twitter here Ben Deach Ben Deach heads back to the Peppermill Poker Room and Atlantis Poker Room in Reno, Nevada. Ben also opens up and answers the top questions from his youtube comments. Great poker vlogger we often suggest. Follow Ben on Twitter here The Poker Odyssey Poker VLOG Episode #1 Caleb is creating a poker vlog that Solve for Why is supporting and hosting on their channel. The thing that really captures you in this successful first vlog from Caleb is his timing for a trip to Texas. Caleb heads into Texas as the crazy winter storm from late Feb is quickly approaching. Definitely one you will want to watch. Follow Caleb on Twitter here PokerfaceAsh This is just PokerfaceAsh's 3rd poker vlog on her YouTube channel. Ash heads to the Venetian to showcase some of their deepstack tournaments. Follow Ashley on Twitter here Kyle Fischl Vlog #74 and Kyle shows you what it looks like to run like God. Its like watching a scripted drama and almost every hand ends perfectly. Kyle has a good eye and tells a good story as he describes his hands. Definitely worth checking out. Follow Kyle on Twitter here 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. Lennart Dodoo, with New Narratives Prosecutors stepped up their case against former RUF commander, Gibril Massaquoi, for war crimes on Wednesday putting a former bodyguard of Foday Sankoh, leader of the Revolutionary United Forces (RUF), on the stand. He told the Finnish Court that RUF special fighters were sent into Liberia from 2000 to 2001 for a diplomatic mission. Massaquoi, he said, was one of them. The prosecution witness, a Sierra Leonean codenamed Civilian 09 by the court to protect his identity, said he it was his job to receive RUF guests coming into Monrovia. He would receive them and transport them to their guest house in Congo Town. The RUF fought a failed 11-year rebellion in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. The group was heavily supported by former Liberian President Charles Taylor in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War. The witness also named RUF fighters Mosquito, Sannoh, Morris Kalon, Augustine Blamo, Ernest McCauley, Ibrahim Bah, Sankara, Issa Sesay and others who he said were all RUF fighters brought into Liberia to work for former President Charles Taylor. The witness told the Finnish judges that most of the RUF activities in Liberia happened between 2000 to 2001. He said the RUF activities were mostly in Lofa County on the Liberian and Guinean border where RUF fighters were combatting rebels from LURD, another rebel faction. Massaquoi stands accused of ordering civilians, including children, to be locked into two buildings which were burnt to the ground in the northern village of Kamatahun Hassala in Lofa County. At least seven women were raped and murdered in the same village, while other locals were killed, their bodies cut up and &made into food which Massaquoi also ate,& according to the indictment. The judges visited all the alleged crime scenes in Lofa County along with defence and prosecution lawyers. The 4,000-page evidence dossier details mass murders and rapes in Lofa County and the capital Monrovia and accuses Massaquoi of enslavement and using child soldiers. The crimes &deliberately and systematically& violated international humanitarian law, and inflicted &irreparable emotional suffering and damage& on the families of his many victims, the indictment states. Massaquoi, 51, is currently on trial in Finland for committing and inciting the murders of civilians and enemy fighters, rape and other human rights violations during the second Liberian civil war in the northern part of Liberia bordering Sierra Leone. Massaquoi, a Sierra Leonean national, has lived in Finland since 2008 when he was granted residency in exchange for devastating testimony that he gave to the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Experts say Massaquois testimony was instrumental in the conviction of former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, and other leaders of the Sierra Leone civil war. Massquoi was arrested in Finland in March last year after Swiss victims advocates Civitas Maxima working with Global Justice Research Project, alerted prosecutors to Massaquois alleged crimes in Liberia. ADVERTISEMENT Massaquoi has denied all the allegations levelled against him. Witness Wednesdays witness said the RUF supplied President Taylor with weapons. All previous witnesses told the court they knew Gibril Massaquoi as Angel Gabriel during the war. This witness said he was aware that Massaquoi had an alias but he could not remember it. The witness said he was not aware of Massaquois involvement with the war in Monrovia. However, during cross-examination, he said the RUF rebels that were in Monrovia were occasionally called upon to intervene whenever Charles Taylor fighters had difficulties in Monrovia and its environs. Civilian 09 said that while in Monrovia, Benjamin Yeaten, who according to him, served as a liaison between the Charles Taylor government and the RUF rebels, would occasionally take them to White Flower, the residence of ex-president Taylor where they held discussions. Yeaten, widely known by his old radio call sign &50&, is a Liberian militia leader and mercenary, who served as the Armed Forces of Liberias deputy commander and director of the Special Security Service during the presidency of Charles Taylor. His current whereabouts are unknown. Two previous witnesses testified that Yeaten intervened to save the lives of civilians who were held captive by Angel Gabriel and his men at Waterside where many people were tortured, raped and executed. On Tuesday, a witness told the Court that while he and others were being tortured by Angel Gabriel and his men at the Waterside bridge, a soldier came in a pickup truck came to the scene and began to ask the soldiers why there were holding civilians captive and torturing them. He said, This is not the reason I brought you here. I brought you here to help me, not to kill innocent people. The witness said this Liberian soldier seemed to be higher in rank was being referred to as Chief 50 or General 50. The trial continues next week. This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. Around half of young Syrians have lost a loved one, causing deep trauma, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. A new report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has further exposed the devastating impact of the countrys war on young Syrians. The ICRC report surveyed 1,400 Syrians aged 18 to 25 whose adolescence and early adulthood have been deeply marked by the conflict. Syrias war broke out in early 2011 following anti-government demonstrations that were brutally suppressed by President Bashar al-Assads forces. The ensuing decade-long war has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, with Russia and Iran enabling Assad to regain power over most of the country. The report covers the experiences of young Syrians both within the country and those in displacement. Of those surveyed, 800 live in Syria, 400 in Lebanon, and 200 in Germany. Crucial issues, including displacement and social connection, economic security, access to education, health, and mental health, are covered in its findings. In all groups surveyed, eight out of ten reported enduring periods of no or very limited access to basic necessities. The interviews with young Syrians also illustrated the long-term implications of the crippling economic insecurity they face. Ahmad, a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, recalls having more money aged ten than he does now, aged 24. Over half of those interviewed had to abandon their education, often a sacrifice made by households struggling to meet their basic needs. At the same time, the report highlights unfortunate discrepancies in the experiences of displaced Syrians. While three-quarters of young Syrians in Lebanon had been educated up to the primary level, 90 percent of those in Germany have reached the secondary level or higher. Similarly, it offers troubling insight into the depth of emotional and mental trauma experienced by young Syrians. Within Syria, nearly half of those surveyed had lost a member of their immediate family or a close friend in the war. Among those living in Germany or Lebanon, one in five has had one or both of their parents killed or seriously injured during the conflict. Two out of three young Syrians have experienced anxiety in the past year, and over half have struggled with depression and sleeping disorders. Very few have been able to receive medical treatment. 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. Stock had stayed below 3000 properties for five consecutive months and without intervention the crisis could last 18 months to several years. Perths rental vacancy rate had further dropped from Januarys 0.8 per cent to 0.7 per cent, undercut nationally only by Adelaides 0.6 per cent, speakers told the crowd. That was the message at an industry event hosted by the Urban Development Institute of Australia WA on Wednesday. Perths historic low of available rental properties could instantly increase by 53 per cent if investors bought and rented 1600 apartments for sale in some of the citys most attractive suburbs. UDIA WA launched a campaign calling for the state to release the pressure valve and incentivise investment, pointing to Urbis data showing Perth was not only sitting on piles of unsold apartments but that it had the lowest proportion of property investors of all capitals. Investors provide rental product into the market, but Urbis data shows Perth has gone from 48 per cent of apartments being purchased by investors in 2016 down to 28 per cent in 2020, whereas percentages still hover around 50 per cent in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Urbis director David Cresp said there was not an oversupply of apartments in the Perth market and there had been strong sales activity in the last quarter of 2020, but a survey of Perth buildings with 25-plus apartments completed in recent years showed 1615 dwellings still for sale. Most developers are not prepared to rent these apartments out as it would reduce the value of the apartment when sold as it would no longer be new, meaning that a first home buyer would not get a grant if they bought the apartment and meaning that an investor would not be able to claim any depreciation, he said. [They] are generally in high amenity and highly desirable areas and if sold to investors would be quickly rented and provide the investor an attractive yield. The fact that property prices are now going up also provides the opportunity for capital growth. A British family has sold a Vincent Van Gogh drawing that was once looted by the Nazis for a record 7.4 million at a New York auction. The sketch on paper of La Mousme, a famous painting from the Dutch artist in 1888, was plundered by the Nazis from its former German-Jewish owner during World War Two. The drawing of a French girl led an 18million auction of exquisite art work amassed by the Gibson family over the past 40 years. The 'astonishing' Van Gogh portrait, titled La Mousme, (pictured) was produced by the Dutch painter in 1888 The La Mousme sketch was returned to German-Jewish banker Kurt Hirschland's family after World War Two. Hirschland had bought the picture in 1920, but it was stolen from him by the Nazis as part of their looting of fine art Vincent Van Gogh told his brother, Theo in a letter, that the oil on canvas painting of La Mousme took him a week to finish It was returned to banker Kurt Hirschland after the war before his descendants sold it to London-based art dealer Thomas Gibson in 1983. The sketch formed a private collection of some of the finest works of art on paper by artists that included Van Gogh, Lucien Freud, Henry Moore and Henri Matisse. When he began the collection in the 1970s, Mr Gibson, 77, decided to concentrate on works on paper as he felt they offered better value for money than oil paintings. He and his sons Miles, Sebastian and Hugh, decided to sell them ahead of a perceived increases in capital gains tax over the next few years. The history of Van Gogh's La Mousme La Mousme is an oil on canvas painting on display at The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh painted La Mousme in July 1888, while living in the artist commune of Arles, France. Van Gogh told his brother, Theo, that the painting took him a week to finish. The French girl is said to have been inspired by 19th century novel Madame Chrysantheme, by Pierre Loti, which told the story of marriage between a French naval officer and a Japanese woman. Advertisement The eight works sold for a combined 18,103,344 ($25,281,000) at an auction in New York earlier this month. This included 3.3m ($4.6m) for an 1890 conte crayon work by the French artist Georges Seurat depicting a couple by a riverbed at twilight. It also included 2.25m ($3.1m) for a Henry Moore crayon drawing of two men sleeping in the London Underground during the Blitz. But the stand out item was the La Mousme sketch, which became one of the highest prices paid for a work on paper by Van Gogh. It was one of a series of reed pen drawings produced by Van Gogh in 1888 in the artist commune of Arles in the south of France. It is a drawn copy of his oil painting of the same name that today hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. The drawing, bought by Kurt Hirschland in 1920, is said to be one of the finest works on paper of Van Gogh's career. La Mousme was loaned by the Gibson family, who own the Thomas Gibson Fine Art gallery in Mayfair, London, to Tate Britain in 2018. Mr Gibson said: 'I started buying important works of art as soon as I could afford to, which was in the mid-70s. 'I had favourite artists, and I had always been interested in works on paper, and felt that I could get much more value for money in this medium. London art dealer Thomas Gibson, 77, (pictured) purchased the La Mousme portrait in 1983 and later loaned it to Tate Britain in 2018 Also included in Mr Gibson's collection was the 1954 gouache painting (pictured) by Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte, which depicts two bowler hatted men who have been turned to stone A self-portrait (pictured) by Lucian Freud he painted in watercolour in 1974 was also part of the eight works that sold for more than 18million at auction in New York A 1941 work (pictured) by the English artist Henry Moore of two sleeping figures in the London Underground during the war and produced in wax crayon, watercolour and pen and ink sold for 2.25million at the same auction 'I bought the (Van Gogh) work from Paul and Helen Hirschland in 1983. 'The simple fact is that it is almost certainly, at least in my opinion, the most significant drawing by Van Gogh in private hands. The Dutch icon's painted works have fetched huge sums from art aficionados in the past. Van Gogh's revered Portrait of Dr Gachet was once the world's most expensive painting when it was sold to Ryoei Saito for 59m at a New York auction in 1990. Other notable sales include Portrait of Joseph Roulin, sold for 36.7m in 1989 and Irises, which fetched 38.5m in 1987. Giovanna Bertazzoni, vice chairman of 20th-21st century art at auctioneers Christie's said the work showed Van Gogh's 'innate ability at capturing the very essence of his subject.' How the Nazis looted artwork from Jewish families during the Third Reich Nazis began plundering artworks as part of the organised looting of European countries by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany during the time of the Third Reich. It began with the seizure of property of German Jews, until the end of World War II, particularly by military units known as the Kunstschutz - the German term for the principle of preserving cultural heritage and artworks during armed conflict. Gold, silver and currency was stolen alongside cultural items of great significance including paintings, ceramics, books and religious treasures. Many of these items were recovered by agents of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (also known as the Monuments Men) on behalf of the Allies immediately following the war. But hundreds are still missing as continuing international efforts attempt to reunite items to the rightful owners, their families or their respective countries. Art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt dealt in 'degenerate' art during Hitler's Third Reich. He purchased hundreds of paintings stolen during raids of Jewish homes, businesses and art shops in Germany and Nazi-occupied France. Gurlitt was an 'official dealer' for Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels and was later found to be a 'war profiteer'. He was instructed by other top Nazi officials to collect artwork for Hitler's 'Fuhrermuseum' which was never built. Over the years he acquired more than 1,500 paintings, including works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Auguste Rodin, giving some to the authorities and keeping others for himself. After the war, he was questioned by the American Army's Monuments Men unit but never charged with any crimes. He lied that the bulk of his collection had been destroyed in the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945. He went on to be the Director of the Art Association for the Rhineland and Westphalia until his death in a car crash at the age of 61 in November 1956. His son Cornelius inherited the collection and tried to sell pieces of to support himself in later life. He gained worldwide notoriety after a raid of his Munich apartment uncovered more than 1,400 of his father's stolen paintings in 2012. But, when he died in the flat two years later, the artworks were discovered. Advertisement Speaking of the collection, she added: 'What unites these works is the lifelong passion of this collector who strove to seek out these treasures. The rarity and condition of these works is incomparable. 'We are delighted with the very strong result for the exquisite works in the family collection. 'Quality always wins, and the infallible eye of this collector strove only for exceptional quality.' Credit: University of Derby A technique similar to that used to detect COVID-19 in humans could help save an endangered UK species from extinction, researchers at the University of Derby believe. The native white-clawed crayfish has been under threat from a pandemic in the form of a plague to which it has no known resistance, brought in by the invasive signal crayfish, which are indigenous to North America. The decline of the white-clawed crayfish, which can normally be found underneath rocks and stones in Britain's streams, means they have become very difficult to find using conventional ways of monitoring waterways. Academics at the University's Aquatic Research Facility have responded to this challenge by examining and using the principles of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, which enables scientists to test very specific DNA profiles. In COVID-19 testing, PCRs are used to detect antigens in the body to find out if someone has the virus. The team has developed a new method based on PCR testing which has enabled them to screen water samples to identify traces of the white-clawed species' DNA. Although PCR can sometimes produce so-called 'false positive' results, as have been reported from some COVID-19 testing, the team has also developed innovative post-sampling analytical tools to reduce the possibility of incorrect results for locating the presence of the crayfish. Professor Michael Sweet, one of the research leads for the project, said: "The decline of the UK's white-clawed crayfish population has reached the point where new methods were required to identify their presence in what should be their natural habitat. "The PCR test developed at Derby is highly sensitive and allows us to detect crayfish even in rivers where they are present at very low densities. If we cannot find a physical specimen, we can now say for sure whether or not they have been present at a particular location just by testing a sample of the water." Maps of species distribution for white-clawed crayfish across the UK show an alarming reduction in reported sightings, while those of the signal crayfish, which arrived in Europe in the 1960s, have increased considerably over the past four decades. Now it is hoped that the creation of this new method could help to stem that decline. Professor Sweet added: "The combination of our new molecular test and the novel analytical tools we have developed will no doubt help us to complement other ongoing conservation efforts and may even help us to save this aquatic keystone species from its extinction in England." Explore further Two Missouri crayfish species may be listed as 'threatened' under Endangered Species Act China has lashed out at Australia in yet another scathing attack as tensions between the two nations continue to deteriorate. Accusing Australia of 'genocide', Hu Xijn, editor-in-chief of communist mouthpiece The Global Times, posted the inflammatory remarks online. 'What's genocide?' he tweeted to his 447,600 followers on Wednesday. 'Massacring native Americans and Aboriginal Australians, forcing people colonised to speak English, French, Spanish, transforming their way of life, these are genocide, right?' The controversial tweet comes in the wake of worldwide condemnation of the Chinese government's treatment of its Uighur minority. International experts claimed the Chinese government's treatment of Uighurs violated 'each and every act' prohibited by the United Nations' Genocide Convention. Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin (pictured) didn't mince his words in a thinly-veiled swipe at Australia on Wednesday The Global Times editor-in-chief accused Australia of committing genocide (tweet pictured) 'Uighurs are suffering serious bodily and mental harm from systematic torture and cruel treatment, including rape, sexual abuse, exploitation, and public humiliation, at the hands of camp officials,' the US report states. Beijing has also accused Australia of 'meddling' in its affairs by granting former Hong Kong pro-democracy politician and activist Ted Hui Chi-fung a 12 month tourist visa. Mr Hui, 38, who is wanted by Beijing after fleeing Hong Kong while on bail touched down in Darwin this week, which sparked an angry response from the Chinese embassy in Canberra. It comes eight months after after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison first offered 'safe haven' visas for Hong Kong citizens of up to five years. The Global Times has published countless thinly-veiled swipes at Australia since Mr Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. The arrival of Ted Hui Chi-fung (pictured) in Darwin this week has sparked a new war of words between China and Australia Mr Hui is holed up in mandatory hotel quarantine after touching down in Darwin on Tuesday, three months after fled Hong Kong for London while he was free on bail on protest-related charges. The 38-year-old fled Hong Kong for Europe in December while he was free on bail on protest-related charges. He's one of few foreigners who's been allowed to enter Australia in the last 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Fui's arrival has prompted a furious response from the Chinese embassy. 'Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong, and every bit of Hong Kong affairs belongs to China's internal affairs, in which no other country has the right to interfere, an embassy spokesman told The Australian. 'The Chinese side urges the Australian side to stop meddling in Hong Kong's affairs and China's internal affairs in any way. Otherwise the China-Australia relations will only sustain further damage.' Mr Hui thanked the federal government for intervening after arriving on a flight from London with repatriating Australian citizens. The Global Times' editor-in-chief's controversial tweet comes in the wake of worldwide condemnation of the Chinese government's treatment of its Uighur minority. Pictured are supporters of the Muslim Uighur minority An international report has claimed Chinese government's treatment of Uighurs violated 'each and every act' prohibited by the United Nations' Genocide Convention. Pictured are supporters of China's Muslim Uighur minority in Istanbul, Turkey 'Honestly, it's very hard to get here because of the border closure,' Mr Hui told the ABC. 'I actually couldn't get any flights on the commercial market so I had to ask the Australian government for assistance and they were so kind for facilitating situations and they put me on the list and gave me the eligibility so that I could actually get on a repatriation flight with other Australians going home. He vowed to continue campaigning against the Chinese Communist Party. 'I believe it is an important move for free countries in the world to try and do that,' Mr Hui told The Australian. 'That is relatively more realistic for governments to consider, rather than getting into a trade war with Beijing. Of course, I will also be lobbying for less reliance on trade with Beijing.' Mr Hui added 'applying for asylum' in Australia 'would be my last option.' Pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung (pictured with a scuffle at the House Committee's election of vice chairpersons) fled Hong Kong in December while on bail Relations between the two trading partners have deteriorated since Mr Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Another recent scathing editorial in the Global Times accused Australia of being a part of 'US-centered, racist, and mafia-styled community' due to its intelligence ties with the likes of Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Australia is part of Five Eyes, a long running intelligence alliance with the three nations as well as New Zealand. The alliance was described as 'a fake international community with an axis of white supremacy' by the publication. 'They have formed a US-centred, racist, and mafia-styled community, willfully and arrogantly provoking China and trying to consolidate their hegemony as all gangsters do,' the scathing editorial states. 'They are becoming a racist axis aimed at stifling the development rights of 1.4 billion Chinese.' Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Lucknow, March 11 : The Congress will hold a two-day training camp for 155 block presidents of 11 districts on March 13 and 14 in Gorakhpur which, incidentally, is the constituency of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address the camp virtually and give success mantras to party workers and leaders. Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu will also participate in the camp. "This is an attempt to strengthen the party at an organisational level, Congress is constantly making efforts to connect with people from rural areas ahead of 2022 Assembly polls. Former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi also believed in empowering Gram Panchayats," said the state Congress chief. State Congress General Secretary Vishwa Vijay Singh said that the meeting will be attended by the chiefs of Varanasi, Azamgarh, Mau, Ballia, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddhartha Nagar and Basti districts. All the block presidents will be present during this camp and along with empowering Congress leaders at the ideological level, the history of the Congress, the role of the party in nation-building, the work of all the Prime Ministers from the party will also be discussed, he said. The Congress had launched the grassroots election plan in December last year, the implementation of which is being monitored closely by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Insiders revealed that the task which began with the appointment of Nyay Panchayat functionaries is now in the phase of appointment of village leadership. The ongoing farmer's agitation has given the party a chance to position itself as an option against the ruling BJP. Priyanka's movement in the state has increased while state Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu is touring the villages since the past four months now. In addition to this, party leaders, including former MPs, MLAs have been asked to hold activities in the rural areas and increase public interaction with groups like pradhans, farmers, self-help groups (SHGs), etc. "Performance in the Panchayat election would help the party in strengthening its negotiation capacity in the 2022 Assembly election," said a member of the strategy team. 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. MADISON, N.J., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Century 21 Real Estate LLC announced today its '2100 Cup' and International Hall of Fame (IHOF) award winners for 2021. The annual honors celebrate the 'very best of the best' CENTURY 21 System companies and relentless sales professionals who go above and beyond for homebuying and selling clients as well as the communities in which they live and work. The award winners, selected from submissions received by an internal review team of professionals from CENTURY 21 headquarters, are set to be virtually recognized today during the C21 brand's Celebrate21, a month-long event featuring educational sessions, weekly keynoters and relationship-building exercises. Introduced in 2000, the CENTURY 21 Art Bartlett 2100 Cup Award recognizes the brand's top companies who earn the highest quality service ratings, go above and beyond and deliver 121% to clients and to their communities. The award is named in honor of C21 founder, Art Bartlett, who along with his partner Marsh Fisher, were industry trailblazers who first introduced the real estate franchise model to the industry. The CENTURY 21 Dick Loughlin International Hall of Fame award recognizes system members who demonstrate a commitment to going above and beyond, giving 121% and delivering extraordinary experiences to homebuying and selling clients, to the community and to the CENTURY 21 brand. The 2100 Cup and IHOF award winners for 2021 are: 2100 Cup: CENTURY 21 Northland, Traverse City, Michigan CENTURY 21 Northland earned this recognition thanks to several achievements over the past year including: Leading in Quality Service Ratings with multiple office and individual recognitions Eight consecutive years of increased listings-taken per year Year-over-year increase in AGC and volume by 20% and sides by 6.6% Affiliated agent count growth by 25% Continued contributions to the community with participation in blood drives, highway clean ups, local holiday parades, Big Brother/Big Sister programs, and a range of social media programs and sponsorships International Hall of Fame: Lisa Myers, CENTURY 21 Champion Real Estate, Jacksonville, NC Lisa Myers has earned induction into C21 International Hall of Fame thanks to achievements including: Serving as a proud member of the CENTURY 21 System since 2007 System since 2007 Being named a two-time local REALTOR of the Year of the Year Recognition as a RealTrends top agent top agent Serving as a community activist whose volunteer work includes supporting the Knights of Columbus , Toys for Tots , Sandhills Children's Center , the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society , the Boys and Girls Club , the United Way , and The Salvation Army , , , the , the , the , and Her own dedication, since the tender age of 8, to taking special care of her brother, Christopher who has Spina Bifida and quickly earning the title, "best sister ever." International Hall of Fame: Rusty Lowe, CENTURY 21 Harvey Properties, Paris, TX Rusty Lowe earned the IHOF recognition with numerous successes including: Serving as a proud member of the CENTURY 21 System since 1998 Being recognized as a local REALTOR of the Year of the Year Achieving a multi-year #1 producer as an Accredited Land Consultant Serving as an unparalleled community activist who provides scholarships to kids, volunteers for the Boy Scouts of America and the Rotary Club and has raised significant dollars for the Paris Education Foundation and the Boy Scout Council and the and has raised significant dollars for the and the Tapping into his passion as an avid outdoorsman to protect land conservation, game management and private property rights. "There are no words that I can use to describe the impact these award winners have had on people's lives, their families and to the CENTURY 21 organization as a whole, except maybe, extraordinary," said Michael Miedler, president and chief executive officer of Century 21 Real Estate. "Everything that we do is aimed at helping our relentless sales professionals grow their businesses and achieve their greatest ambitions. It's inspiring to watch them take the resources our brand provides and leverage them to make such a huge impact in the communities they serve." To learn more about the CENTURY 21 value proposition, or to join the ranks of the relentless, please go to www.century21.com/about-us/contact. About Century 21 Real Estate LLC The approximately 145,000 independent sales professionals in approximately 13,000 offices spanning 86 countries and territories in the CENTURY 21 System live their mission every day: to defy mediocrity and deliver extraordinary experiences. By consistently chasing excellence, giving 121% and always elevating, the CENTURY 21 brand is helping its affiliated brokers/agents to be the first choice for real estate consumers and industry professionals worldwide. Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are century21.com, century21.com/global, century21.com/commercial, century21.com/finehomes and century21.com/espanol. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services. 2021 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21, the CENTURY 21 Logo and C21 are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. Contact: Peter L. Mosca Century 21 Real Estate LLC Phone: 973.407.5180 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Century 21 Real Estate LLC Related Links http://www.century21.com One of them is Russian aggression. U.S. Embassy Kyiv Charge d'Affaires Kristina Kvien has listed two main challenges that hinder the development of Ukraine. She announced this during her speech at the event of Open Ukraine: Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation, dedicated to the presentation of the document, titled: "Twelve Points to Strengthen the Strategic Partnership between the United States and Ukraine" at the Kyiv Security Forum on March 10. Read alsoRussia exploiting "frozen conflicts" to meddle in neighboring states Lithuanian intelligence The diplomat recalled that the Joe Biden Administration had confirmed that the United States remains committed to Ukraine as one of its closest partners and friends. The U.S. could help Ukraine address the "shared priorities of resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine and fighting the corruption that poses a significant obstacle to inclusive economic growth and Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration. She believes that, in addressing these priorities, President Volodymyr Zelensky has faced challenges. "On the peace process, Ukraine's attempts to reinvigorate negotiations have been blocked, largely by Russian intransigence. On the fight against corruption, we have witnessed persistent attacks by vested interests who seek to undermine independence and effectiveness of Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure in an effort to avoid accountability for their corrupt behavior," Kvien underlined. "These vested interests have also pursued a wide-ranging disinformation campaign here in Ukraine intended to discredit the reform agenda and Ukraine's western trajectory," she added. At the same time, despite challenges, this fact that certain key and long-sought reforms are advancing leaves the envoy encouraged. "Land reform is expected to be implemented this summer, for the first time creating a land market that will help unleash Ukraine's vast agricultural potential. Security Service reform has passed its first reading in parliament and the president has recently committed to pursuing comprehensive judicial reform a very necessary step to reduce corruption in Ukraine," said Kvien. The diplomat has assured that the U.S. will further work with Ukraine across the full spectrum of interests. "We have been working closely with Ukraine to develop and strengthen the independent institutions that are so important to maintaining and defending accountability in any democracy. From the National Bank to anti-corruption bodies, to the court system, the malign influence of vested interests cannot be curbed without strong, independent institutions," the diplomat stressed. Reporting by UNIAN Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. A boy was was hit by a tractor-trailer Thursday morning on a Cumberland County stretch of Interstate 81, Pennsylvania State Police said. Trooper Megan Ammerman said the boy was hit around 7:44 a.m. while he was standing outside a pick-up truck he was driving on I-81 north, near mile marker 50 in Middlesex Township. Police described the driver as a male juvenile but did not provide his age. Ammerman said she happened to be driving on I-81 north when she saw the crash, pulled over and called 911. She said the boy was taken to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center with moderate injuries. Ammerman said the reason why the boy was outside his truck is under investigation. She said any additional information on the crash will be released by the state polices Carlisle barracks. As of 9:15 a.m., a lane restriction remains in place on I-81 north near the crash scene about two miles south of the New Kingstown exit. READ MORE: How a registered sex offender in Harrisburg ran a basketball league, held Easter egg hunts for kids Pa. man with 20 previous arrests has been charged with killing his wife, 2 others (ANSA) - ROME, MAR 11 - Italian Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani told United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Italy is set to invest 80 billion euros in decarbonization over the next five years, the ministry said on Thursday. Cingolani said the investments would stem from the government's PNRR COVID-19 Recovery Plan financed with the help of close to 200 billion euros in EU grants and low-interest loans. Cingolani told Kerry, who has visited London, Brussels and Paris as part of a tour of Europe, that the investments would delivery cuts in emission levels of 55-60% by 2030. (ANSA). Defense Will DOD keep collaborating after CVR? The Department of Defense's Commercial Virtual Remote environment, spun up to accommodate telework in the COVID-19 pandemic, quickly became the largest Microsoft Teams deployment in the world -- and brought department-wide collaboration tools to DOD after years of less-successful attempts. DOD personnel have embraced the tools and the silo-spanning interactions they enable, but CVR was always intended as a temporary fix. So the Defense Information Systems Agency is working hard to ensure the collaboration doesn't fade when CVR sunsets in July. Les Benito, the director of operations for DISA's Cloud Computing Program Office, said that Global Directory is the key. Speaking at FCW and Defense Systems' March 10 event on Defense Readiness, Benito explained that the initiative will provide "a cloud-wide identity" as the military services spin up their own Microsoft 365 environments under the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) contract. DISA began developing Global Directory last summer, Benito said, with the goal of augmenting, not replacing, existing identity and access management systems. System owners "still control access within their individual tenancies," he stressed, but having a shared identity framework will allow for "a CVR-like experience that users have grown to expect." A minimum viable product was tested in the fall, and DISA is now using Global Directory for its "DOD365" implementation. The Army and Navy also are using it for their DEOS implementations, Benito said, with the Air Force and the U.S. Southern Command coming on board in April and "others to follow this summer." Even as 401(k) fees continue to decline the industry saw new fee litigation cases explode in 2020. This may be why many studies are showing a majority of employers are looking to review/benchmark their plan fees in 2021), said Joseph W. Valletta author of the 401k Averages Book. The new release of the 401k Averages Book 21st Edition shows the average total plan cost for a small retirement plan (100 participants/$5,000,000 assets) declined from 1.23% to 1.20% over the past year, while the average total plan cost for a large retirement plan (1,000 participants/$50,000,000 assets) declined from 0.91% to 0.90%. Even as 401(k) fees continue to decline the industry saw new fee litigation cases explode in 2020. This may be why many studies are showing a majority of employers are looking to review/benchmark their plan fees in 2021, while others are considering vehicles such as Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs), said Joseph W. Valletta author of the 401k Averages Book. Fee benchmarking is an important piece of the 401k governance process and the Averages Book is designed to help employers and their advisors with this step. Key Findings: Investment fees continue to decline: All scenarios saw a year over year decrease in total investment costs ranging between 0.02%-0.04%, with the average representing a decrease of 0.03%. Smaller plans pay higher fees than large plans: The small plan with $5,000,000 in assets costs 1.20%, while the plan with $50,000,000 in assets is 0.90%. 401(k) total plan costs declined for most size plans: 23 of 24 scenarios saw a decrease in total plan costs from last year, while the other one remained unchanged. Wide range between high and low-cost providers: The range of cost is greatest within the small plan market. The range of a plan with $1,000,000 in assets and 100 participants ($10,000 average account balance) is 0.68% to 2.73%. Infographics Included in the Book: The 401k Averages Book includes three easy to read infographics illustrating small plan costs. Each infographic shows the 5-year trend of total plan costs, range of per participant costs and other key data points. About 401k Averages Book Published since 1995, the 401k Averages Book (http://www.401ksource.com) is the only resource book available for non-biased, comparative 401(k) average cost information. It's designed to provide financial professionals with essential 401(k) cost information needed to determine if their 401(k) plan costs are above or below average. The 21st Edition of the 401k Averages Book is available for $95 and can be purchased by calling (888) 401-3089 or online at http://www.401ksource.com. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! We knew our responsibility was even greater than providing these essential maskswe wanted to help the most vulnerable members of the community as well. Feeding Americas COVID-19 Response Fund helps us do just that, said Harvey Kanter, DXL Big + Tall President and CEO. Destination XL Group, Inc., [OTCQX: DXLG] the largest omnichannel specialty retailer of big and tall men's clothing, announced today that it has donated more than $250,000 to Feeding Americas COVID-19 Response Fund, driven by a portion of sales from their protective face masks. The company, which began producing and selling masks in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, partnered with Feeding America as they focused their efforts to get needed food assistance and supplies to families hit hard by the pandemic. When COVID-19 took hold of the world, we wanted to help in any way that we could. DXL responded quickly by designing, producing and selling the much-needed protective face masks online and in our stores when they safely reopened, said Harvey Kanter, DXL Big + Tall President and CEO. But we knew our responsibility was even greater than providing these essential maskswe wanted to help the most vulnerable members of the community as well. Feeding Americas COVID-19 Response Fund helps us do just that during this difficult and unprecedented time. The Feeding America networka powerful and efficient network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries across the countryhelps provide more meals to children, families, and seniors than any other domestic hunger-relief organization. For more than 40 years, Feeding America has responded to the needs of individuals facing food insecurity in this country. Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 50 million people may experience food insecurity, including a potential 17 million children, according to Feeding America. Many households that experience food insecurity do not qualify for federal nutrition programs and need to rely on their local food banks and other hunger relief organizations for support. Millions sought help from food banks for the first time over the past year, and record demand for food continues into 2021, said Lauren Biedron, Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Feeding America. We are grateful to DXL Big + Tall for its commitment to help fight hunger in communities across the country. DXL Big + Tall is located in Canton, MA, has a history of philanthropy and helping out by answering the call to assist others in need. From their long-standing partnership with St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital to numerous local outreach efforts, the Company prides itself on social responsibility throughout its stores, home office, employees, customers and communities. About Destination XL Group Destination XL Group, Inc. is the largest retailer of mens apparel in sizes XL and up, with operations throughout the United States and Toronto, Canada. In addition to DXL Big + Tall retail and outlet stores, subsidiaries of Destination XL Group, Inc. also operate Casual Male XL retail and outlet stores, and an e-commerce site, including DXL.COM and the DXL mobile app. DXL.com and the DXL Mobile App offer a multi-channel solution similar to the DXL store experience with the most extensive selection of online products available anywhere for the XL guy. The Company is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, and its common stock is listed on the OTCQX market under the symbol "DXLG." Sizes start at 38 waist and XL including tall sizes, plus shoe sizes 10-16, in widths to 4E. For more information, please visit the Companys investor relations website: https://investor.dxl.com. About Feeding America Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 50 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit http://www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. 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. Dominic Pietrangelo, Founder of Landon Pacific Real Estate Premier service and unparalleled professionalism delivered with real, personal expertise is the cornerstone of my business. Traditional brokerages werent cutting it anymore Side gets it. Landon Pacific Real Estate today announced its partnership with Side, the only real estate brokerage that works exclusively with high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages to transform them into boutique brands and businesses. The alliance will ensure that Landon Pacific Real Estate, which binds together the professional and the personal to deliver the remarkable, is powered by the most advanced platform in the industry. Landon Pacific Real Estate was founded by Dominic Pietrangelo after he spent nine years as a top agent at the highest-producing offices of the largest national brokerages. His proven track record of success has made him a Los Angeles industry leader, and his humble and sensible nature has earned him a substantial client base rich with repeat clients and referrals. Landon Pacific specializes in delivering a uniquely curated home buying and selling experience. Partnering with Side will ensure that Landon Pacific Real Estate remains at the cutting edge of the evolving real estate market while allowing its agents to continue delivering premium services to their clients. Landon Pacific Real Estate agents are fully supported by a one-of-a-kind premium brokerage platform, which provides transaction management, property marketing, lead generation, business growth opportunities, vendor management, and infrastructure solutions. Premier service and unparalleled professionalism delivered with real, personal expertise is the cornerstone of my business, said Pietrangelo. Traditional brokerages werent cutting it anymore Side gets it. Its proven and comprehensive solutions will elevate the real estate experience for Landon Pacifics clients and agents. Side is led by experienced industry professionals and world-class engineers who develop technology designed to improve agent productivity and enhance the client experience. Based on its belief that homeownership is a fundamental human right, Side is on a mission to improve the public good by providing top-performing real estate agents, teams, and indie brokerages with the best system, support, service, experience, and results. About Landon Pacific Real Estate Landon Pacific Real Estate has built its reputation on proven methods that transform challenges into inspired solutions and the process into an empowering experience for its clients. The team possesses the insight and hard skills to hit the ground running and the attention and care to keep clients calm and confident from start to finish. Landon Pacific serves all of Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley. To learn more, visit http://www.landonpacific.com/. About Side Side transforms high-performing agents, teams, and independent brokerages into successful businesses and boutique brands that are 100% agent-owned. Side exclusively partners with the best agents, empowering them with proprietary technology and a premier support team so they can be more productive, grow their business, and focus on serving their clients. Side is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.sideinc.com. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. (Natural News) Since 2016, social media giants have increasingly engaged in censorship under the guise of preventing the spread of misinformation vetting and stigmatizing the content of reputable publishers while increasingly adding phony fact checks and removing articles flagged by left-leaning users without explanation, according to The Editorial Board at the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). (Article by Megan Redshaw republished from ChildrensHealthDefense.org) Now Big Tech and its self-anointed virus experts are silencing doctors with opposing views in an effort to shut down scientific debate, the WSJ said. The WSJ editorial board specifically called out Facebook for labeling an op-ed the paper ran in February as misleading. Heres what happened. On Feb. 19, the WSJ ran an opinion piece by Dr. Martin Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon, professor, published author and chief medical advisor to Sesame Care, a direct-to-patient healthcare company. In Well Have Herd Immunity by April, Makary wrote that based on studies and scientific evidence, Americans would have enough immunity from vaccination and natural infection by early spring to sharply reduce the spread of COVID. Facebook added the label Missing Context. Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people to Makarys article. The Facebook label linked to third-party fact-checking website Health Feedback, a member of the World Health Organizations Vaccine Safety Net, a vaccine project dedicated to correcting misinformation about vaccine safety on social media platforms. Three Health Feedback scientists analyzed the article and gave it an overall scientific credibility rating of very low, stating Misleading Wall Street Journal opinion piece makes unsubstantiated claims that the U.S would have herd immunity by April 2021. According to Facebook, once something is rated by a fact-checking partner, Facebook takes action to ensure fewer people see the misinformation. But the WSJ argued that Makary didnt present his opinion as a factual claim. He made a projection, like any other scientist, based on studies and data regarding herd immunity. The Facebook fact-checkers didnt like Makarys projection because it could lead to fewer virus restrictions. Health Feedbacks fact-checkers disagreed with Makarys evidence and his interpretation of it. They cherry-picked and misapplied studies to support their counter-opinions and masqueraded them as facts, the WSJ said. Scientists often disagree over how to interpret evidence, The Editorial Board wrote. Debate is how ideas are tested and arguments are refined. But Facebooks fact checkers are presenting their opinions as fact and seeking to silence other scientists whose views challenge their own. In December 2020, Facebook pledged to remove false claims about COVID vaccines that had been debunked by public health experts, though they didnt specify which public health experts, according to The Hill. Twitter followed suit saying it would label or place a warning on Tweets that advance unsubstantiated rumors, disputed claims, as well as incomplete or out-of-context information about vaccines. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states, who fear social media giants have too much control, have introduced legislation in an attempt to circumvent a federal law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, shielding social media companies from lawsuits over censorship of posts, the Associated Press reported. Although the statute exempts websites from being sued for removing content deemed to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing or otherwise objectionable as long as the companies are acting in good faith, social media companies like Facebook are using this statute to shield themselves from removing content thats anything but like Dr. Makarys opinion, the WSJ said. The WSJ has been hesitant to support proposals aimed at modifying Section 230 for platforms like Facebook, but social media giants are dominating public discourse acting like publishers, removing articles, adding phony fact checks and censoring other reputable publishers that would not be allowed without the protections of Section 230, the WSJ editorial board wrote. On Aug. 18, 2020, Childrens Health Defense (CHD) filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and several third-party fact-checkers for illegal censorship and fraudulently misrepresenting and defaming CHD. The complaint alleges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDC Foundation and WHO collaborate with Facebook and Zuckerberg in a joint action with the government to censor content. The complaint challenges the use of surrogate fact-checkers who are neither independent nor unbiased to suppress information and the deceptive technology Facebook uses to minimize reach and visibility of content. On Feb. 10, CHD Chairman Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.s Instagram account was deplatformed without notice. Mark Zuckerberg has publicly claimed that social media platforms shouldnt be the arbiters of truth but, as alleged in the CHD lawsuit, Zuckerberg is working with the government to suppress and purge unwanted critiques of government officials and policies. Read more at: ChildrensHealthDefense.org and Censorship.news. Investing in South LA Last summer, in response to the tragic death of George Floyd, millions took to the streets, calling for a drastic reimagining of how public safety is handled, with a critical eye on how, and to what extent, police departments are funded. Within this seminal moment was an appeal to reform the justice system and address the human conditions that law enforcement is trained to contend with but are hampered by the complexity, depth, and breadth of the problem. In response to the call to action and the Citys financial crisis, the Council proposed a $150 million cut to the LAPD budget and other policy proposals focused on improving public safety within the city. The Black and Brown Councilmembers representing predominantly communities of color take the safety and the funding of our communities very seriously. It is something our constituents demand, and we continuously fight for. During town halls and through conducted surveys on public safety, the community asked us to fund programs that ranged from street improvements to community safety programs. The proposal we have put forward as a council addresses their concerns utilizing our Community-Based Organizations to create job training and pathways that lead to permanent employment. These are not one-off projects, the reimagined funds are an investment towards proven strategies that contribute to the public safety of our communities. Changing business-as-usual means we are acting with an equity-informed perspective. The Council responded to survey results from thousands of constituents and a report from City departments that recommended allocating the remaining reinvestment money to Council Districts based on a needs assessment, which took into account poverty rates for each census tract. That report was approved by the Council and was vetoed by the Mayor. On Tuesday, we will vote to override this veto and use these funds to invest in reimagining public safety, the homeless crisis, and youth development. Funds will also be used for services that wealthy communities refer to as basic, yet we still have to fight for. ADVERTISEMENT A neighborhood becomes destabilized through sustained contact with a system of institutions that produce economic inequity and underfunded schools, and the Council intends to focus these funds in a manner that addresses these root causes of racial inequities and injustices. The funds made available to us create the opportunity to invest in projects that would immediately improve our residents quality of life. Street improvements will create safe pedestrian walkways and an environment less conducive to sex trafficking. Job training for homeless and formerly homeless youth that focuses on community beautification. Park improvements and safe passage in these spaces will support a stronger sense of community. All of these investments will contribute to safe, vibrant, and thriving communities. The recent spike in violence demonstrates that LAPD officers need community-based support to keep our neighborhoods safe. Now is the time to formalize the role Community Intervention Workers play in providing public safety. For decades these skilled and dedicated public servants have worked on call 24/7 and have proven to reduce gun violence through programs like the Community Safety Partnership and the Community Safety Initiative. These funds provide an opportunity to invest in their essential work and provide them with healthcare and PPE. As we said in the motion, the $150 million cut will not solve everything, but its a step in the right direction to become the city we aspire to be. The Council remains focused on prioritizing meaningful investments in disadvantaged communities and communities of color and broader discussions and actions around public safety. We have been presented with a moment to not return to business-as-usual. The decision to override the veto demonstrates that Council listened to what residents demanded in the summer of 2020. These funds will address decades of disinvestment in our communities, create employment pathways, and build the collaborative relationships necessary to truly reimagine public safety. I look forward to working with the Mayor and the other Councilmembers on these matters. Chandigarh, March 11 : Keeping in mind the hectic wheat harvesting season ahead, the agitating farmers staging one of the longest protests going on for 169 days on the railway tracks near Amritsar against the three Central farm laws on Thursday announced to end the agitation indefinitely. The farmers were staging a sit-in agitation at Jandiala Guru village on the Amritsar-Delhi rail link. Kissan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee leader Savinder Singh said they have decided to withdraw the railway blockade after a meeting of all the protesting farmer unions. Unlike the members of 30 farmer unions, the Kissan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee was adamant against plying of passenger trains. Owing to their protest, trains were made operational for Amritsar via Tarn Taran. Angry over the three farm laws, hundreds of farmers have been sitting on the borders of the national capital for more than 100 days now, demanding that the proposed laws should be repealed. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. First dates can be awkward. The pandemic merely upped the dating stress level last year, so Jewish St. Louis singles got creative. Consider the following: Mick Weltman met Paula Render on a dating app not long before the March 2020 shelter-in-place order. Their first date: a walk in the park, a safe six feet apart. Joel Portman met Alicia Bach via Ignite YPD, a group for young Jewish professionals, in February 2020.Their first date commenced via a very socially distant Zoom call. Matthew Baer and Sarah Sherer-Kohlburn at least had an in-person first date in 2020 just before the lockdown. Their dinner conversation at Sashas Wine Bar was admittedly a bit macabre. We somehow managed to spend 30 minutes talking about various methods of murder, which is very odd for a first date, said Baer, 35. Weltman, 68, is a St. Louisan now living in Chicago, where he is executive director of Associated Colleges of Illinois. He met Render, a lawyer, on Match.com. ADVERTISEMENT Our first date was in Lincoln Park toward the end of March, said Render, 58. We just walked around the park and talked because we couldnt go inside anywhere. With pandemic dating, its important to meet in person. You get more of a sense of a person than you do on Zoom. At a certain point, you realize that youre in each others bubble and you can hang out at each others house and watch movies. Another tip for pandemic dating from Weltman is to think outside the box when coming up with things to do. They both enjoy travel, but that wasnt going to happen last year. Each weekend, one of us selects a country wed like to visit, Weltman said. We put together some videos and facts and interesting things about that country that we can imagine going to. Thats been a lot of fun. Portman, 33, faced a common pandemic dating dilemma in last year. There was no easy way to meet new people. If youre using a dating app and filtering it for someone whos Jewish, youre lucky to find someone who you dont already know or havent gone out with before, Portman said. Prepandemic, the easiest way to meet people was to go to a Jewish Federation YPD (Young Professionals Division) event. Portman, who works at Centene, finally did meet his now-girlfriend Alicia Bach in person, but initially there were plenty of virtual meetings, texts and phone calls. It was kind of like long-distance dating without really being long distance, because were in the same city, he said. Right after the lockdown ended on May 31, we went on our first date. I said, Lets go to a park and sit and talk and get a bottle of wine. I brought two blankets because I wasnt even sure she would sit next to me because of COVID. It felt weird because, if I show up with two blankets, is she going think I dont want to sit next to her? Bach, 32, is a pediatric oncology fellow from Dallas, so she didnt have a built-in St. Louis network like Portman did, who grew up here. They both have negotiated the oddities of pandemic dating without a hiccup, he said. Its been really nice because were in this little bubble, Portman said. You get to know this other person really well. But usually prepandemic, you might go to some fancy event, and there are none. I have met some of her friends, but I dont even know if I could tell you what they look like because they all had face masks on. Baer is a neurology specialist at the Washington University School of Medicine. His busy work schedule and the pandemic made dating a frustrating experience. My anxiety was kind of high at the time, so nobody was meeting in person, he said. I did a couple of virtual dates. They didnt turn into anything. I think of myself as being very traditional or old fashioned, and I hate the idea of meeting somebody through online dating. Fresh out of ideas and prospects, he tried the JSwipe app, where he hit paydirt, meeting criminal defense lawyer Sherer-Kohlburn, 32. They are both Jewish, which is important to Baer, but he said the key to their successful relationship is compatibility. I firmly believe every relationship has a compromise, and I genuinely cannot find one in ours, he said. I assumed that I was going to be frustrated and single for a long time and that someday the right person would just fall into my life by some unexpected means and thats exactly what happened. Things ended up pretty well for Baer and Sherer-Kohlburn: Theyre engaged and planning a fall 2022 wedding. The successful dating experiences of Weltman, Portman and Baer notwithstanding, the pandemic has thrown a monkey wrench into the social lives of Jewish singles, according to a Brandeis University study from August. It demonstrated that younger respondents had more trouble coping with the psychological effects of the pandemic. An estimated 10,000 single Jewish young adults live in the St. Louis area, according to Rabbi Yossi Abenson, emissary of Chabad of the Central West End. Abenson said those singles are definitely feeling the effects of COVID in their social lives. What I get from talking to them is a perception that there arent enough people to date because there are so many silos in St. Louis, said Abenson, 28. We dont believe that. We think we can tap into that group, and were working on programs to bring them together. The Abensons (Yossi and his wife/co-emissary Goldie) spearheaded an online effort late last year to help single Jews meet. They also coordinated a Hanukkah event intended as a drive-through to pick up a menorah and candles, which turned into an impromptu meetup. Afterward, Abenson received a number of phone calls from Jewish CWEers who asked him for the names and contacts of singles they met. Since everyone was wearing face masks and standing six feet apart, it was challenging to exchange phone numbers. One St. Louis Jewish single in the young professional group is real estate agent and weight loss social media personality Jennifer Matus. Her @LosingTheJiggleWithJen has a combined 40,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. Matus also chronicles the challenges of dating on her Facebook page. For me, dating was a nightmare even before COVID happened, said Matus 34. Its definitely made it harder and added a serious challenge because everyones comfort level is different. Also, everyone has lost a sense of real connection and the only way to meet people anymore is on dating apps. The difficult thing with the dating apps is its hard to find someone who is loyal or committed and really does want a relationship. I find nine times out of 10, when I get matched, when you ask the guy, what are you looking for, theyre going to tell me they want something casual. I know other people are experiencing the same things. I had dinner with a friend, and she had been dating someone about three months. He abruptly ended it without much of an explanation. The dating challenges of COVID-19 has also been evident to Jewish St. Louis matchmaker Paula Sparks. She did have one successful match last year, a couple who met and is now engaged. That puts her career scorecard at 22 couples married, one engaged, 13 dating for years, three widows and 18 Jewish children born from couples she introduced. I usually have one really big event a year, and I didnt have anything in 2020, said Sparks, 51. The pandemic was not a good dating situation. You just have to be a little more creative and plan ahead. When you go on Zoom, dress up, do your hair, put makeup and jewelry on. Men should wear a shirt and tie. The good thing about FaceTime and Zoom is you dont have to wear a face mask, so you can actually see each other. Sojitz and Vinamilk will import beef to cover growing consumption demand in Vietnam The joint venture named Japan Vietnam Livestock Co., Ltd. will be capitalised at $2 million. Equity ownership will be split 49 per cent to Sojitz and 51 per cent to VILICO. The joint venture is considering importing beef from such areas as Japan, North America, and Australia. Vietnams annual beef consumption is currently close to 500,000 tonnes and is expected to increase as income levels rise and population growth continues the countrys population reached 98 million in 2020. Vinamilk is Vietnams largest dairy manufacturer whose main business involves dairy farms and the production of dairy products. Vinamilk Group conducts sales both in Vietnam and overseas, and the company has established a strong business foundation through the safe and reliable supply of dairy products. Sojitz is involved in a wide range of businesses in Vietnam, which span fertiliser production, feed production, flour milling, food wholesale, prepared food production, convenience store operations, and cold chain logistics. In Japan, Sojitzs fully-owned subsidiary, Sojitz Food Corporation, handles the import and sale of North American and Australian beef, as well as marketing for livestock-related business through its marketing company, Meat One Corporation. Sojitz will work together with its strategic partner, Vinamilk, to leverage its major business presence and sales network along with Sojitzs knowhow of livestock product sales. Through the establishment of this joint venture, Sojitz and Vinamilk intend to together provide a safe and reliable supply of high-quality beef products to the Vietnamese market. Sojitz aims to build a stable supply system for protein (one of the three macronutrients) in Vietnam and Southeast Asia via this beef sales business, which will serve as a starting point for greater collaboration with Vinamilk Group across Sojitzs many businesses in Vietnam. GREENWICH The COVID-19 vaccination program in Greenwich is running extremely well and can handle any increase in demand in coming weeks as more residents become eligible for vaccines, a Greenwich Hospital official said Wednesday afternoon. Things are going really well, said Diane Kelly, hospital president. Greenwich Hospital is not looking to expand to more sites because were not running at full capacity every day of the week at our existing (vaccine) locations at its West Putnam Avenue office and the Brunswick School campus in King Street. The only limitation to us running at full capacity is having the vaccine in hand, Kelly said. We will be able to ramp up as soon as we get more doses and when we do get them, we flex our schedule immediately. The federal government is increasing the allocations of the vaccines to Connecticut, which distributes them to municipalities such as Greenwich and health systems such as Yale New Haven, she said, as the town continues to see a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases. Everybody is so happy to be able to get an appointment and so grateful when we see them, she said. Three different vaccines are currently available. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two doses, while the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine needs only one shot. When residents reserve a time to get the vaccine with Yale New Haven Health System, the website indicates which vaccine will be administered. Residents are happy to receive any vaccine, Kelly said. The real proof is how quickly we are filling all our appointments. Its very clear when youre signing up for a day of Johnson & Johnson and those are going as fast as any other appointment for the other kinds of vaccines, she said. Were not seeing any kind of hesitancy. For local vaccinations, the town of Greenwich continues to operate its clinic three days a week at Town Hall, Director of Health Caroline Baisley said. And Family Centers Inc. runs its clinic weekdays at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center. Coronavirus in town As of Wednesday, there were 106 coronavirus cases in town considered active by the town Department of Health, which is down 29 cases from last week. And another resident has died after being diagnosed with the virus, bringing the towns death toll to 83 in the past year. Overall, 4,123 coronavirus cases have been reported in Greenwich since the pandemic began a year ago, but the rate of new cases has slowed in recent weeks, according to local officials. As of Wednesday, Greenwich Hospital was treating 14 patients with COVID-19, down from 21 hospitalized on March 3 and 28 on Feb. 24, Kelly said. Two COVID patients were in the intensive care unit, she said. We are trending in the right direction, Kelly said. These numbers continue to trend down so we are remaining very hopeful. We are also seeing the number trend down the Yale New Haven Health System, so its all good news. With the positive trend in the coronavirus numbers, Greenwich Hospital is now allowing limited visitors for non-COVID patients. Visiting hours available from 2 to 6 p.m., with patients allowed one visitor per day. Visitors must check in at the hospitals main desk and be cleared of any risk factors. The hospitals visitation policy will be reopened in phases, Kelly said. Continue with safety precautions Despite the high demand for vaccinations and the lower number of cases, the town and Greenwich Hospital continue to urge residents to take precautions by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, washing hands and wiping down surfaces to keep the virus from spreading. With warmer weather this week, residents are enjoying the towns outdoor dining. And last week, Gov. Ned Lamont announced that restrictions on capacity limits will be eliminated as of March 19 at restaurants, gyms, museums, houses of worship, retail stores and more, but mask wearing and social distancing will still be required. We dont want people to end up getting a false sense of security just because they have a vaccine, said Barbara Heins, executive assistant to the first selectman. People still need to follow the protocols. We want people to go out and enjoy the nice weather were having but also be cognizant that this is not going away any time soon and we do need to follow what weve been doing for the past year. To sign up for a vaccination at Greenwich Hospital, visit www.nhhs.org/covidvaccine. For an appointment at the town or Family Centers clinic, visit dphsubmissions.ct.gov/onlinevaccine. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has welcomed an upcoming visit of the EU mediator in the talks with the opposition to calm the current political tension in the country. Garibashvili said the Georgian government appreciates the EUs engagement in the process and that the ruling party is ready to continue a constructive dialogue. "We are sure that the EU mediators participation in the process will help the conduct of a constructive dialogue. I want to say one more time that the ruling party is ready to continue a constructive dialogue and we fully share the recommendation and advice of the European Council that the parties should come to an agreement in the fastest manner," Agenda.ge cited him as saying. He stated that coming to an agreement is important for the normal functioning of the state legislature and for a normal political situation in the country. The European Council President Charles Michel has mandated Christian Danielsson to lead a EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia to help the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition come to an agreement on the issue of repeat parliamentary elections and the release of the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia. The dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition resumed during the recent visit of the European Council President Charles Michel to Georgia on March 1. Despite ironclad moves taken by appropriate agencies, the trafficking and illegal transport of tigers to make tiger bone glue remains a burning issue in Vietnam. On January 19, the Ha Tinh Police for Economic Crimes and Huong Son district Police for Environmental Crimes raided the house of Dinh Nhat Nghe, born in 1972, in Quang Diem commune and found a dead tiger weighing 250 kilograms. Nghe and Nguyen Thi Yen, his wife, are being investigated for illegally storing and butchering wild animals. They were allegedly making tiger bone glue for sale. In July 2019, Nguyen Huu Hue, born in 1967 in Nghe An, was caught red-handed when carrying seven frozen tigers. Hue is well known as the leader of the ring which trafficked and transported tigers and wild animals across countries for many years. The police many times had tried to break Hues ring, but the godfather got off the hook. He set up a building material trading company as cover for his tiger and wild animal trafficking. In early January 2020, the Hanoi Peoples Court gave him a 6-year jail term. On September 14, 2019, Nguyen Nhat Hong, 37, and Nguyen Thai Chien, 27, in Huong Son, Ha Tinh were caught carrying one live tiger, weighing 240 kilograms in an iron cage. The two individuals carried the tiger from Nghe An to deliver to Nguyen Van Minh, 49, in Hong Hai ward of Ha Long City in Quang Ninh. After being arrested, Minh declared that he bought the tiger from a man named Trinh in Nghe An to cook bone glue, and hired Nhat and Chien to carry to Cam Pha City. At Minhs home, agencies found and seized two skeletons, 12 sets of skulls, 3 sets of skin and materials and tools to make glue. Prior to that, on November 6, 2017, Bim Son Town Police caught Le Van Trung, born in 1981, residing in Nghi Hai ward of Cua Lo Town, illegally carrying a 300 kilogram live tiger. Trung said the tiger was carried from Nghe An to Hanoi for consumption. On June 6, 2018, when examining the car driven by Hoang Van Thien, born in 1991, in Quynh Thanh commune of Quynh Luu district, on 7A Highway, appropriate agencies discovered five dead tigers. The driver said the tigers belonged to Bui Van Hieu, born in 1992 in Quynh Thanh commune of Quynh Luu district. Education of Nature Vietnam (ENV), from January 2019 to June 2020, recognized over 650 cases of tiger-related violations. The violations include the advertisement, storage and trading of tiger bone glue, live and frozen tigers, and tiger organs. Trading tigers and products from tigers under all forms is prohibited by Vietnamese laws. However, the black market is still bustling. The tiger bone glue prices vary in the black market. In many cases, buyers get fake bone glue. VTC News quoted T, a well known name in Dien Chau district of Nghe An province, which is called the central regions tiger bone glue metropolis, as saying that the cost is no less than VND20 million for every 0.1 kilogram of bone glue. A 150 kilogram tiger can create 4 kilograms of bone glue. Traditional medicine in Southeast Asia uses tiger bone glue. People raise tigers in captivity to slaughter and make the glue. They believe the glue can cure all problems related to bone and joints in humans. However, international scientists affirm that there is no evidence of thede effects of tiger bone glue. The unfounded belief on miraculous medicinal properties of tiger bone glue has put wild species in danger of extinction in Asia. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Vietnam now has no more than 7 tigers existing in the wild, while the figure was over 100 in 2001. Dr Van Ngoc Thinh said in Dan Viet that the trafficking of tigers and tiger-made products from bone, skin, to tiger claws is the main reason that tigers in Vietnam are on the verge of extinction. Since 1997, there has been no evidence about tiger reproduction in the wild in Vietnam. Education of Nature Vietnam (ENV), from January 2019 to June 2020, recognized over 650 cases of tiger-related violations. The violations include the advertisement, storage and trading of tiger bone glue, live and frozen tigers, and tiger organs. A survey by UNODC found that tigers used to make bone glue in Vietnam are mostly raised tigers. As of July 2020, there were more than 12,000 tigers at tiger raising establishments all over the world. These included 6,057 tigers in China, while the remaining were in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. A report from TRAFFIC released on September 3, 2020 showed that Vietnam is a key country trafficking tiger parts before slipping in China. Experts said that as tiger trafficking is becoming more sophisticated with many cross-country trafficking rings, Vietnam needs to strengthen international cooperation to trace the crime rings. The Prime Ministers recent decision to stop importing wild animals has been hailed as a good sign in preventing illegal trade of wildlife and tiger supply from neighboring countries. Hanh Nguyen Travel agencies pledge to protect Vietnams wildlife Representatives from 30 tour operators and travel agencies recently signed a pledge to support responsible tourism, nature conservation and wildlife protection during a training workshop at Cat Tien National Park. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With President Biden poised to sign the nearly $2 trillion stimulus bill law, eligible Americans are only days away from receiving the first batch of $1,400 payments the third stimulus check sent during the COVID-19 pandemic. ATAX, a year-round income tax preparation business serving the individual tax payer and business owner, is here to help millions of Americans understand the complexities of the third stimulus payment and how to best navigate the process. With nearly 60 locations nationwide, ATAX aims to provide increased services and advice to the general population and Hispanic community through in-person and online services. "We are a community partner, not just another chain here to file your taxes therefore, we will continue to advise those who seek out our help," said ATAX President, Alberto Ortiz. "We launched with the mission to educate our Hispanic communities on financial terms and proceedings that may impact their personal or professional lives, and with the economy changing minute by minute, we will continue to make ourselves available to answer and act on their questions." Who is eligible & how much are the payments? The full $1,400 payments are slated to go to those with adjusted gross incomes of up to $75,000 for individuals, $112,500 for heads of households, and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. The payments are reduced for those with income above those thresholds. Specifically, zero for single filers at $80,000, heads of household at $120,000, and $160,000 for married couples. New this time around is that dependents of all ages are eligible for payments. Previous checks only included those under 17-years-old. Taxpayers will now also receive $1,400 for each dependent. This will include millions of college students, disabled adults, and elderly Americans. The other change to eligibility includes all "mixed-status households" with one or more family members who aren't U.S. citizens for example, parents who aren't U.S. citizens, but their U.S.-born children are. Will the IRS use my 2019 or 2020 taxes to calculate my stimulus payment? The IRS will base your total on income from either your 2020 or 2019 tax return, whichever it has on hand when it determines the size of your payment. If you qualify for the full $1,400 based on your 2020 taxes, but your check total was lower because the IRS based it on your 2019 taxes, you'd have to claim the difference. What is the fastest way to get it? The fastest way to collect the stimulus check is through direct deposit bank account information already on file with the IRS. Those individuals could receive their checks within two weeks of the legislation getting finalized. Mailed debit card and paper check payments would likely arrive later. Also, if you file your taxes sooner, you can get a refund - plus missing stimulus money - faster than if you file a tax extension. What do if you haven't received previous stimulus checks? Many Americans are still waiting on the $600 stimulus checks authorized in December 2020 and some did not receive the first, $1,200 stimulus checks sent out in spring 2020. It is important for those individuals to know that the money is still available in the form of a tax credit, but you must file a tax return in order to claim it. What about unemployment benefits? Unemployment benefits will be extended through September 6 and include a $300/week federal supplement. Federal income taxes will be waived for the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 for households that made $150,000 or less; helping to lower tax bills for those individuals. The overall mission of ATAX is to educate and dispel fear that may surround the expansive and detailed financial systems in the United States. To find your nearest ATAX location, please visit https://atax.com/locations. ATAX also offers 24/7 tax support through its online tax filing service, ATAX Live, which allows you to prepare taxes online, and walk through the documents via video chat with a professional prior to submitting. About ATAX Based in New York, ATAX is a year-round tax preparation and business services franchise that services clients in both Spanish and English. Founded in 1986 by Rafael Alvarez with $200, two computers, and a fax machine, ATAX has grown to operate 59 locations throughout the United States. Most recently, ATAX ranked #439 in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Placement in the Franchise 500 is a highly sought-after honor in the franchise industry, making it one of the most competitive rankings. Additionally, ATAX was named a 2020 Top Franchise by Franchise Business Review. For more information on ATAX, please visit https://atax.com/; to find out more about ATAX franchising, visit https://ataxfranchise.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: Alberto Ortiz, ATAX, 386.916.0955 or [email protected] SOURCE Loyalty Brands Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. 3/3/2021 COVID-19 status level 2 GREEN - LOCALIZED For the most up to date information, check the COVID-19 case dashboard. THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Save the date for One Day, One Dayton Join the Flyer community for this year's day of giving on Wednesday, April 14! Together, we will raise funds for scholarships, hands-on learning experiences, student research, and additional support for our students' physical, mental and spiritual health. Learn more at your.udayton.edu/1d1d. Classroom capacities for fall; summer/fall schedules viewable soon UD plans to return to more traditional in-person instruction without classroom capacity restrictions for the fall 2021 semester, depending upon pandemic conditions and public health guidance. Course registration starts soon, with seating limits returning to pre-pandemic levels. Decisions about other safety protocols also are dependent on the state of the pandemic and public health guidance, and will be made before classes start in August. Summer/fall schedules will be viewable on Porches on March 8. Students should check Porches for their registration time tickets. Quick, on-campus COVID-19 tests for students Students can be tested on campus if they think they could have COVID-19 or are a close contact. The UD Student Health Center (937-229-3131) offers point-of-care testing with results available in about 15 minutes. All tests must be scheduled; no walk-ins accepted. Find info on the Student Health Center webpage. If a student tests positive at any on- or off-campus location or is a close contact of someone who tests positive, the student must fill out UD's COVID-19 reporting form. If a student has recently tested negative for COVID-19, they still are required to wear face coverings, maintain physical distancing and avoid large gatherings. Negative tests are only snapshots of that moment of time and one negative result does not protect you against contracting the virus. ACADEMICS Apply for August graduation March 15 is the last day for undergraduate students to apply for August 2021 graduation. Travel guidelines for University-sponsored travel remain for summer term UD will maintain its current travel guidance for University-sponsored travel throughout the summer term. The U.S. Department of State, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and International SOS continue to recommend against non-essential travel to most international and domestic travel locations. UD will assess fall travel in June. Questions can be directed to travel@udayton.edu. Campus printing - now from your mobile device! UDs campus printers now support mobility print, a feature that lets you send files from your iOS or Android phone to any student FlyerPrint printer across campus. Find directions for configuring your device at Getting Started with Campus Printing at UD. Students needed for leadership study UD is participating in a research study to provide insights on leadership development and learning needs of college students. Student responses will help UD measure how our school compares to peer institutions and allow researchers to better understand college experiences in and out of the classroom. Randomly selected undergraduate students will receive an email invitation. Please support UD's participation in this multi-institutional study by responding. FAITH AND MISSION The Busy Person's Retreat: Exploring Lent Exploring Lent invites members of the UD community to explore the Lenten season in the busy-ness of their daily lives. Participants will be provided with weekly content that invites them to engage in at least 30 minutes of personal prayer and may also meet with a spiritual companion once a week for the duration of Lent. Registration is open at tinyurl.com/RegisterUDRetreats. Participants can register at any time during Lent. On being Catholic, anti-racist and pro-life Gloria Purvis, the former host of the EWTN radio show "Morning Glory," and Our Sunday Visitors Catholic of the Year for 2020, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, on "The Gift of Blackness and the Dignity of Life: On Being Catholic, Anti-Racist, and Pro-life." Purvis' pro-life and racial justice advocacy is rooted in her deep Catholic faith and the church's teaching on the inherent dignity of the human person. Find more info and the Zoom link here. Marianist vocation discernment retreat Have you ever wondered if Jesus is calling you to Marianist religious life? Do you wonder what that would look like? If so, join a virtual discernment retreat March 5-7 for input, conversation, times for prayer/reflection and time away from Zoom. UD students can register at tinyurl.com/RegisterUDRetreats, Non-UD students can register at tinyurl.com/MarianistRetreat2021. Questions can be directed to Sister Nicole Trahan, FMI. HEALTH AND WELLNESS New FAQ page highlights COVID-19 vaccine questions Find info about questions and answers on this new FAQ page that address vaccine effectiveness, ingredients and side effects, plus how to get the vaccine, the Catholic church's position on receiving the vaccine, and safety steps people should continue after receiving the vaccine to protect the community. If you have received your full COVID-19 vaccine, please upload your vaccination record to the COVID-19 Health Reporting site. Building herd immunity through vaccine The Mayo Clinic says herd immunity, or community immunity, happens when enough people become immune to an infectious disease through vaccination or prior illness to make its spread from person to person unlikely. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect you by creating an immune system response without having to experience sickness and is key to reaching herd immunity. ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS Join Karen Spina for the 5K Run/Walk for student success Register to run or walk the One Day, One Dayton 5K April 10-14 and 100% of your gift will go to the UD Fund to support the success of our students through scholarships, gap expenses, emergency aid, and additional mental, physical and spiritual health opportunities. Gifts of $60 or more will receive a 1D1D T-shirt. Register now through April 6. UD Community Corps hosts food insecurity webinar, seeks applications Join a virtual event 12:15-1:30 p.m. March 8 discussing hunger and food insecurity in Dayton. RSVP here by March 7. Also, UD Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program, is recruiting students for this summer and the 2021-22 academic year. AmeriCorps members provide out-of-school educational activities and social-emotional support for Dayton families. Members receive living allowances and are eligible for a Segal Education Award. For more information and to apply visit the UD Community Corps website. For questions, email americorps@udayton.edu. Peace, Literature, Democracy: Dayton Literary Peace Prize A Humanities Commons virtual panel discussion at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, will connect students, faculty, and staff to UD's partnership with the Dayton Literary Peace Prize focusing on the works of Margaret Atwood, recipient of the 2020 Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. Register for the event or email associate professor Elizabeth Mackay with questions. Uniquely UD: Flyer Consulting Students, staff and community stakeholders will discuss how Flyer Consulting is providing technical assistance to small businesses and nonprofits through the Greater West Dayton Incubator and through a microloan program in Nairobi, Kenya. Register here for more information and to receive the Zoom link for the March 10 virtual event. Student News Digest Every Wednesday, the University news and communications team will share news to help you stay connected. Previous issues of Student News Digest are archived at go.udayton.edu/flyerfamilies. TAMPA A 20-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting a man Sunday after an argument, deputies say. Ledsuy Sanchez Sanchez faces charges of second-degree murder, attempted murder with a firearm and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office. Deputies said they received a report at 7 a.m. Sunday that someone had been shot and wounded in the 4000 block of W Broad Street, in a neighborhood near AdventHealth Carrollwood hospital on N Dale Mabry Highway. The wounded person suffered one gunshot to the upper body, deputies said. They were taken to the hospital for medical treatment, but later died of their injuries. Sanchez and the wounded person knew each other, according to the Sheriffs Office, and got into an argument before the shooting. After the shooting, deputies say Sanchez twice tried to tamper with the firearm and hide other evidence. He was arrested that day and booked into the Hillsborough County jail, records show. The second-degree murder charge was added on Wednesday. He is being held without bail. Since she became a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislative body of China, the rural cultural sector has always been a focus of her work. Ma Huijuan is an author living in the countryside of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In recent years, she published multiple books about the poverty alleviation stories in Xihaigu, a largely mountainous region in Ningxia once inflicted by deep poverty and labeled the "most unfit place for human settlement" by the United Nations in the 1970s. "Reading and writing changed my life, so I want reading to change the lives of other rural residents," she said. Ma lives in Hongsibu District, Wuzhong in central Ningxia. It is a settlement area of ecological migration projects for poverty alleviation. After years of ecological development and construction, forest coverage in the district surged from less than 5 percent to today's 39 percent, and the per capita annual disposable income of rural residents also spiked to nearly 10,000 yuan ($1,537) from 500 yuan. "Poverty alleviation is not only about materials, but also cultural and ethical progress," Ma noted, adding that it's a great time to advance cultural and ethical construction given the remarkable progress achieved in poverty alleviation. Three years ago, Ma received a message from a rural resident complaining about the insufficient rural libraries. Upon investigation into the cultural construction in her hometown, Ma discovered the dated facilities at some county-level libraries and cultural clubs. Such cultural services were even absent in some places, she found. Therefore, she collected nearly 10,000 books and established a rural reading club in her village, calling on villagers, especially women to read books and learn what was happening in the outside world. She also organized a group that taught illiterate villagers to read. "There were only 20 members at first, including two illiterate ones," Ma recalled, saying that made her better realize what was on her shoulders. In recent years, the book club has become a place where she fulfills her duties as an NPC deputy. There, she always gives lessons to the villagers and helps them to learn more general knowledge. Sometimes she would explain to the villagers how knowledge can build one's future with her personal experiences, to encourage them to study and pursue their dreams. Besides, she also exchanges ideas with the villagers to learn about their needs for intellectual and cultural activities. Under the guidance of Ma, more and more villagers are placing high importance on literacy education. "I couldn't even write my name, or keep accounts of my shop," said Ming Xiaolan, a frequent participant of Ma's reading club from Chaoyang Village of Hongsibu District. She said she was glad that she finally recognized characters, which was like a dream coming true. Yang Furong from Yuchi Village is a skilled hat weaver who knows nothing about marketing. Now, she comes to the reading club every day, saying she will open an online store once she's literate enough. Now, Ma is planning to promote the reading club mode across Hongsibu District, to create more opportunities for residents to study and communicate. She's also focusing on rural cultural and ethical progress during this year's "two sessions," hoping to both increase the wealth and enrich the knowledge of rural residents during the process of rural revitalization. Ma Huijuan (R) teaches a villager to write at her reading club, May 8, 2020. [Xinhua/Feng Kaihua] Ma Huijuan (2nd, L) teaches a villager to write at her reading club, May 8, 2020. [Xinhua/Wang Peng] (Source: People's Daily Online) More people travelling and going back to their workplaces could increase coronavirus infection levels in coming weeks, public health experts in Ireland said. Progress in reducing infection rates has stalled while the country remains at Level 5 restrictions. About 60% of people are going to work compared with a quarter during the first lockdown. Another 10 people have died with Covid-19 in Ireland, Nphet has said, as it called for a few more months of effort. Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: Now is not the moment to take the foot off the brake. A further 592 cases were confirmed. NPHET Statement: The @hpscireland has today been notified of 10 additional deaths related to #COVID19. 8 deaths occurred in March, 1 in February, 1 in January. Median age was 75 years & age range 0-84 years. There has been a total of 4,509 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. Department of Health (@roinnslainte) March 11, 2021 Professor Philip Nolan, modelling the spread of the disease for the Government, said: We are seeing continued, slow progress across all indicators of Covid-19. There are some concerning trends in the data and as the incidence remains high, our situation is precarious. Increases in mobility and workplace attendance could potentially increase infection in the coming weeks. The R number rate of reproduction of the virus is estimated as stable, at 0.6-1. Professor Nolan added: At the minute the number of close contacts for confirmed cases remains low. That mobility is not necessarily turning into high-risk close contacts. "Today marks 1 year since we reported Irelandas first death related to #COVID19. More than 4,500 people have lost their lives with this disease..." Deputy Chief Medical Officer @ronan_glynn Department of Health (@roinnslainte) March 11, 2021 He said there was a high degree of uncertainty. It is essential over the next few weeks that we stay home, continue to limit our contacts and suppress transmission. He added: We are seeing that increase in mobility. People are staying at home less and more people are present in workplaces. Last April only a quarter of employees attended as normal that has risen to 60%. Professor Nolan added: Any deviation right now from staying at home, work from home and be very careful when you have to leave the home, puts the achievements of the last six to eight weeks at risk. "We remember them, their families and friends, as well as the many people who remain seriously ill or who are dealing with long-term health issues because of #COVID19." @ronan_glynn Department of Health (@roinnslainte) March 11, 2021 The number of daily hospital admissions is running at around 20-30. The 359 people in hospital at present is higher than the highest number in October. Professor Nolan added: It is a very high number, higher than we saw at any other point in the pandemic except for April. Thursday marks one year since medics reported Irelands first death related to Covid-19. More than 4,500 people have lost their lives with this disease. Nursing Home Update! From 22nd March residents will be able to have 2 visits each week where there is high vaccine coverage in the Nursing Home @NursingHomesIre @DonnellyStephen @roinnslainte pic.twitter.com/L4EAgkXT6D Mary Butler TD (@MaryButlerTD) March 11, 2021 On Thursday NPHET endorsed new guidance which allows for more regular nursing home visiting. The new guidance comes into effect from March 22. Professor Martin Cormican, clinical lead for antimicrobial resistance and infection control at the HSE, said: Under the new guidance, residents may be facilitated to receive two visits per week on general compassionate grounds. This will be possible following two weeks after a high proportion of residents and healthcare workers have been vaccinated. There is no requirement to limit visits to less than one hour. Nursing home residents have been particularly affected by the severity of restrictions. Professor Cormican added: Thanks to vaccination we are delighted to be in a position to recommend new guidance and hopefully relieve residents and their families of some of the isolation they have endured for so long. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 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. Janhvi Kapoor's horror comedy Roohi released in theatres today (March 11, 2021). The film also stars Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma in pivotal roles. While the film has been receiving mixed reviews from the critics and the audience, papa Boney Kapoor is all proud of his daughter. The producer who recently watched the film at a screening, got all emotional while talking about Janhvi's performance in Roohi. Boney told Spotboye that he was happy with the film and was quoted as saying, "It goes into the horror-comedy genre. It has genuinely scary and genuinely LOL moments. Audiences would either have a good laugh over the spooky content, or else, there are some whose faith in the supernatural would be strengthened." Further, Boney lauded his daughter's performance in the film and said, "Janhvi, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma are a riot in Roohi. Janhvi is working so hard. She wants to get better with every film. Her mother would have been proud of her." In the same interview, Boney Kapoor who recently turned actor playing Ranbir Kapoor's father in Luv Ranjan's next, said that he is looking forward to play Janhvi's father in reel. "Rather than see someone else play Janhvi's father I'd like to do the needful," the producer told the news portal. Speaking about Roohi, Janhvi had earlier shared in an interview that she took up the horror comedy to prove herself as an artiste. In another interview with a news channel, the Dhadak actress opened up about all the challenges of playing Roohi and said, "It was complicated with all the VFX involved. I had tracking markers on my face and had to look in a specific direction for certain shots. Keeping these technicalities in mind makes you more prepared as an actor." ALSO READ: Roohi Movie Review: Janhvi Kapoor's Horror Comedy Falls Flat When It Comes To 'Kiston Mein' Laughs & Chills ALSO READ: Roohi Box Office Prediction: Will Janhvi Kapoor's Film Bring Audiences Back To Theatres Post Lockdown? Meghan Markle made at least 13 trips abroad after her relationship with Prince Harry emerged - despite claiming her passport was seized when she 'joined the family.' The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey she 'turned over' her passport alongside her driving licence and keys when she was welcomed into 'The Firm' in 2016. In her bombshell interview with the US talk show host - in which she also alleged she was 'silenced' by the Palace - the mother-to-be said 'all of that gets turned over' once you join the Royal Family. She added: 'When I joined that family, that was the last time I saw my passport, my driving licence, my keys - all of that gets turned over.' Meghan, 39, suggested she didn't see her passport again until she and Harry quit as senior royals and moved to California. Meghan Markle made at least 13 trips abroad after her relationship with Prince Harry emerged - despite claiming her passport was seized when she 'joined the family' The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey she 'turned over' her passport alongside her driving licence and keys when she was welcomed into 'The Firm' in 2016. Pictured: Meghan and Harry departing Windsor Castle after their wedding in 2018 However, it has emerged the Duchess visited 13 countries as a tourist from when she started dating Prince Harry to September 2019 - when the couple jetted off to Italy for fashion designer Misha Nonoo's lavish wedding. Meghan and Harry announced they were stepping back as senior members of the Royal Family the following January. Sources have claimed Meghan must have presented her passport to officials at 12 countries she visited during this period, the Sun reported. Although the Queen does not require a passport to travel, all other members of the Royal Family are required to carry one when heading abroad. Meghan visited New York alone in 2019 for a baby shower before welcoming her son Archie The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan arrive to attend the wedding of fashion designer Misha Nonoo at Villa Aurelia in Rome, Italy in September 2019 Insiders suggested the Duchess' passport may have been taken for safekeeping, but claimed she still would have used it for her trips abroad. Author Margaret Holder added: 'Of course the Royal Family would want to keep Meghan's passport safe. 'But it's unthinkable she didn't carry it for personal and private trips such as her New York baby shower, travelling to see friends in Canada, partying in Amsterdam and going to Lake Como with George Clooney.' Meghan and Harry's holidays: Where did the royal couple go? 2016 Botswana, Southern Africa - August 2017 Tromso, Norway: January 31 Montego Bay, Jamaica: March 1 - 3 Botswana: August 4 - 25 2018 Honeymoon at an unknown location: May/June Lake Como, Italy: August 16 - 19 Toronto, Canada: August 21 to 24 Meghan was alone for this trip. Amsterdam, Holland: September 21 - 23 2019 New York, US: February 15 - 20 and September 6 to 9 Meghan was alone for these trips. Vista Alegre, Spain: August 6 - 12 Nice, France: August 14 - 18 Rome, Italy: September 19 - 21 Advertisement Meghan and Harry took their first trip together just six weeks after their relationship began in 2016, when the Prince took his now wife to a safari camp in Botswana. They later jetted off to Lake Como to visit George Clooney and his wife Amal in August 2018, before taking trips to Amsterdam, France and Toronto. In August 2019, the couple celebrated Meghan's 38th birthday at the exclusive Vista Alegre villa complex in Ibiza. Meghan also visited New York in February 2019 for a baby shower before welcoming son Archie. Alongside several holidays, the couple also took trips to Morocco, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand as part of three Royal Tours. MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. It comes as the Queen yesterday broke her silence on Harry and Meghan's explosive interview to say that 'while some recollections may vary' the 'whole family is saddened' to hear of the couple's 'challenging few years'. Her Majesty said an alleged racist comment made about what colour the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby Archie would be was 'concerning' and will be 'addressed by the family privately'. The monarch will reportedly speak to senior royals - including Charles, Camilla, William and Kate - behind closed doors over the couple's allegations. Her statement added that Harry and Meghan - using their names rather than titles - and their son 'will always be much loved family members'. The Queen said: 'The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. 'The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.' It was added yesterday that the Queen will now extend a personal olive branch to Harry and Meghan as she takes charge of the fallout from their television interview. They later jetted off to Lake Como (pictured) to visit George Clooney and his wife Amal in August 2018, before taking trips to Amsterdam, France and Toronto In her bombshell interview with the US talk show host - in which she also alleged she was 'silenced' by the Palace - the mother-to-be said 'all of that gets turned over' With senior royals still 'reeling' following a series of explosive allegations by the couple, she has issued a 'three-line whip' to prevent staff discussing the situation publicly. It is understood that she intends to try to pour oil on troubled waters by reaching out to her grandson and his wife in California instead. It is expected that they will speak on the phone in the next few days. Although Harry and Meghan were informed of Buckingham Palace's statement on the issue prior to its release on Tuesday evening, this was done through officials. But the Queen believes now is the time for a more personal approach. Gardai have arrested a man in connection with possession of a stolen caravan in Longford on Monday March 8. As part of Operation Cress, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) carried out a search of a property on Athlone Road in Longford on July 6, 2020. Since the search it has been established that one of the caravans seized, a Cosmos Lunar Caravan, had been stolen from Staffordshire in the UK. Shortly before 8.30am on Monday, March 8, a man in his early 40s was arrested in Longford town in connection with possession of a stolen Cosmos Lunar Caravan on July 6, 2020. He was detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and has since been released without charge. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. An investigation is ongoing. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here The following resolution was unanimously adopted at meetings of the Rank-and-File Committees for Safe Education in the United Kingdom and Turkey last weekend. Hunger-striking WISAG workers at Frankfurt Airport (photo WSWS) The UK Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee and Guvenli Egitim Icin Taban Komitesi declare their solidarity with the courageous struggle of workers at the service company WISAG, in Frankfurt, Germany. Their campaign against sackings, wage theft and punishing working conditionspushed through under the cover of the pandemicis in defiance of the trade unions, who have abandoned the WISAG workers and isolated them from the wider German working class, driving some to a hunger strike to protest their treatment. The events at WISAG confirm the need for workers to build rank-and-file committees independent of the unions to defend their interests. We pledge to popularise the WISAG struggle. We urge educators and all workers to send messages of support to the strikers and fight to build rank-and-file committees in their own workplaces as part of the fight to unify the European and international working class. Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee (UK) Guve nli Egitim Icin Taban Komitesi (Turkiye) The High Court has fixed a date in June for the hearing of damages actions by a couple who claim their unborn child was aborted after they were wrongly told it had a fatal foetal abnormality. The couple have sued, seeking damages, against various parties. These include the National Maternity Hospital (NMH), Holles Street, Dublin, and a private clinic, Merrion Fetal Health, which is run by five consultant obstetrician gynaecologists. The defendants deny any wrongdoing. The case is expected to take several days to hear. The proceedings were briefly mentioned before the High Court this week, when it made orders allowing a Scottish health board, which allegedly carried out some of the testing at the centre of the claims, to be added as a defendant to the parents separate damages actions. In their actions, the couple claim that in 2019 they received two test results indicating their baby had a fatal foetal anomaly. However, they say a later test result, received after the termination had been carried out at the NMH, showed it had no genetic condition. They claim that they were wrongly told that the unborn child had a fatal genetic abnormality, resulting in an unnecessary termination. They seek damages for personal injuries and nervous shock they suffered due to the defendants alleged negligence. A pre-trial issue in the action came before Ms Justice Deidre Murphy, who heard the defendants are seeking to add the Greater Glasgow Health Board (GGHB) to the proceedings. The court heard that the defendants have claimed certain tests carried out on the plaintiff's unborn child were performed by the defendants and sent on for specialist analysis to the GGHB. The application was being made by the defendants to be joined as a third party to the action on the grounds that they had obtained expert advice and that there were failings in a report sent by the GGHB to the defendants. It is also claimed that the report furnished by the GGHB does not accord with best practice guidelines and that certain evidence was not taken into account. The defendants claim that the GGHB is an appropriate party from whom the defendants are entitled to seek an indemnity from, and sought to add it as a third party to the claims. However, the plaintiffs, represented by Richard Kean SC, sought to have GGHB added as a defendant to the actions. The judge, after considering submissions from the parties, said she was prepared to add the GGHB as a defendant. She put a timetable in place for the exchange of documents in the case, and granted the liberty to make any application it requires to the court in advance of the June hearing date. 7th Pay Commission: Why the TA for CG employees will not increase despite rise in DA 7th Pay Commission: Delay in restoration of DA likely as key meet gets postponed 7th Pay Commission: Variable DA for CG employees hiked, all you should know 7th Pay Commission: CG employees could expect DA hike by Holi India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 11: Over 52 lakh Central Government employees are awaiting good news relating to the 7th Pay Commission. The CG employees are eagerly awaiting for news on the Dearness Allowance. Since the DA is directly linked to Dearness Relief, the CG employees would get a hike in their salaries. There is a buzz that the announcement relating to DA could be made by the Holi festival. The 7th Pay Commission benefits have been frozen from June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 7th Pay Commission: Expect good news on DA, DR, TA soon The buzz around the 4 per cent hike in DA has been generated after the announcement of the All India Consumer Price Index. In March 2020, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had approved to release an additional instalment of DA to the CG employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners with effect from January 1 2020. The Ministry of Finance said that there will be an increase of the Basic Pay/Pension to compensate for the price rise. The impact on the exchequer as a result of the DA and DR was fixed at Rs 12,510.04 crore per annum and Rs 14,595.04 crore in Financial Year 2020-21 (for a period of 14 months from January, 2020 to February, 2021). This would benefit around 48.34 lakh CG employees and 65.26 lakh pensioners. In another development relating to the 7th Pay Commission, the government decided to extend the Disability Compensation for all serving employees. This decision would go a long way and especially provide relief for those in the central armed police force (CAPF), personnel of the BSF, CISF, BSF etc. "In a significant New Year decision, "Disability Compensation" has been extended for all serving govt employees, if they get disabled while performing their service & are still retained in service. This also includes those who were appointed on or after 1.1.2004 & covered under NPS," Union Minister, Jitendra Singh said. "In a significant New Year decision, "Disability Compensation" has been extended for all serving govt employees, if they get disabled while performing their service & are still retained in service. This also includes those who were appointed on or after 1.1.2004 & covered under NPS," Union Minister, Jitendra Singh said. The decision relating to the NPS would also benefit employees and provide ease of living for government servants even after they have superannuated and become pensioners or family pensioners or elder citizens, he also said. The 2009 order said that those government servants appointed on or after January 1 2004 and covered under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) do not get such compensation. DANBURY The number of COVID-19 cases among residential students at Western Connecticut State University has more than doubled over last semester, partially because of an outbreak at one residence hall. WestConn has had 45 cases among residential students this semester as of March 1, compared to 22 cases throughout the fall semester, according to data from the university. Thats largely because of a cluster of about 10 cases from Litchfield Hall, a primarily freshman dorm with about 125 students, said Paul Steinmetz, university spokesman. We think things are actually in pretty good shape, he said. Litchfield Hall was a little bit of a setback and worrisome, but we think weve got a good handle on that now. The positivity rate among residential students is 1.42 percent, up from the 0.86 percent last semester. This is below the states positivity rate, which was 3.56 percent on Tuesday. Spread of the virus has gone down in Danbury, which saw a large drop of COVID-19 cases in February, with 293 reported that month, although not all data has been calculated. Thats down from 1,097 cases reported in January, according to city data. How WestConn compares The university fared better in the fall than Danbury and some other colleges in the state when it came to COVID outbreaks. But WestConn has the most cases this semester among residential students of the four residential colleges in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system. The University of Connecticut has had more than four times the number of cases among residential students, with 204 infections among students living at Storrs, its main campus, according to data reported Wednesday. The positivity rate with this group is lower than WestConns, at 1.13 percent. Southern Connecticut State University has had more cases than WestConn when staff, faculty, athletes and commuters are included. Southern reports 107 total cases, including on-campus and self-reported testing, as of March 8. WestConn has had 98 total cases, although its latest data is from March 1. At WestConn, 42 commuter students have tested positive, either through on-campus or off-site testing, while eight faculty and staff have had the virus. Two non-residential student athletes and one residential or athletic staff member tested positive. Throughout the fall semester, 29 commuter students and eight faculty or staff members self-reported they had the virus. But testing was less frequent last semester, with residential students only being tested monthly. Now, residential and commuter students who take classes on campus are tested once a week. Were happy with the rate of positivity in both residential and commuter students outside of Litchfield Hall, Steinmetz said. Testing is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. four days a week, with the Midtown campus site open two days and the Westside campus site open the other two days, he said. With COVID cases declining regionally, the university may reduce how often students need to get tested, he said. But at the moment, we dont have any real plans to change anything through this semester, Steinmetz said. The university is exploring how to safely hold an in-person graduation ceremony, he said. Containing a cluster Contact tracing showed the virus spread in and from a group of friends in Litchfield Hall, but the university found no evidence of parties or cases due to Litchfield students going home during Presidents Day weekend. We havent found anything that specific, Steinmetz said. We think its that this group of friends hung out together and probably some of them lowered their guard a little bit. Under the universitys COVID rules, students are not permitted to have guests from other residence halls, but are allowed to go to another room within their own dorm. Throughout the university, there been six cases, involving 18 people, where students violated the guest policy this semester, he said. Two students violated the mask rules and one student failed to isolate when required. The university learned of the spike on Feb. 18 and issued a stay-in-place order until March 5. Students were tested every two to three days at the residence hall, Steinmetz said. As of March 1, seven students were isolating and five students were quarantining on campus. There were 17 isolation beds and 29 quarantine beds available. Classes, held both in-person and virtually this year, started a week later, and the university canceled spring break, to prevent students from traveling and spreading the virus. Its much safer, Steinmetz said. Its not as much fun, but its much safer. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. 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. Members of Antifa and Proud Boys clash in the middle of the street following the "Million MAGA March" in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 14, 2020. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images) American Extreme Leftists: Much Ado About Nothing Commentary Many years ago, I described to my grandma the many things in the United States that were absent in China such as churches, bars, and gyms. She didnt know what a gym was. After I gave her an explanation, she said, Those people who have more than enough to eat often do things for nothing. They just have an overeating problem that can be resolved by fasting for a couple of days. My grandmas generation experienced all the contemporary wars in China, and all the political and social campaigns after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized power in 1949. During their lifetime, the main task was to get enough food to feed the family. It is understandable that they had to do a lot of physical labor, so there was no need for additional exercise. That explains why she could not understand why Americans have to find ways to burn fat. I also remember reading a report from Chinese state media in the 1980s. Several American citizens travelled along the Yangtze River at the time and one of them was interviewed after the tour. The American woman said that the scenery from Chongqing to Wuhan was very beautiful. Upon seeing countryside children astride buffalos, she literally shed tears. She said that in the United States, machine monsters were everywhere in the countryside, and she hoped such scenes would never appear in Chinathe rural beauty and simple lifestyle were priceless. I recalled that her words caused heated discussions among my college classmates. Several of them grew up in the rural areas of Hubei and Sichuan provinces located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. They did not feel flattered by the womans praise of Chinas countryside; instead, they opposed it and felt outraged. I learned from my classmates that life is very miserable for rural residents. They have very low income and barely enough food to eat. Most villages had no paved roads, electricity, tap water, or indoor plumbing at the time. It was very likely that those countryside children on the buffalos could not afford to go to school, and their families undoubtedly lived well below the poverty line set by the United Nations poverty standards. My classmates had a rational reason for disliking the American womans comments and it was simple: she beautified and romanticized impoverished rural life in China, describing it like a Chinese landscape painting. In her eyes, the villagers who toiled on the riverside were just embellishment in a poetic painting. The woman probably had good intentions. Before the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, the scenery downstream was indeed very impressive. The river slowed down after the gorge area, and calmly flowed through many twists and turns. The surface of the river was often covered with mist. Further downstream, at Dongting Lake, the vast and boundless view was truly breathtaking. In the 1980s, very few Americans went to China as tourists, and even fewer went there to do business. This group of people, who had been invited to travel to China, were probably pro-Beijing Americans, including intellectuals. Using todays terminology, they were American leftists. Its not surprising that American leftist literati would feel the same as the aforementioned woman. However, if this group of people were to hold power and set the rules for us, it would be a different story. Some citizens would likely have a miserable life under their rule. Chinas Mao Zedong was exactly such a leftist figure. He used romantic idealism to govern the country, and the results are obvious to all. Many leftists in the United States now look at the world with the same attitude and attempt to lead the world in the same direction. Whats interesting is that the majority of American leftists are young Caucasians (Millennials and Generation Z), and many of them grew up in families with a decent income. They live a comfortable life and are accustomed to thinking about big issuesthe big issues of all mankind and even the whole universe. They often sum up a set of theories and concepts from the perspective of the universe, and then promote these theories as absolute truth. Hence, it is difficult to have a sensible conversation with such people because they will immediately respond from the moral high ground, a moral system from the perspective of the universe. If you tell them you support the right to bear arms, they will say you are racist. If you support merit-based school enrollment, they will call you racist. If you oppose tax increases, they will say you are racist. They will always look down on you from that moral high ground. In China, such people are political counselors in universities, party bosses in enterprises and institutions, political commissars in the military, and general secretary or political leaders at the national level. A few days ago, a Chinese friend commented, Wow, why does the United States suddenly have so many political commissars? We all laughed. Nonetheless, I believe that the emergence of many political commissars in the United States is not spontaneous or accidental; it is a result of orchestrated promotion. I recently watched a video on YouTube in which an African-American police officer, named Jakhary Jackson, was interviewed. He was a frontline police officer when Antifa was causing trouble and protesting in the streets of Portland, Oregon last year. Jackson said that when he was on duty one day, various people, including blacks, Latinos, and Asians approached him and wanted to talk. But a white man came up to them and said, Dont talk to the police. Then, a young African-American woman approached Jackson and asked why he didnt talk with those people. He said that someone would always come and try to prevent a conversation. As soon as he finished his sentence, a white woman came over and told the black woman not to talk to Jackson. He asked the white woman why she was trying to stop the black woman from talking to him. The white woman could not give him an answer and she simply said, They told me to do it. The key question is, who are they? The answer is, members of the Communist Party and those who uphold communist ideology. Their goal is to subvert capitalism by dividing society into various categories, sowing discord, creating divisions, and creating chaos. Is there racial discrimination in the United States? Yes, there is. But is there systemic or institutional racial discrimination? I dare not claim to be 100 percent sure, but based on my own experiences, I say no. As a journalist, I have been to many countries around the world. I dare say that although the United States may not be the best at dealing with the issue of racial inequality, it is definitely one of the best in the world. However, today, the leftists in the United States are educating American children to hate the United States, describing the United States as a sinful country because of racial discrimination and economic oppression. There are many social problems in the United States, but I firmly believe that the solution is not socialism or communism. Alexander Liao is a journalist who covers international affairs, focused on the United States, China, and Southeast Asia. His work has been published in newspapers and financial magazines in the United States and Hong Kong. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Crews arrived this week in Potrero Hill to start building the infrastructure for the next phase of Rebuild Potrero, a 25-year plan to replace the eastern San Francisco neighborhoods 619 public housing units with new apartments and nearly triple the density by adding almost 1,100 new homes. In a city struggling with a housing shortage, the $29 million in infrastructure work is hard for some people to get excited about. The laying of water lines, sewer mains and fiber-optic utilities is hardly creating a place you can lay your head at night. But for residents of the neighborhoods 80-year-old public housing atop Potrero Hill, the infrastructure around 26th and Connecticut streets is a big deal. For decades the neighborhood has been a symbol of neglect. The potholed streets are all dead ends, disconnected and isolated from the grid of the mostly affluent surrounding neighborhood. Sewer backups are common, along with leaky pipes, moldy walls and lousy cell phone reception. Eric Shaw, director of the Mayors Office of Housing and Community Development, said beautifully designed buildings and well-planned community spaces wont work unless you have good bones to flesh out. You have to have the infrastructure in order to build the community you want to create, he said. You have to have the architecture piece, you have to have the social piece, you have to have the street trees and sidewalks, but nothing happens until unless what is in the ground is done right. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle The Potrero redevelopment is one of four projects by Hope SF, a multibillion-dollar program that will eventually tear down and rebuild 1,894 public housing units, while adding 3,226 apartments and condos, a mix of affordable and market-rate homes. The plan will transform four of the citys most neglected communities Sunnydale, Hunters View, Alice Griffith and Potrero Terrace and Annex. At Potrero, the first phase, completed in June of 2019, was a 72-unit apartment building at 1101 Connecticut St. That new building, on a vacant lot, was filled with residents who were housed in eight former Navy barracks in the 4-acre lot at 26th and Connecticut. Once those residents moved into the new building, it cleared the way for the demolition of the old barracks, which will be replaced by about 350 units, 157 of them replacement housing. The 4-acre, two-building project on Connecticut Street will be the first new San Francisco public housing complex to share a site with a market rate structure, which will put low-income families side-by-side with households paying $4,000 a month or more. Bridge Housing Vice President of Development Marie Debor, who is overseeing the project, said that the public housing replacement construction will start this year and the market rate project in 2022. She said the market rate portion, which could have as many as 230 apartments, could include some units affordable to low- or moderate-income families. Theo Miller, who heads the Hope SF program, said the goal is to make the market rate and affordable buildings as similar as possible. The affordable building will have a gym, play area, day care center and community meeting rooms. The market rate building might have fancier bells and whistles, like marble counter tops, to attract that customer base, he said. But we stand by our extraordinarily well-designed, high-quality Hope SF units. While some residents are apprehensive that mixing high-income residents into the community will result in displacement, several residents who relocated to the new building at 1001 Connecticut say its a vast improvement. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle I love it, said Micah Conway, a security guard and aspiring filmmaker who lives at 1001 Connecticut. A clean, safe place to raise your family? Man. Its a big change from the previous building. They were 80-year-old army barracks with some walls put up to section them off into apartments. This is 2021. They say San Francisco is this center of innovation except for the public housing. The old place was the opposite of modern. Stephen Lam / The Chronicle Jeris Woodson, a social worker whose family has lived in the Potrero Annex for 50 years, said she is looking forward to moving into a new building, but her older aunt is comfortable where she is and not looking forward to the relocation. Its run down here. There is mold inside some of the buildings, severe plumbing issues now and again. Woodson said she is worried the market-rate building will be far superior than the replacement units for existing families, and that the newcomers might disrupt what has always been a tight-knit neighborhood. They are claiming that it will be mixed income and all the units will be the same, she said. That is what they are promising, but that is not how it usually goes. Mayor London Breed, who was raised in the Western Additions Plaza East public housing development, said that she understands the skepticism of longtime residents. As someone who grew up in public housing and has seen the pain caused by broken promises of the past, I know how much it matters that we deliver on our promises to make things better for those who are too often overlooked in this city, she said. J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen Telugu film industry superstar Chiranjeevi voiced support for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and called on people to rise above parties and regions to save it as it is a symbol of numerous sacrifices. "Visakha steel plant is a symbol of numerous sacrifices. Let's rise above parties and regions. With a steely resolve, let's save Visakha steel plant," said Chiranjeevi late on Tuesday. The actor-politician extended his support to the steel plant protection committee and reminded that the decades old slogan 'Visakha Ukku Andhrula Hakku' (Visakha steel is Andhrites right) is still reverberating in his ears. "While studying in Narasapuram Y.N. College, we held brushes (paint) with our hands and wrote on the walls that we will achieve Vizag steel," reminisced Chiranjeevi. The megastar from the Mogalturu village near Narasapuram town in West Godavari district said they organised many strikes, agitations and also hunger strikes for the steel plant as college students. According to the Prajarajyam party founder, 35 people, including a 9-year-old boy sacrificed their lives to procure the VSP. He said everybody celebrated when the steel plant started producing steel and noted that the plant is the right of the Andhra people and their self-respect. "We took pride in learning that Visakha steel has a special place in the country," he said. However, the megastar observed that it is not tolerable to say that the VSP is being privatised because it is in losses but all these years it has been deprived of captive mines. "I am requesting the Centre to give up the Visakha steel plant sale plan to private players as lakhs of people depend on it directly and indirectly," he said. The actor-politician advised the Centre to respect the emotions of the people and consider the future of employees to reevaluate its decision. Saying saving VSP is the primary objective in front of the people, he called on everybody to rise above regions, parties and politics to save the steel plant. Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Trump Endorses Rep.-Elect Letlows Widow in Special Election Former President Donald Trump on March 10 endorsed Julia Letlow, the widow of Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-La.), in her campaign for his House seat to represent Louisianas 5th Congressional District. The special election will take place on March 20. Julia Letlow, a wonderful and talented person who is the widow of U.S. Representative-elect Luke Letlow, is running for Congress in Louisiana-5 at the urging of so many people who know her so very well, Trump wrote in a statement released by the Save America political action committee (PAC). She is Pro-Life and strong on Crime, the Border, loves our Military, our Vets, and will always protect our cherished Second Amendment. Julia, who is so outstanding, has my Complete and Total Endorsement. The Great State of Louisiana will be thrilled! Luke Letlow, 41, died in December 2020just days before he was to be sworn into officefrom a heart attack that was likely related to thromboembolic phenomena caused by COVID-19, the doctor in charge of the hospital where he was being treated confirmed in an email. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Its truly an honor to receive President Trumps endorsement and I look forward to joining in the fight to save our country by putting America first! Julia Letlow wrote on Twitter after Trumps endorsement. Its truly an honor to receive President Trumps endorsement and I look forward to joining in the fight to save our country by putting America first! pic.twitter.com/maezK3nNA7 Julia B Letlow, Ph.D (@jbletlow) March 11, 2021 I hear him very clearly in my head saying he would be so proud of me as I move forward, Letlow told Fox & Friends on Jan. 22. Letlow said she and her husband were a team and in lockstep with each other for eight years. She recounted how he would always share with her what unfolded over each day when returning home, and added that both she and her husband had a heart for public service. I knew, and he always encouraged me if the opportunity ever arose for me to serve, that I would take that opportunity, she said. Among those who encouraged her were former Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.), on whose staff Luke Letlow served, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Luke Letlow had won a runoff election for the seat representing the 5th Congressional District. Julia Letlow announced in January that she would run for the seat. I am running to continue the mission Luke startedto stand up for our Christian values, to fight for our rural agricultural communities, and to deliver real results to move our state forward, she said in a statement at the time. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Learn more at TryHungry.com HUNGRY is one of 463 businesses from 29 countries to make this years Most Innovative Companies list, and one of only ten companies featured in the Dining category. HUNGRY, the fast-growing food tech platform known for providing best-in-class curated group experiences and food solutions, has been named to Fast Companys prestigious annual list of the Worlds Most Innovative Companies. Backed by celebrities and powered by the worlds best sensory experience luminaries, HUNGRY provides groups with access to top chefs, world-class sommeliers, fitness gurus and other talented craft leaders. The companys early pandemic pivots and reimagined service offerings pushed the boundaries of what traditional tech-enabled catering operations were capable of achieving, and ultimately landed the startup on Fast Companys illustrious list of innovators and disruptors. This recognition from Fast Company is a huge accomplishment for HUNGRY, said Eman Pahlavani, HUNGRY founder and COO. To be sitting at no. 9 in the dining category alongside household names like Panera Bread, Chipotle and White Castle is both humbling and motivating. Its a testament to our people-centric business model that continues to be fed by innovation and reinvention. Fast Companys Worlds Most Innovative Companies list honors businesses like HUNGRY that have been resilient over the past year with a special focus on those that have turned challenges into impact-making opportunities. To compile the rankings, Fast Companys editors and writers sought out the most groundbreaking businesses across global industries and judged nominations received through a stringent application process. As evidenced by this listing, HUNGRY is fueling our industry with innovation, even amidst the backdrop of a global crisis, said Jeff Grass, HUNGRY CEO. When our growth was flatlined by the pandemic, we dug deep, leveraged our proprietary technology and leaned into our startup grit to develop three new business arms. By July of 2020, we were experiencing record-breaking revenue growth while hiring hundreds of new workers and keeping hundreds more employed. HUNGRY is one of 463 businesses from 29 countries to make this years Most Innovative Companies list, and one of only ten companies featured in the Dining category. Since its inception, HUNGRY has donated more than half a million meals to people in need through its partnership with local food banks and Feeding Americas nationwide network of food banks. HUNGRY was recently named one of Americas Best Startup Employers of 2021 by Forbes and one of The Tech Tribunes Best Tech Startups of 2021. HUNGRY was also ranked no. 41 on Forward Foodings FoodTech 500 list of companies. To learn more about HUNGRY, visit tryhungry.com. ### ABOUT HUNGRY HUNGRY was founded by serial entrepreneurs Eman Pahlavani, Shy Pahlevani and Jeff Grass as a revolutionary technology platform connecting independent chefs with the $60 billion business and events catering market. HUNGRY has gained the attention of several high-profile investors, including the likes of Jay-Zs Marcy Venture Partners, Kevin Hart, Usher, Todd Gurley, Bobby Wagner, Ndamukong Suh and chefs Tom Colicchio and Ming Tsai. HUNGRY is committed to improving the lives of those within the communities it serves. Through its Fight Against Hunger program, HUNGRY donates one meal for every two meals sold via its platform. The companys WeRecycle program promotes environmental waste reduction by offering biodegradable plates and cutlery with its delivered meals. HUNGRY is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has rapidly growing operations in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston, New York City, Austin and Dallas. For more information, visit tryhungry.com. ABOUT FAST COMPANY Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Stephanie Mehta. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at http://www.fastcompany.com. Amazon and test and trace contractor Serco have been invited to put their staff forward for New Year honours, it was revealed last night. The businesses which have been accused of profiting from the pandemic were named in a government data leak. Others said to have received the invitation from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) were Capita, BlackRock and consultancy giants McKinsey, PWC and Deloitte. Labour described the leak as unbelievable for inviting companies that have benefited from the virus chaos to apply for awards while refusing NHS workers a pay rise above one per cent. Workers wearing high-vis jackets with SERCO and NHS Test and Trace logos on at a drive-in coronavirus testing centre in Chessington on October 20 It will come as an embarrassment to ministers who are considering taxing the profits of online giants such as Amazon whose sales have surged through the pandemic. It will also come as a surprise that any staff at Serco which was responsible for the shambolic test and trace system are being considered for any honours. Sources confirmed the leak after it was reported that Rupert Soames, the chief executive of outsourcing giant Serco, was among those to have received the email. Boss whos paid 5m Serco boss Rupert Soames has bagged almost 5million in annual pay, newly published accounts show. The firms chief executive, 61, received 4.9million during 2020 down from 5.2million in 2019. His package included an 850,000 salary, 191,250 in pension contributions, 53,255 in benefits such as healthcare and bonuses worth 3.8million. Serco boss Rupert Soames (pictured) Serco has faced criticism for its role in NHS Test and Trace, which took months to become effective after it was launched in May to tackle the Covid pandemic. The firm runs about a quarter of testing centres and half of contact tracing operations, with contracts worth about 350million. Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, called Mr Soames pay package excessive. He said it was symptomatic of whats wrong with outsourcing which also saw low-paid workers lose the rights, pay and protections of public sector employees. Sercos annual report said the bonus awarded to Mr Soames, left, was a true and fair reflection of the underlying performance of the company and the executive directors throughout what has been an incredibly challen-ging year. Advertisement The request from BEIS permanent secretary Sarah Munby said: I would like to invite you to submit honours nominations on behalf of your organisation as well as for any other individuals you think worthy of recognition. It was reported that personal contact details of business bosses and union leaders were included in the email accidentally copied to them all yesterday morning. The email addresses of leading union bosses were also included in the blunder, in what appears to be a major breach of data protection rules. Royal Mail bosses, banking giants, rail and energy chiefs and the Post Office were also asked to come forward with names. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO), which can investigate data breaches, said it had not yet received a complaint over the leak. Other recipients of the email, who were also invited to join classes on how to master and award honours nomination, were said to include vaccine producers AstraZeneca and Pfizer. It was sent after MPs on the parliamentary spending watchdog criticised the running of the test and trace scheme. The influential public accounts committee said there is no clear evidence the 22billion scheme contributed to a reduction in coronavirus infection levels. Yesterday, Labour MP Rachel Reeves described the contents of the email as unbelievable. The Conservatives priorities a pay cut for our nurses and a gong for Serco. The mask is slipping, she said. An Information Commissioners Office spokesman said: Organisations must notify the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach unless it does not pose a risk to peoples rights and freedoms. If an organisation decides that a breach doesnt need to be reported they should keep their own record of it, and be able to explain why it wasnt reported if necessary. A spokesman for the Department for Business said: As part of the New Years honours process, we work with a wide range of business groups and other stakeholders to encourage an ever-increasingly wide and diverse spread of nominations. But to be clear, these emails do not indicate that any specific individual is being actively considered for New Years honours and any nominations received still need to go through a comprehensive, independent consideration process. BEIS takes its information and data handling responsibilities very seriously. We have contacted the parties concerned to apologise for the error and taken steps to mitigate any further incidents. I booked a holiday to Corfu with On the Beach on 29 December, after the country started its vaccination programme, to travel in April, costing over 900. On the same day, I had to book extra legroom seats with EasyJet separately. However, in February, we were advised the flights had been moved from Luton to Gatwick. As we were unable to get there, EasyJet offered me a refund for the flights which I took. I also cancelled the accommodation with On the Beach, which I was refunded for, but it said the flights were not refundable despite EasyJet saying they were. Getting a refund for a cancelled trip to Corfu proved difficult for one holidaymaker this year EasyJet refunded me 93.96 for the legroom cost and On the Beach refunded me 501.56 minus a 60 admin cost for the accommodation but now I am still out of pocket by 314.20 for the flights despite EasyJet confirming it has sent the money to On the Beach. How can I get a refund? M.W., via email Grace Gausden, consumer expert at This is Money, replies: Sadly, you were not to be on the beach next month as you had hoped instead you were on the phone, trying to sort out a refund. You are just one of thousands of people struggling to get their money back after a trip was unable to go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was a risky move booking in December, when the number of infections were still climbing, but you though that by April, things would have moved on enough for you to head abroad. GRACE ON THE CASE Our weekly column sees This is Money consumer expert Grace Gausden tackles reader problems and shines the light on companies doing both good and bad. Want her to investigate a problem, or do you want to praise a firm for going that extra mile? Get in touch: grace.gausden@thisismoney.co.uk The first issue was when the flights were moved to Gatwick from Luton a trip you were unable to make. This forced you to cancel the holiday leaving you with less rights than if the provider cancelled instead. However, EasyJet agreed to refund the cost of your flights. It immediately refunded the money for the extra legroom as you had paid it directly on your credit card. On the Beach also refunded you the funds for your accommodation after you cancelled. It did deduct a 60 admin fee from your refund but, again, this was a small price to pay instead of the firm choosing not to repay you at all. However, after a couple of weeks, you had still not received your flight costs back leaving you over 300 out of pocket. EasyJet confirmed with you that the refund was made directly to On the Beach. Although EasyJet had refunded On the Beach, the travel firm didn't pass on the money to you When you contacted the holiday firm, asking it to send you this refund, you say they refused to engage and closed any messages you sent, leaving you in a very frustrating position. Out of desperation, you also asked your credit card company, Monzo, to get involved but it said it could not make a chargeback for the flight costs as you had already accepted the cancellation refund from On the Beach. Looking back, you believe that if you had waited for the flight cancellation to register with On the Beach, rather than going direct to EasyJet, it would have sent you the refund option. You also thought the refund from EasyJet for the flights would go directly back on to your credit card - rather than through the package holiday provider. I contacted On the Beach to ask why it was refusing to communicate with its customers and why it had seemingly pocketed a few hundred pounds without passing it on. Fortunately, after speaking with the team, it understood an error had been made and refunded the 314.20 to you immediately. An On the Beach spokesperson said: 'In cases where a flight is cancelled by the airline then our standard process is for the flight costs to be held in account by us until we receive confirmation from the customer that an insurance claim has not been made to recoup these costs, or an insurance payment already received. 'In Mr W's case, when cancelling his holiday with us he selected an option within his account to request an insurance letter. 'As a result, a refund was not issued straight away. We have since been in contact with Mr W and on his confirmation that a claim has in fact not been made, have issued a refund in line with our process and within 14 days of the flight cancellation.' Whilst your plans of being on the beach have failed, at least you're no longer on the fence, and now have the money safely back in your account. One consumer ordered an iPhone 7 online but it didn't turn up and the refund was delayed Hit and miss: This week's naughty and nice list Each week, I look at some of the companies that have fallen short of expected standards as well as those that have gone that extra mile for customers. Miss: One reader, Mary, got in touch this week to say she and her husband had received terrible service from Quick Mobile Fix. She said: 'On 6 October, my husband ordered and paid for an iPhone 7, costing 429.99, from Quick Mobile Fix. 'As the phone had not arrived, he chased the firm on 13 October. Excuses were given but still no sign of the phone. By 15 October he could no longer be without a phone so got one elsewhere and asked Quick Mobile Fix to cancel his order. 'His cancellation was acknowledged on 18 October and he was told he would hear from a colleague within 24 hours. 'Since then he has chased the refund regularly and has been given a string of dates, usually a month ahead, when the refund will be processed. Quick Mobile Fix have kept his money for more than 16 weeks so far.' This was clearly a ridiculous amount of time to hold your money ransom, so I contacted the company for some answers. It admitted there was a delay in sending out the phone and the refund should have been completed a lot sooner. It blamed a communication issue between customer service and its accounts team for the error. Fortunately, your husband has now received back the full refund and, whilst it wasn't quick, at least the problem is now fixed. Hit: In better news, a Motorola customer, William, has praised the customer service at the tech brand. He said: 'I pre-ordered the One hyper phone from Motorola as the firm were giving away a free set of Motorola noise cancelling earphones. 'After 7 months, when putting them, on the headband snapped. I contacted Motorola and they sent a brand new pair within a week. I didn't even have to return the old ones. Great service.' Music to our ears. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here By comparing vaccination rates in 580 counties across the United States with the corresponding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) incidence rates, a recent study currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server finds that cumulative county-level vaccination rates are significantly associated with a concomitant fall in the incidence of COVID-19. As mass vaccination endeavors are spreading around the world in our best attempt to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a dire need for real-time assessment of how vaccination rates (but also other salient factors) actually influence community spread and localized outbreaks. At the beginning of March 2021, more than 51 million individuals in the United States have been given at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, including over 26 million people who have been completely vaccinated with both doses of Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) or Moderna (mRNA-1273) vaccines. And while phase III clinical trials for the aforementioned two FDA-authorized mRNA vaccines were shown to lower the risk for symptomatic COVID-19, their real-world effectiveness and safety has recently been confirmed with the use of context-rich electronic health records across American and Israeli health systems. Nonetheless, the impact of vaccination on community transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains to be characterized, which prompted a research group led by Dr. Arjun Puranik from the company nference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to explore this exact issue. Curating data and comparing rates In order to conduct a comprehensive and real-world analysis of how vaccines exactly impact COVID-19 incidence in the United States, these researchers initially obtained county-level polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing data, as well as temporal and cumulative county-level vaccination data. Then they have concentrated on the correlation between two metrics: cumulative county-level vaccination rate (which is the percentage of the county population who were given at least one dose) and December-March change in COVID-19 incidence rate (i.e., the difference in 7-day incidence rates between December 1, 2020, and March 1, 2021). Moreover, the researchers also performed a separate manual curation of cumulative vaccination rates through March 1, 2021, across 1408 counties from 28 states. A time-delay (or a one-month gap period) has also been taken into account for some of the analyses in this paper. Relationship between mass vaccination and COVID-19 incidence. (A) US map of counties showing 7-day SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity rates (PPR) for December 1 2020 prior to onset of FDA-authorized COVID- 19 vaccine rollout (left panel), and 7-day PPR for March 1 2021 after Phase 1a of mRNA vaccination between December 2020 and February 2021. The colorbar varies from green (low PPR) to red (high PPR). A decline in COVID-19 incidence This study has demonstrated that cumulative county-level vaccination rates all the way through March 1, 2021, are significantly associated with a consequent decline in COVID-19 incidence, with stronger negative correlations in the Midwestern counties and Southern counties. Furthermore, all examined regions show significant negative correlations between cumulative COVID-19 incidence rate before the vaccine rollout and the drop in the COVID-19 incidence rate between December 1, 2020, and March 1, 2021 with the western region of the United States being particularly striking. Still, the cumulative vaccination rate and incidence rates have to be considered as statistically independent variables, highlighting the need to carry on with the ongoing vaccination roll out at scale. Given confounders such as different coronavirus restrictions and mask mandates, varying population densities, and distinct levels of diagnostic testing and vaccine availabilities across US counties, we are advancing a public health resource to amplify transparency in vaccine efficacy monitoring, emphasize study authors in this medRxiv paper. Conveying an evidence-based message In a nutshell, this study accentuates the significance of tying the current vaccine rollout to the real-time observation of spatio-temporal vaccine efficacy in order to help turn the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has to be seen as a data-informed venture, as it will inform strategies in other parts of the world as well. Even as people await their turn to get vaccinated, there are reports of subpopulations declining to get vaccinated owing misinformation around the vaccines safety and efficacy, which is being amplified through social media, say study authors. Still, considering accumulated real-world evidence on the vaccines efficacy and safety for those that were vaccinated, this study (and the associated resources) highlights the positive public health effect of the vaccination campaign and additionally motivates global vaccine rollout in order to finally halt the COVID-19 pandemic in its tracks. *Important Notice medRxiv 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. New US county-level data to show the relationship between aggressive vaccination and descent in caseshttps://t.co/pYEfIVkcHV (preprint) pic.twitter.com/3UpCej7nPc Eric Topol (@EricTopol) March 8, 2021 A mask-less Uber passenger who was caught on video ripping off her driver's mask and coughing on him says she doesn't even have COVID-19 and has threatened to sue the ride-sharing company because he kicked her out of his car. The unnamed woman was with two others, who were both wearing masks, when Uber driver Subhakar Khadka picked them up on Saturday in San Francisco's Bayview District. A now-viral video shows the women in the back seat berating Khadka after he asked the mask-less woman to cover her face. She then coughed on him, tried to grab his cellphone and ripped off his face mask. The woman, dressed only in her underwear, has since posted a video on Instagram in which she refused to apologize over the ordeal. She claims the driver forced her to get out of his car on a freeway and refused to wait for another Uber to arrive, which she argued was unsafe because it was 'in the hood'. The mask-less Uber passenger, dressed only in her underwear, has since posted a video on Instagram in which she refused to apologize for coughing on and attacking her Uber driver in San Francisco last Saturday The woman suggested the driver was 'lucky as hell' she didn't beat him up. 'He lucky as hell I ain't have nothing on me... Cause if we would've played with me, bruh, it would've been a whole different story,' she said. '75 percent of people I know would have smacked the s**t out of him. 'All I did take his mask off and cough a little bit but I don't even have corona.' The woman stopped short of apologizing, saying instead: 'I ain't gonna lie, that was disrespectful as f**k. I was dead a** wrong for that'. She insisted the whole ordeal could have been avoided if the driver had just waited and made sure she and her friends were safe. The woman, who has threatened to sue Uber, said in the Instagram video that she preferred rival Lyft anyway. 'F**king stupid a** Uber bruh, that's why I take Lyft,' she said. Subhakar Khadka, 32, says he was racially abused and attacked after picking the three women up in the Bayview area of San Francisco on Sunday Shocking footage filmed on Khadka's car camera shows as one of the women coughs before leaning forward to grab his phone and then rip off his mask Both Uber and Lyft have since banned the woman from using their ride-sharing services. In response to the woman's Instagram Live video, Lyft tweeted: 'Although this incident did not involve the Lyft platform, the unacceptable treatment of the driver in this video compelled us to permanently remove the rider from the Lyft community.' Khadka, the driver, told ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday that the ordeal was 'unbearable' and he believes it was racially motivated. 'She started taunting me, cursing me... they were making fun of my race,' Khadka said. 'It was unbearable. It was threatening, I was scared for my life.' After the women got out of his car, Khadka said one of the sprayed pepper spray at him through the window. San Francisco Police are still investigating the incident. In the now-viral video, the three women can be seen sitting in the back seat of Khadka's car. One of the women then coughed in Khadka's direction and the three friends could be heard saying: 'F*** the masks.' San Francisco police confirmed they are investigating the incident Uber says it has suspended the account of the woman who ordered the car. Khadka - who is from Nepal - said he believes the incident was racially motivated Khadka moved to the US from Nepal eight years ago to support his family, pictured As the women continued to shout at Khadka, the mask-less woman then tried to grab his cellphone before ripping off his face mask. Khadka told CBS: 'I never said anything bad to them, I never cursed, I was not raised that way. I don't hit people, I am not raised that way, so they were not getting out of my car.' He said the altercation began when he asked the woman to put on her face mask. When she refused, he said he pulled into a gas station so she could buy one. That's when he says the insults and racial slurs began. Khadka - who moved to the US from Nepal eight years ago to support his family - added: 'You guys are animals to treat other human beings like this. 'She pepper sprayed inside my car, from the passenger window that was open little bit, that was the only window open in my car. 'If I was another complexion, I would have not gotten that treatment from them. The moment I opened my mouth to speak, they realized I'm among one of them, so it's easy for them to intimidate me.' He told the women: 'Since you were born and raised here in the United States, don't think the other person is less human.' Uber said in a statement: 'The behavior seen in the video is appalling. The rider no longer has access to Uber.' They have given Khadka $120 in cleaning funds. Alastair Campbell has apologised for 'helping the anti-vaxxer cause' after sharing a Danish story that suggested the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab can cause blood clots. The former Downing Street spin doctor shared the story on Twitter on Thursday morning to his 650,000 followers and also accused the government of hubris. Not fully fluent in Danish, but this story seems to be saying Denmark is pausing use of AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of serious cases of blood clots. I had a feeling the No 10 beacon of hope movie would be hubristic, Campbell wrote. But the former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy under Tony Blair's government deleted the tweet 15 minutes later after people reacted angrily, accusing him of helping people opposed to coronavirus the vaccine rollout. 'Apols for posting a Danish report that could have helped anti-vaxxer cause,' he wrote. 'Point taken from those who pointed that out. Deleted.' A host of European countries including Demark, Norway and Iceland have halted the use of AstraZeneca jabs amid fears they cause blood clots, while Italy has suspended a batch following the death of a naval officer. However, Europe's own medical regulator has said there is no clear link between the vaccine and the officer's death. Alastair Campbell has apologised for 'helping the anti-vaxxer cause' after sharing a Danish story that claimed the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab can cause blood clots. Pictured: Campbell's tweet on Thursday morning, before he deleted it and apologised Alastair Campbell (pictured), the former Downing Street spin doctor shared the story on Twitter Thursday to his 650,000 followers, and also accused the government of hubris Anti-vaccine activists - a loose collection of people who make a variety of unproven claims about vaccinations - have been emboldened in recent months as jabs have been rolled out to the public to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Harnessing social media to spread their claims, many anti-vaxers suggest that jabs are dangerous, can harm children, or are a form of state control. On Thursday, the UK's vaccine minister said focus groups and polling had shown much of the wariness toward the jabs centered around 'issues of fertility'. But the former Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy under Tony Blair's government deleted the tweet 15 minutes later after people reacted angrily, accusing him of helping people opposed to the vaccine rollout Speaking to the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, he added the problem was 'proving to be sadly quite potent' among both men and women. Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch told MPs the misinformation was coming from within the family, rather than social media, which made it more difficult to target. More than 22million people have already had at least one dose of the vaccines so far and, overall, uptake is thought to be around 90 per cent. Refusal rates are disproportionately higher among black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups. Language barriers and a mistrust of Government are thought to make minorities more susceptible to misinformation about the jabs. According to the BBC, 2021 has seen an explosion of anti-vax content on the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. Data looking at the number of page likes or followers on the first day of each year of selected anti-vax accounts, the BBC showed that such pages in 2021 had more than any previous year, with over five million on Facebook and four million on Instagram. The number of Instagram followers of major anti-vaccination accounts increased nearly five-fold in 2020, while on Facebook the number increased by 19 percent. European countries are lagging behind the UK in vaccination numbers after fuelling fears over the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca jab A nurse in Austria, 49, died from a clot on Monday shortly after taking the Oxford vaccine amid reports of a few similar cases across the continent, despite millions of doses being administered safely. Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have suspended the use of the same batch given to the nurse, ABV5300, which was sent to 17 European countries and consisted of one million jabs. Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday went further, suspending the total use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine. Italy's medicine regulator banned a different batch of the jabs, ABV2856, after non-commissioned naval officer Stefano Paterno died of a cardiac arrest 24 hours after receiving a dose. A police officer also died within 12 days of a vaccination, sparking an investigation by health authorities into any potential links to the jabs. The moves come despite Europe's own medical regulator saying there is no clear link between the nurse's death and the jab, and UK regulators saying data shows those with the jab are no more likely to suffer clots than the general population. Italy's medicine regulator banned a different batch of the jabs, ABV2856, after non-commissioned naval officer Stefano Paterno (pictured with his wife) died of a cardiac arrest 24 hours after receiving a dose Denmark's health minister Magnus Heunicke said authorities were probing whether there was a link between having the jab and blood clotting, after several cases and one death The European Medicines Agency said in a statement: 'The position of EMA's safety committee... is that the vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing.' Many European leaders have frequently doubted the effectiveness of the Oxford vaccine which has subsequently seen a low uptake compared to other jabs. But that did not stop the EU from blocking a shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia using controversial export laws last week. Authorities in Italy refused to grant a licence for 250,000 doses manufactured in the country to be exported, meaning the shipment could not leave as planned. It comes after a host of countries including Germany and France restricted the AstraZeneca jab's use to over-65s, claiming it was ineffective in the elderly - despite Europe's medical regulator saying otherwise. Those restrictions were largely dropped after data showed the jab works in all ages. A host of countries including Germany and France restricted the AstraZeneca jab's use to over-65s Scaremongering around the jab has led some Europeans to refuse to take it, with authorities in Germany forced to resort to threatening people who balk at it. That has hampered Europe's already-slow vaccine drive which has been plagued by supply issues and has seen just 10 per cent of people given at least one dose, compared to 36 per cent in the UK. Over the weekend, it was reported that the EU had gone cap in hand to Washington to beg them to provide some of their surplus AstraZeneca. It's a humiliating U-turn for Brussels whose leaders had wildly claimed that the AstraZeneca vaccine was ineffective earlier this year. France's President Emmanuel Macron was accused of anti-vax propaganda when he claimed the jab was only 'quasi-effective' for elderly patients. French Prime Minister Jean Castex has since endorsed the vaccine, saying it is just as effective as any other approved in the EU. "We're especially pleased to partner with the Walters Automotive Group a great Ontario-based business as we launch this exciting new opportunity for companies to market themselves at the fastest-growing airport in the U.S.," said Alan D. Wapner, President of the OIAA Board of Commissioners and Mayor pro Tem for the City of Ontario. "Our new in-house agency is committed to understanding and proposing advertising solutions that meet our clients' objectives, and engaging our customers and visitors in creative and innovative ways." Mark Marchant, General Manager of Porsche Ontario, described the agreement as a new direction for advertising the Walter's Automotive Group's dealerships throughout Southern California. "Our team is very excited at having great exposure and bringing some unforgettable unique experiences for our clients at Ontario International Airport," Marchant said. Added Greg Sexton General Manager of Audi Ontario, "This partnership reinforces the growth of Audi and Porsche in the region, alongside all the exciting new developments at the airport." Wapner said the in-house agency and Walter's partnership are the first of a number of initiatives in the coming months that will focus on adding value to the advertiser over and above the standard digital and static platforms. OIAA is in the final stages of awarding an RFP to build its own omni-channel retail sales and distribution network, and will be launching multiple popup stores that will create greater flexibility for promotional activities, product launches and consumer interaction. For further information about the Walter's Automotive Group's Ontario dealerships, please go to www.PorscheOntario.com or www.AudiOntario.com. About Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport (ONT) is the fastest growing airport in the United States, according to Global Traveler, a leading publication for frequent fliers. Located in the Inland Empire, ONT is approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport which, before the coronavirus pandemic, offered nonstop commercial jet service to 26 major airports in the U.S., Mexico and Taiwan. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com. Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario City Council Member Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario City Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner). OIAA Media Contact: Steve Lambert, PIO (909) 841-7527 [email protected] SOURCE Ontario International Airport Related Links www.flyontario.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. [March 11, 2021] Desktop Metal and Uniformity Labs Announce Breakthrough in Aluminum Sintering for Binder Jetting Technology Desktop Metal, Inc. (NYSE: DM), a leader in mass production and turnkey additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, and Uniformity Labs, a leading additive manufacturing company that is revolutionizing industrial 3D printing materials and processes, today announced a breakthrough powder that enables aluminum sintering for binder jetting AM technology. This new powder is the result of a multi-year collaboration between the companies to develop a low-cost, raw material yielding fully dense, sinterable 6061 aluminum with greater than ten percent (10%) elongation and improved yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) versus wrought 6061 aluminum with comparable heat treatment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005481/en/ Fully dense, sinterable 6061 aluminum with better than wrought strength will be available for binder jetting technology, marking a significant step forward for the Additive Manufacturing (AM) industry as it is one of the most sought-after materials for use in automotive, aerospace and consumer electronics. (Photo: Business Wire) "This breakthrough represents a major milestone in the development of aluminum for binder jetting and a significant step forward for the AM industry as it is one of the most sought-after materials for use in automotive, aerospace and consumer electronics," said Ric Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. "The global aluminum castings market is more than $50 billion per year, and it is ripe for disruption with binder jetting AM solutions. These are the best reported properties we are aware of for a sintered 6061 aluminum powder, and we are excited to make this material available exclusively to Desktop Metal customers as part of our ongoing partnership with Uniformity Labs." "The introduction of lightweight metals to binder jetting opens the door to a wide vaiety of thermal and structural applications across industries," said Adam Hopkins, founder and CEO of Uniformity Labs. "This innovation is a key step towards the adoption of mass-produced printed aluminum parts." This new powder enables the sintering of unadulterated 6061 aluminum and represents a significant improvement over prior techniques used to sinter aluminum, which required coating powder particles, mixing sintering aids into powder, using binders containing expensive nanoparticles, or adding metals such as lead, tin and magnesium. Critically, the powder also enables compatibility with water-based binders and has a higher minimum ignition energy (MIE) relative to other commercially available 6061 aluminum powders, resulting in an improved safety profile. Desktop Metal and Uniformity Labs plan to continue to work together over the coming year to qualify the powder and scale production for commercial release. Once fully qualified, Uniformity 6061 aluminum will be available for use with the Desktop Metal Production System platform, which is the only metal binder jetting solution with an inert, chemically inactive processing environment across the printer and auxiliary powder processing equipment, enabling customers to achieve consistent, high-quality material properties across volumes of end-use parts with reactive materials, such as aluminum. About Desktop Metal Desktop Metal, Inc., based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is accelerating the transformation of manufacturing with an expansive portfolio of 3D printing solutions, from rapid prototyping to mass production. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy, and robotics, the company is addressing the unmet challenges of speed, cost, and quality to make additive manufacturing an essential tool for engineers and manufacturers around the world. Desktop Metal was selected as one of the world's 30 most promising Technology Pioneers by the World Economic Forum and named to MIT (News - Alert) Technology Review's list of 50 Smartest Companies. For more information, visit www.desktopmetal.com. About Uniformity Labs Uniformity Labs, founded in 2014 and based in Fremont CA (News - Alert) , develops breakthrough material and software solutions that aim to accelerate and expand global commercial / industrial 3D printing (AM) markets. Our patented technology enables significant cost savings, speed & quality improvements across all mainstream AM printers. Uniformity's feedstock materials and print processes have a dramatic impact on the AM value chain by increasing reliability and efficiency of printing. For more information, visit www.uniformitylabs.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statement generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks, uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties set forth in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. The Company does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005481/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A man has died after his truck slammed into a wall on Sydney's M2 Motorway. Emergency crews were called to the motorway's westbound off-ramp at Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills, in Sydney's north-west, at about 4.30am on Friday morning. Police said the man, who is believed to be aged in his 50s, crashed his truck into a rock wall. A man has died after he slammed his truck into a wall on Sydney's M2 Motorway The driver, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene. A crime scene has been established as officers begin their inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the crash. The westbound off-ramp of the M2 Motorway has been closed amid the investigation and motorists are advised to avoid the area. A report will be prepared for the Coroner. VillageReach Finance and Admin Assistant ABOUT VILLAGEREACH VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone. Our vision is a world where every person has the health care needed to thrive. Our programs focus building people-centered health systems that make sure health products and services are available when and where they are needed, with a focus on developing scalable, high-impact solutions. We are driven by a passion for collaboration and partnership, as we believe strongly that collective action is the only way to achieve sustainable change. Our work improves the lives of more than 35 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. VillageReach in incorporated in Washington State and has offices in Seattle (USA), Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Mozambique. Position Summary Under the direction of the Finance & Administrative Officer and with partnership from the Director, Finance at Headquarters, the Finance and Administrative Assistant will support the Finance and Admin Officer for coordinating the financial and administrative operations of all programs in DRC. In this role, s/he will have responsibility for the following areas: Financial Management: * Perform daily duties such as: Maintain a system of financial documents and supporting files, including proper substantiation of payments made including proper approvals and coding, that ties to the General Ledger within Quickbooks Online; Manage petty cash, payments, and record expenses; Review and process payment requests; Monitor advances and reconciliation of expenditures using Concur expense platform; * Support field offices with financial tasks * Prepare, collect, compile and declare sums paid to third parties * Support monthly duties, such as: Submission of monthly financial report due to HQ; Submission of monthly cash request due to HQ; Perform any adjusting entries created during HQ review process; Reconcile balance sheet accounts, including banking, petty cash, advances, prepaids, and accounts payable. Office Administration: Recommending, implementing, and maintaining efficient office systems. Handling office communication, checking office e-mail and managing the reception in a professional manner. Coordinate office needs (repairs, internet, vehicle, suppliers, managing the cleaner, etc.) Resource Management: Assisting in the procurement and maintenance of office equipment, furniture, and other assets including managing and updating the inventory of office assets. Any other duties as required. Competencies: The following competencies reflect what is expected of all VillageReach employees; including examples of how one might demonstrate each of these competencies in ones role. Personal Motivation and Drive: Is self-directed in ones approach to work, but asks for help when needed; holds oneself accountable; undertakes self-development activities; seeks to build and master new skills; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities within the organization Is self-directed in ones approach to work, but asks for help when needed; holds oneself accountable; undertakes self-development activities; seeks to build and master new skills; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities within the organization Collaboration & Effective Communication: Establishes and maintains effective relations with coworkers, partners & stakeholders and external parties; works collaboratively with others to accomplish organizational and team goals and objectives; works actively to resolve conflicts; expresses ideas and thoughts effectively; selects and uses appropriate communication methods and maintains meaningful communication with virtual coworkers and other parties to keep them informed Establishes and maintains effective relations with coworkers, partners & stakeholders and external parties; works collaboratively with others to accomplish organizational and team goals and objectives; works actively to resolve conflicts; expresses ideas and thoughts effectively; selects and uses appropriate communication methods and maintains meaningful communication with virtual coworkers and other parties to keep them informed Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Takes personal responsibility for and supports others across the organization in creating and sustaining a diverse work environment where individuals are welcomed, valued, respected and supported; personally committed to attaining cultural competency including self-awareness of ones own attitudes about culture and cross-cultural interactions; exhibits the willingness and ability to engage openly and respectfully around issues of race, colonialism, identity and culture; upholds equity in access to sharing of information, ideas, and opportunities throughout VillageReach Takes personal responsibility for and supports others across the organization in creating and sustaining a diverse work environment where individuals are welcomed, valued, respected and supported; personally committed to attaining cultural competency including self-awareness of ones own attitudes about culture and cross-cultural interactions; exhibits the willingness and ability to engage openly and respectfully around issues of race, colonialism, identity and culture; upholds equity in access to sharing of information, ideas, and opportunities throughout VillageReach Commitment to Excellence: Produces a high output of work, both in terms of quality and quantity; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; monitors work to ensure quality; has a personal commitment to the mission of VillageReach Produces a high output of work, both in terms of quality and quantity; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; monitors work to ensure quality; has a personal commitment to the mission of VillageReach Solution Orientation & Innovation: Focuses on results and desired outcomes and how to best achieve them; gets the job done; sees opportunities for creative problem-solving while staying within the parameters of good practice; sees old problems in new ways and has novel approaches to solving those problems; contributes original and/or resourceful ideas to their area of responsibility; is able to consider and articulate risks and consequences of proposed innovations and factor these into decision-making Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have the following professional qualifications and personal characteristics: Required: Bachelor degree in Business Administration or Accounting (or similar) required. Superb technology skills including intermediate level understanding of Microsoft-based programs, like Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Financial and bookkeeping acumen. Experience with Quickbooks Online required. Experience with Concur a plus. Familiarity with U.S. Generally Accepted Account Principles (GAAP) a plus. Ability to develop and carry out work plans and solve problems independently. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. Ability to work independently and take initiative. Experience working in team settings, preferably in an international capacity. Ability to work under time constraints and meet deadlines. Superb written and verbal communication skills, fluency in English required. APPLICATION INFORMATION: This is an immediate hire and therefore resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until March 25, 2021. To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter to our online portal: https://www.villagereach.org/join-us/ This is a 6-month fixed-term contract and the position is based in Kinshasa, DRC. COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most underserved and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce. Compensation: VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. We hire people into the established range based on ones experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history. NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - The Israel Ministry of Health, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and BioNTech SE (BNTX) reported that real-world evidence has confirmed high effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The latest analysis demonstrated that two weeks after the second dose, vaccine effectiveness was at least 97% in preventing symptomatic disease, severe/critical disease and death. The analysis showed a vaccine effectiveness of 94% against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. In January, Pfizer and The Israel Ministry of Health entered into a collaboration agreement to monitor the real-world impact of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. 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. Maharashtra lockdown: Full list of what is permitted and what is not This village in Maharashtra is COVID-19 free, thanks to its youngest sarpanch Maharashtra: Kalyan-Dombivli puts 7pm deadline on shops, eateries as cases rise India oi-Madhuri Adnal Thane, Mar 11: Stringent measures would be needed to contain the surge in COVID-19 cases and people should follow outbreak protocols strictly to help the administration, Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation chief Vijay Suryavanshi said on Tuesday. He said containment zones would be marked in KDMC and buildings where cases are detected will be sealed. Starting Thursday, non-essential shops cannot stay open for more than six days a week and beyond 7 pm any day. Additionally all the shops will have to remain shut either on Saturday or Sunday on an alternate basis. Spike in daily COVID-19 cases, India records 22,854 new cases Restrictions were also imposed for essential shops which will be required to shut down at 9 pm, two hours before the current deadline of 11 pm. However, no curbs were imposed on hotels and restaurants. They can continue to stay open and deliver till 11 am although food stalls were asked to shut by 7 am in view of overcrowding which can risk the chances of spread. In Thane, 16 hotspots have been placed under lockdown till March 31, an order issued by civic chief Vipin Sharma said. In Navi Mumbai, the owners of a marriage hall were fined Rs 50,000 for social distancing and mask violations during a function held there, an official said. The district administration in Palghar, meanwhile, banned fairs, temple festivals and other such gatherings till further notice. With the addition of 1,032 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 2,72,193,an official said on Thursday. Besides these new cases reported on Wednesday, the virus claimed the lives of three more persons, raising the death toll in the district to 6,315, he said. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane is 2.32 per cent, he said. So far, 2,58,158 patients have recuperated from the infection in the district, which reflects a recovery rate of 94.84 per cent. At present, there are 7,720 active COVID-19 cases in Thane, the official said. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count stood at 46,430 and the death toll at 1,206, another official said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 13:02 [IST] Researchers in China and Australia have reported the discovery of novel bat coronaviruses that further reveal the diversity and complex evolutionary history of these viruses. In early 2020, the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak that first began in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019. A combination of genome sequencing and sampling studies then identified a number of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in wildlife species that together pointed to underestimation of the phylogenetic and genomic diversity of coronaviruses. Now, Weifeng Shi from Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences in Taian, China and colleagues have conducted a meta-transcriptomic analysis of samples collected from 23 bat species in Yunnan province in China during 2019 and 2020. Our study highlights both the remarkable diversity of bat viruses at the local scale and that relatives of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV circulate in wildlife species in a broad geographic region of Southeast Asia and southern China, says the team. These data will help guide surveillance efforts to determine the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogenic coronaviruses. A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the bioRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review. Bats are well-known hosts of coronaviruses Bats are well-established hosts to a broad range of viruses that are known to cause severe disease in humans, including the Hendra virus, Ebola virus and, most notably, coronaviruses. Four of the seven known human coronaviruses have zoonotic origins. These include the SARS-CoV virus responsible for the 2002 to 2004 SARS outbreak and the Middle East respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) responsible for numerous outbreaks of severe respiratory illness across the Middle East since 2012. Sampling information and detection of SARS-CoV-2-like viruses in individual bat fecal samples. (A) Sample numbers of different bat species captured live in Yunnan province from May 2019 to November 2020. (B) Numbers of samples collected from different time points (orange column - feces; green - oral swab; light purple - urine). The numbers of individual bats are shown with black dots and relate to the y-axis. The associated numbers are in the form sample numbers/number of individual bats. (C) Identification of SARS-CoV-2-like virus positive samples using qPCR. Although bats are the most likely hosts of these coronaviruses, their emergence in humans has also sometimes involved intermediate hosts such as the palm civet (in the case of SARS-CoV) and dromedary camels (MERS-CoV). In early 2020, the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus was identified as the causative agent of a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, that quickly turned into a global pandemic. A combination of retrospective genome sequencing and sampling studies identified a number of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in wildlife species. These included the RaTG13 virus found in the Rhinolophus affinis bat, which is the closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2 across the viral genome as a whole. Ecological modeling the geographical distribution of 49 Rhinolophid bat species. (A) Models of 49 Rhinolophus bat species that predict diversity in five regions covering mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Java-Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi-Moluccas. The map color represents species richness, with up to 23 species projected to co-exist. (B-F) Location distribution of (B) the RaTG13 host species R. affinis, (C) the RpYN06 host species R. pusillus, (D) the RmYN02 host species R. malayanus, (E) the RacCS203 host species R. accuminatus, and (F) the STT182 and STT200 host species R. shameli. The yellow region represents the predicted range of each species. SARS-CoV-2-related viruses have also been identified in various other Rhinolophid bats, including R. shameli bats sampled in Cambodia, R. cornutus bats sampled in Japan, and R. acuminatus bats sampled in Thailand. Collectively, these studies indicate that bats across a broad swathe of Asia harbor coronaviruses that are closely related to SARS-CoV-2 and that the phylogenetic and genomic diversity of these viruses has likely been underestimated says Shi and the team. What did the researchers do? To further investigate the diversity, ecology, and evolution of bat viruses, Shi and colleagues conducted a meta-transcriptomic study of 411 samples collected from 23 bat species in a small (~1100 hectare) region within Yunnan province China, between May 2019 and November 2020. The team identified coronavirus contigs (sets of overlapping DNA sequences) in 40 of 100 sequencing libraries, including seven libraries with contigs that could be mapped to SARS-CoV-2. The team obtained novel coronavirus genomes From these data, the researchers assembled 24 full-length novel coronavirus genomes, including four genomes related to SARS-CoV-2 and three related to SARS-CoV. Notably, one of these novel bat coronaviruses RpYN06 exhibited 94.5% sequence identity to SARS-CoV-2 across the whole genome. Furthermore, in some individual genes (ORF1ab, ORF7a, ORF8, N, and ORF10), RpYN06 was the closest relative of SARS-CoV-2 identified to date. However, at the genomic scale, low sequence identity in the spike gene made RpYN06 the second closest relative of SARS-CoV-2, next to RaTG13. The spike protein is the main structure SARS-CoV-2 uses to bind to and infect host cells. Differences in the overall sequence of the spike gene The researchers say that although several SARS-CoV-2-like viruses have previously been identified in different wildlife species, none are highly similar (>95% ) in the overall sequence identity of the spike gene. Indeed, while the other three SARS-CoV-2-related viruses identified here were almost identical in sequence, the spike protein sequences formed an independent lineage that was separated from known sarbecoviruses by a relatively long branch. Sarbecovirus is a viral subgenus or the coronaviruses that SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV belong to. Collectively, these results highlight the extremely high, and likely underestimated, genetic diversity of the sarbecovirus spike proteins, which likely reflects their adaptive flexibility, writes Shi and colleagues. The researchers say studies have previously shown that host switching of coronaviruses among bats is a frequent occurrence. That individual bat species can harbor multiple viruses increases the difficulty in resolving the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogenic coronaviruses, they add. What else did the study find? Ecological modeling predicted the co-existence of up to 23 species of Rhinolophus bats species across much of Southeast Asia and southern China, with the largest hotspots for high bat diversity extending from South Lao and Vietnam into southern China. The researchers say that in addition to Rhinolophids, this broad geographic region in Asia is also rich in many other bat families and other wildlife species that have been shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. It is, therefore, essential that further surveillance efforts should cover a broader range of wild animals in this region to help track ongoing spillovers of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and other pathogenic viruses from animals to humans, they conclude. *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. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday expressed the hope that Hong Kong people from all walks of life will join hands to overcome COVID-19 at early date, achieve economic recovery, and improve people's well-being for long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong. "The central government will continue to provide full support," he said. '2018 Sabarimala incidents pained me,' says Kerala minister; Congress, BJP demands apology India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 11: In poll-bound Kerala, Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran on Thursday virtually expressed regret for the incidents that had rocked the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in 2018 over the women entry issue and said it "should never have happened", as the Congress and BJP sought an apology from the left government. He also vowed that the the final verdict of the Supreme Court would be implemented only after consultations with believers, political parties and the general public. "The incidents that took place in Sabarimala in 2018 was something which had pained all of us.It should never have happened.It has pained everyone...it has pained me also," Surendran told television channels. Chennithala accuses Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan of violating poll code The statement of the senior CPI(M) leader, who is contesting the April 6 Assembly polls, has come at a time when the opposition Congress and BJP are sparing no efforts to rake up the Sabarimala issue to attack the Marxist government. While senior congress leader Ramesh Chennithala felt the statement was to "deceive" the devotees, BJP State president K Surendran said the minister was shedding crocodile tears and would not be forgiven for the cruelty and injustice shown to Sabarimala, even if he takes a dip in the holy River Ganga a thousand times. Kerala had witnessed high drama during the nearly three-month long annual pilgrimage season in 2018 with around a dozen women in the 10-50 age group being prevented from entering the Sabarimala temple by protesting devotees after the apex court permitted women of all age groups into the hill shrine. PC Chacko quits Congress ahead of Kerala election The LDF, particularly CPI(M), had drawn flak from several quarters over the women's entry issue for its alleged hastiness in implementing the Supreme Court order. In the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, post-Sabarimala agitation, the LDF had suffered a massive drubbing, losing 19 out of the total of 20 seats. The CPI(M), however, regained lost ground by winning the recent civic body polls. The party, which conducted a door-to-door campaign post the LS polls, had admitted that a section of believers had misunderstood the Left on the Sabarimala issue. Surendran, however, expressed hope that people were no more worried about those incidents now. "The case is currently before the larger bench of the Supreme Court and whatever be the verdict, the government will implement it only after discussing it with everyone including believers, political parties and general public," the minister said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 18:33 [IST] (@ChaudhryMAli88) BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2021) Ecuador's government must seek to alleviate some of its external debt burden in exchange for increased commitments to preserve the unique Galapagos Islands, an environmental action group told Sputnik. According to ecologist researcher Monica Calvopina, the MasGalapagos group has prepared an initiative to incentivize the Ecuadorian government to expand the area of the national park in exchange for debt relief. "A group of citizens from the islands, with the support of various organizations, began to analyze technical and scientific information, legal mechanisms to create a new territory around the islands. In December 2020, we completed this work and have a concrete proposal," Calvopina told Sputnik. MasGalapagos hopes to double the 50-mile protective zone around the remote island chain to include more maritime territory. As Ecuador is currently in the midst of a presidential election, with a second-round vote scheduled for April 11, MasGalapagos hopes to seize the political moment and capitalize on candidates' enthusiasm. Ecuador's external debt ballooned under outgoing President Lenin Moreno and has grown to make up a worrying 50 percent of the country's GDP. "The idea of debt cancellation in exchange for the development of the islands was born precisely because we were looking for sources to support it. The idea was proposed by one American organization, this idea seemed to us very good since everyone benefits from this - both the state and the Galapagos themselves," Calpovina said. According to MasGalapagos legal adviser Mauricio Munoz, the practice has been successfully tried before in the region. "Ecuador will not be the first to implement such a practice, similar programs have already been undertaken earlier in Latin America," Munoz said. He explained that back in the 1980s, neighboring Bolivia auctioned away $650,000 of its external debt in exchange for expanding the nature reserve in the Beni region to 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres). Calpovina said that pandemic lockdowns and reduced ecotourism resulted in a staggering bounce back of local wildlife and increased free-roaming of local species. An expanded nature reserve would take advantage of that and ensure harmonious habitation of the unique fauna. The isolated pacific have scores of species not seen anywhere in the world. A voyage from the UK in the 19th Century brought a young Charles Darwin to the islands. Based on his observations there, he would later formulate the revolutionary theory of evolution. The story starts when Gordan, who has been away from home for a long time, runs out of money. He contacts his father, but he refuses to help him out. Gordon takes a taxi, but when the taxi driver realises hes broke, he kicks him out onto a cold Romanian road. Gordon comes to a cottage where he sees a young woman called Zulema, who is living with her grandmother Olga. As the young couple falls for each other, they enter into the strange, surreal world of the supernatural. "Schimbarea", which means "change" in Romanian, is the first feature film for executive producer Victor Girones company PitchPointFilms, which he set up to make bold and original movies. The writer and director Patrick Corcoran had worked on the script with co-writer and first assistant director Aiden Karstadt for three months, before sending it over to producer Jen Emma Hertel. Corcoran had spotted Hertel on TV being interviewed for an indie Film she made last October. From there, Hertel reached out to her producing partner, Girone, who greenlit the project. Cast The cast includes bilingual French actress Sarah Bonrepaux as Zulema, along with Billy Brannigan as Gordon. The film was set in the fictional town of Ghimlia, Romania but filmed in the US. Hertel said: "We couldnt have pulled this off in the USA if it wasnt the Paradise Farm location located in West Bend, Wisconsin the home was built in 1840 and it also has a beautiful barn, chickens and sheep, and hiking trails." Covid security Everyone had to follow Covid protocols, with the cast and crew getting tested every three days and their temperature checked every morning. People stayed in their bubbles, used gloves and hand sanitiser, and a CCO (Covid Compliance Officer) kept on top of it all. It was a challenge with an indie-film budget, but if the whole team is on the same page with the new protocols, it goes swimmingly, said Hertel. Cast and crew about the fllm Everyone involved with the film loved making it. Stunt Coordinator Matthew Muzio said: "Ive been on sets before with my cousin, (director, screenwriter and producer) David O. Russell, and its great to see the indie filmmaking spirit in Schimbarea." Actress Sarah Bonrepaux enjoyed the experience too. She said: "Where to begin about Schimbarea? It was the most challenging, exciting and rewarding experience ever. To be able to portray such a compelling and layered female character is so rare, and I am deeply grateful that Patrick and Aidan trusted me enough to give me this opportunity. I fell in love with Zulema the minute I read the script, and the more I worked on this project, the more I felt connected to her. I was so lucky to share this journey with such a generous and incredible partner on the screen (Billy Brannigan). We trusted each other from the very beginning and we both committed to putting out everything we could to bring these characters to life. Being able to just be in the moment while filming was so thrilling and inspiring. Every scene was a surprise and it definitely changed my perspective about acting. Having such a hard-working and respectful crew around us was also a tremendous help. Because of their dedication and positive energy, I felt confident and safe enough to allow myself to dive into the work every day. I hope people will love Zulema as much as I loved becoming her." Hertel now has another film in the works for PitchPointFilms, and Girone says: "We are actively looking for scripts to greenlight as well." The trailer for "Schimbarea" will be available in April, and the film will be released later this year. Princess Madeleine of Sweden has shared a sweet tribute to her daughter Adrienne to mark her third birthday. The mother-of-three, 38, who lives in Miami, Florida, with her husband Christopher ONeill, posted a new adorable portrait of her youngest child to her official Instagram account earlier this week. She wrote in the caption: 'Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet little charmer! We love you Adrienne!' In the picture, Adrienne, also known as the Duchess of Blekinge, is seen smiling cutely at the camera, while wearing a blue floral top. Princess Madeleine of Sweden posted a new adorable portrait of her youngest child (pictured) to her official Instagram account earlier this week She wrote in the caption (above): 'Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet little charmer! We love you Adrienne!' Royal fans went wild over the snap, with it racking up more than 35,000 likes and plenty of comments from well-wishers. Looking directly at the camera with a pretty blue bow in her hair, Adrienne, who is tenth in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, appears to be posing on a beach for her birthday portrait. Princess Madeleine and her family have been spending the past few months at their home in Miami, where the royal has lived since 2018. The mother-of-three last appeared in public in December last year, when she joined the royal family to host the Nobel prize winners for a lavish four-course banquet at Stockholm's Royal Palace. Princess Madeleine and her family (pictured) have been spending the past few months at their home in Miami, where the royal has lived since 2018 In October last year the Swedish royal palace announced that the princess's children were among the five grandchildren of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden to have their royal titles dropped. It is hoped the move will give them 'a greater opportunity to shape their own lives' according to Princess Madeleine. Following the official announcement, Princess Madeleine took to her Instagram page to state that the decision would give her children more control over their own lives. She posted a picture of herself with her three children next to a statement which read: 'This change has been planned for a long time. 'Chris and I think it is good that our children now have a greater opportunity to shape their own lives in the future as individuals.' Madeleine and Christopher, who moved their family to Florida in 2018, are also parents to Princess Leonore, seven, and Prince Nicolas, five. [March 11, 2021] Investor Group Files Revised Preliminary Proxy Statement for Director Nominations at Kohl's 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 announced that it has filed its revised preliminary proxy statement for its slate of nominees for the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) ("Kohl's" or the "Company"). The Investor Group is deemed to beneficially own, in the aggregate, 14,950,605 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. The proxy statement can be found here: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000885639/000119380521000349/prrn14a09050035_03112021.htm The Investor Group issued the following statement: "Today we have identified the five incumbent directors who we believe are the least qualified to continue serving on the Board: Steven A. Burd, Jonas Prising, John E. Schlifske, Frank V. Sica and Stephanie A. Streeter. Since we initially nominated candidates in January, our goal has always been to assemble the best Board possible to help Kohl's reach its full potential. To that end, we originally nominated nine highly qualified individuals in hopes of working constructively with the Board to choose from a large pool of candidates to construct a well-balanced Board with the attributes and skillsets to create shareholder value. Rather than engaging in meaningful discussions, however, Kohl's has tried to distract shareholders into believing our campaign is about "seizing control" of the Company or the Board. To be clear - our campaign is to construct the strongest possible Board with directors who possess relevant retail, capital allocation, strategy and corporate governance expertise - and who will also serve as strong advocates for shareholders. In the absence of meaningful progress towards a resolution in advance of a proxy campaign commencing, we have filed revised preliminary proxy materials announcing our slate of five highly qualified directors to run in opposition to five of the Company's long tenured directors who we believe do not have the relevant retail and governance skills to create shareholder value. Collectively, we believe these five individuals should be held accountable for overseeing a decade of stagnant growth and poor shareholder returns. We are also concerned with the results of our background checks into certain of these individuals. In contrast, each of our nominees were selected for their specific retail expertise that corresponds to issues that have historically plagued the Company and for their intense focus on creating long term, sustainable, shareholder value. Further, they represent a diverse collection of successful executives. Our slate of nominees now consists of the following: Jonathan Duskin - As a principal of Macellum, Mr. Duskin brings the perspective of a large shareholder and a sense of urgency that is sorely lacking on the Board. Mr. Duskin also has strong strategic and capital allocation skills, including in cost cutting, sale leaseback transactions and share repurchase programs. Mr. Duskin also has a successful track record for creating long term, sustainable value in the retail sector, including at Citi Trends, Bed Bath & Beyond and Big Lots. Margaret Jenkins - Ms. Jenkins has an extensive background in consumer marketing and retail advertising, having served as Chief Marketing Officer at Denny's Corporation and El Pollo Loco, among others. Her significant marketing experience would be helpful to streamline and fix Kohl's long-beleaguered loyalty and rewards programs. Ms. Jenkins also has significant apparel retail experience from serving as a director at PVH Corporation and Citi Trends, during periods of significant value creation. Jeffrey Kantor - Mr. Kantor spent 36 years at Macy's Inc., holding numerous senior leadership roles, including Chief Merchandising Officer, Chief Stores & Human Resources Officer and Chairman of macys.com. As such, he has been a leader in the discretionary retail arena for decades and is uniquely positioned to help oversee a plan of attack against Kohl's many competitors. Mr. Kantor was also President of Macy's home store and will bring meaningful insights to a category that Kohl's, by their own admission, has struggled with. Thomas Kingsbury - Mr. Kingsbury, as the former Chief Executive Officer of Burlington Stores, has led one of the most successful turnarounds of a retailer in the last two decades. A turnaround that likely took material share from Kohl's during his leadership. Mr. Kingsbury has an exceptional record of creating shareholder value and is well-versed in every functional area of retailing. Mr. Kingsbury also serves as a director of Tractor Supply Company and Big Lots, among others. During his tenure at these companies, he has overseen the creation of substantial shareholder value. Cynthia Murray - Ms. Murray has extensive merchandising experience in Ladies apparel and accessories, a segment that Kohl's, by their own admission, has struggled with for many years. During her tenure as President of Chico's, the company saw multiple years of increasing same store sales and improving profitability. Ms. Murray can make a significant contribution to oversee a customer-centric process that will result in Kohl's finally understanding and delivering what this underserved female customer wants. We intend to run these candidates against the following incumbent directors: Steve Burd - Mr. Burd has served as a director since 2001. Over this time frame, Kohl's has experienced material underperformance. In our view, Mr. Burd's background as the former Chief Executive Officer of Safeway Inc. (eight years ago) gives him little relevant experience to help solve the issues that Kohl's is struggling with in merchandising, reward programs, marketing and sourcing. Mr. Burd also serves on the Compensation Committee. Jonas Prising - Mr. Prising has served as a director of Kohl's since 2015 and is Chairman of the Compensation Committee, a role he has held since 2019. The Investor Group has significant concerns with the Company's executive compensation structure, including that the Company has historically paid its executives based on targets that have been lowered from prior years. As Chair of the Compensation Committee, we believe Mr. Prising should be held accountable for this misalignment in compensation to executives for deteriorating results. The Investor Group also does not believe his experience, as Chief Executive Officer of ManpowerGroup, a staffing firm, is relevant retail experience to address Kohl's underperformance. John Schlifske - Mr. Schlifske has served as a director since 2011. Over this period, Kohl's has failed to create shareholder value and has systemically missed its own stated objectives. Mr. Schlifske has spent most of his career at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and is currently its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. We struggle to understand the relevant retail skillset he brings to Kohl's given his background in insurance and investments. Frank Sica - Mr. Sica has served as a director since 1988 and as Chairman of the Board since 2018. Given his 33 year tenure, we believe Mr. Sica has lost his independent perspective. We also find Mr. Sica's career as an investment banker and private equity investor to lack the requisite retail operational experience necessary to oversee a turnaround of Kohl's. Further, given Mr. Sica's background, we are surprised that so little was done under his leadership to create value through non-operational areas like balance sheet optimization and capital allocation. Mr. Sica also served as the prior Chair of the Compensation Committee from 2008 to 2019. Stephanie Streeter - Ms. Streeter has served on the Board since 2007 and is currently Chair of the Audit Committee. As the former Chief Executive Officer of Libbey, Inc, a glassware manufacturer, the Investor Group does not believe Ms. Streeter brings relevant retail experience necessary to oversee the turnaround of Kohl's. Further, as the Audit Committee's Chair since 2017, we believe Ms. Streeter should bear responsibility for overseeing the creation of financial plan and shareholder guidance that the Company has been repeatedly unable to achieve. We remain open to constructive dialogue with the Company aimed at achieving a positive resolution for all Kohl's shareholders. However, we are convinced that based on the Company's historical underperformance, without significant Board change, Kohl's will continue to miss the mark with its customers and be unable to bring cost cuts to the bottom line or efficiently allocate capital, resulting in shareholders continuing to suffer subpar long-term return." 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: Colective 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. Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. and most recently at Big Lots, 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 for 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, Margaret L. Jenkins, Jeffrey A. Kantor, Thomas A. Kingsbury 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, none of Margaret L. Jenkins, Jeffrey A. Kantor, Thomas A. Kingsbury 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/20210311005473/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ARCHIVED - Spain bans domestic travel at Easter but foreign tourists can enter the country EU nationals can head for the Costas while residents of Madrid have to stay at home The differing regulations applied within EU member states has led to a curious situation arising regarding travel and tourism over Easter, when in theory at least, tourists will be able to visit Spain but those already living in the country will not be allowed to travel from one region to another. This allowance of limited international tourism does not apply to visitors hoping to travel from the UK, Brazil and South Africa due to the emergence of more contagious strains of Covid-19 in those countries, and the ban on entering Spain, but both in the Canary and Balearic Islands and in the mainland regions of Spain foreign tourists will be allowed to visit. This is because within the EU is still technically permitted, although most governments actively discourage it. In recent weeks there have been reports of Parisians flying to Madrid for the weekend to enjoy the chance to sit in bar terraces (in France hostelries remain closed), and the fact that they are allowed to enter Spain and go to the destination of their choice over Easter will doubtless annoy many Spaniards. After all, Madrilenos will not be allowed to visit their holiday homes on the Costas or in the islands but other European visitors will be permitted although they are required to demonstrate a negative PCR test in the 72 hours prior to arrival and to remain within the region where they arrive. The annoyance felt by Spaniards will only be increased by the latest coronavirus data from France, where on Wednesday a further 30,303 cases were confirmed and the official pandemic death toll has reached almost 90,000. In addition, it is reported that as many as 60 per cent of cases in France are now accounted for by the British variant of coronavirus, underlining the risks involved in permitting international travel. The situation is, to say the least, bemusing. The intention is obviously to avoid a repeat of the increased socializing and travel over Christmas and the New Year which led to the third wave of contagion, but to permit visitors from other countries while banning those living in central Spain from heading for the coast is an apparent contradiction. In reality it is unlikely that many parts of Spain will see large numbers of visitors from abroad over Easter, with the possible exception of Catalunya due to the border it shares with France. Flights are scarce and while case numbers remain worryingly high in most of Europe the majority of people will be content to ride out Easter and hope for better during the summer. Murcia should escape the attentions of French visitors as there are no flights directly to its airport, and the likelihood is that most French travellers will plump for Catalonia or the norther n regions where the Pyrenees can be crossed. But the mere fact that international travel is possible while domestic travel is prohibited is difficult to understand, and for many it may prove even harder to tolerate especially if the sun shines on the Mediterranean coast over the holidays! The whole topic of when international leisure travel will resume is complicated and there are contradictory messages coming out all over the place. The Spanish authorities are keenly aware that in the past tourism has accounted for 12 per cent of GDP in Spain, and that the hostelry and tourism sectors are desperate to get back to work and re-open, but at the same time there is no denying that mobility increases transmission and that Europe is struggling to roll-out its vaccination programme as fast as it would like to, due to the shortage of vaccines. If the UK was not forging ahead so quickly with its' own vaccine manufactured in the UK, the pressure would not be the same within Europe, as all of Europe would be slowly vaccinating on a slow, but even basis, but the pressure is coming from the UK media, endlessly building up expectations about travelling this summer, every ad. break showing images of summer holidays on sandy beaches. Yesterday the UK government attempted yet again to reduce expectations, warning that it was still too early to be booking holidays, and although the EU is presenting its plans for a covid passport next week and the Spanish authorities are hinting that Spain is disposed to opening up for tourism in the summer, the fact remains that until the level of vaccines administered throughout Europe is higher, the resumption of international travel may satisfy cravings for a holiday in the short-term, but could create a situation whereby we all have to continue enduring tightened restrictions for a much longer period because new, and more aggressive variants are able to circulate more freely during the summer months. This is, of course, leading to frustration within Europe about the lack of vaccines, resulting in the spat currently underway between the EU and UK about the fair and equal distribution of vaccines, regardless of where they are manufactured. In years to come, will we sit back and watch documentaries about this situation and marvel at how the desperation to have a holiday killed so many people and allowed the virus to contiue mutating and spreading...... Former Central Minister, Kwamena Duncan has issued a reply to Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu for questioning President Nana Akufo-Addo for not addressing the LGBTQI+ issues in his State of the Nation Address. The President delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) this year on Tuesday, March 9. He touched on achievements of his government as well as his development projections in his second term in office. Following the President's SONA, the Minority Leader raised concerns over the President's silence on the LGBTQI controversies. Hon. Haruna Iddrisu asked why the President didn't mention a word about the issue while delivering his speech and assured the President that Parliament will revisit the issue. But according to Kwamena Duncan, the Minority Leader's concern is a non-starter. This is because, to Kwamena, the President has already made his position clear on the LGBTQI+ brouhaha. He reminded Hon. Haruna Iddrisu of the President's statements at an Anglican Church at Asante Mampong, Ashanti Region, where he emphatically stated his government won't legalize homosexuality. "I have said this before, let me in conclusion stress again, that it will not be under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legal, that same-sex marriage will be legalized in Ghana, it will never happen in my time as President. "Let me repeat, it will never happen in my time as President," President Akufo-Addo emphasized. Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Kwamena Duncan asked Hon. Haruna Iddrisu; ''what else do you want Akufo-Addo to say?'' He wondered why the Minority Leader would revive the issue when the President has ''spoken and spoken loudly'' against it. 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. Featured Video Highlights The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro smartphones to launch on March 23. New leaked images confirm the colour options of the OnePlus 9 series. We can see both the phones sporting the Hasselblad branding. OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro are set to launch later this month, but a new leak seems to have revealed it all - at least the design. The company's official marketing renders have been leaked on the Internet and show both the upcoming OnePlus 9 series device in full glory. To start off, the marketing renders corroborate to what we have been seeing on the Internet for the last few months. The OnePlus 9 will sport a triple camera setup at the back with the legendary camera branding of Hasselblad, while the OnePlus 9 Pro will feature a quad-camera setup which we have already seen courtesy of the company's camera promo teaser. One of the biggest design elements that made OnePlus what it is now for us is the OnePlus One and its Sandstone variant. WinFuture has seemingly confirmed that the Sandstone variant is finally making a comeback with the OnePlus 9 series. If the new report is to be believed, then the Sandstone model may be limited to the OnePlus 9 Pro. The latest leaked images of the Sandstone version does remind us of the popular OnePlus One device to some extent. The next feature confirmed by the teaser images posted on social media of the smartphone brand is the presence of 5G support. OnePlus is one of the select few brands in India that's offering the majority of smartphones that are 5G-ready since we have an entire gallery of both devices, so that we will break them down for you. OnePlus 9 Pro 5G: What we should expect from it The new leak by WinFuture subtly hints that the Hasselblad partnership with OnePlus will be highlighted on the Pro (and the regular OnePlus 9) model. One of the biggest complaints with every OnePlus device to this point has been the camera department, and the company seems to leave no stone unturned to acknowledge it and fix it in a big way with the announced long-term partnership with Swedish-camera brand Hasselblad. OnePlus 9 Pro Sandstone variant / Image: WinFuture In-line with a recent teaser, the report claims that the Pro model will feature the Sony IMX766 and Sony IMX789 sensors at the back. It adds that the OnePlus 9 Pro ships with a 50-megapixel lens and a 48-megapixel lens. The report also talks about FreeForm lenses, which we can expect OnePlus to talk about in detail during the unveiling of the new series. The report further adds that there could be Laser autofocus on board as well. The Pro model is said to feature a 6.7-inch display and sport curved edges. Continuing one of the biggest design elements seen on the OnePlus device to date, the leaked images show an alert slider that is one of the signature features on OnePlus devices. Talking about the colours, the leaked gallery hints at three colour options - Black, Green, and Silver. Notably, the Black version is the Sandstone variant. We already know that the OnePlus 9 Pro (and OnePlus 9) will be powered by Snapdragon 888 and pack a 4500mAh battery. The company CEO Pete Lau has already confirmed that the phones will ship with a charger in the box, which means no Apple and Samsung surprise for fans. OnePlus 9 5G: What to expect from the cheaper model The new leak by WinFuture also drop a big surprise for OnePlus fans, and that's about a plastic frame instead of metal on the OnePlus 9. The report says that there are no antenna bands visible on the chassis of the smartphone in the leaked marketing images. However, going by the brand's past launches, we are sure that this could not be the case in reality. OnePlus, so far, has been one brand that has set benchmarks when it comes to design. For us, OnePlus is one of our favourite brands in the Android segment, which has a design language that's unmatched by any and the closest there was any brand it was HTC. Suppose the OnePlus 9 series chooses to ditch metal in favour of high-quality plastic chassis. In that case, that could be a big change, and we could see it following the lead of Samsung that uses plastic across a majority of premium devices available in India. Coming back to the leaked images of the OnePlus 9, the triple camera array with Hasselblad branding is visible. The subtle OnePlus logo at the centre seems to be the only branding on both OnePlus 9 models. Notably, the company chose to use the name and logo on the OnePlus 8 series. The report says it ships with a 6.5-inch display which will be flat, unlike the Pro model. OnePlus 9 Pro (Left) and OnePlus 9 (Right) / Image: WinFuture OnePlus 9E/9R: Should we expect the third model? The new leak only reveals two OnePlus 9 series devices, which may confuse a lot of people whether there is a third model in the series. However, we expect it to be a possibility, and the reason why it didn't make it to the new leak courtesy marketing material could be to avoid a reveal. It's worth noting that there have been a few instances where tipsters have talked about the third model, but there have been no images leaked so far. The OnePlus 9E, aka 9R, could be the company's best-kept secret so far. However, we have our fingers crossed. The OnePlus 9 series will be announced on March 23 in a virtual event that will be live-streamed starting at 7:30 pm IST. Stay tuned to India Today Tech for all the details around the upcoming OnePlus 9 series. 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. WASHINGTON--Biological differences between females and males affect virtually every aspect of medicine and biomedical research. In a new Scientific Statement released today, the Endocrine Society called for sex differences to be studied thoroughly to improve public health. "When we understand the ways sex differences operate at baseline in health, which can either worsen the course of a disease to amplify differences in health outcomes, or protect against it, we can more effectively prevent and treat medical conditions," said Aditi Bhargava, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco in San Francisco, Calif., and the chair of the writing group that authored the Society's Scientific Statement. For instance, SARS CoV-2 infection, cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately affects men. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found the overall case-fatality ratio was about 2.4 times higher in men than women. Failing to consider sex differences can lead to the failure of promising drug candidates. Drugs are tested in cell lines or animals before drug trials are conducted in humans, and most of these foundational studies rely predominantly on male animals or cell lines. Many published studies that use animal models either do not report the breakdown of animals by sex or do not aggregate results by the sex. Clinical studies similarly fail to consider sex as a variable and instead often report it as a confounding factor. "Without exploring sex differences, some drug candidates that could be beneficial to women never have the chance to make it to market," Bhargava said. "The process of developing drugs using only males of a species in pre-clinical studies likely contributes to the higher rates of adverse drug reactions in women compared to men, failure to see efficacy in clinical trials, and translation to therapeutics." The statement explores three areas of biological differences between females and males. Imaging has found anatomical and volume differences in the brains of women and men, but these differences do not reveal any functional differences between the sexes. Heart and kidney diseases present differently in women and men. Although twice as many women as men report stress-related diseases, few studies are designed to explore mechanisms that highlight both similarities and difference between the sexes. Biological sex is often confused with gender in our society. The two sexes are differentiated as females, who have ovaries and produce eggs, and males, who have testes and produce sperm. In mammals, females typically have XX chromosomes and males typically have XY chromosomes. All sex differences in the zygote, or fertilized egg, stem from harboring two different sex chromosomes. Both sexes have all classes of reproductive hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, albeit at different levels. Differences in sexual development may result in a person's biological sex not aligning with these traditional definitions. Biological sex is separate from gender identity, which may or may not align with an individual's biological sex. Transgender or gender diverse individuals should be screened for sex-specific medical conditions such as prostate cancer and cervical cancer based on body parts and tissues that are present, according to the Society's Clinical Practice Guideline on Endocrine Treatment of Gender-Dysphoric/Gender-Incongruent Persons. ### Other authors of the statement are: Arthur P. Arnold, Arpana Gupta and Emeran A. Mayer of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, Calif.; Debra A. Bangasser of Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn.; Kate M. Denton and Lucinda M. Hilliard Krause of Monash University in Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Margaret McCarthy of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.; Walter L. Miller of UCSF in San Francisco, Calif.; Armin Raznahan of the National Institutes of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md.; and Ragini Verma of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn. The authors have no disclosures. The statement, "Considering Sex as a Biological Variable in Basic and Clinical Studies: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement," was published online in the Society's journal Endocrine Reviews. Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions. The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www. endocrine. org . Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia. Members of the National Guard stand watch outside the Hennepin County Government Center as jury selection continues in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, on murder charges in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 10, 2021. (Leah Millis/Reuters) Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Appeal in Chauvin Case As 5 Jurors Are Selected The Minnesota Supreme Court late March 10 rejected an attempt by defense lawyers to review whether a third-degree murder charge should be reinstated in the case against their client, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. In an order that contained no explanation, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea denied the appeal of a recent ruling that found Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill erred in not restoring the charge, which had been requested by the state. Cahill had said the charge lacked probable cause. Chauvin, accused of killing George Floyd in May 2020, still faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Cahill told the court that the third-degree murder charge would be discussed on March 11, local news outlets reported. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a former Democrat representative who is leading the prosecution of Chauvin, said the Supreme Court was right to reject the appeal and that the appeals court made the correct ruling. We believe the charge of third-degree murder is fair and appropriate. We look forward to putting it before the jury, along with charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter, he said in a statement. Defense attorney Eric Nelson (L) and defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (R) listen as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over jury selection in Chauvins trial, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 9, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool) Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell addresses Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill as he presides over jury selection in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvins trial, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 9, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool) The start of jury selection was delayed for a day because of the bid to reinstate the murder charge. Three jurors were picked on March 9 and two more were added on March 10. The jurors include a white man in his 30s from central Minnesota who works in sales and expressed awareness of the Floyd death but said he didnt know specific details, and an African immigrant in his 30s or 40s who arrived in the United States some 14 years ago, works in IT, and said the only details he knows of the case stem from his viewing the video of Floyd on the ground with Chauvin pinning him next to a police vehicle, KTSP reported. The other jurors are described as a white chemist with an environmental science degree who said hed seen a photograph of Chauvin holding Floyd, a minority woman from northern Minnesota who said that shed seen video footage of what happened and found it saddening, and a white man who works as an auditor and saw video of the incident three times but insisted he would keep an open mind during the trial. Floyd, 46, was confronted by police officers on May 25, 2020, after being accused by a convenience store clerk of using a counterfeit bill. Floyd resisted arrest and was eventually pinned to the ground by several officers, with Chauvin kneeling on his neck. The Hennepin County medical examiner classified the death as homicide, or a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officers. Then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneels on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed man who was pleading that he couldnt breathe, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 25, 2020. (Darnella Frazier via AP) People demonstrate outside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on March 9, 2021. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Significant conditions contributing to the death included Floyds underlying conditions such as heart disease and drug use, with fentanyl and methamphetamines detected in his system. A separate autopsy conducted on behalf of Floyds family found he died from being deprived of oxygen. Three other officers involved in the arrest are set to go on trial later this year. According to the court schedule, jury selection will take no more than three weeks. Each side has opportunities to strike potential jurors for various reasons. Lawyers for Chauvin have 15 challenges; state prosecutors have nine. Prosecutors used their first strike on the eighth potential juror, who said he feels black lives matter but had misgivings about the Black Lives Matter movement, WCCO reported. He also said he feared for his familys security if he was chosen as a juror. Defense lawyers used a strike on a California man who moved to Minnesota several years ago, said hed been trained in martial arts, and deemed Chauvins kneeling on Floyds neck an illegal move. Prosecutors tried overruling the strike but Cahill allowed it, saying he didnt appear to have an open mind. It is a scandal that has ripped through Dublin's often intertwined financial and political circles, but has barely caused a ripple north of the border. Yet the 'Davy 16' golden circle drama involves one of Northern Ireland's most high-profile developers and a company that manages an estimated 1.8 billion worth of assets owned by individuals and organisations here. And that includes a contract to manage nearly 200m in court funds for the Department of Justice. J&E Davy, better known simply as Davy, a storied and many decades-established stockbroking firm in Dublin, only stepped across the border in 2007. But an aggressive acquisition strategy, including the takeover of Danske Bank clients, Pension Financial Consultants and Graham Corry Cheevers, has helped it grow into a wealth management giant here. Insiders add that the focus of much of the company's energy is to grow the business and the amount of assets under management. "There was a massive focus on getting new business," said one former employee who worked in the Belfast office. "And there were huge salaries and bonuses." But that does not mean clients would not get a good return, the ex-employee said, though they added that it was something any half decent money manager can deliver. Davy did not respond to a request for comment. The company is also the target of a long running legal action being taken by high-profile lawyer Paul Tweed. Tweed alleges the firm mismanaged 500,000 of his money and wrongfully directed him to complex financial products. Davy did not respond to a request for comment on that issue either, but has denied the claims in court documents. In late 2014 Patrick Kearney, developing property since the 1970s and best known most recently for his purchase and refurbishment of the Ten Square Hotel in Belfast city centre, had a problem, one rooted in the spectacular collapse of Anglo Irish Bank. Like many developers deeply impacted by the fallout from the 2008 financial crash, Mr Kearney, who founded and runs Kilmona Holdings, had weathered the worst and was crafting a comeback. But in his portfolio was a bunch of Anglo Irish bonds with a nominal value of 27m (23m); in reality worth a fraction of that amount. They were initially bought with a near 20m (17m) loan from Anglo, and the lender, Stapleford Financial, which acquired the note after the bank's collapse, was looking to collect. The company had agreed to settle for just 2.3m (1.97m). Enter Davy, via financial advisory firm Le Bruin Private, which was co-founded by a former top executive at Anglo Irish. On November 14 Kearney, a Davy employee and a representative from Le Bruin, struck a deal where the bonds would be sold for 5.8m (5m), or 22.5 cents on the euro, to a consortium called the O'Connell Partnership. That would cover the 2.3m debt, with the remainder shared between the three parties, court documents state. Kearney was not told the consortium was made up of 16 senior executives of Davy, and neither was the company's own compliance department. Further, the developer claimed later in court documents that he was told by an associate that the bonds were worth a lot more, as much as 32 cents. He claims to have tried to pull out of the deal but was told by the Davy employee that was not legally possible. Most of the bonds, though not all, were sold on within three weeks via a New York trader. If the Davy group secured 32 cents on the euro for the bonds, they would have made a tidy profit of 3.2m (2.75m), or 202,000 (175,000) each. When it first became public in March 2015, the Central Bank began investigating. Kearney filed suit against the company later that year, which was rapidly settled in February 2016 for between 2 and 3m, according to the Irish Times. But Stapleford Financial, the loan note holder, was also watching. The company sued Kearney, arguing that it was not told of the deal to sell the bonds for 5.8m. It demanded approximately 16m, the balance of the original near 20m loan Kearney received from Anglo to buy the bank's own bonds. That case was quietly settled in 2018 - but the terms were not disclosed and Kearney did not respond to a request for comment. The fallout from the Central Bank investigation is continuing, with the Irish Government barring the company from selling state-backed bonds, three senior executives resigning, and talk yesterday of a Bank of Ireland takeover. Many on this side of the border are also watching developments. A solicitor for Mr Tweed and his wife Selena confirmed their legal action was ongoing. "We are therefore not in a position to comment any further at this stage save to confirm that the developments over the last week, and in particular the imposition of one of the largest fines in Central Bank of Ireland history, are of relevance, interest and serious concern to our clients," said Robert McKay of McCartan Turkington Breen. But why did the Davy executives, including now former chief executive Brian McKiernan, non-executive director Kyran McLaughlin and head of bonds Barry Nangle, take the chance on a scheme that was quickly discovered, though investigated by the Central Bank at a glacial pace? Mr McKiernan expressed regret for his role and apologised for the hurt caused to the reputation of the company. President Donald Trump is demanding he credit for the coronavirus vaccine shots that are now making their way into Americans' arms at an accelerated clip claiming there would be no vaccine for another five years without him. Trump made the comment as Joe Biden prepares to trumpet new funding for distribution and a faster clip of vaccinations even as the 45h president did not appear in a public service announcement with three of his predecessors urging Americans to get their shot. 'I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful 'shot' for five years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all.' he wrote. Donald Trump, pictured, sought to take credit for America's vaccine success after some of the available jabs were developed under his presidency The statement was carried on his official 45th President letterhead though it took on the tone of one of his famous tweets before getting banned from Twitter after the Jan. 6th MAGA riot. It was not immediately clear why Trump put the word 'shot' in quotation marks although it could refer to the slogan of the new PSA. 'This is our shot,' says former President Bill Clinton in the ad. 'Now, it's up to you,' adds former President Jimmy Carter. Trump's plea comes as credit for the vaccine that could soon transform the daily lives of millions of Americans was already taking shape. The Pfizer vaccine, which was first out of the gate, was developed privately. But the Moderna vaccine, which like Pfizer is extremely effective, got assistance from Trump's 'Operation Warp Speed.' Trump issued the statement under the letterhead of The Office of Donald J. Trump but it read like one of the tweets he has been unable to send since his social media ban The administration claimed based off 'reported administered' data that there was a new record for vaccine shots Saturday. The number later proved to be not accurate Biden on Thursday announced plans to purchase an additional 100 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses. The former president's use of the phrase 'China virus' was another attempt to needle his successor. He regularly casts Biden as beholden to the rival, and used the term during his tenure even after critics called it racist. Since taking office, the Biden team has taken to blasting the state of the vaccine program they inherited, particularly on the distribution side despite its vaccine development efforts getting credit during the transition. Biden plans to address the nation tonight in a prime time address from the White House. The White House announced Thursday Biden was moving up the bill signing by a day for his $1.9 trillion relief package, amid Republican complaints he was stringing it out for show. Biden and his coronavirus advisor Andy Slavitt were put on the defensive when the AP reported in a fact check that both had overstated the 'record' 2.9 million doses given Saturday. The real number was 1.6 million. The earlier CDC figure had included doses from other days. Trump's statement comes amid a rush to distribute vaccine - and a battle over who deserves credit Trump found himself being praised for his part in the roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine from an unexpected quarter - before then characteristically doubling down and hailing his own contribution. As Joe Biden revels in the rapid pace of the roll-out that is set to deliver its 100millionth dose in the coming days, even the New York Times said the former president's administration needs to take some of the credit. Trump, though, not to be outdone released a statement in which he claimed that without him, people may not be getting protection from the virus 'at all'. Issuing the statement under the letterhead of The Office of Donald J. Trump, he said: 'I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the Covid-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful shot for five years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all.' Writing in the New York Times, Sharon LaFraniere said the current success of the roll-out of the vaccine in the U.S. needed examining. She wrote: 'A closer look at the ramp-up offers a more mixed picture, one in which the new administration expanded and bulked up a vaccine production effort whose key elements were in place when Mr Biden took over for President Donald J Trump. 'Both administrations deserve credit, although neither wants to grant much to the other.' She also said that Mr Biden had 'benefited hugely from the waves of vaccine production that the Trump administration had set in motion'. Trump's boast was backed up by his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who accused Biden of 'denying the successful operation Trump left him'. 'President Trump put in place an unprecedented vaccine operation that paved the way for President Biden,' she said. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines passed clinical trials and were approved while Trump was president, giving the US a head start on many other nations. But Pfizer developed its vaccine without any research funding from Operation Warp Speed, the federal jab program touted by the Trump administration. Other vaccines such as the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab were developed at similarly impressive speed without any help from Trump or the US government. Nonetheless, while in office, Trump asked future historians to 'remember that these great discoveries which will end the China Plague all took place on my watch'. Trump last month told his supporters at CPAC to 'get your shot', but is absent from two new public announcements featuring every other living former president. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama will appear in the public service announcements with their respective first ladies, the Ad Council says. Joe Biden, pictured, is on track to reach his goal of vaccinating 100million people in his first 100 days in office - but Trump wants people to give him credit 'The science is clear. These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease,' said President Bush in one of the adverts. 'That's the first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward,' Obama says. When asked about Trump's absence, a spokesman for the Ad Council said one of the PSAs was filmed at Biden's inauguration in January which Trump did not attend. While Trump and his allies claim credit for the rapid roll-out, the Biden White House says it has nearly doubled the number of jabs being delivered per week. Press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this month that the number of doses available per week had risen from 8.6million to 15.2million since Biden took office. Biden promised 100million doses in his first 100 days in office, a mission which is comfortably on target with nearly 96million jabs handed out so far. The daily rate of vaccinations now averages more than two million shots, and more than 75million doses have been administered since Biden was sworn in. Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will appear in public service announcements about the Covid-19 vaccines, but Trump will not Under pressure to set a more ambitious target, Biden indicated after taking office that he might raise the goal to 150million. The rapid progress has put America near the top of the world rankings, with a rate of 28 doses administered per 100 people comparing favorably to other rich nations. Around 18 per cent of the population has received at least one dose, behind Britain's 33 per cent but well ahead of the European Union figure of seven per cent. Nearly 10 per cent of Americans have had two doses, a figure bettered only by Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to research by Our World In Data. On Wednesday, Biden said the US would start exporting surplus jabs once 'Americans are taken care of' as he unveiled plans to buy another 100million doses. We're going to start off and ensure Americans are taken care of first, but we're then going to try to help the rest of the world,' Biden told reporters. 'If we have a surplus, we're going to share it with the rest of the world,' Biden said, adding that 'we're not going to be ultimately safe, until the world is safe. 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. The second mortgage helped the client satisfy short-term cash needs to meet a critical financial deadline." Pathway Capital Corp., a financial advisory firm focused on arranging debt financing, arranged a $2.5 million second mortgage loan on two light industrial buildings located in Readington Township, N.J.. The buildings, which are owner occupied, total 31,687 square feet on a 10-acre parcel Glenn Thomas, president of Pathway Capital, and Tom Ravert arranged the financing. The property is used for heavy equipment storage, and a service and repair facility. The buildings have 32-40 ceilings, 16 drive-in doors and three bays; they are powered by 126.1 KW solar panels that generate 210,000 kwh per year. We are very pleased to have arranged this financing for our client, said Thomas. The second mortgage helped the client satisfy short-term cash needs to meet a critical financial deadline." More information about Pathway Capital is at http://www.pathway-capital.com. About Pathway Capital Corp. Pathway Capital Corp (PCC) is a Nyack, New York-based boutique capital advisory firm providing innovative solutions to complex financial transactions. The company provides advisory services for a wide range of transactions including traditional commercial loans, debt restructuring and consolidation, equipment financing, as well as interim and permanent financing on commercial real estate. The Pathway Capital team of professionals possesses a unique and diverse background with vast experience in commercial banking and lending, restructuring and turnaround, and accounting and operations. Find out more at http://www.pathway-capital.com. Avondale-area car shoppers can save on brand-new Honda models at Earnhardt Honda this spring during the Honda Dream Garage Spring Event. Many car shoppers love the latest entries from the Honda brand and Earnhardt Honda will help drivers find the perfect financial fit in the Avondale area. A complete inventory of brand-new Honda models at the dealership will include the updated 2021 Honda Pilot, the redesigned 2021 Honda Accord and the latest 2022 Honda Odyssey. To help drivers find the right fit for their budget, the Honda Dream Garage Spring Event features affordable lease and finance offers available through May 3. Back and better than ever, the 2021 Honda Pilot has received an update for the new model year that adds a brand-new Special Edition trim level and a nine-speed automatic transmission to the list of standard features. The Honda Pilot is a great option for the family on the go with room for up to eight passengers in seven trim levels LX, EX, EX-L, Special Edition, Touring, Elite and Black Edition. Well-qualified buyers interested in the 2021 Honda Pilot may be eligible for a 0% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for 24 to 48 months, 0.9% APR for 49 to 60 months and more sales incentives. The 2021 Honda Accord arrives at Earnhardt Honda with a refreshed style, a brand-new Sport Special Edition trim level, an updated hybrid option and a standard 8-inch Display Audio touchscreen infotainment system with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a brand-new option for select trim levels. 2021 Honda Accord Sedan finance incentives include 1.9% APR for 24 to 60 months. Lease incentives include a 36-month lease for a 2021 Honda Accord 1.5T LX Sedan CVT with $2,999 down and $229 per month. Few models in the Honda lineup are better equipped for family road trips than the 2022 Honda Odyssey. The latest edition of the Honda Odyssey builds on the previous 2021 Honda Odyssey with additional exterior color options. Honda Odyssey models provide seating for up to eight passengers and feature available Magic Slide second-row seats, standard Honda Sensing technology and an available 8-inch Display Audio touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Sales incentives for the 2021 Honda Odyssey include 0.9% APR for 60 months, 1.9% APR for 72 months and a 36-month lease for the Odyssey EX Auto with $2,999 due at signing and $329 per month. Avondale-area families interested in a brand-new Honda can learn more about available models and sales incentives online at http://www.earnhardthonda.com. Individuals who prefer a more personal interaction can contact a member of the Earnhardt Honda sales team by calling 623-934-5211. Filipino nurses mark 20th anniversary of caring for patients in North Wales This article is old - Published: Thursday, Mar 11th, 2021 Nurses who moved from the Philippines to help care for patients in North Wales are marking their 20th anniversary this March. In 2001 due to a shortage of nurses in the UK the NHS recruited nurses from the Philippines who have become key members of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB). Arniel Hernando was one of the first who came to North Wales, he started at Ysbyty Gwynedd as a nurse and is now the Lead Surgical Advanced Nurse Practitioner at the hospital. Arniel, 50, said: My friend told me about Wales recruiting nurses from the Philippines, and she really recommended it, so I was fortunate enough to be successful and was placed in Ysbyty Gwynedd. I never thought when I first arrived that I would be lucky enough to work in senior management, but my managers have always seen potential in me and encouraged me to continue my education, and take every opportunity to progress my career. A few years ago I moved to a London hospital to gain a different type of experience, but I returned within the year as I missed the area, the mountains and my life here. This really is my second home now. My two children are also both qualified nurses, its such a rewarding career to go into with great opportunities. Arniel has also supported the NHS Wales recruitment campaign for the last three years, and is currently an accredited Royal College of Nursing (RCN) steward. Last year he supported the opening of Ysbyty Gwynedds new Surgical Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Unit, which ensures patients receive the care they need in the right place at the right time. Rosella Castaneda was 25-years-old when she started at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and is now a Critical Care Nurse at the hospital. Rosella said: I arrived in Heathrow and travelled to Wrexham by bus, and I stayed in accommodation in the town centre with some other overseas nurses. We came here to look for greener pastures in North Wales, and initially for me it was a stepping stone, but I become so content here Ive never left. I like the countryside compared to the cities and now Ive brought up my own family here. I really enjoy working in the Critical Care Unit, the team has become my second family here. Working during the pandemic has its many challenges, especially in our unit, but we are a close team and were here for each other. Were professionals and always trying to look after one another. Its tough at times, especially for our COVID-19 patients as most of them are very sick when they are admitted to our unit. Gill Harris, Executive Director Nursing & Midwifery and Deputy Chief Executive of BCUHB, said: We are hugely grateful to our Filipino nurses for the excellent care and support they have provided to our patients over the last two decades. Id like to thank all our staff from the Philippines, to those who came 20 years ago and those who have joined us since, for their dedication to the NHS, especially over the last year as they have played a key role throughout the pandemic. We are honoured that they chose North Wales to make their home. Featured image: Arniel Hernando Stocks were mixed in Asia on Friday after broad gains lifted several major indexes to all-time highs on Wall Street. Tokyos benchmark rose 1% while Chinese indexes slipped as investors cashed in on recent surges in share prices. Oil prices fell slightly and the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury was steady at 1.54%. U.S. markets surged after President Joe Biden signed into law a sweeping pandemic relief package that would provide $1,400 checks for most Americans and direct billions of dollars to schools, state and local governments, and businesses affected by pandemic-related shutdowns, which began a year ago. That and progress in vaccinations against Covid-19 have helped settle some of the uncertainty that has roiled markets in recent weeks. The Nikkei 225 added 277 points to 29,488.74 while South Koreas Kospi climbed 0.9% to 3,041.31. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8% to 6,764.90. Hong Kongs Hang Seng lost 0.5% to 29,238.89 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.3% to 3,428.15. Shares rose in Jakarta but fell in Singapore and Malaysia. Taiwan was unchanged. On Thursday, the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a measure of small-company stocks all closed at record levels as a recent stretch of volatile trading in the bond market continued to ease, keeping investors in a buying mood. The S&P 500 added 1% to 3,939.34. The Dow added 0.6% to 32,485.59, its second all-time high in a row. The Nasdaq composite gained 2.5% to 13,398.67. The tech-heavy index, which earlier in the week skidded more than 10% below its February peak, has regained some ground, but remains 4.9% below that all-time high. Traders also bid up shares in smaller stocks, pushing the Russell 2000 index up 2.3% to 2,338.54. Technology stocks, which have been hurt this year by rising bond yields, led the market higher, aided by solid gains in communications services companies and those that rely on consumer spending. Banks, utilities and household goods companies fell. The stimulus coupled with ultra-low interest rates are expected to help charge growth as industries bounce back from pandemic downturns, analysts say. Were entering this environment where growth is going to be higher than expected, said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. With higher growth you get higher interest rates. The biggest IPO in years rolled out Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange where Coupang, the South Korean equivalent of Amazon in the U.S., or Alibaba in China, began trading under the ticker CPNG. The stock soared 40.7%. Its actually the largest initial public offering from an Asian company since Alibaba went public about seven years ago and the biggest in the U.S. since Ubers more than $8 billion IPO in 2019. General Electric fell 7.4% for the biggest slide in the S&P 500 for the second straight day. The industrial titan announced it would wind down its GE Capital business and merge its jet leasing business with Irelands AerCap. GE is in the midst of a multi-year turnaround plan, but investors have been concerned GE has been selling off too many of its more profitable assets. The price of U.S. crude oil rose 2.5% and lifted energy company stocks. Occidental Petroleum jumped 5.5% and Hess rose 3.2%. On Friday, benchmark U.S. crude slipped 19 cents to $65.83 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard for pricing, lost 12 cents to $69.52 per barrel. The U.S. dollar cost 108.71 Japanese yen, up from 108.53 yen late Thursday. The euro fell to $1.1962 from $1.1983. AP Details about the sixth woman to accuse Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment were reported by the Times Union of Albany on Wednesday The sixth woman to accuse Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment says he groped her in the governor's residence, marking the most serious allegation against the scandal-scarred Democrat to date. The woman, who has not been named publicly, says she was alone with Cuomo late last year when he closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her, the Times Union of Albany reported Wednesday. The newspaper's reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the aide's accusation. Cuomo had summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying he needed help with his cellphone, the newspaper reported. The three-term New York governor faces harassment allegations from five other women, including former aide Charlotte Bennett. The 25-year-old's attorney, Debra Katz, said in a statement released Wednesday evening that the latest allegations are 'eerily similar' to Bennett's own story. Bennett has said she was summoned to the Capitol on a weekend and left alone with Cuomo, who asked her for help with his cellphone. She has said Cuomo asked about her sex life and propositioned her. The woman, who has not been named, said her incident occurred late last year at the Executive Mansion in Albany (pictured) 'The Governor's sexual harassment, which Charlotte Bennett reported, was buried by his aides and never properly investigated,' Katz's statement said. 'Because of their enablement, another young woman was left in harm's way.' The woman whose account was reported by the Times Union also indicated that Cuomo had touched her and made flirtatious comments on multiple occasions. According to the newspaper, her allegations came to light as Cuomo staffers watched the governor's March 3 press conference, his first after initial sexual harassment claims made in late February. In it, he denied ever touching a woman inappropriately. The aide subsequently became emotional, and told a female supervisor who approached her about her encounters with the governor. At least one supervisor reported the allegation to an attorney in the governor's office Monday, the newspaper reported. Prior to Wednesday's report, the allegations against Cuomo include a combination of claims that he made the workplace an uncomfortable place for young women, ranging from flirtatious comments to a nonconsensual kiss. At least four accusers - Bennett, Lindsey Boylan, Anna Liss and Karen Hinton - worked for the governor in Albany or during his time in President Bill Clinton's Cabinet. Another, Anna Ruch, told The New York Times that she met Cuomo at a friend's wedding. Cuomo has denied inappropriately touching anyone, but said he is sorry if he made anyone uncomfortable and didn't intend to do so. 'As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching,' Cuomo said through a spokesperson Wednesday evening. 'I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the Attorney General's report.' Ana Liss, 35, (left) previously served as Cuomo's policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015 but claims he subjected her to sexual misconduct during her time in his administration. Karen Hinton (right) claims the governor summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event in 2000 before she managed to escape Charlotte Bennett, 25, worked as an aide for Cuomo. She claims he sexually harassed her and left her 'terrified' Anna Ruch, 33, (left) claimed Cuomo behaved inappropriately at a Manhattan wedding in September 2019. Lindsey Boylan, 36, (right) claims Cuomo commented on her appearance inappropriately, kissed her without her consent and went out of his way to touch her on her lower back, arms and leg State Attorney General Letitia James has put together an investigative team to probe Cuomo's workplace conduct. The governor has called on lawmakers and the public to await the results of that investigation. Federal investigators are also scrutinizing how his administration handled data concerning COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes. Cuomo has been under fire for weeks, beginning with revelations that his administration withheld details from the public about the pandemic's death toll among residents in state nursing homes. Scrutiny of the governor - who received accolades during the height of the coronavirus pandemic for leadership that yielded a book deal and calls for a national political career - intensified when former adviser Boylan, 36, reiterated harassment claims made in December, fleshing them out in a late February blog post. It was unclear if the latest allegation would further erode Cuomo's support in the Legislature. While several state legislators from both parties have called for Cuomo's resignation or impeachment, most have indicated they will wait for the probe's conclusion. Cuomo has repeatedly maintained he won't resign. 'How can we allow this man to lead our state? We must impeach,' Democratic Assembly member Zohran Kwame Mamdani tweeted Wednesday night. Republican Assembly member Mike Lawler on Twitter called Cuomo 'a sexual predator' who should be charged. Both lawmakers had previously called for Cuomo's impeachment. The New York Attorney General is suing former ice cream shop owner David Elmendorf (pictured) for falsely reporting that Black Lives Matter protesters were threatening to shoot him last summer The New York Attorney General is using the so-called 'Central Park Karen' law to sue a former ice cream shop owner for falsely reporting that Black Lives Matter protesters were threatening to shoot him last summer. The civil lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday alleges that David Elmendorf, who previously owned Bumpy's Polar Freeze in Schenectady, New York, was racially motivated when he filed a false police report against black protesters outside his store on June 30, 2020. The suit also accused Elmendorf, 35, of targeting the protesters with racist threats while brandishing an air rifle and a baton. The case is the first use of a new state law that allows the attorney general's office to sue an individual who summons a police officer under false, racially motivated pretenses, James said. The law was enacted after a high-profile case in which a white woman, Amy Cooper, called police and falsely told them a black birdwatcher in New York City's Central Park was threatening her. Cooper was dubbed 'Central Park Karen' after video of her calling the cops last May went viral. The lawsuit accuses Elmendorf, who previously owned Bumpy's Polar Freeze in Schenectady, New York, of filing a racially-motivated false police report against black protesters outside his store on June 30, 2020 (pictured) The suit also accused Elmendorf of targeting the protesters with racist threats while brandishing an air rifle, as seen in the video grab above In a statement announcing her latest lawsuit, James said: 'The charges against David Elmendorf should serve as a warning that hate crimes will not be tolerated on my watch and we will not allow any individual to use the color of someone's skin as a weapon.' Elmendorf's ice cream shop became the target of sustained protests last summer after racist text messages allegedly sent by him were circulated on social media, according to the lawsuit. The unrest came to a head on June 30, when Elmendorf approached a group protesters standing peacefully on the porch of a private house near Bumpy's', the suit states. New York Attorney General Letitia James (pictured) filed her lawsuit against Elmendorf on Wednesday The owner allegedly spent 15 minutes spewing racial slurs , including the n-word and 'monkeys'. 'If you come over here I'm going to shoot you. I'll kill all you f**king n****rs,' Elmendorf is quoted saying in the suit. He allegedly threatened the demonstrators with a baton and told them he was going to grab his rifle. The group fled in fear before Elmendorf called 911 and claimed that there were '20 armed protesters who were threatening to shoot him' at his store, prosecutors said. He also allegedly described the protesters as 'savages hanging out in Section 8 housing'. Later in the day 50 protesters showed up at the store again, at which point Elmendorf came out with a .22-caliber air rifle pellet gun, prosecutors said. 'I'll run you n****rs over with my truck,' he allegedly told the crowd. Bumpy's Polar Freeze (pictured) became the target of sustained protests last summer after racist text messages allegedly sent by Elmendorf were circulated on social media Elmendorf was stopped by police as he drove away from the shop. Officers found a pellet gun, a can of ammunition and a rifle scope in his vehicle. He was ultimately arrested on two misdemeanor charges for menacing in connection with the protest confrontation. He pleaded not guilty and the case is still pending. Elmendorf is also facing assault charges for a separate incident in October, in which he allegedly used a pen to stab a private investigator serving court documents at Bumpy's, WNYT reported. Bumpy's was shuttered last fall after Elmendorf allegedly failed to correct a health code violation and to enforce coronavirus-related restrictions. It has since been purchased by new owners and given a new name. Elmendorf's attorney, James Mermigis, responded to the attorney general's lawsuit by saying his client 'categorically denies all allegations'. 'He doesn't have a racist bone in his body,' Mermigis said. 'These allegations are false. He's being smeared, he's being targeted, and the evidence will show that.' The attorney also said that Elmendorf's own life was threatened during the June confrontations, and that the messages which sparked the protests were fake. James' suit claims that Elmendorf's texts were riddled with racial slurs. In one message he allegedly wrote: 'I don't hire black people.' Mermigis said the messages did not come from his client. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 This is wicked stepfather Robin Armstrong who forced himself upon his eight-year-old stepdaughter, Joanna. The twisted 44-year-old pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court last month to five counts of sexual assault of a child and a further count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. His victim, Joanna Burton (16), has waived her right to anonymity to expose her filthy stepfather who repeatedly attacked her in the family home in Ballymoney. Speaking to the Sunday World along with her mother Cara Hill, who consented to her daughter bravely speaking out, Joanna says she was devastated when her attacker was only handed a suspended jail sentence. Expand Close Joanna Burton bravely waived her right to anonymity to let the world know of her twisted stepdads abuse / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joanna Burton bravely waived her right to anonymity to let the world know of her twisted stepdads abuse I couldnt believe it when the judge jailed him for three years but then said it was being suspended so he wont spend a single night behind bars for what he did to me, says Joanna. He thinks he can get away with it and carry on living his life without anybody knowing because he abused a member of his family. Thats why Im waiving my right to anonymity to expose him to the world for what he really is a disgusting child pervert. When he reads this I want him to hear me saying, karmas a bitch. I hope he rots in hell. Joanna says during early court hearings of the case when Armstrong was denying all the charges he laughed and grinned at her in the courtroom. He still thought he had total and utter power over me back then but hopefully now he has had that smile wiped off his face, she told us. In Northern Ireland sex abusers who target family members cannot be identified to protect the identity of their victims. But Joanna and her mum were keen to expose Armstrong and signed forms drawn up by a solicitor to waive that right to anonymity. Joannas mum Cara also told this paper that Robin Armstrong need to be exposed publicly so other women would know what hes like. Hes so arrogant, he thought he could do whatever he liked and because of the circumstances nobody would know, says Cara. Im so proud of Joanna for speaking out because it means we can warn the women of Northern Ireland not to get involved with this man ever especially if you have kids. Now you have met Joanna and I think you can see shes a strong independent woman who makes her own calls Im just here to support her decision to speak publicly. She has every right to have her say he had his say when the perverted bastard decided to get into bed with an eight-year-old girl. And she has absolutely nothing to feel embarrassed or ashamed of. Armstrong, with an address of Ferryquay Place, Coleraine, committed the multiple offences between January 2013 and June 2016. Joanna says she agreed to a plea deal meaning the most serious charge of sexual assault, which included penetration, was left on the books. I wanted the case to be over, I would have given evidence in the witness box but was glad I didnt have to, says Joanna. I still thought he would be sent to prison. If I thought for a second he wouldnt Id have refused the plea deal and gone into court. I was devastated when he was allowed to walk free. His twisted campaign of terror started when Joanna was just eight years old and continued until she was 11. Cara and Joanna say calculated Armstrong waited until his wife was sleeping before attacking his stepdaughter in her own bed. I had no idea this was happening to Joanna until she told me about it in 2018, says Cara. Expand Close Brave Joanna Burton waives right to anonymity to expose her former stepfather / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brave Joanna Burton waives right to anonymity to expose her former stepfather I was devastated. I had married and then separated from Robin by then and it affected me mentally very badly because I had brought him into the house and had no clue what he was doing. I had five kids and was exhausted so I went to bed early. Hed wait an hour until he knew I was asleep and then go into Joannas bed. Its sickening. He doesnt deserve to be in society. No real man would ever hurt a lady never mind do this to a child. Cara says Armstrong had appeared to be a different person when they first met but she now wonders if he had targeted her because she was vulnerable and had young daughters. When I first met Robin back in 2006 he was so charming and caring, says Cara. Robin was like a guardian angel. He was exactly what I needed at the time but now looking back I wonder if he always had this in him and I fear he targeted me because I had daughters. Cara (36)says things changed when they had their first child together. He became more aggressive and seemed to be jealous of the baby because he wasnt getting as much attention as he did before. He started losing his temper and the relationship started to go downhill. We got married in 2014 but we split up two years later. The abuse of Joanna started in 2013. Joanna said: I blocked it out of my mind for a couple of years and only told my mum when I was 14. By then my mum and him had separated. I went to the police and made statements and he was arrested shortly afterwards. He denied it for ages and like I say, he laughed at me in court. He must have thought he would never be convicted or that I wouldnt be strong enough to go through with it. I would just like to say to any girl or woman going through something like this dont suffer in silence speak out. Armstrong was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for three years on each of the six counts he pleaded guilty to. Cara said: In court they made more of his learning difficulties and gave him credit for pleading guilty even though he didnt plead guilty for years. They even mentioned he had suffered a heart attack and needed a stent put into his heart. You would have thought he was the victim the way they were getting on. I just wanted justice for Joanna and was shocked he wasnt sent to jail. My message to any woman out there is dont go near this man. He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely and is barred from working with children and must not have any contact with any children unless supervised by social services or other officials designated by the court. He is subject to a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) for the next five years. Rep. Chris Smith speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Washington on March 10, 2021. (Ken Cedeno/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) GOP House Lawmakers Question Blinken Over Bidens China Policies Republican lawmakers expressed concern over the Biden administrations China policies when Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on March 10. Leading the criticism was Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who asked Blinken whether he would impose a serious cost on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over its human rights violations, and whether he would retain the Commerce Departments entity list blacklisting Chinese companies involved in human rights abuses. Ive chaired over 75 congressional hearings focused exclusively on CCP human rights violations, including pervasive religious persecution, torture, gulag labor, forced abortion, organ harvesting, democracy suppression, media censorship, the jailing of journalists and bloggers, and genocide, Smith said. In response to Smiths questions, Blinken said that he intended to build coalitions of like-minded countries who share these deep concerns about human rights abuses in China. We are determined to put human rights and democracy back at the center of our foreign policy, to make sure that we have the tools that we need to be most effective in advancing human rights and democracy, Blinken said. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Washington on March 10, 2021. (Ting Shen-Pool/Getty Images) Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) questioned Blinken on his view of the CCPs persecution in Chinas far-western Xinjiang region, specifically whether the secretary of state agreed with President Joe Bidens assessment of China having different norms. Blinken appeared to sidestep the question. We have and we will continue to speak out forcefully and shine the light on these egregious violations of human rights, Blinken said. Biden made the comment during a CNN Town Hall event in mid-February, when he recalled his phone conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping days earlier. Biden said, Culturally, there are different norms in each country, and their leaders are expected to follow, referring to the Chinese regimes abuses in Xinjiang versus the U.S. stance on human rights. Critics have said Bidens remarks lend legitimacy to the CCPs rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, where more than 1 million ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs, are currently detained in concentration camps. In January, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that Beijing had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The Biden administrations decision to rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO) was brought up by Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), who told Blinken that he was dismayed at the decision, since the health body was a co-conspirator in covering up the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) speaks during a hearing in Washington on March 10, 2021. (Ting Shen-Pool/Getty Images) Then-President Donald Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the WHO in May 2020, saying that the WHO had refused to act on reforms recommended by the United States. After taking office, Biden signed an executive order halting the U.S. withdrawal. Barr questioned Blinken about whether the Biden administration was serious in holding the CCP accountable for causing the pandemic. In response, Blinken said it was better for the United States to bring reforms to the WHO from within, rather than by not being a part of it. Beijing didnt publicly acknowledge that the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, was contagious until Jan. 20, 2020, several weeks after Taiwan had warned the WHO of the risk of human-to-human transmission in an email. The WHO has denied that the email contained such a warning. Bidens decision to rejoin the WHO was also at the top of concerns for Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.). Steube also asked Blinken to explain why Biden has undone a number of Trumps tough China policies, including the refusal to keep Chinese tech giant Huawei on the entity list and delaying rules that prevent American investment in Chinese companies with ties to the Chinese military. Blinken didnt fully answer Steubes question but defended Bidens decision to rejoin the WHO. Michael Campanella/Getty Prince Daniel and Princess Victoria Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Daniel of Sweden are isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. The Royal Court of Sweden announced on Facebook Thursday that the couple began isolating at home with their two children Princess Estelle, 9, and Prince Oscar, 5 after Victoria began experiencing cold symptoms the previous day. Princess Victoria, 43, and Prince Daniel, 47, "are showing slight symptoms, but feeling well according to circumstances," the statement said. Celebrations of Princess Victoria's name day scheduled for Friday have been canceled. RELATED: Future Queens of Europe! Meet All the Female Heirs Set to Take the Throne IBL/Shutterstock Crown Princess Victoria Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel were set to join her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, at a memorial service marking the anniversary of the first COVID-19 death in Sweden on Thursday. Victoria's brother Prince Carl-Philip and sister-in-law Princess Sofia, who are expecting their third child, will attend the event in their place. Get the premiere issue of PEOPLE Royals for glamorous new photos and inside stories royals fans haven't seen or read elsewhere! Subscribe at peopleroyals.com/launch JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Princess Estelle, King Carl Gustaf and Princess Victoria Several royals around the world have tested positive for coronavirus in the past year, including Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Michael of Kent of the U.K. and Prince Albert of Monaco. Princess Sofia's pregnancy news came in December, shortly after she and Prince Carl Philip announced that they had tested positive for coronavirus and were quarantining. FREDRIK SANDBERG/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia The royal couple began to experience flu-like symptoms in late November, not long after family members gathered to mourn Queen Silvia's brother, Walther Sommerlath, who died on Oct. 23. Story continues The Swedish Royal Court has given an update on the royal's pregnancy earlier this year to the Swedish magazine Svensk Damtiding. "Princess Sofia is still fine, and everything is going well," they said in a statement. RELATED: There's a Swedish Version of The Crown in the Works About King Carl Gustaf Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! The King of Sweden spoke out against the country's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in a rare rebuff. "I think we have failed," King Carl XVI Gustaf, 74, said in his Christmas broadcast. "A large number have died, and that is terrible." Unlike many European countries, Sweden has avoided a full lockdown amid the pandemic, instead relying on voluntary guidelines. "The people of Sweden have suffered tremendously in difficult conditions," the Swedish monarch said. "One thinks of all the family members who have happened to be unable to say goodbye to their deceased family members. I think it is a tough and traumatic experience not to be able to say a warm goodbye." The story chronicles, Barry Bryant, a wealthy tech entrepreneur who is compelled to return to his high-stress corporate life, while negotiating the needs of his pregnant wife right before Christmas. In the evolution, Barry must learn that "goodness is giving", and not just to his family, but to the world that needs him. "It's a wonderful, uplifting story about family, work-balance challenges, and the convergence of technology during the holiday season," says co-writer and Director, Miriam Bavly. "We are thrilled to have such a skilled ensemble cast to bring the story to life." Bavly continues, "Our cast has undeniable chemistry that blew us all away during our first zoom "read and meet"." The movie's acclaimed patriarch, Miguel Nunez jr., will be leading the pack, playing the role of Gramps, often opposite Rodney Perry, who exclaimed "I couldn't be more excited to save Christmas. I am honored to work with this team and the Great Miguel Nunez." For Nunez, who said "This script is poyfect fur me", didn't realize his character was written with him in their heads. Co-writer and producer, JayQ The Legend is thrilled to have Nunez back for their second holiday film. "Miguel is a super talent," says Legend "a real leader on set and everyone who gets to work with him will get a taste of his genius." "The App that Stole Christmas", a 2020 holiday film currently on Netflix, starred Nunez, written by the Bavly and John writing team, and 100% financed by their company, BreakOut Music. "The Drone That Saved Christmas" film is installment two of a holiday comedic trilogy, focused on family values and the intersection with technology. This is the directorial debut for Bavly, Harvard Alum and Co-CEO of BreakOut Music. Billboard artist and co-writer, JayQ The Legend, is creating the soundtrack, along with pop artist, Gigi Vega. Legend also directed the soundtrack for "The App that Stole Christmas", which yielded several, iTunes, Billboard and radio hits. Most important, BreakOut Music productions is making the highest priority to keep the cast safe from COVID19. Along with regular testing and protocol, the team has partnered with Israeli company, Sonovia, whose groundbreaking mask technology has 99% efficacy against viruses, bacteria, and fungi. "We wanted to have the safest set we could have. We aren't playing any games with people's health," says Bavly. Production begins mid-March on "The Drone that Saved Christmas" in Atlanta. Casting by Deneise Howard Productions. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE BreakOut Music and Films Many of Brazils hospitals face severe overcrowding as another version, or variant, of the new coronavirus spreads in the country. Over the past week, Brazilian governors have tried to persuade President Jair Bolsonaro to offer a plan for states to slow the nations COVID-19 outbreak. The plan was to include a curfew, a ban on crowded events and limits on non-necessary services. Bolsonaro has rejected such plans. The result of the effort, presented Wednesday, was a one-page document urging support for restricting activity, but not providing specific measures. Six governors chose not to support the document. Piaui states Governor Wellington Dias told The Associated Press the pressure on hospitals must be eased. He said a growing numbers of patients will have to face COVID-19 without a hospital bed or any hope of treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU). We have reached the limit across Brazil; rare are the exceptions, said Dias, who leads the governors group. The chance of dying without assistance is real. In Brazils southern Sao Paulo state, at least 30 patients died this month while waiting for ICU beds. That report was published Wednesday by the news site G1. In Santa Catarina state, also in the south, 419 people were waiting to be moved to ICU beds. In neighboring Rio Grande do Sul, health officials said the ICU capacity is at 106 percent. Alexandre Zavascki is a doctor in Rio Grande do Suls capital, Porto Alegre. He described a continuous flow of hospital patients who arrive struggling to breathe. I have a lot of (co-workers) who, at times, stop to cry. This isnt medicine were used to performing routinely. This is medicine adapted for a war, Zavascki said. He said much of the public is not recognizing the seriousness of the current virus spread. We see a good part of the population refusing to see whats happening, resisting the facts. Those people could be next to step inside the hospital and will want beds. But there wont be one. Zavascki called for the government to enact more rigid measures. Last year, the Supreme Court over the presidents objections upheld the right of cities and states to put restrictions on public activities. Bolsonaro condemned restrictions, saying the economy needed to keep running and that keeping people apart would cause problems. The most recent virus spread appears to be caused by the P1 variant. Brazils health minister said last month that it is three times as transmissible as the first coronavirus version. It is believed to have started spreading in the Amazonian city Manaus in January. Last week, Brazil reported more than 10,000 deaths. That is the highest number since the coronavirus health crisis began. The failure to slow the spread of the virus is a concern. The director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke about the situation. In the whole country, aggressive use of the public health measures, social measures, will be very, very crucial, he said in a press briefing last Friday. Brazil has experience with mass vaccination campaigns. But COVID-19 vaccines have faced delays. Only 5.5 percent of the population has been vaccinated so far. Brazils national council of state health secretaries last week called for the establishment of a national curfew. It also suggested ordering people to remain in their homes in areas facing overcrowded hospitals. Bolsonaro has resisted such measures. I wont decree it, he said during an event Monday. And you can be sure of one thing: My army will not go to the streets to enforce stay-at-home orders. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for 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 specific adj. special or particular adapt v. to change to become suitable for a new situation rigid adj. not able to be easily changed isolate v. to put or keep (someone or something) in a place or situation that is separate from others transmissible adj. able to be transmitted, or spread crucial adj. extremely important or necessary decree v. officially order something Side effects after COVID-19 vaccination are expected, normal and a telltale sign your body is developing the immunity it needs to fend off serious coronavirus illness. But at least one group of Americans is more likely to experience such reactions. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published last month found that among the first roughly 13.8 million doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine administered to Americans, only about 7,000 people reported adverse events with most classified as non-serious. Interestingly, about 5,500 of those reports (79%) occurred in women in this case, meaning those assigned female at birth even though they received only 61% of the doses, the report shows. In a separate CDC study posted in JAMA, researchers learned all of the 19 cases of severe allergic reaction to the Moderna vaccine were in women. The same group experienced 44 of the 47 severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer shot. So, whats behind the sex discrepancy when it comes vaccine side effects? A lot of it has to do with biological differences between males and females including hormones and genes to the microorganisms that call human bodies home that may impact responses to the vaccine, as well as some social and cultural distinctions. But historical data shows the disproportionate COVID-19 vaccine side effects based on sex is nothing to lose sleep over. I am not at all surprised, Dr. Sabra Klein, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told the New York Times. This sex difference is completely consistent with past reports of other vaccines. Studies have shown its common for women to experience worse side effects after the influenza, pneumococcal, shingles, tetanus and whooping cough vaccines, according to a 2015 review of research on the topic, which Klein co-authored. On the other hand, Dr. Thomas Moore, a professor emeritus at the Boston University School of Medicine, was perplexed over the sex disparities. Story continues One of the most striking things in the table is that the vast majority of cases of anaphylaxis occurred in women I am aware that, in general, anaphylaxis is more common in women, but not to this extent, Moore commented below the CDC study published in JAMA. Perhaps there is something different about these vaccines or mRNA vaccines in general. Certainly worth watching as our experience with these vaccines evolves. After receiving the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, women between the ages of 20 and 59 were four times as likely as men within the same age range to experience allergic reactions, one study revealed. And between 1990 and 2016, women made up 80% of all reported adult anaphylactic reactions following vaccination, mostly with influenza shots. Data also shows that men are less likely to go to the doctor and report feeling side effects after vaccination, experts say, likely because of gender-related roles in society. For example, young men may view attending the general practitioner as wimpish and consequently look down on those who bother the doctor with minor symptoms, a 2001 study found. These social ideas around what it means to be masculine could explain why, in the case of COVID-19 vaccination, more women are reporting worse side effects than men. Dose size may matter, too In 1977, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned most women of childbearing potential from participating in clinical research studies based on the notion that some drugs caused serious birth defects. Years later, the medical community began to realize that womens body size, hormonal make-up and body fat distribution can affect how drugs are absorbed in their bodies. This could potentially mean that life-saving drugs may not work, may not work as well, or may not work similarly, in women as they do in men, said The Office on Womens Health, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It wasnt until 1993 when the initial ban was lifted and women were allowed to participate in clinical trials. Although the COVID-19 vaccines were tested equally among men and women in the lab, different dose sizes were not. This could mean lower doses for women may be just as effective in protecting against COVID-19 but cause fewer side effects, Klein of Johns Hopkins told the Times. Hormones, chromosomes and microbiomes Biology is also partly to blame for the difference in how male and female immune systems react to vaccines, scientists say. Males have one X and one Y sex chromosome, while females have two Xs. The X sex chromosome carries a large number of genes related to immune system function, so any damages that may occur to these X chromosomes are more likely to affect immune responses in males, the 2015 review said. This could explain why antibody responses to viruses and vaccines are consistently higher in females than in males. Even womens microbiome the army of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses that live in and on the human body can directly influence immune function in a sex-specific manner, the review said. Bacteria can influence which sex hormones and how many are actively working in the body. And because hormones affect immune systems, this process can also alter reactions to vaccines. Five Oklahoma City police officers were charged with first-degree manslaughter on Wednesday after they shot and killed a 15-year-old boy who had dropped his gun on the ground, the authorities said. The shooting came after the police had responded to a call for an armed robbery at the Okie Gas Express on Nov. 23. Before officers arrived, the clerk had fled the store and had locked the teenager, Stavian Rodriguez, inside, according to the police. Officers ordered Mr. Rodriguez to come out, and he climbed out a drive-through window, prosecutors said. Body-camera footage shows officers giving Mr. Rodriguez varying commands, prosecutors said. Mr. Rodriguez lifted his shirt up and pulled a gun from his pants, holding it with his thumb and forefinger, prosecutors said. He dropped the gun on the ground and put his left hand in his back pocket and his right hand in his front pocket or waistline, prosecutors said. The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed a three-way agreement with its partners in Brazil and Paraguay to develop aviation sector in Paraguay. Courtesy of KOICA By Yi Whan-woo The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the foreign aid arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed a three-way agreement with its partners in Brazil and Paraguay, March 9, to develop the aviation sector in Paraguay. The three-way deal involves Brazil's National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI) and Paraguay's National Directorate of Civil Aviation (DINAC) comes as a part of a KOICA aviation development project. Introduced in 2017, the project includes training programs for pilots, air traffic controllers and maintenance workers as well as strengthening the capacity of aviation professionals in other ways. KOICA will support and oversee the joint cooperation program, while DINAC will provide administrative support including selection and deployment of experts. SENAI will be responsible for aviation training programs, curricula and training materials tailored to the needs of DINAC, and will offer additional resources required to nurture personnel. "Although the aviation infrastructure in Paraguay still has a lot of shortcomings, it has a great growth potential," said Kim Dae-hwan, director of KOICA's office in Paraguay. Kim noted Paraguay is located centrally in Latin America and can grow into an aviation transport hub for the region. In response to the increasing demand for aviation, refurbishment and expansion works are underway at Asuncion International Airport and there is growing demand for workers in the aviation sector as well. "I hope that from a medium- to long-term perspective, Paraguay will transform into a hub for fostering aviation experts in South America through this project," Kim added. The three-way cooperation aims to create jobs and address personnel shortages by fostering a professional workforce in Paraguay's aviation sector. According to KOICA, the sector needs 687 pilots, 973 maintenance workers and 56 air traffic controllers. Paraguay additionally plans to obtain maintenance certification that can raise credibility from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and the United States as well as other regional countries in order to offer aircraft maintenance services there. In addition to the aviation project, KOICA provides support in Paraguay on transportation, such as roadway technology, public transportation improvements and establishment of sustainable transportation systems. Jim Carter scolded Phillip Schofield during a hilarious interview on Thursday's This Morning. The presenter, 58, was told to 'shut up' by the actor, 72, for grilling him about his wife Imelda Staunton's upcoming stint on The Crown after already being asked about plans for a sequel to the Downton Abbey movie. When questioned about reports that a follow-up to the 2019 film was in the pipeline, Jim said he had read a version of the script but was yet to receive a date to start filming due to the Covid pandemic. 'Honestly, shut up!' Jim Carter scolded Phillip Schofield in a hilarious interview on Thursday's This Morning after the actor was grilled about Imelda Staunton's stint on The Crown Jim was asked by Phillip about the news that Imelda would be taking over from Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, leading the actor to scold: 'Honestly, shut up!' 'We think she's going to be in Downton we think, and The Crown's coming up later in the year.' Veering away from the subject he added: 'We've had an exciting morning, we've turned our mattress this morning!' which sparked a roar of laughter from hosts Phillip and Holly Willoughby. Naughty! The presenter was told to 'shut up' by the actor after already being asked about plans for a sequel to the Downton Abbey movie Exciting: Jim was asked by Phillip about the news that Imelda (pictured) would be taking over from Olivia Colman in The Crown, leading the actor to scold: 'Honestly, shut up!' Jim, who played Mr Carson in the period drama during its six series run, also confirmed the Downton Abbey film's sequel was still in the works, after being hit with delays during the Covid pandemic. He said: 'I have seen the script I don't think I've seen the final script, because I think Julian Fellowes is refining and polishing the final draft. We are hopeful we'll start filming soon, I would love to tell you 100% when we'll start filming. 'We will have another Downton in our lives.' Coming soon: Jim, who played Mr Carson in the period drama during its six series run, also confirmed the Downton Abbey film's sequel was still in the works The screen star also chatted about his daughter Bessie's role in the period series Bridgerton, which became a smash hit when it debuted on Netflix on Christmas Day. He continued: 'They've been very good on celebrating it on Zoom event,s and things like that, raising a glass to each other and having virtual wrap parties. They didn't get to do any fun bits like going out.' Jim was a guest on the show to speak about his work with the charity Marie Curie, ahead of their Great Daffodil Appeal and has spoken openly about struggling with bereavement. He told Phillip and Holly: 'I feel so sorry for those people who have lost somebody this year, people might have died a very lonely death in a hospital, surrounded by people in masks and PPE. 'My mum, was 100 when she died in a care home, but we could be with her. Marie Curie are brilliant at helping with bereavement, so if anybody is in a position where they feel bereft and disconnected, get in touch with Marie Curie.' Jim Carter is supporting Marie Curie's Great Daffodil Appeal this March. Every donation helps Marie Curies frontline staff provide vital care to more dying people and their loved ones. For more information to go www.mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil. This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV. There is no escaping the immense damage done to Britains premier engineering group Rolls-Royce by the pandemic. The cash outflow of 4.2billion is truly horrendous and Warren East, for all his efforts to sound positive, acknowledges there will be some permanent scaring. Airline hours flown, a critical metric for Rolls, will be as much as 30 per cent down from where they might have been in 2025. Grounded: Airline hours flown, a critical metric for Rolls, will be as much as 30 per cent down from where they might have been in 2025 Fears that Covid might prove an existential threat for Rolls-Royce and require a Tory government bail it out for the second time in its history are dismissed. Rolls-Royce will thrive, the chief executive assures us. The aerospace group has managed to juggle several balls at the same time as it has dealt with rolling lockdowns across the globe. It has burnished its finances and at year end has some 9billion of liquidity. It has also managed to upgrade debt by switching short-term borrowing and bonds into more secure financing with the help of export credit guarantees. Rolls has also hammered down costs, with 7,000 jobs gone and another 2,000 still to go. It has resolved the labour dispute over the proposed rundown of manufacturing at the Barnoldswick plant in Lancashire. The best thing which could happen for Rolls-Royce is that the airports do return to service in June allowing it to move towards breaking even in 2021, with a return to profit in 2022 and beyond. The group is allowing Covid to slow down R&D. A pointer of things to come is the deal made with Italys air frame group Tecnam to supply Swedish regional airline Wideroe with first generation electric aircraft. For its more traditional long-haul routes, Rolls is counting on creating synthetic fuels, and combined with its new UltraFan engine should offer carbon neutral flying. It is investing, along with government, half-a-billion pounds in its small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear programme which is part of Boris Johnsons ten-point green deal. What it needs now is the orders to make SMRs a reality. Shares have taken a terrible battering and in spite of a recent snap back on vaccine hopes are trading at one third of the 2018 price. Air travel in Asia, where wide-bodied jets are used to move people around domestically, is already recovering. But it needs long-haul trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic travel to return for confidence to be restored. Partners hit Another beloved institution battered by Covid is John Lewis. Not only has Carrie Symonds dumped its Downing Street flat decorations in favour of Lulu Lytle rococo, but it ran up losses 517million before tax in 2020-21. The shortfall is exaggerated by the big one-off costs which come with store closures. But with underlying profit coming in at 131million it is hard to be optimistic about the coming year, with an additional eight stores to be closed, bringing the size of the portfolio down from 42 to 36. Partners, used to annual bonuses, job security and the camaraderie of working for a mutual, must be wondering where it will all end. In executive chairman Sharon White, the group at least has imaginative leadership. Middle Britain could soon see smaller, convenience John Lewis outlets springing up in the suburbs and local high streets. The rollout of little John Lewiss has begun on an experimental basis in the Waitrose store in Crawley and elsewhere. The fusty departmental store concept is due for a makeover with much more life-experience stuff such as more brands, fitness, coffee and sushi bars. Online and click and collect will be sharpened up. White must keep an eye on the cash outflow. John Lewis doesnt have the option of paying for change with new equity. There is a cash cushion of 1billion but, with the need for capital spend for the transformation, nothing can be taken for granted. White is not counting on a coiled spring recovery. Longer-term fixes are required. Mining guru As one of the worlds most eminent earth scientists and champion of the rights of indigenous people, Andrew Mackenzie may look just the person to take on the role as chairman of Shell. Yet with big oil is under huge pressure to decarbonise, his commercial background in mining groups BHP and Rio Tinto does not inspire immediate confidence. Maybe we are missing something. Cambodia has reported its first COVID-19 death since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, as a recent community transmission cluster continues to spread throughout the provinces. The Ministry of Health released a statement on Thursday reporting the death of a Cambodian man, a former chauffeur to a foreign national, who is also recovering from the disease. The 50-year-old tested positive on February 27 and is part of the February 20 cluster which has, so far, recorded close to 630 COVID-19 cases. Or Vandine, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry, said some patients with COVID-19 are not in stable condition but did not give further details. Currently, some other patients are not in good condition. Our medical team is working very hard to help them, she said in an interview with Bayon TV, which is owned by Prime Minister Hun Sens daughter. The spokesperson also raised concern over the recent outbreak, which has doubled the countrys case count in the last two weeks. I am personally very concerned. We all need to be highly vigilant. It is an alarming situation, she said. The fast-transmitting UK variant is now active in Cambodia, especially in Phnom Penh. The World Health Organization in Phnom Penh released a statement Thursday, expressing its sympathies to the countrys first death which marked a milestone in Cambodias struggle against the virus. Until today, Cambodia was part of an increasingly small group of countries which had yet to experience deaths due to COVID-19. Todays sad death has highlighted that Cambodia is at a tipping point in its struggle against COVID-19, the statement reads. Li Ailan, the WHOs representative to Cambodia, said it was critical for everyone to follow health and safety guidelines and failure to work as a community could be devastating. Since the start of the outbreak in January 2020, Cambodia has reported 1,163 cases of COVID-19 across the country. Concerned Shareholders receive letter of support from an arm's length group of Fancamp Shareholders holding approximately 17% of the issued and outstanding shares of Fancamp. Supportive Shareholders demand that Fancamp's late AGM must be held before the Transaction with ScoZinc. Supportive Shareholders oppose the Transaction with ScoZinc and request that Fancamp provide proper disclosure for a material acquisition and complete change of strategy to a zinc developer. Supportive Shareholders invested in Fancamp for its exposure to the high-quality Champion Iron Ore portfolio, and the diversified and uniquely placed strategic exploration assets across Canada. Supportive Shareholders demand Fancamp shareholder approval for this highly dilutive transaction with ScoZinc. Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Incumbent director of Fancamp, Peter H. Smith, who, together with joint actors, holds directly and indirectly an aggregate of 15,416,097 shares, representing approximately 9.28% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares, and a group of concerned shareholders of Fancamp Exploration Ltd. ("Fancamp" or the "Company") (the "Concerned Shareholders"), are pleased to announce support from an additional group of arm's length shareholders, which, in aggregate, owns or controls approximately 17% of the issued and outstanding shares of Fancamp. The full text of the letter to the Concerned Shareholders follows: Peter H. Smith 340 Victoria Avenue Westmount, Quebec H3Z 2M8 March 1, 2021 RE: Fancamp Exploration Ltd. Dear Peter: We are writing this letter as shareholders of Fancamp Exploration Ltd. ("Fancamp" or the "Company") and I along with several other likeminded individuals represent an aggregate of 18,500,000 shares or approximately 17% of the total issued and outstanding shares of Fancamp. We have also contacted the TSXV with our concerns. This group is acting individually and not acting jointly or in concert. We want to confirm our current support for the Concerned Shareholder group and agree with the points outlined in your "Concerned Shareholder" press release dated March 1, 2021. We demand that Fancamp hold its long overdue annual general meeting ("AGM") of shareholders for 2020 on or before the meeting of shareholders of ScoZinc Mining Limited ("ScoZinc") to approve the plan of arrangement (currently scheduled for April 12, 2021). We also request that Fancamp acquire approval from its shareholders for the proposed plan of arrangement with ScoZinc as it is highly dilutive and, based on what we can gleam from the limited disclosure, it seems to not be an arms-length transaction which demands shareholder approval from a simple corporate governance perspective. If shareholder approval is required, it is our current intention to likely vote our Fancamp shares against the plan of arrangement with ScoZinc. We believe that the current board is not the right board to represent Fancamp or its shareholders. It seems that this board is only focused on rewarding friends and family as well as themselves at the detriment of the true owners of Fancamp. We are disappointed by the continued delay of the 2020 AGM and will be alert to any entrenchment actions by current management or the board during the interim period which we would strenuously oppose. We confirm that you may make public disclosure of this correspondence and our position expressed herein. Yours very truly, Concerned Shareholders of Fancamp Supportive Shareholders Oppose the Transaction with ScoZinc "We appreciate the support we received today from this arm's length group of Concerned Shareholders and the significant confidence they have conveyed in also validating the need for Fancamp to hold its AGM prior to the ScoZinc Transaction closing and more importantly agreeing that a shareholder vote is needed on the ScoZinc Transaction" said Peter H. Smith. Mr. Smith also stated that "based on the significant number of inbound calls and words of encouragement we have received, we anticipate many other Fancamp shareholders, who share our concerns, will also support us in our push to allow the true owners of Fancamp to have their voices heard." Advisors The Concerned Shareholders have retained Gryphon Advisors Inc. as its strategic shareholder services advisor. Farris LLP is acting as legal counsel to Mr. Smith. For more information regarding the Concerned Shareholders' position please contact: Gryphon Advisors Inc. Tel: 1-833-461-3651 Email: inquiries@gryphonadvisors.ca Information in Support of Public Broadcast Solicitation The information contained in this press release does not and is not meant to constitute a solicitation of a proxy within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although the Concerned Shareholders have approached several nominees for election to the Company's board of directors at the company's next general meeting of shareholders, there is currently no record or meeting date set and shareholders are not being asked at this time to execute a proxy in favour of any matter. In connection with the meeting, the Concerned Shareholders may file a dissident information circular in due course in compliance with applicable securities laws. The information contained herein, and any solicitation made by the Concerned Shareholders in advance of any general meeting of shareholders, or will be, as applicable, made by the Concerned Shareholders and not by or on behalf of the management of Fancamp. All costs incurred for any solicitation will be borne by the Concerned Shareholders, provided that, subject to applicable law, the Concerned Shareholders may seek reimbursement from Fancamp of the Concerned Shareholders' out-of-pocket expenses, including proxy solicitation expenses and legal fees, incurred in connection with a successful reconstitution of the Company's board of directors. The Concerned Shareholders are not soliciting proxies in connection with a general meeting of shareholders of the Company at this time. The Concerned Shareholders may engage the services of one or more agents and authorize other persons to assist in soliciting proxies on behalf of the Concerned Shareholders. Any proxies solicited by or on behalf of the Concerned Shareholders, including by any other agent retained by the Concerned Shareholders, may be solicited pursuant to a dissident information circular or by way of public broadcast, including through press releases, speeches, or publications and by any other manner permitted under Canadian corporate and securities laws. Any such proxies may be revoked by instrument in writing executed by a shareholder or by his or her attorney authorized in writing or, if the shareholder is a body corporate, by an officer or attorney thereof duly authorized or by any other manner permitted by law. The registered address of Fancamp is located at 3200 - 650 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 4P7. The mailing and head office address of Fancamp is 7290 Gray Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia V5J 3Z2. A copy of this press release may be obtained on Fancamp's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76709 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska next week, the first meeting of senior American and Chinese officials since President Joe Biden took office on January 20. Blinken and Sullivan "will meet on March 18 in Anchorage, Alaska with People's Republic of China (PRC) Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi. The meeting will take place following Secretary Blinken's meetings with two of our closest regional allies in Tokyo and Seoul. Secretary Blinken and NSA Sullivan will discuss a range of issues with the PRC," said the State Department Wednesday. A week ago, Blinken declared the relationship between Washington and Beijing is the world's "biggest geopolitical test" of the century. The top U.S. diplomat said Washington would continue to compete, collaborate and be "adversarial," if necessary, with China. Relations between the world's two leading economies are at their worst in decades as the nations clash over trade, 5G technology, human rights and regional security. "It would be naive to predict a reset of the U.S.-China relationship and I think that the Chinese are not naive. They want to stabilize U.S.-China ties and cooperate where possible," said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. "Although Beijing is not emphasizing the competitive aspect of the relationship, the Chinese are well aware that it is now the dominant factor. The Biden administration has not jettisoned the Trump administration's approach to China instead, it is seeking to compete more effectively," Glaser told VOA. The Quad Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are heading to Asia in coming days to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to allies in the region. Their first trip abroad as the top U.S. diplomat and defense chief comes after Biden meets virtually with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. The so-called Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, has been considered to be a counterweight to China's increasingly aggressive actions throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Beijing has denounced the Quad as an attempt to contain its development. But officials from the Biden administration said the Quad is not about countering China. "The Quad is not about any single challenge. It's not about any single competitor," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price when asked by VOA to what extent Friday's Quad meeting would address the adversarial aspect of U.S.-China relationship. Price added that maritime security is one of many important issues on the agenda, "but our shared interests go well beyond that." "I see a departure from how the Biden administration wants to talk about the Quad, but that doesn't mean the goals and objectives of this regional grouping will be any different," said Eric Sayers, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "Whether we say the Quad is directly about China or large issues of regional order, what matters is the level of cooperation that can be achieved towards building resilience against China's multi-domain coercion campaign that we see unfolding in areas like the military, technology, telecommunication and trade," he told VOA. Other analysts, including Derek Grossman who is a senior analyst with the U.S.-based Rand Corporation research institution, told VOA that China is on the agenda, even if left unspoken. "It is clear that one of the key regional and global challenges that all four participants are concerned about is China, and in particular, Beijing's growing assertiveness in the East and South China Seas," Grossman told VOA. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Boston, MA - Vaccinating adults age 26 and older against the human papillomavirus (HPV)--the virus that causes more than 90% of cervical cancers as well as several other cancers--may not be cost-effective, according to a new study led by researchers at the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health. "Our study found that the added health benefit of increasing the vaccination age limit beyond 26 years is minimal, and that the cost-effectiveness is much lower than in pre-adolescents, the target age group for the HPV vaccine," said Jane Kim, K.T. Li Professor of Health Economics and lead author of the study. The study will be published March 11, 2021, in PLOS Medicine. HPV vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in preventing HPV infections that are associated with cervical, anal, oropharyngeal, vulvar, vaginal, and penile cancers, as well as genital warts. Current U.S. guidelines recommend HPV vaccination for girls and boys at age 11 or 12, and catch-up vaccination for people through age 26 if they were not vaccinated when younger. For adults beyond age 26, the guidelines don't specifically recommend catch-up vaccination but suggest that, for people aged 27-45, clinicians and patients make decisions about HPV vaccination on an individual basis. The new study, undertaken to inform these national guidelines, used two mathematical models--from Harvard and Cancer Council New South Wales, Australia--that simulated scenarios of extending HPV vaccination to women and men up to age 45 years. Using U.S. data, the models projected cost and health outcomes of the six HPV-associated cancers and genital warts, taking into account historical and future vaccination uptake in younger people, cervical cancer screening practices among women, vaccine efficacy, and vaccination costs. The researchers sought to determine whether the benefits of HPV vaccination at older ages would have an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) that was in line with a commonly-cited upper threshold of $200,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). QALYs are a measure of life expectancy adjusted to account for quality of life associated with health conditions and events. The researchers found that HPV vaccination beyond age 26 in the U.S. would provide limited health benefit at the population level, at a substantial cost, given current HPV vaccine prices. Their analysis showed that the ICER for vaccinating people up to age 45 years ranged from $315,700 to $440,600 per QALY gained. Kim noted that current HPV vaccines are prophylactic and therefore most effective when given prior to HPV exposure, which can happen soon after sexual initiation; once someone is exposed to HPV, the vaccine won't clear those infections. "By the time you vaccinate individuals in their 30s and 40s, many have already been exposed to HPV, so the health benefit really decreases at these older ages," she said. "It's also important to emphasize that cervical cancer screening remains an effective and cost-effective way to protect women from cervical cancer." The study results, which were previously reported to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, helped inform the committee's June 2019 recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on HPV vaccination. "Other countries that are considering extending the upper age limit of HPV vaccination to include older adults should consider the opportunity costs of doing so," said Kim. ### Other Harvard Chan School co-authors of the study included Emily Burger, Stephen Sy, and Catherine Regan. Funding for the study came from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health (grant number U01CA199334). "Human papillomavirus vaccination for adults aged 30 to 45 years in the United States: A cost-effectiveness analysis," Jane J. Kim, Kate T. Simms, James Killen, Megan A. Smith, Emily A. Burger, Stephen Sy, Catherine Regan, Karen Canfell, PLOS Medicine, online March 11, 2021, doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003534 Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health. She's no stranger to flaunting her enviable curves. But Coco Austin took it to the extreme on Wednesday when she braved a snowy day to showcase her curves in a barely there lace bodysuit. The 41-year-old model and wife of Ice-T shared a short video of her risque snow day to Instagram for her three million followers after TikTok deleted it. Curves ahead! Coco Austin, 41, flaunted her curves in a black lace bodysuit on Instagram Wednesday after TikTok deleted the risque video Coco's black lacy outfit barely reached the top of her thighs but featured long sleeves that came up to her shoulders. She went bra-free thanks to carefully placed stitching and had on an ultra high-cut black thong on. The Ice Loves Coco star did her best to beat the cold with a pair of white furry boots and a fuzzy black hat. She turned around half-way through her short video to showcase her pert derriere in the bodysuit, as well as her midriff-length blond locks cascading down her back. Staying warm: The Ice Loves Coco star did her best to beat the cold with a pair of white furry boots and a fuzzy black hat Blond beauty: She turned around half-way through her short video to showcase her pert derriere in the bodysuit, as well as her midriff-length blond locks cascading down her back Skimpy: She went bra-free thanks to carefully placed stitching and had on an ultra high-cut black thong on Coco's clip was apparently too suggestive for its original home on TikTok, she revealed in her caption. 'So TikTok took this video down.. I guess too much skin. Oh well, on to the next video,' she wrote. The day before, the reality star shared her newest subtle hair experiment. She shared a closeup selfie highlighting her thick blond waves while wearing a zip-up black top with a leopard-print chest. New hair: The day before, the reality star shared a closeup selfie highlighting her thick blond waves while wearing a zip-up black top with a leopard-print chest Darker: 'Feeling wavy today... Trying to see if i like lowlights in the bottom part my hair again,' she shared in the caption 'Feeling wavy today... Trying to see if i like lowlights in the bottom part my hair again,' she shared in the caption. 'Its very subtle but lowlights are streaks of slightly darker blonde in my honey blonde ..I got alot of great hair stylist around me,' she wrote, adding that '@style_by_danielle is one of them!' Coco also posted a view from behind of her long waves to show the subtle darker shading at the ends of her hair. Going strong: Missing from Coco's posts was her husband, rapper and actor Ice-T, 62, with whom she celebrated her 20th anniversary on New Year's Eve Missing from Coco's posts was her husband, rapper and actor Ice-T, 62. The couple recent celebrated their 20th anniversary on New Year's Eve, after getting married at the start of 2002. She wrote on Twitter: '20 years together!!! I cant believe its been 2 decades! Your one of the best things thats ever happened to me. Happy Anniversary to us!! I love you babe! Here's to another 20.' The couple share one child, a five-year-old daughter named Chanel. They tied the knot in an intimate New Year's Eve wedding. And Samantha Armytage and her husband Richard Lavender shared the private details of how they met during the 44-year-old TV star's final day hosting Sunrise on Thursday morning. 'We met at the end of a friend's birthday party. Right at the end,' Richard, 61, explained to Sam's co-host David 'Kochie' Koch as he sat beside his wife during her emotional farewell. Farewell: Sam Armytage [L] and her husband Richard Lavender [R] have shared details of how they met, during the 44-year-old presenter's final day hosting Sunrise on Thursday morning 'I remember seeing her, and I got this really nice sort of feeling,' continued the millionaire horse breeder. 'I thought, "That's my girl"'. Kochie then asked Richard how he knew Sam was 'The One' just by looking at her. 'It sounds corny, but it was [love at first sight],' said Lavender. Origin story: 'We met at the end of a friend's birthday party. Right at the end,' Richard explained to Sam's co-host David Koch Put a ring on it: The couple tied the knot in an intimate New Year's Eve wedding Explaining how he arranged a second meeting with Sam, the Bowral farmer said, 'One of her old school friends was staying with me and the next morning I was cooking breakfast and she came into the kitchen and said, "Can I give you a hand?"' 'And I said "Yes you can, you get me Sam Armytage's phone number"' 'And here we are. So that's the story.' Love at first sight: 'I remember seeing her, and I got this really nice sort of feeling,' continued the millionaire horse breeder A new chapter: Sam officially signed off from Sunrise on Thursday, after an impressive eight-year run on Australia's most popular breakfast show. The couple seen here in October last year Sam added that she had been 'hanging out [my myself] for all those years, doing all the things I loved to do, sort of thinking "Who is like me?"' 'And then I met Richard and I was like, "Oh my god, he's like the other half"' 'He loves all the things I love and now I have someone to do them with.' Her other love: Sam's beloved pooch Banjo also joined in the farewell celebrations Sam officially signed off from Sunrise on Thursday, after an impressive eight-year run on Australia's most popular breakfast show. Her Monday resignation announcement followed months of rumours she was preparing to leave Sunrise to spend more time with Richard at his country estate in the Southern Highlands. Sam's last day on Sunrise was Thursday, but her $800,000-a-year contract with Seven doesn't expire until October. Industry website TV Blackbox reported on Monday that newsreader Natalie Barr was expected to take over Sam's position alongside co-anchor David 'Kochie' Koch. New automation and machinery will increase packaging capacity for North American and European markets Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) today announced expansion plans for its newly acquired paper bottle technology with a $25 million investment in subsidiary Ecologic's Manteca, California, location and the buildout of a new paper bottle plant in its Sustainability Center of Excellence in Tortosa, Spain. This expansion will create the first paper-based scaled technology in the market, as Jabil delivers Ecologic's innovative pulp molding capabilities to new geographies and enables production of hundreds of millions of new paper packages. Jabil is making this investment in response to significant consumer packaged goods (CPG) market demand. According to Euromonitor, consumers reported that they are three times more likely to prefer paper-based packaging over alternatives that leverage metal or plastic. Jabil's global investment includes a footprint expansion, as well as the delivery of new equipment and automation, unlocking tremendous potential for CPG brands. This investment accelerates the maturation of paper packaging in commercial settings, from niche application to global brand scale. The enhancement of the two facilities in the Jabil Packaging Solutions (JPS) division significantly enriches Jabil's sustainable packaging platform and offerings for CPG customers. This expansion of the JPS footprint is a continuation of the process begun in January 2021, when Jabil acquired Ecologic Brands, a leading provider of sustainable packaging specializing in paper bottle and paper-based packaging solutions. "As consumers become more informed about the environmental impact of plastic waste, they are looking for new, sustainable packaging solutions such as paper. The challenge for packaging providers is the ability to scale production to meet this demand," said Jason Paladino, senior vice president of Jabil and CEO of Jabil Packaging Solutions. "The expansion of these two facilities will result in a significant increase in packaging capacity for the North American and European markets, helping CPG brands in pursuit of challenging sustainability goals." Please visit Jabil Packaging Solutions for more information. About Jabil Jabil (NYSE: JBL) is a manufacturing solutions provider with over 260,000 employees across 100 locations in 30 countries. The world's leading brands rely on Jabil's unmatched breadth and depth of end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply chain insights and global product management expertise. Driven by a common purpose, Jabil and its people are committed to making a positive impact on their local community and the environment. Visit www.jabil.com to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005558/en/ Contacts: Michelle Smith VP Communications Brand Strategy, Jabil +1 813 415 1116 michelle_smith@jabil.com Moon Kyung-won, left, and Jeon Joon-ho / Courtesy of MMCA By Kwon Mee-yoo Artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho have been named for the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2021, an artist support program co-hosted by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and Hyundai Motor. The project is a 10-year partnership between the MMCA and the global carmaker, providing funds for new works and solo exhibitions at the state-run museum for mid-career artists. Artists can create large-scale works or experiment with new techniques, developing their artistry as they seek a breakthrough. Moon and Jeon are the eighth in the series since 2014, following noted artists including Lee Bul, Kim Soo-ja, Im Heung-soon and Yang Hae-gue. Both established artists with individual careers, Moon and Jeon have worked together since 2009, exploring the social function of art. The duo won the Korea Artist Prize at the MMCA in 2012 and participated in dOCUMENTA (13) the same year in Kassel, Germany. Moon and Jeon also represented the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2015 with their site-specific video installation "The Ways of Folding Space & Flying." They held a solo exhibition "News from Nowhere" at Tate Liverpool in 2018 with new film "Anomaly Strolls." A still from the making of Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho's "News from Nowhere: Freedom Village," which will be shown at the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2021 in September / Courtesy of MMCA Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Kesselrun Resources Ltd. (TSXV: KES) (OTC Pink: KSSRF) ("Kesselrun" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following update on its Huronian Gold Project. The Company has received initial results from the 2021 drill program. The program commenced on the Fisher Zone with the initial goal of testing the grade continuity and plunge direction of the high-grade shoot at Fisher. Highlights Hole 21HUR030 assayed 14.8 g/t Au over 1.0 m within 10.3 m of 4.7 g/t Au ; 21HUR031 assayed 30.4 g/t Au over 1.0 m within 5.8 m of 6.8 g/t Au ; 21HUR032 assayed 14.3 g/t Au over 0.9 m within 3.9 m of 4.5 g/t Au ; 21HUR034 assayed 16.7 g/t Au over 0.8 m and 13.3 g/t Au over 1.4 m within 3.8 m of 5.8 g/t Au and 3.9 m of 7.0 g/t Au respectively within ; 21HUR031 assayed within ; 21HUR032 assayed within ; 21HUR034 assayed and within and respectively Multiple high-grade veins intercepted within wide zones of gold mineralization. Plunge direction confirmed at shallower levels Holes now planned further down plunge Figure 1: Schematic Longsection - Huronian Project - Fisher Zone To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4206/76829_02623d8504a25aed_001full.jpg Michael Thompson, P.Geo., President and CEO of the Company, commented, "Our team worked hard incorporating last year's impressive drill results remodeling the Fisher Zone along with the entire mineralizing system on the Huronian Gold Trend. These first few holes were testing that revised model allowing us to more effectively target aggressive step outs down plunge. This revised model has also resulted in new, very compelling targets that we are excited to test in the future." The 2021 Huronian drill program is budgeted at 20,000 metres targeting the Fisher, Fisher North, McKellar and Huronian zones, all in close proximity along an approximate 1500 m strike length in the area of the historic Huronian Mine. The area also has tremendous potential for discovery of new zones in light of the new revised mineralization model. Figure 2: Schematic Plan Map - Huronian Project To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4206/76829_02623d8504a25aed_002full.jpg Table 1: Summary of Significant Drill Intercepts - Huronian Project - Fisher Zone (1) Hole ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) 21HUR030 10.6 51.8 41.2 1.4 including 33.0 43.3 10.3 4.7 and including 33.0 34.0 1.0 14.8 21HUR031 21.5 44.2 22.7 2.1 including 28.0 33.8 5.8 6.8 and including 30.0 31.0 1.0 30.4 21HUR032* 25.1 56.6 31.5 1.9 including 25.1 29.7 4.6 5.6 and including 25.4 28.7 3.3 6.2 including 46.2 50.1 3.9 4.5 and including 49.2 50.1 0.9 14.3 21HUR033 22.6 30.2 7.6 1.4 21HUR034 23.8 65.9 42.1 1.9 including 23.8 27.6 3.8 5.8 and including 23.8 24.6 0.8 16.7 including 52.6 56.5 3.9 7.0 and including 52.6 54.0 1.4 13.3 (1) Widths are drill indicated core length as insufficient drilling has been undertaken to determine true widths at this time. Average grades are calculated with un-capped gold assays as insufficient drilling has been completed to determine capping levels for higher grade gold intercepts. (*) Hole 21HUR032 ended at 56.6m in mineralization due to lost rod string. About the Huronian Gold Project The 100% owned Huronian Gold Project hosts the past producing Huronian Mine, Northwestern Ontario's first gold mine with an historic resource estimate of 44,592 oz Au @ 15.3 g/t Au in the indicated category and 501,377 oz Au @ 14.4 g/t Au in the inferred category. The resource estimate presented for the Huronian Project is historic in nature. Kesselrun Resources' qualified person has not completed sufficient work to confirm the results of the historical resource. Kesselrun Resources is not treating this as a current mineral resource but is considering it relevant as a guide to future exploration and is included for reference purposes only. The historic resource was estimated by Minescape Exploration Inc. in 1998. Further drilling will be required by Kesselrun Resources to verify the historic estimate as current mineral resources. As well, the Huronian Gold Project hosts the same lithological package of rocks, as interpreted from both Government of Ontario and Kesselrun Resources mapping, compilation and modelling, on strike from Wesdome Gold's adjacent Moss Lake Gold Deposit with a resource estimate of 1,377,300 oz Au @ 1.1 g/t Au in the indicated category and 1,751,600 oz Au @ 1.1 g/t Au in the inferred category as outlined in their 2013 PEA2. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on Kesselrun Resources' property. (2)Moss Lake Gold Mines (currently wholly owned subsidiary of Wesdome Gold) news releases February 20, 2013 and September 9, 2013. On January 26, 2021 Wesdome announced that the Moss Lake Project would be purchased by Goldshore Resources Inc. (see Wesdome and Goldshore news releases dated January 26, 2021). Qualified Person Michael Thompson, P.Geo., President and CEO of Kesselrun, is the Qualified Person responsible for the project as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical information in this news release. QAQC Kesselrun has implemented a quality control program to comply with industry best practices for sampling, chain of custody and analyses. Certified gold reference standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted at the core processing site as part of the QA/QC program in addition to the control samples inserted by the lab. Samples are prepared and analyzed by Activation Laboratories in Thunder Bay. Samples are analyzed for gold using Fire Assay-AA techniques. Samples returning over 10 g/t gold are analyzed using Fire Assay-Gravimetric methods. Selected samples are also analyzed with a standard 1 kg metallic screen fire assay. All results reported herein have passed QA/QC protocols. Health and Safety The health and safety of our personnel and contractors is always top priority to Kesselrun. The current situation presents new challenges above and beyond what we normally face while working in the field. Kesselrun has implemented further measures to ensure the health and safety of all working on the Company's projects. About Kesselrun Resources Ltd. Kesselrun Resources is a Thunder Bay, Ontario-based mineral exploration company focused on growth through property acquisitions and discoveries. Kesselrun's management team possesses strong geological and exploration expertise in Northwest Ontario. For more information about Kesselrun Resources, please visit www.kesselrunresources.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. For additional information please contact: Kesselrun Resources Ltd. Michael Thompson, P.Geo., President & CEO 807.285.3323 michaelt@kesselrunresources.com Corporate Communications 1.866.416.7941 information@kesselrunresources.com Forward Looking Statements - Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Kesselrun, including, but not limited to the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, dependence upon regulatory approvals, the execution of definitive documentation, the availability of financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76829 BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children MOSCOW -- A court in Moscow has refused to remove Nasiliyu.net, a leading organization that addresses domestic violence and LGBT rights, from the registry of "foreign agents." Lawyer Pavel Chikov of the Agora legal defense organization said on March 11 that the Zamoskvoretsky district court rejected Nasiliyu.net's request to annul a Justice Ministry decision to add the group to its controversial list of organizations fulfilling the functions of a "foreign agent." The ministry justified its move, made in December, by saying that the NGO had received foreign funding and was engaged in political activity. The NGO has denied it is politically active. Chikov said earlier this month that the government's complaint against Nasilyu.net said the group's activity in "publicizing the problem of domestic violence," "creating conditions so that victims know where to turn for help," and "participating in promoting and conducting campaigns aimed at adopting a law against family and domestic violence" must be considered "political activity" under the "foreign-agent" laws. The government also deemed the NGO's public calls for government agencies "to take measures to protect victims of domestic violence" during the coronavirus pandemic to be "political activity." The NGO's leader, Anna Rivina, said on March 8 that her organization had been ordered to vacate their Moscow offices by the end of March for unclear reasons. Russia's so-called foreign-agent legislation was adopted in 2012 and has been modified repeatedly. It requires nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity to be registered, to identify themselves as "foreign agents," and to submit to audits. Human Rights Watch has described the foreign-agent legislation as "restrictive" and intended "to demonize independent groups." Later modifications to the foreign-agent law have targeted foreign-funded media, including RFE/RL's Russian Service, six other RFE/RL Russian-language news services, and Current Time. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she is clearly concerned about the Biden administrations recent decision to pause new oil and gas leasing on federal lands. During a wide-ranging webinar hosted by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, Lujan Grisham said she supported President Joe Bidens efforts to reverse reckless public land decisions made by the previous administration, but said the decision threatens to undercut efforts made at the state level to curb emissions. Youre not going to get as far, as fast, Lujan Grisham said. If youre looking for innovation in environmental policy, youre going to stall that. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The governor said her administration, which had not previously taken a stance on the federal moratorium, sent a strongly worded letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior, and is working with other western governors to develop a program that credits states with robust energy initiatives. We are doing all the things they aspire to do at the federal level, she said. Lujan Grisham spoke for about an hour during the event, updating business leaders on issues ranging from the paid sick leave bill being discussed by the New Mexico senate, to state efforts to provide economic aid to businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your success, quite frankly, is the states success, Lujan Grisham told the chamber participants. On the topic of paid sick leave for workers, the governor said she applauds legislators work, but added that shed like to see a bill that gives businesses enough time to prepare and avoids unintended consequences for both businesses and employees. Otherwise, she said the state risks hurting both businesses and employees. There is a lot to be said for when and how you do that, Lujan Grisham said. The governor acknowledged the state has to pay back loans to the federal government that it took out to replenish its unemployment benefits, but she said it isnt her intention to pass those costs onto New Mexicos business community. Additionally, Lujan Grisham said the state is working to provide around $900 million in support for New Mexico small businesses. These efforts include a $200 million relief measure signed into law earlier this month, which authorized $600 rebates for New Mexico workers who make $15 an hour or less, as well as a four-month tax holiday for restaurants and other dining establishments. As COVID-19 cases decline and more New Mexicans get the vaccine, the governor said shes optimistic that the state can lead the economic recovery. I think were going to create an environment in New Mexico that other states are going to look to, Lujan Grisham said. Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes Controversial multi-millionaire retail boss Gary Johnston has died at the age of 72 just weeks after he sparked a row with his neighbours by building a giant letterbox. Mr Johnston founded electronics retailer Jaycar in 1981 - a company which has since grown to more than 100 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Friends of the entrepeneur - who is believed to have passed away on Wednesday - paid tribute to the 'fierce businessman' on social media on Thursday. Gary Johnston (right) - the controversial founder of electronics retailer Jaycar - has died at the age of 72 New South Wales Rugby League side Wests Magpies paid tribute to Mr Johnston, who was a loyal supporter of the NRL feeder club. 'Gary was a life-long Wests Magpies supporter and sponsor,' the club wrote. 'Our thoughts are with Garys family and his respective business partners during this time.' His death comes just weeks after he prompted a row with neighbours in Avalon in Sydney's Northern Beaches by building a letterbox across a public reserve next to his home. The 3.9m tear-drop shaped letterbox was semi-constructed above his holiday home in the luxury suburb before complaints from neighbours stalled the building work. A Jaycar store is pictured. The company has since grown to more than 100 stores across Australia and New Zealand Mr Johnston last month prompted a neighbourhood dispute by building a letterbox (pictured centre-left in stone next to the bins) across a public reserve next to his home in Sydney's Northern Beaches Northern Beaches Council though claimed the installation was an attempt 'to privatise the public frontage' and challenged it in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. Neighbours had submitted 27 complaints against the letterbox, The Daily Telegraph reported. The business owner divided opinion in 2012 when he told an interview with 2GB 'if a woman walks into some bars in Sydney, she will be ogled'. 'She will be treated as an object and thats the way it is. She doesnt have to walk into those bars,' he told the radio show. Flash The Ethiopian government is committed to further strengthening cooperation with China, a senior Ethiopian government official has said. China and Ethiopia have forged close socio-economic and investment cooperation for more than 50 years, and the partnership is expected to flourish in the years ahead, Yasmin Wohabrebbi, Ethiopia's state minister of finance, said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "China's positive engagement in our two countries' relations is evident in terms of financing large-scale infrastructure projects in Ethiopia, which include road, energy, and railway projects such as the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway," Wohabrebbi said. The state minister also emphasized the two countries' ever-growing cooperation in trade and investment. She stressed that the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance is undertaking various initiatives to strengthen strategic cooperation between the two sides, emphasizing that the ministry will further boost its efforts to elevate the ties between the two countries. "The partnership between Ethiopia and China is, in particular, expected to deepen in line with China's massive potential and role in the implementation and realization of Ethiopia's recently endorsed 10-year development plan," she said. The East African country recently endorsed a 10-year development plan, in which the manufacturing industry took the lion's share. As Ethiopia aims to become the hub of light manufacturing in Africa in the foreseeable future, China's engagement can help a lot. According to recent figures from the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), Chinese companies, with close to 1,564 projects that were either operational or under implementation during the past two decades, are the top players in Ethiopia's investment landscape both in terms of the number of projects and the financial capital. From the 1,564 Chinese investment projects in the nation, 987 of the projects are in operational phase, 186 are under the implementation phase, while the remaining 391 are in pre-implementation phase, it was noted. Out of all the Chinese projects, 1,133 of them are in the manufacturing sector, which is a major priority investment area by the Ethiopian government, according to the EIC. [March 11, 2021] Latest Edition of The Bellringer addresses the Current State of the Market and the Rise of the Small Cap with Charlie Dreifus of Royce Investment Partners New York, NY, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire) The Mankoff Company, a leading FinTech marketing firm, is pleased to announce its latest edition of The Bellringer, an offshoot of its After the Bell panel discussions, features a conversation with Charlie Dreifus, Portfolio Manager and Managing Partner at Royce Investment Partners. In this interview with Stacey Mankoff, Managing Principal of The Mankoff Company and Founder of After the Bell Events, Charlie addresses the current state of the market; the impact of the stimulus package and other government initiatives on the economy as well as the historical rise in small cap and whether or not this trajectory will continue into 2021 and beyond. The Bellringer is a one-on-one conversation with industry leaders on highly topical issues in the financial and FinTech industry. As the After the Bell events have been on pause due to current global circumstances, the bi-weekly Bellringer allows for energetic discourse and allows viewers to get a taste of the experience these events provide in a virtual environment. Past conversations have included att Trudeau, ErisX; Luke Sully, Custody Digital Group; Lisa Marks-Canty, NEST Global Solutions; Marc Chandler, Bannockburn Global Forex; Irene Aldridge, Able Markets; Adi Ben-Ari, Applied Blockchain among others. Stacey Mankoff, Managing Principal of The Mankoff Company and Founder of After the Bell events said I am delighted to be interviewing Charlie this week. His insights are extremely valuable and for anyone looking at todays markets and wondering what is happening, Charlie is the one to provide clear, calm and concise insights. Charlie Dreifus manages Royce Investment Partners Special Equity mutual funds that attempt to combine classic value analysis, the identification of good businesses, and accounting cynicism. In 2008, he was named Morningstar's Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year. Prior to joining Royce in 1998, he was a General Partner and Managing Director and a Limited Managing Director of Lazard Freres & Co., LLC. Charlie was also the Portfolio Manager of Lazard Special Equity Portfolio, formerly Lazard Special Equity Fund and Special Equity separate accounts. Prior to that, he was employed by Oppenheimer & Co. as a Limited Partner and as the manager of Quest For Value Fund (from May 1980 to November 1982) and by Oppenheimer Capital as an Executive Vice President. This weeks interview between Stacey and Charlie can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/TheBellringerMktsSmallCap. The Bellringers other conversations can be viewed here: http://themankoffcompany.us/after-the-bell_news-and-events and are the only recorded conversations offered by The Mankoff Company as After the Bell events are not streamed, video-recorded or audio-recorded. Contact The Mankoff Company 917.543.4107 info@themankoffcompany.com http://themankoffcompany.us/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 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. Our teachers are trained observers of children, interacting with their students with an eye and mind to development, looking for opportunities to nurture the social and emotional development of each child. Teachers will ask themselves questions on a range of subjects such as a childs vocabulary, how they relate to others, co-operate, share, talk about experiences and, more today than ever, ask themselves, are there any signs of anxiety? Anxiousness is being sighted from the youngest ages in students. Credit:iStock Anxiousness is being sighted from the youngest ages in students and was highlighted pre-pandemic through a survey conducted by the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) of 700 primary schools across the country as a significant issue by 80 per cent of school leaders at their school. What is being reported to the APPA by teachers across the system is that anxiety and stress has accelerated with the impact of the coronavirus. 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. New Delhi: In a development that shows global solidarity for the situation in Myanmar, the United Nations Security Council issued a Presidential Statement on Wednesday in which India played a constructive role. The UNSC reiterated "deep concern" about the development in Myanmar while condemning the "violence against peaceful protesters". The one-page statement expressed "deep concern" over restrictions against medical personnel, civil society, labor union members, journalists, and media workers and "called for the immediate release of all those detained arbitrarily". This is the first time the UNSC statement has "condemned" the violence in Myanmar. India's "constructive" engagement was reflected in the UNSC statement and also in line with its previous statement at the United Nations. When it comes to India's policy on Myanmar, it was explicitly mentioned by India's ambassador to the UN, TS Tirumurti at the United Nations General Assembly in February. And while expressing "concerns", the envoy called out for "restoration of democratic order", the release of political detainees, and the development should not impact the repatriation of Rohingya Refugees to the country. The UNSC presidential statement builds upon the earlier UNSC press statement of 4th February. The core UN group had met back then, days after the 1st of February bloodless coup. Back then India was widely appreciated for playing an "important" role by being the "bridge" and making sure that there is a balanced approach in the text. In both major conversations at the UN high table, India did not take sides with the Chinese or Russian position. Interestingly, immediately after the UNSC statement, the Chinese envoy to United Nation Zhang Jun had issued a statement and parroted the line of Myanmar's military. In the statement on UNSC statement, china said, "Now it's time for de-escalation. It's time for diplomacy. It's time for dialogue". Adding, "the international community should create an enabling environment for relevant parties in Myanmar to address differences under the constitutional and legal framework". Question is that half the "relevant parties" are the deposed civilian government of the country which is in jail for any "differences" to be addressed. As for the "constitutional or legal" framework, many will see it being violated by Tatmadaw or the armed forces of Myanmar in the first place. Chinese statement was seen as one backsliding on UNSC Presidential statement. The statement also had no mention of the restoration of democracy or the release of detainees, unlike the Indian statement at UNGA. The US, which is the chair of the UNSC for the month of March also issued a statement commending the "courage and determination" of the "peaceful protestors" in Burma in the "face of continued, brutal attacks by military and security forces.". The US does not recognize "Myanmar" as the official name of the country but refers to it as Burma. Myanmar was the name adopted by the country's military in 1989. Weve had lots of positive feedback from the community so far and that makes me feel good that they love their local newspaper and will support it, he said. Were just stewards of the local newspaper. Its really the communitys newspaper. CLEVELAND, Ohio Cleveland apartment giant Millennia Companies has been the subject of numerous complaints by tenants and public officials about the condition of the properties they own, manage and receive federal subsidies for through programs designed to provide the poor with affordable housing, according to reporting from the Houston Chronicle published Thursday. In a series of stories called Living Hell, the Chronicle detailed problems with complexes Millennia owned in Texas, Missouri and Florida where people receive federal help to pay rent. The company receives at least $137 million a year in contracts with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for rent subsidies. The Chronicle did 12 months of reporting, interviewing tenants and advocates and poring over thousands of local, state and federal records. It reported that inspectors have found mold, expired fire extinguishers, broken smoke detectors and other potentially dangerous conditions at the real estate giants properties. Tenants have complained about problems like mold, bugs and sewage backups, but the company did not always address them, according to the reporting. The package also talked about a federal audit of a Millennia property in Kansas City found that the company owed HUD tens of thousands of dollars. The company disputes HUDs method of auditing and how much it owes, according to the Chronicle. The newspaper also reported about unpaid bills to contractors and a story from a whistleblower in Kansas City who said the company ignored work orders for complaints about mold and other issues. As inspectors, tenants and officials reported problems, Millennia continued to win HUD contracts, the reporting showed. The pieces also detailed how a complex web of local, state and federal systems that oversee housing and development failed and allowed tenants to live in substandard and potentially hazardous conditions. In addition to the owner of affordable apartments, Millennia Companies is the owner of downtown Clevelands Key Tower and uses the building as its headquarters. It is in the midst of adding apartments at 75 Public Square and plans to do the same for The Centennial, formerly known as the Huntington Building, at East 9th Street and Euclid Avenue. It also owns the historic Garfield Building, which is home to the high-end Marble Room steak restaurant. Founder and CEO Frank Sinito wrote in a letter to the Chronicle that his company is committed to preserving affordable housing, despite the challenges that are associated with purchasing deeply distressed and declining apartment developments. We believe the preservation of this housing stock is critical so that individuals of all income levels have an affordable and quality place to live; as a demonstration of that commitment, we have included examples of successful transformations and updates on the apartment developments such as Englewood Apartments (in Kansas City), Sinito wrote. Additionally, to the extent to which there are areas for us to improve, we have done so and are committed to do so going forward. Sinito said Friday in a statement to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that Millennia has a long record of successfully (providing quality affordable housing), and we remain dedicated to our mission in partnership with HUD and other housing partners. He claimed that the Houston Chronicle only focused about 3% of the properties owned and managed by his company and said the stories contained a lack of balanced information. [March 11, 2021] Instacart Appoints Frank Slootman, Chairman And CEO Of Snowflake, To Board Of Directors SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, today announced that Frank Slootman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Snowflake, has joined the Company's Board of Directors. Slootman brings to Instacart's Board more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive in the enterprise software industry. Slootman joins Instacart's Board as the adoption of online grocery accelerates in North America and consumer demand for Instacart's delivery and pickup services continues to grow. "We're proud to welcome Frank to Instacart's Board of Directors. Frank's one of the most accomplished and respected technology CEOs, and I'm excited to partner with him. He has a proven track record of building leading teams and executing at scale in fast-growing markets," said Apoorva Mehta, Founder and CEO of Instacart. "As a Board member, Frank's unparalleled passion for and deep expertise in enterprise software will be invaluable as we continue to build the operating system for the grocery industry and enhance our Instacart Enterprise ecommerce solutions for retailers." Slootman currently serves as Chairman and CEO at Snowflake, the Data Cloud company, which he joined in May 2019. Prior to Snowflake, Slootman was the President and CEO of ServiceNow, a cloud computing platform for digital workflows, from 2011 to 2017. At ServiceNow, he helped grow the organization from around $100M in revenue through an IPO, increasing its annual revenue to $1.4 billion. Before ServiceNow, Slootman served as President of the Backup Recovery Systems Division at EMC following an acquisition of Daa Domain Corporation/Data Domain, Inc., where he served as the CEO and President, leading the company through an IPO and its eventual acquisition by EMC for more than $2 billion. "Over the past year, Instacart has changed the way our world thinks about ordering groceries. Today, it is a brand with a massive opportunity to build the future of online grocery for millions of consumers," said Slootman. "I look forward to joining the Board and supporting the Instacart team as they enter the next chapter of growth." Slootman was born in Holland and holds his undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from the Netherlands School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Slootman joins Instacart's distinguished Board, which also includes Instacart Founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta; Daniel Sundheim, Founder and CIO of D1 Capital Partners; Michael Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital; Jeffrey Jordan, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz; Fidji Simo, Head of Facebook App at Facebook; and Barry McCarthy, Director and former Chief Financial Officer and Global Head of Advertising for Spotify. Instacart today partners with nearly 600 national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to offer delivery and pickup services from more than 45,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart is available to over 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households. About Instacart Instacart is the leading online grocery platform in North America. Instacart shoppers offer same-day delivery and pickup services to bring fresh groceries and everyday essentials to busy people and families across the U.S. and Canada. Instacart has partnered with nearly 600 beloved national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to deliver from more than 45,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart's delivery service is available to over 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households. The company's cutting-edge enterprise technology also powers the ecommerce platforms of some of the world's biggest retail players, supporting their white-label websites, applications and delivery solutions. Instacart offers an Instacart Express membership that includes reduced service fees and unlimited free delivery on orders over $35. For more information, visit www.instacart.com . For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/ . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/instacart-appoints-frank-slootman-chairman-and-ceo-of-snowflake-to-board-of-directors-301245238.html SOURCE Instacart [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 11, 2021] WESCO International Included in 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC), a leading provider of business-to-business distribution, logistics services and supply chain solutions, is pleased to announce that it was named to the 2021 Bloomberg (News - Alert) Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the third consecutive year. The GEI recognizes companies that have demonstrated leadership in gender equality as measured across five pillars: female leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, sexual harassment policies, and pro-women brand. WESCO is one of 380 companies across 11 sectors included in the 2021 index, and one of 138 headquartered in the United States. Mr. John J. Engel, WESCO's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "WESCO believes that a diverse and inclusive work environment is essential to business success. We value the unique perspectives and experiences that our 18,000 talented associates bring with them to work and recognize that they make our company stronger. I am very pleased that WESCO has been recognized for our efforts in advancing gender equality by being named to the GEI for the third consecutive year." The GEI brings transparency to gender-related practices and policies at publicly listed companies increasing the breadth of envionmental, social, governance (ESG) data available to investors. The comprehensive, transparent GEI scoring methodology allows investors to assess company performance and compare across industry peer groups. Through disclosure of gender-related metrics using the GEI framework, the firms included in the 2021 GEI have committed to providing a comprehensive look at their investment in workplace gender equality and the communities in which they operate, raising the bar of what should be expected from other companies within the same industry. WESCO was included in this year's index for scoring at or above a global threshold established by Bloomberg to reflect a high level of disclosure and overall performance across the framework's five pillars. Both the framework and the GEI are voluntary and have no associated costs. About WESCO International WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC), a publicly traded FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a leading provider of business-to-business distribution, logistics services and supply chain management solutions. Pro forma 2020 annual sales were over $16 billion, including full year sales for Anixter (News - Alert) International which WESCO acquired in June 2020. WESCO offers a best-in-class product and services portfolio of Electrical and Electronic Solutions, Communications and Security Solutions, and Utility and Broadband Solutions. The company employs approximately 18,000 people, maintains relationships with approximately 30,000 suppliers, and serves more than 125,000 customers worldwide. With nearly 1.5 million products, end-to-end supply chain services, and leading digital capabilities, WESCO provides innovative solutions to meet customer needs across commercial and industrial businesses, contractors, government agencies, institutions, telecommunications providers, and utilities. WESCO operates approximately 800 branch and warehouse locations in over 50 countries, providing a local presence for customers and a global network to serve multi-location businesses and multi-national corporations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005159/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has instructed to announce four competitions on a weekly basis for filling contract vacancies and one for other vacant positions in the civil service. "Today, at a regular meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, a protocol decision was made to announce competitions weekly according to this tentative approach: four competitions (for positions held on the basis of contracts) and one 'regular' competition (for other vacant positions), starting from March 17, 2021," Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov wrote in the Telegram channel. According to him, the total number of contracts for civil service posts of category "A," for which a competition is to be announced, is 91, of which 74 are appointed by the government, and 17 ones by other subjects of appointment. At the same time, in addition to the announcement of the aforementioned competitions, there is a need to announce competitions for the positions of the higher corps, which remain vacant, but were not filled by selection during the lockdown period. "The National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service has prepared a project for the alternate holding of competitions for six months (from March 17 to August 25, 2021), the organization of all stages of the competitive selection and the effective work of the Commission on the higher corps of the civil service," the minister said. Nemchinov said in this way the government will ensure the announcement of 115 competitions and the appointment of persons to the appropriate positions based on their results. 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. More family and friends may visit loved ones inside nursing homes under new federal guidelines issued Wednesday to open the hard-hit residential centers wider than they have been at any point in the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said responsible indoor visitation should be allowed at all times for all residents, regardless of vaccination status of the resident or visitor. The new guidance, the first from the centers since September, is the closest the agency has come in a year to allowing life to return to normal inside the country's devastated nursing homes. Senior living centers have been on strict lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which preyed especially on residents who often have the underlying health conditions that make the virus more lethal. There are exceptions to the new guidelines, however: Limited visits with unvaccinated residents in a home where less than 70% of the residents are fully vaccinated in a county or parish with a test positivity rate above 10% Limited visits with a person currently diagnosed with COVID-19 or a resident who is quarantined. +3 As coronavirus left Louisiana nursing homes short-staffed, some residents were left without care Andre Monceret remembers the horror he felt as he helplessly watched a camera feed that showed his mother squirming in her chair after soiling The agency cited the rollout of more than 3 million vaccines in nursing homes as one reason to loosen restrictions. In Louisiana, community spread - one of the best indicators of the effect in nursing homes - has plummeted in recent weeks, leading state officials to relax restrictions on businesses and gatherings. The new federal guidance was hailed by industry and advocacy groups. The indication that nursing home residents can visit with their loved ones is welcome news that we fully support, said Mark Parkinson of the American Health Care Association and the National Center For Assisted Living, a leading industry group. Now thanks to the vaccines, we cannot wait to safely reopen our doors. Andrew Muhl of the Louisiana office of the AARP called the new guidance a good thing. We are entering a new phase of the pandemic, he said. We think there is critical need to ... allow more families to visit their loved ones. Louisiana reported only 23 new nursing home infections on Wednesday, the fewest since the virus established its foothold in the states nursing homes last spring. The coronavirus has claimed lives of at least 2,800 nursing home residents, and almost 16,000 have been infected, along with more than 11,000 staff. +7 Coronavirus vaccines come to this New Orleans nursing home: I cant imagine not getting it At Poydras Home in Uptown New Orleans, a room where residents used to gather for exercise and movies has been empty for nine months. On Wednes The Louisiana Department of Health has followed the federal guidance on nursing home visits. A Health Department spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request for comment Wednesday. 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 Clay Pere, administrator of Forest Manor in Covington, one of the hardest-hit nursing homes in Louisiana, said the Health Department will provide crucial information on how to implement the new federal recommendations. We will have to remain cautiously optimistic going forward, he said. We cant move forward until we get that clarification from our state office. +4 Like Christmas morning: New Orleans first mass coronavirus vaccine site is a scene of celebration Hundreds of New Orleanians filed into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center accompanied by live music from the Soul Brass Band on Thursday, M Nursing homes were caught flat-footed when the pandemic intensified last spring. They closed to all visitors and took other protective steps, but the virus still found its way in. About half of the total deaths inside those homes occurred between last March and May. Advocates for elderly people have expressed worries that the prolonged outbreak and isolation from loved ones has harmed long-term care residents mental and even physical health. Residents, Pere said, are ready for visitors. They are very anxious to get back to the old way, he said. Currently, some homes permit indoor visitation depending on whether they have had a recent outbreak of the virus and the parish positivity rate. Outdoor visits are encouraged. In some cases, touching is not allowed. No parishes currently have a positivity rate higher than 10%, which would eliminate the federal exception unless those rates rose. Under the new guidance, the federal agency recommends that nursing homes continue to keep people apart from one another and hold visits outside. This continues to be the safest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly if either party has not been fully vaccinated, the agency said. Of the about 270 nursing homes in Louisiana, only 16 reported new infections among residents in the past week. The vast majority of them saw only a 1% test positivity rate. Across the state, coronavirus cases among nursing home residents have dropped by 95% from early January when infections surged through nursing homes and reached historic highs elsewhere in Louisiana. Health officials have attributed that drop to the rise in vaccinations coupled with falling cases in communities, which tend to run in tandem with infections inside of nursing homes. The CVS and Walgreens drugstore chains were tapped last year to administer vaccines to long-term care and assisted living centers, an undertaking that at times has drawn criticism for its pace. As of Wednesday, CVS said its delivered more than 28,300 doses for people at more than 130 nursing homes and was almost finished with its rollout. Walgreens has provided more than 27,600 doses to residents and staff at more than 140 long-term care centers. Mexico is on the brink of legalizing cannabis after lawmakers voted to permit recreational use in a step towards curbing the power of the country's drug cartels and the narcotics-related violence that claims thousands of lives a year. The legislation backed by Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador looks almost certain to be approved after a 316-129 vote in Mexico's lower house. The move to allow people to carry up to one ounce (28 grams) of cannabis and grow up to eight plants at home for personal consumption would create what has been described as 'the largest legal market in the world' in a country of 126million people. It would make Mexico one of only a few countries, alongside Uruguay and Canada, to legalise cannabis for recreational use. A supporter of the marijuana bill smokes a joint outside the Mexican congress on Tuesday ahead of the vote in the chamber of deputies which supported legalization Activists installed cannabis plants outside the Mexican Senate ahead of the vote, which is set to make Mexico one of the few countries in the world to decriminalize the drug Lawmakers who supported the bill said it would 'contribute to achieving peace' following the deaths of more than 300,000 people in a bloody war with the cartels. Supporters hope that creating a legal, regulated market will deprive the cartels of their market and empty prisons of small-time weed users. 'Today we are making history,' said Simey Olvera, a lawmaker from Lopez Obrador's ruling Morena party who was wearing a mask with marijuana leaves printed on it. 'With this, the false belief that cannabis forms part of Mexico's serious health problems is left behind.' But opposition parties have voiced fears that legalizing the drug would increase the 'rate of consumption and addiction' in the country. And some pro-legalization activists say that the bill has been watered down, for example by scrapping plans for a dedicated new agency to supervise the market. 'They're going to make the law inoperable,' said Lisa Sanchez, director of Mexico United Against Crime, a group which supports decriminalization. Activists are also concerned that fines and the threat of prison will remain in place for possession of more than one ounce. 'The production and sale will be legal, but possession will still be subject to the threat of police action, fines and possible arrests,' said Sanchez. 'It does not solve one of the main problems in Mexico: the misuse of security and justice resources,' she added. The Mexican Cannabis Movement held a demonstration in Mexico City ahead of the vote on the legislation which is supported by Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Mexico has long been plagued by violence between authorities and the drug cartels (pictured, vehicles burn after a battle between gunmen and security forces in Culiacan) Sanchez said Mexico has a large production capacity because 'marijuana grows in natural conditions' without the energy costs required in Canada and elsewhere. But experts fear that foreign corporations will be the primary beneficiaries rather than consumers or the farmers who form the lowest rung of the drug chain. And there is also the concern that legalization risks a backlash from drug cartels who control the lucrative illegal trade. In 2020, Mexican authorities seized 244 tons of marijuana. But Lopez Obrador sees the legalization of some drugs as a way to improve security and weaken the cartels in a country plagued by drug-related violence. The bill would allow five types of licenses for the cultivation, transformation, sale, research and export or import of marijuana. Each adult with a permit would be allowed to have six plants with a maximum of eight per household. People caught with more than one ounce would face a fine, while larger quantities could still lead to jail time. Activists say police and judicial resources are being misspent on locking up small-time drug offenders (pictured, armed police in Mexico City) A landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2015 opened the door to the recreational use of marijuana in Mexico, but it did not automatically legalize the drug. The court has given the government until April 30 to pass a law on the subject, which still needs to be approved by the Senate. Medicinal marijuana use has been legal in Mexico since 2017 and is allowed in a number of other Latin American countries including Argentina and Colombia. But Uruguay is the only country in the region to allow its recreational use, having become the first nation in the world to do so in late 2013. Since then, Canada has also permitted marijuana for personal use, along with several US states and a handful of other countries including South Africa. In the Netherlands, soft drugs are technically illegal but the government has a 'toleration policy' of not prosecuting people who have small quantities. Retailers are also allowed to sell cannabis in the country's famous 'coffee shops', which are banned from selling hard drugs or advertising their wares. A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Investors have seemingly cleared airline stocks for takeoff, but the industry still faces a long and bumpy climb. The S&P 500s airline index has jumped nearly 25% so far in 2021 as vaccine distribution ramps up and begins to clear the way for a full economic recovery. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Investors have seemingly cleared airline stocks for takeoff, but the industry still faces a long and bumpy climb. The S&P 500's airline index, which includes American Airlines and other major carriers, has jumped nearly 25% so far in 2021 as vaccine distribution ramps up and begins to clear the way for a full economic recovery. The gains are outpacing the broader S&P 500's 3% rise, marking a sharp reversal from last year. In 2020 airlines lost up to half their values as the S&P 500 powered through the pandemic to a solid gain. Airlines won't likely return to their pre-pandemic revenue and passenger levels for years, according to analysts. Even after much of the world is vaccinated, leisure travel could be slow to recover. Business travel could take even longer as companies continue to conserve cash and use video-conferencing technology instead of spending money on flights and hotels for employees. "A lot of those stocks are still embedding fairly optimistic assumptions," said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. "The idea we're going to return to normal anytime this year seems awfully optimistic to me." Demand for business travelers, the most lucrative passengers for airlines, will likely take years. Meanwhile, many airlines will have to keep burning more cash while keeping a close watch on costs and debt. Business travel spending reached $1.43 trillion in 2019 and swiftly fell to $694 billion in 2020 according to the Global Business Travel Association. It foresees a slow recovery and spending won't reach pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Business travelers can account for more than half of passenger revenue, depending on the airline. "Given the dearth of demand, especially business travel, cost reduction is paramount," said a report by Airlines for America, a trade association and lobbying group for the industry. The group doesn't expect overall passenger volumes to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023. A more pessimistic forecast puts that recovery out past 2024. Airlines have had to burn through cash to make it through the slump. Airlines for America estimates that airlines will spend $151 million of their reserves each day during the first quarter of 2021 as demand remains low and will spend $90 million per day during the second quarter. The industry also increased its debt to $164 billion in 2020 from $105 billion in 2019 to cope, and will have to eventually address the increasing debt load. Airlines in the U.S. are set to receive another lifeline with a third round of payroll support and other funds. Government support, including loans, helped the industry retain employees and offset some of its spending on operations. Airlines were barred from laying off workers for six months last year as a condition of up to $25 billion in federal payroll assistance. Congress retroactively approved another $25 billion in aid in December. Legislation pending in Congress would give airlines another $14 billion to cover about 60% of their payroll costs and bar layoffs through September. Airlines are also finding other ways to raise money during the recovery. American Airlines recently announced plans to raise $7.5 billion by borrowing against its frequent-flyer program and using the funds to pay off a federal loan that it received nearly a year ago. It follows similar moves by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Explore further Air cargo traffic recovers to pre-pandemic levels 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. ALTON Patty Ford on Tuesday officially announced her campaign as an alderman for Altons 7th Ward. Ford and Nate Keener are vying April 6 to succeed retiring Alton Alderman David Boulds in the 7th Ward. A lifelong resident of Alton, Ford graduated from Alton High School in 1973 and attended Lewis & Clark Community College. She has 20 years of experience in finance with area financial institutions, including Godfrey State Bank, the Bank of Alton, Wedge Bank and Liberty Bank. She has spent the last 25 years serving the Alton school district during which she worked with children with special needs and now is secretary for Lovejoy Elementary School. Ford said she is running for alderwoman because she cares for and believes in Alton and its residents. She said she wants to see Alton start returning to the thriving city it once was. Growing up in Alton as the daughter of a Glassworks worker, I remember a time when the industrial sector, businesses, and jobs were strong in Alton, she said. While many of these businesses and jobs are no longer around, theres no better time than now to work together towards new growth and modern revitalization. She said she has heard from residents that they are concerned about the continued repair of streets and sidewalks, ensuring the upkeep of properties, retaining and attracting businesses, living in a safe community and having local parks and activities for children. I share those same desires and will focus my efforts on addressing those issues, she said. Ford said all members of government should be open, honest and transparent. As an alderwoman she said she plans to provide updates on matters and give honest answers. She said one of the things that sets her apart is her true desire and willingness to be a great neighbor. She said she is optimistic about Alton and sees incoming attractions such as the American Cruise Lines port, downtown revitalization efforts and the Alton Square Mall theater as steps in the right direction. She said she hopes to add additional attractions and businesses by working with the city council, mayor and city hall staff, and her focus will be on generating revenues to help deal with budget shortfalls. Covid really took a toll on area business owners and their employees, Ford said. Many of the small businesses either did not make it or are struggling to survive. We have to do everything we can to support the surviving businesses while creating an environment conducive to attracting new ones as well. The next few years are really going to be a financial challenge, she said, but the right leadership will get us there. OTTAWA, TRADITIONAL ALGONQUIN TERRITORY, ON, March 10, 2021 /CNW/ - As the Government of Canada works towards ensuring all First Nations communities have reliable access to clean water, it remains committed to lifting all long-term drinking water advisories on First Nations reserves. Access to clean drinking water is essential. Today, Indigenous Services Canada provided a progress update on this commitment. As of March 10, 2021, 101 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted. This means that since November 2015, clean water access has been restored to approximately 5,850 homes and 430 community buildings in 73 First Nations communities. While 58 long-term advisories remain in 38 communities, project teams continue their work on each and every one. Information on each community's progress can be found on new and updated web pages at www.canada.ca/water-on-reserve. Resolving short-term advisories before they become long-term is also an important part of the overall work to eliminate long-term drinking water advisories. Since November 2015, 175 short-term drinking water advisories (advisories lasting between two and 12 months) have been lifted before becoming long-term. This past year has presented new challenges in meeting this objective. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the health and wellbeing of First Nations community members has been our shared top priority. First Nations have been leading the response to protect their communities from the virus, and in some cases this has had an effect on getting equipment and resources into communities, especially in remote and northern areas. While we continue our collective efforts to address the ongoing pandemic, together, the Government of Canada and First Nations also remain focused on building long-term solutions to support sustainable access to safe, clean drinking water and restore trust in the water supply. Since the pandemic began in March 2020, First Nations, with support from Indigenous Services Canada, have lifted 13 long-term drinking water advisories in the past 12 months, improving access to clean water for more than 1000 homes and 65 community buildings including schools, health facilities and band offices. During that same period, 24 short-term drinking water advisories were also lifted, preventing them from becoming long term issues, restoring reliable access to clean drinking water for hundreds more homes on reserves. The Government of Canada has committed over $3.5 billion in funding to achieving clean drinking water on reserves since 2015. This includes $616.3 million over six years, and $114.1 million per year ongoing thereafter, to provide a stable and predictable source of funding for operations and maintenance costs, ensuring longer lifecycles and more durable systems, and enabling First Nations to better maintain their water and wastewater infrastructure over the long-term. Progress on lifting long-term drinking water advisories On March 9th, we celebrated the 100th and 101st lifts in Anishinabe of Wauzhushk Onigum and Xeni Gwet'in First Nations Government. Additionally, this year, we recognize the achievements realized through close collaboration with the following communities: On January 23, 2021, Black Lake First Nation (Saskatchewan) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in effect since April 2013. Upgrades and expansion of the water treatment plant have improved access to clean drinking water for over 190 homes and 6 community buildings including the school, fire hall and band office. On December 23, 2021, Lake Manitoba (Manitoba) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in effect since June 2019. Connection of a new well has resulted in better access to clean drinking water for everyone who uses the Jordan's Principle Building. On November 9, 2020, Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation (Ontario) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in effect since October 2019. Repairs to the water system and improved operations have enabled improved access to clean drinking water for 75 homes and 6 community buildings. On September 30, 2020, Anishinabe of Wauzhushk Onigum Nation (Ontario) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in place since January 2017. Over 100 homes and 15 community buildings now have access clean, reliable water through a connection to the City of Kenora's water system. On September 30, 2020, Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation (Ontario) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in place since February 2019. Upgrades and repairs to their water system have enable improved access to clean drinking water for 40 homes and 7 community buildings. On September 30, 2020, Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation (Ontario) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in effect since September 2002. Interim upgrades to the water system has restored access to clean water for 25 homes and 5 community buildings. On September 25, 2020, Fort Severn First Nation (Ontario) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in effect since February 2019. As a result of repairs to the water distribution system and improvements to water quality monitoring, over 90 homes and 6 community buildings now have better access to clean drinking water. On September 23, 2020, Grassy Narrows First Nation (Ontario) lifted the last remaining long-term drinking water advisory that had been in effect since June 2014. Upgrades to the water treatment system have brought clean drinking water to over 200 homes and 16 community buildings. All residents in the community now have access to clean drinking water. On September 10, 2020, Kehewin Cree Nation (Alberta) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in place since April 2011. A new water treatment plant and upgrades to water infrastructure have improved access to clean drinking water for over 300 homes homes and 11 community buildings. With this lift, no long-term drinking water advisories are currently in effect on public systems on reserves in Alberta. On August 28, 2020, Bonaparte (British Columbia) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in place since February 2006. All five homes in the community are connected to a new water treatment plant and have access to clean drinking water. On July 30, 2020, Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation (Manitoba) lifted a long-term drinking water advisory that had been in effect since April 2014. A new water treatment plant provides clean drinking water to over 40 homes and 7 community buildings. Between March 1, 2020 and March 3, 2021, eleven long-term drinking water advisories were added and two long-term drinking water advisories were de-activated. Quotes "The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, with Indigenous communities facing even greater challenges. While the pandemic has also impacted construction work and project deadlines, we remain committed to ending all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves and improving access to safe drinking water. We will not stop until this work is done." The Honourable Marc Miller Minister of Indigenous Services Quick facts A drinking water advisory becomes long-term when it has been in place for more than a year. Between November 2015 and March 10, 2021 , 101 long-term advisories affecting public systems on reserves were lifted. 58 remain in effect in 38 First Nations. and , 101 long-term advisories affecting public systems on reserves were lifted. 58 remain in effect in 38 First Nations. As of September 30, 2020 , more than $1.74 billion of targeted funds has been allocated to support 657 water and wastewater projects in 581 First Nations communities, serving approximately 462,000 people. A total of 365 of these projects are complete. , more than of targeted funds has been allocated to support 657 water and wastewater projects in 581 First Nations communities, serving approximately 462,000 people. A total of 365 of these projects are complete. In December 2020 , the Government of Canada announced an additional $1.5 billion to help accelerate the work being done to end all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves, to better support the operation and maintenance of systems, and to continue program investments in water and wastewater infrastructure. This funding includes $616.3 million over six years, and $114.1 million ongoing, to increase the support provided for operations and maintenance of water and wastewater infrastructure on reserves. , the Government of announced an additional to help accelerate the work being done to end all long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves, to better support the operation and maintenance of systems, and to continue program investments in water and wastewater infrastructure. This funding includes over six years, and ongoing, to increase the support provided for operations and maintenance of water and wastewater infrastructure on reserves. Through the Investing in Canada Plan, the Government of Canada is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities. Related products Government of Canada announces $1.5 billion in new investments for clean drinking water in First Nations communities Associated links Achieving clean drinking water in First Nations communities Ending long-term drinking water advisories Investing in First Nations community infrastructure Lifecycle of a First Nation community infrastructure project Budget 2016 Highlights Indigenous and Northern Investments Budget 2017 Highlights Indigenous and Northern Investments Budget 2018 Highlights: Indigenous and Northern investments Budget 2019 Highlights: Indigenous and Northern investments Investing in Canada: Canada's Long-Term Infrastructure Plan Investing in Canada Plan Project Map Stay connected Join the conversation about Indigenous peoples in Canada: Twitter: @GCIndigenous Facebook: @GCIndigenous Instagram: @gcindigenous Facebook: @GCIndigenousHealth You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.isc.gc.ca/RSS. SOURCE Indigenous Services Canada For further information: For more information, media may contact: Adrienne Vaupshas, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, [email protected]; Media Relations: Indigenous Services Canada, 819-953-1160, [email protected] Related Links https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca (Natural News) Like a coordinated machine, Big Tech does not allow scientific debate on infection recovery, treatment or natural immunity. Any information about the futility of lock downs and forced medical edicts is censored as misinformation. The message of fear and control is the only narrative allowed to persist on social media. Even the mainstream Wall Street Journal is finding this out. After publishing an op-ed about natural infection and herd immunity, the WSJ was warned that the information was not credible, misleading and potentially harmful. Facebook is taking steps to limit the spread of this information because it does not promote the idea that mandatory vaccines are the only way to herd immunity. Big Tech promotes Big Pharma propaganda about herd immunity to garner support for mandatory vaccines The censored opinion piece was written by John Hopkinss surgeon, Dr. Martin Makary. The title of his article was: Well Have Herd Immunity by April. He wrote that Americans will have enough herd immunity from natural infection and vaccination to sharply reduce the spread of covid-19 by the Spring. Because the article referenced natural infection and naturally-acquired immunity as part of the equation for herd immunity, Facebook was quick to flag the story. The only message about herd immunity that is allowed on social media is one that promotes vaccination as the only answer to infectious disease. This is how the pharmaceutical industry brainwashes people to support mandatory vaccination. They desperately want people to believe that herd immunity is only achieved through vaccination, that healthy people cannot face infection and cannot survive without the savior of vaccines. The original concept of herd immunity was first realized during the measles epidemic in the 1920s and 1930s. When enough people acquired the infection in the community, a certain threshold of immunity was attained, preventing the spread of the infectious virus to vulnerable people in the population. The vaccine industry hijacked the term herd immunity to make people think that vaccines must be mandatory in order to stop the spread of an infectious disease. Vaccines can be part of the solution, but they can impede herd immunity if the science does not impart long lasting immune response to the selected viruses, if the vaccine damages immune systems, or if viral shedding causes more infection in the community. WSJ takes a stand against Facebook censorship The WSJ Editorial Board responded to Facebooks censorship. Facebook is vetting and stigmatizing the content of reputable publishers while increasingly adding phony fact checks and removing articles flagged by left-leaning users without explanation, the Board wrote, while accusing Big Tech of silencing doctors with opposing views in an effort to shut down scientific debate. Facebooks Missing Context label was added to the WSJ article link, warning all users that the information could mislead people. The third-party fact check was provided by Health Feedback, a well-funded propaganda outfit financed by the World Health Organizations Vaccine Safety Net. The WHO is working with the vaccine industry to quash any scientific debate about vaccines, adverse events, and natural immunity. The fact checking operation gave the article a very low credibility rating and wrote: Misleading Wall Street Journal opinion piece makes unsubstantiated claims that the U.S would have herd immunity by April 2021. When content is deemed misleading, Facebook takes action to ensure fewer people see the misinformation. Scientists often disagree over how to interpret evidence, The WSJ Editorial Board wrote. Debate is how ideas are tested and arguments are refined. But Facebooks fact checkers are presenting their opinions as fact and seeking to silence other scientists whose views challenge their own. Big Tech made it clear in 2020 that they will not allow false claims or incomplete and out-of-context information about covid vaccines. The only content supported across social media is vaccine worship. Its becoming abundantly clear that Big Tech is a mind control device, controlling scientific debate so people are more willing to accept a life of fear and control, lost freedoms and mandatory vaccines. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org Academic.oup.com Pediatrics.Publications.org Russian security colonel charged with graft faces trial RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 15:44 11/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) A bribery case against the Federal Security Services (FSB) colonel Kirill Cherkalin has reached the Moscow Garrison Military Court, the courts press service has told RAPSI. The hearing date has not been scheduled yet. Cherkalin stands charged with receiving a bribe in the amount of $850,000 from a businessman for the common protection. Reportedly, he pleaded guilty. According to the website of the financial crimes agency Rosfinmonitoring, Cherkalin represented FSB in the Interdepartmental Anti-money laundering Commission. Investigators believe that his illegal activity lasted from November 2013 to February 2015. In November 2019, Moscows Golovinsky District Court forfeited to the state assets of Cherkalin and his family worth over 6 billion rubles (about $80 million at the current exchange rate), including four apartments, two cottages, six land plots with a total area of 7,116 square meters, 14 nonresidential premises, 2 cars, 800 million rubles, $72 million and over 8 million euros found during the investigative activities in Cherkalins premises. Two whistle-blowers on Wednesday accused Jeffrey Bossert Clark, a former Justice Department official, of politicizing the hiring process in the waning days of President Donald J. Trumps tenure by improperly elevating an employee who was seen as loyal to the former president. Mr. Clark, who headed the Environment and Natural Resources Division and was acting head of the departments Civil Division, promoted an employee days before he left the department in January. The employee had previously worked on a case, Garza v. Hargan, that involved the Trump administrations effort to bar pregnant teens who were in federal immigration custody from obtaining abortions, the whistle-blowers said in a letter to the Justice Departments inspector general and to members of Congress. Few career employees at the department had been willing to work on the case, according to the whistle-blowers letter. And the policy was ultimately deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge. On Jan. 12, Mr. Clark announced that the person who had worked on the Garza case had been hired to be an assistant director over two candidates who were more qualified, the whistle-blowers said in their letter. This has been a crazy week in which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have opened their guns on the Royal Family and the tabloid Press and received the congratulations of the President of the United States. A week during which in many parts of our country it is deemed inexcusable to question any allegation uttered by Meghan because she is a person of mixed race. But in this litany of lunacies nothing has approached the latest development. An online article by the British fashion journalist Hamish Bowles in American Vogue reaches new heights of idiocy. Bowles writes that from the beginning, the viciousness of the British Press, tabloid and otherwise, was astounding to me. Hes entitled to his opinion, though we can certainly see where he is coming from. A week during which in many parts of our country it is deemed inexcusable to question any allegation uttered by Meghan because she is a person of mixed race. Pictured, Meghan with Harry during their Oprah interview It is the imputation of racism against the Daily Mail in general, and my colleague Sarah Vine in particular, which is so breathtaking. Bowles suggests that the use of the word niggling in a headline above a piece she wrote about the Sussexes in 2017 had some sort of racist intent. He is of course thinking of the N-word with which niggling has some phonetic similarities though it is etymologically distinct, being of Scandinavian origin according to my Oxford English Dictionary. The word niggle didnt appear in her story and was used only in the headline. Can a grown-up fashion journalist honestly believe that the sub-editor who chose the widely used, wholly innocent and attractive word niggle had racist intentions? It beggars belief. An online article by the British fashion journalist Hamish Bowles (pictured) in American Vogue reaches new heights of idiocy Maybe Americans dont employ the word much but that is no excuse since Bowles is British, as is his 71-year-old editor, Anna Wintour. I assume she read this piece before it was published. Has she also taken leave of her senses? Or do they know very well that niggle has nothing whatsoever to do with the N-word? Are they cynically jumping on an anti-Press bandwagon steered by Meghan and Harry? They are reasonable questions because there have been so many falsehoods over the past few days. Several of the screen grabs of newspaper and website front pages used during the Oprah Winfrey interview were doctored to imply a racist motivation where none existed. The niggle headline was one of them. The word was blacked out which of course suggests to the casual viewer (who doesnt expect what is presented as evidence to be manipulated) that the Mail had used some dreadful phrase. Will Nigella Lawson be required by Bowles and Wintour and the new cultural gauleiters to change her name? Must the Niger River be called something else? Should the people of Nigeria hang their heads in shame and demand that their country be re-christened? I dont mind what Bowles thinks of the British Press. As I say, he is entitled to his view. But I do mind very much when reason is suspended and the truth is deliberately distorted to demonise a newspaper and a blameless journalist. What a grisly week this has been for our country and our culture. Can sanity and balance be recovered? Or are we going to be led ever deeper into the land of lunacy? Now Vogue says 'niggling' in Meghan Markle headline is a racist insult By Sam Greenhill Chief Reporter for The Daily Mail American Vogue was yesterday branded absurd for suggesting the phrase a niggling worry was racist towards Meghan Markle. The magazine criticised a Daily Mail front page for using the words alongside Harry and Meghans engagement photo in 2017. It was used in a headline to signpost to an inside article written by Sarah Vine. American Vogue suggested the word was racist, even though niggling means to gnaw at or a persistent annoyance. Last year, Anna Wintour (pictured), the editor-in-chief of US Vogue, was forced to make an apology for publishing material that had been intolerant, as well as not doing enough to promote black staff and designers The magazine admitted as much, yet went on to level what the Mail called an extremely serious and unfounded allegation of racism. What the OED says The word niggle has been in the English language since the late 16th century. The Oxford English Dictionary says its origin is uncertain, but it may derive from Swiss German or Scandinavian. It has several meanings in English, including to cause slight but persistent annoyance, discomfort or anxiety. There is no suggestion that it has any racially offensive connotations. Advertisement In its latest issue, long-standing Vogue writer Hamish Bowles, a 57-year-old Briton, states: In 2017, the Daily Mail, featuring Harry and Meghans touching engagement picture on the front page, saw fit to run the headline from their columnist Sarah Vine: Yes, theyre joyfully in love. So why do I have a niggling worry about this engagement picture? (Websters defines the word niggling thus: bothersome or persistent especially in a petty or tiresome way. Nevertheless, the word seemed a surprising choice and jumped from the page, as presumably it was intended to. Last night Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: Its a bit like claiming that a newspaper is racist because the ink it uses on its pages is black. Its just silly and absurd. The word is in such common use that it has appeared in The Times 3,687 times, in The Guardian 2,268 times and 2,037 times in the Daily Mail. It has even been used eight times in American Vogue itself. Last year, Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of US Vogue, was forced to make an apology for publishing material that had been intolerant, as well as not doing enough to promote black staff and designers. Yesterday the Mail wrote to her asking her to amend the latest articles deliberate accusation of racism against this paper and Sarah Vine. Overweight people more likely to die from COVID-19; lockdowns made things worse: study Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Overweight people are more likely to die or become hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 and lockdown restrictions on treatments for obesity, such as physical activity, made health outcomes worse for people struggling with the disease, according to a new report from the World Obesity Federation. The report, released this month, highlighted data from several countries ringing the alarm on the risks associated with being overweight, including studies conducted in China, the U.S., U.K., Spain, France, Sweden, Italy, Kuwait, Brazil and Mexico. As we show in this report, increased bodyweight is the second greatest predictor of hospitalization and a high risk of death for people suffering from COVID-19. Only old age rates as a higher risk factor. The unprecedented economic costs of COVID-19 are largely due to the measures taken to avoid the excess hospitalization and need for treatment of the disease, President of the World Obesity Federation, John Wilding, and Chief Executive Johanna Ralston wrote in a foreword for COVID-19 and Obesity: The 2021 Atlas. Reducing one major risk factor, overweight, would have resulted in far less stress on health services and reduced the need to protect those services from being overwhelmed. We show that in those countries where overweight affects only a minority of the adult population, the rates of death from COVID-19 are typically less than one tenth the levels found in countries where overweight affects the majority of adults. We also show that the drivers of overweight especially high levels of consumption of processed foods are associated with mortality from COVID-19, they added. As of Wednesday morning, Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center reported more than 117 million coronavirus cases globally. Of the nearly 2.6 million deaths caused by the virus, the U.S. reportedly leads the world with more than 525,000, followed by Brazil which has almost half the number of deaths in the U.S., with just over 265,000. This report shows that in countries where less than half the adult population is classified as overweight, the likelihood of death from COVID-19 is a small fraction around one tenth of the level seen in countries where more than half the population is classified as overweight. Of the 2.5 million COVID-19 deaths reported by the end of February 2021, 2.2 million were in countries where more than half the population is classified as overweight, the researchers behind the report said. The public health advocates from the World Obesity Federation called for overweight to be recognized as a major risk factor for infectious diseases including respiratory viruses. To prevent pandemic health crises in future requires action now: we call on all readers to support the World Obesity Federations call for stronger, more resilient economies that prioritize investment in peoples health, they said. Researchers cited data from the International Monetary Fund showing that COVID-19 will cause a loss of at least $10 trillion in global output over the period 2020-2021, and accumulating to $22 trillion over the period 2020-2025. Based on the U.K. experience, where an estimated 36% of COVID-19 hospitalizations have been attributed to lack of physical activity and excess body weight (Hamer, Kivimati, et al 2020), it can be suggested that up to a third of the costs between $6 trillion and $7 trillion over the longer period might be attributable to these predisposing risks, the report said. It was noted that data collected over the last two decades on the impact of MERS, H1N1 influenza and other influenza-related infections show worse outcomes linked to excess bodyweight when compared with COVID-19. An overweight population is an unhealthy population, and a pandemic waiting to happen. In anticipation of the next novel infectious disease, we urge governments and health service providers to adopt the policies outlined in our ROOTS Call for Action, the report said. It called for the development of obesity prevention strategies to be developed, tested and implemented across the life course, from pre-conception, through childhood, and into older age, including: "primary and secondary obesity prevention efforts to be continued and enhanced for all without discrimination, as a critical means to increase population resilience to pandemics; co-creation and implementation of policies to reduce childhood obesity, working with young people and acknowledging that, for many children, COVID-19 control measures have increased risk; and equity-based obesity prevention strategies focusing on populations most affected by the systemic interactions between COVID-19, poverty and race." During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, preliminary data released by New York City showed the coronavirus killed black and Latino people at twice the rate that it killed white people. Nationwide data also reflected a similar trend. Researchers urged treatment of obesity through various interventions including, "behavioral, pharmacological, digital, nutritional, physical activity based and surgical interventions." They also called for, among other things, routine obesity treatment and management services not to be restricted during COVID-19, but instead invested in and prioritized to enhance equitable access. Various studies show that many people gained weight while enduring lockdowns amid the pandemic. In a Kings College London and Ipsos MORI survey of 2,254 people, for example, 48% of respondents said they gained weight during lockdown, and a similar percentage reported feeling more anxious or depressed than usual. Some 29% reported drinking more alcohol. People in Northern Ireland are suffering from potentially deadly medical conditions that have not been seen by surgeons for years due to the hospital waiting list crisis, it has been warned. The Stormont health committee has been told that surgeons are dealing with cases of perforated colorectal cancers and ruptured hearts as waiting times here continue to spiral out of control. It comes as one of Northern Irelands top health officials has warned it will take a decade to address the situation, at a cost of 1bn. Lisa McWilliams, the interim director of performance management and service improvement at the Health and Social Care Board, appeared in front of the health committee on Thursday morning for an evidence session on hospital waiting lists. Describing the waits being endured by patients prior to the pandemic as unacceptable, she said the situation has deteriorated further over the past 12 months. It is regrettable that any patient has to wait longer than they should for assessment, diagnosis or treatment and I fully understand the distress and anxiety that long waiting times cause, particularly when patients are suffering pain and discomfort, she said. Long waiting times also have a societal impact, much wider than the individuals themselves. Waiting times for patients have been unacceptable for some time and have deteriorated further as a consequence of the pandemic. During the session, the deputy chair of the committee, Pam Cameron, revealed disturbing details of an informal meeting with the Royal College of Surgeons earlier this week. She said: One of their key messages to us was patients were presenting with conditions that they had not seen for years, like perforated colonic cancers and ruptured hearts. "They also referred to waiting lists as devastating and they spoke about nursing staff being their most important resource. A perforation of the bowel is a rare complication for patients with colorectal cancer and usually requires emergency surgery. It is associated with a poorer outcome for the patient. A heart rupture is an extremely serious but relatively uncommon complication of a heart attack where the hearts muscles, walls or valves split. It can happen if the heart is significantly damaged during a heart attack and open heart surgery is usually required to repair the damage. The outlook for people who have a heart rupture is poor according to the NHS, it is estimated that one in two people die within five days of the rupture happening. Ms McWilliams warned significant ongoing investment will be required to tackle waiting lists. She said it was previously believed that it would take between five and 10 years to resolve the current crisis, but officials are now of the opinion that it will take a decade. However, she also stressed that due to the downturn in referrals during the pandemic, the true extent of those who require elective care is not known. The committee was also told that, as well as massive backlog of patients waiting for treatment, steps must be taken to address capacity and workforce issues to deal with ongoing new referrals. Alastair Campbell, director of Hospital Services Reform at the Department of Health, explained: It will take time to do this properly because its going to take investment over a long period. What I would say about the investment is that we have been in a similar position, not quite as bad, in around 2005, and we did get the waiting lists down over about four years until they were at acceptable levels. But we did focus a great deal on additionality and non-recurrent funding, because that was the funding we had available and if we do the same again, we will end up in the same position again that we will get the waiting lists down to an acceptable level and then they will continue to grow again. It comes as Health Minister Robin Swann has warned the current draft budget is not enough to allow the health service to continue to deliver core services, let alone move to address waiting lists. Last month, the Belfast Telegraph revealed some patients are waiting six years for a first outpatient appointment. I really don't want to say I told you so, but, I told you so. Free surgery for transgenders after the medical professionals told the military that the loss of combat effectiveness due to this practice will be significant. I still believe that many will now try to join just to get the free surgery then work to get an early release. The Department of Defense has confirmed in recent memos that sex reassignment surgery could be provided free of cost as part of the militarys medical benefits package following President Joe Bidens Jan. 25 executive order. "America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive. The military is no exception," the White House said in a press release announcing the order. "This means no one will be separated or discharged, or denied reenlistment, solely on the basis of gender identity," the release continued. "Prospective recruits may serve in their self-identified gender when they have met the appropriate standards for accession into the military services." This revised policy will also ensure all medically necessary transition related care authorized by law is available to all Service members, wrote Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a memo obtained by the Washington Examiner. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said the military would "perform an assessment of the necessary steps to eliminate the exclusion of 'gender alteration' (gender affirmation surgery) in the medical benefits package." He wrote last month, in a memo ordering a review of the departments policies and practices, that "Every person at VA, whether a customer or member of VAs workforce, should be treated with respect and dignity. Our success as a team our ability to deliver world-class care for our veterans depends on our respect for our fellow VA employees and the veterans we serve and is critical to everything we do." Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., an Iraq War veteran who says he supports transgender people serving in the military, told the Examiner: "This is radical and new territory for a presidential administration to force taxpayers to fund sexual reassignment surgeries for those in the military. Im compassionate toward those individuals who want to undergo an elective surgery of this nature, but taxpayers shouldnt be on the hook to pay for it. Its constitutionally dubious that Congress hasnt passed these measures, but the administration, in a radical way, is pushing through this agenda. I sit on the committee that should debate these issues." Pink News notes that the militarys health insurance provider, TRICARE, already covers the cost of hormone therapy and psychological counseling for gender dysphoria and, while they generally do not cover surgery, they do note that "active-duty service members may request a waiver if their provider deems surgery medically necessary." The Pentagon first paid for gender-reassignment surgery for a transgender soldier in 2017, and has paid $8 million to treat 1,525 transgender troops between 2016 and 2019. Most of that cost covered psychological counseling and not surgical operations related to transitioning. A total of 161 surgeries were performed during that time, according to data provided to USA Today in 2019. RESTAURANT CAPACITY TO INCREASE IN NYC: Mayor talks coronavirus variant; stimulus package passes, Disney store in S.I. Mall to close, and latest numbers. (Hot Zone) Posted by Staten Island Advance on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday increased indoor dining capacity in New York City as Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the increasing number of COVID-19 variant cases being seen in the five boroughs. Cuomo said that city restaurants could increase their capacity to 50 percent from 35 percent on March 19. Eateries in the rest of the state are allowed to operate at 75 percent capacity. De Blasio and his medical advisors said that the New York and UK coronavirus variants accounted for 51 percent of COVID cases in the five boroughs, according to the most recent test data. De Blasio said that the variants are more contagious, but are not more dangerous than COVID-19. He said New Yorkers should continue to wear masks, socially distance, wash their hands, get vaccinated and get tested. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed President Joe Bidens $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, paving the way for $1,400 stimulus checks to be delivered to American families this month. The coronavirus pandemic has turned our world upside-down, and we need information like we never have before. How many new cases were there on Staten Island today? How many deaths? How many people have been released from the hospital? What are Bidens plans to end the pandemic? What are Cuomo and de Blasio doing to keep New Yorkers safe? What other news is top of mind? More importantly, when are we going to get back to normal, whatever normal is? Its almost too much to keep up with. So every day around 4 p.m., Mark and I take to Facebook Live to give you all the information you need. You can then look for this written wrap-up on SILive.com at the end of the day. Well give you the numbers and all the latest news. Well answer your questions. Well follow up on your news tips. Well share the good news too, the way that the Staten Island community is coming together in this time of crisis. Or well just share this strange and unique pandemic moment with you, as fellow Staten Islanders. Were all in this together. Well all get through this together. [March 11, 2021] Teleperformance Ranked Best Place to Work in Russia Regulatory News: Teleperformance (News - Alert) (Paris:TEP), a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, announced today its operations in Russia received its first Best Place to Work (BPTW) certification following a comprehensive audit by the prestigious Best Places to Work Institute. Highlights of Teleperformance evaluation scores in Russia include a robust employee confidence in the company, with more than 80% of survey respondents citing Teleperformance as an excellent employer. Besides work-from-home staff, Teleperformance operates nine facilities in seven cities for a total workforce of nearly 4,000 employees based in the country. With the world still facing employment challenges and disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic, Teleperformance's Russia operations attaining 2021 BPTW certification is a significant milestone, especially under lockdown conditions. Best Places to Work is a leading third-party expert on workplace culture assessment. BPTW evaluation framework ranks companies' culture based on multiple factors that showcase employee trust, fairness, respect, and pride and reflect the latest best employer workplace trends. Hamza Idrissi, Global Program Manager BPTW, said: "We congratulate Teleperformance in Russia for this recognition. Having achieved the Best Places to Work certification in Russia demonstrates the commitment of Teleperformance to the development of its human capital. The organization ensures that every employee is always put in a position to do its job in the best possible way, so that everybody can take an active contribution to the business strategy and the overall ambition." Ekaterina Osina, CEO, Teleperformance Russia, commented: "We are extremely happy to be certified as a Best Place to Work in Russia. It was achieved thanks to our team, their constant efforts to create the best workplaces and their consideration of employees' needsand expectations. We will analyze the findings for continuous improvement to reinforce this accomplishment and so we always aim higher." With a top global priority of employee well-being, 28 separate Teleperformance country operations including Russia are currently independently recognized as best employers by third party evaluators: Albania, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Greece, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kosovo, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States of America. This represents 87 % of the worldwide Teleperformance workforce. Teleperformance Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Julien, said: "Teleperformance established operations in Russia over 20 years ago. It is great to achieve a best employer status there and we are gratified our employees especially recognize Teleperformance is totally committed to the safety, well-being and professional growth of our more than 380,000 people all around the world. With 87% of our entire worldwide staff now working in independently certified best employer operations, we have set a strong benchmark for large global enterprises and we are not finished raising the bar." ABOUT TELEPERFORMANCE GROUP Teleperformance (TEP - ISIN: FR0000051807 - Reuters: TEPRF.PA - Bloomberg (News - Alert) : TEP FP), a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, serves as a strategic partner to the world's largest companies in many industries. It offers a One Office support services model combining three wide, high-value solution families: customer experience management, back-office services and business process knowledge services. These end-to-end digital solutions guarantee successful customer interaction and optimized business processes, anchored in a unique, comprehensive high tech, high touch approach. The Group's 380,000+ employees, based in 83 countries, support billions of connections every year in over 265 languages and over 170 markets, in a shared commitment to excellence as part of the "Simpler, Faster, Safer" process. This mission is supported by the use of reliable, flexible, intelligent technological solutions and compliance with the industry's highest security and quality standards, based on Corporate Social Responsibility excellence. In 2020, Teleperformance reported consolidated revenue of 5,732 million (US$6.5 billion, based on 1 = $1.14) and net profit of 324 million. Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: CAC 40, CAC Support Services, STOXX 600, S&P Europe 350 and MSCI Global Standard. In the area of corporate social responsibility, Teleperformance shares are included in the Euronext Vigeo Eurozone 120 index, the FTSE4Good index and the Solactive Europe Corporate Social Responsibility index (formerly Ethibel Sustainability Excellence Europe index). For more information: www.teleperformance.com Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) : @teleperformance View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005786/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Koku Anyidoho has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his comments on Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin whose political party is the main opposition NDC. Mr Akufo-Addo while delivering his first state of the nation address in in his second term on Tuesday March 9 said Let me use this opportunity to congratulate, once again, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, on becoming. Speaker of the 8th Parliament. His has been a distinguished career, having entered the 1st Parliament of the 4th Republic in 1993, and I came to meet him in the 2nd Parliament in 1997. He has been Majority Leader, Minister of State, one of the three wisemen in a previous Government, 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and now finds himself in this elevated position of being the third most important person in the governance structure of our country. It is wholly appropriate that, at such a critical period in the history of our country, my senior in Parliament and I should work together for the wellbeing of the Ghanaian people. Mr. Speaker, I wish you well in the discharge of the duties of this high office. Mr. Speaker, in 2017, I was here for the first time as President of the Republic, having won the election of 2016, and having inherited a faltering economy and an expectant people. Between that time and 2020, I sought to deliver on the mandate reposed on me and my party, the New Patriotic Party, and gain, once again, the confidence of the Ghanaian people. It was by no means a straight-forward task. We were able to deliver on most of our 2016 promises. In spite of the considerable challenges we confronted, and the setbacks we encountered, we were confident our record in office would put us in good stead before the electorate, and earn us a second term in office, which it did. It means that the reason for which the Ghanaian people went to the polls on 7th December, i.e to seek an improvement in their living standards and the rapid transformation of the economy, must continue in earnest. It means that the clarion call of Four More for Nana and the NPP to do more for you must be realised, and I intend to do so. Sharing his thoughts on this in a tweet, Mr Anyiodoho who is a former Director of Communications at the Presidency under the Mills administration said Matured statement by President Akufo-Addo in appreciation of what Rt. Honourable Bagbin has achieved by dint of hard work & the kind grace of God. Matured statement by President Akufo-Addo in appreciation of what Rt. Honourable Bagbin has achieved by dint of hard work & the kind grace of God pic.twitter.com/nKyNdnCCFo Samuel Koku Anyidoho (@KokuAnyidoho) March 9, 2021 Source: twitter/3news 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 Americans have begun leaving home more often than before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, reflecting a pent-up desire to venture out as new cases have declined, according to University of Maryland researchers tracking the movement of cellphones. The number of daily trips per person - when a cellphone moved more than a mile from home - had hovered around 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels since rebounding over the summer. But by mid-February, after a slight slump amid a surge in new cases, the number regularly started to exceed pre-pandemic travel. By the first week of March, the number of trips surpassed those taken each day in the same week last year, before stay-at-home orders kicked in, by as much as 13.6 percent. With such orders having long expired and barely 10 percent of the country fully vaccinated, Americans are demonstrating a growing comfort with heading out, likely the result of declines in new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths, researchers said. Reaching the first anniversary of pandemic-related restrictions might also have created more severe cases of early spring fever, experts say. The number of daily trips per capita has climbed even as an estimated 22 percent of the country continues to work from home. That's because the number of nonwork trips, such as running errands, has jumped, on some days by as much as 20 percent compared with before the pandemic. It's quarantine fatigue - and then some. "We've been through a long winter and a lot of [covid] cases," said Mofeng Yang, the lead researcher on the Maryland Transportation Institute project. "People might want to escape from their homes." Yang said the aggregated cellphone data doesn't show where people are going, but he suspects many are more eager for a change of scenery than a year ago. Those working from home also probably have more flexibility than before to make personal trips, such as running errands or driving to a park for a walk, he said. Traffic analysts at Inrix, a Seattle-area firm that collects data on passenger vehicles, have found the number of miles driven daily nationwide remains at about 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Unlike the University of Maryland research, the Inrix data doesn't include truck drivers and people who travel by transit, bicycle, plane or on foot. The national average also might be depressed by traffic remaining down significantly in many major metropolitan areas, such as New York and San Francisco, Inrix said. Inrix analyst Bob Pishue said he's curious how much the growth in driving distances reflects people who have left large cities for smaller cities, suburbs and more rural areas where people tend to drive farther. Fifteen of the 100 metropolitan areas that Inrix monitors in the United States are seeing people drive farther than this time last year, most of them in less populous areas, such as Knoxville, Tenn., Greenville, S.C. and Boise, Idaho. Washington-area residents are staying home more than the national average, taking an average of 3.4 trips per person on March 3 compared with 4.02 trips that day nationwide, according to the University of Maryland data. They also are continuing to take fewer trips than before the pandemic, remaining down between 1.5 percent and nearly 10 percent per capita, depending on the jurisdiction. District residents are staying home the most, with daily trips down 9.6 percent. Even with the number of coronavirus cases declining, public health experts continue to recommend limiting travel. Venturing out leads to more interactions among people of different households, increasing the chances of catching or spreading the virus. But some also say they are not surprised that people are leaving home more often. Lorien Abroms, a public health professor at George Washington University, said she suspects people are adding back trips they put off for the past year, now that they feel safer to do so. "I think people have pent-up energy to get out of the four walls of their house that they've looked at day after day for a year now," Abroms said. States that are starting to fully reopen, including those like Texas that have lifted all restrictions, also are signaling "that it's okay to travel and go out and do things you've been wanting to do," she said. How carefully people behave - whether they continue to wear masks, socially distance and stay outdoors as much as possible - is more important than how often they leave home, some experts said. "If it's people running errands or driving to parks to walk outside or visiting people in their homes - those are all different risks," said Amanda Castel, a George Washington University epidemiology professor. Castel said she's worried about another surge this spring, when people travel longer distances to be with family and friends for Passover, Easter and spring break amid emerging variants and a mostly unvaccinated public. "It's a critical time period for us," she said. Spudlove's Barbecue Chip Goes Well with Queso | Photo by Bob Hodson Photography Our focus has always been to create new value and to better serve future consumers by finding creative ways to use our clients products Synergy Restaurant Consultants is excited to announce that we have been retained by Spudlove Snacks to create inventive new ways to use their delicious 100% USDA organic, thick cut potato chips when snacking at home. The chips begin with organic potatoes grown on the companys farm and simple seasonings, and in addition to being 100% organic, are Non-GMO project verified, and certified Gluten-Free. Synergy developed a range of food pairing ideas to celebrate the brands flavors: Sea Salt, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Jalapeno, Barbecue, and Cracked Pepper. In addition to ideating inventive ways to use potato chips, Synergy was tasked with capturing photos of these mouthwatering inspirations for use across social media and to inspire viewers to play with their food and think outside the bag when it comes to potato chips. Our focus has always been to create new value and to better serve future consumers by finding creative ways to use our clients products, says Synergy partner Dean Small. Synergys team of menu developers and food photographer Bob Hodson joined forces to demonstrate snacking at its finest. The collaboration was focused on illustrating imaginative ways for buyers to use their chips, as a garnish for cocktails, to add crunch to a sandwich or salty balance to ice cream, or even as an alternative to corn chips for pairing with queso or poke. Sheila Stanziale, the founder and CEO of Spud Love, is no stranger to the snack category, having started her career at Nabisco and later, Pepsico. Today Stanziale leads Spudlove, proud to be offering a differentiated potato chip that begins with organic potatoes grown on the companys farm which is rooted in regenerative agriculture practices. Spudloves delicious organic, thick cut potato chips can be found online at Amazon.com, Thrive Market or Spudlovesnacks.com and throughout the Pacific Northwest at Whole Foods Markets, Fred Meyer and at Safeway stores in Washington and Northern California. About Synergy Restaurant Consultants Synergy Restaurant Consultants develops innovative and practical solutions that have been embraced by over 1,800 restaurants around the world. Founders and managing partners Danny Bendas and Dean Small have played a central role in evolving the food and beverage industry for more than 30 years by creating innovative strategies and tools that have become widely-accepted industry best practices. With the sought-after restaurant consultants at the helm, Synergy continues to elevate industry standards, apply innovation and insight to create proven strategies that help foodservice organizations of all sizes optimize their financial performance REDDING State Department of Agriculture officials seized several goats from a local residence Wednesday after receiving a complaint about injured goats and general care issues, according to a statement issued by the department. Department of Agriculture officials Wednesday morning were taking the goats off the property one at a time and evaluating them at tables, photographing and tagging them on before moving them into a trailer. Cross Highway, where the property is located, was closed in the early morning according to a town announcement. Redding police said in a statement they were assisting with the execution of a search warrant at the property. State officials said they planned to take the animals into department custody for transportation to a state rescue and rehabilitation facility in Niantic. The animals will be evaluated and treated by a veterinarian and will remain in [the Department of Agricultures] custody and care until the case is adjudicated in the court system, the release said. Property owner Nancy Burton, who was on the property, did not immediately comment. In addition to a complaint received last October about general care issues, the department received complaints dating to 2017 regarding roaming goats and the number of goats on the property, according to the Department of Agriculture statement. The departments release said local and state animal control officers made multiple visits to the property in attempts to assess and resolve the situation. The Department of Agriculture ultimately resorted to obtaining a search and seizure warrant. Based on citizen complaints and surveillance that revealed animal welfare concerns, including mobility issues due to untrimmed hooves, excessive manure, lack of sufficient water, and structures in poor condition that did not provide adequate protection from the weather, the Department of Agriculture applied for, and was granted a search and seizure warrant for the goats in question, the release said. Removal of the animals is a last resort after attempting to work with the owner to voluntarily improve the standard of care, officials added. Burton first adopted a goat Katie the Goat in 2008, according to court documents Burton has filed, including an appeal against Reddings Zoning Board of Appeals and a complaint against the town of Redding and First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton. The goat had lived in Waterford, about five miles from the Millstone nuclear power plant. Katie the Goats milk had been tested for radiation and Burton moved her to the Redding property to initiate a milk-sampling project downwind of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., she stated. [Burton] later rescued two other goats from southeastern Connecticut and since that time the goat population at [Burtons] property has expanded, she wrote in a complaint against the Zoning Board of Appeals. In the zoning appeal, dated January 2018, she stated the milk-testing continued after Katie the Goats death in 2012 and that the goat population on the property expanded to some 50 adult goats, but that she was working with a nonprofit organization to have them adopted. The population has been reduced to date by 20. A total of nine adult goats are allowed on Redding properties before the Zoning Board of Appeals has to approve additional goats. In a 2019 complaint against the town and Pemberton, Burton argued she should be allowed to keep 30 goats on the property. The case was supposed to have a status conference Wednesday, but did not go forward due to the unavailability of the plaintiff, Burton. Pemberton spent much of her morning observing the states action from the road. She said recent surveillance confirmed the towns concerns. Anyone can observe, from the road, that theres a shed with manure stacked so high that the goats can barely get into the shed, Pemberton said. They shouldnt be living, standing on a pile of [manure] barely getting out of the cold. Its deplorable, she added. Pemberton said she doesnt know if Burton will get her goats back but personally hopes she doesnt. Staff photographer John Voorhees contributed to this report. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sani Katu, has told the Federal High Court in Abuja why he is resigning as the lead defence counsel for the chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, who is being prosecuted for N2 billion money laundering. He said in a court document filed on Wednesday, but which PREMIUM TIMES obtained on Thursday, that his mind and that of Mr Maina are at cross purpose over the case. The SAN will be the third lawyer to officially quit the defence team in the last three months. He had sought to quit the case on Wednesday, but he was stopped by the trial judge, Okon Abang, who said he could not withdraw his appearance without giving the court a minimum of three-day notice as stipulated in section 349(8) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. Following the courts ruling, the lawyer filed a formal application seeking leave to be allowed to withdraw from the case immediately after Wednesdays proceedings. PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday obtained copies of his motion on notice, affidavit deposed to by a lawyer in his law firm, Muhammad Mustapha, a written address, and the letter of instruction issued him by Mr Maina. The application is primarily asking for the leave of this honourable court to enable the lead counsel, Muhammad Sani Katu, SAN, to withdraw his appearance and further representation of the 1st defendant (Mr Maina), for the sole reason that both the minds of the counsel and that of the 1st defendant are at cross purpose, the written address accompanying the application reads in part. Mr Mustapha, who deposed to the affidavit filed in support of the application, introduced a context of cheat into the issue but did not give details. Some confidential cheats occurred both within and outside the court that indicates that both the counsel and the 1st defendant are working on a cross-purpose, Mr Mustapha stated. He added that the granting of the application, will enable the 1st defendant to bring a counsel of his choice in accordance with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. The details of the circumstances of the non-alignment of the minds of Mr Katu and the defendant were not given. But PREMIUM TIMES reported on Wednesday that Mr Katu distanced himself from the subpoenas which Mr Mainas other lawyer applied to be issued on the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and others. The newspaper reported on Tuesday that the court had at the instance of Mr Maina issued separate subpoenas on Mr Malami, the Governor of Central Bank (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, a former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, and human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, to testify for the defence. Mr Katu, while addressing the court on Wednesday, said that of the over 10 subpoenas, he only applied for three, which were for bank officials. The court had on Wednesday adjourned further proceedings till Thursday. Mainas unstable legal representation The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mr Maina along with his company, Common Input Property & Investment Limited, for allegedly laundering N2billion in pension funds. Mr Katu, who said he was briefed by Mr Maina via a letter of instruction dated December 31, 2020, would be the third lawyer to officially quit the defence team in the last three months. Two lawyers Joe Kyari-Gadzama, a SAN, and Adeola Adedipe left the defence team after their separate applications for withdrawal were granted by the court in December. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Maina had immediately engaged Anayo Adibe, but subsequently brought in Mr Katu to lead the defence team, while also retaining Mr Adibe on the team. 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. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 05:07:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called the latest allegations accusing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual misconduct "nauseating," dealing another blow to the Democrat's governorship already deep in trouble amid the fallout of multiple scandals. "The allegations of these women are serious. They're deeply troubling. Last night's was nauseating," Schumer, a Democrat, said during an interview on SiriusXM's "The Joe Madison Show." He was referring to an account from an anonymous former aide of Cuomo's that the governor groped her last year when she was asked to come to the Executive Mansion to help Cuomo with a cellphone issue. Cuomo has adamantly denied the allegation, the sixth so far involving sexual harassment. The governor remained defiant amid calls from New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and nearly 60 Democratic members of the state's legislature for him to resign. He urged people to hold their judgment until an investigation is concluded. New York Attorney General Letitia James, also a Democrat, opened an investigation into those allegations, appointing former U.S. attorney Joon Kim and Anne Clark, who specializes in employment discrimination law, on Monday to lead the probe. "I believe she will pursue every lead. ... And I also believe that she will not let any outside or political interference stop her from getting all the facts out," Schumer said of James. Other leading Democrats in the New York State, including state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, also asked Cuomo to quit. Those who demanded Cuomo's resignation also cited his cover-up of the state's COVID-19 deaths data. Enditem New Delhi, March 11 : In a fresh bid to secure Google Pay users in India, the company on Thursday announced more choice and control to manage transaction data on the digital payments platform. The users can now view and delete individual transactions and activity records that they don't want used to personalise their Google Pay experience, by visiting account.google.com. From next week, Google Pay app settings will provide users with more controls to decide how their Pay activity is used to personalise features within the app. "All users will be asked to choose whether they would like to turn the control on or off as soon as they upgrade to the next version of the Google Pay app," Ambarish Kenghe, Vice President-Product, Google Pay, said in a statement. Turning on "Personalisation within Google Pay'' will provide a more tailored experience within Google Pay. For example, the users receive more relevant offers and rewards based on their activity within Google Pay, including transaction history. "Even with this setting turned off, Google Pay will continue to work just as well -- only without personalization," Kenghe said. The users who update Google Pay on Android and iOS can access these controls to modify their personalisation experience on Google Pay based on their preference. "Your personal information is never sold to anyone and your transaction history is not shared with any other Google product for targeting ads," the company said. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 84F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 68F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Indias vaccine diplomacy has become a talking point globally and a proof of this was the acknowledgment made by Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath. Even Indians have been sharing their delight and pride about the policy to send Made-in-India vaccines across the world. Recently, chef Vikas Khanna hailed Indias internal and external work related to the vaccine, after his mother received the first shot of the vaccine. Vikas Khanna on Indias vaccine policy Sharing a photo of his mother Bindu Khanna all smiles after receiving the Covishield vaccine, Vikas Khanna shared that the initiative of sending vaccines abroad, being called as Vaccine Maitri, was about serving humanity, caring for its people and the world at large. The Michelin Star Chef also used the Sanskrit term Vasudeva Kutumbakam which meant the World is One Family. Tagging the Prime Ministers Office, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, among others, he also gave a shoutout to the Worlds Largest Vaccination Drive in the country. Previously, other celebrities related to the film industry like Shatrughan Sinha, R Madhavan had also praised vaccine diplomacy. Many stars have also received the first dose of the vaccine, and this includes Jeetendra, Neena Gupta, Hema Malini, Sonali Bendre, Saif Ali Khan, among others. Indias Vaccine diplomacy The latest country to gain from the Vaccine Maitri initiative was Afghanistan which received 468,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine, from the Serum Institute of India. India has already sent the indigenous vaccines to 29 countries and will be providing vaccine doses to 49 more nations over the next few weeks. As a part of the 'Largest Vaccination Drive', India has vaccinated over 2.5 crore citizens already. 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. Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. One of the red snapper sampled as part of this Gulf-wide study in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Written by Kristen Kusek, Communications Director for USF CMS Nearly 100 percent of the red snapper sampled in the Gulf of Mexico over a six-year period by University of South Florida (USF) marine scientists showed evidence of liver damage, according to a study reported in Aquatic Toxicology. The study is the first to correlate the concentration of crude oil found in the workhorses of the digestive system -- the liver, gall bladder, and bile with microscopic indicators of disease, such as inflammation, degenerative lesions, and the presence of parasites. The team sampled nearly 570 fish from 72 Gulf locations between 2011 to 2017 in the wake of the historic 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The results add to the list of other species weve analyzed indicating early warning signs of a compromised ecosystem, said Erin Pulster, PhD, first author of the study and researcher at the USF College of Marine Science. Pulster and the team of researchers studying oil pollution in Gulf of Mexico fishes have previously reported high levels of oil exposure in yellowfin tuna, golden tilefish, and red drum as well. The Gulf of Mexico not only experiences hundreds of annual oil spills with long-lasting effects such as the historic Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 but is routinely subject to intense shipping traffic and collects pollutants from faraway places that flow in from coastlines and rivers like the Mighty Mississippi and the Rio Grande. Honing in on the toxic hot spots In this study Pulster and the team looked specifically at the most toxic component of crude oil called polycyclic aromatic compounds, or PAHs. PAH sources include old oil and gas rigs, fuel from boats and airplanes, and natural oil seeps, which are fractures on the seafloor that can add millions of barrels of oil to the Gulf every year. The presence of PAHs in the bile, which is produced by the liver to aid in digestion, indicates relatively recent oil exposure (days to weeks). The team found that the PAH concentration in the bile declined and remained relatively stable after 2011 but they noted a sharp increase in 2017. Overall, the bile PAH hot spots were on the West Florida Shelf (WFS) and in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon spill, off the mouth of the Mississippi River. This is the site of the 2004 Taylor oil platform collapse off Louisiana, the longest oil spill in history, which continues to leak oil today. The hotspot west of Tampa on the WFS could be due to shipping traffic or submarine groundwater discharge, Pulster said. PAH found in the liver indicates the fish has been chronically exposed to oil (months to years). The team found the liver PAH hot spots in the northwest Gulf of Mexico, where a considerable number inactive oil and gas platforms exist. While the PAH concentrations in the liver remained relatively stable throughout the study, indicating that the red snapper are physically managing the oil exposure, there is a tipping point, Pulster said. Red snapper can live upwards of 40 years but fish manage oil toxins, similar to the way humans manage exposure to greasy burgers and alcohol. Repeated exposure to oil in fish can lead to cancer and eventually to death, but it can also result in sublethal impacts. Virtually all (99 percent) of the red snapper sampled had an average of five physical signs of liver damage. The observed changes can result from natural causes but are also well documented secondary responses to stress which, could potentially signal disease progression. We just dont know when we will tip the scale, said Pulster. There was literally one red snapper in the bunch with PAHs but no physical signs of damage when viewed under the microscope, said Pulster. The PAH concentrations detected in the livers of Red Snapper can be several orders of magnitude higher than what scientists find in the edible muscle tissue that humans eat. Red snapper remain safe to eat but Pulster stressed the need for continued monitoring. Only then can scientists keep their finger on the pulse of fish health and know what the impacts of additional oil spills may be especially in species like snapper that are so critical to the Gulf economy, she said. This is a unique study. Most investigations of oil spill effects only last a year or two, and this study gives us both a wide scale of reference across the Gulf and also long-term monitoring, which we lacked prior to Deepwater Horizon, said Steve Murawski, PhD, senior author on the study. Murawski, a professor and the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership Peter R. Betzer Endowed Chair at the USF College of Marine Science, led the 10-year research effort in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. There is a story we can tease out of the data, Murawski said. The observed decline in oil exposure in red snapper in the few years following the Deepwater Horizon accident suggests the high levels measured in earlier years were a direct impact from the spill. Its legacy continues, and wed be wise to continue the critical research ironically made possible by long-term monitoring post-disaster. The study was supported by The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, and The Center for the Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystem (C-IMAGE I, II, and II). New Pro-Larva mask incorporates unique British copper nanoparticle technology to create a virucidal barrier effective against Covid-19 and other viruses, including influenza A new anti-viral mask which kills 99.9% of Covid-19 virus within five minutes of contact has been launched today offering an unparalleled level of protection against viruses not just for those around them but for the wearer too. Aimed at all types of industry, from hospital and care homes, to schools, to the retail leisure industries, Pro-Larva differs from conventional masks because, as well as protecting those around the wearer, it protects the wearer themselves, using revolutionary copper nanoparticle technology developed here in the UK. Antony Legge, Chairman of the parent company Pharm2Farm explains: "Conventional surgical-type TR2 masks only block virus from exiting the mask they don't have an active mechanism for killing it once it's trapped in the mask. Pro-Larva has been designed to use existing barrier technology but also to combine it with a-virion, a copper nanoparticle technology that kills 99.9% of the virus once it is trapped in the mask." This viricidal layer is effective for up to seven hours. Current surgical masks are only effective for around two hours, which requires health care professionals in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) to wear between 4-10 masks per day. Because of Pro-Larva's longer effective life this greatly reduces the number of masks required, therefore reducing costs for the hospital or care home. Pro-Larva is also self-sterilising killing Covid-19 on contact means there is no infection risk from discarded masks after use, removing any potential biohazard. The effectiveness of the mask against the coronavirus and Influenza has been tested by an independent laboratory and a leading UK university. It has also received European regulatory approval and carries a CE mark, meaning it has been independently reviewed. The Pro-Larva idea was developed by scientists at Pharm2Farm led by Dr Gareth Cave. Pharm2Farm recently installed a face mask production line in Nottingham, UK and are working with European and global face mask manufacturers to scale-up the supply of Pro-Larva to meet demand. Dr Gareth Cave, founder of the technology and Pharm2Farm, added: "Helping healthcare professionals protect themselves, their co-workers and patients is very important, and we are keen to support the NHS. However, there are many other categories of frontline workers we are looking to engage with from schools to care home workers, to the retail and leisure industries who could benefit from this next generation mask." -Ends- Notes to Editors About Pharm2Farm Pharm2Farm is a VC backed Nottingham Trent University spin-out which provides advanced nanoparticle-based solutions for plant, animal and human care through a patented novel production process. For more information, please visit the website: www.pharm2farm.org About the Pro-Larva mask The 4 ply anti-viral disposable medical mask from Pharm2Farm Ltd is proven to kill up to 99.9% of coronaviruses and 90% of influenza for up to 7 hours. The mask is splash resistant with a melt blown filter and hypoallergenic layers and uses Pharm2Farm's proprietary a-virion virucidal technology, featuring copper nanoparticles. The Pro-Larva mask is CE marked and its a-virion layer has been certified to ISO 18184 standards. ISO 18184 is a standard protocol to quantify the antiviral properties of textile materials. For more information about Pro-Larva mask, its features and suppliers, please visit: https://pro-larva.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005101/en/ Contacts: Instinctif Partners Floyd Jebson Rozi Morris Melanie Toyne-Sewell +44 20 7457 2020 +44 7787134 324 Pro-Larva@Instinctif.com A bill that would make South Carolina the 48th state in the nation to pass a hate crime law started its journey through the Statehouse on Tuesday. The proposal to allow harsher penalties for killings, assaults, stalking, vandalism and other crimes motivated by hatred for someones race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or disability is one of the key legislative goals for big businesses in the state this year. Several business leaders testified in a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday in favor of the bill, joined by others who argued that South Carolina can make the proposal a lasting memorial to the nine Black church members killed in a racist massacre in a Charleston church in 2015. Three opponents to the bill were from Baptist groups, mostly concerned the proposal could be turned against them if they speak out against homosexuality, abortion or other issues important to their beliefs and they could be charged with stalking or other crimes. We must protect speech, said Mitch Prosser, vice president of the Palmetto Family Council. But supporters pointed out the bill doesnt add any new crimes. Instead, it would add up to five years in prison for someone convicted of a violent crime fueled by hate, three years for stalking or harassment and an extra year behind bars for vandalism. Rep. Will Wheeler asked Prosser if his group was currently fighting against stalking laws, since the hate crime bill didnt change it. Have you all voiced any objections to that code section at any time in the last 10 or 20 years? said Wheeler, D-Bishopville. Prosser said they have not, but they worry a hate crime bill could stretch it to where someone offended by the singing of Amazing Grace at a vigil for victims of violence could end up on the wrong side of the law. The five-member subcommittee has just one Black member, but more than a dozen African American legislators came to the meeting to listen to the testimony. The subcommittee is expected to vote on the bill Thursday. House Speaker Jay Lucas made the hate crimes proposal a key part of a deep dive he asked representatives to take into criminal justice issues after a summer of racial strife. The Republican speaker is one of almost 30 bipartisan sponsors of the bill. Arkansas and Wyoming are the only other states without hate crime bills. Georgia passed a similar proposal in June after the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man pursued and fatally shot while running near Brunswick, Georgia. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said his caucus has not talked about the bill as it makes its way through the House. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said he wants to wait and see what is passed. Only one member of law enforcement spoke. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott asked lawmakers to pass a hate crime law, telling them about a recent string of 17 robberies over three weeks that targeted Hispanics, terrorizing their community. We obtained their text messages that showed: Lets go get some Mexicans tonight,' Lott said. We can actually prove all their robberies were based on the race of the individuals that became the victims. These are the types of crimes where we need something to hold them accountable. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Fraud South Carolina If there is one thing that can make even a seasoned online seller roll their eyes, its taxes. Luckily, today were bringing you not one, but two Ecwid updates that will make working with taxes much easierespecially if you sell in Europe, Australia, India, or New Zealand. Now you can: Generate legally compliant tax invoices. These have a unique number, are correctly formatted, and can be easily downloaded as a PDF file for preparing reports for tax authorities. These have a unique number, are correctly formatted, and can be easily downloaded as a PDF file for preparing reports for tax authorities. Switch to tax-inclusive prices. When setting up prices, you can enter prices that include VAT or GSTno more need to calculate the net price for each product! You can display these tax-inclusive prices across your stores interface: in the product catalog, order details, invoices, emails, and at checkout. Read on to find out more about new tools for managing taxes in your store. Generate Legally Compliant Invoices We all use regular invoices (or receipts), on a daily basis. These pesky little records are printable order details that are sent to customers. Receipts work great for internal processes. For example, you can print them to include into a customers package. Or, you can send receipts to your staff so that they pick products from the warehouse. However, when it comes to working with tax authorities, retailers need something in addition to regular seller invoices tax invoices. These are legal documents with unique ID numbers that you need to send to customers, store, and use to report earnings to tax authorities, as necessary. As opposed to receipts, tax invoices have strict requirements and a special format. Now, with Ecwid E-commerce, you can create tax invoices in your Control Panel and be sure that they are legally compliant and formatted correctly! But thats not all working with tax invoices is (dare we say?) a joy for any merchant. You can: Download tax invoices as PDF files for preparing reports for the tax authorities Download tax invoices in bulk, for previous months or quarters Create negative invoices for cancelled orders and refunds Edit invoice content in a convenient editor. No matter where you live and sell European countries, India, Australia, or New Zealand, your tax-addled brain can now rest easy. Invoices in your Ecwid store comply with the official tax requirements in these countries. How to enable and use tax invoices To enable and manage tax invoices in your Ecwid store: Go to Control panel Settings Taxes. Enable the Tax Invoices setting. Click Manage Tax Invoices. Here you can change tax invoice numbering, customize invoices, and choose when they are auto-generated when order is placed or shipped. Click Save. If you dont want to enable generating tax invoices automatically, you can create them manually on the order details page. Heres how: Go to the Orders page and choose an order you need to create a tax invoice for. Click Manage Tax Invoices and choose Create Tax Invoice. Choose what type of invoice you want to create regular (sale) or cancellation (refund). Click Create Tax Invoice. You can download or print tax invoices (the auto generated or the ones you created manually) in the Tax Invoices section on the order details page. To bulk download tax invoices: Go to Control panel Settings Taxes. Click Manage Tax Invoices. Click Get Tax Invoices. Choose the time period and click Get Tax Invoices. From here, youll receive an email with a download link. Click it to receive all invoices for your chosen time period as an archive file. Learn more about editing and managing tax invoices in our Help Center. Switch to Tax-Inclusive Prices Before we jump into why this switch is so convenient, lets talk about the difference between gross and net prices. The total price actually paid for a purchase is known as the gross price, while the before-tax price is known as the net price. Sellers from Europe, India, Australian and New Zealand are used to working with gross prices when communicating with suppliers and customers. When setting up prices in your Ecwid store, you input your items prices without any modifiers and taxes net prices. Calculating net prices from gross prices can be a pain to merchants that are used to working with tax-inclusive prices (for example, taxes with VAT or GST included.) But thats all changed now, thankfully! When setting up prices, you can enter prices that include taxes! This applies not only to product prices, but also to shipping costs, price modifiers, and shipping rules and restrictions. A single click switches all your operations to working with tax-inclusive prices, be it entering prices and editing order details in your Control Panel or setting up shipping costs. Product catalog, order details, invoices, emails, checkoutnow you can display tax-inclusive prices across all components of your store. New tax-inclusive settings for prices have tons of benefits for you and your customers, like: Easy to set up prices: Now you wont have to calculate the net price for each product and set up taxes separately. Now you wont have to calculate the net price for each product and set up taxes separately. Customer satisfaction: Your customers will appreciate seeing the price at the checkout in more convenient (and accurate) format. Your customers will appreciate seeing the price at the checkout in more convenient (and accurate) format. Precise calculations: There are no rounding errors when calculating carts, Because tax is already included in the price. There are no rounding errors when calculating carts, Because tax is already included in the price. Transparent promotions: Before, when you ran a promotion, discounts were applied to net prices, or the prices before tax. But after you switch to tax-inclusive prices, discounts will be applied to prices with taxes. That makes the discount calculation more accurate for your customers, as the price they see is the price theyll pay. Before, when you ran a promotion, discounts were applied to net prices, or the prices before tax. But after you switch to prices, discounts will be applied to prices with taxes. That makes the discount calculation more accurate for your customers, as the price they see is the price theyll pay. Transparent shipping costs: The cost of shipping at checkout includes taxes, which is more convenient for customers. How to display tax-inclusive prices Forget the troubles associated with calculating net prices, and turn on tax-inclusive prices in your Ecwid store. Heres how: Go to your Control panel Settings Taxes. Scroll down to the All prices do not include taxes block and click Change Pricing Settings. Choose I enter prices with taxes (Gross prices) and click Save. Keep in mind that if you used to enter net prices, your prices wont be updated automatically after you switch to gross prices. Youll need to update product prices as well as shipping costs manually after the switch. Learn more about switching to tax-inclusive prices in our Help Center. More Tools for EU Sellers With tax invoices and tax-inclusive prices, your workflow is more convenient than ever. Hopefully, this can help take your mind off the numbers game and get you back to the fun part of online selling (whatever your fun part means for you). Let Ecwid E-commerce take care of boring tax settings. If you sell in or to Europe, there are other Ecwid tools and settings that can make your routine more efficient. For example: To prove to your customers that your store is trustworthy and and complies with GDPR, set up legal pages and enable the GDPR cookie consent banner. If youre a B2B provider and you sell to companies from other EU countries, let your buyers specify their VAT ID at checkout and apply a reverse charge. Have any ideas on how we can make online selling easier for you? Feel free to share your feedback in the comments! Will there be another lockdown in Bengaluru: Here is what to expect Late night parties banned in Karnataka amidst COVID-19 surge India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Bengaluru, Mar 11: The Karnataka government has banned late night parties, especially in Bengaluru amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. Health Minister, D Sudhakar said that instructions have been given to star hotels and restaurants to take necessary steps to prevent the further spread of the virus. We have banned late-night parties because during such events more people gather in one place. Also, the neighbouring states have been witnessing a spike in the Covid-19 cases. Hence we have taken all steps to contain the spread of the virus both in Bengaluru as well as other parts of the state, Sudhakar said. Next in line for vaccine against COVID-19 are those in age group of 50 years and above He also said that measures had been taken to restrict large gatherings at marriage ceremonies and other functions. However there are no restrictions on inter-state travel, the minister also said. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 8:31 [IST] Creator and writer Ryan Murphy finally gave a first look at the cast and set "American Horror Story" season 10. It's been more than a year since the fans were given the ninth season, which was heavily influenced by classic horror slasher. Though it wasn't the best season the show offered, many are getting so excited for the upcoming "American Horror Story" season 10. 'American Horror Story' Season 10 Spoiler In the upcoming tenth season of the FX horror anthology, Ryan Murphy shared an Instagram photo from the set of "American Horror Story." Former child star Macaulay Culkin, who starred in movies such as "Home Alone," "My Girl," and "Google Assistant," is the newest addition to the series. He captioned the photo, "Something wicked this way comes." In the photo, Culkin was joined by Leslie Grossman, who is an "American Horror Story" regular, locking arms and chic in the seaside breeze. As per reports, the photo was taken from the show's Provincetown, Massachusetts set. Murphy even revealed how the call went with Culkin when he asked him to join. "I asked to speak to him on the phone and he said okay." He revealed to E! News. "[When] I cast, I never let people read things, usually. I said, 'Okay, here's the pitch.'" "And I told them the character and I told him he has crazy, erotic sex with Kathy Bates and does other things." "And he paused and he goes, 'This sounds like the role I was born to play.' So, he signed up right then and there." The word "Wicked" could also be another teaser for the mysterious theme. 'American Horror Story' Season 10 Clues The overall series is still a mystery aside from a few things. A creepy contortionist is also going to be part of the upcoming show. Ryan Murphy posted a tweet in Nov. 2020 congratulating Spencer Novich, an actor, writer, and director, for joining the show. He posted Novich's audition video that "got him the job." In the tweet, Murphy also asked the fans, "Guess the title yet?" Congrats to @SpencerNovich who is joining the cast of this seasons American Horror Story. This is the audition that got him the job. Guess the title yet? #AHS10 ... pic.twitter.com/JDebkr4rFc Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) November 18, 2020 Another clue Ryan Murphy posted in Nov. 2020 was a picture of a mouth with razor-sharp teeth opening wide as a glove-hand is tattooing "AHS 10" into its tongue. It seems to be similar to the previous clue the creator shared back in Aug. 2020 when he announced that they'd start the production of "American Horror Story" season ten on Oct. 2020. That time, he just posted a picture of very pointy teeth which he confirmed that "Yes, this is a clue." 'American Horror Story' Season 10 Cast Members Macaulay Culkin joined the "American Horror Story" cast of the new season, which would include Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd, Lily Rabe, Angelica Ross, Finn Wittrock, Adina Porter. 'American Horror Story' Season 10 Release Date 2020 was the first year since 2011 without a release of "American Horror Story" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the scripts have already been written during that time. Unfortunately, there is still no news when "American Horror Story" season ten's release date will be, but there's a massive chance it will be in the fall of 2021, just like the other seasons. See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles If you own a business, youve only got days left to apply for a Paycheck Protection loan In just four months last year, more than 5 million U.S. businesses received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. That helped them pay their workers, their mortgage or rent, and their utility bills. Unfortunately, many small businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans didnt get PPP loans last year. We want to make sure you know how to apply for the funding your business really needs. But you need to act quickly. PPP ends March 31, but many lenders may stop accepting applications sooner so they have time to process. That means you need to get started on an application quickly for PPP funds to help with your payroll costs and other bills, to get your fair share. The Small Business Administration (SBA) and participating lenders are working hard to make these loans available to more businesses in low- and moderate-income communities. And to smaller businesses, like barbershops, restaurants, nail salons, clothing brands, bars, bodegas and independent contractors. ADVERTISEMENT Here are seven facts you should know about PPP that may encourage you to apply: Congress funded it with $284 billion for 2021. Thats enough for millions of more loans. Its for first-time borrowers.The SBA has already approved more than 704,000 loans for borrowers who didnt get one last year. The SBA also has approved loans for second-time borrowers. A PPP loan may be forgiven.Up to 100% of your loan could be forgiven if you qualify and meet the SBAs requirements. That means you wouldnt have to pay back the forgiven amount. Most loans are relatively small.The average loan to first-time PPP borrowers this year is $22,000, the SBA says. Smaller businesses are getting approved.90% of Chases approved PPP loans in 2021 are to businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Help is available to understand PPP.com/ppp has a webinar, checklists and FAQs to walk you through the application process. You can also check out sba.gov/ppp. Its easy to find participating lenders.The SBAs website gov/funding-programs/loans/lender-match has a Lender Match link to help you connect to a lender near you. The 2021 PPP is scheduled to expire March 31, but to get your application to the SBA by then, you need to act now. If you believe you are eligible, we urge you to find a lender, prepare your information and apply. Get started now. Dont miss out! BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children My oyster journey began as a kid bobbing in a pirogue boat in the Gulf, where my uncle hopped out in waist-deep water and pried them off the shoal, shucked them with a screwdriver and handed them over with Tabasco, crackers and warm Coors beer. Emily and Houston Carpenters oyster story is more elegant, rendered in the soft-focus memory of oysters and Champagne at a tiny spot in Paris on vacation in 2019. Inspired by that experience, the Carpenters came home to San Antonio and opened Little Ems Oyster Bar in the King William Historic District in December. We were tired of having to travel somewhere to go to a cool oyster bar, Emily Carpenter said. Theres nothing like it in San Antonio. While its true theres nowhere in San Antonio shucking oysters in a charming pastel-painted former gas station quite like Little Ems, oyster bars are having their moment in the city, from the new Fairmount Rooftop Oyster Bar, the Pearls Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery, and the two best seafood restaurants in San Antonio: the stylish Rebelle at the St. Anthony hotel and Silo Terrace Oyster Bar. Now if I can just find my screwdriver. On ExpressNews.com: 5 great places for steak and lobster Mike Sutter /Staff file photo Fairmount Rooftop Oyster Bar One of the best restaurant pandemic stories of the past year came from Patrick Richardson. The entrepreneur behind the Silo family of restaurants and La Fogata, Nonna Osteria and Nosh noticed that in a year when everything seemed to be going down, oyster sales were going up like double. Why? During the Spanish flu pandemic a hundred years ago, there also was a run on oysters, storied for their powers to fight disease. Whether fact or folklore, the aura apparently followed oysters into the new pandemic. Richardson responded by rebranding his eagles-nest bar atop The Fairmount Hotel as the Fairmount Rooftop Oyster Bar in August, offering a half-dozen or more varieties of East Coast oysters a night ($3.75 each), along with chilled seafood, good cocktails and Champagne by the glass. In that refined setting, with a clear view of downtown and the Tower of the Americas, its easy to believe that oysters can cure what ails you. 401 S. Alamo St. at The Fairmount Hotel, 210-224-8800, siloelevatedcuisine.com. Dine-in only. Mike Sutter /Staff Little Ems Oyster Bar My trip to Little Ems cost me a lot more than $45 for a dozen East Coast oysters. The parade of designer shoes, bags and accessories worn by the aspiring young clientele reignited my wifes interest in a certain type of shoe that costs a months rent to look worn out. But Little Ems isnt just for show. Emily Carpenter estimates they go through three to four thousand oysters a weekend. Our waiter talked through the list of eight oysters on hand that day like a sommelier, pointing us to great names like Savage Blonde, Barstool Cocktail and Cupids Choice. And whether it was the psychosomatic cues from the menu or the actual flavors, I could taste the high brine and sweet, stony finish, accompanied by a completely unnecessary but nonetheless essential blood orange mignonette. Little Ems rounds out the experience on its sun-washed patio with oyster shooters like tiny micheladas, plus full-size micheladas with cold Mexican beer and a menu that includes lobster rolls and burgers from chefs Austin Bush and Zachary Pierce. Response to Little Ems has been so strong that the Carpenters are planning a seafood-and-steak spot called Up Scale at the former Feast location down the block by the end of the year. 1001 S. Alamo St., 210-257-0100, littleemsoysterbar.com. Dine-in and takeout available. Mike Sutter /Staff Rebelle For a hot minute before the pandemic, Rebelle made waves with $1 happy hour East Coast oysters. But even at a dozen for $34 these days, Rebelle downtown is a great value for oysters in a setting that makes you feel like VIPs at a Renaissance disco. The Fiddlers Cove, East Point and Moonstone oysters were some of the biggest, briniest and freshest in this report. Try them on their own, then try them with apricot horseradish that brings heat and sweet in equal measure. 300 E. Travis St. at the St. Anthony hotel, 210-352-3171, rebellesa.com. Dine-in and curbside available. On ExpressNews.com: Review: Reborn Rebelle now San Antonio's finest seafood restaurant Mike Sutter /Staff Silo Terrace Oyster Bar With tall window views of the Northwest Side hills beyond the Dominion Ridge shopping center, Silo Terrace Oyster Bar already feels like a vacation of sorts. The oyster menu extends that feeling with a tour of East Coast oyster beds, with buttery PEI Delights from Prince Edward Island, nutty Tatamagouche oysters from Nova Scotia and crisp, briny Blish Points from Massachusetts. Silo Terrace also grills oysters for a crunchy, tangy, smoky rendition of Oysters Rockefeller with bacon and breadcrumbs ($17), and its cucumber martini ($9) sets a refreshing buzz backdrop for both the raw and the cooked. 22211 Interstate 10 W., in the Dominion Ridge shopping center, 210-698-2002, siloelevatedcuisine.com. Dine-in, curbside and third-party delivery available. On ExpressNews.com: Review: Silo Terrace Oyster Bar now San Antonio's best seafood restaurant Mike Sutter /Staff Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery Southerleigh caught the oyster wave early, bringing its outdoor oyster bar to the Pearl in 2018 to complement an already strong lineup of Gulf and East Coast oysters. Made from recycled steel and milk glass windows from old Pearl buildings, the oyster bar draws a long line for draft beer in the daytime and starts shucking oysters around dinnertime. Southerleigh doesnt carry quite the laundry list of oyster varieties as other places, but I got beautiful, fresh Foxley River and Savage Blonde oysters from Prince Edward Island and robust Blish Point oysters from Massachusetts ($3.50 to $4 each). And Southerleigh is one of the few high-end places offering Gulf oysters ($2.50 each), sourced by a team that knows its way around Gulf Coast seafood. The not-so-secret weapon for oysters here? A changing lineup of house-brewed, fruit-forward sour beers and crisp ales and lagers to go with them. 136 E. Grayson St., Suite 120, at the Pearl, 210-455-5701, southerleigh.com. Dine-in, takeout and third-party delivery available. On ExpressNews.com: Review: Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery at the Pearl keeps its 3-star sense of direction msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking In light of the worsening ties between and the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will be meeting with counterparts Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi in Alaska Anchorage, Alaska next week. "Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet on March 18 in Anchorage, Alaska with People's Republic of (PRC) Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Wednesday (local time). "The meeting will take place following Secretary Blinken's meetings with two of our closest regional allies in Tokyo and Seoul. Secretary Blinken and NSA Sullivan will discuss a range of issues with the PRC," he added. The meeting comes amid a deep strain in relations between the world's two largest economies. CNN reported that Biden has prioritized economic and military issues, and mentioned potential areas of cooperation, including climate change and nuclear proliferation while calling out on a range of issues related to its nefarious use of technology, trade practices and human rights abuses. On Tuesday, The White House confirmed that Chinese and diplomats are "directly engaged" in talks, in response to questions over an exclusive report in the South China Morning Post that plans are afoot for a senior-level meeting in Alaska. "Of course there'll be a range of engagements that the president and his national security team will have with China and other countries in the region in the months and years ahead," press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday when asked to confirm the meeting would take place. "We are directly engaged. There are a range of issues we of course have talked with the Chinese about through those engagements. We don't hold back about our concerns, but we also look for opportunities to work together," she said. Under the Trump administration, ties between the two countries had deteriorated over issues such as human rights violations in Xinjiang, encroachment on the special status of Hong Kong, accusations of unfair trade practices by Beijing, lack of transparency concerning the pandemic and China's military aggression in various parts of the world. (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.) To defeat, or at least get the better of, the Covid 19 pandemic, the larger segment of the worlds citizens must become immune to it. The challenge then is to make the vaccine available to poor citizens as well as rich ones. It goes without saying, No one is safe unless everyone is safe. It is generally acknowledged that countries would put their own first, and it would be extremely difficult for a leader of a country to put the poor and vulnerable of other countries before his own population, but the ramifications of such an approach will be detrimental to the whole world including rich countries themselves. Tedros Adhanom of the World Health Organization, WHO, said that everyone will remain at risk if the me-first approach continues since it will ultimately prolong the pandemic, and allow more opportunity for variants that resist the vaccines to emerge and Covid-19 outbreaks to reignite, including in rich countries. Tedros Adhanom also rightly said, there is now a real risk that the poorest and most vulnerable will be trampled in the stampede for vaccines. And so they are. Poorer countries have fallen behind in the inoculation process. The Economist Intelligence Unit, a research and analysis division, describes the imbalance. It gives a gloomy but pragmatic picture of when countries will reach widespread vaccination coverage. By late 2021, the US and most European countries will have reached that stage; by mid 2022 Russia, China, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and several South American countries will have similar coverage; but poorer economies, mostly in Africa, vaccination coverage will not be achieved before 2023, if at all. Evidently, rich countries have had first dibs on the vaccine supplies, for, as a precautionary, understandable measure, many had pre-ordered more vaccines than they would need; in fact, they bought enough vaccines to vaccinate their entire populations four or five times over. True, these vaccine supplies have yet to arrive in each country, but they have been allocated already. Canada, a case in point, purchased enough vaccines to vaccinate each Canadian five times. In the case of the US, it pre-purchased vaccines that can cover its population four times over. The same goes for the EU, which ordered 1.6 billion doses for an adult population of 375 million, with a surplus of millions of double vaccinations. Britain, too, purchased over 200 million vaccines for an adult population of 54 millionanother surplus of 165 million. According to the BBC, even though rich nations represent just 14% of the world's population, they have bought up 53% of the most promising vaccines so far. Besides, by buying excessively, rich countries made vaccine prices prohibitively expensive for poorer countries. The pre-purchase agreements made sense in the world we lived in six months ago, because we didnt yet know which, if any, of the vaccine candidates would come to market, said Andrea Taylor, a Duke University researcher. But the result was that, by November, high-income countries had already pre-purchased the rights to 3.8 billion vaccine doses with options for another 5 billion. So what now? How can this dilemma be overcome? Several initiatives are taking place that may stabilize the vaccine equilibrium between those who have and those who have not. One support mechanism came from AstraZeneca, which pledged more than half of its doses to developing countries. It also promised to sell its vaccines at cost price in perpetuity. And while some countries seem to be hoarding the vaccines, China is determined to erase the image it projected during the initial mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and has, according to Associated Press, pledged roughly 10 times more vaccines abroad than it distributed at home. Though its population, 1.4 billion, will need an average of 2 billion doses, China has shipped millions of doses to developing nations. Another option would be if companies producing the vaccines collaborate with other manufacturers across the world in production. This would enable outlets in other locations to produce more vaccines. AstraZeneca is already working with Serum Institute in India, but it remains the only company implementing that option. Then countries with access to a surplus of vaccines can donate them to countries in need. If rich countries orders are fulfilled, extra vaccines can be reallocated free or at minimal cost. This will depend on the goodwill of governments and their relationships to countries short of vaccine supplies. However, vaccines do expire and it would be unthinkably wasteful if they are left unused, so it would make more sense to redistribute them to those who dont have access to enough or any doses. Norway did just that. Since it will have access to three times as many vaccines as it needs, it pledged to reallocate the surplus. Norways Minister of International Development, Dag-Inge Ulstein said, The distribution will be started gradually and in parallel to the current vaccination of the Norwegian population as soon as relevant vaccines are approved. Now its time for other countries to follow suit. But the real saviour for poor countries will be the COVAX Vaccine. COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access is an initiative launched by the WHO to ensure vaccine access to the world's most vulnerable. The initial goal is to procure and fairly distribute 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines across almost 200 countries and economies by the end of 2021. Most importantly, COVAX also aims to ensure that middle- and lower-income countries that cannot fully afford to pay for COVID-19 vaccines themselves get equal access to them, just as higher-income, self-financing countries do and at the same time. And the vaccines have started arriving in African countries. According to WHO, The campaigns in Ghana and Cote dIvoire follow deliveries to both countries last week with Ghana taking delivery of 600 000 doses on February 24 and Cote dIvoire 504 000 doses two days later. Both countries received the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). No one is safe, unless everyone is safe. Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. The EUs vaccine-buying programme provided it with an opportunity to demonstrate the superiority of its trans-national way of doing things over the go-it-alone approach of Brexit Britain. Instead, it has highlighted everything that is wrong with the bloc and why member states should think about following Britains example and getting out. Now the EUs failure to order vaccines promptly in sufficient quantities and start the rollout have moved beyond an issue of mere incompetence. On Tuesday, European Council president Charles Michel made the claim that Britain had banned exports of Covid vaccines and/or their components, the implication being that we are hoarding supplies for ourselves. As the Prime Minister confirmed yesterday, Britain has imposed no such ban, neither on vaccines themselves nor their ingredients. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote to Michel dismissing claims he had made as completely false. Yet, instead of putting the record straight, the office of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen would only put out a disingenuous statement. We have a policy of not commenting on other peoples comments, it said. On Tuesday, European Council president Charles Michel made the claim that Britain had banned exports of Covid vaccines and/or their components, the implication being that we are hoarding supplies for ourselves In fact it isnt Britain that has sought to ban exports of Covid vaccines, it is Italy, using powers instigated by the European Commission in January. These powers demand that vaccine manufacturers based in the EU seek permission from the Commission and from the national government of the country in which they are located before they can export vaccines to non-EU countries. Last week Italy banned the export of more than a quarter of a million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia. In other words the EU is attacking Britain for an offence of which it is itself guilty. Michel is no doubt frustrated by the dire situation in which the EU now finds itself. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote to Michel dismissing claims he had made as completely false Up until March 8, 9.6 doses of Covid vaccine have been delivered for every 100 EU citizens. In Britain the figure is 35 doses. More than 22million people here have received one jab thats more than the combined total for France, Germany, Italy and Austria. And while Britain is on course to be fully vaccinated by the summer, the EU is likely to face a second winter with many people still unprotected. The EU finds itself in this position because it was slow to order vaccines and insisted on penny-pinching when it did so. Last summer, when no one knew which, if any, vaccines would prove effective, the UK Government ordered enough to vaccinate the population several times over, with the intention of donating any excess to developing countries. The EU ordered much less. Worse, even when the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had proved itself in trials, the EU declined to order as much as it was offered, in part to try to preserve a market for a French-developed Sanofi vaccine, which is still months away from being approved. Any member states that opted to start buying their own supplies were forced to stop. When it emerged there would be delays in production at EU-based AstraZeneca factories, the EU demanded Britain hand over its own excess supplies, threatening to ban the export of the Pfizer vaccine to Britain if not. Then, French president Emmanuel Macron, followed by German leader Angela Merkel, cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in people aged over 65 despite evidence to the contrary. As a result, many EU citizens rejected it, leaving doses unused in fridges. Last summer, when no one knew which, if any, vaccines would prove effective, the UK Government ordered enough to vaccinate the population several times over, with the intention of donating any excess to developing countries. The EU ordered much less Now, the French and German health authorities have grudgingly agreed the vaccine is effective but damage to public confidence has already been done. No one should take pleasure from the EUs predicament. It is in all our interests that as many people as possible in Europe and beyond are vaccinated as soon as possible so trade and travel can open up. But this fiasco must surely prompt EU citizens to ask exactly what Brussels and its hordes of unaccountable, highly-paid bureaucrats has done for them during the greatest crisis since the Second World War. It should also prompt manufacturers to ponder the wisdom of investing in EU countries, given that the EU has assumed the power to cut off exports at whim. The EU may pose as a champion of free trade and multilateral action but the vaccine crisis has revealed the protectionist monster that has always lain at its heart. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Russia has attacked a jihadist base in northwestern Syria, reports Al-Masdar. The Russian Spring (RusVesna.SU) YouTube channel has released new video footage of the Russian Aerospace Forces targeting a jihadist base in the Idleb countryside. The Russian army continues to destroy military facilities of radical Islamists in Syria. At the disposal of Russian Spring were new exclusive footage of the airstrike in the province of Idleb. Combat aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces bombed an enemy object in the vicinity of Idleb in the Maaret Misrin region in northwestern Syria, the channel said. As it became known to Russian Spring, during the air raid, a warehouse of weapons of foreign mercenaries from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was destroyed. On the web, using Google maps, they were able to calculate the exact coordinates of the impact three kilometers north of Maaret Misrin: 36 2.507N 36 40.027E, they added. The 12-second-long video released by the YouTube channel shows smoke from the targeted sites, but it is not clear if this is indeed a weapons warehouse. Meanwhile, according to North Press on Wednesday, Turkish-backed armed opposition groups bombed positions of the Syrian government forces in the de-escalation zone. A local source says that the Ansar al-Tawhid group targeted gatherings of the government forces with heavy artillery and BM-21 Grad rockets in Zawiya Mountain, in the southern countryside of Idleb. Ansar al-Tawhid split from the Jund al-Aqsa group on Mar. 2, 2018, in Sarmin city. It includes about 800 fighters and is active on the fronts of Zawiya Mountain and less active in the countryside of Hama and Aleppo. The targeting of the front lines resulted in direct casualties in the ranks of the government forces. On Wednesday, government forces renewed their attacks on the positions and fortifications of the armed groups in the southern and eastern countryside of Idleb. 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. Police have jailed a suspect in the hit-and-run crash that killed a New Orleans clothing boutique designer while she was out for a walk on St. Charles Avenue last month. Adrian Caliste Jr., 22, was booked Thursday with one count each of manslaughter and first-degree injuring of public records in the death of 31-year-old Christina Larsen, according to jail records. Investigators didnt immediately discuss how they linked Caliste to Larsens case. But a police spokesperson said detectives accuse Caliste of running Larsen over with his vehicle, fleeing the scene, ditching his car, and then falsely reporting to officers that he had been carjacked downtown before Larsen was hit in an attempt to cover up his involvement. Caliste had not yet appeared for a bail hearing as of Thursday morning. Larsen was walking her chocolate Labrador retriever near the intersection of St. Charles and Harmony Street, about two blocks from her home, when a motorist hit her at 7:10 p.m. on Feb. 27. The driver sped off, abandoned the car and ran away, police have said. 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 Paramedics took Larsen to a hospital, where she died March 2. Caliste could face a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter, which Louisiana law defines as an unintentional yet unjustifiable killing. First-degree injuring of public records, which can include filing a false police report, can carry up to five years in prison. Larsen worked as a designer for NOLA Couture, the upscale fashion manufacturer and boutique with stores on Magazine Street, along Jackson Square and at Louis Armstrong International Airport. The Minnesota native donated her organs following her death, her mother wrote in a statement posted on a GoFundMe page set up in support of Larsens family. No other details were immediately available. Check later for more on this developing story. Spectrum acquisition in recent auctions to fill certain gaps in some circles has put VIL on a "strong footing" to be competitive in market, ensuring all elements are now in place to offer improved services and compelling proposition to customers, a senior company official said. Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer, P Balaji sought to "debunk the myth" that VIL may not have acquired large amounts of spectrum due to financial constraints. He asserted that the company had bid for just as much radiowaves, as it needed to boost its services and coverage. The company has adequate spectrum to meet customers' requirement and to be competitive in the market, he told PTI. "So we chose to buy what we chose to buy, because we had the largest spectrum pool among all the private operators...Even now, after auctions, we are not lowest on spectrum holding among private operators," he said. The company has "stayed true" to its business strategy right through integration process (merger of and Idea Cellular), kept focus on service quality "as affirmed by third-party validations and benchmarks", and inked partnerships that bring value to customers, Balaji contended. "Whether it is capacity, partnership, coverage, customer experience, quality of service - all these elements are in place... We have a compelling proposition for customers, and we will have a fair share of the market," he said. VIL's spectrum holding post-auction stands at 1,768.60 MHz. For Vodafone Idea, the value of spectrum bought in auctions (11.80 MHz) was at Rs 1,993.4 crore. Industry sources said that its deferred option entails payment of Rs 574.6 crore as immediate upfront payment, and Rs 103.50 crore for frequencies available at later date. The payment for the same is as per prescribed schedule laid down by Department of Telecom (DoT). Asked if the company has adequate funds for making upfront payment on spectrum bought in recent auctions, Balaji said, "Yes, we will make the upfront payment as required by DoT". "11.8 MHz spectrum is all we needed to fill our requirements," Balaji said. On how VIL is looking at the 5G opportunity, Balaji said the company has done significant amount of investments in its network, to make it 5G-ready. "We have already done one of the largest deployment of 5G-ready technologies including core cloudification and these help us deliver better quality of service to our customers," he said. VIL has applied for participation in 5G trials and is hopeful of a go ahead from the government. "These trials will allow us and other players to make sure that specific India use cases are put together to test and that will also allow, for in future whenever 5G is massively deployed, to get these to scale across verticals," Balaji said. It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be Appointment 11 March 2021 Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa has announced well known hotelier, Bruce Ryde as its new General Manager and Brand Strategist. Ryde has a long hotel history both operating hotels and leading global brands in Asia Pacific. The native Australian had most recently been managing the luxury brand strategy for Marriott Internationals brands amongst them The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, JW Marriott, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels as Vice President in the Asia Pacific. Prior to that Bruce held the same position with IHG, overseeing the InterContinental brand as well as the launch of the Hotel Indigo and Kimpton brands in Asia Pacific. Despite global lockdowns Kamalaya has remained open fully operational and has in fact continued to win new customers with its legendary luxury holistic wellness experience. Bruce is excited about the future for authentic wellness brands and is delighted to advance Kamalaya as one of the world's leading holistic wellness brands. When he is not working in his dual role as General Manager and Brand Strategist, Bruce enjoys early morning runs along the hidden trails surrounding Kamalaya and finishes his day with 60 laps at the 25 m pool on top of the hill. 'The lush nature, the everchanging views over the Gulf of Thailand and the warmth and kindness of our Kamalaya hosts inspire and wow me every day.' Mexico's lower chamber approved a legalisation bill Wednesday, setting the country on the path to becoming one of the world's largest legal markets. Deputies approved the legislation in general terms, but continued debating details late into the night. The approved legislation, which needs to return to the Senate, would permit recreational use of marijuana, but establish a system of licenses required for the entire chain of production, distribution, transformation and sales. It would also require that individuals, and not just associations of users, have a permit to grow plants for personal use. Each individual would be allowed to have six plants with a maximum of eight per household. Adults could use without affecting or children, but if caught with more than one ounce (28 grammes) they would be fined. They could face jail time if they had more than 12 pounds (5.6 kilogrammes). Opposition parties did not support the legislation, which they say will lead to increased drug use. In 2015, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled in favor of the recreational use marijuana. In 2019, the court ordered the government to create legislation, arguing that prohibiting its use was unconstitutional. The court has given lawmakers until April 30 to pass a law. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has expressed support and his party, Morena, has a majority in the congress that is moving the legislation. Still, with campaigns underway for national legislative elections in June, the final form of the legislation is still evolving. Critics fear some changes made by the lower chamber threaten the original intent. For example, in the latest version, lawmakers did away with establishing a new government agency specifically for the regulation of marijuana. Instead, management of the new market will go to the existing National Commission Against Addictions, which experts say does not have the capacity to regulate something so complex. They're going to make the law inoperable, said Lisa Snchez, director of United Against Crime, one of the nongovernmental organizations that has been pushing marijuana legalization for years. Lawmakers favoring the bill say it will move the marijuana market out of the hands of Mexico's powerful drug cartels to the government. But experts fear transnational corporations will be the primary beneficiaries rather than consumers or the farmers who have formed the lowest rung of the drug chain. Medicinal marijuana use has been legal in since 2017 and is allowed in a number of other Latin American countries. But only Uruguay allows recreational use in the region. Even if the Senate were to approve the lower chamber's bill without additional changes, it would take time for it to take effect. An entire regulatory framework would have to be developed. That has been the case of medicinal marijuana, which only began to function in January with the establishment of the necessary regulations. (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.) Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Foreign passengers holding 'vaccine passports' should still undergo 14-day quarantine in the absence of information on the potential risk of infection following two-dose inoculation, health experts said. Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor at the Public Health Emergency Operations Center under the Health Ministry, said the world has a tradition of certifying travel for those who have been fully vaccinated against a number of diseases such as cholera, lymphadenitis and yellow fever. However, Covid-19 is a new infectious disease, requiring newly developed vaccines. Despite various mass inoculation campaigns, the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines remains open to verification, Phu said. "Different vaccines will have different protective effects and it remains unknown how long antibodies against the novel coronavirus would exist in the body of a person already vaccinated," he said. When the strain of the virus changes, the Covid-19 vaccine might no longer work, he said. Phu's comments came as countries like China and Israel started issuing digital health certificates for travelers who had been vaccinated against Covid-19, also dubbed "vaccine passports." The U.S. and Britain are among countries currently considering issuing similar permits, while the European Union is also working on its own vaccine "green pass," allowing those who have had the jab to travel more freely within the region this summer. Phu said Vietnam is yet to introduce policies regarding vaccination certificates and that anyone entering the country still have to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine. Echoing Phu, Truong Huu Khanh, head of the infectious and neurological diseases department at Ho Chi Minh City's Children's Hospital No.1, said there is no vaccine that guarantees 100 percent immunity. Evidence of their effect only appears after many inoculations, with the number in Vietnam still low, meaning there is no herd immunity in the country of 98 million people as yet, Khanh added. As of Thursday, 955 medical staff and frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight have received the first dose of AstraZeneca's vaccine, with some having developed minor complications. Khanh advised those holding a vaccine passport and entering the country to be screened and quarantined for 14 days. An anonymous expert at the Health Ministry said global studies showed Covid-19 inoculation only helps reduce symptoms, and have not proved to reduce the risk of infection, as with the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. "Covid-19 vaccines are being rapidly produced, meaning those already vaccinated with two doses still need to be closely monitored," he said. On Wednesday, Calvin Q Trinh, a Vietnamese national in the U.S., landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC on a repatriation flight along with nearly 300 other Vietnamese. Prior to returning to Vietnam, he had received two Covid-19 vaccine shots provided by Moderna in the U.S., evidenced by a "Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card" in his passport. However, he is still being quarantined for 14 days as per Health Ministry protocol. Vietnam closed its borders in March last year and banned entry of foreign nationals except for those with diplomatic or official passports or are high-skilled workers. Earlier, experts proposed Vietnams tourism industry to prepare to welcome vaccinated foreign visitors back to the country from the third quarter in a similar vein to regional peers. But officials said they would need more time as the opening of international markets could meet with difficulties and public opposition for fears of further Covid-19 outbreaks. GREENVILLE Greenville County Schools have set a date for teacher and staff COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Parents received an automated call at 4:30 p.m. on March 10 alerting them that schools would shift to "eLearning" on March 18 and, tentatively, March 22 so the district can shut down schools and allow employees to attend the first of two mass vaccine clinics over the next month. "GCS will confirm the clinic set for Monday, March 22 once we know the availability of the vaccine," schools spokesman Tim Waller wrote in a follow-up email to media on March 10. "We will try to give parents, as well as students, as much advance notice as possible." Superintendent Burke Royster had hinted at the school board's March 9 committee of the whole meeting that an announcement about teacher vaccines would be coming this week. With shots in arms by the end of next week, teachers and other school staff should be able to get their second shot just after spring break. Front-line essential workers, such as teachers, who interact daily in close proximity with other people are part of the Phase 1B rollout of the state's coronavirus vaccination plan, which launched on March 8. State health officials were optimistic during a presentation March 3 that anyone eligible for a shot within phases 1A and 1B would be able to get one by mid-April. Phase 1C, which broadens those eligible to anyone 45 and older or who has an "essential job" that does not require close proximity to others, will likely launch April 12 about the same time those health officials said they expected production of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to increase exponentially. Sign up for our Greenville weekly update newsletter. Sign up for weekly roundups of our top stories, news and culture from the Upstate. This newsletter is hand-curated by a member of our Greenville news staff. Email Sign Up! Greer High School and Woodmont High School will host the school district vaccine clinics, at which school nurses will administer the first of two vaccine doses to roughly 6,100 employees. Vaccines will be issued by appointment, meaning teachers will lose just the part of their day required to drive to a vaccine clinic, the 15 minutes or so they are there, and the drive back. Bon Secours St. Francis is supplying the doses. The district was unable to do the clinic on March 19 because that day was already set aside as a teacher work day/student holiday, Waller wrote. "Parents are encouraged to begin the process of arranging childcare for those two days," Waller wrote. Teachers will conduct classes remotely on the eLearning days, with assignments posted while they step away to get their shots. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... These days, Sara Tomkos life is looking up. Not only has Tomko just gotten engaged, but she brought home a new puppy. We are first-time puppy owners, she says excitedly. We felt like we were ready, and weve learned so much from her in five days. Its pretty amazing how quickly you fall in love with her. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Along with the personal milestones, the Los Angeles resident is also basking in the glow of the success of her current TV series, Resident Alien. When the series premiered in late February, it drew 2.184 million viewers. The second episode drew 2.765, which is 581,000 more viewers. It the biggest week-over-week increase for a cable or broadcast drama debut since Outlander in 2014. The series airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on Syfy. It is also available on demand. When I first read the pilot, I was floored, Tomko says. Each of the characters is so well rounded and real. The series is based on the Dark Horse comic. It follows an alien played by Alan Tudyk that crash-lands on Earth and passes himself off as a small-town human doctor named Harry Vanderspeigle. Arriving with a secret mission to kill all humans, Vanderspeigle starts off living a simple life. Things get a bit rocky when hes roped into solving a local murder and realizes he needs to assimilate into his new world. As he does so, he begins to wrestle with the moral predicament of his mission and asking the big life questions like: Are human beings worth saving? and Why do they fold their pizza before eating it? Along with Tomko and Tudyk, the series also stars Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund and Levi Fiehler. Tomko plays Asta Twelvetrees, who was raised in Native American culture. Twelvetrees considers herself an outsider in the fictional town of Patience, Colorado, and recognizes the same sort of thing in Vanderspeigle. She tells him that sometimes just feeling human is alien to her. She tries to look out for the youths of Patience, keeping them away from the towns underbelly. She left her husband, Jimmy, due to his abusiveness at the same time that Vanderspeigles spaceship was crashing on Earth and ended up meeting him about four months later, on the day he first ventured into Patiences downtown. Twelvetrees worked as a nurse under Dr. Sam Hodges and had a very close friendship with him. Following his death, she continues to work as a nurse under the alien that has assumed the identity of Harry Vanderspeigle. Hodges ex-wife, Rosy, was like a mother to Twelvetrees before Hodges divorced her. Seventeen years ago, Asta Twelvetrees had a daughter named Jay, which she gave up for adoption. Jay now works at the clinic as an intern, and Twelvetrees continues to watch over her, despite not having officially acknowledged her as her daughter until finally being outed unwittingly by Vanderspeigle. Asta is a raw wound, Tomko says. When we meet her first in the series, shes left her abusive ex-husband. Shes having a hard time trusting anyone. Then Harry enters her life and they form a bond. Tomko fell in love with Twelvetrees journey in the show and is enjoying watching the series along with the audience each week. I know the journey shes on, but theres a lot I forgot about, she says. When we were filming, I was in each moment. Watching the final product on TV, Im so proud of what we were able to accomplish. Its such a special show. Tomko also gets to work with Santa Fe-based actor Gary Farmer on the series. He plays her father, Gary Twelvetrees. Hes an iconic legend, she says of Farmer. When I met him, hes so tender and has the best stories. I got to be around this man, who has been in the business for so long. It was really humbling. The cast often stayed together because of the hectic schedule. She recalls Farmer lending his voice to a radio show done by cast mates Wetterlund and Fiehler. Alice and Levi did an hour radio show every day we were on set, Tomko says. Gary would come on and do voice-overs for commercials. We made the best of our time to connect with each other. Resident Alien has given Tomko the opportunity to star as a TV series regular. Being on the show is a long way from growing up at Holloman Air Force Base, outside Alamogordo. I had a blast growing up there for part of my childhood, she says. Being on base, we had the freedom to go to many different places because men were on guard at all times. Not everybody gets to experience that. I liken it to life in the 50s, where you could trust people. I have some vivid memories of New Mexico, including the bright, open sky. Once its safe to travel again, my fiance wants to go see White Sands (National Monument). On TV Resident Alien airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, on Syfy. The series is also available on demand. Pennsylvania church treasurer charged with stealing $150,000 from parish to spend on porn site Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Pennsylvania church treasurer has been charged with stealing over $150,000 from his congregation to use on a pornography website, according to authorities. Glenn Yothers, who had served as treasurer at Saint Paul Lutheran Church of Latrobe for 12 years, was charged with stealing the lofty sum over four years. Yothers was released from jail on a signature bond, meaning he didn't have to pay the court to be released, provided he agrees to return to court, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 24. The Christian Post reached out to Saint Paul Lutheran Church for comment on Thursday, but the church did not respond by press time. While the 56-year-old was taking money from Saint Paul Lutheran, the church found itself nearly being closed due to its inability to pay its utility bills, reported Triblive.com. At one point, the utilities of the church were shut off and the church almost shut down due to Yothers not paying bills, stated Trooper Robert Politowski in court documents, according to Triblive.com. Yothers allegedly took $150,606 from the church from February 2015 to December 2019, with his bank records showing that he spent a good deal of money on a pornographic website known as Flirt for Free. Yothers was asked if this was a pornographic website, and Yothers confirmed it was. Yothers stated he got to know some of these people well enough where he was trying to help those people, continued Politowski. Yothers stated he started this with the best intentions because he wanted to help people, but it snowballed out of control. Trooper Steve Limani told WPIX that he took issue with Yothers' claim that he was spending money on the website for charitable reasons. Its not something where youre giving any charity. None of this was going to charity at all. It was going for his own personal enjoyment and for his own personal use, Limani said. This person used their position as a treasurer to completely take advantage of all these people and almost put the church out of business. According to its website, Saint Paul Lutheran Church is a member of the North American Lutheran Church and is one of the oldest churches in Westmoreland County. Mauritius entered a 15-day national lockdown on Wednesday morning after a rise in Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the month. The Indian Ocean island nation recorded five new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total of new cases to 15, in what the authorities suspect could be a second wave. The worst-affected regions are in the towns of Vacoas-Phoenix and Curepipe. "The situation is no longer the same. The virus is no longer in a single cluster," Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said in a televised address on Tuesday night. The announcement prompted panic buying of supplies and long queues at petrol stations. Mauritius has confirmed 641 cases and 10 deaths since the pandemic started a year ago. Under the lockdown, only essential services, including the police, health services, seaports and airports, will remain open. Weddings and funerals will be attended by a restricted number of people, while supermarkets, bakeries and banks will be open from Thursday but in alphabetical order. Violators of the lockdown will be fined or be jailed for not more than five years. A similar lockdown was lifted in June last year. 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. Featured Video By Baek Byung-yeul Microsoft Korea will hold the Virtual Career Connection Day on March 19 to help female university and graduate school students explore possible career paths. Using Microsoft's online communication platform Teams, the virtual event will be held to commemorate International Women's Day, which was held on March 8, to talk about diversity and inclusion and connect career mentors with female students majoring in sciences and engineering, the company said, Thursday. The event is co-hosted by the state-run Center for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WISET). Microsoft Korea employees plan to provide comments on the theme of professional competence required in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and Microsoft's policy to build on the momentum of diversity and inclusion. Some 200 participants are set to take part in small group mentoring programs featuring 20 mentors for discussions on various themes such as tech sales, marketing, cybersecurity and software technology. Lee Ji-eun, country manager of Microsoft Korea, said the company "will actively support more women in the science and engineering sector to increase diversity and create an environment where they freely demonstrate their abilities and capabilities." Microsoft Korea has been operating various support programs in collaboration with WISET and JA Korea. On a related note, Microsoft will host Include 2021, a free, global, digital event open to all and focused on diversity and inclusion, on March 17. Visit wiset.or.kr to apply to participate in the Virtual Career Connection Day. An Escrow Account opened for about 95% of the total revenue of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) to be deposited into to service a loan facility of US$274million secured by the airport operator for the construction of Kotoka International Airports Terminal 3 is causing disaffection among the rank and file of the company. Due to the repayment of the loan facility after the moratorium period, revenue inflows targeted to finance other pressing issues have been crippled, a situation which has resulted in the clash of heads within the GACL. For instance, the GACL Divisional Union of PSWU led by its Chairman, Abdul-Issaka Bamba, on February 26, 2021, called for the head of the Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa, over his alleged disregard for staff welfare matters resulting in several outstanding payments owed the staff. Interview Reports Mr. Kwakwa was also accused of deliberately refusing to implement several interview reports and outsourcing key aspects of the companys operations at exorbitant cost notwithstanding the availability of in-house capacity. Apart from that, Mr. Kwakwas leadership style has been questioned by the Union. They accused him of using divide and rule leadership style and also failing to listen to staff leaders. In view of these, they have called for all workers to lay down their tools in protest of the leadership style of Mr. Kwakwa. Reputation However, in spite of being a target of the GACL Divisional Union of PSWU and the challenges confronting the company, Mr. Kwakwas reputation within the aviation industry continue to soar due to the successes he has led the company to chalk since assuming office in 2018. For instance, under the leadership of Mr. Kwakwa, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) was adjudged the best airport by particular on the African continent in the year 2020, according to the Airports Council International (ACI). ASQ Awards The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) which was announced on Monday, March 1, 2021, was based on judgments by customers. This year more than any other, the awards recognise those airports that have listened to their customers and adapted the services and experiences they offer to meet changing needs and expectations under very trying circumstances, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI Worlds director, said. In 2019, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) under the same leadership of Mr. Kwakwa, was also adjudged Africas Best Airport by size and region with a passenger population of between two and five million. The Terminal 3 of the KIA, which serves regional, international and long-haul operators, also emerged Africas Most Improved Airport in the year under review. It was the first time the West African nation became a recipient of two major awards by the global airport customer experience measurement and benchmarking body. With Mr. Kwakwas footprint all over and having recognized such, some concerned staff of the GACL under the leadership of Eric Yeboah, have called the bluff of the Divisional Union of the company describing their agitations as having political connotations. Politically Motivated To them, they are not surprised about the path taken by the Divisional Union since they are fully aware how some of their leaders and members were employed by the company. We are not surprised at what the Division Union is doing. Their action is politically motivated. However, we want to send a message to them that once they have chosen to pursue their masters bid, we will not allow that because we know that Mr. Kwakwa has brought a lot of transformation to the GACL and we will sit aloof for all these gains to be derailed. We are resist all their actions and stand solidly before Mr. Kwakwa, the concerned staff posited in a letter sighted by this paper. Spread over five floors and 45,000 sq metres, Terminal 3 of Kotoka International Airport which began construction in March 2016 was completed and opened to the public on September 15, 2018. The completion of Terminal 3 has expanded the airports total passenger handling capacity by 5million and significantly ease peak-hour congestion at the previous international terminal, Terminal 2. The US$274m project was partly funded by a US$120m loan facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was built by Turkish-based MAPA Construction and Trade Company. Following the moratorium period, an Escrow Account was opened for about 95% of the total revenue of GACL to be deposited into. This is to service the loan facility secured by the airport operator. Despite successfully easing congestion at the KIA, the move has also brought about some challenges, the key one being a shortfall in revenue meant to finance other pressing issues by the airport operator. Reasoning with the constraints at hand, the Eric Yeboah-led concerned staff opined that the demands of the GACL Divisional Union lacked merit considering the current situation of the company. Outstanding Payments Commenting on Mr. Kwakwas alleged disregard for staff welfare matters resulting in several outstanding payments owed the staff, the concerned staff noted that per their investigations, none of the applicants who attended those interviews made the pass mark and that a decision had been made by the management of GACL to re-run the interviews. On the issue of outsourcing, the group was of the view that it was in line with best industry practices as most aspects of the organization that are not directly related to the aviation industry are usually outsourced. We believe that if something has been said about Mr. Kwakwa with regards to outsourcing then it must rather be a commendation since he has successfully managed to renegotiate most of such contracts to the benefit of GACL. Notable among these are the contract with MAPA and the BRT, usually referred to as 'ayalolo'. Indeed we find it extremely difficult to give any credibility to this wild allegation since the Divisional Union failed to substantiate their allegation by failing to cite a single example of the supposed unwarranted contracts, they noted. Welfare Matters On the issue of welfare matters, the group gave thumbs up to Mr. Kwakwa as issues such as medical care, safe working environment, and provision of PPEs and observation of COVID-19 protocols have been given a boost under his administration. It is therefore not only myopic on the part of the Divisional Union to limit staff welfare to the payment of monies but also quite absurd to make such demands like the payment of bonus in the midst of this corona virus pandemic which has greatly impacted on the aviation industry, they averred. In response to the allegations of divide and rule by Mr. Kwakwa and he not listening to staff leaders, the Concerned Staff said the M.D operates an open door policy whereby any staff is free and able to access his office. That aside, Mr. Kwakwa has also engaged the Union on several occasions on various matters bothering on the general interest and welfare of staff, noting that such moves by the MD have records to back them. To the concerned staff, juxtaposing all the unfounded allegations levelled against Mr. Kwakwa and that of the responses they have given, it is quite conclusive that the Union is up in arms with Mr. Kwakwa for no justifiable reason. We think that the call for workers to lay down their tools is uncalled for and any staff found following such directives by the Union be brought to book since we at the Ghana Airports Company Limited are essential service providers by the state. We also wish to state that Mr. Kwakwa be retained in office as the Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited since all the allegations levelled against him are frivolous and do not hold water. 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. Featured Video Russias COVID-19 cases rose by 9,270 in the past day, reaching 4,360,823, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Thursday. In relative terms, the growth rate reached 0.21%. The lowest growth rates were registered in the past day in the Tuva Republic (0.04%), the Sakhalin Region (0.05%), the Magadan Region, the Republic of Adygeya (0.06%). Moscows coronavirus cases grew by 1,281 in the past 24 hours. So far, 995,279 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the Russian capital. According to the crisis center, the growth rate stands at 0.13%. The authorities reported 1,116 new cases a day earlier. Fifty-four COVID-19 patients died in the past 24 hours, with 15,601 deaths reported to date, TASS reported. Meanwhile, another 1,578 patients recovered in Moscow in the past 24 hours; recoveries have reached 916,204. Currently, 63,474 people in the Russian capital continue treatment. Some 961 coronavirus cases were recorded in St. Petersburg, 376 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 358 in the Moscow Region, 250 in the Samara Region and 249 in the Rostov Region. Currently, 310,556 people are ill in Russia. The Chicago Tribune is partnering with two community leaders and a doctor familiar with the challenges facing people on the South and West sides of the city to answer readers questions during a Facebook Live event on Monday. Chicago Tribune reporters Darcel Rockett and Lisa Schencker will moderate a discussion about vaccine access, equity and outreach with Arturo Carrillo, the Rev. Brian E. Smith and Dr. Maya Green. Manchester Center, VT (05254) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Press Release March 10, 2021 PRESIDENT'S HYPERBOLES CAN GO UP INTO HYPER DISASTERS, GORDON WARNS Senator Richard Gordon on Tuesday warned that misinterpretations of the recent "Kill, kill, kill" order of President Rodrigo Duterte, which Malacanang said is legal, might lead to disastrous consequences, and called upon his fellow senators to act on recent cases of activist crackdowns and killings of government officials. Last Wednesday, two masked assailants brutally stabbed red-tagged human rights lawyer Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen. The President on Friday told his uniformed officials to "ignore human rights" and "kill" enemies right away. Then the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines launched joint operations in the Calabarzon region that killed nine activists and detained six, on what critics call "Bloody Sunday." A day later Calbayog City, Samar Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and five others died in an encounter initially reported as an ambush, but the police later claimed a "shootout." "The danger there is that when Malacanang says "Kill, kill, kill" order is legal, we cannot leave it upon our armed men on the ground to make a determination that the President does not mean it. That would lead to consequences that will be deadly. Because, after all, everybody knows that the President is the commander-in-chief," Gordon said. Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation earlier said that the president does not really mean such "shoot to kill" orders, and that it is up to the officers on ground to "interpret soundly or with discretion." Former PNP Chief and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa also came to the President's defense, and said that his hyperboles were only meant to give emphasis to his orders and to indicate he really means business. "He's prone to hyperbole, but at the same time, that hyperbole can go up into hyper disasters," Gordon remarked. "And I think it would serve us well to have a resolution by the Senate that we must act on these cases." He also warned against letting these crimes and killings go unsolved. "If we allow it, it becomes matter of fact. Na para bang 'Eh, drug pusher 'yan eh, kaya pinatay. Oh, talagang magnanakaw 'yan, kaya pinatay.' We cannot allow us to go into that slippery slope and lose our democratic principles that are there to preserve life and property within the rule of law." On March 5, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged AT&T, Inc. with repeatedly violating Regulation FD, and three of its Investor Relations executives with aiding and abetting AT&T's violations, by selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to research analysts. According to the SEC's complaint, AT&T learned in March 2016 that a steeper-than-expected decline in its first quarter smartphone sales would cause AT&T's revenue to fall short of analysts' estimates for the quarter. The complaint alleges that to avoid falling short of the consensus revenue estimate for the third consecutive quarter, AT&T Investor Relations executives Christopher Womack, Michael Black, and Kent Evans made private, one-on-one phone calls to analysts at approximately 20 separate firms. On these calls, the AT&T executives allegedly disclosed AT&T's internal smartphone sales data and the impact of that data on internal revenue metrics, despite the fact that internal documents specifically informed Investor Relations personnel that AT&T's revenue and sales of smartphones were types of information generally considered "material" to AT&T investors, and therefore prohibited from selective disclosure under Regulation FD. The complaint further alleges that as a result of what they were told on these calls, the analysts substantially reduced their revenue forecasts, leading to the overall consensus revenue estimate falling to just below the level that AT&T ultimately reported to the public on April 26, 2016. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, charges AT&T with violations of the disclosure provisions of Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Regulation FD thereunder, and charges Womack, Evans and Black with aiding and abetting these violations. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief and civil monetary penalties against each defendant. The SEC's investigation was conducted by George N. Stepaniuk, Thomas Peirce, and David Zetlin-Jones of the SEC's New York Regional Office. The SEC's litigation will be conducted by Alexander M. Vasilescu, Victor Suthammanont, and Mr. Zetlin-Jones. The case is being supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa. A robber who beat a man on the street and was apprehended seconds later by an off-duty garda has been jailed for four years. Dubliner Kevin Murphy (30) had attacked a man in the city centre, punching and kicking the victim while he was on the ground, and was running away from the scene when he was apprehended by an off-duty garda who happened to be passing by. Murphy of Mount Olive, Park, Kilbarrack pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery at Aston Place, Temple Bar, Dublin city centre, on June 29, 2020. His previous convictions include possession of drugs for sale or supply, possession of stolen property and violent behaviour in a garda station. Detective Garda Chris Fitzgerald told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that the victim had been drinking with his friends in a park on the date in question and was walking around the Temple Bar area. Det Gda Fitzgerald said the next thing the man knew he was bleeding, surrounded by people and his phone was missing. He was brought to hospital to treat a cut above his eye, although his phone was returned to him by a garda before he left in an ambulance. A security guard from a nearby restaurant observed the incident when he looked down the laneway and saw the victim lying on the ground. Murphy stood over the man beating him by punching and kicking him. Murphy fled the scene and was observed running away by an off duty garda member who caught and apprehended him. The garda recovered the victim's stolen phone from the accused's hand. Det Gda Fitzgerald agreed with Carol Doherty BL, defending, that her client was heavily intoxicated when he was apprehended. He agreed that a thread of intoxication runs through the accused's offending. Ms Doherty said her client began smoking crack and heroin at the age of 28. She said he was homeless after being released from prison for a previous offence. Counsel said her client is appalled at his actions and has engaged with Merchants Quay. She said he has two children and asked the court to give him the opportunity to prove he can remain intoxicant free and be the family man he wants to be. Judge Martin Nolan said this was a nasty enough robbery. He noted that the property was recovered and that the accused wants to reform and change himself. He sentenced Murphy to four years imprisonment. A College of Charleston documentary film meant to acknowledge and pay tribute to the enslaved people who helped build the first municipal college in the U.S. is premiering. The 45-minute film, "If These Walls Could Talk," will be screened at The Bend on March 12 and in the Cistern Yard on March 13. It's part of the college's effort to come to terms with its role in slavery and its past embrace of racism and discrimination. Spearheaded by Charissa Owens, director of diversity education and training in the Office of Institutional Diversity, and written and directed by Michael Owens, adjunct professor of English, the movie features the research and expertise of college faculty, staff and students. Production began in 2019. Professors offer a range of perspectives on the colleges history. If these walls could talk, I think they would tell a story that many of us are not prepared to hear, said history professor Shannon Eaves. When we look at the earliest buildings on campus, they would not stand if it were not for slave labor. The debut screening at The Bend, an outdoor venue on the Ashley River in North Charleston located off Azalea Drive, is set for 7 p.m. Gates open at 6:15 p.m. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, guests will watch the documentary from their vehicles. Admission is free, but one ticket per vehicle will be required for entry. Get tickets at https://bit.ly/3qwSuwQ. The film will be shown outdoors in the Cistern Yard for students on March 13. Check-in begins at 6:15 p.m. and closes at 6:50 p.m. No late admittance will be permitted. After check-in, attendees will be able to select a designated space to view the documentary. Students should bring their own seating. Masks and social distancing will be enforced. One ticket per student is required. Get tickets at https://bit.ly/3bzk1tl. A 45-minute virtual conversation will be held at 5:30 p.m. March 18 to discuss the making of the film and how U.S. colleges are addressing their ties to slavery. The virtual event will be held on Microsoft Teams and is open to the public. We are taking steps to make the campus itself a memorial, where signs on historical buildings will acknowledge the laborers who built the buildings, Owens said. The College of Charleston is establishing new scholarships and programs, such as the 1967 Legacy Program, to support African and African American students academically, and examining opportunities to make race, equity and inclusion a part of the curriculum. The school also hopes to create a more welcoming environment for employees from historically marginalized groups. I dont think we can fix the past because the past is the past, but we can look into the future and make sure that we resolve the effect of the past, President Andrew T. Hsu said. Four enslaved laborers Tom, Mudrey, Cuffy and Peggy almost certainly helped build the College of Charlestons majestic Randolph Hall, which sits at the heart of the campus. Research shows that a barrel-maker and ice house manufacturer purchased them from builder William Bell in 1829 just before Randolph Hall (at the time called College Hall) was completed. Bell likely had little use for them at that stage of the project, and their carpentry skills were deemed valuable to the barrel and ice house makers. When it was established, the college campus was limited to the Cistern Yard and surrounding structures. Other enslaved people participated in the construction of the school. At least one college president, Jasper Adams, was a slave owner. "If These Walls Could Talk" will be available online with closed captioning after the premiere screenings. Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay on Thursday visiting the sacred Thiruketeeswaram Temple (ANI) Colombo [Sri Lanka], March 11 (ANI): Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay visited the Thiruketeeswaram Temple in Northern Province and attended Shivratri pooja on Thursday. According to the High Commission of India in Colombo, the Government of India had carried out a restoration project at the temple. "High Commissioner commenced his visit to Northern Province by seeking divine blessings at the sacred Thiruketeeswaram Temple. He attended Shivratri Pooja and prayed for the well-being of the people of Sri Lanka and India. Government of India had carried out a restoration project at the Temple at Sri Lankan Rupee (SLR) 326 million," tweeted the High Commission. India has been increasingly undertaking projects across Asia to restore places of cultural importance as an important tool of Soft Power in diplomatic relations. Under the restoration initiative, India is developing the cultural sites of Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor, Cambodia; Cham Monuments, Vietnam; Thiruketeeswaram Temple, Mannar, Sri Lanka; Wat Phou Temple Complex, Laos; and Pashupatinath Temple, Nepal. Funds are released through India's external affairs ministry as part of its diplomatic outreach to these nations. (ANI) Advertisement Nearly all of the fifty constituencies in England that are lagging behind in the Covid vaccine roll-out are Labour, MailOnline can reveal. NHS England figures show just 66.83 per cent of over-65s living in Birmingham's Ladywood area had received their first dose by February 28. It was followed by Camberwell and Peckham (67.43 per cent) and Westminister North (68.74 per cent) in London, where uptake is known to be lagging behind the rest of the country. The constituencies have been held by Labour since at least 2010 and one has been red since the 1970s. The data analysed by MailOnline shows 47 of the 50 constituencies with the highest uptakes are Tory. The roll-out needs to achieve even coverage around the country to ditch draconian lockdown restrictions over the coming months. Scientists say Tory-voting areas tend to be wealthier with uptake higher among richer groups and have fewer ethnic minorities, which may be boosting the rollout's performance. Health officials are concerned about high levels of vaccine hesitancy among BAME groups, fuelled by anti-vaxx messages on social media. Labour MPs today claimed their areas have missed out on the Government's 23million Community Champions Fund, which was aimed to boost vaccine uptake among the most vulnerable and ethnic minorities. Just 2.1million (eight per cent) of the scheme has been spent in London, which is largely Labour, even though the capital is home to around 15 per cent of England's population. Eight of the ten constituencies where uptake is lowest across the country claim not to have received any funding from the scheme at all. But the Government claims funds have been fairly distributed based on a variety of factors, including Covid infection rates and levels of ill health. England's Covid vaccine roll-out was officially widened to over-55s this week, and GPs have been told to prepare to receive up to 10 million extra vaccine doses within days following a surge in supply. NHS England figures show just 66.83 per cent of over-65s living in Birmingham's Ladywood area had received their first dose by February 28. It was followed by Camberwell and Peckham (67.43 per cent) and Westminister North (68.74 per cent) in London Top 10 constituencies with the highest vaccine uptake among over-65s Mid Derbyshire Tewkesbury Mid Worcestershire Kingswood West Worcestershire North Somerset York Outer Staffordshire Moorlands Kenilworth and Southam Rutland and Melton 95.95% 95.75% 95.38% 95.32% 95.32% 95.29% 95.29% 95.10% 95.09% 94.95% Advertisement Bottom 10 constituencies with the lowest vaccine uptake among over-65s Birmingham, Ladywood Camberwell and Peckham Westminster North Lewisham, Deptford Kensington Cities of London and Westminster 66.83% 67.43% 68.74% 68.78% 69.12% 69.13% Tottenham Vauxhall Brent Central Croydon North 69.15% 69.27% 69.50% 69.78% Advertisement NHS bosses have called for local vaccination teams to stamp down on ineligible people being invited for vaccines, after reports of healthy twenty-somethings being called up for their jabs and people skipping queues by claiming to be carers. The NHS data shows that forty-six of the fifty constituencies with the worst vaccine uptakes were Labour, with the lowest ten all in London other than Birmingham's Ladywood, in which 73 per cent of residents are from BAME backgrounds, according to the 2011 Census. Only three areas in the country have higher rates of ethnic minorities than Birmingham Ladywood, and one was also in the ten constituencies where uptake was lowest. The others, East Ham and Ilford South, had below average uptakes of 72 per cent and 78 per cent. Two of the London constituencies were Tory Kensington and the Cities of London and Westminster, which both saw uptakes of 69.1 per cent among over-65s. The rest were Labour: Lewisham (68.8 per cent), Tottenham (69.2 per cent), Vauxhall (69.3 per cent), Brent Central (69.5 per cent) and Croydon North (69.8 per cent). At the other end of spectrum, all ten of the best performing constituencies were Conservative strongholds, with Mid Derbyshire ranking top. The Midlands constituency had vaccinated 19,827 of its 25,532 over-65s by February 28, with an uptake of around 96.0 per cent. MP for Mid-Derbyshire Pauline Latham told MailOnline: 'I thank all of the medical staff and volunteers involved for a fantastic job in rolling out the vaccinations in Mid Derbyshire and beyond. Karen Buck (left), MP for Westminster North, where vaccine uptake is the third lowest in the country, raised concerns that the vaccine coverage gap could widen further as the rollout moves down age groups if issues of reluctance are not solved. Shadow Justice Secretary and MP for Tottenham, where vaccine uptake is the seventh lowest in the country, David Lammy (right) encouraged his constituents in the JCVI-determined priority groups to take up the offer of the vaccine. More than HALF of cancer patients 'are not protected against Covid after one dose of Pfizer's vaccine' More than half of cancer patients may not be protected against coronavirus after a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, an alarming study has claimed. Research of more than 150 patients found the jab stimulated an antibody response in just 39 per cent of people with solid cancers, such as in the breast or prostate, after three weeks. The single dose was even less effective in blood and bone marrow cancer patients, with just 13 per cent developing the virus-fighting proteins, compared to 97 per cent of healthy people. The King's College London study found that when patients were given the booster dose at 21 days, the percentage who showed signs of immunity more than doubled to up to 95 per cent. Antibodies are not the only part of the immune response to Covid white blood cells also play an important role. But having no detectable levels strongly suggests someone has little protection. Cancer charities and scientists who led the research are urgently calling for Britain's 2million cancer patients to get their second injection sooner. Under the current UK dosing regimen, Britons are being offered their second dose after 12 weeks on the advice of the Government's expert advisory group on vaccines. Cancer patients are among the most vulnerable to dying from Covid and reliant on a vaccine because their immune system is already compromised. They are also normally on immunosuppressant drugs, which make it even more difficult for their bodies to naturally defend against the virus. Advertisement 'I have witnessed their dedication in letting people know of their appointments and then the caring and efficient way the injections are administered. 'It is pleasing that the majority of my constituents understand how important vaccinations are in getting the country back on to its feet. 'Meanwhile, I would appeal to those who are in the priority groups and haven't had their jab to do so as soon as possible.' After Mid-Derbyshire came Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire (95.8 per cent) and Mid Worcestershire (95.4 per cent). They were followed by: Kingswood in Avon, West Worcestershire, North Somerset, York Outer (all 95.3 per cent), Staffordshire Moorlands, Kenilworth and Southam in Warwickshire (both 95.1 per cent) and Rutland and Melton in Leicestershire (95.0 per cent). All ten had BAME populations of less than five per cent. MailOnline's analysis shows there was a six percentage point difference between uptake rates in the richest and poorest constituencies of the country. Using the Government's most recent deprivation statistics which take into account incomes, education, health, employment, crime and more each constituency was ranked in terms of how deprived they were. The top 20 per cent most deprived areas saw an average of 86.5 per cent of over-65s vaccinated. Meanwhile, the figure was 92.6 per cent in the least deprived areas. These figures partly explain the success in uptake in Conservative areas, which tend to be more wealthy and score lower on the Index of Deprivation. Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said the relative wealth of Tory areas, as well as their lower proportion of BAME residents, were the two most likely reasons for their success in rolling out the vaccine. He told MailOnline: 'Areas with Conservative MPs generally tend to have wealthier populations with a higher age demographic, even amongst those aged over 65. 'Older people with the highest risks of developing severe Covid-19 are likely to be the most enthusiastic recipients of the vaccines and there is good evidence that uptake is higher in people with higher socioeconomic status. 'These areas are also have fewer BAME residents, where there is increasing evidence of vaccine hesitancy. 'In the absence of any evidence of vaccine shortages in areas that do not vote Conservative, health authorities and policymakers would be best advised to tackle the reasons for this apparent reluctance to accept potentially life-saving vaccination in these groups who are at relatively high risk.' Labour MPs today highlighted the role of faith leaders and community groups in reducing vaccine hesitancy in at-risk groups and said some areas had missed out on a Government grant to help promote vaccine uptake. Karen Buck, MP for Westminster North, where vaccine uptake is the third lowest in the country, raised concerns that the vaccine coverage gap could widen further as the roll-out moves down age groups if issues of reluctance are not solved. She told MailOnline that while some of the variance in uptake might be explained by issues with population data and people not living in inner-city areas during lockdown, deprivation and hesitancy remained issues that need to 'be better understood'. And she added that little of No10's 23million Community Champions scheme which aims to support those most at risk from Covid and boost vaccine take up went to inner city areas in London. Just 2.1million of the scheme has been spent in London, with money only going to the boroughs of Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon and Lewisham. Ms Buck said: 'I am doing what I can directly, with the local NHS and council to encourage people to have the vaccine when offered and to answer questions that may arise but I am absolutely convinced that the answer in respect of overcoming vaccine hesitancy lies with peer-to-peer messaging and community role models. 'The role played by faith leaders and community groups is critical and deserves all our support. 'I was sorry that we didnt receive any of the government grant for this purpose recently precisely because we are clearly trailing in the league table, and it was not at all clear how those resources were allocated. 'It is not unreasonable to fear that the coverage gap may widen further as vaccination rolls down the age bands, so we do need to focus all our attention on getting this resolved. 'In the interests of the well-being of our most vulnerable residents, wider public health and our ability to get society and the economy fully functioning, we need every area to be at the level of the best.' The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told MailOnline the scheme used Public Health England data to produce a targeted list of councils based on a variety of factors, including infection rate, levels of disability and social integration. A Government spokesperson said: 'The Community Champions scheme is one way we are working with councils, faith leaders, grassroots community organisations, and charities to protect our communities from coronavirus and get vaccines to as many people as possible. 'The additional funding for this scheme is targeted at areas with the most people at greater risk from Covid, such as older people, disabled people, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds.' Shadow Justice Secretary and MP for Tottenham, where vaccine uptake is the seventh lowest in the country, David Lammy encouraged his constituents in the JCVI-determined priority groups to take up the offer of the vaccine. He told MailOnline: 'In January I took my 81-year-old Aunt Mayfield to get the vaccine in Tottenham. 'She was hesitant at first, but very pleased in the end to get her first dose. The vaccine is safe, it works and it will save thousands of lives.' And Lewisham, Deptford's MP Vicky Foxcroft, where just 68.8 per cent of over-65s have received a jab, told MailOnline: 'I would urge anyone who is eligible for the vaccine to take up the offer as soon as possible. 'As someone who has been shielding on and off since March last year, I'm very glad to have had mine.' Alex Norris, Shadow Minister of State for Public Health and Patient Safety, said: 'We know Covid has exacerbated existing health inequalities and the vaccine uptake is no different. 'It is vital that as supply increases and more people get ready for their second doses that ministers put in extra effort to catch up in communities where uptake has fallen behind.' TAKE OUR SURVEY ~~TELL US HOW WE ARE DOING Hong Kong: CS, SJ welcome NPC decision Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung and Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng welcomed the passage of the decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by the National People's Congress (NPC) today. In his statement, Mr Cheung said he strongly supports the passage of the decision as it laid a solid foundation for improving Hong Kong's electoral system, which is of a pressing need. With comprehensive implementation of the fundamental principle of patriots administering Hong Kong, national sovereignty, security and development interests can be safeguarded, the central authorities' overall jurisdiction over the Hong Kong SAR effectively implemented, the constitutional order set out in the Constitution and the Basic Law safeguarded, and law and order restored. Additionally, the steadfast and successful implementation of "one country, two systems" can be ensured and the long-term stability and safety of Hong Kong achieved. He noted that truly implementing the patriots administering Hong Kong principle can ensure effective governance underpinned by the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law. The governing team of the Hong Kong SAR Government will stand together to garner consensus in society to build a harmonious community, improve people's livelihoods, promote economic development and address deep-seated problems for the betterment of people. The Hong Kong SAR Government respects the central government taking the lead to improve the electoral system and will fully co-operate and support the relevant follow-up work, including strengthening explanation to the public and striving to complete the local legislative procedures as soon as possible. Ms Cheng also agreed in her statement that the "one country, two systems" principle could be fully implemented only through the implementation of patriots administering Hong Kong. She pointed out that while Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy, some matters including the constitutional order are still within the central authorities' purview. It is constitutional and legal for the NPC to adopt a "decision plus amendment" approach to improve Hong Kong's electoral system. The Department of Justice is committed to rendering full support to the Government in completing the legislative amendments and making necessary arrangements for the elections in the coming 12 months, she added. Meanwhile, Secretary for Security John Lee and the heads of six disciplinary forces each issued a statement, saying that they support the NPC's passage of the decision. Mr Lee said he will lead the disciplinary forces to fully co-operate and continue to fulfil the responsibility of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and ensuring Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Tamil Nadu CM takes first dose of Covaxin; Advises people to take jab, observe SOP India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Chennai, Mar 11: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Thursday received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the indigenous Covaxin, at the Rajiv Gandhi government general hospital here, as he advised people to take the jab following a surge in new cases in the State. Doctors at the hospital examined his pulse and blood pressure before administering the vaccine to Palaniswami who was flanked by health minister C Vijayabaskar and senior executives of health and family welfare department. TN elections 2021: SDPI to contest from 6 seats as it seals alliance with AMMK Health department officials said Palaniswami was administered Covaxin. The chief minister is taking the shot almost two months after formally launching the vaccination drive in Tamil Nadu along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16. Deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and senior ministers including health minister C Vijayabhaskar, DMK Chief MK Stalin have already received the jab. Since March 1, the Centre has allowed people above 60 and those aged between 45-59 with comorbidities to receive the vaccine. After he was administered the first dose, Palaniswami was in observation for some time and Vijayabhaskar and a nurse asked him on how he was feeling post vaccination to which the chief minister responded he was fine. TN elections 2021: AIADMK MLA crosses over to Dhinakaran's camp after ticket denial Palaniswami told reporters later that 2,682 government and 924 private hospitals were administering the vaccine in the state. "..we have got 3,606 vaccination centres and the state has received 34.01 lakh doses (of vaccine), while 11.25 lakh people have been vaccinated," he said. Appealing to people above 60 and those over 45 with comorbidities to take the shot, he said there is a possibility of contracting the disease in today's scenario when one goes out to purchase vegetables or office-related work. "In order to protect the people, the government has taken measures to provide vaccination and I appeal to people to get vaccinated," he said. On the steps taken by the government in view of rise in new COVID-19 cases, he said, "we have been urging people to take all precautionary measures while going out and if they strictly follow the government's standard operating procedure like wearing masks while going out, maintaining social distancing, the spread of virus can be prevented". After witnessing a decline in the number of new cases which were hovering below 500 for nearly a month, Tamil Nadu has been witnessing a surge since March 5. On Wednesday, the State added 671 new infections aggregating to 8,56,917 overall and five deaths pushed the toll to 532. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 17:52 [IST] 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. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's press team warned the BBC to be impartial when it covered the Oprah Winfrey interview, reports say. Correspondents were said to have been sent the bizarre message on Monday, hours before the Sussexes sit-down with the chat show host. The PR firm is said to have told journalists not to use only 'white old men' when analysing the couple's claims. One source slammed the stunt as 'strange' and they added: 'This is the UK, not China.' The latest intervention comes after Meghan wrote to ITV's boss to complain about Piers Morgan's coverage - with the popular presenter quitting GMB hours later. Campaigners yesterday blasted the 'chilling effect on free speech' and said they were writing to ITV and Ofcom. Correspondents were said to have been sent the bizarre message on Monday, hours before the Sussexes sit-down with the chat show host The PR firm is said to have told journalists not to use only 'white old men' when analysing the couple's claims. Pictured: Emily Maitlis talking to Guy Hewitt, who is the former High Commissioner of Barbados, on Tuesday night One of the Sussexes' PRs reportedly warned BBC reporters to use a 'broad range of contributors'. A source told the Sun: 'To be told how to conduct its coverage by a PR person is a bit strange to say the least. This is the UK, not China.' Meghan claims she was not upset Mr Morgan said he 'didn't believe a word she said' in her Oprah interview. But she was worried about how his comments could affect people attempting to deal with their own mental health problems, an insider told the Press Association. Mr Morgan said yesterday: 'If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.' Piers Morgan laughs with a well-wisher near his home yesterday after quitting GMB in a row sparked by his comments about not believing Meghan Markle On Monday Meghan went directly to ITV's CEO Dame Carolyn McCall, the former boss of the left-wing Guardian newspaper. Ms McCall had signed off on the broadcaster's 1million deal to show the Oprah interview and said on Tuesday they were 'dealing with' the GMB host. Mr Morgan is understood to have been ordered to apologise - but he refused and quit instead saying he had the right to tell viewers his 'honestly held opinions'. His departure from ITV's breakfast show came amid the fallout from the Oprah interview that has plunged the Royal Family into chaos. Hours after it was broadcast, Mr Morgan branded Meghan 'Princess Pinocchio' after she said she was suicidal while five months pregnant and was not given help. She also accused the Royal Family of being concerned Archie's skin would be too 'dark' and denying him the title of prince because he is mixed race. Mr Morgan, who steered GMB to its record viewing figures yesterday, demanded the Sussexes back up their claims with evidence. His views sparked more than 41,000 complaints made to Ofcom, fuelled by an orchestrated social media campaign spearheaded by his critics. But despite Mr Morgan's years of successful skewering of ministers on the show, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he 'would miss him'. The Duchess of Sussex's decision to intervene in the row came as Mr Morgan doubled down yesterday after leaving GMB. He called Meghan's incendiary claims to Oprah about 'The Firm' 'contemptible' and declared: 'I don't believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth.' He added: 'I think the damage she's done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible.' He later revealed he left on the day more people watched GMB than its BBC rival, five years after he transformed the ITV ratings flop. He tweeted later: 'Good Morning Britain beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings yesterday for the first time. My work is done.' Mr Morgan has now doubled down on his comments about Meghan Markle after dramatically storming out of the Good Morning Britain studio and quitting the programme. At 6.11am today Mr Morgan tweeted: 'On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I'm off to spend more time with my opinions' Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey that she was suicidal when she was part of the Royal Family living in the UK and told her husband: 'I don't want to be alive anymore' - Mr Morgan said in response that he 'didn't believe a word she said' Mr Morgan described his departure from the programme he helped transform into a ratings hit as 'amicable'. He said: 'I had a good chat with ITV and we agreed to disagree.' He added: 'I'm just going to take it easy and see how we go. 'I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that's entirely their right'. He added: 'I think it's fair to say, although the woke crowd will think that they've cancelled me, I think they will be rather disappointed when I re-emerge. 'I would call it a temporary hibernation.' He added that he is 'always in talks with people'. Thousands have signed petitions to get Mr Morgan re-instated on Good Morning Britain. One, called 'Bring Back Piers Morgan!', accused the channel of treating him 'appallingly'. Another - titled 'Keep Piers Morgan on GMB for his common sense approach to life' - had more than 95,000 signatures. And a third, which has been signed by more than 35,000 people, described getting him sacked as 'an absolute farce' as viewers vowed to stop watching it from now on. New Change.org petiton launched to 'Bring Back Piers Morgan' after he quit GMB on Tuesday A 'Keep Piers on GMB for his common sense' campaign launched more than a year ago as a riposte to calls for him to be sacked over his outspoken comments has sprung back to life in the last 24 hours after he quit the programme - it had nearly 74,000 names at last count Another petition - which was set up last year to stop Piers from facing the axe amid the same calls to silence him - has gained traction again, with the latest name count at 35,000 ITV's shares plummeted by 4.3 per cent yesterday, following an abrupt end to the presenter's time there. Experts say the shock departure of the channel's tough-talking morning host could have prompted the rapid drop. Campaigners yesterday said they were writing to ITV and Ofcom amid concerns of a 'chilling effect on free speech'. They were concerned about the way the broadcaster insisted Mr Morgan apologise for expressing his opinion. They said journalists should be 'free to express their scepticism' about statements made by high-profile people without the risk of losing their job. Toby Young, of The Free Speech Union, expressed fears it looked like ITV was 'happy to censure' a journalist 'at the request of a member of the Royal Family'. Former BBC presenter Andrew Neil, who is launching new channel GB News, said he wished to talked to Mr Morgan about a role, saying he would be a 'great asset'. The BBC said: 'While we are contacted by PRs all the time, we would never confirm whether the representatives of anyone had been in touch. 'You mentioned contributors. We had a broad range of voices on our output and don't believe there are any issues.' I once flew round-trip from San Francisco to London to participate in an hour-long discussion about a book. Another time it was San Francisco-Hong Kong, Hong Kong-Singapore and back again for two lunch meetings, each more lunch than meeting. I went to Atlanta once to interview an official who flaked out at the last minute. And there was that time in Miami: three days, 8000 kilometres, hotel, rental car and on the way back a sinking realisation that the person Id gone to profile was too dull for a profile. I confess to this partial history of gratuitous business travel knowing that Ill be screenshot and virally mocked: Check out the New York Times columnist whining about all the fabulous trips hes had to endure! But Ill accept the flagellation, for I see now how Ive sinned. We are a year into a pandemic that has kept much of the world grounded. Yet in many sectors that once relied on in-person sessions, big deals are still getting done, sales are still being closed and networkers cant quit networking. Even frequent flyers are grounded - but deals are still being done. Credit:Michel O'Sullivan Face-to-face interactions were said to justify the $US1.4 trillion ($1.8 trillion) spent globally on business travel in 2019. In 2020, business travel was slashed in half, our faces were stuck in screens, and yet many of the companies used to spending boatloads on travel are doing just fine. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Two proposals working their way through the Roundhouse have the potential to reshape New Mexicos citizen Legislature one by establishing salaries for lawmakers, the other by reviewing the need for staffing and transparency. Both measures passed the House earlier this week and will have to move quickly in the Senate to have a chance at final approval. The 60-day session ends at noon March 20. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Supporters say the proposals would modernize the only legislature in the country in which lawmakers dont draw a salary. Instead, New Mexico legislators get daily payments based on federal per diem during the session to cover the costs of lodging, food and similar expenses. This month, the pay is $194 a day, or $29 more than it was in February. Heather Ferguson, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, a nonpartisan advocacy group, said state lawmakers take up complex legislation without much staff help, a system that can result in heavy reliance on lobbyists. Most lawmakers are either retired or have careers that let them take breaks for legislative sessions and meetings. An adequate salary depending on the level might broaden the pool of people who can serve and allow them to focus on public work, supporters say. This would be a good step forward for lawmakers, Ferguson said. Its incredibly challenging to try to manage the thousands of bills that are introduced, understand them, grasp them and then move them. Previous attempts to pay legislators a salary have failed to gain traction at the Roundhouse in recent years. Republican Rep. Ryan Lane of Aztec said the salary commission isnt the right approach. It would violate the constitutional separation of powers by restricting the Legislatures control of the purse strings of government. The proposed commission, for example, would set salaries for about 240 officials, not just legislators. If you create this commission, Lane said Wednesday, you have seven unelected people who are not accountable to the people of New Mexico who are going to be responsible for salaries. I think its a bad concept. The two proposals are now pending in the Senate after winning passage in the House, mostly along party lines, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed: House Joint Resolution 12 would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to establish a Public Officer Salary Commission that would set the annual pay of the governor and other statewide elected officials, judges and justices, and legislators, among others. The new salaries would kick in July 1, 2024, and wouldnt require legislative approval. Its sponsored by Democratic Reps. Daymon Ely of Corrales and Angelica Rubio of Las Cruces. House Bill 301 would establish a Legislative Process Review Commission that would develop policy proposals on legislative transparency, compensation, staff support, session rules and procedures, the capital outlay process and public access. It would submit a report in fall 2022. The bill is sponsored by Rubio and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-Albuquerque. Stansbury said the Legislature should take a fresh look at how it operates and how to better address the complex challenges facing New Mexico, taking into account best practices in other states and principles of good government. Its been at least 14 years since a similar effort was undertaken, she said, and only some of those suggestions resulted in change. This years bill is really about improving the fundamental processes of the Legislature so we can solve the challenges that our state faces, Stansbury said. The father of a teenager who died in a road accident after beating a rare condition as a child has paid tribute to his brilliant and absolute angel son. Josh Fletcher (18), from Moira, passed away after his car left the road following a collision with a cow in Lisburn last October. As a child, he was diagnosed with diamond blackfan anaemia (DBA), a rare and incurable bone marrow disorder that leaves patients unable to produce red blood cells properly. His parents, Joe and Julie, launched a campaign to change the law to allow them to have a saviour sibling for their son. Joshs sister, Jodie, was born a tissue-matched baby after no bone marrow matches were found within the family. Joe told the Belfast Telegraph the past six months had been horrendous for his wife, Jodie and Joshs brother, Adam. I dont know any other 18-year-olds like Josh, he said. After his death, we got to know his group of friends better than we did when he was alive. One of them said, He was the best of us. That basically sums him up. He was so caring. He wouldnt have had a bad word spoken of anyone. Josh could have walked into a room of strangers and sat down and talked to them as if he had known them his whole life. I put that down to the fact that he had been going to hospitals from he was six weeks old and was being forced to interact with doctors and nurses. He developed social skills that lots of young people dont. I certainly didnt have them at his age. He was brilliant. Before his tragic death, Josh was studying engineering at Belfast Metropolitan College after previously completing a course in aeronautical engineering. His dad paid tribute to his son as a fundraising campaign for DBA-UK, a support group that helped Josh, was unveiled. Jamie McKeown, a friend of the teenagers uncle, has set himself a challenge of completing the Denis Rankin Round, a long-distance run covering 90 km and taking in all peaks in the Mournes above 400 metres, in a 24-hour period. He hopes to raise 6,500 through the challenge, which he is taking on in June. Jamie set a target of 1,000. He had that in 24 hours, then he put it up to 1,500. He got that in four days. When it hit 3,000, he decided to make it 6,5000. He will have to climb 6,500 metres, so the choice of target is symbolic, Joe said. The heartbroken father also urged the public to get behind the fundraising drive. Every penny that goes to the DBA gets spent wisely. Any money you give to the DBA does not get wasted, he stressed. To make a donation, visit justgiving.com Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. By Steve Barnes | Times Union, Albany Albany, N.Y. Amid the rush to finish the state budget, navigate scandals surrounding Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and chart a path forward in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, a few state legislators are trying to keep at least some attention focused on continuing the sale of takeout alcohol from restaurants. Ive had owners tell me this has helped keep the doors open during the pandemic. Its that important, said Pat Fahy, a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly whose district covers much of city of Albany and some of its western and southern suburbs. Fahy is sponsor of a bill at the committee stage in the Assembly that would allow, for two years after the end of the states pandemic-related disaster emergency, restaurants and bars to offer takeout and delivery of any alcoholic beverage they are permitted by their current liquor license to sell for on-premises consumption. One of the groups most opposed to alcohol takeout by restaurants, the New York State Liquor Store Association, on Tuesday indicated willingness to support such a law if some of its concerns are addressed. Prior to March 16 of last year, the day bars and dining rooms statewide were ordered closed by Cuomo during the initial wave of the pandemic, restaurants could sell only beer for takeout. Unfinished wine purchased with a meal could be taken home in a sealed bag, but the sale by restaurants of wine by the bottle or glass, cocktails or spirits by the bottle were all against the law. Cuomo changed that last March 17 with an executive order that has been renewed every 30 days. The most recent expires March 28. Given that Cuomos expansive emergency powers were stripped by the Legislature last week, advocates of continued alcohol takeout fear the renewal wont be as easy as it was the last 11 times. The new law requires Cuomo to submit new executive orders, or existing measures he wishes to continue, to the Legislature and affected local communities, which then have five days to comment and request changes. Its our stance that (alcohol takeout) should be continued, said Scott Wexler, executive director of the Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association. Ideally, Wexler said, he would like to see some version of Fahys bill passed by both houses of the Legislature and signed into law, but he does not expect that to happen before the March 28 expiration of the current executive order. Nor does Fahy. With everything thats going on already, and with the budget on top of that, I think its likely well just push it out for another 30 days and deal with it next month, said Fahy. The extension, Fahy and Wexler said, would give them time to work behind the scenes with parties on both sides of the issue and in the state Senate, where a similar bill is stalled in committee. Wexler said it is his understanding that the bill hasnt progressed in the Senate because of opposition from liquor stores. Brian A. Benjamin, who represents upper Manhattan in the Senate and is sponsoring the bill to continue alcohol takeout from restaurants, did not reply to a request for comment left with his office. Stefan Kalogridis, board president of the state liquor store association, told the Times Union, Were all for the law to be passed. We know it helps restaurants. But, said Kalogridis, who owns Colvin Wine Merchants in Albany, his members want restrictions put in place that would prevent restaurants from essentially acting as liquor stores. We want people to be able to get margaritas to go with their meals, he said, adding, But if somebody can come in, buy a bag of chips and bottle of Grey Goose (vodka), thats not fair to us. The association is in favor of a version of the takeout-alcohol law that permits the sale of cocktails and individual servings of wine, Kalogridis said. It might accept continuing sales of bottles of wine but strongly opposes sales of bottles of spirits becoming law, he said. I can be flexible on this, said Fahy. She said she is sympathetic to liquor stores concerns but noted that, unlike restaurants, such stores thrived during the pandemic. Their sales skyrocketed while restaurants were suffering so badly, said Fahy. Shanken News Daily, which tracks the alcoholic-beverage industry, reported in January that wine and spirits sales saw double-digit increases in 2020. In December, Mark OCallaghan, owner of Exit 9 Wine & Liquor Warehouse in Halfmoon, told Market Watch, another industry publication, that his stores sales last year were up 26 percent over 2019. Craig Allen, owner of All Star Wine & Spirits in Latham, said Tuesday that his 2020 sales rose 30 percent, year over year. In contrast, the restaurant industry in New York City alone shed half its jobs from March through October last year, according to an audit released by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report predicted that 8,000 to 12,000 bars and restaurants in the city were likely to have permanently closed by the middle of this year as a result of the pandemic, putting up to 160,000 people out of work. We need to get this done on alcohol to go, Fahy said. If we can address (stores) concerns and still keep this important part of restaurants revenue going, thats what we should by trying to do. UW Names Helfgott AVP for Global Engagement Isadora Helfgott The chair of the University of Wyomings Department of History and American Studies has been named UWs associate vice provost for global engagement. Isadora Helfgott oversees UWs Global Engagement Office, created as part of UWs strategic plan, which calls for expanded recruitment of international students and greater engagement of faculty and students in international education. She has held the position as an interim appointee since last summer. Dr. Helfgott has demonstrated excellent leadership ability and vision in leading this office on an interim basis, and were excited that she will continue in this role without the interim label, Interim Provost Anne Alexander says. Helfgott received her M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Harvard University, and her B.A. in history with a minor in art history from Swarthmore College. Before coming to UWs Department of History in 2009, she taught at Georgetown University and the University of Toronto. UWs Global Engagement Office includes the Education Abroad Office, formerly the Office of Study Abroad; the International Students and Scholars Office; the Center for Global Studies; and the English Language Center. Helfgott says she is honored for the opportunity to continue working with an amazing team in the Global Engagement Office. I look forward to building on the University of Wyomings long-standing commitment to thinking and acting globally through nurturing our international community; fostering inclusive access to transformative global experiences for all UW students; promoting global curiosity in research and teaching on campus and throughout the state; pursuing international partnerships; and helping faculty, students and community partners identify and develop international projects, Helfgott says. Now, more than ever, we recognize that the opportunities and grand challenges we encounter in Wyoming intersect with global developments, and can benefit from global perspectives. WARNING - This article contains some graphic content The head of one of Melbournes largest independent schools says parents have just as much work to do as teachers to pierce the increasingly private worlds of teenagers and educate them about sexual consent. Wesley College principal Nick Evans has called on parents to share the load in teaching children about respectful relationships, suggesting many students are not receptive to learning about sexuality, pornography and respect in the classroom. Confronting and awkward but necessary: Wesley principal Nick Evans has called on parents to speak with teenagers about consent. Credit:Penny Stephens His school would review its teaching of respectful relationships and consent, in response to a flood of testimonies from girls and women detailing alleged sexual assaults at the hands of schoolboys or men, Mr Evans said in a recent note to parents. Another Major rank Indian Army official has been arrested by Pune police from Delhi in connection with the recent Army recruitment exam paper leak case. This comes days after a 45-year-old officer was held in Wellington. According to a press release, Pune police on Tuesday arrested the officer from Delhi and he was produced before Pune court. He has been granted police custody till 15 March. Also Read | Dissecting Olas audacious electric dreams The army officer was posted in Delhi and was a batchmate of a serving officer of Major rank who was arrested by Pune police earlier in the case. Appearing for police, Public Prosecutor Prem Kumar Agrawal said: "The accused has shared an exam question paper with other accused arrested in the case. We have recovered a mobile phone from his possession but that's not working since the accused claims it was dropped in water and has been severely damaged. We have to investigate further links and retrieve the data from his mobile." Additional Session Judge S R Navandar after hearing the argument from both sides granted police custody of the accused to Pune City Police. Total arrest made Till now, a total of 10 accused have been arrested in the case by Pune city police with two separate FIRs registered against two Major rank officers of the Indian Army, two serving defence personnel, a defence civilian and several retired soldiers along with some owners of pre-military training institutes. The one at Wanwadi police station is about the paper leak itself, while a related case of cheating has been registered at Vishrambaug police station. The exam scheduled for 28 February 28 had been cancelled after this leak. Earlier in a joint operation with Military Intelligence of the Indian Army, Pune City Police's crime branch had arrested several accused of running a recruitment scam in various parts of the country. With inputs from agencies. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. When Agnes Baitio fled fighting in Nimule, South Sudan, four years ago with her two children, she saved her family but lost everything else her house, her income and her hope. Settling into a new life in Uganda, in the Bidibidi refugee settlement, Agnes, 32, sought counselling to help her adjust. But last December, when she learned about a construction job that would allow her to build shelters for people working at the settlement, she felt alive again. It was a chance to act on a dream she had back home, after encountering a woman who worked in the building trade. I knew I needed to be like her, said Agnes, who now leads a team of 30 refugees and 20 Ugandans working on the project, which is funded and run by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Half of the refugees on the team are women. When humanitarian and development partners work together with government, projects such as the one Agnes works on can be game changers for rural areas, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a visit this week to the Bidibidi settlement and the surrounding town of Yumbe, in northern Uganda. As he toured the area by car, Grandi saw hundreds of electric poles and cables, part of a project led by Ugandas Rural Electrification Agency to connect the Bidibidi settlement to the national grid. When the Bidibidi electric grid goes live, UNHCR will support last mile connection for schools, health centres and markets. What I witnessed in Yumbe is extraordinary, Grandi said, adding that Uganda embodies the ideals laid out in the Global Compact on Refugees, which calls on governments, the private sector and international organizations to unite to improve the lives of people who have been forced to flee their homes and ease the burden on the countries that provide them refuge. Ugandas realization of the vision for shared responsibility and a comprehensive response to refugee crises gives me fresh confidence, Grandi said. Agnes says working in construction has earned her a new skill and an improved income to support her family. UNHCR/Esther Ruth Mbabazi Uganda hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa more than 1.45 million, mostly from South Sudan but also from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. The Bidibidi settlement alone hosts 235,000 people. The country has one of the most progressive refugee policies in the world, allowing refugees to use land for housing and farming, work, and move around the country freely. Ugandas Minister of State for Local Government Jennifer Namuyangu said the contributions of refugees benefit all Ugandans, economically and socially. Uganda is proud to lead a positive narrative on refugees and to demonstrate not only our humanity, but that together refugees and host communities can thrive, said Namuyangu, who accompanied the High Commissioner on the trip to Bidibidi. "I know women have power to do everything." The Minister and the High Commissioner stressed the need for consistent international support. Grandi urged the international community to remain engaged at the highest level to ensure Uganda receives the necessary resources to accelerate the transition to sustainable local government services. For Agnes, the opportunity to work has not only restored her hope but also given her valuable skills. Her team is constructing houses for the staff of the Office of the Prime Minister, many of whom are now living in worn tents given to them two years ago by UNHCR. Next, Agnes and many from her team will build a soap factory. I know women have power to do everything, she said. Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin now faces an additional murder charge in the death of George Floyd after a Hennepin County judge reinstated a count of third-degree murder on Thursday. Chauvin already faced charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges. The added charge provides prosecutors a third potential pathway to conviction in the closely watched case, which began Tuesday with jury selection at the heavily fortified Hennepin County Government Center. "The charge of 3rd-degree murder, in addition to manslaughter and felony murder, reflects the gravity of the allegations against Mr. Chauvin," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. "We look forward to presenting all three charges to the jury." Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder in the days after Floyd's May 2020 death, but Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the count in October, saying it did not apply to this case. However, an appeals court ruling in February in the case against former Minneapolis Police officer Mohamed Noor opened the door to reinstating the charge against Chauvin, and the state subsequently filed an appeal of Cahill's ruling. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered Cahill to reconsider the motion to reinstate the charge last week. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court refused a request by Chauvin's attorney to block the appellate court's decision, clearing the way for Cahill to reinstate the charge. In court on Thursday, Chauvin's defense attorney Eric Nelson argued that Noor's case was factually and procedurally different than Chauvin's interactions with Floyd, in which he knelt on Floyd's head and neck area for an extended period. However, prosecutors argued that the judge was bound to follow the appeals court's precedent in Noor. Judge Cahill ruled Thursday morning that he accepted the appeals court's ruling that the opinion in Noor's case immediately set a precedent, and he ruled to reinstate the charge. He added that the third-degree murder charge only applied to Chauvin and that the potential to reinstate the charge for the three other officers charged in Floyd's death will be addressed at a later date. What the charges mean Third-degree murder, sometimes known as "depraved mind" or "depraved heart" murder, generally applies to a case in which a person does something eminently dangerous to others without regard for human life, such as randomly firing into a crowd or driving on the wrong side of the road. The second-degree murder charge alleges that Chauvin unintentionally caused Floyd's death while committing third-degree assault, and the second-degree manslaughter charge alleges that Chauvin caused Floyd's death by his "culpable negligence." If convicted, Chauvin could face up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder, and up to 10 years for second-degree manslaughter. The charges are to be considered separate, so Chauvin could be convicted of all, some or none of them. David Weinstein, a former prosecutor who has closely followed the case, said that the charges each represent a different level of intent, so jurors will have more options to consider during deliberations. "Choices like this can also allow for a compromise verdict by the jury," he said. "The defense would have preferred an all or nothing choice for jurors." How we got here Floyd's final moments were captured on disturbing police and bystander video, and his death led to unrest and fires in the city as well as worldwide protests against police brutality and racism. All four officers involved were fired and charged in Floyd's death. Chauvin is being tried separately due to coronavirus-related limits on courtroom space. The charge of third-degree murder was most recently used in the murder trial of former officer Noor. He was convicted of the charge after prosecutors said he fired his gun at a person outside of his squad car's window, killing Justine Ruszczyk and endangering his own partner. In October, Judge Cahill dropped the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin, ruling the charge can "be sustained only in situations in which the defendant's actions were 'eminently dangerous to other persons' and were not specifically directed at the particular person whose death occurred." The evidence presented by the state does not show that Chauvin's actions were "eminently dangerous" to anyone but Floyd, he wrote at the time. In Noor's case, though, an appeals court ruled that third-degree murder can be applied to instances in which a person applies force to a single person. Given that ruling, Ellison filed a motion last month asking a district court judge to reinstate the charge, saying that Noor's sentencing set a new precedent. Appellate court Judge Michelle Larkin agreed, writing that the district court "erred" in denying the state's motion to reinstate the charge in light of the Noor opinion. A former Labour peer was found to have sexually assaulted a vulnerable woman who came to him for help before seducing her at his home, a parliamentary report has revealed. Nazir Ahmed, 63, was accused of spiking the womans tea with a drug an allegation he denied before the couple had consensual sex in his bedroom. They went on to have a two-month sexual relationship before the married peer, Baron Ahmed of Rotherham, ended the affair. The woman, in her 40s, who the Daily Mail is not naming for legal reasons, later complained to police and co-operated with an investigation by the House of Lords standards commissioner that led to Ahmed resigning his seat in disgrace last November. A 260-page report by the Lords conduct committee had recommended his expulsion from the house and the contents can now be reported for the first time. Nazir Ahmed, 63, (pictured) was accused of spiking the womans tea with a drug an allegation he denied before the couple had consensual sex in his bedroom The report stated: Her complaint against Lord Ahmed was that when she asked him for help he initially made unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature with her and later held out the promise of using his influence to help her when in fact his aim was to have sex with her. The woman contacted Ahmed, pictured, to help her lodge a complaint to police about a faith healer she believed had exploited people financially and sexually. Days later, in March 2017, they agreed to have dinner at a restaurant in London to discuss a letter he had written to police. After the meal the woman declined his invitation to go back to his house, but he got into her car when she tried to drive home. The report stated that she said he sexually assaulted her by placing his hand on the top of her thigh as they sat in the car. This was unexpected, unwelcome and unprovoked and he apologised when she protested. Ahmed denied touching her but the commissioner found the assault happened. The woman said Ahmed continued to send her texts, stating that he had feelings for her, but she blocked him. Months later, she contacted the peer to ask him to arrange a meeting with police on the same matter. The report detailed how ultimately Ahmed lured the woman to his house in London on the pretence of discussing a police offer to meet her. Standards commissioner Lucy Scott-Moncrieff found he was being dishonest and that he had planned a sexual encounter with no intention of helping her deal with police. The woman later told police that, after drinking tea, he made advances to her, sitting on her lap and telling her he was sexually aroused. The report stated: She pushed him off, saying What are you doing? However, they went to his bedroom and had sex. The report added: She said he had not forced her to have sex with him...nor had she been expecting that they were going to have sex the first time that she went to his house, but it happened. A 260-page report by the Lords conduct committee had recommended his expulsion from the house and the contents can now be reported for the first time The woman said she believed her tea had been spiked. She said she felt peculiar that evening and behaved out of character by having sex with an older man she was not attracted to. However, the commissioner did not uphold the drugging allegation. Police investigated her complaint about Ahmed before a decision was made to take no criminal action. The parliamentary investigation concluded that Ahmed had breached the code of conduct by acting dishonestly and without integrity. It also found that he exploited the woman emotionally and sexually even though he knew she was receiving treatment for anxiety and depression. Ahmed insisted he had done nothing wrong. The peer admitted they had a sexual relationship, but said she seduced him. The report noted that he said she instigated sexual contact at his house. However, the commissioner found he was a liar and failed to genuinely co-operate with her inquiry. Ahmed avoided being expelled by resigning from the Lords. Davy Group has confirmed that it is being put up for sale following a week and a half of unrelenting negative publicity and instability arising from a bond dealing scandal. The board of the embattled investment firm decided Thursday evening to pursue a sale of the group rather than soldier on with a damaged reputation and wavering support from the corporate and political worlds. Investment bank Rothschild has been appointed to manage the process on behalf of Davy. Bank of Ireland is widely believed to be the leading candidate to acquire the firm, but Irish Life and Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer have both been reported as potential buyers, too. Read More Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said he is supportive of the announcement. Speaking this evening, Minister Donohoe said: "Davy is an important financial services firm employing approximately 700 people with a diverse range of institutional, retail, charity, credit union and corporate clients. It is important to have a stable, well managed, local stockbroking community to support indigenous companies. For this reason I am supportive of this evenings announcement." Selling Davy would solve a number of problems for the Davy board and interim chief executive Bernard Byrne, who inherited a company in crisis last Saturday when CEO Brian McKiernan resigned over his role in a 2014 bond deal for which the firm had been fined 4.13m. The company has a large overhang of shares owned by former staff, including a significant chunk owned by Mr McKiernan and former deputy chair Kyran McLaughlin, who retired on Saturday, too. A transaction would take such owners out of the picture while providing a payday for the many existing staff and management who own stakes in the company. A takeover would also offer an opportunity to credibly reform Davy's hard-charging culture, making the firm more amenable to regulators and its corporate clients, such as Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB, who expressed concerns last week over the trouble Davy was in with the Central Bank. Bank of Ireland and Irish Life (and its parent, Canadian insurer Great West) were both on the shortlist to acquire Goodbody, Davy's chief rival which agreed last week to be acquired by AIB for 138m. Bank of Ireland is seen in the marketplace as the best strategic fit for Davy. The bank owned a 90pc stake in the firm until 2006 when management executed a buy-out. Davy would bring much-needed fee income and valuable corporate relationships to the bank. Irish Life would be most interested in Davy's high-performing wealth management business, although sources said the insurance company was not likely to move quickly, given the level of due diligence required to mount a bid for the troubled stockbroker. (Natural News) Department of Natural Resources (DNR) agents recently killed six animals while conducting an animal rescue operation at a Petoskey farm in Emmet County, Michigan. As part of the operation, the agents also arrested Kei Ju Farm and Rescue owner Julie Hall. The DNR received a complaint stating that Hall was rehabilitating wild animals on the farm, which was not a licensed rehabilitation facility in the state. Lt. Jim Gorno of the District 3 division of the DNR said Hall had already been warned about rehabilitating wild animals prior to the complaint. As the complaint followed a previous warning, the DNR moved forward with charges. We just cant rehab every animal that we get a call on. I understand that Julie took in everything. But she has to call us and say she has it, Gorno said. Thats why the DNR is in place, we have places for these animals. We put out press releases every spring saying, do not pick up wildlife, do not keep wildlife, do not take wildlife out of the wild. Its illegal and its not good for wildlife, he added. Most of the time its almost a death sentence for these animals, because a lot of them cant be re-released after they are raised or taken by humans. Kei Ju Farm and Rescue is widely known for its open-door policy for both community members and animals. Hall has been rescuing animals due to lack of licensed rehabilitation facility Hall has been rescuing both wild and domestic animals and nursing them back to health for years, because there is no animal rescue in Petoskey. She says that shes equipped with years of experience in the field and has a farm where she can (and does) carry out the rehabilitations. (Related: California passes sweeping new animal abuse laws that give government massive new powers over animal ownership.) We have no more rehab centers up here, she said. So this ole farm gal helps everyone. Folks in the community said that Hall has saved countless animals over the years and has provided a much-needed service in the absence of a licensed rehabilitation facility. A warrant was issued for her arrest following a complaint apparently filed by a former volunteer on the farm. Hall was charged with a misdemeanor for holding wild animals in captivity without a permit. Hall said she was on a waitlist to obtain a permit, but felt the incident was fueled by a grudge more than anything else. None of this was about the animals. It was about a volunteer that got caught stealing and got back at me by filling a complaint that I had wild animals. Animals I had loved and cared for, for years, Hall said in a Facebook post. Anyone that knows me or has been to the farm knows the care of any animal is my priority. To even believe for one moment that a disabled animal is not given every chance to be able to safely return to the wild is absurd. None, I repeat none, were ever exploited. Halls niece set up a GoFundMe account to help her aunt with the legal fees. As of the time of writing, it had already passed its goal of $5,000. Small deer, blind racoon, one-legged crow among those killed by DNR agents But no amount of money could bring the animals that Hall cared for back to life. That Thursday, the DNR rolled in with four trucks. They knew exactly where all the animals were, Hall recalled. They killed the deer on the spot. The small deer was taken in as a two-week-old fawn at the end of fall. Hall had used milk from her goats to help the deer regain strength and had a pen for it on the farm. She was jumping in and out of the fence and she had other deer friends up here behind us, Hall said. In fact, the following week, the little deer friend that she was playing with up there kept coming around the pen and coming around the pen and looking for her. DNR agents also confiscated and killed animals that Hall planned on keeping because they could not return to the wild. Among them was a blind raccoon with Down syndrome named Sassy. She was the only animal that threw a fit when handed to the DNR agents, Hall said. Another was a one-legged crow that a child had brought in. Animal rights activist taken into custody for saving animals Halls case had some similarities to that of Tammie Hedges, an animal rights activist who was taken into custody and booked on several charges for protecting animals during Hurricane Florence. Hedges and her group of friends rescued animals they found in danger of drowning from rising floodwaters in Wayne County, North Carolina from Hurricane Florence. All the animals were transported to a warehouse complete with cages, food, water, pee pads and litter boxes. Volunteers even slept in the warehouse to make sure rising floodwaters wouldnt threaten the rescue operation. Some two dozen animals were rescued before Wayne County Animal Control demanded the animals be turned over to them. They told Hedges to surrender the animals or they would get a warrant. She complied. But the officers who arrived to transport the animals to the state-approved animal shelter told Hedges she was running an illegal animal shelter without a permit. Hedges was charged with multiple counts of administering drugs such as amoxicillin, Tramadol and others to animals that she had rescued. All of the charges were later dismissed. Follow NaturalNewsPets.com for more news and information related to animals. Sources include: TheFreeThoughtProject.com 1 PetoskeyNews.com TheFreeThoughtProject.com 2 Denton, TX (76205) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early. Scattered thunderstorms developing later at night. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI Thieves broke into a gun shop by crashing a vehicle through the front wall. The vehicle was found early Thursday, March 11, partly inside Bullet Hole Firearms and Training on South Waverly Road near Chicago Drive. An undetermined number of guns were stolen, police said. Stores workers were taking inventory this morning. A newer Ford Escape reported stolen in Grand Rapids - crashed into the building, breaking glass and concrete. It appeared to get hung up in metal bars. The vehicle had been used to ram the building and gain access into the business, Holland police Capt. Robert Buursma said in a statement. Holland police and Ottawa County sheriffs deputies responded to an alarm just before 4 a.m. No one was inside the building when police reached the scene. Surveillance video showed four people in masks enter the store. All are believed to be males, police said. Police asked anyone with information to call Holland police at 355-1150 or email policetips@cityofholland.com or call Silent Observer 877-887-4536. Read more: Michigan nears 1M residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 Hemingway Homecoming events to celebrate famed authors ties to Northern Michigan Teen in school bomb blast wanted to show explosives to friends, testimony shows Paks blueprint for ties with US based on economy not security: Report Newly wed 22-year-old bride gangraped in front of husband by four robbers in Pakistan 5 years after return to India from Pakistan, Geeta reunited with mother, DNA test awaited India oi-Madhuri Adnal Parbhani (Maha), Mar 11: No DNA test has been conducted yet but for 29-year-old Geeta, who returned to India from Pakistan in 2015 after going there when she was nine, the search for her biological mother may have ended, an NGO says. Geeta, who returned to India on October 26, 2015 after intervention by then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, was initially lodged at a facility of a hearing and speech impaired institute run by an Indore-based NGO. The over five-year-long search to find Geeta''s family led to Parbhani in Maharashtra, where she is now being trained in sign language by Pahal, an NGO working for the hearing and speech impaired. Speaking to PTI, Dr Anand Selgaokar of Pahal said Geeta was handed over to Anand Services Society, another Indore-based NGO, on July 20, 2020 and Gyanendra Purohit of that NGO first came to Parbhani in December last year. The search in the last five years involved screening process of at least a dozen families from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana and Rajasthan after claims that they were Geetas blood relations. Pakistan PM Imran Khan wins trust vote Purohit said the search led the NGO to Meena Waghmare (71) who lived in Jintur in Parbhani district, when her daughter Radha (Geeta) went missing. "Meena told us that her daughter has a burn mark on her stomach and when we checked, it turned out to be true," Purohit said. Geeta''s father and Meena''s first husband Sudhakar Waghmare died some years ago and she now lives near Aurangabad with her second husband, Purohit said. Tears rolled down Meena''s eyes as she met Geeta for the first time, he said. Geeta did not understand a word of what Meena said as being speech and hearing impaired, she communicates only through sign language. It is likely that Geeta reached Parbhani and boarded the Sachkhand Express to Amritsar and later boarded the Delhi-Lahore Samjhauta Express, Selgaonkar said. Geeta has now spent around a month-and-a-half in Parbhani and often meets with Meena and the latter''s married daughter, who also lives in the Marathwada region. "It is for the government authorities to decide on when to conduct a DNA test. Till then Geeta will continue to receive training at Pahal," Selgaonkar said. Pakistani media reported that Geeta, who was rescued by a social welfare organisation in Pakistan after she mistakenly ended up in that country before being sent back to India in 2015, has been reunited with her real mother in Maharashtra. Bilquees Edhi the wife of late Abdul Sattar Edhi, who now runs the world famous Edhi Welfare Trust and who developed a close bond with Geeta said the Indian girl had finally been reunited with her real mother in Maharashtra state, Dawn newspaper reported. "She has been in touch with me and this weekend she finally told me the good news about meeting her real mother," Bilquees said. Bilquees said they had found Geeta when she was around 11-12 years old at a railway station and gave her shelter at their centre in Karachi. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News "Somehow she strayed into Pakistan and was shelterless when we found her in Karachi," she said. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, center, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap By Jung Da-min A speculative land purchase scandal involving employees of a state-run housing corporation is expanding to political circles, with some ruling party lawmakers embroiled in similar land speculation allegations. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is paying keen attention to whether the scandal, which has already aroused public anger, will stir negative public sentiment toward the party and affect the mayoral by-elections slated for April 7. The allegations follow the land speculation scandal involving employees at Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), in which some employees bought farmland in Siheung and Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi Province prior to the government's announcement of new development projects there. Rep. Yangyi Won-young of the DPK came under suspicion first, as her mother purchased undeveloped land in Gwangmyeong near an area announced recently to be part of the development project. Following a media report about the purchase, Tuesday, Yang issued a statement saying, "I did not know that my mother owned land near the development site until the recent LH incident occurred." Yang said she first learned of her mother's purchase of the land in Gwangmyeong last August when she was reporting properties of her own and family members as a lawmaker, but did not know the land was near the planned development area. But more suspicions have been raised against other DPK members, even as the government carries out a massive investigation into ministries and public organizations to look into possible speculative land purchases by employees or their family members using confidential information. The wife of Rep. Kim Kyung-man bought land close to a development site in Siheung. Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the DPK's Supreme Council, purchased land in 2015 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which is near the site for a separate development plan. Both of them said the land purchases were made in the past before they became lawmakers and was not connected to any development plans. The DPK leadership is trying to minimize adverse effects on the public opinion toward the party, as it faces a crucial time with less than a month ahead of the April 7 elections that include mayoral by-elections for Seoul and Busan, the country's two biggest cities. The DPK's ethics inspection team has started to monitor for potentially speculative land purchases by lawmakers, leaders of local governments and members of local councils who belong to the party. With the party in trouble, DPK floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon proposed to National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, Thursday, to carry out a thorough investigation of all 300 lawmakers of the Assembly regardless of party affiliation. Meanwhile, the government said its initial investigation into 14,000 employees of LH and the land ministry found possible speculative land purchases by 20 people, seven more than the initially suspected 13 people. Cheong Wa Dae also said it inspected 368 secretaries and their family members but found no suspicious land purchases. Plant-based drink manufacturer Oatly is planning to open a new facility in Peterborough, with oats sourced from British farmers. The Swedish brand says the Cambridgeshire site may open in the first quarter of 2023, employing around 200 people. Oatly says the plant will be able to produce 300 million litres of oat drink per year, with the possibility of this increasing to 450 million litres. The vegan drink firm says oats will be sourced locally across the country, and the factory will supply the UK market. Ishen Paran, general manager at Oatly UK said: Were really excited to finally announce the news of its arrival in 2023. The UK is a really important driver of the global plant-based movement, with growing demand for Oatly across the country, and were excited to supply this increased demand. Chief Supply Chain Officer Johan Rabe added: "Everything, from the sourcing of our oats, to the production of our product range specifically designed for humans, has sustainability at the heart of it. Even as we strive to grow one of the biggest plant-based dairy factories to its full capacity, this will still be our top priority. Southern Baptist leaders react to Beth Moore leaving denomination Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Southern Baptist pastors and other Christian leaders have weighed in on the topic of Bible teacher Beth Moore leaving the denomination after nearly 30 years and ending her longtime partnership with Lifeway Christian Resources. There comes a time when you have to say, this is not who I am, Moore, 63, told Religion News Service in an interview published Tuesday. I am still a Baptist, but I can no longer identify with Southern Baptists, she added. In recent years, Moore has grown increasingly critical of the Southern Baptist denomination, particularly after the election of former President Donald Trump. She told RNS she was shocked at how fellow evangelicals rallied around Trump, particularly after the "Access Hollywood" tape from 2005 was released ahead of the 2016 presidential election. On Twitter, where she now has more than 950,000 followers, she wrote at the time: "I'm one among many women sexually abused, misused, stared down, heckled, talked naughty to. Like we liked it. We didn't. We're tired of it." She has also denounced Christian nationalism and what she deems as the sexism & misogyny that is rampant in segments of the SBC. I love so many Southern Baptist people, so many Southern Baptist churches, but I dont identify with some of the things in our heritage that havent remained in the past, she told RNS. Moore said she ended her longtime publishing relationship with Lifeway, but it will still sell her books. Heres how Christian leaders both within and outside the Southern Baptist denomination have reacted to the news. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The Global Food Service Equipment Market is anticipated to reach USD 62 billion by 2026 according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research. In 2017, the cooking and food & beverage preparation equipment segments dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period. The significant increase in food establishments, and the growing hospitality industry are the major factors driving the growth of the Food Service Equipment market. The changing lifestyles and increasing disposable incomes are leading to higher instances of dining at restaurants and living at hotels and resorts. The growing demand for affordable and energy efficient equipment supports the growth of the market. Get Sample Copy @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/food-service-equipment-market/request-for-sample Hotels and restaurants are increasingly adopting technologically advanced food service equipment for performing kitchen activities efficiently and offering enhanced services to consumers. Restaurant businesses prefer compact and space efficient equipment, which encourages market players to launch new products in the global market. Increasing spending on the hospitality sector, and tourism activities encourage restaurant owners to improve their infrastructure and offer enhanced services. Moreover, the Food Service Equipment market is also driven by increasing need to use food service equipment that consume less energy and provide faster kitchen services. Growing concerns regarding environment and increasing adoption of energy efficient food service equipment are expected to offer numerous growth opportunities in the future. However, high costs associated with food service equipment, and high installation prices restrict the growth of the Food Service Equipment market. The North America Food Service Equipment market generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market during the forecast period. The high living standards along with high disposable income in the region drive the market growth. Other factors supporting market growth in North America include growth in tourism industry, increasing awareness regarding energy efficient equipment, and growing adoption of smart technologies. The Asia-Pacific Food Service Equipment market is expected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period owing to the increasing population and improving living standards. Click to view the full report TOC, figure and tables: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/food-service-equipment-market/request-for-discount-pricing The different end-users of food service equipment include hotels and clubs, full service restaurants, quick service restaurants, and others. In 2017, hotels and clubs accounted for the highest market share owing to increasing need to offer enhanced services to consumers. Hotels and clubs are increasingly adopting technologically advanced food service equipment to meet high storage demands and to offer fresh & high quality food. Food establishments are also inclined towards using energy efficient service equipment owing to growing environmental concerns. The leading companies profiled in the Food Service Equipment market report include Dover Corporation, Haier Electronics Group Co., Ltd., Duke Manufacturing Co. Inc., Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Inc., Fujimak Corporation, Duke Manufacturing Co. Inc., Ali Group, Hoshizaki Corporation, Middleby Corporation, Manitowoc Company Inc, and AB Electrolux 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. The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Infill drilling spaced at 100-meter grid spacing has increased continuous mineralization to over 1,300 meters and into the 'gap zone', thereby supporting the thesis of potentially more open-pit resources at the Kaukua South zone of the Lantinen Koillismaa ("LK") PGE-Ni-Cu project in Finland said Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) (FSE: 7N11) (OTCQB: NKORF) ("Palladium One" or the "Company") today. These interim results are from the 17,500-meter, Phase II Resource Definition drill program at Kaukua South. Derrick Weyrauch, President and CEO of Palladium One, said, "Drilling at Kaukua South has successfully extended known mineralization to the east and west of hole LK20-016 and into the 'gap zone' where the Induced Polarization ("IP") chargeability anomaly was weaker (see - hole LK20-036 and LK20-044 in Figure 1). These results imply that the 'gap zone' could host more mineralization than previously thought. Interim results demonstrate continuity now over 1,300 meters. As a result of continued success, we have accelerated our plans and commenced a new 50-line kilometer IP survey to extend the Kaukua South strike length, which we believe has the potential to be over seven kilometers in length." Highlights Infill drilling continues to demonstrate continuity of near surface open pit grades and widths. Core zones up to 9.0 meters grading 3.1 g/t Palladium equivalent ("Pd_Eq.") within 32.7 meters grading 2.0 g/t Pd_Eq. in hole LK21-034. ("Pd_Eq.") within in hole LK21-034. First drilling in the "gap zone" returns up to 17.0 meters grading 1.38 g/t Pd_Eq . in hole LK21-044 demonstrating continuity of the mineralization in the Kaukua South IP anomaly. . in hole LK21-044 demonstrating continuity of the mineralization in the Kaukua South IP anomaly. A new IP survey has been initiated to extend the Kaukua South zone from a drill defined four-kilometer strike length to potentially over seven kilometers. 34 holes totaling 6,404 meters have been drilled to date on Kaukua South as part of the 17,500-meter Phase II program. Kaukua South Infill Drilling Kaukua South infill drilling continues to demonstrate consistent near surface open pit grades and widths. A total of 13 holes from the Phase II drill program on Kaukua South have now been released with intersections of up to 53 meters at 2.1 g/t Pd_Eq*, and a core interval of up to 25 meters at 2.9 g/t Pd_Eq. in hole LK21-028 (see press release January 18, 2021). These 13 holes cover approximately 1.3 kilometers of the Kaukua South Zone, and have returned very similar widths and grades to those in the Kaukua Open Pit resource. (Figure 1 and 2). Of particular interested is holes LK20-036 and LK20-044 (Figure 2). These represent the first drill holes drilled in the central area of the Kaukua South chargeability anomaly. This central or "gap zone "is approximately a one-kilometer long zone of lower chargeability. The results from these two holes, plus visual results from three additional holes with assays pending, prove that palladium-rich mineralization does extend into this gap zone, which significant increases the potential size of a future Kaukua South resource. New IP Survey IP has proven to be highly successful at outlining palladium-rich disseminated copper-nickel sulphide mineralization on the LK Project, the discovery of Kaukua South in an overburden covered area with no previous drilling was a direct result of the Company's 2020 IP survey. The success of the Phase II drill program has prompted to the Company to accelerate plans for an additional 50-line kilometre IP survey and a 640-line kilometer drone magnetic survey. The prime objective is to extend the Kaukua South IP chargeability anomaly at least two kilometers to the east onto the Kaukuanjarvi Permit Application area. Regional airborne magnetic data strongly suggests that favourable Kaukua-style mafic-ultramafic hosts rocks extend into this area. Additionally, the Company believes there is potential to extend Kaukua South at least one kilometer west of the existing 2020 survey grid. The Company plans to re-survey and expand the historic 2008 IP survey which encountered several technical challenges, resulting in amongst other issues, detecting only half of the mineralization associated with the Kaukua Open Pit Resource (Figure 1). Taken together these two new IP grids could potentially extend the Kaukua South IP chargeability anomaly to over seven kilometers. Figure 1. Greater Kaukua area plan map, showing current NI 43-101 Kaukua Deposit conceptual pit outline (dashed yellow), Kaukua South and Murtolampi IP chargeability anomalies, and Palladium One drill hole locations. Holes labels in red form part of this release. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/76819_d365666d7428681c_001full.jpg Figure 2. Kaukua South Long section looking north. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6502/76819_d365666d7428681c_002full.jpg Table 1: Phase II infill drill results to date on Kaukua South Zone Hole From (m) To (m) Width (m) Pd_Eq g/t* PGE g/t (Pd+Pt+Au) Pd g/t Pt g/t Au g/t Cu % Ni % Kaukua South LK20-027 103.4 155.0 51.6 1.98 1.07 0.72 0.27 0.08 0.17 0.15 Inc. 105.6 113.0 7.4 2.58 1.34 0.90 0.31 0.13 0.26 0.18 And 149.5 155.0 5.5 3.12 1.96 1.34 0.52 0.10 0.27 0.17 Inc. 153.5 155.0 1.5 6.14 4.09 2.79 1.15 0.15 0.56 0.28 Kaukua South LK20-028 42.6 95.5 52.9 2.06 1.44 1.00 0.36 0.08 0.11 0.11 Inc. 46.9 72.0 25.1 2.92 2.08 1.44 0.52 0.12 0.17 0.14 Inc. 50.5 60.0 9.5 3.56 2.52 1.75 0.61 0.16 0.23 0.16 Kaukua South LK20-029 37.5 62.9 25.4 2.57 1.87 1.30 0.46 0.11 0.15 0.11 Inc. 47.0 62.0 15.0 3.16 2.36 1.65 0.58 0.13 0.17 0.13 Inc. 56.5 62.0 5.5 4.34 3.36 2.36 0.82 0.18 0.20 0.16 Inc 56.5 57.7 1.2 6.15 4.97 3.54 1.26 0.17 0.25 0.21 Kaukua South LK20-030 26.4 86.5 60.1 1.88 1.00 0.68 0.24 0.07 0.17 0.14 Inc. 47.0 68.0 21.0 2.44 1.43 0.98 0.35 0.10 0.21 0.16 Inc. 53.0 54.5 1.5 3.94 2.69 1.78 0.78 0.12 0.28 0.20 Kaukua South LK20-031 17.9 61.5 43.6 1.94 1.12 0.76 0.27 0.09 0.16 0.13 Inc. 17.9 55.5 37.6 2.17 1.25 0.85 0.30 0.10 0.19 0.14 Inc. 24.5 35.0 10.5 2.81 1.60 1.09 0.39 0.11 0.27 0.18 Kaukua South LK20-032 60.3 108.3 48.0 1.81 0.84 0.57 0.21 0.06 0.16 0.16 Inc. 61.4 75.0 13.7 2.12 0.90 0.58 0.23 0.09 0.22 0.20 Kaukua South LK20-033 41.3 85.0 43.7 1.76 0.87 0.58 0.21 0.07 0.18 0.14 Inc. 42.7 56.3 13.7 2.33 1.21 0.83 0.28 0.10 0.21 0.18 Kaukua South LK20-034 86.9 119.5 32.7 2.05 1.16 0.81 0.26 0.09 0.16 0.15 Inc. 88.5 112.5 24.0 2.26 1.32 0.93 0.29 0.10 0.17 0.15 Inc. 88.5 97.5 9.0 3.06 1.98 1.41 0.45 0.12 0.20 0.17 Inc. 94.5 96.0 1.5 4.20 2.94 2.15 0.66 0.14 0.25 0.20 Kaukua South LK20-035 66.0 118.0 52.0 1.32 0.63 0.44 0.15 0.04 0.11 0.11 Inc 67.5 69.0 1.5 3.49 2.44 2.10 0.27 0.07 0.23 0.15 And 95.5 104.7 9.2 2.04 1.23 0.80 0.32 0.11 0.17 0.13 Kaukua South LK20-036 245.3 280.0 34.6 1.05 0.39 0.25 0.11 0.03 0.10 0.11 Inc. 257.5 280.0 22.5 1.17 0.47 0.31 0.12 0.04 0.13 0.11 Inc. 259.0 260.5 1.5 1.72 0.86 0.62 0.16 0.07 0.15 0.14 Kaukua South LK20-042 115.5 158.9 43.4 1.41 0.77 0.53 0.19 0.05 0.09 0.12 Inc. 118.5 123.0 4.5 2.29 1.23 0.82 0.32 0.09 0.14 0.19 And 133.0 146.5 13.5 1.71 1.04 0.74 0.25 0.06 0.09 0.12 Inc. 143.5 146.5 3.0 1.97 1.47 1.13 0.28 0.06 0.08 0.09 Kaukua South LK20-043 131.5 162.3 30.8 1.24 0.55 0.36 0.15 0.04 0.11 0.12 Inc. 133.0 136.0 3.0 2.05 1.16 0.82 0.32 0.02 0.05 0.20 And 187.4 188.5 1.1 2.00 1.54 1.09 0.40 0.05 0.07 0.09 Kaukua South LK20-044 156.8 173.8 17.0 1.38 0.62 0.41 0.14 0.06 0.14 0.12 Inc. 156.8 169.5 12.7 1.58 0.71 0.48 0.17 0.07 0.16 0.14 Inc. 166.0 169.5 3.4 2.10 1.07 0.73 0.25 0.08 0.20 0.16 * Reported widths are "drilled widths" not true widths. ** Orange shaded values previously released (see press release January 18, 2021). *Palladium Equivalent Palladium equivalent is calculated using US$1,100 per ounce for palladium, US$950 per ounce for platinum, US$1,300 per ounce for gold, US$6,614 per tonne for copper, and US$15,4332 per tonne for nickel. This calculation is consistent with the calculation in the Company's September 2019 NI 43-101 Kaukua resource estimate. QA/QC The Phase I drilling program was carried out under the supervision of Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company. Drill core samples were split using a rock saw by Company staff, with half retained in the core box and stored indoors in a secure facility, in Taivalkoski, Finland. The drill core samples were transported by courier from the Company's core handling facility in Taivalkoski, Finland, to ALS Global ("ALS") laboratory in Outokumpu, Finland. ALS, is an accredited lab and are ISO compliant (ISO 9001:2008, ISO/IEC 17025:2005). PGE analysis was performed using a 30 grams fire assay with an ICP-MS or ICP-AES finish. Multi-element analyses, including copper and nickel were analysed by four acid digestion using 0.25 grams with an ICP-AES finish. Certified standards, blanks and crushed duplicates are placed in the sample stream at a rate of one QA/QC sample per 10 core samples. Results are analyzed for acceptance at the time of import. All standards associated with the results in this press release were determined to be acceptable within the defined limits of the standard used Qualified Person The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration and a director of the Company and the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Palladium One Palladium One Mining Inc. is an exploration company targeting district scale, platinum-group-element (PGE)-copper nickel deposits in Finland and Canada. Its flagship project is the Lantinen Koillismaa or LK Project, a palladium dominant platinum group element-copper-nickel project in north-central Finland, ranked by the Fraser Institute as one of the world's top countries for mineral exploration and development. Exploration at LK is focused on targeting disseminated sulfides along 38 kilometers of favorable basal contact and building on an established NI 43-101 open pit resource. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Derrick Weyrauch" President & CEO, Director For further information contact: Derrick Weyrauch, President & CEO Email: info@palladiumoneinc.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes "forward-looking information" that is subject to a few assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Statements regarding listing of the Company's common shares on the TSXV are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to such events. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future events and that actual events or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions and general business conditions. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those set out in the Company's annual information form dated April 29, 2020 and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, except as required by law. 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76819 The Napa County Farm Bureau announced that it has officially partnered with St. Helena Hospital Foundation to develop a better way to ensure agricultural workers in Napa County are identified for COVID-19 vaccination. The Farm Bureau collaborated with St. Helena Hospital Foundation to identify agricultural workers who are still in need of vaccination. As supplies become available, the Farm Bureau can immediately fill available slots with agricultural workers prioritized to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Employers who are still in need of a COVID-19 vaccine in Napa County can simplify the process of getting COVID-19 vaccines to their agricultural workers by signing up through the Farm Bureau offices. 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. This is a great collaboration with the St. Helena Hospital Foundation to ensure all ag workers in Napa County are being identified for COVID-19 vaccination, said Ryan Klobas, chief executive officer of the Napa County Farm Bureau. We have developed a simple and streamlined process to get vaccines in arms as quickly as possible. We remain committed to ensuring our Napa County agricultural community responds appropriately to this very important issue. Associations between strong predictors of suicidal behaviors over the life course, such as adverse childhood events (ACEs), remain understudied among youth of color. Although not previously considered high risk, suicide attempts among Black youth increased 73% between 1991 and 2017. Published in the Children and Youth Services Review, University of Minnesota researchers pulled data from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) to examine associations between ACEs, school connectedness and suicide ideation and attempts among Somali, Latino, Hmong and Non-Hispanic white (NH-white) adolescents from grades 8, 9 and 11. The research found that: over 40% of students reported at least one ACE, and more girls compared to boys reported four or more ACEs; Latinas (9.6%) experienced more ACEs compared to Latino boys (4.7%), Somali boys (4.4%) and Hmong boys (2.9%); there was a similar trend in suicide behaviors, with all girls reporting more suicide behaviors compared to boys; each additional ACE significantly increased the odds of suicide behaviors for all youth, but there were notable differences; for Hmong, NH-white girls and Latinas, odds of a suicide attempt increased 60-69% but 109% for Somali girls; for Latino and NH-White boys, odds of a suicide attempt increased 70% and 80% for Somali and Hmong boys respectively; school connectedness only buffered the association between ACEs and suicidality for NH-white youth and Latinas. However, at higher levels, school connectedness was associated with a higher probability of suicide behaviors among Latinas. Suicides are preventable with timely evidence-based interventions. However, to develop effective programs, we need adequate data to identify protective and risk factors for possible intervention. Prevention programming should be multisectoral and multigenerational to mitigate intergenerational transmission of the effects of ACEs and trauma along the life course." Eunice Areba, Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota Areba also noted that researchers should examine findings on suicide aggregated into broad categories -- such as Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, or Asian -- with caution. Such designations, and the dearth of research on ethnic minority youth can mask a significant rise in suicide that may go unrecognized and unaddressed. She recommends that schools facilitate connectedness by ensuring learning is meaningful and relevant to adolescents' lives and struggles (normalize their experiences), teachers' pedagogy and curricula should align with students ' lived experiences, and provide clear and consistent expectations for discipline and performance. Additionally, access to multicultural and multilingual teachers and counselors, and supports that affirm adolescents' ethnic and cultural heritage and identity development can reduce stigma around mental illness, and encourage help-seeking among vulnerable adolescents. Got some scoop for our reporters or editors? Click on the link below to send us your information. Send your news Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Once 'lovely' cobblelock surfaces are 'sinking' in Rathdowney creating hazards and contributing to flood problems in Rathdowney, Cllr John King has claimed. The Fine Gael councillor called for the replacement of the cobbles when he raised the issue with council officials at the recent Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District meeting. That this Council address the very serious issue we have in the Conoboro, Rathdowney with cobblelock pavements, said Cllr King in a motion. He outlined what the problem is. First of all the surfaces are very uneven, entrances to gateways are sinking which are causing flooding to private properties and trip hazards to pedestrians. Irish Public Bodies have made funding available and I am requesting work to be done as a matter of urgency, he said. He added that the looked well when installed but have proven not to work. We all thought they were lovely and they are good until you walk on them at night. Unfortunately, they were not designed for gateways...they are all sinking, he said. Cllr King said replacement with another surface should commence at gateways to properties. He said it was good that cobblelock surfaces are no longer being used where there are cars and traffic. Cllr John Kelly agreed with his colleague and said there have been many insurance issues arising from the cobblelock paving. Mr Edmond Kenny, District EngineerLaois County Council will survey the footpath identified and revert to Cllr King once complete. Emily Mieure covers criminal justice and emergency news. She also leads the News&Guides investigative efforts. She has reported for WDRB TV in Louisville, Ky., WFIE TV in Evansville, Ind., and WEIU TV in Charleston, Ill. GRANTS PASS, Ore. The Grants Pass School Board has passed a resolution to ask Governor Brown for reduced spacing requirements in classrooms, part of a growing push to eschew hybrid learning in favor of a return to full-time in-person learning. The Klamath County School District Board passed a similar resolution last week, lobbying the Governor and the Oregon Department of Education to reduce the 35-square-foot per student requirement to 9 square feet effective April 5. Like KCSD's, the Grants Pass resolution urges Governor Brown to reevaluate school requirements "to allow all students in grades K-12 the option to return to in-person instruction full time," also with the reduced social distancing requirement of 9 square feet. The resolution asks that adjustments be made in counties where school employees have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, where health and safety requirements are observed, if there is no confirmed spread within the particular school, and where the local public health authority has approved the school's blueprint. "GPSD has proven our commitment to work with Josephine County Public Health to ensure we are following all safety protocols and are able to quickly identify staff, students, and cohorts who have been exposed to or are confirmed to have COVID-19, connect them with medical professionals, and remove them and any 'close contacts' from the school community, thereby helping slow the spread in the community," the resolution states. GPSD's Board cited the mental and emotional health of students as motivating factors, in addition to setbacks caused by distance learning, the pivotal role of teachers as reporters of potential abuse, and the loss of connections with caring adults. The letter that will be sent to Governor Brown is still in development, and a District representative said that it should be ready later this week. By Kate Holton and Ben Makori LONDON (Reuters) - Women in Britain poured out their fears and anger over how unsafe they feel walking the streets after the disappearance of a woman in London and the arrest of a police officer on suspicion of her kidnap and murder. Sarah Everard, 33, was last seen at 9:30 p.m. on March 3 as she walked home from a friend's house in south London. Her image, smiling at the camera or caught on CCTV that evening, has been splashed across British newspapers all week. Anxiety turned to grief after news late on Wednesday that police investigating Everard's disappearance had found remains in a wood outside London, resulting in an outpouring of personal accounts by women of their own experiences and fears. "The disappearance of Sarah and the absolute tragedy around that has really touched a nerve with a lot of women," said Anna Birley, 31, one of the organisers of a planned "Reclaim These Streets" vigil to honour Everard and demand change. "We feel really angry that it's an expectation put on women that we need to change our behaviour to stay safe. The problem isn't women, the problem is that women aren't safe on our streets," said Birley. Women flooded social media with posts about the steps they take when out alone at night to keep safe, including clutching keys to use as a weapon and wearing trainers to help them run. Many raged at the violence against women that made them feel they had to take such measures. Others detailed a catalogue of incidents of harassment by men in public over the decades since they were schoolgirls. "These are so powerful because each and every woman can relate," Home Secretary (interior minister) Priti Patel said. "Every woman should feel safe to walk on our streets without fear of harassment or violence." 118 MURDERS Legislator Jess Phillips, the opposition Labour Party's policy chief on domestic violence, read out in the chamber of the House of Commons the names of all 118 women murdered by men in the United Kingdom last year. Story continues "The message that needs to be sent is that male violence is something that has to be tackled and challenged and the justice system and society has to wake up to that," said Phillips. The head of London's police force, Cressida Dick, said she and her colleagues were "utterly appalled" at news that a police officer had been arrested in connection with Everard's abduction, sparking a wave of shock and anger. Police on Thursday were given extra time to question the officer, whose job is to guard diplomatic buildings, on suspicion of kidnap, murder and indecent exposure. A woman in her 30s, who media said was his wife, was also detained on suspicion of assisting an offender, but has since been released on police bail. England's police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, said it had launched an investigation into the London police force's handling of the case. The arrested officer was reported to police on Feb. 28 over allegations of indecent exposure in a south London fast food restaurant, several days before Everard disappeared. The watchdog also said it would look closer at how the suspect sustained head injuries that required hospital treatment, which police said occurred while he was alone in his cell. Dick sought to reassure women, saying it was "incredibly rare" for a woman to be abducted from the streets. "But I completely understand that despite this, women in London and the wider public, particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing, will be worried and may well be feeling scared," she said. Although the remains have not yet been formally identified, Everard's family paid tribute, saying their "beautiful daughter Sarah was taken from us and we are appealing for any information that will help to solve this terrible crime". "Sarah was bright and beautiful - a wonderful daughter and sister. She was kind and thoughtful, caring and dependable," the family said in a statement. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was shocked and deeply saddened by developments in the case. The "Reclaim These Streets" vigil will take place on Saturday in Clapham Common in southwest London, near where Everard was last seen. (Additional reporting by Michael Holden and David Milliken; Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Mark Heinrich, Bernadette Baum and Daniel Wallis) New Delhi, March 11 : The World Health Organization (WHO), that declared Covid-19 as a pandemic exactly a year ago on March 11, 2020 which has caused more "mass trauma" than the World War II, is still warning people about the lasting consequences as those who recovered from the deadly attack are facing several health issues amid surge in caseloads in several regions around the world including India. The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has topped 117.9 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.61 million, according to the data by the Johns Hopkins University on Thursday. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 29,150,068 and 529,102, respectively, according to the CSSE. India comes at the second spot in terms of cases at 11,262,707 and is currently witnessing a definite surge in caseloads in Maharashtra. To recall, the WHO faced severe criticisms for "mishandling the crisis" and delaying the announcement to declare it as a pandemic. India was among 58 nations, including 27 European Union members, who moved a draft resolution in May last year, demanding evaluation of the WHO's response towards the novel coronavirus pandemic. The resolution demanded initiation "at the earliest appropriate moment to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to Covid-19". "We are deeply concerned by the morbidity and mortality caused by Covid-19 pandemic, the negative impacts on physical and mental health and social well-being, the negative impacts on economy and society and the consequent exacerbation of inequalities within and between countries," read the draft. The WHO on January 23 declared a global health emergency, but did not declare it as a pandemic and waited for a week for its director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to return from China. By that time, Covid-19 cases increased 10 times and the virus entered 18 countries. According to Health Policy Watch, till as late as February, the WHO did not support countries for imposing travel restrictions to China. "When countries began evacuating their citizens from Wuhan, the Covid-19 epicentre, the WHO said it did not favour this step". The WHO finally declared it a pandemic on March 11. In a tweet on Thursday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "COVID19 has turned our Earth globe europe-africa upside down & shown why strong health systems are so critical." As many countries put the worst of the pandemic behind them, in India, Covid-19 cases are once again on the rise in Maharashtra and state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Thursday that "lockdown is required in some places" to curb the virus spread. On Wednesday, Maharashtra touched 13,659 fresh cases -- the highest since 13,395 cases were recorded on October 8, 2020. The state has touched a progressive total of 22,52,057 cases till date and 52,610 deaths -- both highest in India -- and the count is increasing afresh since the past two weeks. On the other hand, Brazil has overtaken the US as the country with the most daily Covid-19 cases and deaths in the world amid the spread of an aggressive strain. Brazil's daily Covid-19 death toll surged to 2,286 on Wednesday, its highest yet during the pandemic. The US death toll on Tuesday was 1,947. Brazil is now home to hundreds of new Covid-19 variants and is reporting nearly 70,000 cases a day. More than 29 million cases have been reported in the US. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing on Wednesday that while trends are starting to head in the right direction, "the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths still remain too high and are somber reminders that we must remain vigilant as we work to scale up our vaccination efforts across this country". Despite several vaccines now available globally, the Covid-19 threat still looms. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) A worker walks past the Schaeffler Group logo on a wall at Schaeffler Korea's office in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Schaeffler Korea Schaeffler Korea was selected as one of the top five employers in the local car industry by German research firm Statista, March 12. Led by CEO Lee Byung-chan, the company is part of the Germany-based Schaeffler Group, a leading global supplier of bearings for the automotive and industrial sectors. Statista releases a list of the best employers in different countries annually in partnerships with media giants such as Newsweek, the Financial Times and Forbes. This year, in conjunction with The Korea Times, Statista covered Korean employers for the first time and shortlisted 400 companies among 4,500 candidates in 30 fields. The employers were assessed through a survey of their employees on criteria that included corporate image, reliability, gender equality, social responsibility, workplace culture and employee welfare. Schaeffler Korea was highly rated for supporting individual employees' self-develoment while providing equal opportunities and work-life balance regardless of age, gender, hometown and educational background. The affiliate offers an educational program the Schaeffler Academy which helps train its employees in fields related to their specialty and interests. Anybody can participate in the program from interns to executives depending on their needs. License issued by Statista for best employer in Korea / Courtesy of Schaeffler Korea ALBANY The five-county Albany metro area had 31,600 fewer jobs in January than the same month a year earlier, the state Labor Department reported Thursday. The pandemic in January 2020 hadn't yet triggered the lockdowns and layoffs that would follow two months later. Those losses would hit two sectors leisure and hospitality, and accommodation and food services particularly hard, the report shows. Between them, the two categories had 20,700 fewer jobs in the metro that includes Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady and Schoharie counties. Percentage-wise, the 6.8 percent decline in Albany metro jobs wasn't as severe as the 11.1 percent decline for the state overall. The 636,100 jobs lost in New York City, meanwhile, represented a 13.7 percent loss. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits fell by 12,968 in New York state in the week ending March 6 to 47,162 from 60,130 the previous week. The data fluctuate from week to week and aren't adjusted to account for seasonal factors. Nationwide, initial claims in the week ending March 6 totaled 712,000, down 42,000 from the previous week, according to the U.S. Labor Department report. The previous week's figure was revised upward by 9,000 to 754,000. Still, unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic remains a significant headwind for the economy. For the week ending Feb. 20, the total number of workers receiving some form of unemployment assistance stood at 20,116,302, up from 18,028,926 for the week ending Feb. 13. Bankrate.com senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said Thursday the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which President Biden signed Thursday, would further help those who had been unemployed over the long term. "The massive measure is a hybrid of relief and stimulus. Extended and heightened benefits help those still jobless during the pandemic, now notching its one-year anniversary," Hamrick said in his weekly analysis. "Todays jobless claims data showed more than 20 million Americans remained on some form of unemployment assistance." But there are early signs that the economy will improve. New York's governor on Thursday announced the quarantine requirement facing domestic travelers to New York would be lifted April 1. The neighboring states of Vermont and Massachusetts, meanwhile, have removed quarantine requirements for out-of-state visitors who are fully vaccinated. And the availability of vaccines has increased, while the pool of those who can get them has widened. While even the fully vaccinated are being advised to delay travel, to practice social distancing and to continue to wear masks in public, federal officials earlier in the week said that could change. On Monday, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the agency might have more guidelines on what vaccinated individuals can do, "perhaps travel being among them." BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the country would continue to work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in trying to find the origins of COVID-19, in response to a question on U.S. criticism that it was not transparent in sharing data on early cases with a WHO investigation earlier this year. Li, speaking on Thursday at a media briefing at the end of China's annual session of parliament, said China had "acted in a fact-based manner and with an open, transparent and cooperative approach". (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Alex Richardson) New Delhi: Donald Trump's national security aide Sebastian Gorka is no longer part of the White House think tank. Sebastian Gorka told the Associated Press in the United States that he has resigned from his position. A White House official, however, says Gorka did not resign but no longer works at the White House. That official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Gorka is declining to discuss the reasons he has left the White House, but is pointing toward excerpts from his resignation letter that were posted Friday evening by The Federalist website. Gorka wrote that the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will Make America Great Again, have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. Gorkas departure comes a week after the exit of chief strategist Steve Bannon from the White House. Mr Gorka was a national security adviser to Breitbart News, under Steve Bannon, who also left the Trump administration a week ago. The 46-year-old had become a familiar face on television, offering a bombastic defence of the President in an English accent. Born in London to Hungarian parents, he became a US citizen in recent years. He he had been accused of ties to far-right groups and his claimed counter-terrorism knowledge was repeatedly questioned by peers. Meanwhile, Mr Trump has granted his first presidential pardon to former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio. The former lawmaker was convicted of criminal contempt in a case involving his department's racial profiling policy. President Trump has frequently praised Mr Arpaio for his hardline stance on immigration. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mrs Barbara Boafo, Womens Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the United States (U.S.) has lamented that despite Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution (Equality and Freedom from discrimination), it was sad to note that some of these witch camps have existed for over centuries in Northern Ghana. She noted that false accusations of bearing witchcraft have forced countless women into social cuffs and chains, preventing them from pursuing happiness, living right and enjoying their liberties. She pointed out that adhering to Article 26(2) which prohibits customary practices that dehumanize and injure the physical and mental well-being of people, the Court and other enforcement agencies should activate the law to mitigate such instances within our society Mrs Boafo who made the remark in commemorating this years International Womens Day further bemoaned that such women were horribly stigmatized and mistreated for witchcraft accusations and hence, are forced to leave or sent away from the communities for refuge and their safety. She endorsed the proactive step taken by the Government and Madam Sarah Adjoa Sarfo, Minister for Gender, to re-brand the witch camps and hoped that it does not paint a picture of a surface change while the real difficult events continue to occur. To this end, she suggested that we adopt the Care Home System where the State provides proper residential services, ensures a meaningful lifestyle and provides respite care for our aged women in a welcoming environment since they cannot return to their respective communities. According to her, the State can adopt occupational therapists to cater for their grooming, washing, and bathing among others to keep them hygienic and elevate their individual esteem. She stated, We can consider physical therapy like medical care, gentle stretching and other exercises to keep their flexibility and endurance levels. She said though it was not easy to deconstruct the ancient misconception about vulnerable, old women in our societies, efforts should be put in place to heal such misconceptions as we put our minds together to remodel such camps and make them pleasant places for living. 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 DJ Khaled has told how he thinks his Palestinian American identity is 'beautiful' as he posed for an edgy new shoot. The hitmaker, 45, was born in New Orleans to Palestinian parents who immigrated to the United States, with his mother and father often playing Arabic music in the house as he was growing up. Speaking to GQ Hype, Khaled said it is 'incredible' to be one of the most publicly visible Palestinian Americans. Identity: DJ Khaled has told how he thinks his Palestinian American identity is 'beautiful' as he posed for an edgy new shoot He said: 'It's incredible, because, you know, that's what I represent: love, positivity, family, peace, happiness, prosperity, progress. I mean, just to be able to say that I'm American Palestinian, that's so beautiful.' Khaled sported an eye-catching double print jacket for his cover shoot as he posed behind the wheel of a convertible. Having released 11 studio albums, the record producer said he has a high standard when it comes to the music he makes, not wanting to 'waste' his fans' time. He said: 'Look, any feature can look good on paper,' he said of his approach to making hits. But I'm about making a great song. He said: 'It's incredible, because, you know, that's what I represent: love, positivity, family, peace, happiness, prosperity, progress. I mean, just to be able to say that I'm American Palestinian, that's so beautiful' 'So, if I get a chance to work with a great artist, I don't want to waste their time. And I don't want to waste my time. And I for sure don't want to waste my fans' time. So the question with me is that I hit home runs. I won't do it no other way, period.' On his clothing collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana, he said: 'God forbid there was a dress code because you fulfilled it. The dress code [for this collection] is 'flyness' you prepared no matter what. 'Confidence is key. This means that you have to know when you step in, not only are you ready to be great and come out great, [but] you have to spread this energy.' Patty, DJ Khaled's executive assistant of the last 15 years joined the interview and discussed whether he really is the same guy that we see on videos and social media. Career: Having released 11 studio albums, the record producer said he has a high standard when it comes to the music he makes, not wanting to 'waste' his fans' time He said: 'It's hard to believe, but if I'm having a bad day, he'll say to me, "Come to the light, come to light. Everything will be good". It's good to have that positive reinforcement, you know?'' Khaled added: 'When anything negative comes my way, I hit 'em with the light.' Read the full feature online at GQ Hype: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/dj-khaled-interview-2021. The IN2COVID trial is projected to start in the 2Q and be completed by the end of the 3Q The trial's goal is to confirm the benefit of inhaled IFN-a2b (viral clearance) in early-stage COVID-19 patients ( ) ( ) (FRA:NPAU) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Altum Pharmaceuticals has entered into a Letter of Intent with Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile to conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in COVID-19 patients testing Altums proprietary inhaled interferon alpha-2b product AP-003. The IN2COVID trial is projected to start in the second quarter of this year and be completed by the end of the 3Q, the company said in a statement Thursday. Interferon alpha-2b (IFN-a2b), a Type I interferon, is a naturally occurring protein integral to the bodys first line of anti-viral defenses. BetterLife said there is evidence that coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, have mechanisms that suppress IFN-a2b production, allowing the virus to evade the innate immune system. The company also noted that multiple clinical analyses show a significant link between deficiency in Type 1 interferon and the development of severe COVID-19 disease. There is also accumulating evidence from preclinical studies that coronavirus replication is blocked by the addition of exogenous INF-a2b. For example, an exploratory study in Wuhan, China in COVID-19 patients, showed that patients treated with inhaled IFN-a2b had a more rapid rate of viral clearance than patients in the comparator arm, who did not receive inhaled IFN-a2b. BetterLife said the goal of the IN2COVID trial is to confirm the benefit of inhaled IFN-a2b in early-stage COVID-19 patients. The IN2COVID trial protocol The IN2COVID trial will have a randomized placebo Phase 1 portion in healthy subjects followed by a randomized placebo-controlled Phase 2 portion in early-stage COVID-19 patients (<5 days of diagnosis of COVID-19). The IFN-a2b treatment arms will receive Altums AP-003, administered via nebulizer, twice daily for 10 days. "We are excited to be collaborating with the School of Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile to conduct this trial in COVID-19 patients, said BetterLife CEO Dr Ahmad Doroudian. The team, as well as the trial center, are the leaders in Chile in conducting COVID-19 trials. BetterLife said the IN2COVID study will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of investigators lead by Dr. Arturo Borzutzky, director of the Translational Allergy and Immunology Laboratory, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pediatric Immunology of the School of Medicine at Pontificia. Dr Borzutzky added: There are several reasons why there is a need for an effective, easy to administer, non-invasive treatment such as AP-003 for COVID-19. These reasons include: the time it will take to vaccinate the whole population; not knowing the duration of protection afforded by the current vaccines; emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants; and emergence of possible totally new coronavirus pandemics in the future. AP-003, being a Type I interferon, is a broad-acting anti-viral agent, and therefore potentially could be effective in all these scenarios. Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham Refuting Trinamool's allegations on the Central Election Commission (CEC), the election body on Thursday, pointed out that the EC has not 'taken over day-to-day governance of any state including Bengal'. Calling the attack 'unfortunate', EC said that the incident must be inquired into promptly. Trinamool has held EC responsible for the lapse in security rather than West Bengal police after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was allegedly attacked by '4-5 unknown persons' in Nandigram. EC: 'Not in charge of law & order' The EC clarified that DGP Virender was removed based on the recommendation its state observers and his removal could not be connected to the attack on Banerjee. Moreover, it stated that ADG (Law & order) was also changed based on special observers' recommendations. Condemning insinuations that the poll dates were decided on the behest of a particular party (read: BJP), EC stated it was not necessary to consult the state government on such transfers as they are temporary measures. Stating that the life and security of the CM was the responsibility of the law and order machinery of Bengal, the EC has stated that an FIR has been filed with the local authorities regarding the 'attack'. TMC: 'EC responsible more than police' Earlier in the day, Bengal Education minister Partha Chatterjee held the Election Commission responsible for the lapse in security rather than West Bengal police, demanding them to investigate into the issue. Stating that the TMC will raise black flags throughout Bengal in protest against the attack, he alleged a BJP hand behind the attack. Trinamool MPs are set to meet the EC in Delhi, alleging a threat to the life of the Bengal CM. The EC has a sought a report from the Bengal secretary by Friday on the incident. Lashing at the EC, Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said, "The EC is more responsible than the police (for the incident). We have visited the EC and requested them to investigate. We have decided that on Friday, tomorrow, we will unfurl black flags in every corner of the state from 3 pm to 5 pm - in every district, every block. It will be a silent protest." Mamata allegedly attacked On Wednesday, hours after filing her nomination from Nandigram, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee abruptly left her on-ground campaign claiming that she was attacked and sustained a leg injury. CM Mamata Banerjee has alleged that she was attacked by 4-5 people while she was returning after performing a puja in a temple at Barulia Bazar in Nandigram, adding that no security official was present when she was attacked. She alleged that 4-5 people pushed her into her car and closed the door on her foot, leading to her injury. Doctors stated that the CM has suffered severe bone injuries in her left ankle and foot, and injuries in the right shoulder, forearm and neck and is currently being monitored at Kolkata's SSKM institute. Some politcians from BJP and Congress have condemned the attack while some have termed it a 'political drama'. Moreover, some eyewitnesses have refuted Mamata's claims, stating that she was injured as the car door hit a poster and that 'no one pushed her'. Witnessing a three-way battle between BJP, TMC and Congress-Left, Bengal is set to go to polls in 8 phases - March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26, and April 29 with results to be announced on May 2. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the blood plasma cells that will strike more than 30,000 adults this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The disease is the most common blood cancer in African Americans and is more than twice as common in people of African descent as in whites. The good news is that early detection and access to treatment improve survival. "The latest research data show that African-American myeloma patients do just as well, or even better than white patients, when barriers to early diagnosis and treatment are eliminated," said Joseph Mikhael, MD, chief medical officer of the IMF. "These findings have been our organization's call to action." Doctors do not typically check people for myeloma during a regular visit because currently there are no national screening recommendations for myeloma. That is why it is important for African Americans to learn about the early symptoms of myeloma and let their doctors know that they are at higher risk for the disease. The "M-Power Charlotte" project launch coincides with March's Myeloma Action Month, an annual IMF effort that spotlights myeloma-awareness activities around the world. In Charlotte, these will include: A free online IMF workshop on Saturday, March 20 , hosted by Dr. Mikhael, featuring a panel of leading myeloma experts, including Dr. Manisha Bhutani and Dr. Peter Voorhees from Atrium Health's Levine Cancer Institute. Topics will include "Myeloma for New Patients," the latest in myeloma treatments, and a patient's story about what it's like to have the disease and how to make sure you get the best care. , hosted by Dr. Mikhael, featuring a panel of leading myeloma experts, including Dr. Manisha Bhutani and Dr. from Atrium Health's Levine Cancer Institute. Topics will include "Myeloma for New Patients," the latest in myeloma treatments, and a patient's story about what it's like to have the disease and how to make sure you get the best care. The debut of a dedicated "M-Power Charlotte" website, to make it easier for people to familiarize themselves with the symptoms of the disease and the latest treatments. The site offers digital, video and print educational materials; a tip card with key information to help facilitate conversations between patients and doctors; and a directory of area support groups. "The IMF's 30-year history of empowering all myeloma patients informs our work in Charlotte," said Brian G.M. Durie, MD, the IMF's chairman. "We are hopeful that with the help of Levine Cancer Institute's Disparities & Outreach program we can improve myeloma outcomes in the African-American community." Along with educating the Charlotte area's at-risk individuals, their primary care and specialty care physicians and nurses about early myeloma symptoms, the IMF "M-Power Charlotte" team seeks to identify and eliminate hurdles that prevent people from getting the diagnosis and care they deserve. "There are barriers to care that exist in many of the communities we serve, and we are determined to remove them," said Derek Raghavan, MD, president of Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute. "By expanding awareness in the most-affected communities, we hope to see better access to care and better treatment results." "Since the program's inception, the Plasma Cell Disorders Division has been committed to overcoming barriers to diagnosis and care in our community," said Saad Usmani MD, division chief of plasma cell disorders at Atrium Health. "This collaboration is a testament to our long-term commitment to the communities we serve." Added John Damonti, president of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, which is supporting the IMF Charlotte initiative with an educational grant, "We are proud to partner with the International Myeloma Foundation on this comprehensive initiative to show how disease outcomes can be improved through a program of education, awareness and access to early diagnosis. Based on the experience and capacity of the IMF Charlotte team, along with our years of investment in this area, I am excited to see how our partnership can impact the outcomes of myeloma for this at-risk population." Early detection and treatment is critical, according to Mellisa Wheeler, director of the Disparities & Outreach program at Levine Cancer Institute. "By collaborating with trusted sources of health information in the Carolinas and tapping into the IMF's extensive library of educational materials, we can raise awareness of how those factors contribute to the best outcomes for myeloma patients," she said. We invite you to change the course of myeloma in the African-American community. Visit https://m-powercharlotte.myeloma.org or call (800) 452-CURE (2873) to learn more. About the International Myeloma Foundation Founded in 1990, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) is the first and largest foundation focusing specifically on multiple myeloma. The IMF is dedicated to improving the quality of life of myeloma patients while working toward prevention and a cure by focusing on four key areas: research, education, support, and advocacy. The IMF maintains a world-renowned InfoLine, and in 2001, established the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG), a collaborative research initiative focused on improving myeloma treatment options for patients. The IMF can be reached at (800) 452-CURE (2873). The global website is www.myeloma.org. Follow the IMF on Twitter @IMFmyeloma. About Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute is committed to improving the overall health and wellbeing of its communities through high quality patient care, education and research programs, and numerous collaborative partnerships and initiatives. Providing seamless access to coordinated, high-quality healthcare close to where patients live is fundamental to the mission of the organization. About Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation The mission of the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation is to help reduce health disparities by strengthening community-based health care worker capacity, integrating medical care and community-based supportive services, and mobilizing communities in the fight against disease. Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bmsnews. IMF MEDIA CONTACTS: SOURCE International Myeloma Foundation Related Links http://www.myeloma.org UW Undergraduate in Division of Communication Disorders Receives National Scholarship UW undergraduate student Isabella Mijares, from Pagosa Springs, Colo., is one of 10 students nationwide who received the 2021 National Student Speech Language Hearing Association Undergraduate Scholarship. (Allison Ragsdale Photography Photo) An undergraduate student with the University of Wyomings Division of Communication Disorders is the recipient of a 2021 National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) Undergraduate Scholarship. Isabella Mijares, from Pagosa Springs, Colo., was awarded the scholarship from NSSLHA as a preprofessional student studying communication sciences and disorders. Only 10 undergraduate students are selected for this honor each year. In addition to receiving the NSSLHA scholarship, Mijares is a current Wyoming Research Scholar. She credits Mark Guiberson, director of the UW Division of Communication Disorders, as being a perfect mentor, helping her advance her research interests, which include working in the Dual Language and Preschool Laboratory for Developmental Language Disorders. Jamie Crait, director of the Wyoming Research Scholars Program, says Mijares has been an active member of the program from the start, engaging in science outreach and helping with events such as the Wyoming State Science Fair. Isabella hit the ground running with her research in Dr. Guibersons lab, advancing from a novice researcher to a valued lab member by her sophomore year, Crait says. We are proud to have students like her in our program, who can serve as role models and ambassadors for undergraduate research at UW and around the state. Guibersons lab is focused on culturally consistent early interventions for Latino and Native American preschool-age children and their families, as well as looking at linguistic and cultural considerations for children at risk and those with developmental language disorders. It has been amazing to have Isabelle in the lab. She has been learning so many different skills and has been developing really great ideas that will lead to new research, Guiberson says. Im so thrilled to get to work with her during all four years of her undergraduate program through the Wyoming Research Scholars Program. Mijares research interests include developing culturally appropriate interventions with underserved and misunderstood populations. She and Guiberson are starting a project to identify parents teaching styles that will lead to culturally consistent rehabilitation activities for Native American parents and children. Mijares plans to collaborate with the Southern Ute Tribe in southwestern Colorado for this study, which will add to Guibersons parallel work on the Wind River Indian Reservation. After visiting families while looking at books, she plans to complete behavioral coding and analysis that will describe parents general teaching strategies. This ultimately will help identify ways to support Native families with children with disabilities. In recommending her research experience as an undergraduate, Mijares notes a strong sense of community support in the UW Division of Communication Disorders, with faculty dedicated to helping students reach goals and opportunities as they prepare to enter their careers as professional speech-language pathologists. I would advise any undergraduates who are looking at speech-language pathology to not hesitate to contact the professors and get involved, Mijares says. Joining a lab has been one of the best undergraduate experiences Ive had so far. I appreciate Wyoming Research Scholars and Dr. Guiberson for giving me the chance to explore these topics during my time here at UW. Following graduation, Mijares plans to begin her graduate studies in speech-language pathology at UW while continuing to work with underserved communities. I plan to use what I have learned in Dr. Guibersons lab to help focus my work on those who are often overlooked, in a safe, respectful and culturally sensitive manner, she says. Fans of interesting TV know Christina Hendricks for her distinctive performances as smart, capable women, including Joan in Mad Men and Beth in Good Girls. But it turns out that Hendricks is also a pioneer when it comes to wearing a mask, something health officials now advise us all to do to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In a guest appearance earlier this week on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Hendricks was promoting Good Girls, which returns for Season 4 Sunday on NBC. But Meyers also praised Hendricks as an early mask adopter, showing a photo of a youthful Hendricks wearing some sort of homemade mask. The reason Im wearing the mask Is because Mount St. Helens erupted, and I lived in Portland, Oregon, Hendricks said, adding that her family could see the eruption from our front porch, and the ash was pouring on our house. Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. As The Oregonian reported at the time, the mountain exploded in volcanic fury Sunday, unleashing massive mudflows, floods and other land-changing forces that killed at least nine persons, eliminated Washingtons Spirit Lake, and sent adrift an ash cloud that by Sunday night had moved as far as Wyoming. Hendricks said that her brother recently sent her the masked-up family photo, which she hadnt seen in years. She started zooming in on the image and wondered, What the heck is on my face? That is not the masks of 2021. Is that an old pocket? Hendricks said she felt like her mother had maybe cut a pocket out of her pants, and just taped it on my face with masking tape. The result was the jankiest-looking mask, Hendricks said with a laugh. Kudos to my mom for creativity. Meyers said that it appeared Hendricks mother had a talent for making the most out of a bad situation, displaying another photo, this one featuring Hendricks sporting ash as part of her mom-made costume for a Rose Festival event. Hendricks recalled the family marching in their costumes in the Rose Festival Parade, though from the photos, it looks like they may have been participating in the Junior Rose Festival Parade. You can see Hendricks in her mask-sporting youth, starting at about the 4:35 p.m. mark, in this clip from Late Night With Seth Meyers. Subscribe to our free weekly What to Watch newsletter. Email: -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist 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. NSU swim coach Monanian moving on after four seasons Monanian moves on to Purdue after accepting an assistant position at their program. The North American Passive House Network announced today that registration is open for the Passive House 2021 Conference: Passive House For All. (http://www.naphnconference.org) The conference will take place June 10-11 in person, in New York City, and online. Significant discounts are available to those registering early and can be enhanced further by becoming a NAPHN Member. The event will take on the full range of specialized technical, process, and policy aspects of Passive House one expects from a NAPHN conference - and it will challenge industry to diversify. It will challenge the Passive House movement to make Passive House benefits, tools, and work, accessible to all and enriched by everyone. Part of accessibility is affordability and with early registration the costs to participants are significantly reduced, said NAPHN Executive Director, Ken Levenson. With over a 50% reduction from the full price and then with additional discounts for NAPHN membership and a special rate for students, we want to broaden the impact of this event. Passive House for All is a call to action. Our existential environmental, health and social crises demand that we look beyond isolated symptoms and tackle interlocking systemic causes; across disciplines, from buildings to communities. It is planned to be a hybrid conference - in-person in New York City (at a reduced capacity for safety) and online - so that everyone who wants to participate can, where they are most comfortable. Accessibility is not only a priority in the context of the pandemic, but also in our work to expand the Passive House community to include new voices, perspectives and needs. # # # About NAPHN: The North American Passive House Network (NAPHN) is an independent national non-profit educational organization affiliated with the International Passive House Association (iPHA) and the Passive House Institute (PHI), located in Darmstadt, Germany. NAPHN has chapters based in New Jersey (http://www.njpassivehouse.com), Washington DC (http://www.naphnetwork.org), the Rocky Mountain Region (http://www.phrockymountains.com), Minnesota (http://www.passivehouseminnesota.org) and Pennsylvania (http://www.passivehousepa.org). NAPHN supports the widespread adoption of the international Passive House design and construction standards, building science principles and protocols, as a critical response to our climate crisis - providing unparalleled effectiveness in mitigating climate disruptions and adapting to rapidly changing environmental conditions. NAPHN is focused on the inflection point between policy and implementation. We partner with leading stakeholders across all building sectors, including governments, professional associations, manufacturers, owners, builders, labor organizations, and educational institutions to make the transformation complete. http://www.naphnetwork.org About Passive House: Passive House is an international building standard and methodology, applicable to buildings of all kinds from office buildings to hospitals, new-build and renovations, that results in a dramatic drop in operational energy use, and more comfortable and healthy occupants - meant to aggressively mitigate our climate crisis while providing resilient adaptation. The Passive House Standard was developed by the Passive House Institute (PHI), an independent scientific research organization, located in Darmstadt, Germany, and includes specific requirements for energy use and comfort of occupants. The Passive House Standard is being successfully applied to thousands of buildings and millions of square feet around the world, from Boston to Beijing. The Passive House methodology starts with reducing cooling, dehumidification and heating loads by focusing, not on gadgets and active technology, but instead on fully integrated durable passive building components, such as proper continuous thermal-bridge-free insulation, continuous airtightness, high-performance windows and doors, and ventilation that includes a high-efficiency heat/energy recovery core, carefully calculated, and all integrated with the entire architectural process of design and construction. http://www.passivehouse.com http://www.passipedia.org View an Introduction to Passive house video: https://youtu.be/G1u5q8IbCak Not sure what Passive House means? Watch this video: https://youtu.be/fy9nnso306o TEL AVIV - Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu on Thursday postponed a trip he had planned to the UAE. The visit was to have been his first after the Abraham Accords. The announcement was made by his office, which claimed that it was due to coordination issues concerning flying through Jordanian airspace. The difficulties, it added in confirming rumors that had circulated in the morning, were linked to the annulment of a visit by Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein to Temple Mount (the al-Aqsa Mosque Complex) due to disagreement over security for the area. Prince Hussein's visit had been planned for Wednesday but was called off at the last minute due to disagreements between Israel and Jordan over security measures. The subsequent Jordanian authorisation did not arrive in time for Netanyahu's trip. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. In snowy plovers, females have overcome traditional family stereotypes. They often abandon the family to begin a clutch with a new partner whereas the males continue to care for their young until they are independent. An international team led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, has now investigated the decision-making process that determines the duration of parental care by females. They found that offspring desertion often occurs either under poor environmental conditions, when chicks die despite being cared for by both parents, or when chicks have a good chance of survival even without the female. It seems cruel and somewhat senseless when bird parents desert their vulnerable young to mate again. However, theoretical and experimental studies show that this is often beneficial for the parents, even if they have already invested energy and time in the brood. After all, re-mating after deserting an unsuccessful brood can improve their overall reproductive success. A team of scientists led by researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, has now investigated in more detail which factors cause female parents to desert their broods. They studied snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus) that often breed on salt flats or at brackish inland lakes. This barren environment puts great pressure on parents, as temporary salt ponds often dry up and many chicks die of thirst or starvation. "Males have survival advantages at all life stages", says Clemens Kupper, research group leader at Seewiesen. "Although equal numbers of females and males hatch from eggs, adult population therefore show a surplus of males." Reversed parental roles As females are less abundant in the population, they have an advantage in finding mates. Therefore, the parental roles are reversed in this species: males care for the young until they are fledged, while females often leave the family and pair up with another partner for a new breeding attempt. The research team analyzed the parental behaviour and survival of more than 260 broods over a seven-year period. Of these, more than 70 percent were deserted by the females. Although one parent is often sufficient for parental care, as the chicks are precocial and find the food on their own. However, the study shows that chicks from an abandoned brood actually survive less often than in other broods where females stay longer. So, are snowy plover mothers making the wrong decisions here? The scientists found that broods were more likely to be deserted at the beginning of the breeding season. This makes sense because there are more opportunities for the female to mate again. The current number of chicks is also important: females are especially likely to abandon broods on days when a chick dies. "This suggests that females who initially decided to care, suddenly abandon their broods when their chicks start to die", says Krisztina Kupan, first author of the study. These females try then to rescue their reproductive success by starting over with a new male. Females are sensitive to environmental conditions The researchers concluded that there are two main reasons for females to desert their brood and remate. First, the chicks have a good chance of survival with their fathers alone, so the female can leave and continue to reproduce. Second, the chicks begin to die despite both parents are caring for the brood. This means that conditions for chick rearing are so poor that additional parental care does little for the chick survival. Instead, the female tries to increase her reproductive success frequently starting to breed elsewhere. "Females are flexible and make sensible decisions," says Krisztina Kupan. "They are sensitive to environmental conditions and stay with the chicks if they can contribute substantially to their survival." ### Original publication Krisztina Kupan, Tamas Szekely, Medardo Cruz-Lopez, Keeley Seymour, Clemens Kupper Offspring desertion with care? Chick mortality and plastic female desertion in Snowy Plovers Behavioral Ecology, araa141 08 March 2021 New Delhi: Farmer unions on Wednesday called for a Bharat bandh on March 26, when their protest at Delhi's borders against the Centre's three new farm laws completes four months. Farmer leader Buta Singh Burjgill said farmers along with trade unions will protest the hike in fuel prices and privatisation of railways on March 15. Farmers' protest Memoranda will be submitted to district magistrates against the rising prices of diesel, petrol and LPG. Protests will be held at railway stations across the country against privatisation, he said. "We will observe a complete Bharat bandh on March 26, when our protest against the three farm laws completes four months. The peaceful bandh will remain effective from morning till evening," he told reporters at the Singhu border. On March 19, the farmers will observe "Mandi Bachao-Kheti Bachao" day, he said. The farmer unions have also decided to celebrate Shaheedi divas of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, the farmer leader said. Farmers' protest Youths from all parts of the country will join the farmers protests at Delhi borders on that day, Burjgill added. Farmers leaders also said that copies of the new farm laws will be burnt during Holika Dahan on March 28. They said Kisan Yatras will be taken out in Bihar from March 11 and conclude on March 18 on Kisan Kranti Divas. DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- All Star Healthcare Solutions, a full-service healthcare staffing company specializing in locum tenens and permanent job opportunities, has again been named a "Best Staffing Firm to Work For" by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. The annual award recognizes top employers that empower industry achievements by investing in their organization and people. Winners were announced late yesterday at a virtual celebration during SIA's 30th annual Executive Forum North America, which concludes today. "This recognition is a testament to our caring, high-performance people," said All Star CEO Keith Shattuck, who attended the online event. "We are a 'Best Staffing Firm to Work For' because of them. Whether they're in the office or working remotely, which is what we've been doing for the past year due to COVID-19, they make All Star where we want to be and are dedicated to providing our signature 'Red Carpet' Service to ensure a high-level experience for our clinicians, patients, and clients. In turn, we are committed to providing our people with opportunities for professional and personal growth, and cultivating a fun, collaborative culture guided by our Core Values." All Star, which is consistently recognized for its outstanding workplace environment, participated in the 50-to-200-employees category. Employees at each participating organization were asked to complete an online survey that measured key engagement categories, focusing on specific factors, like teamwork, trust in senior leaders, feeling valued, compensation, and benefits. Winning companies score in the top quartile in each of the contest categories. About All Star Healthcare Solutions All Star Healthcare Solutions is one of the fastest-growing healthcare staffing companies in the country. Founded in 2003 and based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, the company places physicians and advanced practitioners on locum tenens (i.e., temporary) assignments and in permanent positions at hospitals, health systems, medical practices, clinics, and other healthcare facilities throughout the United States, delivering exceptional care to patients who might otherwise go without it. Company Purpose Statement: The five points of All Star embody its Core Values and serve as the backbone of the company's "Red Carpet" Service offering. Its people connect quality providers to patients, supporting their clients and the community. SOURCE All Star Healthcare Solutions CalSTRS Votes FOR Effissimo's Proposal Effissimo Capital Management ("Effissimo") welcomes the support of Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass, Lewis & Co. ("Glass Lewis"), the world's leading proxy advisors, for Effissimo's shareholder proposal to carry out an independent investigation of the conduct of Toshiba (News - Alert) Corporation's (TYO: 6502) 2020 Annual General Meeting ("AGM"). Effissimo's proposal will be voted on at an Extraordinary General Meeting ("EGM") scheduled for March 18, 2021. Effissimo appreciates ISS and Glass Lewis's careful and independent evaluation of the relevant facts and background that has led them to recommend that shareholders vote FOR Effissimo's proposal. According to its public disclosure, the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second largest public pension fund in the United States, has decided to vote FOR Effissimo's proposal.1 The recently published white paper "Making voting count" by the UN Principles for Responsible Investment ("PRI") states, "a vote in favour of a shareholder resolution should not be seen as a criticism of the company overall. It is an avenue to provide feedback on a prticular issue in line with an investor's voting principles." 2 Effissimo believes that its proposal is clearly aligned with the long-term interests of other asset managers, including index funds and Japanese asset managers, that are advocating for governance reform through their public voting policies at Japanese companies to protect their clients' interests. If Japan is serious about serving as a leading global financial market, its listed companies should be expected to meet nothing less than the highest corporate governance standards, which start by respecting shareholders' right to vote. Effissimo's proposal represents an important opportunity for Toshiba to strengthen its governance and create value at a time when the company's shareholder base is expanding in size and diversity. 1 https://viewpoint.glasslewis.com/WD/MeetingDetail/?siteId=CalSTRS&securityId=38671 2 https://www.unpri.org/stewardship/making-voting-count/7311.article?adredir=1 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005662/en/ Updated Tax Information Now Available New and updated property tax information has just been compiled by the Hill County Appraisal District and is available now to assist taxpayers. This property tax information is current and covers a wide range of topics, such as taxpayer remedies, exemptions and appraisals, and has information for select groups, such as disabled veterans and those age 65 or older. Whether you are a homeowner, business owner, disabled veteran or taxpayer, its important you know your rights concerning the property tax system, said Mike McKibben, Chief Appraiser of the Hill County Appraisal District. You can contact us about any property tax issues with full confidence that we will provide you the most complete, accurate and up-to-date available information to assist you. The appraisal district office has been open to the public during the pandemic but asks each person entering the building to practice appropriate safety and health protocols. This includes information about the following programs: Property Tax Exemptions for Disabled Veterans - The law provides partial exemptions for any property owned by disabled veterans or surviving spouses and surviving children of deceased disabled veterans. Another partial exemption is for homesteads donated to disabled veterans by charitable organizations at no cost or not more than 50 percent of the good faith estimate of the homesteads market value to the disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. The exemption amount is determined according to percentage of service-connected disability. The law also provides a 100 percent homestead exemption for 100 percent disabled veterans and their surviving spouses and surviving spouses of U.S. armed service members killed in action. Property Tax Exemptions Non-profit organizations that meet statutory requirements may seek property tax exemptions and must apply to the appraisal district by a specific date. Businesses that receive tax abatements granted by taxing units; ship inventory out of Texas that may be eligible for the freeport exemption; store certain goods in transit in warehouses that are moved within 175 days; construct, install or acquire pollution control property; own and operate energy storage systems; convert landfill-generated gas; or store offshore drilling equipment while not in use may also be eligible for statutory exemptions. Rendering Taxable Property - If a business owns tangible personal property that is used to produce income, the business must file a rendition with the appraisal district by a specified date. Personal property includes inventory and equipment used by a business. Owners do not have to render exempt property, such as church property or an agriculture producers equipment used for farming. Appraisal Notices Normally, taxpayers receive a notice of appraised value from the appraisal district. The city, county, school districts and other local taxing units will use the appraisal districts value to set property taxes for the coming year. Property Taxpayer Remedies This comptroller publication explains in detail how to protest a property appraisal, what issues the county appraisal review board (ARB) can consider and what to expect during a protest hearing. The publication also discusses the options of taking a taxpayers case to district court or binding arbitration if the taxpayer is dissatisfied with the outcome of the ARB hearing. Homestead Exemptions A homestead is generally defined as the home and land used as the owners principal residence on January 1 of the tax year. A homestead exemption reduces the appraised value of the home and, as a result, lowers property taxes. Applications are submitted to the appraisal district office. Productivity Appraisal Property owners who use land for agricultural purposes or wildlife management can be granted property tax relief on their land. They may apply at the appraisal district for an agricultural appraisal, which may result in a lower appraisal of the land based on production, versus market value. Residence Homestead Tax Deferral - Texas homeowners may postpone paying the currently delinquent property taxes due on the appreciating value of their homes by filing a tax deferral affidavit at the appraisal district. This tax relief allows homeowners to pay the property taxes on 105 percent of the preceding years appraised value of their homestead, plus the taxes on any new improvements to the homestead. The remaining taxes are postponed, but not canceled, with interest accruing at eight percent per year. Property Tax Deferral for Persons Age 65 or Older or Disabled or Disabled Veteran Homeowners Texans who are age 65 or older or disabled, as defined by law, or who qualify for a disabled veteran exemption may postpone paying current and delinquent property taxes on their homes by signing a tax deferral affidavit. Once the affidavit is on file, taxes are deferred, but not canceled, as long as the owner continues to own and live in the home. Interest continues to accrue at five percent per year on the unpaid taxes. You may obtain a deferral affidavit at the appraisal district. Notice of Availability of Electronic Communication In appraisal districts located in counties with a population of more than 200,000 or that have authorized electronic communications, and that have implemented a system that allows such communications, chief appraisers and ARBs may communicate electronically through email or other media with property owners or their designated representatives. Written agreements are required for notices and other documents to be delivered electronically instead of mailing. Protesting Property Appraisal Values Property owners who disagree with the appraisal districts appraisal of their property for local taxes or for any other action that adversely affects them may protest their property value to the appraisal districts ARB. The normal deadline to file a protest by May 15. For more information about these programs or to download applications, contact Hill County Appraisal District at 254-582-2508 or the website at hillcad.org. Information is also available on the Comptrollers Property Tax Assistance Divisions website at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/. BEIJING, Mar. 11 -- The US guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG-113) sailed through the Taiwan Strait on March 10 to hype the so-called 'freedom of navigation. China is firmly opposed to it, said Air Force Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui, spokesperson for the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command, in a written statement on Thursday. The US naval vessels action sent erroneous signals, deliberately interfered and undermined the regional situation, seriously damaged the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. China firmly opposes it, stated the spokesperson. The troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command have conducted whole-process tracking and monitoring on the US destroyer, keeping high alert and preparing to respond to all threats and provocations, Zhang stressed in the statement. YEREVAN. Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: Although [parliamentary opposition] PAP [(Prosperous Armenia Party)] chairman Gagik Tsarukyan has not yet met with [PM] Nikol Pashinyan and they have not discussed the issue of snap [parliamentary] elections, according to our information, a mediated dialogue is taking place between them. Tsarukyan agrees to snap elections, and he may announce in the coming days that although he does not sign a memorandum, he promises not to nominate a [PM] candidate when Pashinyan resigns. By the way, yesterday the ruling force had submitted to the parliament the draft amendments to the Electoral Code, which gives the impression that the government is preparing for the elections. As for the [parliamentary opposition] BAP [Bright Armenia Party], [its leader] Edmon Marukyan said that the party board has not yet discussed whether or not to nominate a new [PM] candidate after the resignation of the Prime Minister. The BAP is perhaps waiting for Tsarukyan to take the first step. Although the other forces of the [opposition] Homeland Salvation Movement [which demands Pashinyans resignation] do not say openly, they say inside that if [snap parliamentary] elections are announced even under Pashinyan's prime ministership, they will have to run [in them]. The most radical is the [former ruling] RPA [Republican Party of Armenia], which announces that they will answer the question of [their] running [in these elections] [only] after Pashinyan's resignation. Flash China and Ukraine achieved fruitful results in developing their cooperation last year in such fields as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, trade, economy and political contacts, Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Fan Xianrong has said. In a recent interview with Xinhua, Fan voiced his hope that the strategic partnership between the two countries established ten years ago will be raised to a new level this year through joint efforts. "In 2020, facing many pressures and challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic and the slowdown in economic development around the world, China and Ukraine have maintained good contacts and cooperation in the fight against the pandemic and in the development of trade and economic collaboration," the diplomat said. Fan noted that the joint anti-pandemic fight injected fresh impetus into China-Ukraine ties. In the face of the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, "the governments and people of the two countries supported and helped each other, vividly demonstrating the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind," the ambassador said. Chinese and Ukrainian experts held video conferences to share experience in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and China also actively assisted Ukraine in purchasing material resources to fight the virus, Fan said. As for political exchanges, the diplomat noted that high-level political dialogue between the two sides is gradually strengthening which is vividly demonstrated by the fact that recently Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba for the first time. "The exchanges between the two countries in the political sphere are becoming closer, and the mutual political trust is constantly growing," Fan said. According to him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to allow Chinese citizens to enter his country visa-free for tourism purposes has contributed to the further strengthening of political contacts between China and Ukraine. With regard to trade and economic cooperation, Fan said that according to Ukrainian statistics, in 2020, the bilateral trade volume was up 20.5 percent year on year to about 15.419 billion U.S. dollars, with Ukrainian exports rising by 98 percent. "China continues to maintain its position as Ukraine's largest trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of the country's total foreign trade," Fan said. He added that the launch of the direct container train connecting China and Ukraine gave a strong impetus to the trade expansion between the two countries. "I am confident that as Chinese-Ukrainian cooperation deepens and develops within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Ukraine's favorable location as a logistics hub between Europe and Asia will be used more efficiently, trade and economic cooperation between China and Ukraine will become faster and more convenient for the benefit of the people of the two countries," the diplomat said. He also spoke highly of the results of the fourth meeting of the China-Ukraine Inter-government Cooperation Committee in December 2020 co-chaired via video link by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishina, where a plan of cooperation on the joint construction of the BRI was signed. "I believe that this meeting is of great importance for the development of bilateral relations between China and Ukraine," Fan noted. He said that the two countries have bright prospects for developing their cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, agriculture, aerospace, science and technology, education, culture and medicine. "Sino-Ukrainian cooperation already has a good foundation. Both sides are determined and ready to develop it in the future. I am confident that we will achieve this," Fan said. 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. CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Darktrace, a leading autonomous cyber security AI company, today announced that Paul Harrison has agreed to join the Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director. Paul brings a wealth of experience to the role, having held senior positions at several high growth, public technology companies in the UK and internationally. He is currently Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director at Ascential plc, a FTSE 250 data and analytics company. Paul's previous roles include CFO of the online food marketplace Just Eat plc, Group CFO of software company The Sage Group plc, both FTSE 100 businesses, and CFO of data solutions company WANdisco plc. He also served as a Senior Independent Director on the Board of Hays plc, a recruitment company. "As cyber-threats become more sophisticated and better-resourced, it is clear that the cyber challenge is one that can only be addressed with breakthrough AI technology," said Paul Harrison. "I am delighted to be joining the Board of a company addressing one of the biggest threats to society with innovation, and I look forward to bringing my industry experience to this role as the company continues to grow." About Darktrace Darktrace is a leading autonomous cyber security AI company and the creator of Autonomous Response technology. It provides comprehensive, enterprise-wide cyber defense to over 4,500 organizations worldwide, protecting the cloud, email, IoT, traditional networks, endpoints and industrial systems. A self-learning technology, Darktrace AI autonomously detects, investigates and responds to advanced cyber-threats, including insider threat, remote working risks, ransomware, data loss and supply chain vulnerabilities. The company has 1,500 employees and 44 office locations, with headquarters in Cambridge, UK. Every second, Darktrace AI detects a cyber-threat, preventing it from causing damage. Media Contacts Amy Longo Edelman (US) +1 (646) 912 3210 [email protected] Charles Pretzlik / Caroline Daniel Brunswick Group (UK) +44 20 7404 5959 [email protected] Aliya Anwars Golin +65 9172 3242 [email protected] Nikhol Hui Brands2Life (UK) +44 (0) 7908 714 331 [email protected] SOURCE Darktrace Related Links https://www.darktrace.com/ Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante has urged Ghanaians to get vaccinated against the deadly Coronavirus. Dr. Kwame Asah Asante dispelled rumors of the Coronavirus vaccines causing health problems such as erectile dysfuntion and infertility. According to him, contrary to the rumors, the vaccines are rather a life saver. Dr. Asah Asante, who has been inoculated, asked the skeptics who claim the vaccines have been developed to extinguish Africans a simple question. We import chicken and meat from the whites. Do we know the medicine they give the animals before they send them to us?, he asked. He also asked what is the use of a man's manhood if he refuses to take the vaccine and dies of the viral disease. ''What's the use of your manhood if the disease kills you? He advised Ghanaians to avail themselves for the vaccine jab saying if we think critically about it, we will know that those rumors about the vaccine are not true. Some people claim it causes erectile dysfunction''. He spoke on ''Kokrokoo'' on Peace FM. 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. Featured Video Joe Biden thinks it is "Neanderthal thinking" for Americans to take off their masks and get back to church, work, school, and play. One would think a U.S. president who refuses to hold a press conference, and, while in office barely over a month, has been caught numerous times struggling to put together coherent sentences would be careful about hurling around insults accusing others of "Neanderthal thinking." To be fair, Biden is likely suffering with dementia, and this is no laughing matter for him or the country. No one dealing with such a struggle should be taunted with insults on his mental difficulties. However, a healthy Joe Biden, along with countless other Democrats, has for decades provided us with numerous examples of what truly could be described as "Neanderthal thinking." The quickest path into Neanderthal thinking is the "wide road" away from God and His Word and wisdom. The Democrat party in America has been on this dangerous road for a long time. Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler recently reminded us of this when the U.S. House debated the evil "Equality Act." After Republican Rep. Greg Steube used Scripture on the House floor to help shine light on the evils of the "Equality Act," Nadler responded by declaring, "Mr. Steube, what any religious tradition ascribes as God's will is no concern of this Congress." The "Equality Act" aims to obfuscate what biology and sound morality have always known. In other words, with this wicked legislation, Democrats are ignoring and undermining what was made clear "in the beginning" and attempts to make criminals out of those who live according to the biblical (and biological) view of who is a male and who is a female. Democrats' struggles with biology are not limited to biological sex. Their Neanderthal thinking on life has led to the slaughter of tens of millions of unborn children. Since the early 1970s, almost every time Democrats gain power in America whether at the national, state, or local level they rush to promote and enable the killing of the most innocent and helpless among us. Led by Joe Biden, tragically and much to the dismay of foolish "Pro-Life Evangelicals For Biden" today's Democrats are not at all different. In 2020, abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide. This has been the case for decades. According to Worldometer statistics, last year, abortion killed more human beings than cancer, malaria, HIV/AIDS, smoking, alcohol, and traffic accidents combined. Additionally, since 1973, when Democrats and their Neanderthal-thinking allies in the U.S. Supreme court legalized the killing of the unborn across America, abortion has been the leading cause of death in the United States. (According to the CDC, in 2019, the leading cause of death in the U.S. 659,041 total was heart disease. Every year since 1973, the Guttmacher Institute reports over 700K annual abortions in the U.S.) Neanderthal thinking among today's Democrats has now led to a "war on mathematics" in America's schools. This has resulted in a stunningly stupid concept called "ethnomathematics." This absurd "education trend," among many other terrible things, argues that "White supremacy manifests itself in the focus on finding the right answer." According to Fox News, the training on "ethnomathematics" declares: The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false, and teaching it is even much less so. Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuate objectivity as well as fear of open conflict. It should be totally unsurprising that those opposed to the Bible and what it reveals would also be opposed to anything that is "purely objective." It turns out that, according to Neanderthal-thinking liberals, not only is math racist, but so is good writing. An associate dean at Arizona State University recently penned a 358-page book that details how "grading students' writing is a form of racism and white supremacy." According to Legal Insurrection: In a book titled "Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Writing Classroom," professor Asao Inoue encourages teachers to ditch grading for a "labor-based" grading system wherein students earn grades based on their effort. The quality of a student's writing would not help or hinder their course grade. "This book focuses on one kind of grading contract, one that calculates final course grades purely by the labor students complete, not by any judgments of the quality of their writing," Inoue writes. Anyone want to guess whom Dean Inoue voted for in the 2020 presidential election? Only Neanderthal thinking could lead one to be so often wrong on the same issue and yet continue for decades unwaveringly to preach and teach and attempt to make horrific public policy on the same falsehoods. This is where modern Democrats are on the matter of climate change. For decades, the climate cultists from the "New Religion of First World Elites" have attempted to use fear (the destruction of the planet) and a fake cause (saving the planet) to convince Americans to vote for Democrats and enact the perverse science-denying AKA "Neanderthal thinking" climate agenda of the modern left. Though their meteorologists often get the five-day forecast wrong, the same people who tell us that "gender is a spectrum" want us to take their 100-year climate forecasts as the gospel truth, because, you know, "SCIENCE!" The Neanderthal thinkers who run the bastions of liberalism in America like San Francisco can't even keep their streets free of human feces, yet we're supposed to trust such politicians when it comes to something as magnificently complex as the global climate. Maybe they should put their efforts toward building a better pooper-scooper. Speaking of "so often being wrong on the same issue," the only recent issue that rivals the Democrats' voluminous folly on climate change is their repeated Neanderthal thinking on the Trump Russia collusion lie. After years of screaming that Trump colluded with the Russians to steal the 2016 presidential election and with their lackeys in the media giving them countless hours of airtime to do so Democrats came up completely empty in their nefarious attempts to prove such. As Tucker Carlson put it in March of 2019, "we have lived through three separate investigations into Russia collusion, not just Mueller, but a committee in the House and a committee in the Senate and they spent years looking in this and in the end, they found nothing." It turns out that the only campaign that colluded with the Russians was Hillary Clinton's. As the late, great Rush Limbaugh noted, "Mueller knew from day one there was no collusion." Andy McCarthy rightly concluded that the Mueller report was "[a] hysteria without a cause; a report without a point." As Daniel Greenfield put it, Democrats "invented the Russian conspiracy, then they faked the crimes." When you have to fake crimes in what has been rightly described as "the biggest political scandal in the history of the United States," much Neanderthal thinking ensues. That brings us back to the issue that started all of this: Democrats and the Wuhan virus. In spite of what Joe Biden would have us believe, since the Wuhan virus entered the U.S., it has been Democrats who have burdened millions of Americans with a mountain of Neanderthal thinking. Take the immoral and unnecessary lockdowns, the useless masks, school closings, cases and hospitalizations, and so on in order to cling to their COVID authoritarianism, Democrats have repeatedly ignored science and the data. In other words, tragically, the Wuhan virus crisis again reveals who are the real Neanderthal thinkers in America. Trevor Grant Thomas: At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason. www.trevorgrantthomas.com Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America. tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com British-born Queer Eye star Tan France says he was more excited to meet Phillip Schofield than Hollywood stars such as Meryl Streep. The fashion designer, originally from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, recalled being starstruck by the TV presenter during an appearance on This Morning. France, 37, described Schofield, 58, who came out as gay in February 2020, as an icon and said he geeked out when they met. Expand Close Phillip Schofield (David Davies/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Phillip Schofield (David Davies/PA) Appearing on Laura Whitmores Castaway podcast, he said: I went on This Morning last year, or the year before if I remember, and wed already done mega things in America at that point and I was kind of calm about it. I wasnt as obsessed as I was about the stars as I was with British stars, so I went and I met Phillip Schofield and I geeked out so hard. And he found it really weird. He was like, Tan, were about to post pictures on the show of who you hung out with at the Emmys and youre getting really excited, its just This Morning. I was like, You are an icon to me, I watched you since I was a baby, your Gordon the Gopher blew my mind. So yeah, when you see these people that you knew when you were a kid, theyre often more exciting to you than a Meryl Streep, truly. Schofield made his name alongside sidekick Gordon The Gopher on BBC Childrens TV. He married wife Stephanie in Scotland in 1993 and the couple have two grown-up daughters, Ruby and Molly. Laura Whitmores Castaway podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. Bjoern Wylezich / TNS A 32-year-old Hartford man was sentenced to more than two years in prison Wednesday after local police found him with a gun while on federal supervised release. Rakeem Grant was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by three years supervised release, during an appearance before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven, the U.S. attorneys office for the District of Connecticut said. Newsweek crowns Gemelli Hospital in Rome the best hospital in Italy and among the top 100 in the world The Fondazione Policlinico universitario Agostino Gemelli Irccs is the first in Italy to appear in the ranking of the best hospitals in the world, at 45th place. The World's Best Hospital 2021 ranking is compiled every year by the historic American magazine "Newsweek", in collaboration with Statista Inc. The ranking from "Newsweek" examined two thousand hospitals in twenty five countries, and the takes into account the excellence of care provided, the presence of renowned doctors, a nursing staff of the highest quality and an offer of advanced technologies. The Gemelli and the covid-19 pandemic "It is a particularly significant recognition in the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, stated Marco Elefanti, general director of the Roman policlinico university, the international confirmation of the value of our model of care, also in response to the health emergency". In fact, in this year, Gemelli has continued to provide the best care for all patients, thanks to original organizational solutions such as the integration of tele- assistance in care processes, the creation of a hospital dedicated exclusively to Covid patients and the creation of pathways for Covid-free patients, who represent the majority. "All in record time and with great participation from our entire community, doctors, health care and technical administrative staff, who really deserve a round of applause, concluded Elefanti. These results make us proud and repay us for the many sacrifices relentlessly made in a very difficult time to always ensure the best care for our patients. I hope, finally, that this result will be a stimulus to do better and better and to keep our guard up with respect to the current situation, still very complex and delicate". How are Hospitals ranked Hospitals to be considered for the world ranking are selected on the basis of 'nominations' suggested by experts in the healthcare field (over 74,000 doctors, managers and healthcare professionals were involved between September and November 2020), on the basis of the results of surveys conducted on patients and key medical performance indicators on hospitals (e.g. data on quality of treatment, hygiene measures and patient safety, ratio of number of patients per doctor and per nurse). After selecting the hospitals in this way, a board of international experts proceeds to evaluate them and draw up the world ranking. Italy's global performance in Newsweek's ranking is excellent. In fact, among the best hospitals in the world 2021, there are 7 Italian hospitals among the top 100: in addition to Gemelli (first in Italy and 45th in the world ranking) there are Policlinico Sant'Orsola Malpighi (52nd place), Niguarda metropolitan hospital (72nd place), Humanitas clinical institute (79th), San Raffaele hospital (88th), Irccs Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova of Reggio Emilia (93rd) and the hospital of Padua (98th place). [March 11, 2021] Section4, Founded by NYU Professor Scott Galloway, Raises $30 Million to Democratize Elite Business Education Section4, the leading platform in business upskilling, today announced a $30 million Series A, led by General Catalyst, with participation from Learn Capital and GSV Ventures. Total funding to date is now $37 million, including previous investments by Jeff Bewkes and Tim Armstrong, former CEOs of Time Warner and AOL (News - Alert) , respectively. Larry Bohn and Paul Sagan will join the board of Section4 representing General Catalyst along with independent director Katherine Dillon. The deal closed as Section4 announced the expansion of its faculty with professors from NYU Stern, Kellogg, Stanford University, and Berkeley Haas. Section4's financing will accelerate the expansion of Section4's curriculum for the firm's 10,000+ alumni and the development of its enterprise platform. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005399/en/ Section4 Founder Scott Galloway (Photo: Business Wire) The business skills needed to win in the new economy are rapidly changing, and most firms are suffering from widening business skill gaps inside their organizations. In February 2020, McKinsey released a study on How Companies are Reskilling to Address Talent Gaps. The research findings detailed that nearly nine in ten executives and managers say their organizations either face skill gaps already or expect gaps to develop within the next five years. "The Section4 platform was created to offer millions, vs. thousands, of aspiring professionals the opportunity to learn from the world's premier business school instructors at a fraction of the cost and friction of the traditional MBA," said Scott Galloway, Section4 Founder. "There are hundreds of thousands of firms looking for a platform to upskill their workforce, and we aim to fill that void with coursework and instruction that offers unprecedented value and accessibility. 88% of students have applied what they've learned within their organizations within three months of completing their Section4 course," added Galloway. Section4's courses are delivered as "sprints": intensive, immediately applicable online courses that combine synchronous lectures and community with pre-recorded video lessons and case studies. Sprints are organized into "stacks": a comprehensive collection of courses by functional topic. Section4's first three stacks are for leaders in Strategy, Marketing and Product Management. Section4 faculty are premier instructors in graduate business education, and many have been recognized as the "Best Instructor" at their respective institutions. "Collectively we've known Scott for several decades and have seen him time and again envision the way a challenge can be met with innovation and then just make it happen. And he's done it across industries," said Larry Bohn, Managing Director, General Catalyst. "For this turn, Scott, Greg, and the Section4 team are rethinking how people skill and reskill throughout their careers. The solution has to be engaging and dynamic and this is the right team to build it." In the past twelve months, Section4 has enrolled more than 10,000 students in 97 countries worldwide. The students and alumni enrolled represent over 4,000 businesses including more than half of Fortune 100 companies. More than 33% of students taking Section4 classes are c-level executives. Additionally, Section4 is educating employees from companies including Airbnb, Boston Consulting Group, Coca-Cola, Google (News - Alert) , Netflix, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Salesforce, Unilever, and Visa at manager, director and executive levels. "Elite business education until now has been available to only a select few, and usually at the start of their career. But mid-career is the 'make or break' stage, when updated skills and competencies are needed to really accelerate career growth and organizational impact. And there is an urgent, global need for this kind of business education, demonstrated by the fact that 45% of our students are from outside of the US," said Greg Shove, CEO of Section4. "With this additional capital, we will rapidly expand our direct-to-consumer offering with more courses from the world's best business school professors and industry practitioners. We will also expand our subscription-based enterprise platform for firms that want to upskill hundreds or thousands of employees at the same time. Our platform will provide the skills boost needed for a thriving career in the growth economy," added Shove. ABOUT SECTION4 Section4 is democratizing elite business school education. With more than 10,000 students from over 4,000 companies across 97 countries, Section4 continues to expand the number of professors and courses to make elite business education and programming more accessible and affordable. Founded in 2019 by NYU Professor and entrepreneur, Scott Galloway, Section4 is backed by General Catalyst, Learn Capital, GSV Ventures as well as Activant and other individual investors including: Jeff Bewkes, and Tim Armstrong. Learn more at: https://www.section4.com/ ABOUT GENERAL CATALYST General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that invests in powerful, positive change that endures - for our entrepreneurs, our investors, our people, and society. We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond to build companies that withstand the test of time. With offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto (News - Alert) , New York City, and Boston, the firm has helped support the growth of businesses such as: Airbnb, Deliveroo, Guild, Gusto, Hubspot, Livongo, Oscar, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker. For more: www.generalcatalyst.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005399/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Yangon, March 11 : Myanmar's military rulers have accused the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi of illegally accepting $600,000 (A430,000) and gold. The allegation is the strongest yet levelled by the military since it overthrew Suu Kyi and the country's democratic leadership on 1 February, the BBC reported. No evidence was provided for the charge. Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun also accused President Win Myint and several cabinet ministers of corruption. Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won a landslide victory in the polls last year, but the military now claims the election was fraudulent. Independent international observers have disputed the military's claim - saying no irregularities were observed. Suu Kyi has been held for the past five weeks in an undisclosed location and faces several charges including causing "fear and alarm", illegally possessing radio equipment, and breaking Covid-19 restrictions. The illegal payments charge levelled on Thursday was the most serious so far. The value of the gold the military alleges she illegally accepted is roughly A450,000. Myanmar has been gripped by street protests since the military seized control and detained Suu Kyi. Her image has been held aloft by the protesters. At least seven more people were killed by security forces on Thursday, taking the total death toll to more than 60. Witnesses said that some protesters had been shot in the head. The UN, US and a host of other countries have condemned the killing of civilians in the crackdown against anti-coup protesters in Myanmar, and called on the authorities to exercise restraint. The military has dismissed criticism of its actions, instead blaming Suu Kyi for the violence. 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. Courtesy Levinson familyBy JAMES GORDON MEEK and CONOR FINNEGAN, ABC News (NEW YORK) -- This week marked 14 years since retired FBI Special Agent Bob Levinson vanished almost without a trace on Iran's Kish Island, and one year since his family finally accepted U.S. assessments that he died in captivity -- but they still haven't been able to adequately say goodbye to the beloved husband, father and grandfather. "We haven't been able to hold a funeral for my dad," Levinson's daughter, Sarah Moriarty, told ABC News. The family of Bob Levinson has nothing to bury. Tehran still hasn't acknowledged detaining Levinson, who was working a murky contract for CIA analysts, or that he died at their government's hands. As a result, the whereabouts of his remains are as much a mystery as the timing and circumstances of his death, which was assessed by the U.S. intelligence community in large part because of the duration of his disappearance, his diabetes, his age -- he would have turned 73 on Wednesday -- and because the only video released by his unknown captors came early in his ordeal. "We were never given the chance to say goodbye. To touch him one more time and tell him we love him. To bury him and properly grieve -- to have real closure and finality," Sarah Moriarty told ABC News in an interview on his birthday. "After all the Iranians did to us and to him, they owe that to us. We just want to learn the truth of what happened to him, and to say goodbye." There are other hostage cases that the Biden administration is now focusing on in order to avoid outcomes like the Levinson case -- an effort that's being led by Roger Carstens, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, who is a holdover from the Trump administration. Because of the Robert Levinson Act signed into law by President Donald Trump in December, Carstens' position now carries the rank of ambassador and has reach into cases not just of terrorist kidnappings but also of unlawful detainees of regimes. The families of detainees have welcomed the development. Of gravest concern is the fate of American Christian humanitarian aid worker Jeffery Woodke, kidnapped in Niger in 2016 by Islamist militants, and of civil engineering contractor Mark Frerichs, kidnapped 13 months ago in Afghanistan and believed to be held by a faction of the Taliban, according to U.S. officials. Carstens has also met with Assad regime officials in Damascus about American journalist and former Marine Austin Tice, who vanished while reporting in Syria in 2012. But the Levinson case highlights a little-discussed aspect of America's long struggle with citizens kidnapped overseas by terrorist groups and unfriendly regimes: the pain of never being able to lay a loved one to rest or fully accept a death because their body was never recovered or returned. It is very rare for a hostage who perishes in captivity to be recovered unless they die in an attempted rescue mission, such as missionary Martin Burnham, who was killed in the Philippines in 2002, and journalist Luke Somers, who was killed by al Qaeda as U.S. Navy SEALs tried to rescue him in Yemen in 2014. Efforts to recover dead hostages' remains, sometimes driven by intelligence, are often disjointed and sporadic. Last year, the remains of a U.S. hostage of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen were recovered along with two living American captives who were freed there. None of the American hostages in Syria or Iraq were ever recovered after they were killed in ISIS captivity in 2014-2015, including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and humanitarian aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. Intelligence led FBI agents and U.S. Special Forces to excavate sites in Syria in 2018 in a search for Mueller's remains -- but DNA testing by the FBI Lab at Quantico, Virginia, did not match any of the bones they found to any known Western hostage. "I continue to say that what matters most is to, God willing, find Kayla, find out what truly happened to her and bring her home where she should be," her mother, Marsha Mueller of Prescott, Arizona, told ABC News on Wednesday. "There is so much we do not know, but we will never give up and we have been blessed with the support of [former FBI counterterrorism agent] Ali Soufan, his team, and so many others." Margaux Ewen, executive director of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, created by the family of the freelance journalist to advocate for the release of Americans held hostage abroad and promote safety of journalists worldwide, said it's important to have the government's support in bringing loved ones' remains home "as part of the overall process for achieving accountability for hostage-taking." "Recovering the remains of a loved one who was murdered or who died in captivity is a critical component of the healing process," Ewen said. Another important milestone in the Levinson case was a semantic change in how his vanishing was publicly characterized by the U.S. government. President Barack Obama had described Levinson as "missing in Iran," which angered members of his family. But Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the first to say Levinson was "abducted," which Joe Biden's Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, also adopted in a statement Tuesday following a phone call to Levinson's family. Blinken also said the "case is not closed" and pledged to continue pressing Tehran for a resolution. Another of Levinson's daughters, Samantha Bowman, is now pregnant with Levinson's grandchild, and told Blinken during the call that Levinson won't have a grave where she can bring her child to visit. "I cry about how we will be able to 'visit' my dad on holidays. We are able to leave American flags on my husband's father's grave, and I wish for my children to have that tangible connection," Bowman wrote on her Facebook page. "It's just something where you can feel you are with the person," her sister Sarah said in the ABC News interview. After years of pressing the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations to bring Levinson home alive, the family finally accepted once-controversial government assessments that he died in captivity, which for years were based solely on circumstantial evidence such as his age and health rather than intelligence. His case was even shelved by both Obama negotiators and their Iranian counterparts when they hammered out the Iran nuclear deal in 2016, which freed a handful of other Americans held by the regime. Iranian military documents authenticated and translated for ABC News by former Bush Pentagon policy director for Iran Ladan Archin in 2019 answered the question of who had arrested Levinson on Kish Island in 2007. But his family didn't accept the grim assessments of his death until a previously undisclosed private White House meeting a year ago between the Levinsons, FBI Director Chris Wray, then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, then-Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell and Trump Chief of Staff Robert O'Brien, sources close to the family and U.S. officials told ABC News this week. Asked by the family what percentage of certainty there was that Levinson had died as an Iranian detainee, officials told the family that it was 100% -- and that the time had come for them to accept that he was gone, one person familiar with the private meeting said. Wray hinted at the meeting in a memo to FBI employees a year ago, but didn't name the other top intelligence officials who accompanied him. "When I met with the Levinson family, we explained that the most credible evidence we have collected over the past 13 years points to the likelihood that Bob died in captivity. It pained me to deliver that news, but I believe that we owed Bob's family a thorough and candid presentation of the information that we've collected," Wray's memo stated. Wray added that nobody was closing the books on the case and said his agents would continue to "work doggedly" on finding answers. "We won't give up, because we don't give up on family, and Bob, his wife Christine, and all of their children will always be part of our FBI family," Wray wrote. Copyright 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Regional Congress to move breach of privilege motion against Meghalaya CM Correspondent Shillong, Mar 11 | Publish Date: 3/11/2021 1:50:36 PM IST Meghalayas opposition Congress on Thursday decided to move a breach of privilege motion against Chief Minister Conrad Sangma for misleading the House on the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed between the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the erstwhile Congress-led Government in 2007. The Opposition would move breach of privilege motion against the Chief Minister during the ongoing Budget Session. The Chief Minister with a predetermined motive had tried to misinform and mislead the House, Leader of Opposition Dr. Mukul M. Sangma told reporters after Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh adjourned the House for the day. Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had on Tuesday blamed the previous Congress-MDA government in 2007 for signing a lopsided PPA with NTPC. Under the clauses of the agreement, Chief Minster had told members of the assembly that the State has to pay a fixed charge of Rs. 11 crore every month, even if the State didnt purchase power from NTPC. However, the Leader of Opposition maintained that there was no mention about the Rs 11 crore required to be paid by the State Government. They (government) were trying to play to the gallery, but the worst thing is that they they have misinformed which amounts to breach of privilege of the House, the former Congress Chief Minister said. This was done with sheer malafide and pre-determined intent to engage in another narrative and hide the facts. This attempt to mislead and misinform the House coming from none other than the leader of the House, Mukul asserted. Earlier, while taking part in a short duration discussion on the prevailing power crisis in the State, the veteran Congress legislator came down heavily on the government for creating a mess in the power sector. The Congress legislator also alleged rampant corruption in the department and sought answers from the power minister as to why various viable projects of the previous government were shelved. Countering the Chief Minister claims that the PPA agreement with NTPC was a lopsided one, Sangma, who was the then power minister who signed the agreement, alleged that the Chief Minister has not done his homework with regards to the agreement signed in 2007. Has the Chief Minister read every page of the agreement? Where was the Rs. 11 crore that the MeECL had to pay to the NTPC every month as mentioned by the Chief Minister recently? Why has the Chief Minister misled the august House?, the former Chief Minister said. The Leader of Opposition, said, there are provisions for arbitration under the Central Electricity Act to get out of this agreement. He further informed that the PPA was the culmination of a long drawn process which his predecessors had worked on and then it was signed by him while he was in office as power minister. Moreover, he appealed to the ruling NPP-MDA government to stop focusing on the past and try to work on the turnaround of the power sector. The former Chief Minister also suggested that power could still be drawn from NTPC and sold to Bangladesh at a profit. He said such transmission lines could be built if the government wished. Replying to the discussion, Power Minster James Sangma refuted allegations made by the Leader of opposition saying these were speculative in nature and amounting to character assassination. He also pointed out to Clause 11 of the PPA which noted that the agreement shall come into force from the date of signing of this agreement for all purposes and intents and shall remain operative upto completion of 25 years from the date of commercial operation of last unit of the station, unless it is specifically extended on mutually agreed terms. What kind of nonsensical clause is this? Dont understand the logic. Why tie us down in this manner and cause us huge loss, James said about the tenure of the agreement. I do not understand the logic of the government of that time that would tie us down in this manner and cause huge loss to the State, he added. The Power Minister said that some of the PPAs signed are for only five or ten years. There is no standard or fixed format saying that a PPA has to be for 25 years from the date of operation of the last unit, James informed the Assembly. He added although it was a tripartite agreement, as a federal State, the state government had the option to not have agreed to this clause on the tenure. The Power Minister pointed out several lapses committed by the previous government, the brunt of which is being borne now. James , however maintained that load shedding has been drastically reduced in the recent times in the State, adding that there was no power cut during 2020. The load shedding that had to be resorted to in February this year was because of regulations put in by power corporations, he said, adding that the matter was resolved in a very less time. The Power Minister also informed the Assembly that State-owned Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited provided 3.23 lakh new consumers with electricity connection under the NPP-led government as compared to the period between 2010 and 2018 (under the Congress government), when only 1.07 lakh consumers were added. The billing distribution efficiency has improved from 62 per cent last year to 73 per cent as of date, while the bill collection efficiency is 97 per cent, James said. Opposition member Ampareen Lyngdoh, who had raised a short duration discussion on the prevailing power crisis in the state of Meghalaya also made several suggestions for improving the power scenario. Covid: Strict will be enforced in parts of Maharashtra, says CM Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said strict measures will be enforced in some parts of the state to contain the spread of COVID-19. Thackeray, 60, was speaking after receiving the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 at the government-run J J Hospital here. on Wednesday recorded 13,659 new cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state's caseload to 22,52,057. Read more Apple starts assembling its flagship smartphone iPhone 12 in India Apple Inc has started the assembly of iPhone 12 in India, the U.S. tech giant said, as the company ramps up manufacturing operations in the world's second-biggest smartphone market. "We are proud to be starting production of iPhone 12 in India for our local customers," Apple said in a statement on Thursday, without naming the supplier making the smartphone. The Indian unit of Apple's Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn will assemble the device in its plant in southern Tamil Nadu state, two sources familiar with the matter said. Read more Winners' curse: Top bosses at see their term ending much before time The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC), which cleared the appointment of 14 executive directors (EDs) at public-sector banks late evening on Monday, said these officials would be eligible for an extension of two years after completing their three-year term, provided they passed a performance review test. This means that many bankers career at public-sector banks will end much before they attain the retirement age of 60. Read more Most economies won't return to pre-Covid activity levels by 2022: Moody's Moody's Investors Service on Thursday said the credit downturn arising out of COVID-19 will be short-lived but most economies will not return to pre-pandemic activity levels until 2022. In the year since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the virus has disrupted the global economy and triggered a credit downturn accompanied by a spike in bond defaults. Read more becomes 6th member of $100 bn club; joins Musk, Gates, Bezos has been a fixture at the top of the worlds wealth rankings for decades, but in recent years hes slipped down the list as tech fortunes soared and his hot hand cooled. Now, at 90, his net worth has blown past $100 billion. The Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairmans wealth jumped on Wednesday to $100.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That makes Buffett the sixth member of the $100 billion club, a group including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and his friend Bill Gates. Read more A six foot bouncer was caught hitting a defenceless, bleeding patron and knocking him to the ground unconscious. Shocking footage was captured by a bystander outside Mexican Cafe in Auckland on February 27 after an argument broke out between the bouncer and the reveller. The man, who had blood spurting from his mouth, could be heard arguing with a group of burly security guards on the footpath outside the venue. 'We kicked you out for a reason,' one of the guards told the patron. 'Why, why, why, why?' The man repeatedly asked. He then moved slightly towards the bouncers before trying to walk away, but was hit across the face by one of the guards. 'I f**king told you,' the bouncer said. Shocking footage was captured by a bystander outside Mexican Cafe in Auckland on February 27 after a verbal argument broke out between the bouncer and the reveller The reveller was slammed to the ground instantly, loudly hitting his head on the concrete pavement. He laid motionless on the pavement, while the group of security guards stood by and didn't offer any assistance. An ambulance was called to the cafe just after 1.40am. St John Ambulance said the man was in a 'moderate condition'. He was taken to Auckland City Hospital. Matthieu Ferragati, the manager of the venue, said the cafe has since fired the guards and hired a new security company. The reveller was slammed to the ground instantly, loudly hitting his head on the concrete pavement. The security guard stood over him with fists chenched 'I do feel terrible for the victim and I hope something like this will never happen again,' he told NZ Herald. 'The owner [of the Mexican Cafe] is totally shocked. We've been here since 1983, it's almost 38 years, this is the first time [we've] seen something like this.' Mr Ferragati said he has spoken to the man, who is doing 'okay'. Auckland City Police Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Anderson said authorities are trying to identify the security guard involved. 'Police are asking anyone with information about the incident, or who knows who may be involved, to contact us on 105 quoting file number 210227/7884. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111,' he said. Officers also talking to witnesses and reviewing CCTV and witness footage. Controversial footage of a bouncer kicking a patron on the ground takes a twist as new vision shows what happened moments before Confronting new footage showing the moments before a security guard kicked a patron as he lay on the ground outside a popular nightclub reveals he was attacked. CCTV captured the fight breaking out between security guards and the man outside Wellington nightclub 'Boston on Blair' during the early hours of Sunday morning. Nick Mills, owner of Boston on Blair, told the NZ Herald the initial video only told half of the story. The new CCTV was posted to social media by a colleague of the alleged attacker. The footage showed the patron taking a swing at the security guard just outside the bar's entrance. Three guards then rushed to their colleague's aid as the patron continued to throw punches. The unidentified man was rushed to Wellington Hospital to receive treatment for his injuries The man was thrown to the ground and kicked in the head by a guard, as other patrons watched. The man was rushed to Wellington Hospital to receive treatment for his injuries. The colleague who posted the CCTV footage defended the bouncer's actions. 'I've worked many nights where we have some people who when we refuse entry don't like it and become aggressive, where we get attacked on the door, he said. 'I know of a night where people pull out knives because we refuse entry.' The colleague said patrons didn't realise security guards provided a safe environment for people to enjoy, but never received the same protection. 'Violence is not the first avenue we take, when we are working doors we do use our mouth but if you put us in a position where we have to look after ourselves bet your ass we will go down that avenue too.' Kate Te Tau, a passerby who stopped to help, received a busted bottom lip after an electric heater was pushed onto her. Ms Te Tau has alleged the heater was pushed by the same security guard. The video footage does not show who it was that pushed the heater and Daily Mail Australia makes no suggestion that the man is guilty. Kate Te Tau and her group of friends spotted the man on the ground and stopped to help The good Samaritan had to get stitches for the injury and has threatened to take legal action on social media. 'Such an unprofessional, ruthless and violent attack on a young male. Myself and friends walked past to aid him helplessly getting beaten up by men whose job it is (to) look out for trouble and not cause it. 'The bouncer also pushed an outdoor heater into us resulting in stitches to my lip. See you in court... here's footage for everyone to see!' Wellington police are investigating the alleged assault but no arrests have been made. See a need and then fill it. Thats the secret of most successful businessesand that was the driving motivator of insurtech Thimble, which is currently working on coverage for small business customers during business interruptions. Jay Bregman, co-founder of the New York City-based company, is accustomed to filling gaps in the marketplace, having transformed a company that started with a singular focus on serving the needs of a narrow marketdrone operatorsinto one serving the liability insurance needs of small businesses. When you start breaking down the time increments and the limits to very low, discrete amounts, you can do very interesting thingsthings that people have never thought about before Jay Bregman, Thimble Now focused on business interruptions and the problems of small business owners during pandemic lockdowns, the new policy on the drawing board could be a first line of defense for shuttered businesses, to tide them over until they get help from the government, Bregman said in an interview with Carrier Management. He explained that the BI policy, like the drone cover and liability offerings that preceded it, would deliver low-limit insurance through a simple application process. Keeping it simple is key to the insurtechs success, he suggested. From Drones to Small Business As a drone pilot himself, Bregman started the company when he realized that the people who hired dronessuch as the CNNs of the world and big real estate brokerswanted to see pilots covered by aviation insurance on top of normal business insurance because such liability is excluded from general liability policies. These drone operators were forced to go to aviation brokers, to try to buy annual policies for a job that might last a day, he said. As a result, we created the worlds first episodic, admitted liability insurance filing and got it approved in all 50 states. (Operating as a managing general agent, Thimbles aviation liability or drone capacity is provided by Global Aerospace Inc.) People can buy the drone coverage straight from their iPhone at the job site and then immediately show it to their client. It has been really popular. Bregman and his co-founder, Eugene Hertz, saw a need and they filled itand the product was a success. (The company was launched in 2016 as Verifly and was renamed as Thimble in 2019.) And that success begat new ideas and more successes. Bregman explained by saying that a lot of these drone pilots were not actually full-time drone pilots. They were photographers; they were contractors; they were real estate brokers. And so, they asked us if we could do different kinds of insurance, Bregman said. Thimble created a new version of a general liability policy for small businesses, creating on-demand cover with a duration of an hour to a yearwith Markel enlisted to provide the capacity. Weve been gradually increasing the number and the breadth of small businesses and the types of small businesses that we sell to, said Bregman. The companys small-business customers include workers such as carpenters, freelancers, handymen, hair and beauty professionals, landscapers, personal trainers, photographers and pet sitters. More than 200 professions are covered. Thimble started with one particular type of insurance to address one very defined problem, and weve built a good business on top of that. Now were insuring hundreds of different types of businesses, lots of different lines of business, with all the complexities that that entails, noted Bregman. Thimbles website reveals that 75% of its customers never had business insurance before Thimble. Additionally, 40% of new customers in 2020 formed their business in 2020, Bregman said. The company is filling a need. Our secret sauce is were selling these policies on all kinds of different time frames. We can afford to charge a little bit more for the same amount of time, but the customer is very willing to pay it because of the convenience and the lower overall cost of ownership of the policy on an asset thats assessed, he continued. Basically, with just three questions, we can provide a policy that includes all of the things that our customers [need], and thats why they love it. They love it because its simple. The simplicity of the three questionsWhat ZIP code are you in? What do you do? How long do you want the policy for?is the big difference between Thimble and traditional insurers, which can require answers to 20 to 50 questions before theyll provide a policy, he explained. Thimble also has developed a policy with a duration of one month, which can be extended monthly, depending on the customers needs. It has the best features of annual policies in that its continuous. If you want to keep working with it, you dont have to worry about it. But you can do cool things, such as pausing the coverage, which Bregman said has been especially handy during the COVID-19 lockdowns. This coverage looks a lot more like a Netflix interface, where its very easy to get going. You answer just three questions to play. You can modify it. If you want to add things to the policy, thats no problem. It all can be done instantly on the app or on the web, he continued. What people really love about the policy is theyre not committing more than a month at a time because they dont know what could happen with their businesses beyond that time frame, he said. Weve built a very good business on this product, and were just getting started. Indeed, the company recently rolled out a product that includes general liability, professional liability, inland marine and also care, custody and control, which can be purchased as an annual policy by businesses of between one and 10 employees. For example, this type of policy could be good for pressure window washers, who need general liability cover as well as cover for care, custody and control, which pays a claim if the window theyre working on breaks. In addition, Thimble provides business equipment protection in case of damage or theft. Pressure washers actually have been doing great during COVID. If anything, people want more windows washed than they ever did, he affirmed. Products in the Pipeline And whats in the pipeline for Thimble? Bregman said he is developing a low-limit business interruption policy for small companies because a lot of customers approached Thimble with worries that their businesses might be shut down again. He currently is working with the Lloyds markets innovation accelerator (Lloyds Lab) as well as the New York Department of Financial Services to develop the product. Once again, the product looks at using time, which Bregman described as the biggest vector that matters. When you start breaking down the time increments and the limits to very low amounts, very discrete amounts, you can do very interesting thingsthings that people have never thought about before, he said. There are so many different things that can happen differently if you can pay someone quickly and parametrically, Bregman said. And so we asked, How do we get rid of the claims process? Well, its very simple. Well sell very low limits. Instead of selling them $1 million dollars or $2 million worth of business interruption limits, well sell $1,000 to $5,000. In this case, it would be an annual policy. So, you pay the premiumthe premium is based on what type of business you are, where you are and how likely it is that your business could be shut down. It would cover any second wave of COVID and any other pathogen. The policy would pay out the entire coverage amount as soon as there is a government shutdown in the nominated coverage area, which is an objectively verifiable trigger event, he said. If you bought a $1,000 policy and paid your premium on it, youll get $1,000. If you bought a $5,000 policy, well pay you $5,000 and well pay you a couple of days after the shutdown happens. While he described the policy as a gap filler to tide businesses over until they get help from the government, he also said that capacity levels could be increased once capacity providers are identified. Bregman said Lloyds is intrigued by the idea, and were working with them to link us up with the right capacity. Thimble also is working with the New York regulator, which has initiated a program to fast-track COVID-19 solutions developed by insurers and other financial institutions. We submitted one of the first applications for this program. Theyre very engaged and want to launch this in New York as quickly as possible. Bregmans theory is that this new policy could be a true differentiator for Thimble in the marketplace. Also in Thimbles product pipeline are business insurance coverages such as liability, property and workers compensation, which are tentatively planned for release in 2021. Market Disruptor When asked if the insurtech is an insurance industry disrupter, Bregman affirmed that Thimble is absolutely a market disruptor. From a customer perspective, what were doing is incredibly disruptive. Why? Because customers go to [other insurers] where theyre asked 45 or 50 questions and they give up. They come to us and they get three questions. They get their insurance, they go and get a job with that insurance, and then they write a great review. He said that the companys net promoter score (NPS) is 82, which is on par with companies like Apple, while the average NPS for an insurance broker in America is 17. Thimbles string of business successes in turn has attracted investors, such as IAC, the media and Internet holding company that includes consumer brands such as Vimeo, Dotdash and Angies List. IAC led a $22 million funding round for Thimble in October 2019 along with existing investors AXA Venture Partners, Open Ocean and Slow Ventures. Thimble has raised a total of $28.9 million in funding over three rounds, starting in 2016. This article first was published on Jan. 8 by Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management. The article has been updated with some new developments for the company. Topics InsurTech Tech Incontinent Puppy With Spina Bifida, Stood Up by Potential Adopters, Finds Perfect Fur-Ever Family A 9-month-old American bulldog, who happens to have spina bifida and went viral on social media when his potential adopters didnt show up, has found the perfect forever family. Nonprofit Peaches Bully Rescue of West Chester, Ohio, posted on Facebook when the puppys 40-minute journey to meet potential adopters on Jan. 23 ended in a huge let down. Jack was very sad when his meet-and-greet person was a no-show, no-call, they shared online. Jacks breeder couldnt sell him, owing to his special needs. He had been at the rescue for five months and had received very little interest. Being stood up on Jan. 23 was the third time the patient pup had been disappointed by potential adopters. He had a bath, got his fancy harness on, had a fresh diaper, and a dedicated foster team that drove 40 minutes each way just to end in huge disappointment, Peaches posted. Your family will come sweet boy, and when they do, they will be perfect. Peaches Bully Rescue is staffed by volunteers. Not showing up or calling, staffers implored, is bad form. In response to the heartfelt social media post, shared tens of thousands of times, the nonprofit was inundated with adoption applications for Jack. Concerned netizens from all around the world sent toys and monetary donations to help him find his home. As a special needs dog, Jack requires extra attention and care. He wears diapers as he is completely incontinent, and though he is mobile, he has club feet, meaning he cannot manage long walks. Yet before long, the perfect family came forward. Best of all, they showed up to their meet-and-greet with open arms and open hearts. After multiple false starts in securing his fur-ever home, this little wiggle butt was excited to start the next chapter in his life, Peaches shared in a Facebook update. He has a human sister to love on him, lots of toys and diapers that this gracious community donated, and a new stroller to ride around in style. Jacks new family has even started an Instagram page to chronicle their adorable special-needs pups ongoing journey. This is why we did it, Peaches staffers explained to Good Morning America. Most of the vets recommend that dogs with special needs are euthanized because they have no quality of life. Were here to show people differently. 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 at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter COLUMBIA A Columbia-area teacher's aide is accused of possessing hundreds of images of child pornography and committing sexual acts with his Great Dane, then posting them online. Kevin Christopher Billups, 34, was arrested at work March 10 and charged with eight counts each of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and having sex with his dog Leia under the state's century-old buggery law, a felony punishable by five years in prison, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. The felony sexual exploitation charges each carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Billups has worked as a kindergarten teaching assistant since 2012 at L.B. Nelson Elementary School in the Richland Two in suburban northeast Columbia. He was also working with the after-school program, the school confirmed. While he was arrested at the school, "no students observed the arrest," Principal Twanisha Garner wrote in an email to parents. Billups was put on paid administrative leave, as per board policy, Garner said. Billups remained in the Lexington County jail the evening of March 10 on a $240,000 bond. Whether he has an attorney is unclear. "As you can imagine, we are very disturbed by the charges and are cooperating fully with law enforcement," Garner wrote, noting parents of the students in his classroom and the after-school program received personal phone calls to notify them of the arrest. She stressed that the charges do not involve the school's students "in any way," based on what investigators have shared with school officials so far. Officials said the acts occurred at his Columbia home in Lexington County. Sheriff Jay Koon said the investigation began March 9 based on an anonymous tip. A search of Billups home led to evidence linking to video of the sex act with his dog, which was uploaded to a pornographic website. An external computer hard drive found at his home contained more than 900 images and videos of child pornography, according to the police report. District officials said the computer was not school property. The Great Dane was taken to a local animal rescue group, authorities said. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. A recent market study published by Future Market Insights Peptide Therapeutics Market: Global Industry Analysis & Opportunity Assessment, 20152025 consists a comprehensive assessment of the most important market dynamics. The report provides analysis of peptide therapeutics for 2014 and forecast of the market over 20152025. The report provides emerging trends and opportunities in the global market, which can help market players.to design their manufacturing, product or business strategies and exploit the maximum growth potential in the global peptide therapeutics market. The report provides analysis on market dynamics in the most comprehensive way for better understanding of readers. Section 1 Executive Summary In the opening section of the global report on peptide therapeutics market executive summary of the report is provided, which includes the global market overview and key findings. The section also includes market value (US$ Mn) estimates for key segments of the global peptide therapeutics market. Section 2 Market Introduction This section provides detailed taxonomy and definition of each segment of global peptide therapeutics market. The section helps readers to understand scope of the report, inclusion and exclusion criteria for different products & applications within the scope etc. This section also provides the analysis of global peptide therapeutics market based on optimistic, likely and conservative scenario. Request a Sample of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1038 Section 3 Market Dynamics This section provides readers with information about the most important macroeconomic and microeconomic factors that are instrumental in shaping the peptide therapeutics market. It helps readers to understand the critical market dynamics such as drivers, market restraints, trends, and growth opportunities for market players in peptide therapeutics market. Section 4 Global Peptide Therapeutics Market Drug Pipelines & Key Regulations This section provides overview on clinical development pipeline of peptide therapeutics for major companies. The section provides analysis by phase and therapeutic indications. The section also describes important regulatory pathways in three main markets of U.S., Europe and Japan through which peptide therapeutics are approved for commercial applications. Section 5 Global Peptide Therapeutics Market By Application Type, 20152025 Based on applications of peptide therapeutics, this section elaborates market value analysis for individual applications including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, CNS disorders, metabolic disorders, infections, hematological disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, dermatology, respiratory disorders, acromegaly and other applications. The section explains comparative trend analysis and market attractiveness analysis for each application of peptide therapeutics. The section also provides absolute $ opportunity analysis, which helps reader to identify growth potential for every year. Section 6 Global Peptide Therapeutics Market By Route of Administration, 20152025 This section provides market size analysis of peptide therapeutics available for administration through different routes including parenteral route, oral route, mucosal route and transdermal route Market attractiveness analysis by route of administration is provided to understand effects of approvals for different forms of peptide therapeutics. Section 7 Global Peptide Therapeutics Market, by Drug Type, 20152025 Drug type analysis provides analysis on usage and prescription pattern of peptide therapeutics for branded vs. generic/biosimilar drugs. Market attractive analysis by drug type is also discussed to fathom relative lucrativeness of different product types of peptide therapeutics. Section 8 Global Peptide Therapeutics Market By Region, 20152025 With the geographical perspective, global peptide therapeutics market is analysed on a total of seven regions viz. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Historical trends in peptide therapeutics market and their effects on global market performance is discussed in this chapter. Get Full Report Buy Now @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/1038 Section 9 North America Peptide Therapeutics Market Analysis and Forecast 20152025 Readers can find detailed information about factors such as recent market developments, pricing analysis, and regional trends that are impacting the growth of the North America peptide therapeutics market. This section also includes the growth prospects of peptide therapeutics market in countries such as the U.S., and Canada. Section 10 Latin America Peptide Therapeutics Market Analysis and Forecast 20152025 The market performance of peptide therapeutics in Latin America is discussed on a country level (Brazil, Mexico & rest of Latin America) in this section. The section also provides insights on regional market trends in Latin America peptide therapeutics market. Section 11 Western Europe Peptide Therapeutics Market Analysis and Forecast 20152025 This section provides country wise analysis of peptide therapeutics market in Western Europe. Countries covered in this section are Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, Nordic countries, BENELUX and rest of Western Europe. Market attractiveness analysis by country is provided to identify potential of growth for key players in the market. The section highlights regional market trends and pricing analysis for peptide therapeutics. Section 12 Eastern Europe Peptide Therapeutics Market Analysis and Forecast 20152025 This chapter of the report introduces peptide therapeutics market in Russia, Poland and rest of Eastern Europe by providing detailed information about the growth avenues for market players in the region and growth prospects of the market based on its leading segments. Section 13 APEJ Peptide Therapeutics Market Analysis and Forecast 20152025 China, India, ASEAN, and Australia & New Zealand are the leading countries in the APEJ region that are the prime subject of assessment to obtain growth prospects of the APEJ peptide therapeutics market in this chapter. Readers can find thorough information about the growth parameters of the APEJ peptide therapeutics market during the period 20152025. Section 14 Japan Peptide Therapeutics Market Analysis and Forecast 20152025 Readers can find important factors that can make a huge impact on the growth of peptide therapeutics market in Japan This chapter provides the overview of pricing, drivers, restraints, and trends in the Japan peptide therapeutics market. Section 15 MEA Peptide Therapeutics Market Analysis and Forecast 20152025 This chapter provides information on how peptide therapeutics market will grow in the major countries in MEA region, such as GCC Countries, South Africa, and rest of MEA during the period 2015-2025. Request for Report Ask A Question @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-1038 Section 16 Competition Landscape, Company Share and Company Profiles This section provides a dashboard review of competition in global peptide therapeutics market. It details the comparative assessment of key products specific to market segments and competitive position of key players in the global market. Readers can find a comprehensive profiles of key players in peptide therapeutics market, including company overview, revenue shares, strategic overview, and recent company developments, SWOT analysis etc. Market players featured in the report include Eli Lilly and Company, AstraZeneca plc, Merck & Co., Inc., Ipsen S.A, Novo Nordisk A/S, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. etc. and several contract manufacturing organisations such as CordenPharma International GmbH, PolyPeptide Group, Bachem AG etc. Section 17 Assumptions and Acronyms This section includes a list of acronyms and assumptions that provide a base to the information and statistics included in the report. The section also enlists forecast assumptions and forecast factors considered while estimating the market size. Section 18 Research Methodology This section helps readers to understand the research methodology followed to obtain various conclusions, important qualitative information, and quantitative information about peptide therapeutics market. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Holidaymakers keen to take advantage of a half-price flight scheme will not be able to travel intra-state or between capital cities, and some top destinations have been left out. Among the popular tourist spots not accessible via the government's $1.2billion plan to boost the tourism sector are Byron Bay, Ningaloo Reef, Kakadu National Park, and the Barossa Valley. Interstate tickets to 13 holiday hotspots will be subsidised by the federal government from April 1 until July 31 as part of the scheme. But Australians looking to holiday in their own state will not be able to save money through the support package - and will instead need to pay full-price on tickets. The bargain locations on offer are the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (including Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island. Interstate tickets to 13 holiday hotspots will be subsidised by the federal government from April 1 until July 31 as part of the scheme (stock image) Holidaymakers hoping to relax at popular NSW coastal town Byron Bay will be expected to pay the total fare as Ballina Byron Gateway Airport is not included in the package (stock image) This means holidaymakers living in cities like Sydney and Brisbane will not be able to make the most of the sale by travelling to other capitals. The discount does however include Avalon Airport, which is located outside of Melbourne's metropolitan area. Holidaymakers hoping to relax at popular NSW coastal town of Byron Bay will be expected to pay the total fare as Ballina Byron Gateway Airport is not included in the package. The same goes for visitors to Western Australia's World Heritage listed Ningaloo coast, South Australia's Barossa Valley and Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, none of which have discounted flights which land nearby. Holidaymakers living in cities like Sydney and Brisbane will not be able to make the most of the sale by travelling to other capitals. The discount does however include Avalon Airport, which is located outside of Melbourne's metropolitan area. Pictured: Flinders Street Station in Melbourne Queenslanders looking to visit the Whitsundays, Hamilton Island, Cairns, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast will not be able to enjoy the bargain airfares as they are travelling to and from their own state. But the scheme is expected to evolve to match demand in the coming months and the government could move to discount intra-state journeys. There will be no limit on the number of tickets available but the government expects an average of 46,000 people per week - a total of about 800,000 - will fly on the subsidised flights. The areas involved have been chosen because they rely on tourism for their wealth and are particularly dependent on aviation for their visitor numbers. The scheme is part of a huge bail-out package for the tourism sector which employs 611,000 Australians and has been crippled by the Covid-induced international border shutdown. To get the half-price tickets, Australians simply need to head to the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin websites after April 1 and they will see the dramatically reduced fares. WINDSOR LOCKS Bradley International Airport announced Thursday the launch of a Southwest Airlines route to and from Nashville, Tenn., a major boost for the airport as it deals with the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic. The daily, nonstop service departs from Windsor Locks-based Bradley at 6:10 p.m. EST and arrives at Nashville International Airport at 7:50 p.m. CST starting today. The inbound flight leaves Nashville at 7:30 p.m. CST and arrives at Bradley at 10:40 p.m. EST. The service uses a Boeing 737. We are excited to launch Southwest Airlines nonstop service to Nashville from Bradley International Airport, Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, which owns and operates Bradley, said in a statement. Nashville is a popular destination that also offers key connectivity to major destinations across Southwests west coast network. The launch of this service significantly enhances our nonstop offering for our travelers, and with its introduction we are pleased to strengthen our long-standing partnership with Southwest Airlines. Southwest has served Bradley for more than 20 years. It also runs direct flights to and from Baltimore; Chicago; Denver; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Fort Myers, Fla. Orlando, Fla.; St. Louis, Mo.; Tampa, Fla.; and West Palm Beach, Fla. The new route will help Bradley offset the huge drop-off in passenger traffic that it has seen during the past year as a result of the pandemic. A total of about 2.4 million travelers passed through Bradley in 2020, down 64 percent from 2019. Diminished passenger levels have inevitably led to greatly reduced airline service. At times in the past year, Bradleys daily flight volume has plunged more than 50 percent from levels before the pandemic, according to CAA officials. CAA officials have sought to rein costs to keep the airport attractive to airlines. In a related move, they want to start moving non-union employees to defined-contribution retirement plans to potentially save millions of dollars annually. But the proposal has stalled after the state legislatures Transportation Committee declined to advance supporting legislation. Amid its recent struggles, Bradley has maintained its reputation as one of the countrys leading small airports. It ranked No. 7 in USA Todays 2021 10 Best Readers Choice travel contest. The USA Today recommendation marked Bradleys second national recognition in the past year. It also ranked as a top-10 airport in the 2020 Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice survey. Bradley officials have sought to allay passengers concerns about traveling by implementing a number of health-and-safety measures, including on-site COVID-19 testing. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; Twitter: @paulschott KELOWNA, BC, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - The Valens Company Inc. (TSX: VLNS) (OTCQX: VLNCF) (the "Company," "The Valens Company" or "Valens"), a leading manufacturer of cannabis products, today announced that it has entered into a custom manufacturing agreement with Experion Biotechnologies Inc. (TSX-V: EXP) (OTCQB: EXPFF) ("Experion"), a partner of the Company's recently acquired LYF Food Technologies Inc. ("LYF"). Experion is a licensed cultivator, processor and brand builder with a portfolio of premium products. Under the agreement, Valens will provide end-to-end pre-roll manufacturing and product distribution services to Experion the Company's first custom manufacturing agreement of this nature following the receipt of its Health Canada licence amendment to sell dried cannabis products. In partnership, Valens and Experion will expand the pre-roll offering for Experion's popular Citizen Stash brand, which is focused on providing consumers the highest quality handcrafted, small batch cannabis. "We are excited to kick off our pre-roll manufacturing services with the commencement of our agreement with Experion and expedite the entry of Valens-manufactured dried cannabis products into the Canadian market," said Tyler Robson, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Chair of The Valens Company. "Citizen Stash is synonymous with best-in-class products and we are proud to be chosen as a partner who can deliver on customized and premium quality products for the brand." "We are pleased to work with Valens as this partnership will allow Experion to expand production to facilitate broader consumer access to our award-winning Citizen Stash products," stated Jarrett Malnarich, Chief Executive Officer of Experion Biotechnologies. "Partnering with an industry leader such as Valens allows us to immediately multiply our capacity and positions us to quickly develop next generation product lines. We believe this relationship demonstrates to the market that we are laser-focused on driving revenue by expanding our capacity to deliver premium cannabis products across Canada." The terms of the agreement support a minimum two-year partnership with monthly minimum order quantities. Valens and Experion are in continued discussions to expand the existing agreement to include additional product development and custom manufacturing services for a range of next generation products beyond gummies, which are currently being manufactured at the LYF facility, and pre-rolls. There is, however, no assurance that any such deal would be reached. Additionally, on March 5, 2021, Valens announced the closing of its acquisition of LYF. In connection with the LYF acquisition and per the requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange, Valens carries out its operations in compliance with the applicable laws of each jurisdiction in which the Company operates with respect to the cultivation, distribution, sale, or possession of cannabis (including laws applicable to anti-money laundering) to the extent applicable to the activities being undertaken by the Company in such jurisdiction. About The Valens Company The Valens Company is a leading manufacturer of cannabis derivative products with a mission to bring the benefits of cannabis to the world. The Company provides proprietary cannabis processing services across five core technologies, in addition to best-in-class product development, formulation and manufacturing of cannabis consumer packaged goods. The Valens Company's high-quality products are exclusively formulated for the medical, therapeutic, health and wellness, and recreational consumer segments, and are offered across numerous product formats, including oils, vapes, concentrates, edibles and topicals, as well as pre-rolls, with a focus on next-generation product development and innovation. Its breakthrough patented emulsification technology, SoRSE by Valens, converts cannabis oil into water-soluble emulsions for seamless integration into a variety of product formats, allowing for near-perfect dosing, stability, and taste. In partnership with brand houses, consumer packaged goods companies and licensed cannabis producers around the globe, the Company continues to grow its diverse product portfolio in alignment with evolving cannabis consumer preferences in key markets. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Valens Labs Ltd., the Company is setting the standard in cannabis testing and research and development with Canada's only ISO17025 accredited analytical services lab, named The Centre of Excellence in Plant-Based Science by partner and scientific world leader Thermo Fisher Scientific. Discover more on The Valens Company and its subsidiaries at http://www.thevalenscompany.com. About Experion Biotechnologies Experion Holdings Ltd. is the parent company of Experion Biotechnologies Inc., a Health Canada licensed cultivator and processor of Cannabis, based in Mission, BC. Experion Holdings Ltd. is invested in a portfolio of products to address a wide spectrum of consumer needs' including Adult-use, Wellness and Therapeutic, and Medical products. Experion trades on the TSX Venture Exchange as a Tier 1 issuer under the symbol "EXP" on the OTCQB Venture under the symbol "EXPFF" and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "MB31". For further information, please visit the Company's website www.experionwellness.com or contact Investor Relations, Email: [email protected]. Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements All information included in this press release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance and other statements of The Valens Company that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Wherever possible, words such as "plans", "expects", "scheduled", "trends", "forecasts", "future", "indications", "potential", "estimates", "predicts", "anticipate", "to establish", "believe", "intend", "ability to", or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might", "will", or are "likely" to be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of these words or other variations thereof, have been used to identify such forward-looking information. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all disclosure regarding future results of operations, future outcomes of transactions, economic conditions, and anticipated courses of action. Investors and other parties are advised that there is not necessarily any correlation between the number of SKUs manufactured and shipped and revenue and profit, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, Canadian regulatory risk, Australian regulatory risk, U.S. regulatory risk, U.S. border crossing and travel bans, the uncertainties, effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on licenses, expansion of facilities, competition, dependence on supply of cannabis and reliance on other key inputs, dependence on senior management and key personnel, general business risk and liability, regulation of the cannabis industry, change in laws, regulations and guidelines, compliance with laws, limited operating history, vulnerability to rising energy costs, unfavourable publicity or consumer perception, product liability, risks related to intellectual property, product recalls, difficulties with forecasts, management of growth and litigation, many of which are beyond the control of The Valens Company. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risks faced by The Valens Company, and which may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of The Valens Company to be materially different from estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, please refer to The Valens Company's latest Annual Information Form filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com or on The Valens Company's website at www.thevalenscompany.com. The risks described in such Annual Information Form are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Although the forward-looking statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and reasonable assumptions based upon information available to management as of the date hereof, The Valens Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. The Valens Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Valens Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Nothing herein should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell securities of The Valens Company. SOURCE The Valens Company Inc. Related Links https://thevalenscompany.com/ Terming the alleged attack on CM Mamata Banerjee an 'election stunt,' Uttar Pradesh Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya has raised questions over the claims of a security lapse during the TMC chief's campaign in Nandigram. The BJP leader has said that the Central government is ready to investigate the matter by any agency and added that the TMC supremo should lodge an official complaint if she feels there has been a 'conspiracy'. The West Bengal CM is currently at the SSKM hospital, receiving treatment after she reportedly sustained injuries on Wednesday. "This is just an election stunt. If she thinks that she has been attacked, then whichever agency she wants, the government is ready to get the matter investigated. If she has any issues, she should lodge an official complaint. She has Z+ security and something happens to her and no one is caught," Dy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya told ANI on Thursday. "Being the Chief Minister of the state, she controls the law & order situation. This is an unsuccessful attempt to fool the people of West Bengal for the elections and she has done it on the suggestion of her advisers," he added. TMC to approach EC Sharing a video day after she alleged an attack, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said that she will be able to return to work within 2-3 days. "I have injuries on my chest, ankle, shoulder and neck. I appeal to everyone to not do anything due to which people will have to suffer. The doctors are taking care and I will be able to return to work within 2-3 days as I don't want to spoil my scheduled meeting. Even if I will have to move around in a wheelchair, I will not let my meeting be hampered with this," TMC held a core committee on Thursday following the alleged attack and has decided to approach the Election Commission over the incident. The BJP has also sought an inquiry into the incident citing the deteriorating law & order situation in the state. Meanwhile, the EC has sought an emergency report from officials present in the state over the alleged attack on Mamata Banerjee. Trinamool Parliamentary delegation to meet Election Commission in Delhi tomorrow (March 12) on Nandigram incident involving Mamata Banerjee. Six MPs from both Houses on their way to Delhi from Kolkata CM Mamata Banerjee, 66, was allegedly attacked by a "few unknown persons" while she was returning after performing puja in a temple at Barulia Bazar in Nandigram after having filed her West Bengal polls nomination earlier in the day. She was rushed to the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for immediate medical attention. Speaking to the reporters after the attack, the TMC supremo claimed that no police official was present when "4-5 people intentionally manhandled" her in public. Claiming a conspiracy behind the attack, the CM said no local police present during the program, not even the SP. The ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Palestine to China just visited Xinjiang less than half a year ago. With fresh memories, the two sat at the Phenix program Talk with World Leaders and shared their experiences and feelings in Xinjiang. We were very happy to see them learning the Quran, and this is very important to Muslims. I asked some students if they could read the Quran. I listened, and I was astonished to see how well they read. They read it in Arabic and it was very beautiful. They could read as well as we do, despite the fact that Arabic was a foreign language to them Fariz Mehdawi, the Palestinian Ambassador to China said. Saudi Ambassador to China Turki Almadi said: I want to take this opportunity to thank the Chinese government for providing high-quality educational opportunities to the local students. This is very important. The Saudi ambassador thanked the local government for providing good learning opportunities for Muslims, and shared the situation of the mosques they saw in Xinjiang. According to Fariz Mehdawi, mosques are visible everywhere. There are several mosques on even the same street. You can stand on any street corner and count how many mosques you see, one two three four they are everywhere, and all are open instead of closed. Saudi Ambassador Turki Almadi said that ambassadors from Arabic countries know very well the situation in Xinjiang. What we see in Xinjiang are beautiful cities, kind people and good infrastructure, everything is very modern. The government there has done an excellent job and they did everything so well. Ambassador Almadi visited Xinjiang as head of the Arabic mission together with ambassadors from many other countries. He once again clarified the positions of Arabic countries on the Xinjiang issue, and expressed the hope on furthering bilateral relations with China. First, we adhere to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs. Second, the Xinjiang issue is an internal affair of China, and this is very important. Third, our responsibilities in China are focused on bilateral issues, in other words, developing and promoting bilateral relations, Ambassador Almadi said. Fu Xiaotian from Phoenix Satellite TV contrbtued to this report. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] (CNN) Alaska, one of the states leading the US in vaccinations, has made the Covid-19 vaccine available to any resident ages 16 and up. It's the first state in the US to remove nearly every eligibility requirement for the Covid-19 vaccine -- a milestone possible, the state's chief medical officer said, because of the state's success in vaccinating vulnerable Alaskans. "Soon this virus will be a preventable disease, if people choose to get vaccinated," said Dr. Anne Zink of Alaska's Department of Health and Social Services in a Tuesday news conference. "This is our shot to end the pandemic." Starting this week, Alaskans ages 16 and up can make an appointment to receive the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available to residents 18 years and older. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who tested positive for Covid-19 last month, said in a statement that the milestone "should come as no surprise" given the cooperation of state residents and an enviably smooth vaccine rollout. How Alaska is getting vaccinations right Alaska has consistently ranked among the top states in percentage of residents vaccinated, according to CNN's Covid-19 vaccine tracker. About 41 vaccine doses have been administered for every 100 residents, and over 16% of the state's population has been fully vaccinated. The state's robust public health system -- and experience in distributing vaccines to the far reaches of the massive state -- had equipped it for a successful vaccine rollout, Zink told CNN last week. And the state's 229 sovereign tribes received their own vaccine allocations, which relieved some of the pressure off the state to provide for all 730,000-plus residents. Even before Tuesday's announcement, Alaska's vaccine eligibility had already expanded to include essential workers, residents of multigenerational housing and young people who accompanied seniors to their vaccination appointment, a strategy that Zink and officials from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium said addressed the disproportionate death rates among low-income residents and Alaska Natives. The state currently has 430,685 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine -- not enough to vaccinate the entire state within a few weeks. "We know we don't have enough vaccine in the state of Alaska to do everyone tonight," Zink said. "But even if you're thinking about it, let (the state's Covid-19 helpline) know, and they can help connect you to an appointment if appointments become filled quickly as more vaccine comes into the state." Appointments for vaccines will likely fill up quickly, Zink said in the news conference, but more will become available as soon as the state gets its monthly vaccine allotment. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Alaska opens vaccines to residents 16 and up, the first state to drop nearly all eligibility requirements." [March 11, 2021] Florida Cities Turn to Gridics to Digitize Parcel-Level Zoning & Housing Data MIAMI, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gridics LLC, a Miami, FL, based technology company, is revolutionizing zoning, housing and development capacity analysis with its patented zoning calculation engine, providing cities with detailed zoning data for every parcel. Using the Gridics platform, staff and citizens gain remote access to the data via a unified zoning portal which combines property search tools, code text publishing and a robust 3D zoning map. Since the launch of its Municipal Zoning Platform less than two years ago, Gridics has been adopted by numerous Florida cities of all sizes and with varying levels of complexity in zoning, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The City of Miami recently expanded its Gridics partnership with the addition of its new Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan hosted on the Gridics platform. "Our partnership with Gridics has been outstanding, and through the [Gridics Municipal Zoning] platform, we're providing innovative new tools to the public, while increasing process efficiency and reducing costs," said Mike Sarasti, the City of Miami's Chief Information Officer and Director of DoIT. Their most recent addition, the City of Hollywood, FL, is the second largest city in Broward County. The Gridics platform aims to make it easier for residents, investors and developers to do business and interact with the city to get the information they need as efficiently as possible. "These new tools developed by Gridics allow Hollywood users to easily and quickly see the City landscape and the options available to them for building and development," sas Raelin Storey, City of Hollywood Director of Communications, Marketing and Economic Development. The City of Miami Beach, FL, recently announced the start of a zoning code rewrite and turned to the Gridics platform to visualize their existing code in 3D via the Gridics MuniMap to be able to make it easier to visually convey to citizens and stakeholders the proposed code changes while improving citizen information access in the meantime. "Gridics developed cutting edge technology that facilitates analysis of a city's zoning ordinance and allows for the visualization of changes in a built environment," says Carmen Sanchez, Deputy Planning Director, Miami Beach. In addition to the larger Florida cities above, Gridics has also been adopted by Coral Gables, North Miami, Winter Haven and the Village of Balharbour. "It was important to us to ensure we could service cities large and small. We've designed and built a next generation online zoning information platform that is affordable and easy to implement," says Doyle. "Our mission is to help build better cities and we're doing that by arming cities with in-depth zoning and development capacity data for every parcel in their city for the first time ever," says Jason Doyle, CEO of Gridics. "The old way to determine how zoning applies to a specific property requires citizens and developers to read through the zoning text and try to figure out how the various rules apply to their property. Most give up and contact city staff. We bridged that gap with our technology, making it easier for developers and citizens to get the zoning data they need via self-service apps, freeing up resource constrained staff. Without a zoning property record database for every parcel in your city, it's like needing to ask for directions to go anywhere versus using the GPS map on your smartphone," says Doyle. About Gridics: Gridics provides real estate data and software applications for cities and counties in the area of zoning and economic development. For more information, visit www.gridics.com . Contact: Austin Rhoads 757-777-7406 304939@email4pr.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/florida-cities-turn-to-gridics-to-digitize-parcel-level-zoning--housing-data-301245209.html SOURCE Gridics LLC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Doctors in Zimbabwe say they are worried about the slow pace of the country's COVID-19 vaccination program for front line workers. Health workers trickle in to Wilkins Hospital, the countrys main COVID-19 vaccination center, to get the shots that will protect them from the deadly disease. But the statistics are not that encouraging. As of Thursday, fewer than 36,000 people had received shots in the first phase of Zimbabwes campaign to vaccinate front line workers like doctors and nurses. Zimbabwe received a donation of 200,000 vaccine doses from the Chinese company Sinopharm in February. But Dr. Johannes Marisa said some health workers are skeptical of the Sinopharm vaccine, which is still in the final stages of testing. They are concerned that they may develop some unknown side effects as the drug is in stage three of the clinical trials. So that is one thing that is of great concerns. The second thing which people are complaining about is lack of health education. There hasnt been much of education in terms of the benefits, in terms of the side effects, he said. Some health workers who hesitated at first have changed their minds. They are getting inoculated with the Sinopharm vaccine, which Zimbabwe's government says has an efficacy rate of between 76 and 86%. Trevor Mushowe is a pharmacist who got vaccinated Thursday. I decided to come to today and take a shot and do my part to protect myself and to protect other people from contracting and spreading of the COVID-19 virus, said Mushowe. Still, a survey by Zimbabwes College of Public Health Physicians says 49% of Zimbabweans do not trust that President Emmerson Mnangagwas government will provide them with a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine. Dr. Norman Matara from Zimbabwe Association for Doctors for Human Rights said that partly explains the low acceptance of the Sinopharm vaccine by health workers. We need the minister of health to have an effective communication department such that people are given information regarding this vaccine, about its safety, its effectiveness, and dispel all those myths and misconceptions which are surrounding this vaccine. Some people have chronic illnesses, some people are above 60 and there were pamphlets flying on social media saying such people cannot have vaccines," he said. "We need those questions being addressed. We also need the government to rein in on some political or religious leaders who are publicly going against vaccinations. We cannot have people talking negative things about the vaccination when there is no scientific basis for that. Monica Mutsvangwa, Zimbabwe Information Minister told journalists this week that the vaccination program is well on course and the government expects to receive more vaccine doses from abroad. Progress has been registered in receiving the second donation of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China, a donation of 75,000 doses of the inactivated Covaxin from India, and another donation of 20,000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine from Russia, she said. Zimbabwe's government plans to immunize 60 percent of the country's estimated 14 million people, in hopes of achieving herd immunity by end of the year. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Roughly 41,000 non-South Carolina residents have gotten a vaccine within the borders of the Palmetto State, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Considered a small portion of the total vaccine doses doled out here, the health agency says it doesn't plan to step in and stop non-residents from being vaccinated against COVID-19. On the flipside, DHEC also says it has knowledge of about 15,000 South Carolina residents getting vaccine doses outside state lines. Those numbers represent 3 percent of the nearly 1.3 million doses of the vaccine given in South Carolina. DHEC first started publishing demographic information about who has gotten a vaccine shot in mid-February, and has added data to its online dashboard over recent weeks. A spokeswoman for the agency said, generally speaking, North Carolina and Georgia residents are mostly receiving vaccines in South Carolina counties that share a border with their states suggesting they may live or work close by. Nick Davidson, senior deputy for public health at DHEC, said March 10 the agency is not considering any requirement that vaccine recipients provide proof of residency. Davidson said it is important not to create barriers to vaccination, and stressed the health agency is trying to make the process as simple as possible. "This illness knows no borders," Davidson said. "We're trying to protect everyone." Neighboring states have taken somewhat harder tacks. A few weeks ago, North Carolina health officials said it is acceptable to deny visitors a vaccine if they don't live or work in the state, according to the Raleigh news station WRAL. Meanwhile, Georgia Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey has said vaccine tourism is "irresponsible and selfish." As of March 11, about 17,000 North Carolina residents and about 5,000 Georgia residents had gotten vaccines in South Carolina. About 20,000 recipients listed a different state. Statewide numbers New cases reported: 359 confirmed, 184 probable. Total cases in S.C.: 452,004 confirmed, 77,388 probable. Percent positive: 6.4 percent. New deaths reported: 38 confirmed, 7 probable. Total deaths in S.C.: 7,803 confirmed, 1,019 probable. Sign up for our new health newsletter The best of health, hospital and science coverage in South Carolina, delivered to your inbox weekly. Email Sign Up! Percent of ICU beds filled: 71 percent. How does S.C. rank in vaccines administered per 100,000 people? 42nd as of March 10, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hardest-hit areas In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Richland County, 42: Greenville County, 41: and Charleston County, 24, saw the highest totals. What about the tri-county? Charleston County had 24 new cases on March 11, while Berkeley had 15 and Dorchester had 16. Deaths Seven of the new confirmed deaths reported were people age 35 to 64 and 31 were in patients age 65 and older. Hospitalizations Of the 595 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of March 11, 163 were in the ICU and 62 were using ventilators. What do experts say? The CDC released new guidance this week about what people who have been vaccinated can safely do. The news that people who have been fully vaccinated can gather together in small groups was one of the new CDC recommendations that gave the public a much-needed reason to be excited. Dr. Jane Kelly, assistant state epidemiologist at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, said March 10 that in order to be considered fully vaccinated, individuals need to wait two weeks after they finish their doses. COLUMBUS, Ohio - State medical marijuana regulators must end more than a year of inaction and decide whether to allow a grower to expand its operations, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled. Akron-based Fire Rock Ltd. had asked the Ohio Department of Commerce one of three state agencies involved in regulating the medical marijuana program -- in February 2020 to expand its facility beyond the current cultivation area of 3,000 feet. It argued that it lacked the ability to produce enough product to meet demand. After receiving no response from the department, the cultivator had asked the court to instruct the department to make a ruling. In an opinion Thursday, the majority of the court ruled that the Department of Commerce did not have a right to take no action on Fire Rocks application. The Department of Commerce had argued to the court that it could request applications for expansion if it deems the market requires an increased supply of medical marijuana. Since the departments director did not seek more applications, it wasnt under any obligation to rule on Fire Rocks request, it argued. But the court disagreed with the department, saying the departments argument does not square with the text of its regulations. Chief Justice Maureen OConnor and Justices Patrick F. Fischer, R. Patrick DeWine, Michael P. Donnelly, Melody J. Stewart and Jennifer Brunner joined the opinion. Justice Sharon L. Kennedy did not participate in the case. In Fire Rocks request to expand, it included actual and projected sales data and a floor plan and proposed construction timeline. Fire Rock also sent several letters from dispensaries that purchased its marijuana and urged the department to approve the application, according to the Supreme Courts decision. It didnt receive a response for over four months. Fire Rock asked the department to respond. In June, the department explained it hadnt solicited expansion requests and wasnt going to take any action on Fire Rocks application. The cultivator repeated its request a month later and in September, asked the Supreme Court to order the department to approve or deny its application. At issue in the case were regulations for expanding the size of medical marijuana cultivation operations, the court concluded. When the Ohio General Assembly legalized the state-controlled medical cannabis program in 2016, it gave the Department of Commerce the authority to make rules to regulate the program, issue licenses to cultivators, processors and testers. Under the department rules, its director or the directors designee may approve expansion of a cultivation area at his or her discretion. The rule permits a cultivator to submit an expansion application and gives the department reasonable time to review and approve or deny it, the courts decision noted. Rules also say the department may request expansion plans from existing cultivators if its necessary to meet demand for medical marijuana. The department argued that this part of the rules allowed it to solicit expansion requests, instead of accepting unsolicited ones. The court disagreed, determining nothing in the rules says that approval must follow a department-initiated request for an expansion application. Other coverage: State may lift the cap on the number of Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries Cleveland coronavirus mass vaccination signup to begin Thursday morning Ohio reports 1,868 new coronavirus cases: Wednesday update 2 pop-up coronavirus mass vaccination clinics to open in Columbus, Cincinnati -- offering 50,000 doses Ohio reports 1,893 new coronavirus cases; 2 million people have now had first vax dose: Tuesday update Read Gov. Mike DeWines proclamation of a day of remembrance of those who died of the coronavirus Beginning Thursday, Ohioans age 50 and older will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine From left: University of Canterbury researchers postdoctoral fellow Dr Fiona Given and Associate Professor Deborah Crittenden at the Biomolecular Interaction Centre. Credit: University of Canterbury Anyone who's experienced a sharp swab up the nose and a tense, isolated wait for results will surely be interested in a pain-free COVID test with a speedy result delivered in minutes, not days. A new study led by University of Canterbury (UC) researchers at the Biomolecular Interaction Centre, along with Callaghan Innovation's Protein Science and Engineering team and MacDiarmid Institute researchers from Massey University, has shown it may be possible to detect COVID-19 in as little as five minutes, thanks to a simple breath test. "We've developed a new approach to detecting COVID-19 viral proteins that is sensitive and accurate enough to directly detect coronavirus particles at biologically relevant levels, specifically in breath or saliva samples," says the paper's co-author, UC biochemist Associate Professor Deborah Crittenden. The new scientific paper, "Optical Detection of CoV-SARS-2 Viral Proteins to Sub-Picomolar Concentrations," was published recently in ACS Omega, a journal of the American Chemical Society. Associate Professor Crittenden, of UC's School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, brought together the MacDiarmid Institute's expertise in sensing measurements, Callaghan Innovation's ability to make the target protein, and the biochemical analysis skills of researchers within UC's Biomolecular Interaction Centre. The result is a proof of principle for a new COVID-sensing test that could dramatically decrease turn-around times for testing, and increase the volume of tests that can be performed. "Unlike other proposed COVID breath-testing technologies, this test directly detects the COVID spike protein antigen and so is expected to be as accurate as the current gold standard lab-based approach," Dr. Crittenden says. The research was motivated and made possible by the COVID-19 pandemic, as it allowed resource that would have been allocated elsewhere to be directed to the study, following the national lockdown in March and April 2020. "Over lockdown, we started brainstorming how we could adapt existing biomolecular sensing approaches to detecting COVID. The key insight is that you need a 'recognition element' that specifically and selectively binds to part of the virusin our case, the spike protein," Dr. Crittenden says. "The first thing we tried was part of the ACE2 receptor to which the virus is known to bind but it was too hard to make enough of it. We then discovered a paper in the literature about non-helical DNA sequences that were evolved to bind to the spike protein, and then built them into a range of different sensing systems, and tested how well they worked." What does this mean for COVID detection in New Zealand? "If developed and commercialized, we could have near-immediate point of use/care COVID-testing with the same accuracy as current gold standard lab tests. One could imagine having these devices at all border facilities, such as airports, ports, and MIQ facilities, for example," Dr. Crittenden says. Are there any plans to implement/commercialize the test? "We'd love to hear from other scientists and research engineers with expertise in nanomaterial design for point-of-use surface-enhanced Raman scattering applications." What are the next steps? "We will continue developing this as a 'platform technology' for other sensing applications, for example, rapid detection of other pathogens or environmental pollutants. In future, if other pathogens emerge, it would be really useful to be able to use what we have learned to roll out real-time sensors/diagnostics a lot more quickly." More information: Tamsyn Stanborough et al. Optical Detection of CoV-SARS-2 Viral Proteins to Sub-Picomolar Concentrations, ACS Omega (2021). Journal information: ACS Omega Tamsyn Stanborough et al. Optical Detection of CoV-SARS-2 Viral Proteins to Sub-Picomolar Concentrations,(2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c00008 EAST ALTON There has been a slight change of plans to the planned demolition of the Dynegy smokestacks on Sunday. East Alton Fire Chief Tim Quigley said that a contingency plan was ordered because of high wind speeds anticipated Sunday, March 14. The investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) at a meeting on Tuesday, March 9, satisfied the complaint of the defender and canceled the detective's decision to terminate the pretrial investigation in criminal proceedings against the former President of Ukraine, the press service of HACC reports. "Having heard the participants in the process, the investigating judge came to the conclusion that it is impossible to establish the motives of the investigation from the content of the contested decision for the need to apply for international legal assistance in criminal proceedings," the message says. It is noted that in accordance with Part 5 of Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the decision of the investigator or prosecutor consists of an introductory, motivating and operative parts. At the same time, the motivation part must contain information about the content of the circumstances that are the grounds for the adoption of the decision, and the reasons for the adoption of the decision, their justification and references to the provisions of this Code. Since the decision of a detective is a procedural decision in a specific criminal proceeding with a certain subject of evidence, the decision to terminate criminal proceedings must contain information relevant to the circumstances of the criminal offense and stated in the suspicion. "The detective in the court session did not provide any documents from which it is possible to establish the execution of which procedural actions the request is directed within the framework of international cooperation. Consequently, the investigating judge does not have the opportunity to establish which circumstances the pretrial investigation body intends to confirm or deny and how they correlate with the circumstances of the criminal offense, which the former president of Ukraine is suspected of committing," the HACC stressed. New Delhi: A court in South Korea has sentenced Samsung's billionaire heir-apparent Lee Jae-yong to five years in prison for corruption. Mr Lee was charged with bribery in a scandal that also saw the impeachment of South Korea's former president. The case has led to a feeling of anger and deceit among the public against South Korea's biggest companies, known as chaebols. Mr Lee, who denied all charges, had faced a jail sentence of up to 12 years. Jay Y Lee, the heir apparent to the world's largest smartphone maker had been detained since February on a string of corruption charges. These included including bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas. He was accused of giving donations worth 41bn won to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of South Korea's former President Park Geun-hye, in return for political favours. A lawyer for Mr Lee said they will appeal against the decision. "We are confident the ruling will be overturned," lawyer Song Wu-cheol told reporters after the ruling, according to Reuters For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) will check the circumstances of the vote on the ratification of the "Kharkiv Agreements" in 2010 and, if there are grounds, criminal proceedings will be opened under the article on treason against deputies of the VI convocation, said Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine. "There is a separate instruction from the SBU to find out in what way these 236 deputies voted on this issue. If the SBU considers it necessary, it should open (proceedings) under Article 111 of the Criminal Code (treason) to the relevant persons," Danilov said at a briefing in Kyiv at the end of the meeting of the NSDC on Thursday. According to him, the topic of voting by the deputies arose during the discussion of the strategy of de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. "In preparation for this issue, the NSDC staff studied the documents that we have. In 2008, the NSDC decided that within two months the Cabinet was to propose a bill on the settlement of the issue of the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in 2017," said the secretary of the NSDC. In this context, he continued: "Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to us, this bill was not developed. And we believe that it was the first brick that further began to destroy our entire security system and led to the emergence in 2010 called 'Kharkiv agreements', which in an unprecedented short period of time, four days after their signing in Kharkiv, were ratified by the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada." The NSDC Secretary recalled that the parliamentary vote on this issue was on April 27, 2010. He drew attention to the fact that some of the people who voted on this issue "continue to be engaged in Ukrainian politics." "The consequence of that vote is the occupied Crimea and big problems in Donetsk and Luhansk regions," he added. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuvation Bio Inc. (NYSE: NUVB), a biopharmaceutical company tackling some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology by developing differentiated and novel therapeutic candidates, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to NUV-422, a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 2/4/6 inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with malignant gliomas. The FDA's Office of Orphan Drug Products grants Orphan Drug Designation to support drug candidates in development for underserved patient populations or rare disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Orphan Drug Designation qualifies a candidate for various development incentives, including tax credits for eligible clinical trials, waiver of application fees and market exclusivity for seven years upon FDA approval. "We are pleased to receive the FDA's Orphan Drug Designation, which underscores the potential of NUV-422 to address the significant unmet need of patients with high-grade gliomas," said David Hung, M.D., founder and chief executive officer of Nuvation Bio. "We look forward to continuing the development of NUV-422 through our ongoing Phase 1/2 study." Patient enrollment and dosing is ongoing in the Phase 1/2 study of NUV-422 in adult patients with recurrent or refractory high-grade gliomas, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The Phase 1 dose escalation part of the study is designed to evaluate safety and tolerability, as well as to determine a recommended Phase 2 dose based on the tolerability profile and pharmacokinetic properties of NUV-422. The Phase 2 dose expansion part of the study is expected to initially focus on patients with high-grade gliomas and is designed to evaluate overall response rate, duration of response and survival. Data from the Phase 1 portion of this study is expected in 2022. About NUV-422 NUV-422 is a selective small molecule resulting from Nuvation Bio's cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor program. CDK4/6 inhibitors are known clinical entities with proven efficacy, but cancer cells can evade these treatments by increasing signaling through CDK2. Inhibition of CDK2 in addition to CDK4/6 cuts off the tumor's natural escape route. NUV-422 is a potent inhibitor of CDK 2, 4 and 6. Preclinical studies have shown that NUV-422 has favorable blood-brain barrier penetration. About High-Grade Gliomas Primary tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) remain among the most difficult to treat, with a 5-year overall survival of approximately 35%. Gliomas, which begin in the glial or supportive tissue, represent 75% of malignant primary brain tumors in adults. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) accounts for 50% to 70% of all gliomas. More than 10,000 people in the United States each year are diagnosed with this aggressive, difficult-to-treat brain tumor.i No treatment advances have been made in GBM since 2009 when bevacizumab was approved by the FDA. Temozolomide and radiation are considered the current standard of care for newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma.ii About Nuvation Bio Nuvation Bio is a biopharmaceutical company tackling some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology by developing differentiated and novel therapeutic candidates. Nuvation Bio's proprietary portfolio includes six novel and mechanistically distinct oncology therapeutic product candidates, each targeting some of the most difficult-to-treat types of cancer. Nuvation Bio was founded in 2018 by biopharma industry veteran David Hung, M.D., who previously founded Medivation, Inc., which brought to patients one of the world's leading prostate cancer medicines. Nuvation Bio has offices in New York and San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.nuvationbio.com. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "outlook" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential therapeutic benefit of Nuvation Bio's product candidates and the expected timing of clinical trial data. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the management team of Nuvation Bio and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Nuvation Bio. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those factors discussed in the proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC on January 20, 2021, under the heading "Risk Factors," and other documents that Nuvation Bio has filed or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or Nuvation Bio's assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Nuvation Bio does not presently know, or that Nuvation Bio currently believes are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Nuvation Bio's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Nuvation Bio anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Nuvation Bio's assessments to change. However, while Nuvation Bio may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Nuvation Bio specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Nuvation Bio's assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements. i Tachamo N, Nazir S, Lohani S, Le B, Alweis R. Glioblastoma management: challenges in the elderly population. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2016; 6(5). Published online 2016 Oct 26. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/jchimp.v6.32372 . Accessed October 13, 2020. ii Fernandes C, Costa A, Osorio L, et al. Current standards of care in glioblastoma. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK469987/. Accessed October 13, 2020. Nuvation Bio Investor Contact: [email protected] Nuvation Bio Media Contact: Argot Partners Leo Vartorella [email protected] SOURCE Nuvation Bio, Inc. Related Links www.nuvationbio.com GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Criminal jury trials in Genesee County Circuit Court have once again been delayed. The new delay will push the restart of criminal jury trials back to the end of April. Circuit Court judges met Wednesday, March 10 to discuss when trials could realistically resume, landing on April 28 as the next tentative start date, Circuit Court Administrator Barbara Menear said. Jury trials had been set to restart March 2, but after COVID-19 cases rose in the county, the date was tentatively pushed back to March 10. Related: Restart of Genesee County Circuit Court jury trials delayed after county sees coronavirus spike It is not realistic to continue delaying trials week to week while coordinating jurors and planning operations, Menear told MLive-The Flint Journal. The Circuit Court must work with the State Court Administrative Office guidelines when determining when to reopen courts for criminal trials. The numbers that were up against with COVID, theyre not acceptable right now of course Menear said. We just have to give it some time. There are so many vaccines out there and things are getting better, but its just gotta roll for a while. Related: Backlog swells to hundreds of cases in Genesee County due to pandemic Two jury selections for jury trials in the courtrooms of Judge Celeste D. Bell and Judge David J. Newblatt have been scheduled to take place one at a time when the trials restart, Chief Judge Duncan Beagle said. The selections for those trials have now been postponed. The last jury trials in Genesee County Circuit Court were held in September. Trials have been on hold since that time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the backlog of cases in the court is building. RELATED: Michigan courts brace for jury trials to start again after pandemic creates massive backlog More than 700 felony cases are currently pending in Genesee County Circuit Court. Of those, 141 cases have been pending for more than a year with a defendant in the county jail. As a result, the Genesee County Jail currently houses 113 defendants who have been awaiting their court date since COVID-19 shut down jury trials last March, according to Beagle. Read more on MLive: No criminal charges issued in fatal cannon explosion at Michigan baby shower Special investigate unit focusing on getting firearms, narcotics off Flint streets New facility to provide education for any former Genesee County Jail inmate with a felony See drugs, guns, ammo and cash seized by Flint police special investigative unit SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Modal , which provides e-commerce to the world's leading automotive dealers and brands, today announced that Brandee Sanders, the company's Vice President of Marketing, will speak at Reuters Automotive Retail 2021 . She will join fellow industry thought leaders as a panelist for "The Seamless Customer Journey" live webinar on March 11th at 10am EST/4pm CET. "As the automotive retail and e-commerce world is increasingly transacted through digital products, it is becoming an absolute priority for leaders to be able to make data-informed decisions and move quickly to meet ever-shifting shopper and inventory demands, in order to have a true holistic view of their consumers," said Sanders. "With Modal's simple implementation and robust data insights, we are poised to transform the way thousands of dealerships and brands sell their cars, so I am thrilled to join Reuters Automotive Retail Summit to speak about at this pivotal time in the industry's development and share how organizations can prioritize their customer journey to create a seamless, transparent, fully end-to-end buying experience for their consumers." During the live webinar, OEMs and Dealers will share how they are creating a 360-degree view of the customer to deliver the most connected experience both online and offline, from shop and explore to service. The panel will host four industry marketers to share how they are developing new models and adjusting to the customer of 2021 and beyond. Unsurprisingly, 2021 is the year where OEMs and Dealers focus on developing a world-class digital experience. Statistically, it has been proven that a customer's experience will impact their loyalty, spend, and sentiment towards a brand, and automotive is ramping up efforts to take on the 'Amazon' effect. Speakers include: Brandee Sanders , Vice President of Marketing, Modal , Vice President of Marketing, Modal Robert Skinner , Lead Technology Strategist, FordDirect , Lead Technology Strategist, FordDirect Andrew Pine , Global Director, Excite - CX, Porsche Cars North America , Global Director, Excite - CX, Porsche Cars North America David Green , Chief Technology Officer, Lynk & Co , Chief Technology Officer, Lynk & Co Moderator: Roger Lanctot , Director Automotive Connected Mobility, Strategy Analytics To register for The Seamless Customer Journey, sign up here . About Modal: Modal provides e-commerce to the world's leading automotive dealers and brands, empowering customers with transparent digital commerce that fits into their existing website and showroom experiences. Founded in 2015 in San Francisco by Aaron Krane, the company delivers contactless, optimized, and fully transacted online buying. For more information, visit modalup.com and follow them on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn . SOURCE Modal National People's Congress Spokesperson Zhang Yesui is seen on large screens during a video news conference, as a precaution for COVID-19 prevention in Beijing, China, on March 4, 2021. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Beijing Adopts Plan to Control Hong Kong Elections Chinas rubber-stamp legislature has approved a draft decision to change Hong Kongs electoral system, making it virtually impossible for the opposition to affect the outcome of elections. On March 11, the final day of the annual plenum of the National Peoples Congress (NPC), 2,895 delegates voted in favor of the electoral overhaul with zero against and one abstention. The electoral changes will further reduce democratic representation in the former British colony and introduce a mechanism to vet politicians loyalty to the Chinese regime and make sure that only patriots are allowed to rule Hong Kong. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the move the latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate in Hong Kong. This is the latest step by Beijing to hollow out the space for democratic debate in Hong Kong, and further undermine confidence and trust in China living up to its international responsibilities and legal obligations. https://t.co/8oohj0Q4tN Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) March 11, 2021 This can only further undermine confidence and trust in China living up to its international responsibilities and legal obligations, as a leading member of the international community, he said in a statement. Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, had called the proposed move the biggest step so far to obliterate Hong Kongs freedoms and aspirations for greater democracy under the rule of law. The measures will alter the size and composition of Hong Kongs legislature in favor of pro-Beijing politicians. Chris Patten, Hong Kongs last British governor, speaks at The Foreign Correspondents Club to promote his new book, in Hong Kong, on Sept. 19, 2017. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo) Currently, half of the 70 seats in the Legislative Council, known as LegCo, are directly elected. The other half of the body represents industries, unions, and professions and is largely stacked with pro-Beijing figures. Beijing will increase the size of the legislature to 90 seats, adding 20 unelected seats and shrinking the proportion of directly elected lawmakers. The electoral committee tasked with selecting the chief executive was also enlarged to 1,500 from 1,200 members, and was given new powers to select many of the legislators. A new mechanism will be set up to vet candidates and screen election winners behavior to make sure only those seen as patriots loyal to the Chinese Communist Party are allowed to rule Hong Kong. People, sitting on the ground, are arrested by police officers at a downtown street in Hong Kong, on Sept. 6, 2020. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo) Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam expressed her staunch support for the new measures and sincere gratitude to Beijing. The overhaul is aimed to get the city back on the right track, she said in a statement. Beijing had promised universal suffrage as an ultimate goal for Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law. But the regime has refused to grant more democracy to the city, and has instead been tightening its authoritarian grip following the imposition of a national security law in June 2020. On Feb. 28, the Hong Kong government charged 47 pro-democracy activists with conspiracy to commit subversion for their participation in an unofficial primary vote held by the pan-democracy camp in July 2020, ahead of the LegCo elections originally scheduled for September 2020. The objective behind the vote was for the camp to field the most promising candidates to run for legislative officeultimately with the goal to secure a majority or more than 35 seats in LegCo. People line up to vote in an unofficial primary for pro-democracy candidates ahead of legislative elections in September, in Hong Kong on July 12, 2020. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo) The Hong Kong government announced later that the elections would be postponed for one year. Patten said Beijing had broken all its promises. The Chinese Communist Party has shown the world once again that it cannot be trusted. It is a continuing and brutal danger to all who believe in free and open societies, he said. Benedict Rogers, a British human rights activist and chief executive of NGO Hong Kong Watch, again urged the UK government to take further actions against the Chinese regime. Magnitsky sanctions are now very long overdue, he wrote on Twitter. Eva Fu, Frank Fang, and Reuters contributed to this report. 1. Overview An R-Tree is a special index that is designed for doing range queries. R-Trees are most commonly used in geospatial systems where each entry is a rectangle with minimum and maximum X and Y coordinates. Given a query rectangle, an R-Tree is able to quickly find all entries that are contained within the query rectangle or which overlap the query rectangle. This idea is easily extended to three dimensions for use in CAD systems. R-Trees also find use in time-domain range look-ups. For example, suppose a database records the starting and ending times for a large number of events. A R-Tree is able to quickly find all events that were active at any time during a given time interval, or all events that started during a particular time interval, or all events that both started and ended within a given time interval. And so forth. The R-Tree concept originated with Toni Guttman: R-Trees: A Dynamic Index Structure for Spatial Searching, Proc. 1984 ACM SIGMOD International Conference on Management of Data, pp. 47-57. The implementation found in SQLite is a refinement of Guttman's original idea, commonly called "R*Trees", that was described by Norbert Beckmann, Hans-Peter Kriegel, Ralf Schneider, Bernhard Seeger: The R*-Tree: An Efficient and Robust Access Method for Points and Rectangles. SIGMOD Conference 1990: 322-331. 2. Compiling The R*Tree Module The source code to the SQLite R*Tree module is included as part of the amalgamation but is disabled by default. To enable the R*Tree module, simply compile with the SQLITE_ENABLE_RTREE C-preprocessor macro defined. With many compilers, this is accomplished by adding the option "-DSQLITE_ENABLE_RTREE=1" to the compiler command-line. 3. Using the R*Tree Module The SQLite R*Tree module is implemented as a virtual table. Each R*Tree index is a virtual table with an odd number of columns between 3 and 11. The first column is always a 64-bit signed integer primary key. The other columns are pairs, one pair per dimension, containing the minimum and maximum values for that dimension, respectively. A 1-dimensional R*Tree thus has 3 columns. A 2-dimensional R*Tree has 5 columns. A 3-dimensional R*Tree has 7 columns. A 4-dimensional R*Tree has 9 columns. And a 5-dimensional R*Tree has 11 columns. The SQLite R*Tree implementation does not support R*Trees wider than 5 dimensions. The first column of an SQLite R*Tree is similar to an integer primary key column of a normal SQLite table. It may only store a 64-bit signed integer value. Inserting a NULL value into this column causes SQLite to automatically generate a new unique primary key value. If an attempt is made to insert any other non-integer value into this column, the r-tree module silently converts it to an integer before writing it into the database. The min/max-value pair columns are stored as 32-bit floating point values for "rtree" virtual tables or as 32-bit signed integers in "rtree_i32" virtual tables. Unlike regular SQLite tables which can store data in a variety of datatypes and formats, the R*Tree rigidly enforce these storage types. If any other type of value is inserted into such a column, the r-tree module silently converts it to the required type before writing the new record to the database. 3.1. Creating An R*Tree Index A new R*Tree index is created as follows: CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE USING rtree(); The is the name your application chooses for the R*Tree index and is a comma separated list of between 3 and 11 columns. The virtual table creates three shadow tables to actually store its content. The names of these shadow tables are: _node _rowid _parent The shadow tables are ordinary SQLite data tables. You can query them directly if you like, though this unlikely to reveal anything particularly useful. And you can UPDATE, DELETE, INSERT or even DROP the shadow tables, though doing so will corrupt your R*Tree index. So it is best to simply ignore the shadow tables. Recognize that they hold your R*Tree index information and let it go as that. As an example, consider creating a two-dimensional R*Tree index for use in spatial queries: CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE demo_index USING rtree( id, -- Integer primary key minX, maxX, -- Minimum and maximum X coordinate minY, maxY -- Minimum and maximum Y coordinate ); 3.1.1. Column naming details In the argments to "rtree" in the CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE statement, the names of the columns are taken from the first token of each argument. All subsequent tokens within each argument are silently ignored. This means, for example, that if you try to give a column a type affinity or add a constraint such as UNIQUE or NOT NULL or DEFAULT to a column, those extra tokens are accepted as valid, but they do not change the behavior of the rtree. In an RTREE virtual table, the first column always has a type affinity of INTEGER and all other data columns have a type affinity of NUMERIC. Recommended practice is to omit any extra tokens in the rtree specification. Let each argument to "rtree" be a single ordinary label that is the name of the corresponding column, and omit all other tokens from the argument list. 3.2. Populating An R*Tree Index The usual INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE commands work on an R*Tree index just like on regular tables. So to insert some data into our sample R*Tree index, we can do something like this: INSERT INTO demo_index VALUES( 1, -- Primary key -- SQLite.org headquarters -80.7749, -80.7747, -- Longitude range 35.3776, 35.3778 -- Latitude range ); INSERT INTO demo_index VALUES( 2, -- NC 12th Congressional District in 2010 -81.0, -79.6, 35.0, 36.2 ); The entries above might represent (for example) a bounding box around the main office for SQLite.org and bounding box around the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina (prior to the 2011 redistricting) in which SQLite.org was located. 3.3. Querying An R*Tree Index Any valid query will work against an R*Tree index. But the R*Tree implementation is designed to make two kinds of queries especially efficient. First, queries against the primary key are efficient: SELECT * FROM demo_index WHERE id=1; Of course, an ordinary SQLite table will also do a query against its integer primary key efficiently, so the previous is no big deal. The real reason for using an R*Tree is so that you can efficiently do inequality queries against the coordinate ranges. To find all elements of the index that are contained within the vicinity of Charlotte, North Carolina, one might do: SELECT id FROM demo_index WHERE minX>=-81.08 AND maxX<=-80.58 AND minY>=35.00 AND maxY<=35.44; The query above would very quickly locate the id of 1 even if the R*Tree contained millions of entries. The previous is an example of a "contained-within" query. The R*Tree also supports "overlapping" queries. For example, to find all bounding boxes that overlap the Charlotte area: SELECT id FROM demo_index WHERE maxX>=-81.08 AND minX<=-80.58 AND maxY>=35.00 AND minY<=35.44; This second query would find both entry 1 (the SQLite.org office) which is entirely contained within the query box and also the 12th Congressional District which extends well outside the query box but still overlaps the query box. Note that it is not necessary for all coordinates in an R*Tree index to be constrained in order for the index search to be efficient. One might, for example, want to query all objects that overlap with the 35th parallel: SELECT id FROM demo_index WHERE maxY>=35.0 AND minY<=35.0; But, generally speaking, the more constraints that the R*Tree module has to work with, and the smaller the bounding box, the faster the results will come back. 3.4. Roundoff Error By default, coordinates are stored in an R*Tree using 32-bit floating point values. When a coordinate cannot be exactly represented by a 32-bit floating point number, the lower-bound coordinates are rounded down and the upper-bound coordinates are rounded up. Thus, bounding boxes might be slightly larger than specified, but will never be any smaller. This is exactly what is desired for doing the more common "overlapping" queries where the application wants to find every entry in the R*Tree that overlaps a query bounding box. Rounding the entry bounding boxes outward might cause a few extra entries to appears in an overlapping query if the edge of the entry bounding box corresponds to an edge of the query bounding box. But the overlapping query will never miss a valid table entry. However, for a "contained-within" style query, rounding the bounding boxes outward might cause some entries to be excluded from the result set if the edge of the entry bounding box corresponds to the edge of the query bounding box. To guard against this, applications should expand their contained-within query boxes slightly (by 0.000012%) by rounding down the lower coordinates and rounding up the top coordinates, in each dimension. 3.5. Reading And Writing At The Same Time It is the nature of the Guttman R-Tree algorithm that any write might radically restructure the tree, and in the process change the scan order of the nodes. For this reason, it is not generally possible to modify the R-Tree in the middle of a query of the R-Tree. Attempts to do so will fail with a SQLITE_LOCKED "database table is locked" error. So, for example, suppose an application runs one query against an R-Tree like this: SELECT id FROM demo_index WHERE maxY>=35.0 AND minY<=35.0; Then for each "id" value returned, suppose the application creates an UPDATE statement like the following and binds the "id" value returned against the "?1" parameter: UPDATE demo_index SET maxY=maxY+0.5 WHERE id=?1; Then the UPDATE might fail with an SQLITE_LOCKED error. The reason is that the initial query has not run to completion. It is remembering its place in the middle of a scan of the R-Tree. So an update to the R-Tree cannot be tolerated as this would disrupt the scan. It is also possible to express this kind of simultaneous read and write on an R-Tree within a single query, for example if an UPDATE statement tries to change the value of one row of the R-Tree based on a complicated query from another row of the same R-Tree, perhaps something like this: UPDATE demo_index SET maxY = (SELECT max(maxX) FROM demo_index AS x2 WHERE x2.maxY>demo_index.x2) WHERE maxY>=35.0 AND minY<=35.0; This is a limitation of the R-Tree extension only. Ordinary tables in SQLite are able to read and write at the same time. Other virtual tables might (or might not) also that capability. And R-Tree can appear to read and write at the same time in some circumstances, if it can figure out how to reliably run the query to completion before starting the update. But you shouldn't count on that for every query. Generally speaking, it is best to avoid running queries and updates to the same R-Tree at the same time. If you really need to update an R-Tree based on complex queries against the same R-Tree, it is best to run the complex queries first and store the results in a temporary table, then update the R-Tree based on the values stored in the temporary table. 4. Using R*Trees Effectively For SQLite versions prior to 3.24.0 (2018-06-04), the only information that an R*Tree index stores about an object is its integer ID and its bounding box. Additional information needs to be stored in separate tables and related to the R*Tree index using the primary key. For the example above, one might create an auxiliary table as follows: CREATE TABLE demo_data( id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, -- primary key objname TEXT, -- name of the object objtype TEXT, -- object type boundary BLOB -- detailed boundary of object ); In this example, the demo_data.boundary field is intended to hold some kind of binary representation of the precise boundaries of the object. The R*Tree index only holds an axis-aligned rectangular boundary for the object. The R*Tree boundary is just an approximation of the true object boundary. So what typically happens is that the R*Tree index is used to narrow a search down to a list of candidate objects and then more detailed and expensive computations are done on each candidate to find if the candidate truly meets the search criteria. Key Point: An R*Tree index does not normally provide the exact answer but merely reduces the set of potential answers from millions to dozens. Suppose the demo_data.boundary field holds some proprietary data description of a complex two-dimensional boundary for an object and suppose that the application has used the sqlite3_create_function() interface to created application-defined functions "contained_in" and "overlaps" accepting two demo_data.boundary objects and return true or false. One may assume that "contained_in" and "overlaps" are relatively slow functions that we do not want to invoke too frequently. Then an efficient way to find the name of all objects located within the North Carolina 12th District, one may be to run a query like this: SELECT objname FROM demo_data, demo_index WHERE demo_data.id=demo_index.id AND contained_in(demo_data.boundary, :boundary) AND minX>=-81.0 AND maxX<=-79.6 AND minY>=35.0 AND maxY<=36.2; In the query above, one would presumably bind the binary BLOB description of the precise boundary of the 12th district to the ":boundary" parameter. Notice how the query above works: The R*Tree index runs in the outer loop to find entries that are contained within the bounding box of longitude -81..-79.6 and latitude 35.0..36.2. For each object identifier found, SQLite looks up the corresponding entry in the demo_data table. It then uses the boundary field from the demo_data table as a parameter to the contained_in() function and if that function returns true, the objname field from the demo_data table is returned as the next row of query result. One would get the same answer without the use of the R*Tree index using the following simpler query: SELECT objname FROM demo_data WHERE contained_in(demo_data.boundary, :boundary); The problem with this latter query is that it must apply the contained_in() function to millions of entries in the demo_data table. The use of the R*Tree in the penultimate query reduces the number of calls to contained_in() function to a small subset of the entire table. The R*Tree index did not find the exact answer itself, it merely limited the search space. 4.1. Auxiliary Columns Beginning with SQLite version 3.24.0 (2018-06-04), r-tree tables can have auxiliary columns that store arbitrary data. Auxiliary columns can be used in place of secondary tables such as "demo_data". Auxiliary columns are marked with a "+" symbol before the column name. Auxiliary columns must come after all of the coordinate boundary columns. There is a limit of no more than 100 auxiliary columns. The following example shows an r-tree table with auxiliary columns that is equivalent to the two tables "demo_index" and "demo_data" above: CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE demo_index2 USING rtree( id, -- Integer primary key minX, maxX, -- Minimum and maximum X coordinate minY, maxY, -- Minimum and maximum Y coordinate +objname TEXT, -- name of the object +objtype TEXT, -- object type +boundary BLOB -- detailed boundary of object ); By combining location data and related information into the same table, auxiliary columns can provide a cleaner model and reduce the need to joins. For example, the earlier join between demo_index and demo_data can now be written as a simple query, like this: SELECT objname FROM demo_index2 WHERE contained_in(boundary, :boundary) AND minX>=-81.0 AND maxX<=-79.6 AND minY>=35.0 AND maxY>=36.2; 4.1.1. Limitations For auxiliary columns, only the name of the column matters. The type affinity is ignored. Constraints such as NOT NULL, UNIQUE, REFERENCES, or CHECK are also ignored. However, future versions of SQLite might start paying attention to the type affinity and constraints, so users of auxiliary columns are advised to leave both blank, to avoid future compatibility problems. 5. Integer-Valued R-Trees The default virtual table ("rtree") normally stores coordinates as single-precision (4-byte) floating point numbers. If integer coordinates are desired, declare the table using "rtree_i32" instead: CREATE VIRTUAL TABLE intrtree USING rtree_i32(id,x0,x1,y0,y1,z0,z1); An rtree_i32 stores coordinates as 32-bit signed integers. But it still using floating point computations internally as part of the r-tree algorithm. 6. Custom R-Tree Queries By using standard SQL expressions in the WHERE clause of a SELECT query, a programmer can query for all R*Tree entries that intersect with or are contained within a particular bounding-box. Custom R*Tree queries, using the MATCH operator in the WHERE clause of a SELECT, allow the programmer to query for the set of R*Tree entries that intersect any arbitrary region or shape, not just a box. This capability is useful, for example, in computing the subset of objects in the R*Tree that are visible from a camera positioned in 3-D space. Regions for custom R*Tree queries are defined by R*Tree geometry callbacks implemented by the application and registered with SQLite via a call to one of the following two APIs: int sqlite3_rtree_query_callback( sqlite3 *db, const char *zQueryFunc, int (*xQueryFunc)(sqlite3_rtree_query_info*), void *pContext, void (*xDestructor)(void*) ); int sqlite3_rtree_geometry_callback( sqlite3 *db, const char *zGeom, int (*xGeom)(sqlite3_rtree_geometry *, int nCoord, double *aCoord, int *pRes), void *pContext ); The sqlite3_rtree_query_callback() became available with SQLite version 3.8.5 (2014-06-04) and is the preferred interface. The sqlite3_rtree_geometry_callback() is an older and less flexible interface that is supported for backwards compatibility. A call to one of the above APIs creates a new SQL function named by the second parameter (zQueryFunc or zGeom). When that SQL function appears on the right-hand side of the MATCH operator and the left-hand side of the MATCH operator is any column in the R*Tree virtual table, then the callback defined by the third argument (xQueryFunc or xGeom) is invoked to determine if a particular object or subtree overlaps the desired region. For example, a query like the following might be used to find all R*Tree entries that overlap with a circle centered a 45.3,22.9 with a radius of 5.0: SELECT id FROM demo_index WHERE id MATCH circle(45.3, 22.9, 5.0) The SQL syntax for custom queries is the same regardless of which interface, sqlite3_rtree_geometry_callback() or sqlite3_rtree_query_callback(), is used to register the SQL function. However, the newer query-style callbacks give the application greater control over how the query proceeds. 6.1. The Legacy xGeom Callback The legacy xGeom callback is invoked with four arguments. The first argument is a pointer to an sqlite3_rtree_geometry structure which provides information about how the SQL function was invoked. The second argument is the number of coordinates in each r-tree entry, and is always the same for any given R*Tree. The number of coordinates is 2 for a 1-dimensional R*Tree, 4 for a 2-dimensional R*Tree, 6 for a 3-dimensional R*Tree, and so forth. The third argument, aCoord[], is an array of nCoord coordinates that defines a bounding box to be tested. The last argument is a pointer into which the callback result should be written. The result is zero if the bounding-box defined by aCoord[] is completely outside the region defined by the xGeom callback and the result is non-zero if the bounding-box is inside or overlaps with the xGeom region. The xGeom callback should normally return SQLITE_OK. If xGeom returns anything other than SQLITE_OK, then the r-tree query will abort with an error. The sqlite3_rtree_geometry structure that the first argument to the xGeom callback points to has a structure shown below. The exact same sqlite3_rtree_geometry structure is used for every callback for same MATCH operator in the same query. The contents of the sqlite3_rtree_geometry structure are initialized by SQLite but are not subsequently modified. The callback is free to make changes to the pUser and xDelUser elements of the structure if desired. typedef struct sqlite3_rtree_geometry sqlite3_rtree_geometry; struct sqlite3_rtree_geometry { void *pContext; /* Copy of pContext passed to s_r_g_c() */ int nParam; /* Size of array aParam */ double *aParam; /* Parameters passed to SQL geom function */ void *pUser; /* Callback implementation user data */ void (*xDelUser)(void *); /* Called by SQLite to clean up pUser */ }; The pContext member of the sqlite3_rtree_geometry structure is always set to a copy of the pContext argument passed to sqlite3_rtree_geometry_callback() when the callback is registered. The aParam[] array (size nParam) contains the parameter values passed to the SQL function on the right-hand side of the MATCH operator. In the example "circle" query above, nParam would be set to 3 and the aParam[] array would contain the three values 45.3, 22.9 and 5.0. The pUser and xDelUser members of the sqlite3_rtree_geometry structure are initially set to NULL. The pUser variable may be set by the callback implementation to any arbitrary value that may be useful to subsequent invocations of the callback within the same query (for example, a pointer to a complicated data structure used to test for region intersection). If the xDelUser variable is set to a non-NULL value, then after the query has finished running SQLite automatically invokes it with the value of the pUser variable as the only argument. In other words, xDelUser may be set to a destructor function for the pUser value. The xGeom callback always does a depth-first search of the r-tree. 6.2. The New xQueryFunc Callback The newer xQueryFunc callback receives more information from the r-tree query engine on each call, and it sends more information back to the query engine before it returns. To help keep the interface manageable, the xQueryFunc callback sends and receives information from the query engine as fields in the sqlite3_rtree_query_info structure: struct sqlite3_rtree_query_info { void *pContext; /* pContext from when function registered */ int nParam; /* Number of function parameters */ sqlite3_rtree_dbl *aParam; /* value of function parameters */ void *pUser; /* callback can use this, if desired */ void (*xDelUser)(void*); /* function to free pUser */ sqlite3_rtree_dbl *aCoord; /* Coordinates of node or entry to check */ unsigned int *anQueue; /* Number of pending entries in the queue */ int nCoord; /* Number of coordinates */ int iLevel; /* Level of current node or entry */ int mxLevel; /* The largest iLevel value in the tree */ sqlite3_int64 iRowid; /* Rowid for current entry */ sqlite3_rtree_dbl rParentScore; /* Score of parent node */ int eParentWithin; /* Visibility of parent node */ int eWithin; /* OUT: Visiblity */ sqlite3_rtree_dbl rScore; /* OUT: Write the score here */ /* The following fields are only available in 3.8.11 and later */ sqlite3_value **apSqlParam; /* Original SQL values of parameters */ }; The first five fields of the sqlite3_rtree_query_info structure are identical to the sqlite3_rtree_geometry structure, and have exactly the same meaning. The sqlite3_rtree_query_info structure also contains nCoord and aCoord fields which have the same meaning as the parameter of the same name in the xGeom callback. The xQueryFunc must set the eWithin field of sqlite3_rtree_query_info to one of the values NOT_WITHIN, PARTLY_WITHIN, or FULLY_WITHIN depending on whether or not the bounding box defined by aCoord[] is completely outside the region, overlaps the region, or is completely inside the region, respectively. In addition, the xQueryFunc must set the rScore field to a non-negative value that indicates the order in which subtrees and entries of the query should be analyzed and returned. Smaller scores are processed first. As its name implies, an R*Tree is organized as a tree. Each node of the tree is a bounding box. The root of the tree is a bounding box that encapsulates all elements of the tree. Beneath the root are a number of subtrees (typically 20 or more) each with their own smaller bounding boxes and each containing some subset of the R*Tree entries. The subtrees may have sub-subtrees, and so forth until finally one reaches the leaves of the tree which are the actual R*Tree entries. An R*Tree query is initialized by making the root node the only entry in a priority queue sorted by rScore. The query proceeds by extracting the entry from the priority queue that has the lowest score. If that entry is a leaf (meaning that it is an actual R*Tree entry and not a subtree) then that entry is returned as one row of the query result. If the extracted priority queue entry is a node (a subtree), then sub-subtrees or leaves contained within that entry are passed to the xQueryFunc callback, one by one. Those subelements for which the xQueryFunc callback sets eWithin to PARTLY_WITHIN or FULLY_WITHIN are added to the priority queue using the score supplied by the callback. Subelements that return NOT_WITHIN are discarded. The query runs until the priority queue is empty. Every leaf entry and node (subtree) within the R*Tree has an integer "level". The leaves have a level of 0. The first containing subtree of the leaves has a level of 1. The root of the R*Tree has the largest level value. The mxLevel entry in the sqlite3_rtree_query_info structure is the level value for the root of the R*Tree. The iLevel entry in sqlite3_rtree_query_info gives the level for the object being interrogated. Most R*Tree queries use a depth-first search. This is accomplished by setting the rScore equal to iLevel. A depth-first search is usually preferred since it minimizes the number of elements in the priority queue, which reduces memory requirements and speeds processing. However, some application may prefer a breadth-first search, which can be accomplished by setting rScore to mxLevel-iLevel. By creating more complex formulas for rScore, applications can exercise detailed control over the order in which subtree are searched and leaf R*Tree entries are returned. For example, in an application with many millions of R*Tree entries, the rScore might be arranged so that the largest or most significant entries are returned first, allowing the application to display the most important information quickly, and filling in smaller and less important details as they become available. Other information fields of the sqlite3_rtree_query_info structure are available for use by the xQueryFunc callback, if desired. The iRowid field is the rowid (the first of the 3 to 11 columns in the R*Tree) for the element being considered. iRowid is only valid for leaves. The eParentWithin and rParentScore values are copies of the eWithin and rScore values from the containing subtree of the current row. The anQueue field is an array of mxLevel+1 unsigned integers that tell the current number of elements in the priority queue at each level. 6.3. Additional Considerations for Custom Queries The MATCH operator of a custom R*Tree query function must be a top-level AND-connected term of the WHERE clause, or else it will not be usable by the R*Tree query optimizer and the query will not be runnable. If the MATCH operator is connected to other terms of the WHERE clause via an OR operator, for example, the query will fail with an error. Two or more MATCH operators are allowed in the same WHERE clause, as long as they are connected by AND operators. However, the R*Tree query engine only contains a single priority queue. The priority assigned to each node in the search is the lowest priority returned by any of the MATCH operators. 7. Implementation Details The following sections describe some low-level details of the R*Tree implementation, that might be useful for trouble-shooting or performance analysis. 7.1. Shadow Tables The content of an R*Tree index is actually stored in three ordinary SQLite tables with names derived from the name of the R*Tree. These three tables are called "shadow tables". This is their schema: CREATE TABLE %_node(nodeno INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, data BLOB) CREATE TABLE %_parent(nodeno INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, parentnode INTEGER) CREATE TABLE %_rowid(rowid INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, nodeno INTEGER) The "%" in the name of each shadow table is replaced by the name of the R*Tree virtual table. So, if the name of the R*Tree table is "xyz" then the three shadow tables would be "xyz_node", "xyz_parent", and "xyz_rowid". There is one entry in the %_node table for each R*Tree node. An R*Tree node consists of one or more entries that are proximate to one another. The nodes of an R*Tree for a tree. All nodes other than the root have an entry in the %_parent shadow table that identifies the parent node. Each entry in an R*Tree has a rowid. The %_rowid shadow table maps entry rowids to the node that contains that entry. 7.2. Integrity Check using the rtreecheck() SQL function The scalar SQL function rtreecheck(R) or rtreecheck(S,R) runs an integrity check on the rtree table named R contained within database S. The function returns a human-language description of any problems found, or the string 'ok' if everything is ok. Running rtreecheck() on an R*Tree virtual table is similar to running PRAGMA integrity_check on a database. Example: To verify that an R*Tree named "demo_index" is well-formed and internally consistent, run: SELECT rtreecheck('demo_index'); The rtreecheck() function performs the following checks: Traders' body CAIT on Thursday launched a vendor onboarding mobile app for its upcoming e-commerce portal 'Bharat e Market'. The app will enable businesses and service providers to register on the portal and create their own "e-dukaan". The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said its 'purely Indian' Bharat e Market portal will comply with all the rules and regulations of the country. CAIT has been engaged in a tirade against foreign e-commerce companies, accusing them of violating the country's FDI policy norms -- a charge denied by the firms. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said "the way in which the e-commerce market is greatly vitiated by foreign e-commerce entities through their arbitrariness and violating the rules and laws of the country, it was essential to create an e-commerce portal fully dedicated to the traders and consumers of India." The traders' body aims to onboard 7 lakh traders on the portal by December this year and 1 crore traders by December 2023. More than 40,000 trade associations across the country will play a crucial role in onboarding the traders, it said. "Most importantly, there will be no charge for creating an e-dukan nor any commission on business done on the portal. The other e-commerce portals are charging commission from 5 per cent to 35 per cent on transactions happening on their portal," Khandelwal said at a press conference. He said no foreign investment in the portal will be accepted and users' data will remain in India. Moreover, no Chinese goods will be allowed for sale on the portal, Khandelwal said, adding that special emphasis will be accorded to products made by women entrepreneurs, artisans and craftsmen. "The portal will comply with all rules and regulations of the government both in letter and spirit," Khandelwal added. CAIT National President BC Bhartia said in pursuance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call of 'vocal for local' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', CAIT has developed its Bharat e Market portal which will provide both B2B and B2C business opportunities. Also Read: Future Retail receives operational support from Reliance as deal lingers in courts A woman who was killed and placed into a freezer at her home in Sydneys upper north shore was stabbed to death by her husband after telling him she wanted a divorce, an inquest has been told. Chan Chen, 35, also known as Vivien, was discovered inside her Pymble home on November 27, 2019, after her husband, Haoling Luo, left a message for his colleague which said: I was a little mentally abnormal a few days ago and accidentally killed my wife during a fight with her. Chan Chen, pictured on her wedding day, was killed in 2019. Credit:NSW Police Neighbours had called triple zero on November 24 after hearing raised voices and children screaming about 11.45pm. However, when multiple police responded and patrolled the apartment building, they were unable to hear any further noises. The next morning, Ms Chens employer received a text message from Ms Chen saying she wouldnt be at work for several weeks. When the employer called her, Mr Luo answered and said his wife couldnt come to the phone. All parents should have an idea when children will be returning to full-time classes by Thursday evening. Education will again be the main topic of conversation when the Executive meets later on Thursday. By tonight, all parents should have an idea when children will be returning to full-time classes. Primary years one to three went back last Monday but are currently scheduled to revert to remote learning on March 22 so that pupils in exam years 12 to 14 can return to education. If the Executive sticks to that plan, the youngest children will be in school for just nine days before having an extended Easter break, while those in the exam years will have just one week back in class before the holidays. Education Minister Peter Weir will today ask the Executive to speed up the process of reopening schools for all pupils. He wants to see primary years one to three and years 12 to 14 back before Easter. A paper from Mr Weir recommends that all primary pupils who have not yet returned to school (primaries four to seven) start on March 22. While that looks unlikely, the Executive could compromise and allow years one to three to stay in school when years 12 to 14 return on March 22. The minister is targeting April 12, the first week after the Easter holidays, as the first day on which all pupils will be back in school. First Minister Arlene Foster said any decision would be informed by a range of factors. Its about the other harms to children as well the fact that theyre not being taught with their peers, (the risk to) their mental health and wellbeing, the fact that they cant engage in school sports. Well be looking at all of those issues, she added. Head teachers have urged the Executive to maintain continuity for years one to three by reversing the decision to withdraw the youngest pupils from class at the end of next week. The NASUWT teaching union previously called for caution. It is entirely understandable that parents and many teachers would wish nursery and primary one to primary three children to remain in school after March 22, said NASUWT northern official Justin McCamphill. But the original plan adopted by the Executive was based on the advice of their scientific advisers. Unless that advice has changed, there should not be a change to current plans for primary and nursery schools. Mark McTaggart, assistant northern secretary with the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), said he would expect any decision to be in line health advice and supported by evidence. If it can be demonstrated that in the intervening time from the decision being taken and now that it is safe to disregard this advice, and that it is safe for primary one to primary three and years 12 to 14 to be in school at the same time, INTO could have no objection, he explained. The same would be true of full reopening of schools after Easter. Dhaka, March 11 : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday emphasised on improving health facilities in the country saying that health people are required to build a health Bangladesh. She said, "Eye care services are costly. General people of Bangladesh can't afford these. I'm not only the Prime Minister, but also the daughter of the Father of the Nation. It's my responsibility to ensure healthcare services for every citizen. I've been trying to fulfil this responsibility." Mentioning that the government is providing free Vitamin-A doses, different vaccines and medicines to people, she said, "We've been creating scopes so that people can stay healthy everywhere." Hasina emphasised, "Healthy people are required to build a healthy Bangladesh." The Prime Minister joined the virtual inaugural ceremony, held at National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital in the capital, from her official residence Gono Bhaban. Hasina was inaugurating the operation of community vision centres set up in 70 upazila health complexes of 20 districts under five divisions through a video conference. She said that her government will set up community vision centres in all upazilas across the country in phases to provide better eye care services to local people. She also mentioned that the government has already undertaken a plan to set up 110 more community vision centres at the upazila level of Bangladesh by June 2023. Later, the Prime Minister exchanged views with local people and stakeholders of three upazilas -- Pirganj of Rangpur, Nachol of Chapainawabganj and Haluaghat of Mymensingh-- through the video conference. (Sumi Khan can be contacted at sumikhan29bdj@gmail.com) FAIRFAX, Va., March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Stevie Awards is leveraging its world-class business awards program to help its past, current and prospective award recipients reach their goals and stay ahead of the curve with the launch of a new webinar series, "The Stevie Awards Success Series." The Stevie Awards is hosting a four-part informational webinar series, The Stevie Awards Success Series , from March 22-25, 2021, for professionals from all industries and organizations to learn from the best and brightest Stevie Award winners and judges, industry experts, and business leaders. Attendees of the Success Series will learn about effective corporate storytelling, get a behind-the-scenes look at the Stevie Awards judging process, discover how to leverage a win for future gains, and more. For 19 years, the Stevie Awards have recognized and honored the outstanding achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. The Stevie Awards created this webinar series for its current, past and future award recipients working in PR, Communications, Marketing, and beyond who are looking for innovative ways to remain agile and succeed in a competitive business environment. In the same fashion the Stevie Awards offers award categories for every business size and industry, from startups to organizations generating $50 million or more in revenue, the Success Series sessions will have takeaways for a wide range of attendee demographics. Attendees of the Stevie Awards Success Webinars will: Discover how to leverage awards to achieve future success and prove credibility to clients and leads Learn how to excel at corporate storytelling to land opportunities and stand out Receive insights on what it takes to win a Stevie Award from past winners Get award-winning tips and a behind the scenes look at the awards entry and judging process during a live Q&A with Stevie Awards judges Access a library of resources provided by speakers before, during and after the webinars The Success Series webinar speakers are CEOs, founders, and business professionals from consulting agencies to household names including Cisco, Ford Otosan, IBM, Microsoft, and others. Two of the webinar moderators are pivotal figures in the Stevie Awards organization; Executive Chairman and Founder of the Stevie Awards, Michael Gallagher is moderating the session "What Does it Take to Win a Stevie Award?" and the Stevie Awards Judging Coordinator, Anne White, is moderating the session "Award-Winning Tips and Q&A from Stevie Awards Judges." The Success Series Webinar Schedule and Sessions: How to Excel at Corporate Storytelling DATE: Monday, March 22, 2021 Award-Winning Tips and Q&A from Stevie Awards Judges DATE: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 What Does it Take to Win a Stevie Award? DATE: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 Leveraging Your Award for Future Success DATE: Thursday, March 25, 2021 The detailed webinar session abstracts and speaker bios can be found here . Each webinar will be live streamed from 1:00 - 2:00 pm EST. The webinar replays (on-demand) and presentations will be available through the end of 2021. Each registration allows up to five individuals to attend the series, meaning each person will have their own profile in the Stevie Awards virtual platform to participate in facilitated discussions, live chat, polling, Q&A, and networking. Registration for the Success Series will remain open through March 25, 2021. Advertising and sponsorship opportunities for the Success Series are available. If interested, contact Ruslana@StevieAwards.com . PR Contact Nina Moore, Marketing Manager, Nina@StevieAwards.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7760595f-b1ed-4122-991e-505ea5f9b879 A staff member wearing a face mask stands at a booth for the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. A survey of more than 5,000 chief executives globally has revealed record optimism about economic growth a year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark Schiefelbein By Muvija M and Pushkala Aripaka (Reuters) - Europe approved Johnson & Johnson's single dose COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, paving the way for the first shots to be delivered in a month as the bloc seeks to speed up a stuttering inoculation campaign and boost its supplies. The COVID-19 shot is the fourth to be endorsed for use in the European Union after vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford University and Moderna, and is recommended for those over 18 years of age, the European Medicines agency (EMA) said. It's the first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. The United States, Canada and Bahrain have also approved the shot. South Africa is carrying out an expedited review. "With this latest positive opinion, authorities across the European Union will have another option to combat the pandemic and protect the lives and health of their citizens," EMA's Executive Director Emer Cooke said after the agency gave its conditional approval. The official nod came from the European Commission shortly after, the final step to allowing its use across the bloc. The region is having difficulty taming a spike in cases driven by a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, with countries including Italy and France imposing fresh lockdowns. J&J Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels described it as a "landmark moment" for the U.S. drugmaker and the world as governments struggle to control the pandemic which has crushed economies and killed more than 2.7 million. The shot, called COVID Vaccine Janssen after the J&J unit that developed it, will help bulk up EU vaccine supplies after a faltering rollout due to delivery delays from Pfizer and AstraZeneca. The first shipments will start in the second half of April, the company said, adding it is committed to delivering at least 200 million doses to the EU this year. Exact volumes are not clear though and the U.S. drugmaker has told the European Union it is facing supply issues that may complicate plans to deliver the 55 million doses due in the second quarter in full. Story continues J&J's factory in Leiden in the Netherlands and a plant in Baltimore in the United States run by Emergent BioSolutions have both been authorised by the drugs' regulator as a manufacturer of ingredients for the vaccines. Earlier this year, some EU countries raised questions about J&J's production network and contract with the EU, which would require it to send vaccines made at the Dutch factory to the United States for bottling before being shipped back to the EU. News that the EU had approved Johnson & Johnson's vaccine came as Norway and Denmark temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine after reports of the formation of blood clots in some who have been vaccinated. TRIAL DATA In J&J's 44,000-person global trial, the vaccine was found to be 66% effective at preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 four weeks after inoculation. It was 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and death due to the virus. In its statement on Thursday, the EMA said the vaccine was found to be 67% effective two weeks after inoculation. The side effects were usually mild or moderate and cleared within a couple of days after vaccination, it said. The most common ones were pain at the injection site, headache, tiredness, muscle pain and nausea. Though many rival shots have reported a higher protection rate, J&J's vaccine could help boost thin EU supplies and simplify inoculation campaigns because it does not require a second dose or need to be shipped frozen. Direct comparison between headline numbers reported by different drugmakers is difficult because their trials had different goals, and J&J's study was conducted while new, more contagious variants of the virus were circulating. Its vaccine delivers instructions for human cells to manufacture immunity-building proteins, using a weakened version of a common-cold virus to carry them in, similar to AstraZeneca's shot, which uses a chimpanzee cold virus. J&J has also used the technology in its EU-approved Ebola vaccine. EU conditional marketing authorisation allows a treatment to be sold for a year without full data on its efficacy and side-effects being available. (Reporting by Muvija M and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels and Bart Meijer in Amsterdam; Editing by Josephine Mason, Mark Potter, Kevin Liffey and Susan Fenton) Irish amateur jockey Rob James was banned for 12 months, with eight months suspended, by the Irish Horseracing Board after an investigation and hearing into the video of him climbing onto the back of a dead horse surfaced last week. James' penalty follows the one-year suspension, with six months suspended, which was slapped on three-time Grand National-winning trainer Gordon Elliott last Friday after a picture of him sitting on a dead horse had emerged days earlier. James has apologised for the incident, which took place in April 2016, which he described as 'wholly inappropriate and disrespectful', ahead of the hearing. Rob James has been handed a 12-month ban from racing, with the last eight suspended A sickening video last week showed the Irish amateur jockey posing astride a horse James won the Kim Muir Fulke Walwyn Chase at last year's Cheltenham Festival on Elliott-trained Milan Native, although the dead-horse video had no connection to the Elliott stable. James made an undertaking not to attend a race meeting or point-to-point during his suspension. A tweet on the IHRB's official account following the hearing read: 'Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee found Mr James in breach of Rule 272(i) in that he acted in a manner which was prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and good reputation of horseracing. 'They imposed a 12-month suspension of his Qualified Riders licence and Handlers Permit with this last eight months of this suspended.' Wheres the headlines for this ??? pic.twitter.com/Bl1V0VU6Dw hushhush (@coveruphushhush) March 2, 2021 James (fourth right, centre) seen celebrating winning Riders Handicap Chase at Cheltenham After the sickening footage emerged, James issued the following apology: 'I have become aware of a video circulating of me on social media. 'I would just like to apologise for my actions which were wholly inappropriate and disrespectful to a lovely five-year-old mare, who unfortunately suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while at exercise earlier that morning, April 30, 2016. 'I sincerely apologise to the owners of the mare, the staff who cared for her, the horseracing industry and all followers of horseracing for my actions.' He added: 'To try defending my stupidity at the time would add further insult and hurt to the many loyal people that have supported me during my career. I have caused embarrassment to my employers, my family and most importantly the sport I love. 'I am heartbroken by the damage I have caused and will do my best to try and make amends to those hurt by my conduct.' Gordon Elliott was slapped with a one-year suspension, with six months suspended, after a picture of him sitting on a dead horse emerged days earlier James was seen with at least two other people in the footage, with laughter heard as he posed as if he was riding the horse. The two sickening incidents involving James and disgraced trainer Elliott has left racing in tatters. When Elliott was slapped with his suspension, the IHRB said his actions had 'damaged the reputation of the Irish racing industry and the thoroughbred industry'. They added that his actions had shown a 'complete lack of respect for the horse'. The IHRB accepted the three-time Grand National-winning trainer felt 'genuine remorse' for the incident, that he accepted his actions had offended many people and that what he had done was 'wrong and indefensible'. The countrys quest to attain a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023 has received fresh impetus with Government announcing that an iron ore mine and carbon steel plant is scheduled for ground-breaking in May this year. The project, which is being financed by Chinese mining giant Tsingshan Holdings is one of the ventures taking off on the back of President Mnangagwas Zimbabwe is Open for Business thrust. President Mnangagwa met with Tsingshan Steel chairman Xiang Guangda, during his State visit to China in 2018. This comes as Government continues to receive endorsements with the latest being two global mining giants Australia Stock Exchange listed firm, Prospect Resources and New York Stock Exchange-listed Caledonia Mining Corporation that indicated were impressed with their operations in Zimbabwe and the support they were receiving from the authorities. Under the thrust, Government is prioritising private sector led growth as a means to revive the economy and foster growth towards upper middle income status by 2030. Addressing a post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, said Cabinet had been briefed on the mining sector progress and was impressed. Of this brief, the Tsingshan steel project is one of the major highlights and a memorandum of understanding has already been signed with the Chinese mining giant in various mining projects including stainless steel. Some minerals covered under the MOU include ferrochrome, coking coal, iron ore and carbon steel, flurolite and limestone, according to documents gleaned by The Herald Tsingshan is one of the largest steel making giants globally, employing 80 000 people and has an annual output of 10 million tonnes of stainless steel with a turnover of $30 billion. Said Minister Mutswangwa: Cabinet was informed that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Tsingshan Steel for investment in mining projects towards the production of stainless steel. Production in the interim will commence with carbon steel. Tsingshan, through its subsidiary Afrochine, constructed two additional ferrochrome furnaces in 2020, and will construct additional furnaces in May 2021. The ground-breaking ceremony for the iron ore mine and carbon steel plant is scheduled for May 2021 in Manhize, Mvuma. A flurorite and limestone production plant will soon be set up. This comes as Tsingshan in 2018 became one of the first investors to show confidence in the new dispensation by signing a US$1 billion investment deal in the lucrative steel sub-sector. To enable the implementation of the project, Tsingshan had to invest in coke batteries. His Excellency the President in 2020 visited the first phase of the coke project, which will produce 150 000 tonnes per annum. This project is almost complete and the first coal feed into the battery will be on March 24, 2021, with a small ceremony marking the event. Production will be about 60 days late at which date or after which the coke battery will be officially commissioned by His Excellency, the President. To ensure accountability, transparency and environmentally friendly operations, Cabinet also directed that submission of a current tax clearance certificate is now a requirement for mining title renewal. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) will also undertake audits to ensure that contracted companies conduct their work according to set and agreed standards and regulations. The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) and Fidelity Printers and Refineries (FPR), will also issue a certificate of production from previous year and this is set to go a long way in curbing under-declarations as well as speculative holding of mining title. Zimbabwe has lost valuable minerals to unscrupulous dealers who took advantage of some leaks that the Second Republic is now addressing. Minister Mutsvangwa also advised that Cabinet had reviewed the ban on mining in rivers and directed that de-siltation activities in portions of Angwa, Save and Mutebekwi rivers can commence subject to the condition that no chemicals are utilised and the structures of the rivers are not affected by such mining operations. This comes as some mining operations in some areas have changed the course of rivers, in the process affecting many villagers and other economic activities such as farming. The de-siltation process, said Minister Mutsvangwa, shall be supervised on a permanent presence basis by officials from the Ministries of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Mines and Mining Development, with investor funding. Herald San Francisco hopes to reopen its public elementary schools in April. But its latest plan still puts it behind many other major school districts across the country. After months of tense negotiations, San Francisco Unified School District officials have released a plan to get the citys elementary and early education students back into school buildings starting in April. Los Angeles Unified, which reached a tentative deal with its teachers union Tuesday, would also reopen elementary schools in mid-April and unlike San Francisco expects to bring back middle and high school students as well. Meanwhile, most other major cities have already begun returning younger and at-risk students to campuses at least some days a week. Under San Franciscos plan, preschoolers will start returning to school buildings three weeks after high schoolers in New York (March 22). San Franciscos current plan will start returning preschoolers through fifth graders and high needs students across all grades, including those with moderate to severe disabilities. The return, which would begin April 12, isnt formalized yet: The San Francisco school board still needs to vote on it, which will likely happen Thursday, and union members will vote on it as well this week. But if the plan is approved, its timeline may make the school district ineligible for some of the funding the state will grant to districts that resume at least some in-person learning by the end of March. The plan also doesnt include any information about middle and high school students, and officials have said that most of those students likely wont return to classes in person before the end of the school year in June. Heres how San Franciscos school reopening timetable compares to those of other major cities. Some districts have returned fully in-person, while most have returned with a hybrid model of virtual and in-person learning for most students. SAN FRANCISCO PreK through Grade 2: April 12 Grades 3-5: April 26 Grades 6 and above: TBD CHICAGO PreK: Feb. 11 Grades K-5: March 1 Grades 6-8: March 8 Grades 9-12: TBD LOS ANGELES (tentative) PreK: Mid-to-late April Elementary: Mid-to-late April Middle and high school: late April/early May BOSTON Students with disabilities: Feb. 1 Grades K-3: March 1 Grades 4-8: March 15 Grades 9-12: March 29 ATLANTA PreK-Grade 2, Special Education: Jan. 25 Grades 3-5: Feb. 8 Grades 6-12: Feb. 16 NEW YORK 3K-Grade 5: Dec. 7, 2020 Special Education: Dec. 10, 2020 Grades 6-8: February 25 Grades 9-12: March 22 PHILADELPHIA Grades PreK-2: March 8-15 Grades 3-12: TBD Susie Neilson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: susan.neilson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susieneilson MINNEAPOLIS A third-degree murder charge may be back on the table for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, after a ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday. The decision, along with jury selection that has moved faster than expected, means the trial is unlikely to be delayed for weeks as had been threatened. Opening statements are scheduled for March 29, and five of the 12 jurors have been seated. Mr. Chauvin is already facing the more serious charge of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, as well as second-degree manslaughter. But prosecutors have been pushing to add third-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. Adding the charge would give jurors an additional avenue for a murder conviction if they decide that the evidence does not support a second-degree murder conviction. Lawyer and governance expert, Dr Eric Oduro Osae says the immediate past Auditor-General had a good working relationship with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his term in office. According to him, despite his forced retirement, Daniel Yao Domelevo always respected the President who influenced him to take the job some years back. He has no hatred for the President and has never said anything evil about him despite all the happening, he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show, Ghana Montie. Adding that, Mr Domelevo himself knows the President is not against the fight of corruption. The corruption fighter, Daniel Yao Domelevo was recently asked by President Akufo-Addo to retire because records made available to the latter by the Board of the Audit Service indicated that he had passed the retirement age of 60 years. The Audit Service Board also stated that Domelevo was allegedly aTogolese, and was therefore not qualified for the job, but the president left that out of Domevelos termination letter. This was after the president had forced Domelevo to go on a 167-day accumulated leave, and was about returning to work on 2 March. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/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 Third grade students take part in class on the first day of in-person learning for five days per week at Stark Elementary School in Stamford, Conn., on March 10, 2021. (John Moore/Getty Images) Researchers: CDC Misinterpreted Analysis on Reopening Schools, Should Immediately Loosen Rules Researchers whose analysis was cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in recent school reopening guidance say the agency misinterpreted their findings and should immediately loosen the recommendations. Four doctors said in an op-ed this week that the guidance is an example of fears influencing and resulting in misinterpretation of science and harmful policy, arguing it does not take into account the data we have regarding little disease transmission in schools. Children arent at significant risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, researchers wrote, and deaths involving the disease among children and adolescents are magnitudes fewer than deaths from suicide, some of which are being driven by continued school closures. Additionally, viral spread is minimal in schools with appropriate safety precautions, even in communities with a high disease prevalence (significantly higher than the CDC red zone that the CDC suggests middle and high schools be all virtual and elementary schools hybrid), the researchers said. And recommending six feet of distance in schools before reopening isnt supported by science, with data supporting at least three feet of distancingsomething CDC Director Rochelle Walensky herself said last yearthe doctors added. The best way to overcome fear is to follow the science, and the science shows we can safely open our schools now for full-time (nonhybrid) learning and keep them open, Tara Henderson, Monica Gandhi, Tracy Beth Hoeg, and Daniel Johnson wrote. The CDC didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The doctors group studied the transmission of the virus in 17 K-12 schools in a Wisconsin county and found that schools appear to be able to reopen safely with appropriate mitigation efforts. That study was cited by the CDC in the recent guidance. Students desks adhere to social distancing requirements in a classroom during a news conference at New Bridges Elementary School, ahead of schools reopening, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, on Aug. 19, 2020. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters) The CDC said last month that schools can reopen safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic but recommended, among other measures, at least six feet of distancing to the greatest extent possible, leading to many districts across the country implementing hybrid in-person learning or staggered classes to decrease student density. The guidance came after officials met with stakeholders, including teachers unions, which have in some cases largely resisted returning to schools until a lengthy list of demands are met. Unions say the demands are necessary to ensure the safety of teachers and children amid the pandemic, but critics say they are unreasonable, citing studies of schools that have opened without some of the requested measures. Clashes over reopening have taken unusual turns, such as San Franciscos attorney suing the citys school district over a refusal to reopen schools. Roughly 47 percent of K-12 students in the United States are attending traditional schools, or in-person classes every weekday, according to school data tracker Burbio. Another 29.4 percent are attending hybrid schools and the rest are still only learning virtually. The White House has said school reopenings will quicken when money from the just-passed American Rescue Plan is sent to districts across the country. Pressed on whether reopenings are happening too slowly, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters this week that Secretary of Education Miguel Cardonas No. 1 priority is getting students back in classrooms. He will be working with school districts, including, Im sure, in California and San Francisco and others, to work to address what they feel the challenges are to reopeningwhether its funding thats needed; whether its consensus-building that needs to happen, she said. The president wants schools to be open five days a week, wants kids to be learning in school, and were going to do everything we can to ensure thats happening. LUBECK, Germany, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Music Luebeck is staging an international symposium on the Italian composer Fausto Romitelli on April 17 and 18. The former shooting star of the New Music scene will be the focus of lectures and concerts providing an insight into his ecstatic soundscapes under the title "The Sound-Lab of Professor Bad Trip". This will be the first German symposium devoted exclusively to Romitelli's music and will be broadcast live via www.mhl-streaming.de. Fausto Romitelli's untimely death in 2004 at the age of 41 brought an abrupt end to a meteoric career. International experts along with Luebeck researchers will devote themselves to Romitelli's oeuvre for two days. They will illuminate his critique of the modern, his musical aesthetics and his compositional technique from different perspectives. Born in Gorizia in 1963, Romitelli received his artistic training from Franco Donatoni in Italy and from Hugues Dufourt and Gerard Grisey in France. From this starting point he developed his inimitable musical language, which he himself characterised as "obsessive, repetitive and visionary". Project leader and MHL Professor for Musical Theory Oliver Korte explains: "We will show with our symposium how much there is still to be discovered in Romitelli's expressive soundscape, characterised as it is by inroads into rock and punk. His mature compositions are today part of the standard New Music repertoire." Apart from MHL academics and students of musical theory, there will be notable guest speakers from across the whole of Europe, including Prof. Alessandro Arbo (Strasbourg), Prof. Ingrid Pustijanac (Pavia), Prof. Pascal Decroupet (Nice), Simone Beneventi (Reggio Emilia) and Prof. Juergen Tchorz (Luebeck). Two concerts, each starting at 7:30 pm, will provide a taste of Romitelli's creative work, from the world premiere of an early work for seven flutes to his famous triptych "Professor Bad Trip, Lesson I-III". The symposium and the concerts will be broadcast live via www.mhl-streaming.de. The option of participating at the venue is also available to an expert audience following registration by email to [email protected]. Information on the programme may be found on the MHL website at www.mh-luebeck.de/forschung/aktuell/. Contact: Prof. Dr. Oliver Korte [email protected] SOURCE University of Music Luebeck ADVERTISEMENT President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday commissioned the headquarters building of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), 25 years after the groundbreaking ceremony, commending the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, for steadfastness in ending many years of renting by the commission, and the attendant profligacy. The president, who virtually commissioned the building from the Council Chamber of the State House, said the land was acquired by the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) in 1996, and was abandoned after series of design amendments. In 2015, as part of our administrations cardinal objectives to kill corruption, some critical reforms were embarked upon, part of which was a holistic reform of the NDDC for greater service delivery for the people of the region. To achieve this, I reassigned the supervision of the NDDC to the Hon. Minister of Niger Delta Affairs for administrative efficiency. Second, was the appointment of Forensic Auditors to review the operations of the Commission from inception to 2019 and to ensure that the appropriations made to the NDDC are commensurate with what is on the ground, he said. While commending the minister for ensuring the historic completion of the building, President Buhari urged the management to commit the amounts used for renting to more rewarding benefits. I, therefore, use this opportunity to commend the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for providing the required leadership that saw to the completion of this edifice. Today, we are handing over to the people of Niger Delta, a befitting Head Office Complex for present and future use. Consequently, huge yearly rentals would now be saved and deployed to other areas of needs in the region. I commend the management and staff of the NDDC for staying the course and keying into the Reform Agenda of our Administration. I am particularly pleased to note the cordial relationship between the NDDC and the National Assembly and hope that this relationship will be strengthened further for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta region, the president added. The Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, thanked the president for the completion of the building, promising that the nine governors under the NDDC would continue to support his bold steps in development. In his remarks, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs noted that the completion of the NDDC building signals the presidents commitment to the development of the oil producing region, and ending of activities of corrupt public officials, who also negated the connection of the offices to national grid over many years in order to seek rent on fueling of generators. You will be remembered by this gesture, and generations will never forget you, the minister said. Mr Akpabio urged leaders, traditional rulers and youths in the region to support President Buharis administration so that it would complete most of the abandoned projects by previous administrations, which include the Second Niger Bridge, warning that the persistent fights and petitions among leaders must be shelved for development. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) The Oregon Health Authority says two of the four Oregonians fully vaccinated against COVID-19 who later tested positive did not have any of the more contagious variants. State officials declined to clearly answer questions about the other two cases, including whether samples were analyzed to determine if the individuals had coronavirus variants. State officials announced the so-called breakthrough cases during a news conference Feb. 12, saying they were thought to be among the first identified in the nation. Officials ordered genomic sequencing to determine if the vaccinated Oregonians had been infected with variants, with results expected within seven days. But state officials in emails last week initially declined to answer any questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive about the four cases -- including whether they had been infected with the viral variants first detected in the United Kingdom or Brazil. Officials cited patient privacy. The news organization disagreed that doing so would breach patient privacy and argued that sharing information would further the publics understanding of the virus behavior. In response, agency leadership met and decided to release limited information, according to spokesman Tim Heider. The agency eventually said samples from two of the individuals had been analyzed and there were no variants of concern detected. He did not respond to questions about the other two cases. Heider also declined to answer questions about the circumstances under which the four Oregonians were vaccinated, including the amount of time that had passed since their second doses, if theyd been exposed to the virus before the second dose had become fully effective, and if the virus had been in their systems for some time. But state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger had said during the Feb. 12 news conference that they had tested positive at least two weeks after their second doses. Sidelinger and Health Authority Director Patrick Allen also said the cases were of national interest because they were among the first breakthrough cases to be reported in the nation. Sidelinger had told reporters that the Health Authority was in the process of starting genome sequencing of samples taken from the individuals -- indicating that scientists wanted to know if these were cases of the mutated virus slipping past the defense systems offered by the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or whether this was simply an expected, mathematical probability given that the vaccines arent 100% effective. Both vaccines have an efficacy estimated at close to 95%. Two of the four Oregonians are from Yamhill County and two are from Lane County. They either had no symptoms or mild symptoms -- evidence, Sidelinger had said, that the vaccines are working to ward off severe disease. He added that two of the cases were related -- meaning they were infected from the same cluster of infections at a single location. State officials have not provided more information. But the circumstances of testing individuals with no symptoms suggest that at least some of the four might work in congregate care settings, where testing is mandatory at least once a month. So far, Oregon has identified 11 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant which was first detected in the U.K. and one case of the P.1 variant, which is linked to Brazil. But medical experts have criticized the U.S. for its lack of screening for the variants. Oregon is averaging about 300 cases per a day -- 99% which werent being reviewed for variants, as of February. Oregon Health & Science University, which has identified 11 of Oregons 12 variant cases, estimated 1% of the cases statewide involve the B.1.1.7 variant. Its unclear why some experts estimate the national percentages are much larger. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told NBCs Meet the Press Sunday that a month ago the B.1.1.7 variant made up 1% to 4% of cases in the U.S. He said its now estimated to be up to 30% to 40%, and when it reaches 50% cases are likely to surge. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter -- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee Spain will be the first in Europe with legislation that explicitly regulates the status of delivery workers who get around on bikes and motorcycles and whose numbers have exploded in recent years Spain's government announced Thursday a deal that will recognise riders working for delivery firms such as Deliveroo and UberEats as salaried staff following complaints about their working conditionsa first in the EU. The move came six months after Spain's leftwing government pledged to clarify the legal status of couriers working for online delivery firms, saying they should be considered employees rather than "gig" workers. It will strike at the heart of the so-called gig economy, which relies on hundreds of thousands of independent workers for app-based services such as food delivery or car rides. The government's deal with Spanish labour unions sets up the first legislation in Europe that explicitly regulates the status of delivery workers who get around on bikes and motorcycles and whose numbers have exploded in recent years. In Spain, as in other countries, the riders have repeatedly denounced their precarious working conditions, taking legal action to demand recognition as salaried staff, which would grant them benefits such as paid holidays and sick leave. "They are now considered as salaried workers and will enjoy all the relevant protections," Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said in a televised address. Spain is "the first country in the European Union to legislate on the matter", Diaz said. The delivery firms have repeatedly insisted that they are merely acting as an intermediary between businesses and the riders, who are said to be self-employed and must pay their own health and pension contributions. The text, which will take the form of a legislative decree that does not need to be voted on by parliament, "recognises the presumption of employment for workers who provide paid delivery services" via such digital companies, a ministry statement said. It is expected to be approved by the cabinet and to be on the books as early as next week. Cristobal Ospina, a 26-year-old salaried delivery rider for Spanish platform Mensos, said the biggest advantage of being staff was the "stability" of knowing you will work a set number of hours every week. "It won't be random," he told AFP in Madrid. But other riders like Cristina Ausin, 24, feared losing their flexibility. She said she had a chronic health condition that made it difficult for her to commit to a fixed schedule. "With these apps, I disconnect when I need to and that's it, I don't have to explain myself to anyone. Now with a fixed contact, I have to ask for sick leave." Platforms on the defensive Confusion over the riders' status had also arisen as some court rulings have gone in their favour while other found for the delivery firms. The government's move came after a Supreme Court ruling in September that there was a "working relationship" between riders and Barcelona-based food delivery app Glovo. Delivery platforms have also found themselves on the defensive elsewhere in Europe. Last month Italian prosecutors told Uber Eats and other food delivery platforms their couriers were employees and not independent workers, fining them 733 million euros for breach of labour safety rules. France's government is expected to unveil proposals on delivery riders soon. The European Union is also considering the issue. Last month, Britain's Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers and delivery people are workers, and not independent contractors. Shift to contracts Some platforms have chosen to shift to employment contracts. Just Eat Takeaway announced last year it wants to end relying upon independent riders. In January, its French unit said it planned to hire 4,500 riders as employees, offering contracts from 10 hours to full time and paying the minimum wage. Other platforms are sticking to their argument that their business model provides flexibility and control to delivery workers, who can pick and choose when and how much they work. Critics have argued that the refusal to consider their app-based workers as employees leads to low pay and a lack of medical insurance and other benefits. Platforms have also had their share of victories. In November, a ballot proposal by Uber in its home US state of California declaring gig workers to be independent contractors, while offering some healthcare and minimum pay, was passed by voters. That overturned a state law that had declared gig workers to be employees. Explore further Spanish court rules Deliveroo riders are employees 2021 AFP Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. Chinese Citizens Reluctant to Pay for Social Insurance Due to Distrust Toward CCP The Chinese regime recently revealed that its social insurance system reported a $96 billion deficit in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. Consequently, Chinas state-run media has encouraged people to pay for social insurance programs. The Epoch Times spoke with some Chinese citizens who shared their concerns about the social insurance system and expressed distrust towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). According to the Chinese regimes budget report, the revenue of the social insurance fund in 2020 is 7.21 trillion yuan (about $1.11 trillion), a decrease of 13.3 percent from the previous year; and social insurance expenditure exceeded revenue by 621.917 billion yuan (about $96 billion), according to a report by state-run Peoples Daily. The budget report was revealed during the two sessionsan annual meeting of Chinas rubber-stamp legislatureearlier this month. Chinas social security system has two types of social insuranceone for full-time employees and the other for temporary workers, according to Chinese news portal Sina. Full-time employees have five different types of insurance programs: pension, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, work injury insurance, and maternity insurance. Temporary workers have two types of insurance programs: pension and medical insurance. In order to receive pension benefits, one must meet the legal age requirement for retirement and has been contributing to their social security for at least 15 years prior to retirement. According to Chinese social insurance law, the insurance is mainly paid by companies and individuals, not the government. The total social security contribution rate of companies and individuals is as high as 41 percent of pre-tax income, which is a heavy burden, according to The Congressional-Executive Commission on China. The number of people who refuse to pay social insurance is increasing, Peoples Daily reported. Liu Ming (alias), an employee at a law firm in Beijing, told The Epoch Times that people are unwilling to contribute to social insurance because the salary in the private sector is low. If the social security is deducted from the workers salary every month, then their take-home pay would be greatly reducedespecially for migrant workers who are employed in temporary low-paying jobs in the cities. Liu also said that the private enterprises in mainland China have a heavy tax burden and it would make the situation more difficult if they had to contribute to their employees social insurance benefits. Migrant workers look for job opportunities along a roadside in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China in this undated photo. (China Photos/Getty Images) A university lecturer surnamed Xue told The Epoch Times, When the mainland media began to talk about the necessity and benefits of purchasing social insurance, anyone with a little brain knew that the reason behind such propaganda was that there is a big deficit hole in the pension that really cant be filled. Then who wants to sacrifice their own income, filling the bottomless pit created by the governments corruption? Liu said, Social insurance has a very large regulatory loophole. It involves a lot of corruption, a lot of behind-the-scenes transactions, colluding, and embezzlement. Liu pointed out that there is a huge number of government employees in mainland China that the taxpayers need to support. She said that there is no other country in the world like China where so many people take advantage of taxpayers money, including government employees and state-owned enterprises. This large group has increased the economic burden, especially for the privately-owned small and medium enterprises, she said. Unemployed Chinese look for work at an employment agency in the city of Xiamen in Fujian Province in this undated photo. In once-thriving Chinese manufacturing regions, the fate of migrant workers looks likely to lead to more public unrest. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) Li Hua (alias), a factory worker, told the publication that she never contributed to social security because she doesnt trust the communist regime. Nothing is insured, no protection at all. When you are sick, the insurance doesnt cover [the medical expenses]. Education is not guaranteed. And when you get old, pension is not guaranteed. Where is the social insurance protection?! The common people who pay for social insurance are giving their money away and supporting the government employees. You work your tail off to make money for them, and you have nothing. They are exploiting the common people to death, Li added. Xue said that social insurance is one of the regimes excuses to squeeze wealth from individuals and private sectors. Therefore, many people will refuse to pay for social insurance. She added, The Chinese government is fighting with the people for profit. In the past two decades, they have used all kinds of clever tricks to plunder the common people and have done it more and more brazenly. Anyone with a discerning eye can see this clearly. People are feeling angry, but dont have the courage to speak up. Luo Ya and Zhang Yujie contributed to the report. The ministry says the Belarusian authorities should stop scaring own people with an "imaginary external enemy." Spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Oleh Nikolenko says claims made by Chairman of the State Security Committee (KGB) of Belarus Ivan Tertel about large-scale arms trafficking from Ukraine to Belarus for allegedly committing "terrorist attacks" are complete nonsense. "[This is] complete nonsense, which is voiced by Belarusian officials not for the first time. We categorically deny the repeated allegation about 'weapons from Ukraine,'" he said on Twitter on March 10. "The authorities in Belarus should finally stop scaring the Belarusian people with an imaginary external enemy," he added. After riots in Belarus last autumn, that country's President Alexander Lukashenko accused Ukraine of meddling and "managing protests." Further, Belarusian officials have repeatedly made unfriendly statements about Ukraine. Read alsoLukashenko and Putin's world: Ukraine must be ready to fight back without waiting for help Belarusian KGB and "arms from Ukraine" On March 9, Belarusian KGB chief Tertel said on TV channel Belarus 1 that huge batches of weapons had been shipped from Ukraine to Belarus, allegedly for "acts of terror." He claimed that "the huge consignments of weapons were delivered from Ukrainian territory to Belarus for further use to destabilize the situation." He alleged that "terrorist acts had been planned both against government agencies' facilities and individual officials, including jeopardizing a large share of the population." Tertel also mentioned groups he dubbed as "terrorist" ones. "These are groups known as Olinevych's squads anarchists who lived in Poland and Ukraine, where they were provided with weapons, special gear, and then [they] entered our territory, committed acts of terror, and tried to enter Ukraine. This is also a group of a well-known terrorist, Avtukhovych. An investigation vis-a-vis his group is underway now," he said. According to Tertel, "requests mentioning facts, surnames, phone numbers of the persons involved have been sent to the Ukrainian side through the Prosecutor General's Office," but Minsk has not received any response yet. Reporting by UNIAN Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. The Albany Police Department has been formally notified by Cuomo's office over claims the embattled governor groped a female staffer in an incident that may have 'risen to the level of a crime', officials confirmed Thursday. A spokesperson for the department, Steve Smith, said that police had not received a formal complaint from the alleged victim, who has not been named, but they have reached out to a representative for her. This doesn't mean police have opened a criminal investigation, rather that the department has offered its services to the woman, 'as we would any other report or incident', Smith said. Albany PD said it received the referral from a state official on Wednesday night, shortly after an article was published in the Times Union that detailed the woman's accusations. The female aide, who is said to be much younger than Cuomo, claims the 63-year-old governor summoned her to his residence in the Albany Executive Mansion, where he put his hand under her shirt and fondled her. By Thursday afternoon, New York State Assembly officials confirmed a judiciary committee with subpoena power has been formed to also investigate the claims. The Albany Police Department has been formally notified by Cuomo's office regarding an allegation the embattled governor groped a female staffer in an incident that may have 'risen to the level of a crime' Smith told the New York Times that the call alerting Albany PD to the latest allegation against Cuomo had initially come from the New York State Police. However, in a statement, Cuomo's acting counsel, Beth Garvey, confirmed it was her who had contacted authorities after a lawyer for the female aide told the governors office that the aide did not want to file a report. 'As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department,' Garvey clarified. 'If they decline, the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves and inform the department of the allegation.' 'In this case, the person is represented by counsel and when counsel confirmed the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorneys information.' While the police department is just following standard procedure by reaching out to the alleged victim, the situation could quickly lead to potential criminal exposure for Cuomo, should the woman wish to pursue charges for unwanted touching. The woman's allegations first came to light on Tuesday. Her claims followed on from allegations made by five other women - including four former aides - who have accused Cuomo of either sexual harassment or misconduct. Those prior allegations range from instances of Cuomo making inappropriate comments to unwanted physical contact. According to the latest accuser, she was summoned by the governor to the Executive Mansion, in Albany, late last year, after Cuomo told her he needed help with his cellphone. With the pair alone on the second floor in his personal residence, Cuomo allegedly closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her. The woman then told him to stop. A female supervisor in Cuomo's office first became aware of the aide's allegations on March 3, when the governor, following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, issued a televised statement denying touching anyone inappropriately The aide reportedly became emotional during the governor's address, which the supervisor noticed. The women then told the supervisor about her alleged encounter with the governor months earlier. The sixth accuser, who has not been named, said her incident occurred late last year at the Executive Mansion in Albany (pictured) The aide hadn't filed a formal complaint, but the allegation was forwarded this week to the state attorney general, which is currently overseeing an investigation into all the harassment allegations against Cuomo. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan waded in on the mounting allegations against Cuomo on Wednesday, tweeting a statement affirming that any other potential victims who wish to come forward will be properly assisted by police. 'The act of speaking out after being victimized can be a deeply painful and traumatic experience,' Sheehan wrote. 'The young woman reference in recent reports has the right to determine who she speaks to regarding her experience and when. 'The Attorney General has commenced an investigation into previous allegations against the Governor, and I have the utmost confidence in her ability to investigate this latest report. She continued: 'At this time no criminal complaint involving this matter has been file by the victim with the Albany Police Department, but Chief Hawkins assured me this evening that APD stands ready to assist any victim who seeks to come forward.' While it remains to be seen whether a criminal investigation will be launched, Cuomo is facing increasing pressure to resign in the wake of the most recent allegation. Earlier Thursday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio directly called for Cuomo to step down as governor during a press briefing, calling his sixth accuser's claims 'deeply troubling' and 'disgusting'. 'The latest report, and the fact that we can talk about how many people have been come forward with accusations. Its not one, its not two, its not three, its not four, its not five its six women who have come forward,' Hizzoner began. 'Its deeply troubling, the specific allegation that the governor called an employee of his - someone who he had power over - he called them to a place and then sexually assaulted her is absolutely unacceptable. 'It's is disgusting to me,' de Blasio continued. 'He can no longer serve as governor. It's as simple as that.' Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan waded in on the mounting allegations against Cuomo on Wednesday, tweeting a statement affirming that any other potential victims who wish to come forward with allegations will be properly assisted by police. De Blasio added that, compounding his stance, was that fact that over the past few weeks, 'so many troubling things' had come out about him, including the allegations of his five other accusers and accusations he actively sought to cover up coronavirus nursing home deaths. 'We still don't have the truth about that,' he said of nursing home deaths. 'And their families need and deserve to know the truth. 'We know one thing: We know there was a purposeful cover-up and that alone is unacceptable and disqualifying. 'These six women have come forward with these powerful and painful stories and particularly this most recent report is just disqualifying. He just cant serve as governor anymore,' de Blasio concluded. It was the first time the mayor had directly called for Cuomo's resignation, having continuously skirted the question in recent days and weeks. Joining the chorus of outrage was a group of 59 state legislatures who all signed and published a letter demanding Cuomo's immediate resignation earlier Thursday. Nineteen senators and 40 Assembly members said in the letter that it was time for Cuomo to go. 'In light of the Governors admission of inappropriate behavior and the findings of altered data on nursing home COVID-19 deaths he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, rendering him ineffective in this time of most urgent need,' the letter said. 'It is time for Governor Cuomo to resign.' The number of signatories comprise nearly 40 percent of the Democratic Party's total membership in the Assembly and Senate, where it holds firm majorities. Of the 40 signers who serve in the Assembly, if they were all to join forces with the 43 Republicans in the Assembly, they would have seven more votes than the minimum of 76 required to impeach Cuomo. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday directly called for Andrew Cuomo's resignation for the first time The group of Senate and Assembly Democrats released a statement Thursday morning demanding Cuomo stand down and be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in the interests of 'the future of New York State'. Pictured the letter A total of six women have now accused Cuomo of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior, with the five prior allegations ranging from making inappropriate comments, to making unwanted physical contact. Cuomo, meanwhile, has denied the allegations and has insisted there is 'no way' he will be resigning. At least four accusers - Bennett, Lindsey Boylan, Anna Liss and Karen Hinton - worked for the governor in Albany or during his time in President Bill Clinton's Cabinet. Another, Anna Ruch, told The New York Times that she met Cuomo at a friend's wedding where he touched her face and asked to kiss her. 'I have never done anything like this,' he said of his sixth accuser's claims. 'The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report.' However, in addition to the latest victim, five other woman have also accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, with the allegations ranging from making inappropriate comments, to making unwanted physical contact. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) during a radio interview called the new claim against Cuomo 'nauseating,' but did not call for the governor to step down. He also appeared to accuse Cuomo of withholding pandemic money from New York City in a separate address, while announcing a a massive COVID vaccine push in the Big Apple which will see him hand $32 billion allocated for the shots in the COVID relief bill in December straight to Mayor de Blasio. 'There's money for the MTA, there's money for our schools, and there is money for New York City,' the New York Senator said as he appeared with de Blasio during the Mayor's Thursday morning press conference. 'With the mayor's guidance and a little bit of prodding, we made sure that money doesn't come through Albany, it goes directly to the city because when Albany gets the money sometimes the city doesn't see all of it.' Cuomo, meanwhile, has denied the allegations and has insisted there is 'no way' he will be resigning Senator Chuck Schumer announced a massive COVID vaccine push in New York City on Thursday as he took a swipe at Cuomo amid calls for his resignation State Attorney General Letitia James has put together an investigative team to probe Cuomo's workplace conduct. The governor has called on lawmakers and the public to await the results of that investigation. Federal investigators are also scrutinizing how his administration handled data concerning COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes. Cuomo has been under fire for weeks, beginning with revelations that his administration withheld details from the public about the pandemic's death toll among residents in state nursing homes. Scrutiny of the governor - who received accolades during the height of the coronavirus pandemic for leadership that yielded a book deal and calls for a national political career - intensified when former adviser Boylan, 36, reiterated harassment claims made in December, fleshing them out in a late February blog post. Drivers and other passers-by had to take cover today, in Port of Spain. As, gunmen began offloading bullets on a convoy of cars. Also, over 50 more people have been arrested for breach of curfew. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. He was a real source of joy for the family. He was always happy. Since 2012, Meriem Hallaq has been living a nightmare: that year, her son, Ayham had been arrested and detained for peaceful protest against the Syrian government. She recalls the moment when, walking past the door of a room in her family home where Ayham spent most of his time, she had a sudden, sickening feeling as if someone was throwing his body in front of her. Although Meriem tried to dismiss her instinct for the worst-case scenario, she found out three months later that she was right. Meriem lost Ayham to the violent scourges of what would become the Syrian war. Her story resembles the tragedies of thousands of others who have lost their loved ones to enforced disappearances, detention, torture or killing amidst the nine-year long, ongoing and bloody conflict. Ayham, a dentist, had become involved in peaceful protests in 2011, when the war began. He was 24. He documented human rights violations carried out by the government, and even contributed to the creation of an organisation dedicated solely to this, the Violation Documentation Centre. His work had led to his arrest and torture on one occasion prior to his second detention and his death. Ayham passed away on 11 November 2012. He had been severely beaten and tortured. I never received his body, I never received his belongings, said Meriem. The only thing I have from him is a death certificate. Searching for the truth While the exact number is unknown, at least tens of thousands of Syrian men, women and children have been forcibly disappeared, detained, abducted or gone missing at the hands of the government, armed opposition groups and terror groups operating in Syria since the outbreak of conflict in 2011. Like Meriem, many families have confirmed information that their loved ones have lost their lives, but thousands of others remain in limbo, living in fear and uncertainty and not knowing if their relatives will ever return. The UN Human Rights Office for Syria is working with victims families and local organisations focused on the issue of unlawful detention to support them in bringing their voices to international fora. In particular, the Office is assisting families to better engage with, and bring cases to the attention of international human rights mechanisms such as the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, a Human Rights Council body that serves to determine the fate or whereabouts of the missing. The crime of enforced disappearance has a far-reaching impact on the human rights of not only the individuals who went missing, but their loved ones as well, explains Dimiter Chalev, head of the UN Human Rights Office for Syria. Those who have been subject to enforced disappearances are essentially deprived of all of their rights including the rights to fair trial and due process of law, while their relatives endure persistent violations of their rights, ranging from undefined legal personal status, discrimination and social stigma, to the rights to an adequate standard of living and education. To help families cope on a daily basis, UN Human Rights staff are also supporting them to seek psychosocial support, as well as legal aid, and in the longer term, helping them build strategies to make public claims for their rights to truth, to justice, and to reparation. We kept hope, especially in those first days Hiba Alhamed is a 26-year-old Syrian refugee, living in France. Her father, Ismail, went missing in 2013. For me, my father is the kindest person that I have ever met in my life, says Hiba. He cares so much about others, about his family. Hes such an idol for us. A surgeon, Ismail had been working in Saudi Arabia when conflict broke out in 2011 in Syria. He immediately returned to his country to participate in the peaceful protest movement and to carry out humanitarian work. Says Hiba, her father has a strong commitment to human rights, and for fighting against injustice. He was kidnapped in ISIL-controlled Raqqa, in northeastern Syria, on his way to work. Hiba was in Aleppo at the time, and first heard the news on social media. From that moment, our struggle to know where he is began, she said. We kept hope, especially in those first days. We thought that he was taken by mistake, and that he would come back soon. Hibas mother stayed in Raqqa, doing everything she could to locate her husband and bring him home. For one year, she tried everything, including reaching contacts in the highest ranks of ISIL. But after one year of failed attempts, and facing too many dangers herself, she fled Syria with her five children. The family ended up in Marseilles, France, where they still live today as refugees. Their search for Ismail continues every day. Over the last seven years, we have heard a lot of information on his supposed whereabouts, but we cant be sure of anything, says Hiba. The last we heard was that they had moved prisoners, including my father, to a city on the Syria-Iraq border, but we still dont know if that is true. Speaking out to find justice Solidarity with other people who have lost family members to disappearance or death amidst the Syrian war is helping many such as Meriem and Hiba - to find a path to justice. Over the last few years, Syrian victims networks and family associations in Syria and across the world have become increasingly organized to speak out on the human rights violations committed by all parties in the Syrian conflict, and to demand truth and justice. Both Meriem and Hiba have been instrumental in building such organisations, gathering people together who are suffering an all too similar pain. Both of their organisations have been involved in the recent launch of the Truth and Justice Charter, setting out a common vision to advance victims rights, search for truth and justice, and hold perpetrators accountable. The Caesar Families Association, of which Meriem is a member, is a group of families who lost their loved ones under torture in Syrian government prisons. The group came together after identifying their family members through the famous Caesar Photos, images leaked from within detention centres, which became public in 2014. We are trying to reach the international fora in any way possible, says Meriem. We are not just narrating stories. We are witnesses to these crimes. We know who is responsible. Although Meriem is disappointed in the response from many countries, who despite having evidence have done nothing, she is determined to persist. We believe that every drop of water that falls on a rock will eventually form a hole. Achieving justice will need a long time, but it will be served. And we will keep shouting because our voice is the only thing that we have. Hiba feels a similar struggle in seeking action from governments for the disappeared, yet nonetheless continues her fight. She is a founding member of the Coalition of Families of Persons Kidnapped by ISIL, an organisation formed in 2019 to search for the missing. If we don't come together as families, if we don't bear this cause or if we don't push for it, no one will do it for us, she says. For Hiba, her father and his friends, who stood up against ISIL and against the government, are the real heroes. Im so proud of him, even if it has caused me a lot of pain, she continues. I dont question why he did this, because its my dad. He and his friends have paid such a big price. But for our lives to continue, and for them, we need to know their fate. 11 March 2021 The euphoria about getting the jab seems to be confined so far to the better-off sections of society The Lal Gumbad Basti is a stones throw from a 14th century Sufi saints tomb and tree-lined Panchsheel Park, one of South Delhis toniest neighbourhoods. Most families who live in this slum dont have toilets or taps at home; every morning, there are long queues outside the few community toilets that exist. Few have piped water. The 3,000-odd people who live in the basti are used to being invisible. They eke out a living as daily wagers, in odd jobs, and are part of that amorphous space called the informal sector. Last December, they had their moment of fleeting visibility. Several women from the slum spoke out at the Hunger Hearings organised by the civil society group Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan. I watched the live-streamed video testimonies. They brought alive the stark reality of acute hunger among many of the citys poor who had lost their jobs and sunk into deep debt with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. I visited the area soon after. Earlier this week, I called up a community worker I had met during one such visit. I wanted to check how people at Lal Gumbad Basti were reacting to the world's largest inoculation drive against the coronavirus. Since January 16, when India launched a mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign, more than 24 million vaccine doses have been administered. I am among those who have already got the first dose of the vaccine. The experience was relatively smooth, barring minor technical glitches like a malfunctioning server which delayed things a bit. But recent newspaper reports are pointing out a far more disturbing trend. The euphoria about getting the jab seems to be confined so far to the better-off sections of society. But where are the poor in the vaccine queues? Why is there such little enthusiasm about the vaccine in places like Lal Gumbad Basti? Talking to residents, a few things became clear. The health workers and Anganwadi workers have mostly been vaccinated. Most slum dwellers, however, are still caught up with their struggle for survival; they are looking for work and/or supplementary income. Many people dont have smartphones or computers and are not fully equipped to navigate the entire process required for the jab. Many others are ignorant or apprehensive because they have heard someone, somewhere, had faced adverse effects or died soon after taking the vaccine. Nobody has really explained all the details to them in a language they can understand and dispelled their fears about the vaccine. If the government can carry out mass awareness campaigns, put up posters everywhere about the need to wear masks, wash hands with soap, and maintain physical distancing, why not do the same to make people more aware about the Covid 19-vaccine, dispel all doubts and hesitancy? asked the community worker. Why not indeed? And this brings one to several key challenges ahead. Though many of us feel a great sense of relief that a Covid-19 vaccine is available, and we can take the jab and feel much safer, there are still many unknowns. We dont fully know how long the immunity will last or how effective it will be against new variants of the virus. For the near future, it would be wise to continue to take all the safety precautions like wearing masks, maintaining enough physical distance, washing hands with soap frequently, and so on. Even among the middle class, there are many who believe that once you have taken one dose of the vaccine, one is immune from the virus. This is not so. We need strong public health campaigns to sledgehammer these basic health facts. Then there is the all-important equity issue. Globally, vaccine equity is seen to be the biggest moral test before the global community. It is being argued that since the coronavirus doesnt really discriminate between the wealthy and developing nations -- access to, and distribution of vaccines, shouldnt either. The same applies within a country. Global Covid-19 vaccine trackers point to Indias relatively low population-level full vaccination coverage till date. Many health experts like Rajib Dasgupta, chairperson of the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, say India was right in giving priority to vaccinating its healthcare and frontline workers and that could explain why our vaccination coverage is relatively low till now. In a recent commentary piece in Indian Express, Mr Dasgupta noted: The enthusiasm witnessed in the first few days since moving on to the next group of 270 million people -- those aged above 60 years as well as those between 45-59 years with co-morbidities -- was also marked by some shortcomings in the technology (booking of slots) and vaccine supply. These shall surely be fixed quickly given Indias depth of experience and capacity of the immunisation programme. The transient technical woes are not the only problems that need to be tackled. The greater challenge is building more public confidence in the vaccine. India has set a target of immunising about 0.3 million healthcare workers (HCW) on the first day (January 16) across 2,934 sites; 10 million HCW should have received the first dose in about 30 days (mid-February). But as Mr Dasgupta points out: 7 million were vaccinated with the first dose till March 8, with considerable variation across states. This does point to a modicum of vaccine hesitancy in some states and/or within the states, that too among a group who actually have some of the highest risks. If this is the situation among healthcare workers, imagine the situation of the urban poor who live cheek by jowl and are also at great risk? In India, it is in everyones interest that both the well-off and the not-so-well off, the big city dweller as well as those in small towns and in the interior, take the jab if they are medically eligible. India has many great advantages -- it has an indigenous vaccine industry and it has successfully administered vaccines to millions in the past. But if access to vaccines for all is our calling card, we must factor in the stark, ground realities -- like the class divide, the digital divide, the information divide and the gender divide in society. About 400 million Indians have no access to the Internet. Far fewer women have access to cellphones and Internet services. Indias capable frontline workers have to be mobilised to plug some of these gaps for broader vaccination coverage. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Wednesday that it is urging the international community to help fund its $1.4 billion program to help children in Syria and in neighboring countries WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th March, 2021) The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Wednesday that it is urging the international community to help fund its $1.4 billion program to help children in Syria and in neighboring countries. "As Syria marks 10 years of war, UNICEF reminds the warring parties, those with influence over them and the wider international community that: Humanitarian organizations like UNICEF urgently need the support and funding they need to deliver assistance to Syria's children," the statement said. "UNICEF is appealing for US$1.4 billion for its response inside Syria and the neighboring countries for 2021." UNICEF noted that children associated with armed groups, particularly those in the northeast of Syria, must be reintegrated in local communities, while kids of foreign nationals must be repatriated safely to their countries of origin. UNICEF also called on the sides to the conflict in Syria to refrain from attacks on children and civilian infrastructure. "We call for the renewal of the UN Security Council Resolution on cross border assistance allowing the continuation of delivery of lifesaving assistance across Syria's borders," the statement said. "There are no winners in this war and the biggest loss is brought upon Syria's children. It is time for warring parties to put the guns down and come to the negotiation table. Peace and diplomacy are the only way out of this abyss." UNICEF said the ten-year war in Syria "has left the lives and futures of a generation of children hanging by a thread" and 90 percent of children are currently in need of humanitarian assistance, . Last year, the price of the average food basket in the country grew by over 230 percent, while the reported numbers of children showing symptoms of psychosocial distress doubled in 2020, UNICEF also said. "According to verified data, between 2011 and 2020: Almost 12,000 children were killed or injured; More than 5,700 children - some as young as seven years old - were recruited into the fighting," the statement said. "More than 1,300 education and medical facilities and personnel have come under attack." UNICEF explained that the situation in northern Syria is particularly alarming. "In the northwest, millions of children remain displaced, with many families having fled violence multiple times, some as many as seven times, in search of safety," the statement said. "More than 75 per cent of the grave violations recorded in 2020 occurred in the northwest." In addition, in the Al-Hol camp and throughout northeast Syria, 27,500 children of at least 60 nationalities as well as thousands of Syrian children associated with armed groups are staying in camps and detention centers. "Violence has recently surged in Al-Hol, putting lives at risk and highlighting the need for long-term solutions including reintegration in local communities or the safe repatriation of children to their countries of origin," the statement added. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / AMPD Ventures Inc. ("AMPD" or the "Company") (CSE:AMPD)(FRA:2Q0) announces that 2,100,000 incentive stock options have been granted to certain employees, officers, directors, or consultants pursuant to the Company's stock option plan. The options have an exercise price of CAD $0.25 per share. 1,500,000 of the options are exercisable for a period of three years, and 600,000 of the options are exercisable for a period of five years, unless terminated pursuant to the terms of the stock option plan. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AMPD Ventures Inc. /s/ "Anthony Brown" Anthony Brown CEO & Director AMPD Ventures Inc. ir@ampd.tech | Tel: 604-332-3329 For more information on AMPD, please contact: Investor Relations Tel: 604-332-3329 ext. 3 ir@ampd.tech Or visit http://www.ampd.tech The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Certain statements made herein may contain forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements 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. Such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors. The Company believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. SOURCE: AMPD Ventures Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/634992/Stock-Option-Grant Democrats are slamming U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw for failing to timely disclose that he was trading stocks during the start of the pandemic, a violation of laws meant to prevent members of Congress from using their offices for profiteering. If you are a Texas elected official, your first job in a crisis is to keep Texans safe. Instead, Dan Crenshaw was thinking about his portfolio, said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa. In March 2020, the Houston Republican made five stock transactions while Congress was shaping the first COVID-19 relief package. According to the since-filed disclosure reports, Crenshaw bought stock in Amazon, Southwest Airlines, Boeing, North Carolina-based SPX and Houston-based Kinder Morgan, which owns and operates oil and gas pipelines and terminals. He also bought a stake in an index fund that tracks the performance of the S&P 500. Crenshaw, first elected in 2018, didnt report the trades within 45 days as required by congressional ethics laws. Instead, he reported them in December, a month after winning his second term in the Nov. 3 election. Any reporting issues were unintentional and are being corrected immediately, Crenshaw said about the late paperwork, which was first reported by The Daily Beast. PANDEMIC POLITICKING: Gov. Abbotts order to reopen Texas fuels primary foes who say hes too slow Because Congress reports stock transactions in ranges of $1,001 to $15,000, it appears Crenshaw could have bought up to $120,000 in stock during that time. A Crenshaw spokesman said it was actually $13,000. My highest transaction was around $3,000, Crenshaw said. Im not the Wolf of Wall Street, Im a 36-year-old who listens to Dave Portnoy and Jim Cramer for stock advice. Crenshaw was hardly alone in trading stocks while Congress was working on the first COVID-19 relief package. A data analysis from the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center showed at least 12 senators and 37 other House members made more than 1,500 securities transactions between early February and early April. That includes five transactions by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and stock purchases and sales by three other Texas House members. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Former Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Midland; Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin; and Van Taylor, R-Plano, were the others. Conaway made 53 transactions during those two months that were valued at between $2.2 million and $5.3 million, the data analysis showed. Doggett traded four times, with the value being between $4,000 and $64,000. Taylor reported seven transactions between $1 million and $2.2 million. The stock trading reports for members of Congress include trades of funds held by spouses and those made by brokerage firms or financial advisers on a members behalf. The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center found that the biggest trader in Congress during the early days of the pandemic was then-Rep. Phil Roe, a Tennessee Republican who made 366 transactions during those two months. Those trades were valued at between $2.4 million and $10.6 million. Roe told a Knoxville television station last year that the trades were all done by a financial adviser. They included purchasing stock in online communications programs like Zoom and Slack and selling off stock from a cruise line. It is not illegal for members of Congress to trade stocks while in office. But over the last decade, Congress has tried to prevent lawmakers from dealing in insider trading, which is illegal. In 2012, Congress passed the STOCK Act, which barred lawmakers and their staffers from trading stocks, bonds and other investments using information obtained from private congressional briefings. That law also required new public disclosures to allow the public to track a Congress members Wall Street activities. jeremy.wallace@chron.com OTTAWA - A state-affiliated publication in China says two Canadian men will "soon" receive their first trial after more than two years in detention. Michael Kovrig, left, and Michal Spavor are shown in these 2018 images taken from video. A state-owned publication in China says two Canadian men will "soon" receive their first trial after more than two years in detention. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP OTTAWA - A state-affiliated publication in China says two Canadian men will "soon" receive their first trial after more than two years in detention. But a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada says Canadian diplomats have not been notified of any court hearings and are not aware of any set timelines for trials. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in December 2018 in apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request from the United States. They have been in custody since, held on what the Canadian government and observers have described as bogus charges aimed at putting pressure on Canada to release Meng. Earlier Thursday, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, an English-language newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, posted on his social media account he's been told trials will be conducted soon. The plight of the two Michaels, as they are known, has been taken up by several of Canada's allies, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who recently pledged his support to help free the two men. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2021. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. 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. Image via Stadium Goods Greig Bennett says he has no idea how Travis Scott recently acquired a pair of bootleg Orchard Street Nike Dunks that he designed nearly 18 years ago. In fact, when Bennett hung pairs of the shoes on street lamps, wires, and traffic lights, he never thought people would shimmy up telephone poles to get the shoes in the first place. I just never expected them to come down, says Bennett, whose brand Orchard Street infamously made 40 pairs of two custom Nike Dunks that could only be acquired by physically finding them on the street. The mentality of it was, Cool. Were going to put this shit up there and itll be there forever. But the shit lasted for like, two days. The craziest thing I saw was a picture of a guy on a fire engine ladder pulling a pair down from some high place. Although Orchard Street is a bygone New York City streetwear brand from the 2000s, Bennett is still working within the streetwear space as the vice president of brand creative and head designer at Stadium Goods.This week, Stadium Goods released STADIUM, a new premium in-house brand that is designed and led by Bennett. Stadium Goods new sub-label differs from the regular in-house line by offering elevated cut and sew garments crafted out of superior fabrics. The debut 11-piece collection includes rugby sweaters, heavyweight cotton tie-dye hoodies, fleece tracksuits, and standout pieces like a leather varsity jacket with chenille patches. To learn more about STADIUM and the future of the line, we spoke to Bennett about his new collection, his roots within New York Citys streetwear culture, how he got rappers like Jay-Z to wear his clothes in the early 2000s, and more. Image via Stadium Goods What do you want to bring to the table with STADIUM? Well I think that Stadium Goods as a brand has a really great reputation. Theyre known as the luxury experience for sneakers, right? So with STADIUM, I wanted to match that experience with the apparel. So, when you touch it, when you look at it, when you feel it, its on another level. Its something different than what we were previously offering and what were still currently offering. So Stadium Goods already has a line thats superdope. It has really cool little capsules and drops that tie well with the latest Air Jordan or Air Max or what have you. But STADIUM is just a little different than that. Story continues What were some of the main inspirations for the line? I think this collection was really meant to be a foundation. If you look at the next two collections, or the next three collections, they move around a bit more. And when I say move around, you might see something thats a bit more thematic or directional. But this first one was the foundation. Like, here are these fly pieces to get you started. Boom, you have this and from here you can build upon it. So I look at it as all being modular in a way. What you buy from me next year, you can wear with what you bought from me last year. And not necessarily that its a one-to-one match but it all works together in that way. When you collect clothing and you buy a lot of clothing, you start mixing and matching, putting things together, and understanding how to dress. So, if Im giving you the direction of where things are going and explaining it, these are your core, foundation pieces that youre going to get and well continue to build on those. But then, there will be other things that are going to be less or more different. Youve been working with Stadium Goods for the past two years now but got a long history in this game, clearly. How did you first get involved with streetwear? Its interesting. We were just always into clothing, period. So, when I was young, it was Polo, Guess, Girbaud, Hilfiger, Nautica, all of that real 90s vibe. And there was early, early streetwear, where you could buy at Union in 94 or 95, like Conart and shit like that. I got into that just because I wrote graffiti. For a lot of the stuff in those times it was like characters on shirts or things that were graff-related. So, thats early streetwear. Thats streetwear at its essence. But yeah, I just always was into clothes. So, it wasnt really a delineation of what was what. You know what Im saying? Image via Stadium Goods I heard you grew up looking up to Tracy 168. How did your upbringing lead you into streetwear? Im from Kingsbridge Road. So yes, Tracy was the OG of my neighborhood. Actually, hes the OG of graff, period. Im from Kingsbridge, 197th Street and Bainbridge, so right there. I grew up looking at that shit and at a certain age I got down with Tracy. He threw me a couple styles and the rest is history. Everything that I learned about art and design and color composition comes from graffiti. So yeah, that was definitely one of my entry points. You know, I also read comics and always liked cartoons as a kid. But graffiti was when I started taking things seriously as a teenager. I put in a lot of work on that. How did your streetwear brand Orchard Street come about? Orchard Street, this was the early 2000s. There was some activity happening, there were certain brands out there. Alife was very prominent around that time and stores like Nom de Guerre. There was some cool shit. There was just a little movement and a moment and Id say that was, from my estimation of things, the second wave of streetwear. And just a couple of homies were like, Yo, we want to do our own thing and make our own stuff. We were always into sneakers and fly shit. But by then, Polo was getting a little played out for us and we were just like, Yo, lets do our own thing. We made a couple shirts for the heads. And one thing led to another. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Its funny because those infamous Dunks you guys made resurfaced on Travis Scotts Instagram. What compelled you guys to make that, your own special Dunk release, back in those days? I think as a designer, Id always follow my own path. So, if everyone likes that, I might like this. Or if everyones doing that, Im going to do this. And there was just this moment happening around that time. Supreme had just released the orange and white Dunk Highs with the stars. A couple of years before, the Zoo Yorks came out. So, Dunks were definitely popping and it was just like, Yo, lets do our own. Actually, the color of those Dunks was inspired by a very popular throw-up combination, which is the yellow with the red outline. At least in the 90s, that was a very prominent bombing colorway, so to speak. My crew loved yellow and red throw-ups. We loved seeing them and we loved doing them. And the way that it tied to the sneakers was that the whole campaign was like graffiti in a way because we were putting them up on the street. You also released an orange and green one with a slit in it, right? Yeah, that was two years later. And at that point, the first one went so crazy that we were like, How can we take that energy and multiply it? And then the second one, there was a whole thing with that one and that one went nuts, too. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. All the pairs were basically customs. Like pairs of St. Johns hand painted yellow? Thats correct, thats exactly what they were. And the other ones were Brazil Highs that you could only get in Europe at the time. My mom actually would go to London every year, a couple of times a year. So, she just went and sourced them for me out of Foot Locker in London. And you guys only made 40 pairs of each. Right? Yep. What was the most ridiculous spot you personally think you put those shoes in? I think they were all kind of ridiculous. I dont know, I just never expected them to come down. The idea was, it was an urban marker. It was like, you know when you see someone catch a throw-up way high on a building? And youre like, Oh, shit. Thats going to be there forever. The mentality of it was: Cool. Were going to put this shit up there and itll be there forever. So, whenever youre walking around downtown, by stores like Union or Nom de Guerre, it was supposed to be there. But the shit lasted for like, two days. The craziest thing I saw was a picture, which I have somewhere, of a guy on a fire engine pulling them down. So, that was pretty interesting. You know, the ladder that they use to save people? He was on that, pulling the pair down from some high place. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Did Nike do anything when you guys did that, legally? Or did it just go under their radar for the most part? Sneakers werent like it is now. Obviously, people were excited and there was a small community. But the internet wasnt what it was then. So this is a story that has grown and gotten bigger over the years because people have heard about it through little rumblings. But no, never heard a word from them. Do you have any idea how Travis Scott got a pair? No. Those all left my hands 18 years ago. Thats quite a long time ago, so I have no idea where theyve been and what the trajectory of those has been. But it was cool, last week, to see mans wearing them. Speaking of other celebrities that have worn your clothes. Do you know how Jay-Z got that Orchard Street T-shirt for the Frontin video? Its a pretty long story but at the time, my girlfriend was a celebrity stylist and she worked with a lot of people and we did a lot of outreach also. Not just through her, but through different channels and homies, we were also involved in music. So we knew A&Rs and people at labels, so getting stuff on people wasnt really that difficult. And at a certain point, people started coming to us. You know, the street was still in streetwear. It wasnt really as focused on the internet. So, when you had some shit, people knew and would get in touch with you. There was really this rhythm and energy in streetwear at that time. Image via Stadium Goods Did anything significant happen to the brand after that moment? Orchard Street grew to be quite big. We were stocked in a lot of stores and had a massive deal with Reebok. That went for a couple of years and the brand had a great run, it was good. So at some point you just felt like, We should just close up shop? It was just the economy. When it crashed in 2008, it was really hard to stay in business at that point. After Orchard, I saw that you went on to design merchandise for artists like ASAP Rocky and Billie Eilish. What was it like working for both those artists? In 2009, I started the Thread Shop at Sony with Mat Vlasic. He knew what was going on in streetwear and his vision was to really merge music and fashion by turning merch from being a T-shirt business into becoming brands. Doing capsules, collections and things with stores and what have you. So, 2009 was when I got into that merch team and started working with musicians. Billie and Rocky were both great to work with. And those are just two examples of artists that have incredible brands outside of their music. I love working with artists big and small, its an interesting thing when you connect with these people because they have so many ideas. And you were at Bravado too, eventually. Did you happen to handle any merch from Travis Scott? Yes. So, I was at Bravado later. Obviously, 2009 to now is a long time. But I went to Bravado in 2017, 16, 17, something like that. And yeah, it was great. I had a great time there working with artists. Thats when I got to connect with Billie. And at that point, I was doing less of the designing and more of the brand management. But yeah, it was great. Image via Stadium Goods Is STADIUM planning to drop collaborations with other brands, too? Yeah, most definitely. As I said before, I love working with artists. So, whether theyre musicians, designers, other brands, visual artists, were most certainly speaking with some people and are keen to collaborate. How do you think streetwear has changed since the 2000s? How do you think the game has changed and just the culture in general? I think Its grown massively and its been cool. Its a trip to see just where things have come. I remember walking into Supreme three times over two days to buy those Zoo York Dunks and they hadnt sold out. And when I was about to buy a fourth pair, I was like: You know what? Let me not OD. Whatever. Im just going to be cool with this. It wasnt quite so crazy, right? And obviously, that craziness is amazing and has made the game grow and flourish, but its just different. Its like anything that has evolved. There are a lot more players in the game, a lot more brands out there, and are a lot of people doing interesting stuff. So, I think streetwear is doing really well and I think there are a lot of brands that are coming up now that are doing really cool things. I think theres also a really nice moment happening in New York with streetwear brands right now, too. Its awesome and Im really happy that its still around. Education Minister Peter Weir visits Springfield Primary School in west Belfast as pupils in primary one to three returned to class. School was suspend a few months ago due to the lockdown as a result of the COID-19 pandemic. (Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye) Thousands of children across Northern Ireland have again been left waiting to be given a date when they will be allowed to return to school. No decision was reached at the Executive meeting on Thursday on the full return of all pupils to the classroom, but P1 to P3 pupils will now be allowed to remain in class beyond March 22. In the Executives original plan, the youngest pupils would have reverted to remote learning from that date to allow those in post primary exam years - years 12-14 - to return to school. Exam year pupils will still return on that date. The Education Minister had argued that it did not make enormous sense to withdraw P1-P3 from school just nine days after returning and had asked for those year groups to be allowed to continue with face-to-face learning. The Executive will discuss the full return to school again next Tuesday. It is understood further confirmation of what safety mitigations will be in place is needed before setting a date for all pupils to resume face to face teaching. Peter Weir has targeted a date of April 12 for the full return for schools across Northern Ireland, and while that may yet be confirmed on Tuesday when the Executive is due to discuss wider the lockdown across Northern Ireland, the agreement on P1-P3 continuing after March 22 will at least provide the youngest pupils with a continuity of learning. The global crisis is a wake-up call to the energy sector to get its act together, according to Dr. -Ing. Christian Bruch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy. In conversation with John Defterios, CNN presenter and anchor, at the World Government Summit Dialogues, Bruch urged companies and governments to collaborate to urgently adapt learnings from the pandemic to rebuild a more equitable and collaborative energy infrastructure for the next decade. The inequality we see in parts of the energy industry is a cause for concern, he said. With many states in disarray, and even plunged into darkness following the pandemic, the world has begun to realise that a dependency on fossil fuels to meet the needs of huge populations will spell trouble. Citing an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) report, which states that $12.5 trillion is needed from 2021 to 2045 to get the global energy transition underway and tackle the last billion people without regular energy access, Dr Bruch said the worlds leading industry players are clearly divided on their priorities. You see a pretty divided world. On the one side there is sufficient capital in the world and it is a question on how to deploy it. There is a lot of uncertainty this balance of investing somewhere, giving people access to electricity and energy how is this working out? One thing is clear, the old mechanisms are not going to work, he explained. Referencing a Carbon Tracker report on the concern that some countries such as Iraq, Libya, Angola, and Nigeria are overly-dependent on hydrocarbon revenues while countries like the UAE have a clear blueprint to an energy transition until 2050, and to the challenges the traditional fossil-dependent nations would face in making the transition, he said: There are three classes of countries industrialised countries which are now identifying stimulus measures and moving to decarbonisation, oil driven countries the Gulf region is a good example of these - that in the past several years have made smart plans to convert debt revenues into future proven revenues, and finally, the countries who have not made this transition yet and are heavily dependent on oil income and still have to ensure stability in their countries by granting electricity, ensuring income for the people. With more oil companies now renaming themselves energy companies, Dr Bruch noted that renewable energy transitions need to cut across sectors and technologies otherwise we run the risk of living in a renewable bubble that does not really achieve long-term returns. Asked whether stimulus packages risk creating the same renewable energy bubble, Dr Bruch noted that while these are helpful to trigger wealth creation and the energy industry could certainly benefit from them, something positive needs to be done with these stimulus efforts to drive change. Advising governments, especially in developing countries to start building renewable energy frameworks, to enhance the energy transition and ensure that the balance of energy is managed correctly, he said: Decarbonisation means energy will still be transported from the advantaged countries to the industrialised ones that need it export and import of energy will continue and offer earnings models for these developing countries that you do not have today. Governments for their part, must ensure investment remains stable to support business models and create an investment climate that is favourable and assures the developed countries of a return of investment. He highlighted the example of Germany that is investing its money in other countries for energy production and said this could be of joint interest if the parties are focused on increasing the share of renewables in power generation. He urged developing countries to drive the coal to gas transition, to really push for enabling conditions to bring renewables into place and finally to invest in infrastructure. He noted that installing the adequate infrastructure to get ready for a new system is often underestimated but most critical - infrastructure, transmission, storage, and stabilisation are going to assume growing priority in the next 3, 5 and 7 years. He also noted that these changes need a long-term perspective, with the world still too timid about making them. While he welcomed the return of the US to the table in all climate initiatives, he noted that this was just one part of the equation. With the green transition now valued at US$2 trillion, today we are witnessing a tectonic shift that sweeps China, Middle East, Europe and the US as well as well as many others in its swathe. He encouraged the worlds nations to come together to solve these problems globally. To a question on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG), the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business and the issue with pension and wealth funds and university funds not investing in hydrocarbon focused industries, despite industries such as petrochemicals still needing to depend on fossil fuels, he said: I am a believer in interim solutions we will not otherwise get buy in from society, or government if we take extreme measures. Sustainability is not something we do because we are good people. Sustainability is a call for a focus for business reasons. It is the one element which will drive profitability of companies going forward and if you get this thinking into companies, then we will be able to define interim solutions as interim. The big concern people have it that you get forever stuck with interim solutions. That is something that governments, but also us as companies have to frame. Interim solutions can pave the way for a long-term future. One big change he would like to see for the energy industry? Collaboration in the energy industry and parties coming together to solve future problems. -- Tradearabia News Service Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/Reuters Two Canadian men detained in China are likely to stand trial in the coming weeks, according to a state-backed newspaper, dimming hopes that a diplomatic deal could secure their release. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been held without bail for more than 820 days, since they were detained soon after the Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested on a US warrant in Vancouver. On Thursday, an editorial in the state-run Global Times said they would face trial soon, citing anonymous sources. Kovrig was accused of having used an ordinary passport and business visa to enter China to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017, while Spavor was accused of being a key source of intelligence for Kovrig, the paper wrote. They are suspected of crimes endangering Chinas national security, and have already been prosecuted. In some cases, a guilty verdict in espionage cases can mean life in prison. Chinas courts have a notorious reputation for high rates of conviction. Canadas foreign ministry says it is not aware of any timeline for the trial of the two men. The Canadian government remains deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention by Chinese authorities of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig since December 2018 and continues to call for their immediate release, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada told the Guardian by email, adding that consular officials continue to provide services for the two men. Despite claims from China that the two were endangering national security, Canada maintains Beijing is conducting hostage diplomacy. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, has previously said he believes the arrests were carried out in retaliation for Mengs detention. The Huawei executive is currently fighting extradition to the US on fraud charges. Her court hearing is expected to conclude on 14 May. For two years, Canada has worked to build global support for its campaign to secure the release of the two. Last month, it signed a declaration against arbitrary detention, prompting anger from China. As its options run low the Canadian government has increasingly pinned its hopes that pressure from the US could help secure the release of the men. Human beings are not bartering chips, Joe Biden, the US president, told reporters last month. Were going to work together until we get their safe return. Canada and the United States will stand together against abuse of universal rights and democratic freedom. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is threatening to sue Austin health officials for its face mask order. On Tuesday, Austin and Travis County public health leaders announced they will continue requiring residents wear masks in public. The order operates as a public health mandate under the recommendations of Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott. Not long after, Paxton looked into the order, saying he will find "every avenue available to stop" Austin officials and their face mask actions. Come Wednesday, he tweeted that health authorities and officials have until 6 p.m. to rescind its mask mandate or he will sue them on behalf of the State of Texas. PAXTON PROBLEMS: Texas AG Ken Paxton's legal troubles just got the ukulele treatment The face mask drama comes after Gov. Greg Abbott lifted his mandate Wednesday. He said business owners should make the decision to enforce face masks for their customers and staff, not the state or local officials. Escott issued the order but didn't announce how they'll enforce it, as Abbott's order explicitly says that no jurisdiction can impose jail time or other penalties for not wearing a mask. In the release, it only states complaints about non-compliance should be referred to 3-1-1 (512-974-2000). According to an existing acting order by Escott, noncompliance could also result in a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,000. The order has been in place since July. BAD TWEETS: Abbott river authority appointee steps down after controversial tweets surface "Wearing a face covering is one of the easiest ways to slow the transmission of disease in our community," Escott stated in a news release Tuesday. "While vaccine administration is underway, we are still not in a place of herd immunity and need people to wear face coverings in public and around non-household members so we can avoid another surge of cases." Austin Mayor Steve Adler clarified on Tuesday that Escott is committed to defeating COVID-19 in Travis County, adding the city will employ whatever tools are available to support his orders for the sake of all Austin schools, businesses, and residents. Paxton said in his statement to Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown that the officials and their health authorities have no jurisdiction to threaten fines for non-compliance. He noted if they go to court, they will lose. In Bexar County, local officials don't plan to defy Abbott's order but are requiring businesses to post signs letting customers know whether they require masks or not, according to Joshua Fechter from the San Antonio Express-News. Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre PITTSBURGH, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "I wanted to create a better basking platform to support my pet turtle when relaxing out of water," said an inventor, from San Antonio, Texas, "so I invented the TURTLE BASKING PLATFORM. My design will not create shadows within the tank, and it will not reduce the swimming area." The patent-pending invention provides an effective way for a pet turtle to bask under UV lighting. In doing so, it offers an improved alternative to traditional tank/aquarium accessories. As a result, it could enhance safety, comfort and relaxation for a turtle. The invention features a unique and user-friendly design that is easy to attach and use so it is ideal for individuals with pet turtles and pet stores. Additionally, it is producible in design variations and a prototype is available. The original design was submitted to the Austin sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 19-AUP-1272, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com. SOURCE InventHelp Related Links http://www.inventhelp.com Indian car parts manufacturer Sandhar Technologies will open a factory in Romania to produce die-cast aluminum components for car wipers and seat belt retractor spindles, local media reports said. Romania-insider.com, citing Profit.ro, said the Indian group had set up a branch in Bucharest, through its Spanish subsidiary, to prepare the launch of its Romanian operations. Sandhar Technologies RO has a share capital of RON1m (EUR0.2m) and is wholly owned by Sandhar Technologies Barcelona, a company owned by Sandhar Technologies. Founded in 1987 by Indian businessman Jayant Davar, Sandhar Technologies operates 43 factories in India, Spain, Poland, and Mexico, with over 5,800 employees. The company is listed on the Mumbai BSE Stock Exchange, the reports said. SEATTLE A man pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to arson and possession of a stolen firearm during civil unrest in Seattle on May 30, 2020, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. 25-year-old Tyre Wayne Means faces a mandatory minimum 5 years in prison and up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones on June 11, 2021. According to records filed in the case, just after 4 p.m. on May 30, 2020, Means was captured on video lighting a paper towel and placing it in the back of a Seattle Police patrol car parked outside of Nordstrom on Sixth Avenue in downtown. Other persons in the crowd fed the fire with lighter fluid and other accelerants, and the vehicle was destroyed by fire. After he lit one patrol car on fire, Means is observed on video reaching through the destroyed rear window of a different patrol car and removing a rifle bag. Means opened the bag and looked inside. Means is also seen fighting with an unidentified man who tried to retrieve the rifle bag before Means ran from the scene. A subsequent surveillance video on Pine Street, around the corner from where the rifle was stolen, shows Means in a fight with another man. While Means and the man are throwing punches, an unidentified man picks up the rifle bag and ultimately walks away. Later that day, the rifle was anonymously returned to the Seattle Police West Precinct. Means was identified as the suspect in the video by his distinctive clothing, jewelry, tattoos, and association with a female who also had distinctive tattoos and a significant social media presence. Means was arrested in Bremerton, where he was meeting with his Washington State Department of Corrections probation officer. Means is prohibited from possessing firearms due to two felony convictions in the state of Georgia: serious injury by vehicle and obstructing law enforcement by use of threats or violence. In Washington, Means has a felony conviction for domestic violence that includes a no-contact orderthat order also prohibits him from possessing firearms. Arson is punishable by a mandatory minimum 5 years in prison and up to 20 years in prison. Possession of a stolen firearm is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Both the prosecution and defense will recommend a 5-year prison term; however, the ultimate sentence is up to Judge Jones after considering the sentencing guidelines and other factors. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives the FBI and the Seattle Police Department. (Newser) A week after President Jair Bolsonaro told Brazilians to quit their whining, the struggling nation has hit a new ominous milestone of nearly 2,300 daily deaths due to COVID-19. Brazil on Wednesday recorded 2,286 deathsbeating the record high of 1,972 set the day beforeand 79,876 new cases for the third highest number in a single day, per the BBC and CNN. The country's main health institute, Fiocruz, has already warned about the "overload and even collapse of health systems." ICUs are nearing or at capacity as the highly transmissible P1 variant spreads. A doctor in Rio Grande do Sul's capital Porto Alegre describes "a war scenario," per the AP. "We see a good part of the population refusing to see what's happening, resisting the facts," he adds. "Those people could be next to step inside the hospital and will want beds. But there won't be one." story continues below Bolsonaro, who's been touting malaria pills and other drugs unproven to treat COVID-19, has favored boosting the economy over measures that would restrict movement, as well as condemned governors who impose restrictions. On Monday, he refused to institute a curfew and lockdown in regions nearing maximum hospital capacity, though a national council of state health secretaries had recommended it. Fiocruz pulmonologist Margareth Dalcolmo says "governors, like a lot of the population, are getting fed up with all this inaction," per the AP. Some had debated instituting a curfew and limits on crowd sizes. But though the proposal they ultimately put forth Wednesday offered support for restricting activity, there were no specific measures. The AP reports "six governors, evidently still wary of antagonizing Bolsonaro, declined to sign on." (Read more Brazil stories.) Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Republicans on Thursday for focusing on immigration during the pandemic, quipping that since Dr. Seuss didn't work as a distraction from the COVID relief plan, they had to try another approach. 'I guess their Dr. Seuss approach didn't work for them, so now they've had to change the subject,' she said at her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill. 'But we do not prioritize our values and how we can make a difference in the lives of the American people to be attuned to the bankruptcy of ideas that the Republicans have.' She also blasted the GOP lawmakers for voting against the American Rescue Plan - it didn't get a single Republican vote - but making sure its dollars went to their districts. President Joe Biden will sign the $1.9 trillion relief package into law on Friday. 'Unfortunately Republicans, as I say, vote no and take the dough,' she said, adding: 'Anyway, enough of them.' The speaker, in the meantime, praised Biden for having a 'humane' border policy even as immigration numbers are on the rise, with more than 100,000 migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in February. 'They have a humane policy about how they... can get them situated in with family members or a safe place for them to be. And it will be nothing like what we saw in the Trump administration of babies being snatched from the arms of their parents. To me, as a mom and a grandmother, that to me is like the most vile - with stiff competition from the Trump administration - but one of the most vile things they did,' she said. 'I trust the Biden administration's policy to be based on humanitarian and love of children, rather than political points or red meat for their for their Republican base,' she added. Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed Republicans for focusing on immigration during the pandemic, quipping that since Dr. Seuss didn't work as a distraction from the COVID relief plan, they had to try another approach House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy posted a video of him reading a Dr. Seuss book; many Republicans slammed 'cancel culture' as lawmakers debated a COVID relief package Republicans also are attacking President Biden about the situation at the border, which the administration has repeatedly refused a 'crisis,' as the number of crossing is on the rise Democrats have blasted Republicans for complaining about the movies, cartoons and children's books that have been reexamined for insensitive racial commentary during a time Americans are suffering from the pandemic. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio let loose on the House floor on Wednesday, demanding Republicans work with Democrats to pass relief measures. 'Heaven forbid we pass something that's going to help the damn workers in the United States of America! Heaven forbid we tilt the balance that has been going in the wrong direction for 50 years,' Ryan yelled, waving his arms over his head. 'Now stop talking about Dr. Seuss, and start working with us on behalf of the American workers.' The issue coalesced around Dr. Seuss after the publisher of the longtime children's author said six of his books would no longer be published because they contained racial insensitivities. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy even posted a video of himself reading Dr. Seuss books to his social media accounts and conservatives flooded social media and TV news with complaints about 'cancel culture' as lawmakers debated the $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. But Republicans also are attacking Biden about the situation at the border, which the administration has repeatedly refused a 'crisis.' McCarthy will soon lead a group of 10 House Republicans to visit the border area to draw attention to it as some Republicans see the issue as one that can help them win back the House and Senate in the 2022 elections. 'This is not a political issue anymore, it's becoming a national security concern,' McCarthy said Thursday during a press conference at the Capitol. Republicans are pushing the cancel culture and immigration issues in the wake of the Democratic victory in getting their COVID relief plan passed. Polls show a majority of Americans support the American Rescue Plan. New data published on Wednesday showed that the number of migrants detained along the southern border rose in February to levels not seen since 2019, when a dramatic surge in migrant family arrivals overwhelmed border facilities. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said their agents and officers detained or processed 100,441 migrants in February. They turned away 72,113 migrants, forcing them back across the border under public health restrictions known as Title 42 to curb the spread of COVID-19. A group of migrants from Guatemala are seen in Texas on Wednesday, having crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico Sarah, from Honduras, carries her 17-month-old daughter Lucia after crossing the Rio Grande Roberta Jacobsen, a special advisor to Joe Biden on migration, addressed the issue on Wednesday The CBP said 25,000 of the migrants they encountered in February had already attempted to cross the border previously. Roberta Jacobsen, ambassador to Mexico from 2016-18 who now serves as a special advisor to Biden, admitted in a White House briefing on Wednesday that the timing of the surge was 'no coincidence'. She said: 'We've seen surges before. Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand. 'So I don't know if I would call that a coincidence.' Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Kolkata, March 12 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had alleged on Wednesday that the incident, in which she had received leg injuries in East Midnapore's Nandigram while campaigning, was a 'conspiracy'. Within 24-hours from the time of the incident, the Trinamool Congress supremo released a two-minute video clip in which she said that she got badly 'hurt'. The mismatching statements of the West Bengal CM sparked off a ragging debate ahead of the high-octane state Assembly elections, at a time when the incumbent Trinamool Congress is facing a stiff challenge from its arch-rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengal. After the incident, Banerjee had claimed it was a conspiracy. "There were about four five men who did it... See how it is swelling up," she had said while pointing to her legs. She had also said, "Of course it is a conspiracy. There was no security men around me." Accordingly, the Trinamool Congress leadership accused the BJP and the Election Commission (EC) for the incident. It also pointed fingers at the role of the poll panel as it had removed the state Director General of Police without consulting the state government. Interestingly, within 24-hours, Banerjee released a video where she deliberately bypassed the 'conspiracy' theory completely, and said she got 'hurt'. "It is true that I got badly hurt yesterday. I got a leg injury, a bone injury and in the ligament... I had pain in my head and chest as a result of the injury...I was greeting people from the car bonnet and a huge push came... and the car crushed my foot," she said in the video. Quite surprisingly, the Trinamool chief never mentioned the 'conspiracy' theory again on Thursday. Meanwhile, the EC responded to Trinamool Congress' letter over the Nandigram incident in which Banerjee was injured. As per sources, the EC said in the communication: "The incident was quite unfortunate. It is also full of insinuations and averments." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A suspected killer wore a bandage over his neck as he appeared in court over the murder of a 16-year-old girl who was 'stabbed to death' at her family's takeaway in South Wales. Chun Xu, 31, is accused of murdering talented schoolgirl Wenjing Lin in an alleged attack at the takeaway restaurant where she lived. Dozens of police officers were among more than 30 emergency vehicles called to the Blue Sky Chinese in Ynyswen, Rhondda, last week. Wenjing Lin, described by her family as a 'gentle soul', died at the scene despite paramedics battling to save her. Xu was later arrested and charged with Wenjing's murder and the attempted murder of 38-year-old Yongquan Jiang. Chun Xu, 31, (pictured) is accused of murdering talented 16-year-old schoolgirl Wenjing Lin during an incident last week at her family's Blue Sky Chinese takeaway in Ynyswen, Wales He was seen arriving at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court with a bandage-style dressing on his throat (pictured). Police confirmed Xu had been treated in hospital Xu appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court this morning with a large bandage-style dressing covering his throat after police confirmed he had been treated in hospital. The 31-year-old, who speaks no English, confirmed his name and date of birth through an interpreter during the 10-minute hearing. Wenjing Lin (pictured) was described as a 'positive role model' in a tribute from her school, Treorchy Comprehensive His sister sobbed in the public gallery and had to be handed a box of tissues by the court. Xu, who also seen wearing a grey tracksuit, disposable facemask and slippers as he was led from a van to the court, was remanded to Cardiff Crown Court on Friday. Magistrate Kimberly Davies told him: 'You will be sent to Cardiff Crown Court and that will be tomorrow. You will be remanded in custody.' Officers have previously stated Chun Xu knew his alleged victims - but it is understood that he is not related to Wenjing. Wenjing was about to take her GCSEs at Treorchy Comprehensive School where she excelled at maths. She had been offered a place at a sixth form college where she was going to study maths and psychology. The teenager was working behind the counter at the family-run Chinese restaurant after local staff were laid off because of Coronavirus. Wenjing was described as a 'positive role model' in a tribute from her school who said fellow pupils had been offered specialist counselling following her death. Treorchy Comprehensive School said: 'Wenjing Lin's sudden death is a tragedy and has had a devastating impact on our school and in particular her friendship group and Year 11. 'Wenjing's life, however, will be remembered as a masterclass in how to be the very best version of yourself that you can be. 'The school will remember Wenjing Lin as a positive role model. She was extremely hard working and was in the middle of studying for her GCSEs and had ambitions to go on to study Psychology and Maths and further Maths at A Level. The incident is alleged to have taken place at her family's takeaway, a Chinese restaurant called The Blue Sky on Baglan Street, Treorchy Xu is due to appear in Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court (pictured, stock image) later today 'The school is working with outside agencies to support all those impacted by this tragedy. 'Students in Year 11 and across other year groups have already had access to immediate support, and this will continue with the support of trained counsellors during the weeks ahead.' South Wales Police Major Crimes Unit are investigating Wenjing's death and appealed for drivers with dashcam footage who may have passed the takeaway to come forward. In a tribute, Wenjing's heartbroken family said: 'Wenjing had a very gentle soul, she was a very quiet person. 'Wenjing helped the whole family, working in the family takeaway. She enjoyed school and worked very hard. She was loved by her family.' NEW YORK, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Exactly one year after the cancellation of the 35th Anniversary Gala Celebration of the enCourage Kids Foundation (EKF) and one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, EKF is celebrating its hospital partners and dedicated doctors, nurses, child life specialists, social workers and other healthcare professionals through the foundation's online fundraising effort with the goal of raising $1 million. enCourage Kids Foundation Through its Honoring Healthcare Heroes Campaign, EKF will be highlighting stories of individuals in the healthcare industry who faced the past year and every day with courage and resilience and who make an immeasurable impact on the lives of their patients and families. The Pediatric Healthcare Hero Honorees are Meghan Kelly, Child Life Program Director - Children's Hospital at Montefiore; Dr. Gerald Loughlin, Professor of Pediatrics - Weill Cornell Medicine/New York - Presbyterian; Nicole Perez, Coordinator of Child Life Services - NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst; and Dr. Kusum Viswanathan, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. https://www.ekf-heroes.org "I'm so proud of the healthcare workers who risk their lives each and every day, especially during the pandemic," said Michele Hall Duncan, President and CEO, EKF. "They're our true heroes and I'm grateful to work closely and assist them with their needs for hospitalized children that they care for." Funds raised will support projects and therapies that hospital budgets do not cover but help kids cope with illness and stress, provide distractive therapies and educate on diagnosis while also addressing the gap in health disparities. Hall-Duncan was recognized and selected to CRAIN's New York exclusive Notable Black Leaders & Executives list. https://www.crainsnewyork.com/awards/notable-black-leaders-and-executives-2021-michele-hall-duncan Krost + Fila identified EKF as a charity that they bring awareness and percentage of sales to their mission. https://krostnewyork.com About enCourage Kids Foundation Since 1985, EKF has helped humanize healthcare for children and their families by resourcing impact-driven pediatric programs and supporting the Child Life Community. Serving nearly one million children annually, EKF is focused on making hospitals a better place to get better. www.encourage-kids.org About Michele Hall-Duncan Hall-Duncan began her career at EKF as a volunteer in 1996 and quickly rose within the organization to President and CEO. She is a member of Child Life of Greater New York and serves on the Diversity Task Force for the Association of Child Life Professionals. She is a Board of Trustees Vice Chair for Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation; Board Secretary of the NYC chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals where she serves the Professional Advancement Committee, Chair of the Nominating Committee and Chair of the Committee on Directorship, and Advisory Board member of STOMP Out BullyingTM, where she received the Public Service Leadership Award. Hall-Duncan has a B.A. in Advertising and is an active associate member of the Essex Hudson Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She has been featured in L.A.'s The Wave Newspaper, Authority Magazine, CRAIN'S, Business News Daily, Medium, Thrive Global, Social Lifestyle, Industry Rules, Resident and networks NY1, CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC7, PIX11, and more. Media: MJ Pedone - Indra PR [email protected] (917) 319-9600 Related Images nicole-perez-coordinator-of-child.jpg Nicole Perez, Coordinator of Child Life Services - NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst Related Links enCourage Kids Foundation website SOURCE enCourage Kids Foundation Statement by Ambassador Kelly at UNSC Briefing on the OSCE Statement Madam President, I would like to thank Minister Linde for briefing us on her priorities as Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE in 2021. I want to assure the Minister of Irelands full support in her important role. Listening to the Ministers briefing, I was very struck by the close links between the work of the OSCE, the work of this Council and the wider UN. It is a reminder that the importance of multilateral cooperation in the face of our common challenges simply cannot be overstated. As a founding member of the OSCE, Ireland regards the organisation as a vital instrument for European stability and security. We greatly value the OSCEs work on conflict resolution and prevention, its activities on human rights and its regional role as well. The OSCEs comprehensive approach to security is as pertinent and relevant as ever - respect for human rights, the rule of law and economic progress are all essential elements for sustaining peace and prosperity. We look forward to working closely with the Chairperson-in-Office to ensure strong, complementary partnerships between the UN and the OSCE. We strongly support the priorities you have outlined this morning, in particular your efforts to strengthen gender equality in all aspects of the OSCEs work, including through seeking womens economic empowerment and supporting the meaningful implementation of the Security Councils resolutions on Women, Peace and Security in the OSCE region, including through dialogue with women peacebuilders and civil society representatives. Indeed, Women, Peace and Security is a priority for Ireland in our work on the Security Council, including as Co-Chair of the Informal Expert Group on WPS. The truth is that neither the OSCE nor the Security Council can successfully address peace and security challenges without the full, equal and meaningful participation of women at all stages in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, and in peacebuilding. Like you Minister, we believe that the UN and regional organisations such as the OSCE have a special responsibility to lead the way in these efforts and should work together to reinforce each others messages. In Ukraine, for example, we have seen how women on the ground are playing a central role in peacebuilding efforts. Ensuring space for those women and civil society in the peace process will be key to delivering effective and sustainable conflict resolution. Let me say as well that Ireland is a firm supporter of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity and we call for full implementation of the Minsk Peace Agreements. We remain seriously concerned too by the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. During our discussion at Council on 11 February, we heard worrying information regarding the humanitarian impact on civilians of the almost complete closure of crossing points along the Line of Contact. We call again today like others for the Shchastia and Zolote Entry-Exit Crossing Points to become fully operational, and for all currently closed EECPs to be re-opened to avoid exacerbating the acute humanitarian crisis. Madam President, Ireland strongly supports Swedens intention to keep conflict prevention and resolution at the top of the OSCEs agenda. The Chair has already demonstrated this commitment through her recent visits, including to Georgia, where we commend her focus on the incident prevention mechanism and on people-to-people links between Tbilisi and the breakaway republics. Ireland also commends Swedens focus on the Transnistrian settlement and plans for holding 5+2 talks. Madam President, We were reminded last autumn of the tragic human cost of conflict in the region, when we saw a return to hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. Ireland welcomes the cessation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is essential that both sides now engage, under the OSCE Minsk Co-Chairs, to find a sustainable solution to the issues around Nagorno-Karabakh. In closing, let me conclude by assuring you once again Minister Linde of Irelands steadfast support for your important work. Thank you very much Madam President. Previous Item | Next Item 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. Empire Energy Group Ltd Empire Energy Group Ltd (EEG.AX) Appoints Mr Louis Rozman as Director Sydney, Australia, Mar 11, 2021 - (ABN Newswire) - Empire Energy Group Limited (ASX:EEG) (OTCMKTS:EEGUF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Louis Rozman to the Board of Directors. Mr Rozman has had a distinguished career in the natural resources sector across operations, development and project financing. His experience includes construction, project management, joint ventures and project financing including private equity. He has held numerous senior management positions in the industry. His experience as Chief Executive Officer of CH4 Gas Limited ("CH4") a successful Queensland coal seam gas developer and producer, is of direct relevance to Empire's growth plans. CH4 was one of the first companies to commercialise a Queensland coal seam methane project. CH4 merged with Arrow Energy in 2006, and the enlarged business was later acquired by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina for >A$3 billion. Mr Rozman's experience will be valuable to Empire as the Company progresses its Northern Territory petroleum projects through appraisal and ultimate commercialisation. His biography is attached and he will stand for election at Empire's 2021 Annual General Meeting. Retirement of Non-Executive Director Mr John Gerahty has retired from the Board of Directors effective today. Mr Gerahty has been a significant and valuable Director and shareholder throughout a period of consolidation and progress for the Company and its balance sheet. This has been important in the successful execution of the Company's strategy now focused on the Northern Territory. The Empire Board thanks Mr Gerahty for his contribution and wishes him well for his future endeavours. Louis Ivan Rozman Mr Rozman is a mining engineer and executive with 40 years' experience in operating and constructing projects in Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Mr Rozman was the Chief Operating Officer of AurionGold Limited and was instrumental in the growth and development of its predecessor, Delta Gold Limited. He was the Chief Executive Officer of CH4 Gas Limited, during its pioneering coal seam gas development in Queensland. Mr Rozman was a founding partner and director of Pacific Road Capital Management overseeing several of its key natural resources projects. Mr Rozman is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy ("AusIMM") and a Chartered Professional (Management). He is the Chairman of the VALMIN Code Committee for the AusIMM and Australian Institute of Geoscientists. He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) degree from the University of Sydney and a Masters in Geoscience (Mineral Economics) from Macquarie University. 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. Contact: Empire Energy Group Ltd E: info@empiregp.net T: +61-2-9251-1846 F: +61-2-9251-0244 WWW: www.empireenergygroup.net Source: Empire Energy Group Ltd Copyright (C) 2021 ABN Newswire. All rights reserved. The headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Niels Wenstedt/BSR Agency/Getty Images The European Medicine Agency has recommended Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine for use in the EU. The EMA previously recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca COVID vaccines. The J&J vaccine, which requires just one shot, would help speed up Europe's vaccine rollout. See more stories on Insider's business page. Europe's medicine regulating agency has recommended the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. The European Medicine Agency announced Thursday Johnson & Johnson's vaccine met safety and quality criteria for use for people 18-years-old and older in the European Union. The EMA said the vaccine led to a reduction of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in 67% of recipients in a 44,000-person study. The EMA previously recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca COVID vaccines. "With this latest positive opinion, authorities across the European Union will have another option to combat the pandemic and protect the lives and health of their citizens," EMA executive director Emer Cooke said in a release. Read more: Digital health startups like Ro and Zocdoc want in on the US vaccination effort. They're wading into a complex vaccine distribution puzzle. The European Commission will now decide on authorizing the vaccine to begin rolling it out. The Johnson & Johnson doses, which can be stored in regular fridges and requires just one shot, would help speed up Europe's vaccine rollout. Denmark and Norway paused the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday after reports of blood clots in recipients. But supply chain issues could delay the use of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Reuters reported the pharmaceutical firm recently told the EU it was "under stress" to meet their goal of delivering 55 million doses by the end of June due to issues with vaccine ingredient supplies. This is a developing story. Read the original article on Business Insider While many travel trends fell of a cliff last year, one flew on in scintillating style: poor passenger behaviour at 40,000ft. These spats appear to be carrying over in 2021, with maskless tourists on a domestic Indonesian flight recently coming under fire on social media for an alleged violation of COVID-19 protocol. As Asia based news and lifestyle outlet Coconuts reports, The issue of privilege resurfaced on Indonesian Twitter over the weekend, after one user showed a photo of foreigners not wearing masks when boarding a Citilink flight. The flight took them from Bali capital Denpasar to Labuan Bajo (Komodo Island). The Tweet claimed the airline hostesses did not say anything to the passengers, despite the apparent violation of health and safety protocols. Once again flying from Bali, once again foreigners are free and allowed to enter the plane without masks, the flight attendants are silent and do not say anything to them, user Kelli Swazey, who is also a foreign national, and whose Twitter bio describes her as an anthropologist navigating the Eremocene, posted on Saturday morning. The plane is only half full, passengers are forced to sit together in the back row without social distancing, the seats in front remain empty, she added. Allow us to apologize profusely for the inconvenience you experienced, please be willing to be able to send your flight details via DM so that we can immediately forward this to the related unit. thank you, Citilink Indonesia replied publicly on Twitter. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Avro Anthony Idris (@avroanthonyidris738) Kelli told Coconuts Citilink only gave her the standard sorry for bad service reply. The airline has in the meantime put out a statement that said the flight crew of that particular flight, QG 634 headed to Labuan Bajo from Denpasar, did personally reprimand the passengers without masks. RELATED: Kelly Slater Scoring Filthy Barrels In Bali Sparks Fierce Travel Debate After they were reprimanded, the passengers who did not use masks put them back on again, said Resty Kusandarina, a spokeswoman from Citilink, adding that the mask requirement during the flight was also announced in both English and Indonesian and that the airline enforces strict health protocols throughout its entire operation. Perhaps Indonesia might need to take inspiration from the US, which recently cracked down hard on mask averse passengers, after cabin crew were reportedly sick and tired of playing babysitter for adults. At the time of writing, the Tweet has 7,073 retweets and 18.9K likes. Many Twitter users have also jumped on the thread to express their concern about mask rule breakers. As Coconuts reports, officials have previously complained, foreigners make up the majority of mask rule violators in Balis Badung regency. RELATED: Let The Envy Wash Over You: The Truth About Working Remotely From Bali Right Now Across the province, according to Coconuts, particularly in places popular among foreigners such as Ubud and Canggu, foreigners without masks are a pretty common sight. Many restaurants, cafes, and clubs have also gotten flak for failing to maintain health protocols, with the leniency appearing to have been disproportionately granted for non-Indonesians. In other news, Bali has begun designating COVID-19 green zones (PerthNow) and has also begun going back to old ways of living after realising its economy is addicted to tourism (ABC). Read Next Camille A. Brown is shown in front of the Ted Shawn Theatre, which will undergo major renovations, Jacobs Pillow officials announced Thursday. 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. Apple has started assembling the iPhone 12 in India, the Cupertino has officially announced. The company is looking to ramp up production in India starting with the standard iPhone 12 assembly while the other models including the iPhone 12 Pro, Pro Max and Mini will still be imported from China. Apple started manufacturing iPhones in 2017 in India with Foxconn and Wistron but has not confirmed if either of the suppliers is making the new iPhone 12. Apple is dedicated to making the best products and services in the world to delight our customers. We are proud to be starting production of iPhone 12 in India for our local customers, Apple said in a statement to the media. Apple already manufactures the iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2020 and the iPhone XR in India and the iPhone 12 will now be manufactured likely by Foxconn in the state of Tamil Nadu. Nice to see our efforts to make India a big hub of mobile and components manufacturing is attracting global attention. This will create jobs in large numbers. pic.twitter.com/1GCyTK1Phm Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) March 11, 2021 This development comes after the Indian governments PLI (Production-linked Incentive) scheme came into effect last year which offers significant tax benefits to companies that source and produce products locally. Apple suppliers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron are also included amongst the ten companies approved under the PLI scheme for boosting local production in India. Furthermore, these three suppliers combined will invest over $900 million to manufacture iPhones in India backed by the governments Make in India program. Apple managed to ship over 1.5 million iPhones in 2020 which is double what it achieved the year before. Still, Apple has a minuscule market share in the Indian smartphone market that is dominated by the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, to name a few. The company is looking to expand its presence in India as well if rumours of the launch of the first Apple Store are to be believed. Back in 2020, Apple halted iPhone production in India as violence erupted at its suppliers Wistron Bengaluru facility. Having said that, the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad hailed Apples latest move and said it will create jobs in large numbers. " " Malcolm X served as Nation of Islam leader from 1953 to 1964, expanding the organization's membership astronomically. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images In the summer of 1963, a young Sudanese student at Dartmouth College named Ahmed Osman was walking through Harlem with a friend when he decided to pop into Muhammad's Temple No. 7. There he encountered a charismatic, 38-year-old minister named Malcolm X, who was delivering a passionate talk on the theology of the Nation of Islam. At the time, Malcolm X was expounding the philosophy of his spiritual leader, Elijah Muhammad, who, among other things, asserted that the white man was the devil. After the talk, there was a Q&A session and Osman challenged Malcolm X, noting that the Islamic faith was a religion that welcomed people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. It was the beginning of a long friendship, which would see Malcolm X through his pivotal rejection of Elijah Muhammad and his conversion to Sunni Islam. And it was Osman who arranged for his friend to perform hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The hajj was a watershed moment in Malcolm X's life a multi-ethnic gathering of peoples united not by culture or skin color, but by faith. This was a revelatory experience for someone who had grown up in a society permeated by racism. Advertisement Malcolm's Early Life Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925. It's a lesser-known fact that he could just as easily have been born in Montreal, Quebec. That's where his parents met in 1917. His mother, Louisa Langdon Norton, was a recent immigrant from Grenada, who had moved to the Little Burgundy neighborhood of Montreal to live with her uncle. Malcolm's father, Earl Little, had left his first wife and three children in small-town Georgia and joined the Great Northward Migration, eventually landing in the City of a Hundred Steeples. Earl and Louisa met after joining the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), founded by the Jamaican visionary, Marcus Garvey. Garvey's Pan-African perspective would have a life-long influence on Malcolm's thought. As activists in the movement, his parents moved first to Philadelphia, and then to Omaha to man an outpost of the organization there. It was dangerous work. Earl Little received numerous death threats and one night, when he was out of town, hooded Klansmen bearing torches came looking for him. When a pregnant Louise informed them that he was away, they shattered every window in the house before leaving. After Malcolm's birth, the family moved several times, eventually taking up residence in Lansing, Michigan. There, despite being burned out of the family's new house mostly likely by white neighbors Earl continued his activism on behalf of the UNIA, taking his favorite child, 5-year-old Malcolm to meetings. In September 1931, Earl died after being cut nearly in two by a street car. Although his death was ruled as accidental, many suspected that he'd been murdered by a local white supremacist organization. Earl's death was a pivotal event in Malcolm's childhood. His mother never fully recovered from the shock of it and the sudden burden of becoming an impoverished single parent. She suffered a breakdown and her children ended up in foster care and orphanages. By 1946, Malcolm was in Boston, where he was arrested for burglary and sentenced to 10 years in prison. " " Malcolm X was considered the radical voice of the civil rights movement, offering a different solution for those who wanted an alternative to Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent approach. Truman Moore/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images Advertisement Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam He spent seven years behind bars before being paroled. During that time, he read widely and joined the Nation of Islam, the sect of Black Muslims his brother Reginald had joined. They preached and embraced an ideology of Black nationalism that pushed for Black Americans to establish a state separate from white Americans. He changed his name to Malcolm X before he was released from prison in 1952. Once out of prison, Malcolm X quickly established himself as the Nation of Islam's most articulate and successful spokesman. He worked with Elijah Muhammad to further expound the Nation of Islam's message from Temple No. 7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston where he was a minister. His teachings and speeches were militant in style he preached that whites were not to be trusted. He suggested Black people use "any means necessary," including violence, to gain their freedom. His electrifying speeches rang true with Black crowds, and by the 1960s, he became the radical voice of the civil rights movement. Malcolm X offered a different solution for those looking for an alternative to Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent approach. Under Malcolm X's leadership, national membership in the Nation of Islam increased from 1,200 in 1953 to as many as 75,000 by 1961. But that influence also earned him the unwanted attention of the FBI, which infiltrated the Nation of Islam with agents who bugged and wiretapped members. It later emerged that one of Malcolm's bodyguards was, in fact, an FBI agent. Advertisement His Journey to Mecca All this time, Malcolm X strictly adhered to the teachings of the Nation of Islam, including his commitment to celibacy until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. This made it even more painful when he learned in 1963 that his spiritual leader, Elijah Muhammad, was secretly carrying on illicit relationships with six different women, some of whom had borne his children, violating his own teachings. It was at this point that Malcolm broke with Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, founded his own organization, Muslim Mosque, Inc. and went on hajj. It was in Saudi Arabia that he also converted to Sunni Islam and changed his name again to El-hajj Malik El-Shabazz. He returned to the United States with a renewed faith in the civil rights movement and race relations. But because of his enormous influence on the Nation of Islam, such a cataclysmic shift was bound to create dangerous waves. The FBI agents in his circle learned that he was marked for death by elements of the Nation of Islam. His house was firebombed, though none of the family was injured. " " After his split from the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X had a renewed faith in working with civil rights leaders. Here he's seen in 1964 with (from left) Lawrence Landry (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Chicago), Gloria Richardson (Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee), comedian Dick Gregory and Stanley Branche (Committee for Freedom Now). Bettmann/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Advertisement His Assassination But the net was closing in. On Feb. 21, 1965, as he was preparing to give a talk in the packed Grand Ballroom of the Audubon in Washington Heights, Manhattan, a disturbance broke out in the crowd. As two men tussled in the audience, Malcolm's security guards moved to intervene, leaving him alone on stage. A man in the front row stood, walked quickly to within 15 feet (4.5 meters) of Malcolm X, pulled a sawed-off shotgun from under his winter coat and opened fire. Two other gunmen followed him. In all, they shot Malcolm X 15 times. He was dead by the time he got to the hospital. He was just 39. Tens of thousands of people viewed Malcolm X's body and at his funeral, his friend, the actor Ossie Davis delivered the eulogy. Three men were arrested for the assassination and eventually sentenced to life in prison. One of them, Tommy Hayer, was caught at the scene and confessed to the crime, but he insisted that the other two men convicted were actually innocent. Years later, after the death of Elijah Muhammad, Hayer revealed the names of his four other co-conspirators, all members of the NOI. None of them had been paid, he insisted. They believed at the time that they were doing right thing. In the wake of his assassination, Malcolm X only gained more fame. His autobiography, co-written by Alex Haley, became an international bestseller and an enormously influential work. Years later, Spike Lee's feature film treatment of Malcolm's story reignited interest in the life and teachings of one of the 20th century's most important cultural figures. " " After his assassination, thousands of mourners lined up outside of Unity Funeral in Harlem to pay their respects to Malcolm X. Library of Congress Now That's Interesting Family members of Malcolm X released a letter in February 2021 from NYPD officer Raymond A. Wood that they say shows the FBI and NYPD were behind his 1965 assassination. The letter, which Wood wrote after being diagnosed with stomach cancer and wasn't released until his death in November 2020, says he was forced to lure two of Malcolm X's security team into committing crimes, so they'd be arrested a few days before he was to speak at the Audubon Ballroom, leaving him vulnerable to assassination. Protesters chant slogans during a rally against Beijing's new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. (Dale de la Rey/AFP via Getty Images) Hong Kong Activists Urge EU Not to Sign China Investment Deal Twenty-four Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have written to European Union leaders and lawmakers urging them not to sign the EUChina investment pact unless the Chinese regime repeals its National Security Law for the former British colony. Thirteen of the co-signatories of the letter are living in exile as a result of Beijings increasingly brutal crackdown on dissent, following the imposition of the National Security Law in June 2000. BREAKING: 24 activists including 13 exiles have written to @vonderleyen to call for EU to refuse to sign the treaty until national security laws are repealed and restrictions on who can stand for election are lifted.#NoRatificationWithoutRepeal 1/2https://t.co/n4AFzkyfxa pic.twitter.com/IlQH26c3vx Hong Kong Watch (@hk_watch) March 11, 2021 The letter was released on March 11, hours after Chinas rubber-stamp legislature, the National Peoples Congress (NPC), approved a draft decision to change Hong Kongs electoral system, making it virtually impossible for the opposition to affect the outcome of elections. Given that Beijing is in the process of rewriting Hong Kongs electoral system in direct contravention to its international obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, is currently undertaking mass arrests and trials of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists under the draconian National Security Law, and is infringing on basic freedoms guaranteed both under the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, we do not see how the EU can move ahead with ratification of this investment treaty, the letter said. It is simply absurd for the EU to expect China to uphold its obligations under a new bilateral investment treaty, when it is openly floating [sic] its current obligations to the international community to guarantee the autonomy and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. The European Commission, the EUs executive body, reached an agreement in principle with Beijing in December of 2020 on the EUChina Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are seen on a screen during a video conference, in Brussels, on Dec. 30, 2020. (Johanna Geron/Pool/Reuters) The deal, which was seven years in the making, was concluded after the communist regime made commitments to expand market access for European businesses and to improve Chinas labor standards. Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong Democratic Party lawmaker who now lives in exile in Australia, urged EU leaders to search their conscience and ask whether the last few weeks of oppression in Hong Kong will continue if they push ahead with the ratification of the EU-China investment partnership. Ray Wong, the first refugee from Hong Kong to receive asylum in Germany, said the deal will weaken the blocs ability to take a principled stand on the oppression in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The EUChina deal was condemned by the Trump administration and criticized by EU lawmakers. In a resolution passed on Jan. 21, the European Parliament said it regrets that the EU executive had rushed to reach the agreement, despite ongoing repression in Hong Kong and other parts of China. National Guard soldiers patrol the grounds of the US Capitol in Washington DC. Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a request from the Capitol Police to extend the deployment of National Guard members to protect Congress into May, officials said, keeping a military presence around the landmark for two more months. The number of guardsmen will be reduced from about 5,200 to 2,300 as a part of Mr Austins authorisation, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said on Tuesday night. The forces left are approved until May 23. This represents a reduction of nearly 50pc of the current support force, Mr Kirby said. This decision was made after a thorough review of the request and after close consideration of its potential impact on readiness. The National Guard has been on duty around the Capitol since hours after hundreds of people supporting then-President Donald Trumps false claim that he won the presidential election smashed their way into the building on January 6. Read More The number of guardsmen peaked at about 26,000 on Inauguration Day, before falling in recent weeks. Mr Kirby said defence officials will work with Capitol Police in the coming days to incrementally reduce the National Guard footprint as conditions allow. Capitol Police requested the extension last week, without saying publicly how long it would last. They have in recent weeks sought continued National Guard involvement, citing continued security threats to Congress. A review of security at the Capitol by a retired senior army figure found Capitol Police are understaffed, insufficiently equipped, and inadequately trained, according to a draft copy of the report. Washington Post NORTH ADAMS A few months from now, a walk-up window at the former Friendlys restaurant at 221 State Road will reopen the same window that, for years, was used to dispense ice cream. The CEO of Clear Sky Cannabis, which plans a grand opening Saturday, likes riffing on the buildings history. On one wall, the former front door from the old Friendlys has been refurbished and mounted, harkening back to the history of the building. Its our way of honoring the many memories that have been made over the decades for so many North Adams families, said Anthony Parrinello, CEO of the Stow-based Evergreen Strategies LLC, parent company of Clear Sky Cannabis. We want to keep that as a part of the community and restart the reputation as the friendliest place in town. Clear Sky, the second cannabis outlet in northern Berkshire County, held its soft opening Monday. At 9:45 a.m. Saturday. it will mark its arrival with a ribbon-cutting and gifts for the first 250 customers in the door. The shop in the fully renovated former Friendlys stands at the front of the shopping center that once housed the Price Chopper grocery store. ClearSky2 In front of the counter, from left, are Jenn Miller, vice president of retail for Clear Sky Cannabis; General Manager Keifer Gammell and owner Parrinello says he has years of experience in the medical marijuana industry as the former chief operating officer of Sira Naturals and then as CEO of Temescal Wellness. He has been preparing for this opening since early in 2018. With the coronavirus pandemic slowing everything down, Parrinello was only able to start working on the 4,200-square-foot building a few months ago. Its done now, and Clear Sky has plenty of inventory on hand for the grand opening, including more than 5,000 pre-rolled joints from 40 strains of cannabis, and more than 37 pounds of flower from 20 strains. A lot of stores have purchasing limits, but we dont want to have limits, Parrinello said. Some shops set purchasing limits below what the state allows. We have robust offerings and super-friendly staff, along with a good vibe. The store features social distancing measures and some retail merchandise, as well as a rotating art gallery managed by the Common Folk Collective. Pieces can be purchased at the shop, with all proceeds going to the artists, Parrinello noted. Its about understanding who we are, where we are, the people around us and the cultural region in which we have settled, he said. Another feature of the store, rare for a retail cannabis shop, is the translucent windows on the sales floor, offering lots of daylight, although nobody can see from the street what is inside. According to General Manager Keifer Gammell, there are 18 employees, 17 of them full time. Thirteen of them are North Adams residents. Some of the others are from Williamstown. Products available for purchase include flower, vaping cartridges, concentrates, edibles, capsules, tinctures and topicals. There also are a variety of pipes, rolling papers and other accessories. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. ClearSky1 General Manager Keifer Gammell, left, stands with owner Anthony Parrinello outside Clear Sky Cannabis shop in North Adams. Parrinello said that, starting Saturday, customers will be able to preorder online, as well as make walk-in purchases. And as things settle in, curbside pickup will be available. Toward the end of the year, Clear Sky will add medical marijuana to the lineup. For now, Clear Sky is purchasing its products from wholesalers. But, by the end of the year, Evergreens marijuana-growing operation will begin in its West Boylston facility. Evergreen plans to open retail locations in Belchertown and Worcester in the coming months. The new business has committed to being a sponsor of the Berkshire Food Pantry, Parrinello said. The Host Community Agreement with North Adams requires Evergreen to pay an annual community impact fee equal to 3 percent of its total revenue from marijuana sales quarterly for five years, after which the company and city will negotiate a new community impact fee. On top of the impact fee, the city will receive revenue from standard property taxes on the site. In 2016, 61.9 percent of city voters approved the ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana. This year, the city adopted a set of zoning regulations for licensed marijuana establishments. Over 40 per cent of Americans say they've gained weight during the coronavirus pandemic. The average weight gain in that 42 per cent was 29lbs, according to the survey from the American Psychological Association. Eighteen percent of respondents actually lost more weight than they'd wanted to, with those people losing 26lbs on average. 'We know we all do maladaptive things to cope,' Arthur C. Evans, chief executive officer and executive vice president of the APA, told NBC News. 'The issue is the magnitude of the problems we're seeing as a result of those behaviors.' Fluctuations in weight that were undesired affected people in nearly all walks of life Concern about the future post-pandemic is widespread for many diverse populations Almost a quarter of adults admitted to drinking more alcohol to help them cope with the many stresses of the pandemic. That figure soared to more than half, 52 percent, of parents with children between the ages of five and seven. 'When stressors go up, there are changes in behavior that affect our bodies,' Scott Bea, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, told NBC News, referring to the parental drinking as a 'stunning' finding. 'I think those effects are going to last for some time.' Almost half of parents - 48 percent - also said they are more stressed than they were prior to the pandemic, with challenges of unemployment and remote learning among difficulties faced. Almost half of Americans are putting off health care services and more are becoming inactive Three-quarters of Americans wish they could have had more emotional support Fathers had more physical changes, but mothers had the worsening mental health Thirty-five percent of respondents also reported getting less sleep than they wanted to, while 31 percent actually reported getting more sleep than desired. Americans are more likely to turn away from medical services at this critical time, with 47 percent delaying or canceling their services. Meanwhile, Americans are growing more inactive, with 53 percent less physically active than desired. While almost a third of parents sought mental health care, 75 percent wish they had more emotional support during those time, numbers largely in line with how essential workers felt as well. Along gender lines, mothers were more likely to report worsening mental health than fathers (39 percent against 25 percent), but fathers reported more sleep trouble (87 percent), unwanted weight changes (80 perecnt), and drinking increase (48 percent). In terms of ethnicity, the survey looked at concerns about readjusting to in-person interactions when social distancing becomes a thing of the past. Black Americans led the way with concern at 57 percent, followed by Asian Americans (51 percent), Hispanic Americans (50 percent) and white Americans (47 percent). Generational gaps in attitude were also noted, with Gen Z most likely to believe their mental health has worsened over the last year (46 percent). Over 3,000 adults took place in the survey, which was part of the APA's 'Stress in America' report. Most of the answers in the survey reveal a country that is largely struggling to cope with a pandemic that has been with the United States for over a year. The number of new infections has been leveling off over the past month, providing hope The United States has now gone four days without crossing 60,000 new coronavirus cases The death rate has started to level off too, although there was a concerning spike Wednesday Vaccinations continue to rise, with 18.8 percent of the population receiving at least one jab While there's hope the pandemic's physical toll will start to waver soon, the mental toll will likely last much longer. More than 29 million people have caught COVID-19 in the United States, with 530,013 deaths. Despite a small rise in recent days, the number of cases has steadily declined recently, with the country in the midst of four straight days of under 60,000 new cases. Additionally, vaccinations continue to ramp up, with 18.8 percent of the population receiving at least one dose of a vaccine so far. Parkinson's can be diagnosed by analysing compounds found on the skin, a study has found, paving the way for easier testing using quick and painless skin swabs. Experts led from Manchester found that both the onset of the degenerative brain condition and the nature of its progression can be determined by studying sebum. This is the oily, waxy substance that coats and protects the skin of mammals like us and is secreted out of the hair follicles. Those with Parkinson's are known to produce excess sebum a condition known as 'seborrhoea' but is remains a lesser-studied fluid in the diagnosis of the disease. A new test for Parkinson's is welcome, according to experts from Parkinson's UK. Onset of the disease can be subtle and doctors currently rely on both symptom assessment and scans for the loss of dopamine-producing cells. Yet similar cell losses can also arise as a result of other neurological conditions, as can characteristic symptoms like tremors, slowness, stiffness and balance issues. In fact, a recent poll by Parkinson's UK of 2,000 people with the disease revealed that more than a quarter were initially misdiagnosed with a different condition. This led to almost half of these patients receiving treatments for a condition they did not have including medication and, in some cases, even surgical operations. Parkinson's can be diagnosed by analysing compounds found on the skin, a study has found paving the way for easier testing using quick and painless skin swabs, like pictured PARKINSON'S DISEASE EXPLAINED Parkinson's disease affects one in 500 people, including about 145,000 individuals in the UK. It causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, an impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability. It is a progressive neurological condition that destroys cells in the part of the brain that controls movement. Sufferers are known to have diminished supplies of dopamine because their nerve cells that make it have died. There is currently no cure and no way of stopping the progression of the disease, but hundreds of scientific trials are working to change that. Advertisement 'We believe that our results are an extremely encouraging step towards tests that could be used to help diagnose and monitor Parkinson's,' said paper author and mass spectrometry expert Perdita Barran of the University of Manchester. 'Not only is the test quick, simple and painless but it should also be extremely cost-effective because it uses existing technology that is already widely available. 'We are now looking to take our findings forwards to refine the test to improve accuracy even further and to take steps towards making this a test that can be used in the NHS.' The investigation was inspired by Joy Milne who after her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 45 was found to possess a remarkable ability to detect the onset of the disease in others using her sense of smell. In their studies, Professor Barran and colleagues took samples of sebum from an initial cohort of 500 participants, some of whom had Parkinson's disease. Analysing these samples using different mass spectrometry techniques, the researchers were able to identify 10 different chemical compounds in sebum that appeared in greater or decreased amounts in people with Parkinson's. And by analysing the concentrations of these compounds, the team found that they could predict whether someone had the debilitating condition with an accuracy rate of 85 per cent. The researchers went on to validate their findings in a larger cohort of people from both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In a second study, the team used high-resolution mass spectrometry to profile the complex chemical signature for Parkinson's found in people's sebum and show that it is possible to track subtle but significant changes as the disease progresses. Specifically, the team found that those with the condition undergo detectable changes in lipid (fat) processing and function of mitochondria the cellular 'batteries' that are known to malfunction in people with Parkinson's. These findings show that swab tests would also be able to track how the condition is progressing after Parkinson's diagnosis, as well as providing a means to evaluate the efficacy of future experimental treatments to halt or reverse the disease. 'Not only is the test quick, simple and painless but it should also be extremely cost-effective because it uses existing technology that is already widely available,' said paper author and mass spectrometry expert Perdita Barran of the University of Manchester Parkinson's disease affects one in 500 people, including about 145,000 individuals in the UK. It causes muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, tremors, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, an impaired quality of life and can lead to severe disability Parkinson's UK's associate director of research, David Dexter, said that the research could lead to swab tests that would 'revolutionise the way we diagnose Parkinson's'. 'Every hour, two more people in the UK are diagnosed with Parkinson's and a significant portion of these people may well have been misdiagnosed with, and treated for, another condition before receiving their correct diagnosis,' he added. 'This has been compounded in the COVID-19 pandemic where people have been left waiting and have faced months of anxiety to confirm their diagnosis by a health professional.' 'However, with this innovative test, we could see people being diagnosed quickly and accurately enabling them to access vital treatment and support to manage their Parkinson's symptoms sooner.' In a second study, the team used high-resolution mass spectrometry to profile the complex chemical signature for Parkinson's found in people's sebum and show that it is possible to track subtle but significant changes as the disease progresses With their initial studies complete, the researchers are now looking to further develop their swab-based Parkinson's test, as well as exploring the potential to use it to 'stratify' patients by the severity of the disease's progression. Alongside plans to commercialise the tests, the researchers are also investigating whether a similar approach could be applied to the detection of other conditions including COVID-19. The full findings of the two studies were published in the journals ACS Central Science and Nature Communications. The World's Leading Book Publicity Company - Smith Publicity, Inc. Cherry Hill, NJ We notice authors in every genre seeking information about agents, and the benefits of working with a literary agent. Smith Publicity, the world's leading book marketing firm, is a resource for answers to commonly asked questions about the publishing industry and today addresses the role of literary agents. As authors consider agents, they often want to know how to find a literary agent, the role agents play in the contractual process, and how each author can find the most effective agent for their project. "We notice authors in every genre seeking information about agents, and the benefits of working with a literary agent," observed Dan Smith, Founder, Smith Publicity. "In response to the many inquiries, our team members provide insight to our clients and authors in general." What Literary Agents Do and are Known for Generally Literary agents represent writers and their work to people both inside and outside the book industry. It naturally includes publishers but often extends to film and television producers, studios, etc. Agents nearly always help an author negotiate contracts and act as a liaison to others on the author's behalf. For example, agents can handle challenging conversations between authors and publishers; the best ones know how to act as a buffer in difficult situations and keep good relationships intact. Many authors also look to their publicity agents to track royalties and sales once a book is published and handle various business management tasks. An effective agent frees up an author to devote more time to writing and book publicity the media interviews people, not books. Therefore, authors need to be available for publicity. It's also crucial for authors to remember that agents are advocates, negotiators, managers, and advisors, but their presence does not guarantee a bestseller. Successful books rely on excellent content and a strong book marketing program to support their launch and initial sales period. How Literary Agents and Authors Find Each Other Referrals are a significant part of the agent selection process. Often, they come as word-of-mouth recommendations from within an author's professional network. For instance, one author has a successful experience with a literary agent and recommends the agent to another author. Blind queries do occur but often are not recommended; authors with connections to an agent get farther especially for those needing pitches to major publishing houses. Also, some agents proactively seek projects, depending on the editors they work with and what is selling at the moment. If editors want a particular kind of book, agents will seek an author that fits. Today many authors also ask about the role of social media in the process, and the answer is that it can be a part of the process, most commonly on Linked In. What Literary Agents Look for and Who They Decide to Work With Just as no two authors are alike, each literary agent (or agency) is unique. Some specialize in fiction and work exclusively with novelists. Others focus on nonfiction and may concentrate on specific genres where they have developed specialized expertise. Most agents provide submission guidelines for authors who want to be proactive with outreach. Many agents closely examine both books and an author's credentials when evaluating a submission. It makes it vital for authors to have a well-developed platform (i.e., what comes up in a Google search of the authors name?) It includes a well-designed website, social media, professional photos, etc. Agents also like to see writers actively engaging with followers on social media. Authors are also strongly advised to send edited books with query letters to literary agents -- no first drafts. It's also wise to research agents before reaching out. Personalizing the outreach and making sure a book is one they would work with goes a long way. Carefully Selecting the Right Agent is Crucial Well-respected agents add a lot to professionalizing an author's presentation, pitch, and platform. It's an important decision and not one an author (or agent) should make impulsively. An agent and their team will handle the sensitive and vital areas of negotiating and mediating conflict -- and give an author access to their many connections. They expand a writer's team and provide a support network that helps throughout the process. As with any business relationship, much depends on personal chemistry, and it's best for both author and agent to become well acquainted before entering an agreement. Many literary agents recommend Smith Publicity to authors in need of book marketing and publicity services. In turn, Smith suggests agents to authors who want and need professional representation. It puts the Smith team in the position of knowing many agents and understanding their specialties and interests. It helps the company act as an information resource in this area and most other areas of the traditional and self-publishing industries. CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) Moldova has detected the first several cases of the UK strain of the coronavirus, Acting Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi said. According to earlier statements of the national Ministry of Health, Moldova has no laboratory equipment to detect the UK strain of COVID-19. "The data of several patients have been sent to Germany. There are preliminary results that confirm the presence of the UK strain of the coronavirus, we are awaiting an official paper confirmation. This allows me to say that there is the UK strain of the coronavirus in Moldova," Ciocoi told the Jurnal tv broadcaster on Wednesday. The prime minister added that the treatment of the UK strain required more efforts of medical staff, which complicates the fight against the pandemic. [March 11, 2021] Keysight and Aview Join Forces to Build a Millimeter Wave Radar Laboratory Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, has announced that Keysight and Aview have joined forces to establish a millimeter wave radar laboratory to be located in Suzhou, China designed to help promote the development of autonomous driving technologies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005685/en/ Keysight and Aview sign a memorandum of cooperation. (Left: Qitao Pan, regional sales manager for East China at Keysight. Right: He Hongxin, general manager of Aview Technology) (Photo: Business Wire) Millimeter wave radar is a critical sensor for the realization of autonomous driving. The development of millimeter wave automotive radar must minimize propagation loss, phase noise and frequency response errors, as well as the impact of noise on the evaluation module (EVM). As a result, testing millimeter waves, especially the 76-81 GHz frequency band, requires a fast, accurate and reliable test solution. Keysight's radar target simulator covers a frequency range of 76-81 GHz with accurate and superior performance, providing a repeatable millimeter wave radar emulation function with flexible distance rangedefinition. Aview is committed to the development of high-performance automated line and test systems for millimeter wave radars, cameras and other components for image sensing applications, as well as providing the related research and development and testing. Keysight will provide the platform for millimeter wave radar spanning R&D performance verification to production testing, speeding technological innovation in the automotive industry and enabling solutions to be quickly introduced to the market. "The establishment of a joint millimeter wave radar laboratory by Keysight Technologies and Aview is a win-win initiative for both companies and their customers," stated Pan Qitao, regional sales manager for East China at Keysight. "Both will work collaboratively together to help the automotive industry to quickly introduce innovative products to the market and support the realization phase of autonomous driving." "The laboratory jointly established by Keysight and Aview will enhance the technical strength of millimeter wave radar, while supporting the development of the autonomous driving market," said He Hongxin, general manager of Aview Technology. "Keysight's advanced test solutions, combined with the overall automated assembly technology and integration capabilities of Aview, is a strong alliance that promotes and supports the development of the automotive millimeter wave radar industry." About Keysight Technologies Keysight delivers advanced design and validation solutions that help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysight's dedication to speed and precision extends to software-driven insights and analytics that bring tomorrow's technology products to market faster across the development lifecycle, in design simulation, prototype validation, automated software testing, manufacturing analysis, and network performance optimization and visibility in enterprise, service provider and cloud environments. Our customers span the worldwide communications and industrial ecosystems, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics. Keysight generated revenues of $4.2B in fiscal year 2020. For more information about Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS), visit us at www.keysight.com. Additional information about Keysight Technologies is available in the newsroom at https://www.keysight.com/go/news and on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005685/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. These days, its not unusual for John Cataldo to climb a 14,000-foot mountain. Yet, reaching peaks in Colorado pales in comparison to the challenges he faced during his nearly lifelong battle with a rare kidney disease. Cataldo, 30, received a life-saving dual liver/kidney transplant on May 23, 2019, after battling primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) and its recurring, excruciating kidney stones since the age of 4. The disease causes progressive damage to the kidneys from oxalate buildup, and typically results in end-stage renal disease and the need for a dual liver/kidney transplant. Kidney stones are the most common and often the first symptom. NATIONAL KIDNEY MONTH March is National Kidney Month, and with World Kidney Day taking place Thursday, Cataldo, a management agent at Tap Realty in New Dorp, said he is especially grateful for the donation he received. And he urges others to consider registering to become organ donors. The life-saving transplant has opened doors hed never before imagined, he said. I try to take advantage of being active again,' said Cataldo, for whom 10-mile runs and daylong hikes are now routine, yet were impossible just a few years ago. I would walk while I was on dialysis, but now I want to see new scenery and new landscapes.' Cataldo conceded, though, that the thought of another person dying in order for him to regain his life is a heavy weight to bear. Its a strange feeling,' Cataldo said. And you just hope you can live the best you can with the gift you got. He said he has yet to meet the family of his donor, but doesnt rule out the possibility. Cataldos treatments through the years have included more than 20 lithotripsies, a procedure that uses shock waves or a laser to break down stones in the kidney, allowing the remaining particles of small stone to exit the body through urination. Growing up, thousands of recurring kidney stones led to severely painful symptoms, and the procedures caused him to miss school often, eventually leading him to leave college before graduating, he said. EXCRUCIATING PAIN Kidney stone pain is infamous' in terms of how excruciating it can be,' said Dr. Jeffrey M. Saland, of Mount Sinai Kravis Childrens Hospital. The need for a procedure or a hospitalization due to these episodes of pain or kidney blockage due to PH1-related kidney stones can be sudden and unexpected,' he said, noting that the average PH1 hospitalization rate is 6.1 times, or 21 days, per year. When it occurs gradually, kidney failure is a quiet thief of health,' Saland said. I mean that it can occur in a way that it seems surprising, and where severe or life-threatening effects are not apparent until toward the end, when the kidneys are almost completely unable to function to filter out waste from the body.' The pain and treatments made being consistent with a work schedule difficult,' Cataldo recalled. He was 27 when startling symptoms caused a new level of concern, he said. Cataldo, who was diagnosed with primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) and its recurring, excruciating kidney stones at the age of 4, is pictured here with his mother, Pat. It slowly crept up on me over weeks,' Cataldo said. I was starting to retain water. I was lightheaded. I was feeling very weak.' Thats when he learned he was in kidney failure. The liver transplant was necessary, he said, to prevent his damaged liver from causing damage to the new kidney. All of that news came as a shock, Cataldo said. I was under the impression, growing up, that as long as I was passing the kidney stones, they werent causing blockages, that my kidneys werent being damaged,' he explained. DAY-LONG DIALYSIS SESSIONS A year of hours-long dialysis sessions, six days a week, followed, as the wait stretched on for a kidney donor. It wasnt unusual for Cataldo to leave his Mountainside, N.J., home at 4:30 a.m. for hours of painful treatment. Dropping blood pressure and painful cramping made the days especially grueling, Cataldo recalled. You feel like youre getting the crap knocked out of you,' he said, of the symptoms and treatments, recalling battling bouts of arthritis and plantar fasciitis. Everything would just tighten up, and it would be very painful.' A Goldendoodle named Hannah, now his running companion, helped him through a difficult time, Cataldo said. He was placed on multiple waitlists for organs and a yearlong wait began. A team of physicians at the Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore were the first to come through with a donor, and it was there that he underwent the surgery, Cataldo said. Today, he needs monthly blood tests and takes a host of medications, mostly immunosuppressant drugs to prevent his body from rejecting the donated organs. He said he is grateful for his second chance at life and urges anyone feeling symptoms of kidney stones to see their doctor immediately. UNDERSTAND THE SYMPTOMS Kidney stones are the most common and often the first symptom of PH1, which can include painful urination, blood in the urine and urinary tract infections. Other symptoms include feeling ill and tired, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and swelling of the hands and feet. Children with even one stone, or adults with many stones or many stones over time, may have a metabolic stone disease and should be evaluated for conditions including PH1 and others, Saland said. PH1 is a genetic disease, he said, so theres no way to prevent the fact that the body will produce too much oxalate. However, knowing your familys medical history and recognizing red flags, like recurring kidney stones in adults or any stones in a child should trigger a visit and discussion with your doctor, who may refer you to a nephrologist, a physician specializing in kidney health,' Saland said. For more information on PH1, visit TakeonPH1.com. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 New Delhi, March 11 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued attachment order of Rs 9.97 crore assets in connection with the fraudulent Bhilwara Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank (BMUCB) amounting to Rs 25.10 crore. As per the order movable and immovable properties belonging to Ravindra Kumar Bordia, Kirti Bordia, Dev Kishan Acharya, Mahaveer Chand Parakh, Roshan Lal Sancheti and others -- all residents of Bhilwara in Rajasthan -- will be attached under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Properties include four bank accounts having balance worth Rs 4.39 lakh and 262 immovable assets worth Rs 9.92 crore, including agriculture land measuring 12 Bigha 2.5 Biswa, residential and commercial properties situated in Bhilwara. Money laundering investigation was initiated on the basis of First Information Report (FIR) registered by Rajasthan Police and charge sheet has been filed in the case. A complaint was registered in the matter with the Rajasthan Police on May 19, 2016. Police in their investigation found that aforementioned individuals defrauded Bhilwara Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank (BMUCB) of Rs 25.10 crore. As per the Rajasthan Co-operative Society Act, 2001 norms, loan against property can be availed by keeping the applicant's commercial or residential property as security. The value of your property decides the amount of potential loan to be sanctioned to the applicant. The ED investigation has revealed that Ravindra Kumar Bordia, the financial advisor of BMUCB, and his wife Kirti Bordia president of the bank were in active connivance with Dev Kishan Acharya, Mahaveer Chand Parakh and other private persons. The bank officials sanctioned loans to the tune of Rs 25.10 crore in name of various private persons on the basis of forged and fabricated documents and siphoned off the loan amount by transferring or utilizing the bank funds for repayment of old loans availed by them and for purchase of immovable assets. Properties which were pledged or mortgaged with the bank against loans do not belong to the loanees, said the ED. Moreover, the agencies said loanees were unaware about the loan fraudulently taken in their names and had no financial capacity to purchase the assets shown as belonging to them in the mortgage documents submitted to the Bank. These fraudsters had taken KYC documents and signatures of these poor persons in the guise of opening of saving bank account or some other reasons by offering small benefits to these people and misused these documents for obtaining fraudulent loans. Staying home for months on end has taken a toll on everyone, but COVID-19 impacts can also take a toll on your tax return. Here are five unexpected ways the pandemic could affect your taxes and what tax pros say you can do about it. 1. Home office headaches You may already know that living or working in another state could mean having to file more than one state tax return, but working remotely doesnt mean you automatically get to write off your home office. The home office deduction is typically only for self-employed people. That means if youre someones employee, this tax break is likely a no-go even if your company sent everyone home because of COVID-19, and even if your company didnt reimburse you for that office chair, printer or paper you bought, says Dina Pyron, the Global TaxChat Leader at Ernst & Young LLP. I honestly think that people are going to try to do that, Pyron says, referring to claiming the deduction. And that will bring a lot of kickback potentially on a return. 2. Unemployment upheaval Stimulus checks arent directly taxable, but unemployment income is (in Oregon, the stimulus may reduce your federal tax write-off). That information alone may startle many taxpayers, but the surprises dont stop there, warns Ryan Losi, a certified public accountant and executive vice president at Piascik Certified Public Accountants in Glen Allen, Virginia. In addition to the IRS, your state may or may not also tax unemployment, he says. Oregon taxes unemployment benefits and the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments. Also, receiving unemployment could affect the size of the premium tax credit you may qualify for when you purchase certain types of health insurance. All of a sudden, now they have more household income; they qualify for less advance credit, Losi explains. Another potential shocker: Criminals using stolen identities file for unemployment but have the state send records of the payments (Form 1099-G) to the mailbox of the real taxpayers, who are left with the headache of convincing the IRS the income wasnt real. That means spending time figuring out how to report the problem, deal with your tax return and provide the IRS with documentation, Pyron notes. You also have to make sure youre checking your mail and youre making sure that you are not just ignoring documents you get in the mail, because if you get an erroneous 1099-G, youve got to report that to the state. 3. Dependent difficulties Some single parents may lose their Child Tax Credit of up to $2,000 if their children stayed somewhere else. Unless both parents sign and file IRS Form 8332 showing theyve agreed on which parent gets the tax credit, then generally the parent who had the child for more than 182 days (six months) during the tax year is typically the one who qualifies for the tax credit, Losi notes. Actual custody for tax purposes is actual days the dependent child was with you. Its not what you want it to be. Its exact days, he says. 4. 529 fallout If you paid college tuition bills from a 529 plan and then the college refunded some of that money, perhaps because of pandemic-related residence hall closures or a move to remote instruction, the money shouldve gone back into the 529 account, according to Losi. You had 60 days to return that, or its taxable, he says. 5. Flaky 401(k)s The pandemic prompted many people to stop contributing to 401(k) plans to preserve cash. But because of retirement plan regulations, a drop in company-wide participation could retroactively reduce what highly compensated employees are allowed to contribute to their own 401(k) accounts. You have to have a certain amount of participation into the plan by non-highly-compensated [employees], Losi explains. That means some people may soon receive refunds of some of their 401(k) contributions, and that returned money may be taxable. Those who maybe are highly compensated are probably getting checks this time of year, saying that, Sorry, you werent able to contribute the max, or, You were not able to contribute how much you contributed. Heres your check. Its going to be taxable. Tina Orem writes for NerdWallet. Email: torem@nerdwallet.com. The article 5 Sneaky Things COVID-19 Might Do to Your Tax Bill originally appeared on NerdWallet. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. 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By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Out Leadership, the oldest and largest coalition of global companies working to improve LGBTQ+ equality in the world, is delighted to welcome AlixPartners, one of the worlds top management consulting firms, as the second new member company for 2021. This represents the organizations continued expansion into the global management consulting and advisory sectors. Todd Sears, CEO & Founder, Out Leadership, said: Were delighted to welcome AlixPartners to our community of global firms. AlixPartners has invested significantly in building an inclusive workplace throughout its global office network. Were honored to be working with them on LGBTQ+ equality. Sears continued, Weve been impressed with the depth of the commitment to diversity and inclusion that AlixPartners has demonstrated at all levels of their organization. Having over 60% of their employees engaged in at least one employee resource group (ERG) is proof of that. In 2015, AlixPartners launched a D&I taskforce. Since then, the firm has launched a number of diversity and inclusion initiatives and programs across all their regions of operations. These have included: Creating ERGs to enable shared interest groups to work together to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace. A dedicated full-time D&I and CSR team. The development of a D&I Center of Excellence to establish the firm as a best-in-class organization for inclusion and diversity. The firms first-ever integrated D&I Learning and Development and Supplier Diversity programs. For 4 years in a row, AlixPartners has received a perfect score of 100 points in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index. Elton Ndoma-Ogar, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at AlixPartners, said, We are excited to join Out Leadership. Our partnership is another step on our journey to ensure AlixPartners remains at the forefront of LGBTQ+ equality and related issues. We are particularly excited about the learning, development, and networking opportunities available to our colleagues. Filip Nemeth, Leader of AlixPartners PrideMatters ERG, said, ERGs are a vital part of our firm, and the partnership with Out Leadership provides opportunities to further support their success and also gives our colleagues a chance to learn from others who believe LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion are critical priorities. With Out Leaderships support we can take our ERG to the next level and continue building our culture of inclusivity, equality, and respect. Sears said: Were excited to partner with AlixPartners, its employees, and its clients to increase LGBTQ+ diversity throughout the firms many advocacy efforts. About AlixPartners: AlixPartners is a results-driven global consulting firm that specializes in helping businesses successfully address their most complex and critical challenges. Our clients include companies, corporate boards, law firms, investment banks, private equity firms, and others. Founded in 1981, AlixPartners is headquartered in New York and has offices in more than 20 cities around the world. For more information, visit https://www.alixpartners.com. About Out Leadership: Out Leadership is the oldest and largest global LGBTQ+ business advisory that partners with the worlds most influential companies to build business opportunities, cultivate talent, and drive LGBTQ+ equality forward. We believe that LGBTQ+ inclusion positively impacts business results, and that including LGBTQ+ people at the most senior level of executive leadership builds business. We call this idea Return on Equality. Comprised of more than 85 global member firms and dedicated to cross-industry collaboration, Out Leadership is a certified B Corporation. Out Leadership convenes CEOs, business leaders, and allies at exclusive invitation-only events across 4 continents. Out Leadership also operates three talent initiatives: Quorum, which aims to increase LGBTQ+ representation on corporate boards; OutNEXT, the first global talent development program for emerging LGBTQ+ leaders; and OutWOMEN, connecting senior-level LGBTQ+ women in business. To learn more, please visit https://outleadership.com/ Practices recommended to reduce the risk of future pandemics through 'protected and conserved area management' CABI scientist Dr Arne Witt has shared his expertise on invasive alien plant species as part of a new paper which argues that healthy ecosystems are vital in reducing the risk of future pandemics - such as coronaviruses (including COVID-19) - that threaten human health. The paper - 'Land use-induced spillover: priority actions for protected and conserved area managers' - is published as part of a special issue by the journal PARKS entitled 'COVID-19 and Protected Areas: Essential Reading for a World Haunted by a Pandemic.' Lead author Dr Jamie K. Reaser - along with a team of researchers from institutions including the African Wildlife Foundation, the University of Oklahoma and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas - recommend practices to reduce the risk of future pandemics through 'protected and conserved area management.' They rightly state that pandemic prevention 'requires that human health be regarded as an ecological service' and call upon multi-lateral conservation frameworks to recognise that 'protected area managers are in the frontline of public health safety.' The scientists highlight that land use change 'drives the emergence and spread of micro-organisms (pathogens) that infest wildlife and humans with severe consequences for environmental, animal and human health.' The authors underscore the fact that "The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, demonstrates society's inability to respond it a timely manner to novel pathogens. The result is mass human suffering and mortality, bringing substantial moral, ethical and economic dilemmas." "A protected and conserved areas are the most widely used approaches to securing species and ecological integrity, they have a crucial role to play in safeguarding public health." "From our perspective, a 'healthy' ecosystem is one in which wildlife-pathogen interactions are in balance, wildlife are not overly stressed or concentrated together by land use-induced changes." The scientists say that the strategic removal of invasive alien plants, that support populations of zoonotic pathogens, vectors or hosts, can function as an ecological countermeasure. Dr Witt said, "In Mauritius, for example, invasive alien plants have reduced the habitat quality of the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), resulting in increased foraging in agricultural lands and urban environments." "Krivek et al. (2020) showed that non-native plant invasions reduced native fruit production and that weeded forests provide a better habitat for flying foxes. They conclude that their study lends support to invasive alien plant control as a management strategy in mitigating human-wildlife conflicts." Dr Reaser and the team of researchers put forward a series of proposals that reinforce existing conservation strategies while 'elevating biodiversity conservation as a priority health measure.' The proposals include conducting surveillance about the occurrence of pathogens, or their clinical diseases, in animal or human populations as well as fostering 'landscape immunity' in conserved and protected areas. The latter of which can be achieved, the scientists suggest, by measures including not disturbing landscapes and 'retaining a full complement of native species and their inter-relationships.' Dr Reaser and her colleagues conclude by arguing that, "Nations can no longer treat conservation as a second order priority. COVID-19 shows that we should now recognise that protected areas are at the frontline of public health infrastructure and that their managers are vital to disease prevention." "Looking ahead, we have to conserve nature as if our lives depended on it." ### Full paper reference Reaser, J. K., G. M. Tabor, D. J. Becker, P. Muruthi, A. Witt, S. J. Woodley, M. Ruiz-Aravena, J. A. Patz, V. Hickey, P. J. Hudson, H. Locke, and R. K. Plowright. 'Land use-induced spillover: priority actions for protected and conserved area managers', 11 March 2021, PARKS, 27, Special Issue, 161-178. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2021.PARKS-27-SUKR.en ANDERSON, Calif. The Anderson Police Department is seeking the publics help in locating 59-year-old Steven Harrison Bedwell. On March 5, 2021, the Anderson Police Department said it was contacted by the Shasta County Veterans Affairs Office who reported Bedwell had been missing since Feb. 17, 2021. Information on the location of Steven Bedwell can be left on the following phone numbers: Anderson Police Department Main Line: 530-378-6600 Anderson Police Department Tip Line: 530-224-8435 Dispatch Phone Line: 530-245-6526 Bedwell served with the United States Marine Corps and the Navy and suffers from PTSD. Bedwell had texted a Veteran Affairs Social Worker on Feb. 17 and said he was going to the Stockton area to visit family. However, he has not been seen or heard from since. Authorities said Bedwell drives a Green 2015 Nissan four-door sedan with the California license plate of 8BNZ650. He may also have his dog Skippy with him. Information on the location of Steven Bedwell can be left on the following phone numbers: Pharmaceutical company on Thursday said it did not plan to manufacture its Covid-19 vaccine in its India during the pandemic, keeping its supply lines limited to the US and Europe. Media reports on Wednesday said that Pfizer, an American company, had told the it would produce the vaccine locally if it got faster regulatory clearance and freedom on pricing and exports. has created two dedicated supply lines with established vaccine capabilities one each in the US and Europe to exclusively manufacture this vaccine for use across the world. This will continue to be the companys strategy for the time being. At this time we are not in discussions for any additional local manufacturing for this vaccine, said a company spokesperson. The spokesperson said once the pandemic supply phase is over, "will certainly evaluate all additional opportunities available". Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said on Wednesday that data from Israel suggests that their Covid-19 vaccine is 94 per cent effective in preventing asymptomatic infections, implying the jab can reduce transmission. Unvaccinated individuals were 44 times more likely to develop symptomatic Covid-19 and 29 times more likely to die from the disease than those vaccinated . Pfizer was the first vaccine maker to apply for an emergency-use authorisation in India. The countrys drug regulator wanted the company to conduct clinical study on the Indian population to establish the vaccines immune response and safety. Pfizer pulled out its application then. The company spokesperson: We remain committed to working towards equitable and affordable access for our Covid-19 vaccine for people around the world including in India, and we welcome opportunities to collaborate with the government to fight Covid-19. The manhunt continues for a fourth man police want to speak to in relation to an allegedly sickening attack on three teenage girls in Sydney's CBD last weekend. Police have renewed their public appeal into the alleged incident in Pyrmont's Pirrama Park captured on CCTV and filmed by shocked bystanders shortly after 9.30pm on Saturday night. Witnesses told police a group of people were involved in a verbal argument in the park before two girls aged 16 and another aged 15 were allegedly repeatedly assaulted. CCTV caught the shocking moment one girl was knocked to the ground and kicked in the face after enjoying the city's annual Mardi Gras celebrations. Police believe this man captured on CCTV can help with their inquiries into an incident in Pyrmont's Pirrama Park on Saturday night In another part of the footage, one girl was dragged by her hair and thrown over a concrete ledge before being stomped on her head. The two 16-year-old girls were taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with facial injuries and concussion. Riot squad officers arrested three men in a nearby street a short time later. Jesse MacKenzie, 29, William Shepley, 23, were charged with affray and two counts of common assault. The third man Hong Lee, 21, was charged with affray and common assault. Shocking footage has captured the moment three men allegedly viciously assaulted two teenage girls They all appeared in Central Local Court on Tuesday, where neither Lee or Shepley applied for bail and were formally refused bail. MacKenzie applied for bail but will also remain behind bars after Magistrate Robert Williams told the court the Telstra worker had a 'history of violence', the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The trio will return to Central Local Court on March 23. Police have released an image of a fourth man captured on CCTV leaving the scene, whom they believe may be able to assist with their ongoing inquiries. NSW Police believe this man captured on CCTV may be able to assist with their inquiries The man was described as Caucasian, aged in his early 20s, had short brown hair and wearing a grey tracksuit jacket hoodie, dark shorts and blue sneakers. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller described footage of the attack as 'appalling'. 'It is ... a cowardly act,' he told Sydney radio station 2GB earlier this week. 'I've never seen such disgraceful footage.' 'Someone's 16-year-old daughters were out, and for them to be assaulted in such a way is appalling.' Anyone who recognises the man, witnessed or has mobile phone vision from the incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A knife-wielding man was shot dead by police in a tense night-time standoff in Rochester after allegedly grabbing his weapon from a homeless shelter. Police have released bodycam footage showing the moment the man was killed as he advanced on cops, who had been called out after he apparently threatened to hurt himself with the knife taken from an Open Door Mission. He was not thought to have been staying at the shelter, but his death led to a vigil last night in the streets where the deadly confrontation unfolded. The man's death has piled further scrutiny on Rochester's police department which is already under pressure over the asphyxiation of black man Daniel Prude and a separate incident in which a nine-year-old girl was pepper-sprayed by cops. Last moments: Bodycam from the point of view of the officer who fired the fatal shots shows the knifeman moving towards him in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Rochester Aftermath: The officer fired five times, cutting the man to the ground, although he did not die instantly and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later Vigil: People gathered outside the Open Door Mission in Rochester last night after news broke about the man who was shot dead nearby City authorities published the redacted bodycam video on Wednesday night including from the point of view of the officer who fired the fatal shots. It shows the officer confronting the knifeman shortly after 3am, climbing out of a car and telling him: 'Boss, I need you to drop that knife right now'. The man was initially some distance away on a sidewalk, but slowly advanced towards the officers even as they aimed their guns towards him. He was heard saying 'shoot me' and 'I'm dangerous' several times as he led the armed response team on a slow-moving standoff around street corners. 'I need you to not kill me, for Jesus, and I need you to drop that knife,' the cop shouted, before radioing to colleagues that officers are 'trying to back out'. He then told the police radio: 'Individual has stated he does wish to kill us, and he's dangerous'. As the man drew nearer and continued to ignore orders to drop the knife, the officer continued to point his gun and told him that 'we ain't gotta go down this road'. The bodycam footage grew shakier as the officer backpedalled, before firing five shots that cut the man down as he advanced on the cop. The bodycam footage showed officers confronting the man and repeatedly ordering him to drop the knife he had allegedly taken from a homeless shelter The man's knife could be seen in a shadow (on the left of the image) as he led officers on a slow-moving standoff around street corners in Rochester 'God damnit,' the officer said as soon as the man fell, before cops called for medical help in footage that was largely blurred out by city authorities. They also released footage from other officers' bodycams, showing how the man appeared to rush towards the cop before he was fatally shot. Rochester's acting police chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan said at a news conference on Wednesday that 'the individual ran at officers'. 'I believe they went out of their way to avoid a confrontation,' she said, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. The man's name was not given and his face was obscured in the redacted footage put out by city authorities. The case is being investigated by Rochester's police department while a district attorney is examining whether they have jurisdiction to look at the incident. The officer who fired the shots is on administrative leave. Captain Mark Mura of the Rochester PD said the knifeman, who was pronounced dead in hospital, was not believed to be staying at the shelter. But he had grabbed the large knife from inside the mission before leaving the building and threatening to harm himself and others, Mura said. People leave messages in chalk during a vigil held outside the Open Door Mission on Wednesday evening. The man's identity has not been revealed by authorities The vigil over the man's death comes amid pressure on the Rochester police department over separate incidents including that which led to the death of Daniel Prude Rochester's Police Accountability Board said the incident 'may raise the same questions our community has been asking for months' about police culture. 'The community deserves a full and transparent review of all these incidents,' the board's chairman Shani Wilson said. The police department has been under fire for months over the death of Daniel Prude after he was restrained by police in March 2020. An autopsy found that the 41-year-old died of asphyxiation after he was restrained against the ground and had a mesh bag placed over his head. Last month there were protests after the New York attorney general's office failed to persuade a grand jury to indict officers over Prude's death. And also in February, multiple Rochester cops were suspended over bodycam footage which showed a nine-year-old girl being pepper-sprayed by police. It occurred after the girl 'indicated she wanted to kill herself and she wanted to kill her mom, according to police. After the girl tried to run away, officers handcuffed her and attempted to take her to a hospital in a patrol car before eventually pepper-spraying her. Sedalia Woman Arrested on Drug Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff GRAVES COUNTY - A Sedalia woman was arrested Wednesday on drug charges after an investigation into numerous calls to law enforcement.According to the Graves County Sheriff's Office, 47-year-old Melany A. Keene recently made several calls to 911 for unfounded claims. During her most recent call, she allegedly reported a large amount of methamphetamine was in a home on Page Road.Detectives spoke with Keene and the homeowner about the complaint and performed a search of Keene's bedroom.The search reportedly uncovered methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.Keene was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance first-degree and possession of drug paraphernalia.She was lodged in the Graves County Jail. Hussy, mistress, whore, evil woman - these are just some of the nine example compound words that artist Ika Vantiani was shocked to find listed under the entry for woman or perempuan in Indonesias official dictionary. All nine were sexualised or derogatory terms. In contrast, in the entry for laki-laki, one of the words for man, there is just one example, laki-laki jemputan, which means a man chosen as a son-in-law. Another word for man, pria also lists one term: pria idaman meaning heartthrob. Since making this discovery in 2016, Ika has campaigned through her art for change and as part of that she has assiduously collected editions of the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, which is compiled by a government agency and is the standard dictionary used in schools and by teachers. Perempuan jalang, this one actually means slut. That is the one word that keeps popping up in every edition, she told Reuters. The focus is on examples that include words like pelacur or jalang - meaning whore, a woman who loves to sell herself, nasty women, mistress. Last November, the Oxford University Press said it would change the entries for woman in its dictionaries to include more positive and active descriptions and Ika is hoping for a similar result. The campaign has drawn attention to what critics say is a patriarchal culture in the worlds biggest Muslim majority country. Ika has also gained the support of Indonesias National Commission on Violence against Women which this year called for a revision. Language, the commission said, played an important role in building the values of gender equality and the elimination of violence against women. Ika and her male colleague, Yolando Zelkeos Siahaya, have highlighted the issue in a series of workshops and exhibitions, including one at the Indonesian national gallery in 2018. One work featured clear sheets of acrylic with the dictionary entry for perempuan printed across them so that viewers could imagine being referred to in that way. Most people when they see this work of mine, they are shocked, said Ika. They say: I never would have thought that is how the word woman is defined in our dictionary. Last month her work, which include t-shirts that call for change to the entry and were worn at a womens march in 2020, provoked a response from Badan Bahasa, the agency responsible for the dictionary. The use of the terms, it said, was based on data showing they were among the most frequently used in tandem with perempuan. As for the social picture that emerges from the presentation of information in the dictionary not being ideal, that is another discussion, it said in a statement posted on its website. The response perplexes University of Indonesia linguist Nazarudin, who says Indonesian language data from 2013 collected by Leipzig University shows other phrases, such as womens empowerment or womens rights, were far more frequently used. The question is, what kind of data did they have? he asked, How can it be so negative? A Google search shows there are 98 million entries for hak perempuan meaning womens rights compared to just 481,000 entries for perempuan jalang, the word for slut. Badan Bahasa told Reuters that in addition to the Leipzig data, it also referred to the Malay Concordance Project, a corpus of classical Malay texts. Ika says she is hopeful of change. I am not saying I want it all to be changed into positive words, she said, No. But I want objectivity and real conversations. Washingtons new Middle East policies looks like sandcastle. Targeting MBS means putting region at peril The new media frenzy about a possible full-out confrontation between the US Biden Administration and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a sign that Western political leaders are out of touch with reality. Last weeks revelations published in a declassified report by U.S. security services on the role of MBS in the Khashoggi murder show not only the lack of proof available, but could also lead to a full divorce between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. A growing amount of Western media publications argue that the Saudi Crown Prince should not only be sanctioned, but that Washington also should reconsider its former in-depth cooperation with the Kingdom. Several U.S. experts have been quoted in international media calling for a clear change in US strategy towards the Kingdom, including a possible removal of MBS as Crown Prince via support of former Saudi Crown Prince Bin Nayef or other Saudi royals. In a clear break with US power politics weve seen during the last decades, where the removal of third party power brokers was blocked, a new era seems to be looming on the horizon. At the same time, Biden finds himself on a slippery slope regarding the ongoing confrontation with Iran, by putting additional sanctions on Iran but at the same time removing one of the regions main Iranian backed armed groups, Yemens Houthi rebels, from the U.S. terrorism list. The results this policy change have already become very clear. A new aggressive drone and ballistic missile campaign has been started by the Houthis to hit Saudi strategic airports and oil infrastructure targets on the Red Sea and East Coast. The high-profile attack on Aramco oil infrastructure this week shows that the Kingdom is still under threat. Some even state that the attacks on the Eastern Province, Saudis main oil and gas production region, could not have been done without the full military and logistical support of Iran. Related: Iran Pushes Development Of Major Oil Region Under 25-Year China Deal Still, the military capabilities of Houthi rebels and Iran are at present the least of the kingdoms concerns. The direct diplomatic fall-out of the publication of an intelligence report by the Biden Administration in which the Saudi Crown Prince, who is expected to become Saudi King in the next few years, is being implicated as potential instigator and backer of the Khashoggi murder, is unprecedented. To have U.S. citizens and politicians call for new inquiries about the role of MBS and his security apparatus in the murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul is one thing, but having official documents, declassified by the Biden Administration, directly accusing MBS is calling for potential rifts that could have a fall-out for the whole region. The attack on Ras Tanura, which is Saudi Arabias main crude oil and petchem products export facility had an impact on the market. Crude oil prices spiked, but the effect was only marginal. Even that the current attack has not received the same attention as the Abqaiq attack in 2019, which had a much larger impact on Saudi oil production, the significance seems to be underestimated. A potential destruction of critical facilities in Ras Tanura would have been a shock to the market, even in the light of still high storage volumes worldwide. No oil flows however seem to have been constrained, so futures relaxed again. Still, the market should keep a wary eye on the area, as possible new attacks or even combined attacks on Abqaiq-Ras Tanura by the Houthis and/or Iran could be an option currently being discussed by Tehran hard-liners. Until now, the impact has been only superficial, but taking into account the growing capabilities of Houthi drone and missile arsenals, or the vast, almost Russian style, capabilities on the other side of the Gulf, other options are clearly on the table. What should markets get worried is the fact that in the eyes of Iran, Biden and Europeans have almost given green light to hardliners in Tehran to show their muscles. The ongoing Houthi operations are a clear sign that Bidens current soft-power or even appeasement approach is already backfiring. Related Video: Can Saudis Defend Aramco from Houthis? Washingtons diffuse approach to Iranian sanctions and the JCPOA is another bone of contention. In the first months of his Presidency, Biden has not shown any clear strategy, leaving too much room for interpretation. Whatever people think about former US president Trumps policies, his Iran policies were clear. It seems that Iran has almost fallen off the Resolute Desk in the White House, no open and clear way-forward is being introduced. The only clear path currently painted is that Riyadh and Washington are on a collision course. The Biden Administration seems to hold the view that the US is still the sole power broker in the region, so soft power or pressure put on Arab regimes will reap the rewards sought for. This is a clear misconception, partly based on still existing Obama Era assessments, which are no longer valid. Maybe to the surprise of Washington-based analysts, MBS is not sitting still. The Saudi Crown Prince, is making a lot of headlines with his aggressive economic diversification plans and dreams, and has shown that his international position has not yet diminished. The last days, a flurry of diplomatic and high-level meetings have been held in Riyadh, where Russian Minister Lavrov, Jordans King Abdallah, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and others have been holding meetings to discuss economic and geopolitical issues. Saudi Arabia's top diplomat Prince Faisal also has been hosted by Qatar's ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani on Monday in Doha, showing renewed interest in expanding cooperation. At the same time, Saudi ministers have been flying to Saudi major clients, such as China. Russia is currently using the cooling Saudi-US relations as a possible wedge. Moscow and Riyadh already are cooperating fully in energy and logistics, as statements today reaffirmed. Both stated that the OPEC+ cooperation is still very strong and will continue. Moscow is very pleased with the Biden Administrations lack of strategy for the Arab region. Putin and his emissary Lavrov hope to be able to capitalize on Bidens ongoing mistakes, not only in Riyadh, but also Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Egypt. A critical outcome of US pressure on MBS would also be growing fears in Cairo, Abu Dhabi and other places. A possible realignment of these leading Arab countries, leaving the Atlantic sphere of influence while joining the growing Moscow-Beijing axis is not the outcome that Washington or Brussels would like to see. Pragmatism is needed and neo-realism also. As Machiavelli and Von Clausewitz clearly stated to rule or influence a region, one should regard possible strong relationships with the Prince. If removing the Prince results in a new Prince, instability is the outcome. Stability is needed, Bidens Gulf strategies are counterproductive, to say the least. By indicating or affronting a King-to-Be, enemies are being made. Washingtons culture of backstabbing and rumor carousels are maybe effective in the West, in the Arab world a mans word is forever, friendship also.but this is the same for making enemies. By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com MOre Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The search continues for Israeli spys remains in Damascus, while his family believes it might just be political propaganda ahead of Israeli general elections, writes Al-Souria Net. Israeli media published conflicting information regarding the remains of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen, and the delivery of a personal item belonging to him by the Bashar al-Assad regime to Tel Aviv via Russia. While the Israeli i24NEWS channel quoted sources it described as being close to Russian intelligence about the search for Cohens remains in Damascus, the office of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, denied this. The Arabic-language channel published a report, on Tuesday, in which it quoted a Russian intelligence source as saying that the Syrians provided the Russian soldiers with detailed maps of the area surrounding the Yarmouk refugee camp, the focus of the search for remains. It also quoted a source who said they are from the Syrian government that the Syrians have handed over a personal item belonging to Cohen to the Russians, who are searching the cemetery in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp south of Damascus. The source added that the Russians took this object to Israel for examination, noting that Cohens personal item could be clothes or some documents that belonged to him. According to the same source, Syria and Russia are at odds over the price that Israel should pay for each additional piece of information related to Cohen. i24NEWS also conducted an interview with Netanyahu, in which he said that the search for Cohens remains in Syria is already underway. Netanyahus office denied what was reported by the channel, and said in a statement that i24NEWS report about the item is not accurate. The prime minister made clear that efforts to return the remains of Cohen are ongoing and that these efforts have nothing to do with the Russian president, the statement said. In their first comment about the matter, Cohens family said, according to what the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported, that they have not yet received any information from government officials or the Israeli Mossad, and that they have nothing to say, claiming that the matter is surrounded by rumors. The Israeli Channel 13 spoke to Cohens daughter, who said, they did not get in touch with us and I have no idea if this is just political propaganda ahead of the elections, in reference to the Israeli general elections that will take place on March 23. No statement was issued by the Assad regime or Russia about what was reported by the Israeli channel as of the time of this writing. 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. But raising your voice or losing your cool from time to time? Thats inevitable because we are human. There is this kind of expectation that children should be protected from feeling any negative emotion, said Jennie Hudson, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of New South Wales in Australia. But thats toxic positivity. Its not normal; its not OK. We have a range of emotions that include feeling frustrated, anxious and worried. Its also worth noting that the pandemic is exacerbating a lot of stressors on parents, both financial and emotional. And even as things improve, virus-wise, many of us are under additional strain. The most important thing is what happens after you snap at your children, said all four of the experts I spoke to. Heres their advice for coming back from saying things you regret, how to empathize with your kids and how to cut down on snapping when its possible. Acknowledge your mistake. After youve calmed down, apologize to your child, and talk to them in an age-appropriate way about your feelings, Dr. Hudson said. You dont have to go into the details of why you reacted the way you did, but you can say something like: Im sorry I yelled. I got frustrated, but its not your fault I lost my cool. Heres how I could have handled it better. Then you can talk about ways to calm down that you could have used, like going for a walk, taking a deep breath or walking away from the discussion. Its a learning opportunity for a child, Dr. Hudson said. Give yourself a time out. They arent just for kids; theyre for grown-ups, too, said Dr. Alexandra Sacks, a reproductive psychiatrist based in New York. If youre so overwhelmed that you cant think about what is developmentally appropriate, give yourself a time out, Dr. Sacks said. While its not always possible, especially if your child is so young they cant be left alone and youre the only parent in the situation, try to give yourself that space to call a friend or scream into a pillow if youre feeling emotionally overwhelmed. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States and Russia have found common ground on certain defined areas like space exploration and arms control. Most recently, the two countries extended by 5 years the New START treaty, which places verifiable limits on all U.S and Russian deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons. However, a working relationship with Russia does not mean that we are blind to the danger Russia poses to the United States, and to its allies. Speaking at the 2021 Virtual Munich Security Conference on February 19, President Biden said the United States and Europe must stand up and meet the threat from Russia: The Kremlin attacks our democracies and weaponizes corruption to try to undermine our system of governance. Russian leaders want people to think that our system is more corrupt or as corrupt as theirs. But the world knows that isnt true, including Russians Russias own citizens. Russian President Putin seeks to weaken the European project and our NATO Alliance, said President Biden: Thats why standing up for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine remains a vital concern for Europe and the United States. Thats 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. This is not a case of pitting East against West, said President Biden, nor about a desire to create conflict. We want a future where all nations are able to freely determine their own path without a threat of violence or coercion. We cannot and must not return to the [reflexive] opposition and rigid blocs of the Cold War. Competition must not lock out cooperation on issues that affect us all. We must stand up for the democratic values, said President Biden, pushing back against those who would monopolize and normalize repression. On Monday, Austria suspended vaccinations after a 49-year old nurse died from severe blood clots. Six European countries have temporarily halted distribution of PLCs ( ) Covid-19 vaccine due to concern over possible side effects. Denmark today followed Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg in pausing the use of a 1mln-dose batch sent to a total of 17 countries within the EU. On Monday, Austria suspended vaccinations using the Astra/Oxford vaccine after a 49-year old nurse died from severe blood clots. Three other instances of thromboembolism have been recorded in people after they had been given the vaccine, though the European Medicines Agency said there was no evidence to link the events. There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine", the EMA said, which added that the incidence of blood clots was no higher than seen in the general population. Denmark said it would pause use of the vaccine for 14 days. Health minister Magnus Heunicke said the suspension measure was a precaution as the authorities start an investigation to see whether the blood clots are a side effect of the vaccine. Europes vaccination programme has been hampered by the lack of supplies of both the Astra vaccine and the mRNA alternatives manufactured by /BioNTech and the recently approved Moderna jab. has also been accused of diverting supplies away from the EU with the Italian government halting the export of 250,000 doses to Australia in a row over vaccine nationalism. /BioNTech, meanwhile, received a further endorsement of their vaccine as Israel today said it was 97% effective against the virus. Israel has been at the forefront of the vaccination campaign with 43% of its population having now received the required two doses of vaccine. N.T.L.H., 49, and her son T.H., 18, who both hail from Hai Phong City, tested positive for the novel coronavirus after their flight from Hanois Noi Bai International Airport landed in Australia on March 1. The two cases were confirmed by the Hanoi Center for Disease Control in the late hours of Wednesday. As per contact tracing details, the mother and son headed to Noi Bai from Hai Phongs Le Chan Ward on February 26, when they tested negative for the coronavirus. They then boarded the plane to Australia through Singapore on February 28. After landing in Australia on March 1, T.H. received a weak positive test result, while his mother L.H. tested negative for the COVID-19 pathogen. After undergoing further screening, T.H. received another positive result on March 3, while L.H. also got a positive result on March 6. A section of Nguyen Cong Tru Street in Hai Phong City was cordoned off on March 10, 2021 after two local residents were found infected with COVID-19. Photo: T. Thang / Tuoi Tre Following reports of the cases, Hai Phong authorities have cordoned off, fumigated, and performed an epidemiological investigation on the house of the infected mother and son on Nguyen Cong Tru Street. Meanwhile, medical forces in Hai Phong rolled out contact tracing and isolating measures, with 36 residents labeled as high risk and 13 direct contacts of the patients tested for COVID-19. All 49 cases received negative results on their first tests, Pham Thu Xanh, head of the local rapid response team, said on Thursday. Those who came into close contact with the two transmission cases from February 20 to February 28 in Hai Phong are required to immediately report to the local health clinic for further advice, said the Department of Health of Hai Phong. Residents can also contact the hotline of the Department of Health at 097878.9499, 090.2210.218, or 091.249.8366 for instructions. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations via video link on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The new development pattern put forward by China will provide more development opportunities for companies from Luxembourg and other countries, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday. In a telephone conversation with Luxembourg's Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn, Wang said that Luxembourg is an important cooperative partner of China within the European Union (EU), and the two countries understand, support and trust each other, setting a good example of mutually beneficial cooperation between large and small countries. Noting that since the novel coronavirus broke out, China and Luxembourg have stuck together through thick and thin and helped each other, Wang said that the two sides have stood the test of the COVID-19 pandemic and deepened the friendship between the two peoples. Calling Luxembourg an important bridge for China-EU cooperation in building the Belt and Road Initiative, Wang also welcomed Luxembourg to take an active part in the internationalization process of the Chinese currency Renminbi and expressed belief that Luxembourg will continue to provide a fair and equitable business environment for Chinese companies. Wang also expressed hope that Luxembourg will continue to play an active role in promoting the development of China-EU relations and particularly the early ratification and entry into force of the China-EU investment treaty. For his part, Asselborn informed the Chinese side of the epidemic situation in Luxembourg. He also said Luxembourg stands ready to keep close high-level exchanges with China and deepen practical cooperation in aviation, freight transport, communications, finance and people-to-people exchanges, adding that his country is ready to play a positive role in advancing the early ratification and entry into force of the EU-China investment treaty and the EU-China relationship. In the phone call, Wang also elaborated on China's positions on human rights, as well as issues related to Hong Kong and Xinjiang, stressing that the aim of the Communist Party of China is to serve the people wholeheartedly, and that China has completed the arduous task of eliminating absolute poverty on schedule, which is the greatest human rights achievement. Some Western forces smear China on issues related to Xinjiang, Wang said, adding that in the face of facts, any rumors will be dispelled. He also noted that the aim of improving the electoral system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is to ensure that the policies of "one country, two systems", "the people of Hong Kong administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy are maintained in a steady and sustained way. He expressed hope that Luxembourg and other European countries will uphold an objective and just position, and work with China to uphold mutual respect and consolidate the foundation of mutual trust, so as to maintain the sound momentum of China-EU relations. The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern. [March 11, 2021] Nominations Open for the Finopotamus 2021 Tekkie Awards SAN DIEGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Finopotamus, the only online resource providing in-depth technology coverage exclusively to credit unions, announced that it is now accepting nominations for its inaugural 2021 Tekkie Awards. The awards are co-sponsored by popular technology e-newsletter, Credit Union tech-talk. This will be an annual award series that honors significant achievement in credit union technology from the previous calendar year. The 2021 awards will thus recognize outstanding technology achievements from 2020. The nomination microsite is located here: https://finop.us/Tekkie21. "Credit unions have been the true innovators in financial technology for decades, yet they seldom get the recognition they deserve," said Finopotamus co-founder John San Filippo. "Our intent is to shine the spotlight on the leaders in credit union fintech." Tekkie award nominations are being accepted in the following categories: Core Integration COVID-19 Response Data and Analytics Leding Self -Service May 1, 2021 . Winners will be announced in July to mark the one-year anniversary of Finopotamus. About Credit Union tech-talk Credit Union tech-talk is a technology newsletter that goes out every week to over 14,000 credit union professionals and 2,000 FinTech vendors. Since 1988, we have served as a clearinghouse for technology information to the credit union movement. Our goal is to be a leading source of technology information for credit unions of all sizes. We provide the latest information on such topics as the Internet, online banking, bill payment/presentment, debit/credit and smart cards, technology training, conferences, vendors, hardware, software, security, ATMs/kiosks, wireless access, biometrics, call centers, imaging, plus technology and marketing/merchandising. Learn more at www.cunews.com. About Finopotamus Finopotamus is an online publication created by industry veterans W.B. King, John San Filippo, and Roy Urrico to bring credit unions technology news and original content not found elsewhere. The publication looks at technology best practices across multiple industries to bring credit unions the broadest range of relevant information. The publication's tagline is Fintech News for Hungry CUs. Visit Finopotamus at www.finopotamus.com. Contact: John San Filippo, 619-467-0431, 304953@email4pr.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nominations-open-for-the-finopotamus-2021-tekkie-awards-301245052.html SOURCE Finopotamus LLC [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A creepy coincidence or a match made in horror heaven? That's for you to decide when Connecticut's first-ever paranormal convention, PARACONN, takes over the Ansonia Armory on July 24 and 25. Each night, the team of paranormal investigators will perform investigations using infrared and SLS (Structured Light Sensor) cameras in order to capture whatever otherworldly beings may be living in the supposedly haunted Ansonia Armory, according to a press release. The convention, which is equal parts seminar and bazaar, will host a plethora of other spooky activities that range from exhibits to those real-time paranormal investigations. The idea for a Connecticut paranormal convention comes from Nick Grossmann and Charles Rosenay, the two founders of PARACONN. Courtesy of Ghost Storm Grossmann leads the Norwalk-based paranormal research team Ghost Storm, which has done a number of notable paranormal investigations in the area including at Stratford's Boothe Memorial Park and Derby's Twisted Vine. At PARACONN, Grossmann will unveil footage from his upcoming documentary, Ghost Expedition Valley," which chronicles a recent investigation that Ghost Storm undertook. Rosenay is the owner of Fright Haven in Stratford and regularly hosts ghost tours throughout Europe. Rosenay will be revealing his first book, "The Book of Top 10 Horror Lists, at the convention. Grossmann and Rosenay will be joined by veteran paranormal investigator Patrick Cross from Paranormal Night Shift, and Barry Pirro of ConnecticutGhostHunter.com. More guests will be announced in the coming weeks, according to the press release. Aside from lectures and investigation, the convention will also host a bazaar offering horror-inspired goods that deal with topics like cryptozoology and the occult. Still not enough spookiness for you? PARACONN also promises to bring in a Connecticut woman who claims that she may still be possessed by an otherworldly entity. 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. More than half of consumers say they prefer to shop online rather than in-store this year, as Covid-19 restrictions continue. Nonetheless, 42pc of shoppers still said they will do most of their shopping in bricks-and-mortar stores this year, down from 48pc in 2020, according to the 2021 .IE Tipping Point report. Among the consumers who say they will do most of their shopping in physical stores in 2021, 61pc said it is more convenient, while two in five said they will do so because it is a chance for social interaction and to go outside. It comes as data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) last week found that online sales accounted for less than 11pc of overall retail transactions with Irish businesses in January, despite the majority of retailers being closed. The percentage of turnover generated by online sales for Irish shops was just 10.9pc in January, as many Irish retailers continue to struggle to generate an online presence. Despite a surge of patriotism in the initial six months of the pandemic, the majority of online shoppers have swung back from Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to international retailers, according to the report, which surveyed 1,000 consumers. In January this year, 49pc said they have mostly purchased from Irish SMEs since the Covid crisis, compared to 53pc in 2020. Consumers said they view international retailers as more competitive on price, range and online experience, but they view Irish businesses as more reliable and trustworthy, the report found. The report also surveyed 500 SME owners in Ireland in the retail and consumer-facing professional services space. The number of SMEs that have invested in their online presence has increased to 55pc from just 21pc last year. The majority of firms said they recognised that the future of their businesses depended on adding some kind of digital offering. Of the consumers surveyed for the report, 45pc believe that life will return either mostly or completely to pre-Covid normality by the end of this year while the majority believe that it will be mostly the same as 2020 or worse. While vaccines offer Ireland a way out of lockdown, until a critical mass is reached and the population is immunised, our economy and society are set to remain in a state of flux, David Curtin, chief executive of .IE, said. This flux is accelerating major trends in how consumers spend and how SMEs sell their goods and services. Currently, 23pc of consumers said they were completely comfortable in local shops. A West Australian Liberal candidate is under fire after questioning the timing of a historical rape allegation against Christian Porter being made public. The federal attorney-general has vehemently denied allegations he raped a woman more than 30 years ago in Sydney. Scott Leary, the Liberal candidate for Albany, says it's a 'strange coincidence' the allegation has been publicised so close to Saturday's state election. In two separate interviews with ABC local radio this week, Mr Leary suggested the timing may have been politically motivated. The federal attorney-general Christian Porter (pictured) has vehemently denied allegations he raped a woman more than 30 years ago in Sydney 'I'm surprised that these items do come up, mainly around election time, which is really strange - that some of these older cases seem to come out of the woodwork,' he said. 'The timing for me is yes, I think it is motivated that way, that it's come out now. An allegation that was 33 years ago that's been made, why has it come to the surface now?' WA Liberal leader Zak Kirkup on Thursday said he did not agree with Mr Leary's comments. 'I was disappointed to see the comments,' Mr Kirkup told reporters. In two separate interviews with ABC local radio this week, Mr Leary (left) suggested the timing may have been politically motivated 'I can tell you that is not at all something that I believe, and I don't believe they are something Mr Leary believes either.' Mr Kirkup denied that he had cancelled a planned visit to Albany, on the state's south coast, because he did not want to campaign alongside Mr Leary. Treasurer Ben Wyatt condemned the comments. 'I am not sure why the Liberal candidate for Albany has decided to throw himself into this particular debate, but clearly highly inappropriate and simply wrong,' he said. The woman who made the claim against Mr Porter took her own life last year after telling NSW Police she did not want to proceed with her complaint. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. Among the Chinese smartphone OEMs, it is becoming a growing trend to add the brand of a renowned camera maker to boost smartphone popularity. According to an article in Sam Mobile, this tactic only aims to fool possible buyers that the world's top experts built their smartphone's camera setup in the field. The article conludes that the camera-centric partnership between camera experts and Chinese OEMs exists only for hype-generating marketing strategies. OnePlus and Hasselblad The report sets OnePlus as one example. Mihai, the writer of the article, said that the brand,partnered with Hasselblad for the incoming OnePlus 9 series. This company is a 100-year-old Swedish company that manufactures camera lenses and scanners. However, its partnership with OnePlus will not involve any of this hardware. Instead, OnePlus would combine Hasselblad's rich knowledge in traditional photography aesthetics with Sony's main sensor to create their own OnePlus 9 series hardware. The brand name is no guarantee for the customer's purchase quality, even if OnePlus claims that this partnership would continue to expand in the future. Read Also: OnePlus and Hasselblad Enter 3-Year Partnership: A New Level of Smartphone Imaging Huawei and Leica Huawei is using the same strategy with its popularity and its Leica-branded camera systems in the market. In terms of mobile photography, Huawei's flagship sometimes performs arguably better than Samsung's premium phones. However, the so-called Leica lenses equipped in these phones are not manufactured by Leica. Simply put, Leica does not have the equipment or infrastructure to manufacture and build smartphone camera lenses. Instead, these Leica-branded mobile lenses are manufactured by a third-party. The third-party involved creates the mobile lenses following designs agreed upon by both Leica and Huawei. Leica and Hasselblad are not owned by Huawei and OnePlus. The nature of their industry is different, and the partnership of these groups is ambiguous. The point remains that popular logos and brands oftentimes create effective marketing purposes for their customers. Samsung Has Not Partnered With Renowned Camera Makers There is another example of brand power, although easily overlooked. Samsung branded headphones are "tuned by AKG," but this branding does not go beyond the marketing value. Audiophiles and other buyers do not think to check the 'tuned by AKG' brand to convince themselves that they are purchasing a pro-grade audio experience from Samsung. Granted that AKG is a Harman subsidiary and is officially owned by Samsung. If the branding is for marketing purposes, why does the world's biggest smartphone vendor not partner with another renowned camera maker to improve their mobile photography? The exact reason is not provided; however, Samsung is confirmed to be manufacturing its own mobile camera sensors and lenses under the ISOCELL brand. If Samsung prefers to partner with a camera maker brand, choosing their own camera business is an available option. Simply put, Samsung might not find it profitable or easy to abandon their brand for the sake of another. Samsung operates differently from Huawei, OnePlus, and other OEMs. In conclusion, Chinese OEMs partner with Leica and Hasselblad might be less about their expertise and more about the brand power. According to the market trends, these OEMs have more freedom for branding and rebranding their products, unlike Samsung who is invested in manufacturing their own mobile camera. This article is owned by Tech Times. Written by Czarina Grace Del Valle 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The NDA, comprising AINRC and the BJP, is going ahead with a clear vision and in full coordination to romp home in the April 6 Assembly elections here, BJP in-charge of Puducherry Nirmal Kumar Surana said on Wednesday. Already, Surana told reporters, the NDA has finalised that AINRC would contest in 16 out of the total 30 seats here. The and BJP which have been earmarked the remaining 14 seats would decide soon the number of seats the two parties would share between themselves. "We are going ahead with full coordination and in a smooth manner. Our alliance is now carrying out our poll- related works under the leadership of AINRC founder-leader and former Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who is an experienced leader and knows Puducherry fully," he said. He had said on Tuesday that the NDA would function in the Union Territory under Rangasamy's leadership. Surana said, "Our aim is to ensure that the Congress-DMK alliance is totally defeated and should not garner even a single seat in the forthcoming polls." He declared open the election office of the BJPtoday. Among those present on the occasion included former PWD Minister A Namassivayam, who joined the BJP after quitting the Congress in January; president of the Puducherry unit of BJP V Saminathan; and former legislators A John Kumar and E Theeppainjan. Namassivayam, speaking at the inauguration of the election office ofBJP, said the party had emerged as a strong political party in Puducherry. "No dispensation will be possible without BJP in the Union Territory," he said. He called upon the rank and file of the parties attached to the NDA to put in hard work to ensure that it formed the next government here. Meanwhile, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) which announced to fight the forthcoming polls on its own forwarded to the party founder S Ramadoss the list of its candidates for 15 constituencies for approval. Convenor of Puducherry unit of the party K Dhanaraj said in a press release that the list of names relating to 12 constituencies in Puducherry and three segments in Puducherry was forwarded to the party founder for his approval. PMK had announced to fight the polls on its own as it was not associated with the seat-sharing exercise by the BJP for Puducherry 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.) A host of European countries including Denmark, Norway and Iceland have halted the use of AstraZeneca jabs amid fears they cause blood clots, while Italy has suspended a specific batch following two deaths in Sicily. A nurse in Austria, 49, died from a clot on Monday shortly after taking the vaccine amid reports of a few similar cases across the continent, despite millions of doses being administered safely. Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have suspended the use of the same batch given to the nurse in Austria, ABV5300, which was sent to 17 European countries and consisted of one million jabs. Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday went further, suspending the total use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine pending investigations. Denmark suspended the shots for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who also was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said. Their response was also prompted by reports 'of possible serious side effects' from other European countries. Italy's medicine regulator banned a different batch of the jabs, ABV2856, after non-commissioned naval officer Stefano Paterno died in Sicily of a cardiac arrest 24 hours after receiving a dose. A second man in Sicily has also died after recently receiving the jab, and a police officer died within 12 days of a vaccination, sparking an investigation by health authorities into any potential links to the jabs. The moves come despite Europe's own medical regulator saying there is no clear link between the nurse's death and the jab, and UK regulators saying data shows those with the jab are no more likely to suffer clots than the general population. The European Medicines Agency said in a statement: 'The position of EMA's safety committee... is that the vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing.' Many European leaders have frequently doubted the effectiveness of the Oxford vaccine which has subsequently seen a low uptake compared to other jabs. But that did not stop the EU from blocking a shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia using controversial export laws last week. Authorities in Italy refused to grant a licence for 250,000 doses manufactured in the country to be exported, meaning the shipment could not leave as planned. It comes after a host of countries including Germany and France restricted the AstraZeneca jab's use to over-65s, claiming it was ineffective in the elderly - despite Europe's medical regulator saying otherwise. Those restrictions were largely dropped after data showed the jab works in all ages. Scaremongering around the jab has led some Europeans to refuse to take it, with authorities in Germany forced to resort to threatening people who balk at it. That has hampered Europe's already-slow vaccine drive which has been plagued by supply issues and has seen just 10 per cent of people given at least one dose, compared to 36 per cent in the UK. European countries are lagging behind the UK in vaccination numbers after fuelling fears over the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca jab Italy's medicine regulator banned a different batch of the jabs, ABV2856, after non-commissioned naval officer Stefano Paterno (pictured with his wife) died of a cardiac arrest 24 hours after receiving a dose Denmark's health minister Magnus Heunicke said authorities were probing whether there was a link between having the jab and blood clotting, after several cases and one death Despite the news that that some EU countries would stop giving the AstraZeneca vaccine, France's minister said that the country sees 'no need' to suspend its use. Olivier Veran said he had consulted with the French medicines agency which advised him against taking similar action. He said the agency urged him to follow the EU drug regulator's ruling that AstraZeneca was still safe to use. 'There is no need to suspend AstraZeneca,' Veran told a news conference. The decision comes as France scrambles to boost its Covid vaccination rollout in the hope of avoiding a third lockdown. Veran said the daily average virus infection appeared stable for France as a whole, but added it hid huge regional disparities. The greater Ile de France region, which includes Paris, the northern region of Hauts de France and the southern Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region were the three biggest infection hotspots, he said. Daily numbers of admissions into intensive care in the Paris region were now so high that hospital capacity risked being overrun. A 'critical level' of capacity could be reached by the end of March, Veran said. Authorities were therefore preparing to evacuate 'dozens or even hundreds' of intensive care patients away from the capital and its suburbs to other regions of France, Veran said. Downing Street defended the vaccine following the news, calling it 'both safe and effective' and insisted Britain would continue with its own rollout. 'We've been clear that it's both safe and effective... and when people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence,' Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman told reporters. 'And in fact you're starting to see the results of the vaccine programme in terms of the (lower) number of cases we're seeing across the country, the number of deaths, number of hospitalisations.' Denmark was first to announce its suspension this week, 'following reports of serious cases of blood clots' among people who had received the vaccine, the country's Health Authority said in a statement. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days in Denmark. It stressed the move was precautionary, and that 'it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots'. 'This is a cautionary decision,' Geir Bukholm, director of infection prevention and control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), told a news conference. FHI did not say how long the suspension would last. 'We ... await information to see if there is a link between the vaccination and this case with a blood clot,' Bukholm said. So far, 138,148 Danes have received a shot with AstraZeneca's vaccine in a country of 5.8 million. Denmark's Health Authority said the final date for when it expects all Danes to have been fully vaccinated would be pushed back by four weeks to Aug. 15. The Nordic country, which also uses vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, is set to receive 2.6 million doses from AstraZeneca over the coming months. A host of countries including Germany and France restricted the AstraZeneca jab's use to over-65s Magnus Heunicke said: 'At present it can not be concluded whether there is a connection. We are acting early, it must be thoroughly investigated.' As of March 9, 22 cases of blood clots had been reported among more than three million people vaccinated in the European Economic Area, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said. Denmark however suspended the use of all of its AstraZeneca supply, as did Iceland and Norway in subsequent announcements on Thursday citing similar concerns. As well as the woman's death, another three cases of blood clotting issues had been reported in Austria from people who had taken the vaccine. One of those patients, a 35-year-old woman, developed a pulmonary embolism - a blockage of an artery on the lung - but is now recovering. The EMA said that the batch which had been singled-out in Austria, labelled ABV5300, comprised one million doses and had been delivered to 17 EU countries. Meanwhile Italian authorities decided to halt the delivery of a different batch of AstraZeneca jabs over safety fears. 'Following the reporting of some serious adverse events... AIFA has decided, as a precaution, to issue a ban on the use of this batch throughout the national territory,' AIFA said in a statement. It said that it 'reserves the right to take further measures, if necessary,' in coordination with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). But it stressed that at the moment there had been no established link between the administration of the vaccine and the alleged side-effects. The batch mentioned by the Italian regulator, batch ABV2856, is different to the ABV5300 suspended by Austria and other countries. It has been linked to the death of two men in Sicily - Stefano Paterno this week after he suffered a cardiac arrest 24 hours after taking a jab - and another unnamed man. A policeman, Davide Villa, 50, also died 12 days after receiving a vaccine from the same batch. The Italian ministry of health will investigate the possible links between their deaths and the jabs while the batch of doses is on pause. But many health experts said there was little evidence to suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be administered and that the blood clots and deaths corresponded with the rate of such cases in the general population. 'The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence,' Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters. Phil Bryan, head of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said reports of blood clots so far didn't exceed what would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population. The EMA added: 'Although a quality defect is considered unlikely at this stage, the batch quality is being investigated.' It said the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) were investigating the thrombosis conditions linked to the same batch as well as all other reports of thrombosis and related blood clotting conditions reported post-vaccination. 'The information available so far indicates that the number of thromboembolic events in vaccinated people is no higher than that seen in the general population,' it said. Today, the UK government defended the vaccine and insisted it would continue with its own rollout. 'We've been clear that it's both safe and effective... and when people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence,' Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman told reporters. 'And in fact you're starting to see the results of the vaccine programme in terms of the (lower) number of cases we're seeing across the country, the number of deaths, number of hospitalisations,' he said. Britain began the world's first mass vaccination drive against the coronavirus in December, underpinned largely by the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab and another from Pfizer-BioNTech. EU regulators on January 30 approved the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it was effective and safe to use. Adverse reactions seen in trials were short-lived for the most part and blood clotting issues were not reported. An AstraZeneca spokeswoman told MailOnline: 'We're aware of the statement made today by Sundhedsstyrelsen [the Danish health authority] that they are currently investigating potential adverse events related to vaccination against COVID-19. 'Patient Safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca. Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. 'The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase III clinical trials and Peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine is generally well tolerated.' The investigation by the EU comes after a humiliating U-turn by European leaders who have given their backing to the vaccine after claiming it was ineffective at the height of their row with the vaccine-maker and Britain in January. During the ongoing row, the EU has furiously blamed Britain for its woeful vaccine rollout, blocked doses from leaving to Australia and begged the USA to give them its surplus doses. Last week, Italy stood at the European vanguard as it embargoed 250,000 doses which were destined for Sydney. The agency confirmed it had received two reports 'in a temporal connection' with a vaccine from the same batch in the district clinic of Zwettl, Lower Austria, but said the suspension was a precautionary measure. Picture: File image The move raised eyebrows Down Under, as Australia's finance minister Simon Birmingham said it is 'a reminder of the desperation that exists in other parts of the world, compared with the very good position we found ourselves in here'. 'We are obviously disappointed and frustrated by this decision,' he added. Over the weekend, it was reported that the EU had gone cap in hand to Washington to beg them to provide some of their surplus AstraZeneca. It's a humiliating U-turn for Brussels whose leaders had wildly claimed that the AstraZeneca vaccine was ineffective earlier this year. Emmanuel Macron was accused of anti-vax propaganda when he claimed the jab was only 'quasi-effective' for elderly patients. French PM Jean Castex has since endorsed the vaccine, saying it is just as effective as any other approved in the EU. The government on Wednesday said it has collected around Rs 170 crore from the people for mask-related violations in the past six months. Dariyapur legislator of the Congress, Gyasuddin Sheikh had sought to know from the government that how much money was collected from the public, as a penalty for mask violations in the past 6 months. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani-headed home department replied that nearly Rs 170 crore was collected from the public in the past 6 months. A total of Rs. 167,89,22,000 was recovered as fine from 16,78,922 people during the past six months. The maximum number of people penalised were from Ahmedabad -- 2,06,891. A total of 1,38,974 people were required to pay the fine of Rs 1,000 for not wearing masks or partially masked faces in the Diamond City, Surat. Besides, 98,749 persons in Kheda, 72,217 persons in the state Capital Gandhinagar, 66,722 persons in Bhavnagar were penalised for mask violations. Also, 64,730 persons in Ahmedabad rural, 63,361 in Mehsana, 60,950 in Banaskantha, 55,830 in Vadodara, 55,766 in Valsad, 53,660 in Rajkot city, 53,181 in Rajkot rural, 51,023 in Patan and 50,143 in Jamnagar were fined Rs 1,000 each for mask violations. --IANS amc/pgh (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 U.S. Air Force says a series of missteps at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, led to a Feb. 4 breach at the installation in which an unauthorized civilian was able to board a C-40 Clipper transport aircraft on the flight line. The service on Thursday released a 23-page Inspector General review into the incident. It concluded that a "distracted" Security Forces airman overlooked the proper procedures to vet the man as he came on base. That was compounded when a gate malfunction allowed the man to walk onto the flight line, where other personnel also failed to stop him. The unauthorized individual "just wanted to see airplanes," Lt. Gen. Sami Said, the Air Force's inspector general, said of the man's intentions, adding that officials do not believe he planned to harm Air Force personnel. Read Next: Tucker Carlson Couldn't 'Be More Wrong': Troops Fire Back at Fox News Host's Claims of a Feminized Military The Security Forces airman, a member of the 316th Security Forces Squadron, could not recall whether he had asked the individual for any type of identification, according to the IG report. Video footage from the gate entry point could not verify whether the individual presented ID. "Command actions have been taken against the airman [who was] at the gate," Said told reporters during a phone call prior to the report's release. He would not comment further on the action but added, "There should have been absolutely nothing that gave the airman the impression this person was authorized on base." The service said the man entered the Virginia Gate entrance at 7:16 a.m. and wandered the base for more than five hours. He parked his car at the base commissary and made a trip to the base food court. He did not meet anyone, the report states. Air Force officials said the individual had never been to the base before, despite the fact he was able to make his way around with relative ease. "There is an element of luck," according to Said, "but he stumbled around for several hours." The man ultimately made his way into the passenger lounge for a few minutes before accessing the flight line itself, Said added. According to the report, an unidentified Andrews personnel member saw the man walking around the lounge and asked, "Can I help you?" The personnel member escorted the man to the exit door; the man waited across the street as if he "was waiting for a ride," the report states. He then headed toward the flight line, which he accessed through a partially open gate. The gate had previously been reported as having multiple malfunctions, according to Said. "Had the gate closed as it should have, he couldn't have accessed the flight line," he said. Members of the 89th Aerial Port Squadron saw the man walking toward a row of aircraft, where the C-40 was parked. And two crew members were on board the C-40 conducting communications training, according to the IG report. The man boarded the C-40 and headed for the back of the aircraft. Neither of the crew members communicated with the man, and he quickly exited. The members of the 89th and the crew on board the C-40 at first mistook the man as a contractor because of his attire. He was wearing dark pants, a dark jacket and black high-top sneakers and carrying a backpack -- common for civilian contractors who work on base, the report notes. But the personnel also noticed that the individual "looked like he didn't fit" because he was wearing a bright red-pink hat with balls on top meant to resemble mouse ears, Said added. Someone then called the Base Defense Operations Center. The man was eventually apprehended by Security Forces and handed off to local law enforcement. The review notes that everyone who saw the man on the flight line or aboard the aircraft should have asked to see a restricted area badge. Andrews is best known for its special airlift mission to transport VIPs such as the president and vice president. It is home to the VC-25 aircraft, popularly known as "Air Force One." While the call sign can apply to any aircraft when the commander in chief is onboard, the special airlift mission, overseen by the 89th Airlift Wing, includes the VC-25A, a modified Boeing 747; the C-32A, a modified Boeing 757; the C-37A, a Gulfstream V; the C-37B, a Gulfstream 550; and the C-40, an upgraded Boeing 737-700 business jet. "Air Force One or the multiple airplanes [that can carry the president], and everything that is housed within that area of the flight line was never in question," Said stated. The hangar that holds Air Force One is nearly a mile away from the flight line the man accessed and has multiple, scrupulous layers of security, Said emphasized. "There is no way he could have gotten through that," he said. In an interview with law enforcement, the man said he had consumed alcohol prior to entering the base. It is not clear whether that was a factor in his decision to enter the installation, Said stated. A separate investigation conducted by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations noted that the man was unemployed and likely living out of his car. In February, Acting Air Force Secretary John Roth and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown launched a comprehensive review into base safety and security protocols across the service following the breach at Andrews. Said stated that the event was isolated, adding that the Air Force did not find indications of a systemic security issue plaguing the force. The report notes that while additional base surveillance would not necessarily have prevented the unauthorized entry, a vehicle or personnel tracking system -- which Andrews does not currently have -- could provide more situational awareness in the future. Andrews suspended its Trusted Traveler Program after the incident. Normally, individuals with a valid Common Access Card who are pre-cleared with escort authority can bring up to 10 people with them in a vehicle without the base having to vet the accompanying visitors' backgrounds. The program is still suspended, Maj. Jessica Tait, spokeswoman for the 11th Wing, said in an email Thursday. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Read Next: Air Force Launches Global Review of Base Security After Intruder Boards C-40 Aircraft Surely you heard the news about Dr. Seuss? Although not canceled, he has definitely been curtailed, as was the case last week when Dr. Seuss Enterprises felt behooved to suppress the publication of six of the authors childrens books because of what is described as racist and insensitive imagery. The work of Dr. Seuss born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Mass., on March 2, 1904 has been translated into dozens of languages in addition to braille and are bought in more than 100 international locations. Geisel, who died in 1991, is one of the best-selling deceased authors in the world, whose works had gross sales last year of $33 million, up about $20 million compared with five years previously. Copies of And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligots Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super! and The Cats Quizzer will no longer be published. The decision to cease publication of the books was actually made last year after months of discussion, the company told The Associated Press. Dr. Seuss, adored around the world for positive values in many of his works including whimsical humor and doggerel, artistic creativity, environmentalism and tolerance, has come under criticism in recent years the way Blacks, Asians and others are drawn in some of his most beloved childrens books. According to NPR, In And to Think I saw it on Mulberry Street, for example a character described as Chinese has two lines for eyes, carries chopsticks and a bowl of rice, and wears traditional Japanese-style shoes. In If I Ran the Zoo, two men said to be from Africa are shown shirtless, shoeless and wearing grass skirts as they carry an exotic animal. These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong, Dr. Seuss Enterprises told the AP. Whereas that type of imagery wouldnt be considered at all appropriate contemporarily, we are yet again judging someone through the lens of history and time. How many adults, by the way, fail to discern that when reading to their children? If they dont like what they see, would they not stop reading? One might think, and might further assume that others can think for themselves and have some degree of common sense. Sign up for our new opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email Sign Up! Geisels birthday, March 2, was the inspiration for Read Across America Day, an event launched in 1998 by the National Educational Association to advance literacy. The decision to stop publication of the six books was announced just one day after President Joe Biden broke with tradition and left Dr. Seuss out of the 2021 Read Across America Day proclamation. That would be in contrast to President Barack Obama who, in 2014, proclaimed that Seuss tales challenge dictators and discrimination. They call us to open our minds, to take responsibility for ourselves and our planet. Two years later he said that Seuss was one of Americas revered wordsmiths who used his incredible talent to instill in his most impressionable readers universal values we all hold dear. An op-ed piece by Maureen Downey in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week quoted an African American lady who noticed that Dr. Seuss Enterprises didnt appear to ask any parents regarding their thoughts on the issue. I say this as a Black grandmother who purchased and read many Dr. Seuss books to my children and grandchildren: The cleverness of the linguistics in these books is extremely helpful in helping young children navigate the complexities of learning language and comprehension skills. Since theres not as would appear to be the case a popular outcry to have Geisels work curtailed, why is this happening and is not the suppression of books a very slippery slope? Its happening because of attempts to blend in with a certain sociopolitical narrative, to use an annoying and overused cliche. We can all agree that some of Geisels work is insensitive. Some may believe that the imagery could influence Whites in a negative way more than it directly wounds minorities, which, if Im not mistaken, dovetails with critical race theory, to the extent that law, legal institutions and White people are (theoretically) inherently racist, and that persons of color are inherently victims. There are those, of course, who disagree with such ideas and the belief that theyre absolute and immutable truisms, while ignoring all the positive changes that have taken place over the past 50-plus years. What were now having to deal with is the imposition of an ideological agenda in the absence of convincing demand for it and with the concomitant suppression of books and thats not good. 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. Centessa Pharmaceuticals ("Centessa"), a pharmaceutical company consisting of 10 subsidiary companies advancing a portfolio of high conviction programs with strong biological validation, today announced key additions to its leadership team. Gregory Weinhoff, M.D., MBA, joined the team as chief financial officer, while Mary Lynne Hedley, Ph.D., Robert M. Califf, M.D., MACC, and Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., joined Centessa's board of directors effective February 23, 2021. "Centessa launched last month with a goal of redefining pharmaceutical R&D productivity through an asset-centric model that we believe has the potential to support the advancement of novel programs by industry-leading experts in their respective fields," said Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of Centessa. "Each member of our team brings industry-leading qualifications and differentiated perspectives to help guide the expansion of our organization. We are thrilled to welcome Greg, Mary Lynne, Robert and Samarth to Centessa and look forward to partnering together to build one of the most respected medicine companies in the world." "The enhanced scale and resources of Centessa, combined with the benefits of asset-centricity, can further accelerate development of important therapies," said Dr. Weinhoff. "I am excited to work with the management team, board of directors, top healthcare investors and the industry leaders and subject matter experts at our Centessa subsidiaries to advance this bold new R&D model. We want to make Centessa a partner of choice for scientific entrepreneurs looking to accelerate the development of their discoveries and ultimately deliver impactful medicines for patients." Dr. Weinhoff joins Centessa after most recently co-founding and serving as chief financial and business officer of Arvelle Therapeutics B.V., which was acquired by Angelini Pharma in 2021 for $960 million. While with Arvelle, he raised a $207.8 million Series A financing and led the asset identification and in-licensing of cenobamate, a novel anti-seizure medicine with best-in-class efficacy. Previously, Dr. Weinhoff served as chief financial officer at Axovant Sciences, Inc., where he led financial functions and the execution of several private and public financings. Before Axovant, Dr. Weinhoff spent 15 years as an early-stage healthcare venture capitalist at CHL Medical Partners, where he was founding CEO of Amicus Therapeutics and his firm was the sole Series A investor. Dr. Weinhoff holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, an MBA from Harvard Business School and an A.B. in economics from Harvard College. Prior to graduate school, Dr. Weinhoff was a financial analyst in Morgan Stanley Co.'s healthcare corporate finance group. In addition to the company's new chief financial officer, Centessa welcomes three new members to its board of directors: Mary Lynne Hedley, Ph.D., is a senior fellow and strategic advisor at the Broad Institute and former president, co-founder and chief operating officer at TESARO, Inc. She has extensive experience in the discovery and development of new medicines, formerly serving as executive vice president and chief scientific officer at MGI PHARMA, executive vice president of Eisai Corporation of North America, executive vice president of operations and chief scientific officer of Abraxis BioScience. Dr. Hedley holds a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a B.S. in microbiology from Purdue University. In addition, she completed two consecutive postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University. Robert M. Califf, M.D., MACC, is an internationally recognized expert in the development of medicines and in quality healthcare delivery with more than 40 years of clinical research and health outcomes expertise. He currently works as the head of strategy and clinical policy for Verily and Google Health. Dr. Califf served as the 22 nd Commissioner of Food and Drugs for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 2016 to 2017 and has directed major initiatives targeted at improving methods and infrastructure for clinical research. As a graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine, he became the vice chancellor for health data science for the Duke University School of Medicine, is the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute and remains a board certified cardiologist. Commissioner of Food and Drugs for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 2016 to 2017 and has directed major initiatives targeted at improving methods and infrastructure for clinical research. As a graduate of the Duke University School of Medicine, he became the vice chancellor for health data science for the Duke University School of Medicine, is the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute and remains a board certified cardiologist. Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., is the chief executive officer of CRISPR Therapeutics. Dr. Kulkarni brings expertise in strategy and operations in biotech with a wide range of cutting-edge therapeutic technologies. Prior to CRISPR, he was a partner at McKinsey Company, where he had a leading role in the pharmaceutical and medical products practice. Dr. Kulkarni earned a Ph.D. in bioengineering and nanotechnology from the University of Washington and bachelor of technology from the Indian Institute of Technology. About Centessa Pharmaceuticals Centessa Pharmaceuticals Limited is a next-generation biopharmaceutical company that aims to reshape the traditional drug development process. The company applies an asset-centric R&D model at scale to advance a portfolio of highly validated programs led by industry leading teams. Each program is developed by a Centessa subsidiary and supported by a centralized infrastructure and the Centessa management team. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, visit www.centessa.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements we make in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts, which are usually identified by the use of words such as "estimates," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "may," "should," "will," "plans," "projects," "seeks," and variations of such words or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements, including statements relating to expectations, plans and prospects regarding the clinical development plans and timing, clinical trial designs, clinical and therapeutic potential, and strategy for any of our programs reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the success of clinical trials, regulatory filings, and approvals. These forward-looking statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of Centessa's management team as of the date of this release and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Furthermore, Centessa operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment in which new risks emerge from time to time. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005097/en/ Contacts: Media: Dan Budwick, 1AB dan@1abmedia.com UK/European media enquiries Optimum Strategic Communications Mary Clark, Shabnam Bashir centessa@optimumcomms.com Swiss media enquiries VEITHing Spirit Marcus Veith marcus@vspirit.ch Cellphone: +41 79 20 75 111 ALBANY Shawn Dunn, 57, was paroled in 2017 after five years in prison and has been trying to rebuild his life ever since. He started staying with a friend instead of at a homeless shelter he'd been assigned, which reminded him too much of prison. He was ultimately jailed for four months as it was a technical violation of his parole. He then lost his job and the chance to stay at the apartment. Parole is like, its like youre in a vice grip. And Im 58 years old and I dont feel like I have my life. I feel like somebody else owns me," Dunn said. "It almost feels like youre nobody. Youre nothing. No matter what you do, youre nothing. New York imprisons more people for technical parole violations than any other state, and at a rate almost three times higher than the national average. A new report from Columbia University and The Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, shared with the Times Union, estimates there are about 35,000 under parole supervision at a given time. Two years ago, more than 7,200 people were re-incarcerated for rule violations. The re-incarceration of those individuals cost taxpayers at least $683 million, the report estimates. "It would be one thing if we were just helpless to help these people, but we're making a policy choice, and a policy choice has profound economic implications," said Vincent Schiraldi, an author of the report and co-director of Columbia's Justice Lab. He said the researchers estimate that a person incarcerated for a year costs taxpayers about $78,000, based on staffing costs and overhead, but that is a conservative estimate as it doesn't include pensions or benefits. The result, he said, is that technical, non-criminal violations for people fresh out of prison send thousands straight back into county jails, or back to prison, with major costs for counties and the state. That breaks down with about $319 million being spent by the state to house those people in state prisons, and $273 million from the five counties of New York City and $91 million for the other counties of the state to house people in jails. This figure as well as New York's stature as the nationwide leader in re-incarceration of paroled people for technical offenses is particularly striking given that parole as its origins in New York. It began as a way to provide incentives for people to rehabilitate themselves in prison and not re-offend, and it was viewed as a failure of the system if people were sent back to prison after being paroled. But parole has now become a revolving door: 40 percent of all prison admissions in New York are people being re-admitted for technical parole violations. Advocates, academics and lawmakers have proposed reforms to the status quo of technical parole violations in New York: a bill known as the Less is More Act, which is sponsored by Sen. Brian Benjamin, who represents Harlem and the Upper West Side of Manhattan. "For me, I really believe this bill will not only reduce incarceration, but it will reduce incarceration in a way that will not make us any less safe," Benjamin said. "If someone has served their time and they are now coming back into the community, I dont believe missing curfew should lead them back to prison." The bill does a few main things: It removes re-incarceration for certain technical issues; lessens incarceration times for other technical violations, and allows people to attend scheduled court dates rather than get arrested and taken to jail. And It takes 30 days off the back end of parole supervision for every 30 days you go without a technical violation. Benjamin said one current holdup for the bill is figuring out the legalese of whether court system judges or administrative judges would hear cases, as well as how the savings generated by it would be spent. Part of the over-reliance on sending people back to prison is due to the current financing and system setup for parole officers, Schiraldi said. They're overworked, with large caseloads, he added, and there's a high degree of risk aversion meaning they don't want to be the one who gave someone a break, only for that person to re-offend and make them look bad. Schiraldi recounted a story he was told about parole officers in a Midwestern state, illustrative of the broader culture, where new parole officers would be given a toilet bowl cover as a badge of shame if they believed an excuse given to them by a paroled person or were lenient with writing up infractions. "Sort of a humiliation initiation rite for teaching people not to be chumps," Schiraldi said. He advocated that at least a portion of the savings should be reinvested in new services to improve outcomes in the parole system. "It shouldn't surprise us that they use the resource that's readily available, which is prison $78,000 a year they can spend with the stroke of a pen," he said, referring to the average cost per incarcerated person in New York. "(Parole officers) can't buy $78,000 worth of housing, or job training, or education where they can buy $78,000 worth of prison with a technical violation, even if that's not the best decision to be made at this point in time." Benjamin said he's hopeful of the bill's chances of passage this session. Last year we were pushing hard on this and we just ran out of room. There was a feeling that you know what weve done a fair amount of criminal justice, but I think this year we havent really tackled anything," he said. Major concerns were raised about the quality of early batches of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, leaked documents from the EU's medical regulator have revealed. Scientists charged with checking the chemicals sent to the bloc for approval last year found doses were of a lower standard than the US drugmaker had promised. In an email dated November 23, a senior European Medicines Agency official warned of a 'significant difference' in the quality of the vaccines compared to jabs used in Pfizer's clinical trials. The cause of the poorer quality was unknown and the impact on safety and efficacy of the vaccine was 'yet to be defined', the email said. Pfizer claims the affected jabs were not rolled out on the continent. It's unclear if similar quality issues were raised in the UK, where the Pfizer jab is one of two vaccines that has been rolled out to 23million Brits already. Regulators in the EU and UK check every batch of the vaccine before allowing them to be used. On the back of the find, EU officials filed two 'major objections' to Pfizer, along with a host of other quality control questions it wanted addressed, before it could approve the vaccine. The documents were leaked to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) following a cyber attack on the EU regulator in December. Hundreds of thousands of doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine being prepared in a factory in Belgium (file image) While the reason behind the poorer quality of vaccines sent to the EU is unclear, Pfizer's jab is made from extremely volatile genetic material known as messenger RNA (mRNA), which at the time meant it had to be kept at -70C. If not stored or transported properly the mRNA can be damaged by other molecules in the environment, including light and temperature. Guidance has since been updated to say the vaccine can be kept at normal freezer temperatures for two weeks. Once it arrives at a clinic it can be stored in a fridge for five days before use. WHAT IS MRNA AND WHY IS PFIZER'S VACCINE PRONE TO 'SPOILING'? The breakthrough jab shown to be 95 per cent effective at blocking Covid-19 was the first vaccine against the virus in the world to seal approval when Britain gave it the green light in December. It is made from volatile genetic material known as mRNA, which is constantly under threat from being destroyed by other molecules in the environment. BioNTech packages the vaccine in dry-ice stuffed batches of 975 vials, each containing five doses, which must be stored at -70C to stop the mRNA being destroyed in transit or storage. Messenger RNA is used by human cells to carry messages and give instructions. Pfizer's jab tells the body to create the coronavirus's unique spike protein, training the immune system to recognise and fight off future infection. But, as a result of the natural rapid turnaround of mRNA's lifespan, it is, by nature, a short-lived molecule only ever intended to exist for a matter of hours. This poses a significant problem when trying to get the mRNA vaccine into a human as under normal conditions it will break down and become useless. There are not many proven ways of ensuring long-term survival of the vaccine. One proven method is extremely cold temperatures, which stops all movement and reactions and prevents any form of decomposition of the mRNA. However, the vaccine must be administered at room temperature because the mRNA needs to be mobile. If left out for too long before being injected, the vaccine gets too warm, and this begins the natural decay of the mRNA. If this is then injected into a person, it will not work properly, the body will not make the spike protein and there will be no immune response. That person will still be vulnerable to Covid-19. Light, as well as temperature, can give the mRNA molecule energy, also speeding up the already fast process of decay. To preserve Pfizer's vaccine, it needs to be stored at super-low temperatures of about -70C (-94F) and kept in dark glass vials to shield it from light. These precise conditions must be maintained throughout the vaccine's journey and, once taken out of the freezer and thawed, it can only be kept in standard medical fridges for five days before 'spoiling'. Makers of the jab warn it only be in transport at normal fridge temperatures for a maximum of six hours, because it's feared movement in warmer conditions breaks down the vaccine even quicker. Advertisement The EMA found just 55 per cent of the mRNA in the vaccines shipped to the EU were stable and intact, compared to 78 per cent in Pfizer's studies. Exactly what effect this has on the vaccines is unclear, but intact mRNA is essential to the potency of the vaccine, experts say. The EMA approved Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine on December 21 and claimed the jab's quality was found 'to be sufficiently consistent and acceptable'. However, it's unclear how the agency's concerns were satisfied. According to one of the leaked emails dated November 25, an EMA official said: 'The latest lots indicate that % intact RNA are back at around 70-75 per cent, which leaves us cautiously optimistic that additional data could address the issue.' The emails were part of more than 40 megabytes of classified information from the agency's review that were published on the dark web following the cyber attack. Several journalists including from the BMJ and academics worldwide were sent copies of the leaks. They came from anonymous email accounts and most efforts to interact with the senders were unsuccessful. None of the senders revealed their identity, and the EMA says it is pursuing a criminal investigation. In a statement issued last night, the EMA said the leaked information was partially doctored but it confirmed the emails were real. It added: 'Whilst individual emails are authentic, data from different users were selected and aggregated, screenshots from multiple folders and mailboxes have been created, and additional titles were added by the perpetrators.' A Pfizer spokesperson told MailOnline the quality issues were ironed out with the EMA and none of the vaccines of concern were rolled out on the continent. It added that the EMA now double-checks Pfizer's vaccine supply shipments. They added: 'Following the initial disclosure of a data breach that occurred at EMA, some documents relating to the EMA's rolling review of the Pfizer/BNT vaccine clinical program have been found on the internet. 'Discussions with the regulatory authorities about the vaccine's quality aspects, including specifications, represent a normal component of the regulatory review process. 'All the topics that emerged during the procedure have been discussed transparently with the agency, in accordance to the normal practices, and all questions have been duly addressed during the review process. 'The positive opinion granted by EMA... on December 21... are results of this process, meaning that all the questions raised during the procedure were addressed satisfactorily and the efficacy, safety and quality of the vaccine could be demonstrated on the data submitted. 'EMA is conducting a full investigation into the cyberattack on its systems. 'It's important to note that each batch of vaccines is tested by the official medicinal control laboratory (OMCL) the Paul-Ehrlich Institute in Germany before final product release. 'As a result, the quality of all vaccine doses that are placed on the market in Europe has been double tested to ensure compliance with the specifications agreed upon with the regulatory authorities. Should a batch not meet these required specifications, the product wouldn't be released for use in Europe. 'As with all vaccines, equivalent quality controls are in place with the U.S. FDA and multiple other regulators around the world where the vaccine has been authorised for use.' The leaks raise questions about the quality of other mRNA vaccines, including Moderna's jab which is already being rolled out in the US and will be shipped to Britain sometime in the coming weeks. Pfizer and Moderna have refused to reveal what percentage mRNA integrity they consider acceptable for vaccines against Covid. The EMA, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that specific information on criteria is confidential. And the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has yet to respond to MailOnline's request for comment. Pfizer also declined to comment on what percentage of mRNA integrity it is aiming for, nor would it say what may have caused quality dips in certain batches. The lack of transparency from regulators and vaccine makers will raise concerns that similar problems could arise in the future. Professor Daan Crommelin, a pharmaceutical expert at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, said there is a lack of understanding about the percentage of intact mRNA needed because it is a brand-new technology. He added: 'For small, low molecular weight products, the active pharmaceutical ingredient integrity is typically close to 100 per cent.' 'But for mRNA vaccines? Experience with mRNA integrity is limited.' Unlike traditional jabs which scientists have decades of experience in developing, this is the first time mRNA has ever been used in vaccinations. Scientists say mRNA vaccines are cheaper to make and easier to modify in the face of new variants or viruses. The process of developing mRNA vaccines is also purely synthetic, meaning scientists don't have to rely on cells from living animals. Siu Ping Lam, MHRA Director of Licensing, said: 'The observations of lower levels of RNA integrity with certain early batches have been addressed, and are not an ongoing concern. 'We are satisfied that the RNA integrity of all batches used in the UK to date have met the product requirements.' Bengaluru, March 11 : After meeting the Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Thursday, Janata Dal (S) leader Madhu Bangarappa formally announced that he would quit the party and join the Congress. Bangarappa is son of late former Karnataka Chief Minister S. Bangarappa, one of the tallest backward class leaders of the state. His elder brother S. Kumar Bangarappa is presently a BJP legislator in the Assembly. After his meeting with Siddaramaiah here, Madhu told reporters that his father became Chief Minister from the Congress and it's like 'home coming' for him. "I will be formally joining the Congress in April after organising a massive rally in Shivamogga district," he said and added that he would not be a part of the March 19 Congress rally in Shivamogga. Madhu said that he can not be a part of the party's programme unless he joins it formally. "I have made my decision to join on the day MahaShivaratri, which is one of the auspicious days to begin any work," he said. He reasoned that his father's friends and family wellwishers are more in Congress party than any other party. "Though my father had friends in all the parties, he has more friends in Congress. They advised me to join the Congress, therefore, I am joining the party," he claimed. Answering to a question, he said that he was meeting Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar on Friday as he wanted to meet Siddaramaiah on Mahashivaratri day. Responding to a question, whether he was illtreated in JD(S), Madhu stated that his personal equations with former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy will remain 'intact'. "Personally I respect both. There is no bitterness over anything between our families. It is just a matter of political decision," he said. He said that elections are like examinations and in this examination only one person can pass. "I may lose an election, it doesn't mean that I have lost everything," he added. Earlier, in 2019, he was a consensus candidate of JDS-Congress and took on Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. yediyurappa's son B. Y. Raghavendra in Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat. Congress veteran leaders like Kagodu Thimmappa, former CM Siddaramiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar had campaigned for Bangarappa in the district. Interestingly, the Congress leaders and the District Congress Committee supported him in a big way. Most of the Congress leaders mentioned their association with his father. But Bangarappa lost the election and had been keeping a low profile since then. He maintained distance not only from the JDS, but even from leaders like former CM H D Kumaraswamy and the district party leaders. He did not take part in any programmes of the party during this period. Congress wants to encash late Bangarappa's charisma by inducting his son into the party fold. His induction will help in attracting a large chunk of Idiga community (Toddy tappers), to which he belongs besides, the brand Bangrappa still evokes feel good factor among various communities in the state. Besides this, Congress veteran and socialist leader Kaagodu Thimmappa, who too belong to the same community was at loggerheads with late Bangarappa over his style of functioning, but he had been rallying hard to get Madhu Bangarappa back into the partyfold. Stock Market Symbols GIB (NYSE) GIB.A (TSX) cgi.com/newsroom CGI awarded 6 year, 250 million managed services contract MUNICH, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) has been awarded a contract by the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice to help the ministry better serve its citizens through digitization and innovation management. Under the six-year managed IT services contract valued at 250 million euros, CGI will help evolve the ministry's IT infrastructure and services at 220 locations across Bavaria. Digitization is a key strategic priority for the government of Bavaria now and in the years ahead. In line with this, the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice is relying on CGI's managed IT services to advance its IT modernization and the digitization of its business and IT workflows, among other things. Work on this new engagement began at the start of 2021. It involves assuming responsibility for the ministry's IT operational services, which include domain, infrastructure, user support, unified communications, media technology, and project and consulting services for Bavarian courts and public prosecutors' offices. As part of this effort, CGI will manage two data centersone in Munich and another in Nurembergand approximately 220 locations across Bavaria with 16,500 workstations. CGI also will play a key role in driving the ministry's digitization and innovation management by, for example, equipping all meeting rooms with digital media technology and replacing traditional telephony with unified communications. It also will manage projects related to the introduction of electronic legal transactions and electronic files. "CGI's use of innovation frameworks drives value creation in a digital world," said Ralf Bauer, Senior Vice President of CGI in Germany Central & South. "This innovation approach combined with our managed IT services creates an attractive operating model for organizations, especially within the public sector. Many organizations are experiencing significant budget pressure on the one hand, but also need to accelerate digital transformation on the other. CGI has a deep understanding of public sector requirements through the successful completion of countless projects with public authorities and ministries. We are a market leader worldwide and, likewise in Germany, with judicial authorities. We look forward to providing the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice with end-to-end services that simplify and digitize its business and IT processes, enabling the digital administration and optimization of its citizen services." 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. SOURCE CGI Inc. Related Links www.cgi.com ATLANTA, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gas South, the largest retail natural gas provider in the Southeast, announced today two key additions to its leadership team, marking the latest step in the continued merging of Gas South with Infinite Energy, which it acquired in December 2020. The two new additions to the Gas South leadership team are Stacy Paez, who has been appointed chief legal and people officer, and Jason Dolder, who will serve as vice president of sales for the Atlanta-based company, which now serves over 425,000 residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers throughout the southeastern U.S. "When we acquired Infinite Energy, we were excited not just about welcoming its customers to our family, but also adding some of its very talented leaders," said Kevin Greiner, Gas South's president and CEO. "Given both Stacy and Jason have been with Infinite for over a decade, the wealth of knowledge and experience they possess will be incredibly valuable to our organization." Prior to joining Gas South, Paez served as both general counsel and VP of legal and HR at Infinite Energy. Since arriving at Infinite in 2009, she has held a number of roles, including corporate counsel, HR manager and executive director of human resources. Originally from Pennsylvania, the married mother of two attended Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., then received a law degree from the University of Florida. "Just as I did for Infinite Energy, I'm grateful for the opportunity to shape the employee experience at Gas South," said Paez. "The culture at Gas South is already well-regarded throughout the industry, and I look forward to continuing and furthering that legacy." Dolder was the vice president of sales and marketing at Infinite Energy and a member of the company's executive management team. In his previous role, he was responsible for determining the sales, marketing, and customer experience strategic plan, and oversaw Infinite Energy's commercial and residential customer acquisition and customer care teams. Hailing from Iowa, Jason stayed close to home in receiving his bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa, a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University, and an MBA from the University of Illinois. "I'm thrilled to lead the sales team and bring my passion for energy to Gas South," said Dolder. "With our growing footprint and expanded infrastructure, there is no limit to what we can accomplish together." In addition to its new hires, Gas South also announced the retirement of Andri Weathersby, a 25-year call center operations veteran who served as vice president of customer care since 2019. Due to Weathersby's retirement, Gas South is launching a nationwide search for his replacement, with an emphasis on experienced servant leaders who have a passion for customer service. Qualified and interested applicants are encouraged to seek more information and apply by visiting this link. About Gas South: Gas South is a leading provider of natural gas in competitive markets throughout the southeastern U.S. Following the acquisition of Infinite Energy in 2020, Gas South now serves more than 425,000 residential, business and governmental customers in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and New Jersey. Gas South offers simple and straightforward rate plans, outstanding local customer service, and a promise to give back 5% of profits to support children in need. Gas South is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cobb EMC, one of the country's largest electric cooperatives. For more information, visit www.GasSouth.com. Media contact: Adam Schick The Wilbert Group 404-510-9597 [email protected] SOURCE Gas South Related Links https://www.gassouth.com LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 11, 2021--A long-time question in astrophysics appears to finally be answered, thanks to a collection of large, high-tech water tanks on a mountainside in Mexico. The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) data shows that the highest-energy cosmic rays come not from supernovae, but from star clusters. "The origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays in the galaxy has been an open question in astrophysics for more than 60 years," said Patrick Harding, a Los Alamos National Laboratory astrophysicist doing research using HAWC. "Very few regions of the galaxy have both the power to produce high-energy particles and the necessary environments to boost those particles to the petaelectronVolt (PeV) energies that are seen in the highest-energy cosmic rays. And most of the expected regions to produce the particles have been ruled out in recent years by high-energy observatories." "In this paper, we discover high-energy gamma rays coming from Cygnus OB2, a birthplace of massive stars located inside the 'Cygnus Cocoon' superbubble, meaning it is likely the source of these highest-energy galactic cosmic rays," Harding said. The cosmic rays have been observed striking Earth's atmosphere at PeV energies by the detection tanks at the HAWC observatory near Puebla, Mexico. Instead of supernovae, this work shows that star clusters such as the Cygnus Cocoon serve as "PeVatrons" -- PeV accelerators capable of creating high-energy particles that travel across the galaxy. The algorithms used to analyze the highest-energy HAWC photons, which were used in a paper published today in Nature Astronomy, were developed by Los Alamos postdoctoral researcher Kelly Malone. Additionally, the paper which first identified the Cocoon as a significant emitter of high-energy gamma-rays using the HAWC high-energy catalog, was also led by Malone, who is the leader of the Galactic Science Working Group within HAWC. "HAWC is the first observatory to detect gamma rays from across the sky with energies above 100 TeV. This high-energy reach allows us to answer fundamental questions about our galaxy," said Malone. The consequences of this result are relevant for several areas of Los Alamos astrophysics study: The transport of cosmic rays and their interactions with the surrounding medium are of interest at the Laboratory, and in particular, Los Alamos studies which types of astronomical sources can efficiently accelerate cosmic rays to high energy, and which acceleration mechanism enables it. Identifying a source of these high-energy cosmic rays will lead to greater theoretical understanding of these mechanisms. ### The research was primarily conducted by Petra Huentemeyer, professor of physics at Michigan Technological University, along with MTU graduate Binita Hona (now a postdoc at University of Utah), doctoral student Dezhi Huang, former MTU postdoc Henrike Fleischhack (now at Catholic University/NASA GSFC/CRESST II), Sabrina Casanova at the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow, Ke Fang at the University of Wisconsin and Roger Blandford at Stanford University, along with numerous other collaborators of the HAWC Observatory. The paper: HAWC observations of the acceleration of very-high-energy cosmic rays in the Cygnus Cocoon, Nature Astronomy, 11 March 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41550-021-01318-y The funding: HAWC research is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the LDRD program of Los Alamos National Laboratory, CONACyT, Mexico, and the Polish Science Centre (among others). About Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns. LAUR: LA-UR-21-22418 A Winnipeg doctor says the province has created the most chaotic system possible for giving a limited quantity of COVID-19 vaccines to the most at-risk Manitobans. A Winnipeg doctor says the province has created the most chaotic system possible for giving a limited quantity of COVID-19 vaccines to the most at-risk Manitobans. "We're in a state of chaos," said the doctor, who asked not to be named over concerns his criticism would impact his patients' access to care. "It's just done in what I consider to be the least efficient manner possible." Manitobans with specific medical conditions to get first round of AstraZeneca vaccine Click to Expand MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for Manitoba's vaccine rollout, told reporters Wednesday that creating a priority list will help save lives. Posted: 1:18 PM Mar. 10, 2021 Manitoba has prioritized some adults with specific health conditions to get the first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19. On Wednesday afternoon, a very small number of Manitobans became eligible to call certain pharmacies and doctors offices to start booking appointments. Read Full Story On Wednesday, Manitoba launched a site listing specific health conditions that will be prioritized for adults to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, a small quantity of which arrived this week. The site indicates the clinics welcoming appointments for the shots, which will be doled out based on the province's list of prioritized conditions. The doctor said he consented to have his clinic take appointments, but expected more advanced warning on when that would happen. He said he got an automated email from Manitoba Health Wednesday morning only a few hours before the vaccine plan was announced that 50 doses would be arriving in two to four days, and that the public would be told within hours that they can phone the clinic to request an appointment. "Our staff didn't know what the hell was going on, because nobody had informed us," said the doctor. He said the email had no phone number listed for any provincial official, so his clinic contacted Doctors Manitoba for help. The lobby group said Wednesday there have been preventable issues with the rollout. "Today's announcement about clinics and pharmacies has caused some confusion. Some of this could have been avoided with more planning and communications, so physicians were better prepared to answer calls from patients," wrote spokesman Keir Johnson. Clinicians are supposed to figure out whether a patients health condition meets the province's priority list then which patients need the vaccine the most. "The flexibility and the benefit for Manitobans to be able to meet with their trusted health-care provider, have that conversation and to have an individual assessment just really outweighs the potential inconsistency that we might see," Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead for Manitoba's vaccine rollout, told reporters Wednesday. "Today's announcement about clinics and pharmacies has caused some confusion. Some of this could have been avoided with more planning and communications, so physicians were better prepared to answer calls from patients." Keir Johnson, Doctors Manitoba spokesman She acknowledged patients might get miffed at seeing clinics offer shots to different types of people. "Thats going to be frustrating for some Manitobans, absolutely," she said. The physician who spoke to the Free Press said about 6,000 patients at his clinic are eligible for shots under the province's new priority lists yet it's only receiving 50 shots to start. That means staff have to decide who is most at risk. "There are literally a hundred different ways of doing this, all of which are more efficient than this," the doctor said. He also doesn't know if the province wants him to book appointments for other doses, without knowing when theyll arrive. "I'm a practicing physician and I have lots of sick people to look after too. I still have my ongoing clinical concerns to attend to," said the doctor. Pharmacists told media they had similar concerns. But a Manitoba Health spokesman said that's not the full story. "The complaints you reference from a very small number of individuals do not accurately reflect the views and outcomes of several weeks of collaborative preparation we have undertaken with key physician and pharmacy stakeholder groups, including the regulatory bodies," the spokesman wrote to the Free Press. "This work included developing processes for physicians and pharmacies to express interest in providing the vaccine and registering to do so, as well as sharing information about the immunization program and how it would work." "The government has recognized that Manitobans want to be able to access the vaccine from a physician they can trust, and we commend them for that." Keir Johnson, Doctors Manitoba spokesman The provincial spokesman said Reimer will likely hold a call with clinicians Thursday evening to go over concerns. Doctors Manitoba stressed that this is a pilot project, and expected issues to be ironed out soon. "What's most important is that Manitobans will be able to access the vaccine in a doctor's office, something that isn't yet an option in some other provinces," Johnson wrote. "The government has recognized that Manitobans want to be able to access the vaccine from a physician they can trust, and we commend them for that." Pharmacies say they're also pleased to have helped the province craft the pilot. "Pharmacists Manitoba has been consulted in our governments very quick and responsive efforts to enable pharmacists to participate with the addition of more COVID-19 vaccination strategies," wrote organization head Pawandeep Sidhu. "We are pleased that pharmacists have been engaged in supporting vaccination strategies that enable Manitobans to get a vaccine from health-care providers they trust and are accessible for care." dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Greenwich Boat Show To find your next new boat, be sure to browse featured boats and request a sea-trial from dealers on the shows website, www.greenwichboatshow.com. A premier event in the Northeast boating community, the 13th annual Greenwich Boat Show will make its return in 2021 with a change of course as a 3-week long virtual event that will run April 5-25. This years adapted show format creates an extended opportunity for boaters and dealers to safely connect online, in-person and on-water ahead of a much-anticipated 2021 boating season. Boating has experienced a wave of unprecedented interest over the last year as more people discovered the value of spending time on the water. The Greenwich Boat Show will help meet the high demand for new boats and fulfill the increased desire to experience the freedom of enjoying time outdoors on the water. During the 3-week show run, boat buyers will be able to go online to view current boat models and request sea-trials from 16 of the areas leading boat dealers offering a wide range of boat brands and styles. Participating dealers will set in-person appointments at their location allowing potential buyers to climb aboard boats, get personal walkthroughs and experience sea-trials according to current safety provisions. 2021 Participating Dealers include: All Seasons Marine, A & S Boats, Beacon Point Marine, Castaways Yacht Sales, Catalano & Sons, Formula Boats, Gerard's Marina, Harborside Marina, Hinckley Yachts, MarineMax, McMichael Yacht Brokers, Petzolds Marine, Portland Boat Works, Prestige Yacht Sales, Strong's Yachts and Twin Hull Boats. Dealers will be showcasing boat brands & models that appeal to every type of boater: Looking to connect more with the family this summer? There are a variety of family-friendly day or weekend cruisers from Beneteau Antares, Chaparral, Chris-Craft, Formula, Four Winns, Glastron, Hinckley Sport Boats, Regal and Sea Ray. Also available are Crest, Regency and Sun Tracker Pontoons and AB Inflatables. Anglers can explore a variety of center console and luxury sportfishing boats from Boston Whaler, Edgewater, Grady-White, Mako, Pursuit, Regulator, Robolo, Scout, SeaFox, Sea Hunt, Sea Pro, Southport, Wellcraft and WorldCat. Boaters looking to step-up in size, can find larger yachts from high-end brands like Azimut, Back Cove, Beneteau, Cruisers Yachts, Gran Turismo, Hinckley Yachts, Hunt Yachts, MJM Yachts, Monte Carlo Yachts, Sabre, Southport Boats, Sunseeker, Swift Trawler and Tiara Yachts. GBS looks to return as live in-water show 2022, 49 River Road Cos Cob, CT 06807 Turkish officials first began hinting at an interest in Russian military aircraft, including the Sukhoi Su-35 4++ generation fighter and the fifth generation Sukhoi Su-57 jet, after Ankara was kicked out of Lockheed Martin's F-35 programme over its purchase of a Russian-made air defence system. Turkey has not ruled out the possibility of purchasing Russian-made Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets, although it prioritises the creation of its own, domestically-developed next-gen fighter, Turkish Industry Minister Mustafa Varank has announced. "If Russia has an aircraft that meets our current needs, if there are no difficulties with introducing it into our system and launching it, then we can certainly purchase it from Russia or some other country in Europe. Our approach to this issue is not categorical and antagonistic," Sputnik Turkey cited him as saying. The subject of the potential sale of Russian fighters to the NATO nation is brought up regularly at meetings been the two country's leaders, the minister added. "Of course, we prioritise development of Turkey's capacities related to fifth-generation fighters. But if Russia has an aircraft that meets our needs and goals, Turkey will purchase it," Varank said. The minister also confirmed that negotiations regarding a second batch of S-400s for Turkey are ongoing, and that Turkey is interested in technological cooperation and the possibility of partial localised production. Asked to comment on Washington's decision to kick Turkey out of the F-35 programme, Varank said that the move has actually prompted Ankara to mobilise its domestic military industry, including in the aviation sector, to advance projects such as unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally, Turkish Aerospace Industries continues its work with Britain's BAE Systems on the development of a next-gen 'National Combat Aircraft' project, also known as the TF-X (Turkish Fighter - Experimental). Varank says the country's goal is to achieve 100% self-sufficiency in the defence sector, and estimates that localisation has been increased from 20 to 70%. We want a trade liberalisation approach, not a protectionist approach, in terms of how we deal with emissions reduction, Mr Tehan told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Federal Trade Minister Dan Tehan confirmed he would push back against the EUs move, revealing Australia would argue through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for an alternative plan to slash tariffs on more than 50 environmental goods and services. They include wind turbines, solar panels and wastewater treatment technologies. Millions of dollars in new tariffs could be slapped on Australian exports after the European Parliament this week voted to forge ahead with carbon tariffs on products from countries without a carbon price. Australia will launch an ambitious global plan to eliminate tariffs on wind turbines, solar panels and other green industries in a bid to fight back against the European Unions push to impose carbon levies on countries with weak emissions laws. If the EU uses a carbon border adjustment mechanism, it not only raises serious concerns about WTO compliance, but also the negative impact it could have on trade between nations which as we know creates jobs and in particular helps developing countries grow jobs and their economies. Australias plan represents the first serious push-back against carbon tariffs after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and new United States President Joe Biden indicated plans to follow the EU in enacting carbon levies at the border. In 2012, members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum agreed to cut tariffs on 54 environmentally friendly products to 5 per cent. Australia will now argue at the WTO that the tariffs on these products should be slashed to nothing, while environmental services such as climate change mitigation, wastewater management and refuse disposal should also be added to the list. The EU has argued for carbon tariffs on the basis they provide a level playing field between the domestic production of goods that are subject to a carbon price and the production of products that are coming into Europe from countries with less ambitious climate policies. While presenting its alternative plan, Mr Tehan said Australia would make the argument there cannot be a level playing field unless the EU removes its wide-scale agricultural subsidies and exemptions under its emissions trading scheme. He said Australia would also point out that we are on track to meet our commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's little girl is due to be born this summer - and it appears Meghan Markle already has the baby's first heirloom ready and waiting. Prince Harry and Meghan, who now live in Montecito, California, said they are preparing to welcome a sister for their 22-month-old son Archie later this year, during their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview earlier this week. But despite still having a few months before they meet their newest family member, the duchess, 39, already has a gift lined up for her daughter - that she purchased before she had even met Prince Harry. In an interview back in 2015, almost a year before Meghan began dating her now husband, the then Suits actress revealed the 4,800 heirloom Cartier piece she plans to give to her daughter. Speaking to Hello! she said: 'Ive always coveted the Cartier French Tank watch. When I found out Suits had been picked up for our third season which, at the time, felt like such a milestone I totally splurged and bought the two-tone version. Despite still having a few months before they meet their newest family member, the duchess, 39, already has a gift lined up for her daughter - that she purchased before she had even met Prince Harry. Pictured, Meghan thought to be wearing the watch in 2013 In an interview back in 2015, almost a year before Meghan began dating her now husband, the then Suits actress revealed the 4,800 heirloom Cartier piece (pictured is one) she plans to give to her daughter 'I had it engraved on the back, "To M.M. From M.M.", and I plan to give it to my daughter one day. That's what makes pieces special, the connection you have to them.' The duchess appears to have owned the watch since 2013, having been pictured wearing it often before her marriage to Prince Harry. The classic piece retails at almost 5,000 and the engraving is thought to stand for 'to Meghan Markle from Meghan Markle' because it was a gift to herself to celebrate the success of Suits. Meghan and Prince Harry revealed their second child is a girl and is due to be born this summer, during their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview. Harry, 36, joined his wife for the second half of the interview on CBS with Oprah, which aired on Sunday, and excitedly told the chat show host: 'It's a girl.' Prince Harry and Meghan, who now live in Montecito, California, said they are preparing to welcome a sister for their 22-month-old son Archie later this year, during their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview (pictured) earlier this week He said his first thought was 'amazing' when he learned they were having a girl, adding: 'Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing. 'But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we've got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs.' While the couple made no hint of what their daughter's name would be, fans are already speculating that they will call her Diana, after Harry's late mother. Asked if they were 'done' with two children, Harry said 'done' and Meghan said: 'Two is it.' She also confirmed the baby is due in the 'summertime'. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released this picture last month to announce they are expecting their second child The girl will not be entitled, at this stage, to be an HRH nor a princess title due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by George V - but this is the same as what would have happened pre-Megxit. What will Harry and Meghan name their baby daughter? After Harry and Meghan announced they were expecting their second child, these were Ladbrokes' odds for a girl Diana - 4/1 Alexandra - 4/1 Florence - 5/1 Amelia - 5/1 Arabella - 6/1 Grace/Gracie - 6/1 Lily - 6/1 Elizabeth - 6/1 Alice - 6/1 Clementine - 7/1 Victoria - 7/1 Sophia - 7/1 Delilah - 8/1 Olivia - 8/1 Poppy - 8/1 Emily - 10/1 Frances - 10/1 Ottilie - 10/1 Doria - 10/1 Marina - 12/1 Rose - 12/1 Willow - 14/1 Violet - 14/1 Isabella - 14/1 Jessica - 16/1 Phoebe - 16/1 Charlotte - 20/1 Fay - 25/1 Chloe - 25/1 Lucy - 25/1 Eloise - 33/1 Hannah - 33/1 Rebecca - 50/1 Kerry 50/1 Kate/Catherine - 50/1 Samantha - 50/1 Oprah - 100/1 Advertisement The baby is entitled to be a Lady, but Harry and Meghan will again opt to style their second-born a plain Miss, with the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. The couple announced on Valentines Day last month that they are expecting a second child, saying they were 'overjoyed' at their pregnancy. If born in the US, the baby will be entitled to US citizenship as an automatic right, and will have dual citizenship through her father. She will also be able to run for US presidency if born on US soil. Frenzied fans were quick to speculate on the future baby girl's name, with many hoping Harry and Meghan would honour his late mother's memory by calling the child Diana. 'A mini Diana for Meghan and Harry,' one fan rejoiced. 'Diana?', simply asked another. 'I hope they name their baby girl Diana,' another wrote. 'Plot Twist.... Please name her Alexandra Diana Mountbatten Windsor,' said one. 'Name the baby Diana,' another simply said. A creative fan said the couple could go for 'Spencer Markle,' in order to switch things up, referencing the late Lady Diana's maiden name. Bookies have started taking odds on what the name of Archie's sibling would be, with Diana coming in first position as well, before Alexandra and Florence, Arabella and Elizabeth. Bookmakers Ladbrokes had said at the time that the chances of Harry and Meghan naming their girl Diana were four to one. To celebrate the news last month, the couple released a black and white photograph which showed them beaming with delight. Meghan lay with her head in her husband's lap, her hand resting on her visible baby bump. Barefoot Harry cradled her head in his hand as the couple relaxed together under a tree on a sprawling sunlit lawn. The picture was shot by photographer Misan Harriman, a friend of the duke and duchess. It was believed to have been taken in Montecito, California, where the pair now live after deciding to leave Britain and step down from their roles in the Royal Family. A spokesman for the couple said at the time: 'We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.' LONDON (dpa-AFX) - BAT Group has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Organigram Inc., a subsidiary of Organigram Holdings. Organigram Inc. is a licensed producer of cannabis and cannabis-derived products in Canada.?A BAT subsidiary will acquire a 19.9% equity stake in Organigram Holdings to become the largest shareholder, with the ability to appoint two directors to Organigram Holdings' board. The investment, valued at approximately 126 million pounds, was priced at C$3.79 per share. To operationalise the collaboration agreement, a 'Centre of Excellence' will be established to focus on developing the next generation of cannabis products with an initial focus on cannabidiol. BAT and Organigram will contribute scientists, researchers, and product developers to the Centre of Excellence. BAT and Organigram will grant each other a licence to certain intellectual property to enable the development of new and potentially disruptive products. 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. " " Dogs seem to display several human-like emotions, including embarrassment, though research is still out on whether they truly do. Patricia Marroquin/Getty Images There Charlotte was, a 3-month-old rescue puppy donning a pink floral dress. Charlotte had only been with us for a week, fresh from Tennessee, and now she looked as if she was ready to walk down the runway during Fashion Week in New York City. "Oh my God!" I exclaimed, as my partner Karen held her proudly. "Isn't she cute?" "She is," I answered, trying to stop my eyes from rolling into the back of my head. Loretta, her older sister, seemed just as excited, or perhaps, perplexed. She looked inquisitively at this diminutive bag of paws squirming in Karen's arms, a $9 dress flapping in a soft June breeze. I turned to Loretta and said, "Don't worry, sweetheart. You don't have to wear a dress if you don't want to." Charlotte grew out of the dress a week or two later. She now has a new winter coat, which she has yet to wear. As for the dresses, I hope Karen doesn't go shopping for some crazy holiday outfit. Since you're reading this, chances are you love dogs. And some of you, I suspect, like to dress them in all types of frilly garments and outrageous get-ups. Halloween costumes! Holiday outfits! Birthday dresses! Boots! Scarves! Wigs! Painted nails! Boots! All of which you wouldn't be caught dead in. Which leads us to the question of the day: Do dogs get embarrassed when we do silly thing like dress them up? "I don't think they get embarrassed, but definitely annoyed," my friend Dawn McKersie, a dog trainer and sometimes puppy sitter laughed. Then to prove her point, she sent me a photo of one of her clients who had a lion's mane wig around his tiny head. The dog looked miserable. No, really. He looked as if he wanted to hide in the jaws of a real lion. "What did you think?" I asked. "Look at that poor pup's expression." "He's miserable," she responded. Advertisement Human Emotions Embarrassment is an emotion, just like love, guilt, sadness, fear, happiness. When someone we know dies, we feel sorrow. When people make fun of us, we feel humiliated or embarrassed. When something good happens, we feel happiness. Humans, according to W. Gerrod Parrott, a professor of psychology at Georgetown University, have six basic emotions: love, joy, surprise, anger, sadness and fear. These emotions then branch out to secondary emotions, such as pride, relief and optimism. Tertiary emotions include excitement, loneliness and embarrassment. Yet, emotions are fleeting. They last for only a brief time. We don't stay embarrassed forever, or at the very least, shouldn't. In humans, embarrassment is a so-called "self-conscious" emotion, just like guilt. We get embarrassed when we trip or fall, burp at the dinner table, or spill a cup of coffee on a nice white shirt as a crowd of people look on. Advertisement What Emotions Do Dogs Feel? Do dogs feel the same emotions we do? It's a good question, and one that scientists have been mulling for years. If you're a dog owner, there is no question dogs become emotional. They wag their tail when they are happy. They look guilty ears back, head down when they pee on the rug or chew a library book to shreds. We also know they can get jealous of a new baby, a new dog or the cat who sits on mommy's lap. Still, many scientists have yet to come to grips with the idea that dogs experience emotions like humans. While some argue that dogs do feel a range of emotions, guilt may not one of them. Instead, dogs can be simply reacting to their owner's body language. In the opinion of some, dogs experience only "instant-reaction" emotions: fear, joy, sadness, anger. Which brings us back to whether dogs get embarrassed. It's a bit hard to fathom, considering they lick themselves in the most inappropriate places, and often put their snouts ... well, you can finish that sentence. "As far as I know, there has been no systematic research into whether or not dogs feel embarrassment, but I would guess that they do," Dr. Jessica Pierce, a bioethicist who has written extensively on the psychology of dogs and cats, said in an email. "That said, when we dress them up as lobsters or Donald Trump for Halloween, and they put their ears back and tuck their tails down, it may not be embarrassment that they are feeling they might simply find the costumes uncomfortable or unfamiliar. And they might be upset by, or reacting to, the fact that all the people around them are laughing and acting excited." If she had to bet on it, Pierce says dogs probably experience the same basic emotions as humans. "Dogs most certainly experience what are called the primary emotions, such as anger, fear, sadness and joy," she says. "They also likely experience a whole range of secondary emotions, including empathy, guilt and embarrassment. As for which emotions dogs lack, I wouldn't feel confident putting anything on this list. My guess is that the more closely scientists study the emotional experiences and capacities of dogs, the more they will find." Advertisement Should You Dress Your Dog? So, should you dress your dog up? To put it bluntly, if you would feel humiliated dressed up as a lobster or Donald Trump, then chances are, your dog will too. "When people ask me whether it is mean to dress our dogs up in costumes or fancy sweaters, my answer is: 'Ask your dog'," Pierce says. "If your dog seems uncomfortable, then take the costume off (after quickly taking that cute photograph to post on social media). If your dog doesn't seem to care, or perhaps even seems to like being fancied-up, then its fine." Now That's Interesting While many scientists agree there are six first-tier emotions, researchers in 2014 concluded that humans exhibit only four: happy; sad; afraid/surprised; angry/disgusted. Researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Glasgow studied people's facial expressions, by showing computer-generated facial animations. The study's subjects then had to characterize the faces based on the standard six emotions. The researchers found that to the observers, fear and disgusted looked similar as did anger and surprise. Wrinkled noses meant anger and disgusted. Raised eyebrows meant surprise and fear. Non-interference in the domestic affairs of an independent and sovereign country is one of the fundamental principles of international relations. The principle of non-interference is stipulated in related international laws and firmly stated in Article 2 (7) of the United Nations (UN) Charter. Most countries have always continued to abide by the principle of non-interference in regards to their international relations and foreign affairs. As the second-largest economy of the world, China has also strictly followed this fundamental principle of international relations. Photo taken on July 1, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong, south China. (Xinhua/Li Gang) China has long maintained its stance of mutual non-interference, which has served as one of its core principles of foreign policy since 1954. The country is only focused on its development and deliberately avoids any sort of conflict or confrontation, let alone interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. However, some countries, especially in the West, have continuously violated the globally accepted principle of non-interference. The current superpower in our unipolar world has a long history of interfering in the domestic affairs of other nations. In 2013, the Pew Research Center reported in their poll Americans Place in the World 2013, which revealed that 52 percent of respondents agreed that the US should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own. That was the largest percentage of people to answer in this way in the history of polling on that question, which pollsters began asking in 1964, according to the International Judicial Monitor. In past years, the countries of the West have not even spared China in their attempts to meddle in others business. They have continued to brazenly interfere in a variety of the socialist nations domestic affairs. Hong Kong, an inseparable part of China, is just one of the striking examples of how the Western block has meddled in and violated the principle of non-interference. In recent years, they have left no stone unturned to destabilize one of the richest regions of China by employing their proteges. They have been unsuccessful in their mission in Hong Kong, with China having since put the National Security Law into effect. But nothing can stop the Western powers from indulging in their ulterior motives over the Chinese city. Now, Western countries have again come together to rally against China as its ongoing legislative session is expected to improve the electoral system of Hong Kong to safeguard an administration of patriots in the autonomous region. The electoral system is being improved based on a wider consensus of people from all walks of life in the region. But Western countries are poking their nose into the matter, breaching all norms and values of diplomacy. The US condemned and called the planned overhaul of the electoral system a direct attack on autonomy, freedom of speech and democracy. In my eyes, the aforementioned actions by the West prove that they never truly believed in established diplomatic norms and values. By acting so, they are directly interfering in the domestic affairs of China and breaking the principle of non-interference in international relations. These illegitimate actions arise from their own internal quagmires, reflecting an innate anxiety over Chinas growing strength and prosperity. I think, for the greater interest of a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous Hong Kong, they must stop interfering in the region from now on. If they continue infringing on the principle of non-interference, their actions will eventually boomerang on themselves. This is an excerpt of an article published at Chinatimes24.com. The author is a news editor and broadcast journalist at China Media Group (CMG) in Beijing, China. OPPO just announced the Find X3 Pro, the companys latest flagship smartphone in the Find X series as it had announced. The phone has a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ Samsung E4 AMOLED screen with 5Hz-120Hz variable refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, full-link 10bit color engine and has DisplayMate A+ rating. The phone features a 32-megapixel camera on the front inside a small punch hole. It is powered by Snapdragon 888 with 5G support and has ultra-thin VC liquid cooling. It has a curved glass back with that uses a 40-hour process in a single glass that flows over the camera bump naturally and blends into the metallic frame. The Gloss Black, as the name suggests, comes with a glossy glass that is prone to fingerprints, but the Blue versions has an AG glass finish. The phone has a 50-megapixel main camera with Sony IMX766 sensor, OIS, 50- megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with 4cm macro mode, a 13-megapixel pixel telephoto camera for 5x hybrid optical zoom and up to 20x digital zoom, and a 3-megapixel 60x microscope camera that can also shoot FHD video and lets you add filters. It packs a 4500mAh battery with 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 super flash charge wired fast charging and 30W VOOC Air wireless charging. OPPO Find X3 Pro specifications 6.7-inch ( 1440 x 3216 pixels) Quad HD+ OLED 20.1:9 display with HDR10+, 5Hz-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, up to 1300 nits brightness, 525PPI, end-to-end 10-bit color support, 97% NTSC/100% DCI-P3 color gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection 2.84GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 888 5nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 660 GPU 12GB LPDDR5 3200MHz RAM, 256GB ( UFS 3.1 @ 2Lanes HS-Gear4) storage Android 11 with ColorOS 11.2 Dual SIM (nano + nano) 50MP camera with 1/1.56 Sony IMX766 sensor, OIS, f/1.8 aperture, 50MP Native 110.3 1/1.56 ultra-wide Sony IMX766 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, capable of shooting 4cm macro shots, 13MP periscope camera with f/2.4 aperture, 5x hybrid zoom, 20x digital zoom, 3MP micro lens with f/3.0 aperture 32MP front camera with f/2.4 aperture In-display fingerprint sensor Water resistant (IP68) USB Type-C audio, Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos Dimensions: 163.4 x 74 x 8.3 mm; Weight: 193g 5G SA/NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11 ax, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS/GLONASS, dual-antenna NFC, USB Type-C 4500mAh (Typical) battery with 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 flash charge, 30W VOOC Air wireless charging, 10W reverse charging The OPPO Find X3 Pro comes in Gloss Black and Blue colours, is priced at and will roll out from 14th April priced at 1,149 (US$ 1375 / Rs. 99,827 approx.) in Europe and 1,099 in UK. OPPO also introduced the Find X3 Pro and the Find X3 Lite smartphones which are the global versions of the Reno5 5G and Reno5 Pro 5G that were introduced in China back in December last year. OPPO Find X3 Neo specifications 6.5-inch (2400 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 3D 90Hz OLED display with up to 1100nits peak brightness, HDR 10+, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 7nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 650 GPU 12GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB (UFS 3.1) storage Android 11 with ColorOS 11.1 Dual SIM 50MP rear camera with Sony IMX766 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, LED flash, 16MP 119 Ultra Wide Lens with f/2.2 aperture, 13MP telephoto camera with up to 5x hybrid zoom, 2MP macro camera f/2.4 aperture 32MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture In-display fingerprint sensor USB Type-C Audio Dimensions:159.972.57.99mm; Weight: 184g 5G SA/ NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C 4500mAh battery with 65W Super Flash Charge (SuperVOOC 2.0) fast charging OPPO Find X3 Lite specifications 6.44-inch (2400 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 2.5D 90Hz OLED display, HDR10+, Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ protection Octa Core (1 x 2.4GHz + 1 x 2.2GHz + 6 x 1.8GHz Kryo 475 CPUs) Snapdragon 765G 7nm EUV Mobile Platform with Adreno 620 GPU 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128GB (UFS 2.1) storage Android 11 with ColorOS 11.1 Dual SIM 64MP rear camera with f/1.7 aperture, LED flash, 8MP 119 Ultra Wide Lens with f/2.2 aperture, 2MP macro, 2MP mono portrait lens with f/2.4 aperture 32MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture In-display fingerprint sensor Dimensions:159.3747.9mm; Weight: 172g (Starry Black, Astral Blue) / 180g (Galactic Silver) 3.5mm audio jack 5G SA/ NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, USB Type-C 4300mAh battery with 65W Super Flash Charge (SuperVOOC 2.0) fast charging The OPPO Find X3 Neo comes in Galactic Silver and Starlight Black colours, is priced at 749 (US$ 895 / Rs. 65,025 approx.) / 699 and the Find X3 Lite comes in Galactic Silver, Starry Black and Astral Blue colours and costs 449 (US$ 536 / Rs. 38,970 approx.) / 379. These will roll out in the Europe and the UK mid-April. GUILFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE: BFLY) ("Butterfly"), an innovative digital health company driving universal access to superior medical imaging, today announced the appointment of Stacey Pugh as Chief Commercial Officer, effective March 15th. In this newly created executive position, Ms. Pugh will oversee the development and implementation of Butterfly's commercial strategy to ensure optimal value capture for Butterfly's unique imaging technology and clinical solutions. "Stacey is a highly accomplished commercial leader with a track record of introducing novel technologies into the market on a global scale, as well as a trained critical care and trauma nurse with a passion for patient care. She is uniquely positioned to leverage her extensive business and medical experience as Butterfly drives commercial growth and makes ultrasound more accessible and deployable across a variety of care settings," said Dr. Todd Fruchterman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Butterfly. "I am excited for Stacey to join the team as we progress towards fulfilling our mission to deliver innovative ultrasound technology that is easy to use, integrates into clinical decision-making workflows, and ultimately lowers the cost of care." Ms. Pugh brings to Butterfly her extensive leadership experience in developing and commercializing medical technologies and building world-class teams. She has held leadership positions across sales, marketing, medical affairs, and business development during her 18 plus year career at medical device manufacturers Medtronic, Covidien and Kinetic Concepts. Ms. Pugh joins Butterfly from Medtronic where she served as SVP and President of Medtronic's Neurovascular business area. In this role, she oversaw global development through commercialization and was responsible for P&L management and revenue growth. Prior to this, she spent nearly eight years in a variety of clinical development roles at Kinetic Concepts, and the early years of her career in critical care, trauma nursing and nursing education. "I am excited to partner with Todd and the team at Butterfly to drive market penetration of this breakthrough technology across clinical applications, care settings and geographies," said Stacey Pugh. "Butterfly has the potential to improve the health of millions of patients while empowering nurses, doctors and other medical professionals to more quickly, confidently, and conveniently diagnose and monitor health and drive wellness." In addition, Butterfly's Board of Directors has expanded to eight directors through the appointment of Elazer Edelman, M.D., Ph.D., as Butterfly continues to deepen the medical, engineering and operational experience of its Board. Dr. Edelman, who heads the Edelman lab, the Harvard MIT Biomedical Engineering Center and is a practicing physician, will further strengthen the Board's perspective in the areas of technology development, clinical applications and strategy. "Elazer has dedicated his career to using innovative technology to drive improved health and clinical outcomes," said Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, Chairman of Butterfly. "His addition furthers my vision of combining the brightest talent with Butterfly's revolutionary Ultrasound-on-Chip technology, enhanced through software and AI, to democratize medical imaging and drive accessible, affordable global health." Dr. Edelman brings to the Butterfly Board of Directors almost three decades of medical and biomedical engineering experience and has co-founded a number of technology companies. He is the Edward J. Poitras Professor in Medical Engineering and Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, serving as well as a practicing physician in the cardiac intensive care unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Edelman and his laboratory have pioneered basic findings in vascular biology and the development and assessment of biotechnology. He directs MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Clinical Research Center. Dr. Edelman is the founder and member of the board of directors of Autus Valve Technologies, Inc., BioDevek, Inc., and PanTher Therapeutics, LLC. "I have followed the adoption of Butterfly's technologies around the world and am eager to partner with the Company to continue its mission to revolutionize patient care," said Dr. Edelman. "This is a truly unique opportunity to have a meaningful impact in democratizing medical imaging." At this exciting time in the company's journey, Butterfly welcomes Ms. Pugh and Dr. Edelman to the passionate team behind its mission, vision and technology. About Butterfly Network, Inc. Founded by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg in 2011 and recently listed on the NYSE through a merger with Longview Acquisition Corp, Butterfly created the world's first handheld, single probe whole-body ultrasound system, Butterfly iQ. Butterfly's mission is to enable universal access to superior medical imaging, making high-quality ultrasound affordable, easy-to-use, globally accessible, and intelligently connected, including for the 4.7 billion people around the world lacking access to ultrasound. Through its proprietary Ultrasound-on-Chip technology, Butterfly is paving the way for earlier detection and remote management of health conditions around the world. The Butterfly iQ can be purchased online today by healthcare practitioners in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Butterfly Network Related Links http://butterflynetwork.com Turns out there is something that can garner broad bipartisan support: public libraries. This week the Maryland legislature became the first state to pass legislation that would ensure libraries can license e-books and other digital "literary" content that is available to consumers. And in a strong sign of support for libraries (especially in these politically divisive times) the bill passed the Maryland General Assembly (both the House of Delegates and the State Senate) unanimously. First introduced in January, the bill (HB518 in the House of Delegates and SB0432 in the Senate) would require a publisher who offers to license an electronic literary product to the public to also offer to license the product to public libraries in the State on reasonable terms that would enable public libraries to provide library users with access to the electronic literary product. The bill has a few more hurdles, but if signed by Governor Larry Hoganand it is hard to see how a governor would have grounds to veto a bill that initially passed unanimously in both chambersthe bill could take effect as early as July 1 of this year. Two other states (New York and Rhode Island) also introduced similar legislation last year to ensure libraries have the ability to license digital content offered to the general public under reasonable terms. As of 2014, most publishers make their full catalogs available to libraries in some formthough whether or not that access is reasonable is an ongoing debate. Amazon, however, is a different story, and the Maryland law comes as the pressure ramps up on Amazon to make its exclusive digital content available to libraries. Libraries have long complained about Amazons refusal to license its digital content to them but last month a public advocacy campaign was launched on the issue, and this week Washington Post reporter Geoffrey Fowler also weighed in in favor of libraries. Its one thing to haggle over business, Fowler wrote, but another for Amazon to have the power to unilaterally force libraries to stay in the 20th century. We just want residents to have access without undue restriction. One potentially positive development is that Amazon is currently in talks with the Digital Public Library of America to provide library access to e-books from Amazon Publishing. In December, ALAs Alan Inouye called that news a promising start but emphasized it is still just a start. In a blog post from January, when the Maryland bill was first introduced, Michael Blackwell, director of St. Mary's County Library in Maryland and an organizer of the ReadersFirst coalition (and a supporter of this and other state legislation) insisted the bill was not anti-publisher. "We want publishers and authors to thrive and we want to work with them in promoting reading. We will negotiate terms with publishers. These bills are pro-reader. We just want residents to have access without undue restriction, Blackwell explained, adding that "similar federal legislation would be helpful." Blackwell also told PW he was "encouraged" that Amazon and the DPLA are in talks to make Amazon content available to libraries. "If Amazon adopts some of DPLA's flexible models they would offer perhaps some of the best terms libraries have with any large of the large publishers and would set an excellent example for others," Blackwell said. "If Audible were to join, so much the better." This story has been updated for clarity and with additional comments. Today marks one year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the declaration on March 11, 2020, when there were 118,000 reported cases in 14 countries worldwide and 4,291 deaths. WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock, he said, and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. He repeated calls for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear. A person is taken by stretcher to a waiting ambulance from a nursing facility where more than 50 people are sick and being tested for the COVID-19 virus, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Kirkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) With few exceptionsof which China is the most notablethe governments of the major capitalist counties rejected the warnings of scientists. They did not take aggressive action and the alarm bells went unheeded. Over the past 12 months, the number of global cases rose from 118,000 to more than 118 million. The death toll increased from 4,000 to 2.6 million, including 540,000 in the US, 270,000 in Brazil, 191,000 in Mexico, 158,000 in India, 125,000 in the UK and 100,000 in Italy. The economic toll on the working class has been devastating. The International Labour Organization estimates that the world lost the equivalent of 255 million jobs in 2020, nearly four times the impact of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Countless small businesses have been wiped out. Cultural life has been devastated throughout the world. US President Joe Biden will deliver a prime time address tonight on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. He will no doubt pronounce the obligatory and insincere words about the tragic loss of life over the past twelve months, without any serious examination of why this catastrophe happened and why it is continuing. According to White House officials, he will speak of the coming return of a sense of normalcy. There will, however, be no return to normalcy. The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a devastating indictment not only of the actions of particular governments, but of the entire social and economic order based on capitalism. It will have the most far-reaching and revolutionary consequences. The impact of the pandemic is the product of decisions to subordinate human life to the interests of the corporate-financial oligarchy. The urgent public health measures necessary to save lives encountered at every point the ferocious opposition of the capitalist ruling elites. The critical period of January-March 2020 was devoted to the systematic suppression of information on the danger that the pandemic posed. Only after growing numbers of workers in the United States and Europe refused to enter unsafe auto plants and other job sites were limited lockdowns implemented. These actions were never part of any serious internationally coordinated strategy. Rather, the haphazard national and local responses were aimed at buying time for the ruling class to implement, for the second time since 2008, a massive bailout of the rich. In the United States, the Federal Reserve funneled $4 trillion into the markets, sanctioned by the CARES Act, passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis in late March of last year. Similar measures were adopted by central banks throughout the world. Once the interests of the ruling class were secured, governments orchestrated a coordinated campaign to reopen closed factories and schools. The herd immunity strategy, pioneered in Sweden, became, de facto, the policy of the entire ruling class. Under the slogan of the cure cant be worse than the disease, the most basic measures to stop the spread of the virus were systematically eliminated. While millions of people contracted the virus, the financial markets celebrated the most rapid rise in share values in history. One figure sums up the social dynamic: Since the beginning of the pandemic one year ago, US billionaires have increased their wealth by $1.4 trillion. A new layer of pandemic profiteers prospered amidst death and suffering. One year after the official declaration of a pandemic, COVID-19 continues to rage throughout the world. Even with the initial production of a vaccine, its chaotic distribution, hampered by the interests of competing nation-states, becomes itself a factor in the crisis. Only four percent of the worlds population has received even one dose of the vaccine, and even in many of the most developed countries the percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated remains in the single digits. In Germany, the supposed model of capitalist efficiency, only 3.1 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, in Spain and France, 3.0 percent, in Italy, 2.9 percent, and in Canada, 1.6 percent. Despite warnings of a new surge, driven by more contagious variants, governments around the world are abandoning any remaining measures to contain the pandemic. Yesterday, the US state of Texas removed all restraints on economic activity, while the Biden administration is spearheading the campaign to reopen schools as quickly as possible. The most decisive refutation of the claims that nothing could have been done is the record of the World Socialist Web Site. Based on publicly available information, the WSWS, the organ of the International Committee of the Fourth International, issued a series of statements one year ago warning of what was to come and elaborating the necessary programmatic response. On March 13, two days after the official declaration of a pandemic, the WSWS indicted the response of the ruling class. Precious time was wasted as the global pandemic gathered fatal momentum, the WSWS stated. Insisting that the needs of the working people of the world must take absolute and unconditional priority over all considerations of corporate profit and private wealth accumulation, the WSWS demanded emergency measures, including an internationally coordinated mobilization of social resources and the shutdown of non-essential production, with full income for all workers. If these policies had been implemented, countless lives could have been saved. The fight against the pandemic was never solely a medical issue. The containment of the pandemic cannot be achieved apart from a struggle against the capitalist system. As with every crisis of this character, the pandemic has profoundly altered the entire political situation. It has enormously accelerated the far-reaching decay of democratic forms of rule. The growth of fascism internationally is directly connected to the homicidal politics of the ruling elites. The January 6 insurrection in Washington was the noxious product not simply of Trump and his co-conspirators, but the reality of class rule. The ruling class, moreover, confronting a massive social crisis at home and growing anger in the working class, is turning ever more openly to military conflict as a way out. In its first two months in office, the Biden administration has made as a central priority the intensification of its aggressive provocations in the Middle East and against Russia and China. All the official institutions of capitalist society stand exposed. Governments, whether headed by the extreme right or the supposed left, have adopted the same basic policy. In the United States, there has not been a single congressional hearing or even serious media investigation into the sources of the catastrophe or who was responsible. The corporatist trade unions, in reality instruments of management, have done everything they can to suppress opposition and enforce the policy of the ruling class. As with World War I, the pandemic is generating a profound social and political radicalization of an entire generation of workers and youth. Even as Biden proclaims a return to normalcy, there is mounting opposition among educators to the efforts to reopen schools, and in the entire working class to the homicidal policy that the ruling class insists must continue. And as disastrous as the pandemic is, it portends further and even deeper crisesclimate change, even worse and deadlier pandemics, the threat of nuclear warstemming from the same fundamental causes as the failure to contain the pandemic. The pandemic proves the necessity of the abolition of the capitalist nation-state system. It shows that the defense of the most vital interests of society is inseparable from the expropriation of the financial oligarchy and an end to private ownership of the means of production. It makes clear the urgent necessity for a scientifically-managed, rationally-organized and democratically-controlled world economy. The fight for socialism is a global struggle for a society that prioritizes life over profit, human need over the wealth of the oligarchs and international collaboration over national conflict. Jim Duncan was all set to lead last years St. Patricks Day parade, thinking he knew what to expect. What he didnt expect was that it would be canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a surprise because the pandemic was just starting, said Duncan, commander of AmVets Post 100. I felt bad for the organizers and how much work they put into it. But this years parade with organizers Dan Kindred of Dons Place, Sarah Shellhammer of WJIL/WJVO and Robert Chick Fritz Inc. is a go and Duncan finally will get to lead the parade along the streets of Jacksonville. Im really looking forward to walking in the parade, he said. Its a tradition and Im honored that I get to be part of it. The parade, which started in 1989, got the OK this year from Morgan County Health Department and the city, but it will have a slightly different route and no candy will be thrown. I feel bad for the kids that candy cant be thrown, Duncan said, adding that he believes the parade will be a positive and enjoyable event the kind of event everyone is thirsty for. Everyone is Irish for 24 hours. Duncan, a 1967 graduate of Routt Catholic High School, joined the Army in 1969, two years after graduation, and found himself in Vietnam for the duration of his military career. I was an infantry adviser. We taught them better tactics, Duncan said of his duties working with South Vietnamese troops. It wasnt until 1972 that Duncan was back stateside and studying at Lincoln Land Community College in Jacksonville. After obtaining his associates degree, Duncan transferred to Illinois College, graduating in 1976 with a degree in business accounting. Labeling himself a non-traditional student, Duncan explained with a smile his life in college. I would work construction between semesters I basically worked, drank and went to school full time, he said. After graduation, Duncan spent the next decade traveling before going to work in 1986 for the State of Illinois, working in contracting with the Illinois Department of Transportation and small-business enterprises. Retiring from the state in 2009, Duncan then devoted his time to his community and helping others a habit that has not stopped. Duncan has kept himself busy in Jacksonville by being on community boards, serving as commander at AmVets Post 100 and volunteering his time for Vet to Vet, a consumer-provider partnership program that helps veterans in recovery work on things like resumes and finding direction for their lives. The parade will start on East State Street, turn south onto Clay Avenue, west onto College Avenue, north onto South Mauvaisterre Street and go around the square before head west on Morgan Street to end at Dons Place, Kindred said. I have told everyone to wear masks, he said. So far, more than 50 floats are signed up for Saturdays parade but Kindred said people tend to show up on the day and enter then, too. Its first come, first served, Kindred said of the floats lining up Lineup starts at 10 a.m. with the parade stepping off at 11 a.m. Prizes will be awarded for best floats. American soldiers are at an air force base in Tbilisi, Georgia for the Noble Partner international exercises, August 1, 2017 ( By Xinhua News Agency) According to data recently published by Code Pink, an anti-war organization based in the US, the US and its allies have dropped at least 326,000 bombs and missiles on countries in the greater Middle East/North Africa region since 2001, equivalent to more than 40 every single day. Analysts pointed out that despite its highest military spending and strongest military strengths in the world, Uncle Sam has not invested its power in preserving world peace, but has instead constantly interfered in or even invaded other countries through the illegal use of force in order to protect its own hegemony and interests. From this point of view, the US has become the biggest threat to world peace and a global scourge. Hardly a month had passed when the Biden administration launched an air strike in eastern Syria on February 25 that destroyed multiple facilities, which the US military explained was a response to the recent attacks against American and coalition personnel in Iraq and to ongoing threats to those personnel. Syria, Russia and Iran all strongly condemned the US-launched attacks that violated international law and Syrian sovereignty. Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies, co-founder and researcher of Code Pink, wrote in their article that the air strike in eastern Syria was just the latest case in point of America and its allies persistent and ceaseless military operations in the greater Middle East/North Africa region, to which Iraq and Syria have been the most seriously hit victims in the past two decades as 152,000 bombs and missiles have been dropped on them according to incomplete statistics. There is no telling how many innocent lives those bombings have taken. There are statistics showing that the US has fought wars in 227 out of the 240 years since its founding. The US will fight wars as long as it exists, said Professor Sergei Sudakov of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences in an interview with Russia Today TV. Behind Americas rampaging all over the world is its ever-rising military expenditure. A report issued by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in April 2020 revealed that the US military spending rose by 5.3% in 2019 and reached USD 732 billion, which was 38% of the world total and almost the total of the ten trailing countries. Its military increase constitutes the majority of the 3.6% increase in global military expenditure that year, the highest growth rate since 2010. According to analysts, military strength is a critical pillar of Americas global hegemony. After the end of WWII, the country has maintained massive amounts of troops overseas to protect its interests and allies. In its 2018 National Defense Strategy report, the US Department of Defense said the American military should be able to perform a range of operations in parallel, including effective nuclear deterrence, developing missile defense, tackling major-power competition and hotspot crisis, and maintaining anti-terrorist warfare. These requirements are more ambitious than Americas plans in a very long time after the end of WWII, and are therefore in need of more funding, according to Michael OHanlon, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, an American think tank. The fact is that the huge military spending and constant overseas military operations have only benefited a handful of politicians and arms tycoons in the country, while they have harmed the interests of the majority of American people and seriously threatened world peace and stability. Some experts and political figures in the US have voiced criticism of the colossal military bills, who believe the government should redirect more resources to handling the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling climate change, and boosting economic and social development. Stephen M.Walt, professor of International Affairs at Harvard University, recently pointed out that the US has spent a lots of money building powerful armed forces, but it doesnt have the worlds best basic education, medical system, wireless network, power system, railway, road and bridges, and its public institutions are scarcely funded. Bernie Sanders, an independent member of the congress, and Democratic Senator Edward Markey proposed in July 2020 to cut the defense budget for FY2021 by 10%, but found no support in the senate. Markey said at the time that the immense military spending has not protected the American people from coronavirus, nor will it protect them from the outcomes of environmental degradation and climate change. Americas priorities should be eliminating poverty, battling the global pandemic, sponsoring education and improving the medical insurance system, rather than waging wars and developing new weapons. Editor's note: This article is originally published on Xinhuanet.com, and is 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. (Newser) "Maybe its oxygen deprivation from quintuple-masking" that's causing the city of Austin, Texas, to continue mandating residents wear facial coverings in local businesses, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hypothesized in a tweet Wednesday. Seeing as the state's governor, Greg Abbott, last week lifted the state's mask mandate and has issued an executive order stating that no resident can be required by a jurisdiction to wear one, Paxton says, "Travis County and Austin have a few hours to comply with state law or Ill sue them." Austin's mayor, Steve Adler, says the city will continue enforcing its own safety mandates, which carry a fine of up to $2,000 for violators, NBC News reports. story continues below "We will fight Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Paxtons assault against doctors and data for as long as we possibly can," Adler tells the Austin American-Statesman. "I believe leaders need to be clear and unambiguous in their communications and messaging about masking. Masks work! The Governor and Attorney General are simply wrong." He adds that it was the county health authority who developed the mask mandate amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "The public health authority is responsible for the control of disease outbreak in Austin-Travis county and will continue to utilize the rules he has set forth in helping to further mitigate the risk of spread," he says. Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who was also addressed in Paxton's threat, says county residents are in favor of the mandate, and only 9% are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (Read more Texas stories.) Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Researchers have developed a sustainable and economical way to recover oil from ultra-cold industrial wastewater and oil spills. Scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Toronto have designed a sponge that can remove hard-to-recover oil from Artic waters. Their research builds on previously developed sponge technology to target specific challenges with recovering oil from ultra-cold water. The findings, published in Science Advances, present an economical and sustainable method of oil recovery which will benefit the environment whilst presenting a cost-effective solution to industry. Oil contamination in the Arctic Researchers have developed a special coating for commercially available sponges which can recover oil droplets from water as cold as 5 degrees celsius. Oil is more difficult to remove from ultra-cold water because it becomes viscous at low temperatures, reducing its flow and making it harder to collect. Oil contamination in Arctic waters is a significant issue, with over one trillion liters of oil sands tailings, a waste by-product of oil extraction, marine and Arctic oil spills awaiting clean up. Traditional technologies used to recover oil from such sites are either energy intensive, costly, or ineffective when faced with micrometer size oil droplets. Some can even risk causing further environmental damage, such as those that reheat the oil before collection, which can cause it to dissolve or evaporate. The technology designed by Imperial and U of T addresses these challenges by harnessing the properties of cold-temperature oil to create a low-energy and cost-efficient solution. Not only will this benefit the environment and help to protect our natural resources, it offers an economically viable solution for industry which is vital to ensuring widespread uptake. Mutual attraction The team at Imperial engineered a special coating for commercially available sponges based on the behavior of oil droplets in cold water. When oil is below 38 degree celsius, it begins to crystallize and becomes sticky at the edges. Lead author Dr. Pavani Cherukupally used this knowledge to design a paraffin-like sponge coating with the same chemical structure as oil that could create a mutual attraction between the two surfaces. The sponge can be rinsed with a non-toxic solvent which displaces the sticky oil droplets and allows them to be collected, enabling both the sponge and the oil to be reused. The process is known as wax-wetting, where one fluid is used to displace another. In this case, the solvent, known as heptol, is used to displace the oil droplets. Once the optimum wax-wetting characteristics had been established, a team of U of T Chemists synthesized the nanocoating which made it functional and ready to use on a larger scale. Rigorous testing showed that the engineered sponge can adsorb oil droplets from water ranging between 5 and 40 degrees Celsius and remove 90-99% of contaminants within two and a half hours. The recovered oil can be used again by industry, providing an economic benefit to organizations, and the sponge can be reused ten times with consistent results. Next steps This method of oil recovery poses significant benefits to both industry and the environment. It has a high success rate for removing oil from ultra-cold water and requires no additional energy input as it uses the material properties of the sponge and oil to generate results. Lead author Dr. Pavani Cherukapally, Imperial College London, explained: "We've developed an energy efficient way of reclaiming crude oil which has ecological benefits for the environment and is economically beneficial to industry. "Our work is significant because it targets a specific issue, oil crystallization at low temperatures, and addresses it from a materials perspective." Principle Investigator Professor Daryl Williams added: "If we continue treating the environment as we have been for decades, clean water will become increasingly scarce. As such an important global resource, it is vital that society and industry has access to innovative, low-cost methods for water clean-up like those we report in our study. "Our technology heralds a new approach for global remediation which we hope will be widely utilized before it is too late." Next the team will explore how the sponge can be used to collect and range of oils, which each have a different composition and will behave differently at low temperatures. They are confident that their sponge technology can be adapted to meet these different needs across many different environmental conditions. Explore further Oil-catching sponge could soak up residue from offshore drilling More information: P. Cherukupally et al. Wax-wetting sponges for oil droplets recovery from frigid waters, Science Advances (2021). Journal information: Science Advances P. Cherukupally et al. Wax-wetting sponges for oil droplets recovery from frigid waters,(2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc7926 Nearly one in five Americans say they have lost either a relative or a close friend to the coronavirus, highlighting the division between heartache and hope as the country itches to get back to normal. In a new poll conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Research, 19 percent of U.S. adults said a loved one of theirs has died from COViD-19. Black and Hispanic Americans were twice as likely to say a family member or friend had passed away over the course of the pandemic. Thirty percent of African Americans and 29 percent of Latinos said they have lost someone compared to 15 percent of Caucasians. What's more, 24 percent of people who say they make $30,000 or less per year say a loved one has died from COVID-19 compared to 17 percent of those those making more than $30,000 annually. The survey shows that many people are still in mourning and expressing frustration at the continued struggle to stay safe. A new poll found 19% say they have lost either a relative or a close friend to COVID-19 since March 1, 2020 with 30% of black respondents and 29% of Hispanics saying a loved one had died of the disease compared to 15% of white respondents People who made $30,000 or less per year were more likely to say someone they knew died compared to hose with higher incomes Communities of color are still extremely concerned about getting COVID-19 compared to white communites. Pictured: Mortician Cordarial O.Holloway (foreground left) and funeral director Robert L. Albritte (foreground right) place a casket into a hearse in Dawson, Georgia, April 2020 'We didn't have a chance to grieve,' Nettie Parks, of Volusia County, Florida, who is Africa-American, and whose only brother died of COVID-19 last April, told the AP. 'It's almost like it happened yesterday for us. It's still fresh.' Because of travel restrictions, Parks and her five sisters have yet to hold a memorial. Parks, 60, said she retired from her customer service job last year in part because of worry about workplace exposure, and now she is watching with dread as more states and cities relax health rules. However, the poll also found that worries among Americans about being infected with COVID-19 have ticked down in recent months. Only about three in 10 of those surveyed are very worried about themselves or a family member being infected with the virus, down from about four in 10 in recent months. However, a majority of Americans, 67 percent, expressed concern. Additionally, 80 percent of Democrats say the are somewhat concerned of contracting COVID-19 compared to 53 percent of Republicans. 'They're letting their guard down and they shouldn't,' Parks said. 'People are going to have to realize this thing is not going anywhere. Its not over.' Communities of color were hardest hit by the coronavirus and that has translated into differences in how worried people are about a virus that remains a serious threat until most of the country gets vaccinated. Despite recent drops in cases, 43 percent of black Americans and 39 percent of Hispanics are very or extremely worried about themselves or a loved one getting COVID-19, compared to just 25 percent of white people. The death toll from the pandemic has been staggering, with more than 529,000 dead alone in the U.S. But 'it's hard to conceptualize the true danger if you don't know it personally,' said Dr K Luan Phan, psychiatry chief at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. The poll found Americans still fear contracting COVID-19, but that worry has dropped over the past few months. Democrats are more worried than Republicans. Demand for vaccination currently outstrips supply, and four in 10 Americans, especially older adults, say the sign-up process has been poor (above) For those who lost a loved one, 'that fear is most salient in them. They're going to be a lot more cautious as businesses reopen and as schools start back,' Phan said. And without that first-hand experience, even people who heeded health officials' pleas to stay masked and keep their distance are succumbing to pandemic fatigue because 'fears tend to habituate,' he said. While vaccines offer real hope for ending the scourge, the poll also found about one-third of Americans intend to get their shot. The most reluctant: Younger adults, people without college degrees, and Republicans. The hardest-hit are also having the hardest time getting vaccinated: 16 percent of Black Americans and 15 percent of Hispanics say they already have received at least one shot, compared to 26 percent of white people. Currently demand for vaccines still outstrips supply, and about four in 10 Americans, especially older adults, say the sign-up process has been poor. John Perez, a retired teacher and school administrator in Los Angeles, spent hours trying to sign up online before giving up. Then a friend found a drive-thru vaccination site with openings. 'When I was driving there for the first shot, I was going through a tunnel of emotions,' the 68-year-old told the AP. 'I knew what a special moment it was.' Overall, confidence in the vaccines is slowly strengthening. The poll found 25 percent of Americans are not confident the shots were properly tested, down somewhat from 32 percent who said the same thing in December, 'We were a little skeptical when it was first coming out because it was so politicized,' said Bob Richard, 50, of Smithfield, Rhode Island. But now, he said his family is inclined to get the shots - if they can sort through the appointment system when it's their turn. Has the time arrived to dispense with environmental review of housing projects? The question underlies three bills introduced by Democrats in the past legislative session and a San Francisco Planning Department proposal to streamline environmental review. It has a history with an ironic twist that has somehow come into focus in this COVID-obsessed time. At issue is the California Environmental Quality Act, commonly known as CEQA. Adopted in 1970, the same year as the first Earth Day celebration, the act aimed to translate into law rising environmental awareness by requiring public agencies to consider significant adverse environmental impacts in decisions ranging from update of a general plan to approval of a construction project. After an initial study, the agencies could adopt a negative declaration, finding no significant adverse environmental impacts, or prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) before taking action. In either case, the agencys decision could be challenged in court. The prescribed procedure for drafting an EIR was lengthy and complicated, involving among other things disclosures, public comment and hearings, calculated to assure adequate consideration both of environmental impacts and all feasible mitigation measures. The laudatory aims of CEQA, however, conceal a flaw that is particularly troublesome in urban contexts. The broad definition of environmental harm, the elaborate rules for drafting an EIR, and the essentially unrestricted right to bring legal challenges are being manipulated by private parties with no real commitment to the environment. The act spawned many specific exemptions and led to refinements allowing EIRs to be linked to area-wide environmental studies. With these changes, CEQA retained its place in the firmament of landmark environmental laws as late as 2016. That year, Gov. Jerry Brown included a broad exemption from CEQA for affordable housing as part of a build by right proposal. The plan landed with a thud in the Legislature. That this legislative response has changed owes much to a remarkable study conducted by Jennifer Hernandez, a partner of the law firm Holland and Knight. Hernandezs team examined all CEQA lawsuits filed within a three-year period, with a follow-up study confined to Southern California. They found that 80% of the lawsuits targeted infill projects located within existing communities. The most frequently challenged housing projects were multifamily apartments oriented to transit corridors. Only 13% of the lawsuits were brought by groups with a record of environmental advocacy; most of the others were filed by individuals, ad hoc associations and business competitors. The plaintiffs tended to be older, wealthier and less ethnically diverse than the surrounding population. As documented in the Hernandez report, CEQA lawsuits can easily kill small housing projects and significantly increase the cost of big projects. An EIR can take a year to complete and cost up to $1 million; a lawsuit can impose further delays of two to five years at the trial court level, not to mention delays on appeal. In actual operation, CEQA lawsuits undermined the states environmental and climate goals by discouraging compact housing developments close to employment centers. Two bills introduced by Democratic legislators in the past session cautiously sought to empower local government to exempt certain housing projects from CEQA review. SB902, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, addressed the zoning of parcels for small apartments of up to 10 units. A much more ambitious measure, AB2323, authored by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, delineated, with head-spinning complexity, paths that local government could follow to avoid CEQA review in urban infill projects. The San Francisco Planning Departments proposal explored ways of facilitating environmental review in a manner that could result in more negative declarations. In some ways, the most interesting bill in the legislative session was AB1907. Authored by three Democratic Assembly members, it sought to exempt from CEQA review projects for emergency homeless shelters, supportive housing and affordable housing. The visionaries who hoped CEQA would bring a new era of environmental awareness could not have foreseen the need for a bill such as this. But a CEQA lawsuit has forced the abandonment of a homeless shelter in Santa Ana and the CEQA challenges to multifamily housing tend to prejudice poor, working class and minority populations. These initiatives, though stalled last year, reveal that the veil has been lifted on CEQA review of housing projects, exposing the private interests at play in the actual operation of the law. More bills and proposals can be expected. Michael Murphy is a retired judicial attorney for the State Court of Appeal and a longtime San Francisco resident. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Obesity is near the top of a list of underlying conditions that exponentially increase your risk of severe COVID illness, hospitalization or death. But Ohios vaccination protocol for phases 1b and 1c excludes obesity, along with COPD, smoking and other conditions that could be considered lifestyle choices. Were talking about the reasoning and what it means on This Week in the CLE. Listen online here. Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with editors Jane Kahoun, Kris Wernowsky and me. Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom account, in which he shares what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802. Here are the questions were answering today: Why did Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine leave obesity out of the conditions qualifying people for the coronavirus vaccine? Bill Seitz has been working hard to ensure that FirstEnergy get the billions of dollars in spoils of its $60 million investment in the House Bill 6 bribery scheme, but did he really stand up Wednesday and say he sees no evidence of corruption in the bills passage? How is University Hospitals working to help you if you get a mild case of the coronavirus? How might the confirmation Wednesday of Marcia Fudge as chief of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development a big deal for Northeast ohioans living in poverty? Is Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine headed for the big showdown with the Legislature over the governors power to issue health orders, as he has done throughout the pandemic? Has the Solon High School principal been cleared of an anonymous allegation that she had an inappropriate relationship with a student 15 years ago? With the lovely weather were seeing this week, we wondered whether the overwhelming demand for new bicycles that began in the pandemic is continuing. Is it? Data guru Rich Exner says the new stimulus bill is not the simple sending of $1,400 to people. How could people benefit from the tax ramifications of this package? Want more? You can find all our past episodes here. We have an Apple podcasts channel exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe here. Do you get your podcasts on Spotify. Find us here. If you use Stitcher, we are here. RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here. On Google Podcasts, we are here. On PodParadise, find us here. And on PlayerFM, we are here. SK Innovation EV battery plant in the U.S. state of Georgia / Courtesy of SK Innovation By Kim Hyun-bin SK Innovation (SKI)'s board of directors has been taking steps recently to strengthen its global compliance system following the final verdict of the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) that ruled in favor of LG Energy Solutions (LGES) in a multi-billion-dollar intellectual property dispute between the two Korean companies. SKI's board held a meeting of an audit committee consisting of all outside directors, Wednesday, to review the case in depth. SKI executives briefed the outside directors regarding the USITC's final ruling. The board of directors, which holds the final decision-making power on major management decisions, held the meeting to prevent any recurrence of similar incidents. The USITC imposed a limited import ban on SKI products in the United States, but provided room for SKI's key clients including Volkswagen and Ford to find possible alternatives, as the USITC also allowed SKI to sell its batteries for certain periods. The USITC ruling is under review by the USTR and SKI has been hoping for President Joe Biden to veto or alter it highlighting the firm's contribution to job creation and investment in the U.S. state of Georgia, where SKI has been building a big battery manufacturing plant. The audit committee strongly rebuked SKI for its mishandling of the case due to its lack of experience in global compliance. The board also ordered reorganization of the internal global litigation response system and decided to recruit external global experts in the field to reinforce the company's compliance monitoring. "It is very unfortunate that we were not able to fully dispute the trade secret allegations due to the lack of understanding of the U.S. judicial procedures" said Choi Woo-seok, a chief auditor of SKI's board. "It is imperative to enhance the company's global compliance system at a time SKI continues to expand its global presence." In addition, SKI's audit committee was briefed over the specifics of SKI's proposal submitted to LGES for a possible settlement and LGES' response regarding the updated terms. "We will thoroughly review the terms set out by our competitor, but if the terms result in drastically lowering SKI's competitiveness in the U.S. battery business, we will not be able to accept the conditions," the board said. The board of directors of SKI also plans to visit Daedeok Battery Research Institute as soon as possible, to identify other outstanding issues to organize its position regarding the USITC ruling and to develop fundamental improvements. -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed the way for China, which is at a historic development juncture, by expounding on a wide range of topics at this year's "two sessions," a key political event slated to close on Thursday. -- Xi took part in deliberations with other lawmakers from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, and attended a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force. He also joined national political advisors from education, medical and health sectors in a joint group meeting. -- 2021 marks a historic juncture for China as it embarks on a new quest for fully building a modern socialist country. Xi's speeches at the sessions provide insights into China's development trajectory. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed the way for China, which is at a historic development juncture, by expounding on a wide range of topics at this year's "two sessions," a key political event slated to close on Thursday. The two sessions are the country's annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, participated in deliberations with national legislators and joined discussions with political advisors at the two sessions. He took part in deliberations with other lawmakers from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, and attended a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force. He also joined national political advisors from education, medical and health sectors in a joint group meeting. 2021 marks a historic juncture for China as it embarks on a new quest for fully building a modern socialist country. Here are some key takeaways from Xi's speeches at the sessions that may provide insights into China's development trajectory. Xi Jinping arrives for the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) GREEN GDP Xi has always stressed adopting "a holistic approach" to conserving mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands. This time, he brought "deserts" into the picture. Top-level design and comprehensive measures are needed to protect the eco-systems in mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts, said Xi, an NPC deputy himself. Highlighting the concept of "green GDP," Xi said that maintaining a good ecological environment is of enormous value. ETHNIC UNITY Xi stressed cementing the sense of community for the Chinese nation. He called for promoting standard spoken and written Chinese language and the use of state-compiled textbooks. Efforts should be made to facilitate more comprehensive understanding of the Party's policies concerning ethnic groups, especially among young people, Xi said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) PEOPLE'S HEALTH AS "STRATEGIC PRIORITY" Xi has stressed giving "strategic priority" to safeguarding people's health and focusing on tackling major diseases and problems that affect people's health. The country's public health protection network should be fortified, and efforts should be made to promote the high-quality development of public hospitals, he said, demanding comprehensive health care for the people at all stages of life. The fight against COVID-19 has once again proved that prevention is the most economical and effective health strategy, Xi said, calling for reforming and improving the disease prevention and control system. Xi also urged the preservation and development of traditional Chinese medicine and breakthroughs in core technologies in key areas, as well as more protection, care and support for health workers. QUALITY BASIC PUBLIC EDUCATION On education, Xi said China must strive to build a high-quality and balanced basic public education service system. He emphasized the socialist orientation in running schools, the non-profit nature of education and developing education that people are satisfied with. Education is essential to the country and the Party, Xi stressed. He called for efforts to train more talents who can contribute to the country's high-quality development and high-level self-reliance. Teachers are the central pillar of education, and strengthening the professional ethics of teachers must be a top priority, Xi said. Music teacher Yang Hao (1st R) holds a weekly field training session for members of Yantian Primary School's melodica band in Gaocun Town, Wanzai County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Sept. 3, 2020 (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi) HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT &PEOPLE'S WELL-BEING Xi noted that high-quality development is the general requirement for all aspects of economic and social development. It will not only be the requirement for developed regions, but will also be the requirement that entails implementation by all regions, Xi said, urging each region to pursue high-quality development based on local conditions. He urged efforts to integrate high-quality development with action in meeting people's aspiration for a better life. Xi stressed efforts to strengthen areas of weakness in people's well-being, unfailingly meet the basic living needs of the people and improve the availability and equality of basic public services. He asked local authorities to promote coordinated development between rural and urban areas, advance rural vitalization on all fronts, improve people's well-being, and build a new socialist countryside that is beautiful, prosperous and harmonious. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, speaks when attending a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police Force at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Gang) COMBAT READINESS Xi stressed achieving a good start in strengthening national defense and the armed forces during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period. Development of the armed forces must focus on combat readiness, he said. Xi demanded efforts to step up building high-caliber strategic deterrence and joint operation systems. He called for intensified efforts and more concrete measures in the pursuit of independent innovation in science and technology, to fully leverage the role of science and technology as the strategic support for military development. Highlighting the "instabilities" and "uncertainties" in China's current security circumstances, Xi said the whole armed forces must always be ready to respond to all kinds of complex and difficult situations, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and provide strong support for fully building a modern socialist country. Some 290 finalists in the INMA Global Media Awards competition were revealed yesterday, with clear themes of pandemic community outreach, brand-building, subscriptions and data innovation at the heart of the shortlist. The 2021 competition by the International News Media Association (INMA) garnered 644 entries from 212 news brands in 37 countries. The finalists hail from Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America.Leading the finalist list were entries from India (47), United States (36), Austria and Norway (22 each), Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden (with 19 finalists each).Companies that led the INMA shortlist include Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd. (17), Russmedia (17), NZME (15), and News Corp Australia (14).First place winners, regional winners, and the global Best In Show will be unveiled 3 June in a virtual announcement.This years INMA Global Media Awards include 20 categories focused on excellence in news brands, media platforms, subscriptions, business development, and data and insights. The competition judges similar brands with groups for national news brands, regional news brands, and for the first time groups.Judging for the Global Media Awards, which have been presented by INMA since 1937, was held in February with 44 media experts from 22 countries focused on breakthrough results, unique concepts, strong creativity, innovative thinking, and winner synergies across platforms.The 644 entries in this years Global Media Awards competition are live on INMA.org in the associations Best Practices archive. Finalists may be viewed publicly, while all other entries are reserved exclusively for INMA members. INMA has 6,500+ best practices from the past decade of Global Media Awards competitions, sortable to finalists and winners, category, year, and country. Click here to view the finalists. I have worked as a public educator, first as a teacher and then as an assistant principal, for 22 years in a mix of blue and white collar, middle to upper-middle class suburban Metro-Detroit school district. The district I work in is home to the Reagan Democrats and its residents voted for Barrack Obama and Donald Trump in both candidates election and reelection contests. When I first started my career as a young teacher, I knew that many of my colleagues were liberal Democrats and that was not a problem for me. In 1998, despite our political differences, my colleagues and I had some shared values. In particular, these values included a respect for school authority, including our school resource officers (police officers assigned to the high school building I work at), a strong belief in free speech, an insistence on academic freedom, teaching students critical thinking skills, and most importantly -- our shared belief in a colorblind society. Today, these values have been cancelled and reengineered to fit into the spectrum of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) -- an insidious agenda that heavily discriminates against conservatives and traditionalists of every race -- and is based on the euphemistically termed principles of anti-racism. Now, only woke leftist authority is acceptable because all other authority is systemically racist. In schools, this new woke authority is developed in the administrative and teaching ranks through district sponsored anti-racism training -- passed off as professional development -- given by highly paid Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultants. Books and materials on how the police are racist, implicitly biased, and purposely target people of color now fill the libraries and classrooms of our public schools. School staff that advocate for free speech and against the cancel culture are now having their employment terminated, which has created a silencing effect for staff members who would dare speak out against the obvious totalitarian nature of being cancelled for ones opinions. Indeed, conservative and traditional educators are now living through an Orwellian nightmare in modern-day public education. Gone are the days in which we operated according the principles of a colorblind society that Dr. Martin Luther King fought for. Now, under the new narrative, we must work for social justice and equity to rid our schools of systemic racism. This means equality of outcomes, rather than equality of opportunity that the Constitution guarantees. According to our woke betters, colorblindness is racist and harmful to people of color, because it prevents people from seeing acts of racism in society. The emphasis on skin color that anti-racism is placing on people, rather than seeing each person as an individual, is creating a silent resentment and division within schools and society at large. This has made it impossible for me to enjoy coming to school and working with students and colleagues. Everywhere I look within the school, I am reminded that my thoughts and opinions dont matter because of my skin color and privilege. If I speak out against the obvious racism, hatred and Cultural Marxism of anti-racism, I will no longer be valued as a worthwhile professional who has spent his lifes work positively influencing students. If the wrong people found out how much I despise anti-racism and the Critical Race Theory it is based on, I would unjustifiably be labeled a racist, lose the confidence of my employer, and most likely be encouraged to resign. Challenges to the new woke racial orthodoxy are not allowed to occur, and if they do, the end result is a career cancelled and a reputation tarnished. As a former teacher of history, I have taught many students about the worst totalitarian movements around the world. As I ponder what is happening to our society and public education, I see many similarities to Maos Cultural Revolution. In Americas Cultural Revolution, the radical racialists of BLM and Antifa are leading the charge. These two avowed Marxist organizations are full of indoctrinated and disgruntled youth, like the Red Guards of Maos China. The campaign of destruction in many American cities and harassment of people minding their own business led by BLM and Antifa, is comparable to the terror unleashed by the Red Guards on Chinas intellectuals, cultural relics, and institutions. In China, as in the cities targeted by Americas Marxist youth, statues were torn down, private property was seized and destroyed, those who disagree politically were beaten or killed and great architectural buildings were burnt to the ground. When our public schools eventually do reopen fully in every state, I fear that the woke Cultural Revolution we are living through will continue to accelerate and make every aspect of the job more difficult for conservative educators like me to continue working in the public schools. The idea of going through a struggle session as a 22-year faculty member of my suburban Detroit Area school district is enough to convince me that the uphill battle conservatives (especially Trump supporters) face is not worth having my financial future and reputation ruined. Americas own version of the Red Guard are given prominence within schools for their voice and are being supported by school boards, administrative office staff, building administrators and classroom teachers. And as the indoctrination of our youth by mostly left-wing educators continues with anti-racism curriculum and materials, life in schools and society for conservatives will only get worse and more uncomfortable as we fear the consequences of expressing the truth of our beliefs in America as a land of opportunity for all. Image: Daveynin The NDP justice critic was ejected from the Manitoba legislative chamber by the Speaker on Wednesday for saying the Tory government doesnt give a crap about Indigenous women and girls in this province." The NDP justice critic was ejected from the Manitoba legislative chamber by the Speaker on Wednesday for saying the Tory government "doesnt give a crap about Indigenous women and girls in this province." It's against the rules to use "unparliamentary language" during question period. When pressed to retract her comment, Nahanni Fontaine refused. She made the remark after asking the government when it would implement the two-year-old recommendations of the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES NDP Justice Critic, Nahanni Fontaine, was ejected from the Manitoba legislative chamber by the Speaker for the use of "unparliamentary language" during question period on Wednesday. Fontaine referred to the discovery of the remains of 28-year-old Jana Williams in Winnipeg March 4. The mother of two, who was a member of the Hollow Water First Nation, was six months pregnant and loved by her family. "Jana deserves to be honoured," she told the house. Justice Minister Cameron Friesen said "Manitobans are devastated by the loss of this woman," and that a police investigation is underway. "We want someone to be held accountable." Fontaine called out the government for not offering condolences to the Williams family or taking action on the calls for justice in the report. Premier Brian Pallister responded by accusing Fontaine of "shameless political behaviour" and exploiting Williams' death to score political points. "They don't give a crap about Indigenous women and girls in this province." NDP Justice Critic Nahanni Fontaine "I'm not trying to score political points," said an emotional Fontaine, who is Indigenous, while getting heckled by Friesen, who chirped "disgraceful." Fontaine shot back that the Pallister government feigns concern for their lives. "They don't give a crap about Indigenous women and girls in this province." Speaker Myrna Driedger halted question period, said the member for St. Johns had used "unparliamentary language," and asked her to withdraw the statement. "I will not," Fontaine said. Nahanni Fontaine tweeted a video of her statement in the House. Watch it on Twitter. Today, I was kicked out of the House and not allowed to return for the day. Why? Because I said the PCs dont give a "crap" about MMIWG2S. People are more concerned with a word rather than the slaughter of our women, girls and two-spirit. pic.twitter.com/VzPvQ4Gn6P Nahanni Fontaine (@NahanniFontaine) March 10, 2021 The Speaker asked again, saying that "sometimes we get caught up" in the passion of the moment and that most times MLAs will retract what they said. Fontaine refused. "There's a slaughter of Indigenous women," she said. "I will not withdraw my comments." The Speaker asked a third time and when Fontaine refused, she was ejected for the day. RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister: "shameless political behaviour." Fontaine left the house in tears. Later, in an interview in her office, Fontaine said that she was on the verge of uttering an expletive but checked herself because she was in the chamber and used the word "crap" instead. The house appeared more alarmed over a word than the issue she raised, said Fontaine who didn't regret saying it. "For the house to be more concerned and outraged over a word rather than the crisis rather than the slaughter of Indigenous women and girls and the two-spirited, there was no way I could reclaim that word because there's a crisis," said Fontaine. "Until people face it and get enraged by the crisis and are motivated to do something, then maybe. But for you to be more concerned about the word than the crisis is unacceptable." The MLA said being an Indigenous woman in the chamber is an added "layer" of concern. She said the premier's remarks, which were directed at her, were condescending, dismissive and "flippant about what is a crisis in this country." "For the house to be more concerned and outraged over a word rather than the crisis rather than the slaughter of Indigenous women and girls and the two-spirited, there was no way I could reclaim that word because there's a crisis." NDP Justice Critic Nahanni Fontaine "Standing up for women and Indigenous girls, and to be kicked out of a place where I'm trying to raise these issues and the premier making disparaging remarks about me, personally highlights how difficult this space can be." NDP Leader Wab Kinew said he supports his justice critic "100 per cent" and questioned why she was kicked out of the chamber for saying the word "crap." RUTH BONNEVILLE / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew: "word would be allowed on radio and television." "That word would be allowed on radio and television," Kinew told reporters. "I think we should all be more upset about the crisis around missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls." The last time a member was ejected from the chamber was in October 2019. Liberal MLA Jon Gerrard was kicked out for heckling Friesen, who was the health minister at the time, over personal care homes. The Speaker, Driedger, asked Gerrard three times to apologize and withdraw his comments. With his arms crossed, the Liberal MLA stood in his place and refused. The Speaker ordered him to leave the chamber for the rest of the day. It's the second time this week that MLAs were called out by the Speaker. Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont showed up for question period on Monday with no necktie, a violation of the legislature's dress code for men in the chamber. Lamont apologized, left and returned wearing a red tie minutes later. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation with Swiss business representatives in Ukraine and stressed that Ukraine seeks to implement judicial reform as soon as possible to ensure investor confidence. The Prime Minister noted that Switzerland is one of the five major investors in Ukraine's economy, and praised the consistent support of Ukrainian reforms, including decentralization reforms, the Government portal informs. "The decentralization has become one of the most successful reforms, which yielded its benefits not only to society but also to business. At present, almost 20 reforms are underway, including those related to the electricity, gas and land markets. We also strive to implement judicial reform as soon as possible as this guarantees business fairness and confidence. We understand that this is the key factor of investment attractiveness and facilitation of doing business in Ukraine, " the Prime Minister stated. Shmyhal also noted that Ukraine was joining the European Green Deal (EGD). An appropriate working group has already been established and work is underway to establish a Ukrainian Green Course as a state strategy based on the EGD. "Ukraine has a strategic goal to switch to green energy together with Europe by 2050. And by 2040 we have a plan for the fair transformation of coal regions, which envisages a gradual transition to clean energy," the Prime Minister underlined. In addition, upon commission of the Prime Minister a draft law was elaborated to simplify the connection to the grid, which will increase Ukraines position in the Doing Business rating and improve the investment climate. The relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada has already backed the document and it will be submitted to the Parliament soon. Shmyhal added that Ukraine continued simplifying access to public services, in particular, by creating a single web portal of e-services and a single state register. "All permits have been transferred to the unified state register, which has become transparent and overt. In six months of work, 60,000 permits have been issued through this system," the Prime Minister said. According to Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine commits to develop infrastructure facilities through public-private partnerships and concessions. As Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklii stressed, concession projects of the Black Sea container terminal, Odesa Passenger Terminal, seaports in Mariupol and Izmail are currently being prepared. The minister called on representatives of Swiss businesses to participate in concession tenders. The meeting was attended by Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Vladyslav Kryklii, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Roman Leshchenko, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Ihor Petrashko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova Claude Wild and others. ol The types of COVID-19 tests Did you know that there are two types of COVID-19 tests? According to the FDA, a diagnostic test can show active coronavirus infection. There are two types of diagnostic tests: a molecular test and an antigen test. The molecular test, also known as the lab test or molecular PCR, detects the virus's genetic material and is most commonly administered through a nasal or throat swab. The test is highly accurate but can take longer to get results it could be the same day or up to a week. The rapid antigen test detects specific proteins from the virus by nasal swab. Finding out results takes 15-30 minutes, but it isn't as accurate as the molecular test. The antibody test looks for antibodies that are made by your immune system in response to the virus. This test is administered by blood draw, and results take one to three days. This test doesn't look for active virus; instead, it shows if you've been infected in the past. The FDA is not sure how long antibodies stay in the body or if they give a person immunity, so it cautions against using the results as an indication to stop taking steps to protect yourself against COVID-19. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 15:52:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close How does China buck the global trend in economy? Why a "complete victory" can be achieved in eradicating absolute poverty? What breakthroughs in space exploration have been made? What's China's resolution to global challenges? ... The year 2021 marks the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). Follow our British reporter Andrew Birse to see China's progress through the window of "two sessions". Presented by Xinhuanet Produced by Xinhua Global Service Latourette made Aidan three appointments to get vaccinated in recent weeks, only to have to cancel each one after she found out the locations were providing Moderna vaccines, not Pfizer ones. It would have been near-impossible for her to call those locations as she was making those appointments because spots have been so hard to get. Generally, people making appointments online at pharmacies have found that if they hesitate for even a moment while making an appointment, it gets snapped up by someone else. A federal Labor heavyweight and host of ABC's panel program Q&A have clashed over a Liberal minister's prediction that Australia will meet its vaccination targets. Labor Senator Kristina Keneally was interrupted by host Hamish Macdonald after she tried to attack the government's rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine. Liberal Minister for International Development and the Pacific Zed Seselja said the government will accomplish its goal of having most Australian adults immunised by October despite the slow start to the program. But on Wednesday Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy said that he couldn't even promise to give four million Australians the jab by next month. Federal Labor heavyweight Kristina Keneally (pictured) and the host of ABC's panel program Q&A Hamish Macdonald have clashed over a Liberal Ministers explanation for Australia's late vaccine schedule Mr Seselja said the country will start manufacturing coronavirus vaccines in order to make sure most adults got the jab before the end of the year. 'There are always challenges in rolling these things out early ... We haven't put all our eggs in one basket. We can manufacture and we're procuring from various sources,' he told the Q&A audience on Thursday night. 'I think what you'll see over the next few weeks is it will start to roll out far more quickly.' Former New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally tried to refute Mr Seselja claims but host Macdonald wanted to move onto another topic. Labor Senator Kristina Keneally was interrupted by host Hamish Macdonald (pictured on another episode of the program) after she tried to attack the government's roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine 'I have to respond to that. Prime Minister said we'd be at the front of the queue. We're not, 74 countries are ahead of us,' she said. 'Four million of us would be vaccinated by the end of March, we've only got 3.9million to go by the end of March.' 'Let's move on. Let's get to-,' Mr Macdonald interjected. 'That sounds like some talking points I've heard before.' 'C'mon! Today they confirmed,' Ms Keneally said. 'Let's get to some other issues dominating the national conversation,' Mr McDonald continued. 'They confirmed we would not hit the October deadline. Don't let him get away with that,' Ms Keneally said before the conversation moved on. On Wednesday Health Department Secretary Brendan Murphy (pictured) admitted not all Australians will be vaccinated by October, the original deadline proposed by the government The heated argument comes after Australia's top health bureaucrat conceded plans to have most adults inoculated with two doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines by October this year was unlikely. Speaking on Wednesday, Brendan Murphy said the original target of four million vaccinations in Australia by next month won't be achieved because of 'global supply issues', such as European countries restricting exports. 'It would be impossible to predict exactly when we will hit four million [vaccinations] until we actually know what the international supplies will be like,' Murphy said. 'But it will be done as quickly and safely as we can with the available vaccines.' About 100,000 Australians were believed to have been inoculated on Wednesday. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) There is no proof that Calbayog City Mayor Rolando Aquino was involved in drugs, the chief of the Eastern Visayas police disclosed on Thursday. At a virtual hearing, Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, asked Police Brig. Gen. Ronaldo De Jesus whether it was true that Aquino was involved in illegal drugs. "As far as we are concerned, Sir, we do not have any report on that matter," said De Jesus. He explained what transpired was a shooting incident among the security personnel of Mayor Aquino, the police's Integrity Monitoring Enforcement Group (IMEG) and the provincial drug enforcement unit (PDEU) of Samar and where the parties did not recognize each other. "It is not a case of anti-illegal drugs operation... It's a very unfortunate incident na...simply a shooting incident na hindi sila nagkakakilanlan, both parties involved," De Jesus pointed out. [Translation: It is not a case of anti-illegal drugs operation... It's a very unfortunate incident...it was simply a shooting incident where both parties involved did not recognize each other.] Gordon exclaimed, "Wow. That's very costly," before asking who shot first. De Jesus said based on the account of their personnel, Aquino's group shot first. "Nag-respond lang, Sir...from the group of IMEG and PDEU," he said. [Translation: The group of IMEG and PDEU just responded.] De Jesus added both parties were headed in the same direction when the shooting started. "Unfortunately...posibleng sabihin na pinagdudahan ni Mayor yung grupo ng mga pulis natin and Sir, nag start na ng putukan," he said. [Translation: Unfortunately...we can say the Mayor was suspicious about the police group, and then the shooting started.] Gordon expressed disbelief that police were not familiar with Aquino's vehicle, which De Jesus said was owned by the Calbayog municipal government. The police chief responded the personnel were not from the area. Aquino was killed in the shooting incident that happened on March 8. The National Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident, while the PNP said it would be working with the bureau. Samaritans announced today that volunteers in Ireland listened for close to 73,000 hours during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the one year anniversary of restrictions approaches. Some of the 1,500 volunteers spoke a bit about the different problems facing callers now, compared to March 13, when Ireland entered its first lockdown due to Covid-19. Volunteer Aileen Spitere from Cork said that: During the first lockdown what I noticed primarily was the amount of fear there was among callers. Fear of getting Covid, fear of dying and fear of isolation. It was difficult. But even among our callers there was a feeling of us all being in it together. Since Christmas however, there is a weariness among people and the loneliness felt by many is crippling. For many they have not had a regular life for over a year and while many are resilient and stoic, some are at the end of their tether. Another volunteer, Rory Fitzgerald from Waterford, echoed similar sentiments, emphasising how lonely this time has been for many. Since the start of the pandemic our callers have been talking about the same issues - isolation, loneliness, anxiety, depression, relationships, employment, financial problems, bereavement and mental health - but these have all been magnified, he said. Particularly in the current lockdown Covid fatigue has set in and isolation is a big concern with people asking: when will this end? Callers are tired and stressed and in more recent times are afraid of getting Covid. Callers are also missing relatives and friends and the connection we used to have meeting up with others and that crosses all generations. It is hard for callers to stay positive. Whats more, volunteer Mary Nee from Galway has also noticed that people are speaking to the Samaritans for longer on the phone. The past year has been challenging for all of us but especially for the callers who look to Samaritans for support, she said. Our calls are lasting longer as a lot of people are more isolated and alone with their problems. For example, the callers that are depending on day centres for their dinner, socialising, maybe even a haircut, these day centres are a lifeline for vulnerable people and have been closed since last March. Samaritans Regional Director Rory Fitzgerald paid tribute to the volunteers whove helped this past year, emphasising how difficult the last twelve months have been for everybody. There is no doubt Covid-19 has impacted on everyones life in some way and will have had a profound impact on peoples mental health and wellbeing, he said. Our key message to anyone who is struggling to cope is not to bottle it up. We urge anyone who needs to talk to reach out to a relative or friend or call Samaritans anonymously. Anyone who wishes to speak to the Samaritans can reach them via freephone at 116 123, via email at jo@samaritans.ie. Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has revealed that he is seriously considering running to be the next Governor of Texas. The 51-year-old Lone Star actor outlined that he is a considering moving into politics with the governor election next year during an episode of The Balanced Voice podcast on Wednesday. McConaughey has previously refused to rule out entering politics and has toyed with the idea of trying to win governor's office. Actor Matthew McConaughey has announced that he is seriously considering running as Governor of Texas The 'Greenlights' author was speaking to Houston-based podcast host and Crime Stoppers CEO, Rania Mankarious (pictured) The Greenlights author told host of the Houston-based podcast and Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious that he had been looking to the future. 'I'm looking into now, what is my leadership role because I do think I have some things to teach and share,' he said. 'What is my role, what is my category in my next chapter of life that I'm going into now?' Mankarious asked the actor if he was considering whether to run for governor of Texas, to which he responded: 'It's a true consideration.' In the past, McConaughey has not labelled himself as either left or right leaning but said 'extremes' on both sides were 'unfair'. He accused political 'illiberals' of 'completely 'illegitimising the other side' - saying that liberals are 'often being cannibalised' by hardliners on left and right. He said there is 'no room for any consensus' and accused both sides of 'exaggerating' each other's positions into an 'irrational state'. Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britian late last year, he did not identify himself with either Democrats or Republicans. 'You need liberals, what I don't think we need is the illiberals and what I don't think that some liberals see is that they're often being cannibalised by the illiberals,' he said. Actor Matthew McConaughey (pictured) accused political 'illiberals' of 'completely 'illegitimising the other side' during an appearance on Good Morning Britain in December 2020 Asked by Piers Morgan about his views on free speech, McConaughey said that 'the extreme left and the extreme right completely illegitimise the other side, the liberal and the conservative side which we need in certain places.' 'The two extremes legitimize those two sides, or they exaggerate that side's stance into an irrational state that makes no sense - and that's not fair when either side does that,' he said. 'Where the waterline's going to land on this freedom of speech, and what we allow and what we don't and where this cancel culture goes, where that waterline lands is a very interesting place that we're engaged in right now as a society because we haven't found the right spot.' McConaughey, 51, added: 'You've got to have confrontation to have unity, I think we can all agree on that, and that's when a democracy works really well. 'I would argue to say we don't even have true confrontation right now. True confrontation at least gives some validation to the opposing point of view or legitimizes the opposing point of view. 'Right now, we don't have true confrontation because we don't even give legitimacy to an opposing point of view, we give no validation to it, we make that view persona non grata. In a way, it's sort of unconstitutional.' Current Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott (pictured in October) is up for re-election in 2022 Republican Gregg Abbott is currently up for reelection in the state in 2021. Speaking on The Hugh Hewitt Show in November last year, McConaughey refused to rule out running for governor. 'I don't know. I mean, that wouldn't be up to me. It would be up to the people more than it would me,' he said. 'Look, politics seems to be a broken business to me right now. And when politics redefines its purpose, I could be a hell of a lot more interested.' Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey (pictured), 51, has not ruled out the prospect of running for Governor of Texas When later asked to expand on his comments, McConaughey said that while he has no plans of becoming involved in politics 'right now', he will consider 'leadership roles' in the future. He said: 'As I move forward in life, yes, am I gonna consider leadership roles where I can be most useful. 'I'd love to. I'm doing that regardless.' McConaughey, who won an Oscar for his role in 2013 AIDS drama Dallas Buyers Club, would be the latest in a line of actors who have won political office in the United States. They include Presidents Donald Trump and the late Ronald Reagan, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Carmel Mayor Clint Eastwood and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :A much awaited 'Breast Cancer' digital app in Pakistan would create wide-range awareness and help women for their self-examination procedure among urban and rural women,President of Pink Pakistan Dr. Zubaida Qazi Thursday said. Talking to a Private news channel, she said due to Covid-19 , limited health infrastructure in rural areas, lack of awareness, and social taboo around the disease have exacerbated the situation in the country. However, to counter these challenge Pink Pakistan Trust had launched a digital initiative to build its outreach in every nook and corner of the country for the women who do not have the means to seek professional medical help or counseling services to fight breast cancer, she added. She explained the application that besides urdu and English, the application has been made available in the major local languages, including Sindhi, Punjabi, Balochi, and Pashto, to increase its outreach in the community. Zubaida Qazi said this digital app does not necessarily require an internet connection to function, as its features can be accessed through the calling service. She said citizens can easily download the app from Google Play Store, adding, almost 78 million population was found in research who were using mobile phones in country so Pink Pakistan had decided to choose this digital play store. She further explained that breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among Pakistani women claiming the lives of 13,725 women with 25,928 cases reported only during the last year, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. She said digital application will create much-needed awareness about the disease and will help the users to perform self-examination regularly and easily to detect breast cancer early. She said women can avail free of cost online consultation with specialist doctors and where they will ask various questions related to their disease symptoms. She expressed confidence that through this app the cultural taboo will also be discouraged. The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost. Irish-Americas engagement in the politics of the auld sod dates at least from the aftermath of the 1798 United Irishmens uprising, when many of those rebels wound up in enforced exile in the fledgling USA. Supportive transatlantic links were variously renewed through the successive Irish constitutional and physical force agitations, enhanced by the mass exodus around the Great Famine 1845-49, and on through the 20th century, leading to the foundation of the Irish State and the travesty of partition. At the height of the Black and Tan War, Eamon de Valera famously spent 18 months in the US from June 1919 until December 1920 fundraising, lobbying, organising, and inevitably quarrelling bitterly with existing Irish-American structures, helping to create yet another split. John Hume and colleagues engaged in Herculean and successful efforts from the early 1970s and through the 1980s to get heavy-hitting Irish-American politicians such as Ted Kennedy and Tip ONeill to back the civil rights movement in the North. But what they called the money jar on the bar in Irish-American pubs fundraising for Irish Northern Aid Committee (Noraid) and the Provisional IRA was an ever present dynamic in those dark days. In 1982 Noraid succeeded in having IRA hunger-striker Bobby Sands posthumously named grand marshal of the New York St Patricks Day parade. Irish-America's politics have always been at least as fractious as those in the old home place. Given the rich and diverse history of Irish-Americas political engagement with Ireland, Sinn Feins latest US publicity gambit in campaigning for an end to partition is unsurprising, and comes with many positives. Immediate and medium-term timing is definitely in favour of Sinn Feins advertising campaign in the US, calling for a referendum on Irish unity. A United Ireland let the people have their say, read the half-page ads placed in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Full-page ads appeared in Irish American newspapers, the Irish Echo and the Irish Voice. It has St Patricks Day, the presence of the most Irish-American president in the White House since JFK, and the continuing fallout from Brexit, all going for it. It will enthuse Sinn Feins own US base and give them a new focus. For Irish American audiences, the message from the latest London machinations around Brexit can credibly read the Brits are messing with the Good Friday Agreement and peace in Northern Ireland. In the medium to longer term, signals from the rise of nationalism in England, renewed moves for independence in Scotland, and even strong challenges from Wales, all raise real questions about the UK's future. This is a good Sinn Fein political gambit and it will do them no harm at all. But this campaign and associated works ignore the salient point about Irish unity: Sinn Feins relationships with the Ulster unionists beggar belief. The only way to end Irish partition is for the people of the North especially, but not exclusively, to agree a shared home place. As John Hume never tired of saying: the people are divided not the country. Until that issue is addressed no amount of publicity in the US will help to end partition. Although Rhea Kapoor has not stepped in front of the camera like her sister Sonam, she is quite popular on social media. She actively posts on her Instagram account has shared several unseen pictures of herself and her family. She has quite recently posted one of the rare pictures of herself sporting a bikini while enjoying her time at a beach. She has also shared about how she was conscious of her body, thinking that she was looking fat, along with sharing a popular quote by Tina Fey about beauty. Rhea Kapoor posts bikini pic from Maldives While Rhea makes sure to share her pictures every now and then on social media, her latest click that shows her sporting a bikini is quite rare. The picture is from her vacation in Maldives, where she can be seen having a good time on a beach in Maldives in a tropical outfit. She wrote in her caption about how she felt conscious of her body, getting the feeling that she was fat. She also made a rhetoric question about how people can never win with themselves, indicating the physical insecurities that people face. She then went on to share a quote by Tina Fey, that reads, If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?. The post hardly took any time receiving positive reactions from her followers, who complimented her picture. Many even came out in support of her message about the standards of beauty that are often set on social media. Some even praised the quote by Fey in the comments. Image courtesy: Rhea Kapoor's Instagram comments Rhea Kapoor has produced three major films to date. These include Khoobsurat, Aisha and Veere Di Wedding, all of which stars her sister Sonam Kapoor. She has also professionally worked as a stylist and even launched her own clothing line with Sonam called Rheson. While she is quite popular on social media, she has remained out of the limelight unlike Sonam and cousins Arjun and Janhvi Kapoor, who have received a lot of fame, owing to their acting careers. 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. On December 6, 2016, a high-energy particle called an electron antineutrino hurtled to Earth from outer space at close to the speed of light carrying 6.3 petaelectronvolts (PeV) of energy. Deep inside the ice sheet at the South Pole, it smashed into an electron and produced a particle that quickly decayed into a shower of secondary particles. The interaction was captured by a massive telescope buried in the Antarctic glacier, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. IceCube had seen a Glashow resonance event, a phenomenon predicted by Nobel laureate physicist Sheldon Glashow in 1960. With this detection, scientists provided another confirmation of the Standard Model of particle physics. It also further demonstrated the ability of IceCube, which detects nearly massless particles called neutrinos using thousands of sensors embedded in the Antarctic ice, to do fundamental physics. The result was published on March 10 in Nature. Sheldon Glashow first proposed this resonance in 1960 when he was a postdoctoral researcher at what is today the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. There, he wrote a paper in which he predicted that an antineutrino (a neutrino's antimatter twin) could interact with an electron to produce an as-yet undiscovered particle--if the antineutrino had just the right energy--through a process known as resonance. When the proposed particle, the W- boson, was finally discovered in 1983, it turned out to be much heavier than what Glashow and his colleagues had expected back in 1960. The Glashow resonance would require a neutrino with an energy of 6.3 PeV, almost 1,000 times more energetic than what CERN's Large Hadron Collider is capable of producing. In fact, no human-made particle accelerator on Earth, current or planned, could create a neutrino with that much energy. But what about a natural accelerator--in space? The enormous energies of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies and other extreme cosmic events can generate particles with energies impossible to create on Earth. Such a phenomenon was likely responsible for the 6.3 PeV antineutrino that reached IceCube in 2016. "When Glashow was a postdoc at Niels Bohr, he could never have imagined that his unconventional proposal for producing the W- boson would be realized by an antineutrino from a faraway galaxy crashing into Antarctic ice," says Francis Halzen, professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the headquarters of IceCube maintenance and operations, and principal investigator of IceCube. Since IceCube started full operation in May 2011, the observatory has detected hundreds of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos and has produced a number of significant results in particle astrophysics, including the discovery of an astrophysical neutrino flux in 2013 and the first identification of a source of astrophysical neutrinos in 2018. But the Glashow resonance event is especially noteworthy because of its remarkably high energy; it is only the third event detected by IceCube with an energy greater than 5 PeV. "This result proves the feasibility of neutrino astronomy--and IceCube's ability to do it--which will play an important role in future multimessenger astroparticle physics," says Christian Haack, who was a graduate student at RWTH Aachen while working on this analysis. "We now can detect individual neutrino events that are unmistakably of extraterrestrial origin." The result also opens up a new chapter of neutrino astronomy because it starts to disentangle neutrinos from antineutrinos. "Previous measurements have not been sensitive to the difference between neutrinos and antineutrinos, so this result is the first direct measurement of an antineutrino component of the astrophysical neutrino flux," says Lu Lu, one of the main analyzers of this paper, who was a postdoc at Chiba University in Japan during the analysis. "There are a number of properties of the astrophysical neutrinos' sources that we cannot measure, like the physical size of the accelerator and the magnetic field strength in the acceleration region," says Tianlu Yuan, an assistant scientist at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center and another main analyzer. "If we can determine the neutrino-to-antineutrino ratio, we can directly investigate these properties." To confirm the detection and make a decisive measurement of the neutrino-to-antineutrino ratio, the IceCube Collaboration wants to see more Glashow resonances. A proposed expansion of the IceCube detector, IceCube-Gen2, would enable the scientists to make such measurements in a statistically significant way. The collaboration recently announced an upgrade of the detector that will be implemented over the next few years, the first step toward IceCube-Gen2. Glashow, now an emeritus professor of physics at Boston University, echoes the need for more detections of Glashow resonance events. "To be absolutely sure, we should see another such event at the very same energy as the one that was seen," he says. "So far there's one, and someday there will be more." Last but not least, the result demonstrates the value of international collaboration. IceCube is operated by over 400 scientists, engineers, and staff from 53 institutions in 12 countries, together known as the IceCube Collaboration. The main analyzers on this paper worked together across Asia, North America, and Europe. "The detection of this event is another 'first,' demonstrating yet again IceCube's capacity to deliver unique and outstanding results," says Olga Botner, professor of physics at Uppsala University in Sweden and former spokesperson for the IceCube Collaboration. "IceCube is a wonderful project. In just a few years of operation, the detector discovered what it was funded to discover--the highest energy cosmic neutrinos, their potential source in blazars, and their ability to aid in multimessenger astrophysics," says Vladimir Papitashvili, program officer in the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation, IceCube's primary funder. James Whitmore, program officer in NSF Division of Physics, adds, "Now, IceCube amazes scientists with a rich fount of new treasures that even theorists weren't expecting to be found so soon." ### The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (OPP-1600823 and PHY-1913607) and is headquartered at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center, a research center of UW-Madison in the United States. IceCube's research efforts, including critical contributions to the detector operation, are funded by agencies in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. IceCube construction was also funded with significant contributions from the National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS & FWO) in Belgium; the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) in Germany; the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, and the Swedish Research Council in Sweden; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Research Fund in the U.S. + info "Detection of a particle shower at the Glashow resonance with IceCube," The IceCube Collaboration: R. Abbasi et al. Nature Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. KYODO NEWS - Mar 11, 2021 - 12:40 | World, All The U.S. government said Wednesday it has added two adult children of Myanmar's coup leader to a list of people subject to U.S. sanctions over the Feb. 1 military takeover and subsequent deadly violence against anti-coup protesters. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions are imposed on Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon -- the children of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing -- as well as their six companies. The U.S. government imposed sanctions on Min Aung Hlaing and other officers on Feb. 11 following the coup, which ousted the country's elected government. It said then that the spouses and adult children of the individuals could also be blacklisted. The military chief's two children "have a variety of business holdings, which have directly benefitted from their father's position and malign influence," the Treasury Department said in a statement. Among the companies owned or controlled by the two children and newly subject to the U.S. sanctions are A & M Mahar Co., Sky One Construction Co. and the Yangon Gallery. The sanctions freeze the individuals' assets in the United States and bar them from conducting transactions with Americans. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that Myanmar's security forces, at the behest of military leaders, have attacked unarmed protesters, killing at least 53 people since the coup. "We condemn these horrific attacks," he said. Blinken indicated that the U.S. government would impose additional sanctions. "We will not hesitate to take further action against those who instigate violence and suppress the will of the people." Related coverage: U.N. Security Council condemns violence, urges restraint in Myanmar Thousands protest in defiance of curfew in Myanmar's Yangon 3 protesters shot dead in Myanmar as workers stage general strike MUSKEGON, MI For the second summer in a row, the city of Muskegon will not have a public Fourth of July fireworks display. The Muskegon RockStock Music Festival provides the annual fireworks show, and organizers canceled the 20,000-person event due to concerns about COVID-19. We didnt take it lightly, said Brandon Baskin, a festival organizer with B. Baskin Enterprises. It was a really hard decision. This is our baby. Rockstock started in 2008 as a one-day event featuring local bands at Hackley Park. It grew into three days of concerts, a weeklong carnival and the July 4 fireworks held at Heritage Landing. Organizers considered possibilities to hold a scaled back version of the festival, but Baskin said the unknowns about the pandemic prompted them to cancel again this summer. Not knowing what could happen with COVID if theres another spike or if the governor doesnt allow gatherings that large, he said. Under current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services guidance, outdoor gatherings are limited to 300 people. Related: Celebrate St. Patricks Day in Muskegon with ice shanties, a scavenger hunt and music Although July is still four months away, RockStock organizers usually start putting the festival in motion by the early spring. Baskin said the financial risk of planning an event that could be canceled and the risk of gathering thousands of people also factored into the decision. Its tough to go two years without putting on an event, said Baskin. As of Tuesday, March 9, Muskegon County recorded 10 daily COVID-10 cases and a positivity rate under 3%. Statewide, the positivity rate inched up to 4.2% compared to 3.6% a week ago. Last summer, most Michigan communities did not hold fireworks shows because of the pandemic. Muskegon is the second lakeshore community to cancel its July 4 fireworks show this year. South Haven made the decision last week out of an abundance of caution, the city said in a press release. Even though RockStock isnt happening this summer, Baskin encourages the community to go to other Muskegon events that are being held later in the year. All the festivals need support, he said. The Lakeshore Art Festival is planned for late June, Taste of Muskegon was pushed back to September, the Muskegon Polish Festival is scheduled for Labor Day weekend and the Michigan Irish Music Festival is organizing a September return. Baskin said RockStock plans to be back in 2022. More on MLive: Tracking a year of coronavirus in Michigan More than 50 limited-attendance outdoor graduation ceremonies planned for Michigan State University Walk-in clinic aims to vaccinate more than 1K veterans in single day in West Michigan HSBC has caved into calls to improve its climate change commitments ahead of its annual shareholder meeting in May. Major investors had threatened to table their own resolution at the meeting, urging the bank to cut back its financing of fossil fuels. The threat was enough to force the Asia-focused financial giant into action. Climate pledge: HSBC has pledged to phase out its financing of coal by 2030 in the European Union and the 36 countries of the OECD and by 2040 in other markets HSBC has pledged to phase out its financing of coal by 2030 in the European Union and the 36 countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and by 2040 in other markets. The bank will also develop a science-based strategy to make sure HSBCs business aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global warming to a minimum. HSBC is to put this proposal forward at Mays annual meeting, and will be bound to it as long as 75 per cent of shareholders vote in favour. The concessions from HSBC follow months of negotiations with shareholders, after a group of institutions managing 1.7 trillion threatened to intervene at the banks annual meeting. The group, consisting of 15 institutional investors such as Amundi and Man Group as well as 117 individual shareholders, had filed their own resolution which was set to be voted on at the meeting. It called on HSBC to publish a climate change strategy and targets while reducing its exposure to fossil fuels. But they have now agreed to withdraw their proposal and back HSBCs. Katrin Ganswindt, finance campaigner at environmental group Urgewald, said: HSBC is the European bank with the biggest exposure to coal on the Asian market. The fact that they are defining an end-date for their coal financing is a long overdue step. It remains to be seen if they will implement stringent thresholds to flesh out their coal exit. The next step should be clear: coal developers have to go immediately. Lenders such as Barclays and Standard Chartered are still under pressure over their commitments to coal. Believe it or not, SpaceX had just launched its internet broadband spacecraft in Florida, which hailed from Cape Canaveral today. Last week, 60 Starlink satellites were also released in what seems to be a beta expansion of the company. Another batch of 60 Starlink satellites is now orbiting above us, as the company aims to target huge markets around the globe like New Zealand and Germany for its internet service. Starlink Satellites Are Headed for a Massive Expansion According to a report by TechCrunch, the company's launch marked the 21st launch of SpaceX since its pioneering days. This 2021, the recent release of the Starlink satellites was the sixth time the company did that. Before March ends, it is believed that SpaceX will launch three more batches of Starlink satellites. It seems that SpaceX is now gearing towards a huge expansion, that's why it is adding more satellites to the constellation as an evident move for the Hawthorne-based space transportation services company. Until there are customers who continue to sign up for the service, even though it is still in beta, the launching of Starlink satellites will appear to continue. The company will rely on the market through its service availability. B1058, a Falcon 9 first-stage booster, was last launched on Jan. 24 for the SpaceX mission. After 45 days, it exploded. Since the company is reliant on veteran rockets, it is also looking forward to the booster recovery - a ticket to a successful launch on space. For SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the goal of the company is to accomplish the cycle of satellite launch, landing, launch, and landing again using the same rocket for 24 hours. However, it seems that Musk still needs to figure out a much better way to carry out that goal. The latest launch also meant that SpaceX has already sent over 1,200 Starlink satellites to space. Satellites that are no longer functioning at the moment were considered in the estimation, Space.com reported. Related Article: Elon Musk Says Tesla FSD AI is 'Deeply Underestimated' When it Comes to Software, Hardware It is unbelievable how SpaceX pulled a series of successful launches this year. They could be targeting up to 1,440 Starlink satellites to wander in the orbit. They could also reach up to thousands in numbers so SpaceX can now build a mega constellation. People would get what SpaceX wants in them: a convenient and fast internet that can reach all users on Earth. Starlink, from the very start, has already showed an impressive remark in connecting millions of people through a strong connection. Availability of Starlink Service on Select Countries For its availability, those who live in the United Staes, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, and Canada will be able to access the internet provided by SpaceX. At the end of the year, we could potentially see that it can reach Asia and other parts of Europe. According to SpaceX, the internet speeds can range from 50MB/s to 150MB/s and the latency falls around 20ms to 40ms. In the coming months, we could see more improvements to the Starlink internet. Who knows if these numbers can exceed our expectations this 2021 or for the next few years? There are already reports that the SpaceX internet broadband service has been performing better than its internet competitors in areas where internet signals in phones and other devices are weak. This article is owned by Tech Times. Written by Joen Coronel 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Thin dolls like Barbie can make children as young as five want a slimmer body, a new study warns. UK scientists asked girls between the ages of five and nine to play with two ultra-thin dolls, including Barbie, and two dolls portraying a more realistic body weight. The two ultra-thin dolls, both made by American toy giant Mattel, immediately reduced the girls' ideal body size, the researchers found. Meanwhile, the two realistic dolls Dora and Lottie seemed to have no effects on body dissatisfaction. Thin dolls, combined with exposure to 'thin ideals' in films, on TV and social media, could lead to body dissatisfaction in young girls, which has been shown to be a factor in the development of eating disorders. Researchers used two types of dolls in the study - ultra-thin (left) and realistic (right). Ultra-thin dolls reduced the girls' ideal body size straight after they played with them, the experts found DOLLS USED IN THE STUDY 'Ultra-thin' - Barbie The famous US icon, launched in 1959. - Monster High Sci-fi and horror-inspired characters. The Monster High doll Claudeen is considerably thinner even than Barbie. 'Realistic' - Lottie Lottie is based on the average proportions of a UK nine-year-old. Created by London-based Arklu Ltd. - Dora Depicts a seven-year-old. Based on Nickelodeon's TV series. Advertisement Exposure to unrealistic body types could put small girls on the path to eating disorders at a tragically young age, the study suggests. Current widely available dolls tend to have ultra-thin bodies with a projected body mass index between 10 and 16, which is classed as underweight. The 'curvy' Barbies released in 2016 were promoted as more realistic but they have a size 8 figure and an exaggerated waist-hip ratio, the researchers say. Realistic childlike dolls used in the study resembled healthy seven- and nine-year old children and are therefore a better recommendation for children. Dolls remain highly popular toys across the US and Europe 2020 US sales figures showed 22 per cent growth in the 'doll' category, whilst multinational toy firm Mattel announced 29 per cent growth in Barbie gross sales. 'Body dissatisfaction is a huge problem, particularly amongst young girls,' said lead study author Professor Lynda Boothroyd from Durham University's Department of Psychology. 'It can have serious consequences for girls' wellbeing and lead to eating disorders and depression. 'The results from our study indicate that playing with ultra-thin dolls, which are sold in the millions each year, could have a real negative impact on girls' body image. 'This is on top of all the images of unrealistic body sizes they see on TV, in films and on social media. 'This is something that needs to be addressed in order to reduce the pressure on girls and women to aspire to a thin ideal body.' For the study, researchers recruited 31 girls aged between the ages of five and nine years old. Fifteen children were given the 'ultra thin' dolls to play with, while 16 were given the 'realistic childlike' dolls. Realistic dolls used in the study - left, Dora and right, Lottie. The realistic dolls were relatively neutral for girls' body ideals, the researchers found. They might be a better option for children to play with Ultra-thin, unrealistic and potentially damaging dolls used in the study - left, Monster High and right, Barbie The ultra-thin dolls were Barbie and Monster High a US franchise also created by Mattel featuring characters inspired by horror and sci-fi. The realistic childlike dolls were Lottie, which is based on the typical body dimensions of a nine-year-old, and Dora, which resembles a seven-year-old. In the study, the girls played with the dolls in pairs and before and after their play session, they were asked about their perceived actual body size, ideal body size and ideal adult body size. Using Daz Studio software, the children were asked to change the body size of a picture of a girl to what they thought they looked like themselves, what they would like to look like and what they thought a beautiful woman looks like. Researchers found that playing with the ultra-thin dolls reduced girls' ideal body size in the immediate aftermath of play. There was no improvement even when they subsequently played with the realistic dolls or cars afterwards, showing that the effects cannot be immediately counteracted with other toys. Before and after each play session, the girls were asked about their perceived own body size and ideal body size, via an interactive computer test on Daz Studio. They were asked about perceived actual body size ('What looks most like you?), ideal body size ('How would you most like to look?') and ideal adult body size ('Can you make the woman look as attractive and beautiful as possible?') using the software. Above, the body size perception task with the image at the thinnest and largest extremes Researchers found that playing with the ultra-thin dolls reduced girls' ideal body size in the immediate aftermath of play (stock image) The realistic dolls were relatively neutral for girls' body ideals suggesting they don't lead to body dissatisfaction like ultra-thin dolls do. 'We observed no ill-effects of playing with the realistic childlike dolls in our study,' Professor Boothroyd told MailOnline. 'It's obviously up to parents what toys they provide for their children. 'It's important to note that parents have many route to promote positive body image in their children, including working towards a positive body image themselves.' Eighty per cent of the girls who took part in the study had access to ultra-thin dolls at home or with their friends and almost all of them also watched Disney and related films, which also tend to portray very thin female bodies. 'This study isn't intended to make parents feel guilty about what's in their child's toy box, and it certainly isn't trying to suggest that ultra-thin dolls are bad,' said study author Dr Elizabeth Evans, from Newcastle University's School of Psychology. 'What our study provides is useful information that parents can take into account when making decisions about toys. 'Ultra-thin dolls are part of a bigger picture of body pressures that young children experience, and awareness of these pressures is really important to help support and encourage positive body image in our children.' The study, which was conducted independently from doll manufacturers, has been published in the journal Body Image. In a statement to MailOnline, Mattel, the maker of Barbie and Monster High, pointed out that Barbie is the most diverse doll line available in the market. The firm has in the last few years rolled out a wider range of Barbie designs following calls from the public. Barbie also has a line called 'Inspiring Women' consisting of dolls resembling important female figures. 'We know the diversity offered in the line is resonating, with one of the top selling dolls globally in our Fashionistas line being a doll that uses a wheelchair,' a Mattel spokesperson said. 'Barbie is proud to offer dolls that encourage skills we know are highly valued by parents and are determinants in childrens future emotional, academic, and social success.' New York, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Apparel Accessories Market Research Report by Device Type, by Platform, by Deployment, by Application - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06034064/?utm_source=GNW Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR GBP, JPY, and AUD. This helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. 1. The Global Apparel Accessories Market is expected to grow from USD 6,132.71 Million in 2020 to USD 11,435.43 Million by the end of 2025. 2. The Global Apparel Accessories Market is expected to grow from EUR 5,377.27 Million in 2020 to EUR 10,026.80 Million by the end of 2025. 3. The Global Apparel Accessories Market is expected to grow from GBP 4,780.41 Million in 2020 to GBP 8,913.84 Million by the end of 2025. 4. The Global Apparel Accessories Market is expected to grow from JPY 654,515.55 Million in 2020 to JPY 1,220,450.15 Million by the end of 2025. 5. The Global Apparel Accessories Market is expected to grow from AUD 8,905.51 Million in 2020 to AUD 16,605.76 Million by the end of 2025. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Apparel Accessories to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Device Type, the Apparel Accessories Market studied across Computer & Video Games and Mobiles & Digital Television. Based on Platform, the Apparel Accessories Market studied across Android, iOS, and Windows. Based on Deployment, the Apparel Accessories Market studied across Cloud and On-premises. Based on Application, the Apparel Accessories Market studied across Education Institutes and Residential. Based on Geography, the Apparel Accessories Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Company Usability Profiles: The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Apparel Accessories Market including Adidas AG, Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, LLC, Burberry Group PLC, Chanel SA, Fossil Group Inc., Gap, Inc., Garmin International Inc., Gucci America Inc., Hartmann A/S, Hennes & Mauritz AB, Hugo Boss AG, Kering S.A., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Newegg Inc., NIKE, Inc., Prada S.p.A., PVH Corp, Suunto Oy, Valigeria Roncato SpA, and Wesfarmers Ltd.. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Apparel Accessories Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Apparel Accessories Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Apparel Accessories Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Apparel Accessories Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Apparel Accessories Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Apparel Accessories Market? 6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Apparel Accessories Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06034064/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker 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. __________________________ The closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 11, 2021. Leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attended the meeting, and Li Zhanshu presided over the closing meeting and delivered a speech. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, concluded its annual session Thursday afternoon. Chinese leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attended the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Li Zhanshu, an executive chairperson of the presidium of the session, presided over the meeting attended by nearly 3,000 NPC deputies. Lawmakers adopted the amendments to the organic law and procedural rules of the NPC. President Xi Jinping signed presidential orders to promulgate the amendments. The meeting adopted a decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The lawmakers also approved the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, the government work report, and the work reports of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. They approved a report on the implementation of the 2020 plan for national economic and social development, and the 2021 plan for national economic and social development. They also passed a report on the execution of the central and local budgets for 2020, and approved the central budget for 2021. Addressing the meeting, Li Zhanshu said that the annual session has successfully completed its agenda. The decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR has been highly endorsed by the deputies, Li said. Li called for better leveraging the role of people's congresses on the journey toward fully building a modern socialist China. Li urged rallying even closer around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, as the CPC will celebrate its centenary this year. He also called for advancing toward realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Before the closing meeting, Li presided over the meetings of the session's presidium and the presidium's executive chairpersons. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 84F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 68F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. The Foreign Ministers of Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia at a meeting held in Tallinn on Wednesday agreed to support Ukraine in restoring its territorial integrity and to keep the situation in Belarus in the center of international attention. The meeting was attended by Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Dominic Raab; Estonian Minister Eva-Maria Liimets, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, the press service of the Estonian Foreign Ministry said. The foreign ministers discussed cooperation between the Baltic States and the United Kingdom. Other important topics included security in Europe, including the issues of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. "I emphasized to my colleagues that we needed to continue helping our Eastern Partners on their chosen course and in implementing democratic reforms, engaging with the civil society and modernizing the economy. We must support Ukraine in restoring their territorial integrity and keep the international focus on the situation in Belarus," Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said. At the meeting, an agreement was reached on further strengthening cooperation in NATO, transatlantic relations and climate issues were discussed. "On cyber issues, we highlighted the importance of cooperation between like-minded countries and information exchange because we are better protected against threats if we take action together," Liimets said. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The seat sharing arrangement between the and in is likely to be finalised here on Tuesday. president M.K. Stalin and general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu Dinesh Gundurao will be meeting to discuss the issue. Former Chief Minister and senior leader of the V.Narayanasamy told IANS said, "We have almost reached a conclusion, but will finalise it in Chennai. There are certain minor issues to be ironed out and we may sign the deal today or tomorrow". Narayanasamy was tightlipped when asked about the Chief Ministerial candidate of the alliance. In the 2016 Assembly elections, the Congress had contested in 21 seats and the in 9 in the 30-member Assembly of Several senior Congress leaders, including party's state working president A.K.D. Arumugham left the party to join the BJP. Senior leader and former minister Namasivayam had also raised a banner of revolt and then joined the BJP. V.Narayanasamy also said that the party would come back to power in the next Assembly election. He said: "Only a few leaders have left the Congress and the cadres are intact and we will give a fitting reply to the BJP in the elections." The seat sharing arrangement between the BJP and AIADMK, PMK combine is also not finalised and is also likely to be completed by Tuesday evening or early morning on Wednesday, sources said. --IANS aal/dpb (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.) NEWTOWN Leaders sought to assure parents and teachers that a breach of security cameras at Sandy Hook School and other classroom buildings earlier this week did not put students and staff at risk. Our security plan doesnt just involve surveillance cameras, said First Selectman Dan Rosenthal. We have armed security guards at all our schools, so while I am disappointed, I am not concerned that there is any security weakness in our system. Schools Superintendent Lorrie Rodrigue said additional security measures have been added to the school districts cloud-based security camera system run by Verkada, a California startup whose clients include hospitals, jails, nonprofits and the newly built Newtown police headquarters. We feel confident that this incident has not jeopardized the safety of our students or our staff, Rodrigue said. Leaders were reacting to a Wednesday announcement by Verkada that hackers attacked a server used by our support team to perform bulk maintenance operations on customer cameras, on Sunday, gaining access to video and image data from a limited number of cameras from a subset of client organizations, among other data. The hackers maintained access until approximately noon (Pacific time) on March 9, 2021... and obtained credentials that allowed them to bypass our authorization system, including two-factor authentication, Verkada said. Verkada said the FBI is involved in the investigation. The FBI office in New Haven did not immediately return a call for comment Thursday. Rosenthal said it remained to be investigated what the hackers had access to and what value that access had. The Associated Press reported that a member of a group claiming responsibility for the hack described the group as not backed by any nations or capital but instead backed by a desire for funand a better world. Rosenthal said Verkadas contract with the school district and the police department would be reevaluated. The company installed cameras at Newtowns seven schools as part of a 2019 upgrade. The $15 million police department headquarters opened late last year. We will have to figure out what happened and satisfy ourselves about Verkadas infrastructure and security, how this happened, and whether they had the right controls in place to prevent it, Rosenthal said. Security in Newtown has been a priority since 2012, when a gunman shot his way into a locked Sandy Hook School and killed 20 first-graders and six educators. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 Khiron has successfully exported its registered cannabis strains, in the form of live clones, from Colombia to Europe to Company is executing on an asset light growth strategy in Europe by working with contract manufacturing and distribution partners to accelerate production and delivery of EU-GMP certified medical cannabis products by working with contract manufacturing and distribution partners to accelerate production and delivery of EU-GMP certified medical cannabis products Company expects to grow its existing European offering by introducing branded extracts and dried flower products, based on those already distributed in Colombia and Peru , with over 13,000 prescriptions written to date and , with over 13,000 prescriptions written to date By 2024, the European market is expected to be worth nearly $22bn (source: Prohibition Partners) TORONTO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Khiron Life Sciences Corp. ("Khiron" or the "Company") (TSXV: KHRN) (OTCQX: KHRNF) (Frankfurt: A2JMZC), a vertically integrated cannabis leader with core operations in Latin America and Europe, is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully exported its registered Colombian cannabis strains, in the form of live clones, to Europe. This significant milestone represents the first shipment of medical cannabis live plant material to Europe from Colombia and is expected to accelerate access to European markets as the Company executes on its asset light growth strategy in the United Kingdom and Germany. Through its EU-GMP certified supply chain partners in Europe, Khiron plans to introduce branded, cannabis-based medicinal products based on those already distributed by the Company in Colombia and Peru. Over the last year, more than 13,000 written prescriptions for extracts, formulated with Khiron's registered cannabis strains, have been issued to patients in Latin America. As clinical evidence mounts, safety and efficacy data arising from Khiron's wholly-owned clinics in Latin America is expected to serve as a cornerstone of the Company's European medical education program. Tejinder Virk, President of Khiron Europe, commented: "Our experience in Colombia and Europe tells us that doctors require solid clinical evidence to feel confident that medical cannabis is the right treatment for their patients. By exporting our Colombian cannabis strains, we will be able to bring our Latin American extracts to European patients, resulting in wider choices for doctors, and safer, more efficacious patient outcomes. Additionally, this import provides an opportunity to accelerate speed to market, optimize our global diversified supply chain and maximize economics." Khiron's vertically integrated seed-to-patient business model is currently experiencing tremendous growth in Colombia. To date, Khiron medical cannabis products have shown strong evidence as alternative treatments for ailments such as chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, depression, epilepsy, migraines, and Parkinson's Disease. With the proof of concept now validated in Colombia, the Company plans to build upon its success in new markets. About Khiron Life Sciences Corp. Khiron is a vertically integrated medical and CPG cannabis company with core operations in Latin America, and operational activity in Europe and North America. Khiron is the leading medical cannabis provider in Colombia and the first company licensed in Colombia for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution and sales, and international export of both low and high THC medical cannabis products. The Company has filled medical cannabis prescriptions in Colombia, Peru and the United Kingdom, and is positioned to commence sales of medical cannabis in Germany and Brazil in early 2021. Leveraging wholly-owned medical clinics and proprietary telemedicine platforms, Khiron combines a patient-oriented approach, physician education programs, scientific expertise, product innovation, and agricultural infrastructure to drive prescriptions and brand loyalty. Its Wellbeing unit launched the first branded CBD skincare brand in Colombia, with KuidaTM now marketed in multiple jurisdictions in Latin America, the US and United Kingdom. The Company is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced and diverse executive team and Board of Directors. Visit Khiron online at investors.khiron.ca and on Instagram @khironlife. Cautionary Notes Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Khiron undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Khiron, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Khiron believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking statement has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Khiron's control, including the risk factors discussed in Khiron's Annual Information Form which is available on Khiron's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of the date hereof. Khiron disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Investor Contact: Paola Ricardo E: investors@khiron.ca T: +1 (647) 275-8984 Media Contact: Elsa Navarro Vice President, Communications E: enavarro@khiron.ca Khiron Europe: Tejinder Virk Europe President E: tvirk@khiron.ca Bungling builders were mocked after benches that should have enjoyed a river view were installed facing a brick wall. Now the contractors are to turn all the seats around, at no extra cost. The benches, set in concrete at a new development in Andover, Hampshire, face a 1960s wall belonging to a Wilko store. Bungling builders were mocked after benches that should have enjoyed a river view were installed facing a brick wall. Now the contractors are to turn all the seats around, at no extra cost What you should see: Local council leader Phil North said: I couldnt quite believe it when I visited the site. They were, of course, always designed to face the river' Local council leader Phil North said: I couldnt quite believe it when I visited the site. They were, of course, always designed to face the river. Maybe the contractors are just fans of 1960s architecture. Mr North said residents had been in touch in recent days, with one joking: Perhaps they were going to get someone to paint a riverside scene on Wilkos wall. Another added: Shouldve gone to Specsavers. People in Kilkenny aged 55 and up, regardless of nationality, background, status, or beliefs, are being encouraged to become members of the Older Peoples Council (OPC) to highlight local issues affecting them and older people now and in the coming years. The Kilkenny Older Peoples Council was formed in 2010, as part of the World Health Organisation of Age friendly cities and counties. Its role is to give a voice to one of the largest demographics of society. The main aim of the Older Peoples council is to ensure Kilkenny City and county will be a great place to grow old in. For the council to achieve its aim it requires the support and the buy-in from all citizens of the region. There is a need to have a very social inclusive society that has the services for to accommodate people. Are the terms older, senior true and fair reflection of those in the 55 years of age-plus grouping? With the advancement of health care, people are all living longer and healthier lives. While some public employees can aim toward a 55-year retirement age, others have to continue until their 66th year of life to qualify for the old age pension. Unfortunately, many of seniors are now taking on part-time work to make ends meet well past 65, according to Murty Brennan, of Kilkenny Older Peoples Council. The Older People Council is an important group for to advocate many items of interest to all, he says. These include topics of interest such as the WHOs eight strategies as key to improving seniors quality of Life. OPCs are involved in promoting these goals at county and local level by being represented on city, towns, rural, and planning/social/health/ community/housing etc groups. The OPCs role is to influence policy at local and national level. Noticeable outcomes in Kilkenny include for example: Thomastown Age Friendly Town, Bus Transport, Public Seating, Age Friendly Shopping Business Initiatives, Age Friendly Hospital initiative, Footpaths, lighting etc, and are assisted in their aims by many of the PPN Members including Residents Associations ,Charities and NGOs. Current initiatives include the drive to eliminate senior isolation through the Arcon tablet role out. The aim of the group is to ensure that the tablets are targeted at older people who are at risk of social isolation and who may have long term illnesses Kilkenny City and county communities now come from all over the world. RESOURCE Their cultural views are also a valuable resource to the OPC and local authority for their Integration strategy for the next few years. We have many people who are living here for the past 20 years or more and this is now their home, so their cultural needs are also vital for the OPCs growth and to hit the WHOs aim of social inclusive society, says Mr Brennan. If English is not your first language and you wish to learn more contact the Twilight Community Group or 056-7813105 or info@twilight.ie. 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. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 12) A team from the country's Food and Drug Administration will be in Russia from March 15 to 18 to finalize its assessment on Gamaleya, which is applying for the emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V. FDA Director General Eric Domingo on Thursday said a team of inspectors will fly to the Gamaleya Research Institute manufacturing plant because the company has not yet submitted a Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) two months since it applied for the Emergency Use Authorization. Instead of submitting the requirement, the Russian vaccine manufacturer invited the FDA to personally inspect their factory. Domingo said the local representative of Gamaleya will pay the application fee for the GMP inspection, saying this is part of the usual standard operating procedures. Ang ine-explain kasi nila is that every country na nag-license sa kanila, kapag pumupunta doon iniisinspect sila, binibigyan sila ng EUA pero hindi sila inissuehan ng certificate of GMP, Domingo said in a text message. [Translation: They explained that every country that has inspected their plant and gave them an EUA did not issue the certificate of GMP.] Domingo said the FDA aims to release the result of Gamaleyas EUA application before the end of the month. He said the team they are sending to Russia are trained, adding they are tasked to give their feedback if something needs to be fixed or explain what measures need to be done so their findings can be addressed. In a statement on Friday, the Sputnik V Team representative told CNN Philippines that a GMP certificate "was provided to the FDA" already. When asked about this, Domingo said they have yet to check the additional documents submitted. Gamaleya submitted its EUA application in January, the third vaccine manufacturer to apply for emergency use in the Philippines. However, other firms that applied much later have already received their authorization. The Russian company previously told the Philippine government that it could supply 50 to 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the country. After criticism last year over an early rollout before the completion of its Phase 3 clinical trial, Russia's Sputnik V vaccine turned out to be 91.6% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against severe and moderate disease, according to an interim analysis of the vaccine's Phase 3 trial results published in Lancet. Sputnik V has so far been administered to more than two million people worldwide. LONDON Prince William on Thursday denied that Britains royal family was racist, in his first public comments after his brother, Prince Harry, and Harrys wife, Meghan, alleged in a bombshell interview that a family member had raised concerns about their childs skin tone and shared revelations about a rift in the usually tight-lipped institution. Asked by a reporter whether the royal family was racist, Prince William said it was very much not a racist family, in remarks that were recorded and posted on social media by Richard Palmer, a royal correspondent for the Daily Express in London. William also said he had not spoken with Harry since the interview, which aired on Sunday in the United States and Monday evening in Britain. But I will do, he added. In the interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry called the British press racist and Meghan said that royal life was so emotionally isolating that it had left her contemplating suicide. The accusations have set off a national discussion around entrenched racism within the monarchy, with observers saying it may have damaging and long-term consequences for its reputation. A glance at some of the day's highlights from the Proactive Investors newswire ( ), the gasification technology company, has been called in to look at a waste-to-energy solution for Toyota's engine manufacturing plant in Deeside. EQTEC is already working on a refuse derived fuel project to be located next door to Toyota's Deeside plant in Flintshire, Wales. BATM Advanced Communications PLC (LON:BVC; TASE:BVC) has launched a new self-collected saliva-based coronavirus test that significantly improves the sample collection process and turnaround time while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. ( ) said there were no safety or data issues around its lead compound, which is being used treat people in acute respiratory distress, including those with severe coronavirus. ( ) said that after finalising the audit of its financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020, a number of adjustments will be made to the previously announced profit. The adjustments are expected to constitute a net reduction of not more than 750,000 against a previously announced profit before impairment of goodwill and tax of 3.9mln. ( ) and ( ) proved to be fruitful investments for FastForward Innovations Ltd (LON: FFWD) which today confirmed the profitable exit from its shareholding in both companies. Esken Limited ( ), the aviation and energy infrastructure group, saw its shares rise in early deals after reporting an encouragingly low level of cash burn. Thanks to strict financial division, cash burn excluding the Stobart Air and Propius parts of the business was just 9.4mln in the six months to the end of February. ( ) said it has seen high grades of gold and copper from further drilling at the Havieron deposit in Western Australia. Work primarily focused on infill drilling of the South East Crescent and Breccia Zone and all 26 new drill holes intersected mineralisation. ( ) was upbeat on the results of an air core drilling programme at the northernmost Fare prospect of the Senala project in Senegal. ( ) told investors that drilling has now begun for the Merlin-1 exploration well in the North Slope area of Alaska. ( ) said eight high priority drill targets had been highlighted at the Kalaka gold project in Mali following the completion of an induced polarisation (IP) survey. ( ) said higher potash prices will increase its financing options as its moves to take the Khemisset potash project in Morocco into production. The company plans to start building the potash mine, Africa's first, by the end of 2021 and to commence production in 2023. ( ) said it has signed a commercial agreement with IQONIQ, a fan engagement platform, to become its official esports and gaming partner for the next three years. ( ) shares traded higher in Thursdays early deals as it was selected by Australia headquartered educational technology group Typsy, which will use the AIM-quoted firms cloud-based video editing platform via a three-year agreement. ( ) said inSignals Neurotech, in which it holds a 33% stake, has received a 100,000 investment from Portugal Ventures, a leading Portuguese venture capital firm. ( ) said two scientists from its hVIVO unit have had their article published in the Journal for Clinical Studies. Entitled Hot Topics - Vaccine Solutions for Tropical Diseases, it was written by Adrian Wildfire, hViVOs director of scientific and business strategy and Bruno Speder, VP of regulatory affairs and consultancy services. ( ) has appointed Emma Fox as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect. Currently CEO of Berry Bros & Rudd, Fox has over 30 years of experience in the retail, leisure, and drinks sectors. ( ) has moved its annual shareholder meeting to 11.30am on Wednesday, 7 April 2021. Oy ( ) chief executive Dr Markku Jalkanen will present at the virtual Oppenheimer 31st Annual Healthcare Conference on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 10:40am ET (3.40pm GMT). An audio webcast of the presentation will be available in the Investors section on Faron's website: https://www.faron.com/investors. ( ) has received a conversion notice in relation to its US$1.5mln unsecured convertible loan agreement with Riverfort Global Opportunities PCC Limited and YA II PN. The investors have elected to convert a total amount of US$150,971.51 made up of a principal amount of US$150,000 and accrued interest of US$971.51, into shares at a price of 0.084444 pence per ordinary share. Jersey Oil & Gas PLC ( ) said it is in discussions about a fundraise of between 10-15mln to help fund the development of its Greater Buchan Area project in the North Sea. The 2021 D.Ton Virtual Trade Show creates a virtually augmented platform for attendees to explore and connect with industrial and machinery manufacturers from South Korea. TORONTO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - On March 16, 2021, the Korea Association of Machinery Industry is hosting its 2021 D.Ton Virtual Trade Show with a focus on how the digital transformation of Big Data and an AI and Cloud based society will impact industrial and machinery manufacturing industries. Businesses from North America and Europe will attend this event to explore, and meet with industrial machinery, energy plant equipment, smart factory, automation and robotics, and metrology companies on-site. Joo Ho-Jae, a consultant for Samsung SDS' digital transformation strategies, will be the keynote speaker. While data from machines can be collected through mobile devices, sensors, and the Internet of Things (IoT), analyzing and applying data interpretation to machine maintenance still remain as big challenges. Joo will address how using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to process and analyze the data will prepare machinery companies for "un-tact" economies and a future based on "I'm ABC" (IoT, mobile, AI, Big Data, Cloud). Mikah Lee, CEO of LPR Global, says, "Companies using Cloud service providers wouldn't be able to analyze data from machines and prevent machine failure, unless they have access to the machine history data and logic tree that show cause-and-effect. D.Ton showcases how Korean machinery manufacturers have adopted digital technology to their machines. For manufacturing industries, digital technology will not only strengthen product differentiation, but processes optimization as well". The 2021 D.Ton Virtual Trade Show is a great event for industry leaders to meet with Korean companies who are at the forefront of AI- and cloud-based automotive, metal working, steel, energy, home appliance industrial machinery, and product manufacturing. To compensate for the fun experience of traditional trade show, D.Ton will have a K-POP culture party for visitors. To access the 2021 D.Ton Virtual Trade Show, please visit: http://www.digitaltwin.kr/ Please contact LPR Global to inquire about the 2021 Virtual Trade Show. About LPR Global, Inc. LPR Global is a strategic consultancy headquartered in Toronto, ON with affiliated operations in the US and South Korea. Founded in 2001, LPR Global provides advisory and business development services to companies, government organizations and professional service firms conducting business between South Korean and Western markets. Visit http://www.lprglobal.com or https://www.uskoreahotlink.com SOURCE USKoreaHotlink.com Related Links www.lprglobal.com ALBANY One of the more onerous safety requirements during the pandemic was a lengthy quarantine period for leisure travelers visiting New York. But on Thursday, state officials said the requirement would be lifted starting April 1 for all domestic visitors. International travelers will still have to quarantine. "We're thrilled," said Gina Mintzer, who heads the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It's a big deal for our hotels. They became the Covid police," questioning potential out-of-state customers about whether they would follow the regulations. Visitors must still fill out the Traveler Health Form upon arrival. Domestic travelers should continue to wear masks, social distance and take other precautions to avoid the spread of Covid-19. Vermont and Massachusetts, meanwhile, have lifted the quarantine requirement for visitors who are fully vaccinated, which includes two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and a two-week wait after the second dose to allow the vaccine to become fully effective. The moves come as the supply of vaccines grows and more vaccination centers are opened. This week, individuals 60 and older were added to the list of those eligible to receive the vaccine. Meanwhile, many tourism officials are expecting a summer travel season that will appear more normal than last summer, when amusement parks, music festivals, sporting events and other activities that typically draw crowds were canceled. Six Flags Great Escape has announced plans to open in May, and is currently recruiting workers to fill 1,500 seasonal positions. Amtrak on Wednesday announced its long-distance trains, which had operated abbreviated schedules during the pandemic, will return to daily service by the end of May, and 1,200 furloughed workers will be recalled in coming months. Still, we're not yet out of the woods. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik joined other members of Congress in a request in late January to President Joe Biden to establish a way to reopen the U.S. Canada border. The border has been closed since the early days of the pandemic to all but essential travel. Another Congressman, U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins of western New York, in a letter last month, asked Biden to reopen the border by July 4th. March 20 will be the one-year anniversary of the border closing. "(Q)uarantine for domestic travelers is no longer required, but it is still being advised as an added precaution," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a press release announcing the change. "This is great news, but it is not an all-clear for New Yorkers to let their guard down. To beat this virus once and for all we all must continue doing what we know works to stop the spread, including wearing masks, washing our hands and practicing social distancing." But much has changed in the last few weeks as vaccines became more widely available. And it's only March. As the number of vaccinated individuals expands, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention learns more about the spread of the coronavirus and what works to prevent it, more borders may open. Group gatherings such as weddings might still face some crowd limits. But other activities may go ahead. Apparently, a lot of would-be visitors to New York are counting on it. "Our phones are ringing off the hook," as callers look to book summer accommodations, Mintzer said Thursday. MINSK -- Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has replaced the country's Investigative Committee chief and several other senior officials amid a continued crackdown on protesters demanding his resignation over an election last year they say was rigged. On March 11, Lukashenka's press service said that Ivan Naskevich, who ran the Investigative Committee, was replaced by Dzmitry Hara, who had worked as the deputy prosecutor-general before his appointment. Hara, 50, also led the interministerial commission that studied numerous complaints filed by ordinary citizens who said they faced beatings, torture, and police brutality during demonstrations that followed the disputed August 9 presidential poll where Lukashenka was declared the winner. The results, which the opposition disputed, prompted tens of thousands of Belarusians to rally across the country against the authoritarian leader who has ruled the country since 1994. Thousands of citizens, including dozens of journalists covering the protests, have been detained by authorities, with some being handed prison terms. Hundreds have been beaten by security forces and several protesters have died in the violence, while a number of rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials against some detainees. Still, the Hara-led commission did not launch a single probe into any of the complaints filed. On March 11, Lukashenka also appointed Vadzim Sinyauski as the new emergency minister, Andrey Zhuk as deputy defense minister, Viktar Hulevich as general staff chief for the Belarusian armed forces. Several other deputies at various ministries, commanders of military districts, and regional officials were also appointed. With reporting by BelTA 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. GRAYLING, MI -- A woman charged in the death of a Grayling man killed in a hit-and-run collision last August is a bare-knuckle fighter who reportedly fought while police were trying to find her, according to the Associated Press. Sheena Starr Brandenburg, 37, of Gaylord, Michigan was arrested in Missouri and extradited to Michigan this week for her alleged role in the incident. A warrant for her arrest was issued in October, but by then she had already gone to Missouri. Michigan State Police alerted police in Missouri that they believed Brandenburg was residing in Missouri. However, police in Missouri did not arrest Brandenburg until recently. In December, Brandenburg reportedly fought in a bare knuckles contest in Biloxi, Mississippi, where she was defeated in the second round. Troy Lambert, 56, was hit shortly after leaving a bar in Crawford County last August and police allege Brandenburg was involved. Police also say Brandenburg did not stop to assist Lambert, who was thrown from his motorcycle after being hit from behind. Brandenburgs bond was set at $250,000. READ MORE: Residents flee as fire rips through apartment building near Jackson Michigan man who spent years in prison, sues Hertz over late receipt proving his innocence No foul play involved in teens death on St. Clair County trail, police say If you havent heard already batty rider season is fast approaching so you better get your bodies in shape. We know someone who is pulling out all the stops for the occasion, and thats none other than the ever-ready and ever-trending wife of Dancehall artist Sean Paul, Jodi Jinx Henriques. The media personality and self-made beauty consultant told her Instagram followers yesterday just how she plans on prepping for the forthcoming summer season. Dollied up in an itsy bitsy, tan-colored close-fitted dress, chunky bling with her curly hair on fleek, Jodi not only informed everyone that her wardrobe will be getting skimpier but pointed out the cellulite on her leg, that shes in the process of eliminating at Future Aesthetics, a medical spa in Kingston, Jamaica. The skirts and shorts are about to get shorter!!! As you can see I have some cellulite dimpling on my leg well take a good look cause it will soon be gone. Ive started my ReShape treatments at @futureaestheticsja, she wrote on the post. Jodi, who is also an official spokesperson for Future Aesthetics went on to explain exactly what the ReShape treatment can accomplish, The Reshape treatment is great for Fine Lines & Wrinkles, Skin Tightening, Face & Body contouring, Cellulite reduction, Undereye Dark Circles, Double Chin. Adding, Batty Rider season is around the corner, Ill be ready will you??? Jodi, a mom of two kids is certainly no stranger to the more intensive types of beauty treatments, and shes the least bit tight-lipped about it. If you head on over to her YouTube channel, she reveals several of the procedures shes had done, including more invasive medical enhancements like going under the knife to correct her diastasis recti, umbilical hernia, and a C-section scar. Her show, Twosday with Tricky, with her hairstylist sister, Traci Stewart Roman can sift through topics ranging from make-up and hair tips, style consulting to cooking. Mrs. Sean Paul is always in the know and more than willing to dish the scoop. So if you want to get your bodies ready for the fast-approaching summer season then there are some effective beauty alternatives that you can now look into, thanks to Jodis latest beauty reveal. Her husband Dutty Paul is gearing up for two mega reveals of his own. What will be Pauls 7th studio album, Live N Living will be arriving this Friday, March 12. He also has another album, Scorcher that will be dropping later this year. Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) is hosting back-to-back virtual events this month the Spring Virtual Career Fair and the inaugural WiCyS Around the World. The Spring Virtual Career Fair is Thursday, March 25, from 9 to 11 a.m. CT, and 5 to 7 p.m. CT. This is a free chance for WiCyS members to advance their careers and engage with more than 45 employers. Members of all levels, from students seeking internships to seasoned professionals looking to advance, can participate. They will have an opportunity to explore numerous job postings and schedule one-on-one appointments with employers as well as chat live. Registration is not required, but interested members must update their profile and resume in the Job Board++ located on the WiCyS website. WiCyS is dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in the cybersecurity workforce. This event aims to do all that and more. For more information and links to the event, visit http://www.wicys.org/events/spring-virtual-career-fair/. Anyone is invited to experience WiCySs inaugural 24-hour event, WiCyS Around the World, starting at midnight CT on Friday, March 26. Attendees will have access to a variety of pre-recorded and live cybersecurity webinars hosted by WiCyS professional affiliates across four continents. Featured webinar topics include building trust in AI, the cybersecurity landscape in East Africa, and best practices for implementing cybersecurity programs at the K through 12 level. Eventbrite links will be available on the WiCyS website to register for live webinars. Interested participants should check the WiCyS Around the World page throughout the day as new webinars will become available every hour. For more information, visit http://www.wicys.org/event/wicys-around-the-world/. About WiCyS: Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with international reach dedicated to bringing together women in cybersecurity. WiCyS offers opportunities and resources for its members and collaboration benefits for its sponsors and partners. Strategic partners include Tier 1: Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg, Cisco, Facebook, Lockheed Martin, Optum, Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon University - Software Engineering Institute. Tier 2: Workday, Google, Nike, SentinelOne. Tier 3: Target, SpearTip, Flatiron Health, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, SANS Institute, SAP, IBM, Fortinet, Starbucks, HERE Technologies, Home Depot, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Palo Alto Networks, Verizon, University of California-San Diego. To partner, visit https://www.wicys.org/support/strategic-partnerships/. As well as updates from Berkeley and Hammerson, there will be UK GDP - sure to have been hit by lockdown restrictions - and the first post-Brexit trade figures. The housing market is still going like well, a house on fire, whereas the retail property market is in no need of a fire extinguisher. All of which is relevant to Fridays headline acts in the corporate calendar, Holdings PLC ( ) and PLC ( ). London and South-East focused housebuilder Berkeley usually updates its guidance for profit for its full-year to end-April in its trading update at this stage. Analysts at UBS said they expect profit before tax of 538mln, versus Decembers guidance of around 500mln, and net cash to be around 900mln by year-end. We expect trading to be broadly stable to positive in Q3, reflecting somewhat more subdued trends in London vs the rest of the country. We do not expect a change to multi-year guidance at this stage. As for , the financials should highlight the severe headwinds in the retail sector, as well as the impact of the dilutive rights issue in the summer. Broker Peel Hunt forecast a year-end loan-to-value (LTV) of 46%, and with ongoing valuation declines expected over the coming years, sees LTV rising further without disposals. This will be crucial to the future prospects of the company in our view, and we look for an update on the new management teams intentions. On the macro front, the UK gross domestic product release for January is due with Daiwa Capital markets predicting a 4.5% month-on-month fall after Decembers 1.2% increase and a 2.2% year-on-year decline. Once again, services activity will be hardest hit while industrial production is expected to have fallen more modestly (perhaps less than 0.5%M/M, albeit likely leaving it down more than 3.5%Y/Y), Daiwa said. The first post-Brexit trade balance might attract a few headlines. Here, Daiwa is going for a negative trade balance in January of 12.5bn versus a deficit of 14.3bn in December. The new barriers to trade with the EU that came into place at the start of the year will have weighed on exports of both goods and services. Indeed, as the French and Italian data have so far suggested, the UK trade deficit is likely to widen in January as the fall in exports outpaced that of imports, the broker said. Significant announcements expected Trading statement: Holdings PLC ( ) Finals: Hammerson ( ), Ocean Wilsons Holdings PLC ( ) AGMs/EGMs: Autins Group ( ), Petroneft ( ) Economic announcements: UK GDP, UK industrial, manufacturing and construction output, UK trade data, US PPI If you think really hard, perhaps you can imagine more disastrous policies than throwing open our countrys southern border and abandoning criminal-law enforcement in city after city. The consequences are already emerging, and they are grim. It is important to examine them without ideological blinders so we can change course before more damage is done. Our border policies are national fiats handed down by the Biden administration. The abandonment of criminal enforcement, by contrast, is a local decision, made by supine city councils and district attorneys, many of them social justice Democrats backed by progressive elites and Black Lives Matter. The problem with these policies is not their moral motivation. Helping the poor from Central America is a worthy cause. So is reducing the incarceration rate of young males from minority communities. The problem lies in their practical effects. It is those effects, not sugarplum dreams, that matter in judging public policy. The most consequential effect of open immigration and lax criminal enforcement is to undermine the safe, stable environment law-abiding citizens need to go about their lives, free from predation. Providing that environment -- and signaling clearly that you intend to provide it -- is the first responsibility of government. That means punishing crimes. The goal is not vengeance. Nor is it solely to provide justice for the victims, important as that is. It is also to send a strong message to would-be criminals: Dont do it. Its not worth it. Right now, we are sending the wrong message and, by doing so, we are encouraging law breaking on a massive scale. That encouragement is the unifying theme behind these policy disasters, one on the border, the other in our cities. The other unifying theme is their justification under the fashionable rubric of social justice and equity. What those feel-good arguments ignore is that our criminal laws are democratic efforts to preserve personal safety and community integrity. Failing in those responsibilities harms all law-abiding citizens. The consequences of these failures will only worsen if we dont hold public officials accountable and change course quickly and dramatically. That begins with forcing policymakers to acknowledge the dismal consequences. So far, the Biden White House and most big-city Democrats have balked. They continue to ignore urban violence (remember, they said nothing about it at last summers Democratic convention) or blame it entirely on structural racism. As for the surge of illegal immigrants, they simply call it a challenge. On Wednesday, Bidens coordinator for the southern border wouldnt even call the crossings illegal. Her word was irregular. This breakdown of order, and the Orwellian rhetorical gymnastics required to obscure it, are politically unsustainable. When governments fail in their essential duties, citizens will act on their own: with guns, private security, ubiquitous cameras, gated communities, and buildings guarded by doormen. Thats already happening. Over 23 million guns were sold last year, many to first-time buyers, a 60% increase from 2019. Experts were shocked, shocked to discover large numbers of African American buyers. Why should they be surprised? Dont blacks have the same desires to protect themselves as everyone else? Fearful citizens are voting with their feet, too, moving out of Manhattan, San Francisco, and Seattle, where personal safety and quality-of-life have deteriorated markedly. Those who stay will refuse to walk the streets in crime-ridden neighborhoods or sit on their front porches. If shoplifters are given free rein, local merchants will close, leaving honest consumers nowhere to shop except online. What do prosecutors think will happen when they decline to charge anyone who steals less than $1,000? Meanwhile, ignoring crime on the southern border is already producing hordes of refugees, transported by well-organized, well-paid criminal gangs, who also move illegal (oops, irregular) drugs and counterfeit medications. Since the U.S. government doesnt have enough centers to house this flood of refugees, they will be processed hurriedly and told, Please come back in a year or two for your court date. Most will never be seen again. Its not as if we are guessing at these effects. They are well documented. Take border crossings. Until now, the worst numbers were those for 2019, when some 76,000 children were smuggled in. The rate this year is even higher. Bidens own Department of Homeland Security secretly projects the number to be 45% above 2019. Whats the administrations response? More language games. Were not saying, Dont come, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told the press last week. Were saying, Dont come now. In Central America, his nuanced message is being heard as Trump is gone, and the new administration is much more welcoming. Bidens border coordinator, Roberta Jacobson, actually acknowledged that. She called it hope. Whatever you call it, the effect is predictable. For adults seeking asylum, the Biden administration has also tossed out a successful policy, negotiated with Mexico, which required petitioners to remain there while the U.S. considers their applications. With that policy gone, migrants are headed north. They are paying transnational criminal organizations to smuggle them across the U.S. border; they are actually given bands to wear, proving they paid the cartels. They can only pray they wont be raped, robbed, starved, or murdered en route. The grim impact of these policies is now visible in migrant caravans, urban crime, and sour public reaction. Take the dismal crime data. Murders skyrocketed in many major U.S. cities in 2020, reports the Washington Post. They grew by nearly 37 percent over 2019s total in a collection of 57 large jurisdictions. The jump was even larger in cities suffused with anti-police rhetoric, such as Seattle, Chicago, and New York. As crime increases, the public is demanding more, not less, police on the streets. So far, those demands have been drowned out by strident left-wing calls to defund the police, repeated on an endless loop by the legacy media. But the pushback has already begun. Minneapolis, which began defunding police after George Floyds death, has reversed those policies. Residents have begged city leaders to hire additional officers, saying they're waiting longer for responses to emergency calls amid a dramatic uptick in violent crime, reports the Star-Tribune. The city is now spending an extra $6.4 million to recruit new officers. These demands are coming from African Americans, as well as whites, Hispanics, and Asians. A Gallup poll released in August reported that 81% of black respondents wanted the police presence in their community to remain the same or increase, while only 19% wanted it reduced, Jason Riley notes. In a separate survey released last year, 59% of black residents of low-income neighborhoods said that they would like the police to spend more time in their area than they currently do, versus only 50% of white residents. These demands are perfectly reasonable. How long before politicians meet them? How much more needless carnage before policymakers recoil from the train wrecks they engineered and switch to a different track? ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / Findit, Inc., a Nevada Corporation (OTC PINK:FDIT), owner of Findit.com, a full-service social networking platform which provides tools for members to increase brand awareness through content creation and sharing, resulting in indexing in search engines, announces FORM S1 Filing with S.E.C. Findit, which provides online marketing social networking content creation campaigns, has completed the company audit with the Auditing Firm BF Borgers CPA PC Certified, Public Accountants. The company completed three years of audited financials that include 2018, 2019, and 2020. The Form S1 includes year ending December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020 audited financials. The Law Firm of Thomas Cook and Associates has prepared the FORM S1 for filing and it has been submitted through EDGAR today, March 11, 2021. Raymond Firth stated, "We are continuing to make strides to become a fully reporting publicly traded company. This step was critical to one day up list from the pink sheets." The S1 was priced at thirty cents per share which is currently higher than the current stock price. The amount of shares in the offering is a total of ten million shares which would amount to three million dollars if the raise is 100% subscribed. The proceeds would be used for development and marketing of the website Findit.com and the Findit App, which is available on Android and IOS. Download the Findit App today and let the world see what you have to say and share with them. Google Apple SEC Edgar Company File Confirmation Information CIK: 0001593184 COMPANY: FINDIT, INC. FORM TYPE: S-1 FILE NUMBER(S): 1. 333-254128 About The Law Offices of Thomas C. Cook The Law Offices of Thomas C. Cook was formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1997, with a principal focus of representing public companies before the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, OTC Markets, LLC, and the various state securities authorities. Thomas C. Cook, Esq., the firm's principal attorney, has over two decades of experience in corporate and securities law, including but not limited to corporate formation and governance, securities registrations and compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and the issuance of securities-related opinions. Mr. Cook received his bachelor of arts from Occidental College in 1990 and his Juris Doctor from Whittier Law School in 1993. About BF Borgers CPA, PC????? At BF Borgers CPA, PC, we have built our practice by providing exceptional service to our clients through our commitment to our firm culture and values based on the three underlying principals Professionalism, Responsiveness, Quality. About Findit, Inc. Findit, Inc., owns Findit.com which is a Social Media Content Management Platform that provides an interactive search engine for all content posted in Findit to appear in Findit search. The site is an open platform that provides access to Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines access to its content posted to Findit so it can be indexed in these search engines as well. Findit provides Members the ability to post, share and manage their content. Once they have posted in Findit, we ensure the content gets indexed in Findit Search results. Findit provides an option for anyone to submit URLs that they want indexed in Findit search result, along with posting status updates through Findit Right Now. Status Updates posted in Findit can be crawled by outside search engines which can result in additional organic indexing. All posts on Findit can be shared to other social and bookmarking sites by members and non-members. Findit provides Real Estate Agents the ability to create their own Findit Site where they can pull in their listing and others through their IDX account. Findit, Inc. is focused on the development of monetized Internet-based web products that can provide an increased brand awareness of our members. Findit Inc. trades under the stock symbol FDIT on the OTC Pinksheets. Safe Harbor: This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements that include the word believe or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Findit Inc. to differ materially from those implied or expressed by such forward-looking statements. This press release speaks as of the date first set forth above, and Findit Inc. assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for events occurring after the date hereof. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to factors such as the lack of capital, timely development of products, inability to deliver products when ordered, inability of potential customers to pay for ordered products, and political and economic risks inherent in international trade. CONTACT: Clark St. Amant 404-443-3224 SOURCE: Findit, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/634998/Findit-Inc-Announces-FORM-S1-Filing-with-SEC About 3,700 years ago, a man and a woman were buried together in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Their tomb was an ovoid jar beneath the floor of a grand hall in an expansive hilltop complex known as La Almoloya, in what is now Murcia, Spain. Its one of many archaeological sites associated with the El Argar culture of the Early Bronze Age that controlled an area about the size of Belgium from 2200 B.C. to 1500 B.C. Judging by the 29 high-value objects in the tomb, described Thursday in the journal Antiquity, the couple appear to have been members of the Argaric upper class. And the woman may have been the more important of the two, raising questions for archaeologists about who wielded power among the Argarics, and adding more evidence to a debate about the role of women in prehistoric Europe. She died in her 20s, possibly of tuberculosis, and had been placed on her back with her legs bent toward the man. In life, she had a range of congenital anomalies such as a shortened, fused spine and a stunted left thumb. On and around her were sublime silver emblems of wealth and power. Her hair had been fastened with silver spirals, and her silver earlobe plugs one larger than the other had silver spirals looped through them. A silver bracelet was near her elbow, and a silver ring was still on her finger. Silver embellished the diamond-shaped ceramic pot near her, and triple plates of silver embellished her oak-wood awl a symbol of womanhood. The federally run United Center mass vaccination site opened Tuesday after initially being heralded as a source for a much-needed influx of coronavirus inoculations for all eligible Illinois residents under phase 1b. Shifting guidelines, however, have dogged its rollout. The original plan was to allow Illinois residents 65 and older to register last week until 4 p.m. Sunday, when slots would open up to any Illinoisan with certain health conditions or a front-line essential service job. A last-minute change to restrict sign-ups to only Chicagoans and, later, suburban Cook County residents, threw off some residents. Congress approved a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan on Wednesday. The White House said we can expect President Joe Biden to sign the plan by Friday. People in North Alabama told WAAY 31 the $1,400 stimulus checks will be very beneficial to those that are having a tough time financially. Emmanuel Tapia said he believes it will help people get back on their feet again. "We all need help. Nothing in life you can do by yourself," he said. Tapia works in the restaurant industry. Like many Americans, the pandemic has put a strain on his family, financially. Ive been there where youre trying to figure out, do I feed myself? If you have children, how am I going to feed my children? How am I going to keep a roof over their heads? How am I going to keep nice clothes? And different things like that, theres so many factors emotionally and physically that go against you," said Tapia. "So, even if it was less than $1,400, I promise you its going to help somebody regardless of anything. Both Regina Phillips and Callie Hornbuckle agree it'll be beneficial to people who need assistance. Especially for people that are trying to raise kids by themselves, mothers on their own or divorced, theyre just trying to make it through this. I would be for them getting the money," said Phillips. But, Hornbuckle said it's a catch 22. I think its great for people that really need it, because I think a lot of people do need it, but I also think its not good on the side that it can be taken advantage of. So, were kind of in a lose, lose situation I guess with it," she said. In addition to the stimulus check, people who've filed for unemployment will receive up to $300 each week. NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cloves market will register an incremental spend of about 44.96 th MT, growing at a CAGR of 4.56% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Cloves sourcing can unlock several opportunities for buyers. This report also offers market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Download free sample report Key Highlights Offered in the Report: Cloves Market Procurement Intelligence Report Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices. Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation on pros and cons of prevalent pricing models. Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers. Get a free sample report for more information Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers: Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Cloves market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Cloves pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives. For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers, Click here. Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth: The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers. Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 4%-6%. Identify favorable opportunities in Cloves TCO (total cost of ownership). Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes. Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities. Some of the top Cloves suppliers listed in this report: This Cloves procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies. Olam International Ltd. McCORMICK & Co. Inc. Worlee-Chemie GmbH Synthite Industries Pvt. Ltd. Dohler GmbH DS Group S&B Foods Inc. True Ceylon Spices ROYAL SPICES PTC Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd. To get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment, Subscribe Now for Free. Table of Content Executive Summary Market Insights Category Pricing Insights Cost-saving Opportunities Best Practices Category Ecosystem Category Management Strategy Category Management Enablers Suppliers Selection Suppliers under Coverage US Market Insights Category scope Appendix Get access to regular sourcing and procurement insights to our digital procurement platform-Contact Us. About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more: https://www.spendedge.com/request-for-demo Contacts SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge Over the past day, March 10, the armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area in Donbas eight times, killing a Ukrainian soldier. In the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group North, the occupiers used hand-held grenade launchers and heavy machine guns to open provocative fire on Ukrainian defenders outside Pivdenne (40km north-east of Donetsk) and Troitske (69km west of Luhansk). In the area of responsibility of the operational and tactical group East, the Russian-occupation troops shelled Ukrainian positions from grenade machine guns near Avdiivka (17km north of Donetsk) and Vodiane in the Sea of Azov area, the press center of the JFO Headquarters informs. Outside Krasnohorivka (21km west of Donetsk), Lomakyne (15km north-east of Mariupol) and Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk), the occupiers opened aimed fire on Ukrainian Armed Forces, using grenade launchers of various systems and heavy machine guns. In addition, the Russian armed formations fired small arms on the positions of Ukrainian defenders near the village of Starohnativka (51km south of Donetsk). As a result, a serviceman of the Joint Forces was injured seriously. The soldier was promptly provided with medical care, but his life was not saved. Ukrainian soldiers returned fire in response to the enemy's shelling. The OSCE representatives were informed about the actions of the armed formations of the Russian Federation through the Ukrainian side of the Joint Control and Coordination Center (JCCC). As of 07:00 on March 11, no shelling was reported. The situation in the Joint Forces Operation area remains to be controlled by Ukrainian troops. ol BOSTON - As COVID-19 infection rates continue to fall, Massachusetts officials are signaling it's almost time to end remote learning and send all school-aged children back to the classroom. While emerging data suggest young children and schools have not been primary drivers of the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence to guide best practices to prevent the spread of the virus in the school setting has been limited and, as a result, national and international recommendations are inconsistent. A study led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) physician-researchers provides new, much-needed data about the optimal physical distancing between students for the prevention of COVID-19 in the school setting. In a retrospective, statewide cohort study, the researchers compared the rates of COVID-19 cases in students and staff in Massachusetts public schools among districts with universal mask mandates but different physical distancing requirements. The team found no substantial difference in the number of cases of COVID-19 among either students or staff in school districts that implemented a distancing policy of three feet versus six feet between students. The findings, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, suggest that lower physical distancing policies can be adopted in school settings with masking mandates without negatively impacting student or staff safety. "Prior studies have not directly compared the impact of different physical distancing policies among students attending in-person school," said lead author Polly van den Berg, MD, a fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases at BIDMC. "This research, which found no substantial difference in the number of cases among either students or staff in school districts that implemented a distancing policy of three versus six feet between students, is important because many school buildings have physical infrastructure that cannot accommodate six feet of distancing and bring all (or most) students back into the classroom." Van den Berg and colleagues looked at publicly available data from 251 Massachusetts school districts, encompassing 537,336 students and 99,390 staff who attended in-person instruction during a 16-week study period from September 2020 to January 2021. Using a combination of information - including individual district infection control plans, the number of infections reported to the Commonwealth by districts, and community rates of COVID-19 from a non-partisan, not-for-profit data dashboard - the scientists found no significant difference in the rate of COVID-19 cases among students and staff in districts that mandated six feet of distancing versus in districts that mandated three feet of distancing. The scientists note that physical distancing was only one of several infection prevention measures taken by school districts. "These data can be used to inform and update how infection control plans are implemented in school settings," added corresponding author Westyn Branch-Elliman, MD, MMSc, an infectious disease specialist at BIDMC and a clinical investigator at VA Boston Healthcare System. "It is important to remember that distancing was just one of a number of interventions adopted in the districts included in our analysis. Across the districts included in our study, there was a near-universal masking mandate, thus our study addresses the question of the effectiveness of three versus six feet of distancing among students and staff who are wearing masks." The team's findings also showed that, in general, schools had lower overall rates of infection than their surrounding communities, lending support to the idea that in-person learning is not a major driver of the pandemic; however, district case rates were tightly linked to those of the community, particularly among staff. "Early in the pandemic, infection control plans for schools and other settings were developed based on the best available evidence at the time -- which, early on, was limited," said Branch-Elliman, also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "We hope that our findings can be used to update current recommendations about distancing policy, and ultimately, to help return more students to the classroom." ### Co-authors include Elissa M. Schechter-Perkins, MD, MPH, of Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center; Rebecca S. Jack, MPP of COVID-19 School Response Dashboard; Isabella Epshtein, MPP, of VA Boston Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research; Richard Nelson, PhD, Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Healthcare System and University of Utah School of Medicine; and Emily Oster, PhD, of COVID-19 School Response Dashboard and Brown University Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. WBE is the site PI for a grant funded by Gilead pharmaceuticals (funds to institution). EO and RJ are affiliated with the COVID-19 School Dashboard, which is funded in part by the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation and the Arnold Foundation. All other authors have no conflicts to report. About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit http://www. bidmc. org . Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,000 physicians and 35,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education. More than 400,000 people in England had their Covid risk over-estimated by the NHS because of an over-cautious algorithm. The QCovid algorithm, used to help identify who should be shielding or getting early access to vaccines, automatically put people into higher risk categories when data was missing, health news site Pulse reported. If their weight wasn't recorded they were assumed to be obese and if their ethnicity was missing they were filed under black both of which would assume someone was at a higher-than-average risk of severe Covid-19. Doctors in York double-checking isolation lists said they found 110 cases where patients had been wrongly asked to stay at home and shield. But the NHS today insisted that it was unlikely thousands of patients had been mistakenly told to shield or pushed to the front of the jabs queue. The Department of Health said it had taken 'a precautionary approach' when assessing people's risk from coronavirus. The NHS today insisted it was unlikely that thousands of patients had been mistakenly told to shield or pushed to the front of the vaccine queue (stock image) The algorithm was developed to help doctors establish which patients were most at risk from the virus. More than 1.7million people were added to the shielding list when the alogrithm was used last month, with 820,000 of them prioritised for vaccines. But GPs have raised concerns over the accuracy of the formula after spotting inconsistencies in who was asked to shield. Dr Abbie Brookes, a GP working in York, told The Guardian 100 female patients who had diabetes while they were pregnant but were now healthy had been told to isolate. She added there were another 10 patients for whom she 'couldn't see an explanation' for why they had been added to the shielding list and invited for a vaccine. HOMELESS BRITS WILL BE BUMPED UP VACCINE PRIORITY LIST Matt Hancock today revealed homeless people in England will be bumped up the Covid vaccine priority list regardless of their age. The Health Secretary said the decision recommended by the UK's top vaccination advisers would 'save more lives among those most at risk in society'. He added it was important 'nobody gets left behind'. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises No10 on who should be inoculated, has until now ranked people by their age and whether they have any serious health conditions. But the expert panel said it was now recommending the homeless were included because they 'are likely to have health conditions that put them at higher risk of death from Covid'. They will be mixed into the sixth priority group in the Government's top nine, which includes everyone between the ages of 16 and 64 who has a serious health condition. The JCVI said local NHS leaders can shorten the 12 week dosing regimen if they believe a homeless person is unlikely to show up for their appointment. Homeless charity Shelter estimates there are around 280,000 people living rough in England. It follows an announcement from Wales on Wednesday that it was bumping up homeless people on its priority list. Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to follow suit. Its advice doesn't mean all homeless people must be vaccinated, but gives NHS bosses the flexibility to offer jabs to anyone who is homeless, regardless of their age or health status. People could be reached by the NHS if they are in emergency accommodation or by local health teams who are already engaged with homeless populations. The original Everyone In national emergency accommodation for homeless people has ended now but some places are still offering homeless people housing during the pandemic. Others are likely to already be known to health chiefs in their areas, the Department of Health said. Advertisement Dr Gavin Jamie, a GP in Swindon, also told the paper that he had a patient with fatty liver disease who had been asked to shield, which he presumed was because the algorithm had incorrectly coded him as having severe liver disease. NHS Digital said the Department of Health made the decision to cautiously apply 'high risk' figures when data was missing. It added that anyone who felt they were wrongly added to the shielding list should contact their GP so that it can be assessed. A spokesman said: 'Patients can speak to their GP or specialist clinician if they have questions, or if they feel they should no longer be identified as clinically extremely vulnerable. 'As they have always done, GPs and specialist clinicians can make their own assessment and are able to add and remove individuals from the Shielded Patient List. 'GPs can also review the free text entry alongside the high-risk flag on individual records to identify whether or not default values were used.' Originally 2.2million people in England were on the list, many of whom were identified for a single reason. These included obvious vulnerabilities, including having life-threatening conditions such cancer, taking immunosuppression drugs or suffering from genetic disorders. But as the pandemic has progressed scientists have found a slew of other factors that, when combined, can put people at risk of dying from Covid - including being overweight, living in deprived areas or taking certain medications. Oxford University researchers used a new algorithm to analyse a combination of risk factors based on patients' medical records. It comes after the Department of Education was forced into a humiliating U-turn over the summer when it used an algorithm to assign exam results to students. The formula was described as a 'mutant' by Boris Johnson, and led to some pupils getting marks several grades below their teacher's predictions. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'A precautionary approach has been taken towards certain missing data on a patients medical record. 'In such cases, the patients medical record will indicate that an estimated value has been used as part of the decision to add them to the Shielded Patient List 'Patients who were added to the Shielded Patient List in England using the COVID-19 Population Risk Assessment have multiple risk factors which, when combined, identify them as potentially at increased risk of becoming seriously unwell from coronavirus. 'Single, isolated risk factors would not result in someone being added to the Shielded Patient List. 'Clinicians can apply their clinical judgement and remove any of these patients from the Shielded Patient List and people with concerns can speak to their GP. Our model has been peer reviewed by independent academic experts and its performance was independently validated by the ONS.' Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom by Patrick Moore Most of the scare stories in the media today are things that are invisible or remote, like polar bears ..This is my effort, after 50 years as a scientist and activist, to expose the misinformation and outright lies used to scare us and our children about the future of the Earth. - Dr. Patrick Moore In a press release of Feb. 26, 2021, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said 2021 is a make or break year and urged countries to commit to stringent NetZero greenhouse gas reductions to meet climate targets, but Friends of Science says the UNFCCC climate catastrophe claims are based on outdated science. Dr. Patrick Moore, a founding member of Greenpeace, now turned climate dissident, has published a new book called Fake Invisible Catastrophes and Threats of Doom, that demolishes the UNFCCC/IPCC climate catastrophe claims. Moore says: "It dawned on me one day that most of the scare stories in the media today are based on things that are either invisible, like CO2 and radiation, or very remote, like polar bears and coral reefs. Thus, the average person cannot observe and verify the truth of these claims for themselves. They must rely on activists, the media, politicians, and scientists - all of whom have a huge financial and/or political interest in the subject - to tell them the truth. This is my effort, after 50 years as a scientist and environmental activist, to expose the misinformation and outright lies used to scare us and our children about the future of the Earth. Direct observation is the very basis of science. Without verified observation it is not possible to know the truth. That is the sharp focus of this book." Friends of Science Society hosts a video presentation by Dr. Moore on a similar theme on their YouTube page. Moores book offers a plain language expose, suited to high school students and general reading audiences. By contrast, climate policy experts should review the research of Roger Pielke, Jr. and Justin Ritchie, whose work shows that the climate catastrophe scenario is based on outdated science. Their peer-reviewed research was published in Elseviers Energy Research and Social Science of Feb. 2021. They show that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports have consistently distorted climate projections by relying on the most extreme and least likely scenario referred to as Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP 8.5). Pielke, Jr. and Ritchie write: For more than a decade, climate research and assessment has emphasized an extreme and implausible representation of the future under RCP8.5. RCP8.5 has been used extensively as a baseline for projecting future climate impacts and evaluating policy options. The misuse of this particular scenario has been consequential, as it has been emphasized by the IPCC, the U.S. National Climate Assessment and is pervasive in the underlying literature that these assessments rely upon. A Google Scholar search indicates almost 4,500 articles referring to RCP8.5 and business as usual. Friends of Science Society has released a new Robert Lyman report entitled When Giants Arise: The Real World of GHG Emissions and Growth. Lyman writes: According to United Nations data, the global population will grow by more than two billion people between 2018 and 2050, and almost all of this growth will be in Asia and Africa. Europe and North America, which had only 15% of the worlds population in 2018, will see that share shrink to 11% by 2050.With its ever-declining shares of global population and income, the west will not be able to constrain the aspirations, or the emissions, of the emerging giants. Consequently, Guterres call for NetZero targets fails on scientific, technological, and demographic grounds. Citizens should question the authority and true objectives of the misinformed UNFCCC, the misuse of scenarios by the IPCC, and reject the claims of the related climate-catastrophe-fellow- travellers like Greta Thunberg, says Friends of Science Society. About Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens that is celebrating its 18th year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2). Friends of Science Society P.O. Box 23167, Mission P.O. Calgary, Alberta Canada T2S 3B1 Toll-free Telephone: 1-888-789-9597 Web: friendsofscience.org E-mail: contact(at)friendsofscience(dot)org Web: climatechange101.ca Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Some in Congress want to do more to narrow the digital divide. A new bill, The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, set to be introduced Thursday in the U.S. House and Senate, devotes more than $94 billion to connect currently unserved and underserved communities with affordable high-speed internet access. The coronavirus pandemic exposed the problems caused by the digital divide, the disparity in access to broadband and computers or devices to successfully participate in remote school and work. "The pandemic put a big magnifying glass on this issue," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who is introducing the bill in the Senate, told U.S. TODAY. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who launched the Rural Broadband Task Force two years ago to address the digital divide, plans to introduce the bill in the House of Representatives. He did the same last year, hoping former President Donald Trump would include it in his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, which never was officially unveiled. Clyburn now hopes President Joe Biden's plan will wrap the internet act into his own infrastructure plan, which does include provisions for universal broadband access. Expanding and improving high-speed broadband networks in rural areas is a vital trade-off for other infrastructure spending in major cities, he says. "We have to treat broadband as integral to infrastructure," Clyburn said. About 30 million Americans do not have access to broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. But another report puts that at about 42 million. And about 12 million students are impacted by the digital divide, according to a report from Common Sense, Boston Consulting Group and the Southern Education Foundation. "The country has seen in a very visceral way we have haves and have-nots in this country," Klobuchar said. "And this isn't going to just go away. We are going to have online learning enhanced all the time. .... We can't expand this divide, you have to actually close it." What's in affordable internet act? The biggest chunk of funding ($80 billion) is allocated to improving access in unserved areas with below 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) connectivity, and for so-called mid-tier areas with service between 25 Mbps and 100 Mbps. Providers who get government support must offer an affordable service plan. Requirements for coordination of transportation and broadband infrastructure projects to better coordinate and "dig once" for road repairs and broadband installation. An additional $6 billion for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBBProgram, which gives low-income Americans a monthly discount of up to $50and up to $75 for homes on tribal landsfor broadband service. Congress allotted $3.2 billion for the EBB program in the roughly $900 billion COVID-19 relief package passed Dec. 21, 2020 and subsequently signed by President Trump, and it is in the works at the FCC. The FCC established the program on Feb. 25 and is currently taking applications from providers of wired and wireless connectivity, but some providers such as Q-Link is already signing up consumers for unlimited talk, text and data. Consumers are expected to be able to apply before the end of April. Broadband benefit program details Q. What is the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program? A. It offers a $50 monthly discount for broadband services ($75 for those on Tribal lands) and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a computer or tablet purchased through a participating provider. (One discount per eligible household.) Q. Who qualifies? A. Those currently qualified for the Lifeline program, the program that helps low-income Americans purchase broadband access, and those on Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Those in the free and reduced-price school lunch program and school breakfast program. Those who had a substantial loss of income since Feb. 29, 2020 (full guidelines on the FCC.gov site). Q. Does it give you credits from previous months of internet service? A. No, the Emergency Broadband Benefit program can only provide a monthly discount from the time of consumer sign-up. Q. If a consumer already qualifies for Lifeline, do they need to sign up for this separately or do they automatically become part of the program? A. Current Lifeline participants are eligible for the Emergency Broadband Benefit program. They do not need to apply but they will need to voluntarily enroll into the Emergency Broadband Benefit program through a participating internet provider or the FCC. Q. What providers will be involved? A. The FCC will be providing a web page for all approved EBB providers, so eligible households can easily see if their ISP is participating in the program once the program is available for consumer sign-up. Right now, the agency is evaluating interested EBB providers on a rolling basis. (c)2021 U.S. Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Billionaire heiress Francesca Packer Barham deactivated her Instagram account last week. And James Packer's niece appeared to be keeping a low profile on Wednesday when she was spotting heading to a skin clinic appointment in Sydney for some relaxation. The Sydney socialite, 26, teamed a casual activewear ensemble with a luxury AUD$4,500 Chanel tweed bag for her outing. Treat yo self: Billionaire heiress Francesca Packer is seen for first time since DELETING her social media at high-end skin clinic in Double Bay which offers a $1250 facial Francesca went makeup free for her appointment at Karpati Skin Clinic in Double Bay and wore her luscious brunette locks down in a sleek straight style. It's unclear what treatment Francesca was receiving, but the clinic is best known for its celebrity-approved Plasma Glow Facial, which retails between $650 and $1250. Francesca was in a pair of black leggings, which she paired with a white crop jumper and crisp white sneakers. She was seen chatting to a pal outside the clinic with an adorable puppy in his arms. Fitness-chic: Francesca kept it stylish in a monochromatic activewear ensemble that she paired with a luxury Chanel purse Natural beauty: Francesca went makeup free for her appointment at Karpati Skin Clinic in Double Bay, and wore her luscious brunette locks down in a sleek straight style Francesca has been making headlines since confirming her relationship with personal trainer Adam Cooper late last year after an extravagant 26th birthday party aboard a private boat. However, she has since deleted her Instagram account after posting a sweet Valentine's Day tribute to her Pilates instructor boyfriend in February. Francesca posted a photo of the couple sharing a steamy kiss while relaxing in a hot tub at the time, writing: 'Happy Valentine's Day baby.' While she has gone quiet online, her personal trainer beau has since dispelled any rumours of a breakup by continuing to share loved-up photos of the couple on his social media page. Keeping a low profile: Billionaire heiress Francesca Packer (pictured) DELETED her social media one month after posting a sweet Valentine's Day tribute to boyfriend Adam Cooper Going strong: But while Francesca has gone quiet, her pilates trainer beau is still sharing loved up photos of the couple on his social media page The socialite confirmed she and Adam were a couple in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in December. 'Adam is a really great guy. We've been dating for a while,' she told the paper. Adam is Head of Training at Performance Vive Active, which has studios in Double Bay and Brookvale. He is also a Pilates reformer trainer and personal trainer, as well as a member of the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. Francesca herself lives in Darlinghurst, and laid out $16million for her five-bedroom, five-bathroom Horizon apartment. A mysterious luminous glow visible just before dawn, known as the zodiacal light, could be the result of tiny particles of dust being shed from Mars, NASA claims. The zodiacal light is a faint column of light extending up from the horizon - it is sunlight reflected towards Earth by a cloud of dust particles in orbit around the sun. The NASA Juno probe, which was launched in 2011 to orbit Jupiter, serendipitously detected dust particles slamming into the spacecraft on the way aroundthe gas giant. The impacts of the dust particles provided important clues to the origin and orbital evolution of the dust, resolving some mysterious variations of the zodiacal light. The Juno scientists claim Mars is the source of this debris as the particles are in a nearly circular orbit around the sun at a point in space similar to the orbit of Mars. Mars is also one of the dustiest planets in the solar system, although the NASA team can't explain how so much dust escaped the grip of the Martian gravity, but predict it happens during dust storms that cover the entire Red Planet. The zodiacal light is a faint column of light extending up from the horizon - it is sunlight reflected towards Earth by a cloud of dust particles in orbit around the sun The NASA Juno probe, which was launched in 2011 to orbit Jupiter, serendipitously detected dust particles slamming into the spacecraft on the way to the gas giant ZODIACAL LIGHT: A GLOW ON THE HORIZON Zodiacal light, also known as a false dawn, is a faint white glow visible after dusk or before dawn near the horizon. Zodiacal light, or false dawn, appears before sunrise and after sunset It appears to extend from the direction of the sun, along the zodiac and straddling the ecliptic. The brightness decreases with the distance from the sun. It can span the entire sky and contributes to the natural light on a clear moonless night. It was linked to reflection from interplanetary dust, with many astronomers predicting it was the result of asteroids and comets. However, NASA scientists found it was the result of dust being ejected into space from Mars. Advertisement Look up to the night sky just before dawn, or after dusk, and you might see a faint column of light extending up from the horizon - this is sunlight reflecting from a cloud of tiny dust particles. Before this study, by NASA and the Technical University of Denmark, astronomers thought the dust came into the inner solar system from asteroids and comets venturing in from afar. This changed when the NASA Juno spacecraft passed through a cloud of dust as it ventured through the Martian orbit on the way to Jupiter. An instrument aboard the Juno spacecraft serendipitously detected dust particles slamming into the probe. The impacts provided important clues to the origin and orbital evolution of the dust, suggesting it may come from Mars, rather than a comet or asteroid moving in from outer parts of the solar system. Though their discovery has big implications, the scientists who spent years studying cosmic debris did not set out to do so. 'I never thought we'd be looking for interplanetary dust,' said John Leif Jrgensen, a professor at the Technical University of Denmark. Jrgensen designed the four star trackers that are part of Juno's magnetometer - a device that measures magnetic fields. These onboard cameras snap photos of the sky every quarter of a second to determine Juno's orientation in space. It determined the orientation by recognising star patterns in the images it was taking an engineering task essential to the magnetometer's accuracy. However, the team also hoped the cameras might catch sight of an undiscovered comet so one was programmed to report things that appeared in multiple consecutive images but not listed in the catalogue of known celestial objects. NASA was able to map the distribution of the dust cloud that makes up the zodiacal light, finding it is between the orbits of Earth and the Asteroid Belt It was this camera that first reported sight of the mysterious cloud of dust - sending back images of thousands of unidentifiable objects. They were streaks that appeared then disappeared without warning or explanation. Jrgensen was baffled by the strange streaks shown in the images from that one camera, saying 'we were looking at the images and saying 'what can this be?'.' 'We thought, 'Something is really wrong,' Jrgensen said. 'The images looked like someone was shaking a dusty tablecloth out their window.' NASA's Juno spacecraft went through the dust cloud - possibly from Mars - on its way to orbit Jupiter and study the gas giant Juno captured evidence of debris through its onboard cameras, identifying it as different to the surrounding stars despite being millimetres across They considered a number of plausible and implausible causes for the streaks and even the possibility that the camera caught a leaking fuel tank on Juno. They calculated the size and velocity of the objects in the images and realised they were tiny grains of dust smashing into the spacecraft. They were hitting Juno at about 10,000 miles per hour and even chipping off tiny pieces of Juno due to the sheer velocity of the impacts. 'Even though we're talking about objects with only a tiny bit of mass, they pack a mean punch,' said Jack Connerney, Juno magnetometer lead. The debris hitting the sides of the spacecraft came from the expansive solar panels on the side of the probe, making them the 'most sensitive unintended dust detector ever built,' according to NASA. The impacts of the dust particles provided important clues to the origin and orbital evolution of the dust, resolving some mysterious variations of the zodiacal light NASA scientists don't know exactly how the dust escaped the Martian atmosphere, but predict it happened during a planet-wide dust storm KEY FINDINGS: ZODIACAL LIGHT IS DUST FROM MARS The Zodiacal light is sunlight reflected by dust in the inner solar system. Variations in the Zodiacal light with ecliptic latitude reveal discrete bands of dust orbiting near the ecliptic plane. The Juno spacecraft, in transit from earth to Jupiter, recorded a sufficient number of impacts with this dust to characterise their distribution in space for the first time. The radial distribution of the dust suggests it comes from Mars. The outer orbit of the dust cloud is 2 AU - twice as far from the sun as the Earth and held by Jupiter's gravity. The inner orbit is the Earth, where the dust is sucked up by our gravity. As it approaches Earth the dust reflects sunlight and appears as a column of light in the pre-dawn or post-dusk night sky. Advertisement 'Each piece we tracked records the impact of an interplanetary dust particle, allowing us to compile a distribution of dust along Juno's path,' Connerney said. The majority of pieces hit the probe between Earth and the Asteroid belt - at about 2 astronomical units from the sun - 1 AU is the distance between the Earth and the sun. Connerney and Jrgensen spotted gaps in the distribution of the dust particles related to the influence of Jupiter's gravity. Juno scientists determined that the dust cloud ends at Earth because Earth's gravity sucks up all the dust that gets near it. 'That's the dust we see as zodiacal light,' Jrgensen said, adding it ends just beyond Mars. At that point, the scientists report, the influence of Jupiter's gravity acts as a barrier, preventing dust particles from crossing from the inner solar system into deep space. This same phenomenon, known as orbital resonance, also works the other way, where it blocks dust originating in deep space from passing into the inner system. This dust barrier at either end suggest the particles are constrained to an almost circular orbit around the sun at around 2AU. This is also roughly where Mars orbits the sun - at about 1.5 AU, which led the team to determine that the natural source of the dust had to be the Red Planete. 'The distribution of dust that we measure better be consistent with the variation of zodiacal light that has been observed,' Connerney said. The researchers developed a computer model to predict the light reflected by the dust cloud, dispersed by gravitational interaction with Jupiter that scatters the dust into a thicker disk. The scattering depends only on two quantities: the dust inclination to the ecliptic and its orbital eccentricity. When the researchers plugged in the orbital elements of Mars, the distribution accurately predicted the telltale signature of the variation of zodiacal light near the ecliptic. During the mammoth Martian dust storms the entire planet is covered in particles swept up from the soil. NASA says Mars is the dustiest planet in the solar system - as far as we know 'That is, in my view, a confirmation that we know exactly how these particles are orbiting in our solar system,' Connerney said, 'and where they originate.' While they now know the dust came from Mars, what the team couldn't determine was 'how' it escaped Martian gravity, saying they'll leave that to other scientists. In the meantime, the researchers note that finding the true distribution and density of dust particles in the solar system will help engineers design spacecraft materials that can better withstand dust impacts. The findings have been published in the journal JGR Planets. Grant Harrold at Madame Tussauds London A former royal butler turned etiquette expert has sparked an online backlash in Asia for his culturally insensitive advice on how to eat rice. Ladies and gentlemen, remember we always use a knife and fork or chopsticks to eat rice! We do not use our hands or fingers!!! Grant Harrold tweeted on Saturday, causing immediate offence for disregarding the common way to eat rice in Asia where it is a staple food. Mr Harrold previously worked as butler to the Prince of Wales and his sons, William and Harry, and, according to his website, plans to open a royal school of butlers later this year. The comment generated articles in the Asian media and thousands of Twitter responses from multiple South and Southeast Asian countries, and in several different languages. Some were angry at his perceived condescending and colonial tone, some touted the health benefits of eating with your hands, and others opted for toilet humour, comparing hygiene standards between washing or wiping. Wash your butt with water first then we can talk, remarked one user. How do you eat your burgers? With knife and fork right. Come on its all about convenience isnt it? asked another. If your etiquette teaches you to make fun of someone's culture, then there is a need to improve your etiquette., said a tweet posted from India. In response, Mr Harrold said: My etiquette is British etiquette training not worldwide etiquette training as stated in by bio. More than 90% of rice is produced and consumed in Asia. According to Statista, China consumes more rice than any other country - 143 million metric tons in 2019/2020, followed in second place by India. Both countries, along with Indonesia, are the worlds largest rice producers. Mr Harrold did not post an explanation as to why he was commenting on rice. His Twitter account has previously offered advice on men avoiding adjusting their trousers in public, on kissing etiquette in public, and on how to always eat toast with your left hand. Dieppe, New Brunswick--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Colibri Resource Corporation (TSXV: CBI) ("Colibri" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its earn-in option partner Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSXV: SSE) has filed an Informe Preventivo with the Mexican government environmental authority, SEMARNAT, for the El Mezquite gold and silver project in preparation of a maiden drilling program at the property. The Informe Preventio is an environmental assessment report which is required in order to receive a drilling permit in Mexico. Silver Spruce intends to conduct an initial 1,500 to 2,000-metre diamond drill program (Phase 1) to test targets derived from surface mapping and sampling and are planning a follow-up Phase 2 drilling program as results warrant. Silver Spruce is currently in year 1 of a 4-year option to purchase 50% of Colibri's 100% owned El Mezquite project. For full details of this agreement please reference Colibri's news release dated June 6th, 2020. "We are very excited with the progress made at El Mezquite. As we swiftly draw closer to a maiden drill program on the project, we are becoming very confident with the drill targets being selected and have high hopes for positive results," says Ron Goguen, Colibri President & CEO. Project background The El Mezquite project is located within the west-central portion of the Sierra Madre occidental volcanic complex within the prominent northwest-trending Sonora gold belt of northern Mexico and parallel to the well-known, precious-metals-rich Mojave-Sonora megashear. The property is very well situated in terms of logistics for exploration and is located only 12 kilometres northwest of the Nicho deposit currently under mine development by Minera Alamos. Other nearby large operating mines include Alamos Golds Los Mulatos gold mine and Agnico Eagle's La India gold mine located 50 and 58 kilometres to the northeast, respectively and Agnico's Pinos Altos mine located 100 km to the southeast. Exploration in the surrounding area is very active with adjacent and nearby properties held by Evrim, Newmont, Garibaldi, Kootenay Silver and Penoles. The 180-hectare property is easily accessible from Mexican Highway No. 16 via a southerly trending unpaved road which traverses through the centre of the known gold mineralization. High-voltage power lines are positioned along Highway No. 16. Map 1 To view an enhanced version of Map 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4269/76874_b4ed53be14236b69_001full.jpg About Colibri Resource Corporation: Colibri is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSXV (CBI) and is focused on acquiring and exploring prospective gold & silver properties in Mexico. The Company has six exploration projects of which five currently have exploration programs being executed or planned. The flagship Evelyn Gold Project is 100% owned and explored by Colibri. Colibri has an option to acquire up to a 100% ownership interest in the Diamante Gold & Silver Project and will soon begin exploration work in preparation for a Phase 1 drilling program. Three additional projects, Pilar Gold & Silver Project (optioned to Tocvan Ventures- CSE: TOC), El Mezquite Gold & Silver Project and the Jackie Gold & Silver Project (both earn-in agreements with Silver Spruce Resources - TSXV: SSE) are also currently being actively advanced. For more information about all Company projects please visit: www.colibriresource.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains "forward-looking statements". Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. For further information: Ronald J. Goguen, President, Chairperson and Director, Tel: (506) 383-4274, rongoguen@colibriresource.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76874 SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global warehouse management systems market size is anticipated to reach USD 8.1 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 15.3% from 2021 to 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Growing transition towards cloud-based management systems in the warehouse industry is anticipated to boost the demand for warehouse management systems (WMS) based on the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. Advancements in cloud-based technologies are estimated to fuel the adoption of WMS software irrespective of the organization's size and complexity where these solutions are used. Surging demand for cloud-based systems can primarily be attributed to medium- and small-sized businesses that do not require the implementation of advanced warehouse technologies and high-speed automation. Key suggestions from the report: The WMS market is anticipated to witness substantial growth during the forecast period due to the changing supply chain models of product manufacturers and rapidly growing consumer demand, especially in the transport & logistics and retail sectors The software segment is expected to register the highest CAGR over the forecast period owing to the increasing adoption of WMS software by Small- and Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs) worldwide The cloud segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR from 2021 to 2028 owing to numerous functionalities offered by cloud-based WMS over the traditional on-premise WMS Transportation & logistics is expected to be the fastest-growing application segment over the forecast period owing to the rising need for technologically advanced WMS that can help logistics companies to keep their operations aligned with the ever-demanding market Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest CAGR during the forecast period due to the high influx of e-commerce players in the region Read 90 page research report with ToC on "Warehouse Management Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Component (Services, Software), By Deployment (Cloud, On-premise), By Function, By Application, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/warehouse-management-system-wms-market Large-scale companies are also switching to cloud-based WMS as it allows organizations to offload exhausting tasks, such as maintenance, infrastructure administration, timely upgrades, and other tasks that are carried out on the on-premise software. Cloud enables businesses running on conventional on-premise technologies to transit to a platform that will support and cater to their clients' needs more efficiently. Low upfront cost and shorter implementation time are key factors that are encouraging companies to adopt cloud-based systems. In the healthcare ecosystem, a WMS ensures that medical equipment and medicines are supplied on time. Also, it continuously updates the database of the inventory moving in and out of a warehouse, which prevents the shortage of inventory. Furthermore, in the healthcare domain, continuous sharing of information and transparency of all processes are the critical factors for efficient warehouse management. Warehouse management system enables complete transparency of logistic activities and enables proper tracking of medical devices and medicines. Similarly, in the food & beverage industry, it ensures optimized picking, directed put away, and rotation of stock based on its expiry date. Grand View Research has segmented the global warehouse management systems market on the basis of component, deployment, function, application, and region: WMS Component Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Software Services WMS Deployment Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) On-Premise Cloud WMS Function Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Labor Management System Analytics & Optimization Billing & Yard Management Systems Integration & Maintenance Consulting Services WMS Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) Transportation & Logistics Retail Healthcare Manufacturing Food & Beverage Others WMS Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028) North America U.S. Canada Mexico Europe U.K. Germany Asia Pacific China India Japan South America Brazil Middle East & Africa List of Key Players of Warehouse Management Systems Market Epicor Korber AG (HighJump) Infor Made4net Manhattan Associates Oracle PSI Logistics Reply SAP Softeon Synergy Ltd. Tecsys Find more research reports on IT Services & Applications Industry, by Grand View Research: Optical Character Recognition Market The global optical character recognition market size was valued at USD 7.46 billion in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7% from 2021 to 2028. in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7% from 2021 to 2028. Internet of Things in Warehouse Management Market The global Internet of Things in warehouse management market was valued at USD 2.27 billion in 2015, owing to the increasing penetration of connected devices across the globe. in 2015, owing to the increasing penetration of connected devices across the globe. Transportation Management Systems Market The global transportation management systems market size was valued at USD 61.27 billion in 2018 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 16.2% over the forecast period. 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: [email protected] Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close The current vaccination campaign is "under control", the chief of presidential staff believes. Chief of the President's Office Andriy Yermak has said a batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 is expected to arrive in the country in the coming weeks. He made the comment during an online discussion, titled "Conflict in the East of Ukraine: Prospects for 2021" held on March 9, as reported by an UNIAN correspondent. "The vaccination [campaign] has been underway since February, and so far it's the AstraZeneca vaccine. We expect a batch of the Pfizer vaccine to be delivered in the coming weeks. Of course, in our country, as in all other countries, the priority is given to vaccination of our medics and military," he said. Read alsoHealth ministry hopes to provide all Ukrainians with COVID-19 vaccine by Nov"Today, we believe that the current vaccination is under control," Yermak added. Vaccination in Ukraine On February 24, 2021, Ukraine launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Doctors who treat COVID-19 patients, ambulance teams, laboratory personal involved in COVID-19 testing, residents and staff of nursing homes, as well as military personnel in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) zone in Donbas are to be vaccinated at the first phase. Ukraine's Health Ministry has made changes to the national vaccination plan so that public figures could be vaccinated against COVID-19 out of turn to promote the vaccination campaign. Today, the vaccination campaign is underway in Ukraine with CoviShield (AstraZeneca), a recombinant vector vaccine produced under license at the Serum Institute of India. A complete immunization requires two doses of the vaccine 28 days apart. Reporting by UNIAN Police said shortly after 2:15 p.m., both were in a vehicle when they were approached by two males, one of whom entered the vehicle and pulled out a weapon and fired shots. The man, 20, was struck in the chest, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. [March 11, 2021] Robin Baron Design Introduces 'Ask Robin' NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrity interior designer Robin Baron, your new stylish best friend, is on a mission to demystify interior decorating and show consumers how fun and accessible it can be by offering one-to-one consultations called "Ask Robin," available now on robinbarondesign.com. The new service is part of Baron's larger vision of bringing a holistic, direct-to-consumer experience to her customers. This will be the first time seasoned designer Robin Baron is available for virtual consultations. Since not everyone has the budget or project size to bring on a designer full time, this service provides customers with the same high-quality design advice from a professional at an accessible price point. "Like having a talk with your stylish friend on Zoom, the sessions are meant to be casual, creative, and uplifting," Baron says. "My goal is to break down the barriers to working with a designer and inspire enthusiasts to feel empowered about enhancing their home." Ask Robin is available in 30- or 60-minute sessions and each one is crafted to the client's needs. Most importantly, Baron wants her customers to feel relaxed and in their element. During these sessions, Baron will answer any questions that come up, including topics relating to paint, color, furniture placement, art and mirror arrangement, accessory selection, andmuch more. And if they are not sure where to start, consumers can connect with Robin for a free 15-minute session. Baron understands that an approachable take on interior design will encourage and empower people to design like a pro. The pandemic drove many Americans to work and school from home, leading them to pay much more attention to the quality of their spaces. Still, when it comes to redecorating, many Americans hesitate to get the process started, Baron says. "It can be overwhelming to take that first step if you've never done it before." Hiring a designer may seem intimidating, Baron admits, however, without experience, small mistakes may lead to bigger problems. When it comes to decorating, she says, "Do it right the first time it will always save you time, energy and money." With over 30 years in the industry, Baron has the experience to offer her advice in a way that leaves customers with a newfound confidence in their design decisions. Baron's goal of demystifying decorating and design can be experienced throughout her website, which launched in December of last year. Robin Baron Design consists of three primary "pillars" or offerings: Products: Curated entirely by Baron, the products on robinbarondesign.com are intended to give consumers unique and outstanding choices, the best of the best. Services: Dedicated to providing assistance for anyone looking to (re)decorate. Ask Robin is the newest service added. is the newest service added. Enrichments: Tips, tricks, advice and a whole team of Resident Experts, all intended to provide practical information to make the best design choices. With the launch of Ask Robin, Robin Baron Design is now a one-stop shop for consumers interested in decorating their home and finding the inspiration, answers and guidance they need. PR Contact: Yudi Kaufman Yudi@RobinBaronDesign.com Related Files Robin Baron Design - Ask Robin .pdf Related Links Robin Baron Design View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/robin-baron-design-introduces-ask-robin-301245310.html SOURCE Robin Baron Design [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] "We used to follow Muddy all around down South," Barrelhouse Chuck wrote. "We would wait in the parking lots for the van with Illinois plates to roll up. Pinetop Perkins and Willie Smith would recognize me and get me into their concerts. Then invited me backstage with Muddy and the band. Afterward, I'd go out to breakfast with them. I was just in awe." My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell announced that he is creating a new social media platform where "all the voices" are free to "speak out." The Blaze reported that Lindell is developing his own platform replacement for YouTube and Twitter to reimpose freedom of speech such that "every single influencer person on the planet can come" there. While the Business Insider said Lindell revealed in an interview with them on Wednesday that the new social media platform is called Vocl, which is a combination of Twitter and YouTube, nothing like Gab or Parler, and meant for "print radio, and TV." "It's not like anything you've ever seen. It's all about being able to be vocal again and not to be walking on eggshells," Lindell stated. "You will not need YouTube. You won't need these places. You're going to have a platform to speak out. It's not just like a little Twitter platform," Lindell added as per the Christian Headlines. Lindell said in his interview with Business Insider that Vocl has been in development for four years now and will soon be finished--estimated from 10 days to three weeks--and was an investment he took on his own since he didn't find any prospective investors for it. He divulged to the Business Insider that Vocl is being developed by 10 people who have requested anonymity in their US headquarters "for their safety." The outlet said Lindell refused to share some of the information regarding Vocl. The American businessman also disclosed plans not to host Vocl in Amazon Web Services following the untoward experience Parler had during the U.S. 2020 Elections. He said he will instead use his own servers to ensure the his platform has "the highest security ever." He pointed out that operating a social media company "focused on unlimited speech" is packaged with "serious challenges" based on Parler's experience. "(Vocl is) going to be the most attacked. I expect that," he said, adding: "I'm attacked daily by bots and trolls and hackers. My company gets attacked all the time," he stressed. Lindell, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, experienced censorship from YouTube and Vimeo last February for posting a three-hour video on the election while Twitter suspended his account along with other Republicans and Trump supporters. The Blaze added that Twitter also suspended his company's account after he used it to tweet that once his claims on the election fraud are confirmed, the Twitter CEO will be put behind bars. Besides being curtailed of his First Amendment rights, Lindell was also sued by Dominion Voting Systems for allegedly damaging their name when he alleged that the election equipment company of tampering with he results of the 2020 elections. His negative experiences during the elections actually pushed him to launch Vocl, the Business Insider said. The Business Insider highlighted that, together with Attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, Dominion Voting Systems was demanding a $1.3 billion in damages as part of the lawsuit. Lindell told the Business Insider that Dominion had "zero chances of winning" the case, which have been running since November. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees Joint Hearing in Washington on April 10, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Facebook Asks Court to Dismiss Antitrust Case From US Government, 46 States Facebook on Wednesday requested a federal judge dismiss an antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and most states late last year. Facebooks lawyers asserted the case failed to state a claim and utterly ignores the reality of the dynamic, intensely competitive high-tech industry in which Facebook operates. The commission and 46 states in their lawsuits against Facebook claimed the California-based company was illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct. The suit alleged Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategyincluding its 2012 acquisition of up-and-coming rival Instagram, its 2014 acquisition of the mobile messaging app WhatsApp, and the imposition of anticompetitive conditions on software developersto eliminate threats to its monopoly. Plaintiffs asked the court to issue a permanent injunction that could require divestitures of assets, including Instagram and WhatsApp, and require Facebook to seek prior notice and approval for future mergers and acquisitions. But Facebook said the suits ignored the relentlessly competitive business that provides Facebook with substantially all of its revenues (advertising) and did not plausibly allege monopoly power, especially because Facebook is free to use. Moreover, none of the challenged conduct is plausibly alleged to have harmed competition and consumers in any measurable way, lawyers wrote. An Instagram employee takes a video in Menlo Park, Calif., on June 20, 2013. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images) Facebook filed on the last possible day. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama nominee who is overseeing both cases, also set a response deadline of April 7 for the FTC and states. Attorneys general, agencies, and lawmakers are increasingly eying Big Tech companies in a bid to curtail their growing power, with lawsuits one method of trying to stem their influence and reach. A group of states and the Department of Justice in October 2020 filed an antitrust suit against Google, alleging it engaged in illegal conduct that has allowed it to dominate the search industry. Facebook had issued a statement shortly after the suits were filed, saying the FTC reviewed its Instagram acquisition before voting to clear it and accused the commission of wanting a do-over. No American antitrust enforcer has ever brought a case like this before, and for good reason, Jennifer Newstead, Facebooks general counsel, said at the time. Responding to Facebooks new filing, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that Facebook is wrong on the law and wrong on our complaint. We are confident in our case, which is why almost every state in this nation has joined our bipartisan lawsuit to end Facebooks illegal conduct, said James, one of the attorneys general who joined in the suits. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Amanda Berry is working with the U.S. Marshals Services initiative Operation Safety Net to help find missing children in northern Ohio. The initiative has rescued 57 children since it began in early August, said U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott of the Northern District of Ohio. The Marshals have worked with Cuyahoga County Sheriffs Office, East Cleveland Police and Newburgh Heights Police. Berry was held captive for 10 years by Ariel Castro and rescued in 2013, along with Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus. She currently works at Fox 8 News and helps find missing people. She has a passion, the love, the drive, she cares about finding the missing because she doesnt want another little girl to go through what she went through in life, Elliott said. Its been very, very good. Were very, very proud of her, and were very proud of her partnership. Elliott said initiatives to find missing people are running across the countrys 94 districts. The missing child unit in the Northern District of Ohio focuses on finding and recovering children aged 13-18, who are vulnerable to sexual predators. We have young kids that are missing every single day, Elliott said. Thats the sad part about it. In the Marshals Service we dont look at any child being a typical runaway. We look at every one of them being an endangered runaway. Elliott said the U.S. Marshals Service has recovered children who were located as far as Miami, Florida. He said about 20% of the recovered children were victims of human trafficking. Every kid matters, I think Amanda said that, Elliott said. So were going to continue to do our best in partnership with our state, local and federal partners. And partnership with our private partners like Amanda Berry and the Children and Family Services, another outstanding group and so on and so on. PENSACOLA, Fla., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) today announced More Go to the Florida Panhandle, with plans to bring Spirit Signature Service, brand new Airbus planes and industry-leading low fares to Pensacola International Airport (PNS) starting June 10. Spirit will offer the only nonstop flights to Columbus (CMH), Indianapolis (IND) and Louisville (SDF), along with nonstop service Austin (AUS), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Kansas City (MCI) and St. Louis (STL). Images and videos can be found here. "As Florida's Hometown Airline we are excited to launch service to Pensacola, our first destination in Northwest Florida," Spirit Airlines Vice President of Network Planning John Kirby said. "With seven non-stop destinations, Spirit Airlines is making it easy and affordable for travelers to enjoy Pensacola's emerald-green waters and sugar-white sands. In addition, our new Guests in Florida's Panhandle will enjoy low-cost non-stops to many popular cities stretching from Texas to Ohio." Spirit Airlines Service to/from PNS Destination: Flights Available: Launch Date: Austin (AUS) Tue/Thu/Sun June 10, 2021 Columbus (CMH) Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat June 11, 2021 Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Daily June 10, 2021 Indianapolis (IND) Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat June 11, 2021 Kansas City (MCI) Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat June 11, 2021 Louisville (SDF) Tue/Thu/Sun June 10, 2021 St. Louis (STL) Daily June 10, 2021 "Today's announcement further demonstrates Pensacola's foothold in the national marketplace for air service," said Matt Coughlin, Pensacola International Airport Director. "We are truly grateful for Spirit Airlines' investment here at Pensacola International Airport, and more importantly, their commitment to the Gulf Coast region." Pensacola is the eighth new city added to Spirit's network in the past year. The airline continues to seize growth opportunities as demand for air travel increases, having announced new service to Louisville, Milwaukee and St. Louis in the past two weeks. Last month, the carrier announced an accelerated delivery schedule for new Airbus aircraft joining Spirit's Fit Fleet, which is among the youngest in the industry. "We are thrilled to welcome Spirit Airlines to Pensacola International Airport and the City of Pensacola," City of Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson said. "I look forward to offering new opportunities to connect travelers to Pensacola while continuing to expand our airport's footprint. Bringing a new airline to Pensacola is an incredible achievement at any time, but the fact that it was accomplished during a global pandemic is truly a testament to the airport's success and resilience." This year is off to a great start at Spirit Airlines. In addition to the opportunity to serve Pensacola, in January the carrier launched its new Free Spirit loyalty program, which is the fastest way to earn rewards and status.* Spirit is also one of only three U.S. airlines listed on FORTUNE's 2021 list of World's Most Admired Companies, which measures companies with the strongest reputation within their industries. Spirit also earned "Platinum" status by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Health Safety initiative powered by SimpliFlying. Guest Safety Spirit's commitment to Safe Travels includes a multi-layered safety approach that requires all Guests and Team Members to wear face coverings. Each passenger agrees to that policy as part of a health and safety acknowledgement prior to boarding the aircraft. Every plane in our Fit Fleet uses state-of-the-art, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that capture 99.97% of particles and filter the air for contaminants every 3 minutes. Between each flight, enhanced cleaning procedures focus on high-touch areas such as tray tables and armrests using hospital-grade disinfectants. Spirit also uses two EPA-registered fogging treatments. The first applies a safe, high-grade disinfectant that's effective against coronaviruses. The second uses an antimicrobial product that forms an invisible barrier on all surfaces that kills bacteria and viruses on contact for 30 days. Please visit Spirit's COVID-19 Information Center for more information on safety enhancements. *Based on points earned on published fares (excluding sale fares) and optional services using the Free Spirit Credit Card (the "Card"), and includes status qualifying points earned by spending on Spirit and everyday purchases using the Card. About Spirit Airlines: Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) is committed to delivering the best value in the sky. We are the leader in providing customizable travel options starting with an unbundled fare. This allows our Guests to pay only for the options they choose like bags, seat assignments and refreshments something we call A La Smarte. We make it possible for our Guests to venture further and discover more than ever before. Our Fit Fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the U.S. We serve destinations throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean, and are dedicated to giving back and improving those communities. Come save with us at spirit.com . About Pensacola International Airport: Pensacola International Airport (PNS), the gateway to the Gulf Coast, is the largest airport in the Northwest Florida with over 2.2 million passengers (2019). PNS offers over 27 non-stop destinations served by eight airlines: American Airlines, Boutique Air, Delta Airlines, Frontier, Silver Airlines, Southwest, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines. Pensacola International Airport strives to create the best air travel experience on the Gulf Coast by helping passengers fly easy and connect to the world. Fly Easy isn't just our slogan, it is our driving focus and mission. To learn more about Pensacola International Airport, our many non-stop destinations, flight status, and more, visit us online at www.flypensacola.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@flypensacola). SOURCE Spirit Airlines Related Links https://www.spirit.com Otto Dov Kulka, at 31, was the youngest survivor of Auschwitz to testify in 1964 when two decades of German failure to reckon with the Holocaust ended with the trial in Frankfurt of nearly two dozen former SS officers who had served at that extermination camp. He delivered a moving account of how Jewish inmates had sung Hebrew hymns before being loaded onto trucks that would convey them to the gas chambers, how at 9 years old he escaped the mass execution of his mother and all the friends who had been deported with him from Czechoslovakia because he had been ill and was quarantined in the camps medical block. But for nearly the next 50 years, as a historian of the Holocaust at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he would resist letting his personal experiences color his scholarship. Only in 2013 would he finally reveal them, in a haunting memoir titled Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death: Reflections on Memory and Imagination (translated into English from the original Hebrew by Ralph Mandel). Few are aware of the existence within me of a dimension of silence, he wrote, of a choice I made to sever the biographical from the historical past. While scattered showers are expected over the next few days, things should become drier as it moves towards the end of the weekend, according to Met Eireann. As spring begins to settle in, milder and drier weather is expected, leading to nicer weekends in lockdown. Now were just moving into a northwest to northwesterly shower regime, so were not expecting a huge quantity of rainfall over the weekend, Met Eireann forecaster Liz Coleman said. Read More For today, tomorrow, and Saturday, and possibly into Sunday as well - though it seems to be becoming drier on Sunday - were in a west into northwest airflow, [with] fresh and sort of gusty winds. And in that flow then well get some showers, and theres a risk of some hail in those showers too. But itll essentially be a mixture of sort of sunny showers and scattered showers, with a risk of a burst in the showers. Ms Coleman went into further detail into whats expected in terms of rainfall in the next few days. Today and tomorrow, the showers could merge into longer spells of rain for a time through the day tomorrow as well, she said. And then on Saturday some further showers, and then on Sunday becoming predominately dry. From Sunday onwards, you kind of have a ridge in the south. So there could be outbreaks in the north, but then itll be quite patchy in the south. On Friday, highest temperatures of five to eight degrees are expected, with fresh and gusty southwesterly winds, increasing near gale to gale force on southern and western coasts later in the afternoon. The same type of mild weather can be expected on Saturday, along with blustery showers initially across the country. Although, the showers will gradually become mostly confined to the west and north as sunny spells begin to develop. Meanwhile Sunday is set to be a bit warmer, with highest temperatures of eight to 12 degrees, with moderate to fresh west to southwest winds. 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. This year, Ho Chi Minh City aims to plant 500,000 trees, contributing to the countrys goal of planting 1 billion trees in the 2021 - 2025 period. Former Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan participates in a tree planting campaign launching ceremony in Thu Duc City on Monday. As part of the program, a tree planting launching ceremony was held in Thu Duc City early this week, with the attendance of former HCM City Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan and HCM City Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Phong said that since 2011, environmental protection has become one of the seven breakthrough programs of the city. HCM City has also issued a program to develop public parks and green trees in the city from 2020 to 2030, with the goal of an additional 600 hectares of parks and additional 20 hectares of public green space. According to Mr. Phong, the total area of parks in the city is only about 500 hectares, equivalent to 0.55m2 per person. The city targets a rate of 7m2 per person. He said that this year Ho Chi Minh City will strive to complete the goal of planting 500,000 trees. The scheme is to plant 1 billion trees from 2021 to 2025. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recently submitted to the Prime Minister a project to plant 1 billion trees in the 2021-2025 period. In 2021 alone, Vietnam will plant about 182 million trees and between 2022 and 2025, the country will plant 204.5 million trees each year. Specifically, 690 million trees will be planted in both urban and rural areas, and 310 million trees in concentrated forests. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has built a digital tree map in Vietnam to serve the identification of planting sites as well as management and care of trees throughout the country. The maps database, including information about tree species, planting processes and characteristics of trees during the growing process, is expected to improve the managing and taking care of trees nationwide. Ho Van Trees thousands of years old treasures beyond price No measure of money can be exchanged for the mark of time. These trees, with a lifetime of over 1,000 years, are associated with national culture and history. 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. Sorry! This content is not available in your region Razumkov reiterated that sanctions related to terrorist activities should be accompanied by actual arrests and charges. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov has said he refrained from voting for imposing sanctions against pro-Russian TV channels NewsOne, ZiK and 112 Ukraine owned by Ukrainian MP Taras Kozak since no additional information on the "financing of terrorism" accusations had been provided at the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). The first NSDC meeting, where a decision was made on sanctions against Kozak, was held without a meeting as such, Razumkov told the RBC Ukraine news agency in an interview. "This is one of the formats the so-called 'survey in writing'. The package of documents contained a draft decision, lists of persons in respect of whom this is being introduced, and the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada, which was voted in back in 2018. There was no additional information. Unfortunately, I'm not aware either of the stance of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine or other participants in the process," the speaker said. Razumkov reiterated that sanctions related to terrorist activities should also be accompanied by detentions and handover of charge papers. Read also"We are fighting": Zelensky speaks of war on Russian propaganda"Well, I'm sorry, but when terrorists are walking our streets, we can't just observe them. So far, I haven't seen additional movements, and I'm not talking about names now, I'm talking about approaches. Because names may change, but the main thing is not to change the approach," the official added. Sanctions against pro-Russian TV channels: Background On February 2, 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted a National Security and Defense Council decision of February 2, 2021, to impose sanctions on Member of Parliament Taras Kozak and a number of TV channels Kozak owns, such as 112 Ukraine, NewsOne, and ZIK. The broadcasting of these TV channels in the digital multiplex and cable networks was suspended in the early hours of February 3. At the same time, the said TV channels continue YouTube broadcasts. On February 4, two unnamed individuals filed lawsuits with the Supreme Court of Ukraine contesting the presidential decree enacting the sanctions against the TV channels. On February 10, the Supreme Court ruled not to open proceedings on a claim seeking cancellation of sanctions against pro-Russian TV channels. Reporting by UNIAN The virus is to blame for most of these extra deaths, but not all. For every five known COVID-19 deaths in Illinois, there were two other deaths that exceeded the typical numbers. Some of those deaths are undiagnosed cases, researchers have said; others are likely people who were unwilling or unable to get critical care for other serious medical conditions during the pandemic. A Sydney home has been sprayed with bullets in the middle of the night, as police hunt for the shooters who fled the scene. Police were called to Woodstock Street, Guildford in the city's west about 1am on Friday morning after reports shots had been fired into a home. Officers on arrival found used firearm casings on the street and set up a crime scene. Police have set up a crime scene after a home on Woodstock Street, Guildford in Sydney's west was sprayed with bullets in the middle of the night Officers on arrival found used firearm casings on the street on arrival and set up a crime scene The area will be examined by specialist police after an investigation into the shooting was launched overnight. No injuries have been reported. Police are calling for anyone with dashcam footage from the area to come forward. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 The Russian occupation regime prefers to use the term "water blockade", presumably hoping that their audiences can be conned into believing that Ukraine is holding back something that is "rightfully Russia's". Russia undoubtedly wants to find a scapegoat for its inability, seven years into the invasion, to provide water to the occupied Crimea, but blaming Ukraine is just too brazen, rights activists report. Blustering threats and absurd claims" about "Ukraine's violations" are by no means new, but this time the invaders are mulling 'lawsuits', first to pass through Russian courts which will surely provide the rulings required by the regime, however surreal, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group wrote. The Russian occupation regime prefers to use the term "water blockade", presumably hoping that their audiences can be conned into believing that Ukraine is holding back something that is "rightfully Russia's". Up till 2014, Crimea received around 85% of its water supplies from the Dnipro River in mainland Ukraine via the North Crimean Canal. Since Russia illegally occupied Crimea and even claimed it to be "Russian territory", Kyiv quite expectedly halted these water supplies in April 2014. Vladimir Konstantinov, a Ukrainian turncoat who has sided with the Russian occupation forces to become speaker of the Russian-controlled "Crimean parliament", told journalists on March 10 that they are planning "a lawsuit against Ukraine due to the losses caused to the peninsula by the water blockade". He called on his parliamentary colleagues to ensure that the relative committees estimated the losses from the closure of the North Crimea Canal for the environment, agriculture, and businesses, as well as for Crimeans' health. He even asked representatives of the de facto prosecutor's office to establish "those who bear personal liability" and spoke of 'pseudo-Crimeans' who had made much effort to get the flow of water severed. Read alsoNo discussions with Russia on water supplies to Crimea FM KulebaIt is certainly true that there are a number of prominent Crimean Tatars and other Ukrainian citizens from Crimea who have stressed the critical importance of cutting all water supplies until Russia ceases its occupation. There were also considerable alarming signs during the first year of Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency when, on several occasions, prominent politicians suggested scenarios involving the renewal of water supplies, rights activists recall. "If, as seems likely, the aim was to test public opinion, the result should have laid this subject to rest, as there is very strong opposition to any such move," the report reads. Reinstatement of water supplies, while Crimea remains under Russian occupation, would effectively legitimize Russia's illegal land-grab and would, in all likelihood, make it permanent. Russias assiduous attempts to push a narrative which presents Crimea as a historically "Russian" territory is wrong on all fronts, including geography. Moscow has, presumably, been always counting on exerting political pressure or even military aggression to coerce Kyiv to back its occupation forces up with water supplies. On its own, the occupation regime is unable to fully cover the demand for freshwater. The near-drought conditions of the past year exacerbated the problem, with many reservoirs and lakes having either totally or nearly dried up and restrictions on consumption being applied. How much the current difficulties are caused (over and above Russia's occupation) by weather conditions is, in fact, debatable. Moscow has failed to maintain the infrastructure needed, for example, to ensure that rainwater isn't lost, and has proved to be much more interested in creating new facilities for the military and law enforcement being deployed in Crimea. Award-winning film director Akhtem Seitablayev is not alone in believing that the shortage of drinking water is directly linked with the massive increase in the number of Russian military bases. Read alsoDiplomat names two sites in Crimea where Russia could store nuclear armsAlthough Moscow's main plans for Crimea doubtless always revolved around its massive military build-up, it has invested a huge amount of effort into propaganda as well. "Enemies" are needed to justify all the hardships the annexation has brought, with Ukraine standardly being presented as the main scapegoat. Although this is the first time that lawsuits in Russian and international courts have been mentioned, there have long been blustering claims about Ukraines supposed 'violation of human rights' and threats to complain to the United Nations General Assembly. According to the Geneva Convention, it is Russia, as an occupying power, that bears full responsibility for ensuring the basic needs of the local population, including water and food supplies. This is not a situation where Ukraine needs to find any excuses to explain its position to anybody, KHPG stresses. If it reaches a point where Crimeans are deprived of drinking water, this will be because Russia is prioritizing its military agenda over that of the population, activists note. Previous developments Ukrainian authorities insist the resumption of water supplies to Crimea would be possible only if Russia ceases its occupation of the peninsula. In 2020, the situation with water availability in Crimea became critical over droughts and the subsequent shallowing of water reservoirs. In many cities and villages, the occupying authorities imposed restrictions on the use of water. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has assured the Ukrainian officials have not been discussing with the Russian side the issue of resuming water supplies to occupied Crimea in exchange for ending the war in Donbas. The minister denies that during the negotiations within the Normandy format for the sake of ending the war, Ukraine might make concessions such as restoring water supplies to occupied Crimea or purchasing the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Reporting by UNIAN Recently, US media reported that Elon Musk SpaceX is seeking permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend the company Starlink satellite broadband Internet service to planes, ships and cars. In an application filed with the FCC on Friday, SpaceX said it would be in the public interest to extend Starlink satellite broadband Internet service to mobile vehicles across the United States and to mobile ships and aircraft around the world. However, on Monday at local time, Musk said: "It is not possible to connect Tesla cars to the Starlink network because our terminal mass is too large. This application is for aircraft, ships, large trucks and RVs." SpaceX noted in its application that it has received permission from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy up to one million user terminals in the United States. SpaceX started public beta testing of its Starlink Internet service in the US at the end of October. The company is currently offering Starlink satellite Internet service to users in the northern United States, Canada and parts of the United Kingdom, but it has unveiled plans to bring its broadband Internet service to more countries. Currently, the company Starlink satellite Internet service has more than 10,000 users. Affected by extension of Starlink satellite broadband Internet service of Space X, the 72212c bearing market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market rising. Bearings are an important part of modern machinery and equipment, and its downstream is widely used in industrial automation, high-end equipment, robotics, automobile manufacturing and other fields. In recent years, due to the decline in demand from downstream industries such as automobiles and machine tools, as well as the adjustment of industrial structure, the phase of transformation and upgrading, the phasing out of backward production capacity has changed the relationship between supply and demand. If you are looking for 72212c bearing or get more information about 72212c bearing, please send an email to sales@spark-bearing.com. The price of 72212c bearing continues to be affected by some kind of factors such as market rising momentum, various opportunities and challenges. However, during the forecast period from 2022 to 2027, the global 72212c bearing sales market is expected to continue to be above average. The growth rate will continue to increase. It is expected that In the second half of this year, the price of 72212c bearing will increase to a certain extent. Due to changes in the raw material price of bearings rising, consumer demand, import and export conditions, and various investigations on the development of 72212c bearing, the cost of 72212c bearing is constantly changing. Taking into account the current market macroeconomic parameters, value chain analysis, channel partners, demand and supply, the cost of 72212c bearing will also be affected to a certain extent. It is estimated that the cost of 72212c bearing will increase slightly from next year. The market trend of 72212c bearing? The cost of raw materials is still the biggest concern for manufacturers. Raw materials account for approximately 60-62% of bearing manufacturers revenue. The price of raw materials for bearings fluctuates continuously according to market economic conditions. Such fluctuations in raw material prices are becoming a real challenge for companies to maintain competitiveness and ensure sustainable profits. As high-grade steel and alloy steel are the main raw materials used to manufacture 72212c bearing, bearing prices are highly correlated with global steel price trends. Therefore, fluctuations in the price of raw materials have brought challenges for bearing manufacturers to compare prices and quality to manufacture bearings. In addition, the bearings require regular maintenance to avoid failures and extend their service life, which further increases maintenance costs. Therefore, factors such as raw material price fluctuations and regular maintenance costs are expected to hinder the growth of the bearing market. The market demand for 72212c bearing? The global bearing market value in 2020 is 123.34 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach 153.62 billion U.S. dollars by 2027, and the compound annual growth rate will also increase steadily. A bearing is a mechanical element that supports relative movement and helps reduce friction caused between moving parts. Bearings are widely used in various industries such as automobiles, wind turbines, construction machinery, mining machinery, agricultural equipment, and machine tools. It is used in automobiles to ensure smooth driving of automobiles, electric vehicles (EV) and other types of vehicles (such as light commercial vehicles and heavy vehicles such as trucks). Due to the increasing utilization of bearing 72212c bearing in various end-use industries, rolling mills and electric vehicles, the global 72212c bearing market has become more and more important. The development of technology has improved the overall efficiency of bearing products in the field and extended the product shelf life. About WSBC bearing Wuxi Spark Bearing Co., Ltd is a complete, one-stop 72212c bearing supplier and manufacturer. All bearings products are qualified and have passed the ISO 9001 certification. We have more than 12 years of experience in bearings, is a modern high-tech professional high-quality roller bearing manufacturer specializing in R&D, manufacturing, sales and service. In order to keep WSBC bearings in sync with the world, we have invested in many advanced CNC equipment and a complete set of precision testing equipment committed to building a high-quality workforce and introducing advanced manufacturing and management technologies. We have strict quality control and environmental protection. If you are looking for 72212c bearing or get more information about bearings, please send an email to sales@spark-bearing.com Or visit the following website: https://www.spark-bearing.com/ Of late, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and other ministers have been busy laying foundation stones for industrial estates. The number of such events in the last two months is more than the number of events in the past three years, say government officials. On February, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone for the Daiji Chhela Industrial Estate in Kanchanpur. Oli reached Kanchanpur with Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta on a helicopter. This is the same industrial zone that was announced 25 years ago (in 1995) by Prime Minister Manmohan Adhikari. On February 28, PM Oli also laid the foundation stone for the Nepal-China Friendship Industrial Park in Damak, Jhapa. Similarly, Minister Bhatta laid the foundation stone for Nauwastha Industrial Estate in Banke on February 11 and for Mayurdhap Industrial Estate in Makawanpur on February 14. Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel also laid the foundation stone for Motipur Industrial Estate in Rupandehi on March 5. While the ministers are busy laying the foundation stone, one after another with a grand ceremony, very little attention has been paid to the future of these projects. The initial estimated cost for the construction of these industrial zones is more than Rs one billion. But, so far only one project source has been secured while none has even reached the contract stage. Unguaranteed investment Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli addresses a function organised to lay the foundation stone for the Nepal-China Friendship Industrial Park in Damak, Jhapa, on February 28, 2021. According to the Industrial Districts Management Limited (IDML), three of the mentioned five projects will be funded by the government of Nepal. Meanwhile, the rest including one Chinese project will be looking for development partners. Of the agreed investment of Rs 64 billion for the Nepal-China Industrial Park, only Rs two billion has been received. The government has been assured of an additional Rs one billion. The government says it will invest Rs 26 billion in total for Mayurdhap in Makawanpur, Nauwasta in Banke, and Daiji Chhela Industrial Estate in Kanchanpur. But, according to the Industrial Estate Management Limited, Mayurdhap will require Rs 7.2 billion to complete, for Nauwaasta Rs 8.77 billion and Rs nine billion for Daiji Chhela. Motipur Industrial Estate is estimated to cost Rs 12 billion with possible foreign investment, however, no decision has been made. According to Amrit Shahi, an engineer of the IDML, the ground clearance work for these projects has been almost cleared. The work of land acquisition, detail project report (DPR), and environmental impact assessment have been completed to a large extent. Stakeholders, however, have expressed their concerns about the need for infrastructures and timely completion of the projects. Progress so far Daiji Chhela, Kanchanpur: It will be constructed in an area of 900 bighas. It is estimated that 22,000 jobs will be created in this industrial estate with 100 industrial plots. A DPR covering 355.70 bighas out of 900 bighas has been approved and the project can commence with a multi-year plan. The IDML aims to build the temporary infrastructure required within the next six months and complete it in the next five years. Nauwasta, Banke: There will be 111 plots in 525 bighas. The land acquisition for the project is half complete. A master plan for settlement within the project has also been prepared whereas the DPR and an environmental impact assessment report have been approved. However, the rest of the work is halted. Motipur, Rupandehi: Land acquisition and the DPR preparation have been done for 946 bighas while the environmental impact assessment has just begun. There will be 262 enterprises, estimated to cost a total of Rs 12 billion. It will be funded either through foreign investment or grants or international financial institutions. Although the source has not been identified yet, the government claims that the industrial zone will be ready within five years. Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and Industry Minister Lekh Raj Bhatta lay the foundation stone for the Motipur Industrial Estate in Rupandehi, on March 5, 2021. Mayurdhap, Makawanpur: It will cover 200 bighas of land with 62 plots. The DPR of the project has been prepared but the environmental impact assessment is pending. It is said that 10,000 people will be employed by constructing this industrial zone. The project is said to be built by the government, but the budget has not been approved. Nepal-China Friendship Industrial Park, Damak: It will spread over 2,100 bighas. The construction and operation of the park has been entrusted to Lhasa Economic and Technology Development Zone and Jing-Ping Joint Creation Construction Project Development Company Limited. The land acquisition for the park is pending as soil testing and environmental impact assessment have not been completed. The government claims that the project will be complete on time and provide employment to 100,000 people. Why the hurry? There is a tradition of laying the foundation stone for projects after the contract process has been finalised, but not for the projects without a secured financial position, the DPR, and the environmental impact assessment. However, it seems a campaign is underway to lay the foundation stones for the projects which are still in the initial stage. The IDML Chairman Nanda Kishore Basnet prefers to call it a new experiment. According to him, it first lays the foundation stone, calls for a letter of intent (LoI) from the industries and finally goes for the construction so to avoid creating an industrial zone without the industries. He claims that there will be no shortage of resources for the project. The IDML has Rs one billion, which it will use to work on the basic infrastructures, according to him. Conservative commentator Candace Owens has lashed out at Meghan Markle during an interview with Sean Hannity Wednesday night, describing the Duchess as a 'liar' and a 'narcissist'. Owens told the Fox News anchor that Meghan 'couldn't keep her stories straight' during her bombshell interview with Oprah last weekend. 'She [Meghan] said she doesn't read newspapers or check social media. That's not true because she then said that she was suicidal because of bad press,' Owens stated. Owens also claimed that Meghan's insinuation that her son, Archie, was not offered a title because of his skin tone was also untrue. 'If you have seen a picture of Archie and you believe he suffered anti-black racism, then call me a Nigerian prince and give me your credit card,' the outspoken pundit proclaimed, saying that the baby Royal had a light skin tone. Owens additionally mocked Meghan for putting in a complaint to British broadcaster ITV because she was upset with critical comments made by Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan. Conservative commentator Candace Owens has lashed out at Meghan Markle during an interview with Sean Hannity Wednesday night, describing the Duchess as a 'liar' and a 'narcissist' On Sunday night, Meghan claimed that she did not read press stories about herself. It was later reported she put in a complaint to British broadcaster ITV Owens also claimed that Meghan's insinuation that her son, Archie, was not offered a title because of his skin tone was also untrue Morgan - who is an outspoken critic of the Duchess - quit the breakfast program on Wednesday after he savaged Meghan and Harry's two-hour sit down with Oprah. He refused to apologize for his strongly-held opinion that the Royal couple had lied throughout their interview and had done untold damage to the Monarchy. 'Piers Morgan was all of us when he was dressing down Meghan Markle and calling her out on the lies she's told... To put in her phone call to have his voice silenced because she is unhappy with the press? She is a typical leftist narcissist,' Owens raged. She added: 'He believes that Meghan Markle was lying. I agree with him. Why aren't we allowed to have an opinion anymore? It's dangerous.' Earlier in the day, Owens also showed her support to another outspoken TV pundit who had been critical of Meghan Markle. Owens took to Twitter to lavish praise on Tucker Carlson, who described the Duchess as a 'manipulative opportunist' in a broadcast on Tuesday. 'Tucker always nails it. If you believe Meghan Markle is a victim, youre an idiot. Theres really no other way to say it,' she wrote. 'Bad press over bridesmaid dresses does not make you want to kill yourself and your unborn child unless you are: A) Unstable B) Lying for sympathy C) Both.' Morgan - who is an outspoken critic of the Duchess - quit Good Morning Britain on Wednesday after he savaged Meghan and Harry's two-hour sit down with Oprah Carlson mocked Meghan for bringing up a tearful row with Kate Middleton shortly before her wedding - something he ridiculed as 'her 9/11' Carlson described Harry as 'weak and unhappy' and Meghan 'a manipulative opportunist' Carlson mocked Meghan for bringing up a tearful row with Kate Middleton shortly before her wedding - something he ridiculed as 'her 9/11'. Carlson mockingly referred to Meghan and Kate's row about bridesmaids dresses as 'her 9/11' 'Here's this royal person, one of the most famous and fawned-over people in the world telling Oprah that she was incredibly wounded because she got into some kind of petty argument about dresses with her sister-in-law at her wedding three years ago.' 'So stop the presses. 'She and her sister-in-law had a tiff about clothes. That's never happened before. 'She thinks this is important to bring up in a television interview. It was her 9/11. So of course she considers it newsworthy.' Carlson further ridiculed Meghan for telling Winfrey that she felt stifled and trapped inside the Palace machine. 'She's actually an oppressed victim,' he deadpanned. 'She may look powerful but she's powerless.' In response to Meghan saying she was silenced, Carlson told viewers: 'A rational person might consider this claim absurd, but amazingly no one else seems to think it is. Oprah clearly doesn't think it's absurd. 'You're not allowed to make fun of this. 'Our friend Piers Morgan did that on television in the UK and had to resign from his job.' 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. By Juliet Nalwooga Police in Katwe have arrested 10 suspects belonging a criminal gang that has reportedly been operating in areas to include Masajja, Makindye-Sabagabo in Wakiso during an intelligence-led operation yesterday evening. Luke Oweyosigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson says the gang dubbed Call Call conmen, has reportedly been defrauding people using mobile phones by calling them and claiming that they have won prizes or sending fake mobile money messages. The same group has been breaking into peoples houses and stealing household property. During the operation, suspected stolen items to include three television sets, music systems, machetes and government stores were recovered. Police says 9 people, including their commander, have been arrested and the operation is still on to crackdown crime. [March 10, 2021] CryptoStar Corp. Announces CAD$25 Million Private Placement with Institutional Investors /NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/ TSXV: CSTR TORONTO, March 10, 2021 /CNW/ - CryptoStar Corp. (TSXV: CSTR) ("CryptoStar" or the "Company"), a cryptocurrency mining and data centre operator, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private placement of its common shares ("Common Shares") and warrants to purchase common shares ("Warrants") to institutional investors for gross proceeds of approximately CAD$25.0 million (the "Private Placement"). Pursuant to the Private Placement, the Company will issue up to 83,333,334 Common Shares and Warrants to purchase up to 83,333,334 Common Shares at a purchase price of CAD$0.30 per Common Share and associated Warrant. Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of CAD$0.40 per Common Share for a period of three and one-half (3.5) years following the closing date of the Private Placement. H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the Private Placement. The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used by the Company for business operations and expansion of its business, to reduce indebtedness and for general working capital purposes. The Company has applied to list the Common Shares issued in the Private Placement and the Common Shares underlying the Warrants on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). The Private Placement is expected to close on or about March 15, 2021, subject to satisfation of customary closing conditions, including receipt of conditional approval by the TSXV for the Private Placement. No securities were offered or sold to Canadian residents in connection with the Private Placement. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration under U.S. federal and state securities laws or an applicable exemption from such U.S. registration requirements. About CryptoStar Corp.: CryptoStar has cryptocurrency mining operations with data centres located in the U.S.A. and Canada. CryptoStar is currently dedicated to becoming one of the lowest cost cryptocurrency producers in North America and a major supplier of GPU and ASIC miners worldwide. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as, "expects", "is expected", "anticipates", "intends", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements include those relating to the Private Placement including closing of the Private Placement and approval of the TSXV thereof and the use of net proceeds from the Private Placement. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from that expressed in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements in this press release, and, accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements and they are not guarantees of future results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual future results or anticipated events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, CryptoStar undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE CryptoStar Corp. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] It is hoped a plaque honouring the Dundalk historian and playwright Dorothy Macardle will be placed on her childhood home in town. Councillors have suggested that a plaque should be put on 5 Seatown Place where Dorothy Macardle grew up to pay tribute to her contributions to history, literature, and culture. The local historian, writer, novelist, playwright and activist, who is most renowned for the book she penned The Irish Republic, was born in Dundalk in 1889 to Minnie Thomas Macardle, of Dundalks Macardles brewery. Cllr Conor Keelan tabled a motion at the Dundalk Municipal District meeting last Tuesday that Louth County Council should erect a plaque at 5 Seatown Place, where Dorothy Macardle spent much of her childhood, in recognition of her contribution to Irish life and culture, and that of her family. This would be a way of promoting and expanding on the heritage of the town, Cllr Keelan said. We do have a good record in highlighting our heritage and Dorothy Mcardle in recent years through Tidy Towns banners and through one of the murals in town. I think it would be worthwhile considering putting a plaque on the property in which the Macardles lived in Seatown Place. That part of town already has plaques to historic Dundalk people, such as Peter Rice on Castle Road, and the Arctic explorer Francis Mc Clintock nearby. The contribution of the Macardle family to Dundalk is well-known from the employment perspective and Dorothy herself was a figure of significance to Irish history and literature. A plaque would add to Dundalks streetscape from both a tourism and heritage perspective. Cllr Emma Coffey, who supported the motion, added: On the week of International Womens Day, given that we have very few historical figures from the locality, I think we need to acknowledge Dorothy Macardles contribution. She was a woman way ahead of her time and a shining light in what she stood for and from a cultural and historical point of view. A plaque in her honour would add to the town as a tourist attraction as she is an internationally recognised playwright and author. Mukul Chadda who is currently gearing up for Vidya Balan's Sherni and ZEE5 web show Sunflower, said OTT's revolution during the pandemic had popularised many good actors. During an interaction with Filmibeat, The Office fame talked about working on his first short film, Banana Break as well as his future acting projects. Mukul was recently nominated for the most popular actor in a comic role in a web series for his performance in the Indian remake of the popular American show, The Office. Talking about award shows and being nominated, Mukul said awards are a form of "ratification" for him. Revealing that awards always "feel wonderful", he added that being nominated several times gives "a performer a sense of satisfaction that some people have appreciated the work one has done. I think it's very difficult to compare different performances, which is why one cannot take the winning of an award too seriously." For the unversed, Mukul is an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. After working in a bank in New York, he decided to take his passion for acting forward. When talking about his journey, Mukul revealed that he does not believe in looking back, instead, "I'm only thinking ahead - that the best is yet to come!" Apart from starring in films like Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, and I Me Aur Main, Mukul has been part of web shows even before they became mainstream media during the lockdown. Talking about becoming a household face, he said, "I think the OTT revolution has made so many actors popular faces, and that's wonderful to see. As long as this continues, and we all get more interesting projects to work on, I'm very happy." The Office actor however expressed concern over creative freedom in OTT with the recent conversations around regulation. He said, "Personally, I would hope that regulation doesn't destroy the creative freedom that the OTT platforms have been able to provide its content creators. Certification of content is a great idea, regulation of the same content could stifle creativity." During the lockdown, Mukul also turned writer for his first short film Banana Bread. Around the same time, he was also seen in the ZEE5 release Bicchoo Ka Khel. When asked if acting feels different after working on his own script, he said, "Not really. Since I'm primarily an actor, that's a lot easier in most projects I do, like Bichoo Ka Khel." He revealed that acting in Banana Bread also proved to be a challenge, and said, "Once you're in your role as an actor, you have to focus on that, and let go of thinking about the script. In fact, that was a slight challenge with Banana Bread, since I wrote that and acted in it. At some point, one has to 'hand-over' the reins of control to the director and focus on one's job as an actor." However, the challenges have not stopped him from working on another script. He said, "Yes, I am working on another script, but I'm not going to say anything about it right now." On the acting front, he will be seen in feature films as well as web shows. While the feature films are slowly returning to theatres, Mukul said he is unaware if Sherni will see a theatrical or an OTT release, but added, "The platform doesn't matter to me as much as the nature of the role and the project. I'd love to play as many diverse roles as possible, in as many different genres as possible." Notably, Chadda will also be seen in Fairy Folk, an independent film by Karan Gour co-starring his wife, Rasika Dugal. According to reports, the experimental film has a dialogue-free screenplay in which the lines were improvised on set by the actors. ALSO READ: I&B Ministry Unveils OTT Regulations: New Self-Classification System Will Include 13+, 16+, U & A Category ALSO READ: Manoj Bajpayee On Making Smooth Transition From Films To Digital World: The Medium Is No Concern Of Mine MOSCOW -- The Moscow City Court has upheld the two-year suspended sentence for an opposition politician who was convicted in December over her involvement in anti-Kremlin protest rallies. After the court handed down the ruling on March 11, municipal lawmaker Yulia Galyamina said that it was very likely now that Moscow's city council would remove her of status as a lawmaker. On December 28, before the Tver district court judge found her guilty of repeatedly violating the law on mass gatherings and pronounced her sentence, the outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin said at the trial that the proceedings against her had proven that Putin, investigators, security officials, and police saw her as a "real threat." "I am a teacher, a municipal lawmaker, a politician who calls for nonviolent change, for honest political struggle, for a decent life for people. I'm a woman who is a threat to a man, who seems to have all possible powers. However, that man is just a little man who is scared of a woman's soft power," Galyamina said. Amnesty International has called the charges against Galyamina "appalling and reprehensible," and says they are aimed at "silencing a major dissenting voice and threatening to ban her political activities." Galyamina was involved in a campaign against what she says are "illegal plans" by Putin to remain in power beyond term limits. Her team organized a peaceful rally in central Moscow in July against constitutional reforms introduced in 2020 that give Putin an option to remain in power for as many as 16 more years if he wins two more elections after his current term expires in 2024. Dozens of people were detained by police during the protest. LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera has announced Industry Bancshares has joined its financial institutions community. Industry Bancshares is a holding company comprised of six different local bank charters with more than 27 offices located in rural communities throughout the state of Texas. The community banks reports supporting nearly $6 billion in deposit assets and $46 million in assets under management. Industry Bancshares Program Manager and financial professional, Bo Thibodeaux, shared, "We are excited about the switch to Cetera as it's one of the leading financial advice firms in the bank and credit union landscape." He continued, "Earlier in my career, I was affiliated with Cetera and had the opportunity to serve as part of its technology council that helped shape the AdviceWorks platform. I also witnessed firsthand, its top-notch service experience. I believe it has the best bank platform and a solid track record of helping bank programs succeed." The bank has plans to progress on its solid growth trajectory with a goal of 20% year-over-year growth over the next five years and immediate plans to recruit additional financial planning leaders to the team. Its motto, "your partner through life," is inspired by a philosophy of combining full-service banking and wealth management solutions to help more families and businesses be set on a path to reaching their financial goals. This aligns with Cetera's mission to enable the delivery of an Advice-Centric Experience to more clients, helping them achieve financial well-being at each life stage. LeAnn Rummel, head of Cetera's financial institutions community shared, "It's wonderful to welcome back Bo and the Industry Bancshares team. Our distinct focus on creating solutions and technology that accelerate growth for bankswhile increasing efficiencies and providing world class risk managementis why so many choose to join the financial institutions community at Cetera. We are excited to complement their bank program and help them advance their strategy serving customers in rural Texas." Industry Bancshares' program will be affiliated with Cetera Investment Services LLC. About Cetera Financial Group Cetera Financial Group (Cetera) is a leading financial advice firm. It empowers the delivery of an Advice-Centric Experience to individuals, families and businesses across the country through independent financial professionals as well as trusted tax professionals and banks and credit unions. It's headquartered at 200 N. Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 1200 El Segundo, CA 90245-5670. Comprehensive services include: wealth management solutions, retirement plan solutions, advisory services, practice management support, innovative technology, marketing guidance, regulatory support, and market research. "Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), Cetera Financial Specialists LLC, and First Allied Securities, Inc. All firms are members FINRA / SIPC. Individuals affiliated with Cetera firms are either Registered Representatives who offer only brokerage services and receive transaction-based compensation (commissions), Investment Adviser Representatives who offer only investment advisory services and receive fees based on assets, or both Registered Representatives and Investment Adviser Representatives, who can offer both types of services. SOURCE Cetera Financial Group The Michigan Coalition for Open Government (MiCOG) has selected Steve Delie as its first executive director, bringing on board an attorney who specializes in open government issues at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy to further MiCOGs mission of making government more accountable to citizens. The appointment comes just before the start of Sunshine Week, a national effort observed this year from March 14-20 to celebrate and promote transparency in government. Michigan ranks low in government transparency in national studies, being one of only two states to exempt its governor from state open records laws and one of only a handful that exempts the Legislature. Repeated efforts to broaden Michigans restrictive laws so far have gone nowhere. Having Steve on board as the executive director of MiCOG will be very helpful in bringing transparency to the forefront in our not-always-sunny state, said Lisa McGraw, MiCOG vice president and public affairs manager for the Michigan Press Association. Formed in 2012, MiCOG is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition that protects the right to open government through educational activities, policy recommendations and the legal process. Its governed by a board with members from the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, Michigan Press Association, Mackinac Center, Center for Michigan, Freedom Fund and two Michigan chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists in Detroit and Mid-Michigan. In addition to his job as MiCOG executive director, Delie will continue to work with the Mackinac Center in Midland. He has served as the lead expert on open government for the Mackinac Center since April 2020 and has extensive experience with public records and open meeting laws. He also worked in private practice advising municipalities. A graduate of Hillsdale College, he earned his law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law. MiCOG has consistently been one of Michigans strongest voices for government transparency and Im glad that Ill be able to help it continue that work, Delie said. Given the tumultuous times in which we live, transparency is more important than it ever has been, and I look forward to helping promote nonpartisan efforts that will truly make Michigans government more accountable to the people. Delie, 30, said his work advising municipalities on open government issues as well as helping citizens who contact the Mackinac Center with questions on the Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act means hes seen the issue from both sides. This experience has left with me a firm belief in the importance of open government, and a deep passion for the proper implementation of Michigans sunshine laws, he said. As MiCOGs executive director, I look forward to putting this passion and experience to use on behalf of Michigans citizens to ensure full, fair and open access to governmental records. The Michigan House of Representatives has passed laws over the past six years opening up some legislative records to the public and expanding the states Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but the bills have never gotten a hearing in the Michigan Senate. A House committee held hearings last week on a package of bills that would create a new Legislative Open Records Act and remove the current FOIA exemption for the governor's office and the lieutenant governor's office, beginning Jan. 22, 2022. The bills open up records for both the Legislature and the Executive Office but also include many exemptions. In addition, efforts have been announced by an outside group to launch a petition drive to repeal the laws exempting the governor, lieutenant governor and lawmakers from FOIA. MiCOGs Sunshine Agenda calls for FOIA to be extended to apply to them, as well as a reduction in fees for public records requests and new penalties that would make public bodies more accountable, among other goals. "Were excited to partner with the Virginia EMS system over the coming months and years to create a modern, dynamic and evolving platform that will drive improvements in health and public safety from the time of a 911 call to the time a patient leaves the hospital." ESO, the leading data and software company serving emergency medical services (EMS), fire departments, hospitals and state EMS/Trauma offices, today announced it is partnering with the Virginia EMS System for a multi-year engagement to create a broad pre-hospital to hospital to post-hospital data ecosystem. As part of the engagement, ESO will build and deliver a statewide EMS data repository and statewide trauma registry for the collection and analysis of data to reveal key insights and trends. Additionally, ESO will work closely with EMS agencies, fire departments and hospitals across the state to provide software, services and training in support of Virginias vision to be the healthiest state in the nation. The Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is excited to collaborate with Virginias Regional EMS Councils and ESO to offer this new software that will assist with the collection of statewide EMS data, said Gary Brown, Director, Virginia Office of EMS. We look forward to providing support and customer service to Virginias EMS agencies during this transition. The Virginia EMS system and ESO will roll out a broad array of software and services, including cloud-based data capture and reporting software, bidirectional data sharing between EMS and hospitals, and trauma registry software. The system will be live and fully functional for all state agencies by July 1. Benefits for Virginias EMS agencies, fire departments and hospitals include: State of the art, web-based electronic patient care reporting (ePCR) system for easy access to quickly input data. Detailed analytics to provide insights around injuries, performance and patient outcomes to drive improvement. Full compliance and integration with NEMSIS 3.4 for easy and automatic reporting of data at both the state and national level. Integration with third-party ePCR systems to ensure continuity of data collection and reporting. Expertise, training and consultation to ensure opportunity for success for the state and all agencies. Comprehensive, evidence-based emergency medical system to help reduce death and disability. Real-time insights and data sharing to improve patient outcomes. World-class research and insights to drive clinical change. Virginia is a strong leader when it comes to the use of data and analytics to drive improvements across the entire health and public safety continuum, said Dr. Brent Myers, Chief Medical Officer for ESO. Were excited to partner with the Virginia EMS system over the coming months and years to create a modern, dynamic and evolving platform that will drive improvements in health and public safety from the time of a 911 call to the time a patient leaves the hospital. About ESO ESO (ESO Solutions, Inc.) is dedicated to improving community health and safety through the power of data. Since its founding in 2004, the company continues to pioneer innovative, user-friendly software to meet the changing needs of todays EMS agencies, fire departments, hospitals, and state EMS offices. ESO currently serves thousands of customers throughout North America with a broad software portfolio, including the industry-leading ESO Electronic Health Record (EHR), the next generation ePCR; ESO Health Data Exchange (HDE), the first-of-its-kind healthcare interoperability platform; ESO Fire RMS, the modern fire Record Management System; ESO Patient Registry (trauma, burn and stroke registry software); and ESO State Repository. ESO is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit http://www.eso.com. The 2016 Nevada Democratic convention ended in chaos. Bernie Sanders state delegates, whod tried to out-organize Hillary Clinton delegates to eke out a few more spots to the national convention, felt the party establishment had rigged the process against them, just as they felt the party establishment had rigged things during the caucuses a few months earlier. he state party chair received death threats, and the convention had to be wrapped up abruptly because things had gotten so out of control.* Democratic Party officials worried about whether this would be a prelude to a messy Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later that summer. It was. Advertisement Few things in politics are as pure as a lengthy revenge plot. Following the 2016 caucus lossa critical one that sapped Sanders momentum following his landslide victory over Clinton in the New Hampshire primarySanders supporters spent years organizing the state. It paid off, with Sanders earning a blowout win in the 2020 caucuses. The excitement was short-lived, as it sent non-Sanders elements of the party into a coordinated, successful consolidation around Joe Biden ahead of the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. 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. Sanders Nevada success didnt propel him to the presidential nomination, but it did lay the groundwork for drastic change in Nevada: This past weekend, a progressive slate of nominees backed by the Democratic Socialists of America won control of the state party, overthrowing the establishment. The outcome prompted employees of the state party to quit en masseand take $450,000 in funds with themto set up shop elsewhere. Advertisement We were really surprised by the reaction, Dr. Zaffar Iqbal, the state partys second vice chair, said in an interview. He noted that the establishment wasnt living up to the title of its slate of candidates, the Progressive Unity Slate. It is in the interest of everybody that we come together, rather than doing what they did, he said. Ideological insurgents taking over state parties is not a new phenomenon. Devotees of former Republican presidential nominee Ron Paul took over a raft of state parties in the early 2010s. But the Nevada Democratic Party is not any old state party. Its been the vehicle over the last decade for one of the most competent Democratic organizations in the country: the so-called Reid Machine, named after its mastermind, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The well-funded, labor-centric turnout machine has been almost unerringly effective in winning close races for the Democratic Party over the last decade. Nevada is lately taken for granted, given this string of successes, as a comfortably blue state. Its not. Democrats had just perfected a formula for grinding it out. Advertisement Advertisement Veteran Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston wrote a scathing piece, titled Say Goodbye to the Most Effective Democratic Party in the Country, on the takeover. The real irony here, of course, is that these revolutionaries have taken over a party that has been a well-oiled machine since 2008. With four straight presidential victories, two Democratic U.S. senators, three of four House members, five of six constitutional officers and both houses of the Legislature, what exactly is this revolution supposed to change? Ralston wrote. If not for the dreaded Establishment that helped create an exemplar of a party organization, Dean Heller would still be a senator, Adam Laxalt would be governor and Donald Trump would have won Nevada. Vive la revolution! Advertisement There is some question, though, about how well-oiled the establishment remains after it, and the leadership of the Culinary Union, got dusted in the 2020 Nevada caucuses and now in their own party leadership elections. But Ralstons piece also notes that the Reid Machine isnt going awayits setting up shop independently, with the assets it had previously been running through the state party. The forces that erected one of the most formidable political machines in the country, Ralston wrote, are, in concert with national Democrats, withdrawing money and staff and plan to set up an outside entity to do what The Reid Machine has done best: Launder outside money, register voters and, yes, win elections. Advertisement Advertisement Iqbal acknowledged the Reid Machines successes. It has done a great job in making sure we elect Democrats, he said. But we believe it can be done better. He cited the $15 minimum wage and single-payer health care as issues the party needs to rally around to generate more grassroots enthusiasm, rather than just be responsive to the few corporate big donors. If they didnt, he suggested, Democrats string of wins in the state could come to an end. When Obama was elected, it was a 12 percent margin, he said. This margin is getting thinner and thinner. So in order to change that, the only way is that it becomes a real peoples party. A state of dueling power centers organized along competing ideological flanks isnt the best way to go into a critical election cycle. In addition to its state elections, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is up for reelection in 2022. Harry Reid, meanwhile, has been trying to secure the capstone to his legacy: making Nevada first in the Democratic presidential nominating cycle, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. A house in disorder isnt helpful to the cause. Advertisement Iqbal said that Judith Whitmer, the new party chair, and others in charge of the party are now doing what they can to reach out to the establishment-in-exile to repair the rift. We are all trying to reach out, proactively, and dispel their fears, that we are here so that the Democrats are elected. We are here so that it becomes a real grassroots party, a service-oriented party, that Democrats contact us and they feel we are really listening to them and responding. Correction, March 12, 2021: This piece originally misstated that chairs were thrown at the 2016 Nevada Democratic Convention. That has not been proven. YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenia started vaccinating health workers against COVID-19. Armenian health workers engaged in the COVID-19 response are receiving the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on a voluntary basis. Health ministry spokesperson Hripsime Khachatryan told ARMENPRESS that the Russian government had donated 2000 doses of Sputnik V to Armenia in early 2021 and they are using it in the vaccination. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan CAIRO Egypt is seeking to form an Egyptian lobby in the United States to present a positive image of their country and government to the Joe Biden administration. During an online meeting Feb. 22, the General Union of Egyptians Abroad discussed the possibility of forming an Egyptian lobby aimed at leading civil society organizations to pressure the American public opinion and introduce the Egyptian point of view vis-a-vis the American leadership. Ismail Ahmad, chairman of the union, said during the meeting, "The union is working on gathering all Egyptian immigrants in the United States from the West Coast to the East Coast and unifying their ranks to form an Egyptian lobby capable of achieving several benefits and overcoming challenges. The General Union of Egyptians Abroad is a well-known civil society institution in the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The union has publicly declared its support for the Egyptian government and had previously organized several conferences for Egyptians abroad to endorse the nomination of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for a second term in office in 2018. Demands for the formation of an Egyptian lobby in the United States have increased since Biden was elected president. During a Jan. 25 parliament session in the presence of Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Nabila Makram, member of parliament Ashraf Rashad the majority leader in parliament and head of the parliamentary committee of the Nations Future Party, which is close to the government called on the need to form a lobby to defend the Egyptian state through the diplomacy of Egyptians abroad in a bid to explain the reality on the ground, the states achievements and role in combatting terrorism. On Jan. 31, Makram announced the establishment of the first lobby of young academics abroad to defend Egypt in several countries, mainly in the United States, through a center for Egyptian students abroad, which is responsible for organizing meetings and visits for Egyptian youth in the United States and other countries to promote the Egyptian government role. Since Biden took office, the United States has begun exerting pressure on Egypt regarding the human rights situation in the country. On Jan. 25, two members of the US Congress Don Beyer and Tom Malinowski announced the formation of the Egypt Human Rights Caucus. Both members, who previously served in the US State Department, said they would mobilize support on a bipartisan basis, from the Democratic and Republican parties, in a bid to pressure the Egyptian government regarding its human rights record. On Feb. 23, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed, in his first call with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, the US concern about the human rights situation in Egypt, stressing that this issue is central to the US-Egyptian relations. In November 2020, following Bidens victory, Foreign Lobby reported that the Egyptian Embassy in Washington signed an agreement with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, a law firm, for the provision of government relations services and strategic advice in matters presented to the US government in relation to Egypt. The lobby team defending Egypt through this public relations company includes several Republican and Democratic politicians. The Egyptian government has also begun to mobilize Egyptians in the United States to form a lobby to pressure the Biden administration. Alaa Salim, secretary-general of the General Union of Egyptians Abroad, told Al-Monitor, The union has begun taking steps to form an Egyptian lobby to confront any US misinterpretation of the situation in Egypt. He said, The union is now identifying the most important Egyptian figures in the United States capable of influencing American society as well as Egyptians who are members of the Democratic and Republican parties, who will be at the basis of the lobby. The lobby would later expand to include more Egyptians based in the United States." Salim noted, The aim of forming an Egyptian lobby is to state and confirm that the Egyptian state under President Sisi has made breakthroughs in many human rights issues, most notably in issues related to citizenship, equality, and confronting extremism and intolerance. The lobby would also confront the moves by the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups in the United States to tarnish the image of the Egyptian state, undermine its achievements and incite against it. He added, There has been cooperation between the union and the Egyptian government institutions as well as parliament to mobilize Egyptians based in the United States to support their country and deal with attempts to undermine Egypt." Tarek Fahmy, professor of political science at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor, The formation of an Egyptian lobby in the United States is of paramount importance and necessary for Egypt especially with the Biden administration. He said, There must be adequate funding to form such a lobby. Also, the Egyptian community in the United States is dispersed. Therefore, any Egyptian lobby must have a database of all Egyptians based in the United States to contact them. Prominent figures must also be identified and contacted. It is also equally important to monitor the moves of the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt in the United States." Midland County recorded 11 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, according to the daily statewide report. Vaccine update Millie Jezior, public relations manager for MidMichigan Health, said MidMichigan has vaccinated about 1,126 first dose patients and 11 second dose patients in the past seven days. The three groups being vaccinated this week are 1st dose 1A category, 2nd dose 1A category and 1st dose 1B category. Jezior said the MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland uses the majority of vaccine doses it gets, especially now that allocations have been lower. With the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services expanding the eligibility criteria to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, MidMichigan Health will continue to schedule vaccinations via their COVID Hotline. To reach the hotline, call 989-794-7600 or the toll free line at 800-445-7356 anytime from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday and press Option 1. For eligibility and criteria, see the MidMichigan Health website at www.midmichigan.org/covid19. "Currently, we are holding vaccination clinics for those age 50 and up who have disabilities or medical conditions that place them at higher risk for severe illness; caregiver family members and guardians age 16 and older of children who have special health care needs; and people who live in congregate settings, (such as) homeless shelters, jails, prisons.," Jezior said. Beginning Monday, March 22, all people age 50 and older are eligible. "Here at MidMichigan Health, because we do not know, week to week, which vaccine will be received and how many we will be allocated, we recommend you take whichever vaccine is offered to you when you are eligible to receive the vaccine," Jezior said. As of March 10, the number of second doses administered is 14,108, Jezior said. MidMichigan Health has distributed 36,643 vaccines so far, and 16,734 doses have been administered in Midland. This past weekend, Delta College served as a host to the National Guard for a tri-county mass vaccination clinic. This was in collaboration with the Bay, Midland and Saginaw health departments and the National Guard. The two-day event saw 2,960 tri-county residents vaccinated, making it the largest vaccination clinic in the area to-date, according to a report from the Delta College Board of Trustrees on Tuesday. The Guard will return April 10 for a one-day event to give the community their second doses. Wednesday, March 10 COVID-19 numbers: Midland County: 11 cases were added. Pandemic total is 4,535 cases, 604 probable, 63 deaths and three probable deaths. Bay County: 34 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 7,300 cases, 317 probable, 282 deaths and 12 probable deaths. Gladwin County: 0 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 1,266 cases, 234 probable, 40 deaths and three probable deaths. Isabella County: 8 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 3,613 cases, 472 probable, 72 deaths and one probable death. Saginaw County: 41 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 14,396 cases, 747 probable, 513 deaths and 11 probable deaths. On Wednesday, the state added 2,316 new cases and 7 deaths. Overall, Michigan is at 601,284 cases and 15,706 deaths. Testing The state report shows as of Wednesday, Midland County has performed 59,824 COVID-19 tests. Gladwin County is listed as having administered 16,851 tests. Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate on March 5 was listed at 4.7%, and Gladwin County was listed at 3.7%. Our 12-county region is listed at 5% and Michigan is at 4.3%. MidMichigan Health statistics As of Monday, MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland was listed as having a 69% bed occupancy, with 10 COVID-19 patients and one in the ICU. MidMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin was listed as having an 11% 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 of the above supplies. A man who stabbed his wife to death in their Sydney home before stuffing her body in a freezer and fleeing overseas will likely be tried for her murder in China, an inquest has heard. Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott on Thursday found Chan 'Vivien' Chen had been killed by her husband Haoling 'Andrew' Luo in late November 2019. Ms Chen's body was found after Luo left a voicemail for his boss admitting his wife was dead. 'I was a little mentally abnormal a few days ago and accidentally killed my wife during a fight with her,' he said. Similarly, Chinese police were informed when Luo turned up at Ms Chen's family home and told her father that he had killed her. Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott on Thursday found Chan 'Vivien' Chen (pictured) had been killed by her husband Haoling 'Andrew' Luo in late November 2019 Luo is in custody in China, where he is expected to be prosecuted for the murder in the absence of an extradition treaty with Australia Luo is in custody in China, where he is expected to be prosecuted for the murder in the absence of an extradition treaty with Australia. NSW Police found Ms Chen's body stashed inside a chest freezer in the family's Pymble apartment on November 26, 2019. The apartment was covered in blood including on the lounge, the curtains, and carpet in their children's bedroom. Luo's palm print was in blood on the top of the freezer and his DNA under Ms Chen's nails. According to messages she sent friends, Ms Chen had asked Luo for a divorce several times, including in the hours before her death on November 24 or 25. Police were called to the apartment complex just before midnight on November 24 after receiving triple-zero calls reporting raised voices and children screaming, but the officers left after about 30 minutes when they did not hear any screams. It is unknown if Ms Chen was already dead or died later that morning, Ms Truscott said. The next morning, Luo purchased a freezer before fleeing the country with his children. The front door to the Pymble unit was smeared with fingerprint dust with a Louis Vuitton hat hanging up inside NSW Police homicide squad detectives arrive at the Pymble apartment block after the grisly killing In the year leading up to Ms Chen's death, Luo displayed increasingly erratic behaviour, Ms Truscott said. He was overheard insisting his phone was tapped and told friends people were trying to hurt him. Ms Chen told a workmate Luo had at one point believed she was having an affair and trying to kill him, and demanded to inspect her phone. Another time, Ms Chen told a friend the family had been forced to sleep in a corner of the living room while Luo guarded them with a kitchen knife. Luo was at one point told by a Chinese doctor he had schizophrenia, and given medication which improved his behaviour until he stopped taking it on an Australian GP's advice. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 NSW Police found Ms Chen's body stashed inside a chest freezer in the family's Pymble apartment on November 26, 2019 Local Ireland, the association representing 42 weekly paid-for print and online newspapers around the country, has created a blank print and digital newspaper to illustrate the crisis facing the sector as a result of COVID-19. The newspaper includes strong editorial messages from the newspaper editors, adverts calling for Government support and a map showing newspapers in every county of Ireland but its 48 pages are mostly empty of stories. The industry is calling on the Government to match its 5 million funding for local radio with support for local newspapers and is urging a fair share of Government advertising for COVID information campaigns. President of Local Ireland David Ryan said: The Blank Newspaper shows what will happen if professional, quality journalism is not supported. We have already seen measures being taken for shorter working weeks, lay-offs and redundancies. There has been a dramatic fall in advertising during the COVID period for publishers, who were already having to deal with the fall-out from the global recession and the mass migration of advertising to tech giants such as Google and Facebook prior to COVID. Advertising fell an average of 22% in 2020 compared with 2019 and the start of 2021 is, if anything, worse. We provide a unique service to our readers both urban and rural. We are in every county, every town, every estate and every townland, in print and online. Our readers rely on us to give them the detailed local coverage that they cannot get anywhere else. Executive Director of Local Ireland Bob Hughes said: Local radio stations, which operate in the same market as ourselves, received 2.5 million via a COVID funding scheme last April and have just been given the opportunity to apply to another 2.5 million scheme. We have received no such similar support. Government needs to come forward with creative solutions to support the industry during the current crisis. Ninety one per cent of our advertising comes from local businesses and many have been devastated by the pandemic, particularly those in the hospitality and tourism sector. We are also calling on the Government to ensure that local news publishers receive their fair share of advertising around national COVID campaigns. Our newspapers reach older people and the most vulnerable in society who rely on us for the latest information about changes in COVID restrictions and the roll-out of vaccines. We need to see a fairer distribution of advertising spend to serve our readers and to support our businesses. By Mathieu Rosemain and Raphael Satter PARIS (Reuters) - A fire at a French cloud services firm has disrupted millions of websites, knocking out government agencies' portals, banks, shops, news websites and taking out a chunk of the .FR web space, according to internet monitors. The fire, which broke out on Wednesday shortly after midnight at OVHcloud, destroyed one of four data centres in Strasbourg, in eastern France, and damaged another, the company said. There was no immediate explanation provided for the blaze, which erupted just two days after the French firm kicked off plans for an initial public offering. Europe's largest cloud services provider told clients including the French government, the Centre Pompidou and cryptocurrency exchange Deribit to activate their disaster recovery plans following the blaze. "Firefighters were immediately on the scene but could not control the fire" in the affected data centre, founder and chairman Octave Klaba said on Twitter. He said the plan for the next couple of weeks would include rebuilding the centres' equipment and checking their fiber optic connections. Some 100 firemen fought the blaze which sent a thick plume of black smoke into the night sky. Video images showed firefighters dousing one smouldering, multi-storey building in the early morning as they cooled down the site. Founded by Klaba in 1999, OVHcloud competes against U.S. giants Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corp's Azure and Alphabet Inc's Google Cloud, which dominate the market. "OVH is a pretty important hosting company on the internet," said Mike Prettejohn, who directs UK-based network security company Netcraft. He said the affected servers hosted 3.6 million websites, including niche government platforms in France, Britain, Poland and the Ivory Coast. Prettejohn estimated that just under 2% of the sites with the French .FR domain extension had been affected. French politicians have championed OVHcloud as a possible alternative to U.S. cloud services providers, but it has so far lacked the scale and financial clout to dent their market share. The company said on Monday it had started the process for a potential IPO, without giving details. The Strasbourg centres were among OVHcloud's 17 data centres in France, and 32 globally. Several clients said their websites had gone offline or emails could not be accessed. There was no immediate news of any major data losses. The Centre Pompidou, one of France's best known art complexes, said its website was down. Cryptocurrency exchange Deribit said its blog was down but that trading had not been impacted, free chess server Lichess.org said it had lost 24 hours' worth of games history and news outlet eeNews Europe said its websites were offline. PR agency Caroline Charles Communication said its data was held at another site but that it had lost access to emails in the middle of Paris Fashion Week. OVHcloud declined to comment on its fire safety protocols. The site did not pose a toxic risk, it added. (Reporting by Matthieu Protard and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris and Raphael Satter in Washington; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Mark Potter and Matthew Lewis) (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.) Tao Kaiyuan, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), has called on society to pay greater attention to teenagers' mental health during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Tao, who is also the vice president of the Supreme People's Court, noted that mental health issues among adolescents have increased in China in recent years, especially in 2020 when extreme incidents apparently linked to teenagers' psychological problems were consistently found in news reports. According to Tao, mental health problems among Chinese teenagers are largely caused by three factors. These include the intense and growing academic burden, negative influence from adults due to the involution of Chinese society and harmful information found on the internet, and the lack of professional psychological support both in and outside schools. "Although our younger generation used to rank high in the International Student Assessment, there are reports now showing that Chinese students are facing mounting academic pressure and are not happy with their lives," Tao said during a video conference on March 8 at the fourth session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. Tao believes that in a fast-changing society with excessive competition, anxiety among adults caused by involution will inevitably be transferred to teenagers. Given the seriousness of the issue, Tao called for more educational reform efforts concerning school environments and evaluation mechanisms. She urged schools to help students achieve self-development via group-based cooperative activities rather than individual competition, to build teenagers' self-esteem and improve their ability to appreciate others. Tao also suggested fostering a healthy cyberspace environment for teenagers and developing devices that can filter and block harmful content and limit the amount of time that they spend online. The national political advisor noted that support mechanisms for teenagers' mental health should also be put in place which connects schools, families, and society. Specifically, there should be more professional courses offered to teachers regarding adolescent psychology as well as more certified teachers knowledgeable in mental health in primary and middle schools across China. Meanwhile, parents are encouraged to abandon utilitarianism in family education and to expose children to a broader understanding of success. "An early warning platform should be established in our society for teenagers demonstrating extreme behaviors in order to find those suffering from psychological distress and provide professional assistance in a timely manner," Tao added. But her suggestion on the early warning platform has sparked heated discussion on Zhihu, China's Quora-like Q&A platform. While many agreed that such a platform would indeed be helpful, others expressed concerns over teenagers' right to privacy and data security. "If the platform is designed to prevent teenagers' extreme behaviors by monitoring their data, then we need to think as to whether this constitutes a violation of their privacy," one Zhihu user stated. "I think we should put more focus on the education side and provide positive guidance for teenagers to prevent extreme behaviors arising from the source." The National Bank of Cambodia is aiming to reduce the countrys dependency on the U.S. dollar with the introduction of digital currencies and the phasing out of small-denomination U.S. dollar bills $1, $2 and $5 notes in favor of Cambodias local currency, the riel. VOA Khmer's Leakhena Sreng narrates. The Lehigh Valleys representative in Congress wants to establish a permanent memorial at the U.S. Capitol of the Jan. 6 riots. The proposed exhibit is intended to educate people about the deadly day and memorialize the law enforcement officers killed and injured. Susan Wild this week proposed a bill to establish the memorial with fellow Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. Photographs of the siege showed Crow comforting Wild on the floor of the House chamber before they were evacuated. What happened in the U.S. Capitol that day must never be allowed to happen again. Our effort will help ensure the sobering consequences of violent, anti-democratic rhetoric may never be lost to history, Wild said in a released statement. Her district covers the counties of Lehigh, Northampton and part of Monroe. The January 6th attack was a sobering day we must never forget. Thats why my friend @RepJasonCrow & I are calling for... Posted by Congresswoman Susan Wild on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 Supporters of Republican President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol that day after Trump himself addressed a rally nearby and as Congress certified Electoral College votes and current President Joe Bidens victory. Wild has described hearing the intruders pounding on the chamber doors, breaking glass, shots fired, and how she and others called their families while it all unfolded. Wild and Crows bill, called the Capitol Remembrance Act, would direct the design and installation of a permanent exhibition of the Jan. 6 riots in a prominent place in the U.S. Capitol and within two years. The exhibit would include preserved, damaged pieces of the building and grounds, photographs and artwork, and a plaque honoring U.S. Capitol Police, the sacrifice of heroes and staff who helped restore the complex afterward. Trump supporters stand on top of a police vehicle, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. Reps. Susan Wild, D-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo., have proposed a permanent memorial at the Capitol to educate about the 1/6 riot and memorialize officers who died or were injured.AP Specifically named for inclusion on the plaque are Capitol Police officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood and D.C. Metro police officer Jeffrey Smith. Sicknick died during the riot. Liebengood and Smith died of suicide days after the attack. At least 26 Pennsylvanians have been charged in the Jan. 6 riot, according to Philadelphia Magazine. There is at least one Lehigh Valley resident among them: Jackson Kostolsky, of South Whitehall Township Wilds hometown is accused of violently entering the Capitol. He was released until his scheduled May 6 hearing. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. ED attaches property of Jamtara based cyber criminals India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Mar 11: The ED has attached assets worth about Rs 66 lakh of alleged cyber criminals based in Jharkhand's Jamtara district, the central probe agency said on Thursday. It said the assets, provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), include three immovable residential properties situated at Mirga village in the district, four vehicles as well as bank deposits of accused Pradeep Kumar Mandal, Pintu Mandal, Ankush Kumar Mandal, Santosh Mandal and Ganesh Mandal. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) slapped criminal charges under the PMLA against the accused after taking cognisance of a Jharkhand police FIR and chargesheet that charged them with illegal withdrawal and transfer of money from ATMs and bank accounts of gullible people in the guise of being bank officials. On cyber attack on India, US says cannot allow China to dominate The ED said its investigation found that the accused "in connivance with other persons acquired funds in their bank accounts and family members' bank accounts by cheating bank customers, some other individuals and invested the same in the construction of houses and purchase of vehicles". BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News The agency had filed a chargesheet in the case before a special PMLA court in Ranchi in May, 2019 and "charges against all the accused persons have been framed and the trial is underway". Tiger Shroff has always mentioned in various interviews that he is very close to his actor-dad Jackie Shroff and shares a warm equation with him. Recently, when the Ram Lakhan actor appeared as a guest on a singing reality show, Tiger recorded a special message to express his love and admiration. In the video message, Tiger talked about making his father proud and said, "I am sure my family must have spoken at length about you and I would just like to say a few words. I love you very much Dad and Zindagi main mera ek he maqsad hai (my only aim in life is) -- to make you proud every day. I hope, I am managing to do it." Jackie Shroff's wife Ayesha was also a part of the video wherein she recalled her first meeting with the Parinda actor and spoke about their life together. "It will be fun for all of you to know that the first time I met him, I was 13 years old. I actually met him at a record shop where we spoke for two minutes and then I went home. I said to my mom that I met the man whom I would marry. Then, I saw him after three years and we started talking and went out a couple of times. I feel the best decision of my life has been to marry him, and I am very lucky to find a wonderful man like him. He has been a great husband and the best father in the whole world," she said in the video. Meanwhile, Jackie Shroff recently turned 64. In an interview with a leading tabloid, the actor was all praise for his son Tiger. He said that success has not changed his son, and all credit for that goes to his grandmother and mother. "They brought him with the right values, while I was working round-the-clock to give my family a comfortable life. The kid has got a good head on his shoulder," the actor was quoted as saying. Workwise, Jackie Shroff will next be seen in Salman Khan-Disha Patani's much anticipated film Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. ALSO READ: Jackie Shroff Reveals He Is Happiest When Working, Says 'I Think I'm Doing More Films Than Tiger' ALSO READ: Tiger Shroff Says Playing The Bad Guy In War Seemed More Fun Than Being The Hero DALLAS, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Istation , a leader in educational technology, has been named a winner of the 2020 Top Ed Tech Products of the Year award by District Administration and FETC for its digital oral reading fluency assessment. Developed through a partnership with Boulder Learning Inc. and powered by voice recognition and artificial intelligence, Istation's Indicators of Progress (ISIP) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment allows teachers to automatically measure oral reading fluency from digitally recorded passages for students in grades K5 for both English and Spanish. The fast and flexible advanced speech recognition technology saves teachers' time. Students make recordings of themselves reading grade-leveled passages, which pass through carefully calibrated acoustic models to produce auto-scores. Teachers can review recordings at their convenience and even share them during parent teacher conferences. Students also can record passages from home, giving teachers the insight to determine whether students are on track to meet reading goals during this time of distance learning. Since the recordings are always available for review, teachers can ensure data integrity even when the assessment is administered remotely. "We are thrilled our product has been recognized as one of the most innovative new solutions on the market that's helping district leaders meet the ever-evolving technology needs of their schools," said Ossa Fisher, COO of Istation. "Educators have had so much on their plate this year, from juggling the complexities of distance learning and learning how to navigate new edtech tools to worrying about the mental health of their students and themselves. It's an honor and a privilege to fulfill our mission of helping students succeed and grow while making educators' lives a little easier during these trying times." Istation's Peter Jacobson gave a presentation on the ISIP Oral Reading Fluency assessment during the District Administration Virtual Future of Education Technology Conference in January 2021. To learn more about the ISIP Oral Reading Fluency assessment and schedule a demo, contact Istation at https://www.istation.com/Contact. About Istation Founded in 1998 and based in Dallas, Texas, Istation (Imagination Station) has become one of the nation's leading providers of richly animated, game-like educational technology. Winner of several national educational technology awards, the Istation program puts more instructional time in the classroom through small-group and collaborative instruction. Istation's innovative reading, math and Spanish programs immerse students in an engaging and interactive environment and inspire them to learn. Additionally, administrators and educators can use Istation to easily track the progress of their students, schools and classrooms. Istation now serves over 4 million students throughout the United States and in several other countries. Media Contact Sarah Jenne [email protected] 972-850-5899 SOURCE Istation Related Links http://www.istation.com Hudson, NY (12534) Today Partly cloudy this morning. Increasing clouds with periods of showers this afternoon. High 77F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Parliament of St. Maarten has taken another step forward as they push for the decolonization process to continue for the former Netherlands Antilles. In so doing they have submitted a petition to the Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance as well as to the Working Group of Experts on the People of African Descent. The Petition was submitted on March 9th, 2021, on behalf of the Parliament of St. Maarten as the Kingdom prepares for General Election on Wednesday, March 17th, 2021. Petitioners, the Parliament, and citizens of Sint Maarten (Petitioners), respectfully bring to the attention of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance (Special Rapporteur) and of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (Working Group) the persistent acts of racial discrimination and violations of international human rights law by the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Netherlands) against Petitioners and others similarly situated in the islands of Aruba and Curacao as well as in the special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Sabatogether, the six islands of the former Netherlands Antilles. Click here for the full petition. 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. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 42 Software Engineering Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 157 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 157 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 42 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Software Engineering Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-software-engineering-degree-program/ 2021 Software Engineering Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Arizona State University Auburn University Baker College Bellevue University Brandeis University Brigham Young University, Idaho California Polytechnic State University California State University, Monterey Bay Champlain College Dakota State University DePaul University Drexel University East Carolina University Eastern Florida State College Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Florida Institute of Technology Fresno Pacific University George Mason University Iowa State University Kennesaw State University Liberty University Mercer University Miami University Michigan Technological University Milwaukee School of Engineering Montana Tech Pennsylvania State University Robert Morris University Rochester Institute Of Technology Saint Cloud State University Saint Leo University San Jose State University Southern New Hampshire University Stevens Institute Of Technology Trine University University of California, Irvine University of Michigan, Dearborn University of Nebraska, Lincoln University of Texas, Dallas University Of West Florida Washington State University Western Governors University About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. If you thought President Joe Bidens doggie drama was a Major story, wait until the first family brings a cat to the White House. Press secretary Jen Psaki predicts that the new furry friend will win the hearts of the American people and quickly eclipse the biting controversy over the Bidens antsy German shepherd. We know that the cat will break the internet, but I dont have any update on its status, Psaki said at a Tuesday press briefing. The Bidens said during the presidential transition that they plan to bring a feline into their new home along with Major and Champ, their two dogs. But so far theres been no sign of a first kitten even as President Biden nears 50 days in office. The Bidens already made history with Major, who became the first rescue dog to live at the White House. But the 3-year-old pooch made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week when he was accused of biting a guard. Major and Champ were both shipped back to the Bidens hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, after the incident. Psaki admitted Tuesday that [Major] reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual. A spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden said the dogs were only sent away because she was out of town for a couple of days, and vowed that they would return. Dog trainers say its not uncommon for young pooches to become skittish after a move. They note that the dogs were rarely around strangers while the Bidens were hunkered down in Wilmington during the pandemic last year. But if the Bidens dog was already Major-ly stressed out, what will happen when Felix cat-apults into his territory? The nation may only be scratching the surface when it comes to animal drama. Dave Goldiner of the New York Daily News wrote this story. 2021 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. New Delhi: Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Prakash Javadekar were on Thursday appointed the BJPs election in-charge for the high-stakes Gujarat and Karnataka assembly polls respectively. BJP chief Amit Shah also appointed four Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Jitendra Singh and P P Choudharyco-incharge for the Gujarat polls, scheduled to be held later this year, a party statement said. Union minister Piyush Goyal will be co-incharge for the Karnataka polls, slated for early next year, it said. Union minister Thawar Chand Gehlot has been appointed the election in-charge for the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls, also scheduled for later this year. Jaitley and Javadekar have been the partys in-charge for various state polls in the past. Gehlot is also a veteran organization man. The last assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat were held in November and December 2012, respectively. The results were announced on December 20, 2012. The last Karnataka assembly polls were held in May 2013. The BJP is in a direct contest with the Congress in all the three states. While the saffron party is in power in Gujarat, its bastion for over two decades, the opposition party rules in the other two states. Since it stormed to power at the Centre in 2014, the BJP has edged past the Congress in the polls in states where the latter was its main challenger. The Congress defeated the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab, but the BJP was a junior partner in the state. In Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is leading the Congress charge against the BJP, which has made it clear that its state president and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa will be its chief ministerial face. Siddaramaiah has expressed confidence that he will retain power. The BJP is confident of retaining power in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah. In the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh where the BJP has not projected any chief ministerial candidate yet, a keen battle is expected between the two parties, with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh leading the Congress campaign. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. BUOCHS, Switzerland, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The corona pandemic continues to pose a global threat: To date, it has been possible to vaccinate only a small fraction of the total population. On top of that, there is acute danger from mutations of this virus. Against this backdrop, the DG-Nika AG research team has developed a solution for a new approach to protecting the population from serious illness: a pocket inhaler containing the active ingredient 2-DG (2-Deoxy-D-glucose). The DEGEGLUXID pocket inhaler is effective both as prophylaxis and as therapy. The SARS-CoV-2 virus from the corona family is transmitted via the airways. The virus establishes itself in the respiratory tract of the infected patient, from where it infects the entire body. It is at this point that the DG-Nika AG solution takes effect: In the same way as with an asthma spray, 2-DG, a well-known molecule from the glucose family, is inhaled in tiny particles through the mouth into the respiratory tract. 2-DG disrupts the energy balance in the infected host cells along the entire path to the lungs. This means that virus reproduction is blocked or severely restricted, allowing the body's immune system to combat the infection or to keep it at a low level. - Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) - Successful tests in animals The molecule 2-DG (2-Deoxy-D-glucose) is the active ingredient in this novel approach to therapy, operating as a "Trojan Horse" by blocking the synthesis of virus particles and leading to the cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 dying off. Professor Piotr Kuna, chairman of Department II for Internal Medicine at the Medical University in odz and head of the department for Internal Medicine, Asthma and Allergies at the Barlicki University Hospital in odz, is assisting the DG-Nika AG international development team. Comprehensive testing has proceeded with the greatest success, the research leader says. "By disrupting the cell's metabolism and blocking the signalling pathways for glucose, we achieve a huge reduction in virus production, along with the apoptosis of the host cells." The tests on the respiratory epithelium show both prophylactic and therapeutic effect. European Medical Agency EMA: First hurdles cleared In vitro and animal tests have both shown that the 2-DG approach has a sound basis in science. A report from the European Medical Agency (EMA) sets out that the path proposed by DG-Nika AG is credible and should be pursued further. The idea was patented in April 2020, with DG-Nika AG holding the exclusive global rights. The aim is for the pocket inhaler containing the active ingredient 2-DG to be available from the second half of 2021 under the trade name DEGEGLUXID. DG-NIKA AG is a Swiss startup with the objective of effectively containing viral infections. The startup operates in cooperation with a team of international scientists coordinated from Switzerland. Further information and an image are available here www.dg-nika.ch Contact for questions from professionals and the media: Georg Wander, chief executive officer +41 41 464 11 03 g.wander@dg-nika.ch SOURCE DG-Nika AG PHILIPSBURG:--- Sint Maarten National Commission for UNESCO has partnered with the Funtopia Youth Initiative Foundation to launch the pilot afterschool program for introducing the Art of Stilt walking and Moko Jumbie culture in primary schools as an extra-curricular activity. This initiative is a part of UNESCO and the Ministry of Education Culture Youth and Sport (Culture Department) aims to stimulate local institutions to engage in the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) attributes of Sint Maarten. The program is being held at the Sister Borgia Primary School where several Catholic Schools and Oranje school students come together to participate on Wednesday afternoons. Participating students are between the ages of 6 and 11 years old. In the first week, the students learned what is stilt walking and its African origin and Caribbean adaption through a video documentary and open discussion. The documentary shown was received from the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago entitled The March of the Mokos, the film was written and directed by Kim Johnson. Johnson has given the Funtopia Youth Initiative Foundation permission to show the documentary to educate the youth as they begin their journey to join the Caribbean culture of Moko Jumbies. The pilot program will run for a period of three months. After which the students who have participated will be able to give a presentation displaying their learned skills for their schools. Funtopia Youth Initiative Foundation aims to be able to have this extracurricular activity integrated in all primary schools with hopes to keep this cultural tradition alive. The Funtopia Youth Initiative Foundation has been actively training young persons in the community in this art form since 2014. The organization has trained many local teenagers to stilt walk over the last seven (7) years. Most of our walkers have been seen during carnival and regatta festivals, at hotels, and other events in vibrantly colorful costumes performing stunts and dance routines. Our Stilt walkers have had countless opportunities to travel to various Caribbean islands such as Dominica, Saba, St. Eustatius, and Anguilla to participate in their festivals. We are elated to have had one of our members participate in Belgium circus act as a professional stilt walker. We have now arrived at this point in our development to join another Caribbean island Moko Jumbies by renaming our stilt walking group to the Soualigan Giants Moko Jumbies. We are also setting out to develop our own documentary that will tell the story of how our St. Martin walkers came to be, said founder and president Lucinda Audain. The Sint Maarten National Commission for UNESCO is very proud of the work that Ms. Lucinda Audain has been doing to preserve this aspect of St. Martins cultural heritage, and therefore, our office will continue to support the Funtopia organization in its effort to have this extracurricular activity integrated in all primary schools ensuring that this aspect of St. Martins intangible cultural heritage lives on, said Marcellia Henry, Secretary General for Sint Maarten National Commission for UNESCO. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Local sources several years ago reported that a large foreign corporation had completed negotiations to buy Sunhouse, a Vietnamese kitchenware brand, at the price of $250 million. However, at the last minute, the owner of Sunhouse changed his mind. The deal was cancelled with no legal dispute because of a mistake made by the foreign partner. Nguyen Xuan Phu, chair of Sunhouse, who was a trader in 1990-2000, said he is surprised that Vietnam imports many things, including simple products which can be easily made. This prompted me to set up a production factory, he said. However, production was not enough. He wanted his products to have a strong brand, because this is more valuable than simple assembled components. That is why a shirt with foreign brand can be sold at a price 50 percent higher than a shirt with a Vietnamese brand, and the buyers include Vietnamese, he said. At that time, he saw many Vietnamese brands sold to foreign investors. But he wanted to preserve the Sunhouse brand. Tran Uyen Phuong, a representative of Tan Hiep Phat, said at a workshop on Vietnamese brand development that she refused $2.5 billion from a foreign enterprise. In 2012, a US group contacted Phuong and offered to buy into Tan Hiep Phat. After one year of negotiation, Tan Hiep Phat finally refused the offer. According to Phuong, the foreign partner wanted Tan Hiep Phat to sell its products only in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and not develop new products. However, we wanted to bring Asian products to the world, so we decided to continue to invest in new factories and refused the offer, she explained. For many reasons, many Vietnamese businesses have sold their businesses to foreign partners. X-men, Diana, P/S, Kinh Do and Nguyen Kim are brands initially created by Vietnamese but they have fallen into hands from India, the US, Thailand and Japan. Some analysts say that if some of the brands were not sold to foreign partners, they would not be as famous as they are today because of the weaknesses of Vietnamese enterprises. For many reasons, many Vietnamese businesses have sold their businesses to foreign partners. X-men, Diana, P/S, Kinh Do and Nguyen Kim are brands initially created by Vietnamese but they have fallen into hands from India, the US, Thailand and Japan. However, in many cases, foreign investors take over Vietnamese enterprises just to eliminate their rivals, and dont intend to develop the Vietnamese brands. High hopes on Vietnamese enterprises Analysts say that the presence of Vietnamese brands in the world market remains weak. Though made-in-Vietnam products are available in markets of all five continents, including choosy markets such as Europe and the US, most of them are only assembled in Vietnam. However, in the last 10 years, Vietnam has had more large private enterprises in many business fields, including aviation, real estate, food processing and retail, capable of compete ING equally with foreign enterprises. Meanwhile, M&As are no longer the playing field for only foreign investors. Many Vietnamese enterprises have to be sold after a period of development, but in many cases, the buyers are Vietnamese enterprises. According to a report from MAF Research and CMAC Institute, the most noteworthy M&A deals in 2019-2020 were related to Vietnamese private groups, including Masan, Thaco, Gelex and Vinamilk. Masan Consumer got VinCommerce and VinEco, while Vinamilk bought Moc Chau Milk holding company and Thaco was involved in the restructuring of HAGL Agrico. Experts said selling businesses is quite normal in a market economy, but they are worried that after businesses sold to foreign partners Vietnamese brands will no longer exist. It would be better to transfer businesses to other Vietnamese investors who want to continue to develop brands created by predecessors. Vingroup transferred its VinMart, VinMart+ and VinEco to Masan Group, a Vietnamese owned enterprise. Vingroup decided to join forces with Vietnamese enterprises instead of foreign ones, which is expected to help balance the domestic retail market. Experts, noting the sale of Sabeco, a well known beer brand to Thai investors, said it was a regrettable deal, though Sabeco was then sold at a good price. In order to protect and develop Vietnamese brands, it is necessary to build a detailed strategy on improving the strength of local enterprises. Vietnamese people should also prioritize use of Vietnamese goods. The consumers habit of preferring foreign products to Vietnamese ones will kill Vietnamese brands. A foreign marketing representative of VONTA Vietnam commented that the Buy Vietnamese slogan can be seen everywhere, but Vietnamese still prefer foreign products, which is quite different from his home country. Consumers there prioritize domestically made products, believing that this is a way to implement social responsibility and contribute to development. Duy Anh Harsh reality sets in for fashion retail brands While fashion fanatics will welcome the ever-increasing presence of international brands, the domestic consumer base has already lost a significant portion of its purchasing power amid the influence of the global health crisis on the economy, remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. [March 11, 2021] Digital Technology Veteran Yoshiyuki Ueda Joins ON24 as Country Manager of Japan SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ON24 (NYSE: ONTF) today announced that Yoshiyuki Ueda has joined the company as country manager of Japan. He is responsible for developing strategic customer relationships in Japan, helping companies transform their go-to-market approaches, and meeting customers' digital-first imperatives throughout the region. Ueda brings extensive digital experience to ON24 at a time when digital adoption is accelerating across Asia-Pacific.1 Leading Japanese companies such as Expedia, Fujitsu, and Hitachi Asia are using the ON24 Digital Experience Platform to power interactive, data-rich digital experiences that drive business growth. "Japanese businesses of all sizes are transforming how they reach and engage customers using digital," said Sharat Sharan, founder, president, and CEO of ON24. "We're excited to welcome Yoshiyuki to the ON24 team as we expand our presence in Japan and help companies succeed in the era of digital engagement." Ueda has more than 20 years of enterprise IT and digital experience. He previously served as sales director at Acquia responsible for establishing the company's sales operation in Japan, as well as country manager at CI&T where he helped increase the company's customer base and revenue. He was also the sales director at Rococo Co., Ltd., growing all lines of the company's business in Japan. "ON24 is uniquely positioned to help businesses reimagine customer engagement in a digital-first world," said Yoshiyuki Ueda. "I'm excited to join ON24 at such an exciting time for the company and our Japanese customers as they look to drive digital engagement and the best possible experience for their buyers." ON24 continues to expand across major cities such as the company's San Francisco headquarters, Charlotte, London, Singapore, and Sydney. The company's global customer support team offers 24/7 support worldwide. For more information, visit www.ON24.com. About ON24 ON24 provides a leading cloud-based Digital Experience Platform that makes it easy to create, scale, and personalize engaging experiences to drive measurable business growth. Today, we are helping over 1,900 companies worldwide, including 3 of the 5 largest global technology companies, 4 of the 5 largest US Banks, 3 of the 5 largest global healthcare companies, and 3 of the 5 largest global industrial manufacturing companies, convert millions of prospects to buyers. Through interactive webinars, virtual events, and always-on multimedia experiences, ON24 provides a system of engagement, powered by AI, which enables businesses to scale engagement, conversions, and pipeline to drive revenue growth. The ON24 platform supports an average of 4 million professionals a month totaling over 2.5 billion engagement minutes per year. ON24 is headquartered in San Francisco with global offices in North America, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, visit www.ON24.com. Forward-Looking Statements This document contains "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws. In some cases, such statements can be identified by words such as: "accelerate," "convert," "future," "will," and similar references to future periods. Forward-looking statements include express or implied statements regarding our ability to achieve our business strategies, growth, or other future events or conditions. Such statements are based on our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions about future events or conditions, which are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including our ability to execute our business plans and strategies in Japan; our ability to sustain our recent revenue growth rate, attract new customers and expand sales to existing customers; fluctuation in our performance, our history of net losses and expected increases in our expenses; competition in our markets and any decline in demand for our solutions; our ability to expand our sales and marketing capabilities and otherwise manage our growth; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; disruptions or other issues with our technology or third-party services; compliance with data privacy, import and export controls, customs, sanctions and other laws and regulations; intellectual property matters; and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the filings we make from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on them. All statements herein are based only on information currently available to us and speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any such statement. Media Contact: Roger Villareal press@on24.com Investor Contact: Maili Bergman investorrelations@on24.com 1 How COVID-19 has pushed companies over the technology tipping pointand transformed business forever. McKinsey & Company. October 5, 2020 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-technology-veteran-yoshiyuki-ueda-joins-on24-as-country-manager-of-japan-301245101.html SOURCE ON24 Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 11, 2021] FalconStor Enhances Cloud-Based Data Protection Solution with Massive Expansion of Capabilities, Ecosystem and Channel FalconStor Software (OTCQB: FALC), the trusted data protection leader modernizing backup and archival for the multi-cloud world, today announced a series of developments to its StorSafe solution to provide a secure and cost-effective way for enterprises to harness the cloud for data backup and long-term archival. Launched in early 2020, StorSafe is designed to drop into an enterprise's existing backup and archive environment as a universal backup target without requiring extensive technology or operational changes to slash the cost and complexity, increase speed of recovery, and get to the cloud. StorSafe enables organizations to adopt the cloud for data protection with confidence, thanks to its track record and novel use of container technology to package, secure and transport fully-deduplicated data, giving users the data resiliency they need and the flexibility to choose their preferred cloud providers, hardware vendors and backup software. "Enterprises on average have 1 PB of active backup data and 3 PB of archive data and typically experience growth rates nearing 40 percent annually," said Christophe Bertrand, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. " FalconStor (News - Alert) StorSafe's ability to accelerate the active backup and recovery process, as well as archive to the cloud, secondary disk systems and to tape make a strong case for enterprises struggling with traditional backup architectures and looking to leverage the cloud." To meet these large and growing needs, FalconStor took a number of steps throughout 2020 to expand StorSafe's capabilities and ecosystem to make long-term, cloud-based archival the standard for the enterprise. Some of the improvements include: Data Security and Integrity : StorSafe added key management capabilities to complement its usage of AES-256 encryption of Secure Data Containers to increase the control of administrators over their archives' security. Embedded hashes and checksums also help fight against data corruption and misuse, as well as periodically check data health and readiness for recovery, without the cost and manual tasks others require. : StorSafe added key management capabilities to complement its usage of AES-256 encryption of Secure Data Containers to increase the control of administrators over their archives' security. Embedded hashes and checksums also help fight against data corruption and misuse, as well as periodically check data health and readiness for recovery, without the cost and manual tasks others require. Cloud Ecosystem : StorSafe launched with support for Amazon Web Services's (AWS) S3 service tier. StorSafe now counts AWS Glacier and Deep Glacier support to lower the cost of archives, and added Microsoft (News - Alert) Azure, IBM Cloud and Wasabi cloud services to the roster of public cloud options. : StorSafe launched with support for Amazon Web Services's (AWS) S3 service tier. StorSafe now counts AWS Glacier and Deep Glacier support to lower the cost of archives, and added Microsoft (News - Alert) Azure, IBM Cloud and Wasabi cloud services to the roster of public cloud options. Object Storage Ecosystem: StorSafe now supports the leading on-premises cloud object storage providers including Hitachi (News - Alert) Vantara, IBM and DellEMC. Typical FalconStor customers use all-flash SAN storage for their first copy of data, so the ability to offload to object storage enables organizations to scale their archives as data grows and to do so at a fraction of the cost of high-performance systems. StorSafe now supports the leading on-premises cloud object storage providers including Hitachi (News - Alert) Vantara, IBM and DellEMC. Typical FalconStor customers use all-flash SAN storage for their first copy of data, so the ability to offload to object storage enables organizations to scale their archives as data grows and to do so at a fraction of the cost of high-performance systems. Multi-Tenancy : StorSafe added multi-tenancy with capacity tracking and bill back capabilities, enabling enterprise IT groups and managed services providers to serve different applications, departments, tenants and customers at scale within a shared, secure environment. : StorSafe added multi-tenancy with capacity tracking and bill back capabilities, enabling enterprise IT groups and managed services providers to serve different applications, departments, tenants and customers at scale within a shared, secure environment. Automation with Visibility and Control: StorSafe now enables enterprises to set retention policies to govern where data resides for any given period, and the software automates data export to the cloud, tape or secondary sites, lowering administration headaches while providing a complete view of all data and the analytics needed to maintain full system health. StorSafe now enables enterprises to set retention policies to govern where data resides for any given period, and the software automates data export to the cloud, tape or secondary sites, lowering administration headaches while providing a complete view of all data and the analytics needed to maintain full system health. Backup Software Ecosystem : StorSafe added support for the latest releases from Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, CommVault (News - Alert) , IBM BRMS and many others, covering the major players in the enterprise market. : StorSafe added support for the latest releases from Veeam, Veritas NetBackup, CommVault (News - Alert) , IBM BRMS and many others, covering the major players in the enterprise market. IBM Technology : FalconStor also expanded its support for IBMi Power Systems technology and announced support and migration services for IBM (News - Alert) ProtecTier product. : FalconStor also expanded its support for IBMi Power Systems technology and announced support and migration services for IBM (News - Alert) ProtecTier product. System Health Reviews: FalconStor's customer success group also released a free 30-point health check initiative to ensure the readiness of their VTL environment should an adverse event occur and identify actions to increase data security and operational efficiency. Enterprise customers, managed service providers and channel partners welcomed the expanded set of capabilities designed to modernize and slash the cost of backup and recovery operations. Fabo Biancotto, ICT Director at Air Dolomiti, a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Lufthansa Chris Smith, Director of Sales at Blue Chip, a Leading UK Managed Service Provider "We have been a customer and partner with Falconstor for nearly a decade and during that time, they have been part of our growth story, helping us protect our customers' data both onsite and replicating to the Blue Chip private cloud environment. We manage more than 300 customers and 70 PB of raw data with the FalconStor solution. We see the evolution to Storsafe as a great fit for the changing needs of our customers' data protection requirements and comes at a perfect time as Blue Chip merges with Service Express in the U.S., giving us a more global reach." Gene Uhl, Network Manager, City of Huntsville, Alabama "Like most municipalities, the IT Department of the City of Huntsville is being asked to do more with less. Transform applications to provide better service to our citizens and handle an ever-growing amount of data without an increase in budget. We turned to FalconStor to help us slash the cost of data backup and archival and have achieved material savings. We like the direction the company is going to enable cloud-based data archival so that we can continue to lower our cost of service." Zoreena Abas, President, GDL Solutions, an Ontario, Canada-Based Solution Provider "GDL sees great opportunity in the direction that FalconStor is taking with StorSafe, augmenting its proven on-premises technology with a compelling bridge to the public cloud for backup and archival. This is the direction our customers are heading and FalconStor allows them to dramatically reduce costs immediately and transition to the cloud at their pace, making it an easy step for them and a solid business opportunity for my company." Adrian Rast, Head of IT infrastructure at University of Zurich, Switzerland's Largest Educational Institution "Data backup and archival in education is key, especially with the online resources that we have to use today versus physical classes. However, budgets are tighter. We need a vendor that understands the space and the challenges that we deal in both on premise and in the cloud. Thanks to FalconStor, we have been providing a reliable operation for years for VTL as a service to our institutes so we are able to focus on other areas and activities in IT and know that our data is still here and it is healthy." Darren Phillips, Managing Director at Insurgo, the UK's Tape Media Expert Company "Since our business is totally focused on helping customers manage their tape-based data, we regularly field enquiries about moving this data to the public cloud. With StorSafe, FalconStor has addressed the issues we saw as being roadblocks in the journey towards data protection modernization. Our first project involved migrating petabytes of data to one of the big public cloud players and the lessons we learned from this convinced us we had to be a FalconStor partner." Enrico Boselli, Director of Technology at Elmec Informatica, a Forbes Top 50 International Leader in Digital Transformation "In backup and archive operations, our customers want the flexibility to choose their own on-premise hardware and Elmec's Managed Backup Services, as well as the ability to modernize their approach, keeping or eliminating tape altogether, on their timetable. FalconStor's StorSafe software-driven approach, rest-API integration capabilities and container technology addresses their needs and allows us to utilize our existing hardware and Elmec MSP Portfolio Services to compose a solution that can evolve with their needs. Elmec's Managed Backup Services has the ability to support hybrid cloud backups in Elmec Datacenter, AWS, Azure or on-premises." Walter Borgia, CEO of Lake Solutions AG, a Leading Swiss Information and Communications Technology Provider "We are pleased that FalconStor is here to support us, providing secure multi-tenant solutions that allow us to offer high-speed backup and restore, global data deduplication, enterprise-wide replication, and long-term cloud-based container archive as a service to our customers." Massimo Della Vedova, owner of NT Nuove Tecnologie, a Leading Italian Technology Reseller "Falconstor is an ecosystem of applications dedicated to data management, ranging from SAN virtualization, DR automation and deduplication, to the management of long term archives distributed on multi cloud and to the virtualization of tape libraries (VTL) for backup. All is managed with a simplified, subscription-based, all-inclusive licensing model enabled by a modern, centralized and multi-tenant system. It is a low-cost solution, supported by a timely 24x7x365 service, which allows us to provide a single, secure and stable platform with advanced business continuity features to our enterprise-class customers and our portfolio of managed services." "Here at MALEVA, a reseller of FalconStor since 2006, we can say that FalconStor's virtual tape technology is unbeatable," stated Michele Pozza, general manager at MALEVA, an Italian reseller specializing in data protection solutions. "The company's powerful tape caching and ability to export the virtual cartridges in the background to the corresponding physical ones. Tape caching allows to extend more than 10 times the capacity of the disk and it's a formidable solution for low duplicable data and for long-term protection. The ability to support failover nodes in active-active mode guarantees that data protection services are always on." FalconStor's dedicated community of customers, channel and technology alliance partners embraced the vision and were critical in providing requirements and prioritizing these essential developments. "2020 was not easy for any of us, and the year put enterprise IT organizations and technology providers alike under even greater pressure," said Mark Delsman, head of engineering and product at Falconstor. "Despite it all, their close collaboration helped us to understand their use cases and specific requirements to bring StorSafe to an entirely new level. We want to thank all of our customers and partners for their counsel and support and we are glad to see them taking advantage of our latest developments to capitalize on the cloud." About FalconStor FalconStor (OTCQB: FALC) is a data protection leader that enables enterprises to modernize their data backup and archival operations across data centers and public clouds, delivering increased data security and providing the fastest recovery from ransomware attacks while driving down costs by up to 90 percent. A proven technology leader with more than 40 patents, FalconStor has over an exabyte of data under management and is trusted by more than 1,000 enterprise customers and an ecosystem of managed service providers and resellers worldwide. To learn more, visit www.falconstor.com and stay connected with us on YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005395/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Opinion Article 11 March 2021 It should come as no surprise to anyone that the pandemic has changed traveler behavior. By understanding some of the nuances of this progression, you can then more precisely target growing niches within the leisure segment, particularly in light of the slow return of groups and corporate guests. Advertisements For now, 2020's pivot for operations, marketing and sales was largely focused on: Cleanliness, sanitization and disinfection updates Delivery of contactless service, enabled by technology or otherwise Social distancing through physical, temporal and capacity buffers Privacy, anonymity, seclusion or reserving an 'entire' space While we must continue to upgrade our SOPs to better approach these four trends, one other that you can also consider is the sharp uptick in household pet adoptions, spurred by the lack of public life and shear boredom. Particularly with couples or families getting a puppy or fostering a dog, one cursory Google search will tell you the numbers here are soaring. While the official Chinese zodiac for 2021 is the Year of the Ox, perhaps it should be the Year of the Dog as this newfound rise will inevitably translate into more guests wanting pet friendly hotels. While opening your doors to our furry friends comes with its own set of operational challenges, it will nonetheless give your property a leg up (urination pun intended!) on competitors who are also targeting drive-to markets. Plus, there are upsell opportunities to maximize revenue per room if you go this route. Photo: Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited This is no small undertaking. Some of the necessary operational changes and guest surcharges include: Dedicated floors or guest room sections so those with allergies can avoid these areas, requiring a deft hand at allocating inventory in the PMS and with the possibility for a higher ADR room category Special cleaning to remove allergens which will require more housekeeping coordination but is something you can bill as an extra expense Updated policies for the types of permissible pets, noise, nuisances for other guests, damages, public area pet access and pet-oriented amenities like hydration stations or even agility courses Contactless pet service delivery of treats, toys, beds, bowls, bags or other miscellaneous items, all at an additional cost or bundled into a room package Established relationships with local groomers and veterinarians Doggy daycare services, having onsite groomers or even trainers for younger pups In 2019, while working on an asset management assignment for a 40-room rural resort, we noticed a strong demand for pet friendly hotels in our territory based on market intelligence and search data as well as a channel analysis for email, voice and social inquiries. From there, it took us roughly three months from an initial discussion on feasibility to having a devoted room category, a firm pet policy and all extra charges for cleaning or treats. So, do your own channel examination to see if the demand for pet friendly hotels is trending in your area. You may also want to check the local news as many media outlets have written pieces on the pandemic surge in pet ownership. From there, form a team of managers to investigate all requirements then build a plan. Thinking very broadly, ask yourself what other pandemic-related trends you can capitalize upon. You'll likely find that there are other opportunities besides appealing to man's best friend. Lastly, in case anyone is asking, the image adjoining this article is that of Hondo, my 150-pound bouvier, who by himself should help to draw your attention to this important revenue-generating initiative. Lehigh Valley teachers and other school employees are set to begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday at a clinic hosted by Colonial Intermediate Unit 20. The IUs Colonial Academy outside Wind Gap has been set up for the Pennsylvania National Guard and state contractor AMI Healthcare LLC to administer the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine through March 19. Set to receive the vaccine at the clinic are about 4,500 eligible school employees and contractors from the public and non-public local education agencies served by Colonial IU 20. Through March 5, these workers were sent a questionnaire from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to indicate whether they want to receive the non-mandatory vaccine, according to the intermediate unit. The intermediate unit coordinated that survey and was also charged by the state with working helping faculty and staff register for appointments. Based on those results and vaccine availability, individuals who checked yes were alerted that they were accepted into the first phase and were then sent a subsequent email this week to register for a vaccination appointment, Colonial IU 20 spokeswoman Julie Eates told lehighvalleylive.com on Thursday. Those who checked yes and werent assigned to the first phase will have the ability to get the vaccine in phase 2, which we anticipate to be in the coming weeks, but dont have any details yet. The J&J vaccine received federal emergency use authorization Feb. 27, and Pennsylvania prioritized pre-kindergarten-through-12th-grade school teachers, administrators, bus drivers and other support and contracted staff to be among the first recipients in the state. The Department of Education said it expects to receive an initial allocation of 94,600 doses of the J&J vaccine. Afforded the first opportunity to register, according to the department, were: Pre-K-to-12 teachers of students with disabilities and English learners and related in-classroom support staff. Elementary teachers and related in-classroom support staff, beginning with the youngest students. Bus drivers/transporters, and support staff and contracted service providers who have direct contact with elementary students. Other priority school staff who have regular, sustained in-person contact with students during the school day. School officials have pointed to the J&J vaccine as a game-changer in getting students back into the classroom after the coronavirus pandemic forced a switch to remote learning one years ago. Most school districts in the Lehigh Valley have been offering a hybrid approach to get students some in-person instruction, and many have been approving plans to increase classroom days. The Easton Area School Board on Tuesday approved a plan to double K-through-second-grade students class time to four days a week, as soon as community transmission rates of COVID-19 drop from substantial to moderate. The Bethlehem Area School District is working on a full-time return to the classroom for elementary school students in mid-April. Wilson and Pen Argyl area school districts are also returning to five days in class for some students, The Morning Call reported this week. So is the Nazareth Area School District, according to WFMZ-TV 69. Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 serves 13 school districts and three career and technical centers in Northampton, Monroe and Pike counties. Colonial Academy at 1353 Jacobsburg Road in Bushkill Township is the Colonial IU 20s only location for the vaccine clinic. Since March 2020, Colonial IU 20 has worked with local and state officials to provide support to the regions schools during the COVID-19 pandemic in the areas of online learning and teaching, mental health services, health and safety, human resources, technology and operations, and special education services, Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 Executive Director Christopher S. Wolfel said in a statement. A year later and we are one step closer to ending the pandemic with this vaccination clinic. These essential education employees have worked tirelessly to keep the lives of our regions students as normal as possible during one of the most challenging times in our history. Were happy to play our part in this important event. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian rejected the Prime Ministers motion on appointing Lt. General Artak Davtyan as the new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Sarkissians Office told ARMENPRESS that he returned the motion with objections. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan NEW YORK - More than 5,000 chief executives globally expressed record optimism about economic growth a year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, suggests a PwC survey. A staff member wearing a face mask stands at a booth for the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. A survey of more than 5,000 chief executives globally has revealed record optimism about economic growth a year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark Schiefelbein NEW YORK - More than 5,000 chief executives globally expressed record optimism about economic growth a year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, suggests a PwC survey. The survey of 5,050 CEOs in 100 countries conducted earlier this year found 76 per cent forecasted improved economic growth in 2021. The result is up from 22 per cent last year and 42 per cent in 2019. "After a year of human tragedy and extensive economic hardship, it is encouraging to see that the people responsible for making investment decisions and hiring staff are feeling cautiously optimistic about the year ahead," stated Bob Moritz, chairman of the PwC Network. "CEOs have faith that growth will return, boosted by the rapid development of vaccines and their rollout in many parts of the world." It represents the highest level of optimism since the survey started asking this question in 2012. Optimism was particularly strong in North America and Western Europe, at 86 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively. The chief executives were also more optimistic about the outlook for their businesses with about 36 per cent expressing that they are "very confident" about their organization's prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months, up from 27 per cent in 2020. CEOs in the technology and telecommunications sectors expressed the highest levels of confidence at 45 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, chief executives in hospitality and leisure were least confident at 27 per cent, followed by transportation and logistics at 29 per cent. The United States is the leading market CEOs are looking to for growth at 35 per cent, seven percentage points ahead of China. The U.S. was only one point ahead of China last year. New political developments and existing tensions is increasing the focus of U.S. CEOs on Canada and Mexico and reducing the emphasis on China. The percentage of CEOs expressing concerns about climate change has risen to 30 per cent from 24 per cent in 2020. Yet, climate change still only ranks ninth among CEOs' perceived threats to growth. Another 27 per cent of CEOs said they were "not concerned at all" or "not very concerned" about climate change. This may be because climate change is not seen as an immediate threat to growth compared to other issues such as the pandemic, over-regulation and cyber threats, said PwC. About 39 per cent of the CEOs polled said their organization needs to do more to "measure" their environmental impact and 43 per cent said they need to do more to "report" on it. But six in 10 CEOs have not yet factored climate risks into their strategic risk management activities. Pandemics and health crises topped the list of threats to growth prospects, overtaking the fear of over-regulation, which has been the perennial leading concern for CEOs globally since 2014. Rising digitization is increasing the risks posed by cyber threats. A significant increase in cybersecurity incidents in 2020, including ransomware attacks, has resulted in cyber threats leaping up the list to become the second-biggest concern, cited by 47 per cent of CEOs, up from 33 per cent in 2020. Also rising rapidly up the list of CEO concerns is the spread of misinformation (28 per cent, up from 16 per cent). Tax policy uncertainty moved up and is a concern by 31 per cent, up from 19 per cent a year ago as growing government deficits are expected to result in higher taxes. About 36 per cent of CEOs plan to use automation and technology to make their workforce more competitive, more than double the share of CEOs who said the same in 2016. Moritz said the world is at an inflection point as vaccinations ramp up around the world. "To achieve the kind of change that's needed, CEOs will need to think differently and constantly evaluate their decisions and actions against broader societal impacts. In doing so, they'll set a course that builds trust and delivers sustained outcomes for shareholders, society and our planet." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2021. Aldi Ireland has announced details of its continued contribution to Kilkennys economy and the impact of its charity partnerships across the county. According to the data, in 2020 Aldi sourced 51.4 million of locally-produced food and drink from Kilkenny-based suppliers. Aldi partners with six Kilkenny producers including long-term relationships with Callan Bacon, Iverk Produce and Mileeven. With five stores in Kilkenny, Aldi employs 96 full time staff, spending 6.5 million wages annually. It is seeking to recruit 16 new employees for its Kilkenny stores this year - while plans are afoot for a new store in Castlecomer. Aldi will boost its annual national spend on Irish food and drink by 17.5% in 2021 to 1 billion, with further opportunities available to Kilkenny suppliers. Aldis stores support multiple charities across Kilkenny at a local level. Each store is part of Aldis food waste reduction programme, with Aldis Kilkenny stores having donated over 35,000 meals through FoodCloud to local charities. Each store is also part of Aldis Community Grants network, with Amber Womens Refuge, Larc Childcare and South Eastern Mountain Rescue some of the many local charities that have availed of the 500 bursary grant in recent years. Our goal is to make a positive impact in every local community that our stores serve," says Niall OConnor, Group Managing Director, Aldi Ireland said. "Our operations and stores contribute to businesses, communities and families right across Kilkenny. We have invested 29.9M in our Kilkenny stores over the last number of years, while we sourced 51.4M of locally produced food and drink from Kilkenny based suppliers last year. Multiple local charities have also availed of our support through our FoodCloud partnership and Community Grants initiative. A widespread confusion remains about the new stimulus package and student loans. The Senate approved the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, which included a third stimulus check, unemployment benefits, and a clause making any future student loan termination tax-free. Stimulus Bill Won't Cancel Student Loan Faster Some have viewed the stimulus' final clause - tax-free student loan repayment - as raising the chances that Biden will now cancel student loans by executive order. Let's be clear, so you know what's going on: You could save thousands of dollars if the student loans are canceled. You will be able to stop paying principal and interest by canceling any or more student loan balances. Second, you would be entitled to repay your student loans to stop paying further income taxes on the forgiven amount. It's important to remember that tax-free student loan forgiveness is only valid until December 31, 2025. So, until Congress extends a conditional or indefinite extension, you'll need to terminate your student loans by the deadline by large-scale student loan waiver to be considered for tax-free repayment. According to Forbes, Biden supports allowing student loan forgiveness tax-free, whether by upfront termination or an income-driven repayment scheme, including Democrats in Congress. Student loan cancellation Although student loan repayment is tax-free, the current stimulus bill does not contain any student loan cancellation. Given his support for tax-free student loan repayment, Biden's decision not to revoke student loans by executive order had nothing to do with the tax status. As a result, Congress's decision to make student loan forgiveness tax-free did not overcome an obstacle to implementing student loan termination by executive order. Since he doesn't think he has the legal right to do so, Biden said he would be unable to terminate student loans via executive order. Biden claimed that he would consider canceling student loans by executive order and request a legal review to see whether he had the right to do so unilaterally. Income-driven repayment programs are also eligible for the tax-free provision. However, since most student loan borrowers must make monthly payments for 20 years (undergraduate student loans) or 25 years (graduate student loans), most borrowers will not benefit until Congress expands the tax-free status beyond December 31, 2025, or makes it permanent. Read also: Senate Passes COVID-19 Relief Bill, What's Included, When to Receive Your Stimulus Check What passing stimulus package means for student loans Although the president is under pressure to terminate student loans in the aftermath of the pandemic, this stimulus bill will not do so. Student loan forgiveness, on the other hand, would be tax-free, as per Newsweek. In the United States, nearly 45 million individuals have student loans. Some of them have income-driven repayment arrangements, which allow them to make contributions depending on a percentage of their taxable income. The outstanding debt is canceled after 20 to 25 years, and forgiven debts are counted as revenue. This could end in a hefty tax bill in the thousands of dollars. However, as part of the relief program, the Student Loan Tax Relief Act would reduce taxation on forgiven student loans for a short period. The freeze on taxing forgiven student loans is set to last until 2025 under the American Rescue Package, but it may be extended after that. Biden declared in January that he would extend the ban on repaying federal student loans to at least October. Also, his executive order extended the forbearance on interest accumulation. Read also: What Does It Take To Get the Stimulus Check of up To $1,400? Will college students get a stimulus check? There is one major difference from the last round of payments: college students are now entitled to accept them. As part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the majority of Americans got a $1,200 stimulus check in March 2020. On the other hand, adult dependents were not eligible for relief checks, which meant that most college students, many older persons, and other individuals who rely on others financially were not eligible. As a result, in the wake of a global recession, some of America's most vulnerable populations were left empty. These same populations were unavailable for the second round of $600 relief checks passed in December 2020 as the pandemic intensified and death tolls increased. With the third round of checks, this was fixed, as per Elite Daily. Read also: Will Illegal Immigrants Receive Third Stimulus Check? @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. A health worker shows a vial of China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19 at a health centre in La Paz, Bolivia, on March 1, 2021. (Aizar Raldes/AFP via Getty Images) Sinopharm Chairman Claims He Received COVID-19 Vaccine One Year Ago, Has Antibodies Yu Qingming, party chief and chairman of Sinopharm, told Chinese state media on March 4 that he and others at the firms management received CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus vaccines a year ago and still have a high level of antibodies. His claim ignited a heated discussion over the origins of the virus strains and the timeline of Chinas vaccine development. Sinopharm is also known as China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation, a Beijing-based Chinese state-owned enterprise. Yu, who is also a deputy to Chinas National Peoples Congress, told the Peoples Daily during the Two Sessionsthe CCPs most important annual political conference from March 4 to 11that in March 2020, Sinopharm management received COVID-19 vaccines and still have high levels of antibodies after one year of continuous monitoring. COVID-19 is the disease the CCP virus causes. He also touted his pharmaceutical group as the worlds largest manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccines so far, which has provided nearly 100 million doses of vaccines at home and abroad. He added that there had been no reported cases of severe adverse reactions. However, Yus claim has sparked doubts over the origins of COVID-19 virus strains and the timeline of vaccine research and development because the Chinese regime officially acknowledged the CCP virus in January 2020 and declared a lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter, on Jan. 23, 2020. A resident of Wuhan surnamed Chen, who lives near the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, recently told the Chinese-language Epoch Times that the CCP is unlikely to work out a vaccine within two months in terms of vaccine development cycle, and that the CCP was again lying to the public. Yu was purposefully hyping the safety and efficacy of Chinese-made vaccines because the public fears they have lower efficacy, more contraindications, and unreported cases of adverse reactions, Chen said. This rhetoric is purely out of political needs rather than scientific considerations. On March 5, 2020, Chinas state media Xinhua News Agency ran an article titled Background: Why Is Novel Coronavirus Vaccine Research & Development So Slow' which said vaccine research & development is a time-consuming, high-risk, and high-investment job that necessitates preliminary design, animal experiments, and three phases of clinical trials. Generally, it may take three or five or more than ten years to make vaccines available in the market, depending on virus type and technology roadmaps. Meanwhile, Wuhan resident Xu Yang told Radio Free Asia on March 10 of Yus claim that it is scientifically impossible to figure out COVID-19 vaccines within such a short time. Chennai: In a message advising caution, the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA) has urged the public to strictly follow Covid-19 safety protocols. It also cites that there has been a spike of 51.81% in the daily positive cases over the last 16 days. As per the state governments daily health bulletins, Tamil Nadu recorded 449 new cases on February 22nd, but on Wednesday, March 10th, the figure has risen to 671 daily cases, of which 275 are in Chennai. During the period, the daily tests conducted has been hovering between 50,000-60,000. Currently, the state has 4,207 active cases. The twitter post of the agency emphasized on conserving the hard earned victory over Corona and asked people to respect the sacrifices of frontline workers. Over the last couple of days State Health Secretary Dr. J. Radhakrishnan, accompanied by a team of health department and civic body workers has been conducting surprise checks at crowded markets and commercial spaces in Chennai to check for Covid-19 protocol violations. Besides urging people to wear masks, following physical distancing norms, he also urged them to wash their hands regularly and maintain hygiene. The Health Secretary also ordered civic body staff to levy a fine of Rs.200 on those violating the mandatory mask-wearing rules. It was also stated that over Rs.13crore had been collected in fines for Covid-19 protocol violations from more than 14 lakh persons in Tamil Nadu. Such inspections are being conducted at a time when Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab and few other states are witnessing a spike in Covid-19 cases. Dr. Radhakrishnan said that special attention was being given to districts such as Chennai, Coimbatore and Chengalpattu. Dr Radhakrishnan added that passengers entering Tamil Nadu from abroad, have to produce a negative RT-PCR test result from 72 hours ago, on entry. However, in the case of passengers from the UK, they would have to further undergo an RT-PCR test at the Chennai airport, on arrival. Thus far, Tamil Nadu has seen 8.56lakh Covid cases, 8.40lakh recoveries and 12,530 deaths. A militant who plotted a terror attack was eliminated in a counter-terror operation in Makhachkala in the North Caucasian Republic of Dagestan, the National Anti-Terror Committees information center said. "In the course of a counter-terror operation on March 11 to frustrate preparations for committing a terror attack in Dagestan, a militant who put up armed resistance was neutralized. An assault rifle, a large amount of ammunition for it and an improvised suicide bombers belt ready for use were found at the site of the shootout," TASS cited the National Anti-Terror Committee as saying. None of the civilians was hurt and there are no casualties among the law enforcement personnel. The security forces are taking all necessary detective and investigative measures, it said. JAKARTA (Reuters) - A bus carrying school children and some parents returning from an excursion plunged into a ravine on the Indonesian island of Java on Wednesday night, killing 27 people, the country's transportation ministry said. The search and rescue agency said in a statement on Thursday that the driver of the bus lost control shortly before the crash in an area near the city of Sumedang in West Java province. The transportation ministry said the bus was carrying junior high school students and some parents and that 39 people had survived. Photographs from the scene showed the bus had ended up on its side with rescue workers trying to search for any more victims. Supriono, a local search and rescue agency official, said later evacuation efforts had been completed and survivors taken to a nearby hospital. The exact cause of the crash was not immediately clear, though the ministry said there were initial indications that the vehicle's road worthiness tests were not up to date. (Corrects spelling of name in paragraph 5 to Supriono, not Supriyono) (Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Ed Davies) Activists push an inflatable globe during a "Global March" as part of the People's Summit for Social and Environmental Justice in Defense of the Commons, a parallel event during the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 20, 2012. (Felipe Dana/AP Photo) Climate Policy: Covid on Steroids? Joel Kotkin For most people around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic seems a great human tragedy, with deaths, bankruptcies, and fractured mental states. Yet for some, especially among the green Twitterati and in some policy shops, the pandemic presents a grand opportunity to enact permanent lockdowns on economic growth, population growth, and upward mobility. Pointing to reductions in greenhouse gases due to the lockdowns, some see the pandemics wreckage of much of the economyincluding the mass destruction of businesses and family budgetsnot as a plague of its own, but, as a British Climate Assembly put it, as a test run for a new climate-driven economy. We have an incredible responsibility to actually converge the solutionsat least the financial solutionsto coronavirus to the financial solutions for climate, hyperbolized former U.N. Climate Chief and U.N. Paris pact architect Christiana Figueres, because what we cannot afford to do is to jump out of the frying pan of Covid and into the raging fire of climate change. President Donald Trump may have been responsible for the vaccine success of Operation Warp Speed, but now his fast-track approach, ironically, is being adopted by climate campaigners in a drive to change our entire economy in short order. After all, they argue, the lockdowns demonstrated that governments can impose without constitutional constraint virtually any restrictions to address a perceived crisis. And the pandemic, by killing much of the economyparticularly traveltemporarily succeeded in reducing greenhouse gases by as much as 7 percent worldwide and 12 percent in the United States. The pandemic has also generated a social crisis, with its effects being felt disproportionately by the poor and working class in virtually all countries. It has depressed further the already historically low fertility rate throughout much of the world, including in the two remaining superpowers, China and the United States. Covid, suggests a recent study by Brookings, has accounted for a half million fewer births in America alone. Death to PeopleOne Way or Another In a sense, the call for semi-permanent lockdowns reflects deep-seated ambitions long nurtured in the green movement. The idea of limiting family life has been central to the environmental movement for a generation, at least since the days of Paul Ehrlichs Population Bomb (1968), which suggested, among other proposals, adding sterilant into the water supply. This approach was amplified four years later by the corporate-sponsored Club of Rome report, which sought to reduce consumption, economic expansion, and population growth to stave off mass starvation and social chaos. Creating a sense of imminent crisisjust as in the justification for lockdownshas long been critical to the propagation of environmental gospel, as longtime green campaigner Michael Shellenberger amply demonstrates in his new book, Apocalypse Never. Many of the predictions made by Ehrlich and the Club of Rome proved to be at best exaggerations, as resources did not wear out as predicted and mass starvation has been reduced dramatically since the 1960s. Perhaps the one thing some greens may not like about the pandemic is that it was not lethal enough. The late Jacques Cousteau, for example, believed that curing viruses presented enormous problems. No longer, he complained, could epidemics compensate for excess births over deaths. Admitting that it was terrible to have to say this, he suggested stabilizing world population by eliminating 350,000 people per day. This is so horrible to contemplate that we shouldnt even say itbut Cousteau said it. These are not the views of a lunatic fringe. Former National Park Service biologist David M. Graber deemed humans a plague upon ourselves that needs to be culled. The Political Dilemma The big problem, of course, lies with selling the agenda of permanent lockdowns, as well as advocating against human existence. The pandemic represented arguably a clear and present danger, though there is room for debate on how best to deal with it. In contrast, the climate crisis has been warned about for years, often in hyperbolic terms; however serious the problem, it certainly does not possess anything like the immediacy of the pandemic, or, for that matter, the economic and social devastation left in the pandemics wake. One key problem lies with identifying who pays the cost of limiting human growth and aspiration. Past experience, as Benjamin Friedman has argued in his book The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, suggests a connection between economic growth and social and political progress, in which he included advances in racial relations and support for environmental improvements. Yet despite the great reductions in starvation and poverty worldwide, and past major improvementsat least in Western countriesin environmental indicators, both the environmental movement and critical corporate allies increasingly have lost faith in the efficacy of economic progress. Today, the Davos crowd prefers to embrace the notion of economic de-growtt, particularly in the West. The problem here is the classic one: Who pays? The evidence is clear that green policies are likely to be particularly tough on those working in energy-dependent production industries, as we can already see in California, with its shortage of high-paid blue-collar jobs. Low-income energy consumers, meanwhile, will be hit hard by the enforced shift to renewable energy. The Jacques Delors Institute estimates that some 30 million Europeans cannot adequately heat their homes this winter. The future of blue-collar, and even white-collar, employees is bleak, if new lockdowns are put in place here. Under the Paris Accords, the worlds largest emitter, China, can spit out ever more carbon until 2030. Over that time, the increasingly low carbon-emitting West (the United States leads in emission reductions) seems to be tendering an unconditional surrender of its industrial economyand along with it, its blue-collar class. Fritz Varhenholt, a long-time environmental advocate in the German Social Democratic Party, warns: We are not making a difference with our phase-out, and nobody will follow us if we phase out coal and nuclear power within ten years, which will mean a dramatic loss of prosperity in Germany. We cannot sustain a highly developed industrial society with wind and sun. We are threatened with deindustrialisation and loss of prosperity. We discuss hysterically: it is claimed that if we do not phase out diesel and petrol engines now, the climate will tip over. What that means for hundreds of thousands of jobs is of no further interest. We must stop the sorcerers apprentices: Fear is a bad advisor. An End to Democracy? The prospect of extending lockdowns permanently to meet climate goals may not be widely welcomed. Little evidence suggests that the public sees climate as a primary concern. A January 2021 poll conducted by Invisibly using its Realtime Research survey found barely 13 percent considered climate a key priority for President Biden in his first 100 days in officejust a quarter of the portion (53 percent) that was focused on the devastating health and economic fallout from the pandemic. A recent Gallup poll showed 26 percent focused on the pandemic, 16 percent on economic problems, and 10 percent on race; just 3 percent mentioned climate and environment as their key concern. Contrary to assumptions, Europeans may not be so different. In a 2018 Politico survey, climate did not make the top five concerns, ranking behind immigration, terrorism, the economy, government finances, and unemployment. In a 2020 European Commission survey, public focus had, if anything, shifted away from the environment. Almost three in five prioritized economic issues, and 22 percent health, while climate was the primary concern of barely one in five. Given these realities, a permanent climate lockdown would need to be imposed, like the Covid-19 lockdowns, from above, based on the notion of a clear emergency. Politicians pushing for lockdowns may get support from civil-disobedience efforts by campaigners to force draconian policies by making the elements of modern lifesuch as commuting in Britainas unpleasant as possible. Of course, if you really want to win public support, you build a climate agenda that does not devastate the economy and families. This could include less oppressive and more economical sustainable approaches, like promoting home-based work, recycled natural gas, and even nuclear power, as China is clearly doing. Yet appealing to the masses is, well, declasse for our prospective rulers. The inconvenient truth, suggests one green advocate, is that we must end the rule of hoi polloi and instead be guided by a Ministry of the Future, one that pushes the right policies, particularly among the often guileless young. Recognizing this reality, Eric Heymann, a senior economist at Deutsche Bank Research, warns that Europes Green Deal and its goal of climate neutrality by 2050 threatens a European mega-crisis, leading to noticeable loss of welfare and jobs. He warns: It will not work without a certain degree of eco-dictatorship. This viewpoint has advocates even in America. Climate zealot and former California governor Jerry Brown and billionaire Michael Bloomberg both praise Chinas autocratic approach to climate, despite its miserable record. Brown openly favors applying the coercive power of the state to achieve environmental goals while promoting the brainwashing of the uncomprehending, sometimes inconvenient masses. In the name of saving the planet, these zealots believe, we should endorse the logic behind Chinese thought control. Other outlets long hostile to liberal capitalism, like The Guardian, also may see appeal in an ever extended lockdown. The opportunities to control everything from a progressive perspective would indeed be unlimited. But for most peoplestill awaiting their first vaccine shotan unremitting new wave of lockdowns may make them wonder if what they really need is a dose of hemlock. Joel Kotkin is the presidential fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Urban Reform Institute. His new book, The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class is now out from Encounter. You can follow him on Twitter @joelkotkin Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. According to the office, as of March 8, 2021, more than 2,800 out of total nearly 6,800 public services had been provided through the portal at four administrative levels. The portal received over 116 million visits and more than 468,000 registered accounts. More than 940,000 administrative documents were processed online through the portal, while 67,000 e-payment transactions were made with total amount of VND26.7 billion. The portal also received more than 10,000 feedback. The portal has helped save more than VND8.1 trillion (US$351.53 million) each year, along with over VND1.2 trillion each year in paper and delivery costs. So far, the national reporting information system has connected to the systems of 14 ministries and agencies as well as 37 localities, helping save about VND9.9 trillion each year in accordance to calculation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, as of 2020, the most important platforms for e-government development of Vietnam had been formed and operated effectively. Meanwhile, a number of database for e-government have been built, including the insurance database with information of 24 million families joining health insurance and more than 90 million people covered by health insurance, along with those on businesses, finance, education, health care, and population. As of December 2020, nearly 40 Make in Vietnam platforms built by domestic businesses had been introduced. Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is Chairman of the National Committee for E-Government, noted that the UN placed Vietnam at the 86th position among 193 countries in its e-government raking in 2020, up 2 places from 2018, which showed Vietnams progress in the field. However, in Southeast Asia, Vietnam still ranked sixth, he added. The PM said that regional countries rises in the e-government ranking means their business environment and competitiveness are improving, creating fiercer competition with Vietnam in all fields, which is a great challenge for the nation to tackle. He said that with the issuance of Resolution No. 17/NQ-CP, Vietnam for the first time has a master plan on e-government building, with the focus placed on building institutions and shared platforms. Reviewing a number of outstanding achievements of Vietnam in the recent years, the PM said that along with socio-economic successes, the country has seen a bright spot in e-government building, especially in 2020. Besides, he also pointed out a number of shortcomings in the field, including the incomplete legal environment, and limited ratio of level-4 online public services. In the future, it is necessary to speed up the provision of online public services, and the effective implementation of the national database on population, thus reducing papers in administrative procedure processing. He assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to hasten the building progress of the national database on land, which is expected to be launched in July. The PM requested ministries, sectors and localities to effectively exploit public services provided online, while actively sharing their data to other State agencies, and ensuring system safety. The ministries, sectors and localities should complete the building and launching of strategies, programmes and plans in digital transformation for the new period in line with the national digital transformation programme, he said, adding that they should maintain online operations like what was done during the social distancing period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 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. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arrives to meet with other House Democrats on the morning following Iranian attacks on bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops, at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 8, 2020. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo) Judicial Watch Files Lawsuit for Records of Pelosi Call With Pentagons Milley The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit requesting that the Department of Defense release more information about a phone call between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley following the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Judicial Watch said in a statement that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after Pelosi acknowledged a phone call with Milley in a Jan. 8 letter to her Democratic colleagues that was posted on her website. The speaker said at the time that she spoke with Milley to talk about preventing an unstable president, referring to then-President Donald Trump, and his control of the nuclear codes. The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy, Pelosi said. Judicial Watch said the Pentagon failed to respond to an FOIA request on Jan. 11. According to the watchdog, it is seeking any and all records regarding, concerning, or related to the call between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and General Mark Milley two months ago, including transcripts, recordings, call summaries, and any other records related to the phone call. Judicial Watchs Tom Fitton said that Pelosis call to Milley would [set] a dangerous precedent that could undermine the presidents role as commander in chief and the separation of powers, as only Trump was the one who had control over U.S. nuclear weapons. Our new lawsuit aims to uncover [the] truth about the call, Fitton added. Around the same time, Pelosi also made a reference to invoking the 25th Amendment, which would allow Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the Trump cabinet to remove him. Its not clear if Trump was ever denied access to the launch codes. About a week after the Capitol breach, on Jan. 13, the House impeached Trump for allegedly inciting violence at the Capitol; he was later acquitted in the Senate about a month later. Pentagon officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. More recently, several House Democrats have called on President Joe Biden to give up his sole authority to launch nuclear weapons and consider modifying the command and control of the U.S. nuclear forces, which drew blowback from House Republicans days later. Democrats dangerous efforts suggesting a restructuring of our nuclear command and control process will undermine American security, as well as the security of our allies, said Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) in a statement. Credit: NASA The solar wind is a flow of particles that comes off the sun at about one million miles per hour and travels throughout the entire solar system. First proposed in the 1950s by University of Chicago physicist Eugene Parker, the solar wind is visible in the halo around the sun during an eclipse and sometimes when the particles hit the Earth's atmosphereas the aurora borealis, or northern lights. While the solar wind protects Earth from other harmful particles coming from space, storms can also threaten our satellite and communications networks. What is the solar wind? The surface of the sun is blisteringly hot at 6,000 degrees Fahrenheitbut its atmosphere, called the corona, is more than a thousand times hotter. It is also incredibly active; those flares and loops are the halo you see around the sun when there's an eclipse. The corona is so hot that the sun's gravity can't hold it, so particles are flung off into space and travel throughout the solar system in every direction. As the sun spins, burns and burps, it creates complex swirls and eddies of particles. These particles, mostly protons and electrons, are traveling about a million miles per hour as they pass Earth. This flow of particles, called the "solar wind," has an enormous impact on our lives. It protects us from stray cosmic rays coming from elsewhere in the galaxybut the effects of storms on the sun's surface can also affect our telecommunications networks. The wind would also pose a threat to astronauts traveling through space, so NASA wants to get a better understanding of its properties. How was the solar wind discovered? Credit: NASA In 1957, Eugene Parker was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago when he began looking into an open question in astrophysics: Are particles coming off of the sun? Such a phenomenon seemed unlikely; Earth's atmosphere doesn't flow out into space, and many experts presumed the same would be true for the sun. But scientists had noticed an odd phenomenon: The tails of comets, no matter which direction they traveled, always pointed away from the sunalmost as though something was blowing them away. Parker began to do the math. He calculated that if the sun's corona was a million degrees, there had to be a flow of particles expanding away from its surface, eventually becoming extremely fastfaster than the speed of sound. He would later name the phenomenon the "solar wind." "And that's the end of the story, except it isn't, because people immediately said, "I don't believe it,'" Parker said. He wrote a paper and submitted it to the Astrophysical Journal; the response from scientific reviewers was swift and scathing. "You must understand how unbelievable this sounded when he proposed it," said Fausto Cattaneo, a UChicago professor of astronomy and astrophysics. "That this wind not only exists, but is traveling at supersonic speed! It is extraordinarily difficult to accelerate anything to supersonic speeds in the laboratory, and there is no means of propulsion." Luckily, the editor of the journal at the time was eminent astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Parker's colleague at the University of Chicago. Chandrasekhar didn't like the idea either, but the future Nobel laureate couldn't find anything wrong with Parker's math, so he overruled the reviewers and published the paper. Only three years later, when a NASA spacecraft called Mariner II took readings on its journey to Venus in 1962, the results were unambiguous. "There was the solar wind, blowing 24/7," Parker said. How does the solar wind effect us? Credit: NASA The breakthrough discovery reshaped our picture of space and the solar system. Scientists came to understand that the solar wind not only flows past Earth, but throughout the solar system and beyond. It also both protects and threatens us. "The solar wind magnetically blankets the solar system, protecting life on Earth from even higher-energy particles coming from elsewhere in the galaxy," explained UChicago astrophysicist Angela Olinto. "But it also affects the sophisticated satellite communications we have today. So understanding the precise structure and dynamics and evolution of the solar wind is crucial for civilization as a whole." Normally, Earth's magnetic field shields us from most of these particles. But sometimes, the sun "burps," throwing a billion tons of material into space flying at several thousand kilometers per second. These are called coronal mass ejectionsand if a big one happened to hit Earth, the shockwave could cause chaos and damage to our communication systems. "It can cause the magnetic field that surrounds Earth to ring like a struck bell," said Prof. Justin Kasper, a UChicago alum now a physicist at the University of Michigan. Such a scenario would generate all kinds of disturbances: Aircraft would lose radio communication, GPS would be thrown off by up to miles, and banking, communications and electronic systems could be knocked out. This has actually happened before: In 1859, a giant solar eruption known as the Carrington Event shut down telegraph and electrical systems for days. The aurora borealis was so strong that people reported being able to read a newspaper by its light even at one o'clock in the morning. "There was a ghastly splendor over the horizon of the North, from which fantastic spires of light shot up, and a rosy glow extended, like a vapor tinged with re, to the zenith," wrote the Cincinnati Daily Commercial. But in 1859, we weren't as reliant on electronics as we are today. A 2013 study by Lloyd's of London estimated that a similar storm hitting Earth today could cause up to $2.6 trillion in damages to the United States alone, and would trigger widespread blackouts and damages to electrical grids. There are some precautions we could take if we had advance notice, which is why engineers want to know when a solar storm is incoming. Luckily, several spacecraft orbiting the sun take pictures and send them back to Earth so that NASA can monitor for eruptions. (You can see current space weather conditions here.) But analyzing these images still requires an eruption to first show up on the sun's surface, which only provides minutes or hours of warning. As of now, there still isn't way to predict such eruptions before they happen. A better understanding of the solar wind also factors into another human venture: space travel. Some solar wind particles are extremely energetic, and could poke tiny holes through important spacecraft equipmentnot to mention human bodies. In order to protect astronauts, NASA needs to understand the components, characteristics, and frequencies of such particles, as well as how to forecast space weather in advance for safe journeys. What mysteries remain about the solar wind? An artists rendering of the solar wind particles coming towards Earth. Credit: NASA One of the biggest problems facing space weather forecasters is that we still don't know why the atmosphere of the sun is so much hotter than the surface. In everyday life, you'd expect the temperature to decrease steadily as you get further away from a heat source, like moving your hand away from a fire. But that's not what happens on the sun. In this case, the heat comes from fusion happening in the sun's core, which gradually cools to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surfacethen shoots up again to millions of degrees in the corona. Many theories have been proposed. Scientists know that the entire surface of the sun is constantly churning and erupting; perhaps there are smaller "nanoflares" (each still packing the energy of a 10-megaton hydrogen bomb) constantly erupting all over the sun's surface that carry heat to the atmosphere. There are also magnetic fields interacting at the sun's surface; it's possible these magnetic fields are hitting each other with explosive force billions of times per second"canceling" each other out, but heating the atmosphere in the process. Questions that scientists would like to answer include: Why is the corona so much hotter than the surface of the sun? How does the solar wind accelerate away from the sun? How fast are the particles moving, and how hot are they getting? Are magnetic fields heating the particles, or are there mechanical waves coming from the surface of the sun? (or both?) A deeper understanding of these processes could help forecast space weather that affects life on Earth, reveal more about the conditions that astronauts in orbit above our world and journeying for long distances would face, and even provide clues about what kinds of star activity might favor habitability on distant planets. But to get answers, we need to get close to the sun itself. What is NASA's Parker Probe? This combination of three wavelengths of light from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory led to a series of slow coronal puffs on Jan. 17, 2013. Credit: NASA Scientists have been eager for a mission to the sun since space travel first became possible. Not only is the sun vital to life on Earth, it is also by far the closest star we can study. But the extreme temperatures meant that scientists needed to wait for the development of technology that could shield the spacecraft from the intense heat and radiation of the sun. In 2018, this dream finally came true. NASA's Parker Solar Probenamed for Eugene Parker in honor of his pioneering researchbegan a seven-year journey to the blisteringly hot corona of the sun on Aug. 12, 2018. The probe is the fastest-moving object built by humans, traveling at more than 150,000 miles per hour. It's so fast that it's already made several trips around the sun. The probe's heat shield, made of just under five inches of a cutting-edge carbon composite, keeps the craft's delicate instruments at a cool 85 degrees Fahrenheit, even as the corona rages at 3,000,000 degrees outside. (Except for one especially tough instrument, built by UChicago alum Justin Kasper, which peeks around the edge of the craft to scoop up particles of the solar wind). The probe has already sent huge amounts of data back to Earth, which led to discoveries such as bizarre "switchbacks" in the solar wind. Parker, then 91, flew to Cape Canaveral with his family to watch the NASA spacecraft launch. "So much has gone into this launch, and then to see it all disappear slowlyfading away into the night sky, knowing it will never come backit was a moving experience," Parker said. "You rarely have a space mission that doesn't come up with the unexpected, and it's actually going to get more exciting as the mission goes on and crosses into regions that spacecraft have never been in before. It's just fascinating every step of the way." Explore further Unique solar system views from NASA sun-studying missions South African police have fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse students at the University of Witwatersrand, who are demanding changes to registration and financial aid policies. One person was killed, but its unclear if it was a student or passer-by. The students, in Johannesburg, have been protesting since Monday, blocking roads and causing general disruption over alleged financial exclusion by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. The scheme has run out of money and theres no budget available to assist new students to register for the academic year. 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. Featured Video NEX Pearl Harbor " Janz provides medical products that are not currently offered at the Navy Exchange" The Janz Corporation (Janz) is excited to announce the opening of two Durable Medical Equipment (DME) franchise operations on U. S. Navy bases through a contract with the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM). The store at Naval Base Guam had its grand opening on Jan. 25 and the Naval Base Pearl Harbor store opened Feb. 2. NEXCOM has plans to open additional Janz locations on other U.S. Navy bases in the future. Per Dawn Ryan, Services Specialist at NEXCOM, Opening these Janz locations allows our active duty Sailors, their family members, reservists and retirees to purchase needed medical supplies that we dont currently offer in our NEXs. Janz is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that has been in business for over twenty years. Janz accepts Tricare, AETNA and Medicare insurance. NEXs are retail stores operated by NEXCOM. NEXCOM's mission is to provide authorized customers quality goods and services at a savings and to support Navy quality of life programs for active duty military, retirees, reservists and their families. Janz Medical Supply stores contain a wide assortment of Respiratory, Maternity, Personal Protective Equipment and Mobility DME products. Customers/Patients with Tricare insurance can have cashless transactions performed with Janz submitting all of the insurance paperwork for reimbursable products. Janz also provides automated re-supplies on reimbursable consumables like breast milk bags and CPAP supplies. Janz Medical Supply is presently at 12 locations within the US, Europe and the Pac Rim. http://www.janzmedicalsupply.com About NEXCOM The Navy Exchange Service Command is one of 11 commands under Commander, NAVSUP. NEXCOM oversees six business lines that include Navy Exchange (NEX) stores, Navy Lodges, the Ships Store Program, the Uniform Program Management Office, the Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility and the Telecommunications Program Office. NEXCOM's mission is to provide authorized customers quality goods and services at a savings and to support Navy quality of life programs for active duty military, retirees, reservists and their families. Since 1946, NEXCOM has given nearly $3.7 billion to support Navy MWR quality of life programs. Shop online at myNavyExchange.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. Thursday, March 11, 2021 BELLEVUE, WA Thanks to overwhelming public response, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is adding a third week to its national TV campaign to expose the threat posed to Second Amendment rights by H.R. 127, an egregious gun control measure introduced by Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Were adding 48 more spots to reach millions more people with our 60-second TV message, said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. With Democrats in Congress mounting a major attack on our Second Amendment rights, we need to reach as many Americans as possible, and extending our campaign another seven days will help make that possible. By the end of next week, our message will have been broadcast 168 times on over a dozen national networks reaching even more Americans. With Thursdays House passage of two extremist gun control measures covering so-called universal background checks and closing the so-called Charleston loophole, it opens the pathway for Congress to focus on H.R. 127, he stated. H.R. 127 represents the tip of the gun control iceberg, Gottlieb said. It includes gun owner licensing and registration, psychological examinations of gun owners, mandatory insurance, mandatory minimum prison sentences for non-compliance, and bans on whole classes of firearms and original capacity magazines. Gottlieb said this measure, along with other gun control bills, is clearly a danger to Second Amendment rights. Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi have never met a gun control proposal they didnt immediately want to take to bed, Gottlieb stated. Given the chance, theyll rape our gun rights. For that matter, he continued, The Biden-Harris administration is dead set on assaulting our Second Amendment rights. Since the campaign of 2020, theyve had their eyes on our guns, hoping one day to actually get their hands on our rights, ripping away the protections and having their way. CCRKBA is calling its effort the SAVE2A.US campaign, because that is precisely what is at stake. Gun owners can visit SAVE2A.US or text SAVE2A to 474747. Rights are fragile things that must be protected and defended, Gottlieb observed. If we allow just one of our rights to be molested, we may as well surrender them all to political pillaging. But it appears our campaign is working, and we will continue this fight, which is being made possible by the financial support of our members and supporters. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category County library to unveil story walk project in Vanderbilt The Otsego County Library is hosting a ceremony Saturday to formally open the latest story walk project. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a senior official of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for taking bribe from different persons at Patna in Bihar on Thursday. According to CBI officials, assistant director rank officer of ED has been arrested for allegedly taking bribes. The ED official has been identified as Shashi Shekhar. A CBI official requesting anonymity said, the ED officer has been arrested for taking bribes which amounted upto Rs 10 lakhs. According to CBI FIR, Shekhar had parked the money with a Kolkata-based businessman, Raj Kumar Agarwal with an intention to take them back as lawful income at a later date. The ED is a nodal agency for probing economic crimes such as money laundering and violation of foreign exchange regulations. The CBI official added that they had received a tip off regarding a representative of Agarwal was to deliver the money to Shekhar. The CBI have arrested Agarwals representative identified as Dilip. CBI have filed FIR under sections of Prevention of Corruption Act as well as over charges of criminal conspiracy against ED official, Aggarwal and Dilip. According to sources from the ED, Shekhar was transferred to Bhubaneswar only four days ago. The ED is an agency for probing economic crimes which includes money laundering and violation of foreign exchange regulations. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Burma At Least 12 More Killed as Myanmar Regime Steps Up Violence Ko Chit Min Thu, 25, was shot dead in North Dagon, Yangon Region, on March 11. Forgive me, wife. If I dont go out today and if others do the same, we wont get democracy back. These were the last words 25-year-old Ko Chit Min Thu told his pregnant wife before joining a protest against the military regime in Yangon on Thursday. Myanmar has seen bloody crackdowns on anti-regime protests since large-scale gatherings, largely of young people, started in February. The Irrawaddy has counted at least 70 people who have been killed by soldiers and police during crackdowns on demonstrations and more than 2,000 individuals who have been detained. The escalating threats of killings, detentions and raids have not deterred Myanmars anti-regime protesters, who are determined to continue the fight until democracy is restored. Protesters returned to the streets across the country on Thursday and continue to oppose the regime. Ko Chit Min Thu did not return to his wife and mother. His tearful wife said that she tried to stop her husband, saying she worried their baby and unborn child could lose their father. But he replied that he must fight for democracy, she said. He stood at the front of the protest in North Dagon Township holding a makeshift shield to protect other protesters when he was shot dead in the morning. The bullet went through the shield into his head. Another protester was severely injured with a shot to the thigh. In the evening, residents and protesters paid their respects to Ko Chit Min Thu where he lost his life. On Thursday, at least 12 people including Ko Chit Min Thu were killed by the military regime. In Bago Region, another fatality was reported on Thursday and a man was wounded in his leg by gunshots. In Mandalay Region, a 19-year-old student, Maung Lin Htet, was killed during a crackdown which included civil servants who had joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM). The railway staff, who have joined the CDM, protested in Mandalay on Thursday behind a banner saying: We will go back to work only after our mother [detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] is released. In Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region, 22-year-old Ko Htoo Aung Kyaw, who was shot in the eye on Wednesday during a crackdown, has died. On Thursday in Myaing Township, Magwe Region, the highest death toll was recorded on Thursday with at least eight people shot dead. Eight others were injured, of which two are in a critical condition. A resident told The Irrawaddy that peaceful demonstrators were staging a sit-in to demand the release of two young protesters but faced a violent crackdown soon after the protest began. It is so terrible. How could they be so brutal to civilians? One persons head exploded and his brain fell out in front of my eyes, he said. You may also like these stories: US Government Sanctions Myanmar Junta Leaders Adult Children Arrest Warrants Target Myanmar Activists For Encouraging Civil Servants To Strike Myanmar Military Regime Removes Arakan Army From List of Terrorist Groups 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. Morehead, Kentucky (USA), March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rajant Corporation, the Kinetic Mesh wireless network provider, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with manufacturing operations in Morehead, Kentucky, is among the 2021 Best Places to Work in Kentucky. The honor was announced March 4th by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management (KYSHRM), and ClearPath Mutual Insurance Company. The selection process is based on assessing the companys employee policies and procedures and anonymous employee survey results. A total of 100 companies earned this distinction in this 17th annual program and are categorized by the size of Kentucky-based staff. Rajant is one of 40 companies in the small employer category that have 15-149 employees. Winner rankings will be made at an awards dinner on June 17th in Lexington, Kentucky, and Rajant will be in attendance to celebrate with fellow winners. I could not be prouder of Rajants team in Kentucky and all they continue to achieve on behalf of our company, says Rajants CEO and Co-founder Robert Schena. Kentucky is a great place to do business, and I encourage other organizations to do, as Rajant has done, expand operations to this state. In 2015, we brought manufacturing down from our Pennsylvania-based headquarters to Main Street, Morehead, Kentucky. Now in 2021, we will be moving to a facility 5x larger on nearly 15 acres in the MMRC Industrial Park in large part due to the dedication and work ethic of our staff. We are pleased to be recognized with other vibrant companies and look forward to celebrating with them in June. #### About Rajant Corporation Rajant Corporation is the broadband communications technology company that invented Kinetic Mesh networking, BreadCrumb wireless nodes, and InstaMesh networking software. With Rajant, customers can rapidly deploy a highly adaptable and scalable network that leverages the power of real-time data to deliver on-demand, mission-critical business intelligence. A low-latency, high-throughput, and secure solution for a variety of data, voice, video, and autonomous applications, Rajants Kinetic Mesh networks provide industrial customers with full mobility, allowing them to take their private network applications and data anywhere. With successful deployments in more than 60 countries for customers in military, mining, ports, rail, oil & gas, petrochemical plants, municipalities, and agriculture. Rajant is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania with additional facilities and offices in Arizona and Kentucky. For more information, visit Rajant.com or follow Rajant on LinkedIn and Twitter. Attachment Cillian Murphy was seen catching up with actor Neil Maskell during a filming break on the set of Peaky Blinders series six in Liverpool on Thursday. Cillian - who plays lead character Tommy Shelby - and Neil - who portrays Prime Minister Winston Churchill - were seen in their 1930s costumes, chatting between takes. The leading actor, 44, sported his character's signature flat cap before removing it for his chat with Neil, 45. On a break: Cillian Murphy was seen catching up with actor Neil Maskell during a filming break on the set of Peaky Blinders series six in Liverpool on Thursday Cillian looked smart in a petrol blue suit, white shirt and a maroon tie. Neil was in typical Churchill garb - a black suit and a bow tie. They spoke to one another outside one of the trailers, before returning to work. Neil is the third actor to portray Churchill on the series, having been played by Andy Nyman in season one, and Richard McCabe in season two. Neil joined the cast in season five, and is reprising the role for the sixth and final run of the show. Chat: Cillian - who plays lead character Tommy Shelby - and Neil - who portrays Prime Minister Winston Churchill - were seen in their 1930s costumes, chatting between takes TV star Sam Clafin, 34, was also seen on set for the first time since producers confirmed he'll be making his return as politician Oswald Mosley. Last month, Peaky Blinders revealed Oswald's fate in a tweet: 'Sam Claflin returns as Oswald Mosley in #PeakyBlinders series 6' The Hunger Games star played the fascist leader, who rose to fame in the 1920s as a Member of Parliament and later in the 1930s, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics. Talking it out: The leading actor, 44, sported his character's signature flat cap before removing it for his chat with Neil, 45 The sixth series will pick up where the fifth series left off on 7 December 1929, the morning after a rally led by Oswald. The final tweaks were made to the Manchester-based sets in February after the cast had been filming in Scotland. The locations, however, are portraying Birmingham - the actual setting of the hit gangster drama. Peaky Blinders centres around its eponymous gang which is run by the ruthless Tommy and his family, and sees them build their power and influence over Birmingham and beyond. The fifth season ended on a cliffhanger, with Tommy seeing visions of his late wife Grace (Annabelle Wallis) and turning a gun on himself following his botched assassination attempt of the British Union of Fascists leader. Production on the show was delayed last year by the Covid-19 crisis, but shooting was able to begin last month with cast and crew adhering to strict coronavirus restrictions. The BBC drama has been running for eight years and has enjoyed huge popularity but the sixth season has been confirmed as the final one, with creator Steven Knight confirming the story will return 'in another form'. Former Karnataka JD(S) MLA Madhu Bangarappa announces joining Congress India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Bengaluru, Mar 11: Former JD(S) MLA Madhu Bangarappa on Thursday announced joining the Congress, saying there is scope for him to work and express his sentiments in his new party. Putting all speculation to rest, Madhu on Thursday called on former chief minister Siddaramaiah and said he was joining the Congress. "All our supporters had taken the decision. Hence, I am joining Congress today," Madhu, son of former chief minister, the late S Bangarappa, told reporters. For the past one year, his switching over the party was in the offing which finally happened today. Late night parties banned in Karnataka amidst COVID-19 surge After meeting Siddaramaiah, Madhu said in the present context, the country and state needs the Congress party. Stating that he can do more good work in Congress, he said his father became the state chief minister while in Congress. Madhu said he decided to join the Congress as the leaders in the party had been calling him. "I have more scope to work here and express my feelings," the leader said. Regarding the JD(S), he said he had explained his woes to veteran JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on many occasions. At 172 MLAs, Congress had the highest number of deserters between 2016-2020 However, that was not the reason for him to leave the party. Reacting to Madhu Bangarappa's exit, Kumaraswamy said he was not surprised as it was on the cards for about a year. However, he underlined that people have the habit of backstabbing the party supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda. "Since the inception of JD(S) it had been the practice that whoever Deve Gowda had trusted, slew him," Kumaraswamy said. He added that the JD(S) has the capacity to help ordinary workers rise in the organisation. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 17:03 [IST] John Lewis will permanently shut several more department stores after it fell to its first loss in its 157-year history. The closures are the second time the partnership, which also owns Waitrose, has been forced to take drastic action to protect the business in the pandemic. It is fighting back after losing a mammoth 517million in 2020 because of closures and consumers rapid shift to online shopping. Speaking about the effect Covid has had on the business, John Lewis Chairman Dame Sharon White (pictured) said:'It's a decade's worth of change in the space of a year' Bosses warned financial results will be even worse next year and staff will not receive the coveted bonus for two years running, the first time in the firms history. The firm is also reviewing its Never Knowingly Undersold price pledge, which has been in place since 1925, and is already cutting prices to widen its appeal. It is thought that around eight of department stores will shut, on top of eight shops closed last year, as part of plans to cut 300million of annual costs. The retail giant did not say exactly how many of its 42 John Lewis shops will close, saying a final decision will be made at the end of March following talks with landlords. Such a move would likely result in hundreds of redundancies. It has already shed 1,300 shop staff and 1,500 head office workers. The closure of the large outlets will also be a blow to British towns, which are already reeling from the closure of 600 Debenhams and Arcadia stores. In total 20,000 stores are expected to close their doors permanently this year, costing 200,000 retail jobs. Chairman Dame Sharon White said: Its the biggest economic challenge and public health emergency anyone has lived through, a real economic earthquake. Its a decades worth of change in the space of a year. Those shopping habits have changed irreversibly. Bosses said they will open some smaller John Lewis shops on the High Street, which will offer a limited range of products and a place to pick up orders and get advice. Small John Lewis shopping areas have also been placed in the corner of five Waitrose stores. If successful, they will be rolled out to a significant number of our 331 Waitrose shops. But retail expert Andrew Busby said: It feels like the business is being run by consultants. It didnt seem like there was too much conviction about the stores. Its almost as if bosses see the stores as a necessary evil for its online business, which is plainly ludicrous. A John Lewis spokesman said it would always try to redeploy elsewhere in the business, with redundancies a last resort. 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. ROAD WARRIOR In the month since the publication of her memoir, Between Two Kingdoms, which just spent three weeks on the hardcover nonfiction list, Suleika Jaoaud has heard from a number of individuals she didnt expect to be in touch with including her fourth grade teacher; a California oncologist who was a fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City when Jaoaud was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 22; and a lawyer offering counsel to a Texas prisoner Jaouad writes about in the book. These readers have been moved by Jaouads story of surviving cancer and then taking a 15,000-mile road trip to visit people many of them strangers who responded to the New York Times blog where she chronicled her experience as a young adult facing her own mortality. By now, we all know it takes a village (albeit a socially distanced one) to endure illness, isolation and fear. Between Two Kingdoms drives home the fact that, where cancer is concerned, it takes an empire. The idea for the road trip and the memoir arrived when Jaouad found herself at a crossroads. I felt like I should be living some version of the heroic journey Id been bombarded with, she said in a phone interview. But I didnt feel excited; I didnt feel done. There was this strange omerta of silence that seemed to enshroud survivorship. Im always interested in traveling to where the silence is, so once I detected it, I knew that would be something that I wanted to interrogate. Jaoauds nearest and dearest understood that there was no talking her out of her journey once her mind was made up, although some worried about her safety since shed only had her drivers license for a month. She recalled visiting her parents in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., about a week into the expedition: My dad explained to me how, if you lean forward and look in the mirror, you can notice your blind spots. Sailors aboard a six billion dollar American attack submarine say that the vessel has been infested with bed bugs - and that their commanding officers have been too slow to address the problem. The situation on board the USS Connecticut has reportedly deteriorated to the point where sailors began sleeping in chairs or on the floor of the mess hall in order to avoid being bitten by the bloodsucking insects. The infestation is believed to have started in March 2020 while the ship was taking part in ICEX 2020, a biennial military exercise staged by the US Navy in the Arctic Ocean. Weve had bed bugs for a year now, a petty officer aboard the submarine told Navy Times, which claims to have obtained photographs showing dead bed bugs caught aboard the Connecticut. Sailors on board the USS Connecticut, the Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine (seen above in Puget Sound in 2016), claim that the ship has been infested with bed bugs since March of last year Bed bugs are tiny insects that feed on human blood, usually at night. While bed bugs are not known to transmit infectious diseases, their bites can cause discomfort, including skin rashes and allergies Sailors complained about getting bitten in the racks. People are terrified of getting bit. DailyMail.com has reached out to the Navy seeking comment. The ship is currently berthed at its home port of Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton in Washington State. It returned pier-side in December. Bed bugs are tiny insects that feed on human blood, usually at night. While bed bugs are not known to transmit infectious diseases, their bites can cause discomfort, including skin rashes and allergies. A spokesperson for the Naval Submarine Forces Pacific, Commander Cynthia Fields, disputed the petty officers comments. Fields said that the issue of bed bugs was first reported in December and that the physical presence of the insects wasnt detected on board until February 19. Navy criteria for treating submarines or ships requires physical presence of bed bugs to establish existence, Fields told Navy Times. The petty officer told Navy Times that commanding officers on board initially didnt believe claims of bed bugs because we didnt have proof. Fields said that the submarine has been inspected on a daily basis and that all berthing spaces - where the ship is docked or anchored - have also been combed for the presence of bed bugs. Sailors and officers are seen on board the USS Connecticut in this March 2018 file photo. Sailors said that the ship's cramped quarters have exacerbated the infestation problem She added that linens and privacy curtains have either been laundered or replaced. Navy entomologists have been summoned on board to deal with the issue, including through the use of deadly countermeasures, according to Fields. The Navy takes the safety and health of its sailors very seriously, Fields said. Two other petty officers assigned to the USS Connecticut corroborated the first petty officers claims that the infestation started in March of last year. People were getting eaten alive in their racks, one petty officer said. Another petty officer added: The best way to put it would probably be employee abuse, but thats not really a thing in the Navy, I guess. WHAT ARE BED BUGS? Bedbugs are small insects that often live on furniture or bedding. Their bites can be itchy but do not usually cause other health problems. Bedbugs can hide in many places, including on bed frames, mattresses, clothing, furniture, behind pictures and under loose wallpaper. Bedbugs can hide in many places, including on bed frames, mattresses, clothing, furniture, behind pictures and under loose wallpaper. HOW DO BED BUG INFESTATIONS HAPPEN? Genetic tests have revealed that a single undetected pregnant bed bug is all it takes to start an entire infestation. A DNA study at Sheffield University showed colonies of bed bugs come from a common ancestor or a few of the female bed bugs. The pregnant bed bug could rapidly create a colony of thousands that feed on humans. Bed bugs are capable of surviving without feeding for a month as they wait for a human. In the late 1880s, an estimated 75 per cent of households were affected, but by the outbreak of World War II, that figure had dwindled to 25 per cent, Their recent resurgence has been blamed by some experts on resistance to commonly used insecticides and international travel. Advertisement One petty officer said he initiated a complaint with the Naval Inspector General while also reaching out to the press because the high command has not property addressed the matter. Sailors have complained that submarine duty is stressful enough as it is without having to endure the loss of sleep that the infestation has caused. Those aboard the submarine sleep in cramped quarters. The disruption in sleep could have severe consequences in the proper management of the ship, they warn. If someones sleep deprived because theyre in the rack getting eaten alive by bed bugs, he could fall asleep at (the controls) and run us into an underwater mountain, one of the petty officers told Navy Times. The officer said he was concerned that crew members will take the bugs home to their spouses. I dont want them to take bed bugs home, he said. They have to pay for fumigators and their families will suffer. The officer said that morale aboard the submarine is low due to the perception among the rank-and-file that the high command has not provided sufficient support to the sailors. But Fields disputes the notion that the senior leadership was slow to respond, saying that the command acted swiftly. Inspections by the ships Corpsman did not find any of the classic indications of bed bugs, and were backed up by inspection from Preventative Medicine Technicians on December 21, she said. Despite follow on inspections by certified inspectors that found no evidence of bed bugs, the command continued to pursue resolution. One petty officer said the ships leadership initially did not believe the sailors when they first brought complaints about bed bugs. He said sailors tried a number of mitigation measures on their own, including steaming and taping up the walls and caulk cracks - but to no avail. Bed bugs are tiny creatures capable of squeezing through tiny cracks and crevices. The petty officer told Navy Times that despite the infestation, sailors are being forced to sleep in the submarine this week during training. Theyre using us as live baitto see if (the bed bugs) are still there, the officer said. The upper chain of command isnt going to sleep in those racks. Theyre going to make the lower enlisted do it. The Navy has insisted that it has taken appropriate 'countermeasures' to mitigate the problem. The USS Connecticut is seen above in the Arctic Ocean during the ICEX naval exercises in March 2018 Tonight and tomorrow, we are lawfully ordered to sleep in a known infested berthing area in order to record data thats already been recorded, another officer is quoted as saying on Monday. Fields has denied the allegation, saying: 'Two Navy entomologists arrived March 4, to direct hands-on efforts. After two applications of pesticide and an initial application of diatomaceous dust, the entomologists directed sealing efforts to deny likely harborage to insects invulnerable to pesticide application, and oversaw additional application of diatomaceous dust and efforts to draw insects out of hiding and into contact with deadly countermeasures. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudanese militia leader accused by rights groups of atrocities in Darfur was released from a Khartoum prison on Wednesday following a pardon by Sudan's ruling council, the movement he heads said in a statement. Human rights groups accused Musa Hilal of coordinating Arab militias blamed for atrocities during a conflict in Darfur that left an estimated 300,000 dead and 2.5 million displaced. Hilal has previously denied responsibility for atrocities, saying he mobilised his tribesmen to defend their lands after a government call to popular defence against non-Arab rebels. Darfur's conflict escalated in 2003 as the rebels rose up against Khartoum, and then-President Omar al-Bashir relied on militias loyal to Hilal to help suppress the revolt. After turning against Bashir, Hilal was captured in November 2017 by forces belonging to the current deputy leader of Sudan's ruling council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The military-civilian council is leading Sudan through a transition after Bashir was overthrown and jailed in 2019 following months of popular protests. Several of the rebel groups that fought in Darfur signed a peace deal with transitional authorities last year and have taken positions in the government. Dagalo and Hilal, who both hail from the Rizeigat tribe, remain in competition for political and economic influence in Darfur. Both have held gold mining interests in the region. Despite Hilal's detention, many of the Arab militias still active in Darfur remain loyal to him, and he remains leader of the Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council movement. A U.N. report issued in January said Hilal's supporters had become increasingly disgruntled over the detention of their leader and some had turned to military action in Darfur's Jebel Marra area and in Libya. Hilal is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban under U.N. sanctions but is not sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC is seeking Bashir and three other Sudanese suspects on charges relating to Darfur. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Aidan Lewis) Recent statements by Donald Trump and his enablers prove that he and his Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen aren't departing from American politics anytime soon. But neither is the push to hold him legally accountable, as shown by a new lawsuit - the second against Trump by a member of Congress arising out of the failed Jan. 6 insurrection. As attorneys who have overseen prosecutions or other accountability efforts in Republican and Democratic administrations alike, we believe the combination of civil cases and a pair of rapidly accelerating state criminal investigations make for a potent force to combat the ex-president's ongoing wrongdoing. The new litigation, filed Friday by impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., alleges that the former president, his son Don Jr., his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., conspired to prevent Swalwell and other members of Congress from discharging their duty to certify that Joe Biden had won last year's presidential election. The complaint says the defendants engaged in an extensive, months-long promotion of the Big Lie, capped off by Trump's fighting words and the violence that followed on the day of the electoral vote count. Such alleged conspiracies are prohibited by the Ku Klux Klan Act, which was passed during the Reconstruction era to fight efforts to block public officials from performing their duties. The new suit joins the pending one initiated by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who is also suing the former president and Giuliani, as well as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers on similar grounds. Both cases are assigned to the same capable and speedy D.C. federal judge, Amit Mehta, and Trump's first deadline to answer is approaching next week. So the floodgates of civil litigation are now open. Once preliminary motions are over, we can expect a rush of new information to add to the public record of the events leading up to and including Jan. 6, perhaps further implicating the former president and his cronies. And the financial claims against Trump will accumulate, too. Because of the potentially vast damages that can be awarded by D.C. juries for the very severe wrongdoing alleged, these civil actions have the capacity to financially break even wealthy individuals like the Trump and some of his alleged co-conspirators. But as important as civil accountability is, Trump faces an even more immediate set of legal troubles that threaten to complicate his attempted reemergence into public life. Recent days also saw the delivery of long-sought tax and financial information to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. as part of an investigation into Trump's many alleged misdeeds in New York City's jurisdiction, including bank and tax fraud. That should greatly accelerate the long-running investigation. So too should Vance's recent hiring of a top deputy with extensive experience trying complex criminal matters, Mark Pomerantz. He and Vance are reportedly sharpening their focus on the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, whose cooperation could also speed up the case. And Vance is not alone in investigating criminal liability - there's a matching criminal threat from Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis over Trump's call to ask that the secretary of state in Georgia "just . . . find 11,780 votes" to help Trump beat Biden. This is a more recent investigation, but it's also potentially much less complex than the case in Manhattan, now in its third year. As a result, the Fulton County investigation may move even faster. Indeed, a grand jury met in the Georgia investigation last week, and Willis recently added a nationally recognized racketeering expert to her investigative team. Look for the New York and Georgia probes into criminal liability to close in on Trump. Of course, Trump would not be Trump without his many legal enablers, and they, too, are facing mounting troubles for their part in spreading the Big Lie. Judge James E. Boasberg of the D.C. District Court recently referred attorney Erick Kaardal to a court grievance committee for potential punishment because Kaardal filed an allegedly bogus case attacking the November election results. Two Georgia counties have recently filed to recover legal fees stemming from the Trump campaign's frivolous lawsuit to overturn the state's election results. They are the latest in a nationwide series of actions seeking sanctions against the attorneys who presented allegedly voluminous election falsehoods to the courts, including multiple bar complaints against Sidney Powell and Giuliani. Giuliani is beset with even greater challenges: Late last week, news reports indicated that federal prosecutors in Manhattan had resumed their investigation into whether he broke federal law in his Ukraine dealings, which helped lead to Trump's first impeachment. In light of all this court action, Trump may come to regret his recent CPAC speech filled with debunked lies, such as that "this election was rigged," and that there were "more votes than they had people voting" in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The ex-president's behavior at issue in the cases does not end on Jan. 6, or even Jan. 20, when he left office. The law allows post-wrongdoing acts to be admitted if they bear upon relevant issues such as motive or a lack of remorse. As civil and criminal proceedings press forward, the CPAC speech and others like it could be admissible in court as evidence to shed light on Trump's intent in inciting the attack on the Capitol. This is to say nothing of the other ongoing investigations into the events of Jan. 6 that could continue to implicate Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's proposed commission to look into the riot remains under consideration, and in the meantime, standing congressional committees are investigating the events of that day as well. Whether through the special commission or otherwise, Congress's findings will illuminate Trump's full role in the incitement of political violence. Then there is the sprawling federal criminal probe into Jan. 6. It has already resulted in nearly 300 cases, and investigators have said that all potential defendants are subject to review. Last week, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the agency was pursuing roughly 2,000 domestic terrorism cases across the country, representing a huge spike in such investigations. That attention and focus cannot be good news for the former president. Trump was able to delay personal accountability during his term in office by using the presidency itself as a shield. He argued that Article II of the Constitution prohibited him from being investigated, stalled legal proceedings and treated the Department of Justice as his own personal law firm. And his allies in the halls of Congress spent four years either agreeing with Trump's assessment of immunity or choosing the compliance-through-silence option, including by acquitting him at two impeachment trials despite his evident culpability. Today, however, Trump is a private citizen. His friends in Congress are less reliably loyal. He must defend himself. This is not to say that exacting justice will be easy - as a private businessman, Trump was notorious for using the law as a weapon. But the walls seem to be rapidly closing in. If they do, they may finally mark an end to the ex-president's involvement in our public life. It is not easy to be involved in politics if you are broke and in jail. - - - Donald Ayer served as U.S. attorney and principal deputy solicitor general in the Reagan administration and as deputy attorney general under George H.W. Bush. He serves on the Voter Protection Program's bipartisan advisory board. Norman Eisen was President Barack Obama's "ethics czar" from 2009 to 2011 and ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011-14. He is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and serves as counsel for the Voter Protection Program. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Huawei and GAC Aion, the NEV arm of GAC Group, have started cooperation on the development of next-generation intelligent EVs, a local media channel reported earlier this week. After being reached for comment, GAC Group said it had inked cooperation agreements with Huawei twice since 2017, and the progress for the new project will be announced in due course. Huawei said it will play a role as a technical partner and component supplier for the partnership. Prior to the disclosure of the cooperation, Huawei Device Co.,Ltd., a subsidiary of Huawei, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on March 8 with Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Stock Co.,Ltd. (Sokon), a Chongqing-based vehicle and auto parts manufacturer, to co-explore cooperation on new energy vehicle (NEV) business. Under the MoU, both parties will make joint efforts to advance NEV collaboration by accumulating technologies, building resource channels and sharing industrial experience. Besides, they intend to co-develop intelligent mobility solutions with high performance so as to afford users more efficient and convenient intelligent automotive products and smart travelling experience. The signing of the MoU came after Sokon revealed in Jan. that it had formed tie-up with Huawei on such business as NEV-related core components (battery, electric motor and ECU), smart cockpit and intelligent driving. On Jan. 25, SERES, the NEV unit of Sokon, announced the all-new intelligent range extender system dubbed Tuofeng (meaning hump) it jointly develops with Huawei and unveiled in the meantime the SERES SF5 Free Expedition Edition, the EV model powered by the system. This is also the first model equipped with Huawei's Drive ONE three-in-one electric drive system. Reopened just last year in August, the Tavern at Zaca Creek heeded regional closures while working to further establish and implement a locally-sourced food program that include beef, fowl and seafood from area farms and waters, respectively. A "Cyber Security" sign is displayed in the window of a computer store in Arlington, Virginia, on Dec. 18, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) FireEye CEO: Reckless Microsoft Hack Unusual for China RESTON, Va.Cyber sleuths have already blamed China for a hack that exposed tens of thousands of servers running Microsofts Exchange email program to potential hacks. The CEO of a prominent cybersecurity firm says it now seems clear China also unleashed an indiscriminate, automated second wave of hacking that opened the way for ransomware and other cyberattacks. The second wave, which began Feb. 26, is highly uncharacteristic of Beijings elite cyber spies and far exceeds the norms of espionage, said Kevin Mandia of FireEye. In its massive scale it diverges radically from the highly targeted nature of the original hack, which was detected in January. You never want to see a modern nation like China that has an offense capabilitythat they usually control with disciplinesuddenly hit potentially 100,000 systems, Mandia said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. Mandia said his company assesses based on the forensics that two groups of Chinese state-backed hackersin an explosion of automated seedinginstalled backdoors known as web shells on an as-yet undetermined number of systems. Experts fear a large number could easily be exploited for second-stage infections of ransomware by criminals, who also use automation to identify and infect targets. Across the globe, cybersecurity teams are scrambling to identify and shore up hacked systems. The National Governors Association sent a rare alert to governors on Tuesday asking them amplify both the severity of the threat and the next steps local governments, businesses, and operators of critical infrastructure should take. David Kennedy, CEO of the cybersecurity firm TrustedSec, tweeted Tuesday that resource-demanding programs that mine cryptocurrencies were being installed on some compromised Exchange servers. The CEO of FireEye Kevin Mandia gives a tour of the cybersecurity companys unused office space in Reston, Va., on March 9, 2021. (Nathan Ellgren/AP Photo) The White House has called the overall hack an active threat, but so far has not urged tough action against China or differentiated between the two wavesat least not publicly. Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security offered comment on whether they attribute the second wave to China. The assessment of Mandia, who has been dealing with Chinese state-backed hackers since 1995 and has long had the ear of presidents and prime ministers, squares with that of Dmitri Alperovitch, former chief technical officer of CrowdStrike, the other cybersecurity powerhouse in the Washington area. Alperovitch says China needs to be immediately put on notice: Shut down those web shell implants and limit collateral. The explosion of automated backdoor-creating hacks began five days before Microsoft issued a patch for the vulnerabilities first detected in late January by the cybersecurity firm Volexity. It had found evidence of the vulnerabilities being used as far back as Jan. 3 by Chinese state-backed hackers, who researchers say targeted think tanks, universities, defense contractors, law firms, and infectious-disease research centers. Suddenly, all manner of organizations that run email servers were infected with web shells associated with known Chinese groups, whoknowing the patch was imminentrushed to hit everything they could, said Mandia. They could sense it was going to end-of-life soon, so they just went wild. They machine gun-fired down the stretch, he said in an interview in FireEyes offices. Its possible the second infection wave was not approved at the highest levels of Chinas [regime], Mandia said. This doesnt feel consistent with what they normally do, he said. A lot of times theres a disconnect between senior leadership and front-line folks. All I can tell you is it was surprising to me to see four zero days wantonly exploited, adding, If you could be exploited by this act, for the most part, you were. Zero days are vulnerabilities that hackers discover and use to pry open secret doors in software. Their name derives from the countdown to patching that begins after they are deployed. In this case, it took Microsoft 28 days to produce a patch once it was notified. People walk past a Microsoft office in New York on Nov. 10, 2016. (Swayne B. Hall/AP Photo File) Mandia cautioned that the mass hack is not apt to trigger any critical infrastructure failures or cost lives. Its not going to draw blood. But it highlights how there are no rules of engagement in cyberspace, something governments urgently need to address before something catastrophic happens. Asked for comment on Monday about allegations it was behind the hack, the Chinese Embassy in Washington pointed to remarks last week from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin saying that China firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms. He said attribution of cyberattacks should be based on evidence and not groundless accusations. Mandia compared the Exchange hack with the SolarWinds hacking campaign that Washington has blamed on elite Russian intelligence agents that his company discovered in December. The SolarWinds attack was very surreptitious, very stealthy, very focused. The operator showed restraint and they went deep not wide, said Mandia, who appeared in multiple Capitol Hill hearings on SolarWinds. This attack [Exchange] feels very wide, but what I dont have an answer to yet is just how deep it is. U.S. officials say at least nine federal agencies and over 100 private sector targets were affected by the SolarWinds campaign, named after the Texas company whose network management software was used to seed malware to more than 18,000 customers. Only a small number were hacked during the campaign, which went eight months without being detected. Mandia said Russian intelligence operatives had manually penetrated the networks of between 60 and 100 different victims. Security researchers say telecommunications and software companies and think tanks were especially hard hit. By Frank Bajak and Nathan Ellgren The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday condemned violence against Myanmar protesters and called on the army to show restraint, but failed to denounce the military takeover as a coup or threaten further action due to opposition from China and Russia. More than 60 protesters have been killed and some 2,000 people have been detained by security forces since the Feb. 1 coup against elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group said. On Wednesday, security forces firing teargas and rubber bullets trapped hundreds of anti-junta protesters late into the night in two districts of Yangon. Some protesters who managed to evade blockades set up by police in surrounding streets told of scores of arrests and said that some of those who got caught were beaten. In a bid to increase pressure on the military as it continues its crackdown, the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two children of military leader Min Aung Hlaing and six companies they control. The indiscriminate violence by Burmas security forces against peaceful protesters is unacceptable, said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Andrea Gacki. Campaign group Justice for Myanmar said in January that Min Aung Hlaing, who has been commander in chief since 2011, had abused his power to benefit his family, who have profited from their access to state resources and the militarys total impunity. The UK is also exploring fresh sanctions, foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a tweet. In New York, the United Nations Security Council said in a statement that it strongly condemns the violence against peaceful protesters, including against women, youth and children. The council calls for the military to exercise utmost restraint and emphasizes that it is following the situation closely. But language that would have condemned the coup and threatened possible further action was removed from the British-drafted text, due to opposition by China, Russia, India and Vietnam. Story continues A junta spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. The military has brushed off condemnation of its actions, as it has in past periods of army rule when outbreaks of protest were forcibly repressed. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped the Security Council statement would push the military to realize it is absolutely essential that all prisoners are released and that the results of a November election are respected. The army has justified the coup by saying that the election, won by Suu Kyis National League for Democracy, was marred by fraud an assertion rejected by the electoral commission. The junta has promised a new election, but has not said when. Guterres acknowledged that Myanmar was not a perfect democracy before the coup. It was still heavily under military control in many aspects, which makes this coup even more difficult to understand, especially the accusations of electoral fraud by those that were largely in control of the country, he said. Civil disobedience State television MRTV announced arrest warrants against some of the best-known youth protest leaders and showed a picture of 29 wanted protesters. The protesters have been calling for international protection and action against the junta. On Wednesday, police stormed a compound in Yangon housing railway staff and surrounded hundreds of protesters in North Okkalapa district, in another part of the city. More than 100 people were arrested at the two sites, witnesses said. Many of the railway staff are part of a civil disobedience movement that has crippled government business and included strikes at banks, factories and shops. Police and the army did not respond to requests for comment. One youth said in a message to Reuters that other protesters had been beaten and slapped. He escaped by hiding in a large washing machine, he said. Tomorrow I will keep protesting. I will not stop. The goal is very clear that we want democracy. We want our elected government back, he said, not wanting his name published. In the central towns of Mingyan and Monywa, people defied night curfew orders to hold candlelight vigils. One protester told Reuters from the southern coastal town of Myeik that he had been brought to Myeik Air Base and beaten with belts, chains, bamboo sticks and batons. The soldiers said, This is the hell room, why dont you guys have a taste? he said, declining to give his name for fear of reprisals. Reuters was unable to contact police in the town or the air base for comment. Some police have refused orders to fire on unarmed protesters and have fled to neighbouring India, according to an interview with one officer and classified Indian police documents. An Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmars junta will be paid $2 million to assist in explaining the real situation of the coup to the United States and other countries, documents filed with the U.S. government show. Ari Ben-Menashe told Reuters on Saturday his task was to convince Washington that Myanmars generals wanted to move closer to the West and away from China. He said they wanted to resettle Rohingya Muslims who fled a 2017 assault for which the U.N. has accused the military of overseeing a genocide. (REUTERS) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Restaurants were decimated by the pandemic that led to government-ordered shutdowns and that is still keeping many diners away. As of Dec. 1, over 110,000 U.S. restaurants were closed either temporarily or permanently, according to the National Restaurant Association. Thats 17% of the number of restaurants in business before the pandemic. In January, industrywide revenue was down more than 16% from a year earlier, the group said. When Agnes Baitio fled fighting in Nimule, South Sudan, four years ago with her two children, she saved her family but lost everything else her house, her income and her hope. Settling into a new life in Uganda, in the Bidibidi refugee settlement, Agnes, 32, sought counselling to help her adjust. But last December, when she learned about a construction job that would allow her to build shelters for people working at the settlement, she felt alive again. It was a chance to act on a dream she had back home, after encountering a woman who worked in the building trade. I knew I needed to be like her, said Agnes, who now leads a team of 30 refugees and 20 Ugandans working on the project, which is funded and run by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Half of the refugees on the team are women. When humanitarian and development partners work together with government, projects such as the one Agnes works on can be game changers for rural areas, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi during a visit this week to the Bidibidi settlement and the surrounding town of Yumbe, in northern Uganda. As he toured the area by car, Grandi saw hundreds of electric poles and cables, part of a project led by Ugandas Rural Electrification Agency to connect the Bidibidi settlement to the national grid. When the Bidibidi electric grid goes live, UNHCR will support last mile connection for schools, health centres and markets. What I witnessed in Yumbe is extraordinary, Grandi said, adding that Uganda embodies the ideals laid out in the Global Compact on Refugees, which calls on governments, the private sector and international organizations to unite to improve the lives of people who have been forced to flee their homes and ease the burden on the countries that provide them refuge. Ugandas realization of the vision for shared responsibility and a comprehensive response to refugee crises gives me fresh confidence, Grandi said. Agnes says working in construction has earned her a new skill and an improved income to support her family. UNHCR/Esther Ruth Mbabazi Uganda hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa more than 1.45 million, mostly from South Sudan but also from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi. The Bidibidi settlement alone hosts 235,000 people. The country has one of the most progressive refugee policies in the world, allowing refugees to use land for housing and farming, work, and move around the country freely. Ugandas Minister of State for Local Government Jennifer Namuyangu said the contributions of refugees benefit all Ugandans, economically and socially. Uganda is proud to lead a positive narrative on refugees and to demonstrate not only our humanity, but that together refugees and host communities can thrive, said Namuyangu, who accompanied the High Commissioner on the trip to Bidibidi. "I know women have power to do everything." The Minister and the High Commissioner stressed the need for consistent international support. Grandi urged the international community to remain engaged at the highest level to ensure Uganda receives the necessary resources to accelerate the transition to sustainable local government services. For Agnes, the opportunity to work has not only restored her hope but also given her valuable skills. Her team is constructing houses for the staff of the Office of the Prime Minister, many of whom are now living in worn tents given to them two years ago by UNHCR. Next, Agnes and many from her team will build a soap factory. I know women have power to do everything, she said. 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. South Africa: Government in talks to absorb unemployed social work graduates Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says her department is in talks with other departments to look into the possibility of absorbing unemployed social work graduates in the public sector. Zulu said this when she replied to oral questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday. We are in consultations with departments such as Basic Education, SAPS, Correctional Services, Defence and Home Affairs to establish how many graduates they have absorbed to date, and the potential to absorb more social workers going forward. The ability of provincial departments to absorb graduates due to vacancies arising from natural attrition is monitored and reported on a regular basis within the Department of Social Development structures, Zulu said. According to the departments records, the overall number of unemployed social work graduates currently stands at 8 873. Zulu said of this number, 4 829 were funded by the department, while the remaining 4 044 were self-funded or funded through other means. Part of the plan is to engage [the departments] entities to determine how they can utilise social workers within their portfolios and to realise their mandates. This is part of the plan to expand the base for the absorption of graduates. We will soon engage with the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) as well as the South African Council for Social Service Professionals (SACSSP) to establish how they can assist through the appointment of interns both within their organisations and for the sector as a whole. I can confirm that the HWSETA has placed approximately 1 000 interns in all provinces for work experience for a period of two years. These placements have been funded by the HWSETA, she said. Zulu said as part of expediting the implementation of the Presidential 5-Point Plan and the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, the department has employed an additional 200 permanent social workers across all provinces to focus specifically on GBV. We are the first to acknowledge that we have a very high number of unemployed social work graduates. This is a serious concern in light of the prevailing socio-economic challenges and social ills confronting our country. It is important to highlight that we have actually recorded some progress to address this situation, but much more still needs to be done. Zulu said, meanwhile, that with the advent of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the department absorbed a significant number of social worker graduates to render psychosocial support services. Last year, we employed approximately 1 300 social workers on contract for a period of three months commencing 1 June 2020 and 1 July 2020, respectively, to provide psychosocial support to families infected and affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These social workers were recruited from the social work graduate database. National Treasury granted R33 million to the department for the contract employment of social workers. Following the expiry of the three-month contracts, the Presidential Employment Intervention Expenditure was evaluated, and an amount of R 75.9 million was made available to sustain the employment of these graduates until 31 March 2021. We must commend provinces such as the Free State, which have decided to absorb these social workers permanently and we call on others provinces to do the same. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. [March 11, 2021] Global Banking and Financial Smart Cards: Market Projected to Grow at a CAGR of 9.25% from 2019 to 2026 - ResearchAndMarkets.com The "Global Banking And Financial Smart Cards Market Size by Type, by Application, by Geographic Scope And Forecast" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Banking and Financial Smart Card Market Size And Forecast The Global Banking and Financial Smart Card Market was valued at USD 3,574.4 Million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 7,141.8 Million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 9.25% from 2019 to 2026. Global Banking and Financial Smart Card Market Outlook The rise in frequency and complexity of data security threats is one of the major driving factors in the growth of the Banking and Financial Smart Card market. With the rise in the frequency and complexity of data security threats like unencrypted data, new technology without security, third-party services, hacking and unsecured mobile banking, there increases the need for the implementation of a data security solution which is responsible for the assurance that the user's data, as well as assets, are well protected. Global Banking and Financial Smart Card Market, Segment Analysis The global banking and financial smart card market is segmented on the basis of Product, Component, and Geography. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 1.1 Market Definition 1.2 Market Segmentation 1.3 Research Timelines 1.4 Assumptions 1.5 Limitations 2 Research Methodology 2.1 Data Mining 2.2 Secondary Research 2.3 Primary Research 2.4 Subject Matter Expert Advice 2.5Quality Check 2.6 Final Review 2.7 Data Triangulation 2.8 Bottom-Up Approach 2.9 Top-Down Approach 2.10 Research Flow 2.11 Data Sources 3 Executive Summary 3.1 Market Overview 3.2 Global Banking & Financial Smart Card Market Geographical Analysis (CAGR %) 3.3 Global Banking & Financial Smart Card Market, by Component (USD Million) 3.4 Global Banking & Financial Smart Card Market, by Application (USD Million) 3.5 Future Market Opportunities 3.6 Global Market Split 4 Market Outlook 4.1 Global Banking & Financial Smart Card Market Outlook 4.2 Market Drivers 4.2.1 Rise in the Frequency and Complexity of Data Security Threats 4.2.2 Strong Need to Reduce Identity Duplication 4.3 Market Restraints 4.3.1 High Costs 4.4 Market Opportunities 4.4.1 Increasing Digital Transformation in Emerging Economies 4.4.2 Increase in Adoption of E-Commerce 4.4.3 Increasing Adoption of Smart Cards by Banks 4.5 Porters Five Force Model 4.6 Value Chain Analysis 4.6.1 Design 4.6.2 Manufacturing 4.6.3 Product Testing 4.6.4 End-Users 4.7 Industrial Trends 4.7.1 Challenger Banks Versus Traditional Banks 5 Market, by Component 5.1 Overview 5.2 Chip Card 5.3 Magnetic Stripe Card 5.4 Dual Interface Card 5.5 Others 6 Market, by Product 6.1 Overview 6.2 Commercial 6.3 Personal 6.4 Others 7 Market, by Geography 7.1 Overview 7.2 North America 7.2.1 U.S. 7.2.2 Canada 7.2.3 Mexico 7.3 Europe 7.3.1 Germany 7.3.2 UK 7.3.3 France 7.3.4 Russia 7.3.5 Spain 7.3.6 Italy 7.3.7 Poland 7.3.8 Rest of Europe 7.4 Asia-Pacific 7.4.1 China 7.4.2 Japan 7.4.3 India 7.4.4 Rest of Asia-Pacific 7.5 RoW 7.5.1 Middle East & Africa 7.5.2 Latin America 8 Competitive Landscape 8.1 Overview 8.2 Key Development Strategies 8.3 Company Market Ranking 9 Company Profiles Companies Mentioned NXP Semiconductors NV Identicard Giesecke & Devrient (News - Alert) (G&D) GmbH Oberthur Technologies SA Texas Instruments Inc. Gemalto NV Magicard Cardlogix Corporation Infineon Technologies (News - Alert) AG American Express Company VeriFone Holdings Inc. Atos SE INSIDE Secure SA For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dyzay5. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005879/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Mumbai, March 11 : AR Rahmans film production venture "99 Songs", a musical-romance drama, is all set to release theatrically on April 16. Rahman, who forays into scriptwriting and film production with the upcoming film, made the announcement on Twitter. "Happy to share that #99Songs will release on April 16, 2021, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Directed by @vishweshk and featuring the talented actors @itsEhanBhat & #EdilsyVargas. @jiostudios @YM_Movies @idealentinc @JioCinema," Rahman tweeted. Backed by Rahman''s production company YM Movies, "99 Songs" is presented by Jio Studios. The film will play in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages. "99 Songs" is directed by Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, former frontman of the hardcore band Scribe. Rahman has also composed the original score and 15 songs for the film, starring newcomers Ehan Bhat and Edilsey Vargas. 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. ASUNCION, Paraguay For nearly a year, Paraguay was a leader in keeping the pandemic at bay, and despite its persistent troubles, the country remained fairly calm. Not any more. Paraguays coronavirus infection rate has soared, becoming one of the worst in the Americas, and its already shaky health system has been stretched to the breaking point. In the last few days, demonstrators by the thousands have filled streets, demanding the ouster of President Mario Abdo Benitez, and in a few instances there have been bloody clashes with the police. For many Paraguayans, corruption and elite entitlement that were once just unpleasant facts of life have become intolerable in the face of the pandemic. There is a shortage of basic drugs that doctors and nurses blame on graft; nonemergency surgery has been suspended because of a shortfall in medical supplies, and there are few vaccines to be had. The crisis has spilled into the streets with a level of rage the countys leaders have not faced in years. Daily protests started last Friday with medical workers, who were quickly joined by other frustrated people. Most have been peaceful, but in some cases security forces have met the demonstrators with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons. 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 three-year-old Brazilian girl was beaten to death by her stepfather after she had wet the bed. According to Daily Star, the girl's stepfather, Christopher Anthony Tavares Coelho, 27, and her mom, Leticia Lopes Fonseca, 19, have been sentenced to a total of 61 years in prison after the horrific incident that happened in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil. The couple was found guilty of homicide by a jury after 17 long hours of deliberation on March 5. READ NEXT: Child Abuse Cases Down, Experts Warn Lockdown Measures Forces Victims to Silence Death of the Brazilian Girl According to Daily Star, three-year-old Ana Livia Lopes da Silva was subjected to violent beatings by her stepfather for wetting the bed in June 2018. The last violent beating killed the Brazilian girl after it caused her to have a seizure and a nosebleed. Doctors were unable to save her because, according to The Sun, she was only brought by her mother to the hospital the next day, when her grandmother and aunt found the child unconscious and with difficulty breathing. The Brazilian girl also had bruises on her body. Reports said the day after the beating, Ana, who spent the day with her mother, already complained of pain. However, her mother did not provide her with any help. Ana's grandmother and aunt are the family's neighbors. According to the prosecutors, Ana arrived in the hospital in a serious condition, "with craniocerebral hemorrhage and broken ribs." After the Brazilian girl died, her stepfather and mother were swiftly arrested. The 27-year-old stepfather was sentenced to 32 years, one month, and 20 days in prison for homicide, while Ana's mother was sentenced to 29 years, two months, and 23 days in prison for the same charge for failing to help her daughter after the beating. Child Abuse in Brazil Children are among the victims of injustices in Latin America and Brazil. Citing the 2018 report by the NGO Fundacion Abrinq titled "Scenario of Childhood and Adolescence in Brazil," Humanium noted that more than 40 percent of Brazilian children live in poverty. Poverty along with family violence accompany these alarming numbers, leaving Brazilian kids vulnerable to crime. Apart from killings and other crimes, children in Brazil are also subjected to child sexual abuse, which affects the children's development and upbringing. A study published in Acta Psychopathological entitled "Family Violence Against Children and Adolescents in Brazil and Relation with Identity Development," said intrafamilial violence against children and adolescents comes from the interaction of socio-economic, cultural, and psychological factors of the people involved. Aside from the crimes the children in Brazil experience, Humanium noted that the education sector has also been facing a problem catering to children and young adults. The report said about 70 percent of Brazilian children, ages three years old and below, do not have access to public and private daycare centers. On the other hand, around 1.6 million students between 15 to 17 years old dropped out of school, although the organization did not mention the reasons. READ MORE: Arrests Illegal Immigrant For Child Rape, Sexual Abuse Charges WATCH: What Are Child Abuse and Neglect? - From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) REDDING, Calif. A Redding man was arrested on suspicion of arson Wednesday near Hilltop Drive, according to the Redding Fire Department. Firefighters said they located a man setting fire to grass at the Sacramento River Trail access off of Hilltop Drive Wednesday morning. An Investigator with the Redding Fire Department contacted the man, Curtis Wayne Smith. Investigators said Smith admitted to intentionally starting the fire. He was arrested and booked into the Shasta County Jail for arson. Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire and no injuries were reported. China's legislature on Thursday passed a resolution called the "patriots governing Hong Kong," in a move to overhaul the city's elections. Why it matters: The action effectively gives the Chinese Communist Party control of the Asian financial hub's elections, reducing democratic representation and allowing a "pro-Beijing panel to vet 'patriotic' candidates," the BBC notes. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress Wednesday that the Biden administration would "speak out and take action against egregious violations of democracy and human rights in Hong Kong." Blinken vowed to "follow through on sanctions" against "those responsible for committing repressive acts" in the former British colony. By the numbers: Lawmakers in Beijing voted 2895-zero for the Hong Kong resolution, with one abstention. What to watch: President Biden is meeting with the leaders of Japan, Australia and India in a virtual summit of the so-called "Quad" this Friday, as part of efforts to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with two top China officials next week in Anchorage, Alaska, in the first in-person meeting between senior U.S. and China officials since Biden took office. Go deeper: Cyber, human rights expected to top U.S.-China summit Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 00:33:03|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close The closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2021. Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attended the closing meeting. Wang Yang presided over the closing meeting and delivered a speech. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisory body concluded its annual session on Wednesday afternoon, calling for concerted and unremitting efforts toward realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders -- Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan -- attended the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing. Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, presided over the meeting. A resolution on a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, a resolution on a report on how the proposals from political advisors have been handled since the previous annual session, a report on the examination of new proposals, and a political resolution on the fourth session of 13th CPPCC National Committee were approved at the meeting. The political advisors unanimously agreed to support the National People's Congress -- the national legislature -- in making a decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Addressing the meeting, Wang Yang said the session had focused on the blueprint for the country's social and economic development over the next five to 15 years. This year marks the centenary of the CPC and the first year for the country to implement its new five-year development plan and begin its new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country, he said. Wang called on the CPPCC to pool wisdom and strength of Chinese people at home and abroad to make contributions to securing a good start for fully building a modern socialist country. The CPPCC must take upholding and strengthening Party leadership as the fundamental political principle and major political responsibility, he said, urging the CPPCC to better play its role as a platform for consultative democracy. Wang also called for continuous efforts to advance the cause of the CPPCC and the development of the CPPCC as a specialist consultative body, so as to celebrate, with outstanding achievements, the centenary of the CPC. Before the closing meeting, Wang presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. Enditem The Charger Blog Olivia Walton 21 M.S. is dedicated to sharing her passion for environmental science, and she has focused her research on promoting environmental education and conservation among kids at a primary school in the Bahamas. She has now been recognized by a leading educational organization for her commitment to promoting environmental education. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications Olivia Walton 21 M.S. and primary school students observing brittle stars during an intertidal field trip on San Salvador Island (Photo credit: Robert Rattner). Growing up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Olivia Walton 21 M.S. always felt connected to nature. She enjoyed the time she spent swimming, scuba diving, and hiking, but it was teaching others about the environment that truly became her passion. The first University of New Haven student to earn a Switzer Environmental Fellowship from the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation, Walton received a grant that enabled her to expand her thesis research. She is identifying the most effective ways to teach primary school students about the environment and the importance of conservation. Olivia Walton 21 M.S. A candidate in the Universitys graduate program in environmental science, Walton designed and implemented an environmental education program at a primary school on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. Working with students at Gerace Research Center, which has a longstanding partnership with the University, she immersed herself in educating her students and in sharing her passion for preserving and protecting the environment. As part of her research, Walton has assessed positive environmental behavioral changes resulting from students exposure to environmental education in the school curriculum. She also surveyed the community to examine their environmental science knowledge or behavioral changes. One of the biggest insights was the value of representation and consistency in creating an engaging and impactful environmental education program, she said. Having the freedom to design a research project that was interdisciplinary and incorporated my various passions in the environmental field was invaluable. I am very grateful to have an adviser like Dr. Roman Zajac who supported and encouraged my creativity throughout my graduate work. I love the wonders of nature Walton was able to use some of the funding she received from the fellowship to attend her first North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Conference. She has presented her research as part of the conference for the last three years. Olivia Walton 21 M.S. with primary school students from San Salvador at the touch tank at the Gerace Research Center. NAAEE has recognized Waltons dedication to advancing environmental education, honoring her as part of its prestigious 30 Under 30 Class of 2020, a group of high-achieving educators, researchers, social entrepreneurs, and artists from 14 countries. NAAEE is extremely aligned with my personal vision for a more sustainable and equitable future, said Walton, who earned a bachelors degree in natural resources from Cornell University. It has been a network I have utilized since starting my graduate career. I was elated and honored to be selected by NAAEE as one of the leading 30 environmental educators under the age of 30 in the world. Walton and her fellow honorees will receive ongoing support to expand their work, including grant and networking opportunities. She plans to use what she has learned about the importance of equitable environmental education as she begins her own outreach program. Called Field Trips for Earth, the organization will combine nature-based trips and inspirational and representative conservation role models. She hopes it will encourage students in underserved communities to celebrate and investigate their own local environments. I love the wonders of nature, said Walton. But what I enjoy the most is seeing the next generation fall in love with the outdoors and become passionate about preserving and protecting it. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian returned with his objections the PMs proposal to appoint Artak Davtyan Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia and the draft decree attached to it. On the same day, the Prime Minister's substantiations on the President's objections were received. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office, Armen Sarkissian will not sign the draft decree and will not apply to the Constitutional Court. Volcanologists do what they can to provide the public enough warning about impending eruptions, but volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable. Alerts are sometimes given with little time for people to react. That may soon change. Work led by research assistant professor Tarsilo Girona, with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, has revealed a method by which scientists -- and the public -- can have perhaps years of advance warning about a potential eruption. The solution lies in regular and widespread monitoring of the radiant temperature of a volcano's flanks before the appearance of any of the usual warning signs, such as glacier melting, sulfur odors, increased gas emissions, quaking and deformation. Girona is the lead author of a paper published today in the journal Nature Geosciences titled "Large-Scale Thermal Unrest of Volcanoes for Years Prior To Eruption." The paper is co-authored by Vincent Realmuto and Paul Lundgren, research scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Lundgren supervises JPL's Earth Surface and Interior Group. "This is showing that very large areas in the volcanoes are increasing the release of heat," Girona said. "It's a process which is going on in, we cannot say in the whole volcano itself, but in very large areas in the volcano. It's a large-scale process." Girona also works with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which is evaluating how best to integrate the research findings into its monitoring of Alaska volcanoes. The AVO is a cooperative organization among UAF, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. David Fee, AVO coordinating scientist at UAF, said the findings can bolster volcano monitoring. That's important for the airline industry, particularly in Alaska and especially near Anchorage and other communities potentially in the path of an ash cloud. "These results might provide critical information on how best to supplement existing monitoring networks, especially for difficult-to-monitor volcanoes in remote parts of Alaska," he said. "Any advance information on eruptions is helpful." The research focused on five volcanoes that erupted or exploded in the past 20 years, that displayed a wide range of behaviors and characteristics, and that are considered representative of volcanoes worldwide: Mount Redoubt in Alaska, Mount Ontake in Japan, Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand, Calbuco in Chile and Pico do Fogo in Cabo Verde, an island nation off the west coast of Africa. The researchers analyzed 16 years of thermal infrared radiance data collected by NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. The satellite data had never been analyzed with an eye toward long-term early awareness of potential volcanic activity. Girona, Realmuto and Lundgren wanted to answer this question: Does volcanic activity underground produce a noticeable increase in radiant temperature at the surface long before an eruption? The data provided the answer for all five of the studied volcanoes: A clear "yes." The researchers wrote that volcanoes can experience thermal unrest "for several years before eruption" and that the unrest "is dominated by a large-scale phenomenon operating over extensive areas of volcanic edifices." They also found that the heat increased regardless of the type of eruption. Mount Redoubt, for example, had an increase of 0.85 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus 0.31 degrees (0.47 degrees Celsius, plus or minus 0.17), from mid-2006 to its major eruption of March 2009. Notably, the radiant temperature began increasing approximately one year earlier than the onset of other warning signs. Redoubt's radiant temperature began dropping quickly a year after the eruption and has remained low since 2014. The researchers said their findings will allow scientists to anticipate eruptions that are difficult to forecast through other geophysical and geochemical methods. "This is especially relevant for phreatic eruptions (volcanic gas explosions), such as the one at Ontake, Japan, in 2014," Girona said. "Phreatic eruptions are generally very difficult to anticipate with traditional methods." The research, which Girona began at JPL and continued after moving to the Geophysical Institute, also provides insights into the interaction between a volcano's magmatic gases and its subsurface system of superheated water. Lundgren said the new approach, combined with such tools as GPS or satellite radar measurements of surface displacements, can reveal even more about volcano processes. For example, the team integrated surface heat emissions with surface displacements in another recent publication to better understand the behavior of Domuyo, a newly discovered deforming volcano in Argentina. ### ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Tarsilo Girona, Geophysical Institute, tarsilo.girona@alaska.edu; Paul Lundgren, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, paul.r.lundgren@jpl.nasa.gov NOTE TO EDITORS: Photographs of Mount Redoubt are available at https:/ / avo. alaska. edu/ images/ image. php?id= 17859 and http://www. avo. alaska. edu/ images/ image. php?id= 17627 . Two graphics about Mount Redoubt are available at https:/ / news. uaf. edu/ wp-admin/ post. php?post= 128347&action= edit . 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. With the same enthusiasm and friendly approach that he uses when helping clients buy or sell San Diego-area real estate, Whissel Realty Groups Clayton Connolly is creatively promoting the many unique restaurants, bars, and businesses that are woven into the funky fabric of Ocean Beach. His efforts are so successful, in fact, that he was recently honored with the Vitality Award for Showcasing Business in Ocean Beach in a Fun Way by the Ocean Beach Main Street Association (OBMA). Ocean Beach is so vibrant and easygoing, and its local businesses are truly one-of-a-kind, noted Connolly. I searched for a way to promote them throughout the community, especially with the onset of COVID, and I decided to create small videos, each under four minutes. My team and I then promote them through our OBtv Facebook group, YouTube (Clayton Connolly Real Estate), and Instagram (@OBTV_1502). I have a great time meeting and interviewing business owners, their customers, and tourists who are just discovering Ocean Beach for their first time. Connollys upbeat episodes have spotlighted The Lighthouse Ice Cream Shop, Bravos Mexican Food, OB Brewery, OB BBQ House Bar & Grill, Raglan Ocean Beach, Indie Yoga, Good Vibes Barber Shop, and more. The OBMA is comprised of area merchants and professionals dedicated to building a thriving business district that fulfills the needs of the neighboring community and visitors alike. It is committed to preserving a healthy, active atmosphere for those who work, live and visit Ocean Beach. Whissel Realty Group, brokered by eXp Realty, is a family-owned and operated real estate company based in San Diego, California. The company was founded in the 1970s by Robert Whissel and is now owned and operated by his son, Kyle Whissel. With offices in San Diegos North Park and Santee communities, its goals are to help buyers find the perfect home at the perfect price, and help sellers sell their homes for top dollar in the shortest amount of time. The teams proactive and innovative approach to marketing consistently delivers on these goals. Whissel Realty Group was named #1 in San Diego for the 6th consecutive year by REAL Trends, as advertised in The Wall Street Journal. To learn more about the San Diego Real Estate Market, visit Clayton.WhisselRealty.com or call/text Clayton at 619-347-5944 The Governor of Hawaii, David Ige, declared a state of emergency Tuesday after torrential rains prompted evacuations, damaged homes, and almost caused a dam failure. The severe weather is expected to continue until Friday, when the state will release general funds to help those affected by the storms. The order covers Hawaii, Maui, Kalawao and Kauai counties, as well as the city and county of Honolulu. The town of Haleiwa on the island of Oahus North Shore was evacuated due to catastrophic flooding, however, this order was rescinded seven hours later while road closures were kept in place. Flooding in Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii (YouTube/Ryan De Seixas) The island of Maui was especially hit hard by rain damaging bridges and overflowing the Kaupakalua Dam, destroying several homes and rendering adjacent roads impassable. No deaths or injuries have yet to be reported. Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino declared in a Monday news briefing that this is a real flooding situation we have not seen in a long time, with some residents saying this was the worst flooding they had seen in 25 years. The National Weather Service estimated that parts of Maui saw up to 19 total inches of rain as of Tuesday. Flash floods trapped people in their homes and forced those living downstream of the overflowing Kaupakalua Dam to evacuate. Officials ordered everyone who lived near the Kaupakalua Dam in the town of Haiku to leave. The dam crested around 3:21 p.m. local time according to officials, but after closer inspection the next day it was determined there was no structural damage. The Kaupakalua Dam is one of the oldest agricultural dams in Maui at 57 feet high and 400 feet long, capable of holding 68 million gallons of water. Its owner is the East Maui Irrigation Co. and Mahi Pono Holdings Inc. The dam was scheduled for removal this summer because of structural deficiencies according to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. The owners of the dam were required to empty its reservoirs during normal operations, except during storms when water passes through quickly. Although Shan Tsutsui, chief operating officer of Mahi Pono, said in the statement that the dam had not been breached, county officials ordered all evacuees to remain out of the area until they gave the all clear announcement. The state regulates 132 dams across the Hawaiian islands, most of which were built as part of the sugar cane industrys irrigation systems, according to a 2019 infrastructure report by the American Society of Civil Engineers. At least 93 percent of the 132 dams listed in the 2019 report were classified as high hazard potential, meaning any dam failure could result in significant loss of life or property. In 2006, a collapse at the Kaloko dam on the island of Kauai killed seven people when water rushed downhill. Maui firefighters had to respond to over a dozen emergency calls from residents who were trapped by floods this week. Officials reported that at least one bridge was washed out while another was displaced. Several portions of roads either washed away, were flooded or blocked by debris. While a flood advisory for Maui County was lifted Wednesday morning, a flash flood watch remained in effect. The National Weather Service also reported that flash flood watches were also in place for Kauai County and the city and county of Honolulu. The island of Oahu also saw heavy rainfall with several roads being closed and several homes reportedly damaged in the rural community of Hauula. It was also reported by Hawaii News Now that two people were swept away by flash floods in two separate incidents. A 27-year-old man was washed away about 100 yards before being rescued on top of his truck, while another person remains missing. Officials in Honolulu also said that about 8,200 gallons of partially treated wastewater spilled within the grounds of a local wastewater treatment plant and partly in the area of the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge. The sewage spill was said to have lasted over two hours before the Honolulu Department of Environmental Services could respond. Storms like the one which is inundating the Hawaii islands are being fueled and intensified by human induced climate change which is raising ocean temperatures and increasing the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. Kaui set a national 24-hour rain fall record in 2018 when 49.69 inches fell between April 14 and April 15. This is really an example of climate change in the present day, Suzanne Case, the head of Hawaiis Department of Land and Natural Resources, said in a statement. We have a flood emergency because of the heavy rain bomb. And were seeing these more and more across the island chainmore frequent and more extreme events. Dont think that this is like a once-in-a-hundred-years event that youll only see once in your lifetime. It is changing, University of Hawaii professor and state climatologist Pao-Shin Chu told the Associated Press. The Indian Air Force is set to raise a second squadron of the combat aircraft in mid-April and it will be based in Hasimara air base in West Bengal, official sources said on Thursday. The first squadron of the jets is stationed at Ambala Air Force station. The first batch of five jets arrived in India on July 29 last, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore. The formal induction ceremony of the fleet had taken place at Ambala on September 10 last. A second batch of three Rafale jets arrived in India on November 3, while a third batch of three more jets joined the on January 27. The sources said the second Rafale squadron being raised at the next main operating base (MOB) at Hasimara in mid-April this year. India is expected to get more Rafale jets from France in the next couple of months. A squadron comprises around 18 aircraft. The Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia. The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp cruise missile and MICA weapons system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets. The is also procuring a new generation medium-range modular air-to-ground weapon system Hammer to integrate with the Rafale jets. Hammer (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a precision-guided missile developed by French defence major Safran. The missile was originally designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy. Meteor is the next generation of BVR air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) designed to revolutionise air-to-air combat. The weapon has been developed by MBDA to combat common threats facing the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden. (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.) We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) general secretary on Wednesday said leader was "a non-serious politician" and refused to comment on his remarks pertaining to Jyotiraditya Scindia who had joined the BJP from " is a non-serious politician and I don't want to comment on his remarks," Vijayvargiya said. Gandhi had said earlier this week that Scindia could have become chief minister if he had stayed in but has "become a backbencher in the BJP". Scindia had replied to the jibe saying that it would have been a different situation if Gandhi was concerned the same way when he (Scindia) was in Congres. Asked about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's 'Chandi Path' during her visit to Nandigram, Vijayvargiya said she was doing it as "polls are near". Referring to Congress leader PC Chacko resigning from the party, he said Congress "is in big problem". The BJP leader said circumstances seem to be building towards "Congress-mukt Bharat". (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.) London, March 11 : The Kent variant of Covid-19 -- B.1.1.7 -- that swept across the UK last year before spreading worldwide, is associated with a significantly higher mortality rate, suggests a research. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, indicated that the Kent variant is between 30 and 100 per cent more deadly than previous strains. "In the community, death from Covid-19 is still a rare event, but the B.1.1.7 variant raises the risk. Coupled with its ability to spread rapidly this makes B.1.1.7 a threat that should be taken seriously," said lead author Robert Challen from the University of Exeter. The Kent variant, first detected in the UK in September 2020, has been identified as being significantly quicker and easier to spread, and was behind the introduction of new lockdown rules across the UK from January, the researchers said. For the study, the research team compared death rates among people infected with the new variant and those infected with other strains. The study showed that the new variant led to 227 deaths in a sample of 54,906 patients -- compared to 141 amongst the same number of closely matched patients who had the previous strains. With the new variant already detected in more than 50 countries worldwide, the analysis provides crucial information to governments and health officials to help prevent its spread, the researchers said. The study shows that the higher transmissibility of the Kent strain meant that more people who would have previously been considered low risk were hospitalised with the newer variant. The country is in the endgame of the pandemic and the lockdown will not last forever, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris has said. The country is set to be under most Level 5 measures until the end of May, after the Taoiseach yesterday told the Dail that the Government will make a decision before April 5 on restrictions for the following six weeks. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar indicated yesterday that the 5km travel limit is likely to be lifted, the construction sector is also likely to reopen, as well as people being allowed to meet others outdoors. However, the Governments The Path Ahead plan does not give further indication as to what other sectors will reopen when. Read More Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris reassured the public that this lockdown will not last forever. Were not going to be in lockdown forever, so lets reassure each other of that reality. Were less in a lockdown now that we were a few weeks ago because there are hundreds of thousands of our children back at school, he said. He also said that it would be weird if there wasnt frustrations expressed within the Fine Gael and Fianna Fail parliamentary party meetings last night in relation to the vaccine rollout. Id say there is not a kitchen in Europe where there haven't been frustrations raised in relation to the vaccine because we all want it as quickly as we possibly can, he said. It has been an extraordinarily challenging year. We are in the endgame in relation to this virus. That doesn't mean it ends tomorrow but we are in the phase now where we can begin to see a way out of this. Minister Harris was speaking as he launched approximately 10m worth of additional supports for people in direct provision seeking to access third level education alongside Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman. From the coming academic year, students in direct provision will no longer have to pay international fees of 3,600 for post Leaving Cert (PLC) courses. Extra English language classes will also be made available and those who have a right to work in Ireland will be able to access third level education. These measures will be part of waiving a ridiculous and discriminatory barrier to people to education in direct provision according to Minister Harris. Read More Containers on a shipping dock in the Port of Los Angeles, Calif., on April 16, 2020. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters) Lawmakers Say Ocean Carriers Are Undermining US Export Trade, Cry Foul on China More than 100 members of Congress are calling on federal maritime authorities to probe what they say are ocean carrier actions that undermine American exports by refusing to pick up U.S. goods and, instead, are returning empty after dropping off imports. In a letter (pdf) to Michael A. Khouri, chair of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the lawmakers voiced concern over reports that certain vessel-operating common carriers (VOCCs) are declining to ship U.S. agricultural commodity exports from ports in the United States. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), the Republican lawmaker spearheading the bipartisan effort, blames China. Market access is only as good as the access to shipping infrastructure, Johnson said in a statement. Once again, China is participating in unfair trade practices, prioritizing empty shipping containers over U.S. agriculture products. Americas farmers work hard to produce a high-quality product, and we cant allow China to shut them out of the market. At issue are reports that some ocean carriers are delivering shipments to U.S. ports and then leaving without refilling empty containers with American goodschiefly agriculturalmeant for export. Such activity constricts entire supply chains and propels trade to move only in an inbound direction, the lawmakers wrote. These conditions are unsustainable for exporters, put significant strain on the U.S. economy, and simply unacceptable. The lawmakers are calling on Khouri to continue probing what they called alarming reports and take action to resolve the matter. The problem is not new, with reports last fall estimating that shipping carriers rejected U.S. agricultural export containers worth hundreds of millions of dollars, instead sending empty containers back to China. The refusals came in October and November 2020, the peak season for agriculture exports. Compared to the same months in the previous time periods, there is a clear increase in the ratio of empty export containers to total exports, John Martin, manager of the economic and transportation consulting firm Martin Associates, told CNBC in a recent interview. This underscores our continued dependency on China. Redwood Logistics CEO Mark Yeager told CNBC that about three out of four containers from the United States to Asia are going back empty. The reason for this is the Chinese are being so aggressive about trying to get empty containers back that its hard to get a container for U.S. exporters, he told the outlet. Earlier reports of bottlenecks and fees at U.S. ports prompted the FMC to begin a reviewcalled Fact Finding No. 29which was expanded in November via a supplemental order (pdf) to include reports of refusals to ship U.S. exports. Based on information obtained in the fact finding, the commission is concerned that vessel-operating common carriers in alliances who call on the Port of New York and New Jersey or who call on the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles may be employing practices and regulations that violate portions of the U.S. code that pertain to shipping, according to FMC Secretary Rachel E. Dickson. Dickson noted reports of stakeholders describing problems with carriers returning with empty containers. On Feb. 17, the FMC announced that Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye would issue information demand orders to ocean carriers and marine terminal operators to determine if theyre meeting their legal obligations, including information on their policies and practices related to container returns and container availability for exporters. Carriers and operators found to be in violation of 46 USC 41102(c), which the FMC says prohibits unjust and unreasonable practices and regulations related to, or connected with, receiving, handling, storing, or delivering property, may face enforcement actions. The findings may also be used as a basis for hearings or further rulemaking. In their letter, the lawmakers are also calling on the FMC to provide regular updates to Congress on the matter. Jennifer Garner stepped out with a stylish jumpsuit while heading out on Wednesday afternoon. The 48-year-old actress was spotted heading out for a solo outing to her office in Brentwood, sporting a casual yet stylish look. The actress is getting ready for her new film Yes Day, where she stars alongside Edgar Ramirez, to debut on Netflix over the weekend. Office trip: Jennifer Garner stepped out with a stylish jumpsuit while heading out on Wednesday afternoon The actress stepped out wearing an army green jumpsuit, with the cuffs rolled up past her ankles. She matched the onesie with a green face mask she placed over her mouth and nose, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She completed her look with a number of small gold necklaces around her neck and a pair of black and grey Brooks running shoes with white soles. Jen's look: The actress stepped out wearing an army green jumpsuit, with the cuffs rolled up past her ankles The actress returns with her first movie since 2018's Peppermint, the family comedy Yes Day, debuting this Friday on Netflix. Garner plays a mother who, along with her husband (Edgar Ramirez) agree to say 'yes' to anything their kids ask, for one entire day. The comedy from director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) also stars Jenna Ortega, Julian Lerner and Everly Carganilla as their kids, along with Tracie Thoms, Fortune Feimster and Nat Faxon. New movie: The actress returns with her first movie since 2018's Peppermint, the family comedy Yes Day, debuting this Friday on Netflix She also recently wrapped filming on The Adam Project, which reunites her with 13 Going on 30 co-star Mark Ruffalo. The film follows Adam (Ryan Reynolds), who goes back in time to find his younger self (Walker Scobell) on a quest to find his father. The cast also includes Zoe Saldana and Catherine Keener, which was directed by Shawn Levy. Just wrapped: She also recently wrapped filming on The Adam Project, which reunites her with 13 Going on 30 co-star Mark Ruffalo She also has a TV series in pre-production, entitled My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, about a woman who turns to her friends for support before a life-saving heart transplant. Garner also has the film Fantasy Camp in pre-production from writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (I Feel Pretty). The follows Garner's character, a middle school teacher who follows her Broadway dreams by attending a performing arts camp for adults. Only half of the people who work in long-term care facilities in New Jersey have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, an unacceptable rate that must change in order to protect vulnerable residents, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday. Although the number of cases and fatalities among nursing home and assisted living facility residents is declining, there are still 273 active outbreaks, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said during the governors pandemic briefing. Experts agree that employees are the likely source of the continuing COVID-19 outbreaks because they go home after work and may be employed at more than one facility. Long-term care residents were given priority status when the vaccine first arrived in December, 90% of assisted living residents and 72% of other long-term care residents are fully vaccinated, Persichilli said. Yet only 50% of the people taking care of these residents are taken the shots, she said. Its unacceptable, Murphy said, responding to the commissioners remarks. That number has got to change. The state Health Department knows there has been some vaccine hesitancy among long-term care staff, Persichilli said. Through digital and social media advertising, the state has tried to target these essential workers. Visitation with family has been sharply limited for a year. Keeping infections out can help relax these restrictions, the commissioner said. Vaccination is an important part of protecting residents, she said. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage Calls seeking comment from long-term care facility operators were not immediately returned. Federal law prohibits employers from requiring vaccination with a COVID-19 vaccine because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it under an emergency use authorization. The vaccine is expected to receive final approval after two years of study. Hesitancy among health care workers is widespread, according to polls and anecdotal reports. I dont think the health care workforce is as amenable to anti-vax propaganda, but, you know, its omnipresent, Arthur Caplan, who leads the medical ethics division at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said in a recent interview with the American Medical Association. So it could be corroding some of the trust that health care workers have in vaccination. Caplan urged health care providers hold seminars and produce literature debunking the various concerns, such as the worry the vaccine was rushed before it was properly vetted. People hear warp speedthey hear that the president, (Trump), pushed to get these vaccines approved and was trying to arm twistand they dont like that, Caplan said. They worry that corners were cut, studies were stopped prematurely to give emergency use, and it makes them nervous. The Kaiser Family Foundation found in a December poll that 27% of the public said they would probably not or definitely not get the vaccine. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Royal fans are still talking about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harrys bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Within the first few minutes of the CBS primetime special, Oprah brought up a story reported in the tabloids about how Meghan allegedly made Prince Williams wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge cry during a dress fitting in 2018. Meghan said that didnt happen. But what does the journalist who initially broke the story have to say about the incident? Read on to find out. Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle stand next to each other on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour in 2018 | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Meghan told Oprah she was the one in tears, not Kate One of the first questions Oprah asked Meghan during their interview was: Did you make Kate cry? The former Suits star paused for a moment before answering: No, no, the reverse happened. And I dont say that to be disparaging to anyone It was a really hard week of the wedding and she was upset about something but she owned it and she apologized and she bought me flowers, and a note apologizing. Meghan also said that she was surprised when the story came out that she was the one who made her sister-in-law cry, adding: What was shocking was that six, seven months after our wedding, the reverse of that would be out in the world. I wouldve never wanted that to come out about her ever even though it had happened. I protected that from ever being out in the world. The Duchess of Sussex shared minor details of what she claims occured that day. A few days before the wedding, [Kate] was upset about something pertainingyes, the issue was correct about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry and it really hurt my feelings, Meghan told Oprah. And I thought in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding that it didnt make sense to not be just doing what everyone else was doing, which was try to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot. Oprah Winfrey interviewing Meghan Markle for CBS Primetime Special | Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images Does the journalist who broke the story stand by her reporting? The infamous dress story was reported by royal expert and Telegraph associate editor Camilla Tominey. After Meghan offered her version of what happened, Tominey appeared on The Morning and stood by her original story. She insisted that two royal insiders gave her the information she reported which was that Kate was the one crying, not Meghan. Tominey then explained that different royal household staffers dont always see things the same way. Because theres always people briefing on all sides, so there are different households and different principals, Tominey said (per the Express). When asked if she thought Meghan was lying, Tominey replied: No, but I think like any story maybe it was more nuanced. When I originally reported it, I said Kate was left in tears and I said I was confused, like what had happened here? But I did get it well-sourced and Ive subsequently received messages saying that story was accurate. Royal fans will likely never hear Kates side Kate Middleton holding Princess Charlottes hand outside of St Georges Chapel after Prince Harry and Meghan Markles wedding | Andrew Matthews WPA Pool/Getty Images Tominey then questioned, Did they both end up in tears? Did Meghan not know that Kate was in tears? Shes claiming that Kate had given her an apology and a bunch of flowers and a card, is Meghan in a position to comment whether the Duchess of Cambridge was upset by this? We know there is more than one side to every story but we may never hear Kates side. Since marrying Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge has pretty much kept in line with the royal familys never complain, never explain policy. And its highly doubtful that she and the Duke of Cambridge would ever sit down for an interview with Oprah like the Sussexes did. RELATED: Why Meghan Markles Wedding Flowers Were Dangerous and Could Have Been Harmful to Princess Charlotte 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. Syria may no longer grab front-page headlines but the situation remains a living nightmare, warned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the countrys vicious civil war. It is impossible to fully fathom the extent of the devastation in Syria, but its people have endured some of the greatest crimes the world has witnessed this century. The scale of the atrocities shocks the conscience, Guterres told reporters Wednesday. On Monday, Syria will mark 10 years since peaceful protests against the government of Bashar al-Assad turned deadly, spawning a war that has killed more than 400,000 people and forced more than 5 million to flee the country. Roughly 60% of Syrians are at risk of hunger this year, Guterres said, blaming the countrys economic collapse on a combination of "conflict, corruption, sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic." It is imperative that we continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance, he said, calling on the UN Security Council to ensure cross-border deliveries continue to reach those who need it. Faced with a veto threat from Russia and China, the 15-member body last year shut one of two remaining access points used to bring aid into the war-torn country. In July, the Security Council will vote on whether to reauthorize the cross-border aid operation. A fragile cease-fire reached in March 2020 by Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides of the war, has largely held, pausing the fighting between the rebels and government forces in northwestern Syria. The UN has called for a permanent, nationwide cease-fire. After a decade of fighting, Assad is now in control of much of the country, with the exception of a pocket in northwestern Syria run by opposition groups and a swath of northeastern Syria managed by US-backed Kurdish forces. Activists are meanwhile pursuing justice outside of Syria. Last month, a court in Germany convicted a former Syrian regime officer of crimes against humanity in a landmark trial seen as the first step in holding Assads government accountable. The investment is in addition to a recent $25 million round, led by Tilden Park Capital, to further automate MPOWER's digital loan platform and expand the company's impact to thousands of additional international & DACA students. ETS's investment in MPOWER was executed by ETS Strategic Capital, a new unit of ETS created to advance the organization's mission of expanding global reach in education through strategic investments, partnerships, and acquisitions. "Our investment in MPOWER is a reflection of our mandate to leverage innovative entrepreneurial tech companies and emerging business models to expand on capabilities and align to the mission of ETS," said Ralph Taylor-Smith, the Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital. "The MPOWER mission and vision of expanding educational opportunities to underserved populations worldwide aligns incredibly well with the strategic global objectives that ETS is focused on." "MPOWER is delighted to be working with ETS and exploring ways to support the millions of students who test with them globally every year. By democratizing access to financing, we hope an even greater number of qualified students around the globe will venture to study in North America." said Manu Smadja, MPOWER Financing's CEO and Co-founder. "As impact-oriented firms with a global outlook, our teams instantly connected and are excited to help students attain the best possible educational outcomes." This year, MPOWER will be growing its team in Washington, DC, and Bangalore, India where it plans to hire 50+ employees across Engineering, Marketing, Operations, Underwriting, Analytics, HR, and Finance. MPOWER was named one of the best places to work in Washington DC, one of the best tech workplaces for diversity , and one of American Banker's top fintech firms to work for three years in a row. Predominantly ex-international students themselves, the MPOWER team directly relates to the challenges that international students face due to the COVID-19 pandemic and fast-changing immigration policies, and the company is honored to support international students at this critical time in history. MPOWER Financing , headquartered in Washington, D.C., and with offices worldwide, is a mission-driven fintech company and provider of global educational loans. It is the only student lender in the world that leverages both overseas and domestic credit data, as well as future earning potential, to serve high-promise international and DACA students. MPOWER Financing works with over 350 top universities and colleges across the U.S. and Canada to provide financing to students from over 200 countries. Since 2014, it has received over $2B in loan application volume on its platform. MPOWER Financing helps students build their credit histories and provides them with personal finance education and career support to help prepare for life after school. www.mpowerfinancing.com ETS Strategic Capital serves as the private equity investment and M&A execution arm for ETS, its subsidiaries and its partners sourcing transactions within both the domestic United States and internationally. The unit partners with the broader EdTech ecosystem to identify and execute deals, coordinate with other ETS business units to identify opportunities and needs, network with professional services firms with education expertise, and build direct relationships with businesses internationally especially within Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East & Africa (MENA) regions. ETS Strategic Capital targets private equity investments that are typically in Series B, C or later; acquisitions that are middle-market in scale; and growth partnerships that may involve joint ventures (JVs), channel-partner or distribution agreements, Intellectual Property (IP) licensing and technology-transfer relationships. www.ets.capital Media contact: Sasha Ramani, [email protected] SOURCE MPOWER Financing Related Links http://www.mpowerfinancing.com ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan's media regulatory agency on Thursday again blocked the Chinese video service TikTok after two lawyers approached a court in the northwest claiming the company was spreading vulgar content. The latest development comes almost six months after the Pakistani regulatory agency briefly banned TikTok following complaints about alleged presence of immoral and indecent content on its popular social media app. A brief statement from the agency said that it blocked TikTok in compliance with the orders of the Peshawar High Court. It provided no further details. The Peshawar High Court said it acted on a petition from lawyers Nazish Muzaffar and Sara Ali who requested the video-sharing platform be blocked until it complies with instructions and guidelines given to it by the Pakistani media regulatory agency last year. Pakistan and China are close allies in the region. In October, Pakistan blocked TikTok for 10 days. Some of Pakistan's TikTok celebrities at the time criticized the government for banning the video-sharing app, which is owned by Chinas ByteDance and is the third-most downloaded app over the past year after WhatsApp and Facebook. It has been downloaded almost 39 million times in Pakistan. MONTCALM COUNTY, MI A man was killed early Thursday, March 11, when his car left the road and struck a tree. The name of the victim, a 42-year-old Sheridan man, was not released. Montcalm County sheriffs deputies responded around 1:10 a.m. to a report of a car in a ditch on Sessions Road near Townhall Road in Bushnell Township. Police found the victim who was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation showed the man was driving west on Sessions Road when his vehicle left the road and struck a tree. The driver was not wearing a seat belt, police said. The crash remains under investigation. State police, Montcalm County Emergency Services and Sheridan firefighters assisted sheriffs deputies at the scene. Read more: Emailed bomb threat to Cedar Springs High School closes schools Increased vaccinations in Muskegon County pays off with drop in COVID-19 cases in older residents Some Michigan Secretary of State services to shut down for 5 days This file photo shows a hole cut into Southern California's border fence with Mexico on March 3, 2021. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP) Border Official: Bidens Immigration Policy May Have Driven Migrant Surge, Encouraged Smugglers The Biden administrations southwestern border coordinator, Roberta Jacobson, told reporters during a White House briefing Wednesday that the administrations more humane immigration policies may be driving the migrant surge at the southern border and encouraging smugglers. Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was a significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent up demand, she told reporters. The former ambassador to Mexico said the idea that a more humane policy would be in place under Biden may have driven a surge in people choosing to arrive at the southern border in an irregular fashion, while blaming human smugglers for promoting disinformation about the law changes and urging people not to listen to them. Were going to try our best to do everything we can at each end of this, in the United States but especially in Central America and Mexico, to ensure we have safe, orderly, and legal migration, she said. Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, during their presidential campaigns, emphasized reversing the Trump-era immigration policies and making it easier for people needing protection to apply and get asylum in the United States. Referring to former President Donald Trumps immigration message, she said, I think its really important to understand that you cant and shouldnt say, in this administrations opinion, that the only way to message, Do not come in an irregular fashion, is to act as cruelly as you possibly can, separate children from their parents, return people to places like migrant camp and Matamoros for up to two plus years at a time and thats the only way that you can get your message across. Jacobson said that Bidens team has been working to reform the nations immigration policies since arriving in the White House to what it says will be a more humane and efficient system. But she said it will take time. We are trying to walk and chew gum at the same time. We are trying to convey to everyone in the region that we will have legal processes in the future But at the same time, you cannot come through irregular means. Its dangerous and the majority of people will be sent out of the United States because that is the truth of it, she said. We want to be honest with people. And so we are trying to send both messages and smugglers are only trying to send one message. So were relying on every means we can to get that message out there. The border is not open, Jacobson said in Spanish and in English. She added that Bidens vision is to fix our system and make sure that we are better at dealing with the hopes and the dreams of these migrants in their home country. The administration is requesting $4 billion from Congress to mitigate immigration challenges, with a focus on providing aid to the home countries from which migrants are coming. However, Jacobson admitted that the United States doesnt have magical leverage over Northern Triangle countries to ensure that aid is being used to address issues like lack of good governance, economic opportunity, and security issues or violence. She said Biden will work to get commitments from regional leaders, charities, and NGO organizations to address local corruption and transparency issues before any money is changed hands. We can encourage them. We can help support them with resources, both technical assistance and funding, but we cant make those changes. The changes have to come in the Northern Triangle countries, she said. Jacobson also confirmed that the administration is planning to restart the Central American Minors program, allowing minors in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to apply for refugee settlement in the United States from their home countries. According to multiple reports, the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that the number of migrant children in custody along the southern border is currently more than 3,250more than triple the number from two weeks ago. Of those children, more than 1,360 have been staying at holding cells longer than the three days allowed by law. In February, Border Patrol apprehended 100,441 illegal border crossers along the southern border, according to Customs and Border Protection. Nearly 9,300 were unaccompanied children. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Vietnamese rice prices are on the rise and can compete with other rivals in terms of quality, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Free trade agreements (FTAs) have opened a wide door for Vietnams rice exports. Photo thuonghieuvacongluan.vn The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) said on Sunday that the export price of Vietnamese rice reached US$513-517 per tonne for 5 per cent broken rice and $488-492 per tonne for 25 per cent broken rice. Other rice such as jasmine hit $563-567 per tonne and 100 per cent broken rice costs $438-442 per tonne. The prices for Vietnamese rice were $5-7 per tonne higher than those of Thailand and much higher than those of India and Pakistan. Specifically, 5 per cent broken rice was quoted at $508-512 per tonne in Thailand, $398-402 per tonne in India and $438-442 per tonne in Pakistan. The VFA said free trade agreements (FTAs) have opened a wide door for Vietnams rice exports. In the first days of 2021, many companies under the association won big rice orders, especially in the European region and some other markets under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the worlds largest trade pact. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the ministrys Department of Crop Production, said in the first two months of the year, Vietnam exported more than 608,700 tonnes of rice worth $336.1 million. The figure was down by 34 per cent in quantity but up 22 per cent in terms of turnover. He told Tien Phong (Vanguard) online newspaper that this was the highest level for exports of Vietnamese rice, a positive sign showing that the quality of Vietnamese rice has improved and has a high value. Localities in the Mekong Delta have enhanced the harvest of winter-spring rice while others are planning for the summer-autumn crop. For example, Hau Giang Province has targeted a total output of 489,000 tonnes. In addition, increasing export rice prices have been at a very good level, bringing opportunities for the country's rice industry, he added. Dao The Anh, deputy head of Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS), said the countrys rice exports this year would continue to see impressive growth in value and surpass rivals. He said the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has helped Vietnam to penetrate the European market and Vietnamese firms should take advantage to conquer the market. Anh said Vietnams rice exporters should focus on maintaining quality. Businesses and farmers should ensure they have stable material areas and control quality. VNS Profile change boosts rice export The shift in rice export from low- to mid- and high-quality helped the rice export industry fare better in 2020. Yet much has to be done to maintain achievements. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 21:26:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Zambia and Angola on Thursday signed a communique of action plan aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in the agriculture sector. The signing was meant to actualize the implementation of a memorandum of understanding initiated by leaders of the two countries on May 2, 2018. Michael Katambo, Minister of Agriculture who signed on behalf of Zambia, said the agreement will help strengthen bilateral cooperation in the agriculture sector. The agreement, he added, will also provide exploitation of various opportunities such as crop production, agriculture research and development as well as seed production among others. Angolan Minister of Agriculture Antonio de Assis pledged his government's commitment to work with Zambia in improving the agriculture sector in the two countries. Enditem BASF has announced it has recently signed two distinct partnerships agreements with Allied Carbon Solutions Co., Ltd (ACS) Japan and Holiferm Ltd. United Kingdom. Related: BASF Achieves 2020 Palm Commitment The strategic alliance with ACS includes an equity stake and makes BASF the single largest shareholder. It further entails an exclusive technology cooperation, commercial agreement and product development for sophorolipids, one class of glycolipids, to address the ever-increasing needs of consumers for sustainable, natural and bio-degradable ingredients and actives. In collaboration with ACS, BASF developed a sophorolipid-based ingredient, produced via fermentation technology, and launched it in the Asian market under the brand name BioToLife in the second quarter of 2020. Through the strategic technology agreement with Holiferm, a United Kingdom-based start-up company, BASF establishes an exclusive cooperation to focus on developing and manufacturing sustainable, non-fossil based, fermentation-derived ingredients for other classes of glycolipids with potential for application in home care, industrial formulators and personal care products. On the hunt for a position in fragrance? More details here. The recently signed joint development agreement between BASF and Holiferm is aiming at developing different glycolipids outside of sophorolipids for personal and home care as well as industrial formulators applications. Ralph Schweens, president, care chemicals, BASF, said, We see strong business potential in these partnerships. While BASF already has solid innovation and production capabilities for surfactants, we are always scouting for opportunities to work with partners well-rooted in technologies which add to our strength in order to expand our product portfolio with additional biobased products. Yosuke Yamagata, CEO at ACS, said, Biotechnology has been an established field in many industries for decades. More recently, it is also being used to develop Personal Care ingredients, predominantly active ingredients with high efficacy. ACS looks forward to a fruitful relationship with BASF." Ben Dolman, CEO at Holiferm, said, We value the collaborative approach BASF takes to strategic development and believe this partnership allows both partners to leverage their key innovation strengths. We look forward to working together to develop these further." Want to know everything going on in flavor & fragrance? Sign up for P&F+'s newsletter. You can also follow along on Instagram and LinkedIn. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Editor: I have never before witnessed so many hateful, miserable, ungrateful people as the majority of the people who write to voice their political opinions. Most of them are repeat offenders who have for the past four years taken their hateful rhetoric out on former President Trump Those of us who voted for this man did so because it was in the best interest of our country. We dont want open borders, health care for illegals, reparations, police defunded, abortion on demand, infanticide, prisoners voting, the voting age changed to 16, packing the court, gun confiscation, eliminating the Electoral College, universal vote by mail or the addition of two more states. Trump has left the office. Are readers going to continue maligning him or will they begin to concentrate on what actually is happening in our county? Theyre so invested in hating Trump theyre oblivious to what is actually happening. Big tech silences us. I think that Democratic legislators and Marxist talking heads want 75 million Trump voters deprogrammed. Twenty-thousand National Guardsmen were called to the Capitol for the inauguration. Five-thousand to 7,000 Guardsmen have been left behind to protect our nations Capitol. If the For the People Act, a bill that address absentee and in-person voting, campaign finance and ethics, is passed, it will be a direct attack on free speech. Regardless of your political affiliation, free speech is being taken away. Big tech is silencing us. Parler was shut down. Posts they dont like on Facebook have been removed. We are not white supremacists or racists or radicals. We just love our country. The world is shocked by what is happening in America. The rest of the people in our country should be as well. JEAN BLACK MAYFIELD Editor: A $15 minimum wage would mean the losers would be retired people. I refer to average retirees in the $25,000 to $40,000 income range. Prices would go up, food would go up, going out to eat would go down. Small restaurants would lose business, fewer people would work and jobs would be lost. Companies would hire fewer people. What would a hamburger cost? The winners would be government and people coming into the country. The government would collect more in taxes. At $15 an hour, earners would pay more in taxes; they would not make as much as thought and people would leave less in tips. Some jobs in this area already pay $16 to $20 an hour and employers advertise for workers. If people want to work, there are jobs out there. The extra money paid to the unemployed lets people take advantage of the system. We elect people to do our bidding in Washington, D.C. Yet people in some states voted for former President Trumps wall, but not one Democrat in Congress voted for it. Why dont we get rid of them all and just vote for the chairman of the Democratic committee or the chairman of the Republican committee? Since Trump was impeached, why not impeach New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who put COVID-19 patients in with people in old age homes? How about governors who stood by as people and cops were killed? Shouldnt they go on trial? Can anyone show the difference between the Black Lives Matter riots and the Capitol riot, with the exception that it happened to politicians and not ordinary people? JIM GIOVAGNOLI JESSUP Editor: House Bill 606, which would authorize radar use for municipal police use in Pennsylvania, should be defeated. Proof that radar for aggressive speed enforcement is unnecessary occurred May 18, 2020, when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported that statewide highway fatalities reached a new low in 2019, dropping to 1,059, the lowest since record keeping began in 1928 and 131 less than in 2018. For more proof they added, long-term trends (for car crash fatalities) continue to decrease. All this has occurred without municipal police being able to use radar for predatory, revenue-raising speed enforcement. Responsible legislators will not cosponsor this enforcement-for-profit bill. It would remove all safeguards and thus, be totally about the revenue. There is no mention of evaluating Pennsylvanias underposted speed limits in any way. The bill potentially would turn 90% of our roads into speed traps. Since the trend is that highway fatalities are decreasing, arming municipal police with radar guns at this time would be a clear signal that it is a tool for raising revenue, not for safety. It now would be evidence of an agenda to give financial aid to commercial radar interests, to municipal governments and to the state. TOM McCAREY BERWYN, CHESTER COUNTY Editor: Before staff and students return to Scranton schools, I want to ensure the air in their homes is safe and clean. I want the staff and teachers of the school district to provide proof that their home ventilation systems work and that there is a monitor of air exchange rates in each room of the house. This will ensure they are not transporting any possible contagion from home to the clean school environment. Im sure they demand these same checks and assurances before going into grocery and department stores. WILLIAM COCCHI SCRANTON Editor: What do you get when you combine the thoughts that Black Lives Matter, white lives matter and all people of color matter? You should get, all lives matter. That means, we are all in this thing together. With all the bad stuff that goes on these days, COVID-19, political unrest, racism and so forth, isnt it time for our governments and everyone, for that matter, to follow the wise, old problem-solving advice, Keep it simple, stupid? Its way easier said than done, but at this point, I believe our problems will multiply even more dramatically if we dont. BOB SHLESINGER SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE If litigation is successful, the Multicultural mural on the side of the old Haplin Building may not be removed after all. On Monday, artist Gilberto Guzman filed a federal lawsuit against the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs for breach of contract in what may be a last-ditch effort to save the 40-year-old mural. Guzman is claiming the department is violating the 1980 contract with him that stated he would get to refurbish the mural throughout its natural life. Renovation of the Haplin Building at Montezuma Avenue and Guadalupe Street began in early February. When finished, it will become the Vladem Contemporary Art Museum. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The building originally served as a rail yard warehouse but most recently was used to house state archives. Daniel Zillmann, director of communications and marketing for the Cultural Affairs Department, declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Its unclear how the lawsuit will affect the rest of the museums construction. The suit requests a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the department to make sure the mural isnt destroyed. This lawsuit will bring them to the table, said Rick Martinez, a member of Keep Santa Fe Multicultural. Hopefully, the Department of Cultural Affairs will come and work with us. Before the lawsuit, there was only silence from the department, Martinez said. Now, he hopes the lawsuit will make the department talk to people about the murals preservation. He said the mural stands for Santa Fes multicultural community. The mural depicts an Indigenous woman spreading her arms across the wall of the building. Other New Mexican elements are incorporated in the mural, including a train, a canyon and people of different races coming together. The last time Guzman restored the mural was in 1993. The mural was painted directly over the stucco on the building and over infilled windows, which made it unstable over time, according to previous reporting. In addition, the mural faces east, so it is exposed to direct sunlight much of the day. A theater worker who lost her job during the pandemic has since moved into an old school bus and is traveling around the country to find work - while saving thousands of dollars in rent. Jasmine Glenn, 33, from Boston, was initially devastated when she lost her job as a master carpenter in the theater industry in San Francisco's Bay Area when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and crippled the arts industry worldwide. But she decided to use her unemployment as an opportunity to break away from the rigid structure of her daily life and she is now busy traveling around the country looking for work while living in an old school bus that she turned into a cozy home. In May 2020, Jasmine found and purchased an old school bus a '03 Freightliner FS-65 Chassis for $12,000 with money from her savings. Home sweet home! A theater worker who lost her job during the pandemic has revealed how it inspired her to embrace a nomadic lifestyle by transforming an old school bus into her home Traveler: Jasmine Glenn, 33, was initially devastated when she lost her job as a master carpenter in the theater industry in San Francisco's Bay Area as a result of the pandemic She then spent just over $4,600 renovating the vehicle, a process that took her five months to complete - and for which she sourced many of her materials and furniture for free by scouring the streets. Her life is now unrecognizable as she explores the world alongside her dog Baloo, a cane corso, and her elderly cat, Bagheera. 'I have always loved to travel, making it a priority in my plans,' Jasmine, told Jam Press. 'Living tiny was on my radar but it didn't make sense with my occupation and location. 'When I lost my job I was worried about finding other work because the Bay Area is home to many artists whom all lost their work as well. 'I soon realized I was no longer tied to being in one location and it would benefit me to have the ability to travel for work.' Jasmine moved into her home-on-wheels in October 2020, after spending five months renovating it by herself, although the man she bought the bus from had already stripped it of the seats and installed fiberglass insulation. 'I bought the bus for $12,000 which was a very good deal considering the situation. 'The gentleman I bought from had purchased the bus and "converted" it. I say this in quotations because he was not a carpenter by any means and his work was incredibly simple and quick. Work it: The Boston native put her carpentry skills to the ultimate test while transforming the bus, which she purchased for $12,000 Transformation: Jasmine tried to use materials that she scavenged from the streets, however she spent money on bamboo for the floor of the bus Et voila! The bus now has every comfort that Jasmine needs, from a kitchen to a composting toilet to a comfortable bed and seating area Woodwork: Jasmine spent just over $4,600 on the renovations, however she is now saving $1,000 a month on rent 'I ended up tearing out all his work and starting from scratch.' And while it took a lot of effort to turn the bus into a comfortable living space, Jasmine says she couldn't be happier with how it turned out - even though some of her family members were initially concerned about her plans. She added: 'Having the ability to bring my pets with me and have a safe location to stay during the pandemic felt key in my ability to search for other work more broadly. 'I did have a few older family friends who were surprised when I told them I had running water and an oven. There was this idea that I would be sleeping in an empty vehicle with a bed and my pets.' Jasmine used her knowledge of carpentry for the makeover and her home now includes a composting toilet and shower, a kitchen with a fridge and stove and seating areas. 'I have a couch that converts into a bed but in the warmer months I sleep in a hammock that I welded hooks for,' she explained. 'My fridge is in a cabinet where the cutting board counter lifts up, instead of having a drawer that slides out. 'I also have sliding doors on the upper cabinets which are great because they don't swing out and take space. Compact: She installed plenty of storage to ensure that there is lots of space for all of her belongings - as well as her beloved dog and cat On the go: Jasmine moved into the bus in October after spending five months working on the renovations, and she has been traveling from city to city in California ever since Tactics: 'When I am in a city and working, I am moving around every couple of days to stay respectful of the neighborhood I am in,' she explained 'I use my kitchen sink to wash dishes and I brush my teeth there. 'The cat has a litter box so the only animal that needs breaks is the dog.' All of Jasmine's building materials were scavenged from the streets and repurposed, except for her bamboo floor. She said: 'I found [my furniture] on the streets of Oakland. 'I bought an RV motorcycle rack and modified it into a small back deck. 'I bought my solar panels and inverter off Craigslist and bought a new charge controller and new connectors for the panels. 'The cost of my build without the bus expense was $4,630.' Jasmine now spends her time moving from city to city in California. She said: 'When I am in a city and working, I am moving around every couple of days to stay respectful of the neighborhood I am in. Genius: 'I found [my furniture] on the streets of Oakland,' Jasmine explained. 'I bought an RV motorcycle rack and modified it into a small back deck' Skilled: Jasmine has been picking up freelance carpentry work while traveling, and says that being able to park her bus at the building site has been incredibly convenient Upside: She admitted that she hasn't thought about how long she will spend living in her bus, but is currently enjoying the freedom that her nomadic lifestyle has offered 'So far I have been freelancing as a finish carpenter for different people. 'I take the bus to the job site if possible and the pup and cat stay on the bus. 'When I'm ready to sleep, I drive somewhere else to park and set up my bed, read for a bit and then go to bed.' Considering a nomadic lifestyle for yourself? Jasmine also shared the positives and negatives of living alone in a tiny home. She added: 'There is definitely a learning curve to the process. 'You have to wake up early and leave before anyone else is awake essentially if there is a chance that someone won't like you being parked there. 'But the fact that my pets and everything I own are always with me is lovely. 'I don't know much about my plans for the future except that I am able to travel and have a much more flexible schedule because of COVID so I want to enjoy and take advantage of it.' A burglary gang who flew in and out of the UK to rob at five upmarket homes in a month and returned home to Poland for Christmas in the midst of their crime spree have been jailed. The four well-organised and forensically aware Polish nationals communicated over walkie-talkies to avoid being tracked by mobile phone signals. They also spied on their victims using powerful telescopes so they could time the raids for when they were not home. Przemyzlaw Zblewski was seen smirking in his mugshot after police arrested him and three other members of his gang. The 37-year-old flew into the country twice with Kyzysztof Osowski, 36, and Slawomir Winiecki, 49, to carry out the break-ins. Przemyzlaw Zblewski, 37, (pictured) was seen smirking in his mugshot after police arrested him and four other members of his gang after the burglars flew in and out of the UK to carry out raids on upmarket homes across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Another gang member, Michal Barlowski, 44, rented a home in Luton (pictured) and provided the burglars with 'local knowledge' A fourth gang member, Michal Barlowski, 44, rented a home in Luton and provided them with local knowledge. They targeted home across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, seizing large amounts of cash, jewellery, watches, clocks, designer goods and expensive cars in the raids. Five burglaries were carried out in the space of a month before they were caught after a victim traced them using a tracker app on a stolen iPad. The gang knew the device could be used to trace their whereabouts but wrongly thought covering it with foil would block any signal. Three of the criminals had previous convictions in their home country for offences including theft, burglary and benefit fraud. Jailing them for a total of 12 years and three months at Luton Crown Court, Judge Richard Foster said: It has been said an Englishmans home is his castle and the courts are here to protect those homes from people like you. They will be deported back to Poland after they have served their sentences. Kyzysztof Osowski, 36, (right) and Slawomir Winiecki, 49, (left) flew into the UK twice to carry out the break ins, flying home again to Poland in time for Christmas Outlining the evidence against the gang, prosecutor Oliver Doherty said: This is a case about a well-organised agreement to burgle homes of well-off residents all living at substantial addresses around Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Zblewski and Osowski flew into Luton Airport from Gdansk on November 29 and returned home three days later, having carried out a suspected reconnaissance mission. They returned on December 11 with Winiecki and broke into the first house, a large detached property in the village of Lilley, Hertfordshire, three days later. A five-bedroom detached house in Preston, also in Hertfordshire, was then targeted and the trio flew home on December 23 for the festive period. The haul from both included jewellery, a carriage clock and expensive watches. They returned to Luton on January 8 and committed three more burglaries between January 11 and 13. The first was at a ten-bedroom detached country house set in 22 acres in the village of Shillington, Bedfordshire. They made off with a safe containing 20,000, a Land Rover Evoke, a silver jewellery box, wedding rings and a 14,000 diamond engagement ring, three Rolex watches and the iPad that would lead to their capture. The gang used rented properties to store the stolen goods from the raids on homes across the South East Hours later they stole a watch and necklace from a large country home in Little Gaddesden, near Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. From another property in the same village they took a safe, a clock, watch, jewellery and a Jaguar car. But the spree ended when the Shillington home owner checked his Find My iPad app and located it at an address in Luton. Details were passed to police who watched Zblewski, Winiecki and Osowski leave the house in a Vauxhall Zafira and go to Barlowskis home nearby. All four were stopped in a Mercedes car shortly afterwards and searches of the vehicles and rented homes revealed much of the stolen property and a burglary kit that included balaclavas and gloves. All of the raids were carried out when the occupants were not at home. Zblewski and Osowski were each jailed for four years, while Winiecki received three years and nine months. All admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. Barlowski was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods. He will be deported immediately as time he had already served his time on remand. Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch Nobody should have to go through that.Yes, Im talking about the Meghan and Harry interview this week and I did go through it - all 82 minutes of it, plus ads. I did this for you. Someone had to sit through it to make sure the Western Bay of Plenty was clear of any allegations. Fortunately, we are not part of the Institution and there is no obvious link to the whole flower girl dresses thing that drove a wedge between Kate and Meghan. Im not sure if this is what the argument was about, but I think if you are going to go plain white on the dresses, then perhaps the flowers could have had a splash more colour in them. Just saying. I almost cried tears of anger when I heard that Archies colour might be an issue, even before he was born. I dont see it matters one iota how ginger he might be? Frankly, if that ghastly gingerphobe puts one foot in Scotland they are in trouble. Then there was the whole media circus thing that is very stressful for royals and other famous people. A royal in Blenheim Ive actually got a confession here - I once paparazzied a member of the royal family. It was Harrys brother William, who visited during the British and Irish Lions tour of 2005. I was ordered by my superiors at The Press to stake out Blenheim Airport. Sure enough, William finished his whale watching trip or wine watching or whatever it was and was ushered onboard a small executive aircraft. I got an extremely blurry photo as his face appeared briefly in the gloom beneath the wing. I felt dirty afterwards - like an assassin. The photo never actually got used, as there were too many high quality photos of him actually doing something interesting. Fair enough, the most exciting thing about Blenheim Airport is the old Argosy parked across the road. The claim to fame is that its two pilots saw what they believed to be a UFO over Kaikoura in 1978. Avocado bashing However, I did get an appreciation of the madness of royal life. Even at this innocuous event there were about 20 other photographers lined up. For some, it was their lifes work to simply follow one man around the world and photograph his every move. And in Meghans case, this insatiable appetite for royal news has also dragged the very heart and soul of the Western Bay into its slathering maw. Avocados yes, you heard it here first folks. Meghan somehow managed to become a victim of avocado bashing. Her crime? Well, she ate one. Im not sure if it was one of our avocados, but this is how this act of avocado on toast was reported in the Express British tabloid in 2019: The pregnant Duchess of Sussex and so-called avocado on toast whisperer is wolfing down a fruit linked to water shortages, illegal deforestation and all round general environmental devastation. The same paper ran a story about Kate and an avocado in 2017, and this was the introduction to that story: Prince William was given one of the green fruit wrapped up in a bow by a little boy whose mother is suffering during her pregnancy too... He said hed take it to [Kate] and see what happens and said good luck for [the boys] mummy. Case closed Now, up until this point I was not sure which side to take. After all, we were only getting one side of the story plus some surprised expressions and big eyes from Oprah. She actually thanks Meghan for the invitation to her wedding at the start of this less-than-probing interview. However, attacking someone for eating avocado on toast is just low down and dirty as far as Im concerned. So, the case is closed. Meghan is a victim of avocado bashing at the very least. Lets hope the invisible forces of the evil institution dont get any closer than that to our peaceful place. While we are talking about America and rich people arguing with each other, its time to talk about the Americas Cup. The USA doesnt actually feature in this event - only us and the Italians - but its another specialist subject that I have put considerable thought into, albeit with no actual sailing experience whatsoever. I did once go on an overnight fishing trip on a yacht, but we never got to the point of actually raising the sail. Anyway, Ill take one for the team and will keep an eye on the racing over the next few days on your behalf. Its the least I can do. daniel@thesun.co.nz Jeremiah Johnson dumps ministry name for new one in fallout from false Trump prophesy Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Two months after publicly apologizing for inaccurately predicting former President Donald Trump would win a second term, Jeremiah Johnson says hes dumping his Jeremiah Johnson Ministries brand for a new one called The Altar Global that will be in line with a new direction God is taking his ministry. After much prayer and the clear direction of the Lord, we are officially terminating, Jeremiah Johnson Ministries. All of our social media accounts will be deleted over the next week, Johnson announced in a letter to his followers on Facebook Monday. Johnsons Jeremiah Johnson Ministries website is already redirecting his fans to The Altar Global, which bears a footnote that it is formally Jeremiah Johnson Ministries, which began taking shape in 2010. Shortly after he graduated from Southeastern University with a bachelor's degree in Church Ministries that year, Johnson planted Heart of the Father Ministry in Lakeland, Florida. That ministry flourished under his leadership until he moved with his family and staff to Charlotte, North Carolina, to oversee "Jeremiah Johnson Ministries" in 2020. Johnson, who promoted himself on his old ministry website as having the privilege of walking in a strong prophetic anointing since he was a little boy, admitted to falsely prophesying that Trump would win a second term. His decision to apologize prompted death threats, including from some Christians who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. I have received multiple death threats and thousands upon thousands of emails from Christians saying the nastiest and most vulgar things I have ever heard toward my family and ministry. I have been labeled a coward, sellout, a traitor to the Holy Spirit, and cussed out at least 500 times. We have lost ministry partners every hour and counting, Johnson revealed in January. I have been flabbergasted at the barrage of continued conspiracy theories being sent every minute our way and the pure hatred being unleashed. To my great heartache, Im convinced parts of the prophetic/charismatic movement are far SICKER than I could have ever dreamed of, he explained. I truthfully never realized how absolutely triggered and ballistic thousands and thousands of saints get about Donald Trump. Its terrifying! Its full of idolatry! If I helped to prop up this ideology concerning him, I will need to repent again and stir up even more hell. Last month, he announced the suspension of his online ministry after a visitation from God. And now he says he has a new vision. In his letter Monday, Johnson insisted that adopting a new name for his ministry isnt simply a rebranding but a decision to embrace the power of the Cross into this new season and step away from commentary on politics. I am not discouraged nor am I drawing back from my calling. Quite the opposite. I feel God is launching me, my family, and our ministry team further into His purpose for us. In response to Gods gracious correction, refinement, and empowerment, Im choosing to refocus my gaze upon Jesus and the eternal realities of His Kingdom like never before. "For many years, I offered commentary on various political and world events. But now, I am shifting my attention to the preparation of the Bride for the return of our Bridegroom. I will be turning my attention away from social media in order to focus on what God requires of me. Yet I am thrilled to commission our incredible staff to run with, 'The Altar Global' on social media, Johnson explained. This is not a name or brand change but rather a complete shift of our ministrys identity and focus. It requires a gigantic leap of faith for our team to embrace this mandate from God. We are hopeful, terrified and excited about what God is leading us into. Our vision and mission according to Revelation 22:17 is to help prepare the global bride of Christ for the return of our glorious bridegroom, King Jesus. We have been instructed to build an altar to help this generation get ready for the great wedding day, he added. The global battle against antibiotic resistance can only succeed if local contexts are taken into account. "A tailored approach is needed in each country," says Heiman Wertheim of Radboud university medical center. "There is no "one-size-fits-all' solution." This was the main finding of a study on antibiotic resistance in African and Asian countries funded by the British Wellcome Trust. Wertheim is the lead investigator of a large group of international researchers who recently published an article on this study in The Lancet Global Health. Antibiotics are powerful treatments for bacterial infections. They are indispensable for controlling infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, or blood poisoning (sepsis) caused by bacteria. But they are ineffective for treating viral infections, such as colds or flu, and do not work against infections with parasites, fungi or yeasts either. Increasing resistance Incorrect use of antibiotics increases the risk of antibiotic resistance. This means that bacteria adapt in such a way that the antibiotic is no longer effective and the disease can no longer be controlled. Antibiotic resistance is now a major problem worldwide. The problem is growing especially in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMIC), where antibiotic use increased by 35 percent between 2000 and 2010. Research in various countries show that for example 80 percent of children under the age of five with respiratory infections are treated with antibiotics. In many cases, this was unjustified. To gain more insight into this problem, a large group of international researchers led by Heiman Wertheim from Radboud university medical center carried out the ABACUS project. ABACUS stands for AntiBiotic ACces and USe. Large differences between countries The results of the study, which was conducted in LMIC countries in Africa (Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa) and Asia (Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand), have now been published in The Lancet Global Health. Wertheim: "We looked primarily at how easy or difficult it is to obtain antibiotics in those countries and in which situations they are used. On those aspects alone, we found enormous differences between the six countries. For example, in some countries you can purchase antibiotics in the pharmacy only with a doctor's prescription, while in others there are no restrictions and antibiotics are available at any time from the drug store around the corner. We also saw that antibiotics are much more readily available in Asia than in Africa. And that the situation is relatively better in wealthier countries such as Thailand and South Africa." Self-medication Nga Thi Thuy Do, a researcher at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam and lead author of the paper, summarizes the findings as follows: "Bangladesh and Vietnam have the most places where antibiotics can be purchased without a prescription. In some settings you have one drugseller per 500 inhabitants, which is an awful lot. This is reflected in the extent to which antibiotics are used as self-medication. In Vietnam, Bangladesh and Ghana, 57 percent, 45 percent and 36 percent of the population, respectively, regularly take antibiotics for self-medication. But self-medication is much less frequent in Mozambique, Thailand and South Africa, with rates of 8 percent, 4 percent and 1 percent, respectively. The difference is enormous." The researchers also observed quite some uncertainty in the local population - even among the sellers of antibiotics - about what an antibiotic actually is and how you can recognize it. For example, painkillers were sometimes confused with antibiotics. In a follow-up study, also funded by the Wellcome Trust, the consortium will investigate whether improved recognition of antibiotics can lead to better use. Context, context, context The reasons for opting for self-medication are obvious: getting antibiotics from the drugstore without a prescription is faster, cheaper and easier. But purchasing antibiotics without a prescription is not always possible. And that in turn depends on all kinds of factors such as how the healthcare is organized, whether consumers trust the supplier and the severity of the disease. Wertheim: "Our research makes it clear that a generic approach towards combating antibiotic resistance is ineffective. To have any chance of success, you must consider the context that affects the availability and use of antibiotics in each country. The conclusions of our study provide an excellent starting point for giving shape to global initiatives to improve antibiotic use, so that those who really need it can get the right antibiotic and those with a runny nose can get a 'warm cup of tea'." ### https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(21)00024-3/fulltext SPRINGFIELD The City Council gave first-step approval this week to an ordinance prohibiting commercial shops from selling dogs, cats and rabbits due to concerns about animal mistreatment. The puppy mill ordinance drew sharp opposition from the manager at the Puppy Place, of 1400 Boston Road, who defended the shops care of its puppies and accused activists of a years-long mission to put it out of business. Councilor Melvin Edwards, the lead sponsor, said there are many well-documented cases of residents buying pets from shops in which the animals are found to be ill or have behavioral problems. He called it a national trend and travesty for the animals. People are spending very large sums of money through pet stores for animals that are not healthy, Edwards said. The ordinance tries to disrupt the pipeline between the puppy mills to the pet stores and to send a message that animal cruelty will not be accepted in the city of Springfield, Edwards said. Under the ordinance, the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits is prohibited at pet shops. The shops may provide space for the display of animals available for adoption only if such animals are displayed and made available for adoption by either: (A) a public animal control agency or shelter or (B) an animal rescue group under several conditions including sterilization. A $300 fine is proposed for enforcement of the ordinance. Katie Kelleher, office manager for The Puppy Place, said the shop is the only one in Springfield that sells puppies commercially. Its honestly disheartening and offensive the same group of people come after us year after year, month after month, Kelleher said. We have to constantly defend ourselves even though we hate puppy mills. We do not buy from puppy mills. We care about animal welfare and well-being. She said the puppies are well cared for, and the kennels are thoroughly cleaned on a daily basis. Several councilors praised Edwards efforts and asked to be added as co-sponsors. Other communities around the country have passed similar ordinances, including Boston, Edwards said. Councilors Victor Davila and Malo Brown referred to their own family dogs as members of their families, with Davila calling himself the proud father of two four-legged children. As you know, any society is measured as to how they treat their most vulnerable and the most innocent in society, Davila said. An animals, especially dogs, cats and rabbits, are definitely in that category. Councilor Jesse Lederman said that, in addition to addressing animal rights, the ordinance is also aimed at consumer protection. There are serious concerns around the country about well-meaning families paying high prices for animals that turn out to be sick, becoming saddled with high veterinarian bills, Lederman said. Pamela Peebles, the citys director of animal control, said it was exhilarating to see Springfield considering passage of the ordinance. This is absolutely about really creating a more humane community, Peebles said. She also said it contributes to a next generation to be gentle and more sensitive to the animals. Peebles said she has received numerous calls and emails from residents about pet shop purchases that went wrong. In one case in February, a resident said he purchased a puppy for $2,500. Shortly after arriving home, the pet was out of control and vicious. The owner was advised to give up the dog to a shelter or rescue facility, which he did, not getting his cash refunded, Peebles said. The council will discuss the issue in the General Government subcommittee, before bringing it back to the full council to consider final passage, Edwards said. Edwards did not name The Puppy Place, but said he knew of just one puppy shop in Springfield. Peebles said the ordinance would stop future pet shops from selling the pets commercially. The ownership of The Puppy Place attempted to open a dog rescue kennel in 2019, but it was rejected by the council after there was strong opposition from residents and animal activists. The council vote was 13-0 against special permit, sought by Save All Dogs, a nonprofit animal rescue organization based in Manchester, Connecticut. It was stated then that The Puppy Place ownership was donating funds to the rescue group. The Puppy Place had been in West Springfield but moved to Springfield a few years ago after numerous customer complaints including alleged sick dogs. The company said the criticisms of the business were unfounded. Related Content: She declared in the past she has 'no connection' to her birth country of Australia. But it appears that Iggy Azalea does miss a few Aussie staples. This week the Fancy rapper proudly showed off a box of treats delivered to her from The Australian Food Shop. Thought you didn't miss Australia? Rapper Iggy Azalea was delivered a huge box of Aussie treats this week after declaring she no longer has a 'connection' to her birth country The large haul included packets of Apricot Delights, a jar of Vegemite and a box of Cheezels. She was also sent Cherry Ripe bars (chocolate covered cherry bars) and Summer Rolls (chocolate covered nougat bars). All the faves! The large haul included packets of Apricot Delights Iggy, whose real name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, was born in Sydney before moving to Miami to pursue her rap career at 16. After living in Florida for several years, Iggy now resides permanently in Los Angeles. In the past, she has been less than complimentary about her home country. Snack queen: She also received a jar of Vegemite and a box of Cheezels In September 2018, Iggy said she wouldn't be touring Down Under because it's too hard to turn a profit there. Responding to a fan on Twitter, she wrote: 'It's a hard one to profit from honestly, it's far, and would have to be part of a bigger group of shows in Asia etc etc.' Speaking to the Herald Sun in January 2016, Iggy indicated she was happy to no longer be living in Australia. Delicious! She was also sent Cherry Ripe bars (chocolate covered cherry bars) and Summer Rolls (chocolate covered nougat bars) 'I mean, to be honest with you, my home is in America,' she said. 'It's great to come back [to Australia] and visit my grandparents, but there is no home connection.' However, in a conversation with a Twitter user that same month, Iggy confirmed she was still an Australian citizen. (Alliance News) - Marston's PLC on Thursday announced its long-serving chief executive, Ralph Findlay, will step down at the end of the company's financial year on September 30. The Wolverhampton, England-based pub chain said Findlay, in post for 20 years, has guided Marston's through an "extremely challenging" year to ensure it is ready to re-open as a purely focused pub operator, with "a substantially strengthened balance sheet, a 40% stake in Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Co and a clear strategic vision for the future." "Ralph has been CEO of Marston's since 2001 and is one of the longest serving business leaders in an industry, which has seen significant change and challenges during that time. Ralph is widely respected and admired by all those in the hospitality industry, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him over the last three years. He has overseen the development of Marston's into one of the leading pub companies in the UK, through operational innovation to drive change and also transforming the business through strategic acquisition," said Chair William Rucker. Marston's said the processor to appoint a successor is now underway, and it will make a further announcement in due course. Last week, Marston's asked holders of three sets of secured class A debt notes, worth GBP664 million in total, for further technical waivers of its financial covenant for the second half of 2021 and until January of next year. The bondholders have been requested to respond by March 24 and a meeting is scheduled for March 26. In February, Platinum Equity Advisors LLC said it decided against submitting a revised takeover bid for Marston's. At the start of the month, Marston's rejected Platinum's unsolicited 105 pence-per-share takeover approach. The company completed the move of its brewing operations into a joint venture with Denmark's Carlsberg AS back in October 2020. Shares in Marston's were down 0.5% at 95.40p in London on Thursday. By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. Taking Off in a Pandemic LONDON and PARIS, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- JetClub, a new business aviation brand, founded by Vishal Hiremath and Glenn Gonzales, former Honda and Gulfstream executives, is launching in Europe. The company's sister brand, Jet It, has been successfully operating in the US for the past two and half years and the Group now operates a fleet of eleven HondaJet aircraft, globally, making it the largest HondaJet operator in the world. The company is based upon a fractional ownership model in which club members purchase a share of the jet in return for a certain number of days and not hours, which is a unique innovation in this space. JetClub aims to makeA business aviation more accessible at a lower cost, superior customer service and no administrative effort on the p! art of th e owner. "We have designed JetClub to be easy-to-access, intelligent, safe, and financially savvy. Owners pay only a2500 per hour including handling and landing fees with no positioning fees. Launching in a pandemic is an opportunity to get businesses back to work, providing a mechanism that empowers industry to rebuild some of the economic losses caused by the pandemic. Providing access from separate terminals, away from crowded airports along with our advanced COVID precautions and adherence to local guidelines, we are confident that our solution is a good fit for Europe at this time and well into the future," Vishal Hiremath, Co-Founder and CEO, JetClub Group and co-founder of Jet It. Demand for safe, responsible, practical travel has soared through the pandemic as reflected in the demand for private flights globally, evidenced in our US business experiencing a growth of 400% year over year. European businesses and individuals understand the value proposition of business aviation while having expectations for sustainable, well-priced, and transparent choices. The HondaJet is one of the lightest, quietest, and most fuel-efficient in its category, burning four-times less fuel than a larger jet. With 70% of all private flights being less than 3 hours in duration with less than 4 passengers, it is a more sustainable, economical, hygienic, safe, and comfortable way to fly. The aircraft will be based at various sites across mainland Europe for commercial operation. With a Maltese Air Operating Certificate and license, a highly experienced, locally based team and experienced HondaJet pilots. More aircraft will join the fleet this year. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1453967/JetClub2.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1453968/JetClub6.jpg A [March 10, 2021] $ 1.28 Billion Growth in Document Scanner Market 2020-2024 | Insights on Major Vendors and Key Offerings | Technavio NEW YORK, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The document scanner market is expected to grow by USD 1.28 billion during 2020-2024, according to Technavio. The report offers a detailed analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the document scanner market in optimistic, probable, and pessimistic forecast scenarios. The document scanner market will witness a neutral impact during the forecast period owing to the widespread growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per Technavio's pandemic-focused market research, market growth increased in 2020 as compared to 2019. Enterprises will go through the Response, Recovery, and Renew phases. Download Free Sample Report With the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, organizations across the globe are gradually flattening their recessionary curve by leveraging technology. Many businesses will go through response, recovery, and renewal phases. Building business resilience and enabling agility will aid organizations to move forward in their journey out of the COVID-19 crisis towards the Next Normal. This post-pandemic business planning research will aid clients to: Adjust their strategic planning to move ahead once business stability kicks in. to move ahead once business stability kicks in. Build Resilience by making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. Conceptualize scenario-based planning to mitigate future crisis situations. Key Considerations for Market Forecast: Impact of lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, demand destruction, and change in customer behavior Optimistic, probable, and pessimistic scenarios for all markets as the impact of pandemic unfolds Pre- as well as post-COVID-19 market estimates Quarterly impact analysis and updates on market estimates Related Report on Information Technology Include: Global 3D Scanner Market - Global 3D scanner market is segmented by product (short-range, medium-range, and long-range), technology (laser triangulation and structured light), end-user (industrial manufacturing, healthcare, architecture and engineering, aerospace and defense, and others), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report Here! Global Document Capture Software Market - Global document capture software market is segmented by end-user (BFSI, healthcare, government legal, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America). Get an Exclusive Free Sample Report Here! Major Three Document Scanner Market Participants: Avision Inc. Avision Inc. operates its business through the Unified segment. The company offers various document scanners such as AD225WN, AD345 series, AD345F, and other models. Brother Industries Ltd. Brother Industries Ltd. operates its business through segments such as Printing & Solutions, Personal & Home, Machinery, Network & Contents, Domino, and Others. The company offers mobile and desktop scanners. Canon Inc. Canon Inc. operates its business through segments such as Office, Imaging system, Medical system, and Industry and others. The company offers personal scanners, workgroup scanners, departmental scanners, production scanners, and network scanners. If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Get report snapshot here to get a detailed market share analysis of market participants during COVID-19 lockdown: https://www.technavio.com/report/document-scanner-market-industry-analysis Document Scanner Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Document scanner market is segmented as below: Application Government BFSI IT Healthcare Others Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America The document scanner market is driven by the increasing use of high-speed document scanners. In addition, other factors such as the need to adhere to industry sustainability standards are expected to trigger the document scanner market toward witnessing a CAGR of about 4% during the forecast period. Get more insights about the global trends impacting the future of the document scanner market, Request Free Sample @ https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41060 Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/-1-28-billion-growth-in-document-scanner-market-2020-2024--insights-on-major-vendors-and-key-offerings--technavio-301244501.html SOURCE Technavio [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Bangladesh: World Bank approves $120m to help improve food security March 11,2021 | Source: The Financial Express The World Bank has approved 120 million US dollars to help Bangladesh improve food security by enhancing climate resilience and productivity of irrigated agriculture and fisheries. The Climate-Smart Agriculture and Water Management Project will rehabilitate and modernise public Flood Control, Drainage, and Irrigation (FCDI) infrastructures, reports UNB citing a press release. This will help improve irrigation and drainage service over 115,000 hectares where flood damage to crops will be reduced by 60 per cent. The project will also help increase the incomes of 170,000 poor people who are vulnerable to climate change. Half of the beneficiaries will be women. In Bangladesh, more than 70 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood but their exposure to climate change and natural disasters makes them vulnerable, said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. Climate-resilient water management provided in this project combined with increased agricultural productivity will ensure income growth, protect livelihoods and build resilience of the local communities to climate change. The project has identified 19 FCI schemes in poor and climate change vulnerable areas for rehabilitation. It will also provide training to farmers on climate-smart technologies, experimentation with new crops, and post-harvest management. The project will also support the promotion of coastal aquaculture, including the integration of rice and fish/shrimp farming; setting up of cold storage facilities; and, improvements of local markets. This will improve the productivity of fisheries by almost 40 percent and rice by 7.5 per cent, it said. Flood control and drainage systems play a critical role to ensure agricultural productivity and growth, said Abel Lufafa, World Bank Senior Agriculture Specialist and task team leader for the project. Repairing and upgrading of the selected schemes will improve their capacity to regulate the excess water during the monsoon and water deficits in the post-monsoon period. The credit is from the World Banks International Development Association (IDA), and has a 35-year term, including a five-year grace period. Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA programme totalling over $13.5 billion. The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh and has committed more than $33.5billion in grants, interest-free and concessional credits to the country since its Independence. 2021 - The Financial Express At least 20 people are dead after a fire ripped through a clothing factory on the outskirts of Cairo on Thursday. Fifteen fire trucks were called to the scene of the fire, which left at least 24 people injured in the industrial area of Obour, a town some 22 miles north of the Egyptian capital. Videos uploaded to social media showed crowds of people gathering helplessly as plumes of gray and black smoke engulfed the building. The exact cause of the blaze isnt yet known, according to a statement released by the government on Thursday, but Agence France-Presse reports that the state prosecutor has assigned a team to investigate the fire. Ahram Online reports that a preliminary inspection suggests that a gas leak from chemical materials might have caused an explosion leading to the eruption of the deadly blaze. Lax building safety standards have led to a number of fires in Egypt in recent years. Last month, it took firefighters days to extinguish a massive fire that engulfed a 13-story building in the city of Giza. In July 2020, a fire caused by a ruptured oil pipeline injured 17 people and destroyed more than 30 cars on a busy desert highway in Cairo. A blast at a military-owned chemical plant in the Red Sea town of Ain Sokhna killed at least 10 people in 2019. In 2015, dozens died when a gas container exploded inside an elevator at a three-story furniture factory in Obour. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 01:25:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The photo taken on March 11, 2021 shows Algerians visiting the National Book Fair in Algiers, Algeria. Algeria launched the first edition of the National Book Fair on Thursday in the capital Algiers, the first book fair in the North African country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic more than a year ago. (Xinhua) ALGIERS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Algeria launched the first edition of the National Book Fair on Thursday in the capital Algiers, the first book fair in the North African country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic more than a year ago. Under the slogan the Book is Life, the fair was inaugurated by Culture Minister Malika Bendouda, who hailed the exhibition as "a festivity where visitors could buy books at reasonable price." "This exhibition will be followed by a series of other fairs that will be organized in different places nationwide," she told reporters. "I would like to urge everybody to observe strict health protocols relating to COVID-19, including social distancing," the minister noted. The book fair has attracted as many as 216 publishers, and plans to hold 24 literature conferences and workshops until March 20. Strict sanitary measures have been taken to ensure the good and healthy organization of this exhibition, including social distancing and mandatory wearing of face masks by exhibitors, organizers and visitors. Algeria reported 170 new coronavirus cases, 128 recoveries and two deaths in the past 24 hours. Enditem (Newser) Former President Trump is noticeably absent from a new ad campaign in which the four other living presidents urge Americans to get a coronavirus vaccine when able. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and each of their wives are shown receiving a dose in a new 60-second ad. Noting vaccines will "soon be available to everyone," Bush says he's "really looking forward to going to Opening Day in Texas Rangers Stadium with the full stadium," per CNN. "Roll up your sleeve and do you part," he adds. "Now it is up to you," says Carter. The ad from the Ad Council and Covid Collaborative project was released Thursdayone year after the declaration of a global pandemicalongside a 30-second ad featuring Carter, Bush, Clinton, and Obama, per Axios. story continues below Getting vaccinated is "the first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward," Obama says from Arlington National Cemetery's Memorial Amphitheater, where the trio attended a ceremony during President Biden's inauguration, per CNN. "The science is clear: These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease," says Bush. "They could save your life," adds Clinton. It's not exactly clear why Trump and Melania Trump did not participate. However, the council said the project started in December, when Trump was still president. Both Trumps were vaccinated at the White House in January, as was reported weeks later. Appearing at CPAC last month, Trump announced that "everybody" should "go get your shot," per Axios. (Read more former presidents stories.) 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. 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. Food industry insiders remember it like it was yesterday: Canada had only just gotten its first COVID-19 cases, but people were beginning to panic. Food industry insiders remember it like it was yesterday: Canada had only just gotten its first COVID-19 cases, but people were beginning to panic. Fairly quickly, questions began to accumulate about whether you could catch the virus from the food you purchased. Yet, even before early lockdowns came into effect, hoarding had already started at grocery stores from dry pasta and legumes to canned items or baking supplies; and, of course, toilet paper. A year into the pandemic, Canadians now have more faith in the overall food industry than they have in each other about personal consumption or stockpiling habits, suggests a new report from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab released Wednesday. And trends in the study, which surveyed over 10,000 people from coast to coast, show that Manitoba leads other provinces in confidence rates about major aspects like food safety and supply chains. "Its fair to say, weve all definitely come a long way from the novelty and uncertainty of the situation that we saw last spring," said Sylvain Charlebois, lead author of the report and supply management professor at Dalhousie University, in an interview. "These numbers are a big vote of confidence for everyone in the industry because it wasnt the easiest thing to get to this point," he said. "Certainly, grocers and suppliers and, really, everyone who works in the sector made sure people not only had their food but also that they knew it was safe." As a unit of measurement, the study looked at confidence rates to measure consumers feelings about current and future economic conditions affecting food systems. They also looked at satisfaction rates because it would indicate the fulfillment that consumers derive from interacting with the food industry, one way or another. Charlebois believes the results of the report indicate that the impact of COVID-19 over food safety has almost completely become negligible. A total of 72.2 per cent of Canadians have confidence in the food safety of their products, despite the pandemic. And 74.9 per cent respondents said they generally feel products in Canada are safe, regardless of the pandemic being factored in. The highest food safety confidence rate in the country is in New Brunswick with 79.9 per cent, followed closely by Manitoba at 76.9 per cent. The lowest rate is in Newfoundland and Labrador at 70.6 per cent. "The supply chain aspects are also particularly great to see," said Charlebois. "Canadians are definitely showing that they believe the industry has done a great job handling all of this, despite the many disruptions and backlogs." A total of 79.6 per cent of Canadians believe the people who work in the industry care about providing food during the pandemic, and only 17.4 per cent of respondents said the supply chain will not be able to provide enough food for everyone. That confidence rate varies from region to region, however. The most confident province in terms of food supply chains is Manitoba (at 87.9 per cent), followed by Quebec (at 87 per cent) and British Columbia as the least confident (at 78 per cent). "I think the least expected results of the study we found are seen in that confidence paradox about stockpiling or hoarding sentiments," said Charlebois. "It would appear that Canadians are still quite apprehensive and dont necessarily trust each other as much as they trust the food system itself." When asked if they believe people will not stockpile food due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only 38.4 per cent respondents agreed nationally. In Manitoba, thats 36.7 per cent, which is among the lowest of concerned provinces, with the most concerned region being Prince Edward Island, at 54.6 per cent. temur.durrani@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @temurdur 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 National Committee for the Coordination of Vaccination Activities (CNCAV) against COVID-19 on Friday informed that the National Medical-Military Institute for Research and Development "Cantacuzino" is about to receive 106,800 doses of Moderna vaccine. "106,800 doses of Moderna vaccine will arrive on Friday at the National Medical-Military Institute for Research and Development "Cantacuzino." The transport is provided by the manufacturing company and the vaccine doses will be brought to Bucharest by land. The doses will be stored at the National Storage Centre, and in the next period they will be distributed to the existing regional centres at the national level," it is shown in a press release sent on Thursday to AGERPRES by the CNCAV. According to the same source, the doses will be distributed as follows: Bucharest National Storage Centre - 32,600 doses, Brasov Regional Storage Centre - 5,600 doses, Cluj Regional Storage Centre -11,200 doses, Constanta Regional Storage Centre - 15,400 doses, Regional Storage Centre Craiova - 2,800 doses, Iasi Regional Storage Centre - 18,200 doses, Timisoara Regional Storage Centre - 21,000 doses. The 'runner's high' - that feeling of euphoria and reduced anxiety that you get after exercise - is not directly caused by endorphins, according to new research from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Instead, it's caused by endocannabinoids, molecules naturally produced by the body, which act similarly to cannabis. The researchers found this by measuring different chemical compounds while participants walked and ran on a treadmill. Even when participants had their opioid receptors blocked, meaning that endorphins could not have any impact on their brains, they still experienced that same runner's high. The study shows that these cannabinoid molecules can have a big impact on anxiety and mood, even when our bodies make them naturally. New research sheds light on the science behind your runner's high, and scientists a hint as to why marijuana and exercise can both relieve stress and generally make us feel good Runners who were given an endorphin blocker (naltrexone) still experienced a runner's high in the form of increased euphoria and decreased anxiety. Researchers behind this study say that a different type of molecule, endocannabinoids, is actually the driver of that natural high. Working out is lauded as a way to feel good and relieve stress, a phenomenon commonly called the 'runner's high.' It's usually described as euphoria - a sense of extreme joy or delight- paired with reduced anxiety and lower sensitivity to pain. In other words, if you strain a muscle halfway through your run, the high might keep you from feeling it. Past research has tied this high to endorphins, also known as the 'feel-good chemicals' because they stop the body from feeling pain. Endorphins are a type of opioid, molecules that behave similarly to oxycontin or morphine. In recent years, though, scientists have found that another type of naturally-occurring molecule also plays a major role. That's the endocannabinoids, or eCBs. The similar name isn't just a coincidence. eCBs act similarly to regular cannabinoids- molecules found in cannabis. They can cause euphoria and reduce anxiety, but also regulate the body in other ways that scientists are still working to understand. New research from scientists at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology last month, takes a big step in understanding how these chemicals work. WHAT ARE ENDOCANNABINOIDS? The human body is equipped with a whole endocannabinoid system. It is comprised of three main component parts: Cannabinoid receptors: These are like keyholes on the surfaces of our cells, that are activated when the right chemical clicks into place. They are scattered throughout the bodies of humans and all other vertebrate animals. These are like keyholes on the surfaces of our cells, that are activated when the right chemical clicks into place. They are scattered throughout the bodies of humans and all other vertebrate animals. Endocannabinoids: These are the keys. These small molecules bind to the cannabinoid receptors on the surfaces of cells and turn them 'on' These are the keys. These small molecules bind to the cannabinoid receptors on the surfaces of cells and turn them 'on' Metabolic enzymes : These are like the Drain-O of the system, breaking down endocannabinoids after they've been used Scientists are still learning all the functions of the endocannabinoid system, but we know that it plays a critical role in monitoring the body for changes and maintaining homeostasis, a kind of cellular balance that keeps everything functioning in sync. THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana also acts some of these receptors. But the body makes its own natural cannabinoids too, and they appear to share some of the soothing properties reported by marijuana users Advertisement This new study follows up on past research that the German researchers did in mice. In that past study, anxiety reduction that mice experienced after exercise was tied to eCBs, not endorphins. The researchers point out that eCBs can easily pass from the bloodstream into the brain due to their molecular structure, making it easier for them to influence the brain during exercise. Endorphins, on the other hand, have a different structure and can't cross so easily. To replicate their mouse study, the researchers recruited 63 people who regularly go running or do other endurance exercise. Half of those participants were given naltrexone, a drug that blocks opioid receptors- meaning that endorphins wouldn't be able to impact their brain as they exercised. The neurochemical activity for each person in the study was measured twice: once while running and once while walking. All tests took place on a treadmill, so that the researchers could ensure everyone exercised at the same pace. The researchers measured the chemical composition of each runner's blood before and after they exercised. They also asked participants to log how they were feeling, using standardized scales to assess anxiety levels. And, in one less-standardized measurement, researchers asked each runner if they had experienced what they'd describe as a runner's high. Most of the participants said they hadn't experienced that high- only 7 people from the opioid blocker group and 5 from the placebo group said they did. But the runners' eCB measurements and anxiety levels told another story. After running, the participants showed increased euphoria and decreased anxiety, those standard indicators of a runner's high. There was no significant difference between the opioid blocker group and the placebo group, meaning that endorphins had no impact. Instead, the researchers found higher levels of eCBs. Just like in the mice from their previous study, these runners were naturally getting high as they exercised. This study is still preliminary, though. It's hard to scientifically prove that eCBs are causing the runner's high when you can't see what happens when eCBs aren't able to impact the brain. Unfortunately, the one drug these researchers have previously used to block eCB receptors is now no longer on the market, so it is necessary to study with a proxy for now. It's also hard to simulate the runner's high in a lab setting. Measuring runners out on the trails or in an actual race might show more evidence of those neurological impacts, even if it's harder to standardize the study that way. Still, this research provides a pretty solid argument that endocannabinoids, not endorphins, are getting us high while we run. In a tweet sharing the study, psychiatrist and drug researcher Dr. Julie Holland said, 'I told ya! Runner's high is due to endocannabinoid system, not opiate/endorphin.' Holland has written a book about the role of cannabis in medicine, and advocates for its use in mental health treatment. If a simple 30-minute run is enough to show a tangible impact on someone's mood and mental health, a good case may be made for further study of eCBs in order to better understand how these molecules work and what they're capable of. The Mexico chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) expects a wave of international arbitrations and lawsuits in the coming weeks after Mexico enacted this week a new law that favors state-owned electricity generation companies over private power firms. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pushed in recent weeks a new law for the countrys electricity sector, which strengthens state control over the power generation sector by promoting state-owned companies. The antitrust regulator of Mexico, COFECE, said last month it recommends the lawmakers not to approve the new law because it would seriously undermine competition in the electricity generation and sales markets. The new law, which came into force earlier this week, stipulates that state-held power companieswhich generate electricity predominantly from fossil fuelshave priority over privately owned power firms when electricity is being bought. It appears there will be a wave of constitutional injunctions, the president of ICC Mexico, Claus Von Wobeser, said, as carried by The Associated Press. All of the affected companies are going to file appeals, Von Wobeser added. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned in February that the then-proposed reform to Mexicos Electrical Industry Law could create a monopoly and violate Mexicos commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Related Video: Can Saudis Defend Aramco from Houthis? Unfortunately, this move is the latest in a pattern of troubling decisions taken by the Government of Mexico that have undermined the confidence of foreign investors in the country at the precise moment enhanced foreign direct investment in Mexico is needed more than ever, Neil Herrington, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of the Americas, said in a statement last month. Further, these changes would significantly raise the cost of electricity and limit access to clean energy for Mexicos citizens, Herrington said. Lopez Obrador has also been a vocal critic of the energy reform of his predecessor Enrique Pena Nieto, who opened in 2013 Mexicos oil and gas sector to private investment for the first time in seven decades. The incumbent Mexican President seeks a greater role for Pemex in reversing the downward trend in Mexican oil production and is criticizing the energy reform and the foreign oil firms for failing to do so. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Unionist councillors have condemned threatening posters featuring a masked gunman that appeared in Kilkeel this week. The poster features a masked gunman with the phrase "Our forefathers fought for our freedom and rights. No border in the sea or we continue the fight." Hundreds of posters opposing a border in the Irish Sea have also appeared across Northern Ireland in recent weeks, but have not contained the same threatening imagery. Sinn Fein's South Down MLA, Sinead Ennis, said a number of the posters appeared on Wednesday night and called on police to investigate while urging senior unionist leaders to speak out. Ulster Unionist councillor Harold McKee and DUP councillor Glyn Hanna condemned the posters and called for any opposition to the Northern Ireland protocol to be peaceful. Mr McKee said: "There's no need for anything threatening (over the protocol) because there's other means to deal with it. "As far as I'm concerned, the people who feel they can sort this whole issue out by a balaclava (and a gun) have not grown up in the real world. "They didn't grow up during the Troubles when most of us have experienced bad times. "None of them have carried a coffin of a loved on their shoulders as a result of the Troubles so they have no idea what they're asking for here." Mr Hanna added: "I haven't seen these posters yet but this should not happen anywhere, full stop. "The community here does get on very well together and it's totally unnecessary. "I would oppose the protocol but I condemn these posters without reservation," Mr Hanna added. Ms Ennis said the posters displayed "a clear threat of violence". "We need to see leadership from within unionism particularly within the DUP coming out and condemning these sinister posters and the threat they contain," she said. "There can be no succour given to those who would make threats or use violence." With BBI's strategic partnership, Dellinger will be able to rapidly increase brand awareness, product accessibility and innovation, as well as expand CURLS' signature community give-back programs focused on developing the next generation of female black entrepreneurs. In addition, Dellinger will join BBI's Board of Directors. BBI, parent company to iconic brands including WetBrush, Goody, Ouidad and Bio Ionic, is a portfolio company of ACON Investments, L.L.C. and its affiliates ("ACON"). Through this strategic partnership, BBI will enable the CURLS brand to expand its product offering to curly, coily and textured hair customers nationwide, while extending its reach across all distribution channels. Mahisha Dellinger, CURLS owner, remarked: "After 19 years building and leading the CURLS brand, I have chosen to partner with Beauty by Imagination because their investment, resources and expertise will accelerate our growth. Our values are aligned, and they wholeheartedly support my vision to bring more innovation and inspiration to an ever-growing CURLS community. This is an exciting new chapter for CURListas everywhere - longtime customers, and those who will discover us soon!" According to Francesca Raminella, co-CEO of BBI: "BBI and CURLS recognized a unique opportunity to join forces in a strategic partnership that is a win-win for both companies. CURLS is a perfect fit for our strategy because we look for "founder" brands with category authority in hair; strong, authentic customer engagement; and high-performance formulas. The BBI family is thrilled to welcome Mahisha Dellinger and support her in realizing the next chapter of success for CURLS." "The expertise and leadership that Mahisha will bring to our Board of Directors is something we all look forward to," Raminella added. BBI Co-CEO Gary Dailey added: "The CURLS & BBI partnership will rapidly expand CURLS' distribution. By leveraging BBI's omni-channel sales platform, CURLS will benefit from our vertically-integrated supply chain resources, bringing the brand to more consumers while enabling Mahisha to focus additional time on product innovation, leadership and inspiration. Mahisha will continue to oversee CURLS' product formulas and product development, with BBI by her side to optimize operations, logistics and sales." ABOUT CURLS For nearly two decades, CURLS has been a leader in natural hair care, innovating new product collections that are specifically formulated to cater to each hair texture's needs, across all age groups. Prior to this, women just wanted something to "tame" their manes. Now, they demand quality products that "celebrate" and showcase their perfectly imperfect curly coifs. Founded in 2002 by Mahisha Dellinger, CURLS Beauty Brands has become one of the foremost black-owned hair care brands in North America. In addition to leading CURLS, Dellinger authored the memoir "Against All Odds: From the Projects to the Penthouse" and starred in "Mind Your Business with Mahisha" on the OWN network. Visit curls.biz or follow us @CURLS on Instagram. ABOUT BEAUTY BY IMAGINATION Beauty by Imagination ("BBI") is one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of beauty products. Based in New York, BBI develops some of the industry's most recognizable and innovative brands and products such as Goody, WetBrush, Bio Ionic, Ouidad, Twist, Solano and Ace. These brands promise quality and innovation to provide beautiful results to professionals and consumers alike. For more information, visit www.bbicompany.com. ABOUT ACON INVESTMENTS, L.L.C. ACON Investments, L.L.C., headquartered in Washington, DC, is an international private equity firm investing in North America, Latin America and Europe. Founded in 1996, ACON has raised approximately $5.9 billion of capital to date and has professionals in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Bogota and Madrid. For more information, visit www.aconinvestments.com. SOURCE Beauty by Imagination Related Links https://www.bbicompany.com/ Thursday, March 11, 2021 12:00 p.m. ET On March 11, please join the Canadian Association of Business Economics (CABE), the Ottawa Economics Association (OEA) and the OECD Washington Center for a presentation of the upcoming OECD Economic Survey of Canada. The findings of the report will be presented by Mr. Alvaro Pereira, Director of Country Studies in the OECD Economics Department, and the event will be moderated by Ottawa Economics Association President Jean-Francois LaRue. The Survey of Canada takes a broad look at macroeconomic challenges in Canada as the country begins to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, which has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 Canadians. The pandemic caused a historic downturn in the Canadian economy, with GDP expected to decline by 5.4% for 2020 as a whole. Meanwhile, like in many countries the unemployment rate remains high, especially among youth. Although diminished restrictions and a recovery in hard-hit sectors will support growth going into 2022, it remains unclear how fast consumer confidence will rebound, and how quickly households may spend the substantial savings many have accumulated during lockdowns. Against this backdrop, the survey explores what further steps policy makers can take to encourage employment and business recovery, and makes recommendations across a range of wide of policy area with a special focus on wellbeing. Speakers Alvaro Santos Pereira Assistant Director, Country Studies Branch, Economics Department OECD Alvaro Santos Pereira is Director of the Country Studies Branch at the OECD Economics Department , where he oversees the making of Economic Surveys. He provides leadership in the coordination and management of the activities of the Directorate and ensures that it is at the forefront of the international political economy agenda. He identifies challenges and develops ways in which the OECD can promote policies to improve member and partner countries long-term economic performance. Prior to joining the OECD, Mr Pereira was Minister for Economy & Employment in Portugal, where he was in charge of a major programme of economic and labour reforms. Previously, Mr Pereira taught economics in universities in Canada and the UK Jean-Francois LaRue (Moderator) President Ottawa Economics Association As the Executive Director of the Labour Market Information Directorate of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) , Jean-Francois LaRue brings nearly 30 years of hands-on policy experience in labour market and economic policy development. Mr. LaRue has held a number of responsibilities within and outside the government of Canada including Chief Economist at the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister of Labour, Director General of Apprenticeship and Regulated Occupations Directorate, and Executive Director of Canada's main labour market job portal (Job Bank) as well as director in the EI policy directorate. Note to media: To request an embargoed copy of the Economic Survey of the Canada 2021, members of the media may contact Miguel Gorman, Senior Manager for Public Affairs and Media in Washington: miguel.gorman@oecd.org, +1 202 822-3865. Journalists requesting an electronic version in advance of the release time agree to respect the embargo time of 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Once released, a Survey Overview with the main conclusions will be freely accessible at this link, which can be included in media articles: http://www.oecd.org/economy/canada-economic-snapshot/ Contacts for U.S. and Canada Miguel Gorman Senior Manager for Public Affairs and Media +1 202 822 3865 miguel.gorman@oecd.org Iain Williamson iLibrary Sales and Marketing Manager +1 202 822 3870 iain.williamson@oecd.org Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. PHILIPSBURG:--- CIBC FirstCaribbean celebrated its female staffers on Monday in recognition of International Womens Day (IWD). In keeping with this years theme Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 World, the staffers were thanked for their continued dedication and were reminded of their call to action, irrespective of their professional and personal roles or statuses. They were also treated to a sumptuous lunch, served by Branch Manager, Perry Wilson. Invited guests Joenne Louis, Financial Administrative Officer, and Othneilia Binns, Care Team/House Mother of Safe Haven, were presented with a donation as a tribute to IWD and in support of their work against domestic violence, particularly for women in the community, faced with abusive situations. Safe Haven, a confidential, non-profit organization, has for many years provided a safe place for women and their children whove fallen victim to domestic violence, by offering free shelter, counseling, and supportive services. CIBC FirstCaribbean continues to support, showcase, and honor leading women within the bank and the community and also to recognize organizations that assist women in reaching their maximum potential. 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. (Natural News) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the official gatekeeper of medicine in the United States. When it comes to the business of saving lives, the FDA is the all-important, central authority that controls the general direction of hospital systems pertaining to pharmaceutical distribution and drug regulation. The FDA approval process favors vaccine and drug development, while suppressing various antivirals and nutrients that can help mitigate viral load and prevent viral attachment and replication. This biased regulatory environment, driven by pharmaceutical profits, is the reason why hospital systems are so handicapped when it comes to helping patients overcome infections, and why ventilators are so heavily relied upon, with poor results. Even though there is plentiful published science on the antiviral effects of various phytochemicals, over-the-counter drugs and herbal preparations, the FDA refuses to approve these remedies to help sick patients. The FDA currently warns against using ivermectin to treat covid, but other countries are using it with success. Ivermectin is a common agricultural drug that is used as a de-wormer for cats, dogs, horses and other livestock. The drug is FDA-approved in humans to treat intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two conditions caused by parasitic worms, but it is not approved as a covid-19 treatment in the United States. However, India is using the drug on healthcare workers, with great results. Florida doctors are also using the drug with great results. Ivermectin stops viral replication and is used successfully in India In India, ivermectin was studied in vitro, with remarkable results. Ivermectin achieves a 5,000-fold reduction in replication of SARS-CoV-2 virus within 48 hours. A single dose of ivermectin achieved a 93 percent reduction of viral RNA was in just 24 hours. Healthcare workers in India use the drug with great success. Ivermectin outperformed vitamin C and hydroxychloroquine, and was most potent after two doses. The anti-viral properties of ivermectin have already been documented for inhibiting HIV replication. The drugs success against covid-19 is telling, for the original bio-weapon strain of SARS-CoV-2 uses HIV components as part of its infection and replication pathogenesis. The results mirror the results of a randomized trial conducted at the University of Egypt. In that study, 58.5% of the 101 healthcare workers in the control developed symptoms after the 14-day enrollment period. The group that received ivermectin only developed symptoms at a rate of 7.4%, showing promising results. Doctors practicing in Florida put the drug to the test at Broward Health Hospitals between March 15 and May 11, 2020. The drug was studied on two hundred eighty patients, 173 treated with ivermectin and 107 without ivermectin. All the patients also received hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, or both at the discretion of the attending physician. Patients who were treated with ivermectin as part of the protocol were more likely to survive the hospital stay. Ivermectin treatment was associated with lower mortality during treatment of COVID-19, especially in patients with severe pulmonary involvement. The FDA has not released any guidance on ivermectin use for covid-19. People are purchasing the drug at farm supply stores and self-medicating with high doses that are intended for treatment of large livestock such as cattle and horses. The FDA has received multiple reports of ivermectin overdose that requires medical support. The FDA warns that ivermectin products for animals are different than formulations approved for human consumption. The active ingredient might be the same, but the inactive ingredients may be absorbed differently in humans compared to animals. If taken incorrectly, the drug may cause low blood pressure, seizures, nausea, vomiting and other allergic reactions like dizziness and hives. In India, the hospitals give their staff and students clear advice on how to use ivermectin. Because the drug has a long history of clinical use, a favorable safety profile, and has been studied in vitro as a prophylactic agent for COVID-19, hospitals advise doctors and nurses to use it to prevent infection. On day one, they recommend a dose of 300 ?g/kg body weight, followed by a second dose seventy-two hours later, and a subsequent dosing schedule occurring every 30 days. Pregnant or conceiving women are not advised to take the drug. Why are American hospitals so handicapped treating infectious disease when there is so much science available on antivirals, adaptogens and phytonutrients? With billions of dollars being thrown around for vaccine and drug research, why wont the FDA come up with a few million dollars and commission more research on preventatives, adaptogens, and antivirals like ivermectin, zinc, vitamin D, licorice root, sweet wormwood and eleutheroside B (from Siberian ginseng), to name a few. In studies, eleutheroside B inhibits the influenza virus via the chemokine signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, N-glycan biosynthesis, and RNA polymerase. Studies on licorice root document the plants amazing antiviral design, which includes 20 triterpenoids and nearly 300 flavonoids which possess pharmacological activities, that include antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and other activities. Artemisinin is derived from extracts of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua), another medicinal herb. Like hydroxychloroquine, artemisinin is a powerful treatment for malaria and shows antiviral activity against covid-19. Like ivermectin, artemisinin is also an effective treatments for parasitic infections such as schistosomiasis. The FDAs suppression of ivermectin as a covid-19 treatment is the tip of the iceberg, as so many powerful phytochemicals are waiting to be used to heal people with respiratory illness. Hospital systems are operating in a stone age when it comes to understanding science and infectious disease. Covid-19 could be the catalyst of change, the turning point for the medical system, or it could further the systems apocalypse. Sources include: Journals.Plos.org FDA.gov NaturalNews.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov ScienceDirect.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov YEREVAN -- Armenian President Armen Sarkisian has refused to accept Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's proposal to appoint Artak Davtian as the new chief of staff for the armed forces as the country's ongoing political standoff continues. Sarkisian's press service announced the presidents decision on March 11, a day after Pashinian announced the departure of Onik Gasparian, saying that the general's controversial removal was automatic because Sarkisian did not lodge an appeal against the dismissal decree with the Constitutional Court as prescribed by law. Pashinian's decision to sack Gasparian from the post of chief of general staff had been rejected by both Sarkisian and the Armenian army's general staff, which has said that early elections are the only way out of the ongoing political crisis in the South Caucasus nation. The armed forces have also repeatedly demanded that Pashinian step down, a move he has characterized as an attempted military coup. At the heart of the turmoil is a Russian-brokered deal Pashinian signed in November that brought an end to fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh at a heavy cost for the Armenian side, which suffered territorial and battlefield losses from Azerbaijan's Turkish-backed military. The deal saw Armenia cede control over parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven surrounding districts that had been occupied by Armenian forces since the early 1990s, prompting protests from the opposition and parts of the military. In light of what they perceived as a national humiliation, Gasparian and other top brass on February 25 called for the departure of Pashinian. The move triggered the ongoing standoff between the government and the opposition, backed by top military officers. Sarkisian has called for talks to ease tensions even though he added to them with his repeated refusal to endorse Gasparian's dismissal. Both opposition supporters and Pashinian's backers have been holding rallies in the capital since the crisis broke out. Opposition demonstrators who have surrounded the government building since March 9, at times scuffling with police, blocked access to the parliament building on March 10. Pashinian has defended the November deal saying it was the only way to prevent the Azerbaijani military from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the peace agreement. Pashinian, whose My Step faction dominates parliament, has offered to hold snap parliamentary elections later this year but the prime minister has refused to resign. Sarkisian has called on Pashinian and opposition leaders to hold talks on March 13. A man has died following a fatal traffic collision last night, thats suspected to be a hit-and-run. Gardai are appealing for witness to the incident, which took place on Humbert Way, Castlebar, Co Mayo at around 11:50pm yesterday. The pedestrian, a man in his forties, was treated at the scene before being brought to Mayo University Hospital. He would later pass away from his injuries. A post-mortem is due to take place at a later date. The road is currently closed to facilitate a forensic collision investigation. For now, local diversions are in place. Gardai are appealing for any witnesses to this collision to come forward. They are also appealing for any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam), who were travelling in the area between 11:20pm to 12:20am to make this footage available to Gardai. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Castlebar Garda station on 094 903 8200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any other Garda station. Today, over 11,000 corporate clients and more than 3 million users are enjoying the power and intuitive experience that the companys benefits platform provides. From its founding in 2015, EverythingBenefits has executed on its mission of using technology to deliver the best benefit experiences for employers and employees. Achieving that goal has driven tremendous growth over the past six years. Today, over 11,000 corporate clients and more than 3 million users are enjoying the power and intuitive experience that the companys benefits platform provides. In 2020 alone, the company saw a 44% increase in users leveraging EverythingBenefits solutions and enjoyed increasing its cross-product adoption and footprint. Throughout 2020, EverythingBenefits continued building its platform relationships with Professional Employer Organizations and HCM and Payroll Providers. In addition to expanding its existing partnerships, the company established new relationships within the business community, including integrations and expansions with Deltek, FrankCrum, NetSuite, SAP SuccessFactors, and Worklio. EverythingBenefits continued to deliver on product and service innovation objectives also, expanding and enriching its solution suite. Some of the notable advancements released in 2020 include: Payments and Collections: The answer to facilitating the collection of payments for benefits or mandatory services from employees on reduced payroll, furlough, leave, or other circumstances, so that they will no longer fear lapsing on their policies and other financial obligations. ButterflyLITE: A solution uniquely designed to deliver a streamlined benefits enrollment and management experience for SME employers and employees at no cost. Malachite Program: The EverythingBenefits Malachite program strengthens the employer carrier relationship by enhancing communication, providing real-time data exchanges, and ultimately improving the benefits experience for all. The company continued to influence and receive recognition in the industry by establishing its Client Advisory Board, being named a G2 high performer on the Benefits Administration grid, and being recognized in leading trade outlets highlighting insights on industry transformation, compliance, and other best practices. More recently, EverythingBenefits was named on the Forbes list of Americas Best Startup Employers 2021. This prestigious award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. "At EverythingBenefits, were on a mission to discover new ways benefits technology can improve peoples lives, said Rachel Lyubovitzky, CEO and co-founder of EverythingBenefits. I am proud of our team for pushing through 2020 and continuing to deliver on this mission for our entire client, partner, and carrier ecosystem. Our solutions help address some of HRs biggest challenges by automating processes, freeing up time, reducing compliance risk, and elevating the benefits experience for all. We look forward to continued success this year and beyond. About EverythingBenefits EverythingBenefits is a leading provider of next-generation, end-to-end benefit technology solutions and services that help businesses of all sizes and their employees experience benefits in more meaningful ways. By leveraging an open business model, EverythingBenefits partners with enterprise resource planning systems, human capital management (HCM) companies, benefits carriers, in addition to benefit brokers, independent agents and other providers. The companys philosophy is that technology should make life simpler, more rewarding, and more enjoyable. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.everythingbenefits.com or connect with us via LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. EverythingBenefits Public Relations Phone: 800-689-3568 Email: pr@everythingbenefits.com Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Vietnam has affirmed its support for the enhancement of cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in addressing common challenges. Ambassador Pham Hai Anh, deputy head of the Vietnamese delegation to the UN. (Photo: VNA) Vietnam has affirmed its support for the enhancement of cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and regional and sub-regional organisations, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in addressing common challenges. Addressing the UN Security Council (UNSC)s meeting on March 10 on activities of the OSCE, Ambassador Pham Hai Anh, deputy head of the Vietnamese delegation to the UN, highlighted the important role played by the OSCE in promoting dialogue, building trust, resolving conflicts and promoting development in Europe, while encouring the OSCE and the UN to tighten multifaceted cooperation. The Vietnamese diplomat welcomed Sweden's commitment as the OSCE Chair 2021 to promote multilateralism, the UN Charter, international law, trust-building measures, and the implementation of an agenda on women, peace and security. At the session, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Ann Linde emphasised that the OSCE continues to be the largest regional security organisation in the world, playing an important role in finding common solutions to many challenges in the UNSCs agenda, and affirmed the importance of the OSCE-UN cooperation. She also informed the UNSC member states about Sweden's priorities during its OSCE Chairmanship in 2021, including seeking sustainable solutions to regional conflicts, respecting the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, no threat or use of force, and rights of member states to choose their national security policy; respecting international law and the UN Charter; reinforcing the OSCE's comprehensive security concept; and advancing the agenda on women, peace and security. The OSCE and the UN are currently working together through high-level dialogue mechanisms and an information-sharing and coordination mechanism at the expert level. On December 10, 2019, the OSCE and the UN Secretariat issued a joint statement in support of the 1993 Framework for Cooperation and Coordination. Since 2004, the UNSC has held annual meetings to listen to reports from the OSCE Chairs. Sweden takes over the OSCE Chair from January 1, 2021. VNA Vietnam welcomes positive progress in Minsk agreements implementation Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese mission to the United Nations, on February 11 welcomed the positive progress recorded in the implementation of the Minsk agreements over the recent past. Nobody can accuse Gov. Greg Abbott of being overprotective of Texans. A few weeks ago, his penchant for skimping and deregulation caused the Texas grid to collapse when a snowstorm swept through the state, wreaking havoc for a week. Last week, Abbott announced his decision to open up the state for business 100 percent and do away with the mask mandate in the midst of the pandemic. He has gotten a lot of flak for his rash and politically motivated decision. Public health experts have warned Abbotts ruling will result in climbing COVID-19 infections and deaths. President Joe Biden weighed in, describing Abbotts and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves decisions as Neanderthal thinking. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman took exception to Bidens sting, characterizing it as unfair to Neanderthals. Abbotts irresponsible action will undoubtedly cost lives. However, as has been true the past year, the misery will not be randomly distributed. Latinos will bear the brunt of the suffering. Using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provisional data on COVID-19 deaths between Jan. 1, 2020, and Feb. 27, I estimate Latinos have died at a rate 2.5 times higher than whites and 1.7 times higher than Blacks. To date, Latinos account for 46 percent of all COVID-19 fatalities in the state and for all reported deaths at ages below 18 (Black and white children and adolescents also have died from COVID, but the numbers have been so low, they are not reported); 71 percent of those 18 to 29; 68 percent of those 30 to 49; and 60 percent of COVID-19 deaths of those between 50 and 64. On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases National comparisons also shine a light on the precarious situation of Latinos in our state. Texas has the fifth-highest Latino COVID-19 age-adjusted death rate in the country, with 349 deaths per 100,000 Latinos, behind the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York and Arizona. Texas ranks 19th and 29th in white and Black COVID-19 age-adjusted death rates, respectively. Whats the situation like in the Magnolia State? There, Blacks and whites are overrepresented among COVID-19 fatalities, although Blacks have died at a rate 1.7 times higher than whites. Blacks account for all Mississippians 18 to 29 years old who have died from COVID-19 (whites in these age groups have also died, but their numbers are so small they are not reported), 67 percent of those 30 to 49, and 55 percent of fatalities among those 50 to 64. With 322 deaths per 100,000 Blacks in the state, Mississippi has the fifth-highest Black age-adjusted death rate in the nation, behind New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Iowa. To boot, Mississippi has the highest white COVID-19 death rate in the country, with 187 deaths per 100,000. Abbott and Reeves have put residents in danger with their irresponsible decisions to open their states 100 percent for business and dispose of mask mandates. Given the patterns that we have seen over the past year, Latinos are especially at risk of being hurt by Abbotts decision, and Blacks and even whites in Mississippi due to Reeves ruling. If, as many public health experts predict, their actions lead to increasing infections and deaths, Abbott and Reeves will need to be held accountable. The pandemic has taught us much, but particularly concerning the resurgence of misery when we let our guards down. Unfortunately, with all due respect to Neanderthals, their logic persists in the governorships of Texas and Mississippi. Rogelio Saenz is a professor in the Department of Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. On an unseasonably warm day in February, two men working with a local community group went door to door in an ethnically diverse neighbourhood to persuade people to sign up for Covid-19 vaccinations. It was just after 11 a.m. when they encountered the first person reluctant to get a shot. Two doors down and 30 minutes later, it happened again. For nearly an hour, they stood on a front lawn with George Rodriguez, 67, chatting about the neighbourhood, the pandemic and the available vaccines. I see all this stuff online, about how its going to change my DNA. It does something to your DNA, right? asked Rodriguez, who is Hispanic. There is just too much stuff out, too much conflicting information. And then I hear that even if you get the vaccine you can still get sick. Why would I get it, then? Black and Hispanic communities, which were hit harder by the pandemic and whose vaccination rates are lagging that for white people, are confronting vaccine conspiracy theories, rumours and misleading news reports on social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter and in private online messaging, health authorities and misinformation researchers said. The misinformation varies, like claims that vaccines can alter DNA which is not true and that the vaccines do not work, or that people of colour are being used as guinea pigs. A good part of this incorrect information comes from friends, family and celebrities, bubbling up in communities that have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic and facing other hurdles to getting vaccinated. Foreign news outlets and anti-vaccine activists have also aggressively tried to cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines made in the United States and Europe. Misinformation has complicated efforts by some states to reach out to Black and Hispanic residents, particularly when health officials have provided special registration codes for vaccine appointments. Instead of a benefit, in some cases, the codes have become the basis for new false narratives. What might look like, on the surface, as doctors prioritizing communities of colour is being read by some people online as Oh, those doctors want us to go first to be the guinea pigs, said Kolina Koltai, a researcher at the University of Washington who studies online conspiracy theories. Ive seen people on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Clubhouse you name it saying the codes are a way to force the vaccine on communities of colour as an experiment. Research conducted by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation in mid-February showed a striking disparity between racial groups receiving the vaccine in 34 states that reported the data. The state figures vary widely. In Texas, where people who identify as Hispanic make up 42% of the population, only 20% of the vaccinations had gone to that group. In Mississippi, where Black people make up 38% of the population, they received 22% of the vaccinations. According to an analysis by The New York Times, the vaccination rate for Black Americans is half that of white people, and the gap for Hispanic people is even larger. While researchers say a lack of easy access to vaccine sites could be the biggest driver of that shortfall, misinformation is playing a role. The belief that doctors are interested in experimenting on certain communities has deep roots among some groups, Koltai said. Anti-vaccine activists have drawn on historical examples, including Nazi doctors who ran experiments in concentration camps, and the Baltimore hospital where, 70 years ago, cancer cells were collected from Henrietta Lacks, a Black mother of five, without her consent. The thing about misinformation is that it works best when it is built around a kernel of truth. In this case, many communities of colour dont trust the medical establishment because they dont have the best history with it, said Shireen Mitchell, founder of Stop Online Violence Against Women, a group that supports women of colour who are harassed online. An experiment begun in 1932 on nearly 400 Black men in Tuskegee, Alabama, is one of the most researched examples of medical mistreatment of the Black community. Over four decades, scientists observed the men, whom they knew were infected with syphilis but did not offer treatments so that they could study the diseases progression. When the experiment came to light in the 1970s, it was condemned by the medical community as a major violation of ethical standards. Researchers who study disinformation followed mentions of Tuskegee on social media over the last year. While Tuskegee averaged several hundred mentions a week on Facebook and Twitter, there were several noticeable spikes that coincided with the introduction of Covid-19 vaccines, according to Zignal Labs, a media insights company. The final week of November, when pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer announced promising results in their final studies on the safety of their Covid-19 vaccines, mentions of Tuskegee climbed to 7,000 a week. There was another lull until mid-December when the Food and Drug Administration announced it had given emergency approval to the vaccines. Mentions of Tuskegee climbed to nearly 5,000 that week, according to Zignal, with some of the most viral tweets calling the coronavirus vaccines the New Tuskegee study. Doctors say they are battling vaccine hesitancy in other demographic groups, as well. Last month, a poll by the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 23% of Republicans said they would definitely not get vaccinated, while 21% said they probably would not get a coronavirus vaccine. Native American groups have been battling vaccine fears in their communities, and doctors have reported that some of their Chinese American patients have been bringing in articles in Chinese-language media outlets questioning vaccines made in the U.S. Many Black and Hispanic people were already struggling to make appointments and reach vaccination sites that are often in whiter, wealthier neighbourhoods. And officials in some cities say that people from those neighbourhoods also have been flooding vaccination appointment systems and taking supply intended for poorer Black and Hispanic residents. Misinformation about who is allowed to receive the vaccine, when it is available and how it was safety tested has added even more difficulty, Mitchell said. At a mass vaccination site at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, on a recent Friday afternoon, before 68-year-old Anthony Jones agreed to get his shot last month, there was just one last thing he wanted to look up on Facebook. He pulled out his phone and started to tap, waving off his grandson, who had driven him to his appointment. I read something about a woman who died from this thing, and I want to know if she was Black, said Jones, who after several minutes of scrolling could not find the Facebook post he was looking for. You see a lot of stuff on the internet which makes you think, as a Black man, you should not be taking this vaccine. Jones eventually gave up. As he was walking in for his shot he remembered the article he had seen was on WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, and from a website, he did not recognize. My grandson tells me not to believe everything I read on the internet, he said. I like to believe my grandson. The next day, Daniel Lander, 38, was canvassing a neighbourhood in San Jose with Armando Mateos, 28. For the last five months, Lander has been going door to door in a program managed by Working Partnerships USA, a community organization based in Silicon Valley. The group is working with local county officials to help dispel misinformation about the pandemic and vaccines. We hear people say that they saw this or that celebrity sharing something on Twitter or Instagram that made them think the vaccine was a bad idea. People value the opinion of people they look up to, and these celebrities have a lot of influence, Lander said. As they chatted with Rodriguez, a muscular man and an enthusiastic talker, Lander and Mateos said they sympathized with his concerns. They said they had a lot of the same questions, and explained their decision to get the vaccines themselves. Rodriguez asked where they got their shots and how it made them feel. Mateos reflexively touched his left arm, where he had received the vaccine in recent weeks. It hurt, he said, and he wasnt going to sugarcoat it. But he was convinced that it was safe and that it would keep him and his loved ones from getting sick. Theyve read all this stuff online, from different news sources, which is confusing. But then they meet me, as someone who has had the shot, and I can give them some real answers, Mateos said. He added that many people cited articles in the Spanish-language versions of Russian state-backed media networks, Sputnik and Russia Today. They are very down on the American vaccines. People read those stories and dont want to get the shot. As the two men were leaving, Rodriguez yelled out that he would get the shot that week. They made sure he had the phone number and websites he needed to register, and continued down the street. I think I will get it later this week, Rodriguez said. I dont make promises, but I think that theyve convinced me. As the Ides of March approaches, a perennial question returns for John Bryson of Pymble. Why is the Ides of March the 15th day when for most months it is the 13th? In many past Marches I have asked Column 8 this and never got the slightest attention. Somebody must know. Perhaps just blame Julius Caesar. Those Roman senators certainly did. Am I really the only one who sees a huge hammer when looking at the Bunnings logo (C8)? asks Roderick van Gelder of Hunters Hill. Concerned about overdevelopment in your suburb? Follow the cue of Goulburn residents, who fought a plan to replace a 130-year-old house in Hurst Street with a McMansion by swamping the council with dozens of submissions. According to Peter Riley of Penrith, who has been following the case, they ranged from quoting Joni Mitchells Big Yellow Taxi (you dont know what youve got til its gone), through highly professional depositions, to Carmen and Don Fischers description of the proposed house as a behemoth in proportions of pseudo Neo-Georgian facade design. They won. Thats how its done Sydney. The passing reference to Wirths Circus reminded Carole Dawes of Randwick that the Wirths long-held family home is in Coogee. It was one of the first homes built where every bedroom had an en-suite, a luxury compared to life in a travelling circus caravan. As a young child, I remember seeing all sorts of weird and wonderful animals poking their heads over the fence in Arden Street as my dad drove me to school. Having always been intrigued by the gap between a TV studio-based news anchor asking a remote reporter a question and the remote reporter answering the question, usually after quizzical looks and/or nodding, Mark Morgan of Wahroonga wonders if C8ers can come up with a name for this gap? Iran will hold a presidential election in less than three months amid speculation that a hard-liner and a "military man" could succeed Hassan Rohani, who is serving his final term and is under heavy pressure from his hard-line opponents who have consolidated power in the Islamic republic. As with all elections in Iran, potential candidates for the June 18 presidential vote must be vetted by the hard-line Guardians Council, whose members are directly and indirectly appointed by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The country's supreme authority has said publicly that the country should be led by a relatively young and ideologically hard-line president. The presidential election follows last year's parliamentary vote, which resulted in an increase in the number of hard-liners in the legislature due to a historically low turnout as well the disqualification of thousands of more moderate hopefuls. For now, there seems to be minimal interest in the election among increasingly disenchanted Iranians who are struggling to make ends meet amid a continually deteriorating economy that has been crushed by U.S. sanctions and a deadly coronavirus pandemic. "These elections are an important opportunity for conservatives to win control of the elected branches of government after being out of office for eight years," Sanam Vakil, deputy director of Middle East program at Chatham House, told RFE/RL. "To achieve this, though, conservative factions should be unified in their support of a candidate. Moreover, the candidate has to energize Iran's disaffected public. The competition is heating up between Iran's factions as to which group will negotiate with the team of [U.S. President Joe Biden]," she added. Multiple names for the presidency have been floated by the conservatives, who appear to be trying to gauge public sentiment for various hard-liners. Baqer Qalibaf And Ebrahim Raisi Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf -- a one-time aerospace commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), former Tehran police chief, as well as the former mayor of the capital -- has already lost three bids for the presidency. Qalibaf, 59, who has in the past positioned himself as a moderate, faced allegations of corruption during his tenure as mayor. A member of the parliament's presidium, Mohsen Pirhadi, said last month that Qalibaf is not planning to run. But he suggested Qalibaf could help judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi's candidacy if he decides to run. "My understanding is that with the increased likelihood of Raisi standing [for president], Qalibaf is ready to assist him." Others have suggested that Raisi, 60, is looking to succeed octogenarian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is unlikely to jeopardize losing his influential post as judiciary chief. The hard-line cleric, who lacks charisma and is notorious for his role in the mass executions of regime opponents in the 1980s, was defeated in the 2017 presidential election by Rohani. Saeed Mohammad Saeed Mohammad, 53, recently resigned from his powerful post as the head of the IRGC's construction conglomerate, Khatam al-Anbia, citing the likelihood he would take part in the presidential election as the reason. Mohammad has raised his profile in recent months by taking trips to a number of provinces and also on social media, where his hard-line supporters have been campaigning on his behalf and attempting to compare him with former IRGC Quds force commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in early 2020. But he remains little known to the general public and has no political experience. In a recent online post he appeared maskless at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad amid the coronavirus pandemic and said he faces "a difficult road ahead." The daily Sazandegi recently named him as Qalibaf's most serious competitor. Hossein Dehghan Former IRGC commander Hossein Dehghan -- a military adviser to Khamenei and ex-defense minister -- is among the few who have officially announced he would be running for president. Dehghan, 64, has served under a reformist, hard-line, and a moderate president during his career. He has worked to raise his profile and has given several interviews to Western media outlets in recent weeks, including The Guardian, in which he said his candidacy does not indicate a growing militarization in the Islamic republic. Mahmud Ahmadinejad Former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, a one-time protege of Khamenei who fell out of favor with the supreme leader, has been unofficially campaigning for months. But he faces a major obstacle: the Guardians Council, which barred him from running in the last election. Washington-based Iranian analyst Ali Afshari says that, if allowed to run, Ahmadinejad, 64, could be a "game-changer" in the election. "There are indications that the establishment is determined to prevent him from returning to power. But due to his populistic mentality, he is able to make a segment of the society believe his false promises and increase the turnout." The names of Parviz Fattah (60 years old) -- a former IRGC member who heads the giant Mostazafan Foundation, which has more than 150 holdings in key economic sectors -- and Ezatollah Zarghami (61 years old), the former head of the unpopular state broadcaster, have also been mentioned as prospective presidential candidates. Ali Larijani Ali Larijani, 63, the former pragmatic parliament speaker who has come under pressure over his support for Rohani, is reportedly considering a run for president in the hope of getting support from a mix of conservatives and reformists. But analysts say garnering public support could be a big challenge for Larijani, who is a former IRGC officer and left his post as parliament speaker last year. Larijani served as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council from 2005 to 2007 under Ahmadinejad's administration. He has also been a key person within Iran's controversial nuclear program. Mohammad Javad Zarif Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. New Delhi, March 11 : Seen as a polite and courteous leader, the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat, who comes from a humble farmer family, once ran a PCO with his friends during his college days. "The best part of the PCO story is that Tirath Singh did not run the phone booth for himself, but contributed the earnings to his friends like us," said the CM's old friend and BJP worker Sanjeev Chouhan, a resident of Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal. On Thursday morning, Sanjeev Chouhan drove 148 km from Srinagar to Dehradun to present a bouquet of roses to Tirath Singh at his residence. "When he was in the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP, RSS' student wing), I was a small-time party worker. To meet the day-to-day expenses, Tirathji had set up a small PCO (public call office) at the Nagarpalika Marg in Srinagar for us. Whenever Tirathji found time, he used to sit in the PCO," recalled Chouhan (48), who still earns his bread through a small dairy comprising a few buffaloes. Another acquaintance of Tirath Singh's college days, Vikas Kukreti (46), said that politicians like him are hard to find these days. "Our teetotaller CM, who loves to eat 'khichdi', is a very down to earth person. I met him in 1989 when I was studying in Class X. By then, he was an established student leader from the local Garhwal University. During that period, he lived in a one room rented house located near the Nanda Devi Temple in Srinagar. Three years later, when my parents bought a Bajaj scooter for me, I used to offer ride to Tirathji. Whereever he went, I was ready to help him," Kukreti, now a small-time contractor, told IANS over phone. During late '90s, Tirath Singh had become the poster boy of the BJP in Pauri Garhwal. Top BJP leaders in Lucknow, including Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh, had recognised the potential of a young Rawat Tirath Singh. By 1997, he was elected as a member of the UP Vidhan Parishad. "When he (Tirath Singh) became the MLC, we still found him as simple as he was. Though he became an important person, occupied with a lot of political work, his personality certainly remained the same... In fact, he became more courteous, especially with people on the streets," said Narendra Kumar (43), a BJP worker from Kirtninagar area in Srinagar. Top sources in the BJP said that high integrity, polite behaviour and acceptability of Tirath Singh in all factions of Uttrakhand's saffron brigade were the key factors acknowledged by the top leadership in finalising his name as the new CM from the list which had names of several stalwarts. "Eeven when Tirathji was the President of Uttarakhand BJP (2013 to 2015), he never set his sight on the top post (of CM). He never discussed such things with us or his close aides. I think by appointing him as the CM, the party has taken the best decision in favour of the people," said Chouhan. It's no wonder that when Tirath Singh's name was declared as the new CM of the Himalayan state, his first public statement was, "I had never imagined that I would reach here." BJP's unit president on Thursday demanded a CBI probe into the alleged attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying that it needs to be seen whether the incident was a "well-scripted drama" to garner votes. Speaking to reporters, Ghosh said that the people of the state have seen such "drama" earlier as well. "It needs to be probed what actually happened. How come a Z-plus protectee gets attacked is a matter that has to be looked into. The state should order a CBI probe to bring out the truth," he said. "It needs to be seen whether it was a true incident or a well-scripted drama," Ghosh said, referring to Banerjee's photos on the hospital bed with her leg plastered. Ghosh said that "such a drama" to garner sympathy votes, sensing defeat, would not yield any results this time. "The people of the state have seen such drama earlier too. Those who know they would be voted out of power can stoop to any level to get votes," he said. The chief minister is at present undergoing treatment at the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata with injury to her left leg, waist, shoulder and neck, according to doctors. Banerjee alleged on Wednesday evening that during her campaign in Nandigram, she was attacked by four-five men who pushed her, besides banging on her the door of her car, leading to the injuries. The Trinamool Congress alleged that it was a well- planned conspiracy to "remove her" from the poll campaign. "Many people don't want her to campaign for the elections. They want her to be removed from their path. The BJP should be ashamed of themselves that they have stooped so low that they are attacking a woman," TMC leader Sougata Roy 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 60 North African migrants are living in tents in the mountains of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, after abandoning a Red Cross center which they say crammed dozens of them into squalid conditions. About 23,000 migrants made the dangerous Atlantic crossing to the Canary Islands last year, nearly ten times the number from 2019. Expecting a further influx, authorities began housing thousands in camps, drawing criticism from rights groups over inhumane conditions. Now perched on a windswept cliffside near the city of Las Palmas, the makeshift camp has no access to running water and is dangerously exposed to the elements. The men claim they were expelled from the center. Two of them, who did not want to be named, gave their account of the conditions. "They expelled us because we didn't accept sleeping in the same place with 50 other people where COVID quarantine was taking place." "It is a big problem, we don't have anything to eat, we came here to Spain to change how we live. I'm a person not an animal." Speaking to Reuters, a Red Cross spokesman disputed those claims saying We did not ask them to leave. We spoke with all the men involved one by one and encouraged them not to abandon the center." The Red Cross says they left of their own accord, after objecting to being temporarily transferred to larger tents within the same site. The men also complain of drug use and petty crime as well as the cramped conditions. The spokesman says the facilities comply with all sanitary standards. I look forward to working with the Pritzker administration and our budget leaders on how to best appropriate these funds so they meet the needs of our most vulnerable communities, House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch said in a statement. While I know the road to recovery will not be easy, this bill gives us the funds necessary to simultaneously address this health and economic crisis. TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / GlobeX Data Ltd. (OTCQB:SWISF) (CSE:SWIS) (FRA:GDT) ("GlobeX" or the "Company"), the leader in Swiss hosted secure communications and secure data management, is pleased announce that its CEO, Alain Ghiai, joined Steve Darling from Proactive with news to announce that its Swiss hosted secure communications solution, Sekur, is a better alternative to Microsoft business emails, following the Microsoft hacks of its business email services and Exchange servers. GlobeX Data CEO,Alain Ghiai, joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share details that GlobeX Data will soon have their Sekur.com platform available in the United States. This, after a devastating hack of Microsoft's business. Ghiai telling Proactive why their system, which is not associated with Big Tech companies, uses proprietary technology wrapped around military-grade and NIST encryption standards. GlobeX also stores Data in Switzerland for ultimate data privacy. The Interview article and video can also be viewed by click this link: GlobeX Data CEO interview GlobeX's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner. Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved. About GlobeX Data Ltd. GlobeX Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure data management and secure communications. The Company distributes a suite of secure cloud-based storage, disaster recovery, document management, encrypted e-mails, and secure communication tools. GlobeX Data Ltd. sells its products through its approved wholesalers and distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. GlobeX Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide. On behalf of Management GLOBEX DATA LTD. Alain Ghiai President and Chief Executive Officer +1.416.644.8690 corporate@globexdatagroup.com For more information please contact GlobeX Data at corporate@globexdatagroup.com or visit us at https://globexdatagroup.com. For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com. Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. GlobeX cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond GlobeX's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in GlobeX's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, GlobeX undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. SOURCE: GlobeX Data Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/634938/GlobeX-Data-CEO-Interviewed-on-Proactive-to-Announce-it-Sekurcom-is-a-Better-Alternative-Following-Microsoft-Hack-of-Business-Emails "There is are many ways to monetize various banking instruments. We are happy to showcase how the co-operative model works.," said Taimour Zaman, CEO of Line of Credit.Ai Line of Credit.AI has announced an educational video and blog post describing an SBLC Monetization Model using a Co-Operative Model. The video and blog post answer questions such as: What is SBLC Monetization What is unique about the Co-Operative model How companies can leverage the co-operative model to monetize their banking instruments Interested parties can view: https://lineofcredit.ai/f/sblc-monetization-using-co-operative-model "There is are many ways to monetize various banking instruments. We are happy to showcase how the co-operative model works.," said Taimour Zaman, CEO of Line of Credit.Ai Related Website: Lineofcredit.ai SOURCE Line of Credit.AI Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) Justice has not been served in the case of two slain mayors who were earlier linked to the illegal drug trade. It's been nearly three years, and the death of Tanauan Mayor Antonio Halili is still unsolved. "Iyong kaso po ni Mayor Halili ay considered na cold case kaya ito po ay naiturn over namin sa CIDG," Tanauan police officer Rommel Sandoval, who used to handle the case of the slain mayor, told a Senate hearing on Thursday. [Translation: The case of Mayor Halili is considered a cold case so we turned it over to the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group).] In the same hearing, Philippine National Police CIDG Director Albert Ignatius Ferro confirmed Halili's case is already with them, but he did not elaborate on the pending investigation. Halili, who gained notoriety for his "Walk of Shame" campaign against illegal drugs, was shot dead by a sniper as he presided over the flag ceremony on the grounds of Tanauan City Hall in July 2018. He had made headlines for parading people arrested for drug offenses while they were wearing placards saying, "Ako'y pusher. 'Wag tularan (I am a drug peddler. Don't follow my example.)" Meanwhile, the killers of Los Banos Mayor Caesar Perez have not been brought to justice either. Perez was gunned down inside the municipal hall late last year. "A murder case has been filed already against the suspectallegedly a gun for hire, but the suspect is still at large," PLt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar told the Senate inquiry. Perez was part of the list of local politicians with alleged links to the illegal drug trade that was bared by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019. Perez, in a TV interview, denied his alleged drug ties and said the accusations were "politically motivated." An elderly man's dead body was found in a car outside a bustling supermarket store for four days before anyone noticed. The gentleman was discovered in a 4WD parked directly outside The Herdsman food market in the northern Perth suburb of Churchlands on Thursday around 9am. CCTV camera footage revealed he had entered the store four days earlier and had slumped towards the passenger seat after getting in his car. An elderly man's dead body was left in a car outside a bustling food shop for four days before anyone noticed Someone reported a bad smell on Wednesday and police were alerted, reported 7NEWS. The windows of the car were heavily tinted and none of the thousands of customers who reportedly enter the store every day noticed him. Police and firefighters took away the body and car on Thursday, holding sheets around the man as he was removed. The gentleman was discovered in a 4WD parked directly outside The Herdsman food market (pictured) in the northern Perth suburb of Churchlands on Thursday around 9am 'It is very sad, especially for the guys family you know. This is not the way to go,' owner of Herdsman Lottery Centre and Newsagency Ali Sulton said. 'Imagine being left for days without anyone noticing,' another remarked. Police told Daily Mail Australia the death is not being treated as suspicious, the identity of the man is still unknown and a report is being made for the coroner. Roughly 75% of EU buildings are energy inefficient and countries now are looking to retrofit old buildings to prevent a costly leakage of heat. But despite the brainpower invested to make buildings more energy efficient, the design of windows has until recently not used a lot of modern technology, says Ioannis Papakonstantinou, a professor of nanoengineering at University College London, UK. His research project Intelglazing is using new ideas in nanotechnology and photonics (the physics of light) to create nanometre-thin window coatings that better insulate buildings. This had been tried before in industry, but all the previous efforts fell short - they either blocked out too little sunlight or were too expensive to make. If you start blending these (window) coatings with nanotechnology, then you can push the performance boundaries to much higher levels, he said. The Intelglazing glass technology has two parts. The first is a microscopically thin layer of nanostructured glass shaped like tiny hair combs which are less than a micrometre (or one thousandth of a millimetre) in height. These nanocomb structures overlap with each other and scatter sunlight, reducing the glare that enters through the window. The second part is where the windows become energy efficient. Here the researchers are experimenting with a material called vanadium oxide, which can attach to the nanocombs. This chemical compound is thermochromic - meaning it can change its colour depending on the temperature. For example, hot days will cause the vanadium oxide to change its structure, causing it to darken and reject most of the warming near-infrared sunlight, whereas on cold days it will lighten and let most of it in. Manufacturers can apply this layer directly to new windows as a layer of glazing, or DIY retrofitters can apply it to old windows as an adhesive layer of polymer film. An added benefit of this, says Prof. Papakonstantinou, is that manufacturers can customise windows or films with these layers to switch on at a different temperature point. You can change the chemical composition of vanadium dioxide in a way that it can switch at a higher or lower temperature, he said. So you have some quite good control. For example, windows in southern Spain could be customised to block out sunlight at a lower temperature to prevent buildings warming up during the day. Likewise, a building in northern Sweden will want to get as much warmth from the sun as possible, so their windows could only start blocking out sunlight at a higher temperature. Renovation of buildings is carried out all the time It's important that when we do this, that we do it in the most energy efficient way so we don't replace an old window with a poorly performing new window. Professor Per Heiselberg, Aalborg University, Denmark Hydrophobic Windows with this nanocomb-vanadium oxide layer are also hydrophobic (water repellent) - rain quickly runs off the glass and picks up any dirt along the way, making the windows self-cleaning. This makes the windows more efficient when they are used in skyscrapers, for example. The projects aim is for their windows to reduce peoples energy use by 25% by blocking or allowing sunlight when needed, and be more than 50% more efficient compared to existing window tech on the market, since no extra energy is needed to activate the vanadium oxide. In fact, window retrofitting technology has changed drastically since the project started in 2016, says Prof. Papakonstantinou. He says when he first discussed the project in the mid-2010s, nanotechnology in windows was unheard of but now the field has started booming. Professor Per Heiselberg of Aalborg University in Denmark says that discussions on retrofitting buildings has been around for decades, though the environmental element has only recently been a priority. It has been the topic for 40 years, but of course the argumentation has changed, he said. Back in the 1970s he says that people were saving energy so as not to be dependent on countries in the Middle East who had an oligopoly on oil supply. Now the focus is to reduce your carbon emissions and avoid greenhouse gases. Prof Heiselbergs ReCO2ST project is looking at ways to retrofit every surface that envelops a building to be more cost efficient and environmentally friendly. Ventilation systems A central feature of the project is using smart window technology to provide ventilation for retrofitted buildings, where installing modern ventilation systems like air conditioners is difficult or expensive. (A window is usually the) weak part of the envelope because it's typically leaky and not so well insulated, he said. On the other hand, it's also where we get some heat from the sun into our buildings. The main idea is to use smart windows to both provide better shade from the sun and supply fresh air into a building. This is especially useful for older buildings retrofitted with modern windows. Since these modern windows are more airtight they can cause moisture and emissions to build up in the building, which might require another costly retrofit of the buildings ventilation system. It can be difficult - especially in old buildings - to find space for pipes and ventilation systems to supply fresh air to the spaces and all spaces usually have access to the outside through a window, said Prof. Heiselberg. It would be more cost effective if, instead of installing both a new window and a ventilation system, we use the window for supply of fresh air, and then we use the chimneys or the stacks you have in old buildings for the exhaust of the air. Their smart window idea is based on research done in a previous EU project called CLIMAWIN. In their triple-glazed window frame there is a small gap (around 5mm wide) at the bottom level on the outside. This gap allows air to pass in between the windows glazing layers and be warmed by sunlight. It then enters the room through a small valve at the top of the window facing inside the building. The result is a preheated draft of fresh air through the window that can then leave the building through another ventilation exhaust. At the moment the team is experimenting with different materials that can store latent heat in the windows during the day and then release it at night, says Prof. Heiselberg. During a time where we have sunshine, we can collect and store it, he said. And then we also have the possibility to preheat air in periods where the sun is not shining. This material could also be shaded from the sun during the summer so that instead of storing latent heat, it instead cools the air passing through it. Another idea being developed is fitting the windows with sensors to know the optimal time to store and release heat, and adding miniature fans to control the direction of the airflow. Renovation of buildings is carried out all the time because components have a certain lifetime and need to be replaced, said Prof. Heiselberg. It's important that when we do this, that we do it in the most energy efficient way so we don't replace an old window with a poorly performing new window. The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media. DEAR ABBY: I am an out-and-proud lesbian who recently celebrated 10 years as a couple and three years of marriage to my wife. I worked as a professional nanny for many years, and Im still extremely close to the first family I worked for. Although we have known each other for years, they still ask me not to mention my marriage when Im around their kids. They refer to my wife as my roommate. Its all I can do to bite my tongue. I have ignored this for too long. I recently invited them over to see my new home. Because of their conservative views, I warned them in advance about the wedding photos I have displayed. Im not ashamed of my life. I am extremely proud of myself and my wife. I am hurt and offended by their requests. I feel they only accept certain parts of me. I realize its unhealthy to continue this way, but Im terrified of losing them. Im usually a straightforward person. I feel open communication is important with everyone else in my life. But I have lost relationships before because, no matter how respectful I tried to be, honesty can sometimes be hard to hear. How can I be honest without angering this couple, and whats the best way to start this conversation? -- OUTSPOKEN NANNY DEAR NANNY: If your former employers think they can censor their childrens world to omit the fact that perfectly nice people, including one they love, are gay, theyre dreaming. Kids today are very worldly. When the parents started calling your wife your roommate, you should have corrected them then and TOLD them it was offensive and hurtful. Invite them to your home and leave your wedding photos displayed. Why you are terrified that your relationship with them will end because youre living your authentic life mystifies me. If they cant handle the truth, you and your wife are better off without them. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips. ** ** ** DEAR ABBY: My husbands brother has two kids, both of whom are now adults. The older one is in their second year of college; the younger one will graduate from high school this spring. We havent missed a single birthday for either one. The only time we see them is when theres a birthday or its Christmas (with a few exceptions, like the occasional funeral). I think its time to stop the annual birthday gifts. Were not particularly close, and Im tired of the forced merriment when its clear they are only after the gift. How do I tell the parents and the grandparents there will be no more gifts for birthdays without sounding like a stingy old aunt? -- GIFTED OUT IN MICHIGAN DEAR GIFTED OUT: Unless you want to make a change immediately, hang in there until the younger child reaches 21. At that point, put the parents/grandparents on notice that because the kids are now adults, you will be sending cards rather than gifts. ** ** ** Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. ** ** ** To receive a collection of Abbys most memorable -- and most frequently requested -- poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. Shipping and handling are included in the price. (EDITORS: If you have editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush, sroush@amuniversal.com.) COPYRIGHT 2021 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500 The European Union has extended powers that allow it to block exports of coronavirus vaccines until at least June as its jab drive fails to gather pace. The laws were rushed into force in January amid an almighty row between the EU and AstraZeneca, which saw Eurocrats accuse the drug-maker of sending doses meant for the continent to Britain. Since then the rules have been used just once, to block a shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca vaccines going from Italy to Australia, but EU vaccine tsar Thierry Breton has hailed their effectiveness as a deterrent. As a result the EU has been forced to deny allegations of 'vaccine nationalism', with Council President Charles Michel attempting to flip the script and yesterday accusing the UK of putting 'an outright ban' on exports instead. The remark sparked fury in London as Boris Johnson denied that a single dose had been blocked, after which an EU spokesman admitted that no such ban existed. The EU has extended laws that allow it to block vaccines being exported from member states to foreign countries until at least June to boost its vaccine drive, which is well behind the UK Mr Michel refused to apologise, however, instead qualifying his initial statement to say instead that there are 'different ways of imposing bans or restrictions'. The EU is presiding over one of the world's slowest vaccination campaigns, and has given at least one dose to just seven per cent of its population so far. Meanwhile the UK has given at least one dose to 33 per cent of the population. Britain is also injecting people much faster, at a rate of 0.52 per hundred per day, almost double the European average of 0.25 per hundred. EU red tape, supply bottlenecks and scaremongering around AstraZeneca's vaccine have all been blamed as thee cause. In the latest development, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia all suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday to examine a possible link to blood clots after and Austrian woman died. That is despite Europe's medical regulator saying that there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots. It is not the first time European nations have defied their own regulator over the jab. Europe has administered at least one dose of vaccine to just seven per cent of its population compared to 33 per cent in the UK after supply issues and red tape left the EU short on jabs Last month several countries - Austria and Denmark among them - restricted use of the vaccine to over-65s despite regulators saying it was safe for all age groups. Speaking about export controls, EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said: 'Since the measure was introduced, shipments were authorised to more than 30 countries.' 'This confirms that even during a very critical health situation, the EU has made a considerable effort to be a reliable and responsible trading partner.' The World Health Organization has criticised measures restricting vaccine exports and warned against 'vaccine nationalism' undermining global efforts to defeat the pandemic. Figures related to the export monitoring scheme, shared with EU diplomats and seen by AFP, reveal that 34 million doses of vaccines produced in the EU were exported to countries outside the bloc between February 1 and March 9. This includes 9.1 million to Britain - more than a third of the total doses administered in that country so far. Brussels has accused London of operating a de facto export ban, a claim furiously denied by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government. EU officials are in a dispute with UK-based AstraZeneca over the supply shortfall, which has undermined the bloc members' huge collective vaccine purchasing effort. Charles Michel, head of the EU council, denied this week that the block amounted to 'vaccine nationalism' by pointing the finger of blame at Britain - before being forced to backtrack The EU contract with the company specifies that doses are to come from factories in both the EU and the UK, but so far the British plants have exclusively focused on the British contract. 'The EU exports very significant volumes of Covid-19 vaccines, true to our commitment to global solidarity,' Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said. 'Yet not all companies are honouring their agreements with the EU despite having received a down-payment to enable sufficient production,' she said. 'We will insist that compliance is ensured and we will continue to work with companies to ramp up production in Europe as quickly as possible.' The European Commission has not ruled out launching legal action and there have been calls in some capitals for an EU export ban. But so far the only concrete action was last week's decision to block the shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca doses to Australia. Samantha Armytage's final day at Sunrise on Thursday was definitely memorable. Before officially signing off, weatherman Sam Mac serenaded the departing host to the melody of Time of Your Life (Good Riddance) by Green Day. But things took an awkward turn when the Sam, 39, referenced Samantha's recent comments in Stellar magazine that 'TV was full of sociopaths and narcissists' during his song. That's awkward! Sunrise weatherman Sam Mac (pictured) serenaded departing host Samantha Armytage and referred to her recent comment in Stellar magazine that 'TV was full of sociopaths and narcissists' during his song Sam broke out his guitar and said: 'It's an emotional day and obviously I speak to you best in song Sam. So I thought I'd do a little something to say goodbye.' He started singing: 'So now the time has come, Samantha is moving on. And despite repeated requests I'm doing another song.' 'So many memories and you will be sorely missed. But it's time to say goodbye to the sociopaths and narcissists,' he continued as Samantha burst into laughter. 'Everyone say goodbye and wave if you're one of them. It wasn't me Sam, was it? You weren't referring to me?' he asked. Making fun: Before officially signing off, Sam serenaded the departing host to the melody of Time of Your Life by Green Day, but things took an awkward turn when he referenced her recent comments that 'TV was full of sociopaths and narcissists' While the weather presenter made light of her remarks, it's rumoured some of the comments Sam made during her interview with Stellar magazine last month, actually 'angered her colleagues and bosses at Seven'. During the interview, Samantha said the TV industry is 'a dangerous environment'. 'TV isn't a place that's necessarily very healthy,' she told the publication. 'It's full of sociopaths and narcissists - it can be a dangerous environment, let me tell you.' Not happy: While the weather presenter made light of her comments in Stellar magazine, it's rumoured some of her remarks in the article actually 'angered her colleagues and bosses at Seven' She also divided opinions by sharing her view on how women are treated differently in the workplace if they're married with children. Samantha said she'd been assigned more work than her female colleagues in the past simply because she was unmarried and childless. Many readers took issue with the fact the piece seemed to pit women against each other based on their family situation. The breakfast host also used the interview to bemoan her 'creative side' wasn't being properly used as she launched her new podcast called Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage. The podcast is produced in conjunction with the News Corp-owned Stellar, where Armytage writes a weekly column. Claims: During the interview, Samantha said the TV industry is 'a dangerous environment'. She also divided opinions by sharing her view on how women are treated differently in the workplace if they're married with children History of Samantha Armytage's highs and lows January 2014: Samantha is criticised for 'offending strippers' by joking about her new 'stripper heels' March 2014: Khloe Kardashian cut off her interview on Sunrise over questions about her niece North West March 2015: Samantha accused of racism after appearing to congratulate a woman for looking whiter than her twin February 2016: Samantha is dropped as host of a UN refugee fundraiser over a cringe-worthy segment with Sex and The City star Kristin Davis 2017: She joined News Corp Australia lifestyle magazine Stellar as a columnist June 2017: The Sunrise host ruffled feathers when she took aim at George Clooney's wife Amal and her post-baby body March 2018: She is criticised for claiming at-risk Aboriginal children were only being placed with family members of other Indigenous families. The comments ignited protests outside Sunrise's Sydney studio June 2020: Samantha sued for racial vilification over 2018 discussion which suggested a second stolen generation was needed to help Aboriginal children December 2020: The Sunrise host marries millionaire businessman Richard Lavender on New Year's Eve February 2021: She launches her own podcast - Something To Talk About with Samantha Armytage March 2021: She divides opinion after claiming women are treated better in the workplace when they are married with children in her column for Stellar magazine Advertisement Speculation mounted that she would be gone from the Sunrise chair following the incendiary magazine interview. On Monday morning, she tearfully announced on-air she would be leaving breakfast television after eight years, saying she was going out on her own terms. 'The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise. I have always been brave and fearless in my career and this decision is no different,' she said. She explained she was leaving of her own choosing, and was looking forward to life away from the spotlight after a 'bittersweet' year that included the death of her mother, Libby, and her marriage to businessman Richard Lavender. Sam's $800,000-a-year contract expires towards the end of the year, and she will take an 'extended' leave of absence until then, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. While Seven has not yet announced Sam's replacement, TV Blackbox reports newsreader Natalie Barr will be stepping in alongside co-anchor David 'Kochie' Koch. Time to say goodbye: Sam, who joined Sunrise in 2013, tearfully announced her resignation on Monday. 'The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise. I have always been brave and fearless in my career and this decision is no different,' she said National political advisers attend the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on Wednesday. [ZHAI JIANLAN/XINHUA] CPPCC National Committee wraps up annual session As China embarks on a new journey for the next five years and beyond, political advisers should help achieve unity and build consensus, the nation's top political adviser said on Wednesday. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conferencean important channel for resolving conflicts and building consensusshould do more to promote policies, respond to people's doubts and call for unity, said Wang Yang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. He made the remark in a speech to about 2,100 national political advisers at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the meeting with other leaders. At the meeting, the advisers approved a resolution on a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, a resolution on a report on the handling of political advisers' proposals since the previous annual session, a report on the examination of new proposals, and a political resolution on the fourth session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. Wang said political advisers pooled their wisdom during the weeklong event by conducting thorough discussions on key reports and the draft 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). He stressed that the nation's top political advisory body must always regard upholding and strengthening the CPC's leadership as its fundamental political principle and responsibility in order to consolidate and expand the mass foundation for the Party's governance. Wang called on all members to use the Party's innovative theory to promote political unity and cooperation, and to achieve common progress and unity in action. "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the guiding ideology that the Party and the country must adhere to for a long time," he said. "Entering a new stage of development, it's urgently needed to bring people closer to each other and forge stronger consensus." Wang called for more innovative methods from political advisers to contact people from different walks of life, including the lecture tours given by members on major Party and State affairs, in order to pool concerted efforts and wisdom. Pan Xinyang, a political adviser from Taiwan, said he will listen to the opinions and ideas of Taiwan compatriots more often and make corresponding suggestions to the government. Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, a political adviser from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said this year will also be a significant year for the SAR and it's important to ensure the city is administered by patriots. "There will be much work to be done, but I'm confident Hong Kong will resume its vibrancy," he said. Mo Jingxi contributed to this story. Sorry! This content is not available in your region Queenslands LNP has put out the call for entrepreneurs to come up with an environmentally friendly straw that is actually enjoyable to drink out of after plastic straws were outlawed. Laws passed in Queensland this week will ban plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and plates as well as polystyrene foam food containers and cups from September 1. The paper straw just doesn't cut it for a smoothie. Credit:Kate Hedley The ban was supported by the LNP but Opposition Leader David Crisafulli noted there had been a lot of pushback about the quality of some of those straws. We are the entrepreneurial state, we are the environmental state, surely we can come up with something that doesnt float at the bottom of your drink. CHICO, Calif. - A Chico State professor faces a maximum of three years in state prison for possession of child porn, according to Butte County District Attorney, Mike Ramsey. The Butte County District Attorneys Office announced Thursday it has completed its review of reports alleging a Chico university professor possessed a hundred images of child porn and has filed a felony criminal complaint charging him with possession of child porn. 64-year-old Laird Easton, a professor of history at CSUC was arrested after a search and arrest warrant was issued by a local judge based on a sheriffs office investigation, according to District Attorney, Mike Ramsey. The investigation disclosed a person tied to Lairds personal and university email accounts had downloaded and uploaded child porn images to the internet. Ramsey said Easton was arrested at his home in Chico on Jan. 21, 2021. The home was searched for electronic devices and cell phones. At the same time, Chico University Police searched Lairds university office computers. Ramsey said after his arrest, Laird was transported to the Butte County Jail where he later posted a $75,000 bail bond and was released. Ramsey said an extensive forensic download of Eastons electronic devices seized during the search warrants revealed the suspected child porn images. Ramsey said Laird is scheduled for arraignment in Butte County on the possession charge on April 9, 2021. Sec. of State Shirley Weber Releases Report Counting Women on California Corporate Boards Last week, California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber released the states third report counting the number of women on corporate boards in compliance with Senate Bill 826, which became law in September 2018. The report found an increase in the number of women on the boards of publicly held corporations based in California. Each one has at least one woman on its board of directors. A total of 311 corporations are now in compliance with the law, up from 282 as documented in the March 2020 report. The continued growth of diversity among corporate leadership that is representative of California is important to ensuring an equitable economy and inclusive California, Weber said. We are thrilled to see an increase in publicly held companies that have diversified their boards. ADVERTISEMENT The Women on Boards law, which was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in Sept. 2018, requires publicly held corporations whose principal executive offices are held in California to have a minimum of one female member on its board of directors. The bill also mandates that minimum number to increase to two female directors if the corporation has five directors, or to three female directors if the corporation has six or more directors, by the end of 2021. At the time of the laws passing, one-fourth of publicly held corporations based in California had no women directors on their boards. We continue to analyze the data that we have collected to date and are excited about the opportunity we have to educate corporations about the new requirements that take effect by the end of 2021, said Weber, who was serving as an Assemblymember in the California Legislature representing the 79th district in the San Diego metropolitan area when the bill passed. The information in the report is compiled from annual corporate filings with the California Secretary of State. As of January 2019, publicly traded corporations disclosure statements to the Secretary of State have included a question on whether they are in compliance with the Women on Boards legislation. This year is also the first reporting year for a similar law that requires more representation of people of color on corporate boards. Underrepresented Communities on Boards (AB 979), which was signed into law Sept. 2020, requires California-based publicly held corporations to have at least one board member from an under-represented group by the end of 2021. Taking aspirin pills may help protect against coronavirus infection, a study suggests. The common, cheap and safe drug is often prescribed to prevent heart disease and stroke as well as a regular over-the-counter painkiller. Data from more than 10,000 people who were tested for Covid between February and June 2020 revealed one aspirin tablet (75mg) a day led to a 29 per cent lower risk of catching the virus. It remains unknown exactly how aspirin may prevent coronavirus infection but the authors believe its antiviral properties come from an ability to change how the immune system responds to the pathogen. Scroll down for video Aspirin is a common, cheap and safe drug which is often prescribed to prevent heart disease and stroke as well as a regular over-the-counter painkiller. It may also help protect against coronavirus infection WHAT IS ASPIRIN? Aspirin is an everyday painkiller for aches and pains such as headache, toothache and period pain. It can also be used to treat colds and "flu-like" symptoms, and to bring down a high temperature. It is also known as acetylsalicylic acid. Aspirin is also available combined with other ingredients in some cold and flu remedies. You can buy most types of aspirin from pharmacies, shops and supermarkets. Some types are only available on prescription. It comes as tablets or suppositories medicine that you push gently into your anus. It also comes as a gel for mouth ulcers and cold sores. If you've had a stroke or heart attack or are at high risk of a heart attack, your doctor may recommend that you take a daily low-dose aspirin. This is different to taking aspirin for pain relief. Only take low-dose aspirin if your doctor recommends it. Source: NHS Advertisement Findings from the study, conducted by Israeli researchers at Leumit Health Services, Bar-Ilan University and Barzilai Medical Center, were published last month in The FEBS Journal. 'This observation of the possible beneficial effect of low doses of aspirin on COVID-19 infection is preliminary but seems very promising,' says study leader Professor Eli Magen from the Barzilai Medical Center. Data of patients from a database was analysed and the proportion of people on aspirin was lower among people with COVID-19 than those who tested negative. Seventy-three people who tested positive were taking aspirin, accounting for one in nine of all positive cases. However, 16 per cent of people (roughly one in six) who tested negative were taking aspirin. The reduction in risk from one to the other is more than a quarter (29 per cent). On average, the people taking aspirin were 14 years older; were overweight but not obese, unlike the non-aspirin group; and more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure and COPD. The researchers also found that while people on aspirin are less likely to catch coronavirus, they also recover quicker if they do contract the virus. The average time between a patient's first positive test and their second negative test drops from 21.9 days to 19.8 days when they use aspirin daily. 'A large, nation-wide study revealed that the use of aspirin is associated with a decreased likelihood of a positive COVID-19 test result,' the researchers write. It remains unknown exactly how aspirin may prevent coronavirus infection but the authors believe its antiviral properties come from an ability to change how the immune system responds to the pathogen. When the body detects a viral infection it produces interferon I (IFN) which controls the cellular response to the invader. However, RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, escape recognition by evading IFN. The virus does this by forcing the body to make more of a chemical called prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) which inhibits IFN as well as causing the destruction of some white blood cells. 'As low-dose aspirin inhibits PGE2 biosynthesis, this mechanism might enhance anti-viral immunity via induction of type I IFN,' the researchers write. They add that their findings are 'preliminary, yet intriguing' and call for further research into its potential. Taking aspirin every other day slashes the risk of dying from breast cancer by a quarter, a new study claims One study already doing exactly this is the RECOVERY trial, a world-leading project headed up by the University of Oxford. It is the largest and most comprehensive study investigating which drugs are beneficial to hospitalised Covid-19 patients in the world. It revealed the steroid dexamethasone and the arthritis drugs tocilizumab and sarilumab are effective at helping treat Covid-19. Dexamethasone is a 5 drug which reduces risk of dying by up to 35 per cent on its own. However, further research found people who only received dexamethasone still had a death rate of 35.8 per cent but this dropped to just 25.3 per cent when they were also given a single dose of either tocilizumab or sarilumab which costs around 1,000 per treatment. All three are now approved for use on the NHS. Other drugs and treatments have been investigated and subsequently dismissed by RECOVERY, including anti-gout drug colchicine and the arthritis drug azithromycin. The only drugs currently under investigation by RECOVERY are: Regenerons antibody cocktail; aspirin; arthritis drug Baricitinib; and Dimethyl fumarate, an immunomodulatory drug used in psoriasis and multiple sclerosis. Trials are ongoing at almost 200 sites worldwide, including almost 40,00 participants. Results of the aspirin arm are not expected for several of weeks. [March 11, 2021] Explore Your Career Potential at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China At the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), more than 2,000 students graduate each year with excellent academic qualifications and transferable skills. "Through combining innovative and interactive teaching pedagogies and world-class teaching facilities, UNNC will encourage you to think creatively, develop new ideas, and empower you with the necessary skills to become excellent global citizens," says Professor May Tan-Mullins, Vice-Provost for Teaching and Learning. These are the future-proof skills and international gravitas that make UNNC graduates stand out to employers. UNNC graduates have secured jobs with prominent Chinese employers such as the Bank of China. On a global scale, alumni can be found excelling in leading multinational organisations such as Boeing (News - Alert) , Amazon, Hilton, IKEA, KPMG, Nestle, Standard Chartered Bank, DHL, Google, and more. UNNC's high-quality British education is delivered at its campus in Ningbo, Chin. Lectures and seminars are held entirely in English, just as they are at the University of Nottingham UK. There are 29 undergraduate courses and 18 postgraduate taught courses to choose from, guided by academics who are, in many cases, world authorities in their fields. They are either seconded from Nottingham or appointed to the University of Nottingham's standards. Research and learning materials are also imported from the UK and elsewhere. "UNNC is a great university to start the journey towards a professional career, not only because of its education but also because of all the advice and support given to students during their job hunting." says Clara Martinez Naranjo, a Spanish student who majored in BA International Communications as an exchange student. Established in 2004, UNNC's 144-acre campus is now home to over 8,000 students and where 60 countries and regions around the world are represented. Over 900 members of staff are split across academic and professional services, ensuring personalised support all around. To begin experiencing first-hand a student experience like no other in China, click here. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310006092/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 11, 2021] Small and Mid-Sized Businesses Lead the Transition to Working from Anywhere RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG), a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today announced the findings of its 2021 State of Hybrid Work report, an in-depth look at how small and medium businesses (SMBs) are managing their workforces during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report includes findings from interviews with over 1,000 respondents from companies employing from one to a hundred employees. It suggests that the majority of small and medium businesses have already embraced people working from anywhere and plan to support a mix of in-office and remote working for the long term future. According to these findings, while the majority of organizations plan to support a hybrid workforce post-pandemic, smaller businesses are the early movers today. "The way businesses connect and communicate has fundamentally changed and perhaps contrary to popular opinion, SMBs are at the forefront of this change," said Faiza Hughell, senior vice president, SMB at RingCentral (News - Alert) . "The pandemic forced small businesses to rapidly adapt causing a shift in attitude towards remote work. Now SMBs have emerged as early adopters of hybrid work, leading the charge when it comes to supporting employees working from anywhere." Five major themes in the report include: SMBs are shifting to hybrid work, now and in the future: Small and medium businesses were typically operating either completely or mostly in-office pre-COVID. According to the data, the majority of businesses are already shifting to hybrid work, with 3 in 5 businesses partially remote. Most respondents expect their organizations to eventually return to work in a less office-dependent way, as 67% say they don't anticipate returning to the office 5 days a week post-COVID. Attitudes toward remote work have evolved: SMBs, and especially companies with 51 to 100 emploees, may view remote work as more of an asset than a hindrance. According to the study, 66% of respondents view remote working positively and 1 in 3 view their workplace as "extremely remote-friendly." Disconnection at work is on the rise: Interactions (News - Alert) at work have clearly dropped, as more than one-fourth of respondents say they have less frequent work interactions with coworkers, customers, and prospects. However, most expect the amount of in-person interaction to increase slightly in a year's time, but according to the data, interactions won't return to pre-COVID levels. Pre-COVID, 44% of respondents said that more than 75% of their job involves interacting with coworkers and customers in person. Now, it's dropped to 29% and respondents expect it to go to 36% in a year. Productivity levels remain mostly consistent: According to respondents, the amount of work they are able to accomplish has mostly stayed the same, with 3 in 5 reporting that their productivity levels have remained consistent during the past few months, while only 1 in 4 businesses have experienced a decrease in productivity. Businesses are using a variety of communication modes to work productively from anywhere: Businesses conveyed that they are using phone calls, texts, team messaging, and video meetings more frequently, with younger employees (age 18-39) preferring team messaging and video and older employees (age 55+) preferring email and phone communication. One third of respondents have a more positive view of video meetings vs. six months ago. RingCentral has published a full overview of the report online, along with a blog that provides a detailed analysis of the study, and dives into the actions that employees and business owners are taking in light of these findings. Methodology RingCentral and Bredin Inc. conducted an online survey among US companies with 1 to 100 employees. A total of 1,000 individuals completed the survey. Research was conducted between October 8-19, 2020. Characteristics of survey respondents: The majority of respondents hold a principal position or are individual contributors. Companies fully open for business represented 61%, companies open on a limited basis represented 34%, and companies closed with plans to reopen represented 5%. 62% of respondents are aged 56-74, 18% aged 40-55, 10% aged 24-39, 9% aged 75+, and 1% aged 18-23. The majority of respondents represent companies that are 2-20+ years old. Industries represented include professional services (32%), retail/wholesale (27%), personal services/training (22%), and manufacturing (19%). About RingCentral RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG) is a leading provider of business cloud communications and contact center solutions based on its powerful Message Video Phone (News - Alert) ????(MVP) platform. More flexible and cost effective than legacy on-premise PBX and video conferencing systems that it replaces, RingCentral empowers modern mobile and distributed workforces to communicate, collaborate, and connect via any mode, any device, and any location. RingCentral offers three key products in its portfolio including RingCentral Office?, a Unified Communications (News - Alert) as a Service (UCaaS) platform including team messaging, video meetings, and a cloud phone system; Glip???the company's free video meetings solution with team messaging that enables Smart Video Meetings; and RingCentral cloud Contact Center ?solutions. RingCentral's open platform integrates with leading third party business applications and enables customers to easily customize business workflows. RingCentral is headquartered in Belmont, California, and has offices around the world. ? 2021 RingCentral, Inc. All rights reserved. RingCentral, Message Video Phone, MVP, RingCentral Office, Glip, Smart Video Meetings, and the RingCentral logo are trademarks of RingCentral, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005150/en/ [ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ] New Delhi: The leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue are set to hold the maiden QUAD summit on Friday (March 12). Leaders from Australia, India, Japan and the United States will be attending the summit which aims to discuss a variety of global issues ranging from COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis and climate change. The White house Press Secretary Jen Psaki, in an address to the media, said "That President Biden has made this one of his earliest multilateral engagements speaks to the importance we place on close cooperation with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific." "A range of issues, course, we expect to be discussed, I should say, facing the global community from the threat of COVID-19 to economic cooperation and, of course, to the climate crisis," she added. Here is all you need to know before the meet: The first virtual QUAD summit of the leaders of India, Australia, Japan, and the US was announced by the external affairs ministry on Tuesday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden in the first Leaders Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework, being held virtually, the ministry said in a statement. The leader can use Quad Summit as an opportunity to exchange views on contemporary challenges such as resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security, and climate change, the statement added. The world leaders will exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, read the ministrys statement. The leaders of four countries will also review and map out efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and explore opportunities for collaboration in ensuring safe, equitable and affordable vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad grouping was established in 2007 to showcase what democracies can deliver together for both their own populations and also the broader international public. Earlier, India has urged the other QUAD members to invest in its vaccine production to enhance its capacity as an attempt to counter China's widening vaccine diplomacy in the world. SPRINGFIELD In expanding its solicitation of new marijuana businesses, the city has scheduled presentations from 18 potential applicants next week. The presentations will be March 15 and 18, beginning at 6 p.m. both dates. They will be conducted online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those interested in watching the presentations live can do so by registering at focusspringfield.com/marijuana-hearing. The presentations may also be viewed on citys Office of Communications Facebook page. They will be recorded and aired on Focus Springfields TV channel as well. The city, in its second round of marijuana business applications, will authorize up to four adult-use retail shops and at least one cultivation business. Formal proposals are due by March 22 at 2 p.m. at the Office of Procurement at City Hall. Next weeks public presentations are strictly voluntary, and not a requirement for submitting a proposal, said Theo Theocles, the citys deputy procurement director. The 18 companies that chose to participate were not required to reveal their proposed locations, and many did not submit those and other details, officials said. Each potential applicant is limited to a 15-minute presentation. The presentations are directed to a city review committee and the public. The companies must also separately advertise and conduct community meetings prior to any city or state approval, under state law. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the citys review team, including its legal consultant, Julie Steiner, is committed to conducting a fair and transparent evaluation process for applications. This second round of applications will continue my administrations goal of trying to maximizing the citys revenue potential and just as important create new jobs while balancing the concerns of our residents, neighborhoods and public safety, Sarno said. The city will conduct an internal review and announce the names of applicants qualifying for the right to negotiate host community agreements with the city on April 12. Companies scheduled to make presentations on March 15 are: Hoop City Ventures, 357 Cottage St., the former Lime Light Pub; manager-owner Richard Rainone Page Cultivate LLC, 299 Page Blvd (lot 2); manager David A. Goodman Lemonnade Springfield, 595 Main St.; corporate records not found The House of Cannabis LLC, site not disclosed; managers Foster Jacobs, Longmeadow, and Alphonzia Jacobs Jr., Springfield KUR Retailers, 461 Boston Road, once the site of Russells Restaurant ; managers Ezra Parzybok, Florence, and Bay State Canna Holdings of East Longmeadow; president Sabino Cara Seashore Enterprise LLC, site not disclosed; managers Chun Wa Tam and Jordon Raftis of Avon Boston Bud Factory, site not disclosed; manager Carlo Sarno, Longmeadow, director Frank Dailey, Springfield Primus LLC, 666 State St.; manager-owner Lamont Clemons of Springfield American Transport of Springfield; 3rd party transporter; 200 Taylor St. Companies scheduled to make presentations on March 18 are: Green Gold Group, site not disclosed; registered agent James McMahon of North Brookfield, president and director Rafael Aronov of Northfield, directors Jacob and Zhana Aronov of Brookfield Green Leaf Dispensary LLC, 1168 Boston Road, the site of Palate Restaurant; manager Hasmukhkumar Patel Verdant Reparative Inc., site not disclosed; registered agent/president Tito Jackson of Dorchester Apical Inc., 785 Page Blvd., a former car repair shop; registered agent/president Kot Kasom of Easthampton, directors Tiffanie Kim, Leak of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, Leakhena Som of Southampton, Lar Teng of Amherst and Monica Keo of Providence, Rhode Island Origins Investment Inc., site not disclosed; Edgardo Curet of Boston Diem Springfield LLC, 1685 Boston Road, the former Macys at the Eastfield Mall; manager Christopher Mitchem of Portland, Oregon 732 Cottage Street LLC, corporate records not found RelaxMD LLC, site not disclosed;, signatory Richard Laguerre. Tree N Brick LLC. site at 1860 Main St. manager/resident agent Taylor Shubrick of Springfield. Delivery service. In the first round of applications in 2019, Sarno and the City Council approved four retail marijuana shops out of 27 applicants. Liberty Springfield opened the citys first recreational marijuana shop in November at 1300 Boston Road. The three other shops, all in the process of opening, are: Insa Inc. at the former Luxe Burger Bar, 1200 West Columbus Ave.; 311 Page Blvd. LLC at that address in East Springfield; and 6 Bricks LLC, a first-floor tenant of The Republican property at 1860 Main St. Women sent the first computer into space and programmed some of the 1970's most iconic computer games; nevertheless, women are invisible in both the history and culture of computer science DISSEMINATION AWARD: Women sent the first computer into space and programmed some of the 1970's most iconic computer games. Nevertheless, women are invisible in both the history and culture of computer science. Professor Pernille Bjrn wants to change all that, and in doing so, promote increased diversity in the tech world. On March 8, Professor Bjrn will receive the SCIENCE Dissemination Award for her work highlighting women in computer science. Pernille Bjoern. In 2015, Pernille Bjrn became the first woman to be appointed to a professorship at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Computer Science. Photo: Emilie Thejll-Madsen Computer science began as a women's field. Thousands of women helped crack Nazi Germany's Enigma Code during World War II. Thereafter, important calculations made by women during the space race made it possible to send humans into space. Right up until the 1980s, in countries like the United States and Denmark, there were more women in the tech industry and twice as many women in computer science educational programmes than there are today. So, what explains the downward trend? In 2015, Pernille Bjrn became the first woman to be appointed to a professorship at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Computer Science. Since then, she has been working to understand why the many women who were once part of the computer world have since become a minority. On March 8, Pernille Bjrn will receive the SCIENCE Dissemination Award along with DKK 25,000 for her extensive work in disseminating her research on, among other things, women in computer science and the highlighting of gender diversity in the field of computer science. It is an issue that, according to her, is partly rooted in how history gets written. "The fact that we now have too few women in computer science in much of the Western world stems in part from the fact that we have not heard enough about the achievements of successful women. We mainly hear about male tech personalities like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, while women pioneers in tech tend to be invisible when reading through the history books," explains Pernille Bjrn. Tracked down female game developers in the United States To investigate why fewer women are interested in computer science today, Pernille Bjrn began researching the topic in 2016, parallel to her main research area, Computer Supported Cooperative Work, which deals with how people collaborate virtually. "For me, it is important to study the gender imbalance in computer science as a research agenda--not as a recruitment project. In order to bring about change and greater gender balance, we need to understand the problem. I don't want to change women so that they 'fit in' with computer science. I would like to change the field of computer science so that different types of people can recognize themselves and experience that they too can be successful here," explains Pernille Bjrn. As a result of her research, the "Atari Women" project has now seen the light of day. It tells the story of 13 women game developers in the U.S. during the 1970's and 80's. Among other things, they developed iconic games including Warlords and Centipede. During a research stay at the University of Washington, Pernille Bjrn tracked these women down so that she could share their story with the world. "Hopefully it will contribute to the history of gaming and make it clear that there is nothing new about the participation of women in gaming culture. Women were there from the get go, are still here and will maintain their presence in the future," she says. Pernille Bjrn's main research area is Computer Supported Cooperative Work, which deals with how people collaborate virtually. Photo: Emilie Thejll-Madsen. Wikipedia is a man To spotlight the stories of female game developers, Professor Bjrn began an online 'Wikipedia edit-a-thon' with Microsoft in Seattle in 2019. Here, the goal was to contribute the stories of the Atari Women to Wikipedia. "If we are going to change the narrative of computer science, we must also change the story, so that women are rightfully acknowledged for their place in it. Now, their story is included on Wikipedia and elsewhere. If you're going to reference something, that's where you head," she says. Her work continued in 2020. Along with with one of her students, Mette Kowalski, they defined a master's thesis which focused primarily on Wikipedia. The thesis revealed that, among other things, only about 15 percent of Wikipedia biographies are about women. The thesis also demonstrated that it's not just about getting more women to contribute to Wikipedia, but about the citation policy and the structure that serves as the foundation for Wikipedia. 'In short, you can't write an article about a woman if there aren't sources around her story--and the oral statements of women aren't good enough. In other words, if women are already left out from other sources, they cannot just be written in," explains Pernille Bjrn. Seeks to change the gender balance Five years ago--at about the same time when Pernille Bjrn was hired at the Department of Computer Science--only 8 percent of computer science students were women. In 2019, 39 percent of new students were women and nearly 20 percent of all computer science students were women. "Technology is ubiquitous. It's fills our free time, work, everywhere. That's why it's important for those who create the technology to represent the whole of society and not just a small part of it. As such, I'm enthused that more women have started applying to the University of Copenhagen's Department of Computer Science," she says. Pernille Bjrn will not take credit for this development, but she hopes that her work may, both now and in the future, help serve to positively advance the development of women in the field of computer science. "If I were to say what I've done for the world when I retire, I'd like to be able to say that I've helped change the gender balance in computer science education," she concludes. ### Contact Pernille Bjrn Professor Department of Computer Science University of Copenhagen Mobile: +45 53 41 45 52 Email: pernille.bjorn@di.ku.dk Michael Skov Jensen Journalist The Faculty of Science University of Copenhagen Mobile: +45 93 56 58 97 msj@science.ku.dk Faculty of Science University of Copenhagen Bulowsvej 17 1870 Frederiksberg C Kathmandu, March 11 The governments third effort to manage the foreign investment for the ambitious West Seti Hydropower Project has failed. Whereas two Australian and Chinese companies had withdrawn themselves from the 750-megawatt project in the past, this time, the government could not convince five companies, including a Nepali one, to work together for the project. The Investment Board, a government agency to look after big development projects involving foreign investment, had asked five shortlisted companies to jointly come up with a joint proposal on the investment and operation modalities. However, sources confirm, the companies did not show any interest to partner with each other. Following that, Matrix International, the Nepali company among the five, has proposed partnering with a new foreign company for the project. The government, however, is yet to make any decision about it. The boards CEO Sushil Bhatta says the board is making efforts to launch the project as soon as possible. It has been more than two decades since the project plan was developed, but it has not moved ahead for the want of funds. LAS VEGAS, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MGM Growth Properties LLC (NYSE: MGP) (the "Company") today announced that it has priced its previously announced underwritten public offering of 19,000,000 Class A shares (the "shares") at a public offering price of $32.15 per share, for expected proceeds of $587.9 million, net of the underwriters' discount. As part of the offering (the "Offering"), the Company also granted the underwriters a 30-day over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 2,850,000 shares from the Company. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option to purchase additional shares in full, the expected proceeds of the offering, net of the underwriters' discount, would be approximately $676.1 million. The offering is expected to close on March 15, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. On March 4, 2021, the Company received a notice of redemption from certain subsidiaries of MGM Resorts International ("MGM") covering 37.1 million operating partnership units of MGM Growth Properties Operating Partnership LP, a consolidated subsidiary of the Company, held by such MGM subsidiaries. The Company plans to use the proceeds of the Offering, net of the underwriters' discount, to redeem 21.8 million of such operating partnership units (inclusive of the underwriter's over-allotment option) to partially satisfy its obligations under the redemption notice, with the remaining 15.3 million operating partnership units to be redeemed using cash on hand. BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan, Barclays and Scotiabank are acting as joint lead book-running managers for the Offering. BNP PARIBAS, Citizens Capital Markets, Credit Agricole CIB, Fifth Third Securities and SMBC Nikko are acting as joint book-running managers for the Offering. Deutsche Bank Securities, Evercore ISI, Morgan Stanley, Truist Securities and UBS Investment Bank are acting as senior co-managers for the Offering. KeyBanc Capital Markets, Ladenburg Thalmann, Raymond James and Union Gaming are acting as co-managers for the Offering. The offering of these securities is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement previously filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). A prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website. When available, a copy of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from BofA Securities, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department, Email: [email protected]; J.P. Morgan, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, Telephone: (866) 803-9204; Barclays, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, [email protected], (888) 603-5847; Scotiabank, Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 250 Vesey Street, 24th Floor, New York, New York, 10281, or by telephone at 1-212-225-6853 or by email at [email protected]; or by visiting the EDGAR database on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the shares, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of any shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Any offer or sale will be made only by means of the Company's prospectus supplement and the base prospectus forming part of the effective registration statement relating to the shares. Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements and "safe harbor statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and/or uncertainties, including those described in the Company's public filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, the Company's expectations regarding the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business and the business of its tenant, the Company's ability to continue to grow its dividend, successfully execute on its business strategy and acquire additional properties in accretive transactions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Therefore, we caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include risks related to the Company's ability to receive, or delays in obtaining, any regulatory approvals required to own its properties, or other delays or impediments to completing the Company's planned acquisitions or projects, including any acquisitions of properties from MGM; the ultimate timing and outcome of any planned acquisitions or projects; the Company's ability to maintain its status as a REIT; the availability of and the ability to identify suitable and attractive acquisition and development opportunities and the ability to acquire and lease those properties on favorable terms; the Company's ability to access capital through debt and equity markets in amounts and at rates and costs acceptable to the Company; changes in the U.S. tax law and other state, federal or local laws, whether or not specific to REITs or to the gaming or lodging industries; and other factors described in the Company's periodic reports filed with the SEC. In providing forward-looking statements, the Company is not undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements publicly as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. If the Company updates one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those other forward-looking statements. SOURCE MGM Growth Properties LLC New Delhi: Apple Inc is commencing assembly of its iPhone 12 model in the country, a move that is expected to help the US tech giant further consolidate its position in the burgeoning smartphone market in India. Apple has partnered with third-party manufacturers like Foxconn and Wistron to make some of its phones in India. These include iPhone SE, iPhone 10R and iPhone 11. "Apple is dedicated to making the best products and services in the world to delight our customers...We are proud to be starting production of iPhone 12 in India for our local customers, Apple said in a statement. While the Cupertino-based company did not name the supplier partners, sources said Foxconn will be making the iPhone 12 at a facility in Tamil Nadu. Comments from Foxconn could not be immediately elicited. Apple had started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 with iPhone SE. In a tweet, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "Nice to see our efforts to make India a big hub of mobile and components manufacturing is attracting global attention. This will create jobs in large numbers." Apple, which competes with players like Samsung and OnePlus in the premium smartphone segment, has been aggressively ramping up its presence in the Indian market. In December last year, a section of workers at Wistron Corporation's manufacturing facility in Narasapura Industrial Area near Bengaluru - which assembles the latest version of the iPhone SE at the plant - went on a rampage over non-payment of their wages. At that time, Apple had said Wistron had been placed on probation and that the contract manufacturer will not receive any new business from the US-based company before corrective actions are completed. In the past, Apple has highlighted that it sees growth opportunities in the Indian market. In January, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook had stated that the company has doubled its business in India in the December quarter on the back of the strong performance of its online store and that the tech giant sees a good growth trajectory going ahead. "India is one of those, where our share is quite low. It did improve from the year-ago quarter. Our business roughly doubled over that period of time. And so, we feel very good about the trajectory. We are doing a number of things in the area. We put the online store there, for example, and last quarter was the first full quarter of the online store," Cook had said. Apple also plans to set up brick-and-mortar outlets in India in addition to the online store as the iPhone maker looks to further cement its position in one of the world's biggest smartphone markets. In the past, Apple has stated that it is keen on offering online and in-store experiences to Indian users that are at par with its global standards and that it aims to open its maiden retail store in India. The growth seen by Apple has been noted by research firms like Counterpoint. According to Counterpoint, Apple captured the sixth spot in terms of shipment in India in the October-December 2020 quarter with 171 per cent year-on-year growth, and 93 per cent growth in 2020 over the previous year. The report had pointed out that the launch of the iPhone 12, aggressive offers on the iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone 11, and online expansion had driven this growth. For the first time, the brand crossed 1.5 million shipments in a single quarter, it further noted. Apple had clocked about a 29 per cent jump in its revenues in India at Rs 13,755.8 crore, while its net profit witnessed manifold growth to Rs 926.2 crore in financial year 2020 over the previous fiscal, as per regulatory documents. First lady Jill Biden is heading to New Jersey Monday to help promote the new $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, the White House announced Thursday. The first lady will travel to Burlington County, where she is scheduled to visit a school, according to two people familiar with the planning. The White House did not provide any details about her trip. The county is represented by Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist., one of the New Jersey Democratic lawmakers being targeted by the House Republicans political arm. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage The first lady, who was born in Hammonton, is a former high school teacher and current community college professor. The stimulus law includes around $130 billion in aid to elementary and secondary schools to help them reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. New Jersey would get more than $2.6 billion. The funds could be used for improving ventilation, reducing class sizes, adding staff and buying personal protective equipment, among other purposes. In signing the bill on Thursday, President Joe Biden said he and his administration would be promoting the legislation, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks, expanded unemployment insurance benefits, larger tax credits for lower-income households, state and local aid, nutrition assistance and several other programs designed to help Americans recover from the coronavirus-related economic downturn. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant. Sign up here to get the latest stories on COVID in New Jersey, straight to your inbox. An Australian woman has opened up about having to constantly prove her intelligence because she is a blonde cheerleader - despite also being a scientist. Ashleigh Hope is an honours student and research assistant at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, when she is not pursuing her other passion of dancing. Ms Hope was last Friday presented with the Dr Margaret Gardiner Scholarship for Medical Research for her work studying treatments for a rare type of breast cancer. Ashleigh Hope (third from left) in her cheerleading role with the Illawarra Hawks (pictured) Ms Hope on Friday received a scholarship for her medical research work (pictured) She has taken a season off from her job as a cheerleader for the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL team while her research work fills her plate, though she still does cheerleading for Wollongong's NBL team. 'Having the blonde hair I do doesn't help. It's challenging every day to have to prove you have some sort of intelligence that's not expected of you,' Ms Hope said on a podcast for her research institute. 'I don't think a male PhD candidate who did footy outside of the lab would have the same reaction [as most people do with me].' However, she says she does find some similarities between her science world and her cheerleading world. 'The camaraderie of being a team and working together to achieve a purpose. That purpose might not be as daunting as solving the problem of cancer, it could be as simple as entertaining a crowd, but it's still a very important goal in my mind.' The honours student said she constantly has to prove that she has intelligence behind her looks Ms Hope also said she found a sense of community support with both cheerleading and her science work - with people rallying behind her for a cause, whether that be on the footy field or the lab bench. She wants to raise awareness of STEM careers for young girls in the science, technology, engineering and maths fields. The sector is expected to experience huge growth over the next decade as medical technology, green energy, and the space industries boom. Almost three-in-four consumers wont feel comfortable shopping on high streets until the Covid-19 crisis is under better control, according to new research. In total 71pc said they wouldnt feel comfortable with it while a further 27pc said theyd also feel uncomfortable until vaccines are more widely available. This research, undertaken by Core Research, for .IE Tipping Point and Digital Business Ireland, was carried out from January 11-27. Read More It showed 16pc wouldnt be comfortable shopping on high streets until the Government ends social distancing. And 6pc said theyll never feel safe again. Fewer consumers than last year anticipated doing the bulk of their shopping in bricks-and-mortar stores over the coming 12 months. Since the start of the pandemic, more people have been shopping online, with 68pc of consumers reporting they spent more online in 2020 than they did in 2019. However, a slight majority (51pc) of online spending has been with international retailers rather than Irish businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Ireland have reported being as busy or busier than before the pandemic because of their investment in online services. Around 30pc now report selling something online in some way, compared to 25pc in 2020. Almost nine in 10 of that group say they have noticed an increase in their online sales numbers since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Chief Executive of .IE, David Curtin, noted this may not continue forever, saying: Irish consumers want to support local businesses through a difficult period, but SMEs cant expect that goodwill to last forever. A stable, long-term e-commerce strategy cannot be built on crisis solidarity alone. Irish SMEs have a number of unique, competitive advantages that consumers recognise and value, namely trustworthiness, reliability, and delivery speed. SMEs need to focus on these factors, on honing the customer experience online and off, rather than trying to undercut overseas retailers on price and range. Mr Curtin added it was crucial that local and national decision-makers consider shifts in consumer and business behaviour during the pandemic when planning digital policy for the countrys post-Covid-19 economy. The pandemic is a continuum, not a standalone event, he said. Shifts in consumer and SME behaviour are still occurring, some now at a faster rate, others slower. From a digital perspective, it is clear that the pandemic is having an accelerant effect. For this report, a total of 500 Irish businesses in the retail and customer-facing professional services sectors were interviewed via telephone. A total of 1,000 consumers aged 18 and over were surveyed via online questionnaire. Read More Nacogdoches, TX (75965) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Developing biomaterials that enable the production of fully functional, human-scale tissues and organs capable of replacing failed organs would be a transformative benefit to society. There is no sustainable cure at present for osteoarthritis, the most common chronic musculoskeletal disorder of the joints. And while joint replacements are successful treatments for older patients with already reduced mobility, they hold less promise for younger patients, with failure in the long-term nearly guaranteed. Biomaterial engineers propose another solution: restoring the damaged tissue itself. "The gap between supply and demand for transplantable tissues and organs is continuously increasing," says Murat Guvendiren, an assistant professor of chemical and materials engineering who is developing biomaterials designed to enable the production of fully functional, human-scale tissues and organs that are capable of replacing failed organs. Known as bioinks - hydrogels seeded with live human cells that are 3D-printed in the lab - these materials could potentially be used to construct highly complex and patient-specific tissues and organs, as well as tissue interfaces. "Optimally, we would produce tissues and organs from a person's own medical images and cells to manufacture personalized materials that would not be rejected," adds Guvendiren. Backed by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant, he is currently focusing on the interface between cartilage and bone. To date, bioinks cannot fully mimic the dynamic properties of native tissue, such as changes in stiffness and biochemistry, that take place in the body's extracellular matrix during tissue development, disease progression and the healing process. In the body, cells sense their microenvironment and respond to these changes by regulating their behavior, including spreading into particular shapes, migrating and differentiating. Guvendiren's bioinks are what he calls "cell-instructive" materials that train stem cells to differentiate into different cell types in the right sequence to create a functional tissue. Their hydrogel casing, which is composed of a polysaccharide found in nature, including the body, functions as a supportive matrix for the cells that is "cured" into the desired structure with blue light. It will eventually degrade in the body as it is replaced by naturally produced extracellular matrix. Along with the live cells, the bioink contains the peptides that will "tell the cells what to do," as he puts it, and an adhesive compound that mimics a natural one, called fibronectin, that allows them to attach to the hydrogels. Bioprinting the interface between cartilage and bone is difficult, because the tissues are so different: bone is hard, has a unique architecture and is threaded with blood vessels; cartilage is soft and has none. The cells that compose each must be created in a precise sequence. "Our goal is to investigate the ability of our smart bioinks to create a cell-instructive material to regenerate bone with built-in vasculature that will gradually transition into cartilage using adult human mesenchymal stem cells, which is not possible with conventional fabrication techniques," he explains. More generally, he hopes to enable surgeons, for example, to customize biomaterials precisely for the task at hand, be it the repair or replacement of skin, cartilage, bone or cardiac tissue, and to establish a library of bioinks whose properties, such as stiffness, degradability and bioactivity (triggering cell growth), can be precisely adjusted with simple modifications of a particular bioink. ### NSF CAREER grants are four-year awards bestowed on early career faculty who excel at both research and teaching. Guvendiren directs NJIT's Instructive Biomaterials and Additive Manufacturing Laboratory, where graduate and undergraduate students design biodegradable polymers and hydrogels with tunable properties, engineer medical devices, tissues and organs using 3D-bioprinting, develop material-based technologies to control stem cell differentiation and fabricate patient-specific in vitro disease models for fundamental studies and drug screening. Recent projects include bioprinting blood vessel networks and using computer-aided design to create a gradient scaffold to help knit together damaged bone and cartilage at the interface where the two tissues rub against each other and wear each other down. Going forward, Guvendiren has proposed an outreach program with the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired that will enhance STEM education accessibility for blind and visually impaired students. New Delhi: Soon after Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in a 15-year-old rape case by a special court CBI on Friday, several incidents of violence were reported in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi border. Taking a strict action against such incidents, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered attachment of all properties owned by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to compensate for all the destruction caused by the spiritual leader's followers. Besides this, the court also said that senior Government officials in Panchkula should be given security by paramilitary forces. #RamRahimVerdict: Senior Government officials in Panchkula should be given security by paramilitary forces says Punjab & Haryana High Court ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017 ALSO READ | Ram Rahim conviction: Violence by Dera supporters spread in 5 states, 17 dead, over 200 injured At least 17 people killed and over 200 were injured in violent clashes. Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana have appealed people to maintain peace and law & order situation in the states. "No one is above law. Appeal people to not believe in rumors and steer clear of people with criminal intentions," said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. No one is above law. Appeal people to not believe in rumors & steer clear of people with criminal intentions: Haryana CM #RamRahimVerdict pic.twitter.com/kf8zox9lJF ALSO READ: Chronology of rape case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Gosling Outsourcing is a technology-focused global Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) provider that specializes in customer experience (CX) solutions, and they are looking to expand Costa Rica operations with over 200 new jobs. Bill Gosling launched their first site in Costa Rica in September of 2019 and are currently working on launching their second site just 18 months later. "Our Clients have been so pleased with the quality of service and our team that we are ready to expand within the country already. The launch of the second site validates our initial reasons for choosing Costa Rica as the start of our LATAM expansion," said Dave Rae, CEO of Bill Gosling Outsourcing. Carlos Alvarado, President of the Republic, commented that "the expansion of a company as established as Bill Gosling offers further confirmation that multinational companies view Costa Rica as a strategic ally in achieving their goals." President Alvarado highlighted all the work being done to train Costa Rica's human talent to take advantage of these excellent employment opportunities; as an example, he cited the new INA Law signed in January, which is designed to prepare Costa Ricans for greater professional opportunities to enter the labor market, thus influencing the country's competitiveness, productivity, and innovation. "2020 was challenging for everyone, but with the strength, agility, and mutual commitment with our clients, we were able to navigate through and continue to provide certainty of supply. Thanks to our team's strength and dedication, we launched new relationships and continued to operate on trust and transparency. This paved the way to launching our second nearshore site," added Kenny Johnston, President of Bill Gosling Outsourcing. Andres Valenciano, Minister of Foreign Trade, pointed out, "this newest expansion of the Bill Gosling company confirms, once again, that we are headed in the right direction with our nation's value proposal, based on the three Ps: planet, people, and prosperity. This is a leading company in the service sector and has become a strategic ally for our country; its decision to reinvest in Costa Rica reflects our favorable business platform, characterized by a highly competitive environment and highly qualified human resources. Today, we celebrate Bill Gosling's sustained commitment to Costa Rica in choosing our country as its ally in continued growth and thereby generating 200 new formal employment opportunities for Costa Ricans." Currently, the second site is under construction but will be ready for operations by mid-May this year, with some new Clients being serviced out of that site. "Since our expansion into Costa Rica, we have had great success in building our company culture within the team. There is high engagement among the staff globally, regionally, and locally within our community in Belen. We are now ready to grow our team and are looking for applicants who are fluent in English with strong social skills, enthusiasm, and are eager to learn." David Clements, VP of Operations at Bill Gosling Outsourcing. With nine sites across North America, the UK, the Philippines, and Costa Rica, Bill Gosling provides live agent support via voice, chat, email, and other digital solutions in various languages. Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of CINDE, commented, "According to the World Economic Forum, Costa Rica is the leader in human capital in Latin America. Multinational companies highly value our productivity and human talent. CINDE's data shows that in the services sector from 2005 to 2019, productivity per employee, as measured by exports per capita, grew 47% reaching USD $51,000 in 2019. We are proud of this key aspect, which drives more reinvestments in our country, as is the case with Bill Gosling Outsourcing. This is important news, especially given its announcement less than two years after having opened Costa Rican operations." The two sites will be near each other, both located within the El Cafetal Corporate Centre, approximately 15 minutes away from the San Jose International airport. This expansion will bring a combined 500 seat capacity across both sites with additional remote working capabilities for multi-lingual Customer Services positions. About Bill Gosling Outsourcing Founded in Canada in 1955, Bill Gosling Outsourcing (BGO) provides outsourcing services for clients throughout North America, the UK, the Philippines, and Costa Rica. Services include Customer Service/Support, Accounts Receivable Management, Customer Sales and Acquisitions, and Call Center Technology/Business Process Outsourcing. With the opening of a second Costa Rican site, this takes the company to a total of 10 sites supporting 2,800 seats. This expansion is supported by Bill Gosling's new private equity partner, Owner Resource Group, who joined the management team led by David Rae (CEO) and Kenny Johnston (President) to invest in growth and to pursue strategic acquisitions that expand service offerings to customers. SOURCE Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency Related Links http://www.cinde.org Flash The new development pattern put forward by China will provide more development opportunities for companies from Luxembourg and other countries, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday. In a telephone conversation with Luxembourg's Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn, Wang said that Luxembourg is an important cooperative partner of China within the European Union (EU), and the two countries understand, support and trust each other, setting a good example of mutually beneficial cooperation between large and small countries. Noting that since the novel coronavirus broke out, China and Luxembourg have stuck together through thick and thin and helped each other, Wang said that the two sides have stood the test of the COVID-19 pandemic and deepened the friendship between the two peoples. Calling Luxembourg an important bridge for China-EU cooperation in building the Belt and Road Initiative, Wang also welcomed Luxembourg to take an active part in the internationalization process of the Chinese currency Renminbi and expressed belief that Luxembourg will continue to provide a fair and equitable business environment for Chinese companies. Wang also expressed hope that Luxembourg will continue to play an active role in promoting the development of China-EU relations and particularly the early ratification and entry into force of the China-EU investment treaty. For his part, Asselborn informed the Chinese side of the epidemic situation in Luxembourg. He also said Luxembourg stands ready to keep close high-level exchanges with China and deepen practical cooperation in aviation, freight transport, communications, finance and people-to-people exchanges, adding that his country is ready to play a positive role in advancing the early ratification and entry into force of the EU-China investment treaty and the EU-China relationship. In the phone call, Wang also elaborated on China's positions on human rights, as well as issues related to Hong Kong and Xinjiang, stressing that the aim of the Communist Party of China is to serve the people wholeheartedly, and that China has completed the arduous task of eliminating absolute poverty on schedule, which is the greatest human rights achievement. Some Western forces smear China on issues related to Xinjiang, Wang said, adding that in the face of facts, any rumors will be dispelled. He also noted that the aim of improving the electoral system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is to ensure that the policies of "one country, two systems", "the people of Hong Kong administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy are maintained in a steady and sustained way. He expressed hope that Luxembourg and other European countries will uphold an objective and just position, and work with China to uphold mutual respect and consolidate the foundation of mutual trust, so as to maintain the sound momentum of China-EU relations. The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern. OnSceneTV A woman was killed early Thursday on westbound Interstate 10 in Houston after getting out of a car on the freeway, officials said. The woman was riding in a car with a man when the two got into a disagreement and the man pulled over, said Commander Kevin Deese of the Houston Police Department. The woman got out of the car around 1:30 a.m. and the man drove off while the woman was still holding the door handle. Practice makes perfect when building a moon rover. A team at NASA's Johnson Space Center is building a full-scale replica of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, that is set to reach the moon in late 2023 to look for ice. Building this replica inside a new 1,000-plus-square-foot clean room will allow the team to be more efficient when building the actual rover in the summer of 2022. We need to work out the bugs now, David Petri, VIPERs system integration and test lead at Johnson Space Center, said in a news release. That could mean a lot of things, from discovering there isnt enough clearance in one corner of the rover to turn a wrench, to realizing team members need additional training to get the job done. These are the kind of unforeseen challenges that could slow development down. One of the challenges will be determining the order parts are put together. Think of assembling IKEA furniture: Do you screw part A to part B and then bolt it to part C? Or is it better to join parts B and C first? This practice assembly may prompt the designers to make small changes to the actual rover. And over in west Texas, Blue Origin will also help NASA test moon innovations. Its Blue Shepard suborbital rocket system should be able to replicate the moon's gravity, which is one-sixth of Earth's gravity, in late 2022. The capsule will be able to rotate, acting as a large centrifuge to create artificial gravity. According to a NASA news release, Blue Origins first flight with this capability will attempt 11 rotations per minute. That would provide more than two minutes of continuous lunar gravity for payloads inside the vehicle. One of the constant challenges with living and working in space is reduced gravity," Christopher Baker, program executive for the Flight Opportunities program at NASA Headquarters, said in a news release. "Many systems designed for use on Earth simply do not work the same elsewhere. A wide range of tools we need for the Moon and Mars could benefit from testing in partial gravity." TMS Today, the Japanese carmaker is one of the biggest player in the automotive industry, and this achievement would not have been possible without the companys success in the United States.It all started in the early fifties when Toyota executives began exploring an expansion of the passenger car business outside Japan. They set their sights on Europe and the U.S. markets, but the latters immense potential was far more appealing.The companys preliminary research revealed that many returning members of the U.S. Army were moving to the suburbs and starting families, creating a demand for smaller, second cars.Toyota continued to pay close attention in the following years, discovering that compact cars sales were almost doubling year after year. European manufacturers built the vast majority of those, which indicated that Americans were embracing foreign cars, so the market potential became unquestionable.In 1955, the company began production of the new Crown, the successor to the low-volume, VW Beetle-inspired Toyopet SA. Built specifically for the Japanese market, it would become the first Japanese car to be exported to the United States.The car looked much like the Simca Vedette that had debuted a year earlier in France, but it had rear "suicide" doors, a feature previously used on the AA, Toyotas first car. Like its predecessor, the small four-door sedan was powered by the reliable 60-hp, 1.5-liter inline-four R engine.It employed a suspension system that utilized independent double wishbones and coil springs in the front and triple semi-oval leaf springs at the rear. Since Japans road network was in bad shape at the time, the Crowns system made it extremely popular and Toyota executives hoped this popularity would translate to the U.S. market.On August 25, 1958, two left-hand-drive Toyopet Crowns arrived on American shores, docking in California. General Electric-sourced sealed beam headlights and other safety features were fitted to the cars after their arrival to comply with local laws.Two months later, on October 31, 1957, Toyota Motor Sales () was established in a former Rambler/Ford dealership at 6000 Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles. The location was chosen because the city had airline access to Tokyo and because of its proximity to the Port of Los Angeles Newly appointed TMS ales administrator James McGraw stated that the Crown was underpowered, overpriced and it wont sell. Unfortunately, he was right; the car was purposely built for Japans rough road network but struggled on Americas smooth, free-flowing roads. It took an eternity to reach 60 mph (96 kph), and when it did, it shook so badly that drivers found it almost impossible to see out the rear-view mirror.Moreover, the Toyopet moniker used by Toyota since 1947 as a result of a naming contest for the SA could not be taken seriously in the U.S. since it contained the nouns toy and pet. Coupled with its small size, many Americans jokingly called it a Japanese motorized stroller.After receiving a California retail license and forming a small distribution network, TMS officially launched the Crown through five Toyota dealerships in July 1958. It was priced at $1,999, about $500 more than the Volkswagen Beetle Deluxe Sedan, which it was supposed to compete against.By the end of the year, Toyota managed to sell 287 Crowns, and in 1959, sales more than tripled to 967 units. For 1960, Toyota added a wagon body style and a larger 79-hp 3R engine, but sales fell to 659 units.The sales continued to drop, and since TMA accumulated $1.42 million in losses, Toyota decided to stop all Crown exports to the U.S., focusing its efforts on the rugged Land Cruiser instead.Although it wasnt as popular as anticipated in the U.S., the Toyopet Crown paved the way for many highly successful sedans like the Corona, Camry , Corolla, or Avalon.The Crown never returned to the American market, but it carries on in Japan, where it is extremely popular. Now in its 14th generation, it holds the title for the longest-running Toyota passenger-car nameplate. 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. While strolling through a residential neighborhood in the city of Oakland early Tuesday, a 75-year-old Asian American man was shoved to the ground and robbed, according to a statement released by a representative of the Chinatown community of Oakland. According to Washington Post, the president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Carl Chan, who has been in contact with the victim's family, shared that the senior was seriously injured. The police conducted their investigation on the incident, but the authorities have not identified any suspects yet. Late on Tuesday, the Oakland police arrested an unnamed suspect connected to the incident based on a news outlet report. The police also described the incident as a violent attack. The Mayor of Oakland, Libby Schaaf, said that authorities need to investigate whether the crime was committed with racial motivation. Also, Oakland Police Chief LeRonne L. Armstrong stated that the trauma this cause has a ripple effect on the victim and their families, and the entire community. The said incident is the latest in a string of racist attacks and harassment against Asian Americans, especially to seniors in the Bay Area, with some having resulted in death. An 84-year-old Thai man last month died days after being violently shoved to the ground during his morning walk. Earlier this year, at least three Asian American seniors walking through Chinatown in Oakland were also assaulted. Based on numerous activists, the attacks can be tied to the anti-Asian sentiments stoked by the United States' former president, Donald Trump's rhetoric blaming China for the global health crisis and incorrectly referring to the coronavirus as 'Chinese virus.' Read also: Hawaii Placed Under State of Emergency Due To Heavy Flooding The president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce also stated that he is not angry about the situation. Instead, he is saddened about all of the incidents. Chan shared that the seniors in Chinatown have called him and shared that they were afraid of going out or even walking on their own streets, ABC7 reported. Chan added that it is pretty sad, especially that the entire world is still in the middle of a pandemic. He added that seniors do not usually get visits even from their own children and grandchildren. Based on the police report, the latest incident took place just before 7 a.m. on Tuesday when the 75-year-old Asian American man was walking through Adams Point, which is a neighborhood that is less than two miles from the downtown area of Oakland. The police also mentioned that the senior argued with the suspect before he was being assaulted and robbed. The neighbor who saw paramedics loading the senior into an ambulance, Florence Williams, shared to a news outlet that the senior is known for taking early morning walks in the area. Williams also added that the man walks every morning around that time or even a little earlier, KCBS reported. Mayor Schaaf called the incident a reprehensible and violent attack. Police reported that the victim was taken to a nearby hospital, but Chan stated that the Asian American man was seriously hurt and not looking good. Related article: Death of Detained Myanmar Official Raises Fear @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 48 Project Management Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 158 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 158 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 48 making it to the final list. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school. Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Project Management Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-project-management-degree-programs/ 2021 Project Management Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order): Amberton University American InterContinental University Arizona State University Ashford University Assumption College Baker College Bellevue University Brandman University Bryant University California Institute of Technology Capella University Central Washington University Charleston Southern University Charter Oak State College City University of New York, Queens College City University of Seattle Colorado Christian University Colorado State University Colorado State University, Global Campus Colorado Technical University Columbia Basin College Columbia Southern University Davenport University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University George Fox University Harrisburg University Herzing University Liberty University Linfield College Malone University Minnesota State University, Moorhead National University North Carolina State University Northeastern University Oakland University Regis University Saint Leo University Saint Louis University Sam Houston State University Seminole State College of Florida Southern New Hampshire University University of California, Berkeley University of Management and Technology University of Phoenix University of the Incarnate Word University of Wisconsin, Madison Villanova University Wentworth Institute of Technology About Intelligent.com Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/. 3 1 of 3 Contributed / Danbury Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo / Danbury Police Department Show More Show Less 3 of 3 DANBURY Police arrested a 34-year-old Brookfield man Wednesday on suspicion of dealing drugs in Danbury and Brookfield, and said search warrants turned up hundreds of bags of heroin and fentanyl along with other drugs. Christopher Rosini is facing five counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, along with five counts of possession of a controlled substance, Detective Lt. Mark Williams said in a news release. The coronavirus pandemic has only gotten worse in some countries, with increasing numbers of infection rates that continue to surge over time. We already have COVID-19 vaccines at the moment, but people are hoping that the said "herd immunity" can happen in the middle of this catastrophic event. The word "herd" is not only applicable to groups of hoofed animals. In the case of the ravaging virus, groups of humans are also considered a herd. The public is hoping that as time passes by, more people would grow immune to the novel coronavirus, with or without the vaccine. The researchers, however, said that the incident could unlikely happen, and now, they noted some ways that can help for the preparation if ever that occurs in the future. Instability of the Community in terms of Vaccination In a report by Ars Technica, a large number of American adults are reportedly declining to get vaccinated. The recent poll conducted by the Pew Research System reveals that 30% of the respondents deny getting COVID-19 jabs. Even though the reported percentage has already decreased, half of it was still on the 'rejecting' level. Take note that getting a shot does not assure you of being safe against the virus. All vaccines have varying efficacy, so it is not fully guaranteed whether it will work how it's supposed to work on each person. Some of these are the Pizer and Moderna vaccines, which have 95% efficacy rates, while the newest Johnson & Johnson vaccine only showed 72% efficacy against COVID-19. Moreover, some of these vaccines require two shots, so don't be too confident when you've received your first jab. Durability There is a study posted in Nature that found out that reinfection can take place after a year or more after people underwent immunity sterilization. The method will only last for some months so that the possible effect can be short-lived to other people. The viruses 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 usually emerge during the flu season. They often cling to young children who have a weak immune system, whereas, in adults, these viruses only display 'simple' cold symptoms. Experts believe that we could soon reach this peak, so prioritizing an adult's immune system will be the first. Read Also: Pfizer vs Moderna: Comparing Two COVID-19 Vaccines from Side Effects to Storage Requirements Avoid the Herd Now that we tackle the community, the efficacy of the vaccine, and the durability of humans in terms of combatting the virus, the SARS-CoV-2 could be crawling to the less noticeable but vulnerable community. There is a high chance that those who have immunity from the infection or vaccination could encounter an instance wherein the virus cannot spread any more. Experts claimed that the chance should be around 70% to achieve herd immunity. However, in South Africa, the appearance of the new variant, B.1.351, showed that reinfection among vaccinated people could happen. Even though the vaccines' efficacies are noted, they were surpassed by the effects of the virus. An example of this is Johnson & Johnson, which is 72% efficient for Americans. However, when it was applied to South Africans, the foreign variant only continued to infect more people. Calculation from the Experts Peter Piot and Christopher Murray, the authors of this study, have arrived at their rough estimate regarding the coronavirus variants. For instance, the South African variant will become a commanding type of virus due to its immunity against the vaccine. In the United States, 50% is the recorded preventive transmission of the said variant. It continues to decline to 37.5% if they consider the population of people who do not want to be vaccinated. It is possible that a spike in COVID-19 cases can happen because the need for the vaccines will be split due to the different variants. While the rise in the infection rates is deemed seasonal, it is also in line with the winter months when people prefer to stay indoors, which could decrease the virus spread. For Murray and Piot, five strategies could be the key to its possibility. Continue campaigns on global vaccination to abolish the virus variants Persistent tracking of the variants. Hospital preparedness when winter comes Transmission reduction Readying for winter prevention while considering social distancing. "If new variants continue to appear, winter surges may become the norm. This prospect requires advanced planning and consideration of a range of strategies to mitigate the consequences for communities and health systems, the two experts reminded. This article is owned by Tech Times. Written by Joen Coronel 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. As far as learning from other developed countries is concerned, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu opined that Nigeria could learn from the pragmatic, committed, and coordinated approach displayed by these countries leaders, by seeking the nations development and the wellbeing of all Nigerians. She also emphasised the weight thrown behind the education of their people. Leadership means direction. In virtually every area of human endeavour, either at home, the corporate, religious, or national levels, leadership is needed to provide an organisation with the focus and commitment required to produce desired objectives. It takes a good leader to inspire responsible citizenship. Hence, s/he must also be a good citizen, keeping the law and leading by example. A good leader must possess the will to serve the interests of the collective, and, by so doing, spread the values of selfless service amongst the citizenry. Therefore, the measure of a good leader and effective leadership is in the extent of the citizens wellbeing. In this way, they are mutually dependent on one another, and through cohesion and collaboration, their interaction can produce positive change. Post-war developments worldwide have further emphasised the centrality of (good) leadership to social, economic, and political transformation. This is especially exemplified in the way erstwhile underdeveloped, and third world countries such as China (under Deng Xiaoping), Singapore (under Lee Kuan Yu), Brazil (under Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva), South Korea (under Kim Dae-Jung), and the United Arab Emirates (under Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan), amongst others, have through the vision, hard work, and selfless commitment of outstanding leaders, transformed their socio-economic fortunes to become the worlds shining beacons of development. At home in Africa, names such as Nelson Mandela (South Africa), Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), and Mokgweetsi Masisi, the Botswana president, are commonly highlighted for their exemplary leadership contributions towards their respective countries peace and progress. Often dubbed the most populous black nation on earth, Nigeria is also reputed for its ethnolinguistic diversity, resourceful population, vast material resources, and economic potentials. Regrettably, for all its endowments, the country has not been privy to the exemplary committed, patriotic, and nationalistic leadership required to harmonise, harness, and deploy such valuable attributes towards the development and upliftment of the nation and its peoples. Except for some isolated and far in-between instances of sterling leadership display, Nigerias leadership history has been a succession of one bad leadership experience after another both in military regimes and civilian dispensations. This poverty of leadership in Nigeria has over time engendered corruption and nepotism, economic mismanagement and infrastructural decay, the collapse of institutions and the subversion of the rule of law, widespread illiteracy, and debilitating poverty. The constant pressure from failing institutions and inept leadership have transformed Nigeria into a weak state, challenged by a myriad of issues, including the lack of cohesion and political direction, economic decline and brain drain, insecurity, and threats of secession and national disintegration, arising from a mass disillusionment in Nigerias nationhood. At a time, such as this, when Nigeria appears to have arrived at yet another precipice with each occasion being more frightening than the preceding one pertinent discussions have been initiated about how we arrived at the steps of Armageddon and what avenues, if any, are available to salvage and rebuild whats left of a once blossoming society and economy. Identifying lousy leadership as the foremost impediment to realising Nigerias true potential has inspired a quest to identify or develop the selfless and committed leadership necessary to reform and transform the Nigerian space. And in this search for befitting leadership, one individuals actions have impressed citizens enough to warrant the consideration of adopting his philosophy and acts as a template for transformative leadership. This individual is no other than the venerated Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory. A core nationalist and statesman, Chief Awolowo served as the first premier of the Western Region (1954-1960), a Federal Commissioner for Finance (1967-1971), and the vice-chairman of the Federal Executive Council during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). He was also a three-time contender for the countrys top office. Apart from his ingenious ideas (blueprint for self-rule) for the transformation of Nigeria, which are contained in several and widely circulated publications, he is most famous for the free education policy he instituted in the Western Region when he was Premier in 1954. Hence, this occasion of the Toyin Falola interviews featured, as a guest of honour, Chief Obafemi Awolowos daughter, Her Excellency, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu (the former ambassador of Nigeria to the Netherlands), to share from her wealth of experience as a diplomat, and to offer a unique insight into her fathers person his philosophy, motivations, and aspirations. The occasion also served as an avenue for a select audience to ask pressing questions on the leadership lessons and opportunities representative in Chief Obafemi Awolowos legacy and how it is being kept alive. to those who wish to emulate, build or capitalise on her fathers legacy, she admonished that they should endeavour to serve the nation, wanting nothing for themselves, as this was the kind of politics her father practiced and would endorse. Therefore, all who wear replicas of his glasses and cap must build upon it and make it a complete package. In the usual manner, the session opened with a welcome address and an introduction of the honoured guest, delivered by the host and a member of the team. This was followed by questions from the host and subsequent ones from the participating audience. As host, I asked questions about Dr. Awolowo Dosumus current project, how she is coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the purpose of the Awolowo Foundation, which she chairs. Responding, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu described her recent involvement with the various stakeholders intellectuals, state officials, NGOs, and consumers in Nigerias education sector. She mentioned that the purpose was to start a conversation on how to use the opportunities offered by the COVID-19 pandemic to move education to online platforms and to manage the challenges this poses for the less privileged, who stand the risk of being cut-off as a result of their inability to afford online facilities. Hence, research has been commissioned into the various education sectors to gain workable solutions suitable for the parties affected. As for the Awolowo Foundation, she pointed out that it was a non-profit advocacy agency set up to engage the pertinent questions of the day and fashion out solutions to contribute to nation-building in her fathers tradition. Questions from Professor Yemisi Obilade of Obafemi Awolowo University covered her Excellencys childhood as the daughter of an influential political figure, her role in the 1988-89 constituent assembly, and if she felt it had served the Nigerian people. He also asked about Dr. Awolowo Dosumus position on her fathers legacy, if this legacy has been upheld in Nigeria, and what kind of politics her father would endorse, especially given the predispositions of todays politicians to imitate his apparel as a way of capitalising on his achievements and trading on his political and socioeconomic developmental philosophies. In her response, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu described her childhood as regular, except for her fathers busy schedule that had him away most of the time. This notwithstanding, she recalled that he always made time to engage his children during holiday retreats. She submitted that there are valuable lessons to be learnt from her fathers approach to leadership. According to her, Chief Obafemi Awolowos work ethic, commitment, and sacrifice express the need for leaders to be passionate and devoted to the people and be fully prepared with alternative means of livelihood to avoid the do-or-die approach to politics. Coming to the question of the relevance of the 1988-89 constitutional document, she expressed regret that it never saw the light of day. Nevertheless, she emphasised the importance of a constitution that guarantees equity, fairness, and justice, which she says means everything for any nations development and wellbeing. And to those who wish to emulate, build or capitalise on her fathers legacy, she admonished that they should endeavour to serve the nation, wanting nothing for themselves, as this was the kind of politics her father practiced and would endorse. Therefore, all who wear replicas of his glasses and cap must build upon it and make it a complete package. His Excellency, Ambassador Michel Deelen, a counterpart in the field of diplomacy from the Netherlands, asked questions on foreign policy, international relations, and globalisation. These covered the challenges that Dr. Awolowo Dosumu faced as an ambassador and the lessons therein for Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new head of the World Trade Organisation. Ambassador Deelens questions also covered what the Nigerian government can learn from other countries in development, education, and other critical sectors and how the government can stem the brain drain from the country. Responding to Ambassador Michel Deelen, Her Excellency noted that she was not a trained diplomat and, as such, was thrown in at the deep end. As for her experience, she recalled being confronted by how deeply Nigerias reputation in the Netherlands had sunk. Thus, it became her immediate goal to fix the situation by showcasing Nigeria in a more positive light. She achieved this with the expertise of individuals like the host (Toyin Falola) and subsequently Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose reach facilitated a process of debt pardon. Citing this and a sterling track record as proof of Dr. Okonjo-Iwealas competence, Her Excellency expressed complete confidence in the capacity of the new Director-General of the World Trade Organisation to handle her position effectively. Reacting to Chief Nwodos questions, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu proposed that the first step to resolving ethnic clashes is to look back at the origins of ethnic suspicions and how minor irritations grew into open anger and intolerance. This can be tied to the failure of leadership represented in Nigerian ethnic politics that breeds prejudice. As far as learning from other developed countries is concerned, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu opined that Nigeria could learn from the pragmatic, committed, and coordinated approach displayed by these countries leaders, by seeking the nations development and the wellbeing of all Nigerians. She also emphasised the weight thrown behind the education of their people. Her Excellency insisted that to stem the loss of critical professionals to brain drain resulting from migrations in search of better pay and living conditions, Nigeria must strive to make conditions more favourable to incentivise this critical population into staying back to develop the home front. She reiterated that Nigeria must become competitive by demonstrating how much it appreciates these professionals and their skills and provides opportunities for growth and development. The next set of questions posed by Chief John Nwodo were drawn from the nature of Nigerias domestic politics. These questions cover issues around resolving ethnic divisions and clashes so that Nigerians can settle in any location of their choosing, just like in the old times; governments handling of insecurity, especially the herdsmen-farmer clashes that have been a source of widespread anger among the citizenry; and the possibilities for the success of federalism, given several failures. Reacting to Chief Nwodos questions, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu proposed that the first step to resolving ethnic clashes is to look back at the origins of ethnic suspicions and how minor irritations grew into open anger and intolerance. This can be tied to the failure of leadership represented in Nigerian ethnic politics that breeds prejudice. Therefore, solutions can be found in promoting an understanding of the mutual dependence between ethnic groups and the fact that the threats facing them poverty and insecurity do not discriminate. Also, the government needs to dispel the impression that there are sacred cows and should be seen to be very decisive, not just in making public statements but also in implementing strategies that will renew grassroots confidence in its commitment to the nation. Furthermore, Her Excellency maintained that creating a suitable federal structure, complete with state police and resource control, would not only assuage tensions capable of turning Nigeria into another Somalia but encourage innovation and development. She explained that in the absence of common consensus if people are not allowed to determine their fate, control their resources, and address their concerns and aspiration, they will continue to irritate one another. As for Nigerias possibility of ever returning to former harmonious coexistence levels, she believed it is yet too early to tell. Responding to questions from the youth wing on the political marginalisation of women, lack of political ideas within the countrys political ranks, and the role of the diaspora in Nigerian politics, Dr. Awolowo Dosumu made the case that womens marginalisation comes from three angles; the dictates and expectation of a patriarchal society; the roles of money and violence in politics; and insufficient support from the womenfolk. However, she believed that with adequate preparedness, readiness, and help from family and friends, the number of women in political offices would improve. Coming to the absence of political ideologies, she called for a more pragmatic approach, recalling that her father, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, favoured such. It was instrumental in his success, partly dependent on his ability to balance welfarism and business interests. She emphasised further that people must know what they want and be clear about how they want to achieve it. As for the diaspora population, she pointed out that this group is Nigerias most valuable offshore asset. She explained that the group possesses the ideas and reach that can serve Nigerias (lobbying) interests. Unfortunately, members of that group are not encouraged or empowered by the home government to deploy these influences to national advancement. Hence, it goes without saying that affording this group the room for greater participation in local governance will present more opportunities for improvement. ADVERTISEMENT Toyin Falola is professor of History at The University of Texas at Austin. This is the third report on the interview conducted with Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu on February 21, 2021. The entire recording is here. 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. Latina single moms spend nearly half their time parenting--twice as much time as they spend working--and 10% of their time on social activities including dating Safety and mental health are single moms' top concerns for their kids NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation's (NYSE: MDP) PARENTS LATINA announces the results of its first study on Latina single moms revealing that single moms feel most challenged when it comes to balancing work and home life with 35% reporting that it is the hardest part of being a single mom, followed by lack of time for self-care or alone time (34%) and managing finances (30%). The April/May issue of PARENTS LATINA includes findings and analysis of this study, providing insights on the preferences, habits, rewards, challenges and misconceptions about single motherhood. According to the study, nearly half (46%) of Latina single moms try to balance their lives by spending time with family. Many also rely on exercising (38%), spending time with friends (34%), prayer or spirituality (33%) and connecting via social media (26%). Single moms also lean on their families for support: 60% report that they rely on their parents, 25% reach out to siblings and 20% seek help from grandparents. Thirty-six percent say they reach out to friends for support. Time spent in an average week by single moms: Parenting or with kids: 45% Work: 23% Household chores: 15% Extended family: 8% Social life: 7% Dating: 3% Grace Bastidas, Editor in Chief of PARENTS LATINA, said, "I have tremendous respect and admiration for single moms. I was raised by one and saw first-hand the sacrifices my mother made to get us ahead. This study shines a light on the challenges Latina single moms face and provides insight into their unique parenting perspectives. While it takes determination, passion and perseverance to bring up kids on your own, the study shows that single moms find it incredibly rewarding. And although many single mothers bear most of the responsibility, it's important they know that they're not alone." Story continues The love and close bond with their kids is the No.1 most rewarding part of being a single mom (41%), followed by the feeling of accomplishment and empowerment that comes from handling it all on their own (20%) and the freedom to do things their way and make decisions on their own (12%). Latina single moms are most likely to describe themselves as strong (30%), multi-tasker (26%) and determined (17%). Single moms' biggest concern for their kids: Safety (41%) Mental health (39%) Lack of strong role models/father figure (35%) Education (31%) Bullying (26%) If single moms had more time and money, they'd most like to do the following for their kids: Go on a family vacation (53%) Explore more of their interests (36%) Save for education (33%) Buy a house or a better house (29%) Attend more family-fun local activities (19%) When it comes to breaking their own rules, single moms find themselves being most lenient with their kids in the following areas: Screen time (33%) Junk food (22%) Daily routine (16%) Chores (13%) Discipline for poor behavior (12%) Among those who co-parent, 6 in 10 report they are very successful at it even when dealing with the challenges that come with it. Having different parenting styles is one of the hurdles that co-parenting presents, with 43% of Latina single moms reporting this as a primary obstacle. Other primary challenges are the lack of or poor communication (41%) and keeping a regular and consistent schedule (37%). The study also asked Latina single moms open-ended questions about their views on single motherhood misconceptions. Respondents feel that they are often blamed for their situation, or that others believe they cannot successfully raise a child without the assistance of a partner or outside help. According to Ernestina Perez, a Mexican-American therapist and founder of Latinx Talk Therapy, in Chicago, who is quoted in the April/May issue of PARENTS LATINA, "There's a lot of stigma around single motherhood in the Latino community because of traditional gender norms that view men as the protectors and financial providers, and women as the selfless, do-it-all caretakers." However, she notes that more and more single mothers are beginning to redefine for themselves what it means to be Mami. "As women get further in their careers and education, expectations are changing," she says. "Latina single moms have always been very resilient. But this new generation is learning to speak up for themselves to get what they want." PARENTS LATINA offers advice for single moms to deal with some of the challenges they face, with tips on building a support network, making time for yourself, and more. Visit www.parents.com/singlemamis to read the full article. Survey Methodology: An online survey was fielded by the Meredith Data Studio between March 12 - April 1, 2020 with 439 English-speaking, single Latina moms who have a child 12 years or younger and are not living with a spouse, partner, or significant other. ABOUT PARENTS LATINA PARENTS LATINA supports, empowers, and inspires Latino parents as they raise good people rooted in their family's heritage. Reaching an audience of 3.4 million through its bi-monthly magazine, as well as its digital and social offerings, PARENTS LATINA connects readers to their community, bolsters cultural pride, and encourages moms and dads to honor and celebrate traditions with their children. PARENTS LATINA is part of Meredith Corporation's (NYSE: MDP) PARENTS Network. Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/parents-latina-announces-results-of-its-first-ever-single-moms-study-301245801.html SOURCE Meredith Corporation 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. EasyJet has paid compensation to a British-Israeli woman who was made to move seats twice because ultra-Orthodox Jewish men refused to sit next to her. Melanie Wolfson, 38, had asked for 15,000 in a lawsuit following the flights from Tel Aviv to London. The amount she was awarded has not been revealed. Ms Wolfson, a professional fundraiser from Tel Aviv, also asked the company to ban its cabin crew from asking women to switch seats because of their gender. The budget airline has now said it was not its policy to switch people based on their sex and would dish out extra training. Melanie Wolfson, 38, claimed compensation following the flights from Tel Aviv to London The budget airline has now said it was not its policy to switch people based on their sex and would dish out extra training (file photo) Ms Wolfson said she paid extra for an aisle seat on a flight from Tel Aviv to London in October 2019. An ultra-Orthodox man and his son, who were sitting in the row when she arrived, asked her to switch seats with a man a few rows ahead. But Ms Wolfson, a professional fundraiser, said she was 'insulted and humiliated' by the request. She told Haaretz last year: 'It was the first time in my adult life that I was discriminated against for being a woman.' 'I would not have had any problem whatsoever switching seats if it were to allow members of a family or friends to sit together, but the fact that I was being asked to do this because I was a woman was why I refused.' She added: 'What was even more infuriating was that there were passengers watching this happen who said nothing.' A flight attendant eventually intervened and offered Ms Wolfson a free hot drink as an incentive to move. An ultra-Orthodox man and his son, who were sitting in the row when she arrived, asked her to switch seats with a man a few rows ahead (file photo) Concerned the flight might be delayed and feeling she had little choice, she agreed to switch seats. She said: 'There were passengers watching this happen who said nothing.' According to the suit, several flight attendants told Ms Wolfson women were often asked to switch seats in order to accommodate ultra-Orthodox men. Just over a month later, she lodged an official complaint with easyJet, arguing requests she move seats because of her gender was discriminatory. Two months later, on another easyJet flight to London, Ms Wolfson was again asked to move seats by two ultra-Orthodox men. Though she refused their request, two female passengers agreed to change seats with the two men sitting next to her, according to the lawsuit. Members of the cabin crew allegedly did not intervene or defend her right to stay seated where she was - although again she was offered a free hot drink. Ms Wolfson complained to easyJet on both occasions but when it failed to respond she decided to sue for violation of Israeli law. It prohibits discrimination against customers on the basis of race, religion, nationality, land of origin, gender, sexual orientation, political views or personal status. Although easyJet is not based in Israel, lawyers argued the airline was subject to Israeli law while its plane was on the ground at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Although easyJet is not based in Israel, lawyers argued the airline was subject to Israeli law while its plane was on the ground at Ben-Gurion International Airport (file photo) A statement from easyJet and Ms Wolfson yesterday, seen by the Guardian, said: 'EasyJet does not believe that female passengers should be asked to move seats simply based on their gender. 'The airline has a policy to politely inform any customer who raises this request that this will not be accommodated. 'Unfortunately, according to Melanie Wolfson this policy was not followed in her case. 'EasyJet is committed to tackling any discrimination on flights... we take this very seriously and in addition to compensating Ms Wolfson for her experience, easyJet intends to implement additional crew training and renew our crew guidelines in order to prevent these incidents happening in the future.' YEREVAN, 11 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 11 March, USD exchange rate up by 0.45 drams to 526.38 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 3.75 drams to 629.66 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.05 drams to 7.16 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.47 drams to 734.14 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price up by 12.99 drams to 29044.12 drams. Silver price down by 1.49 drams to 434 drams. Platinum price up by 203.03 drams to 19918.97 drams. 2020 was an interesting year for food delivery, both for aggregators (Zomato/ Swiggy) and standalone brands (Pizza Hut/ Dominos). Even as peak lockdowns shut restaurants, the dependence of many consumers on delivered food possibly increased. However, the larger theme has been that of a slowdown; the end-March to end-April lockdowns were the strictest, and its impact can be seen in plummeting reach of the two largest players, points out Kalagato in a blog. According to Kalagato, open rates and monthly active users show recovery towards pre-lockdown levels, but users who open apps dont count; paying customers do. On this count, demand has not recovered much from April. Monthly Active Customers are the unique number of monthly customers transacting on a particular platform. To that extent the performance of Dominos has been most consistent. This begs the question(s): Have a lot of people made a permanent adjustment to home-cooked food? Or is it an ongoing concern for safety? Or is a lower transacting population representative of lowered spending power/ disposable income? All of the above perhaps For the sticky users who continue to transact, there hasnt been much change in how often or how much they order; the lockdown period saw frequency and value hold steady thanks in part to the outlets that remained open for takeaway: The pandemic is a hiccup, not a show-stopper. According to a joint report by BCG & Google, online food delivery in India as a percentage of total dineout stands at just 4%, far behind developed countries like the US and UK (at around 9.5%), and China (13%). So, plenty of room to grow with a much larger addressable market (albeit with lower spending power). Platform Extensions/ What Else can My Riders Deliver? The uptick in usage towards the end of 2020 for aggregators like Zomato/ Swiggy is likely coming from a focus on new categories like alcohol (gives Swiggy a whole new meaning!), grocery (Swiggy Instamart moving into Amazon Fresh/ BigBasket territory), and wellness products. Cross-selling products and improving network utilisation makes inherent sense. Two questions businesses ask themselves: Why cant we keep our riders busy through the day and not just at meal times? What else can we credibly sell to our customers? Being category agnostic clearly helps utilise scale. The Kalagato blog here mentioned about Uber, which had done this with Uber Eats in 2015 and more recently bought out alcohol marketplace Drizly for $1.1 billion to sweat its network more. (Read More). Speed is a drug even next day delivery is too late and in the post-pandemic world, hyperlocal offers more opportunities than just food & grocery. As with jokes, hyperlocal success is all in the delivery! This is a space the delivery giants are stepping into (Swiggy Stores hosts products from small stores), while holding onto the food delivery business, which is somewhat less competitive now thanks to the exit of players like Food Panda and Uber Eats. Building war chests As per various media reports, aggregators are clearly building their war chests for this expansion. Diversification away from food delivery was always on the anvil and perhaps a long time coming; the pandemic precipitated it. [March 11, 2021] Autobooks Raises $25M in Series B Funding DETROIT, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Autobooks, the small business payment and accounting services platform, today announced that they have raised $25 million in Series B financing, led by MissionOG. The round also includes participation from other investors including Renaissance Venture Capital, Detroit Venture Partners and Draper Triangle, along with TD Bank Group. "The ability to receive payments online is vital for today's small business," said Rob Metzger, General Partner at MissionOG. "As we analyzed the market, we were impressed with Autobooks' unique ability to successfully partner with financial institutions. These partnerships help redefine integrated receivables, bringing immediate and significant value to treasury and cash-management services and the small businesses who most need the help." Autobooks enables small businesses to send digital invoices and accept online payments directly from their financial institution's existing online and mobile banking channels. The Detroit-based fintech works directly with banks and credit unions to unlock potential within small and micro-businesses, which has been historically difficult to do profitably, at scale. The company has developed partnerships with the industry's leading core & internet banking providers to ensure turn-key deployments, often in less than 90 days - with a clear and measurable ROI. "We understand business owners are busy and desire efficient solutions that provide them with more time tofocus on what's most important the health and success of their business," said Chris Giamo, Head of Commercial Bank, TD Bank. "In 2020, we launched an integrated accounting and receivables platform, TD Online Accounting, in collaboration with Autobooks. We know that they share our philosophy of serving businesses, which is why we are pleased to continue working with Autobooks." This announcement follows the recent news of a record 2020 for Autobooks , highlighted by 232% revenue growth and the addition of 46 financial institutions to Autobooks' rapidly growing customer base of banks and credit unions with assets ranging from $50 million to $350 billion. The proceeds from this round of funding will allow Autobooks to continue to expand operations domestically, as well as enter international markets; accelerate product innovation; further engage with large, enterprise banks; and grow its team with a key focus on product development and customer success. "Last year was extraordinary for many reasons, filled with new challenges and opportunities in the fintech sector," said Steve Robert, CEO of Autobooks. "Our team is humbled and inspired by the perseverance of small businesses - their creativity and resourcefulness to overcome obstacles, embrace technology and modernize their back office against all odds. We hear these stories every day, recognize their unmet needs and aim to help restore banks and credit unions role at the center of their customers' financial lives - combining modern technology, personalized service and contextual awareness to help businesses realize their full potential." About Autobooks: Detroit-based Autobooks is a provider of small business banking solutions that make it simple to get paid online, manage cash flow, and automate accounting. Through Autobooks, financial institutions can provide essential back office services, providing a small business Ecommerce platform directly embedded within their existing digital banking channels. Please visit www.autobooks.co to learn more. About MissionOG: MissionOG partners with high-growth businesses that have proven models in segments where we have had success as operators and investors, including financial services and payments, data platforms, and software. We apply our experience and capabilities to a group of highly skilled and passionate entrepreneurs whose businesses are on the cusp of exponential growth. The firm is managed by operators and investors who have effectively built early to growth stage businesses and guided them through successful acquisitions. MissionOG is headquartered in Philadelphia. For more information visit www.missionog.com . About TD Bank Group: The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves over 26 million customers in three key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Retail, including TD Canada Trust, TD Auto Finance Canada, TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 14 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN $1.7 trillion in assets on October 31, 2020. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. Press Contact: Jennifer Horne jenniferhorne@rockventures.com 313.265.5508 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/autobooks-raises-25m-in-series-b-funding-301245851.html SOURCE Autobooks [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The trial is designed to enroll 50 patients, each of whom will receive eight weeks of treatment followed by four weeks of safety evaluation Leronlimab works by mitigating what is known as the cytokine storm, a hyperactive immune response that can cause inflammation, fatigue and, in severe cases, organ failure CytoDyn Inc ( ) announced Thursday that 20 patients have been enrolled and dosed in the first 10 days of its Phase 2 trial of its drug Vyrologix (leronlimab-PRO 140) as a treatment for COVID-19 long-haulers symptoms. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is designed to enroll 50 patients, with each receiving eight weekly doses of Vyrologix (or a placebo), followed by four weeks of safety evaluation. The endpoint measure will be at day 56, and trial data is expected by mid-summer, the company said. This trial represents a potential solution for many patients with post-acute sequelae from COVID-19 (PASC) known as long-haulers where currently no treatment is available, VP of Clinical Development Christopher Recknor said in a statement. Patients in the trial have had lingering symptoms for over 12 weeks and they need help," he added. "We are looking at sophisticated biomarkers that will help us identify who benefits and why. This group of afflicted patients may represent a signal for all those who have had other post-viral complications and have lost their quality of life since the virus. Recknor noted that coronavirus long-haulers complained of similar symptoms as people with chronic fatigue syndrome. In our CD10 COVID mild-to-moderate trial with leronlimab, we noted a reduction in adverse events or symptoms including fatigue, diarrhea, chest pain, fatigue, muscle weakness and anxiety in treated vs. placebo groups, Recknor said. Since the CD10 trial did not have a restriction on the time from diagnosis of when COVID was made, some patients were post-COVID several weeks and may have been in the initial stages of PASC. Our job is to use what we learned from prior trials and show that Vyrologix can help. Enrollment continues in the Phase 2 clinical trial for COVID-19 long-haulers in several hospitals and clinics throughout the US, including Recknors own Center for Advanced Research & Education LLC in Gainesville, Georgia. We are pleased to initiate this much-awaited trial, CEO Nader Pourhassan said. Our NASH trial has similarly enrolled 20 patients and is moving forward with rapid speed, thanks to Dr. Chris Recknor, who is in charge of both programs. With strong CD12 results, NASH and long-hauler results not too far away, along with our BLA submission for HIV coming up, we are more confident than ever about the future of leronlimab for many indications. We are also equally very excited about our cancer trial and ready to file for a Breakthrough Therapy Designation meeting with the FDA this month. Leronlimab works by mitigating what is known as the cytokine storm, a hyperactive immune response that can cause inflammation, fatigue and, in severe cases, organ failure. Aside from COVID-19, the FDA has granted Fast Track designation to CytoDyn for two potential indications of leronlimab for critical illnesses. The first is a combination therapy with HAART for HIV-infected patients and the second is for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel Credit: CC0 Public Domain Each night it's the same. Story after story on the TV news is about the COVID vaccination effort, and they are all illustrated with footage of needles sinking into exposed upper arms. Could those visuals, ostensibly making this all seem routine, backfire? More than causing squeamish people to look away or change the channel, researchers say such illustrations could hamper efforts to get a broad swath of U.S. residents vaccinated. Bottom line: Many people don't like needles, and that could further slow vaccination efforts as winter turns to spring when supplies are expected to multiply and efforts to get the hesitant to sign up for a dose will intensify. "Fear of needles was one of the barriers that was a significant predictor of people saying, 'I don't think I will get this vaccine,'" said Jeanine Guidry, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who researches visual communication and conducted a survey of 500 people in July. And it's not just TV news using what could be sensitive video footage. Disinformation spread on social media often incorporates images of giant syringes, Guidry recently told the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to federal health officials. Social media has been a source of much incorrect information about vaccines in general, and COVID specifically, designed to dissuade people from getting shots. Such "fear visuals," Guidry said, "get more attention," and may be remembered longer than other types of illustrations. Legitimate efforts to encourage vaccination may have also inadvertently sparked fear by showing exaggeratedly large syringes, said Guidry, who urged public health experts to be careful with their messages, too. "If you use a picture of a huge syringe that looks twice the size of my head, that makes you go, 'OK, that's big,'" said Guidry. "I can't fathom what that would do to someone who has a needle phobia." Even attempts to reassure people by showing leaders such as Dr. Anthony Fauci or the president and vice president getting their COVID vaccinations on TV can be triggering, said Hillel Hoffmann, an independent communications consultant and freelance writer in Philadelphia. "I always turn away," said Hoffmann, who recently wrote of his near lifelong fear of needles in a piece for Medicalbag, an online publication aimed at physicians. "I know those pictures are supposed to psych me up for the fact that the vaccine is safe and available, and I'm not worried at all about the vaccines' safety," said Hoffmann. "But what I can't take because of my fear of needles is looking at a picture of someone with a small-bore needle buried in their deltoid muscle." Public health experts say it's important to get at least 70% to 80% of the public vaccinated to reach what is called herd immunity, when enough people will either have had the COVID virus or a vaccination, to severely limit its further spread. But fear of needles contributes to some people's vaccine hesitancy. An analysis of a broad range of studies from the U.S. and other countries on this topic by researchers at the University of Michigan showed that 20% to 30% of adults studied cited concern about needles, ranging from mild anxiety to a phobia strong enough to keep some from seeking medical care. Even many health care workers cited a fear of needles, according to the research, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing in August 2018. "There's a perception that people who work in hospitals would be less afraid of needles, because they're surrounded by them all the time, but one study found 27% of hospital employees who did not take the flu vaccine said it was because of needle fear or they did not like needles," said Jennifer McLenon, an infection preventionist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit who completed the study while getting her master's degree in epidemiology. Another study found that 18% of health care workers in long-term care facilities felt the same way, she said. An extreme fear of needles or medical procedures involving injections is technically called trypanophobia, said Jeffrey Geller, president of the American Psychiatric Association. "Some people avoid needles because of fear of pain, some from fear of fainting," said Geller. "And some people do faint." It may have an evolutionary basis, said Thea Gallagher, an assistant professor and the director of the clinic at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania. "We know from evolutionary biologists that seeing a sharp object going into our bodies is not something we are supposed to be cool with," said Gallagher. But Geller and Gallagher said barriers created by this fear or phobia could be lowered with careful public health messaging, along with self-help techniques individuals can practice or, in severe cases, professional assistance from a therapist. Public health messaging should avoid drawings that exaggerate the size of needles or syringes, "which are not helpful," said Geller, noting that the COVID vaccinations involve "a small syringe and needle." But, as to the effect of those TV images night after night? Well, it could go either way. "For those with a fear, it could exacerbate it," said Geller. "For those who don't have the fear, it could be reassuring to show that it's a routine practice." McLenon, the researcher from Michigan, said she has heard, anecdotally, that those shots on TV "make people more afraid." "Can't we get some pictures of the vials or something else?" she suggested. For instance, Hoffmann, the writer, said if he were designing the perfect visuals for a COVID vaccination campaign, it would not refer to injections directly at all. "If I were to drive by a drugstore and it had a poster in the window saying 'Come get it today for your family. Do it for the nation. Do it for the public good' We would all know what the 'it' is. They don't have to show it." Still, McLenon and others say no one has yet studied the effect specific images about the COVID vaccine have on people because it's so new. And the desire to get back to a more normal society may help those with a fear of needles push themselves to get a COVID vaccine, whereas they might not feel the same way about, say, an annual flu vaccination. Hoffmann, who said his fear began after extensive dental work as a child, said he intends to get a shot. But when his turn comes, he said, he'll likely be very nervous; his heart will race and he will sweat. Unlike some people with a fear of needles, he does not faint, although he understands that reaction. "A lot of people assume that what I'm afraid of is the pain," said Hoffmann. The worst part for him, he said, is how he can't control his fear in that public setting. And it's embarrassing. "I'm not alone when it happens. The person giving me the injection sees it. I can't hide it." The emergency use authorization granted Feb. 27 by the Food and Drug Administration for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is good news for people like Hoffmann. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines currently available require two doses, spaced a few weeks apart. Which means facing fears twice. Whether it's one or two shots, experts suggest a variety of steps to help people who struggle get through the processbring a support person, take deep breaths, stay positive, just to name a few. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. We come by it honestly," said Gallagher from the University of Pennsylvania. "Anxiety is likely making it into a bigger monster" than it should be. "It's not worth beating yourself up about." Facing the Fear For the millions of Americans who have some fear of needles, there are ways to help yourself cope, say experts. Put it in perspective. Be positive about the reasons you are getting the vaccine and remember that the pain will be short-lived, like a stubbed toe, said Thea Gallagher, director of the clinic at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania. For those getting the two-dose regimens, "be objective about how the first one went," she said, "and that you got through it." Bring a support person. Some vaccination sites will allow this. Ask. Practice deep breathing or other techniques to help stay calm at the site. Eat something and drink water beforehand; it reduces the chance of fainting. And you can request being inoculated in a reclined position. Tell your vaccinator of your concerns. "When you get there, you can say, 'Look, I don't like needles.' The health care providers are used to that," said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Don't be afraid to seek professional help if your fear is intense but you feel strongly about getting vaccinated. A therapist can use cognitive-behavioral techniques or exposure therapy to help, said Dr. Jeffrey Geller, president of the American Psychiatric Association. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 Kaiser Health News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC Four Rikers Island staffers, including a deputy warden, have been suspended after murder suspect, Christopher Buggs (pictured), 26, was accidentally released on Tuesday due to a clerical error Four Rikers Island staffers, including a deputy warden, have been suspended after a murder suspect was accidentally released on Tuesday due to a clerical error. Police are still searching for Christopher Buggs, 26, who had been imprisoned for over three years without bail while waiting for his murder trial. Buggs was sentenced to 30 days of time served in a separate criminal contempt case. When the paperwork was filed, however, that sentence was also listed as the final disposition in the murder case, an error that went unnoticed. Because of this, Buggs was released from Otis Bantum Correctional Center at 2am on Tuesday morning in an 'erroneous discharge,' as the Correction Department is calling it. According to the New York Daily News, Assistant Deputy Warden Kevin Roulston, who was in charge of operations at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center the night Buggs was released, has been suspended. Sources said that two correction officers and a captain were also suspended over the debacle. Authorities said Buggs is considered to be armed and dangerous. Buggs was awaiting trial in the murder of Ernest Brownlee, 55, who was killed on January 29, 2018. Buggs (left) was awaiting trial in the 2018 murder of Ernest Brownlee (right), which happened in Brooklyn 'They need to find this guy,' Winifred Mackins, Brownlee's widow, told the Daily News after Buggs' release. 'I dont like this. Im angry. Im (feeling) everything.' A spokesman for the New York City Corrections department said a 'full investigation into how this happened' is under way. 'Right now we are working with our law enforcement partners to return this individual to custody,' said Corrections spokesman Peter Thorne. Brownlee was gunned down outside of a Bedford-Stuyvesant bodega in Brooklyn, where was waiting for an order of pepper steak for lunch. His widow said: 'He was kind and generous to me and the kids. His grandkids still come to stay and say, 'Hey grandma, wheres grandpa at?'' 'He was a good man,' Alita Mackins, Brownlee's sister-in-law, told the Daily News at the time of the murder. Asistant Deputy Warden Kevin Roulston, who was in charge of operations at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center the night Buggs was released, has been suspended. The New York City Council voted to close the Rikers Island jail by 2026 (stock) 'He had his problems, but he did his time. He was out working hard, taking care of his wife, whos ill.' Buggs' release is not the first time the Correction Department mistakenly released a prisoner. In 2014, the New York Daily News reported that 23 inmates were incorrectly freed between 2009 and 2014. 'Any erroneous release is unacceptable,' the Corrections Department told the Daily News in response to their reporting. Most of those inmates were captured again within a few days of their release, though one, Sidney Bannister, remained free for more than two years. In 2019, the New York City Council voted to close the facility at Rikers Island by 2026. This article appears in the March 12, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. The Oasis Plan: Development Is the Key to Peace in the Middle East [Print version of this article] Editors Note: This speech and the discussion session that follows it were first published in EIR, Vol. 21, No. 21, May 20, 1994, pages 22-27. View full size EIRNS/Rachel Douglas Mr. LaRouche gave this speech, on his proposal for an Oasis Plan of Middle East development, to the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow on April 27, 1994. He was in Russia with his wife, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, for a six-day visit, at the invitation of Russian scientific circles. Subheads have been added. Ill give an outline of my background in this area and then focus upon one particular topic, which is a very narrow part of the total Asian picture: the question of Middle East peace, focused upon cooperation at present, however unstable, between Shimon Peres on the Israeli side, and Yasser Arafat on the side of the Palestinians. And there are some other Arab countries, naturally, interested in this. Relevant parts of my experience bearing on this are two. First, after returning from the Second World War with a very strong impression of my postwar experiences in India, I ran into a book which angered me very much, a book called Cybernetics, by Prof. Norbert Wiener, which became famous in later years.... From 1945 through 1963, the world had been dominated by the idea of postwar reconstruction based on scientific and technological progress, but from 1968 on, after the counter-cultural revolution among youth, the result was that we no longer as nations accepted the idea of the right of developing nations to scientific and technological progress. So the period from the First Development Decade and the aborted Second Development Decade, as announced by U Thant in his famous Second Development Decade proposal at the U.N.that was over. At the same time, there was a destruction of all traditional family and related values within the United States, North America, and western Europe. As an economist, I had known at the time that if the policies of that period were continued, the international Bretton Woods system in its existing form would cease to exist, would collapseas it did, over the period 1967 through 1971. Because of my somewhat unique success in forecasting the nature of this collapse, I achieved a certain influence; and I faced then the question of the passage of the world from less than two decades of postwar reconstruction, to what have become today three decades of post-reconstruction deconstruction. If that policy of deconstruction continues, if the policies of the past 30 years continue, then I would say there is no chance for any part of the planet. There will be a general collapse into barbarism. As a result of that, some friends of mine and I started some publications and set up an intelligence organization project. People became specialists in various parts of the world and specialists in various subjects; and, through publications which are the result of that effort, I have been involved in most parts of the world over the past 25 years. One of my primary concerns was with the crossroads of civilization, the Middle East, which additionally, for geographic and other related reasons, has been the crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean regions historically, for thousands of years, since at least the time of that ancient civilization we sometimes call Harappa. For special reasons, I became concerned with the injustice suffered by the Arab people in consequence of British operations in setting up Israel. In April 1975, in the course of a visit to Iraq for the annual Baath Party session, I proposed to various Arabs who were there, that they consider a new approach to the Israeli-Arab conflict. The idea was not entirely original; there were brief precedents in Israel for this. There were certain Arabs who had confidence in it, particularly after they discovered, in the middle of that meeting, that the Lebanese civil war had broken out. This had been a subject of some debate. At the time, I insisted that it was about to break out; they said no, and when it did, we had some very serious discussions. What I proposedand I had ready acceptance from certain circles in Israel and among some Palestinians and other Arabswas the following thesis. I stated that the efforts to find a political solution to the Middle East conflict would not succeed under any circumstances, because we had extreme bitterness which could not be settled at the political bargaining table. Before we could have a political solution, we had to have an economic self-interest by both parties in a political solution. Some Israelis, of the type you would associate today with Shimon Peres, agreed. By early 1976, there was a very significant effort to bring this to success; but because of a very radical shift in politics in Israel at that time, our efforts failed. We tried to revive this again with some sympathy from certain circles in the United States in the later 1978 Carter period. But that failed because forces inside Israel at the time wished it to fail. There was a brief effort to revive that on the Israeli side, as well as ours, when Shimon Peres was prime minister of Israel. What I believe were some very useful plans were brought to agreement; but we were cut off because of the change in government. The plan, as you know, has been revived recently on the initiative of Shimon Peres in negotiations with Yasser Arafat. It could succeed; though it is very much in jeopardy. Water and Nuclear Power The typical axes of the proposal were two things: water and nuclear power. One of the key problems there, of course, is the shortage of water. One cannot meet the indices of water consumption for a modern population, for both the Palestinian and Israeli populations, under present conditions. There is a conflict over water because the Israelis have, frankly, been using their conquests to take water from everybody. Its one of the conflicts with Syria on the Golan Heights issue. It involves, in Lebanon, the Litani River, and things of that sort. If you look at the aquifers in the region, there is not enough water available for the total populationnot for modern life. Therefore a political division of the water as it exists, would be no solution. When we were negotiating with the Peres government in Israel in the early 1980s, they came up with a plan which was called the Canal-Tunnel Plan, to bring seawater from the Mediterranean, through Beersheba, and to cut a tunnel in the mountains, into the Dead Sea, which would be partly, in their view, a power-generating project, which would stabilize the aquifers in the vicinity of the Dead Sea. I suggested that that was not adequate; it was good, but not adequate. We focused on the Gaza area as a key area to look at, in terms of shaping a possible policy. We found the Israelis had done all the paperwork and planning necessary for the development of infrastructure in that region. My friends made an effort to involve some Japanese interests in actually constructing the project and financing it according to these plans. My particular version of it came in two parts. Of course, the Jordanians and the Palestinians were very interested in that version of the plan, which was to make another cut from the Gulf of Aqaba toward the Dead Sea, which would be largely a Jordanian project, to link the two canals by a cross-canal. My point was to increase the size of the canals adequately to permit a large-scale desalination project along the banks of the canal. Our concern also was that, since this required nuclear energy, to avoid the problems of nuclear proliferation. As you may know, back some years ago, at the German nuclear research center at Julich, a new type of high-temperature reactor was developed, which is sometimes called the Pebble Reactor. It is a fully designed system. It has never been installed due to economic and political reasons. It is the type of reactor which I would recommend to the attention of certain Russian circles as well. It was developed under the direction of a group headed by Professor Schulten of the Julich Center. At that time, initially Brown Boveri was to be the contractor to build these types of reactors. My view was to build a series of 300 megawatt electricity plants and put them in blocks of four, to build what was called, in the 1950s, nuplexes. Although the cost of producing fresh water from salt water by nuclear energy is high, the availability of usable fresh water is such a bottleneck in the region, and fresh water is at such a cost in the region, that the high cost of fresh water or brackish water produced by nuclear desalination or nuclear-assisted desalination, would be perfectly acceptable economically. You could in fact build up a supply of water by such methods which would be the equivalent of a new, added river in the region, which would mean the possibility of creating new cities and recapturing the desert for industry and agriculture. As Im sure you know, there were plans in Egypt along similar lines which were aborted on orders of international financial institutions. I merely cite this as an illustration of what can be done. We have the technology available and obviously, in the unused potential of Russias scientific-military-aerospace research capabilities, there is a capability from this nation, if there were some credit available, to participate in assisting in such projects, for this case or other cases where development would become the key to peace. The Way Out of the Current Crisis In conclusion, let me state what the issue is, I believe, here. The issue with the present countercultural trends in economy is obvious; but I can assure you that within a relatively short period of time, the existing global financial and monetary system will collapse. It is finished; it is unstable. What has been seen in the past six weeks on international financial markets is only an advance rumble of much larger financial disruptions to come. So, soon those problems will the music of the past. The question will be: how to keep economies going despite the collapse. And policies to accomplish that, I think, are the only important policies. In this case, I propose we drop the sociological or often-accepted sociological view of negotiations and grand politics. I propose that not only the material but the psychological effect of development upon the state of the individual mind is the key to peaceful development of this planet in the coming period. We have been worse than a failure. For example I know intimately most of the countries of Central and South America; and I can assure you that in those countries, those sociological methods have been proven to be worse than nothing. To me, the key is the fact that man is not an animal. If humanity were an animal, it would be in the same category as the higher primate species, which means that the human population would never have exceeded, in the past 2-3 million years, more than 10 million individuals at any one time on this planet. Man has already shown, many centuries ago, that he can increase willfully the potential population density, that is, the power of man over nature, which no animal can do. We reached the level of several hundred millions during a period of the Roman Empire and afterward. The productive power of man has increased most greatly in the past 600 years than in the millions of years of human existence prior to that time. The secret of it is that we have developed science as a tool of human development. No longer does 95% or more of the population labor in the brutality of rural lifeor if they do, they need not, if we use modern technologies. We have elevated man by making possible a society which required an education in ideas. The cruelest thing I have seen on this planet, is to see a human being, and looking into their eyes, expecting to find humanity reflected there, to find a person instead who has been bestialized. The essential thing is what we used to hear and accept up until the mid-1960s. Im sure all of us who were adults then, or who were growing up in that period, would think about justice for the developing nations, and providing them access to technology to solve their problems. The tendency now, is to look at those faces and say, The problem is, there are too many people. I would suggest that if we do not change our policy to foster in the individual a sense of his identity as a human being, through access to scientific and other creativity, that we shall bring barbarism upon ourselves. The Congregation for Eastern Churches notes that Christians in the region have lost jobs because of the absence of pilgrims. This has made living with dignity and providing for their families and children more difficult. Vatican City (AsiaNews) The pandemic has made 2020 particularly difficult for Christians living in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. In 2021, they need more than ever the support of the Catholic community, this according to the Congregation for Eastern Churches in a letter prepared for the Pro Terra Sancta Collection on Good Friday, published today. The appeal, signed by Card Leonardo Sandri and Archbishop Giorgio Demetrio Gallaro, prefect and secretary of the dicastery, notes that In 2020, the Christians of those lands suffered an isolation that made them feel even more distant, cut off from vital contact with the brethren from various countries of the world. They suffered the loss of work, due to the absence of pilgrims, and the consequent difficulty in living with dignity and providing for their families and children. In many countries, the persistence of war and sanctions compounded the effects of the pandemic. In addition, part of the economic aid that the collection pro Terra Sancta guaranteed every year also fell short, due to the added difficulties involved in carrying it out in many countries. May this year collection pro Terra Sancta be an opportunity for everyone not to ignore the difficult situation of our brothers and sisters of the Holy Places but rather to lighten their burdens. If this small gesture of solidarity and sharing (Saint Paul and Saint Francis of Assisi would call it restitution) fails, it will be even more difficult for many of them to resist the temptation to leave their country, more demanding to support the parishes in their pastoral and educational work and harder to sustain the social commitment to the poor and suffering. The sufferings of the many displaced people and refugees who have had to leave because of war call for an outstretched helping hand to pour the balm of consolation on their wounds. We must not give up on taking care of the Holy Places that are concrete proof of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, and the offering of His life for us and for our salvation. In this unusual scenario, marked by the absence of pilgrims, we feel the duty to once again make our own the words that the Apostle of the Gentiles addressed to the Corinthians two thousand years ago, inviting you to a solidarity that is not based only on philanthropy but rather on Christological motivations: Indeed, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: though rich, He made Himself poor for you, so that through His poverty you might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). And after recalling the principles of equality, solidarity and the mutual exchange of material and spiritual goods, the Apostle adds words, as eloquent then as now, which do not need any comment: Keep this in mind: he who sows poorly will reap poorly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Let each one give according to what he has decided in his heart, not with sadness or by force, because God loves those who give with joy. Moreover, God has the power to make all grace abound in you so that, always having the necessary in everything, you can generously perform all good works (2 Cor. 9:6-8). The Collection Pro Terra Sancta was born from the desire of the popes to maintain a strong link between all the faithful and the Holy Places. It is the main source of material support for Christian life in the Holy Land and the privileged instrument that the Church provides her children in other parts of the world to express solidarity with the ecclesial communities of the Middle East. In recent times, Saint Paul VI gave a decisive boost in favour of the Holy Land through the Apostolic Exhortation Nobis in Animo (25 March 1974). Through the funds traditionally collected on Good Friday, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land is able to carry out the important mission to which it is called: preserving the Sacred Places, the stones of memory, and promoting the Christian presence, the living stones, through many pastoral, educational, welfare, health and social structures. The territories that benefit in various forms of support from the Collection are Jerusalem, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. As a rule, the Custody of the Holy Land receives 65% of the Collection, while the remaining 35% goes to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, which uses it for the formation of candidates for the priesthood, the support of the clergy, educational activities, cultural formation and subsidies to the various ecclesiastical circumscriptions in the Middle East. In 2020, the collection raised US$ 7,165,603.58. Some of the funds were devolved to the COVID-19 emergency. Thanks also to the active collaboration of various catholic aid agencies which are part of ROACO (Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Eastern Churches), 303 projects were financed in 24 countries under the jurisdiction of this Dicastery, without counting the support given to priests and religious, for a total of US$ 9,574,907.74. By Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News (TNS) Four ex-presidents have a message for America: Get your COVID-19 vaccine. All the living former commanders in chief except former President Donald Trump banded together to film two public service ads backing the national vaccination push. This vaccine means hope, former President Barack Obama says in one ad. It will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease. Obama was joined by predecessors George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter in the campaign. About 10% of Americans are fully vaccinated as the inoculation effort picks up steam and a new one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine coming onto the market. The science is clear. These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease, Bush adds. The group sidestepped questions about the exclusion of Trump, noting that one of the ads was filmed during President Joe Bidens inauguration, which his predecessor boycotted. Trump has urged Americans to get vaccinated, and has boasted that the vaccines would not have been developed without him. Unlike others, Trump and ex-First Lady Melania Trump were vaccinated in private and did not publicly disclose getting the life-saving jab until weeks later for reasons that remain unclear. Carter, the oldest of the club at 96 years old, recently returned to in-person services at his Plains, Ga. church after becoming fully vaccinated with his wife, Rosalynn. We want this pandemic to end as soon as possible, Carter says in the ad. More: When will my stimulus check come and how much will I get? Updates on Biden bill signing timeline, more Nursing home residents whove been vaccinated against COVID-19 can finally get hugs again, feds say STAMFORD A Greenwich woman accused of cruelty to animals was released from custody in December on two conditions: She was not permitted near any dogs and was not allowed to sell them. But police say Catherine Palmer, 49, charged in the deaths of three dogs, failed to abide by that agreement. Marshals arrested Palmer Wednesday when she appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford for allegedly violating the conditions of her release. New Canaan Police / Contributed Photo The charge stems from Palmer being seen dropping off three dogs last month at a Norwalk veterinarian, according to her arrest warrant. Norwalk Police Lt. David OConnor said Palmer dropped off three dogs covered in vomit, feces and urine on Feb. 5 at the United Animal Center on Westport Avenue. Palmer told employees that the dogs belonged to her boyfriend, the warrant said. Employees told police that Palmers boyfriend could not provide any details about the animals when he was contacted, according to the warrant. At Palmers arraignment Thursday, defense attorney Mark Kratter argued the crime his client is accused of committing did not merit the $150,000 bond that was set. But Assistant States Attorney Elizabeth Moran said the act showed a blatant and flagrant disregard for court orders. In addition to having contact with dogs, Moran said Palmer has been arranging to sell more pets, which she said also violates court orders. Moran argued for the bond to be maintained at $150,000 and for the court to impose GPS monitoring, a curfew and a travel ban outside of Connecticut as conditions of release. In a compromise, Judge John Blawie lowered the bond to $25,000 and instituted GPS monitoring. As a part of the conditions of her release, Blawie said Palmer cannot have contact with dogs. He also said she cannot participate in any dog sale directly or indirectly. Youre in a hole right now, and you need to stop digging, Blawie warned Palmer. Palmer was arrested in December on three counts of cruelty to animals stemming from the deaths of three puppies in her New Canaan home, police said. New Canaan Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm described a scene at the home that included feces on the floor where the dogs were held, feces matted in their fur and the presence of the parvovirus that she said killed at least two puppies. During testimony in December in a civil case for custody of the dogs that were seized, Halm described how she was first called to the home last August when a tenant reported a sick dog. Halm testified she returned to the home in September and seized 12 dogs after three puppies died. She described the animals as being neglected and living in feces in the kitchen, according to her testimony. Palmer is next scheduled to appear in court April 28 for the criminal charges. Google Maps San Antonio police are searching for the person responsible for shooting and killing a man at a West Side apartment complex Wednesday evening. Officers were called to the Costa Valencia apartments, at 6303 U.S. 90 W around 6:30 p.m., after neighbors reported hearing gunshots. When they arrived, they found a man at the bottom of an exterior stairwell with a gunshot wound to the chest. A woman is injected with a Covid-19 vaccine by AstraZeneca in HCMC, March 8, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa. Central Da Nang City would begin its Covid-19 vaccination campaign Friday with 100 shots prioritized for frontline workers at the municipal Lung Hospital. Le Thanh Phuc, director of Da Nang Lung Hospital, on Thursday said 100 Covid-19 vaccine doses from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, which arrived late last month, had been transported by the Ministry of Health to cold storage facilities run by Vietnam Vaccine JSC in Da Nang on Wednesday. "The vaccine doses would be used to inoculate employees at Da Nang Lung Hospital on Friday morning," local media reported Phuc as saying. Da Nang, the former Covid-19 epicenter of Vietnam's second coronavirus wave in July last year, fortunately recorded no community cases in the most recent outbreak affecting 13 cities and provinces since January this year. A national Covid-19 vaccination campaign, Vietnam's largest yet, commenced Monday, prioritizing frontline workers in areas with recent outbreaks. Vietnam has ordered 30 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by AstraZeneca, of which around 117,600 doses had arrived last month. The country would also receive an additional 4.1 million AstraZeneca doses via global vaccine access mechanism Covax by April, and another 25.9 million doses between August and November. Vietnam is also negotiating with other vaccine manufacturers in the U.S., Russia and some other countries to ensure it could obtain a total 150 million doses this year to cover 70 percent of its population. The coronavirus tally so far in Vietnam is 2,529, with 486 active cases. Federal prosecutors in New York said in court Tuesday that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez plotted to ship cocaine to the U.S. with alleged drug trafficker Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, arrested in Florida on trafficking and arms charges in March 2020. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gutwillig, in his opening statements in Fuentes Ramirez's trial, said an accountant overheard Hernandez tell Fuentes Ramirez he wanted to to "shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.'" "They plotted to send as much cocaine as possible to the United States," Gutwillig said. He dated the incident to 2013 or 2014, and said the accountant, who prosecutors are calling Jose Sanchez, will testify in the trial. A lawyer for Fuentes Ramirez responded that Sanchez isn't a credible witness and is testifying to obtain U.S. asylum. Hernandez reiterated his claims of innocence on Monday, tweeting that the drug traffickers are implicating him for his anti-trafficking efforts and to obtain lighter sentences, The Associated Press reports. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Brian Fairbanks, who arrested Fuentes Ramirez, testified Tuesday that he found Hernandez's phone number and email address in Fuentes Ramirez's cellphone, and identified the Honduran president in a photo next to Fuentes Ramirez's son and brother. Hernandez was also accused of accepting more than $1 million in bribes from Mexican kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman during the trial that ended in the 2019 conviction of the president's brother Juan Antonio Hernandez. A court filing last month suggests the U.S. is investigating Juan Orlando Hernandez, though he has not yet been charged with any crime. More stories from theweek.com The media is missing the point about Meghan Markle 7 royally funny cartoons about Harry and Meghan's tell-all interview The Southern Baptist Convention's ominous cracks Jathi Ratnalu has finally made its way to the theatres. Starring Naveen Polishetty, Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Rahul Ramakrishna in lead roles, the film has released today (March 11) coinciding with Maha Shivaratri. The comedy-drama written and directed by Anudeep KV has opened to a largely positive response. The audiences are hugely impressed with the unconventional storyline, comic timing and incredible performances of the star cast. The fans and followers of the lead actors and the film are now trending hashtag #JathiRatnalu on social media to celebrate the humongous response it has been receiving from all corners since its massive release. Despite stiff competition with other Telugu releases including Sharwanand's Sreekaram, Rajendra Prasad's Gaali Sampath and Darshan's Roberrt (Telugu remake of Kannada film Roberrt), Jathi Ratnalu seems to be enjoying a massive crowd in theatres. The comedy film revolves around three carefree young men who are in search of love and are on a mission to prove their innocence after being framed in a crime. Backed by National Award-winning director Nag Ashwin under the production banner Swapna Cinema, the film has music composed by Radhan and camera cranked by Siddam Manohar. The supporting actors of the film are Faria Abdullah, Murali Sharma, Brahmanandan, Naresh and Brahmaji. Notably, the trailer of the film was recently unveiled by Rebel Star Prabhas and the video of the same garnered huge attention of the netizens as it left many in splits. On the other hand, Rowdy Star Vijay Deverakonda was the chief guest for Jathi Ratnalu's pre-release event held in Hyderabad. Well, are you planning to watch Jathi Ratnalu this weekend? Check out what Twitterati has to say about the comedy-entertainer. KC JAGADEESH Smiling face@KCJagadeesh26 #JathiRatnalu First Half Report : " " #NaveenPolishetty at His Best Hilarious Comedy Scenes BEST Entertainer in Recent Times #Tollywood Sharukh MSDTM @StanMSD #JathiRatnalu An enjoyable entertainer with a Good 1st half and an Average 2nd half! Hilarious one liners throughout! On the flip side the 2nd half is somewhat lengthy but you will never feel bored! @NaveenPolishety What a performance! A Good one time watch Prashanth Official @iamPrashanth27 #JathiRatnalu - OS reviews are good @NaveenPolishety 1sf Half Ku positive reviews...2nd half also decent to gud nu !! Waiting for Telugu states reviews Keerthi chandra Juvvadi @JUVVADI_KCrao #JathiRatnalu you made me laugh for the whole length of the movie. Best 3 hrs #tfi #JathiRathnalu #Telugu PK3VK @pk3vk Naveen Polishetty killing it in every possible scene with his unique timing #JathiRatnaluprudhvi raj @prudhvirajs #JathiRatnalu This out and out comedy drama delivered more than the high expectations set. Had an out of the seat laughter experience. Anudeep Kv @nagashwin7 @NaveenPolishety n all. Please release the video of discussions during editing choices Also Read: PSPK27: Massive First Look, Title And Glimpse Of Pawan Kalyan Starrer To Be Out Tomorrow Also Read: Allu Aravind To Anasuya Bharadwaj During The Pre-Release Event Of Chaavu Kaburu Challaga: I Really Like You Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Mostly sunny skies with gusty winds developing during the afternoon. Very hot. High 101F. WSW winds at 10 to 15 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 70F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Exit Partners involvement was crucial to the ultimate success of our sale process... I am glad we engaged with them. Matt Staudt, CEO Venture Development Center (VDC), the established thought leader and premier consultancy in the Big Data ecosphere, has agreed to be acquired by Stirista. Exit Partners, LLC represented the Board and shareholders during the transaction process. Matt Staudt, VDCs Chief Executive Officer, said, Exit Partners involvement was crucial to the ultimate success of our sale process. We interacted with multiple potential acquirers, progressed through negotiations, and at the end of the day, the company, its employees, and its clients ended up in a great situation moving forward. I am glad we engaged with them. Founded in 1996 by Charlie Stryker, VDC was a pioneer in this sector from its earliest days. The company earned a reputation as an innovative thought leader, believing the future of marketing was going to be driven by synthesizing large amounts of data. The company counts several major Global brands as clients, as well as numerous alternative data providers and many information services firms that are household names. Stirista Chief Executive Officer Ajay Gupta said, "We are excited to expand our product offering and integrate the exceptional relationships which VDC has developed into our platform. The acquisition enhances our customer service experience and strengthens our position in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace. We are proud to have such a capable group join our team and excited that Matt will continue as the Chief Strategy Officer at Stirista as part of our leadership team." Exit Partners is a M&A advisory firm based in Plano, TX providing sell-side, buy-side, and strategic advisory services to well-positioned companies across several industries. Stirista delivers micro-targeted multichannel marketing solutions fueled by super-smart data. The company is based in San Antonio, TX. Stirista is backed by the innovative B2B tech investment firm Wavecrest Growth Partners, based in Boston, MA. http://www.exitpartners.com http://www.venturedc.com http://www.stirista.com http://www.wavecrestgrowth.com During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, advocate of Armenian captives before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), lawyer Siranush Sahakyan said there are supposedly three more Armenian female captives in Azerbaijan besides Lebanese-Armenian Maral Najarian. I have presented the data of the three women to relevant organizations. Three female civilians are under the control of Azerbaijan, which doesnt confirm the circumstances behind the official capture. There are also cases when the displaced persons have been murdered, Sahakyan stated. Sahakyan added that two Armenian women were captured during the war, and one was captured after the trilateral statement signed between Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020. Asked if more captives will be returned soon, Sahakyan said the following: I dont think there will be such developments in the near future since there are no preconditions in terms of foreign politics. I have addressed the ECHR to forward a document on the issue to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The ECHR might address the Committee of Ministers so that the issue of failure to implement the immediate measures is considered. This will increase the Council of Europes political pressure on Azerbaijan. Touching upon the statements of the authorities that Azerbaijan refuses to return the Armenian captives due to the domestic political situation in Armenia, Sahakyan said the following: From the perspective of the solution to this interstate issue, only negotiations and the position of the negotiator are significant. Domestic political developments dont have any impact. Kang has earned the respect of Asia's gastronomic leaders through his tireless work expanding the possibilities of Korean cuisine in recent years. His flagship restaurant, Mingles, first appeared on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2016 at No.15. As well as earning the Highest New Entry award, it was also named The Best Restaurant in Korea, an honour it has retained for five consecutive years. Drawing on his culinary heritage, Kang uses jang (a trio of Korean traditional fermented sauces) and seasonal local herbs to capture authentic Korean flavours. While Mingles' inspired seven-course tasting menu honours traditional hansik (Korean cuisine), it also showcases Kang's technical expertise, creative flair and international experience. In July 2020, Kang brought his innovative interpretation of Korean cuisine overseas for the first time with the opening of Hansik Goo in Hong Kong. Presenting a progressive interpretation of beloved Korean dishes, Hansik Goo celebrates one of the cornerstones of Korean culinary culture, the authentic, family-style dining experience. William Drew, Director of Content at Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, says: "Through the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award, Chef Mingoo Kang's peers have shown their respect for his craftsmanship and artistry, as well as his ability to articulate Korean culinary culture on the international stage. Chef Kang reinterprets Korean cuisine in a modern context by combining contemporary techniques and local elements, striking a delicate balance between innovation and tradition." A trailblazer of the new Korean cuisine movement, Kang graduated from Kyonggi University before interning at the Ritz-Carlton in Florida. Dedicated to learning about international cuisines, he further honed his culinary skills under the tutelage of Basque master Martin Berasategui and later joined Nobu in Miami and the Bahamas, where he became the restaurant's youngest head chef. As Kang explains: "I am a native Korean chef. Instead of studying at international culinary institutions, I gained my experience working at various locations around the globe the US, Spain, France, the Bahamas wherever I could enhance my culinary knowledge." Returning to Seoul, Kang focused his attention on Korean cooking and traditional temple cuisine. To refine his culinary philosophy, he consulted with local food experts, including Buddhist monk Jeong Kwan and respected chef Cho Hee-sook, the 2020 recipient of the Asia's Best Female Chef Award. In 2014, Kang opened Mingles in Seoul's bustling Gangnam district and introduced his signature style of melding eastern and western cuisines and techniques. Acknowledging the award, Kang notes: "I am very grateful to receive the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award. I would like to express my gratitude to my fellow chefs who voted for me. This award is of special significance because it was voted for by other chefs who share my passion for excellence. While I still have a lot to learn, this award motivates my team and me to reach new heights." Berta Rius, Marketing Manager Asia and Pacific for Damm, says: "We are delighted that Mingoo Kang has picked up this year's Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award. His passion for innovation, while remaining true to tradition, has enabled him to evolve Korean cuisine to the point of delivering a gastronomic experience at the highest level. His creativity, experience and culinary skills have earned him this well-deserved award, which has been voted for by his peers in the industry." The annual Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony will be broadcast on Thursday, 25th March, from 4.30pm (HK/SG; 5.30pm JPN), to a global audience via Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Facebook, the 50 Best Restaurants TV YouTube channel and Zoom. How the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list is compiled The annual list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants is created from the votes of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 300 leaders made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and regional culinary experts, with a 50/50 gender balance. The year's vote was adjusted to account for restricted travel opportunities, placing a greater focus on local dining experiences. 50 Best works with professional services consultancy Deloitte as its official independent adjudication partner to help protect the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. For more details on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants voting process, visit: https://www.theworlds50best.com/asia/en/voting/the-voting-system. Essence of Asia 2021 marks the launch of the Essence of Asia collection in parallel to this year's list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. Unveiled in advance of the awards ceremony on Tuesday 16 March, the Essence of Asia collection recognises establishments that represent the spirit of Asian gastronomy. This unranked collection turns the spotlight on restaurants that have had a positive impact on their communities and local cuisine, whether during the recent crisis or over a sustained period. Integral to Asia's culinary ecosystem, these casual restaurants preserve culinary traditions, honour authentic flavours and provide a vital link to their communities. 50 Best for Recovery 2021: Opportunity for Change The 50 Best organisation will reinforce its commitment to supporting and promoting restaurants and bars across the world through its 50 Best for Recovery 2021 programme. This year also brings opportunities for positive change as the sector rebuilds and remodels itself with a greater focus on inclusivity and long-term sustainability. 50 Best will use its global platform to highlight even more great restaurants and bars worldwide through its 50 Best lists, special awards, unranked collections and content series as well as showcase individuals shaping the future of gastronomy through its new 50 Next list, which will debut later this year. 50 Best will take the opportunity in 2021 and beyond to amplify diverse voices and positive messages, foster progressive discussion and cross-border collaboration, and encourage greater gastronomic discovery and exploration. Notes to Editors: William Reed Business Media The Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list is published by William Reed Business Media, which also publishes The World's 50 Best Restaurants, launched in 2002, and Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants, launched in September 2013, as well as The World's 50 Best Bars and Asia's 50 Best Bars. William Reed Business Media is entirely responsible for the organisation of the awards, the voting system and the list. Main sponsor: S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna are the main sponsors and official water partners of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna are the leading natural mineral waters in the fine dining world. Together they interpret Italian style worldwide as a synthesis of excellence, pleasure and well-being. About Award Sponsor: Inedit Damm Inedit Damm was created in 2008 by Damm's master brewers, Ferran Adria and the team of sommeliers at el Bulli. It is specially brewed to pair perfectly with the new gastronomy, full of contrasts and nuanced flavours. Inedit Damm is flavoured with spices, giving it its special taste and making it a one-of-a-kind beer that is creamy, soft and versatile. Parent company Damm traces its roots back to 1876, when master brewer August Kuentzmann Damm settled on the Mediterranean coast. Its relentless search for quality is its commitment to ensure that consumers can enjoy the true Mediterranean taste of Damm beer. Other partners: American Express Official Credit Card & Booking Platform Partner (Resy) and sponsor of the American Express One To Watch Award Gin Mare Official Gin Partner and sponsor of Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award Beronia Official Wine Partner and sponsor of the Beronia Highest Climber Award Cinco Jotas Official Iberico Ham Partner and sponsor of Asia's Best Female Chef Award Flor de Cana Official Rum Partner and sponsor of the Flor de Cana Sustainable Restaurant Award Aspire Lifestyles Official Concierge Partner and sponsor of Highest New Entry Award Asia's 50 Best Restaurants social media Follow on Twitter: @The Worlds50Best #Asias50Best Follow on Instagram: @TheWorlds50Best Become a Facebook fan: https://www.facebook.com/Asias50BestRestaurants Subscribe to 50 Best Restaurants TV on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/worlds50best The awards ceremony will be streamed live on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Facebook page, the 50 Best Restaurants TV YouTube channel and Zoom on 25 March from 4.30pm (HK/SG; 5.30pm JPN). This release is also available in the following languages: English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. The official language of the press office is English. Note to media: To register for and access the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants online media centre, please visit https://www.theworlds50best.com/asia/en/media-centre-registration.html For press enquiries, please contact CatchOn, A Finn Partners Company Email: [email protected] Telephone: +852 2566 8988 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1453598/Asia_50_Best_Restaurants.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1441574/Asias50Best_Logo.jpg SOURCE ASIAS 50 BEST RESTAURANTS COLLINSVILLE Since the arrival of the Illinois Army and Air National Guard in February, the Madison County Health Department has been able to dramatically increase the number of daily COVID-19 vaccinations. Theres a lot of excitement about the Illinois National Guard, said Amy Yeager, director of community health and public information officer for the Madison County Health Department. Health department and National Guard officials talked to the media during a press day at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville late Wednesday morning. It included a briefing on the current vaccination efforts and a tour of the facility, which is normally closed to the media because of patient privacy concerns. The center is being used as one of two major vaccination clinics in Madison County, the other being at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey. In addition, the health department has been coordinating with local hospitals, long-term care facilities and others for additional vaccinations, and has started running mobile clinics. The health department has been using Gateway Convention Center since Jan. 14, providing about 1,100 vaccinations for each day it was open. The National Guard arrived Feb. 23 and has been able to significantly ramp up operations to the point where they have a capacity of about 2,300 vaccinations per day, and are running six days per week. The health departments LCCC facility can provide up to about 900 vaccinations per day. On Tuesday all of the health departments vaccination sites processed a total of 3,248 people. Thats pretty tremendous, she said. Its already gone up over a thousand in the few weeks the guard has been here with us, Yeager said. The more we can put through in a day, the better we are and the faster we can get people vaccinated here in Madison County. Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, public affairs director for the Illinois National Guard, said they currently have 1,300 soldiers and airmen on duty supporting immunization sites throughout the state. They currently staff about 60 mobile and static sites each day statewide. And thats increasing as we get more and more missions, he said. The National Guard has been authorized to activate up to 2,000 people, but Leighton said they probably would not hit that figure. Officials on Wednesday said about 25 percent of Madison Countys 262,000 residents have received COVID-19 vaccinations. That includes 49,718 first doses and 16,534 second doses. There are currently three vaccines being used. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two doses, while the more recently approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single dose. Yeager noted the health department only has solid figures for the vaccines it is responsible for, including the departments clinics and local hospitals. Long-term care facilities and retail store vaccines are counted in separate programs. Also speaking Wednesday were Maj. Paul Seivert, commander of Task Force 2 which provide support throughout Southern Illinois, and Becca Chausse of the health department. The tour took media members through the entire vaccination process. That included the initial intake process. One change is the addition of several checkpoints that allow for better staging of those coming in for vaccinations. The entire process up to getting to the medical personnel administering the vaccines takes a very short time. The longest part of the process is the 15-minute wait after a vaccination to ensure there are no major side effects. Yeager said the county continues to make improvements, in part because they do not control the flow of vaccine. She also noted that, because of storage requirements and the use of both one- and two two-shot vaccines, scheduling becomes difficult. The county is now vaccinating eligible people in Illinois Phases 1a, 1b and 1b-plus. For more information or to make an appointment, residents can go through the appointments available link on the Madison County Health Department webpage, www.madisonchd.org or call 618-650-8445 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. For more information or COVID-related resources, visit www.madisonchd.org, https://coronavirus-response-madcoil.hub.arcgis.com/, https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/health/corona virus.php, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MadisonCHD, Twitter @MadisonCHD or Instagram at madisoncountyhealth. "Rather than finding new ways to take more money out of hardworking Coloradans wallets, we encourage the legislature to identify better ways to prioritize spending and use existing funds, as voters have repeatedly told them." At 19 years old, Asha Mohamed is divorced and drives a taxi in Somalia, defying conventions to support her family in one of the world's most conservative and dangerous countries. For the past year, the young woman has crisscrossed the capital Mogadishu in her white taxi, with a faux fur throw covering her dashboard. Her career choice was driven by passion, but also necessity, after she divorced her husband -- whom she married at age 16 -- and was left to take care of her two children and her mother. Taxi driving in Mogadishu is not only typically reserved for men, but is also dangerous in a city where Al-Shabaab Islamists regularly set off car bombs at intersections and security checkpoints. But car-loving Mohamed, who enjoys playing racing video games on her phone, was not put off. "In my childhood, it was my passion to be a driver one day, but I was not thinking that I will work as a taxi driver," she told AFP. She said she had been given the opportunity by a relatively new company called Rikaab Taxi. "The number of women working as taxi drivers was small for security reasons, but... the number of women taxi drivers is gradually growing," said Ilham Abdullahi Ali, the female finance chief at Rikaab Taxi. However, only three of the company's 2,000 taxis in Mogadishu are driven by women. Mohamed earns up to $40 a day, allowing her to take care of her family, and hopes that by defying tradition, she can contribute to changing the minds of her countrymen about the role of women. Clients are often taken off guard when they climb into the white taxi and see Mohamed, wearing light makeup and a colourful hijab, behind the steering wheel. Sadiq Dahir, a student at the Salaam University, admits he was surprised when he first saw her arrive to pick him up, but that his view has changed. "Recently I have been using this Rikaab taxi service. Although it is male dominated work I prefer the female taxi drivers because they drive safely and arrive on time." - 'Alarming' gender inequality - The Somali capital, situated on a pristine white coastline with turquoise waters, remains dogged by violence a decade after the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab was ousted from the city by African Union peacekeepers fighting alongside government troops. The 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre's military regime ushered in decades of chaos and civil war. Thirty years later, the internationally backed federal government has yet to gain full control of the country or hold the first one-person, one-vote ballot since 1969, which had been promised this year. Even the holding of a complex indirect vote has been delayed by political infighting, which recently led to gun battles between opposing camps in the capital. Women's rights are low on the list of priorities, and the most recent data, in 2012, showed the country among the bottom four on a United Nations gender equality index. The report described gender inequality as "alarmingly high", in a country where 98 percent of women have undergone genital mutilation. "Women suffer severe exclusion and inequality in all dimensions of the index -- health, employment and labour market participation," it noted. "Somali girls are given away in marriage very young, and violence against girls and women is widespread." Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak met with the ambassadors of the G20 countries on March 10. "From now on, consultations in an extended format will be held regularly," the press service of the President's Office reported. Yermak told diplomats about the situation in Donbas. According to him, within a few months after the introduction of the ceasefire regime, this was a very great achievement, because the lives of many Ukrainian soldiers were saved. But recently, the ceasefire is increasingly violated by the enemy, which is why Ukraine is losing its fighters. In this regard, the head of the President's Office emphasized the importance of observing the ceasefire as a fundamental condition for progress in negotiations in the Normandy and Minsk formats. "For this, additional measures will be discussed to strengthen control over the ceasefire, in particular within the working security group of the Trilateral Contact Group," he noted. Yermak thanked Ukraine's partners in the Normandy Four - France and Germany - for their proposals and efforts to achieve peace in Donbas. He said that in the near future a video conference of advisers to the leaders of the Normandy format countries will be held, at which the settlement of the conflict will be discussed. Deputy Head of the President's Office Roman Mashovets told the diplomats about the operational situation in Donbas. During the meeting, the head of the President's Office also informed the ambassadors about the holding of the Crimean Platform summit, initiated by President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Ukraines independence. He expressed hope for the presence of a large number of partners and friends of Ukraine at this important event. Deputy Head of the President's Office Ihor Zhovkva added that the Crimean Platform, to which the leaders of the G20 countries have been invited, is primarily a tool for returning the issue of Crimea to the international agenda. President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to talk about specific tools for the de-occupation of Crimea and the protection of the rights of people living on the peninsula. Ukraine wants to present a working tool, and we are very actively working on the development of this tool around the clock, Zhovkva said. According to Yermak, the president's team expects to expand the diplomatic, political and economic horizons of interaction with the G20 countries. He proposed to consider the possibilities and new options for Ukraine's participation in regional formats for greater integration with neighboring European states and establishing work with the Black Sea neighbors at the highest level. ish Prominent attorneys Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros have been named to oversee a $500 million victim compensation fund for the relatives of 346 people killed in two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes, a spokeswoman for Feinberg confirmed on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the second crash. The fund is part of a $2.5 billion Justice Department settlement reached in January with Boeing Co. after prosecutors charged the company with fraud over the certification of the 737 MAX following a Lion Air crash on Oct. 29, 2019 and an Ethiopian Airlines disaster on March 10, 2019. Boeing said it looked forward to working with Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros to ensure the prompt distribution of these funds. The Justice Department (DOJ) declined to comment. The settlement allowed Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution but did not impact civil litigation against the planemaker by victims relatives that continues. Feinberg and Biros have administered many compensation funds including for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, General Motors ignition switch crashes and numerous school shootings. In July 2019, Boeing named Feinberg and Biros to oversee the distribution of a separate $50 million to the families of those killed in the crashes. Under the Justice Department agreement, Boeing was required to propose three candidates to administer the fund. In this role, they will make recommendations about payments but the Justice Department will make final decisions on all payments. While Boeing has mostly settled Lion Air lawsuits, it still face more than 100 lawsuits in Chicago federal court by families of the Ethiopian crash asking why the MAX continued flying after the first disaster. Some relatives were commemorating the second anniversary on Wednesday with protests and vigils in Washington, and Toronto, where they have asked regulators to reconsider their decision to let the 737 MAX fly again after a nearly two-year safety ban. The DOJ settlement includes a fine of $243.6 million and compensation to airlines of $1.77 billion over fraud conspiracy charges related to the planes flawed design. Chris Moore, who lost his daughter in the Ethiopian crash, noted that the fine is only 10% of the total settlement, or the cost of about two 737 MAX planes. If this isnt a slap in the face for us I dont know what is. It definitely is only a slap on their wrist, he said. The Justice Department said in January, Boeings employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception. Some lawmakers say the government did not go far enough, while Boeing says it has taken numerous steps to overhaul its safety culture. The DOJ settlement was pathetic, said House Transportation Committee chairman Peter DeFazio in an interview Wednesday, who faulted the settlements focus on a couple employees and not the board or executive team. I think theyre still way-too Wall Street dominated. Congress ordered a major overhaul of how the FAA certifies new airplanes in December and directed an independent review of Boeings safety culture. Last month, Boeing agreed to pay $6.6 million to the Federal Aviation Administration as part of a settlement over quality and safety-oversight lapses going back years. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago Editing by Matthew Lewis and Alistair Bell) Top Photo: JAKARTA, INDONESIA NOVEMBER 04: Indonesian investigators inspect the wreckage of an engine from Lion Air Flight JT 610 recovered from the sea at the Tanjung Priok port on November 4, 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia. All 189 passengers and crew for the Boeing 737 plane were feared dead. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images) Topics Talent Aviation Aerospace (@fidahassanain) State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has also directed all the banks not to levy any activation, subscription or annual charges on their customers for suing services in a bid to encourage the use of internet and mobile services by their customers. KARACHI: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-March 11th, 2021) State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday instructed all banks to provide minimum set of services on their Internet Banking (IB) and Mobile Banking channels. In a statement, the SBP vowed to promote digitization in the banking sector and encourage use of digital channels. These services will include bill payments, funds transfer/IBFT, beneficiary management, limit anagement, credit and debit card management, stop cheque payment etc. To encourage the use of internet and mobile banking services by their customers, banks will not levy any activation, subscription or annual charges on their customers for using such services. The digitization of the entire payment process is hindered if the customers can make payments to only those billers that are registered with their own bank. Hence, in order to facilitate the customers, the banks have been advised to make necessary arrangements to ensure that their customers can make online payments to maximum number of billers. To promote the use of payment cards, the banks will issue debit card to all new bank account holders and customers who have not previously opted for a debit card, unless the customer opts not to receive any payment card. However, this requirement will not be applicable on customers that are not literate, Photo Account Holders and visually impaired persons. The banks have been authenticating their customers at the bank counters using signatures and paper based instruments. The existing EMV card infrastructure provides secure authentication; hence, there is potential to facilitate customers by using this infrastructure to replace the manual authentication process. In this regard, the banks/MFBs are now permitted to authenticate their customers at branch counters using chip-and-pin cards and 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) and provide them banking services. Considering the significance of digitization, the banks have also been advised to create a role of Chief Digital Officer (CDO) who would be responsible for steering the digitization efforts. Further, accelerated digitization will also be part of KPIs of every CEO, which will be monitored by their board for its achievement on at least half-yearly basis. This initiative follows other recent initiatives of the SBP to promote digitization in Pakistan including: 1) Provision of Repayment Facility to Bank Borrowers on Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs) 2) Streamlining Payment Card Security Regulations in order to bring convenience to the consumers with risk coverage that commensurate with the ever evolving payment card markets and in line with international standards 3) Launch of RAAST, Pakistans first Instant Payment System an initiative by SBP 4) Waiver of charges of all fund transfer and RTGS transactions for the consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic 5) Improving Payment Card Infrastructure in Pakistan by rationalizing the bank charges. These instructions not only made the business of deployment of POS machines a profitable proposition for the financial industry, but also value added solution for consumers The above mentioned steps are just a tip of the iceberg which is in line with SBPs declared objectives to digitize payment and financial services. SBP will continue to promote digitization in the country and expects the industry to support these efforts, resulting in increased convenience for the customers to fulfil their financial needs through safe, rapid and secure digital infrastructure in Pakistan. Tribal officials and members of the Lovelock Paiute Tribe in Nevada gather during the grand opening of a marijuana dispensary opened in February 2021. Photo: Courtesy Tribal Cannabis Consultants By Bart Pfankuch. Reprinted with permission from South Dakota News Watch. Legalization of marijuana in South Dakota could provide a new, lucrative economic development opportunity for tribes and tribal citizens who have historically struggled t... The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Exercise Eagle Sokol is a bilateral training exercise with the Slovenian Armed Forces focused on the rapid deployment and assembly of forces and team cohesion with weapon systems tactics and procedures. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link U.S. Army Paratroopers assigned to the Dog Company,1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, engage the targets during blank-fire exercise as part of Eagle Sokol 21 at Pocek Range in Postonja, Slovenia, March 9 (Picture source: U.S. Army/Paolo Bovo) Exercises such as this build a foundation of teamwork and readiness between NATO allies. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands areas of responsibility. Forward-based in Italy and Germany, the Brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build interoperability and strengthen the Alliance. U.S. Army Paratrooper assigned to the Dog Company,1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, aims a Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missile system from a Humvee as part of Exercise Eagle Sokol 21 at Pocek Range in Postonja, Slovenia, March 9, 2021 (Picture source: U.S. Army/Paolo Bovo) The 173rd Airborne Brigade was constituted in 1917 as an infantry brigade and deployed to France in 1918 as part of the 87th Division. Returning to the United States the brigade was demobilized in 1919. Redesignated as the 87th Reconnaissance Troop, it fought in three European campaigns. Although not part of the Brigade in World War II, the history of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment is significant to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, comprising half of its current fighting strength. The 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment was formed in 1941 at Ft Bragg. They jumped into New Guinea, in September 1943 as part of the first successful airborne combat jump in the Pacific Theater. On 16 February 1945, they jumped onto the island of Corregidor where they earned the Presidential Unit Citation. The 173rd Infantry Brigade was activated on Okinawa in 1963 as the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Sep). The unit earned the nickname Tien Bien or Sky Soldiers, from the Nationalist Chinese paratroopers. In 1965, the Brigade became the first major unit of the United States Army to serve in Vietnam. They conducted the only combat parachute jump of the war in February 1967. During more than six years of continuous combat, the brigade earned 14 campaign streamers and four unit citations. Sky Soldiers serving in Vietnam earned 13 Medals of Honor. The brigade was deactivated in 1972. Reactivated in June 2000, the brigade conducted numerous deployments across Europe. On 26 March 2003, the 173rd added to its distinguished history when nearly 1,000 Sky Soldiers parachuted into Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I. During the operation, one Sky Soldier was awarded the Silver Star. In 2005, the 173rd deployed to Afghanistan along the contentious Pakistan border in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) VI. Five Sky Soldiers were awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle. Upon returning to Italy in 2006, the brigade transformed into the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. In the spring of 2007, the 173rd ABN executed an extended deployment to eastern Afghanistan in support of OEF VIII where Soldiers exhibited incredible bravery earning one Medal of Honor, one Distinguished Service Cross, and 32 Silver Stars. In 2009, the brigade returned to Afghanistan for a third time in support of Operation Enduring Freedom X continuing its proud tradition of selfless service, while executing a difficult build mission south of Kabul. In 2012, the brigade returned to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom XIII returning to Logar and Wardak Provinces where they executed the difficult task of reducing the footprint of the Brigade while continuing to train their Afghan counterparts. Upon returning to Italy in 2013, the Brigade was redesignated as the 173rd Airborne Brigade. WAYNE, Pa., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolve IP, a leading international service provider of Work Anywhere solutions today announced the results of a survey taken by 538 business professionals about working from home and their expectations for the future of remote work. The survey was fielded in February of 2021, approximately one month before the March 13th, 2020 national emergency declaration forced the majority of American employees to begin working from home. Five key findings from the survey include: KEY FINDING #1: Working from home makes employees less likely to look for a new job. 44% of employees say working remotely has opened up new job opportunities for them but 60.5% say they are less likely to look for a new job. Only 14% say work from home makes them more likely to look and just 6% think remote working puts their job at risk. KEY FINDING #2: Over half of businesses expect employees will work remotely the majority of the time post-pandemic. 55% of C-Suite executives revealed that they expect their employees will work outside of a corporate office the majority of the time even after the pandemic has subsided. This has major ramifications for IT, HR, and operational/real estate planning. It also aligns with employee expectations where 64.5% stated the desire to work from home the majority of the time once the pandemic ends (3+ days/ week). KEY FINDING #3: Working from home is making employees more productive much more so than many business leaders think. 75% of employees say they are more effective workers at home averaging a 31% increase in productivity. Business leaders generally agree but are less convinced about the level of improvement. 34% of C-Suite executives say their employees are more productive at home, 42% aren't sure or estimate no change. Of executives indicating their employees were more effective at home, they estimated a 25.5% increase in productivity closely aligned with employee estimates. KEY FINDING #4: Employees are happy with their work from home technology but believe integration (unifying communications, collaboration, virtual desktops etc.), will make them more productive and secure. 77.5% of employees are happy with their company's work from home tech choices. However, employees feel they could be more productive and secure if their solutions were integrated. 66.5% of employees feel they would be more productive and 59% believe their work habits would be more secure. IT professionals agree 60% and 56.5% respectively. 45% of businesses are planning to integrate their communications and collaboration services in the next 12 months. KEY FINDING #5: Most businesses aren't planning any major adjustments to salaries or compensation due to work from home. 92.5% of respondents say their businesses aren't making (or planning) any salary/compensation adjustments for remote workers. 5.5% have made or are considering compensation increases or stipends. 13% of employees say working from home has positively increased their compensation. This is likely due to lower work-related expenses such as decreases in commuting, lunches, and work apparel costs. "Businesses did a great job putting together a variety of solutions when the pandemic hit to ensure their employees could function reasonably at home," said Scott Kinka, Chief Innovation Officer for Evolve IP. "Now, as we see in the survey results, businesses are looking at a way to make these solutions sustainable for the long-term as both executives and employees see the value in a workforce that can be remote the majority of the time. Kinka continued, "As a result, we're seeing an increase in the number of businesses that are implementing remote work technology integration projects like unifying voice communications via Microsoft Teams direct routing and delivering apps via digital workspaces instead of virtual private networks. We expect this trend to accelerate for the foreseeable future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1GHO0FIC7E Additional findings from the survey include: About 4 in 10 employees (38%) would like to continue to work from home 5 days per week Just 6% of employees say they would never like to work from home or do so just a couple of days per month. 15.5% of businesses will no longer require employees to come into the office 38.5% don't know when employees will be going back to the office and 24.5% believe employees will return in the 2 nd half of 2021 half of 2021 On average, respondents are using 2.5 devices to work remotely. The top devices are a company-owned laptop (74%) and personal mobile phones (45.5%) Organizations are typically making use of 5 different remote work technologies. Top solutions are video conferencing (85%), collaboration (81%), and accessing windows applications via VPN (52%). Businesses using Microsoft Teams currently use other video and communications platforms such as Zoom (62%) or Webex (26%) but 50% of those respondents say they plan on integrating their collaboration and communications platforms in the next year. Four in ten businesses (39%) plan to increase spending on remote work technologies in 2021. About the Survey 538 respondents answered questions about their remote work experience via SurveyMonkey in February 2021. Respondents were employed at a broad base of businesses with 38% coming from small businesses (less than 100 employees), 50% coming from mid-market & small enterprise firms (100 4,999 employees), and 12% responding from large enterprises (5,000+ employees). Why Clients Choose Evolve IP Evolve IP enables employees to Work Anywhere productively and securely. Our enterprise solutions seamlessly integrate collaboration & communications, digital workspaces, and contact center all delivered from a browser on any connected device. Evolve IP's technologies free IT to focus on business innovation, not systems and infrastructure, and enable their employees to contribute even more to the enterprise -- no matter where or when they are working. Businesses that choose Evolve IP have selected a true technology partner. A company that becomes an expert extension of their IT team, an organization that listens to their needs to tailor solutions just for their business, and is responsive and engaged in every interaction. Follow Evolve IP on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Photo(s): https://www.prlog.org/12861452 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE Evolve IP Nagpur will be under lockdown for a week beginning March 15, and other parts of Maharashtra, too, could see restrictions as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned of harsh measures to control the spread of Covid-19. We may have to impose lockdown in some areas if rules are not followed, Thackeray said on Thursday as he urged residents to observe discipline and avoid all non-essential travel. Thackerays message came as the central government said it was very worried over rising Covid-19 cases in Eight of the top ten districts with the highest number of active Covid-19 cases are in and Nagpur with over 12,000 cases is placed at the second spot. We are very worried about This is a serious matter. This has two lessons dont take the virus for granted, and if we have to remain Covid-free, we need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. Until its fully over, it is not over, V K Paul, member-health, NITI Aayog, said on Thursday. While ruling out any link of the surge to the mutant strain, health officials have attributed the rise to reduced testing, tracking and tracing and Covid-19 inappropriate behaviour and large congregations. Even as the CM asked for restraint, within hours of the speech, hundreds of students took to the streets in various cities to protest the cancellation of state public service examinations. In Maharashtra 13,659 fresh cases were reported on Thursday, around 60 per cent of all cases in the country. Pune has the highest active cases at over 18,000. Other districts with high caseloads are Thane, Mumbai, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nashik and Aurangabad. The said states including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana are also at the tipping point. We have had three meetings with these states where they have been told to pull up their socks, said health secretary Rajesh Bhushan. Nitin Raut, guardian minister for Nagpur, announced lockdown between March 15 and 21 after chairing a meeting with district officials on Thursday. Cinemas and malls will remain shut while restaurants will be able to provide food parcels only. Stores selling essential commodities will remain open during this period and attendance in government offices will be capped at 25 per cent. Private offices will remain shut. Other cities in the state, too, have taken steps to curb the cases. Miriam Raine was jailed for two years. (Northumbria police) A care home worker has been jailed after stealing 13,000 from elderly residents in order to feed her spiralling gambling addiction. Miriam Raine abused the trust of three of the pensioners in her care by taking their bank cards and spending their hard-earned cash on gambling websites. One of her victims was in palliative care after being diagnosed with leukaemia at the time of the crime. He expressed his disgust after being used "as a money machine" by Raine while extremely vulnerable. Another victim, an 87-year-old dementia patient, died before justice was handed out, and his stepdaughter described Raines actions as "unforgivable". She said: Families of these victims rely on carers to nurture and care for those who are unable to do so for themselves. To think of this woman causing distress to family members and the victims themselves makes me feel sick, angry and absolutely appalled. Read more: Names of women killed by male violence read out in Parliament This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. I cant get over the fact that she went into my step fathers bedroom, rummaged through his belongings, found what she was looking for and then helped herself. To then go on and spend over 13,000 of somebody elses money is just unforgivable. In a statement prepared for court, one of Raines victims said: At the time of the crime, I was lying in bed in a care home having been told I was in palliative care. This was end of life care. Whilst Im lying in my bed drugged up so much I had no idea of how ill I was, I was being targeted by one of the people who was meant to be making me comfortable before I passed away. She was in my room, rummaging through my belongings and then stealing my bank card which she used to commit fraud. She was in a position of trust and she broke that trust and nursing etiquette. Her priority was to make me comfortable when in fact I was being used as a money machine. I am one of the lucky ones who has survived to see this case through. I feel very lucky that I am able to see this case through to the end. Story continues Raine, 46, confessed to three counts of theft and three counts of fraud by false representation between March and November 2017 during her time working in care homes in Jarrow, North Shields and Ponteland. On Wednesday a judge at Newcastle Crown Court sentenced her to two years behind bars. Read more: Police probe after cat shot dead with air rifle near its home in 'abhorrent' attack PC Chris Rule, of Northumbria Police, said: This is a heartless and despicable crime as Raine stole from the very people who she was expected to protect and look out for. Her greed and abuse of position saw her steal elderly peoples bank cards in the firm belief that she would get away with it due to her victims vulnerabilities." PC Rule said the police investigation found one of her victim's bank cards hidden in her wardrobe and another victims purse lying around her home. He added: I am sure that the public are equally horrified by her crimes, so it is imperative that offenders like Raine are brought to justice. I welcome her custodial sentence handed down at court. I hope this outcome can offer some comfort to the families of her victims, and I would like to thank them personally for their support and co-operation throughout this difficult case. Watch: The local councillor bringing aspiration to one of England's most deprived areas Seoul, March 11 : Eight more US soldiers and one civilian in South Korea tested positive for Covid-19, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said on Thursday. The USFK said in a statement that nine USFK-affiliated individuals were confirmed with the Covid-19 after arriving in South Korea between February 22 and March 8. Four service members arrived at the Osan Air Base on US government-chartered flights from the US on February 22, 24, and March 8. The Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, the Xinhua news reported. Four service members and one contractor arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on international commercial flights on February 23, and March 4 and 5. The confirmed patients have been transferred to designated isolation facilities at the US Army Garrison Humphreys and the Osan Air Base, both of which are located in Pyeongtaek. The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 783, according to media. In the latest tally, South Korea reported 465 more cases of Covid-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 94,198. The daily caseload stayed above 400 for three straight days. "Despite the recent confirmed cases, USFK remains at a high level of readiness with less than 1 per cent of its active-duty service members currently confirmed positive with Covid-19," the USFK said. WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) today commends U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) for reintroducing the Safe Line Speeds During COVID-19 Act to better protect animals, workers and consumers from the dangers posed by higher line speeds in poultry, pig and cattle slaughterhouses. This legislation would prohibit slaughter and meat processing facilities from operating at extreme speeds during the pandemic. Extreme-speed slaughter imperils animals, workers and food safety under normal circumstances, accelerating production and placing even more pressure on workers to move animals quickly. Higher line speeds also make it more difficult for slaughterhouses to abide by humane handling laws and regulations, putting animals at greater risk of abuse and even conscious slaughter. During the COVID-19 crisis when it's especially critical for workplaces to accommodate social distancing slaughterhouses and processing plants have failed miserably to protect workers from the rapid spread of the virus, which has caused some plants to close temporarily. Since the start of the pandemic, at least 517 meatpacking plants have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 57,500 meatpacking workers have tested positive for the virus. "Industrial agriculture's failures during the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed massive vulnerabilities in our food system, creating an urgent need to transition to a more humane food system that values animals, people and the environment," said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA President and CEO. "Prohibiting irresponsibly fast slaughter speeds is one immediate step we can take to enhance protections for animals, workers and consumers, and we thank Senator Booker and Representatives DeLauro and Thompson for their leadership on the Safe Line Speeds During COVID-19 Act." "Since the beginning of the pandemic, outbreaks of COVID-19 have surged in meatpacking plants across the country, where the majority of workers are from immigrant communities and communities of color, resulting in tens of thousands of COVID-19 infections among meatpacking workers and tragically at least 284 deaths," said Sen. Booker. "The situation only worsened last year when the Trump administration approved more than 20 requests from meatpacking plants to exceed regulatory limits on line speeds despite the risks posed to the safety of workers and consumers. The Biden administration has taken an important first step in withdrawing the previous administration's proposed rule to increase line speeds in poultry plants, but it is critically important that we continue to prioritize the safety of frontline workers and consumers over the profits of large multinational meatpacking corporations." "Last week, the Labor-HHS Subcommittee that I chair heard testimony on the safety of meatpacking workers that revealed corporate meatpackers pursued faster line speeds to protect their bottom lines at the tragic expense of workers," said Rep. DeLauro. "The ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at meat plants over the last year have raised serious questions about the safety conditions inside these plants. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, these workers experienced injuries at a higher rate than comparable occupations. And now, faster line speeds make it impossible for workers to practice social distancing and comply with safety guidelines. That is why I am proud to join the leadership shown by Senator Booker and Representative Thompson in introducing this legislation that will reign in these reckless line speed waivers for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency." "It is imperative that we ensure worker safety on slaughter lines," said Rep. Thompson. "Safety cannot be exchanged for high production. During this unprecedented time of COVID-19, we should take the necessary precautions to ensure employees are safe while working at meat and poultry establishments." The Safe Line Speeds During COVID-19 Act would suspend existing line speed waivers and put an end to the issuance of new waivers amid the pandemic, while halting the implementation of, and conversion to, the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS), which removes all limits on pig slaughter line speeds. This legislation would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review of actions taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in response to the pandemic, while preventing the USDA from spending funds on any actions or programs that would increase line speeds during this time. As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the United States, public awareness of the horrific realities of industrial animal agriculture has increased, resulting in greater support for necessary reforms. According to a recent survey conducted by Lake Research Partners, 82 percent of respondents now believe the government should mandate slower slaughter speeds to protect animals, workers or public health. The Safe Line Speeds During COVID-19 Act is supported by a diverse coalition of animal welfare, consumer safety and workers' rights organizations. Recognizing that the fates of farm animals and humans are inextricably tied, the ASPCA recently led a coalition of 65 nonprofits, farming groups and companies in delivering an urgent letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, pressing the new administration to take action in three vital policy areas under President Biden's executive order on tackling the climate crisis: stopping extreme-speed slaughter, requiring better treatment of animals raised under the USDA Organic label and ensuring fair and just treatment for farmers across the country. Original cosponsors of the legislation include Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Patty Murray (Wash.) in the Senate, and Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-IL), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Andy Levin (D-MI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) in the House of Representatives. For more information on the ASPCA or to join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade, please visit www.aspca.org. About the ASPCA Founded in 1866, the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is the first animal welfare organization in North America and serves as the nation's leading voice for animals. More than two million supporters strong, the ASPCA's mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services. For more information, please visit www.ASPCA.org, and be sure to follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Media Contact: Alexander Craig 347-931-7886; [email protected] SOURCE ASPCA Related Links https://www.aspca.org Malaysia court strikes down ban on Christians using the word 'Allah' in publications Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment After a decades-long legal battle, a Malaysian court has overturned a policy banning Christians from using the word "Allah in publications in the Muslim-majority country. On Wednesday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court deemed unconstitutional a 35-year-old government ban on the use of Allah and three other Arabic words by Christian publications. An earlier court ruling had stated that Allah should be reserved exclusively for Muslims, as the word is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity and could cause confusion among religious groups. Three other words kaabah (Islams holiest shrine in Mecca), baitullah (house of God) and solat (prayer) were also banned in a 1986 government directive. This week, government counsel Shamsul Bolhassan was quoted as saying by CNA that the four words can now be used in Christian materials following the courts ruling, as long as it clearly states that materials are intended for Christians only and a symbol of a cross is displayed. The case began 13 years ago when officials seized religious materials in the local Malay language from a Christian at Kuala Lumpur International Airport that contained the word Allah. The Christian woman Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, a member of an indigenous group then launched a legal challenge against the policy. On Wednesday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court sided with her, ruling she had the right not to face discrimination on the grounds of her faith. The judge also ruled the ban on Christians using Allah was unlawful and unconstitutional, her lawyer Annou Xavier said. The court has now said the word Allah can be used by all Malaysians, Xavier said, according to The Associated Press. Todays decision entrenches the fundamental freedom of religious rights for non-Muslims in Malaysia enshrined in the constitution. Christians in Malaysia, who make up only 9% of the population, have historically used the word "Allah" to refer to God, in their Bibles, prayers and songs. Though most Christians in the country worship in English, Tamil or other Chinese dialects, some Malay-speaking people have no other word for God but Allah. Controversy over the use of the word "Allah" has been ongoing for several years in Malaysia, sparking tension between religious groups. In 2014, Malaysias top court denied a Catholic Church the right to use the word Allah in the Malay-language edition of a church newspaper. That same year, a church was hit with petrol bombs. In recent years, Islamic authorities have seized more than 20,000 Bibles that used the word Allah, according to International Christian Concern. Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List ranks Malaysia as the 46th-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution. In Malaysia, Christians have suffered from many forms of Islamic repression. According to Open Doors USA, which monitors persecution in over 60 countries, Catholics and Methodists are monitored by authorities in Malaysia, but nontraditional Protestant groups are more often targeted because they are usually more active in evangelizing. Open Doors reports that it is illegal to share the Gospel with Malaysian Muslims. JTBC's psychological thrill "Beyond Evil" drops a sneak peek of what's about to happen between Jin Goo and Shin Ha Kyun in the upcoming episode! 'Beyond Evil' Short Synopsis South Korean television series "Beyond Evil" centers its story on two fearless men who will do what it takes, even breaking the law in their pursuit of a serial killer. In their mission of uncovering the killer's identity, the two characters would constantly ask themselves the question, "Who is the monster? Is it you? Is it me? Is it us?" Shin Ha Kyun portrays the character of Lee Dong Sik, who was a former detective who was demoted and now works at the Manyang Police Substation in a small city. He does all the tedious chores at the station, but his life is peaceful and quiet there. While working at Manyang village, Lee Dong Sik crosses paths with Han Joo Won, starred by Yeo Jin Goo, an elite detective who harbors a deep secret. He comes from a distinguished background, and his father has a good chance of becoming the next chief at the National Police Agency. Here's a recap from the latest episode Warning! Spoilers are mentioned below! In the previous episode of "Beyond Evil," the viewers were shocked to discover that Kang Jin Mook (played by Lee Gyu Hee) was the real murderer of his own daughter Kang Min Jung (played by Kang Min Ah)! The story keeps getting weirder when Kang Jin Mook even approached Han Joo Won to personally request that he investigate the death of her daughter. In spite of Lee Dong Shik's disagreement, Han Joo Won approved of his request; this made the viewers even more curious about what's going to happen in the upcoming episodes. The previous episode also left the viewers with an additional twist that stirred up the character's world. This was when: Kang Min Jung's phone surprisingly turned on, and Kang Jin Mook was able to receive a mysterious text from his daughter. Jin Goo and Shin Ha Kyun's Relationship Begin to change in the Drama's Newly Released Stills for 'Beyond Evil' In the sneak peek photos for the drama's upcoming episode, Lee Dong Shik and Han Joo Won are trying to look for clues about Kang Min Jung's murder case. They investigate together and even do it on their own. In one photo, Lee Dong Shik finds a mysterious map behind the butcher's shop. This made us all wonder, why is it hidden in that place? What secret does it hold? Han Joo Won, on the other hand, discovers a surveillance camera near the supermarket owned by Kang Jin Mook. Just by looking at his expression, we can see that he just made an important realization. Then the two are spotted standing together in front of the butcher's shop, and at the same time, butcher Yoon Jae Yi (played by Choi Sung Eun) is having a confused look as she looks at something from afar. The drama's production team shared their thoughts and commented that Episode 7 is an important episode in which one side of Lee Dong Shik's secret will be revealed. Plus, the relationship between Han Joo Won and Lee Dong Shik will start to change. The next episode of "Beyond Evil" is scheduled to broadcast on March 12 at 11 p.m. KST. Kdramastars owns this article. Written By Liza Parker U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with top Chinese officials on March 18 in Alaska, the White House said, the first high-level in-person contact between the two sparring countries under the Biden administration. The meeting, taking place on Blinkens return from his first overseas trip to key U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, will come amid what is shaping up to be a major U.S. diplomatic push to solidify alliances in Asia and Europe to counter China. National security adviser Jake Sullivan will join the meeting in Anchorage with Chinas top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and State Councillor Wang Yi, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that the administration would approach its relations with China in lockstep with its partners. "It was important to us that this administrations first meeting with Chinese officials be held on American soil, and occur after we have met and consulted closely with partners and allies in both Asia and Europe," Psaki told a news briefing. She said the meeting would be "an opportunity to address a wide range of issues, including ones where we have deep disagreements." President Joe Bidens administration has committed to reviewing elements of U.S. policies toward China, as the worlds two largest economies navigate frosty relations that sank to their lowest depths in decades during Donald Trumps presidency. Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, held their first phone call as leaders last month and appeared at odds on most issues, even as Xi warned that confrontation would be a disaster for both nations. The talks will follow the visit by Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea next week, as well as an online summit on Friday between Biden and the leaders of Japan, India and Australia. That will be the first leader-level meeting of the four-country group, known as the Quad, seen as part of U.S. efforts to boost its diplomacy in Asia to balance Chinas growing military and economic power, Reuters reported. New York, March 11 : In a historic step that may reshape decision and policy-making towards sustainable development, the United Nations adopted a new framework on Thursday that includes the contributions of nature when measuring economic prosperity and human well-being. The new framework, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting -- Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA), was adopted by the UN Statistical Commission and marks a major step forward that goes beyond the commonly used statistic of gross domestic product (GDP) that has dominated economic reporting since the end of World War II. This measure would ensure that natural capital -- forests, wetlands and other ecosystems -- are recognized in economic reporting. Experts emphasize that while a statistic such as GDP does a good job of showing the value of goods and services exchanged in markets, it does not reflect the dependency of the economy on nature, nor its impacts on nature, such as the deterioration of water quality or the loss of a forest. UN Secretary-General Antanio Guterres welcomed the adoption of the new economic and environmental framework. "This is a historic step forward towards transforming how we view and value nature. We will no longer be heedlessly allowing environmental destruction and degradation to be considered economic progress." The new framework can also underpin decision-making at two crucial conferences later this year -- COP15 on Biodiversity in Kunming and the Glasgow Climate Conference, COP 26. According to a new UNEP report, "Making Peace with Nature," the global economy has grown nearly fivefold over the last 50 years, largely due to a tripling in extraction of natural resources and energy that has fuelled growth in production and consumption. Over the same time, the world population has increased by a factor of two, to 7.8 billion people, and though on average prosperity has also doubled, about 1.3 billion people still live in poverty and some 700 million are hungry. "This is a major step forward," said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. "The new framework can be a game changer in decision-making. By highlighting the contribution of nature, we now have a tool that allows us to properly view and value nature. It can help us bring about a rapid and lasting shift toward sustainability for both people and the environment." The adoption comes at a time when climate change continues its relentless march and the world is on track to reach new highs of warming, climbing to at least three degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, 2020 was in a dead-heat to be one of the three warmest years on record, and 2011-2020 was the warmest decade on record, with the warmest six years all being since 2015. And the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, together with climate change and pollution will undermine the efforts on 80 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goal targets. And yet countries continue to make decisions on the economy without consideration to environmental impacts. Governments are still directing more than $5 trillion in annual subsidies to fossil fuels, non-sustainable agriculture and fishing, non-renewable energy, mining, and transportation. "As governments to the Convention on Biological Diversity get ready to agree and implement a framework that will recraft our relationship with nature, this new framework will provide an impetus for an accurate accounting of the value of biodiversity," said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. "In doing so, it is a step towards sustainable development," Mrema said. The new framework recognizes that ecosystems deliver important services that generate benefits for people. In essence, they are assets to be maintained, similar to economic assets. For example, forests play a role in providing communities with clean water, serving as natural water filters with trees, plants and other characteristics, such as soil depth, that help absorb nutrient pollution like nitrogen and phosphorous before it can flow into streams, rivers and lakes. More than 34 countries are compiling ecosystem accounts on an experimental basis. With the adoption of the new accounting recommendations, many more countries are expected to begin implementing the system, though a significant number of countries will require assistance and additional resources for statistical data collection. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :The United States announced sanctions against two adult children of Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing over the military coup and subsequent violence against protesters in the Southeast Asian nation. "Treasury took these actions in response to the Burmese military's coup against the democratically elected civilian government of Burma and its brutal killing of peaceful protesters," the Treasury Department said in a statement. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi last month, triggering daily protests around the country to demand the return of democracy. The junta leader's children, Aung Pyae Sone and Khin Thiri Thet Mon, have a variety of business holdings, which have directly benefitted from their "father's position and malign influence", the statement said. As a result of the sanctions, any assets they may have in the United States will be frozen. The United States has already imposed sanctions on top figures including Min Aung Hlaing, the military chief and new ruler of the country, and other leaders of the junta. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. At midnight on December 13, 2018, Nicaraguas National Police force stormed the offices of Confidencial and Esta Semana, the publications I have edited for the last 25 years. They seized our computers, cameras and editing equipment, along with private documents including our accounts. There was no judges order or warrant to justify the raid, though we knew there was an unwritten order from the head of police: Nicaraguas President Daniel Ortega. A day later the officers returned, this time to occupy our offices permanently. They waited until Christmas Eve to do the same to the independent television channel 100% Noticias, arresting editor Miguel Mora and editorial chief Lucia Pineda. These two colleagues spent six months in jail and were subjected to a political trial where they were accused of terrorism and inciting hatred, just for doing their jobs as journalists. Our editorial team may not be between those four walls but we are present in the hearts and minds of our reporters, and in the promise we have made to tell the truth at whatever cost Journalism became a crime under the family dictatorship of President Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. Attacks on independent publications began when protests erupted in April 2018, and tens of thousands of people streamed onto the streets to demand the government step down, armed only with cellphones and national flags. The presidential couple responded with a lethal crackdown that left 325 people dead, put hundreds more in jail as political prisoners and pushed 100,000 citizens into exile. Meanwhile, independent reporting was to be suppressed, through censorship, physical attacks on journalists, and legislation designed to shore up a police state. On New Years Day of 2019, I went into exile in Costa Rica with my wife, for my own physical safety and to ensure our journalism could continue. With our offices still occupied by the police in Nicaraguas capital, Managua, my editorial team was spread out across San Jose, Miami, Mexico and San Salvador but we never stopped reporting. The editor of Confidencial Carlos Fernando Chamorro walks through the raided offices on December 14, 2018. Alfredo Zuniga / AP On three separate occasions, Nicaraguas Supreme Court admitted our requests asking the court to halt the occupation of our offices. Despite proof of its illegality, the court failed to rule in time on our requests. I returned to Nicaragua at the end of 2019, with no idea if my rights would be respected. Two years on from the occupation of our offices, the regime installed a sign in front of the building announcing the property had been confiscated by the Health Ministry, in flagrant violation of the law and Constitution. Confidencial and Esta Semana are now mothers home, and the studios of 100% Noticias were reopened as a center for alcohol and drug addiction. These crude attempts to seal the closure of independent media outlets and human rights organizations are crimes against the right to expression and a free press. Just like organized crime bosses, Ortega and Murillo have tried to launder their dirty work with these reopenings. They have tried to present the seizure of a newspaper as an act of generosity, as if the health services the state must provide were instead gifts from the regimen. But they have left their fingerprints all over the crime scene: now two portraits of the president and vice president look down over the newsroom where we once debated how to report power and corruption. There are now two symbols of censorship in a place that always fought for press freedom. The government has violated Article 44 of the Constitution which clearly states that confiscating private property is forbidden. The press is the final guardian of freedom, and its last defenses reside in the trust of its readers This attempt to erase the collective memory of a media outlet is seen by everyone for what it is: a monument to crimes against the liberty of journalists. But brute force of this kind will not silence Confidencial. Since the day we were raided in 2018 and through this illegal confiscation of our property, we have never stopped informing the public and acting as a check on power. Our editorial team may not be between those four walls but we are present in the hearts and minds of our reporters, and in the promise we have made to tell the truth at whatever cost. We will not submit to censorship. That said, Confidencials resistance would not be possible without the support of our audience. In a country where for more than a decade authoritarianism has bulldozed human rights and democratic institutions, the press is the final guardian of freedom, and its last defenses reside in the trust of its readers. Together with the users of social networks, we will beat state censorship. However, we still have to face up to the intimidation and self-censorship that affect all sectors of society, in order to overcome fear and win the battle for truth. This is the only path that leads to democratic change. Sooner than later, we will tell one of the greatest stories of the 21st century: how Nicaraguas last dictatorship ended. And from then we can start reporting on the construction of a new democratic republic, where justice lives and impunity is gone. The Madison County Sheriff's Office says hackers got access to information and images not generally available to the public. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything the Madison County Sheriff's Office could have done to prevent this cyber attack, because it wasn't the one who was hacked. Hackers got access to an elevated account from the company the sheriff's office contracted, which gave them access to the jail's security cameras. "Security is never 100%. You are always going to be at risk one way or another," junior cyber security engineer at H2L Solutions Peyton Guy said. "This was totally a fumble on the Verkata company. This company did not have their account secure and they were a supplier to very major companies in the United States and internationally, as well." Bloomberg reports a group of hackers were able to get access to live feeds of more than 150,000 Verkata surveillance cameras in hospitals, schools, companies, police departments and prisons. WAAY 31 reached out to school districts in Madison County and Huntsville Hospital. They all said they were not impacted by this hack. However, the Madison County Sheriff's Office says it just installed Verkata's camera system at their facility at the end of last year. Officials said they weren't doing any on-camera interviews at this time but did release a statement saying: "We are confident that this unauthorized release did not and will not impact the safety of staff or inmates in the detention facility or the general public." Bloomberg reports hackers were able to access live feeds and archived video in the jail. Some cases included audio of interviews between officers and criminal suspects. Former U.S. Attorney Jay Town says he doesn't expect the hack to impact any future criminal trials, but it could put some long-term investigations at risk if officers were talking with a cooperator. The sheriff's office says the security cameras are now offline, meaning they're no longer connected to the internet, and hackers can no longer access them. Officers are still using the cameras to monitor inmates from the jail's control room viewing stations. "We will continue to focus our efforts on the safety and security of our community, which remains our first and foremost priority," Sheriff Kevin Turner said. The sheriff's office says the hack did not impact any other system in the detention facility. Guy says hacking in general is always a concern. He warns companies can say they're doing things to protect their information, and not do it. Guy says most people will have to compromise when it comes to contracting a security company. "You're always going to be at risk in one way or another. It's always about compromise. It's how secure you want to be versus how usable do you want that system to be," Guy explained. He adds the only way to make sure your system is completely secure is by creating your own security system and software. There are other steps you can take to help protect your information online. That includes constantly updating your passwords and even considering adding a two-factor password safety feature. LONDON and NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huma's exponential growth in healthcare and lifesciences across Europe has been recognised by the Financial Times. Huma is leading healthcare and life sciences expansion with four national deals for its 'hospital at home' digital wards (Germany, England, Wales, UAE). Across all sectors, Huma has been selected as the 23rd fastest-growing company in Europe[1], on the published list of 1,000. The London-based start-up provides a modular remote monitoring platform to run digital 'hospitals at home'. This technology also powers research in the US and across Europe, including some of the world's largest decentralized clinical trials on illnesses ranging from atrial fibrillation to diabetes to Covid-19. Dan Vahdat, CEO and Founder of Huma, said: "We are humbled to be recognised for this exceptional growth and innovation, which is a tribute to the many talented people at Huma. We all share one vision and we are driven by the belief that we can be one of the most impactful companies in the world. Our ability to make health and care more proactive and predictive can help health systems and researchers everywhere. "The past 12 months have been exceptionally tough for health systems and those working in them across the world. We are proud to have played our part working alongside clinicians, innovating relentlessly right through the pandemic with new initiatives like our digital COVID-19 wards, doubling clinical capacity and thereby helping to save lives. " Huma is also being backed by the UK Government for support during its next phase of global expansion. It has been chosen as one of the UK's leading health technology companies as part of the Government's Department for International Trade (DIT) 'First 100'. US Managing Director, Jessica Federer, said: "We are proud to have the backing of the UK Government as we continue to grow around the world. Our expansion into the US builds on this strong foundation, continuing our collaborative approach with life sciences companies, contract research organizations, medical device makers, care delivery organizations, insurers, and universities. "Together we are building the future of decentralized care and research, delivering very real and meaningful value to individuals, researchers, clinicians and broader health systems. "We already have national deals for our 'hospital at home' technology in the UK, Germany and the UAE, and are seeing strong interest in the US and rest of Europe. Our technology also underpins vital digital clinical trials in the US and across Europe, and this support from the UK Government can only help us." The First 100 companies were judged on criteria including their "responsiveness, their ethics and values, any track-record of working collaboratively [and] the global uniqueness of their innovation," according to DIT's health sector promotion body Healthcare UK[2]. Noel Gordon, chair of Healthcare UK's Advisory Board, added that companies on the list, including Huma, "have been instrumental in some incredibly exciting technology-based initiatives, which have supported us through Covid and also the largest transformation in Europe in both the public and private sector. "Many of these firms are working closely with our National Health Service (NHS) making a huge difference to treatment, prevention and care across our whole population." About Huma Huma is a global health technology company that exists to help people live longer, fuller lives. Our modular platform powers decentralized care and research, including remote patient monitoring, perioperative support, companion apps, decentralized clinical trials and more. We use digital biomarkers, predictive algorithms and real-world data from continuous patient monitoring using mobile devices to create hospitals at home and decentralized clinical trials. Our 'hospitals at home' help care for Covid-19 patients across the UK's NHS, Germany, and the UAE - evidence shows they can double clinical capacity, reduce readmission rates by a third, and reduce costs whilst providing safe, high-quality care. We offer Covid-19 digital services, not-for-profit, to national governments in support of the fight against the pandemic and have shipped over a million devices that complement our 'hospitals at home' to help power them. We are using this same technology platform to support Covid-19 vaccine initiatives and research projects in the US and EU. www.huma.com [1] https://www.ft.com/content/8b37a92b-15e6-4b9c-8427-315a8b5f4332comments-anchor [2] https://eu.eventscloud.com/ehome/200208923/first-100-digital/ (CNN) Beijing has summoned Britain's ambassador to China over an article she wrote on press freedom, escalating a bitter row between the two countries that has spilled over to the media industry. On Tuesday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke to Ambassador Caroline Wilson and lodged a formal complaint with her against a post she published last week on WeChat, the popular Chinese social media network. In the piece, Wilson argued that "foreign media in China are being misrepresented, which obscures their positive role." "Foreign media criticism of the Chinese authorities does not mean that they dislike China," she wrote. "On the contrary, I believe they act in good faith and play an active role as watchdogs of government actions, ensuring that people have access to accurate information and protecting those who do not have a voice." Tensions between the United Kingdom and China have been growing in recent months over a series of issues, including the political future of Hong Kong and human rights in Xinjiang. The various disputes have already ensnared some businesses, including Chinese tech firm Huawei and British bank HSBC (HBCYF). Regulators in both countries have also banned each other's most prominent media outlets. Last month, UK regulator Ofcom yanked state broadcaster China Global Television Network, or CGTN, from British airwaves, saying that the channel's license holder did not have "editorial responsibility" for its output. Officials also said CGTN could not transfer its license to a new entity because it would ultimately still be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. A week later, China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) banned BBC World News, claiming that the network had broadcast reports on China that "infringed the principles of truthfulness and impartiality in journalism." In her WeChat post, WIlson added that local news organizations in China often face tougher conditions than foreign ones. "Unlike foreign media, Chinese media can only report critically under the conditions allowed by the government," she wrote. The article angered Chinese officials, who called Wilson's post "inappropriate." In a statement Tuesday, the head of the department of European affairs at China's foreign ministry said that Wilson was "complaining [on behalf of] individual foreign media outlets sanctioned for false news and inaccurate reports, deliberately confusing news defamation with news monitoring, and being 'selectively blind' to the foreign side's crackdown on Chinese media." During their meeting, the Chinese official "stressed that the Chinese government and people never oppose foreign media, but those who produce fake news and viciously attack China, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese system under the banner of 'freedom of the press' and 'freedom of expression,'" according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement. The ministry said that Wilson's article had spread "widespread discontent among the Chinese public and was strongly criticized." It has since been restricted from being shared further on WeChat. Tencent (TCEHY), the Chinese tech giant that runs the messaging platform, added a notice to the post, saying it "violates" the platform's rules. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Wilson doubled down on her post Tuesday. "I stand by my article," she said on Twitter. The American social networking service is blocked in China. "No doubt the outgoing Chinese Ambassador to the UK stands by the 170+ pieces he was free to place in mainstream British media," Wilson added, referring to Liu Xiaoming, China's longtime envoy to Britain. This story was first published on CNN.com "Media freedom fight threatens to escalate UK-China tensions" BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? 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dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children Phuket gold shops checked for security, police ramp up patrols PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police have started inspecting gold shops in Phuket Town to ensure they have adequate security measures, and have dedicated officers to regularly patrol areas where gold shops are located. crimepolice By The Phuket News Thursday 11 March 2021, 03:14PM Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Pornsak Nuannu leads an inspection of a gold shop in Phuket Town yesterday (Mar 10). Photo: PR Phuket Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Pornsak Nuannu led a team of officers to inspect several gold shops in Phuket Town yesterday (Mar 10). Maj Gen Pornsak said that his offices had already met with gold shop owners in Muang District, which covers Phuket Town, Wichit, Chalong and Rawai. The meeting and inspections were conducted to follow the Royal Thai Police national order to take proactive measures to prevent gold shop robberies and to boost confidence among gold shop operators, Maj Gen Pornsak said. One of the gold shops in Phuket Town inspected by Maj Gen Pornsak and his entourage of officers was Yaowarat Gold Shop on Tilok U-Thit Rd. Wiroj Wankittikhun, the owner of the store, explained that his store already had a steel grill installed as well as an electrically locked door controlled remotely by staff, an alarm system, CCTV cameras and glass covered with safety film. We also have a book for police on patrol to make notes in, as requested by the police, he added. Police have been sent to inspect locations across Phuket at high risk of robbery, such as gold shops, banks and department stores. They are prepared to take action with any robbery, Maj Gen Pornsak assured. I have already ordered the chief of each police station to create their own measures to prevent any robberies of gold shops and convenience stores in the areas under their jurisdiction, Maj Gen Pornsak said. We are also coordinating with local administrative organisations to install more CCTV cameras along roads and in community areas, and to ensure the cameras are kept in good condition, he added. Maj Gen Pornsak gave no indication of any recorded rises in crime that might have inspired the latest move to pre-empt any robberies of stores with cash and valuables on site. Jacob Rees-Mogg today slammed a plan for MPs and peers to leave the Palace of Westminster for years during a multi-billion pound restoration - warning taxpayers will not tolerate spending 20billion turning Westminster into 'Disneyland'. The Commons leader lashed out after a strategic review of the huge project found that vacating the Houses of Parliament during the huge overhaul of the crumbling estate remains the best option. Despite pressure for a rethink from many MPs, it concluded that staying in the historic building is 'technically possible' but would mean an 'extraordinary level of risk', extending the length of the process by 'decades' and a far higher cost. Instead the review said creating temporary Lords chambers in Richmond House and the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre respectively was still the most attractive option. It also suggested a focus on 'essential' works and measures to accelerate the pace, such as installing a dry dock along the length of the estate on the Thames. But Mr Rees-Mogg - who along with Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has been hunting for ways to slash the bill - said creating the temporary chambers alone could cost 1.5billion. He told MPs that the idea was 'for the birds' after coronavirus hammered the public finances, suggesting that if the estate does need to be shut down for works it should switch to virtual proceedings instead. Some peers have previously suggested lavish improvements to the QEII before they move in, including a central staircase to bring in natural light and banqueting suite on the top floor. The review suggested a focus on 'essential' works and measures to accelerate the pace, such as installing a dry dock along the length of the estate on the Thames Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) and Speaker Lindsay Hoyle have been hunting for ways to slash the bill Peers are expected to relocate to the nearby QEII centre during the restoration, while MPs will have a temporary chamber in Richmond House The Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body and Delivery Authority backed plans to relocate locally after Boris Johnson suggested a move to York. That idea did not prove popular with those who use the palace, with 19 per cent of respondents expressing clear views that moving the Lords far from the Commons 'was not practical or acceptable'. Just 6 per cent suggested one or both houses could move outside of London. The restoration team will continue to develop a fully costed plan, but various price tags from 4billion to many times that have been estimated. Parliament will be asked to approve the final plan with work expected to begin in the mid-2020s. MPs and peers voted two years ago in favour of moving off the estate for the first time since the Luftwaffe bombed chamber in 1941. But there has been deep anxiety that the timetable - initially forecast to start in 2025 and end between five and eight years later - will stretch even further. Opposition members of the ruling Commons commission have been accused of trying to add 'all sorts' of upgrades into the proposals. One senior Commons source told MailOnline: 'I do not see us leaving.' MPs are due to sit in a temporary chamber being created in Richmond House, which borders the existing Parliamentary estate. The original scoping report produced by consultants in 2015 laid out a range of possible upgrades to the estate including creating underground meeting space below the current New Palace Yard, with 'natural light from a landscaped courtyard above'. Minutes of a cross-party Lords committee meeting last spring showed they discussed options for QEII including 'the provision of a staircase through the centre of the whole building to bring in natural light and improve access options between floors'. Following concerns that peers will be deprived of access to subsidised bars and restaurants, the minutes referred to a proposal 'for the top floor to provide the majority of catering services, a mixture of served and self-service; with the main preparation kitchen located in the basement'. There could be 'smaller outlets located throughout the building'. At business questions in the Commons, Mr Rees-Mogg's Tory predecessor Andrea Leadsom said the review's recommendation was the same as reports in 2014, 2016 and legislation that she introduced in 2018. 'He must surely see that the risks of a major asbestos leak, a sewage failure or indeed a devastating fire such as we saw at Notre Dame are very high and remain very high and we have virtually no contingency for this place. 'My personal motto is JFDI and I would like to offer that to (Mr Rees-Mogg) to gird his loins to make some progress.' But Mr Rees-Mogg said: 'The proposal for Richmond House and for the Queen Elizabeth Centre was there would be about 1.5 billion of expenditure on temporary chambers. This can't have been a sensible thing to do, even in less straitened financial times. In current circumstances, it seems to me to be for the birds. 'I am not the greatest advocate of hybrid proceedings, they're better than nothing but they're not as good as real, physical participation in debate but I'd rather have hybrid proceedings for a little bit where we couldn't use this chamber than spend 1.5 billion. 'And we as Members of Parliament have a responsibility to our constituents, when their money is being spent, to accept while great restorations are taking place, we may have to put up with a little bit of discomfort, there may be occasionally a little bit of banging and noise being made, we can't be too fussy about that if we're to keep this as a working operational building.' He insisted: 'Regardless of all these reports, regardless of what people have suggested, this has to get value for money for the taxpayer. We have suddenly heard talk of cost of 10 to 20billion coming up. 'We cannot say that to our constituents. We in this House have the responsibility to protect taxpayers' money and the other place it has to be remembered doesn't, we are responsive and answerable to our constituents. 'And yes, we need to redo the wiring, yes we need to ensure this place is safe and secure but we must not turn this House of Commons into Disneyland.' MPs are due to sit in a temporary chamber being created in Richmond House, which borders the existing Parliamentary estate (artist's impression) Speaker Lindsay Hoyle (pictured right overseeing PMQs) has also been pushing to keep costs down as far as possible Peers have been making plans for their temporary accommodation when the restoration of the Palace of Westminster begins. PIctured is the House of Lords last month Garry Graham, deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, said: 'The idea that parliament could be fully restored without evacuating MPs and staff was always a ridiculous obsession of a minority of politicians. 'We welcome the conclusion of this review that this option would pose and ''extraordinary level of risk'' and hope that this bad idea can now finally be put to bed, after a large amount of time and public money has been wasted pursing it. In a letter in July, Mr Johnson said that locations outside London should be considered if MPs and peers do have to move out. Mr Johnson wrote: 'Costs should be kept to a minimum (ie no gold plating). We should also move as quickly as possible.' The PM said that the case for both Houses staying in place should be considered but that other locations should be in the mix. He stated: 'However, the review should also consider a possible location outside London. 'The Government is considering establishing a Government hub in York and it would therefore make sense to consider this as a potential location.' The newest trend in retail is superbrands stocking other, smaller labels. Next, for example, sells Lipsy, Joules, The North Face and F&F online. And now Marks & Spencer is doing the same, launching Brands at M&S this month. Having snapped up Jaeger from its administrators, it will go further by offering a host of guest labels online, such as Phase Eight, Joules, Seasalt Cornwall and Hobbs. A spokesperson says the aim is to 'turbocharge' the website, adding: 'We recognise that we have to give customers more reason to shop at marks andspencer.com. We know no one just wears M&S.' Marks and Spencer is offering guest labels on its website (above: top 39.95 and trousers, 62.50, Seasalt Cornwall; shoes, 45; scarf, 12.50; and necklace, 15, M&S) Phase Eight, Hobbs (left: dress), White Stuff (left: trainers) and Sosandar (clothes right), are among the top high street labels that will be on offer on Marks and Spencer's website So how does the move help the other brands? 'Access to the UK's second biggest clothing website.' It's symbiosis. M&S Woman might discover a label she hasn't heard of, such as Nobody's Child or Y.A.S, or revisit labels M&S previously bought into, such as Ghost. Do shoppers love it? 'Several Ghost dresses have sold out,' I'm told. M&S will cherry-pick with M&S Woman in mind. It chose Hobbs as it's a great British brand and is transparent about the provenance of its goods: important for the M&S shopper. It's fantastic that M&S now sells Hobbs shoes, as its own footwear has always been dire. Best news of all? It will soon stock upmarket lingerie brand Sloggi. I gave a loud hoorah a couple of years ago when M&S culled two sub-brands, Indigo and Classic or, as I called them, Old Lady Tat. A Marks and Spencer spokesperson said the aim of the move is to 'turbocharge' the company's website (above: skirt, 99, Hobbs; knit, 89, boots, 55, and earrings, 7.50) The move will see M&S will cherry-pick brands with their customers in mind, choosing brands that are important to their shoppers, such as Joules (left: jumper and trousers) and Phase Eight (right: jumpsuit) The company join the newest retail trend, which sees super-brands beginning to stock other smaller labels, such as Hobbs (above: Dress, 55, White Stuff, jacket, 99, Hobbs) In 2012, I begged then style director Belinda Earl to have just one label, St Michael, and ditch the sub-brands of Per Una, Limited and Autograph. When I go shopping, I don't then want to negotiate a maze of brands. She didn't listen. But the looks here are perfect for post-lockdown: colourful, crisp, casual. The Hobbs blue floral dress screams 'Thank God it's over!' And there's nothing mumsy, over-embellished or boxy. I love the faux leather dress from Sosandar. I'm less keen on Joules it's a bit twee. And I wonder why Seasalt Cornwall has been selected; it was great when all it offered was waterproofs for bracing walks. But fear not, more names will be added come April. More than half of cancer patients may not be protected against coronavirus after a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, an alarming study has claimed. Research of more than 150 patients found the jab stimulated an antibody response in just 39 per cent of people with solid cancers, such as in the breast or prostate, after three weeks. The single dose was even less effective in blood and bone marrow cancer patients, with just 13 per cent developing the virus-fighting proteins, compared to 97 per cent of healthy people. The King's College London study found that when patients were given the booster dose at 21 days, the percentage who showed signs of immunity more than doubled to up to 95 per cent. Antibodies are not the only part of the immune response to Covid white blood cells also play an important role. But having no detectable levels strongly suggests someone has little protection. Cancer charities and scientists who led the research are urgently calling for Britain's 2million cancer patients to get their second injection sooner. Under the current UK dosing regimen, Britons are being offered their second dose after 12 weeks on the advice of the Government's expert advisory group on vaccines. Cancer patients are among the most vulnerable to dying from Covid and reliant on a vaccine because their immune system is already compromised. They are also normally on immunosuppressant drugs, which make it even more difficult for their bodies to naturally defend against the virus. More than half of cancer patients are not protected against coronavirus after a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, an alarming study has found (file) The study didn't look at Oxford University's coronavirus vaccine, which works slightly differently. But both of Britain's approved jabs have similar success rates. Professor Adrian Hayday, an immunologist at King's, said: 'The vaccine is very impressive in its impact on healthy individuals and our study shows that it can clearly bring immense benefit to cancer patients too, but in most cases this is only after boosting. 'Cancer patients should be vaccinated and boosted quickly and their responses, particularly those of blood cancer patients, should be intensively monitored so that those who mix with family, friends and carers can be confident of their environment.' Up to 10 million extra vaccine doses could be available to UK within days as surge in supply boosts roll-out Up to 10 million extra vaccine doses could be available to the UK within days following a surge in supply, in another major boost for the country's vaccine roll-out. As the number of Britons having had their first Covid jab last night topped 22 million, figures revealed the Scottish Government now has access to around 900,000 unused doses. Though the Government has so far refused to give data on its vaccine supply, the figure from Scotland, which is given a share of the UK's total jab stockpile, means the total across Britain could be up to 10 million. The boost means the UK could increase the rate it gives out second doses, without impacting on the rate it is giving out the first doses. It will also be a boost to hopes that the Government can extend the roll-out to all over 50s later this month. It comes as Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford last night alleviated fears of over a 'dip' in the vaccination. He told the i newspaper that the dip was now over, as the UK prepares to enter what he described as a 'crucial stage' of its jab rollout. Mr Drakeford said: 'We are confident that we are past the couple of weeks where there was a dip in supply and we will be getting significantly greater volumes during the month of March.' Last month the country's highly-praised vaccination roll-out began to stall after getting off to a rapid start - which put the UK far ahead of its European neighbours. Just 192,000 people were vaccinated on Monday, February 23 and 142,000 the day before, in two of the lowest daily tolls since the mammoth operation began to gather steam at the start of the year. Ministers have repeatedly blamed the 'lumpy' supply of vaccines as being the 'rate-limiting factor' of the programme. Advertisement Dr Simon Vincent, director of research, support and influencing at Breast Cancer Now, described the study as 'worrying' and called on an urgent rethink to the vaccine programme. He added: 'Worryingly, this study suggests that people affected by cancer, including breast cancer, get little protection against the virus when they only receive a single dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine, and then do not receive their vaccine boost in the following three weeks. 'In contrast, the study identifies that when patients received a second dose of the vaccine within three weeks, they had significantly improved immune response and protection against coronavirus. 'In light of these findings we are calling on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to urgently review the evidence presented in this study, and to consider adapting its strategy to ensure that people who may benefit from this approach, including those with breast cancer, receive both the first and second dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine within a three week timeframe to minimize their risk of both contracting and becoming seriously ill with coronavirus.' Gemma Peters, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, added: 'We have been concerned about how much protection the vaccines will give people with blood cancer because vaccines do not usually work as well for people with compromised immune systems. 'This study, while not peer reviewed and only looking at a small number of people, is worrying news in that it adds to that concern. This means that if you have blood cancer, it is important that you do not assume you have protection even after you have had the vaccine, particularly after just one dose, and that you continue being careful to avoid Covid. 'But while this news is concerning, people with blood cancer should still definitely have the vaccine, as it is safe and even a smaller chance of protection is much better than none. 'The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation also needs to look again at the evidence on the right timing for the second dose for people with cancer, as this raises questions about whether people with cancer should get the second dose sooner.' The KCL study, which has not yet been published in a scientific journal, looked at 151 cancer patients and 54 healthy controls. It was done in collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute in London. Researchers took antibody levels from cancer patients and healthy volunteers three weeks after getting the first dose. They found 97 per cent of health people had antibodies, compared to just 39 per cent of patients with solid cancers and 13 per cent of those with blood cancers. Forty-seven cancer patients were given their second dose later that day at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, King's College Hospital or Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley. Antibody levels were then retested at five weeks in all three groups: cancer patients given both doses, cancer patients who had the second injection delayed and healthy participants not given the booster jab. Results showed 95 per cent of patients with solid cancers given both doses had detectable antibodies. For those with blood cancers the sample size was too small but there was a 'noticeable improvement', researchers said. Every healthy participant who received one dose tested positive for the proteins. And among those cancer patients who had the booster shot delayed, 8 per cent of blood cancer patients had antibodies. The figure was 43 per cent in solid cancer patients. The trial will continue to follow cancer patients post vaccination for up to six months to see how antibody levels chance over time on various dosing regimens. Dr Sheeba Irshad, a senior clinical lecturer from King's College London who co-led the study, said: 'Our data provides the first real-world evidence of immune efficacy following one dose of the Pfizer vaccine in immunocompromised patient populations. 'We show that following first dose, most solid and haematological cancer patients remained immunologically unprotected up until at least five weeks following primary injection; but this poor one dose efficacy can be rescued with an early booster at day 21. 'Based on our findings, we would recommend an urgent review of the vaccine strategy for clinically extremely vulnerable groups. 'Until then, it is important that cancer patients continue to observe all public health measures in place such as social distancing and shielding when attending hospitals, even after vaccination.' South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. on Thursday said its initial public offering price was set at US$35 per share, paving the way for the company to raise $4.5 billion with its value at some $63 billion upon its landmark debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The IPO price was higher than a proposed range of $32 to $34 per share. The company said its stocks will begin trading Thursday (New York time). The IPO process will be legally completed by March 15 (New York time), the company said. "Considering Coupang's growth potential and expandability, ($35) is below the company's value, despite its current deficits and the market competitiveness," said NH Investment Securities researcher Lee Ji-young. The popularity of customer-to-customer services in the local e-commerce industry would provide lucrative opportunities for the e-commerce behemoth in shipping, advertising and consulting, she said. Brokerage experts also expected the U.S. IPO would help Coupang secure funds to broaden its grip on fashion, beauty and home appliances, sectors that have had relatively low competition in the fast-growing e-commerce environment. Last year, Coupang registered revenues of about $11.97 billion, nearly double from $6.27 billion a year ago, according to the documents submitted by Coupang. Net losses stood at $474.9 million in 2020, down from the previous year's $699 million. (Yonhap) CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Industrial Metrology Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis by Offering, Equipment, Application (Quality & Inspection, Reverse Engineering, Mapping & Modelling), End-User Industry, Geography - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Industrial Metrology Market is expected to grow from USD 9.8 billion in 2021 to USD 13.2 billion by 2026; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period The industrial metrology market has been witnessing significant growth over the past years, mainly owing to the rising demand for big data analytics, and increasing demand for automobiles in emerging economies. However, the COVID-19 outbreak is likely to result in a decline in the growth rate of the Industrial metrology market, especially in 2020 and 2021. This is because organizations in most of the major demand-generating verticals are currently, or were, non-operational in various countries, thereby negatively impacting the industrial metrology market. The COVID-19 pandemic has also operations on a massive scale, and manufacturers are facing the challenge of assessing the impact. Past and current lockdowns resulting in the shutdown of manufacturing facilities have put a lot of strain on the industrial sector. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=190782079 Hardware segment to hold the largest share of the industrial metrology market, by offering, in 2020 Hardware segment will lead the industrial metrology market, by offering, in terms of size, in 2020. Companies offering hardware in the industrial metrology market are continuously working on updating their product portfolio. For instance, in recent years, FARO Technologies (US) have done various developments in its industrial metrology products, including portable measuring arms. These are the second most used hardware in the industrial metrology market. There are different variants of portable measuring arm provided by the companies, such as FARO Arm and FARO Scan Arm by FARO and absolute arm series by Hexagon (Sweden). These are majorly used for inspection purposes. They can deliver high accuracy measurements and are very easy to operate. With the new designs that companies offer, the movement of devices has become easier. Scanners like RS5Laser scanner can bring ultra-high productivity 3D white light scanning to the absolute arm. The market for coordinate measuring machines (CMM) equipment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period On the basis of equipment, the industrial metrology market has been broadly classified into coordinate measuring machines (CMM), optical digitizers and scanners (ODS), measuring instruments, X-ray and computed tomography (CT), automated optical inspection (AOI), form measurement equipment, and 2D equipment. Among these, the market for the coordinate measuring machines (CMM) equipment is expected to record the highest CAGR between 2020 and 2025. The rising need for precision dimensional analysis and validation of geometric accuracy in the manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace & defense industries is the factor responsible for the largest share of the CMM segment. Quality control and inspection application to hold the largest share of the industrial metrology market, by application, in 2020 The quality control and inspection application segment dominated the industrial metrology market and is expected to hold the leading position throughout the forecast period. The increasing competition and need for improving safety have resulted in the high adoption of quality control and inspection systems in various industries, including automotive, aerospace & defense, and semiconductor. In these industries, maintaining and enhancing the quality of a product is of high importance. As industrial metrology equipment are the best available options in the market for quality control and inspection application, their adoption has increased at a significant rate. Browse in-depth TOC on "Industrial Metrology Market" 157 Tables 64 Figures 233 Pages Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=190782079 Automotive end-user industry to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period On the basis of end-user industry, the industrial metrology market has been broadly classified into aerospace & defense, automotive, manufacturing, semiconductor, and others. Among these, the market for automotive industry is expected to record the highest CAGR between 2020 and 2025. The shift in preference from off-line quality inspection to near-line or in-line measurement techniques, enabling higher sampling rates and shorter inspection times in the automotive industry, is expected to drive the growth of the industrial metrology market for the automotive industry. Moreover, the growing demand for electric vehicles is also expected to fuel the growth of the industrial metrology market in the near future. North America to hold the largest share of industrial metrology market by 2020 North America is expected to hold the largest share of the industrial metrology market by 2020. The US leads the market in North America owing to its well-established economy that encourages government and private investments in new technologies. APAC is expected to account for the second-largest share of the industrial metrology market during the forecast period. China and Japan are significant demand-generating countries for industrial metrology solutions in this region. A few key players operating in the industrial metrology market are Hexagon (Sweden), Carl Zeiss (Germany), Nikon (Japan), KEYENCE (Japan), FARO Technologies (US), Jenoptik (Germany), Creaform (Canada), KLA Corporation (US), Renishaw (UK), and Mitutoyo Corporation (Japan). Related Reports: 3D Metrology Market with COVID-19 Impact by Product Type (CMM, ODS, VMM, 3D AOI, 3D X-ray &CT), Application (Quality Control & Inspection, Reverse Engineering, Virtual Simulation), Offering, End-user Industry, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2026 3D Scanner Market by Offering (Hardware & Software, Aftermarket Service), Type (Laser, Structured Light), Range, Product (Tripod Mounted, Fixed CMM Based, Portable CMM Based, Desktop), Application, Industry, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. 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Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/industrial-metrology-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/industrial-metrology.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets As a Gold VCSP partner, Opus Interactive has demonstrated proficient knowledge of Veeam products, and we are confident in Opus's ability to deliver Veeam-powered solutions to enable their customers to achieve Cloud Data Management. - Matt Kalmenson, vice president of Americas Cloud at Veeam Opus Interactive, a leading provider of complex hybrid cloud hosting services, and Veeam Software, the leader in Backup solutions that deliver Cloud Data Management, today announced Opus has achieved Gold status in the Veeam Cloud & Service Provider (VCSP) program. This elevated partner status reinforces Opus Interactives ongoing partnership and commitment to delivering in-depth knowledge and experience using Veeam modern data protection solutions. The demand for data protection continues to increase for businesses of all sizes, said Opus Interactive CEO Shannon Hulbert. Were excited to be awarded Gold Partner Status and further partner with Veeam to strengthen 3-2-1 backup strategies and deliver business continuity for mission critical workloads. Veeam was positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the 2020 Magic Quadrant for Data Center Backup and Recovery Solutions for the fourth consecutive time. As a Gold Partner, customers of Opus Interactive can access backup to protect valuable data and ensure reliability using Veeam. Opus' high compliance solutions and world class data centers that are strategically placed to ensure regional and energy grid redundancy, Veeam backup is a key differentiator for mission critical workloads. Opus and Veeam solutions allow customers to achieve the security and reliability they need while enabling increased IT agility. For Opus Interactive customers, backup includes: Hosted off-site backups Complete visibility and control End-to-end encryption In-depth technical product expertise and commitment to support HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 Type 2 and FedRAMP compliance Housing in Tier III datacenters located in separate regions and separate energy grids S3 compatible Reliability backed by more than 24 years of past performance. As a Gold VCSP partner, Opus Interactive has demonstrated proficient knowledge of Veeam products, and we are confident in Opus's ability to deliver Veeam-powered solutions to enable their customers to achieve Cloud Data Management. said Matt Kalmenson, vice president of Americas Cloud at Veeam. About Opus Interactive Founded in 1996, Opus Interactive has earned a reputation for custom IT solutions that fit unique requirements for security, scalability, cost, and future growth needs of its customers. An accredited member of the International Managed Services Provider Alliance, the Company operates from Tier III+ data centers located in Hillsboro, Portland, Dallas, and Northern Virginia. Through close partnerships with industry-leaders and a commitment to customer satisfaction, Opus delivers custom solutions for Cloud Hosting & IaaS, Colocation, DRaaS & Backup, Object Storage, VDI, and Public Cloud Monitoring & Management. Opus Interactive is a woman and minority-owned enterprise that has worked closely with VMware and HPE partnership programs since 2005. With past performance that includes more than 20 years of proven results and current compliance with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP Moderate Ready and SSAE 18 SOC 2 Type II, Opus helps customers reduce cost and optimize resources using efficient operations. For more information about Opus Interactive, visit http://www.opusinteractive.com. Reference: Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Data Center Backup and Recovery Solutions, Santhosh Rao, Nik Simpson, Michael Hoeck 20 July 2020. Previous titled include Magic Quadrant for Data Center Backup and Recovery Software. Chinese Doctors Suicide Casts Light on Forced Organ Harvesting in China Commentary Dr. Zang Yunjin, a liver transplant specialist in China, committed suicide in the early hours of Feb. 26, a death that may have been related to his alleged involvement with the mass harvesting of organs from Falun Gong adherents. Zang, the director of the Institute of Organ Donation and Transplantation of Qingdao University Medical School, and director of the Organ Transplantation Center of Qingdao University Hospital, jumped off a building, according to sources cited in an article published on Feb. 27 by Chinese media Medical Community. He was 57 years old. According to a report in MedSci, a medical platform in China, Zang was a distinguished organ transplant expert, who had over 2,600 cases of liver transplants. He was among the top 10 (Chinese doctors) doing liver organ transplants for four consecutive years, and in 2019, he was awarded the title The Nations Distinguished Doctor. Zang, a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was a chief physician, professor, and a returned scholar from the United States, with a long list of titles that included Taishan Scholar and Distinguished Expert, the report said. After returning to China in December 2000, Zang established the liver transplant department of Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, and later became chief physician of the Organ Transplantation Center of Tianjin First Central Hospital and director of the Shandong Branch of the Orient Organ Transplantation Center. In January 2005, Zang was transferred to the Liver Transplantation Institute of Beijing Armed Police General Hospital, where he served as deputy director of the institute and director of the hospitals liver transplant department, as well as professor and chief physician of Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University Beijing Institute of Hepatology. In 2014, Zang was appointed as the deputy superintendent of Qingdao University Medical Group, the director of surgery of The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, the director of the universitys Organ Transplant Center, and the director of the Institute of Transplant Medicine, Qingdao University. Since Zang was one of the CCPs famous liver transplant experts, with a long list of awards, honors, and titles, why would he commit suicide? During a rally joined by thousands of Falun Gong practitioners, four demonstrators play in an action drama in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 23, 2006 (Patrick Lin/AFP/Getty Images) CCP-Sanctioned Forced Organ Harvesting I believe the main reason that Zang took his own life was because of his alleged involvement in the mass harvesting of organs from Falun Gong adherents. Every hospital in which Zang worked appears in reports from the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG). WOIPFG was established in 2003 with a mission to investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong; to bring such investigations, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society, as stated on its website. According to investigative reports published by WOIPFG, from 2004 to 2008, Zang participated in 1,600 cases of liver extractions at Tianjin First Central Hospital. At the Armed Police General Hospital, Zang completed at least 1,570 liver transplants, while the General Surgery (Liver Transplantation) Center at Beijing Youan Hospital, where Zang worked part-time, had completed 1,001 liver transplants as of Aug. 10, 2017. Since Zang joined The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, it has ranked among the top organ transplant centers in China in terms of the number and quality of liver transplants performed during the same period, according to WOIPFG. On July 20, 1999, the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline also known as Falun Dafa. He Xiaoshun, the deputy superintendent of The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong Province, indicated that the year 2000 was a year of explosive growth for Chinas organ transplants, and that the number of liver transplants nationwide in 2000 was 10 times higher than in 1999. A human being has only one liver; extracting one for transplantation means the donor will die. What is the source of such huge numbers of organs? Numerous investigations have shown that the organs of Falun Gong practitioners were extracted on a large scale. Zang has repeatedly been on the WOIPFG tracking list. The thousands of liver transplants he performed may have involved a significant number of Falun Gong adherents being killed in the process. More Suicide Cases Among Transplant Specialists Several other Chinese organ transplant experts are reported to have committed suicide. On March 24, 2014, Zhang Shilin, 44, deputy director of the Department of Urology at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, jumped from the window of his office on the eighth floor of the hospital. On Oct. 13, 2013, Jiang Xusheng, 50, a professor of general surgery and the director of liver transplantation at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, committed suicide by cutting his neck and abdomen in his apartment on the west side of the hospital. On March 16, 2010, Li Leishi, 84, an internationally renowned kidney specialist, jumped from the 14-story building where he lived in Nanjing. He was the former deputy superintendent of the Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. On May 4, 2007, Li Baochun, 44, a renowned kidney transplant specialist at The Second Military Medical University in Shanghai, jumped to his death from the 12th floor of the hospitals kidney transplant building. All four doctors have been listed in WOIPFGs investigative reports for their purported involvement in the harvesting of organs of Falun Gong practitioners. Did the doctors actually commit suicide or were they murdered? It is difficult to ascertain. For example, Li Leishi was categorized as an anti-revolutionary during the so-called Cultural Revolution and was brutally persecuted and forced to separate from his wife and children. In an interview, he was asked if he would ever commit suicide. He said, No, I dont think Im an anti-revolutionary. Im not guilty. Why, then, would he commit suicide at the age of 84, when he had achieved fame and fortune? Independent Probes, Evidence of Organ Harvesting One of the first whistleblowers who exposed the harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners was a former employee at Sujiatun Hospital in Shenyang city, Liaoning Province. Annie (a pseudonym) made a public statement about the atrocity in March 2006; she now lives in the United States. Since then, human rights lawyers outside China, experts and scholars, WOIPFG, and the China Tribunal of the United Kingdom have conducted numerous independent investigations into the issue, and concluded that large-scale live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP has existed for many years and is ongoing. On Feb. 24, 117 organizations, including the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China, co-hosted a seminar on live organ harvesting by the CCP regime. Experts, lawmakers, officials, and representatives from 25 countries, including the United States, the UK, Canada, the European Union, and Australia participated in the event. Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Slobodan Milosevic, also chaired China Tribunal, a peoples tribunal into organ harvesting in China. Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, chair of the China Tribunal into forced organ harvesting, on the first day of public hearings in London on Dec. 8, 2018. (Justin Palmer) He said in a speech that his team started with a blank sheet of paper before investigating the issue of live organ harvesting by the CCP, putting on it nothing but evidence. He said the panel members had no preconceptions and that they were not activists nor had they any particular sympathy for the victims. They just dealt with the evidence presented to them and ended the question in the form of the judgment. Its very difficult for anyone to challenge that, Nice said, and for the two years since the judgment was announced, it has not been deconstructed or challenged in detail by anyone. The China Tribunal held open public hearings on Dec. 810, 2018, and April 67, 2019. On June 17, 2019, the seven-member panel concluded that it was beyond doubt that forced organ harvesting from prisoners had taken place on a substantial scale by state-supported or approved organizations and individuals, constituting crimes against humanity. The tribunal has also ruled that adherents of Falun Gong have been targets of persecution by the CCP since July 1999. Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas said the large-scale live organ harvesting of Falun Gong adherents is one of the worlds worst crimes against humanity and that its more bloody, more atrocious, and more brutal than the Nazi-era Holocaust. Human rights activists, experts, and lawmakers have called on the international community to unite and take action to hold the CCP regime accountable for its state-sanctioned practice of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. This year marks 22 years since the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong, and 15 years since the revelation of organ harvesting of its adherents. The time has come to settle the score for this atrocity. Wang Youqun graduated with a Ph.D. in law from the Renmin University of China. He once worked as a copywriter for Wei Jianxing (19312015), a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee from 1997 to 2002. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, say goodbye to law and order Joe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices New York state will allow even bigger weddings and ease the testing requirements announced at the end of February. Here are the new rules: Starting March 15, catered events can be hosted indoors or outdoors without testing for up to 50 people or 50% of occupancy, whichever is less. That is the current gathering limit. If everyone is tested, up to 150 people can attend indoors or outdoors. On March 19, the limit in Upstate New York increases to the lesser of 75% occupancy or 50 people indoors or outdoors without testing or up to 150 people indoors or outdoors with testing. On March 22, the number goes up to the lesser of 75% occupancy or 100 people indoors or 200 outdoors without testing and up to 150 people indoors with testing. On April 2, the number can increase to 150 people indoors with testing or 500 people outdoors with testing. The state recalibrated the guidelines issued in late February after positive Covid infection rates and hospitalization rates declined and vaccinations increased. The occupancy limit remains at 50% for New York City events. The rules apply to in-person catered events, including weddings and other celebrations. There have been no other changes to the state health departments safety guidance, which requires that people dance in designated pods that are at least 36 square feet. Contact Michelle Breidenbach | mbreidenbach@syracuse.com | 315-470-3186. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Timmy Johnson, a 23-year-old dock worker for Amazon, was skeptical when he first heard about the push to form a union at his warehouse. Scanning boxes and taking them to trucks was exhausting, but $15.55 an hour was more than he had earned as a stacker at Lowe's, and he didn't see the point of paying nearly $500 a year in dues. Then he spoke to his father, a former coal miner. "He said it was a good thing for us to have," Johnson said. "He told me my job would be secure and they wouldn't be able to fire me for no reason." So Johnson voted to unionize Amazon's vast 855,000-square-foot warehouse in this predominantly Black blue-collar city about 15 miles southwest of Birmingham, Ala. In doing so, he joined the largest band of American workers to challenge the powerful, multinational retail company since it was founded more than a quarter of a century ago. A victory for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is not assured: More than 5,800 workers have the opportunity to vote. And after Amazon hired an aggressive union-busting firm, some workers say they are undecided or already have voted no. But the union has cleared a major hurdle in getting more than 2,000 workers to sign cards supporting a union electionmore than any other Amazon workplace in the country. Last weekend, President Biden delivered a major boost when he gave workers in Alabama a shout-out and stressed unions' historic role in building the middle class. "Unions put power in the hands of workers," Biden said in a video message. "They give you a stronger voice, for your health, your safety, higher wage, protections from racial discrimination and sexual harassment. Unions lift up workers, both union and non-union, but especially Black and brown workers." Alabama may seem an unlikely place for workers to take on the trillion-dollar company founded by Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world. A conservative "right-to-work" state where workers do not have to pay dues to unions that represent them, it is home to the world's only unionized Mercedes-Benz plant. But the Birmingham metro area was once the largest iron and steel producer in the Southeast, and it has a strong and distinct legacy of workers coming together to improve job conditions. "When Amazon and Jeff Bezos looked at Bessemer, they saw one of the poorest cities in the state of Alabama," said Michael Foster, 41, a lead organizer for RWDSU. "What they failed to uncover is that this was a union city of steelworkers and coal mine workers. These people know about unions, even though this is a red state." If a majority of Amazon's workers in Bessemer vote to form the company's first labor union in the U.S. before the March 29 deadline, it would be a major setback for the company, which has seen record profits and hired more than 500,000 workers during the pandemic. A victory in Alabama could inspire a rush of organizing in Amazon warehouses across the nationincluding states that are more union-friendly, such as California, Michigan and New York. "Nobody thought we would get this far. We had people tell us we were crazy, just going up against Amazon, period," Foster said. "Amazon is a powerful beast right now and only getting more powerful. If we don't fight back, we're going to be swallowed up." The move to set up a union began just months after Amazon opened its Bessemer warehouse last March. Darryl Richardson, 51, was excited when he got hired at Amazon after losing his unionized job at an auto parts supplier. But as he scrambled to work as a picker, pulling hundreds of items out of large metal bins that robots brought to him and putting them in totes on a fast-moving conveyor belt, it did not take him long to decide they needed a union. "It's very stressful," he said. "You ain't got time to breathe, ain't got time to stop. You be hoping you could catch up and a robot pause, so you can take a deep breath. But the robots don't stop." His shoulders ached. His hands cramped up. Working from 7:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., with few breaks, he began to feel like a robot. After eight months, he is paid $15.55 an hoursubstantially lower than the $23.58 he earned at his last job. "It's kind of sad to work for the richest man in the United States of America and he don't want to pay his employees fairly for what they do," he said. "I don't understand how a person can be so greedy." After seeing coworkers terminated for not keeping up with Amazon's relentless productivity demands or leaving their station too often to go to the bathroom, Richardson clicked on the RWDSU website, filled out a form and asked: "Who do I talk to about union organizing?" For RWDSU, the stakes are higher than just one warehouse or one company. "We are concerned that Amazon is setting the model for the future," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the union, which has played a key role in organizing poultry workers in Alabama. "This is really about the future of work. People are managed by an algorithm. They're disciplined by an app on their phone. And they're fired by text message. People have had enough. "This is as much of a civil rights struggle as it is a labor struggle," he added, noting that Amazon's Bessemer workforce was about 80% Black. Amazon declined requests for interviews with company leaders. "We don't believe the RWDSU represents the majority of our employees' views," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire, and we encourage anyone to compare our total compensation package, health benefits, and workplace environment to any other company with similar jobs." On its anti-union website, the company touts "high" wages (starting pay is about $15 an hour, more than twice the federal minimum wage) and healthcare benefits. It also warns workers that paying union dues will prevent them from buying dinner, gifts and school supplies, even though union dues are not mandatory in Alabama. Workers who were union members in 2020 had median weekly earnings of about $1,144, compared to $958 for their non-union peers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the warehouse, tensions are high as union activists stand outside the sprawling facility every day, wielding placards that say "Stronger Together." Inside, Amazon bombards workers with anti-union texts and signs saying "Where will your dues go?" Before voting started, the company required workers to attend anti-union "informational" meetings. One manager last week questioned the work ethic of those pushing for a union. "Some people just have a hard time keeping up," said Lynn Bray Jr., 36, a project manager and floor supervisor who started out as a floor tech. "My thing is, if you work hard, somebody will see you, and at some point, you'll definitely get an advancement." Some workers are tired of the barrages of messagesnot just from Amazon but also RWDSU. "This union stuff getting on my nerves," one worker posted on Facebook, noting that she planned to send in a blank ballot. "Let it be March 30th already!!!" "I swear!" a friend responded. "Dude walked up to my car, I mouthed 'I'm good.'" It is not Bessemer's first high-stakes union battle. In the 1930s, thousands of workers walked off the job at the city's largest iron and steel companies, demanding union recognition and higher pay, according to Robin D.G. Kelley, a professor of history at UCLA and author of "Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression." The governor called in the National Guard after gun battles erupted between workers and company police. At least two strikebreakers were killed. While many unions were segregated across the Deep South, Black workers held most middle- and low-level leadership positions in the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers in Bessemer. According to Kelley, "the prevalence of Black workers and the union's egalitarian goals gave the movement an air of civil rights activism." Nearly a century later, the region's industrial power and its union membership have dwindled, and Bessemer is a struggling city with a median household income of just $32,301. Workers' opinions of Amazon are mixed. While some workers have a family history of union membership, RWDSU leaders worry that many have been swayed by the company's union-busting messaging. On his breaks, Richardson tries to reach out to younger workers, who he says do not understand what unions can do. "I tell them, 'We got to stick together, cause they're treating us wrong and they're firing you for no reason,'" he said. "Just think about it like this: If the union was so bad, why is the company doing everything it can to keep it out of here?" Jasmine Thomas, 30, an order packer from Birmingham, was still undecided as she left the warehouse one afternoon last week. Although the work was strenuous and fast-paced, she said, she earned $5 an hour more than at her last job at Walmart, and she hoped to move up in the company. "I'm still half and half," she said. "I feel pretty comfortable as I can just go up and talk to my manager anytime I want. Everybody's like, the union can get more for us, but what do we not already have?" Some workers said they had already voted against the union. Lester Charles Samuel, 18, a stower, voted against the union last week, because his experience at the warehouse had been positive and he was making $15.30 an hournearly double the $8 he earned at his last job at a university cafeteria. "I don't have to overwork myself or strain my back," he said. "I feel we don't need a union." Brittainy Harlins, 34, also a stower, said her experience with unions in her last job as a team leader at an automotive parts supplier in Tuscaloosa was not positive. "It's pretty much me paying my money for them to go on vacationthat's how I feel," she said as she stopped at a gas station before her night shift. "Like, I didn't see a difference with my union rep going in there with me, versus me going in there by myself." But Catherine Highsmith, 24, a worker who recently landed an unpaid "promotion" as a troubleshooter on the robotics floor, rejected coworkers' arguments that they would be better off without a union. As much as she liked her job, she wanted to know that, if she had a serious problem, a union would back her and put pressure on Amazon. "Listen to what they're saying," she said of coworkers who questioned the union. "It's me, me, me. I, I, I. The culture at Amazon is hyper-individualistic. They want you to think about yourself and yourself only. That's why they hate the union so much. They don't want people thinking of themselves as a whole unit together." Explore further Biden backs Amazon workers' right to unionize 2021 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. OMAHA, Neb., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance defense firm, Sodoro + Mooney + Lenaghan , is excited to have attorney Alexis Mullaney join their already capable cohort. She is coming on board to be an advocate for clients dealing with employment law issues. An all-around skilled, motivated, and knowledgeable attorney, Mullaney shines as an employment and litigation expert. She has represented countless clients and guided companies through issues related to their employees. These kinds of disputes are a delicate matter. Achieving clear resolutions requires a nuanced approach and someone with extensive experience in this legal arena. "Alexis is a homerun hire for our firm," says Patrick Sodoro, Managing Partner of Sodoro + Mooney + Lenaghan. "She has earned a strong reputation as an ethical and tenacious attorney, and we are honored to have her join our team. Our clients will benefit greatly from having her step in and swiftly address their employment law cases." Mullaney is highly motivated to ease the stress felt by HR managers and anyone in the company who typically shoulders the weight of employee policy issues, disputes, and claims. The Creighton University School of Law is ready to get to work helping alleviate this burden for SML's clients. Sodoro + Mooney + Lenaghan is a full-service law firm answering to the legal needs of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota. For more information, or to contact the team at Sodoro + Mooney + Lenaghan, go to smllawoffice.com or email Kelsey Sievers at (531) 999-5439 or [email protected] SOURCE Sodoro + Mooney + Lenaghan 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. Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's coronavirus vaccine is effective at blocking the disease and vaccinated people showed 'dramatically lower' rates of infection, a new study finds. Researchers from the companies, who teamed up with the Israeli Ministry of Health, said on Thursday that the COVID-19 was 97 perfect effective at preventing symptomatic cases, hospitalizations and deaths. What's more, the jab was 94 percent effective at preventing asymptomatic cases - which means the inoculation may be able to dramatically reduce transmission. Those who were unvaccinated were 44 times more likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 and 29 times more likely to die from the disease, researchers also found. The results are in line with the 95 percent efficacy Pfizer and BioNTech reported from their late-stage clinical trial in December that led to emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The latest analysis had researchers measuring results two weeks after the second dose, which suggests that although there be high efficacy after the initial dose, protection is boosted once both doses are given. Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's coronavirus vaccine prevented 97% of symptomatic cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Pictured: A vial of the Pfizer vaccine at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, December 2020 It was also 94% effective at blocking asymptomatic cases of infection, suggesting the jab can reduce transmission. In the U.S., an average of 2 million people are being vaccinated every day Unvaccinated people were 44 times more likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 and 29 times more likely to die from the disease. In the U.S., nearly 19% have received at least one dose 'This clearly demonstrates the power of the Covid-19 vaccine to fight this virus,' Yeheskel Levy, director of the health ministry, said in a statement. 'We aim to achieve even higher uptake in people of all ages, which gives us hope of regaining normal economic and social function in the not-so-distant future.' The study was conducted from data collected between January 17 and March 6, 2021, when the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the only vaccine available in Israel. Findings from the study have not yet been peer-reviewed but the researchers do plan to submit the data to a scientific journal. At the time, the UK coronavirus variant, known as B.1.1.7 , had also become the dominant strain in the Middle Eastern country, with more than 80 percent of specimen tested at the time linked to the variant. However, the analysis could not evaluated the vaccine's effectiveness against the South African variant due the very few cases linked to the strain in Israel at the itme. Israel has been leading the vaccine race since December, with 55% of its population having received at least one dose and 43% having received both doses Since vaccinations began rolling out in December 2020, Israel has led the world in mass immunizations. As of Thursday morning, around 55 percent of its population has received at least one dose and 43 percent have received both doses, Health Ministry data show. Upon the news, shares of Pfizer rose 0.4 percent and BioNTech increased 2.7 percent in pre-market trading. 'We are extremely encouraged that the real-world effectiveness data coming from Israel are confirming the high efficacy demonstrated in our Phase III clinical trial and showing the significant impact of the vaccine in preventing severe disease and deaths due to COVID-19,' said Dr Luis Jodar, chief medical officer for Pfizer, in a statement. 'The findings which suggest that the vaccine may also provide protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections are particularly meaningful as we look to disrupt the spread of the virus around the globe.' It comes on the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 to be a global pandemic.. In the U.S., the virus has led to more than 29 million confirmed infections and more than 520,000 deaths. Health officials have long-stated that the best way to beat the pandemic and drive down case numbers is by vaccinating. So far, 62.4 million Americans - 18.8 percent of the population - have received at least one dose and 32.9 million - 9.9 percent - are fully immunized. An average of about two million people in the U.S. are being vaccinated every day. A major private military housing company refused to show up at a congressional hearing Wednesday to testify before lawmakers on why the housing it provides to troops and their families is in such poor condition. Clark Realty Capital, which operates thousands of military homes in at least 14 locations including Fort Belvoir and Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, was summoned to testify before the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing on housing conditions after numerous lawsuits and reports of disgusting and unsafe conditions have surfaced. "Clark declined our invitation. I am really upset about this, and it raises concerns about their ability to be transparent to Congress -- but more important to families in their homes," said John Garamendi, D-Calif., chair of the House Armed Services Committee subpanel on readiness. Read Next: New Law Finally Closes GI Bill Loophole Allegedly Used to Scam Veterans Clark Realty Capital did not respond to a request to comment when asked why its representatives didn't testify. Balfour Beatty Communities, Lendlease Americas and Corvias Group LLC officials did show up to sit in the hot seat and face a grilling. But now lawmakers are warning that Clark Realty Capital is in their sights and threatened sudden inspections from Congress. "As we conduct our oversight, Clark Realty, you are clearly in the sights of this committee, and we will be assessing which of our oversight tools will be brought to bear to get answers," Garamendi said. "Since, Clark, you won't come to us, we're gonna go to you on a little [trip] down the river to find out what's going on at Fort Belvoir and why Clark has such bad reviews. So heads up. We're coming your way, and we may not give you much time to know when we arrive." Poor housing conditions on U.S. military bases have drawn Congress' scorn following a 2018 Reuters investigation that found systematic failures among private military housing companies across the country, including falsified maintenance reports, mold, pest infestation, poor infrastructure, and retaliation against military families who complained. "I think you will all agree that our military families deserve the best housing experience we can provide them," said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the top Republican on the readiness subpanel. "They should not have to worry about excessive mold, pest infestation, asbestos, open sewage, radon gas, and other environmental health conditions in some of the housing units. "They also should not have to worry about cumbersome property management issues regarding lagging response times, withholding work and, in some instances, retribution for bringing housing problems forward. We must do better," he added. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. Related: Two Military Families Sue Over Mold in Base Housing at Naval Postgraduate School .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... COVID-19 is real. But for a few hours the life-changing virus is gone when escaping from reality into the Jemez Mountains to experience some of the best natural hot springs in New Mexico. Thats how I felt, basically in a different world, during my first experience in a natural hot spring when I took a one-day adventure to dip into the Spence Hot Springs. I began with a visit to Soda Dam, where I quickly found out that this was not the best place for hot springs, but great because of the scenery. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ A few miles down the road I easily found parking near the trail to Spence Hot Springs. I went on a weekday, so there was not as much traffic or crowds as during the weekend. Spence is usually a very busy spot during the weekend because it is easily accessible, said Leah Hurley, who works for Santa Fe National Forest as the recreation staff officer for Jemez and Cuba. The Jemez Mountains have been overly crowded during the coronavirus pandemic, mostly during the weekends, she said. I called Hurley a couple days after my trip. In hindsight, I shouldve called her before going to Jemez. But, New Mexico Nomad on Facebook is a good source that advised me to try Spence among other hot springs. Do your research, Hurley says for advice to practice before going to any of the hot springs in New Mexico. You would want to look at whatever specific agency manages the hot spring to see if that it is, for example, clothing optional, or clothing required. Or specific hours for use. The hot springs in the Jemez Mountains require clothing during use, Hurley said. She also said not to overcrowd the pools. If someone is waiting to get in, its customary to spend up to 30 minutes and then get out to let that person have his/her turn. Hurley advised never to get water in your nose or dunk your head in the water to avoid naegleria fowleri. Its basically a brain-eating amoeba that lives in hot springs, she said. Its in general not going to harm you but people can get it if you dunk your head in the water. While at Spence, I met Paul Chavez and his family, who all practiced proper etiquette and followed the rules. Chavez, 42, of Albuquerque, also told me that next time I should try San Antonio Hot Springs, where the water is warmer than Spence and there are colorful views. He warned me that there are sometimes nude people there. Chavez said he goes to the hot springs in Jemez about once a week. Its peaceful here, said Chavez, who enjoys making videos and watching others on TikTok. All that stuff going on in the world, its gone here. Just briefly meeting Chavez it was evident he cherishes peace and loves all the sights and sounds of nature. He told me, 13 years ago he endured a near-death experience. His work truck collided with a big rig on Interstate 25. The car accident left him in a coma, and at one point a minister read him his last rites. But, by the grace of God, he said he awakened. It took him nearly a full year to relearn all the typical daily functions. Confronting death, I can relate. I nearly died during a hiking accident when I was 8 years old. My face was hit by a boulder that left me with 40 stitches. This past year, 38 years later, I took up hiking to overcome fears, and escape reality. At the hot springs, there is reality: follow the rules and know your surroundings. If you go Do your research. Hot springs across the state vary in temperature, operating hours, and whether clothing is required. Never to get water in your nose or dunk your head in the water to avoid naegleria fowleri, which is lethal. Stay properly hydrated. Exit the spring if you begin to feel overheated or dizzy. WASHINGTON The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development and North Carolina regulator Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, picking up the pace for confirmations in President Joe Bidens Cabinet. Fudge, a veteran lawmaker, will lead the housing agency just as Congress has passed new benefits for renters and homeowners who have suffered economic losses amid the coronavirus pandemic. Regan, who has served as North Carolinas top environmental regulator since 2017, will help lead Bidens efforts to address climate change and advocate for environmental justice, two of the administrations top priorities. He is the first Black man to run the EPA. Fudge, who has represented parts of Cleveland and Akron in the House since 2008, is a former mayor and a longtime advocate for assistance for the needy. She said at her confirmation hearing in January that her first priority would be protecting the millions of people who have fallen behind on rent or mortgages due to loss of income during the pandemic, telling senators that we cannot afford to allow people in the midst of a pandemic to be put in the streets. Shortly after she was confirmed and minutes before she resigned Fudge took the last vote of her House career in support of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which will provide billions in housing assistance to low-income households. Fudge was confirmed 66-34, while Regan was also approved by a 66-34 vote. The Senate also confirmed federal Judge Merrick Garland as attorney general Wednesday. All three nominees won bipartisan support for their nominations, although Republican Leader Mitch McConnell voted against Regan. McConnell backed Fudge and Garland. These arent the nominees that any Republican would have picked for these jobs, McConnell said ahead of the votes. But the nation needs presidents to be able to stand up a team so long as their nominees are qualified and mainstream. McConnell voted against Regans nomination and announced he will oppose New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, Bidens choice to be interior secretary. The two nominees both support far-left policies that crush jobs in his state and across the country, the Kentucky Republican said. Regan and Haaland both report straight to the front lines of the new administrations left-wing war on American energy and would unbalance the balancing act between conservation and the economic comeback we badly need, McConnell said. He cited Regans support for the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, and Haalands support for the Green New Deal, a far-reaching, if nonbinding set of proposals to address climate change and reduce economic inequality. Timing for a vote on Haalands nomination has not been set. Republicans who opposed Fudges nomination argued that she was also out of the mainstream. Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey criticized some of Fudges past comments about Republicans, saying they could have a toxic and detrimental impact on the working relationship that ought to be a constructive relationship between Congress and the Biden administration. Toomey referenced a statement Fudge made last year when GOP senators moved to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg after blocking Obamas nominee Garland, the newly-confirmed attorney general four years earlier. Fudge at the time called Senate Republicans a disgrace to this nation and said they have no decency, they have no honor, they have no integrity. At her confirmation hearing, Fudge did not walk back any of her previous statements but described herself as one of the most bipartisan members in the House of Representatives. Democrats argued that Fudges experience was right for the times. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who lives in Fudges district, noted that Ohio suffered a disproportionate number of foreclosures even before the 2008 economic crisis. She knows how for decades, communities have watched as factories closed, investment dried up and storefronts were boarded over, Brown said. And she knows how many neighborhoods and towns have never had the investment they should because of discrimination, because of redlining, because of decades of policy that funneled resources and jobs away from Black and brown communities. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Fudge has a difficult job ahead of her as millions of American renters are behind on payments and millions of homeowners are in forbearance. The COVID-19 relief bill provides about $30 billion to help low-income households and the unemployed afford rent and utilities, and to assist the homeless with vouchers and other support. States and tribes would receive an additional $10 billion for homeowners struggling with mortgage payments because of the pandemic. Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency nominee Michael Regan is hugged by his son, Matthew, after his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (Caroline Brehman/Pool via AP) Regan is known in his home state for pursuing cleanups of industrial toxins and helping low-income and minority communities significantly affected by pollution. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., the chairman of the environment panel, said Regan has a proven record of forging practical solutions to clean our air and our water, while building a more nurturing environment for job creation and job preservation.' One of Regans biggest challenges will be returning scientific integrity to an agency that under former President Donald Trump frequently allowed business groups and other special interests to play a large role in crafting the agencys policies,' Carper said. West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican on the environment panel, said Regan would return the EPA to the policy agenda of the Obama administration, an agenda she said absolutely devastated my state and other energy-producing states.' Capito also complained that Regan will take cues from Bidens White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy, a former EPA chief. For almost two months now unaccountable czar Gina McCarthy has been working both behind the scenes and in front of the press to lay the groundwork for the Biden administrations agenda,' Capito said. Shes operating this stronghold office with no transparency, outside of the Senate confirmation process. Mary Clare Jalonick and Matthew Daly of The Associated Press wrote this story. (CNN) Denmark, Iceland and Norway have suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine while the European Union's medicines regulator investigates whether the shot could be linked to a number of reports of blood clots. Denmark announced a two-week suspension on Thursday following a number of reports of clotting in the country, including one fatal case. Iceland and Norway followed suit, but did not say how long their suspensions would last. Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke made clear the pause was a "precautionary measure," saying it was not possible yet to draw conclusions. "We act early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," he said in a tweet. The Danish Health Authority also stressed that the decision was temporary. "We are in the middle of the largest and most important vaccination rollout in Danish history. And right now we need all the vaccines we can get. Therefore, putting one of the vaccines on pause is not an easy decision. But precisely because we vaccinate so many, we also need to respond with timely care when there is knowledge of possible serious side effects. We need to clarify this before we can continue to use the vaccine from AstraZeneca," Sren Brostrm, director of the National Board of Health, said in the statement. "It is important to emphasize that we have not opted out of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but that we are putting it on hold. There is good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective. But both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to react to reports of possible serious side effects, both from Denmark and other European countries. It shows that the monitoring system works. " Speaking to CNN, Kjartan Njalsson, assistant to the director of health in Iceland, said that although there had been no reports of patients developing blood clots in the country, they were waiting for advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). "It's the lack of data right now that concerns us," he added. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health issued a statement saying the country had also chosen to "pause" inoculations following report of a death in Denmark as a result of a blood clot. It also noted there had been reported cases of blood clots shortly after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in Norway but "mainly in the elderly where there is often another underlying disease as well." Earlier this week, a number of EU nations paused the use of doses that came from a particular batch of AstraZeneca vaccine, after a 49-year-old woman in Austria died of multiple thrombosis on Sunday. The EMA said Wednesday there was "no indication" that vaccination had been behind the cases of clotting or death. RELATED: PH to continue AstraZeneca vaccine rollout as more nations probe blood clot reports AstraZeneca defends shot's safety In a statement on Thursday, AstraZeneca said that patient safety was its "highest priority." "Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase III clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine is generally well tolerated," the company said in a statement. On Thursday, Italy joined Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia in suspending the use of doses from batch ABV5300. Danish officials did not specify whether its reported death was connected to the same batch. The EMA said that batch ABV5300 had been delivered to 17 EU countries, comprising 1 million doses of the vaccine. "Some EU countries have also subsequently suspended this batch as a precautionary measure, while a full investigation is ongoing. Although a quality defect is considered unlikely at this stage, the batch quality is being investigated," EMA said in a statement. The investigation is the latest trouble in Europe for British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca, which has come under pressure to produce more vaccines after it fell tens of millions of doses short in deliveries to the European Union. Italy banned the export of 250,000 doses of the vaccine to Australia last week in an effort to protect its national supplies. France said it would also consider banning exports, as concerns of vaccine nationalism rise. The company has also faced resistance in the bloc, where regulatory bodies in member countries have been slow or hesitated to recommend the vaccine in people over the age of 65, citing a lack of data. Regulatory bodies in several countries, including Germany and France, have since changed recommendations to include over 65s as real-world data has since shown that the AstraZeneca vaccine is highly effective at preventing hospitalization in older populations. France limits the shot to people under the age of 74. Anecdotal reports suggest people in some EU countries, however, are still choosing not to take the AstraZeneca vaccine. This story was first published on CNN.com, "More European nations pause AstraZeneca vaccine use as blood clot reports investigated" Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. New Delhi, March 11 : The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Wednesday carried out searches at the premises of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its student wing Campus Front of India (CFI) here in connection with its probe of the alleged conspiracy in the Hathras incident and the events that took place after it. According to STF sources, the officers of the force from Noida branch carried out searches at the office of the PFI in south Delhi's Shaheen Bagh. This is the second search operation at the office of PFI by the UP STF in the last one month. Earlier, the STF had searched the office of PFI in February this year. The UP Police in October last year had arrested four people linked to PFI and CFI from Mathura when they were going to Hathras to meet the family members of the 19-year-old Dalit victim, who died during treatment at a hospital in the national capital. The UP Police, in October last year, had confirmed that a part of the probe into Hathras case was being handed over to the UP STF. The STF is probing all 19 FIRs -- six in Hathras and the remaining in Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Mathura, Shamli and Saharanpur -- lodged in connection with unlawful protest and inciting hatred on social media. On the basis of the UP Police, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also registered a case of money laundering and filed a charge sheet against several office bearers of the PFI and CFI. In a remand report submitted in the court in Kerala, the ED had alleged that K A Rauf Sherif, who is the national general secretary of CFI, had funded the trip of Sidhique Kappan, a Delhi-based Kerala journalist, and three other alleged PFI activists to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit woman died after being allegedly gang-raped. It was alleged they had ulterior motives of disturbing social harmony and inciting communal riots and were charged with serious offenses including sedition. The Uttar Pradesh government has been demanding a ban on the PFI, accusing it of inciting riots in the state during the protests against the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act. New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Jal Board vice chairman Raghav Chadha on Thursday said that he has tested positive for Covid-19. He said that no serious symptoms have surfaced yet but as a precautionary measure he is practicing self-isolation for the next few days. Raghav Chadha tweet "I would like to inform you all that I have tested positive for Covid-19," Chadha, who is also an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson, tweeted. "My humble appeal to all who have come in direct contact with me in the last few days - if you notice any symptoms, please get yourself tested and take all necessary precautions. It is our responsibility to keep ourselves and others safe, preventing further spread of the virus," he said on Twitter. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 19:32:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - - MOSCOW -- Russia registered 9,270 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 4,360,823, the country's COVID-19 response center said Thursday. Another 14,006 people have recovered from the disease, taking total recoveries to 3,959,533. - - - - BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN -- Brunei reported one more recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 184. According to Brunei's Ministry of Health, no more confirmed COVID-19 cases were recorded, with the national tally unchanged at 192. There are five active cases still being treated at the National Isolation Center. - - - - SEOUL -- Eight more U.S. soldiers and one civilian in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. The USFK said in a statement that nine USFK-affiliated individuals were confirmed with the COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between Feb. 22 and March 8. - - - - BEIJING -- Wednesday saw seven COVID-19 patients newly discharged from hospitals following recovery on the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said Thursday. There were 181 confirmed cases still being treated, the commission said in a daily report. - - - - SUVA -- Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama on Thursday urged the Fijian people to support the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country, stressing it is important to the island nation's economic recovery. Speaking at a consultative meeting on a medical program held in the capital city Suva, Bainimarama said that COVID-19 vaccination is key to Fiji's economic recovery. - - - - COTONOU -- Benin received its first batch of coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, joining the list of African countries that have received their first doses via the COVAX initiative. Receiving vaccines is "a turning point" in Benin's national response to the pandemic, said Health Minister Benjamin Hounkpatin as he welcomed the 144,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines here at Cardinal Bernadin Gantin International Airport. Enditem Mothers-to-be who get coronavirus are more than twice as likely to end up in intensive care as infected women who aren't pregnant, a study has found. University of Birmingham scientists also found pregnant women with Covid were nearly three times more likely to experience a stillbirth, but they were slightly less likely to die with the virus than women who weren't expecting. The World Health Organization-funded study analysed data from more than 41,000 pregnant women in three dozen countries, including the UK, US and China. The research may put pressure on the NHS to change its advice, which currently says there's no proof of a higher Covid risk for pregnant women. It backs up older studies which suggested the likelihood of developing Covid symptoms was lower in pregnant women potentially because they tend to have a younger average age than the general public but the risk of severe illness was higher if they did get ill. Health chiefs advise women to be extra cautious about Covid if they are pregnant or planning to have a baby, and mothers-to-be are on the 'clinically vulnerable' list, but there is not much hard evidence on specific risks they face. An NHS spokesman said today it was generally 'very unlikely' that a pregnant woman would become seriously unwell with Covid and that the health service's advice is 'constantly under review'. University of Birmingham and World Health Organization experts said pregnant women infected with Covid were almost three times more likely to die from all causes (stock image) PREGNANT WOMEN WHO CATCH COVID 'ARE NOT AT HIGHER RISK OF MISCARRIAGE' Pregnant women who catch coronavirus are not more likely to have a miscarriage or stillbirth or to deliver a baby with a low birth weight, a study has found. The research included 4,004 pregnant women in the UK and US and found Covid did not increase the risk of a pregnancy going wrong. Advice for mothers-to-be during the pandemic has been cautious, with the NHS putting them in a 'clinically vulnerable' group. But there has been a lack of quality evidence to prove whether they are or aren't put in extra danger by Covid. Children seem to barely get sick with the virus unless they already have severe health problems. And the study, by Imperial College London, suggests the same is true of unborn babies and newborns. No babies died of Covid in the study and only around 10 per cent of them tested positive after birth. Although women were more likely to die if they had Covid than if they didn't, this risk was the same as for a non-pregnant woman, suggesting their baby was not a factor. Premature delivery was more likely in the women testing positive for coronavirus, the researchers found, but this appeared to be because doctors were deciding to induce labour because they were over-cautious about Covid. Advertisement Scientists behind the latest research reviewed data from 192 studies carried out in hospitals and other healthcare settings since April 2020. They analysed the figures to identify the risks of falling seriously ill with Covid for pregnant women. Their paper was published today in the British Medical Journal and has been peer-reviewed, meaning other experts have had a chance to check the numbers. But scientists warned some of the data used for pregnant women who didn't have Covid was from before the pandemic. At this time hospitals were not overwhelmed by patients and people were not as concerned about visiting hospitals, which the researchers said could affect the data. The results showed 616 out of 34,035 pregnant women infected with the virus were admitted to intensive care (1.8 per cent). For comparison, among non-pregnant women with Covid the rate of admission to ICU was 1.7 per cent (9,568 out of 567,073). When the numbers were adjusted to account for differences between the groups, the scientists said that the risk of admission was 2.13 times higher in the pregnant group. And when they looked at intensive care admission for women with no Covid and no pregnancy, the rate was 18.6 times lower than it was for pregnant women with Covid. There was not, however, a comparison of the risk of being admitted to a general hospital ward. 103 out of 34,047 (0.3 per cent) pregnant women with Covid died in the study, compared to 3,388 out of 567,073 non-pregnant women (0.6 per cent). The researchers calculated the risk of dying of Covid was four per cent lower for pregnant women than non-pregnant women. It is not clear why. Pregnant women were also twice as likely to be admitted to need a ventilator than similar-aged women with Covid who were not expecting, the study said. The study found 270 out of 34,001 (0.8 per cent) Covid-infected pregnant women needed to have a ventilator breathing tube, compared to 3,280 of 567,043 (0.6 per cent) women who were not pregnant but had caught the virus. Separate data also showed nine of 1,039 (0.9 per cent) of births to pregnant mothers with Covid were stillbirths, compared to 26 of 4,755 (0.5 per cent) among those who hadn't caught the disease. The study calculated a 2.8-fold increase in risk. And 147 out of 1,184 (4.2 per cent) Covid-infected women gave birth prematurely, compared to 572 out of 7,365 (7.8 per cent) among those that didn't have the virus this was about 47 per cent more common, the scientists said. A top WHO expert behind the study said mothers should be 'reassured' that the risk to their babies from Covid was 'very low' in spite of the findings. And an expert in newborns from Imperial College London also said it was 'reassuring' that the number of stillbirths remained low in mothers with Covid. HOW A BLOOD TEST COULD REVEAL WHETHER YOU'RE AT HIGHER RISK OF DYING FROM COVID A blood test could identify coronavirus patients who are more likely to fall victim to the disease, an analysis has found. Covid infections spark the release of cytokines into the bloodstream, tiny substances that fire-up the immune system to attack invaders. Normally they help to ward off diseases but, when their levels get too high, they trigger a 'cytokine storm' which can lead to organ damage and death. Imperial College London researchers have identified one - dubbed GM-CSK - that was at high levels early on in patients that later suffered severe disease. Doctors said this could provide an early warning for which patients are more at risk and pave the way for new treatments to combat the disease. But they said more research and tests were needed. When cytokines reach very high levels they can trigger a 'storm', which is when inflammation can lead to damage to vital organs and death. Advertisement Professor Shakila Thangaratinam, a maternal health expert who was a lead author on the study, told MailOnline: 'Pregnant women with Covid have increased risk of death and admission to ITU than other pregnant women without Covid. '[But we] need to be careful with the interpretation because some of the data came from comparisons during vs before pandemic, when there were also changes in health systems. Also all of the deaths are not necessarily due to Covid.' She added that there was no significant difference in the number of deaths recorded between pregnant and non-pregnant women with the virus, suggesting the virus had not raised their risk of death. Dr John Allotey, from the WHO's Collaborating Centre for Global Women's Health and first author of the study, said: 'Pregnant women should be considered a high risk group, particularly those identified to have risk factors, for severe Covid-19 based on our findings. 'Mothers should also be reassured that the risks to their babies is very low.' NHS Digital told MailOnline evidence currently suggested that pregnant women are not at greater risk from the virus than the rest of the population. 'Pregnant women appear no more likely than the rest of the population to catch coronavirus and it remains very unlikely that someone who is pregnant will become seriously unwell,' they said. 'However, it is crucial that women and maternity services alike continue to take every possible step to look after the health and well-being of both mum and baby, including following social distancing guidelines. They added: 'All Covid-19 related advice on the NHS website is constantly under review and we will continue to ensure advice relating to pregnancy and coronavirus reflects any new robust evidence that is published.' But Dr Edward Morris, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told MailOnline evidence showed women either in their third trimester of pregnancy or who suffer from pre-existing medical problems were at a higher risk from Covid. NHS advice to pregnant women has recommended that they are extra cautious about catching Covid because the risks aren't fully understood 'While pregnant women with Covid-19 seem to have higher rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission compared to non-pregnant women with Covid-19, the absolute risk is still low (around 1 in every 5000 pregnant women),' he said. 'We encourage pregnant women to continue to pay particular attention to social distancing measures and good hygiene, and contact their maternity team if they have any concerns about their or their babys health.' Commenting on the research Dr Chris Gale, a newborns expert at Imperial College London, told MailOnline: 'In addition to providing important information about the impact of Covid in pregnancy, this study also adds important information about how maternal Covid impacts the baby. 'About one in three of the babies in this study born to mothers with Covid-19 were admitted to a neonatal unit, and about one in six were born pre-term - both of which are higher than would be expected. 'It is reassuring to see that neonatal deaths and stillbirths were both low in mothers who had Covid-19 in pregnancy in this study. 'More research is needed to understand if there are any longer term effects on babies exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in early life.' Arkansas Gov. signs sweeping abortion ban aimed at challenging Roe v. Wade Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson Tuesday signed a law that bans abortion in most circumstances with the hope the law could be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade. Known as Senate Bill 6, the new law only allows for the abortion procedure to be performed in the event of a life-threatening medical emergency for the mother. Hutchinson explained in a statement that he would have preferred the law to include exemptions for rape and incest, believing that such exceptions would increase the chances for a review by the U.S. Supreme Court. I will sign SB6 because of overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions, stated the governor, a Republican. SB6 is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law. The legislation had extensive support in the state legislature. The bill passed the Senate in a vote of 27-7 last month and the House of Representatives last week in a 75-18 vote. The American Civil Liberties Union opposes the legislation. The progressive civil rights organization took to Twitter last week to promise litigation if the bill is signed into law. This is the latest of many unconstitutional attacks on abortion from state politicians who continue to politicize peoples health and waste taxpayer dollars. Were ready to take Arkansas to court again, the ACLU tweeted. Recently, multiple states have passed strict abortion bills aimed at legally challenging Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that struck down most abortion restrictions nationwide. These efforts have been driven by former President Donald Trump appointing three conservative justices to the high court during his term in office: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Last June, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June Medical Services v. Russo that a Louisiana law holding abortion clinics to the same standards as surgical centers was unconstitutional. The opinion was built off of a 2016 5-3 Supreme Court ruling known as Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt, which struck down a similar law in Texas. In this case, we consider the constitutionality of a Louisiana statute, Act 620, that is almost word-for-word identical to Texas admitting-privileges law, wrote Justice Stephen Breyer for the majority. Those findings mirror those made in Whole Womans Health in every relevant respect and require the same result. We consequently hold that the Louisiana statute is unconstitutional. The Arkansas legislation won't go into effect until 90 days after the legislature adjourns the 2021 session. The bill won't go into effect until at least the summer, ABC News reports. By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) Nursing home residents vaccinated against COVID-19 can get hugs again from their loved ones, and all residents may enjoy more indoor visits, the government said Wednesday in a step toward pre-pandemic normalcy. The policy guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, comes as coronavirus cases and deaths among nursing home residents have plummeted in recent weeks at the same time that vaccination accelerated. People living in long-term care facilities have borne a cruel toll from the pandemic. They represent about 1% of the U.S. population, but account for 1 in 3 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Government officials acknowledged that isolation deepened the misery for residents as long-term care facilities remained locked down much of last year. Loneliness contributed to physical as well as mental decline. The ban on visits went into effect almost one year ago and only in the fall were facilities allowed to begin socially distanced outdoor visits and limited indoor ones. There is no substitute for physical contact, such as the warm embrace between a resident and their loved one, CMS said in its new guidance, Therefore, if the resident is fully vaccinated, they can choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor while wearing a well-fitting face mask and performing hand-hygiene before and after. So while hugs are OK again for residents who have completed their vaccination, precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizer remain in place as a counterbalance to risk. CMS also underscored that maintaining 6 feet of separation is still the safest policy, and outdoor visits are preferable even when residents and visitors have been vaccinated. All of us feel enormous relief that we are at this next juncture and feel confident that reopening visitation can be achieved safely, given all we have learned during the pandemic, said Terry Fulmer, president of the John A. Hartford Foundation, which works to improve care for older adults. A great deal more has been learned about infection control, and families and facilities are ready. Before the pandemic, there was a lot of flexibility when visiting a loved one living in a nursing home or getting rehab care in one. Family members came and went at different hours of the day. Spouses were able to spend the day together, even if one of them was living in a nursing home. But at the height of the crisis, the closest that friends and family could get was waving on the other side of an exterior window. Elsie resident Stacy Doubrava holds up the sign for "I love you," which her 92-year-old mother MaryJane Schoendorf reciprocates as the two visit through a glass window on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at Ovid Healthcare Center in Ovid, Michigan. (Jake May | MLive.com, file)Jake May | Mlive.com The CMS guidance moves back in the pre-COVID-19 direction, saying that nursing homes should allow indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status. Several exceptions are flagged, such as when a resident is known to be infected or in quarantine. Now that millions of vaccines have been administered to nursing home residents and staff, and the number of COVID cases in nursing homes has dropped significantly, CMS is updating its visitation guidance to bring more families together safely, Dr. Lee Fleisher, a senior agency medical officer, said in a statement. Under the new guidance, homes in counties with high rates of COVID-19 can still have indoor visits, provided they take precautions. When an outbreak occurs at a facility, it doesnt have to go on lockdown for 14 days. Visits can still happen as long as the outbreak is isolated to an area or unit of the facility. Compassionate care visits should be allowed at all times, the guidance said, even if theres an outbreak or a resident is unvaccinated. The term compassionate care doesnt refer just to situations when a resident is near death, but also encompasses circumstances in which a patient is having trouble adjusting. CMS is also urging nursing homes to consider scheduling visits and using time limits. Visitors should be encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The nursing home industry says its prepared. This is the right thing to do, said Katie Smith Sloan, president of LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit facilities. Federal policy now reflects the real progress that has been made in vaccinating nursing home residents and staff. Infection control has long been a challenge for nursing homes, and many facilities also are short on staff. They became an ideal environment for the coronavirus to spread, among medically frail residents living in close quarters. Researchers believe the virus most likely got into homes through staffers exposed in the community and unwittingly bringing it with them. But now figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that nearly 1.4 million nursing home residents and more than 930,000 staffers have been fully vaccinated. Nursing home cases peaked around the end of December and then declined sharply, particularly since the middle of January. Deaths among residents fell from 7,042 the week ending Dec. 20 to 1,112 the week ending March 7. A man in a mask boards a bus on campus at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, on March 13, 2020. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images) Political Discrimination Threatening Academic Freedom in US, UK, and Canada: Report A first-of-its-kind study has revealed that academia in Canada, the United States, and the UK are suppressing and punishing conservative scholars and students for their ideas and speech, which is increasingly encroaching on their academic freedom. The report (pdf) was conducted by the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI), which said its analysis, supported by large-scale survey data, is able to provide scientific evidences to campus illiberalism. A significant portion of academics discriminate against conservatives in hiring, promotion, grants, and publications, wrote Eric Kaufmann, professor of politics at Birkbeck College, University of London, and author of the CSPI report. Kaufmann said this study is unique because its analysis reveals the nature and extent of the punishment and political discrimination against conservative academics from the perspectives of both perpetrators and victims. The report noted that while progressive critics have brushed off high profile cases of discrimination and mob violence as exceptions of the largely intact academic freedom, right-leaning academics are experiencing a high level of institutional authoritarianism and peer pressure in all three Anglophone countries. Right-leaning scholars are faced with two types of threats to academic freedom, which is dichotomized in the report as hard and soft authoritarianism, according to the report. Hard Authoritarianism Hard authoritarianism entails no-platforming, dismissal campaigns, social media mob attacks, formal complaints, and disciplinary action, Kaufmann says. He added that only a small subgroup of illiberal, far-left activist staff and students are perpetrators of such actions. Given five scenarios in which a faculty member is found to support a conservative ideasuch as traditional parenthood and restricted immigrationnearly 60 percent of Canadian respondents would favor dismissing the staff member. The report found that progressive authoritarianism is likely to get worse in coming years, as younger academics and PhD students are much more willing to support ousting controversial scholars from their posts. Soft Authoritarianism This is a more subtle yet insidious form of punishing the conservatives and dissidents of the liberal ways, Kaufmann says. The victims are discriminated in career opportunities such as hiring, promotion, grant application, publication, and social inclusion. Four out of 10 U.S. and Canadian academics would not hire a supporter of the former U.S. President Donald Trump. In the field of social sciences and humanities, over nine in 10 pro-Trump academics say they would feel uncomfortable revealing their political view to a colleague. Similarly, eight in 10 pro-Brexit academics are worried about coming out. In the United States, over a third of conservative academics and PhD students have been threatened with disciplinary action for their political views, and 70 percent have experienced a hostile departmental climate for their political inclination, the report states. The study says a hostile climate could deter conservative students from pursuing a career in the academia after graduation. The report found that conservative academics are savvy about the structural barriers towering over them, and more than half of these minorities in the three countries have admitted of self-censoring in research and teaching. Kaufmann said governments can address the problem by proactively enforcing the law and sanction universities that repeatedly encroach on individuals academic freedom. Another option is to open up means for plaintiffs to appeal universities to a regulatory ombudsman. The CSPI was formed in 2020 to address two major political problems within academic research. The first is the political bias that affects issues ranging from the framing of research questions to employment in the field. It also addresses the growing replication crisis, particularly in psychology researches. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: One of New Jerseys brightest stars on the big screen is headed behind the camera. Michael B. Jordan will officially make his directorial debut with Creed III, which is set for a Thanksgiving 2022 release from MGM, Deadline reports. The news confirms what was already known, since Jordan, 34, has long been linked to the project by producer Irwin Winkler and the actors Creed co-star, Tessa Thompson, who previously mentioned his director status in an interview. Jordan will serve as both director and star of the third movie in the Creed franchise. Thompson and Jordan, a California native who grew up in Newark, starred in the first two Creed movies, which revived Sylvester Stallones Rocky Balboa for a new generation. Jordans lead character, Adonis Johnson, is the son of boxer Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), Balboas former opponent in the ring. It is not yet known if Stallone will return as Balboa for Creed III, but Phylicia Rashad is slated to reprise the role of Mary Anne Creed, Apollos widow, who is a mother figure to Jordans character. Jordan will direct from a script written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin, based on an outline from Creed director Ryan Coogler, who also directed Jordan in Fruitvale Station and Black Panther. Coogler is also a producer of Creed III. The first Creed, directed by Coogler, premiered for Thanksgiving 2015. Creed II, released around the same time in 2018 and directed by Steven Caple Jr., saw Jordans Adonis square off against Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Balboa nemesis Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), whose fight with Apollo Creed resulted in Creeds 1985 death. Jordan is currently filming Journal for Jordan with director Denzel Washington. The film is based on the real story of Army 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King, who left a journal of more than 200 pages for his 7-month-old son Jordan after he was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006. Kings wife, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dana Canedy, tells that story in the book A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor (Crown, 2009), sharing her husbands advice for their son on everything from disappointment to dating. The actor has a multi-platform deal with Amazon through his production company, Outlier Society, and next stars in Tom Clancys Without Remorse, which premieres April 30 on the streaming service. With Outlier Society, Jordan has worked to advance efforts pushing for more diversity and inclusion in film and TV and representation for Black talent in Hollywood. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter. RTHK: At least 20 dead in Egypt clothing factory fire At least 20 people were killed and 24 others injured on Thursday in a clothing factory fire on the eastern outskirts of the Egyptian capital, according to medical and security sources. Twelve fire trucks were dispatched to extinguish the huge blaze as smoke billowed over the industrial area called Al-Obour, with the cause not immediately clear. The state prosecutor has tasked a team with investigating the fire in the four-storey factory, the sources added. A survivor who suffered burns to about 25 percent of his body said he was nearly overcome by smoke inhalation when he escaped the inferno. "I had two young women with me and a young man who I pushed so they could avoid the blaze," Mahmoud Mohamed said, quoted by Al Youm al-Sabea newspaper. "I led them outside, running as the fire burned my body," said the young man who had been working at the factory for a year. Egypt's textile union paid tribute to the factory workers who were killed and injured during the blaze, in a statement issued later. The Arab world's most populous country has had a string of fires in recent years, as shoddy buildings have been constructed without safety standards amid a security vacuum following its 2011 revolution. Last month, a fire in an unlicenced shoe warehouse in the capital's twin city Giza engulfed a 13-storey building overlooking a major highway. Residents were evacuated but no casualties were reported. In May 2020, another fire in a mattress factory in the same industrial area broke out with no loss of life reported at the time. In the same year, a fire erupted next to a busy Cairo highway as a leak from an oil pipeline set ablaze by passing cars left 17 people hurt. A year earlier, at least 10 people were killed when a chemical tank exploded at a phosphates factory in the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2021-03-11. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Photo: (Photo : Unsplash) Ideally, one would go into medical school or any other mind-taxing, demanding endeavor childless and without any burden or distraction. Then, there would be single-mindedness and a clear focus toward accomplishing goals on time. For medical students who are also parents, the challenges can sometimes overpower personal resolve, making them quit prematurely. Medical Students Who are Also Parents Some med student-parents start medical school and get pregnant along the way. Others already have families, but that did not stop them from fulfilling their dreams (not that it should). "There is really no 'best time' to start a family or go to medical school," says Britt DeRuyter, who was a parent and a medical student at Medical College of Wisconsin. The mother of four boys admitted that it could be "incredibly exhausting physically and emotionally" to strive to be a successful student and parent simultaneously, AAMC Student Residents noted. ALSO READ: New California Study Helps Better Understand and Support Student-Parents Stephanie Strohbeen gave birth to her third child in her third year in medical school. She delivered her baby via C-section on March 16 at the height of the pandemic. Five weeks after childbirth, Strohbeen worked as a trainee in a well-child clinic. She stressed the importance of schedules and routines and also believes medical students need to be rigidly organized. When the quarantine started, Natasha McGlaun prepared for the United States Medical Licensure Examinations in her makeshift office, which happens to be her 16-month-old daughter's nursery as well. She recalls studying while trying to drown out sounds of "Sesame Street" in the background. ALSO READ: Medical School: How To Understand ' Gap Year' for Doctors-To-Be The Need to Support Med Student-Parents Shayla Durfey got pregnant midway through her first year at Warren Alpert Medical School. It was then she discovered the lack of guidelines for medical students who are also parents. She dug further and found insufficient data on med student parents and the lack of support not just at her institution but in general. Durfey discovered there was only one research paper that focused on medical student parents in the U.S. The other studies she found related to the experiences of parents who studied at med schools abroad and that of parents who are also physicians. But there are no national studies on medical student parents and a lack of information on how medical schools support them, Futurity reported. ALSO READ: Amid the Pandemic, Mother and Daughter Duo Starts Medical Careers Together AMS Pregnancy and Parenting Handbook The AMS Pregnancy & Parenting Handbook is a collaborative work of Brown University researchers spearheaded by Durfey. Jordan White, assistant professor of family medicine and medical science, and Eli Adashi, medical science professor. Adashi was formerly the dean of medicine and biological science when creating the handbook, and White was the assistant dean for student affairs. The researchers created a comprehensive review of the existing policies at medical schools in the U.S. While there are policies in place for resident and attending physicians; there is none for medical student parents. Supporting only at the faculty level and not at the student level can create a "leaky pipeline," causing trainees to leave medical school prematurely, Brown University noted. Parental Leaves for Student Parents in Medical School The Brown University paper noted the need to create parental leave policies at medical school applicable for any period throughout the curriculum, including unforeseen circumstances during pregnancy and birth. Call for Action on National and Internal Levels The researchers also encouraged the American Medical Association and American Medical Colleges to use their national networks to start discussions on how to best support medical student parents. This would include conducting surveys to gather data on the actual number of medical students who are parents or are pregnant. While recognizing the need for a national assessment of medical student-parents' needs, researchers advised medical schools to involve med student parents. They can help determine gaps that exist and how to fill them. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Advertisement A Bel Air mega-mansion touted as America's most expensive home worth $500million could soon be in foreclosure as the investors who funded it demand property developer Nile Niami either repay them within three months or hand the house over to them. Niami bought the lot for The One in 2012, razed it and has spent the last nine years promising to build the most spectacular house Los Angeles has ever seen. The construction has been set back by as series of financing and building problems, including scrapped plans for a jellyfish tank. In 2018, he borrowed $82.5million from Hankey Investment Co. in 2018 to finance the extravagant project and the repayment deadline for it was in October 2020. The house was not completed until January and it remains unsold. There is no official listing price for it. While Niami said it was a $500million mansion, other industry experts put its value at $350million. He has also set up a public Google Forms application where anyone can put in an offer. It has 20 bedrooms, sprawls 100,00 sq ft and sits on a strip of hilltop Bel Air land considered to be the best in the city. But two months after it was finally unveiled, it is still yet to be sold and the investors have grown so impatient that they have served Niami with a notice of default. The project was originally due to be finished in 2017 but a series of mishaps set it back. Now, he has 90 days to repay the $110million or the property will be turned over to them for a fast sale. Nile Niami borrowed $82.5million from Hankey Investment Co. to finance the extravagant project in 2018. Marketed as 'The One', the gargantuan property is set on more than 100,000 square ft, has 20 bedrooms, a movie theater, nightclub, spa and a champagne cellar. Nile Niami (left) has 90 days to repay the $110million or the property will be turned over to them for a fast sale. Don Hankey, chairman of Hankey Investment Co., said he has become 'distracted' In the notice that was obtained by The Los Angeles Times this week, Hankey chairman Don Hankey says he has become 'distracted'. 'We felt the owner of The One was distracted from the job at hand, which is to bring the biggest and best house in the United States to market for sale. 'We hope our actions will kick off the official listing,' he wrote. In a later interview with Bloomberg, he said there were other investors in the project who are eager to see a return soon. 'Not only myself, but other people he owes money are trying to force him to list the property,' he said. Hankey did not immediately respond to inquiries about the project or may other investors who may be involved on Thursday morning and Niami has not commented on the looming foreclosure. Between April and August, the property developer was cited five times by the City of Los Angeles for having illegal COVID-19 parties at various houses. The complaints accounted for a third of all of the complaints in the city over that period. Neighbors told DailyMail.com it was like living 'in a nightclub' and that maskless 'punks' were ferried to the homes on buses. Niami, at the time, denied holding the parties and said he was cooperating with the city. The One is being marketed by Niami as the most expensive in America. Among its extravagant features is a bowling alley Photos show the property in stages of development last year. It has now been completed and was featured in Architectural Digest but has not been sold The home was originally to include a room with jellyfish in glass tanks on the walls Niami promotes most of his properties on Instagram. Above, he is shown on the balcony of another house He has also spent much of the pandemic jetting around to Miami and Tulum, according to his Instagram. Niami, shown on a private jet, has not yet commented on the looming foreclosure He owns multiple properties in L.A. and this is the third default notice he's been given this year after receiving others for 1369 Londonderry Place in the Hollywood Hills, and one for a debt of $23.4 million on a mansion at 10701 Bellagio Road. He is currently trying to sell the latter for just under $60million. In an Instagram video promoting The One, he said: 'Seven years ago, I had an idea to create the biggest, most expensive house in the urban world. 'And I did it.' Niami is well known in L.A. as a bombastic, party-loving developer. He is regarded as the mega-mansion king, but has run into trouble with The One. He has offered $1million to the social media influencer who can sell the property for him. In a July 2020 interview with The Wall Street Journal, he said: 'There were a lot of times in this process where I had to stop because I never had financing,' adding: 'I didnt think it was going to be $1 million to buy jellyfish.' According to that report, Niami was in financial trouble, with five unsold mega-mansions in his portfolio. Having planted their flag all over the city, Rich Torrisi, Mario Carbone and Jeff Zalaznick, the restaurateurs behind Major Food Group, are going back to their roots. They are planning to open a new restaurant in the fall just a few steps from their original Torrisi Italian Specialties, an ode to Italian-American food and delis that Mr. Torrisi and Mr. Carbone, alums of Daniel Bouluds restaurants, first opened on Mulberry Street in 2009. Mr. Zalaznick joined them later. Torrisi Italian Specialties closed in 2015, but Major Food Group held on to the space. The new as-yet-to-be-named project will move into the back of the Puck Building in the former location of Chefs Club, which closed during the pandemic. Mr. Torrisi said Wednesday that they plan to evoke the original Torrisi Italian Specialties. You can expect a deli and restaurant, highlighting our approach to cuisine, he said. He also said there is enough space for them to expand their fund-raising effort, Major Good, a series of dinners and other events to benefit Robin Hood, which they have been running from the original Torrisi location. Covid-19 vaccine: Bharat Biotech's Covaxin goes off clinical trial mode Bharat Biotechs Covaxin on Wednesday got the nod from the subject expert committee (SEC), an independent panel set up by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to advise it, for a restricted emergency use of the Covid-19 vaccine. Covaxin was granted restricted use approval in clinical trial mode in January by the DCGI. At that time, the phase 3 trial on 25,800 volunteers was underway. Read more RBI takes out of PCA framework after lender improves finances Private lender is out of prompt corrective action (PCA) after improving its finances and credit profile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Wednesday. This eases the rules for the lender to expand business. This also sets the stage for strategic divestment by the Government of India, which holds 45.48 per cent stake. Read more BJP, Sena spar over Saudi Aramco's $44-billion refinery project Oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco's $44-billion refinery project at Nanar in Ratnagiri has become a bone of contention between the Maharashtra government and the Centre, with the opposing the project and the Modi government pushing to expedite it. Read more India undeterred by Cairn, will defend stand in arbitration row: Sources India is confident that it can strongly defend its interests if starts proceedings to enforce a $1.4 billion arbitration award it has won against the country, said official sources on Wednesday, reacting after the company told New Delhi it is identifying for seizure assets belonging to the Indian government in 160 countries. Read more set to centre airport business around Mumbai & Ahmedabad Adani Airports is planning to centre its airport business around Mumbai and Ahmedabad by developing them as gateway airports, feeding them with traffic from other airports in the companys portfolio. The Ahmedabad-based conglomerate with investments in logistics, transportation, utilities and energy intends to spend Rs 35,000 crore in the airport business in the next five years. Read more Parliament passes Arbitration Amendment Bill to protect taxpayer money Parliament on Wednesday approved a Bill to amend the arbitration law that would ensure all stakeholders get a chance to seek an unconditional stay on enforcement of arbitral awards where an agreement is induced by fraud or corruption. The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on February 12. It will replace an Ordinance issued on November 4, 2020. Read more Say cheese: to start making buffalo mozzarella, invest Rs 200 crore Indias largest dairy cooperative, Amul, has submitted a plan to the government, aiming to turn the country into a global hub for the export of mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk, which is sold at a hefty premium around the world. Mozzarella cheese is one of the products identified by the government for support under its Rs 10,900 crore production-linked incentive scheme (PLI), to give a massive push to food processing exports. Read more As an American, I Was Censored in China: Now Im Being Censored in My Own Country Commentary In America, I post comments without fear of disgrace In China, theyre censored, what a great loss of face! Ironically, these lines about online censorship, translated here from the original Chinese, were what led to me being censored for the first time in my life. As an American exchange student in Nanjing completing the U.S. Defense Departments Chinese Language Flagship Program, I competed in a Chinese-language competition for foreign students, co-sponsored by China Central Television and the Confucius Institute headquarters. Id been invited to participate by an administrator at Nanjing University, and, rather than emulate the studious and self-serious efforts that other students made to showcase their true knowledge of Chinese language and culture, I instead decided to speak the truth. I wrote an irreverent poem in Chinese, titled Forever a Foreign Devil, which humorously addressed the reality, learned over time while living in China, that no matter how advanced my Chinese language skills became or how deeply I came to understand Chinese culture, I would always be identified in Chinas insular society, first and foremost, as a foreigner. Adam Molon and his poem. (Courtesy of Adam Molon) Following my performance, judges selected me to advance from the regional competition in Jiangsu Province to the televised national competition in Beijing, and my poem was printed the next day in The Yangtse Evening Post, one of Chinas most widely circulated newspapers. The poemincluded under the headline Foreign Students Are Cool, Local Students Are School: Young Foreigners Hip Poem Leaves Chinese Audience in Stitcheswas printed in its entirety, with the exception of my lines critiquing censorship in China. There were other portions of the poem that I thought to be edgier, but pointing out the systematic suppression of speech in authoritarian China turned out to be the real red line for censors. In The Yangtse Evening Post and, later, when the poem was reprinted in a Chinese-language textbook published by Peking University Press, the lines on censorship were deleted and replaced by an ambiguous row of dots. At the time, as a student in my early 20s, I was proud of the censorship of my poem, and saw it as a badge of honor. Authoritarian China is afraid to acknowledge to its own people the suppression of their fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech, I realized. I felt secure in the knowledge that in the United States, freedom of speech without censorship is a fundamental right that is strongly protected. US Censorship Fast forward a decade to 2021, and within the past two months, my free speech has been censored for the first time on U.S. social media. The problem, as anonymous censors apparently see it, is that I had the audacity to point out the allegations of widespread fraud that took place in the 2020 presidential election, which was plainly witnessed by Americans across the nation and documented in detail in a series of scholarly reports by Peter Navarro, a professor who holds a doctorate in economics from Harvard University. Its evident that the inconvenient truth of the undermining of the integrity of our electoral system during the 2020 election is viewed with trepidation by many members of the political establishment and allied social media platforms. And, given the near-impossibility of convincingly disputing the evidence and statistical receipts of the allegations documented in Navarros reports, major social media firms have decided to forego intellectually honest debate and instead resort to the blunt force of censorship. I was first censored by Facebook. I was then censored for the first time by LinkedIn on Jan. 8. Both of these instances were detailed in the piece, Im Sounding the Alarm: PRC-Style Censorship Has Arrived in the United States. Perhaps even more surprising, I was later censored for a second time by LinkedIn. My post, which included the simple statement, My latest piece. Today, Americans say, Thank You, President Trump, was removed by LinkedIn the next day without explanation. After this second post was censored by LinkedIn, I reached out to an executive contact at LinkedIn to ask why my posts were censored and suppressed, and was put in touch with a LinkedIn representative via LinkedIns help page. I wrote to the LinkedIn representative: I would appreciate detailed information on why and how my posts were censored. Will censorship of free speech continue on LinkedIn? My experience with social media censorship in the U.S. this past month reminds me of the social media environment I witnessed firsthand when living in authoritarian China, where there is systematic censorship and suppression of speech. This is truly alarming, not only to me, but to other Americans who care about the fundamental right of free speech without censorship. After several days of what felt like a stonewalling back-and-forth process in which I provided detailed information about the censored posts, including screenshots, the representative flatly and falsely denied that my posts had been censored, and attempted to close the inquiry. She stated in writing: LinkedIn has not removed any of your content Adam. If we did, I would be happy to explain what happened and why; however, that is not the case with your account. After several more days of correspondence, the representative apologized and acknowledged LinkedIns censorship of my posts. One of the many written messages I received from the LinkedIn representative included the following apology: I apologize for any errors or incorrect information I initially gave you with regards to your case. While there is certain information I cant divulge regarding your post/content, I assure you that LinkedIn doesnt suppress or censor content simply because it differs in opinion. We welcome content and articles that are robust, meaningful, and factual. The representative advised that the post containing the link to the article Thank You, President Trump, had finally been restored nearly a week after it had first been censored by LinkedIn. She later told me via phone that they had given it a second review and found it hadnt violated any of their policies. Of course, I had to initiate and go through a long and tedious process with LinkedIn for them to eventually restore this post. Objectionable Information My first censored post containing the article Why Im Protesting for the First Time on Jan. 6 continues to be censored by LinkedIn, however. While unwilling to answer specific questions in writing about why and how my posts were censored, the LinkedIn representative offered to provide further information via a phone call. During the call, the representative told me that she couldnt go into detail about why my posts were censored by LinkedIn. But the issue was that any allegations of fraud in the 2020 election hadnt been confirmed. In response to this, I noted Navarros extensively sourced series of scholarly reports prominently cited in the article attached to the censored post in question. But that wasnt sufficient, the representative told me, because they couldnt verify it themselves. The representative stated that LinkedIn checks with multiple sources regarding the accuracy of posts that are flagged to be censored. When I asked for specifics regarding which sources LinkedIn utilizes, she responded that she couldnt divulge specific sources, but that they were basic sources such as CNN. As has been widely reported, recordings of conversations with CNN employees during the past two years, including raw recordings of numerous internal CNN conference calls from late 2020, were leaked, revealing and confirming a heavy anti-Trump bias among CNN executives and reporters. After exchanging dozens of written messages with LinkedIn over the course of weeks and receiving multiple apologies from LinkedIn, in writing and verbally, for the acknowledged errors or incorrect information that LinkedIn made and provided regarding my censored posts, I had finally received some meaningful informationseemingly given in unplanned candorfrom the LinkedIn representative via phone. The representative admitted that while the information in my censored post pertaining to protesting election fraud could be accurate, LinkedIn may have deemed it objectionable after checking with sources that include CNN, which is demonstrably anti-Trump in its bias. As we have seen recently, the type of politically driven censorship that Ive experienced during the past two months has also been experienced by countless other Americans across major social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And, as an American who has experienced and witnessed systematic censorship in authoritarian China, I understand how important it is that we protect our freedom of speech in the United States and stop censorship here before it becomes a new normal. In the final lines of my poem, I closed with this statement, translated here from the original Chinese: But dont worry about me, my storys an epic, And when alls said and done, Ill use English to tell it. Censorship of this poem is just the tip of the iceberg of what I experienced during my years living in authoritarian China. And now, after being censored in the United States, Im exercising my freedom of speech to share this truth today: As Americans, we cannot take for grantedand must continue to maintain and defendthe free society and fundamental rights, including free speech, that weve built up over generations. Adam Michael Molon is an American writer and journalist. He holds a masters degree in journalism from Columbia University and undergraduate degrees in finance and Chinese language from Indiana UniversityBloomington. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett has today announced that she is looking for input from stakeholders to guide the commissioning of a major Feasibility Study on Wool. Asking for those interested to identify what they see as market opportunities for wool and also to contribute to the development of Terms of Reference for the study, the Minister said, Wool is plentiful in this country and I am really keen to see how we can make the best of it. That is why I was so pleased to secure 100,000 for what I see as a major piece of work assessing whether or not we can develop a variety of wool products for national and international markets. I expect to be going to market for a firm to conduct the feasibility study sometime in May, but before I do that, I want to consult with stakeholders to make sure we get the Terms of Reference right. Good information comes from identifying the right questions and we want to be sure we have done that. Speaking further about the importance of doing the feasibility study the Minister continued, Wool is sustainable and wool is renewable, so it makes great sense for us to see where its potential lies. While its use in textiles is of course established, it is also an organic, low carbon, natural material which can perhaps be used, viably, in a wide range of products such as fertilisers, insulation and packaging. I would like to know even now, before we start, where people believe the opportunities are. I expect the feasibility study when produced will assist me in developing a roadmap for the Irish Wool Industry. And with the help and guidance of a Wool Forum Stakeholder Group which I am establishing, I also expect it to help me to shape future policy on wool as envisaged in the Programme for Government. Notes to Editors: Interested parties are now invited to submit Comments on the proposed Terms of Reference and/or Submissions on the potential market opportunities for wool products. The proposed Terms of Reference to implement the review will include but are not limited to the following: Identify domestic and international market opportunities for wool based products Carry out economic feasibility and cost benefit analysis on proposed market opportunities Determine mechanisms that could be used to support industry initiatives. Identify potential research projects applicable to supporting the identified market opportunities Full details including template document to accompany submissions are available on the Departments website at gov.ie - Wool Feasibility Study (www.gov.ie) under Consultations. All comments and submissions should be submitted via email to woolfeasibilitystudy@agriculture.gov.ie and must be submitted to the Department by 5.30 pm on Friday 2nd April 2021 New York, March 11 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he would look into the case of an 83-year-old Catholic priest, Stan Swamy, held in India on allegations he was linked to Maoists. Responding on Wednesday to a request from a member of the House of Representatives while he was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Blinken asked for more information and said: "We'll look into it." Juan Vargas, who is the vice chair of the House International Economic Policy and Migration Subcommittee, told Blinken while questioning him that it was "incredible injustice" that Swamy, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency, has been in jail for over 130 days. Swamy belongs to the Jesuit order of priests and Vargas said that he had himself been a member of that society. He was arrested in Ranchi and taken to Maharashtra and detained in a Pune jail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on allegations that he participated in the activities of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist. The case relates to a celebration by Dalits on January 1, 2018, in Koregaon-Bhima near Pune, which was followed by violence that left one person dead. Swamy has been an activist for tribal and Dalit rights. Earlier in his testimony to the Committee on President Joe Biden's Priorities for US Foreign Policy, Blinken said that in furtherance of its aims, "we held the first ministerial meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between us, Japan, Australia, and India, and we will hold a leader-level summit this week on Friday". China was the dominant theme during the hearing with Blinken declaring, "Our relationship with China, the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century". Repeatedly questioned about Biden's comment when asked on a CNN programme about Beijing treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority that "culturally, there are different norms that each country and their leaders are expected to follow", Blinken reiterated that he considers there was a "genocide" of the Uighurs and the US would continue to speak out forcefully against it. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis) [March 11, 2021] From Video Compression to Immersive Media, Tencent Scientists Set Sights on Multimedia Solutions in Post-Pandemic Era SHENZHEN, China, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A burst in demand for high-quality video came close to breaking the Internet during the COVID-19 outbreak. In a post-pandemic world, researchers at Tencent (Tencent Holdings Ltd, 0700.HK), a leading technology company, are making endeavors to maintain high quality media service while easing bandwidth shortage with cutting-edge audio and video technologies. The quality of video sent over global networks has soared as people demand more vivid and realistic experiences during the pandemic. This requires new standards to match the technology, Shan Liu, Tencent distinguished scientist and general manager of Tencent Media Lab, suggested in a keynote speech at the MIT-China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum annual summit Wednesday while discussing the future of immersive media and virtual reality. "Since March 2020, global video traffic has surged and network bandwidth has been under great pressure," explains Liu. "Regional disconnections caused by excessive network usage have repeatedly occurred around the world." Liu noted one of the primary focuses of Tencent Media Lab is media compression and transmission - the technology that makes it possible to send increasingly lifelike images across the Internet. Compression shrinks the size of media files by looking for repetition or unimportant information - leading to more efficient use of bandwidth. "By 2022, the portion of ultra HD content will further increase to about a quarter of the total internet video bandwidth," predicted Liu. At the same time, the size of China's VR content market has continued to double or triple each year since 2016, she said. Toward the Immersive Media Future Tencent Media Lab is an active participant in the international standard organizations that agree on formats such as MPEG that allow computers to easily share increasingly large audio, video and virtual reality files. Researchers at the lab are trying to work out the standards and products that could deliver the next step in the immersive revolution - photorealistic virtual reality in real time. Liu noted that Tencent Media Lab has already developed a point cloud system that allows regular people to create 3D models for virtual reality using pictures captured from a normal mobile phone. Potential business applications for this technology include allowing people to virtually share exhibitions or tour real estate properties - in cinematic detail. The potential is incredible. One challenge, according to Tencent Media Lab Principal Researcher Arianne Hinds, is that the displays for immersive technology in the future will be much different from the flat screens or VR headsets of today. For example, light-field technology allows people to view holographic images without the use of 3D goggles. Hinds explained that any immersive technology standards need to be able to keep up with future leaps in technology. One standard that Hinds feels holds potential is the Immersive Digital Experiences Alliance's Immersive Technology Media Format. She feels MPEG will remain the standard for distribution and compression. Promoting Culture with Technology For years, Tencent Media Lab has been dedicated to research on multimedia technologies that have been used to help the cultural industry generate novel digital products. In January, Tencent and the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, launched a popular real-time livestream. The livestream adopted the lab's VR360 immersive technology - combined with the company's cloud technology for stitching, transmission, decoding and rendering - to offer a fully immersive view of the ancient palace in the heart of Beijing during a tranquil winter snowfall. With the advent of the 5G era, the Internet can provide users with superior data bandwidth and ultra low latency, which makes more applications within range and the interconnection of everything possible. Tencent will continue to actively invest in multimedia technology R&D and provide effective services and support for developers and partners, Liu said. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/from-video-compression-to-immersive-media-tencent-scientists-set-sights-on-multimedia-solutions-in-post-pandemic-era-301245345.html SOURCE Tencent [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... After years of debate, you would think proponents of legalizing recreational cannabis would have their ducks in a row. After all, concerns about drugged drivers, maintaining drug-free workplaces, dispensaries clustered in poor parts of town, access by minors and long-term health effects have been raised in Santa Fe even before the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act legalized medical marijuana in 2007. Yet with such a complex issue, its not surprising lawmakers are still hashing out myriad concerns. And its truly a travesty that they are taking action without any face-to-face public input on a bill with such far-reaching consequences as legalizing a drug that remains illegal under federal law. Yet thats where we are. The language of an eleventh-hour compromise bill has come down to small groups of legislators working behind closed doors the latest example of a legislative session untethered from a truly democratic process. But as lawmakers forge ahead, there remain multiple legitimate public safety issues, such as: ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ A local option. Some communities clearly dont want recreational pot. And while we would normally agree with those who oppose a legal checkerboard, forcing a conservative community to embrace weed stores is a far cry from expecting uniformity across the state in laws against driving and texting on a cellphone. House Republicans and Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, have argued in favor of a Colorado opt-in/out, but senators on Tuesday stripped provisions in a legalization bill sponsored by Pirtle, SB 288, that called for a one-mile buffer between recreational cannabis dispensaries and allowing cities and counties to decide whether to allow them. A path for small entrepreneurs as well as personal grows. Any bill should allow state residents to enter the marketplace, rather than giving mega-growers a monopoly. And believing users will not grow their own and law enforcement will be able to find every apartment with two plants and a black light is naive at best. Public safety metrics. A prohibition on smoking marijuana in public, best practices for fairly identifying drugged driving, protecting employers who need to maintain a drug-free workplace, ensuring that clusters of dispensaries dont end up stigmatizing a neighborhood, providing for tracking of legalizations effects these all need to be addressed. Instead, the House-approved bill, HB 12, is larded up with social justice provisions such as the expungement of criminal convictions. Pirtles bill, on the other hand, would create a fund for research to determine driver impairment. Any marijuana bill that makes it through to the governor needs to be a clean one addressing the immediate consequences of legalizing recreational pot; trying to rectify the fallout of the failed war on drugs belongs in separate legislation. Senate changes to the House-approved bill likely will bring about a high-stakes legislative conference committee to reach a compromise. That leaves the language of a legalization bill in the hands of even fewer, hardly serving the 2 million people who call New Mexico home. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has made legalizing recreational marijuana one of her top priorities, has not weighed in other than supporting safeguards for children and medical cannabis users. Those are laudable concerns, but New Mexico needs her to use her influence to protect communities that dont want legal pot forced into their economies, allow average New Mexicans to be storefront owners rather than relegate them to being minimum-wage bud-tenders, prevent DUI from becoming the new DWI plaguing our roads, ensure that employers can maintain drug-free workplaces where necessary and keep neighborhoods from having weed stores on every corner and pot smoking in front of homes and businesses. While the governor has long touted recreational pot as an economic windfall, she is the only person in the legislative process elected statewide, thus the watchdog for the entire state. Like the proverbial buck, any bill stops at her desk. It is essential she ensure that our diverse communities over 33 counties have a voice and protections in any bill. Because as it is, an issue of this magnitude is being rammed through a closed Roundhouse largely along party lines while serious public concerns are limited to a few minutes on Zoom. 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. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to reporters at a news conference outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 9, 2016. (Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images) Texas AG Threatens Austin With Lawsuit for Not Complying With Governors Order on Masks Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Wednesday that his office will take Austin officials to court if they continue to refuse to comply with an order lifting mask mandates across the state. The states governor, Greg Abbott, lifted its statewide mask mandate that was enforced in mid-2020 and is working toward loosening other restrictions on businesses so they can operate again at full capacity. The move comes as the state is seeing a downward trend on patients infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, as well as hospitalizations going down to levels not seen in months. Just a week after Abbot issued his order, officials in Austin and Travis County announced that they intend to contravene the order by keeping their existing health rules in place through April 15, with the possibility of extension. The rules were also updated to require everyone over the age of six to wear a face-covering when on or in city property, subject to a few exceptions. This rule is expected to expire on July 8. Wearing a face covering is one of the easiest ways to slow the transmission of disease in our community, Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority, said in a statement. While vaccine administration is underway, we are still not in a place of herd immunity and need people to wear face coverings in public and around non-household members so we can avoid another surge of cases. Paxton told Austins mayor and a Travis County judge in a letter on Wednesday that Abbotts order has the force and effect of state law and supersedes local rules and regulations, and that the decision to require masks or impose other CCP virus pandemic restrictions is reserved to private businesses on their own premises. It does not rest with jurisdictions like the City of Austin or Travis County or their local health authorities. Nor do they have the authority to threaten fines for non-compliance, Paxton wrote. He demanded that Austin officials rescind their local mask mandates and other restrictions by 6 p.m. on Wednesday. If they refuse to comply, they may be faced with a court challenge by the attorney general. To that end, you and your local health authorities have until 6:00 p.m. today to rescind any local mask mandates or business-operating restrictions, retract any related public statements, and come into full compliance with GA-34. Otherwise, on behalf of the State of Texas, I will sue you, he wrote. Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment. A spokesperson for Adler told Forbes on Wednesday afternoon that the city does not intend to rescind their order and that the officials will continue to do everything within our power, using every tool available to us to reduce the spread of the virus. Earlier this year, the Texas Supreme Court ruled to halt enforcement of two ordersone in Austin and the other in Travis Countythat sought to impose curfews on dine-in services during the new years weekend. Paxton had petitioned the high court for an order blocking the City of Austin and Travis County from enforcing local orders that would prohibit bars, restaurants, and other venues from offering dine-in food and beverage services between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. on Jan. 1 through Jan. 3. Paxton appeared to also refer to the court ruling in his letter on Wednesday. We have already taken you to court under similar circumstances. You lost. If you continue to flout the law in this manner, well take you to court again and you will lose again, he wrote. Lorenz Duchamps and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report. Kamala Harris has refused to speak out about Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment scandal, despite a sixth woman coming forward to accuse the New York Governor of impropriety. The Vice President was seen walking out of a press conference Wednesday, appearing to ignore a reporter who asked whether she would like to make comment on the allegations. Despite loudly condemning Republican men accused of sexual misconduct, Harris has stayed silent about claims leveled against the Democratic Governor. Harris has instead left it to Press Secretary Jen Psaki to speak on her behalf. Last week Psaki stated: 'I think the vice president's view is she believes a woman should be treated with respect. Their voices should be heard'. Meanwhile, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand - who once spearheaded calls for Senator Al Franken to resign amid sexual misconduct allegations - was frustrated when asked the same question about Cuomo on Tuesday. Gillibrand bizarrely implied it was sexist to ask female politicians whether Cuomo should stand down. Kamala Harris has refused to speak out about Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment scandal, despite a sixth woman coming forward to accuse the New York Governor of impropriety. Meanwhile, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is refusing to be drawn on whether the Governor should resign 'Asking every female elected in our state when a person should resign or not resign really isn't the conversation we should be having,' she told Yahoo Finance. 'And I have to say, it's exceedingly frustrating because so many men who are also in public leadership aren't asked these questions day today. 'The women in our state are not meant to be judges, jurors and executioners.' However, she added that the claims against Cuomo were concerning and deserved a thorough investigation. On Wednesday, a sixth woman came forward to to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, claiming he groped her in the governor's residence On Wednesday, a sixth woman came forward to to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, claiming he groped her in the governor's residence. The woman, who has not been named publicly, claims she was alone with Cuomo late last year when he closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her, the Times Union of Albany reported Wednesday. The newspaper's reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the aide's accusation. Cuomo had summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying he needed help with his cellphone, the newspaper reported. The three-term New York governor faces harassment allegations from five other women, including former aide Charlotte Bennett. The 25-year-old's attorney, Debra Katz, said in a statement released Wednesday evening that the latest allegations are 'eerily similar' to Bennett's own story. Bennett has said she was summoned to the Capitol on a weekend and left alone with Cuomo, who asked her for help with his cellphone. She has said Cuomo asked about her sex life and propositioned her. The woman, who has not been named, said her incident occurred late last year at the Executive Mansion in Albany (pictured) 'The Governor's sexual harassment, which Charlotte Bennett reported, was buried by his aides and never properly investigated,' Katz's statement said. 'Because of their enablement, another young woman was left in harm's way.' The woman whose account was reported by the Times Union also indicated that Cuomo had touched her and made flirtatious comments on multiple occasions. According to the newspaper, her allegations came to light as Cuomo staffers watched the governor's March 3 press conference, his first after initial sexual harassment claims made in late February. In it, he denied ever touching a woman inappropriately. The aide subsequently became emotional, and told a female supervisor who approached her about her encounters with the governor. At least one supervisor reported the allegation to an attorney in the governor's office Monday, the newspaper reported. Prior to Wednesday's report, the allegations against Cuomo include a combination of claims that he made the workplace an uncomfortable place for young women, ranging from flirtatious comments to a nonconsensual kiss. At least four accusers - Bennett, Lindsey Boylan, Anna Liss and Karen Hinton - worked for the governor in Albany or during his time in President Bill Clinton's Cabinet. Another, Anna Ruch, told The New York Times that she met Cuomo at a friend's wedding. Cuomo has denied inappropriately touching anyone, but said he is sorry if he made anyone uncomfortable and didn't intend to do so. 'As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching,' Cuomo said through a spokesperson Wednesday evening. 'I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the Attorney General's report.' Ana Liss, 35, (left) previously served as Cuomo's policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015 but claims he subjected her to sexual misconduct during her time in his administration. Karen Hinton (right) claims the governor summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event in 2000 before she managed to escape Charlotte Bennett, 25, worked as an aide for Cuomo. She claims he sexually harassed her and left her 'terrified' Anna Ruch, 33, (left) claimed Cuomo behaved inappropriately at a Manhattan wedding in September 2019. Lindsey Boylan, 36, (right) claims Cuomo commented on her appearance inappropriately, kissed her without her consent and went out of his way to touch her on her lower back, arms and leg State Attorney General Letitia James has put together an investigative team to probe Cuomo's workplace conduct. The governor has called on lawmakers and the public to await the results of that investigation. Federal investigators are also scrutinizing how his administration handled data concerning COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes. Cuomo has been under fire for weeks, beginning with revelations that his administration withheld details from the public about the pandemic's death toll among residents in state nursing homes. Scrutiny of the governor - who received accolades during the height of the coronavirus pandemic for leadership that yielded a book deal and calls for a national political career - intensified when former adviser Boylan, 36, reiterated harassment claims made in December, fleshing them out in a late February blog post. It was unclear if the latest allegation would further erode Cuomo's support in the Legislature. While several state legislators from both parties have called for Cuomo's resignation or impeachment, most have indicated they will wait for the probe's conclusion. Cuomo has repeatedly maintained he won't resign. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Hamas head official in the Gaza Strip has been reelected. Yahya Sinwar won the internal election within the Palestinian political and military organization. The voting was open to Hamas members, including those in the West Bank, Israeli prisons and living abroad. Tens of thousands voted, the Hamas-affiliated Safa news outlet reported on Wednesday. Sinwar has been Hamas Gaza leader since 2017. This will be his second term. His main opponent was experienced Hamas official Nizar Awadallah, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Sinwar was freed from Israeli prison in 2011 in a prisoner swap after spending more than 20 years incarcerated. The charges against him included the murder of suspected informants. His tenure has coincided with relative stability on Gazas border with Israel, according to Reuters. Clashes between Israel and Hamas plus other Palestinian groups occur off and on. Hamas controls Gaza internally, but Israel controls its airspace and maritime territory, in addition to one of its land borders. Egypt controls Gazas other land border. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 12) The Department of Foreign Affairs directed on Thursday the Philippine embassy in Wellington, New Zealand to look into the plight and assist stranded Filipino seafarers in Fiji. The DFA said the seafarers are currently assisted by the Fijian government and the International Transport Workers Federation. A news report published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday revealed the situation of at least seven Filipino seafarers, who were abandoned by their employer Goundar Shipping after raising their working conditions to the management. Four of the seven Filipinos were fired on Christmas Day last year after refusing to surrender their passports to Goundar Shipping. The other three Filipino sailors said the company left them stranded at a remote wharf. The seven Filipino seafarers said they have no money and no means to return home, which caused them to be stranded in Fiji. "We're pushing for them to get home with all expenses paid by Goundar, for their backpay to be made good to them. If not the full amount then some form of restitution has to be made to them," said Adrienne Ali, lawyer of the seven Filipino sailors. Goundar Shipping has yet to comment on the seafarers' claims. CEDAR CITY, Utah, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CBC Mortgage Agency (CBCMA), a nationally chartered housing finance agency and a leading source of down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, said Marcia Fudge's swearing in as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is great news for minority homebuyers, who typically face significant barriers to homeownership. CBCMA also welcomed the president's recent executive order on redressing discriminatory housing practices and policies. Fudge, who represented the 11th District of Ohio, was first elected to Congress in 2008. Previously she served in various state and city roles, including mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, where she led the city in shoring up a sagging retail base and providing new residential construction. Among other goals as HUD secretary, Fudge said today she plans to increase fair housing protections and improve access to affordable housing. In her senate confirmation hearing, Fudge said down payments are the biggest impediment to homeownership for communities of color because "we don't have the wherewithal, the same kind of income, the same kind of access" as other borrowers. "It is like we are starting out of the blocks with somebody who is out ahead of us by a hundred yards," said Fudge, who is a former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. "Down payment assistance is a major, major impediment. If we could fix that, you would see a tremendous growth." Fudge added that the homeownership rate among Blacks right now is the same as it was in 1968 but could be fixed. "Millions of Americans are struggling to buy a home or keep up their mortgage payments, including a disproportionate number of minority borrowers," said Miki Adams, president of CBC Mortgage Agency. "Marcia Fudge's confirmation as HUD secretary and Biden's commitment to end discriminatory housing practices will widen the path to homeownership and help more families achieve housing wealth. We look forward to working with the new HUD secretary on a range of housing issues." Fudge's confirmation comes after President Joseph Biden issued a memorandum on redressing our nation's and the federal government's history of discriminatory housing practices and policies. "It is the policy of my administration that the federal government shall work with communities to end housing discrimination, to provide redress to those who have experienced housing discrimination, to eliminate racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all stages of home-buying and renting, to lift barriers that restrict housing and neighborhood choice, to promote diverse and inclusive communities, to ensure sufficient physically accessible housing, and to secure equal access to housing opportunity for all," the executive order stated. CBC Mortgage Agency Director of Government Affairs Tai Christensen praised the administration's move. "Starting at the inception of this country and continuing late into the 20th century, people of color have been denied the same housing opportunities as their white counterparts," she said. "Even today, the lingering effects of discrimination continue to hinder growth in housing wealth among minorities. We enthusiastically support President Biden's decision to take steps to redress discrimination, and we wish the new HUD secretary well on her mission to expand access to homeownership to more people." About CBC Mortgage Agency Founded in 2013, CBC Mortgage Agency is a nationally chartered housing finance agency. As a leading source of down payment assistance, the company helps low-to-moderate income consumers, often in minority neighborhoods, achieve the dream of homeownership. CBCMA, which was recognized as one of the Top 25 Companies in Mortgage & Servicing by MReport, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cedar Band Corp., a federally chartered tribal corporation founded by the Cedar Band of Paiute Indians. More information can be found at chenoafund.org. Press Contact: Sam Garcia, Publicist Strategic Vantage Marketing & Public Relations 214.762.4457 | [email protected] SOURCE CBC Mortgage Agency Related Links https://chenoafund.org/ Indian American sitar player and singer Anoushka Shankar has announced the release of her new track, "Sister Susannah," slated to drop on March 22. She is seen here in a file photo performing during the "Premaanjali Festival 2012" in Bangalore on Feb. 7, 2012. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images) New Delhi: A police officer was killed and one suffered bullet-injuries in a fierce gun-battle with a gang of dacoits in Uttar Pradeshs Chitrakoot district on Thursday. The Uttar Pradesh Police have claimed that a dacoit has been gunned down and at least five including the gang leader Babuli Kol has suffered bullet injuries in Chitrakoots Nihichiraya forest, around 250 kilometers from state capital Lucknow. One of our officers suffered bullet injuries in the encounter with the dacoits. He later succumbed to his injuries, said ADGP SN Sawant to media after the encounter. He added that the police forces have gunned down one dacoit and at least five others have been injured in the encounter and a dacoit identified as Raju Kol has been arrested from the encounter site. However, police have failed to recover the body of the killed dacoit or nab others. The deceased police officer has been identified as sub-inspector Jai Prakash Singh, 44. A senior police officer told the media that working on a tip off a police team launched search operation in Chitrakoots forest area to neutralise the Babuli Kol and his group. Police said, the dacoits on siting the raiding team opened fire. The police team quickly taking position retaliated. "More than 1000 rounds of bullet were exchanged during the gun-battle," said a police personnel part of the raiding team. According to a senior police officer requesting anonymity said that Special Task Force has been rushed to the encounter site. The dacoits taking benefit of the dense forest managed to escape. Police have launched a major search operation in the forested area to nab the dacoits. The Uttar Pradesh government has announced ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased police officers family and another Rs 5 Lakh for his parents. (With inputs from Anil Yadav and Dipesh Tripathi) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. File photo To mark the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in New Mexico, Taos healthcare providers will be wearing yellow ribbons Thursday (March 11). Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 11.03.21: The Armenian President has returnedalong with his respective objectionsthe proposal of the Prime Minister to appoint Artak Davtyan as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, the President's Office reports. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday submitted a petition to President Sarkissian to appoint Artak Davtyan to the aforesaid position. The two-week confrontation between the government and the armed forces entered a new phase on Wednesday. The Prime Minister's Office announced that Onik Gasparyan is legally dismissed from the post of Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces following Gasparyan's demand for PM Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. President Armen Sarkissian on Wednesday invited Pashinyan, the heads of the parliamentary factions, and the leaders of the Homeland Salvation Movementwhich demands Pashinyans resignationto a meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation in Armenia and find mutually acceptable solutions to overcome the current crisis in the country. As of Thursday afternoon, only a Bright Armenia political force responds to President's invitation yet. The Administrative Court of Armenia has scheduled a hearing for April 29 on the case of Tiran Khachatryan, now former First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Khachatryan demands to invalidate the President's decree, according to which he was relieved of his aforesaid position. The respondent in the case is President Armen Sarkissian himself. Also, the Prime Minister's Office and the Army General Staff are included in this case as third parties. The search operations for the bodies of the fallen soldiers and the missing people are being carried out by two rescue squads in the Hadrut and Varanda regions of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh]. As a result of this work being carried out since the ceasefire in November 2020, a total of 1,496 dead bodiessix of which, on Wednesdayhave been retrieved from the Artsakh territories now under the control of Azerbaijan. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says he and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov discussed bilateral ties and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Libya, and Syria during their talks in Doha, TASS reports. Cavusoglu said Ankaras aim is to reach the pre-pandemic indicators in the tourism sector and recalled that the ceremony marking the launch of construction of the third energy bloc of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Mersin. 748 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 176,286 in the country. Also, two more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 3,239 cases. The process of vaccinating medical workers in Armenia against the coronavirus has already begun, Romella Abovyan, head of the Epidemiology Department of Nosocomial Infections of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a briefing. According to her, medical workers are vaccinated against the coronavirus as a priority, as they are considered to be people working on the frontlines and a high-risk group. The Armenian seismological network on Thursday recorded a magnitude-4.3 earthquake in Iran, at 9:46 am local time, 14 km northeast of Khoy city, and 10 km beneath the surface. It measured magnitude 5 to 6 at the epicenter, which 95 km from the state border of Armenia The seismic activity was also felt in the towns of Agarak, Meghri, Kajaran, Kapan, Goris, and Sisian of Armenias Syunik Provinceand with magnitude 2 to 3. Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian will compete in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour rapid chess tournament, which will start on Saturday. Levon Aronian will play in his first tournament ever since his decision to no longer represent Armenia. The Armenian chess grandmaster, however, will not represent the US in this tournament yet. Saudi Arabia will take measures to protect its oil infrastructure and supply, the countrys top diplomat said following last weekends failed drone attack on the kingdoms and the worlds largest oil storage facility at Ras Taruna. The kingdom will take necessary deterrent measures to protect its national resources, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in Riyadh on Wednesday during a press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. The failed attempts to target the port of Ras Tanura do not only target the security of the economy of Saudi Arabia, they target the global economy and its oil supplies, Prince Faisal said. He did not specify what measures would be taken, but called on the international community to take a stand against such attacks in the future. Yemens Houthi rebels claimed credit for what they said was a ballistic missile and drone attack on Ras Tanura on Sunday. Saudi officials said a single drone launched from the sea targeted Ras Tanura, but that no one was hurt and no property was damaged. Explosions were also reported near an Aramco residential facility at Dhahran and near military positions in Dammam. The global price of Brent crude surged past $70 per barrel Monday following the attack before eventually stabilizing. The Saudi Arabia-led Gulf military coalition responded by bombing the Houthis capital at Sanaa in Yemen for the first time since the Biden administration halted offensive operational support to the coalition citing human rights concerns. A 2019 drone and cruise missile attack on Saudi Arabias Aqbaiq and Khurais oil facilities shut down production at the sites, plunging the countrys daily production and putting a 5% dent in global output. The US blamed Iran for the 2019 attack, which was carried out with drones and cruise missiles closely resembling known Iranian models. The Pentagon surged forces to defend the kingdom in the aftermath of the 2019 attack, including three combat air units, 3,000 troops as well as ballistic and Patriot missile defenses. Saudi officials signed a preliminary agreement in 2017 to buy Russias S-400 missile defense system, the Kremlins equivalent to the United States' Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD. The US Congress passed a law that same year requiring that the Treasury sanction any government that makes a major military hardware purchase from Russia. The deal has so far remained incomplete. The CEO of Russias state-owned Rostec company, Sergei Tchemezov, told state-run Russia Today news outlet in February that talks with Riyadh over the S-400 purchase were ongoing. The United States maintains two Patriot missile batteries, a THAAD ballistic missile defense system and Sentinel radars at Prince Sultan Air Base in central Saudi Arabia. The Biden administration has touted a new approach toward diplomatic relations with Riyadh after four years of what critics called President Donald Trumps permissive attitude toward the kingdoms human rights abuses. The new administration released a long-awaited declassified US intelligence report implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but refrained from directly penalizing the prince. Instead, the United States placed sanctions and visa restrictions on lower-rung Saudi officials and delegated future US engagement with bin Salman to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The crown prince also serves as the kingdoms defense minister. The Pentagon has emphasized its continued support to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against continued cruise missile and drone attacks, most of which emanate from Yemen, the head of US forces in the Middle East said last month. Our president has been clear that well have a different type of relationship with the Saudis going forward, Austin told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. It doesnt mean it wont be a good relationship. I fully expect it will be a good relationship, Austin said, adding, Saudi is a strategic partner in the region, and certainly we have security commitments in that area. Lavrov visited the UAE on Tuesday. He travels next to Qatar. VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has registered an overall 62.28 per cent polling in elections held for urban local bodies throughout the state on Wednesday. The voting percentage is expected to go up further. Both State Election Commission (SEC) and municipal administration authorities had not got the final polling tallies from the districts till 7 p.m. Polls were held in 12 municipal corporations and 71 municipalities / Nagar panchayats. The average percentage of polling was 11.71 at 9.00 a.m., 32.23 at 11.00 a.m., 42.84 at 1.00 p.m., 53.57 at 3.00 p.m. and 62.28 at 5.00 p.m. Municipalities and Nagar panchayats witnessed a higher turnout of voters given the fact that out of 29,47,027 voters, 20,82,283 exercised their franchise, registering a poll percentage of 70.66. However, polling was relatively lesser in the 12 municipal corporations, as out of 48,09,173 voters, only 27,48,013 turned up at polling stations to cast their vote, recording a poll percentage of 57.14. Overall, out of 77,56,200 voters, only 48,30,296 voters cast their vote, indicating a provisional poll percentage of 62.28. East Godavari district registered the highest voting in the state at 75.93 per cent. Kurnool was lowest at 56.83 per cent. The rest of the poll percentages are Srikakulam 71.52, Vizianagaram 68.22, Visakhapatnam 56.83, West Godavari 62.02, Krishna 61.31, Guntur 61.77, Prakasam 75.49, Nellore 71.06, Anantapur 66.11, Kadapa 65.01 and Chittoor 62.21. Among the 12 municipal corporations, Ongole registered the highest poll percentage at 75.52 while Kurnool the lowest of 49.26. The rest include Vizianagaram (63.98 per cent), GVMC (56.01), Eluru (56.33), Machilipatnam (71.14), Vijayawada (56.81), Guntur (57.15), Anantapur (56.41), Kadapa (54.85), Chittoor (66.06) and Tirupati (53.44 per cent). SEC N. Ramesh Kumar asserted that municipal elections concluded in a free and fair manner with exception of a few stray incidents. For the first time, no re-poll has been necessitated in both civic bodies as also the recently concluded gram panchayat elections. However, there were a few instances of poll-related violence. Reports have been called from concerned collectors and SPs in this regard. The election commissioner said the counting of votes will be taken up on March 14. Election of mayors and deputy mayors for municipal corporations and chairperson and vice-chairpersons for municipalities / Nagar panchayats will be held at the earliest, he stated. Separately, director-general of police Gautam Sawang said polling went off peacefully even though a large number of voters turned up at polling stations to cast their votes. He congratulated the police department for making all necessary arrangements for the conduct of smooth polls. The DGP maintained there were no major untoward incidents. He said police had bound over several persons having criminal antecedents in advance. They also kept a close vigil on the distribution of money and liquor. This helped them conduct polls peacefully and successfully. In Visakhapatnam, TD MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu and Telugu Nadu Students Front leader Pranav Gopal were taken into preventive custody by police when they entered the 100-metre prohibited area at a polling booth in Division 21 of China Waltair. They were subsequently released on self-bail. Visakhapatnam Ukku Parirakshana Committee, which is spearheading the movement against privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, suspended its agitation on Wednesday for enabling steel plant employees to take part in the municipal elections. In Nellore district, residents of Nukalapalem in Sullurpet municipality boycotted the election in protest against the merger of their village with the civic body. At Eluru municipal corporation in West Godavari district, deputy chief minister and health minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas was unable to cast his vote, as his name went missing from the electoral rolls. Scores of other voters faced a similar fate. In East Godavari district, police took into custody supporters of both BJP and Telugu Desam while they were distributing money to voters in Ramachandrapuram and Peddapuram municipalities. Ramachandrapuram police arrested seven BJP supporters and seized Rs. 37,000 from them. Peddapuram police seized Rs. 60,500 from TD supporters in ward number 27. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Rio Tinto (RTPPF.PK, RIO.L, RIO, RTNTF.PK) said it has signed an agreement to provide a first commercial batch of high-performance aluminium-scandium alloy from its North American operations to Amaero. As per the deal, Rio Tinto will deliver alloy billets made of responsibly produced, low carbon aluminium from its hydro-powered Canadian smelters and high purity scandium oxide from its Rio Tinto Fer et Titane metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. The billets will be processed by Amaero into powder for 3D printing and offered to the market for high temperature applications. The scandium oxide will be supplied from a new plant Rio Tinto is building in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. The companies will also collaborate to develop the supply chain for Amaero's high performance, High Operating Temperature Aluminium Alloy, 'Amaero HOT Al', and commercialise this lightweight material for applications in the aerospace, defence and other industries. 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. 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. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... RIO DE JANEIRO Brazils hospitals are faltering as a highly contagious coronavirus variant tears through the country, the president insists on unproven treatments and the only attempt to create a national plan to contain COVID-19 has just fallen short. For the last week, Brazilian governors sought to do something President Jair Bolsonaro obstinately rejects: cobble together a proposal for states to help curb the nations deadliest COVID-19 outbreak yet. The effort was expected to include a curfew, prohibition of crowded events and limits on the hours nonessential services can operate. The final product, presented Wednesday, was a one-page document that included general support for restricting activity but without any specific measures. Six governors, evidently still wary of antagonizing Bolsonaro, declined to sign on. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Piaui states Gov. Wellington Dias told The Associated Press that unless pressure on hospitals is eased, growing numbers of patients will have to endure the disease without a hospital bed or any hope of treatment in an intensive care unit. We have reached the limit across Brazil; rare are the exceptions, Dias, who leads the governors forum, said. The chance of dying without assistance is real. Those deaths have already started. In Brazils wealthiest state, Sao Paulo, at least 30 patients died this month while waiting for ICU beds, according to a tally published Wednesday by the news site G1. Occupancy of ICUs is above 90% in 15 of 27 capitals, according to the state-run Fiocruz institute. In southern Santa Catarina state, 419 people were waiting for transfer to ICU beds. Neighboring Rio Grande do Suls capacity was at 106%. Alexandre Zavascki, a doctor in its capital, described a constant arrival of hospital patients struggling to breathe. I have a lot of colleagues who, at times, stop to cry. This isnt medicine were used to performing routinely. This is medicine adapted for a war scenario, said Zavascki, who oversees infectious disease treatment at a private hospital. We see a good part of the population refusing to see whats happening, resisting the facts. Those people could be next to step inside the hospital and will want beds. But there wont be one. The country, he added, needs more rigid measures from authorities. Over the presidents objections, the Supreme Court last year upheld cities and states jurisdiction to impose restrictions on activity. Even so, Bolsonaro consistently condemned any such moves, saying the economy needed to keep churning and that isolation would cause depression. The most recent surge is driven by the P1 variant that first became dominant in the Amazonian city Manaus. Brazils failure to arrest the virus spread since then is increasingly a concern not just for Latin American neighbors, but also as a warning to the world, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization, said in a March 5 press briefing. In the whole country, aggressive use of the public health measures, social measures, will be very, very crucial, he said. Without doing things to impact transmission or suppress the virus, I dont think we will be able in Brazil to have the declining trend. Last weeks tally of more than 10,000 deaths was Brazils highest since the pandemic began, and this week is on track to be even worse after the country posted nearly 2,300 deaths Wednesday blowing away the prior days total that was also a record. At the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, burials are being done one after another, with mourners and cars lined up awaiting their turn. Brazil has decades of experience with mass immunization campaigns, but rollout has been hobbled by delays, some self-inflicted; 5.5% of its population has been vaccinated. Governors, like a lot of the population, are getting fed up with all this inaction, said Margareth Dalcolmo, a prominent pulmonologist at Fiocruz. She added that their proposed pact will remain symbolic unless it is far-reaching and confronts the federal government. Brazils national council of state health secretaries last week called for the establishment of a national curfew and lockdown in regions that are approaching maximum hospital capacity. Bolsonaro again demurred. I wont decree it, Bolsonaro said Monday at an event. And you can be sure of one thing: My army will not go to the street to oblige the people to stay home. Restrictions can already be found just outside the presidential palace after the Federal Districts governor, Ibaneis Rocha, implemented a curfew and partial lockdown. Rocha warned Tuesday that he could clamp down harder, sparing only pharmacies and hospitals, if people keep disregarding rules. Currently, 213 people in the district are on the wait list for an ICU bed. Bolsonaro told reporters Monday that the curfew is an affront, inadmissible, and said that even the WHO believes lockdowns are inadequate because they disproportionately hurt the poor. While the WHO acknowledges profound negative effects, it says some countries have had no choice but to impose heavy-handed measures to slow transmission, and that governments must make the most of the extra time provided to test and trace cases, while caring for patients. Such nuance was lost on Bolsonaro. His government continues its search for silver-bullet solutions that so far has served only to stoke false hopes. Any idea appears to warrant consideration, except the ones from public health experts. Bolsonaros government spent millions producing and distributing malaria pills, which have shown no benefit in rigorous studies. Still, Bolsonaro endorsed the drugs. He has also supported treatment with two drugs for fighting parasites, neither of which have shown effectiveness. He again touted their capacity to prevent hospitalizations during a Wednesday event in the presidential palace. Bolsonaro also dispatched a committee to Israel this week to assess an unproven nasal spray that he has called a miraculous product. Fiocruzs Dalcolmo, whose younger sister is currently in an ICU, called the trip really pathetic. Meanwhile, the city of Araraquara, in Sao Paulos interior, has seen new cases turn downward weeks after declaring lockdown amid a crippling surge dominated by the P1 variant. Mayor Edinho Silva told the AP in a message that, without mass vaccination, there was no alternative. Camila Romano, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulos Institute of Tropical Medicine, hopes a test her lab developed to identify worrisome variants, including P1, will help monitor and control their spread. She also wants to see stricter government measures, and citizens doing their part. Every day is a new surprise, a new variant, a city whose health system enters collapse, Romano said. Were now in the worst phase. Whether this will be the worst phase of all, unfortunately we dont know whats yet to come. ___ Alvares reported from Brasilia. Associated Press videojournalist Tatiana Pollastri contributed from Sao Paulo. Chennai, March 11 : Dr Alby John, a Chennai-based IAS officer, is converting a garbage yard into a lush green forest in the heart of the metropolis. After being posted as Regional Deputy Commissioner (South) in Greater Chennai Corporation, the 2013 batch officer has already planted five Miyawaki forests or micro forests, turning conrete areas into lush zones of greenery. The trend of Miyawaki forests was first pioneered, conceptulaised and popularised by 93-year-old Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. The basic idea is to grow plants without leaving any space, thus leading to plants growing straight and forming lush green forests in small areas of land. This can be done from 0.5 cents of land to 20 cents of land and has been practiced and executed successfully in Kerala for the past several years. The first Miyawaki forest conceptualised and implemented by Dr Albi John was at Kotturpuram, a garbage yard of 23,000 sq ft area at the banks of Adayar River. This has now grown into a lush green forest land nesting several birds, insects and butterflies. Speaking to IANS, John, a medical doctor by training, said: "We conceptualised the idea and then it was implemented. Now several people, including individuals, business houses and corporates are into Miyawaki foresting which is a good sign. I am happy to have brought such an interest among the people of the city." Predictably, Chennai residents are a happy lot after the Kotturpuram garbage yard was changed into a lush green forest land. V.P. Hemachandran, a retired engineer, told IANS, "I have been living in Chennai city for more than 50 years and this is the first time that I have seen such a radical change happening which is good for the society as well as the environment. All credit to the young IAS officer and his team. He has lived up to the motto: where there is a will, there is a way." Dr Alby John said, "The society must take this up and for that a role model is required which is what we have done. Now let individuals and groups come forward and make this a culture so that the city turns green slowly but surely." Several social organisations want to take the project forward. Said C. Rajeev, Director of the Centre for Policy and Development Studies, a Chennai-based think tank: "We conduct in-depth studies on the degradation of environment and on the carbon footprint. I find that promoting a Miyawaki forest is the need of the hour for a city like Chennai. We are coordinating with corporate houses and other like-minded groups to promote the Miyawaki culture." The common denominator in what we talked about China is that we will engage it from a position of strength New Delhi: Two days ahead of the Quads first leaders summit in virtual format, the United States warned on Wednesday that if it does not act in concert and in tandem with our allies and partners around the world, China will act with even greater impunity. Referring to Chinese human rights abuses in Xinjiang or the way in which Beijing is trampling democracy in Hong Kong, Washington also said it would engage China from a position of strength (that) ... requires us to work with allies and partners, adding this was its core source of strength and the envy of competitors and adversaries the world over. The US, however, also said the Quad -- comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia -- was not about any single challenge nor about any single competitor. The US state department said: Quad members are uniquely positioned to help lead the world out of the deep crises that weve spoken about -- that includes Covid-19 -- and towards the more positive vision that we all seek. And its a vision that we in large part share with our fellow Quad counterparts. The summit meeting will be the first of its kind, the first leader-level summit of the Quad. It will showcase the Quads ability to pool our capabilities and build habits of cooperation to address some of those urgent challenges we face. At a separate briefing, the White House said: That President Biden has made this one of his earliest multilateral engagements speaks to the importance we place on close cooperation with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. A range of issues, of course, will be discussed -- we expect to be discussed, I should say -- facing the global community from the threat of Covid, to economic cooperation, and of course, to the climate crisis. The state department said: The common denominator in all of this and what we have consistently talked about when we note our approach vis-a-vis China is that we will engage China from a position of strength. And we have spoken to any number of those strengths. To do so, it requires us to work with allies and partners. Again, our system of alliances and partnerships around the world are a core source of strength. Thats precisely why they are the envy of competitors and adversaries the world over. Gong Quanzhen participates in an activity of patriotism education. [For Women of China] Gong Quanzhen, 98, has been a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) since 1952. The widow of Gan Zuchang (1905-1986, the late major general), she has devoted herself to education in rural areas. Since her retirement, she has continued to help people in need, and she has cared about the healthy growth of teenagers. As such, Gong has demonstrated the true quality of a CPC member. When Chinese President Xi Jinping met with national moral model nominees and recipients in Beijing on September 26, 2013, he showed respect for Gong, in part by sharing her stories with those in attendance. Xi called on current and future generations of Chinese to carry forward Gong's spirit of dedication and hard work. Taking Root in Countryside Gong was born in Yantai, East China's Shandong Province, in 1923. During the 1950s, after she graduated from Northwest University, in Xi'an, in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, she began teaching at a school in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. During that period, she met Gan, then director of Xinjiang Military Area Command's logistics department. They eventually married. Citing worsening symptoms from a brain injury he previously sustained, Gan asked permission to resign from his post and become a peasant. Gan's request was approved in 1957. Gan and his family returned from Xinjiang to his hometown, Yanbei, a village in Lianhua County, in East China's Jiangxi Province, and they were determined to make a difference at China's grassroots level. Gong understood and supported Gan's decision. She worked as a middle school teacher in the county. The school only had three teachers, and its conditions were not good. As the school was far from her home, Gong lived at the school and only returned home during weekends. In 1961, Gong was named principal of Nanpo Primary School. She had worked there for 13 years. She was eventually hired as principal of Ganjia Primary School. No matter where she worked, and no matter what position she held, Gong always worked whole-heartedly. Although his family lived modestly, Gan donated more than 85,000 yuan (US $13,077), or roughly 70 percent of his total salary, to help improve rural development. In his hometown, he is remembered for his contributions to the creation of three reservoirs, four power stations, three roads and 12 bridges. Gan passed away in 1986. His three medals of honor, contained in a box, were the priceless spiritual wealth he left to his family. "Gan was a person who never cared about personal gain, and who always contributed to the Party and the people. If given another chance, I would still choose to accompany him," Gong says. A Good Teacher Gong has long been dedicated to educating students, which she thinks is the best way to carry forward her husband's spirit. "Teaching is a proud profession. It is not easy to cultivate a child," she says. The value of her life, she adds, is about teaching and caring for students, which she believes is her responsibility. "When she taught at Fanglou Middle School, Gong noticed a student was often in low spirits. She later found out it was because the girl's family was impoverished. Gong talked to the girl and helped her pay her tuition fees. The girl graduated with a good academic performance," Zhu Fuhai, one of Gong's former colleagues, recalls. "Gong always encouraged us to cherish our time, and to study hard. She was very good to us, and she often bought us stationery. If we fell ill, she would visit us and bring us good things to eat," Liu Genlan, one of Gong's students, recalls. Despite her retirement, Gong has continued to care about the younger generation, and she has often delivered lectures at schools, factories and institutions to promote the revolutionary spirit and traditions. When she lived in a nursing home, from 1992 to 1997, she and some of her students, who often visited her, formed an extra-curricular study group. In 2004, with the help of her friends and family, Gong collected nearly 100 cartoons related to the moral education of minors. She then organized exhibitions of those cartoons at primary and middle schools in the county. She also explained the cartoons to students during those exhibitions. "Although I have retired, I am still a teacher. As a CPC member, it is my duty to work for the Party. By caring about education, and by donating money to help students, I continue Gan's dream of building a beautiful hometown," Gong says. Gong Quanzhen poses for a photo with children. [For Women of China] Helping Others In 2003, Gong was invited to give a lecture, on the theme of patriotism education, at Fucun Middle School. After the lecture, she noticed the school's library only had a few books. So, she used her own money to buy and donate more than 1,000 books to the school. A year later, during her visit to a village, Gong learned that a student, from an impoverished family, was about to drop out of school. Gong immediately decided to support the girl, to help her finish school. Peng Yan feng, a teacher with Ping xiang Experimental School, regards Gong as her idol. "During the past 18 years, Granny Gong has offered much help to my family, both financially and spiritually. We see her as our family member. She has changed my life, and she has deeply influenced my view of life and my values," Peng says. "I met Granny Gong when I was still a primary school student. My mother, physically challenged, had no job, and our family lived in poverty. Granny Gong encouraged my mother to be strong, and she helped my mother start her own business," Peng adds. Influenced by Gong, Peng chose to study at a normal college, and to take a job as a teacher after her graduation. Peng has been honored as an excellent teacher in Pingxiang, a city in Jiangxi Province. Gong has donated more than 100,000 yuan (US$15,384) to support students throughout the decades. "I am a Party member. There is not much time left for me. I must cherish my time and do more things that are good for society," Gong says. Original Aspiration In Lianhua County, the locals, whether Gong's students or not, always call her "Teacher Gong." Says Gong: "I don't think of myself as special. But I have a special responsibility carrying out Gan's spirit." In November 2011, Gong and cadres of Jincheng Community established Gong Quanzheng Studio. Gong used to visit the studio every week to communicate with people, and to help those in need. The studio continues to organize educational and volunteer activities. Someone once asked Gong, "At such an old age, why don't you enjoy yourself at home? Why do you keep yourself so busy?" Gong replied, "I always remember Gan's words before he passed away. He said, 'After paying Party membership dues and keeping some (money for) living expenses, donate the rest to support agricultural development.' Staying true to original aspiration actually means always remembering that we are Party members and that is our first identity." Gong lives a modest life, but she never hesitates to offer help. When the massive earthquake hit Wenchuan, in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, in 2008, Gong donated more than 5,000 yuan (US $769) to quake-affected residents. She always spares no effort in trying to help people in need. Gong's children have learned from her example, and they have worked hard in their ordinary posts and selflessly contributed to society and served the people. As a national model worker, Gan Gongrong, Gong's third daughter, always reminds her own children, "As descendants of Gan Zuchang and Gong Quanzhen, we should be honest and diligent, and we should help as many people as we can." In December 2016, Gong's family was honored as a national civilized family. Gong keeps a diary. She once wrote, "I promise, when I am in good health, I will visit the nursing home each week, and I will do what I can to help the elderly people The salary of the last month of my life should be given to the Party, as my last Party membership dues. The five impoverished students that I support should continue to receive support until they graduate." To this day, Gong is still living up to her original aspiration and the mission of the Party. She has been honored as a national outstanding CPC member, and as a most beautiful striver. Her spirit will surely influence generations of Chinese. Gong Quanzhen celerates her 90th birthday with her family members. [For Women of China] Photos supplied by Gan Gongrong (Women of China English Monthly January 2021 issue) Accused: Thomas McKenna is charged with offences dating from 1991 to 2018 A former GAA treasurer accused of more than 170 sex offences against 23 alleged male victims has been ordered to stand trial. Thomas McKenna (60) appeared at Newry Magistrates Court by videolink from Maghaberry Prison, where he is on remand facing 173 charges allegedly committed over almost three decades. McKenna confirmed his personal details, that he was aware of the charges and that he did not object to a preliminary enquiry. In one of the biggest sex cases in Irish legal history, McKenna - a former postman and treasurer for Crossmaglen Rangers GAA club in Co Armagh - faces charges that include: 80 of indecent assault; 64 of sexual assault; 18 of voyeurism; Two of gross indecency with a child; Attempted sexual assault Taking an indecent photograph of a child; Sexual activity with a child; Two of interfering with the mail. The offences are alleged to have happened between September 1991 and August 2018. According to the charges, 20 of the alleged victims were sexually abused, 10 were spied on and three were raped. One of the alleged victims is said to have been abused over a period of 23 years. Previous courts heard the "serious and complex investigation" involves alleged victims who say McKenna either sexually abused them or took photos and videos without their permission. Police searches led to the seizure of devices said to contain 43,000 images and 8,000 clips. McKenna declined the opportunity to comment on the charges or call evidence. Remanding the defendant back into custody, Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers told him: "I'm returning you for trial." The trial is scheduled to begin at Newry Crown Court on April 27. BERLIN (Reuters) - German coronavirus cases posted their biggest daily increase in five weeks on Thursday, as calls grew to allow family doctors to start administering COVID-19 vaccines sooner to speed up the rollout. The number of new reported coronavirus cases rose by 14,356 data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed, almost 2,500 more than a week ago and the biggest daily increase since Feb. 4. RKI President Lothar Wieler said he was very concerned by the rising numbers given there were still many vulnerable people that needed to be vaccinated. "In Germany particularly, I see the beginning of the third wave," he told a U.N. briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, urging people to stick to the physical distancing rules and wear masks. "We have to vaccinate as soon as possible, as much as possible, strategically," he added, noting the incidence of the virus had declined "tremendously" in those aged over 80, but was rising in other age groups. Germany's vaccination campaign has got off to a sluggish start, hampered by a shortage of doses and bureaucracy. Only 6.9% of the 83 million population has received at least a first dose against the coronavirus, far behind countries such as Britain, Israel and the United States. The head of the German Ethics Council called for the government to let surgeries start administering shots as soon as possible. "It's an ethical imperative to make progress on vaccination now," Alena Buyx told RTL/nTV television. On Wednesday, regional and national health ministers agreed family doctors should start administering shots from mid-April. But they also decided that mass vaccination centres should still continue to receive at least 2.25 million doses per week. This means doses will not be available in sufficient supplies for doctors' surgeries until May, the head of the KBV doctors' association told ZDF television. The premier of Saxony Michael Kretschmer, however, rejected the criticism, telling ZDF that mass vaccination centres had the highest throughput and remained the fastest way to get shots in arms. (Reporting by Caroline Copley and Andreas Rinke; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Alison Williams) Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Summerville, SC (29483) Today Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon hours. High 83F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. By Fabian Cambero SANTIAGO, March 9 (Reuters) - Workers at Antofagasta's Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile on Tuesday voted to reject the company's latest contract offer, paving the way for a strike, a union spokesman told Reuters. Of the union affiliates, 98.5% voted to reject the offer. Local legislation dictates that Antofagasta Minerals - one of the world's largest copper producers - and Los Pelambres workers must now enter into a period of government-brokered mediation. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero, writing by Aislinn Laing, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) A meteor blew up through the night sky across Vermont on March 7 (Sunday), generating an amazing light display and causing Earth-shaking bangs as it scorched through the atmosphere. According to NASA Meteor watch, the explosive passage through the atmosphere discharges the equivalent of 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of TNT, indicating that the meteor was possibly 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) and 15 centimeters (6 inches) in diameter. The space stone smashed into the atmosphere at around 68,000 kph (42,000 mph), NASA explained. It appeared over the northern area of the state as a luminous fireball at about 5:38 P.M. EST before the sun sets. Local news station WCAX3 reported calls from across all the state after the event, with Vermonters depicting a 'boisterous bang' and body clattering vibration' as the meteor flown overhead. Read More: Perseid Meteor Shower Will Fill the Sky With Up to 100 Shooting Stars Per Hour This Week Social Media Reaction to This Rare Incident A commenter on NASA's initial Facebook post about the event disclosed that he was lucky to hear and notice it by the River Missisquoi in Swanton at the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge, hardly before sunset. "No loud bang was noted by others, but a scrambling sound made me buck up at the right moment. It was incredibly colorful and astonishing!". Founded on eyewitness reports, NASA calculates that the fireball first arrived 84 kilometers (52 miles) just east Burlington over Mount Mansfield State Forest, the state's biggest city. It then advanced 53 kilometers (33 miles) northeast near the Canadian border, vanishing 53 kilometers (33 miles) over the ground south of the city of Newport. The Bowl-Size Piece NASA explained that the alarming wave was an outcome of the meteor shattering due to atmospheric pressure. As the speeding bowl-size piece of a greater parent asteroid strode at almost 55 times the speed of sound over the atmosphere, tension built up in front of it, and a vacuum-shaped behind it. Finally, the pressure of that differential made the rock to explode. In NASA's first Facebook post comments about the event, people insisted to have glimpsed the rock from as distant west as Saratoga, New York, as far east as Watertown Massachusetts, and as remotely north as Quebec. Other reports revealed that a fireball drifting at 42,000 miles an hour striped over the night sky across Vermont creating a dramatic light exhibit. The meteor crashed so violently, it throbbed buildings across the state and evoked a wild boom. Over 100 eyewitnesses narrated on NASA's Facebook post that they saw when it first appeared about 52 miles over Mount Mansfield State Forest, stretching 33 miles towards the high sky of Hill Beach, in Orleans County. The One-Sided Hole The space stone which is possibly a speck of an asteroid was so fierce it could be heard from miles away as it shook cars, whores, and homes. NASA Meteor Watch explained that as the rock entered deeper into the atmosphere, the tension was created upon its front while a one-sided hole molded behind it. Nearly above 30 miles, the difference of the intensity between the back and front surpassed its structural strength. Related Article: Meteor Fireball Lights up Mexico Sky Together With Arrival of Hurricane Delta and Minor Earthquakes For more news, update about meteor and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! "Needless to say, I believe that Icertis has a very bright future," Penny Pritzker, founder and Chairman of PSP Partners Tweet this Icertis today announced an $80 million Series F round at a valuation of over $2.8B , nearly triple the valuation of its last round in July 2019 . Series F round at a valuation of over , nearly triple the valuation of its last round in . The company added two highly distinguished leaders as independent Directors: Penny Pritzker , founder and Chairman of PSP Partners and Karyn Smith , general counsel of Twilio Inc. , founder and Chairman of PSP Partners and , general counsel of Twilio Inc. CLM is one of the fastest growing enterprise software categories with an addressable market of over $20B . . Icertis was also named a leader in a recent report, Forrester Wave: Contract Lifecycle Management For All Contracts Wave, Q1 2021. Icertis, the contract intelligence company that pushes the boundaries of what's possible with contract lifecycle management (CLM), today announced the closing of an $80 million Series F round at a valuation of over $2.8B. Icertis has now raised over $280 million, and the current financing nearly triples the valuation of its Series E round in July 2019. The latest round was led by existing investor B Capital Group, with participation from Greycroft, Meritech Capital Partners, Premji Invest, PSP Growth, and e.ventures. The company will use this funding to invest in accelerating its AI and Blockchain development, expanding its sales and marketing footprint, and building out its global partner network. In addition, Icertis added two distinguished business executives to its Board of Directors. The new independent Directors, Penny Pritzker, founder and Chairman of PSP Partners, and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration; and Karyn Smith, general counsel at Twilio Inc., will bring integral perspectives and expertise as the company's business continues to grow rapidly. CLM Emerges as the C-Suite's Go-To Intelligence Platform Icertis is experiencing accelerated growth, despite headwinds from COVID-19, highlighting the critical importance of contracts the single source of truth for ALL the commercial, operational, and legal entitlements and obligations of a company and CLM's emergence as a "must have" system of intelligence for CxOs. Icertis leads the category because the Icertis Contract Intelligence (ICI) platform digitizes the contracting process, uniquely extracts the critical structured and unstructured data found in contracts, connects this data to operational surround systems, and leverages the power of AI to ensure the intent of every contract is fully realized. "Icertis has built a mission critical contract intelligence platform which allows organizations to digitize contracts and generate business insights from contracts using AI. The world's largest corporations, across industries trust Icertis to generate value from their contracts," said Kabir Narang, Founding General Partner at B Capital Group. "At B Capital, we look to back leading enterprise software companies which are digitizing traditional analog workflows enabling collaboration and generating value for businesses. We are excited to deepen our relationship with Icertis and look forward to continue working with their incredible team as they build the contract intelligence platform for the world." CLM is one of the fastest growing enterprise software categories increasingly recognized as a universal, critical asset for businesses of all sizes, across all industries, in every geography. The category has ballooned to an addressable market of over $20B*, growing at a rate of over 35% year-over-year. Due to its bold vision and track record of execution, Icertis is the undisputed leader of this vast, emerging enterprise SaaS category. And, in addition to its commercial momentum, Icertis was named a leader in the recent report, The Forrester Wave: Contract Lifecycle Management For All Contracts, Q1 2021. "It is immensely satisfying to have led the transformation of CLM from a 'nice-to-have' to a 'critical-to-have' software category," said Samir Bodas, CEO and Co-founder, Icertis. "As our company and category enter an exciting new phase with the closing of this new round, Monish and I are also thrilled to welcome Penny and Karyn aboard Team Icertis. We're eminently well-positioned to continue our undisputed leadership. Icertis is clearly out in front and executing on our vision to transform contracting the foundation of commerce and this is just the beginning!" Strengthening the Board Penny Pritzker is an accomplished entrepreneur and civic leader, founder and Chairman of PSP Partners and its affiliates, Pritzker Realty Group, PSP Capital, and PSP Growth. From 2013 through 2017, she served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration. Penny is also a philanthropist, co-founding the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation that works to foster increased economic opportunity for Chicago families. She brings a passion for diversity and drive to build a more inclusive economy to every project and business she supports. In addition, she has served as an advisor to Icertis' board since 2018. "From my experience in business, as well as in government as Secretary of Commerce, I have a deep appreciation for how Icertis is addressing a critical business priority contract intelligence," said Penny Pritzker. "My exposure to the Icertis Advisory Board for the past several years has reinforced to me Icertis' market leadership in a massive and growing global market, as well as its stellar team of smart, dedicated leaders who possess an enduring commitment to strong values and building a great culture. Needless to say, I believe that Icertis has a very bright future." Karyn Smith serves as general counsel, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary for Twilio Inc., the leading cloud communications platform. Karyn has more than 25 years of experience working with high growth, innovative technology companies, including leading Zynga, Inc. and Twilio through initial public offerings in 2011 and 2016, respectively. During her tenure at Twilio, Karyn has helped to lead the company through exponential growth, joining as the first lawyer at the company to leading a global team of more than 90 today. She has been a facilitator and participant in the boardroom for more than 25 years, and will bring her skills in leading IPOs, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management to Icertis' Board. "As a lawyer and corporate leader, I've had the opportunity to help guide many companies through rapid growth and global expansion, while managing risk and compliance. I know first-hand how digitally transforming contracting can benefit companies," said Karyn Smith. "General counsels and C-suite leaders in every industry will increasingly look to their CLM system to strengthen key relationships, respond to new opportunities, and have the visibility into suppliers and agreements today's marketplace demands. I'm excited to work with Samir and the rest of the Board, and I look forward to leveraging my experience to help the Icertis team continue their mission to be the contract intelligence platform of the world." For more information about Icertis, visit our Media Kit. *MGI Research 2019: https://www.mgiresearch.com/research/mgi-forecasts-contract-lifecycle-management-clm-total-addressable-market-tam-forecast-2018-2022/ About Icertis With unmatched technology and category-defining innovation, Icertis pushes the boundaries of what's possible with contract lifecycle management (CLM). The AI-powered, analyst-validated Icertis Contract Intelligence (ICI) platform turns contracts from static documents into strategic advantage by structuring and connecting the critical contract information that defines how an organization runs. Today, the world's most iconic brands and disruptive innovators trust Icertis to govern the rights and commitments in their 10 million+ contracts worth more than $1 trillion, in 40+ languages and 90+ countries. Icertis Media Contact: Haley Flanagan Manager of Corporate Communications, Icertis [email protected] SOURCE Icertis Related Links http://www.icertis.com The disappearance of Sarah Everard in the UK has struck a chord with many Irish women who say they are "exhausted" at having to constantly adapt their behaviour in response to gender-based violence and harassment. 33-year-old Sarah Everard went missing on March 3 after visiting a friend's house in south London. She was last seen on CCTV footage at around 9.30pm. A serving Metropolitan police officer has been arrested on suspicion of her murder, following the discovery of human remains. The case has highlighted the danger women face in their daily lives and prompted an outpouring of stories on social media from Irish women, sharing their experience of having to change their routes to work, or change when they exercise due to violence and harassment at the hands of men. Siobhan Fenton, aged 28, tweeted that over the course of her life there have been at least a dozen times when she has been harassed or assaulted by a stranger in public. I am exhausted with the constant feeling of being unsafe while simply going for a walk and most women I know have had similar experiences, she said. Our lives are made up of constant little calculations and actions to try to survive, while men are never expected to alter their behaviour. It feels particularly stark in the lockdown as so many of the things women do to try to protect ourselves arent possible under public health restrictions- we cant meet indoors, walk home with friends or go to crowded places to try to be safe. So our lives shrink even smaller. My timeline is full of women sharing stories of all the ways we shrink and contort our lives every day to accommodate the threat of male violence. It is so relentless and exhausting. Sending love to everyone feeling heartbroken and shaken at the terrible news about Sarah Everard Siobhan Fenton (@SiobhanFenton) March 10, 2021 With women in the UK reportedly advised "not to go out alone" while Sarah Everard's disappearance is investigated, many women questioned why the onus is always on women to change their behaviour. No it's #NotAllMen but not all women get kidnapped or murdered by men either and yet we are still told to change our behaviour, be more careful, don't wear headphones at night, dress 'appropriately' etc. etc. Why is the onus always on women? Rachel (@ElRacha1) March 10, 2021 Writer Caitlin Moran tweeted: "I am 45 and it is 2021 and I am essentially under a curfew. Like all women. And there are absolutely no exit plans for this. It's just presumed women will stay home when it's dark ... forever." I am 45 and it is 2021 and I am essentially under a curfew. Like all women. And there are absolutely no exit plans for this. It's just presumed women will stay home when it's dark ... forever. Caitlin Moran (@caitlinmoran) March 10, 2021 Being a woman: my "outside" day finishes at sundown. If I haven't taken the dog for a walk/jogged by then, I can't. In the winter, it often means the choice between exercise and work. Today, I had to stop work at 4 to exercise. My husband worked until 6, and is now off for a run." Journalist Roisin Ingle questioned whether more would be done on the issue if it were men that had to restrict their lives for their personal safety. Women & girls in danger. Just going for a walk. At 7.30am in broad daylight or 9pm on the way back home. Old or young. Wearing skirts or trousers. With loads of slap on or none. Scared to walk. Scared to run. If men were scared like this would something be done? #SarahEverard Roisin Ingle (@roisiningle) March 10, 2021 As women shared their anger and fear in response to the case, the #NotAllMen hashtag began trending. Kildare women Karen Mulreid tweeted: "Whenever a woman is murdered men arrive to tell us 'Not all men' and then immediately tell us not to walk alone at night because of the risk from men." "So which is it - safe because 'not all men' or unsafe because all men are a risk? Which is it?" Irish writer Jane Casey pointed out that statistically, women are most in danger of violence in their own home or from partners/ex-partners, "but no one asks why we risk living with men." Tough day on Twitter. All the brave women I know on here and in real life whose lights have been dimmed for a moment or a month or a lifetime by the bad sort of man, the one you can't trust, who looks like all the good men until he doesn't. Jane Casey (@JaneCaseyAuthor) March 10, 2021 A survey of almost 31,000 people across 40 countries by market research and polling giant WIN International in 2019 found that Ireland had the highest level of claimed sexual harassment in Europe. Almost a third (32%) of Irish women between the ages of 18 and 34 surveyed said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the 12 months prior to the survey. Ireland's rate of claimed sexual harassment among women in this age group was double that of the United Kingdom and more than twice the global average. If your response to the #SarahEverard case is to say #notallmen then youre part of the problem. Do we really have to raise our daughters to be careful to walk home at night? Because they might get murdered? This is a man problem. We need to own it, challenge it and change it. Aodhan O Riordain (@AodhanORiordain) March 11, 2021 In response to the #NotAllMen hashtag, Labour TD Aodhan O Riordain said "This is a man problem. We need to own it, challenge it and change it." Belfast-based photographer Vanessa Ifediora said one way for men to tackle the issue is to start talking to their friends. Every woman has a story yet men dont seem to know any predators. We already take every imaginable precaution, you need talk to your mates Scorp:igbo (@VanessaIfeoma) March 10, 2021 In response to Ms Everards disappearance, broadcaster Louise McSharry tweeted it is absolutely exhausting to be a woman and reshared a piece she wrote in 2017 in response to the #MeToo movement. I wrote this in 2017, wearily referencing women having done the same outpouring of horrific experiences with men in 2014, and before that again, and here we are doing it again in 2021. Can you see why were tired? she asked I could literally write this again today. When will we confront the fact that male violence needs to be dealt with via a new approach that starts early in their lives? There is something wrong here, something terribly wrong, and women cant solve it because god knows weve tried. pic.twitter.com/lgwAeAHBjR Louise McSharry (@louisemcsharry) March 11, 2021 While broadcaster Dearbhail McDonald tweeted "if its too unsafe for women to walk alone, day or night, the problem is not women." A vigil entitled 'Reclaim these streets' is due to take place at Clapham Common, where Ms Everard went missing, at 6pm on Saturday. Organisers said it's wrong that the response to violence against women requires women to behave differently. "In Clapham, police told women not to go out at night this week. Women are not the problem." "We've all been following the tragic case of Sarah Everard over the last week. This is a vigil for Sarah, but also for all women who feel unsafe, who go missing from our streets and who face violence every day." Watertown, NY (13601) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. -- Further supporting the clinical validation of lead microRNA candidate INT-1B3 in solid tumors -- InteRNA Technologies, a clinical-stage biotech company developing microRNA (miRNA)-based therapeutics with a focus on cancer, today announced that it was awarded a Clinical Innovation Credit of 2.7 Million from the Dutch government. This award will support the clinical validation of the Company's lead candidate, INT-1B3, for the treatment of solid tumors. The funding is granted by the 'Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland'/The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. The Clinical Innovation Credit aims to fund Dutch clinical development projects that have a highly innovative character and strong commercial potential. The projects have to be focused on the development of new products, processes or services. "The support we receive from our government through this funding recognizes the innovative character and commercial outlook of our lead program, both key prerequisites to qualify for the awarded credit," said Roel Schaapveld, CEO of InteRNA Technologies. "The Clinical Innovation Credit complements our recently closed Series B round, enabling us to execute our clinical development plan for INT-1B3 towards the treatment of more advanced stages of solid tumors for which there currently are no adequate treatments available." Recently, InteRNA announced the dosing of the first patient in the first-in-human trial for INT-1B3, which is conducted in several clinical study centers located in the Netherlands and Belgium. Topline results from the dose escalation part of the study are expected by the end of 2021. About INT-1B3 INT-1B3's unique mechanism of action addresses multiple hallmarks of cancer simultaneously. It directly targets tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment by specific modulation of multiple signaling pathway components across the PTEN tumor suppressor pathway and the oncogenic PI3K/Akt and Ras/MAPK pathways resulting in inhibition of proliferation and migration and induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The triggering of the immunogenic tumor cell death (ICD) process as well as downregulation of the adenosine-A2A receptor pathway through inhibition of CD39/CD73 leads to a decrease in immunosuppressive FoxP3/Lag3 regulatory T cells and monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (mMDSCs), and maturation of dendritic cells. As a result, the immune system is activated, and long-term immunity is triggered by recruitment of CD8+ effector T cells leading to decreased metastasis development and improved animal survival compared to anti-PD1 treatment in preclinical models. About InteRNA Technologies InteRNA is a Dutch clinical-stage biotech company developing a pipeline of proprietary microRNA (miRNA) therapeutics targeting key processes in initiation and progression of human diseases, with a focus on cancer. Selected through InteRNA's leading miRNA discovery and functional validation platform and enabled with a 3rd-generation drug delivery formulation, these miRNA compounds can mount a coordinated anti-cancer attack by engaging multiple signal transduction targets simultaneously. With this approach, we address the high need for novel therapeutics with improved efficacy and less prone to drug-acquired resistance that will benefit cancer patients. About RVO The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) stimulates entrepreneurs in sustainable, agricultural, innovative and international business. It is a government agency which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. Its activities are commissioned by the various ministries and the European Union. The Innovation credit of RVO focuses on the development of promising and challenging innovations with an excellent market perspective. See also: https://english.rvo.nl/subsidies-programmes/innovation-credit View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005064/en/ Contacts: InteRNA Technologies Dr. Roel Schaapveld, CEO Phone: +31 (0)30 760 7621 E-mail: schaapveld@interna-technologies.com Trophic Communications Marie Weickert or Stephanie May Phone: +49 151 598 624 18 E-mail: interna@trophic.eu LONDON Ill say this for the pandemic: Its brought acting talent together and into your living room in ways that might not have seemed possible previously. That sense was probably shared by many on a Sunday night in November when Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench participated in a Zoom event titled One Knight Only, which was facilitated by another, younger member of Britains acting nobility, Kenneth Branagh. There, sharing a single screen, were four octogenarians each a knight or a dame and a winner of Tony and Olivier Awards and heaven knows how many other accolades. Gathered for an online conversation in aid of charity, the quartet embodied a lifelong devotion to the theater that has found time for screen renown as well. The realization that the pandemic and advancing age have significantly reduced the already scarce opportunities to see these actors onstage again gave the occasion an underlying piquancy. How glorious, then, to clock their interplay, McKellen taking the reins as a raconteur, with a puckish Jacobi, nattily dressed, not far behind. Dench leaned into the screen as if Zoom were some inconvenience keeping her from sharing an actual space with friends, while Smith, notably more reticent, seemed to pull back from her screen. The conversation ranged from life during lockdown (McKellen has been painting) to their attitude toward critics and on to embarrassing onstage moments and roles they might like to play now. Anything, Dench said. I would be pleased to be cast in anything. All four belong to a tradition in British acting where theater was what you did and anything else was a happy add-on. Smith, alone among them, won the first of two Oscars (for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) when still in her 30s, while the others took far longer to become known overseas the way they had long been at home. Whether in college and drama school or covering the expanse of Britains once-storied network of regional theaters, these players cut their teeth on theater and waited for the screen to recognize the gifts already well known to live audiences. (More than once I have taken a seat aboard a trans-Atlantic flight only to find a smiling McKellen on video, advising me on in-flight protocol.) Michael Youssef: 'Woke' culture creeping into evangelical church is 'deadly' for the Gospel of Christ Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Egyptian-American Pastor Michael Youssef has issued a strong condemnation of woke pastors within evangelical churches, warning that spewing far-left ideology from the pulpit is deadly as far as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned. In an interview with The Christian Post, the 72-year-old pastor of the 3,000-member Church of The Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, recalled how, as an Episcopal priest in the 1980s, he watched with dismay as the mainline Episcopal denomination slowly moved away from biblical principles, eventually voting to approve same-sex marriage in the denomination. But in recent years, Youssef told CP that hes seen the same subtle bend toward leftist ideology slowly permeating the wider evangelical church. Those same battles that I fought in the mainline denominations are now invading the evangelical churches, he said. Its the same arguments, the same lingo, and the same words repeating themselves with such precision I am deeply, deeply concerned. According to Youssef, who also founded the Leading The Way television ministry, more and more pastors are falling into the trap of woke culture because its popular and appeals to the flesh. Bowing to woke culture allows you to avoid rejection by culture and society, he said. Its a very, very popular message that is now being preached from many evangelical pulpits; traditionally Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches. We have gone so far that it just grieves me to the point that I literally sometimes just weep tears. Ive always believed, as goes the pulpit, so goes the pew. As goes the pew, so goes the culture," he continued. "As a pastor, I put the full blame on us, right in our laps, because we want to be liked, loved, and followed on social media by millions of people. Pastors are the culprits. We need to be about Jesus, not about being liked, because that is deadly as far as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned. In his latest book, Hope for This Present Crisis: The Seven-Step Path to Restoring a World Gone Mad, Youssef provides a diagnosis of the insanity of the culture and a concise seven-step prescription for restoring sanity to a world gone mad. His heart, he told CP, is especially burdened for young pastors and ministry leaders who are tempted to waver from biblical truth amid societal pressure. Young pastors must realize that this is a deception. It's very subtle and very clever, but it's a deception nonetheless, he continued. And that is the burden that God laid on my heart to such a point I just couldn't sleep. I had to address it. I believe people are in a state of confusion and need a clear word from Scripture. Youssef, who was born on the African continent, said that one example of bowing to woke culture is the increased popularity of Critical Race Theory,even in the Church. The theory utilizes race as the lens through which every area of life is examined, categorizing everyone into oppressor and oppressed groups. Its a very Marxist ideology that people are taking very seriously, he said. The idea of the oppressed and the oppressors is not that simple. Now we have private Christian schools here in Atlanta where white children are apologizing to black kids. Apologizing for what? They are innocent; they havent done anything. It's crazy; it's just going insane. The pastor identified several signs a pastor is abandoning biblical truth, from failing to preach the whole Word of God to bowing toward moral relativism and demonstrating hesitation to "offend" anyone. If someone is saying, There are many ways to God, you run out of there as fast as you can, he said. If they say, We need to ditch the Old Testament, you need to run out of there as fast as you can. Because the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the inspired Word of God. A grandfather of 11, the pastor warned that if the Church fails to adhere to biblical truth, the consequences will be devastating for future generations. He compared child-rearing to a three-legged stool, stressing the importance of a healthy home, church, and school environment. The home is number one, the church is number two and school is number three, he said. Even if the school is working against the kids, if they have the strength in the home and in the church, they will make it. But when the church avoids talking about issues or goes along with culture, then kids are confused." Satan is working overtime to deceive children," Youssef said, adding: If these words are terrifying, I'm glad they are because it's time for us to build the fences around our children and their hearts and seal them with the Holy Spirit. Children must know that there is a Satan and he hates God, he hates Gods children, and hes conspiring against them every minute of every day. Therefore, they have to galvanize themselves with the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, in order to fight. Youssef understands firsthand the pressure to bow to culture. Growing up in Egypt, Christianity was under severe persecution from Islamic extremists, he said. As a result, he was continually trained at home for how to stand up for the faith and not be deceived. I knew that, though they might offer me jobs, money, prestigious scholarships to convert to Islam, I had to stand strong, he said. So I grew up with it. And what Im trying to do is say to the next generation, Expect to be aliens and sojourners. This is not our home. Jesus places us here to be a light to this dark world, not to be part of the darkness.' Through his book, Youssef hopes to encourage those who love Jesus to be encouraged and motivated to stand up and not to be afraid, and compel those teetering to find the strength and courage to stand for the truth of the Gospel. We must take charge, he said. Christians have abandoned so many areas of society, from media and the classroom. Instead of withdrawing, we need to go and invade these areas and take them for Christ and not be afraid. We are on the right side. We have read the last chapter, and it says we will win. Hope for This Present Crisis is available now through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BAM, ChristianBook.com, and Leading The Way. DALLAS, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) announced today that it is a Managed Security Service Partner (MSSP) with IronNet, the leading provider of network detection and response (NDR) and collective defense. Jacobs and IronNet will work together to develop an end-to-end solution designed to detect and prevent damaging and difficult-to-detect cyberattacks that continue to plague organizations across public and private sectors. "Our partnership with IronNet Cybersecurity Inc. forms a unique offering to navigate the complexities of the cyberthreat landscape," said Critical Mission Solutions Senior Vice President of Cyber & Intelligence Caesar Nieves. "Leveraging IronNet's advanced collective defense capabilities with ours will help us stay one step ahead of the growing threat of cyberattacks as we anticipate and meet the national security challenges of the future." IronNet merges industry-leading cybersecurity products with unrivaled customer service to deliver advanced real-time defense across global private and public sectors. Going beyond signature-based detection, IronNet delivers visibility to see unknown threats across the entire enterprise. "The Jacobs-IronNet partnership represents a powerful combination that will help more organizations detect and prevent sophisticated and damaging nation state cyberattacks, a challenge that has become even more critical following the recent SolarWinds/SUNBURST supply chain attack," said IronNet founder and co-CEO General (Ret.) Keith Alexander. "These types of attacks are extremely stealthy, and difficult to detect and a Collective Defense strategy provides an effective way to share and receive advanced, real-time information about these behaviors so organizations can take action more quickly." Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. The joint offering of Jacobs and IronNet advancements in machine learning and AI provides cutting edge cyber defense detection to discover both known and unknown cyber threats, allowing a more thorough approach to network security for their clients. At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $14 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company's business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 2, 2020, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 1, 2021, and in particular the discussions contained under Part I, Item 2 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; Part II, Item 1 - Legal Proceedings; and Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law. For press/media inquiries: Kerrie Sparks 214.583.8433 SOURCE Jacobs Related Links http://www.jacobs.com Acting Premier James Merlino went on the front foot over the half-price flights initiative on Thursday. Credit:Joe Armao Epping Gardens, one of the worst-hit aged care homes in the state during the second wave of the coronavirus and the subject of a class action, was placed under temporary lockdown as health authorities undertook further testing. The positive test was later deemed to be as a result of shedding, meaning the resident was no longer infectious and restrictions were lifted at the home by 6pm. Mr Merlinos disappointment on the travel package was matched by his counterparts in NSW, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted the 14 airports were only an initial list which would probably grow once the travel industry responded to the announcement. The 50 per cent discount on the airfare gets combined with a hotel deal, a tour out on the reef or wherever you happen to go, and you package it up, and thats how the travel industry works and theyre very, very good at it, he said. In the absence of Premier Daniel Andrews, who faces an extended recovery period after breaking ribs and fracturing a vertebra, Mr Merlinos offensive was backed up by Tourism Minister Martin Pakula, who said he would be writing to Mr Tehan. Somewhere in the Canberra bubble there seems to be a misunderstanding of how Victorian tourism works, and a failure to understand that capital cities have felt the absence of international visitors every bit as much as the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and the Whitsundays, Mr Pakula wrote on Twitter. We want to get Aussie visitors to our ski fields, our wineries, our hotels, our restaurants and laneway bars, our rugged coastline and our incredible regional culinary and cultural offerings. But this inequitable package from the Commonwealth doesnt do it, and it needs to change. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The NSW government complained that Queensland was getting an unfair share of the program especially given its record on snap border closures and childish behaviour over quarantine bills. Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said that unlike some states, NSW has always acted in the national interest and shouldnt be subsiding the economies of others. NSW had avoided snap border closures, Mr Perrottet said but Queensland was now being rewarded by the federal government despite not striking the balance between protecting people and saving jobs. Announcing the package on Thursday morning, Mr Morrison repeated his message to state governments that vaccinations had changed the threat of COVID-19 in 2021. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and deputy Michael McCormack want a less conservative borders approach. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen For this to work best the states have to keep their borders open, he said. Mr Morrisons deputy Michael McCormack went further, demanding premiers avoid knee-jerk, hasty decisions at a moments notice to have snap border closures. Mr McCormack signalled that there could be an extension to the program, with more destinations added at a later date. The keyword there is initial, he said. So well look at what we can do and well work with the airlines. Well work with the tourism operators to see what other destinations may well be potentially added to the list. James Merlino will likely be deputising in Premier Daniel Andrews absence for several weeks. Credit:Joe Armao Mr Joyce said all state leaders had told him that the risk of borders closing would be extremely low once phases 1a and 1b of the vaccination program made up of seven million high-risk people including hotel quarantine workers plus aged care residents and staff were completed. Federal Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy said on Wednesday that he was aiming for phase 1 to be completed by the middle of the year before the entire population is vaccinated by October. The Victorian government will release its latest batch of $200 travel vouchers on Friday, which for the first time will be allowed to be used in Melbourne as well as the regions. Loading Victorian businesses suffered as the state shut its border to New South Wales over the Christmas period and most jurisdictions closed to Victoria during last months five-day lockdown. Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani pointed to those as evidence Australians remained reluctant to travel and risk being at the other side of a snap border closure. This federal package fails to address the key issue of consumer confidence, she said. Mr Merlino said discussions were ongoing at national cabinet regarding border guidelines but we want our borders to be open. His scepticism on the federal tourism package was echoed by Accommodation Australia chief executive Dean Long, who said capital cities such as Melbourne, where 80 per cent of the market was from international and corporate travellers, needed more immediate support with hotels running at less than 10 per cent capacity. Justin Giddings, chief executive of Avalon Airport Victorias big winner from the federal announcement told The Age that he disagreed with Mr Merlinos logic. When we do catchment surveys, Im always surprised by the number of people from Melbourne and beyond about 55 per cent of arrivals go on to Melbourne, he said. Victoria only has two main airports, Mildura could be included perhaps but none of Australias other capital cities have been included in the program. Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra questioned why Tasmania got the first-class treatment of three airports compared with Victorias one. As good as coming into Avalon is it doesnt help the CBD, it doesnt help the Mornington Peninsula, it doesnt help East Gippsland, he said. For the last week, Eddie Louise Horace and her grandkids have found shelter at a Del Mar church. Before that, they had been in motel rooms. And when the money ran out, they started living out of her car. Horace and the little ones are among those who can count on a safe place and warm food, at least for the next few months, now that a few houses of faith have opened their doors to provide winter shelter. Sleeping in that car with two kids, one on the seat, one on the floor, you having to wake up to see who is around you really cant sleep but you have to sleep, Horace said. Here, I feel safe. We are inside, its not cold, Im able to rest. We are able to be together. Being able to shower is a big deal, Horace said. Being able to go to the bathroom is a huge deal. And being able to get a hot meal is critical. When you are sleeping in your car, you dont have access to those things. Advertisement The churches and synagogues are part of the Interfaith Shelter Network, which teams with about 60 houses of faith throughout the region to provide winter shelter to those in need, two weeks at a time. Another 60 congregations work in support of the network. Its everyone working together to provide shelter for homeless people in San Diego, said Bill Zucconi, rotational shelter coordinator for the network. 1 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace with her grandchildren Crescent Swift, 4, and Kenaze Swift, 5, left, while on Horaces bed at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Del Mar. Horace and her grandchildren, who are homeless, slept in her car before being able to stay at the church through the winter rotational shelter program. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace and her grandchildren Kenaze Swift, 5, left, and Crescent Swift, 4, make a tower out of building blocks at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace and her grandchildren Kenaze Swift, 5, right, and Crescent Swift, 4, make a tower out of building blocks at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace and her grandchildren Kenaze Swift, 5, left, and Crescent Swift, 4, make a tower out of building blocks at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace, left, and church member and volunteer Deborah Farrell serve themselves dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 17 Crescent Swift, 4, holds hands with her grandmother Eddie Louise Horace and church member and volunteer Jeff Dysart as they, other church volunteers, and people who run the winter rotational shelter program, say a blessing before eating dinner. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 17 Kenaze Swift, 5, drinks iced tea as he, his sister, and grandmother, eat dinner at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace and her grandchildren Kenaze Swift, 5, center, and Crescent Swift, 4, eat dinner at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 17 Crescent Swift, 4, eats a slice of an orange as she, her brother, and grandmother, eat dinner at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace and her grandchildren Kenaze Swift, 5, right, and Crescent Swift, 4, draw with crayons at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace and her grandchildren Kenaze Swift, 5, left, and Crescent Swift, 4, draw with crayons at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace and her granddaughter Crescent Swift, 4, draw with crayons at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace draws with crayons as her granddaughter Crescent Swift, 4, watches. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace plays with her grandson Kenaze Swift, 5, as her granddaughter Crescent Swift, 4, draws with crayons. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace looks at the beds that her two grandchildren will sleep in at St. Peters Episcopal Church. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace plays with her grandchildren Crescent Swift, 4, left, and Kenaze Swift, 5, while Horace sits on her bed at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Del Mar. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 17 Eddie Louise Horace plays with her grandchildren Crescent Swift, 4, and Kenaze Swift, 5, right, while on Horaces bed at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Del Mar. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) The shelters are divided into seven regions around the county. Some, like the North Coastal region stretching from Del Mar to Oceanside, are already open. Others will not be open until after Christmas. Its hard enough to find congregations with the space and people to do the job; doing it during the holidays is that much more difficult. The North Coastal region is one of the larger ones, with 11 faith congregations willing to host families in their facilities for two weeks at a stretch. St. Peters Episcopal Church was among the first to open this year, providing space last week. The church shelter serving the beach areas Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and such have also opened for the year, as has the East County region. Inland North County, which will serve Escondido and more, is slated to start Nov. 20. The network has been around for 32 years. St. Peters has been a part of it for 17 years. Its a beloved ministry at this congregation, said Chistina Grobin, who coordinates the shelter network for the church. The congregations are responsible for everything during their two-week turn. Its Grobins job to recruit teams to cook, or set up the facility with beds and privacy curtains, or to stay with the families overnight. Advertisement Each of the families or individuals lucky enough to land in the rotational program are pre-screened by professional case management agencies, including Community Resource Center in Encinitas, which worked with Horace. As of last Tuesday, the waiting list for was a little more than a dozen people, but it will get up there once it starts to get colder, said Miranda Chavez, who is the integrative services program manager for the Community Resource Center. Preference, she said, is given to families, but individuals do land beds as well. Two people, including an overnight caregiver, were also given beds at St. Peters. Finding enough churches to participate can be a challenge. Add to that the hepatitis A outbreak hitting San Diego County. As of Tuesday, 544 cases of the highly contagious virus had been reported. Twenty people have died, and 372 people had been hospitalized. This year, the hepatitis A scare led two churches to take a hiatus from the program, one in La Jolla, one in East County. It also led the network to require that all of the people receiving shelter provide proof that they have had the hepatitis A vaccine. Advertisement Horace made her way to a county clinic to get the shot. (The kids were already vaccinated.) But she said it was easy, and worth it. She also said the outbreak led her to decide to forego other shelters and sleep in the car. Its one thing to be homeless, she said. Its another thing to be sick and homeless. As Horace spoke Tuesday, her grandchildren Crescent Swift, 4, and Kenaze Swift, 5 -- played across the room, building a castle with large Lego-style blocks. When they are with their grandmother, they nuzzle in quickly. Advertisement We have been treated with dignity and self respect, Horace said of the people at the host church. We are not shunned, were not looked down upon. Its been a really loving, supportive, caring environment. And as for moving to a new host church every two weeks, Horace said she is fine with that. The kids are OK, as well. As far as the kids go, I just let them know, Hey, we are together. I am here for you. I am not going to leave you. Im going to be here for you, she said. I just give them a lot of comfort and assurance that we are going to get through this together. Advertisement teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com Advertisement (760) 529-4945 Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Damascus (AsiaNews) The street riots in March 2011 during the Arab Spring protests have creating a tragic situation. The country has been devasted with millions of refugees, while 60 per cent of the population is food-insecure. A local crisis has turned into a proxy war between regional and world powers waged on the backs of the people. Here are the main stages of the Syrian conflict: March 2011 Uprising Protests break out after years of repressive rule by Assad. Despite the regimes violent crackdown protests continue. An armed rebellion erupts with support from Western and Arab countries. The rebels seize large swathes of territory, including the centre of third city Homs and a chunk of Aleppo, Syria's business capital. In October 2011, Syrian opposition leaders meet in Istanbul to declare the creation of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC). Hundreds are killed and thousands wounded. 2012 Proxy war In March 2012, the regime retakes Homs. FSA fighters launch the battle for Damascus in July, but the regime retains control of the capital, with rebels seizing some suburbs. In July, Kurdish militias take control of Afrin, Kobane, and Amuda. World powers meet in Geneva and agree on the need for a political transition, but their divisions undermine UN-sponsored peace efforts. SNC turns into the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. More than 100 countries recognise it as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Aid agencies are overwhelmed with refugees in Lebanon and Iraq. 2013 Ghouta and chemical weapons Regime helicopters and planes begin air strikes, often with barrel bombs, on opposition and rebel areas. Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah deploys fighters to back the Syrian regime. Iran also boosts its support for Assad. A chemical attack on two rebel and opposition-held areas in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus reportedly kills more than 1,400 people. The regime denies responsibility. US and Russia (Obama and Putin) agree to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons arsenal. An estimated 1.5 million Syrians have become refugees. 2014 Islamic State group An al Qaeda splinter group seizes eastern Raqqa city in June 2014 before grabbing swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq, declaring a new caliphate and renaming itself the Islamic State (or Daesh). Washington builds an anti-Daesh coalition under the Syrian Democratic Forces, primarily driven by the Kurdish YPG. This creates friction with its NATO ally Turkey. Syria's war grows bloodier with the UN estimating that 6.5 million people are internally displaced, and more than three million displaced out of Syria. 2015 Moscow joins in Assad's forces lose ground to armed opposition while rebel groups seize Idlib. Dissidents and rebels come together in Saudi Arabia to form the High Negotiations Committee (HNC). It does not however include separate opposition groups in Cairo and Moscow. Russia joins the war on Assad's side, deploying warplanes and giving military aid that soon, with the help of Iran. turns the course of conflict decisively against the rebels. Three-year-old Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi drowns along with his brother and mother in the Mediterranean Sea off the Turkish coast. Images of his body washed ashore spark global outcry, turning him into the symbol of the refugees trying to leave Turkey for Europe. 2016 Erdogan, the new sultan Alarmed by PKK/YPG advances nears its southern border, Turkish President Recep Erdogan launches Operation Euphrates Shield with FSA rebels, carving a new zone of Turkish control that is extended in 2018 to northwestern Afrin. The Syrian regime and its allies defeat rebels in their biggest urban base of Aleppo after months of siege and bombardment. War has displaced almost six million Syrians. 2017 US and Israeli missiles Israel acknowledges having conducted air strikes against Lebanese Hezbollah fighters in Syria, to reduce Irans influence in Syria and the region. Washington launches a first cruise missile attack on a Syrian regime airbase near Homs after an alleged poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun. Kurdish and US forces defeat Daesh in Raqqa. The caliphate is left with few cells and isolated groups in desert areas. The Cairo and Moscow opposition groups join the Saudi-based HNC, which is renamed the Syrian Negotiation Commission. 2018 Russian-Turkish deal over Idlib After months of blockade and intensive aerial raids, the Russian-backed Syrian regime recaptures Eastern Ghouta. A Russian-Turkish deal over Idlib and the rebel-held northwest freezes the frontlines and areas of influence. Hundreds of civilians die in the last major opposition bastion. Turkey along with mercenaries and extremist Islamic groups seize Afrin from Kurdish forces. The number of displaced people reaches 6.2 million. 2019 Partial US pullout US forces retake the last Daesh-controlled area, in the east. The US decides partial withdrawal, but leaves some troops in oil-rich north-eastern Syria. Some analysts expect more violence following Trumps disengagement. A Russian-Turkish summit in October reduces fighting but truce doesnt last as Moscow resumes the assault against last bastion of the anti-Assad opposition. Ankara launches Operation Peace Spring in October targeting PKK/YPG forces in Syria, taking control of a 120-km-long strip along its border that runs 30-km into Syria. Approximately 11.7 million Syrians are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. There are more than 6.2 million internally displaced Syrians. A whole generation of children was born during the war and has known only war. 2020 Turkey escalates in Syria President Erdogan ratches up Turkeys military involvement in Syria, deploying armed drones after 34 Turkish soldiers are killed by Syrian forces. The Assad regime suffers heavy losses, including over 3,000 soldiers, 151 tanks, eight helicopters, three drones, and three fighter jets. A ceasefire is finally reached in March 2020 in Idlib that still holds, despite occasional violent incidents. Some 6.7 million Syrians are displaced. The humanitarian and economic crisis, tied to that in Lebanon, gets worse. 2021 A heavy toll Since the first uprising in March 2011, 12 million Syrians have become displaced. Some 5.6 million refugees are spread around the world, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Around 6.2 million people are internally displaced. Some 12.4 million Syrians, nearly 60 per cent of the population, are now food-insecure. More than 400,000 people are dead. Lucknow, March 11 : Ayush Kishore, the son of BJP MP Kaushal, who has been absconding after being allegedly shot on March 3, had filed an application for surrender in a Lucknow court. The Mandiaon police have informed the court that it has no objection to Ayush's surrender. The matter has been listed for Friday in court and Ayush is expected to surrender on Thursday. Ayush was shot at on the night of March 2 and his brother-in-law Adarsh was arrested by the police after he was seen in the CCTV footage. While the police had stated that the 'attack' on Ayush was 'staged' and the latter had gone missing from the hospital after getting first aid, Ayush later sent a video message in which he blamed his wife, Ankita, for 'honey-trapping' him. "The attack on me on the night of March 2 was an attempt to kill me. I am prepared to answer all questions of the police," said Ayush. He said that he had met Ankita seven months ago and fell love with her. He married her against the wishes of his parents. Ayush said that he even emotionally blackmailed his father by sitting on the railway track and threatening to commit suicide. He said: "Girls like Ankita honeytrap boys from well-to-do families." His wife Ankita, meanwhile, accused the police of acting under pressure from the BJP MP. She has demanded a narco-test of Ayush and his family members to ascertain the truth. "I do not have faith in the state police and want the matter to be given to the CBI so that the truth can be known to all. As for my son who was born before we got married, I want a DNA test to be done to confirm his paternity," she told reporters. She also denied Ayush's charges that she had drugged him before the incident and wanted to eliminate him. "I am willing to give the food samples for examination," she said. She further alleged that the police had not registered her complaint against Ayush and she was made to sit in the police station all night. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Chennai, March 11 : With the conciliation meeting between bank unions and the Central government failing, about 10 lakh bank employees will strike work for two continuous days - March 15 and 16 - protesting against the government decision to privatise public sector banks, the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said on Thursday. According to AIBEA General Secretary C. H.Venkatachalam, the conciliation meeting held between the bank unions and the Union Finance Ministry on March 4, 9 and 10 failed. The unions said they would reconsider their strike call if the government agrees to reconsider their decision to privatise public sector banks. As the Finance Ministry representative could not give any such commitment, the conciliation meeting did not yield any positive result, they said. Injured Chief Minister on Thursday vowed to get back to canvassing for the upcoming Assembly elections within the next couple of days. Releasing a video clip from her hospital bed at SSKM where she was rushed to late Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress supremo said: "I received injuries in my leg and ligaments. Hopefully I will be discharged in a couple of days. "There will be problems in my leg but I shall not cancel any of my political programmes. I will take part in the campaigns on a wheelchair, if necessary". She also appealed to all her party workers and supporters to maintain discipline and peace across the state. "I urge everyone not to indulge in any action that will disrupt normal life," he added. Banerjee hoped that she would be able to get back to her work in the next two-three days. "I will manage it. I will not waste any of my scheduled meetings," she promised. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Bengal unit on Thursday demanded a high-level probe into the incident in which had received leg injuries on Wednesday evening. A delegation led by BJP leader Sabyasachi Dutta and Shisir Bajoria went to the office of the Election Commission (EC) and demanded release of the original footage of the incident and the place of occurrence. "We demand the immediate release of the video footage of the incident. If that is not done the EC will be held responsible for the entire security lapse. If the chief minster of the state is not secure then what about the security of common voters in Bengal during the elections," said Dutta, praying for the Trinamool chief's speedy recovery. Purba Medinipur's District Magistrate Vibhu Guel, police superintendent Praveen Prakash and the state's deputy inspector general of police (DIG-Midnapore range) Kunal Agarwal on Thursday visited the spot near Birulia Anchal. They also spoke to locals and recorded the eyewitness' versions. --IANS sbn/in Nicola Sturgeon was today accused of sharing a platform with a controversial Iranian cleric who once compared gay marriage to bestiality. The First Minister pulled out of appearing alongside Dr Mohammad Shomali at the the annual Peace and Unity conference in Glasgow in 2019 after his 2016 comments were revealed. But according to the Jewish Chronicle today she had already appeared with him at the same event in 2018, when the Shia cleric was also among the speakers. In 2016 Dr Shomali, a former UK representative of supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei, published an essay based on a lecture given in 2007. In the footnotes to a section on 'moral principles' he wrote: 'A hundred years ago it would have been unthinkable for gay marriages to be sanctioned. 'It makes us think about where the boundaries will be drawn on what is and is not acceptable. Perhaps a day will come where some will desire marriage with animals.' Ms Sturgeon pictured with Dr Mohammad Shomali (far left) at the the annual Peace and Unity conference, in a picture on its Facebook page He was in the audience (middle right) as she gave a speech to the event, but she pulled out the following year A Scottish Government spokeswoman told the Jewish Chronicle: 'Ministers are absolutely committed to a welcoming and inclusive country where everyone can celebrate their identity, regardless of background, culture, religion or sexual orientation. 'Hate, prejudice or discrimination of any kind have no place in modern Scotland.' The SNP has been approached for comment. Ms Sturgeon and Iain Livingstone, the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, had both been slated to appear at the 2019 event. But both pulled out citing diary clashes after being made aware of Dr Shomali's previous comments on homosexuality. Dr Shomali is the the resident Imam and director of the Islamic Centre of England. He is a graduate of the Islamic Seminaries of Qum in Iran, and has a PHD from the University of Manchester, according to its website. It comes weeks after Twitter removed a slew of accounts that were promoting Scottish independence that were linked to the Iranian and Russian governments. More than two dozen accounts were deleted for efforts to 'manipulate the platform', the firm said, There is no suggestion any of these accounts were linked to Scottish independence supporters or Dr Shomali. Media billionaire Bruce Gordon will continue his push for a Nine Entertainment Co board seat after securing rights to air its programming in regional markets, in a move that triggered a steep fall in the share price of current affiliate Southern Cross Media. Mr Gordon is Nines largest shareholder with a 14.94 per cent stake held in his investment vehicle Birketu. The deal will allow Mr Gordons WIN Corp network to broadcast programs such as Married at First Sight and The Block in regional markets. But the news hit shares in Nines existing regional broadcast partner Southern Cross Media Group, which closed 10 per cent lower at $1.97. WIN TV owner Bruce Gordon is Nines biggest shareholder. Credit:Sylvia Liber In a statement Mr Gordon said the deal brings about an alignment between WINs broadcast business and Birketus investment business. Nine is the owner of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. NIST tackles video analytics for public safety The National Institute of Standards and Technology is testing a tool that could make it easier for the public-safety community to prototype cutting-edge analytics on streaming video. The Analytics Container Environment (ACE), being developed to support NISTs Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division, provides a modular framework for running containerized analytics on streaming video. Essentially, it could be used to detect footage of erupting fires, fights or other emergencies that demand swift public-safety response. If theres a crowd suddenly gathering or a fight breaking out, or a person falls down for no apparent reason, those are important things you would want somebody to notice, said James Horan, the ACE project lead. Everybody says they have tons of cameras and nobody to watch them, so [this is] the idea of a detector being able to flag a camera and say, Hey, theres a fight starting on Camera 27. You may want to look at this. Work on ACE started in 2016, when NISTs Information Access Division in Gaithersburg, Md., began working with PSCR in Boulder, Colo., on the Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program (PSAIP). PSCR was looking for projects that would support public-safety priorities, one of which is improved analytics, Horan said. ACE aims to provide a way to incorporate different standalone algorithms or systems into what he called a single testbed for comparing, testing and tweaking. The tricky part was getting the right data to test. Because privacy is of utmost importance, the videos could not show any identifiable information, such as faces. Horan and his team started with data already in use at NIST. It wasnt public-safety data, but it provided a way to wring out the system, he said. One of the things we looked at was cameras that had just traffic -- cars that were going by that you couldnt recognize, you couldnt see license plates. So far, the team has not been able to run tests with public-safety data. Houston and Baltimore were onboard with participating, but other city needs took precedence, Horan said. Still, testing is ongoing. The team is currently focused on incorporating analytics at the edge. The environment is designed to be scalable so it can run on a small computing platform next to a camera with some storage, Horan said. Additionally, they can use ACE to test simulated impairments to networks, such as how analytics will be affected when a camera needs to increase compression because its sensing a drop in frame rate. In a perfect world, we would set this up in a public-safety space, and they would have a monitor that would show detections and perhaps pop-up cameras to show them what it was detecting, Horan said. We want to demonstrate analytics and show them how it would work because were trying to get both sides towards the middle: explain to the public-safety guys what the importance from the scientific side is and to the scientific side, were trying to explain what the operational side is. Another project goal was to make ACE open source so that others could use it. For example, public-safety organizations that want to fuse an object motion detector and a person detector can put those analytics in as modular pieces and connect them either sequentially or in parallel, depending on the application, and return meaningful results. Additionally, analytics come in many forms. From PSAIP, Horans team received Docker containers and entire systems in Linux environments, he said. By being modular, they could wrap whatever they got in a standardized way. I like to call it the Swiss Army knife because you can do a lot of different stuff with it. It was modular by definition, Horan said of ACE. Currently, cloud is not part of ACE, but it could be, Horan said -- as long as public-safety agencies can use it. For many, thats not realistic. When 5G arrives, he said, we may be able to build a distributed computing environment made of ACE nodes closer to the edge and have forward-deployed analytics. Horan said setting up an experiment with Houston is still an option and that he has been talking with the New Jersey Regional Operations and Intelligence Center, too. KCR will also announce an increase in retirement age from 58 to 61years and it is applicable from this month itself. DC file photo Hyderabad: As the March 14 polling date for Graduate MLC elections nears, the ruling TRS is making all-out efforts to turn the tide in its favour. The party is trying to win over state government employees and graduates three days ahead of polling. They constitute a major chunk of voters and are enthused by governmental steps like the new PRC, higher fitment, hike in retirement age and the issuing of job vacancy notifications to fill 50,000 posts. TRS ministers, MLAs, leaders and cadre are aggressively campaigning on theissue of the TRS government extending 29 per cent fitment (hike on basic pay) as against a meagre 7.5 per cent fitment recommended by the PRC and promise of a 3-year raise in retirement age from 58 to 61 years within a day of the announcement of MLC poll results on March 17. They are also tyring to strike an emotional chord with employees and students, with TRS working president KT Rama Rao reminding in every election campaign meeting that, "Together we fought and achieved Telangana State. Let us continue to work together for the all-round development of Telangana." TRS ministers and leaders engaged in the campaign field say that Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao will make an announcement in the Legislative Assembly on March 18 on new sops for employees and students. Following the directions of KCR, the ministers and party MLAs functioning as election in-charges are holding mandal and district-level meetings with various associations of Telangana employees. All these meetings begin with ministers and TRS MLAs announcing, "We are here to convey an important message from KCR. They go on to add, after a pause: The CM will announce a 29 per cent fitment despite the Covid-induced financial crisis, though the PRC had recommended just 7.5 per cent. He will also announce an increase in retirement age from 58 to 61years. The retirement age raise will be applicable from this month itself. About 10,000 employees are due to retire on March 31 after attaining 58 years, but they will not. They will continue to work for three more years. This shows how employee-friendly our CM is. It's your duty and responsibility to support the CM in return by voting for the TRS in MLC polls". The response is instant from employees unions. They are openly declaring their full support to the TRS in these meetings itself and giving a call to all their fellow colleagues to support the TRS as a 'thanksgiving gesture' to KCR for these sops. TRS sources said KCR has devised a 'special strategy' to corner opposition parties and attract employees and students towards TRS at this crucial stage of polling. Ministers and party MLAs held meetings on Wednesday with employees unions in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Khammam and Nalgonda. These meetings will go on until March 12, the last day of campaigning. The highlight of all these programmes was of employees conducting a 'ksheerabhishekam' (pouring milk on the portraits of KCR and KTR) as a thanksgiving gesture for sops which were more than their expectations. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has denied that the sport he leads has a problem with racism. The racism narrative is still circulating after Lewis Hamilton led other drivers in the 'kneeling' gesture before grands prix last year. Formula 1, now led by Domenicali following the recent departure of Chase Carey, has indicated that the kneeling may not happen in 2021. "Down on a knee, knees up - these things have different meanings depending on where you are in the world," Domenicali told the Daily Mail. "I want to discuss the knee with the drivers. We do not want to be focused on a single gesture," said the Italian. "There is a big platform before races but we do not want to maximise it in a political way. We want to highlight values that are important to the world and to Formula 1." Domenicali, the former Ferrari team boss, denied that Formula 1 is racist, despite seven time world champion Hamilton insisting that "inequities within our sport and within the world persist". "I don't perceive that," said Domenicali when asked if F1 has a problem. "At least I don't see that from personal experience. In truth, (it's) the other way round. Formula 1 started in certain parts of the world - Europe - but it has moved into other areas and multiculturalism is growing." A similar stance has been taken by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who Domenicali says he speaks to "almost every week". It is a stark departure from the relationship between Domenicali's predecessor, Chase Carey, who had effectively banned Ecclestone from the races. "I get on well with Bernie," Domenicali said. "He said to let him know if I need advice. Formula 1 without Bernie, I'm sorry, would not be what it is today. "You must not forget he is a pioneer in understanding the opportunity presented by cars being driven around the track and building the right enthusiasm, structure and business," he added. "I have a lot of admiration for him and what he did. His paddock pass is ready and I hope he can come to races." (GMM) Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. POTTSVILLE Thanks to a donation, new flags surround a city memorial to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. City officials gathered Wednesday morning to unveil the flags at the Veterans Monument at General Joulwan East Side Park and to celebrate the Adopt-a-Flag program. A $600 donation from the Capt. Jason Jones Memorial Fund will replace the seven flags that encircle the monument. They include an American flag, one for the National League of Families POW/MIA, or prisoners of war and missing in action, and one from each military branch. Jones, an Orwigsburg native, was an Army captain who was killed in action on June 2, 2014 near Jalalabad, Afghanistan. His parents, Suzy and Jay Jones, were on hand Wednesday to unveil the plans and joined by City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar, Mayor James T. Muldowney and city council members Dave Clews and Joe Devine. Palamar said the flags had been replaced in the past by the Pottsville Joint Veterans Association and having the program is a way to carry on the tradition. Suzy Jones liked the idea of replacing the flags at the monument as a way to not only honor her late son, but all the heroes of all wars. This is for all veterans, she said. Muldowney said in prepared remarks it would be fitting for our service flags to fly in honor of a local hero who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom. Launched in the fall, the Adopt-a-Flag program allows residents, businesses, schools and organizations to adopt one of 76 American flags in the city for $30. They will be displayed from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. Palamar said Wednesday that 96 flags were adopted, with the Pottsville Business Association and an anonymous one adopting the most flags at 22 each, each batch totaling $660. Applications for the Adopt-a-Flag program will be available on the citys website until April 30. Palamar said those who donated to Adopt-a-Flag and the Hometown Heroes banner programs will be recognized at the citys Memorial Day service at Garfield Square, which is planned for 10 a.m. May 31. Last years service was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. A Year After W.H.O. Declared Virus Pandemic, More U.S. States Expand Access to Vaccines Georgia, Minnesota and New York are among those offering shots to more people. In Ukraine, misinformation is hobbling inoculation efforts. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Hungary pays big for a Chinese vaccine. In Atany, Hungary, administering a coronavirus vaccine produced by Sinopharm, a state-owned Chinese company. Credit... Peter Komka/EPA, via Shutterstock Hungary has agreed to pay about $36 a dose for the Covid-19 vaccine made by Sinopharm, a Chinese state-owned company, according to contracts made public by a senior Hungarian official on Thursday. That appears to make the Sinopharm shot among the most expensive in the world. Hungary has agreed to buy five million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, priced at 30 euros ($36) each, according to contracts that Prime Minister Viktor Orbans chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, uploaded to his Facebook page. The contract is between the Hungarian government and a third-party vendor, and that price far surpasses what the European Union has agreed to pay for vaccines from Western manufacturers. The European Union has said it would pay 15.50 per dose for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to Reuters, which cited an internal E.U. document. For AstraZeneca, it agreed to pay $2.15 per dose, according to Belgiums budget secretary. The contracts that Mr. Gulyas published also show that Hungary, which has recorded nearly half a million coronavirus cases and more than 16,000 deaths, has agreed to pay $9.95 per dose for the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine. The company from which Hungary is buying the vaccine underwent a change in ownership two months before the transaction, was awarded the contract after the government exempted it from having to take part in an open public procurement process, said Miklos Ligeti, legal director for Transparency International Hungary, an anticorruption group. (Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated which company had changed ownership.) Such arrangements raise red flags for anticorruption watchdogs, who warn that the involvement of third parties increases the risk of price gouging. We dont know how much this company actually paid for this vaccine, Mr. Ligeti said. Given publicly available data on this company, Mr. Ligeti pointed to figures that he described as worrying. The government of Hungary assigned a contract with a net value of 150 million euros $179 million to a company with registered capital of 9,000 ($10,700), he said. Hungary is one of the few European countries to sign a deal with Sinopharm, which has promoted itself to developing countries at a time when many richer nations are hoarding doses by Western drugmakers like Pfizer and Moderna. A major selling point has been Sinopharms manufacturing capacity: It has said it can make up to three billion doses by the end of this year. The Sinopharm price is extraordinary in part because the company, unlike the Western vaccine makers, has not published detailed data from Phase 3 trials. Sinopharm is mass-producing two vaccines. It says that the first, made in conjunction with the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, has an efficacy rate of 79 percent, and that the second, made with the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, is 72.5 percent effective. Adam Liptak contributed reporting. Sui-Lee Wee and This vaccine means hope: Former U.S. presidents join together for an ad campaign. The Obamas, the Bushes and the Clintons at the inauguration of President Biden. They appear together in a new ad campaign. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times Four former U.S. presidents and their first ladies appear in a new public service campaign with one single plea to Americans: Get vaccinated. The ads feature former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, getting vaccine jabs. Their wives Rosalynn Carter, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama also appear. The two ads urge all Americans to get their shots when the opportunity arrives. This vaccine means hope, Mr. Obama says. It will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease. In order to get rid of this pandemic its important for our fellow citizens to get vaccinated, says Mr. Bush. They spoke of the longing so many feel to get back to normal. I want to be able to go back to work and to move around, says Mr. Clinton. To visit with Michelles mom, says Mr. Obama. To hug her, and see her on her birthday. Mr. Bush says he is really looking forward to going to opening day in Texas Ranger Stadium with a full stadium. Mr. Carter says, Im getting vaccinated because we want this pandemic to end as soon as possible. The only ex-presidential couple not in the ad campaign is Donald and Melania Trump. Mr. and Mrs. Trump quietly received their vaccines in January before leaving the White House. Later that month, Mr. Trump appeared at the CPAC political conference in Orlando, Fla., where he encouraged people to go get vaccinated. Mr. Trumps private approach came as a number of his supporters have expressed resistance to the vaccine. Many other prominent figures have tried setting an example by getting the shot in public. Last week, Andy Slavitt, a senior White House pandemic adviser, dodged a question from a reporter about whether the Biden White House would ask Mr. Trump to do a public service announcement to encourage hesitant supporters to get vaccinated. Mr. Slavitt said that many people, including Republican politicians, have spoken up about the importance of getting vaccinated. I particularly liked the Dolly Parton song myself, Mr. Slavitt said, referring to the country music star breaking into song when she received her first dose of the vaccine. Thats one of my favorites. The two ads are part of a broad promotional effort to combat Covid-19 vaccine skepticism that launched in February, backed by the nonprofit adverting group Ad Council and a coalition of experts known as the Covid Collaborative. Public service announcements will appear in English and Spanish on television, social media and other platforms. More than 300 companies, community groups and public figures contributed to the $52 million push, as did the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We urge you to get vaccinated when its available to you, says Mr. Obama. So roll up your sleeve and do your part, says Mr. Bush. This is our shot, says Mr. Clinton. Now its up to you, concludes Mr. Carter. Eileen Sullivan contributed reporting. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Biden, announcing the next stage of battle, makes vaccine available to all adults. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:40 - 0:00 transcript Biden Wants All Adults Eligible for Vaccination by May 1 President Biden on Thursday called on states to make the coronavirus vaccine available to all adults by May 1 and said he was hopeful that the country could return to some form of normal life by the Fourth of July. A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked denials for days, weeks, then months, that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress and more loneliness. A year filled with the loss of life and the loss of living for all of us. But in the loss, we saw how much there was to gain, in appreciation, respect and gratitude. Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do. Im announcing that I will direct all states, tribes and territories to make all adults, people 18 and over, eligible to be vaccinated no later than May 1. With the passage of the American Rescue Plan, and I thank again the House and Senate for passing it, and my announcement last month of a plan to vaccinate teachers and school staff, we can accelerate massive nationwide effort to reopen our schools safely. If we do this together, by July the Fourth, theres a good chance you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day. After this long, hard year, that will make this Independence Day something truly special where we not only mark our independence as a nation, but we begin to mark our independence from this virus. President Biden on Thursday called on states to make the coronavirus vaccine available to all adults by May 1 and said he was hopeful that the country could return to some form of normal life by the Fourth of July. Credit Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden used his prime-time address Thursday sketch out the next phase of his pandemic response, including deploying 4,000 active-duty troops to help with coronavirus vaccination; spending nearly $40 billion on screening to open up schools; scaling up efforts to track worrisome new variants; and launching a new website in early May to make it easier for people to get their shots. Mr. Biden also announced that he is directing states to make the vaccine available to all adults no later than May 1, and said that if Americans continued to abide by social distancing and other public health guidelines, they could expect some semblance of a return to normalcy by July 4. He said people could look forward to gathering if in small groups for neighborhood cookouts and the like. Mr. Bidens remarks came just hours after he signed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, his first major legislative achievement as president. Senior administration officials previewed the address to reporters late Thursday afternoon. The speech, coming one year to the day after the World Health Organization declared that the world was in pandemic, gave Mr. Biden an opportunity to lay out the specifics of his plan to bring the nation out of the worst public health crisis in a century. The president also used the occasion to offer Americans a sense of hope as the country emerges from what he has repeatedly described as a dark winter. Mr. Bidens decision to invoke the Fourth of July holiday marked the first time that he has offered a specific date for when things might look more like normal. One senior official said that as the nation approaches Independence Day, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide public health advice to guide Americans as they travel, participate in small gatherings and go to work and houses of worship. Earlier Thursday, the administration announced that it intends to deliver coronavirus vaccine to an additional 700 of the nations 1,300 community health centers, bringing the total number of centers involved to 950. The federal governments pharmacy vaccination program will also be expanded, officials said, to include more than 20,000 pharmacies across the nation. Some of the steps Mr. Biden is taking are directly related to provisions in the stimulus package. The bill includes $1.7 billion that will allow the administration to dramatically scale up genomic sequencing of samples of the virus a task that is essential to tracking and staying ahead of new variants. The bill also includes $130 billion for school reopening, which will help school departments pay for supplies and staff to comply with the C.D.C.s reopening guidelines. The federal Department of Health and Human Services will also award $650 million in what officials described as an initial investment to expand testing in elementary and middle schools. Students start to cut loose, and colleges try to rein them in. Beachgoers in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this month. Officials are anticipating large crowds in the coming weeks. Credit... Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters Caving in to a pent-up demand to party, college students across the country have taken to bars, beaches and backyards in recent weeks and drawn crackdowns from their schools, as administrators try to keep the coronavirus at bay on campus. Sadly, it has happened again a group of students flagrantly flouted the rules, wrote Brandi Hephner LaBanc, the vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, after more than 200 students gathered last weekend for a pre-St. Patricks Day tradition called the Blarney Blowout. Police officers broke up the crowd, and university officials said that they would place identified students on suspension and temporarily remove them from dorms. At the University of Michigan, the authorities locked 375 students out of nonresidential buildings because they failed to comply with testing requirements. Penn State punished four fraternities suspending two through 2024 for holding parties. Purdue University said it was investigating and might expel 12 students for Covid rule violations. With traditional spring break dates approaching, the University of California, Davis said it would pay students $75 to stay on campus, while other colleges have swapped the usual weeklong breaks for individual days off scattered throughout the semester. Still, officials in Florida, Texas and elsewhere are anticipating large crowds in the coming weeks. This year, the confluence of other places closed or cold, cheap flights and discounted rooms, and a pandemic which is still very much active, creates new challenges, Mayor Dan Gelber of Miami Beach said in an email. He imposed limits on alcohol consumption and the number of people at beaches and restaurants, along with social-distancing requirements and a curfew. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A case cluster at a popular gym roils Hong Kongs banks and international schools. People lined up to receive vaccinations in late February in Hong Kong, where strict quarantine rules have kept the coronavirus largely in check. Credit... Kin Cheung/Associated Press Anxiety spread through Hong Kongs banking community on Thursday after a cluster of Covid-19 cases that began at a gym frequented by finance professionals grew to include other gyms and at least one international school. The cluster of cases raised the threat of a broader outbreak in the city just as it is emerging from a lengthy period of pandemic restrictions. More than 200 people who recently used Ursus Fitness, a gym that is popular among expatriates, were contacted by the government this week, and more than 100 people were sent to government quarantine facilities, according to a spokesman for the Department of Health. In an email to its members, Ursus said five employees and one client had tested positive for the coronavirus. Another popular gym, H-Core, said in a Facebook message on Wednesday that at least one of its trainers had tested positive as well. The people quarantined by the government included employees at several international banks. An employee at Credit Suisse and another at BNP Paribas tested positive. HSBC emptied one of the floors in its main office building for deep cleaning after an employee there received a preliminary positive test result, according to a memo seen by the New York Times. Several banks cautioned employees to work from home. International schools, which enroll expatriates children, were forced to close their campuses. The French International School said an employee at its Tseung Kwan O campus tested positive. Hong Kong has some of the most restrictive quarantine measures in the world. People who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive are required to stay in government facilities for two weeks. Residents returning to Hong Kong from outside of China must quarantine for 21 days in a hotel. Partly as a result, Hong Kong has kept the virus largely in check, with only about 11,100 cases since the pandemic began fewer than New York has reported just in the last four days. The Hong Kong government announced 22 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. A spokesperson said that 17 of the most recent cases were linked to the Ursus gym. A year after the first widespread virus outbreak in the U.S., the Seattle areas success shows what could have been. At Pike Place Market in Seattle on Wednesday. Credit... Ruth Fremson/The New York Times Facing the nations first widespread coronavirus outbreak, some of Washington States top leaders quietly gathered on a Sunday morning last March for an urgent strategy session. The virus had been rampaging through a nursing home in the Seattle suburbs. By the time the meeting began, the region had recorded most of the nations first 19 deaths. New cases were surfacing by the hour. As the meetings presentation got to the fifth slide, the room grew somber. The numbers showed a variety of potential outcomes, but almost every scenario was a blue line pointing exponentially upward. My God, what on earth is going to happen here? the King County executive, Dow Constantine, said he was thinking as those in the room, increasingly uneasy about meeting in person, left the pastries untouched. That gathering, three days before the World Health Organization declared a pandemic last March 11, set off a rush to contain the virus that included some of the countrys earliest orders to cancel large events, shutter restaurants and close schools, all in the hope that the dire possibilities in front of them would not come to pass. One year later, the Seattle area has the lowest death rate of the 20 largest metropolitan regions in the country. If the rest of the United States had kept pace with Seattle, the nation could have avoided more than 300,000 coronavirus deaths. During a year in which the White House downplayed the virus and other political leaders clashed over how to contain it, Seattles success illustrates the value of unified and timely strategies: Although the regions public health experts and politicians grappled behind the scenes about how to best manage the virus, they came together to present a united front to the public. And the public largely complied. We could not afford to have mixed messages, said Jenny Durkan, Seattles mayor. The restrictions that have been in place off and on for the better part of a year have brought widespread disruption to lives and the economy. But as governors elsewhere have cited the economy as a reason to ease lockdowns, Seattles success showed that an alternative pathway was doable: Amid widespread economic turmoil, the states unemployment rate has been about average nationally, outperforming some places that have pressed ahead with wider reopenings, including Arizona and Texas. There are numerous factors that have shaped the trajectory of the pandemic both locally and nationally. In part, public health experts said, Seattle may have benefited from its demographics: a healthy population living in small households and a lot of workers able to do their jobs from home. The city may have also have won more public support for the crackdowns from the shock of experiencing the nations first publicized deaths. The high humidity may have helped, scientists say, although the cold weather and gray skies probably did not. Researchers said Seattle also profited from its network of research and philanthropic organizations focused on global health, politicians willing to listen to them, businesses that emptied their offices early and residents who repeatedly indicated a willingness to upend their lives to save others. Even as the year wore on, and the regions case numbers were among the lowest in the nation, a survey found that Washington residents were still the most likely to stay home for Thanksgiving. Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said he was convinced the Seattle model could have been replicated, positively affecting the trajectory of the virus across the country. Instead, he said, state after state reopened sooner than appropriate and members of the public ignored health advice that at times was undermined by conflicting messages from political and business leaders. Seattle, he said, shows what could have been. We have so many lessons we have learned here, Dr. Mokdad said. Unfortunately, not many people were listening. Some European nations suspend AstraZeneca shots over blood clot concerns, though no link has been proven. Preparing to administer AstraZeneca doses at a vaccine center in Copenhagen last month. Credit... Pool photo by Liselotte Sabroe Health authorities in three European countries on Thursday suspended use of AstraZenecas vaccine because of concerns that it might increase the risk of blood clots, but emphasized that they were taking action as a precaution and that there is no evidence of any causal link. Denmark acted after a 60-year-old woman who received a shot died after developing a blood clot. Several other European countries had recently stopped using doses from the same batch of the vaccine after some reports of severe blood clots, and European drug regulators are investigating. In the flurry of suspensions on Thursday, Norway and Iceland followed Denmarks lead. Italy and Romania also paused shots, but only from a different batch of the vaccine than the one that had raised concerns elsewhere. Public health experts expect medical conditions to turn up by chance in some people after they get any vaccine. In the vast majority of cases such illnesses have nothing to do with the shots. Most other countries where the vaccine has been given to many millions of people have not reported similar red flags. The suspension comes amid a stumbling vaccine campaign across the European Union, where AstraZeneca has fallen short of its original supply commitments. That has been further complicated by a holdup in the United States: Tens of millions of doses of the vaccine are sitting idly in American manufacturing facilities, awaiting results from its U.S. clinical trial while countries that have authorized its use beg for access. AstraZeneca has asked the Biden administration to let it lend American doses to the European Union, but the administration, for now, has denied the request, one official said. As of Wednesday, 30 cases of obstructive blood clots had been reported among nearly five million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the European Economic Area a rate no higher than in the general population, the European Medicines Agency said. The agency, Europes main drug regulator, said there was no indication that the vaccine has caused these conditions and that its benefits outweigh any risks. Gonzalo Vina, a spokesman for AstraZeneca, said the companys data have not turned up clotting issues. An analysis of our safety data of more than 10 million records has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country, he said. Blood clots, particularly if they are large, can damage tissue or organs like the lungs, heart or brain. Severe cases can be fatal, but people with small clots can often be treated outside of a hospital with prescription drugs. Denmarks drug regulator halted all use of the vaccine for at least 14 days. Health officials say they want to err on the side of safety. Over the weekend, Austria suspended use of that same batch after severe blood clots turned up in several people who received those doses. One person died 10 days after vaccination. Another is now recovering after being hospitalized. Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia followed Austrias lead in suspending use of that batch, though they will continue to inoculate their citizens with AstraZeneca doses from other batches. More than 70 countries have authorized the vaccine, with the notable exception of the United States, where regulators are waiting on data from a large clinical trial there expected in the next few weeks. A decision from the Food and Drug Administration on whether to authorize AstraZenecas vaccine appears to be more than a month away. The Biden administrations hesitation about parting with the vaccines is at least partly related to uncertainties over the vaccine supply. Vaccine production is notoriously complex and delicate, and problems like mold growth can interrupt a plants progress. Rebecca Robbins, Thomas Erdbrink and Advertisement Continue reading the main story How can you get a vaccine? Biden expands ways to find the shots and the army of people to administer them. Pearl Hughes, 81, receiving a Covid vaccination shot at a church in Denver, Colo., in February. Credit... Kevin Mohatt for The New York Times President Biden on Thursday dramatically expanded the ways Americans can get vaccinated and the pool of people who can administer shots, moves enabled in part by new funding in the American Rescue Plan. The changes, he pledged in a prime-time address to the nation, would mean no more searching day and night for an appointment for you and your loved ones. Heres a look at what the Biden administration is doing to offer more access. Centralizing how you can find a vaccine. By May 1, when Mr. Biden directed that states should have opened up eligibility for every adult in the United States, the federal government will debut a vaccine finder website that guides people to sites near them offering shots. By the same date, the administration will launch a call center with a 1-800 number to assist those who might not have internet access in finding a vaccine. For states that sponsor vaccine appointment websites, the administration will assign staff in technical support jobs to help improve the sites performance. Opening more vaccination sites In the next six weeks, the administration will send vaccines to up to 700 more community health centers that typically serve lower-income patients, bringing the total number of those sites serving as vaccination centers to 950. More than 20,000 pharmacies will now administer the shots as part of the federal governments pharmacy vaccine program, double the number that have so far participated. The administration is more than doubling the number of federally run mass vaccination sites, settings that the White House said would now be able to administer hundreds of thousands of shots a day under the aegis of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the military and other agencies. At least 4,000 more active duty troops are to be deployed to help the effort. Expanding the number of people who can administer vaccines Beginning Friday, a dramatically larger pool of people trained in injections will be eligible to give Covid-19 shots , including dentists, medical students, midwives, optometrists, paramedics, podiatrists and veterinarians. The Department of Health and Human Services is creating a website for people interested in volunteering to give shots that will help determine if they are eligible to do so. A weekslong campaign to sell the stimulus bill to the American public begins tonight. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:21 - 0:00 transcript Biden Signs $1.9 Trillion Covid-19 Relief Bill President Biden signed a historic $1.9 trillion economic relief package into law Thursday afternoon, a day earlier than the White House had planned, ushering in new federal aid across the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Its clear that an overwhelming percentage of the American people Democrats, independents, our Republican friends have made it clear, the people out there, made it clear they strongly support the American Rescue Plan. Yesterday, with the final passage of the plan in the House of Representatives, their voices were heard, and reflected in everything we have in this bill. And I believe this is, and most people, I think, do as well, this historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation, working people, middle-class folks, the people who built the country, a fighting chance. Thats what the essence of it is. What Im going to do is sign this bill, and make a presentation tonight. And then theres going to be plenty of opportunities. Were going to be on the road, not only talking about what Im talking about tonight is the impact on the virus and how were going to end this pandemic. And were going to talk all the elements of the bill beginning Friday and Saturday, through the week. So, thank you for being here. President Biden signed a historic $1.9 trillion economic relief package into law Thursday afternoon, a day earlier than the White House had planned, ushering in new federal aid across the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Credit Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion economic relief package on Thursday afternoon, ushering in an aggressive infusion of federal aid in a far-reaching effort to address the toll of the coronavirus pandemic. This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country, Mr. Biden said, and giving people in this nation, working people, middle-class folks, people who built the country, a fighting chance. Mr. Biden had originally been scheduled to sign the bill on Friday, after it had been reviewed again and printed. But the president and his advisers, aware that low- and middle-income Americans are desperate for the round of direct payments that the bill includes, moved up the timeline to Thursday afternoon. Minutes after Mr. Biden signed the relief package, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said, People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend. Ron Klain, Mr. Bidens chief of staff, wrote on Twitter earlier in the day that the enrolled bill had arrived at the White House on Wednesday night, adding, We want to move as fast as possible. He continued, We will hold our celebration of the signing on Friday, as planned, with Congressional leaders! The president signed the measure in the Oval Office hours before he was set to deliver a prime-time televised address on Thursday night, kicking off an aggressive campaign to inform voters of the benefits that are coming to them through the relief package. The campaign will include travel by the president and Vice President Kamala Harris across multiple states, events that will feature a wide range of cabinet members emphasizing the legislations themes, as well as endorsements from Republican mayors, according to administration officials. The White Houses decision to go out and sell the stimulus package after its passage reflects a lesson from the early months of the Obama administration. In 2009, fighting to help the economy recover from a crippling financial crisis, President Barack Obama never succeeded in building durable popular support for a similar stimulus bill and allowed Republicans to define it on their terms, fueling a partisan backlash and the rise of the Tea Party movement. Mr. Biden starts with an advantage: The legislation is widely popular in national polling. And it will deliver a series of tangible benefits to low- and middle-income Americans, including direct payments of $1,400 per individual, just as the economys halting recovery from the pandemic recession is poised to accelerate. After his address on Thursday night, Mr. Biden will headline a weekslong public relations effort. He is set to visit the Philadelphia suburbs on Tuesday, and he and Ms. Harris are scheduled to travel to Atlanta next Friday. Jim Tankersley, Michael D. Shear, Thomas Kaplan and Heres how to watch Bidens first prime-time speech. President Biden will speak tonight in his first prime-time speech to the country. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times President Biden will deliver his first prime-time presidential address at 8 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, he is expected to focus on the coronavirus pandemic as the nation reaches an inflection point: the first anniversary of the World Health Organizations official declaration of the pandemic, and the day he signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package. One year into the pandemic, the United States has recorded by far the worlds largest outbreak, with about 530,000 deaths and more than 29 million infections. The speech is anticipated to be about 20 minutes long, and will be carried on major networks and news cable channels. A livestream of the full speech will be available on The Timess home page, and Times reporters will be covering it in our Washington live briefing throughout the evening. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Johnson & Johnsons one-shot vaccine is approved by the European Union. The Johnson & Johnson doses can be stored in regular fridges for up to three months. Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times The European Union authorized use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday, amid mounting frustration with a sluggish inoculation campaign that has been hobbled by supply shocks and logistics failures, and with global wars over scarce doses ratcheting up. The European Commission, the blocs executive arm, issued the authorization a few hours after the 27-member blocs main drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, approved the vaccine for use in people 18 and up. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which can be stored in regular fridges for up to three months and only requires one shot, is the fourth to be approved by the regulatory agency. Three more vaccines, Novavax, CureVac and Sputnik V, are undergoing a rolling review, a preliminary step that could lead to approval. The decision on Thursday opens the door for the delivery of 200 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the European Union, under a contract that includes an option for 200 million more. Those supplies could help speed up the blocs vaccination efforts, which have gotten off to a sluggish start. So far, only 6.5 percent of the European Unions 450 million residents have been inoculated, far behind the rates in Britain, Israel or the United States. But the first deliveries of Johnson & Johnson vaccine are not expected in Europe before April. The bloc also said on Thursday that it would extend for another three months, to the end of June, a mechanism that permits member states to prevent the export of vaccines made within the blocs borders if the manufacturers have not filled all their orders at home. Data published Wednesday by The New York Times showed that the European Union has been exporting millions of vaccine doses, even as member nations efforts to vaccinate their own citizens have been slowed by shortages and other problems. The bloc has come under fierce criticism over the mechanism to restrict exports. Accusations of vaccine nationalism intensified last week when Italy used the mechanism to block a shipment of doses bound for Australia. Since the mechanism was put in place in February, officials have approved 249 export permits, covering more than 34 million doses bound for 31 different countries. They were approved because they did not threaten the contractual arrangement between the E.U. and the vaccine producers, said Miriam Garcia Ferrer, a spokeswoman for the European Commission. Only one export has been refused, she added. Monika Pronczuk and GLOBAL ROUNDUP France eases restrictions on international travelers, and other global news. Passengers arrive at Charles De Gaulle airport outside Paris in January. France is lifting restrictions on travelers from some countries outside of the European Union. Credit... Yoan Valat/EPA, via Shutterstock France announced on Thursday that it would relax restrictions on international travel outside the European Union to adapt to the evolution of the global pandemic. The move will see an easing of rules on travel to or from several countries and a broadening of the range of compelling reasons for which international travel is allowed. In a statement released on Thursday, the French Foreign Ministry said that, starting on Friday, travel to or from Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea will no longer have to be justified by compelling reasons, as had been required since January. As for other non-European Union countries, the range of imperative reasons has been broadened to include family reasons such as couples who live in different countries for professional reasons or underage students who attend French schools while their families live abroad. On Thursday, the French transport minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, also announced that the country would try out a digital health pass for travelers with the flag carrier Air France, as part of a monthlong experiment. Passengers to some of Frances overseas territories will have to present a phone app that shows either a recent negative Covid test or a vaccination certificate. Mr. Djebbari said that the goal was to reduce checks that are slowing boarding and arrival procedures. It could offer a preview, or at least a large-scale test, of a future travel pass, he said. In other news from around the world: Thailand on Friday suspended its plans to roll out the AstraZeneca vaccine over concerns that the shot might increase the risk of blood clots. The announcement came hours before Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was scheduled to be the first person in the country to receive the vaccine, and does not affect Thailands ongoing rollout of the Sinovac version. Dr. Yong Poovorawan, a virologist at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, told reporters that the countrys delay would most likely last only a week or two. Were not saying the vaccine is bad, he said. Were postponing it to see if the deaths are related to the vaccine or not. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun of South Korea said on Friday that coronavirus restrictions would remain in effect until March 28, the Yonhap news agency reported. The rules, which vary by region but include a nationwide ban on most private gatherings, had been set to expire on Sunday. South Korea reported 488 cases on Friday, a three-week high. The government has said it aims to achieve herd immunity by November, but only about 1 percent of the countrys 51 million people have been vaccinated. The health authorities in Germany registered 14,356 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, 2,444 more than on the same day a week ago. We are seeing clear signs: In Germany the third wave has already begun, said Lothar H. Wieler, the president of the Robert Koch Institute, Germanys equivalent of the C.D.C. More than half of the new infections in Germany were caused by the B.1.1.7 variant, first discovered in Britain, which is more infectious and thought to be more deadly than the original. In an effort to speed vaccinations, German state and federal health ministers have agreed to let doctors administer vaccines in their offices and clinics by mid-April. Only 6.7 percent of the population in Germany has received at least one vaccine dose. Constant Meheut, Christopher F. Schuetze, Richard C. Paddock, Muktita Suhartono and Ukraine says misinformation is scaring its people away from being vaccinated. Medical workers packing up vials of vaccine last week to take to a hospital in Selydove, a mining town in eastern Ukraine. Credit... Evgeniy Maloletka/Associated Press First Ukraine got caught up in the geopolitics of vaccine distribution between Russia and the West, and struggled to get hold of any doses. Now that it has them, Ukraine faces a new challenge: finding enough people who are willing to be vaccinated. The country is so plagued by misinformation about Covid-19 that vaccine hesitancy in Ukraine is among the worst in Europe, even among doctors and nurses. That shows in the slow start for Ukraines vaccination program: So far, just over 23,000 people have received a dose, out of a population of 42 million. Ukrainian news media have carried reports of opened vials of vaccine going to waste at hospitals because not enough willing doctors and nurses could be found to receive the doses. The United Nations Development Program and UNICEF released a study saying that Ukraine was suffering from an infodemic, with social media flooded with false narratives about the disease and vaccination. Ukraines tense internal politics are partly to blame. Opponents of President Volodymyr Zelensky have extended their criticism of him to the two vaccines his administration has put into use one from Oxford-AstraZeneca and the other from Sinovac both of which have been shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective. A former prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, who now heads an opposition party, introduced a bill in Parliament that implicitly criticized the Zelensky administrations choices by providing for the government to compensate Ukrainians for any side effects and protect every Ukrainian from the negative consequences of the two vaccines. A former president, Petro O. Poroshenko, said that Ukrainian health care workers were refusing inoculation in the belief that the two vaccines were of poor quality. He used scatological language to describe the vaccines in a speech in Parliament. The Ukrainian health minister, Maksym Stepanov, said in an interview that the political fight was eroding confidence in vaccination. Politicians contribute to peoples distrust of vaccines, he said. Health officials have said that about one-third of doctors and nurses in the country have already been infected with the coronavirus, and the rest are evenly divided between those who want to be inoculated and those who say they have no intention of taking either of the available vaccines. Mr. Stepanov said that the widely held negative attitudes were a result of a lot of fake news spread by members of the anti-vaccination movement. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The first vaccine vial used in the U.S. is added to the Smithsonians collection. Dr. Michelle Chester holding a vial of the vaccine before giving it to Sandra Lindsay, a nurse in New York, in December. The vial has now been donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Credit... Pool photo by Mark Lennihan The United States is racing through hundreds of thousands of vaccine vials a day, but one of particular importance has found its way into the Smithsonians collection, as museums attempt to chronicle the history of the pandemic. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History announced on Tuesday that it had acquired the vial that contained the first vaccine dose administered in the United States after the shot received Food and Drug Administration authorization. The vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was used on Dec. 14 to inoculate Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at a Queens hospital, has been added to the museums collection, along with Ms. Lindsays white-and-blue scrubs, her vaccination record card and hospital identification badge. Northwell Health, the New York-based health care provider that administered the vaccine, made the donation and also shared vials from doses of the Moderna vaccine and other inoculation supplies. These now historic artifacts document not only this remarkable scientific progress but represent the hope offered to millions living through the cascading crises brought on by Covid-19, Anthea M. Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan director at the museum, said in a news release. From the very early days of the pandemic, museums have been scrambling to collect artifacts from the fight against the coronavirus, including diary entries, online schoolwork, photographs and first-person accounts. The National Museum of American History welcomed another item of importance earlier this month when Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Bidens chief medical adviser on Covid-19, presented his colorful three-dimensional model of the coronavirus to the museums national medicine and science collections. The museum, which is still closed to the public because of virus restrictions, has been collecting significant items from the pandemic for a future exhibition exploring American efforts to control and cure illnesses. Heres a short history of the coronaviruss spread. The emergency room of the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital in Bergamo, Italy, where patients suspected of having Covid-19 were placed under observation in March last year. Credit... Fabio Bucciarelli for The New York Times In December 2019, the first cases of the coronavirus emerged in China. The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. A year later, the virus has sickened more than 118 million people and taken at least 2,620,900 lives, shattering economies, health services, and families in its wake. Several world leaders contracted the virus, including President Donald J. Trump, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil. According to a New York Times database, more than 29,247,000 people in the United States have been infected with the virus. On Wednesday, at least 1,477 more coronavirus deaths and 58,530 new cases were reported in the United States. In the summer, cases soared across the Sun Belt, forcing some states to increase restrictions once more. By the fall, rural hospitals in the Midwest and West were ravaged by the virus, devastating communities. On a global scale, the outbreak was defined by shifting epicenters of infection: Wuhan, China; Iran; northern Italy; Spain; and New York. But soon the virus had infiltrated nearly every corner of the globe. After swells in excess mortality in the spring of 2020, most European nations returned to relative normality for the summer. But a second wave took hold in the fall and raged into the winter increasing death tolls again. For some nations, like Belgium and Switzerland, the peaks in mortality during the second portion of the year surpassed those in the spring. Latin America felt the viruss effects later than many other countries, but it was affected particularly deeply, especially in Brazil and Mexico. After a historic vaccine race, 10 different vaccines are now available around the world, with more than 325.5 million vaccine doses administered. While most vaccines require two doses, recently the Food and Drug Administration authorized a one-shot vaccine by Johnson & Johnson for emergency use in the United States. In wealthier nations such as Britain, more than a quarter of the population have received a first vaccine jab, but in less prosperous nations, like many African countries, a single dose has yet to be given. At the start of March, after six successive weeks of declining infection numbers, the World Health Organization announced that Central and Eastern Europe was in the midst of a resurgence, partly because of new variants of the virus that have cropped up but also because of the easing of restrictions. More than half of the 53 countries in the European region had seen an increase in infections, the W.H.O. said. The news came as 43 European nations recorded cases of the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in Britain, which has far greater levels of transmissibility. And 26 countries had found cases of the B.1.351 variant first discovered in South Africa, while 15 had reported cases of the P.1 variant first discovered in Brazil. Not all nations were equally hit by the pandemic, and certain countries did not experience increased mortality in 2020. In Denmark, Finland and Norway, demographers said that the low mortality rate was partly down to a less severe flu season during the winter, along with the fact that those nations were swift to enact tighter restrictions to curb the spread of the virus when outbreaks were less severe. In Japan, deaths fell last year for the first time in more than a decade, a byproduct of the countrys coronavirus measures. As of Thursday, Cambodia reported its first death from the coronavirus, and with just 1,124 cases recorded in total, it has some of the lowest infection numbers in Asia. The country experienced a spike in infections in late February. Countries in Southeast Asia, such as Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, have all been successful at managing outbreaks of the virus. But while the pandemic is starting to recede in some countries, as the rate of new cases has steadily declined since early January, it still impacts every region of the world. In a recent epidemiological report, the W.H.O. said that global coronavirus cases had increased for the second week in a row as infection rates rise in the Middle East and Africa. But surges seem to be abating in the Americas, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Over 2.7 million new cases were reported last week, the W.H.O said. Botswana, Jordan, Lebanon and Zambia have seen a surge in infection numbers, while cases in Europe climbed by 4 percent. Global deaths continued to decline, as they have since early February 2021, with fatalities falling in all regions except the Eastern Mediterannean. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The pandemics disruption of birth control access led to 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies, study says. A packed waiting room in December at Plafam, a nonprofit womens health clinic in Caracas, Venezuela, that offers low-cost or free contraception. Credit... Meridith Kohut for The New York Times Disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic prevented nearly 12 million women in 115 countries from gaining access to family planning services over the past year and led to 1.4 million unintended pregnancies, the United Nations reported Thursday. The findings, in a study released by the United Nations Population Fund, underscored what womens rights activists have described as the pandemics destructive impact on reproductive and maternal health care in many places around the world, particularly among impoverished populations. Poor and middle-income countries were forced to divert medical resources to patients with Covid-19. And severe restrictions on mobility, aimed at limiting the contagion, meant that many women either could not seek medical care outside the home or feared the risk of traveling. Pregnancies dont stop for pandemics, or any crisis, said Dr. Natalia Kanem, the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund. Known by its acronym, UNFPA, it is the worlds leading provider of family planning services. The data in the study was compiled by the UNFPA and Avenir Health, a global health-policy organization. In the 115 low- and middle-income countries studied, women faced an average disruption in their family planning services of 3.6 months over the past year. The worst disruptions were concentrated in April and May of 2020. Previous research by the same partners, conducted last May, predicted that three months of lockdown could lead to anywhere between 13 million and 44 million women losing access to contraception. Olympic committee partners with China to provide vaccines for athletes. China has agreed to provide coronavirus vaccines for any participant requiring one ahead of this summers Tokyo Olympics and next years Beijing Winter Games. Credit... Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters In what amounts to a public relations coup for China and a solution to a problem for the International Olympic Committee, the I.O.C. president, Thomas Bach, announced on Thursday that China had agreed to provide coronavirus vaccines for any participant requiring one ahead of this summers Tokyo Olympics and next years Beijing Winter Games. Bach said the Olympic committee would cover the cost of the vaccines for any Olympic and Paralympic competitors who needed them, and that distribution would take place through existing international agencies. It is unknown how many doses will be purchased or what the program will cost, but if vaccinating participants before they arrive reassures a skeptical public that the Games will not turn into a superspreader event for Japan where polling has trended strongly against the Games and a national vaccination program is still in its early stages the payoff for the I.O.C. will be incalculable. Thursdays announcement by Bach, elected to a new four-year term a day earlier, will help the I.O.C. resolve a sensitive matter that has been one of the many questions hanging over the Tokyo Games: how to ensure that thousands of visitors to Japan from around the world will be vaccinated when they arrive, and how to do so without making it look as if fit, young, elite athletes and their teams have jumped the line while the global death toll from the coronavirus continues to grow. For China, the agreement with the I.O.C. which will include two vaccines for the general population in an athletes home country for every one given to an Olympics participant may help to deflect mounting public scrutiny and criticism about the countrys human rights record ahead of next years Beijing Winter Games. In recent months, China has also made vaccines a tool of its foreign policy, at times exporting precious doses even as it still needs tens of millions of them at home. It has approved four vaccines, and all are in either domestic or foreign use. The country produces single- and two-dose vaccines, but in trials each has produced varying degrees of efficacy. Advertisement Continue reading the main story YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of Finland to Armenia Kirsti Narinen (residence in Helsinki) delivered credentials to President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office. President Sarkissian congratulated the Ambassador on the occasion of assuming the post and wished productive work. The President expressed confidence that the Ambassador will contribute to the strengthening of relations between the two friendly countries. During the meeting the sides also referred to the opportunities of cooperation between the two countries, as well as exchanged views on regional issues. Through March 2, there were 348 carjackings in Chicago, more than double the tally at the same time last year and by far the most the city has seen during the same period since at least 2001, city crime statistics show. The Police Department also created a new section on its website where users can submit tips about carjackings, and created a carjacking task force in conjunction with Illinois State Police and the Cook County sheriffs office, Brown said. (TNS) President Joe Bidens plan to put two progressive antitrust scholars in top positions signals an aggressive approach to combating corporate consolidation and monopoly power, especially that wielded by technology giants such as Alphabet Inc.s Google and Facebook Inc.Bidens team is vetting Lina Khan, a Columbia Law School professor who specializes in antitrust law, to serve as a member of the Federal Trade Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. Last week, he named another Columbia law professor, Timothy Wu, to join the National Economic Council as a special assistant on technology and competition policy.Together Khan and Wu could push the Biden administration to broaden an ongoing assault on the tech industry that started under former President Donald Trump. Wu is in a position to influence legislation that could upend the business practices of tech and other large companies. If confirmed, Khan would likely pressure the FTC to pursue an investigation of Amazon.com Inc. that began under Trump and write rules that tighten regulation of the tech industry.In addition, they would be able to influence how competition policy is applied to industries across the economy. Many antitrust experts are pushing for a broad rethinking of competition policy amid growing recognition that the U.S. has failed to tackle the power of dominant companies in numerous industries, including airlines, mobile-phone and Internet services and agriculture.Both Khan and Wu have been outspoken advocates for vigorous antitrust enforcement against U.S. tech companies. They are part of a group of antitrust thinkers who argue that the current playbook for policing mergers and anti-competitive conduct has fallen short and want to return antitrust policy to its early 20th-century roots when regulators went after monopolies in railroads and oil.Its a major step, said William Kovacic, a professor at the George Washington University Law School and a former FTC commissioner. Its another sign of the extraordinary success that the advocates of transformation have had in changing the debate and changing the policy-making context. Just extraordinary. I dont even think they foresaw that this would happen five years ago.While Wu and Khan will be influential, Biden has yet to nominate people for the most important antitrust positions the chair of the FTC and the head of the Justice Departments antitrust division, who will oversee the case brought against Google last year and will decide whether to bring additional cases against tech companies. The division is investigating Apple Inc. over App Store practices.Kovacic said the choice of who will lead the Justice Departments antitrust division is crucial. Is that more of a traditionalist? Or Is there going to be a deliberate effort here to create a debate, create tension? he said.In her early thirties, Khan already has served in influential roles as an adviser to regulators and lawmakers, having burst onto the antitrust scene with a groundbreaking analysis of Amazon published in 2017. That paper cast the online retail behemoth as a harmful monopoly thats destroying small businesses.In her paper, Khan painstakingly built a case that Amazon employs practices that should provoke a rethink of antitrust enforcement in the U.S.The company has positioned itself at the center of e-commerce and now serves as essential infrastructure for a host of other businesses that depend upon it, she wrote. Elements of the firms structure and conduct pose anticompetitive concerns yet it has escaped antitrust scrutiny.The FBI is conducting a background check on Khan, which is routine for political nominees, according to a person familiar with the matter. The White House and Khan didnt respond to requests for comment. Politico reported earlier on the plan to nominate Khan.The Khan and Wu appointments come as the Internet platforms are facing a reckoning in Washington that could transform the industry. The FTC is already seeking to break up Facebook, and Khan could be instrumental in shaping a potential case against Amazon. Wu is likely to have a say over legislation that could put guardrails on how tech companies operate. Lawmakers are considering reforms to antitrust law that would make it harder for tech companies to buy rivals and are developing proposals to impose rules to protect the privacy of users and change liability protections that the companies prize.This is not good for the platforms, said Herb Hovenkamp, an antitrust law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Theres clearly not going to be any let up from the Trump administration to the Biden administration.The American Economic Liberties Project, an anti-monopoly group closely aligned with Khans point of view, said Biden must appoint aggressive enforcers to the Justice Department and the other open FTC seat.The Biden-Harris administration needs to turn the page on the ideology and policies that brought us to the brink, Sarah Miller, the groups executive director, said in a statement.Khan would take over one of five seats on the FTC, which is being run by Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. While enforcement decisions require a majority vote, the chair of the agency wields significant power.Khan and Wu advocate a new view of antitrust enforcement that upends the framework the U.S. has been using to assess antitrust harm for decades. Often called the New Brandeis School after former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, proponents of this approach want to recast merger analysis by focusing not just on price increases but also on stagnant wages, innovation, income inequality and privacy rights.With the nomination of Lina Khan, the Biden administration has signaled that antitrust enforcement and important competition policy changes will be a high priority, said Charlotte Slaiman, competition policy director at Public Knowledge. Khan has already had an incredible impact, pushing the competition policy discussion in the right direction with her work.Defenders of the tech industry criticized Khans pending selection. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which is funded by companies including Google, Facebook and Amazon, said Khans antitrust populism threatens to derail traditional enforcement of antitrust laws.Her writings and opinions reveal a strong preference for smaller, less efficient, less innovative rivals at the expense of objective and principled enforcement of antitrust laws, Aurelien Portuese, ITIFs director of antitrust and innovation policy, said in a statement. In a time of intense competition with Chinas rising economic and technological power, the self-inflicted harm of Khans brand of antitrust populism will harm U.S. companies and consumers to the benefit of foreign rivals.Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who sits on the Judiciary Committees antitrust panel, called Khans likely nomination deeply concerning and described her views on antitrust wildly out of step with a prudent approach to the law.Nominating Ms. Khan would signal that President Biden intends to put ideology and politics ahead of competent antitrust enforcement, Lee said in a statement.The nominations underscore that Biden is abandoning the antitrust playbook of the Obama administration, which took a largely hands-off approach to enforcement in the technology sector.While Barack Obamas Justice Department stopped several high-profile mergers, it approved others that were criticized as worsening competition, such as the tie-up of American Airlines Group Inc. and US Airways. The FTC under Obama approved Facebooks acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp and closed an investigation of Google into its search operations in 2013 without any action.Khan recently served as an aide to FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra and did stints at the New America Foundation and its spin-off, the Open Markets Institute. She was also counsel to the House Judiciary Committees antitrust panel, which conducted a 16-month investigation into tech companies that determined that the biggest Internet platforms have all abused their gatekeeper power over the digital economy. The panel, led by Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline, is preparing to introduce legislation to reform antitrust laws.The committees report recommended a series of far-reaching antitrust reforms, including a measure that would prohibit a dominant tech platform from operating in competition with the firms dependent on it much the way banking laws once barred large lenders from acquiring insurers, real estate firms, and other non-banking companies. The committee also recommended restrictions on acquisitions by dominant firms. Nearly 2,000 people marked International Women's Day in Kiev Monday with a march demanding that Ukraine ratify the Istanbul Convention against domestic abuse. The demonstrators, mainly women, carried signs that read "No to domestic violence" and "I am allergic to patriarchy". Ukraine signed the Istanbul Convention in 2011 but has yet to ratify it. The document is aimed at fighting the abuse of women, in particular domestic violence. But religious groups in Ukraine have criticised attempts to introduce the notion of gender in national legislation, saying it threatens traditional family values. The rally was protected by a large police presence and officers arrested two men who tried to attack the march. Several dozen far-right activists meanwhile staged a demonstration of their own nearby. Female protestors called on others to rise up and not surrender their rights / AFP Ukrainian laws designed to protect victims of domestic violence have many loopholes and are rarely enforced. Suspects are more often than not acquitted, say campaigners. Organisers of the march also sought to call attention to the heavy impact of Covid-19 on women, who represent a majority among Ukrainian health care providers, teachers and social workers. Two-thirds of women in Ukraine say they have suffered physical, psychological or sexual abuse since the age of 15, according to a 2019 study by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). I t was a crime so monstrous and committed against children so young that even today, a quarter of a century on, the sheer horror of it remains difficult to comprehend. We saw a large number of dead and injured children when we arrived, one first responder said at the time. They were distributed within the room in various positions. The dead with the injured. Twenty-five years ago on Saturday, a disgraced 43-year-old Scouts leader living alone in the town of Dunblane walked into the local primary school gymnasium dressed in combat fatigues and armed with four guns. He then opened fire on a class of five- and six-years-old in their PE lesson. Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and their teacher in less than five minutes before turning one of the guns on himself, that morning of 13 March 1996. Evil visited us, headteacher Ron Taylor told reporters in the immediate aftermath. And we dont know why. We dont understand it. Today, understanding the carnage inflicted on Dunblane is just as impossible. The survivors and the people who lost loved ones rarely speak about it in public the pain, local MP Alan Smyth tells The Independent, is still too raw but whenever they do, it is never anything less than heartbreaking. Those who were children talk about hiding under desks and crawling into cupboards; of smoke and cordite filling the air; of the sheer confusion at what was taking place. The noise from the gym sounded like shooting, one pupil, Steven Hopper, told this newspaper 10 years later. But, well, who would have been shooting in a school? Parents recall a growing sense of panic as news spread of an atrocity. Those whose little ones survived refer to a sense of guilt that has haunted them since. For those who lost loved ones the sense is of a possibility-packed future suddenly and wickedly robbed from them. One mother, Isabel Wilson, later said she had never been able to recover from the fact she was not there when her daughter, Mhairi MacBeath, passed away. That is the one regret I have, she told the BBC in 2016. Id like her mother to have been with her when she died. Id liked her to have had her mum. Thats an absolute betrayal. But, if the pain remains searing in Dunblane, so too perhaps does the anger that such a outrage could have been allowed to happen. In the aftermath of the horror, families from the 9,000-person town were astonishingly successful at forcing through a firearms ban in the UK all handguns were illegalised within 18 months yet a feeling persists to this day that such controls should have been in place long before then. Campaigners had spent years arguing for tighter restrictions following the 1987 Hungerford massacre in which a handyman shot dead 16 people in the Berkshire town but their efforts had been continually thwarted by a then still-powerful gun lobby. Pertinently, it is remembered in Dunblane that among those who persistently fought against restrictions even after the school shooting was a young and oft-offensive right-wing columnist. Banning handguns because of the tragedy, he wrote in one piece, was the equivalent of a nanny confiscating toys. In another, he declared introducing controls would be mere something-must-be-done-ism. His name was Boris Johnson. Two children stand in front of the flower tribute to those who died at Dunblane Primary School (PA) For Jack Crozier, this means that the issue of UK gun control remains as relevant today as it ever did. He was just two years old when he lost his sister Emma in the massacre. He doesnt remember the day itself but the loss has shaped his whole life. You grow up knowing there is something missing, the 27-year-old tells The Independent. My little sister Ellie is my best pal in the world. But we feel robbed that we dont have another sister there that we should have. In the immediate aftermath, his parents, John and Alison, campaigned to have handguns banned. When then prime minister John Major told them that he could never get a full ban through parliament partially because of agitators like Boris Johnson Mr Crozier told the Tory leader he would find someone who could. He found Tony Blair, whose New Labour won huge support by promising and delivering a complete ban on all handguns. Today, Jack and Ellie continue their parents fight by offering support to similar campaigners in the US. In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting in 2018, when 17 staff and students were killed at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the siblings flew to Florida to join protesters demanding a change in law. But crucially, the pair are adamant that we must not become complacent about gun control here in the UK either, not least because of who is now prime minister. We need to be intensely vigilant, Jack, a sales and marketing executive, says. Changes are insidious when it comes to things like this. They will be small and incremental, and its our job to make sure theres not one inch given in the wrong direction. And if you look at Boris Johnson, the comments he made after Dunblane... he wrote an article saying the handgun ban was like a nanny confiscating toys and a knee-jerk reaction. Thats the prime minister who said that. And I want people to be angry about that and understand, with gun control, it doesnt take much for the dial to swing back. So we need to be constantly vigilant. It is something Mick North agrees with. The retired academic lost his daughter, five-year-old Sophie, on that day in 1996 but the pain was compounded in the weeks after by people like Mr Johnson suggesting families were overreacting by demanding a ban. This has been something that has bugged me since 1996, the 73-year-old, who founded the Gun Control Network, tells The Independent. What always struck was just his callous disregard for others. This was a week after my daughter died just a week and he was writing columns that were essentially demeaning us. A Downing Street spokesperson said: The UK has among the most stringent firearms laws in the world to prevent dangerous weapons failing into the hands of criminals. Our top priority will always be keeping the public safe and we are ensuring that our laws and police powers deliver on that commitments. Either way, for campaigners, the fight continues here and in the US. Anniversaries like Saturday can make it hard because you suddenly get this lens focusing on Dunblane, says Crozier. But we need to keep that lens on those in power here and to also cast it to the US and do what we can because you have families over there going through this exact same thing on an almost monthly basis. We need to keep this at the top of the political agenda and to use what happened to us to try and help them. Those who died at Dunblane were teacher Gwen Mayor, 45, five-year-old pupils Victoria Clydesdale, Emma Crozier, Melissa Currie, Charlotte Dunn, Kevin Hasell, Ross Irvine, David Kerr, Mhairi McBeath, Abigail McLennan, Emily Morton, Sophie North, John Petrie, Joanna Ross, Hannah Scott, Megan Turner, and six-year-old Brett McKinnon SCRANTON, Pa., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Penn Foster announced today that it has earned the 2021-2022 Military Friendly School designation and Top Ten status. "The strength and resilience of the U.S. economy is due in no small part to the servicemembers whose dedication and courage keep our country safe," said Mark Slayton, Sr. VP Student Success. "By reimagining the relationship between education and work, Penn Foster is committed to building new pathways to economic opportunity for active-duty military and veterans -- in ways that can both uplift communities and build a stronger and more equitable workforce." Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Over 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-2022 survey with 747 earning the designation. 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 . Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory 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 institution's survey response set and government/agency public data sources, within a logic based scoring assessment. We measure the institution's 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. "Military Friendly is committed to transparency and providing consistent data driven standards in our 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. Our 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." - Kayla Lopez, National Director of Military Partnerships, Military Friendly For more information about Penn Foster's student veteran programs, visit www.pennfoster.edu . About Military Friendly Schools: The Military Friendly Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com . About Penn Foster: Penn Foster is bridging the gap between education and economic opportunity to build tomorrow's workforce. We partner with employers, education and workforce organizations, and local community groups to design and deliver digital and blended learning programs that attract, upskill, and retain workers in America's fastest-growing fields and professions. With more than 40,000 graduates each year, Penn Foster helps individuals discover pathways to opportunity through accredited diploma, certificate and degree programs that matter in the world of work. For more information, visit https://www.pennfoster.edu/ . About Viqtory: Founded in 2001, VIQTORY is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) that connects the military community to civilian employment, educational and entrepreneurial opportunities through its G.I. Jobs and Military Friendly brands. VIQTORY and its brands are not a part of or endorsed by the U.S. Dept of Defense or any federal government entity. Learn more about VIQTORY at www.viqtory.com. SOURCE Penn Foster Related Links http://www.pennfoster.edu Microsoft on Thursday announced that two teams of Indian students have advanced to "2021 Microsoft Imagine Cup Finals" -- an annual innovation contest for students and technology enthusiasts. The two winning teams -- Team Detectd from G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur and Team Intelli-Sense from the Vellore Institute of Technology -- focused on cybersecurity to counter deepfakes (Team Detectd) and assistive technology for people with low vision (Team Intelli-Sense). "Microsoft's Imagine Cup is a commitment to create a culture of innovation in students, enabling them to use technology for solving some of the world's most critical social and sustainability problems," Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said in a statement. Imagine Cup is a global competition designed to empower students to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technologies to solve some of the world's most critical social and sustainability problems. The 2021 India edition saw 353 team entries and over 10K individual entries from students across the country, competing to solve global challenges across four categories -- Earth, Education, Health, and Lifestyle. Microsoft joined hands with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for the India edition of Imagine Cup. As knowledge partner, NSDC enabled nation-wide reach of the challenge across states, districts, and skill development centres. The finals of Imagine Cup India were judged by an eminent panel, including Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, Pulkit Jain, Co-founder and Product Head of Vedantu and Manish Kumar, CEO and MD, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The 2021 edition was the first virtual edition of Imagine Cup. The four finalists from India, who were the winners in each category received a Surface Go 2 device each -- Earth (Team DENSITY), Education (Team CodeCapture), Health (Team Intelli-Sense) and Lifestyle (Team Detectd). The top four teams will be awarded USD 10,000 each for the best solution in each category at the world finals. The world champion will take home the Imagine Cup and win an additional $75,000 along with a mentorship opportunity with Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella. Nicola Sturgeon has said she will likely be haunted for the rest of her life after an error by the Scottish Government let down two women who brought harassment complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond. The First Minister was speaking as she was accused of racking up an additional six-figure sum in lawyers costs, as her administration continued to fight the legal challenge Mr Salmond mounted over the way those complaints were handled. Legal advice, which ministers have taken the unusual step of making public, shows the Scottish Governments lawyers had mounting concerns, she conceded. Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson noted the papers show that on December 17 2018, the Governments senior lawyer Roddy Dunlop QC had warned the First Minister personally against ploughing on regardless because of a large expenses bill which would inevitably rise. The Scottish Government conceded the judicial review almost a month later on January 8 2019, with Mr Salmond awarded a pay-out of more than 500,000 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. That was after the court ruled the Government had acted unlawfully in the way it dealt with the complaints, noting the investigating officer appointed had already had prior contact with the women involved. Ms Davidson said: We have since learned that from the moment Roddy Dunlop wrote that note on December 17 to the time when the Government finally conceded, the bill exceeded 100,000. Perhaps even 200,000, but we dont know for sure because the Government wont tell us their side of the bill. Ms Sturgeon told MSPs the advice from the Governments law officers as late as December 11 2018 was that ministers should continue to defend the case and there were credible arguments to be made in all areas, including the appointment of the investigating officer, which was the key area of problem for us. But she accepted a mistake was made in the application of this procedure. She added this became fully understood during the process of the judicial review, and this was what ultimately meant we couldnt defend the judicial review. She accepted a different first minister may have reached different judgments about whether to press on with the case. Ms Sturgeon said: It is undeniably the case the Government made mistakes here, which I, we, are determined to learn from. I will be haunted for probably the rest of my life about the way in which the Government through an error, an error made in good faith but nevertheless an error, let down those women. Former first minister Alex Salmond successfully challenged the way the Scottish Government dealt with complaints against him (Jane Barlow/PA) I have apologised for that. I wasnt involved in the investigation so I wasnt aware of the error at the time, but as head of the Scottish Government I take, and I feel, responsibility for that. She told Ms Davidson a review of the Governments complaints handling procedure, being carried out by Laura Dunlop QC, would be made public. But she denied a suggestion from the Tory that ministers already have Ms Dunlops report. During First Ministers Questions, Ms Davidson said: Our clear understanding is that Ms Dunlop has reported, in writing, back to the Scottish Government on her work. Ms Sturgeon told her: I have not seen Laura Dunlops review, it will be published and it will be published in early course once we have seen it. I want everything about this to be open and transparent, because I do want to learn lessons. A spokesman for the First Minister subsequently confirmed that Ms Dunlops review had been received by the government on Thursday morning, but said that Ms Sturgeon was unaware of that until after FMQs had concluded. The decision this week by 2,300 Manitoba Hydro workers to go on strike is hardly surprising. The decision this week by 2,300 Manitoba Hydro workers to go on strike is hardly surprising. Given the profuse serving of tough love that has been dished out over the last few years, it would have been shocking if they had stayed on the job. The workers who maintain Hydros power transmission and distribution systems have been without a contract since 2018. Last year, they had to absorb three unpaid days off after the Progressive Conservative government demanded the Crown corporation trim operating costs. On the heels of all that, the offer presented to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034 would seem even to skeptics of the collective bargaining approach to be almost punitive. Along with a few non-monetary concessions and a qualified pledge to avoid layoffs, IBEW members were asked to approve a contract that would have frozen their wages over the past two years, with a 0.75 per cent increase to be paid this year. Remarkably, this essentially means the Progressive Conservative government of Manitoba is still trying to enforce the terms of the Public Sector Sustainability Act. That bill, which was passed in the Manitoba Legislature but never proclaimed, called for two years of zero, with a 0.75 increase in the third year, and a 1.0 increase in the fourth, to help the provincial government restore fiscal stability. Manitoba Hydro IBEW members were offered two years at zero, with a 0.75 per cent increase in the third year. If that had been accepted, it would mean they would have gone nearly five years without a wage increase. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press) The bill was struck down last year by the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench, largely on the basis the Pallister government was unable to substantiate its claim it could not afford to pay wage increases. The Tories subsequently appealed the decision. Notwithstanding the uncertainty, the Pallister government was able to bully a handful of public-sector unions into accepting the two-year freeze without negotiation. However, for all other bargaining groups, the province has largely refused to negotiate in any meaningful way, leaving tens of thousands of public servants without contracts. Yet, even with its attempts to paralyze collective bargaining, the Tories settled some contracts where retroactive pay increases were required. Two school divisions, Pembina Trails (last month) and Louis Riel (last year), won settlements through binding arbitration that include modest wage increases dating to 2018. Beautiful Plains recently reached a negotiated settlement with nearly identical wage increases for the previous two years. With teachers getting retroactive pay increases, and the wage-control act on life support at the courts, one has to wonder what strategy the premier will employ to settle all remaining contracts without breaking the provincial treasury? If he has a strategy, and its not clear yet he does, hes keeping it well-hidden. That could be a problem. There are some huge outstanding contracts to settle, including one with 14,000 members of the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union, which expires this year, and a long-overdue pact with 12,000 nurses represented by the Manitoba Nurses Union. As of March 31, the MNU will have been without a contract for four years. Although the nurses do not have access to binding arbitration, there is only so long government can drag its feet on negotiations before it will be found guilty of an unfair labour practice, and put itself into a position where a settlement could be imposed. Premier Brian Pallister introduced the Public Sector Sustainability Act ion 2017 calling for two years of zero per cent increases, with a 0.75 increase in the third year, and a 1.0 increase in the fourth for all public sector employees. It was thrown out by the court. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) The province and MNU are still, technically, "talking." However, union officials concede little progress is being made, even amidst the spotlight on health-care workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. At some point, the MNU and province are going to get a deal done and you can bet it wont feature a four-year wage freeze. Which brings us back to the striking Hydro workers. No matter where you stand on collective bargaining and public-sector unions, the offer made no doubt tightly scripted at cabinet level does not represent a sincere effort to reach a deal. Pallister may argue all this foot-dragging helps him make government more affordable, thus saving taxpayers money. However, he should remember all the public servants who are without contracts are also voters. While a good number of them are not politically aligned with organized labour or its party of choice (NDP), they all expect to be treated with some measure of fairness by their employer. Hydro workers are just the latest bargaining group to join a long queue of public servants who have undergone a master class in premierial contempt. One way or the other, either in the near term or well down the road when Manitobans next go to the polls, there will be a political price to be paid. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca The Securities and Exchange Commission charged George Heckler, of Charleston, South Carolina, for operating a decade-long investment adviser fraud through two private hedge funds, Cassatt Short Term Trading Fund LP (Cassatt) and CV Special Opportunity Fund LP (CV Special), that Heckler formed to conceal massive losses incurred by Conestoga Holdings LP (Conestoga), another fund controlled by Heckler. According to the SEC's complaint, Heckler, after forming Cassatt and CV Special, transferred Conestoga's poorly performing assets to those funds and then misrepresented the funds' objectives and performance to Cassatt and CV Special investors. The complaint alleges that, between 2009 and 2019, Heckler falsely told investors that their funds were being used to engage in very short-term equity trading and that the investments were consistently generating positive returns. In truth, according to the complaint, a substantial amount of investors' funds had not been invested at all or had been used to make Ponzi-like payments to prior investors. According to the complaint, Heckler raised at least $90 million in new investor capital through Cassatt, CV Special, and three other entities he controlled, of which over $32 million was used to repay or redeem prior investors. In addition, the Commission alleges that Heckler took over $1 million for his personal use, and Cassatt and CV Special suffered significant losses as a result of poor investments by Heckler. Heckler also allegedly concealed these losses from investors by providing them with false account statements showing fictitious gains. The SEC's complaint charges Heckler with 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), 206(2), 206(4) and Rule 206(4)-8 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Heckler has agreed to settle the SEC's charges by consenting to a bifurcated judgment that permanently enjoins him from future violations of the charged provisions and bars him from the securities industry, with disgorgement and penalties to be resolved at a future date. On March 9, 2021, Heckler entered a guilty plea for related criminal conduct before the federal court for the District of New Jersey. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Julia C. Green, Burk Burnett, and Dustin E. Ruta, and supervised by Scott A. Thompson. John V. Donnelly III and Mark R. Sylvester will lead the litigation. This matter arose out of a referral from the Philadelphia Regional Office's Examination Program. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Brussels, Belgium (PANA) The European Union on Thursday urged all parties involved in the armed conflict in northern Ethiopias Tigray regional state to immediately end violence and ensure full, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need in all areas BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children A man with lightning fast reflexes has gone viral on TikTok after catching a seagull mid-air that was hungry for his McDonald's chips. Taylor Mechen was coming home from a night out in Dunedin, when he decided to stop for an early morning snack. Sitting on a bench, he quickly found himself surrounded by seagulls who were 'dive bombing' him as they tried to take a bite out of his meal. Mr Mechen who was filming the swarm of birds, then managed to catch one in his right hand before quickly releasing it back into the sky. A New Zealander has gone viral on TikTok after catching a seagull mid-air that was hungry for his McDonald's chips He shared the video to TikTok where it amassed more than 22 million views and thousands of comments. Most were impressed by the man's quick hands but others were left outraged by the video and claimed Mr Mechen had put the bird at risk. Operations manager Annie Wallace for the Department of Conservation told the Otago Daily Times that the seagull in the video belonged to the red-billed gull species and is protected under the Wildlife Act. 'Tarapunga are protected under the Wildlife Act, meaning it is illegal to disturb, harass or kill them. Those who do so can face fines or imprisonment,' she said. 'It is stressful for the animal whenever someone catches and holds our native birds like this.' In a follow up video, Mr Mechen said he didn't mean to catch the bird as he has a fear of them. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the Kiwi apologised for the behaviour and said he didn't realise the seagull was a protected species. He said the bird was only in his hand for a few seconds and that he had no intention to do it again or harm the gull. 'I wasn't encouraging them closer obviously, as I'm scared of them,' he said. 'I wasn't feeding them, I didn't hurt it, and I didn't even mean to have an encounter with them.' The Oklahoma House approved a bill early Wednesday to grant immunity to drivers who 'unintentionally' mow down, and even kill, protesters who block roads. The legislation, approved shortly after midnight on a 79-18 party-line, with Republicans in favor, offers both civil and criminal immunity to any driver who injures or kills someone while 'fleeing from a riot,' provided that they have a 'reasonable belief' that harm would come to them unless they flee. House Bill 1674, which now heads to the Republican-majority state Senate, would allow prosecutors to bring a misdemeanor charge against protesters who 'unlawfully obstruct streets or highways,' punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Oklahoma House voted on Wednesday 79-18 to approve bill that would grant immunity to drivers who 'unintentionally injure or kill protesters who block roads. This image shows a pickup truck that mowed down several people during a Black Lives Matter rally in Tulsa in May The biill would allow prosecutors to bring a misdemeanor charge against protesters, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine During a heated floor debate in the House, Rep Kevin McDugle, a Republican, who presented the bill, invoked an incident that took place during a Black Lives Matter protest in Tulsa last May, when a pickup truck drove through a crowd of activists on Interstate 244, causing multiple injuries, including paralysis in one victim, reported The Oklahoman. The county district attorney chose to not file charges against the driver, who had his children in the vehicle at the time. In defending the bill, McDugle said that its purpose is to prevent protesters from impeding the 'freedoms of others.' The bills co-author, state Rep. Kevin West, a Republican from Moore, cited another incident in which an Oklahoma couple found themselves surrounded in the street during a rally last year protesting the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Republican lawmakers argued that the purpose of the legislation is to prevent protesters from impeding the 'freedoms of others' 'If youre in your vehicle and you end up getting surrounded, youre trapped in that vehicle. If the people around you are hitting your car with their hands, with bats, with bricks, any of these things, theres a huge distinction between people being in the road and people impeding you and you being in fear of your life,' said West. State Rep. Monroe Nichols, a Democrat from Tulsa who is black, said he does not want to have to tell his 12-year-old son that instead of addressing systemic racism and police reform, the Oklahoma House 'made it so that folks who may advocate for people who look like him can be run over with immunity.' Rep. Emily Virgin, a Democrat from Norman, accused her Republican colleagues of pandering to people who disagree with protesters, rather than taking a hard look at the issues that caused them to take to the streets in the first place, reported the station KOCO. 'I think its a really reckless and dangerous piece of legislation, and its a really reckless and dangerous message to send to Oklahomans,' Virgin said. The Tennessee legislature last week proposed a nearly identical bill that would make it a felony to obstruct a highway and grant immunity from prosecution to drivers. Pictured: Demonstrators take part in a protest march Thursday, June 4, 2020, in Nashville The Oklahoma House bill is one of a series of Republican-backed proposals across the country that would increase criminal penalties for activities associated with protests last summer over racial injustice and police brutality. Just days before the vote in Oklahoma, the Tennessee legislature proposed a nearly identical bill that would make it a felony to obstruct a highway and grant immunity from prosecution to drivers who unintentionally injure or kill someone blocking a road, reported NBC News. Brandon Tucker, policy director at the ACLU of Tennessee, called the proposal a 'dangerous anti-protest' bill and a 'troubling suppression of free speech.' Washington Rep. John Katko on Thursday blamed President Joe Biden for a surge of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border and said he plans to view the problem himself in a trip next week. Katko and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy plan to lead a group of a dozen GOP members of Congress on a tour of the border Monday in El Paso, Texas, where they will meet with U.S. border patrol agents. Katko, R-Camillus, said he blames Bidens rollback of former president Donald Trumps strict border policies for the surge. Its a crisis of Bidens own making that he didnt have to make, Katko told syracuse.com in an interview. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials published enforcement data this week showing its officers made 100,441 arrests and detentions on the Southwest border in February, up 28% from the previous month and 173% from the same time a year ago. The number of unaccompanied minors increased 61% during the same period to 9,457, the data showed. Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border will rise to 13,000 a month by May if nothing is done. Katko blames the surge on Bidens decision to halt construction of a border wall and eliminate a Trump policy that forced migrants to stay in Mexico after applying for asylum in the United States. In the end, the policies are benefiting drug traffickers who make money by smuggling people across the border, Katko said. He called for Biden to reverse his policies. He has signaled to the drug traffickers that the borders are open, and the traffickers are going to exploit that, Katko said. They are going to make more money smuggling humans than they will smuggling drugs. Biden promised during his campaign to make U.S. immigration policies more welcoming and humane while fixing a broken immigration system. Biden administration officials said this week that the recent surge is a result of demand that built up during Trumps presidency and worsening economic conditions in Central America caused by the coronavirus pandemic and recent hurricanes. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 With one week to go until the March 18 filing deadline, only one incumbent has filed to run for Portland school board while four newcomers have signed on so far to vie for the three seats being contested this year. Julia Brim-Edwards announced Tuesday that shell seek reelection to the Zone 6 seat, which primarily encompasses neighborhoods east of Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard from Interstate 84 south to Holgate Boulevard. Brim-Edwards was elected to the school board in 2017 after previously serving from 2001 to 2005. One other person had filed to run for the seat as of Wednesday evening, Matthew Max Margolis, a reading tutor who graduated from Ohio University with a bachelors degree in political science. Two people have so far filed to run in Zone 4, which encompasses North Portland and is home to Roosevelt and Jefferson high schools. It also contains a part of Northeast Portland, including the Woodlawn and Faubion school zones. Rita Moore, an analyst for the Oregon Department of Human Services, currently represents Zone 4. Moore has not said whether she will seek reelection after a first term. Margo Logan , who filed to run for Moores seat, is a child care consultant who lives on Hayden Island. Shes a self-described analyst and expert witness in civil court and administrative hearings related to child abuse and state government regulation. Logan was the Republican challenger to House Speaker Tina Kotek in the 2020 election. She attended the Dec. 21 rally against Gov. Kate Browns coronavirus mandates at the Oregon Capitol, during which violent demonstrators breached the building after Rep. Mike Nearman opened a side door and invited them inside. She also urged her Facebook friends to join what Logan called the Mask Free Musketeer Squad in early February. Logan claimed to enter a Panera Bread, Dollar Tree and Target unmasked. Brooklyn Sherman, who also is running for the Zone 4 seat, is a Portland State University student who graduated from Jefferson High School in 2020. Scott Bailey, a retired Washington state economist, represents Zone 5, which contains schools in much of Northeast Portland and includes neighborhoods that feed to Grant and Madison high schools. He has not yet said whether he will run for reelection to a second term. Only one person has filed to seek the Zone 5 seat so far. Gary Hollands runs an investment company and previously served on the Multnomah Education Service District board. Hollands, who is Black, also served on the Dawson Park Revitalization Committee and a city of Portland economic development policy group. He is married to Aisha Hollands, Portland Public Schools director of diversity and workforce development. Should Gary Hollands win the Zone 5 seat in May, it would mark the first time since 2013 more than one person of color concurrently sat on the board overseeing Oregons largest district. Michelle DePass, a Black City of Portland employee who represents Zone 2, took office in 2019. Elsewhere in the region, the majority of school board positions that will appear on the May ballot have at least one person vying for the job. In the Reynolds district, however, three seats have so far drawn no candidates. --Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano | Eder on Facebook Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com. (Alliance News) - Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to be grilled by MPs over his budget, as he faces questions over NHS spending and the widely criticised 1% pay rise for health workers. Sunak will give evidence to the Commons Treasury Committee on Thursday afternoon, a little over a week after he detailed his second Budget. He is likely to be quizzed on his move to raise corporation tax from 19% to 23% from 2023 and freezing income tax thresholds as he seeks to rebuild the public finances following the coronavirus pandemic. Committee Chair Mel Stride has also been urged to press the chancellor on a series of "key questions" affecting the health system. Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents health trusts, said Sunak must "make good on his promise to meet all Covid costs" and agree the NHS's 2021/22 budget this week. He also called on the hancellor to "honour at least a 2.1% pay rise for deserving NHS staff" in England. The government has proposed a 1% pay rise for health workers, a move that has provoked criticism after key workers' year-long toil during the coronavirus crisis. NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens said plans set out previously had budgeted for pay to increase by 2.1% this year. source: PA Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/11/2021 -- In Asia as well as globally, Singapore is one of the leading private banking and wealth management centers. As a country, it has a long history of attracting high net worth individuals (HNWI) thanks to its sound financial regulations, strong legal system and its political and economic stability. In addition, when it comes to the country's competitiveness and performance, Singapore is currently second only to Switzerland in Deloitte's international wealth management rankings. What's more, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the number of family offices in Singapore quadrupled from early 2016 to late 2018. The growth in HNWI has in turn, resulted in an increase in the demand for wealth managers so much so that according to Wealth-X by 2023, there are expected to be 7.7 million more HNWI's in the world. In Asia Pacific, the asset and wealth management industries are forecasted to experience the fastest worldwide growth. Plus, according to PwC, assets under management (AUM) are expected to almost double in the region between US$15.trn in 2017 to US$29.6trn in 2025. Furthermore, advisors are retiring from the wealth and asset management industry faster than firms can replace them meaning now, more than ever, private banks are looking for external top-talent to help them reach and achieve their business goals. The shortage of business-critical talent is one of the major challenges currently faced by wealth management firms, and the competition for top quality private bankers has put an emphasis on firms to devise ways of sourcing and retaining industry leading professionals. Founded in 2004, Selby Jennings is a leading sector specialist in the recruitment industry, with particular focus on the financial and banking services. The company's consultants have a wealth of experience and expertise and a long, rich history working throughout the financial recruitment sector in Singapore and beyond. The Selby Jennings wealth management team consists of experienced recruitment consultants who have an expert understanding of their specific field as well as industry leading expertise in relation to the geographical markets of that field. This structure enables their specialist consultants to identify, qualify, and introduce the highest-level wealth management professionals throughout the market place. With a growing network of one million mid-to-senior practitioners covering over 60 nations and boasting a team of over 750 professionals who are all experts in their fields, you can rest assured Selby Jennings will find the best fit when it comes to placing and securing top talent. Located in 12 worldwide offices, Selby Jennings are committed to providing their consultants with ongoing training which covers their state-of-the-art recruiting technologies, ensuring they deliver the best possible hiring solutions no matter how challenging the economic climate. The organisation partners with a plethora of diverse business types, from dynamic start-ups to corporate giants, and as part of the Phaidon International Group they are proud to be the preferred recruiter of choice for over 70 world-leading companies. All Selby Jennings consultants are delighted to present each of their clients with tailored individual recruiting options as they realise that the search for talent is different for every company and individual. Current positions within the wealth management sector, available through the agency include, Senior Philanthropy Advisor - Private Bank, VP - Operational Risk, Trust Assistant Manager, Private Banking - Assistant Relationship Manager and Private Banking - VP Structure Product Specialist, to name just a few. "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 services recruiting firms visit https://www.selbyjennings.sg For any media enquiries please contact Gary Elliott at Iconic Digital 020 7100 0726. For all other enquiries please contact Selby Jennings: +65 3165 1400. For more information about Selby Jennings SG services, please go to https://www.selbyjennings.sg. About Selby Jennings Selby Jennings creates a range of recruitment solutions that are designed to support the growth of organisations across the financial services sector. Transforming the way that hiring is handled is a tool that any business can use to build in resilience and potential even in challenging times. Among the many non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to fight the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), school and college closures have caused immense disruption of educational and economic activity, as one parent or caregiver is forced to remain at home to look after children, rather than leave home to work or even work at home. The question as to whether this step is really necessary has been a bone of contention. An interesting new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv* server reports there is little evidence to suggest the rapid transmission of the virus among school children while attending school. SARS-CoV-2 transmission in children Children are known to carry many viruses causing respiratory tract infection, including influenza, which leads to their acting as carriers in the community at large. This has led to school closures in the current pandemic as a means of containing viral spread. Two facts have become evident so far. One is that the severity of COVID-19 is significantly less among children compared to adults. Secondly, contact tracing shows that children are less likely to be infected than adults, even with the UK variant (Variant of Concern B1.1.7), which is known to be far more transmissible than the original strain. Few studies have directly examined the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission among children and young people at school, and the mechanisms by which the pathogen spreads are also unclear. The current TraCK (Transmission of Coronavirus-19 in Kids) study, therefore, focused on following up a group of children by longitudinal sampling, including identifying infected children, their contacts, and the sampling of their environment. The study was carried out when all school-age children returned to school, and stringent strategies were in place to limit transmission in schools. Children with a positive test were asked to isolate away from school for two weeks. Study details The study covers the months October to December 2020. All cases of COVID-19 among the identified study population were first listed if they were of school age and had a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the virus within 48 hours after having attended school. These children were then matched to the schools from where cases had been reported. All such cases were then traced, and sampling was commenced for them, as well as among their contacts. The latter were traced at home and school. All samples were tested for the virus, and additional samples were taken from surfaces and air in schools and at their homes. Five children participated in the study, and four were still PCR-positive at the beginning of the study. One of these was a contact of an adult in the same household who had SARS-CoV-2 infection. What were the results? Despite having attended school within the 48 hours before the positive test, none of the contacts of these children were found to be infected over 28 days of follow-up, either in the same bubble or at school. For small children, the bubble included the whole class, while for secondary schools, it included close contacts only. School contacts were those of the same school and in the same age group or near the classroom where the infected child sat. The results showed that schoolchildren did not typically transmit the infection to their classmates at school. Only one cluster of three cases of asymptomatic infection was detected at one school. This occurred among three children in the same class, but one of them was infected by the UK variant. This cluster was probably not linked to the index case as they had tested positive in earlier tests at the beginning of the study. They were not in contact with the index patient or with their bubble contacts, who were isolated. Transmission at home A single case of transmission from one child to another child at home was observed, where both shared a bedroom. Another instance of child-to-adult transmission was observed. These were the only transmission events observed, probably because all children were isolated once they tested positive. Viral shedding In this study, infected children showed viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) shedding for up to ten days from the onset of symptoms. The peak of viral shedding appeared to occur around 5-8 days from the earliest symptoms. Interestingly, two out of three asymptomatic cases showed very low viral loads, at (<20 copies/10 microlitres RNA. The low level detected was similar to levels detected in the environmental samples and it is impossible to exclude detection of inert viral RNA that is present transiently in the nasopharynx, rather than an active virus infection. In the third asymptomatic case, a repeat test showed a rise in viral load to >4 million copies per swab, with another asymptomatic infection being identified in the same household. The child continued to shed for a week but never displayed any symptoms of infection. Environmental contamination Environmental contamination was observed in the case of children who were at home and actively shedding the virus. Laptops, mobile phones, remotes and other electronic devices were most heavily or frequently contaminated, in addition to the childrens hands. These items continued to be contaminated for up to ten days after the child became negative for the virus, in cases with the highest viral loads. Ari samples were also positive in half of the four symptomatic cases with moderate viral shedding. These came from rooms where the child was playing or talking or had just been in, for up to seven days from the onset of symptoms. Asymptomatic cases were not associated with positive air samples despite heavy viral shedding in one of them. This was not observed at schools, where the amounts of viral RNA recovered from contaminated surfaces were very low. Infectious virus was not recovered from any sample. In the later cases of COVID-19 among children, the UK variant was identified. None of the air samples showed the presence of viral RNA. What are the implications? This small study shows that COVID-19 does not seem to be typically transmitted by children within schools. A few infections may occur by random spread, and this may lead to transmission clusters. Practically, it also demonstrates the superiority of nasal swabs that are more acceptable, certainly, and more productive of results, in children and safer for the healthcare workers involved. Saliva is also a very useful tool for large-scale testing, but allowance must be made for the difficulty of obtaining saliva samples from children with special needs. Only a sixth of bubble contacts in isolation participated in the study, allowing for the possibility of missing additional transmission events within the bubble. However, other studies in Germany and Norway have shown no secondary transmission. The current study demonstrates that the heightened precautions in schools are also preventing large scale transmission of COVID-19 in mainstream school settings. Further studies are urgently required to understand how infections spread among school children, especially when the UK variant is responsible for most infections. Such data as this may shape policies regarding in-person education at all levels of school. *Important Notice medRxiv 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. Whoopi Goldberg went viral this week after she had a bewildering reaction to Meghan McCain on The View. The Hot Topics revolved around Meghan Markle and the bombshell interview she gave to Oprah Winfrey. As they were discussing the aftermath in the British media, McCain went off on an anti-royal family rant that left everyone confused. Whoopi Goldberg and Meghan McCain | ABC News/Frame Grab via Getty Images What did Meghan McCain say that made Whoopi Goldberg confused? On Tuesdays show, The View took on the fallout in the British media over Markles interview with Oprah. Piers Morgan, who hosted a morning show on the ITV network, was called out for lashing out at Markle. The commentator walked off the set and he later quit. McCain is not a fan of the royal family and changed the subject radically when she had a completely different take on the issue. Instead of commenting on Morgan, McCain went on an anti-monarchy rant. My ancestors fought in the American Revolution, she said. When I was growing up, my brothers and sister and I would pretend to be George Washington and the Continental Army crossing the Delaware River when we would be in the creek. I named my daughter Liberty, I enjoy going to Mount Vernon to visit the homeplace of our founding fathers, I did not want to defend the monarchy. Im a red-blooded 100% American who celebrates freedom [in] anyway I can. Being put in a position where Im supposed to defend the monarchy is uncomfortable. RELATED: The View: Meghan McCain Weighs in on Meghan Markles Suicidal Thoughts Revelation She continued saying that her friends from the U.K. told her that theres a generational divide and younger citizens are not as infatuated with the monarchy. The American experiment is the way to go, she continued. If we have two American women, Megan Markel and Oprah Winfrey, who are single-handedly finishing what George Washington and our revolutionary counterparts did. Im all for it. Whoopi Goldberg goes viral and Meghan McCain reacts It was at the end of McCains opinion that viewers got to see Goldberg completely confused as to what she had heard. She answered with only one word saying, OK. The moment was meme gold and fans made it go viral on social media. Whoopi is us every time Meghan McCain opens her mouth. pic.twitter.com/QrAcNH8HHV POPDUST (@Popdust) March 9, 2021 As Goldberg and McCain became trending topics and the moment was shared everywhere, McCain took to Twitter to react. I am extremely patriotic, I love the founding fathers, she tweeted. I dont know why this is shocking or confusing for anyone [who] has met me for even five seconds I am extremely patriotic. I love the founding fathers. I don't know why this is shocking or confusing for anyone has met me for even five seconds Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 9, 2021 Media outlets covered Goldbergs reaction and McCain read one of the pieces, which she shared on Twitter. Bums me out, she said of Goldbergs reaction in a now-deleted tweet. Meghan McCain reacts to Whoopi Goldbergs confused reaction #TheView pic.twitter.com/8hmE7prfT5 theview (@TheViewClips) March 11, 2021 RELATED: The View: Whoopi Goldberg Cuts Meghan McCain off After Tantrum Over It Today Hours before that tweet, she had tweeted that it had been a difficult day for her reading so much negativity around her persona. Twitter comments and chatter are hurting me today for the first time in a really, really long time, she tweeted. Its hard to reconcile that my daughter can read this stuff someday. All I can say is I do my best every single day and have the best intentions in my heart. The View airs weekday mornings at 11 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. PT/CT on ABC. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have agreed to support Ukraine in restoring its territorial integrity and to keep the international focus on the situation in Belarus. The meeting of Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Dominic Raab, Estonian Minister Eva-Maria Liimets, Latvian Minister Edgars Rinkevics and Lithuanian Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis took place in Tallinn on March 10, the Estonian Ministrys press service reports. I emphasised to my colleagues that we needed to continue helping our Eastern Partners on their chosen course and in implementing democratic reforms, engaging with the civil society and modernising the economy. We must support Ukraine in restoring their territorial integrity and keep the international focus on the situation in Belarus, Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said. The ministers also discussed China and international security. In particular, they agreed to strengthen cooperation in NATO, and touched upon transatlantic relations and the climate. As Ukrinform reported, in February, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia Eva-Maria Liimets discussed the EU's policy towards the Russian Federation ahead of the EUs Council of Ministers meeting dedicated to this. iy Thai Senate members attend a joint session with members of the House at the parliament in Bangkok, Nov. 17, 2020. Thailands Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that parliament must take proposed changes to the Constitution for a vote before the people through a two-tiered referendum. The opposition and a youth-led pro-democracy movement have been pressing for the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, a former junta leader and army chief, to overhaul the 2017 charter which, according to its critics, entrenched the militarys power. The Constitutional Court ruled in a majority decision that the parliament has a duty and the authority to conduct a rewriting of the Constitution following a referendum of citizens who have power to establish a Constitution whether or not they want to have an amendment, the court said in a statement. When the draft is done, another referendum must be conducted for the peoples consent. The ruling cast doubt on the status of next weeks scheduled vote on a preliminary amendment proposal, which already passed two parliamentary readings, according to lawmakers. When the court ruling said there must be a referendum first, we have to discuss in the parliament on March 17 as to how we could interpret it. The current draft could be dropped, said Paiboon Nititawan, the deputy leader of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party. During a reading of the amendment on Feb. 9, a parliament vote of 366 to 316 supported seeking a ruling from the Constitutional Court. After the ruling, an opposition leader said the voting could be carried out and a referendum could follow. We can vote and hold it without seeking the kings signature and then have a referendum, said Chusak Sirinil, deputy leader of opposition Pheu Thai Party. If the referendum favors it, we can seek the kings endorsement and form a new Constitution drafting committee to draft another amendment as the next step. Calls for amended Constitution Pro-democracy protesters have said that the 2017 Constitution, drafted by lawmakers handpicked by the junta, was tailored to keep Prayuth Chan-o-cha, architect of the 2014 military coup, in power. The Constitution allows the senate votes to be combined with the lower house votes a change from the previous charter. The change gave Prayuth the support he needed to be elected prime minister following the March 2019 general election. Beginning in July 2020, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Bangkok and across the country. They have made three demands for Prayuth to step down, for the powerful monarchy to be reformed and for the Constitution to be amended. A day after 10,000 people turned out in August 2020 for what was called the largest anti-government protest in recent years, six leaders of opposition parties submitted a motion calling for the parliament to amend the Constitution. Since then, the parliament has been working to change Article 256 to unlock requirements that hinder rewriting the Constitution. The preliminary proposal to amend the article would stipulate that 200 new Constitution drafting members be elected from constituencies nationwide, lawmakers said. The amendment already in the works would spare sections dealing with the monarchy, according to lawmakers and an academic. The two-part referendum may let us have a new Constitution which is conceived by the people for our future, Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, an associate professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University, said on Facebook. It will be worth waiting for despite a long wait. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISSEMINATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES. TORONTO, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blockchain Foundry Inc. (BCF or the Company) (CSE:BCFN), a leading North American blockchain development firm, is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced private placement of equity securities (the Private Placement). The Private Placement was for gross proceeds of approximately CAD$10,055,000 and consisted of the sale of 29,792,595 common shares (Common Shares) and warrants to purchase up to 29,792,595 Common Shares (Warrants), at a purchase price of CAD$0.3375 per Common Share and associated Warrant. The Warrants have an exercise price of CAD$0.45 per Common Share and may be exercised at any time prior to the fifth-year anniversary of the issuance date. H.C. Wainwright & Co. acted as the exclusive placement agent for the Private Placement. The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used by the Company for working capital and general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, hiring of development and other personnel, marketing the Companys products and services and repayment of debt. H.C. Wainwright & Co. was paid a cash commission of 8.0% of the gross proceeds raised in the Private Placement and was issued warrants (the Broker Warrants) to purchase up to 2,383,408 Common Shares. Each Broker Warrant has an exercise price of CAD$0.45 per Common Share and may be exercised at any time prior to the fifth-year anniversary of the issuance date. Early Warning Disclosure Prior to the Private Placement, Daniel Wasyluk, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, held 8,224,444 Common Shares and 850,000 stock options (Options), representing approximately 10.3% of the Companys issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis. Following completion of the Private Placement, Mr. Wasyluk holds 8,224,444 Common Shares and 850,000 Options, representing approximately 7.7% of the Companys issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis. Prior to the Private Placement, Jag Sidhu, the Chief Technology Officer of the Company, held 8,224,444 Common Shares and 850,000 stock options (Options), representing approximately 10.3% of the Companys issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis. Following completion of the Private Placement, Mr. Sidhu holds 8,224,444 Common Shares and 850,000 Options, representing approximately 7.7% of the Companys issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis. All securities of the Company controlled by Mr. Wasyluk and Mr. Sidhu are held for investment purposes. In the future, Mr. Wasyluk and Mr. Sidhu (directly or indirectly), may acquire and/or dispose of securities of the Corporation through the market, privately or otherwise, as circumstances or market conditions may warrant. Other than the acquisition or disposition of securities of the Company for investment purposes, Mr. Wasyluk and Mr. Sidhu have no plans or future intentions of taking actions which relate to or would result in one or more of the transactions or matters referred to in Section 5 of the Early Warning Report (as defined below). This portion of this news release is issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues of the Canadian Securities Administrators, which also requires an early warning report to be filed with the applicable securities regulators containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters (the Early Warning Report). The Early Warning Report is available on the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and may be obtained upon request from Chris Marsh, President, Blockchain Foundry Inc. at (647) 330-4572 or cmarsh@blockchainfoundry.co. The Companys head office address is located at 2300 Yonge Street, Suite 1600, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 1E4. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities covered being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration under U.S. federal and state securities laws or an applicable exemption from such U.S. registration requirements. About Blockchain Foundry Inc. Blockchain Foundry develops and commercializes blockchain-based business solutions and provides consulting services to corporate clients seeking to incorporate blockchain technology into their businesses. Blockchain Foundry Contact Information: Chris Marsh President cmarsh@blockchainfoundry.co (647) 330-4572 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Private Placement and the receipt of requisite regulatory approvals, as well as, the Company's goal of making investments in the blockchain and other sectors and enhancing value. There is no assurance that the Company's plans or objectives will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, such as market and other conditions, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Moderna Inc has begun clinical trials of a booster shot of its coronavirus vaccine to see if it provides better protection against the highly contagious variant from South Africa. On Wednesday, the first volunteers - who were part of the original clinical trials last year - were given one of three doses. In a press release, the biotechnology company, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says it plans to enroll 60 participants in total. It comes after a study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that Moderna's two-dose regimen had a six-fold decrease in antibody response against the variant, known as B.1.351. The variant has not yet become widespread in the U.S., with just 91 cases detected in 21 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Moderna has begun clinical trials testing a modified version of its coronavirus vaccine. Two-thirds of 60 participants will receive two different doses of the booster shot and the other group will receive a shot that combines Moderna's original vaccine and the booster shot. Pictured: A medic holds a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, March 2021 In the U.S., there are 91 confirmed cases of the variant, which is believed to be more resistant to vaccines, across 21 states Moderna's vaccine was initially developed in partnership with the National Institutes of Health. It uses part of the pathogen's genetic code called messenger RNA, or mRNA, to get the body to recognize the coronavirus and attack it if a person becomes infected. The candidate, called mRNA-1273, works by tricking the body into producing some of the viral proteins, which the immune system then recognizes and builds a defensive response against. Trial data revealed the the vaccine was 94.5 percent effective at preventing coronavirus infection and 100 percent effective at preventing severe disease against the originally circulating strains of the virus. However, recent testing showed the jab produced a weaker immune response against the South African variant, despite still generating enough neutralizing antibodies above the levels needed to be considered protective. The trial comes after a study found Moderna's vaccine had a six-fold decrease in antibody response against the variant (far right) that other common versions of the virus Several studies suggest B.1.351 is more resistant to existing vaccines than other variants of the coronavirus. While Moderna said last month that it believes its original vaccine protects against the variant, but that it would test updates of its jab as a precaution. In the new mid-stage - or Phase II - study, volunteers will receive three types of booster shots, which are modified versions of Moderna's original vaccine. One-third of participants will receive 20 micrograms (g) of the booster candidate, which has been dubbed mRNA-1273.351. Another-third will receive a higher dose, 50 g, of the candidate. The last group will be given a shot called mRNA-1273.211, which combines Moderna's original vaccine and the booster shot in one dose. If results are positive and the third dose is determined to be safe, Moderna will seek emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the third quarter of 2021. However, Moderna is not the only vaccine manufacturer that is testing its shot against highly transmissible coronavirus variants. Last month, Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE announced they were also testing a booster shot to see if it generates more immunity against new strains. The companies will be offering a third dose to 144 volunteers, all of of whom participated in the vaccine's Phase I clinical trial in the U.S. last year. Health officials in the U.S. have long-stated that the best way to beat the pandemic and prevent variant case numbers from spiking is by vaccinating. So far, 62.4 million Americans - 18.8 percent of the population - have received at least one dose and 32.9 million - 9.9 percent - are fully immunized, according to the CDC. An average of about two million people in the U.S. are being vaccinated every day. for decades has waged a campaign to destroy Tibet's proud culture and history, House of Representatives Speaker has alleged, asserting that the US will continue to stand with the Tibetan people and honour those who sacrificed all for their rights and freedom. Speaking on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day on Wednesday against the Chinese occupation of the remote Himalayan region, Pelosi said, Sixty-two years ago, brave Tibetans rose up against the Chinese invasion to protect their way of life and culture. Today, we continue to stand with the Tibetan people and honour those who sacrificed all for their rights and freedom. Tibetan men, women and children want simply to practice their faith, speak their language and celebrate their culture free from violence and intimidation. Yet, Beijing for decades has waged a campaign to destroy Tibet's proud culture and history, which remains a clarion call for action to freedom-loving people worldwide, the top Democrat said. That is why, last year, the US reaffirmed its bipartisan, bicameral support for the people of by enacting the Policy and Support Act, which strengthens diplomatic ties between the US and the Central Tibetan Administration and makes clear that decisions regarding Tibetan religion should be made solely by Tibetan religious leaders, she asserted. Previous US president Donald Trump in December last year had signed into law a bill which called for establishing a US consulate in and building an coalition to ensure that the next Dalai Lama is appointed solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community without China's interference. This prompted to warn that the act will seriously disrupt and hurt bilateral relations. The new Joe Biden administration on Tuesday said the Chinese government should have no role in the succession process of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. This year, as we mark this solemn anniversary, we continue to take inspiration from the Dalai Lama's powerful message of peace, faith and love, Pelosi said. Guided by His Holiness's spirit of hope, we will never rest in our efforts to advance freedom and opportunity in Tibet and throughout because if we do not stand up for human rights in China due to commercial interests, then we lose all moral authority to talk about human rights in any other place in the world. We will not be deterred in this vital mission, said the House Speaker. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader has been demanding meaningful autonomy for Tibetans. The 85-year-old Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following a crackdown on an uprising by the local population in Tibet. India granted him political asylum and the Tibetan government-in-exile is based on Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh since then. China views the 14th Dalai Lama as a "separatist" working to split Tibet from China. (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.) Gov. Newsom Calls Out Naysayers and Doomsdayers in State of the State Address California is determined to stay on a path to a brighter future and, wont change course just because of a few naysayers and doomsdayers, said Gov. Gavin Newsom in his third State of the State Address as he reflected on Californias year-long battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic instability it has caused. This is a fight for Californias future, Newsom said. With more compassion, empathy, and connection, we can write the next chapter in the California story. Newsom delivered the remarks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, which is doubling as a mass community vaccine site. California was the first state in the nation to launch mass vaccine sites in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to dull the impact of the blow with which the coronavirus crisis has hit California. Gov. Newsoms game plan to fight the pandemic also includes vaccine equity programs in vulnerable communities, a $6.6 billion education bill to reopen schools, and $7.6 billion in relief funds for low-income residents and small businesses. Newsom says the stark reality of the deaths of nearly 55,000 Californians since the pandemic began in early 2020 helped to prompt the high level of investments the state has made to help people move past the difficulties and build an economy that will be stronger and fairer than it was pre-pandemic. Our journey back must also be a path to close inequities. There is no economic recovery without economic justice, said Newsom. Since California began its effort to get COVID-19 shots in the arms of people, the state has been ranked sixth for vaccine distribution worldwide. Healthcare workers have administered more than 11 million vaccine doses to Californians, including 200,000 educators, school staff, and childcare workers. ADVERTISEMENT We dont just talk about vaccine equity we designed our entire system around it, said Newsom. I agree with Governor Newsom that California will come back stronger and wiser. We will not only have economic recovery but also economic justice, said Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), who is chair of the legislative Democratic Caucus. And, just like our response to the pandemic, we will follow science and data. There is light at the end of this tunnel and the best is yet to come. Toni Atkins, President Pro Tempore of the California Senate, said fiscal policy lawmakers approved has helped to prevent major cuts during the pandemic and restore funding that was in jeopardy. Too many people are still just barely hanging on, Atkins said. They need us to do more. Eleni Kounalakis, Californias lieutenant governor, said one of states main priorities is to ensure that essential workers, who are among the 18 % of vaccinated Californians, have enough support to tackle the final stretch of the pandemic. We can all breathe a little easier, knowing that the most vulnerable among us, especially in underserved communities are safer, and safer with each passing day, said Kounalakis. State officials said although there were a few hits-and-misses in the early stages of the pandemic, they are driven to learn from their mistakes and work toward the safe reopening of the state. Polarized discussions about health equity have surrounded much of Newsoms efforts as the state has taken steps to shore up a weakened economy, reopen schools against spirited pushback from large unions, and distribute vaccines to as many people as possible. Because a significant number of essential workers are Black and Latino, some critics of the governor say the states efforts to increase employee wages and advocate for vaccine equity have been neither timely nor forceful enough. Newsom said lawmakers are working on raising the minimum wage to $14 an hour. In response to Californias health disparities, vaccine equity is the right thing to do and the fastest way through the pandemic, he said. According to state officials, the number of recorded coronavirus cases has dropped from over 50,000 cases to less than 3,000 per day. The rate of hospitalizations has also reduced by more than 80 % since early January when infection numbers peaked, said state officials. ADVERTISEMENT Despite the governors efforts to lead initiatives aimed at turning around the devastating effects of the pandemic, a budding movement to recall him spearheaded by Republicans has continued to grow legs. The celebratory press conference on the schools bill has not been matched with actions to actually get our kids back to school, said Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), referring to a briefing the governor held last week announcing his plan to reopen schools across the state. In fact, the state this week denied the San Dieguito Union High and Carlsbad Unified School Districts in my region the chance to reopen their middle and high schools for in-person instruction, even though the districts applications to re-open had received the county public health officers approval, Bates continued. Newsom says he will not let his detractors cause him to lose focus. We will not be distracted from getting shots in arms and our economy booming again, said Newsom, addressing critics who are promoting partisan power grabs and outdated prejudices. A man has been charged after he allegedly committed property fraud totalling almost $395million. The 60-year-old man was charged on Thursday by detectives from the fraud and extortion squad with five counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception. He has been summonsed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 26. Police allege the finance was purported to be for the purchase of Melbourne apartment buildings and their planned lease (stock image) Detectives on Friday said the charges related to finance that was allegedly fraudulently obtained between April and July 2019. This allegedly occurred when the man was employed at a Melbourne-based property company. They allege the finance was purported to be for the purchase of Melbourne apartment buildings and their planned lease. Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah has applauded President Nana Akufo-Addo for his efforts to digitize the economy. The President, in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Tuesday, March 9, told the nation about his government's digitization initiatives. "Mr. Speaker, Government, in four years, has recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy. We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals. The National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services are all part of the drive to formalise our economy, and enhance its productivity," the President said. He pledged commitment to effectively modernize the economy in his second term ensuring a digital network across the country. Touching on the President's SONA, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah held that the government's digital plans will help ease the economy. Citing an instance where the Ghana card, driver's licence and other important documents would be linked so as to make it easily accessible to Ghanaians, Dr. Otchere-Ankrah commended the President. "It will ease us and reduce crimes," he said on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme. Watch video below 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. Featured Video 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. Austin's objective, according to a Pentagon statement, is to discuss with senior officials "the importance of international defense relationships, and reinforce the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region -- founded on respect for international rules, laws, and norms." State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Wednesday their March 14-18 trip to Japan and Korea will "reaffirm the United States' commitment to strengthening our alliances and to highlight cooperation that promotes peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region around the world." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Asia in the coming days, according to the State Department and the Pentagon, their first trip abroad since the Senate confirmed them in January to their positions in the Biden administration. Blinken and Austin will attend a security meeting in Tokyo hosted by their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, and meet with other top officials to discuss a "range of bilateral and global issues." Blinken also meets virtually with Japanese business leaders to discuss economic relations between the two countries and the "economic impact of COVID-19." After two days in Japan, Blinken and Austin travel to Seoul, Korea where they will discuss "issues of bilateral and global importance" with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook and other senior officials. Austin begins his trip on March 13 with a visit to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii. He later visits India for a meeting with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and other top national security officials to discuss "deepening the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership" and ways to achieve a "prosperous and open Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean Region." Blinken will also emphasize the importance of a free press during the trip, signaling a reversal from former President Donald Trump's frequent outbursts against journalists and press freedoms. Blinken will host a virtual roundtable with "emerging Japanese journalists" to discuss "the role of a free press in promoting good governance and defending democracy." Blinken also meets virtually with Korean journalists to discuss the importance of the U.S.-Korea alliance in promoting peace worldwide. Blinken and Austin's visit to Asia comes as the Biden administration has indicated the need to counter China's aggressive actions in the East China Sea and after Blinken said on March 3 that the relationship between the United States and China is the world's "biggest geopolitical test" of the century. The first real-world glimpses of Covid-19 vaccines in action are emerging. Around 525,768 people in this country have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine so far. Globally, more than 300 million doses have been administered, so an early picture is emerging of how effective they are. Countries that are significantly further ahead in the roll-out, including Israel, the UK and the US, are providing preliminary data that is very encouraging not just about the efficacy of the vaccines, but also their safety. The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine has been administered to the most people in this country, with 414,593 getting a first or second dose. Read More The good news is that a peer-reviewed study in the New England Journal of Medicine, carried out in Israel, which looked at hundreds of thousands of people who got this vaccine, found two doses reduced symptomatic cases by 94pc.It reduced hospitalisation by 87pc and severe Covid-19 disease by 92pc. In Israel, a second dose is given in 21 days, while it is administered in 28 days here. The UK is leaving a 12-week gap between doses. The study found that after one dose, during days 14 to 20, the vaccine effectiveness was 57pc for symptomatic Covid-19, 74pc for hospitalisation and 62pc for severe disease. The estimated effectiveness in preventing death from Covid-19 was 72pc in the first three weeks after the first dose. The study also suggested that the Pfizer vaccine is effective against the UK strain of the virus, which is now the dominant form in this country. The effectiveness was similar for the over-70s and younger age groups. When it comes to the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine which has been given to 96,001 people here a study in Scotland found that by the fourth week after the initial dose, it reduced the risk of hospitalisation by 94pc. Much of these results so far are preliminary data, so it will be several more months before there is a wider and stronger insight into how they are performing. One of the factors that have to be taken into account now is that several countries rolling out the vaccines are in lockdown. We dont know the extent of the role vaccines will play as more areas open up and people start mixing again. The early signals are that the vaccines are contributing to a fall in Covid-19 infections here. There were 1,000 cases of Covid-19 among healthcare workers in the week ending January 17. In the week to February 28, that had plummeted to 45. It is much greater than in the general community where most people are still waiting for the jab. The positivity rate for the virus in nursing homes is down to 0.2pc, with a drop in deaths also. The big question now is, can the vaccines not only protect people from getting sick from the virus, but also prevent the virus being passed on by a person who got the jab? There is growing optimism that might be possible. People who have had the vaccine have got the virus, but their viral load tends to be lower. The length of time they have the virus tends to be shorter and the impact of the infection can be milder. The uncertainty means the easing of restrictions will be slow and cautious, particularly with the UK variant now so dominant. There is also a question around whether other new variants will make vaccines less effective. Read More 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. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, will present the 2021 Budget Statement of Government in Parliament on 12 March. Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah revealed this on Monday to the media after a cabinet retreat at the Peduase Lodge. Traditionally, it is the Minister for Finance who presents the budget statement in Parliament on behalf of government. However, Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance-designate, is yet to be vetted by Parliaments Appointment Committee due to ill-heath. Ofori-Atta left Ghana for the United States on Sunday 14 February 2021 to treat post-COVID-19 medial complications. Ofori-Atta is said to have recovered from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 last December and has since had some medical complications. After recovering from COVID-19 last December, Mr. Ofori-Atta has had medical complications which doctors advise, require further interventions not currently available in Ghana, a statement from the Ministry said. He was expected to be vetted by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Monday 8 March 2021. A new vetting date is yet to be communicated. Source: asaaseradio 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 Syracuse, N.Y. The Working Families Party has decided who to endorse in the Syracuse mayors race: No one. Party leaders chose not to give any candidate the coveted ballot line in this years race. Three candidates had interviewed with local party members: Mayor Ben Walsh, an independent, and Democratic challengers Khalid Bey and Michael Greene. In some races we chose not to endorse a candidate or candidates, local chairman David Knapp said. This year we want to focus our efforts on WFP champions who have demonstrated a commitment to practicing our values and who will work with us to build the party here in Central New York. The Working Families Party owns one of only four permanent lines on the ballot this year, along with the Democrat, Republican and Conservative Parties. Bey and Greene are running in a Democratic primary in June. Walsh plans to create his own ballot line, carrying the banner of the Independence Party. He sought the WFP line as a potential path to the ballot. There are also two Republicans running in a primary for that partys line: Janet Burman and Thomas Babilon. The party made endorsements in races for seats on the Common Council, the Onondaga County Legislature, the city school board and several town boards. The Working Families Party is making an effort to grow its infrastructure and influence with a slate of local candidates that deviates slightly from the Democratic Partys slate. The partys agenda includes pushing for new taxes on wealth and defunding police departments and spending that money on community investments. The partys leadership has called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment. WFP has thrice endorsed Cuomo for governor. Heres a look at who WFP endorsed: Onondaga County Legislature 2nd District - Jay Snyder 3rd District - Matthew Johnson 4th District - Stephon Williams 5th District - Jana Rogers 7th District - Mary Kuhn 8th District - Christopher Ryan 10th District - Heather Waters 11th District - Ryan Suser 12th District - Sunny Aslam 14th District - Shanelle Benson Reid 15th District - Joseph Bennett 16th District - Vernon Williams 17th District - Linda Ervin Syracuse Common Council President - Helen Hudson Councilor At Large - Rasheada Caldwell Councilor At Large - Shakayla Johnson Syracuse School Board Commissioner - Karen Cordano Commissioner - Cherylene Billue Towns Is Joe Biden on the way out? By resignation, or by removal? The answer to that question (based purely on my best guess) is plainly found in the wording of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution (assuming that document still counts for anything). Specifically, the answer is found in section 2 of the amendment. This section states: "Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress." Now, you may be saying: "But Biden is the president, and Kamala Harris is the vice president." At present, this is true, but if Biden resigns, or is removed from office, then Harris becomes the president, and the office of the vice president is vacant. Why is this important? Because at present, the Senate is split 50-50 along party lines. Assuming Republicans could hold the line, no vice presidential nominee put forth could achieve a majority vote in the Senate. All Democrat legislation until after the 2022 election would thus be blocked in 50-50 tie votes, with no vice presidential vote to break the ties. So how does the swamp manage to remove a clearly feeble Joe Biden and maintain the tie-breaking vote in the Senate? The answer, as always, is Mitch McConnell. Despite being 79 years old and having just been re-elected to a six-year term, McConnell is reportedly "considering" resigning his seat. It's been reported that the Kentucky Legislature is drawing up plans to provide a mechanism to replace McConnell, despite the prerogatives of the Democrat governor of Kentucky. It is highly unlikely an 85-year-old McConnell would even run for re-election in six years, so why resign now? Could it possibly be due to a deal regarding McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, the recent inspector general's report, and the Biden Justice Department's decision not to investigate? That is speculation, but is anything beyond the realm of possibility in 2021 America? Suppose McConnell resigns. The Senate is then 50-49 in favor of the Democrat majority. Kamala Harris is installed at that time as president and quickly puts forth a nominee for vice president while the Democrat governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, slow-walks a replacement for McConnell. The Democrats confirm a new vice president and maintain control of the Senate by way of the tie-breaking vice presidential vote. No Republican senator has to explain to voters why he voted for the new vice president, handing total control of the government back to Democrats, and so all have plausible deniability. This is pure speculation on my part. But it's so crazy that it seems plausible to me that the replacement of Joe Biden depends on the resignation of Mitch McConnell. Caricature: DonkeyHotey via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. New Delhi, March 11 : The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) Gurugram Zonal Unit (GZU), Haryana, arrested Ravinder Kumar (aka Ravinder Garg), resident of New Delhi, on charges of creating and operating fictitious firms on forged documents. According to the DGGI, these fictitious firms were used in availing of and passing on Input Tax Credit on bogus invoices without actual receipt and supply of goods or services. The investigation into the matter revealed that the accused created multiple proprietorship, partnership firms and private limited companies based in Haryana, New Delhi and Jharkhand merely on paper. He also kept eluding the investigation and did not appear before the investigating authorities even after issuance of summons on multiple occasions. DGGI said that Kumar was absconding and kept changing his locations, the officers kept watch on his frequent places and after a long period of monitoring and active surveillance, were able to nab him. He admitted to have created two private limited companies, one partnership firm and multiple proprietorship firms which have generated sham invoices, without goods, amounting to Rs 237.98 crore and passed on fake ITC amounting to more than Rs 43 crore, the DGGI said. The investigation spanned multiple locations in Delhi and Haryana and based on documentary evidence and statement recorded, it was established that Ravinder Kumar is the key person in orchestrating this racket of creating fake firms on forged documents. Kumar was arrested on March 9 and produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi, who ordered 14 days judicial custody. Further investigations in the matter are under progress. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will take part in a meeting entitled "Crimea: 7 years of violations of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity" on March 12. "On March 12, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, together with a number of ministers and deputy foreign ministers of the partner countries, will take part in a virtual Arria-formula meeting entitled "Crimea: 7 years of violations of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity"," the Foreign Ministrys press service reports. The meeting is organised by the UN Security Council members Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the USA together with additional co-sponsors Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine. Speeches will be delivered by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ms Ilze Brands Kehris, President of the Potomac Foundation Dr Phillip Karber, and Coordinator of Media Initiative for Human Rights Ms Maria Tomak. This Arria-formula meeting will mark seven years since the attempted annexation by the Russian Federation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, an act not recognized by the international community. The meeting provides an opportunity to hear direct accounts about the deteriorating situation on the ground regarding massive militarisation, human rights violations and abuses, as well as the economic and environmental situation on the peninsula temporarily occupied by Russia. The event will be broadcast live on the YouTube channel. The Arria-formula meeting on the temporary occupation of Crimea is an annual event held by Ukraine and its partners to draw attention to the tragic events of February-March 2014. ish With no pre-existing medical conditions, a Utah mother died four days after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Moderna. On February 5, 39-year-old Kassidi Kurill passed away after complaining that her heartbeat was racing and telling her parents that she needed to be brought to the emergency room. Her death comes after 153 Utahns have complained of bad reactions upon receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. There have also been four reported deaths. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that Americans should not be worried about getting the vaccine. They said that there was no pattern detected in the cause of deaths of others who got the vaccine which would indicate a problem with the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to Fox News, the Utah mother got the vaccine "without hesitation" based on her family's statements. She got vaccinated because of her job as a surgical technician for several plastic surgeons in the state. When Kurill got her first dose of the Moderna vaccine, her family said she had not experienced any notable side effects aside from a sore arm. However, Alfred Hawley, her father, said that she immediately felt sick upon receiving her second dose on February 1. Hawley stated that the Utah mother woke him up in the house they share with Kurill's 9-year-old daughter, complaining that she felt soreness on the shot's location. He also added that his daughter complained about not urinating despite having a large fluid intake. Over the following days, Hawley said that Kurill remained in bed until the third day when the Utah mother asked him to bring her to the ER. Upon arriving at the emergency room, Kurill started vomiting uncontrollably. After that, doctors requested blood tests, and Kurill has become less coherent. It was found out that the Utah mother was very sick and that her liver was not functioning anymore. She was brought to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray for a liver transplant, The Sun reported. Upon arriving there, doctors repeatedly tried to stabilize Kurill for a liver transplant. However, her condition just deteriorated. Read also: North Korea To Receive Two Million Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Utah State Medical Examiner has performed a full autopsy on the Utah mother. The results have yet to be released. Hawley stated that he believes that his daughter's death had something to do with the COVID-19 vaccine she received unless proven otherwise. On the other hand, Hawley, who is 69 years old and has diabetes, said that he still decided to get his second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, despite Kurill's orphaned daughter begging him not to. Hawley also encouraged those who are skeptical about getting the vaccine to still get the shot. He said that the vaccine would be able to help the people. He did advise that once a person experiences a reaction to the vaccine, it must not be ignored and that people should seek professional advice, Daily Mail reported. After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, three other Utah natives have died. Related article: Birthmothers in 2021 Eligible for Another $ 1,400 Stimulus Check @ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (@ChaudhryMAli88) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2021) South Korea will provide Equatorial Guinea with $200,000 in humanitarian aid after the deadly explosions that hit the port of Bata, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. On Sunday, a series of explosions hit a military base in Bata, the key economic hub of Equatorial Guinea. The blasts left about 100 people killed and hundreds more injured. "The government hopes that its emergency support will help citizens in Equatorial Guinea who have suffered difficulties due to large-scale explosions that took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo said the blasts had been caused by the "negligence" of servicemen and the carelessness of farmers who lit a fire near army warehouses. The bushy red beard and bald pate helped but it was the smattering of tattoos on the mans face and neck that gave him away as a front-line capitol rioter on Jan. 6. On video the man smashing the window with a tomahawk and hurling a flagpole, rod and a desk drawer at officers had a fleur de lis tattoo under his eye and MAMA TRIED inked on his neck, an FBI agent said. Just like the man sitting in a Houston federal courtroom Thursday. The FBI special agent testified that Shane Leedon Jenkins could be seen at the front of the melee on multiple videos taken outside the U.S. Capitol the day of the election certification. He was shown throwing at least nine objects at police officers who were in a defensive posture at Lower West Terrace tunnel. On Facebook and Twitter profiles in his name, a man who looked like him posted images from the capitol and a message calling it a historic day for America. When agents showed up at Jenkins home last Friday, he admitted he had been in D.C. that day, the agent said. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew M. Edison ruled that the 43-year-old roofer and oil field worker presented a danger to society and given his criminal history and multiple incidents of defying authority figures, there were no conditions under which Jenkins could be safely released on bond. Before ruling, Edison gave his perspective on the larger event that played out live for the whole country two months ago: What happened at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 was horrible. It was unpatriotic, I think on behalf of all Americans I can say it was truly shocking to watch it on television, it was absolutely heartbreaking to think that there are those in society that think that storming the U.S. Capitol, the symbol of our fragile but precious democracy, is somehow a good idea. That is not how Americans act. That is not how democracy works. We do not participate in an insurrection trying to overthrow our government simply because our preferred candidate did not win. The magistrate went on to say that the evidence was overwhelming that Jenkins traveled to D.C. and expected to engage in violence. How else do you explain that he happened to havea crowbar, a hatchet or tomahawk in his backpack. Theres video evidence that he pulled the weapon out of the bag and used it to smash a window in the United States Capitol, but even more alarming and telling is the evidence that he threw items at law enforcement officers. Jenkins is presumed innocent, he said. But because of the danger he poses, the judge ordered him to remain in custody until his trial in Washington, D.C. on charges of civil disorder, assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, destruction of government property, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds. Jenkins sat handcuffed in a Houston courtroom during the two-hour Zoom hearing, wearing the olive green jail uniform used at the downtown detention center. He removed his mask briefly for the FBI agent to identify him. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Winter said Jenkins had spent most of the last 25 years in correctional facilities on an array of assault charges, including attacks on police officers. She said he failed to comply with the terms of his probation. Jenkins also has prior cases involving terroristic threats and resisting arrest. Dennis Hester, from the federal public defenders office, told the judge the government had offered no proof that the social media accounts belonged to Jenkins, nor any proof that any of the objects hurled at officers on the video actually caused an injury. He also questioned the agent as to whether the FBI had investigated the online sleuth who told them about Jenkins. The agency did not, the agent said. Hester also questioned the agents testimony that it would cost $1,500 to repair the broken window. The tipster contacted investigators in mid-January with information about Jenkins, the agent said. The man appeared in multiple images at the front of a crowd outside the Capitol wearing a red beanie, blue hoodie, balaclava and camouflage pants. Police captured body cam footage of a man outside a D.C. hotel violating curfew in a similar outfit. Many of matching articles of clothing and the tomahawk were found during a search of Jenkins home in northwest Houston. FBI agents arrested Jenkins Friday without incident at a home run by a prison ministry where he roomed with other former inmates. David Trickett, the founding director of the Christ Hope and Reconciliation Ministry where Jenkins lives, told the judge Jenkins worked for the ministry and he trusted him with his own wife and children. He said he thought Jenkins had five children and was in contact with three of them. He described Jenkins as very submissive, very humble, and said he takes correction very well. Other Houston-area men charged in the Capitol breach are bakery owner Wilmar Jeovanny Montano Alvarado; Tam Pham, a Houston police officer who has since resigned; and Joshua R. Lollar, a 39-year-old disabled veteran from Spring. A far right filmmaker known as Baked Alaska also made his first appearance in a Houston federal court, on allegations he was livestreaming inside the Capitol during the riot. gabrielle.banks@chron.com Quang Binh is pegging high hopes on the coastal road and Nhat Le 3 Bridge Quang Binh Peoples Committee recently joined a working session with departments and relevant authorities to discuss plans to develop the first phase of the coastal road and Nhat Le 3 Bridge. According to the plan, the projects will have a total investment capital of VND2 trillion ($86.96 million). The construction will be implemented during 2021-2026, with the road crossing the districts of Quang Trach, Bo Trach, Quang Ninh, Le Thuy, Ba Don town, and Dong Hoi city. Once completed, the project is expected to contribute to promoting the marine economy. It will go along the planned urban area and several tourism areas, thus it will motivate investment activity, promoting the exploitation of sea ports, as well as Vung Ang and Hon La economic zones. Besides, it will create convenient connections to the other regions of the country. The project plays a crucial role in realising the province's socioeconomic development targets. Parties need to co-operate with each other so that the construction will go smooth, said Tran Thang, Chairman of Quang Binh Peoples Committee. Quang Binh gave the green light to 35 projects with the total capital of about VND93 trillion ($4.04 billion). The province is calling for investment in 62 projects in agriculture, industry, energy, trade, tourism, and infrastructure development in 2021-2023. Notably, there are a number of large-scale projects, including the 3,000MW LNG-to-power project worth $4 billion, Hon La Non-Tariff Zone, the third phase of the $155 million Le Thuy 3 wind farm, a $86 million automobile assembly and production plant, and the VND1.8 trillion ($78.26 million) Hon La Industrial Park. Big tech companies like Microsoft and Google offer advanced account protection services for users that might be at a heightened risk of being hacked or having their personal data compromised, but these are usually only available in certain countries. Microsoft has now announced that it will expand its AccountGuard service to more groups and individuals in 31 countries, including India, at no additional cost. Also read: Hackers breach thousands of security cameras, exposing Tesla, jails, hospitals The company, which was itself targeted during the Solarwinds attacks that were revealed in December, had launched its account protection feature AccountGuard in 2020 before the US Presidential Election. These new protections were actually put in place to stop hackers from impersonating campaign staff, and will likely help five of the new countries it is available in - Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Estonia and the Czech Republic, which all have upcoming elections. Phishing of users is still one of the most widely used ways to trick a user into entering their password and stealing their credentials, so the company is now providing access to a limited number of YubiKeys to help their high-risk customers with multi-factor account protection, as part of an extended partnership with Yubico. Read more: At least 10 hacking groups using Microsoft software flaw Groups that can participate in the service, include political campaigns at the national, state, municipal or local level, political party committees at the national or state level, think tanks and democracy advocacy organizations, political technology vendors, and select individuals with Outlook or Hotmail email IDs who are invited to participate by an eligible organisation already enrolled in the program, the company says on its website. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has told controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, to shut up and stop talking rubbish.... Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has told controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, to shut up and stop talking rubbish. The former minister stated this on Thursday while reacting to the statement credited to Gumi when he said Bandits feel everyone is against them Gumi, in the recent interview, also urged the Federal Government not to use kinetic force, adding that such method was responsible for the current insecurity issue in the North. He stressed that bandits feel, everybody is against them, hence they are vicious and aggressively fighting for survival. According to Gumi: Honestly speaking, there has to be a synergy of armed forces acting towards tackling insecurity. They should adopt the non-kinetic approach which should be about 80 percent because these people are ordinary Nigerians. Government should meet and dialogue with them because they are ready to listen. If the Government can apply the non-kinetic approach, it would have taken care of about 90 percent of the problem. So the 10 percent is where the kinetic comes into play. The use of kinetic force is what led to what we are having now. They think its an ethnic cleansing where everybody is against them, and they are fighting for survival, very vicious and aggressive. Reacting via his verified Twitter handle, Fani-Kayode said: Bandits feel everyone is against them- Sheikh Ahmed Gumi. So does Satan! Now shut up and stop talking rubbish!. Fani-Kayode had earlier warned Gumi not to push Nigeria into war with his reckless provocations and deeply insensitive, callous, heartbreaking and insulting commentary. While reacting to Gumis statement that If coup plotters are pardoned, why not bandits?, Fani-Kayode said: Maybe we should give Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, King Leopard 11 of Belgium, Osama Bin Ladin, Al Bagdadi, Abubakar Shekau and every other mass murderer and genocidal maniac in world history a posthumous pardon too! First he urges the terrorists to target Christian soldiers, then he said that the kidnapping of children from their schools by the same terrorists was a lesser evil and now he says this. Has Sheik Ahmad Gumi finally lost his mind. Is he in desperate need of medical attention Has he become the official spokesman for the terrorists that are slaughtering, tormenting, raping, mutilating and kidnapping our people all over the country? Theres a reason for everything. Meghan Markle claimed in her CBS tell-all that she had to give up several personal items after marrying into the British royal family and a royal expert shared the very logical reason for why that was likely done. Read article Meghan had to hand in her driving license under security rules, Robert Lacey, a historian and author who consults for Netflixs The Crown, told BBC on Tuesday, March 9. If she went out driving on her own, she would not be protected. Robert Finch, a dominion chairman of The Monarchist League of Canada, also told BBC that one assumes that royals valuable personal documents are kept in a safe or safes under the eye of the overall palace security. He explained that this method is likely used to ensure that important documentation isnt misplaced and that it would be available if needed. Tim Rooke/Shutterstock Sounds as if it fitted Meghans narrative of being trapped and isolated, but [that] really was routine, he continued. Probably anything would be accessible to her if she wanted it. Read article During her interview with Prince Harry on Sunday, March 7, Meghan opened up about how she felt unsupported when she reached out for help amid her mental health struggles. I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially because I know how much loss he has suffered, but I knew that if I didnt say it, then I would do it, the California native, 39, said during the special. I just didnt want to be alive anymore. That was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. The Suits alum, who was pregnant with son Archie at the time, noted that she never felt this way before adding that she just wanted to go somewhere but was unable to do so. I couldnt, you know, call an Uber to the palace, she explained. You have to understand, as well, when I joined that family, that was the last time that I saw my passport, my drivers license, my keys. All that gets turned over. Read article Harry, for his part, admitted that he was ashamed to tell his family that Meghan was struggling. This is just how it is, this is how it is meant to be, you cant change it. Weve all been through it, he added. The 36-year-old British Army vet said that he took control to protect both Meghan and their now-22-month-old son, Archie. After announcing their decision to step down from their senior positions within the royal family in January 2020, they relocated to Los Angeles and temporarily stayed at Tyler Perrys home before settling down in Montecito, California. Buckingham Palace announced their permanent departure from royal duties last month. I think he saved all of us, right? He ultimately called it and was like, Weve got to find a way for us, for Archie, the former actress said of Harry during the interview. And you made a decision that saved certainly saved my life and saved all of us. But, you know, you need to want to be saved. On Tuesday, the palace issued a statement on Queen Elizabeth IIs behalf that addressed the various allegations, including accusations that the family had concerns about Archies skin color before he was born, made against the British royal family in the interview. The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning, the statement to Us read. While some recollection may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members. India recorded its highest daily figure of COVID-19 cases this year with 22,854 new infections, prompting the Centre to ask people not to lower guard as the pandemic was not yet over and also embrace vaccines. The totalnumber of cases went up to1,12,85,561 while thedeath toll increased to1,58,189 with 126 daily new fatalities, according to Union health ministry data updated on Thursday. Thenumber of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,09,38,146which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of96.92 per cent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.40 per cent, the data stated. Expressing concern over the rise in active cases in a few states, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul termed as "worrisome" the situation, especially in Maharashtra, where strict lockdown measures will be enforced in some parts. "Don't take this virus for granted. It can come up unexpectedly. If we have to remain free of this virus, COVID-appropriate behaviour, containment strategy as well as vaccination has to be brought in," he said. He advised that in districts where COVID-19 cases are seemingly on the rise, vaccination of eligible individuals should be intensified and prioritised. Sounding a word of caution for Delhi and its neighbourhood, Paul said the national capital is seeing a rise in positivity rate, so is Gurgaon, Faridabad and to an extent Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad. "Be careful, be watchful. We still have a huge population at risk of this virus. This pandemic is not yet over. Be vigilant," he said. "Today, using the force of vaccination, we are in a position to give a stronger fight (to the pandemic). We plead again, do not lower your guard and please embrace the vaccines that are available," Paul added. The health ministry has asserted that there is no shortage of COVID-19 vaccine doses in any state in the country so far. Among those who received vaccination on Thursday was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 95-year-old mother Hiraba. "Happy to share that my mother has taken the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today. I urge everyone to help and motivate people around you who are eligible to take the vaccine," Modi tweeted. In Delhi, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava, when asked at a press conference whether a mutant strain of the is responsible for the rise in cases, said it has not been found incriminating in the surge in Maharashtra. "At the moment, it is just related to reduced testing, tracking and tracing as well as COVID-inappropriate behaviour and large congregations," he said. Amid increase in cases, the administration in the hill district of Nilgiris, home to popular tourist destinations, warned of six months imprisonment to those found without face masks in public places. Delhi recorded 409 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise in nearly two months, while the positivity rate rose to 0.59 per cent, according to health department data. The death toll climbed to 10,934 with three more fatalities, the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department stated. In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said strict lockdown measures will be enforced in some parts of the state to contain the spread of COVID-19. Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 13,659 new cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state's caseload to 22,52,057. The state has so far reported 52,610 deaths due to the disease. Sixty-year-old Thackeray received the first dose of vaccine at the government-run J J Hospital in Mumbai. Nagpur, which has been reporting a spike in daily cases since the last month, will see a lockdown from March 15 to 21, district guardian minister Nitin Raut announced. During the lockdown, private offices will remain closed, while government offices will work at 25 per cent capacity, he said, adding shops of essential commodities will remain open while liquor will be sold online only in this period. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission again postponed a preliminary examination for government jobs scheduled for March 14 in view of the rising COVID-19 cases. The decision came in for flak from leaders of the ruling coalition members Congress and NCP as well as opposition BJP. Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan questioned the wisdom of the decision saying if the government can permit weddings, hold budget session and conduct exams for the health department, then it is wrong to cancel the MPSC examination. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis demanded that the decision be reversed. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said Nagpur, Pune, Thane, Mumbai, Bengaluru Urban, Ernakulam, Amravati, Jalgaon, Nashik and Aurangabad districts have the highest number of active COVID-19 cases. Bhushan said Kerala had 64,607 active cases of COVID-19 on February 11 which has now declined to 35,715. "We need to appreciate this," he said. In Uttar Pradesh, from 3,256 active cases on February 11 it has come down to 1,689 on March 11. In West Bengal, active cases have come down from 4,300 to 3,127, the Union health secretary said. However, in case of Maharasthra, there were 36,917 active cases on February 11 and now it has crossed a lakh. Punjab had 2,100 cases which is now touching 9,400, Bhushan said. "We think Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are at a tipping point. They are yet to have a surge. But looking at early signs of increase in numbers, we have had three meetings where the states have been told to increase the number of tests, surveillance, containment areas," he said. Bhushan informed the press conference that 2,56,90,545 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered till Thursday 1 pm, which includes 67,86,086 for the elderly and those aged 45-60 with comorbidities. (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.) 20 Broker Defaults: Its Time the Finance Minister Demanded These Specific Actions Thousands of investors have lost big chunks of their savings in the past two years because our well-regulated capital market, which boasts multiple safeguards such as investor protection funds and settlement guarantee funds, has turned out to be a mirage. Many investors were forced to approach the High Court after their fervent attempts to seek redress from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) failed. Although justice is still an elusive and long-drawn process in this David versus Goliath battle, collective action by investors has enabled them to get good legal representation and turn the heat on the regulators. The Anugrah Stock and Broking Pvt Ltd (Anugrah) case, in particular, has exposed how SEBI and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) failed to act quickly enough to protect investors. What is worse, NSE continues to protect itself by twisting rules to avoid compensating investors. On 8th March, SEBI submitted a detailed note outlining its regulatory action in the case of Anugrah, including action against its associates Teji Mandi Analytics and Om Shri Sai Investments as well as the clearing member Edelweiss Custodial Services Ltd. The note revealed some startling information. It was SEBI and not NSE, which was first alerted about Anugrahs dodgy business through market intelligence. It asked NSE to order a forensic audit in April 2020. Preliminary findings of the forensic audit by Ernst & Young were discussed on 4 June 2020, based on which a show-cause notice was issued on 17 July 2020 about Anugrah having received Rs165 crore in a derivatives advisory service (DAS). This revealed just a small part of the problem. It eventually turned out that Anugrah, Teji Mandi and Om Shri Sai had garnered over Rs1,300 crore from investors. A show-cause notice was issued in July and Moneylife has reported extensively on developments since then. But the chronology submitted to the Court shows that a detailed discussion on the forensic audit report happened on 6 October 2020. It revealed: i) a shortfall of client funds; ii) shortfall of client securities; iii) discrepancies in records; and iv) payments made to clients who had debit balances. All these are the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme; but NSEs risk management systems do not seem to have caught any of it! extensively on developments since then. But the chronology submitted to the Court shows that a detailed discussion on the forensic audit report happened on 6 October 2020. It revealed: i) a shortfall of client funds; ii) shortfall of client securities; iii) discrepancies in records; and iv) payments made to clients who had debit balances. All these are the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme; but NSEs risk management systems do not seem to have caught any of it! On 15 October 2020, NSE finally added some serious violations in a supplementary show-cause notice: i) falsification of accounts; ii) misuse of clients funds to the tune of Rs297.6 crore; iii) misuse of clients securities of a massive Rs683.8 crore; and iv) payments of over Rs134.15 crore to clients with debit balances, engaging in fraudulent acts and failing to resolve investor complaints, etc. This was long after the Ponzi scheme had run its course, trading had stopped and Anugrah no longer had any money to repay investors. In fact, the entire chronology after this, including action against Edelweiss, is pointless since there is no money anymore. SEBIs adjudication order of 9th March, imposing a penalty of Rs90 lakh on Anugrah, is just as meaningless and only rubs salt into investors wounds. Read: SEBI Imposes Rs90 Lakh Penalty on Anugrah Stock & Broking for Repeated Violations of Norms SEBI goes on to provide a bland status report on the current situation. It says, as of 26 February 2021, NSE has received claims of Rs761.35 crore from 2614 clients and it has sent out demands of Rs223.15 crore to 854 clients. How can NSE send out debit notices and demand payments from victims of fraud? Shouldnt NSE come up with a fair and equitable way of making claims from investors? Why is the regulator standing by and watching NSEs unfair actions when the forensic audit has established that Anugrah falsified its reports and made payments to clients with debit balances? NSEs self-serving actions do not end with this. The Exchange has created an artificial cut-off of 90 days (for Anugrah, Karvy and other failed brokers) for compensation from its investor protection fund (IPF). It has also refused to compensate all those who were part of the fraudulent DAS. The question is: Can NSE simultaneously refuse compensation to one set of DAS victims and send demand notices to extract payments from another 854 investors? Shouldnt the capital markets regulator be looking into this, instead of forcing investors to approach the Bombay High Court? Why is SEBI enumerating NSEs actions for the Court, instead of examining them more closely? As I have repeatedly pointed out, it is SEBIs job to protect investor interest; this is enshrined in the preamble to its statute, ahead of market development. SEBIs submission says that it has been holding fortnightly review meetings since December 2019, has taken note of the inadequacy of NSEs actions on broker defaults and has also asked for a plan of action with online verification. The last bit was asked only in February 2021. On 11th March, replying to a Lok Sabha question on Karvy Stock Broking (Karvy), minister Anurag Thakur ( http://loksabhaph.nic.in/Questions/QResult15.aspx?qref=20994&lsno=17 ) said that SEBI has initiated proceedings against NSE for violating provisions of SEBI circulars pertaining to monitoring of brokers and oversight of members." The latest in the series of defaults is Arcadia Share and Stock Brokers Pvt Ltd on 8 February 2021. Will SEBI initiate a score of separate proceedings against NSE? Or is it time to acknowledge systemic issues and initiate comprehensive action and overhaul of NSEs processes? When NSE suffered a major glitch on 24 February 2021, finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharamans intervention sent out a signal that the government is treating the issue very seriously and plans to hold the regulator accountable. NSE is the worlds 3rd largest exchange and has a monopoly in the equity futures & options (F&O) market, a 94% market share in the cash market and 72% in currency futures in India according to its latest half-yearly results presentation. The Exchange is also extraordinarily profitable with a 76% EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margin, which makes it among the most profitable companies in the world. While investors lost money because of regulatory failure, NSEs half-yearly revenue increased 39% to Rs2,658 crore. How can an Exchange with annual revenues of over Rs5,000 crore be allowed to get away with such poor investor protection and investor engagement? The buck stops at SEBI. It is the regulators job to hold NSE accountable and ensure that it invests substantially more on broker oversight, risk assessment, inspection of security accepted by NSE Clearing Ltd (both India Nivesh and Anugrahs issues with Edelweiss are examples). Its IPF is still very meagre and, according to advocate Ravichandra Hegde who is fighting the Anugrah case for investors, it has never used its settlement guarantee fund in recent years. Maybe is time the FM intervenes and forces NSE to be more accountable for the string of broker defaults that have taken us back to the 1990s when SEBI was still to get its teeth. Here are a few things that the finance ministry can insist on. A complete overhaul of NSEs risk management structure for failure to anticipate 20+ broker defaults starting November 2019. Fix accountability on those responsible for failing to put in place proper checks & balances. Ask NSE to report broker defaults/expulsions with greater details https://www.nseindia.com/invest/defaulter-expelled-members Augment its IPF to at least Rs10,000 crore in line with NSEs turnover. SEBI has recently asked NSE to enhance the IPF to Rs1,500 crore, under pressure from media like Moneylife. And, yet, BSE with just about 10% of NSEs business had a significantly more substantial IPF of Rs825.82 crore as on 31 January 2021. ( Read: SEBI Asks NSE To Increase its IPF Corpus to Rs1,500 Crore from Rs594 Crore at Present ) ) Revamp NSEs criteria for compensating investors in case of default. Surely, SEBI has plenty of feedback about the niggardly compensation from IPF and how investors are paying for NSEs failure to ensure proper oversight over brokers. NSE must be ordered to invest a lot more money in risk management, audits, market intelligence and genuine investor awareness (the Exchange spends crores of rupees on media sponsorships but cannot deploy enough support staff to respond to investor queries fast enough). Impose a significant, one-time penalty on the Exchange, which should be equitably distributed among investors who have lost money in the past 20 broker defaults. SEBI can be asked to work out an equitable distribution strategy. Ask SEBI for a root cause analysis and a comprehensive report on the sharp rise in broker-defaults and put them in the public domain with an action plan to avoid future embarrassment. Frequent broker-defaults and losses to investors are just as embarrassing as the technical outage that shut NSE down for several hours on 24th February. Isnt it time the government took this equally seriously? Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 11:33:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith have agreed to further enhance cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, said a Cambodian foreign ministry's press statement late on Wednesday. The consensus was reached during a virtual meeting among the three leaders, the statement said. "The three Prime Ministers agreed to further strengthen their cooperation and render support for one another in fighting against COVID-19 pandemic," it said. "They also agreed to mutually provide free COVID-19 vaccination to Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese diplomats and students residing in their respective countries." The statement said they also expressed their overall satisfaction in the growing relationship and cooperation in various fields among the three countries amidst the great challenges posed by the pandemic. "The three leaders agreed to further strengthen the cooperation in the fields of politics, security, national defense, border management, trade and investment, connectivity, energy, and education," it said. Also, they agreed to continue to boost the cooperation among border provinces, to further collaborate in security protection along the shared border, and to facilitate trade and investment activities and the entry of people and goods via border checkpoints, it added. "As for matters of connectivity, the three Prime Ministers agreed to consider resuming international flights between Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in order to boost trade and investment, as well as people exchanges among the three countries," the statement added. Enditem Bruno Duque, Head of TuneCore LATAM As digital music and streaming services continue to grow across LATAM, TuneCore is ready to support independent artists to create larger audiences and long-lasting, sustainable careers. said Duque TuneCore, the global leader in digital music distribution for independent artists worldwide, has launched operations across Latin America. Owned by Paris-based Believe, TuneCore LATAM will support artists in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Domican Republic, Puerto Rico and Spain. TuneCore distributes independent music to a network of more than 150 digital stores and streaming services worldwide, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, TikTok, Claro Musica and Deezer. The company boasts 8 fully localized websites and 13 language options including Spanish and pays out more than US $1 million to artists each day. Last October, TuneCore passed the $2 billion mark in revenue paid to artists. TuneCore LATAM will be headed-up by Bruno Duque, who started his career at Sony Music in Los Angeles in the Latin Music Division before segueing into other areas of the industry. Before joining TuneCore, he was marketing manager at iMusica, the leading digital content distributor in Latin America, where he focused on licensing and label relations. For the past six months, he has been leading TuneCore Brazil and will now expand his remit to the wider region. Said Faryal Khan-Thompson, Vice President, International to whom Duque will report, Independent music continues to grow in market share on a worldwide basis. In Latin America in particular, there are many local artists, popular in their own countries, with so much potential to appeal to audiences around the world. With TuneCore and Bruno on the ground in LATAM, we are able to localize our operations and communicate with these artists to support them both locally and globally. Latin America is a region rich and diverse in music, said Duque. Whether it is Puerto Rican reggaeton, Dominican merengue, Colombian cumbia, or myriad other genres, there is so much musical creativity going on in the region that not only deserves to be heard by a wider audience, but also deserves to generate revenue for the artists. As digital music and streaming services continue to grow across LATAM, TuneCore is ready to support independent artists to create larger audiences and long-lasting, sustainable careers. Latin America has, like the rest of the world, witnessed a substantial rise in the uptake of streaming services. In Colombia, for example, 60 percent of music industry revenue is now sourced from digital sources, almost triple what it was only a few years ago. Likewise, in Mexico, a 2019 digital audio study by nPeople and NeuroMedia found that 57 percent of all music is listened to through streaming services. In conjunction with the announcement, TuneCore LATAM launches #ASIdeIndependiente in celebration of the companys 15th anniversary earlier this year, offering all independent artists 25% off the first years distribution of a single or album with the code, TUNECORELATAM. The companys groundbreaking loyalty educational program, TuneCore Rewards, launches in Spanish in April. http://www.tunecore.com/es/ (Spanish) http://www.tunecore.com/br/ (Portuguese/Brazil) About TuneCore TuneCore is the global platform for independent musicians to build audiences and careers with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration and a range of promotional services. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels and managers sell their music through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, TikTok, Deezer, and more than 150 download and streaming stores worldwide, while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, worldwide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe, is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Austin, and global operations in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, India, and Brazil. CLEVELAND, Ohio A now-defunct organization critical of Cleveland-owned Cleveland Public Power has refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the City Council to produce detailed financial documents. Raymond Vasvari Jr., a lawyer for Consumers Against Deceptive Fees, rejected the subpoena in a letter to the City Council that cited infringement on the organizations rights of free speech. The investigatory power of the council is not boundless, Vasvari wrote. It is not a roving commission empowered to investigate allegations or insinuations of corruption. City Council President Kevin Kelley on Thursday told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that the next step could be to ask a Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court judge to force the organization to comply. City Council issued the subpoena last month, demanding documents about organizations financial backing and any correspondence with individuals indicted in the statehouse HB 6 bribery scandal. City Council is trying to investigate whether the groups funding came from FirstEnergy, a CPP competitor, via a nonprofit pass-through. The so-called dark money organization does not have to publicly disclose its donors. But court records suggest a possible connection. An FBI affidavit and tax records show that FirstEnergy and its affiliates funneled $20 million in 2019 to a nonprofit called Partners for Progress. In tax records, Partners for Progress said its sole source of revenue in 2019 was FirstEnergy. The filing also shows Progress sent $200,000 to Consumers Against Deceptive Fees. In its tax records, Consumers Against Deceptive Fees describes itself as an organization seeking to educate CPP customers over increases in their rates that have left consumers facing a higher burden each year. To do so, it relied on door-to-door visits, and fliers to residents. Kelley argues that the group was operating against city residents and on behalf of FirstEnergy. In his letter to council, Vasvari argues that the council lacks authority to investigate the public policy of FirstEnergy or its allies. That, he argues, is beyond the scope of Clevelands charter, which allows use of subpoenas to make investigations as to city affairs. Federal law, meanwhile, protects First Amendment rights and privacy rights of Consumers, Vasvari wrote. The Supreme Courts ruling in the Citizens United case in 2010 established corporate advocacy expenditures are a form of protected free speech. Further, federal rules shield the identities of those who contribute to 501(c)(4) organizations. Disclosing the financial records of CADF violates the rights of CADF members and donors to associate for the purposes of advocacy without disclosing their identities to a government hostile to the message the espouse, Vasvari wrote. After the council issued the subpoena last month, legal experts told cleveland.com that the language in Clevelands charter and Ohio case law suggests councils subpoena powers, including the power to impose fines or jail time for noncompliance, could be applied to people outside of City Hall. But while that authority is defensible, it also is contestable and not limitless, they said. In evaluating the case, a court would look specifically at the issues the city was investigating and what was demanded in the subpoena, said Michael Gentithes, who teaches constitutional law at the University of Akron School of Law. They have to relate it in some way to an issue in which the City Council is concerned, Gentithes said at the time. Kelley, on Thursday, said one thing clear about Consumers response is that if the city is to get the records it wants, it will need to fight for them. The organization did provide federal tax documents that by law must be available for public inspection -- and that Kelley already had obtained -- but none of the more detailed records. Its nothingness, just a bunch of nothing, Kelley said. What they gave us is all that was required by law. More from Cleveland City Hall Cleveland to reopen outdoor pools, relaunch summer sports programs closed in 2020 by coronavirus pandemic Cleveland reaches 400 coronavirus deaths with 2 new fatalities, records 44 new cases: Wednesday update Landmark status considered for site where iconic Hollywood posters, including Frankenstein and The Mummy were printed Incentives for redevelopment of Western Reserve Building in Clevelands downtown clear City Council review Cleveland health organizations say coronavirus vaccine finding greater acceptance among minority residents DENVER, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Four attorneys from The Harris Law Firm have been selected for inclusion in the latest edition of Colorado Super Lawyers. The U.S. News Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" ranked family law practice had two attorneys named to the prestigious Super Lawyers list and two attorneys named to the Super Lawyers list of Rising Stars. Attorneys named to Super Lawyers: Richard. A. Harris : Firm President Rich Harris earns his seventh selection to Colorado Super Lawyers in 2021. An advocate respected throughout the legal and local community, Harris has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Martindale-Hubbell, and The Denver Post as a Top Colorado Lawyer. : Firm President earns his seventh selection to in 2021. An advocate respected throughout the legal and local community, Harris has also been recognized by and as a Top Colorado Lawyer. Richard I. Zuber : Zuber, who serves as Special Counsel to The Harris Law Firm, was recognized for his work in divorce and family law cases involving high-net-worth and complex property division. Zuber has been named to Super Lawyers every year since 2006. Attorneys named to Super Lawyers list of Rising Stars: Javed M. Abbas : Abbas has been named to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for three consecutive years (2019-2021). As an Attorney at The Harris Law Firm, Abbas counsels clients in matters ranging from domestic violence and divorce to child custody and property distribution. Abbas has been named to the Rising Stars list for three consecutive years (2019-2021). As an Attorney at The Harris Law Firm, Abbas counsels clients in matters ranging from domestic violence and divorce to child custody and property distribution. Benjamin Mueller : This is the first year of selection to the Colorado Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for Benjamin Mueller . With a background in economics, criminal defense, and litigation, Mueller is able to adapt to the complex needs of clients facing all types of family law matters. Selection to the annual Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers Rising Stars list is a prestigious honor held by only a select group of legal practitioners. With a stringent selection process consisting of formal nominations, independent evaluations, and peer review, Super Lawyers names no more than 5% of all practicing lawyers statewide to its Super Lawyers list, and just 2.5% of attorneys to its list of Rising Stars. The Harris Law Firm is a U.S. News Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" Tier 1 divorce and family law practice comprised of award-winning attorneys who prioritize communication, personal support, and providing clients with meaningful legal options. As one of Colorado's larges family law practices, the firm serves clients throughout the state from multiple locations. Visit www.harrisfamilylaw.com for more information. SOURCE The Harris Law Firm Related Links http://www.harrisfamilylaw.com/ Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 21:35:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HARARE, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwean government has so far approved four COVID-19 vaccines, as the second phase of the country's vaccination program kicks in. Apart from the Sinopharm vaccine from China which is currently in use following the launch of the first phase of the vaccination program two weeks ago, the government, through the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, has also approved the use of Sinovac, also from China, Covaxin from India and Sputnik V from Russia. With the second phase of the vaccination program having been approved, the government has also urged companies intending to buy vaccines for their employees to procure only those that are registered in the country, the state-run Herald newspaper reported Thursday. The first phase, which covered those in the frontline, was undertaken following a donation by the Chinese government of 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, while the second phase will target vulnerable groups, among them people with chronic diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis and diabetes. Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said 34,400 people were vaccinated countrywide in the first two weeks of the rollout program. Progress made in the initial stages had prompted the Cabinet to approve the second stage, the Herald newspaper quoted the official as saying. "All those intending to procure vaccines for their employees must procure only registered vaccines in Zimbabwe. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development will be purchasing the vaccines on behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe. Cabinet would also like to unveil the guidelines for the procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccines by the private sector in Zimbabwe," she said. Following wide-ranging consultations with the private sector, all approved vaccines would be procured through the National Vaccine Procurement Fund managed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. "Organizations, individuals and any partners wishing to donate towards vaccine procurement will do so to the President through the fund. Donations received and pledges made to date will be announced," she said. Mutsvangwa said those interested in buying vaccines for their workers would deposit their funds into the National Vaccine Procurement Fund after approval by the Ministry of Health and Child Care. The National Vaccine Procurement Fund will procure on behalf of the organizations guided by the national procurement guidelines. To ensure safety and efficacy, vaccines shall be kept at the Central Vaccines Stores under the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the National Cold Chain guidelines shall apply. Only trained and registered health professionals shall be authorized to administer vaccines, and only the Ministry of Health and Child Care shall be responsible for issuing all COVID-19 vaccination certificates, Mutsvangwa stressed. "All vaccines administered at private institutions will be transported by the Ministry of Health and Child Care medical staff under guard by the Zimbabwe Republic Police," she added. Enditem William Kate Harry Meghan racism - JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP The Duke of Cambridge has spoken out on the Harry and Meghan Oprah interview and insisted: We are very much not a racist family. Prince William revealed he had not yet spoken to his brother, the Duke of Sussex, since the interview, but did intend to. On a visit to a school in east London on Thursday, he was asked: Have you spoken to your brother since the interview? He replied: No I havent spoken to him yet but I will do. He was then asked: And can you just let me know, is the Royal family a racist family Sir? The Duke replied: We are very much not a racist family. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stepped out in public for the first time since the Sussexes made a series of explosive allegations about the Royal family during a two-hour television interview. They visited School21 in Stratford, east London, to mark childrens return to classes and the rollout to secondary schools of a mental health project for pupils which Kate launched in primary schools in 2018. The most damaging claim in the Sussexes interview came as Meghan, 39, alleged that when she was pregnant with her son, Archie, concerns had been raised with Prince Harry by a member of the family about the colour of their then-unborn sons skin. The comment, which the Duke of Sussex later refused to elaborate on, has sparked furious debate and speculation about which member of the family was responsible. Ms Winfrey later revealed that it was neither the Queen nor the Duke of Edinburgh, only serving to narrow down the field of suspects. Prince Harry defined his current relationship with his brother as one of "space". The Queen reacted to the interview by insisting that the couples allegations would be "taken very seriously" but that "recollections may vary". The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning, she said. The race allegation has already prompted significant criticism and concern among Commonwealth nations. Political figures in Africa said that they were dismayed by the Duchess's claim, while there have been demands in former Caribbean colonies to drop the Queen as their head of state. Story continues Idayat Hassan, head of the centre for democracy and development in Nigeria, the Commonwealth's most populous black nation, said that Nigerians were "disappointed" by the revelations. "We are a proud nation and have always assumed the royal family were pro-African and we enjoyed the relationship," he said. Ahead of the engagement on Thursday, aides insisted the Cambridges would not be answering questions about the issues raised in the interview. They wont be answering questions and theyd rather you didnt ask them. In a school environment its not appropriate, one said. The Duke of Cambridge watches as a child plays during a visit to School21 - JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP Children at School21, a state-funded school for pupils aged 4-18, will be given access to lessons on issues such as anxiety and depression from Mentally Healthy Schools. The lessons are on a website financed from an initial 800,000 grant from the then Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry and launched by Kate at Roe Green Junior School in Kingsbury, north west London, in January 2018. The future Queen has championed the idea of early intervention by experts to help children struggling with mental health problems. One in 10 children suffers some kind of mental health issue, often because of problems in the family such as abuse, addiction, neglect, or marital breakdown affecting all social classes. The course materials have been accessed more than a million times since the project was launched as a pilot in January 2018 and nationally in primary schools in March that year. New Delhi: Several farmers have been protesting against the three farms laws for more than 100 days. They have stayed in tents, trolleys and other temporary accommodations, braving the cold of winter and now the summer heat. More than 40 farmer leaders have commanded the ongoing demonstrations. Two of them, Balbir Singh Rajewal and Kulwant Singh Sandhu, have been staying at the TDI Club Retreat, a three-star hotel in Kundli. Zee News has accessed the hotel bills which reveal the expenses of their accommodation in the hotel. Balbir Singh Rajewal, President of Bhartiya Kisan Union- Rajewal, stayed in hotel room number 206 from December 12, 2020, to March 3, 2021. Currently, he is staying in room number 303. According to the bills of TDI CLUB Retreat Hotel accessed by Zee News, Rajewal spent more than 1 lakh 30 thousand on hotel bills from December 12, 2020, to January 28, 2021. It included breakfast and laundry expenses. The daily cost of the room was Rs 2500, excluding breakfast and laundry. According to the existing figures, Rajewal's hotel stay estimated costs reach up to Rs 2 lakh 40 thousand approximately. Another farm leader, Kulwant Singh Sandhu, who is the general secretary of Jamuhari Kisan Sabha, Punjab, is staying with his son Dosanjh in room number 201 of the same three-star hotel along with Balbir Singh Rajewal from 27 December 2020. Kulwant Singh Sandhu's stay in the hotel, including food and drink, is free, courtesy of Ravindra Taneja, one of the owners of the hotel. Ravindra Taneja is accused in the Manesar land scam in the Gurugram district of Haryana. According to the charge sheet in the Panchkula Special Court filed by the ED in the year 2020, 13 other builders including Ravindra Taneja had allegedly embezzled Rs 1500 crores. Live TV Credit: CC0 Public Domain Italy's medicines regulator on Thursday banned the use of a batch of AstraZeneca/Oxford coronavirus vaccine as a precaution, after fears of a link to blood clots sparked suspensions across Europe. But the regulator said there was currently no established link between the vaccine and the alleged side-effectsa position reinforced by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office. Draghi's spokesman said that in a phone call with European Commission chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, "it emerged that there is no evidence of a link between the cases of thrombosis in Europe and the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine". "President Von Der Leyen reported that the European Medicines Agency had initiated a further accelerated review." In a statement, Italian regulator AIFA said: "Following the reporting of some serious adverse events... AIFA has decided, as a precaution, to issue a ban on the use of this batch throughout the national territory." It said it "reserves the right to take further measures, if necessary," in coordination with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The batch mentioned by the Italian regulator, ABV2856, is different to that suspended by Austria on Monday, which the EMA named as ABV5300. On Monday, Austria announced it had suspended the use of the particular AstraZeneca batch, after a 49-year-old nurse died of severe blood coagulation days after receiving the shot. Other countries followed suit, while Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday went further, suspending entirely the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine. The EMA said Thursday there had been 30 cases of 'thromboembolic events' among five million people who have had the jab so far in Europe. However the EMA added there is no indication that the vaccine caused these conditions and that the AstraZeneca jab could continue to be used pending the results of a probe. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP Father Park Min-seo, right, signs an online Mass for the Archdiocese of Washington held on Feb. 7. Screen capture from ADW Special Needs Ministry By Park Ji-won Father Park Min-seo signs before having an interview about the establishment of an Ephatha Church in Seoul, in this Aug. 25, 2019, file photo. Korea Times file FAIRBURY, Neb. (AP) There's a new sheriff in town. Jefferson County officials appointed Nick Georgi as the county's new sheriff after the former sheriff, Matthew Schultz, announced he was resigning just five months into the job. PHOTOS: Giant colored eggs in Tehran to welcome Persian New Year Norooz 03/11/21 Photos by Pantea Nikzad, Mehr News Agency To mark the beginning of the Persian New Year, also known as Norooz, visual artists in Tehran are painting large eggs to be installed in various locations in the city. This year Norooz starts on Saturday, March 20th at 2:37 AM PST. Norooz (literally "New Day") is the name of the Iranian New Year, also known as the Persian New Year, which is celebrated worldwide by the Iranians and Turkic peoples, along with some other ethno-linguistic groups, as the beginning of the New Year. International Norooz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday (Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, Norooz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities. 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. STAMFORD Since its founding in 2004, Kayak has grown into one of the travel industrys leading online-booking firms. Now, amid the upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic, it is launching a major brick-and-mortar project. Stamford-headquartered Kayak is opening next month a company-branded boutique hotel in Miami Beach, Fla. A venture several years in the making, Kayak officials want to use the 52-room Kayak Miami Beach as a design lab to build and test the firms accommodation technology while also offering a superior guest experience in one of its most-popular destinations. Ive had a bunch of folks ask me Why launch a hotel right now? It seems like an odd time to launch, Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said in an interview. The reality is weve been scheming on this for a couple of years now. If I could have launched it earlier, I would have. But we had to make a lot of upgrades to the hotel to get it into Kayak brand-worthy shape. The location largely reflects the popularity of the Miami area, which consistently ranks as one of Kayak users 10-most-searched destinations. The property is yards from the citys Collins Park and a couple blocks from the beach. Kayak has leased a 1934 art deco building, which was previously named Life House Collins Park. Even during the pandemic, South Florida is still seeing significant tourist activity, as the state has enacted one of the countrys fastest reopening plans. Florida currently has no travel restrictions in place. I think the recovery is already underway, Hafner said. Im actually down here in Miami Beach I live here full-time and with the restrictions eased here, restaurants are opening at full capacity, and hotel are open for business. What weve already seen from Kayak query data is were only 25 percent off pre-pandemic levels in terms of consumer interest in Miami. Through its website, kayakmb.com, Kayak Miami Beach is accepting reservations for stays starting on April 11. Standard rates are around $229 for a cozy king room, according to Kayak. Reflecting the era of social distancing, Kayak officials said all of the hotels check-ins and check-outs would be contactless, through either Kayak's mobile app or a digital lobby kiosk. The app will provide 24-7 access to hotel staff and support, notifications of on-property events, room-ready alerts, itinerary management and housekeeping requests. Kayak is partnering on the new hotel with hotel brand and management company Life House, which will manage the establishment. Our mission is to create value for independent lifestyle hotels and their owners," Rami Zeidan, founder and CEO of Life House, said in a statement. Together with Kayak, we can accelerate our leadership in this quickly evolving space. Kayak officials said that they are exploring other Kayak-branded hotel opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. Were not intending to turn Kayak into a hotel brand on the scale of a Hilton, Hyatt or Marriott, Hafner said. Were actually getting into the business so we can better inform our software development. What we want to do is build a software product that we can offer for free to every independent hotel and property owner out there, so when someone uses the Kayak app they can walk into those locations and have an enhanced guest experience. Kayak is part of Norwalk-based Booking Holdings, the No. 210 company on last years Fortune list. Kayaks main offices are at 7 Market St., in the South End of Stamford, with about 80 employees based there. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) Local chief executives who refuse to heed the national order to ease requirements for domestic travelers will be made to answer for their actions, an official warned on Thursday. Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said local government units that will make it harder for travelers to complete quarantine and obtain documents for their trip will be asked to explain their decision, or worse, they may face cases. "May napansin na may LGUs na hindi pa rin sumusunod sa IATF resolution," he said in a media briefing. "Once the memorandum circular is released and hindi pa rin mag-comply ang LGUs, then mapipilitan ang DILG to issue a show cause order against them. Hopefully once that is done, they will immediately comply para hindi na mauwi sa pagfile ng kaso." [Translation: We see that some LGUs are still not enforcing the IATF resolution. Once the memorandum circular is released, then DILG will be forced to issue a show cause order. Once that is out. hopefully they comply immediately so it does not lead to the filing of cases.] Under IATF Resolution No. 101 issued on Feb. 26, travelers have to undergo COVID-19 testing if required by the LGU of their destination the provincial government, and authorities of highly urbanized cities and independent component cities. In which case, only a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR test will be honored. Travelers, however, are no longer required to go on quarantine unless they exhibit symptoms upon arriving at their destination. They also dont need to secure a travel authority from the polices Joint Task Force COVID Shield, and health certificates prior to their trip. DILG expects to release the memorandum circular this week. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children United Farm Workers Foundation Executive Director Diana Tellefson Torres said targeting farmworkers at their worksites is the best way to make the vaccine easy for them to get. But success will take more available doses, and also more coordination and ingenuity to ensure that vaccines are where the workers are. We want to make sure the process is accessible. Just having something on a website isnt going to get farmworkers somewhere because there is limited digital literacy and that limitation has been a huge barrier, she said. Some counties like Riverside have sent mobile clinics to agricultural worksites. Tulare County has opened its large International Agri-Center, well-known in its farming community, where growers can send their employees for vaccinations. Farmworkers, like other essential employees, can also get vaccinated at other distribution sites, like pharmacies, but that often requires taking time off work, navigating a county or pharmacy website or the MyTurn online form and getting lucky finding an appointment. Vancouver, British Columbia and Boulder, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Intellabridge Technology Corporation (CSE: INTL) (OTC Pink: CRBTF) (FSE: 98AA), a blockchain technology company, is pleased to announce the scheduled private release of its Kash decentralized banking platform as an Alpha version at the end of March 2021. In advance of an audited live release, the Company is launching an Alpha version of the Kash platform for market testing. This version will contain the first of three modules to be developed, the Investment Module, a decentralized synthetic asset investment platform designed to provide access to equities and commodities markets, including some of the top equities in the United States by market capitalization, as well as commodities such as oil and metals. This version will improve asset liquidity, efficiency and accessibility through fractional ownership. The Investment module is built on a DeFi protocol which has acquired more than $1 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL). As Intellabridge CEO John Eagleton explains, "From an international perspective, US equities are an attractive asset class, but access to the trillion-dollar equities and commodities markets is limited in many emerging markets, and crypto investors want to diversify into tokenized stocks like Tesla, Amazon and Apple. Intellabridge is working to solve this problem by providing investors with better access to the US markets through a decentralized digital version of centralized stockbroker platforms like Robinhood." This product version will be made available to a private group of early users, partners, advisors, and influencers, providing them with the ability to perform live transactions through the platform. The purpose of the Alpha release is to gather market intelligence and valuable insights to further enhance the product offering and features, and to deliver the highest possible value to customers. "This Alpha version is an exciting first step in our mission to build a decentralized global banking solution where people can securely save, invest and spend decentralized cash," said Maria Eagleton, Intellabridge's Chief Operating Officer. A corporate presentation reflecting the Company's roadmap and strategy is now available on the Intellabridge website at www.intellabridge.com. About Intellabridge Technology Corporation Intellabridge Technology Corporation (CSE: INTL) (OTC Pink: CRBTF) (FSE: 98AA) is a venture builder investing in blockchain technologies with a focus on fintech and decentralized financial ("DeFi") solutions. For more information, visit www.intellabridge.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD of DIRECTORS INTELLABRIDGE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION "John Eagleton" John Eagleton, CEO To contact Intellabridge: Website: intellabridge.com Phone: +1-303-800-5333 Email: maria@intellabridge.com The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of any of the word "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements 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. Such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors. The Company believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76867 The Turkish-Azerbaijan strategic partnership will bring tangible benefits to the US by increasing the Wests influence in the south Caucasus and greater Middle East, Taras Kuzio, a professor in the Department of Political Science, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and Non-Resident Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University, states in his article for Anafolu Agency. The US has been absent from the South Caucasus for the last decade, under presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. But the election of US President Joe Biden opens up an opportunity for the US to support the Turkish-Azerbaijan strategic partnership in what would only be a win-win relationship. There are seven factors why a Turkish-Azerbaijani strategic partnership is good for US interests. Firstly, Turkey is an important member of NATO and possesses its second-largest armed forces, which, at 437,000, is larger than that of the combined forces of France and the UK (364,000). Incirlik Air Base has been important to US deployments in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and important as a transit stop to and returning from other locations. Secondly, Turkey is the only regional player with boots on the ground, an alliance with Azerbaijan and presidential willpower to play a geopolitical role in the South Caucasus. Turkey may establish military bases in Azerbaijan. There are expectations President Biden will revive US participation in the Minsk Group. This makes Turkeys presence in the South Caucasus all the more important as it is the only player, which is in a position to counter Russia. Thirdly, Turkeys presence in the South Caucasus and its support for Azerbaijan are a counterweight to Iran, Russias main ally in the region. Turkish leadership of the Sunni world is a useful geopolitical ally and alternative to Saudi Arabia, with which Washington may have more tepid relations than did President Trump. Fourthly, Turkey and Azerbaijan have geopolitical cooperation with Israel, a key US ally in the greater Middle East. Israeli and Turkish drones both played important roles in Azerbaijans defeat of Armenia in last years 44-day war. Fifthly, Turkey is the only regional player with the means, abilities and willpower to take on Iranian proxies, which are active throughout the region. Turkey has backed the UN-negotiated and supported the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, while France and Russia have supported Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar and his Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). Turkish military halted Haftars advance on Tripoli. Sixthly, Turkeys strategic partnership with Azerbaijan has positive repercussions for the US and NATO. Azerbaijan has maintained its independence in the face of Russian military and diplomatic pressures, hybrid warfare, and disinformation campaigns. For the seventh and lastly, in the aftermath of the 44-day war, Turkish and Azerbaijani influence has spread eastwards into Central Asia. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have reached an agreement on jointly exploiting gas deposits in the Caspian Distluk (Friendship in Turkic) field. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are negotiating to boost trade capacity from the Kazakh port of Aktau to Turkey and Europe. The Turkish-Azerbaijan strategic partnership will bring tangible benefits to the US by increasing the Wests influence in the south Caucasus and greater Middle East. A new US president supporting the Turkish-Azerbaijan strategic partnership would provide innumerable geopolitical benefits for NATO, GUAM, Georgia, and Ukraine. 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. (Natural News) Health experts across the globe continue to claim that coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines from several drug manufacturers are safe to use amid the ongoing pandemic. However, a team of doctors has discovered that Modernas coronavirus vaccine is causing painful skin reactions in patients about 11 days after inoculation. Moderna vaccine side effects include inflamed skin and rashes After the shocking discovery, the team of 11 doctors penned a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. The data was based on observations from 12 patients who reported skin reactions after receiving the Modena COVID-19 vaccine. For the study, researchers observed the symptoms of 12 patients (out of 30,420) who developed a delayed reaction. According to the results, the reaction occurred anywhere between day four and day 11 after the patients received the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. In the letter, the doctors explained that the vaccine made a small percentage of people develop patches of inflamed skin and rashes around the injection site, up to 11 days after vaccination. The unusual dermatological reaction to the vaccine was observed in a dozen patients who experienced raised, itchy or painful large, red patches of skin near the injection site. Despite these alarming effects, the team of doctors insisted that the skin rashes have occurred because of a delayed allergic immune response that is often observed in drug reactions. The 12 patients received treatment for the skin reactions. The experts also noted that the side effects eventually cleared up after an average of six days. Ironically, the doctors encouraged the patients to get the second dose of the potentially harmful Moderna coronavirus vaccine. It should come as no surprise that after getting another dose of the vaccine, three patients had the same reaction. Three patients also had a reaction of lesser severity. Data showed that 50 percent of the cohort had no reaction after getting the follow-up vaccine dose. (Related: Hundreds of Florida residents report side effects following Wuhan coronavirus vaccination.) How the vaccine is supposed to work According to Dr. Esther Freeman, director of Global Health Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and co-author of the letter, most of the patients experiencing skin reactions are doing so because of their own immune system going to work. Dr. Erica Shenoy, a letter co-author, said that clinicians and patients shouldnt confuse these cases of delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity with a skin infection. Shenoy warned that the skin reactions dont require antibiotics. Dr. Adil Sheraz, a consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson, explained that adverse cutaneous or skin reactions are quite typical for a variety of vaccines. Sheraz noted that more recognized traditional vaccines, like the MMR (measles) vaccine, usually occur a few hours to a few days later. These vaccines can cause tenderness, erythema (redness) and swelling at the site. The Moderna vaccine is an mRNA vaccine similar to the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. This kind of vaccine exposes a patient to messenger RNA (mRNA) or a small sample of coronavirus genetic material. This virus sample then inserts itself into cells and tricks them into making a copy of the coronavirus spike protein. In turn, this mechanism activates your immune system so that it can learn how to protect you from the virus while fighting off its own cells with a COVID-19 disguise. Allegedly, this mechanism is behind most of the side effects of vaccines, like the skin reactions linked to Modernas coronavirus jab. Big Pharma wants the public to believe that these adverse effects arent due to a mild case of the coronavirus, but your bodys own reaction and the immune system working. Modernas COVID-19 vaccine was approved by drug regulators in America, the U.K. and EU for emergency approval. It is already being administered in the U.S. and EU while the U.K. is slated to receive its first doses of Modernas vaccine later in March. Women more likely to experience side effects after receiving coronavirus vaccine A separate study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that women make up the majority of the patients experiencing negative side effects because of the COVID-19 vaccine. In the study, almost 7,000 people reported to the CDC that they were experiencing side effects after inoculation like headaches, fatigue and dizziness about 80 percent are women. The survey was conducted by researchers at the CDC last February. The safety data involved over 13 million recipients of the coronavirus vaccine as of Jan. 13. Within the span of one month, 13,794,904 COVID-19 vaccines were administered to Americans. About 61.2 percent or 8,436,863 doses were administered to women. Shelly Kendeffy, a medical technician in State College in Pennsylvania, received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. According to Kendeffy, she didnt feel any side effects immediately after getting vaccinated. But on the afternoon of the same day, she felt her teeth chattering. She was also sweating and felt soaked, but frozen. Kendeffy added that six of her seven female colleagues also experienced symptoms such as body aches, chills and fatigue. Her seventh female colleague didnt experience flu-like symptoms, but she spent the night after [getting] the vaccine vomiting. Eight of Kendeffys male colleagues were also vaccinated. One experienced soreness, someone else suffered from a headache, two experienced fatigue and four didnt experience any symptoms at all. Sabra Klein, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, explained that these reported symptoms were not surprising and that this sex difference is completely consistent with past reports of other vaccines. Moderna and Pfizers mRNA vaccines are the first to receive approval for use in humans. According to a recent study on phase 3 clinical data from Modernas trials, 84.2 percent of patients have reported immediate reactions around the injection site. Meanwhile, only 0.8 percent of patients experienced a delayed reaction, wherein they developed a rash over a week after inoculation. Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to the coronavirus vaccines. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk MSN.com Police officers talk to Extinction Rebellion activists occupying Oxford Circus in the busy shopping district of central London on April 18, 2019. (Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images) Police in England Need to Get Tougher with Disruptive Protests: Watchdog Police in England and Wales need to be more robust in how they tackle protests that cause excessive disruption, according to a report by the official watchdog that also warned officers over taking the knee. The study, published today by the Inspectorate of Constabulary, was commissioned by the Home Office in the wake of last years clutch of protests under the banner of Extinction Rebellion and BLM. We found that the police too often do not find the balance between protecting the rights of the protesters and preventing excessive disruption to daily life, which even peaceful protest can sometimes cause, said Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr in a statement. The report gave examples of an Extinction Rebellion protest in Bristol that caused chaos at rush hour in the city centre, and a BLM protest in the West Midlands that closed the M6 motorway. Earlier this week, the Home Office announced a bill that would give greater powers to police to break up protests that disrupt businesses and transport links. The 157-page inspectorate report said that a modest reset of the scales was needed to get the balance right. It made 12 recommendations, including improved intelligence, the possible adoption of more on-the-spot fines like those used to enforce lockdown legislation, the greater use of AI-powered facial recognition, and greater road-closure powers. The report also recommends police identify more clearly the threshold of disruption after which they will act against protesters, and that they improve the way they assess potential disruption on local residents and critical infrastructure. On the matter of whether officers should be taking the knee, the report stated: We understand why police leaders may wish to demonstrate to their officers and staff from minority groups, and to the wider public, that they support principles of equality. However, they should be cautious about how they do this; the act of taking the knee has become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement, and this is particularly so when it occurs at a Black Lives Matter protest. On balance, we believe that police leaders should think very carefully before they take any actions which may be interpreted as showing support for, or aversion towards, any protest or its stated aims; it will rarely be appropriate. For similar reasons, the report also singled for criticism police who joined in with Extinction Rebellion protesters and using skateboards on a cordoned-off bridge. The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) said that they would carefully consider the recommendations of the report. Protest policing is challenging and complexand even more so during this current pandemic, said Chief Constable BJ Harrington, the NPCC lead on public order policing. Police officers seek to find the right balance between the rights of protestors and those of local residents and businesses while doing all they can to prevent violence and criminality in fast-moving situations, dealing with varied and new protest tactics. As the inspectorate recognises, it is a particularly difficult balancing act when protests are non-violent and peaceful but highly disruptive. The inspectorate carried out public surveys as part of the report, which found more than two-thirds of people thought it was unacceptable for protests to involve violence or serious disruption to residents and businesses. While public opinion is not determinative of whether the police are acting appropriately or lawfully, it is nevertheless an important factor to consider because the British policing model is based on consent, said the report. With peaceful protests that caused only minor local inconvenience, however, there is little public appetite for police to use force. Earlier this week, some human rights organizations expressed concern over the wider-ranging revamp of policing proposed in the Policing, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill. The bill included new restrictions on protest, new stop and search powers, and tougher crimes for damaging statues. Conservative Party Leader Erin O'Toole speaks in the House of Commons in Ottawa on March 11, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) OToole: We Need a New Approach on China Two decades ago, the Western world brought China into the rules-based trading system of the World Trade Organization, the argument being that helping China develop economically would entice the communist regime to respect human rights and the rule of law. Weve been wrong, Conservative Party Leader Erin OToole told The Epoch Times in an interview. Whether its trade practices whether its Hong Kong and the situation with the Uyghurs, whether its the South China Sea, intellectual property theft, we cannot allow a country to benefit from the rules-based system where values of human rights are respected, but actually not practice those values themselves. Observers have noted that since joining the WTO in 2001, China has significantly ramped up its exports but has flouted trade rules and prevented reciprocal access to its market to other countries. The American Chamber of Commerce in China said in its 2019 annual report that American businesses are still asking for a level playing field in China, and want Beijing to respect investment reciprocity. According to a 2017 report by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, between 2001 and 2011, Canada lost 150,000 to 170,000 jobs due to increased Chinese imports. Another 2017 report by the Broadbent Institute said Canada has lost close to 550,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. In the United States, the Economic Policy Institute said in a 2018 report that because of Chinas acceptance into the WTO, the United States has lost 3.4 million jobs between 2001 and 2017. The Beijing regime has also continued its human rights transgressions in mainland China, and is now restricting democratic rights in Hong Kong. We have to readjust our approach, OToole says, noting that the concern is not with China or the Chinese people, but with the way the Chinese Communist Party conducts itself. Human Rights In a 266-0 vote in the House of Commons last month, MPs voted to declare Beijings oppression of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in China a genocide. Numerous human rights bodies have documented cases of torture, killing, sexual harassments, forced abortions, and imprisonment of ethnic and religious groups in China. Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, who previously led the prosecution of former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal, is currently overseeing an independent tribunal in England to investigate the Chinese regimes persecution of Uyghurs. An independent tribunal he previously chaired concluded in 2019 that there was clear evidence that forced organ harvesting of adherents of the spiritual discipline Falun Gong has been taking place in China. Human Rights Watch reports that China continues to severely restrict freedom of speech and assembly in Tibet, while imprisoning Christians who attend underground churches. In recent years, Beijing has also increased its crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong. Last year, the regimes rubber stamp legislature passed a new national security law that gives the communist regime more enforcement power in Hong Kong, and introduces tough punishments for vague charges associated with terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Its been terrible to see the decline now into a police state in Hong Kong, a total erosion of the one country two systems agreement, OToole said, referring to the framework agreed between China and the UK when Hong Kong was handed over to Beijing in 1997. The agreement allows Hong Kong a degree of autonomy from Beijing. We would like to see the democratic rights that were guaranteed in that agreement reasserted for Hong Kongers, OToole said, adding that Canada should help provide asylum to Hong Kong democracy activists fleeing persecution to make sure that those voices arent extinguished by the police state. As for the next steps now that the House of Commons has declared Beijings treatment of Uyghurs a genocide, OToole says he would like to see the government recognize the designation and take action. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet abstained from voting on the motion, but allowed other Liberal MPs to vote. [We would like the government to] work with other allies to raise awareness here, and to look to potentially a number of trade and other sanctions to highlight the international communitys strong condemnation of a genocide thats happening in Xinjiang, he said, referring to the northwestern Chinese region where the majority of Chinas Uyghur population live. Fentanyl OToole says there should also be coordinated enforcement with allies to prevent the flow of fentanyl into Canada, which is fuelling a deadly opioid crisis. Theres a fear that the Chinese communist state is turning a blind eye to some of this, this trade and trafficking, he says. Investigation has to be key. Weve said restricting access to exporters that have been found to have had illegal opioids, illegal drugs in their shipments, should be step one, and then potentially sanctions against the port facility where these originate, could be something we co-ordinate with the United States on. New Approach OToole says Canada is currently out of step with other allies in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance when it comes to dealing with China, pointing to Ottawas lack of a decision on whether to use Chinese telecom giant Huaweis equipment in Canadas 5G network as an example. Three out of five of Canadas allies in the alliancethe United States, Australia, and New Zealandhave already ruled out using Huawei in their 5G networks, and the UK has set a plan to phase out the company from its 5G network. Mr. Trudeau himself needs to wake up to this, OToole says. Theres an emerging consensus in particularly the Five Eyes groups of countries that we need a new approach with respect to China. 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. Samarkand Group's David Hampstead talks to Proactive London's Katie Pilbeam about their UK ecommerce company that helps brands sell in China. The firm is planning to raise 10 million to list on London's Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market on March 22nd. The float is expected to value the company at around 50 million. Las Vegas giants Wynn Resorts, Bally's Corp. and the Sands are quietly preparing to compete for coveted casino license near New York City, a report said on Tuesday. The race to open casinos in New York started in 2013 when a constitutional amendment authorized seven casinos across the state - with four upstate casinos licensed first. A moratorium - which is due to expire in 2023 - was placed on licensing three downstate casinos to prevent them from competing with the upstate operations. But Albany officials are pushing to issue three gaming licenses for downstate New York this year instead of 2023 as the Empire State faces declining tax revenues amid the pandemic, the New York Post reported. Downstate options could include the five boroughs of New York City, as well as the lower Hudson Valley and Long Island A marquee at Bally's Las Vegas Hotel & Casino displays a message as parts of the Las Vegas Strip go dark as a result of the statewide shutdown due to the continued spread of coronavirus People ride an escalator near the Wynn Las Vegas hotel-casino on September 17, 2020, in Las Vegas The Sands Expo and Convention Center and The Palazzo are pictured in Las Vegas in 2014 The three new licenses could garner at least $500 million each, according to lawmakers and casino executives. Two of those licenses downstate are expected to go to the Resorts World Aqueduct in the Queens borough of New York City and Empire City Casino in Yonkers, owned by MGM. The venues have already been approved to run slot machines. But that would leave one more license still up for grabs. Sources told the New York Post that the new contenders have already started talking to potential developer partners and trying to garner support from local politicians as Albany may being requesting proposals as soon as April. Robert Goldstein, CEO of Las Vegas Sands told the outlet his company still hopes to open in New York even after selling its Las Vegas properties. After late CEO Sheldon Adelson died in January, the company announced it would sell its properties, including the Venetian, for $6.25billion - pocketing billions in subsidies after the business was hit hard by the pandemic. VICI Properties will buy the property and all assets associated with the Venetian Resort Las Vegas and the Sands Expo for $4billion. Apollo Global Management will acquire the operations of the Venetian for $2.25billion. 'We are eager to bring our expertise and resources to New York a move that could bring needed revenue, thousands of jobs and help rebuild the state from the devastating effects of COVID,' Goldstein told the New York Post. 'And we don't need any subsidies to do it,' Goldstein added that Las Vegas Sands has 'been approached by a wide range of real estate interests from basically every borough' of New York City. 'They all understand the huge potential economic benefits,' he told the Post. Pedestrians pass in front of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. Venetian resort illuminated at night An exterior view shows The Venetian Las Vegas on January 12, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada Wynn and Bally's have not publicly discussed plans for New York and declined to comment to the outlet. Wynn Resorts was founded by Steve Wynn, who resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations in 2018 and Bally's, which has been expanding quickly, is run by Soo Kim a New Yorker. If the license is granted within New York City, experts expect that new casinos would open in one of the its four outer-boroughs - the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn or Staten Island - rather than in Manhattan where casinos are currently banned. In January, New York City mayoral hopeful Andrew Yang proposed building a casino on Governors Island as developers and lawmakers pushed to allow gambling halls in Manhattan. Yang, 46, said in an appearance on the radio show The Breakfast Club that building a casino would generate 'hundreds of millions of dollars' in revenue as the state faces a $15 billion shortfall while recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. The former 2020 presidential candidate made waves during the election cycle with his proposals for universal basic income, the cost of which could be partially offset from casino revenue, Politico reported. Yang spoke on The Breakfast Club shows while campaigning for mayor of New York City Andrew Yang said a casino on Governors Island could help bring in hundreds of millions of dollars for the state 'That casino would generate so much money it would be bananas,' Yang said. 'If the city could get that in place and harness some of that that would be one of the engines of recovery.' Yang argued that Governor's Island is 'an environment right now that is essentially unused.' Governors Island, while technically a part of the borough of Manhattan, is a 172-acre recreational and public use island in New York Harbor controlled by a city-run non-profit called The Trust for Governors Island. The island, a former military installation, is only accessible by ferry and currently houses a large park, a National Monument and several restaurants and businesses. The state currently allows several casinos upstate, including the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort Vornado Real Estate has proposed a casino at its properties near Herald Square in Manhattan However, a controversial rezoning proposal already making its way through the city's land use process would allow for the building of hotels and offices on 4.5 million square feet of the mostly open green space, the Wall Street Journal reported. Vornado Realty Trust and Morris Bailey, the owner of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, have each already talked about the idea of adding casinos to their respective properties near Herald Square, The New York Times reported. L&L Holding Company has proposed making a casino the centerpiece of the TSX Broadway tower it is developing in Times Square. The 'Times Square market is ripe for a high-end casino,' according to a promotional presentation from L&L. The 550,000-square-foot, 46-story tower boasts a $2.5 billion price tag and will include a permanent outdoor stage suspended 30 feet above Times Square, according to the company's website. The NYC commercial real estate industry has taken a 64 percent hit during the pandemic, with tenants leasing only 20.5 million square feet of Manhattan office space in 2020, the Times reported. Liz Krueger, a state senator from Manhattan and the powerful chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, said she's 'not a big fan of casinos, period.' '[It] would be a fight to get me and a lot of other people to support a casino,' said Brad Hoylman, the state senator whose district includes Times Square. 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. [March 10, 2021] Xiaomi's Strategic Investment into AMTD Capital, Calvin Choi and Zhao Weixing jointly signed the board resolution HONG KONG, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AMTD Group announced that Airstar Digital (fomerly named as Xiaomi Digital), a subsidiary of Xiaomi Corporation, invested in AMTD Capital, a subsidiary of AMTD International (NYSE: HKIB; SGX: HKB). AMTD Capital has obtained an approval earlier last year by the Chinese regulator to operate as a foreign-invested investment management firm in Hengqin. Xiaomi Finance (Hong Kong) Limited, a subsidiary of Airstar Digital, officially signed the strategic collaboration agreement with AMTD International. Under the agreement, Airstar Digital will invest into new shares to own 49.87% of AMTD Capital. Mr. Zhao Weixing, Vice President of Airstar Digital and former Chief Executive of XW Bank, will join the Board of AMTD Capital. AMTD Capital will also be renamed as AM Capital. Recently, Mr. Calvin Choi, Chairman and CEO of AMTD Group, and Mr. Zhao Weixing, Vice President of Airstar Digital, in their capacity as representatives of the shareholders and members of the Board of Directors of AM Capital, met face to face in Hong Kong to discuss further cooperation opportunities and held the first Board meeting. The meeting focused on how the two shareholders can maximize synergies and support AM Capital to implement its "Enterprise+" strategic investment methodology, and its investment direction to focus into FinTech, ecosystem building, and smart manufacturing companies. The objective is to provide enterprises wth long term but low-cost capital to support their long-term development, and at the same time provide multi-dimensional value-added services such as strategic modeling, process optimization, industry consolidation, financing support, and business development for the pre-IPO or listed companies. Mr. Calvin Choi, Chairman and CEO of AMTD Group and Mr. Zhao Weixing, Vice President of Airstar Digital, jointly signed the board resolution. AM Capital is the second corporate level equity co-investment and collaboration between AMTD Group and Airstar Digital, following the joint establishment of Airstar Bank. AM Capital's management team will comprise of core members from both AMTD Group and Airstar Digital. In addition, Mr. Feng Juwen, Deputy Director for Hengqin Financial Services Bureau, and Mr. Luo Hao, Assistant Director of Hengqin Financial Services Bureau, led a team to visit AM Capital. During the meeting, Mr. Feng firmly expressed that the Hengqin Financial Services Bureau would actively support and assist AM Capital's business development and promote its business in the Greater Bay Area. Serving as one of AMTD Group's key platforms in the Greater Bay Area, as well as aligning with Airstar Digital's strategic direction in the digital finance sector, AM Capital will follow the governments' lead in the region to promote financial openness and innovation, deepening financial cooperation between Hong Kong, Macau, and China, assuming the strategic role to bridge cross-border investment and financing. About AMTD International Inc. AMTD International Inc. (NYSE: HKIB; SGX: HKB) is a premier Hong Kong-headquartered financial institution group connecting companies and investors from Asia, including China and Hong Kong as well as the ASEAN markets with global capital markets. Its comprehensive one-stop financial service solutions strategy addresses different clients' diverse and inter-connected financial needs across all phases of their life cycles. Leveraging its deep roots in Asia and its unique eco-system the "AMTD SpiderNet" the Company is uniquely positioned as an active super-connector between clients, business partners, investee companies, and investors, connecting the East and the West. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xiaomis-strategic-investment-into-amtd-capital-calvin-choi-and-zhao-weixing-jointly-signed-the-board-resolution-301245179.html SOURCE AMTD [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is 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2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children A bold declaration was fought in earnest by the teacher's union and assumes that pandemic 'variants' won't pose a problem. Here's the latest . . . SHAWNEE, Kan. - A big change is coming for students this fall in one of the metro's largest school districts. Shawnee Mission will not offer a remote learning option, so students will have to attend in-person or transfer elsewhere. The news is welcomed by parents who've fought for full in-person learning to know remote school [...] Auburn native Brian McKeon is on the verge of being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become President Joe Biden's deputy secretary of state for management and resources. But he may have to wait for the full Senate to consider his nomination. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee met Thursday and voted unanimously to advance McKeon's nomination. With the committee's approval, the next and final step is for the Senate to vote on whether to confirm McKeon to serve as a top official at the State Department. But U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, revealed at the committee meeting Thursday that he will be placing holds on McKeon's nomination and another Biden nominee, Wendy Sherman, who is the president's pick to serve as deputy secretary of state. A hold is an attempt by senators to prevent consideration of bills or nominations on the Senate floor. Cruz said he is placing holds on the two nominations because he doesn't believe the Biden administration has done enough to prevent the construction of a massive pipeline called Nord Stream 2, which would deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany. Cruz has placed holds on other Biden nominees to pressure the administration to take a stronger stance on the Nord Stream 2 project. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 08:13:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Twenty six people were killed and dozens were wounded after a bus carrying 62 people fell into a ravine in Indonesia's western province of West Java on Wednesday night, a senior official said earlier Thursday. The rescuers are struggling to pull out one person from the wreckage of the bus, Deden Ridwansyah, head of search and rescue office of Bandung city told Xinhua by phone. According to the police, the incident occurred when the bus driver could not control the vehicle when it was passing on the Wado Malangbong street in Sumedang district, then the bus plunged into a ravine, said Ridwansyah. As many as 35 people survived the incident but many of them suffered injuries, the official said. Enditem Mr. Guidotti comes to ApiJect with more than 30 years of pharma experience in global business, operational strategy and execution, supply chain management, manufacturing network design, and capital project planning and execution. Since 2009, he has served in a variety of executive leadership roles with Patheon Pharmaceuticals and Thermo Fisher Scientific (which acquired Patheon in August 2017). Most recently he was Group Vice President of Global Engineering, Capacity Planning, and Technical/Operations Services for Pharma Services Group within Thermo Fisher Scientific, a global leader in serving science and an industry leader in contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services. In his role as ApiJect's COO, Mr. Guidotti will work closely with CEO Franco Negron on realizing the company's growth strategy and continuing to build a world-class team in support of the delivery of the ApiJect platform. This will also include responsibility for the company's scheduled construction of the previously announced ApiJect Campus in Durham, North Carolina's Research Triangle Park that will have the capability to produce up to 3 billion doses of injectable medicines annually. The campus is being financed with a $590 million loan from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation in addition to more than $200 million of privately raised capital. In welcoming Mr. Guidotti to the ApiJect team, Mr. Negron, commented: "Ray Guidotti is the right person at the right time for ApiJect. He is a proven senior executive who will help drive our company's rapid emergence as a technology innovator and leader in the development and production of safe, effective, efficient, high volume injection devices. His deep technical and operational experience means he understands and has executed the technical and strategic aspects of successful pharmaceutical operations. His engineering expertise coupled with his executive leadership in the pharmaceutical industry is exactly what ApiJect needs in our COO. On a more personal note, Ray and I have a long history of professional collaboration dating back nearly 20 years which includes executive leadership roles at Patheon and Thermo Fisher Scientific. I couldn't be more excited to welcome him as a trusted member of our executive leadership team." ApiJect Co-Founder and Chairman, Jay Walker, commented on Mr. Guidotti's hiring: "With Ray we have a real superstar in the pharmaceutical industry who has truly done it all. His experience in operations, business strategy, and execution complements our executive team as ApiJect's technology platform moves front and center to be a vital element in America's and the world's response to COVID-19. Ray is also among those few in corporate management who has the capacity and the interest in seeing and understanding what is around the corner in the next stages of industry innovation and change." Mr. Guidotti commented: "As an engineer and pharmaceutical executive, I can say that I am thrilled to be joining ApiJect. Blow-Fill-Seal technology is safe, cost-effective and holds tremendous promise for rapidly transforming the speed and scale at which vaccines and other therapeutic medicines can be delivered. ApiJect is at the forefront of this work. I've been fortunate in my career to work with some of the most incredible leaders in Pharma and to be a part of teams that have achieved many firsts and improvements in the industry. With ApiJect, I have a chance again to work with a world class leadership team and to continue building out our organization with the kind of talent that will lead the way in expanding access, reducing cost, and revolutionizing the way vaccines and medicines are distributed to communities throughout the world. I couldn't be more excited to take on this challenge." Mr. Negron concluded: "As a 24-year resident of the Raleigh-Durham area, Ray will also lead our company's integration in the area as an active corporate citizen. He has already put his hand into the design and execution of our workforce recruitment, training, and retention efforts as our Research Triangle presence takes shape. When it comes to building a workforce of 650 from scratch, a plant from the ground up, and a company with world class operations, Ray knows what needs to be done and will guide our outstanding teams to ensure our company's success today and well into the future." ABOUT APIJECT SYSTEMS, CORP. ApiJect Systems, Corp. is a medical technology company that revolutionizes how the world manufactures and delivers injectable medicines and vaccines. The ApiJect technology platform brings together simple, interconnectable components to create scalable drug delivery devices for U.S. and global markets. At the center of these devices is the aseptic and cost-effective Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) fill-finish process. And, by using a modular manufacturing approach, these devices can be produced in clinical or commercial scale by ApiJect or the drug manufacturer. Our first device, the single-dose ApiJect Prefilled Injector, allows a healthcare professional to twist a pen needle-style hub onto a BFS container creating a simple, scalable prefilled syringe. ApiJect is working with several vaccine pharmaceutical companies to conduct the testing and regulatory reviews of COVID-19 vaccines in the ApiJect Prefilled Injector. ApiJect has submitted its needle hub device for a pre-submission FDA review and anticipates the filing of its drug container with COVID-19 vaccine as part of a review submission by each of ApiJect's COVID-19 vaccine partners. ApiJect's prefilled injector will be ready for patient distribution as soon as it receives FDA approval. In 2020, ApiJect was awarded a $138 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to create a high-volume domestic capacity to supply prefilled injectors. The U.S.-based facility that ApiJect has developed through this emergency program has the capacity to provide approximately 45 million prefilled injectors per month to America's population through 2021. ApiJect has also recently been approved by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation for a $590 million loan to construct a multi-facility campus enabling the U.S. to more quickly package high volumes of injectable medicines and vaccines in the event of a national emergency, beginning with COVID-19. Located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, this 1.2 million square foot campus will be home to the ApiJect Gigafactory, is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical fill-finish facilities. The campus is expected to have an annual production capacity of up to 3 billion single-dose prefilled injectors. ApiJect, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a founding member of the RAPID Consortium, a public-private partnership dedicated to giving the U.S. and the world the surge capacity it needs for drug packaging to address future pandemics and bio-emergencies. Learn more about ApiJect at www.apiject.com. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in these materials that address activities, events or developments that ApiJect expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The words "believe", "expect", "may", "estimates", "will", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "foresee", "should", "would", "could", or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. However, the absence of these words does not mean that the statements are not forward looking. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, forward-looking statement contained in this press release specifically include the expectations of plans, strategies, and objectives of ApiJect. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of ApiJect, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. SOURCE ApiJect Systems Corp. Related Links https://apiject.com BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? 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on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children Washington: Americans will soon receive their biggest round of government payments since the coronavirus pandemic began after the US House of Representatives approved the final version of President Joe Bidens sweeping $US1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) economic relief package. The vote in the Democrat-controlled House delivered Biden a major legislative victory less than two months after entering the White House. US President Joe Biden will sell the benefits of the package in his first prime-time television address since entering the White House. Credit:AP Biden described the bill as an historic piece of legislation that addresses a major crisis and lifts up millions of Americans. This legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation - the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going - a fighting chance, Biden said. Prime Minister will on Friday inaugurate the 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' event by flagging off a 241-mile march from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Gujarat's Navsari district to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said Thursday. Addressing the media, the culture and tourism minister said the government has decided to organise a series of events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence as 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' from March 12, 2021, to August 15, 2022. States and Union Territories will also organize programmes on Friday, he said. "Prime Minister will inaugurate the 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' and flag-off the march from Sabarmati Ashram tomorrow. "The 25-day march will cover 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari, and will end on April 5. Eighty-one people will participate in the padyatra and different groups of people will be joining it on the way to Dandi. "I will lead the first lap of 75 kilometers till Nadiad," Patel said. Explaining the significance of choosing March 12 for the padyatra, the minister said it was on this day in 1930 that Mahatma Gandhi took out the famous Dandi march along with 81 people to break the law imposing tax on salt. The government has decided to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence as 'Amrut Mahotsav'. Weekly events will be organized during the next 75 weeks till August 15 next year. Every week, an event will be held. To ensure involvement of all citizens in this mahotsav, various programmes will be organised with the culture ministry in supporting role, Patel 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.) ( ) ( ) is well-positioned to be Australias next lithium producer, developing the Finniss Lithium Project which is one of Australias most capital efficient and lowest cost hard rock spodumene lithium projects near Darwin Port in the Northern Territory, Australia. In the half-year to December 31, 2020, Core continued to build strategic relationships with potential offtake partners and project financiers while investing in exploration and project development activities. During the period, the company began a lithium resource infill and expansion program to further define and grow mineral resources and project mine life with the aim of releasing an updated and optimised definitive feasibility study in the second quarter of 2021. Milestones reached Discussions and negotiations with the Northern Territory Government resulted in the signing of a non-binding indicative term sheet with the Local Jobs Fund for a $5 million concessional Finance Facility to contribute to the lower start-up capital funding needs. In January 2021, Core received and accepted the NT Governments offer of a mineral lease (ML 32346) for the BP33 deposit for a term of 25 years while in February, it raised $40.5 million in additional capital through the placement of 162 million shares to new high-quality institutional investors. Recently, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bynoe Lithium Pty Ltd the company entered into a call option with Outback Metals Proprietary Limited and Victory Polymetallic Pty Limited to potentially acquire six granted mining leases. These leases contain more than 30 lithium pegmatite targets and have a history of tin and tantalum mining with similar chemistry as the high-grade spodumene pegmatites on Cores adjacent Finniss Lithium Project tenements. Bynoe has until December 31, 2021, to exercise its call option and may extend that date by three months until March 31, 2022, and a further three months until June 30, 2022, subject to paying $250,000 to the grantors for each extension. Aiming to increase resource Cores aim is to complete the acquisition of these assets in 2021 and, based on a positive assessment, to increase mineral resources and potentially increase Finniss project life-of-mine. This plan would also support future lithium production capacity increases and downstream processing. Core Lithium managing director Stephen Biggins said it was a significant milestone in the companys history. This new acquisition of multiple pegmatite mines adjacent to the Finniss Lithium Project has the potential to significantly accelerate Cores resource expansion plans. The expected increases in resources from this deal and our well-funded resource drill programs at Finniss this year should provide a strong platform for extending and expanding production of lithium from the project as lithium prices increase. [March 10, 2021] Edtech pioneer Janison to be National Service Provider of PISA for Schools in Australia SYDNEY, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Janison Education Group Limited (ASX: JAN) has been accredited as the Australian National Service Provider (NSP) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the PISA for Schools assessment the gold standard in the measurement of student learning, underpinned by PISA-based scales. The OECD accredited the Sydney-headquartered edtech company with exclusive rights to manage the roll-out of PISA for Schools across Australia for the next two years. This will see Janison promote, deliver and support the event for participating schools in all states and territories. The full ASX announcement of the deal can be found here. here are strong indications from a large number of government and independent schools across Australia wishing to participate between April and May this year. Janison's CEO David Caspari said: "The board and management of Janison are extremely honoured to be partnering with the OECD in the roll-out of such an incredibly well-regarded assessment and benchmarking tool the only test of its kind in the world. For us, this is our mission to be a global force for good by powering best-in-class educational assessments with passion and purpose." PISA for Schools is powered by the Janison online assessment platform which offers educators an enhanced dashboard and streamlined reporting alongside a suite of practical features enabling schools to explore their own data. Janison has been in an exclusive partnership agreement with the OECD since 2019 to provide the digital solution for PISA for Schools globally. Already 220,000 students across seven countries have undertaken the test using Janison's platform, including the US, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Thailand. PISA for Schools tests 15-year-olds with a cognitive test in reading, mathematics and science. An additional questionnaire asks about a student's home and school situation, learning environment, and confidence and motivation. For further information on the test visit the Janison website here. Each school receives a confidential report which analyses their students' learning outcomes and socio-emotional situation, and benchmarks them against other schools nationally, internationally and against OECD averages. Educators are reporting that this provides an opportunity for schools to benefit from gold-standard PISA data to drive improvement, set strategic goals, and address the gap between the least and most advantaged. For media enquiries, call Tracey Cain at 0411 644 999. SOURCE Janison Solutions [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] DALLAS, March 11, 2021 For every 10-minute delay between arrival at the emergency room (ER) and starting stroke treatment, patients with severe strokes may lose eight weeks of healthy life, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Associations International Stroke Conference 2021. The virtual meeting is March 17-19, 2021 and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. Delays between the onset of stroke symptoms and arrival at the hospital have long been known to cost lives and brain cells. Our study showed that delays in treatment at the hospital may have even more severe consequences on stroke recovery than pre-hospital arrival delays, said lead study author Mohammed A. Almekhlafi, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of clinical neurosciences, radiology and community health sciences in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary in Canada. To examine the timeliness of in-hospital stroke care, researchers examined the time between ER arrival to the start of mechanical clot-removal treatment among 406 patients who participated in seven international stroke trials (Highly Effective Reperfusion evaluated in Multiple Endovascular Stroke trials - HERMES) comparing mechanical clot retrieval (endovascular thrombectomy) with or without clot-busting medication to clot-busting medication alone. The seven studies were published between 2010 and 2015 with different start and end dates. The patients had their stroke-causing clots removed at comprehensive stroke centers as participants in one of the seven international clinical trials. All the patients in this sub-analysis had experienced a severe stroke with blockage of one of the large brain arteries, and all were treated within four hours of the time they were last known to be well. Outcomes were calculated in terms of healthy life-years lost, an indicator of quality-of-life after stroke that considers a patients life expectancy and the extent of their post-stroke disability. The researchers found: The median time between symptom onset and arrival at the ER was just over three hours at 188 minutes. The median time between ER arrival and an artery being punctured to start the clot-removal procedure was more than an hour-and-a-half at 105 minutes. Every one-hour delay in the hospital resulted in 11 months of healthy life lost. Every 10-minute delay in the hospital resulted in eight weeks of healthy life lost. I was surprised with the degree to which delays in the hospital impacted stroke outcome even in those who arrived at the hospital early following stroke symptoms, Almekhlafi said. After a likely stroke patient arrives at the emergency room of a comprehensive stroke center, they should be evaluated by members of the stroke team and rushed into brain imaging to confirm the stroke diagnosis and identify the site of the blockage in the brain vessels. If eligible, clot-busting medications are administered as quickly as possible. Patients are then rushed to a special operating room for the emergency endovascular therapy. Delays could occur if brain scanners or angiography suites are occupied by another patient when the stroke patient arrives, or if there are delays in the notification or arrival of the endovascular team to the hospital (such as during overnight hours or weekends), Almekhlafi said. Many national and international professional organizations including the American Stroke Association have suggested benchmarks to monitor the time from emergency room arrival until blood flow is restored to the blocked brain artery in order to reduce the risk of severe disability and death. Our findings emphasize the importance of continuously monitoring these time metrics to ensure that the speed of care is optimized, Almekhlafi said. A limitation of the study is that all patients were taken directly to a comprehensive stroke center capable of delivering endovascular therapy. There may be different consequences of delays for those who are assessed in the ER at a community hospital and then transferred to another hospital or comprehensive stroke center to receive endovascular therapy. Fast, urgent delivery of stroke care is crucial for all stroke patients in order to reduce the risk of death and serious disability, Almekhlafi said. ### Co-authors are Mayank Goyal, M.D., Ph.D.; Diederik W.J. Dippel, M.D.; Charles B.L.M. Majoie, M.D., Ph.D.; Bruce C.V. Campbell, M.D.; Keith W. Muir, M.D.; Andres M. Demchuk, M.D.; Serge Bracard, M.D.; Francis Guillemin, Ph.D.; Tudor G. Jovin, M.D.; Peter Mitchell, M.D.; Philip White, M.D.; Michael D. Hill, M.D., M.Sc.; Scott Brown, Ph.D.; and Jeffrey L. Saver, M.D. The authors disclosures are listed in the abstract. The study was funded by an unrestricted grant from Medtronic to the University of Calgary, HERMES Coordinating Center. Additional Resources: Statements and conclusions of studies that are presented at the American Heart Associations scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Associations policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers are available here, and the Associations overall financial information is available here. The American Stroke Associations International Stroke Conference (ISC) is the worlds premier meeting dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. ISC 2021 will be held virtually, March 17-19, 2021. This 3-day conference features more than 1,200 compelling presentations in 21 categories that emphasize basic, clinical and translational sciences as they evolve toward a better understanding of stroke pathophysiology with the goal of developing more effective therapies. Engage in the International Stroke Conference on social media via #ISC21. About the American Stroke Association The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke the No. 2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association officially launched in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit stroke.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Barefoot Contessa star Ina Garten has shared many memories from her travels over the years, but theres one early trip to Europe with her husband Jeffrey Garten that is very special to her. Gartens variety of tartine recipes, she says, are a reminder of that amazing trip. Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten on Late Night With Seth Meyers | Lloyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Ina Garten said that tartines are one of her favorite things In Gartens book Cooking for Jeffrey, she recalled the story of a memorable camping trip to France that was an eye-opening experience. She discovered that what she thought she knew about French food was wrong, as she believed it was complicated but it was actually simple, seasonal food that was based on incredibly good ingredients. In Paris I remember going crazy at Poilane bakery on rue Cherche-Midi and the street market on boulevard Raspail, she wrote in her cookbook. My tartine recipe, made with Poilane bread, salty prosciutto, and ripe Camembert is one of my favorite things to order when we visit Poilane today, and when I make it for us here at home, it reminds us both of that amazing trip, and of how extraordinary simple food can be when its made with really good ingredients, she added. RELATED: Barefoot Contessa Ina Gartens Raspberry Baked French Toast Recipe Is the Perfect Breakfast Ina Gartens tartine recipes are customizable What is a tartine? A tartine is an open-faced sandwich that can have a spread, like jam or cheese or can be made with a variety of ingredients placed on top. They can be sweet or savory and made with whatever you have on hand. In short, tartines are an easy recipe to pull together for breakfast, lunch, a snack, or an appetizer. The Barefoot Contessa star has a variety of French tartine recipes with different toppings. (The recipe can be found on The Food Network website.) Camembert & Prosciutto Tartines Ingredients 6 to 12 (-inch-thick) slices from a round rustic country bread, depending on the size of the loaf 2 (8-ounce) Camembert cheeses, sliced 12 to 15 thin slices Italian prosciutto teaspoon dried thyme Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Minced fresh chives, for serving Preheat the broiler. Place the bread slices in a single layer on a sheet pan and put the cheese slices on the bread, followed by a layer of prosciutto, and a sprinkle of thyme, salt, and pepper. With the oven rack 5 to 6 inches below the heat, place the sheet pan on the rack and broil for 2 to 3 minutes, turning the pan once so the tartines cook evenly. The prosciutto will be brown and crispy and the cheese bubbling. Cut the tartine into slices and sprinkle with chives. Arugula and Goat Cheese Tartine Ingredients 6 slices country white bread, crusts removed and toasted 4 ounces goat cheese 4 ounces baby arugula 2 medium tomatoes, sliced Lay the toast slices on a baking sheet and spread each with the goat cheese. Place the arugula and sliced tomato on top of the goat cheese, then broil for a few minutes and serve. Garten also makes a tartine with smoked salmon and thin cucumber slices, placing the ingredients on pieces of toast and adding a squeeze of lemon and fresh pepper. (Check out The Food Network for the recipe.) Burma Myanmars Military Junta Launches Corruption Probe of Suu Kyi and President Anti-regime protesters call for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release in February in Yangon. / The Irrawaddy Myanmars military regime has launched corruption probes targeting the countrys ousted leaders, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and a series of chief ministers from National League for Democracy (NLD) government. During a press conference Thursday, the regimes spokesman, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, repeated allegations that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi accepted $600,000 and more than 21 pounds of gold from detained Yangon region chief U Phyo Min Thein during the period between December 2017 and March 2018. As it was found that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi personally accepted them, the governments Anti-Corruption Commission is now probing it, he said, without elaboration. He also added that President U Win Myint and first lady Daw Cho Cho are being investigated for allegedly taking bribes from unidentified business people. State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint have already been charged by the junta since their arrests following a coup on Feb. 1. The pair has been held in custody since early February. Early last month, the junta filed four charges against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ranging from incitement to using a walkie-talkie without a license to breaching COVID-19 restrictions. The charges carry a total of nine years imprisonment upon conviction. The president was also charged under the Natural Disaster Management Law last month for allegedly breaching COVID-19 restrictions during the election campaign and violating Article 505(b) for incitement early in February. If found guilty of the alleged corruption, each would face an additional maximum prison sentence of 15 years. On Thursday, the regime spokesperson also said three detained chief ministers of the NLD government Dr. Zaw Myint Maung of Mandalay Region, Dr. Myint Naing of Sagaing Region, Dr. Aye Zan of Mon State are being investigated for corruption. Prior to these latest probes, all of them had been charged with incitement under the article 505 (b) of the penal code. Following the coup, mass protests against the regime have erupted across the country. People demand the release of their leaders as well as others detained by the junta while denouncing the militarys rule in the country. The regime has responded to the protests heavy-handedly, killing more than 70 people. You may also like these stories: At Least 12 More Killed as Myanmar Regime Steps Up Violence US Government Sanctions Myanmar Junta Leaders Adult Children Arrest Warrants Target Myanmar Activists For Encouraging Civil Servants To Strike YEREVAN. There are remains that are so mutilated that it is jus not possible to examine them. The Minister of Health, Anahit Avanesyan, told this to reporters after Thursdays Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia, and with respect to the remains of the Armenian soldiers who fell in the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war. "We no longer have samples that have not been checked once, and there are remains, bodies that are quite mutilated, and it is quite a difficult process to conduct a DNA analysis and an examination from them. And we are in touch with other high-quality international institutions, with their experts, and we will see what results we will have," Avanesyan added. The Minister of Health stated also that the remains are so mutilated that it will not be possible to examine them even in laboratories of other countries. "We have a morgue in Metsamor [town] and the bodies are kept there. These are special refrigerators designed for such cases. I dont know how many [such] bodies are kept in Metsamor. There are 210 samples that are difficult to work with. We have more than 2,200 detections, and we have 180 parents waiting for the result of the samples," she said. But Anahit Avanesyan dismissed the reports that the bodies of Azerbaijanis may also be among these samples and bodies. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Whenever Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup has trouble on his mind he laces up his joggers and goes for a run. A Spotify playlist blasts Cardi B and the scenery melts around him as he leaves behind the worries of the day, getting into a rhythm and pounding the pavement until the point of exhaustion. On Tuesday morning, with four days left until the 2021 West Australian election, he says even the sporadic running sessions he manages to squeeze in to the frantic schedule of a Liberal leader anointed in the middle of an election campaign have not been able to stop his brain whirring. I think I had four hours sleep last night; I cant switch off at the moment, Kirkup says. The interesting thing for me is Im not thinking about one thing in particular, its just this constant on. Ive only got four days to go and ultimately the most important thing is we keep on fighting and Ive got to keep that going. Standing casually outside the Falcon early voting station handing out how-to-vote cards, Kirkup admits half jokingly it still did not seem like the worst idea at times to pull a Forrest Gump and go for a run with no pre-determined destination. Advertisement Sometimes I wouldnt mind that, let me tell you, he says. Kirkup, 34, may be physically fit but the strain of heading an opposition campaign for 109 days in which his party faces a potential generational wipe-out, and his own seat of Dawesville could flip, takes a toll. Labors Dawesville candidate Lisa Munday and Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup at a pre-polling station in Falcon on Tuesday. Credit:Peter de Kruijff The first-term MP has not been able to see his parents since before Christmas but had just got a text while at the Falcon pre-poll from his mum checking in on him. Efforts to sandbag his own marginal seat, which he won by just 343 votes in 2017, and still get around WA to support other candidates, has stretched him thin and left little time for family catch-ups. He tries not to think about it too much and just focus on the election as the internal questions of whether he will still have a seat or not after March 13 get shoved to one side. For better or for worse I think I am pushing it off, Kirkup says. Advertisement People ask me ... here at polling places or the media asks you What are you going to do on the Sunday? and I actually cant see that. The horizon for me is just Saturday. Kirkup will be hoping history is on his side, given most losing WA opposition leaders in recent decades have registered a positive bump at the polls on election day. In 1996, the Geoff Gallop-led Labor opposition urged the public to lodge a protest vote three days out from the polls when it looked like the Liberals were going to be elected in a landslide. Gallop got a three-point two-party preferred increase in his own seat. The Liberals in 2021 have taken a similar line warning West Australians about the danger of giving popular Premier Mark McGowan total control as a way of saving votes. Advertisement The main difference between Kirkup and his predecessors, however, is they had safe seats as a buffer and did not need to spend as much time looking after their own backyard. And being opposition leader does not necessarily guarantee extra votes, as Labors Colin Jamieson found out in 1977. After just 10 months as Labor leader, Jamieson suffered a -7.9 two-party preferred swing against him when he faced off with one of the great state-building premiers, Charles Court, during an apathetic election. The voters went with stability as the Liberals campaigned to keep the West in firm hands, a slogan which bears a remarkable resemblance to pandemic-era Labors motto to keep WA strong. The strength of the WA response in stopping the virus spreading through the state was what motivated paramedic of 20 years Lisa Munday to nominate as Labors candidate for Dawesville. Ms Munday was one of the frontline workers who had seen the effects of COVID-19 first-hand after helping transport sick former passengers from the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship, which was at the centre of an Australia-wide cluster in the early days of the pandemic. She has been doorknocking for six months, aided by Labors red army of volunteers and many of her paramedic colleagues and friends for her first big campaign. Advertisement Were determined, were just focused on the job and hopefully the constituents will see Mark McGowan is doing a great job, Munday says as she handed out flyers a few metres from her opponent in Falcon. Ive had a lot of people who have felt really safe with Mark McGowan, and me being his voice down here, theyre saying, Well give you that opportunity as well, even though Im not well known. Election promises in Mandurah and Dawesville have been plentiful in the past 15 weeks as the two major parties have been duelling with commitments for the region, including bridge and hospital upgrades. What the voters will decide is hard to read. Dawesville has one of the oldest demographics in WA, meaning many residents are highly vulnerable if they catch COVID-19. There is an element of voters wanting to reward McGowan for his pandemic response but during the three hours Kirkup was in Falcon on Tuesday there were still plenty of rusted-ons who would only take Liberal voting cards and would stop to give the Opposition Leader their best. Kirkup also took heart from one man who claimed to be a lifelong Labor voter and said McGowans talk last week of keeping some border measures post-pandemic meant he would vote Liberal instead. Advertisement The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is looking for a fair price for its crude, Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said this week after a meeting with his counterpart from Russia, Sergey Lavrov. I would like to assure that we and Russia would like an oil price which is fair to consumers and to producers, bin Farhan said, adding, This is what OPEC+ looks to achieve and there is good coordination in this initiative and we continue in working to support what benefits the global economy. Lavrov, for his part, noted that the OPEC+ alliance was strong, and there was nothing that could, at this point, undermine the good working relationship between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Lavrov also said the purpose of the OPEC+ agreement was to restore balance on global oil markets and reduce volatility, saying he hoped that the extended cartel would find a way to coordinate our actions in such a way as balance the interests of both producers and consumers. Finding this balance might prove tricky, however. Most OPEC members would like higher pricesthe higher, the better, including Saudi Arabiawhile most consumers would prefer much lower prices. India, for instance, has been particularly vocal in its dissatisfaction with OPEC+ cuts. One of the worlds biggest oil importers repeatedly asked the cartel to reconsider the cuts, most recently warning that rising oil prices would threaten its economic recovery from the pandemic. Following this warning, India started looking for alternative suppliers to its regular oil partners from the Middle East who are pushing for higher prices. We have asked companies to aggressively look for diversification. We cannot be held hostage to the arbitrary decision of Middle East producers. When they wanted to stabilize the market we stood by them, a government source told Reuters this week. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.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. CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Aircraft Transparencies Market by End Use, Application (Windows, Windshields, Canopies, Landing Lights & Wingtip Lenses, Chin Bubbles, Cabin Interior, Skylights), Material (Glass, Acrylic, Polycarbonate), Aircraft Type and Region - Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Aircraft Transparencies Market size is projected to grow from USD 1.0 billion in 2020 to USD 1.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2020 to 2025. The market is driven by various factors, such as increase in number of aircraft deliveries and adoption of aircraft transparencies to increase aircraft performance, efficiency and safety. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=241023638 The aircraft transparencies market includes major players PPG Industries, Inc. (US), GKN Aerospace (UK), Saint-Gobain (France), General Electric Company (US), and Gentex Corporation (US). These players have spread their business across various countries includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well. Industry experts believe that COVID-19 could affect aircraft transparencies production and services by 7-10% globally in 2020. High transparency, softness, and ductility to drive the demand for polycarbonate segment The polycarbonate segment is expected to be the largest market by value. The growth of the polycarbonate segment of the aircraft transparencies market can be attributed to the characteristics of polycarbonate such as increased toughness, excellent dimensional stability, increased optical clarity, high heat resistance, and excellent electrical resistance. The windows segment is projected to witness a higher CAGR during the forecast period Based on application, the windows segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. The growth of the windows segment of the aircraft transparencies market can be attributed to the increased demand for aircraft and the type of aircraft produced. The commercial aviation segment is projected to witness a higher CAGR during the forecast period Based on the aircraft type, the commercial aviation segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. The commercial aviation segment includes narrow body aircraft, wide body aircraft, regional transport aircraft, and commercial helicopters. This growth can be attributed to factors such as increasing air travel, rise in disposable income of the middle-class population, and increased international trade and tourism across the globe. Strong growth in this sector has resulted in an increased number of aircraft orders to address the increasing air passenger traffic. Browse in-depth TOC on "Aircraft Transparencies Market" 557 - Tables 39 - Figures 369 - Pages Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=241023638 The OEM segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period Based on the end use, the OEM segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. Over the years, there has been a significant rise in demand for single-aisle aircraft across regions. As per the recent press release by Airbus in January 2020, it delivered 863 commercial aircraft to 99 customers in 2019, outpacing its previous output record set in 2018 by 8%. The North America market is projected to contribute the largest share from 2020 to 2025 North America is projected to be the largest regional share for the aircraft transparencies market during the forecast period. The key factor responsible for North America, leading the aircraft transparencies market owing to the rapid growth of the technologically advanced transparencies in the region. In North America, the increase in aircraft orders and supplies is encouraging manufacturers of aircraft transparencies to increase their sales year on year. Moreover, increasing demand for commercial aircraft and presence of some of the leading players operating in the market, such as PPG Industries (US), Lee Aerospace (US), Nordam Group (US), Gentex Corporation (US), and GE Aviation (US), are expected to drive the growth of the aircraft transparencies market in North America. These players are focusing on R&D to increase their product lines and using advanced materials, such as acrylic and polycarbonate, for manufacturing aircraft transparencies. Related Reports: Aircraft Cabin Interiors Market by Type (Aircraft Seating, IFEC, Aircraft Cabin Lighting, Aircraft Galley, Aircraft Lavatory, Aircraft Windows & Windshields, Aircraft Interior Panels), End User, Aircraft Type, Material, Region - Global Forecast 2025 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/aircraft-transparencies-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/aircraft-transparencies.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg Philip Mills is said to have sent the photograph of the woman "with the intention of causing her distress" A man accused of sending an explicit image of a woman to her husband is to stand trial, a court was told on Wednesday. Philip Mills is said to have sent the photograph of the woman "with the intention of causing her distress". The 49-year-old is also charged with harassing the man and possessing an extreme pornographic image on dates between December 24, 2019 and February 10 last year. Appearing at Newry Magistrates Court, the defendant, from Main Street in Annalong, confirmed he was aware of the charges against him. A prosecuting lawyer submitted there was a case for Mills to answer. Defence counsel raised no objection. Mills declined to comment on the charges or call evidence. Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers returned the case to Newry Crown Court for trial, released the defendant on bail and ordered him to appear in court again on April 29. The debate over whether Gov. Greg Abbott should have ended the mask mandate has spawned two Instagram accounts in San Antonio one for the pro-maskers and another for those ready to rip them off. While both may draw different audiences, the social media pages are meant to help San Antonians navigate the differing mask policies of local businesses. As of Wednesday afternoon, @unmaskedsanantonio, the page dedicated to those glad to see the masks go, has 948 followers compared to only 123 for @compassionatesa, which is for proponents of masks. RELATED: Mask on: Restaurants and shops in San Antonio that are keeping mask requirements Unmasked San Antonio's founder did not want to give her name, but said her background as a business owner was the inspiration for creating the page. She said she has been bullied and has faced backlash online because of her stance, adding she has never been comfortable wearing a mask because of her anxiety. "Just because people don't wear masks, doesn't mean they don't care," she said. "It's a celebration to those who now have the choice back." The woman's page also shares messages promoting personal liberty and praises businesses for allowing customers to have a choice. "I think those pages are entitled to their opinions and, of course, have the freedom to chose where they eat or shop the same way businesses have the right to require a mask," said Allie Segura, the founder of Compassionate S.A. RELATED: 'It needed to be said:' San Antonio restaurant owner rejects Texas reopening on CNN Segura's roommate, who is a bartender, brought home COVID-19 earlier in the pandemic after being incredibly cautious. She said Abbott's decision is premature because many in the service industry are still not eligible for vaccinations. Her page also promotes local markets, shops and restaurants. "I feel like its a small way we can help uplift local businesses after an already brutal year for business," she said. Karly Williams is a digital producer for MySA. Follow her @karlyjwilliams. AGAWAM To all you students and teachers booting up the computer this morning for another day of online classes: Hang in there, were almost done. Thats the message from Dawn Dube, who, along with all of her colleagues on the School Committee, said on Tuesday she is are excited to have all elementary school pupils returning to full-time in-person learning next month. A state mandate from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is forcing all school districts in Massachusetts to retire their hybrid models adopted in response to the coronavirus pandemic and go back to the traditional schedule of in-person classes five days a week. I think its a great thing for our community, said School Committee member Anthony Bonavita. Thats the way to learn. School Committee member Kerri OConnor said shes seen the emotional damage being done by remote learning in her day job as behavioral health coordinator for the Wilbraham-Hampden Regional School District. Kindergartners and first-graders are already attending classes five days a week in Agawam. By repurposing some classrooms and reassigning some faculty, the School Department was able to switch those grades to a full-in model in November. At the time, administrators said they couldnt find room in the elementary buildings to safely accommodate five-day schooling for grades 2-4. This week, however, Superintendent Sheila Hoffman said she had been ready to announce a plan to add second grade to the full-in model. Those plans will have to be modified now that all elementary grades are returning. Hoffman said bringing all five elementary grades back into the building will require squeezing the classroom floor plans a little tighter. We will not be able to be full in-person at 6-foot distancing, she told the School Committee. We can be full in-person at a minimum of 3 feet, and in many cases more than 3 feet, which has always been the minimum distance guideline from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. It is also the current World Health Organization guidance. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend 6 feet of physical distancing in schools, even while masked. In guidelines released last June, state education officials said 6 feet distancing is emphasized in public health advisories especially when no mask (or) face covering is worn. This led to Agawam opening school in a hybrid model, as only half the students could be accommodated with desks spaced 6 feet apart, and that distance was seen as necessary because students would sometimes eat lunch and take mask breaks at their desks. Although the states new guidance will apply only to elementary grades at its start, state education commissioner Jeffrey Riley has said he wants to see all grades back in person this year. Grades 6-8 are required to be full-in by April 28, and the high school grades will return on a schedule to be announced in April. In Agawam, grades 9-12 have been attending classes in person four days a week since Feb. 22. Unlike the lower grades, the high school was able to make room for all of the students interested in in-person learning because of the high number of students who opted for an all-remote schedule. Pupils in grades 2-8 in Agawam follow a hybrid learning model, where half of the students attend in-person classes Monday and Tuesday while taking remote classes the other three days of the week, while the other half start the week with remote lessons and attend in person on Thursday and Friday. Families who wish to do so can have their children attend school remotely all five days. That option will continue, for all grades, under the states new guidelines. Also at this weeks meeting, Hoffman announced that she had appointed Cheryl Salomao as the districts assistant superintendent, and Stephanie Gendron as principal of Granger School. Both had been serving in those positions on an interim basis. Hoffman was hired as superintendent on Dec. 1 after having served as interim superintendent and assistant superintendent. Salomao is the former Granger principal, while Gendron held the title of lead teacher at that school. Related Content: ADVERTISEMENT The management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has attributed the outage in Badagry and its environs to early downpour, which destroyed over 20 electric poles along Agbara-Badagry expressway. The General Manager, Corporate Communications, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, said on Thursday in Lagos that the March 8 morning rainfall caused serious damage, which damaged the companys installation in the area. Mr Idemudia said fallen poles had been removed and the companys technical team was already working hard to resolve the problem. The general manager assured residents that electricity supply would be restored to the affected communities after the repair. According to him, the affected areas in Badagry town, Ajara communities, Vrekete, Cele Keta, Poshukor, Zogbakame, Finayon, Vetho, Iyafin, Apa, Kankon and Seme. We are, therefore, appealing to customers to bear with us, as supply will be restored as soon as these repairs are concluded. EKEDC highly regrets any inconveniences caused by this outage, Mr Idemuda said in a statement. (NAN) Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The Australian Republic Movement will unveil by the end of this year its preferred constitutional changes to sever ties with the royal family. The shift in stance by the ARM, which since the failed 1999 referendum has advocated for a republic without specifying what the model should be, is intended to sharpen public focus over whether an Australian should replace the British monarch as head of state. Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex have revealed the depth of familial dysfunction in the House of Windsor. Credit:AP It will also reopen the wounds of 20 years ago, when republicans cruelled their own cause by splitting over whether an Australian president should be directly elected by voters or appointed by Parliament. Republicans have seized on the latest travails of the Windsors, exposed by Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey where the couple claimed an unnamed member of the royal family had expressed concerns about the skin colour of their unborn, mixed-race son. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. 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. THE minister in charge of post-secondary education is defending Bill 33, saying it will not give the province the power to override student dues democratically decided upon in campus referendums. THE minister in charge of post-secondary education is defending Bill 33, saying it will not give the province the power to override student dues democratically decided upon in campus referendums. Wayne Ewasko, minister of advanced education, skills and immigration, told the Free Press there has been "misinformation" circulating about the purpose of the legislation, which would grant the province oversight in setting tuition and student fees. "We are going to consider amendments to further clarify the distinction between the fees set by governing boards and those set by student unions," Ewasko said during a phone call Wednesday. Manitoba universities and college boards currently set their respective institutions tuition and fees, including lab and parking dues. Schools also collect fees on behalf of student unions and associations, which fund everything from student advocacy campaigns to campus food banks. Bill 33, which was introduced as Bill 41 last spring, seeks to amend the Advanced Education Administration Act so the province can issue guidelines related to fees and prohibit compulsory dues. If passed, the province would be able to penalize schools that charge fees that exceed guidelines by reducing operating funding. Student unions and faculty organizations have raised concerns the legislation could be interpreted in a way that allows the province to interfere in student union programs which is what the Ontario government attempted to do in 2019. (Ontario is appealing a court decision that struck down the Student Choice Initiative.) The Canadian Federation of Students has launched a campaign that claims Bill 33 could threaten student health and dental programs, transit passes and other programming, which students pay for as the result of student union referendum results. Brenden Gali, chairman of CFS Manitoba, wants the promise that student union dues are exempt, in writing, as well as confirmation about what fees are actually at stake. "I still dont have a clear understanding of how this bill will create a better, higher quality education for students," Gali added. Scott Forbes, president of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations, echoed those sentiments Wednesday. Forbes took issue with the legislation allowing the province to set different classes of tuition fees, calling it "an incredible intrusion" into university governance. Forbes added: "The intention is to discourage people from going into programs the government doesnt like and to encourage people to go into programs the government does like... That should be a decision left to students." When reached Wednesday, Jamie Moses, NDP critic on the post-secondary education file, urged the minister to follow through and change the language in Bill 33 to ensure vital student services on campus are protected. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie (Alliance News) - Derwent London PLC on Thursday said it swung to loss in 2020 amid lockdown restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The property investment and development business focused on central London said net rental income of GBP174.3 million was down 2.1% on the prior year amid GBP14.2 million in impairment and write-offs. Derwent said rent collection for 2020 now stands at 92%, plus 5% under agreed payment plans and 3% granted rent-frees. The company said it swung to a pretax loss of GBP83.0 million from the GBP280.6 million profit recorded the year before. This is after its portfolio revaluation resulted in a GBP196.1 million deficit compared to a GBP156.4 million surplus a year prior. EPRA net tangible assets were 3,812 pence per share, down 3.7% from 3,957p in December 2019. EPRA earnings were 99.2p per share, down 3.8% from 103.1p in 2019. The company proposed a full year dividend of 74.45p per share from 72.45p paid for the year before, up 2.8%. Going forward, Chief Executive Paul Williams said: "With our innovative brand of well-designed, adaptable offices and our continued focus on responding to climate change, I believe Derwent London is well positioned to meet the changes in the modern workplace." FTSE 250-listed Derwent shares were trading 0.2% higher in London on Thursday at 3,318.00 pence each. By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Novartis receives approval for Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) in Southeast Asia to treat two life-threatening cancers that have limited treatment options and historically poor outcomes Novartis has announced that Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has approved Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) as the first commercial chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy in Singapore under the new cell, tissue and gene therapy products (CTGTP) regulatory framework. Kymriah, a CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T-cell immunocellular therapy, is approved to treat two life-threatening cancers that have limited treatment options and historically poor outcomes, addressing the critical need for new therapies for these patients. HSA approved Kymriah for the treatment of pediatric and young adult patients from 2 to 25 years of age with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is refractory, in relapse post-transplant or in second or later relapse; and for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (r/r) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. CAR-T therapy represents a significant step forward in treating these cancers and is the embodiment of personalized medicine. Kymriah is manufactured individually for each patient using their own cells. It is not a pill or chemotherapy, but instead, it is an individualized treatment produced via pioneering technology and a sophisticated manufacturing and supply chain process. The approval was based on the review of two global registration CAR-T clinical trials, JULIET and ELIANA. In these trials, Kymriah demonstrated strong and durable response rates and a consistent safety profile in two difficult-to-treat patient populations. Kymriah is an individualised treatment that modifies a patient's own T-cells to fight and kill cancer cells. Bringing this new innovative therapy to Singapore requires collaboration among many health system stakeholders. This includes obtaining regulatory approval, the validation and training of qualified treatment centres for the appropriate indications, and integrating a delivery system that did not previously exist for individualised treatments to ensure safe and seamless delivery of Kymriah to patients. Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is the first Kymriah treatment centre to become operational in Southeast Asia to treat adult r/r DLBCL and young adult r/r B-cell ALL patients. Novartis is currently in discussions with the National University Hospital (NUH) to expand the availability of Kymriah for both adult r/r DLBCL and pediatric and young adult r/r B-cell ALL patients. The approval of Kymriah in Singapore and the presence of these regional centers of excellence will enable the city-state to help an underserved patient population in the Southeast Asia region where treatment unmet needs are present. Advertisement Bring back Piers! Tens of thousands of fans sign petitions demanding ITV bosses bring back host after 'throwing him under the bus' A petition launched after Piers quit GMB said the popular host had been treated 'appallingly.' A second petition started in May last year, titled, 'Save Piers Morgan from being sacked from GMB', said any decision to remove him from the show would be 'an absolute farce.' Another petition was set up in October 2019 to, 'Keep Piers Morgan on GMB for his common sense approach to life.' All three have garnered tens of thousands of signatures in less than 24 hours. Advertisement Piers Morgan today tweeted a message of thanks to the Good Morning Britain team and said he'd achieved his one goal as he bowed out - to beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings. Piers tweeted this morning: 'I had one goal when I joined GMB - beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings. On my last day, we did it. 'That was down to the hard work & dedication of the whole team. They don't all agree with me, some don't even like me, but we were a team..and we won. Thanks guys. I'll miss you.' On his smash-hit final episode, GMB won the ratings war with rival BBC Breakfast for the first time. On Tuesday BBC got 1.25m viewers, 33.4% share, compared to GMB's average 1.29m viewers and 35.3% share. But on Wednesday - in the wake of Piers' departure - BBC overtook ITV again, with 1.42m viewers, compared to 1.21m for GMB. This comes after more than 60,000 Britons called for him to return to the programme in the space of 12 hours. One petition, called 'Bring Back Piers Morgan!', accused ITV of treating him 'appallingly' and another, 'Keep Piers Morgan on GMB for his common sense approach to life', now has more than 114,000 signatures. A third, which has been signed by more than 39,000 people, describes getting him sacked as 'an absolute farce'. The total number of signatures for the three polls is now more than 172,000 - up from 110,000 yesterday afternoon. On today's GMB, Kate Garraway addressed co-host Piers's departure, describing him as 'passionate' and 'authentic'. Piers Morgan today tweeted a message of thanks to the Good Morning Britain team Piers happily stopped and smiled for the cameras as he left his west London home with daughter Elise this morning Mrs Garraway said: 'That's the thing about Piers, isn't he, he is very passionate, he does fly kites and have debates but it always comes from a place of authenticity, he always believes in what he says, and he's left. 'He's decided to quit, and as he put it himself, fall on his sword for free speech. 'I've known him a long time before starting this programme, our friendship will go on, our personal friendship, and he's been very supportive of me personally.' The programme's Health Editor Dr Hilary Jones also paid tribute, saying Mr Morgan 'has a big heart'. He added: 'I've had my spats with Piers... but I think he did champion the little people, the people who had no voice.' ITV's shares yesterday plummeted by 4.3 per cent amid campaigners writing to ITV and Ofcom over concerns of a 'chilling effect on free speech'. They were worried about the way the broadcaster insisted Mr Morgan apologise for expressing his opinion, saying journalists should be 'free to express their scepticism' about statements made by high-profile people without the risk of losing their job. Toby Young, of The Free Speech Union, expressed fears it looked like ITV was 'happy to censure' a journalist 'at the request of a member of the Royal Family'. Former BBC presenter Andrew Neil, who is launching new channel GB News, said he wished to talked to Mr Morgan about a role, saying he would be a 'great asset'. Meghan Markle wrote to ITV's boss to complain about Mr Morgan hours before the GMB co-host quit following an on-screen row with weatherman Alex Beresford. The Duchess of Sussex insists she was not upset that Mr Morgan said he 'didn't believe a word she said' in her Oprah interview - but was worried about how his comments could affect people attempting to deal with their own mental health problems, an insider told the Press Association. Standing firm yesterday, following his departure, Mr Morgan told reporters outside his West London home: 'If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.' There has been an outpouring of support for Piers on social media On today's GMB, longtime friend of Mr Morgan, Kate Garraway, paid tribute to him and said that their friendship would go on The programme's Health Editor Dr Hilary Jones also paid tribute, saying Mr Morgan 'has a big heart' On Monday Ms Markle went directly to ITV's CEO Dame Carolyn McCall, the former boss of the left-wing Guardian newspaper, who signed off on the broadcaster's 1million deal to show the Oprah interview and said yesterday they were 'dealing with' the GMB host. Mr Morgan is understood to have been ordered to apologise - but he refused and quit instead saying he had the right to tell viewers his 'honestly held opinions' and declaring: 'Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on'. His departure from ITV's breakfast show, which he helped transform into a ratings hit that beat its BBC rival for the first time this week, came amid the fallout from the extraordinary Oprah interview that has caused the Royal Family's worst crisis since Edward VIII's abdication in 1936. Hours after it was broadcast Mr Morgan branded Meghan 'Princess Pinocchio' after the Duchess said she was suicidal while five months pregnant but was denied any help by the palace. TV presenter Ben Shephard has pipped Bradley Walsh and Jeremy Clarkson as best replacement Ben Shephard has pipped Bradley Walsh and Jeremy Clarkson as the best replacement for Piers Morgan as host of Good Morning Britain, according to a new poll. A survey of 1,864 adults in the UK saw Shephard take first place in a poll, while Alex Beresford, whose comments caused Piers to walk out of the GMB studio on the day of his final broadcast, was fourth on the list. Adrian Chiles completes the top five dream hosts. WHO BRITS WANT TO REPLACE PIERS: THE TOP 10 1. Ben Shephard 2. Bradley Walsh 3. Jeremy Clarkson 4. Alex Beresford 5. Adrian Chiles 6. Alan Carr 7. Eamon Holmes 8. Alison Hammond 9. Amanda Holden 10. Dermot O'Leary Advertisement She also accused the Royal Family of being concerned Archie's skin would be too 'dark' and denying him the title of prince because he is mixed race, with Mr Morgan demanding the Sussexes back up their claims with evidence. His views, and his refusal to back down in the row, sparked more than 41,000 complaints made to Ofcom, fuelled by an orchestrated social media campaign spearheaded by his critics including several Labour MPs. But despite Mr Morgan's years of successful skewering of ministers on the show, which led to a Government boycotts if GMB during the pandemic, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he 'would miss him'. Today, Alex Beresford said he did not want Piers Morgan to quit Good Morning Britain after their heated on-air discussion about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The weather presenter clashed with the broadcaster on Tuesday over his comments about Harry and Meghan's interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey. Morgan stormed off set during their conversation before stepping down from the ITV programme permanently later that day. Addressing Morgan's departure on Twitter, Beresford said: 'I didn't want him to quit, but I did want him to listen.' The presenter has since reiterated his criticisms. Beresford said challenging Morgan's views was 'not an outrage'. 'There is so much that could be said. Piers' departure sincerely wasn't the conclusion I was hoping for,' he said. 'Over the last few years, Piers and I have had a lively, cheeky on-air relationship. 'We both wanted to be on the show on Tuesday morning, and, from our very public conversations on Twitter, we both knew how strongly our opinions differed on the treatment of Harry and Meghan pre and post the interview that has split the world. 'I hoped we could reach a place of understanding. It's sad that we weren't able to get there, but challenging his opinion was not an outrage. On this occasion, we have to agree to disagree.' He added: 'Personally, Piers has always supported my growth. He's given me advice on several occasions and for that I am grateful. I wish him well.' During Tuesday's programme, Beresford told him: 'I understand you've got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or had one, and she cut you off. 'She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don't think she has but yet you continue to trash her.' In their own words: What Piers Morgan and his GMB colleagues have said about his exit and the fallout Piers Morgan Piers Morgan labelled the Duchess of Sussex's comments in her interview with Oprah Winfrey as 'contemptible'. Speaking outside his London home after quitting Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, the presenter described his departure from the programme as 'amicable', adding: 'I had a good chat with ITV and we agreed to disagree.' Morgan added: 'I'm just going to take it easy and see how we go. 'I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that's entirely their right. 'I don't believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage she's done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible. 'If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.' Piers Morgan said: 'I think it's fair to say, although the woke crowd will think that they've cancelled me, I think they will be rather disappointed when I re-emerge. 'I would call it a temporary hibernation.' He added that he is 'always in talks with people'. Asked what he would say to his Good Morning Britain colleague, Alex Beresford, with whom he had a heated debate during Tuesday's show, Morgan said: 'Good luck to him.' Susanna Reid Susanna Reid said Good Morning Britain will be 'very different' but 'shows go on' as she addressed the abrupt departure of her co-host Piers Morgan. Speaking during Wednesday's programme, she said: 'He is without doubt an outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive broadcaster. 'He has many critics and he has many fans. You will know that I disagreed with him about Meghan's interview. He himself clarified his comments about her mental health on the show yesterday. 'There are many voices on GMB and everyone has their say. But now Piers has decided to leave the programme. Some of you may cheer and others may boo. 'He has been my presenting partner, Monday to Wednesday, for more than five years and during Brexit and the pandemic and other issues, he has been a voice for many of you and a voice that many of you have railed against. 'It is certainly going to be very different but shows go on and so on we go.' Reid commented that it had been a 'rollercoaster ride', and said: 'As you know as viewers we have had our disagreements daily. I mean there have been times when I've thought we haven't been able to agree on anything - on and off screen of course, you know that, it's one of the dynamics of the programme but Piers has made the decision to leave Good Morning Britain and so it is looking very different this morning.' Ranvir Singh Discussing Piers Morgan's departure, Ranvir Singh said he had 'ruffled feathers and he shook up everything on breakfast television, on all channels, you know, it wasn't just about this show, he shook up the landscape of what we do, the nature of what we do, so that can't be denied...' Ms Singh is amongst the favourites to take the job, but said: 'I was here anyway, don't read anything into this, I was here anyway. I've shifted seats on this brand new desk. It's a strange morning for all of us here, but the decision has been made and i think when there are thousands of complaints about something things have to be taken seriously.' Kate Garraway Presenting Thursday's ITV show, Garraway said of her former colleague: 'He is very passionate. He does fly kites and have debates but it always comes from a place of authenticity. 'He always believes in what he says.' She added: 'He's left. He's decided to quit and, as he put it himself, fall on the sword of free speech.' Garraway, whose husband Derek Draper is in hospital after being admitted with coronavirus last year, said her friendship with Morgan 'will go on', adding: 'He's been very supportive of me personally.' And she said of the future of the ITV programme: 'It's a different show but the show goes on.' Ben Shephard Co-host Ben Shephard told viewers: 'It's crucial that we all appreciate and understand that right now, particularly in the middle of a pandemic... that the debate about mental health and concern for people... is something that we take very seriously and is hugely important to all.' Advertisement How Piers Morgan transformed struggling GMB into ratings juggernaut into success that championed its rival BBC Breakfast When Piers Morgan joined Good Morning Britain in November 2015, ITV's weekday breakfast show was still struggling to outshine its predecessor. It consistently had lower ratings than Daybreak despite a 1.5million launch a year earlier and high-profile signings such as Susanna Reid from BBC Breakfast, averaging about 560,000 viewers per episode. Morgan joined the cast following a five-episode stint in April, and helped rocket the ITV show to its 'highest ever' viewing figures - which saw an audience of 1.65million people tune in last Monday. But after a five-year career with Good Morning Britain, ITV today announced the tough-talking morning show host has sensationally quit his role. Charlotte Hawkins, Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid pictured in September 2017 Morgan's resignation from Good Morning Britain marks the end of the latest chapter in his extraordinary career, in which he helped a struggling breakfast show grow into an undeniably popular news and talk programme. Morgan was often praised for his chemistry with co-host Reid throughout his time at Good Morning Britain, with the latter once explaining the connection between the pair was 'instant'. Reid, 50, said in October 2017: 'He totally wound me up from the moment he joined Good Morning Britain, nearly two years ago. 'He's the most annoying man I've ever met, but I find working with him exhilarating. Yes, he drives me nuts, but he also makes me laugh - and when the chips are down, and there's a big news story breaking or we're doing a controversial interview with a politician, I trust him.' Reid, 50, said: 'He totally wound me up from the moment he joined Good Morning Britain. He's the most annoying man I've ever met, but I find working with him exhilarating. Yes, he drives me nuts, but he also makes me laugh - and when the chips are down, and there's a big news story breaking or we're doing a controversial interview with a politician, I trust him' The colleagues quickly became famed for their vicious on-air battles, with Piers' forthright views also often generating fierce debate and controversy among GMB's millions of viewers. For countless Britons, he was must-see TV, celebrated for his no-nonsense approach and for holding Ministers to account throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to his five-year stint on Good Morning Britain, Piers made his name in newspapers, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in half a century when he rose the ranks of the News of the World in 1994. The journalist left the paper following the controversial publication of photographs of Catherine Victoria Aitken, formerly Victoria Spencer, Countess Spencer, in 1995. He later joined rival tabloid the Daily Mirror, but was sacked 'with immediate effect' in May 2004 after the newspaper published false images which alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British soldiers. The photographs were shown to be fakes within days, and the Mirror claimed it had fallen victim to a 'calculated and malicious hoax' when apologising for the publication. Piers began a distinguished career in television before departing the Mirror, reinventing himself as a CNN presenter in the US where he has a significant following. He replaced television and radio host Larry King in the network's evening line-up with his show Piers Morgan Live, which began in January 2011 before ending its run in March 2014. Kate Garraway, Piers Morgan, Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York and Susanna Reid in November 2018 It was around this time that the straight-talking host began presenting the hugely successful chat show Piers Morgan's Life Stories, in which he quizzes high-profile celebrities including Sharon Osbourne and Trisha Goddard one-on-one. The show, which began in February 2009 and is ongoing, has also featured appearances from Elton John, Rod Stewart and Captain Tom Moore - who raised millions for the NHS in a charity walk during the Covid-19 crisis. Outside the world of journalism, Piers has also appeared as a judge on America's Got Talent in 2006 and later on the British version of the show. He also won the US Celebrity Apprentice in 2007, which featured former US President Donald Trump. Moving on from his past success, and today's departure from GMB, Piers remains a highly popular MailOnline columnist in both the UK and US. He was appointed editor-at-large of the publication's US operation in September 2014. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 06:45:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a press encounter marking the 10th anniversary of the Syrian conflict at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 10, 2021. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the international community to continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance. (Xinhua/Xie E) UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the international community to continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance. "It is imperative that we continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance," the UN chief said at the press encounter marking the 10th anniversary of the Syrian conflict at the UN headquarters in New York. The secretary-general warned that the situation "remains a living nightmare" in Syria. "Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have died. Millions have been displaced. Countless others remain illegally detained and often tortured, missing, disappeared, or living in uncertainty and deprivation," he said. "For 10 years, the world has watched Syria spiral into destruction and bloodshed," said the top UN official. Noting that some 60 percent of Syrians are at risk of hunger this year, Guterres noted that more humanitarian access is needed. "Intensified cross-line and cross-border deliveries are essential to reach everyone in need everywhere," he said. "This is why I have repeatedly urged the Security Council to achieve consensus on this crucial matter," he said. "The UN will continue its pursuit of a negotiated political settlement in line with Security Council resolution 2254," said the secretary-general. "The parties have the opportunity to demonstrate a willingness to find common ground and recognize the need for all Syrians, whom they represent, to move beyond a perpetual state of conflict." Enditem Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Big name moves means TOTAL REBUILDING for an integral part of the team and a big factor in their rise to prominence. Here's the best write-up . . . Hyderabad/Visakhapatnam, March 11 : Telugu film industry superstar Chiranjeevi voiced support for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and called on people to rise above parties and regions to save it as it is a symbol of numerous sacrifices. "Visakha steel plant is a symbol of numerous sacrifices. Let's rise above parties and regions. With a steely resolve, let's save Visakha steel plant," said Chiranjeevi late on Tuesday. The actor-politician extended his support to the steel plant protection committee and reminded that the decades old slogan 'Visakha Ukku Andhrula Hakku' (Visakha steel is Andhrites right) is still reverberating in his ears. "While studying in Narasapuram Y.N. College, we held brushes (paint) with our hands and wrote on the walls that we will achieve Vizag steel," reminisced Chiranjeevi. The megastar from the Mogalturu village near Narasapuram town in West Godavari district said they organised many strikes, agitations and also hunger strikes for the steel plant as college students. According to the Prajarajyam party founder, 35 people, including a 9-year-old boy sacrificed their lives to procure the VSP. He said everybody celebrated when the steel plant started producing steel and noted that the plant is the right of the Andhra people and their self-respect. "We took pride in learning that Visakha steel has a special place in the country," he said. However, the megastar observed that it is not tolerable to say that the VSP is being privatised because it is in losses but all these years it has been deprived of captive mines. "I am requesting the Centre to give up the Visakha steel plant sale plan to private players as lakhs of people depend on it directly and indirectly," he said. The actor-politician advised the Centre to respect the emotions of the people and consider the future of employees to reevaluate its decision. Saying saving VSP is the primary objective in front of the people, he called on everybody to rise above regions, parties and politics to save the steel plant. You are here: World Flash Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly on Thursday to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a historic visit to the Gulf Arab country, local media reported Wednesday. Netanyahu is expected to meet the UAE's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, an Israeli government official told the Hebrew-language Ha'aretz newspaper. Netanyahu will spend a few hours in the UAE before returning to Israel, Ha'aretz said. In February, Netanyahu postponed his planned first official visit to the UAE and Bahrain, citing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Netanyahu is running for another term as prime minister ahead of Israel's March 23 national elections. Titled as Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel, the normalization deal was signed on Sept. 15, 2020 at the White House by Netanyahu, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and former U.S. President Donald Trump. The UAE and Bahrain are the first Gulf countries to agree to develop official relations with Israel. Egypt and Jordan, the first two Arab countries, signed peace agreements with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively. SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MI Community leaders throughout Shiawassee County have partnered to create a new program to help families and individuals in need while also supporting local businesses. The Shiawassee Supporting Our Area Restaurants meal distribution program, or SOARs, led by the Shiawassee County YMCA, United Way of Genesee County, Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership, Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce and Greater Durand Area Chamber of Commerce, was created to distribute meals to individuals/households to those in need across the county and to support local restaurants. Funding for the program is coming via the United Way of Genesee County. The meals provided for those in need will be coming from local restaurants in an effort to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shiawassee SOARs is paying restaurants $10 per meal. The participating restaurants must be locally owned and a percentage of their food must be locally sourced. Our hope is to offer economic support to Shiawassee County restaurants through creating consistent revenue for a few weeks and make sure our community members are fed, Emily Marrah, United Way of Genesee County relationship specialist, said. This program was designed to help everyone; when we Live United everyone benefits. Meals are scheduled to be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis from 3-5 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or until they run out, at various restaurants throughout the county. Meal distributions begin Wednesday, March 10. The distribution sites include: Woodys Bancroft Tavern,117 Warren St., Bancroft Matadors Pizza, 123 S. Saginaw, Byron Durand Chamber of Commerce, 109 N. Saginaw, Durand Laingsburg Dairy Den, 705 E. Grand River Road, Laingsburg Shiawassee Family YMCA, 515 W. Main St., Owosso Shiawassee Hope, 521 E. Williams St., Owosso Joe-Lees Crosswind Cafe, 208 Airport Drive, Owosso The Z Hall, 2886 Owosso Ave., Owosso Amys Downtown Diner, 136 N. Main St., Perry Ole General Store & Cafe, 100 E. Main St., Vernon Other restaurants preparing food include South 401, Stomping Ground Coffee, Tiger Shark Cafe and Union Station Smokehouse, Greg & Lous Restaurant, Korner Pub, New Port Classic Coney Island and Romas Back Door. Shiawassee Family YMCA CEO Laura Burroughs Archer said planning for the program began just five weeks ago and without teamwork the goal wouldnt have been able to be executed so quickly. I want to thank everyone for their input, support and partnership, Archer said. As weve seen throughout the pandemic, food insecurity is continuing to grow. With four out of every 10 adults seeking food support for the first time, this restaurant meal program simply provides another healthy option for individuals and families to receive much needed food support. Shiawassee SOARS has enough funding to run through April 2, but additional funding is being sought to extend the program. Those interested in helping to sponsor the program, may contact Archer at the Shiawassee Family YMCA by calling 989-725-8136 or email larcher@shiawasseeymca.org. Read more on MLive: Dine outdoors in luxurious suites, shanties and igloos at these mid-Michigan restaurants No cheesesteak like this anywhere in America: Leftys Cheesesteak opens in Flint area Local Eats: Have tea and eat like a queen at Abiding in the Vine Tea Room in Owosso WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has nearly doubled the number of states where select CVS Pharmacy locations are offering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible populations through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program (FRPP). The company is now administering vaccines in nearly 1,200 stores across 29 states and Puerto Rico (states and jurisdictions activated within the past week in bold): Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York (now including New York City), Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (now including Philadelphia), Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. "We're increasing the number of active stores and expanding to additional states as fast as supply allows, with the capacity to administer 20 25 million shots per month," said Karen S. Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer, CVS Health. "We're also focused on priority populations, including vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic as well as teachers and school support staff." On March 2 the Biden Administration announced that for the month of March, FRPP participants would prioritize vaccinating pre-K through 12 educators and staff and child care workers. From March 3 to March 10, this population accounted for more than 30 percent of COVID-19 vaccine appointments at CVS Pharmacy locations. Appointments in the newly activated states and jurisdictions will start to become available for booking on Saturday, March 13. Vaccines in a retail setting are offered on an appointment-only basis via CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app, and those without online access can contact customer service: (800) 746-7287. Long-term care vaccination effort a success Since CVS Health began administering COVID-19 vaccine doses to residents and staff at over 40,000 long-term care facilities across the country in late December, there has been a dramatic drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths. In fact, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data, between December 20 and February 21 there has been a 94 percent decrease in COVID-19 cases, and an 84 percent decrease in COVID-19 deaths. Per the company's publicly available data, CVS Pharmacy teams have completed second doses at all skilled nursing facilities, and third and final visits are 90 percent complete. Second doses at assisted living and other facilities are 91 percent complete, with more than half of third and final visits complete.1 CVS Health has administered nearly 4.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses through the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. Multimedia assets, including b-roll and still photography from long-term care facility and in-store COVID-19 vaccinations, are available here. More information on steps CVS Health has taken to address the pandemic is available at the company's frequently updated COVID-19 resource center. About CVS Health CVS Health is a different kind of health care company. We are a diversified health services company with nearly 300,000 employees united around a common purpose of helping people on their path to better health. In an increasingly connected and digital world, we are meeting people wherever they are and changing health care to meet their needs. Built on a foundation of unmatched community presence, our diversified model engages one in three Americans each year. From our innovative new services at HealthHUB locations, to transformative programs that help manage chronic conditions, we are making health care more accessible, more affordable and simply better. Learn more about how we're transforming health at www.cvshealth.com. Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of CVS Health Corporation. By their nature, all forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and/or quantify. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties described in our Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section and under the heading "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward Looking Statements" in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2020. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on CVS Health's forward looking statements. CVS Health's forward-looking statements are and will be based upon management's then-current views and assumptions regarding future events and operating performance, and are applicable only as of the dates of such statements. CVS Health does not assume any duty to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, uncertainties or otherwise. Media contact T.J. Crawford 212-457-0583 [email protected] 1 Excludes facilities that 1) requested a later date due to a COVID-19 outbreak or other reason, 2) were rescheduled due to lack of responsiveness, or 3) requested to be added to the program after the start date or did not meet original program criteria regarding distance from CVS Pharmacy locations, but CVS Health has opted to support. SOURCE CVS Health Related Links https://www.cvshealth.com Im Finally Free: Moorlach Breaks From Politics Following Election Defeat Former state senator John Moorlach says hes taking a break from politics after his Orange County Board of Supervisors election loss. I have been blessed with a 27-year career, Moorlach told The Epoch Times on March 10, a day after the special election to fill a vacant District 2 seat. I was not supposed to be in public service, I was supposed to be a partner in a CPA firm until December of last year. So, its just been an amazing career. Ive been really fortunate, and Ive had just some incredible experiences. You know, as treasurer, who gets to manage a $7 billion portfolio? Not too many people on this planet get that opportunity. So I sort of feel like today Im finally free. During a special election March 9 to replace former supervisor Michelle Steel, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley emerged victorious, becoming the first Democrat in the seat since 1894. Newport Beach Councilmember Kevin Muldoon, Fountain Valley Mayor Michael Vo, and tax attorney Janet Rappaport were also in the running in a race that ultimately came down to Foley and Moorlach. Foley received 42,347 votes to Moorlachs 29,628 ballots. Trailing behind were Muldoon with 10,745 votes, Vo with 8,639 votes, and tax attorney Janet Rappaport with 4,266 votes. Moorlach, who was endorsed by the Orange County Republican Party, said he was disappointed by fellow GOP candidates Muldoon and Vo, who split the vote. I dont know if I was surprised [by the results,] Moorlach said. I think more than anything I was disappointed in what two Republican turncoats could do to the whole equation. If those two were not in the race, I would have won. So its unfortunate, and, you know, you cant help people that are impetuous. Moorlach previously served as District 2 supervisor from 2006 to 2015. He parted with the board after joining state senate in 2015, but lost his seat during the 2020 election. Earlier in his career, he was Orange Countys treasurer-tax collector. Supervisor Doug Chaffee, who endorsed Foley and is currently the only Democrat on the board, told The Epoch Times that he looks forward to working with her. Well, she sure won in a big way, he told The Epoch Times. I look forward to working with her and doing good things for the county, and shes got a lot of energy, so I hope that bodes well for her experience. Its not yet clear how Foleys presence will affect the boards dynamic, Chaffee said, adding that he hopes they all continue to work together well regardless of political affiliation. My mantra is, I try to bring people together and not push them apart, he said. Theres just so many things we have to do, theres no time to get into some kind of political spat. Jackie Wu, spokesperson for the OC Registrar of Voters, said voter turnout was about 24 percent as of the evening of March 9, with 20 to 30 percent turnout, a typical number for special elections. Foley said on Twitter that she couldnt wait to get to work. Im so humbled by the support we received tonight and grateful for the confidence voters have placed in me, she said. The challenges we face are serious, but I know that they are no match for the strength and resiliency of Orange Countys residents. Since Foley will be leaving her position as Costa Mesa mayor, city council will be considering options to replace her, Mayor Pro Tem Andrea Marr said. The options include holding a special election, but the law actually says that were supposed to go through an appointment process first and only hold a special election if you cant agree within 60 days on a candidate, Marr told The Epoch Times. And as Pro Tem, my intention is to conduct a transparent and open appointment process, allow people to apply. I intend to meet with everyone who does apply. And then well see if the council can come to an agreement on a candidate before we have to go to an expensive special election. Marr said that any eligible resident can apply to be the mayor and that she is not seeking the position. Sorry! This content is not available in your region Situation is quite better in 2021, as many things around us are going back to normalcy despite the ongoing novel Coronavirus pandemic. In her recent tete-a-tete with a leading daily, actress Yami Gautam looked back at the tumultuous previous year, and recalled how she was left petrified because of all the chaos. She said, "2020 was a lot tougher as you were trying to take a stock of the situation. When is it going to end? What's going to be our future? All these questions kept cropping up. During the unlock phase I remember I had to step out and start dubbing for a film, because I was the only artiste who was left with the dubbing for the project." "Also, I wanted to leave for my hometown Chandigarh, but I couldn't as there were no flights. Even if there were, I couldn't leave because I had to finish my dubbing. It was very scary. It gave me anxiety as I was worried about touching something that's contaminated," added the Vicky Donor actress. ALSO READ: Yami Gautam Recalls A Hit-And-Run Accident That Left Her With A Permanent Injury With respect to work, Yami Gautam will next be seen in Pawan Kripalani's Bhoot Police, which also stars Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez in the lead roles. The film is the latest edition to the horror-comedy genre after Stree and Roohi. Apart from Bhoot Police, she will next be seen in Tushar Jalota's Dasvi, which also casts Abhishek Bachchan and Nimrat Kaur. ALSO READ: Yami Gautam Recalls Being Asked To Dress Her Age By A Top Casting Director Just Before Vicky Donor's Release During the meeting, the Declaration of Peace and the Cessation of War was also signed, in recognition of the need for regional and global solidarity of cooperation for the interests and mutual development of the Countries in the World. The delegation of HWPL thanked, recognized and congratulated the efforts of our People and Government in promoting a Culture of Peace, Values and Social Development. As part of its visit to Nicaragua, the Organization has also held meetings with the Ministry of Youth (MINJUVE), the Ministry of Education (MINED), and will make visits to Centers and Programs that carry out projects for the development of youth. Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Heavenly Culture, World Peace and Restoration of Light (HWPL) You'll be able to legally light up in Texas if this new bill passes. Even better: It'll help the kids. State Rep. Jessica Gonzalez (D-104) filed House Bill 3248 earlier this week, seeking to legalize recreational marijuana use in Texas. GOV. MCCONAUGHEY?: Matthew McConaughey isn't counting out a gubernatorial run Under the bill, counties and municipalities would be able to adopt an order or ordinance allowing recreational smoking. HB 3248 would also instate a 10 percent tax on cannabis products, with the majority of that tax going to the Foundation School Fund. "Sixteen states in America have legalized cannabis and 26 total states have decriminalized the use of cannabis," Gonzalez said in a statement. "In a recent study, 54 percent of Texans supported the legalization of recreational cannabis use. "While Texas has made progress with the Compassionate Use Act, we have been left behind on a potential revenue source that would increase investments in public education, stop the unnecessary arrests for cannabis possession, and create jobs in our state. We should allow our local communities to make the best decision for themselves in regards to cannabis legalization, and HB 3248 would allow that for adults 21 years or older." Sixty percent of the tax would go to the Foundation School Fund, while other portions would go toward cannabis regulation, cannabis testing and quality control, and to participating local governments for the purpose of oversight, Gonzalez said. 'DISASTER CHIC': What's 'disaster casual'? Gov. Abbott's winter storm fashion can't compare to my 'fits This isn't the only marijuana legalization bill that's been filed. Rep. Joe Moody (D-78) filed House Bill 447 on Nov. 10, 2020, which would allow anyone to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of concentrate, Chron's Jay R. Jordan reported. HB 447 would also allow anyone to grow up to 15 marijuana plants on their property in Texas as long as the plants were hidden and locked away. The bill was referred to Licensing and Administrative Procedures after being read for the first time on Feb. 25. But until full legalization, retailers across the state have found a new THC variant to sell: Delta 8. If it keeps gaining popularity, weed legalization in Texas could become a moot point. On behalf of the 75,000 students, 18,000 faculty and staff, and half million-plus alumni of the University of Massachusetts, we extend our gratitude to the Massachusetts Congressional delegation for its support of the American Rescue Plan Act. The funding it provides to our campuses and students will be critical in our efforts to sustain our mission of teaching, research and service, which will help drive the post-pandemic economic recovery of the Commonwealth. This timely investment will be especially important to our students by providing much-needed aid that will allow them to continue pursuing their college degrees without interruption. We look forward to President Biden signing this measure into law and to joining his administration and Congress in the important work of strengthening public higher education in America, which has been central to the success of our democracy and economy for more than a century and a half. Nowadays, just about everyone has a dashcam on board their vehicle, bringing us a multitude of interesting, miraculous, dangerous, or plain stupid happenings. But, thanks to the Volusia Sheriffs Office (which caters to the namesake county in Florida ), we have the really interesting perspective of seeing the chase unfold from within the air.Thats because the officials released footage of a recent arrest (March 6th) that involved two suspects fleeing deputies from a shooting that occurred on Interstate 4 in Florida. And save for the initial fifteen or so seconds related to the eyewitness call that triggered the police response, everything is shown as captured by the camera of Air One, the police chopper that directed the chasing officials.Its an interesting view, complete with HUD (head-up display) readouts, and probably one of the best ways to make people understand why suspects really dont have the slimmest of chances of fleeing to safety when an aerial unit is involved in the chase Frankly, thats not going to help the two young men that now reside in police custody. They face numerous charges after they opened fire on I-4 (a bullet went through the windshield of a passing car, luckily no one was injured) and then led the police on a high-speed chase.Instead, I'll go on a limb here and speculate a bit on their intellectual level, which is probably on the same playing field with the drivers skills (i.e. very low). After all, they did try to outrun both police cars and the aforementioned Air One in a Toyota Camry ...Even more so, after losing control of the vehicle (which at one moment seemed to become airborne) and rolling it, they thought a thick bush could help them escape. Dudes, youre not even going to wrap up a leisurely hike with your pants so far down! 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 109-year-old San Antonio home once restored from an "unlivable" condition is back on the market. Built in 1912, the three-story home at 310 Alamosa was the subject of a lengthy restoration project in 2016. The property was listed the following January for $649,900, then pulled off the market 21 months later. Now, it's back up for sale for $625,000. The listing agent, Lowie Van Diest of Red Diamond Realty, is confident the property is priced correctly. READ ALSO: Heres what to know as Gov. Abbott lifts COVID mask restrictions today "If this house was in King William, itd be a million-dollar house," Van Diest said. The house was originally a single-family, before a previous owner converted the structure into apartments. The historic home had fallen into disarray by the time a new owner enlisted designer Ron Kitchen's expertise in 2016. Kitchen gutted the home, installing new plumbing and electrical and modernizing the floor plan, but preserved the original hardwood floors and duplicated trim work from the time period. The 3,660 square-foot home now has four bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths plus a wraparound deck, finished attic and backyard gazebo. "I took this old, decrepit home and made it feel like a teenager again," Kitchen told the Express-News in 2017. "It was a fun project, it was a lot of hard work, but when you see the end result it makes you proud to see a home that will be around a lot longer than you will." The nearby Lone Star Brewery complex, which has sat empty since 1996, may finally see a similar transformation. Houston-based developer Midway and local firm GrayStreet Partners plan to turn the 32-acre site into a mixed-use destination. Van Diest noted the neighboring community had more faith in the latest attempt to redevelop the brewery. Check out the home at 310 Alamosa below. San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors San Antonio Board of Realtors Malaysia's High Court has ended a decades-long ban on Christians using the word 'Allah' to refer to their God in religious texts. The ruling came as part of a case brought by Christian woman Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill who had religious texts seized 13 years ago because they contained the word. Bill had argued that prohibiting Christians from using the word Allah - which means 'God' in Arabic - infringed on her right to practice religion and her right to education. On Wednesday, a judge at the country's High Court agreed. A Malaysian Muslim activist holds a religious booklet, while waiting outside court during an earlier hearing on the controversy The ruling overturns a 1986 law that banned Christians from using the word in publications on public order grounds. The issue has previously caused violent unrest between Malaysia's two-thirds majority Muslim population and its Christian minority groups. Bill's case stems back to 2008 when Bill arrived at Kuala Lumpur airport carrying religious texts on CDs from Indonesia. The discs were seized by she launched an legal campaign to get them back, and in 2014 one of Malaysia's lower courts sided with her and the discs were returned. But because the lower court does not have the power to change laws, the matter was referred to the High Court to set a binding ruling. The case was heard in 2017 with a ruling initially due in 2018, but it was repeatedly delayed as the two sides haggled out of court. Coronavirus shutdowns further delayed the ruling, which was finally delivered on Wednesday. Christians in Malaysia say they have used the word 'Allah' for centuries to refer to their God. But authorities had argued against using the term in non-Muslim literature, saying it could confuse Muslims and entice them to convert. In another high-profile case in 2014, Malaysia's top court dismissed a bid by the Catholic Church for the right to use the word 'Allah' in the Malay-language edition of a church newspaper. Malaysia has largely avoided overt religious conflict in recent decades, but tensions have been growing. In 2014 a church was hit with petrol bombs, while Islamic authorities have seized Bibles containing the word 'Allah'. In 2017 a Christian pastor was dragged from his car by masked men and kidnapped. He is still missing, with a public inquiry concluding he was probably snatched by 'agents of the state'. Less than 10 percent of Malaysia's 32 million people are estimated to be Christians, coming from mostly ethnic Chinese, Indian or indigenous backgrounds, while 60 percent are Muslim ethnic Malay. During the three-week period between doses, many cancer patients are offered little protection against coronavirus from the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a new study suggests. The study, conducted by Kings College London and the Francis Crick Institute in the U.K., enrolled 151 cancer patients and found that more than half of the participants who received a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine showed minimal antibody protection from COVID-19 after their first shot. The antibody response in the third week after taking the initial dose of the vaccine was only 39% and 13% in the enrolled cancer patients, compared to 97% in the more than 50 participants in the study who didnt have cancer, according to the study. The findings are part of the first reported trial to examine the level protection the Pfizer vaccine provides for individuals with cancer. The study - which was released on medRxiv, a site that distributes unpublished medical and clinical research - has yet to be peer reviewed. Researchers will continue to follow cancer patients after their vaccinations for up to six months as part of the trial. The Pfizer vaccine the United Kingdom is administering, BNT162b2, is the same one the United States is giving out as well during its immunization rollout. The preprint study reported that when the second dose of BNT162b2 was given three weeks after the first shot, the cancer patients levels of protection improved significantly, with 95% of them showing detectable antibodies to the virus within just two weeks, according to researchers. Contrastingly, participants who werent administered the second dose at week three saw no real improvement. Only 43% of the solid cancer patients and 8% of the blood cancer patients participating in the study developed antibodies at week five, compared to all of the 54 participants without cancer, researchers noted. The evidence of vaccine responses in cancer patients shows that a gap of 12 weeks between doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could leave many cancer patients vulnerable to serious COVID-19, the study noted. The results have implications not just for cancer patients but for those around them, as a three-month period of poor protection can allow the virus to spread among those caring for the patients and may even create conditions favoring the emergence of new mutant strains. The findings of the study come as coronavirus variants continue to spread throughout the world, presenting even more of a threat to at-risk individuals like cancer patients. B.1.1.7, a strain that originated in the United Kingdom in the fall of 2020, has been reported in 3,283 COVID-19 cases in the United States, including 106 in Massachusetts, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has said the B.1.1.7 variant is more transmissible than other strains. In January, experts in the U.K. also reported the variant may be associated with an increased risk of death. However, more studies are needed to confirm this finding, the federal agency said. Regardless, the increased presence of the B.1.1.7 variant and other strains in the U.S. and elsewhere is a cause for concern, according to the CDC. These variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19, the CDC said. An increase in the number of cases will put more strain on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths. In light of the findings about the Pfizer vaccines effects on cancer patients, the senior authors of the study, Dr. Sheeba Irshad from Kings and Professor Adrian Hayday from both the college and the Crick Institute, believe the U.K.s policy for dosing intervals urgently needs to be reevaluated for cancer patients and other high-risk groups. Based on our findings, we would recommend an urgent review of the vaccine strategy for clinically extremely vulnerable groups, Irshad said. Until then, it is important that cancer patients continue to observe all public health measures in place such as social distancing and shielding when attending hospitals, even after vaccination. The group of researchers who conducted the study are now calling on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, an independent expert advisory committee that offers recommendations to the U.K., to review the findings and consider adapting the nations strategy to ensure cancer patients receive both first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine within a three-week timeframe to minimize their risk of contracting and becoming seriously ill with coronavirus. Public health officials in the U.S. recommend the Pfizer vaccines two shots be administered 21 days apart to people ages 16 years or older. Cancer patients should be vaccinated and boosted quickly, and their responses, particularly those of blood cancer patients, should be intensively monitored so that those who mix with family, friends and carers can be confident of their environment, Hayday said. Related Content: The developer behind some of Perths biggest apartment towers has called for a planning unit created at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to be scrapped in a scathing critique of the states planning system. Sirona Capital managing director Matthew McNeilly pointed to a recommendation by the State Development Assessment Unit to approve a deeply unpopular luxury aged care home in Nedlands as an example of how it was steering decision-making away from communities. Sirona Capital managing director Matthew McNeilly. Credit:Marta Pascual Juanola Mr McNeilly, who lives across the road from the proposed development, said the SDAU had been created to fast-track big job-creating projects at a time of economic uncertainty but was now being used by developers to avoid community consultation and get projects off the ground that would have never been approved otherwise. This is not what the SDAU was intended for. We were all staring into the same COVID-19 abyss back in July, and maybe it was appropriate at that point in time but nine months later, here we are, the best-performing economy in the world and yet we are still using the same process, he said. Japan scrambled F-15 fighter jets to intercept two Russian nuclear-capable Tupolev bombers flying over the Sea of Japan and the Pacific. Russia's defence ministry claimed that the flight had been carried out over neutral waters and that it was planned. The defence ministry said: 'Two Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the long-range aviation conducted a routine flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan and the north-western part of the Pacific Ocean. An American-made F-15 fighter jet of the Japanese air force (stock image) A Russian Tu-95MS. The quad-engine long-range bomber was first developed in the 1950s. The most recent model, the Tu-95MS entered service in 1984. 'The duration of the flight exceeded nine hours. At certain stages of the flight, the Russian strategic bombers were escorted by the Japanese air force's F-15 fighters.' The Tu-95 is a quad-engine long-range bomber first developed in the 1950s. The most recent model, the Tu-95MS entered service in 1984. Tensions between Tokyo and Moscow since the end of the Second World War have been punctuated by an ongoing sovereignty dispute over the Kuril Islands. The volcanic archipelago stretches northeast of Japan and forms a natural barrier to the eastern edge of the Sea of Okhotsk. All of the islands are under Russian control but Japan claims the four southernmost islands which are referred to domestically as the 'Northern Territories.' The countries held their first diplomatic-defence talks in 2013, the first such summit since the days of the USSR. Since then, the two sides have sought to forge better relations, with Japan particularly concerned by their rancorous neighbour, North Korea, over which the former Soviet country still holds great sway. Senior figures at the European Unions medicines regulator raised concern over the quality of early supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, leaked documents and emails show. Official files that have been shared globally following a cyberattack on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) show that the regulator was concerned by the molecular integrity of vaccine batches made last autumn that had been initially earmarked for commercial markets. It is thought these supplies were never delivered to one of the many governments that pre-ordered doses of the Pfizer vaccine, or used to inoculate members of the public. Proven to be highly effective in providing protection against Covid-19, the Pfizer jab has been authorised for use in numerous countries across the globe, with millions of doses administered to date. The British Medical Journal (BMJ), which has reviewed the leaked EMA documents, claims that a high-ranking official within the agency outlined a series of issues with early vaccine batches made by the pharmaceutical giant in an email sent on 23 November. The EMA highlighted that commercial manufacturing was not producing vaccine supplies to the specifications expected, with experts said to be unsure of the implications, the BMJ reports. Specifically, the European regulator reportedly had major concerns over unexpectedly low quantities of messenger RNA (mRNA) in batches of the vaccine intended to be delivered to buying nations. In the context of the Covid-19 vaccines, mRNA is a genetic molecule that instructs the bodys own cells to display the spike protein coating the outside of the virus. This prompts the immune system to produce the necessary antibodies and T-cells that then provide protection. For early clinical batches of the Pfizer vaccine, mRNA integrity was around 78 per cent - but this figure stood at 55 per cent for certain commercial supplies, the BMJ claims. The root cause of this disparity was unknown and the impact of this loss of mRNA integrity on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine was not defined, the email reportedly said. Ensuring RNA integrity is one of the biggest hurdles for manufacturers developing vaccines based on this type of technology. These genetic molecules degrade quickly and must be kept at very low temperatures to maintain their integrity, hence the stringent cold chain requirements that surround the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines - both of which are mRNA-based. To protect against rapid degradation, the mRNA used in the Covid-19 jabs is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles. But if molecular integrity is compromised in any way - such as during the production stage - this can affect the expression of the spike protein in the bodys cells, which means the correct immune response wont be triggered and protection may not be complete. The BMJ reports that is is unclear how the EMAs concerns were satisfied. However, according to another leaked email from 25 November, the agency noted: The latest lots indicate that % intact RNA are back at around 70-75%, which leaves us cautiously optimistic that additional data could address the issue. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was eventually authorised for use by the EMA on 21 December. The quality of this medicinal product, submitted in the emergency context of the current (covid-19) pandemic, is considered to be sufficiently consistent and acceptable, the agency noted at the time. It later acknowledged that vaccine efficacy depends on the presence of suitable amounts of intact mRNA. However, the BMJs findings raise questions of what percentage of molecular integrity is considered acceptable for these types of jabs. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which was the first regulator in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for general use, did not comment on this when approached by The Independent, and nor did Pfizer. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 21 May 2021 A dog that has been trained to sniff out the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), screens a sweat sample at Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok, Thailand REUTERS World news in pictures 20 May 2021 Formula One F1 - Monaco Grand Prix - Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco REUTERS World news in pictures 18 May 2021 Horse-drawn carriages drive through the mudflats near Cuxhaven, northern Germany dpa via AP World news in pictures 17 May 2021 Kanoya Onishi in action during the Cycling BMX Free Style of Tokyo 2020 Olympics test event at Ariake Urban Sports Park in Japan EPA World news in pictures 16 May 2021 Rescuers carry Suzy Eshkuntana, 6, as they pull her from the rubble of a building at the site of Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City Reuters World news in pictures 15 May 2021 A ball of fire erupts from the Jala Tower as it is destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza city AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 May 2021 Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayers inside the Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh AP World news in pictures 13 May 2021 Muslim girls ride on a mini train after attending the Eid Al-Fitr prayer that marks the end of the Holy month of Ramadan at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya AFP via Getty Images World news in pictures 12 May 2021 Israeli artillery fire as the escalation continues between Israeli army and Hamas at the Gaza Border EPA World news in pictures 11 May 2021 Maya Nakanishi competes in the womens long jump - T64 category during a para-athletics test event for the 2020 Olympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo AFP/Getty World news in pictures 10 May 2021 A Palestinian man helps a wounded fellow protester amid clashes with Israeli security forces at Jerusalems Al-Aqsa mosque compound, ahead of a planned march to commemorate Israels takeover of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War AFP/Getty World news in pictures 9 May 2021 Falconer Giovanna Piccolo performs with her Eurasian eagle-owl at 'Roma World' theme park, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Rome Reuters World news in pictures 8 May 2021 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) is introduced as a starter against the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena. USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 6 May 2021 Buddhist monks and believers attend a lantern parade in celebration of the upcoming birthday of Buddha at a temple in Seoul, South Korea Reuters World news in pictures 5 May 2021 Russian MiG-29 jet fighters of the Strizhi (Swifts) and Su-30SM jet fighters of the Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) aerobatic teams fly in formation over the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin in Moscow during a flypast rehearsal for the WWII Victory Parade AFP/Getty World news in pictures 4 May 2021 An elevated metro line collapsed in the Mexican capital on Monday, leaving at least 23 people dead and dozens injured as a train came plunging down, authorities said AFP/Getty World news in pictures 3 May 2021 Lightning bolts strike buildings during a thunderstorm in Bangkok AFP/Getty World news in pictures 2 May 2021 Samaritan worshippers arrive to take part in a Passover ceremony on top of Mount Gerizim, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus AFP/Getty World news in pictures 1 May 2021 A Gilet Jaune, or yellow vest, protestor stands in front of a burning barricade holding his hand up with an inscription calling for President Macron to resign as May Day Protest turn violent near Place de la Republique in Paris, France Getty World news in pictures 30 April 2021 A demonstrator from the Rio de Paz human rights activist group digs a symbolic grave in front of rows of bags symbolising bodybags on Copacabana beach, during a protest against the Brazilian governments handling of the coronavirus pandemic, in Rio de Janeiro AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 April 2021 An aerial picture shows dead carp fish flushed to the shores of al-Qaraoun reservoir in Lebanons Western Beqaa District in the countrys east. Tonnes of fish have washed up dead on the shoreline of the highly polluted artificial reservoir in eastern Lebanon in recent days AFP/Getty World news in pictures 28 April 2021 Health workers wearing PPE attends to coronavirus patients inside a banquet hall temporarily converted into a covid care centre in New Delhi AFP/Getty World news in pictures 27 April 2021 The full moon, known as the Super Pink Moon rises behind the Statue of Liberty in New York City, Reuters World news in pictures 26 April 2021 Balinese people lay wreaths with names of the crew on board the sunk Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala during a prayer at the sea near Labuhan Lalang, Bali, Indonesia EPA World news in pictures 25 April 2021 An Ethiopian Orthodox Christian worshipper walks around the Edicule, the place believed to be where Jesus Christ was buried, during Palm Sunday celebrations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem AFP/Getty World news in pictures 24 April 2021 Fans of Wuhan Three Towns FC cheer for their team during the 1st round match Wuhan Three Towns FC and Beijing Institute of Technology FC during Chinese Football League One in Wuhan, China Getty World news in pictures 23 April 2021 A girl prays in front of the Dome of the Rock, in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalems Old City, on the second Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, as coronavirus restrictions ease around the country, in Jerusalem Reuters World news in pictures 22 April 2021 People walk through the art work 'THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS' by Yayoi Kusama, during the press preview of a retrospective exhibition of the Japanese artist at the Martin Gropius Bau museum in Berlin, Germany AP World news in pictures 21 April 2021 Hungary's Sara Peter competes in the Women's floor qualifications during European Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the St Jakobshalle, in Basel AFP/Getty World news in pictures 20 April 2021 South Korea university students gets their heads shaved during a protest against Japan's decision to release contaminated water from its Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, in front of the Japanese embassy, in Seoul Reuters World news in pictures 19 April 2021 A spectator wearing a football jersey of Argentina's forward Lionel Messi attends the ATP Barcelona Open tennis tournament singles match between Japan's Kei Nishikori and Argentina's Guido Pella at the Real Club de Tenis in Barcelona AFP/Getty World news in pictures 18 April 2021 People raise their fist during a demonstration near the George Floyd Memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota AFP/Getty World news in pictures 17 April 2021 Security personnel stand guard outside a polling station during the 5th phase of West Bengal's state legislative assembly elections in Kolkata AFP/Getty World news in pictures 16 April 2021 Palestinians take part in the first Friday prayers of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, in Jerusalem's Old City AFP/Getty World news in pictures 15 April 2021 A firefighter inspects the site of a car bomb attack in Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 14 April 2021 This picture shows the 100 days countdown till the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games displayed on the illuminated Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo on April 14, 2021 AFP/Getty World news in pictures 13 April 2021 This photo taken and received courtesy of an anonymous source shows Buddhist monks gesturing while taking part in a demonstration with protesters against the military coup in Mandalay during the Myanmar New Year festival of Thingyan AFP/Getty World news in pictures 12 April 2021 An Indian holi man during the Kumbh Mela royal bath (Sacred Hindu Pilgrimage) in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. Thousands of pilgrims are gathering and taking holy dip in Kumbh Mela that is a mass Hindu pilgrimage which occurs after every twelve years and rotates among four locations EPA World news in pictures 11 April 2021 Nasa released images of of sand dunes on Mars captured using infrared reflections NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU World news in pictures 10 April 2021 People watch devotees pulling a chariot in Biska Jatra Festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal AP World news in pictures 9 April 2021 Maintenance workers clean the monument of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in Moscow on April 9, 2021. - Sixty years ago Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, marking it a new chapter in the history of space exploration. AFP/Getty World news in pictures 8 April 2021 Protesters hold a banner and burning red flares during a demonstration of called by unions of healthcare and social workers in support of their sector and to demand a bonus in their pay in Paris AFP/Getty World news in pictures 7 April 2021 Protesters laying on the street near the Election Commission office in Kolkata during a demonstration demanding the halt of the ongoing state legislative election and campaign rallies amidst the rising number of Covid-19 cases AFP/Getty World news in pictures 6 April 2021 Voters stand in queue to cast their votes at a polling booth during third phase of West Bengal state elections in Baruipur, South 24 Pargana district, India AP World news in pictures 5 April 2021 The Statue of Christ appears behind clouds from the Sao Jorge Castle in Lisbon as the Portuguese government eased coronavirus restrictions AFP/Getty World news in pictures 4 April 2021 Christian worshippers light candles during an Easter service in Yerevan, the Armenian capital AFP/Getty World news in pictures 3 April 2021 Anti-coup protesters hold improvised weapons during a protest in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmars military Junta continued a brutal crackdown on a nationwide civil disobedience movement in which thousands of people have turned out in continued defiance of live ammunition Getty World news in pictures 2 April 2021 A rescue works at the site after a train derailed in a tunnel north of Hualien, Taiwan Reuters World news in pictures 1 April 2021 Man flashes three-finger salute next to burning tires during a protest against the military c Reuters World news in pictures 31 March 2021 Mannequins wrapped in barrier tape stand in front of Berlins landmark Brandenburg Gate as part of German artist Dennis Josef Mesegs Corona Memorial called It is Like it is AFP via Getty However, the MHRA said there were no concerns surrounding the batches of Pfizer vaccine that had been delivered to the UK. Siu Ping Lam, MHRA director of licensing, told The Independent: The observations of lower levels of RNA integrity with certain early batches have been addressed, and are not an ongoing concern. We are satisfied that the RNA integrity of all batches used in the UK to date have met the product requirements. Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said the BMJ report demonstrated that regulatory authorities have been monitoring vaccine quality carefully from the outset. We can also be reassured by the emerging evidence of real world effectiveness of both vaccines currently in use reported from both Scotland and England, he added. This would indicate that the batches used during the early part of the UK programme have been doing their job well. Pfizer meanwhile said that all questions surrounding the efficacy, safety and quality of the vaccine were addressed satisfactorily and could by demonstrated on the data submitted to the EMA. Its important to note that each batch of vaccines is tested by the official medicinal control laboratory (OMCL) the Paul-Ehrlich Institute in Germany before final product release, a spokesperson added. As a result, the quality of all vaccine doses that are placed on the market in Europe has been double tested to ensure compliance with the specifications agreed upon with the regulatory authorities. Should a batch not meet these required specifications, the product wouldnt be released for use in Europe. EMA has said it is conducting a full investigation into the cyberattack on its systems. Stavian Rodriguez, 15, was shot after he was allegedly a part of an armed robbery Five Oklahoma City police officers were charged on Wednesday with first-degree manslaughter after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in November while allegedly attempting to rob a convenience store. Stavian Rodriguez was shot 13 times by officers responding to reports of an attempted armed robbery at a convenience store on November 23. Surveillance video obtained by KOCO appears to show Rodriguez attempting to cooperate with police when he was shot. 'Show us your hands, sir. Nobody has to get hurt,' cops tell Rodriguez over a speaker. Rodriguez is seen climbing out of the drive-thru window with his hands raised, as cops scream: 'Hands!' The boy then slowly moves his hand to his waistband and lifts his shirt to show cops that he is removing the weapon tucked into his jeans. 'Get face down on the ground,' cops order as Rodriguez removes the weapon and drops it to the floor. 'Oh, don't do that!' a male officer says to the kid as a female cop orders him to get on the ground and 'drop it.' Rodriguez then reaches in his pocket in what appears to be an attempt to remove something else, as cops scream and multiple gun fire shots are heard. Scroll down for video Video footage shows Stavian Rodriguez attempting to cooperate with police when he was shot The boy lifts his shirt to show cops that he is removing the weapon tucked into his jeans. Rodriguez removes a weapon from his waistband and drops it to the floor Rodriguez then reaches in his pocket in what appears to be an attempt to remove something else, as cops scream and multiple gun fire shots are heard. Eventually, a commanding officer orders the cops to 'cease fire.' Another video taken by KOCO's news crew, which was at the scene when the shooting happened, shows another view of the shooting. 'He had dropped his f**king gun. He had dropped his f**King gun!' a woman's voice is heard screaming. Master Sergeant Gary Knight told the outlet immediately after the incident that: 'He came out with the gun in his hand, he did not follow officer's instructions while he came out with the gun in his hand. Ultimately, he was shot.' Oklahoma City District Attorney David Prater has charged five of the responding officers with first-degree manslaughter. If convicted, they could face up to life in prison. A sixth officer, Sarah Carli, was the first to fire a 'less-lethal' weapon and will not be charged, cops said. After being shot with the 'less-lethal' round, five officers 'unnecessarily fire lethal rounds at Rodriguez, striking him numerous times and inflicting mortal wounds,' Prater's investigator, Willard Paige, wrote in an affidavit. The officers who have been charged after firing lethal rounds are: Bethany Sears, Jared Barton, Corey Adams, John Skuta and Brad Pemberton. An autopsy determined Rodriguez suffered 13 gunshot wounds, Paige wrote. Officials have not yet revealed which officer fired the fatal shot. It was also not immediately clear whether any of the officers had attorneys who could speak on their behalf, but John George, president of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, defended their actions. 'Officers must make life and death decisions in a split second, relying on their training. When an armed robbery suspect did not obey police commands, five officers perceived the same threat and simultaneously fired their weapons,' he said. 'A loss of life is always a tragedy and we know these officers did not take firing their weapons lightly. The OKC FOP stands by these officers and maintains they acted within the law.' Five Oklahoma City police officers are facing charges of first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of a 15-year-old armed robbery suspect Cops investigate the scene where Rodriguez, 15, was shot and killed by Oklahoma City police after they said he tried to rob a gas station at gunpoint in November The 15-year-old was also hit with a 'less-lethal' weapon from a sixth officer who will not be charged, cops said. Police also released the officers' body camera footage after the boy's mother sued for it last month An autopsy determined Rodriguez suffered 13 gunshot wounds after five cops shot their lethal weapons The officers have been on administrative leave since the shooting. Police also released the officers' body camera footage after the boy's mother sued for it last month. Another boy, 17-year-old Wyatt Cheatham, has also has been charged with first-degree murder for Rodriguez's death after he admitted to being involved in the robbery but was there when cops killed Rodriguez, KOCO reported A suspect can be slapped with felony murder charges in Oklahoma if someone dies while certain felonies are being committed. Cheatham is still being held without bond in the Oklahoma County Jail, where his supporters have rallied multiple times claiming he should be charged with robbery - not murder, according to KOCO. 'He needs to be charged appropriately, charged with the robbery of the store. Not murder,' supporter Yolanda Meekins said. Former Uttarakhand CM and other Congress leaders stranded at Kedarnath due to heavy snowfall Kedarnath shrine all set to open on May 17; No restrictions on number of pilgrims India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Mar 11: The sacred portals of the Himalyan shrine of Kedarnath is all set to open on May 17 at 5 in the morning and there are no restrictions on the number of visitors, said Ravinath Raman, the chief executive officer (CEO) Chardham Devasthanam Management Board. The decision to open the portals was taken on the occasion of Shivratri in line with the auspicious time from an astrological point of view at Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath. COVID-19 cases: Tamil Nadu's decision on e-pass creates problems for Keralites "We are expecting a good pilgrim rush this year. We are not putting any restrictions on the number of pilgrims who can come to Char Dham shrines as we did last year due to Covid-19. The general precautions for checking the spread of COVID-19 will have to be taken by all," said CEO Raman. In 2020, the portals of Kedarnath shrine were opened on April 29 and the first prayers were offered on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help the country fight against the coronavirus pandemic. This year, the officials and the priests are expecting a good rush on the first day of the shrine reopening. TN elections 2021: SDPI to contest from 6 seats as it seals alliance with AMMK According to Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board officials, last year overall some 3.1 lakh pilgrims came for Char Dham Yatra, including 1.3 lakh pilgrims for Kedarnath. The Char Dham shrines were opened for pilgrims on July 1 last year by the state government. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri are togeather called the Char Dham and attract lakhs of pilgrims each year. Traditionally, Char Dham pilgrimage begins from the west from Yamunotri, then moves to Gangotri and finally to Kedarnath and Badrinath in the east. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 17:42 [IST] Sydney, March 11 : After passing the "world-leading" News Media Bargaining Code to make Facebook and Google pay for news content on their platforms, the Australian government has now begun deliberations on the browser domination, putting Apple under the probe too. Focused on the "choice and competition in internet search and web browsers", the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a discussion paper, asking for submissions based on the pre-installed browsers as defaults, reports ZDNet. In January 2021 in Australia, estimates indicate that Safari was the most used browser on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets), accounting for around 51 per cent of use, followed by Chrome (39 per cent), Samsung Internet (7 per cent) and Mozilla Firefox (less than 1 per cent). On desktops, Chrome was the most used browser at 62 per cent, followed by Safari (18 per cent), Edge (9 per cent) and Mozilla Firefox (6 per cent). "In Australia, the ACCC understands that Google Search is the default search engine on Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Samsung Internet, and Bing is the default search engine on Edge," the paper read. According to the commission, pre-installed services and services set as a default can function as barriers to entry and expansion. "Consumers may stick with a default option on account of imperfect information. For example, consumers may remain with an incumbent search service rather than switch to a new entrant if they do not know whether the incumbent provides a higher quality search service than the new entrant, and substantial information costs would have to be incurred to compare the quality of the two search services," it argued. For consumers with relatively low level information-technology skills, there may be costs to switching from the default option search service (for example, the time needed to learn how to do so). In October last year, the US Department of Justice and 11 state Attorneys General filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Google for allegedly unlawfully maintaining monopolies through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets. In July 2018, the European Commission (EC) found that Google imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators between 2011 and 2014 to cement its dominant position in general internet search. The EC fined Google 4.34 billion euros for breaching EU antitrust rules in respect of abuse of a dominant position. The ACCC said that it is also seeking views on supplier behaviour and trends in search services, browsers, and operating systems. (Natural News) In the late 1930s and early 40s, IBM (International Business Machines) began partnering with the Third Reich to provide computational machines for tracking Jews for extermination. This is fully detailed in the book, IBM and the Holocaust by Edwin Black, available at Amazon and elsewhere. Now, as published by Mint Press News, IBM is partnering with mRNA vaccine developer Moderna to provide its computational platforms and machines to enforce vaccine compliance. In my view, this is all part of a global vaccine Holocaust program thats engineered to achieve a mass extermination of the human race. And tech giants like IBM are happy to participate. Mass murdering six million Jews isnt enough for IBM, it seems. Now theyre targeting six billion human beings with deadly vaccines that install a kind of operating system into the human body, hijacking the bodys cells to produce alien proteins via mRNA software code that isnt even human. Private businesses turned into militant vaccine enforcers, powered by IBM tech The same IBM that sold its technology to Adolf Hitler, in other words, is now running a Covid-19 Digital Health Pass pilot program in New York which, according to MPN, deputizes private businesses to enforce government-imposed Covid-19 regulations. In other words, IBM provides the computational power and tracking that will turn local businesses into medical fascist compliance officers, reminiscent of the Nazi SS, but now applied to the field of medicine and vaccines. IBM also uses its same blockchain and cloud computing technology to power its Food Trust services, which will of course be used to restrict food supplies from people who refuse to comply with vaccination demands by the government. By controlling vaccine compliance and the food supply, IBM is concentrating power in the hands of evil anti-human tyrants (like NY Gov. Cuomo) in a way that Adolf Hitler could have only dreamed. Microsoft thrilled to do more business with the genocidal, organ harvesting communist China regime At the same time, Microsoft is now expanding its business with the worlds leading genocide nation, communist China. As the Free Beacon reports, the Bill Gates-founded company isnt at all concerned that China is carrying out every action of genocide and anti-human cruelty that fits in the definition of the term genocide. Yet even when the CCP deploys hackers to compromise and infiltrate Microsofts MS Exchange programs to exploit customer email data, Microsoft is still happy to do more business with communist China. Thats because Microsoft has zero ethics. And neither does IBM. In fact, there is no prominent tech company that has any morals, ethics or humanity remaining whatsoever. Theyre all about the profit and the control over humanity, and if they have to watch while six billion human beings are mass murdered on the planet, theyre fine with that as long as they get to sell more computing services to the executioners. IBM hasnt changed since the days of the Third Reich, in other words, and newer companies like Microsoft have already made deals with the Devil to promote the mass extermination of human beings in order to achieve Bill Gates depopulation goals. Big Tech endorses mass murder on a scale that few people can even grasp. The full details of this horrifying, techno-fascist criminal cartel are revealed in todays Situation Update podcast that I consider a cant miss episode if you want to understand the real world: Brighteon.com/e5ffc8d6-a5af-4f68-8a8e-14a175680cd7 Discover a new Situation Update podcast episode each day at: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/hrreport And read more news about the vaccine holocaust at VaccineHolocaust.org (Bloomberg) -- Security camera company Verkada Inc. said its contacted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation about a massive hack that exposed surveillance data of Verkada customers, including companies, hospitals, schools and detention centers. The remarks largely confirm a report by Bloomberg News Tuesday outlining one of the largest breaches of its kind, giving hackers access to footage gathered by 150,000 cameras used by Verkadas customers. We believe the attackers gained access to this server on March 7, 2021 and maintained access until approximately noon PST on March 9, 2021, the company said in a post on its website. In gaining access to the server, the attackers obtained credentials that allowed them to bypass our authorization system, including two-factor authentication. Verkada said that its systems were secure as of noon Pacific time on March 9, and that no user passwords were accessed. The company confirmed hackers accessed the cameras and a list of its customers. We can also confirm that the attackers gained access to a tool that allowed the execution of shell commands on a subset of customer cameras; however we have no evidence at this time that this access was used maliciously against our customers networks, the post said. All shell commands issued through our internal tool were logged. The company said it had retained cybersecurity firm Mandiant Solutions, which is owned by FireEye Inc., and the law firm Perkins Coie to assist in its investigation. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2021 Bloomberg L.P. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. National Guard soldiers patrol outside the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 5, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) National Guard Member Protecting US Capitol Dies From Apparent Medical Emergency A National Guard member who is part of the force protecting the U.S. Capitol has passed away, an official confirmed Thursday. Joint Task Force District of Columbia is sad to confirm the death of a National Guard member serving with the U.S. Capitol security mission due to an apparent medical emergency, a spokesperson for the joint task force told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. The Guardsman was not on duty at the time of the death, which is under investigation. Officials are not releasing the name of the member, pending notification of next of kin. The spokesperson declined to share more details, referring The Epoch Times to the Metropolitan Police Department, Washingtons police force. That department didnt respond to a request for additional information, such as the time and place of death. National Guardsmen were surged to the nations capital in January following the breach of the U.S. Capitol, with some 25,000 there at the peak of the deployment. The Pentagon extended the deployment through May 23, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced this week, after a request for continued support from the U.S. Capitol Police. Nearly 2,300 troops will remain in Washington for the next several months, a reduction of nearly 50 percent of the current support force. This decision was made after a thorough review of the request and after close consideration of its potential impact on readiness, Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said in a statement, adding that Pentagon officials will work with the U.S. Capitol Police to incrementally reduce the National Guard footprint as conditions allow. National Guard soldiers patrol the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 4, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Yogananda Pittman, the Capitol Police acting chief, had referenced a spike in threats to members of Congress in recent months as the rationale behind the continuing deployment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said the Guard will remain in Washington as long as they are needed. Republican congressional leaders questioned the extension. Im extremely uncomfortable with the fact that my constituents cant come to the Capitol with all this razor wire around the complex. It reminds me of my last trip to [Afghanistan], Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters on Capitol Hill. It looks terrible to have the beacon of our democracy surrounded by razor wire and Guard troops, he added. The extension came after dozens of troops were sickened by poorly prepared food. Troops complained of being served raw meat and other improperly prepared meals, leaking photographs of the food to the press. Kirby told reporters on Monday that 50 personnel were treated for gastrointestinal issues. Albany, N.Y. New York is ending its policy requiring quarantines for travelers from other states. Domestic travelers will no longer have to quarantine after arriving in New York starting April 1, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomos office. The change covers any travelers arriving from another U.S. state or territory. Although quarantines will no longer be required, the state Health Department still recommends them after domestic travel as an added precaution, according to Cuomos office. The states mandatory quarantine policy will still apply to international travelers. All travelers must continue to fill out a required Health Department form when arriving in New York. New York first relaxed its travel rules slightly earlier this month, when Cuomo said the state would no longer require quarantines for domestic travelers who had been fully vaccinated within 90 days of their trip. For international travelers, the following rules will still apply: Travelers out of state over 24 hours must get tested within three days of departure, prior to arriving in New York. They must then quarantine for three days after arriving. On day four, travelers must get tested again. If both tests are negative, travelers can exit quarantine after receiving results from the second test. If travelers dont get tested, theyre required to quarantine for 10 days after arriving in New York. Travelers out of state less than 24 hours arent required to get tested before departure and they dont need to quarantine when they arrive in New York. They must still get a Covid test four days after arrival. The quarantine policy includes exemptions for essential workers. Travelers from Canada crossing at land borders subject to the agreement between the U.S. and Canadian governments also do not need to quarantine, according to the Health Department New York began requiring quarantines for travelers from certain states last summer to help slow the spread of Covid-19. The state eventually began mandating quarantines for nearly all travelers. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources NY to allow even bigger weddings, eases testing requirements Why arent NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line? Nascentia Health first in Central New York to offer Covid vaccine shots in-home Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 LONDON (dpa-AFX) - British bank HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L, HSBC) announced on Thursday that the company plans to bring a special resolution on climate change at its Annual General Meeting or AGM, to be held on 28 May. This resolution is part of the company's transition process to net zero carbon emissions. As per the resolution, the company will decide upon a science-based strategy to align its provision of finance to the Paris Agreement goals. The company will also implement a policy to phase out financing of coal-fired power and thermal coal mining by 2030 in European Union markets and by 2040 in other markets. The bank expects to provide between $750 billion and $1 trillion in financing and investment to support its customers to decarbonize in a progressive manner and thus contribute to long-term sustainable growth. Separately, the company also announced the appointment of Rachel Duan as an independent non-executive director, effective from September 1. She will also join the Group Remuneration Committee and the Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee. Duan most recently served as senior Vice President of General Electric (GE) and President & CEO of GE's global markets. At present, she is on the boards of AXA and Sanofi as an independent non-executive director. The company also announced that Henri de Castries and Heidi Miller will not seek re-election to the Board at the AGM. They will officially retire from the Board after the AGM concludes. Miller also steps down from her role as Chair of US subsidiary, HSBC North America Holdings Inc. and will hand over her HSBC North America Holdings Inc. responsibilities to Jamie Forese. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX HSBC-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de Press Release March 11, 2021 Civil Service Committee hears bills on lifetime validity of birth certificate, lowering the mandatory and optional retirement age of government employees Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, led the virtual hearing on bills proposing lifetime validity of birth certificate and lowering the optional retirement age of government employees. Revilla noted that while the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) already publicly declared on numerous occasions that the birth certificates they issue have no expiration, several government agencies and private organizations still require these documents using the latest security paper which cost the applicant P155 for an authenticated copy and P365 when delivered at their personal address. "This requirement costs our people valuable time and money. Lalo na po ngayong panahon ng pandemya ung kailan apektado nang husto ang ating ekonomiya, anumang karagdagang gastusin ay iindahin talaga ng mga kababayan natin. Dagdag pa rito ang panganib o risk na mahawahan ng virus kung sila ay lalabas ng bahay upang kumuha ng birth certificate," Revilla said. The resource persons, including the PSA, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Education (DepEd), expressed full support on the measures. The committee also discussed the lowering of retirement age of government employees and consulted several agencies including the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), as well as non-government associations such as the Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA), Philippine Public School Teachers Associations (PPSTA), Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), Teachers Dignity Coalition, Alliance for Concerned Teachers (ACT), Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), Non-Uniformed Personnel Association, Inc. (NUPAI). "Ang paglilingkod sa bayan bilang isang kawani ng pamahalaan ay isang karangalan. Ang karangalang ito ay tinatapatan naman nila ng sipag at dedikasyon sa kanilang trabaho. Kaya't ang mga umaabot ng retirement age sa gobyerno ay maituturing na mga haligi at huwaran ng serbisyo publiko," he underscored. Revilla stressed that the retirees should be able to enjoy the benefits due them. "Lowering the retirement age will ensure that our senior citizens will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and spend more time with their family and friends as well as pursue other endeavours as they approach the twilight of their years," Revilla said in Senate Bill No. 72, which proposes the lowering of compulsory retirement age of government employees from 65 to 60, and the optional retirement age from 60 to 55. SB 715 of Sen. Joel Villanueva and SB 958 of Sen. Sonny Angara proposed the lowering of the optional retirement age of public school teachers from 60 to 55. Meanwhile, House Bill 5509, which was approved by the House of Representatives last December 2019, lowers the optional retirement age of government workers from 60 to 56. CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada pointed out that the Philippines has the oldest mandatory and optional retirement age in ASEAN. Based on the statistical data, the Philippines has the oldest retirement age at 65 years old compared to other ASEAN countries where the retirement age ranges from 50 to 60 years old. The Philippines also has the oldest optional retirement age at 60 years old, while government workers in other ASEAN countries can retire early at 40-55 years old or after 4-10 years of service. GSIS expressed support on the measures, but posed reservations considering its possible impact to the insurance fund life. Six States including Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, and cumulatively account for 85.91 per cent of the new cases reported in the past 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Thursday. 22,854 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours. has reported the highest daily new COVID-19 cases at 13,659 (almost 60 per cent of the daily new cases). follows with 2,475 while reported 1,393 new cases. India's total COVID-19 active caseload has reached 1,89,226 today. The present active caseload in the country now stands at 1.68 per cent of India's total positive cases. 126 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Six States account for 82.54 per cent of the new deaths. saw the maximum casualties (54). follows with 17 daily deaths and reported14 deaths in the last 24 hours. Nineteen States/UTs including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Goa, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Ladakh, have not reported any COVID19 deaths in the last 24 hours. According to the ministry, more than 2.56 cr (2,56,85,011) vaccine doses have been administered through 4,78,168 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. These include 71,97,100 HCWs (1st dose), 40,13,249 HCWs (2nd dose), 70,54,659 FLWs (1st dose) and 6,37,281 FLWs (2nd Dose), 9,67,058 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st Dose) and 58,15,664 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years. As on Day-54 of the vaccination drive (10th March, 2021), total 13,17,357 vaccine doses were given. Out of which, 10,30,243 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 20,299 sessions for 1st dose (HCWs and FLWs) and 2,87,114 HCWs and FLWs received 2nd dose of vaccine. (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.) Owner Lauren Boebert poses for a portrait at Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado on April 24, 2018. (Photo credit should read EMILY KASK/AFP via Getty Images) Lauren Boebert argued against gun background checks with a story about a man being beaten to death behind her restaurant - but who actually died from a drug overdose. The Colorado lawmaker made the debunked claim on the floor of the House and has told the same story repeatedly on the campaign trail and in interviews. Ms Boebert says that the violent incident led to her arm herself and waitresses inside her Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado. There was an altercation outside my restaurant where a man was physically beat to death, there were no weapons involved, he was beat to death by another mans hands, she said during Wednesdays debate on bills to expand background checks before gun purchases. I have a lot of young girls who work in my restaurant and we needed an equalizer. But the story was contradicted by the Colorado Sun newspaper in September 2020 as Ms Boebert campaigned for, and eventually won, Colorados 3rd Congressional District. The Rifle Police Department told the newspaper that it had no record of such a murder. They did confirm that a man had died on the sidewalk down the street from Shooters Grill in the early hours of 22 August 2013. Investigators initially treated the death as a possible homicide, but the autopsy later showed that the man died from a drug overdose. Ms Boebert has been a controversial figure in her first few months in Congress. In January she set off metal detectors in the House and flouted new security rules put in place after the Capitol riot. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. She then sparked widespread criticism after mocking Parkland high school shooting survivor David Hogg for supposedly not being tough enough. Ms Boebert targeted the gun control advocate after he criticised Republican leadership for not taking action against her and fellow congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. And this week she came under fire for releasing an attack advert on Nancy Pelosi that featured shooting sound effects at the end. Read More Lauren Boebert under fire after releasing Pelosi attack ad with gunshot sound effect Story continues Lauren Boebert under fire for comparing Biden dogs to illegal immigrants in Twitter rant How Lauren Boebert built her career on guns, militias and far-right pandering Lauren Boebert: Congresswoman linked to QAnon attacks Democrats for being obsessed with conspiracies Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Christian theologian James White made a response video to refute Brandan Robertson's claims on Jesus acting racist towards the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7. About five days ago, Brandan Robertson - who identifies as a "reverend" and a "progressive Christian" - uploaded a commentary video on his take of the Mark 7 account in Jesus' life. His unorthodox interpretation caused controversy, thus making his clip go viral on the internet. "Did you know that there's a part of the Gospel of Mark where Jesus uses a racist slur," says Robertson in his video intro. "He (Jesus) calls her a 'dog,'" Robertson repeated as emphasis. "What's amazing about this account is that the woman does not back down. She speaks truth to power. She confronts Jesus and says, 'Well you can think that about me, but even dogs deserve the crumbs from the table.'" Robertson equates the woman's statement as "bravery to speak truth to power" which caused Jesus to change his mind, repents of his racism, and grants the woman her request. "I love this story because it's a reminder that Jesus is human. He had prejudices and biases, and when confronted with it, he was willing to do his work. And this woman was willing to stand up and speak truth," he concluded. This caught the attention of James White who decided to give a "thoughtful response" and to present the kind of "approach Christians should have when responding to blatantly anti-Gospel views," says Faithwire. White first cautioned Christians to not engage in debates over deemed heretical doctrines in an emotionally charged manner. In what he calls as "thinking presuppositionally," White said that issues like Robertson's is a "symptom of a larger problem." This larger problem, as noted by Faithwire, is the "abandonment of recognizing the authority, infallibility, and divine revealed nature of Scripture." As for Robertson's interpretation on what transpired between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman, the theologian stated his observations. "But what this man just said was that Jesus is not a savior, can't be a savior, he's a sinner, he's a racist, he's not as good as a Syrophoenician woman. She had to speak truth to power. He's not the truth, he's not the way, he's not the life, he's not the savior. He was a lie from the beginning. But he'll still call himself a Christian." White explains that this line of thinking is "woke" meant to undermine the basic truths of the Bible, and that this happens when a Christian's foundation is tossed out. The result is a rejection of Scriptural revelations that bring convictions to people's hearts. Back to Jesus's alleged racist demeanor, White said that Christians are, over the centuries agreed on their understanding of the Mark 7 account. They know what Jews think of non-Jews, and what the Syrophoenician woman expects to hear from a Jewish man. "She hasn't changed his mind," White said, but noted that because she pressed on, Jesus commended her faith. "He was testing her faith. He was bringing that up," White said then gave another example from the Gospel books when Jesus did the same. "Many times in the Bible we see Jesus commend people for having faith, such as the woman who reached out, touched Jesus' cloak and was healed. Jesus wasn't dumbfounded when he asked "who touched me" - He knew who it was, of course. He's bringing forth her confession so that he can minister to her." The decision by the National Treasury Management Agency ( NTMA) to drop Davy Stockbrokers as a primary dealer in government bonds has heaped enormous reputational damage on the firm. Yet, it had to be done. It was unthinkable that the NTMA would have allowed Davy to continue to act for the State after the nature and seriousness of what had taken place at the broker. Aside from appearing inevitable it has also set a series of things in motion which could prove fatal to the firms ability to continue to operate with the same size and scale as it did before. This situation could unravel for Davy. Large companies have to ask if the firm isnt suitable to act for the State on sovereign bonds, then is it suitable to act for them. One way of ensuring that doesnt happen would be if the ownership of Davy changed hands. Bank of Ireland hasnt wasted any time making a tentative approach about possible options. It now looks as if the Davy scandal will now move towards change of ownership. There are several scenarios here that could play out and things may well move quickly. Either way a change of ownership should not detract from the important issue of accountability for what happened. The fact that all 16 members of the bond deal consortium are now gone provides little comfort for clients asking whether similar deals to the 2014 bond transaction had happened before. Too many serious questions still remain. And there are questions about the boards judgement in its handling of investigation. How come, when non-executive directors joined the firm in 2016 and were informed of the details of what had happened they did not take further action? The first thing they could have done was to conduct an independent review to find out if anything like this had happened before. Read More Secondly, they should have asked whether senior executives who had engaged in this deal should stay on at the firm. The Central Bank appears to have conducted a thorough investigation but it opted to go for an administrative sanction rather than a heavier more combative approach. I understand that two legal opinions were received by the board from two senior counsel, which suggested that the transaction did not constitute a conflict of interest. How they arrived at that conclusion is puzzling from the outside. Not only because the potential conflict of interest was so obvious but also because the Central Bank reached the conclusion that the transaction clearly breached market rules. Even when the Central Bank made its finding, a statement from the firm was too slow in coming and the resignations took nearly a week. A large block of shares in the firm is now held by people with no direct connection to it. For the Davy executives, it was always about control. Now the likes of Kyran McLaughlin, Brian McKiernan and Barry Nangle have gone, a large block of shares in the firm is held by people with no direct connection to it. This could trigger a change of ownership in the short term. McKiernan, McLauglin and Nangle together held close to 30pc of the group. Among senior Davy executives for decades control was a big part of the culture. Even when Davy was 90pc-owned by Bank of Ireland, with the remaining 10pc held by senior executives, the small group who ran it, controlled 51pc of the voting rights. This unusual structure changed in 2006 when management bought out Bank of Irelands interest in an MBO at the top of the Celtic Tiger boom. Will McKiernan, McLaughlin and Co be happy to sit at home and let others run the firm in which they have shareholdings worth tens of millions of euro? This seems highly unlikely. However, if they were to sell their shares in the short term they would be seen as forced sellers and unlikely to get the price they might believe the shares are worth. Alternatively, if the reputational damage to Davy persists or spreads to other parts of the group with a loss of institutional clients, they might be better to sell sooner rather than later. The Central Bank made recommendations to Government about an executive accountability regime, which requires new legislation, back in 2017. It hasnt happened yet. The regulator has some existing powers to pursue individuals such as an inquiry under 1942 legislation. This mechanism has been used in recent years in the cases of Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) and two former executives of Quinn Insurance Liam McCaffrey and Kevin Lunney. It hasnt led to very much. The INBS inquiry hasnt been completed. In the Quinn Insurance case, the Central Bank heard evidence from Liam McCaffrey and Kevin Lunney in public sittings, prior to the latters violent abduction. Eventually, a settlement agreement was reached with both men and no details were provided as to what was in it. We are none the wiser about who is or isnt to blame for the collapse of an insurance company that will cost us over 1bn. There are other avenues that could be pursued if the Office of Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) or the Gardai felt it was warranted. The Central Bank could apply to the High Court to have an inspector appointed to Davy. Davy has said it will initiate an independent review of what happened and its wider implications. Interim chief executive Bernard Byrne promised the companys 700-strong staff that it would move quickly to try to address failings that resulted in the firm getting fined 4.1m. It will take more than an overdue review to achieve that. Youll see it on my financial disclosure," Cuomo said of the annual filing he and other state employees have to file with a state ethics agency. That wont be until at least May 15, assuming the deadline for reporting on outside income, stock holdings and other information isnt pushed back until the late summer, as it was last year, because of the Covid pandemic. Cuomo, by law, had to get a letter of approval to receive the outside income that the book deal would bring him. That came from the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, or JCOPE. The agency said it could not, by law, release the letter, but that Cuomo could make it public. On Tuesday, six Democrats in the Legislature who have previously called on Cuomo to resign in the wake of the scandals wrote Cuomo demanding that he release all documents, including the contract, related to his book deal. They said they want to ensure that no violations of the state's gift ban law occurred. Officials in Cuomos office last August said the ethics clearance was sought and obtained, but they declined to release it. The daughter of a Holocaust survivor says she is "grateful" a Co Down toy owner has listened to public calls and removed stickers displaying the swastika from the store window. Crumtons toy shop in Bangor town centre had displayed the symbols as part of toy model display depicting Nazi Germany's Afrika Korps. It has been reported the store, which stressed it had not intended to cause offence, and has since removed the stickers from its window display. The Afrika Korps emblem was a swastika in front of a palm tree and it is emblazoned on the sticker in the shop window. It was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. A concerned mother told the Stephen Nolan show on Radio Ulster on Thursday that she had been alarmed as witnessing it and described it as "completely inappropriate". "I was walking past the other day and [the shop] had changed their window display, and I have to add it is about war, some sort of war toys that are out, but the symbolism for it is actually a swastika in front of a palm tree," she said. "There was two larger stickers larger than my hands, and I mean, I don't know anyone else but I was quite surprised to see it and I was with my children at the time." She continued: "Even my son, he's nine years old, he was shocked and even he knew it was a bad symbol." The mother added that she was concerned that a child may unwittingly copy the symbol in books at home after seeing it displayed at a toy shop. The Logo that was on display in the Crumtons Bangor toy shop window. The owner has removed it after questions from Nolan show , saying no offence was intended & said he was a military model maker displaying the Africa Corp logo solely for purposes of Scale Models Hobby pic.twitter.com/vB6PmGrz4P Stephen Nolan (@StephenNolan) March 11, 2021 "I just didn't think it was right and I know he [the store owner] said it was a symbol for some sort of army troop toy he had which was based in the 1930s, or 1920s, that wasn't to do with the Nazi swastika.," added the mother. "But the problem is that in current times when know that that it is to do with Nazis and white supremacists.... I just think it's completely inappropriate." Nolan said the store informed the show that as a military model maker, the display of the Afrika Korps logo here was "solely for the purposes of scale models hobby which is part of a large diorama in the window. There is, or was, no intention to offend anyone". Dr Katy Radford, who is a member of the executive council of the Northern Ireland Jewish Community and whose mother survived the Holocaust, told the Belfast Telegraph that the decision to remove the stickers is "probably not a bad decision". "It's obviously caused concern to the mother and enough for her to want to engage in a conversation about it," she explained. Dr Radford added that she was "grateful" to the store owner for removing the emblems, saying they had displayed "sensitivity" on the matter, adding she also praised political representatives who voiced concerns over the issue. North Down Alliance MP Stephen Farry, whose constituency office is on the same street as the toy shop, had stated that he would report the store to the authorities if the stickers remained on display. However, he stressed that he did not believe the owner wished to offend anyone. Dr Radford stressed that she hoped going forward hate crime, which is currently specifically not legislated for here and is the subject of a major judicial review of proposed legislation, could provide "good practice" on how instances like these are handled. "It seems to me that if the shop owner has addressed it then we need to recognise and congratulate her or him for responding to distress," she added. CLEARWATER, Fla., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- (ISC) the world's largest nonprofit association of certified cybersecurity professionals today announced that capacity for more than 100 students is now available through December 2021 for the University of Mary Washington's (UMW) (ISC)2 cybersecurity certification preparation course. The program is formatted for evening and weekend classes to provide high quality cybersecurity education to working professionals who require schedule flexibility. Launched in 2020 in part through a $110,000 grant from the Virginia Initiative for Growth and Opportunity (GO Virginia), the UMW program is led by authorized (ISC)2-certified instructors, based on authorized (ISC)2 course material and delivered in a 12-week, 40-hour noncredit course. The course provides a thorough review of the (ISC)2 Common Body of Knowledge (CBK), including the eight domains that the CISSP exam is based on. Throughout the course, participants have the opportunity to read, discuss and complete exercises that will help them to identify areas where they need to focus more attention and areas that they have satisfied as they prepare for the exam. "The tremendous success of our cybersecurity program is a core enabler of the development of the technology and security talent pipeline here in Virginia," said Kimberly Young, executive director of continuing and professional studies, UMW. "The continued demand for our program has prompted new registration availability this year and demonstrates a strong return on our investment in the (ISC)2 IAP program, funded by the state's efforts to increase the cybersecurity talent pool in the region and spur on economic growth." Through its International Academic Program, (ISC) works with academic and higher education institutions around the world to support their cybersecurity curriculum development, teaching and course creation initiatives for cyber, information, infrastructure and software security. Developed to equip graduates and academic staff with much-needed cybersecurity skills, this program provides access to the professional knowledge maintained by (ISC)'s certified membership of practicing professionals and prepares the next generation of IT security professionals. "Our academic partnership with UMW provides a differentiator for the university as well as for Virginia by using authorized (ISC)2 courseware that students can be confident in as the basis for its program," said Greg Clawson, vice president of sales and marketing, (ISC)2. "Filling the workforce shortage requires programs on various fronts that will create opportunities and new pathways to this rewarding and vital profession. These types of educational opportunities are important whether the students are security professionals looking to advance their careers, or those in other fields trying to make a transition." Advantages of the (ISC) IAP North America Program include: Authorized (ISC) course material An industry-leading certification program added to an academic institution's curriculum Increased marketability of university curriculum and degrees Opportunity to focus on the skills and knowledge needed to pursue an industry certification examination The UMW grant was part of more than $6.7 million in funding announced by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in 2019 for seven regional projects in support of entrepreneurship, workforce and talent-development initiatives. To register for UMW's (ISC)2 cybersecurity course while seats are still available, go to: https://www.umw.edu/cissp. To learn more about the course overview, watch this video: https://youtu.be/JYomjcsSlS4. To read more about the (ISC)2 International Academic Program, please visit: https://www.isc2.org/IAP About (ISC) (ISC) is an international nonprofit membership association focused on inspiring a safe and secure cyber world. Best known for the acclaimed Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, (ISC) offers a portfolio of credentials that are part of a holistic, pragmatic approach to security. Our membership, more than 150,000 strong, is made up of certified cyber, information, software and infrastructure security professionals who are making a difference and helping to advance the industry. Our vision is supported by our commitment to educate and reach the general public through our charitable foundation The Center for Cyber Safety and Education. For more information on (ISC), visit www.isc2.org, follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook and LinkedIn. 2021 (ISC) Inc., (ISC), CISSP, SSCP, CCSP, CAP, CSSLP, HCISPP, CISSP-ISSAP, CISSP-ISSEP, CISSP-ISSMP and CBK are registered marks of (ISC), Inc. Media Contact: Brian Alberti Corporate Public Relations Manager (ISC) [email protected] (617) 510-1540 SOURCE (ISC)2 Related Links http://www.isc2.org Mainstream Media Helps Create Mass Hysteria to Instigate Radical Changes to American Society Commentary We live in an age in which political elites are deliberately creating mass hysteria through the corporate-owned mainstream media by relentlessly pushing false narratives to foment drastic changes in American society. To take away cherished constitutional rights from ordinary citizens, the elite class must first put those citizens in a state where many of them wont only allow the stripping of their rights, but will also hand them over willingly. And the most effective state the citizens can be put into so they will embrace the sacrificing of their rights is that of fear. As time has passed in the year since the CCP virus pandemic began, more evidence continues to emerge that certain political and media entities took advantage of the virus outbreak to advance their own control and agendas. While you would like to think that no one would be callous enough to use a viral outbreak to advance their own political fortunes and increase their power over the lives of their fellow citizens, unfortunately, facts are surfacing that this is exactly what many officeholders at the local, state, and federal level have done. And these people have made excellent use of their media allies in selling narratives to induce the required state of fear and mass hysteria that would allow them to make changes to American society. In a time of calm and rational debate, they wouldnt be able to achieve many of their goals. False Media-Driven Perceptions Versus Reality The public perception of whats happening in the United States and the reality of whats occurring are often two vastly different things. Many Americans long ago became aware that the mainstream media stopped trying to neutrally report the facts on vital public issues and is now, instead, actively trying to achieve preferred political outcomes by presenting slanted narratives disguised as news coverage. Corporate news media publish false narratives while being fully aware theyre false. Their goal isnt to report accurate information; its to achieve the correct political outcome. This makes them propagandists, not journalists. Lets look at a few of the false narratives pushed on the public through the mainstream media to foment drastic change in American society in just the past year. Police Kill Thousands of Unarmed Black Men Each Year A false perception has been successfully created that has led to a large number of people believing that between 1,000 and 10,000 unarmed black men are being killed by law enforcement every year in the United States. From journalist Andy Ngo on Twitter: Nearly half of the surveyed liberals estimated between 1,000 & 10,000 unarmed black men were killed in 2019 by American police. The actual number is 27. BLM-Antifa play on this ignoranceexacerbated by biased mediato incite political violence & uprisings. Violent rioting was allowed to continue for days and sometimes even weeks in some of Americas biggest cities in the past year, as activist groups such as Black Lives Matters (BLM) claimed that the destruction was justified in the face of so many unarmed black men being slaughtered by police. Incredibly, as the rioting was going on and local authorities in these cities struggled to maintain order, loud calls to defund the police were amplified by the media, and several cities took action to cut funding from their police departments. And yet the narrative being used to justify the riots and the defunding of the police simply isnt true. As far back as the data can be examined, theres no year in which police officers killed even 100 unarmed black men in the United States, much less 1,000. But by the time most Americans realize theyve been had by yet another false narrative, the political activists will have achieved most, if not all, of the changes they sought. Masks Didnt Work (Until They Suddenly Did) One of the biggest examples of a false narrative driven by the elite class through mainstream media over the past year has been regarding masks and mask mandates. Both Surgeon General Jerome Adams and Dr. Anthony Fauci stated early on that masks didnt help stop the spread of the CCP virus, before they both reversed themselves. (Screenshot via Twitter) Many of the highly visible people who spent the earliest period of the pandemic telling everyone that masks didnt work and to stop wearing them later claimed they had said that for good reasons. They patted the American public on the head condescendingly and said, We lied to you to keep you from buying up all the masks so there would be some for our frontline medical workers. But now that there are enough masks, put them on and be quiet. How many times do you get to lie to people for their own good before they no longer trust anything you say? The War Against Hydroxychloroquine The moment then-President Donald Trump touted the drug hydroxychloroquine at a press conference, a national campaign to attack the drug as unsafe and dangerous was instantly launched as a direct counterresponse. The campaign included the absurd claim that Trump had advocated people directly inject themselves with disinfectant, something he never said. A drug that has been widely available since the 1950s and taken by millions of people worldwide for decades to prevent illnesses such as malaria (pdf) or to treat rheumatoid arthritis was suddenly called incredibly dangerous, and doctors were no longer allowed to prescribe it. Part of the confusion over the drug stemmed from media claims that as a miracle cure, it didnt work when given to patients severely ill with COVID-19, when, instead, Trump and many medical doctors had originally touted it as being preventative and able to defeat the virus in the early stages of infection. Tale That Trump Incited Jan. 6 Insurrection One of the latest false narratives enthusiastically pushed by the mainstream media is that Trump incited an insurrection at the Capitol building while a joint session of Congress was engaged in counting the electoral votes. Despite the many holes in that narrative, Democrats pushed through a second impeachment of Trump in the House and forced a farce of a show trial in the Senate, which ended with Trump being acquitted. Trump is now gone from the White House, but many people in this country are conditioned to believe whatever their leaders tell them to believe. Theyve been conditioned to do whatever their leaders tell them to do, no matter how absurd or contradictory it might be. This isnt how Americans are supposed to live. Orwells 1984 Has Come to America Watching this travesty unfold in my country over the past year brought to mind The Party of George Orwells perceptive novel, 1984. The Truth is whatever The Party is currently telling you it is today. What The Party told you yesterday no longer matters and is to be forgotten. When The Party told Americans that masks worked, they put them on. When The Party then told Americans that the masks didnt work, they took them off. When The Party went on to tell them they had been lied to and to put the masks back on and keep them on, they obeyed. Thats always been the point, you see. There was no failure to communicate. They are now the perfect subjects. They are conditioned to obey. They truly love The Party. They have come to love Big Brother. 1984 is no longer a fiction novel. Were living it today. The only question is how long until enough of the American public stops listening to the lies of Big Brother? How long until enough Americans no longer obey The Party? Brian Cates is a writer based in South Texas and author of Nobody Asked For My Opinion But Here It Is Anyway! He can be reached on Telegram at t.me/drawandstrikechannel. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Victorian government is giving 40,000 Australians travel coupons worth $200 if they holiday within the state's borders. Registrations for vouchers will open on Friday for Victorians who spend money on accommodation, tours or attractions in Melbourne from March 19 to May 16. The initiative is an add-on to an existing travel voucher scheme which is giving 10,000 Victorians $400 for regional trips taken from April 6 to May 31. Tens of thousands of Australian's will be eligible for $200 travel coupons as part of a state government initiative to encourage tourism (Stock) Registrations for vouchers will open from Friday for Victorians who spend money in Melbourne on accommodation, tours or attractions from March 19 to May 16 (Stock) VIC TRAVEL VOUCHER SCHEME Metropolitan Melbourne - 40,000 vouchers worth $200 each available Registrations Open: March 12, 10am Eligible Travel Period: March 19 - May 16 Claim period and cut-off date: April 16 - May 30 Regional Victoria - 10,000 vouchers worth $400 each available Registrations Open: March 30, 10am Eligible Travel Period: April 6 - May 31 Claim period and cut-off date: May 10 - June 14 Advertisement The project is designed to support local tourism as the federal government's JobKeeper supplement comes to an end on March 28. In order to be eligible for the rebate, travellers must spend a minimum of $400 on at least two nights accommodation, plus tours and attractions in metropolitan Melbourne. Each household is eligible for one voucher and must provide evidence of the spent money, which will be reimbursed after you have taken the trip. Gaming, alcohol (unless it is included in a tour), fuel, food and drink, groceries, personal items and transport costs are not included. The existing regional travel scheme has been taken up by residents and inspired the Melbourne vouchers. The state is giving out $400 coupons for regional travel for the third time, and registration will open on March 30. Both offers are first in best served and Victorians are encouraged to get in quick as the last round for regional vouchers ended after only 20 minutes. People can apply for vouchers on the Service Victoria website. The scheme is an add-on to already existing regional travel voucher scheme which has been extended to include 10,000 $400 tokens for Victorians travelling intrastate from April 6 to May 31 (Stock) Both offers are first in best served and Victorians are encouraged to get in quick as the last round for regional vouchers ended after only 20 minutes (pictured) The initiative follows a $1.2billion federal package which will discount a million airline tickets, to go on sale on April 1. Pictured: Qantas Airbus A330 Airliner in 2013 The initiative follows a $1.2billion federal package which will discount a million airline tickets, to go on sale on April 1. Interstate tickets to and from 13 holiday hotspots will be subsidised by the federal government until July 31 and airlines will ramp up their flight schedules to deal with an expected surge in demand over the next three months. Locations on offer include the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (including Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast and Lasseter. Flights will also land in Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island. Some 57 routes will be covered on the Qantas and Jetstar network, CEO Alan Joyce said on Thursday morning. Almost a million airline tickets will be go on sale at half price on April 1 under a $1.2billion package to boost the ailing the tourism sector. Flights to the Gold Coast (pictured) could be as cheap as $49 The discount means a return ticket from Sydney to Cairns which currently costs $233 could be as little as $116.50. The discount only applies to inter-state travel, not intra-state flights - but these could later be added to the scheme which is expected to evolve to match demand. The government expects an average of 46,000 people per week - a total of about 800,000 - will fly on the subsidised flights. 'I think it also is an incentive for the states to keep their borders open. And that's important, because we can't keep on going through the yoyo of the ups and downs of that,' Qantas boss Mr Joyce said. Mr Joyce said he expects 22 of 25 Qantas international routes to restart in October alongside all 13 Jetstar routes -but he's prepared to start earlier or wait longer depending on the Covid-19 situation. Also in the package, companies getting JobKeeper payments will be offered a government-backed 10-year loan of up to $5million, with no repayments due for two years. Some 350,000 employees now on JobKeeper could have their wages subsidised by the loans if their company decides to take one. Prime Minster Scott Morrison said the package was Australia's 'ticket to recovery'. 'This will take more tourists to our hotels and cafes, taking tours and exploring our backyard,' he said. 'That means more jobs and investment for the tourism and aviation sectors as Australia heads towards winning our fight against Covid-19 and the restrictions that have hurt so many businesses. Mr Ottens died in his hometown of Duizel last weekend, his family has announced. No cause of death was given Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor who created the first cassette tape, has died aged 94. The engineer died in his hometown of Duizel last weekend, his family has announced. No cause of death was given. Mr Ottens created the first cassette tape in 1963, and an estimated 100 billion have been sold around the world since. His invention revolutionised the way people would go on to listen to music and allowed audiophiles, for the first time ever, to listen to music on the move. The humble tape cassette, now consigned to the history books in favor of digital alternatives, gave people freedom to create mixtapes and allowed all members of society to access all genres of music. Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor who created the first cassette tape, has died aged 94. Mr Ottens created the first cassette tape in 1963 Cassette tape resurgence in popularity In December 2020, the British Phonographic Industry announced it expected 157,000 cassette tapes to be sold in Britain in 2020. This is more than twice the figure for 2019 and the highest number since 2003, when 243,000 tapes were sold and Now 54 was the year's biggest seller on the format. 2020's resurgence also marks the eighth consecutive year in which tape sales have grown in the UK. It is believed its booming sales are due to Gen Z popularising the device as retro and making it desirable again as a novelty. Advertisement Mr Ottens became head of Philips' product development department in 1960 and he and his team set about developing the cassette tape. His team of engineers were tasked with converting the bulky reel-to-reel tape recorders of the era into a more portable and consumer-friendly gadget. The end result was the cassette tape. The then 37-year-old engineer presented the tape at the Berlin Radio electronics fair (now known as IFA Berlin) on August 30, 1963. It was a quarter of the size of previous roll-to-roll cartridges and marketed as being 'smaller than a pack of cigarettes'. Speaking in an interview long after his retirement, he said he wanted to make the cassette because he 'got annoyed with the clunky, user-unfriendly reel to reel system, it's that simple'. Speaking in a 2013 interview with Time magazine to mark the 50th anniversary of the tape's inception, he said it was a 'sensation' from the moment it was unveiled. The invention from the brain of Mr Ottens helped spur on the cultural revolution of the 60s, a decade remembered for its upheaval of the status quo. Its unveiling in Berlin two years after the erection of the Berlin Wall occurred just two days after Martin Luther king Jr gave his now iconic 'I Have a Dream' speech. The invention of the tape was, and always will be, intrinsically linked to this period of societal growth. As the Vietnam War was raging and long-haired, flare-wearing anti-war campaigners known as 'Hippies' emerged, so too did Beetle-Mania, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Messages of peace and songs of hope were shared and enjoyed by more people than was ever possible in decades past due to the tape cassette. Mixtapes became a language of love, a novel medium allowing for newfound levels of self-expression, while giving musicians a new way to commercialise and distribute their product to the masses. Professor Raymond Macdonald, a music psychology expert at Edinburgh University, believes that portable cassettes even changed the way people thought about themselves. Speaking to The Guardian, he explained: 'Before going out and travelling with our music, we could now make psychological choices. How do I feel right now? How do I want to feel in five minutes? What kind of music is going to help me reach these goals? And if I'm on the train, who will overhear what I'm playing? 'The cassette suddenly became a representation of your whole personality, a tool to make someone else feel the emotions that you feel. It also helped people create new narratives out of the music they liked, and by extension, of their lives. The cassette taught people a new kind of self-medicated therapy.' The music revolution took another leap forward in 1979 when Sony released the Walkman, a truly portable cassette player which took the world by storm. Mr Ottens himself called this the 'ideal application' for his invention and cites the fact Sony not Phillips created it as one of his professional regrets. Mr Ottens' team of engineers were tasked with converting the bulky reel-to-reel tape recorders of the era into a more portable and consumer-friendly gadget. The end result was the cassette tape. Pictured, Italian film star Ornella Muti with cassettes Before tape cassettes were created, reel-to-reel devices were used for recordings, but these were difficult to use and required a level of training and expertise. In 1958, RCA created the first cartridge which integrated the reel-to-reel tape into a single self-contained body. These were five inches tall and seven inches long but were expensive and a flop. Mr Ottens struck a deal with Philips and Sony that saw his cassette model become patented. But the true revolution came in 1979 when Sony released the Walkman, the truly portable cassette player which took the world by storm. Mr Ottens called this the 'ideal application' for his invention and cites the fact Sony not Phillips created it as one of his regrets Timeline of the tape 1870s - Oberlin Smith develops a theory of magnetic recording 1898 - First successful magnetic recording device is patented by Valdemar Poulsen 1926 - Lou Ottens is born in Bellingwolde, Netherlands 1928 - First patent granted to apply magnetic powder to film by Fritz Pfleumer 1935 - Magnetophon K1 is created by AEG. It is the first reel-to-reel tape recorder 1935 - BASF creates first tape for the Magnetophon 1958 - RCA Cartridge launched 1959 - Fidelipac (NAB cartridge) is manufactured 1963 - Lou Ottens and his team at Phillips reveal the first compact tape cassette in Berlin 1965 - 8-track launches and is wildly popular in the US and UK 1968 - First cassette made for Hi-Fi is launched, the TDK Super Dynamic 1979 - Sony launches the iconic Walkman 1982 - Compact Disk (CD) is released Advertisement In 1959, Collins Radio made the Fidelipac - another cartridge which was used by broadcasters, but had limited appeal to the general public. But Ottens and Phillips made the compact cassette a quarter of the size which allowed them to be played on battery-powered devices instead of needing a mains connection. Due to the public furore over this novel way of recording and listening to music, in an era where vinyl records and the radio were the only way for people to hear their favourite songs, several Japanese companies started reproducing similar versions of the cassette. Mr Ottens as result was forced to strike a deal with Sony that led to his model being patented. Cassette tapes were initially relatively poor quality and showed low fidelity. As a result, its usage was mainly confined to voice recording and dictation. But gradual improvements to the tape, materials and hardware led to high fidelity cassettes and players which could be used for music. Despite the domination of the Walkman, Mr Ottens and his team at Phillips in the 1980s set about on the next era of portable audio the compact disk (CD). The CD went on to supercede the tape as the go-to form of mobile music and replaced it in boomboxes, car stereos and household Hi-Fi systems. More than 200 billion CDs have now been sold worldwide but are falling in popularity due to the advent of MP3 players and streaming. Speaking in 1982, Mr Ottens famously said: 'From now on, the conventional record player is obsolete.' He retired four years later afterwards, concluding a carer in which he spearheaded an audio revolution. Tapes were largely considered obsolete by the mid 90s due to the popularity of CDS, but have enjoyed a recent resurgence. Figures show the number of tapes sold n the UK has increased every year for the last eight years. More than 150,000 were sold in 2020, more than double the previous year. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said the most popular titles released on cassette in 2020 were Lady Gagas Chromatica, 5 Seconds Of Summers Calm, which to date is the years fastest-seller, Yungbluds Weird, and The 1975s Notes On A Conditional Form. An altercation between two men at the Huggins Honda dealership in North Richland Hills on Wednesday afternoon led to one of them opening fire, police said. No one was injured and the man who fired the gun was arrested, according to Carissa Katekaru, a spokesperson for North Richland Hills police. His identity and the charges hes facing will be released once hes had an opportunity to see a judge, Katekaru said in an email Wednesday afternoon. Police received a report of shots fired at the Honda dealership, located at 7551 NE Loop 820, around 12:45 p.m., Katekaru said. Officers found the man and took him to North Richland Hills Jail. Police determined, through an initial investigation, the man who fired the gun and another man were involved in a confrontation prior to the gunshots, Katekaru said. BASEL, Switzerland, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nouscom, a clinical stage immuno-oncology biotech developing next generation viral-vector based immunotherapies, today announces it has received approval from the Spanish National Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (Agencia Espanola de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS)) to start a Phase 1b trial of its personalized cancer immunotherapy, NOUS-PEV. NOUS-PEV will be investigated in the study as a potential treatment for patients with either locally advanced 1L melanoma or 1L non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NOUS-PEV is a personalized vaccine designed for each patient based on selection and prioritization of mutations unique to that patient's tumor. The strategy is based on Nouscom's heterologous prime boost platform underpinning its lead off-the-shelf clinical program NOUS-209, composed of a proprietary non-human adenoviral vector (GAd) and Modified Vaccinia Virus (MVA). Each of the two viral vector systems encodes multiple personalized neoantigens selected with a proprietary algorithm (VENUS[1]), which prioritizes up to 60 mutations that represent the most immunogenic neoantigens. Results from preclinical proof-of-concept studies (published in Nature Communications[2]) demonstrated that a single administration of the GAd vaccine incorporating many neoantigens can eradicate large tumors when combined with checkpoint inhibition such as anti-PD1 or anti-PD-L1 treatment and triples the efficacy of such checkpoint inhibitors. The preclinical results also demonstrated strong and broad CD8+ and CD4+ neoantigen-specific T cell responses following vaccination, which are known to be indicative of a clinical anti-tumor effect. The new Phase 1b trial will evaluate the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy per RESIST 1.1 criteria of NOUS-PEV in combination with the anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab in 28 patients with either locally advanced 1L melanoma or 1L NSCLC expressing more than 50% PD-L1. This multicenter trial will be conducted in Spain and other European countries. Patricia Delaite, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Nouscom, said: "We have generated exciting pre-clinical data, which demonstrated the ability of NOUS-PEV to present multiple cancer neoantigens to the immune system and promote potent and broad immune responses. The enhanced anti-tumor effects seen by combining NOUS-PEV with checkpoint inhibitors suggests these two approaches are highly synergistic and could potentially overcome tumor resistance to anti-PD1 immunotherapies to address a high unmet medical need. We look forward to starting this trial in the coming weeks and to generating results that we hope will confirm these exciting results in patients." Dr. Marina Udier, Chief Executive Officer of Nouscom, said: "The regulatory approval of this highly sophisticated study to assess our personalized vaccine NOUS-PEV is another critical milestone for the company. Similar to our lead program, NOUS-209, NOUS-PEV leverages the strength and capacity of our platform based on viral vectors, encoding a large number of neoantigens, with proven robust performance in animal models, which we believe has the potential to translate into real clinical benefits for patients." [1]Vaccine Encoded NeoAg Unrestricted Selection (VENUS) [2]A.M. D'Alise et al. Adenoviral vaccine targeting multiple neoantigens as strategy to eradicate large tumors combined with checkpoint blockade, Nature Communications 2019 About Nouscom Nouscom is a privately held oncology company developing next-generation immunotherapies. Nouscom's proprietary technology platform harnesses the full power of the immune response by combining viral vectored vaccines based on neoantigens with other immunomodulators. Nouscom is currently advancing the clinical development of its programs: NOUS-209 (lead), an off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy for the treatment of MSI solid tumors, and NOUS-PEV, a personalized vaccine in advanced melanoma and lung cancer Nouscom is led by an experienced management team with deep roots in the pharma and biotech industry (Merck, Novartis, Lilly, Johnson and Johnson, Incyte and Okairos (acquired by GSK)), and are veterans in the field of viral vectored vaccines. Nouscom, which was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland with operations in Rome, Italy, is backed by international life sciences investors: 5AM, Abingworth, LSP (Life Sciences Partners) and Versant Ventures. For more information on Nouscom, please visit the company's website at www.nouscom.com Contacts: Nouscom Marina Udier, CEO E : info@nouscom.com T : +41 61 201 1835 Citigate Dewe Rogerson Sylvie Berrebi, Mark Swallow E : nouscom@citigatedewerogerson.com T : +44 (0)20 7638 9571 SOURCE Nouscom New Delhi, March 11 : The Border Security Force (BSF) has handed over two minors to Bangladesh after they entered Indian territory with the intent of earning money. The two minors -- Milan Ali (12) and Sudeep Hussain (12)-- were apprehended by the patrol team of the BSF around 1.50 p.m. on Wednesday near Border Outpost Rangiapota in West Bengal along with wheat bran sack weighing approximately 55 kg. The minors were held approximately 50 metres from the International Border and 600 metres from the Border Outpost. The BSF said that they had entered the Indian territory with the intent of earning money. "The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) along with their parents approached the BSF for taking them over. As the apprehended persons were minors, considering humanitarian ground and as a goodwill gesture the apprehended minors were handed over to their parents in the presence of the BGB and a member or pradhan of village Rangiapota during the flag meeting," said the BSF. A member of Congress is calling for U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, among others, to be investigated for their roles in the Jan. 6 protests that led to Trump supporters occupying the Capitol for several hours that ultimately led to five deaths. Its the latest in a series of protests raised over Brooks, a Republican from Huntsville, and his fiery speech early in the giant rally in support of former President Donald Trump that morning on a day when Congress was meeting to give final approval to the 2020 election results. Brooks has defended his speech, saying his use of his since-much quoted kicking ass phrase was a reference to the 2022 and 2024 elections. He has also denied any role in influencing the crowd to storm the Capitol hours after his speech. Related: Mo Brooks knows no fear: Republicans rally for embattled Alabama congressman Related: Huntsville mayor offers no support to Mo Brooks: Words have meaning U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, issued a press release Wednesday calling for Brooks, as well as Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert and Arizona Republican Paul Gosar, to be investigated by the House Committee on Ethics and the Office of Congressional Ethics for their involvement in instigating and aiding the deadly attack at the Capitol that took place on January 6. Any appropriate findings should be turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice, Jayapal said in the press release. Its just another effort by the socialists to engage in depression of First Amendment rights, Brooks said in an interview Thursday. The allegations are as they have been shown to be false and scurrilous and motivated strictly for partisan political gain. Brooks, along with Boebert and Gosar, have maintained that results of the election should have been overturned in favor of Trump. It is critical for the functioning of Congress and therefore the functioning of our democracy that this investigation is conducted, Jayapal said in the press release. I urge the House Committee on Ethics and the Office of Congressional Ethics to thoroughly investigate Representatives Boebert, Brooks, and Gosars conduct, and refer any appropriate findings to the Department of Justice. Preceding Jayapal seeking an investigation into Brooks has been a series of other objections from Democrats: The resolutions were referred to the House ethics committee, which has not yet taken any action. Brooks has not yet filed a response to Swalwells lawsuit, though he described it on Twitter as frivolous. The Republican Accountability Project, a GOP group that opposed Trumps allegation that the election was rigged, also announced Jan. 29 a $1 million billboard campaign that called for, among others, Brooks to resign. Jayapals letter to the ethics committees regarding Brooks gave a timeline of events, citing Brooks comments to AL.com and other media outlets as well as messages posted on his Twitter account. The letter closes with I urge the committee to thoroughly investigate Representative Brooks conduct and refer any appropriate findings to the Department of Justice. Updated today, March 11, 2021, at 12:09 p.m. with comment from Brooks. Jason Sheehy was so excited to call over to his grandmothers house in the Grove, Dingle, to deliver a slice of cake after his virtual graduation ceremony last November. Nobody was home so he rang her mobile as she was always contactable on the phone. She told him there was nothing to worry about but she had gone to hospital with a pain in her hip and had been diagnosed with a hairline fracture. Sadly, Hannah Sheehy would never return to her beloved Co Kerry home. She contracted Covid-19 in the local community hospital and lost her life to the virus on January 27. She was 90 years of age but she had a lot left to give, Jason said. People often dismiss the elderly, especially when they are a good age, but my grandmother had so much time left in her. She was robbed of many more years of her life. Its a narrative which has been upsetting for the thousands of grandchildren who have lost their grandfather or grandmother in the pandemic. The statistics show that 93pc of all Covid-19 reported deaths in Ireland were among those aged 65 and over. Many had underlying conditions, but the heartbreaking reality is that the majority would still be alive had it not been for coronavirus. We didnt get to be by her side and thats the killing part, Jason said. Theyre taken from their bed and put straight into a body bag. The coffin was sealed and she was never to be seen by us again. Theres no real closure. Hannah was someone who was always on the go before the pandemic. She loved her bingo on the weekends and often dined out in the family eatery, Sheehys Anchor Down Restaurant. She usually went there on a Sunday night and had the fishcakes and shed have to wash it down with a slice of apple and berry pie and a cup of tea, he said. The tea had to be there at the same time or shed be twisting her head at me if it wasnt on the way. Their last outing together was at the family restaurant in September, when Hannah celebrated her 90th birthday. She initially didnt want to make a fuss but decided on the day she wanted to go out for dinner. It was all very last minute and I remember my mam rushing in to Tralee to get some 90th birthday balloons, but she was so happy. Thats the sad thing, she had been so good and well over the last couple of years. Im so glad we had that last family meal together. A mother to six sons, the family often joked that maybe a girl might have taken some of the pressure off, but she loved her grandchildren and children equally. We are all suffering, I understand it is taking its toll on everyone, but you have to think of the elderly. Anne Doyle from Rathfarnham, Dublin, also lost her 92-year-old grandmother and namesake to Covid-19 in April last year. Better known as Nancy, she passed away in Marymount Care Centre on April 15 at the height of the first wave. Her granddaughter said its hurtful to see some be dismissive of the elderly or those in nursing homes. You cannot measure someones life by how old they were. On that argument, elderly people shouldnt be entitled to the protection of normal healthcare, by that argument youre opening up the floodgates to say people in their 80s should be denied a place in A&E. It is preposterous. They are people with families and they all matter. Nancy Doyle had three children and five grandchildren and was described as an amazing mother and grandmother. She was very involved in the Rathfarnham community and particularly the local church. On the day of her funeral, neighbours formed a guard of honour on the Ballyboden Road and applauded as she made her final journey. She had loads of friends in the nursing home and was really popular. In high-school terms she definitely would have been the popular girl. Anne, who works as an entertainer, last saw her grandmother in February 2020 before she left for a tour in Germany. It was cancelled in March as the virus began to take hold in Europe and she returned home to Dublin, but sadly due to lockdown restrictions she didnt get to see Nancy again. The initial plan was to have some sort of commemoration or mass on her birthday in October, but that didnt happen due to lockdown. Then we thought we could say a proper goodbye on her one-year anniversary on April 15, but that wont happen now either. After a difficult year for her family, Anne said there is now some hope after her other 88-year-old grandmother received her first dose of the vaccine. Im supposed to be taking her for her second jab on Easter Saturday, which is sadly ironic as we lost Nancy around Easter last year. It is a bittersweet feeling. 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 former Trussville police officer has been arrested on a felony sexual misconduct charge. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the arrest of David Wayne Montgomery, 51, of Orange Beach. Montgomery surrendered to the Jefferson County Jail Wednesday. He was booked into the county lockup at 6:28 p.m. and released at 7:06 p.m. after posting $15,000 bond Marshalls office presented evidence to a Jefferson County grand jury, resulting in Montgomerys indictment on Feb. 23. Specifically, the indictment charges him with one count of custodial sexual misconduct by engaging in sexual conduct with a female inmate in the custody of the Trussville City Jail. Additional details have not yet been made public. Montgomery resigned in November 2019 while he was under investigation, said Sgt. Adam Filetti. If convicted, Montgomery faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000 for custodial sexual misconduct for the Class C felony. This story will be updated if more information is made available. To the Editor: Re Those Vaccinated Can Be Maskless in Small Groups (front page, March 9): The new C.D.C. guidelines for vaccinated people are wonderful news, as my wife and I will now be able to see our families and friends, and even begin to travel again. I have not seen my first and only grandson since he was born in June last year, and I cannot wait to hold him in my arms again! While we have been fully vaccinated, we still wear masks when we venture out. But the C.D.C. guidelines are a game changer, and family and friends are awaiting the joys of hugging and kissing once again. During this time of social distancing I have had much time to think about the things I miss the most. On the top of that list are hugs male hugs and female hugs, hugs with my family, my friends and co-workers, hugs for and from those suffering unspeakable losses caused by the coronavirus. The vaccines are a miracle, and we need everyone possible to get the shots, because as we approach and reach herd immunity, the more normal our lives will be, and the more people we can safely hug. Henry A. Lowenstein Newport, R.I. Josh Hawley Isnt My Kind of Missourian Facebook has scrapped plans to connect California, Taiwan and Hong Kong via a 12,000 kilometer underwater cable, citing tensions between the U.S. and China. The social media giant told the Wall St. Journal, which broke the story, it was halting the project due to political pressure from the U.S. government, which noted potential national security concerns. "Due to ongoing concerns from the U.S. government about direct communication links between the United States and Hong Kong, we have decided to withdraw our [Federal Communications Commission] application," a Facebook spokesperson said. "We look forward to working with all the parties to reconfigure the system to meet the concerns of the U.S. government." Governor Gavin Newsom At COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic View Photo Sacramento, CA Governor Gavin Newsoms office reports that California should see a combined $150-billion from the $1.9-trillion federal stimulus package. Approximately half would be in the form of $1,400 direct payments and increased unemployment benefits. In addition, $26-billion will go to the state government to recoup funding for services that required extra money during the pandemic. $16-billion will be split between city and county governments. $15.9 billion will go to schools and $3.6-billion will be set aside to improve contact tracing and vaccination efforts. There will also be money for programs related to things like transit services, childcare and airports. Newsom is planning to announce more specifics about how the money will be allocated in the state when he releases his May-revised budget. Summerville, SC (29483) Today Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially during the afternoon hours. High 83F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Image: Canva We are launching a series on Critical Race Theory. Its an important conversation today, since many are using the description and meaning different things. At the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, we are committed to help Christians know and engage the culture with biblical discernment, so we are launching a conversation with, well, different views. As Christians, we want to think through these things together, and the series will include not just one opinion, but several. We started with a positive framing, and will include others who are more negative, and some in the middle. All will come from evangelicals. And, it is important that we hear from people of color, and, in this series, not all people of color will agree. Its a conversation mature, Christ-like, and God-honoring. We hope it serves you and your church well. To start it off, I asked Sitara Roden from my team to give us a framing article. Now, we are dropping articles, pro, con, and others on a continuum, modeling Christian dialogue and learning. Our first contributor, who will be sharing a three-part article, was Dr. Pat Sawyer, with references to be shared at the conclusion. You can read part one here, part two here, and part three here. Now, we will be hearing from D.A. Horton, as he shares a four-part article of his examination of CRT. You can read part one here and part two here. Pastor Horton is a latino missiologist, academic and author, and his latest book Intensional, delves into ethnic reconciliation. I will share my thoughts at the endof the series. -Ed Stetzer In part-one I shared a brief history and the basic heart of Critical Race Theory (CRT). In parts two and three I will provide a biblical analysis of claims CRT makes in its themes. In part-four I will highlight some blessings and burdens the Evangelical interaction with CRT offers. I pray these articles provide clarity, challenge, and a greater conviction for us as the Body of Christ to move forward in living on Jesus mission through gospel proclamation and demonstration. Counterstories of the Marginalized are Needed Claim: Those who have experienced discrimination should be listened to, learned from, and centered. Biblical Response: Counterstories are the communicated life experiences of the marginalized. The New Testament is full of counterstorytelling. All of the recorded healings during Christs incarnational ministry are counterstories (e.g., Matt 8:1-4; 9:1-8; 32-34; 12:9-14; 26:51-56; Mark 1:21-34; 40-45; 6:53-56; 8:1-10; 10:46-2; Luke 13:10-17; 17:11-19; John 4:1-45) since they involve marginalized people seeking help. Jesus ministry towards them was documented by eyewitnesses. Christians have an opportunity to expand listening, learning, and interaction with those marginalized while also including those with positions of power and privilege (James 1:19). Jesus incarnational ministry is the pattern Christians must follow. He met the needs of the marginalized, those with power and privilege, and oppressors of His own people (Luke 7:1-10; John 4:46-54). Jesus also healed, accepted dinner invitations, and answered the questions of those with privileged positions in Jewish society (Luke 8:40-55; 19:1-10; John 3:1-8). He embodied perfect balance by preaching and practicing the ethics of Gods Kingdom towards men and women of all ages, various careers, ethnicities, social classes, and political/theological affiliations. He listened to them, met their needs to demonstrate He was Messiah and God in the Flesh according to the Scriptures (Luke 24:44). Acts offers evidence how Christians followed Jesus pattern of ministry by meeting physical and spiritual needs of those who were marginalized (3:1-10; 5:12-16; 6:1-7; 16:16-24) and those centered in both Jewish and Roman societies (4:1-22; 8:9-40; 10:30-43; 16:11-40; 17:22-34; 22:30-26:32). All Christians should be given space (by leaders and lay members) to voice concerns, hurts, and trauma, while having confidence theyll be heard, seen, and loved by God and His people. This creates opportunity to apply comfort to the afflicted (2 Cor 1:3-7) while protecting wounded hearts from further damage caused by initial responses that are dismissive, filled cynical cliches, and obsessive fact-checking. Yet, Christians must not be naive assuming ones ethnicity safeguards them from lying. Human hearts are deceitful (Jer 17:9) and remember Paul rebuked Christians for bearing false witness, gossip, and slander (Eph 4:25-32). Christians must yield our dependence on God the Holy Spirit who provides discernment to those He indwells to hear, listen, and respond in step with kingdom ethics when sinful speech is shared (Matt 18:15-20; Gal 6:1-2). At the same time, spaces for processing hurt and trauma, at bare minimum, must be created amongst Gods people in their local church as a means of embodying the one anothers found throughout the New Testament. Being Colorblind is Not Being Truthful Claim: Both the law and people are not colorblind. Biblical Response: The Bible never says God is colorblind. Inside the human race exist multitudes of ethnicities God created out of His genius for His glory. Ethnic diversity is Gods idea. He has the patent on it and licensed His Church to the marketing strategy for it. The City of God is populated by a diversity of ethnicities whore present with our God (Acts 1:8; Eph 2:11-22; Rev 7:9; 21:24-26). Since the local church is a preview of heaven Jesus commands His followers to make disciples of every ethnicity (Matt 28:19-20). Often Galatians 3:28 is used to platform colorblindness among Christians. Paul identifies three visible realties about humans God saves, their ethnicity, gender, and social class. His reason is to show off Gods ability and desire to save humans no matter their bloodline, sex, or financial wherewithal. Notice how Paul does not say Christians become asexual or gender neutral at conversion, nor does he advocate negligent financial stewardship, willful unemployment, or a dissolving of class for Christians after conversion. If gender and social class dont disappear at conversion, why would Christians wrongly imply ethnicity does? Due to my Mexican/Native Indigenous ethnic heritage Ethnocentric cults have called me; Black Man, God, ALLAH[1], A Sephardic Hebrew from the Tribe of Issachar [2], and a Moor whose God is Allah [3] yet, only among Christians have I experienced being told my ethnicity is not seen, not part of my identity in Christ, and something to be seen as worldly. An honest interpretation of Galatians 3:28 recognizes affirming ethnicity is a safeguard to prevent ignoring or idolizing it. Affirming ethnicity is not usurping ones identity in Christ instead, its the truthful acknowledging of a God-given attribute some in the church have opted to ignore to apply colorblindness. Since ethnicity is present in the eternal state (Rev 21:24-26) and since Scripture does not reduce ethnicity to skin color, the long-standing man-made Black/White binary wall of division in America can come crumbling down, starting in the church! The ethnic diversity in the American church is both an evidence of the gospels power and a measurement of Christian obedience to the Great Commission. Moving forward, authentic and ongoing dialogues between all ethnicities present in local churches will platform how colorblindness has been forsaken. Racial Progress is made when White People Benefit Claim: The interests of the marginalized will only be realized when White people benefit. Biblical Response: God sovereignly controls all things from the total of human history to individual experiences in life (Matt 10:29-30; Rom 8:28; Eph 1:11). Nothing done in private, or public goes unseen by God and all good things that are experienced in this life are seen as gifts from God (James 1:17). These truths supply hearts of Christians with rest. Yet, Christians have freedom to pursue justice when a crime or acts of injustice are experienced. The Apostle Paul, who rested in Gods sovereignty also appealed to his rights when he was personally wronged (Acts 16:37-38; 22:25-28). This is the same Paul who reminded Roman citizens living in Philippi they had a greater citizenship in heaven and were to remain trusting in Christ who is sovereign (Phil 3:20-21). Since we live in a fallen world alongside non-Christians, we should not be surprised when sinful people accept bribes, deny justice, cut corners, or look out for their own interests. If and when this happens, Christians must first pray to God for our leaders to repent (1 Tim 2:1-6) while naming the specific ungodly actions theyve practiced and embrace the peace God gives us while were anxious (Phil 4:4-6). Then if God provides a platform to prophetically call out the leaders sin, it should be followed by an appeal extended with gentleness for God to change their heart and actions (2 Tim 2:24-26). In addition, Christians must ensure our actions in private, and public are not in-step with the abusive leaders were calling to repent (Rom 12:9-10; 14-21). Lastly, Christians are free to not obey leaders requests or commands to sin against Gods word (cf. Dan 4:17-32; Acts 5:29). Now, regarding interpersonal relationships among Gods people, its painful when Christians of any ethnicity do not apply Philippians 2:1-11 by looking out for their self-interests. Since Christians are not all-knowing, we dont have the ability to fully know another persons intentions and motives however, these can made known by behavior patterns (Matt 6:1; Rom 8:8 Eph 4:14; James 1:22) and words (Matt 5:22; Eph 4:23-32; James 3:1-12; 1 Pet 3:10). When Christians confront each other regarding habitual self-interest practiced inside the church, Scripture must be used when naming the sin because Gods word exposes whats hidden in our hearts (Heb 4:12-13). In Scripture there are two specific instances regarding interpersonal relationships in the Church where leaders did not look out for their self-interests, confronted wrongdoing and the result was equity for the marginalized. In Acts 6 the Apostles were brought a charge of partiality between Hebrews and Hellenists involving widows inside the beloved community (cf. Exod 22:21-27; Deut 10:17-18). Hebrews and Hellenists had segregated themselves from each other both socially and spiritually [4] but post-Pentecost they entered into the Church together to form the beloved community. During this time in church history, there was no established system of support for Jewish women who were widows and did not adhere to Judaism [5] so, their support was the generosity of Christians. Acts 6:5-6 details the Apostles empowering the people to choose qualified leaders among them. When the congregation presented their list, the elders appointed seven Hellenist men to help distribute the rations fairly among the Hebrew and Hellenist widows. Included in this group were Stephen and Philip who would go on to expand the global Church (cf. Acts 6:8-8:4; 8:5-40). The elders approval of the names on the list was not tokenism rather, a legitimate installment of capable leaders who wouldnt be micromanaged by the elders. When the church removed partiality, it resulted in the establishing of a reputation that reflected Gods love, compassion, and concern for the needy. Acts 6:7 records , And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. In Galatians 2:11-21 Paul opposed Peter to his face regarding his ethnically motivated actions of partiality and Peter, the Apostle stood condemned. Peters actions not only contradicted the actions of Jesus, who openly and publicly engaged in a meaningful conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) and chose to eat with sinners (Luke 15:2). Peters actions were also out of step with the very gospel he preached. Galatians 2:14 recognizes Pauls confrontation was public because Peters actions were public. Paul demonstrated what Christian leaders should model when behavior patterns from other leaders are toxic due to practicing of partiality. Constable says,Peter and Paul both acknowledged the equality of Jews and Gentiles in the church (cf. Acts 11:17). However, it evidently took Peter longer to see the practical implications of this truth, and to apply them to his own conduct.[6] Mclelland adds, clearly Peter gave in to the ethnic bias of the arriving Jewish contingent. It is doubtful that he actually changed his theological view as to the status of Gentiles before God. Obviously, he had not fully thought through how his theology had to adjust his relations with all persons, in spite of the continued bias of some. Peter, it seems, was not alone in this problem of integrating faith with living, since even Barnabas followed his example, as well as other Jews present.[7] Make no mistake, there have been, and still are instances in Church leadership where genuine believers, may sense they are grounded theologically yet, apply ungodly practices that contradict not only what they profess to believe, but more pressing, the very commands of Gods word. In such instances, confession, repentance, and the fruits of repentance must become the focus, as was with Peter, who remind you, was an Apostle. These two examples provide sound preventative measures of CRTs claim from being implemented in local churches. Compassion, equity, and repentance can be embodied by Gods beloved community and when these attributes are seen, it provides a strong kingdom witness to the watching world. D.A. Horton is the author of eight books and currently serves as an Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Intercultural Studies program at California Baptist University. He is also blessed to serve as an Associate Teaching Pastor at The Grove Community Church. He earned his B.S. in Biblical Studies from Calvary Bible College, his Masters Degree in Christian Studies from Calvary Theological Seminary and is working on his Ph.D. in Applied Theology with a North American Missions emphasis at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. [1] The Nation of Gods and Earths identifies those of Latino as brown which is one of the 16 shades of Black that every Original Man, Woman, and Child embody to bear witness as being God Allah in the flesh. Universal Shaamgaud Allah, The Universal Flag, https://ngeinla.weebly.com/the-universal-flag-by-universal-shaamgaud-allah.html [2] The Truth About Mexicans, https://israelunite.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/THE_TRUTH_ABOUT_MEXICANS-ENGLISH.pdf [3] Drew Ali, The Circle Seven Koran, Chapter 45:7; 47:7. [4] Emil Schurer, Alexandrians in Jerusalem, Jewish Encyclopedia, n.p. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1176-alexandrians-in-jerusalem [5] John B. Polhill, Acts. (The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), Volume 26, 179. [6] Thomas Constable, Dr. Constables Notes on Galatians, 2020 edt., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/galatians.pdf, 41. [7] S.E., McClelland, Galatians, In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, Vol. 3, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1995), 1008-1009. If the Pallister government were truly committed to reconciliation, it would have consulted with First Nations before unveiling proposed legislation to ban smoking in indoor places on reserves. If the Pallister government were truly committed to reconciliation, it would have consulted with First Nations before unveiling proposed legislation to ban smoking in indoor places on reserves. Instead, the government unveiled Bill 56 the Smoking and Vapour Products Control Amendment Act last week (it was first introduced in November) without inviting First Nations to the table for their input. No meetings were held with Indigenous leaders prior to the introduction of the bill, nor was any attempt made to work collaboratively to pursue common goals. The bill was drafted unilaterally with no regard for First Nations jurisdiction. Indigenous leaders were not even informed in advance, as a courtesy, that the changes were coming. That is not reconciliation; that is top-down, paternalistic governing. Under the provinces current legislation, rules around smoking and vaping (including advertising and the sale of tobacco) do not apply in areas of federal jurisdiction. Bill 56 eliminates that exemption, including on reserves. Many First Nations have enacted their own rules around tobacco and vaping use, including restrictions on indoor smoking. Arlen Dumas, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said the province does not have jurisdiction to enforce smoking and vaping laws on reserves. The province claims it does, and says all Manitobans should be protected from second-hand smoke, no matter where they live in the province. The Canadian Cancer Society has also come out in favour of the bill, saying Manitoba is the only province that exempts reserves from indoor smoking bans. The group says regulating smoking on reserves is no different than enforcing highway traffic laws. Both are missing the point. This is not about the regulation of smoking and vaping. This is about the provincial governments relationship with Indigenous people and whether it sees First Nations as equal levels of government. If the Pallister government regarded First Nations as partners, the first step in the process would have been to engage in a dialogue. Bilateral talks would have been used to explore ways of improving existing laws around tobacco use and vaping, both on reserve and off. Options may have been considered and solutions found in ways that respect First Nations jurisdiction. The province could have offered support in areas such as smoking cessation programs. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas That is what reconciliation looks like. It is based on mutual respect and a recognition that First Nations have an inherent right to self-government. That right is enshrined in Section 35 of Canadas Constitution and is a principle of international law. One of the goals of reconciliation is to undo federally and provincially imposed laws on First Nations and return to local, pre-colonial decision making. The Pallister governments unilateral imposition of smoking and vaping laws on First Nations undermines that objective. It has left First Nations with no option but to challenge the proposed law in court. The provinces unilateral actions have led to confrontation where collaboration would have been the preferred route. The Pallister government should hold back this bill and consult with First Nations, as it has decided to do with law enforcement regarding a bill that would amend the Police Services Act. Premier Brian Pallister has repeated several times during the pandemic that his government is committed to reconciliation. Its unclear whether the premier fully understands the meaning of the word. Judging by how Bill 56 was drafted and introduced, it appears Mr. Pallister still has much to learn about the journey of reconciliation and the provincial governments role in it. A former mayor in California who gained national attention for running the country's highest-profile experiment with a guaranteed income is joining Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration as an unpaid special advisor. Michael Tubbs, the 30-year-old former mayor of Stockton, will be a special advisor for economic mobility and opportunity. He'll also join the governor's Council of Economic Advisors. 'I can think of no one more dedicated or better equipped to make recommendations to my team and help lead outreach efforts to increase opportunity and entrepreneurship to reduce poverty in California,' Newsom said in a news release. Raised by a single mother while his father has been in prison for most of his life, Tubbs landed a scholarship to Stanford and later was an intern in the Obama White House. He returned to Stockton and was elected to City Council at age 22. He was elected mayor in 2016 at 26, becoming one of the youngest mayors in the country. Michael Tubbs, the 30-year-old former mayor of Stockton, will be a special advisor for economic mobility and opportunity. He'll also join the governor's Council of Economic Advisors California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, said he couldn't think of anyone 'more dedicated or better equipped to make recommendations to my team' than Tubbs, right Tubbs, seen as a rising political star, lost reelection in November and elected to stay in California to work for Newsom He immediately made national news, announcing a privately funded program to find out what happens when 125 low-income people get a guaranteed income of $500 per month for two years. The results of the first year, released last week, showed most people used the money to pay off debt and land full-time jobs. Tubbs was the subject of an HBO documentary and seemed destined for higher office one day. But the political world was shocked when Tubbs was not reelected in November, losing to Kevin Lincoln, a Republican and former Marine who like Tubbs had also returned to Stockton after a stint in Washington. Political observers have been waiting to see what Tubbs does next. Tubbs said he had other opportunities, including a return to Washington. Instead he chose to stay in California and work with Newsom, who will likely face a recall election later this year fueled by anger over his handling of the pandemic. 'This recall is utter nonsense. It's a distraction from the work that's been done,' Tubbs said, citing Newsom signing a bill to give $600 payments to Californians with low and moderate incomes and a program that has renovated hotel rooms for the homeless. 'I was really excited about sort of joining in the middle of a conversation about what type of California do we want to live in.' Tubbs said the job is unpaid because he needed flexibility to work on other projects. He has a memoir scheduled to be published later this year. And he's continuing to work with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, a group of 40 mayors advocating for guaranteed income programs. He said about six local programs are expected to be up and running by the end of summer. Tubbs' stewardship of Stockton, Calif. was the subject of an HBO documentary last year titled Stockton On My Mind A bill pending before the California Legislature would offer a guaranteed income to children who age out of the state's foster program. But Tubbs said his goal is to have the federal government adopt a guaranteed income program at a massive scale, which some estimates have pegged could cost nearly $3 trillion. 'I think the data speaks for itself,' Tubbs said, adding he plans to work with cities to adopt smaller programs 'to really build the case.' As for his political future, Tubbs said he has always viewed politics 'as a means to an end,' saying he's not 'wedded to serving in political office.' 'I'm really motivated, not by position but by the mission of increasing opportunity for all Californians,' he said. The Interpol has issued a red notice to locate and arrest self-styled godman Virender Deo Dixit who has been on the run after being accused of sexually exploiting and confining several women at his fortress-like ashram Ishwariya Adhyatmik Vidyalaya in Delhis Rohini area. The case came to light in June 2017 when two complainants approached the Delhi Police about sexual and physical abuse of women at Adhyatamik Vishwa Vidyalaya in Vijay Vihar area of North Delhi. Over a period of time, the Delhi Police registered three FIRs. File CBI's efforts to nab godman The CBI has ever since not been able to trace him in spite of an Interpol Blue Corner notice and a reward of Rs 5 lakh on him. Virendra Dixit, 79, has been absconding since then and is suspected to be hiding in Nepal. The CBI has also urged citizens to share any information with it on phone 011-24368657, fax 01124368662 and email spstfdel@cbi.gov.in that can lead to the arrest of Virendra Dev Dixit. In February 2018, a lookout circular was issued against him by the agency. How did it come to light? The ashram owned by Virendra Deo Dixit was in news in December 2017 when Delhi Police along with Delhi Commission for Women rescued 40 women from the ashram. A number of complaints were filed against Virendra Deo Dixit by a group of parents who alleged that he was sexually exploiting minor girls in his ashram. After receiving the complaints, the authorities raided the ashram and found that the girls were kept in inhumane conditions. They were confined to small rooms with no sunlight and metal bars blocking the exit. They were fed like animals and were not allowed to meet their family members in the name of religious preaching. File According to sources, the girls were forcefully kept inside the ashram. When they turned 18, they were forced to sign a document stating that they're willingly living in the ashram. What's the entire case? The Delhi High Court in December 2017 had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter and slammed the Delhi Police for not taking any action on various FIRs of girls and women allegedly lured to an ashram in Rohini area on the pretext of spiritual guidance and raped there. The CBI had already filed a charge sheet against Dixit in June 2019 for allegedly raping a minor in his ashram in Rohini and Kampil, Uttar Pradesh in 1999. In the third matter related to allegedly obstructing the work of a high court-appointed committee which went to the ashram on December 19, 2017, the CBI had filed a charge sheet. File What's an Interpol red notice? The Interpol red notice will empower Nepal authorities to locate, arrest and hand over Dixit to India, Hindustan Times quoted an official, who is aware of the development, as saying. An Interpol notice is an international alert circulated by Interpol to communicate information about crimes, criminals, and threats by police in a member state to their counterparts around the world. New Delhi, March 11 : The Indian Air Force plans to raise its second squadron of Rafale fighter jets at Hasimara Air Force base in West Bengal by next month to counter threats from China. Hasimara is a strategic base for IAF operations because of its proximity to Bhutan, the Chumbi Valley where lies a tri-junction between India, Bhutan and China, and Doklam where a standoff took place in 2017. The tri-junction has been a matter of concern for all the three countries. "Second Rafale Squadron is being raised at the next Main Operating Base (MOB) Hasimara in mid April this year," said an Indian Air Force official. The first squadron was raised in Ambala after first batch of five Rafale aircraft landed on July 29, 2020. These aircraft were inducted on September 10 at Ambala Air Base into the 17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron. The Indian Air Force has received 11 jets till now out of the 36 ordered from France. Six more jets are expected to be delivered in a month. The remaining aircraft are likely to be in India by April 2022. Currently, IAF pilots are being trained in France. The two squadrons of Rafale jets will add wings to the IAF's depleting fleet strength. The two squadrons with 18 jets each at Amabala and Hasimara have been planned keeping in mind the operations against Pakistan on the western front and China in the eastern sector. Hasimara earlier had a MiG-27 squadron that has now been decommissioned. India had inked an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore. A 4.5 generation aircraft with the latest weapons, superior sensors and fully integrated architecture, Rafale is an omni-role aircraft which means it can carry out at least four missions in one sortie. Armed with Hammer missiles, it will also have beyond visual range missiles like Meteor, Scalp and Mica, increasing their ability to take on incoming targets from a distance. [March 10, 2021] Sprinklr Announces New R&D Center in Singapore Sprinklr, the Customer Experience Management (CXM) platform for modern enterprises, today announced its expanded presence in Singapore with a new R&D center following a year of impressive customer growth. This new facility will reinforce Sprinklr's position as a leading CXM provider, supporting valuable brands in Asia Pacific, including Samsung, Gojek, StarHub and Changi Airport Group. "Sprinklr's expansion during these challenging times demonstrates the company's confidence in Singapore as a strong business hub, with world-class R&D and engineering talent. We welcome the addition of the R&D centre to our tech ecosstem and look forward to the exciting job opportunities it will create for Singapore and Singaporeans," said Ang Chin Tah - Vice President and Head, Digital Industry Singapore (DISG). Sprinklr will immediately begin recruiting and investing in engineers for this new facility, which adds to Sprinklr's existing R&D centers in the United States and India. Sprinklr is also hiring sales, customer success, and recruiting support across Asia Pacific. "At Sprinklr, we are working to define the future of customer experience management every day," said Pavitar Singh, Chief Technology Officer, Sprinklr. "We're thrilled to open an R&D center in a forward-thinking city - accelerating our ability to develop visionary technologies that help brands create human experiences at scale." Sprinklr's new R&D center follows a year of corporate milestones and key strategic hires in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea and Australia. "Singapore is a global hub for innovation, with world-class talent to help Sprinklr meet the growing demand from enterprise customers for advanced CXM," said Florian Zenner, Senior Vice President, APAC and Japan, Sprinklr. "We're excited for this R&D center to strengthen our relationship with Asia Pacific and support our continued international expansion." Additional Resources: Check out the Sprinklr Career page for open positions. Contact us to learn more about Sprinklr. About Sprinklr Sprinklr is the world's leading Customer Experience Management (CXM) platform. We help organizations listen to customers, learn from them, and show them love across digital channels. Headquartered in New York City with 2,000+ employees globally, Sprinklr works with the world's most valuable companies including L'Oreal, McDonald's, Microsoft (News - Alert) , and more than 50% of the Fortune 100. For more information, visit sprinklr.com or chat with us at @Sprinklr. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310005987/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The U.K.s digital minister warned he had very grave concerns" about Facebook Inc.s plans to expand end-to-end encryption across all user communications, continuing a longstanding battle by the government against the U.S. companys messaging tools. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden said both he and Home Secretary Priti Patel are speaking with Facebook at all levels" about encryption, in a press conference on Wednesday. End to end encryption cannot be a way of facilitating child abuse, and so on, and weve shared those grave concerns," Dowden added. We havent ruled out any steps to protect against those abuses." Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has promised to expand encryption messages beyond WhatsApp to all its apps by default, including Messenger and Instagram, a move which has met resistance from U.S., U.K. and Australian justice officials. The U.K. government has previously urged social-media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to tackle terror posts on their sites, and demanded access to encrypted messages. However Dowden added that any legislative means to tackle the issue would not be in the forthcoming Online Safety Bill. The U.K. is currently reshaping its approach to tech companies following its departure from the European Union, and while attempting to limit the power of big tech, lawmakers are also pushing to relax listing rules to create bigger British startups. Officials are set to change stock exchange rules around blank-check firms as part of wide-ranging reforms to boost the attractiveness of London, while company founders will also be able to keep greater control when they list their businesses in the city. Dowden said he hopes these reforms will lure British entrepreneurs back from U.S. capital markets, which offer more relaxed rules around share ownership and higher valuations. The U.K. is looking to see how we can make it easier for tech to list, and in particular the founder question, which has been one of the big challenges," said Dowden. Dowden also added that one of the worlds biggest tech deals remains under scrutiny. British officials have yet to break their silence over Nvidia Corps $40 billion takeover of British chip designer Arm Holdings six months after it was announced. Britains Competition and Markets Authority said in January it would investigate the deal. Dont take the fact that weve said nothing on it as being that we are not going to act, or indeed we are going to act," said Dowden. It is still very much under consideration." Dowden has been canvassing British technology entrepreneurs. He met e-commerce business THG Plc founder Matthew Moulding on Tuesday, and spoke with cybersecurity firm Darktrace Ltd Chief Executive Officer Poppy Gustafsson on Wednesday. As evidence of a changing culture, he cited the so-called unicorn valuation of Starling Bank and Deliveroos decision to list in London. This goes to the heart of one of the biggest challenges clearly that we face in the U.K.," Dowden acknowledged. There is always going to be a problem in the U.K. of scale. We are not a China or a U.S." On Thursday the minister announced that 2020 was a record year for venture capital funding in the U.K., citing government analysis which showed that $15 billion had gone to tech companies - more than France and Germany combined. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Philippine authorities said Thursday they were pursuing a Filipino activist group that claimed responsibility for hacking into and blocking access to the governments main website as a protest against alleged human rights excesses by the police and military. The website, www.gov.ph, remained inaccessible on Thursday night (local time), at least 24 hours after the Cyber PH for Human Rights group had said it pulled off the cyberattack. We are confident that we can track down the hackers responsible for the attack because we had previous incidents, Victor Lorenzo, chief of the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) Anti-Cyber Crime division, told reporters in a briefing. The bureau has been monitoring the activities of hacker groups since last year, he said. Investigators, he added, were looking into claims that the groups, which Lorenzo did not identify, had taken files from government databases. One of the motives in hacking websites or defacing websites or doing those attacks is for bragging purposes or, of course, plain and simple hacktivism, he said. If they claim to have compromised data bases, we should not take that hook, line and sinker we have to validate that. In a statement on Wednesday, Cyber PH for Human Rights said the cyberattack was a message to President Rodrigo Duterte and his government to stop killing unarmed civilians. The group called the countrys national security adviser, national police chief and military commander for the southern Luzon region ringleaders in the killing of unarmed civilians. The hack came days after nine people were killed in police and military raids on Sunday that targeted suspected communist insurgents. Human rights groups condemned the operations and said that unarmed leftist activists were the ones who were killed. EU expresses concern On Wednesday, the European Union followed the United Nations in issuing a statement expressing concern about the killings during the Philippine raids. The EU said it welcomed the Philippine governments announcement that it would investigate the nine deaths. Reports on the use of excessive force against unarmed individuals and alleged irregularities in the law enforcement operations have raised concerns, the European bloc said, adding that ensuring liability should be in accordance with due process under national courts of law and full compliance with its international human rights obligations. Dutertes spokesman, Harry Roque, called on the EU to give the government a chance to discharge its obligation to investigate the raids. We are undertaking and discharging the state obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish, Roque told reporters on Thursday. Also on Thursday, human rights workers accused the military and police of delaying the release to the families of the bodies of four people who were killed in the raids. The relatives claimed that about 20 police and military officers prevented them from claiming the bodies at a funeral home on Wednesday but eventually relented after a day-long standoff, according to local media. Meanwhile, leaders of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines leaders ordered its armed wing, the New Peoples Army, to speed up deployment of special partisan units to carry out select technical offenses to punish fascist criminals. Hacking history Onel de Guzman, perhaps the most infamous Philippine hacker, created the ILOVEYOU virus, a malware that copied itself to all addresses in a computers Windows-based email service, in 2000. The virus spread worldwide and caused billions in damages. De Guzman was arrested, but as there were no laws in the Philippines at that time dealing with cyberattacks and hacking, charges against him were dropped. Twenty years later, de Guzman admitted he launched the virus, according to media reports. In 2016, Paul Biteng, who was identified as a member of the group Anonymous Philippines, was arrested after the allegedly hacked into 25 government websites, including the Commission of Elections site. Four years later, a court in Manila cleared him of the charges, according to media reports. Nonoy Espina contributed to this report from Bacolod City, Philippines. President Biden holds an event on International Womens Day at the White House in Washington By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will hold an online meeting on Friday with the leaders of Japan, India and Australia, the White House said on Tuesday, the first leader-level meeting of a four-country group seen as part of efforts to balance China's growing military and economic power. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the meeting of the "Quad" countries showed the importance placed by Biden on U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. A range of issues facing the global community was expected to be discussed "from the threat of COVID, to economic cooperation and, of course, to the climate crisis," she said. "This sends a very strong signal of common cause and purpose. And the goal here is basically to introduce the Quad as a new feature of regular diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific," a senior administration official told Reuters separately. He said the meeting planned to announce financing agreements to support an increase in manufacturing capacity for coronavirus vaccines in India, something New Delhi has urged to counter China's widening vaccine diplomacy The aim was to reduce manufacturing backlogs, speed vaccination, and defeat some coronavirus mutations, the official said. Some of the additional vaccine capacity would be used in vaccination efforts in Southeast Asian countries. The United States is looking to strengthen ties with key allies and partners as China adopts an increasingly assertive foreign policy in Asia and elsewhere. The U.S. official said Friday's engagement would last about two hours, and lay the groundwork for an in-person meeting later in the year. India, Australia and Japan had all been "directly challenged by China in the recent period," he said, adding that the meeting was intended to work on "a different vision for the future" in the region. India's Foreign Ministry said the leaders would address "regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region." Story continues It said the summit would also cover supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security and climate change. India said Quad leaders would discuss efforts to combat the pandemic and explore "opportunities for collaboration in ensuring safe, equitable and affordable vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region." Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the meeting would focus on regional security and climate change. "It will be an historic moment in our region and it sends a strong message to the region about our support for a sovereign, independent Indo-Pacific," he told reporters in Canberra. Friday's meeting will take place days before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plan to visit Japan and South Korea later this month. The visit by Blinken and Austin will be the first to the Asian allies by the top U.S. foreign policy and defense officials since the Biden administration took office in January. Biden's administration has committed to reviewing elements of U.S. policies toward China in consultation with allies, as the world's two largest economies navigate frosty relations that sank to their lowest depths in decades during the Trump administration. Asked whether the Quad could expand in future, the senior U.S. official said it remained an unofficial gathering, despite the decision to hold a leaders' meeting. "Each country has highly attuned domestic politics and want constructive dialogues, but also want to maintain a degree of maneuver room," he said. "We appreciate and understand that and seek to support it generally and we want to take it step by step. We have had discussions with other countries about other forms of informal association with the Quad and we expect those conversations will continue." He said South Korea was one of those countries. (Reporting by Nandita Bose, Steve Holland, David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina in Washington; additonal reporting by Colin Packham in Canberra; editing by Jonathan Oatis, Matthew Lewis and Richard Pullin) Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 11, 2021))) ("Rockridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has completed its geophysical program at its flagship Knife Lake Project located in Saskatchewan, Canada (the "Knife Lake Project" or "Property"). The Company also announces its plans for an upcoming 1,600 metres minimum drill program. Rockridge has an Option Agreement with Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. to acquire a 100% interest in the Property that covers the Knife Lake Cu-Zn-Ag-Co VMS deposit. The contiguous claims total 32,663 hectares and are located approximately 50 km northwest of Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan. A 357kV powerline runs within 16 km of the Knife Lake Deposit area, greatly enhancing the project's infrastructure. Knife Lake VMS Project Map: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/projects/KnifeLake-Fig3.jpg Winter Geophysical Program: Crews have now completed an airborne electromagnetic (EM) and horizontal magnetic gradiometer geophysical survey at the Knife Lake Project using Geotech Ltd.'s VTEM Plus system. The survey was strategically located over the Scimitar and Gilbert Lake targets to investigate over 30 linear kilometers of prospective VMS stratigraphy which hosts the Knife Lake copper deposit. Airborne Geophysical Results: http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Airborne-EM-results-03-10-2021.jpg Preliminary data from the survey has revealed several conductive features of significant interest, eight conductors have been prioritized for geophysical modeling based on their correlation with prospective stratigraphy and favorable geochemistry. These geophysical models will assist in targeting holes for the upcoming drill program. 2021 Regional Exploration Program and Priority Target Areas: http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/images/Knife-Lake-Airborne-EM-Feb2021.jpg The Knife Lake deposit contains typical VMS mineralogy which has been significantly modified and partially remobilized during the emplacement of granitic rocks. Therefore, the known deposit may represent a remobilized portion of a presumably larger "primary" VMS deposit based on general observations about the mineralogy, mineral textures and metal ratios in the deposit. Most of the historical work has consisted of shallow drilling at the deposit area with little regional work carried out and limited deeper drilling below the deposit. As a result, there is strong discovery potential both at depth and regionally. Upcoming Knife Lake Drill Program: Rockridge has recently commenced the mobilization of crew and equipment to complete a minimum of 1,600 metres diamond drill program consisting of 6-8 holes. Drilling will focus on discovering VMS style copper deposits along newly defined conductors and at depth, underneath the Knife Lake deposit. Infill drilling is also planned in the immediate area of the 2019 maiden resource. Downhole geophysics, borehole electromagnetics (BHEM), will be utilized extensively throughout the program. Knife Lake Geology and History: The Knife Lake Project is interpreted to be a remobilized VMS deposit. The stratabound mineralized zone is approximately 15m thick and contains copper, silver, zinc, gold and cobalt mineralization which dips 30 to 50 eastward over a known strike-length within Rockridge's claim area of 3,700 metres, and a known average down-dip extension of approximately 300 metres. Knife Lake Deposit Map: https://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/projects/KnifeLake-Fig2.jpg (" rel=) The deposit is hosted by felsic to intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which have been metamorphosed to upper amphibolite facies. The deposit contains VMS mineralogy which has been significantly modified and partially remobilized during the emplacement of granitic rocks. The mineralization straddles the boundary between two rock units and occurs on both limbs of an interpreted overturned fold. The Company completed twelve holes consisting of 1,053 metres of diamond drilling in the 2019 winter drilling program. This represented the first drilling on the property since 2001 and had two primary objectives: confirm the tenor of mineralization reported by previous operators and expand known zones of mineralization. Highlights from the drill program included previously reported hole KF19003 which intersected net-textured to semi-massive sulphide mineralization from 11.2m to 48.8m downhole. This 37.6 metre interval returned 2.03% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au, 9.88 g/t Ag, 0.36% Zn, and 0.01% Co for an estimated 2.42% CuEq. Additionally, previously reported drill hole KF19001 intersected net-textured to fracture-controlled sulphide mineralization from 7.5 metres to 40.6 metres downhole. This 33.1 metre interval returned 1.28% Cu, 0.12 g/t Au, 4.80 g/t Ag, 0.13% Zn, and 0.01% Co for an estimated 1.49% CuEq. Knife Lake Plan Map and Drill Collar Locations: http://www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com/_resources/maps/KN-2019-DDH-Location-20190808.pdf Compilation and initial modelling indicate potential for expansion of the deposit at depth. The recent drilling focused on resource upgrade as well as infill drilling between historical holes. The program gave the Company's technical team valuable insights into the property geology, alteration, and mineralization that will be applied to future regional exploration on the highly prospective and underexplored land package. The Knife Lake deposit is a near surface VMS deposit starting a few metres below surface and the deposit remains open at depth and along strike for potential resource expansion. Recently Rockridge announced a maiden NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Knife Lake deposit (see the News Release dated August 14th, 2019) which consisted of an indicated resource of 3.8 million tonnes at 1.02% CuEq at a 0.4% CuEq cut-off (3.8 MT at 0.83% Cu, 3.7 gpt Ag, 0.097 gpt Au, 82 ppm Co, 1740.7 ppm Zn). In addition there is an inferred resource of 7.9 million tonnes at 0.67% CuEq at a 0.4% CuEq cut-off (7.9 MT at 0.53% Cu, 2.4 gpt Ag, 0.084 gpt Au, 53.1 ppm Co, 1454.9 ppm Zn). Refer to the NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Knife Lake Property, Saskatchewan dated September 27, 2019 filed on Sedar. Qualified Persons: Kerry Bates, P. Geo., a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and a Geologist employed by TerraLogic Exploration Inc., has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release relating the Knife Lake Project Todd Keast, P.Geo., a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and the Raney Gold Project Manager for Rockridge Resources Ltd., has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release relating to the Raney Gold Project. About Rockridge Resources Ltd. Rockridge Resources is a publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada and other mining-friendly jurisdictions. The Company's Knife Lake Project is in Saskatchewan, which is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world by the Fraser Institute. The project hosts the Knife Lake deposit, which is a VMS, near-surface copper-cobalt-gold-silver-zinc deposit open along strike and at depth. The Company's Raney Gold Project is a high-grade gold exploration project located in the same greenstone belt that hosts the world-class Timmins and Kirkland Lake lode gold mining camps. Rockridge's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions. Additional information about Rockridge Resources and its project portfolio can be found on the Company's website at www.rockridgeresourcesltd.com. Rockridge Resources Ltd. "Grant Ewing" ____________________ Grant Ewing CEO For further information contact myself or: Jordan Trimble, President or Spencer Coulter, Corporate Communications Rockridge Resources Ltd. Telephone: 604-687-3376 Toll Free: 800-567-8181 Facsimile: 604-687-3119 Email: info@rockridgeresourcesltd.com NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. Forward Looking Information This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.comfor further information. SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ixlayer, a leader in technology-based solutions for diagnostic testing, today announces it has raised $75 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The round is led by General Catalyst with participation from the lead seed investor PearVC and others including Signatures Capital's Bobby Yazdani, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki, MBX Capital's Zeshan Muhammedi and Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam. The telehealth industry has increased access to primary care at a time when a patient's ability to see their doctor has been severely restricted. As a result, providers have rapidly scaled offerings to match demand as the trend grows to replace traditional healthcare visits with virtual telehealth experiences. According to a recent report from McKinsey , up to $250 billion of the current U.S. healthcare spend could be virtual. Providers, payors and government health officials at every level need technical infrastructure like ixlayer to connect the services required for telehealth programs to run efficiently. "Our platform answers the most pressing telehealth needs in an industry grappling with scaling new products and solutions on the fly, and there is tremendous opportunity to provide higher quality care by growing these services," said Pouria Sanae, CEO of ixlayer. "When COVID-19 first began, we knew local governments, organizations and labs would struggle with the sudden volume of diagnostic testing. Fortunately, we had a ready-made product in place to drive patient engagement by making lab testing accessible from consumers' homes." Diagnostic testing is the foundation upon which many medical decisions are made; this reality became more apparent at the onset of the pandemic. ixlayer's proprietary technology connects the health testing ecosystem of services, enabling the rapid launch of testing programs while driving patient engagement from the comfort of their homes. Whereas most enterprise-grade solutions take months to deploy and often lack necessary features at launch, ixlayer can be implemented within weeks and is robust and flexible enough to match the speed of today's challenges. "The stress test of Covid has shown us that we have persistent and serious fractures across the foundation of healthcare. What gives me hope today is that there are founders and innovators dedicated to taking on these challenges," said Hemant Taneja, managing partner, General Catalyst. "The team at ixlayer is building a platform to create a scalable, flexible diagnostic health testing solution. It's ambitious and with their success comes the chance of having a healthcare system that's better prepared and more resilient than before. We are excited to be joining them at this important phase of the company's growth and development." "What makes ixlayer unique is that it's built by founders that have experienced the lack of tech infrastructure in healthcare firsthand, and as a result, are able to build innovative solutions for health systems," added Mar Hershenson, Managing Partner, Pear. "We are proud to be the first institutional investors in ixlayer and are excited to continue supporting their journey to revolutionize healthcare." The company saw early success with its go-to-market strategy organizing testing platforms with the United States Coast Guard, the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, Stanford University, and Avera Health. The ixlayer cloud-based technology platform currently supports more than 1 million patients, and launched more than 800 testing programs in 2020 alone. To learn more about ixlayer and its work to improve all aspects of diagnostic testing and telehealth services, please visit www.ixlayer.com . About ixlayer: ixlayer is an industry leader in the health-tech ecosystem, providing innovative solutions for enabling health systems, payors, biopharma, and health focused companies to offer health testing in a virtual environment. The ixlayer platform delivers end-to-end solutions for the technical, security, regulatory, and user experience components of complex health testing. As the industry shifts to remote and virtual care options, ixlayer is powering patient engagement and preventative health strategies through virtual health testing, at scale. The ixlayer solution can be added to existing patient engagement platforms and patient portals to enable real time health and wellness lab testing. Founded in 2018, ixlayer currently supports millions of patients and has launched hundreds of testing programs for large organizations, health systems and every level of the government. About General Catalyst: General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that invests in powerful, positive change that endures for our entrepreneurs, our investors, our people, and society. We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond to build companies that withstand the test of time. With offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York City, and Boston, the firm has helped support the growth of businesses such as: Airbnb, Deliveroo, Guild, Gusto, Hubspot, Illumio, Livongo, Oscar, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker. For more: www.generalcatalyst.com . FOR MEDIA USE ONLY Media Contact: Kevin Harrington 212.999.5585 [email protected] SOURCE ixlayer Related Links https://ixlayer.com/ Richard Dick B. Otte, Jr., age 78, of Alexandria, formerly of Sauk Centre, passed away surrounded by family after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer for the last one and half years on Sunday, May 23, 2021 at his home in Alexandria. Firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the French cloud computing company OVHcloud in Strasbourg, France, on March 10, 2021. (Sapeurs-pompiers du Bas-Rhin/Handout via Reuters) Millions of Websites Offline After Fire at French Cloud Services Firm PARISA fire at a French cloud services firm has disrupted millions of websites, knocking out government agencies portals, banks, shops, news websites, and taking out a chunk of the .FR web space, according to Internet monitors. The fire, which broke out on Wednesday shortly after midnight at OVHcloud, destroyed one of four data centers in Strasbourg, eastern France, and damaged another, the company said. There was no immediate explanation provided for the blaze, which erupted just two days after the French cloud computing firm kicked off plans for an initial public offering. Europes largest cloud services provider told clients including the French government, the Center Pompidou, and cryptocurrency exchange Deribit to activate their disaster recovery plans following the blaze. Firefighters were immediately on the scene but could not control the fire in the affected data center, founder and chairman Octave Klaba said on Twitter. He said the plan for the next couple of weeks would include rebuilding the centers equipment and checking their fiber optic connections. Some 100 firemen fought the blaze which sent a thick plume of black smoke into the night sky. Video images showed firefighters dousing one smoldering, multi-story building in the early morning as they cooled down the site. Octave Klaba, founder and chief executive officer of OVH, poses near a company logo at the hotline service desk of French web-hosting and server provider OVH data center site in Roubaix, France, on April 5, 2018. (Pascal Rossignol/Reuters) Founded by Klaba in 1999, OVHcloud competes against U.S. giants Amazon Web Services, Microsofts Azure, and Alphabets Google Cloud, which dominate the market. OVH is a pretty important hosting company on the Internet, said Mike Prettejohn, who directs UK-based network security company Netcraft. He said the affected servers hosted 3.6 million websites, including niche government platforms in France, Britain, Poland, and the Ivory Coast. Prettejohn estimated that just under 2 percent of the sites with the French .FR domain extension had been affected. French politicians have championed OVHcloud as a possible alternative to U.S. cloud services providers, but it has so far lacked the scale and financial clout to dent their market share. The company said on Monday it had started the process for a potential IPO, without giving details. The Strasbourg centers were among OVHclouds 17 data centers in France, and 32 globally. Several clients said their websites had gone offline or emails could not be accessed. There was no immediate news of any major data losses. The Center Pompidou, one of Frances best known art complexes, said its website was down. Cryptocurrency exchange Deribit said its blog was down but that trading had not been impacted, free chess server Lichess.org said it had lost 24 hours worth of games history, and news outlet eeNews Europe said its websites were offline. PR agency Caroline Charles Communication said its data was held at another site but that it had lost access to emails in the middle of Paris Fashion Week. OVHcloud declined to comment on its fire safety protocols. The site did not pose a toxic risk, it added. By Matthieu Protard and Mathieu Rosemain .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, will be visiting Albuquerque next week as part of a trip promoting the American Rescue Plan, the massive coronavirus relief effort. It will be Emhoffs first solo trip as the nations first Second Gentleman, according to a White House official. Harris and Emhoff are scheduled to be in Las Vegas on Monday and Denver on Tuesday, before Emhoff comes to Albuquerque on Wednesday. Details about the Albuquerque trip havent been announced. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the relief bill into law on Friday, which will trigger $1.9 trillion in government spending to both fight the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. New Mexico is expected to receive billions of dollars as part of the effort. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Michigans first positive cases of coronavirus came March 10, but it became real for state lawmakers only a few weeks later. State Rep. Isaac Robinson, D-Detroit, died on March 29 with the suspected cause being COVID-19. Democrats and Republicans both mourned his death, with many noting the representatives big heart. Both Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, noted Robinsons genuine love and genuine passion for Detroit and his constituents. State Rep. Tyrone Carter, one of Robinsons fellow Detroit Democrats, remembers his last conversation with his friend was about both taking better care of their bodies to deal with the sedentary life of a Lansing lawmaker. Youre running from place to place, Carter said to Robinson, but youre not really taking care of yourself...weve got to take better care of ourselves. And that was it. Around the same time Robinson died, Carter also caught coronavirus, but recovered. He, Robinson and fellow Detroit Democrat Rep. Karen Whitsett were the first state lawmakers to come face-to-face with the virus, with several more lawmakers and staff becoming infected over the next year. If the first year of coronavirus started with solidarity over a much-loved lawmakers passing, the ensuing months turned into a cavalcade of partisan divisiveness, fiery rhetoric and consequences that rippled into the November 2020 presidential election. The COVID-19 response and exacerbating divide Divides between Republicans and Democrats existed in Michigan well before the pandemic, but COVID-19 agitated it, said Republican strategist John Sellek. It further agitated the political divide amongst us to the point where very simple litmus tests now indicate what side youre on, he said. Like wearing a mask or whether or not youll take the vaccine right away. These personal divisions extended to state policy. Once Whitmer instituted a stay-at-home order to limit the spread of COVID-19 on March 24, Republicans began to attack her emergency authority to issue executive orders. With the state seeing similar infection numbers as New York and New Jersey in the spring, Whitmer twice extended her lockdown orders. Republicans responded to these extensions by suing the Whitmer administration over its use of two emergency power laws: The 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act, which allows governors to call for a state of emergency for as long as necessary, and the 1976 Emergency Management Act, which allows governors to declare emergencies in a 28-day window without legislative approval. The case reached the Michigan Supreme Court, which ruled that Whitmer and future governors need legislative approval to continue orders past the 28-day timeline (essentially nullifying her executive orders). Whitmer regarded the Oct. 2 ruling as deeply disappointing and defended her actions to protect our seniors, small businesses and first responders from the worst public health emergency in over a century. Meanwhile, Chatfield and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, both applauded the courts decision to force Whitmer to work with the Legislature. Read more: Republican legislative leaders slam Whitmer for going it alone on new COVID-19 restrictions The divide deepened as Whitmer leaned into the authority to issue orders via the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. With the law not seeing a serious challenge in court, the Legislature has attempted numerous times to pass legislation stripping the executive branch of emergency powers. Asked if she thinks the power to enact emergency orders during a health crisis should stay within the health department versus the legislature or governor, MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said last week she wouldnt change the power granted to her position more than 40 years ago. I think the orders under the public health code for the director are appropriate in being able to respond quickly to events that present imminent danger or could jeopardize quickly the public health of the state of Michigan, she said. Read more: A lot of bluster and a stark reality: Michigan legislature has no plan to stop surge of COVID-19 Most recently, the Republican effort has been to tie $1.9 billion in school aid to a provision taking away MDHHS authority to shut down in-person learning and giving it to local health departments. Another part of the pandemic relief bill recently passed ties $347 million in COVID-19 testing to a bill limiting MDHHS orders to 28 days. Read more: Michigan House clears $4.2B COVID-19 spending plan, ties some funds to limits on health departments authority Democratic lawmakers have blasted these provisions, arguing all federal money given to Michigan should be put in the hands of taxpayers across the state. Were doing everything to get every dollar to counter COVID, Carter said. Thats the No. 1 issue. If we can get COVID under control, then small businesses can operate with people not worrying about going into restaurants (and) students can go back to school. Meanwhile, COVID-19 was a literal issue inside the walls of the state Capitol building. Politicians such as Shirkey and Rudy Giuliani, President Trumps personal lawyer, appeared maskless, despite exposures to the virus. Meanwhile, more than a dozen lawmakers and several staff members suffered infections and internal prevention protocols were not followed by some Republicans. Read more: Internal COVID-19 protocols in Michigan Capitol lag behind other Republican-led legislatures Shirkey, meanwhile, found himself the center of controversy after controversy due to his sexist language against Whitmer and baselessly declaring there was election fraud. Growing extremism before and after the November election Protests outside the Capitol became a theme throughout the year. This escalated on April 30 during an anti-lockdown rally where hundreds of protesters, many open carrying firearms, packed into the building demanding to attend legislative sessions. Months later, some of the men present on April 30 were arrested for their involvement in a plot to kidnap Whitmer and start a civil war. Multiple Michiganders also appeared at the violent insurrection on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington to try to stop the certification of the Electoral College. Experts relayed to MLive that the anti-Whitmer sentiment displayed throughout the year allowed Michigan-based terrorists to thrive and find a natural home in the state. Read more: Accused Michigan terrorists found natural home among anti-Whitmer sentiment promoted by far right More traditional Republicans found themselves uncomfortable with this right-wing extremism, Sellek said, adding that many were comfortable supporting Whitmers initial COVID-19 restrictions due to a need for immediate government action. However, that led to the Trump movement gaining further control of the GOP across the state. Well continue to see traditional Republicans speaking out about the importance of wearing masks and getting vaccinated, he said. But then, theyre going to be criticized or attacked on social media (by Trump supporters). How coronavirus tipped the election to Biden With Michigan passing pro-absentee ballot Proposal 3 in 2018, the voting method became a popular way for voters to stay safe from infections last fall. In the November presidential election, 57% of total votes cast were absentee about 3.2 million of the states 5,568,097 ballots contributing to record-high voter turnout in Michigan. Early in the election cycle, Trump attempted to delegitimize mail-in voting. While a majority of Michigan voters who supported Trump did cast mail-in ballots on Election Day, his advantage with in-person votes skewed initial counts towards him over President Joe Biden. When the absentee ballots were counted, a majority were for Biden. Despite Republican efforts to claim the election was stolen from Trump, the Michigan Secretary of States audit, led by more than 1,300 clerks, turned up no evidence of foul play. Read more: Michigan completes general election audits, no foul play found With the pandemic limiting face-to-face contact in the early months, both Republicans and Democrats needed to innovate in order to reach voters, Sellek said. Socially-distanced politics required a multi-faceted approach in campaigning, he said. The shutdown, and social distancing, forced politics to really push harder into technology, he said. A lot more digital targeting (of potential voters)...a lot more phones and a lot more regular, old U.S. mail. Campaigns and Political Action Committees (PACs) started shelling out more money to advertise on social media for their candidates or dig into peoples personal data to find ways to curate campaign information for specific audiences, Sellek said. Theyre digging deeper into your personal data than ever, he said. Its publicly available, and its legal. Theyre forced by the pandemic to dig deeper into your consumer data to try to make some sense out of who they should target. This push of Michigan politics into the digital world, Sellek said, ultimately pushed Michiganders into their own corners of the internet to shield them from political ideas they disliked. People who are interested in arguing and fighting at this point in their lives (are) shying away from communicating with others, which then tends to push us further into our corners, he said. It massively agitated the political divide that were already seeing. [March 11, 2021] Nokia and Samsung sign patent licensing agreement for video standards Press Release Nokia and Samsung sign patent licensing agreement for video standards Agreement covers use of Nokias inventions in video standards 11 March 2021 Espoo, Finland Nokia and Samsung sign patent licensing agreement. Nokia announced today that it has signed a patent license agreement with Samsung, which covers the use of Nokias innovations in video standards. Under the agreement, Samsung will make royalty payments to Nokia. The terms of the agreement remain confidential between the parties. Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies, said: We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Samsung which further validates Nokias decades-long investments to R&D and contributions to multimedia and video technology standards. Over the course of more than 30 years, Nokia has contributed significantly to multimedia and video research and the development of industry standards. The work of Nokias engineers in the field of video research and standardization ha been recognized with numerous international awards, including four Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards. Nokias industry-leading patent portfolio is built on more than 129 billion invested in R&D over the past two decades and is composed of around 20,000 patent families, including over 3,500 patent families declared essential to 5G. Nokia contributes its inventions to open standards in return for the right to license them on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. Companies can license and use these technologies without the need to make their own substantial investments in R&D. Additional resources Webpage: Licensing https://www.nokia.com/licensing/ About Nokia We create the critical networks and technologies to bring together the worlds intelligence, across businesses, cities, supply chains and societies. With our commitment to innovation and technology leadership, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we deliver networks at the limits of science across mobile, infrastructure, cloud, and enabling technologies. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities we need for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia. Media Inquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] WASHINGTON President Biden is planning an aggressive campaign to tell voters about the benefits for them in the $1.9 trillion economic relief package that won final congressional approval on Wednesday, an attempt to ensure that he and his fellow Democrats get full political credit for the first big victory of his administration. The effort will start with Mr. Bidens scheduled prime-time address to the nation on Thursday and include travel by the president and Vice President Kamala Harris across multiple states, events with a wide range of cabinet members emphasizing themes of the legislation and endorsements from Republican mayors, administration officials said on Wednesday. The White Houses decision to get out and sell the package after its passage reflects a lesson from the early months of the Obama administration. In 2009, fighting to help the economy recover from a crippling financial crisis, President Barack Obama never succeeded in building durable popular support for a similar stimulus bill and allowed Republicans to define it on their terms, fueling a partisan backlash and the rise of the Tea Party movement. Mr. Biden starts with the advantage that the legislation, which he is set to sign on Friday, is widely popular in national polling. And it will deliver a series of tangible benefits to low- and middle-income Americans, including direct payments of $1,400 per individual, just as the economys halting recovery from the pandemic recession is poised to accelerate. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jefas y Jevas, the critically acclaimed podcast by Celina Nogueras with a 4.9/5 star rating on Apple Podcasts has recently launched its fourth season on Feb. 5. To kick things off, Nogeras interviews Janesse Torres Rodriguez, Latina entrepreneur and Yo Quiero Dinero Podcast host who created the widely popular food blog Delish D'Lites. Celina Nogueras Nogueras founded Jefas y Jevas out of the desire to grow the number of millionaire Latinas. Using the platform, she aims to build a network of a million millionaire Latinas primarily by making their stories visible. Research conducted by the National Women's Business Council showed that there are over 1.9 million Hispanic women-owned businesses in the United States. "As a Latina, I aim to inspire, support and give voice to more Latina business role- models. I interview women grossing more than a million in revenue in efforts to help bring forward their stories and lessons they've picked up along their journey--all in the name of guiding other women who aspire to pursue entrepreneurship and wealth," Nogueras said. Other millionaire Latinas joining Nogueras this season include: Ana Flores, owner of We all Grow; Rita Pinto, founder of elite nail salon-meets-art gallery, Vanity Project; Susie Jaramillo owner of award-winning edtech company, Encantos, and; Mabel Frias, owner of beauty and lifestyle brand, Lunamagic. Nogueras releases a new episode every other Friday through March 26. You can listen to Jefas y Jevas on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart.com, Google Podcasts and YouTube. About Celina Nogueras Celina Nogueras is a founding partner of Muuaaa Design Studio with over ten years of experience conceptualizing and implementing efficient brand growth and recognition strategies for new or existing brands or companies. As a passionate brand growth strategist, she developed a proprietary traction methodology for companies to stay culturally relevant and be economically successful. Over its ten years of existence, Muuaaa Design has helped launch more than 300 brands. Celina has a reputation as a goal-getter who can visualize a project or a business and create the strategies needed to make it happen and take it to the next level. In 2019, she launched the Jefas y Jevas Podcast. As a Latina business owner and serial entrepreneur, she is interested in creating a network of million-dollar Latinx women business founders in growth or acceleration stages in order to share knowledge with other women and encourage their wealth and independence. Contact: Katie Cafiero, Publicity For Good, [email protected] Related Images image1.jpg Related Links https://www.jefasyjevas.com SOURCE Celina Nogueras Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. A NUMBER of media reports have said that 16 jobs are to go in Kerry Group's Charleville base. However, Farm Leader has learned the figure is in fact in the region of 70. In total, between Kerry Groups operations in Naas and Charleville around 150 jobs are to be lost. All the staff set to lose their positions in Charleville work in the red brick administration building. They come under the finance umbrella. Some of the staff to be made redundant have given up to 30 years service to what is one of the leading players in the global food and beverage industry. The scale of the job losses hasnt hit home yet as they will be employed until October time. The announcement in an online meeting last month came as Kerry Group expands and centralises its shared services, such as finance, human resources and regulatory staff, in teams primarily located in Mexico and Malaysia. The Leader understands that those due be let go are deeply shocked and upset. There is a feeling that anybody that went in to Kerry presumed that they were going to retire out of Kerry. The timing of the job losses - in the middle of a global pandemic - has also angered some. The company has an Irish name and they are moving jobs to Malaysia and Mexico. It is just unbelievable. This is not a company in trouble, one person told the Leader. Quoted on the London and Euronext Dublin Stock exchanges, with headquarters in Tralee, the 2020 Group revenue was 7 billion. The approximately 70 jobs to go in Charleville is just under half of the 150 currently working in the red brick building. The Leader understands that those remaining are now fearful for their futures on account of the joint venture talks between Kerry Group and Kerry Co-op. Minister Niall Collins said he was very concerned about the job losses. This is a major blow to the local economy in north Cork and south Limerick where many of these employees reside, said Minister Collins. He has written to Edmond Scanlan, Executive Director and Group CEO to express his disappointment about the planned redundancies. Kilmallock councillor, Mike Donegan also said it is disappointing to hear of job losses at Kerry Group in Charleville, as a large number of staff employed there are from the south Limerick area. It is even more disappointing to learn that the jobs are being transferred overseas to Mexico and Malaysia and are not Covid-19 or Brexit related. The Golden Vale cheese factory opened in 1948 with 30 employees - taken over by Kerry Group in 2001 - is an institution in Charleville. It is also difficult to understand that an organisation that has received so much local support, aid and assistance from the State would do what it is doing, said Cllr Donegan, who has received a number of phone calls about the issue. There was no response to a media query from the Limerick Leader to Kerry about the job losses. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Under the patronage of the Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF), Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Royal Command, Staff and National Defence College today hosted the masters degree distribution ceremony for the graduates of the National Defence sessions 1 and 2. The BDF Chief deputised Defence Affairs Minister, Lieutenant-General Abdulla bin Hassan Al-Nuaimi, to distribute the certificates to the graduates of the two sessions. After some holy Quran verses were recited, the Commandant of the Royal Command, Staff and National Defence College, Rear Admiral Abdulla Said Al-Mansoori, delivered a speech in which he asserted that since its establishment five decades ago, the BDF has attained innumerable achievements thanks to the sound royal vision, adding that based on the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander, the BDF has developed its educational system across various military, strategic and security fields. He added that the support and directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister, have contributed to improving the quality of education and its output, noting that HRH has stressed the importance of education, being the true investment in preparing effective and creative cadres who contribute to building a more prosperous future based on highly-qualified national competencies who believe in their patriotic mission and loyalty to the leadership. He indicated that the BDF Commander-in-Chief and Chairman of the Colleges Supreme Council, Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, has set the Royal Colleges strategy to implement the visions of HM the King and HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister. Thanks to those visions, the Royal College has made well-thought-out steps to provide its BDF affiliates, in addition to others from brotherly and friendly countries, with the latest military and strategic sciences, which entitles it to compete with the most prestigious military colleges in their academic and practical levels through honing the capabilities of its affiliates in order to enable them to reach the highest levels of distinction and professionalism, he said. The Defence Minister then presented master's degrees to the graduates of the first and second National Defence sessions. He also handed over to them the medals of distinction conferred upon them by the BDF Commander-in-Chief in appreciation of their distinguished efforts in their field of work. The minister stressed that the BDF is always keen on supporting the educational process, in line with the forward-looking vision of HM the King, the Supreme Commander, who encourages acquiring military knowledge, as well as preparing national competencies who are qualified academically and militarily. He also hailed the constant follow-up of HRH Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister, who has always urged diligence, perseverance and acquisition of science and knowledge. He also paid tribute to the BDF Commander-in-Chief for putting in place all conditions for developing and modernising various educational curricula to reach the highest levels. Assistant Chief of Staff for Human Resources, Major-General Shaikh Ali bin Rashid Al Khalifa, University of Bahrain President, Professor Riyad Hamzah, and a number of senior BDF officers also attended the ceremony. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Expert ice sculptor T.J. Neary of Dongan Hills said the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has given him more than enough time to chill. This month, he is ready to fire up his carving tools for an over-the-top ice sculpture event on Staten Island. Neary and his ice sculpting company, Touch of Ice, have partnered with The Ice Farm to host Big Apple Ice Extravaganza, a weekend-long, drive-thru event at the boroughs Corporate Commons. I joined this ice sculpting masters group and weve all been separately doing these drive-thru events to try to bring in some money and get things going, Neary told the Advance/SILive.com. Theyve all been successful. We had 4,700 cars come out in Syracuse and 4,700 cars come out in Buffalo. We want to try and do the same thing here in Staten Island. The Big Apple Ice Extravaganza, which will take place March 19, 20 and 21, promises 100,000 pounds of crystal clear ice blocks, which will be used to create elaborate sculptures, including displays honoring first responders and frontline workers in the medical field. While many of the displays will be pre-carved and delivered from Syracuse, the ice carvers also will perform live demonstrations during the daylight hours. The event is set up to be socially distant, allowing ticket holders to view the sculptures from their vehicles as they drive through Corporate Commons, located at 1 Teleport Drive. Its something for people to do, while staying safe during this time, Neary said. We want people to have a fun time and have an excuse to get out of the house. A portion of the events proceeds will benefit Walk MS, The Carl V. Bini Memorial Fund and Tuesdays Children, which provides support to families who have been forever changed by terrorism, military conflict or mass violence. Neary said he will incorporate a 9/11 sculpture in the event. These events get really personal for me, said Neary, who lost his mother in the terrorist attacks. I want people to know that us ice carvers are here, weve been working through the pandemic. Its been tough, but were here. Big Apple Ice Extravaganza will be open from 8 to 11:45 p.m. March 19, from 6 to 11:45 p.m. March 20 and from 3 to 9 p.m. March 21. Tickets, which cost $43 each, must be purchased ahead of time through Maingate Tickets. Each ticket permits one vehicle to drive through the attraction, which organizers estimate will take 30 to 45 minutes to view in its entirety. For more information, email icesculptingmasters@gmail.com. T. J. Neary of Touch of Ice begin putting the finishing touches to his ice angel. March 13, 2016 (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) WHAT TO EXPECT: ICE, ICE BABY Neary, who has been a sculptor since 1996, claims the borough has never seen an ice event this big. In 2018, Neary partnered with Sculpted Ice Works a frosty design company in Pennsylvania to create a life-sized Wild West themed attraction in Frankford, N.J. The sculpture was on display for one month inside Skylands Stadium. The artist has a reputation for showing off his skills with a chainsaw and ice blocks. He has participated in organized events, such as the Ice Festival at Angelinas Ristorante in Tottenville, and has become a familiar face on the Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk during the warmer months. He made the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge come to life using a block of ice at the Staten Island Advance Memorial Day run in 2017. Annerie Vreugdenhil, head of ING Neo, describes her pragmatic approach to innovation and the sweet spots where banks can make a difference for customers. And why, you too, can be an innovator. If we work together, innovation will follow. Head of ING Neo, Annerie Vreugdenhil. Innovation was a bit different in 1992, when Annerie started at ING. I was hired to set up the Corporate Clients department in the Netherlands and remember being thrilled by the level of technology. I had my own PC and that was a big deal because at my previous job, we had to share one with 30 people! Ive always liked INGs entrepreneurial spirit. My career has been about finding the next opportunity and going for it, challenging the status quo. Now its my mandate. How great is that? Cheap, easy to use, multi-functional So, what does innovation mean to Annerie? If her favourite all-time innovation is anything to go by then colleagues can expect a clear direction from the new head of ING Neo. Its the clothes peg. Its cheap, easy to use, multi-functional. Thats what I love about it. This humble device used to hang clothes up for drying is a good metaphor for Anneries pragmatic approach to innovation. For her, innovation is as much about radical disruption and new services as it is about finding ways to do things better and minimising complexity. And thats the responsibility of everyone in a company, not just the leadership team or the innovation department. If every employee does their part, innovation will follow, she said. "Small changes can have a big impact and are as important as launching new products and services." Innovation isnt only about brilliant ideas and revolutionary products, according to Annerie. Sometimes, its about fixing small things, improving processes that dont work, or simply taking things that already exist and putting them together in a new way. One of her goals is to help everyone at ING realise that they can contribute to innovation regardless of the department theyre in. Ask yourself: why? So, what does it take to become an innovator? Ask yourself: why are we doing things this way? Maintain that critical, objective attitude from the start of a new job throughout your whole career. Question the way you operate, experiment and collaborate. Thats how you enable progress. Radical innovation is achieved by combining these individual efforts with a strong innovation business unit. This is where ING Neo comes in. New, young and fresh First things first. What are the origins of the name ING Neo? Does ING Neo have anything to do with The Matrix trilogys character played by Keanu Reeves? We (and Im guessing The Matrix directors too) chose this name for its etymological meaning: new, young, fresh. While we continue to improve our products and services to address customers evolving needs, its important to create space for breakthrough innovation and that space is ING Neo. Setting up a business area with independent KPIs from the mothership allows us to explore new, beyond banking opportunities easier while staying connected to the strengths of the core organisation, such as its large client base, expertise and brand. This is important because with ING Neo, we aim to innovate for clients and ING itself. There are various sweet spots banks can explore to bring value to customers by focusing on defining life moments like moving to a new house, starting a family, a business, or retiring. With ING Neo we are looking for new opportunities to solve fundamental problems and client needs in what we call value spaces. Sweet spots There are five value spaces which were looking to disrupt: housing, lending, trade, financial health, and compliance. Housing, for example, is a space where banks already play a prominent role by providing the financial means to buy a home. To strengthen their position in the market, banks should explore end-to-end housing journeys. Were looking at ways to support people throughout their whole home ownership experience in one place. From finding a property to choosing a mortgage, utility supplier, builder or estate agent. The aim is to increase customer engagement during the whole period of that journey. The housing market has been slow to adopt technological advances, but newcomers are disrupting the industry using the power of big data. One of them is ING partner Scoperty, a real estate platform that brings transparency to the German housing market by giving a first estimate of the value of all houses in a neighbourhood in street view. It puts buyers and sellers in contact with each other and offers a broader market access. If a real estate broker is needed in the meantime, Scoperty will find them one. Nailing the right ideas My biggest focus this year is to make sure we nail the process of finding the right ideas to innovate on, the big problems to solve. INGs always been great at generating and finding ideas. Brilliant innovations like Scoperty, Komgo, DealWise, Invisible Tickets, Minna Technologies, and Flowcast, which came to life via Innovation Bootcamp, ING Labs or ING Ventures partnerships. What we want to achieve with ING Neo is an even greater focus on finding the big problems to solve by working closely with the rest of the business to innovate in areas where we, as a bank and trusted institution, can make a difference for people. Related stories Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-12 01:49:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- A shipment with 100,000 doses of the Soberana 02 COVID-19 vaccine jointly developped by Cuba's Finlay Institute and the Pasteur Institute of Iran arrived in Tehran on Thursday for the Phase 3 clinical trials, state TV reported. "Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials were carried out successfully in Havana under the supervision of the Pasteur Institute of Iran and, given the positive results ... the Phase 3 will be carried out simultaneously in Cuba and Iran," the spokesman for Iran's Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. The Phase 3 clinical trials of the Soberana 02 started in Havana on March 4 in Havana, as announced by the Finlay Institute Director General Vicente Verez in a press conference in the Cuban capital. During her daily briefing, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education Sima Sadat Lari announced that 88 new deaths related to the coronavirus were registered between Wednesday and Thursday, raising the death toll of the pandemic in Iran to 61,016. Meanwhile, 8,308 new infections were confirmed in Iran in the past 24 hours, raising the total count in the country to 1,723,470, Lari said. Of the newly infected, 716 were hospitalized, according to the spokeswoman. The number of COVID-19 patients having recovered or been released from hospitals reached 1,471,179 on Thursday, with 3,818 still in critical condition, she noted. Enditem Asia continues to be a priority with Africa and the Middle East gaining interest Despite ongoing uncertainties in the current operating climate and varied rates of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of U.S. companies expect an increase in global expansion over the next 6-12 months, according to the latest Standard Chartered Borderless Business Study. Recognizing the ongoing value in conducting business globally, 49% of U.S. companies surveyed saw their best growth opportunities outside of their home region, compared to 35% in June 2020. Outside of North America, Europe has become a more important growth target for U.S. companies. 52% now identify as Europe as their most important region for outbound investment. This is followed by Asia, which continues to be identified as a major growth market. Over 85% of U.S. companies surveyed are already conducting or considering a wide range of activities, including sourcing, exporting, and manufacturing. Countries like Japan, China, Australia, and India drive the most interest. In addition to Asia (42%), responses also indicated an increased focus on Africa (15%) and the Middle East (37%) given their rich resources and high potential consumer bases. In Africa, it is unsurprising that South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria are the primary growth targets, and the three top oil-producing nations UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the primary focus for U.S. businesses in the Middle East region. The survey also explored companies' concerns and challenges when expanding internationally. Top barriers to global expansion The most significant challenges highlighted by the U.S. businesses is understanding local regulations (41%). Other challenges include: Building relationship with suppliers and adapting supply chain logistics (19%); Sourcing funding and managing liquidity (10%) and managing FX or currency risk (10%). Top liquidity challenges When looking at liquidity issues, 54% of U.S. respondents believed continued access to existing credit facilities or meeting increased collateral requirements to be the most difficult challenge. Other challenges include: The inability to rapidly mobilize liquidity (50%); Supply chain failure or interruption (46%). "In today's global economy, overseas expansion is a necessity and U.S. companies are looking to the rest of 2021 with increased confidence," said Jeremy Amias, Vice Chair at Standard Chartered Americas. "As international expansion evolves, we expect that understanding regulations and closing the knowledge gap to maximize the growth potential of these regions will remain a key point to address in U.S. companies' international growth story." Note to Editors About the Borderless Business Study Conducted between November and December 2020, over 1,000 CFOs and senior treasury professionals of companies with a turnover exceeding $500m located in USA, UK, Germany and France took part in the survey. Each country was equally represented with 25% of respondents. 50% of respondents represented companies with a turnover of $500m $1bn; the remaining 50% represented companies with a turnover exceeding $1bn. The technology sector comprised 16% of responses. Thereafter, other industry sectors' representation varied between 6-8%. Financial services were excluded from the survey. Standard Chartered We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world's most dynamic markets, and serving clients in a further 85. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good. Our history in the U.S. dates back to 1902, and we are currently present in eight locations throughout the Americas. Our Americas franchise focuses on financial institutions and select corporates and plays a key role in facilitating trade and investment flows between the Americas and Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005278/en/ Contacts: Chris Teo Head of Corporate Business Communications, Americas Standard Chartered Bank Tel: +1 212 667 0446 Email: Chris.Teo@sc.com Sammi He Communications Manager Corporate Affairs, Brand Marketing, Americas Standard Chartered Bank Tel: +1 862 448 8488 Email: Sammi.He@sc.com ADVERTISEMENT Olori Silekunola Naomi, the wife of the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has opened up about how challenging it was to conceive as a new bride and how societal pressure didnt make it any easier. She shared her struggles during an interview with the hosts of Your View, a popular talk show which airs on TVC in Lagos. It was like I was supposed to start popping babies almost immediately. The whole world was just looking at me. Thank God for a supportive husband, he would always tell me not to bother. think it was something I was challenged with from the first day I got married, she told the show hosts. Olori Naomi, who is a prophetess, married the monarch in October 2018 and welcomed their son on November `18, 2020. Although she isnt a stranger to the limelight, the queen, who runs an interdenominational ministry based in Akure, Ondo State, maintained that being in the public glare made conceiving more challenging. One thing that society does not yet know is that when a woman is under pressure, it becomes very difficult to conceive because it messes up with her brain and then it goes into her hormones and it becomes more difficult. The more you abuse a woman about childbearing, the more it becomes difficult for her to conceive. For me, it was really difficult but thank God for God, thank God for the Holy Spirit, and thank God for my husband. There was no pressure at all from my husbands family, they were all very supportive she revealed. Tradition When asked if she felt pressured regarding the gender of the baby, considering her position as the queen and the desire for a male child, she replied in the affirmative. I would say from the public, there was a little bit of pressure but because my husband didnt actually care about what gender, it could be a girl, a boy, or even twins he didnt care. My mind was not on whether it was a girl or a boy, there was no reason to go for a scan, and there was no reason to find out what I was having. Whatever it is, I knew he was going to celebrate me and celebrate the child. On submission, the young queen said she balances cultural expectation as the Olori and life as an empowered woman in todays time by applying wisdom and diplomacy. It is expected of me as a wife and as an Olori to submit to my king both culturally and scripturally. I uphold from both ends. I know when to stop, I know when to speak. You need to understand your rights first, so you know when its your place to talk and you know when you should let the man take the lead. Only an abusive man will shut his woman down, especially because women hold a lot of grace. You just need to let the man feel like a partner in the business. It is more of a partnership. It is slavery when you think that a woman has to keep quiet or be dumb. You do not have to be dumb as a woman. If there is a man shutting you down, if it has come into a place where you are afraid to speak because you are a woman or because you are married, there is a problem. Speaking further, she said her childhood experiences have sort of prepared her for her current role as a young queen. I started speaking publicly as a teenager and it is also important that you have the support of the people that you love and care about. My mother first started instilling confidence in me and when I got married, she handed it over to my husband, who would always clap for me and in fact, at some points give me monetary gifts to say well done, you did well. Asked to reveal something nobody knows about herself and the king, she said, What I think people dont actually know about Kabiyesi and about my relationship with him is the uniqueness of the relationship. Kabiyesi is quite understanding and behind all the royalty and the demand of the throne, we have our own safe place where we are just a man and his wife, all romantic, nice, and kind. He is also a wonderful father to his children. Maharashtra lockdown: Full list of what is permitted and what is not Strict lockdown will be enforced in parts of Maha: Thackeray India oi-Madhuri Adnal Mumbai, Mar 11: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said strict lockdown measures will be enforced in some parts of the state to contain the spread of COVID-19. Thackeray, 60, was speaking after receiving the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 at the government-run J J Hospital here. Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 13,659 new coronavirus cases, the highest one-day spike this year, which took the state''s caseload to 22,52,057. The state has so far reported 52,610 deaths due to the disease, as per official data. Lockdown in Mumbai? Here is what CM Uddhav Thackeray said "Some areas of Maharashtra will witness strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. The government is going to hold a special meeting with officials before coming out with the lockdown measures," Thackeray said. He said the government has been requesting people to wear mask, maintain physical distance and avoid moving out unnecessarily. Earlier in the day, minister Nitin Raut announced a "strict lockdown" in the Nagpur police commissionerate limits from March 15 to 21. Raut is the guardian minister of Nagpur. Last month, lockdown was enforced in Amravati, while certain restrictions were imposed in some other districts of the Amravati division. Meanwhile, the chief minister took the first shot of ''Covishield'' vaccine at the J J Hospital here on Thursday. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News His wife Rashmi Thackeray and mother-in-law also received the vaccine doses. The CM was accompanied by his son and state cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, March 11, 2021, 16:08 [IST] Candidate profiles The Daily Sentinel will be profiling candidates for Grand Junction City Council throughout this week. The candidate profiles are grouped by district and based on a questionnaire the candidates returned to the Daily Sentinel. To read their full responses or to view profiles on other candidates visit gjsentinel.com. Council elections are April 6. This is an artist's impression of the Earth-sized, rocky exoplanet GJ 1132 b, located 41 light-years away around a red dwarf star. Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence this planet may have lost its original atmosphere but gained a second one that contains a toxic mix of hydrogen, methane and hydrogen cyanide. Hubble detected the "fingerprints" of these gases as the parent star's light filtered through the exoplanet's atmosphere. The planet is too far away and too dim to be photographed by Hubble. This illustrates what astronomers believe is going on at this remote world. Beneath the planet's smoggy, hazy atmosphere, there may be a thin crust only a few hundred feet thick. Molten lava beneath the surface continually oozes up through volcanic fissures. Gases seeping through these cracks seem to be constantly replenishing the atmosphere, which would otherwise be stripped away by blistering radiation from the planet's close-by star. The gravitational pull from another planet in the system likely fractures GJ 1132 b's surface to resemble a cracked eggshell. This is the first time a so-called "secondary atmosphere" has been detected on a planet outside of our solar system. Credit: NASA, ESA, and R. Hurt (IPAC/Caltech) Orbiting a red dwarf star 41 light-years away is an Earth-sized, rocky exoplanet called GJ 1132 b. In some ways, GJ 1132 b has intriguing parallels to Earth, but in other ways it is very different. One of the differences is that its smoggy, hazy atmosphere contains a toxic mix of hydrogen, methane and hydrogen cyanide. Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence this is not the planet's original atmosphere, and that the first one was blasted away by blistering radiation from GJ 1132 b's nearby parent star. The so-called "secondary atmosphere" is thought to be formed as molten lava beneath the planet's surface continually oozes up through volcanic fissures. Gases seeping through these cracks seem to be constantly replenishing the atmosphere, which would otherwise also be stripped away by the star. This is the first time a secondary atmosphere has been detected on a world outside our solar system. Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that a planet orbiting a distant star may have lost its atmosphere but gained a second one through volcanic activity. The planet, GJ 1132 b, is hypothesized to have begun as a gaseous world with a thick hydrogen blanket of atmosphere. Starting out at several times the diameter of Earth, this so-called "sub-Neptune" is believed to have quickly lost its primordial hydrogen and helium atmosphere due to the intense radiation of the hot, young star it orbits. In a short period of time, such a planet would be stripped down to a bare core about the size of Earth. That's when things got interesting. To the surprise of astronomers, Hubble observed an atmosphere which, according to their theory, is a "secondary atmosphere" that is present now. Based on a combination of direct observational evidence and inference through computer modeling, the team reports that the atmosphere consists of molecular hydrogen, hydrogen cyanide, methane and also contains an aerosol haze. Modeling suggests the aerosol haze is based on photochemically produced hydrocarbons, similar to smog on Earth. Scientists interpret the current atmospheric hydrogen in GJ 1132 b as hydrogen from the original atmosphere which was absorbed into the planet's molten magma mantle and is now being slowly released through volcanic processes to form a new atmosphere. The atmosphere we see today is believed to be continually replenished to balance the hydrogen escaping into space. "It's super exciting because we believe the atmosphere that we see now was regenerated, so it could be a secondary atmosphere," said study co-author Raissa Estrela of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. "We first thought that these highly irradiated planets could be pretty boring because we believed that they lost their atmospheres. But we looked at existing observations of this planet with Hubble and said, 'Oh no, there is an atmosphere there.'" The findings could have implications for other exoplanets, planets beyond our solar system. "How many terrestrial planets don't begin as terrestrials? Some may start as sub-Neptunes, and they become terrestrials through a mechanism that photo-evaporates the primordial atmosphere. This process works early in a planet's life, when the star is hotter," said lead author Mark Swain of JPL. "Then the star cools down and the planet's just sitting there. So you've got this mechanism where you can cook off the atmosphere in the first 100 million years, and then things settle down. And if you can regenerate the atmosphere, maybe you can keep it." This plot shows the spectrum of the atmosphere of an Earth-sized, rocky exoplanet, GJ 1132 b. The orange line represents the model spectrum. In comparison, the observed spectrum is shown as blue dots representing averaged data points, along with their error bars. This analysis is consistent with GJ 1132 b being predominantly a hydrogen atmosphere with a mix of methane and hydrogen cyanide. The planet also has aerosols which cause scattering of light. This is the first time a so-called "secondary atmosphere," which was replenished after the planet lost its primordial atmosphere, has been detected on a world outside of our solar system. Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Jeffries (STScI) In some ways GJ 1132 b, located about 41 light-years from Earth, has tantalizing parallels to Earth, but in some ways it is very different. Both have similar densities, similar sizes, and similar ages, being about 4.5 billion years old. Both started with a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, and both were hot before they cooled down. The team's work even suggests that GJ 1132 b and Earth have similar atmospheric pressure at the surface. But the planets have profoundly different formation histories. Earth is not believed to be the surviving core of a sub-Neptune. And Earth orbits at a comfortable distance from our Sun. GJ 1132 b is so close to its red dwarf star that it completes an orbit around its host star once every day and a half. This extremely close proximity keeps GJ 1132 b tidally locked, showing the same face to its star at all timesjust as our Moon keeps one hemisphere permanently facing Earth. "The question is, what is keeping the mantle hot enough to remain liquid and power volcanism?" asked Swain. "This system is special because it has the opportunity for quite a lot of tidal heating." Tidal heating is a phenomenon that occurs through friction, when energy from a planet's orbit and rotation is dispersed as heat inside the planet. GJ 1132 b is in an elliptical orbit, and the tidal forces acting on it are strongest when it is closest to or farthest from its host star. At least one other planet in the host star's system also gravitationally pulls on the planet. The consequences are that the planet is squeezed or stretched through this gravitational "pumping." That tidal heating keeps the mantle liquid for a long time. A nearby example in our own solar system is Jupiter's moon Io, which has continuous volcanic activity due to a tidal tug-of-war from Jupiter and the neighboring Jovian moons. Given GJ 1132 b's hot interior, the team believes the planet's cooler, overlying crust is extremely thin, perhaps only hundreds of feet thick. That's much too feeble to support anything resembling volcanic mountains. Its flat terrain may also be cracked like an eggshell due to tidal flexing. Hydrogen and other gases could be released through such cracks. NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope has the ability to observe this exoplanet. Webb's infrared vision may allow scientists to see down to the planet's surface. "If there are magma pools or volcanism going on, those areas will be hotter," explained Swain. "That will generate more emission, and so they'll be looking potentially at the actual geologic activitywhich is exciting!" The team's findings will be published an upcoming issue of The Astronomical Journal. Explore further Study illuminates fates of distant planetary atmospheres More information: Detection of an Atmosphere on a Rocky Exoplanet. arXiv:2103.05657 [astro-ph.EP] Journal information: Astronomical Journal Detection of an Atmosphere on a Rocky Exoplanet. arXiv:2103.05657 [astro-ph.EP] arxiv.org/abs/2103.05657 [March 11, 2021] ForSight Robotics Raises $10 Million from Eclipse Ventures and Mithril Capital in Seed Round ForSight Robotics today announced the company is developing a surgical robotic platform that will transform the future of ophthalmic surgery with a $10 million seed round led by Eclipse Ventures and joined by Mithril Capital. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005252/en/ ForSight Robotics is developing a next-generation miniature robotic system to help democratize ophthalmic surgery worldwide. Pictured above is a component of the robot prototype. (Photo: Business Wire) ForSight's mission is to re-imagine ophthalmic surgery by applying the most advanced technologies in microsurgical robotics, computer visualization and machine learning. The platform will automate the complex subtleties of ophthalmic surgery with an intuitive, patient-centric system that tackles the profound and growing problems of preventable blindness and visual impairment. Many of the leading causes of blindness worldwide can be prevented with timely surgical procedures. However, ophthalmic microsurgery is intricate and challenging, requiring many years to master. Also, trained ophthalmic surgeons are in extremely short supply worldwide. According to a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, affluent nations averaged just 72 eye surgeons per million people, while low-income countries averaged an alarming 3.7 ophthalmologists per million. ForSight's team combines the expertise of world-renowned ophthalmic surgeons with those of today's top medical roboticists - an accomplished group of technologists whose work animates the majority of surgical robots deployed at scale. With the right technology and team in place, ForSight Robotics believes that the talents of today's top eye surgeons can be scaled and shared with the world. Technologically, ForSight's robotics will provide unprecedented dexterity and maneuverability with six degrees of freedom, and the capability of executing intricate tasks with microsurgical instruments. Combining the latest advancements in robotics, machine learning and microsurgery, the ForSight system will incorporate state-of-the-art stereoscopic imaging technologies for surgical planning, real-time image guidance, and unparalleled visualization. The platform will ensure the continuous improvement of surgical technique and exeed human surgical capabilities with more precise movements of only a few microns. ForSight Robotics Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Glozman, Ph.D., has specialized in robotics for medical applications for over 20 years, heading R&D at Medtronic Ventor Technologies, Magenta Medical, Diagnostic Robotics, and Guide-X - which he also founded. ForSight Co-Founder Moshe Shoham, Ph.D., is an acclaimed emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Technion and former head of its robotics laboratory. Besides his many academic honors, Prof. Shoham founded Mazor Robotics, the leading spinal robotics platform since acquired by Medtronic plc. He is an international member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. Joseph Nathan, M.D., ForSight Robotics Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, previously directed healthcare commercialization at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, where he forged partnerships worth over $1 billion with global pharmaceutical and med-tech companies. Dr. Nathan also served as director of New Ventures for the Alfred Mann Institute at the Technion, a $100 million joint venture incubating medical startups. ForSight is supported by a distinguished group of accomplished peers in the field. Members of ForSight's strategic advisory board are: Dr. Fred Moll, co-founder of Intuitive Surgical Inc. and Auris Health Inc., Rony Abovitz, co-founder of Mako Surgical Inc. and Magic Leap Inc., and Ajay Royan, co-founder of Mithril. In addition, ForSight will be guided by a clinical advisory board comprising six world-renowned ophthalmic surgeons. They are Drs. David Chang, Elizabeth Yeu, Vance Thompson, Boris Malyugin, Sam Garg and Modi Naftali. "We are thrilled to bring robotics into the world of ophthalmic surgery," Dr. Glozman said. "Our goal is to democratize this highly sophisticated procedure, enabling patients around the world to easily access the treatment that can restore their vision." Dr. Nathan adds that the system ForSight is building wasn't technologically possible five years ago. "These are exciting times that will enable the transformation of ophthalmic surgery from art to science," he said. "Our goal is to collaborate with physicians, industry and patients to bring the best possible robotic platform in order to benefit as many vision-impaired patients as possible." "Our partnership with ForSight is a continuation of our effort to invest in the most advanced robotics companies and support world-class talent with the necessary experience to build real-world solutions for highly valuable applications and industries," said Seth Winterroth, Partner at Eclipse Ventures. "This company meets all those criteria and one more: Its success will help millions of people around the world see and live better." "As populations grow and age, robotically assisted surgery is an essential tool to simultaneously advance technique and broaden access to top-tier medical expertise," said Ajay Royan, co-founder of Mithril Capital. "ForSight's mission will benefit hundreds of millions around the world." ForSight was awarded a grant from the Israel Innovation Authority's Companies Incentive Program and has built a top-notch executive team to lead mechanical engineering, computer vision, product design and software development. The company is expanding its technical team and is actively seeking highly skilled, impact-driven engineers across the mechanical, software and hardware fields. Anyone interested in career or strategic-partnership opportunities may contact ForSight Robotics through our website or via LinkedIn. About ForSight Robotics Ltd. ForSight Robotics Ltd. is a private company based in Israel that is transforming ophthalmic surgery with state-of-the-art robotics, advanced visualization and data analytics. Learn more at https://www.forsightrobotics.com About Eclipse Ventures Eclipse is an early-stage venture firm managed by a team of former operators who are passionate about modernizing massive, physical industries like manufacturing, logistics, transportation and healthcare. Founded in 2015, Eclipse works side by side with experienced founders who understand the need to transform these industries, providing guidance on everything from operating best practices to fundraising strategies. Partnering with Eclipse means deep engagement toward building generational companies in sectors that define and propel economies. Learn more at https://eclipse.vc. About Mithril Capital Management Mithril is a venture capital firm co-founded by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel. Agnostic to sector and geography, the firm invests and partners with teams that use technology to build valuable and lasting businesses, often in industries long overdue for change. Each of these businesses is unique, but all face common challenges to unlocking long-term growth. Mithril helps navigate these critical inflection points and invests in size and with conviction. Mithril is headquartered in Austin, TX. Learn more at https://mithril.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005252/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] When Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, received the US$1-million Dan David Prize last month, it was not only for his lifelong work in public health. He was also honoured for speaking truth to power. Opinion When Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, received the US$1-million Dan David Prize last month, it was not only for his lifelong work in public health. He was also honoured for "speaking truth to power." Speaking truth to power is not only a thankless task; it is a dangerous one. Power rarely appreciates the conversation something Fauci knows only too well. Its why 50 journalists worldwide were killed in 2020. And being an environmental defender is even more dangerous: in 2019, 212 were killed. Thankfully, in Canada, the risks are not so high for either journalists or environmental defenders. But power though constrained by the rule of law still reshapes those laws to make it harder for truth to be spoken, and punishes people who speak it anyway. Unfortunately, under Premier Brian Pallister, Manitoba has become a riskier place for environmentalists and journalists to advocate for a sustainable future. For some reason, it seems there is no more sensitive nerve for Pallister than the one connected to the environment and sustainable development. Even when he is given the opportunity to receive federal money, whether it is from a carbon tax or sustainable infrastructure funds for municipalities, or public transportation subsidies, he balks or refuses to co-operate. Further, any criticism of Pallisters government or its policies however reasonable and well-deserved that criticism might be is immediately considered to be both a personal affront and a politically motivated attack. I also suspect anything less than enthusiasm from his MLAs is viewed as disloyalty perhaps even enough to get cabinet ministers sacked and their departments reconfigured. As for environmental affairs, no other sector of the Progressive Conservative government has had its cabinet responsibilities rearranged (read: mangled) three times in five years, each time then given to a new, rookie minister. It appears that just when the green minister starts to get a handle on her hastily rearranged portfolio and makes progress in co-operating with local environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), she is replaced. Even when Pallisters heart is in the right place, his head is somewhere else. For example, after months of consultations, hype and dramatic build-up, the 2017 release of the Climate and Green Plan, in all its many-pillared splendour, left ENGOs and everyone else bewildered by what Pallister thought was the way to make Manitoba into Canadas greenest province. Pallister was clearly hurt by this general lack of applause. So, after eliminating Green Manitoba and removing energy conservation (PowerSmart) from Manitoba Hydro, Pallisters government (supposedly as a cost-saving measure) then decided to defund the main ENGOs in Manitoba. These actions were clearly driven by ideology more than frugality the amount of money saved by defunding the ENGOs, for example, is laughably small in comparison to other spending decisions that the Pallister government routinely makes on a whim (new vaccine, anyone?). Our provincial ENGOs are not on the side of any government; nor should they be. They are on the side of Manitobans, present and future. Increasingly grim climate numbers demonstrate that no government, anywhere, is doing enough, quickly enough, to make the kind of difference a sustainable future requires. So giving Pallisters environmental paralysis a thumbs-down doesnt automatically mean giving a thumbs-up to the NDP, the Liberals or even the Green Party. But despite the (literal) price Manitoban ENGOs have paid for criticizing the Pallister governments decisions where criticism seems to mean anything less than rapturous applause they continue to do what they can, for all of us. This is why three main ENGOs in Manitoba Green Action Centre, Climate Change Connection and Wilderness Committee applied for and received funding (with other partners) from the Winnipeg Foundation to draw up a blueprint for what Manitobans could do together, working in practical ways toward the achievable goal of a sustainable future. (Launched on Feb. 18, you can find The Road to Resilience at the groups website, climateactionmb.ca). Speaking truth to power doesnt necessarily lead to conflict but if power cant handle that truth, then those who choose to speak it anyway will likely be in trouble. In Pallisters Manitoba, it seems to mean limits on both freedom of speech and action, according to the currently phantom Bill 57 (the Protection of Critical Infrastructure Act), the contents of which we still await. It also can mean losing government funding, the elimination of valuable programs, and just fighting to stay afloat, rather than being supported in educating Manitobans about sustainability and resilience. But in a free and democratic society, that truth needs to be spoken, both to keep freedom and democracy alive and to keep tyranny in check. We should respect and honour those who have courage to do this, whatever the price and perhaps listen to what they have to say. For a change. Peter Denton is an activist, writer and scholar who makes his home in rural Manitoba. Figure 1: Future aridity changes of atmospheric, ecohydrological, and socio- economic systems over drylands. Credit: Peking University Global drylands are experiencing faster-than-average warming and are also among the most vulnerable regions to climate change. Meteorological metrics all point to an emerging trend of increased surface aridity, raising concerns of land desertification and degradation. However, recent satellite observations also show lusher drylands, in apparent contradiction to the image of drylands becoming drier. In a new review article published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, an international team comprehensively examined global dryland aridity changes with evidence from the literature and various sources of Earth observations and numerical modeling. A key message of this synthesis is that, by considering the physiological effect of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), the apparent paradox between enhanced surface aridity and lusher dryland vegetation can actually be resolved. Led by researchers from Peking University, the team includes scientists with diverse expertise on global dryland research from China, U.K., France, Australia, U.S. and Austria. By employing a broad range of aridity metrics, the team provided a more complete picture of current and future aridity changes over global drylands. They found that atmospheric-based metrics generally show a strong trend of rising dryness; while soil moisture and runoff also imply increasing dryland aridity, yet at slower paces. By contrast, ecosystem-based metrics show a trend of greening and reduced plant water stress, despite the rising atmospheric dryness. The co-occurrence of atmospheric drying and ecosystem greening over drylands is also confirmed by model simulations of vegetation dynamics. Lian Xu from Peking University, the lead author of this study, explains: "Literally, aridity means insufficient water supply to meet the demand. However, for different parts of the land surface, their supply and demand sides are different; and they can move in divergent directions under environmental change. Therefore, when different dryness metrics are brought together in a unified framework, they can have very different trends." He further added: "No single metric fully captures the complex nature of the land surface aridity." Higher temperatures increase atmospheric demand for water, and are expected to aggravate plant water stress. However, dryland plants are found to experience reduced levels of water stress thanks to the simultaneously increasing concentration of atmospheric CO 2 . This is because the pores of plant leaves (stomata), which allow for water loss through a process called transpiration, partially close under higher CO 2 concentrations, conserves water under increasing aridity. For water-stressed ecosystems, the saved water allows plants to capture extra CO 2 and thus trigger more vigorous growth (greening). The reduced plant transpiration also impacts other land surface processes, leaving more water stored in soils and running off through rivers, but at the same time also making the near-surface air warmer and drier. "It is always tempting to define the water stress plants will feel under climate change by the new weather regimes they might experience. Our research shows that ignoring vegetation physiological response gives an incomplete picture, as the capability to adjust to drier conditions is stronger than expected," said Chris Huntingford from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The authors note that future changes to drylands may be highly nonlinear, and subject to additional drivers such as flash droughts, fire disturbances and intensification of human activities, which are not yet fully understood. "Understanding possible nonlinear behaviors and tipping points of dryland ecosystem changes, and improving their representation in Earth system models, is a high priority for future research," Lian added. In the future, the rapidly growing populations and socio-economic development in drylands may increase human water demand dramatically, which will become the key driving force of dryland aridity changes, competing with ecosystems for water and posing a growing threat to ecosystem health. "Dryland water-resource management and climate-change mitigation policies should consider how to manage water in more efficient and sustainable ways, to safeguard food security while simultaneously maintain healthy ecosystems," said Fu Bojie of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who leads the Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme (Global-DEP) aiming to facilitate dryland social-ecological sustainability. Explore further Soil moisture exerts a negative feedback on surface water availability in drylands: study More information: Xu Lian et al. Multifaceted characteristics of dryland aridity changes in a warming world, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2021). Xu Lian et al. Multifaceted characteristics of dryland aridity changes in a warming world,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s43017-021-00144-0 .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal Nearly 220,000 people at the top of the states priority list for COVID vaccinations because of their work, age or other risk factors have received at least one dose of the vaccine by registering with the states centralized appointment system. But another 200,000 currently eligible registered New Mexicans were still waiting in the state queue for an initial shot as of Tuesday. Data released to the Journal this week by the state Department of Health shows that among the 75-and-older group, with the highest COVID-19 mortality rate, about 32,000 registrants had not been vaccinated, while nearly 67% of the 96,706 who registered have received at least one shot. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Of the 265,337 who are registered in the chronic health conditions category, 37% have been at least partly vaccinated. Another 167,849 people in that category are still waiting for at least an initial shot. Meanwhile, more than 180,000 people, or about one-fourth of all those who have received at least an initial shot from a provider, did so without first registering with the state, the state DOH vaccination website shows. Some providers were offering vaccinations without requiring registration with the state, especially in the early stages. Now, those waiting in the eligible registered groups are expected to face additional delays. State officials said this week that teachers and other school employees would be entering the eligibility pool, with an estimated 55,000 to be vaccinated ahead of those in the earlier priority categories by the end of March. That comes as part of a federal directive aimed at getting students back to in-person learning nationwide. Educators and staffers who havent registered for a vaccine with the state are urged to do so at cvvaccine.nmhealth.org. We may have more educators and school staff register over the coming weeks, DOH spokesman Matt Bieber said Wednesday. Health Secretary Dr. Tracie Collins said this week that the state would still be keeping vaccination appointments for the earlier prioritized groups, with about 7,100 of those scheduled for a first-dose appointment as of Monday. And while the state is receiving more vaccine than ever before, about 80,000 doses this week, federal government shipments of the third vaccine approved for emergency use in the U.S. from Johnson & Johnson stalled temporarily this week. The news of potentially longer waits to receive the shots led some New Mexicans to react in online web posts. We all know teachers and staff need the vaccine, but now that they got moved up the list, the rest of us in the at risk and older than 60 and essential group just got pushed down the list!! Now it will be a longer wait? Hopefully not too long or too late!!! Herman Lucero wrote on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams Facebook page the day of the announcement of in-person school reopening slated for early April. According to national media reports, New Mexico was one of the first states to adopt a centralized system to manage vaccinating residents in a phased-in approach. And more than a dozen others have followed suit. During a recent online interview with The Washington Post, Lujan Grisham touted the merits of the 3-month-old registration system. Probably the most important thing is we created a data registry system that pushes out appointments, that helps people get to appointments. You can do it over the telephone, and it reaches hard-to-reach populations, doesnt allow us to waste vaccine and, really, to the highest degree possible, allows you to hold priority populations in the positions they should be in to have access to the vaccine, the governor told the Post. The registration system asks for age, occupation and whether a person has any one of more than a dozen chronic health conditions that would put them at a higher risk. As vaccines become available, the system then notifies the person when and where there is an open appointment. Last week, the DOH sent text messages to those who have registered saying, New Mexico is the most efficient state in the country for vaccine distribution, but demand still exceeds supply. If you have not received your vaccine, please wait for a notification. Please do NOT show up at a vaccine event without an appointment. Doing so creates additional health risks. The DOH didnt respond to a Journal question about how many people received that text message. But the new glimpse into the registration system offers more specifics about where people stand in the often frustrating wait to be notified, such as: Of the 708,075 people registered as of Monday, nearly 62%, or 437,461 people, are currently eligible for vaccination. Under the states phased-in system, the top, or 1A, priority encompasses health care workers, medical first responders and those in long-term care settings. That is to be followed by those 75 and older in the 1B-1 group, and the largest category to date, 1B-2, which covers those 16 and over with at least one chronic health condition. The state plan prioritizes those most at risk for exposure, such as hospital workers or, in the case of seniors and those with chronic conditions, those who are at higher risk of death or serious illness. State officials say the selection for appointments is randomized within each group to be fair to all who have registered. In the states original phase-in plan, educators and staff had been behind the chronic conditions group in priority as part of the category of essential workers who cannot work remotely. They were to join grocery store employees, firefighters and others. But late last week, educators were moved up, and they are now being vaccinated. Those 60 and over without underlying medical conditions are in the IC group, behind the at-risk group of all ages, and arent yet eligible. However, the state vaccine website shows that 122,682 people in the 60-74 age group have received at least one dose, presumably because they either have chronic conditions or met the criteria for the top priority group of health care workers. The state system has sent out more than 465,000 notifications to alert registered eligible New Mexicans about an available appointment for vaccination. But state data shows that only half that number received at least one dose after being notified. The notification process has been scrutinized lately, with Collins promising to give seniors more time to respond because the appointments for vaccinations fill up quickly. The state ranks at the top of the most efficient vaccination rates, using 99% of its federal supply. As of Monday, 700,000 doses had been administered statewide. Health officials have said they typically wait until 60% of those in a vaccination phase have received shots before moving on to the next phase. Two outlets that had been vaccinating hundreds of people outside the registry are now requiring people to first register with the state. Vida Pharmacy in Albuquerque, which has been holding vaccination events at the National Hispanic Cultural Center and the Raymond G. Sanchez Community Center in Albuquerque, now has a registration process that requires registration with the state and then a second registration directly with its pharmacy. Its website said Wednesday that seniors 75 and older or 65 and older with underlying health conditions can email info@vidanm.com for additional information on events for seniors. Elsewhere in New Mexico, Guadalupe County Hospital in Santa Rosa had its own vaccination registry but is now accepting registration through the DOH website. According to its website, all those who had registered through the hospital website are urged to register with the DOH for vaccination availability. Authorities in Nigerias Niger state have shut all public secondary schools for two weeks from Friday. Hajiya Hannatu Jibrin Salihu who heads the education ministry in the state said the two weeks closure was to give security agencies "the time and opportunity to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment". More than 20 schools in the state had been shut following the abduction of 27 boys and their teachers from a secondary school in the Kagara area of the state last month. That kidnapping had been followed by the abduction of more than 250 girls from a secondary school in nearby Zamfara state, where some schools have also been shut since the incident. Kano, Yobe and Katsina states in northern Nigeria have also shut some secondary schools recently because of criminals who target students in a growing kidnap-for-ransom crisis. Thursdays announcement by the Niger state government was after a meeting with various security agencies. Ms Salihu said the aim of shutting the schools was to provide strategies that will restore and guarantee sustainable security and safety of students, school infrastructure, education managers and teachers in the state. 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. Featured Video Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 20:07:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WINDHOEK, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Namibian has seized close to 300 million Namibian dollars(20 million U.S. dollars) worth of bootlegged alcohol, pharmaceuticals, cocaine and cannabis in the past three years, Ministry of Finance Chief Public Relations Officer Tonateni Shidhudhu said on Thursday. Shidhudhu told local media that they are now working closely with other southern African states under the auspices of transparency in the movement of goods between borders. According to Shidhudhu, the seized contraband goods have also negatively affected the country's potential revenue collection as the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced incomes received through cross-border trading because of reduced travelling opportunities. "Namibia and other countries have established good relationships by having customs to customs cooperation. Customs administrations are able to share information and intelligence to curb customs law circumvention, among others potential smuggling," he said. The actual value of cocaine seized is 206 million Namibian dollars, just above 7 million Namibian dollars for pharmaceutical products, while cannabis caters for just above 24 million Namibian dollars. "Namibia has coordinated border management programs with neighbouring countries and usually conduct joint border patrols together with SADC and SACU," he said. Enditem YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Coordinator of Fatherland Salvation Movement Ishkahn Saghatelyan presented their answer to President Sarkissian's proposal of holding a meeting between political forces. The Movement reaffirms its roadmap for overcoming the crisis resignation of the PM, establishment of an interim government and holding snap elections. We announce about our readiness to hold consultations in line with the mentioned format and the agenda presented by our force. The meetings must be held at the National Assembly endowed with a primary mandate, in a public format and live broadcasted, ARMENPRESS reports Saghatelyan saying at a press conference. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian issued a statement on March 10 inviting PM Pashinyan, heads of parliamentary groups and Fatherland Salvation Movement (FSM) to hold a meeting at the Presidential Residence on March 13 to discuss the domestic political situation in the country and find mutually acceptable solutions for overcoming the crisis. Ruling ''My step'' block and opposition ''Bright Armenia'' Party have already accepted the President's invitation. Opposition ''Prosperous Armenia'' Party has not expressed its decision on the proposal yet. CAIRO (AP) Sudan's prime minister held talks with the Egyptian president in Cairo on Thursday as both nations seek to build a united front in the ongoing dispute over the controversial dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi agreed that both governments should work closely at this critical moment" until they mobilize international and regional players to help mediate a solution to the water dispute with Ethiopia, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency. The dispute centers on the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam and how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how the three countries would settle any future disputes. Egypt and Sudan also call for a legally binding agreement on the dams filling and operation, while Ethiopia insists on guidelines. Despite years-long negotiations, the countries have failed to reach a three-way deal. Karthoum has recently called for internationalizing the dispute to include the U.S., the European Union, the U.N. and the African Union to facilitate reaching an agreement on the filling and the operation of Ethiopia's massive dam. Sudan wants Ethiopia to coordinate and share data on the dams operation to avoid flooding and protect its own power-generating dams on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River. The Blue Nile meets with the White Nile in Khartoum. From there, the Nile winds northward through Egypt and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt, the Arab worlds most populous country with over 100 million people, has called the dam an existential threat and worries that it would reduce its share of Nile waters. The country relies almost entirely on the Nile to supply water for agriculture and its people. About 85% of the Niles flow originates from Ethiopia. Ethiopian officials hope the dam, now more than three-quarters complete, will reach full power-generating capacity in 2023, helping pull millions of its people out of poverty. Story continues We are concerned about Ethiopias intention to move forward with the filling of the dam for the second consecutive year without coordinating with the two downstream countries, said Egypts Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly in a joint news conference with Hamdok. In recent weeks, Cairo and Khartoum criticized Ethiopias plans to start a second filling of the dams reservoir during the next rainy season, expected in July. This leaves us with very little time to handle the situation, said Hamdok. However, we are hopeful that by then we can reach an agreement on how the filling can take place." Hamdoks visit came less than a week after el-Sissis had been in Khartoum in his first visit to the neighboring country since the popular uprising that led to the Sudanese militarys overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Egypt has in recent years sought to rebuild ties with its southern neighbor, an effort that has intensified since al-Bashirs ouster. Top civilian and military officials from both nations have exchanged regular visits. Earlier this month, both countries signed an agreement to strengthen military cooperation. At their news conference, both premiers said they discussed several economic projects that foster cooperation between their countries in areas such as electricity, transportation, agriculture and irrigation. Photo by Ellie Beals. "Call me Swankie or a Tech Titan, whichever you prefer," said Charlene Swankie, who appears beside Frances McDormand in the acclaimed new film Nomadland. I said OK and launched into my first question. But Swankie wanted to talk Titans. She started to answer my question but stopped and changed the subject. "By the way, I went to Tech High School in Indianapolis." As in Arsenal Tech. It was as if she thought I had missed something when she mentioned the Tech Titans, and perhaps she was right. And then she said, "I named them the Titans." I didn't see that coming. "I named them the Titans," she said, repeating herself to make sure I was on track. "You named them the Titans?" I asked. How does that happen? "They used to be the Greenclads, whatever that is," said Swankie, speaking to me via Zoom from her home, a 2006 Chevrolet van, somewhere in Arizona. Remind me, who is Charlene Swankie? Charlene Swankie has been living the vandwelling life since 2008. We see her playing a character mostly based on her life in Nomadland, the recently released film directed by Chloe Zhao, starring Frances McDormand, and based on Jessica Bruder's account of modern-day nomads who took to the road following the 2008 recession. I know a good story when I hear it, and I also appreciate good videography when I see it. Nomadland offers both, along with captivating characters like Fern, Bob Wells (of Cheap RV Living fame), Linda May, and of course, Swankie. When I learned that Swankie's character in Nomadland was based on a real vandweller, I was so compelled by her character's stories especially the part about the swallows nesting over the riverthat I looked her up on the internet spoiler alert! to find out whether she had indeed died, as she did in the film. Apparently, I wasn't the only one! Others had done the same. I found the Swankie Wheels Facebook page and the Swankie Lives blog. Swankie is very much alive and well, responding to fan questions. During that search, I learned that Swankie aka Charlene Beaty, her maiden name has been researching genealogy and collecting rocks, and I discovered that she grew up in Indianapolis. Hence the reason I was talking with her. She was born in Florida, then her family moved to Indianapolis when she was very young. She told me that she lived on the east side, around Washington and Oriental Streets, attended Public School 78 and Public School 14. And she graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1962. She wasn't keen on the team name Greenclads. Did You Know? Swankie is one Tech Titan who isn't giving up anytime soon. And just maybe, shell change her mind and cross the Mississippi River one more time so she can attend her 60th anniversary reunion at Arsenal Technical High School in 2022. The White River will be waiting for her. "I started a cheer block, and I decided I didn't like the word Greenclad," said Swankie. "I sat down and went through the dictionary one night until I got to the word 'Titans,' and thought, 'That goes good with Tech.'" Swankie wasn't the only one who disliked Greenclads because a "Name the Team" contest was held in 1961. Swankie's suggested name "Titans" prevailed, according to the October 28, 1961 edition of The Indianapolis Star. A rolling stone gathers no moss As a young woman whose formative years were influenced by 1950s Midwestern rules and sensibilities, Swankie did what she thought she was supposed to do: she got married and had children. But life got in the way, and things didn't quite work out the way she had hoped. "If you're in a bad situation and don't have a reason to stay in it, then you have a reason to get out of it," said Swankie. "I was in a really bad situation a number of times. It took me a long time to learn how to stop doing that. We're brought up to think that we're supposed to follow the rules and live this Cinderella dream and just endure it." According to her blog, by the end of the 1970s, she was divorced with two little boys. Wanting to study recreation, she found herself back in Indiana, this time in Bloomington, completing a BS in Recreation in 1980 at Indiana University. However, Swankies IU experience was not easy. "I was a single mother, and I was struggling, and I had two little kids to take care of, and I was working part-time and going to school full time. I didn't know which way was up most of the time," said Swankie. In 2001, she married David Swankie. However, he died shortly after they were married. As heartbreaking as this was, Swankie said he left her with good health insurance, which she said she'll have for life. Van life and kayak life By 2008, Swankie had launched her nomadic life and her Swankie Wheels blog, which documented her adventures. She said she would have gone fully mobile in the 1990s, but she said she didn't have the necessary technology. The living space inside her van solar-panel-topped van is about 5' x 10', including the bed and a poster of the United States illustrating the places she has paddled. On her blog, she introduces herself like this: "In 2006, I was shopping for a wheelchair. By 2007, I had new knees, better health and by 2008 a kayak. In Aug 2013, I kayaked my 49th state, Alaska, at the Holgate Glacier and in May 2014, I kayaked Hawaii, my 50th state, to celebrate my 70th Birthday and the finale to the wonderful adventure of Kayaking America?" As Swankie spoke to me, I saw a Kayak America sticker on a bulletin board behind her right shoulder. She has kayaked every state, beginning with California in 2008. It was the kayak that brought Swankie back to Indiana in August 2011. She put her kayak in Lake Monroe, officially logging her 35th state paddled. Unfortunately, the White River wasn't part of her paddling plan. "When I was there, it wasn't water that you wanted to get in," said Swankie. However, she acknowledged that the river was in much better condition now than in the 1960s. When asked whether she might return to Indiana, Swankie said, "I won't be returning. I'm not going east of the Mississippi again." She added, "All the relatives who lived there, except for two nephews, have left the state. There's nobody left they've either died or moved away. There are still some classmates around; some of them are on my Facebook." And Now Hollywood life or not Swankie will be the first to tell you that she's an introvert. So much so that if she doesn't want visitors, she'll hang a skull and crossbones flag on her vanjust like she did in Nomadland. When Bruder documented the life of vandwellers in her book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, Swankie was among the nomads interviewed. When McDormand teamed up with Zhao to produce the film, naturally, they included Swankie, mostly as herself except the part where she dies and her friends toss rocks into a bonfire in remembrance of her. "I didn't like pretending, acting that I was sick and dying because I'm not sick and dying," said Swankie. "I'm very healthy and strong." Otherwise, she said the Swankie character in the film wasn't acting. "I was just being me." While the circumstances that brought Swankie to the nomadic life are different from those portrayed in the book and the film, the celebrity life was not part of Swankie's plan "you're asking an introvert if they want to do 10 interviews in one morning?!" Swankie said the film hasn't changed her life. "I don't intend to let it change my life. I was perfectly happy with the way I had things before the movie, and I'm probably going to continue to do things the same way after the movie," she said. Furthermore, she said she would be true to the film scene where she describes her exit. "I'm not going to end up in a hospital and die in a hospital bed," she said. As much as the celebrity life has thrown her, even more so than the pandemic, the two supporting actress award nominations she received were beyond anything she could have imagined. Given that Nomadland has won two Golden Globes and a host of other awards, Swankie is waiting to see what happens at the Academy Awards. And then she'll return to being Swankie. Some advice before you buy that van Living the van life isn't for everyone, especially those with medical issues. And while it might be nice to imagine what life could be like on the open road, Swankie has advice, especially for older women those who have spent their lives being unpaid wives, mothers, and grandmothers, devoting their lives to their families, who end up with no social security benefits. "If you're in that position, think of a way to get income so you're putting into social security or some way that you have something to live off of afterwards because $500 or $1000 a month just doesn't cut it in this day and age. You can't live in a clean, decent place for that amount of money." For a woman who has endured more than a lifetime of challenges and health issues, Swankie seems to have lived the last 13 years or so comfortably and on her own terms. And probably, that's because she has abided by the advice she leaves with others: "Never give up, find a way because you have no idea what might be in store it could be beyond your wildest imaginings!" * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Europe to get 4 million extra Pfizer shots this month The European Commission has struck a deal with drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech for four million extra COVID-19 vaccine doses to be delivered this month. Bernard Allotey Jacobs, former Central Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has warned the NDC of an impending danger following their behaviour towards the Second Lady of Ghana, Samira Bawumia and Chief Justice Anin Yeboah. The NDC Minority in Parliament hooted and booed the two personalities when they were acknowledged by the Speaker of Parliament after President Nana Addo gave his State of the Nation Address before the House on Tuesday, March 9. In the specific case of Samira Bawumia, the Minority hooted; ''We want Ramatu''. This "Ramatu" has been associated with the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as his second wife but undisclosed to the public. Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo", Allotey Jacobs castigated the Minority calling their action an embarrassment to the nation. What they did to Bawumias wife and that of the Chief Justice, it shall come to pass. Oh! Jesus Christ!! Withal are we going? Was it being done to pacify some group of people in their party or they look at themselves as men of dignity? Well, it shall come to pass!, he stressed. 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. Featured Video When Irishman Aengus Kelly got his first job in aircraft leasing in 1996 it was with a firm so down on its luck the American giant General Electric had an option to buy it for one dollar. Three years earlier, GE had taken over the jewels of ruined Irish leasing empire Guinness Peat Aviation for $1.3bn and renamed it GECAS, while the discarded rump that hired the young accountant Kelly was left with GPA's "bad assets." On Wednesday, Kelly completed a dramatic 25-year turnaround with a $30bn acquisition of GECAS by AerCap, the direct corporate descendant of the assets spurned by GE when it rescued the business built by legendary Irish entrepreneur Tony Ryan. It is a reminder of the risks and sometimes spectacular rewards inherent in a discreet and largely Dublin-based industry that owns 40% of the world's airline fleets. The deal marries AerCap, already the world's largest lessor following earlier acquisitions, with No. 2 GECAS to create an industry titan with more than 2,000 jetliners and relations with most key airlines. After effectively reuniting the two wings of Ryan's empire by buying GECAS, Kelly vowed not to let Ireland's new AerCap-controlled leasing giant suffer the same fate as GPA. "Those lessons were imprinted into me. You cannot run this business with a short-term liability structure or a balance sheet that is not conservative," Kelly said in an interview. "The lessons were hard-learned. I won't lie to you, but they'll never be forgotten." Known for his focus on managing risk, the 47-year-old Dubliner is a very different character from Ryan, whose highly leveraged bets built but then destroyed a leasing behemoth. While Ryan's career was a rollercoaster that saw his fortune destroyed before a punt on budget airline Ryanair rebuilt it, Kelly's rise has been slow and steady. His strategy has been to keep the balance sheet strong to swoop on killer deals when times are tough for rivals. ASSET VALUES Kelly noted that AerCap had bought GECAS for less than its assets were worth on GE's balance sheet, a move that GE said would trigger a $3bn charge. "No other company in aircraft leasing has ever done an M&A trade below book (value). Aercap has done it four times. Why are we able to do that? Because of our conservative balance sheet, because it puts us into a position to act when times are tough." However, several aircraft transactions have been followed by asset writedowns by the buyer. Industry executives warned there was a risk of further pressure on the value of the assets being bought by AerCap as the coronavirus crisis hammers airlines. "There's always a risk ... but you price all that in when you do the transaction," Kelly said. He also dismissed any concerns over $25bn of fresh debt, saying AerCap had kept a coveted investment-grade rating. That still leaves a leasing monolith roughly three times the size of its nearest rival facing questions over its size. Kelly had himself flagged concerns about growing too big at an Airfinance Journal conference in January last year, when he suggested a fleet of about 2,000 jets would be tricky to run. On Wednesday, he said he was confident AerCap could manage the volume of business without having to push down the price it charges airlines simply to keep up with the fleet turnover. A significant number of low-value regional jets in GECAS' portfolio have been placed until the end of their life, and GECAS has switched a significant number of narrowbodies to freight, he said. All eyes are now on whether the next tier of lessors will be driven towards further consolidation or press regulators to exact concessions. After the long road back from predecessor GPA's downfall, Kelly vaunted AerCap's credentials as an independent lessor competing with the units of major banks. But other executives said suppliers, airlines and lessors are still digesting the deal. "Its a huge market ... There's plenty of competition out there," Kelly said. "Were competing every day against the behemoth of the biggest banks in the world that own aircraft leasing companies." Reuters You are here: China The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) Wednesday said that a total of 9.85 million reports of illegal and harmful online content were dealt with in February. The number fell 12.1 percent month on month and 6.4 percent year on year, said the CAC. Over one-tenth of the tip-offs were handled by the central and local cyberspace regulators while major Chinese websites, including Weibo and Baidu, handled the remaining 8.75 million complaints, down 5.8 percent from a year earlier. In a bid to build a sound internet environment, the CAC launched multiple channels, such as a hotline and a mobile app, for netizens to report illegal and harmful online activities. Wells Fargo will discontinue its Abbot Downing wealth-management brand and fold the unit, which catered to the ultra-wealthy, into its larger private bank, according to an internal memo seen by The Charlotte Observer. The move continues the ongoing consolidation underway in the banks wealth management division. Last month, Wells Fargo sold its mutual fund business to two private equity firms for $2.1 billion. The change were introducing today is only to the name under which well do business, said Barry Sommers, head of Wells Fargos wealth and investment management division, in the Wednesday memo. As we begin the work to transition the brand, I want to reiterate that we will continue to maintain and grow our ultra-high-net worth business, Sommers said. Abbot Downing was announced in 2011 to combine multiple existing units at the bank that served the rich. It was named for a manufacturer of Wells Fargo stagecoaches in the 19th century. The unit manages over $47 billion, according to its website. A Wells Fargo spokesman was not immediately available for comment Thursday morning. Private banking It is common for major Wall Street banks to have separate units for the very wealthy, staffed with advisors who can deal with the unique challenges of substantial money. A 2012 notice advertised that Abbot Downing offered a full suite of services to address the financial, social, and personal dimensions of multigenerational wealth. Based in Minneapolis, the specialized brand provided much more than a regular financial advisor could offer. Its services ranged from helping prepare young heirs to inherit the family riches to crafting a specialized tax strategy. It even had a historian on staff. The move brings the bank closer to its goal of unifying its wealth and investment management business, Sommers said. He said it was the right move in light of the larger transformation happening across Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is in the process of cutting its annual expenses by $10 billion, which executives say is necessary to make the bloated bank as efficient as its peers. A large portion of the cuts will be from streamlining the organizational structure of bank, cutting the numerous layers of bureaucracy despised by CEO Charlie Scharf. Story continues Most of the savings will come from cutting payroll through layoffs and natural attrition. In the fourth quarter last year, headcount at the bank dropped by 6,400 in the fourth quarter to 268,531. Employees have criticized the process for its lack of clarity and spotty communication. Last year, Scharf acknowledged in an internal webcast that the cost-cutting process was impacting morale at the bank. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is the largest private employer in Charlotte, with about 27,000 employees in the area. MONTVILLE The public information officer for the Chesterfield Fire Company has been charged in connection with crash scene photos he took without permission and posted to his agencys Facebook page last month, according to an arrest warrant. Steven E. Frischling, 45, of Carriage Hill Drive in Niantic, was charged with two counts of illegally taking or transmission by first responders of images of crime or accident victims, according to a warrant for his arrest. Someone convicted of this offense faces a fine of up to $2,000, up to one year in jail or both, according to statute. It was genuinely surprising, Frischling told Hearst Connecticut Media on Thursday regarding his arrest. Frischling, who is still actively serving in his PIO role with no changes to his duties or responsibilities, said hes very familiar with the law and does not believe he violated it. The statute says that first responders are prohibited from photographing a person and disseminating the images without the consent of that person or of a member of that persons immediate family other than in the performance of his or her duties. Those 10 words define my job, Frischling said. My duties as a PIO are to inform the public on what their firefighters are doing, what their EMTs are doing. It is not to harm somebody thats been involved in an accident, which is why when you look at the photographs, you cant see a victim. Frischling, a fire company member for three years and public information officer for more than a year, said he holds multiple certifications from state, federal and other entities in public information, social media in emergency management, external affairs and communications. He said he takes great care ... to make sure there are no victims in my pictures. He said he shared the photos with the description of the crash to inform people of what happened, especially since the collision shut down a major intersection for more than an hour. Montville police began investigating a post Frischling made Feb. 7 on the fire companys Facebook page regarding a two-car crash on Route 85 at Grassy Hill Road where three people were taken to the hospital with injuries, according to the warrant. The warrant said Frischling is accused of posting photographs of victims at an accident scene on social media without their permission. Frischling was taken into custody Tuesday and was released on a $1,000 bond. He is expected in court on April 15. While the photos Frischling posted on Facebook appear to be similar to ones from other crash sites posted on the page, the warrant states he did not receive permission from the victims involved in the Grassy Hill Road accident. Photos are also usually blurred to cover license plates or to protect the identities of the victims. In the Grassy Hill post, Frischling included a disclaimer: Images may have a digital blur to obscure portions of a patients identity and their license plate. Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said that while he couldnt speak to the specifics of the law, he had concerns that criminal charges were brought against Frischling for photos that he said could have been taken by any member of the public. Regardless of his position, criminalizing that type of action is a real concern, Silverman said. But Montville Police Lt. David Radford wrote in the warrant that Frischling posted the victims photos without consent. Radford said the driver of one of the vehicles involved in the accident had to be extricated. The pictures of the scene included occupants of the vehicles, and in one particular picture, the victim was still in the vehicle being extricated, Radford wrote in the warrant. A second photo also depicted a male standing next to an individual being strapped to a stretcher for transports. On March 3, Radford met with the victims attorney who said their client was still in a rehabilitation facility after the crash, the warrant said. The attorney told Radford, the victim would not want his information posted on social media and the victim did not give anyone permission to post his picture on Facebook or any other social media, the warrant said. The lawyer claimed a juvenile family member was affected by the crash because of the post. The images and accident summary remain on the fire companys Facebook page. Ultimately what you have here is a law thats criminalizing the publication of photos that are taken in a public space and that involve a newsworthy incident like a car accident, and that is the concern, Silverman said. This is a PIO whose duty is to inform the public, and he was doing so by taking these photographs and posting them. On March 5, Radford met with Frischling at Montville Town Hall. When questioning Frischling about the photos, Radford asked if he obtains permission from victims to take the images and post them. The accused stated that for one, permission in the right of the public view is not required and any face is blurred, the warrant said. Frischling told Radford there is no requirement to obtain any permission from a victim in the right of the public view in any photo, according to the warrant. It said he also referred to the victims faces as pixelated and unidentifiable. Frischling told Radford the Chesterfield Fire Company has an internal policy to pixelate or blur any photos that show a victims face, the warrant states. On Thursday, Fire Chief Keith Truex, who accompanied Frischling when he was interviewed by Radford, confirmed that Frischling was not on administrative leave nor has any action been taken against him due to his arrest. There were no court records on the states judicial website for Frischlings case as of Thursday. Reuters Boeing Co CEO Dave Calhoun faces a multibillion-dollar dilemma over how to rebuild sales in its core airliner business that has sparked an internal debate and put the future of the largest U.S. exporter on the line, industry insiders say. Boeing is reeling from a safety scandal following crashes of its 737 MAX airliner and an air travel collapse caused by the pandemic. Boeing's share of the single-aisle jetliner market - where it competes in a global duopoly with Airbus - has faded from some 50% a decade ago to roughly 35% after the 737 MAX's lengthy grounding, according to Agency Partners and other analysts. The European Commission on Wednesday warned of "worrying developments" for media freedoms in eastern member states Hungary, Poland and Slovenia as lawmakers in Brussels debated the issue Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2021 ) :The European Commission on Wednesday warned of "worrying developments" for media freedoms in eastern member states Hungary, Poland and Slovenia as lawmakers in Brussels debated the issue. "Strong leaders are those that gain respect through their actions, that accept diversity of opinions and that allow citizens to be duly informed, not those that try to silence critical voices," Commission Vice President Vera Jourova told the European Parliament. "Unfortunately, in recent months additional worrying developments have happened." In Hungary, Jourova pointed to the removal from the airwaves of leading independent radio station Klubradio which had been critical of the populist authoritarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. She highlighted protests in Poland from broadcasters over an advertising tax for non-state outlets that they said would restrict pluralism. And on Slovenia, Jourova hit out against the government's "attempts to undermine the sustainable funding and the independence of the national press agency and frequent verbal attacks against journalists". "For each of these cases, the Commission has been in contact with the national authorities and continues to monitor the situation," Jourova said. "And let me assure you that the Commission will act when there are issues about the compliance of national laws or decisions with EU rules."The latest moves feed growing discomfort over the undermining of democratic norms in the three states, where increasingly authoritarian governments have faced accusations including trying to curb the independence of the media and judiciary. The commission has issued "infringement notices" over breaches to Hungary and Poland, and the European Court of Justice has upheld several complaints. But they have done little to change the political direction of the governments concerned. Bangladesh: Local fish being exported to many countries by Anwar Parvej March 11,2021 | Source: Prothom Alo Various species of local fish cultivated in ponds, canals and water bodies in Bogura, Joypurhat are being exported. These fish include pabda, gulsha, shing, tengra etc. These are exported to different countries in Europe and America as well as China, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, India and Nepal. According to the local fisheries department, on average, 1,000 tonnes of local fish are produced in ponds, canals and water bodies in Bogura region every month during the peak season. Fish become exportable four months after releasing fries. About 300 tonnes or a little over 30 per cent of the total fish production are exported. In total, fish worth Tk 120 million (Tk 12 crore) to Tk 150 million (Tk 15 crore) is exported from the Bogura region. More than 1,000 fish cultivators and farmers have been commercially producing fish in ponds, canals and water bodies in Kahaloo, Dhupchanchia, Adamdighi and Shibganj upazilas of Bogura, and Kalai, Khetlal, Akkelpur and Panchbibi upazilas of Joypurhat for a decade. Besides, more than 100 hatcheries have been set up in the two districts to produce fish fries. Fish farming had started with catfish. As it proved profitable, cultivation of various species of fishes including shing, tengra, koi, pabda and gulsha began. Exporters purchase one-third of these fishes from ponds, canals, water bodies and warehouses. The rest of the fish goes to the local markets as well as different places including Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna. Many educated young people are trying their luck at fish farming. Farmer Zakir Hossain from Hatior village is one of them. He said he has been cultivating fish in a pond on an area of 120-bighas. He has spent Tk 12 million (Tk 1.2 crore) to date. If everything goes fine, he hopes to produce 4,000 maunds of fish. He said he started cultivating the local variety of catfish in an 80-decimal pond with a little capital eight years ago. Later he was hugely successful in farming other fish too. The owner of Khulna-based exporting company KBC International, Gopal Biswas, said, He has been exporting huge amounts of pabda to different cities of West Bengal, including Kolkata, every month for the past three years after purchasing those from Bogura and Joypurhat. Visiting Station Bazar in Boguras Kahaloo upazila recently, it was seen that pabda covered in ice was being packed in cartons for export. Each carton contained 21 kg of frozen pabda. Fish farmer Fakhrul Islam told Prothom Alo that pabda of the size that makes 20 to 25 fish per kg, is in demand the most. Now pabda is sold at Tk 10,000 a maund (40 kgs). Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, he sold this at Tk 16,000 a maund. National award-winning farmer Shafiqul Islam produces fries of different fishes, including shrimp, pabda, tengra, koi (climbing perch), catfish and gulsha, at a hatchery in Bibirpukur of Kahaloo upazila. He said he is currently producing fries of various local species of fish as the demand increases. They have even produced 3,000 kg fries of pabda amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Fish wholesaler Bikash Roy told Prothom Alo that he sells large (A grade) pabda at Tk 330 to 340 a kg and gulsha at Tk 525 to 540 a kg to the exporters of Chattogram. Besides, he supplies to wholesalers and various companies, including Daraz Bangladesh, Chaldal.com, Shwapno, Andaj, BD Foods and Mashud Foods, in Dhaka. Milon Bhattacharya, an exporter from Chattogram, said he collected pabda, gulsha and fishing from Bogura and Joypurhat and sends those to Europe and America and the United Arab Emirate (UAE). Bogura district fisheries officer Sarakar Anwarul Kabir Ahammed said this year the demand for fishes stands at 74,000 tonnes in the district. Some 33,000 fish cultivators and farmers produce 84,000 tonnes of fishes annually. Some 20 to 25 per cent of the farmers and fish cultivators produce local species of fish, he added. 2021 Prothom Alo. A proposed new period TV drama series set in the Flinders Lane rag trade district would explore not just its fashion, but the industrys multicultural heart. In the decades after World War II, people fleeing their homelands found a community and steady work among the designers, manufacturers and importers who thrived in central Melbourne. Author Lesley Sharon Rosenthals book about the lanes rag trade history, Schmattes, is being used as a reference for the planned series. She said the area used to be bustling, with clothes being wheeled on trolleys, models rushing to appointments and deals being done in the street. Tributes have been paid to veteran loyalist Ken Wilkinson, a former UVF member who later joined the PUP and played a role in the peace process. He had previously spoken out about being in the final stages of a terminal lung condition and his time in the UVF. As a PUP representative, he supported the peace process and was involved in early negotiations with the UVF as well as republicans. An official statement from the PUP said his death was deeply regretted, and praised his courageous and tireless work for the community. Aged in his early 70s, he was a former member of Antrim council. A party tribute praised his courageous and tireless work for the community. Statement of regret and condolence from PUP Chairman on the sad news of the passing of our esteemed colleague and friend Ken Wilkinson. pic.twitter.com/cuZy32mLGe PUP (@OfficialPUP) March 11, 2021 PUP chairman Brian Lacey said: The party officers and members of the Progressive Unionist Party of Northern Ireland deeply regret the passing of their esteemed colleague Ken Wilkinson and send their deep condolences to wife Eileen and the family circle. Ken was a party stalwart and a committed loyalist in the truest sense, exemplified by his courageous and tireless work for his community. His determination and candour will be sorely missed by those of us who had the privilege of working with him over many years. PUP member Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, a former Belfast City councillor, said she was sad to learn of Ken Wilkinsons passing after a fairly long battle with illness and expressed condolences to his family. Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson also said his thoughts were with the Wilkinson family. He was a true loyalist and a fundamentally decent man right until the very end, he added. (It is) very hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about Ken. Others described him as a loyalist who stood strong for his beliefs. In an interview with the News Letter last year, he admitted his previous UVF membership. "I'm on my last days. And there's no sense in denying anything now, he said at the time. He denied ever killing anyone, but declined to comment on any involvement he had in any shootings or bombings in order to protect his family. Discussing his terminal diagnosis in 2019, he told the Belfast Telegraph he had already planned his funeral and ordered there be no paramilitary trappings at it. I have no regrets. I've had ups and downs, I was through the peace process, I was there at the decommissioning. I've wined and dined with royalty and presidents, so I've done more than most people. He added: "I would just like to be remembered as a person who tried to bridge gaps. I've told my people that at my funeral there's to be no paramilitary trappings - it's not happening. "I've had well-wishers from all sections of the community. When I was up at the hospital, the local priest came over and had a talk. "I was against militant republicanism, but I was never against ordinary nationalists. Through the work that I've done on the ground, if I have saved one life, that's a bonus." The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. 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. After the Pfizer vaccine is thawed for use, Arwady said, the six doses in the vial must be administered within five days. For the Moderna vaccines 10 doses in one vial, its 30 days. She said there is a lot of behind-the-scenes planning to ensure that all vaccine is used from waitlists to putting missed appointments back on Zocdoc to vaccinating workers and volunteers at city of Chicago vaccination sites at the end of the day. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Xplore Resources Corp.(TSXV: XPLR) ("Xplore or "the Company"), is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement (the "Agreement") with 1544230 Ontario Inc. and Gravel Ridge Resources Inc. (together the "Vendors") to earn a 100% ownership interest in the 78 cell (1,560 Ha) Pringle Lake Property ("Pringle Lake") located in the Red Lake Mining Division, ON., Canada. Summary of the terms of the proposed transaction: Under the terms of the Agreement, Xplore will acquire a 100% ownership interest in Pringle Lake by completing the following: The Company obtaining all necessary approvals from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX.V" ); and ); and Making a cash payment of C$18,000 to the Vendor on signing of the Agreement (completed); and Issuing to the Vendors 90,000 shares of XPLR within five (5) days of TSX-V approval of the Agreement (the "Closing Date" ); and ); and Making a cash payment of C$24,000 and issuing 120,000 shares of XPLR on or before the 12-month anniversary of the Closing Date; and Making a cash payment of C$30,000 on or before the 24-month anniversary of the Closing Date; and Making a final cash payment to the Vendors of C$30,000 on or before the 36-month anniversary of the Closing Date. On completion of the above noted cash payments and share issuances, Xplore will have earned a 100% interest in the Pringle Lake Property and the Vendors would retain a 1.5% net smelter return royalty ("NSR") on all future metal production. The Company may purchase one half of the NSR for C$600,000. The transaction and the issuance of the shares contemplated by the Agreement are subject to the acceptance of the TSX.V. Any securities issued will be subject to applicable statutory hold periods for a period of four months from the date of issuance. Wes Hanson, P.Geo., President and CEO of Xplore Resources, notes, "The Pringle Lake Property is situated along the South Arm structural trend, highlighted in the "2020-2021 Recommendations for Mineral Exploration ~ Ontario" report published by the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines of Ontario. Interpretation of historical seismic data suggests potential for a deep tapping seismic structure in the vicinity of the South Arm of Berens Lake. Similar deep tapping seismic structures have been identified proximal to both the Dixie Project and the Red Lake gold mine, approximately 50 kms to the south. Regional scale mapping in 2007 identified favourable host rocks within the claims and shearing along the interpreted trace of this third, unexplored, deep tapping seismic system. We believe that the Pringle Lake property represents an exciting, early-stage exploration opportunity in a world class gold mining district with demonstrated discovery potential. We are currently evaluating options to evaluate both Pringle Lake and our recently acquired Upper Red Lake Property which is located in the same Mining District." Figure 1.0 - Location Map - Pringle Lake Claim Group To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7519/76876_e9a62df8e4156a4c_002full.jpg About Xplore Resources (TSXV: XPLR) Xplore Resources is a Toronto based mining exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under symbol XPLR and is focused on the acquisition and development of copper and gold projects in the Americas. The Company is led by a highly experienced management team and is comprised of industry experts with executive and senior management experience in geology, banking, private equity, investor relations and law. Valk Project Xplore's 100% owned Valk copper-gold project (1,614 Ha) is located in the Nanaimo Mining Division, British Columbia, approximately 20 Km NW of Port Hardy. The Project is road accessible via an extensive network of provincial highways, local roads, and logging roads. Soil geochemistry and surface rock sampling have identified anomalous copper, vanadium, and gold mineralization within rocks of the Karmutsen Formation. Valk is located 25 km north of the former Island Copper Mine (reported historical production 367 Mt @ 0.33% Cu - Ref. BC Minfile 092L 158) and the North Island Copper and Gold Project (Indicated resource of 304 Mt @ 0.21% Cu - Ref. BC Minfile 092L 240). Qualified Persons Mr. Wes Hanson, P. Geo., President & CEO of Xplore and registered in the Provinces of Ontario is the "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and is responsible for the technical contents of this news release and has approved the disclosure of the technical information contained herein. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Wesley C. Hanson" President & CEO For further information, please contact: Phone: +1 647-362-9675 Email: info@xploreresources.com NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE ANY SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "1933 ACT"), AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO A U.S. PERSON IN THE ABSENCE OF SUCH REGISTRATION OR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE 1933 ACT. THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE INC. HAS IN NO WAY PASSED UPON THE MERITS OF THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. Notice on forward-looking statements: Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. Xplore cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Xplore's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Xplore's ability to complete the proposed Transaction; and other risks and uncertainties, including those to be described in the Filing Statement to be filed by Xplore on SEDAR.com. Accordingly, actual, and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Xplore undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76876 Rochas Okorocha, former governor of Imo, says he doesnt want the unusual situation between him and Hope Uzodimma, his successor, to gener... Rochas Okorocha, former governor of Imo, says he doesnt want the unusual situation between him and Hope Uzodimma, his successor, to generate tension in the state. The feud between Okorocha and Uzodimma was rekindled in February, when the former governor was arrested for unsealing a property seized by the state government. Speaking after a meeting with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday, Okorocha told journalists that he would not want an escalation of the conflict arising from the sealing of some of his properties. The question is what wrong has Rochas done? Have I done any wrong bringing APC to the south-east? And when I built APC, none of these people were there. They were all in PDP, he said. Was it wrong that I encouraged my family to invest in their state, rather than investing abroad? I asked nothing of the government. I simply wanted to live my free life. But it is for he that accuses to prove. What preoccupies my mind is to make sure that we dont create tension in the state, because already this country has a lot of insecurity. And police that ought to be busy doing something else should not be busy going to guide the sealing of a property with a white paper stronger than court judgment. Can a governor use a white paper to execute a judgment? Can you be a judge in your own case? These are the questions begging for answers, and why the use of thugs to attack your immediate predecessor and a senator of the federal republic? What are you trying to achieve? Now that you have arrested him, or forced him to police station with thugs, what have you achieved? What is the case against him? Nothing. That is why I described it as a very unusual situation. I think it is a script that is playing out, and this script has been for too long. He condemned the sealing of some of his properties in Imo, adding that he didnt understand why he was being attacked. I am still waiting to understand the reason why all the attack because before, the allegation was that the money used in building was government money, Okorocha said. Now it has changed; it is no longer the issue of government money, but that it is built on the green verge and allocation where government house was supposed to be built. I am still waiting and only time will tell. But let it be known that I was Rochas Okorocha before governor, and I am still Rochas Okorocha after governor. Government House never made me. I was who I was before becoming governor. Rather, I would say that becoming governor was a sacrifice on my own part. But talking about the properties in question the schools, the East High College, Rochas Foundation College, the Royal Spring Palm Hotel and the university these outfits are all charitable outfits for the Rochas Foundation. And I brought them back home as a sign of investment to encourage investment in my own state, where I come from. So, the allegation that it is built on the green verge or built where Government House was supposed to be built is neither here nor there. It is rather trying to make excuses to carry out an already planned attack. A total of 1,000 staff or one-third of the DAAs Ireland-based workforce will have left the semi-State airport company within the next few weeks as it cuts its workforce in the wake of the pandemic. In a memo to staff today, DAA chief executive Dalton Philips said that 850 people have already left the business in Ireland. More will be leaving in coming weeks, he confirmed. This business will recover, but its going to be a long and hard journey, he told staff. This year is going to be another difficult one for us, but we have taken huge steps to meet the financial challenges that Covid created. We also need to continue to manage the business carefully through this crisis and we intend to do that. Read More The DAA operates Dublin and Cork airports and has seen its business pummelled by the Covid crisis and curtailed air traffic. Mr Philips said that the DAA expected last December to have returned the vast majority of its staff to 100pc pay from March 28. Those in areas where new work practices were accepted will now see that return to full pay, but in return theyre being asked to use up their holiday and time-in-lieu balances between March and September. Due to new strains of Covid-19, international travel has been much more severely curtailed, and our passenger numbers have fallen back to a trickle once again, said Mr Philips. The DAA has been paying staff 80pc of their salaries for the past 11 months. However, no performance-related pay, profit share or overtime payments have been made either, meaning some staff members have seen their effective pay cut by 45pc in some cases. Mr Philips said that the company has had to take difficult decisions in order to maintain pay levels, meaning redundancies had been necessary. An additional 1,000 people have been let go at the DAAs international ARI duty free operations. Those redundancies were a combination of retail staff who worked directly for ARI overseas, and staff who worked in retail businesses managed by ARI and in which it is a shareholder, but which it does not own. These and other measures have generated very significant payroll cost savings. Mr Philips told staff. We have also dramatically reduced all non-payroll costs and are continuing to make savings wherever we can. In total, we reduced our costs by 50pc during the period from April to December last year. The company has introduced new changes to team structures, roles, responsibilities and rosters in moves that were widely supported by staff to protect the business. We firmly believe that we need to continue to do right by you, because you have done the right thing by the company, said Mr Philips. We must not delay our commitment to implement these new work practices, as they underpin this move to 100pc [pay] due to the savings they generate for the business. We have therefore decided that everybody who works in areas where New Ways of Working have been accepted will move back to 100pc time/pay from March 28, he added. The change will apply from March 28 until September 11 and will be seen in your pay packet from April 21. The DAA said that to enable the change to be made, it wants staff to significantly reduce their annual leave and timeoff in lieu (TIL) balances over the next six months. Between March 28 and September 11, you will need to take a minimum of 20 days leave/TIL, Mr Philips told staff. This will help prepare the business for the recovery when it does come. Ten days leave must be taken in the 14-week period between March 28 and June 26, while the remaining 10 days leave must be taken in the 10-week period between June 27 and September 11. Mr Philips warned that significant uncertainty remains for the business and the aviation sector. UD IKAT: A New Fragrance by UERMI Niche Perfumery The Italian niche perfume brand UERMI presents its new perfume UD IKAT, inspired by the ancient IKAT technology of fabric weaving. The word IKAT comes from an Indonesian word that means "to bind." Its not a textile but an ancient technique of dyeing special patterns, usually with vibrant colors, with fascinating results on different fabrics. Probably one of the oldest forms of textile decoration, its heritage belongs to Asian cultures of the VI and VII centuries, but also spread to South America, Africa and Europe, finally appearing in Italy in the XVII century. UERMI is fascinated by the uniqueness of IKAT: its precious craftsmanship, strong crosscutting values, feminine and masculine creativity, importance in rituals and ceremonies and... its timeless beauty. IKAT weaving belongs to different cultures of the world. But the silk IKAT from Central Asia, called Abrabandi, is considered the most striking of all, with a binding and dying process so complex that it can transform a material into a jewel. Its rich colours were obtained from all-natural precious resources; the color yellow from saffron, gold from the dried rind of pomegranates, red from crushed cochineal insects, brown from walnut husks and blue from the indigo plant imported from the Indian subcontinent. The recipes for such dyes were closely held secret. IKAT has been a form of manual art for centuries, often becoming a highly esteemed icon of status, and continues to be taught to young apprentices. 1) Ikat dress, Turkestan, XIX century; 2) Ikat from Bali; 3) Double Ikat (patola) from Gujarat, India. Source: (C) UERMI is very proud that Symrise perfumer Pierre Gueros used quite impressive numbers and doses of naturals in his UD IKAT formula - theres a percentage of 29.8 natural essential oils in the formula. There are natural extracts in essential oil and absolute form, like Cedarwood, Patchouli, Elemi, Vetiver Madagascar, Bergamot, Gurjun Balsam, Amyris, Cypriol, Lemon, Rose pepper, Mandarin Madagascar, Cinnamon Bark Madagascar, Oud Ajmal, Sandalwood, Vanilla Bourbon Madagascar, Turkish Rose, and Vetiver Coeur Madagascar. And yes, the oud oil used in the formula is a natural one, an oil that is called "liquid gold" as its price could reach 35 thousand dollars per kg, and it was produced at the Ajmal factory. Symrise perfumer Pierre Gueros about the creative process: "It is quite challenging to create an oud-based fragrance, since so many creations have been developed based on this amazing raw material. I have explored the different facets of oud for 10 years now, but when I discovered Oud Ajmal, I was particularly impressed. I discovered the wonderful complexity of the raw material when I was living in Dubai. Oud Ajmal is a unique kind of oud coming from India, the Assam area. It is one of the most facetted raw materials on the palette and once you dig into it, you are amazed by the long lastingness, radiance, and olfactive nuances of this type of agarwood. For UERMI, I wanted to explore two oud nuances that are a bit more abstract. First, I wanted to translate the uniqueness of oud, its preciousness, rarity and opulence using the most expensive, rich and exclusive raw materials on the perfumer's palette: Indian sandalwood, Orris root, Turkish rose and Vanilla absolute from Madagascar. No, they don't create a straight up oud accord, but they give the feeling of richness I was looking for. Sergey and perfumer Pierre Gueros "Then I wanted to develop a contemporary oud, using the latest Symrise captives and capabilities to be able to propose a new interpretation of oud. An overdose of Ambrocenide crystals and Ambrostar create the radiance and sillage of oud. They fill up the room with a woody-ambery sensual note I can compare with a natural Agarwood oil. I also used an overdose of Tonkalactone, a tonka-like high impact molecule to give an idea of the addictive side oud can develop a soft leathery, woody and almost gourmand note. And finally I used a special quality of vetiver from Madagascar, giving the idea of the soft smoky, leathery note of oud this special extract reveals deep, mystical, almost religious woody facets. As the final touch, I incorporated a hint of natural Indian Ajmal oud as an homage to the Middle Eastern Culture. UD IKAT is a mix of contemporary world and traditions." The noble depth of majestic Ajmal Oud is highlighted by the spicy freshness of elemi and pink pepper. Patchouli, vetiver and cypriol unravel a soft and elegant heart, which conveys dark density and texture. Enveloping notes of Sandalwood and Cedarwood wrap the Ajmal Oud in a soft veil. The noble depth of majestic Ajmal Oud is highlighted by the spicy freshness of elemi and pink pepper.Patchouli, vetiver and cypriol unravel a soft and elegant heart, which conveys dark density and texture.Enveloping notes of Sandalwood and Cedarwood wrap the Ajmal Oud in a soft veil. UD IKAT . The sensual intensity of liquid gold. UD IKAT UERMI fragrance will be available in Eau de Parfum concentration priced 195 euro per 100 ml bottle starting in the second half of April 2021. UD IKAT UERMI Top notes: Bergamot, Elemi, Pink pepper; Middle notes: Patchouli, Vetiver, Cypriol; Base notes: Oud Adjmal, Sandalwood, Cedarwood. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 22:34:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) on Thursday killed 18 al-Shabab militants and injured several others during operations in several locations in Lower Shabelle region, southern Somalia, local media reported. SNA Operation Commander in the region, Abdalla Mustaf told the state news agency, SONNA that the operations were aimed at neutralizing terrorists who often plant landmines on the main roads in the region. "The army killed 18 al-Shabab terrorists and injured several others. They were all in charge of explosives and landmines that target armed vehicles and civilian buses using roads. The operations were very successful," Mustaf was quoted as saying. He said that the operations happened at Magurto, Gumurey, Adeyley, Donyarow and Lafagale neighborhoods near Afgoye town in Lower Shabelle region. The army commander did not comment on whether there were casualties on the SNA side during the operations. The Somali forces and international partners have intensified security operations in the recent past against al-Shabab militants in the southern regions in an attempt to liberate al-Shabab held-towns. Enditem ROME, MAR 11 - A mosaic that once adorned the lost ships that flamboyant Roman Emperor Caligula sailed on Lake Nemi near Rome has been returned to Italy after being found four years ago as a coffee table decoration of an Italian art dealer in New York. The famed mosaic, once thought lost forever, will return to its former home in the Museum of Roan Ships at Nemi after being recovered by the crack art cops of the Carabinieri. Museum director-general Massimo Osanna said the mosaic could once more be admired in situ, COVID restrictions permitting. The mosaic, made up of inlaid marble in a technique called opus sectile, was part of the paving on the two massive ships that Caligula used ceremonially at Nemi in the first century AD. The reign of the famously eccentric and bloodthirsty emperor only lasted four years, until his assassination in 41 AD, and the mosaic is one of the most prized products of his term. The ships were dug up and displayed in 1936 but almost totally destroyed in a WWII Allied air raid, making the mosaic all the more precious. (ANSA). Prayagraj : March 11 (IANS) The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the election of Ajeet Pal Singh, BJP MLA from the Sikandra Assembly segment in Kanpur Dehat in 2017. Ajeet Pal Singh is a Minister for State (IT department) in the Yogi Adityanath government. Dismissing the election petition filed by one Seema Sachan on Wednesday, Justice D.K. Singh observed, "The counsel for the petitioner has miserably failed in proving as to how the said non-providing of the copy of the required document to polling agents by the presiding officers has resulted in materially affecting the election result of the returned candidate. "It has also come on record that the margin of defeat is very huge as the winning candidate has won this election by securing 73,325 votes while the petitioner has just secured 61,455 votes and, therefore, it shows a difference of more than 10,000 votes." Seema Sachan had contested the 2017 elections against Ajeet Pal Singh on a Samajwadi Party ticket. The submission of the counsel for the petitioner was that the returning officer has acted against the mandatory provisions of the Representation of Peoples' Act in not providing required documents to the agents. Secondly, the election of the winning candidate has been materially affected on account of improper reception of votes of the electronic voting machines (EVM), the seals of which were found tampered or broken at the time of counting. However, while opposing the election petition, Bharat Pal Singh the counsel for the elected candidate, contended that the petition is devoid of merit, therefore, it deserves to be rejected. PHOENIXTop pleasure products distributor Entrenue has stocked up on Versa, the newest offerings from the Femme Funn brand, and they're ready for shipping. Versa is a series of three remote-control bullets, each of which can be fitted with one of three silicone sleeves, each available individually or in color-coordinated kits. The Versa bullets and sheathes are being marketed as perfect for travel, for first timers, and anyone seeking convenient versatility with their pleasure products. Femme Funns Versa bullet is quiet, discreet, and waterproof, with magnetic charging, seven power modes, a wireless remote control, and one-button interface. The Versa bullet, available in dark purple, dark fuchsia, and light blue, can be enjoyed on its own or with one of the three sleeves for a new experience. Versa sleeves come in three shapes: The light blue T Sleeve retails for $26.99 and is designed to mimic the shape and motion of the tongue. As the vibrations travel from the bullets core, users feel the soft tip flicker up and down, increasing sensation and pleasure. The dark fuchsia S Sleeve was created for deep stimulation. Its curved tip is designed for G-spot precision and its suction allows for a wild ride. Versas S sleeve is also harness compatible and ready for partner play. The S sleeve retails for $41.99. The dark purple P Sleeve retails for $21.99 and features a textured body that can be used to stimulate pleasure points both internally and externally. Versa bullets and sleeves are each available individually and in color-coordinated sets: The light blue bullet and the tongue-like T Sleeve, the dark fuschia bullet and the G spot stimulating S Sleeve, or the dark purple bullet and the textured P sleeve. Femme Funn products are genuinely fun and give retailers a range of colorful, quality options at mid-tier price points, Entrenue CEOwner Joe Casella said. Femme Funn has always sold well for us and were thrilled to offer new items as they come in. These Versa bullets have surprisingly strong motors, and pairing them with their matching sleeves makes them incredibly versatile. Femme Funn consistently offers high-quality toys at budget-friendly prices, and we anticipate the Versa series to be a hit with our customers. With bright and modern colors and eye-catching shapes, Femme Funn products are designed for eye-catching retail displays. Contact a Entrenue representative to discuss display and merchandising options. To view the latest from Femme Funn and the rest of Entrenues newest catalog, log into an account at Entrenue.com to start browsing. To place an order, call (800) 368-7268, email [email protected] or visit Entrenue.com. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 05:11:52|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and chief of French General Directorate for External Security Bernard Emie discussed on Wednesday the two countries' cooperation in security and military sectors. During a meeting in Cairo, Sisi and Emie also exchanged views on various regional and international issues, Egyptian Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. They discussed security and intelligence cooperation, especially with regard to combating terrorism at regional and international levels. Sisi emphasized the importance of coordination in combating extremist ideologies, violence and terrorism, stressing the need to increase pressure on terrorist organizations and groups, Rady said. Sisi also said that restoring the institutions of countries suffering from crises would achieve security and stability in the region, and lessen the dangers surrounding them. For his part, Emie hailed his country's constructive cooperation with Egypt, voicing France's keenness to maintain continuous coordination with Egypt on all issues of common interest in the region, especially in the eastern Mediterranean and Africa. Enditem 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. Home-working is here to stay after the pandemic, with staff saying they plan to spend no more than two days a week in the office, MPs have been told. Consultants Deloitte said coronavirus would cause a 'step change' which will have a dramatic effect on the future of city centres. And the CBI told the Commons treasury committee that businesses are thinking of keeping just 70 per cent of their office space because so many staff would be working from home. Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said among the over 50s, 'about 8 per cent of them say they now expect to retire later' because working from home makes life much more straightforward. The hospitality industry is concerned that if staff stay away it will have a devastating effect on city centre pubs, restaurants, cafes and coffee shops. Consultants Deloitte said coronavirus would cause a 'step change' which will have a dramatic effect on the future of city centres. And the CBI told the Commons treasury committee that businesses are thinking of keeping just 70 per cent of their office space because so many staff would be working from home [Stock image] Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the CBI, said there was a move to hybrid working in the 40 per cent of the economy where it was relatively easy to work from home thanks to the internet [Stock image] Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said: 'It is going to be a step change. There has been a long-term move towards greater home working. This is going to cause a significant acceleration of it.' Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the CBI, said there was a move to hybrid working in the 40 per cent of the economy where it was relatively easy to work from home thanks to the internet. 'Businesses are talking about maybe needing 70 per cent of original office space capacity,' she said. 'This puts a premium on urban regeneration in particular and if you think about 'levelling up' what we do know is that some of our city centres - Manchester, Birmingham, London - which have faced some of the greatest challenges through losing commuters, students and international tourism all in one go. 'We need to think about how we recover from that; how we help city centres regenerate.' As the decades passed, Manhattan Beach grew to become an affluent city of about 35,000 people, a vast majority of whom are white. According to 2010 census data, less than 1 percent of the population is Black. In October, Manhattan Beach convened a task force of 13 residents to come up with recommendations for the city to right historical wrongs. Next week, the City Council will meet to discuss those recommendations, which include changing the plaque, erecting an art installation and issuing an apology. Thats fine, Ms. Ward said. But there are things they could address if they were thinking creatively if there really was a will to become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive place. She suggested that officials consider forward-looking measures like a commitment to affordable housing. At the county level, officials are expected to meet with Bruce family descendants next week to discuss handing over the property, which could also involve monetary restitution or an agreement to lease the land from the family. But Mr. Shepard said the city that condemned the land should be the one to make amends. Los Angeles County is talking about restoring the land to us, he said. But the restitution and punitive damages, Manhattan Beach is going to have to pay. Were going to keep up with them until we get it. Sheelagh McNeill contributed research. 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. Commentary: What kind of modernization is China seeking? Xinhua) 08:51, March 11, 2021 Photo taken on May 27, 2020 shows a view of the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- When the Japanese invasion plunged China into peril in the 1930s, a renowned Chinese historian pondered and asked the famous question that had vexed him for long: Can the Chinese modernize? The answer to the question has long been available. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has initiated a top-level design to promote China's socialist modernization, unveiling a two-stage plan to make the world's most populous country a "great modern socialist country" by the mid-21st century. The modernization goal that the Chinese have been striving for since the modern era is no longer out of reach. According to the plan, the CPC will basically realize socialist modernization in the first stage from 2020 to 2035, before developing China into a great modern socialist country that is "prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful" by the middle of the 21st century. Although modernization theory has its origins in the West, modernization by no means is equal to Westernization. The world's second-largest economy is becoming increasingly aware that there has never been a uniform path to modernization. China's peaceful rise has in fact shown that the Western style is not the only viable route to modernization. Photo taken on Jan. 2, 2021 shows the light show at the Lujiazui area in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang) SUPER-SCALE The modernization China seeks involves a massive population base and a rapid pace of realization. It could be seen as a super-scale human development practice. In China's modernization drive, new models of industrialization, informatization, urbanization and agricultural modernization will develop simultaneously. China will endeavor to achieve within decades what took the West centuries to achieve. The scale and speed of modernization in the world's most populous country are unprecedented and will inevitably have a profound impact on the world. China bases its development on its own situation and taps into the potential of its massive population and accordingly, massive demands and markets. According to a blueprint for its development in the next five to 15 years, which is under review at the "two sessions," China will accelerate forging a new development paradigm of "dual circulation" in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other with the domestic market as the mainstay. The world's largest developing country will give full play to the advantage of its super-large market and continue to expand it by boosting domestic consumption in its modernization drive. Aerial photo taken on Aug. 19, 2020 shows wind turbines in Jiucaiping scenic spot in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xu) GREEN DRIVE China is seeking a modernization in which the construction of economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization are jointly promoted. The unbalanced advancement of modernization can cause estrangement and conflict. Economic growth does not necessarily do away with social difficulties. On the contrary, certain types of growth actually cause these problems. China rejects such types of modernization path. With its GDP exceeding the 100-trillion-yuan (about 15.42 trillion U.S. dollars) mark in 2020, China has explicitly stated that it will strive to keep its economy running within an appropriate range during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period rather than setting a numerical goal. The move echoed the country's strategy of focusing on promoting high-quality development which is key to its modernization drive. Although the modernization of the West has created unprecedented material wealth, it has also led to the waste of resources and environmental damage. Having taken notes from the West, China will not choose a development path that consumes a large quantity of non-renewable natural resources in the process of its modernization. In the modernization China is striving for, people and nature exist in harmony. In its latest development blueprint, China has vowed to stay true to the principle that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and to significantly lower the energy consumption per unit of GDP and its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP. A modernization path featuring green development has become a consensus of the Chinese, with sound progress made in recent years. Combo photo taken on July 15, 2020 shows villagers' smiles in Shenshan Village of Jinggangshan, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi) PEOPLE-CENTERED China's modernization involves not only a drastic increase in economic production capacity, but also comprehensive social progress. China seeks a people-centered modernization that is different from the Western model in which capital is the primary driver and dominant logic. That is best illustrated by China's massive poverty alleviation campaign and its handling of the pandemic. China has always insisted that the vast majority of society should be the starting point for system design and policy formulation. The nation's unique concepts and practices such as "No one should be left behind" and "People first, life first" express the essence and characteristics of Chinese-style modernization, which is centered on people. It is worth mentioning that people-centered modernization is in line with the highest ideals and value pursuits of Marxism, whose goal is to benefit the people and ultimately achieve the full development of each individual. Aerial photo shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Helsinki, Finland, departing from Putian Station of Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Nov. 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Hao Yuan) PEACEFUL, WIN-WIN China's modernization will be a road of peaceful development and will adhere to win-win cooperation. It will not follow the Western path of aggression, colonization and expansion, neither plundering and colonizing foreign countries nor transferring domestic conflicts and crises abroad. The modernizing China, which does not subscribe to the notion that a strong country will inevitably seek hegemony, has blazed a trail of revitalization. China has pledged to open up new prospects for win-win cooperation and provide digital assistance to less developed countries in terms of technology, equipment and services, according to its development blueprint. The modernization China seeks is one based on the country's national conditions and independent development. There is no one-size-fits-all development model, and modernization theory needs to be enriched as modernization practices unfold. Alan MacFarlane, a Cambridge professor who proposes "modernity with Chinese characteristics," believes that the civilization of Britain, the first so-called modern country in the world, was based on individualism, while China's civilization has been based on collectiveness since ancient times. Different traditions and histories make the modernization path of each civilization different. Every country has the right to choose its own modernization path. The Chinese model of modernization offers a new option to other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence. It also offers Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach to solving the problems facing humanity. Wanted a quiet word with you, Mamata in letter to PM while refusing to release chief secretary BJP leaders visit hospital where Mamata Banerjee is admitted India pti-Madhuri Adnal Kolkata, Mar 11: A delegation of BJP leaders on Thursday visited the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is undergoing treatment. Mamata: May need wheelchair for now | CM speaks from hospital | Oneindia News Former governor of Tripura and Meghalaya Tathagata Roy and state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya, who went to the state-run hospital, said that they could not meet the Trinamool Congress chief owing to medical reasons. Mamata Banerjee stable say doctors: More tests to be conducted "We conveyed our concern to the TMC leaders present, including minister Arup Biswas, and wished the chief minister a speedy recovery," Bhattacharya said. The chief minister is admitted at the hospital with injury to her left leg, waist, shoulder and neck, according to doctors. Banerjee alleged on Wednesday evening that during her campaign in Nandigram, she was attacked by four-five men who pushed her, besides banging on her the door of her car, leading to the injuries. LAKE CITY, FL -- The Florida Department of Health in Columbia County has issued a statement concerning changes to the department's COVID-19 vaccine scheduling system. It reads as follows: "The Department of Health in Columbia County (DOH-Columbia) is pleased to announce the new Everbridge Covid-19 Vaccine scheduling system is ready for use. DOH-Columbia has used a system since December 28, 2020, to ensure those individuals 65+ were able to schedule COVID-19 vaccines. As we prepare for more groups to become eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, a more user-friendly system is needed for the residents of Columbia County. We encourage all individuals 18 years of age and older to sign up now in the new system. As more vaccine becomes available and additional groups become eligible, we can easily send phone, text, and e-mail appointment opportunities to those that have signed up. 'I am very thankful for the commitment of the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) which provided funding for the new scheduling system. The Board understood the need and has been extremely supportive of the health departments Covid-19 testing and now vaccination of county residents', stated DOH-Columbia Administrator Tom Moffses. Moffses continued, stating that 'The Columbia County BOCC, County Manager David Kraus, and Emergency Manager Shayne Morgan have assisted our staff, when needed, during the entire COVID-19 pandemic.' Starting at the release of this statement (3/10/21), any individual signing up for Covid-19 vaccines from our website will be directed to our new site. This site can be accessed in any of the following methods: 1. http:// http://columbia.floridahealth.gov/ and then selecting the 'Register to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine' link. 4. Using the QR Code below: For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/ and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts. 2. https://member.everbridge.net/8352208152166443. https://bit.ly/2PAhNRWFollow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov." GRAND RAPIDS, MI Calvin University senior Kaia Hurley was appalled Tuesday when she saw students holding up signs on campus that claimed being LGBTQ is a sin. She couldnt believe her fellow students could be so blatantly hateful, and that Calvin administrators werent doing more to condemn it. I was outraged, she said. I dont understand how you can do that with a clear conscience. It was going to cause trouble and hurt people. Hurley was one of over 100 people who sat in solidarity with the LGBTQ community at a silent sit-in on Calvins campus Thursday, March 11. The protest was organized following controversy over the anti-LGBTQ signage on campus earlier this week. RELATED: Calvin University students plan silent sit-in against anti-LGBTQ booth on campus Hurley said she attended Thursdays event to show how strong the LGBTQ community is at Calvin. Theres a lot of younger students who dont know that LGBTQ students exist here, and that there is a community here, Hurley explained. I just to say (they) are here. You are loved, and that theres always a place for you here at Calvin, even if it doesnt always seem like that. The student-led booth, which was set up on Calvins campus Tuesday, March 9, reportedly had messaging that suggested having an LGBTQ orientation is sinful. LGBTQ IS SIN. THE BIBLE SAYS, a sign on the booth read. A university spokesperson declined to identify the students who ran the tabling event, but said the university did not issue any approval of an LGBTQ-based debate or conversation on Tuesday. Calvin officials are following up to see if students followed university-approved policies and procedures. In a message to students on Wednesday, Calvin President Michael Le Roy said messaging on the booth did not align with the universitys values. Calvin University will rarely make public statements related to issues of the day, but we write today because we believe this is a public issue that has bearing on our students and our community life, Le Roy said in Wednesdays email to students. The tabling event yesterday afternoon failed to live up to our communitys high standards. Le Roy cited the universitys position on sexuality, which is grounded in the views of the Christian Reformed Church, that orientation is not a sin and that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people - like all people - are created in Gods image and, as valued members of the human family, should be treated with respect, grace, understanding, and love. But Calvin freshman Jasmine Nykamp, co-organizer of Thursdays silent sit-in, said she felt the presidents message did not clearly condemn the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by some students. She organized the protest to counter what she called a message of unwelcomeness from the student tabling event. I hope they can see that there is a large community here who supports and who identifies as LGBTQ, and that there is a need for safe spaces and places where they can feel welcomed, she said. Because the message is that they are not welcome here on campus, and no one wants to exist in a place where theyre not welcome. Brandon Martinez, who co-organized the event with Nykamp, said he felt uncomfortable and unsafe seeing the booth on campus Tuesday. As a member of the LGBTQ community and a student of color, he said it was one of many instances at Calvin where he has felt unsafe because of his identity. I hope that Calvin sees this as a warning to include LGBTQ+ members like myself in the community to feel safe and welcomed, he said. LGBTQ+ lives should not be up for debate and I will always stand by that. Students began condemning the student-led booth as images of it started to pop up on social media Tuesday afternoon. The Calvin University Democrats group posted an Instagram message Tuesday affirming that it stood with the LGBTQ community. A petition against the anti-LGBTQ booth reached further than the Calvin community, receiving support at students at other schools like the University of Michigan, Harvard and Loyola, Nykamp said. Some attendees of Thursdays sit-in were Grand Rapids residents who heard about the incident on social media and wanted to join to support Calvins LGBTQ community. MC Camp, a Grand Rapids resident, said they heard about the anti-LGBTQ booth on Instagram and thought the views displayed by the student organizers were ignorant. As a human, it made me feel sad, said Camp, 40. But especially for (the LGBTQ) students who go here who didnt have support when they needed it. They were just left out to fend for themselves. Quinn Burke, a 25-year-old Grand Rapids resident, said she was shocked when she heard about Tuesdays incident. I think thats absolutely horrible for a Christian college, and Calvin needs to do better, she said. She came to the sit-in on Thursday to sit in solidarity with her Grand Rapids neighbors. I want to show solidarity and love and compassion as an ally to the LGBT community, she said. More on MLive: Emailed bomb threat to Cedar Springs High School closes schools Great Lakes water levels tracking below record-setting 2020, but still above average Grand Rapids Community College preparing for new normal in fall with more in-person classes (Newser) Mexico is on course to become the second North American country to fully legalize marijuana. Lawmakers in the lower house of the country's parliament voted 361-129 Wednesday night to legalize marijuana for recreational use, reports Reuters. The bill, which will allow people to grow up to six marijuana plants at home and introduces a licensing system for larger-scale cultivation, has the support of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and is expected to easily pass the country's Senate after revisions are completed. Legalization in Mexico will create the world's largest legal marijuana market, and will leave the US between two neighbors that have fully legalized the drug, the New York Times reports. Canada legalized recreational marijuana in 2018. story continues below "Today we are making history," said Simey Olvera, a Chamber of Deputies member from the ruling Morena party. "With this, the false belief that cannabis forms part of Mexicos serious health problems is left behind." The bill's critics argue that polls show around two-thirds of Mexicans do not support full legalization and that with traffickers now focusing on fentanyl and other drugs, the move will do little to reduce cartel violence, the Times reports. In 2018, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that the ban on recreational marijuana was unconstitutional and told the government to formally legalize the drug. Medical marijuana had been legalized the previous year. (Read more Mexico stories.) Nearly a quarter of churchgoers plan to attend worship more regularly post-pandemic: Lifeway Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Nearly one in four people who attended church before the coronavirus pandemic plan to attend more frequently after it has ended, according to Lifeway Research. According to a report on Protestant churchgoers, Lifeway found that 91% plan to return to attending worship post-pandemic, with 23% saying they will attend more often. The report also found that 6% responded that they will attend less often than before the pandemic, while 2% plan to rarely attend and 1% will stop altogether. Churchgoers aged 18-29 were the demographic most likely to report planning to attend more, with 43% saying they will go to worship more than before after the pandemic. Two-thirds of pastors whose churches were open for in-person worship in January saw attendance of less than 70% of their January 2020 attendance, stated Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, in the report. Many of these pastors are wondering if those who havent returned ever will. Nine in 10 churchgoers plan to when it is safe to do so. The report drew from a survey conducted by Lifeway of 1,000 Protestant churchgoers from Feb. 5-18, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2% with a 95% confidence. Other findings included 87% of respondents saying they stuck with the same church during the pandemic, 51% saying they did not attend worship in January of this year, and 83% saying they watched a livestream of a service instead of in-person attendance at least once in 2020. Since it began early last year, the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically impacted churches, and pastors found themselves canceling in-person services for public health reasons. Many have debated the long-term consequences of the pandemic on congregations and overall spiritual practice in the United States, with some seeing dire results. For example, Barna Group President David Kinnaman told NPR last August that he expected as many as one in five churches in the U.S. to close over the next year-and-a-half. Even for those churches that have reopened, theyre seeing much smaller numbers of people show up. So simply reopening a church doesnt fix the underlying economic challenges that you might have, Kinnaman explained at the time. Others have noted a rise in interest for religious matters, with the law firm Becket releasing a report last November which found Generation Z relying more on their faith than expected. According to Beckets Religious Freedom Index report, 74% of Gen Z respondents said faith was at least somewhat important during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting them above the 62% average of all generations. The same report found that Gen Z respondents were most likely to consider faith extremely or very important, with 51% saying so. Millennials were the lowest at 31%. CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynegy today announced that it has entered into a three-year partnership with Chicago's Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) to provide 100% renewable electricity to McCormick Place, the premier convention facility in North America. "Dynegy understands that MPEA has the distinction of operating North America's largest convention center and has to balance sustainability efforts with cost effectiveness to ensure truly great experiences for McCormick Place guests. We are pleased to deliver a solution that provides both," said Gabe Castro, senior vice president of business markets for Dynegy. "Our company is proud to power a true Chicago landmark and global destination, which welcomes millions of visitors every year." The contract with Dynegy guarantees that 100% of the electricity used by McCormick Place is offset by the purchase of renewable energy credits. The deal was signed as McCormick Place actively works to create a more sustainable campus, including a lighting retrofit project of indoor spaces and parking lots to energy-efficient LEDs. The switch saves energy, reduces maintenance costs, and improves overall lighting. McCormick Place will further advance these energy efficiency efforts through the utilization of Dynegy GreenBack dollars, which are included in the new contract and offset the cost of energy efficiency improvements. In addition to powering McCormick Place, Dynegy is also the Official and Exclusive Energy Provider for Willis Tower, the Chicago Cubs, and Wrigley Field. The company is committed to creating tailored solutions that meet the unique operational needs of buildings that draw visitors on this scale. About Dynegy For over 30 years, Dynegy has helped millions of Americans throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest power their homes and businesses. Dynegy delivers simple, price-protected electricity plans for residential, municipal aggregation, commercial and industrial customers alike. Dynegy is committed to the communities it serves and gives back through local partnerships. Visit dynegy.com for more. Dynegy is a subsidiary of Vistra (NYSE: VST). SOURCE Dynegy The zombie in K-Fee's viral commercial is one of the most popular advertisements in 2000. However, unlike other ads that show amazing effects or unique storylines, this one targets your fear. The popular K-Fee commercial is one of the ads that started the jump-scare trend. According to Lad Bible's latest report, the heart-stopping advertisement goes from relaxing ambiance to suddenly a terrifying video in less than 20 seconds. The goal of K-Fee is to show that its coffee product has enough caffeine that will make you awake all night. The ad's zombie was the one that made this product very popular. And now, a YouTube channel finally found the real person who played the undead of the viral commercial. The real identity of K-Fee's zombie The YouTube channel Rhys Productions 11 released a 43-minute documentary for K-Fee's zombie advertisement. In the video, it was revealed that the guy behind the viral commercial was Brad Johnson. He said that his friend is the cinematographer for K-Fee's ad, which is why he was the one that got picked as the zombie. Before Johnson became the viral undead in the 2000s, his friend tried to use puppets to create scary objects. However, his plan didn't work. "We were in LA and were shooting at a studio because they shot all the other stuff before we got there. We just shot our stuff in front of a green screen," said Johnson via Rhys Productions 11's documentary. "Yeah, so we went to the studio, sat for about four hours in makeup," he added. Johnson said that it was supposed to be a little gig. He added that his cinematographer friend called them to shoot the advertisement. Also Read: [WATCH] Declassified: Video of the Biggest Nuclear Explosion Finally Revealed to the Public The zombie guy also explained that he already watched some similar pranks in the popular cartoon series "The Simpsons." Johnson admitted that he always wanted to prank people and give them a good jump-scare. But, he still didn't receive that much attention, although the ad garnered millions of views--and this was during the time when the internet is not as accessible to everyone. This just shows that the zombie makeup was really effective back in the days since people didn't recognize him underneath all the prosthetics. And now, various companies are using CGI effects instead of makeup or practical effects. But is CGI really more effective? CGI vs. makeup effects Back in the day, various production companies prefer using practical or makeup effects since they look more realistic. But, since technology is improving every year, most production businesses are now using CGI, including Hollywood. Although CGI outputs may look promising, The Los Angeles Film School said that some industry watchers said that overuse of CGI could greatly affect a scene being filmed. However, actors can easily move around when CGI is used. Since makeup is pretty heavy when it piles up on your body, this makes it hard for you to move around. However, practical effects usually look more realistic than CGI. To fix this, most companies are now combining the two to make an excellent output. This can be seen in various movies such as "The Avatar," "Jurassic World," and many more. You can click here for more details. For more news updates about other viral stories, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Giuliano de Leon. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sow the right seed at the right time, and youll reap a bountiful harvest later. This axiom offers a perfect summary of the life and work of Philippe Stern. The leading role played by the Patek Philippe brand in the 20th century is the fruit of vision and precisely-targeted actions, with the now much-coveted Nautilus being a powerful case in point. When he was at the helm of the company, Philippe Stern was far from convinced by the hype surrounding this sporty, elegant stainless steel luxury wristwatch. It seems to me to be so totally wrong to go about saying, as is often heard, that those who buy a Patek Philippe can resell it the very next day at a huge profit; buyers should in fact be motivated by a highly personal interest in the piece. And that was a large part of why he took stringent measures with respect to production and sales. Philippe Stern Patek Philippe In the face of increased demand, he went against prevailing wisdom, curbing production, thinning out the retail network, and imposing very strict discipline. He brought together watch manufacturing and administration on the same site, creating a splendid complex of buildings in the Plan-les-Ouates district of Geneva. In 2001, he inaugurated the companys museum, an unparalleled achievement. That same year, Philippe Stern, born in 1938 and the father of Thierry Stern who was appointed President in 2009 took part in an ambitious research project to investigate silicon. In doing so, he laid the foundations for the Advanced Research project, which in 2005 resulted in the first top-of-the-range wristwatch to feature a silicon escape-wheel. The Spiromax balance spring, launched the following year, now powers most Patek Philippe mechanical calibres. Philippe Stern also kick-started the brands manufacturing of its own cases and bracelets. He bought up a dial factory and revived forms of craftmanship that had faded into obscurity. In a nutshell, he gave Patek Philippe unprecedented growth and renown bordering on the legendary. Philippe Stern has never asked anybodys permission; at the very most, he has sought advice. The outcome has been a series of decisions that have helped secure the brands future, with characteristic objectivity. Its a real advantage for us to be a family firm. We can plan and invest for the long term, because we know exactly who we are working for. We can always allow ourselves time to think about exactly what we want to do and not do. For us, at the end of the day, its the result that counts. *Written by Gisbert Brunner *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 It appears drug dogs aren't as needed as they used to be Can the citizens of Iowa, Georgia, Florida and other states controlled by Republicans really be in favor of the spate of bills and laws limiting the ability of voters to exercise their rights? Are they really so suspicious of absentee ballots and early voting that they are willing despite the statements by such Donald Trump lackeys as former Attorney General Bill Barr that the 2020 election was fair and secure to abide by laws intended to suppress the rights of their fellow citizens to vote? Do they really believe the gibberish uttered by Rudy Giuliani and others that voting machines were reprogrammed by Venezuelan coders intent on securing a victory for Joe Biden? Americans who truly honor the Constitution and live in states where voters access is being restricted must go the extra mile to make sure their voices are heard, despite the obstacles placed in their path. They need to teach the GOP that voter suppression is not a winning issue. If they dont do that, the consequences will be dire. Bill Gottdenker, Mountainside Joe is a no-go, and should be gone It was a grave misdemeanor when President Joe Biden first reversed former President Donald Trumps edict to build a longer, stronger wall with our states that border Mexico. Completion of this project could have prevented immigration of abandoned or unaccompanied children, as well as adult immigrants, some of whom bring illicit drugs into our country. Now, the pending influx has become a horrible situation, which these states cannot possibly handle. The COVID-19 pandemic already is enough of a problem. Biden simply ignores the situation. Why not send to the border some of the National Guard troops who are now guarding the Capitol? Biden did not appear before the public for weeks of his campaign during the coronavirus lockdowns. Since taking office, he has spent little time taking questions from the press. This is unheard of! Biden should resign, since he has caused a lot of problems, including policies that are causing unemployment in the oil and gas industry, and freezing relief payments to farmers that the outgoing Trump administration authorized. During Trumps four years as president, he made America great again and I felt safe. The world looked at him as a leader. Look at our nation now. Martha Gomez, Monroe Township Make J&J vaccine the worldwide leader The COVAX plan is a global initiative led by the World Health Organization to strengthen COVID-19 vaccine access for economically disadvantaged nations. Distribution of the coronavirus vaccine remains largely biased toward high-income nations, a trend criticized by the United Nations and policy experts alike. The priority should include vaccinating all nations. By making resources equitable, we can ensure a more efficient stop to the pandemic. Now that the United States has joined COVAX under President Joe Biden, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can also be approved for COVAX distribution, alongside the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. J&J has already announced its commitment to joining COVAX, and its single-dose vaccine will hopefully be used large-scale around the world because of its versatility in environments with the fewest resources. Danielle Han, Ewing GOP claim as working folk friend is bogus U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently said Democrats trade and economic policies have made American workers compete with the slave labor as the jobs are shipped off to China and shipped overseas to the lowest bidder. Hey, Sen. Hawley: I may have been born at night, but not LAST night! Many big, successful American companies build manufacturing plants overseas to make many of their products. The Republican Party has always been known as the party of big business. It still is. Republicans have never been known as the party of working folk, to cite Hawleys claim. Please tell us, senator, how are Republicans are going to take care of big business and take care of American working folk, too? Please give us some non-Neanderthal type of thinking here. F. L. Freet, West Milford Tempest in a Tillie spot? Regarding the front-page article A Jersey Shore legend: The fight to save Tillie: Much ado was made in the Star-Ledger about the fast-disintegrating mural of Asbury Parks Tillie, which currently languishes in a shed behind a wastewater treatment plant near the boardwalk. The neglected caricature once stood over an amusement arcade building that was torn down years ago. Im quite fond of said icon myself, having adorned some of my belongings with embroidered patches featuring Tillies grinning visage; but given the caricatures basic forms, how hard would it be to duplicate it? After all, its not the Shroud of Turin. William Keller, South Amboy Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. By John A. Tures Republicans seem on a mission to reverse the 2020 Election results. One step for the GOP involves making it harder to vote in the future. If these misguided initiatives succeed, then America will be a little less democratic, but will see a lot more Democrats win at the ballot box. Thats because absentee voting has historically benefitted the Republican Party. The story begins with a moment people once used to describe racism in America. L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley was all set to be the first African American governor since Reconstruction. Exit polls showed that Bradley would win. But it turned out that Attorney General George Deukmejian narrowly prevailed in that 1982 California contest. That incident gave rise to The Bradley Effect and the mistaken belief that whites lie to pollsters, and vote against Black candidates. Those polls would have been more accurate if they had included those elderly who cast absentee ballots, which skewed heavily Republican. Writing in American Politics Research, Jeffrey A. Karp and Susan A. Banducci use data from the National Election Studies, and make the following finding: We see the Republican advantage in absentee voting as a result of self-selection rather than party mobilization. But 2020 was different, right? Nope. Jesse Yoder and seven other fellow researchers from Stanford Universitys Democracy & Polarization Lab find that in a Texas 14th District, Democrats were three times more likely to vote than Republicans, but the overall rate of turnout didnt change much from prior elections. Absentee voting didnt make voters out of non-voters. Writing in Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, Scot Schraufnagel, Michael J. Pomante II, and Quan Li report that the cost of voting during presidential cycles is the lowest, where there is automatic voter registration processes and mail-in voting. Theres also a lot less fraud in states which make it easier to vote, and do not require excuses to vote absentee, as I found in my own research. States that make it harder to vote have more fraud. Ive also found that voting absentee is supported by three-quarters of Republicans, as well as two-thirds of Democrats, according to a Reuters News poll. Attempts to squash that wont sit well with voters. When Wisconsin Republicans tried to force residents to vote in-person as the pandemic came to the United States, angry voters defeated an incumbent Supreme Court Justice who had been prominently endorsed by President Trump on multiple occasions. Voters were also upset with the hypocrisy that they had to vote in person, while courts chose to vote on cases remotely. A number of conservatives also support absentee voting. R-Street conservatives provide data that shows absentee voting has been on the rise since 2008. The highest year for absentee voting, before 2020, was 2014, the year the GOP retook the Senate, kept the House, and won Governors races. R-Street conservatives also show evidence that absentee voting fits with conservative values, as the practice is more secure, more cost-effective, and is supported overwhelmingly by voters. In Election 2022, Republicans who demand an excuse for voting, photo ID and notary signature, will see their support at the ballot box plummet among their elderly and conservatives who historically vote absentee. Meanwhile, angry voters, losing their freedom to vote by mail (which 75% support), and having to stand in long lines, will punish the GOP at the polls, all because Republicans thought that restricting voting rights would give them an advantage. John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His Twitter account is JohnTures2. 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. Findings highlight the fragilities of the manufacturing process, but companies aren't willing to release information Documents leaked from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) following a cyber attack in December show that some early commercial batches of Pfizer-BioNTech's covid-19 vaccine had lower than expected levels of intact mRNA molecules. These molecules instruct our cells to make a harmless piece of coronavirus protein, triggering an immune response and protecting us from infection if the real virus enters our bodies. The complete, intact mRNA molecule is essential to the potency of the vaccine. But in a special report for The BMJ today, journalist Serena Tinari shows that the EMA was concerned about the difference in quality between clinical batches and proposed commercial batches of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Specifically, EMA had major concerns over unexpectedly low quantities (around 55%) of intact mRNA in batches of the vaccine developed for commercial production. It is an issue relevant not just to Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine but also to those produced by Moderna, CureVac, and others, as well as a "second generation" mRNA vaccine being pursued by Imperial College London. In an email dated 23 November, a high ranking EMA official outlined a raft of issues. In short, commercial manufacturing was not producing vaccines to the specifications expected, and regulators were unsure of the implications on safety and efficacy. EMA responded by filing two "major objections" with Pfizer, along with a host of other questions it wanted addressed. Ultimately, on 21 December, EMA authorised Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine and a report published on its website, noted, "the quality of this medicinal product, submitted in the emergency context of the current (covid-19) pandemic, is considered to be sufficiently consistent and acceptable." However, it's unclear how the agency's concerns were satisfied, writes Tinari. The BMJ asked Pfizer, Moderna, and CureVac, as well as several regulators, what percentage mRNA integrity they consider acceptable for vaccines against covid-19. None offered any specifics, and in subsequent correspondence, EMA, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Canadian medicines regulator Health Canada all stated that specific information related to the acceptability criteria is confidential. Pfizer also declined to comment on what percentage mRNA integrity it is aiming for, nor would it address questions about the cause of the unexpectedly low percentage mRNA integrity in certain batches, leaving open the question of whether it could happen again. Moderna declined to respond to any of The BMJ's questions, while CureVac told The BMJ that "it is too soon to give details." The shortage of information may reflect the lack of certainty, even among regulators, about how to assess the evidence fully for this novel technology, suggests Tinari. Professor of biopharmaceutics, Daan J.A. Crommelin, told The BMJ that, "For small, low molecular weight products, the active pharmaceutical ingredient integrity is typically close to 100%." But for mRNA vaccines? "Experience with mRNA integrity is limited." ### Externally peer reviewed? Yes Evidence type: Investigation Subject: mRNA vaccines for covid-19 Champaign, IL (61820) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 57F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. 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 US House of Representatives passed the Biden administrations $1.9 trillion economic recovery bill Wednesday afternoon on a near party-line vote, 220-212, sending it on to the White House. The Senate passed the bill on a 50-49 vote on Saturday. The White House announced that Biden would sign the bill into law on Friday. The legislation was passed only a few days before the expiration on Sunday of federal supplemental unemployment benefits, passed in December while Donald Trump was still president. APTOPIX Virus Outbreak Congress The extension of federal supplemental benefits is only one component of the legislation, although, at $350 billion, it is one of the costliest. Other major pieces of the American Recovery Actthe grandiose and misleading title given to the bill by Democratic Party publicistsinclude $1,400 checks for 85 percent of the American population, total cost about $400 billion, and $350 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments facing bankruptcy because of coronavirus-related reductions in tax revenues and increases in expenditure. Despite the claims by leading Democrats, ranging from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, that the bill is the most progressive piece of legislation since Lyndon Johnsons Great Society and even the New Deal, the legislation does not establish a single significant new social program. Last month, the Democrats dropped an increase in minimum wage, ostensibly to comply with an advisory ruling by the Senate parliamentarian, though this ruling could have been easily overruled. They also reduced the weekly jobless benefit from $400 to the its current level, passed during the Trump administration, of $300. Even the short-term funding increases for programs lik the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax credit are limited to a single year and will revert back to previous spending levels in 2022. The direct $1,400 payments are one-time only, and the $300-a-week in supplemental unemployment benefits expires August 29. The bill amounts to a desperate effort by the Biden administration and congressional Democrats to stave off a complete collapse in consumer spending between now and September, in the hope that the US economy will be able to revive by then. The size and scope of the bill have received general approval on Wall Street for the same reasonfear that a sharp falloff in consumer spending will send the entire economy into a downward spiral. Moreover, a large portion of the subsidies to working people will end up paying off the massive levels of debt to banks and utility companies. The reason for the sharp conflict between the Democrats and Republicans over the billonly one House Democrat voted against the American Recovery Act, and not a single Republican supported it in either the House or the Senatestems from the Democratic Party strategy of propping up the trade unions and relying on them to suppress any revolt in the working class over the next six months. Both parties were in agreement with direct payments to individuals and extension of federal unemployment benefits. A delegation of 10 Republican senators communicated this during its visit to Biden in White House last month, disputing only the exact size and terms, over which they were willing to negotiate. But the Republicans adamantly opposed those provisions in the Biden bill that they claimed were an indirect subsidy to the public employee unions: $350 billion to state and local governments and $170 billion for K-12 schools and colleges, money that ultimately would end up in the pay and benefits of members of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), the SEIU (Service Employees International Union), the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) and the NEA (National Education Association). Added to this was $86 billion in grants to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to bail out bankrupt pension funds, nearly all tied to major industrial unions like the Teamsters, Steelworkers and United Mine Workers. Damon Silvers, policy director of the AFL-CIO, issued a statement declaring, Unions are often in the position of having to explain to our members that after we fight, and after we mobilize, the negotiators come back and its not everything we wanted President Bidens American Rescue Plan is one of those extraordinary moments when thats actually not true. In the debate Wednesday in the House, nearly every Republican speaker, besides hysterical denunciations of the entire bill as an example of socialism, took aim at the provisions to bail out state and local governments, even though many of these are run by Republican officeholders who were publicly supportive of the legislation. They denounced the fact that the bill did not mandate the reopening of schools by denying funds to school districts that did not immediately resume in-person classes. This only provided political cover to the Biden administration, which seeks to compel the reopening of in-person classes by means of the AFT and NEA unions, which are devoting all their efforts to browbeating opposition in the rank-and-file, where it is widely understood that the reopenings mean thousands of infections and deaths for teachers, staff and the children in their care. Besides the three biggest chunks of money$400 billion in direct checks, $350 billion for supplemental unemployment benefits through August 29, and $350 billion for state and local governmentssome of the most important remaining provisions include: * $160 billion for vaccinations, testing and other direct COVID-19 measures, which, while financing vaccines, will do nothing to safeguard the population from the further spread of the virus. That would require mass lockdowns whose cost would have to be placed on the super-rich, whose wealth has risen enormously over the past year. * $150 billion to expand child and dependent care tax credits and the earned income tax credit. This increase is for one year only, with the programs reverting to their original form next year. * $170 billion for school and college reopenings. The bulk of this, some $130 billion, goes to reopening K-12 schools. The remainder is for colleges and universities. The K-12 amount is well below what would be required to actually institute safe conditions in the schools and is mainly intended to provide cover for the Biden administrations campaign to reopen schools as the pandemic continues to rage. * $86 billion for underfunded pension plans through the PBGC (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation). This obviously has nothing to do with COVID-19. It is aimed at propping up the industrial unions, which have become completely discredited among workers, at least in part because of the destruction of pension funds, plundered by Wall Street as well by the union officials themselves. The bill is a stop-gap aimed at staving off a long hot summer. There is no long-term aid to the working class at all, since all the positive provisions in the legislation expire this year. It is being adopted, moreover, as the entire ruling class is intensifying the campaign to remove all restraints on the spread of the pandemic. States throughout the country are eliminating remaining restrictions on economic activity, while the Biden administration is leading the campaign to reopen schools, as the daily death toll stands at more than 1,500. Copenhagen: Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland say they have temporarily suspended the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine after reports of the formation of blood clots in some who have been vaccinated. Austria earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. Norway said its decision to temporarily suspend use of the vaccine was a cautionary decision. Credit:AP Still, the European medicine regulator EMA said the vaccines benefits outweighed its risks and could continue to be administered. Europe is struggling to speed up a vaccine rollout after delivery delays from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, even as a spike in cases amid a more contagious virus variant has triggered fresh lockdowns in countries like Italy and France. Chandigarh: Reacting to the scam being perpetrated by private hospitals in Punjab in the name of Ayushman Bharat scheme, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stated that it was impossible to squander the public exchequer without the instigation of power. In a statement issued from the party headquarters, senior leader of the party and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab assembly Harpal Singh Cheema said that the vigilance probe in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala had revealed how the exchequer was being looted in the name of the poor. He said that no private institution had the guts to embezzle crores of rupees without the leaders of any ruling party. Harpal Singh CheemaCheema said that the case of looting by 10 hospitals in only three districts came to light and if an investigation was carried out, hundreds of hospitals across Punjab would be exposed for crores of rupees. He asked the Punjab government to expose the names of the political leaders involved in these cases. Demanding action, Cheema said that the hospitals which had committed such scams should be sealed. He said that 'mafia rule' started by Akali Dal Badal was now promoted by Captain Amarinder Singh's government. "Now such a mafia rule has become active in the welfare schemes of the people. All kinds of mafias are flourishing due to Captain running away from his responsibilities again," he added. The AAP leader further said that the Captain government had always been reluctant to reveal the names of the people involved in the scams and if anyone's name comes to light then it was given a clean chit under a false investigation, examples of which were deaths due to illicit liquor in Majha constituency. Harpal Cheema Cheema further said that the names of those close to the ruling party who runs the liquor mafia had not been revealed yet. He said that clean chit had also been given in scam of crores of rupees in post-matric scholarship. "Now this new mafia has come to the fore, which with the connivance of private hospitals is cheating the poor people in their Ayushman Bharat scheme," he added. Cheema said that it was a testament to the collusion of the government in private hospitals that the ministers and MLAs of the ruling party did not trust the government hospitals and preferred private hospitals for their treatment. He said that the land of government hospital in Mohali worth crores of rupees was being handed over to a private hospital due to the alliance of the government with private hospitals. Cheema said that the Captain government was failing on every front and mafia rule was rampant in Punjab. He said that after the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government in 2022, the scams being carried out in the intoxication of power would be taken into account. They play dueling anchors on the Apple TV+'s flagship drama series The Morning Show. And the heavy hitters were out in full strength on Wednesday night as Jennifer Aniston, 52, and Reese Witherspoon, 44, both filmed a night seen for their acclaimed series in Los Angeles. Both looked professional and elegant in overcoats while filming scenes with their costars Mark Duplass and Hannah Leder. Hard at work: Jennifer Aniston, 52, and Reese Witherspoon, 44, were both spotted out in Los Angeles on Wednesday as they filmed a scene for season two of The Morning Show Classic style: Both looked professional and elegant in overcoats while filming scenes with their costars Mark Duplass and Hannah Leder Aniston's costume included an intriguing black coat with short sleeves, revealing her brown mock turtleneck underneath. Her character paired the long outfit, which was cinched tight around her waist, with pointy black suede boots. She accessorized with a black semi-circular handbag and let her long brunette tresses cascade down her shoulders while partially hiding her large silver hoop earrings. Duplass looked as if he'd just traveled as he pulled a large suitcase along and wore a navy puffer jacket with a gray cardigan and a gingham shirt. Leder wore a chic brown coat buttoned only at the very top and sported a wavy brown bob. Back in black: Aniston's costume included an intriguing black coat with short sleeves, revealing her brown mock turtleneck underneath Business casual: Her character paired the long outfit, which was cinched tight around her waist, with pointy black suede boots Travel attire: Mark Duplass looked as if he'd just traveled as he pulled a large suitcase along and wore a navy puffer jacket with a gray cardigan and a gingham shirt Low key: She accessorized with a black semi-circular handbag Lustrous locks: She let her long brunette tresses cascade down her shoulders while partially hiding her large silver hoop earrings Protection: Later in the day, the blonde shielded herself from the rain underneath an umbrella In good company: The thespian linked arms with Mark as they engaged in conversation in between takes In the moment: Jennifer pulled animated facial expressions as she and the actor sipped on beverages provided by the crew Off they go: The group approached a classic New York taxi as they headed off to their next destination Reese was spotted elsewhere on set wearing a burgundy overcoat with wide lapels, as well as a black sweater and matching slacks. Like Aniston, she wore black suede boots, and she also had a black handbag slung across her shoulders while she carried a larger black bag in one hand. Her trademark blonde locks, which were brown in the first season, were tied back in a casual ponytail. It wasn't clear if she was involved in the same scene or was filming a separate scene outdoors. Splash of color: Reese was spotted elsewhere on set wearing a burgundy overcoat with wide lapels, as well as a black sweater and matching slacks On the go: Like Aniston, she wore black suede boots, and she also had a black handbag slung across her shoulders while she carried a larger black bag in one hand Aniston and Witherspoon's series The Morning Show documents a fictional morning news program inspired by The Today Show and Good Morning America. In the first season, the show's co-host Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) was fired for a sexual misconduct scandal that appeared to be inspired by the firings of Matt Lauer from The Today Show and Charlie Rose from CBS This Morning. In the wake of his departure, Aniston's co-host Alex Levy is left fighting to keep her job, while the reckless field reporter Bradley Jackson (Witherspoon) finds herself joining the show as a new anchor. Despite mostly receiving mixed-to-positive reviews, Apple TV+ renewed The Morning Show for a secod Aniston and Witherspoon's series The Morning Show documents a fictional morning news program inspired by The Today Show and Good Morning America; still from The Morning Show Competitors: After Steve Carell's anchor is fired for sexual misconduct Aniston's co-host Alex Levy fights to keep her job, while field reporter Bradley Jackson (Witherspoon) joins the show as a new anchor; still from The Morning Show Back in August, Duplass told Deadline that the show's writers were redoing the episodes to reference the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 'Thats what happened in the first season,' he said. 'They had a whole set of scripts [then] and they rewrote everything to include the #MeToo movement.' So far, a release date hasn't been announced for the second season. The series marked Aniston's return to TV after appearing on Burning Love in 2012. Witherspoon, meanwhile, has made a name for herself in recent years as a queen of prestige television. She played one of the leads in the wildly popular HBO series Big Little Lies, and more recently she starred opposite Kerry Washington in the Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, based on the acclaimed novel of the same name. PowerLeads AI will leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify renters who are statistically proven to be up to 2X more likely to lease SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Zumper , the third largest rental real estate platform in North America, today introduced PowerLeads AI, an industry-first product that leverages the power of AI to analyze renters' behaviors to confidently predict the likelihood of a renter signing a specific apartment lease. This new feature solves one of the biggest challenges in the apartment leasing industry inefficiency. Leasing consultants report current industry methods for managing leads are not only highly inefficient and frustrating, they're also one of the industry's most significant challenges. By proactively identifying prospective renters who are more likely to lease immediately, both renters and leasing consultants benefit from a far more efficient, personalized experience. PowerLeads AI features three main components. First, Power Prospects identifies and flags renters who are statistically proven to be up to 2X more likely to lease immediately. Additionally, our system will now surface and provide leasing agents over 50 unique renter characteristics more than 5X more information than the competition that will help leasing agents best meet renter needs. Lastly, PowerLeads AI provides access to up-to-the-minute information allowing leasing teams to see a prospect's interests in real time enabling them to better understand prospective renters' needs. "Our studies showed that the vast majority of leasing teams want a way to understand which prospects are more likely to lease, so we knew that it was vital to solve this challenge with an industry-first solution," said Zumper's Chief Growth Officer, Tanguy Le Louarn. "In fact, 78% believe having more data on prospects would help them convert more leads. By using cutting edge AI and machine learning to provide predictive insights and data, we'll not only provide higher quality leads, we'll also enable a faster leasing process." Story continues PowerLeads AI will go live on March 11, 2021. For more information about how PowerLeads AI can support advertising needs, please email multifamily@zumper.com. About Zumper: Zumper is the fastest growing and third largest rental platform in North America, serving one in three U.S. adults. Zumper aims to make renting an apartment as easy as booking a hotel. With over 70 million users, Zumper's free online and mobile rental search marketplace has become the largest of any startup in the industry. Headquartered in San Francisco, Zumper has 200 employees across the U.S. and acquired PadMapper in 2016. The company has raised over $140 million in funding from investors including e.ventures, Greycroft, Dawn Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Goodwater Capital, Axel Springer, Stereo Capital, the Blackstone Group, Breyer Capital, Foxhaven Asset Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, NEA, CrunchFund, xfund, Divco West, MMC Technology Ventures, Scott Cook, and the DeWilde Family Trust. Learn more at Zumper.com or email press@zumper.com. Interested in joining the Zumper team? Check out open positions here. Zumper is the largest privately held rental platform in the U.S. used by more than 15 million renters a month. (PRNewsfoto/Zumper) Cision View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zumper-is-the-first-to-bring-ai-to-apartment-rental-leads-301245431.html SOURCE Zumper ROCHESTER, Minn. - Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Wednesday marked a great day for Rochester and all of Minnesota with the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan through both chambers of congress. The senator tells KIMT News 3 the past year has been difficult for many, and the relief package provides necessary funding to ensure Americans have what they need to make it through the pandemic. Klobuchar highlights the bill's support of resources to safely reopen schools, direct aid to those in need, and administer vaccines quickly. "We know now that there is going to be enough vaccines available in America for every adult by the end of May, but we've got to make sure we get the shots in arms, and we leave no shot behind," Senator Klobuchar said. "That means getting distribution funding, which is big time in this bill, so we get it to Rochester, but also to the small towns in the area." Senator Klobuchar adds the plan represents an important step in making sure small businesses and other organizations are able to weather the hardships brought on by COVID-19. "I look at it this way - we don't want to get through this pandemic and have dug ourselves into a hole so we can't crawl out. We want to be able to one day go, 'okay, I'm going to a restaurant for a change,' because that restaurant is still going to be there." The American Rescue Plan passed through both the house and senate without the support of any congressional republican. Senator Klobuchar says despite the apparent partisan divide, people of all ideologies want to get back to normal, which requires more extensive resources. "I really think this benefits everyone, and that's why you see something like 7-in-10 Americans are strong supporters of this bill regardless of party. So I think that's really important," the senator said. The White House says President Biden will formally sign the bill into law this Friday. SEBI Caps Mutual Fund Investments in Perpetual Bonds; Issues New Valuation Norms Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a circular putting in place a framework with restrictions on the exposure of mutual funds (MFs) to debt instruments with special features such as perpetual bonds, additional tier-I (AT-1), and tier-2 bonds. This new framework comes into effect from 1 April 2021. As per the circular, a mutual fund under all its schemes will not be permitted to own more than 10% of such instruments issued by a single issuer. Currently, there are no specified investment limits for such instruments. The circular notes that MFs invest in debt instruments with special features (such as AT-1 bonds issued by banks under Basel III framework) that are subordinated to equity or convertible to equity upon trigger of a pre-specified event for loss absorption. Such debt instruments are riskier than other debt instruments and, therefore, SEBI has now come up with prudential ownership thresholds. According to the circular, No mutual fund under all its schemes shall own more than 10% of such instruments issued by a single issuer. A mutual fund scheme shall not invest more than 10% of its NAV (net asset value) of the debt portfolio of the scheme in such instruments A mutual fund scheme shall not invest more than 5% of its NAV of the debt portfolio of the scheme in such instruments issued by a single issuer. These investment limits for a mutual fund scheme would be within the overall limit for debt instruments issued by a single issuer as specified under SEBIs mutual fund norms, and other prudential limits with respect to the debt instruments. Additionally, existing investments of mutual funds in such debt instruments in excess of these new limits will be grandfathered but no fresh investment in such instruments is permitted until the investment falls below specified limits. The market regulator has also clarified that the valuation of bonds with call and/or put options shall be valued in line with its 18 September 2000 circular, irrespective of the nature of the issuer. MFs have been directed to value these bonds on the assumption that these would be redeemed after 100 years. This might lead to steep losses for them in the near term. Currently, these bonds come with a put/ call option and are traded on the basis that they would be called by the issuer. SEBI has also reiterated that close ended debt schemes cannot invest in perpetual bonds. SEBIs earlier circular of 11 December 2008 had permitted close-ended debt scheme to invest only in such securities which mature on or before the date of the maturity of the scheme which effectively means that they cannot invest in such debt instruments. Market experts have hailed the step of limiting the exposure of debt funds in such instruments and putting in place restrictions on the exposure towards a particular issuer as a good step as it will trim down the risk. But fund managers are fretting that the debt schemes holding perpetual bonds could see sharp swings in their values as a result in the change in valuations. Though the new framework would come into effect from 1st April, the market would start factoring changes immediately and yields are expected to rise in a knee-jerk reaction. Segregated Portfolio Provisions in the Scheme Information Document Debt schemes, which have investment in such instruments or intend to invest in them, should ensure that the scheme information document has provisions for segregated portfolio. The segregated portfolio will be triggered accordingly; If the debt instrument is to be written off or converted to equity pursuant to any proposal, the date of the said proposal may be treated as the trigger date. If such instrument is written off or converted to equity without any proposal, the date of write off or conversion of debt instrument to equity may be treated as the trigger date. On the trigger date, asset management companies (AMCs) may, at their option, create segregated portfolio in accordance with SEBI regulations. AMCs/valuation agencies shall ensure that the financial stress of the issuer and the capabilities of issuer to repay the dues/borrowings are reflected in the valuation of the securities from the trigger date onwards. Side pocketing of such bonds would allow investors the chance to exit the remaining part of the MF scheme, while waiting for the opportunity to participate in the recovery from those bonds. SEBI has been tightening investment norms for AT-1 bonds after many MFs were caught unawares while investing in AT-1 bonds of Yes Bank, which collapsed and was bailed out last year by a consortium but only after bondholders incurred huge losses. Moneylife had pointed out earlier in October 2020 that a lot of retail investors might continue to have an exposure to AT-1 bonds through mutual fund fixed-income schemes, which are allowed to invest in them. A company boss has denied trying to kill his doctor brother and breaching an order barring him from attending the 1.5m family home. Pierre Polychronis, 40, is accused of trying to murder Dr Andreas Polychronis, 50, in north London, on 30 January this year and two charges of breaching a restraining order. Polychronis is being held on remand at HMP Pentonville and will be tried at Harrow Crown Court on a date to be fixed. According to Companies House, Polychronis and his sibling ran a company together called Polychronis Cancer Services Limited. Pierre Polychronis, 40, is accused of trying to murder his brother Dr Andreas Polychronis, 50, in north London, on 30 January this year and two charges of breaching a restraining order. He will be tried at Harrow Crown Court (pictured, stock image) on a date to be fixed The siblings once run a business together and Pierre, 40, runs a company called Its Your Face Aesthetics (pictured, company logo) Pierre Polychronis was listed as a director of the firm, but has since resigned and opened a new company called Its Your Face Aesthetics LTD, which he controls. He denies attempted murder, and two counts of breaching a restraining order. According to the charges Polychronis turned up at the family home in New Barnet, while barred from doing so after the restraining order was imposed at Willesden Magistrates Court on 24 February 2020. The second breach alleges he attended the house while drunk and unsupervised on 18 January 2021. New Delhi, March 11 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off a 'Padyatra' (March) from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat on Friday and launch various initiatives planned under 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of India's Independence. The padyatra will be joined by different groups of people on the way to Dandi. Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel will lead the first lap of 75 kilometres of the padyatra, which will be undertaken by 81 marchers from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari, a journey of 241 miles that will end on April 5, lasting for 25 days. Modi will also launch various other cultural and digital initiatives for the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav and will also address the gathering at Sabarmati Ashram. Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel and Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani will also be present on the occasion, scheduled to commence at 10.30 a.m. Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav is a series of events to be organised by the Central government to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence. The Mahotsav will be celebrated as a Jan-Utsav in the spirit of Jan-Bhagidari. A National Implementation Committee headed by the Home Minister has been constituted to chalk out policies and planning of various events to be undertaken under the Commemoration. The curtain raiser activities are beginning from March 12, 75 weeks prior to August 15, 2022. The event will witness the inauguration of the curtain raiser activities planned under the theme India@75 like a film, website, song, Aatmanirbhar Charkha and Aatmanirbhar Incubator. Along with the above initiatives, a cultural programme presenting the celebration of the indomitable spirit of the country will also be organized. It will include music, dance, recitation, reading of the Preamble of the Constitution (each line in a different language, representing the different regions of the country). Depicting the youth power as the future of India there will be 75 voices in the choir as well as 75 dancers in the event. State and UT Governments are also organizing programmes all over India on March 12. In addition to these programmes, the Archaeological Survey of India and Zonal Cultural Centres under the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Youth Affairs and TRIFED have planned various activities to mark the occasion. 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. Under the direction of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Union Health Ministry has now decided to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo from Covid-19 vaccine certificates from the poll-bound states - West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. This comes days after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) approached the ECI and called PM Modis photo on vaccination certificates a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Black women have 80% higher risk of preterm birth between 32 and 33 weeks of pregnancy if a Black person who lives in their neighborhood is killed by police during the pregnancy, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley. The study by scientists at the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative (PTBI-CA) and UC Berkeley School of Public Health, studied the records of 3.8 million pregnant women to assess whether fatal police violence occurring in their neighborhood during pregnancy was associated with extremely early, early, moderate or late preterm delivery. "Our findings suggest that deaths due to police violence, which already differentially affect Black and Brown communities, adversely affect the health of mothers and babies during pregnancy," said first author Dana Goin, PhD, post-doctoral scholar in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. "In addition, we observed the strongest associations with preterm birth when the victim of the lethal violence and the mother/birth parent were both Black." The researchers analyzed California Department of Public Health (CDPH) birth records from 2007 to 2015, using the birth parents' addresses to determine the parent's census tract of residence. They examined two different sources of police violence data, specifically CDPH death records that capture deaths due to "legal intervention" and records from the Fatal Encounters database that collects media-based accounts of police violence. They matched the police violence measures to the time range of the pregnancies, using as their control group residents of the same census tract who did not experience police violence during their pregnancy. The study published March 10, 2021, in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. According to the analysis, neighborhoods where at least one incident of fatal police violence occurred tended to be where birth parents were Black or Latinx, had less than high school education and had public insurance, compared to all the births in California. The World Health Organization lists preterm birth as a baby born at 37 weeks or earlier, compared to a 40-week "full-term" pregnancy, and considers birth at 32 to 33 weeks to be "moderate preterm. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the rate of preterm births among Black women as 50% higher than the rate of preterm births among white or Latina women. The researchers also discovered that the associations of fatal police violence with preterm birth were stronger among female infants. Since male fetuses are more sensitive to stress during pregnancy, it is plausible that male fetuses exposed to police violence may have been more likely than female fetuses to be miscarried earlier in the pregnancy, said Goin, who intends to explore this possibility further in a subsequent study. "Our research provides evidence that policing practices that differentially harm Black people in California can also contribute to their disproportionate risk for preterm delivery," she said. "This work contributes to the evidence that additional forms of stress and hardship experienced from racism and institutional violence significantly affect their health and the health of the next generation." ### Co-authors: Dana E. Goin, PhD, Brittany D. Chambers, PhD and Andrea V. Jackson, MD of UC San Francisco; Anu Manchikanti Gomez, PhD, Kriszta Farkas, MPH, Catherine Duarte, MSc, Deborah Karasek, PhD and Jennifer Ahern, PhD of UC Berkeley. Funding: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the UC Firearm Violence Research Center, the UC Berkeley Committee on Research, and the Cheri Pies Award Disclosures: The authors have no financial ties to products in the study or potential/perceived conflicts of interest. About the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative: The UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative (PTBI) is a research enterprise whose mission is to eliminate racial disparities in preterm birth and improve health outcomes for babies born too soon through research, partnerships and education grounded in community wisdom. PTBI conducts and funds transdisciplinary research to identify promising interventions that can turn the curve on the preterm birth epidemic and create positive change for Black and brown families. Funded by Lynne and Marc Benioff, PTBI asserts structural and interpersonal racism along with other key social determinants are important drivers of an epidemic that disproportionately affects women of color in our state, and nationally. About UCSF: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF's primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. Learn more at ucsf.edu, or see our Fact Sheet. Follow UCSF ucsf.edu | Facebook.com/ucsf | YouTube.com/ucsf U.S. Reps. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat from Northeast Pennsylvania, and Glenn Thompson, a Republican from Western Pennsylvania, together called for renewing a program that reclaims mine lands. Were on a deadline, Cartwright said Wednesday, because the Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund expires in 204 days. The fund started in 1977, is financed by a tax on each ton of coal mined. Cartwright said the fund paid to restore thousands of open mine portals, 1,000 miles of dangerous highwalls and restored water polluted by mine drainage. Cartwright, who represents the 8th District, said the Arena Hub Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township and distribution centers in Hazleton sit on former mine land. The mine land that remains will cost $10 billion to reclaim, he estimated, and the fund brings in less than $200 million a year. Thompson said the 15th District that he represents has the most mine sites to reclaim of any district in the nation. The funds, he pointed out, dont come from taxpayers coffers, and the effort to extend the fund has support from both parties, a rarity in Washington, D.C.. He said reclaiming mines isnt a Republican or Democratic issue. This is an American issue, Thompson said. Anticipating opposition from Western states that pay the bulk of the coal mining fee, Thompson said mine scars that need reclaiming in the East date to World War I and World War II, when miners rushed to power America. Coal mined in the East, he said, benefitted the whole country. Robert Hughes of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation said nonprofits like his group can leverage money from the fund with money from private companies to reclaim land for reuse. He said proposals include solar developments, recovering metals and using mine pool water for geothermal energy projects. PARIS (AP) France's foreign minister warned on Thursday that Lebanon is running out of time before it could see a total collapse, urging the country's fractious politicians to form a new government to save it from economic and financial disaster. Jean-Yves Le Drian said such a collapse would spell disaster not only for the Lebanese people, but also for the hundreds of thousands of Syrian and Palestinian refugees it hosts, as well as the entire region. He spoke to reporters in Paris, months after French President Emanuel Macron proposed a road map to break Lebanons political stalemate over the formation of a new government. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government resigned days after the massive explosion at Beirut port in August. Macron has been pressing Lebanese politicians to form a Cabinet made up of non-partisan specialists that can work on urgent reforms to extract Lebanon from a financial crisis worsened by the Aug. 4 explosion. Macron has traveled twice to Beirut since then and has made it a personal mission to try to repair the damaged country. Those efforts have led to nowhere as Lebanon's famously corrupt politicians continue to bicker about the shape and size of a new Cabinet while the country is mired in the worst economic crisis in its modern history a situation has been exacerbated by pandemic restrictions. Despite promises last year, its been seven months, and nothing has budged, Le Drian said Thursday. Its not yet too late, but we are running out of time before total collapse. If Lebanon were to collapse, it would be a disaster for the Lebanese people wherever they are, he said, and added: "But it would also be a disaster for Palestinian refugees for Syrian refugees, for the entire region. There is still time to act but we have to do it fast because tomorrow it will be too late, Le Drian said. Speaking at his side, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan also urged Lebanon to form a new government as soon as possible. Story continues On Thursday, outgoing Lebanese Electricity Minister Raymond Ghajar warned that Lebanon may be plunged into total darkness by the end of the month as government coffers run dry. He warned lack of fuel could have catastrophic consequences," particularly on the health sector and Lebanon's ability to store coronavirus vaccines. The country's electricity company and operators of generators have been rationing power since last year amid dwindling foreign reserves and government revenues. Ghajar called for financial assistance to the national electricity company. Lebanon has for decades struggled with power cuts, with the company racking up a deficit of nearly $2 billion a year. The country relies on fuel shipped in and imported diesel, and government officials have been marred in corrupt fuel deals. Reform of the electricity sector has been a major international demand. Michigan Senate Republicans are gearing up to sue Gov. Gretchen Whitmer if her administration attempts to allocate federal funds tied to policy bills limiting the state health departments authority without signing them. During the Senates Thursday session, lawmakers voted 20-14 along partisan lines to give Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, the authority to take legal action if Whitmer tries to spend money tie-barred to the passage of House Bill 4049 and Senate Bill 1. Senate Resolution 26, sponsored by Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, states that an action to spend the tie-barred funds would be contrary to both law and Michigans constitutional system. Of the $4.2 billion COVID-19 spending plan passed out of the Republican-led Legislature the bulk of which comes from federal funds appropriated to Michigan by Congress about $840 million in school funding was tie-barred to House Bill 4049, which would shift authority on closing in-person learning and sporting events during the COVID-19 pandemic from the state to local health departments. And slightly more than $347 million in COVID-19 testing funds was tied to passage of Senate Bill 1, which would require legislative approval of DHHS emergency public health orders after 28 days and calls for the specific science and data behind each declaration. Whitmer vetoed House Bill 4049 this week and has indicated she plans to veto Senate Bill 1 as well. Whitmer did not veto the funding thats tie-barred to the policy legislation, but line-item vetoed $652 million in spending allocated by the Legislature that included a $150 million general fund deposit into the Unemployment Insurance Agency fund, $405 million in relief for property tax and fee relief for businesses, about $87 million in funds for non-public schools and $10 million for a summer school grant program. In a letter to the Legislature this week, Whitmer indicated a legal review of the legislation was ongoing and said when it was complete, she would direct state departments to implement this legislation consistent with constitutional requirements. Asked for additional clarification on whether the administration would pursue using the tie-barred funds in question, Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy did not rule it out, saying in a statement that it defies common sense that the legislature would try to block money from going to schools to help children learn in-person safely. Governor Whitmer will do everything she can to ensure that funding is available to families, small businesses, schools, and communities across the state because we cant afford to wait, he continued. Speaking in support of the resolution on the Senate floor, Shirkey said citizens are looking for direction and clarity on ways they can get past the restrictions of liberties and freedom theyve been enduring for over a year. He said legislative Republicans have asked for that clarity from the governor and have not received it. The people of Michigan know what to do, and theyre just waiting to be informed, inspired, encouraged and trusted, he said. Were still under an environment where this governor does not trust citizens of Michigan to do the right thing. Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, attempted to amend the resolution to cap spending on outside legal counsel to $10,000, which did not pass. He said the states budget director, David Massaron, is literally begging to negotiate with you on spending COVID-19 aid directed to Michigan by Congress and said its time for Republicans to work towards a compromise. Enriching lawyers because youre unwilling to negotiate with the governor is plain ridiculous, he said. It is a waste of taxpayers dollars. If Shirkey does pursue legal action, it wouldnt be the first time hes sued the Whitmer administration since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Last year, he and former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, sued Whitmer for extending Michigans coronavirus state of emergency without legislative support. The Michigan Supreme Court ultimately ruled Whitmer did not have the authority to take that action in October 2020. Since then, the states pandemic-related orders have come from Michigans Department of Health and Human Services under a different state statute allowing the department to issue emergency public health orders. Related: Michigan House tries again on spending vetoed by Whitmer Whitmer signals vetoes likely on parts of COVID-19 relief plan that limit executive powers COVID-19 aid, confidentiality agreements, guns and LGBT rights: The week in Michigan politics Michigan House clears $4.2B COVID-19 spending plan, ties some funds to limits on health departments authority Michigan Senate approves $1.9 billion for vaccine distribution, direct care worker payments, school aid Whitmer vetoes bills that would limit public health orders and repeal governors emergency powers Staff member handles AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in storage at Region Hovedstaden's Vaccine Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, on Feb. 11, 2021. (Ritzau Scanpix/Liselotte Sabroe via Reuters) Denmark, Norway, Iceland Suspend AstraZeneca COVID Shots After Blood Clot Reports COPENHAGENHealth authorities in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine shots following reports of the formation of blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated. Austria earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. Still, the European medicine regulator EMA said the vaccines benefits outweighed its risks and could continue to be administered. Europe is struggling to speed up a vaccine rollout after delivery delays from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, even as a spike in cases amid a more contagious virus variant has triggered fresh lockdowns in countries like Italy and France. Denmark suspended the shots for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said. Their response was also prompted by reports of possible serious side effects from other European countries. It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated, Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days in Denmark. This is a cautionary decision, Geir Bukholm, director of infection prevention and control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), told a news conference. FHI did not say how long the suspension would last. We await information to see if there is a link between the vaccination and this case with a blood clot, Bukholm said. Iceland on Thursday suspended jabs with the vaccine as it awaited the results of an investigation by the EMA. Italy, also on Thursday, said it would suspend use of an AstraZeneca batch different to the one used in Austria. Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be administered and that the cases of blood clots corresponded with the rate of such cases in the general population. The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence, Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters. Evans added that the COVID-19 disease was very strongly associated with blood clotting. Phil Bryan, head of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said reports of blood clots so far didnt exceed what would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population. Available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause, he said. More than 11 million doses of AstraZenecas vaccine have so far been administered across the UK. AstraZeneca told Reuters in a written statement the safety of its vaccine had been extensively studied in human trials and peer-reviewed data confirmed it was generally well tolerated. The drugmaker said this week there had been no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine. It said it was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support their investigation. The European Unions drug regulator, the EMA, said on Wednesday there was no evidence so far linking AstraZeneca to the two cases in Austria. It said the number of thromboembolic eventsmarked by the formation of blood clotsin people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine was no higher than that seen in the general population, with 22 cases reported among the 3 million people who have received the shot as of March 9. EMA said it understood the decision by Denmark and Norway was taken as a precaution. Four other countriesEstonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Latviahave stopped inoculations from the batch while investigations continue, the EMA said. The batch of 1 million doses went to 17 EU countries. Swedish authorities said they did not find sufficient evidence to stop vaccination with AstraZenecas jab. There is nothing to indicate that the vaccine causes this type of blood clots, Veronica Arthurson, head of drug safety at the Swedish Medical Products Agency, told a news conference. The Danish Medicines Agency said it had launched an investigation into the vaccine together with corresponding agencies in other EU countries and the EMA. So far, 138,148 Danes have received a shot with AstraZenecas vaccine in a country of 5.8 million. The Nordic country, which also uses vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, is set to receive 2.6 million doses from AstraZeneca over the coming months. Denmarks Health Authority said the final date for when it expects all Danes to have been fully vaccinated would be pushed back by four weeks to Aug. 15. Spain on Thursday said it had not registered any cases of blood clots related to AstraZenecas vaccine so far and would continue administering the shots. The EUs drugs regulator on Thursday approved Johnson & Johnsons single dose COVID-19 vaccine. A man who attacked his then partner after returning home from a wedding has received a fully suspended sentence. Graham Shields (34) lunged at his then partner and punched her in the face causing significant injury. The assault marked the end of their relationship and had an extremely profound psychological effect on the injured party. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Shields, who has been diagnosed with an anti-social personality disorder, is now on cordial terms with his ex-partner and contributes to the financial well-being of their son. Shields of Greenhills Court, Greenhills Road, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at Mulvey Park, Dundrum, on July 1, 2018. He has no previous convictions. Read More Passing sentence today, Judge Melanie Greally said Shields and his then partner had passed the day attending a wedding and the celebrations involved quite an amount of alcohol. Judge Greally said Shields had previously been diagnosed with an anti-social personality disorder and was experiencing elevated levels of anxiety. The couple returned home and became involved in a verbal exchange. She said this culminated in Shields lunging at the victim and hitting her in the face with his fist, causing significant injury around her eye. The court heard that while there was no fracture, there was considerable swelling and the bruising took approximately three weeks to heal. The victim also experienced blurred vision and underwent weekly counselling for a period of two years following the assault. The court heard that the victim fled to a neighbour's house and gardai were contacted. When interviewed by gardai following his arrest, Shields said he did not recall assaulting the victim, but said if the victim said he had done it she wouldn't lie. Judge Greally said this marked the end of the relationship between Shields and the victim, who was in fear of the accused and changed the locks in her house. Judge Greally said the Probation Service recommended that the accused was someone who would benefit from a period of supervision. She noted that he has been engaging with mental health services since the offence. She said she was of the view in this case that the context of the assault and the accused's history and mental health situation is such that the case comes within a very narrow band of exceptional cases where an immediate custodial sentence is not necessitated. Judge Greally said that while there was a previous occasion in 2015 of a warning sign where Shields shoved the victim and caused her to fall, the offence does not appear to be part of an ongoing domestic violence situation. She said the offence was aggravated by happening in the context of a long relationship and constituted a significant breach of trust, it caused an embarrassing and unsightly injury and had an extremely profound psychological effect on the injured party. Judge Greally said she gave him credit for his guilty plea, his lack of previous convictions, his admissions and his expression of remorse. She said she took into account his own mental health history and his childhood traumas. The judge said Shields has made no inappropriate contact with the victim and that they are on cordial terms. She said they are co-parenting their son and the accused is contributing to his financial well-being. Judge Greally sentenced Shields to 18 months imprisonment, but suspended the entirety of the sentence on strict conditions including that he follow all directions of the Probation Service for 18 months. Pankaj Vishnu, who was seen in Star Pravah show Jai Deva Shree Ganesha as Mahadev opposite Bhagyashree Mote, who played Goddess Parvati in the same. In the limited episode series, Pankaj Vishnu managed to catch viewers' attention with his beautiful performance as Lord Shiva. On the occasion of Maha Shivratri 2021, the Pavitra Rishta actor shared people's reaction when they saw him as Mahadev in Jai Deva Shree Ganesha. In an interview with Times of India, Pankaj Vishnu said that he usually gets emotional when people say that he looks very much similar to Lord Shiva. "I am glad that people have accepted me as Mahadev. I would be really happy if my Mahadev's character would remind people whenever they think about lord Mahadev. As an actor, it was challenging yet it's a real blessing," the actor said. While talking about the impact of Mahadev's character on his life, Pankaj Vishnu said that it brought positivity into his life. He feels like a blessing from Lord Shiva for getting an opportunity to play the mythological character just after the lockdown. "Those were the times when we all were feeling negative, suicides were happening, and everything was not right. But I was getting positive energy from him. There is a different vibe when you wear Mahadev's costume and get into that zone," Pankaj added. On the professional front, Pankaj Vishnu was last seen in the film Oh My Ghost alongside Prathamesh Parab. He has also featured in popular shows like Pavitra Rishta, Vadalvaat, Tujhse Hai Raabta and so on. He is currently playing the role of Shiv in the Sony Marathi show Tu Chandane Shimpit Jaashi. Also Read : Mahesh Babu, Dhanush, Rakul Preet & Other South Indian Celebs Wish Fans On Maha Shivratri 2021 Also Read : Maha Shivratri 2021: Mohit Raina To Gurmeet Choudhary- Actors Who Aced Playing Lord Shiva On TV Previous affairs on Married At First Sight have been dismissed as 'fake' or 'staged'. But these photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia prove beyond doubt that Coco Stedman and Cameron Dunne's on-set fling was very real. The pair were spotted going for a stroll together during filming in Sydney in October - and their experimental partners were nowhere to be seen. Evidence: Previous affairs on Married At First Sight have been dismissed as 'fake' or 'staged' - but these photos prove that Coco Stedman and Cameron Dunne's on-set fling was very real Pilates instructor Coco, 30, walked ahead of crane operator Cameron, 32, as they returned to the apartment building on Kent Street where all the couples stayed during production. She dressed casually in shorts, an oversized T-shirt and black sneakers. She teamed her laid-back outfit with trendy sunglasses, slung a draw-string backpack over her shoulder, and carried a water bottle. Coco, who is paired with Sam Carraro on MAFS, kept her head down as she headed into the lobby, as Cameron walked several paces behind her. Spotted! The pair were spotted going for a stroll together during filming in Sydney in October - and their experimental partners were nowhere to be seen Out and about: Pilates instructor Coco, 30, walked ahead of crane operator Cameron, 32, as they returned to the apartment building where all the couples stayed during production Cameron, who is married to Samantha Harvey in Nine's social experiment, seemed to take style cues from Coco. He rocked a plain black T-shirt with baggy grey shorts. So far on Married At First Sight, fans have seen a flirty friendship develop between Coco and Cameron, after they found their own partnerships unfulfilling. Flirty: So far on Married At First Sight, fans have seen a flirty friendship develop between Coco and Cameron, after they found their own partnerships unfulfilling A trailer for next week's episodes shows them taking their relationship go to a new level as they kiss for the first time. Cameron appears to make the first move by pulling Coco towards him on the sofa, before they share an open-mouthed kiss with tongue. However, it seems they later deny their affair at the commitment ceremony. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine China's President Xi Jinping votes on changes to Hong Kong's election system during the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11, 2021. AFP China's rubber-stamp parliament voted Thursday for changes to Hong Kong's electoral system including powers to veto candidates, as Beijing moves to establish a "patriotic" government after huge pro-democracy rallies in the city. Beijing has acted decisively to dismantle Hong Kong's democratic pillars after massive and sometimes violent protests tremored through the financial hub in 2019. At last year's meeting of the National People's Congress, the Communist Party leadership imposed a sweeping national security law on the finance hub. That has since been used to jail dozens of democracy campaigners and has defanged the protest movement in a city which had enjoyed greater political freedoms than on the mainland under the "one country, two systems" rule. On Thursday, only one member of the National People's Congress abstained in the vote, which critics say will be one of the final nails in the coffin of Hong Kong's democracy movement. The decision aims to place the power of governing the city "firmly in the hands of forces that are patriotic and love Hong Kong", according to parliamentary spokesman Wang Chen. Although the exact shape of the latest changes is unclear in China's opaque political system, the vote clears the path towards a "qualification vetting system" for the electoral process in Hong Kong. A Beijing-controlled election committee in the city would also be tasked with "electing a large proportion of Legislative Council members," he added, referring to the city's LegCo assembly. The move is a "setback" for Hong Kong's progress on democratic development since 1997, said Bernard Chan, a top advisor to city leader Carrie Lam, this week. "Over the last 23 years, we clearly didn't do a good job to show to the central government that these so-called political reforms are actually helping 'One Country, Two Systems'," Chan told AFP. China had committed to giving Hong Kong a degree of autonomy when it reverted from British colonial rule in 1997, a status that has unravelled in recent months drawing international criticism. Until recently Hong Kong has maintained a veneer of choice, allowing a small and vocal opposition to flourish at certain local elections. Generally when Hong Kongers are allowed to vote, they vote in droves for pro-democracy candidates. In recent years, however, authorities have ramped up the disqualification of politicians either sitting in the city's semi-elected legislature or standing as candidates, based on their political views. Last month Hong Kong announced its own plans to pass a law vetting all public officials for their political loyalty to Beijing. Wang had said the "chaos in Hong Kong society shows that there are obvious loopholes and defects in the current electoral system", giving an opportunity for "anti-China forces in Hong Kong" to seize power. (AFP) India's vaccine diplomacy is earning it many friends. Billboards thanking India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for exporting COVID-19 vaccines to Canada have been put up in Canada's Greater Toronto area. These billboards read, "Thank you India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing COVID vaccine to Canada. Long live India-Canada friendship." Billboards come up in Greater Toronto area thanking PM Narendra Modi for providing COVID-19 vaccines to Canada pic.twitter.com/0AaQysm6O1 a ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2021 Canada got the first consignment of Covishield from India last week. The COVID-19 vaccine has been developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca combine and is being produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII). India will send another consignment of 1.5 million doses to Canada. Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India will support Canada in its COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Trudeau appreciated PM Modi's gesture and said if we managed to win over COVID-19 "it would be significantly because of India's tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and Prime Minister Modi's leadership in sharing this capacity with the world." The Prime Minister thanked Trudeau for his tweet. Prime Minister Modi tweeted: "Was happy to receive a call from my friend Justin Trudeau. Assured him that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of COVID vaccines sought by Canada. We also agreed to continue collaborating on other important issues like climate change and the global economic recovery." Canada has ordered total 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and has received 1.9 million doses through WHO's COVAX initiative. SII-AstraZeneca's jab is the third one to be approved by Canadian health regulators following approval of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the Moderna jab. Also read: COVID-19 vaccination centres to operate 24x7 in Maharashtra Also read: COVID-19 in India: 22,854 new cases in 24 hours; Maha continues to be worst-hit state Ricky Gervais confirmed he received the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday as he shared a picture with a needle planted in his arm to Twitter. The comedian, 59, furrowed his brow as he received the jab, but did not specify which type of vaccine he received. He sported a black ensemble and face mask for the snap which he captioned: 'Take that, you COVID ****!' 'Take that, you COVID ****!' Ricky Gervais confirmed he received the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday as he shared a picture with a needle planted in his arm to Twitter The star wore an all-black ensemble and a face mask as he received the vaccine - the latest in a string of stars who have been jabbed this week. Meanwhile, This Morning host Phillip Schofield, 58, said he was 'painlessly jabbed up' as he shared a photo on Tuesday receiving the Covid-19 Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine. Fellow morning TV host Lorraine Kelly, 61, received an Oxford/ AstraZeneca injection on Sunday, taking to Twitter to share the milestone moment. McMafia star James Norton, 35, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, said he was 'happy and relieved' to have received the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine. The recommended dosage for Oxford/ AstraZeneca is two doses to be administered with an interval of 8 to 12 weeks. Staying safe: The comedian, 59, furrowed his brow as he received the jab, but did not specify which type of vaccine he received (pictured in January last year) Protection: Phillip Schofield shared a photo on Tuesday receiving the Covid-19 Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine while thanking the medical team for administering the 'painless jab' The makers of the three vaccines, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, that the MHRA has approved for use so far, have all said they are aiming to modify their jabs to cope with variants of coronavirus this year. AstraZeneca, the maker of the Oxford vaccine, said it hopes its new vaccine will be ready by autumn. MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine said there is no evidence that current vaccines are lacking effectiveness against known coronavirus variants. She said: 'Since December last year we have all been concerned about the appearance of variants Kent, South Africa, more recently Brazil and therefore we're well-prepared to look at, when it's needed, updates to ensure the vaccines being used in citizens are fully effective. Jabbed: Fellow morning TV host Lorraine Kelly, 61, received an Oxford/ AstraZeneca injection on Sunday, taking to Twitter to share the milestone moment Vaccinated: McMafia star James Norton, 35, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes, said he was 'happy and relieved' to have received the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine 'Our goal is to ensure the vaccine modifications in future that respond to the new variants can be available in the shortest possible time but without compromising in any way on safety, on quality and on effectiveness. 'What I would emphasise at the outset is that we don't have evidence at the moment that the vaccines in use in the UK are significantly lacking in effectiveness but we are now well-prepared.' Britain's vaccine drive is gathering pace, with Matt Hancock revealing on Friday that two in five adults have now been vaccinated as deaths fall 'faster and faster'. Some 21.3million people have received their first dose, and the historic rollout means deaths have plummeted by 41 per cent in a week. The Health Secretary said: 'You can really see the effects of the vaccine in the number of deaths. Staying safe: The recommended dosage for Oxford/ AstraZeneca is two doses to be administered with an interval of 8 to 12 weeks 'That link from cases to hospitalisations and then deaths that had been unbreakable before the vaccine is now breaking. 'The vaccine is protecting the NHS and saving lives, right across the country.' The positive figures on Friday led to fresh speculation about the lifting of the lockdown, and whether the roadmap could be accelerated. Ministers have repeatedly insisted the timetable will not be sped up, but with each week of positive data the pressure is increasing for a swifter end to the restrictions. More than one million people have now received both doses of Covid-19 vaccine, meaning 2 per cent of UK adults are fully vaccinated. What drew me out of Islam to follow Christ Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment As a relatively new believer in Christ, who spent over two decades as a devout Muslim, I am often asked for the best way to introduce the Gospel to Muslims. There are many opinions on this topic, ranging from using apologetics to just being a "good Christian." Though most Christian's natural inclination in approaching Muslims is apologetics, it often turns into arguments about doctrine and hurling insults about Islam that alienate the listener. I believe the real power lies in the reality of the Trinity-- God the Loving Father, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God is Love. In over 20 years of being a devout Muslim, I never heard God referred to as being love or commanding us to love others. Islam teaches that God is merciful and kind, but the word love is never mentioned. A Muslim must worship and sacrifice for a God that does not ever tell you he loves you. You cannot rely on him to console you in times of trouble, and he was mainly there to judge you. Quite frankly, it was incredibly depressing since I could never maintain the countless set of rules and laws that demanded strict obedience. Compare that to the Bible, God's infallible, living Word where God describes Himself as love. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16 In a life filled with disappointment from people who claim to love you and a God that doesn't consider love significant enough to mention, the simplicity of this Truth was very appealing. Our Heavenly Father is the originator and fulfiller of everything we know and experience of love. He so loved humanity that He sacrificed His only Son to rescue us. Not only does God extend His love to His children, but love for Him and those around us is the foundation of our faith. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31 Being loved unconditionally and learning to love others the same way has brought me extraordinary joy. Never underestimate the power of explaining to a Muslim how significant love is to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God incarnate. In Islam, you never really know if your good deeds are enough to enter God's Heaven. On the Day of Judgement, God will decide if you were "good enough" and that terrified me. What if there was one big sin He could not forgive despite my hundred acts of obedience? It was very unsettling to live every day, wondering whether I would spend eternity in hellfire. Then I learned that God would guarantee a place in His eternal Heaven if I put my trust in Christ as God incarnate. I needed to accept that Jesus was God wrapped in flesh, who came to Earth and died on the cross, then rose again from the grave to pay for my sins. The Divinity of Jesus is the most significant point of contention between Islam and Christianity. However, if you know all the miraculous qualities Christ has in Islam, unpacking what they think happened on the cross may be the key to their salvation. All Muslims believe Jesus was born of a virgin birth resulting from God's Divine Spirit impregnating Mary. They know Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, and performed countless miracles during his life. They also believe Jesus ascended to Heaven and will descend from Heaven in the End Times to defeat the Anti-Christ. However, Islam claims Jesus did not die on the cross. Instead, they claim Judas Iscariot's soul was placed inside Jesus' body so people would think it was Jesus, but God took him to Heaven. So, Muslims attribute many Divine abilities and manifestations to Christ but only deny the crucifixion because His death and resurrection would prove the integrity of the Bible. When you state these facts to most Muslims, it immediately leads them to question their understanding of Jesus. How can they believe that he had so many God-like abilities, but He is not God incarnate based on some illogical explanation for who died on the cross? Therefore, planting the seeds of doubt about how Islam portrays the crucifixion is essential. Receiving the Holy Spirit. In Islam, it says God is closer to you than the veins on your neck, but he will not speak directly to you. In fact, it claims it is not befitting of God to do so. There is no intermediary between the Muslim and God, but prayer is a one-way communication. As a Muslim, I had no way of knowing whether he ever heard me or even accepted my prayers and pleas of repentance. There was no conversation between us. Conversely, when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, God dwells within the believer in the form of the Holy Spirit who speaks directly to us, continually. ...He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you foreverthe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18 Once I was saved and baptized, I was excited for what would happen next. I kept asking my mentor, "so now what?" She would lovingly but persistently keep saying, "wait to hear from the Lord." I had no idea what she meant by this. I did not know how to talk with God, and I surely did not expect Him to talk back! It was not until I studied what it meant to receive the Holy Spirit that it made sense. Learning and experiencing the Holy Spirit's guidance within me is how I know that I am in a relationship with the one TRUE God. Many Muslims have no idea that accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior leads to God's indwelling through the Holy Spirit. It definitely piques their curiosity to think they would be able to hear from God directly. Be sure it is clear the Trinity is three manifestations of the one true God and not three separate gods. We have God the Father who loves us; He came down in His Son to save us and leaves us His Holy Spirit to guide us. Muslims accuse Christians of being polytheists because they do not understand this, and unfortunately, many Christians cannot properly articulate it. Having left Islam, it saddens me to hear even Christians make the false claim that we all worship the same God and each religious path can lead to the "truth." Do not be content to give false or comfortable versions of a "truth" that leaves the individual without salvation and the love of God that comes through faith in Christ. The listener may not readily accept it, but that is not our concern. There is only one God, and no one will reach His presence except through faith in Christ. I understand and believe that now but I did not think that as a Muslim. I wish someone would have had the courage to say it to me earlier in my life. Finally, I always end the discussion, challenging a Muslim to pray for God to reveal Himself and the reality of Jesus Christ. Their mind may fight the Truth of what you have told them but if it is His will, trust in the power of our God to lead them. As a national legislator for four years, Fu Yuhang said the happiest thing was when her suggestionsoffering juvenile offenders targeted rehabilitation and lowering the age of criminal responsibilitywere accepted by China's top legislature and written into law. "It was a highlight moment for me as it meant problems I found and collected from people around me were solved by the rule of law," said Fu, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body. Fu, who is an environmental engineer from Sichuan province, carried her suggestion on differentiating correctional education for children with poor behavior and juvenile criminals to Beijing in March 2019 when she attended the second session of the 13th NPC. It was lucky that I covered that year's session, as my accidental talk with her at the Great Hall of the People gave me a chance to keep following her suggestion and also helped me witness how the suggestion was finally written into law. Fu said she proposed the suggestion that year after being shocked by frequent violent offenses by youngsters, and that many others around her, including teachers and parents, had similar concerns about juvenile crimes, especially those committed by children under the age of 14. Based on the consensus, she told me she also conducted comprehensive legal research and visited a number of judicial experts before formulating and submitting the suggestion to the NPC. "As an NPC deputy, understanding people's main concerns and bringing the problems they want to be urgently solved to State authorities is what I have to do," Fu said. In October 2019, she came to Beijing again, attending the NPC Standing Committee's session and continuing to share her ideas with senior legislators on strengthening the prevention of juvenile crimes. When deliberating what was then a draft amendment to the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency Law with the committee's members, she called for close attention to be paid to crimes by the very young, noting that the minimum age of criminal responsibilitywhich was 14 in the Criminal Lawshould be lowered and correctional measures for young offenders need to be more targeted. Last year, both the laws were revised by the NPC Standing Committee, and Fu felt a great sense of fulfillment after seeing her suggestions absorbed in legal amendments. Under the amended Criminal Law, which took effect on Jan 1, the minimum age of criminal liability has been lowered to 12 in special circumstances, with the stipulation that children aged 12 to 14 should be held criminally liable for intentional injury by extremely cruel means that leads to death or severely disables others. Juveniles convicted of crimes who can be exempted from criminal punishment will also face special correctional education in accordance with the revised Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, and such rehabilitation is different from that given to children for misbehaviors such as smoking or being addicted to the internet. I also reported on the process of amending the two laws, seeing how Fu conveyed people's opinions to the top legislature and communicated with more lawmakers. Regarding herself as a bridge between the public and authorities, she said, "A sturdy bridge that has closer ties with each side can play a bigger role in information exchange." She lauded draft amendments to the organic law and procedural rules of the NPC, which are being deliberated at the ongoing fourth session of the 13th NPC, adding that the timely revision of legal documents is necessary. The amendments highlight the role of deputies and urge the NPC and its standing committee not only to offer deputies more opportunities to participate in legislative work, but also to take advantage of technologies to facilitate them performing their duties, as the 2,900 or so deputies are from all across the country and do not stay in Beijing when the NPC is not in its annual full session. "Such requirements could make the bridge stronger and closer with both sides," Fu said, adding that it will help meet the public's increasing demand for legislation in the new era. Besides attending meetings of the NPC Standing Committee, Fu also showed interest in taking part in inspections of law enforcement, "as I want to know whether my suggestions work or not in practice". As a journalist covering stories on the rule of law for more than a decade, I am really glad to see legislative activities in the country are becoming more open to deputies and the general public. Legislation has never been untouchable for us. Instead, it's around us. Chinas president has sent a sympathy message to Bashar al-Assad, who contracted COVID-19 on Monday, writes Al Watan. On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of empathy to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after he and his wife contracted the novel coronavirus. In his message, the Chinese president said, after learning that President Assad and his wife, Asma al-Assad, had been infected with the coronavirus he and his wife, Peng Liyuan, expressed their empathy and wishes for a speedy recovery. Xi stressed that the Chinese government and people strongly support the Syrian government and the peoples efforts to combat the virus, expressing his belief that under the leadership of President Assad, the Syrian people will definitely be able to defeat the coronavirus. 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. LAUF AN DER PEGNITZ, Germany, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To mark the launch of the Rebel at heart line Elements of Nature, THOMAS SABO is supporting The European Nature Trust (TENT) by donating 10,000 euros of the proceeds from the new Collection. The men's jewellery Collection interprets the elements and the associated zodiac signs in handcrafted, geometric pieces of jewellery. "TENT reflects the spirit of adventure that our Rebel at heart jewellery symbolises. We want to make a contribution to supporting long-term and sustainable nature protection projects," says Thomas Sabo, chairman of the company. Paul Lister, founder of TENT: "Together with THOMAS SABO, we get a lot of people interested in our projects. Among other things, TENT offers trips to wild areas of Europe and is a pioneer in terms of sustainable travel." The Elements of Nature Collection will be available worldwide from 15thMarch 2021 in all THOMAS SABO stores, shop-in-shops and in the online store at www.thomassabo.com. Pictures for editorial use: https://nextcloud.thomassabo.com/s/937SaED8CzdBanb @thomassabo_rebelatheart thomassabo rebelatheartbyTS About THOMAS SABO THOMAS SABO is one of the leading international jewellery companies. Its core segment is elaborately handcrafted jewellery in 925 Sterling silver. Founded in 1984 by Thomas Sabo in Lauf an der Pegnitz, the company is represented in more than 70 countries worldwide, through its own flagship stores, points of sale, wholesale partners and the global online store at www.thomassabo.com. About TENT TENT is an independent charity, registration number 1091283. It is registered in England and regulated by The Charity Commission. Our registered office: 44 Welbeck Street, W1G 8DY, London. The European Nature Trust (TENT), creates unique travel experiences which connect people to wild nature and raise funds for conservation and wildlife projects across the continent. Press contact THOMAS SABO GmbH & Co. KG +49912397150 press@thomassabo.com http://facebook.com/ThomasSabo http://instagram.com/thomassabo Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1454503/THOMAS_SABO.jpg Suva, March 11 : Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama on Thursday urged the Fijian people to support the Covid-19 vaccination drive in the country, stressing it is important to the island nation's economic recovery. Speaking at a consultative meeting on a medical program held in the capital city Suva, Bainimarama said that Covid-19 vaccination is key to Fiji's economic recovery. The Prime Minister urged Fijians to support the Covid-19 vaccination drive beginning Wednesday. The country planned to first inoculate 6,000 frontline workers including health care workers, members of the disciplined forces and the border control staff who run the Covid-19 border control and quarantine services, the Xinhua news reported. He said that Fiji relies on the Covid-19 vaccines "to protect our people and prepare our nation to re-engage with the rest of the world." "We are working on procuring all of the safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines we need to see that our people are immunised alongside the citizens of developed nations -- we will not allow ourselves to be left behind," he added. Meanwhile, Fiji's Health Ministry has told frontline workers receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday that it is normal to have side effects such as hand pain. Fiji received on Saturday night the first batch of 12,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility led by the World Health Organization (WHO). More COVAX shipments of vaccines will arrive in the weeks to come. Fiji, an island nation with a population of around 900,000, has set a target to get 1.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Fiji has so far reported 66 confirmed cases of Covid-19 including seven active cases, 57 recoveries and two deaths since its detection of first coronavirus infection in March last year. The island nation still maintains a strict travel restriction to date for foreign visitors alongside a nationwide curfew effective from March 30 last year. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Birmingham welcomed two new restaurants the first week of March: Specialty sandwich shop Ampersandwich and modern Italian concept North Italia. Ampersandwich Ampersandwich (Credit: Joe Phelps) Ampersandwich, the specialty sandwich shop from Pilcrow Cocktail Cellar owner Joe Phelps, is now open in Avondale after a soft launch last week. The shop serves toasted classics and signature sub style sandwiches featuring locally baked bread from Birminghams Bandit Patisserie. Classic subs include the Italian, ham & cheese, and hot pastrami. On the specialty side of the menu: fried spam bahn mi with fried spam, carrot, radish, and jalapeno, the pesto B.L.T, and the veggie sub with artichoke, mushrooms, gouda, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, and hot peppers. Non-sandwich offerings include chopped, spinach, and Greek salads. Phelps says the shop will offer beer and wine in the coming weeks. I have wanted a neighborhood sandwich shop to open in Avondale for years, Phelps told AL.com in an email. A huge draw in the coming months will be our large patio. Its a perfect place to kill time enjoying a killer sub and a cold beer. Heres a look at the menu Details: Ampersandwich, 4124 3rd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35222| https://www.eatampersandwich.com/| (205) 202-2024 North Italia, The Summit North Italia at The Summit in Birmingham (Credit: Caleb Chancey) Alabamas first location of North Italia, the modern Italian concept, opened its doors March 3 at The Summit in Birmingham with executive chef Billy Sciacca leading the kitchen and Jaie OBanner as general manager. The new 5,378 square-foot space features an open exhibition kitchen overlooking the dining room and bar and seats up to 295 guests both indoors and on the patio. North Italia Birmingham offers weekend brunch, lunch, dinner and happy hour. Dishes include prosciutto pizza topped with mission fig, goat cheese and arugula (lunch); grilled branzino with cipollini onion (dinner), and the short rib hash, served with sweet onion, roasted pepper and two fried eggs (brunch). Details: North Italia, 225 Summit Boulevard, Suite 1100, Birmingham, AL 35243 | http://www.northitalia.com| (205) 970-4182 The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Wednesday issued a joint advisory warning of active exploitation of vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange on-premises products by nation-state actors and cybercriminals. "CISA and FBI assess that adversaries could exploit these vulnerabilities to compromise networks, steal information, encrypt data for ransom, or even execute a destructive attack," the agencies said. "Adversaries may also sell access to compromised networks on the dark web." The attacks have primarily targeted local governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and business entities in various industry sectors, including agriculture, biotechnology, aerospace, defense, legal services, power utilities, and pharmaceutical, which the agencies say are in line with previous activity conducted by Chinese cyber actors. Tens of thousands of entities, including the European Banking Authority and the Norwegian Parliament, are believed to have been breached to install a web-based backdoor called the China Chopper web shell that grants the attackers the ability to plunder email inboxes and remotely access the target systems. The development comes in light of the rapid expansion of attacks aimed at vulnerable Exchange Servers, with multiple threat actors exploiting the vulnerabilities as early as February 27 before they were eventually patched by Microsoft last week, swiftly turning what was labeled as "limited and targeted" into an indiscriminate mass exploitation campaign. While there is no concrete explanation for the widespread exploitation by so many different groups, speculations are that the adversaries shared or sold exploit code, resulting in other groups being able to abuse these vulnerabilities, or that the groups obtained the exploit from a common seller. From RCE to Web Shells to Implants On March 2, 2021, Volexity publicly disclosed the detection of multiple zero-day exploits used to target flaws in on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Servers, while pegging the earliest in-the-wild exploitation activity on January 3, 2021. Successful weaponization of these flaws, called ProxyLogon, allows an attacker to access victims' Exchange Servers, enabling them to gain persistent system access and control of an enterprise network. Although Microsoft initially pinned the intrusions on Hafnium, a threat group that's assessed to be state-sponsored and operating out of China, Slovakian cybersecurity firm ESET on Wednesday said it identified no fewer than 10 different threat actors that likely took advantage of the remote code execution flaws to install malicious implants on victims' email servers. Apart from Hafnium, the five groups detected as exploiting the vulnerabilities prior to the patch release are Tick, LuckyMouse, Calypso, Websiic, and Winnti (aka APT41 or Barium), with five others (Tonto Team, ShadowPad, "Opera" Cobalt Strike, Mikroceen, and DLTMiner) scanning and compromising Exchange servers in the days immediately following the release of the fixes. No conclusive evidence has emerged so far connecting the campaign to China, but DomainTools' Senior Security Researcher Joe Slowik noted that several of the aforementioned groups have been formerly linked to China-sponsored activity, including Tick, LuckyMouse, Calypso, Tonto Team, Mikroceen, and the Winnti Group, indicating that Chinese entities other than Hafnium are tied to the Exchange exploitation activity. "It seems clear that there are numerous clusters of groups leveraging these vulnerabilities, the groups are using mass scanning or services that allow them to independently target the same systems, and finally there are multiple variations of the code being dropped, which may be indicative of iterations to the attack," Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 threat intelligence team said. In one cluster tracked as "Sapphire Pigeon" by researchers from U.S.-based Red Canary, attackers dropped multiple web shells on some victims at different times, some of which were deployed days before they conducted follow-on activity. According to ESET's telemetry analysis, more than 5,000 email servers belonging to businesses and governments from over 115 countries are said to have been affected by malicious activity related to the incident. For its part, the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD) reported Tuesday that it found 46,000 servers out of 260,000 globally that were unpatched against the heavily exploited ProxyLogon vulnerabilities. Troublingly, evidence points to the fact that the deployment of the web shells ramped up following the availability of the patch on March 2, raising the possibility that additional entities have opportunistically jumped in to create exploits by reverse engineering Microsoft updates as part of multiple, independent campaigns. "The day after the release of the patches, we started to observe many more threat actors scanning and compromising Exchange servers en masse," said ESET researcher Matthieu Faou. "Interestingly, all of them are APT groups focused on espionage, except one outlier that seems related to a known coin-mining campaign (DLTminer). It is still unclear how the distribution of the exploit happened, but it is inevitable that more and more threat actors, including ransomware operators, will have access to it sooner or later." Aside from installing the web shell, other behaviors related to or inspired by Hafnium activity include conducting reconnaissance in victim environments by deploying batch scripts that automate several functions such as account enumeration, credential-harvesting, and network discovery. Public Proof-of-Concept Available Complicating the situation further is the availability of what appears to be the first functional public proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for the ProxyLogon flaws despite Microsoft's attempts to take down exploits published on GitHub over the past few days. "I've confirmed there is a public PoC floating around for the full RCE exploit chain," security researcher Marcus Hutchins said. "It has a couple bugs but with some fixes I was able to get shell on my test box." Also accompanying the PoC's release is a detailed technical write-up by Praetorian researchers, who reverse-engineered CVE-2021-26855 to build a fully functioning end-to-end exploit by identifying differences between the vulnerable and patched versions. While the researchers deliberately decided to omit critical PoC components, the development has also raised concerns that the technical information could further accelerate the development of a working exploit, in turn triggering even more threat actors to launch their own attacks. As the sprawling hack's timeline slowly crystallizes, what's clear is that the surge of breaches against Exchange Server appears to have happened in two phases, with Hafnium using the chain of vulnerabilities to stealthily attack targets in a limited fashion, before other hackers began driving the frenzied scanning activity starting February 27. Cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs attributed this to the prospect that "different cybercriminal groups somehow learned of Microsoft's plans to ship fixes for the Exchange flaws a week earlier than they'd hoped." "The best advice to mitigate the vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft is to apply the relevant patches," Slowik said. "However, given the speed in which adversaries weaponized these vulnerabilities and the extensive period of time pre-disclosure when these were actively exploited, many organizations will likely need to shift into response and remediation activities to counter existing intrusions." 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. Australia's higher education system remains under threat from researchers working discreetly on behalf of foreign governments, despite authorities being more alert to the problem in recent years. A parliamentary inquiry into national security risks affecting Australia's higher education system held its first day of public hearings on Thursday as the government continues to grapple with the issue. Foreign nationals working in Australia's universities and research centres are often targeted in talent recruitment programs, most notably run by the Chinese government, in order to "harvest information" in critical areas of defence technology, cryptography, telecommunications and other critical infrastructure, critics warn. While international collaboration on research between universities is considered vital, the government ties of some researchers are sometimes "not fully disclosed," says Mr Alex Joske, an analyst of the Chinese Communist Party for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Australian universities are under pressure to protect against foreign threats. Source: AAP Unis urged to probe researchers' ties with China and Russia The sector has shored up its vetting processes in the past two years after the US began cracking down on researchers affiliated with the Chinese government at its own universities, he said, but Australian institutions are still catching up to the problem. Speaking to the parliamentary committee on Thursday Mr Joske urged universities to "strengthen their investigative capabilities" when it comes to academic relationships. Mr Joske said some instances of fraud, theft, interference and espionage through universities require a strong law enforcement involvement. He said the threat was coming primarily from China" but there are also concerns from countries like Russia and Iran. We should be concerned about these activities regardless of which country theyre coming from, he said. "Recruits are encouraged to transfer technology to China and commercialise it, including technologies with military and security applications," he said in his written submission to the committee earlier this year. Story continues He pointed to a former University of Queensland professor who provided AI-enabled surveillance technology to authorities in Xinjiang where China is accused of running concentration camps, to highlight the human rights implications of such technology transfer. Interference at universities 'highest since Cold War' Officials from Home Affairs and ASIO (the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) also fronted the inquiry on Thursday. Home Affair official Marc Ablong said the government was still working out which critical and emerging technologies will incur more rigorous scrutiny when it comes to collaborations with overseas researchers. "We will be publicly communicating that" he said. "We're not quite there yet." Acting as Education Minister, Dan Tehan blocked taxpayer grants to top university scientists due to fears over foreign relationships. Source: AAP Last month The Australian reported that top scientists at Australian universities were denied lucrative research grants when then education minister Dan Tehan stepped in to block their approval over fears about projects that could hand military or economic advantage to foreign adversaries. Meanwhile the Director-General of Security at ASIO, Mike Burgess, said the scale of foreign interference in universities is higher than at any time since the Cold War. ASIO had 60 engagements with universities in 2020 over the issue, he said. Student warns of 'authoritarian creep' on campus Controversial University of Queensland (UQ) student Drew Pavlou was also due to front the inquiry on Thursday. In his written submission, he warned of an "authoritarian creep" happening on Australian campuses due to a growing reliance on Chinese funding and students. Former University of Queensland student and activist Drew Pavlou and others protest in support of Hong Kong in Brisbane. Source: AAP "In my experience as a campus human rights activist opposed to Chinese government atrocities, I believe universities like UQ are now so economically dependent on China that they are willing to censor Chinese government critics to safeguard positive ties. "This authoritarian creep illustrates the insidious danger Chinese state interference poses to our national security and democratic way of life." The inquiry is due to hand down its findings in July. Some academics and university officials have expressed concerns an overreaction by Canberra that could impact important research and collaboration across borders. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. New Delhi, March 11 : The Popular Front of India (PFI) - set up as an offshoot of National Development Fund in Kerala and accused by the UP government of instigating anti-CAA riots last year - allegedly used to collect cash from Gulf countries. For collection of these funds, the organisation appointed its members, who sent the money through illegal hawala transactions or through remittances that were never deposited in the bank account of the organisation, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation has revealed. The ED probe also found that the PFI had collected United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED) 50,000 against a target of collecting AED 12.5 lakh (valued at Rs 2.5 crore in Indian currency at the current exchange rate) by August 7 last year from Abu Dhabi. The ED has filed its first charge sheet against five office bearers of the PFI and its student wing, the Campus Front of India (CFI), including arrested National General Secretary of the CFI K. A. Rauf Sherif in connection with its money laundering probe in February this year. The ED charge sheet which has been viewed by IANS claims that Sherif admitted that he had joined the CFI in 2013-14 and was a member of the PFI from 2015-16 till 2017-18. The ED said that Sherif was appointed in its National Committee and in January 2019, appointed as National General Secretary of the organisation. The ED further alleged that Sherif was in constant touch with some members and office bearers of the PFI and CFI, which proves his continuous linkages with the top leadership of the PFI. The ED said, "During his questioning, Sherif admitted that PFI collects funds in Gulf countries where PFI has appointed members in their District Committee Executives (DECs) who approach people like business entities, businessmen and general public, and that funds are mainly collected in cash." The ED said that Sherif also stated that there are a lot of PFI members working as DECs in Gulf countries and Noufal Shareef, who was his friend was also a member of the PFI, working in a private company in Oman. The ED claimed that Sherif also travelled to Oman in December 2018 and joined as a General Manager for Race International LLC in Oman through Noufal, whom he knew through his friend Fahad, a CFI member based in Oman. The ED said, "During the searches at the premises of the PFI on December 3 last year, the agency had got the list containing the names and details of PFI functionaries based in Gulf countries, in which Noufal's name is also mentioned." The financial probe agency said: "The ED also seized a list during the searches in which it was revealed that a target of AED 12.5 lakh (around Rs 2.5 crore at the prevailing exchange rate) was fixed for collection of funds from Abu Dhabi and that out of which 4 per cent of the target (about AED 50,000) was collected till August 7, 2020." Connecting the foreign funding link, the ED said: "These documents corroborate the voluntary submissions of Sherif and establish the fact that PFI has been collecting funds from Gulf countries such as UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain etc." The ED also said that Sherif's statement that in the Indian Committee of PFI, there are certain leaders, who coordinate with the work of the DEC in Gulf countries and that PFI has "accountants to manage their funds to show them as funds from legal sources". The financial probe agency said: "ED probe has revealed that these overseas fund collections are not deposited in any of the bank accounts maintained by PFI." The ED said that further during the course of search at the PFI's premises, th agency seized a document, in which PFI has responded to the allegations of money laundering and has stated on record that it is their "established policy not to accept foreign funds for its activities, and it has been successful in adhering to this policy without fail". "This establishes the fact that funds collected by PFI functionaries settled or working abroad are being sent to India through illegal channels such as hawala or through remittances from Gulf countries to members or sympathisers of PFI and its related organisations in India through other underground or illegal channels," the ED alleged. The PFI is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the charges of money laundering. The ED had earlier claimed that the PFI has received funds to the tune of Rs 100 crore through illegal channels. Sherif was arrested by ED on December 12, last year when he was trying to flee to Oman. The ED case was primarily registered in 2018 taking the 2013 Narath PFI armed training case as the predicate offence. Later, the case registered by the UP Police against Siddique Kappan and three others last year was included as part of the money laundering case against PFI. (Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in) 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. KOLKATA: Kolkata Police have registered a case over the alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram on Wednesday night. The case was lodged on the basis of the complaint lodged by TMC leader Shiekh Sufian, the officials said. A delegation of Trinamool Congress on Thursday met the Election Commission and slammed it for failing to provide security to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was injured during the election campaign in Nandigram. The TMC leaders said that the EC cant shun responsibility as it is in charge of the law and order situation in the poll-bound West Bengal. Accusing the EC of acting "as per orders" of the BJP leaders, the TMC delegation after meeting the EC officials here, alleged that the "Election Commission did nothing despite there being reports of a possible attack on Banerjee". "The law and order situation in Bengal was good. But, after the announcement of elections law and order become the responsibility of the EC. The EC removed DGP of the state police and the very next day she was attacked," TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said. Claiming that several comments by senior BJP leaders had dropped enough indications that Mamata Banerjee might be attacked, Chatterjee said "despite having those inputs the chief minister was left with no proper security". "Who will take responsibility for the attack on Mamata Banerjee, when EC is in charge of administration? EC has to take responsibility for the incident. "They are acting as per orders of the BJP leaders. The BJP is asking the EC to remove an official and they are removing him," he said. A three-member TMC delegation, led by state minister Partha Chatterjee met EC officials and registered a complaint into the incident and demanded a thorough probe. Chatterjee was accompanied by TMC leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya. "You have to understand the chronology. You remove the DGP, leave a woman chief minister's security less and then attack her. If you go through the social media post by the BJP leaders there have been indications that she would be attacked," O'Brien said. Banerjee is at present undergoing treatment at the SSKM hospital in Kolkata with injury to her left leg, waist, shoulder and neck, according to doctors. The TMC supremo alleged on Wednesday evening that during her campaign in Nandigram, she was attacked by four-five men who pushed her, besides banging on her the door of her car, leading to the injuries. Live TV U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks about priorities for administration of U.S. President Joe Biden (Photo : Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with top Chinese officials on March 18 in Alaska, the White House said on Wednesday, the first high-level in-person contact between the two sparring countries under the Biden administration. The meeting, taking place on Blinken's return from his first overseas trip to key U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, will come amid what is shaping up to be a major U.S. diplomatic push to solidify alliances in Asia and Europe to counter China. Advertisement National security adviser Jake Sullivan will join the meeting in Anchorage with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and State Councillor Wang Yi, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that the administration would approach its relations with China "in lockstep" with its partners. "It was important to us that this administration's first meeting with Chinese officials be held on American soil, and occur after we have met and consulted closely with partners and allies in both Asia and Europe," Psaki told a news briefing. She said the meeting would be "an opportunity to address a wide range of issues, including ones where we have deep disagreements." China's embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment. President Joe Biden's administration has committed to reviewing elements of U.S. policies toward China, as the world's two largest economies navigate frosty relations that sank to their lowest depths in decades during Donald Trump's presidency. Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, held their first phone call as leaders last month and appeared at odds on most issues, even as Xi warned that confrontation would be a "disaster" for both nations. Testifying before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Blinken signaled next week's meeting would not be a return to regular senior-level dialogues used under past U.S. administrations, which had been increasingly criticized in Washington for yielding little progress on U.S. grievances with Beijing. "There's no intent at this point for a series of follow-on engagements. Those engagements, if they are to follow, really have to be based on the proposition that we're seeing tangible progress and tangible outcomes on the issues of concern to us with China," Blinken said. U.S. DIPLOMATIC PUSH Blinken also said that if China insists it is not violating the human rights of Uighur Muslims in its Xinjiang region, it should provide the world access to the area. U.N. experts and rights groups say China has detained more than a million Uighurs and other minorities there, actions the United States has deemed a genocide. Beijing denies abuses, saying facilities in the region are for vocational training to counter the threat of terrorism. The talks will follow the visit by Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Japan and South Korea next week, as well as an online summit on Friday between Biden and the leaders of Japan, India and Australia. That will be the first leader-level meeting of the four-country group, known as the Quad, seen as part of U.S. efforts to boost its diplomacy in Asia to balance China's growing military and economic power. Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the timing of the meeting sends the message to Beijing that U.S. alliances are strong. Discussions are likely to focus on China's policies toward Hong Kong, its pressure on Taiwan, its treatment of Uighurs, and what Washington sees as economic coercion against Australia, she said. "If the Chinese repeat their messages contained in recent speeches that the U.S. is to blame for the problems in the U.S.-China relationship and therefore the ball is in the U.S. court, then nothing positive will come of this meeting," Glaser said. Premier Brian Pallister says he's "deeply distressed" Manitoba has the second-worst COVID-19 death rate in the country, and he feels nothing but sorrow for the affected families. Premier Brian Pallister says he's "deeply distressed" Manitoba has the second-worst COVID-19 death rate in the country, and he feels nothing but sorrow for the affected families. On the anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring the novel coronavirus a global public health emergency, Pallister noted seniors have suffered disproportionately. "I believe that... more than 75 per cent of those who passed were over the age of 60 in our province," he said at a news conference Thursday. "Being one of those people (Pallister is 66), I feel personally very sensitive to the vulnerabilities that I know seniors feel, not just in personal care homes, but around the province." Altogether, 911 Manitobans have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. "This past year has been marked by incredible loss, but it has also shown Manitobans at their finest," Pallister said. "We have lost people we will miss, but we have saved thousands of lives by bending the COVID curve together." Asked about lessons he and his government have learned during the pandemic so far, the premier expressed regret at not acting more quickly last spring to secure adequate personal protective equipment supplies after sufficient federal supplies didn't materialize. "We should have acted a few weeks sooner," he said. In hindsight, Pallister said he would have also acted earlier to invest in the domestic production of a COVID-19 vaccine. Last month, Pallister announced the province had reached an agreement with Calgary-based Providence Therapeutics to purchase two million doses of a yet-to-be-approved vaccine. The deal included a $7.2 million non-refundable down payment. He said the government is also taking steps to improve the management of personal care homes so they are better prepared to deal with situations such as the pandemic. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca Online retail remains a tiny portion of total retail sales in South Africa, but for many companies in search of sustainable growth going forward, online is likely where they'll find it. Yaron Assabi Weve witnessed the pandemic accelerate e-commerce adoption rates. What do you think its growth trajectory in SA looks like beyond Covid-19? #EcommerceDay2021: How the industry is poised to evolve after receiving a shot of adrenalin WATCH: uAfrica's Anita Erasmus and Jaco Roux unpack how Covid-19 has affected the business, the impact of the AfCFTA on e-commerce and the need for sustainable development within the industry... While consumers have been shopping comfortably online for things like clothing and electronics for a while, grocery retail has especially taken off over the past year. What other retail categories do you feel have untapped potential and are set for growth? What, in your view, is the thing holding most companies back when trying to decide whether to sell online? #EcommerceDay2021: Collaboration and building trust will get all industry players further in the game WATCH: Insaka eCommerce Academy's Warrick Kernes chats about how Covid-19 has caused businesses to pivot offerings, and shares tips for launching and running an online store... Do you feel that the e-commerce landscape in SA is a level playing field for both small and large businesses? How can smaller businesses benefit from the e-commerce boom? What do you feel is needed to strengthen the e-commerce ecosystem in SA, and push it into the next stage of consumer adoption? #EcommerceDay2021: Golden intersection of e-commerce and commercial real estate Inospace CEO Rael Levitt unpacks why distribution centres and warehouses are set to become "the new 'hot' property class"... If you could give an online merchant one tip in terms of running their business, what would that be? The Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be a shot in the arm for e-commerce, and consumer adoption rates have soared across age groups as they turn to the safety and convenience of online shopping and digital payments.A diverse range of companies, from Bos Brands and Massmart to Dis-Chem and the Spur Corporation , have all reported a significant boost in online sales over the past year.So where to from here? Yaron Assabi, CEO and founder of Digitalmall.com and Digital Solutions Group (DSG), weighs in on the encouraging growth of e-commerce in SA and what's needed to take it to the next level.We have seen a shift in e-commerce from primarily high-end customers looking for convenience to all-round customers looking for safety, and therefore shopping online becoming a necessity to protect your health.Apart from social distancing, every money note that you exchange is a potential health risk so we are seeing the cashless evolution also growing fast where many online shopping platforms these days offer alternative payment method that are no longer limited to credit or debit cards, but offer instant EFT, mobile money and electronic vouchers for closed-loop payments.We believe that many new online customers will continue to shop online. As omnichannel payments and omnichannel commerce becomes more sophisticated, as well as payment options and delivery areas become more inclusive we will see mass-market adoption.Innovation is now driven by necessity and omnichannel commerce where support services will become more sophisticated and we will see high adoption continue beyond C-19.Grocery retail has grown phenomenally, and we are seeing exciting new categories such as certified organic vegetables delivered straight from the farm to the consumer. Big retailers partnering with many smaller logistics players so they can offer better fulfilment and focused on meeting consumer demand for quick delivery time within a few hours or at least the same day.Consumers are looking to buy almost everything online, and even shoes which you would generally want to try on before you buy, have become a huge online success due to great exchange policies offered by online retailers. We have seen great innovation in the cosmetics category and even online sunglasses stores that offer augmented reality allowing consumers the ability to upload their face to the platform and virtually try on makeup or sunglasses, etc.In the past online retail represented a small percentage of turnover but due to the pandemic, it is no longer an additional route to market but the only route to market required for survival.Therefore, it is critical for business to consider how to re-invent themselves using technology and look at a digital transformation, where the biggest barrier currently is lack of in-house skills.Omnichannel commerce is a complex environment. Apart from the right strategy, you need to have technological skills and ensure that your systems are integrated and that you build a user-friendly interface across all customer service channels, which include web, mobile and contact centre to offer great customer support.The delivery component is most challenging especially for businesses that are used to doing most of their business in store.Digital and mobile marketing is a critical success factor to ensure that you attract customers, convert their visit to a sale and have an omnichannel marketing strategy to retain them and grow the lifetime value of customers.Data analytics and business intelligence are also vital for a digital business to ensure that you measure the correct business metrics and constantly improve.Partnerships with companies that specialise in one or all the above are essential.Every business should be focused on their customers and if the customers are shifting their behaviour to online shopping that is where your focus needs to be, whether a big, medium or small business.Big business may have the budget but often lack agility whereas small business often lacks the budget but are far more agile, so we emphasise the need to partner with experts.All businesses need to find a partner that lowers the barrier to entry to online and has years of experience, and ideally a partner that is willing to share the risk and success.We need to lower the cost of devices and connectivity to make the internet affordable to everyone, and there are many innovative ways this can be done in emerging markets such as freemium" type models commonly used by Google and Facebook.We need to support local businesses and make omnichannel commerce enablement easy for any business that has a unique customer value proposition whether it is a service that can be offered online or a product.Focus on customer experience is essential to ensure that customers are encouraged to shop online and do not deflect due to a bad experience.We ideally need to fix the logistics infrastructure as in most countries the Post Office was a big beneficiary of the e-commerce boom and unfortunately our Post office has many challenges, to say the least. So logistics is still a very expensive part of the online experience, especially the last mile.If you do not have the expertise to do everything yourself look for the right partner to complement your skills and ensure that you can focus on your business and unique value proposition.You can ensure success by focusing on great integrated customer experience by creating closed-loop business processes with your outsource partner/s by ensuring the right service level agreements are in place. But do not forget to make it fun and be different. A man has been arrested by police following a dramatic boat chase off the NSW coast, with officers allegedly uncovering 200 kilograms of cocaine in his vessel. Video footage showed the moment water police raced to the black 750 Game Fisher, which was spotted sailing on Thursday. Officers screamed 'stop' as their vessel approached the man, who quickly threw his hands into the air, with one policeman brandishing a machine gun. A man has been arrested by police following a dramatic boat chase off the NSW coast (pictured) Pictures shared by police showed wads of cash seized during the investigation, which totalled about $500,000, officers claim The 27-year-old South Australian man remained static in his boat as officers jumped across into his vessel and arrested him. He was then taken into the police boat, which returned to shore and docked in Sydney. The investigation by Australian Federal Police, New South Wales Police Force, and Australian Border Force was sparked on Saturday March 6 following intelligence from international law enforcement partners. Police allege the vessel that was intercepted contained about 200 kilograms of cocaine. The allegedly illicit drugs have an estimated street value of $90million. NSW Police seized about 200 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the boat following the chase, cops claim A man is questioned by Australian Federal Police, after his vessel was stopped by cops The man is walked away by police in Sydney. He is expected to appear in Sydney Central Local Court on Friday The fishing boat underwent forensic analysis in Balmain, Sydney's inner west, on Thursday. Following the arrest, police searched a storage unit in Caringbah where they allegedly found wads of cash linked to the man which totalled about $500,000. Police charged the man with import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug and deal in money or other property which is the proceeds or instrument of crime. He is expected to appear in Sydney Central Local Court on Friday. The fishing boat underwent forensic analysis in Balmain, Sydney's inner west, on Thursday. Pictured: The man is walked away by NSW Police FILE PHOTO: Pharmacist Susanne Wohlgemuth prepares Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations at the Haus an der Linde nursing home in Lichtentanne, Saxony, Germany (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it has reached a deal with drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech for the supply of an additional four million COVID-19 vaccine doses to be delivered this month. The doses to vaccinate two million people will be supplied in addition to the planned deliveries, to ease border movement and to tackle virus hotspots, the Commission said. "To tackle aggressive variants of the virus and to improve the situation in hotspots, quick and decisive action is necessary," the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said. The short-term burst in shipments marks a rare piece of good news following a shortfall in deliveries from Pfizer and as AstraZeneca has struggled to catch up on slower-than-agreed output. The number of infections and hospitalisations rose steeply over the past few weeks in regions like Tyrol in Austria, Nice and Moselle in France, Bolzano in Italy and some parts of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany, according to the Commission. The extra doses will be used to support its member states in tackling the hotspots through their targeted use, particularly in border regions, to restore free movement of goods and people, the Commission said. France said the additional doses would boost vaccines available in the country by about 600,000. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech's vaccine, which won EU approval in December, has proven to be highly effective against all currently known variants of the coronavirus, the Commission added. It said the increase in dose deliveries this month is due to successful expansion of manufacturing capacities in Europe, which was completed by mid-February. A BioNTech spokeswoman said the additional doses were a result of an "improvement in efficiency", adding that volumes to be delivered in the second quarter remained unchanged. Pfizer temporarily cut deliveries to the EU in January due to construction work at its plant in the Belgian town of Puurs. Story continues The drugmaker had previously committed to supply a total of 500 million vaccine doses to the European Union by the end of 2021, with an option for another 100 million doses. Sources told Reuters in mid-February that Pfizer and BioNTech had ramped up deliveries to the bloc to a rate of about 5 million doses per week. (Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, William Maclean) 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. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts for the full episode. Ive gotten used to a pretty binary narrative when it comes to the school reopening story: The science says schools should be open; unions or teachers are often getting in the way of that. But thats not quite the story in Memphis, Tennessee, in large part because its a majority-Black, Democratic-controlled city in a Republican-controlled state. Theres hardly any diversity within the Memphis school system: White students make up just 7 percent of students. Advertisement This lack of mixing is not an accident. About 10 years ago, Memphis city schools merged their district with the county school district, Shelby County. The idea was to make the schools more equitable, bring suburban money into the city and desegregate. But a bunch of county suburbs did not like this idea, so they carved out their own school districts, and the state legislature passed a law to let them do it. The result is that Shelby County Schools is mostly just Memphis city schools; most of the suburban schools have spun off to do their own thing. Advertisement Advertisement This setup was a recipe for inequity long before COVID hit, with the state often stepping in to override local decisions. Sometimes thats in the form of changing the law so the wealthy suburbs can secede from their school districts. Sometimes thats in the form of shutting down city schools that arent performing so well and replacing them with charter schools. And this past year, it came in the form of demanding that city schools reopen during the pandemic. Earlier this month, Memphis public schools became the last district in Tennessee to reopen for in-person learning, after being closed for nearly an entire year. On the first day of school, only 30 percent of the kids reported to class. On Thursdays episode of What Next, I spoke to Chalkbeat reporter Laura Faith Kebede about what happened in Memphis and why it differs from the conversation about making schools safe elsewhere. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Mary Harris: Youve painted this picture of Memphis, especially the school system, as having these deep, historic divides, and then into that situation comes COVID, which has shined a light on these kinds of inequities. Where would you start the story of how Memphis got to be the lone holdout? Advertisement Laura Faith Kebede: I would start it around a year ago. There was a school here where an employee was quarantinedthis is when we barely knew what that meant. There was some viral videos that went out of a dad who had Lysoled down his son. There was a woman who showed up in a garbage bag basicallyshe didnt know how to protect herself going into this environment. And Shelby County Schools was the first in the state to shut down school buildings. Maybe a week later the governor urged, he didnt require, but he did urge districts to close. Advertisement It seems the superintendent of schools, Joris Ray, has really fought to keep kids learning virtually as long as he can. In-person instruction kept getting pushed back. The first delay came in August, right after COVID cases surged in the area, and then the second delay in January, when cases were surging after Thanksgiving. The hallmarks of union power are no longer part of Tennessee education politics. Laura Faith Kebede He talked a lot about how students are living in multigenerational homes, and the possibility of transmitting to much older and more vulnerable residents was a risk that he thought a lot of other communities, especially in the suburbs, didnt have to grapple with as much. There was never a threshold of, like, at such and such positivity rate, then well open schoolswhich I think a lot of people were also worried about, because its like, we get what youre saying and its hard decisions, but we also need some transparency to understand how youre making these decisions. Advertisement Advertisement He almost has a preachers cadence when I listen to him talk. He seems to be straddling this line of trying to represent his teachers and principals, but also respond to the political moment. He really struck me as a man in the middle. A lot of it is, I think, because he grew up here, had an entire career here in Memphis schools, and theres a connection there for sure. The superintendent really took on this persona of protector, of students, of staff. And he talked about in very personal ways. In a lot of places around the country, the fight over school reopening has become a union fight. A lot of people blame the unions for kids not going back to school if theyre upset and they want their kids back in the classroom. Part of what I think makes Memphis interesting is that thats not the story there. Its really just the superintendent who was preventing the reopening for a long time. Advertisement Yeah, theres not an avenue for unions here to be at the table the way that other unions across the country are, in hashing out those details. About a decade ago, the state legislature stripped unions of their bargaining rights. They still can negotiate contracts, but it doesnt have to go back to the union membership for a vote. The school board has the final say. I mean, weve struggled with how to even describe teacher unions here, because the hallmarks of union power are no longer part of Tennessee education politics. Where was the pressure coming from to open the schools? Most of it was coming from the statesame song, different verse, of the tensions between the state and local governments. And thats a pattern that people have noted for years, way before COVID showed up. Advertisement Superintendent Joris Ray said to state lawmakers, Please dont hurt my children. January seemed to be a turning point for Shelby County Schools. What happened to make the superintendent feel a lot more pressure to get the schools open? I think the biggest part was the funding bill that was proposed to cut state funding if school districts didnt meet a certain threshold of offering in-person learning. That kind of was a jolt. And around the same time this bill was introduced, Tennessees governor, Bill Lee, called out Memphis schools for remaining closed. The state was saying, you know, virtual learning isnt meeting all of kids needs, and there are other districts that have been open and there havent been widespread outbreaksthough there were plenty of schools that closed temporarily because there were so many staff or students who were in quarantine because they had come in contact with someone. Advertisement Joris Ray released this video where he addressed state lawmakers and said, Please dont hurt my children. Basically, when you advocate for in-person learning against the decisions of a duly elected school board, you run the risk of hurting my childrenwhich is another reference to the fact that youre stepping in where my local folks have already made a decision. Advertisement Advertisement Yeah, absolutely. There was conversations that he had with the governor about, well, if were going to open, we need to make sure that teachers get vaccinated ASAP. And that was not happening in Shelby County either. And then on top of that, there was our health departments own issuesthere was doses that had expired, and they had to throw them away. So all of these things were affecting what the school system did and how it thought about when is the right time to reopen. Advertisement Subscribe to What Next Get more news from Mary Harris and her team every day. Subscribe At the same time that the state government was pressuring schools in Memphis to open, were they offering resources for COVID testing or masks or PPE or anything that the schools might need to actually do the reopening? Yeah, so there was state money that was provided for PPE, even in the summer. They put out thousands of pages of guidance about how to reopen schools and recommendations on how to do that safely. But in the beginning of January, I was talking to the superintendent and he talked about how weve never even had a mask mandate here in Tennessee, so the infection rates in the community affect my decision-making. Advertisement All year long, Ray had promised teachers they would have a choice about going back into the school buildings. But in February, under unmistakable pressure from the state, Ray announced teachers would be required to go back to offer in-person instruction. He said teachers would get a one-time $1,000 bonus. It was his attempt to sweeten a raw deal. Advertisement I dont think it did that for everyone, because the stipulations of it is that you need to stay on until June. The bonus wont actually kick in until a June paycheck. And there are people that were kind of saying, I mean thanks? I guess? You know, it was that kind of attitude about it. But yeah, I think thats why he did it, to kind of soften the blow of this turnaround of this commitment that he made to teachers. Even though the story is a little different in Memphis, the grievances of people here are exactly the same as around the country. Teachers worry they arent getting prioritized for vaccines, that their ventilation systems arent up to par. They worry about being asked to report to work when the communities around them are discouraging mask-wearing. And that lack of trust and care has consequences. Students stay home. Teachers do, too. You talked to one middle school teacher, a new mom who wanted to avoid the vaccine because she worried about safety for her newborn. Instead of going back to work, she quit. Advertisement Advertisement What was really powerful was when she talked to her students about itthis is obviously still all virtual and theyre on a computershe left 5 to 10 minutes at the end of class to tell them that she was leaving and why. And one of her students put in the chat box that she was a good mother for making that sacrifice and that decision. It was really a hard decision to do that, to not be in a profession that she really loved. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts Get more news from Mary Harris every weekday. The wind also resulted in a smattering of power outages, according to ComEd spokesman John Schoen. Because the wind was unrelenting, he said the number of customers affected greatly varied at different points. At one time there were 1,000 customers without power. By 5 a.m., there were fewer than 200 customers without power but that number was back at 800 about 11 a.m., Schoen said. The utility counts each individual metered electrical service line, some of which serve multiunit dwellings, as a customer. March 11, 1946 Marywood put under scarlet fever quarantineState and local health department officials placed Marywood College under a 10-day quarantine on March 9 after six students were diagnosed with scarlet fever. Additional cases were reported March 10 and 11, bringing the total case count to nine. After the initial six cases were confirmed by physicians with local and state public health departments, a meeting was held with the college faculty to inform them of the 10-day quarantine order. The initial six infected students were transferred from the rooms in OReilly Hall to the Municipal Hospital in the evening of March 9. The seventh student was taken to the hospital on March 10. Records from the citys Public Health department showed that in addition to the nine cases of scarlet fever at Marywood, four additional people were being treated for the disease at the hospital. The four were not associated with the colleges cases. Scholastic Art Exhibit opens at the Globe The second annual Scholastic Art Award exhibit opened the morning of March 11 at the Globe Store. City Treasurer Edward Coleman had the honor of cutting the ribbon to open the exhibit space located inside the Wishmaker House on the fourth floor of the Globe Store. Also on hand for the opening was Angela Blewitt, chairperson of the regional contest; Dr. John Dyer, Scranton school superintendent; Marion Dever, of the Globe Store; and Paul Sarkoff, national secretary for the Scholastic Art Award. That year, more than 1,100 pieces of art were submitted for the local show. The artwork would be on display until March 23. The key-winning pieces would then be sent on to compete in the state competition at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. Rector gives first sermonThe Rev. Richard K. White delivered his first sermon as the new rector of St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Scranton on March 10. White succeeded the Rev. Dr. Robert Kreitler, who retired in December. Kreitler served St. Lukes for 33 years. White was on terminal leave as a major in the Army Chaplain Corps. Prior to coming to Scranton, he served as post chaplain for Fort Belvoir in Virginia. His first sermon dealt with applying Christianity to everyday life. A 24 micrometer infrared map from the Cocoon region with Spitzers MIPS overlaid with a gamma-ray significance map from HAWC (greenish-yellow to red indicate higher gamma-ray significance). The map is centered at Cocoon with about 4.6 degrees in x and y direction. Credit: Binita Hona For decades, researchers assumed the cosmic rays that regularly bombard Earth from the far reaches of the galaxy are born when stars go supernovawhen they grow too massive to support the fusion occurring at their cores and explode. Those gigantic explosions do indeed propel atomic particles at the speed of light great distances. However, new research suggests even supernovaecapable of devouring entire solar systemsare not strong enough to imbue particles with the sustained energies needed to reach petaelectronvolts (PeVs), the amount of kinetic energy attained by very high-energy cosmic rays. And yet cosmic rays have been observed striking Earth's atmosphere at exactly those velocities, their passage marked, for example, by the detection tanks at the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory near Puebla, Mexico. Instead of supernovae, the researchers posit that star clusters like the Cygnus Cocoon serve as PeVatronsPeV acceleratorscapable of moving particles across the galaxy at such high energy rates. Their paradigm-shifting research provides compelling evidence for star forming regions to be PeVatrons and is published in two recent papers in Nature Astronomy and Astrophysical Journal Letters. A characteristic of physics research is how collaborative it is. The research was conducted by Petra Huentemeyer, professor of physics at Michigan Technological University, along with recent graduate Binita Hona '20, doctoral student Dezhi Huang, former MTU postdoc Henrike Fleischhack (now at Catholic University/NASA GSFC/CRESST II), Sabrina Casanova at the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow, Ke Fang at the University of Wisconsin and Roger Blanford at Stanford, along with numerous other collaborators of the HAWC Observatory. Huentemeyer noted that HAWC and physicists from other institutions have measured cosmic rays from all directions and across many decades of energy. It's in tracking the cosmic rays with the highest known energy, PeVs, that their origin becomes so important. "Cosmic rays below PeV energy are believed to come from our galaxy, but the question is what are the accelerators that can produce them," Huentemeyer said. Fleischhack said the paradigm shift the researchers have uncovered is that before, scientists thought supernova remnants were the main accelerators of cosmic rays. "They do accelerate cosmic rays, but they are not able to get to highest energies," she said. So, what is driving cosmic rays' acceleration to PeV energy? "There have been several other hints that star clusters could be part of the story," Fleischhack said. "Now we are getting confirmation that they are able to go to highest energies." Star clusters are formed from the remnants of a supernova event. Known as star cradles, they contain violent winds and clouds of swirling debrissuch as those noted by the researchers in Cygnus OB2 and cluster [BDS2003]8. Inside, several types of massive stars known as spectral type O and type B stars are gathered by the hundreds in an area about 30 parsecs (108 light-years) across. "Spectral type O stars are the most massive," Hona said. "When their winds interact with each other, shock waves form, which is where acceleration happens." The researchers' theoretical models suggest that the energetic gamma-ray photons seen by HAWC are more likely produced by protons than by electrons. "We will use NASA telescopes to search for the counterpart emission by these relativistic particles at lower energies," Fang said. The extremely high energy at which cosmic rays reach our planet is notable. Specific conditions are required to accelerate particles to such velocities. The higher the energy, the more difficult it is to confine the particlesknowledge gleaned from particle accelerators here on Earth in Chicago and Switzerland. To keep particles from whizzing away, magnetism is required. Stellar clusterswith their mixture of wind and nascent but powerful starsare turbulent regions with different magnetic fields that can provide the confinement necessary for particles to continue to accelerate. "Supernova remnants have very fast shocks where the cosmic ray can be accelerated; however, they don't have the type of long confinement regions," Casanova said. "This is what star clusters are useful for. They're an association of stars that can create disturbances that confine the cosmic rays and make it possible for the shocks to accelerate them." But how is it possible to measure atomic interactions on a galactic scale 5,000 light-years from Earth? The researchers used 1,343 days of measurements from HAWC detection tanks. Huang explained how the physicists at HAWC trace cosmic rays by measuring the gamma rays these cosmic rays produce at galactic acceleration sites: "We didn't measure gamma rays directly; we measured the secondary rays generated. When gamma rays interact with the atmosphere, they generate secondary particles in particle showers." "When particle showers are detected at HAWC, we can measure the shower and the charge of secondary particles," Huang said. "We use the particle charge and time information to reconstruct information from the primary gamma." In addition to HAWC, the researchers plan to work with the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), an observatory currently in the planning stages that will feature Cherenkov light detectors like HAWC but will be located in the southern hemisphere. "It would be interesting to see what we can see in the southern hemisphere," Huentemeyer said. "We will have a good view of the galactic center that we don't have in the northern hemisphere. SWGO could give us many more candidates in terms of star clusters." Future collaborations across hemispheres promise to help scientists around the world continue to explore the origins of cosmic rays and learn more about the galaxy itself. Explore further Researchers detect galactic source of gamma rays that could produce very high-energy cosmic rays * Though the word nostalgia combines the Greek words nostos (homecoming) and algos (pain), it was actually coined by a Swiss medical student named Johannes Hofer in 1688. First understood as a medical affliction, some of the earliest diagnosed cases were Swiss mercenaries working far from home who were particularly susceptible to pangs of longing when they heard traditional Swiss milking songs. The cultural nostalgia that has been a widespread psychic comfort food during the pandemic might seem primarily like a set of gestures reaching back toward the past: people binge-watching Friends, reaching out to exes, stocking up on classic board games like Monopoly (Hasbro reported a 15 percent increase in gaming revenue in 2020) and hitting drive-ins to see movies from decades ago, like Jaws and Jurassic Park, which topped box-office charts last Fathers Day weekend. But remembering the past is also a way of believing that this moment will someday be the past. Which is to say, nostalgia for the past is also a way of believing in the future. Daydreaming about the After Times the Before Timess mythic counterpart is in part an exercise in imagining what it will be like to look back at the pandemic. And imagining the time when we might have even the slightest glimmers of nostalgia for daily life during the pandemic the wall hooks holding our masks or the makeshift shacks of outdoor tables filling the city streets is a way of believing there will be a time when its finished, a time when we can look back and survey the entire arc of the story. But of course, understanding the pandemic as an entirely discrete plotline, or a disruption, is another way of forgetting the sirens already blaring. There have been more than 2.6 million deaths worldwide from Covid-19; in 2019, more than eight million died from other infectious diseases. (Tuberculosis and other communicable respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia killed 3.8 million people in that year.) A majority of these deaths were preventable; most of them occurred in the developing world. Which is to say, the coronavirus crisis feels acute to Americans in part because its happening here. When Americans are nostalgic for the Before Times, we arent nostalgic for a time before a disease crisis, but nostalgic for a time when that crisis was largely happening elsewhere. In a diary written inside the Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington State last spring, Michael Murphy calls his prison the petri dish, describing how its conditions cause residents to breathe the same air and share every virus that finds its way in. Reading his account, I was struck by the way the pandemic has given a much broader population some fractional glimpse of a particular tension that has long been deemed an acceptable normal for incarcerated people: being isolated from other people and deeply vulnerable to other bodies at once. In certain ways, Covid-19 has only deepened and expanded the core logics of incarceration, the disregard for certain bodies weve labeled justice. The protests that rose up last June responding most immediately to the killing of George Floyd, and before him, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery were a necessary corrective to any easy sense of collective nostalgia. They were a corrective, certainly, to the delusion of its collectivity. What might nostalgia mean to someone terrified by normalcy? By the grinding machinery of the capitalist system or the smooth operations of American justice? Pushing back against the syntax of wanting things to return to normal, the protests demanded, instead, an interrogation of normalcy itself, tracing the Before Times back to a much longer history of violence, including the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who was only 7 when a policeman shot and killed her in her sleep in 2010. Back to the long residue of American slavery segregation, redlining, mass incarceration. Back to the Middle Passage itself. The sirens of 500 years. In thinking about what to do with all of our pandemic nostalgia, I find it useful to turn to Dr. Boyms distinction between restorative and reflective nostalgia. While restorative nostalgia wants to recreate an idealized past, reflective nostalgia interrogates the very image it longs for. Restorative nostalgia is drawn to monuments; reflective nostalgia to ruins. The protests many of them committed to taking down monuments asked us to turn our pandemic nostalgia away from restoration and toward reflection and remaking. The explosion of mutual aid groups early in the pandemic one nonprofit tracked the rise of such groups from 50 in March of last year to more than 800 by May is a useful example of what reflective nostalgia might look like. Mutual aid wasnt anything new; it was rising from traditions that had been robust for a long time, in communities of color that hadnt been well served by official structures. From the 1780 founding of the Free African Union Society in Rhode Island to the Black Panthers start of the free breakfast program in Oakland, Calif., in 1969, theres a long history of networks like Bed-Stuy Strong that formed last year, delivering food and supplies to the vulnerable. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held phone talks with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Long on March 10 to discuss bilateral cooperation as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds phone talks with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Long (Photo: VNA) PM Lee congratulated Vietnam on the successes of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and PM Phucs re-election to the Politburo. He also congratulated Vietnams achievements in containing the COVID-19 pandemic while making progress in socio-economic development, as well as the countrys fulfilment of its role as Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2020, which included the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, opening up new opportunities for trade and investment liberalisation in the entire region. PM Lee reaffirmed that Singapore cherishes its strategic partnership with Vietnam, especially against the backdrops of complicated regional and international developments. PM Phuc, for his part, also noted how Singapore has been regarded as a bright spot in the region with regards to containing the pandemic, and praised Singapores economic recovery initiatives including the setting up of air travel bubble and Connect@Changi, aiming at facilitating travel and reopening the borders. He suggested the two sides cooperate in containing COVID-19 outbreaks and getting access to safe sources of COVID-19 vaccines; create favourable conditions for businesses and investors to restore production, trade and investment; effectively utilise the bilateral relations within the framework of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and RCEP to promote trade and minimise disputes. The two leaders held that the bilateral Strategic Partnership is growing effectively and substantially; affirmed to strengthen cooperation in fields in which both countries have potential such as agriculture, fisheries, finance, information technology, education and training, infrastructure, as well as other sectors aiming at meeting the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution-era such as clean energy development, smart cities and smart urban solutions, innovation, digital economy and digitalisation. Vietnam and Singapore should also step up the sharing of experience in economic management and development and human resources training, especially high-quality human resources, the said. The two prime ministers also discussed a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern. Regarding the East Sea, the two leaders affirmed the importance of strengthening cooperation, maintenance of peace and security, and peaceful resolution of disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), moving towards an effective and practical Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea./.VNA The Federal Government on Thursday advised capital market operators to consider retail investments to enable ordinary citizens in the country to invest in the market. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, made the call at the 5th Budget Seminar webinar in Abuja. The seminar was organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Mrs Ahmed said retail investment would make citizens invest in the market in an easy and simple way. She described the theme of the seminar: Financing Nigerias Budget and Infrastructure Deficits through the Capital Market as apt, given the urgent need to build infrastructure in the country. The minister remarked that the capital market served as an important channel through which government budget and economic infrastructure deficits could be financed. Past experiences have shown that the capital market has been supportive in providing the necessary funds to finance governments projects. The budget is N13.95 trn, capital expenditure of N4.37trn amounting to 32.2 per cent of the total expenditure and overall deficit of N5.6 trn to be financed by almost equally domestic and foreign sources. Government is committed to introducing more of these instruments in partnership with the capital market, to finance projects for economic growth. Following from todays discussions, it is important that we go forward putting together key lessons and recommendations. The recommendations which we can apply not only as input into the next budget but also the Nigeria Medium Term Development Plan, Nigeria Agenda 2050 and the Finance Bill for 2022. The Director-General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda, said that capital market had the capacity to roll out innovative products to support the countrys infrastructure needs and financing. This is necessary for us to be able to effectively compete with the rest of the world. Patience Oniha, Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), said the government had a role as an enabler and pioneer, creating a platform for the market to thrive. Aisha Dahir-Umar, the Director-General, National Pension Commission (PenCom), said the pension sector was ready to invest in the market. Mrs Dahir-Umar, who was represented by Farouk Aminu, Head of Corporate Affairs of the commission, said the sector was in the market to develop the capacity and provide them the instruments. Afolabi Olowookere, Head of Economic Research and Policy Management Division of SEC, harped on the need for infrastructure provided in the country to be revenue-generating, with adequate cost recovery system adopted. Chidi Izuwah, Director-General, Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), emphasised the need for the country to close infrastructure gaps. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Izuwah, who was represented by Emmanuel Onwodi, the Director of Transportation in the commission, said the ICRC was ready to play its roles toward closing the gap. (NAN) Inter-American Court of Human Rights to hear lesbian teacher's case against Chilean Catholic school Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Inter-American Court of Human Rights will soon adjudicate a religious liberty case that dates back to 2007 that will have implications in dozens of countries across the Americas. In Pavez v. Chile, a Catholic diocese in San Bernardo, Chile discovered that Sandra Pavez, who taught religion classes at Cardenal Antonio Samore Municipal School, had entered into a same-sex relationship. While she was allowed to maintain employment with the school, even rising to leadership ranks, the school informed her in July 2007 that it could not certify her to teach those classes. Pavez took the school to court and claimed discrimination. The Chilean Supreme Court sided with the school in 2008, holding that the church-based school has the right to certify its teachers as they see fit. Pavez claimed a violation of the American Convention on Human Rights and took the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The commission presented Pavezs case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2019. The court is an autonomous legal institution based in Costa Rica that seeks to apply the American Convention across dozens of member countries. The court has set hearings for the case to be held in May. At issue is whether or not religious communities of all faiths will have the freedom to decide who is permitted to teach classes about their faiths based on how a person lives out their faith in accordance with its teachings. Parents, and the religious communities they belong to, should be free to pass on their faith to their children, and decide who will teach it on their behalf, said Tomas Henriquez, a Chilean lawyer and director of advocacy in Latin America and the Caribbean for ADF International, the international branch of the Alliance Defending Freedom, in Monday statement. International law clearly protects the autonomy of religious communities. The Church plays an important role in society, and society benefits from strong and autonomous religious communities. Whatever the regional human rights court rules later this year, the decision will impact how families can choose their children's educational environments. Religiously observant families contend that faith-based schools will have a hard time maintaining their integrity if teachers are not required to abide by their faiths teachings. A campaign called #ReligionLibre, sponsored by ADF International, has gathered signatures from families to present to the court. The campaign petition argues that human rights law recognizes as a central element of the teaching of religion the freedom of each religious community to choose who will teach it on their behalf. This has been stated by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, noting that the practice and teaching of religion or belief includes acts that are an integral part of the way in which religious groups carry out their fundamental activities. The petition further contends that the United Nations recognizes religious bodies' freedom to choose their religious leaders, priests and teachers. One of the fundamental characteristics of free societies is the existence of disagreements, even radical ones, about the fundamental morality of human acts, the petition states. The growing diversity of beliefs and life projects in our societies makes the existence of tensions as a result of these discrepancies inevitable. Men and women can disagree in good faith on central questions regarding human existence, good living and the morality of our actions. But the presence of such disagreements need not be seen as a defect to be eradicated, and certainly it should not be by coercive means that would rob individuals and communities of their freedom to sustain such disagreements and communicate them to others, including in teaching to future generations. Robert Clarke, deputy director of advocacy for ADF International, stressed in a statement that freedom of religion and belief is at stake for parents across the Americas. Human rights law guarantees the rights of parents to direct the moral and religious education of their children in accordance with their own convictions. Consequently, religious classes must reflect this guarantee, including through the appointment of teachers who are faithful representatives of those beliefs, he said. Its vital that the Court acts to protect this fundamental freedom. ALBANY It was early November when community members in the citys South End neighborhood started discussing how they were going to get the COVID-19 vaccine to people who arent online or arent aware they can get the vaccine, and to people of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Albany County legislators, church pastors and organizers from groups including the South End Community Collaborative and AVillage Inc., among others, began creating a list of residents who were eligible for the vaccine. Through phone calls, fliers and knocking on doors they were determined to reach those who had fallen off the healthcare radar. In partnership with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Lincoln Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy located on Morton Avenue, they hosted a vaccine clinic on Wednesday at The Collaboratory health center on Green Street, as well as a host of others at City Mission of Schenectady, Albany's Walls Temple A.M.E. Zion Church, and at ACPHS two student-run pharmacies located in Albany's Arbor Hill neighborhood and in Schenectady. [We knew that] to address the issue of this neighborhood being underserved it had to be a neighborhood effort, said Colleen McLaughlin, chair of ACPHS Department of Population Health Sciences. It could not involve battling every New Yorker who was eligible for an appointment [online]. Many of the people who I get connected with through this process have said 'I have been trying to get an appointment for weeks and I need help' or 'I dont even have access to a computer,' said Dorcey Applyrs, Albanys chief city auditor, who has also been making phone calls to those in need of the vaccine. The group is also providing transportation and translation services to people coming to get the vaccine at the clinic. And in an effort to diminish vaccine hesitancy, they are creating a list of volunteers of color so that those getting the vaccine see people who look like them helping out. When ACPHS first got access to the vaccine, staff watched as online appointment slots got filled quickly, sometimes by people who didnt live in the area, said ACPHSs President Greg Dewey. That is when they knew they couldnt only operate a web-based system and needed to be proactive reaching out to residents to get them on a list to get vaccinated. Albany County is currently in conversations with ACPHS about working together for future proactive outreach in addition to the outreach the school is already doing with other community leaders, said Mary Rozak, the communications director for the county. By the end of next week, the clinic in the South End will have administered approximately 2,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Paul Pagnotta, manager of pharmacy operations and clinical services at ACPHS, who has been overseeing the clinics. Having trusted messengers [in the community] is very important, said Stacy Pettigrew, an ACPHS assistant professor of Population Health Sciences who has been at the forefront of the groups outreach. Its one thing to have [Dr. Anthony] Fauci and CDC telling you everything is good but it is another thing to have your friends and neighbors talk to you about [the vaccine] and see that people are then okay. A Swedish research institute has declared India an electoral autocracy, the second report within a week that has stripped the country of its the worlds largest democracy status. The major decline occurred following Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victory in 2014 elections and its Hindu-nationalist agenda, V-Dem Institute, an independent research institute based at the University of Gothenburg, said. On 3 March, a Freedom House report downgraded Indias status to partly free citing decline of civil liberties under Mr Modis leadership. The data-heavy report by V-Dem said India suffered a 23-percentage point drop on its 0-to-1 Liberal Democracy Index (LDI) scale, registering one of the most dramatic shifts across the countries in past 10 years. The censorship of media has deteriorated to the level of Pakistan and worse than its neighbours Bangladesh and Nepal since 2013. India is, in this aspect (censorship) now as autocratic as is Pakistan, and worse than both its neighbours Bangladesh and Nepal, the report named Autocratization Turns Viral said. In general, the Modi-led government in India has used laws on sedition, defamation, and counterterrorism to silence critics. For example, over 7,000 people have been charged with sedition after the BJP assumed power and most of the accused are critics of the ruling party, the report noted. Indias decline in status was the part of global shift, noting that the top ten decliners were several G20 nations, including Brazil, US, and Turkey. It found that India is among the country that is leading the third wave of autocratisation. The growing use of defamations law which is frequently used to silence journalists and the rampant use of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by making amendments to it 2019 used to harass, intimidate, and imprison political opponent have gone against its Constitutions commitment secularism. The report made reference to crackdown on protesters of Citizenship Amendment Act, increasing use of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) to restrict the entry, exit and functioning of Civil Society Organisations and harassment of journalists covering Covid-19, among other issues. These developments are among the instances contributing to the descent into electoral authoritarianism in what used to be the worlds largest democracy, it said. The fifth annual report by the Swedish institute noted that democracies have been diminishing for over a decade from 41 countries to 32 countries. In the list of top 10 autocratising countries, only Brazil, Mauritius, and Poland remain democracies while Hungary, Turkey, Brazil, Serbia, Benin, India and Bolivia were electoral autocracy. The accelerating wave of autocratisation has engulfed 25 nations, contributing to one-third of the worlds population that is 2.6 billion people. US-based think tank Freedom House last week said Mr Modis political partytragically driving India towards authoritarianism, declining Indias score from 71 to 67 since last years report on its most free ranking. India reacted sharply to the report calling it misleading, incorrect and misplaced. It gave seven-point rebuttal to the report and said the country enjoys a vibrant democracy, which gives space to those who hold varying views. A Birmingham federal judge on Thursday denied bond for a Marshall County man whom prosecutors claimed participated in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. Joshua James, 33, of Arab, is facing two federal counts in connection with his alleged role in the riots. An FBI special agents affidavit unsealed Tuesday in D.C. District Court alleged James communicated and congregated with members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group, before and while the Capitol was being breached. On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gray M. Borden in Birmingham remanded James without bond, according to court filings, saying there are no appropriate conditions for the Arab residents release from federal custody. The day before the riots, James served as security for one of the speakers at a Stop the Steal rally in D.C., according to the affidavit. Photos showed James wore clothing with an Oath Keepers patch on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6. James was also pictured standing with other Oath Keepers, including Kelly Meggs, the self-proclaimed leader of the Florida Oath Keepers who was also charged with storming the Capitol, during the riots, the FBI agent claimed. Phone records showed James was in constant contact with one of the Oath Keepers on Jan. 5, exchanging six calls with the undisclosed member that day, according to the agent. James was also in contact with members on the morning of the riots, the agent alleged. The cell phone records pinged James location to inside the Capitol building during the riots while public photos and videos showed a man matching photos on James social media accounts, according to the agent. James was arrested Tuesday in Arab, according to court filings. He was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting and being in a restricted building or grounds. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access JOHNSON and Johnsons one-shot coronavirus vaccine has secured the green light for it to be used in Europe. In what is in a major boost in the fight against the disease, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has cleared the way for the first single-injection shot to be used across the 27-member bloc. Johnson and Johnson (J&J), which employs more than 1,300 people in vision care at the Plassey National Technology Park secured approval this afternoon. The EMA has recommended that the EU approves the vaccine for people aged 18 and over, according to statement. Before the product can be distributed, the European Commission must now rubber-stamp it, although this is expected to be a formality, given that 200 million doses are on order, with an option for a further 200 million. This new inoculation has been hailed as a landmark moment for J&J, because it can be stored in a fridge for long periods unlike two of the other three vaccines available in the union. Deliveries were expected early in April, but officials are expected to face delays. Paul Stoffels, the firms chief scientific officer said: This is a landmark moment for J&J and for the world. The vaccine has been found to be 67% effective against moderate to severe Covid-19 in trials. Its less protection than the Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna options, but its ease of use makes up for that. The firm has spent over $1bn in research and development on the vaccine. The general director of Pfizer Luxembourg told Tageblatt that the Robert Schuman hospital group had not placed an order for the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine. Reginald Decreane clarified that the erstwhile director of the hospital group, Claude Schummer, had mentioned a potential purchase, but a concrete order had not been placed. Decreane added that this would have only been the case if the vaccine were to be made available to the private market. Political reactions to the claims Surprise, shock and confusion: A number of MPs on the parliamentary health committee have reacted to the claims that the Robert Schuman hospital group allegedly placed an order for 100,000 doses of the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine. If the story were true, it would represent gross injustice, said LSAP MP Mars Di Bartolomeo. The hospital should conduct business through the official channels of the Ministry of Health. CSV leader Martine Hansen agreed that the purchase was unacceptable and vaccines should not be ordered or purchased for private patients. Furthermore, she questioned the alleged amount of doses ordered by the hospital: "How is it possible that a hospital can order 100,000 units? If it really is that easy, then the government needs to increase its efforts so that we move ahead faster." MP Sven Clement (the Pirate Party) showed himself surprised over the HRS press release, noting that the document opens more questions than it answers: "Whose initiative was this, who knew about it? Where are these vaccine doses supposed to come from? Are they being bought from states that actually need them more urgently?" MP Marc Baum (the Left) also commented on the controversy: "This is unprecedented in Luxembourgish health politics and history!" When it comes to the future of hospital director Claude Schummer, the press release leaves room for interpretation. Di Bartolomeo noted that he does not believe Schummer to have ordered additional vaccine doses in secret, just like he does not believe the director to have ordered the vaccination of board members all by himself. Clement also stated his belief that it seems as though all the blame is being put on one person, which he deems proof for an abuse of power paired with arrogance on the part of the board members. Both Hansen and Baum noted that the management system of hospitals needs to be re-evaluated. Minister of Health Paulette Lenert's position Minister Lenert stated that she will further investigate the issue and that she was not aware of any additional vaccine orders. However, she also acknowledged not being certain whether it was even possible for a hospital to make an independent order. She explained: "The supply chain is clearly defined, vaccines can only be sold to governments. They are different than other tools, such as masks or tests." Minister Lenert was meanwhile unwilling to comment on the future of HRS director Claude Schummer. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday said 76% of the 1.125 million vaccine doses received by the Philippines have been deployed. During a briefing after the ceremonial vaccination at the De Los Santos Medical Center, Duque also said up to 84,000 individuals have been vaccinated in 361 implementing sites across the country. Around 11,000 healthcare workers are being vaccinated per day, he added. There was also less than 1% who experienced minor side effects. Two people experienced allergic reaction after receiving Sinovac but are now in a better condition. The government targets to purchase 3.4 million anti-coronavirus shots to immunize the country's 1.7 million healthcare workers first. Despite this, Duque emphasized that the journey towards achieving herd immunity is still long. "The journey towards herd immunity is going to be long especially because the supply shortage has been a perennial problem for the low to middle income countries like the Philippines," he explained. He also said the public should not rely on vaccines alone to address the increasing number of COVID-19 cases since the most effective way to do so is by following health protocols. For the past weeks, the Philippines has been reporting 2,000 to 3,000 new infections. The OCTA group even projected that the country could see as many as 6,000 new cases a day by the end of March. It also said the spike in cases, specifically in Metro Manila, may be due to the detection of new variants that are considered to be more contagious. However, Duque said this cannot be directly attributed to the new variants since they only account for a small percentage of the sample sequence. This was rather caused by citizens who do not strictly follow minimum health standards, he added, while also reiterating the need to follow these protocols to address the increase in cases. The Philippines recorded 3,749 new infections on Thursday, which raised the total case count to 607,048, with over 12,600 deaths and more than 546,000 recoveries. A mysterious and bizarre looking sea creature which washed up on a popular Queensland beach has baffled the internet. A Sunshine Coast woman came across the terrifying discovery in Noosa on Wednesday and turned to social media to solve the mystery. 'Anyone know what kind of fish this is? I found it washed up on the North Shore this morning,' she posted on a local community Facebook page. Viewers were divided over whether the creature could be a flathead or the more poisonous stone fish. Eyes bulged out of the top of the creature's head, with a mouth full of unusually thin teeth. Meet the bizarre looking marine creature (pictured) which divided the internet - and turned out to be a highly-venemous stargazer 'Looks like hes done himself a mischief,' a man commented. Another thought it could be a juvenile barramundi or bass, while others were highly fascinated with the creature's terrifying set of teeth. 'Someone wants their dentures back,' one woman quipped. Another added: 'Can you ask who it's dentist is? Has a lovely set of choppers on it.' Others saw the funny side. 'Thats my friends ex. She threw him back in the sea but he keeps on washing up,' one woman posted. Many viewers correctly guessed that the creature was a stargazer, also known as a monkfish in New Zealand. A beachgoer came across the mysterious discovery washed up on Noosa North Shore (aerial view pictured) on Queensland's Sunshine Coast Around 20 species of stargazers can be found Australian waters. The venomous creatures are known for bury themselves in sand, waiting to ambush their prey. Professor Culum Brown from Macquarie University's Department of Biological Sciences believes the one pictured was a giant stargazer, which is more commonly found in waters across the Tasman. 'It's not the standard species that we get along the south-east coast,' Professor Brown told Yahoo News Australia. 'This looks more like the larger New Zealand species which is really common around the south island. '(It) wouldn't be too unusual for them to show up on the east coast of Australia though.' It happened again this week, at a car wash in Turkey. Because not even the slightest amount of fun can be had if youre not documenting it on social media, the car wash attendant and some pal decided to record it. Instead, they got a video of the moment the former crashed a Ferrari 458 Italia . And he didnt even make it a stones throw away from the car wash.You can see the footage at the bottom of the page (hat tip to CarScoops ). The title of the video makes it clear that this was not the owner driving but a car wash attendant looking to show off in this fancy ride before the owner got there. If thats the case, he must be drowning in remorse (and debt) right now.The video is very short because, as it turns out, you dont need dozens of minutes to be a douche and a terrible driver. The 458 is first seen coming out slowly from the parking lot, but the driver immediately floors it. The rear skids and one wheel hits the concrete barrier, and the Ferrari is out of control. For a few seconds, while the Prancing Horse is out of the frame, you can see its rear bouncing hard as he loses control, spins, and then hits and mounts the barrier at some distance.The car then comes at a stop facing the wrong way, while whoever is filming is heard quietly whispering something that sounds very much like the English S**t! Cursing, the international language. But he was totally correct in his assessment of the situation. Russia said it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for its alleged failure to remove banned content and threatened a total block if the U.S. platform did not comply with its deletion demands. Drivers and other passers-by had to take cover today, in Port of Spain. As, gunmen began offloading bullets on a convoy of cars. Also, over 50 more people have been arrested for breach of curfew. The online launch of China International Publishing Group's (CIPG) multilingual books on China's fight against poverty took place this Wednesday, presenting a total of 132 books on China's struggle against poverty to readers both at home and abroad. CIPG president Du Zhanyuan and vice president Lu Cairong attended the event and unveiled the books. Edited and published by publishing houses affiliated to CIPG, the books document China's successful poverty alleviation campaign and its building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The works are available in 10 languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, Italian, Vietnamese and Indonesian. These books offer a wide range of perspectives regarding China's poverty alleviation endeavors, including targeted poverty elimination, relocating people from inhospitable areas, and foreigners' participation in poverty reduction. Through these books, readers are expected to gain a better understanding of the strenuous efforts and great achievements made by the Communist Party of China, the Chinese government and the Chinese people in securing a victory against poverty. "By telling stories of China's battle against poverty, we can not only present the country's contribution to global poverty eradication, but can also share our experience and wisdom in ending deprivation," said Lu. So far, 20 copyright export deals with 20 publishing institutions from 19 countries have been signed, and 12 kinds of such books have been co-published with 12 renowned publishers from 10 countries, Lu added. Arab Scientific Publishers, together with two other publishers in Germany and Albania, respectively, sent videos of congratulations and welcomed the overseas publishing of the books. In 2020, after eight years of efforts, the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents living under the current poverty line in China were lifted out of poverty. All the 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 impoverished villages have been removed from the poverty list. Cybersecurity researchers on Wednesday shed light on a new sophisticated backdoor targeting Linux endpoints and servers that's believed to be the work of Chinese nation-state actors. Dubbed "RedXOR" by Intezer, the backdoor masquerades as a polkit daemon, with similarities found between the malware and those previously associated with the Winnti Umbrella (or Axiom) threat group such as PWNLNX, XOR.DDOS and Groundhog. RedXOR's name comes from the fact that it encodes its network data with a scheme based on XOR, and that it's compiled with a legacy GCC compiler on an old release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, suggesting that the malware is deployed in targeted attacks against legacy Linux systems. Intezer said two samples of the malware were uploaded from Indonesia and Taiwan around Feb. 23-24, both countries that are known to be singled out by China-based threat groups. Aside from the overlaps in terms of the overall flow and functionalities and the use of XOR encoding between RedXOR and PWNLNX, the backdoor takes the form of an unstripped 64-bit ELF file ("po1kitd-update-k"), complete with a typosquatted name ("po1kitd" vs. "polkitd"), which, upon execution, proceeds to create a hidden directory to store files related to the malware, before installing itself on the machine. Polkit (nee PolicyKit) is a toolkit for defining and handling authorizations, and is used for allowing unprivileged processes to communicate with privileged processes. Additionally, the malware comes with an encrypted configuration that houses the command-and-control (C2) IP address and port, and the password it needs to authenticate to the C2 server, before establishing connection over a TCP socket. What's more, the communications are not only disguised as harmless HTTP traffic, but are also encoded both ways using an XOR encryption scheme, the results of which are decrypted to reveal the exact command to be run. RedXOR supports a multitude of capabilities, including gathering system information (MAC address, username, distribution, clock speed, kernel version, etc.), performing file operations, executing commands with system privileges, running arbitrary shell commands, and even options to remotely update the malware. Users victimized by RedXOR can take protective measures by killing the process and removing all files related to the malware. If anything, the latest development points to an increase in the number of active campaigns targeting Linux systems, in part due to widespread adoption of the operating system for IoT devices, web servers, and cloud servers, leading attackers to port their existing Windows tools to Linux or develop new tools that support both platforms. "Some of the most prominent nation-state actors are incorporating offensive Linux capabilities into their arsenal and it's expected that both the number and sophistication of such attacks will increase over time," Intezer researchers outlined in a 2020 report charting the last decade of Linux APT attacks. Turkish police have detained 13 people for insulting Erdogan on International Women's Day, AP reported. Thousands took part in a rally in central Istanbul to condemn violence against women in Turkey, where more than 400 women were killed last year. Unlike in previous years, when similar demonstrations were dispersed by the police, the march took place without incident. However, the police later checked the video recordings of the demonstration and detained 13 people, including a minor, who participated in the protest. Turkish media reported that the suspects were detained for questioning over slogans that were deemed offensive to Erdogan. Insulting the president is a crime in Turkey, punishable by up to four years in prison. Thousands of people, including journalists, politicians, actors, and schoolchildren, have been prosecuted for allegedly insulting Erdogan. The arrests came despite Erdogan's pledge last week to reform human rights, including freedom of speech. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Esraa Al-Buti, an EY tax partner based in the Riyadh office, has been recognized as a 2021 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (WEF), joining a community dedicated to changing the world for the better and mobilising positive change on key issues. Each year, the Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL) identifies the worlds most promising leaders under the age of 40 - people driving innovation for positive change across civil society, arts, culture, government and business. By connecting them to a community of remarkable peers and investing further in their leadership abilities, the aim is to create a ripple effect over five years that benefits their organisations and the world. Carmine DiSibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, says: Esraa has been blazing trails since her student days. As the first woman to become a partner in EYs Saudi Arabia offices, shes an inspiring leader who is helping to change the face of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. I couldnt be prouder that WEF has recognised her as a Young Global Leader and I cant think of anyone who deserves it more. I know that Esraa will take this opportunity to build on her accomplishments and create an even more positive impact on the world. Abdulaziz Al-Sowailim, EY Mena CEO and Chairman, says: Esraa is an incredible inspiration to a new generation of young female leaders. Since joining our Riyadh office in 2012, she quickly established herself and became the youngest partner in Saudi Arabia. She is a strong ambassador for both EY and womens empowerment to our clients, as well as within the region. Her technical knowledge and experience, track record and commitment to diversity and inclusion, has catapulted her into the limelight where she uses her influence to positively influence Saudi business and society as a whole. Today, she leads EYs Tax Controversy practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), advising KSA-based large local and multinational groups and family businesses on tax advisory and tax and zakat compliance matters. She specialises in projects in the government and public sector and leads on many government giga projects. She also serves as a member of the Saudi B20 taskforce. She has received much media attention after being nominated by The MiSK Foundation as one of 30 female future leaders in Saudi Arabia and has used that platform to help improve the environment for women leaders in the kingdom. Al-Buti says: Women in the Arab world are increasingly overcoming historical biases and traditional mindsets to make their mark in driving business growth and change. I am deeply honoured to be selected by WEF, joining an inspiring group of leaders who are committed to building a better future around the globe. I look forward to collaborating with the Young Global Leader community to tackle key business issues together, and pursue my goal to further enhance the environment for women leaders in the kingdom - a key target of the Saudi Governments 2030 Vision. Outside of her day-to-day professional commitments, she actively uses her education and experience to inspire others by speaking at educational institutions around Saudi Arabia and giving honorary lectures on Tax at Alfaisal University. She has also formed various committees to help women get jobs in professional services, both as a member of EY as well as in a personal capacity. Al-Buti has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from King Saud University, with first class honours. She is a certified public accountant with membership in the Saudi Organisation of Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA). She also serves as a board member in the Saudi Accounting Association and delivers honorary lectures on tax at Alfaisal University. -- Tradearabia News Service 16 Shares Share In 2002, two Stanford dermatologists published a study in which they sent a questionnaire to a weeks worth of patients, asking them their preferences for how medical providers dress. The study covered relatively new ground. Two of the four references were the 1970s best-sellers, Dress for Success, and The Womans Dress for Success Book. The study also uncovered strong preferences. Patients preferred a white coat, dress shoes, and a traditional hairstyle. They abhorred sandals, blue jeans, and when men had earrings or long hair/ponytail. Subsequent studies were more scientific. A 2005 emergency department trial used a 100-mm visual analog scale and received approval from an Institutional Review Board, which deemed that the outfits in the trial were not heinous enough to put patients at risk. The 100-mm visual analog scale is a 10 cm line between paired qualities like unprofessional and professional, on which raters make a mark. This technique allows traits to be assessed with millimeter precision. In this case, it precisely showed that patients dont care what their doctor wears. Clothing studies proliferated around the world in a sartorial arms race between doctors who like scrubs and doctors who like formal clothes. A 2014 metanalysis tried to make sense of the morass by combining data from 30 studies and over 11,000 patients. They concluded, weakly, that people tend to prefer formal clothes, although perceptions of attire are influenced by age, locale, setting, and context of care. Team Scrubs was not ready to give up. Werent a white coat and tie, those hated symbols of formality, also seldom washed bastions of disease? More scholarly ink was spilled, including one test of the germ theory, in which neckties were soiled with a solution of a hundred-million bacteria per milliliter, then draped across unsuspecting mannequins. Unsurprisingly, some bacteria could be cultured off of the mannequins. Medical students had their coats swabbed. Obstetricians were randomized to wearing bow ties in the name of science. When the microbial dust settled, a metanalysis found the evidence of ties causing infection weak. A randomized trial in Colorado showed that by the end of the workday, newly washed scrubs have just as many contaminants as seldom washed white coats. A lack of evidence is seldom a barrier to administrators, and in 2007 the British National Health Service forbid its providers from wearing a white coat or long sleeves. The NHS guidelines, updated in April 2020, still prohibit most employees from wearing these items, although they now allow people with a religious objection to wear length sleeves. The updated NHS guideline is a 16-page document, complete with a table of contents and 4 appendices. The rules come off as arbitrary. It forbids employees from wearing more than two identification tags, or earrings other than studs. Stop touching me with your dangly earrings, Karen! One thing these guidelines miss is that clothing serves a function in hospitals beyond physician patient interactions. In Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond states that specialized forms of dress arose when tribes grew to the size in which people often encountered strangers. Hawaiian chiefs, for example, had cloaks made of tens of thousands of feathers, allowing them to be recognized immediately, even when far from home. White coats may be blase by comparison, but medical organizations are like these societies in that they create a lot of interactions with strangers. Not only do patients need to identify team members, but hospital employees often interact with other employees they dont know. Whether its a nephrologist on the ward or a pharmacy tech checking a clinics medications, a lot of medicine occurs away from ones own department. Having uniforms for providers has obvious advantages over ID badges. Uniforms can be assessed at distance, in 360 degrees and without that awkward moment when people realize youre checking their nametag. Furthermore, there is a seldom acknowledged undercurrent to many clothing studies. Dermatologists, some of the more stylish physicians, created a study lauding dressing to impress. ER physicians, typically practical, in-the-trenches types, ran a study that showed scrubs are just fine. Theres a pattern in these studies that falls short of the loftiest ideals of medical research. Ideally, trials should be done because an investigator doesnt know the answer to something. Few attire scientists seem to be so impartial. Instead, they seem to be producing objective data that supports how they already dress. In this respect, the explosion in these studies may have more to do with the centralization of medicine, with the growing role of administrators like those in the NHS, than they do with scientific curiosity. When a dermatologist dresses nicely, it may comfort their patient because the doctor is demonstrating that they know the importance of appearanceand consequently will take the patients cosmesis seriously. For an injured patient in the ER, scrubs may be comforting because they know their doctor is not afraid to get dirty. It would be a shame if physicians werent allowed to influence their interactions by making choices about their appearance. If clothing research is what is needed to convince administrators to maintain this freedom, then maybe all the trouble is worth the effort. Christopher Watson is a radiation oncologist and can be reached at his self-titled site, Chris Watson. Image credit: Shutterstock.com VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 11, 2021 / Golden Dawn Minerals Inc., (TSXV:GOM)(FRANKFURT:3G8C)(OTC Pink:GDMRF), ("Golden Dawn" or the "Company"), announces that the airborne geophysical survey has now been completed over the Greenwood Precious Metals project in southeastern British Columbia. The helicopter borne VTEM and magnetics survey has been completed over the historic Phoenix mine and surrounding areas, including the Golden Crown, Lexington and Tam O'Shanter properties where gold resources were previously defined. This is the first time that property-wide surveys have been flown over these claims. The VTEM survey was flown at 100 metre spacing and, following interpretation, the data will provide high-resolution geophysical survey images of the properties. Satellite image showing flight lines over Phoenix and surrounding areas (base map from Google Earth). The survey results are expected to be available in a few weeks and will be used to target exploration for copper-gold skarn deposits and/or an intrusion-related porphyry-type copper-gold deposits that could be the root of the Phoenix copper-gold skarn deposit. The results for the Golden Crown, Lexington and Tam O'Shanter properties will be used to guide exploration for extensions of these sulphide-bearing deposits too. Aerial photo of the pit at the historic Phoenix mine. View is approximately 600 meters wide. The main exploration target is a major copper-gold deposit related to the historic Phoenix copper mine. The Phoenix deposit consists of a group of skarn (carbonate replacement) deposits hosted within the Triassic Brooklyn limestone unit, all of which occur within a panel of strata that is truncated by the Snowshoe fault, a west-dipping (listric) normal fault. The mineral deposits are interpreted to be the upper part of a larger copper-gold system that has been displaced westward from its roots. The roots of the system may be related to a cluster of copper-gold skarn deposits that occur northeast of Phoenix. In this area, there is a north-trending corridor of historic mines situated 2 kilometers northeast of Phoenix that includes the Oro Denoro, Emma, Jumbo and Cyclops / Lancashire Lass historic mines. Further east of this are other historic mines that were also developed on skarn deposits, including the BC Mine, Bluebell, R. Bell, and Tokyo. Epithermal-style gold and silver mineralization also occurs in these areas, possibly related to the Tertiary extension structures that caused the offset of the Phoenix deposit from its roots. Map showing Phoenix area with interpreted direction of offset of Phoenix mine from north- eastern skarn deposits. Readers are cautioned that historical records referred to in this News Release have been examined but not verified by a Qualified Person. Further work is required to verify that historical records referred to in this News Release are accurate. Technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., President of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, For more details, please see the most recent National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Company's website at www.goldendawnminerals.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors: GOLDEN DAWN MINERALS INC. Per: "Christopher R. Anderson" Christopher R. Anderson Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact: Golden Dawn Minerals Inc. - Corporate Communications: Tel: (604) 221-8936 Email: Office@goldendawnminerals.com Forward-Looking Statement Cautions: This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to, among other things, preliminary plans for a consolidation of the Company's Shares. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange will not approve the proposed share consolidation, and that the Company may not be able to raise sufficient additional capital to continue its business. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of securities of the Company in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available. THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL, OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY SALE OF SECURITIES OF THE COMPANY IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL PRIOR TO REGISTRATION OR QUALIFICATION UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY SUCH JURISDICTION. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Golden Dawn Minerals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/634990/Golden-Dawn-Minerals-Completes-Airborne-Geophysical-Survey-Over-the-Former-Producing-Phoenix-Copper-Mine-Greenwood-BC (Natural News) As the Biden regime waffles over whether or not to deal with the border crisis it helped create, Texas is taking matters into its own hands with the launch of Operation Lone Star. At the order of Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas National Guard, Department of Public Safety (DPS), and various other air, ground, marine and tactical border security assets are headed to the southern border to deny Mexican Cartels & smugglers the ability to move drugs & people into Texas. The Alamo fell to enemy forces on this day in 1836, Abbott added in a tweet. The battle was lost, but the war was not. Texas prevailed. Its a reminder of the grit, resolve & perseverance of Texans from our very beginning. We are challenged, but always overcome. The Cenotaph will remain unmoved. Blaming China Joe for the escalating crisis at Americas southern border, Abbott issued a rallying cry for his state to take action with its own resources to secure the border and attempt to put a stop to unfettered illegal immigration. Just the other day, at least 13 people died at the border after a vehicle carrying dozens of illegal aliens smashed into a semi-truck. The incident was later determined to have ties to human smuggling, which the Biden regime apparently supports. Texas supports legal immigration but will not be an accomplice to the open border policies that cause, rather than prevent, a humanitarian crisis in our state and endanger the lives of Texans, Abbott added in a statement to the media. We will surge the resources and law enforcement personnel needed to confront this crisis. Even Texas Democrats are fed up with the illegal alien onslaught Texas DPS Col. Steve McCraw met with Abbott back in February to discuss a strategy for the border crisis, which has escalated dramatically ever since Hunters dad was installed into the White House. In the last seven days in the valley, they have stopped 10,000 individuals and 2,500 individuals in the last two days, and many are being released, added Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, warning that Laredo, where he is from, will soon be overwhelmed with illegal migrants. Remember what happened under the problem we had last time? What did they do? [They said], Oh, we have too many people in the south, so let us send them to Laredo,' Cuellar further explained. This last time that Cuellar was referring to involved busloads of illegal aliens being sent to and dropped off in Laredo, which was forced to pick up the tab while trying to figure out what to do with all of those new bodies. They process them in [Laredo] and they send them by bus stations, and then release them in Laredo, Cuellar says about how the process works. My thing is, if the numbers keep going up, they will release them in Laredo like they did in the past. Another concern is the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), which these illegal alien caravans will almost certainly be spreading as they pour across the border and infiltrate Texas communities. By allowing these illegal alien superspreader events to occur, the Biden regime is putting the lives of Texans and all other Americans at risk, Abbott says. Border security is strictly a federal responsibility, he says. The federal government alone has the responsibility to test, screen and quarantine illegal immigrants crossing our border who may have COVID. Instead of doing their job, the Biden [regime] suggested it did not have the sufficient resources and, remarkably, asked Texas to assist them in aiding their illegal immigration program, Abbott added. Texas refused. We will not aid a program that makes our great country a magnet for illegal immigration. More related news can be found at InvasionUSA.com. Sources for this article include: WesternJournal.com NaturalNews.com Covid-19: Non-essential shops in Mumbai can now operate 7 am to 2 pm on alternate days, says BMC Lockdown in Mumbai? Here is what CM Uddhav Thackeray said India oi-Madhuri Adnal Mumbai, Mar 11: Amid the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has instructed all officials to keep options open, said Aslam Shaikh, Guardian Minister for Mumbai, on Tuesday. However, despite rising cases of coronavirus in the state, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said said that the state government cannot easily adopt the decision to impose a lockdown in the state. He also said that a decision will be taken after reviewing the situation. Earlier in the day, the state government imposed night curfew in Kalyan Dombivli and Nandurbar districts. These curfews will be in place till further order. On Tuesday, Janata curfew was imposed in Jalgaon. On Wednesday, the city recorded 1,539 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number of infections since October last year, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. With this, the city's COVID-19 tally has reached 3,37,123, the official said. According to the latest data from the civic body, five fatalities were reported in the city in the last 24 hours, raising the toll to 11,511. This is the first time since October 21, 2020 that Mumbai''s single-day count has crossed the 1,500 mark. Sachin Vaze, Mumbai cop removed after political row in Ambani security scare case As many as 21,615 samples were tested in the last 24- hours, taking the number of tests done so far to 34,75,744, the official said. At least 888 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, raising the number of recoveries to 3,13,346, he said. This leaves the city with 11,379 active cases, he said, adding that the average growth rate of infections in the city has increased to 0.32 per cent from 0.17 per cent on February 18. The average doubling rate has come down to 215 days from 417 days, he said. BJP says Mamata 'staged' attack | BJP-TMC blame game begins | Oneindia News The city currently has 25 containment zones in slums and chawls, while 229 buildings have been sealed, he added. A Filipina carries a sign condemning recent government attacks on civilians as she joins others at a rally in Manila to mark International Womens Day, March 8, 2021 A group of Filipino activists said Wednesday they had hacked into the Philippine governments main website to block access to it as a protest against alleged human rights violations by authorities. Calling themselves Cyber PH for Human Rights, the groups members claimed they successfully launched a cyberattack around 4 p.m. on the government website (www.gov.ph). The website could still not be accessed after midnight Thursday (local time). We come before the public today to stand in solidarity against the worsening human rights situation in the country, and to call for justice for the massacre of nine activists and for countless more unarmed civilians who had lost their lives under this regime, the group said in statement said. We hold President Rodrigo Duterte personally responsible for all of these deaths. The group said the cyberattack aimed to send a message to Duterte and his government to stop killing unarmed civilians, days after nine were slain in a police and military anti-insurgency operation on Sunday. The group called the countrys national security adviser, its national police chief and the military commander for the southern Luzon region ringleaders in the killing of unarmed civilians. Government officials did not immediately respond to a BenarNews request for comment. Group members, who described themselves as ordinary Filipinos, said the cyberattack was the first of its kind in the Philippines. They also threatened more action in the coming days. It is our commitment to undertake further cyberattacks on other government assets including assets of non-state agents who had fostered fake news, slander and libel to the public, the group said. 9 deaths On March 7, authorities launched a series of raids targeting communist rebels but that killed nine people who, according to human rights groups, were activists and critics of President Duterte. Debold Sinas, the National Police Chief, meanwhile, said the raids were based on search warrants, but police were also investigating the rights groups allegations that those killed were summarily executed. The police operations were legitimate, Sinas said, because they are covered by SWs [search warrants]. On Wednesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch stressed the need for United Nations- member countries to address the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines by deploying a rapid response unit to investigate the killings. U.N.-member states should see through this deadly deception and press for international action that would hold the Duterte administration to account, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for HRW. A day earlier, the U.N. Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it was appalled by appears to be the simultaneous arbitrary killings in the Philippines. We are deeply worried that these latest killings indicate an escalation in violence, intimidation, harassment and red-tagging of human rights defenders, OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement. Red-tagging is a term activists use when law enforcers accuse groups or individuals of being communist rebels or supporters of the leftist insurgency. The killings came two days after Duterte ordered security forces to end the countrys 52-year-old communist rebellion, the longest in Asia. Ive told the military and the police that if they find themselves in an armed encounter with the communist rebels, kill them, make sure you really kill them, and finish them off if they are alive, he said at the time. Jeoffrey Maitem in Cotabato, Philippines, contributed to this report. Promise, Witness, Remembrance an exhibition opening April 7 at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Ky., in honor of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old medical worker killed by police there nearly a year ago came together fast, yet in a manner tempered by conversations, said its curator Allison Glenn. These involved, centrally, Tamika Palmer, Taylors mother, whose input yielded the show title; and the painter Amy Sherald, whose portrait of Taylor will anchor the exhibition. Two advisory committees one national, one in Louisville have guided the shows making, in part to avoid the shoals on which museums have foundered in their efforts to address trauma and inequity in their communities, and in their own practices. But Promise, Witness, Remembrance whose list of about two dozen artists mixes big names (for instance Kerry James Marshall and Lorna Simpson) with others who are lesser known (Bethany Collins, Noel Anderson, Jon-Sesrie Goff), several with Louisville ties, and local photographers who documented the protests last year has both greater and simpler ambitions. The hope, Glenn said, is to show museums can get it right through consultation that improves, not diminishes, curatorial quality. It is also to help stitch community in a midsize city by listening to those excluded by art institutions in the past. Federal Minister for Women Marise Payne used a recent International Womens Day event to say the culture must change and parliamentarians needed to own the problems, own the failings, and make the necessary changes ourselves. Australia was one of the first countries in the world to give full political rights to women but one of the last Western countries to elect women to its Federal Parliament. Between 1903 and 1943, only 26 women nominated for election for either house. No woman was endorsed by a major party as a candidate for the Senate before the beginning of the Second World War. As of September 2020, there are 46 women in the House of Representatives and 39 of the 76 senators are women. To mark the centenary of Australias first female MPs election, Liveris has launched In Her Seat a non-partisan, national, volunteer passion project to honour Cowan and the women who have followed. Anne Aly, the first Muslim woman to be elected to Federal Parliament, holds the Perth-based seat named in Cowans honour. She says true gender equality goes beyond just representation to meaningful participation. To me, gender equality means that women and men not only have equal opportunities but that the structures that currently exist preventing women from achieving in leadership roles are dismantled to ensure that there is also an equal focus on equality of outcomes, she told In Her Seat. Until all women can participate equally at all levels of political, economic and social life, we have not achieved gender equality. Jane Hume, the federal Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy, says great government, policy and politics depend on women being at the table. We have come a long way, but there is still much more to be done, says Hume, who lists Dame Margaret Guilfoyle the first woman with a portfolio in a federal cabinet as her inspiration. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Collectively, we have a responsibility to break down barriers which prevent women taking the plunge into politics, and encourage more to put their hand up. I will always reach down and offer my hand to the women who will come after, as was done to me. But Hume remains an optimist, pointing to the record number of women in federal politics. It has never been a better time to be a woman, whether youre in politics or out, she says. So long as we avoid complacency and continue to level the playing field, it will only improve. Loading Historian Claire Wright writes that Cowan believed in enlightened and rational self-control and self-determination. As a member of the education board before entering politics, Cowan advocated for state schooling and the inclusion of sex education in the curriculum. She was known for her severe pragmatism, her skill, intellect, tact, untiring energy and indomitable courage, Wright, a professor of history at La Trobe University, writes in Cowens entry into the Australian Women and Leadership Encyclopaedia. It is poignant that the woman who most successfully pioneered womens political representation in Australia carried a demeanour so unlike the modern woman dancing across the public imagination on the cinema screens of the 1920s: loose, carefree, uninhibited, liberated. Cowans face never showed a glimmer of lightness or humour. She remained reserved, stern and stoic, and even her own five children found her cold and aloof. Loading Greens senator Larissa Waters, first elected in 2011, lays claim to being the first federal MP to breastfeed in parliament. She hopes normalising women with families in positions of power is something to which she has contributed. We need not just more women in politics, but more women of colour, women from different backgrounds, and young women, so parliament starts to look like the community, Waters says. To make politics a more attractive career path for women, we need to challenge the unfair stereotypes, expectations and judgements that we place on women. This is the moment a rogue leopard pounced on a man as wildlife officials chased the big cat on a building site in central India. The leopard had strayed into the residential area after escaping from a nearby wildlife sanctuary yesterday. Footage captures the moment the leopard pounces on the man wearing a green helmet - while petrified onlookers watch from higher ground. The animal was eventually tracked down to a farm house where it had attacked a young family. This is the moment a construction worker is attacked by a leopard which escaped from the Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary in central India The man was one of five people who was injured by the wild animal before it was recaptured Footage after the incident showed another man suffered deep lacerations caused by the animal The big cat can be heard snarling as it grabs the man by the shoulder - who then manages to wrestle the leopard off before running away. The leopard is left running around the construction site before being trapped in a derelict building. The construction worker is later seen walking away from the incident - wincing in pain as he holds his bloody shoulder. The leopard had strayed from the Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary towards the central Indian Madhya Pradesh state on March 11. One police officer involved in the recapture of the animal was also wounded The worker tried unsuccessfully to flee the lightening quick animal One of the man's colleagues filmed the struggle from an upper level of the construction site Fortunately, none of the men attacked by the wild animal were seriously injured The leopard also attacked three people inside a house. Locals alerted the forest officials, who swung into action and initiated a rescue operation. The leopard injured five people in total - including a policeman involved in the rescue operation. Dr Utttam Yadav of the forest departments Tiger Force was tasked with capturing the big cat. His team were armed with tranquiliser darts and a net, however the leopard was able to avoid capture. He told the Times of India: We spotted the leopard, which is likely around five years old, on on four occasions but it kept running and this, we couldnt target it for tranquilisation. The wild animal even attacked our vehicles as it was very agile and immediately ran away from sight. It is likely the leopard is somewhere amidst the standing crops of wheat. We have advised locals not to come out of their homes at night. Meanwhile, we have installed search lights and have deployed guards to help search for the leopard, while two trap-cages have been installed at the spot. He added: There is a scarcity of food in jungle near residential areas, while increasing human intervention in the forest is also a big reason for wild animals entering the city and posing threats to human beings. According to the Freepress Journal, the leopard was eventually tracked down to a farmhouse where it attacked a young family. Khemraj Rathore heard his family screaming at attacked the leopard with a stick forcing it to flee. A short time later the rescue squad cornered the leopard and shot it with a dart. They took the animal to a zoo where it was checked over by a vet. When it regained consciousness it tried to bite its way out of the cage. The wildlife experts eventually released the animal into the forest. A National Guard member serving on the mission to protect the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., has died after an unspecified medical emergency, the Guard announced in a statement. "Joint Task Force District of Columbia is sad to confirm the death of a National Guard member serving with the U.S. Capitol security mission due to an apparent medical emergency," Lt. Col. Robert Carver, a spokesman for the task force's Joint Information Center, said in the statement. "The individual was not on duty at the time, and the incident is under investigation." Carver would not release the identity of the Guard member until next of kin have been notified. Read Next: Distracted Guard, Gate Malfunction Allowed Intruder to Board Aircraft at Joint Base Andrews He also would not release details about when the service member was found or how the individual was discovered. WJLA reported that the Guard member was found at the JW Marriot Hotel. The Pentagon on Tuesday approved a request from the U.S. Capitol Police for about 2,300 Guard members to remain for two additional months, a move that will extend the Guard's mission in D.C. to nearly six months. About 5,000 Guard troops are currently on duty in D.C., which is down from the 26,000 Guardsmen who deployed to the city to provide security for President Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration. Local and federal law enforcement called for the massive Guard force after demonstrators supporting former President Donald Trump turned violent on Jan. 6 and stormed the Capitol as lawmakers certified Biden's Nov. 3 victory. It took the Pentagon more than three hours to notify the D.C. Guard that it was authorized to respond to the chaotic scene at the Capitol. Since then, a special task force chaired by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore has called for a permanent quick-reaction Guard force to be stationed in the city. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related: Pentagon Approves Two-Month Extension for National Guard Deployment to DC Panaji, March 11 : Simmering tensions have emerged within the media fraternity in Goa, with the emergence of a new 'press club' in the coastal state. A 'press club' is normally perceived as a watering hole for journalists and often an oasis of subsidised liquor, but the newly instituted 'Press Club Goa', spearheaded by the head of state BJP's Ex-Servicemen Cell Anant Joshi, has triggered a turf war between sections of the local media. In a letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Rajtilak Naik, president of the Goa Union Of Journalists, a several decades-old media body, has raised doubts about the Club, citing presence of non-journalists and politically connected individuals in the latter's roster of membership. "We would like to bring to your notice the formation of an organisation called 'Press Club Goa'. This has been done by a former naval officer Anant Joshi, along with a few non-journalists..." Naik said in a letter to Sawant on Thursday. "The formation of Press Club Goa by non-journalists and politically connected individuals has raised doubts and fear among the journalist fraternity in Goa. Anant Joshi is the chairperson of the Ex-Serviceman cell of the BJP, Goa," the letter also says. For decades now, the Goa Union of Journalists has served as an umbrella body for working journalists groupings in the state and comprises of 300-plus members. Naik in his letter has also objected to prompt government largesse to the Press Club Goa in his complaint to Sawant. "Within six months of its formation, the GUJ understands that Press Club Goa has received funds from the state government. The Goa Union of Journalists condemns this act and requests the state government to stop funding this body, which does not consist of journalists or represents journalists in Goa," Naik said. When contacted, Anant Joshi, who serves as the secretary-general of the newly formed Club, said that his association with a political party should have no bearing on his credentials as a journalist, citing the example of Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, who also serves as the executive editor of the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna'. "Sanjay Raut is a politician, but he is also a journalist. I can cite several more examples," Joshi said, adding that he was currently working as a managing editor of 'Nitya Samay', a little known Hindi publication in Goa. When asked about the charge levelled against him, about heading a press club for journalists when he was appointed in February this year, as convenor of the ruling BJP's ex servicemen cell at a formal ceremony by state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade, Joshi said: "They do not know actual facts. I may be present there (at the event), but that does mean I have membership of any party". Joshi said that the Press Club Goa currently had a membership of 150 members, most of whom work as rural correspondents in Goa and added that the objective of the Club was different from a journalists' union. "Our idea was not to form a union. Our intention behind starting a club was welfare activity of mediapersons," he said, adding that the Club would serve on the lines of the popular Mumbai Press Club and the Press Club of India in Delhi. 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 woman who has admitted murdering greyhound trainer Karen Leek still maintains she didn't intend to kill her aunt. Jessie Moore formally pleaded guilty to murder in Victoria's Supreme Court on Thursday morning. She was heavily pregnant when charged with the murder of Ms Leek, at her Devon Meadows property in Melbourne's southeast on May 25 last year. The woman who has admitted murdering greyhound trainer Karen Leek (pictured) still maintains she didn't intend to kill her aunt Moore will face a pre-sentence hearing on May 19, despite there still being issues between what prosecutors allege happen and what she says occurred. The court heard there is a dispute over the level of intent Moore had at the time of the killing. While prosecutors contend she intended to murder Ms Leek, Moore says she only intended to cause really serious injury. While both amount to the charge of murder, the level of intent could affect the length of sentence Moore receives. The prosecution and defence will make their cases in May. Irvine, Calif., March 11, 2021 - Catastrophic collapse of materials and structures is the inevitable consequence of a chain reaction of locally confined damage - from solid ceramics that snap after the development of a small crack to metal space trusses that give way after the warping of a single strut. In a study published this week in Advanced Materials, engineers at the University of California, Irvine and the Georgia Institute of Technology describe the creation of a new class of mechanical metamaterials that delocalize deformations to prevent failure. They did so by turning to tensegrity, a century-old design principle in which isolated rigid bars are integrated into a flexible mesh of tethers to produce very lightweight, self-tensioning truss structures. Starting with 950 nanometer-diameter members, the team used a sophisticated direct laser writing technique to generate elementary cells sized between 10 and 20 microns. These were built up into eight-unit supercells that could be assembled with others to make a continuous structure. The researchers then conducted computational modeling and laboratory experiments and observed that the constructs exhibited uniquely homogenous deformation behavior free from localized overstress or underuse. The team showed that the new metamaterials feature a 25-fold enhancement in deformability and an orders-of-magnitude increase in energy absorption over state-of-the-art lattice arrangements. "Tensegrity structures have been studied for decades, particularly in the context of architectural design, and they have recently been found in a number of biological systems," said senior co-author Lorenzo Valdevit, a UCI professor of materials science and engineering who directs the Architected Materials Group. "Proper periodic tensegrity lattices were theoretically conceptualized only a few years ago by our co-author Julian Rimoli at Georgia Tech, but through this project we have achieved the first physical implementation and performance demonstration of these metamaterials." While developing structural configurations for planetary landers, the Georgia Tech team discovered that tensegrity-based vehicles could withstand severe deformation, or buckling, of its individual components without collapsing, something never observed in other structures. "This gave us the idea of creating metamaterials that exploit the same principle, which led us to the discovery of the first-ever 3D tensegrity metamaterial," explained Rimoli, aerospace engineering professor at Georgia Tech. Made possible by novel additive manufacturing techniques, extremely lightweight yet strong and rigid conventional structures based on micrometer-scale trusses and lattices have been of keen interest to engineers for their potential to replace heavier, solid substances in aircraft, wind turbine blades and a host of other applications. Though possessing many desirable qualities, these advanced materials can - like any load-bearing structure - still be susceptible to catastrophic destruction if overloaded. "In familiar nano-architected materials, failure usually starts with a highly localized deformation," said first author Jens Bauer, a UCI research scientist in mechanical and aerospace engineering. "Shear bands, surface cracks, and buckling of walls and struts in one area can cause a chain reaction leading to the collapse of an entire structure." He explained that truss lattices begin to collapse when compressive members buckle, since those in tension cannot. Typically, these parts are interconnected at common nodes, meaning that once one fails, damage can quickly spread throughout the entire structure. In contrast, the compressive members of tensegrity architectures form closed loops, isolated from one another and only connected by tensile members. Therefore, instability of compressive members can only propagate through tensile load paths, which - provided they do not rupture - cannot experience instability. Push down on a tensegrity system and the whole structure compresses uniformly, preventing localized damage that would otherwise cause catastrophic failure. According to Valdevit, who's also a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UCI, tensegrity metamaterials demonstrate an unprecedented combination of failure resistance, extreme energy absorption, deformability and strength, outperforming all other types of state-of-the-art lightweight architectures. "This study provides important groundwork for design of superior engineering systems, from reusable impact protection systems to adaptive load-bearing structures," he said. ### Julie Kraus, a graduate student in the Rimoli laboratory at Georgia Tech, participated in this research, as did Cameron Crook, a UCI graduate student in materials science and engineering. Funding was made available by NASA and the National Science Foundation. About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation's top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www. uci. edu . Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists. A woman found dead in a shallow grave may have been taken from her workplace by force, with police gathering evidence to show she was stalked before being killed. The body of Jasmeen Kaur, 21, was found buried at Moralana Creek, north of Hawker, in South Australia's mid-north, on Monday after detectives were taken to the site by a man known to her. That man, a 20-year-old from suburban Adelaide, was subsequently charged with her murder. A woman found dead in a shallow grave may have been taken from her workplace by force, with police gathering evidence to show she was stalked before being killed He was remanded in custody after a brief appearance in Port Augusta Magistrates Court on Tuesday where his identity was suppressed. Ms Kaur, a carer and nursing student, was last seen alive when she worked a shift at an Adelaide nursing home on Friday. Detective Superintendent Des Bray said investigators were satisfied she had not died at her own hands but was the victim of a murder. He said a post mortem examination had reinforced that view. 'We know exactly how she died, but we can't say,' he told reporters on Thursday. Supt Bray said it was also possible the victim had been taken by force, with her car found in the car park at her work, and police were 'gathering evidence' to show she was stalked. The body of Jasmeen Kaur, 21, was found buried at Moralana Creek, north of Hawker, in South Australia's mid-north, on Monday 'We believe it to be extremely unlikely that Jasmeen left willingly with anybody,' he said. Police have called for anyone with dashcam footage taken along the main highway north of Adelaide on Friday night to come forward. He said a vehicle the dead woman was believed to be travelling in was caught on safety cameras a number of times, but several hours between those incidents were unaccounted for. Police were also trying to find her missing handbag, her black shoes and her work identification tag. Police have called for anyone with dashcam footage taken along the main highway north of Adelaide on Friday night to come forward The man charged with Ms Kaur's murder was also charged with failing to notify police of a reportable death. Court documents allege she was killed between Friday and Monday at Parachilna or other places. The man was remanded in custody to appear in court again on December 15. A prosecutor told the court on Tuesday that the lengthy delay in the 'complex matter' was necessary to allow for the collection and analysis of DNA and other evidence. Once that is complete, the Director of Public Prosecutions will consider the material before making a final charge determination. Supt Bray said the man had denied being involved in any way in Ms Kaur's death. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Senate Confirms Michael Regan to Lead EPA The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Michael Regan as the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which will play a central role in the Biden administration climate change agenda. The bipartisan tally in the Democratic-led Senate was 66-34 to confirm Regan. President Joe Bidens executive orders has set goals to zero out emissions from power plants by 2035, revamp vehicle efficiency standards, accelerate the deployment of electric cars, and address methane emissions from oil and gas operations. Regan, 44, was the head of North Carolinas environmental regulator. At his confirmation hearing, he was introduced by North Carolinas two Republican senators and stressed that he will work with every state to ensure that their concerns about the transition to cleaner energy are heard. Republicans have said they are worried a rapid shift away from fossil fuels would kill jobs and stunt economic growth in the worlds top producer of oil and gas and have already criticized some of Bidens early moves like canceling the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, and pausing new leases for oil drilling on federal land. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, ranking Republican on the Senate energy panel, said she is concerned that Bidens National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy will have more control over policy than the EPA. I hope Secretary Regan can cut Gina McCarthy out of power and let her know who is calling the shots for environmental policy in the Biden administration, she said on the Senate floor. Environmental groups praised the confirmation. And as he did in North Carolina, I know (Regan) will work quickly to restore morale and achieve real results, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp said in a statement. By Valerie Volcovici Small snowflakes of radioactive uranium that causes huge nuclear explosions may clarify some of the world's more bizarre star blasts. Death of the Miniature Stars As miniature stars die, they cool into husks of their old selves called white dwarfs. A recent study suggests that atoms of uranium sink to the core of these aging white dwarf stars as they cool, icing into snowflake-like crystals no larger than grains of sand. Illinois State University's theoretical physicist and study co-author Matt Caplan explained that these snowflakes can function as many of the tiniest nuclear bombs in the galaxy, becoming the force that breaks off the powder keg. Math disclosed that it's crucial to comprehend how these blasts happen for all kinds of applications, from the creation of elements to the stretching of the cosmos, which are fraction of a class - Type Ia supernovas. Read More: UFO or Old Nuclear Bomb? Diver Finds Strange Wreckage in Pacific Ocean White Dwarf Star Generally, researchers believe these blasts happen when a white dwarf star attains a significant mass after siphoning gas from a partner star the white dwarf is in orbit with. Because Type Ia supernovas explode when they attain a similar mass, they have similar brightness. This similar brightness enables them to be utilized as a standard by which distances in the universe are assessed. Still, astronomers have noticed several Type Ia supernovas that are scarcely dimmer than they should be. The recent study, approved by the Physical Review Letters journal suggests a basis in which lower-mass white dwarfs without a binary star partner can explode as supernovas on their own - even without sipping mass from a close-by star. Indiana University's theoretical nuclear astrophysicist and study co-author Chuck Horowitz explained: "Maybe we don't require a companion, a single star could maybe explode on its own." The Stellar Atomic Bomb Delivery White dwarfs are the remaining bodies of stars below 10 times the mass of the sun. Having removed their outside shell, white dwarfs are cold, unburning balls of primary oxygen and carbon with some other elements, such as uranium, drizzled in. As they gradually cool across hundreds of thousands of years, their atoms ice, with the largest atoms - like uranium - falling to the core and stabilizing first. Researchers explained that they believe these white dwarfs, when solo, finally dwindled into cold, dark husks. Though in some instances, this procedure could set the scene for a heavy nuclear-bomb-like explosion. Collision of the Sunken Uranium Atoms When sunken uranium atoms collide with one another, they frost, creating thin radioactive snowflakes. Within one hour of the snowflake's construction, a villain passing neutron in the core could crash into the snowflake, activating fission - the nuclear response in which an atom is divided. This fission could break out a chain response, closely to that in a nuclear bomb, at last burning the rest of the star and making the white dwarf to blast as a supernova all by itself. For this chain response to occur, still, they require a lot of the uranium-235 radioactive isotope. Because normally this isotope deteriorates over time. Related Article: Nuclear Bomb Pulses Reveal 400-Year-Old Greenland Shark is World's Longest Living Vertebrate For more news, updates about nuclear atomic bombs and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! WASHINGTON Xavier Becerra will have bipartisan support for his confirmation vote as President Bidens secretary of Health and Human Services, with Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins backing him as the Senate advanced his nomination. The Senate voted 51-48 on Thursday to bring Becerras nomination to the floor. It was a procedural step that was needed because the committee that considered his nomination tied along party lines on advancing him. With Thursdays vote, the nomination was discharged from committee and will go to the full Senate for confirmation, probably next week. Although the California attorney general still likely will be among the most narrowly confirmed of Bidens Cabinet nominees, Collins support ensured that he will have at least one Republican vote, and almost certainly avoids the need for Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie in the Senate. No other Republican voted to move Becerras nomination forward Thursday, foreshadowing the tally on his ultimate confirmation. Collins said productive conversations with Becerra persuaded her to support him. During our one-on-one meeting, and in three subsequent conversations, Mr. Becerra and I discussed several shared goals that I hope we can accomplish in the Biden administration, Collins said in a statement first reported by The Chronicle. Although there are issues where I strongly disagree with Mr. Becerra, I believe he merits confirmation as HHS secretary. I look forward to working with the department to achieve bipartisan results on behalf of the American people. Democrats united around Becerra, although he drew some concerns. Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, whose lack of support doomed one Biden nominee last month, announced Thursday he would back Becerra despite their differing views on abortion and gun rights. Most Republicans said Becerra lacked experience in health care policy and criticized cases he argued as state attorney general that they characterized as attacks on religious freedom. They took issue with his litigation over abortion rights and access to contraception. Democrats, however, noted Becerras two decades in Congress working on health care policy, including helping to author the Affordable Care Act, and his work as California attorney general to defend that law from GOP challenges. In a floor speech backing Becerra, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the Democrat who chairs the committee that considered the nomination, dismissed GOP criticisms and urged swift confirmation. Becerra proved in his nomination hearing that he is ready to lead HHS, and he knows health policy inside and out, Wyden said. Hes got decades of valuable leadership and policy experience that will help him succeed in this job. ... A country facing a health care crisis needs the Health and Human Services secretary confirmed and on the job as soon as possible. There is no justification for delay. Tal Kopan is The Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan Across a wide range of industries, business strategists are focusing sharply on the unprecedented digital transformation opportunities that are arising with the transition to fifth-generation networks. There is good reason for all the excitement. While 4G networks connected your smartphone to streaming video, 5G will radically reshape how we connect the physical to the digital world. 5G will form the fabric of smart cities, supporting communications between vehicles, and between vehicles and roadside infrastructure. Smart factories, retail fulfillment centers and shipping ports will connect workers with robots, forming collaborative workflows with the ability to adapt to frequent changes in tasks. Along the way, 5G will drive new consumer experiences, such as augmented and virtual reality, cloud-assisted gaming, and real-time language translation. This tectonic shift cannot be delivered through incremental gains building the flexible infrastructure that will enable the operation and management of 5G networks will require a transformation to cloud aligned technologies and introduction of new edge compute capacity. This is a significant opportunity for todays communication service providers. To move forward into a world of 5G-enabled services, CSPs must move beyond the limitations of todays wireless networks to more flexible, automated, and open technology. Enter Open RAN. Open RAN is focused on the development and delivery of radio access network (RAN) equipment based on open standards and open architectures. This move to interoperable, open technologies will allow for faster and more cost-effective deployment of 5G networks, which draw on innovative products and solutions from a broad ecosystem of vendors. Leading the way to Open RAN Under a recently announced initiative, NTT DOCOMO, Japans largest telecommunications company, is working with a dozen global technology leaders including Dell Technologies, Intel and VMware to accelerate the move to open, interoperable technologies for 5G networks. The new ecosystem will build on the work of the O-RAN Alliance, which NTT DOCOMO has led since its launch in early 2018. The alliance has been developing specifications and promoting products that allow operators to more freely combine disaggregated base-station equipment. NTT DOCOMO is working to package best-of-breed RAN technologies and to introduce, operate and manage them based on demands from operators considering Open RAN. It will also develop virtualized RAN (vRAN) with high flexibility and scalability to further drive Open RAN, targeting commercialization in 2022. And in the future, it will continue to cooperate with various industry partners to accelerate wide adoption of open networks, especially O-RAN and vRAN, that can cater to the diversifying needs of the industry with flexible and agile solutions. These new technologies like Open RAN are going to allow for faster deployment, particularly in rural networks. Michael Dell, Founder and CEO, Dell Technologies Source: Michael Dell, 2020 INCOMPAS Show Keynote Address The Dell Technologies view At Dell Technologies, we are actively supporting the efforts of the Open RAN movement. In addition to our work with the 5G Open RAN Ecosystem, Dell Technologies is an essential hardware platform provider for the NTT O-RAN ecosystem initiative. Our involvement with this global movement recognizes that Open RAN technologies are one of the keys to accelerating the deployment of 5G networks. They will enable a broad range of technology vendors to bring innovation to the telecom industry, while giving mobile network operators the assurance that 5G equipment will be interoperable regardless of its origin. To learn more For a closer look at what it takes to capture the 5G mobile opportunity, see the Dell Technologies and 5G white paper. Explore more 5G solutions from Dell Technologies and Intel. Cancer waiting times surged to their highest ever levels in January as the second wave of Covid stretched hospitals to breaking point, official figures revealed today. NHS England statistics showed just 83 per cent of suspected cancer patients were seen by a specialist within two weeks of an urgent referral from their GP. This is the lowest number since records began in 2009, and below the 90 per cent that were seen at the same time last year. UK charities said the figures showed Covid had 'cast a long shadow' over people living with cancer and had 'devastated' routine services. The NHS aims to see all suspected cancer patients within two weeks of their referral from a GP but has missed this target for years. As many as nine in ten people referred as a suspected cancer case do not have the disease, but experts say it is important to spot the disease early to ensure it is more easily treated. Record number of people (28,000) in January faced waits of more than two weeks to see a cancer specialist after being told they might have the disease RECORD 4.6MILLION PEOPLE ARE NOW ON NHS WAITING LISTS A record 4.6million people are now on the NHS waiting list for surgery, official data showed today as the health service scrambles to catch up with a Covid backlog. The number of people in the queue for routine procedures such as hip and knee replacements in England has surged by 170,000 since last January. And a staggering 304,000 people have already been waiting for more than a year, according to the figures for January. This is 100 times higher than at the start of the coronavirus outbreak and 200 times higher than in January 2020. Hospitals had to turf out patients during the first wave of Covid, and some during the second wave, and thousands of people saw their treatment delayed or cancelled. Cancer waiting times have also spiked because of the delays, with the proportion of suspected patients getting seen by a specialist within the two-week waiting time target down to just 83 per cent. This figure is also a record low for the NHS and it fell from 88 per cent in December last year and means nearly 30,000 people with suspected cancer waited more than a fortnight to find out for sure in January. The NHS said it saw one in three of all its Covid patients in January 2021 alone 100,000 people which 'inevitably' had an effect on its non-Covid care. Advertisement NHS England figures showed there were 28,443 people waiting longer than two weeks to see a specialist after an urgent referral from a GP in January. Doctors also made the lowest number of urgent referrals since August last year, in a warning sign patients may not be coming forward or struggled to access healthcare during the darkest days of the second wave. There were 171,231 urgent referrals made in January. For comparison, the figure for January 2020 before the pandemic hit was 191,852. Rates dropped when the first and second waves hit. Experts said the drops in referrals were concerning because cancers emerge at a 'constant rate' throughout the year. They added it may suggest patients are struggling to access healthcare or not coming forward when they start to suffer early warning signs for fear of catching the virus. For people diagnosed with the condition, a greater proportion than ever are waiting more than a month to start their treatment six per cent. Cancer Research UK chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: 'While its positive that urgent referrals did not plummet as they did in the first wave, these January figures show that the pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on cancer patients. 'Some patients faced cancellations to their cancer surgery, and this appears to be reflected in the figures. 'The NHS has worked hard to protect cancer services where possible, but the NHS will have to operate at above pre-pandemic levels to make sure people get a diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.' Macmillan Cancer Support's head of policy, Sara Bainbridge, added: 'Covid-19 continues to cast a long shadow over people living with cancer, with yet another significant drop in the number of referrals for cancer diagnosis and treatment. 'This is on top of the tens of thousands of people who are still missing a diagnosis due to disruption caused by the pandemic, which could be impacting their prognosis with each day that passes.' Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director for the NHS in England, said: 'Admitting more than 100,000 Covid patients to hospital in a single month inevitably had a knock-on effect on some non-urgent care. The waiting list for routine surgery and treatment in NHS hospitals in England is higher than ever at 4.59million 'However, thanks to the hard work of NHS staff and the innovations in treatment and care developed over the course of the pandemic, hospitals treated more than one million people with other conditions in January, at the peak of the winter wave, nearly twice as many as they did last April. 'That is a testament to the skill, dedication and commitment nurses, doctors, therapists and countless other staff showed in the most challenging period in NHS history.' 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. Marriott International has announced that after 35 incredible years with the company, Guido De Wilde, Chief Operating Officer for the Middle East, has decided to retire from the company at the end of June. Satya Anand, President EMEA, Marriott International said: Guido has delivered so much over the past three decades hes been instrumental in growing the Middle East region, but more importantly, has been responsible for the career development of so many associates across the globe. I cant thank him enough for his dedication, drive, and commitment to Marriott International. De Wilde has had a fantastic career in the hospitality business. He started with ITT Sheraton in 1983 and has since held various management positions in Bahrain, Morocco, Germany, Belgium and Portugal. Guido was the Area Manager for Starwood in Portugal and General Manager of the prestigious Pine Cliffs Resorts which operates under the Luxury Collection brand, before moving to the Middle East with Starwood in January 2006 where he held the position of Senior Vice President, Regional Director. De Wilde joined Marriott at the time of the Starwood acquisition in September 2016 as Chief Operating Officer for the Middle East. He played a pivotal role during the integration and has had responsibility for over 146 hotels across 10 countries. Anand concluded: There is no doubt that I will miss having Guido as part of my leadership team and the support and counsel he has provided me. However, I am excited for him as he steps into the next chapter of his life. The company aims to announce De Wildes replacement in the coming weeks, a statement said. -TradeArabia News Service In this article, Clare McCarthy of Nokia examines how 5G connectivity and immersive learning tools such as AR and VR will be foundational to the future of education after the pandemic. Its been clear for years that teaching models need to change. Many experts feel that todays schools and universities were established for the needs of a workforce in the 19th and 20th century industrial eras, and are not designed to generate the creativity and innovation required in a workforce for the 21st century and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Having students and teachers located in a physical classroom, with an instructor explaining topics, assigning and evaluating assignments, is an inflexible, one-size fits all approach. Schools were trying to change in order to engage with Generation Z students and address the need of 4IR, but the shift to using and teaching digital skills in education was taking years. Then the pandemic struck. Lessons stopped for an estimated 1.6 billion learners worldwide. It became clear that relatively few could access interactive online alternatives, such as Google classrooms, because these options were only possible if students had access to broadband connectivity and a laptop, tablet or smartphone. The challenge facing the education sector globally is that high speed broadband coverage needs to increase dramatically to ensure students can access engaging education and learning and development (L&D) resources remotely. In addition, teachers need to adapt and rethink their learning methods, and both teachers and students need the devices and skills to use digital technologies. But, how can we swiftly address these challenges and meet the demands of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the new kinds of jobs it is creating? What are the right workplace skills? In its paper titled 'The rise of the new-collar worker', Nokia Bell Labs Consulting (BLC) estimates that 70 percent of jobs will be new-collar jobs by 2030, and fall in to one of two categories: New blue-collar roles - Technology will expand the number and types of physical roles workers can safely perform in an array of industries - either by using exoskeletons in concert with humans, or by using robots to remove humans from hazardous situations. New white-collar roles The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will make some roles more efficient and sustainable if physical engagement is not possible, for example, diagnosing patients remotely in a disaster zone or at home during a pandemic. Platforms for lifelong learning According to the McKinsey Global Institute, as many as 375 million workers will require upskilling by 2030. Skills that are in short supply include data science and mobile web design. These skills are needed to work with technologies - such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) - that will create the new jobs over the coming decade. The 4IR requires us to develop these new and different skills if we are to enjoy its socio-economic benefits. The foundations for these skills need to be established in our education systems and developed in the workplace. Consequently, higher education and L&D in industry need to address two criteria: Overcome the digital divide to ensure everyone has access to high-speed broadband connectivity Enhance learning with advanced digital technologies to develop rounded skills for 4IR future jobs Overcoming the digital divide To ensure digital inclusion globally, regulation and policy changes are required to provide incentives and funding for high speed broadband roll-out. Special attention is needed to ensure the children in remote and low-income areas in developing nations are included in the digital community. We explore digital inclusion further in our eBook, How do we create inclusivity in a digital future? Since 2018, Nokia has been working with UNICEF Finland and UNICEF Kenya to build a multi-partner collaboration to bring internet connectivity and inclusive digital learning to Kenyan schools in rural and disadvantaged urban areas. By October 2020, the first 10 schools were connected using Nokia Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solution, which is a fast and efficient way to provide children with high-speed and high-capacity broadband needed for remote digital education. Enhanced learning with advanced digital technologies Technology consultant Daniel Arya, who shared his views on 'Rethinking higher education in the age of automation' in Futurithmic, noted that adapting the current workforce to the 4IR era will require humans and machines to work together. Educational programs will need to focus on engineering, data science, software development, real-time augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) to work with automated, AI-driven 5G-based technologies. To ensure the much-needed critical thinking and creativity, Arya notes that higher education must also embrace creative skills, arts and humanities. And itll need to reinforce leadership skills and support personalized training programs to accommodate different learning styles and those with disabilities. At MIT, for example, the Mellon-funded programs in Digital Humanities focus on creating computer tools for enhancing humanities education. At Bates College, a liberal arts college in Maine, a program has been developed to combine liberal arts education with digital and computational studies. Conclusion In the 4IR, digital technologies, 5G connectivity and immersive learning tools such as AR and VR will be foundational to the future of education and lifelong learning and development. Learning should be personalized and more engaging, so that students and workers feel invested in their work and gain greater satisfaction from positive outcomes. But to make this possible, in the developing world, the digital divide needs to be addressed to ensure that online and interactive tools can be accessed. In developing and developed markets part of the world, remote and rural communities and low-income urban areas all require connectivity and access to digital tools. As education is the vehicle that we use to accumulate the knowledge for the benefit our society, we need to look forward and get our schools and universities ready for 21st century digital era. A dawn of inclusion, creativity and innovation beckons for all of us. Download the full article to find out more about how we get learning on track for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Clare McCarthy is leading our marketing that looks at how #5G and digital technologies create a better world. She has spent over 25 years in the telecoms industry, including many years as an industry analyst and consultant. She is passionate about technology ending the #digital divide and ensuring more inclusive and #sustainable societies and economies that will help our fight against #climate change. Tweet her at @ClareMc_Nokia About Nokia We create the critical networks and technologies to bring together the worlds intelligence, across businesses, cities, supply chains and societies. With our commitment to innovation and technology leadership, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we deliver networks at the limits of science across mobile, infrastructure, cloud, and enabling technologies. Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities we need for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 72F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Patna, March 11 : In view of Holi this month, the fares of Patna bound flights have shown a sharp upward curve. People wanting to return to their native place to celebrate Holi with their families, are paying two to three times the normal air fare from major metro cities in the country. As airline companies have the luxury of applying flexible charges, the fare from Delhi to Patna reached a price band of Rs 6100 to Rs 6900 despite passengers having purchased the tickets one month in advance. "My son is living in Mukherjee Nagar of Delhi and preparing for the UPSC examination. We want him to come back home so that we can celebrate the festival of colours together. When he tried to get a railway ticket, he did not get it. Then, I purchased a flight ticket for him in the last week of February at a cost of Rs 6700. On a normal day, the flight ticket is easily available for Rs 2300 from Delhi to Patna," said Raushan Yadav, a resident of Boring Road, Patna. Due to the pandemic, a limited number of trains are running between Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune. Hence, obtaining tickets for them is extremely difficult on festive occasions like Holi. "My daughter and son-in-law are living in Hyderabad and they have purchased air tickets despite the price being very high now. In the pandemic, air travel is safer compared to trains or buses which take more time," said Raj Kishore Singh, a resident of Kankarbagh in Patna. When scanning the airlines' websites, the maximum air fare appeared on March 26 and 27, two days before Holi. The fare from Kolkata to Patna ranged between Rs 4300 to Rs 4500, Mumbai to Patna Rs 6100 to Rs 6300, Bengaluru to Patna Rs 6300 to Rs 7000, Chennai to Patna Rs 6900 to Rs 7400, Hyderabad to Patna Rs 5600 to Rs 6000. Rohit Kumar, a Patna based travel agent said: "We are witnessing maximum rush from Delhi and Bengaluru to Patna and Darbhanga in Bihar. Hence, airline companies are charging flexible fare. It is expected to rise further. Keeping in view the heavy rush, airlines may request the civil aviation department for extra flights as well." Latest updates on Holi Festival 2021 State Duma Committee backs prison terms for insults to veterans RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 12:17 11/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) The State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation has recommended that legislative amendments introducing criminal liability for humiliation of honor and dignity of veterans of the Great Patriotic War should be adopted in the second reading. The liability introduced by the amendments has already been in force as to the rehabilitation of Nazism and involves imprisonment for up to five years and sets a fine of up to 5 million rubles ($68,000 at the current exchange rate). There is a general rule that the minimum threshold of liability makes two months in detention and, accordingly, 5,000 rubles ($68), according to an author of the amendments, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Irina Yarovaya. Yarovaya said that the changes in the legislation are to be introduced for the purpose to prevent illegal actions aimed at denying the fact that the value of the heroic deeds of the veterans for all citizens of Russia and the world is not diminished by the passage of time. Among the authors of the amendments are also the Chair of the State Duma's Committee on Defense Vladimir Shamanov, Chair of the Committee on Informational Policy Alexander Khinshtein and his First Deputy Sergey Boyarsky; the lawmakers from all other political parties represented in the lower house of Russias Parliament joined those deputies from the United Russia party. Among them are the First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov (Communist Party), member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Corruption Control Andrey Lugovoy (LDPR), and First Deputy Head of the State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation Mikhail Yemelyanov (Just Russia). Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. LONDON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the fastest year of growth in its 33-year history, ICP continues to enhance its consulting, managed services and production offerings. As the pandemic changes the dynamic between customers and brands, ICP's perspective of technology and creativity drives the performance of marketing, advertising and sales assets. Managing half of Ad Age's 'Top Ten Global Advertisers', along with many of Forbes' 'World's Most Valuable Brands', ICP's clients span the consumer packaged goods, life sciences, retail, financial, fashion/luxury and media sectors. Christopher Grakal takes on ICP's expanded Chief Executive Officer role overseeing company-wide business practices and client services. A former Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting executive, Grakal joined ICP in 2016 to establish ICP Americas. Under Grakal's leadership, ICP landed engagements with leading US-based companies, acquiring five new Fortune 100 clients in just over 4 years. "This is the most exciting time to guide clients in harmonizing their marketing operations. We're working with some of the world's biggest brands to orchestrate their marketing and creative operations through their people, process and technology. Every day we're helping them modernize, boost revenues, find operating efficiencies and create greater asset value with social responsibility always being front and centre." Victor Lebon, one of ICP's top executives over 13 years, has assumed the newly established role of Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, focusing on innovating the company's offerings to deliver better outcomes for clients. Lebon's work for many of the world's leading brands has established him as an expert in marketing operations, marketing technology and content management solutions. "I feel privileged to be part of a company that values customer needs above everything else," Lebon says, "and right now, our clients need an innovation partner more than anything. We're focused on helping them re-imagine their future, navigate change aligned to business outcomes, and identify their opportunity to win with tech, marketing and creative." ICP ICP is a global consulting and services company headquartered in London, helping brand owners achieve better marketing outcomes. Modern businesses understand the necessity of putting an increasingly informed and selective customer at the centre of the way they operate. ICP delivers a customer-centric alignment through the orchestration of people, workflows, technology and data, harmonizing your marketing operations. ICP's 200+ employees located across Europe, North America and Asia are bringing order and effectiveness to the way businesses, their brands and products maintain relevance and efficacy in every major market around the globe. For more information, visit icpnet.com . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1454179/ICP_Black_Logo_Logo.jpg About a dozen community leaders stared stoically at the podium inside the Levi Lincoln Jr. room in Worcester City Hall on Wednesday evening. A mask covered each of their faces - like many gathering over the last 365 days. But the words spoken at the podium felt different as Tim Garvin, the President & CEO of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, lit a candle. The flame flickered as the number 413 displayed on a large screen. Roses filled each digit that represented the number of city residents who died of COVID-19 to date. Its an unusual evening to be memorializing those who passed and to be celebrating all of the work that weve done, Garvin said. So I decided we need a candle. The individuals gathered on the third floor on the first anniversary of the state of emergency declared by Gov. Charlie Baker regarding COVID-19. Since that time more than 500,000 Americans have died including 413 people from Worcester. Weve weathered loss and devastation before, though nothing quite like this pandemic, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said. This did not hit like a winter storm overnight and clear up a few days later. The days turned into weeks and weeks into months and now a year. As each person spoke from the podium they shared prayers, hope, experiences and some shed tears. Commissioner of Health and Human Services Dr. Mattie Castiel paused at the podium to fight back tears as she remembered those who she lost during the pandemic. Her voice quivered with emotion as she spoke. Today we recognize the first anniversary of the day the world stopped, Castiel said. With lockdowns, shutdowns and shortages. When toilet paper was a hoarded commodity and we couldnt understand why. Castiel described the fear of reporting to the frontlines of the pandemic even as she and her husband have multiple comorbidities. He credited PPE and social distancing for saving their lives. Many of the speakers also pointed to healthcare workers as a beacon of light within an otherwise hopeless year. They drew comparisons to the first responders on 9/11 as they ran toward the threat while others worked from home. The level of stress we experienced during this time still affects us as we continue to live through the world of COVID-19, Castiel. We continue to preserve because this is what we signed up to do. Experts like Castiel and Worcester Medical Director Michael Hirsh said public health would never be the same. In addition to the cases and deaths experienced within the city, the pandemic shined a spotlight into the shadows of places where Worcester may have neglected in the past. Communities of color and those living below the poverty line felt the effects of the virus more than most at a disproportionate rate. Hirsh credited the students at UMass Medical School for educating their elders about the inequity across healthcare. It was an unequal distribution of pain and loss, Hirsh said. Thats not going to escape the recognition of the powers that be that run the medical facilities and medical schools. Even in hospitals that saw such high numbers of COVID deaths, life pushed forward. Mayor Joseph Petty said more than 5,700 babies were born in Worcester over the last year. Children born in our hospitals in the most difficult circumstances, not surrounded by family like they should be, but nevertheless, gave reason to hope, Petty said. Rabbi Aviva Fellman walked to the podium nearly an hour after the ceremony began as the final speaker. She asked who the community was a year ago before the doors closed. We watched as people were dying, Fellman said. We became germaphobes hoarding toilet paper and disinfectant wipes, scared to even touch or grieve. We masked up and distanced in hopes that we could bring an end to this pandemic. Initially, the actions were thought only to last a few weeks, then a few months, with the promise of a new normal soon ahead, she said. A year later even with a vaccine, the phrase has yet to become a reality but the citys hope hasnt dwindled. Through it all, together, thats what Worcester is, together, Garvin said. Tonight, we remember those who we lost and I also celebrate the Worcester I love and the community we are. Related Content: A legal notice has been sent to the of India (ECI) on Thursday seeking to debar election campaigners for violation of COVID-19 protocol during campaigning in Assembly of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry. Vikram Singh, former Director-General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, and presently the Chancellor of Noida International University and Chairman of Think Tank Centre has sent the notice to the ECI and urged it to take strict action against those who are not following its directions of mandatory masks. Singh, in a notice filed through advocate Virag Gupta, mentioned if the Commission failed to take action, he would be compelled to approach the High Court seeking necessary directions. He stated that the Commission had directed that every person shall wear a face mask during every election-related activity. "Further, the vide its Advisory dated October 21, 2020, sought the cooperation of all political parties to follow instructions related to pandemic at all stages, especially wherever public interface in physical form is involved and held that observance of the preventive measures including wearing a mask, use of sanitiser, observance of social distancing is a duty cast upon all the stakeholders in the larger interest of public health," read the notice. He further added that there are many instances wherein campaigners and their supporters are not wearing masks while campaigning for the Photos and videos showing the same are replete across electronic and print media, and on many occasions, shared by the campaigners themselves, read the notice. "There is an old adage saying as the king so are the subjects. It is submitted that when the VIPs (MLAs, MPs, Ministers and Chief Ministers) are not wearing the masks, expecting all of the general public to wear the same is an expectation too high, " Vikram Singh stated. "When the nation is spending billions of rupees on the security of VIP leaders, they must follow the masking guidelines," he said. The notice also mentioned that the Delhi High Court, on March 8, has taken suo moto cognizance of non-wearing of masks by several persons in the Air India flight from Kolkata to Delhi, has also issued notice to DGCA and Air India, and wing strict guidelines including to ensure that all passengers are complying with the protocol to be followed by them in flight, especially regarding wearing of masks. (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 on Thursday passed an order to set aside the Election Commission's rejection of Trinamool Congress candidate Ujjwal Kumar from Joypur assembly seat and permitted him to contest the polls based on nomination papers submitted by him. The Court passed the order while hearing the matter of rejection of the nomination of candidate from Joypur assembly. Earlier today, the Election Commission rejected the nomination of Kumar from the Joypur assembly seat. BJP candidate Narhari Mahato is also in the fray in Joypur. She is a former Forward Bloc MP who recently joined the BJP. Elections to 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance and the BJP in the fray. While Mamata Banerjee is seeking her third consecutive term, BJP has set a target of winning 200 seats in the 294-member state Assembly. (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.) PARIS Dozens of protesters stood outside the Colline theater here on Wednesday, waving signs. Better The Rite of Spring than a massacre until spring, read one; We want to dream again, said another. The protesters were there to support others inside the building who have occupied the playhouse since Tuesday, demanding the reopening of theaters across France. Cultural institutions here have been closed since October, when rising coronavirus cases led the government to heavily restrict social life. France has lifted some restrictions since, including on some stores, but there is still a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in cities, restaurants can only offer takeout, and museums, music venues and movie theaters remain closed. Protesters, most of them actors, theater workers and students, now occupy at least seven theaters across the country including the Odeon Theater in Paris and the National Theater of Strasbourg in the hope of forcing the government to restart cultural life. Stated AAI Board Chair Semingson, "Since he joined us in 2012, Paul's contributions as President and CEO have literally solidified the organization's position and public perception as the primary advocate for Philadelphia's main cultural corridor, and center of our vibrant arts and culture community. His leadership has enabled us to work closely with Avenue stakeholders as well as city and state legislatures to benefit both the Avenue and the City of Philadelphia, and bring in funding to allow us to reach and exceed our goals." Focusing on three priorities-- capital reinvestment; keeping the Avenue clean, safe and inviting; and marketing outreach to drive traffic Beideman has spearheaded AAI's efforts to improve and enhance the Avenue, such as: New intersections and crosswalks at Chestnut, Sansom, Moravian and Walnut Streets and Walnut Streets Landscaping, maintaining and upgrading the look and presence of the Avenue, including the installation of LED lighting on Victorian masts Expanding the Friends of the Avenue of the Arts to over 2500 members; and establishing AAI's now annual Visionary Award gala Mr. Beideman, who recently has been appointed Chair of Widener University's Board of Trustees, began his 40 year career in banking at the Philadelphia Savings Society in 1971 and became the Senior Vice President of Community Banking. He joined Mellon Bank in 1989, where he was the Chairman of Mellon's Mid-Atlantic Region, Executive Vice President of Retail Financial Services and a member of Mellon's Senior Management Committee. From 2003 until 2012 he served as President and CEO of Associated Banc-Corp, a $35 billion institution based in Wisconsin. A graduate of Millersville University and a 1979 graduate of Widener University with a master's degree in finance, he and his wife, Caroline, have established the Beideman Visiting Scholar program within the Leadership Institute. In 2016 he was honored with the Philadelphia Business Journal's Distinguished Directors Award. In addition to his involvement with Widener and AAI, he has served on the boards of many other nonprofits including the Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia Academies, The Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, University of Wisconsin Green Bay, the Make A Wish Foundation and President's Council of the Natural Lands Trust. Avenue of the Arts, Inc. is the organization that champions investment on the Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia's theater and cultural arts district. One of America's great streets, the Avenue is an economic engine for both the city and the region. It generates over $1 billion annually in economic impact from performance venues, hotels, restaurants, schools and residents, attracts more than 2.5 million visitors each year, and plays a critical role in helping to keep Philadelphia's cultural community vibrant and thriving. For more information, please visit www.avenueofthearts.org. SOURCE Avenue of the Arts, Inc. Related Links http://www.avenueofthearts.org Pay Commission which is established by the Government of India to recommend improvements in the compensation structure of employees of the Central government. The Central government is planning to implement the New Wage Code Bill 2021 or the new labour law from 1st April 2021. The salary, gratuity, changes in working hours, and provident fund of Central government employees will be impacted if the Central government decides to implement the New Wage Code Bill 2021. The introduction of the New Wage Code Bill 2021 will have both advantages and disadvantages. According to reports, the provident fund contribution will rise, while in-hand salary will be low. Many central government employees are waiting for the Dearness Allowance (DA) increase. The New Wage Code Bill 2021 would affect the basic pay structure of an employee as it has the provision of changes in the basic salary of the employees at 50 percent of one's monthly Cost To Company (CTC). Subsequently, the PF, Gratuity, Travel Allowance, Dearness Allowance, and House Rent Allowance will also be affected. Changes in Salary Once the New Wage Code Bill 2021 comes into effect, the salary will adjust dramatically. The In-hand salary of the central government employee will be decreased. Also Read: Cities See Growth In Hiring, IT Sector Reflects Benefits of Remote Work After Covid Gratuity Rules The employees even if they have been employed for just one year will be entitled to gratuity. Currently, employees get gratuity after five years of constant work in the same organisation. This will be for the first time that any changes will be made in the labour laws if the New Wage Code Bill 2021 is implemented. Contribution to PF According to existing rules, 12 percent of the minimum wage now goes to PF. When the basic salary reaches 50 percent of the CTC, the allocation to the PF will automatically increase. However, the Central government is yet to decide on whether New Wage Code Bill 2021 will be implemented from April 1, 2021, or not. Nouakchott, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :A state prosecutor in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott on Thursday requested corruption charges against former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and about ten other senior figures, his office said. The prosecutor also asked that Aziz, one of his sons-in-law, two former prime ministers, five former government ministers and four businessmen be placed under judicial supervision. A judge in the vast Saharan country is due to decide on the request later Thursday. Sports Naples calls for submission of ideas for Maradona statue ROME, MAR 10 (IANS) | Publish Date: 3/10/2021 12:51:06 PM IST The city of Naples called for submissions starting for a statue or other monument to honour football great Diego Maradona, who played for local club Napoli at the peak of his career. News reports on Tuesday said that the two major murals in tribute to Maradona were close to completion in the city, one of them some 12 meters (39 feet) in height, the Xinhua news agency reported. But the biggest news involved the plans for a major statue to pay homage to Maradona. The city invited sculptors to submit ideas for the newest monument in a city already filled with cultural riches including the 12th-century Castel Ovo, the 2,000-year-old Catacombs of San Gennaro, the Renaissance-era Royal Palace, and the baroque San Carlo Theater. The contest for submissions was formally opened on Tuesday. The submissions will be evaluated by a committee made up of city officials, prominent art critics, football players, and Maradonas son, Diego Armando Jr. Maradona, who died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020 in his native Argentina, played for Napoli from 1984-1991, a period that included the teams only two Serie A championships. His death sparked an outpouring of grief in Naples, marked in part by Napolis decision to change the name of what had been named San Paolo Stadium since it was constructed in 1959, to Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in the wake of the players death. The team also retired Maradonas number 10, meaning it cannot be used by future players. Oklahoma Construction Contractor Cited for Repeat Trenching, Excavation Hazards The consequences of unsafe trench, excavation work can be fatal. OSHA has cited Cherokee Pride Construction Inc. of Sapulpa, Okla. for serious violations related to excavation work. According to a press release from agency, inspectors arrived at a job site in September 2020 to find employees in standing water as they installed water lines in two trenches as part of a street widening project. OSHA said it determined that the company failed to protect workers from cave-ins and did not provide appropriate means of escape. Workers were also not wearing required PPE for the job. This isnt the first time this company has been in hot water with OSHA. Back in 2017, the agency cited the company three times for failing to provide trench workers personal protective equipment, a means of escape and hazard recognition training, allowing standing water inside excavation sites, and failing to fix ladder defects. OSHA noted that excavation work is among the most dangerous in the construction industry. Trenches can collapse around and atop workers, crushing and burying them quickly and sometimes fatally. OSHA recognizes the incidents of workers seriously hurt from trenching and excavation hazards, said OSHA Area Director Steven A. Kirby in Oklahoma City. The agency's national emphasis program on trenching and excavation focuses its resources on preventing the potential for collapses. A video on OSHAs Trenching and Excavation webpage lists five things you should know to stay safe when working around trenches or excavations. They are: Ensure a safe entry and exit. Trenches must have cave-in protection. Keep materials away from the edges of the trench. Look for standing water or other hazards. Never enter a trench unless it has been inspected. OSHA has cited Cherokee Pride Construction Inc. for two willful, four repeat and three serious violations, and has proposed penalties totaling $205,500. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citation and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHAs area director, or contest the findings before the Independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. At least seven people have been killed in Myanmar after security forces opened fire on anti-coup protesters, according to witnesses and local media, as Myanmars military government accused deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi of accepting illegal payments. The violence comes after the United Nations Security Council called on the military to exercise utmost restraint in its response to peaceful demonstrators and rights group Amnesty International accused the military of adopting battlefield tactics against peaceful demonstrators. The March 27th auction features a musical arsenal of vintage, prototype and one-of-a-kind guitars including rare 1958 and 1959 Gibson Les Pauls, 1956 Fender Strat, Black Gibson Byrdland, Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul, early Paul Reed Smith prototype and more. Vintage touring equipment will also be auctioned, including the entire back line used by The Nuge during thousands of shows, pyrotechnic stage guns, tour-used speaker cabinets, concert equipment and stage decor. The Ted Nugent Guns, Guitars & Hot Rod Cars Auction features an amazing selection of over 200 personal firearms, including custom Ted Nugent guns, personal carry guns, presentation guns, Ted Nugent Ammo, plus a vast selection of Uncle Ted's personal Archery Equipment, memorabilia and more. Cars up for auction from the Nugent fleet include a prized, fully restored 1968 Ford Bronco and a custom 2015 Dodge Hellcat Challenger personally owned and operated by The Nuge. "Uncle Ted has powerlived the ultimate American Dream of life, liberty, pursuit of ultra happiness and an accumulation of the coolest stuff available to mankind. But alas, like the greatest philosopher of all time stated, "A good man has to know his limitations!" (Dirty Harry @1970)," said Ted Nugent. "So, as I throttle into my 73rd firebreathing clean and sober year, it is nigh time to streamline, and lucky, lucky you, I am auctioning off some of my Xtremely unique one-of-a-kind Nuge goodies for ya all to display, use and absorb the NugeGonzoMOJO that each and every item reeks of. I found a guy that I trust to fondle and auction off a lifetime of accumulation of the greatest energized stuff that a guy could ever hope for Robb Burley. Burley Auction Gallery has handled some of the biggest estates and some of the most valuable family heirlooms in the history of auctions, so I appreciate his integrity and his professionalism." "I can't thank Ted enough for giving us a chance to work with him on this auction. It's been a huge honor to catalog Ted's lifetime collection of one-of-a-kind guitars, personal firearms and cars," said Robb Burley. "This is going to be an auction for the ages it's a lifetime celebration of a rock legend. Ted Nugent's mojo is all over this collection and we're expecting people to come from all 50 states and thousands of online bidders to be a part of this once in a lifetime auction event." WHEN: The Ted Nugent Guns, Guitars & Hot Rod Cars Auction: Saturday, March 27th at Tucker Hall in Waco Texas. Auction starts at 10:00am Auction Preview: Friday, March 26th Noon-6:00pm and Saturday, March 27th 8:00-10:00am WHAT ELSE: Live auction with spaced limited seating available. Seat reservations required. Live online, phone, & absentee bidding available. For online catalog and complete details visit: www.burleyauction.com & www.TedNugentauction.com. WHO: About Burley Auction Gallery Founded in 2004 by Robb Burley, Burley Auction Gallery is a nationally recognized auction house specializing in Texana and historic Western Americana. Burley Auction House has managed many high-profile auctions including the final auction of the Roy Rogers museum collection, Texas Ranger Captain and U.S. Marshal Jack Dean's gun collection, Austin's Threadgill's restaurant, and Eddie Wilson's Armadillo World Headquarters memorabilia collection. Burley Auction Gallery also auctioned off an entire Texas ghost town which was the subject of the PBS documentary "The Grove Texas." Visit www.burleyauction.com for more information. About Ted Nugent To millions of music lovers, Ted Nugent has carved a permanent place in rock & roll history, selling more than 40 million albums, performing more than 6,750 high-octane concerts and continuing to set attendance records at venues around the globe. To further millions, Nugent is the nation's most outspoken proponent of our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, conducting thousands of pro-gun, pro-freedom, pro-America interviews in major media worldwide. He serves on the Board of Directors of Gun Owners of America, and has served continuously on the Board of Directors of the NRA since his initial election in 1995. Ted Nugent was named Detroit's Greatest Guitar Player of All Time by readers of MLive. His award-winning Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild television show recently celebrated its 500th episode. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. Media Contact: For interview requests for Ted Nugent and Robb Burley, please contact: Alexandra Elliott, Burley Auction Gallery, [email protected]. SOURCE Burley Auction Gallery Related Links http://www.burleyauction.com Nacogdoches, TX (75965) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Aqua Security, a Tel Aviv headquartered, pure-play cloud native security leader, on Wednesday completion of $135 million in Series E funding led by ION Crossover Partners, putting Aqua's valuation in excess of $1 billion. The round included broad participation from Aqua's existing investors, including M12 - Microsoft's venture fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Insight Partners, TLV Partners, Greenspring Associates, and Acrew Capital. This new round of investment follows a period of tremendous growth and will enable the company to broaden and deepen its solution portfolio, as well as expand its presence geographically, said the company which has its presence in Hyderabad. Aqua Security's total funding since its founding in 2015 now totals $265 million. The company's focus on cloud native security has enabled enterprises adopting technologies such as Kubernetes and containers, serverless, and other cloud-based workloads to accelerate their business while meeting strict compliance and security requirements. Aqua's customer list includes some of the world's leading organizations including 5 of the top 10 banks in the world. Aqua established its Indian R&D centre in Hyderabad in early 2019 and has rapidly grown its operations in India to more than 50 headcounts today. The company plans to double its investment in India in 2021, making the India Centre becoming its fastest growing R&D centre. Aqua is looking to expand its R&D team by 100 per cent in 2021 to become at least 20% of the overall global workforce and add additional functions to the site as well. Aqua India presently plays a significant role in Aqua's growth journey by providing innovative scalable solutions in the cloud-native space and will continue to do the same. In India Aqua's focus will be on enhancing its offerings by innovation, research and development and supporting the customers. In addition to the development and customer support functions, Aqua is also focused on driving strategic engagements with key GSIs (Global System Integrator) based out of India such as TATA Consultancy Services, HCL, Wipro, etc. Aqua will continue to invest in its partnership with GSIs to build a stronger partner ecosystem and deliver on global projects for large customers, the company added. Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 04:33:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Bashar al-Masri, chairman of Palestine Development and Investment Company Ltd., poses for a photo beside solar panels during the launch ceremony of a large solar energy project in eastern Gaza City, on March 10, 2021. A large solar energy project, the first of its kind in Palestine, was inaugurated on Wednesday to generate electricity for the industrial zone in the besieged Gaza Strip, officials said. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) GAZA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A large solar energy project, the first of its kind in Palestine, was inaugurated on Wednesday to generate electricity for the industrial zone in the besieged Gaza Strip, officials said. At the launching ceremony, Bashar al-Masri, chairman of Palestine Development and Investment Company Ltd., said the project has cost about 12 million U.S. dollars, and includes more than 21,000 solar cells, which are installed on the roofs of 32 industrial buildings, with a production capacity of 7.3 megawatts. The project will provide electricity to all the factories, government offices, international institutions, and commercial establishments located in the industrial zone, he said. "The project is important to boost the economy in the Gaza Strip ... especially at this crucial time to resolve the large deficit in the energy sector in the strip," al-Masri said. The 480,000 square-meter industrial zone was established in eastern Gaza city, close to the borders with Israel, in 1996, which provides more than 2,500 job opportunities. Enditem MINSK -- Belarusian video blogger Syarhey Tsikhanouski, who has been in pretrial detention since May, has been served with final charges that could see him imprisoned for up to 15 years after he expressed his willingness to take part in an August presidential election against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The Investigative Committee of Belarus said on March 11 that the investigations against Tsikhanouski, opposition politician Mikalay Statkevich, and their associates had been completed. According to the final charges, Tsikhanouski is accused of organizing mass disorder, incitement of social hatred, impeding the Central Election Commission's activities, and organizing activities that disrupt social order. Tsikhanouski was the owner of a popular YouTube channel called The Country For Life, which challenges Belarusian authorities, when he announced his willingness to run against Lukashenka early last year. Shortly after Tsikhanouskis candidacy was rejected by election officials, he was arrested in May 2020 and has been held in jail since as he awaited charges. His wife, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, took over during the campaign and ran as a candidate in the presidential poll. She has turned into the main challenger to Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994. The European Union and the United States have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus after he claimed a landslide victory in the August 9 election that has been widely criticized as fraudulent. The results have sparked months of mass protests and have been contested by Tsikhanouskaya, whose supporters claim she won the vote, as well as opposition figures across the country. Lukashenka has overseen a violent crackdown on the protesters, which has seen thousands -- including media members -- detained and scores injured. Overall, more than 1,800 criminal cases have been launched over the protests against the official results of the presidential election. Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus immediately after the vote fearing for her family's security. She currently lives in Lithuania with her children. Most leading opposition figures have been forced from the country, while many of those still in Belarus have been detained by law enforcement. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The mother of an 11-year-old Colorado boy with autism has filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that school officials and sheriff's deputies in a suburban Denver county 'aggressively handcuffed' and detained him for hours after he poked a classmate with a pencil. The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages, filed in US District Court on Tuesday, contends that deputies left the boy, identified in the complaint only as 'A.V.,' handcuffed, alone and without medical help for his self-inflicted injuries for two hours. The incident took place in the summer of 2019 and was captured on a school resource officer's body camera, which shows the boy having his hands restrained behind his back while crying out, 'You're hurting me! Let go!' Shocking body camera video shows school resource officers in Colorado handcuffing an 11-year-old boy with autism in August 2019. The incident is now the subject of a federal lawsuit The officers were called in after the boy, identified only as A.V., stabbed a classmate with a pencil after that child wrote on him with a marker Video shows A.V. screaming in terror and pleading with the SROs to let him go The child is grabbed and placed in handcuffs while letting out blood-curdling shrieks The child, dressed in a blue striped shirt, continues to plead with the officers to release him, saying, 'You don't even know what the word "stop" means?' before he repeatedly bashes his head against a concrete wall. After the child lets out a terrifying shriek, one of the officers chides him, saying: 'You're just making this worse. Just relax.' The 11-year-old continues to resist and screams at the officers, 'You're choking me!' The officers eventually lead the boy out of the school and try to forcibly place him in the back of a patrol vehicle. 'I'm not asking you anymore,' one of the officers sternly tells the distraught child as he tries to thwart their attempts to get him into the backseat. 'I'm telling you what we're doing.' Michelle Hanson, A.V.'s mother, said her son would not speak or eat after being bailed out of the detention center The autistic child cries and resists throughout the ordeal, prompting the officers to yell at him to 'stop' and 'relax' The 11-year-old is seen in the video being marched through the school and out into the parking lot to be placed in a patrol car Thee lawsuit claims officials did not seek medical attention for the boy when he banged his head on a plexiglass partition in the patrol car After finally being seated, A.V. screams, 'It's hurting me,' and unleashes a series of blood-curdling screeches before the video cuts off. According to the lawsuit, officials did not seek medical attention for the boy when he banged his head on a plexiglass partition in the patrol car and that he was held in a youth detention center on various assault and resisting arrest charges until his parents could post a $25,000 bond. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. The boy's detention happened on August 29, 2019, when the boy poked a classmate with a pencil and drew blood after the classmate wrote on him with a marker at Sagewood Middle School in Parker, according to the lawsuit. It added that A.V. is sensitive to touch and became agitated when the classmate used the marker on him. The boy was calming down with the help of the school psychologist when school resource police officers notified by the school's principal arrived and the boy was arrested, the lawsuit says. As seen in the body camera video, the child was handcuffed and taken into custody for investigation of misdemeanor assault for allegedly injuring his classmate, two charges of misdemeanor harassment for allegedly striking school staff, and second-degree felony assault of a peace officer and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest, the lawsuit says. The charges were later dropped. 'When we saw him, his forehead and arms were so swollen and bruised,' Michelle Hanson, the mother of the boy, said in a statement released by the ACLU. 'After we bailed him out, he wouldn't eat, wouldn't speak. A.V. was - is - definitely traumatized. We all are.' The lawsuit claims the school district and three sheriff's deputies acting as school resource officers violated the child's rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act and seeks unspecified damages from the Douglas County School District, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock and the three school resource officers. A.V. attended Sagewood Middle School in Douglas County as part on an affective needs program for students with special needs The officers violated the boy's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force, the lawsuit says. 'The whole thing was handled horribly, I think there could have been many other measures that could have been used,' Hanson told CBS Denver. In a statement late Tuesday, the sheriff's office said it had just received the lawsuit and could not comment on it. But it did say: 'When we receive a call for service, especially one that involves a criminal allegation, we must respond. In this particular incident, it was reported that a student had stabbed another student with a pair of scissors. It was also reported that a staff member had been assaulted.' The sheriff's office did not elaborate. According to the lawsuit, the school's principal told two responding officers that the classmate had asked the boy to "stop doing something in class, and A.V. responded by 'stabbing' (the classmate) with a pencil.' The lawsuit claimed that the principal and the school's dean of students 'alleged that A.V. pushed past them' when asked to leave the classroom. In a statement, the Douglas County School District said that it had not received the complaint and could not analyze its allegations. Denton, TX (76205) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early. Scattered thunderstorms developing later at night. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Footage of the January 6 Capitol insurrection revealed hundreds of references to 1776in signs and in speeches, on t-shirts and hats and stickers. 1776 was chanted in the Capitol halls by leading figures within the so-called alt-right, including some who had also participated in the racist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, and by those who believed themselves participants in the dawn of the next American revolution. The Proud Boys, too, cite this date; they sell their merch through a store called 1776. We are researchers of media manipulation and disinformation at the Harvard Kennedy Schools Shorenstein Center, and we wanted to know more about how 1776 became the battle cry of the insurrection. Our research reveals that the popularity of 1776 owes in part to keyword squattinga tactic by which right-wing media have dominated the keywords 1619 and critical race theory and enabled a racialized disinformation campaign, waged by Trump and his acolytes, against Black civil rights gains. According to Google trends data for the past five years, 1776 showed an annual spike around July 4. But after the publication of The 1619 Project, the New York Times journalistic series that tells the history of Black Americans role in creating the nation, 1776 became a popular conservative rejoinder. In September 2020, Trump formed the 1776 Commission to support what he termed patriotic education. (The commission was part of a series of racist retaliations against Black civil rights organizing and educators pledging to teach a more comprehensive, diverse, and inclusive US history; Trump later signed an executive order banning critical race theory from federally funded organizations.) When he announced the commission, Trump explicitly targeted critical race theory and the 1619 Project, calling both toxic propagandaideological poison that, if not removed, will dissolve the civic bonds that tie us together. On January 18, 2021Martin Luther King Jr. DayTrump released The 1776 Report, a long screed meant to wipe away academic and journalistic efforts to reconcile Americans history of violence, displacement, and racial and ethnic trauma. The report recast the racist roots of American education; for instance, in the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan promoted a public-school curriculum that emphasized Americanizing all foreignersan effort, in part, to prevent Catholics and immigrant groups from establishing their own schools and curricula in non-English languages. Klan members ran successfully for school board positions across the country, popularizing the slogan of America Firsta phrase which, coincidentally, featured prominently at this years Conservative Political Action Conference, and appears in the name of a far-right political action conference. The report fizzled in the wake of the Capitol riot; still, its an exemplary piece of racialized disinformation that claims to identify problems with contemporary American education, but often espouses color-blind racism by minimizing how racial inequalities shape educational outcomes in the US. So, why was Trump so invested in retaliating against the 1619 Project? The project unsettled the education systems dominant narratives. It pieced together the history of slavery in the US from the perspective of those who were enslaved. It brought into the present day the continuing consequences of slavery as well as the contributions of Black Americans over a 400-year period. It also offered a damning critique of whiteness as a social constructone whose scope, over time, has broadened to include Germans, Greeks, Irish, Italians, and Spaniards to maintain structural barriers that keep power concentrated in the hands of a few. Teachers became excited about using materials from the project in their classrooms and began sharing curriculum online; recently, the Pulitzer Center announced a program called the 1619 Project Education Network to train educators in media literacy and racial justice. For the right-wing, criticizing the project became a cause celebre, taken up by figures like New York Times Opinion columnist Bret Stephens, who termed 1619 a failed project, and Newt Gingrich, who remarked, during a Fox and Friends interview, The whole project is a lie. Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Times journalist who conceived of the project, endured racist harassment and death threats across social media. Sign up for CJR 's daily email As researchers, we wanted to assess the pervasiveness and tactics of racialized disinformation. Using Media Cloud, a tool created by MIT and Harvard for analyzing news, we compared coverage of 1619 by right-wing media (including The Federalist, Fox News, Daily Wire, and the National Review, among others) and left-wing media (including The Root, Daily Kos, Salon, and The Grio, among others) in the US. According to our analysis, right-wing media wrote nearly three times as frequently about 1619 than the left-wing media did. Similarly, between September 2020 and February 2021, right-wing media covered critical race theory twice as frequently as left-wing media. This asymmetrical coverage is indicative of keyword squatting, a networked propaganda strategy that ensures the counter viewpoint is steadfastly tethered to these keywords across a range of platformsincluding Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, and especially on the front page of Google Search. Keyword squattingdefined by the Media Manipulation Casebook as the practice of creating online contentaround a specific search-engine-optimized term so as to dominate the search results of that termhas been leveraged by right-wing media to extend the duration of attention to propaganda campaigns, including those linked to controversial keywords like antifa or the caravan. And it works: Googles top news stories on critical race theory reflect ongoing bombastic headlines, like Chinese Americans mobilize against critical race theory, from Fox News, or Critical Race Theory is Indoctrination, not History, from Real Clear Politics. Likewise, searching for 1619 on YouTube returns a video from conservative outlet PragerU titled, Whats wrong with the 1619 project? Had Trump won reelection, his 1776 Report would have been called up by conservatives as an authoritative source on Americas foundingas if the thousands of history books, written from the perspectives of white people, were not enough. Instead, Trump lost the election. Within hours of taking office, Bidens team removed the 1776 Report from the active White House website. (It remains on the archived site of the Trump administration.) In search engines, the report has been buried by the American Historical Associations statement of condemnation. Count this as a temporary win. It is not possible for our nation to move forward without repairing the damage of a history erased by slavery and denied by those who seek to rewrite US history. What makes a nation strong is not its ability to tell a unified story of its founding, but rather its efforts to grapple with the sum of us, so that we may forge our collective identity through self-determinationand so that we may realize our highest moral duty to fix this divided house. ICYMI: What the pandemic means for paywalls Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Brandi Collins-Dexter and Joan Donovan are the authors. Collins-Dexter is senior research fellow at Harvard Kennedy Schools Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, and is the former campaign director at Color of Change. Donovan is the research director at Harvard Kennedy Schools Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. Gardai who seized 90 kilos of cannabis with a 1.8 million street value concealed in the panels of a van at Ringaskiddy on Tuesday charged a 21-year-old Polish man with drugs charges. Detective Garda Dermot Crowley made the arrest at Port of Cork, Ringaskiddy, on Tuesday and charged 21-year-old Kamil Wlizlo of Piekne, Elk, Poland, that on March 9 he had possession of a controlled drug, namely cannabis, and he had the drug for sale or supply. It was reported that the drug detector dog Marley helped to sniff out the drugs during the search of the Polish-registered van, which had arrived from Roscoff, France. The charges follow the discovery by customs officers of drugs wrapped in 37 separate parcels in a van that disembarked from the Brittany Ferries vessel, Armorique upon its arrival in Cork. Det. Garda Dermot Crowley of the Cork City Divisional Drugs Squad gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution and told how he charged Mr Wlizlo with the assistance of a Polish interpreter. He said that Mr Wlizlo made no reply to either the possession charge or the possession for sale or supply charge when they were put to him after caution following translation by the interpreter. Sergeant Pat Lyons said gardai were seeking a remand in custody for the accused and he applied for a weeks adjournment in the case against Mr Wlizlo who was also assisted in court by an interpreter. Defence solicitor, Frank Buttimer said the young Polish man was not applying for bail at this point so he was reserving his position on the matter though he indicated it was very unlikely he would apply for bail in the future. Mr Buttimer stressed that his client had virtually no English and he said he would be applying for an interpreter to again assist with matters when the case is next up for mention. He also applied for free legal aid, saying that Mr Wlizlo was a man of extremely limited means and Sgt Lyons said that gardai accepted that he qualified for free legal aid. Judge Olann Kelleher remanded Mr Wlizlo in custody to appear again in court on March 18 by video link and he also granted him free legal aid and appointed Mr Buttimer to represent him. HONG KONG, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AMTD Group announced that Airstar Digital (fomerly named as Xiaomi Digital), a subsidiary of Xiaomi Corporation, invested in AMTD Capital, a subsidiary of AMTD International (NYSE: HKIB; SGX: HKB). AMTD Capital has obtained an approval earlier last year by the Chinese regulator to operate as a foreign-invested investment management firm in Hengqin. Xiaomi Finance (Hong Kong) Limited, a subsidiary of Airstar Digital, officially signed the strategic collaboration agreement with AMTD International. Under the agreement, Airstar Digital will invest into new shares to own 49.87% of AMTD Capital. Mr. Zhao Weixing, Vice President of Airstar Digital and former Chief Executive of XW Bank, will join the Board of AMTD Capital. AMTD Capital will also be renamed as AM Capital. Recently, Mr. Calvin Choi, Chairman and CEO of AMTD Group, and Mr. Zhao Weixing, Vice President of Airstar Digital, in their capacity as representatives of the shareholders and members of the Board of Directors of AM Capital, met face to face in Hong Kong to discuss further cooperation opportunities and held the first Board meeting. The meeting focused on how the two shareholders can maximize synergies and support AM Capital to implement its "Enterprise+" strategic investment methodology, and its investment direction to focus into FinTech, ecosystem building, and smart manufacturing companies. The objective is to provide enterprises with long term but low-cost capital to support their long-term development, and at the same time provide multi-dimensional value-added services such as strategic modeling, process optimization, industry consolidation, financing support, and business development for the pre-IPO or listed companies. Mr. Calvin Choi, Chairman and CEO of AMTD Group and Mr. Zhao Weixing, Vice President of Airstar Digital, jointly signed the board resolution. AM Capital is the second corporate level equity co-investment and collaboration between AMTD Group and Airstar Digital, following the joint establishment of Airstar Bank. AM Capital's management team will comprise of core members from both AMTD Group and Airstar Digital. In addition, Mr. Feng Juwen, Deputy Director for Hengqin Financial Services Bureau, and Mr. Luo Hao, Assistant Director of Hengqin Financial Services Bureau, led a team to visit AM Capital. During the meeting, Mr. Feng firmly expressed that the Hengqin Financial Services Bureau would actively support and assist AM Capital's business development and promote its business in the Greater Bay Area. Serving as one of AMTD Group's key platforms in the Greater Bay Area, as well as aligning with Airstar Digital's strategic direction in the digital finance sector, AM Capital will follow the governments' lead in the region to promote financial openness and innovation, deepening financial cooperation between Hong Kong, Macau, and China, assuming the strategic role to bridge cross-border investment and financing. About AMTD International Inc. AMTD International Inc. (NYSE: HKIB; SGX: HKB) is a premier Hong Kong-headquartered financial institution group connecting companies and investors from Asia, including China and Hong Kong as well as the ASEAN markets with global capital markets. Its comprehensive one-stop financial service solutions strategy addresses different clients' diverse and inter-connected financial needs across all phases of their life cycles. Leveraging its deep roots in Asia and its unique eco-system the "AMTD SpiderNet" the Company is uniquely positioned as an active super-connector between clients, business partners, investee companies, and investors, connecting the East and the West. SOURCE AMTD London, March 11 : Liverpool beat Leipzig 2-0 to ease into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals 4-0 on aggregate while Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 with Barcelona at home to see off the Spanish giants 5-2 over two legs from the tournament. The English champions defeated their German opponents 2-0 nearly three weeks ago in Budapest, then returned to the Hungary capital on Wednesday for their second-leg game, Xinhua news reports. They wasted several chances before finally opening the scoring in the 70th minute as Mohamed Salah collected Diogo Jota's pass to hit the bottom corner. Four minutes later, Sadio Mane added a second for the Reds from close range. After suffering their sixth straight home defeat Sunday, Liverpool are only eighth with 10 matches to go in the Premier League. The draw for the quarter-final will take place on Friday. At the Parc des Princes in Paris, French star Kylian Mbappe put hosts PSG ahead with a 30th-minute penalty, but Lionel Messi equalised with a stunning long-distance strike seven minutes later. However, it was far from enough for the visitors as they still kept a three-goal deficit from the 4-1 loss in the first leg. Barcelona failed to reach the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since the 2006-2007 season. Mamata Banerjee with injuries on her legs and forehead, was later brought to Kolkata in a Green Corridor and was admitted to SSKM Hospital Kolkata: Hours after filing her nomination in Nandigram, the hot seat of the West Bengal Assembly Election, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, in an explosive claim, alleged that she was attacked by a group of men in a "conspiracy" in absence of the cops including the East Midnapore superintendent of police in the constituency on Wednesday evening leaving her injured. The Trinamul Congress supremo, with injuries on her legs and forehead, was later brought to Kolkata in a Green Corridor and was admitted to Woodburn Ward in SSKM Hospital after she was wheeled in a stretcher. A five-member medical board is treating her. When governor Jagdeep Dhankhar rushed to see the CM, he was greeted with 'Go Back' slogan. TMC has launched protests in the state also. Rattled by Ms Banerjee's complaint, the Election Commission has sought a report about the serious security breach from the district administration. Ms Banerjee, who earlier had plans to return to Kolkata by Wednesday evening, changed her mind and decided to spend another night in Nandigram after filing her nomination at Haldia during the day and come back to the city on Thursday for the release of TMC manifesto. In the evening she visited a religious festival in Ranichak where Kirtan was performed and also made a brief address in her bid to reach out to the public. Suddenly the CM, who is a Z-plus category protectee and is surrounded by a contingent of at least 25 security personnel in the close quarter, apparently fell down, according to sources close to her. She was later seen applying ice on her legs. Seated on the front of her car, Ms Banerjee, while gasping for breath, told the media, "Standing beside my car, I was doing Namaskar. Suddenly four-five men blocked my car. They shoved and pushed me leaving me injured. My legs got swollen. It is paining very much." Asked about any foul play, she added, "It was a conspiracy definitely. The attack was deliberate. No police were present there. Even the SP was not there. I will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission." Later the CM was seen being carried out by her security personnel of the front seat and placed in the middle of the car. Without taking the name of the BJP, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "Some people do not like Ms Banerjee to win again." Questioning Ms Banerjee's version Barrackpore BJP MP Arjun Singh wondered, "Who will attack her being the CM as well as the home minister of the state? How can someone attack the CM when a distance of two km is cleared for her movement wherever she visits? Moreover, she is a caretaker only now. If there was an attack on her really, the IPS officers who are in charge of her security should be suspended Hours after filing her nomination in Nandigram, the hot seat of the West Bengal Assembly elections, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, in an explosive claim, alleged that she was attacked by a group of men in a conspiracy in the absence of police personnel, including the East Midnapore superintendent of police, in the constituency on Wednesday evening, leaving her injured. The Trinamul Congress supremo, with injuries on her legs and forehead, was later rushed to Kolkata in a green corridor and was admitted to the Woodburn Ward of SSKM Hospital after she was wheeled in a stretcher. A five-member medical board is now in charge of her treatment. When governor Jagdeep Dhankhar rushed to see the CM, he was greeted with slogans of Go Back. The TMC has launched protests across the state. Rattled by Ms Banerjees complaint, the Election Commission has sought a report on the serious security breach from the district administration. Ms Banerjee, who earlier planned to return to Kolkata by Wednesday evening, changed her mind and decided to spend another night in Nandigram after filing her nomination papers at Haldia during the day and come back to the city on Thursday for the release of the TMCs manifesto. In the evening, she visited a religious festival at Ranichak where a kirtan was performed and also made a brief address in her bid to reach out to the public. Suddenly the CM, who is a Z-plus category protectee, and is usually surrounded by a contingent of at least 25 security personnel in close quarters, apparently fell down, according to sources close to her. She was later seen applying ice on her legs. Seated on the front seat of her car, Ms Banerjee, gasping for breath, told the media: Standing beside my car, I was doing namaskar. Suddenly four or five men blocked my car. They shoved and pushed me, leaving me injured. My legs got swollen. It is paining very much. Asked about any foul play, she added: It was definitely a conspiracy. The attack was deliberate. No police personnel were present there. Even the SP was not there. I will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission. Later the CM was seen being carried out by her security team from the front seat and put in the middle of the car. Without referring to the BJP by name, Trinamul spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: Some people do not like Ms Banerjee to win again. Questioning Ms Banerjees version, Barrackpore BJP MP Arjun Singh wondered: Who will attack her being the CM as well as the home minister of the state? How can someone attack the CM when a distance of 2 km is cleared for her movement wherever she visits? Moreover, she is a caretaker only now. If there was really any attack on her, the IPS officers in charge of her security should be suspended immediately while those who attacked her must be hanged. He argued: She always lies to draw sympathy which she did this time also because she knows she will lose the polls. Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury also called Ms Banerjees claims a stunt to swing the public mood back in her favour. Immediately while those who attacked her must be hanged." He argued, "She always lies to draw sympathy which she did this time also because she knows she will lose the polls." Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury also called Ms Banerjee's claims a "stunt" to swing the public mood towards her. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain France will continue to use AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine, the health minister said Thursday after several European nations halted its use due to concerns over blood clots. Denmark, Iceland and Norway suspended AstraZeneca vaccinations and Italy halted a batch of the jabs, but Olivier Veran said France's medicines agency had advised him against similar action. It had urged him to follow the EU drug regulator's ruling that AstraZeneca was still safe to use. "There is no need to suspend AstraZeneca," Veran told a news conference. "The upside of vaccinations at this stage outweighs the risks." France is scrambling to boost its vaccination rollout in the hope of avoiding a third lockdown. Veran said the daily average of new infections appeared stable for France as a whole, but added the figure hid huge regional disparities. The Ile de France, which includes Paris, the northern region of Hauts de France and the southern Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur were the main hotspots, he said. Daily numbers of admissions into intensive care in the Paris region were now so high that hospital capacity risks being overrun. More than 1,000 patients are now in intensive care in the region, a number that could reach 1,500 by the end of Marcha "critical level"and very close to the worst numbers seen during the second wave of COVID, Veran said. Authorities were therefore preparing to evacuate "dozens or even hundreds" of intensive care patients away from the capital and its suburbs to other regions. Nationwide there were now more than 4,000 people in intensive care, up from 3,555 at the start of the month. "The situation is tense and worrying," Veran said. "We do not know when the worst will be over, or how bad it will get." Meanwhile, the health ministry said nearly 20,000 pharmacies would join the vaccination drive. The fire service and the army are also being drafted in larger numbers to help following a call from Prime Minister Jean Castex for "national mobilisation". France lags behind major European neighbours for shots administered due to a shortage of doses amid complaints about bureaucracy. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had come into contact with an infected person, his ministry announced, meaning he would self-isolate for the next week. He met counterparts from Germany, Egypt and Jordan on Thursday and held talks with US climate change emissary John Kerry on Wednesday. Also Thursday, France eased travel restrictions for seven countries outside the European Union. The government had from January 31 banned all travel outside the EU without a valid excuse. But due to the changing pandemic situation, "it will no longer be necessary to prove a compelling reason for travel to or from Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United Kingdom," the foreign ministry said. Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak 2021 AFP ADVERTISEMENT Keeping pilgrims fund in the newly introduced Hajj Savings Scheme is safe, reliable and free from any unforeseen temptation, the governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has said. Speaking at the launch/sensitisation of the scheme in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Mr Sule said the scheme, beside easing the Hajj processes, will reduce the chances of redirecting the pilgrims funds for other activities outside Hajj operations. He said the HSS came at the right time when various governments are withdrawing gradually from sponsoring religious activities. He emphasised that Muslims will now be better prepared at their convenience to perform Hajj, being one of the pillars of Islam. The Managing Director of Jaiz Bank Plc, Hassan Usman, said, the Bank is committed to this journey and we are ready to support it with best-in-class technology infrastructure as well as safe investment management practice. Mr Hassan, represented by the Acting MD/Executive Director, Operations/CFO of the Bank, Abdulfattah Amoo, said as the Scheme grows over time, NAHCON and the various State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards can have the liquid funds required to effectively plan Hajj operations early, thereby securing better bargain for accommodation and other services for their pilgrims. The Scheme can also be the key to making them highly self-sustaining in the long run. In his remark, the Chairman/CEO, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Zikirullah Hassan, said HSS is an idea whose time has come and which is quite crucial and a dream come true for us all if Hajj must be taken to the next level like as it is done in some parts of the world. However, the reality for the success of the Scheme depends on all of us to propagate and support it in every way through encouraging our people to key into this noble scheme. Therefore as we rise from here today, we must all go to work to preach the message of the Hajj Savings Scheme. The Chairman of the Nasarawa State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Mustafa Yahuza, said the state has put in place a mechanism to promote the scheme deep to the grassroots in order to meet its objectives. The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Pilgrims, Abubakar Nalaraba, said the scheme is backed by law as contained in NAHCON Act which established the Commission. He said the benefit of HSS is for all Nigerian Muslims and the procedure has been simplified to capture more pilgrims for the country. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer today blasted the Government over its controversial 1 per cent pay rise offer for nurses who had worked under 'unimaginable pressure, day-in, day-out' during the pandemic. The Labour leader sought to revitalise his leadership as he launched the party's campaign for May's local and mayoral elections by demanding key workers are given 'a proper pay rise' at a virtual event this morning. Boris Johnson's move to recommend the low increase for health workers in England, despite their year-long toil during the coronavirus pandemic, has been widely criticised. And the PM yesterday hinted that yet another U-turn could be on the cards, telling MPs at PMQs that nurses could be treated 'exceptionally'. Sir Keir, who has been seen to be struggling to overturn the Tories' popularity after taking over the Labour leadership, will hope focusing on nurses' pay will provide his campaign with much-needed momentum as he tries to centre the elections on Britain's recovery. In an online address he said that 'we mustn't let the extraordinary achievement of the NHS in rolling out the vaccine blind us to what happened before'. 'When I clapped for our carers, I meant it,' he said. 'The Prime Minister clapped for carers, then he slammed the door on them. 'Every vote in this election is a chance to show the Conservatives that the British people value our NHS and our key workers so much more than this Government does. 'It's also the chance to show that we can't wait any longer for the Conservatives to fix social care.' Sir Keir Starmer said the starting point for an NHS pay rise should be 2.1 per cent, but declined to express his backing for the 12.5 per cent raise demanded by the Royal College of Nurses. Asked at his local election campaign launch, the Labour leader said: 'The rise for the NHS front line should be above inflation, a real rise. I think the starting point should be the 2.1 per cent that was promised and was of course budgeted for.' His efforts to boost the Labour vote at the election appeared to be slightly undone by his own deputy this morning, as she admitted the May elections will be 'challenging' amid the vaccine rollout that has provided a boost for the Tories in the polls. Angela Rayner told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'The public's focus is on the pandemic, and not on the elections. 'We know that that could affect turnout and voting patterns and all around the world, the incumbent governing party has had a benefit. 'And the Conservatives themselves have said they expect to get a vaccine bounce, so these are challenging times.' The Labour leader is to launch the party's campaign for May's local and mayoral elections by demanding key workers are given 'a proper pay rise' at a virtual event this morning. Sir Keir's deputy Angela Rayner admitted the May elections will be 'challenging' for Labour amid the vaccine rollout that has provided a boost for the Tories in the polls. Sir Keir told the virtual launch alongside candidates and leaders from across the UK that the party's priorities are 'securing the economy, protecting the NHS, rebuilding Britain'. 'So, if you want to support our nurses, to rebuild social care and to reward our key workers, then vote Labour. My mum was a nurse, my sister was a nurse, my wife works for the NHS,' he said. 'I know how tough this year has been for our NHS and I know that now, more than ever, is the time to give our key workers a proper pay rise. 'Every vote in this election is a chance to show the Conservatives that the British people value our NHS and our key workers so much more than this Government does.' He declared the elections are 'about how Britain recovers', accusing the Tories of being 'out of touch and out of ideas' while raising taxes on families. Attacking the Conservatives, he criticised the 'party that gives a 40 per cent pay rise to Dominic Cummings, but a pay cut for our nurses'. Mr Johnson has argued that he has tried to give NHS staff 'as much as we possibly can', but the policy is seen as being deeply unpopular with voters. With threats of industrial action and demonstrations planned across England, a poll at the weekend suggested 72 per cent of the population think the rise is too low, including 58 per cent of Tory voters. However, polling has also highlighted the struggle Mr Starmer is facing, with national voting intentions consistently putting the Conservatives ahead of Labour. Voting on May 6 will include polls for district and county councils in England, police and crime commissioners and city mayors, including in London. With Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections also taking place, Mr Starmer accused Nicola Sturgeon's SNP of being 'too busy fighting among themselves to fight for the Scottish people'. Campaigning during the pandemic will look different, with doorstep activism taking place under Covid-secure guidelines and voters being asked to take their own pens to the polls. Conservative Party co-chairwoman Amanda Milling said: 'Labour politicians are distracted from delivering on your priorities and more interested in playing political games than delivering good services. 'Only the Conservatives can be trusted to focus on your priorities with a proven record of keeping bills down and providing better local services.' U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville called the new stimulus bill passed by Congress today a progressive giveaway and a heist of taxpayers money. We did not even get to see the final bill until we were about to vote on it, the freshman Alabama Republican senator said. But Republicans took the opportunity we had to file amendments to make sure rural communities got their slice of the pie, supporting vaccine distribution and testing, and trimming excess fat in the bill. Tubervilles staff said he filed 23 amendments and offered one on the Senate floor, and other Republicans filed hundreds of amendments. At every turn we were shut down, Tuberville told Alabama reporters in his weekly media update and question session. Tuberville said people need to understand what this was. It was not a rescue plan. Its not targeted relief. Its a progressive giveaway and a heist of taxpayers money. When we have to borrow this much money we are digging our country deeper into debt.... Our kids and grandkids are going to owe more money to countries like China. Tuberville said he did support the $1,400 stimulus checks and giving businesses help, but the best thing is to get back open, get businesses back open, kids back in school.... The economy is going to have problems with all this money were printing. People need it, but the lasting effects is going to be a terrible thing. Asked about the vaccine rollout in Alabama, Tuberville said he took a call today from the Muscle Shoals mayor saying his town has very little vaccine to distribute. We understand its a process, Tuberville said. It has to be made, put in the bottles, refrigerated, shipped, (you) have to have syringes and all the things that come with it. Id just like to know how theyre picking out the areas where theyre shipping it to, Tuberville said. We cant get those answers. Updated at 7:40 p.m. CST to correct the numbers of Republican amendments to the bill filed on the Senate floor. The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) on Wednesday cautioned youth in the country to desist from migrating through irregular routes to Europe to save their lives. According to the GIS only five percent of all migrants who attempted to get to Europe through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea were able to reach their destination. Unfortunately, the remaining 95 percent end up in detention camps and prisons, while others die of thirst, hunger, human abuse and torture on the desert or through accidents on the high seas be drowning. The Deputy Commissioner of Immigration (DCI) Eric Afari, the Bono Regional Commander of the GIS gave the advice at the opening session of a three-day capacity building workshop for officers of the Migration Information Center of the GIS (MIC), held at Abesim near Sunyani. Being organised by the European Union (EU) in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the workshop on safe migration and Information and Communication Technology would empower officers to exert their mandate effectively and professionally. DCI Afari regretted that irregular migration among young people particularly, in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions was rife, saying only a little over 50 percent of all migrants returnees from Libya came from the three regions. He said the MIC established in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital in 2016 made significant impact and tremendous achievements towards preventing irregular migration among the youth in the three regions, and commended the EU and IOM for the center. Since then, DCI Afari said the number of Libya migrant returnees reduced from 18,512 in 2011 to 4,031 in 2017 and further dropped to 741 2018. It is also significant to note that of the 2011 figure, 52 percent of the returnees came from Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions. This figure reduced to 39 percent (1,562) in 2017, and further dropped to 38 percent (284) in 2018. He attributed the dramatic reduction of the number of returnees partly to the impact of the consistent sensitization campaigns of the MIC, which was a reference point for potential migrants to verify the genuineness of their traveling documents. Funded by the EU, Mr Collins Yeboah, the Community Outreach Officer, IOM-Ghana, later told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) his outfit was implementing the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa action to strengthen the protection and reintegration of migrants in Ghana. The overall objective of the action is to contribute to strengthening the governance of migration and ensuring sustainable reintegration of returning migrants in the country. Under the project, Mr Yeboah said IOM had supported 1,500 Ghanaians to return to their home country with the majority of them from the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Ashanti, Greater Accra and Western Regions. Recently, there were increasing cases of high returns in the Northern region with over six percent of returns, he added. Source: GNA 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 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A former Army captain serving life prison sentences for the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two young children at a North Carolina base wants to leave federal prison due to his deteriorating health during the coronavirus pandemic. Lawyers for Jeffrey MacDonald are expected to make their case Thursday before a judge at the Raleigh courthouse. Its the same place where the ex-physician was convicted in 1979 for the murders. Federal prosecutors oppose his release from a Maryland prison. Attorneys for MacDonald, 77, wrote in court documents that their clients illnesses chronic kidney disease, skin cancer and high blood pressure among them make him among those who are at the highest risk for severe illness of death, should he contract COVID-19. The governments lawyers have said MacDonald doesnt qualify for compassionate release, and that he waived his last two opportunities for parole in 2020. U.S. attorneys also wrote that MacDonalds refusal last week to take a COVID-19 vaccination means he cant rely on the potential risks of the illness to justify his release. Former Army physician Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald talks with newsmen after being released on bond in Los Angeles, Jan. 31, 1975, following his arrest on a charge of murder in connection with the stabbing deaths of his wife and two children at Fort Bragg, N.C. in 1970. (AP Photo/George Brich)AP Prosecutors said MacDonald used a knife and an ice pick to kill his wife and children at their house on Fort Bragg before stabbing himself with a scalpel. They said he donned surgical gloves and used his wifes blood to write the word PIG over their bed to imitate that years Charles Manson murders. MacDonald maintains he was wrongly convicted, pointing to drug-crazed hippies as the culprits. It became known as the Fatal Vision case, the title of a true-crime book MacDonald had invited author Joe McGinniss to write to demonstrate his innocence. Instead, McGinniss became convinced of his guilt. McGinniss died in 2014. Paxton, IL (60957) Today Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 73F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- New Army-funded research could help lay the groundwork for future quantum communication networks and large-scale quantum computers. Researchers sent entangled qubit states through a communication cable linking one quantum network node to a second node. Scientists at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, funded and managed by the U.S. Army Combat Capability Development, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory's Center for Distributed Quantum Information, also amplified an entangled state via the same cable first by using the cable to entangle two qubits in each of two nodes, then entangling these qubits further with other qubits in the nodes. The peer-reviewed journal published the research in its Feb. 24, 2021, issue. "The entanglement distribution results the team achieved brought together years of their research related to approaches for transferring quantum states and related to advanced fabrication procedures to realize the experiments," said Dr. Sara Gamble, program manager at the Army Research Office, an element of the Army's corporate research laboratory, and co-manager of the CDQI, which funded the work. "This is an exciting achievement and one that paves the way for increasingly complex experiments with additional quantum nodes that we'll need for the large-scale quantum networks and computers of ultimate interest to the Army." Qubits, or quantum bits, are the basic units of quantum information. By exploiting their quantum properties, like superposition, and their ability to be entangled together, scientists and engineers are creating next-generation quantum computers that will be able solve previously unsolvable problems. The research team uses superconducting qubits, tiny cryogenic circuits that can be manipulated electrically. "Developing methods that allow us to transfer entangled states will be essential to scaling quantum computing," said Prof. Andrew Cleland, the John A. MacLean senior professor of Molecular Engineering Innovation and Enterprise at University of Chicago, who led the research. Entanglement is a correlation that can be created between quantum entities such as qubits. When two qubits are entangled and a measurement is made on one, it will affect the outcome of a measurement made on the other, even if that second qubit is physically far away. Entanglement is a correlation that can be created between quantum entities such as qubits. When two qubits are entangled and a measurement is made on one, it will affect the outcome of a measurement made on the other, even if that second qubit is physically far away. To send the entangled states through the communication cable--a one-meter-long superconducting cable--the researchers created an experimental set-up with three superconducting qubits in each of two nodes. They connected one qubit in each node to the cable and then sent quantum states, in the form of microwave photons, through the cable with minimal loss of information. The fragile nature of quantum states makes this process quite challenging. The researchers developed a system in which the whole transfer process--node to cable to node--takes only a few tens of nanoseconds (a nanosecond is one billionth of a second). That allowed them to send entangled quantum states with very little information loss. The system also allowed them to amplify the entanglement of qubits. The researchers used one qubit in each node and entangled them together by essentially sending a half-photon through the cable. They then extended this entanglement to the other qubits in each node. When they were finished, all six qubits in two nodes were entangled in a single globally entangled state. "We want to show that superconducting qubits have a viable role going forward," Cleland said. A quantum communication network could potentially take advantage of this advance. The group plans to extend their system to three nodes to build three-way entanglement. The researchers developed a system in which the whole transfer process--node to cable to node--takes only a few tens of nanoseconds (a nanosecond is one billionth of a second). "The team was able to identify a primary limiting factor in this current experiment related to loss in some of the components," said Dr. Fredrik Fatemi, branch chief for quantum sciences, DEVCOM ARL, and co-manager of CDQI. "They have a clear path forward for increasingly complex experiments which will enable us to explore new regimes in distributed entanglement." ### James Weaver Washington Jay Inslee Office of the Chief Information Officer WaTech Washington's WaTech March 4 Janel Roper Accellion's Frank Balonis Social Security WaTech's Office of Cybersecurity Reuven Carlyle Seattle Senate House Committee on State Government and Tribal Relations July 1, 2022 Aug. 31, 2022 (TNS) The state's top tech official says he's "extremely" concerned that state computer systems may be vulnerable to hackers. Leaders better listen.With state agencies' information technology teams largely operating independently, neither the state's outgoing Chief Information Officernor his successor can be certain all state government business is being conducted securely.When asked if the setup is a disaster waiting to happen, Weaver was unequivocal:"Candidly, the answer is yes."Pending legislation seeks to fix the problem, butshouldn't wait for legislative gears to finish turning. Gov.should order his agencies to conduct an immediate audit of the state's tech environment.Months after hackers breached the 20-year-old file-transfer platform used by the State Auditor's Office, the state's central IT experts don't have a complete picture of the risks and vulnerabilities across state government. Each agency is responsible for managing its compliance with state security standards. About 98% self-report yearly inventories to the state, according to, but that requirement doesn't include the Legislature, judicial branch or most of higher education.consolidated technology services agency,, which is charged with setting strategic direction for IT security, has little authority to make sure those standards are followed. It tries to encourage best practice by offering services like free security design reviews, security and vulnerability assessments. Clearly, that is not enough.In ahearing before the Senate Labor, Commerce and Tribal Affairs committee, the Auditor's Director of Administrative Servicessaid the agency had no evidence it was using "an old or outdated product" or that it was taking a risk using the legacy software.But, in a news release,Chief Information Security Officersaid the company had been encouraging FTA customers for three years to migrate to a new, more secure platform, called kiteworks. The Auditor's Office made that shift in January too late for Washingtonians whosenumbers and banking information were exposed in the breach.Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5432 would giveto develop a centralized cybersecurity protocol for state government and provide formal guidance on best practices. The bill, sponsored by Sen., D-, passed theunanimously and has been referred to theNevertheless, once enacted, the law would take months to take effect. The cybersecurity office would have until, to present a plan to lawmakers, including possible accountability measures to ensure agencies are meeting security standards. It orders an independent audit of state agency information technology to be completed by. Bad actors could create a lot of havoc in the interim.Inslee must use his authority to ensure state data and systems are secure. Russian lawyer challenges ban on carrying of mobile phones into detention facilities pixabay.com 16:10 11/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) Lawyer Oleg Krupochkin has appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation seeking to invalidate the provisions of two orders of the Interior Ministry prohibiting lawyers from bringing technical means of communication, as well as devices allowing audio and video recording, to the temporary detention centers, lawyer Igor Trunov tells RAPSI on Thursday. In contesting the said orders the lawyer refers to the violation of Article 123 of the Russian Constitution (equality of the parties), as for investigators there is in force a simplified system of passage to the territory of detention centers, under which those are granted the right to bring and use mobile phones, while the lawyers are forced to stay in queues for hours in harsh conditions lacking opportunities to provide legal assistance to their clients. According to the applicant, restrictions and prohibitions on bringing into detention facilities objects and things for use during meetings with suspects or accused in order to provide them with qualified legal assistance can only be introduced by a federal law, and not by a departmental regulatory legal act. This February, the Qualification Commission of the Yaroslavl Region Bar Association established that due to Krupochkin's fault, the planned investigative actions were not carried out in a detention facility, since the lawyer, having arrived at the checkpoint at the entrance to the building, refused to hand over his mobile phone, citing the need to use it for the purpose to defend his client. Trunov believes that an appeal of the Investigative Directorate of the Interior Ministry to the Bar Association with a proposal to bring lawyer Krupochkin to disciplinary responsibility looks like an action by an investigative body aimed at reprisals against its procedural opponent. The lawyer appeared at the detention facility on all the appointed dates to participate in the investigation. Nevertheless, the conduct thereof was impossible for reasons beyond the lawyer's control, namely, because of the failure to comply with the requirements of the law on the part of the detention center staff, who actually blocked lawyer Krupochkin's access to the facility to participate in investigative actions, Trunov said. Burma Arrest Warrants Target Myanmar Activists For Encouraging Civil Servants To Strike Thousands of anti-regime protesters near the Central Bank of Myanmar in Yangon requesting the bank staff to join the civil disobedience movement. / The Irrawaddy The Myanmar military issued arrest warrants on Thursday for 23 anti-regime activists accused of inciting civil servants to join the civil disobedience movement (CDM), as the regime stepped up its crackdown against the nationwide demonstrations protesting the Feb. 1 coup that overthrew Myanmars civilian government. Those targeted for arrest include activists from student unions, trade unions and five members of three different political parties. They face charges under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code for inciting civil servants and people from the private sector to join the CDM. If found guilty, the activists face up to three years imprisonment, according to the regimes amendment to the provision after the coup. The charges relate to an anti-coup protest held in Yangons Tamwe Township on March 3. Security forces arrested 389 protestors during the demonstration, including five student union members, but the 23 protestors charged Thursday have gone into hiding. They include Ko Moe Thway (Generation Wave), Ko Thet Swe Win (Future Nation Alliances), Ko Phoe Saung of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Ko Phoe Kyaw from the Arakan League for Democracy and three members of the Democratic Party for a New Society, including activist Ma Ei Thinzar Maung. The arrest warrants were announced in a state-owned newspaper on Thursday and indicate the regimes fear of the growing momentum of the CDM. Protests and strikes against the coup have seen hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets daily across Myanmar and have paralyzed government services such as transportation, tax collection, healthcare and much of the running of the government. The civil disobedience movement was launched by hundreds of doctors and nurses from government hospitals in Yangon and Mandalay on Feb. 3. It has now spread across the country after tens of thousands of government staff and workers from essential private business sectors joined the movement. Security forces have intensified their crackdown on the anti-regime protests in recent days by using live bullets, rubber bullets, teargas, slingshots and air-guns firing lead pellets, as well as targeting the CDM. Over 60 protesters, including two members of the NLD, have been killed by the police and soldiers since the Feb. 1 coup, while more than 2,000 people have been detained or charged by the regime. 1,689 people remain in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Around 800 Myanma Railway staff who had gone on strike in support of the CDM were reportedly evicted from their housing near Mahlwagone locomotive shed in Yangons Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township on Wednesday. The Yangon offices of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society and the well-known charity group Free Funeral Service Society were also raided in retaliation for their support for the CDM and the anti-regime protests. The leaders of those organizations are now in hiding after being sued under Article 505(a) of the penal code. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Military Regime Removes Arakan Army From List of Terrorist Groups Another 300 Protesters in Yangon Arrested by Juntas Security Forces The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Tunisian police are arresting social media activists for criticizing the government online and calling for protests, according to rights groups. Nicole Di Ilio has more from Tunis, Tunisia. US Congress clears Biden's $1.9 trillion virus rescue plan Days after a deeply divided Senate approved Biden's $1.9 trillion relief bill, it passed another hurdle. The US Congress cleared the rescue plan, sending it to the President for final approval. The aid, one of the biggest priorities of Biden, pumps massive amounts of money into the economy and is crucial to bring America out of the doldrums. The plan includes one-time direct transfers of up to $1,400 for millions of Americans and a jobless aid of $300 a week until summer. The stimulus also includes funding for distributing vaccines and relief for states, cities, schools and small businesses struggling during the pandemic. Read here Let's look at the global statistics Global infections: 118,006,153 Global deaths: 2,619,676 Nations with most cases: US (29,152,716), India (11,262,707), Brazil (11,202,305), Russia (4,302,726), United Kingdom (4,247,879). Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center Some Hollywood stars found an escape in Australia, sparking controversy Having stamped out the coronavirus, Australia has managed to lure several Hollywood directors and actors to continue film production in the country. In effect, many celebrities, including Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa McCarthy, have found freedom from the pandemic there. But even as the stars pose for their posts on Instagram, in the US, where hundreds are still dying every day, some fans have looked on with envy. Even some Australians are grumpy that the countrys strategy for stamping out the virus has left tens of thousands of citizens stranded overseas. Read here Vaccine given to Israel children has no serious side-effects In a big boost to the vaccination drive, Israel has given the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to hundreds of children aged between 12-16 and found no serious side effects, indicating that the vaccine is safe on minors. Pfizer is conducting a study of 12- to 15-year-olds and expects to begin another for 5- to 11-year-olds. The University of Oxford has also announced a trial to test its AstraZeneca-produced Covid-19 vaccine on children young as six. Those studies are expected to take several months. Powering ahead with its vaccinations, Israel is set to the become the first country to vaccinate its children en masse. The country has already given at least one dose to more than half of the population. Read here UK variant has significantly higher death rate: Study A highly infectious variant that has spread around the world since it was first discovered in Britain late last year is between 30 per cent and 100 per cent more deadly than previous dominant variants, according to a UK study published in British medical journal. In a study that compared death rates among people in Britain infected with the new variant -- B.1.1.7 -- against those infected with other variants of the virus, scientists said the new variant's mortality rate was "significantly higher". The B.1.1.7 variant was first detected in Britain in September 2020, and has since also been found in more than 100 other countries. Read here The prestigious World Branding Awards, the ultimate global brand recognition accolade now in its 12th edition, saw over 400 brands from more than 45 countries named "Brand of the Year" in the 2020-2021 World Branding Awards, nominated by over 250,000 consumers across the globe. Amongst the top tier brands listed as Global Tier winners are CoCo, Faber Castell, Fender, Heinz, IKEA, LEGO, Lurpak, McCain, Netflix, PILOT, Spotify, Yakult, and Yamaha, amongst others. Regional Tier winners include Anchor (New Zealand), Cotton On (Australia), Elkjp (Norway), LuLu (United Arab Emirates), Isetan and Uniqlo (Japan), amongst others. Numerous victorious Indonesian brands won over consumers' hearts, and were awarded in the National Tier including Bango (Soy Sauce), Frank co. (Jewellery), HiLo (Beverages), Kopi Kenangan (Retailer Coffee), Pod Chocolate (Confectionary Chocolate), Sinar Mas Land (Property Developer), SOSRO (Tea), Telkomsel (Telecommunications Mobile), Traveloka (Travel Leisure Agency), and Tropicana Slim (Sweeteners), amongst others. Winners are uniquely judged through three streams: brand valuation, consumer market research, and public online voting. Seventy percent of the scoring process comes from consumer votes. There can only be one winner in each category per country. The voting and nomination had taken place amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic whilst many countries were faced with restriction measures that had greatly disrupted the economic landscape. The Awards celebrates the innovative and creative ways these successful brands have managed to remain distinct and relevant to their consumers over the past year. "This is a celebration of the best marketers from across the globe. The Awards are an acknowledgment of the tireless effort of the teams that build and maintain their brand presence in an ever-changing market," said Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum. "To be a winner at the Awards, a brand has shown that they have built themselves up to such a degree that they are placed amongst the best brands in the world," said Danny Pek, Chief Executive of the World Branding Forum. Now in its seventh year, the awards are organised by the World Branding Forum, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing branding standards. It organises and sponsors a range of educational programmes. For more information and the full list of winners, visit awards.brandingforum.org. About the World Branding Forum The World Branding Forum (WBF) is a registered global non-profit organisation. Its aims and activities are to raise the standards in branding for the good of the industry as well as consumers. The WBF produces, manages and supports a wide range of programmes covering research, development, education, recognition, networking and outreach. For more information, visit brandingforum.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005023/en/ Contacts: Peter Michaels peter.michaels@brandingforum.org A report by the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth on the maltreatment deaths of 19 children shows the province is still a long way from keeping kids safe. A report by the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth on the maltreatment deaths of 19 children shows the province is still a long way from keeping kids safe. "Though we have witnessed changes to child welfare services over the years, these changes have not resulted in consistent or equitable services for children, youth and families, and Manitoba still has almost 9,000 First Nations and Metis children in care," the report states. Between Sept. 15, 2008 and Mar. 31, 2020, the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth was notified of 1,383 deaths of Manitoba children between birth and five years of age, the advocate's report said. ''The child welfare system remains rooted in structural inequities and systemic racism and when left unaddressed, children are placed at risk of harm and even death," the report states. The report Still Waiting: Investigating Child Maltreatment after the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry was released this morning by the independent, non-partisan office of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. The advocate's role is to represent the rights, interests and viewpoints of children, youth and young adults throughout Manitoba who are receiving, or should be receiving, provincial public services. The 63-page report delves into the cases of 19 children who died maltreatment-related deaths. Only the names of Phoenix Sinclair, Kierra Williams and Jaylene Sanderson-Redhead whose names have previously been disclosed to the public are identified. All other names and identifying information have been changed to protect the privacy of the children and their families. "Phoenix Sinclair would have turned 21 years old this year," acting advocate Ainsley Krone wrote in her introduction to the report. Phoenix died in 2005 after being beaten and abused after being reunited with her mother and step-father. Her death and remains were not discovered until 2006 when they were found in a shallow grave near a garbage dump. Outrage over the death of the child, who had been in and out of care, was followed by a public inquiry to get to the bottom of how the child welfare system failed her. The $14-million inquiry resulted in 62 recommendations being made in 2014 that the province pledged to act on. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The new report, 'Still Waiting - Investigating Child Maltreatment after the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry' was released Thursday. "Fifteen years after her death and seven years after the release of the public inquiry into her death, major changes have occurred in the child welfare system," Krone wrote. "Yet, we are still waiting for the system to consistently support families to keep children safe." In 2016, 50 per cent of the Phoenix Sinclair inquiry's recommendations were "in progress," 21 per cent were pending and 29 per cent were complete or ongoing. The advocate is calling on the provincial government to regularly update Manitobans on its progress but it has yet to release a complete status report on those recommendations. Meanwhile, kids are still dying, the advocate's report says. The report uses the examples of what happened in the cases of 19 children who died as well as the story of a mother in custody to illustrate where gaps remain in the system and what still needs to change in the child welfare system. The mother in custody given the pseudonym Charlene describes her troubled upbringing and the lack of supports available to her as a parent when she needed help after being reunited with one of her kids who had been in care. Charlene received some temporary help after suffering a heart attack, being hospitalized and returning home. When she said she was having trouble calming and bonding with one of her children, she was told if she couldn't parent the child, CFS would take away all of her children again, so she was afraid to ask for further help. A year later, the child died, his death was ruled a homicide by the chief medical examiner, and there was evidence of severe maltreatment. His mother was convicted. Apprehension models and others in which children are separated from their families and then returned without the supports needed to change the safety and care environment in a family will continue to result in cases of maltreatment, serious injuries and deaths, the report states. "Systems must aim to set families up to build their capacities and succeed, and interventions must always result in tangible improvements in the lives of those families," it states. Minimum service standards and quality assurance processes are critical to child safety and protection from maltreatment, but so are decent housing, food security, poverty reduction, family violence prevention and addictions care, the report states. They are key to the safe care of young children and preventing further deaths, it states. Without appropriate funding, the advocate's report said, child welfare services will remain inadequate and unable to meet the needs of all children, youth and families in Manitoba. In First Nation communities, child welfare services remain inequitable compared to services provided off-reserve, the report states. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca State Department Iran envoy Rob Malley tells Axios the U.S. and Israel want to avoid the sort of public confrontation over Iran that took place during the Obama administration. Why it matters: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly campaigned against Obama's attempts to reach an agreement with Iran between 2013 and 2015 including in a highly controversial speech to Congress. This created a rift that scarred both sides. Driving the news: U.S. and Israeli interagency teams led by national security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat will hold a first round of talks on Iran on Thursday via secure video conference. The Israelis are very happy that the U.S.-Israel strategic forum, which was established during Obamas first term, has been resumed by the Biden administration. Israeli officials tell me they want to use the first meeting to lay out the latest intelligence and data on Iran's nuclear program and assess whether the U.S. and Israeli intelligence pictures align. National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne confirmed that the meeting would take place on Thursday. What he's saying: Malley told me the Biden administration is committed to being consultative and transparent with Israel and that he had already spoken extensively with Israeli officials. We dont always agree, but the talks are extremely open and positive. While we may have different interpretations and views as to what happened in 20152016, neither of us wishes to repeat it," Malley said. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said in a briefing with Israeli ambassadors abroad last week there is an understanding between the U.S. and Israel on a no surprises policy meaning the Biden administration will give Israel prior notice of any decision regarding Iran. Go deeper: Malley on the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal timeline The company plans to start building the Africa's first potash mine by the end of 2021 and to commence production in 2023 ( ) said higher potash prices will increase its financing options as its moves to take the Khemisset potash project in Morocco into production. The company plans to start building the potash mine, Africa's first, by the end of 2021 and to commence production in 2023. "We are fortunate that we now have a tailwind in the potash market, with increasing demand tightening up the pricing that producers can set. Clearly this is a helpful situation as we look to negotiate the strategic financing options to construct our mine," said chief executive Graham Clarke in a shareholder newsletter. "In the last four weeks several of the producers have reported improving prices as strengthening fundamentals from 2020 start showing their effect. They mention a combination of diminished inventories, rising commodity prices, compelling farm economics, and a cyclical recovery being underway." "The more encouraging market outlook for potash will clearly assist in the ongoing strategic and debt financing discussions for Khemisset," he said. Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Minister of Sweden, Ann Linde will visit Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to citing her Twitter message. Linde added that prior to her upcoming visit she held a useful briefing with Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. Linde added that during the visit she looks to get acquainted with the situation in the region after the Second Karabakh war. Randy Economy, senior advisor and official spokesman to RecallGavin2020, during an interview with The Epoch Times' "Crossroads." (Screenshot/The Epoch Times) People Now Realize They Can Take Their Government Back: Recall Newsom Campaign The movement to recall Californias Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has helped people understand what they can do to hold their elected officials accountable, says Randy Economy, senior advisor and official spokesman to the RecallGavin2020 campaign. The California Patriot Coalition/RecallGavin2020 is the official committee responsible for the recall campaign. Its empowerment. I think people now realize that they can take their government back, and they can hold their elected officials accountable, Economy told The Epoch Times Crossroads program. I think thats the power of democracy. The on-going shutdowns, the nations highest poverty rate, homeless rate, and income tax rate, Newsoms extensive use of executive orders, and his attending a no-mask indoor party of 22 last November while telling residents to stay home, are among the reasons residents are voting to recall the governor. The effort to recall Newsom was launched on June 10 last year. Supporters needed to collect 1,495,709 signatures by March 17 to trigger a recall election. Previous attempts at collecting the required amount of signatures had failed. But on Sunday, the campaign said it had reached 1.95 million signatures. And were going to be adding more and more between now and the very last day, Economy said. Were fighting every odd against us, he told The Epoch Times. Were standing up to some really powerful multi-billionaires and the political swamp here in California thats been controlled by one party for almost two generations now. Economy indicated that politics in California is a multi-billion dollar industry. Its easy to spend $10, $12, or $20 million to run for a state assembly seat or a state senate seat. Weve only raised $950,000. And in the grand scheme of things, thats peanuts in California politics, he said. Economy called the recall campaign a grassroots movement. The campaign has 250,000 volunteers and only two paid employees. Economy is one of the two. Volunteers sort recall mail to oust California Governor Gavin Newsom at Capital Campaigns Incorperated in Newport Beach, Calif., on Jan 4, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Economy went on to say that the recall effort is not partisan. Its not a Democrat thing. Its not a Republican thing. Its about the fact that people just feel helpless right now. They want hope. They want to have inspiration. Among the people who signed the recall petition, 31 percent are Democrats or Independents, and the rest are Republicans or Libertarians. Were just good solid California, you know, grassroots individuals who really are doing the heavy lifting and hopefully making miracles happen by getting this thing on the ballot, he told The Epoch Times. A man looks at items on a table calling for the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom outside the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2021. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times) This is not a coup. This is not a takeover of government. We are participating in a legally and lawfully-allowed democratic process, which is called a recall. And a lot of states dont allow recalls, Economy added. According to Ballotpedia, eleven states do not allow recalls of public officials, while three states allow recalls for all public officials. Other states allow recalls of select public officials. The U.S. Constitution does not provide for the recall of any federally elected official. Economy suggested that the recall effort has become a national and world focus. He has done nearly 1,300 interviews in the past four months with journalists from across the nation and the world. Economy said people hearing the recall story are going to start feeling energized and empowered. Theyre going to start looking into saying: Can we do that here? Can I hold my governor accountable?' It started off to being about the governor, but I think its now much more [sic] larger than that, Economy added. Its a refreshing, powerful movement. Newsom criticized the recall effort as partisan power grabs in his third State of the State address on Tuesday. The state of our state remains determined. I remain determined! We wont change course just because of a few nay-sayers and dooms-dayers, Newsom said during his address. So to the California critics who are promoting partisan power grabs and outdated prejudices and rejecting everything that makes California great, we say this: we will not be distracted from getting shots in arms and our economy booming again. A recall election must be conducted between 60 to 80 days from the date of certification of the signatures. If each required step of the election procedure takes the maximum time allotted by state law, a recall election would take place sometime in October, according to Ballotpedia. Janita Kan contributed to this report. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 30 giorni fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Overview The Global Bonded Abrasives Market was valued at around USD 19.8 billion in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of approximately 5.8% during the forecast period, 20192025. Bonded abrasives are abrasives grains and fillers bonded together through bonding materials such as vitreous, resin, rubber, shellac, epoxy, magnesite, and others. Numerous improvements in tools and machinery processes have been made with the help of new abrasive grains and bond advancements to increase the performance of bonded abrasive products. The prime role is played by the bonding agent that holds the structural abrasives in a specific array giving uniqueness to every bonded adhesive. The bond offers high-strength and thermal-resistance for grinding and cutting, or it can be weak and thermal sensitive for polishing. Each product is made to serve a specific purpose, such as giving a precise finish, cutting, rough grinding, stock removal, and others. Moreover, they have a significant demand in the different hand-held machines like angle grinders, vertical grinders, and petrol saws for cutting and grinding purposes. Additionally, the continuous advancement in technology and using machines in the industries over human labor has increased the demand for these machines in the industrial segment. Hence, propelling the growth of the global bonded abrasives market. Free Sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2642 Key Players Some of the prominent players in the global bonded abrasives market are Saint-Gobain (US), 3M (US), Buffalo Abrasives Inc (US), Abrasives Manhattan, SA (Spain), Marrose Abrasives (UK), Grinding Techniques (Pty) Ltd (South Africa), SAK Abrasives Limited (India), Sia Abrasives Industries AG (Switzerland), Flexovit (US), Carborundum Universal Limited (India), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), NIPPON RESIBON CORPORATION (Japan), DRONCO GmbH (Germany), KWH Mirka (Finland), and Fujimi Incorporated (Japan). Segmentation The global bonded adhesive market report has been bifurcated into type, application, end-use industry, and region. Based on type, the global bonded adhesive market has been divided into depressed center wheels, cup-shaped wheels, recessed or relieved wheels, and tapered body wheel. Based on application, the global bonded adhesive market has been classified as precision grinding, cutting, rough grinding, fabrication, polishing, and others. By end-use industry, the global bonded adhesive market has been segregated into automotive, marine, aerospace, construction, general metalworking, and others. Regional Analysis North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa are the region analyzed under the scope of the global bonded adhesive market. Asia-Pacific holds the largest market share for bonded abrasives in 2018 and is expected to be the dominant region during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the rapid industrialization and booming automotive and construction industry there has been a massive demand of machinery for cutting, grinding, and polishing leading to high consumption of bonded adhesive in these industries. Hence, propelling the overall growth of bonded adhesive in the region. Europe had the second-largest share in the global bonded adhesive market in 2018 and is expected to show positive growth during the forecast period. Europe has the largest automotive sector and needs machinery advancement for faster assembling of their products adding to the need of a significant quantity of bonded abrasives while manufacturing of their products, hence boosting the overall growth of the bonded adhesive in the regional market. North America has a prominent market share in the global bonded adhesive market, driven by the automotive and aerospace segment. The applications of bonded abrasives in cutting, polishing, fabrication, and others it has a significant impact on the automotive and aerospace industry. According to the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the aerospace market was estimated at USD 865 million in 2017, which is further expected to propel the growth of bonded abrasives market in the regional market. The Middle East and Africa are expected to witness a composed growth in the bonded abrasives market which is accounted to the growing industrialization in the region leading to the high demand for bonded abrasives in the construction and general metalworking industry. The Latin America region is expected to have a steady growth in the bonded abrasives market during the forecast period, owing to the strong growth in the automotive and marine industry. YouTuber and podcaster Tim Pool has been accused of holding a cat called Betsy hostage during business negotiations over the future of his online news site with two of his now ex-partners. Pool, who has more than three million YouTube subscribers, has found himself embroiled in a public spat with two of his former business partners: Emily Molli and Rocco Castoro. They had been working together on SCNR, formerly known as Subverse, which was billed as a non-partisan news company featuring a news site, YouTube channel and news footage service. They have since accused Pool, who was CEO of SCNR, of holding Molli's cat Betsy hostage at his Maryland mansion after their business dealings turned sour in January. 'He was trying to use my cat as leverage,' Molli told the Daily Beast. Pool, who is former liberal journalist turned Trump supporter, has denied any involvement in the alleged cat hostage situation and says he never actually even had custody of the cat. YouTuber and podcaster Tim Pool has been accused of holding a cat called Betsy (pictured above) hostage during business negotiations over the future of his online news site with two of his now ex-partners The cat was at his home after Molli left the animal in the care of Ian Crossland, who is one of the co-hosts on Pool's podcast, last year while she and Castoro traveled the country trying to source and shoot footage for their news company. At some point, Crossland moved into Pool's mansion and took Betsy with him. Pool, who is former liberal journalist turned Trump supporter, has denied any involvement in the alleged cat hostage situation Washington County Lieutenant Joshua McCauley, who got involved in the situation after Molli contacted authorities, said of the situation: 'While the cat was there, communications with the parties broke down because of some ongoing criminal or civil matter between them. 'Mr Pool was reluctant to have any contact because of that, so he stated that he really wanted to give the cat back. He didn't want the cat, but he didn't really know how to do it without having contact.' The cat was eventually dropped at the Humane Society of Washington County animal shelter where one of Molli's friends on the east coast was able to pick her up and fly her back to Los Angeles. Molli's cat is now back in her custody but she claims it only happened after she contacted authorities. A video posted on SCNR's Twitter this week that details Betsy's journey back home. While the cat is back in Molli's custody, the trio are still embroiled in a business dispute over the remains of the company. Pool's now former business partners, Emily Molli (left) and Rocco Castoro (right), have accused him of holding Molli's cat Betsy hostage at his Maryland mansion after their business dealings turned sour in January A video posted on SCNR's Twitter this week that details Betsy's journey back home to Molli in Los Angeles. The cat is pictured above on the trip home The bizarre cat ordeal and business dispute is supposedly related to a falling out that Pool had with Molli and Castoro back in January. It is not clear who owns the company or if Pool still has any involvement. SCNR's social media accounts and YouTube are still active and content is still being posted. The nature of the dispute was not immediately clear. It also isn't clear why or when tensions first started brewing between the trio. According to online posts, Castoro has accused Pool of allegedly being involved in several, unsubscribed internet schemes. Pool has not commented on those allegations. Pool first launched the news company - originally known as Subverse - back in 2019 and managed to raise $1.2 million on WeFunder, a crowdfunding platform. The company, which changed its name to SCNR mid-last year was billed as a community-owned, decentralized news network. Castoro was brought on to run the site's editorial operations and Molli was the site's chief content officer. Pool, a former Vice News founder, has gained a following as a citizen journalist and political commentator. He runs his YouTube, social media accounts and podcast under the name Timcast. Safety at the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Gas Venture near Karratha in the north of Western Australia on Jun. 17, 2008. (Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images) Coalition of Australian Oil and Gas Giants Face $52.9 Billion Decommission The ageing offshore oil and gas monuments stood proud over the vast Australian coast, where they played their part in powering the nationnow, they face a destiny of destruction. The Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) announced on March 10 that it had set a target that will see the expensive oil and gas infrastructure removed over a 50-year process, in an effort to reduce the sizable $52.9 billion (USD $40.5 billion) price tag. The removal comes not as a result of carbon emission reduction policies, but as part of an existing plan to decommission old oil and gas structures that have reached the end of their designated lifespan. Decommissioning of assets and development of new assets is a normal part of any industry and its development cycle, an Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. Were expecting the Australian oil and gas industry to continue to grow, the spokesperson said. As of October 2020, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources reported around $137 billion worth of projects are in the investment pipeline. These projects are expected to create tens of thousands of jobs, the spokesperson said. Australian resources giant Woodsides Goodyn, an offshore gas production platform in the North West Shelf gas project, which produces a third of Australias oil and half of its natural gas, off the northwest coast of Australia on Jan. 01, 2001. (-/AFP via Getty Images) National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) launched CODA based on a report by Advisian detailing the large costs associated with dismantling efforts. A coalition of seven oil and gas operators, including BHP, Chevron, and Woodside, funded the report which then launched the program. CODA allows for the companies to reduce the otherwise unavoidable costs associated with the decommissioning process, thus it is in their interest, as NERAs Decommissioning General Manager Andrew Taylor noted. All of these companies are required to carry decommissioning liabilities on their books, so its in their interest to engage in a collaborative way to find a more efficient way to do this work, Taylor told the Australian Associated Press. The report supports a possible cost reduction of $7.9 to $10.5 billion (US$6.1 to 8.1 billion), premised on the implementation of multiple cost-reducing opportunities. One such major opportunity is to avoid the removal and transport of pipelines. The report suggests disconnecting and cleaning pipelines as required, but then re-burying them as is, with the strategy alone estimated to save 15 percent, or $7.7 billion (US$5.9 billion). Natural gas is being viewed as a crucial component to Australias goal in reducing carbon emissions, goals that have been set forth by Australias promises in line with the Paris Agreement. According to a vision by the APPEA, natural gas is integral to a low carbon Australian economy due to its considerably lower carbon emissions when compared with coal. It also stated that increased use of natural gas has several environmental benefits, including reduced emissions of fine particulates, as well as reduced emissions of both sulphur dioxide (a primary contributor to smog and acid rain) and nitrogen oxides. Demand for natural gas, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG), is forecast to grow in the coming years. Growing global demand for natural gas, particularly in Asian economies is driving increasing LNG export volumes, the APPEA spokesperson said. A truck driver who had been on a drug bender for days before causing a fatal crash which killed four police officers had been warned by his own truck to slow down. Mohinder Singh, 48, thought he was being chased by a witch in the moments leading up to the horrific crash on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway on April 22. He had only slept for five hours over the past three days when he ran his truck into Leading Senior Constable Lynnette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney. The four had been impounding a Porsche driven by mortgage broker driver Richard Pusey when they were struck and killed by Singh's semi-trailer. In chains: Mohinder Singh Bajwa arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday Left to right: Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Joshua Prestney all died in the crash Mohinder Singh Bajwa arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday under heavy guard Parents of Josh Prestney, Andrew and Belinda, arrive at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday Singh was brought to the Supreme Court of Victoria in chains on Thursday and under heavy police guard. The court heard Singh had been told to get some rest before he got behind the wheel that day. For two whole seconds before he ran the police officers down, Singh's truck itself pleaded with him to stop. At just on 22 seconds past 5.36pm that day, Singh's truck swerved into the emergency lane where the vehicle's front mounted radar sensor detected the stationary police vehicles in front of the truck. The truck triggered a 'Forward Collision Warning Event', which projected a red flashing light onto the inside of the windscreen. Crown prosecutor Brendan Kissane, QC told the court, which was packed with the families of the dead officers, the signal changed to a flashing light and an acoustic signal sounded. 'Over the next two seconds, the truck travelled a further 50 metres at a speed of 87 kmh,' he said. Two seconds later the truck hit. Crash experts later found Singh never hit the brakes and the only reason the truck stopped at all was because the vehicle itself had done so. Singh had spent the previous few days on a bender smoking ice and cannabis and downing bottles of booze. His own junkie clients had repeatedly told him to get some sleep. 'He was off it. He was talking nonsense. He was saying the witches are coming and we have to leave,' one customer later told police. 'I had never seen anyone as drug f**ked in my life. He hadnt slept for eight days.' The partner of Constable Glen Humphris, Todd Robinson (centre in light blue suit), arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday Mohinder Singh Bajwa arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Thursday before his pre-sentence hearing Mohinder Singh Bajwa's truck careered off the highway and into the car of Richard Pusey, who had been pulled over by the officers for speeding Motorists who observed Singh on the freeway that day described Singh's truck as being out of control and veering repeatedly into the emergency lane. 'This dudes going to f**king kill someone,' a witness told his mum. The court heard Singh was so trashed he had delusions he was being followed by a witch who had chased him through paddocks and sat in his passenger seat. 'He said she wouldn't leave the car no matter how much he begged,' a drug-using friend of Singh's told police. Other witnesses said Singh was so tired he couldn't speak in the days leading up to the accident. The truck driver on Thursday admitted to selling ice and cannabis to a number of associates. The funeral procession lines up during the funeral of Constable Josh Prestney on May 4 last year. Floral tributes before the funeral of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor at the Victoria Police Academy in Melbourne last April Mohinder Singh thought he was being chased by a witch in the moments leading up the the horrific crash on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway on April 22 Pusey himself pleaded guilty on Wednesday to several charges after filming the crash site and taunting a senior constable as she lay dying. Pusey avoided being struck in the crash as he had been urinating off to the side of the road. Pictured: Truck driver Mohinder Singh He fled the scene and was arrested a day after the crash on April 23. The deaths of Leading Senior Constable Lynnette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney was the biggest loss of officer lives in a single incident in Victoria Police's history. Singh is in the process of listening to the shattered family and friends of those officers he killed. One after the other devastated loved ones are facing off with Singh to recount stories about those they have lost. The process is expected to take up much of the day before the hearing is adjourned until tomorrow where Singh's barrister will attempt to explain his client's actions. Singh is expected to spend more than a decade behind bars when he is eventually sentenced by Justice Paul Coghlan. Despite the opposing views here on Earth, America and Russia have always worked well together in space. For a long time, between the retirement of the American space shuttles and the rise of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, Russia has been instrumental in taking American astronauts into orbit and bringing them back to Earth. Sure, they got paid for it, but relations were built nonetheless.Not the same can be said about China, though. The nation is currently engaged in a very ambitious space exploration program, its most recent achievement being Tianwen-1 s arrival in orbit around Mars earlier in February. Despite this, Chinas taikonauts have never set foot on the International Space Station. In addition, no joint work with NASA was ever performed after the U.S. government banned the national space agency from working with China in 2011.It's no secret either that both Russia and China have set their sights on the Moon too. They did that possibly even before NASA announced plans to place a space station around the satellite, take humans back there once more, and eventually set up a Moon base.Earlier this week, the Russian and Chinese space agencies struck a deal for a joint moon station that would be scientific in nature and open to other nations as well, should they choose to join the project.Called International Scientific Lunar Station, it would include a complex of experimental research facilities either on the surface or in orbit. No other details were provided, and no details on a timeline were announced. Sometime this year, the two nations will have to come up with a roadmap for the joint project. The Hague, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Mar, 2021 ) :The EU's medicines regulator approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, making it the fourth jab to get the green light for the 27-nation bloc. "This is the first vaccine which can be used as a single dose," Emer Cooke, chief of the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA), said in a statement. The abuses linked to recent demonstrations marking 10 years since the Arab Spring. Activist groups report threats of rape and electroshock. A policeman beat a 13-year-old in the head, a 16-year-old is still in custody despite serious health problems. Manama (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Bahrain security forces beat and threatened a group of children with rape and electroshock, after arresting them in connection with last month's protests to coincide with the anniversary of the pro-democracy riots in 2011. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (London based Bird) report that at least 13 minors between the ages of 11 and 17 were arrested in mid-February on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the demonstrations. Asked by Reuters, the Manama government declined to comment on the allegations. In an official note, the government stated that it takes the protection of human rights in a "very serious" way and that it applies the "zero tolerance policy" to those who abuse or violate the legal system. In the complaint, the two activist groups explain that " Five children, arrested on Feb. 14-15, said that police from the station beat, insulted, and threatened them with electric shocks from a car battery." An officer hit a 13-year-old on his head and threatened to rape him, give him electric shocks, and beat his genitals." In some cases, Bahraini police arrested children for "burning tires or blocking roads" on the day of their arrest. Other reasons that led to the arrest of minors include vandalism, placing fake bombs and throwing Molotov cocktails in November 2020 in the context of street protests. Four of the detained minors are still under arrest in a detention center, including a 16-year-old with serious health problems. A government representative says that, in the case of minors, the decisions made by the criminal justice system of the Gulf nation weigh "the best interest of the individual child" combined with "rehabilitation and reintegration into society". Activist groups reply by denouncing the absolute lack of an independent judiciary and accuse the security forces of having committed torture and other forms of ill-treatment with impunity. Bahrain is a Gulf monarchy ruled by a Sunni dynasty in a country where the majority of the population (at least 60-70%) is Shia and want constitutional changes and social and economic rights. In 2011 in the wake of the Arab Spring, riots broke out that the king of Bahrain a US ally supported by Riyadh quashed thanks to Saudi military aid. Paris: Two French teenagers are under investigation for murder after police fished the body of a drowned schoolgirl out of the river Seine, prosecutors said, in a case that has shocked France. Prosecutors said the teenagers, a boy and a girl, both aged 15, had met the 14-year-old classmate, Alisha, in Argenteuil, west of Paris. The boy had allegedly beaten her and then with his girlfriends help thrown her into the river, where she drowned. Two minors are under investigation for murder, premeditated homicide, Pontoise city prosecutor Eric Corbaux told reporters. Locals stand next to flowers laid at the entrance of the Cognacq-Jay highschool in Argenteuil in tribute to the 14-year-old girl whose beaten body was found in the Seine. Credit:AFP The victim at that time was still conscious. She was crying, her eyes open. The young man and the young girl would have grabbed the victim to throw her into the Seine below the quay, said the prosecutor. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Cohort PLC - defence and security markets-focussed technology company - Is awarded three new contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence, which has a combined value of GBP9.2 million. Contracts include new partnerships with IAI Delta Systems Ltd in unmanned ground vehicles and Rohde, Schwarz in the area of electronic intelligence. Deliveries will start in Cohort's current financial year and continue through into 2022. Current stock price: 660.00 pence Year-to-date change: down 5.1% By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. By William Schwartz | Published on 2021/03/10 On March 10th a person affiliated with the Seoul police confirmed that they had sought out a warrant requesting an autopsy of Lee Ji-eun-I. The news follows the death of the nineties-era actress on March 8th. A concerned friend asked police to go to her home when she was not picking up the phone. Purportedly the police have been at a loss for an exact cause of death. Lee Ji-eun-I did not leave behind a suicide note, nor were there any signs of physical damage to her body, or any traces of a consumable substance that could have been used to end her life. That the police decided to seek a warrant also suggests that Lee Ji-eun-I's family is not cooperating with the investigation, preferring to make preparations for her funeral rather than fixate on the exact cause of death. Lee Ji-eun-I was forty-nine years old at the time of her passing. Lee Ji-eun-I is known to be survived by an ex-husband from whom she was estranged and an adult son who left her alone at home following the beginning of his mandatory military service. "My Dear Keum-hong" and "Birdcage Inn" are the best known films of the former actress, whose last professional appearance was in "Emperor of The Sea" back in 2004. Written by William Schwartz 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. RAMALLAH, West Bank Israel officially launched on March 8 its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 for Palestinian laborers who hold work permits in Israel or in its settlements in the West Bank. Staff at Magen David Adom (MDA), Israels paramedic and Red Cross service, vaccinated workers with the Moderna vaccine at checkpoints and military crossings and in the industrial areas in the West Bank. Around 700 Palestinian workers received the vaccine as part of a pilot campaign. The Palestinian Authority (PA) had announced on Feb. 19 that it reached an agreement with Israel in which Israeli authorities would vaccinate 100,000 Palestinian workers. Palestinian Ministry of Health spokesperson Kamal al-Shakhra said in statements to Palestine TV on March 8 that Palestinians and Israelis agreed on all details to vaccinate workers after deliberations between them, with the participation of the ministries of labor and health and the PA-affiliated General Authority of Civil Affairs. The two sides agreed that Palestinian medical staff would eventually administer the vaccine to workers at the agreed-upon Israeli checkpoints and crossings, according to Shakhra. He said the first day of vaccination, led by MDA, was a pilot campaign only, and Palestinian medical staff would begin administering the vaccine. This will allow them to tally the workers who received the vaccine and allow the Ministry of Health to follow up on the development of their health condition, he added. The health situation in the West Bank is critical in light of increasing deaths and coronavirus cases and more so now with the outbreak of the British and South African strains. This has drained the operational capacity of hospitals, which have become incapable of receiving patients in intensive care units due to lack of beds. The dangerous pandemic curve pushed the Palestinian government to renew a total lockdown in many governorates in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. Nablus Governor Ibrahim Ramadan announced shutting down the governorate completely from March 6 to 13, with the possibility of renewing the lockdown. Ramallah and Al-Bireh Gov. Layla Ghannam also announced a lockdown in the governorate beginning in the evening of March 6 until the morning of March 14. Bethlehem, Tulkarem and Qalqilya governorates made similar decisions. The lockdown included banning movement between the cities and villages and halting internal and external transport completely, as well as closing industrial and commercial facilities except for bakeries and pharmacies. The work of ministries, public and private institutions, schools and universities was also suspended. The West Bank alone, excluding Jerusalem and its outskirts, recorded 17 deaths and 1,619 COVID-19 cases on March 8, despite the total lockdown in some governorates. The director general of supportive medical services at the Ministry of Health, Osama al-Najjar, told Al-Monitor, We are now at the worst stage since the coronavirus broke out in 2020, despite the expertise in dealing with the virus. There are no vacant beds at the hospitals, and dozens of patients are waiting in their houses. Najjar added, The situation of the pandemic is bad, and it is set to get much worse amid the wide outbreak of the British strain. We have reached our maximum capacity, and we can only bet on peoples commitment to the health measures now, he added The spike in cases is worrying, and we hope the governments total lockdown measures and citizens commitment will curb the infection curve so that we can welcome more patients in hospitals, he said. The Ministry of Health does not have accurate data about the number of infected people with the British strain, which Najjar asserted has dangerous symptoms that are affecting children and youths. Oxygen cylinders and intensive care units are urgently needed, he added. We have detected 800 cases exhibiting the British strain through random testing samples on patients. We expect 90% of the new cases to have the British strain, he said. Najar said the Ministry of Health, through its committees, has advised the National Emergency Committee led by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to impose a total and strict lockdown, including a strict curfew, for two consecutive weeks to break the new strain chain. But the measures that were taken did not meet these criteria, he said. Given the tough pandemic situation, the Palestinian Ministry of Health is racing against time to secure coronavirus vaccines from companies it signed purchasing deals with. But the vaccines have not arrived yet. Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila said during a meeting with rights and legal organizations on March 7 that the problem in securing vaccines is not financial, as the necessary financial budgets to purchase them have been approved and the funds have been transferred to some companies. The problem is with the companies in providing the doses and meeting the terms of the agreements, she said. The Ministry of Health said on March 2 it has received so far 12,000 vaccine doses from different sources (Sputnik from Russia and Moderna from Israel) 2,000 of which have been sent to the Gaza Strip and 9,800 to the West Bank. Kaila told Al-Monitor, The ministry signed contracts with AstraZeneca to supply the vaccine. We are still waiting for the vaccines to be transferred to us as per the agreement. Unfortunately, they have not arrived, although several dates have been set for the provision, she said. On whether Israel has suggested giving vaccines to the PA, Kaila noted, We are ready to receive vaccines from any party but without conditions. We are ready to pay provided that the vaccines are produced by an internationally acclaimed company. She added, Israel did not propose to supply us with vaccines. If it does, we can buy them without any problem. She indicated that the decision not to request vaccines from Israel is in the hands of the Palestinian leadership. Gandhinagar, March 11 : The Vibrant state of Gujarat is also vibrant as far as rapes of adolescent girls is concerned. The state has seen more than three rapes of adolescent girls everyday during the past 5 years. According to the state government figures released in the ongoing Assembly session there were 6,215 incidents of adolescent girls raped in the period from October 2015 to September 2020. Congress MLA from Petlad, Niranjan Patel had raised the question before Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as to how many rape incidents had occurred from October 2015 till September 2020 in Gujarat, how many persons were still to be nabbed and what action did the government take to curb such incidents. In reply the Gujarat government's home department informed that during the said period a total of 6,215 adolescent girls were raped in Gujarat. Practically this amounts to more than three rapes of teenage girls everyday in Gujarat which boasts of having coined the slogan, 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'. The maximum number of rapes were registered in the largest city, Ahmedabad with 977 cases. The highest number of gang rapes was also registered in Ahmedabad, 9 during the same period. The Diamond City, Surat was second in line with 753 rapes in 5 years. Surat also saw 7 gang rapes in the same period. Bhavnagar witnessed 432 rapes of adolescent girls from 2015 to 2020 and 6 incidents of gang rape. The Saurashtra capital, Rajkot witnessed 311 incidents of teenage girls raped and 4 incidents of gang rape. The North Gujarat city of Mehsana registered 272 rapes, Rajkot rural 271, Vadodara city 270, Ahmedabad rural 214, Chhota Udaipur 179, Surat rural 174, Morbi 171, Jamnagar 163 and Patan 153 rapes of adolescent girls. Out of these 6,215, the Gujarat Police still has to arrest a total of 209 persons connected with the crimes. In response to what steps did the government take to prevent such crimes, the home department replied that 39 women police stations were set up across the state. For the protection of women, 181 'Abhayam' women helpline was made available. The department had also launched a Abhayam 181 mobile application on August 6, 2018. Moreover, Women Security Committees were set up at the village, tehsil and district levels across the state and every district had a One Stop Crisis Centre. Addis Ababa, March 11, 2021 (SPS) - The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mohamed Salem Uld Salek held a meeting today with his counterpart from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mr. Demeke Mekonnen, to deliver a letter from the President of the Republic, SG of Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, addressed to the Prime Minister of his country, Mr. Abiy Ahmed, on the latest developments regarding the question of Western Sahara. Both addressed issues of regional and international context, particularly the situation in Western Sahara, marked by the resumption of the war caused by the Moroccan aggression to the El Guerguerat region, on November 13. of 2020, that ended the ceasefire that has prevailed since 1991 as a result of a peace plan sponsored by the UN and the African Union (former OAU). In this regard, the foreign ministers of both countries welcomed the excellent and historic bilateral relations between the Saharawi Republic and Ethiopia, expressing their willingness to promote them in the best interest of their peoples. SPS 125/090/TRA People in Japan are remembering those who were killed 10 years ago, when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan and triggered a nuclear catastrophe. A national memorial ceremony has been held in Tokyo. People observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., the exact moment the magnitude-9 quake struck. The quake generated tsunami over 10 meters high, killing 15,900 people. 2,525 others remain unaccounted for, and 3,775 have since died of related causes. The government has held a memorial ceremony annually on March 11 starting in 2012. But the event was canceled last year and the number of attendees has been limited this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the ceremony, family members of victims spoke about their loss and how they are trying to move on. Saito Makoto is from Fukushima prefecture, one of the areas most devastated by the disaster. "I lost my second son Shota, who was 5 years old at the time, in the tsunami. If he were alive, he would be in his third year of junior high school. I deeply regret that I can't give him any advice on his future. I don't want his death to be a waste. I work at an elementary school. So, I want to share with children what I experienced and teach them how precious life is. I am determined to keep the disaster from fading away in people's memories and pass on the lessons we learned to future generations," Saito said. Omi Chiharu, who lives in Iwate Prefecture, survived, but the inn she worked at was completely destroyed by the tsunami. "Thanks to a lot of support and warm words from people not only across Japan but around the world, I was able to get back to normal, little by little. I look forward with hope, even in a difficult situation where everything changed... It's been 10 years since the disaster, yet the sadness we felt will never fade away. But we will protect the town we love with our hands, and move toward the future," Omi said. This is the first time Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attended the annual ceremony. The couple has visited the affected areas since the disaster and offered words of encouragement to survivors before Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne in 2019. At the ceremony, the Emperor said that while he feels reconstruction has been progressing, various problems still remain. He said his heart aches when he turns his thoughts to those who have struggled. Emperor Naruhito said, "It is a matter of great importance, I believe, that we all keep ourselves united, and everlastingly maintain the will to stand by the afflicted people so that the progress of the reconstruction will steadily bear fruit from now onwards in order to help all of them regain their peaceful daily lives in less than no time without leaving even a single soul behind in this difficult situation. I, together with the Empress, would like to continue to listen to the voices of those in the afflicted regions and stay close to them." Japan's Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide said that 2,000 people still reside in temporary housing even though reconstruction is entering its final phases. He stressed the government's commitment to leading reconstruction efforts. Suga said, "The government will continue to provide seamless support to affected citizens. In areas affected by the nuclear disaster that need mid- to long-term help, the government will advance measures to improve living conditions for people to return home, and bolster the revitalization of industries. We will do our utmost to fully reconstruct and revive Fukushima and complete the reconstruction of the Tohoku region." He added that Japan's history of natural disasters has created resiliency in its people, and vowed that the country would follow past examples of "courage and hope." * Taiwan meets three criteria to be labelled manipulator * Taiwan c.bank does not expect punitive measures * C.bank sees economy staging "v-shaped" recovery in 2021 (Adds further comment on economic recovery) TAIPEI, March 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan central bank governor Yang Chin-long said on Thursday that the United States may label the island a currency manipulator as it has already met Washington's three main criteria for making such a decision. Yang, answering lawmaker questions in parliament, added that if this happens it would not be too serious and that there would be no immediate disadvantage for Taiwan and they did not expect to be subject to so-called "Section 301" measures that might lead to tariffs. Yang said it's important to communicate with the United States about the reasons for Taiwan's strong currency, including the U.S. quantitative easing policy and the effects of the China-U.S. trade war, which have boosted exports of Taiwan tech and expanded its trade surplus with the United States. The Taiwan dollar's 5.6% gain against the greenback last year was among the strongest in Asia and it has continued to rise this year on the back of booming exports and a rebounding economy, though Yang saw signs for optimism. "The U.S. dollar has recently been strong, and the Taiwan dollar exchange rate has been close to equilibrium. This is a good phenomenon," he said. Taiwan's central bank announced on Wednesday a large spike in its currency intervention spending last year, possibly putting the trade-dependent island in Washington's crosshairs to be labelled a manipulator. Taiwan has now reached three of the criteria Washington uses to label a country a currency manipulator, including how much it spent on currency intervention in 2020. Taiwan's trade surplus with the United States hit $29.9 billion in 2020, according to official data, almost $7 billion more than in 2019, while the current account surplus last year was around 11% of GDP. Both exceed by a wide margin Washington's criteria for labelling a country a currency manipulator. Taiwan's tech-focused economy has benefited from global demand for laptops, tablets and other equipment to support the work-from-home boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yang said he foresaw a "V-shaped" recovery for the economy this year, and that they would likely revise up their growth forecast at next week's quarterly meeting. (Reporting by Liang-sa Loh; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christian Schmollinger & Shri Navaratnam) [March 11, 2021] Announcing Cayuse Inventions Portland, Ore., March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cayuse, today, announced the launch of Cayuse Inventions built to manage all aspects of the lab-to-market process related to technology transfer, IP management, and research commercialization. Developed with top-tier technology transfer offices, Inventions seamlessly integrates with the full range of apps on the Cayuse Research Suite. 'Tech Transfer leaders need a transformational and modern, cloud solution that is fully integrated into proposal, award and compliance workflows, and includes powerful marketing and licensee prospect engagement tools. We believe Tech Transfer and Commercialization Offices have had limited tools, and limited options to support their evolving needs. Cayuse Inventions uniquely addresses the challenges and reimagines the entire lab-to-market process, providing teams an intuitive, connected system accessible anywhere, anytime, said Matt McLellan, Cayuse CEO. Cayuse Inventions was originally developed in 2011 by the tech transfer professionals at The Ohio State University (OSU), and perfected by InnovateIP in partnerhip with OSU, Duke University, Washington University, St. Louis, and other top research organizations. Inventions is a cutting-edge solution designed not only to contemporize tech transfer, but also to help inventors and researchers maximize the commercial value and societal impact of their work. Over the last decade this app has proven its transformative potential in terms of enhancing operational efficiency, visibility, and connections between all stakeholders involved in commercializing research: inventors, researchers, law firms, licensees, and prospective licensees. Were thrilled to see InnovateIP join a company like Cayuse who is so focused on empowering globally connected research and has such an incredible reputation for excellent customer support said Rob Reardon, Assistant Director of Operations at Washington University, St. Louis. We couldnt be happier with the efficiencies and results weve seen over several years powered by this intuitive, yet powerful, solution. About Cayuse Cayuse empowers globally connected research. Its integrated, cloud research platform powers a suite of applications that maximizes researcher success, improves collaboration, and streamlines work across the entire research lifecycle as well as the commercialization of research outcomes. The Cayuse community of over 400 customers includes academic institutions such as UCLA, the University of North Carolina, The Ohio State University, The National University of Singapore, NYU, Duke University, and University of Sydney, along with pharmaceutical and biotech companies like Eli Lilly, as well as hospitals, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Attachment Cayuse Inventions Press Release Barbara Weiss, Brand and Content Manager Cayuse 503-780-4314 barbara.weiss@cayuse.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] House Committee Votes Against Rep. Miller-Meeks Motion to Dismiss Opponents Election Contest A House of Representatives committee on March 10 rejected for now a motion from Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) that asked for the dismissal of an election contest. Rita Hart, who battled with Miller-Meeks for the opportunity to represent Iowas 2nd Congressional District, alleges she won the 2020 election even though Miller-Meeks was certified the winner by six votes and was sworn in on Jan. 4. Hart petitioned the House to include 22 uncounted votes, which would see Miller-Meeks defeated. In response, Miller-Meeks asked the House Administration Committee to dismiss the request. In a party-line vote, the committee on March 10 decided against doing so for now. Ill just say that I believe dismissal today would be a dereliction of our duty under the Constitution and under federal law, Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said during a meeting before the vote. She cited the Constitutions Article 1, Section V, which states in part, Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns, and Qualifications of its own Members. And accordingly, we have a constitutional duty to ensure that the will of the people is reflected in the final composition of the House, Lofgren said. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) (By House Creative Services/Public Domain) Hart, a former Iowa state senator, has raised specific, credible allegations that enough validly cast ballots were wrongly excluded from the certified totals to reverse the elections outcome, she said. Today, none of us can state with confidence who actually won this election. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) said he supported the amendment to dismiss the contest because Miller-Meeks has been certified the winner. Miller-Meeks has won the election, the majority of Iowa has fairly elected their representative. The Democratic majority in Washington should not stand in the way and delay this process any longer and spend taxpayer money on unnecessary legal fees, he said. The vote postponed ruling on the motion to dismiss until both parties respond to questions from lawmakers. Another vote will be held down the line. The House rarely intervenes in elections, but it does have the power to do so. Over Republican objections prior to the vote, Democrats on the Administration panel approved two resolutions on Feb. 19 that establish the procedure by which Harts challenge will be heard. Under the process, the administration panel can convene hearings on the issue, call witnesses, accept documentary evidence, and even conduct its own recount using rules of its choice to determine what ballots to accept or reject, rather than the rules adopted by Iowa officials. Ultimately, the decision could end up coming down to a vote by the full House, which Democrats control 221211, meaning Miller-Meeks could well be unseated by a partisan majority. The House hasnt reversed the seating of a state-certified election winner in that manner since 1985 when then-Speaker of the House Tip ONeill (D-Mass.) approved tossing out Republican Rep. Rick McIntyre, who had been officially seated, and instead accepted the incumbent Democrat, Rep. Frank McCloskey. Mark Tapscott contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) The government is working to secure more AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines from the Serum Institute of India, according to Indian ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran. During a Palace briefing, Kumaran said the Philippines wants to order "a larger number" of the Covovax vaccine. "That detail is being currently negotiated," he said. Some Philippine government officials are now in India to pursue the supply agreement for 30 million doses of Covovaxa vaccine developed by US drugmaker Novavax, but manufactured at the Serum Institute of India. Kumaran said the vaccines may arrive in the Philippines by "late second quarter or early in the third quarter." "This will provide a backbone for the Philippines vaccination efforts in the second half of 2021. We're very happy with this development," the envoy added. Kumaran also said there is a possibility the Serum Institute of India may supply AstraZeneca. The British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm partnered with the India-based drugmaker to help manufacture its vaccine. He said this may happen "in the latter half of this year or later." "That's an ongoing discussion," Kumaran added. The Philippines already received the initial supply of 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility. RELATED: COVAX completes delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines for PH RELATED: PH, India to hold talks for purchase of Covaxin doses; initial 8m supply achievable envoy Kumaran said the Philippine government is also targeting to purchase 8 million doses of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin vaccine. The Republic of Suriname has decided to open an embassy in Rabat and a consulate in Dakhla, in order to give impetus to bilateral relations and cooperation with Morocco. The announcement was made by visiting Surinamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albert Ramdin, at a press briefing on Thursday in Rabat. The Surinamese top diplomat said he had discussed with his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita the opportunities to develop b2b relations between the two countries, with a view to strengthening bilateral trade within the framework of South-South cooperation. Ramdin noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Suriname, in July 2004, the partnership between the two countries has significantly evolved. He said it has been agreed during his talks with Bourita to deepen political dialogue, renew bilateral ties and share views on regional and multilateral cooperation. This collaboration is an essential element of South-South cooperation, solidarity and mutual respect between the two countries, he said. During their talks, the two officials established a 2021-2024 cooperation roadmap, meant to consolidates the excellent and friendly relations existing between the two countries. Regarding the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, Ramdin reaffirmed his countrys support for the territorial integrity of Morocco and its unshakeable stand concerning the Moroccanness of the Sahara and the sovereignty of Morocco over its southern provinces. The government of the Republic of Suriname supports the autonomy plan proposed by the Kingdom of Morocco as the sole basis for a lasting political solution to this dispute, added the Surinamese FM. BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia Armenia legislature, government reduce expenses for bonus pays, business trips EU envoy to Armenia visits Meghri 92 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia World oil prices continue to be on the rise Paris mayor to visit Yerevan in October Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Gyumri: I said 'If nothing changed second time I come, they will beat me here Acting premier meets with Armenian community in France Armenia parliament committees continue discussion on 2020 state budget report Iran navy ship catches fire in Persian Gulf US man commits suicide live on Instagram after police chase Newspaper: What is situation at Sev Lake area of Armenia? Newspaper: What instructions did Armenia acting defense minister get in Moscow? Israel removes many coronavirus restrictions Armenia acting PM arrives in Belgium Emmanuel Macron: The Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenias sovereign territory Armenia 3rd President on authorities and the upcoming elections Armenia 3rd President reacts to photos of bodies of soldiers in freezer: It felt like the blood froze in my veins Armenia Ombudsman addresses OSCE officials in regard to Ilham Aliyev's Armenophobic statements Turkey's Erdogan expresses willingness to support Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral cooperation Armenia acting MOD visits Border Guards Department of Russia Federal Security Service French-Armenians hold protest against Armenia acting PM's visit to France Karabakh ex-Ombudsman appointed State Minister Rapid reaction service set up ahead of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia Armenia has new ambassador to Ukraine OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are ready to visit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border Armenia President appoints judges Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia's Syunik Province on a daily basis Armenia police encircle stage placed at Republic Square (PHOTO) Yerkir.am: ARF-D Bureau member: Armenia acting PM ignored Macron's phone calls on November 9, 2020 7 EU countries start issuing vaccination certificates Latest on scandal over improper storage of Armenian soldiers bodies, more on COVID-19, Jun. 1 Armenia Constitutional Court launches case proceedings based on President's application Armenia acting emergency situations minister says he's concerned about situation in army Armenia acting education, science, culture and sport minister receives ICRC Delegation Armenia ex-President Sargsyan nephew acquitted Armenia deputy police chief: No real cases of vote-buying reported to date Armenia human rights activists: Nearly 10 protesters detained during protest in front of government building Audit Chamber director: About half of Armenia state agencies, institutions were not audited in 2020 Robert Kocharyan: Acting PM is an unsuccessful, political Lilliput Armenia 2nd President: Authorities shamelessly deceived people throughout the 44-day war Acting emergency situations minister: Armenia's Seismic Protection Service is the best in the region Dollar gains value in Armenia Macron: France will work towards restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan Richard Ferrand: France stands with Armenia Armenia 2nd President: Incumbent authorities failed to fulfill their promises Armenia Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program is launched Yerevan court rules to conditionally release man who attempted to assassinate ex-presidential candidate People came to power in Armenia who consistently destroyed army combat-readiness, says ex-President Kocharyan Armenia 2nd President rules out collaboration with Nikol Pashinyan Central Bank chief: Armenia national debt exceeded 63% of GDP Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Turkey persistently crosses boundaries of permissibility Finance ministry: Armenia 2020 economic growth forecasts are revised downwards Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: It is disgrace when law enforcement agencies are subject to PM himself US sells oil seized from Iran Robert Kocharyan: Government does not pay enough attention to security issues Armenia 1st President spokesperson: Ter-Petrosyan has nothing to speak with the nation-destroying plague Armenia acting PM orders internal investigation into case of storage conditions of fallen soldiers bodies, remains Armenia ex-president Kocharyan gives interview to Russia newspaper Armenia acting deputy PM on unblocking of roads with Azerbaijan: There will be no troops standing there Nikkei: Toyota and Honda stop car production in Malaysia Armenia official on deploying international observers at Azerbaijan border: You will hear reaction on this matter soon USAID helps UN World Food Programme support displaced people in Armenia Armenia official: Work of trilateral working group on roads unblocking has stopped after recent incidents Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: Relations between our countries are developing very successfully Armenia health minister: Improper storage of fallen soldiers bodies, remains was my omission 108 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia President to children: I believe that you will make our country much better Armenia CEC publicizes complete lists of political forces registered to run in snap parliamentary elections World oil prices going up Queen Elizabeth turns down PM's offer to name new royal yacht after Prince Philip Armenia parliament discusses 2020 state budget report Newspaper: Armenia acting FM resigns after 3rd attempt Newspaper: Yerevan mayor to leave office Israel, UAE sign tax treaty Newspaper: Even vagrants are persuaded, taken to Armenia acting PM Pashinyans rally in Vanadzor Swedish defense minister demands explanation from Denmark over spy scandal Acting Deputy PM: Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss issues within logic of "corridor" Armenia Central Electoral Commission determines numbers of political parties for elections Armenia 2nd President visits Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gyumri (PHOTOS) Opposition Armenia bloc representative: We're running in elections to win Azerbaijan MFA comments on calls for release of Armenian POWs with infinite hypocrisy EC: Vaccinated citizens should be exempted from tests, quarantine when traveling within EU Armenia Ombudsman discusses rights of 6 captured Armenian servicemen with ICRC Delegation head EU ready to use all the tools at its disposal to change Turkey's behavior Yerevan court obliges to abolish violation of rights of Armenia Supreme Judicial Council ex-chairman Greek and Turkish leaders to meet in June on sidelines of NATO summit Armenia Central Electoral Commission to set up 2,008 polling stations for snap parliamentary elections Iranian companies to participate in reconstructing territories under Azerbaijan's control Opposition Armenia bloc's representative on acting PM's invitation to debate with 1st and 2nd Presidents Armenia acting FM dismissed upon presidential decree Body of brother of Armenian criminal authority "Don Pipo" found under bridge Armenia Prosecutor General holds consultation Digest on Armenian local news, EU is ready to help Armenia, Azerbaijan with border issues, 31.05.21 Relatives of missing Armenian servicemen open Heratsi Street in Yerevan Armenia acting PM to pay working visits to Paris and Brussels Armenia bloc representative on FM's resignation and National Security Service Armenia Investigative Committee: Fatal road accident, criminal case opened Armenia deputy FM submits resignation Chinese authorities allow families to have 3 children SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission Bio , the life sciences company delivering single-cell resolution multi-omics tools to accelerate discoveries and improve time-to-market for new therapeutics, today announced a new study published in Nature Communications using its Tapestri Platform to perform high-throughput single-cell proteogenomic profiling to precisely characterize tumor heterogeneity in three acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients across multiple treatment time points. In conventional AML studies, DNA sequencing and flow cytometry have been used to assess disease genotype and immunophenotype, respectively. However, because a cell's underlying DNA mutation or co-occurring mutations may not robustly predict its immunophenotype, the measurement of these parameters in separate assays does not fully characterize the clones, and thus, the heterogeneity of disease. Authors of the new study from University of California, San Francisco, including Mission Bio co-founder Professor Adam Abate, showed that the genotype-immunophenotype associations of clones in two AML patients were discordant underscoring the multifaceted nature of the disease. This breakthrough was only possible thanks to the multi-omics capability of the Tapestri Platform. "Unlocking the mysteries of the genotype-immunophenotype relationship in AML is vitally important to bettering our understanding of the disease, and something that was not fully possible with conventional tools," Abate said. "This new insight into the connection between mutational status and cell phenotype holds exciting potential for the development of much-needed therapeutics." The study demonstrates that simultaneous analysis of DNA and protein from the same single cells can be utilized to assess therapeutic responses to AML with high specificity. It also highlights the promise of multi-omics tools for advancing treatments for leukemia and other cancers. "Today's publication in Nature Communications is the latest in a growing number of studies that demonstrate how the Tapestri Platform is being used to further our understanding of cancers," said Charlie Silver, CEO of Mission Bio. "As demonstrated in this paper, single-cell genotypes correlated with single-cell phenotypes can be used to study how therapeutic responses to AML in a way that provides more insights than previously possible. As more therapeutic agents are developed, this multi-omics tool will be highly valuable for assessing how particular clones will respond to treatment." To learn more about Mission Bio and how their Tapestri Platform is helping enhance cancer research and unlock pathways to new treatments, visit missionbio.com . About Mission Bio Mission Bio is a life sciences company that accelerates discoveries and cures in oncology by equipping researchers with the tools they need to improve how we measure and predict our resistance and response to cancer therapies. Mission Bio's multi-omics approach improves time-to-market for new therapeutics, including innovative cell and gene therapies that provide new pathways to health. Founded in 2014, Mission Bio has secured investment from Novo Growth, Cota Capital, Agilent Technologies, Mayfield Fund, and others. The company's Tapestri platform gives researchers around the globe the power to interrogate every molecule in a cell together, providing a comprehensive understanding of activity from a single sample. Tapestri is the only commercialized multi-omics platform capable of analyzing DNA and protein simultaneously, from the same sample at single-cell resolution. The Tapestri Platform is being utilized by customers at leading research centers, pharmaceutical, and diagnostics companies around the world to develop treatments and eventually cures for cancer. To learn more, visit missionbio.com . Media Contact Consort Partners for Mission Bio [email protected] SOURCE Mission Bio Related Links http://www.missionbio.com Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access New Delhi, March 11 : A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking immediate release of detained Rohingya refugees in Jammu and also a direction to the Centre to expeditiously grant refugee identification cards through the FRRO for Rohingyas in the informal camps. The application filed by Mohammad Salimullah, a Rohingya refugee, through advocate Prashant Bhushan, sought a direction from the top court to the government to refrain from implementing any orders on deporting Rohingya refugees who have been detained in the sub jail in Jammu. The plea said the refugees faced an imminent danger of being deported vide the government circular which directs the relevant authorities to identify and expeditiously deport illegal Rohingya refugees. "It (petition) is filed in the public interest, in order to secure and protect the right against deportation of the petitioner refugees in India and to protect Constitutional guarantees under Article 14 and Article 21, read with Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India, against the deportation of Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in India after escaping widespread violence, bloodshed and discrimination against their community in their home State of Myanmar", said the plea. The plea urged the top court to direct UNHCR to intervene and determine the protection needs of the Rohingya refugees not just in the Jammu but also in camps across the country and complete the process of granting them Refugee cards. The plea said according to news reports in this month, nearly 150-170 Rohingya refugees in Jammu are being detained. The petitioner argued that this follows after the Union Minister Jitendra Singh's statements two months ago that the Rohingya wouldn't be able to secure citizenship. "In India, no legislation has been passed yet that specifically refers to refugees. Hence, it has in practice often clubbed Rohingya refugees with the class of illegal immigrants who may be deported by the government under the Foreigners Act 1946 and the Foreigners Order 1948", said the plea. Last year in January, the apex court had agreed to hear a clutch of pleas against the Centre's decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants to Myanmar. 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. Ukrainian Armor Design and Manufacturing Company is holding talks on the supply of military vehicles and mortar armaments to Afghanistan, Defense Express has reported, with reference to the company's press service. According to the report, Afghan security forces are seeking to buy MRAP vehicles from the Ukrainian automaker. A team of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) led by Senior Deputy Head of NDS, Mr Wahidi Nazar Ali Khan, has recently paid a visit to Ukrainian Armor to get a firsthand look at the company's manufacturing operation, facilities and products and to negotiate potential purchase options. While at Ukrainian Armor, the Afghan security forces team took a specific interest in MRAP vehicles, mortars and their associated ammunition, as well as maintenance and repair services for armored vehicles, the report said. At the end of the visit, the NDS team and Ukrainian Armor inked a Memorandum of Intent to continue negotiating the potential supply of the company's products and services to Afghan security forces. op Nearly 600 Connecticut National Guard troops gathered Wednesday as they prepared to leave for eastern Africa on a major mission in the global war on terrorism. The move marked the single largest deployment since 2009 for the Connecticut troops, which often conduct missions with up to 150 troops. Troops who were interviewed at the send-off at the Bradley Air National Guard Base in East Granby said they were excited about the mission that will last from 10 months to a year. Lt. Eleanor Baranofsky of Waterford previously served in Kuwait and understands the dynamics of being in a military family. Its hard to be away from home, she said. My husband is active duty in the Navy. We both support and understand each others career. As an engineer officer in an infantry unit, she said she would work to improve the base defenses in Africa. The troops were headed for Djibouti to help with port and airfield security and also provide a regional, quick-reaction force if necessary. Connecticut troops will be joining fellow Guard soldiers from Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Colorado in an overall group of about 1,000 troops. They were headed Wednesday night for training in Texas with the other units before eventually arriving in Africa. Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, wearing a mask, told the Courant that she planned to elbow-bump the troops as they boarded the plane. I feel honored to do that, Bysiewicz said. Maj. Gen. Francis Evon, the highest commanding officer in the Guard, said that no women would have been in a similar deployment 10 years ago. But out of 600 troops on Wednesday, about 50 to 75 were women. Evon said the group headed overseas is the same group that set up hospital beds at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven and other spots during the COVID-19 crisis. Thats the uniqueness of the Guard, Evon said. They all volunteer to be something larger than themselves. The 102nd Infantry Regiment will be helping Operation Enduring Freedom, which is the militarys name for the global war on terrorism that began following the 9/11 attacks nearly 20 years ago. Story continues These guys are amazing guys and girls, said Gov. Ned Lamont, who was not at the send-off, said earlier Wednesday. Everything theyve been doing over the last year to setting up our testing centers, our field hospitals, and there they are going off to the Horn of Africa one of the most dangerous places on Earth to bring peace. I could not be more proud of our Guard. In the far eastern end of Africa, the Horn includes countries like Somalia and Ethiopia that have experienced unrest through the years. Five countries in the Horn have a combined population of about 115 million people with the largest being Ethiopia at about 96 million and Somalia being second at about 15 million. The Guard has different specialties, and they are usually called to provide for medical or transportation or logistics, Lamont said. The flight Wednesday had been delayed to 7:40 p.m. The deployment was large compared to others in recent years. Nearly 150 troops went to Kuwait in 2019, while 123 headed out to help in a yearlong mission to Cuba. Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com ALBANY Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the decision by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's acting counsel to refer a sexual assault allegation against the governor to the city's police department was "highly unusual" and would normally be a matter handled by the State Police. "This was highly unusual. No one can recall the Albany Police Department being contacted with a complaint of this type that happened on state property," Sheehan told the Times Union on Thursday. "Typically, those cases are referred to the State Police. We do have parallel jurisdiction but ... in my years in office I dont know of any sexual assault claim that has been referred to the Albany Police Department out of the state complex or the governors mansion." Cuomo's counsel reported the incident to Albany police on Wednesday night just hours after the Times Union published new details of a female aide's account of what she described as sexually aggressive groping by the governor after she was called to the Executive Mansion late last year. The referral, made by Cuomo's office as required by state law, was confirmed by the police department's spokesman and first reported by the New York Times. Sheehan said that before Beth Garvey, the governor's acting counsel, had contacted Albany police the department had been notified by State Police at the Capitol that Garvey would be calling them. Officials with the governor's office and the State Police did not immediately respond to questions about why the State Police did not field the complaint, or whether that agency had recused itself from the matter. The Times Union first reported this week that the woman's allegation against Cuomo could potentially lead to a charge of misdemeanor sexual assault. "When the police chief notified me of this notification that the police department received, I was very firm in communicating that while I understood that the department had been made aware of a potential criminal allegation, (and) that because this woman was represented, that the detectives or the police department should only contact her attorney, not her directly," Sheehan said. The woman's attorney informed the city that they are not interested in pursuing a criminal complaint at this time. The lawyer "has made it clear that she wants the attorney generals office to have the authority to investigate this, along with the other allegations, and I am very respectful of that decision," Sheehan said. Related: Where do New York lawmakers stand on Cuomo remaining in office? A spokesman for the city police force said that the referral did not mean an investigation had begun, but that the police would offer services to the alleged victim. As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department, Garvey said in a statement. If they decline, the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves and inform the department of the allegation. In this case, the person is represented by counsel and when counsel confirmed the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorneys information, Garvey said. On March 1, the governors office issued a referral letter empowering state Attorney General Letitia James to commence an investigation of earlier allegations that the governor had sexually harassed at least two female staff members, including Boylan. That referral does not authorize the attorney general to conduct a criminal investigation or to subpoena witnesses before a grand jury. It's unclear, given the latest alleged victim's accusations, whether the governor's office will expand its referral to give James' office jurisdiction to handle any criminal components of the harassment and sexual assault allegations. In essence, Cuomo would be authorizing the attorney general to investigate him for any potential crime. Sheehan, an attorney who previously conducted sexual harassment investigations for a publicly traded company, said it is unusual for a victim of sexual harassment to pursue a criminal case against their alleged abuser. "In my experience, Ive never seen a complaint that resulted in criminal charges," the mayor said. "In virtually every instance the women who are subjected to sexual harassment want the harassment to stop and they want to pursue their claims civilly. Often they want to pursue it as confidentially as possible. "I think its really important to recognize that every time you make a victim tell her story, youre re-victimizing her," Sheehan said. The governor's administration has taken criticism for its failure to refer a complaint from Charlotte Bennett, another Cuomo aide who has made allegations against him, to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, as required by his own 2018 executive order. The Times Union reported Wednesday evening that the latest female aide to tell her story has alleged Cuomo aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after she had been called to the Executive Mansion under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor with a minor technical issue involving his mobile phone. They were alone in Cuomo's private residence on the second floor when he closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her, according to the source. The allegations by the female aide, who is the sixth woman to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, were first reported Tuesday by the Times Union. The additional details describe the most egregious behavior attributed to the governor to date. The person briefed on the case, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the woman who is much younger than Cuomo told the governor to stop. Her broader allegations include that he frequently engaged in flirtatious behavior with her, and that it was not the only time that he had touched her. The woman's story was revealed within the governor's Executive Chamber on March 3, as staff members watched his first news conference in the week since Lindsey Boylan published an online essay detailing her own allegations against Cuomo. In the news conference, the governor denied ever touching any women "inappropriately." Hearing those remarks, the female aide became emotional. At least one female supervisor came to her assistance and asked why she was upset. The female aide subsequently told the supervisor about what she said had been inappropriate encounters with Cuomo, the source said. In response to the Times Union's questions about the allegations, Cuomo on Wednesday evening issued a statement to the newspaper: "As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney generals report. State Attorney General Letitia James' office is overseeing an investigation of the multiple harassment allegations against Cuomo. Prince Harry and Megan Markles interview with Oprah Winfrey has elicited numerous opinions and reactions from all cornersexcept from the Royal Family itself, that is. Dishy headlines have topped British tabloids, serious conversations about race have lit up morning news programs in the U.K., all the while, the future of the monarchyif not exactly its existencehas been thrown into question. Perhaps sensing that not responding at all to serious questions of mental health and racism from what are still family members of the Royal Family, might just confirm the couples depiction of the clan as cold and uncaring, the family came up with a four-sentence statement to let the world know how it felt. Advertisement On Wednesday, Buckingham Palace issued the statement from the Queen and it, more or less, resembled something a human would feel and say. The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan, the Queens statement read. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Advertisement Advertisement Breaking: Prince William has become the first member of the royal family to publicly address the race row sparked by Harry and Meghans interview. He says he hasn t spoken to his brother yet but will do and royals very much not a racist family. pic.twitter.com/WPtjexzARN Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) March 11, 2021 Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. 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. On Thursday, Prince William followed up, sort of, during an extemporaneous exchange with reporters while leaving an event at a London school, saying were very much not a racist family. At least they recognize theres a problem! Perhaps that counts as progress? Though not on the callous and unfeeling part of the Royal persona. When asked if he had spoken to his little brother after the world media-bending, family-shattering interview, William responded: I havent spoken to him yet, but I will do. Ugandas shutdown of social-media sites in January, right before a disputed election handed President Yoweri Museveni a sixth term, dealt a devastating blow to rice trader Elizabeth Nagunda: Her sales slowed to a near-halt. Before I would advertise, market my products on Facebook, WhatsApp, and even get customer orders via those platforms, she said in an interview in Kampala, the capital. I cant run any more adverts online. Even if I do, there are no people to view them. Facebook Inc. and Google are spending billions trying to get more people online in Africa, but the internet giants are now facing a backlash from governments worried about social-media platforms being used to remove them from power. These platforms, including Twitter, gave opposition politicians access to previously unreachable audiences and have been used to organize protestsmost notably during the Arab Spring that toppled leaders from Tunisia to Egypt. Now governments in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly ordering internet service providers to shut their gateways or throttle data traffic when confronted with dissent or the threat of electoral defeat. Facebook, Twitter and other companies have pushed back, condemning the disruptions and blocking accounts they allege are being used to undermine democracyactions that further raised the authorities ire and led to several outright bans on their services. Access Now and the #KeepItOn Coalition, which campaign for an end to internet shutdowns, documented 20 intentional disruptions in a dozen African nations last year. Ethiopia was among the worst violators of online freedom in 2020, imposing at least four outages in a bid to contain ethnic unrest and restrict the flow of information during a conflict in its northern Tigray region. More curbs have been introduced in 2021. The latest was in Senegal, where the government imposed an outage earlier this month after the arrest of an opposition leader triggered the most violent demonstrations in years. Not only do internet shutdowns interfere with the rights to access information, freedom of expression, and other fundamental freedoms, they are used in attempts to hide egregious human-rights violations, Access Now said in a report published March 3. Tech executives have long preached about offering their services to the estimated 3 billion people who remain offline, about 700 million of them in Africa. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has argued that connectivity is a basic human right. Early endeavors to get more people online seemed more fanciful than serious. Facebook tried to build a gigantic drone to provide high-altitude connectivity but grounded the Aquila project in 2018 after only two test flights, the first of which ended in what was described as a structural failure. Googleusing a project called Loonattempted something similar with helium-filled balloons sailing into the stratosphere, scrapping it in 2021 after the unit failed to develop a viable business model. Now the tech companies are taking the opposite approach, driven in part by a desire to win over a vast swathe of new users. Facebook and some of the worlds largest telecom carriers are spending almost $1 billion building a sub-sea internet cable that will connect Europe to the Middle East and 16 African countries. Google has announced its own sub-sea cable connecting Europe to Africa, using a route down the west coast. For now, companies have limited scope to counter internet shutdowns. Social media platforms are also trapped between attempting to be seen to counter misinformation and working with local governments to provide internet access. Tougher Stance Telecommunications companies say theyll lose their operating licenses if they ignore government orders to halt or restrict internet access. Even so, theyve faced accusations that they are overly accommodating toward repressive regimes and complicit in denying people access to an essential public good. Companies should definitely be taking a tougher stance, said Nic Cheeseman, a professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham. If a company wants to depict itself as being about freedom of informationas most telecommunication companies dothen they must defend media freedom, even in cases where it might hurt their business interests to do so. MTN Group Ltd., Africas largest wireless carrier by sales, responded to queries by referring to a statement published on its website that states: Our response to digital human rights is underpinned by a sound policy and due-diligence framework. Our approach is consistent with internationally recognized principles, while ensuring that MTN remains compliant with the terms of our various jurisdictional legal obligations and license conditions. Rival Vodacom Group Ltd. said it seeks to balance its responsibility to respect its customers right to privacy and freedom of expression against its legal obligation to respond to the authorities lawful demands, while safeguarding its employees. Airtel Africa Ltd. and Orange SA, which also have wireless operations on the continent, declined to comment. Shutdowns are hugely harmful, and undermine the public conversation and the rights of people to make their voices heard, Twitter said in an emailed response. The long-term result of this could be an internet that is less open, less free and less empowering for all. Even temporary disruptions of internet services have tremendous, negative human rights, economic and social consequences, Facebook said in a written response to questions. Its questionable whether governments derive any benefit from trying to stop their citizens from communicating: Research published in 2019 by Jan Rydzak, an associate director at Stanford Universitys Global Digital Policy Incubator, showed social media curbs tended to fuel rather than reduce violence; and internet shutdowns in Algeria and Sudan did nothing to quell protestsand may in fact have stoked outrage and accelerated their leaders downfalls. Besides stifling democracy and free speech in the worlds poorest continent, the disruptions have had far-reaching economic consequences, hindering business activity, curbing tax revenue and deterring foreign investment. Top10VPN, a U.K.-based digital privacy and security research group, estimates that shutdowns cost the sub-Saharan African region an estimated $237.4 million last year. In Ethiopia, the communications blackout prevented accurate reporting on the conflict in Tigray and fettered aid agencies trying to help tens of thousands of displaced people. Phone connections have been restored to major towns and cities, but data services remain suspended. The absence of a vibrant, independent mainstream media in many African nations makes a lack of access to online content all the more problematic. News about us and news about the values that we stand for does not feature on local radio or local TV, Bobi Wine, a Ugandan pop star-turned-politician who alleges that the vote he lost to Museveni was rigged, said in an interview with Johannesburg-based 702 Talk Radio. Social media is our only platform to express ourselves and communicate the raw reality of what is happening in Uganda. Now read: This table shows what the 5G spectrum fight in South Africa is about [March 11, 2021] Mercari Named to Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2021 PALO ALTO, Calif., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercari, the online marketplace that connects millions of people through its Japan and US platforms to buy and sell items no longer being used, today announced that it has been named to Fast Company's prestigious annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2021. Mercari, headquartered in Japan, is among the top ten companies given this honor in the Asia-Pacific category. The annual list recognizes the businesses that have not only found a way to be resilient in the past year, but have made a profound impact on their industries and culture as a whole. This year's MIC list features 463 businesses from 29 countries. "We are honored to be recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies this year," said John Lagerling, US CEO and Global CBO of Mercari. "Mercari was founded on the idea that unused items still have value and that it's a win-win for everyone if these valuable items can find a new life with someone else. As our users' needs change over time, we will continue to develop innovative solutions that make buying and selling on Mercari even easier and safer." This past year, people spent more time at home than ever before. This allowed them to take stock of what they have while decluttering and sprucing up their living spaces. As consumers organized their homes, many turned to marketplaces like Mercari to sell and find almost anything from everyday items for your home to one-of-a-kind vintage treasures. Mercari makes it easy for people to say "goodbye" to their unused items and "hello" to new-found treasures all from the comfort of their home. Mercari leverages the latest AI and machine learning to make exchanges as easy as possible for its users whether they're casual sellers, everyday shoppers or avid collctors. From image recognition to smart pricing and faster payments, the technology powering Mercari facilitates a low-lift experience for people who use the marketplace. In Japan, Mercari introduced Merpay, a digital payments service that can be used through the online marketplace app in 2019. Customers in Japan can use the sales balance they earn from selling on Mercari to make purchases both within Mercari's platform and at other stores nationwide. Fast Company's editors and writers sought out the most groundbreaking businesses across the globe and industries. They also judged nominations received through their application process. The World's Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides both a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most dynamic sectors of the economy. "In a year of unprecedented challenges, the companies on this list exhibit fearlessness, ingenuity, and creativity in the face of crisis," said Fast Company Deputy Editor David Lidsky, who oversaw the issue with Senior Editor Amy Farley. Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2021) is now available online here , as well as in app form via iTunes and on newsstands beginning March 16, 2021. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative. ABOUT MERCARI Mercari, Inc. (Mercari) is a U.S. based subsidiary of Mercari, Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Mercari is your marketplace. Our platform connects millions of people across the U.S. to shop and sell items no longer being used. Mercari is constantly innovating to make exchanges easier, from at-home authentication to improvements in online payments and shipping. Mercari has more than 50 million downloads in the U.S. and 350,000 new listings every day, empowering the next generation to transform the way they shop. Mercari can be downloaded on app stores or accessed online through www.mercari.com . ABOUT FAST COMPANY Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Stephanie Mehta. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com . Media Contact Tiffany Olson tiffany.olson@mercari.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercari-named-to-fast-companys-annual-list-of-the-worlds-most-innovative-companies-for-2021-301245196.html SOURCE Mercari [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] On March 56, thousands of virtual attendees flocked to YouTube for the seventh annual North Texas Teen Book Festival, hosted by Texass Irving Public Library and presented this year by HarperCollinss Epic Reads and Shelf Stuff. More than 90 authors participated in keynotes and panels, which were available to viewers worldwide. The preceding Ed Day: On Demand offered a professional development training symposium for local educators and librarians. Food-Centered Titles Whet the Palate Sweet and Salty Love featured National Book Award winner Elizabeth Acevedo (With the Fire on High, Quill Tree) and debut authors Laekan Zea Kemp (Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet, Little, Brown), Loan Le (A Pho Love Story, Simon & Schuster), and Jennifer Yen (A Taste for Love, Razorbill). Latinx Bookstagrammer Carmen of Tomes and Textiles served as moderator. After introductions, Carmen offered an icebreaker, asking the panelists which food or meal best represents their novel. Acevedo kicked off the discussion, saying, It would have to be a spread on a Lazy Susan, because of the range of her novels components; if it had to be a singular dish, itd be Sancocho, a Dominican stew. Yen spotlighted boba, saying that the tea and tapioca drink exemplifies the fun and interesting blend of Taiwanese and American culture she hopes the book provides. Selecting her protagonists signature coconut cake, Kemp spoke about its personal significance; coconut is [Kemps] favorite dessert flavor since she grew up sharing it with her grandfather. Finally, Le chose com ga, a comforting meal of rice with chicken; she believes it perfectly represents the underlying depth of the immigrant story in her Vietnamese American rom-com. Carmen then initiated individual questions, asking Kemp to speak about her protagonist Pens dream to open a pasteleria next door to her fathers restaurant. Kemp highlighted how the novel is really about a girl seeking her fathers approval and wanting to carry on his legacy. Food, then, serves as an emotional touchstone between Pen and her father, as well as representing Latinx creators proximity to our roots since we are always building on what came before. Le concurred with Kemp in naming food as an emotional touchstone in her own novel featuring competing family restaurants, adding, When I think of food, I think of family. Acevedo, meanwhile, spoke about the impetus to make heroine Emoni a chef. Acevedo revealed that she didnt start with a specific theme in mind; as a pantser, she write[s] to discover. The show Chopped and the novel Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel provided her with inspiration before National Novel Writing Month in 2013. I dont know, Im just obsessed with food, Acevedo concluded with a laugh. Finally, Yen unveiled the development of her books reality show mashup premise. She confessed that she doesnt watch The Bachelor or The Bachelorette; Mrs. Bennet in Pride & Prejudice, one of her favorite Jane Austen novels, inspired Yens protagonists mothers meddling matchmaking behavior. Yen also noted her love for the precision of baking, and the influence of The Great British Bake Off because of the contestants politeness and frequent youthfulness. Carmen next turned the conversation to cultural identity, starting with Kemp. As a mixed race Chicana and transracial adoptee, my identity is pretty complex, Kemp explained. But just as important as her exploration of being Latinx, she continued, are her conversations on mental health, as mental illness bears stigma in the Latinx community. As for Le, Carmen asked about elements of Vietnamese American identity that she sees as being policed by gatekeepers. Le identified the common Asian American trope of wantingor being forcedto go into STEM fields; in her book, she wanted to subvert expectations by showing Vietnamese American characters who pursue alternative paths for their own happiness. Yen then answered which elements of Taiwanese culture she found important to incorporate. Overall, she wanted to explore acculturation and difficulties that [Asian Americans and people of color] struggle with as diaspora, as well as immigrant and intergenerational difficulties. However, she made sure to distinguish Liza as Taiwanese instead of Chinese, hoping to show the little cultural differences that really set them apart. Other topics included exploring identity in prose vs. verse, writing and publishing, and impactful educators in the authors lives. Community, Worldbuilding, and Identity in Fantasy Final Fantasy, moderated by Sydnie Shreffler, featured authors Hafsah Faizal (We Hunt the Flame, FSG), Jordan Ifueko (Raybearer, Amulet), Darcie Little Badger (Elatsoe, illus. by Rovina Cai, Levine Querido), and Newbery Honoree Megan Whalen Turner (Return of the Thief, Greenwillow) in conversation. After introductionsincluding revealing their favorite doughnutShreffler asked Ifueko and Little Badger to speak to their experiences debuting during the pandemic. Ifueko mentioned how her publisher moved her launch date from spring to summer; while she was upset to not publish with many of her debut siblings, she called herself lucky, because by the time her book released, people were used to online events and festivals. Ifueko also discussed her anxiety during that period, as well as the concurrence of the Black Lives Matter protests; although publishing and hitting the New York Times bestseller list should feel like a significant milestone, she said there are a lot of blank spots [in my memory of the time]. I was under a lot of pressure. Similarly, Little Badger held more concern for her family than her publishing debut; when she sold her novel around the end of 2019, her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died during the pandemic, which was difficult to navigate as the healthcare system was overwhelmed. However, Little Badger shared that an online community of LGBTQ+ speculative fiction writers donated to the Carl Brandon Society in his name. While her debut year has been tough, she has also experienced the great strength of community. Faizal described the difficulty of writing sequels, the delay in We Hunt the Flames release, and how she felt shes not ready to say goodbye after concluding her duology, though the world of her next duology, starting with A Tempest of Tea, is set in a universe that is expanding from Arawiya. Turner shared how very surreal it feels completing her series after 20 years. She called the book launch one huge worldwide party for me as her fans span generations and were able to congregate online. Ifueko and Little Badger talked about the research process behind writing culturally based fantasy worlds. Ifueko identified the difficulty in researching her own background, as many of the academic texts about West Africa that are currently accessible are written by colonizers. Little Badger gave kudos to how she was raised: her mother is the director of policy for their Lipan Apache tribe, and her family has always valued the preservation of their cultural heritage. [The next question focused on pressure to fulfill diversity quotas. Ifueko said that including all 13 culturally distinct places in her novel seemed like the most natural thing in the world to me. As the self-described oldest panelist, Turner said her childhood reading options featured even less diversity than Ifuekos. There were only very Eurocentric options such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Susan Cooper, so she set out to write cultures that readers would feel familiarity with, without it being a retread or retelling. Theres always a tension between your desire to stick every historical thing you know is true into your fiction, Turner mused, but one should recognize that history is sometimes terrible and should not, and doesnt have to, be replicated. Little Badger subsequently spoke about establishing a balance between incorporating important real-world issues, such as Native displacement and climate change, and avoiding personally painful history or writing solely Native tragedy. Faizal discussed subconsciously writing in a lush, evocative style; she believes its part of being from this cultureFaizals parents are from Sri Lanka and ancestrally were from the Middle Eastin which storytelling is so important and such a big part of our lives. Finally, Turner explained how her plot twists work by using that power of conventional thinking and subverting readers expectations. Keynotes on Womens Empowerment, Race, and Extinction She Persisted Library science professor and NTTBF co-founder Dr. Rose Brock moderated a women-centered discussion between She Persisted series (Philomel) authors Atia Abawi (She Persisted: Sally Ride), Lesa Cline-Ransome (She Persisted: Claudette Colvin), and bestselling author, Scholastic v-p and executive editor Andrea Davis Pinkney (She Persisted: Harriet Tubman), with series creator Chelsea Clinton. Clinton said, Picture books are the way we often say to children, Heres what possible, or heres whats not; heres where youre visible, or heres where you arent. She highlighted her gratitude in getting to play a small part in shifting what were saying to kids is possible, is valued and is valuable. Stamped National Book Award winner Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature Jason Reynolds were in conversation, with Brock serving as moderator. The duo spoke to the adaptation process behind Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning (Little, Brown). After Reynolds initially declined Kendis request to adapt his nonfiction adult book a few times, Reynolds relented. Now, Reynolds says he is ultimately grateful he did, as he is aware that this might be the biggest contribution to the conversation around race for kids that I ever make. The difficult part in crafting an accessible adaptation, Reynolds said, was incorporating Kendis nonnegotiable aspects and determining the answer to the question, How do you take a masterpiece and try to make another from it? The One and Only Katherine Applegate Brock chatted with Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate about her Endling trilogy (HarperCollins). Applegate divulged her inspiration behind the middle grade epic fantasy, her discovery of the word endlingthe last known individual of a species or subspeciesand expressed her thoughts on the importance of found family. When youre sorting through who you want to be and dont always feel like you quite fit with your relatives, she said, you seek out friends who celebrate and help you redefine who you are. She also shared about her Newbery-winning novel, The One and Only Ivan, and anthropomorphizing animals in fiction. Full-time work as we once knew it could look very different post-pandemic suggest experts and new data. A recent Deloitte poll shows that many of us would prefer to spilt our working time between the office and home. Research conducted with 800 people from a range of backgrounds, found that those who can work from home would choose to continue to do so when restrictions ease, choosing to travel to an office only a couple of days of the week. On average theyve said theyd like to work in the office two days a week, said Ian Stewart, chief economist for Deloitte on the people surveyed. Speaking to the Treasury select committee, he said very few people want to work entirely at home or entirely in the office. I think its going to be a step change. Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), explained that her members are expecting offices to be at around 70 per cent capacity post-pandemic. Recommended 10 best ergonomic office chairs that make working from home more comfortable CBIs survey, with 573 businesses, published in November, saw a major shift in attitudes towards home-working. The research showed that in 2019, more than three-quarters of respondents (79 per cent) were working in an office or workplace away from home, into 2021 the businesses expected that figure to drop to around a quarter (28 per cent), with half splitting their time between the office and home working (47 per cent). Experts also predict that flexible working could help widen the talent pool as geographical location become less important. As remote work has become much more widely adopted, businesses have the opportunity to open up their talent pool to professionals who arent close to an office location. For employers who are struggling to find the skills they need, this is particularly advantageous to help support talent attraction, said Mark Staniland, regional managing director at Hays. Chinese company Ctrip has previously found productivity increased by an average of 13 per cent with its pre-pandemic home working scheme. Remote working has brought huge benefits. It has not led to a collapse in productivity, agreed a CBI spokesperson. Often lost travel time has disappeared, together with the stress and carbon emissions of the morning commute. Many local communities have been rediscovered. Meggie Palmer, founder of the PepTalkHer app, which works with Fortune 500 companies to help them recruit, retain and promote female talent, has seen staff increasingly demand flexibility. They want to choose life, rather than being a slave to their desk - and rightly so! she said. Palmer claims some employers have already declared the 9-5 workday dead. Shes seen many adopt three tiers of employees: fully remote, office-based and a hybrid model. It's clear the pandemic has pressured businesses to consider more permanent hybrid home working options. Working from home will be very much a part of our post-Covid economy, stated Stanford Economics Nicholas Bloom in a 2020 report, the sooner policymakers and business leaders think of the implications of a home-based workforce, the better our firms and communities will be positioned when the pandemic subsides. But there are concerns with the new changes to consider, what Bloom calls an inequality time bomb waiting to go off, as some employees do not have suitable home environments to work in, and many people dont have the technological capabilities. There are also challenges for junior staff when working from home. The ability to lead, manage, and train staff has been diminished, CBIs data reveals. Specifically, the ability of junior staff to learn from listening and observing senior colleagues is more challenging, CBI said in a statement. Denmark has temporarily suspended AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shots after reports of cases of blood clots forming, including one in Denmark, Danish authorities said on Thursday. They did not say how many reports of blood clots there had been, but Austria has stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism. They said six other European countries had halted the use of a vaccine batch from AstraZeneca. "Both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to respond to reports of possible serious side-effects, both from Denmark and other European countries," the director of the Danish Health Authority, Soren Brostrom, said in a statement. The vaccine would be suspended for 14 days, the health agency said. It did not give details of the Danish blood clot patient. AstraZeneca has said its shots are subject to strict and rigorous quality controls and that there have been "no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine". It said it was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support their investigation. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Wednesday there was no evidence so far linking AstraZeneca to the two cases in Austria. It said the number of thromboembolic events - marked by the formation of blood clots - in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine is no higher than that seen in the general population, with 22 cases of such events being reported among the 3 million people who have received it as of March 9. The Danish Medicines Agency said it had launched an investigation into the vaccine together with corresponding agencies in other EU-countries as well as EMA. "It is important to emphasise that we have not opted out of using the AstraZeneca vaccine, but that we are putting it on hold," Brostrom said. The agency said it had pushed back the final date for when it expects all Danes to have been fully vaccinated by four weeks to Aug. 15 as a result of the vaccine suspension. Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: Italy first EU country to produce Sputnik V DOD: Counter-drone defense calls for data fusion To better counter small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), the Defense Department wants to move away from proprietary systems designed to counter specific drone threats and toward an open architecture-based solution. The goal is to develop standardized requirements as well as data and command and control system interfaces that can ingest sensor data from multiple existing interfaces, analyze that data to assess the potential threat and present actionable information to C2 systems. Currently, counter-sUAS solutions are being designed by the different services for specific threats and are unable to exchange software modules or fuse high-level data to effectively address broader CUAS efforts. Additionally, C2 and sensor systems use different, proprietary software architectures that prevent capabilities from being used across multiple C2 systems, leading to redundant systems. Current solutions also force CUAS operators to collate the data they receive to get a clear picture of a drone threat and possible impacts. This means different operators may arrive at different conclusions about threat levels based on the same or similar data. To build a more efficient CUAS program, DOD is calling for prototypes of a High Level Data Fusion capability designed for an open-systems architecture. The architecture would allow data and various software modules to be shared with other HDLF-built C2 systems. It should include internal and external data interfaces and data flows so that equipment and components are interoperable across CUAS systems regardless of manufacturer. DOD expects the HLDF architecture to be scalable and extensible so it can accommodate advances in sensors, drones and CUAS systems. The open HLDF architecture should be able to be deployed on a single vehicle or across a military base where multiple operators monitor different areas of the common operational picture. Besides improving existing C2 systems, this open HLDF architecture will speed development of systems to counter new threats and make it easier to issue update contracts and test best of breed software modules, DOD said in its request for solutions. OPEC+ seaborne exports up 757 kbd in February despite Saudis voluntary cut pledge The volumes below reflect Kpler expectations of OPEC+ market supply reductions. They account for variation in exports and in onshore inventories. These totals are not a proxy for production. Kpler data shows OPEC+ seaborne oil exports increased to 26.8 mbd in February, up by 757 kbd m/m compared to January. The increase comes despite OPEC+ deciding to keep supply steady for February, and Saudi Arabia pledging an additional, voluntary 1 mbd production cut. Most OPEC+ members boosted oil exports, particularly countries with a higher fiscal breakeven price such as Iraq or Nigeria, up by 291 kbd and 200 kbd respectively. Kazakhstan, which was allowed to increase production by 10 kbd as per its February quota, exported almost 350 kbd more oil during the month. Russias seaborne exports increased by 73 kbd, close to what it was supposed to bring back on the market as per the January agreement (+65 kbd). The largest declines were seen in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Equatorial Guinea and the UAE (down by a combined 666 kbd m/m) although our final estimate for Iran may change to the upside. Despite its pledge to cut production by 1 mbd, Saudi Arabias exports only fell by 194 kbd while its domestic inventories fell by only 3.3 mb on the month, or 119 kbd, suggesting that Aramco did not entirely follow suit on the Saudi Minister of Energys vow to decrease production by 1 mbd, although exports in late February have weakened, a sign cuts are slowly taking place. Due to overall higher exports and most likely lower compliance from some members market supply reductions reached 90% in February compared to the groups cut target of 8.125 mbd for that month vs its baseline, a shortfall of 777 kbd. This takes into account Saudis voluntary cut of 1 mbd. The group is expected to bring an additional 1.5 mbd of supply in April (1 mbd from Saudi Arabia, ending its voluntary 1 mbd production cuts for February and March, and 0.5 mbd from the rest of OPEC+) at the next OPEC+ meeting which will take place on 3rd and 4th March. This is currently priced in, but the latest details about market supply could bring downside pressure on prices, pushing OPEC+ to adopt a more cautious approach in easing cuts. Lower compliance and higher prices could raise new issues, particularly between Russia on one side, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the other. The latter two are likely to be more cautious and willing to continue the hard work until excess inventories is gone, while Russia, which enjoys a much lower fiscal breakeven price, is concerned about higher prices that could stimulate competition from US shale players. All eyes remain set on global oil inventories. While these have drawn 76 mb in the past three months, the pace of this decline is now weakening and the curve is flattening: since the beginning of the year, oil held in onshore storage has only drawn 17.5 mb and we are even 12.5 mb higher compared to end-January. In addition, inventories are still higher 150 mb higher y/y, showing the act of rebalancing isnt over yet. Key takeaways: Saudi Arabia fails to demonstrate 1 mbd production cut just yet Most medium-weight OPEC+ countries take advantage of higher prices The UAE and Russia: good students for now Irans exports lower as reviving the deal takes a tortuous path OPEC+ seaborne oil exports variation in February (kbd) Rising prices sparked higher exports from most members and lower cuts than expected from Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia fails to demonstrate 1 mbd production cut just yet While Saudi Arabia pledged a 1 mbd voluntary cuts for February, our estimates suggest the kingdoms market supply did not decrease by such an amount: exports have fallen by 194 kbd to 6.23 mbd and domestic inventories fell from 73.4 mb in early February to 69.9 mb, or average daily draws of 119 kbd from storage. The refinery runs forecast from FGE points to a moderate increase of 33kbd m/m which makes sense given the increased activity at Jizan but doesn't help get to additional cuts. That being said, clean products loadings are down 96 kbd m/m, indicating a potential fall of around 140 kbd in refinery runs. Adding everything up, we see market supply reductions of 450 kbd from Saudi Arabia in February. That said, it could be that cuts at the wellhead need a few more days to be reflected in the export timeline: oil exports are indeed inching much lower in late February, averaging only 4.3 mbd in w/c 22 February. The first two weeks of March will therefore give better indications about the depth of Saudi cuts. Saudis exports to China and the US were particularly hit, falling 670 kbd to 1.13 mbd and 203 kbd to 152 kbd respectively. Lower exports to both the US and China support the view that Riyadh is committed to reduce global oil inventories: China and the US are currently storing 2.02 billion barrels onshore, or 56% of all oil stored onshore globally. Riyadh played a crucial role in the recent price jumps: its 1 mbd voluntary cut pledge showed the kingdom remains fully committed to rebalancing oil markets, and has shown it is able to bear the burden on its own, signalling its seriousness in pushing prices up. As a result, Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi Minister of Energy, is likely to keep a hard stance against countries that have eased production and exports lately. Global onshore oil inventories (mb) Onshore storage has fallen by 76 mb since December but the pace of draws is slowing down Most medium-weight OPEC+ countries take advantage of higher prices Some of the most oil-dependent countries are boosting exports to take advantage of the rally in prices. Kazakhstan and Oman increased exports by 344 kbd and 77 kbd m/m to 1.33 mbd and 1.10 mbd respectively, although this is likely not sustainable over the long term. Indeed, Omans February exports reached levels higher than the countrys oil production capacity. Iraq (including KRG) and Nigeria also boosted exports by 291 kbd and 200 kbd to 3.45 mbd and 1.63 mbd respectively. But while Nigerias market supply reduction is low compared to its cut target our estimate only reaches 24% - Iraq has made strong efforts lately and its market supply reduction expectation stands at 96%, despite the 300 kbd increase last month. SOMO mainly boosted exports to Europe (+182 kbd m/m) while exports to China fell 120 kbd m/m. The UAE and Russia: good students for now Russias seaborne exports increased by 73 kbd in February, almost exactly matching its quota increase of 65 kbd on the month. Seaborne exports to China were also down (-201 kbd), contributing to inventories draws in China. Russias actual output growth in February may be closer to 120 kbd as higher exports come despite a boost of 245 kbd in refinery runs in February according to FGE, although part of this additional demand was met by drawing from domestic storage, as inventories slumped 2.9 mb, or 103 kbd on the month. On its part, Abu Dhabi continues its impressive drive to cut output, making its overproduction in the the earlier months of the OPEC+ cut agreement a far-off memory. Oil exports averaged just 2.13 mbd, lower 95 kbd m/m, the lowest level since June 2016, although a couple of loads (68 kbd) were delayed to March due to weather issues. Nevertheless, even by including those, Abu Dhabi exports stood at 2.2 mbd, slightly lower than in January. Refinery runs also decreased by 108 kbd according to FGE and storage was flat. This helps boost the countrys market supply reduction to a record high of 170%. Irans exports lower as reviving the deal takes a tortuous path While it is still too early to give a final estimate on Irans oil exports, we have seen less exports out of the country in February. Our current estimate reaches 348 kbd on the month, lower 266 kbd m/m. This would be the lowest level since the election of Joe Biden at the White House as Irans exports had averaged 513 kbd in the preceding three months. While we believe NIOC would be able to bring back an additional 1.5 mbd to 2 mbd of production and exports in the course of six months if sanctions are lifted, the timing of this looks increasingly uncertain. Both sides are making moves to gain leverage and are currently standing firm, as seen by the recent attacks on Iraqi soil (from Iran-linked militias on US military) and on Syrian soil (US retaliation on Iran-linked militias). Even though Irans exports decreased, domestic inventories built 3.2 million barrels on the month or a daily average of 114 kbd. Almost all the increase is seen at Kharg Island, meaning that this oil is destined for export markets. OPEC+ market supply reductions against pledged cuts (kbd) Higher exports and insufficient Saudi cuts have lowered market supply cut reductions to 90% A U.S. Navy Reservist has been charged with 12 felony counts of sex crimes including statutory rape and sodomy for allegedly assaulting three children between the ages of 9 and 16 from 1993 to 2003. Ephraim Phillip Granderson, 52, was arrested by U.S. Marshall's Service on Wednesday at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia while returning from a deployment in South Korea, prosecutors in St. Louis, Missouri said. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said the investigation into Granderson started when one of his alleged victims wrote to prosecutors and asked them to start the probe last year, KTVI reported. Ephraim Phillip Granderson, 52, was arrested by U.S. Marshall's Service on Wednesday while returning from deployment in South Korea. He was charged with two counts of first-degree statutory rape, four counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, four counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, one count of rape and one count of sodomy. Prosecutors are aware of three victims whom Granderson allegedly had sex with on multiple occasions. It was not immediately known how the suspect knew the alleged victims. 'It started with a letter that this individual wrote to our office, and our chief investigator brought that letter to me and we decided that we wanted to look further into it,' Bell said, according to KSDK. 'We thought that it warranted a second look.' The prosecutors office had previously heard the allegations before Bell was prosecutor but he said during a press conference that there was no indication 'the wrong call' had been made in not moving forward at the time, the outlet reported. 'Oftentimes, especially younger victims at the time don't feel comfortable for a lot of reasons coming forward safety reasons, you name it,' Bell said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 'When that courageous individual reached out to us we looked into it and, again, I have to give credit to our investigative staff.' Bell said Granderson was still in Atlanta on Wednesday evening but he is expected to be brought back to St. Louis County to face the charges and his cash-only bond has already been set at $200,000. An investigator with Bell's office said Granderson 'poses a danger to the crime victims as well as to the community' in court documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch. 'The Navy Reserve can confirm that Equipment Operator 1st Class Ephriam P. Granderson was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service for a felony warrant from the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office,' a spokesperson for the Navy said in a statement to DailyMail.com. According to the Navy, Granderson is a Selected Reserve Sailor assigned to Navy Operational Support Center in St. Louis with an E-6 pay grade. Granderson, an Enlisted Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist, first enlisted with the Navy in September 2000 and has held E-6 rank since 2010, according to his releasable biography. He has received a number of awards during his service, including: two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. He has also received a Good Conduct Medal and has service medals for the Iraq Campaign and Global War on Terrorism. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here COVID-19 Hospitalizations Decrease as Vaccinations Increase California Black Media (CBM) expeditiously hosted a virtual panel with state officials and medical professionals to inform the Los Angeles community of Californias latest protocols in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. Blue Shield of California is acting as Californias Third-Party Administrator (TPA) to manage the states network,allocating the vaccine across all 58 counties while prioritizing disproportionately impacted communities. State officials will track and analyze all vaccinations but pledge that all individual information collected will be protected and remain private. Blue Shield of Californias Senior Vice President of External Affairs, Kimberly Goode, stated that using the myturn.ca.gov system [is] going to help us really streamline and ensure that we have the data that we need to understand where every dose is We can look at and transparently share whos getting the vaccine [while] providing accurate and timely reporting. ADVERTISEMENT So far, the foundation has notably provided grants to CBM and other ethnic media platforms in support of health equity and spreading the vaccine awareness by arranging a plan through community partnerships, data analytics, and public education. As a company, we are concentrating some of our media to [the] underserved communities, [making] sure that we get everybody excited and committed to getting vaccinated, said Goode. We also have a current campaign out called Get it, and that is reaching across the state through a variety of media; including, billboards, television, radio, and other digital assets. Since January, California has aggressively planned and marketed the vaccines roll out statewide, in which nearly 20% of the population already received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. On Friday we officially surpassed the 10 million vaccination mark. We are actually seventh in the world in the administration of vaccines, said Secretary of California Government Operations Agency, Yolanda Richardson, who was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to assist with operations in 2020. During the panel, Richardson claimed that We can see that the case rates [and] hospitalization rates are definitely decreasing as vaccines continue to increase, and we definitely want to see that continue. California statistics show that over the last seven days, there has been an average of about 4,300 cases per daythats a around a 40% decrease from two weeks ago statewide. Secretary Richardson stated, Our goal is to be at capacity to do 3 million vaccines per week by the end of this month and 4 million by April We are also planning for the addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to arrive in our state. Our state public health experts are really evaluating the vaccine, and so theres a reason to be excited about that because it adds a third safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) COVID-19 vaccine, and the pharmaceutical giant has publicly committed to ship nearly 4 million doses in the United States, targeting a total of 20 million by the end of March. Chief Medical Officer of Watts Healthcare Corporation, Dr. Oliver T. Brooks stated, Johnson & Johnson has 85% efficiency against moderate to severe disease, and in their trials no one (has) died, or was hospitalized after they got the JNJ vaccine. ADVERTISEMENT Johnson & Johnsons notable 2019 lawsuit remained unmentioned during vaccine discussions. A lawsuit that resulted in $29 million paid in damages to a woman who claimed that the asbestos in JNJ talcum powder caused her cancer. Mondays virtual briefing began with vaccine testimonials from 51-year-old Deena Mangrum, and 69-year-old Sharon Carter; both who claim to feel no side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine and seem very much appreciative by the outcome thus far. Mangrum commented, I was a little bit apprehensive about getting it, I just felt it was very new and I just wanted to wait and see how people responded. Mangrum discussed her hesitancy with a girlfriend who works Kaiser Permanente as a medical professional who expressed the choices, there [is] just not going to be a lot of other choices to be made unless you really continue to isolate. Youre really kind of making a choice: are you going to get COVID-19 or you going to get the shot? Carter, who received the Pfizer vaccine in mid-February, shared that I feel a huge sense of relief since I was vaccinated, and I am forever grateful To know that I am doing my part to protect my family, friends and community members is truly meaningful. Everyone should get vaccinated when they can and continue to wear a mask, wash your hands and practice physical distancing until we are safely out of this pandemic. The CDC recently announced that for the people who have been vaccinated can congregate safely without a wearing a mask. According to Dr. Brooks, The only thing that is going to get us to the other side of COVID-19is the vaccine. That is the only way will reach heard immunity. 3/11 NEW JAPAN CUP ROUND 2 RESULTS FROM EHIME, JAPAN By James Kurokawa on 2021-03-11 14:58:00 3/11/21 New Japan Cup 2021 Results for Round 2 in Ehime, Japan: Yota Tsuji and David Finlay vs. YOSHI-HASHI and Tomohiro Ishii. Ishii pins Tsuji after hitting a lariat. YOSHI-HASHI has a face off with Finlay as they will meet later in Round 2. Yujiro Takahashi, Jado and Bad Luck Fale vs. Yuya Uemura, Tomoaki Honma and Satoshi Kojima. Takahashi hits Pimp Juice on Uemura and gets the win for Bullet Club. After the match, Jado attacks Uemura with his kendo stick. BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi and SANADA vs. SHO, Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, and Yuji Nagata. SHO pins BUSHI with a Shock Arrow. The heat between Shingo Takagi and Hirooki Goto continue to build towards their Round 2 match. Toa Henare, Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chase Owens, KENTA and Jay White, with Gedo. Owens taps out to Tanahashi's Texas Cloverleaf. New Japan Cup 2021 Round 2 Match: Great O-Khan vs. Toru Yano. O-Khan dares Yano to tie his hands behind his back. Yano gladly does so and tapes O-Khan's hands behind his back. Yano goes to rip off the turnbuckles. Yano tries to hit O-Khan with the turnbuckle, but O-Khan ducks. O-Khan rips the tape from his hands using his strength. Yano freaks out and escapes the ring. O-Khan lays on his back in the ring, baiting Yano to come pin him. Yano takes the bait and starts stomping on O-Khan. O-Khan grabs him in an ankle lock submission. Yano screams in pain and crawls to the ropes. Yano escapes the ring, telling O-Khan to calm down. O-Khan is yelling at him to come fight. O-Khan gets a chair and sits in the ring. Yano gets a chair and sits in the entryway. The referee begins the countout. O-Khan is trembling with anger. He demands that the young lion, Gabriel Kidd, working at ringside, give him something from the announcer's table. Kidd gives O-Khan the KOPW Trophy. He threatens to destroy the Trophy. Yano gets upset and comes back into the ring. O-Khan gives the Trophy to the referee and claps for Yano returning to the ring. O-Khan extends his hand for a handshake. Yano is reluctant. Yano goes for the shake but O-Khan squeezes his hand and Yano falls to the mat. O-Khan stomps on his arm and picks up Yano for a gutwrench over-the-head suplex. Crazy strength by O-Khan. O-Khan locks in a head-arm neck vice. Yano makes it to the ropes. Yano starts to rally using amateur takedowns and a belly-to-belly suplex. He sends O-Khan headfirst into the metal bolt in the turnbuckle. O-Khan counters with a boot to face then applies the Iron Claw. Yano pulls down the top rop which sends a charging O-Khan to the floor. Yano jumps out of the ring and ties O-Khan's hair braid to the guardrail. The referee begins the count. O-Khan cannot untie the knot in his hair. The referee is approaching the count of 15. O-Khan pulls out a scissors and cuts his own hair. He gets to the ring by 19. O-Khan is realizes that he just cut his own hair from a braid that took years to grow. Yano sees his anger and starts to retreat. O-Khan goes to stab him with the scissors but Yano counters with a low blow and chop block to the knee. He rolls up O-Khan to get the pin and win. Toru Yano moves on to the face the winner of Jeff Cobb and EVIL. O-Khan untied his braid of hair to the guardrail and grabbed his scissors and went back to the locker room. Yano matches are always entertaining. This one was no different. However, I think this loss hurts O-Khan. O-Khan pinned Tetsuya Naito in Round 1, then lost to Yano. As team, United Empire does well, but in single matches, they do come up short, when it is supposed to matter. O-Khan is fairly young and probably has many New Japan Cups to come. However, getting embarrassed by Yano does not help his image. If O-Khan does not look for revenge on Yano, storyline-wise, then this match will definitely hurt O-Khan. New Japan Cup 2021 Round 2 Match: Jeff Cobb vs. EVIL, with Dick Togo. The camera catches Yujiro Takahashi at ringside for commentary. EVIL and Togo used typical Bullet Club tricks to get an early advantage in the match. Cobb changed the momentum with an over-the-head belly-to-belly suplex. Cobb then dead-lifted EVIL from the ring apron into a supersuplex from the second rope. Wow! Both men traded lariats. EVIL locked in the Scorpion Death Lock. Cobb powers his way to the ropes. EVIL hits Darkness Falls for a two count. Cobb reverses out of Everything is Evil and superkicks EVIL. Cobb with a running powerslam for a two count. Cobb avoids a choke by Togo, then plants EVIL with a release german suplex and a standing moonsault. Only a two count. Cobb hits a swinging back suplex but EVIL grabs the referee who flies out of the ring. Cobb blocks a low blow by EVIL and hits a flying European Uppercut. Togo tries again to choke out Cobb but blocks him. Cobb lifts BOTH Togo and EVIL on his shoulders and hits a powerslam on both of them. DAMN! Cobb tosses Togo from the ring and drags the referee back in. Cobb with a gutwrench sit-down powerbomb on EVIL. Two count only. EVIL hits a lariat. EVIL attempts Everything is Evil again, but Cobb reverses into another german suplex. EVIL escapes a Tour of the Islands and sends Cobb into the turnbuckle. EVIL misses a lariat and goes chest first into the turnbuckle. Yujiro Takahashi jumps on the ring apron, distracting the referee. Cobb goes for Tour of the Islands but EVIL reverses and hits a low blow. EVIL hits Everything is Evil. EVIL pins Cobb. EVIL moves on in the New Japan Cup to face Toru Yano. Another disappointing loss for the United Empire. Fine match. EVIL depends too much on outside interference. When you compare Bullet Club members, Jay White, despite having Gedo, can get wins on his own. Interference in Bullet Club matches is normal, however, EVIL and Cobb could have had a great match without the shenanigans. The New Japan Cup 2021 continues on 3/13/21 with these Round 2 match-ups: Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi Minoru Suzuki vs. KENTA Thank you for reading. If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here! A fifth of medics have suffered from PTSD and depression during the coronavirus pandemic, research has revealed. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers analysed data on the mental health of more than 100,000 doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers living in two dozen countries. Twenty-one per cent had developed depression and/or PTSD during the pandemic, and around 22 per cent suffered anxiety. A separate study also published today said almost two-thirds of doctors, nurses and care home workers in the UK were depressed after the first wave. Charities said the figures painted a grim picture of the impact of the pandemic on care workers, and urged ministers to provide them with extra support. Almost a fifth of health workers suffered depression because of the pandemic, researchers said. Pictured is a member of medical staff at Craigavon Hospital in Northern Ireland ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF NHS WORKERS WERE DEPRESSED OR HAD PTSD AFTER FIRST WAVE OF PANDEMIC Almost two-thirds of NHS workers were depressed or had PTSD after battling the rising tide of coronavirus patients during the first wave, a study has found. University College London researchers surveyed more than 1,100 doctors, nurses, care home workers and those employed in other settings. They found those in each profession were facing 'clinically significant depression', with as many as 58 per cent suffering from a mental health disorder. A further 22 per cent had PTSD, 47 per cent had clinical anxiety and/or 47 per cent had depression, they said. The study's sample was 92 per cent female and 90 per cent white, which the researchers said may have impacted the results. Lead author Dr Talya Greene, a psychologist, warned: 'We may be on the verge of a mental health crisis across the health and social care sector. 'So, we need to make sure that specialist help is offered and accessible across all the different roles and settings.' The study was published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology. Advertisement Researchers from LSHTM extracted data from 65 studies published last year on the mental health of healthcare workers. They analysed the figures which mostly came from China but also the Middle East, Europe and North America to identify the levels of depression, PTSD and anxiety. Experts warned this could heavily skew the global results because of the significant focus on one country. After an initial outbreak in Wuhan last January, China claims to have not suffered the cycle of national lockdowns seen in other countries. Overall the global analysis, published in PLOS ONE, said the Middle East had the highest rates of depression among healthcare workers (34.6 per cent). It was followed by South Asia (28.8 per cent), Europe (22 per cent) and East Asia (19.1 per cent). The lowest levels of depression among medics were reported in North America based on one study at 18.7 per cent. 'Appropriate support is urgently needed (for healthcare workers),' said joint authors Nathaniel Scherer, a research assistant at LSHTM, and Yufei Li, a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London. 'The response would benefit from additional research on which interventions are effective at mitigating these risks.' It comes as University College London researchers today said the UK's health service is on the 'verge of a mental health crisis'. They surveyed more than 1,100 healthcare workers in the UK between May and July to assess their mental health. Results showed almost two thirds of those questioned had suffered from depression or PTSD after the first wave. Hospitals have been ravaged by Covid, with the NHS forced to cancel thousands of operations last spring and winter to cope with spiralling admissions. Psychologist Dr Talya Greene, the lead researcher of the UCL study, said: 'We may be on the verge of a mental health crisis across the health and social care sector. 'So, we need to make sure that specialist help is offered and accessible across all the different roles and settings.' Responding to the reports the head of research at the Mental Health Foundation, Catherine Seymour, said: 'These findings echo our own research in which we found healthcare workers have experienced higher levels of anxiety, depression, sleep problems and post-traumatic stress disorder during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as in previous pandemics. 'Our research showed that healthcare workers rejected initiatives like clap for carers and the hero narrative, if not supported by concrete actions by government, for example adequate supplies of PPE. 'Healthcare workers also told us that peer support was a key aspect of coping and helping to mitigate the mental health impacts. 'We believe there is more that workplaces could do to formalise availability of peer support in health and social care settings especially as we enter the post-Covid recovery period.' New Delhi: The national capital on Thursday recorded 409 new COVID-19 cases which is the highest single-day rise in nearly two months, while the death toll climbed to 10,934 with three more fatalities, the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department stated. The "sudden rise" in cases can be attributed to people turning complacent and not following COVID-19 protocol with a feeling of "all is well now", as per health experts and doctors quoted by PTI. The numbers had started to dip in February with the month's highest daily count of 256 cases was recorded on February 26. Delhi registered on Wednesday registered 370 fresh cases and 320 on Tuesday. While three succumbed to the disease on Wednesday and four on Tuesday. On Sunday and Monday, 286 and 239 cases were reported, respectively. The city had registered 321 coronavirus cases and one death last Saturday, and 312 cases and a fatality on Friday. The total number of tests conducted on Wednesday stood at 69,810, including 42,187 RT-PCR tests and 25,623 rapid antigen tests, the bulletin said. Meanwhile, the Centre expressed concern over the rise in active COVID-19 cases advising people to be "careful and watchful" and not lower their guard as the pandemic is not yet over. NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul at a press conference termed the coronavirus situation 'worrisome'. "We are very worried about the rise in cases in Maharashtra. Don't take this virus for granted. It can come up unexpectedly. If we have to remain free of this virus, COVID-appropriate behaviour, containment strategy as well as vaccination has to be brought in," Paul said, adding, "We are reaching a situation where these approaches (to tackle the spread of COVID-19) are being brought back." Paul also issued a word of caution for Delhi and its neighbourhood saying that there was a rise in positivity rate in Gurgaon, Faridabad and to an extent Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad, as well. NLG (natural language generation) may be too powerful for its own good. This technology can generate huge varieties of natural-language textual content in vast quantities at top speed. Functioning like a superpowered autocomplete program, NLG continues to improve in speed and sophistication. It enables people to author complex documents without having to manually specify every word that appears in the final draft. Current NLG approaches include everything from template-based mail-merge programs that generate form letters to sophisticated AI systems that incorporate computational linguistics algorithms and can generate a dizzying array of content types. The promise and pitfalls of GPT-3 Todays most sophisticated NLG algorithms learn the intricacies of human speech by training complex statistical models on huge corpora of human-written texts. Introduced in May 2020, OpenAIs Generative Pretrained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) can generate many types of natural-language text based on a mere handful of training examples. The algorithm can generate samples of news articles which human evaluators have difficulty distinguishing from articles written by humans. It can also generate a complete essay purely on the basis of a single starting sentence, a few words, or even a prompt. Impressively, it can even compose a song given only a musical intro or lay out a webpage based solely on a few lines of HTML code. With AI as its rocket fuel, NLG is becoming more and more powerful. At GPT-3s launch, OpenAI reported that the algorithm could process NLG models that include up to 175 billion parameters. Showing that GPT-3 is not the only NLG game in town, several months later, Microsoft announced a new version of its open source DeepSpeed that can efficiently train models that incorporate up to 1 trillion parameters. And in January 2021, Google released a trillion-parameter NLG model of its own, dubbed Switch Transformer. Preventing toxic content is easier said than done Impressive as these NLG industry milestones might be, the technologys immense power may also be its chief weakness. Even when NLG tools are used with the best intentions, their relentless productivity can overwhelm a human authors ability to thoroughly review every last detail that gets published under their name. Consequently, the author of record on an NLG-generated text may not realize if they are publishing distorted, false, offensive, or defamatory material. This is a serious vulnerability for GPT-3 and other AI-based approaches for building and training NLG models. In addition to human authors who may not be able to keep up with the models output, the NLG algorithms themselves may regard as normal many of the more toxic things that they have supposedly learned from textual databases, such as racist, sexist, and other discriminatory language. Having been trained to accept such language as the baseline for a particular subject domain, NLG models may generate it abundantly and in inappropriate contexts. If youve incorporated NLG into your enterprises outbound email, web, chat, or other communications, this should be ample cause for concern. Reliance on unsupervised NLG tools in these contexts might inadvertently send biased, insulting, or insensitive language to your customers, employees, or other stakeholders. This in turn would expose your business to considerable legal and other risks from which you might never recover. Recent months have seen increased attention to racial, religious, gender, and other biases that are embedded in NLG models such as GPT-3. For example, recent research coauthored by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Irvine; and the University of Maryland found that GPT-3 placed derogatory words such as naughty or sucked near female pronouns and inflammatory words such as terrorism near Islam. More generally, independent researchers have shown that NLG models such as GPT-2 (GPT-3s predecessor), Googles BERT, and Salesforces CTRL exhibit larger social biases toward historically disadvantage demographics than was found in a representative group of baseline Wikipedia text documents. This study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara in cooperation with Amazon, defined bias as the tendency of a language model to generate text perceived as being negative, unfair, prejudiced, or stereotypical against an idea or a group of people with common characteristics. Leading AI industry figures have voiced misgivings about GPT-3 based on its tendency to generate offensive content of various sorts. Jerome Pesenti, head of Facebooks AI lab, called GPT-3 unsafe, pointing to biased and negative sentiments that the model has generated when asked to produce text about women, Blacks, and Jews. But what truly escalated this issue with the public at large was the news that Google had fired a researcher on its Ethical AI team after she coauthored a study criticizing the demographic biases in large language models that are trained from poorly curated text datasets. The Google research found that the consequences of deploying those biased NLG models fall disproportionately on marginalized racial, gender, and other communities. Developing techniques to detoxify NLG models Recognizing the gravity of this issue, researchers from OpenAI and Stanford recently called for new approaches to reduce the risk that demographic biases and other toxic tendencies will inadvertently be baked into large NLG models such as GPT-3. These issues must be addressed promptly, given the societal stakes and the extent to which very large, very complex NLG algorithms are on a fast track to ubiquity. Several months after GPT-3s launch, OpenAI announced that it had licensed exclusive use of the technologys source code to Microsoft, albeit with OpenAI continuing to provide a public API so that anyone could receive NLG output from the algorithm. One hopeful, recent milestone was the launch of the EleutherAI grassroots initiative, which is building an open source, free-to-use NLG alternative to GPT-3. Slated to deliver a first iteration of this technology, known as GPT-Neo, as soon as August 2021, the intiative is attempting to, at the very least, match GPT-3s 175 billion-parameter performance and even ramp up to 1 billion parameters, while incorporating features to mitigate the risk of absorbing social biases from training data. NLG researchers are testing a wide range of approaches to mitigate biases and other troublesome algorithmic outputs. Theres a growing consensus that NLG professionals should rely on a set of practices that includes the following: Avoid sourcing NLG training data from social media, websites, and other sources that been found to contain bias toward various demographic groups, especially historically vulnerable and disadvantaged segments of the population. Discover and quantify social biases in acquired data sets prior to their use in developing NLG models. Remove demographic biases from textual data so they wont be learned by NLG models. Ensure transparency into the data and assumptions that are used to build and train NLG models so that biases are always evident. Run bias tests on NLG models to ensure that they are fit for deployment to production. Determine how many attempts a user must make with a specific NLG model before it generates biased or otherwise offensive language. Train a separate model that acts as an extra, fail-safe filter for content generated by an NLG system. Require audits by independent third parties to identify the presence of biases in NLG models and associated training data sets. NLG toxicity may be an intractable problem None of these approaches is guaranteed to eliminate the possibility that NLG programs will produce biased or otherwise problematic text in various circumstances. Toxic and biased content will be a tough issue for the NLG industry to address with a definitive approach. This is clear from recent research by NLG researchers at the Allen Institute for AI. The institute studied how a dataset of 100,000 prompts derived from web text correlated with the toxicity (the presence of ugly words and sentiments) in the corresponding textual outputs from five different language models, including GPT-3. They also tested different approaches for mitigating these risks. Sadly, researchers found that no current mitigation method (providing additional pretraining on nontoxic data, filtering the generated text by scanning for keywords) is fail-safe against neural toxic degeneration. They even determined that pretrained language models can degenerate into toxic text even from seemingly innocuous prompts. Just as concerning were their findings that toxicity can also have the side effect of reducing the fluency of the language generated by an NLG model. No clear path forward Well before the NLG industry addresses these issues from the technical standpoint, they may have to accept increased regulatory burdens. Some industry observers have suggested regulations that mandate products and services to acknowledge when they generate text through AI. Under the Biden administration, we may see renewed attention to NLG debiasing under the broader heading of algorithmic accountability. It would not be surprising to see the reintroduction of the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2019, a bill that was proposed by three Democratic senators and went nowhere under the prior administration. That legislation would have required tech companies to conduct bias audits on their AI programs, such as those that incorporate NLG. OpenAI has admitted that there may be no hard-and-fast solution that eliminates the possibility of social bias and other toxic content in NLG-generated text, and the issue is not limited solely to implementations of GPT-3. Sandhini Agarwal, an AI policy researcher at OpenAI, recently said that a one-size-fits-all, algorithmic, toxic-text filter may not be possible because cultural definitions of toxicity keep shifting. Any given piece of content may be toxic to some people while innocuous to others. Recognizing that algorithmic bias may be a dealbreaker issue for the entire NLG industry, OpenAI has announced that it wont broadly expand access to GPT-3 until its comfortable that the model has adequate safeguards to protect against biased and other toxic outputs. Considering how intractable this problem of algorithmic bias and toxicity is proving, it wouldnt be surprising if GPT-3 and its NLG successors never evolve to that desired level of robust maturity. Batavia, NY (14020) Today Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 76F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Rain. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. NEW YORK - LG Energy Solution says it will invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business by 2025 as automakers ramp up production of electric vehicles. FILE - This Oct. 26, 2017 file photo shows the corporate logo of LG Electronics in Goyang, South Korea. LG Energy Solution says it will invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business by 2025 as automakers ramp up production of electric vehicles. The Korean company, which has a joint venture with General Motors, said the investment will help create 10,000 jobs. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) NEW YORK - LG Energy Solution says it will invest more than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery production business by 2025 as automakers ramp up production of electric vehicles. The Korean company, which has a joint venture with U.S. automaker General Motors, said the investment will help create 10,000 jobs, including subcontractors. GM and LG are currently building a $2.3 billion battery factory in Lordstown, Ohio, near Cleveland, that will employ about 1,000 people when it is completed in 2022. The site is fairly close to GMs two other designated electric vehicle plants, one in Detroit and the other north of the city in Orion Township, Michigan. The companies hope to have a decision on a second site in the first half of the year. General Motors has changed its corporate logo and launched an electric vehicle marketing campaign to reshape its image as clean vehicle company, rather than a builder of gas-powered pickups and SUVs. The 112-year-old Detroit automaker has promised to roll out 30 new battery-powered vehicles globally by the end of 2025 and said Friday that the new campaign will highlight its progressive vision for the future. GM is likely to need far more battery capacity if its able to deliver on a goal of converting all of its new passenger vehicles from internal combustion engines to electricity by 2035. The consulting firm LMC Automotive predicts that U.S. battery powered vehicle sales will hit over 1 million per year starting in 2023, reaching over 4 million by 2030. Industry analysts have said that automakers face a global shortage of batteries as the industry moves away from gasoline powered vehicles. Most of the worlds batteries are built in China and other countries. LG's investment also comes as the President Joe Biden's administration has laid out its plans to tackle climate change which will likely include taking on oil and gas industry. The goals of the U.S. president and automakers will be a propelling factor in the growth of the countrys electric vehicle and energy storage systems markets, said Jong Hyun Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution. LG Energy Solution is dedicated to expanding its battery production capacity and structuring a stable, localized supply chain that provides everything from R&D to production." LG also makes batteries for Chevy's electric Bolt. BOSTON, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- YouthINK, a not-for-profit young writers initiative headquartered in Boston, Mass, launches today with a special mentorship program. YouthINK, the brainchild of author, actress and producer Christy Cashman, has been created to encourage writing, storytelling, and self-expression in teenagers. The YouthINK program is hosting a national short-story writing competition that is open to teens, ages 13 to 18 years old, from around the world. Entries close May 31, 2021. The goal is to encourage teenagers to exercise their creative chops by submitting a short story or essay of no more than 3,000 words that has to do with nature and/or animals. The winner, and their parent or guardian, will receive an all-expenses paid trip to historic Kilkea Castle in Ireland where they will attend a 3-day creative workshop that includes music, paintings, sculpture, and even a culinary experience, and will be attended and facilitated by notable authors and other creative luminaries. We want to support the next generation of writers by offering unique creative experiences that will inspire, motivate and elevate their craft of writing, said Cashman, who founded YouthINK during the pandemic. Encouraging young people to be creative and use their imagination is an important step to developing the next generation of great authors. Cashman has hand-picked a group of literary notables, including award winning authors, musicians, film-makers, actors, and artists, who will be judging the entries. Joining Cashman on the judging panel will be New York Times bestselling author Andre Dubus III, award winning Irish author Colum McCann, bestselling authors Tom Perrotta, and Arthur Vanderbilt, Emmy award winning producer and journalist Lisa Pierpont, business strategist and bestselling author Julie Guest,filmmaker and director Michael Mailor, musician and artist Sally Taylor, columnist and novelist Jonathan Soroff, literary agent Lucy Cleland, casting agent Angela Peri, and writer and editor Louise Piantedosi. Once the judges have reviewed all of the short essays, the final two will be chosen by vote. The winner (and guardian) will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Kilkea Castle to attend the 3-day writers workshop, and the runner-up will be invited to a one-day, remote workshop at GrubStreet Creative Writing Workshops. For further information or to submit an entry, visit: https://www.christycashman.com/youth-ink. For media information, please contact Sydney Masters at 212.987.6804 / [email protected] SOURCE YouthINK Stoffel said one of the giraffes who died was Waffles, a 6-year-old who came to the zoo in 2016. The other giraffe was Waffles new companion who had not been at the zoo long enough to be named, Stoffel said. This is the fourth part in a series on the extra-judicial killings that occurred during last years COVID-19 lockdown. Read the previous parts in the series here. Before she met her untimely death in April 2020, Lovender Elekwachi had served the Nigeria Police Force for 13 years. Her journey to the police started on July 1, 2007, when she was recruited. She had risen to the rank of a sergeant and was due for a promotion in 2020 but a fellow officer terminated her life. Lovender was on duty as a traffic warden at the Eneka Roundabout in Port-Harcourt, South-south Nigeria, when she was shot dead by a fellow officer identified as Bitrus Osaiah, also a sergeant. The 35-year-old mother of one was on duty around 2 p.m. when members of the Rivers State Taskforce on Road Decongestion, Illegal Street Trading and Motor Parks arrived to disperse traders around the roundabout. Sergeant guns down sergeant The date was April 23, 2020. Then, the Rivers State Government had just announced a closure of all markets in the state and later a total lockdown due to COVID-19. Soon, the enforcement led to harassment of some traders much to the dissatisfaction of Lovender. Many witnesses who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said Lovender left her post and attempted to pacify police officers, who accompanied the task force members, to stop carting away the traders goods. This move was rebuffed irritably by Osaiah. He reportedly opened fire. Moments later, Lovender dropped dead. She died about ten metres away from a shop belonging to Udoka Luke, a generator repairer. Luke had abandoned his work to watch the whole episode unfold that afternoon. That day, there was task force packing peoples load over here, he said. Everybody was on the run, all the people that sell at the roadside, all of them ran away. Later, those boys that stand (stood) at the side of the road, those agberos (illegal traffic managers), were the ones that start(ed) using coke bottles to throw at the police and the task force. As the packing (of goods by Task Force officials) was going on, the policewoman (Lovender) was sitting somewhere there (around the roundabout), she now stands (stood) up to come and help because sometimes, if the task force people come, the police here use to come and defend the owners, they will now leave the goods for them. Immediately she stands (stood) up to go and defend that one that particular day, I saw her, she fell immediately. I was even the one that later rushed and saw that the woman was already dead. Luke, corroborated by other witnesses, said the police officers had shot twice towards the irate agberos (touts, mostly disguised as traffic assistants). Once Osaiah and his colleagues saw that Lovender was dead, they zoomed off. The traders were quick to alert Lovenders colleagues at the Eneka Police Station some 500 metres away. The officers chased and soon caught up with the fleeing assailant. While the task force raid was ongoing, some traders who sell goods at the roadside were arrested and held behind Hilux vans. Joseph Francis, who repairs phones and sells accessories, was one of those arrested. Francis said the fruit seller, whom the team was harassing at one moment of their operation, was a friend to Lovender and her attempt to rescue this friend led to her death. Female sellers approached at the junction were not willing to talk for fear of being subjects of attack. One of them who spoke on condition of anonymity said they live in fear of harassment by the task force but that they (task force) had not shown up at the junction since the incident. Breadwinner gone Lovenders parent, Matthew Elekwachi and Mary Elekwachi couldnt hide their emotions when PREMIUM TIMES visited the family home. Both parents were in their Izu residence in Etche Local Government Area when the call announcing the death came in. Rattled, Mr Elekwachi dashed to the roundabout where he met the lifeless body of his daughter. Mr Elekwachi, a chief, said he is proud of his daughters last act compassion towards the traders; at the same time, he is sad the family support is gone. ADVERTISEMENT Before her death, Lovender lived around Eneka with her husband and their two-year-old son, Great Chimezie. Her sibling, Goddey Elekwachi, was also living with the family. Goddey, 25, was nursing the prospect of studying Electrical Electronics at the University of Port-Harcourt and his sister had promised to handle the financial responsibility. The dream is now an impossibility as Goddey had to return to the village. A visibly sad Mary Elekwachi, Lovenders mum, said her livelihood depends entirely on unfailing aid from Lovender. She fought back tears while the interview lasted. Lovender is (was) very good to me oooomy son has stopped school because there is no one to train him, there is a house Lovender is building for me. Many things Lovender is doing for me, now nobody to do it again, she said. Apart from the assistance to her siblings, Lovender had placed her mum on a monthly stipend; she bought farmland for the mum; she employed labourers to work on her farm at every farming season; she was also building a six-bedroom structure inside their compound for the family to have more comfort. She also enrolled her mum in medical care. All these are now gone, taken away by a single bullet by a colleague. The road to justice All the family wants now is justice. Indeed, they have made some attempts at getting one. In May 2020, a lawyer engaged by the family, Jerome Okere, wrote the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, pleading that the family be compensated for their loss. The letter was acknowledged by the Office of the Chief of Staff on June 4 but nothing has been achieved. Mr Okere is also holding brief for the family in the case filed by the police. He said not much progress has been made. The matter was charged to magistrate court and the court declined jurisdiction. They dont have the power to hear trial matters relating to murder. So, the file was referred to DPP and since then nothing has been done, he said. The family said that Lovenders salary was only paid for three months after her death and that despite perfecting documentation months ago, her entitlements have not been paid. Nnamdi Omoni, the spokesperson of Rivers State Police Command, asked for consultation time to revert when asked questions on these but he could not provide answers after a follow-up. He advised the family to approach the police to iron out encumbrances. The spokesperson said Osaiah, the assailant, has been dismissed from the police. He has been dismissed and charged to court. He is currently facing trial, he said. The family, corroborated by their lawyer, also alleged that the police informed them in August 2020 that they received orders from above that the case should be transferred to Abuja which they rebuffed. Mr Omoni said he is not aware. While bureaucracy continues to stall the case, the Elekwachis continue to live in double agony; one, that Lovender has not been buried yet due to the lingering case and that justice has not been served. The whole justice has been deniedhow do I expect justice again? It is assumed that justice has been denied, a frustrated Matthew said. I want justice. The person that killed her, if you know what to do (to him) do it, a more frustrated Mary, addressing the authorities, added. Day trigger-happy soldier went on rampage in Warri The day was April 2, 2020, around 9 a.m. Most businesses in Warri, an oil-producing city in Nigerias South-south, were closed due to the COVID-19 lockdown sanctioned by the government. A gunshot was heard on Bridgeview Road in the Ugbuwague area of the city. Unfamiliar with such a distraction, residents came out. They were met by the sight of a dead body the body of 28-year-old Joseph Pessu with blood still gushing out. A few minutes before the gunshot, Joseph, driving in a car, had been reportedly stopped by soldiers at the Ubeji checkpoint, not very far from his house. One of the soldiers at the checkpoint, identified as Ilekura Ajayi, was reportedly unsatisfied with Josephs conduct. He was said to have asked Joseph why he wanted to hit him with the car. A mild argument ensued and Joseph drove off. A while later, the father of two is believed to have noticed that the soldier was chasing him, first on foot and later in a vehicle. Two gunshots followed, one hitting the tire. Joseph kept driving. His destination was his fathers house in Ugbuwangue. He was about 700 metres away, when he stopped driving. The exit from Bridgeview Road had been closed by residents, probably due to the lockdown. Perhaps sensing he might be caught by a hail of bullets from the angry soldier, Joseph hopped down from the vehicle and dashed to the adjoining Mene-Akpata Street. Ajayi pursued with his gun. The frantic strides were not enough to save this victim. A bullet hit him and then another when he attempted to crawl to safety. He died on the spot. Ani Iyonsi, a resident who lives close to the scene witnessed the shooting. I was at home when I heard the gunshots. They shot him through the back of the car which hit him by the side, he said. About three streets away, Josephs father, Monday Pessu, was waiting for his son. He had called him earlier to come and assist him to the hospital to check his failing health. It was a journey Joseph never made. Back to the scene of the shooting, residents had started to gather and a call was put through to Monday who arrived at the scene in no time, despite his health. His first instinct was to attack Ajayi but he was soon calmed by residents now preparing for protest. Monday hauled the dead body of his son to the back of his Hilux van and then followed some soldiers to the A Division Police Area Command. The body was later deposited at the mortuary. Nothing has been heard from the authorities since then. After it happened, nobody came to me. It was the deputy governor who came for a condolence visit (based on the fact that) we are party members. From then on, nobody came but the matter is in court. I need justice, the 66-year-old Monday said. The family filed a case against the Nigerian Army claiming damages. The case with suit number FHC/WR/CS/48/2020 was filed at the Warri Division of the Federal High Court. Lawyer to the family, Clem Omotoye, said a hearing on the matter was about to commence at the Federal High Court, Warri. Words not matching actions Addressing journalists on March 30, 2020, the spokesperson, Directorate of Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, a major general, said that the military would not be involved in punishing residents who flout COVID-19 lockdown rules. Penalties will be left for the police, its not for the military, he said. I shouldnt tell you that this is the penalty for any person that flouts the directive of staying at home, of wandering from one place to the other. It should be with the police because it is their force responsibility. What we normally do is provide aid to civil authorities. But as I speak with you, we now have the legality to work them if they call us. Ajayi acted contrary to the words of the top ranks of the Nigerias Defence Directorate. Worse still, the army has so far condoned this act. There is no known investigation or retribution for the erring officer further aggravating discontent within the victims family. Section 106 of Nigerias Armed Forces Act states that a person subject to service law under this act who, without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills another person is guilty of murder and liable, on conviction by a court-martial, to suffer death. Calls and text messages to the spokesperson of the 6 Division of Nigerian Army, Charles Ekeocha, a major, were not responded to. Ordinarily, as enshrined in the constitution, the Nigerian military is majorly saddled with the responsibility of protecting the national borders from external aggression but years of military rule and the incompetence of the Nigeria police have made the military an added apparatus for maintaining law and order within the state. Asked if the case was transferred to the police, Delta Command Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, Onome Onovwakpoyeya, requested more details and time but has yet to revert as of press time despite subsequent calls and messages. The British Pound to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate fell back on Thursday after the Bank of Canada kept the cash rate at 0.25%. The pairing is quoted at 1.75328 at time of publication, 02.8 percent down on the day. "The BoC left the overnight rate and asset purchases unchanged yesterday, as was generally expected" says Shaun Osborne, Chief FX Strategist at Scotiabank. "The policy statement gave little away yesterday but did suggest some strengthening in policy makers confidence in the strengthening recovery which could pave the way for some reduction in asset purchases in April." The CAD Dollar also rose as global market mood improved following President Bidens $1.9trn stimulus package receiving final approval in Congress Canadian Dollar (CAD) Bolstered by Upbeat Assessment of Canadian Economy The Canadian Dollar (CAD) found support this morning following on from yesterdays decision from the BoC to keep its monetary policy on hold as the Canadian economy begins to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite a slower vaccination rollout across Canada, the BoC were more upbeat surrounding their assessment of the economy compared to January. The BoC said in a press release that: The Bank is maintaining its extraordinary forward guidance, reinforced and supplemented by its quantitative easing (QE) program, which continues at its current pace of at least $4 billion per week. As the Governing Council continues to gain confidence in the strength of the recovery, the pace of net purchases of Government of Canada bonds will be adjusted as required. The Canadian Dollar has also found support from the continuing rally in oil prices, as WTI keeps at $64 a barrel. Furthermore, Pound (GBP) Dented by UK South African Variant Concerns The Pound (GBP) found itself limited against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) this morning as concerns creep back in over more deadly variants of the coronavirus. More cases of the South African variant of the virus were identified in southwest London, prompting surge testing at addresses in the area. Furthermore, GBP investors remain cautious over lockdown easing in the UK after MPs were warned by Professor Chris Whitty a fourth wave of the coronavirus could be inevitable if lockdown restrictions are lifted too soon. In absence of any notable data, the GBP will continue to trade in a narrow range today with investors keeping an eye on any further coronavirus developments. GBP/CAD Forecast: UK GDP in Focus Pound Sterling (GBP) investors will be keeping an eye on the UKs GDP data release tomorrow, with the MoM forecast at -4.9% in January, a big dip on Decembers 1.2% increase. Also for Pound investors, tomorrows UK industrial production figures from January will be in focus. Industrial production is expected to fallen back into contraction due to lockdown restrictions implemented at the start of January, which could put pressure on Sterling. For Canadian Dollar investors, employment change data from Canada released tomorrow is expected to show an increase in employment, as lockdown restrictions across Canada begin to be eased, which could add further support to CAD. The GBP/CAD exchange rate movement will also be caused by global risk-sentiment, as President Joe Biden is expected to sign off on his stimulus package by the end of the week, the Canadian Dollar could see itself pushing higher. In early March this year, the East Sea saw the presence of warships from many countries. The new US administration has launched two consecutive FONOP (freedom of navigation) campaigns passing through Hoang Sa (Paracel Islands) and Truong Sa (Spratly Islands). After sending the nuclear attack submarine Emeraude and logistics vessel Seine to the East Sea in early March, France will send the amphibious assault helicopter carrier Tonnerre and the destroyer Surcouf to pass through these waters to participate in the first joint naval exercises with the US, UK, Australia and Japan in May in Asia-Pacific. French vessels participate in the exercises with the US and Japan in February. Photo: Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force The largest newly-launched British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth also made her first long trip to this area. Germany has announced plans to send warships to the East Sea in August. Thus, members of the Group of 7 (G7), except Italy, have plans to send warships to the East Sea. In response, China launched a month-long exercise in March with the participation of two aircraft carriers. Why has the East Sea attracted such great attention from countries outside the region, including France, the UK, and Germany which have important economic relations with China? Concern over the Indo-Pacific region First of all, increasing presence in the region is aimed at protecting freedom of navigation, trade as well as international order based on the law. This was the move after the three countries of France, the UK and Germany submitted a joint diplomatic note on September 16, 2020 in response to Chinas historic rights and Four Sha claims, and the way to draw baselines for offshore archipelagos and extending encroachment on semi-submerged features, which were inconsistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as well as the requirement to respect freedom of navigation and overflight of countries. The note and the sending of warships to operate free traveling activities in accordance with international law show that these countries care about the Indo-Pacific region, the protection of their economic interests, and cooperation with QUAD countries (Japan, India, Australia and the United States). France has territories and exclusive economic zones in the Indian and southern Pacific Oceans. The UK has a traditional relationship with Hong Kong, with 12% of maritime trade, over US$130 billion in imports and exports going through the East Sea each year and $80 billion of trade exchange with China (China invests more than $20 billion in the UK). The UK urgently needs to have stability in the Chinese market and implement the "Great Britain" strategy after Brexit. Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Royal Navy Germany has no historical connections but is also looking for a place in this region of considerable importance. These are the factors that promote close security relations between these countries and those in the region. Second, these countries want to show loyalty and support to the US Indo-Pacific strategy. They want to take advantage of the return in US foreign policy to restore sustainable alliances between the EU, Australia, Japan, and China and expand to India to resolve regional and world issues. They want US consultation and to enhance their role in political decision-making for this region. For China, this is considered a "follow" of the US in implementing a separate Indo-Pacific strategy. Third, China also believes that increasing the military presence of other countries destabilizes the region and aims to promote conflict and promote arms sales. Warships of the German navy. Fourth, this activity aims to implement a strategic balancing approach, putting pressure to achieve economic goals, while avoiding increasing tensions with China. Therefore, it can be seen that the operation of warships of these countries will differ from the US in the waters that China have claims. They serve the purposes and interests of these countries themselves. Due to their limited power and internal problems, these activities are more symbolic, at least in the early stages. Concern mounts over overheated militarization in East Sea Countries in the region, dissatisfied with Chinas excessive behavior and China's use of power in the East Sea, want to have strategic balancing activities but fear that the East Sea will be militarily overheated, which could cause conflict and local wars. They don't want to be pushed into difficult choices. Freedom of navigation activities conducted by the US and its allies is one of the ways to demonstrate the validity of international law. These activities by themselves cannot hinder China's ambitions, but along with other activities, they contribute to the internationalization of the East Sea issue. This is not an issue of just China - US relations. The East Sea needs to be handled on the basis of principles and norms of international law, especially the UNCLOS. Nguyen Hong Thao Biden administration outlines strategy to contain China in the East Sea On February 19, after a month in office, the Biden administration clearly outlined US policy in the Asia-Pacific, especially in the East Sea. Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen came back to Israel March 9, after two days of visiting Sharm el-Sheikh in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. Cohen met with his Egyptian counterpart Nasser Fahmi and with other senior Egyptian intelligence officials to discuss a series of security issues, including Egyptian efforts to increase the security of Sinai resorts so tourists will return. The visit was exceptional not only for its length and publicity, but also because the delegation also included several Israeli businesspeople, senior figures in Israels food, tourism, agriculture and energy industries. The inclusion angered Economy and Trade Minister Amir Peretz, who was apparently not consulted beforehand. It appears that Israels ambassador to Egypt Amira Oron was not consulted either. The Israeli businesspeople met with several heads of Egyptian companies hoping to enter the Egyptian market. Bilateral trade currently concerns low-tech industries such as construction and textiles, and Israel the economy department at the embassy in Cairo is working diligently to change that. There was a concrete change in commercial ties last week. Reports from March 5 revealed that the Egyptian national carrier Egyptair had submitted a request to operate Tel Aviv-Cairo flights. The company reportedly plans to operate 21 weekly flights on the route. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, flights between Tel Aviv and Cairo were operated on the Egyptian side by Air Sinai, a subsidiary of Air Egypt with a single airplane company established in the framework of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. It flew with no logos or flag. Air Sinai became a symbol of Cairos attitude toward Israel: The peace treaty was respected but at the required minimum and without drawing any attention. Clearly, the Abraham accords signed last year with the United Arab Emirates and with Bahrain and the reestablishment of relations with Morocco are forcing Egypt to rethink its cold peace with Israel. The expected arrival of several Arab carriers to Israels Ben Gurion airport, including Etihad Airways, Gulf Air and Royal Air Maroc, breaks a long taboo and beyond questions of politics and diplomacy, Egypt must be betting that a Tel Aviv-Cairo flight route will become profitable. Of course, the strongest positive sign in recent months was Egyptian Energy Minister Tarek el-Mulla's Feb. 22 visit to Israel. In the first ministerial visit from Egypt in Israel in five years, the Egyptian minister was received by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Israeli counterpart and friend Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and President Reuven Rivlin. Jerusalem was understandably enthusiastic about el-Mullas visit. It reflected the growing energy ties between the two countries, fruits of years of efforts by Steinitz and other Israeli officials. Still, prominent Arab Affairs correspondent Jacky Hugi poured some cold water over the Israeli enthusiasm. In a Maariv article after the visit, Hugi noted that Egyptian press had not reported on the visit. The media coverage simply noted that the meeting had taken place, a very different reception from that in Israel. Hugi explained that Egypt needs Israel on the natural gas and other energy issues and that this was the only reason for the ministerial visit. Of course, Hugi is right. For years, Cairo kept relations with Israel on a back burner, and many in the Egyptian government oppose any change. The same is true for Egypts intellectuals. Few dare to challenge Egypt's anti-Israel stance. Still, the above progress might signal that even Cairo understands that times have changed. Ideologically, it may not want to warm to Israel, but the reality of the new Middle East, with rapprochement between Israel and the Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, might force it to make some adjustments. Yoram Meital, a professor of Middle East studies at Ben-Gurion University, has been involved for several years on a unique project to safeguard Jewish heritage in Egypt. He told Al-Monitor that though the project, which concerns the preservation of synagogues, cemeteries, schools and valuable Judaica artifacts in Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt, is not linked directly to Egyptian and Israeli bilateral relations, any improvement in the ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors naturally creates a better political atmosphere and may contribute, among other things, to the expansion of such projects. "Under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian authorities are undergoing a significant positive attitudinal shift toward preserving the heritage of the Jewish community and its assets. This shift echoes a changing trend in public and cultural discourse that is developing in Egypt in recent years, according to which the Jewish community is seen as part and parcel of Egyptian society and its history,'' said Meital. He added that though they are in the minority, these voices offer a more positive view of the Jewish community. While the Egyptian regime is now working to preserve Jewish sites, that interest does not necessarily mean Cairo is looking to warm ties with Israel. Still, for all Israeli friends of Egypt, any step forward by either side is a positive development. Oregon Health & Science University on Wednesday responded in court to a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the school and former anesthesiology resident Dr. Jason Campbell, defending its handling of the claims last year in part by arguing the woman involved wasnt a student or employee. OHSU President Dr. Danny Jacobs separately Wednesday sent a message to students, staff and faculty, saying he had heard their call for change and pledged to hire a national expert to investigate, analyze and review OHSUs environment, our practices, policies and procedures and their effectiveness in preventing and properly addressing discrimination, harassment and retaliation at our university. This is an incredibly distressing moment for our institution as it intersects issues related to gender, race and power that are found all too often in health care and academic medicine. The concerns are all valid and so important, Jacobs said. I too have many unanswered questions related to concerns raised by the lawsuit. Our action plan for the consultative review will facilitate the deep examination required to get us on the path to healing and improvement. About 100 people from the university and hospital rallied outside the universitys administrative offices last week, urging a culture change on campus, contending the university is more concerned about tarnishing its image than investigating sexual harassment and assault allegations. The rally was spurred by the suit filed by a social worker at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, located next to the OHSU campus, against OHSU and Campbell in federal court in Portland on Feb. 28. The suit doesnt include the social workers name. It alleges Campbell, who became known as the TikTok Doc for his viral dance videos in hospital scrubs, repeatedly sexually harassed her through texts and other social media messages and assaulted her by forcing his body against hers in her office at the VA hospital last March. Even though an internal investigation concluded Campbell violated OHSUs harassment policy and code of conduct, the school shouldnt be subject to any of the suits Title IX allegations because the woman didnt have a direct connection to OHSU at the time of her interactions with Campbell, the universitys lawyers said in the court filing. Title IX is a 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools. The suit has led to national fallout, with more than a dozen founding members of TIMES UP Healthcare resigning in protest of what they said was the advocacy groups inadequate response to allegations that another founding member, OHSUs Dr. Esther Choo, failed to formally report the social workers accusations. Choo, through a spokeswoman, has said she wasnt a mandatory reporter because the social worker wasnt an OHSU student and Campbell wasnt under her immediate supervision. OHSU also denied that Campbell was acting in the course and scope of his employment as an OHSU doctor at the time of any alleged contact with the social worker, although it had scheduled a hearing to dismiss him for violating the schools harassment policy and code of conduct. He resigned last fall in lieu of discharge, according to the university. The social worker formally complained to OHSU in early April and the university concluded its investigation in August. OHSU lawyers Karen OKasey and Andrew T. Weiner also said in the response that none of the other OHSU doctors with whom the social worker spoke about her complaints were mandatory reporters under the federal law. The suit alleged Choo didnt report the social workers allegations to the medical schools Title IX coordinator and instead offered to have a sit down with Campbell or have his manager do so. According to OHSUs response, Choo was a friend of the social worker and offered to meet with Campbell but after reviewing the messages, recommended that Plaintiff report the incident. OHSU denies that Dr. Choo discouraged Plaintiff from reporting any instances of sexual harassment, Kasey and Weiner wrote. The social worker told Choo that she would report the matter through the VA hospital and texted Choo a screenshot of her email report to the VA on April 9, according to the universitys lawyers. OHSUs lawyers wrote in their court filing that the university first received the social workers complaint against Campbell later, on April 17. Yet, according to OHSUs investigative report obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive, the social worker reported the allegations on April 9 to OHSU and provided a written summary of them to the university on April 17 with screenshots of text messages exchanged with Campbell. On April 22, the university instructed Campbell to have no contact with the social worker, according to OHSUs lawyers. It wasnt until April 30 that OHSU removed Campbell from clinical duties and excluded him from campus, according to the universitys response. Campbell was referred for dismissal but resigned from his residency in lieu of discharge on Oct. 23, according to the university. The social worker, in a statement released by her lawyers, said OHSU failed to take swift action against Campbell, that in reality I begged for my safety and the safety of other peers in an email, and was met with victim shaming, from the universitys human resources vice president and legal counsel. In my heart, I want to believe this has been a wakeup call for OHSU because actions do in fact speak louder than words. Why then is this action so delayed because OHSU leadership has known, the plaintiffs statement said. The University of Florida Health announced on March 1, a day after The Oregonian/OregonLive published a story on the federal suit, that it was placing Campbell on paid leave pending its own inquiry. A spokesman said the Florida medical school had recently learned Campbell faced misconduct allegations at OHSU. OHSU lawyers also are seeking a court order to prevent the social workers lawyers from making out-of-court statements about the case and submitted to the court dozens of pages of social media messages on Twitter that the plaintiffs lawyers Michael Fuller and Kim Sordyl have posted on the case. At the same time OHSUs executives are giving statements to the media about this case, OHSU is in court seeking a gag order so we cant respond, Fuller said Wednesday. Our client is proceeding anonymously, so OHSUs request to gag her attorneys is effectively a request to gag her. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212 Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Bahraini officials said more than 58 per cent of the work has been completed on the headquarters building of the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications coming up in Muharraq and will be ready in the second half of this year. Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf and Transportation and Telecommunications Minister Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed yesterday (March 10) paid a visit to the project site to see its progress. The ministers witnessed the construction and finishing works of the building, including civil works and electromechanical connections in the various floors of the building, the installation of the structure of its exterior glass facade and the building's substation which is about to be completed, said the statement from the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning. Kamal Mohammed stressed on the importance of completing the project according to schedule, noting that the building will include all the ministrys directorates in order to enhance the level of productivity, ensure the smooth flow of work and deliver easy services for clients. The project will contribute to reduce the expenditures and operational costs of the facilities in order to achieve optimal use of government resources in a sustainable manner and to reflect the development and urban progress the kingdom has reached, he added. Al Khalaf, highlighting the importance of the new headquarters project, said it was located near the Bahrain International Airport, which makes it the first view for the visitors of the kingdom. "The state-of-the-art headquarters of the Transportation Ministry includes seven storeys, a basement, green areas and a 219-car parking facility," he noted. "The building will be provided with the latest environment-friendly systems and equipment. It will keep pace with the modern building requirements to provide a suitable work environment for its staff," he added.-TradeArabia News Service The income of the IT industry in Ukraine thanks to the special legal regime Diia City could grow to $ 16.5 billion by 2025, the number of jobs in this industry is planned to be increased to 450,000, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov said during the Ukraine 30 forum. "Today I've opened the Ukraine 30 forum and talked about the digitalization of the creative industry, as well as about Diia City. For the growth of the IT industry, we are creating a special legal regime named Diia City. Thanks to it, the income of the IT industry in Ukraine in 3-5 years could significantly increase from $ 6 billion to $ 16.5 billion. And the growth in the number of jobs after the launch of Diia City from 200,000 now to 450,000 in 2025," he wrote on his Facebook page, emphasizing that this is a unique ecosystem with the best conditions for doing IT business in the world. Fedorov noted that one of the main goals of this regime is to stimulate the development of the digital economy for the next 15 years and to attract billions of dollars in investments into the country. For resident companies of Diia City there will be a personal income tax of 5%, plus 1.5% - a military tax, and the income tax will be replaced by a tax on withdrawn capital at a rate of 9%. "Now the IT sector is organically growing by 20-30% annually, but the growth can be 40-50% per year, subject to the introduction of additional incentives. Diia City will stimulate the emergence in the country of companies with an income of more than $ 100 million, which will be incorporated precisely in Ukraine, and not somewhere abroad," he added. The deputy prime minister also noted that this project is being developed in cooperation with the industry. "The legislative base of Diia City will take into account most of the industry's wishes. In the near future, the relevant draft laws will be submitted to the parliament," Fedorov summed up. Gold Fields Exercises Participation Right Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Chakana Copper Corp. (TSXV: PERU) (OTCQB: CHKKF) (FSE: 1ZX) (the "Company" or "Chakana"), is pleased to announce that it has completed a second and final tranche of its non-brokered private placement previously announced on January 20, 2021 (the "Private Placement"). Pursuant to the second tranche of the Private Placement, the Company sold and issued 3,874,516 common shares of the Company at a price of C$0.50 per common share for gross proceeds of C$1,937,258. In total, Chakana sold and issued an aggregate of 18,060,516 common shares at a price of C$0.50 per common share for gross proceeds of C$9,030,258 pursuant to the Private Placement. In accordance with an agreement between the Company and Gold Fields Nazca Holdings Inc. ("Gold Fields"), a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Gold Fields Limited (see news release dated April 19, 2019), Gold Fields exercised its participation right and kept its pro rata ownership interest at 19.99% of the outstanding common shares of Chakana. Gold Fields' final participation in the Private Placement was the purchase of 6,584,516 common shares for total proceeds of C$3,292,258. David Kelley, President and CEO, commented, "We are pleased to report that we now have a total of $11 million in working capital to pursue our aggressive 26,000m drill program and maiden resource estimate as approved earlier this year. This drill program is undertaking in-fill drilling on recent discoveries announced at Paloma East, Paloma West, and the Huancarama Breccia Complex, and will test numerous additional targets. A maiden resource on several of the breccia pipes will be published this year. We currently have two drill rigs operating on the Soledad project." The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for the accelerated exploration and development of the Company's high-grade copper-gold-silver Soledad Project located in the Ancash region of Peru and for general working capital and administrative purposes. Since restarting its 15,000m Phase 3 drill program on August 15, 2020, the Company has announced three new discoveries at Paloma East (news release - October 26, 2020), Paloma West (news releases - November 10, November 18, and December 3, 2020), and at the Huancarama Breccia Complex where drilling is ongoing (news release - February 9, January 12, and March 3, 2021). The Company paid a finder's fee of C$147,000 on the second tranche of the Private Placement to certain arms-length parties who assisted the Company in introducing subscribers to the Private Placement. All securities issued for the second tranche under the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period expiring on July 11, 2021 in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws in jurisdictions outside of Canada. Final closing of this Offering is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. About Chakana Copper Chakana Copper Corp is a Canadian-based minerals exploration company that is currently advancing the high-grade copper-gold-silver Soledad Project located in the Ancash region of Peru, a highly favorable mining jurisdiction with supportive communities. The Soledad Project consists of mineralization hosted in tourmaline breccia pipes. A total of 39,098 metres of drilling has been completed to-date, testing ten (10) of twenty-three (23) confirmed breccia pipes with 110 total targets defined. Chakana's investors are uniquely positioned as the Soledad Project provides exposure to several metals including copper, gold, and silver. For more information on the Soledad project, please visit the website at www.chakanacopper.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD (signed) "David Kelley" David Kelley President and CEO For further information contact: Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer Phone: 647 964 0292 Email: jjobin@chakanacopper.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The common shares have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy such securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or sale would be unlawful. Forward-looking Statement Advisory: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Chakana to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements or information relates to, among other things, the interpretation of the nature of the mineralization at the Soledad copper-gold-silver project (the "Project"), the potential to expand the mineralization, and to develop and grow a resource within the Project, the planning for further exploration work, the ability to de-risk the potential exploration targets, and our belief in the potential for mineralization within unexplored parts of the Project. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward- looking statements or information. The Company disclaims any obligation to update, or to publicly announce, any such statements, events or developments except as required by law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76830 After scuttling one massive international trade show last year, the GSMA is sticking to plans for an in-person Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this June just without a few marquee names. A handful of companies, including Oracle, smartphone maker Sony, and networking firms Nokia and Ericsson, have all confirmed that they will not be attending the show in the flesh. This isnt the first time the GSMA has put on an in-person event during the pandemic it held a Mobile World Congress in Shanghai in late February, with a spate of virtual panels and addresses supplementing the on-the-ground experience. According to a statement provided to Bloomberg, around 17,000 people attended the Shanghai event and no positive COVID diagnoses have been reported so far, though its worth noting that many of the attendees didnt have to travel internationally to attend. To help mitigate risk, the show organizer is planning a similar online component to accommodate remote attendees this summer, and plans to host a significantly smaller number of people on-site in Barcelona: think 50,000, down from the more than 100,000 who typically attend. Compounding the difficulties of running an in-person trade show are the strict travel restrictions still in effect around the world. The website for the US Embassy in Spain and Andorra tells would-be attendees that entry into the country is not allowed unless they meet very specific requirements or have already obtained special permission from the Government of Spain. And at time of publication, residents of the UK, Brazil, and South Africa are barred from entering Spain until March 30th. That ban had already been extended, and may well be extended again at the time, Spanish officials expressed concern over more virulent COVID strains finding a foothold in the country. (Considering the possibility that MWC could be a superspreader event, Engadget will not be attending the show.) Despite the GSMAs insistence that a safe, in-person show is possible, some companies that have historically used Mobile World Congress as a launchpad for new products have spent the last year figuring out how to go it alone. Samsung, for instance, staged multiple virtual launch events for its high-profile smartphones in 2020 and plans to host another next week. Huawei ferried reporters to a warehouse in London in luxury cars, where they tested the then-new Mate 40 Pro without ever leaving their vehicles. Factor in a bevy of announcements from MWC mainstays like Oppo and ZTE at the earlier Shanghai event, and were left with one big question: even if Mobile World Congress isnt ultimately canceled this year, will there even be any major announcements to look forward to? A former pharmacy technician was arrested Wednesday after allegedly stealing approximately $8.2 million worth of prescription HIV medications from a New Jersey veterans hospital where she worked, federal authorities said. Lisa M. Hoffman, 48, of Orange, faces a charge of theft of medical products, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for New Jersey. She was scheduled for an initial court appearance via videoconference. Hoffman allegedly stole the drugs from the outpatient pharmacy of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange between August 2017 and November 2019, according to court documents. She sold the medications to an associate, Wagner Wanny Checonolasco, who resold the pilfered drugs to others, authorities alleged. In a criminal complaint, an FBI special agent wrote that Hoffman placed large orders for HIV medications purportedly for the medical center. After the drugs were delivered, she waited until coworkers were out of sight and took the medicines, according to the complaint. Surveillance footage from the VAMC showed Hoffman regularly taking dozens of bottles of HIV medications from the shelves of the VAMC outpatient pharmacy and placing them in a bag before walking them out of the VAMC and into her personal vehicle, the FBI agent stated. Using a search warrant, investigators discovered various HIV medications in Hoffmans car as she was leaving work, according to the document. Hoffman and Checonolasco arranged their transactions using WhatsApp, a messaging app, the complaint said. Checonolasco, 33, of Lyndhurst, was previously charged with conspiracy to steal government property, according to authorities. That case was pending. An attorney for Hoffman and the Department of Veterans Affairs did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. [March 10, 2021] TAIGER takes a leap into global markets with ex-IBM's Bruno Di Leo joining its board of directors SINGAPORE, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore AI startup, TAIGER, announced today the appointment of Bruno Di Leo as a Member of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Di Leo's experience in driving commercial success for IBM's global markets will be an asset in shaping TAIGER's strategic plans to grow in their key markets. Di Leo, an IBM veteran, holds over 35 years of experience in driving commercial success for technology companies. His last appointment as IBM's Senior Vice President of Global Markets oversaw 220,000 employees across 140 countries and had him responsible for generating over US$80B in revenue. "As we look to establish ourselves in key markets such as Latin America and Eastern Europe, I am delighted to have Bruno join our board of directors and advisory board," said Sinuhe Arroyo, founder nd chief executive officer at TAIGER. "Bruno's deep experience in leading IBM's global business operations will prove invaluable for us. We look forward to his contributions." Akin to tech giant IBM, TAIGER similarly sits in the information technology and artificial intelligence industries. TAIGER's solutions automate mission-critical and cognitive work with their natural language processing and hybrid AI technology. The startup first forayed into Singapore back in 2005 when their intelligent virtual assistant won them a large and strategic government tender. Today, TAIGER has projects in Singapore, Madrid, Moscow, Dubai and Mexico, and eyes set on further expansion into larger growth markets. "We are pleased to welcome Bruno to our board of directors," said chief commercial officer David Padgett. "His timely arrival goes hand-in-hand with the launch of our new Omnitive Platform. Our ongoing discussions about TAIGER's growth plans are transformational and we are confident he will provide valuable perspectives as we continue to execute our strategy and accelerate our growth." "TAIGER has an exciting vision and a strong unique value proposition in what their technology can do," said Di Leo. "I'm excited to join this globally diverse AI company that's turning heads around the world. What we need to do now is to strengthen our local capabilities and partnerships in our various markets to serve our clients better." At present, Di Leo is an independent director of Ferrovial, a global infrastructure developer, and a director of Cummins Inc., a global power technology leader. He is also a member of the International Advisory Board of Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa in Spain, and of the Deming Center Advisory Board of Columbia Business School in the United States. About TAIGER TAIGER unlocks better growth for organisations by giving them the tools to automate complex cognitive tasks. Its hybrid AI solutions, Omnitive has helped global banks like Banco Santander and Otkritie, and various government agencies in Singapore accelerate digital transformation. TAIGER is recognised in Gartner's Hype Cycles and has won numerous industry awards including IDC innovator in AI in 2019. For more information, visit www.taiger.com . Contact: Joshua Kwah joshua.kwah@taiger.com +65-9657-0242 SOURCE TAIGER [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] ROME, MAR 11 - The government's latest COVID decree was passed by the Italian parliament on Thursday. The Lower House gave it definitive approval by 220 votes to 25 with 132 abstentions. Nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) MPs voted against and nationalist League MPs abstained. FdI is the only opposition party to Mario Draghi's national unity government, which is backed by everyone else including the League. The decree earmarks fresh spending against the effects of the pandemic. (ANSA). 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. Kathmandu, March 11 The Nepal Army has celebrated Nepal Army day with fanfare on Thursday. A special function was organised at the army pavilion, Tundikhel of Kathmandu. During the function, the personnel showcased various military skills. President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana, and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota among other government officials had attended the event. On the occasion, soldiers showcased various military skills following the tradition. The national military organisation, since 1991, has been celebrating the Hindu festival of Mahashivaratri as its establishment day every year. 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. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Body image issues are very much real and it only gets worse the more time you spend on social media. Hence, one can imagine the effect it has on people who live in the limelight, consciously or unconsciously. Take Rhea Kapoor, for example. The film producer shared a stunning image of herself from the Maldives. Kapoor is dressed in an olive bikini and the sunlight does her skin complete justice. However, in the caption, she mentions that she considered herself "fat" for a very long time. "I thought I was fat. We can never win with ourselves can we? But we can try. Like Tina Fey says "If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?" Kapoor wrote. Her pals were right there to support her - Jacqueline Fernandez dropped a "hottest bod I've seen in a while" in the comments while Kapoor's beau, Karan Boolani looked ready to pass out (if the emojis he posted under his picture are any indication of his condition). Kapoor has co-produced successful films like Aisha, Khoobsurat and Veere Di Wedding and is also noted for styling her sister, Sonam Kapoor who is known to turn things up with her sartorial choices. The Kapoor sisters also run an apparel brand called Rheson. LAist only exists with reader support. If you're in a position to give, your donation powers our reporters and keeps us independent. Our reporting is free for everyone, but its not free to make. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe This month, school districts across L.A. County are planning to start hybrid learning for elementary school students. Several districts have already been offering in-person classes for weeks now. And while many parents and students are excited, the transition back to school can involve some stress. "After a year of being in this pandemic, people have all kinds of fears and there's a lot of anxiety around opening," said Debra Duardo, Superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Duardo encourages parents to set their children's expectations before they return to the classroom, even if students seem eager to go back. "Especially for younger children, you really have to walk them through it," Duardo said. At this point, only elementary school campuses in L.A. County are allowed to open. But as soon as this weekend, L.A. County could enter the less restrictive "red" tier, allowing middle schools and high schools to start bringing students back as well. Parents will have the option to remain online-only for the rest of this semester if they don't feel comfortable sending their children back to school in person, according to guidance from the County Department of Public Health. That decision is up to the parents, but Duardo said they should be prepared to explain their rationale to their kids. "Each family needs to sit down and look at their own individual circumstances," she said. "Who lives in the household with them? Whether or not they are working outside of the home. They need to consider what the COVID rates are in their community." For families who do send their kids back to the classroom, here are some expert tips for smoothing the transition for some of the youngest students: HELP KIDS VISUALIZE THEIR NEW CLASSROOM Helping children picture their post-pandemic learning environment at school can be a good first step, according to Duardo. Parents can research their school's safety measures and help children visualize their classroom so the changes don't come as a shock, especially if they've never been to the campus before, she said. Some schools even have pictures of hybrid classrooms on their websites that parents and children can look at together. "You're going to see that there are less desks and they're going to be spread out. You're going to see that everyone is wearing masks," Duardo said. "But all of this is just to make sure that you're safe." A cafeteria worker with the Redondo Beach Unified School district prepares fruit cups. (Courtesy of the Redondo Beach Unified School District) DAILY CHECK-INS At this point, the L.A. County Office of Education is mostly focused on preventing student anxiety, because it's still unclear how young children will respond to hybrid learning. Marina Scates, a school counselor coordinator for the County Office of Education, is working to set up surveys and needs assessments to check in with students. While the county works to get a read on students' mental health generally, Scates said parents should also conduct daily family check-ins. "Parents can go to kids and say 'Hey, how do you feel about going back to school? What are your thoughts? What can I do to be a support system for you?'" she said. During this transition period, parents should be on the lookout for warning signs of grief and anxiety in their children, Scates said. DEALING WITH GRIEF In a recent update from the L.A. County Department of Public Health, Director Barbara Ferrer noted that one in three Angelenos knows someone who has died or become seriously ill with COVID-19. Grief for a lost loved one -- made even harder during a pandemic -- can be a weight on children, even when they're very young. "Grief is its own beast. It can come and go in waves," Scates said. "You have to really help students identify what it is because a lot of times, kids don't know that emotion." Scates said parents should pay attention to changes in their child's behavior, especially frequent crying, retreating from family, reckless behavior, or angry outbursts. It's also important to keep in mind that grief doesn't have to be about losing a loved one. It can also be about lost time or experiences, like graduations, promotional ceremonies, birthdays, or missing family members. "We're all grieving," Scates said. "Some kids are going to be grieving the fact that they're not at home anymore." Whatever the cause, families should try to maintain routines as much as possible, and find a way to memorialize the person or thing that was lost. Scates said parents shouldn't bear the emotional burden alone; she encourages them to refer their children to mental health professionals if necessary. ANXIETY Like grief, feelings of anxiety can also come in waves and manifest in different ways. Here are some warning signs of anxiety in elementary school-age children, according to school counselor coordinator Scates: Trouble falling asleep Fear of being alone Strong startle response Saying "I can't do it" without reason Suddenly avoiding all social interaction Frequent urination Constantly asking questions such as: What if? Is someone going to die? Are you coming back? Fear of making minor mistakes Changes in eating or sleeping pattern Suddenly wetting the bed Parents can take notes if they see changes in their child's behavior or any of these warning signs. In that case, Scates said they should consider seeking support from their child's school. Parents with older children should also prepare for conversations about schools reopening. Mental health experts recommend monitoring teen's exposure to the news and social media, and directing them toward trusted sources on the virus. Scates acknowledges that parents might have anxiety of their own when it comes to sending kids back, and they shouldn't hide those feelings from their family. "It's okay to tell your kids, 'Hey I'm a little scared about you going back to school,'" Scates said. "But it's being a role model with those emotions." Parents should show their kids healthy ways to handle anxiety, like going for a walk, playing music, or even having a dance party, she said. The L.A. County Office of Education has compiled these parent resources on COVID-19 and mental health. READ MORE: Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now. 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. President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja emphasised that security chiefs have received marching orders to go harder on criminals, including to shoot anyone found illegally with AK-47. The president spoke at a meeting with the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria at the State House, co-chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar III and the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. The meeting was attended by security chiefs including the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (Rtd), Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, the Director-General of Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, and the Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar. The president, who apprised the meeting with efforts by the government to improve the security situation in the country, said his administration has recorded appreciable successes in the North-east and South-south parts of the country. But what surprises is what is happening now in the North West where the same people, with the same culture are killing each other, taking their livestock and burning properties. As a result of that, we had a four-hour meeting of the National Security Council attended by the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Service Chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector-General of Police and others and we gave clear instructions. One thing that got to the press which I read myself was that anyone with an AK-47 will be shot. This is because AK-47 is supposed to be registered and it is only given to security officials. We closed the borders for some years but the intelligence report Im getting on a daily basis is that those who are conducting the abductions, the killings and so on are still not short of arms and ammunition, he said. The president expressed dismay on the attacks on police stations and killings of security personnel by criminals, warning that no investor will invest in a country that is unsafe. President Buhari also stressed the need for traditional rulers to use their roles and positions as bridge builders in each of their communities to complement government efforts at ensuring peace and security. He appealed to the traditional leaders to deploy their reach and influence in the best interest of assisting the government to root out those whose sole objective remains to cause trouble and destruction of livelihoods and families across the nation. The president, who listened to various interventions from representatives of the traditional rulers from each of the six- geo-political zones in the country, pledged that his administration would continue to support and work collaboratively with them to ensure peace and stability. Restating his marching orders to the newly appointed service chiefs to bring the security situation under control, the president noted that closer control can only be achieved with the cooperation and collaboration of traditional rulers and authorities, who occupy a critical role in our society. By your role and positions with history dating back hundred years, the people trust you implicitly and in return you provide them with comfort and guidance in accordance with our cultural heritage and traditions. You are the bridge builders in each of your communities. No one is better placed with your strength of moral authority to ensure that people who visit your communities for either business, leisure or any honest and credible reason are protected and made to feel at home, he said. In separate remarks, the royal fathers stressed the need for the traditional institution to be assigned definite roles, particularly on peace and security, within the ambit of the Constitution as well as regular engagement with the National Assembly on multiple fronts. The following royal fathers made interventions at the meeting: the Sultan of Sokoto, the Ooni of Ife, the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe, the Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, King Jaja of Opobo, Dandeson Douglas Jaja, Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, Emir of Gwandu, Muhammad Iliyasu and the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Adebanji Ajibade Alabi. ADVERTISEMENT Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) March 11, 2021 UPDATE: 2:21 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - A second suspect involved in a Wednesday morning burglary has been arrested, Chico Police said. Around 12:37 p.m., officers said they received information that the second suspect was seen earlier in the day riding a bicycle through an apartment complex near Pomona Ave. The suspect was wearing a backpack that he had stolen during the burglary, according to police. Chico Police Officers conducted an area check and located the suspect, identified as Sador Fitsum, near Walnut and W. 2nd Street. Fitsum was positively identified as the other subject involved in the residential burglary and was arrested. The backpack was also identified as the victims property and some of its contents. Fitsum was arrested for residential burglary and transported to Butte County Jail. --- CHICO, Calif. Police arrested a man Wednesday morning in connection to a residential burglary in Chico. On March 10, around 9:35 a.m., Chico Police officers were dispatched to the 600 block of Ivy Street for a reported residential burglary. The residents told police they were asleep while the burglary was taking place. But one of the residents woke up after hearing a noise in the front of the home. The resident said he saw two unknown men, who acted as if they belonged in the home, until they ran out the front door carrying bags full of items belonging to the residents. Chico Police officers and Chico State police searched for suspects in the south campus area. One Chico State police officer located a man, identified as 38-year-old Dangelo Lynch, was located in the area. Lynch was identified as one of the suspects responsible for the burglary. Police said he was also in possession of property taken during the crime. Lynch was arrested for residential burglary and transported to the Butte County Jail. Police did not mention if they are searching for another suspect. Action News Now is working to find out more. This aid is aimed at delivering vaccines to every person in all corners of the country. Japan has recently announced it will provide US$41 million to Vietnam and 24 other countries to set up ultra-cold storage chains and medical equipment to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Ultra-cold storage units operated by Vietnam Vaccine JSC. Photo: VNVC The grant will enable the countries, all of them in Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and the Pacific, to vaccinate their populations. According to Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the grant would be provided through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "This aid is aimed at delivering vaccines to each and every person in all corners of developing countries, which will complement the efforts of the Covax Facility," the ministry said. Covax is a global mechanism for developing, manufacturing and procuring Covid-19 vaccines and supplying member countries. Vietnam began its vaccination campaign on March 8, starting with prioritized categories of people like frontline medical staff in 13 cities and provinces recently faced the novel coronavirus outbreaks. The country has ordered the first batch of 30 million vaccine doses from British-Swedish developers AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and around 117,600 arrived in Vietnam in late February. It will receive another 4.1 million AstraZeneca doses through Covax by April. Vietnam has four domestic Covid-19 vaccine candidates under development by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Joint Stock Company, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1 and the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals. Vietnam has been making effort to handle the ongoing community Covid-19 infection that broke out in late January. The coronavirus tally so far in the country is 2,529, with 486 active cases. Hanoitimes WABASH TOWNSHIP, Ind. (WLFI) - Talks are happening between members of the Wabash Township Fire Department and Trustee Jennifer Teising. As we previously reported, when Tuesday night's funding meeting broke down, Teising said she would be forced to fire the three paid staff members for budget purposes. Two of those three paid members haven't been employed for a full year yet. An anonymous source with the department told News 18 they had a zoom meeting Wednesday night with Trustee Teising. Our source said that as the conversation went on though, members of the department started leaving the zoom of their own free will. Our source said the members choose to leave the meeting after Trustee Teising required everyone to fill out a survey to remain in the meeting. They felt like this suprise requirement was sunneeded and was moving the goal posts just to have a conversation. The future of the department is still unclear at this point. Wabash Township Firefighter's Association President Michael Dwyer said his main concern right now is making sure those three paid staff members keep their jobs. He sent us the following statement on Thursday: My goal is to understand why there is a need to lay off Wabash Township paid firefighters and work to keep them employed through at least the end of 2021. However, I have no further public comment that I want to make on behalf of the Wabash Township Firefighters Association or myself regarding the details of the conversation that I had with Trustee Teising on Wednesday evening. The mother of a five-year-old girl who was shot dead in the Dunblane massacre has revealed she still has her daughter's 'lunch money and snack from that day'. Lynne McMaster dropped her daughter Victoria Clydesdale off at Dunblane Primary School, Stirling, on the morning of March 13, 1996. But shortly after 9.30am, teacher Gwen Mayor and 16 pupils - including Victoria - were killed when Thomas Hamilton, 43, burst through the gym doors and fired off 105 shots in quick succession, before turning the two handguns on himself. In ITV's Return To Dunblane with Lorraine Kelly, which airs tonight at 9pm to mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, Lynne reveals how she's never parted with any of her daughter's belongings and still feels 'guilty' for sending her to school. 'I couldn't put anything of her's out. I'd feel as though I'm putting her out,' she says, after admitting she even still has Victoria's lunch - 'two 50 pence pieces and Roast Chicken crisps' - from that day. Scroll down for video Lynne McMaster (pictured) dropped her daughter Victoria Clydesdale off at Dunblane Primary School, Stirling, on the morning of March 13, 1996 But shortly after 9.30am, teacher Gwen Mayor and 16 pupils - including Victoria (pictured) - were killed when Thomas Hamilton, 43, burst through the gym doors and fired off 105 shots in quick succession, before turning the two handguns on himself Lynne moved out of Dunblane soon after the massacre, which remains the deadliest firearms atrocity in the UK. She recalls: 'It was like a ghost town and I thought "No, I need to get out of here". 'So I found a place up here and moved up but with Victoria, there was nothing that I was leaving behind. 'It was like her clothes, her toys, even her cutlery, her plate, her bowl, even her mug. Everything of hers was packed. 'And I've even still got her lunch money and her snack from that day. Two 50 pence pieces and a packet of Roast Chicken crisps. I couldn't put anything of hers out. I'd feel as though I'm putting her out. 'Now it's in a big giant suitcase and if I decide to look a them, then that is my time that I spend with Victoria,' the mother explained to presenter Lorraine. In ITV's Return To Dunblane with Lorraine Kelly, which airs tonight at 9pm to mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, Lynne reveals how she's never parted with any of her daughter's belongings. Pictured, etacher Gwen Mayor (left) with Primary One class Lynne also admits that she still feels guilty since she didn't want to send Victoria (pictured) to school that day as the little girl had a rash, but the pupil was desperate to make it because she had her favourite lesson - gym She also admits that she still feels guilty since she didn't want to send Victoria to school that day as the little girl had a rash, but the pupil was desperate to make it because she had her favourite lesson - gym. Lynne says: 'I relive that day over and over and over. Because she had gym that day, she wanted to go, so Ive got the guilt of giving in to her.' Elsewhere in the programme, Colin McKinnon, whose six-year-old son Brett died during the massacre, tells how he attempted suicide after the tragedy. He says: 'To go to the mortuary and have to identify your wee boy with bullet holes in his face, thats going to change people forever. Something like that never leaves you. Meanwhile, the medic who was first at the scene of the shooting insists to Lorraine (pictured) he will be haunted by the tragedy until he dies Lorraine Kelly and Eamonn Holmes pictured presenting GMTV live from Dunblane Cathedral the day after the shootings 'Eventually I just had a complete breakdown and I tried to take my life. Luckily it wasnt successful and Im here today.' Meanwhile, the medic who was first at the scene of the shooting insists he will be haunted by the tragedy until he dies. Les Haire spoke about the horrifying moment he entered the gym hall where 16 children and their teacher Gwen were shot dead. He says: 'It was quiet, really quiet. All I heard was a wee bit of whimpering. The children were spread around the gym and I started going around to see who was alive and who was dead. Elsewhere in the programme, Colin McKinnon (pictured with his son), whose six-year-old son Brett died during the massacre, tells how he attempted suicide after the tragedy Colin (pictured) said: 'Eventually I just had a complete breakdown and I tried to take my life. Luckily it wasnt successful and Im here today' 'On the right side was Gwen Mayor, the teacher, who had obviously passed away and two children by her side. To me, she looked like a mother hen trying to protect her chicks. 'The ones who were injured, they just lay there scared. The fear that was in the faces of the ones that had passed away will haunt me until I go,' he adds. Gwens daughter Debbie tells Lorraine of her pride after discovering her mother struggled with the gunman to protect her Primary One class. Teacher Gwens daughter Debbie (pictured together) tells Lorraine of her pride after discovering her mother struggled with the gunman to protect her Primary One class Debbie (pictured) says: 'My mum went to her work as a teacher and never came home. Her lipstick was still on her coffee cup' She says: 'My mum went to her work as a teacher and never came home. Her lipstick was still on her coffee cup... There was evidence she had been punched. One of the children said she had struggled with him and her defensive wounds showed that. 'She was standing in front of a man who had weapons and enough ammunition to kill a whole school and she put up a fight and I just think that says everything about her. 'I do think that she went with the children for a reason and thats the only way I can get comfort from it.' Return To Dunblane with Lorraine Kelly ITV 9pm tonight. If you have been affected by this story, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org Jury selection continued for a second day, starting with prospective juror number 20. Although he understands that the case is a big deal, he professed no concerns for his physical safety if he were to sit as a juror. He finds the anonymity with which Judge Cahill is shrouding the jurors to be comforting. How long can such anonymity last in the age of social media? He manages a national sales team of 20 for the company that employs him. When both defense counsel Eric Nelson and deputized prosecutor Steve Schleicher passed him for cause, we had our fourth juror and I thought we were on a roll. Next up was prospective juror number 23. He works for a marketing company and has lived in the Twin Cities for 40 years. He too expressed no concerns for his personal safety. He wants justice to be served in the case and was willing to participate as a juror to produce a fair outcome. He saw the protests that followed George Floyds death on television last summer. However, he didnt see any usefulness to it. He didnt see anything useful in burning Lake Street. That was enough for Mr. Schleicher. The State exercised a peremptory strike to get him out of there. And so it went. Nelson struck prospective juror number 26. He also professed no concern for his safety if he were to serve, but he seemed oriented to the perspective of the prosecution in the case, as seems to reflect the norm in Hennepin County. Prospective juror number 27 is a multilingual immigrant. He came to the United States I think from somewhere in Francophone Africa 14 years ago. He works in IT. He loves technology. He expressed no concern for his physical safety. He said he wants to serve as a juror to make the justice system work. In response to questions posed by Schleicher, he stated he disagrees with proposals to defund the police. Passed for cause by both sides, he is our fifth juror in the case. Prospective juror number 28 is in real estate sales. He expressed no concern for his physical safety. He stated in his juror questionnaire and in his response to Nelsons questions that he has a very negative opinion of defendant Derek Chauvin. He is an advocate of police reform. His daughter participated in marches last summer. If he served on the jury and rendered a not guilty verdict he would disappoint her. I thought he would be a difficult juror for Chauvin and Nelson used his fourth peremptory challenge to strike him. Prospective juror number 29 was a practicing lawyer early in her career. She wanted to serve on the jury. She projected an air of neutrality about the facts of the case. She said she needs to know more about police protocols. Schleicher struck her. Juror number 30 loves music and works in a leadership position on the lay staff of a mid-size local church. His view of Chauvin is very negative. He thinks Chauvin murdered George Floyd. He reflects the full boat social justice mentality that afflicts Minneapolis. He was an obvious nightmare for the defense. Nelson tried manfully to get him stricken for cause but had to use another peremptory challenge to strike him. At the end of the day we had two more jurors and word that the Minnesota Supreme Court had denied review of the Court of Appeals decision ordering Judge Cahill to consider reinstatement of the third-degree murder charge under the Noor case. When the lawyers appear before him this morning at 8:00, they will take up the question of how to proceed on the third-degree charge with Judge Cahill. My understanding (partial guess) is that the third-degree charge is coming back into the case when the Court of Appeals decision becomes final and the trial court reacquires jurisdiction over the issue. Whether the third-degree charge remains viable will not be determined until the Minnesota Supreme Court decides the Noor case itself later this year. Last night Tucker Carlson opened his show with an overview of the death of George Floyd and the resulting maelstrom (video below). He took up the questions of fact that are basic to the case. He closed the segment with my own reflections on the mob factor that troubles my thoughts about the case. Fire Officials Ask People to Change Clock, Check Alarms This Weekend STOW, Mass. State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey urges residents across the commonwealth to check smoke and fire alarms when they change their clocks for daylight savings time. "As we 'spring ahead' with daylight savings time, remember to check your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms," said Ostroskey. "Working smoke alarms are key to surviving a fire. Unless you have newer alarms with 10-year sealed batteries, this is a good time to replace the alkaline batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms." "Winter is not over, and our furnaces have been working hard. This is the time of year when something might break causing deadly carbon monoxide to leak into our homes," said Ostroskey. "Working carbon monoxide alarms are the ONLY way to detect that invisible poison." Replace Aging Smoke Alarms "Smoke alarms, like other household appliances, don't last forever," said Chief Michael C. Newbury, president of the Fire Chiefs' Association of Massachusetts. "Check the age of your alarms. Smoke alarms usually need to be replaced after 10 years, and carbon monoxide alarms after 5-7. "If they are more than 10-years old, replace the entire alarm." Replacement Alarms Should be Photoelectric With 10-year Sealed Batteries The State Fire Code requires replacement battery-operated smoke alarms in older one- and two-family homes to be photoelectric and have 10-year, sealed, non-replaceable, non-rechargeable batteries and a hush feature. Ostroskey said, "Fire officials hope that if we make smoke alarms easier for people to maintain, they will take care of them. We see too many disabled smoke alarms in fires when people really needed them to work." Time Is Your Enemy in a Fire "Time is your enemy in a fire. Working smoke alarms give you precious time to use your home escape plan before poisonous gases and heat make escape impossible." said Ostroskey. "No one expects to be a victim of a fire, but the best way to survive one that does occur is to have working smoke alarms," Newbury said. In the average house fire, there are only 1-3 minutes to escape AFTER the smoke alarm sounds. "Take a few minutes to protect those you love by changing the batteries in your smoke alarms this weekend. Then take a step stool and some 9-volts to your parents' or older neighbor's and ask if you can refresh their smoke alarms," Newbury said. Home Fire Sprinklers Home fire sprinklers provide residents additional time to escape, but working smoke alarms are still needed to alert people to danger. Senior SAFE Two hundred thirty-eight (238) fire departments across the state have grant-funded Senior SAFE Programs. Seniors who need help testing, maintaining or replacing smoke alarms should contact their local fire department or senior center for assistance. Ostroskey said. "Four out of every ten people who died in fires last year were over 65. We want our seniors to be safe from fire in their own homes." .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2021 Albuquerque Journal About $9 billion could be flowing into New Mexico as part of the massive virus relief package approved by the House on Wednesday, and expected to be signed into law soon. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said the exact amount New Mexico will receive is still being calculated. But the $9 billion within the 628-page bill includes $2.5 billion for New Mexico governments; individual benefits most people in the state will qualify for; grants for businesses and farmers; $1.2 billion to school districts to help reopen; and more than $1 billion for New Mexico tribes. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ In a very real way, I believe that today is the beginning of the end of the pandemic, Heinrich said during a video conference on Wednesday, the eve of the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a pandemic and of the first virus cases being confirmed in New Mexico. During that conference, New Mexico Democratic elected officials praised the relief package. Not only does that $1.9 trillion bill provide billions of dollars to produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccines across the country, but it also includes money for social programs that will benefit many New Mexicans, they said. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he will sign the bill into law on Friday, ushering in a massive amount of government spending aimed at fighting the coronavirus and the economic devastation it has caused. The $2.5 billion for New Mexico governments includes $1.6 billion for the state, $407 million for counties, $177 million for metro areas and $119 million for other local governments. Bernalillo County, the states most populous county, will get about $132 million. The city of Albuquerque will get $114 million, according to data from Sen. Ben Ray Lujans office. The bill also includes money for vaccine distribution and for efforts to test for the virus and study variants of it. Fighting poverty A child tax credit included in the package will have a direct effect on more than 95% of New Mexico families, Heinrich said. The tax credit program for 2021 will provide families with direct monthly payments totaling up to $3,600 per child per year. The payments will be phased out for married couples making more than $150,000, heads of household making more than $112,500 and individuals making more than $75,000. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said that programs in the relief package will lift many New Mexico families above the poverty line. The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University estimated the relief bill could cut childhood poverty in half. There are no words to describe the impact that has on a state that has long had extreme and persistent poverty, Lujan Grisham said. The relief package also includes $1,400 stimulus checks for individuals and their children dependents. Those qualified for the full checks are individuals making $75,000 or less, heads of household making $112,500 or less or married couples making $150,000 or under. The relief bill also includes an additional $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit through September. Partisan divide The bill, the American Rescue Plan, passed the House on Wednesday on a near party-line vote, 220-211. No Republicans supported the measure. The bill took a similar path through the Senate last weekend, passing 50-49 with just support from Democratic senators. New Mexico Democratic Reps. Teresa Leger Fernandez and Deb Haaland voted in support of the relief package. Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M., voted against it. Democratic Sens. Heinrich and Lujan voted in favor of the bill in the Senate last weekend. Herrell said in a statement that the package was full of unnecessary spending. She criticized the bill for its lack of Republican support and the amount of money that goes to programs not related to COVID. With the end of this difficult time now in sight, we should be focused on reopening our communities and getting our children back in school as soon as possible, she said. Unfortunately, this bill does nothing to make either happen any faster. The states Democratic lawmakers urged people to file their tax returns, which may affect when and how much money they receive from the relief bill. Leger Fernandez said her office plans to host seminars so people can learn about additional resources that are available in the relief package. She said there is also money included in the deal set aside for different types of grants for small businesses, including restaurants, and U.S. Department of Agriculture grants. Once the president signs this, which will be soon, that money is going to start flowing and we want to make sure New Mexicans have access to it, she said. Impact on state budget Under proposed amendments to a $7.4 billion state budget plan passed last month by the House, a Senate budget committee would direct more than $1.6 billion of the federal stimulus dollars to New Mexicos general fund. Of that amount, $600 million would be appropriated to the states unemployment fund, which was depleted last year due to a pandemic-related surge in New Mexicos jobless rate. In addition, $50 million would be appropriated for spending on Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program that currently covers more than 910,000 New Mexicans. The budget language, which has not yet been formally approved by the Senate Finance Committee, could prompt a tug-of-war between the Legislature and Lujan Grisham, who has maintained legislative approval is not needed to spend some federal funds. Some lawmakers have questioned that claim, citing lawmakers constitutional powers over the states purse strings. Federal funds that are allocated to the state must be appropriated by the Legislature, said Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, during a Wednesday meeting of the Senate committee. 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. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was injured during her campaigning in Nandigram, was seen with a plastered leg lying in a Kolkata hospital after Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is also her nephew, shared the picture on Twitter. "BJP4Bengal Brace yourselves to see the power of people of BENGAL on Sunday, May 2nd. Get READY!!!" tweeted Abhishek Banerjee along with the photo. The 66-year-old Trinamool supremo told the media on Wednesday, just before being rushed to Kolkata, that she was pushed by four or five people against her car and had the door shut on her in Birulia Anchal. At the time there were no police personnel around her, she said sitting in the front seat of an SUV. The Chief Minister appeared pale and dishevelled as she pointed to her leg, she said, "See how it is swelling up". When asked if she thought it was a planned attack, she said, "Of course it is a conspiracy... there were no policemen around me". She appeared to be in pain as she complained of chest pain. She had plans to make a night halt at Nandigram after filing her election papers but had to be rushed back to Kolkata, 130 km away, after the incident. Late night she was admitted to the SSKM Hospital here, and media reports said she had sustained injuries to her foot, shoulder and neck. She had been given painkillers. "Initial examination suggests severe bony injuries in her left ankle, foot and bruises, injuries in right shoulder, forearm and neck. The Chief Minister complained of chest pain, breathlessness since the incident. She is kept under close watch for 48 hours," Manimoy Bandopadhya, the director of SSKM Hospital, was quoted as saying to the media. Late in the night, she was sent to the Bangur Institute of Neurosciences at SSKM for an MRI, according to sources reporting to media, she has sustained injuries on lower limbs which were swollen. Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who was in Nandigram, as the Chief Minister's scheduled visit was to continue till Thursday, issued a statement after the incident. "After widespread response from the people of Nandigram Block-1 yesterday (Tuesday), Mamata Banerjee visited several places of Nandigram Block II after filing nomination at Haldia. She offered Puja in one after another temple. "There was a massive response from people everywhere. At about 6.15 p.m., when she was about to leave Birulia Anchal after performing puja in a temple, a few unknown persons pushed her to the car and forcibly shut the door, as a result of which she sustained injuries in her left leg and also suffered severe pain in the waist. She, thereafter, left for Kolkata to get proper treatment," ray said. Mamata Banerjee, after filing her papers for the Nandigram Assembly constituency seat on Wednesday took part in the two-km-long roadshow at Haldia. She was accompanied by party state president Subrata Bakshi. Following the incident in Birulia Anchal, sources said that Banerjee was immediately taken to her temporary residence at Reapara, before heading back to Kolkata. The Trinamool supremo had been contesting polls from her home seat Bhawanipore constituency, but this time chose Nandigram, a stronghold of Trinamool turn-coat Suvendu Adhikari who joined the BJP last year. Reznikov doesn't believe Russia could decide to annex the temporarily occupied territories in eastern Ukraine. Russia does not need Donbas, while holding it as a bargaining chip in geopolitical games, says Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov. The Kremlin is waging a hybrid war, which implies funding for its mercenaries and militants, as well as powerful information war, the minister told the Ukrainian online news outlet Obozrevatel on March 11. "Propaganda is heard from every corner, set to brainwash people. We're doing our best so that children from Donbas could study in the [government-]controlled territory, but we have no idea what's going on in their heads. razy ideological brainwashing is underway there. And this is the best weapon, which then in turn pulls the trigger of an actual weapon. It's beneficial for Russia to keep developing the 'sovok' [a colloquial term derived from the word 'Soviet, meaning the Soviet way of life] there, at the same time showing the electorate that such sentiments are allegedly in place in Donbas," he added. At the same time, Reznikov says he doesn't believe Russia will decide to annex the occupied territories in Donbas since this wouldn't be a feasible move given the devastating economic situation in the region. Read alsoDonbas war update: Ukraine reports one KIA on March 10"Russia doesn't need Donbas. It's just a bargaining chip in their geopolitics. They want to hand it back it to us, but they're trying to do it on their own terms, not ours. Russians don't perceive the population of Donbas as their own citizens. They've no respect for them. If it's part of the Ukrainian nation, who are they for them? Indeed, many people in Luhansk and Donetsk regions speak Russian, but they're Ukrainians by ethnic composition. Russia doesn't need them, except as a labor force," the minister summed up. Reporting by UNIAN Kuzma/iStockBy BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News (MINNEAPOLIS) -- The judge presiding over the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd has reinstated a third-degree murder charge in the case after the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the application of the count in another civilian death involving a Minneapolis police officer established precedent. Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill, who dismissed the third-degree murder charge in October, granted the motion by prosecutors to reinstate the charge after hearing arguments from both sides of the case. Cahill's decision hinged on a recent appellate court decision upholding a third-degree murder conviction against former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor in the 2017 fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond after she called 911 to report an assault in progress near her home. "With regard to the state's motion to reinstate, the court is going to grant the motion," Cahill said before the third day of jury deliberations began. Cahill said that he initially disagreed with the appellate court's decision in the Noor case. "I denied the motion initially because of my disagreement, but not without first checking to see if I was duty-bound to follow it as precedent," Cahill said. "Now, based on the defendant's appeal, the Court of Appeals has made it very clear: Yes, I was bound from the moment the appeal was filed. And I accept that." Chauvin, 44, also has been charged with second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prior to the Feb. 1 Appeals Court decision in the Noor case, a third-degree murder charge in Minnesota only applied if the defendant's actions endangered more than one person. Chauvin's attorney's filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review the appellate decision, contending it did not apply to Chauvin's case because the former officer is accused of targeting only Floyd. The petition prompted prosecutors in the case to ask the appeals court to halt jury selection, contending Cahill did not have total jurisdiction as long as Supreme Court was considering Chauvin's request. Despite the petition from prosecutors on Monday to stay the trial, Cahill ruled that he was moving on with jury selection until the appeals court told him otherwise, which it never did. The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Chauvin's petition, putting the decision on the third-degree murder count back on Cahill. "The court of appeals has said in a precedential opinion specifying the single-person rule applies to third-degree murder. I feel bound by that and I feel it would be an abuse of discretion not to grant the motion," Cahill said. Prior to the ruling, Chauvin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, presented an unsuccessful last-ditch argument on why he believed the third-degree murder should not be reinstated. Nelson contended that the Noor case was procedurally and factually different than the Chauvin case. "If you look at the facts of Noor, it's a Minneapolis police officer. This is a case involving a former Minneapolis police officer and that's about where the similarities end," Nelson said. He said Noor was inside a patrol car with his partner and fired a gun across his partner's chest at a silhouette outside the vehicle that turned out to be Ruszczyk Damond, an "inherently dangerous" action that jeopardized anyone in the line of fire, including a bicyclist who was riding by at the time. He cited other cases to support his argument, saying they all include some form of instrumentality, whether it be a gun or a vehicle used to run someone over. "Factually, there is no instrumentality here other than arguably Mr. Chauvin's knee," Nelson said. He argued the cases are also procedurally different because Noor's appeal was filed after his conviction, and the Cauvin case is still in a pre-trial phase. The prosecution's key evidence in the case against Chauvin is a bystander video of the May 25 arrest in which Chauvin, who is white, is seen kneeling on the back of Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as the handcuffed and prone Black man repeatedly cried out, "I can't breathe." Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent the Floyd family, applauded Cahill's decision. "We're gratified that the judge cleared the way for the trial to proceed and for Chauvin to face this additional charge," Crump and Romanucci said in a statement. "The trial is very painful and the family needs closure. We're pleased that all judicial avenues are being explored and that the trial will move forward." The circumstances of Floyd's death prompted weeks of protests in Minneapolis and across the nation, some of which were accompanied by violent clashes against police, looting and vandalism of businesses. Like many people across the country, President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the Chauvin trial, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday. She said Biden has no intention of weighing in on the criminal case, but added the president has previously spoken about racial justice and his support of police reform. "He's watching it closely, as are many members of the administration," Psaki said. Chauvin is being tried separately from three other former officers involved in Floyd's death. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter and are scheduled to go on trial in August. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges. After the issue of the third-degree murder was settled, jury selection resumed, with the sixth juror seated on Thursday. The latest member added to the panel is a man who works as a route driver, who described himself as Real Madrid soccer fan who enjoys true crime podcasts. He said it was "mind-blowing" to receive a jury summons in such a big case. Attorneys said they're looking to select 14 jurors for the case, including two alternates. ABC News' Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report. Copyright 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Joe Biden will sign the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Thursday afternoon, contrary to previous plans for him to sign the massive legislation on Friday. The House passed the final version of his American Rescue Plan on Wednesday and the president vowed over the weekend that he would sign it into law immediately as it hit his desk. After the White House announced Wednesday that Biden would sign the bill on Friday, Republicans blasted him for delaying the signage for two days. Biden's Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Thursday the president 'wants to move as fast as possible' in revealing the bill was delivered to the White House earlier than anticipated. 'The enrolled bill arrived last night -- so @POTUS is signing it today -- we want to move as fast as possible,' Klain tweeted. He previewed: 'We will hold our celebration of the signing on Friday, as planned, with Congressional leaders!' Biden will also hold his first primetime public address as president Thursday evening where he will push hopes of a return to normalcy and tout vaccination rollout is on track for inoculating every American adult by late May. The president's televised address will start shortly after 8:00 p.m. and comes as Donald Trump tries to take credit Wednesday for vaccination rollouts, claiming it wouldn't have been developed for another five years if he wasn't president when the pandemic hit. President Joe Biden will now hold his signing ceremony for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Thursday after it was previously scheduled for Friday During Biden's speech Thursday evening, he will also laud the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which he plans to sign on Friday. 'It's a speech about where we've been, where we are and where we can be,' Senior White House Advisor Anita Dunn told the Washington Post. 'And I think it will speak to the shared experience of this country over the last year.' Before taking office in January, Biden vowed that he would get 100 million shots in the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office a goal that now appears will be shattered. Despite his administration's claims they had to start from scratch with vaccination rollout, Biden barely entered office at the time Moderna and Pfizer started distributing mass amounts of doses. Biden benefited from waves of vaccination production that the Trump administration set in motion toward the end of his term. Pfizer and Modern just started gaining their footing in pass manufacturing their respective vaccinations during Trump's presidency. When Biden entered office, they were able to double and triple outputs without any major change in the course of plan from the federal government from Trump's time in office. Biden was in office less than a month when Moderna announced it was a month ahead of schedule and would be able to deliver 200 million doses by the end of May. Pfizer also moved up its timetable , announcing it would be able to deliver 200 million doses two months earlier than originally anticipated. Later Thursday evening, Biden will hold his first primetime address as president on Thursday as the U.S. hits the one-year mark of coronavirus lockdowns where he will tout vaccination roll out Trump issued a statement Wednesday evening reading like one of the tweets taking credit for America's vaccine success Both pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies were able to speed up production simply by way of newfound efficiencies in manufacturing and overcoming growing pains. Trump sought to take credit Wednesday evening for America's vaccine success in a statement that read more like one of his tweets claiming that the shot would be five years away if not for him. As the 100 millionth dose is set to be administered in the coming days, the former president said he 'hopes everyone remembers' who was in charge when the vaccinations were developed. 'I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the Covid-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful shot for five years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all,' he said. Trump issued the statement under the letterhead of The Office of Donald J. Trump, but it was very reminiscent of his tweet, which he has been unable to send since he was banned from the platform in the wake of the Capitol riot on January 6. Trump's boast was backed up by his former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who accused Biden of 'denying the successful operation Trump left him'. 'President Trump put in place an unprecedented vaccine operation that paved the way for President Biden,' she said. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines passed clinical trials and were approved while Trump was president, giving the US a head start on many other nations. But Pfizer developed its vaccine without any research funding from Operation Warp Speed, the federal jab program touted by the Trump administration. Other vaccines such as the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab were developed at similarly impressive speed without any help from Trump or the US government. While in office, Trump asked future historians to 'remember that these great discoveries which will end the China Plague all took place on my watch'. Trump last month told his supporters at CPAC to 'get your shot', but is absent from two new public announcements featuring every other living former president. Despite Trump's head start in the vaccination roll-out development, the Biden administration did take steps that made the program swifter and more efficient. Ahead of Biden's inauguration on January 20, his team decided he would invoke the Korean War-era Defense Production Act so the federal government could help Pfizer obtain machinery it needed to expand its plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While the Trump administration had repeatedly invoked that law, its order for Pfizer only covered single-use supplies like plastic liners rather than the durable factory equipment. Biden's team also helped Johnson & Johnson bottle its vaccination faster after it became the third company to develop a shot against the coronavirus. All this leads up to this week, where Biden announced his administration will have enough doses in hand by the end of May 2021 to cover all 257 million American adults. A few weeks earlier, he promised all adults in the U.S. would be vaccinated by the end of July. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama will appear in the public service announcements with their respective first ladies, the Ad Council says. Joe Biden, pictured, is on track to reach his goal of vaccinating 100 million people in his first 100 days in office 'The science is clear. These vaccines will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease,' said President Bush in one of the adverts. 'That's the first step to ending the pandemic and moving our country forward,' Obama says. When asked about Trump's absence, a spokesman for the Ad Council said one of the PSAs was filmed at Biden's inauguration in January which Trump did not attend. While Trump and his allies claim credit for the rapid roll-out, the Biden White House says it has nearly doubled the number of jabs being delivered per week. Press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this month that the number of doses available per week had risen from 8.6million to 15.2million since Biden took office. Biden promised 100million doses in his first 100 days in office, a mission which is comfortably on target with nearly 96million jabs handed out so far. The daily rate of vaccinations now averages more than two million shots, and more than 75million doses have been administered since Biden was sworn in. Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will appear in public service announcements about the COVID-19 vaccines, but Trump will not Under pressure to set a more ambitious target, Biden indicated after taking office that he might raise the goal to 150million. The rapid progress has put America near the top of the world rankings, with a rate of 28 doses administered per 100 people comparing favorably to other rich nations. Around 18 per cent of the population has received at least one dose, behind Britain's 33 per cent but well ahead of the European Union figure of seven per cent. Nearly 10 per cent of Americans have had two doses, a figure bettered only by Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to research by Our World In Data. On Wednesday, Biden said the US would start exporting surplus jabs once 'Americans are taken care of' as he unveiled plans to buy another 100million doses. We're going to start off and ensure Americans are taken care of first, but we're then going to try to help the rest of the world,' Biden told reporters. 'If we have a surplus, we're going to share it with the rest of the world,' Biden said, adding that 'we're not going to be ultimately safe, until the world is safe. Chantelle Lewis, 25, has avoided jail after leading police on a 70mph pursuit A mother-of-two has avoided jail after leading police on a 70mph pursuit despite being five times the drug-driving limit in what was her second high-speed pursuit in less than a year. Chantelle Lewis caught the attention of Greater Manchester Police after pulling out in front of a squad car before almost colliding with another vehicle in June last year. Officers instructed the 25-year-old to pull over, which she did briefly, before driving off again at speed, Manchester Crown Court heard. Police pursued Lewis, of Beswick, and reached speeds of 70mph on 30mph roads in order to keep up with her, it was said. Lewis was eventually brought to a halt when she turned into a cul-de-sac before being detained. She tested positive for cannabis and after was found to be five times the legal drug-driving limit. Lewis pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to driving whilst over the drug limit, dangerous driving, driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and failing to stop. She received a 12-month sentence of imprisonment which was suspended for two years. Lewis had previously been involved in another police pursuit along the M62. Shocking video footage showed her behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Zafira weaving across lanes at speed in November 2019. She undertook vehicles and drove in between others forcing them to brake suddenly in what police called an 'appalling piece of driving'. She was sentenced in December 2020 over the M62 driving and received a suspended sentence. Lewis pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to driving whilst over the drug limit, dangerous driving, driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and failing to stop But despite that conviction, Lewis, appearing in court on Wednesday, narrowly avoided a prison sentence again for the latest incident. Prosecutor Patrick Williamson told the court that Lewis caught the attention of officers when she pulled out in front of them at around 10.15pm on June 21, 2020. She then went to turn down another street when she nearly crashed into oncoming traffic and was duly instructed to pull over. Lewis spoke to officers for short period of time before she 'simply drove off', prosecutors said. 'The officer gave chase and activated the emergency equipment, but the defendant refused to stop,' Mr Williamson told the court. 'The subsequent pursuit took place in a residential area where the speed limits were between 20mph and 30mph. 'The officer vehicle can be seen achieving speeds of 70mph in order to close the gap with the defendant's vehicle. 'The latter part of the pursuit the defendant travels along more narrow streets and was stopped on Burns Close after turning into a cul-de-sac.' Lewis had previously been involved in another police pursuit along the M62 after shocking video footage (above) showed her behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Zafira weaving across lanes at speed in November 2019 She was detained and tested positive for cannabis with a sample said to be in excess of 10 micrograms of analyte per litre of blood - which is five times the legal drug-driving limit. It exceeded the highest calibration standard on the equipment, prosecutors told the court. Lewis was said to have 10 previous convictions for 19 offences including shoplifting and dangerous driving. Mitigating, her defence lawyer, Max Saffman, said: 'She is fortunate and realises she is fortunate that nobody was injured as a result of her driving. 'She is a lady who has suffered with mental health problems all her life. 'There is hope for this lady in the future, prison would set her back.' Sentencing her, Recorder Anthony O'Donohoe said: 'You have come today as close as is possible to going to prison without actually doing so. 'I want you to understand that you are avoiding prison by millimetres. It was a shocking episode. 'It's by good fortune rather than judgement that nobody was injured or damage to property occurred. 'You had taken cannabis and you panicked.' Lewis, of Beswick, was also ordered to complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirements. 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. Moscow has not received any concrete initiatives from Kyiv regarding a Normandy Four meeting, and there are no immediate plans to hold any contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents either, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. "All of us have heard the statements made by the [Ukrainian] president more than once that he wants to convene a Normandy Four meeting as soon as possible, an initiative which is also always on the agenda of meetings of ministers and meetings of the presidents' aides. But, as regards any specific visit or bilateral contacts, we have not received any such concrete initiatives via diplomatic channels," Peskov told reporters on Thursday. When asked whether there were plans to hold any phone conversations between the two countries' presidents, Peskov said, "No, at this point no. But it may be arranged quite promptly, should such a need arise, but there are currently no plans for such contacts." Also, according to him, Moscow still does not know anything about the settlement plan in Donbas (as head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak previously reported). "There is no such a discrete new plan that is on the table. We did not quite understand it, because we, in this regard, do not have anything on the table, we have not seen any plan," Peskov said. 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. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. If you have a subscription, please Log In . Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. If you believe you've gotten this message in error, please Log In. ANN ARBOR, MI Ann Arbor planning officials are continuing to explore areas of the city to allow downtown-style development outside of downtown. City Planner Alexis DiLeo proposed four areas to rezone in a report to the Planning Commission Tuesday night, March 9. That includes parts of Plymouth Road, Washtenaw Avenue, the West Stadium Boulevard and Maple Road area, and the State Street and Eisenhower Parkway area. The goal is to get some downtown-like streetscapes outside of downtown, DiLeo said. I think there was some concern in the community that every corridor was going to be lined with high-rises, but were talking about some very discrete areas of the city, she said. The city has been exploring the idea of higher-density zoning to encourage more housing and mixed-use development along major transit corridors for years. The initiative has picked up in recent months under the new City Council. DiLeo gave an update Tuesday outlining how the proposed TC1 zoning ordinance is evolving. The Planning Commissions Ordinance Revisions Committee affirmed a preference for requiring buildings to be at least two stories tall, rather than requiring mixed uses, and having height limits everywhere in the proposed TC1 zones, DiLeo said. The idea of unlimited height was previously contemplated. As proposed now, buildings could be up to 120 feet tall if theyre more than 300 feet from a residential property, up to 75 feet tall if more than 66 feet to 300 feet from a residential property, and 55 feet tall if within 66 feet of a residential property. What weve done on height gives me a whole lot more comfort and I really like that, said Sarah Mills, commission chair. The first story of any building in the proposed areas would have to be 15 feet tall and have 60% transparency, allowing passersby to see inside, whether thats through the windows of a retail store or office space, or a fitness room or common space for a residential building, according to the draft proposal. Some commissioners pushed back on that, suggesting allowing ground-floor apartments or condos as long as there are porches or front doors along the sidewalk. That could help create some accessible units, Commissioner Sadira Clarke said. Theres a focus on getting buildings to front the public sidewalk, much like buildings downtown, rather than having strip malls with large parking lots in front. Buildings would have to front at least 70% of the lot width under whats proposed, and no building could be more than 360 feet in length or width. The frontage requirement could drop to 50% when the streetwall is at least three stories and there are plazas or other well-designed spaces to support people living, working, shopping and socializing. Just like downtown, the most comfortable streets downtown have where its fully developed from corner to corner, DiLeo said. You walk down it, its fairly comfortable, you have a sense of enclosure, you have the buildings there, theres things to do ... its a comfortable environment. The limits of the proposed TC1 zones are Plymouth between Traverwood Drive and U.S. 23, Washtenaw between U.S. 23 and Platt Road, Stadium and Maple between Jackson Avenue and Pauline Boulevard, State between Oakbrook Drive and I-94 and Eisenhower between Main Street and the railroad tracks. The idea is to line those corridors with the type of higher-density development the city wants to see, without fingers extending off the corridor, DiLeo said. As proposed for those zones, the new TC1 zoning would replace existing office (O), research (R), office research light industrial (ORL), fringe commercial (C3) and limited industrial (M1) zoning, but not any residential zoning. A 30-foot rear or side setback would be required if abutting a residential property. The new zoning would further goals in the citys master plan, including sustainability, land use, climate action and non-motorized transportation goals, DiLeo said. The point of the district is to get more density for better sustainability, she said. A couple built an apartment above their garage. Ann Arbor officials want more like it. There would be no minimum car parking requirements, but there would be parking limits, and vehicle areas could not exceed the building footprint size, according to the proposal. Commissioners offered a mix of feedback Tuesday night and asked about potentially rezoning more areas. Lisa Disch, City Councils representative on the commission, asked whether the city might be leaving out other areas where it wants the same development principles to apply. She mentioned corridors like Packard Road and South Industrial Highway. The TC1 zoning isnt intended as a one-size-fits-all solution for every corridor, DiLeo said. I view this project as intensifying our strong commercial and office corridors, she said. Other corridors like Packard and South Industrial operate differently and have a different character, but they still could be up-zoned to allow more density, she said. Commissioner Alex Milshteyn asked about the Briarwood Mall area, which city officials think is ripe for redevelopment with shopping habits shifting. Brett Lenart, the citys planning manager, said there have been no recent conversations with the malls owners. I just think with whats happening there, it may be worth having them be part of the conversation, Milshteyn said. No action was taken at Tuesday nights work session. A public hearing on the TC1 zoning proposal is expected at the commissions April 6 meeting before commissioners vote on making recommendations to City Council. Commissioners also got a first look Tuesday night at staff-proposed changes to development approval requirements, making it so certain types of projects would be exempt from going through the citys full site plan approval process. As proposed, projects that would be exempt from going to City Council for site plan approval could include residential developments with up to six dwelling units, by-right developments that dont require rezoning, building additions of 300 square feet or less and solar energy systems. Planning officials are still working out the details and some commissioners suggested revisions. For instance, some supported making it so only residential developments with up to four dwelling units would be exempt from site plan requirements, rather than up to six. Since there could be as many as six bedrooms per unit, some didnt think a 36-bed building should be exempt. Projects still would go through the usual city staff reviews. And in the case of by-right developments that dont require rezoning, while they would no longer go to City Council for final approval, they still would go through Planning Commission, which would have the final say, much like the commission already does with special-exception use permits for marijuana dispensaries and the like, according to the proposal. MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Ann Arbor administrator really frustrated with slow vaccine rollout for city workers Trash talk: Climate change has Ann Arbor officials exploring reduced garbage pickup Ann Arbor sets goal to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and injuries on city streets by 2023 Public feedback for South Industrial Highway project being sought by Ann Arbor officials Ann Arbor banned Airbnb houses in neighborhoods. Now theyre in legal limbo. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The Commission on Elections on Wednesday announced a 14-day closure of all its offices in Intramuros, Manila following coronavirus infections discovered among some of its employees. The poll body said its Main Office in Intramuros, as well as the Offices of the Regional Election Director of the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, and Mimaropa, will be closed from Thursday, March 11, until March 24. The temporary closure of offices is being implemented as a precautionary measure, to prevent the further spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus, in view of reports of documented recent transmission of the COVID-19 disease among employees, Comelec said. It did not disclose how many employees caught the virus. While the office of the regional election director of Mimaropa is affected, the Comelec assured continued preparations for the plebiscite scheduled this Saturday on the law dividing Palawan into three provinces. Under the law, the plebiscite should be conducted on the second Monday of May 2020, but the Comelec had it suspended due to the pandemic. In October last year, the inter-agency task force against COVID-19 allowed the conduct of the plebiscite subject to health protocols. Meanwhile, Comelec said work will also remain unhampered for the May 2022 national elections, as well as other services. It said its offices can still be reached during regular working hours through their official e-mail addresses and other online communication platforms, including social media. The country has been recording a spike in COVID-19 cases, which experts say could be driven by the more transmissible variants first detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa, as well as "pandemic fatigue." A total of 44,470 patients are currently ill with coronavirus as of Wednesday the highest number of active cases recorded by the country since October. 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. Hawaii Governor David Ige declared an emergency in the U.S. state after heavy rains brought floods, landslides and fear of dam failures, and authorities ordered the evacuation of several thousand people from communities threatened by rising waters. The types of COVID-19 tests Did you know that there are two types of COVID-19 tests? According to the FDA, a diagnostic test can show active coronavirus infection. There are two types of diagnostic tests: a molecular test and an antigen test. The molecular test, also known as the lab test or molecular PCR, detects the virus's genetic material and is most commonly administered through a nasal or throat swab. The test is highly accurate but can take longer to get results it could be the same day or up to a week. The rapid antigen test detects specific proteins from the virus by nasal swab. Finding out results takes 15-30 minutes, but it isn't as accurate as the molecular test. The antibody test looks for antibodies that are made by your immune system in response to the virus. This test is administered by blood draw, and results take one to three days. This test doesn't look for active virus; instead, it shows if you've been infected in the past. The FDA is not sure how long antibodies stay in the body or if they give a person immunity, so it cautions against using the results as an indication to stop taking steps to protect yourself against COVID-19. In this Monday, March 9, 2020 file photo, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, March 11 it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, file) When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining that the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most. The agency made some costly missteps along the way: It advised people against wearing masks for months and asserted that COVID-19 wasn't widely spread in the air. It also declined to publicly call out countriesparticularly Chinafor mistakes that senior WHO officials grumbled about privately. That created some tricky politics that challenged WHO's credibility and wedged it between two world powers, setting off vociferous Trump administration criticism that the agency is only now emerging from. President Joe Biden's support for WHO may provide some much-needed breathing space, but the organization still faces a monumental task ahead as it tries to project some moral authority amid a universal scramble for vaccines that is leaving billions of people unprotected. "WHO has been a bit behind, being cautious rather than precautionary," said Gian Luca Burci, a former WHO legal counsel now at Geneva's Graduate Institute. "At times of panic, of a crisis and so on, maybe being more out on a limbtaking a riskwould have been better." In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 file photo, Peter Ben Embarek of a World Health Organization team speaks to journalists, at the end of their WHO mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, March 11 it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, file) WHO waved its first big warning flag on Jan. 30, 2020, by calling the outbreak an international health emergency. But many countries ignored or overlooked the warning. Only when WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a "pandemic" six weeks later, on March 11, 2020, did most governments take action, experts said. By then, it was too late, and the virus had reached every continent except Antarctica. A year later, WHO still appears hamstrung. A WHO-led team that traveled to China in January to investigate the origins of COVID-19 was criticized for failing to dismiss China's fringe theory that the virus might be spread via tainted frozen seafood. That came after WHO repeatedly lauded China last year for its speedy, transparent responseeven though recordings of private meetings obtained by The Associated Press showed that top officials were frustrated at the country's lack of cooperation. "Everybody has been wondering why WHO was so praising of China back in January" 2020, Burci said, adding that the praise has come back "to haunt WHO big-time." In this Monday Jan. 11, 2021 file photo, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson watches first responder Caroline Cook receiving an injection of a Covid-19 vaccine at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, England. When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, March 11 it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most. (Eddie Mulholland/Pool via AP, file) Some experts say WHO's blunders came at a high price, and it remains too reliant on iron-clad science instead of taking calculated risks to keep people saferwhether on strategies like mask-wearing or whether COVID-19 is often spread through the air. "Without a doubt, WHO's failure to endorse masks earlier cost lives," said Dr. Trish Greenhalgh, a professor of primary care health sciences at Oxford University who sits on several WHO expert committees. Not until June did WHO advise people to regularly wear masks, long after other health agencies and numerous countries did so. Greenhalgh said she was less interested in asking WHO to atone for past errors than revising its policies going forward. In October, she wrote to the head of a key WHO committee on infection control, raising concerns about the lack of expertise among some members. She never received a response. "This scandal is not just in the past. It's in the present and escalating into the future," Greenhalgh said. Raymond Tellier, an associate professor at Canada's McGill University who specializes in coronaviruses, said WHO's continued reluctance to acknowledge how often COVID-19 is spread in the air could prove more dangerous with the arrival of new virus variants first identified in Britain and South Africa that are even more transmissible. In this Monday, March 1, 2021 file photo, a health worker prepares to administer COVISHIELD vaccine to an elderly man at a government hospital in Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, India. When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, March 11 it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most.(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, file) "If WHO's recommendations are not strong enough, we could see the pandemic go on much longer," he said. With several licensed vaccines, WHO is now working to ensure that people in the world's poorest countries receive doses through the COVAX initiative, which is aimed at ensuring poor countries get COVID-19 vaccines. But COVAX has only a fraction of the 2 billion vaccines it is hoping to deliver by the end of the year. Some countries that have waited months for shots have grown impatient, opting to sign their own private deals for quicker vaccine access. WHO chief Tedros has responded largely by appealing to countries to act in "solidarity," warning that the world is on the brink of a "catastrophic moral failure" if vaccines are not distributed fairly. Although he has asked rich countries to share their doses immediately with developing countries and to not strike new deals that would jeopardize the vaccine supply for poorer countries, none have obliged. "WHO is trying to lead by moral authority, but repeating 'solidarity' over and over when it's being ignored by countries acting in their own self-interest shows they are not recognizing reality," said Amanda Glassman, executive vice president of the Center for Global Development. "It's time to call things out for the way they are." In this Tuesday, March 10, 2020 file photo, people walk by a giant TV screen showing Chinese President Xi Jinping talking to medical workers during a visit to the Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, at a quiet shopping mall in Beijing. When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, March 11 it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, file) Yet throughout the pandemic, WHO has repeatedly declined to censure rich countries for their flawed attempts to stop the virus. Internally, WHO officials described some of their biggest member countries' approaches to stemming COVID-19 as "an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus" and "macabre." More recently, Tedros seems to have found a slightly firmer voicespeaking truth to leaders like Germany's president about the need for wealthy countries to share vaccines or criticizing China for dragging its heels in not quickly granting visas to the WHO-led investigative team. In this Wednesday, March 18, 2020 file photo, a man wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus travels by train in Barcelona, Spain. When the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic one year ago Thursday, March 11 it did so only after weeks of resisting the term and maintaining the highly infectious virus could still be stopped. A year later, the U.N. agency is still struggling to keep on top of the evolving science of COVID-19, to persuade countries to abandon their nationalistic tendencies and help get vaccines where they're needed most. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, file) Irwin Redlener of Columbia University said WHO should be more aggressive in instructing countries what to do, given the extremely unequal way COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed. "WHO can't order countries to do things, but they can make very clear and explicit guidance that makes it difficult for countries not to follow," Redlener said. WHO's top officials have said repeatedly it is not the agency's style to criticize countries. At a press briefing this month, WHO senior adviser Dr. Bruce Aylward said simply: "We can't tell individual countries what to do." 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. WASHINGTON Emmy Ruiz, 37, was shoveling snow into a bucket in her backyard one frigid morning last month with her toddler while dialing into a conference call for work. During the power crisis in Texas after a winter storm that left millions without heat or electricity, Ms. Ruizs house in Austin lacked water for days. She was collecting snow to melt so her family could flush the toilets. It is not how one would necessarily picture the White Houses director of political strategy and outreach spending her workday, but nothing about this year has been typical for those who have joined the Biden administration. Many members of the White House staff have been working remotely because of strict coronavirus protocols instituted to reduce the number of people in the building with the president. But Ms. Ruiz is one of dozens of administration officials who have not moved to Washington at all. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 11, 2021) - Therma Bright Inc. (TSXV: THRM) ("Therma" or the "Company"), a progressive medical device technology company, is pleased to announce that it has submitted an application to an independent Research Ethics Board ("REB") for approval to conduct a clinical study with the Company's AcuVid TM rapid antigen test for detecting SARS CoV-2 virus in saliva. Approval is expected within a week, at which point Therma will submit a complete package, including the REB review, to Health Canada to conduct the clinical trial. The data generated from this pivotal clinical study will also be used to support Therma's European Union CE mark submission to be initiated shortly. The CE mark will allow sales of the product in Europe and in other countries where a CE mark is required. Mr. Rob Fia, CEO of Therma Bright, commented, "We are pleased to cross another hurdle in the process to get AcuVid TM to market. Performance of the test during the development stage has exceeded our expectations. We are in the process of seeking initial product orders, subject to final regulatory approvals and manufacturing scale up." Therma Bright also reported that it has received TSX-V approval to the debt settlements previously announced on January 25, 2021 and consequently has issued 145,000 common shares to settle an aggregate debt of $65,250. All securities issued in conjunction with the debt settlements are subject to a hold period expiring July 11, 2021 in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX-V. Therma Bright is not making any express or implied claims that its test product has the ability to eliminate or cure COVID-19 or the SARS-CoV-2 virus. About Therma Bright Inc. Therma Bright is a progressive medical device technology company focused on providing consumers and medical professionals with quality medical devices that address their medical and healthcare needs. The Company's initial breakthrough proprietary technology delivers effective, non-invasive and pain-free skincare. Therma Bright received a Class II medical device status from the FDA for its platform technology that is indicated for the relief of the pain, itch, and inflammation of a variety of insect bites or stings. The Company received clearance for the above claims from the US FDA in 1997. Therma Bright Inc. trades on the TSXV: THRM, OTCMARKETS: THRBF, FRA: JNX. For more information visit: www.thermabright.com and www.coldsores.com For further information, please contact: Therma Bright Inc. Rob Fia, CEO rfia@thermabright.com Follow us on Twitter FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking" statements. These statements relate to future events such as development and commercialization of a rapid COVID-19 viral assay and related instrumentation, regulatory applications and manufacturing scale up as described in the news release. All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations. 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 press release. This press release is not an offer of the securities for sale in the United States. The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/76843 French carmaker said on Thursday it would sell all of its 1.54% stake in Germany's in order to speed up de-leveraging of its automotive business. said in a statement that it would sell its 16.45 million shares through a placement to qualified investors via an accelerated bookbuilding process. Based on Daimler's closing share price of 72.09 euros per share on Thursday, Renault's stake would be worth a little more than 1.18 billion euros ($1.41 billion). "The industrial partnership between the Group and remains unchanged and is not impacted by this financial transaction," Renault said. The French carmaker, with it Japanese partner Nissan , had exchanged stakes with Daimler in 2010 to strengthen their industrial partnerships. INFOGEST Special Webinar: Starch - An iconoclast view on amylopectin Event Time 11am Venue Online Infogest Special Webinar: Starch - An iconoclast view on amylopectin INFOGEST is an international network with the aim of Sharing Information on the Digestion of Food, now consisting of scientists from academia and industry from over 45 countries, with some financial support by the French Research Organisation INRAE. The INFOGEST Webinar Series on Food Digestion is held every month and will continue in the lead up to the next International Conference on Food Digestion 3-5 May 2022 in Cork, Ireland. This special INFOGEST webinar taking place on Monday, 15 March at 11am will focus on Starch - An iconoclast view on amylopectin. Guest Speaker: Prof Serge Perez- CERMAV (Research Centre for Plant Macromolecules, CNRS) Grenoble and Founder of Glycopedia.EU Moderators: Caroline Orfila (University of Leeds) and Andre Brodkorb (Teagasc) The inaugural hearing has been scheduled for April 6. Ukrainian Justice Minister Denys Malyuska says the ministry has lodged a lawsuit with Kyiv's District Administrative Court to ban the Party of Sharij, founded by Anatoliy Sharij, a Ukrainian blogger earlier charged with treason. "Based on the materials provided by the prosecutor's office and the [SBU] Security Service of Ukraine, we've filed a lawsuit with Kyiv's District Administrative Court to ban the activities of the political party, namely the Party of Sharij," he wrote on Facebook on March 11. The grounds for filing a lawsuit, Malyuska says, were numerous violations of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine by the political party, in particular, by the person indicated by party members as their 'leader,' a pro-Russian blogger Anatoliy Sharij. The legislative basis for the claim is Article 21, Prohibition of Political Party, of Law on Political Parties in Ukraine. "We don't expect that the case will be simple and easy. Sharij's party has built a good legal defense of its illegal activities, grossly violating legislation, but at the same time trying to shift all responsibility for such actions onto front persons. But, as evidenced by the materials provide by law enforcement agencies, they haven't always succeeded in this," he said. The inaugural court hearing on the case is scheduled for April 6, 2021, the minister added. Read alsoUkraine presses treason charges against fugitive bloggerBackground On February 16, 2021, the SBU Security Service of Ukraine said it had put forward criminal charges against Sharij, who is now living in Spain. Investigators say he illegally acted to the detriment of Ukraine's national security in the media domain, in favor of foreign actors. The SBU stressed that a number of expert studies had confirmed the evidence collected by the investigation. In particular, facts have been established of Shari's subversive activity against Ukraine in his multiple interviews and speeches. On February 25, Sharij failed to report to the SBU for questioning. On the same day, he was put on the wanted list. Reporting by UNIAN WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nothing says "I love you" more than brownies and bubbly! Sheila G's Brownie Brittle, the original thin sweet snack, has teamed up with House Wine, the original approachable, adventurous, and unpretentious wine brand, to create the ultimate Mother's Day gift box: "Brownies & Bubbles". Available from April 5th through May 9th on OriginalHouseWine.com , while supplies last, Brownie Brittle and House Wine invite you to gift the perfect pairing this Mother's Day to "Be the Favorite Child." Brownies & Bubbles Gift Box The limited-edition gift box is one-part Sheila G's #1 selling Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle (six 1oz bags), one-part House Wine's delicious and popular Rose and Brut Bubbles (three 375ml cans of each, six cans total -- the equivalent of three bottles of wine!) offered in one convenient gift package. House Wine is the # 1 selling 375ml can wine in the country. The pairing features the rich brownie taste with a crisp cookie crunch and just 120 calories per serving of Brownie Brittle Chocolate Chip coupled with crisp, bright, and fruity House Wine Rose and Brut Bubbles. Look no further for the ultimate gift idea for all the moms in your life! "We are so excited to partner with House Wine to bring together our award-winning Brownie Brittle and House Wine's delicious bubbly to celebrate all the moms out there," said Ashley Dawkins, VP of Marketing at Sheila G's Brownie Brittle. "This has been one roller coaster of a year -- especially for parents who are juggling just about everything right now. There's no better way to show appreciation than with a decadent and delicious gift box of brownies and bubbly. Now everyone can feel what it's like to be the favorite child by gifting one of these fun, limited-edition boxes!" "We make wines for people to enjoy anytime and anyplace, and we love a good, sweet treat to accompany them," said Hal Landvoigt, House Wine winemaker. "Our bubbles are sparkling and delicious and make the perfect pairing with Brownie Brittle Chocolate Chip. Moms are going to just love this limited-edition gift box." The "Brownies & Bubbles" Limited-Edition Gift Box will be available from April 5th through May 9th for $39.99 (price includes shipping and handling) at OriginalHouseWine.com and is sure to sell out fast. You can even customize the "to" and "from" on the ribbon at checkout to make it personalized. If you miss the chance to purchase a box, you can always enjoy mixing and matching Brownie Brittle and House Wine pairings on your own. To learn more about House Wine and Brownie Brittle visit OriginalHouseWine.com and BrownieBrittle.com . About Brownie Brittle: Brownie Brittle, LLC, headquartered in West Palm Beach, FL, has been baking and selling innovative brownie products to restaurants, club stores and world-class theme parks since 1992. Brownie Brittle snacks are available in tens of thousands of stores in the US, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Australia, and the Caribbean. More information is available online at BrownieBrittle.com , as well as on Facebook , Twitter , Pinterest , and Instagram . About House Wine: Original House Wine is approachable and unpretentious. Available in an array of varietals and flavors in cans, boxes, and bottles, House Wine is designed for enjoyment at all occasions. Created in 2004, House Wine is crafted with the goal of providing maximum quality and value in a minimalist package. Today, winemaker Hal Landvoigt continues driving the brand's cheeky spirit by traveling the world to source the best grapes and cultivate its uniquely irreverent style. Visit OriginalHouseWine.com . Follow us on Instagram or on Facebook . Media Contact Rachel Powell 516-314-7730 [email protected] SOURCE Brownie Brittle Related Links http://www.BrownieBrittle.com The All Farmers Association of Nigeria and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Ekiti State on Thursday met in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, to try to resolve the lingering crisis ocassioned by open grazing of cattle. Both parties made suggestions on how to end the clashes, which have resulted in the death of many farmers in the state. Only recently, armed herdsmen reportedly murdered two farmers in Ekiti, following a disagreement over grazing on farmlands. Although there have been several measures and talk shops, the fatalities attending the clashes have been on the rise. The state government had earlier promised to provide alternative grazing or ranches for herders to forestall further clashes. The tensions between farmers and herders in the state informed the stakeholders meeting in Ado-Ekiti, moderated by the Nigeria Police. At the stakeholders meeting, Joseph Adewole, a community leader of Ijero, lamented that a number of people had been killed in Orin and Isaba Ekiti and nobody had been prosecuted. Some Fulani people are claiming that Nigerian lands belong to them and that they must get it by force. Government must arrest those making such incendiary comments, he said. While the farmers prefer ranching for the herders as a lasting measure to the crisis, the herdsmen believe that criminal elements among the herdsmen should be arrested through proper identification. The AFAN Chair in Ekiti, Adebola Alagbada, said establishment of ranches remain the best panacea to the farmers-herders clashes. Cattle ranches by government and individuals will help in resolving all these crises, he said. If Chief Obafemi Awolowo could establish ranches across the southwest in 1958, why cant we do same in this millennium time? Similarly, the head of Fulani in Ekiti State, Adamu Abache, called for registration of all members for easy identification. It is true that farms were being destroyed, but if we had registered with the local governments, we would have been able to identify these itinerant Fulani killer herders and they would have been known, he said. We are not against arrest of criminals , but anytime they want to arrest, the police and other security agencies must ensure that the criminals are arrested not innocent Fulani herders. Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Police Commissioner, Babatunde Mobayo, said the command would henceforth enforce the presidential directive against those carrying AK 47 rifles illegally. Mr Mobayo stated that the police in Ekiti were resolute to restore peace between the warring farmers and herdsmen in Ekiti, using the instrumentality of the laws and arbitration. Mr Mobayo said no effort would be spared to halt ethnic clashes in the state. ADVERTISEMENT We are ready to implement the presidential order against those carrying illegal arms, he said. If you carry unlicensed arms in Ekiti State, we are going to deal with you ruthlessly. READ ALSO: To those carrying AK 47 without licence, it is like carrying death certificate and hang on it on your head, so carrying of AK 47 by non-state actors is not permitted in Ekiti. Mr Mobayo, who described as erroneous, the impression that the Police were protecting the Fulani herders, said his men had been handling all issues connected to the two feuding groups in Ekiti. We know that Fulani herdsmen most of the time go out of their ways to destroy peoples farms, but we have always been rising up to handle such cases without taking sides, he further said. We were being careful because the locals as well used to perpetrate some of these evils under the cover of herdsmen . Dont also forget that underage cattle rearing and night grazing have been banned. If there is any case against Fulani that I am not handling well, out can write a petition against me to the police Zonal office in Akure. I wont protect any criminal. Jakarta: A tourist bus plunged into a ravine on Indonesias main island of Java after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 27 people and injuring 39, police and rescuers said on Thursday. The bus was carrying a group of Islamic junior high school students, teachers and parents from the West Java provincial town of Subang when the accident happened on a winding road late on Wednesday, police chief Eko Prasetyo Robbyanto said. Rescuers on Thursday search for survivors and victims inside the wreckage of a bus that plunged into a ravine in Sumedang, West Java. Credit:Basarnas via AP He said the bus was on its way back to Subang from a pilgrimage site in the provinces Tasikmalaya district when it plunged into the 20-metre-deep ravine in Sumedang after the driver lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of sharp declines. Police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but survivors told authorities the vehicles brakes apparently malfunctioned, Robbyanto said. The fighting in Syria has been going on for ten years, and there is no end in sight as long as Iran continues to use Syria as a staging area for a direct attack on Israel. This has turned Iran into the into the widely accepted bad guy in Syria. This was something Iran sought to avoid, but Irans allies Russia, Turkey and the Assads are now all working against Iran. Popular opinion and governments in Iraq and Lebanon are now actively hostile towards Iran. Back home most Iranians see the Syrian War as a disaster for Iran. The cost of the war is pushing more Iranians into poverty and the religious dictatorship that has ruled Iran since the 1980s considers the destruction of Israel as worth any cost. Most Iranians, and everyone in the region, disagree with this. The Iranian leadership is not dissuaded because they are on a Mission From God which means no earthly power can interfere. This will not end well. Israel is quietly working on a peace deal with the Assads by first consulting Russia, Turkey and the Arab nations Israel has diplomatic relations with. If Israel can achieve a consensus on how to offer and deliver the Assads a workable peace deal, Iran could be driven out of Syria. Israel and the Assads have been, since the 1970s willing to leave each other alone and make mutually acceptable deals. The Assads would often threaten another war with Israel but did not pose as determined threat as Iran. Because the Assads became allies of and dependent on Iran in the 1980s for protection from chaos in Iraq and Lebanon, they had to at least pretend to support the Iranian obsession with destroying Israel. The Assads knew better but, until the Assad police state failed in 2011 and a rebellion got going, the Assads were able to resist Iranian presence and control of Syria. The UN is also involved in this stealthy peace effort because Iranian interference has blocked the UN effort to create a new constitution for Syria that would assist efforts to end the civil war. The Assads are also hostile to the proposed new constitution, which would mean national elections monitored by the UN. The Assads cannot afford to lose control of the government because that would make them more vulnerable to arrest and prosecution for war crimes. The accusations continue to pile up against the Assads, which always treated Syrians who opposed them with brutality and terror. So far this year, over a hundred Syrians a month get arrested and brutally interrogated, or simply murdered, by the Assad security forces. Yet doing business with Iran can also be fatal for the Assads. March 10, 2021: In the east (Raqqa province) fighting resumed between the Turks and Syrian (Assad) forces at Ain Issa, a town north of the city of Raqqa. The Turks are using Syrian Arab mercenaries for infantry while Turkish personnel provide air, artillery and other support. The fighting has been going on since the 2nd, when Turkish artillery fire destroyed a car belonging to a Syrian Army commander who ordered return fire. This slowly escalated and for the last several days and both sides have sent reinforcements. Neither side has sought to turn this into a major battle. Turkish forces have increased their harassment attacks all along northern and northeastern Syria where the face Kurdish forces. In the northwest (Idlib province) Syrian army artillery was used against Islamic terrorist gunmen in the de-escalation zone where such attacks are forbidden. The Syrians usually claim that the Islamic terrorists fired first, which is sometimes true. March 7, 2021: Another irritating Iranian tactic in Syria has been the illegal purchase or seizure of property along the Lebanese border so that Iranian mercenaries from outside Syria can settle down and provide an armed pro-Iran population along the border. Syria has always had laws regulating who could buy property near the border, mainly to prevent what Iran is now doing along the Israeli border as well. March 6, 2021: In the northwest (Idlib province) there is growing tension, and some violence, between the decade old Salvation Government rebel provincial administration and HTS (Hayat Tahrir al Sham), the umbrella organization for most of the 20,000 (or more) armed rebels in Idlib. There are also 1.5 million civilians and the Salvation Government makes itself essential by coordinating foreign aid that keeps people alive. The aid also sustains a local economy and Salvation Government and HTS cooperate to maintain a degree of order. Factional frictions within both HTS and the Salvation Government are threatening what stability there is in the half of the province that is still rebel controlled. The rest has been occupied by Turkish forces in the north and Assad forces in the south. March 5, 2021: In the east (desert areas between Hama, Homs and Raqqah), Russian warplanes returned to the air after a three day pause and carried out sixty air strikes against ISIL targets. This campaign against ISIL in eastern Syria has been going on for two years and killed over a thousand ISIL fighters. This reduced the number of areas where ISIL is able to base themselves and plan attacks. March 4, 2021: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) American troops and their Kurdish SDF allies shut down two Iranian border crossings on the Euphrates river. The U.S. shut down construction of a bridge connecting two Iran-backed militias while the Kurds shut down a pipeline crossing the river that delivered Iranian oil to Iran backed groups in Syria. March 3, 2021: In the north (Aleppo province) Russian and Assad forces fired four missiles at an improvised oil refinery in Turkish control territory, causing a massive fire that killed four and wounded over twenty. Nearly 200 fuel tanker trucks were destroyed or damaged by the large fire. This is the third such attack on these refineries in 2021 and no one will take credit. To do so would force Turkey to respond to protect its Syrian mercenary groups that operate the refineries to earn money. Syria considers such activity illegal and harmful to Syrian interests. The oil comes from Kurdish controlled Syrian oil fields. March 2, 2021: Israel carried out more airstrikes against Iranian targets near Damascus. The target was new Iranian bases for Iranian Arab and Afghan mercenaries as well as Iranian military, mostly IRGC (Islamic Revolution Guard Corps) personnel. This latest attacked caused over fifty casualties among the military personnel, including fifteen dead. Eight of the dead were Iranians and one of them was an IRGC general. Another three were senior IRGC officers working for or meeting with the general. March 1, 2021: It is estimated that nearly 500 people died throughout Syria in January because of the continued fighting and terrorism. About 30 percent of the dead were civilians, 20 percent ISIL and the rest split between Assad government forces and other factions, like the SDF and Turkish mercenaries. The deaths have been declining in Syria over the last five years. The total for the last decade is nearly half a million. During the first five years the losses were much heavier, sometimes reaching a thousand or more dead a week for months on end. Now deaths are down to about a hundred a week. February 28, 2021: Israel carried out a several airstrikes against Iranian targets outside Damascus. The sound of the many explosions could be heard in Damascus. Hezbollah gunmen quickly set up checkpoints and restricted access to the bases that apparently suffered a lot of damage, in part because warehouses containing weapons and ammunition were hit, triggering secondary explosions with debris scattered over a wide area, including many fragments of Iranian made weapons. February 26, 2021: The course of the Syrian civil war was changed today in the Gulf of Oman, near the Iranian coast, where the Helios Ray, an Israeli owned RO/RO (roll on, roll off) vehicle carrier ship was hit by two missiles. There were two holes visible above the waterline on each side an empty cargo deck of the 35 meter (112 foot) wide ship. There was no serious damage to the ship, that had made several stops in the Persian Gulf to unload new vehicles. After the attack the ship turned around and returned to Dubai to get the hull patched. The ship was on its way to Singapore, a voyage that was to take about a week. Iran was suspected of causing the damage, which is similar to what earlier happened to other commercial ships in the area. At first Iran denied any responsibility, but two days later boasted that they carried out the attack because the RORO ship was spying on Iran. As soon as Iran took credit, Israel carried out several airstrikes on Iranian bases outside Damascus. Iran thought all this would create more Syrian enthusiasm for the Iranian war on Israel. Instead, the Syrian Internet saw a spike in anti-Iran messages. There has been a shift in Syrian public attitudes towards Iran as Iran moved in more of its Lebanese (Hezbollah), Afghan and local mercenaries to Syrian army bases around the capital and other areas where a lot of Assad supporters live. That is followed by truckloads of missiles and other weapons from Iran to be stockpiled for use against Israel. Several hundred times over the last few years Israeli airstrikes have destroyed these Iranian stockpiles, usually with few casualties on the ground and those tend to be Iranians or their mercenaries. Now the Iranians, or at least their Hezbollah veterans, are talking of the need to store these weapons in residential areas to use Syrian civilians as human shields to discourage Israeli air strikes. Syrian civilians know how this works. The Israeli guided missiles do not cause a lot of civilian casualties. Instead, the Iranian missiles, rockets and explosives do that as they explode and kill or would nearby civilians. The Iranians see this as a plus as it is supposed to make the locals more anti-Israel. The Syrians see the Israelis attacking no matter what, even if Iran switches to the human shields approach, because otherwise those weapons will be used against Israeli civilians. This shift in public opinion is a problem for the Assad government because Iran has hundreds of advisors working within the Assad government and military. These Iranians report potential problems back to Iran or, rather, the IRGC that runs Iranian operations in Syria and Lebanon. If the Iranians suspect that the Assad government is considering switching sides and joining a coalition that opposes Iran and considers Israel an ally, Iran could do a lot of damage to the Assad clan. The IRGC also suspects Russia of working with Israel to broker a peace deal between the Assads and Israel. These suspicions increased in mid-February when Russia brokered a deal with Syria to participate in an exchange with Israel that saw the return of two Syrians and one Israeli civilian who had crossed the border. Iran was not consulted and Russia refused to reveal details. The Assads deny there were any hidden objectives. Iran did note that the deal also involved Israel reducing the prison sentence for a pro-Syrian Arab. And there were rumors that Israel would also help Syria obtain covid19 vaccine and so on. Rumors are rumors but the strains in Iran-Syria relations is real. To make matters worse for Iran, Turkey and Israel are negotiating a deal to improve diplomatic and economic relations. The Turks have been increasingly hostile to Iran lately and that includes ignoring Iranian requests during the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Turkey sent advisors, armed UAVs and Syrian mercenaries to help the Azeris score their first victory over Armenia in a three-decade long territorial feud. Iran was also unhappy with the fact that the Azeris gave credit to the many Israeli weapons that had purchased over the last decade. This included the Israeli Barak 8 anti-aircraft system which intercepted a number of Russia made ballistic missiles fired at Azerbaijan by the Armenians. One of those ballistic missiles was an Iskander, a recent Russian design that was supposed to more difficult to detect and intercept. In short, Iran has reasons to be displeased at how its campaign in Syria is proceeding and how unhelpful, or even hostile, their allies have been. This is not a new development. As far back as 2018 there were signs that Iranian allies in Syria were something of an unnatural act. Israel had made it clear that they would fight if Iran tried to establish a military presence in Syria. That was complicated by the fact that Iran had allies in Syria; Russia and Turkey, who were traditional enemies. In contrast Israel and the Gulf Arabs are not. What to do? Israel and Russia began trying to negotiate a deal to prevent a war between Iran and Israel over Iranian plans, already announced and underway, to establish bases in Syria and organize anti-Israeli forces for a final battle. For Israel any long-term Iranian presence in Syria was intolerable. Russia believed it could work out such a deal but many Israelis were skeptical and Iran declared that such a deal was not possible. When it comes to opposing Iran, Israel always had some very public backing from Russia despite the fact that this put Russia at odds with their two other allies in Syria. The Russians see the Israelis as a more powerful and reliable ally than the Turks or Iranians. Russia is also backing the Kurds in Syria and that is causing problems with Turkey. Recently Turkey had come to agree with Russia and is seeking to improve relations with Israel, even that is at the expense of Iran. February 25, 2021: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) an American airstrike by two F-15E fighter-bombers used seven smart bombs against an Iran-backed militia facility and largely destroyed it. This was not a very important facility and was in an isolated rural area. There was at least one death and four wounded. This indicates how little used this place was. The facility was used to support the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah, an organization that is meant to become as powerful in Iraq as the original Lebanese Hezbollah has been since the 1980s in Lebanon. The U.S. holds Kataib Hezbollah responsible for recent rocket attacks on American bases and embassy in Iraq. Iran denies responsibility but the rockets used were made in Iran. The air strike was near the Al Bukamal crossing into Iraq. Iran is seeking to provide a safer environment for its Iraqi militias. Inside Iraq Kataib Hezbollah is subject to attack by security forces and pro-government militias. In eastern Syria the biggest threat is Israeli airstrikes and the occasional American one. For that reason, the Americans warned Israel the day before that there going be U.S. airstrike, to ensure an Israeli airstrike was not scheduled to take place at the same target or another one in the area. The is the first American airstrike in Syria since a new U.S. government took power that had indicated it would no longer such American airstrikes in Syria. In the northeast (Hasaka province) someone (apparently ISIL) used a remotely detonated motorcycle bomb left near a Turkish checkpoint manned by Syrian mercenaries. One merc and three civilians were killed. February 19, 2021: Diplomats from Russia, Turkey and Iran met and agreed to back Syrian claims that continued Israeli air strikes violate the 1974 UN brokered ceasefire that halted the Israeli advance on Damascus after defeating the Syrian surprise attack to retake the Golan Heights during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. In 1973 the Arabs believed their simultaneous attacks against Israeli forces in the north and south would push the Israelis out of the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan heights and possibly other Israeli territory as well. After some initial success the Israeli defenses held and counterattacks forced the Egyptians and Syrians to retreat in an effort to defend their capitals. The ceasefire agreements that halted the fighting on both fronts included Egyptian and Syrian pledges to not back covert terror attacks on Israel. As far as Israel is concerned the Iranian military buildup in Syria is a violation of the 1974 agreement and justifies the continued airstrikes against the Iranians. Syria protests that the airstrikes endanger commercial air traffic and Syrian civilians living near Iranian military facilities. Russia and Turkey are unlikely to do anything to block Israeli airstrikes because Israel, Turkey and Russia all want Iran to get out of Syria but only Israel can admit it openly. February 17, 2021: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) another Israeli airstrike hit an Iran base occupied by Syrian troops and Iranian mercenaries. There were at least 57 fatalities, including 17 Syrian army troops, sixteen Iraqi militiamen, and eleven Afghan mercenaries. February 11, 2021: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) an airstrike hit a convoy of trucks carrying Iranian weapons as it passed through the Iraqi Al Bukamal crossing into Syria. There were several large explosions, made possible by the munitions carried in the trucks. The attacking aircraft could not be identified but were believed to be Israeli and part of a campaign to cripple Iranian efforts to build up a large force in Syria that would be capable of launching thousands of guided and unguided rockets into Israel. No charges will be filed in the shooting death of a 27-year-old man shot to death in the parking lot of an east Birmingham car wash. Detraio Deshawn Whorton was killed Feb. 25 in the 8600 block of First Avenue North. The Birmingham Police Department on Thursday two weeks to the day that Whorton died announced investigators had presented their evidence to the Jefferson County District Attorneys Office which deemed the deadly shooting justifiable. Birmingham police received a 911 call at 5:11 p.m. that Thursday reporting a man had been shot in his vehicle. When they arrived at the location - a parking lot in the 8600 block of First Avenue North - they found Whorton suffering from at least one gunshot wound to the neck. Police said Whorton was in the drivers seat of a white Dodge Challenger when he was shot. The vehicle was in the far parking lot of a car wash across from Krispy Kreme on First Avenue North. First responders performed CPR on the man just outside the vehicle and then Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service rushed him to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:40 p.m. Whortons wife was in the vehicle but not injured. An employee at the car wash said he was inside the business when he heard multiple shots fired. He said he dropped to the ground immediately to take cover. A lookout bulletin was issued for a white Dodge Charger with heavy front-end damage from hitting a nearby curb during the getaway. Police said Whorton exited his vehicle and engaged in an altercation with another person which escalated to gunfire. Whorton returned to his vehicle and collapsed in the driver seat. The investigation indicates Whorton was an acquaintance of the suspect. Authorities have not said why the slaying was justified. Whorton is the first of Birminghams 17 homicides in 2021 to be ruled justifiable. Birmingham ended 2020 with 122 homicides. Of those, 15 were deemed justifiable and one accidental and therefore are not deemed criminal. The department only has to submit criminal homicides to the FBI for its year-end tally. Many returning Syrian refugees face fabricated charges and extortion when they arrive home, writes Sowt Al-Asima. From time to time, and over the past few years, news of the return of some Syrians living abroad whether they migrated after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution or others who have been exiled more than 10 years has been spreading. Many of those returning to the country are being subjected to extortion by the regimes Intelligence Services, forcing them to pay royalties to the security branches, sometimes by fabricating criminal charges and charges related to the terrorism court. Charges include financing terrorism and incitement. Abou Iyad, who hails from the town of Ein Tarma in eastern Ghouta, returned to his hometown after spending 12 years in exile in both Libya and Algeria. He told Sowt Al-Asima that he was arrested by Criminal Security agents while visiting a civil registry office to obtain official identification documents. He added that the arrest came on the charge of dealing narcotic substances, according to a report recently received by the Criminal Security branch, indicating that he was transferred to the branch building in the Bab Musalla area in Damascus. Iyad confirmed that he paid 4,000 dollars to a security officer in exchange for his release, pointing out that the branch did not start an investigation into the matter. Iyad never appeared before the court. The Sowt Al-Asima team documented the arrest of 453 people in 2020, including 15 women, 56 children, and two people with special needs, on charges related to security and criminal issues as well as communicating with opposition parties, and other charges related to terrorism. 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. Victorian Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has called the justice system 'deeply racist', following the deaths of three Aboriginal people in custody over the past week. An Aboriginal man died in Victoria's Ravenhall Correctional Centre on March 7. In NSW, a man in his 30s and a woman in her 50s have died in the past week but their deaths were only revealed under questioning during a NSW parliamentary hearing two days ago. Victorian Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has called the justice system 'deeply racist', following the deaths of three Aboriginal people in custody over the past week 'This is relentless and traumatising for our people,' Ms Thorpe said in a statement on Thurday. 'At this point you have to say, the system is deeply racist.' The Victorian man's death has been reported to the coroner, who will formally determine the cause of death. Corrections Victoria said his family had been notified and a smoking ceremony arranged. 'We recognise that all deaths in custody have impacts on family members, friends, corrections staff and the Aboriginal community and we're working to ensure they are provided with the support they need,' Corrections Victoria said. The chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Nerita Waight, says the trauma will have a lasting impact. An Aboriginal man died in Victoria's Ravenhall Correctional Centre on March 7 'This death highlights the urgent need for sweeping reforms to the justice system,' she said. 'Our people are grossly over-represented in the criminal legal system and in prisons.' The legal service says in the 30 years since the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, 455 Aboriginal people have died in custody. The investigation into the latest Victorian death will be held under new rules for dealing with Aboriginal deaths in custody, requiring prompt investigations, and for Aboriginal voices to be heard during the inquest. But VALS says it does not have the funding to participate in the new process. 'We again ask the Victorian government to properly fund our services so that we can make a real difference for our people,' Ms Waight said. Earlier this week, the Victorian government announced a 'truth-telling' commission to investigate the effects of colonisation on Victoria's Indigenous community. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Yarning SafeNStrong VAHS 1800 959 563 State Sen. John Mannion, D-Geddes, called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his top aides to step aside after a report Wednesday of a sixth woman accusing Cuomo of sexually inappropriate behavior. The ability of the Governor and his aides to lead New York is compromised beyond repair, Mannion said in a statement. Its time for them to do the right thing and step aside for the sake of all New Yorkers. The Albany Times Union reported claims from a woman Wednesday who says Cuomo reached under her shirt and groped her in the Executive Mansion after she was summoned there to help him with his phone. Mannion cited the mounting harassment scandals as well as reports that the governor sought to obscure data on Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes early in the pandemic. The stories are heartbreaking and I believe they are the truth, he wrote of the sexual harassment allegations. These brave New Yorkers have established a credible pattern of abhorrent and possibly criminal behavior by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The nursing home lies and the attempt by senior officials to cover it up are also unforgivable and indefensible. Calls for Cuomos resignation from within his party have intensified as more women come forward with stories of his behavior. State Sen. Rachel May, D-Syracuse, joined party leaders in the Senate over the weekend to call for Cuomos resignation. Central New Yorks Democratic delegation in the state Assembly have said any decision must wait until the results of the Attorney Generals investigation are known. Meanwhile, Republicans in the state Assembly, led by Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, said this week they will introduce an impeachment resolution to remove Cuomo from office. Cuomo has repeatedly said he will not resign and insisted he has never touched anyone inappropriately. Mannion said even if Cuomo resigns, the AGs investigation must continue. Albanys long standing culture of harassment and corruption must end, he said. Our state deserves nothing less. Read Mannions full statement: I commend the women who have stepped forward to share their experiences. The stories are heartbreaking and I believe they are the truth. These brave New Yorkers have established a credible pattern of abhorrent and possibly criminal behavior by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The nursing home lies and the attempt by senior officials to cover it up are also unforgivable and indefensible. These issues rise above the level of partisan politics or ideological fights - maintaining the publics trust in government requires those of us in elected office to hold ourselves to a higher standard of conduct. The Governor has clearly failed to meet that standard. The ability of the Governor and his aides to lead New York is compromised beyond repair. Its time for them to do the right thing and step aside for the sake of all New Yorkers. Its critical that we continue to investigate these claims even after the Governor leaves office. There must be accountability and a public record. Albanys long standing culture of harassment and corruption must end. Our state deserves nothing less. Woowa Brothers founder Kim Bong-jin, right, and his wife, Sul Bomi, pose in a picture taken in Seoul, on Feb. 18. Courtesy of Woowa Brothers By Kim Jae-heun Woowa Brothers Founder Kim Bong-jin said Thursday he will sell some of his stakes in his sprawling food-delivery company to give 100 billion won ($88 million) in incentive payments in the form of stocks and cash to workers, including delivery drivers. "Our delivery drivers contributed a lot to turn our company into what it is today. I want to give them a personal gift for all of their efforts up until now prior to the company's advance into the Asian Market," Kim said in a message to employees. The incentive will be offered to 1,700 workers hired by Woowa Brothers, Woowahan Youths and the company's overseas branches as of last month. Individual workers are expected to receive around 50 million won ($43,975) worth of stocks depending on their position. Woowahan Youth operates Baemin Riders, which manages delivery workers for food delivery service Baedal Minjok run by Woowa Brothers. Delivery workers who are not directly employed by Woowa Brothers, but worked over a year and delivered at least 20 orders a day for 200 days, will each receive between 2 million won to 5 million worth of stocks. Those who do not meet the conditions mentioned above, but have delivered a certain amount of daily orders, will receive 1 million won in cash. The company confirmed there are 1,390 deliver drivers who will receive the incentive payments. In addition, 830 employees working at delivery specialty store B Mart and contingent workers will receive 1 million won to 1.5 million won each in incentives. Woowa Brothers said it will send text messages to each worker to inform them of the incentive payments and allocate extra workers at its call center to deal with enquiries. "Kim's incentive gift to employees is different from his plan to donate half of his fortune to charity. Kim will reveal that plan as soon as he finishes fixing details on how he will donate his assets," a Woowa Brothers official said. Meanwhile, Kim and his wife Sul Bomi promised last month to donate half of his wealth, estimated at more than 1 trillion won ($905 million). Kim said the donation will be made through Giving Pledge, a global campaign created by Bill and Melinda Gates. Kim is the first Korean national to join the global campaign that aims to have the world's wealthiest individuals and families dedicate a majority of their fortune to charity. Hanatour Service union members hold a rally in front of the tour agency's headquarters building in Seoul, March 3, calling for the company to withdraw its plan for layoffs. Yonhap Questions arise over co-CEO from Boston Consulting Group By Park Jae-hyuk IMM Private Equity (PE), which became the biggest shareholder of Hanatour Service in February last year, is facing criticism from the tour agency's union members, who allege the private equity firm (PEF) is trying to avoid responsibility for a planned large-scale workforce reduction. Asking for a conversation with the management about the ongoing restructuring, the union also raised questions on the latest reform measures pursued by Hanatour Co-CEO Song Mi-sun, whom IMM PE hired in March last year from the Boston Consulting Group. According to the union, management is seeking to dismiss up to 1,000 of the company's 2,300 employees by the end of this month. The union claimed the management hired law firm Kim & Chang to instruct team leaders on the specifics of the layoffs and order them to tell their team members about the plans. This has been interpreted as an attempt by management to shift responsibility for the layoffs to the team leaders. In response, the union started a rally in front of Hanatour headquarters, after asking the Seoul National Labor Relations Commission earlier this month to force management to take part in collective bargaining. "IMM PE cites financial difficulties from COVID-19 in carrying out business and workforce restructuring as it wanted," Hanatour union leader Park Soon-yong said. The PEF has already faced criticism for its flip-flopping on restructuring, as it had denied having any plans for workforce reduction until late last year, emphasizing the tour agency would need a large number of employees once the COVID-19 pandemic ends. IMM PE refuted the union's claim, saying it has been unable to make any arbitrary decisions. "We have jointly managed the company with its founder Park Sang-hwan, who still has the right to appoint company executives," an IMM PE executive said. "It is easy to put the blame on us because we are managing the company with our fund." The union, however, claimed Hanatour employees have been concerned about workforce reduction ever since the PEF decided to take over a controlling stake in the tour agency in late 2019. "Co-CEO Song encouraged us to overcome difficulties together," the union leader said. "However, management has remained silent on details about the restructuring, such as standards, methods and compensation. Instead, team leaders without authority over personnel affairs called employees suddenly and said they will be dismissed." Hanatour Service Co-CEO Song Mi-sun, right, and Movv CEO Choi Min-suk pose at the tour agency's headquarters in Seoul, Feb. 24, after signing a memorandum of understanding for cooperation. Courtesy of Hanatour Service Despite the U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports, some Chinese refiners are buying so much Iranian crude that the ports in the Shandong province, where most independent refiners are based, are experiencing tanker traffic congestions, analysts and traders have told Bloomberg. China has never actually stopped buying crude oil from the Islamic Republic, even after the Trump Administration slapped sanctions on Irans oil sales in 2018, warning buyers to stay away from Iranian crude and risk being sanctioned and cut off from the U.S. banking system. Various reports, media investigations, and tanker-tracking firms suggest that China has been receiving much more oil from Iran than the official figures report, when they report imports from Iran. The Islamic Republic has been using ship-to-ship transfers with transponders turned off to avoid detection, skirting U.S. sanctions. Some Chinese refiners are now taking advantage of the heavily discounted Iranian crude amid surging benchmark oil prices. Those buyers in China who import oil from Iran are reportedly buying the crude at a discount of $3 to $5 per barrel off the Brent Crude benchmark, according to Bloomberg. In addition, oil demand in China is back to pre-crisis levels, and some refiners prefer lower-priced crude when Brent is nearing the $70 per barrel threshold. Chinas imports of crude oil from Iran in March are expected to more than double from February and reach around 856,000 barrels per day (bpd), which would be the highest estimated volume of Chinese imports of Irans oil in nearly two years, Kevin Wright, a Singapore-based analyst at Kpler, told Bloomberg. The estimated import level this month includes the oil that Iran is said to have transferred from ship to ship at some point along the route to hide the fact that the origin of the crude was actually Iran. As a result of the higher imports from Iran, tankers are estimated to have waited for days at Shandong ports, analysts told Bloomberg. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Two health department officials have tested coronavirus positive in Jalna district of days after they were given the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, an official said on Thursday. These two district health officials had taken the second jab a few days back. However, both of them experienced mild symptoms of COVID-19, he said. "When their samples were examined, they tested positive for the infection," the official said. Another health official at a government hospital in Ambad town also tested coronavirus positive, he added. Additional civil surgeon Padmaja Saraf said it takes around 42 days for the antibodies to develop after both the doses of the vaccine are administered. "One must wear a mask and adhere to all COVID-19 protocols even after taking both the doses of the vaccine," she said. Meanwhile, the district reported 204 new cases on Thursday. Of them, Jalna town recorded 139. The district has recorded 17,417 cases till now and 15,712 people have recovered from the infection, while 407 others have died, the officials said. The district's COVID-19 death rate is 2.37 per cent, while the recovery rate is 90.22 per cent. There are 1,297 active cases in the district. In view of increasing cases, district collector Ravindra Binwade had announced restrictions from March 11 to 31. As per the order issued late on Wednesday night, all shops and other such commercial establishments, except grocery shops, medical shops and vegetables markets, will remain shut during this period. Shops of essential commodities, vegetable shops in area under municipal councils and nagar panchayats can operate only till 7 pm. Swimming pools, gyms will also remain closed, while only 20 people will be allowed in marriage ceremonies in function halls, it said. Hotels and restaurants will remain closed while parcel services will be allowed. There is a ban on religious, political, cultural, social gatherings and rallies in the district. (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 most affordable towns and cities in Britain to buy a property have been revealed. They are clustered around Scotland and the North West, with the quaint town of Shildon in County Durham topping the list by property website Zoopla. Meanwhile, a separate list of towns which have seen the biggest increase in affordability in the last 12 months includes the picturesque town of Cleator Moor in Cumbria, Malvern, Worcestershire and Bideford, North Devon. The most affordable places to buy a home in Britain, based on house price to earnings ratios, using two-earner households on average salaries for the local area In the most affordable area: This two-bed terrace in Redworth Road, Shildon, is for sale for 55,000 via estate agents Luxe Homes Zoopla based its calculations on house price to earnings ratios, using two-earner households on average salaries for the local area. The average property price in Shildon is 59,468 and the price to earnings ratio is 1.1. Ferryhill, also in County Durham, ranks in seventh place with a median house price of 72,264 and a price to earnings ratio of 1.35. Zoopla said its lower house prices and the dominance of terraced housing was driving affordability in the area. THE MOST AFFORDABLE TOWNS AND CITIES IN BRITAIN TO BUY A PROPERTY Rank Postal town Local Authority Region Gross annual household earnings Median house prices Price to earnings ratio Annual home mover mortgage repayment ()* Mortgage payment as % of annual home movers household income* 1 Shildon Durham (County) North East 53,446 59,468 1.11 2,006 5% 2 Cleator Moor Copeland North West 82,924 96,269 1.16 3,247 5% 3 Kilbirnie North Ayrshire Scotland 62,338 76,303 1.22 2,573 6% 4 Cumnock East Ayrshire Scotland 61,859 77,414 1.25 2,611 6% 5 Egremont Copeland North West 82,924 80,694 1.29 3,601 6% 6 Stevenston North Ayrshire Scotland 62,338 106,771 1.29 2,721 6% 7 Ferryhill Durham (County) North East 53,446 72,264 1.35 2,437 6% 8 Ferndale Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales 55,297 77,421 1.4 2,611 6% 9 Irvine North Ayrshire Scotland 62,338 87,478 1.4 2,950 6% 10 Girvan South Ayrshire Scotland 63,102 88,587 1.4 2,988 6% Source: Zoopla In Scotland, towns in historic Ayrshire dominate with Kilbirnie and Cumnock ranking in third and fourth place respectively, and Stevenston, Irvine and Girvan all featuring in the top 10. Zoopla said that Scotland's affordability is linked to two key factors, which are strong earnings locally and more reasonably priced property, with average house prices in all of these towns below 65,000. Buyers in Cleator Moor and Egremont in Cumbria also benefit from high levels of affordability, according to Zoopla. This three-bed terrace house in Mill Street, Torrington, is for sale for 180,000 via estate agents Bond Oxborough Phillips Cleator Moor is located on the 190-mile Coast to Coast Walk that spans Northern England, while Egremont is at the edge of the Lake District National Park. Both areas have a lot to offer home hunters searching for a rural idyll, Zoopla said. As well as featuring in the most affordable list, the property website said that affordability has also improved the most in Cleator Moor and Egremont. This is also the case in Whitehaven - where the average house price is 122,685 and the price to earnings ratio is 1.48 - and Millom - where the average house price is 121,565 and the price to earnings ratio is 1.47 - in the North West. Zoopla said earnings growth is underpinned by its robust manufacturing sector and the Sellafield nuclear power station, a major employer in the area. This three-bed terrace in William Morris Avenue, Cleator Moor, is for sale for 79,950 via estate agents Tiffen & Co This two-bed semi-detached house in Bartons Way, Birmingham, is for sale for 170,000 via estate agents Shipways For those on the hunt for a property near an Area of Outstanding Beauty, but at a more affordable price, the spa town of Malvern, located at the foot of the spectacular Malvern Hills has also seen an increase in its affordability. Average house prices in the town stand at 265,710, while the price to earnings ratio is 3.73, down from 4.14. Commuter towns such as Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire, and the Scottish town of Beith have also seen improvements. In Britain's three largest cities, Barking & Dagenham is the most affordable area in London, Oldham is the most affordable in Manchester, and Lozells takes the crown in Birmingham. This three-bed terrace house in Lamont Crescent, Cumnock - East Ayrshire - is for sale for 70,000 via estate agents Slater Hogg & Howison In Southern England, Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire has seen the biggest improvement in affordability with average house prices of 396,623 and a price to earnings ratio of 5.13. With substantially lower house prices than London and direct trains to London Liverpool Street in just 40 minutes, Hoddesdon could be an attractive location for commuters looking to get more for their money, Zoopla suggested. Nearby Waltham Cross has also seen improvements in affordability and is slightly more expensive with average house prices of 408,358 and a price to earnings ratio of 5.28, down from 5.70. Areas in North Devon also feature strongly, with Bideford and Torrington both featuring in the top 10 list for improved affordability. For those looking for a home near the coast, the historic harbour town of Bideford could be an attractive option with its independent shops and picturesque quay. The town has an average house price of 238,116 and price to earnings ratio of 3.86. TOWNS WITH THE BIGGEST INCREASE IN AFFORDABILITY Rank Postal town Local Authority Region Gross annual household earnings Median house prices Price to earnings ratio Change in house price to earnings ratio since 2019 Annual home mover mortgage repayment ()* Mortgage payment as % of annual home movers household income* 1 Cleator Moor Copeland North West 82,924 96,269 1.16 -12% 3,247 5% 2 Whitehaven Copeland North West 82,924 122,685 1.48 -10% 4,138 7% 3 Malvern Malvern Hills West Midlands 71,193 265,710 3.73 -10% 8,961 17% 4 Egremont Copeland North West 82,924 106,771 1.29 -9% 3,601 6% 5 Beith North Ayrshire Scotland 62,338 119,281 1.91 -9% 4,023 9% 6 Millom Copeland North West 82,924 121,565 1.47 -8% 4,100 7% 7 Hoddesdon Broxbourne East of England 77,314 396,623 5.13 -8% 13,376 23% 8 Bideford Torridge South West 61,734 238,116 3.86 -8% 8,030 17% 9 Torrington Torridge South West 61,734 222,837 3.61 -7% 7,515 16% 10 Waltham Cross Broxbourne East of England 77,314 408,358 5.28 -7% 13,772 24% Source: Zoopla Although city locations are often associated with higher house prices, Britain's largest cities all have areas with greater affordability. In London, the house price to earnings ratio is most favourable in Barking and Dagenham at 5.4, in Bexley at 5.5 and in Tower Hamlets at 5.68. In these boroughs, the average cost of a home is below 5.7 times the annual salary for a two-earner household's average salary, making these boroughs among some of the most affordable in London. In Greater Manchester, Coldhurst in Oldham is the most affordable, with average house prices of 104,416, and a price to earnings ratio of 2.01, while Lozells is the most affordable area in Birmingham. The average house price in the area is 141,431, while there's a price to earnings ratio of 2.5. Izabella Lubowiecka, of Zoopla, said: 'The North West and Scotland dominate the most affordable areas list once again this year, with relatively modest pricing and stronger earnings in some areas making a home move more accessible for many. T 'The data also shows that for homemovers on average salaries, mortgages are also more affordable, especially if homeowners have built up some equity in their current property. 'These levels of affordability in some localities will be welcome news for homeowners looking to move into a larger home especially as the current lockdown restrictions start to ease.' Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 10:14:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SYDNEY, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Australian scientists have been recognized for their contribution to global knowledge and progress, at the annual Australian Academy of Science awards announced Thursday. A total of 24 current and emerging star scientists received awards for breakthroughs in a range of fields. Recipients' accomplishments included leading the discovery of gravitational waves, achieving breakthroughs in cancer research, answering unsolved mathematical problems and developing the solar cells of the future. Female scientists were well represented among the award winners, including Emeritus Professor Cheryl Praeger who received the inaugural Ruby Payne-Scott Medal, named in honor of the pioneering radio physicist and astronomer. Praeger's work on problems of symmetry has led to a revolution in mathematics, developing algorithms that are used in technology around the world. "I feel very humbled to receive the inaugural Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and I feel it a great honor. Ruby Payne-Scott was a trail-blazer for women in science," Praeger said. "Along with all women who have had the opportunity of a life-long career in STEM, I feel enormous gratitude to Ruby for her courage in fighting against the restrictions which prevented this for married women in the 1950s." Receiving another prestigious award, the Matthew Flinders Medal, was Professor Andrew Holmes who has made global contributions to materials science and biology, developing the technology used in flexible OLED televisions and plastic solar cells. World-leading evolutionary biologist, Professor John Endler, was recognized for his work exploring how an animal's environment determines how their specific senses and signals evolve. Professor Susanne von Caemmerer, also received an award for her illustrious career exploring photosynthesis and how plant leaves use CO2, leading to a greater understanding of crop yields which is applied worldwide. "While many of these researchers are having direct impacts on our technology and everyday lives, others are pushing the boundaries of basic research -- both of which are vital to the advancement of science," President of the Australian Academy of Science Professor John Shine said. "The Academy is proud to honor such a diverse range of researchers this year, reflecting the people driving Australian science." Enditem The filibuster arose only decades later. John C. Calhoun, a senator from South Carolina, used it as a means to protect the interests of slavers like himself from a majority. From its beginnings through the middle of the 20th century, when segregationists like Senator Strom Thurmond, also of South Carolina, used the filibuster to try to kill multiple civil rights bills, the pattern has been clear: It has been used regularly by those who reject inclusive democracy. The relevance of the history is that the pattern continues. Finally, the filibuster is a redundancy in a system that already includes multiple veto points and countermajoritarian tools, including a bicameral legislature, a Supreme Court and a presidential veto. The Senate itself protects minorities in its very design, which gives small states the same representation as large ones. Another common defense of the filibuster, as Ms. Sinema said, is that the filibuster is crucial for permitting full debate on a bill. Again, reality shows otherwise. The filibuster doesnt only fail to ensure extended debate on a bill; today it curtails the opportunity for any debate at all. A single senator can signal he or she intends to filibuster by typing an email and hitting send. No need to stand on the Senate floor to make your impassioned case. Reformers have suggested many ways to chip away at the filibuster without destroying it completely. One proposal would bar its use for legislation involving voting rights or other democratic expansions. Another would require the old-fashioned talking filibuster. A third would entail holding a series of cloture votes spaced three days apart, lowering the number of senators needed to end the filibuster each time. These are clever solutions, and Mr. Manchin has said he is open to at least one of them. Even if there were a real debate on a bill, however, it should end at some point. That was clear more than a century ago, when the Senate had not yet established a rule to shut down a filibuster. As Henry Cabot Lodge, a Massachusetts senator, wrote, If the courtesy of unlimited debate is granted it must carry with it the reciprocal courtesy of permitting a vote after due discussion. If this is not the case the system is impossible. If the political reforms in H.R. 1 are not undertaken at the federal level, Republican leaders will continue to entrench minority rule. Thats happening already in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina, where Republican-drawn maps give them large legislative majorities despite winning fewer votes statewide than Democrats. Its happening in dozens of other states that have passed hundreds of voting restrictions and are pushing hundreds more, under the guise of protecting election security. Dublin, March 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Psilocybin - Emerging Insight and Market Forecast - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. "Psilocybin - Emerging Insight and Market Forecast - 2030" the report provides comprehensive insights about an investigational product for Treatment Resistant Depression in 7 Major Markets. A detailed picture of the Psilocybin in Seven Major Markets, i.e., United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan, for the study period 2020-2030 is provided in this report along with a detailed description of the product. The product details cover mechanism of action, dosage and administration, route of synthesis, and Research and development activity including regulatory milestones, and other development activities. Further, it also consists of future market assessments inclusive of the market forecast, SWOT analysis, market competitors, and other emerging therapies. Overview Psilocybin acts as Serotonin 2 receptor agonists which is currently in Phase II for Treatment Resistant Depression and is being developed by COMPASS Pathways. Psilocybin Analytical Perspective In-depth Psilocybin Market Assessment This report provides a detailed market assessment of Psilocybin in Seven Major Markets, i.e., United States, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan. This segment of the report provides forecasted sales data from 2020 to 2030. Psilocybin Clinical Assessment The report provides the clinical trials information of Psilocybin covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates. Scope of the Report A comprehensive product overview including the product description, mechanism of action, dosage and administration, Research and Development activity. Elaborated details on regulatory milestones and other development activities have been provided in this report. The report also highlights the drug research and development activity details across the United States, Europe and Japan. The report also covers the patents information with expiry timeline around Psilocybin. The report contains forecasted sales for Psilocybin till 2030. Comprehensive coverage of the late-stage emerging therapies (Phase III) for Treatment Resistant Depression. The report also features the SWOT analysis with analyst insights and key findings of Psilocybin. Report Highlights In the coming years, the market scenario for Treatment Resistant Depression is set to change due to the extensive research and incremental healthcare spending across the world; which would expand the size of the market to enable the drug manufacturers to penetrate more into the market. The companies and academics are working to assess challenges and seek opportunities that could influence Psilocybin dominance. The therapies under development are focused on novel approaches to treat/improve the disease condition. Other emerging products for Treatment Resistant Depression are giving market competition to Psilocybin and launch of late-stage emerging therapies in the near future will significantly impact the market. A detailed description of regulatory milestones, development activities, and some key findings provide the current development scenario of Psilocybin. This in-depth analysis of the forecasted sales data of Psilocybin from 2020 to 2030 will support the clients in the decision-making process regarding their therapeutic portfolio by identifying the overall scenario of the Psilocybin. Key Questions Answered Which company is developing Psilocybin along with the phase of the clinical study? What is the technology utilized in the development of Psilocybin? What is the product type, route of administration and mechanism of action of Psilocybin? What is the clinical trial status of the study and study completion date? What are the key collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and other activities related to the Psilocybin development? What are the key designations that have been granted to Psilocybin? What is the forecasted market scenario of Psilocybin? What is the history of Psilocybin and what is its future? What is the forecasted sales of Psilocybin in the seven major countries, including the United States, Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), and Japan? What are the other emerging products available and how these are giving competition to Psilocybin? Which are the late-stage emerging therapies under development for the treatment of Treatment Resistant Depression? Key Topics Covered: 1. Drug Overview 1.1. Product Detail 1.2. Mechanism of Action 1.3. Dosage and Administration 1.4. Research and development activity 1.5. Other Development Activities 2. Market Assessment 2.1. 7MM Market Analysis 2.2. The United States Market 2.3. Germany Market 2.4. France Market 2.5. Italy Market 2.6. Spain Market 2.7. United Kingdom Market 2.8. Japan Market 3. SWOT Analysis 4. Analyst Views 5. Market Competitors 6. Other Emerging Therapies 7. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ynbmfq FLINT, MI -- The Flint Community Schools Board of Education approved a plan Wednesday night to have students return to classrooms for the first time in the 2020-21 school year. Pre-K through 3rd grade students will return under a hybrid in-person model on Monday, March 15, while students in 4th through 12th grade are also set to tentatively return to classrooms by Monday, March 22. The decision comes weeks after the board had originally voted to allow families the option to return students Feb. 22, but the district informed families three days prior to the date that they would postpone the move due to concerns over sneeze guards. Related: Flint schools postpone Feb. 22 in-person start date citing sneeze guard concerns Assistant Superintendent Kevelin Jones presented the new plan to the board at Wednesdays meeting. The measure passed by a 5-1 vote, with Laura MacIntyre casting the lone no vote. Board Secretary Danielle Green was absent from the meeting. The reason for the slow start for later levels involves final installation of the sneeze guards, Jones said. Pre-K through 3rd grade classrooms already have sneeze guards installed, he said. Sneeze guards in 4th through 7th grade classrooms will be installed over the next week. Students in 8th through 12th grade will have mobile sneeze guards that they take between classrooms. Board members Joyce Ellis-McNeal, Carol McIntosh, Adrian Walker and Diana Wright said they visited schools prior to the vote. Ellis-McNeal said it is important to listen to the range of needs from the community including those who would like to send students back to school. It is important to note families still have the option to remain as well, she added. Based on the schools that I saw, I would be comfortable going back to school, said Ellis-McNeal. Related: Parent beyond frustrated after Flint schools postpones in-person option 3 days before kids were scheduled to return Wright visited one school and spoken to a couple of people in the district before the decision. Parents have primarily expressed concern over the inconsistency in the districts plan to return since it was postponed, Wright said. Right now, they are ready to return to school, she said. Walker said he spoke with administrators and students about the potential move. It seems like the overall theme was that theyre ready to let children back into the schools. Walker said. Walker said the main concern he heard was about connectivity and internet access for all learners. He also pointed out transparency about changes in the learning plan was an issue among staff, as some heard about the districts plans over returning to the classroom through news media rather than the district. In casting the lone dissenting vote, MacIntyre said she has heard from teachers that the district is unprepared to go back to school. She said going back seems like bad science. This makes no sense to me, MacIntyre said. I dont understand the rush, the urgency. She said she doesnt believe her questions have been answered adequately in regard to measures taken to ensure safety from COVID-19. MacIntyre called the remainder of the boards recommendation an ill advised decision that showed callous indifference. It seems like were playing a very dangerous game with peoples lives, she said. Read more on MLive: High-poverty Michigan school districts awarded $3M to help improve reading, writing skills Rapper follows through with $5,000 scholarship to Saginaws Arthur Hill High School Student failure rates drive in-person learning increase at Jackson Public Schools Kettering University will end 5 programs, focus on engineering Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham suggested during an interview with Fox News that President Joe Biden's immigration policies will have a number of negative effects on the country, including, among other things, a "national security crisis". According to the Republican lawmaker, lax border control might eventually be abused not just by migrants, but also terrorists who seek to harm the U.S. "It is a humanitarian crisis. Its going to be an economic crisis for our cities along the border, and eventually is going to be a national security crisis, because theyre children today but they could easily be terrorists tomorrow," Graham said. The GOP senator added that terrorists "would love nothing more" than to carry out another attack in the U.S. as the country approaches the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. "This border insecurity is a great way for terrorists to come into our country," Graham noted. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Republicans introduce bill to protect religious beliefs of faith-based foster care providers Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Congressional Republicans introduced legislation designed to protect faith-based foster care providers who seek to carry out their business practices in accordance with their religious beliefs on marriage and sexuality. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., was introduced in the U.S. Senate Wednesday. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives. The legislation comes at a time when faith-based foster care providers have faced lawsuits for refusing to place children with same-sex couples in light of their religious beliefs defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. As explained in a statement published by Kennedy's office on Wednesday, "The bill prohibits federal, state and local government agencies that receive federal adoption assistance funding from discriminating against child welfare service providers based on the providers' unwillingness to take action contrary to their sincerely held religious beliefs." "This would include all agencies that receive funding under Part B (Child and Family Services) or Part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care, Prevention and Permanency) of Title IV of the Social Security Act." Kennedy said that faith-based child welfare providers "are an essential part of caring for some of the most vulnerable children in our communities." "I'm deeply saddened to see some government officials punish foster services for their sincere religious beliefs," the Louisiana lawmaker stated. "That discrimination comes directly at the expense of boys and girls who are waiting for loving, healthy homes. No government agency that discriminates against people based on their faith which goes against the interests of foster children deserves taxpayer dollars," he added. In a statement, Scott said that faith-based foster care providers support over 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system. "At a time when religious freedoms are under assault, the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act is a necessary protection for those who are living according to their convictions," Scott said. "I am grateful my colleagues are standing with me to protect this most fundamental right." Kelly voiced disgust with the fact that some state and local governments are "requiring faith-based adoption agencies to choose between helping kids and violating their religious faith." "This blatant attack on the First Amendment makes it even harder for children to find loving homes," he argued. "By passing this legislation, Congress can stand up for kids and defend religious liberty." The introduction of the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act comes as a case involving faith-based adoption agencies is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2018, the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania stopped placing children with foster parents affiliated with Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Bethany Christian Services of Greater Delaware Valley because their policies would not allow children to be placed with same-sex couples. Catholic Social Services argued that the city's action violated the Constitution. A federal appeals court sided with the city of Philadelphia, claiming that the First Amendment "does not prohibit government regulation of religiously motivated conduct so long as that regulation is not a veiled attempt to suppress disfavored religious beliefs." The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on the case later this year. The Senate bill has attracted 21 cosponsors, all of whom are Republicans. Meanwhile, eight Republicans have signed on as cosponsors in the House. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act was previously introduced in the 116th Congress but failed to gain traction in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. While the Democrats have a reduced number of seats in the 117th Congress, the legislation will likely fail to pass again because of the Democrats' expected near-unanimous opposition to the bill, not to mention their control of the Senate and the White House. Motor Sich PJSC will soon be legally returned to the ownership of Ukraine, said Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine. "... We are talking about the Motor Sich enterprise in Zaporozhia. To date, a decision has been made according to which the Motor Sich enterprise will be returned to the Ukrainian people. It will be returned to the ownership of the Ukrainian state in a legal, constitutional way in the near future," Danilov said at a briefing on Thursday following the results of the NSDC meeting. The Canada-U.S. border near Lacolle, Que., is seen on March 20, 2020. One Capitol Hill lawmaker is ramping up the pressure on President Joe Biden to begin reopening the Canada-U.S. border. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) New York Congressman Urges Biden to Consider Easing Canada U.S. Border Restrictions WASHINGTONOne Capitol Hill lawmaker is ramping up the pressure on President Joe Biden to begin reopening the Canada-U.S. border. New York congressman Brian Higgins wants the White House to prioritize easing border restrictions by the Memorial Day long weekend at the end of May. Higgins tells CTV News that he wants Biden to make fully reopening the border by July 4 his next No. 1 priority. Higgins is chairman of the Congressional Northern Border Caucus, a group of lawmakers from northern states whose regional economies have been hit hard by the border closure. The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to non-essential travel for nearly a year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. Higgins says since Biden expects most Americans to have access to a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May, thats a good date to begin lifting border restrictions. Sometimes you have to push, and theres a lot of priorities, Higgins said in an interview with CTV. My job is to make the opening the U.S.-Canadian border a No. 1 priority for this administration. Even though his New York district is directly across the Niagara River from Ontario, the distance to Canada is now further than it has ever been in my lifetime, Higgins writes in a letter to Biden. Given the economic and social costs the border closure has had on the region, we must prioritize efforts to expand essential traveler exceptions and plan for an incremental reopening now. Business leaders, local politicians and academics have been urging both governments for months to begin thinking about how to lift the restrictions, which prohibit incidental travel while allowing essential workers and trade to continue to cross. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear after Diwali pleas challenging Article 35 A, relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. A bench headed by Justice J S Khehar accepted the plea of the Jammu and Kashmir state government that the pleas challenging Article 35 A be heard after Diwali. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi and Advocate Shoeb Alam mentioned the matter before a bench also comprising Justices Dipak Misra and D Y Chandrachud that even the Centre has no objection if the pleas are taken up after Diwali. All the pleas will be taken up for hearing after Diwali, the bench said. Also read: What is Article 35A and why it is important for Jammu and Kashmir Earlier the apex court had favoured hearing of the matter by a five-judge constitution bench in case the Article is ultra vires of the Constitution or if there is any procedural lapse. The court had said that a three-judge bench will hear the matter and refer it to a five-judge bench if necessary. The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Charu Wali Khanna challenging Article 35A of the Constitution and Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which deal with the permanent residents of the state. The plea has challenged certain provisions of the Constitution which deny property right to a woman who marries a person from outside the state. Also read: Omar Abdullah attacks BJP, says the party has made Article 35A a case of Jammu vs Kashmir The provision, which makes such women from the state lose rights over property, also applies to her son. Article 35A, which was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of the Jammu and Kashmir. It also empowers the states legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on grounds of violating the Right to Equality of people from other states or any other right under the Indian Constitution. Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution restricts the basic right of women to marry a man of their choice by not giving the heirs any right to property if the woman marries a man not holding the Permanent Resident Certificate. Her children are denied a permanent resident certificate thereby considering them illegitimatenot given any right to such a womans property even if she is a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir, the plea said. While Jammu and Kashmirs Non-Permanent Resident Certificate holders can vote in Lok Sabha elections, the same individual is barred to vote in local elections in the state. Also read: Its time to revoke Article 370 and 35 A, says BJPs Jammu and Kashmir unit For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The "Antifreeze Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product Type, Technology Type, and Application (Automobile, Construction, Electronics, and Others)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. According to this report the global antifreeze market was valued at US$ 6,280.33 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 9,603.41 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2020 to 2027. The report highlights key factors driving the market growth and prominent players along with their developments in the market. Antifreeze is a type of additive that helps in lowering the freezing point in a water-based liquid. A mixture of antifreeze is used to obtain freezing point depression for cold environments. Antifreeze are used to increase the boiling point of a liquid and provide higher coolant temperature. It is mainly deployed in automobiles for the altering the freezing point and the boiling point of coolants in the combustions placed internally in the liquid cooled engines. Antifreeze can be developed from organic acid, azoles, and inorganic salts or from the combination of these. It helps in preventing rigid enclosures from bursting when they expand due to freezing. The study also takes into consideration coolants, which are significantly obtained by mixing antifreeze into water usually at a 50-50 ratio. The ethylene glycol antifreeze is used as a base to create the liquid that is pumped into the vehicle engine for regulating and maintaining the optimum operating temperature during the extreme cold or hot temperatures. The companies are offering more products in accordance with coolants as compared to antifreeze. Increasing demand for high performance vehicles is driving the market growth. The use of highly potential and advanced engine in the car offers better competency in terms of its overall weight, acceleration, and high performance quality. The high performance vehicles are gaining momentum owing to their aerodynamic builds, sticky tires, smart suspensions, and fortified brakes. The high performance cars have high requirement for automotive antifreeze or coolants as they help in managing the excessive heat generated by engines and other components of vehicles. Story continues Antifreeze also maintain temperature by protecting the cooling systems from overheating during extreme heat conditions and from freezing during the winters. They prevent rust and corrosion and engine failure, as well as extend the life of the engine components. The high performance cars have experienced a surge in sales in the past few years. For instance, as per a report published by the University of Groningen, the Mercedes Benz car division sold a total of 2,339,562 cars in 2019 in spite of the difficult situation. The growth in its sales was due to the huge market success of their new compact-class models together with the continued strong demand for the E-class and SUVs. Antifreeze plays a crucial role in such high performance vehicles, which helps in regulating the engine during extreme temperatures and in maintaining the heat produced by the components. Thus the rising demand for the high performance vehicles drives the growth of the antifreeze market. The COVID-19 outbreak was first reported in Wuhan (China) during December 2019. As of January 2021, the US, India, Brazil, Russia, France, the UK, Turkey, Italy, and Spain are among the worst affected countries in terms of confirmed cases and reported deaths. According to the latest WHO figures updated in January 2021, there are ~83,322,449 confirmed cases and 1,831,412 total deaths globally. The COVID-19 crisis is affecting economies and industries in various countries due to lockdowns, travel bans, and business shutdowns. The global chemicals & materials industry is one of the major industries suffering serious disruptions such as supply chain breaks, technology events cancellations, and office shutdowns. Reasons to Buy Highlights key business priorities to assist companies realign their business strategies. Features key findings and crucial progressive industry trends in the global antifreeze market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long-term strategies. Develops/modifies business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering from developed and emerging markets. Scrutinizes in-depth market trends as well as key market drivers and restraints. Enhances the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation, and industry verticals. Market Dynamics Drivers Upsurge in the Demand for High Performance Vehicles Rising Use of Antifreeze in Non-Automotive Applications Restraints Harmful Environmental Effects and Fluctuating Raw Material Prices Opportunities Development of Eco-Friendly and Bio-Based Antifreeze Future Trends Rising Demand from the Aerospace Sector Companies Mentioned Amsoil Inc. BP p.l.c Chevron Corporation BASF SE CCI Corporation. Old World Industries, LLC Prestone Products Corporation Total Exxon Mobil Corporation Royal Dutch Shell Plc. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8u6lco View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005460/en/ Contacts ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com 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 Foxconn's investment of $700 million is expected to create 10,000 jobs for Vietnamese people A representative of Foxconn said that by the end of 2020, the group has invested $1.5 billion in Vietnam. One of the company's key projects is the $270 million factory of Fukang Technology in Bac Giang province, in which Foxconn Singapore Pte., Ltd. is the investor. Fukang Technology is a subsidiary of Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Company). It has been licensed to invest in building factories to manufacture 8 million MacBook and iPad products a year. Foxconn's total revenue in Vietnam amounted to $3 billion in 2019, $6 billion in 2020, and could reach $10 billion this year. Foxconn's goal in the next 3-5 years is to increase sales in Vietnam to $40 billion. According to the latest plan, the company will add 10,000 positions in Vietnam this year. In early 2021, Foxconn posted recruitment notices for the positions of electronic component assemblers and engineers for its factories in Bac Ninh, Bac Giang. In 2020, the total foreign investment capital registered in Vietnam was $1.5 billion, creating jobs for more than 53,000 officers and staff. In particular, $900 million was invested in Bac Giang province, creating jobs for more than 35,000 workers. Foxconn also plans to invest $1.3 billion in Thanh Hoa province, opening positions for 100-150,000 workers. Focusing on high-grade silver projects with the potential for near-term production, Kuya Silver is active in Peru and Canada When putting together the business plan for a new company, incorporating lessons from the leaders in your industry is always a good idea. David Stein worked as a mining analyst beginning in the early 2000s and was among the first to initiate coverage on marquee names such as First Majestic and Fortuna Silver. When he decided to establish an exploration company of his own, he understood the models that tended to position small companies to become billion-dollar players. Focusing on high-grade silver projects with the potential for near-term production, Kuya Silver Corp ( ), where Stein is chief executive officer, is active in Peru and Canada, two of the worlds most prolific jurisdictions for precious metals production. With a healthy treasury, a balanced approach to its projects and a strong silver market, the company is ready to begin putting its plan into action. Stein shared his strategy of silver production and ongoing exploration with Public Entrepreneur in mid-February. Kuya is obviously silver-focused. Before we get into your two projects and the outlook for each, tell us why you chose silver. It really comes down to finding an exceptional project and it just happened to be a silver project. I found the Bethania Mine opportunity in 2017, and while my background is in all sorts of different minerals, precious metals are the main ones. As I started looking more into the silver mining industry, I noticed there was a huge opportunity because many of the intermediate and large silver players from 10 or 15 years ago had diversified away from silver and more into gold. Now there is this sort of a void in the industry where if you want to invest in a primary silver mining company there are very few options. The opportunity to have this exceptional project and be able to get into production quickly made it all the more exciting. Your plans for Bethania call for putting a local mine back into production and at the same time doing exploration to help with mine planning and resource expansion. How did you come across Bethania, and can you talk about the thinking behind this two-part plan? In terms of how I found it, I went out on my own after being in the industry on the investment side for 15 or 16 years and was looking for projects, mostly privately owned opportunities. During the bear market I had focused on private equity as a niche within the mining sector. Bethania was one of the projects that came up. In terms of the business plan restarting the mine, putting our own plant there and increasing production that evolved over the course of negotiations with the former owners. Initially, they were really looking for someone to put a little money in for a minority interest and help them with some financial issues. It didnt interest me as a minority investment, but if we could take control, there was a chance to do something special. I saw the potential to get enough silver production from this mine to make it into a meaningful public company one day. I was a sell-side equities analyst in the early 2000s and one of the first analysts to cover some of the important silver companies. To me, this opportunity reminded me a lot of those: start with a high-grade silver mine with low capex that you could put into production quickly and easily. Then, by bringing better access to capital through the public markets, you could grow production, reduce costs, do more exploration all those good things we plan to do. If you look at the genesis of First Majestic or go back even further to the first projects that Pan American acquired in Peru, these very big and successful multi-billion-dollar companies all started with a single high-grade silver project. That was the beginning of the journey. Peru has a long history of mining. What is the plan for community support and sharing the benefits with the people who live in the region where Bethania is located? Peru is a very diverse country with different communities and types of environment. We are in the high Andes in central Peru, so we are in an area that is very accustomed to mining. As a recently producing mine, there is already acceptance of Bethania and a culture within the local community to support it. The community that has jurisdiction over the mining area is Poroche, and we are still in the process of working out what the people want to see over the longer term. The community has been very helpful, and I think they believe in the benefits of having more activity in the area and would prefer that the mine be operating. One noteworthy aspect of our relationship is that we were able to receive our environmental impact assessment approval for the new plant and tailings storage. In order to do that you essentially have to get approval from your local community before you submit your paperwork to the government. There are site visits and other aspects of a legislated process. So, you work with the local community and essentially earn its support before permits can be granted. I think that demonstrates we are on a strong footing. Your other project is located in northeastern Ontario. It has some very nice silver numbers and some cobalt in the mix as well. What is your plan there? There are two parts to that deal. There is a part where we are buying a section outright, which is the Kerr Project. It represents about 10% of the land package and is the most advanced part. It is where most of the historical drilling is. We have most of the data, and most of the high-grade silver hits are in that area. We see that as the part we can potentially get into production first. The other 90% goes into a joint venture. This means there are two strategies. With the Kerr Project, we are looking to follow up on historical high-grade silver intersections and look for extensions of some of the known mines. There have been more than 70 million ounces produced in the area we are buying. We would like to find potentially some new veins and get them into production, at a similar scale to what we are doing in Peru. And that is the link for us from Peru to Ontario, that the history of the Cobalt Camp is this super high-grade mineralization mined at a small tonnage. We want to produce a lot of silver but not necessarily go through a lot of rock. And we feel we can do that in the Kerr area. With the joint venture, the opportunity is to find another collection of veins. If you look at the whole camp, the 400 million or 500 million ounces produced historically from this part of northeastern Ontario is in clusters of 50 million to 100 million-plus ounces of silver. With the joint venture we want to find a new cluster. Do you have any closing thoughts, perhaps something weve missed or a statement that encapsulates how investors should think about Kuya Silver? I would highlight that we are very focused on restarting production and becoming a profitable silver mining company in Peru. But we also feel that we have exceptional exploration potential with our property there. In 2021 and beyond youll essentially see us on two parallel tracks: one will be mine development and getting into production, and the other will be drilling and working to find the resource that underlies production for another decade or more. And we think we can do that in the next year or two. CHARLOTTETOWN - RCMP in Nova Scotia have conducted a mass destruction of nearly seven tonnes of used gear because of concerns related to the pandemic and about the gear being used to impersonate officers. The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday April 13, 2018. RCMP in Nova Scotia have destroyed nearly seven tonnes of used gear in a massive equipment incineration because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck CHARLOTTETOWN - RCMP in Nova Scotia have conducted a mass destruction of nearly seven tonnes of used gear because of concerns related to the pandemic and about the gear being used to impersonate officers. Cpl. Mark Skinner says 6.92 tonnes of gear, including uniform shirts, pants, body armour, boots and other items, was incinerated earlier this week at a facility in Charlottetown, P.E.I. He says used gear is normally destroyed by local detachments, but the mass burning was ordered this year because it was the "safest way" to address worries about handling worn clothing during the pandemic. Skinner says the force also had concerns that the used uniforms could be used to impersonate officers, following the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting when a gunman disguised as an RCMP officer killed 22 people. He says the mass incineration was done in anticipation of provincial legislation that would govern the resale of decommissioned police equipment and gear. Authorities in Nova Scotia have said they will introduce legislation this session about the use of police accessories and decommissioned police vehicles. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2021. This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship. Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken voted to end the city's mask mandate after a nine-year-old girl read a letter during a council meeting where she told the story of being 'bullied' for not wearing a mask The mayor of a South Dakota city voted to end its mask mandate after a nine-year-old girl read a letter during a council meeting where she told the story of being 'bullied' at school for not wearing a face covering. Before inviting members of the public to address the council on Tuesday, Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said: 'We're about seven months into this mask game and there's probably not a lot anyone's going to say that's going to be something we haven't heard before.' However, it appeared that he was wrong after hearing from nine-year-old Lily Kuiken. According to the Daily Beast, Kuiken read a letter to the council that began with: 'I am 9 years old and in third grade. I am here to talk about how I get bullied on the bus and at school because I don't wear a mask.' She continued: 'First they called me an a-hole and said my parents don't care about me. Then they called me names like dumb and stupid. Also my school librarian doesn't let me sit around the room while others that do have a mask get to. 'Also, I have lost some friends over this pandemic and I don't like this at all.' Kuiken then shared a story about her, her mom and brother getting 'kicked out of my favorite store, Claire's, because we didn't wear masks'. Her mother then took the podium to express how proud she is of her daughter for her bravery and to call on the council to end the mask mandate. 'With this mandate you are making people feel entitled to think they are better than other people and look down on us and harass us just for making a different decision by simply looking out for our family's mental and physical health,' Alexis Kuiken said. Alexis continued to defend her reasoning for not wearing masks, despite the fact that more than half a million Americans have died from COVID-19 and more than 29 million have been infected. After hearing the statements from the Lily Kuiken and her mother, TenHaken cast a tie-breaking vote to end the mask mandate. A man is seen placing his flag outside of his business in Sioux Falls while wearing a mask 'This is all about fear. I choose faith over fear. There's a big difference between walking into the middle of a highway and expecting not to get killed and going out without a mask for a virus with a 99 percent survival rate,' Alexis said, according to the Daily Beast. After hearing the statements from the Kuikens and other members of the public, the council voted and it was a 4-4 tie. 'So that puts it onto me,' the mayor said. 'I obviously was hoping not to get in this position.' The mayor then went on to apologize to Council Member Rick Kylie, whom he'd promised to vote for an extension of the mask mandate and to health officials who he said 'have been our allies in this'. Still, while noting that he's not an expert on the pandemic, he voted to end the mask mandate, a move that could possibly jeopardize the lives of others. 'I am going to be voting against this tonight, and this item will end up failing 5-to-4,' he said. 'I would ask that you don't applaud because there's nothing happy about this. This is not good.' 'Based on what I feel is best for our community right now, I go against my word. And I'm doing that right now. You're watching it play out and it's very tough.' The mandate will now end on March 13. Sioux Falls has reported more than 114,000 cases in the city and 1,904 deaths. The end to the city's mask mandate is nothing new and has already happened statewide in Texas, Mississippi, Iowa, Montana and North Dakota. Putting an end to mask mandates has been slammed by President Joe Biden as 'Neanderthal thinking'. Ending such guidance also goes against the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. KYODO NEWS - Mar 11, 2021 - 13:21 | World, All A U.S. Navy destroyer passed through the strait between China and Taiwan in the southerly direction, the Defense Ministry of the self-ruled island said Thursday. The Navy's 7th Fleet said the guided-missile destroyer John Finn conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday local time, adding it "demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific." "The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows," it added. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting unification, by force if necessary. The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden has urged the Chinese government to stop intimidating Taiwan by military, diplomatic and economic means, while assuring the island of Washington's "rock-solid" support. Were pleased to announce ProcessMiner is expanding rapidly internationally, with partnerships in Latin America, North America, and now Europe, said Karim Pourak, ProcessMiner CEO. As we grow our business geographically, it made sense to open within an arms length of our growing customer base." ProcessMiner, an artificial intelligence platform for manufacturing, announced today its expansion into Europe to integrate its solutions and address the growing needs of Finland and the greater EU region. Were pleased to announce ProcessMiner is expanding rapidly internationally, having secured partnerships in Latin America, North America, and now Europe, said Karim Pourak, ProcessMiner CEO. As we continue to grow our business geographically, it made sense to open up within an arms length of our growing customer base. The ProcessMiner artificial intelligence platform is revolutionizing manufacturing operations by applying advanced machine learning and deep learning to continuous manufacturing operations at scale. Benefits the platform delivers include improvements in efficiency, productivity and product quality. ProcessMiner plans to launch an early-stage business accelerator in Finland and across Europe to connect progressively minded manufacturing companies with industry-leading digital technologies including Artificial Intelligence. Weve witnessed an uptick in demand with Nordic and European-based companies that are ambitiously investing in the kind of proven technology we are bringing to market, said ProcessMiner co-founder and chair, Markku Mustonen who originally hails from Finland. Having a physical presence as well as subject matter experts on the ground in Finland will allow us to be more accessible to those customers in the region looking to reap the many benefits Industry 4.0 technologies deliver. Juhani Vanska will lead the Finland office. His prior roles include running a variety of global businesses including trading, manufacturing, private equity, etc. Vanska also ran a global metal industry manufacturing business. Oy ProcessMiner Ab was started to serve as an EU headquarters of ProcessMiner, said Vanska. The purpose is to be able to better serve our potential customers in Finland and the rest of EU, to find new process industries outside of pulp and paper where ProcessMiner technology can bring major benefits to these industries, and to connect with Finnish AI expertise in addition to the US and Indian experts that are in our team now. We see great opportunities in improving manufacturing industries processes with AI and Data Science technology. This is a globally scalable service model that has all the features of modern digital technology businesses like Amazon and Facebook but in an industrial environment. ProcessMiner will begin offering its platform to customers in Finland, Sweden and the greater European Union in late Q1. ProcessMiner Finland is located at Oy ProcessMiner Ab, Otakaari 5, 02150 Espoo. Reach out to Juhani Vanska at jvanska@processminer.com, or +358 400 450 748. About ProcessMiner: Founded in 2014, the ProcessMiner platform predicts problems in real-time using AI within the manufacturing process. The platform is being rapidly adopted by the tissue and packaging industries, inclusive of manufacturers in the pulp, paper and plastics industries, and pilot projects are underway with water treatment and energy sectors of manufacturing. For more information, visit http://www.processminer.com. ProcessMiner Media Contact: Kate Hammond, PR & Marketing khammond@processminer.com DENVER, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spinnaker Support, the premier global provider of enterprise software support services for Oracle, SAP, and Salesforce, today announced they are an approved vendor on the California Software License Program (SLP) for Oracle third-party support. For public sector organizations in California, it is now easier to do business with Spinnaker Support, especially given the need for RFPs is eliminated. With average savings of at least 50% per year on Oracle support fees, funds can be redirected to accelerate innovation or address budget deficits depending on the department's mandate. "The California public sector can benefit significantly by replacing Oracle-provided support, which in recent years has become more of a self-service portal," stated Kurt Moydell, Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing. "Internal staff will save time spent researching issues and can now develop new technical abilities. Our concierge-style support gives customers a more personalized experience with access to highly experienced Oracle engineers who will respond in minutes. Transitioning to Spinnaker Support requires zero disruption to your existing Oracle environment." Over 1,300 organizations from all types of industries trust Spinnaker Support to keep all their systems safe, secure, and operational while resolving issues that arise promptly. About Spinnaker Support Spinnaker Support is a leading global provider of third-party support, managed services, and consulting for mid-size to Fortune 100 global enterprises. Oracle, SAP, and Salesforce customers benefit from more responsive, comprehensive, and affordable services for their enterprise applications and technologies. Whether you need immediate help for high-priority issue resolution, ongoing monitoring and development, or project-based consulting, we have you covered. Since 2008, our award-winning services, exacting standards, and unparalleled expertise have earned us the trust and loyalty of more than 1,300 organizations in 104 countries. To learn more about Spinnaker Support, visit our website. About the Software Licensing Program The Software Licensing Program (SLP) was established in January 1994 and is administered by the Department of General Services, Procurement Division. Extensive software discounts are negotiated with major software publishers that are then passed on to the State, through the SLP contracts established with authorized participating re-sellers. Media contact: Michelle Wilkinson, 720-457-5442, [email protected] SOURCE Spinnaker Support Related Links https://www.spinnakersupport.com/ Moscow municipal lawmakers suspended sentence for rally rules breaches upheld RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 14:09 11/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld a 2-year suspended sentence passed on Moscows municipal lawmaker Yulia Galyamina for repeated violations of rally holding regulations, RAPSI was told in the courts press service. Galyamina was found guilty in December. In early July 2020, Galyamina published on the Internet posts calling to participate in an unauthorized rally in central Moscow on July 15. However, in the last 180 days the woman was repeatedly brought to administrative liability for similar violations. Investigators claimed that her actions had intentional character and were to be examined in accordance with Russias criminal legislation. In July, the citys Tagansky District Court fined Galyamina 200,000 rubles ($2,700) for an illegal action near the Moscow Directorate of the Interior Ministry. The daughter of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," will plead guilty in the United States. According to Courier-Journal, Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez will plead guilty to a felony charge for helping the Jalisco cartel, as cited by documents filed in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. ABC7 Chicago reported that federal authorities had already hammered out a deal for El Mencho's 34-year-old daughter to plead guilty. Jessica Oseguera, known as "La Negra," faces five counts of having financial dealings with business blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department since they were connected to Jalisco New Generation Cartel or CJNG. The businesses include a resort, an ad agency, two sushi restaurants, and a tequila company. Officials said the tequila firm owned by Jessica Oseguera was used to launder her family's drug cartel profits. According to Insight Crime.org, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a criminal group that grew due to killings, captures, and rifts with other drug cartels in Mexico. The Jalisco cartel is not only known for its aggressive use of violence but also for its public relations campaigns as well. READ NEXT: Video Shows Jalisco Cartel Parading 'Narco-Tank' in Mexico's Street The Arrest of Jalisco Cartel Head's Daughter El Mencho's son, Ruben Oseguera Gonzalez, known as "El Menchito," was extradited last year from Mexico to the U.S., where he faces drug trafficking charges. Jessica Oseguera, his sister, came to the U.S. to support him. But she was promptly arrested even before she could enter the federal court in D.C. on March 3, 2020. Unlike their father, La Negra and El Menchito were born in the U.S., giving them dual citizenship. Since Jessica Oseguera is a U.S. citizen, it is a crime for her to interact with or spend money at blacklisted businesses, Courier-Journal reported. Jessica Oseguera was set to go on trial on Mar. 22. But her defense team filed a joint motion along with federal prosecutors to cancel the proceedings and prepare for the upcoming guilty plea. ABC7 Chicago noted that the deal's terms were not yet public, but the plea arrangement is set to be disclosed for a federal judge Friday. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) earlier said that El Mencho filled the void left by Joaquin Guzman Loera or "El Chapo" following his extradition to the U.S. So far, El Mencho, who is believed to be hiding out in Mexico, has successfully evaded federal law enforcement. El Mencho allegedly controls a majority of heroin, cocaine, and meth flowing into Chicago. Officials said there is currently a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest. The number of homicides, forced disappearances, and mass graves' discoveries in Jalisco allegedly increased following the emergence of the Jalisco cartel, which is at war with the Sinaloa cartel. Another High-Ranking Leader of Jalisco Cartel Arrested Meanwhile, an alleged high-ranking leader for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was arrested in Jalisco, Mexico on Tuesday afternoon, Mexican authorities said. Juan Manuel Abouzaid's arrest came a week after the U.S. government labeled him a drug trafficker and financially sanctioned him under the Kingpin Act, according to The Daily Mail. Abouzaid, also known as "The Arab" and "The Scorpion," allegedly coordinated the drugs' shipment and laundering money for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. According to the DEA, Abouzaid's ties to the Jalisco cartel began as early as 2012. In October 2018, he was charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine to the U.S. as part of an unsealed indictment filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Reports said Abouzaid was initially detained in Jalisco but was later transferred to the Attorney General's headquarters in Mexico City for the ongoing processing. READ MORE: 12 Suspected Members of the New Jalisco Generation Cartel Found Tortured and Burned WATCH: New Generation Jalisco Drug Cartel Spreads Through Mexico - From CGTN America Source: Xinhua| 2021-03-11 03:33:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Video: China has displayed the "generosity spirit" of international cooperation in its global anti-virus efforts, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Munir Akram has said. (Xinhua) "China's success, the success of the Communist Party of China, is a beacon of light for so many countries which are hoping to organize themselves in order to be able to achieve similar goals for their own people," said Akram. by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China has displayed the "generosity spirit" of international cooperation in its global anti-virus efforts, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Munir Akram has said. China's support for other countries started when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, Akram, also Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "Much of the help was given gratis by China to many developing countries, including Pakistan," he said. In the aspect of COVID-19 vaccines, the senior Pakistani diplomat said "China has not advertised its generosity and has not tried to use that generosity to do...vaccine diplomacy." Akram expressed the hope that all developing countries will be able to receive vaccines as soon as possible on the basis of equality and equity. A man receives a shot of COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak) Impressed by the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Akram said the CPC "has proven by its achievements the value of clear targets, hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and dedication to results." "China's success, the success of the Communist Party of China, is a beacon of light for so many countries which are hoping to organize themselves in order to be able to achieve similar goals for their own people," said Akram. Commenting on the relations between China and the United States, Akram said that "there is no rational justification for a confrontation between any countries in the world today" because "the world today, as COVID-19 has shown, is one world" shared by humanity. Highlighting the importance of promoting international cooperation, the ECOSOC president expressed his strong support for China's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind. Referring to the Belt and Road Initiative, Akram said that it is "a new instrument for global economic growth." The initiative derives from China's experience in accelerating growth through infrastructure investment, the foundation for industrialization and development, he said. A staff member collects sample to check the condition of Vero cell culture at the COVID-19 vaccine stock solution workshop in trial operation at Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China, July 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) The experience "is being extended by the Belt and Road Initiative to China's neighbors and countries" across the world, said Akram. Noting that China has sought to upgrade the quality and the objectives of the initiative, Akram said that the initiative will not be limited to physical infrastructure, transportation and communications, but will be extended to industrialization, agricultural development and the digitalization of the economies of developing countries. "These are the ways in which developing countries can hope to enter into the modern paradigm of development, not ... catching up with the rest, but actually to leapfrog into the modern world," said the ECOSOC president. Akram said that his country looks forward to cooperation with China through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, "which is a vital project for Pakistan and China" as well as the rest of the developing world. Akram said he welcomes China's commitments to defeating COVID-19, continuing with humanitarian efforts and supporting the recovery of the world economy, especially the economies of developing countries. New Delhi, March 11 : India's former top diplomat Vijay Gokhale thinks a mutually acceptable resolution in eastern Ladakh -- and lessons learnt from it by both sides-- may make it 'possible and feasible' for the highest leaderships on both sides to reset the somewhat derailed bilateral relationship between the two Asian giants. "Modi and Xi have a good measure of each other and share mutual respect. They should be able to talk about the identity misperceptions and possible ways of reconciling their respective visions," writes Gokhale in a detailed paper entitled "The Road From Galwan : The Future of India-China Relations" published by Carnegie India, where he is now a non-resident Senior Fellow. Gokhale, like Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, is an old China hand, both having served as India's ambassador to Beijing before they rose to become foreign secretaries. "A key consideration could be whether China can afford to have an antagonistic India on its border as it is moving to the center of the world stage and whether India can afford to close a door (or two, as Russia is also involved) to multi-alignment that has served it well. A frank exchange followed by broad understandings might lead to a road map that could trigger a top-down review of the relationship. "If the two leaders are able to achieve this, there are political-level personalities on both sides with adequate experience, including the respective national security advisers (or equivalent) and foreign ministers, who can translate the broad understandings into policy. This might be the only way of building understanding and, over time, trust," Gokhale says in his 15,000-words paper. The former Indian foreign secretary thinks it might also help to "deal with specific questions at the functional levels, where both sides have different systems of decision making and styles of negotiation, so that the two sides do more than simply speak past each other". Vijay Gokhale outlines some factors he feels hold the key to improving Sino-Indian relations. *Both sides should treat the military escalation in eastern Ladakh with equal seriousness. *Even after the resolution of the present standoff in eastern Ladakh, both sides may be in a prolonged period of armed coexistence as a new normal. As the forces on both sides are likely to be relatively balanced, it would be advantageous for both to return to the agreements and understandings from 1993 onward and improve upon them. Clarifying the LAC is a crucial step in this effort. *India has flagged the unsustainable trade imbalance at the front and center of the relationship, and this has gone unaddressed. China will need to work on resolving the trade deficit with India. At any rate, decoupling will happen selectively, in the same way and for the same reasons that China is choosing to decouple from the United States. A balanced trade and economic relationship might lay a solid foundation for future relations, given the size of both economies. *Better understanding of each other's regional initiatives through open dialogue is important to build trust. The Indo-Pacific vision is as much a developmental necessity for India as the BRI may be to China. Part of building trust must be an open discussion on each other's intentions in key regions-South Asia and the northern Indian Ocean and East Asia and the western Pacific-as well as respect for each other's special positions in the western Pacific and northern Indian Oceans. *The two sides would need to accommodate the legitimate interests of the other side on key partnerships: China's with Pakistan and India's with the United States. These may not be desirable, but in the current circumstances neither will give up its partners, and both India and China could talk through a modus vivendi on the red lines of concern. *Acknowledgment of India's multilateral aspirations by China is overdue. If China can accommodate India's role, there may be ample scope for both to collaborate on a range of issues from global health and climate change to standard setting in new technologies. It is as much in India's interest to ensure that the rules for the digital revolution are not merely written by those who dominated the world in the previous two centuries. *Public trust in China has been deeply damaged and is unlikely to recover for some time. Indians believe that China took advantage of the pandemic to bully India. Ways to rebuild public trust need to be identified. "The prospects of forward movement will depend on the lessons that China and India draw from the Ladakh crisis. If Chinese strategic experts believe that India-China relations hold no great prospects in the current international scenario and that India is already a quasi-ally of the United States, then it may be difficult to manage the bilateral differences and a period of more violent confrontation may arrive," Gokhale warns in his paper. "If Indian strategic experts believe that Beijing is intent on bullying or humiliating India because China's superiority in comprehensive national power allows it to permanently reset the frontier or to permanently damage India's global or regional profile or standing, then too, the situation might become confrontational," he qualifies immediately. Gokhale says that if the Chinese strategic community reevaluates its approach to India, and if China accepts that its India policy has not fully factored in the new realities about India and its importance in the region for facilitating or hindering China's rise, then a new basis could form for a relationship. "The two countries are standing at a crossroads, and this might be the final chance to take the path to co-existence of cooperation and competition. If not, a new phase of antagonistic rivalry may be starting, with the countries sliding into possible confrontation as the strategic periphery of China collides with the strategic backyard of India in the Indian Ocean region," Gokhale says rather prophetically. This writer forwarded Gokhale's paper to three Chinese academics who closely study South Asia for comments. All three, on condition of anonymity because they need to secure official permission to comment publicly, praised the paper. "It is very detailed and objective. There is much food for thought," said one academic based in Yunnan. Another based in Beijing said "the paper would be an essential read for all Chinese policy-makers dealing with India and South Asia". A third, based in Shanghai, lauded "the depth of understanding and objectivity" in the paper. 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Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 This article was written for Fethiye Times by Sian Midgley. This exact time last year I was sitting in the Air New Zealand First Class Lounge (ohh get me!) at Heathrow Airport, just about to embark on a holiday of a lifetime with my mum. A few days earlier Id flown back to the UK on Easyjet, joking with the air steward as I disembarked as he wouldnt shake hands because there was a new virus going around. And a few days before that I celebrated my upcoming 50th birthday with twenty five of my favourite people at Denizati on Fethiye promenade. And then the world went boom and all our lives changed almost in an instant An awesome birthday cake Enjoying New Zealand before we were quarantined Where Were You? They say you always remember where you were when life-changing incidents occur whether it be John Lennon being shot, Diana being in a car accident or 9/11. Well for me, one of those incidents happened while I was standing outside a hotel in Christchurch in New Zealand that was the moment I found out that Turkey had closed its borders and I wouldnt be getting back to my home, my life or my dog, any time soon. I cried. Of course, at that time I didnt even realise it would be nearly three months until I felt the Turkish sun on my face again and got to cuddle my baby girl. So happy to be back with my baby girl One Year On And now, one year later when lets be honest we all thought it would be over, we find ourselves still having to wear masks everywhere, people of a certain age are only allowed out a few hours a day, we have to be in our pjs by 9pm every night and all of us find ourselves staring at a wall and twidling our thumbs at some point on a Sunday. Some unfortunate souls who went to visit family in the UK at Christmas are still trying to find ways back here. Im just relieved that, this time, Im not one of them. But I dont think anyone who chooses to live in Fethiye regrets being here at the moment; those of us not under age restrictions can lead relatively normal lives. We can exercise. We can enjoy the beach. And as of last week, we can pop out for a spot of lunch or a cold beer and actually sit at a table rather than balance our purchases on our knees. Life Lessons This last year has taught us many things. For me Ive learnt to appreciate the simple things in life, Ive realised exactly how much I love my dog, and Ive developed an unhealthy obsession with having a weekly Chinese takeaway. Its also made me realise how much of Turkey there is to explore. I certainly wont be travelling far afield but, for 2021 at least, if I have a choice of spending a weekend in Kas or getting on a flight to the UK you wont find me rushing to the airport. Im looking forward to what the rest of this year will bring, for me personally anyway. Im determined to make it a year to remember for the right reasons, not the wrong ones. I hope you are too My Story If you find yourself staring at a wall this Sunday check out my diaries of how I eventually got from New Zealand to Fethiye, via a long drive and a lot of Custard Creams, by clicking on the links below: A composite image of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden. Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images; Drew Angerer/Getty Images Turkish President Erdogan appears desperate to get Biden's attention, officials tell Insider. He has replaced top officials unsavory to the US and offered negotiations on the F-35 program. Turkey's state bank faces money-laundering accusations in New York, which could explain Erdogan's motives. See more stories on Insider's business page. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in recent weeks made a series of moves appearing to appease the US in a desperate bid to get President Joe Biden's attention - which he isn't getting, diplomats and officials told Insider. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week that Biden would call Erdogan "at some point," but gave no specifics. Since Biden won the election, Erdogan has replaced a series of top officials unsavory to the US and offered negotiations to break an arms-deal impasse. Then-Vice President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential complex in Ankara, Turkey, in 2016. Kayhan Ozer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Days after the 2020 election, when it was apparent that Biden had won, Erdogan replaced two top officials widely considered by the US and EU as loyalists with close ties to corruption and economic mismanagement. They are Murat Uysal, who was on November 7 fired as Turkey's central bank governor, and Berat Albayrak, the finance and treasury minister who resigned on November 9. Albayrak is also Erdogan's son-in-law. In February, Turkey also offered negotiations to break the impasse over the F-35 program, in which the US under former President Donald Trump ended Turkey's role in manufacturing the warplane after Erdogan refused to cancel the purchase of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missiles. But Biden ignored Turkey's offer proposal, with the Pentagon saying his administration would continue the policy of shutting Turkey out of the weapons program. An F-35 Lightning II from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, lands at RAF Lakenheath, England, in April 2017. US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Abby L. Finkel One European diplomat said Erdogan's moves show a realization that Biden would not turn a blind eye to his actions, as Trump did. "It's so predictable," said a EU diplomat based in Ankara, who could not be named for security reasons, but whose identity is known to Insider. Story continues "Trump treated all these guys ... Erdogan, Putin, Bibi like peers, and they all began to believe that they somehow were," the source added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, two fellow strongmen. Why Erdogan wants to be on Biden's good side Several officials interviewed by Insider pointed to the impending trial of Turkey's state-owned Halkbank, which is due to take place this month in the Southern District of New York, as Law.com reported last year. Halkbank is accused of allowing Iran to launder tens of billions of dollars in cash, gold, and oil via Turkey to avoid US sanctions, while under the protection of Erdogan's close allies. A former executive of the bank, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, resigned this week as the chair of the Istanbul Stock Exchange - a position that had infuriated US officials as Atilla had in 2018 been convicted in New York for his role at the bank and sentenced to 28 months in prison. Erdogan had previously decried the investigations as politically motivated. Halkbank's impending trial - which risks a potential fine in the tens of billions of dollars, and Turkey's access to international money-transfer systems threatened - shows just how much Erdogan needs to make peace with the new administration. Referring to Turkey's Halkbank scandal, the EU diplomat said: "The Turks think Trump doesn't really care, because of course he didn't. But Biden cares and Biden knows who has the real power in the relationship and now Erdogan is waiting by the phone hoping for a call almost two months into things." "Erdogan should have used the sympathetic Trump administration to resolve and end this situation, but he was arrogant and decided he could ignore it altogether," the source added. "Now he needs to deal with Biden on several issues, but the one where Turkey is most obviously at fault remains on the table and about to be resolved in a public courtroom. Biden might not call him until after the trial, unless there's some sort of crisis." Read the original article on Business Insider Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The Ministry of Civil Affairs has called for efforts to promote green and low-carbon tomb-sweeping activities ahead of the traditional Qingming Festival which falls on April 4 this year. Agencies in charge of funeral services have been asked to provide high-quality online tribute-paying services by creating mourning websites and other commemorative platforms on the internet, the ministry said in a statement. During last year's Tomb-sweeping Day holiday, more than 26.3 million people in China opted to mourn the deceased through online platforms, as the country limited onsite tomb-sweeping visits due to COVID-19. Instead, people set up commemorative spaces and wrote messages online to pay respects to their deceased relatives. The Tomb-sweeping Day is a Chinese festival when people pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors by visiting tombs and making offerings. Traditionally, these tributes involve burning incense and paper money, which poses risk of fire and causes air pollution. Graveyards should encourage the public to forsake the outdated practice of burning paper money during the mourning ritual and embrace a greener way of paying tribute, such as offering flowers, the ministry said. International superyacht stays now extended to more than two years PHUKET: The Thai Yachting Business Association (TYBA) has announced that in addition to the recent new Thai Customs regulation allowing superyachts with a Thai charter permit to operate in Thai waters under clarified VAT and import arrangements, the superyachts themselves are now allowed an extension of the temporary import allowance, changed from 6 + 6 months to 2 years and 6 months. tourismmarine By The Phuket News Thursday 11 March 2021, 09:29AM Meeting with Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith were Chairperson of K-Bank and Committee of National Reform on Economics, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul; Andy Treadwell, CEO of Verventia and Thailand Yacht Show; Matthew Na Nagara, Chairman of TYBA; and Peerawich Thoviriyavej, Verventia & TYBA Board Member. The Thai Customs Department announced the new regulation on Feb 19, and it was later confirmed during a meeting between the Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, former Minister of Tourism and Sport Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and representatives of the Thai Yachting Business Association (TYBA). After many years of close collaboration with the Thai Government, the Chamber of Commerce, and various other organisations, this new policy will be of benefit across the Thai yachting Industry as well as the local economy, said TYBA Chairman Matthew Na Nagara, who attended the meeting. In allowing superyachts to charter in Thailand, this will attract more superyachts into Thai waters and influence them to remain here longer. These yachts require constant maintenance and service, providing an economic benefit across our industry. Local business will also gain since food and beverage provisioning accounts for about 25% of the total charter value and charter guests tend to spend lavishly on hospitality and tourism activities. Superyacht crew expenditure is also significant and will positively impact local and national businesses, he added. The TYBA announced through a release issued yesterday (Mar 10) that it has completed a study to support the initiative, covering New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and the Maldives all of which have opened up to superyacht charter in recent times. It is well known how the Caribbean and areas of Europe have long benefited economically from superyacht charter activity. So, this new announcement from the Thai Customs Department will initiate significant growth to the Thai yachting industry and the general economy. Superyachts will pay VAT on all income they generate in Thailand during their temporary stay in Thai waters, noted the release. The extension of temporary importation of foreign yachts for up to 2.5 years will also significantly benefit the industry and local economy, it added. This brings Thailand in line with regulations in neighbouring countries and elsewhere in the world, said TYBA board member Peerawich Thoviriyavej. To come from Europe or Australia takes many weeks, so yachts can now make the most of all that Amazing Thailand has to offer. We look forward to working further, with our APAC and ASEAN members, to grow this outstanding cruising region for charter and pleasure yachting, Mr Peerawich added. 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. AN amateur boxer has admitted assaulting two senior QIH executives just days after his father lost his job in the company. Fermanagh man Bernard McGovern (24) appeared in court this morning where he pleaded guilty to the assaults outside a Cavan filling station in February 2019. The victims of the attack were Kevin Lunney, chief operating officer of the company formerly known as QIH, and its chief financial officer Dara OReilly. Mr Lunney was abducted outside his home and badly assaulted in a separate and unrelated incident seven months later, in which McGovern had no involvement. The two victims are senior executives at Mannok, previously known as Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH) and once owned by businessman Sean Quinn. Read More This morning Bernard McGovern, of Springtown Road in Kinawley, Fermanagh, was arraigned before Cavan Circuit Court in relation to two counts of assault causing harm. The incidents occurred at the Apple Green filling station at Rakeelan, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, on February 1, 2019, while the two executives were having lunch. He pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Mr Lunney who suffered a broken nose as a result of being struck in the face. McGovern pleaded not guilty to carrying out the same offence to Mr OReilly, who had a cup of hot water thrown in his face. Expand Close Kevin Lunney. Photo: Lorraine Teevan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kevin Lunney. Photo: Lorraine Teevan However, he admitted to a lesser charge of assault at the same location on the same date. Prosecution counsel Monica Lawlor BL, for the State, said that this plea was being accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The maximum jail term he now faces for assault causing harm, under Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person act, is five years imprisonment. Assault under Section 2 of the same act carries a maximum jail term of six months. Judge John Aylmer remanded him on continuing bail to appear before court again next Friday, March 19, for sentencing. McGoverns father had lost his job as a truck driver within the company two days earlier which was the motive for the assaults. The accused was arrested in Fermanagh in September 2019 on foot of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) in relation to the case. Bernard McGovern was later remanded in custody at Castlerea Prison for several months, prompting a Sinn Fein councillor in Fermanagh to write to the Justice Minister. The party later distanced itself from the actions of councillor Chris McCaffrey about the accuseds detention. The ECOWAS Commission and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) are strengthening their existing collaboration in peace, security and good governance in West Africa. Steaming from the challenges of peace and security in the region and the complications of the COVID 19 pandemic, the resolve for greater collaboration was the main outcome of a virtual Desk-to-Desk meeting between the ECOWAS Commission and UNOWAS which held on the 9th of March 2021. Speaking at the opening session of the meeting, the Director of Political Affairs at the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Aderemi Ajibewa, recalled the various areas of common interest between the two institutions and reiterated ECOWAS commitment in sustaining this enviable partnership. Dr Remi Ajibewa, who also gave insights to key institutional reforms and political happenings in the region, highlighted the jointly adopted work plans and the various joint activities in support of regional peace and stability, including High-Level Preventive Diplomacy missions in support of Member States electoral processes. He stated further that the Desk-to-Desk presented a veritable platform for ECOWAS departments and directorates to identify areas of collaboration with UNOWAS and alignment of various sectoral agenda. On his part, the Director of Political Affairs at UNOWAS, Mr Moudjib Djinadou, gave an overview of the last Desk-to-Desk meeting in October 2019, noting that challenges including the advent of the COVID19 pandemic had hampered full implementation of agreed joint activities. He remained optimistic that with the common resolve of both organisations, much more will be achieved in the coming months and beyond. He informed the meeting that the UNOWAS Liaison Office located in Abuja, will now be effectively functional, and said that the office manned by a senior officer will further facilitate collaboration and synergy with ECOWAS. Participants at the workshop included UNOWAS heads of Cluster and political officers, staff of ECOWAS political Affairs, Peace Keeping and Regional Security, Humanitarian, Communication and Early Warning Directorates. Discussions centered on recent key institutional as well as political developments, strengthening joint communication and identification of joint programmes/activities for 2021. 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. Featured Video Jared Kushner looks on as Donald Trump speaks before signing the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in January 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Donald Trumps son-in-law and former senior adviser Jared Kushner is planning a book on his White House experience, reports say. Mr Kushner will focus much of his book on the deals he made to normalise relations between Israel and a string of Arab states, a source told Reuters. The Abraham Accords secured agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco before Mr Trump left office. Mr Kushners book will also deal with prison reform, trade deals, Mr Trumps impeachment, the administrations response to the coronavirus pandemic. It will also touch on the US relationship with China, the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the border crisis and the racial unrest that took place following the death of George Floyd. Mr Kushner is not looking to settle scores but rather to provide historical context and help readers understand what it was like to work in the Trump White House, the source told Reuters. It will be an interesting perspective from someone who had a wide-ranging portfolio, was in the room for many of the most tense and consequential moments but kept a fairly low public profile, staying behind the scenes and granting limited media access. Since leaving the White House Mr Kushner, 40, and Ivanka Trump have moved to Miami, Florida, and he has reportedly stepped away from advising the ex-president. Read More Donald Trump and Jared Kushner have barely spoken since leaving the White House: report Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump made up to $640 million while working in White House, report finds Trump doesnt use Gab and is being kept off by dopey Jared Kushner, says social media platforms CEO Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner made at least $24 million in final year in White House Beazley has launched a directors and officers (D&O) product suite designed specifically for U.S.-domiciled special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). Beazleys new D&O products for SPACs offer dedicated coverage for either the individuals, or the entity and individuals combined from an initial public offering (IPO) to the initial business combination. SPACs have historically needed endorsements to existing D&O coverages for these exposures. Jim Rizzo, Beazley Executive Risk underwriter who specializes in SPACs and has underwritten these risks for two decades, will lead the initiative supported by a team of underwriters based in the U.S. and London. The Beazley offering comes at a time when demand for this D&O coverage has spiked. This has prompted some insurers to raise prices and underwrite more carefully. Related: Topics Mergers Directors Officers A YOUNG man has been remanded in custody after he appeared in court to face charges in relation to a serious road collision earlier this week. Shane O'Donnell, 22, who has an address at Clarina Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick is accused of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to another young man on Monday night. He is also accused of failing to provide assistance by failing to remain at the scene of the collision which occurred at 11.20pm at St Nessan's Road, Dooradoyle near the Crescent Shopping Centre. During a brief court sitting this Thursday, Garda Pat Melody said Mr O'Donnell had nothing to say when he was formally charged at Roxboro Road garda station at 5.50pm on Wednesday. Sergeant Michelle Leahy said a file is to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions and she indicated there will be a garda objection to any bail application. However, solicitor Sarah Ryan said her client would not be seeking bail and was consenting to a remand in custody. Judge Patricia Harney noted this and she adjourned the case to next Tuesday, March 16. The man who was critically injured in Monday's collision has been transferred from UHL to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. Investigations are ongoing. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has apologised after incorrectly claiming Sinn Fein has no Protestant TDs. It came after Sinn Fein TD Violet-Anne Wynne, who is a Protestant, took issue with the remarks. I am a Protestant and I am proud to be a representative for Sinn Fein. Changing facts is not the change that people voted for, Ms Wynne said. In his apology, Mr Varadkar said he was not aware of her religion. I did not make any remarks at all about Deputy Wynne personally, he said. I was unaware of her religious affiliation and I stand corrected. I fully retract my remark and apologise for any offence caused. Speaking previously about a Sinn Fein ad campaign in the US print media this week, Mr Varadkar had told RTEs News at One that the party was an obstacle to Irish unity. They have a relationship with unionism that is one of mutual hostility, which is a big problem, and they are sectarian. They are still very anti-British, they have no Protestant TDs, MLAs, or senators, he said. However, Ms Wynne called on the Fine Gael leader to withdraw and apologise for what she said were hurtful remarks. Leo Varadkars constant attempts to score political points by spouting untruths and trying to demonise political opponents is getting tiresome, she said. While nobody in Sinn Fein has ever made an issue of my religious views, it is not acceptable for the Tanaiste to do so. On national radio today, he said there are no Protestant TDs in our party. That is a lie. I am a Protestant and I am proud to be a Sinn Fein TD. The Tanaiste should immediately withdraw and apologise for his hurtful remarks. Mr Varadkars comments were criticised by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald in a tweet: The religious beliefs or tradition of any TD (Sinn Fein or otherwise) is none of Leo Varadkars business. The row came after an Irish republican publicity and political campaign calling for a border poll was ramped up in the United States ahead of St Patricks Day. The Friends of Sinn Fein organisation placed adverts in a number of American newspapers on Wednesday, urging the Irish government to prepare and plan for a united Ireland. Half page advertisements appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post, alongside full page colour ads in the Irish American newspapers, the Irish Voice and the Irish Echo. The advertisements also called on the UK Government to set a date for a border poll. The advert, signed by sympathetic Irish American groups, stated: As Americans, we call upon our government and public representatives to call the British Government to set the date for the Unity Referendum. This is the time for the people of Ireland to have their say. With your support we can be the first generation of Irish Americans to visit a free and United Ireland. Speaking on RTE Radios News at One on Wednesday, Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill said that the united Ireland adverts were a timely initiative with a debate underway on unity that has never been witnessed before. Pointing out that Irish America has been very supportive and vested in the Irish peace process, the Sinn Fein vice president said: Its very timely that they enter the debate and make a very clear challenge to the Irish Government that now is the time to plan. From now on consultations in this composition will be held regularly. Chief of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and the G20 ambassadors held a meeting in Kyiv on March 10. From now on, consultations in this format will be held regularly, according to the President's Office press service. Yermak noted the importance of observing the ceasefire in Donbas as a fundamental condition for progress in the negotiations in the Normandy and Minsk formats. To this end, additional measures will be discussed to strengthen control over the ceasefire, in particular within the security working group that's part of the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement (Ukraine, OSCE, Russia). Read alsoTCG work on Donbas blocked over Russia's stance YermakYermak also thanked Ukraine's partners from the Normandy Four France and Germany for their proposals and efforts toward achieving peace in Donbas. He said a conference call of the Normandy Four leaders' advisers would take place in the near future to discuss settlement progress. According to Yermak, the president's team looks with great prospects at expanding diplomatic, political, and economic horizons of interaction with the G20 countries. He proposed that the parties look into the possibilities and new options for Ukraine's participation in various regional formats for greater integration with the neighboring European states, to establish joint work with neighbors in the Black Sea region at the highest level. Reporting by UNIAN Close Russia and China have sealed a partnership for the building of an International Scientific Lunar Station, an infrastructure on the Moon that according to a report, would rival the planned Gateway of NASA. The Verge specifically reported that the partnering agencies' announced that they signed an agreement to work on the said station orbiting the Moon. The two space powers had been into discussions for months as Russia reportedly mulled whether it would partake in the Gateway program of NASA, a rival space station to be developed by an alliance of other countries in the next 10 years. ALSO READ: Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa 'Glows in the Dark' Due to Radiation, Scientists Say International Scientific Lunar Station In a statement Roscosmos, the space agency of Russia, said that the International Lunar Station partnership will work on the complex of investigational research facilities developed on the surface and/or the Moon's orbit. The project will be designed to support various research experiments with the probability of long-term uncrewed operation, but also with the view of a presence of a human on the moon. China, like NASA, has been seeking international backing for its own plan of putting infrastructure on the Moon. It has also sent numerous robotic Chang'e missions to the Moon, as seen on DW News' YouTube video below, which includes the initial landing on the far side of the Moon and a rapid sample retrieval mission in December 2020. The Agreement This lunar space station agreement signed virtually between Zhang Kejian, space chief of China and Dmitry Rogozin, space chief of Russia, marks the most recent development in the initiatives of Beijing to explore the Moon together with rivals including NASA, which, under a law passed in 2011 by Congress, was barred from collaborating with China. Russia, which has maintained decades of partnership with NASA on the International Space Station, has been hesitant to extend its partnership in space with the United States to the Moon. NASA, for its part, secured agreements with the European Space Agency, Canada and Japan for a project on its Lunar Gateway, the planned space station, also orbiting the Moon. According to a Roscosmos spokesperson, NASA did ask Russia to take part in building the said station. However, the spokesperson explained, Moscow decided that the former's request for the country to provide an airlock for its Gateway project was "impractical." China's Other Space Deals A China National Space Administration statement said that the agreement between Russia and China greenlights shared development of their own lunar space station. It also called for planning, presentation, design, construction, implementation and operation of scientific experiment station projects which include the promotion of the project to the international aerospace community. It was not clear what particular technical contributions Russia would make. Essentially, this country's military-civil space agency has invested in new launch infrastructure in spite of a domestic climate and financial rollbacks. More so, the space budget of Russia ranks third worldwide, behind the US and China. Meanwhile, China also held talks with CNES, the space agency of France, as a status check of the bilateral space alliance collaboration between two agencies. Among alliances on climate science, Kejian of Beijing and Jean-Yves Le Gall, space chief of France, discussed other possible areas too, for cooperation in relation to the Moon and Mars, according to the statement. RELATED ARTICLE: China's Chang'e 5 Spacecraft Enters Lunar Orbit Check out more news and information on Space and Moon on Science Times. 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. TORONTO - Uber Technologies Inc. wants provinces to force the tech giant and other app-based companies to offer gig workers some benefits through a new proposal, but an advocacy group says the plan will still leave them paid less than minimum wage and with no job security. An Uber Eats courier is pictured as they pick up an order for delivery from a restaurant in Toronto on February 27, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO - Uber Technologies Inc. wants provinces to force the tech giant and other app-based companies to offer gig workers some benefits through a new proposal, but an advocacy group says the plan will still leave them paid less than minimum wage and with no job security. Uber's pitch was unveiled Wednesday and is called Flexible Work+. It asks provinces to require app-based gig employers to accrue self-directed benefit funds that can be dispersed to drivers for prescriptions, dental and vision care and provide safety training and tools like reflective vests. Uber workers are currently classified as independent contractors who are not required to be given benefits or minimum wage like employees would be under provincial laws. Gig workers and employment lawyers say Uber's new proposal allows the company to continue to avoid treating its couriers and drivers fairly and to keep them in a state of precarity. "They can lock us into an arrangement that is only for their benefit and that doesn't benefit us at all," said Brice Sopher, an UberEats worker in Toronto and representative for Gig Workers United, an advocacy group for delivery workers in Canada. "(The proposal) doesn't address any of the real issues that workers have been talking about." Sopher's group has long been advocating for app-based companies like Uber to offer a living wage, sick pay and more stability to workers. Uber has fought those requests by arguing that workers want flexibility to choose when, where and how often they work and don't want to be tied to formal schedules that could come with traditional employment. The company has been trying to further solidify that position across the globe in recent months. It spent millions last year to convince Californians to vote in favour of Proposition 22, which allowed them to continue to classify couriers and drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. Sopher and Joshua Mandryk, a labour lawyer at Goldblatt Partners in Toronto, see the Canadian proposal as a continuation of Proposition 22, which passed in November's election despite union opposition. "Canadians should not be fooled," said Mandryk. "Uber has framed this proposal as a magnanimous bestowing of benefits when it really appears to be about carving their drivers out of basic employment standards protections like the minimum wage." Samara Belitzky, a lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, said that if Uber workers were considered employees it would have to offer minimum wage, vacation pay and protected, parental and medical leave. Workers would be able to access compensation in the event of workplace injuries and would get unemployment benefits, she added. "Uber realizes that the way they're misclassifying drivers as contractors when they're really employees is not necessarily working out, and so they are now spending the time to get the government involved to change the law so that they can kind of have their cake and eat it too," said Belitzky, whose firm is currently pursuing a class-action lawsuit against Uber. When Uber unveiled its proposal, the company's senior vice-president of global rides and platform pushed back on views like Belitzky's. "Our view is our current employment system is outdated, unfair and somewhat inflexible and some workers get benefits and protections and others don't," Andrew MacDonald told The Canadian Press. "We feel that COVID has exposed some of those fundamental flaws and think this is a good opportunity for change." Uber is pursuing the model, he said, rather than existing ones because an October survey of more than 600 Uber couriers and drivers in Canada showed 65 per cent favoured Flexible Work+. Roughly 16 per cent still like the current independent contractor model and 18 per cent wanted to be classified as employees with benefits. MacDonald believes workers will like Uber's idea to offer drivers and couriers in the country access to funds that they can spend on prescriptions, dental, or vision care and potentially even RRSPs or tuition. Uber envisions drivers and couriers getting to decide how to use the money, which could be allocated based on hours worked, and it would also look at sending drivers and couriers equipment like safety vests or phone mounts. UberEats courier Spencer Thompson sees the pitch as "a step in the right direction," but wishes it addressed wages. He claims pay changes Uber made last summer resulted in some courier's earnings dropping to $3.99 from $10 per trip before tips during the last year. "A lot of the drivers, especially more in like the suburbs, would probably want some protections like minimum wage and other employee type benefits," said Thompson, who has debated quitting the app. Uber's pitch includes committing to more transparency around pay and investing more in drivers, but the company wants regulatory changes to be widespread and affect app-based competitors too. Companies including Lyft and DoorDash said in emails that they support stronger safety measures and benefits for workers, but did not directly comment on Uber's pitch. Government officials were just receiving Uber's proposal Wednesday, but Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said he was looking forward to tackling the future of work. A statement from the office of Manitoba Finance Minister Finance Scott Fielding said the province would need more time to evaluate the proposal before weighing in, but said "nothing prevents a company from going above legislated workplace safety and health requirements for its contracted workers." with files from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg and Holly McKenzie-Sutter in Toronto This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2021. 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. This photo shows tanks (in gray, beige and blue) of storing water that was treated but still radioactive after it was used to cool down spent fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. The reactors of the Unit 3, lower left, and 4 are seen by the ocean. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) A decade ago, a massive tsunami crashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Three of its reactors melted down, leaving it looking like a bombed-out factory. Emergency workers risked their lives trying to keep one of history's worst nuclear crises from spiraling out of control. Proper equipment has now replaced ragged plastic hoses held together with tape and an outdoor power switchboard infested by rats, which caused blackouts. Radiation levels have declined, allowing workers and visitors to wear regular clothes and surgical masks in most areas. But deep inside the plant, danger still lurks. Officials don't know exactly how long the cleanup will take, whether it will be successful and what might become of the land where the plant sits. Journalists from The Associated Press recently visited the plant to document progress in its cleanup on the 10th anniversary of the meltdowns and the challenges that lie ahead. ___ WHAT HAPPENED 10 YEARS AGO? After a magnitude 9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011, a tsunami 17 meters (56 feet) high slammed into the coastal plant, destroying its power supply and cooling systems and causing meltdowns at reactors No. 1, 2 and 3. The plant's three other reactors were offline and survived, though a fourth building, along with two of the three melted reactors, had hydrogen explosions, spewing massive radiation and causing long-term contamination in the area. A worker for Tokyo Electric Power Co. stands by a gate at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., says the tsunami couldn't have been anticipated, but reports from government and independent investigations and recent court decisions described the disaster at the plant as human-made and a result of safety negligence, lax oversight by regulators and collusion. ___ WHAT'S INSIDE THE MELTED REACTORS? About 900 tons of melted nuclear fuel remain inside the three damaged reactors, and its removal is a daunting task that officials say will take 30-40 years. Critics say that's overly optimistic. Separate efforts to remove spent fuel from cooling pools inside the reactor buildings were hampered by high radiation and debris and have been delayed for up to five years. If the plant's pools lose their cooling water in another major quake, exposed fuel rods could quickly overheat and cause an even worse meltdown. In this Nov. 12, 2011 file photo, the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is seen through a bus window in Okuma, Japan, as the media were allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time since the March 11 disaster. A decade ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down. It looked like a bombed-out factory in a war zone. Emergency workers risked their lives as they battled to keep the crisis in check. Eeriness is no longer there. The feeble-looking plastic hoses mended with tape and the outdoor power switchboard that rats got into, causing blackouts, were replaced with proper equipment. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, Pool, File) The melted cores in Units 1, 2 and 3 mostly fell to the bottom of their primary containment vessels, some penetrating and mixing with the concrete foundation, making removal extremely difficult. Remote-controlled robots with cameras have provided only a limited view of the melted fuel in areas still too dangerous for humans to go. Plant chief Akira Ono says the inability to see what's happening inside the reactors means that details about the melted fuel are still largely unknown. ___ ARE THERE UNDERGROUND LEAKS? Since the disaster, contaminated cooling water has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the reactor building basements, where it mixes with groundwater that seeps in. The water is pumped up and treated. Part is recycled as cooling water, with the remainder stored in 1,000 huge tanks crowding the plant. This file image made available from Tokyo Electric Power Co. via Kyodo News shows the damaged No. 4 unit of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. White smoke billows from the No. 3 unit. A decade ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down. It looked like a bombed-out factory in a war zone. Emergency workers risked their lives as they battled to keep the crisis in check. Eeriness is no longer there. The feeble-looking plastic hoses mended with tape and the outdoor power switchboard that rats got into, causing blackouts, were replaced with proper equipment. (Tokyo Electric Power Co/Kyodo News via AP, File) Early in the crisis, highly contaminated water that leaked from damaged basements and maintenance ditches escaped into the ocean, but the main leakage points have been closed, TEPCO says. Tons of contaminated sandbags used to block the leaks early in the disaster remain in two basements. Tiny amounts of radiation have continued leaking into the sea and elsewhere through underground passages, though the amount today is small and fish caught off the coast are safe to eat, scientists say. ___ WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE STORED RADIOACTIVE WATER? The 1,000 tanks filled with treated but still radioactive water tower over workers and visitors at the plant. TEPCO says the tanks' 1.37 million ton storage capacity will be full in 2022. A government panel's recommendation that the water be released into the sea is facing fierce opposition from local residents, especially fishermen concerned about further damage to the area's reputation. A decision on that recommendation is pending. This photo shows part of an extra cooling pool storing spent fuel units from reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. Several units, seen at lower right, were removed from the No. 3 reactor at the power plant. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels for release. TEPCO has managed to cut the amount of contaminated water to one-third of what it used to be through a series of measures. ___ WHAT'S IT LIKE TO VISIT THE PLANT? The first thing visitors see is a stylish office building that holds the TEPCO decommissioning unit. In another building, plant workersabout 4,000 per day nowgo through automated security checkpoints and radiation measurements. Because radiation levels have fallen significantly following decontamination, full protection gear is only needed in a few places in the plant, including in and around the melted reactor buildings. On a recent visit, AP journalists donned partial protective gear to tour a low-radiation area: a helmet, double socks, cotton gloves, surgical masks, goggles and a vest with a personal dosimeter. In this March 24, 2011 file photo, a young evacuee is screened at a shelter for leaked radiation from the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, northeast of Tokyo. A decade ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down. It looked like a bombed-out factory in a war zone. Emergency workers risked their lives as they battled to keep the crisis in check. Eeriness is no longer there. The feeble-looking plastic hoses mended with tape and the outdoor power switchboard that rats got into, causing blackouts, were replaced with proper equipment. (AP Photo/Wally Santana, File) This photo shows the damaged Unit 1 reactor, back, and the exhaust stack shared with the Unit 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) This photo shows the damaged Unit 1 reactor, back, and the exhaust stack shared with the Unit 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. The exhaust stack has gotten its upper half cut off due to safety concerns. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Nuclear reactors of No. 1, from left, 2, 3 and 4 look over tanks storing water that was treated but still radioactive, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) A worker for Tokyo Electric Power Co. looks at an extra cooling pool containing spent fuel from reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) This photo shows tanks (in gray, beige and blue) storing water that was treated but still radioactive after it was used to cool down spent fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) In this Nov. 12, 2011, file photo, officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Japanese journalists look at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station from bus windows in Okuma, Japan. A decade ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down. It looked like a bombed-out factory in a war zone. Emergency workers risked their lives as they battled to keep the crisis in check. Eeriness is no longer there. The feeble-looking plastic hoses mended with tape and the outdoor power switchboard that rats got into, causing blackouts, were replaced with proper equipment.(AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File) The Pacific Ocean looks over nuclear reactor units of No. 3, left, and 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) This photo shows the exhaust stack shared with the Unit 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. The exhaust stack has gotten its upper half cut off due to safety concerns. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) In this Nov. 12, 2011, file photo, the Unit 4 reactor building of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is seen through a bus window in Okuma town, north of Tokyo, when the media was allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time. A decade ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down. It looked like a bombed-out factory in a war zone. Emergency workers risked their lives as they battled to keep the crisis in check. Eeriness is no longer there. The feeble-looking plastic hoses mended with tape and the outdoor power switchboard that rats got into, causing blackouts, were replaced with proper equipment. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, Pool, File) A security guard stops vehicles at a security checkpoint as they enter an area that requires a special permit to enter in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. Part of the buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen in the background. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) This photo shows a device to freeze dirt to make an underground retention wall to surround nuclear reactors in an attempt to avoid leakage of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) This photo shows the damaged Unit 1 reactor, back, and part of the exhaust stack shared with the Unit 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. The exhaust stack has gotten its upper half cut off due to safety concerns. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Employees of Tokyo Electric Power Co. look at old tanks which used to store radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Full protection gear, which means hazmat coveralls, a full-face mask, a head cover, triple socks and double rubber gloves, was required at a shared storage pool where fuel relocation from the No. 3 reactor pool was recently completed. ___ WHAT'S THE ENDGAME? A decade after the accident, Japan doesn't yet have a plan to dispose of the highly radioactive melted fuel, debris and waste at the plant. Technology also isn't advanced enough yet to manage the waste by reducing its toxicity. TEPCO says it needs to get rid of the water storage tanks to free up space at the plant so workers can build facilities that will be used to study and store melted fuel and other debris. There are about 500,000 tons of solid radioactive waste, including contaminated debris and soil, sludge from water treatment, scrapped tanks and other waste. It's unclear what the plant will look like when the work there is done. Local officials and residents say they expect the complex to one day be open space where they can walk freely. But there's no clear idea if or when that might happen. Explore further Water leaks indicate new damage at Fukushima nuclear plant 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. OTTAWA - Capping an extraordinary exchange of demands and counter-demands, a lawyer for WE Charity's co-founders agreed late Thursday that Craig and Marc Kielburger will appear Monday before the House of Commons ethics committee. OTTAWA - Capping an extraordinary exchange of demands and counter-demands, a lawyer for WE Charity's co-founders agreed late Thursday that Craig and Marc Kielburger will appear Monday before the House of Commons ethics committee. As long as he can "intervene where necessary to provide advice to our clients," lawyer William McDowell wrote in a letter to the committee's chair, Conservative MP Chris Warkentin. Marc Kielburger, screen left, and Craig Kielburger, screen right, appear as witnesses via video conference during a House of Commons finance committee in the Wellington Building, in Ottawa, Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Marc and Craig Kielburger's appearance before the federal ethics committee next week remains uncertain after the WE Charity co-founders laid out a list of conditions before testifying. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick "As you can appreciate, counsel must be permitted to protect clients rights in this way rather than to be relegated to a purely ornamental role," he wrote. The brothers' appearance has been in doubt after a fresh spat broke out between the Kielburgers and the MPs who want to grill them about the organization they founded. The brothers suggested they might not accept a summons to appear at the committee Monday unless a list of conditions were met. Those demands came after the pair first accepted the summons issued unanimously by committee members earlier this week, which followed the Kielburgers' initial refusal to testify in response to a gentler invitation. In a letter the day before, McDowell wrote that police could draw on information gleaned in the meeting, even though it falls under parliamentary privilege. "While it may be true, in a limited sense, that 'Parliamentary privilege ensures that anything said in Parliament cannot be used in any other proceeding,' you will appreciate that law enforcement agencies and others are free to use the information disclosed in committee hearings," McDowell wrote to Warkentin in a letter posted by a WE Charity Twitter account Wednesday evening. NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus has asked the RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate the Toronto-based organization's operations. McDowell demanded that WE's lawyers be able to appear on camera in the virtual hearing, make an opening statement and intervene to object to questions put to the Kielburgers during testimony. The ethics committee had already agreed to the brothers' request that their lawyers be present and to push back the hearing to Monday from Friday to give them more prep time. "To be clear, it is not my intention to provide substantive answers to the questions, but rather to intervene as necessary to protect our clients' rights," McDowell's earlier letter said. "I'm not really sure what's behind these theatrics from the Kielburger brothers," Angus said in an interview before their conditional promise to appear landed Thursday evening. "The issue is, there is an outstanding legal summons compelling them to testify. That's an extraordinary step that we've had to take in order to get answers." "There's almost no precedent in the history of Parliament for someone refusing a legal summons and the heads of a Canadian charity doing that would be certainly dramatic." In that situation, the case could go to the House of Commons, which could order witnesses to appear. Witnesses who still refuse could be declared guilty of contempt. "My advice to them is just calm down, take a deep breath, show up and answer the questions and do the right thing," Angus said. Both the Commons ethics committee and its procedure and House affairs committee have invited the Kielburger brothers to testify as part of their ongoing scrutiny of a federal agreement to have WE manage a now-cancelled student services grant program, despite the organization's close ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family. Ethics commissioner Mario Dion is investigating the involvement of Trudeau and former finance minister Bill Morneau, who also has family ties to WE, in choosing the organization for the task. Both have apologized for not recusing themselves from the decision. The RCMP declined to confirm whether a probe is underway. "The RCMP continues to examine this matter carefully with all available information and will take appropriate actions as required," the police force said in an email. Guy Giorno, a legal adviser to WE and once chief of staff to Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, questioned the notion that parliamentary committees are the appropriate forum for investigating private organizations. "These things were never actually meant to be used in some kind of a political skirmish with people outside government," he said in an interview. People alleged to have done things are answerable to the law and the legal process and due process, not a bunch of partisan politicians." Giorno said the Kielburgers had been willing to appear before the ethics committee until Angus tweeted on Feb. 28 that he had written to the national revenue minister, who oversees the Canada Revenue Agency, as well as the RCMP to request an investigation regarding WE's fundraising practices. "That changed the stakes for the organization incredibly, because of the risk," Giorno said. "They could be caught by having proceedings." Angus noted that Conservative MP Michael Barrett asked RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki in a letter dated July 10 to investigate alleged wrongdoing over the federal contract initially awarded to WE. The Kielburgers testified at committee later that month. "These are long-standing parliamentary conventions protected by the Constitution going back 170 years: the right to draw witnesses, the right to compel testimony, and the right of parliamentarians to ask questions," Angus said. "It's pretty straightforward." This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2021. The Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat, under Govt. of Karnataka, has called for applications in a prescribed format from qualified and interested candidates for filling Seventeen (17) vacancies to the post of Technical Assistant in Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat through direct selection to be posted in Bagalkot District in Karnataka, India on a fulltime basis. The offline application submission process starts on March 06, 2021 and closes on March 25, 2021 by 5:30 pm. CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Technical Assistants posts in Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Organisation Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Educational Qualification B.Sc/M.Sc in Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry Experience Freshers can apply Job Responsibilities null Skills Required null Job Location Bagalkot District Salary Scale Rs. 24,000 per month Industry Govt. of Karnataka Application Start Date March 6, 2021 Application End Date March 25, 2021 Bagalkot ZP Recruitment 2021: Age And Fees Candidates interested in applying for Bagalkot ZP Jobs 2021 through Bagalkot ZP Recruitment 2021 must have completed 21 years of age and not be more than 40 years, with relaxation (upper age limit) for OBC (2A/2B/3A/3B) and SC/ST candidates as per the Karnataka Govt. norms as notified in the Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Notification 2021. For details regarding application fee for Bagalkot ZP Jobs 2021 through Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Recruitment 2021, refer to the official Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Notification 2021 given at the end of the article. Also Read: Bangalore Rural ZP Recruitment 2021 For Technical Staff, Apply Offline Before March 26 Bangalorerural.Nic.In Bagalkot ZP Recruitment 2021: Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Vacancy Post Name No. Of Vacancies Agricultural Technical Assistants 10 Horticultural Technical Assistants 05 Forest Technical Assistants 02 Total 17 Bagalkot ZP Recruitment 2021: Educational Criteria Candidates applying for Bagalkot ZP Technical Assistant Jobs 2021 through Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Recruitment 2021 must possess a B.Sc/M.Sc in Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry from a recognised University/Institution as detailed in the Bagalkot ZP Notification 2021. Bagalkot ZP Recruitment 2021: Selection And Pay The selection of candidates to Bagalkot ZP Technical Assistant Jobs 2021 through Bangalore Rural ZP Recruitment 2021 will be done through Shortlisting, Document Verification and Merit as notified in the Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Notification 2021. Candidates selected to Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Jobs 2021 through Bagalkot ZP Recruitment 2021 will be paid an emolument of Rs. 24,000 per month Also Read: KSP Recruitment 2021 For 402 Police Sub-Inspector (Civil) Posts, Apply For KSP PSI Civil Jobs On KSP.Online.In Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Recruitment 2021: How To Apply Candidates applying for Bagalkot ZP Technical Assistant Jobs 2021 through Bagalkot ZP Recruitment 2021 must fill the application in a prescribed format and send the same to the "Chief Executive Officers, Zilla Panchayat, Bagalkot - 587103, Karnataka" on or before March 25, 2021 by 5:30 pm through a proper channel. Download Bagalkot Zilla Panchayat Notification 2021 for Technical Assistant posts here Catching energy-exploration caused earthquakes before they happen ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Geoscientists at Sandia National Laboratories used 3D-printed rocks and an advanced, large-scale computer model of past earthquakes to understand and prevent earthquakes triggered by energy exploration. Injecting water underground after unconventional oil and gas extraction, commonly known as fracking, geothermal energy stimulation and carbon dioxide sequestration all can trigger earthquakes. Of course, energy companies do their due diligence to check for faults -- breaks in the earth's upper crust that are prone to earthquakes -- but sometimes earthquakes, even swarms of earthquakes, strike unexpectedly. Sandia geoscientists studied how pressure and stress from injecting water can transfer through pores in rocks down to fault lines, including previously hidden ones. They also crushed rocks with specially engineered weak points to hear the sound of different types of fault failures, which will aid in early detection of an induced earthquake. 3D-printing variability provides fundamental structural information To study different types of fault failures, and their warning signs, Sandia geoscientist Hongkyu Yoon needed a bunch of rocks that would fracture the same way each time he applied pressure -- pressure not unlike the pressure caused by injecting water underground. Natural rocks collected from the same location can have vastly different mineral orientation and layering, causing different weak points and fracture types. Several years ago, Yoon started using additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, to make rocks from a gypsum-based mineral under controlled conditions, believing that these rocks would be more uniform. To print the rocks, Yoon and his team sprayed gypsum in thin layers, forming 1-by-3-by-0.5 inch rectangular blocks and cylinders. However, as he studied the 3D-printed rocks, Yoon realized that the printing process also generated minute structural differences that affected how the rocks fractured. This piqued his interest, leading him to study how the mineral texture in 3D-printed rocks influences how they fracture. "It turns out we can use that variability of mechanical and seismic responses of a 3D-printed fracture to our advantage to help us understand the fundamental processes of fracturing and its impact on fluid flow in rocks," Yoon said. This fluid flow and pore pressure can trigger earthquakes. For these experiments, Yoon and collaborators at Purdue University, a university with which Sandia has a strong partnership, made a mineral ink using calcium sulfate powder and water. The researchers, including Purdue professors Antonio Bobet and Laura Pyrak-Nolte, printed a layer of hydrated calcium sulfate, about half as thick as a sheet of paper, and then applied a water-based binder to glue the next layer to the first. The binder recrystallized some of the calcium sulfate into gypsum, the same mineral used in construction drywall. The researchers printed the same rectangular and cylindrical gypsum-based rocks. Some rocks had the gypsum mineral layers running horizontally, while others had vertical mineral layers. The researchers also varied the direction in which they sprayed the binder, to create more variation in mineral layering. The research team squeezed the samples until they broke. The team examined the fracture surfaces using lasers and an X-ray microscope. They noticed the fracture path depended on the direction of the mineral layers. Yoon and colleagues described this fundamental study in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. Sound signals and machine learning to classify seismic events Also, working with his collaborators at Purdue University, ?Yoon monitored acoustic waves coming from the printed samples as they fractured. These sound waves are signs of rapid microcracks. Then the team combined the sound data with machine-learning techniques, a type of advanced data analysis that can identify patterns in seemingly unrelated data, to detect signals of minute seismic events. First, Yoon and his colleagues used a machine-learning technique known as a random forest algorithm to cluster the microseismic events into groups that were caused by the same types of microstructures and identify about 25 important features in the microcrack sound data. They ranked these features by significance. Using the significant features as a guide, they created a multilayered "deep" learning algorithm -- like the algorithms that allow digital assistants to function -- and applied it to archived data collected from real-world events. The deep-learning algorithm was able to identify signals of seismic events faster and more accurately than conventional monitoring systems. Yoon said that within five years they hope to apply many different machine-learning algorithms, like these and those with imbedded geoscience principles, to detect induced earthquakes related to fossil fuel activities in oil or gas fields. The algorithms can also be applied to detect hidden faults that might become unstable due to carbon sequestration or geothermal energy stimulation?, he said. "One of the nice things about machine learning is the scalability," Yoon said. "We always try to apply certain concepts that were developed under laboratory conditions to large-scale problems -- that's why we do laboratory work. Once we proved those machine-learning concepts developed at the laboratory scale on archived data, it's very easy to scale it up to large-scale problems, compared to traditional methods." Stress transfers through rock to deep faults A hidden fault was the cause of a surprise earthquake at a geothermal stimulation site in Pohang, South Korea. In 2017, two months after the final geothermal stimulation experiment ended, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook the area, the second strongest quake in South Korea's recent history. After the earthquake, geoscientists discovered a fault hidden deep between two injection wells. To understand how stresses from water injection traveled to the fault and caused the quake, Kyung Won Chang, a geoscientist at Sandia, realized he needed to consider more than the stress of water pressing on the rocks. In addition to that deformation stress, he also needed to account for how that stress transferred to the rock as the water flowed through pores in the rock itself in his complex large-scale computational model. Chang and his colleagues described the stress transfer in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. However, understanding deformation stress and transfer of stress through rock pores is not enough to understand and predict some earthquakes induced by energy-exploration activities. The architecture of different faults also needs to be considered. Using his model, Chang analyzed a cube 6 miles long, 6 miles wide and 6 miles deep where a swarm of more than 500 earthquakes took place in Azle, Texas, from November 2013 to May 2014. The earthquakes occurred along two intersecting faults, one less than 2 miles beneath the surface and another longer and deeper. While the shallow fault was closer to the sites of wastewater injection, the first earthquakes occurred along the longer, deeper fault. In his model, Chang found that the water injections increased the pressure on the shallow fault. At the same time, injection-induced stress transferred through the rock down to the deep fault. Because the deep fault was under more stress initially, the earthquake swarm began there. He and Yoon shared the advanced computational model and their description of the Azle earthquakes in a paper recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. "In general, we need multiphysics models that couple different forms of stress beyond just pore pressure and the deformation of rocks, to understand induced earthquakes and correlate them with energy activities, such as hydraulic stimulation and wastewater injection," Chang said. Chang said he and Yoon are working together to apply and scale up machine-learning algorithms to detect previously hidden faults and identify signatures of geologic stress that could predict the magnitude of a triggered earthquake. In the future, Chang hopes to use those stress signatures to create a map of potential hazards for induced earthquakes around the United States. ### His research effort, as well as Yoon's initial work, were funded by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. Yoon received funding from the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy to continue his research. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California. This story has been published on: 2021-03-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A further nine deaths and 223 new cases have been recorded in Northern Ireland over the past 24 hours, the Department of Health has reported. The total death toll in Northern Ireland now stands at 2,096. Six deaths occurred in the 24 hours up to 10am on Thursday, while three took place outside the reporting period. A total of 233 new cases of the virus were also reported by the Department of Health. Some 1,277 positive cases have been confirmed in the last week, down from 1,311 in the previous seven days. There are currently 189 Covid patients in hospitals across Northern Ireland, with 26 in intensive care and 57 requiring ventilation. Hospitals are operating at 93% capacity. A total of 17 care homes are dealing with Covid outbreaks. These figures come as education will again be the main topic of conversation when the Executive meets later on Thursday. Education Minister Peter Weir will today ask the Executive to speed up the process of reopening schools for all pupils. He wants to see primary years one to three and years 12 to 14 back before Easter. A paper from Mr Weir recommends that all primary pupils who have not yet returned to school (primaries four to seven) start on March 22. While that looks unlikely, the Executive could compromise and allow years one to three to stay in school when years 12 to 14 return on March 22. Read More The minister is targeting April 12, the first week after the Easter holidays, as the first day on which all pupils will be back in school. First Minister Arlene Foster said any decision would be informed by a range of factors. Its about the other harms to children as well the fact that theyre not being taught with their peers, (the risk to) their mental health and wellbeing, the fact that they cant engage in school sports. Well be looking at all of those issues, she added. Head teachers have urged the Executive to maintain continuity for years one to three by reversing the decision to withdraw the youngest pupils from class at the end of next week. The NASUWT teaching union previously called for caution on the matter. New Delhi, March 11 : The commanding officer (CO) of the first Rafale Squadron of the Indian Air Force, Group Captain Harkirat Singh, has been transferred to the Eastern Air Command (EAC) in Shillong, just six months after taking command, sources said. While the Indian Air Force (IAF) maintained that it is a routine transfer, the move has raised eyebrows in the service with questions being raised as to "why he was removed within six months of command of the first Rafale fighter squadron". Top officers remained tight-lipped over the decision taken by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. However, the IAF maintained that "Group Captain Harkirat Singh will be based at the Eastern Air Command (EAC) in Shillong and would be overlooking the raising of the second squadron of Rafale jets at the Hasimara Air Force base in West Bengal". The force said that the officer's expertise with the Rafale induction in Ambala will be utilised for a similar induction in the Eastern Air Command. "There is nothing unusual and the changeover happened as per the plan," said an IAF official. The first Rafale 17 Squadron 'Golden Arrows' was raised on September 10, 2020 after five jets were inducted formally. Back at Ambala air base, Group Captain Rohit Kataria took over as the Commanding Officer of the 17 Golden Arrows Squadron, as per the order issued by the IAF on Wednesday. Harkirat Singh had led the Rafale induction team of pilots, flight engineers and technicians in France. Both Harkirat Singh and Kataria were among those who flew the first five Rafales to Ambala in July last year. India had inked an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore. Rafale is a 4.5 generation aircraft and has the latest weapons, superior sensors and fully integrated architecture. It is an omni-role aircraft which means it can carry out at least four missions in one sortie. The fighter aircraft have HAMMER missiles. It will also be armed with beyond visual range missiles like Meteor, SCALP and MICA, increasing their ability to take on incoming targets from a distance. (Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in) Prince Harry and Meghan's explosive TV interview reverberated around the world, rocking an institution struggling to modernize with claims of racism and callousness toward a woman struggling with suicidal thoughts. During the two-hour appearance broadcast on CBS on Sunday night with Oprah Winfrey, Harry revealed the problems had ruptured relations with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, illuminating the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year. Meghan described feeling so isolated and miserable inside the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts. She said a member of the family had "concerns" about the color of her unborn child's skin. Harry described feeling "really let down" by his father, heir-to-the-throne who had stopped taking his phone calls for a time. The sit-down was the most startling since Harry's late mother Princess Diana's own bombshell revelations in 1995. "Worst Royal Crisis in 85 Years," read the front page of the Daily Mirror newspaper, while the Daily Mail's cover asked "What Have They Done?" and The Sun columnist Trevor Kavanagh questioned if the interview meant the end for the royals. "It could hardly be more damaging to the royal family, not least because there is little it can do to defend itself," The Times said in a lead article under the title "Royal Attack". Queen Elizabeth, who led the family and has been on the throne for 69 years, wanted to take some time before the palace issued a response, a royal source said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to comment on the interview, praising the queen but saying that "when it comes to matters to do with the royal family the right thing for a prime minister to say is nothing". Meghan's estranged father Thomas Markle on Tuesday suggested that his daughter exaggerated racism in the interview. He told ITV the chat was "way over the top" and suggested a royal family member could have asked a "dumb question" about her future baby's skin color. Opinions split Opponents of the monarchy said the allegations made by Meghan and Harry showed just how rotten the institution was, although some royal supporters cast Meghan as a publicity seeker with an eye on Hollywood stardom. A snap YouGov poll of 2,111 adults in Britain indicated 47 percent thought the couple's interview was "inappropriate", with 21 percent in favor. The gravity of the claims raised uncomfortable questions about how the British monarchy, which survived centuries of revolution that toppled their cousins, could function in a meritocratic world. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the interview bolstered his argument for Australia severing its constitutional ties to the British monarchy. "After the end of the queen's reign, that is the time for us to say: OK, we've passed that watershed. Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state ofthe king or queen of the UK, automatically our head of state?" Turnbull added. Agencies via Xinhua Israel, meanwhile, has rolled out a medical Apartheid where people who dont surrender to vaccine obedience are essentially shut out of modern society. And in America, medical personnel are jamming nasal swabs so far up peoples noses that theyre breaking the membrane that holds in their spinal fluid . Also covered in todays podcast: The CDC says that 78% of people hospitalized for covid were overweight or obese, and yet the mainstream media continues to take money from processed food companies whose products promote obesity. Processed junk food is just as much a cause of the covid crisis as covid itself, it seems. While pregnant women warriors are training up to start dropping bombs on Syria, NY Governor Cuomo is racking up even more #metoo points in his quest to out-do Bill Cosby on the number of women he has sexually assaulted. Cuomo is now up to six, which means he still has a long way to go. But then again, hes been a power player in NYC for twenty years, and if there arent at least 50 60 women who have been inappropriately touched by Cuomo, wed be shocked. ( Natural News ) Fake president Joe Biden wants the military to work on maternity flight suits so that pregnant women can fly fighter jets into enemy territory. Yes, its insane, but then again so are the Democrats. They think its progressive for combat warriors to be expectant mothers, somehow About the author: Mike Adams (aka the Health Ranger) is a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com called Food Forensics), an environmental scientist, a patent holder for a cesium radioactive isotope elimination invention, a multiple award winner for outstanding journalism, a science news publisher and influential commentator on topics ranging from science and medicine to culture and politics. Follow his videos, podcasts, websites and science projects at the links below. Mike Adams serves as the founding editor of NaturalNews.com and the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation. Adams is also highly proficient in running liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and mass spectrometry time-of-flight analytical instrumentation. He has also achieved numerous laboratory breakthroughs in the programming of automated liquid handling robots for sample preparation and external standards prep. The U.S. patent office has awarded Mike Adams patent NO. US 9526751 B2 for the invention of Cesium Eliminator, a lifesaving invention that removes up to 95% of radioactive cesium from the human digestive tract. Adams has pledged to donate full patent licensing rights to any state or national government that needs to manufacture the product to save human lives in the aftermath of a nuclear accident, disaster, act of war or act of terrorism. He has also stockpiled 10,000 kg of raw material to manufacture Cesium Eliminator in a Texas warehouse, and plans to donate the finished product to help save lives in Texas when the next nuclear event occurs. No independent scientist in the world has done more research on the removal of radioactive elements from the human digestive tract. Adams is a person of color whose ancestors include Africans and American Indians. He is of Native American heritage, which he credits as inspiring his Health Ranger passion for protecting life and nature against the destruction caused by chemicals, heavy metals and other forms of pollution. Adams is the author of the worlds first book that published ICP-MS heavy metals analysis results for foods, dietary supplements, pet food, spices and fast food. The book is entitled Food Forensics and is published by BenBella Books. In his laboratory research, Adams has made numerous food safety breakthroughs such as revealing rice protein products imported from Asia to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. Adams was the first food science researcher to document high levels of tungsten in superfoods. He also discovered over 11 ppm lead in imported mangosteen powder, and led an industry-wide voluntary agreement to limit heavy metals in rice protein products. In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Through the non-profit CWC, Adams also launched Nutrition Rescue, a program that donates essential vitamins to people in need. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories. With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource featuring over 10 million scientific studies. Adams is well known for his incredibly popular consumer activism video blowing the lid on fake blueberries used throughout the food supply. He has also exposed strange fibers found in Chicken McNuggets, fake academic credentials of so-called health gurus, dangerous detox products imported as battery acid and sold for oral consumption, fake acai berry scams, the California raw milk raids, the vaccine research fraud revealed by industry whistleblowers and many other topics. Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness. In addition to his activism, Adams is an accomplished musician who has released over fifteen popular songs covering a variety of activism topics. Click here to read a more detailed bio on Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, at HealthRanger.com. Find more science, news, commentary and inventions from the Health Ranger at: Brighteon.com: Brighteon.com/channel/hrreport Diaspora: (uncensored social network) Share.NaturalNews.com GAB: GAB.com/healthranger Podcasts: HealthRangerReport.com Online store: HealthRangerStore.com #1 Bestselling Science Book Food Forensics: FoodForensics.com iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-health-ranger-report/id1063165791 SoundCloud: Soundcloud.com/healthranger Health Rangers science lab CWClabs.com Health Ranger bio HealthRanger.com TruthWiki.org Search engine: Webseed.com Secure coding competition challenges university students to hack and patch real-life apps online Veracode, the largest global provider of application security testing (AST) solutions, announced today the launch of the Veracode Hacker Games. The two-week collegiate competition will challenge computer science and cybersecurity student teams from eight leading universities across the U.S. and the U.K., including University of Virginia, Tufts and University of Warwick, to test their secure coding skills and give them the opportunity to win individual prizes, plus $15,000 in charitable donations for the top universities. "With mounting pressure on developers to deliver software that is secure and keeps society safe from harmful cyberattacks, gaining foundational security knowledge translates to fewer exploitable problems during production and after deployment," said Chris Wysopal, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Veracode. "Yet, training around secure coding is almost absent at the university level. We've launched The Veracode Hacker Games to help universities make secure coding a core part of their computer science and cybersecurity curriculum, while giving students an edge when it comes to putting their skills to the test in a real-world environment." Industry Research Paints a Picture of the Skills Gap By empowering the next generation of software developers to write secure code at the start of the development cycle, organizations will be able to better manage their risk profile. Hackers are becoming more sophisticated, now attacking every 39 seconds according to a recent study by the University of Maryland 1 According to IBM, the average total cost of a data breach for a company is nearly four million USD 2 Currently, only 3 percent of U.S. bachelor's degree graduates have cybersecurity-related skills (National Center for Education Statistics)3 and in the UK only five undergraduate computer science degrees are certified by the UK's National Cyber Security Center for cyber security content (National Cyber Security Center)4 Ming Chow, Associate Teaching Professor, Tufts University, said, "As educators, our job is to ensure the next generation is fully prepared for the challenges they will face in their careers. In this case, software development and security need to become tightly integrated from the start. The Hacker Games provides the perfect setting to put those skills to the test in a way that is engaging, fun and representative of real-world scenarios." Using Veracode Security Labs to gamify the experience, participants in the inaugural Veracode Hacker Games (March 15-26, 2021) will complete hands-on challenges to find and fix dangerous security flaws in real-world applications. All participating universities will be given complimentary Veracode software for a year and Veracode will donate $10,000 and $5,000 to the computer science or cybersecurity university department of the first- and second-place teams respectively. For a list of participating universities, visit: www.hackergames.io. About Veracode Veracode is the leading independent AppSec partner for creating secure software, reducing the risk of security breach, and increasing security and development teams' productivity. As a result, companies using Veracode can move their business, and the world, forward. With its combination of process automation, integrations, speed, and responsiveness, Veracode helps companies get accurate and reliable results to focus their efforts on fixing, not just finding, potential vulnerabilities. Veracode serves 2,500 customers worldwide across a wide range of industries. The Veracode solution has assessed more than 25 trillion lines of code and helped companies fix more than 59 million security flaws. Learn more at www.veracode.com, on the Veracode blog, and on Twitter. Copyright 2021 Veracode, Inc. All rights reserved. Veracode is a registered trademark of Veracode, Inc. in the United States and may be registered in certain other jurisdictions. All other product names, brands or logos belong to their respective holders. All other trademarks cited herein are property of their respective owners. 1 Clark School at the University of Maryland, US, Dec 2020 2 IBM: Cost of a Data Breach Report, US, 2020 3 National Center for Education Statistics, US, March 2019 4 National Cyber Security Center, UK, March 2021 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005180/en/ Contacts: Katy Gwilliam kgwilliam@veracode.com WASHINGTON Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to President Joe Bidens sweeping, nearly $1.9 trillion aid package, as Democrats acted over unified Republican opposition to push through an emergency pandemic relief plan that carries out a vast expansion of the countrys social safety net. By a vote of 220-211, the House sent the measure to Biden for his signature, cementing one of the largest injections of federal aid since the Great Depression. It would provide another round of direct payments for Americans, an extension of federal jobless benefits and billions of dollars to distribute coronavirus vaccines and provide relief for schools, states, tribal governments and small businesses struggling during the pandemic. This legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going a fighting chance, Biden said in a statement. He said he looked forward to signing what he called a historic piece of legislation on Friday at the White House. The vote capped off a swift push by Biden and Democrats, newly in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, to address the toll of the coronavirus pandemic and begin putting in place their broader economic agenda. The bill is estimated to slash poverty by a third this year and potentially cut child poverty in half, with expansions of tax credits, food aid and rental and mortgage assistance. While Republicans argued the plan, whose final cost was estimated at $1.856 trillion, was bloated and unaffordable, surveys indicate that it has widespread support among Americans, with 70% of Americans favoring it in a Pew Research Center poll released this week. Biden and congressional Democrats planned an elaborate effort to promote it throughout the country, seeking to highlight an array of measures including tax credits for children and enhanced unemployment aid through Labor Day. The effort will begin on Thursday with a prime-time address by Biden, and congressional Democrats have already fanned out for scores of events in their states and districts to take credit for the legislation. The campaign is intended to build support for provisions they hope to make permanent in the years to come, and to punish Republicans politically for failing to support it. Final passage came less than two months after Biden took office and about a year after cities and states began to shutter to stem the spread of the coronavirus, spurring a succession of relief bills that drew bipartisan support and were signed by former President Donald Trump. But rather than haggle with Republicans who wanted to scale back the package, Democrats fast-tracked their own measure through the House and Senate without pausing to court Republican support. They stayed remarkably united in doing so, with just one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voting against the final measure. This is the most consequential legislation that many of us will ever be a party to, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said at a news conference after the bills passage. On this day, we celebrate because we are honoring a promise made by our president, and we join with him in promising that help is on the way. Earlier, she had dismissed the lack of Republican support and said opponents would not hesitate to claim credit for the popular elements of the plan, saying, Its typical that they vote no and take the dough. As if to make her point, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., tweeted approvingly just hours after the bill passed about the $28.6 billion included for targeted relief for restaurants. His post did not mention that he had voted no. Im not going to vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions, he later told reporters. The nearly party-line vote reflected a gamble for both Democrats and Republicans, rooted in the lessons of 2009 when Congress raced to address the Great Recession in the opening months of the Obama administration. Back then, Democrats toiled to win at least some Republican backing for what was at the time the largest stimulus initiative to be considered by Congress, whittling down the package in the process. Economists widely agree that the $787 billion law that resulted, which attracted scant Republican support anyway, was too small to address the crisis, and Democrats lost the House in the following midterm elections. This time, Republicans were gambling that voters would become disillusioned with the scope and price of the plan, as well as the partisan process that yielded it, and punish Democrats accordingly. This isnt a rescue bill. It isnt a relief bill, said Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader. Its a laundry list of left-wing priorities that predate the pandemic and do not meet the needs of American families. They were also pointing to an increase in the deficit which the Treasury Department reported Wednesday had soared by 68% to $1 trillion in just the past five months arguing that the package would add to an already crushing debt burden. Top Republicans also sought preemptively to deny Democrats credit for any economic improvement that might follow the measures enactment. The American people are going to see an American comeback this year, said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, but it wont be because of this liberal bill. Republicans have struggled to coalesce around a specific critique of the plan, beyond condemning it as ultraprogressive, a charge that Democrats were happy to accept. Several provisions were previously included in packages Republicans supported when Trump was in office, making it difficult for them to make a case against most of its components. The large cost of the legislation, the second-largest pandemic aid bill after the $2.2 trillion law enacted just under a year ago, was possible only because Democrats hold majorities in both chambers, albeit slim ones. With a 10-vote margin of control in the House and a 50-50 Senate where Vice President Kamala Harris can break ties, Democrats had just enough votes to push through a plan more than triple the size of the most generous Republican proposal. I want everybody to think back to Nov. 4 the day after the election when we didnt get the result we wanted in the House, we didnt get the result we wanted in the Senate, said Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., who leads the Budget Committee, at a celebratory news conference Tuesday. We werent sure whether we would have the presidency. And here just a few months later, were about to pass one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in modern history. Biden had initially talked of bipartisanship, inviting a contingent of moderate Republican senators to the White House to discuss a potential deal. But they were seeking to slash the size of the rescue plan considerably, and the White House concluded that there was not a deal to be had that would meet the need. Instead of scaling back the package in an effort to win them over and muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, Democrats turned to a budget process known as reconciliation, which requires only a majority to pass major fiscal measures. The measure will provide $350 billion for state, local and tribal governments; $10 billion for critical state infrastructure projects; $14 billion for the distribution of vaccines; and $130 billion to primary and secondary schools. The bill also includes $30 billion for transit agencies $45 billion in rental, utility and mortgage assistance; and billions more for small businesses and live performance venues. It provides another round of direct payments to American taxpayers, sending checks of up to $1,400 to individuals making up to $80,000, single parents earning $120,000 or less and couples with household incomes of no more than $160,000. Federal unemployment payments of $300 per week will be extended through Sept. 6, and up to $10,200 of jobless aid from last year will be tax-free for households with incomes below $150,000. The bill also increases child tax credits, providing $300 per child age 5 and younger and $250 per child ages 6 to 17. The practical and political realities that shaped the measure, including the strict rules of reconciliation and Democrats razor-thin majorities, produced a narrower bill than Biden had initially proposed and some temporary provisions that his party will have to fight to preserve. One is the expansion of the child tax credit. Families will lose it in a year unless Congress agrees to extend it or make it permanent, but Democrats have said they believe Republicans will be unwilling to take away the benefit and plunge millions of children into poverty. The legislation also contains a substantial, though temporary, expansion of health care subsidies that could slash monthly insurance payments for those purchasing coverage under the Affordable Care Act. And for six months, from April 1 until Sept. 30, the measure will fully cover so-called COBRA health insurance costs for people who have lost a job or had their hours cut and buy coverage from their former employer. Democrats were also forced to remove an increase in the federal minimum wage, which ran afoul of the budget rules, frustrating progressives. Democrats could not hold their own members together in the Senate to try to revive the measure, which would have raised the wage to $15 by 2025. In negotiations with conservative-leaning members in their ranks, Democrats also trimmed eligibility for the direct payments and curtailed jobless payments. Still, progressive lawmakers rallied around the final package, even as they vowed to keep fighting to enact more ambitious measures. I proudly supported the American Rescue Plan on the floor of the House of Representatives today, and our work is unfinished, Rep. Ayanna S. Pressley, D-Mass., said in a statement. We must keep fighting for policies that meet the scale and scope of this crisis and set us on a pathway to a just and equitable long-term recovery. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. If you've had your fill of single player slogs or tedious multiplayer modes that require you to grind for virtual riches that otherwise cost real money then The Magnificent Trufflepigs should feel like a breath of fresh air. The new offering from Andrew Crawshaw, the lead designer of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, is an indie title that you can play from start to finish in one sitting. Coming to the Nintendo Switch and PC this summer, the pastoral game has you traipsing through the British countryside looking for buried treasure using a metal detector, with just a walkie talkie for companionship. You play the role of Adam (voiced by Arthur Darvill of Doctor Who fame), who upon returning to his childhood village joins up with a local woman named Beth (Luci Fish of Safe House and Another Eden) to track down the missing half of a set of earrings. Along the way, you'll do a fair bit of walking and digging as you unearth rubbish and snap pics of your finds to show Beth, who shares her innermost thoughts with you over the two-way radio. The setup should sound immediately familiar to anyone who has played Rapture, which arrived to near unanimous praise back in 2016. Described as a visual novel or radio play, that game rewarded patience by slowly unfurling its apocalyptic sci-fi mystery of a small town depleted of its inhabitants. The comms element in Trufflepigs also recalls Firewatch, another acclaimed indie that made its way to the Switch in 2018. The new game marks the first outing for Crawshaw's video game studio Thunk'd. It's also backed by AMC Games, the video game publishing division of Mad Men and Breaking Bad producer AMC Networks, along with its subsidiary Sundance TV. Ben Fordham took over the reins as 2GB breakfast host from industry heavyweight Alan Jones back in June. And the 44-year-old is proving to be the perfect person for the job by winning the official GFK radio survey. His show has taken out the top spot with a massive 18.1 per cent audience share, placing him ahead of his rivals, including FM market leaders Kyle and Jackie O. Straight to the top! Ben Fordham's (pictured) 2GB breakfast radio show has topped the ratings again, almost one year after he replaced Alan Jones ABC Radio Sydney's breakfast show, hosted by Wendy Harmer and Robbie Buck, received a 12.7 per cent share to place second. Smooth FM duo Bogart Torelli and Glenn Daniel followed in third with 9.4 per cent. While Smooth FM duo Bogart Torelli and Glenn Daniel received a 7.3 per cent share. Success: His show has taken out the top spot with a massive 18.1 per cent audience share, placing him ahead of his rivals, including FM market leaders Kyle and Jackie O Ben was announced as 2GB's breakfast radio host in May last year after Alan Jones retired from radio after 35 years on the airwaves. He previously said he didn't initially want the 2GB breakfast job, and it was actually his wife Jodie Speers who ultimately made the decision for him. Speaking to Stellar Magazine, the popular media personality said he turned down the role multiple times because he wasn't sure whether it would be the 'best for his family'. New host: Ben was announced as 2GB's breakfast radio host in May last year after Alan Jones (pictured) retired from radio after 35 years on the airwaves 'I totally appreciate that the job itself is a spectacular one. But make no mistake, it's not one I was chasing for family reasons. I just wasn't,' he said. 'I was concerned about the impact it would have on the family setup. And I suppose I just thought it would be easier not to. I think I said no about six times.' Fordham was ultimately swayed by the realisation that his new schedule would allow him to pick up his son, Freddy, five, from school, and the endorsement of Jodie. He explained: 'I lean on her heavily. And I gave her a deadline and said, "Listen, if you change your mind and say no, I will never hold it against you".' If granted Conditional Marketing Authorization by the European Commission, the J&J single-shot COVID-19 vaccine will be available in the European Union Data have demonstrated protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death in broad geographic regions, including those with emerging variants1 Johnson Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (the Company) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued a Positive Opinion to recommend the Conditional Marketing Authorization (CMA) for its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson (Janssen), to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. Data from the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE study showed that the Johnson Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was well tolerated and demonstrated a 67 percent reduction in symptomatic COVID-19 disease in participants who received the vaccine in comparison to participants given the placebo.1 The onset of protection was observed from day 14 and was maintained 28 days post-vaccination.The data also demonstrated the vaccine was 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease across all regions studied, and showed protection against COVID-19 related hospitalization and death, beginning 28 days after vaccination.1 "The European Medicines Agency's recommendation is a landmark moment for Johnson Johnson and for the world," said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson Johnson. "Now, as we await a decision on the use of our single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union, we remain confident that the Johnson Johnson vaccine will prove a critical tool for fighting this pandemic." Johnson Johnson is committed to making its COVID-19 vaccine available on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use. In December 2020, the Company announced that Janssen initiated a rolling submission with the EMA for its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate, enabling an expedited CHMP review process.2 The COVID-19 vaccine candidate has also been filed for an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) with the World Health Organization.3 Rolling submissions for our vaccine candidate have also been initiated in several countries worldwide. The Company received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the United States on February 27,4 following a unanimous vote by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on February 26, 2021.5 The Johnson Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine has also been granted Interim Order authorization in Canada.6 Manufacturing and Supply Chain Information The Johnson Johnson COVID-19 single-dose vaccine is compatible with standard vaccine storage and distribution channels enabling delivery to remote areas.4 The vaccine is estimated to remain stable for two years at -25 to -15C, and a maximum of three months of which can be at routine refrigeration at temperatures of 2-8C.7 The Company will ship the vaccine using the same cold chain technologies it uses today to transport other medicines.4 Johnson Johnson's COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate The Johnson Johnson COVID-19 vaccine leverages the AdVac vaccine platform, a unique and proprietary technology that was also used to develop and manufacture a component of Janssen's European Commission-approved Ebola vaccine regimen and construct its investigational Zika, RSV, and HIV vaccines.8 Phase 3 ENSEMBLE Study Design The Phase 3 ENSEMBLE study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in individuals 18 years of age and older.9 The study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Company's vaccine candidate in protecting against both moderate and severe COVID-19 disease, with assessment of efficacy as of day 14 and as of day 28 as co-primary endpoints.10 The study enrolled a total of 43,783 participants.4 The trial, conducted in eight countries across three continents,9 includes a diverse and broad population including 34 percent of participants over age 60.1 Forty-one percent of participants in the study had comorbidities associated with an increased risk for progression to severe COVID-19.1 For more information on the Company's multi-pronged approach to helping combat the pandemic, visit: www.jnj.com/coronavirus. About Johnson Johnson At Johnson Johnson, we believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress. That's why for more than 130 years, we have aimed to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. Today, as the world's largest and most broadly-based healthcare company, we are committed to using our reach and size for good. We strive to improve access and affordability, create healthier communities, and put a healthy mind, body and environment within reach of everyone, everywhere. We are blending our heart, science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity. Learn more at www.jnj.com. Follow us at @JNJNews. About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson At Janssen, we're creating a future where disease is a thing of the past. We're the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson, working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: Cardiovascular Metabolism, Immunology, Infectious Diseases Vaccines, Neuroscience, Oncology, and Pulmonary Hypertension. Learn more at www.janssen.com. Follow us at @JanssenGlobal. Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding development of a potential preventive vaccine for COVID-19. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, and/or Johnson Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges and uncertainties inherent in product research and development, including the uncertainty of clinical success and of obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; manufacturing difficulties and delays; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes in behavior and spending patterns of purchasers of health care products and services; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2021, including in the sections captioned "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Item 1A. Risk Factors," and in the company's most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson Johnson. None of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies nor Johnson Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments. 1 Janssen. Johnson Johnson Announces Single-Shot Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Met Primary Endpoints in Interim Analysis of its Phase 3 ENSEMBLE Trial. Available at: https://www.janssen.com/emea/sites/www_janssen_com_emea/files/johnson_johnson_announces_single-shot_janssen_covid-19_vaccine_candidate_met_primary_endpoints_in_interim_analysis_of_its_phase_3_ensemble_trial.pdf. Last accessed: March 2021. 2 Janssen. Johnson Johnson Announces Initiation of Rolling Submission for its Single-dose Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate with the European Medicines. Available at: http://www.janssen.com/sites/www_janssen_com_emea/files/jj_announces_initiation_of_rolling_submission_for_its_single_dose_janssen_covid19_vaccine_candidate_with_the_ema.pdf. Last accessed: March 2021. 3 Janssen. Johnson Johnson Announces Submission to World Health Organization for Emergency Use Listing of Investigational Single-Shot Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate. Available at: https://www.janssen.com/emea/sites/www_janssen_com_emea/files/jj_announces_submission_to_who_for_eul_of_investigational_single-shot_janssen_covid-19_vaccine_candidate_.pdf. Last accessed: March 2021. 4 Johnson Johnson. Johnson Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Authorized by U.S. FDA For Emergency Use First Single-Shot Vaccine in Fight Against Global Pandemic. Available at: https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine-authorized-by-u-s-fda-for-emergency-usefirst-single-shot-vaccine-in-fight-against-global-pandemic. Last accessed: March 2021. 5 Johnson Johnson. Johnson Johnson Single-Shot COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Unanimously Recommended for Emergency Use Authorization by U.S. FDA Advisory Committee. Available at: https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-single-shot-covid-19-vaccine-candidate-unanimously-recommended-for-emergency-use-authorization-by-u-s-fda-advisory-committee. Last accessed: March 2021. 6 Johnson Johnson. Johnson Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Granted Authorization under Interim Order by Health Canada For Emergency Use. Available at: https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine-granted-authorization-under-interim-order-by-health-canada-for-emergency-use. Last accessed: March 2021. 7 Summary of Product Characteristics. COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen suspension for injection. March 2021. 8 Custers, J., Kim, D., et al. Vaccines based on replication incompetent Ad26 viral vectors: Standardized template with key considerations for a risk/benefit assessment. Vaccine. 2020. 9 ClinicalTrials.gov. A study of Ad26.COV2.S for the Prevention of SARS-CoV-2-Mediated COVID-19 in Adult Participants (ENSEMBLE). Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04505722. Last accessed: March 2021. 10 Johnson Johnson. COVID-19 Phase 3 study clinical protocol. Available at: https://www.jnj.com/coronavirus/covid-19-phase-3-study-clinical-protocol. Last accessed: March 2021. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005559/en/ Contacts: Media Contacts: Jake Sargent +1 732-524-1090 JSargen3@its.jnj.com Seema Kumar +1 908-405-1144 SKumar10@its.jnj.com Katie Buckley +44 7900-655-261 KBuckle8@its.jnj.com Investor Relations: Chris DelOrefice +1 732-524-2955 Jennifer McIntyre +1 732-524-3922 A fire station in the southeastern city of Daegu said Thursday it has started to offer a translation service for foreign residents in the city, amid increasing calls for help from them. According to the Suseong Fire Station, there are more than 28,000 registered foreign residents in the city, and the figure will go much higher when including short-term residents and travelers. Last year, the city received a total of 586 reports from foreigners, with Chinese making up the biggest group followed by American and Vietnamese, and the Suseong Fire Station logged 53 calls. Since this month, the station has run a 16-strong team that offers translation for nine languages 24/7 for non-native residents who are presumably in more dangerous situations in case of an emergency due to language barriers. "We will do our best to prevent life-threatening occasions from happening to foreign residents because of language barriers," Kwack Chul-ho from the team said. "We expect the service to make our rescue operation quicker and more accurate, and foreign residents will be able to explain their predicaments in a more detailed manner," Lee Kwang-sung, chief of the Suseong Fire Station, said. (Yonhap) Netflix, which won last years award with Klaus, has less cause for cheer this time. It had two features in the longlist, Over the Moon and The Willoughbys, both of which have fallen out of the race. So has the sixth longlisted film, Dreamworks Animations The Croods: A New Age. In recent years, Disney hasnt dominated this category as decisively as at the Oscars or Golden Globes: it has won the BAFTA in two of the last six years. But this is the first time since 2014 that it has accounted for the majority of the nominees, and Soul, fresh from winning at the Globes, goes into this award as the favorite. The film has picked up two additional nominations, for best original score and best sound. The BAFTAs animated short category generally throws up interesting, relatively unhyped nominees, restricted as it is to films with significant creative involvement from Brits. This years crop includes two student films from the National Film and Television School, Renaldho Pelles The Fire Next Time and Daniel Quirkes The Song of a Lost Boy, as well as The Owl and the Pussycat. This category is set to be shaken up next year, as the BAFTA intends to introduce a new entry requirement: qualifying shorts will have to meet the BFI Diversity Standards, which aim to boost diversity in film production. The requirement is already in place for certain other British film categories at the awards. This years overall list of nominees has been praised for its diversity, the focus of a seven-month review that was launched after last years less-than-diverse selections. The organization introduced sweeping changes to its rules and processes as a result. The winners of this years British Academy Film Awards will be announced on April 11. The two animation categories are voted for by opt-in chapters which any BAFTA voter can join. Here is the full list of nominees in the animation and vfx categories: Animated film Onward Dan Scanlon, Kori Rae Soul Pete Docter, Dana Murray Wolfwalkers Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young British short animation The Fire Next Time Renaldho Pelle, Yanling Wang, Kerry Jade Kolbe The Owl and the Pussycat Mole Hill, Laura Duncalf The Song of a Lost Boy Daniel Quirke, Jamie MacDonald, Brid Arnstein Special visual effects The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Hamid Boboyyi, said over N41.06 billion UBEC matching grants is lying un-accessed despite the poor state of many primary schools across the country. Mr Boboyyi disclosed this in Abuja , on Thursday, while presenting the 2020 Capital Budget Performance to the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education. Giving a breakdown of matching grant implementation by states since 2017, he said while 32 states and the FCT implemented the 2017 projects, four states had yet to do that. The executive secretary listed the four states as Anambra, Imo, Kaduna and Kwara. He also said 30 states and the FCT implemented matching grants projects in 2018, but six states Anambra, Imo, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun and Plateau had yet to implement them. Eight states have implemented the 2019 matching grants projects, 28 states and FCT have yet to implement them. In 2020, no state implemented the matching grants projects, he said. Mr Bobboyi further explained that states had yet to access the 2020 grants because it was only opened for access towards the end of the year. He said over N29.75 billion was received by the commission, representing 99.92 per cent as at December 31, 2020, while contracts worth over N27.57 billion were awarded for the 2,895 constituency projects. The executive secretary added that out of the 2,895 constituency projects awarded, 939 had been completed as at March 8, 2021 while a total of 1,956 projects were ongoing. On fund utilisation, Mr Bobboyi said over N5.35 billion representing 18 per cent had been utilised as at March 2021. He however lamented that many challenges, including disruption of academic activities due to COVID-19 pandemic, delayed the release of capital allocation during the year. He also said general insecurity in some parts of the country militated against successful implementation of the budgets. A member of the committee and the senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, urged UBEC to ensure that school children adapted to the technologically advancing world. Mr Okorocha stressed the need to place more emphasis on ending insecurity in the north where attacks on schools had become the order of the day. He further lamented the persistent out-of-school children challenge which he said required a new approach to tackle. Meanwhile, the Chair, Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Akon Eyakenyi, said the team was at UBEC to assess its activities in line with its mandate. UBEC is a major agency under this committee because the foundation of education begins with UBEC. If we miss it at this level it will be difficult to get it right, he said. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT A brave sexual assault survivor has broken her silence after being drugged and raped by two private school boys at a party, only to be asked by a police officer if she was a virgin when reporting the crime. In 2008, Stephanie attended a party in Brisbane's northern suburbs when two boys sexually assaulted her in the early hours of the morning. The then 14-year-old wasn't drinking alcohol on the night but remembers one of the boys offered her a soft drink, which she believes was spiked. 'I was unconscious on the floor when two boys thought it was acceptable to have sex with me and put foreign objects inside of me without any consent. I was paralysed but I could feel everything,' she told the Courier Mail. The traumatised teen broke down in tears to a friend at school the following Monday, before telling one of her teachers what had happened to her. Following the boys' arrests, Stephanie was subjected to death threats and abuse, leading to mental health issues and a suicide attempt (stock image) Stephanie said reporting the rape to police was one of the hardest things she has ever done in her life. 'When I sat down with the first officer to tell my story the first question he asked me was, was I a virgin before that night and I remember feeling so angry and I told him I didn't see the relevance of his question,' she said. The boys, who attend a private boys' school in Queensland, were arrested a few days later. But Stephanie's nightmare wasn't over yet. Following the boys' arrests, she was subjected to death threats and abuse, leading to mental health issues and a suicide attempt. Stephanie said she was told the two teen boys were 'too young to know what consent meant' and even felt like the ordeal was somehow her fault. A deal was eventually struck with the boys despite Stephanie's willingness to go to trial. They both received probation for their crime. Stephanie is one of more than 30,000 people who have signed the Teach Us Consent petition calling for a review in sexual assault education in Australian schools. Former Kambala school student Chanel Contos, 22, launched the petition on February 18 after reflecting on her own sexual assault as a youth. The petition rapidly went viral, with thousands of girls from both private and state schools across the nation since coming forward to share their own experiences. While the alarming stories hailed from all sorts of institutions, several of Australia's top same-sex schools' names were repeatedly mentioned - including Scots College, Cranbrook, Sydney Grammar, Waverley College, Kambala, Monte Sant Angelo and Pymble Ladies' College. Former Kambala school student Chanel Contos, 22, launched the petition on February 18 after reflecting on her own sexual assault as a youth Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said he admires the courage of Ms Contos (pictured) and others who have shared stories after being encouraged by her petition Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said he admires the courage of Ms Contos and others who have shared stories after being encouraged by her petition. 'I've got to say I've been quite shocked at the extent of the number of people who are coming forward,' he told Sky News on Thursday. Australian schools will soon be provided with more material about consent, respectful relationships and sexual abuse for students from prep to year 12. The government is under immense pressure over the treatment of women after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague in a minister's office Mr Tudge said the federal government would in coming weeks nationally distribute Respect Matters, a suite of education material. It will include information about respectful relationships, consent and sexual abuse. 'This is an issue for the entire community to do better at,' Mr Tudge said. The government is under immense pressure over the treatment of women after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague in a minister's office. Ms Higgins coming forward triggered national debate about sexual assault and the workplace culture inside Parliament House. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also refusing to launch an independent inquiry into rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter from when he was at high school. Mr Porter emphatically denies the alleged incident happened and is now on mental health leave. A psychic has revealed her prediction about when Australians can expect to freely travel overseas again along with a sensational claim about the royal family. Zoe McDonald, a medium from Adelaide with a proven track record for locating lost pets, said on Thursday she believes overseas travel will not fully resume for about three years. Ms McDonald also said there will be new drama stemming from Meghan Markle's shock claims about the royal family within the next three weeks revolving around pictures emerging from Meghan's past. Zoe McDonald (pictured) a medium from Adelaide with proven success locating lost pets for frantic owners has made predictions about overseas travel and Prince Harry and Meghan Ms McDonald said international travel will take three years to be fully back open after border closures (pictured a passenger arriving at Sydney airport in 2020) Those eager to get back on a plane and jet off to foreign shores can expect at least a little relief by the end of the year, Ms McDonald predicts, with some of our South East Asian neighbours such as Singapore, Bali, and the Philippines allowing travel. 'Then next year, in October or November, is when I see small, small windows of opportunity for travel to the UK and America - small windows of opportunity,' Ms McDonald told The Advertiser. But for travel restrictions to fully lift we will have to wait for about three years with places like Italy and Greece being among the last countries to be greenlit for holidays by the Australian government. Ms McDonald also said she has a strong feeling that there is still more to be revealed connected to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shock claims that could be even more damning for the royal family. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey broadcast this week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made startling revelations describing why they felt they had to step away from the palace and their duties. Among the most quoted portions of the interview where allegations made by Meghan that a senior member of the royals had 'concerns' about 'how dark' their son Archie's skin colour might be when he is born. Ms McDonald also said there will be further revelations surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan's (pictured) interview with Oprah in the form of scandalous images emerging 'That was relayed to me from Harry from conversations that family had with him,' Meghan said. When asked later about the exchange Prince Harry refused to reveal who he had been talking with saying: 'It is a conversation I'm never going to share'. Ms McDonald said she believes there will be pictures emerging that shed a new light on the situation. 'I think in three weeks time there's going to be a few photos that I think are going to create a huge media sensation, that are going to spark a very, very strong public opinion.' Ms McDonald said the images would have to do with a racial issue and highlight inappropriate behaviour. She said the pictures would cause such media and political stir that a royal family member will be forced to make a very public speech addressing the issues. 'I think there's something quite significant about baby's looks. So there is something like a birthmark or something that's going to stand out, that's going to cause a sensation,' Ms McDonald said. [March 11, 2021] Apple Insurance Attorney Jillian Raines Joins Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna as Partner Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna, the boutique insurance recovery law firm that represents Fortune 500 companies as policyholders, which launched just two months ago with four partners and 12 attorneys total, announced today the addition of a new partner and its 21st attorney: Jillian Raines, who served most recently as a corporate insurance attorney at Apple (News - Alert) . Like much of the talent that has arrived at the firm since its formation, Raines worked with the firm's founding partners earlier in her career. "We're so pleased that Jillian has come home to our firm," said Robin Cohen, chair of Cohen Ziffer. "She is a great talent, who now brings invaluable insight from her management of insurance assets at one of the world's largest companies." At Apple, Raines advised on the company's procurement of insurance, its pursuit of claims, and its risk management in endeavors ranging from the launch of retail stores to its globally recognized hardware products to its original content and production business. Her broad portfolio of responsibilities encompassed, among other things, insurance due diligence for M&A transactions and management of insurance regulatory matters including insurance licensing, interaction with regulators, drafting of policis, terms and conditions and other commercial and governance agreements relating to Apple's customer-facing insurance and service contract products globally. "I gained so much from my experience at Apple, including a deeper appreciation for what corporate legal departments need from their outside counsel," said Raines. "I am excited to bring that knowledge back to private practice-and even more excited to rejoin this group I so admire and respect." Between her graduation from law school in 2012 and 2018, Raines worked with the founding partners of Cohen Ziffer at two different Am Law 200 firms, and was a key contributor to their insurance recovery group's success. Before joining Apple, Raines also served as a Legal & Policy Fellow for The Governance Lab at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering, an advocacy organization headed by Dr. Beth Noveck, New Jersey's first chief innovation officer, who led President Obama's Open Government Initiative. Her arrival is the latest in a string of new hires at Cohen Ziffer. Last month, Andrew Bourne, who has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance coverage and earned multiple groundbreaking decisions, joined Cohen Ziffer as the firm's first lateral partner. In addition to Bourne, Nicholas Maxwell joined the firm as counsel, along with six new associates. About Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP The lawyers at Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna LLP (www.cohenziffer.com) guide insurance policyholders through their highest-value insurance recovery disputes. With numerous jury verdicts, precedent-setting wins, and billions of dollars recovered across a range of industries, our pledge to clients is unwavering: We know how to lead you through this. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005605/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Army soldiers intervene during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, March 2, 2021. Picture taken from behind a window. Myanmars junta is deploying army divisions notorious for atrocities who are turning battlefield weapons on unarmed protesters in a deliberate escalation of violence in the five weeks since the Feb. 1 military takeover, Amnesty International said in a report published Wednesday. The London-based rights watchdog surveyed videos from nine days of increasingly violent attacks on anti-coup protesters and found troops using military weapons inappropriate for policing, indiscriminately spraying live ammunition in urban areas, and even making a sport of shooting protesters. The weaponry deployed by the Tatmadaw reveals a deliberate and dangerous escalation in tactics, said Joanne Mariner, Director of Crisis Response at Amnesty International. Not content with indiscriminately using less-lethal weapons, each new day shows an apparent order to deploy semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and light machine guns in increasing numbers, she added. Make no mistake, we are in a deadly new phase of the crisis. Amnestys Crisis Evidence Lab reviewed and verified 55 video clips filmed between Feb. 28 and March 8 by citizens and local media in cities including Dawei, Mandalay, Mawlamyine, Monywa, Myeik, Myitkyina and Yangon. Army soldiers move in to disperse protesters during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, March 7, 2021 'Extrajudicial executions' The lab verified multiple clips showing lethal force is being used in a planned, premeditated and coordinated manner, said the report. Many of the killings documented amount to extrajudicial executions, it said. As of March 9, 58 protesters and others had been killed since the start of the coup on Feb. 1, according to an RFA tally. The review identified security forces wielding military firearms, including Chinese RPD light machine guns, as well as Myanmar-made MA-S sniper rifles, MA-1 semi-automatic rifles, Uzi-replica BA-93 and BA-94 submachine guns. Other weapons turned on demonstrators include South Korean Dae Kwang DK-44 flashbang grenades, as well as less-lethal pepperball launchers, shotguns loaded with rubber bullets manufactured by the Turkish company Zsr Patlayici Sanayi A.S., using cartridges from Franco-Italian company Cheddite, it said. Incidents discovered and confirmed by Amnesty from the videos included: A commander standing over an officer operating a sniper rifle, appearing to order him to direct fire towards specific protesters in Sanchaung township in Yangon on March 2. Officers leading a man towards a larger group of security forces, when an officer suddenly shoots the man, who was not resisting, in Yangons North Okkalapa township on March 3. A soldier appears to lend his rifle to a police officer deployed alongside him, who aims and shoots, while officers standing with them celebrate, in Dawei, on Feb. 28. Security forces riding pick-up trucks and indiscriminately firing live ammunition in multiple directions, including into residences, in Mawlamyine in Mon state, on March 1. These are not the actions of overwhelmed, individual officers making poor decisions, said Mariner. These are unrepentant commanders already implicated in crimes against humanity, deploying their troops and murderous methods in the open, she added, referring to army atrocities in wars with ethnic militias in border regions. Ethnic minorities including the Chin, Kachin, Karen, Rakhine, Rohingya, Shan, Taang many of which have been at war with the central government for decades have borne the brunt of horrific violence meted out by the Tatmadaw, said Mariner, using the Burmese name for the feared military. Amnestys review of the videos also showed military divisions implicated in earlier atrocities against ethnic groups were operating in major cities across Myanmar, where tens or hundreds of thousands of anti-junta protesters have turned out since the military deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1 Among these, the 33rd, 77th and 101st Light Infantry Divisions (LID) are seen operating with, and sometimes lending their weapons to, police officers, in Mandalay, Yangon and Monywa, respectively. All three cities have seen extreme instances of excessive force, including killings, by security forces in recent days, the report said. Some of these military divisions are notorious for atrocities and serious human rights violations committed in Rakhine, Kachin, and northern Shan States, said the report. The 33rd LID has been implicated in war crimes in northern Shan State in 2016 and 2017, and in crimes against humanity in the campaign that drove 740,000 Rohingya Muslims out of western Rakhine state to Bangladesh in 2017, it said. Myanmar is on trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands for the Rohingya expulsion. These Myanmar military tactics are far from new, but their killing sprees have never before been livestreamed for the world to see, said Mariner. 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. Hyundai Motor Group held a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for HTWO Guangzhou, the froups first fuel cell system facility outside of Korea. The investment advances the groups global hydrogen leadership and supports its push into Chinas rapidly developing hydrogen industry. Participating in the ceremony were Li Xi, Secretary of Guangdong Province, and Ma Xing Rui, Governor of Guangdong Province both joining from Guangzhou Yuexiu International Congress Center in China along with Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman, and Saehoon Kim, Hyundai Head of Fuel Cell Center and Executive Vice President both joining from Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang in Korea. The establishment of HTWO Guangzhou marks an important starting point for Hyundai Motor Groups dedicated fuel cell system brand HTWO, Chairman Chung said. Hyundai Motor Group will actively lead clean mobility innovations using its strategic partnerships, world-class technology, hydrogen business capabilities and related expertise. Hydrogen aspirations gain ground with HTWO Guangzhou Hyundai Motor Group designated the production and sales hub HTWO Guangzhou in line with the name of its dedicated fuel cell system brand. HTWO stands for H2, the hydrogen molecule, whilst also representing Hydrogen and Humanity, the main pillars of the froups fuel cell business. HTWO Guangzhou will be built in the Guangzhou development district of Guangdong Province, China, with the aim of completing the project in the second half of 2022. Facilities, including a fuel cell system plant and an innovation center, will be built on the 207,000-square-meter site. The annual production target for the facility is 6,500 units, with a goal to gradually expand production capacity in line with Chinese market conditions and central government policies. The group plans to take the lead in realising carbon neutrality by strengthening production of its world-leading hydrogen fuel cell systems, making them available as power sources for various industries. Building toward a sustainable hydrogen society In 2018, Hyundai Motor Group announced plans to expand its supply capacity to 700,000 hydrogen fuel cell systems annually by 2030, under its mid- to long-term hydrogen roadmap Fuel Cell Vision 2030. Through strategic partnerships with hydrogen, energy and logistics companies around the world, the Group has expanded its fuel cell system business, accelerating development of a hydrogen society and laying the foundation for the companys HTWO brand, with initial focus on major hub regions -- Korea, Europe, China and the US. . Since marketing the worlds first mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicle ix35 in 2013, the group has been expanding its vehicle offerings powered by its fuel cell system, such as Hyundai NEXO SUV, XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty truck and a fuel cell electric bus, as zero-emission mobility solutions. As a steering member of the Hydrogen Council, a global coalition of leading energy, transportation and industry companies with a shared vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen, Hyundai is committed to fostering a clean energy transition. - TradeArabia News Service Renee Montgomery Breaks Barriers as Owner of WNBA Franchise Renee Montgomery recently became the first former WNBA player to become an executive and owner of a WNBA franchise. Montgomery now owns the Atlanta Dream along with Northland real estate firm chairman Larry Gottesdiener and Northland president and COO Suzanne Abair. My dream has come true, Montgomery said. Breaking barriers for minorities and women by being the first former WNBA player to have both a stake in ownership and a leadership role with the team is an opportunity that I take very seriously. I invite you to join me as the Dream builds momentum in Atlanta! Montgomery, a two-time WNBA champion with the Minnesota Lynx, spent her last two seasons with the Dream. She opted out of the 2020 season to fight for social justice. ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, the WNBA was also fighting for justice by dedicating the 2020 season to Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name. Former Atlanta Dream co-owner and former Atlanta senator, Kelly Loeffler opposed the leagues social justice efforts. Her actions caused WNBA players to endorse Raphael Warnock, a democrat running against her in the Senate runoffs. The efforts from WNBA players played a quintessential role in Warnock defeating Loeffler. She ultimately sold her 49 percent stake in the Atlanta Dream. Sparks star and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike mentioned how the league supported the players during that time. She noted how beneficial it is to have owners who want to represent the players as citizens. I think that its reflective of the impact that we want to have on our league, Ogwumike said. We love this league; we have players whos backs we stand on. Ogwumike is glad that former players are actively working to change the WNBA. Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry sends high praise to Montgomery. Really just speaks for itself in terms of how you flip a terrible situation and misrepresentation of what the WNBA is about on its head, Curry said. For Renee and that group to come in, its just awesome to see. Its very inspirational in terms of where were all headed, turning these conversations into actual action and opportunity and accomplishment like that. ADVERTISEMENT The More Than a Vote campaign, an organization created by Lakers star LeBron James, helped Montgomery meet with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert about team ownership. Like James, Montgomery hopes to build a legacy that goes beyond the hardwood. They both know how impactful their voice is. You can just ask Renee Montgomery if I would just shut up and dribble, he said. Seeing that beautiful Black woman be a part of an ownership group now with the Atlanta Dream. Montgomery spent 11 seasons in the WNBA, playing for the Connecticut Sun, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Atlanta Dream. She was the fourth overall pick in the 2009 Draft and ultimately averaged 9.7 points, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 steals in her career. Her 532 total career three-point shots would rank at 12th all-time in WNBA history. TORONTO, March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Relay Medical Corp. (Relay or the Company) (CSE: RELA, OTC: RYMDF, Frankfurt: EIY2) and Fio Corporation (Fio) together through their joint venture company Fionet Rapid Response Group Inc (FRR) are pleased to announce that further to its press release on February 24, FRR and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) have executed the aforementioned agreement which sees the Fionet Pandemic Management Platform deployed for on-site COVID-19 rapid testing and real-time reporting at Toronto - Lester B. Pearson International Airport (Toronto Pearson). This multi-million-dollar program, with direct application to testing staff and restoring flights departing Toronto Pearson, is funded by the Government of Canada through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). Under the agreement, the Fionet Platform has been deployed at Toronto Pearson to manage COVID-19 testing for airport employees and international departing passengers. Employee antigen testing commenced on March 8, 2021. The commercial terms of Fionets deployment include a per-test charge. The US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) announced an Order requiring all air passengers arriving to the US from a foreign country to get tested before their flight departs and to present the negative result to the airline before boarding the flight. Similar orders have been announced in multiple international destinations. The Fionet Platform will enable meeting this requirement. Toronto Pearsons leadership is on local, national, and international display in this program, said Dr. Michael Greenberg, CEO of Fionet Rapid Response Group and Fio Corporation. Working with such leaders and working for a mission with substantial impact on peoples safety and on the economy excites our team every single day. What we are accomplishing here is scalable and can be made available in many other locations. To provide professional healthcare staff to administer tests and operate diagnostic devices, FRR has entered into an agreement with OnPoint1 Health. For certain medical oversight of the project, FRR has entered into an agreement with Medevaq Inc. The testing program utilizes Fionets high-throughput testing solution, including multiple mobile point-of-need devices connected in real-time to cloud data services, processing high quantities of rapid antigen tests per hour and capable of turning around test results within 20 minutes. The Fionet Platform will also manage passenger scheduling, rapid test processing, real-time results reporting, integration with LuminUltra PCR devices, Response Biomedical antigen rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and devices, Abbott Panbio antigen RDTs, and all corresponding data and messaging flows. The Fionet Platform will enable easy passenger scheduling and registration from mobile phones followed by coordinated mass testing, while continuously capturing and securely transmitting test results, with full privacy protection. The entire team has been working incredibly hard this past week to operationalize this launch. We look forward to being a major contributor to pioneering the testing at Pearson and also to help pioneer the pandemic testing practices and protocols for airports around the globe." said Yoav Raiter, CEO, Relay Medical Corp. With this project, FRR is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for mass scale rapid COVID-19 testing solutions in industries that have been crippled by restrictions due to the pandemic. There is growing pressure to ramp up rapid testing capacity at places like airports, border crossings, cruise ships, arenas, workplaces, and schools. This has become increasingly important with multiple reports of a new, faster spreading COVID-19 variant making its ways around the world. For media inquiries, please contact: Destine Lee media@relaymedical.com | 647-872-9982 SUBSCRIBE: For more information on Relay or to subscribe to the Companys mail list visit: https://www.relaymedical.com/news About Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) GTAA is the operator of Toronto - Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Canadas largest and busiest airport. Toronto Pearson served more than 50 million passengers in 2019, and is one of only four airports accepting international flights into Canada. This announcement comes on the heels of the Government of Canadas new requirements for mandatory arrivals testing and hotel quarantine for international travelers coming into Canada. Website: https://www.torontopearson.com About Relay Medical Corp. Relay Medical is a technology developer and innovator headquartered in Toronto, Canada focused on the development of novel technologies in the diagnostics and AI data science sectors. Website: www.relaymedical.com About Fio Corporation Fio Corporation, privately held and headquartered in Toronto, developed and markets the worlds first integrated guidance & tracking IT platform for decentralized healthcare settings, a new category of solution that raises healthcare quality and lowers healthcare costs. The platform enables average healthcare workers in clinics to deliver a new level of quality-controlled diagnostic testing and case management. Simultaneously, as an automated by-product of its clinical use, the platform captures and provides unprecedented frontline data to remote supervisors and stakeholders, enabling real-time remote tracking, insight distribution, and intervention. Fio operates globally in partnership with local distribution, service, and support organizations and also partners with other companies that license its technologies. Website: www.fionetrapidresponse.com Contact: W. Clark Kent President Relay Medical Corp. Office. 647-872-9982 ext. 2 TF. 1-844-247-6633 ext. 2 investor.relations@relaymedical.com Bernhard Langer EU Investor Relations Office. +49 (0) 177 774 2314 Email: blanger@relaymedical.com Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement Except for statements of historic fact, 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" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with the Fionet Platform. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Companys control. There are no assurances that the Fionet Platform will be successful or will be extended on terms favourable to FRR or at all. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Companys filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0f4fc460-40b0-4e94-93b0-2fbcdf63840d Lawmakers hit for negligence in legislation Lawmakers of both the ruling and opposition parties have come under criticism for dragging their feet in legislating a law designed to prevent conflicts of interest. Such a law is imperative to stop civil servants and elected officials from using insider information for personal gain. The criticism comes amid a shocking land speculation scandal involving more than a dozen employees of the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH). They face allegations that they used insider information to buy about 10 billion won ($8.8 million) worth of farmland in two cities, Gwangmyeong and Siheung, in Gyeonggi Province between April 2018 and June 2020. The purchases were apparently for speculative gains before the government announced a new satellite city plan last month to build 70,000 apartments there as part of efforts to stabilize runaway housing prices. The public's outrage is growing over the scandal. How could the officials of the state housing developer buy the farmland which is to be developed into an apartment complex? It is as if they let the fox guard the henhouse. Critics argue that the government could have prevented such a scandal if lawmakers had passed the bill on the prevention of conflicts of interest. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission submitted a draconian anti-graft bill to the National Assembly in 2013 which contained clauses regarding conflicts of interest. Lawmakers passed the bill in 2015 after deleting the clauses, resulting in a half-baked law. The law, better known as the "Kim Young-ran Act" named after the former chairwoman of the commission, went into effect in 2016. But it cannot work properly to root out widespread corruption in officialdom because it has no clause to regulate conflicts of interest. In the face of growing calls for such a clause, the anti-corruption panel presented a bill on this to the Assembly in June 2020. But lawmakers turned a deaf ear without deliberating on it. On Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in belatedly called for "fundamental" measures to avoid the recurrence of the land speculation scandal. He also demanded the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to work on how to prevent conflicts of interest. It is urgent to lay the legal groundwork to head off any land speculation by civil servants and raise transparency in real estate transactions. In response, the DPK has promised to speed up enacting a law to prevent conflicts of interest and to create an effective system to fight against corruption. But it seems to be paying only lip service to calm the people's simmering anger over the alleged land speculation. That's why some civic groups are accusing lawmakers of having formed a "legislative cartel" not to approve bills designed to crack down on their own corruption and hurt their interests. The Moon administration and the DPK should no longer delay the legislation to eliminate corruption and prevent conflicts of interest among civil servants and elected post holders. Stating that the current security situation of China is 'largely unstable and uncertain', President Xi Jinping has directed the country's military to be prepared for a variety of "complex and difficult" situations at any time and to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty. President Xi, (67) who heads the ruling Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army, made the remarks at a panel discussion with representatives of the armed forces during the annual parliamentary session in Beijing on Tuesday. "The current security situation of our country is largely unstable and uncertain," Xi said. "The entire military must coordinate the relationship between capacity building and combat readiness, be prepared to respond to a variety of complex and difficult situations at any time, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and provide strong support for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist state," he added. Xi spoke to the military delegates of the National People's Congress, (NPC) at the end of its six-day annual session on Thursday. There are 288 national legislators from the armed forces, the largest group of lawmakers in the NPC - which consists of 2,000 members. The Parliament session is taking place in the backdrop of China's withdrawal of troops from the contentious area of Pangong Lake area in the eastern Ladakh region along with the Indian Army. India has made it clear to China that the disengagement of troops at all friction points is necessary to bring peace and tranquillity on the border and make way for the development of bilateral relations. Xi also spoke of 'uncertain times', amid the growing tensions with the US as President Joe Biden continues to pursue the hardline policy of his predecessor Donald Trump towards China. The relations between China and the US are at an all-time low. The two countries have locked horns over various issues, including trade, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing's aggressive military moves in the disputed South China Sea, and human rights. China's security in a "high-risk phase" China's Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe earlier called on the military to boost combat readiness, saying China's national security had "entered a high-risk phase". The focus of Saturday's meeting was how to handle security risks on multiple fronts - from its Himalayan border dispute with India to simmering tensions with Japan over the East China Sea and rivalry with the United States, including over technology. Wei told the delegates that "we are facing mounting tasks in national defense... and we must comprehensively improve military training and preparedness for battle so as to increase our strategic capabilities to prevail over our strong enemies." "The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is at a critical stage where we are facing unprecedented opportunities as well as unprecedented challenges," We said. Wei also warned that US containment efforts would "last throughout the process of China's national rejuvenation". (Newser) An Iowa journalist who was pepper sprayed, zip tied, and arrested at a Black Lives Matter demonstration last year has been found not guilty on charges of failure to disperse and interfering with police, CNN reports. Following the verdict, Des Moines Register reporter Andrea May Sahouri tweeted: Acquitted, along with images of her being arrested during the May 31 demonstration. I'm thankful to the jury for doing the right thing. Their decision upholds freedom of the press and justice in our democracy. Police in Des Moines has said that Sahouri had remained at the protest despite orders to leave, and then tried to pull away when an officer pepper-sprayed and tried to arrest her, per the Register. Sahouri, 25, said that she identified herself as a journalist, according to the AP, which notes that she is the first working journalist to face a criminal trial since 2018. story continues below Sahouris case has been condemned as an attack on the freedom of the press. Law enforcement should never have arrested Andrea Sahouri in the first place simply for doing her job as a reporter, and the decision to move forward with her prosecution flies in the face of the First Amendment, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Executive Director Bruce Brown said in a statement. This kind of newsgathering is not only constitutionally protected, but all the more needed during times of crisis. The jury in Sahouris case deliberated for less than two hours before reaching a not guilty verdict on the two misdemeanor charges, according to reports. If convicted, she faced fines and up to 30 days in jail, per NPR. Sahouris ex-boyfriend, Spenser Robnett, was arrested at the same time she was. He also was acquitted. (Read more Black Lives Matter stories.) The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act that President Joe Biden will sign into law on Friday contains a number of provisions intended to help small businesses, especially restaurants. It authorizes another $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, which offers forgivable loans to small businesses and other organizations hurt by the pandemic. The loans will only be forgiven, however, if at least 60% of the money is used to support payroll expenses and the remainder goes to mortgage interest, rent, utilities, personal protective equipment or certain other business expenses. The additional money is intended to expand eligibility for the loans to include more nonprofit organizations than were eligible before, as well as digital news services providing local news and public health guidance during the pandemic. Despite the added funds, however, the legislation doesn't actually extend the program, which is currently set to expire on March 31. That's an issue because there is already a backlog of applications still pending approval by the Small Business Administration. And, under current rules, any loan that hasn't been approved by March 31 will not be funded. That means banks must decide how much longer they want to accept new applications, since it now takes 24 to 48 hours for a bank to hear back from the SBA on whether a submitted loan application has been approved. In cases where applications haven't been approved, the SBA may request more information, or flag a business owner as ineligible. Clearing up those issues can take days or weeks longer. Bank of America, for instance, stopped accepting new applications on Tuesday. "As the largest lender in the program since it began, we have 30,000 applications in process and want to allow enough time to complete the work and get each client's application through the SBA process by March 31," a bank spokesman said in an email to CNN Business. Banking associations, the American Institute of CPAs and others have been calling on Congress to extend the program beyond March 31, or to at least allow the SBA to continue processing loan approvals for applications submitted before March 31. As of March 7, the SBA has made 7.6 million PPP loans totaling $678.4 billion since Congress created the program last spring, according to data from the federal agency. More money for restaurants, venue operators and minority-owned businesses Other provisions in the American Rescue Plan intended to help small businesses include: Money to help states assist their small business economies: Through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the legislation allocates $10 billion for state governments to help leverage private capital and make low-interest loans and other investments to help their small business economies recover. More money for underserved businesses: The legislation earmarks $15 billion to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants program to be given to small businesses in underserved areas, especially those that are minority-owned. Special relief for restaurants: The American Rescue Plan includes nearly $29 billion to create a grant program that provides direct relief to restaurants. More money for operators of closed venues: Another $15 billion will be added to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants program, created by the previous economic aid package. The grants are intended to help those who run museum, theater, concert and other venues that had to shut down due to Covid restrictions. The bill also allows such operators to apply for PPP loans in addition to these grants. Additional funding for the Small Business Administration: To help the SBA administer all the new programs that have fallen under its purview as a result of the pandemic, the bill allocates another $1.325 billion to its budget. Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon has claimed a move by a Whitehall department to establish an office in Belfast is a "power grab" aimed at "undermining devolution". Ms Mallon said the development involved the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which she said would examine government priorities and how money is spent on devolved issues. Speaking on Good Morning Ulster on Thursday, the SDLP MLA said she had learned of the move during a meeting with government officials on Wednesday, which had also been attended by Economy Minister Diane Dodds and Finance Minister Conor Murphy. Read More Ms Mallon said she understood the office was in the process of recruiting staff, and argued the presence of a government office here would undermine the Executive. The government has yet to confirm the move. "It will sit outside the programme for government, there won't be any executive oversight, there won't be any assembly scrutiny or accountability," she insisted. She said it was a "gross breach of trust" and is "detaching" NI ministers from making decisions, however, Mrs Dodds has insisted that the government has done nothing inappropriate. And while the DFI minister said she would welcome additional funding for project's outside of the executive's block grant, she said it should be for Stormont ministers to decide on priorities, rather than officials being "parachuted in". "Housing is a devolved matter, we have a five-party executive, it is very difficult to get agreement, but we hammer out consensus, we agree a programme for government and we all try to work in the common interest," explained the minister. She added there is already the Northern Ireland Office, headed by the NI Secretary of State Brandon Lewis, which is operated by the government. On Wednesday Ms Mallon had critcised the government for "concentrating power" in a review to be carried out on the feasibility of a bridge or tunnel being built to connect Northern Ireland and Scotland. In response in the same radio programme, Mrs Dodds said it is "completely acceptable and understandable" that the government would wish to extend its "footprint" in Northern Ireland. "Devolution doesn't mean that we don't have a national government with national priorities, it means that we work together with our national government," she said. Mrs Dodds said it was "strange" for Ms Mallon to raise concerns about the establishment of an office by the government in Belfast, adding that it would bring "good" plans to Northern Ireland. She also criticised the SDLP for not having any concerns with the EU having an office in Belfast to administer policy decisions taken in Brussels prior to Brexit. "I suspect that the real word that is bothering here is the word union, and we need to get over this and work together for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland," she added. A grand jury declined to file criminal charges against a policeman who was off duty when he shot and killed his unarmed neighbor in a small town in south Alabama last spring. Mason Adcock, the assistant police chief in Luverne, will not be charged for killing 34-year-old Channing Lamar Spivey, a cancer patient who had recently survived brain surgery and was acting erratically. The shooting happened on the evening of May 27, 2020. Spiveys family called 911 and asked for help from emergency medical workers because he was was still suffering the effects of brain cancer and surgery: irritability, aggression and bizarre behavior. A Crenshaw County deputy accompanied an ambulance to the home where Spivey lived with his brother and his brothers girlfriend on a country road just a few miles outside Luverne. Spivey was agitated and uncooperative. He broke a window on the ambulance. The deputy tased Spivey, but he wasnt subdued. The deputy drew his gun. Adcock got involved in the situation when Spiveys brothers girlfriend ran across the road to ask for help at the assistant police chiefs house. Adcock went outside and found the deputy and Spivey in his driveway. When Spivey, who was unarmed and wearing only swim trunks, took a step toward the lawmen, Adcock shot and killed him. The deputy did not fire his weapon. A Crenshaw County grand jury issued its no bill decision to dismiss the case last month, according to a letter sent from the District Attorneys Office to Spiveys family. AL.com obtained a copy of the letter from Griffin Sikes, a lawyer representing Spiveys aunt in a lawsuit against Adcock. The lawsuit accuses the policeman of excessive force and wrongful death. Charlotte Tesmer, the district attorney in Crenshaw County, did not respond to requests for comment. Neither Adcock nor his attorney returned calls for comment. The lawsuit, which had been put on hold pending the outcome of the criminal investigation, has since resumed. Those of us who are defending Sri Lankas right to defend itself against the bogus, self-serving interests of the Core Group and its sponsor, the US, cannot and should not pretend that the country has addressed the depravations heaped on the Tamil people by governments elected by the people to safeguard all people, not a section of them. by Raj Gonsalkorale Hitler rose to power through the Nazi Party, an organization he forged after returning as a wounded veteran from the annihilating trench warfare of World War I. He and other patriotic Germans were outraged and humiliated by the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which the Allies compelled the new German government, the Weimar Republic, to accept along with an obligation to pay $33 billion in war reparations. Germany also had to give up its prized overseas colonies and surrender valued parcels of home territory to France and Poland. The German army was radically downsized and the nation forbidden to have submarines or an air force. We shall squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak! explained one British official. The National World War 11 Museum, New Orleans. Those who still hold the view that Hitler did the Germans a lot of good probably remember the above excerpt from the National World War 11 Museum, and not what is noted below by the same entity. Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party. He ruled absolutely until his death by suicide in April 1945. Upon achieving power, Hitler smashed the nations democratic institutions and transformed Germany into a war state intent on conquering Europe for the benefit of the so-called Aryan race. His invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, triggered the European phase of World War II. During the course of the war, Nazi military forces rounded up and executed 11 million victims they deemed inferior or undesirablelife unworthy of lifeamong them Jews, Slavs, homosexuals, and Jehovahs Witnesses LTTE - Eliminators of Freedom of innocent kids Reading through many articles written on the heels of the UNHRC Core Group attempt to blackmail Sri Lanka, and that is a word used by most writers, the opinion held by most Sri Lankans appears to be that despite the viciousness and brutality of the LTTE, and the thousands they killed, ordinary people, not just Sri Lankan or Indian soldiers, and politicians both Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim, and two Heads of State, and the gruesome practices they employed like using animals as fodder for their land mine target prices, it is the Sri Lankan government that is on the dock for defending its people from these vicious monsters masquerading as freedom fighters. No self-respecting and decent Tamil could condone the atrocities committed by the LTTE in their name, as they were not even remotely acceptable as what genuine freedom fighters would engage in. It is unlikely that most Tamils condone the activities of the LTTE, but perhaps are silent on them due to pressure exerted on them by the power groups within the Diaspora, encouraged, supported and funded by some countries, and their agents in Sri Lanka. This enforced silence has contributed in a large measure to the inability of all communities to be more trusting of each other, and to engage in confidence building activities. In saying this, Sri Lankan governments, past and present, religious leaders, civil society leaders, and the people at large, cannot be excused for not giving the empathy and the action that was needed when governments failed the Tamils, and in some instances, Muslims. The worst mass scale pogrom conducted against the Tamil people in 1983, planned and executed by sections of the then government, was never investigated fully, and no one was brought to justice for that abhorrent crime against the Tamil people. It took 21 years for a Sri Lankan government, and finally, the one led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to extend a long overdue apology in 2004 to the Tamil people and others who suffered on account of this horror that has blackened the name of the so called Buddhist nation. It is sickening that it took that long when it should have been done in 1983 itself. To date, no enquiry has been held and no one held accountable for this gruesome event, although many were and are aware that the planning and execution of that event was led by a senior minister in the then government who was very close to the then President himself. So, while it is a civic duty on the part of all Sri Lankans to defend itself against the planned UNHRC action as it is not based on facts, and it is based on innuendo and hearsay, and as it is being orchestrated to punish Sri Lanka for its friendship with China, Sri Lankans cannot overlook and pretend that as a country, its leaders and its people failed the Tamil people in 1983. This goes for the enquiries launched after the war against the LTTE, the reports submitted and action begun in some cases, and nothing done in other cases. The LLRC report, its action plan begun during the Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidency, then aborted by the Sirisena/Wickramasinghe government in 2015, the Paranagama report on Missing Persons, and its recommendations, again thwarted by Sirisena and Wickramasinghe, does not give confidence to the Tamil people that Sri Lankan governments are serious about addressing the trials and tribulations faced by them. Those of us who are defending Sri Lankas right to defend itself against the bogus, self-serving interests of the Core Group and its sponsor, the US, cannot and should not pretend that the country has addressed the depravations heaped on the Tamil people by governments elected by the people to safeguard all people, not a section of them. Condemning the LTTE is one thing, but not condemning Sri Lankan governments and its leaders for their inactivity is not another thing. It is the same side of the coin, not the other side of the coin. The Core Group of the UNHRC, directed by the US and UK, and aided and abetted by pseudo human rights champions like the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet who has no clue of what happened in Sri Lanka and is relying on questionable hearsay evidence as a senior lawyer stated in an article published in the LankaWeb, are hell bent on punishing Sri Lanka for its independence and defence of its sovereignty. The duplicity of these countries is clearly exposed when someone who was integral to the LTTE and its monstrous activity, and who led thousands of innocent Tamil children to slaughter, Adele Balasingham, roams free in the UK, protected by the UK. No charges have been laid against her by them. One wonders how Adele Balasingham sleeps in the night with such gruesome memories. A person of eminence like Lord Naseby is not given even a scant hearing by the British government as he has chosen to see both sides of this issue and chosen to defend Sri Lankas right to defend itself against vile terrorism, and against highly inaccurate and exaggerated reports authored by people who had not even set foot in Sri Lanka. To make matters worse, Sri Lanka also appears to be heading back into a Wolves den by calling on India to help defeat the motion before the UNHRC. India, the one country most responsible for the advent of Sri Lankas own Nazi party, the LTTE, and which again stood in the way of arresting LTTE Leader Prabakaran in 1987, and calling an end to a mindless war that then went on for another 21 years, is now called upon to assist Sri Lanka. It is a black joke. It is India which violated Sri Lankas sovereignty by dropping food parcels without any contact or reference or sanction from Sri Lanka in 1987. As mentioned in the Wikipedia, STEVEN R. WEISMA, New York Times, in a report titled India airlifts aid to Tamil rebels stated that on 5 June 1987, the Indian Air Force airdropped food parcels to Jaffna while it was under siege by Sri Lankan forces. At a time when the Sri Lankan government stated they were close to defeating the LTTE, India dropped 25 tons of food and medicine by parachute into areas held by the LTTE in a direct move of support toward the rebels. Further, the Sri Lanka government accused that not only food and medicine but weapons were also supplied to the LTTE Amateur foreign affairs officials and even a government that freed the country from this Nazi party and which should have learnt some lessons from the dark past, seems to be living in a cuckoo land if they seriously think India will provide support without extracting a huge price. Sri Lankas future is with other countries and other alliances. It is not with the US, UK, and India. Their duplicity is surpassed only by their arrogance. Sri Lanka is vulnerable to these countries because of its geographical position. For this very reason, it should sign a defence pact with China, its friend, so that if ever threatened by this duplicitous trio, China will come to Sri Lankas aid. The time for pussyfooting is over, and talking nonsense like we must be neutral is over. No country is neutral in any sense of the word. The price these three countries will extract for Sri Lankas neutrality will defeat the whole idea of neutrality. Sri Lanka will be beholden to them forever. Sri Lanka can be more neutral in reality by working with non-aligned countries and other friendly nations. The US tried their best to intrude in Sri Lankas sovereignty through the MCC, ACSA and SOFA. Some are of the opinion that these are still very much alive and their objectives are being achieved by other means and with intrusive projects with other acronyms. It is an open secret that India is very much part of this trio and are doing their bidding surreptitiously and with cunningness that India is noted for. Despite the risks, it is time to end this game of Poker and called their bluff. Its time to go back to the Bahamas. New episodes of Renovation Island may be coming soon to HGTV, according to the shows star Bryan Baeumler. The home renovation expert teased another season of the hit show, which premiered last year in the U.S., in a recent Instagram update. Renovation Island was a hit for HGTV RELATED: Do the Baeumlers Finish Their Renovation Island Resort Restoration Project? Renovation Island follows the Baeumler family, including Bryan, his wife Sarah, and their four kids, as they turn a decrepit island resort into a fabulous vacation destination. The show premiered on HGTV in summer 2020, and viewers, many who were stuck at home because of coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns, couldnt get enough of the show. More than 22 million people watched the first season, according to HGTV. The first season ended with the Baeumlers opening their Caerula Mar Club resort to the public. But not long after they finished work on the resort, COVID hit. Renovation Island fans were left wondering how the family was coping with this new challenge and whether theyd get to see the situation play out in a future season of the show. Last year, Baeumler let fans know that production had begun on another season of his familys reality series. Now, it seems were inching closer to a premiere date. Renovation Island originally aired on HGTV Canada, where it goes by the name Island of Bryan. The first two seasons of Island of Bryan were combined into the single season of Renovation Island that aired on HGTV in the U.S. On March 1, Baeumler announced that Island of Bryan Season 3 has a premiere date in Canada. And were back! Island of Bryan season 3, premieres at 10 pm on April 18th (a day my Mother will never forget!) only on @hgtvcanada! he wrote in an Instagram post. Unfortunately, theres no news yet on when the new episodes will air in the U.S. However, Baeumler promised fans that more countries [are] coming soon and urged them to stay tuned to for details. The Baeumler family deals with coronavirus Sarah and Bryan Baeumler of Renovation Island | HGTV RELATED: Renovation Island: The Baeumler Familys Luxury Bahamas Resort Is Finally Open for Reservations In a preview for Island of Bryan Season 3, the Baeumlers face a crisis when they have to shut down their resort just weeks after the grand opening. Six weeks later we shut down, nobodys coming, its a full pandemic, Baeumler says in the teaser. Financially, its just devastating for so many people. Sarah Baeumler wonders if the family will be able to survive the financial hit. And once the Bahamas does start allowing tourists, the Baeumlers face more challenges from demanding guests. Im worried, she says. Its quite a stressful time for the business. But I also know that together well adapt to whatever this new form of travel looks like. We have to. Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. (Newser) Then-President Trump made more than one legally murky phone call to a Georgia official as the state worked to certify election results, and the recording of one is now out. The 6-minute call, which Trump made on Dec. 23 to the state's lead elections investigator, was to Frances Watson, who works in the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. (Trump, of course, then made an hour-long phone call to Raffensperger himself on Jan. 2 regarding the same issue.) The call was reported in January, but the recording was not released until now, the Wall Street Journal reports (you can listen to it there). Watson was leading an audit of Cobb County results at the time. "When the right answer comes out, youll be praised," Trump says on the call, which the Daily Beast calls "shady." story continues below He tells Watson he won Georgia but "something bad happened," and urges her to look at the ballots from Fulton County, which is 50% Black. "If you can get to Fulton, you are going to find things that are going to be unbelievable, he said. His loss in the state never made sense and, you know, they dropped ballots," he added. "They dropped all these ballots. Stacey Abrams, really, really terrible." Watson assured him she and her office were committed to accurate election results. She tells WSB-TV she did not feel pressured by Trump. "This phone call is just one more example of how Secretary Raffenspergers offices public comments also reflect what was said in one-on-one conversations: We would follow the law, count every legal vote and investigate any allegations of fraud. Thats exactly what we did, and how we arrived at the accurate final vote tally," Raffenspergers spokesperson says. (Read more Election 2020 stories.) remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) Metro Manila mayors expect to reach a consensus and decision on unifying COVID-19 policies particularly curfew hours and border control in the region when the council meets on Thursday afternoon, according to its chairman. Speaking to CNN Philippines, MMC Chair and Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez said tackling these protocols, seen to address the reported spike in coronavirus infections, will be the main agenda during the meeting slated at 5 p.m. Pagu-usapan po doon ito ngang spike ng ating COVID all over Metro Manila, at kung ano po yung aming ding mga policies na gagawin na magkakaroon po ng consensus na isa lang po ang policy within national capital region, Olivarez told The Source on Thursday morning. [Translation: We will discuss there the spike in COVID infections all over Metro Manila, and the policies that we will be carrying outto have a consensus that well have only one policy within national capital region.] Olivarez, in particular, said they hope to unify the curfew hours within NCR, citing the challenges of having interconnected cities. Lumipat ka lang ng isang kalsada, ibang siyudad na. Lumipat ka ng isang purok, city na, he noted. So we will unify. [Translation: You just move to a different street, its already a different city. You move to a different subdivision, its already a different city. So we will unify.] The proposal for a uniform curfew was backed by the Interior Department, which noted that changes must be made due to the rising COVID-19 cases. We want to send a signal to the public that it's not business as usual, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a media forum in the same day. At this point in time, at the very least a uniform curfew is what is required. While the local chief executives anticipate a decision by tonight, Olivarez explained that the measures may only be carried out over the weekend, since they would still have to craft an executive order. Maybe two days after today, the mayor said of the implementation. Apart from the mayors, expected during this afternoons meeting are officials from the Health Department and the OCTA Research Group, MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos had said. This is for the council to get the full picture of the current pandemic situation and to be able to guide them for possible revisions in policies. At least four cities in Metro Manila have adjusted their curfew hours amid the rising cases in the region which stands at 247,935 to date. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A former school in West Brighton will be host to a pop-up coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine site this weekend, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday. The vaccine will be at the building that formerly housed the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Benedicta school at 285 Clove Rd. on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a media release. One of 14 community-based statewide sites announced Thursday, the West Brighton vaccine pop-up is part of the states strategy to work with leaders in vulnerable communities to address vaccine hesitancy, Cuomo said. Our strategically placed pop-up sites have been invaluable in helping us reach New Yorkers living in vulnerable communities and to make the vaccine accessible to them, he said. The vaccine works, and we will use every tool at our disposal to make sure Black and Brown New Yorkers are not left behind in the distribution process. A screenshot captured Thursday, March 11, 2021 shows the exterior of the former Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Benedicta School in West Brighton. (Courtesy: Google Maps) It wasnt immediately clear how many doses would be available to Staten Islanders, but the 14 sites are expected to vaccinate more than 4,000 people throughout the week. Many of the pop-up vaccination sites are done in partnership with public and private health care providers, according to the state. Those providers and the pop-up hosts, like the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Benedicta-St. Mary of the Assumption parish, work to identify eligible New Yorkers and schedule vaccination appointments. A representative for the parish said vaccines will be given to people with an appointment that was scheduled through the state. Since Jan. 15, the state has established 135 pop-up sites that administered more than 54,000 first doses of vaccine, according to the media release. All of the sites are re-established in three weeks to administer second doses. In January, the state established one of its pop-up sites at the Stapleton Houses, where 356 of the 450 seniors living in the New York City Housing Authority Development received their initial vaccine doses. The vaccination hub inside of the Gerard Carter Center, Stapleton is shown Saturday, Jan. 16, 2020. (Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Staten Island remains the only borough without a long-term, state-run COVID-19 vaccination site. The state Department of Health (DOH) opened the first drive-thru COVID-19 test site in the state on Staten Island in the parking lot of South Beach Psychiatric Center, located at 777 Seaview Ave., in Ocean Breeze. State officials have said more sites are reliant on an increased supply of the vaccine. But the big variation from the norm was the old railroad tunnel we had to pass through, one of three on the entirety of the 30-mile trail. Following the signs edict, we got off our bikes and started walking through. It was sage advice. Not only did it turn out to be a nearly mile-long walk with the illusion of a receding endpoint, but it was cold, dripping wet from the walls above and so dark that I had to use my phones flashlight. On an official visit to a school in East London, the Duke of Cambridge is ambushed by reporters desperate for a reaction to damaging allegations made by the Markles in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. 'Is the Royal Family a racist family, sir?' hollers one of the media pack, to the visible discomfort of a black female member of staff accompanying the Duke and Duchess. Typical tabloid scum, hijacking a formal engagement to cause the maximum embarrassment to a family already reeling from uncorroborated accusations levelled against them by Harry and Meghan. Have these reptiles no respect? Are there no depths to which they will not sink in pursuit of a sensational headline? Disrupting a visit to promote a children's mental health programme is surely a new low, even by the dismal standards of the gutter Press. Except this wasn't one of Fleet Street's finest gatecrashing the occasion. The shouty inquisitor was Inzamam Rashid, from Sky News, who has just returned from suspension after flouting lockdown to attend his colleague Kay Burley's 60th birthday party. Nor was Rashid satisfied with demanding to know on camera whether the Royal Family is racist. He also yelled: 'Have you spoken to your brother since the interview?' William would have been justified in treating Rashid with the contempt he deserved. Instead he reacted with composed dignity, saying he intended to talk to Harry in due course, and denying the racism allegations. On Thursday during an official visit to a school in East London, the Duke of Cambridge was ambushed by reporters desperate for a reaction to damaging allegations made by the Markles in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. Pictured: Prince William (left) and Kate Middleton (centre) on Thursday What was he supposed to say? 'Is the Royal Family a racist family?' was straight out of the 'When did you stop beating your wife?' school of journalism. As Eric Morecambe used to say: 'There's no answer to that.' But it didn't stop Sky running the video every hour on the hour. Or BBC News doing the same, while simultaneously condemning newspapers for racism and tabloid excess. Like Boris Johnson, broadcasters are pro-having cake and pro-eating it. They have gleefully repeated all the wild allegations made during the Oprah interview, while pretending piously to remain aloof from the mores and modus operandi of the popular Press. Rolling news channels and radio stations have wheeled out panels of talking heads to pontificate on the alleged racism at Buckingham Palace and monster the newspapers for driving Harry and Meghan out of Britain. The BBC's Victoria Derbyshire tried to badger Ian Murray, of the Society of Editors, into admitting that the entire Press was racist on the strength of two or three headlines. This was just one of a montage of misleading headlines taken out of context and featured on the Oprah show as 'evidence' to support Meghan Markle's unsubstantiated slurs. Murray had put out a statement categorically denying that the Press is ' bigoted'. Yet rather than circling the wagons, sections of the newspaper industry turned on him for not being sufficiently 'anti-racist' and he has now resigned. Somehow, what started out as a squabble within the Royal Family has mutated into yet another full-frontal assault on the Press in particular and freedom of speech in general. Somehow, what started out as a squabble within the Royal Family has mutated into yet another full-frontal assault on the Press in particular and freedom of speech in general. The first casualty was Piers Morgan, who has walked the plank from Good Morning Britain because he said he didn't believe a single word of Meghan's lurid allegations, even though at least half his audience agree with him. Pictured: Morgan (left) with Susanna Reid (right) on Good Morning Britain The first casualty was Piers Morgan, who has walked the plank from Good Morning Britain because he said he didn't believe a single word of Meghan's lurid allegations, even though at least half his audience agree with him. Piers is big enough and ugly enough to fight his own battles, and he'd probably had enough of getting up at 3am, anyway. Like Kenny, from South Park, he won't stay dead for long. But what should concern us is that ITV's boss Carolyn McCall appears to have caved into complaints not just from some of her own junior staff but also to an email from Markle herself. OK, so even Morgan now acknowledges he was wrong to question Meghan's claims to have entertained suicidal thoughts while trapped in her gilded royal cage. He was stepping into a minefield, especially as ITV is still recovering from the suicides of troubled Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, and a guest on the gruesome Jeremy Kyle show. Mental health issues, like race, are a guaranteed get-out-of-jail card in today's victim culture. Even if they can cover a multitude of conditions from severe depression to feeling a bit fed-up, criticism is a career-ending taboo. That's no excuse for McCall allowing ITV's breakfast show to be edited from California by the very woman being discussed on the programme. Since when did Meghan's remit extend to dictating the content of Good Morning Britain? Equally disturbing is a report that the BBC took a call from a fancy PR firm hired by the Markles, demanding that debate on the fallout from the Oprah horror show should not be confined to 'old white men'. Still, that would explain why Radio 4's Nick Robinson cut off royal expert Hugo Vickers when he tried to explain the couple's claims about their son being denied a title and being left without security were factually inaccurate. The notion that the BBC is even entertaining editorial advice from a bunch of expensive West Coast spin doctors, employed by a pair of self-promoting multi-millionaires, is truly mind-boggling. Where were the BBC's famous 'fact-checkers' when Markle was speaking 'her truth' to Winfrey? None of her claims were backed up by any hard evidence, and certainly wouldn't stand up in a court of law. Yet because she spouts the fashionable drivel beloved of the 'liberal' Left and the wokerati, her sermon is treated as if it is carved on tablets of stone. It is nothing less than extraordinary the way the self-appointed cultural elites have embraced Meghan as an authentic voice of social justice. In Britain, she has been adopted unreservedly as living proof that the Royal Family, society in general and the evil Press in particular is riddled with endemic racism. Anyone who dissents must be cancelled, cast into the outer darkness. The usual suspects have pounced on her 'revelations' to reactivate their deranged crusade to shackle the Press and control speech. Sadly, but predictably, they have attracted a familiar roll-call of useful idiots, including Kath Viner, the editor of the Guardian a newspaper once managed by Carolyn McCall, now of ITV. A campaign of vilification against newspapers is currently being whipped up by vengeful Left-wing MPs and Hacked Off, an outfit which has boasted such distinguished champions of free speech as Nonce Finder General Tom Watson and IRA stooge Roy Greenslade, employed for years as the Guardian's impartial media commentator. Enemies of our free Press will seize any weapon to hand. For the past ten years, Fleet Street has been under siege, ever since rogue elements at the now defunct News Of The World were caught hacking mobile phones. Politicians still smarting from the exposure of the MPs' expenses scandal set up the Leveson Inquisition, which attempted to snare all newspapers including this one, even though the Mail had absolutely no involvement in phone hacking. Although Leveson didn't lay a glove on most newspapers, it raised the spectre of state control of the Press. That was headed off at the pass by the establishment of a beefed-up watchdog, IPSO, but as Gerry Adams said of the IRA it hasn't gone away, you know. Thanks to social media, IPSO is regularly inundated with vexatious complainants seeking to control what can and can't be published. So, too, is Ofcom, the body which regulates broadcast content and which reportedly received 41,000 complaints about Piers Morgan after a Twitter storm. Not so long ago, anyone wanting to lodge a complaint would have had to put it in writing. Most wouldn't have bothered. Harry (left) and Meghan (centre) made several explosive claims about the Royal Family during an interview with Oprah Winfrey (right) on Sunday Today, ironically for Piers, who has more than seven million followers on social media, those who live by Twitter, die by Twitter. Craven chief executives like McCall fold in the face of an apparent avalanche of complaints, most of them little more than empty emojis lazily retweeted. As a result, editorial independence is under threat as never before. There used to be a graffito outside Finsbury Park Tube station which read: 'Nothing is true, only what's permitted.' And what's permitted, what's 'true', are only those opinions of which the Left-wing cultural elite approve. ITV effectively sacks Piers Morgan for doubting Meghan's 'truth'. But the BBC backs presenters such as Victoria Derbyshire and Emily Maitlis when they hurl random allegations of 'racism' against newspaper journalists. The self-styled elites are all in favour of 'diversity', except when it comes to diversity of opinion. If they succeed in hobbling the Press, readers and viewers will end up with a one-track, homogenised world view. They want nothing that threatens their cultural and political hegemony. Which is why they hate popular newspapers. We have an unfortunate habit of telling the truth, as opposed to their 'truth'. Confronted with reality, they react like toddlers deprived of another rusk. Truth, real truth, is inconvenient. It's disruptive. They can't fault us when it comes to reporting the facts, so they resort to unfounded smears of racism, against which there is supposed to be no defence. But this newspaper has a proud record of standing against racists, most notably our exposure of the killers of Stephen Lawrence. Unlike some of the broadcasters, newspapers still understand the division between church and state, which is why we don't hesitate to turn over stones even if that threatens governments, institutions such as the police, and, yes, even the Royal Family. Despite that, we wouldn't have published the allegations made by the Markles in the Oprah interview without firm proof. We could do with more disruption here, not more conformity. What's wrong with having a Right-of-centre British TV channel? It would at least redress the balance. The British Left are obsessed with the 'bias' of Fox News. But if it wasn't for Fox, the American TV landscape would be dominated by wall-to-wall 'liberal' pro-Democrat channels, pumping out Left-leaning propaganda. American newspapers are no better. They're not dying because of new technology, they're dying because they're unreadable and have purged conservative voices from their pages, even though 72 million people voted Republican at the last election. The First Amendment doesn't apply at the New York Times or in the newsroom at MSNBC. No wonder the Americans are cheering on the Markles' campaign against the British Press, which is the most editorially diverse on the planet. And, for the record, in case Harry isn't aware, it wasn't the British newspapers that published a sickening photograph of his dying mother, slumped in the back of a Mercedes in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, just moments after her fatal crash. It was that bastion of liberal values, that custodian of truth and justice, the home of Oprah Winfrey to whom he and his wife have just poured out their woes . . . CBS Television. Will you be speaking to your brother any time soon, sir? "Flower-like" microstructures forming upon a nanoporous glass monolith featuring 31nm-diameter pores. Credit: Lehigh University, Thamma, Kowal, Falk, Jain An interdisciplinary research team at Lehigh University has unraveled how functional biomaterials rely upon an interfacial protein layer to transmit signals to living cells concerning their adhesion, proliferation and overall development. According to an article published today in Scientific Reports, the nanoscale features and properties of an underlying substrate do not impact the biological response of cells directly. However, these properties indirectly influence cell behavior through their control over adsorbed proteins. In the article, "Nanostructure of bioactive glass affects bone cell attachment via protein restructuring upon adsorption," the Lehigh team demonstrates that living cells respond to interfacial layer characteristics that arise as a consequence of micro- and nano-scale structures engineered into a substrate material. These infinitesimally-tiny structures have an enormous impact upon the nature of the proteins and how they restructure themselves and electrostatically interact with the material, which in turn influences the manner in which cells attach to the substrate and develop over time. "There are others who have studied the interfacial protein layer," says Himanshu Jain, the T.L. Diamond Distinguished Chair in Engineering and Applied Science and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Lehigh, who also serves as director of Lehigh's Institute for Functional Materials and Devices (I-FMD). "But this work showed directly and unambiguously for the first time how some specific nanoscale features of the substrate can impact the secondary molecular structure of the proteinated interface that in turn affects the response of the cells that are thousands of times larger." Joining Professor Jain in guiding this research is Matthias Falk, a Professor of Cell Biology with Lehigh's College of Arts and Sciences. The team is rounded out by two doctoral students jointly supervised by Falk and JainDr. Tia Kowal, who received Ph.D. in Biological Sciences and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford Medicine, and lead author Dr. Ukrit Thamma, who completed his doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering and is now a lecturer at King Mongkut's University of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. "Lehigh is increasingly recognized as a place where interdisciplinary team science is taking root and flourishing," says Jain. "The creation and mission of Lehigh's Interdisciplinary Research Institutes is a strategic expression of this notionand this project is an expression of that notion in action. And the crucial role that our students play, with support from a broad faculty team, speaks for itself." Explore further Laser-fabricated crystals in glass are ferroelectric More information: "Nanostructure of bioactive glass affects bone cell attachment via protein restructuring upon adsorption" Scientific Reports (2021). Journal information: Scientific Reports "Nanostructure of bioactive glass affects bone cell attachment via protein restructuring upon adsorption"(2021). www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-85050-7 This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Hearing of abuse of office case against suspended Tomsk Mayor set for March 17 pastinfo.am 17:55 11/03/2021 MOSCOW, March 11 (RAPSI) The preliminary hearing of an abuse of office case against suspended Mayor of Tomsk Ivan Klyain will be held on March 17, attorney Andrey Grivtsov has told RAPSI. Klyain stands charged with abuse of office and illegal participation in business activities. In November 2020, the official was arrested and detained. In early March, a court ordered the defendants release from detention and put him under house arrest due to his health condition. According to investigators, in 2016, Klyain acting in the interests of the Tomsk Beer company, where he is a shareholder, illegally ordered a chief of the city administrations Department of Urban Planning to add inaccurate information on the 300-meter sanitary protection zone near the enterprises land plot to the geographic information system GeoCad and prepare a resolution of dismissal of a businessmans application seeking to change the territorial zone. These actions allegedly caused serious damage to the entrepreneur consisting in the impossibility to use the land plot for the planned intended purpose, namely construction of multistory housing, investigators believe. Moreover, investigators claim the defendant being an elected Mayor of Tomsk personally and through an intermediary ran the Tomsk Beer company from October 2013 to November 2020. By virtue of his office he rendered assistance to the commercial organization in the solving of disputes with authorities and other structures occurred as part of the business operation. Dear Readers: The letter from a woman who left her church because she did not want to hear political sermons brought an avalanche of mail. The majority wrote about the tax-free status that churches enjoy. Here are two examples, which I am including because they are so succinct. They are followed by a letter from a pastor, which provides his perspective. Dear Annie: If his church receives nonprofit status, that preacher using the bully pulpit to push political views risks losing it if politics are discussed. -- Nonprofit Status Dear Annie: A house of worship is allowed to exist tax-free because they are supposedly focusing on faith, which is, or should be, outside of the political arena. Unfortunately, in todays America, churches are admonishing their congregants to vote for particular candidates, which is outside the realm of the ideal of separation of church and state. If a house of worship wants to preach politics, then it should be taxed as is any other institution that supports politics. -- Sick of Political Preachers Dear Annie: As a pastor myself, I found your response to Keep Politics out of Church may have made my job harder by seeming to support the writers bias. There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that are concerned with matters of justice, so it is impossible to faithfully preach the Word without mentioning how it is sadly lacking in our world today. Annie Lane writes the Dear Annie advice column. Unfortunately, some hear messages about justice and can only associate it with political speech. This is not a new issue for pastors who seek to faithfully preach the Word. In this very divisive time in our country, mentioning matters of justice has become a trigger for some. The great 20th-century theologian Karl Barth counseled preachers to preach with a Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Please advise me on how to do that and not sound political to some. Frankly, all I have to do is mention a current situation in a sentence in my sermon and the whole message gets branded by some as being too political. Many people, whom Keep Politics out of Church represents, would prefer I not mention matters of societal justice at all. Is that the kind of loving kindness you suggested?! Your reader would be satisfied, but what about all the people who suffer because it serves anothers political interest? If church is just about being nice to one another and ignoring real issues, then the Gospel will have been neutered. By the way, I dont just preach about justice issues, but my church and I are actively seeking to make a difference where we can in the lives of others. Preachers are called to both comfort and challenge. My guess is that if the message supported the writers political views, then the writer would not find it so difficult. I dont make it a practice of railing against the government in my sermons, nor do I endorse candidates or even mention them by name, but some issues need to be addressed. I cant help what some people hear me say. I know you need to take your writers at their word and not challenge their perceptions, but I cant help but wonder how political her pastor really is from the pulpit. This is a very divisive time in our country, and many people are quick to jump to conclusions. My colleagues and I have the rather unenviable task of representing the whole Bible and keeping our churches, synagogues or any other religious community together. Please refrain from offering advice on subjects that are complicated unless you can appreciate all the nuances. -- Threading the Needle in the Pulpit 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 The John Lewis Partnership slumped to a 517million loss last year and has confirmed that more store closures are on the way. The group, which includes John Lewis and Waitrose, said it was 'in discussions with landlords and final decisions are expected by the end of March.' No details concerning the number of stores to permanently close, their locations or job losses were provided. But, it said it will probably have to close in 'locations where our customers aren't.' On a media call, bosses said that they could not confirm that there would be no further job losses, but hinted that they hoped to be able to redeploy partners affected by the latest line up of proposed store closures. Loss: The John Lewis Partnership slumped to a 517million loss last year The group, which has 42 stores, said: 'Hard as it is, there is no getting away from the fact that some areas can no longer profitably sustain a John Lewis store. 'Regrettably, we do not expect to reopen all our John Lewis shops at the end of lockdown, which will also have implications for our supply chain.' Chairman Sharon White said: 'Closing a store is one of the hardest decisions we can make as a Partnership. 'We are acutely sensitive to the impact on our Partners, customers, and communities, particularly at a time when retail and our high streets are undergoing major structural change. 'We will do everything we can to lessen the impact and will continue to provide community funds to support local areas.' Without Government support, JLP said it would have had to undergo an 'even bigger restructuring', putting even more jobs at risk. JLP said it wants to save 300million a year by 2022/23, but it will also plough 800million into its 'turnaround' plans this year, which includes a restructuring. The business wants to be generating a profit of around 400million by the end of 2026. A bonus for partners will not start being repaid until profits reach around 150million. Online growth: A chart from JLP showing the growth of its online shopping arm Closures: More closures are on the way for stores in the John Lewis Partnership Hubs: New small John Lewis hubs will be located in Waitrose stores The group said its latest annual loss emerged as a result of 'substantial exceptional costs', namely the write down in the value of John Lewis shops 'owing to the pronounced shift to online', as well as restructuring and redundancy costs from store closures and head office changes. In a results call with the media this morning, JLP said its John Lewis stores suffered a 190million drop in trading operating profits, with like-for-like sales flat. Having been able to stay open throughout the pandemic, Waitrose saw its operating profit rise to 1.1billion over the past year. Bosses said the group forked out 65million in Covid-related costs last year, with 25million shelled out for partner sickness. In September, the John Lewis Partnership announced that it was axing its partner bonus for the first time since 1953. This emerged as the group posted a stinging half-year loss of 635million, against a profit of 146million by the same point a year earlier. Ms White said on a media call that the past year had thrown up a 'uniquely volatile environment', meaning it could not provide a forecast for profit in the year ahead. Online shopping growth and five-year plan Before the pandemic around 6 in every 10 spent online with John Lewis 'was driven by our shops', the group said. But, since the pandemic started this had dropped to 3 in every 10 spent online. John Lewis' online sales increased by 73 per cent during the pandemic and the group expects around 70 per cent of its purchases to be made online by 2025. It said: 'While there is clearly uncertainty over the extent to which these changes will endure, we are expecting much of the shift online to be permanent and are adapting the business accordingly.' On this morning's media call, Ms White said she wants to turn the business into a 'lean, simple and fast' retailer. Turnaround plan: John Lewis Partnership chairman Sharon White and Chancellor Rishi Sunak As part of a major five-year turnaround plan, JLP said that by 2030, 40 per cent of its profits will come from outside retail and instead be focused on areas like financial services, housing and 'outdoor living.' Last year eight 'loss making' John Lewis stores and seven Waitrose stores were permanently closed, and the group today confirmed that it is in the process of reducing the cost of its head office by 20 per cent. In July, the group announced plans to permanently close John Lewis stores in Birmingham, Croydon, Newbury, Watford, Swindon and Tamworth, as well as hubs in Heathrow airport and St Pancras train station in London. The move triggered the loss of 1,300 jobs. Recent reports suggested a further eight stores were earmarked to be shut, on top of eight announced in July. Ms White said that the secret to the group's future success, she believed, stemmed from the partnership model, 'if we can get it right.' Ms White said that getting back to the group's core principles would help it get back on a stronger footing, adding that it had to adapt quickly. 'We've got a heritage, a brand and trust that other businesses would kill for', she added. Lower prices on the way? Bosses today confirmed that shoppers can expect to see new prices focused on 'value' this year. They said that shoppers will start seeing a difference to the cost of goods across ranges when stores reopen on 12 April. They added that further price changes will be introduced on new lines from the summer of this year. More 'convenient' shopping JLP is now making a big deal of its new idea to bring the John Lewis and Waitrose brands closer together. It has trialed selling certain lines of John Lewis goods within Waitrose shops at five stores and is now planning on expanding this trial to more locations. The group says that part of its problem has been people having to travel too far to get to a John Lewis store. On the media call, bosses said they may consider opening smaller, more local stores in, for example, places with vacated shops. Top brass also confirmed that with the focus on online shopping and click-and-collect, it still had no plans to become akin to 'Argos for the middle-classes.' All change on our high-streets The demise of a spate of big-name retail brands during lockdown, including Oasis, Warehouse, Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, was accelerated by the pandemic, with shop-based retailers facing soaring costs and dwindling footfall. Bricks-and-mortar based retailers are having to come up with new ways to lure in shoppers and drive up sales. This week, high street stalwart Next agreed to snap up a 25 per cent stake in high-end rival Reiss for 33million, with an option to add to its holding and secure majority control. All change: Marks & Spencer has vowed to be 'never the same' as it turns its business around Marks & Spencer is another retailer which has vowed to be 'never the same again'. Over the next three months it will start selling a further 11 brand names like Hobbs, Seasalt, White Stuff and Y.A.S online, in addition to Early Learning Centre and, among others, Nobodys Child. Back in January, M&S snapped up the Jaeger brand from administrators. 'We know online shopping is growing at pace and we need to give our customers more choices and more reasons to shop at Marks & Spencer', Neil Harrison, the director of brands at M&S, said. In the past year, John Lewis & Partners has added 30 new fashion and beauty brands in store and online, with a further 50 being introduced, many of them independent and British-based. A man, described as a business executive, has found himself on the wrong side of the law for allegedly beating his wife severely, resulting in her death. Prince Charles Dedjoe has been charged with the murder of his wife, Mrs Lilian Dedjoe. He was arraigned before the Madina District Court yesterday. His plea was not taken, as the court has no jurisdiction over murder. The jurisdiction of district courts over murder is only limited to committal proceedings. Marriage on rocks According to the prosecution, the marriage between Dedjoe and Lilian had been on the rocks lately, a situation which led to numerous instances of misunderstanding between them. The prosecutor, Sergeant Eva Gidiglo, said on March 1, this year, Dedjoe assaulted his wife, which resulted in her sustaining varying degrees of injury, after which she sought treatment at the Madina Polyclinic. When Lilian returned home, her condition deteriorated. On March 6, she went into coma and was rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival, she said. Bail application Counsel for Dedjoe, Captain Nkrabeah Effah Dartey (retd), prayed the court to grant his client a self-recognisance bail. It was counsels submission that his client was not a flight risk but was ever ready to face the wheels of justice and defend himself. It is our prayer that he is admitted to bail to enable him to cater for the children, he argued. The prosecutor opposed the bail application, on the basis that the court had no jurisdiction to grant bail in a murder case. The best option for the accused, she said, was for him to seek bail at the High Court. The magistrate, Ms Maame Efua Tordimah, upheld the arguments of the prosecutor and held that the court had no power to grant the accused bail. She, subsequently, remanded Dedjoe in police custody and adjourned the case to March 22, this year. 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